Getting Ready // SeaWheeze Half Marathon 2016

I finally booked my plane ticket to SeaWheeze 2016. For those that aren't familiar, it's a half marathon put on by lululemon in Vancouver, Canada. I've run the race twice before and I signed up for this year's five days after having our son Samuel. Crazy, I know.

The thing about SeaWheeze is that everyone wants to go. They sell out in literally minutes. Rob really wanted me to have something to look forward to and a reason to get back into training. So he will be staying behind and keeping the kiddos! I can't even remember the last time I traveled alone, I cannot wait.

The first time we ran the SeaWheeze, August 2013,  we were newly weds (January 2013) and I was 4.5 months pregnant. We had a blast, but running a half marathon pregnant isn't really as fun as one might think ;) The second time I ran SeaWheeze, August 2014, Rob was deployed and Max was 8 months old. It was my first half since having a kiddo and it was so empowering.

So this coming SeaWheeze, our second kiddo Sam will be 11 months old and I'm hoping to race my fastest half marathon, time to beat is 1:54:32. I love the city, this will be the longest I've spent in Vancouver, so I'm hoping to venture out of my comfort zone and try some new things. 

you've got to start somewhere

welcome to my little corner of the internet. I've been blogging since I was in college, but my voice has changed along with my life. Here you will find me talking about my little family, motherhood, recipes, running, military life, lululemon, and getting back into shape after baby #2.

I'm Samantha, a 27 year old wife to Rob and momma to Maxwell & Samuel. I am an avid runner which began in HS on our cross country team. My long term goals are to qualify for Boston Marathon and compete in a triathlon. I previously worked for lululemon until the arriveal of our second son! I have never enjoyed a job so much. I graduated from Northland College with a degree in Biology and minor in Business, I still hope to use my Biology degree again one day, maybe once my kiddos are in school all day.  

We were married in January of 2013 in Pisa, Italy and then several months later were expecting our first little one, Maxwell, who came a little early just in time for Christmas. My husband Rob returned from a 10 month deployment and I am so glad to have him home again. We are had our second kiddo Samuel in September. Life with boys is chaos and so much fun!

An Ode to 24

Twenty-four. What an amazing, fantastic, emotional, life changing year. It seems almost like blur, most good things do that. I have to say it's been the best year of my life. I feel like a really became an adult this year, I started making decisions on my own without worrying about others would think. I broke out of my own expectations and I know I'm much happier now.

- I quit my high-paying government job down on the gulf, I had lived in a hotel for over a year. I couldn't make a life for myself being in perpetual limbo.

- Rob asked me to marry him. I said 'Yes!' 

- Indie & Chic really took off till the beginning of 2013. It was such a learning experience and I made a lot of decisions about where I wanted the business to go. 

- I discovered Peach-Pear La Croix.

- Was finally reunited permanently with my dog Parker, and gained Rob's dog Molly!

- Moved all my possessions out of my mom's basement and into a house we began renting. Possibly the most liberating feeling to finally be able to plant my roots for the first time since High School. 

- Getting married in Pisa, Italy with our families. 

- Spending the most romantic week in Italy with my HUSBAND!

- Knowing that nannying full time was not my passion, but being an adult and sticking with my obligations. 

- Falling into married life so easily and wondering when it gets to the tough part.

- Celebrating our marriage with a huge crowd of friends and family. Dancing until they made us leave and driving myself home in my wedding dress. BEST. RECEPTION. EVER. 

- Discovering that in fact I am a good cook and being able to try new dishes. 

- Diving back into running and signing up for a half-marathon with Rob.

- SURPRISE! Finding out we were going to be parents about four months into marriage!

- We survived through the hardest summer of both our lives. 

- My car of 9 years was totaled and I really miss 'her'.

- In January we will have a little boy in our arms and I just don't think it could get any better than that. 

- And all of the little things that make life full : Taylor Swift dance parties, long walks in the neighborhood, pancake Saturdays, date nights, painting parties, IKEA trips and spending a whole year beside my very best friend. 

25, you have a lot to bring to the table, but somehow I know it's only going to get better!

Oops, it's been awhile.

Life just took over. We've been busy. Good busy. I needed a break from blogging as well, it felt good. I haven't had as much to blog about lately, but now a catch up is in order.

Last Wednesday was my last day as a nanny, 9 months with the same two boys. They saw me get engaged and married. I've gotten so close with family, I am actually pretty sad to be moving on. I know I will still fill in when they need me, but nothing close to the 20hrs a week I've had. I can remember how bitter I was about having to be a nanny; I had left an amazing job on the gulf and taken a severe pay cut. Some days I wondered why I had signed up for this and others the boys pulled at my heart. I've been close with a few families over the years, but these are the first that probably won't remember me in a few years.

I feel so grateful I was able to watch the boys grow and excel. I got to experience Mason learning how to read, Nate being potty trained and both boys claiming sports trophies. They are both so different and yet brothers. It makes me excited for the day I become a mother, I cannot imagine how much I will love our baby.

As May comes to an end I'm soaking up my time with Rob. We head off to D.C. next week and the last weekend stay with the boys mentioned above while their parents head off to Italy. I'm not looking forward to June as much, Rob leaves for his two weeks of training. Two straight weeks of being alone in the house seems like torture. I know it's good practice for next year, but no one wants to practice deployment, no one.

I guess I should end on a happier note, life is so good. Our family is so good to us and I love our little home. It's hard to believe this is just the beginning, just the start. I've got a lot of projects to tackle with my new free time and hopefully that means more blog content.

Hope you all are doing well!

messing around // flowers

Today as I was cleaning and taking product photos I snapped some photos of this little flower vase. I had cut some flowers from the yard, some are actually weeds, and threw them together. They made me so happy and didn't cost a dime. When I was going through the photos I thought about making them into tags for my shop items, I'm very tired of the white. Who knows, but I had fun messing around.

xoxo

Present // another picture-less post

Thursdays are my recharge days. It's the start of my weekend and I don't work again till Monday. It's the day I have to accomplish so much around the house like cleaning and laundry, working on the shop, answering e-mails, fitting in a workout. Today is different. Today I let myself sleep in a bit, I dragged myself to the gym with no intentions of killing myself. Somewhere in the middle of my workout I realized I'm letting the future bring me down. All I'm focused on is what's next, Rob leaving for a year, things I need to get done, etc. I need to slowly let things go, that planning and stressing just lead to plans not working out and disappointment.

So today on the elliptical I promised myself to be more present. To not worry about all the things in the future I cannot change, because He has a plan for me and there is nothing I can do to change it. I know that if I let go everything will work out and I will get through it all. NO, we will get through it all.  For know I'm just going to enjoy the little things like Target trips, good workouts and husband who tells me everyday how happy he is with me.

these days

new ikea furniture // rainy day + new porch setup // morning love notes // new passport photo // daily run // great wedding gifts // well trained pups // buying my car from my mom for $1 // family walks // rob's parents getting a puppy // finally framing our honeymoon print // my little sister visiting for the weekend // pink pants and chambray on a dreary day

Rainy Day, Happy Heart

These photos were sent to me this weekend. Rob's sister is finishing up all the edits of our wedding and reception photos and she knew these would mean a lot to me. My grandmother has been in the hospital since Wednesday, so the first photo really tugged at my heart. I'm so blessed to have both my grandparents at the age of 24, but with that comes lots of worry and responsibility when they are sick. I watch my mom manage all of the bills, bank accounts, medicine and daily tasks that both my grandparents need. It's so hard to watch two people that in my eyes made the world go round, start to diminish and slowly slip into people I don't know.

My grandmother has alzheimer's disease. We've known for years, but the disease just rips apart your family. My grandmother, or as we all call her Gannie, can't even remember seeing me in my wedding dress. Rob and I sat with her in the ER for three hours the other night and she kept asking who Rob was. It breaks my heart. I miss her. I miss getting smoked in card games and hearing her nag me about wearing a coat. She isn't the same person anymore and there are so many mixed emotions with that.

So when these photos came, it made me smile. She was there. She saw me in my wedding dress. She saw me have my first dance with my husband and the way he looks at me. She was there. And though she may not remember it today, somewhere in her memories I know that she remembers. I'm so blessed that she isn't in pain or suffering, and that my grandfather can visit her every day. I need to remind myself of this when I'm feeling like 'it's not fair' and look at these photos and know she was a part of one of my happiest days. I love you Gannie.

r&s / February 2013

they survived being married for a full month
she thinks this marriage thing is pretty easy ... so far
he pretty much agrees
she started getting back to the gym
he joined her
they love the accountability
she got to wear her wedding dress again
he was reunited with all his boys
they danced until the party ended
she built a pallet garden table
he painted their entertainment center
they registered for the Lululemon half-marthon
they are now set for a Vancouver vacation in August
she started Project Life
he was away flying helicopters a lot
they began to find their groove in this adventure together

**see more r&s posts here**

An Italian Wedding // Heading Off to Italy

As I type this, it's the night before I leave for Italy. The last few days have been hard. We both worked up until leaving and I think that added a lot of stress. Rob & I are both sick, yep, haha. I think mine is just stressed induced and then I probably gave it to Rob. As I sit here and think about the fact that I just packed our bags to leave for our wedding I am in awe. In awe of how life works, and how when you least expect something it comes and knocks you off the path you were so determined to be on. Earlier in the year I wrote a post about being single, and little did I know how true those words would become.

Rob has turned my whole world around. I don't see anything the same way. I've never made decisions around another person or factored anyone into my future. It feels good. I trust my dreams, secrets and faults with him. He is the person I hoped I would find, but I wasn't sure existed. And as cheesy as it all sounds, it's my cheese, that I've never had before. I'm soaking up every ounce of love I feel in this relationship.  I've been expecting to have cold feet or second guess myself, but I haven't, not once.

I'm hoping I can push away all my anxiety about our legal appointments/ the laid back Italian wedding planners and enjoy the next 12 days with Rob and our families. As my mom said today, 'this is the biggest adventure of your life'. I need to enjoy the moment and take in the process. Let go of all the stress I'm feeling. Thanks for your sweet tweets this week, I apologize for the whining.

This whole week there will be posts about how the wedding came together! I hopefully can get a photo posted of the wedding during the honeymoon. No promises.

r&s // December 2012

he had to fly the first two weekends
she decorated the house for Christmas
they started cooking healthy meals together
she had her Bridal Shower
he lost his voice during the SEC Championship game
they started receiving lovely wedding gifts
she had her final dress fitting
he got out the tux
they embraced their last month together engaged
he took her to see Les Miserables and she fell in love
she danced all night at her Bachelorette party
they packed for their trip to Italy

Merry & Bright

I hope your Christmas holiday was everything you had hoped it would be. I was so grateful for a low key holiday with my family and my new family. We spent Christmas eve with my mom and grandparents, had our traditional red beans and rice. It was fabulous. Then we did stockings and presents, we all spoiled each other.

Christmas day we ate brunch at my mom's house and then drove her to the airport to leave for Italy! I can't believe the next time I see her will be in Italy, to get married. The realness of this wedding is starting to hit. I'm so ready for the big day.

Rob and I went and saw Les Miserables during the day, which was so worth the ridiculous price of movies these days. I want to see it a million times, also bring kleenex. After the movie we had dinner with his family and exchanged gifts. I felt like I'd eaten enough for the next few weeks, haha. It was such a wonderful holiday that ended with a great skype chat with Rob's sister and her husband out in L.A.

Just a few more days till Rob & I leave for Italy!

An Italian Wedding // Bridal Shower

 My Bridal Shower was a few weekends ago and it was so much fun. The hosts really thought of everything and made it so personal. The shower was "Italy" themed, including Italian sodas, a countdown flag, marriage recipes, and amazing food. I'm pretty sure the wooden spoons guests wrote on will be a treasure for many years. I'm so amazed by how generous people are during a wedding celebration, I'm feeling very blessed.

**Only 1 more month to go!!!**

Around Here

I feel like I've totally abandoned this blog, don't worry it's not permanent. Last weekend I moved into a house, YES! a house! The home belongs to Rob's brother-in-law, and was built by Rob's great grandfather. It's an amazing home and we've been cleaning and moving for the last week. We still have a lot to do, and I plan on sharing all my progress on the blog.

As for wedding plans, it's all coming together pretty well. The legal side of trying to get married in Italy is hard work and costly, but we are determined to do this the way we want and end up legally married in Italy. I ordered my engagement announcements Friday and I'm hoping to mail them out this coming weekend. The dress shop called me and my dress is ready for it's first fitting. I'm going to have to wait till next week to go try it on, but that also gives me about 10 more days to get serious about working out. I didn't need to lose much, really any, but I ordered down a size to motivate myself. I think I was slightly crazy for doing so.

Speaking of fitness, Sunday I ran my 2nd half marathon. I'll do a full post on it soon, but wow! I am so out of running shape. My knees just hate running now. Not sure what else to do about my IT bands, but they were in screaming pain the last 6 miles... I had to run/walk, but mostly walk the last 2 miles. I've never felt anything like it, kinda felt like someone was drilling into the sides of my knee caps. BUT, I finished. I was really proud for not giving up or just walking once I had pain. My whole body really hurts today, lots of baths in my future. The really bright spot of the race was getting to see my friend Walker who lives out in L.A., she flew in and we stayed at her families beach home. It was so nice to get away for two days and laugh with a girlfriend.

This month I'm hoping to put out some posts on training for any distance, how to start running, home makeover projects and how to decorate a Thanksgiving themed table. Ya'll hold me accountable :)

Quit Your Day Job

Last week I quit my job in the gulf. As in I was supposed to go back on the 9th, and on the 4th I called and said I'm not coming back. The days after I quit I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Yes living in a hotel for the last 1.5 years has sucked, but I am financially well off because of it. It was a decision that meant I could start the next chapter of my life. So for about one week I was jobless, minus being self-employed by my business. I knew that the shop couldn't pay all my bills, so I needed something else part time.

Monday night I got a call asking if I was interested in nannying 3 days a week for 2 boys, the best part, for the next 9 months! I met with the family Tuesday and today will be my first day. I am beyond excited that for the next 9 months I will have a steady source of income and be able to work on my business. It's amazing how everything falls into place once you stop trying to control everything. 

I am so thankful for my job on the gulf, it was very hard to leave the company, although I'm not ruling out our paths crossing in the future. Having a job right out of college was a blessing and I do not take it for granted. I know I wouldn't be at this point with my shop if it weren't for my gulf job. So if any of my coworkers are reading this, thanks for the last year and a half. I'll miss you all and keep on running!

Birthday Recap

Holy WOW! What an amazing birthday! Thanks to everyone who left me some love on the internet yesterday, it really meant a lot.

Yesterday I woke up to my mom singing Happy Birthday to me and she gifted me the most amazing cardigan! I wore it out to lunch with her. Then around 1:30 flowers were delivered to the house from Rob, how gorgeous are these?

Rob got off work and came over to the house to take me out for dinner. Out of his pocket came a small black box. I opened the box and there were these... I've never seen anything so pretty. The earrings are so vintage looking and so me, which is crazy because I'm not a big diamond person. The blue stones are aquamarine, which are one of my favorite stones. I wore them to dinner and could not stop looking at my ears in the mirror.

The day ended with Rob and I watching a movie at his house and my Aunt and Uncle calling and singing Happy Birthday, it was the perfect ending. Now back to reality.

**And Kara finished my blog makeover late last night, which was also the best birthday surprise. I'll post more about it next week**