More Tea Please. -NOM NOM Wed.

Okay, seriously...I'm becoming a bit obsessed with tea lately.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a Texan so sweet tea is practically in my veins but I've been trying new varieties of Hot tea and Cold with my Kuerig and I'm seeing such a difference in my energy and nerves by the end of a busy day.

A few of my faves:
TAZO- Awake, Calm & Zen
YOGI- Green tea Goji Berry, Green tea Blueberry Slim life
LIPTON- Spiced Chai & Blackberry
CELESTIAL- Sleepy time, Wild Berry Zinger and Blueberry


My Ultimate Cup of Tea though is Lavender tea. So good and it's just what I crave at the end of the day once the house is quiet and I'm not busy doing super mom/ wife duties.

Seriously, find this stuff and be amazed!

I still like my morning cup of coffee and I no longer miss Starbucks or the money I was throwing away on their overpriced crack fixes since I got my Kuerig. But the more I looked into Tea...the better the facts set me into slowly switching my daily amount of Coffee and Caffeine in general. According to the American Dietetic Association, a cup of tea contains an average of 40 mg of caffeine, compared to 85 mg as found in a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

Not too mention the studies that have shown that just a few cups of tea a day can reduce your risk of certain cancers.  Unfortunately, iced tea doesn't necessary provide the same health benefits as brewed tea. Which again as a Texan makes it weird to drink hot tea in the middle of the day but I love the aroma from my hot tea and add how good it taste, how quickly it relaxes me and the health perks...I'm adjusting easily. :)

Question time: What's something you've switched in order to be healthier?

Feb. Foodie Penpal Reveal!!

It's finally reveal day for my very 1st Foodie Penpal!!!

I'm so excited, I have been anxious to share this since I signed up. I'm ready for next week when March Foodie Penpal begins. The concept is simple, you sign up, get paired up, make a box, send it, get yours, enjoy it and blog it. Okay there's more to it than that in which you can read all about at Lindsays amazing blog HERE

I had so much fun putting my box together for Parita and also a little nervous about what to put in it. Evan and Avery helped me put it all together which made it extra special. In the end, I went with some of our favorite snacks to share with her.

I was paired up with Aundreia from Houston. I must say she had a bit of a hard time getting my box to me thanks to the USPS apparently trying to say I didn't live where I do. After 2 attempts it finally arrived YESTERDAY. Just in time for the reveal day. :)

Such an awesome sight on my doorstep.

I didn't get to open it until I was at work and had the girls playing in another room. Little did I know just how much this box would cheer me up and make me giddy with excitement!!

A part of the box is you have to have something written in it. Aundreia sent this neat card with a sweet message and a list of all my "Foodie Goodies". Little did she know we like a lot of the same things. :)

All my spoils.

I am currently brewing the Cup of Tranquility and it smells amazing. I love Tea and blueberry stuff too lately.

Confession: I adore Giada.

We all know how excited I was to get my Kuerig for Christmas, so when Aundreia  emailed me and asked for what my likes and dislikes were, I mentioned my kuerig and she shared some of her faves with me. The only one I've tried is the carmel drizzle which I bought this past weekend and enjoyed Saturday. Needless to say I'm extra excited about these!!! 

As much as I go to Target, I've never seen these things and will soon be on the hunt. I ate the Vanilla almond crunch tonight mixed with Chibani honey yogurt and a handful of dried cherries, it was amazing!

Trail Mix is my weakness. Where can I find these snack packs!?

Needless to say my week is going to have some major snacking going on. HUGE Thank You to Aundreia for spoiling me big time with my first Foodie Penpal box. I'm excited about trying new things .

Happy Eating,

Britt The HLC

Hubby Moment #13579

My Hubby, Evan. He gets me. He knows just the thing I need to hear sometimes or when humor is needed to un serious a situation or thought process I'm in. How precious he is and blessed I am. So to honor him and share in our "Dorkness" I have decided to add a few random convos between us in a post here and there and dub them "Hubby Moments".

Hubby Moment #13579

Me:  (Giving the pouty look in the Dr. office) "Seriously?"
Evan:  "What? Did we forget something in the car?"
Me:  "Look, I've gained 2.3lbs since last month!"
Evan: "You mean you've added 2.3lbs of sexy ladyness to yourself!" *purrs* (then realizes the nurse is still in the room with us) "Er..I mean, you mean you've added...2lbs of AWESOME to yourself? I could have told you that. Keep it!"

LOL

He turned beet red and looked at a magazine while the nurse went on with my vitals, she was snickering at him and trying to keep it together. When she left the room he smacked my leg with the magazine.

Evan: "Why didn't you tell me she was still in the room!?"
Me: "Excuse me? Last I checked your eyes worked fine"
Evan: "Obviously since I was staring at your butt and thought you were getting at me for it and not paying attention to who or what was going on!!!"

When the Dr. came in she said Hi to him and as she shook his hand she said "So you like the ladies who have Awesome, I hear?"

His beet red face was priceless and we all got a giggle out of it.

What does being healthy mean?

So it's official. I am CLEARED to run again!

I was so excited when I was told this that when we got home I told Evan he had to go on a run with me before we picked Avery up from MDO. Not to mention it was yet again, another 80* day in Texas with just a bit too much wind but man....it was too good to pass up on.

My foot is a bit tense still and I didn't push myself too hard, just being outside and moving was almost euphoric. Wait, did I just say euphoric about running? Seriously? *Shrug* Guess I am turning into a runner after all. I can't wait to hit the gym tomorrow, it's going to be hard but I'm prepared for the burn. I also know I can not get ahead of myself and that I must take it easy, one of my biggest things I do not manage well is following directions when it comes to health stuff. I get it into my head that  I know myself better than a medical professional and before I know it I've re-injured myself which is no mi Gusta.

Before my foot appointment we also had our follow up appointment with the OB. No, we are not pregnant yet and we are still going to try but we're also not going to stress about it. I'm on a prenatal to fit my needs now and will be taking a baby asprin a day to help prepare myself for potential blood issues. All my lab work came back good which is both good and bad news I guess. Considering how messed up both sides of my gene pool are, I've lucked out with only having one gene mutation. This mutation however, is very common, like 50% common with most people and can be treated with more folic acid, b12 and an all together healthy living lifestyle.

I'm also still a high probability for stroke, heart attack and blot clots due to my family history and this gene mutation signified that as well. I'll take it over some of the other variable mutations out there. Whats important is that I am healthy and able to conceive a baby. Does this mean I'll not have another miscarriage, no, it's not up to me or a doctor but it's up to God and I have to continue to give it up to him. Does it mean I won't try again, no. We still want another baby. We're going to be patient about this and if it's meant to be, it's meant to be. There's no medical reason why I shouldn't be able to get pregnant again.


I'm glad I decided to do the lab work and find out where I am with my health. I think it's something all woman should take into consideration, regardless if your trying to get pregnant or if babies are not even on the radar. It's good to be informed of your genetics and your health.

Evan and I have come a long way in our health if you ask me. I can look at pictures of us when we were dating to after we got married to now and you can visibly see how we've changed. It's seriously a journey and it's one you have to make for yourself. Nobody else has to live with YOUR health. For me being healthy meant having a baby. It meant letting go of foods I thought I needed, saying good by to sugary drinks and making myself get more sleep. It meant making better choices and decisions for myself, my husband and my potential family. I took it one day at a time and one choice at a time...

Here's us at our heaviest:

And 4 months later...

You can see the difference. This was also right before we got pregnant with Avery

3 months pregnant and I was still looking thin!

2008

Last week.

(Yes, I'm a dork.)

It's like I said before...a balance.

Eating right, excercising, sleeping, drinking water, taking vitmains, being active and staying positive.

I'm curious though, what does being healthy mean to YOU?

**EDIT** Last night my foot went back to hurting, today, I can't put any pressure on it whatsoever. I am miserable. Bought a brace and have been propped up with ice and heat per doctors orders. This is possibly the worst injury to date and the Dr. now wants me to come in for more x-rays. :(

-Britt The HLC

Nom Nom Nom

If you are anything like me, you kinda have this obsession with food. Not so much food in general because hey, we all need it and love it obviously, but I mean certain foods that just make your world go round or lift you up when your sad, sick or tired.

For me it's snacking. Oh yes, I can eat my 3 squares just fine but when it comes to the time in between those meal times...I'm snacking. Before I started running and actually taking care of myself it was all the bad things...candy, chips, soda, etc. We're all guilty of this, we're human. I can remember standing in front of the fridge at 2am plenty of times thinking to myself "Why are we here doing this? you're not hungry, go to bed!" and still reaching for the ice cream or some other thing I didn't need. Don't get me wrong, every once in awhile I find it necessary to just eat something not on your typical food list anymore. Splurge on that candy, drink that soda....but there has to be a balance.

You have to find your balance.

For me, my balance came when I was pregnant with Avery. I suddenly couldn't stand the sugary treats, or soda. I no longer craved the chips and fast food. Oddly, my biggest cravings were for salads, green tea and sour skittles. After Avery arrived and I was breast feeding I had to limit certain foods for both our benefits and that opened my eyes to a whole new kind of healthy eating, I never thought I'd fall in love with things like yogurt, dried fruits, granola, omegas, protein shakes and smoothies. Let alone stick with them after I stopped breast feeding. My current must haves are Greek yogurt, almonds and granola bars.

How about you? I want to know what your favorite snacks are and what you do for that balance we all need, so share away.

Here are a few of my current must haves....

dried cherries are so hard to find so when I do I get a little giddy. I dare you to add these to a baked good recipe and NOT fall in love.

As you can tell from the bag, I love me some pistachios....

My two fave flavors from my two fave bars.

These are amazing and have replaced my Klondike bars.

So good and easy to carry in your purse or gym bag.

Veggies, veggies, veggies.

Now, I'm hungry. :)

-Britt The HLC

It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Today, it was 80*.

80*... in Feb. Thanks Texas, for staying weird as usual. Come hell or high water I will be running tomorrow after my 2 doctor appointments and if my foot doctor won't allow me to run, I may glare him down in a battle of wills.....in my head anyways.

I'm so tired of not being able to do ANYTHING. I can tell how much not being active is effecting my mood and energy. This week has just been emotionally draining and I feel tired and cranky. Even after having a picnic lunch at the park today with Evan and Avery and soaking up the sunshine it just made me sad that I couldn't put on my running gear and just take off.

Soon....very, very soon.


Running makes me happy, it truly does. Never thought I would say that. HA.

Another thing that makes me happy is this team right here.....

Oh yeah, Spring Training started today and I am so excited!!!! This seasons going to be amazing and I am ready to hit the ball park and cheer on my guys.

Caution: High Hopes Shattered Ahead.

Today has been brutal.

I was so excited to share with you my joyous news tonight and instead, I'm fighting back tears and internally punishing myself for yet again getting my hopes up. Many of you, who are sweet, devoted readers may remember awhile back when I talked about us getting a dog someday and how we were just waiting to find the right one. Well, last week, I found him. "Goldie"was a stray found and taken to the Denton  Animal Shelter and would be available today if not reclaimed. He caught my attention and my heart quite quickly. 6-8 years old, male, neutered Golden Retriever. Or as I call my dream dog.

I talked it over with Evan almost jokingly but instead, he asked more about him and once he saw how excited I was to show him pictures and talk about him he too was hooked on the idea. We emailed the director who answered several questions and asked us questions, she was excited for us to come this morning and get "Goldie". I posted it on FB, I shared his picture I even wrote on the shelters wall about how excited we were to get him and bring him home. We cleaned the house, organized, made plans for how to introduce Gus and Paris, bought food, a collar, leash, crate, etc all ready for this morning.

We arrived at the shelter to see "Goldie" playing with a few other dogs and wagging his huge tail in excitement, I was so happy to see him and know he was ours! We went inside, checked in and waited our turn as there were 5 people also in the lobby. Then someone asked a simple enough question to someone else as Evan and I told the officer we were  there to meet Amy and sign our paperwork for "Goldie".

"What?! I'm here for Goldie!" Said this older woman sitting in a seat and staring at us in suprise. This woman walked in directly in front of us and I signed in after her. When Amy came into the office the woman stood up hurriedly and let Amy and the officer know that she was there to pick up Goldie and she had been there first. I was flabbergasted. Was this lady really going to be so rude?!

Amy looked at us and asked if I was Brittnye, I said yes and she smiled and let me know how happy she was to finally meet us and how excited she was to have me start volunteering next month (Something I start on March 10th). Then the woman made another comment on how she hoped they weren't holding animals for friends of workers.....*sigh* I just met Amy, we don't know her personally at all.

The officer was not as friendly as Amy, and said they didn't hold animals and it was a first come first serve basis. He then had us write our names down on a piece of paper, folded them and had Amy draw a name to see who got "Goldie". My heart broke as she read the other womans name and not mine.

Just like that, my early birthday present from Evan was taken from me. All with the dog being in my sight! I just sttod there not sure what to do while Evan rubbed my back. Amy handed the woman the paperwork and asked if we wanted to look at the other dogs available, which we reluctantly did. Since I follow the FB page, I knew who was available and none of the other dogs tugged at me like "Goldie" had. when we went into the dog room and walked down a few kennels Evan grabbed me asked if I was okay to which I started crying my eyes out. I know, seems stupid to cry over this, my main concern was he would be adopted which he was but still....we did so much to make the house ready for him and it was like we were bringing home a new baby. I was that excited about it and I waited all weekend to allow myself to get to that point of letting my guard down to have everything be changed in an instant.

So I cleaned myself up, we looked at a few cats and then went back out to the yard to watch the dogs and play with a few. The woman came outside and started asking a volunteer about "Goldie". She didn't even know his story or if he was neutered. She had seen him on petfinder after her husband had told her to look for another Golden after theirs passed away 6 months ago. The fact that she lives in the country and has had other goldens made me feel a little better....but this woman then had the gall to approach us and ask us what we had planned to call him. When Evan told her we were going to call him Samson, she made this weird face and said "Oh. hmm well, we're naming him matador but Matt for short." She had heard we had a child and then said "We live in Gainesville, you can come play with him if you'd like!"

BLESS my husband and his sweet heart because after that I wanted to be rude to her, I wanted to make her feel low and throw Avery into the conversation for a kick in her own chest for taking a dog from a toddler but I didn't. I just smiled and wished her the best and went back to chatting with the volunteers and Amy. I seriously don't know if the woman was trying to be rude or intentionally hurtful but it just shocked me.

We got in the car and I just told Evan to ignore my tears on the way home. I truly am thankful for his sweet words of encouragement and understanding, he knows my heart so well and he knows just how badly I wanted this dog. A dog. I never go crazy over dogs, I've always been a cat person and the last time I owned a dog was 2003! Something lately though has me wanting one so bad!!

We looked at some Golden rescues today but it's 2-300$ to adopt and the process is crazy. I also read on several sites that they won't adopt to a family with a child under 5 years of age.

Yeah, the hits kept coming.

Evans best friend drove in from Fort Worth soon after and we spent the afternoon with him. I was Thankful for the distraction because my mood went sour fast and I have had such a crummy afternoon. I'm hoping an early bed time after a nice hot bath can help me shrug this funk off. I hate feeling this sad and defeated!
Ugh.

Over & Out,
Brittnye

I'm so excited!

*Cue horrible 80's music*



That's not fair, I love 80's music and it's not all THAT bad....



I'm so excited and I just can't hide it
I'm about to lose control and I think I like it
I'm so excited and I just can't hide it
And I know I know I know I know I know I want you

We shouldn't even think about tomorrow
Sweet memories will last for long long time
We'll have a good time, Baby, don't do worry
And if we're still playin' around boy that's just fine.





Update later for the reveal!


 

See, I'll even share a picture of my excited face.

Actually, Avery took this at random during lunch yesterday and I just found it on my phone haha.

Happy Tuesday,

Britt The HLC

Run For Sherry Arnold

I almost forgot to post my Run for sherry pic. I wore this bib with my race bib on Saturday and I saw several others honoring her during their 5ks as well.

I was asked by a handful of people what it was about and told them her story and how to check out This Blog for more details and over all running goodness to read. No matter what the cause, what the event or who the person is, always do what you feel right for a cause you believe in.


-Britt The HLC

Hot Chocolate 5k Re-Cap!

I've been meaning to re-cap since Saturday night but I was waiting for more pictures to become available and for my official results but it appears they were never taken during the race and I'm waiting for customer relations to get back to me to see about getting it all fixed.

Of course in true Texas style, we had 70 degree weather in the beginning of the week then down to low 50's the rest so we didn't think much of the weather for the 7:30am start time. However, Friday brought an Arctic front and the temp went from upper 50's to low 30's with the wind chill in the teens!!! Needless to say it was all about the layers for the 5k.

6:00am and Evan and I were out the door and off to pick up my friend Beth then on the road to Dallas (35-40 minute drive). I drove and we came up with a plan of action for where to meet at the end, what play list to jam too and strategies and enjoyed the non-traffic commute for once. Jinxed ourselves as we merged onto 30 to see a parking lot!!!! So I exited and we took a back way thanks to Beth's phone and parked in the very front row of gate 5 with 11 minutes to spare!!!

SIDE NOTE-Apparently several exits to fair park were closed and there was an accident so LOTS of people were stuck in traffic and missed the start time. However, reading through all the rude and complaint comments on the site and FB I must say, I don't see how the race sponsors or PR people could have known it would happen and they tried to communicate best they could and let people know the time they could arrive to still race the 5k. The fact that people assumed they should have postponed the race until everyone arrived is dumb. Plan ahead folks, arrive early and seek alternate routes, plain and simple.

So anyway, we made our way to our corrals and stretched and tried to stay warm. The dj was playing pumped up music and then they were off. It took us 12 minutes to get from Corral G to the start line so it added 10minutes to my time for my runkeeper app.

                                                        Making our way to the Corrals
                         (I forgot to put my glasses up and ended up wearing them while I raced, opps!)

Where's the start line? (Wayyyyyyy up there)

Evan stayed with me the first half mile before I shooed him on. I never saw him again haha, he's in better shape and condition than I am and I wanted him to enjoy himself. Not only that but for me, running is so relaxing and freeing so once I get into the music and set my pace I just kinda...zone out.

I was making good time and for once, was passing people in my intervals but I was also not doing my breathing right and as cold as it was (I forgot my gloves too) I was winded by the time I got to the 2nd mile. After a small breather on a bridge to take a picture I suddenly had lost all my steam. Thankfully, the volunteers were amazing and when I got to the 2nd water station they were cracking me up and I shuffled my play list to get more motivated to keep going.

"Running a red light" Ba Dum Dum

Downtown Dallas and Fair Park.

After the 2nd mile I literally struggled. I kept my intervals but seemed to just be moving at a snail pace. Then suddenly a song came on I hadn't heard in forever and I suddenly had some momentum. Does anyone ever get that way with music? So help me the following 3 songs were fast paced and had me grooving and then before I knew it I was no longer 5 minutes under my "goal pace" but only 2 minutes behind and I could breath without hurting so much. The only discomfort I had was my hands and my left foot was burning for some reason. I crossed the finish line at 50:01 to my favorite Devotchka song blaring in my head and a smile on my face. As I started walking and searching for Evan and Beth, I was grabbed from behind by my sweet husband who started cheering for me and hugging me like crazy and for some ridiculous reason I just leaned into him and started crying.

Do not ask me why I cried. I know a 5k is nothing big and is easy peasy compared to a half or full marathon but I ran this 5k more than I've ran any time in my training. I stuck with it when I was ready to quit at mile 2 and I finally finished a personal goal for myself this year that I really and in all honesty have been making far too many excuses on not fully committing to last year when I had other opportunities to do one.

                                                                  We Did it!

Why you always come prepared for cold weather!!!

He was just a bit excited/ happy for me.

Challenge accepted & completed.

After we completed our race it was off to the automobile building to enjoy some chocolate fondue and hot chocolate, you know, the main reason so many people signed up for the race to begin with!!! The lines were fast moving and the volunteers were yet again, super helpful. Here's the photographic proof....

                                                            The awesome Volunteers!!

                                                                         YUMMY!

 Enjoying my treats                                   Giant Chocolate fountain!

Beth and I being goofy.

My husbands version of goofy. :)

Needless to say, when the Hot Chocolate 5k comes back, we will be there, no doubt about it! Very well organized, the volunteers were super helpful and sweet and a big thanks to the vendors, Dallas PD and everyone else involved in this fun 5k experience.

I'm so glad Evan did this with me and Beth, he is so hooked now. He wants to go get a new pair of running shoes from Run On! or Lukes soon and asked to run with me now.

After the race and goodies we decided to leave and head back to Denton thinking it was noon but it wasn't even 9:30!!! haha. So we stopped at Cracker Barrel for a celebratory breakfast where I ate the most amazing feast ever!!

  ohhhh yeah, Sweet potato pancakes with cinnamon butter, scrambled egg whites and bacon. BLISS!

I'll be sure to add any pictures of the 3 of us if Brightroom caught us in action. There's my re-cap. I'd suggest anyone wanting to do a 5k or 15k to give this one a try. :)

Get up and get running,

Britt The HLC



Happy "I Love You" Day.

To save myself from repeating my sentiments about this day...I'll direct you here:

The Family Blog :)

Hope you all are enjoying your day!!

- Britt The HLC

Coming soon

Update tonight!!

I'll share a bunch of pictures from Saturdays fun race and how I did.

For now, I'm dealing with an injury from the race and am off my feet (literally) for a few days.

Ohhhh the many ups and down of running.

Happy Monday,
Britt The HLC

Goal 1 of 5. Done!

Tomorrow is RACE DAY!!

I've got my outfit set out, new gear ready, play list added to my iPod, both my race bibs (the race one and the virtual race for sherry too) and the nerves are starting to show. I know for some you may think it's silly to have nerves for a measly 5k but for me, it's huge! I've only done one before and I walked it the entire way. For the Hot Chocolate 5k you have to maintain a 15:00 pace or more and since I haven't been training or running as often as I wish I had the last 2 months that stupid number is intimidating. I know I can do it though and that makes it so exciting.

I believe my time to beat is 48:21...

Yesterday, Evan and I drove to Dallas to pick our race packets and see the expo. I was excited to have him with me and overall it was a fun time. However, Dallas traffic is RIDICULOUS all day! and it took us forever to get back in time to pick up Avery from MDO even though we left Denton at 10:30.

Getting our packs was easy and our chips were set to go with the correct information. The expo had me a little disappointed though and for a few reasons.
1. we arrived on the first day of check-in 30 minutes after the doors opened. Yet, all the merchandise had already been picked through, everything was not marked as listed and there was hardly ANYTHING in a size larger than large. and the place was nowhere being packed or busy.
2. They had a DJ set up I guess practicing for the event on Saturday and he was on the far side of the building and yet, you couldn't hear anything over him! We tried to talk to a few vendors and it was useless, they couldn't hear us and we couldn't hear them. I felt bad for them to be honest.
3. There were only 6 vendors present and the kid zone area took up the most space. I love that they had a place for kids to play but the vendors (minus Ghiradelli) were crammed together against one wall and away from the busy side of the expo. It was weird to me.
4. My biggest issue even though it's not the race sponsor or programs fault but...in our goodie bags we got wind jackets with the 5k logo on it. I was super excited to get mine and since I'm top heavy, and most races run small in sizes, I ordered a XL. When I tried it on...I couldn't get it closed to zip up. IT WAS TINY ON ME! When I went to trade it in there wasn't a size up for women in size! So I tried on Mens sizes. The L in mens swallowed me up so I asked for a Mens M only to be told they had none in stock and not enough to hand out in the goodie bags. I'm a size 12 people! I wear L in shirts.....so for me NOT to be able to wear an XL in a jacket made me sad for all the bigger woman picking up their bags with the biggest size being available being a XL. I think they should be more realistic with sizing.

I dunno, am I crazy? I just expected more at a Expo I guess even though I've never been to one.

I did buy some chocolate and got a very much discounted hoodie (which is super snug on me but once I get my rear in gear should fit fine by the summer).

I also got a new arm band to hold my iPod since my other one started fraying at the seams :(.

Before we left Evan and I also signed up for another 5k.

http://runproject.org/dash-down-greenville-5k

I'm excited about this one. After the race we'll do the whole Greenville Avenue St. Patty's day event of drinking green beer and watching the craziest parade ever!

That will mean by March 16, I'll already have 3 5ks done with for 2012 when my goal for the year was 5!

What are your 2012 goals?

XOXO-

Britt The HLC

Ready, Set, RUN!!

The new year has officially been here for two months and that means my goal to run at least three 5ks and (Possible) a 10k is off and running. My first 5k of the year is Saturday.

Evan, myself and my friend Beth will be up bright and early to head to Dallas for This Yummy Run . Evan picked it so of course it had to be food or sugar related. There's a chocolate party afterwards so I'm sure it'll be interesting to watch people stuff down chocolate after running 3 miles. :)

On top of doing the 5k on February 11th, I'll also be involved in the virtual run for Sherry .

Many of you don't know Sherry, but you know her story. She's the Montana teacher who went for an early morning run and never came home. She was simply doing something she loved before starting her day and a random act of violence took her away. I'm sure many of you read her cousins blog and have heard about the virtual run this Saturday. Once I read it I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I'll have my race bib and Sherrys bib on during the race.

When I started running, I never thought it would bring me in a circle of some amazing people. Through twitter, the blogs and face to face people I have met at runs and the gym and on the road doing what we love to do I have learned so much and received so much positive energy and comments and motivation. I love it!

I'm truly grateful for some of you awesome ladies. Thanks for keeping me consistent and pushing me to go farther and do more.

Sept. 2010- The start of something BIG in my life.

October 2011- My first 5k

2012 is going to be so fantastic, it just keeps getting better and better.

Happy Wednesday Friends,

Britt The HLC

A friendly reminder.