A Wonderful Weekend!

This weekend has been great! I got to spend time with two of my favorite OBU friends, Laura and Tate (although not at the same time). Friday night I went over to Laura and Caleb's house, and Laura and I cooked dinner. We made Mexican for dinner. Then for dessert we made a cheesecake! It all turned out wonderful, we were so proud. We intended to share and copy recipes from each other, but we were having so much fun just relaxing, that we never got around to that.

Saturday after work, Tate came in town! We met up and had dinner at Flying Burrito in the River Market. After dinner, we headed over to the Taylor Swift concert! She put on an amazing show! Tate spent the night and we got Cinnamon rolls from McDonald's like we use to do in college. I miss those days, and that girl so much!

Today I went to church with my mom. Gary and I started visiting New Life church. We love it. I feel like we have found the place God wants us to be. Gary was in Dallas for the weekend visiting his friends for Stephen's Bachelor party weekend and Dad was at his last day of Real Estate school, so mom came to visit too. If you are looking for a church home, I would encourage you to check them out. God is doing some really great things. Tonight we went back for their fall women's event. Priscilla Shirer was the speaker. She is awesome! She spoke on Ephesians 3:20-21 and how we serve a God who can do so much more than we can imagine. I left feeling so encouraged.

Today I ran 5 miles. Well, I say ran... I walked a lot. Gary and I have been running after the sun goes down, when the temps are in the 70s. Today I attempted to run mid afternoon, and it was hot. 91 to be exact. The heat killed me! I was feeling discouraged, but I did manage to finish in right at an hour. Only 5 minutes past my goal of finishing in 55 minutes. I won't be attempting my long runs mid afternoon anymore.

Tomorrow is a big day for me... deep breath.

Blah, blah, blah...

So, I've been slacking on the blog lately. I guess sometimes my life is too boring to blog. However, I did get some exciting news yesterday. We have a new massage therapist lined up to begin work at the salon when we make our big move! He is an excellent therapist, highly trained. AND he will be offering laser hair removal. I'm excited to see our business grow! We will be moved and operating out of our new location Dec.1. I hope to have the lease signed by next week, so be on the look out for the big reveal!

We have had a pretty slow week. I have been cleaning out our closets, taking things to Goodwill, and putting random things on ebay. (If you're interested in a Nikon D100 6.1 mega pixel digital camera or some retired beanie babies, you should look up katherinej2004 on ebay!) Work has been really irregular the past few weeks. I guess everyone is still trying to get back in their regular routines now that summer has come to a close. I'm looking forward to things picking back up soon. Gary on the other hand has been a selling machine the past few weeks. He sold $40,000 today alone! I am so proud of him!

Tate is coming in town this weekend! She has invited me to go to the Taylor Swift concert with her and her mom, so I'm really looking forward to the weekend. We haven't seen each other in too long! Lucky for me we get to spend the next 3 weekends together!

So, all the good TV shows are back on! We caught up on Melrose Place, 90210, and Glee tonight. They are all getting so good! But, the show I am looking most forward to this week is Vampire Diaries. It is so addicting. What about you, my loyal followers? What shows are you hooked on this season?

Razorback Let Down.

Tonight we went to Amy and Ryan's for Ryan's birthday party. Check out the super cute cake Amy had made for him! We ate lots, and watched the game. It started out so good, but ended up being a let down in the end. Either way, the company was wonderful.

It rained all week, so we didn't get to run much. We did go for a 4 mile run today after work. When I started this I couldn't even run one mile without stopping, now I can do 4! It feels great!

Tomorrow Krisitn leaves to go back to Delaware. I've enjoyed spending time with her and Meghan the past two weeks. It's gonna be said to see her leave.

Not much more to report. Ready for some sunshine. All this rain and gloom makes me tired.

Rolling on the River.

Today was the Easter Seals "Rolling on the River" 5k. Gary and I both ran the race. I finished in 31 and a half minutes. I am getting so close to being able to do it in 30 minutes. Gary finished in just under 30 minutes! He did so good, especially since he trained for like 2 days. We had a good time and the rain held off, but the humidity did make it tough. Overall I am really proud. My last 5k took me close to 37 minutes. So I am getting better.

After the race, we went to lunch at Chick-fil-a and made a stop at Easy Runner. Gary decided he is going to train for the half marathon with me. So, he needed some good running shoes. The ones he ran in today were awful! They watched him run and matched him up with a good pair. We're looking forward to trying them out a few times next week.

I got a pair of Tom's shoes today. They are burlap and super cute. Plus for every pair sold a pair is donated to a child in need overseas.

By the time we finished shoe shopping we were worn out! We came home and took at 2 and a half hour nap. It felt amazing! I have had 2 Saturdays off in a row. That is rare, but thanks to all Laura's help at the salon I will be able to take off a few here and there. That makes Gary very happy.

Tonight Amy and Ryan came over and we got take out from Wing Stop. I LOVE that place. We ate and watched "Taken". We had all seen it, but it was such a good movie we didn't mind watching it again.

What a wonderful Saturday!

All You Need is Love!

I woke up this morning to footage of the September 11th attacks on TV. It's hard to believe it has been 8 years. I can remember that day like it was yesterday. I heard the news on the radio while driving my yellow Mustang to school. I thought it was a joke. Then when I got to my first period class (Drama Tech), Ms. Benson had the footage live on TV. I was shocked! While we watched the footage, the second plane hit... live. I know I will never forget that day. I am remembering the families who lost their loved ones 8 years ago today.

Today my sister brought me a painting she did for the salon. It's really cute! The "V" in Love is a pair of scissors. Cute huh?

Tonight Gary and I played games with my parents, Brooke and Jonathan and Brooke's parents. We had such a good time. It's neat to have friends whose parents are also friends. I hope we can do it again some time.

Tomorrow is the Easter Seals 5k race. I am hoping to finish in under 34 minutes. My last 5k race I finished in 37 minutes. Ideally I would finish in 30, but I have never run 10 minute miles, so we'll see. I hope the rain holds off so there will be a good turn out. Wish me luck!

Locks of Love.

Today Kristin came into the salon to cut 10 inches off of her hair for locks of love. We cut it and gave her a cute little bob. The picture isn't great, but you get the idea. She looks really cute. This is her second donation to locks of love. I'm so proud of her. Her hair is going to make someone very happy.

After work I did some planning for our salon move at the end of the year. If you haven't heard, Kroger is expanding into a "Super Kroger". One of only 12 in the nation. Therefore we have to move at the end of the year. It's kind of bittersweet. This has been a great location, but it will be exciting to expand our salon. We have been doing a lot of research and we are about to make our decision. I can't say too much yet, but stay tuned for updates in the near future!

Now it's off to catch up on the dvr recordings we have saved. I'm so glad all of "our shows" are back! We are currently keeping up with 90210, Melrose Place, Project Runway, Glee, The Office, and Vampire Diaries. That's a lot huh? I guess that's what you do when you're a grown up... work all day, come home and watch TV, go to bed, wake up and repeat. Exciting huh?

3/4 of "The Order" Reunited!

I had a slow day at work today, so I was able to sneak away and meet Meghan and Kristin for lunch. Kristin is in town from Delaware for 2 weeks. This is the first time since February we have had more than 2 of the 4 Order members together, and it felt wonderful! Lauren was the only missing link, but we did get to talk to her on the phone all the way from Korea.

Today after work, Gary and I ran 4 miles at the Big Dam Bridge. This was my first time to run 4 miles, so I was proud of myself. I did it in 43 minutes and 30 seconds. I'm slowly working my way up to 13. I also went all day today with out a Diet Coke or coffee. That's huge! I drank lots of water and I am hoping that helps with my endurance while training.

After we ran, Kristin and Meghan came over. We laughed and joked about some of the things we did in high school. It's amazing that has been 6 years ago! I love those girls. They are some of my longest friends! I'm looking forward to reuniting with Lauren in February.

Lazy Lake Day.

We spent the day at the lake today. We slept in, went out on the boat for a little while, took a nap, watched a lot of TV, read, and ate. It felt so nice to just be lazy. After our dove dinner tonight (which by the way was not too bad), we went to a little "filling station" not far from our condo for dessert.

It's the last weekend for us to be able to use the condo my family rented for the summer. We went and looked at a house on the lake that will be auctioned off in a few days. I'm hoping my parents will end up getting a little place here before too much longer. We all love being able to come down to the lake and relax and spend time together. It reminds me of all the summers we spent coming to the lake with the whole Jenkins crew as a child. My dad's side of the family had a lake house that we would all come to on the weekends. We made a lot of good memories there with our cousins. I hope my kids will get to have some of those same lake memories some day.

The first day here is already over. Why does the weekend have to go so fast?

Dove for Dinner?

This morning Gary got up and headed out for his first Dove hunt with my Dad and brother. They reported a good time. Gary killed 4 doves and Dad and John Allen killed several more. We are on our way out the door, headed to the lake for the holiday weekend. When we arrive in Hot Springs we're going to grill the doves Gary and John Allen cleaned this afternoon and eat them for dinner. Crazy huh? I have never had Dove, so it will be interesting to see if we like it or not. We'll keep you posted. Have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

The Finished Front Yard!

This was our yard before...

This is our yard after Gary dug up our flower beds, monkey grass jungle, and sad excuse for grass and put in new sod and plants...

He did such a good job! The grass still has to grow together and the bushes need to fill out a little, but it is a much needed improvement!

Tonight we had dinner at Gadwalls, got ice cream at Shakey's, picked up Gary's hunting license, and played Guitar Hero on the couch. A low key Friday night at the Grant house. Gotta get to bed early, because Gary is headed out at 6am tomorrow to go Dove hunting.

Lola's New Toy.

I came home from work tonight stressed. You know, one of those days where you let yourself think of all the little "what ifs" until you are all worked up? I talked to my mom, talked to Gary, talked to my dad. But I finally let it go when I saw Lola carrying my bra through the house in her mouth, plop down on the floor in front of me, and claim it as her new chew toy. She's so care free, content to chew on a bra instead of the $20 "Kong Ultra" toy we got for her a few months ago. Oh the things we can learn from animals.

Awaiting the rain.

North Little Rock will look and feel like Forks, WA before too much longer. Rain is in the forecast for the next 7 days! Although things outside have been perfect for several days now, I happen to love rain, so I am actually looking forward to it.

Work has been slow the past week. I guess everyone is trying to readjust to their normal routines now that school is back in session. Slow business makes for a slow day. I am ready for our normal slammed schedule to pick back up!

After dinner, Gary and I went to The Big Dam Bridge to run. It was a beautiful evening for a run. We got there just as the sun was setting, and there was a perfect breeze off of the river. We ran 3.1 miles in 33 minutes and 40 seconds. Gary kept up with me without even training. I'm super impressed! I think he has decided to run the Easter Seals 5k with me next weekend. Maybe I can even talk him into training for the half!

These are my new running shoes I got at The Easy Runner. They watched me run and picked them out for me. I love them, but I'm still having a lot of pain in my left calf when I near the end of my run. Gonna have to figure that out before December.

We're in for the evening. Gonna pop some popcorn and watch Weeds.

Taco Tuesday.

I am writing to you from the comfort of my bed, heating pad on low, and a glass of wine in hand. We have been go,go, go the past few days and it all caught up with me tonight. I'm exhausted, and I have a headache from you know where. I am looking forward to the weekend already! I am taking Saturday off work and Gary will be off on Monday, so we have 3 full days together. That hasn't happened in a while!

After work we made tacos and Mexican rice for dinner. After dinner, I met with some people at the salon about some exciting new developments in the growth of our business. Can't say too much yet, but stay tuned for updates!

Haven't run much the past few days. Hoping for the energy to get in a 5k tomorrow...

Some things getting me through to the weekend:

-The Dead Weather album, "Horehound"

-Weeds, season 3 on dvd

-Crystal Light lemonade mixed with Crystal Light Tea!