wedding

A tale of two cameras.

| cheriarmour

When I decided a few months ago that this blog would be a thing-thing, I also decided that I would need to graduate from taking all my photos on the iPhone, and start taking them on a camera.  Higher quality, and more permanence.

Side note:  I’d really really to get a real camera for the blog, and some real photos taken of me, but we’ll get there when we get there.

So two weeks ago, when I was headed to DC, I begged the husband-to-be to use his camera so I could take a few pictures when I ran up to the Capitol Building and ran around and stuff.  He obliged, but before he handed it to me, he said, “Please make sure I get this back in one piece.”  OF COURSE I will, why would I not bring it back in one piece?!

So I got to DC and was having a great time until the birthday/dinner party.  I asked this guy to take a picture of me and Scott, the host (pictured below)…P1020103

Which he gladly obliged by dropping the camera on the floor.

FACK.

The camera that I’d promised would be returned in one piece was now 100% broken, and I had to figure out how to make it right.

As soon as I got back from DC, I Google it.  Camera was discontinued.  Great.

Plan B.

I logged into my Amazon, and found that there was exactly one of these discontinued cameras left in the right model and right color.  So I bought it and sat in wait.

And waited.  And waited by the window until it arrived yesterday.

“Babe I have to tell you something,” I said.

And I pulled both of these out.

photo (17)
I explained to him what I’d done, and that in wanting to make it right, I’d ended up replacing the camera.  And luckily for us, the memory card and the batteries were still good, so all of the picture were unharmed.  No harm, no foul, and I’d taken responsibility for what I’d done.

Now your turn!  What’s the most thing you’ve ever lost/broken?

 

 

 

February Mini Goals

| cheriarmour

A few bloggers have done this thing where they set goals for each month, and I think that’s absolutely wonderful.  Cause you like, set your goals for the year and a month in, you’re like WHAT WERE THEY!!!  So maybe if I make monthly, like achievable ones, by the end of the year, I will be a total wonder-woman with  all the ridiculous goals I’ve achieved.   That sounds cool right?

Mini Goals for February

  1. Compile all the addresses for the wedding invite list.  The weeks are starting to slip away from me and I don’t want to end up like 4 months out with nothing done.
  2. In that same vein, get stuff together for the save-the-dates.  That has to happen this month.  We’re about 6 months out, and I have a ton of out-of-town people coming.  That said, I am so pumped to get married.  I cannot wait for how much fun this about to be.
  3. Get to yoga at least once a week.  I haven’t been in longer than I’d like to admit, and I need to get back into class.  It helps me with my running, and my body loves it.  Plus my abs look killer when I do it.  Added bonus.  Bikinis are out in Target from what I hear, so it’s good to get that stuff in check.
  4. I’ve been really afraid to say this out loud, but this is serious.  I want to wake up early at least one day a week so I can work out.  Ugh.  And I get a latte every time I achieve this goal.
  5. And finally, I need to do this this week, but I need to clean my car.  Like a straight up vacuum and Autobell situation.  

Okay, so I kept this one short and sweet.  What are your goals for February?  

That time I stalked a bartender…

| cheriarmour

I took a little break on Saturday, so I hope you guys didn’t miss me a ton.  Happy Superbowl Sunday!

Okay, so this weekend, thus far, I taught a gorgeous Zumba class, took the most killer nap that has ever existed with the dog, ran, and stalked a bartender.  Let me explain.

Zumba was beautiful.  Class was packed, and it was one of those classes where I sorta felt myself getting emotional because of how joyous the class seemed like they were.  I truly, truly hope the class can feel what I’m giving to them.

The Zappos Delivery.

Let me say this.  I have ruined nearly every gift that Austin has given me.  Not on purpose, but my propensity toward curiosity has ruined everything.  When he bought me my Garmin, I bugged him until he gave me the present before dinner on that birthday.  During our engagement, I asked so many questions that he started taking his iPad with him everywhere because he was afraid I was going to snoop on his purchase of my engagement ring or on his credit card statement.  Good call.

Well yesterday, this box randomly arrived at my apartment.

photo 1But Austin’s name was on the package.  My antennae went up.  I sent him a text.

“That wasn’t supposed to get delivered there!  It was supposed to go to the office.”

So I played it cool.

“Should I put it somewhere for you?”

I was hoping it was nothing and he’d tell me to open it, and that’s how I’d know it was a regular package.  But he asked me to set it aside for him, and Michael, the best friend, made me swear not to snoop.

FINE!  So he’s come to pick up the package, and now I have no clue what it was.  More on that, if it turns into anything later.

Moving right along!

How I stalked a bartender.

For weeks, I’ve been trying to hunt down the bartender that made a drink for me last summer, just before we got engaged.  It was a toasted coconut martini, and we had it at the place where we had our first date, just weeks now before we got engaged.  It was delicious, and I’d like to feature this drink at our wedding.

I called around to the place, the Rockford, a number of time before one of the bartenders told me that the bartender that I was looking for was now working at a different bar.  So I changed my running route to go right by the bar where he was working, and chatted with him about the recipe, which he gladly gave me.

Yes, I’m a creep, but I got what I wanted!

photo 3

 

Finally, on my run, I caught sight of this.  I think they’re calling these “knit bombs” and ladies around the city are knitting and decorating the trees, bus stops, and bike racks.  Do you guys have anything cool going on like this in your city?  Cause I’ll tell you what, this definitely put a smile on my face while I was plodding through a few rainy and cold miles.

So I’m pumped, I’m expecting a pretty decent crowd for the Superbowl.  Who are you going for this evening?  The Broncos, the Seahawks, or Bruno Mars?  What are you drinking?  And what are your plans?   

 

 

Wedding Etiquette Question

| cheriarmour

Photo on 1-27-14 at 12.39 AM

Please help us out.

We’re a little less than 7 months out from the wedding, and since we have a ton of out-of-town guests, we’re for sure sending out save-the-dates next month.  So I asked Austin to put the final touches on the guest list, and he asked a really good question.

When it comes to work people, who do we invite to the wedding, and who do we leave off the guest list?  How did/would you navigate this?

 

Can I take a second to give @Amazon a shoutout?

| cheriarmour

This is gonna be a quick one, but I wanted to write on this before I forgot.

I have had many an experience with Amazon customer service and all of them have been wonderful.  And before you accuse me of being shady, I am declaring right here, right now, that this is my own opinion, and they are not paying me to say this.  Even though if they did, that would be awesome because I’m getting married and I keep ordering all this wedding stuff off Amazon.

But I digress.

Today, at the public library, I found this awesome book called Vintage Wedding Style, and once I got to flipping through it, I found a few pages that I would like to dog ear for my own nuptials coming up here in about 6 or 7 months.  So I decided it was worth it, and that I’d order the book on Amazon.  And for anyone who follows getting married, check this out, there are some awesome DIY ideas in here, including one for crepe paper flowers that I’m not skilled enough to try, but I’d love to see how yours turns out!

Vintage Wedding Style

I found it, ordered it, and then was forced to order two more nail polishes.  Not my fault.  But they were beckoning me.

Well, I went back to review my order, only to discover that I had had the items shipped to an apartment I hadn’t lived in for years.  And in a panic, I called Amazon, who resolved the issue literally within 5 minutes without any annoyance or hesitation from the guy on the other end.  The guy actual acted like it was his pleasure to be helping me, incompetent fool, out with her mistake.

So for best customer service of the day, Amazon.com totally gets my vote, and for as much wedding stuff as possible, I will be purchasing from them.  Thanks Amazon!  You guys made this neurotic bride’s day!

Babies on the brain.

| cheriarmour

We’re getting married in about 7 months ::gulp cause I feel like I haven’t done anything:: and people are at it, asking those rude questions that are none of their business really, or premature.

Literally, hours after we were engaged?

“Have you set a date?”

Why would we have set a date, we literally got done calling our parents 40 minutes ago.

“Are your parents okay with you being interracial?”

Yes. But if they weren’t, do you think I’d share it with you, a total stranger?

“Did you only date white guys before or is this the first?”

First.  It’s not like I have some weird fetish.

“Can I be invited? Please?! Can I have a plus one?”

Wasn’t really planning on it.  And now you’ve made it very awkward because the venue can only fit a certain amount of people.

But the one that I’ve gotten a few questions on, and the one I’m just not sure on, is the kid question.  Do we want kids, and how many?  And quite honestly, I can say, we have no idea, and this is the one idea that we’re completely both absolutely sure we’re on the fence about.

I grew up in a big family by today’s standards – there were four of us, and I love being able to tell folks about all my siblings, and the thought of not having a full house is sorta weird, but there are a few things that terrify me, mortally, about kids, and I’m sure I need to get past this before I even think about kids.

 

  • Student loans.  Mine are not paid off.  And the thought of bringing a child into that mix is chilling.
  • Money.  In general, kids are spensy, and I’m obsessed with the idea of being extremely financially independent – something we’ll touch on a little later when we talk about my resolutions.
  • This is about to sound awful, terrible, and selfish.  And I know that, so I’m prepped to get screamed at.  But I am a little concerned about my weight and what a baby might do to my body.  I’ve been told that once you have a kid, that your priorities shift, and you may not be as concerned with your body.  But I sort of like to run.  I like to work out.  I like my abs and my arms, and I’m worried about how hard it will be to maintain that once I have a kid, or two, or four, like my mom did.

 

Kara Goucher

      I mean, Kara Goucher (pictured above) returned to her sexy Olympiad self within a year, but she runs literally like 100 miles a week.  Like.  How can I even compete?  Will my exercise participants take me as seriously if I’m not in tip top?

 

  • What if I suck at it?  No backsies when it comes to kids, ya know?  And if I suck, I’m screwing a kid up.  I can’t live with that!

But at any rate, I figure, we’ll make that decision when the time comes, but for the time being, I’m totally willing to hold your baby for a while, just to borrow, while I decide!

 

Happy Belated Christmas, folks!

| cheriarmour

I think it’s the law that the WiFi in your childhood home has to, has to, be incredibly horrid, so I’m blogging a little late from the McDonald’s a few minutes from the border of South Carolina.

I’m avoiding eye contact with like 4 youths who’ve taken an interest in me, and seem to be trying to catch my attention.  I’m wearing my headphones and pretending I can’t hear them – but nothing is really playing.

But I digress.

I hope your Christmas, or whatever you celebrate, was wonderful.  Mine was really really nice.

I started with some Redbox action with my brother upon my arrival.  We watched that Melissa McCarthy/Sandra Bullock cop movie, ‘The Heat’, which I was totally sure was gonna be hysterical, but it was honestly a little off-putting.  There wasn’t a minute in the movie that you didn’t hear the f-word.  Now don’t get me wrong, I totally live for some some dirty language, but it was really too much for my delicate sensibilities.

Christmas Day, I woke up, and once we got everyone up, we started opening presents.  The fan fave?  This:

Soda Stream

The Soda Stream!  My pops, like me, is a huge fan of some seltzer, and we got into making a few glasses before we even started breakfast.  My dad kept looking at his glass and saying, “This is amazing!”

So I’m pretty sure I went with the right choice.

So knowing that I’d be probably indulging in a few more cookies than I usually do, I made sure to hit the run in some way, shape, or form a few times while here at home.  So when I was sent out for our Christmas dinner, some key Chinese dishes (veggie lo mein, sesame chicken for my brother, and general tso’s chicken for my dad), I put in the order, and left the restaurant on foot to make sure that I wouldn’t make an excuse to skip my run.  I ran around the back of the building….and right onto a golf course.

Golf 1

Seriously.  I ran, and found myself on a golf course, and it almost looked like another planet, with the amount of balls (hee hee) that were back there.

Golf 2

Like, doesn’t that look just like Mars or something?  So my quick run turned into one that was a little longer, around a local golf course as the sun went down.

Golf 3As predicted, I ate a few more cookies than I planned to before I went to bed last night and watched some Sherlock Holmes with my brother, so this morning, I hit it again, with some time on the treadmill, followed by some time spent with weights.

Some of today’s highlights?

  • I got to be lazy, aside from my workout, which was fabulous.
  • I used the Starbucks gift card that my mom got me!
  • I went to the Whole Foods in Charlotte, and they have a wine bar there.  A glass was on special for like $3.00, so of freaking course I indulged!  I also walked around, picked some produce with my mom, ate lunch from the hot bar, and got some handmade soap, which is super spensive, but awesome.
  • And I found my wedding dress today!  I’m keeping it super secret, otherwise, I’d post a little pictorial evidence for you.

So onword and upword!  Next up!  New Years!

What are your New Years plans?  Any running related ones?

New reads! #runchat

| cheriarmour

I swore, after my last marathon, during which I sobbed and vomited miles 18-26.2, that I would not run another marathon until after we got married.  One, because of the sheer volume of time I had to dedicate to training (most Sundays were dedicated to running), and two, because of the misery that vomiting during a race could potentially bring.  I really wanted to focus on wedding stuff and wedding planning (which is a total blast, ps, and I’ll fill you guys in as I do more stuff).

So anyways, fast forward to December, where everyone is talking about their spring races.  And I literally have this disease called FOMO (fear of missing out), and I almost can’t stand not running a race during spring race season when everyone else is running around having their fun.

Also, I think I’m addicted to the feeling when you finally cross the finish line.  I’ve only crossed a marathon finish line twice, and I’m not sure I’m ready to hang the shoes up until after I become a Mrs.

Basically, I’m seriously toying with the idea of doing Rock n’ Roll in Raleigh.  

If I do this, and that’s a big friggin’ IF, I need to do this right.  Like I absolutely refuse to get sick and cry though another race.  Not gonna happen.

Hanson

 

Insert new reads here.  A friend PR’d at Chicago using this method.  I’m not sure that I’m going with this method – there are a TON of miles a week as opposed to regular marathon training, and it is definitely something I need to fully commit to.  But I’m very interested in the book in general, and super excited to tell you guys what I learn.

What do you guys think?  I’m getting married in August, should leave plenty of time to profusely apologize to my spouse for neglecting him between January and April.  What do you think – can this marathon be done? 

Ya missed me? This post is so jam-packed with goodies, I can’t even stand it!

| cheriarmour

I took a few days off from writing, and it drove me peanuts.   But I logged the events of Thanksgiving break in my head so I could keep everyone filled in on the events, which were events a-plenty.

Wednesday, before the holiday, I skipped the run (I know, shame on me,) because I went in for an endoscopy after work to figure out what was going on with my stomach, which you’ll remember has been acting really nuts since my bout with a stomach bug in September.  It was an upper endoscopy, so as far as prep, it just required that I fasted for a bunch of hours.  Rude.

I went in, stripped down to a sexy gown, and they started me on an IV.  The whole process was fairly non-dramatic.  I was wheeled into a room, laid on my side, given oxygen and the process began.  First the Lidocaine to numb my veins, and then the Propofol, and next thing I knew, I was out.  I woke up a really short time later – apparently, while I was under and they tried to shove the camera down my esophagus, I started flailing, pulled my IV out, and they had to pull me out of my sleep to reset the IV.  It was no big deal, and next thing I knew, I was out, and Austin was ready to take me home.  But not before in a haze, I told the nurse that “I looooove him,” and “did you know we were getting married?”

The final verdict? Gastritis.  The lining of my stomach was inflamed and has kicked acid up into my esophagus, which was burnt up too.  The morning of Greensboro, nerves and something I ate the day before probably aggravated my already-raw stomach, causing me to throw up.  Which burnt my esophagus even more.  Yumz. They did a biospy and I should know what’s causing it and what I need to do in the next 10 days or so.  I’ll keep you posted.

Hospital

Thanksgiving Day.  It was awesome.  I woke up, went for a slow and steady 4 miler (I’m streaking til New Years Day), cleaned up my house, and headed down to my parents’ for the holiday.  I cooked, and it was so lovely to spend the time with my family.  That evening, I was able to trick my brother into watching Pitch Perfect with me.  Score.

BroFriday morning, me and little Derek suited up for a run – and I will be gosh darned – the kid can run!  He’s a cross country star, and 18, so truthfully, the run consisted of me chasing him around Waxhaw, NC, which he regarded more as a casual jog.  My hamstrings were mad at me afterward, and I will definitely have to utilize him more for those speed workouts.

DressWe went wedding dress shopping.  That is all I can say, and this is all I will show you because I’m keeping dress negotiations top secret.  But my mom and I had a blast shopping for dresses.  She did try to negotiate a tiara and a set of silky gloves out of me, but I’m not budging, much to her chagrin.

CarAnd in the single greatest moment of the holiday, possibly of the year, my brother offered to drive us to Harris Teeter to buy my dad seltzer, and we needed to, since I drink up all his seltzer every time I go home.  Anyhoo, my brother drives a Benz.

Fancy?

Well, it’s an ’87, and when he started it, he had to pump the gas like a madman before we could get moving.  Then, when we arrived to the Teet, we had to leave it running while we ran inside.  Hood.

Brosky

And finally, I finished out the weekend by enjoying a dinner where I spent my 16th birthday, Kristopher’s in Matthews, NC, with Austin, the husband-to-be, and Derek, my brother.  It was so fun, so delicious, and an excellent way to wrap up the weekend.

Thanksgiving was awesome.  It was a lovely visit, and I finished out the weekend by running, running a little more, and working at the running store, which always puts a smile on my face.

How was your Thanksgiving Holiday?