Affianced!

On July 16th, 2011, Ian asked me to marry him! I have the ring to prove it! I was up in Rhode Island to visit him for his birthday (he was there for some training), and we had a fancy smancy dinner planned for Saturday night. Before we went to dinner, we drove around some and looked at all the gorgeous mansions/castles. We still had some time left, so we pulled off at an overlook and sat on a bench with a wonderful view of the rocky beach below us and the sun about to set. Ian said he was going to go back to the car to get the camera, and when he came back I knew something was up because he was acting funny! It took him a little while, but he got up the nerve and asked me if I would be his forever! I don't know why he was so nervous -- did he think I would say no!?! Afterwards, we celebrated at a local restaurant with some delicious food and a half bottle of champagne. I know that I am so happy, and I can't wait to spend my forever with Ian.

Here's the last picture of us before being engaged! (It was very windy, hence the crazy hair.)

Although we probably won't even be able to set a date until Christmas or so, we are hoping to tie the knot sometime in spring or early summer 2013. I know it's a long way out, but unfortunately with Ian being in the Navy and me being in graduate school, it's the earliest that we will actually be able to live together. And you know, married people tend to want to live together.

As for now, Ian and I are staying occupied by work and by looking into different aspects of the wedding. We have some ideas for what we want for most parts of the wedding. We're trying to do this on a budget. It's strange, though, because to us, the budget we have set is a lot of money, but it's still just over half of what the average wedding costs in the United States! It might not be the easiest to pull off a wedding for what we want to, but we are going to do it.

We're just so excited, both for the wedding and for everything that comes afterwards!

The blog is back!

So after a very busy summer and a deployment for Ian, I think we're ready to get this blog going again. And I've decided to post things about life, and not just food. And by life I mean that I'll probably be posting about running and crafts. Not that I've talked to Ian about it, but he'll know soon. I love you, Ian!

Thunder Road Marathon Finish
December 12, 2009

I've run two marathons so far: the Charlotte Thunder Road Marathon and the Virginia Beach Shamrock Marathon. Both times, I had some issues with my iliotibial band during training and in the race. Usually switching to a new pair of shoes helped; however, when I was training for the second marathon, nothing helped. I used Brooks Ravenna shoes for both training/marathons, and I swore by them. I don't even know how many pairs I've gone through in the past few years.

Shamrock Marathon (~mile 13)
March 20, 2011

Earlier this year, though, I read "Born to Run" and decided to try out some Vibram FiveFingers. I made my way to REI (the only store in the area that carried them and actually had them in stock), and decided on the Bikila model.

My Vibram FiveFingers (Bikila model)

The salesperson warned me to start out slow, and I had read all of the warnings on the internet, so I did. I alternated "normal" shoes with my VFFs. I did a short walk in them first. No pain. I ran a mile or so. No pain. I ran 3 miles. No pain. I ran 5 miles. No pain. To be honest, I was hoping for some pain; you know, that "I worked out so now I'm sore" pain? I love it! So I was disappointed when I didn't feel it.

To date, I think the longest I've gone in my VFFs is 5 miles. I absolutely LOVE them, though! Like I mentioned, I had a lot of ITB pain during my training for both of the marathons (and between, and after), but once I started wearing the VFFs, there was no more ITB pain for me. Afterwards, my feet do feel like they've been pounded a bit, but it is way better than ITB pain.

I had a Groupon for some running shoes that was about to expire, so I got a pair of Brooks Ghost (they didn't have VFFs in that store). They felt okay in the store, but when I tried to run with them, it was painful! I don't think I even got 0.1 mile before I had to turn around. Every part of my leg below my knee ached.

Admittedly, I'll sometimes have some "pain" in my calfs, and recently in my arch. The calf "pain" isn't really what I would consider pain, but rather more of a "stretching" feeling the next day, particularly on steps. The arch pain is like a cramp that happens when I'm running.

Even with this little bit of calf/arch discomfort, I'm so happy with my VFFs, and Ian even decided to get a pair (he got the male Bikila model). Ian and I started half marathon training yesterday, and I'm going to see if I can do all of my training/race in VFFs.