Sunday, February 26, 2012

Good Eats, Good Exercise, Good Times

That about sums up these past 2 months. Ben and I cut back on a couple of the things we were doing that were kind of making our life crazy and have really enjoyed more weeknights at home. As for the weekends, Ben is usually working, but we try and make the most of his time off. I'm training for another half marathon, on March 24th. I've run this one before a few years back while I was still at Baylor and had a blast. The Bearathon is the "hardest half in Texas," and I think my best friend and I had a lot of adrenaline last time considering it was our first one, so it wasn't too difficult. I'm pretty nervous about it this go 'round because I have heard some not nice things about it. That all said, I have been getting in some amazing workouts and fueling with some good food as well. 


Jessica's Buffalo Chicken Burgers - these are amazing! 

Wednesday's consist of HIIT runs with either a Bodyrock workout or weights added on. Bodyrock kicks my butt and I love it! 

I can't remember where I got the recipe for these tacos, but in Ben's words, "these are restaurant good!"

We have become addicted to sushi

Tuesdays and Thursday I run 5 miles, usually outside, but some days I just like to take it to the treadmill and get a GOOD sweat! 

Balsamic Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Balsamic Carmelized Brussel Sprouts 

We celebrated Ben's birthday with his family at Fearing's and I consumed this AMAZING Buffalo Tenderloin! That thing on the left is this squash taquito-like thing...OMG, so good! 

Our Valentine's tradition is for Ben to make dinner for us and enjoy a quiet dinner (actually at the kitchen table) together. This year he made Miso Glazed Salmon, the meal I recently proclaimed to be the last meal I would consume on earth. It became my favorite at Cheesecake Factory, but I discovered the nutrition facts and will be sticking to the homemade version from now on. This was incredible! 

Jenni and I ran the Hot Chocolate 15K. It just happened to be one of the only days that was freezing and really windy. I walked the whole way back to the car with my hands in my pants trying to get warm...I think I got some stares! 

Holy fluffy chocolate pancakes from Heather's blog. Just told Ben, "I'm making these tomorrow!"And yes, that is spray butter...I'm obsessed! 

And to finish up the eats... Jenna's Lighted Up Cajun Chicken Pasta!

Now for the good times. My sweet niece, Annie, turned 3 on January 23rd and we were able to celebrate with her and a bunch of her adorable friends. She wanted a pajama party, so we had breakfast - pancakes, maple scones, muffins and fruit. No big deal that it was 9 AM...we still had cake and cookies! 

The adorable family - my oldest sister, Katie, her husband, David, and Annie and Charlotte!

Annie playing with Belle (Beauty and the Beast) set we got her. Is there anything better than giving your niece a present and her adoring it?!

Sisters

Making a wish! 

We also got to have a fun night out with Ben's company to celebrate their success. We had a blast with all of his colleagues and I really enjoyed getting to know some of the wives. We only took one picture, but it was a great night! 


Like I mentioned above, Ben turned the big 25 this month and we got to celebrate at Fearings with his family. I tried to make his birthday week special with daily homemade cards and his favorite things like Frito Scoops and "Regular" peanut butter (he doesn't like my stuff), a couple issues of his favorite business magazine, etc. It was pretty fun to put things together and by the end of the week I think he really looked forward to seeing his gifts. On his actual birthday I got him a ginormous plate of donuts and served him breakfast in bed. It was quite a site! 


The King!

Last, but certainly not least, one of our Christmas presents from Ben's parents was tickets to the NEEDTOBREATHE concert on February 17th. I have been a huge fan of NEEDTOBREATHE ever since PS I Love You came out and I loved one of their songs on the soundtrack. We actually had one of their songs in our wedding, Garden. I've always thought they were great, but their concert was absolutely unbelievable! They were amazing!! Ben Rector opened for them and he was incredible too. Definitely the highlight of the year so far! 



Do yourself a favor and look up Ben Rector's, I Wanna Dance with Somebody video! I've had multiple dance parties by myself in the past couple of days and even broke out the karaoke machine to sing along! 




Friday, February 24, 2012

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

I'm not late am I?!?! Sorry I've been MIA, but can you really believe that it is almost March? Where has the time gone? Before you know it it is going to be summer and we'll be laying by the pool gettin' our tan on...oh wait, you could probably do that now here in Texas. Yesterday the high was 81 degrees. Insane!! Although I'm a total wuss when it comes to the cold, I do like to have at least a tiny winter before we get hit with the heat. Oh well, I'm off to Vail next week, so I have a feeling I'll get my winter/snow/absolutely gorgeous scenery fix. Well, all but the scenery. I will never get enough of those mountains. I think I could move to Colorado in a heartbeat!

Since I've been gone for what 3 months now, let me catch you up! It's been busy busy busy in the Clark household. I'll give you a brief glimpse at our crazy life over the past few months and then I hope to resume with much more regular blogging. Here we go....

Half Marathon #3 - I completed my 3rd half marathon (The White Rock) in the pouring rain. Most will tell you that it was miserable, but I guess I'm weird and really enjoyed running in the rain. I felt so alive and fresh the entire race. The last 2 miles were pretty rough though considering I could no longer feel my hands. The worst part was trying to get warm after the race. I swear I was shivering for a week after.
My Gear - I actually ended up wearing a different rain jacket that was a little heavier

Right before crossing the finish line...I swear there were other people running the race

I actually ended up with a PR and was super pumped! My time ended up being 1:51:?? I think the rain made me run faster! This was also my mother-in-law and sister-in-law's first half marathon to complete and we were super excited for them too! 
Katie's face when she saw her friends was priceless

And then there was CHRISTMAS!!!!! I am obsessed with Christmas! If you are around me and my family around Christmas you will often hear us talking like Buddy the Elf. Love it! 
Awkward Christmas Picture at our Home Group Christmas Party 

Our Christmas card followed by the line - "Have a GRRREAT Christmas!"

Ben surprised me and we went on a carriage ride to look at Christmas lights with some of our best friends, Zach and Morgan. 

Made complete with a Peppermint Mocha! 

Christmas morning at my parent's house...kind of ridiculous, but hey, there's a lot of us!! 

Ben and my brother-in-law, Taylor basking in the glory of Christmas! 

Annie with all of her Lion King animals

Charlotte's 1st Christmas! 

My dad and Charlotte -- can't do a post about Christmas without a picture of Santa himself! No really, my dad is seriously Mr. Christmas (aka Santa)! 

Brace yourself...this may be the most important thing that will happen all year...I KILLED MY FIRST DEER!!!!!! I'm sorry if any of you are against hunting, just don't look at the next couple of pictures, but this was seriously one of the most fun things I've ever done! If you're against hunting, at least be for the consumption of venison because it is so delicious. We now have a freezer full! 

Me and my doe

Ben said I HAD to put the blood on my face - hard core right?!

Ok ok I won't subject you to anymore, but at least admire my straight gangsterness (a word) with Haley at the deer lease! 

There as been a lot of love in the air this year already. We have had at least 3 friends get engaged and a couple weddings as well. One engagement in particular we got to be a special part of. We had so much fun in College Station helping our friend Cale (a Baylor Bear) propose to his Aggie, Lynne. 
Johnna and me with the signs I made for the happy couple

Best friends - Cale proposed on the 50 yard line of Kyle field

We love love! 

The very next weekend we hit the road again for a wedding in Lubbock and had an absolute blast! 
Congrats Reagan and Allison! 

Loved the Groom's cheesecake table

Me and my handsome hubby!

My sweet friend, Katelyn! 

Told ya we had a blast!! 

Ok I think that's enough catching up for now. I'll be back tomorrow with the rest of the recap! Have a fabulous Friday... I think I might celebrate National Margarita day today since I missed it on Wednesday!