Where to begin?

A part of one of my latest posts – back in February – eeek. I ranted on about my pathetic unemployment scare, fearing I wouldn’t get a job, especially before my 23^rd birthday on March 16^th.

Well… I didn’t get a job before my birthday, but I got the offer I had been waiting for, the first week in April. I landed my starting dream job at a local ad agency, as an Assistant Account Executive. I tell you I waited over a month because I had my first interview on March 1^st… second one on March 6^th… third one on March 7^th… and then my fourth interview right after Easter when I was offered the position. Full-time employed, ladies and gents.

I was so excited I bought cake pops!

Here are some more highlights since then:

Christmas in July!

So this past December a group of our friends decided to have a Couple’s Costume Christmas Party. Yes I know what you’re thinking… THAT SOUNDS LIKE SO MUCH FUN. Well it was. So to keep with the tradition, I thought, why not celebrate Christmas in July?

Not to mention I was staying at my aunt’s house while they were on vacation, dogsitting, so I could truly entertain!  I made one of our party favorites, festive red and green jell-o shots. But here is the kicker, with pop rocks – best idea ever, thank you pinterest. I also made a killer beer cheese dip and brownie kabobs. We played plenty of rounds of beer pong.

I can’t wait till our December Christmas Party!

Half-Marathons. Yes. Plural.

Me and Bentley trained for and ran two half-marathons, four weeks apart from each other. Our first race was September 8^th, The River Run through the Metroparks.  We started training end of July so that we could get a full 12-weeks in before.

The morning of the race, the weather was perfect, cool with a gentle mist falling.  We ran together the whole way until about Mile 11, then I cranked up the pace to try and beat my 2 hour mark.  I finished in 2:00:54. Bentley finished shortly after at 2:05:18. Both VERY respectable times if you ask me!

Our second race was in the beginning of October, on the 6^th – the Inaugural Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon. I was really excited for this one.  There is just something about running through the city and the surrounding suburbs with crowds cheering you on along the way, a band rocking out at every mile, and cheerleader squads too!

My parents came into town to walk the ‘Mini Marathon’ which was a nice 5k – a few of my aunts and uncles accompanied them.

Bentley and I had a great pace in the beginning, we were killing it. And then at mile 10, there was a 80 degree angled hill that just about everyone walks on.  I was bull-headed and wanted to run the whole thing, only to look back to see Bentley walking.  I was bound and determined to finish this race with Bentley, as so many races we have run together – one of us usually ends up leaving the other behind.

We trained together. So we were going to finish together – despite Bentley’s immediate wishes. He wanted me to keep running, but I stuck with him to keep him motivated and rocking through.  Running 13.1 miles is no easy feat, even when you have trained for 16 weeks.

We ended up crossing the finish line, hand-in-hand and finished at 2:04:16. It is always the best feeling of accomplishment when you finish a race. Just need to figure out which race to sign up for next…

Weekend’s in NY

Bentley and I got away for a weekend at my aunt’s cabin, in the middle of nowhere just as you enter NY from PA.  It’s the perfect retreat.  We brought their dogs, Opa (the puggle) and Maya (a black lab) with us too!  We played corn hole outside, went for a run in town, got amazing and cheap homemade local ice cream.  We also drove a short distance to nearby Lakewood, NY – to go to Southern Tier Brewery.  We got a head start on some Pumking, fresh! It was so good, and the brewery was beautiful.  Unfortunately we missed out on a tour, as they were all booked by the time we got there. We can’t wait to go back and visit next time we are in the area.

We were lucky enough to get a few “Weekend Getaways” by going to visit my parents in Upstate New York.  We were able to be in town for my Mom’s birthday weekend – which meant that we went to a local brewery for some beer tasting with a bunch of friends/family! We went to Honeoye Falls Brewery, they had a lot of beers on tap to sample!  My brother and his wife came into town from the DC area that weekend also, so it was so great seeing them.  My Aunt Laurie, my bff from high school Katie and her boyfriend came, and then three of my brother’s high school friends came to the brewery.  It was so great catching up and seeing everyone!

Weekend’s in NY are always a whirl wind, always so much to do and go by so quickly! But always so much fun.

Thanks for reading my nonsense.