Happy Birthday Lady America!!

Hello Patriotic Friends!

So this July 4 marked the 236th birthday of Lady America!  Independence Day, as you all know, is a HUGE day of celebration in the US of A!  Most businesses are closed (including Publix- we realized that when we needed meat for the grill), people are off work, and it's a day for family and friends to gather and celebrate our independence from England!  I hope everyone had a safe and fabulous 4th of July and I hope you all celebrated our freedom, taking into account our soldiers that have fought so hard to preserve that freedom!

Our 4th of July started around 5 AM when our alarms went off to wake us up for an Atlanta tradition, the 42nd Annual Peachtree Road Race!!  This also happens to be the largest 10K in the world, a race you run with 60,000 other friends where you're being watched by 150,000+ spectators!  I wish Tom and I could have run it together but we were in different start waves so I met him at the finish line!  He's been training with me the past few months and he finished with a time not much slower than me so I am ULTRA proud of him!!  Now that we run about the same speed, we can run and train together for our races and finish future races together.  I just hope our health continues to allow us to stay active (no reason why it shouldn't) so that we can share in our running adventures (we're going on a running cruise in February 2013- more on that later).

Raising the American flag at the start of the PTRR

The starting line of the PTRR- where 60,000 people all began their 6.2 mi journey through Atlanta

We survived!  (Despite getting a bad blister UNDER a toenail on my foot)

One of my fave views of Atlanta- the skyline from Piedmont Park.  During the PTRR celebration

The coveted PTRR shirt (I voted for this design)

The rest of our celebratory day consisted of cleaning our humble abode, spending the afternoon relaxing by the pool and grilling out with friends.  Yes, we watched fireworks... just on TV and not out in the summer heat.  We watched the Independecent Day celebration in Centennial Olympic Park as it was televised.  I heard some going off somewhere not too far away so it made a tad more realistic.  We were just too tired from lack of sleep and being in the sun all day to leave the house again to watch fireworks.  Overall, it was a GREAT Independence Day and we look forward to running the Peachtree TOGETHER next year!  We will be running a PTRR qualifying race in a few weeks so we plan to run it and finish together so we can be in the same start wave next year!


One more quick note.  Tom and I joined the Atlanta Track Club while we were at the PTRR Expo!!!  I know that I am more excited about it than him, but we couldn't pass it up.  We paid $50 which includes our membership from now until the END of December 2013.  We get FREE entry into 13 low-key events in 2013 sponsored by the ATC (as well as the remaining events of 2012) as well as other discounts, including 6 months of FREE coaching (I want to get faster)!  There are also social functions for being a member (great way to meet fellow runners) as well as many other ATC events throughout the year.  The list of benefits goes on.  On top of all of that, Tom and I will have GUARANTEED entry into the 2013 Peachtree Road Race!!!!  I am thrilled to be a member of such a great running club and look forward to taking full advantage of our membership, including our first free race this Saturday- the 2012 Decatur Dekalb YMCA 4 Miler!

Hope everyone is staying cool during this hot summer!  And I hope you all had a fabulous (and safe) 4th of July!  Would love to hear stories!

Happy Living!

xoxo,

Britt!

Dedication to Daddy

So I know it's been a few weeks since Father's Day, but I wanted to take a few minutes to write about my father as other than my husband, he is the most important man in my life!

My dad has always been a constant figure in my life, one I look up to (literally. And metaphorically speaking of course). He has been everything I could ask for in a father- the disciplinarian (even when I didn't want to be disciplined or felt I didn't warrant any discplinary action), the business role model, the caring, nuturing man in the first 20+ years of my life, the man on which I based great character traits for a future husband, etc.  My daddy is a true Southern gentleman and has taught me so much in my life.  He has helped develop me into the woman I am today and continues to offer his constant love and support in everything that I do.  Over the years, he has let me make my own decisions, some bad but mostly good, and he is always there to pick up the pieces when I've fallen, to offer the love and support Daddy's little girl could need.  Even when he forced me to move across the country during pivotal moments of my life (entering my freshman year of high school), he has always been there for me.  He has made a LOT of sacrifices for our family with the sole intention of giving us a better life, a life he didn't have growing up.  He didn't miss my basketball games or choir concerts or my brother's football games because he wanted to or didn't care; he missed them because he was travelling for work, allowing us to keep our commitments and live where we wanted to instead of making us move too quickly.

My father may be the most stubborn man you'll ever meet, but he is also one of the greatest men you'll ever meet!  He is witty and intelligent, sarcastic yet caring, loving and courageous, the list goes on!  Sure, my dad's made me angry or upset, hurt my feelings, etc. but I know all of his actions are out of his love for me as his daughter, his baby girl, and that he will always have good intentions at heart. I may not talk to Daddy every day but I know he's there for me, know he loves me and cares for me deeply, each and every day.  I love that man and fear the day that I lose him (hopefully FAR in the future).

I'll end this post on the greatest memory I have of my father.  It was my wedding day and he made me cry twice (tears of joy, of course).  The first was when he saw me for the first time on May 15, 2010.  I had just finished getting ready, had opened my wedding present from Tom (beautiful cross on a chain), and in walks my dad!  He looked at me and immediately tears welled up in his eyes.  Of course, I started crying in return and he gave me the longest bear hug and told me how proud he was of me, how beautiful I was, and how this was one of his greatest moments with me.  The second was during our Father-Daughter dance at the reception.  I told Daddy a few weeks before my wedding that I had picked out the PERFECT song for us to dance to but for obvious reason wasn't going to tell him.  Throughout my years, there have been songs that will ALWAYS remind me of my father, specifically "Old School" by Steely Dan and "Africa" by Toto, but neither of those was the song I chose for my dance with my dad.  The song I chose is one that he told me long before planning my wedding always reminded him of me, that he came downstairs to the basement to ask me a question and I was listening to it and he really liked it and had to put it on his MP3 player immediately- "When You Come Back Down" by Nickel Creek.  The lyrics are absolutely touching and very indicative of my and my father's relationship.  He's let me go to chase my dreams but will always be here for me should I fall.  So when the guitar started playing, the spark of recognition flickered across my dad's face and he said to me, "No you didn't!  Are you trying to make me cry again?!" but just loud enough so that only I could hear him.  He walked up to me, took me in his arms, and we talked, cried, and laughed while we danced to our song.  Those two instances of my adult life are two of my greatest memories of Daddy and they both occurred on the same day, the happiest day of my life!

Daddy, I know you probably aren't reading this, but if you are, I love you SO much and you are the best father I could have ever asked for!  Everything you've done for me has made me such a strong woman and I could not imagine my life without you in it.  Thank you for everything you have done for me and all that you will do for me (and Tom) in the future.  Love you so much Papabear!!