We are expecting baby Strong!!!

Hello friends and family!  Chris and I are expecting a little bundle of joy in August 2014!  We are soooo happy!  We went to Beaufort, SC to spend a fun New Year's Eve with close friends.  We ate a great dinner and went dancing all night long.

The next morning, we went to brunch at Waffle House (the ONLY place that was open)!  Then, Chris and I left to go to Statesboro to meet up with Hayley and Aaron.  Chris wanted to make them a traditional New Year's Day Dinner.  We got to the Cain's home and spent the day just talking with them and discussing their baby to be!  I am so happy for them and cannot wait to meet my sweet niece in May 2014.


That afternoon I asked Chris if I fell or knocked into something night as my entire chest was so SORE!  He laughed and said that we did dance all night and jumped around to the music! Haha!

Later that day, Hayley and I went shopping around Statesboro.   I mentioned my tender chest to Hayley, and she immediately says, "you are pregnant."  I thought, no way...so she immediately drives me to the local pharmacy and we buy a pregnancy test.  We get back to her house that evening and I told her I was going to wait until the next morning to take the test as your pregnancy hormones are higher in the morning.   Well, that evening, I was too excited to wait, so I snuck into her bathroom to take the test without telling anyone.

I took the test without reading the directions. Surprise, surprise.  So, I took the test and the line went straight from the left side if the screen to the right.  Well, I did not see a vertical line and so I just confirmed I was NOT pregnant.  I threw the stick in the trash and proceeded to wash my hands and go back to watching football with Chris and Hayley.  Well, I thought that I should go back in the bathroom to retrieve the stick to throw it away "properly"....aka place it back in the box and hide it under other trash as I did not tell anyone (besides Hayley) that I had bought a pregnancy test.   I went back into the bathroom to get the stick and I pulled it out of the trash and there was a PLUS sign (not just the horizontal line)!!!!  Apparently, the test is not like a laser printer (which is how I assumed the test would work...I assumed it would "print" from left to right...so, it would start with the horizontal line, "print" the vertical line, and finish the horizontal).  But instead, the horizontal line develops first then, the vertical line comes in LAST!  Boy was I surprised!!!!





I proceeded to smile SO BIG in the mirror and say a quick, "Yippe!"  I went out of the bathroom with the BIGGEST grin on my face to tell Chris.  I went up to him and just started crying and shaking.  He was like, "Are you okay?"  I proceed to tell him that I just took a pregnancy test and that we were pregnant!  He was so happy and his smile was even bigger than mine!  We were being so loud with our giggles and happiness that Hayley came in from the kitchen (she had been cleaning) and I told her I was pregnant....she said, "I told you so!"

It was such a great night and completely unexpected!

Chris and I just couldn't quit smiling and we stayed up way too late just laughing and being so happy about this new baby!

Thanksgiving Turkey Trot 11.25.10

So Thursday was my first Thanksgiving as a wife!  Chris and I talked about traditions we grew up with and discussed ones we wanted to begin.  We decided to start a family tradition of running a "Turkey Trot" the morning of Thanksgiving. 

Thus, on Thursday morning we woke up early and went running alongside the Chattahoochee River.  It was so beautiful and the weather was crisp!  We ran 3 miles in ~35 minutes and Chris beat me by 10 seconds!  I am so proud of him, not only does he lift weights but he is now training for a half marathon.  What a STRONG husband!  After the run we drove up to Dalton and had a wonderful Thanksgiving lunch with our families at my mom's home.  Chris decided we would bring the deviled eggs and boy did he stink up our cozy apartment while making those eggs! 

Due to the run, that afternoon, we were more conscious of the foods we were putting into our mouths, although we did indulge in the WINE! 

Then, on Saturday we enjoyed the Harness side of my family at Aunt KK's home!  It was so fun!  We enjoyed a game of poker (I am still learning after all these years), watched Tennessee kick Kentucky's football team, listened as GSU beat South Carolina State, and enjoyed Chris' chili.  KK was the perfect host (once again)- she had a kid's table set up with s'more kits, favors for the kids to make for their teachers, etc and then she made canned Raspberry Pepper Jelly in mason jars as the party favors!  She is just too cute! 

During our Thanksgiving weekend I thought of the people/things I am thankful for:
- my loving family (both the Harness, Athan, and Strong sides)
- my beautiful and smart girlfriends
- my handsome husband...who motivates me to run, encourages me to follow my dreams & relax and cleans out my vaccum (Chris showed me how much he loves me this past Sunday with that act...let me tell you)
- a wonderful job with fabulous co-workers in Atlanta
- strong legs to power me through my training program
- a cozy apartment with my first tree that Chris and I selected and cut....A REAL Christmas tree! ah!!
- the cookbook from David Colburn and Richard Daugherty- every receipe has been SOOO good and Chris is just loving my cooking
- for the late Stieg Larsson- if you haven't read his books (such as The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo, The Girl who Played with Fire, etc) you are missing out!

Chris and I went on our long run on Sunday and I will have a blog post soon about that silly run!

Hitting my Goals and setting more!

After Tuesday's jogging session I decided that I needed to push myself more and I set a goal to run 3 miles in less than 30 minutes for my Thursday run.  Well today was "that Thursday" and after working all day it was 8pm and I really did NOT want to go running on the treadmill.....but I thought of this blog and all of my friends and family that know I am training for this half marathon and I laced up my tennis shoes.   Tonight, I pushed myself and ran 3 miles in 29 minutes and 48 seconds! Yay...first goal accomplished!  Now onto setting my goal for the Half Marathon. 

In February 2008, I ran my first half marathon, the Tybee Half Marathon, in 2:27:39 with a pace of 11:16 minutes per mile!  I was SO PROUD of myself!  But that was almost 3 years ago and I have the itch again to complete another one!  During that race on mile 9 I rolled my ankle, had to get it wrapped, and was advised to stop.  Needless to say, after 9 miles of kicking butt I was not going to just stop.....so at the end of 13.1 miles I was in PAIN.  So hopefully for this upcoming race, things will go smoothly.

I am trying to set a pace goal for this upcoming race.....I mean the last race I rolled my ankle and got it wrapped (the wrapping took around 5 minutes) and I was hurting the last 4 miles....so I am thinking I can push myself to keep a pace of less than 10:30 per mile.  Thus 10:30 X 13.1 miles ~~ 2 hours and 18 minutes to finish the race....

Then I think to myself, wouldn't it be great if I could finish the race in less than 2 hours .....even though the Nashville, TN course will have more hills vs. the Tybee Island, GA race....so is this achievable?  I mean 120 minutes/13.1 miles = a pace of ~9.16 minutes per mile...pretty darn fast!  Who thinks Chris and I can do that pace for 13.1 miles!?!?! 

Anyway, enough blabbing about goal setting for the half marathon and off to bed to rest my tired legs! ;)   Yay for following through and achieving goals- 3 miles in less than 30 minutes! YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Here is a picture from my last half marathon....got to love how excited I was!  I cannot wait to have a picture of myself and my husband (ahh...I just love saying that word) ready to run our first race together!  yay!

Day 2 of Half Marathon Training

So today is my first blog posting....Chris and I have decided to sign up for the Country Music Half Marathon in April 2011.  This will be my second and Chris' first!  We have decided to follow Hal Higdon's training program  (http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm) ...so yesterday was a rest day...yes, this was the perfect way to start the program :)   Then today was the first running assignment- running/jogging for 30 minutes.  I told myself I will live up to my new last name.......

I got to the gym, jumped on a treadmill, put it on 5.5...and started jogging.  I was feeling it for about the first minute, then after 2 minutes I was about to DIE but I kept pushing myself.  After 5 minutes I wanted to give up but I pushed on....needless to say when the timer flashed 30:00 minutes I pushed the STOP button and jumped off the treadmill with a HUGE smile on my face.  ;)   HUGE.   Well, I was SOOOO thirsty after my grueling 30 minutes run that I went to fill up my water bottle.  While walking back to my treadmill I went to drink from the bottle and suddenly I was drowning.  Apparently, I did not screw on the lid and thus, when I went to take a drink, ALL the water came pouring out onto my face.  Fun stuff.

I am pretty sure I almost died of embarrassment.  Yes, I almost did.....but glad I provided entertainment to other crazies at the gym at the ungodly hour in the morning.  Now I am home with a smirk on my face and happy that I completed 2.8 miles in 30 minutes.

I thought my first blog post needed a picture and I am still glowing from our honeymoon trip to Jamaica.  This picture makes me happy and I cannot wait to go back next year!  Yay for being married to my Christopher for one month!