Race for the Cure with Friends

On Saturday, September 10, 2011, I ran Cleveland's Race for the Cure with my friends Britt and Shannon. Neither of them had run a 5K before, so being their first race, I was honored to run with them. I really like to think that I inspire others to run so the better story is to tell you that they both trained for weeks and my running journey is what encouraged them to sign up. 

The truth is my peer pressure and a few drinks a week before the race forced them to agree to run with me and there was no turning back once I signed them up the day before the race. Inspiration? Peer pressure? It's all the same.

We woke up on Saturday morning to the sound of rain. Not a little rain, but a complete downpour. We figured we would head downtown anyway and see what transpired over the next hour or so. By race time, there was only a slight drizzle and we were ready to go...

Steve really is my biggest fan and has never missed one of my races...I can promise you that he wishes he missed this one :) He didn't understand why I had him get up early on a Saturday, stand in the rain and hold all of our stuff for a 5K. Would he do it for a half marathon? Yes, but a 5K? Let's just say he just wasn't his spirited self.

 

This just says it all...

After the race, we walked over to Rascal House for a post-race beer. It was a good time and I was proud of both Shannon and Britt for finishing.

 Until next time...

Alexandria for Labor Day Weekend

During Labor Day weekend, we drove to Alexandria for Steve’s annual Fantasy Football draft. I always tag along for the drinks, food and entertainment because it really is a sight to be seen. Jon & Steve each have their own team and this year they both had team shirts…Cougar Hunterzz and PIBE and SHIG.

After 16 years of running the draft, Commissioner Kevin finally won the big prize last year and proudly raised his trophy. In his acceptance speech, he compared himself to John Wooden. Who knew?

The league is made up of 14 teams and throughout the draft, Kevin writes each pick on this draft board..

On Saturday night, we headed to O’Connell’s Pub where I met up with my friend Liberty to celebrate her birthday. She used to work with me at Cleveland State, but has since moved to Baltimore. What better way to celebrate than with a car bomb!?

On our drive back to Cleveland on Monday morning, we made a quick stop in Reston to visit Jenny and Bob and meet their littlest addition. This was the first time we’ve met Finola Marie since she was born on May 8th :) We grabbed some lunch and were able to catch up a little bit, but unfortunately had to get back on the road and head home.

The long weekend went by very quickly and I was so happy to catch up with both Liberty and Jenny during the visit. I only wish I could have spent more time with them both!

A Birthday Party Zachary, Kristin & Daniel!

On the Sunday after Sean & Alex’s wedding, I was brave enough to host a birthday party for three of my nieces and nephews.

Zachary turned TWO on August 27^th

Kristin turned FIVE on August 29^th

 Daniel turned NINE on September 3^rd

We were all exhausted from the wedding festivities, but as always, had a great time. We ordered Angelo’s pizza and had lots of cake and ice cream!

 

Zachary received your typical two-year-old boy stuff…Thomas the Train, trucks, bubble lawnmower, etc. Pretty much anything that movesJ

Kristin received a lava lamp (she is so trendy) and an armful of Webkins!

Daniel entertained everyone with his new pet gecko. As you can see, it was a big hit with the rest of the party!

 It seems Daniel has a new friend :)

Alex's Shower & Bachelorette Party!

The weeks leading up to Sean & Alex’s wedding were pretty eventful. As if they didn’t have enough wedding and house stuff to take care of, they actually had to be active participants in the really fun stuff!

On July 30th Berneda hosted Alex’s “English Tea” shower where we all acted like ladies and showered Alex with gifts.

The beautiful tablescapes were prepared by Berneda. All of the women in our family know we can rely on Berneda to have a beautiful party! Now that we're all married, we trying to find another excuse for her to have a pretty party...We'd hate for all of this beautiful tableware to go to waste :)

  

We had cucumber, watercress, chicken salad, egg and tomato tea sandwiches, along with fruit kabobs, lemon tea cakes and scones with butter and lemon curd!

Meredith had cake pops made by the one and only La Bella Cupcakes in Lakewood.

What's an English tea party without the tea?

I beaded these cute little spoons and spreaders as favors for the guests. They might be the cutest serving utencils ever! Once you see them in person, you will surely agree :)

 Alex made out pretty well with her plethora of gifts... 

Alex with her (little) sister Meredith, Aunt Nora and Mom Anne-Mary. Nora and Meredith came in from Alexandria and Chicago to help celebrate this very special occasion.

Sean & Alex

The group! Tracy, Shannon, Ashten, Nora, Berneda, Meredith, Alex, Katie, Anne-Mary, Laura, Leslie, Jenny & Coletta.

The next big event was the bachelorette party! On August 12th, I hosted the fun with the rest of the bridesmaids. Alex’s sister Meredith put together a fabulous wine and cheese pairing which consisted of eight wines and cheeses from seven different countries. It was impressive and incredibly delicious! We also had cucumber sandwiches, sushi, cupcakes and freely flowing wine and champagne of course! It was a very nice and classy evening J

I even made this super fun wine and cheese guide!

While we had our own party, Steve was responsible for keeping Sean entertained and Sean was responsible for keeping Steve out of the house! They seem to manage pretty well by themselves and mapped out a mini beer tour of Lakewood, which took them to 11 different bars, wine and beer stores including Red Rose, Deagan's, Rozi's, Ross's Deli for a beer tasting, Merry Arts, Jammy Buggars, Madison Square Lanes, Patio, Screaming Rooster, Mars Bar and Red Rose (again). From what I understand, there was no wine or cheese consumed during their man date.

The guests of the evening...

Just a few pictures with some mustached, poly-tailed and uniformed guys.

 

Alex with her bridesmaids :)

Overall, it was a very fun night and we're already planning more girl's nights out in the future...I'm sure it's hard to believe, but we are really that fun!