January Recap!

This post is kinda late, sorry.  But better late than never right? Our January (more like my January) was a hectic whirlwind of chaos.  But organized chaos.


:: MY DRESS FITTING(S) :: it went well. really uneventful.  of course, the dress fit - it was a little snug and 2" too short at the first fitting.  But 2 weeks later, it was a little loose and long enough.  The wonders of the alternations lady.


:: MY "FAKE" FUN 5K :: 3.1 miles. Yay. Really uneventful to be honest with you.  You can read all about it HERE ...


:: MY WORK TRIP TO FLORIDA ::  warm. beautiful. and i did not want to come home. and i feel in love with Jeeps and want one of the new Jeeps as my next car.  Kyle just laughs at me and says "ok" because he knows the car I want changes with the weather. 


:: WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS MY FRIEND ::  Alabama won the National Chamionship beating out an undefeated LSU {In case you had not heard}.  I of course was on a work trip but was still oh so happy about the final outcome!


:: MARRIAGE LICENSE & WEDDING RINGS :: like other things - uneventful.  The marriage license took no time at all {and seemed to make everything all the more real} and the rings were expensive but we love them.  I actually walked around one night wearing mine I like it so much.  Oh the joys of being married!


:: ENGAGEMENT PHOTOS :: We had done these before with a photographer we thought we were going to go with.  But change of plans lead us to Justin and 375 Photography.  Preview HERE and I am happy with them.  It was bitter cold and you can really tell in some pictures -- and we both look exhausted in a lot of them.  But I am happy with our final decision.


:: WORK EVENTS - WELCOME RECEPTION, ANNUAL KICK OFF & AWARDS BANQUET :: another pretty uneventful series of events.  Thank goodness that all I have to do is show up and be friendly.  Granted, I did have to sit in the front row to assist with any and all questions regarding anything having to do with my job.  And I will not bore you and go into all that.


:: WORK TRIP TO ST. LOUIS ::  long. hard. and cold.  Cold because I am a moron and left my coat in Atlanta. I had never been so ready to get back to Atlanta.  Great people though and I got to meet a girl who I have talked to on Twitter and via email and I read her blog.  So that was exciting.


:: MY 1ST WEDDING SHOWER :: what can i say, i really do have the best girl friends a girl could ever ask for. many of my friends could not make it since they're out of town, but those who could make it and who traveled from out of town - it meant the world to me.  I still need to upload the pictures and do a post about it {maybe tomorrow}


Kyle and I did not get a lot of "us" time since I was running all over Atlanta and the United States this month.  I am hoping that February is low key.  But all in all January was busy and it made the month fly by.  It is over and it is now February and I am getting married next month. Wowzas.

January is going to be oh so busy.

January is going to be a crazy month in the Vines-Shanahan house.  Not only do I start traveling for work and head to both Florida and St. Louis - but the wedding things are intense and off the charts.

January 6th :: 1st wedding dress fitting & dinner with a bridesmaid to exchange Christmas presents oh so late and catch up.

January 8 - 11th :: work travel.  Kyle gets to fly solo with the dogs.  Bless him.

January 13th :: Kyle and I are taking the day off and getting our marriage license (eeeek) and our wedding rings (even bigger eeeeek) .... talk about 2 events in the wedding planning that scream oh my goodness we're getting married!! .... and then we're meeting our photographer at 3:00 for engagement photos in the city.  Topped off with an early dinner because we're gonna be oh so tired.

January 22nd - 24th  :: more work travel.

January 29th :: My first (and main) wedding shower.  =D  I guess that means I need to buy some amazing thank you notes so I can get those written and out quickly after.

....and mix in there work and wedding work outs and I have to have 2 more dinners with 2 other wedding party ladies to give them their christmas presents!!  I think January will FLY right by!

January Recap.

One of my resolutions that I made was to everyday right down what I was thankful for and then I wanted to do a "monthly recap" of the biggest things I am thankful for from the month that just passed. So, let me begin.

1. The fact that I ran a marathon. I am so thankful for the fact that I have been given the ability to walk, run, skip, everything. ...It is something that people take for granted every day and it was something I realized after I ran, walked, and skipped 26.2 miles.
2. I am wickedly thankful for my family and office mates/people I work with. My Mom, Dad, Branch Manager, and her fiancee trekked to Orlando with me to watch me run a marathon in 20 degree weather. It really makes you realize that you are loved and there are people who want to support something you really love doing. I also had so many messages of congrats/I am proud of you/you have motivated me to do one messages from people at my company. My co-workers also PUSH me to get out the door at run for a hour during work hours. If I don't it is because I am lazy!
3. My boyfriend. As much as I complain about him, he does support my running goals and ambitions. He doesn't complain about late dinners anymore and he 100% understands when I want to run an 8am race or hit the gym after work. I think this would be so much harder without him.

Onto another topic. Back in December I decided to set some twenty.ten running and working out goals. So, how did I do? ...Ehh okay, not the best, but it could have been a lot worse. But I am not going to beat myself up over it... this was only month one. I didn't run the 60 miles I had hoped to (I ran 44.49) but that was the highest miles ever for me - so that is an accomplishment. I have started to work in cross training - not as much as I want to - but I have started to. Spin class, rocks. Do it. Love it. Embrace it. (I go on Thursdays at LA Fitness in Buckhead ... join me!) ...I have not done hill training, I slept through my first 10k of the year -- but I needed the sleep more than the miles TRUST ME -- but I have tried to work on pace. ...Runners World just has put me at a slower than I would like pace. I will just have to have a little more dedication next month. And well... now that my office is fully moved into our new space, I will be able to get out for some mid-day runs!

I am not going to look at January as a failure because I have not stuck to my resolutions, but a milestone because I ran my first ever marathon. :) :) :) ....February will be better! I can feel it!