Brew to Brew...

Last weekend I took part in the "Brew to Brew" run with some friends from work....this was my first race....since track in high school....so it's been awhile! This run is a relay from The Boulevard Brewery in Kansas City to Freestate Brewery in Lawrence and is approximately 44 miles. I ended up running the first leg of it, which was marked as 4.3 miles and it was tough! The whole day we cheered on our teammates and drove along the race trail dropping off a runner and picking up the one who just finished. It was perfect weather for this all-day outdoor excitement and since my work was done by 9:30 I got to relax and enjoy some snacks and cheer on my friends! We are hoping to do it again next year....definitely worth it!

Did I mention they gave us free beer at the Boulevard before we ran?! Yum! Nothing like beer at 8:00 in the morning!!

We survived! Here is us in Lawrence. Happy to still be friends after 7 hours in a car together!! :)

This holiday is brought to you The Pioneer Woman.....and Jesus.

For Easter my sister came up from Dallas and we had a low-key weekend of shopping, going out to dinner and then Sunday I hosted a non-traditional Easter lunch before Meg flew back to Texas.

When we were trying to decide what to have to Easter, we decided to pick something out of "The Pioneer Woman's Cookbook" that my fantastic friends Lindsay and Kylie gave me for my birthday. I so LOVE this cookbook! I love to look at it, read it, imagine that I have time and calories to cook something from it every day. It is marvelous....and my family is equally enthusiastic about it, even my dad.

So, since we're not big ham lovers, I finally decided on the non-traditional lasagna.....and it was GOOD!!! It involves making your own sauce, adding fresh spices and cooking sausage and hamburger. Yum! I also made the French Pastry Puffs in the book for breakfast Saturday morning. Very sweet and delicious (sorry, no pictures of those little guys). Here are a couple pictures of the lasagna and my favorite people on Easter. Oh, and I had given up Diet Coke for Lent, so of course it was a part of the Easter celebration! :)

A Night with Taylor....

A couple weeks ago my mom and I had the awesome opportunity to go see the Taylor Swift concert in Wichita! Her friend won tickets from the local radio station and we rode an Arrowhead bus down and back and got to see an excellent performance. Kellie Pickler opened for her and on a bonus we got bumped up to the media section and had amazing seats! It was more than a concert; with 9 costume changes and a ton of set changes, there was always something going on. Here are a couple pictures from a great evening:

Results

I keep meaning to post an update with the Biggest Loser contest at work....it ended on March 11th and I didn't win but I did lose almost 25 lbs in about 2 months. I hope this friendly contest at work will help me continue with this journey. We are starting a second leg this week so I think the competition will help keep me motivated. Stay tuned. :)

Snow Bird

My sister is in Kansas this weekend for a bachelorette party in Lawrence. And she apparently brought snow with her. Whenever she is here for the most part....it snows! Glad to see you Meg, but next time leave the snow in Texas!

Hard to believe this is my backyard on the first day of spring!

A beautiful thing

I was off work today. Well, I was off from my full-time job today but worked a little bit of PRN work at a nursing home. Point being, I really enjoyed being off work on a weekday. I felt like I was much more productive.....I made dinner for friends for tonight, ran errands, got my teeth cleaned, worked out. Now, of course I am off today because I am working this Saturday, but it was a really relaxing enjoyable Monday! I would be okay with more workdays like today!

I might be becoming my uncle...

....and not like in a way of liking KU and living in Colorado. However, since starting the Biggest Loser competition at work and actively trying to make healthier choices with eating, I find myself following my Uncle Roger. He started following Weight Watchers several years ago and lost quite a bit of weight and he has done it by sticking with a routine. Everyday he has a turkey sandwich, carrot sticks, pretzels and some almonds for lunch (or something like this). And so...I have started my own routine lunch that seems to be working for me.

Most lunch days I have been taking to work cottage cheese and peaches, some baked chips and a mini bagel with a bit of cream cheese and turkey on it. Sometimes I had a piece of fruit too This combination really seems to fill me up and I like when I am rushing around in the morning to not have to think about what to pack. For breakfast I am doing a similar routine meal of english muffin with an egg beater and cheese on it, with maybe sausage. Anyway, hopefully I can stick with this; although I am still not "winning" the contest, I have lost 21.5 lbs since January 7th (2 more weeks to go). On the right track! Thanks for the inspiration Uncle Roger! I think of you whenever I am counting out my pretzel sticks or baked chips. :) I may never cheer for the red and blue but I think you're on to something here.