running running and running running.

First off, who is not absolutely loving this cold weather we are having?! Unfortunately, it looks like we'll be back up in the 80's by the end of the week, but this first real cold spell has been marvelous! Now onto the part where the cold weather was not my friend....

A few of you already know this, but it's been a goal of mine this year to run a race. Not just run a 5k or anything like that, but something with a little more distance. Well, Saturday my friend and I ran the Huntsville Half & Quarter Marathon! We did the quarter, as this was the first race I have ever been in and his first in a long time. So yeah, the cold Saturday morning was BRUTAL! I can't run in pants, leggings/spandex are included in that category. So I was out there in the 41 degree weather with my shorts on. I did wear an Adidas version of Under Armor with my t-shirt, so that added a little warmth. I also sported a very stylish headband for my ears, circa the 80's. This was my first official race (even though I've been running on and off for years now) and I wasn't about to let some silly weather ruin it! For those of you that don't know, a quarter marathon is 6.55 miles. We ran all through campus and the surrounding area, so there were plenty of hills! :/

I didn't set any crazy expectations about times or anything. I just wanted to finish the race without walking or having to use my inhaler (I have Asthma). Due to the cold, I went ahead and used my inhaler before we started since my lungs were already burning, but it worked out well! I didn't need it again and I really didn't have any trouble breathing throughout the course. There was an initial big hill by the stadium that my legs don't even remember climbing, they were numb from the cold, and then it was kind of rolling with nothing too big until we reached University Ave. There was a long steady incline and it was brutal since it was more than halfway through the course. People were dropping like flies on that thing! Everyone around me was stopping to walk up it, but I just kept repeating to myself (and possibly aloud like a crazy lady) to just keep running. Even though it was more like a jog on that hill, I got up without stopping and was able to resume my pace at the top. I was so proud of myself and knew that I could finish the rest of the race without stopping. Well that, and Bon Jovi came on my iPhone singing "It's My Life" and that accompanied with my happiness of getting over the hill pushed me to keep running for the rest of the race. You know, Bon Jovi is very inspirational. =D

I really had no idea what to expect for time or anything, like I said, my goal was to finish without walking I had no illusions that I would somehow become The Flash and crush everyone. But, I actually ended up getting 5th place for my age group, so I was happy with that on top of meeting my original two goals! After the race we headed over to McKenzies and chowed down on some delicious BBQ! I have been loving their chopped brisket sandwiches, even though I rarely eat them. It was mighty tasty on Saturday!

I think we're going to try to run a 10k, which is just slightly shorter than the quarter, in December. I'm hoping to get to the half by early spring. It's really hard for me to run outside in the warmer months in Texas with the crazy humidity we have and my Asthma. We shall see, it's definitely on my list of things to accomplish that's for sure!

On a much different note, I had several projects I was going to work on Sunday but I had a water pipe bust Saturday night and water was leaking out of THREE different walls! That was definitely not fun. Neither was going without water of any kind from Saturday night through Monday morning. The plumber got me all fixed up though, so now I have water. I need to fix the gigantic hole in my bathroom wall, but that's nothing as long as the water is back! ;) 

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend and enjoyed the little taste of cold weather!

xoxo,
kris

One Week to Halloween!

I cannot believe that Halloween is one week from today. Time sure is flying by! Last year I didn't get to carve a pumpkin (one of my all time favorite things of all holidays) and it's not looking so great for this year either. I guess that's ok since I'm probably not going to be handing out candy or anything either. My neighborhood has just gotten really cranky with the holiday spirit. Annoying right?! Last year I went over to Heather and Ryan's to dole out the goods and it was a blast, but with Miss E getting older they're hitting up a carnival this year. I'm thinking it will be an order pizza and watch a movie kind of night. Maybe a little Hocus Pocus? LOVE that movie. What are y'all doing for Halloween? Working with college students and hearing about all their costumes makes me miss the days of dressing up, kinda. It's always fun in theory, but then I can never come up with a super AH-mazing costume like everyone else seems to have. So yeah, pizza and a movie sound fabulous!

I have been so freaking busy lately! Life just seems to be flying by at an exceptionally fast pace and it's pretty crazy. This past weekend I was back in good 'ol CStation for my dear friend Erin's birthday festivities. It was so much fun seeing her and all the other Cheddar's girls we used to hang out with (and eating at Cheddar's!) we had a blast. Sometimes it's fun to pretend you're still 20 and hit up Northgate and all the old haunts like Gatsbys. We did run into Von Miller outside Gatsbys when we were leaving, that was pretty awesome! Our night wouldn't have been complete without an Aggie football player run-in/hang out... Martellus, Reggie anyone? ;)

A few of us here in the Ville have started a book club, which I've always wanted to be a part of so I'm super excited about! We are meeting Thursday night to discuss our first book, Gone Girl. I had heard so many good things about this book and it's been on the best seller list for a while now so I figured it would be a good book to start with. Let me just say this book is totally CRAZY. The characters are like insane in the membrane out of their mind crazy. Which in some ways is good, it was definitely not very easy to anticipate the direction of the book (which I'm usually really good at doing) but it was also a little hard to follow sometimes with all the twist and turns. I'd say if you like mysteries and are down for a little psychotic twist, then this would be a good book for you my friend. I'm really excited to see what books the other girls pick each month. I'm sort of a book nerd if you haven't been able to figure that out yet. I'll have to start doing a review each month of our books on here, although it'll have to wait until after we meet, just in case some of the lovely ladies are procrastinators with their reading. (not everyone can be as nerdy as me and finish the book in a couple days just because they need to haha!)

 Anyway hope everyone is having a great week, only two more days to the weekend!

xoxo,
kris

Tuesday.

First off, let me just say how extremely excited I am that today is Tuesday and it's time for another new episode of Sons of Anarchy! Can't wait to watch it tonight :D

Ok, now on with the good stuff. Well, I obviously survived Fair on the Square! I was a very long, super awesome weekend. I'm so glad I did it. I slept for about 3-4 hours Thursday night and then didn't go to sleep again until 9:45pm Saturday night. Let's just say I was really realllllly tired. But, it was most definitely worth it. I had a great spot, the vendors around me were totally awesome (for the most part) and there was a steady crowd throughout the day. I was a little nervous as to what to expect, but I ended up doing really well- sold a little more than half my stuff! My neighboring vendors said their first times they barely made enough to cover the booth (which is $150) so I was pleasantly surprised Saturday night when I tallied everything up. If you're interested in anything, check the Facebook page as there are still a few items left (several wreaths, some pillows and a few birdfeeders). It was so much fun, I will definitely be doing it again next year. I would really like to try and make the Christmas Fair this year, I just don't know if I'll have enough time to get things done before then. (I'm booked pretty much every weekend through Thanksgiving) But we shal see!

Here are a few pics from the weekend. If you came out, thank you so much for stopping by and supporting me!! :)

Hope everyone's week is starting out great!

xoxo,
kris

Finally!

Well it's finally arrived. Fair on the Square is tomorrow! Can you believe it?! I'm so excited, tired, and little nervous, but mostly excited. I've been working like crazy to get things ready for you guys and hopefully everyone that stops by the booth enjoys it. Today, work has basically been a blur. You may be asking yourself "Why the HECK are you at work today?!" Welllll, I was planning on taking off, but with the car trouble recently I had to leave early several days and with Dev's wedding coming up soon I just can't take that much time off. So yeah, I'm in a zombie-like state today. I'm going to try to get in a super duper power nap before I continue working this evening, but we shall see! I am definitely pulling an all-nighter, since I have to be up at the square unloading and setting up in the wee hours of the morning (ie 3-4AM) it works best for me to not go to bed than get a couple hours of sleep. Regardless of the sleep deprivation, I'm still so freaking excited!

On another note, I'm going to let you in on the best little secret snack for October. Really, the best ever! Are you ready for this? Candy Corn and unsalted peanuts! Mix them together in a container and eat them at the same time. It. Tastes. Like. Snickers. Seriously, y'all! Give it a try and tell me what you think. I'm not a huge candy corn fan, and by huge I mean I really can't stand it. But, in this combo it really works! I've already turned several of my coworkers into addicts. It's simple and easy to make, festive for the season, and super deslish. Oh, and it's cheap! You can't beat that.

Anyway, just wanted to share that little candy corn tidbit with y'all. Hope everyone is having a fabulous Friday! I'm going to go ahead and get back to work so I can try to cut out a little early so I can get back to work at home. :)

Have a great weekend and if you're in the area, come see me at the Fair on the Square! (I'll be near the Facemaker!)

xoxo,
kris

ps. sorry for the lack of pics, more to come next week of the booth and awesome fair stuff, I promise!

Sneak Peeks!

In case you haven't noticed from the 5,000 times I've mentioned it, Fair on the Square is THIS WEEK! eeeeek! I'm so excited! This Saturday we'll be out all day, so come by and see us while you're busy shopping and enjoying all the awesomeness the fair has to offer each year. The weather looks like it will be amazing, so it should be a great weekend to be outdoors.

I've been working my fingers to the bone getting things ready, hopefully it will pay off and everyone will love our stuff. I have so many things left to do on the list before Friday, but I did make a last minute decision to add some Halloween crafts to the list too. (I know, I may be a tad insane!) I cranked out several of them Saturday and I'm really loving how they turned out.

Don't mind the shelf or random greenery in the background, I just hung them up for a quick pic in the middle of working Saturday night. I have a couple more that couldn't fit on the rod for the pic, but you can get the idea. I'm going to make several more so there will be a decent amount available for this weekend. On a non-Halloween note, I'm also planning to make some Christmas hangers as well... That is, if I don't run out of hours in the days before Friday night!

Here's another sneak peek at a Fall wreath that will be at Fair on the Square.

Please excuse the messy carpet, my shadow and the teeny tiny stem of a flower stem at the top of the pic, oh and the horrible lighting. yeah, I probably should have mentioned the lighting first. I should really learn to take pictures in the day, and not after I've been working for a gazillion hours straight.

And just because it's Monday, the boss it out, and I'm feeling great (all be it exhausted) I'll give you one more peak at another Fall wreath.

Again, don't mind the messy carpet or the edge of the Ruffle Wreath in the top corner or the horrible lighting. I'm making a mental note to take pictures in the daylight hours and only AFTER the wreath is completely ready to hang. HA!

I just get so excited and then once I've moved on to something else, I forget to go back and take another picture. Oh well, we live learn!

Hope everyone had a fabulous weekend. It's October 1st y'all! Here's to a great week and an even better month, loving this Fall weather!

xoxo,
kris