Monday, October 29, 2012

Busy little bee...


A busy little bee is an understatement for the way I have felt the past few months! I have been crazy busy but  I have enjoyed every minute of it!!

1.First thing is first...I finally landed a J-O-B! 

I am working as a school counselor in a high school about 20 minutes from my hometown. I started working in August two weeks before school started. 

I never thought I would want to be at the high school level but so far I have LOVED it! 


2. I just finished the 37th Annual Marine Corps Marathon. It was not my best time by any means and it was a very tough run for me but I am so glad that I participated. 
I finished in 4:27:33 but I am not worried too much about my time because I ran on a sore and swolen left foot and my training was lacking due to the new job. 

Hopefully when I am ready to do #4, I will be completely healed and well rested and i will be able to get my time back down in the 3:40's!

For now, I think I am going to concentrate on shorter, faster distances and try to get another half-marathon PR! We will see!




3. Furry Baby Update: My baby is so big and he is so sweet! We love him to pieces and he is such a big part of our little family now! He is a little over 9 months old now, still full of energy, and never ever meets a stranger! 


Oh, and I forgot to mention that he is obsessed with all of his toys!!

That is about all I have for now! I will probably not be updating the blog as much from now on but I still love reading enjoying your blogs!!! 

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Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Backtracking to Memorial Day Weekend


I have been such a slack blogger so I am trying to play catch up! Let's backtrack to Memorial Day weekend! We went to the beach for the weekend with Michael and Lauren! We had a fabulous time hanging out on the beach and eating fabulous food!!


 Snapping a pic or two before heading to dinner!

On Sunday we headed back home to get some rest because we had plans on Monday to go ziplinning!!! My mother-in-law gave us all ziplinning passes for Christmas and we all finally found a time that worked and we headed to Asheboro, NC!





Richland Creek Ziplinning Tours was an awesome place with great staff! We had such a wonderful time!!! 

Cheers!,

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Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon Race Weeked & Recap


The weekend of June 2nd, I piled in the car with some of my girlfriends and we headed to Virginia for a weekend full of running, wine, good food, and great company!!


We left Thursday around lunchtime and arrived in Loudon, VA! It was a pretty uneventful trip with only a few stops along the way! We grabbed a bite to eat, had a few beers, and hit the sack! 

Friday morning we got up and went for a short 4 mile run around the hotel we were staying. We hopped on a run/bike trail which was very nice and pretty. I wish our hometown had more of these and respected runners and cyclists more than what they do!

We went to the expo and picked up our bibs and waited for the rest of our group to arrive and then we hit Panera Bread for lunch! We also detoured to the outlets by our hotel to get in a little shopping!

Waiting around at the expo at Landstowne Resort. It was such a beautiful place!

We went to an early dinner and then got in the bed pretty early for our 4:45 wake up call! 

The race was about a 20 minute drive for us so we all piled in the car. It had rained on us a good bit the day before so the winery parking was flooded and very muddy. This held up traffic and backed things up a bit. We were nervous we wouldn't make it to the start. Thank goodness we are planners and left early enough!

A few of us before the race!

The race was delayed about 30 minutes because of the traffic back-up and late shuttle buses from the hotels. This made me pretty antsy I will admit.

The race finally started and my first two miles hovered at around a 7:30 pace. This was right where I wanted to be. There were hills in this race. I knew there were going to be hills. I was not prepared for the whole race to be rolling hills, which it was. I started to really feel the pace getting to be at about mile 8. I few miles around this point too were on gravel roads. I hate running on that type of surface. I blame the gravel for slowing down too.

I kept thinking as I started getting towards the end of mile 10 that I could not wait for this race to be OVER! I don't know that I have ever felt that way, not even during my first marathon. 

It was a tough course. I didn't run my best. It was my first time traveling that distance (7hrs) to a race. I had a terrible upset stomach that morning. These are all the things I blamed my not so good race on! 

Official Time - 1:42:35

We all have those races and we are not all perfect! This was one of mine. After the race was over, we waited for everyone to finish, went and got our super cool wine glass and hit the wine tasting area!!

Our crew after the race!

After we left the race, we hit up this local pizza place and it was delicious. I drowned my sorrows into this huge veggie calzone that was out of this world good!!

We got back to the hotel and hit the hot tub with snacks and beer in hand!


We hit the town for dinner and dancing for a while that night and sadly I did not take any photos! :( 

We got up early on Sunday and had breakfast and then hit the road back to Flo-town! It was a great trip!

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Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Our First Anniversary Weekend


 I have been so horrible at blogging! I am trying to catch up. So, I am backing up to May! :)

May 19th marked the beginning of our anniversary weekend! I started it off with a 10k race and the husband started it off with class. Great start for me and not so great for hubby but ya gotta do what ya gotta do! 

He met me at the wedding and I rode with my parents! We stayed at The Wilcox House in downtown Aiken, SC! It was a very cute, historic bed and breakfast! The reception was also at the Wilcox which was nice!! Congrats to Laura and Jason! We had a great time at the wedding!!


On Sunday Morning we got up and enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the Wilcox House before hitting the road to Lake Lure, NC for a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary.


We arrived on Sunday around 3:00ish and settled in before heading out to dinner. After dinner, we just relaxed on our balcony overlooking the lake.

Monday morning we got up early and made our way to Chimney Rock to do some hiking! We have been wanting to go hiking for a while but this hiking was not quite as we expected.

One Word...Stairs!







We got in a pretty decent workout climbing all those stairs! I used muscles I didnt know I had! Here are some views from our hike.


 We took this photo of the beautiful American flag because it reminded us of our dear friend Chad who is serving his second term in Afghanistan. His company recently was attacked by a suicide bomber and he lost three of his soldiers. We have been saying extra prayers for him and all that were affected. Love ya buddy and can't wait for you to come home!

 Hot and tired at this point!





A beautiful waterfall to end our hiking adventure! We headed to the small shopping center at the base of Chimney Rock for some cold icecream!

That night we went to a nice italian dinner before heading home on Tuesday morning! My wonderful husband took an alternate route on the way back and we made a pit stop for a few hours at Southpark Mall in Charlotte! We enjoyed some shopping and froyo before heading home to Flo-town!


We didn't pull out our wedding cake top until a few days after we got back. It was still just as good as it was in May of last year!




We had a wonderful anniversary and are looking forward to many, many more!!


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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

2012 Race for Taylor 10k


On Saturday, May 19, I ran the Race for Taylor 10k in my hometown. I did this race the first year they had it but missed it last year because it was on my wedding day. I was thrilled to be able to participate again this year because it is such a special race put on by a very special family in memory of their 17 year old son who was tragically killed in a car accident To read more about it, go here

I got up that morning bright and early to down some coffee and a cliff bar and a half a banana. The husband took me to the race because he needed my car to drive to Columbia for class and then to meet me in Aiken for a wedding.

The weather was absolutely perfect for racing, surprisingly not too warm.

I felt pretty good that morning and was eager to start the race.

There I am in the far left corner with the pink tank on! :)

I am blogging so far after the race that I don't remember my splits but I do know that my first two miles were under 7 minutes each. Whew! 

The race took us through several neighborhoods to which I forgot had a few rolling hills. It was not an easy course but a very good course!!

The only thing I did not like was that a bunch of walkers were still on the course as I was finishing and I had to weave in and out of traffic people but it was all good!

I hit the finish line with a time of.....


8     343   Britton Yarborough     08:09:15   08:52:34   00:43:19   6:59
 
8th overall out of 57 people
 
1st overall female
 
I was very proud of this time. I knew I had gone out too fast but I didn't completely fizzle at the end like I
 thought may happen!  

 Here I am approaching the finish!
 Whew!
Hugging Belinda as she gave me a bobblehead trohpy and $25 cash prize!

I now hold the course record for the females for this race course! 

Excited and proud of how I ran this race but I am wondering if I am leaving myself 
room to get any faster?!?! I hope so!!

After the race we were off to Aiken for a wedding and then from their to Lake Lure,
NC for our anniversary weekend!

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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Life as of Lately...

It has been a while since I have blogged, especially about life in general! Cheers to catching up a little bit!

I am still on the job hunt. I graduated last May with a Masters (Educational Specialist) degree and did not find a job right out of school. I have worked retail off and on parttime just for something to do. I have had several interviews for various jobs that weren't exactly what I wanted and was overqualified for. I feel though that something is going to come along that is meant for me.

I interviewed this past Monday and I felt better about that interview than any other so far. They made me feel comfortable and actually acted interested in me and who I was. I am keeping my fingers crossed but trying not to get my hopes up. If it is meant for me, it will happen.

In other news, I will soon be celebrating my one year anniversary! I mean, really?!?! Where did that year go? We survived the "dreaded first year" of marriage and with a little room to spare! :) The husband planned a long weekend in the mountains to celebrate and I am super excited about getting away!

This was the husband and I close to 6 years ago celebrating our first Christmas as a couple...


Wow is all I can say. This photo is quite embarrassing! We have come along way in our journey to both living healthy lifestyles, that's for sure!

This is from Christmas 2011...


Our furry baby is almost 4th months and he is growing so fast! He is already 4.7 lbs! Hopefully he will only gain just a few more lbs before he maxes out. Here is what he has been up to lately!

Playing with my friends

 After my first haircut! You can finally see my eyes!


Pattie and Mommy


I love visiting my Grandma's house and finding things on the floor that get dropped...like my auntie's undies!

Last, but certainly not least, I have an important announcement to make! No, I am not having a human baby but I do have a new baby that is on it's way to me and I couldn't be more thrilled! Introducing...

DA NEW RIDE!!!

I got an amazing deal on this through ebay. It was shipped yesterday and I have tracked it every thirty minutes since I got the tracking number! Stalker much, No?

I  can't wait to learn more about cycling and how to ride! Luckily I have some great friends who ride who are willing to help! Any advice is greatly appreciated!

Hopefully I will be a better blogger but I just have been in a rut! I am sure that when my new baby gets here I will have lots to talk about! In the meantime I am going to go figure out how I am going to fit in a husband, a job, a furry baby, running, yoga, crossfit, and biking! Whew!!

I am off to watch Survivor and cheer on Chelsea who is from my hometown and who I went to high school with!! Get it girl!

*britton*