17 May 2012
favorites • life & home • wedding

Beautiful Wedding and Growing Up is Funny

This past weekend one of my very best friends tied the knot. I won’t get sappy, ok yeah I will…  it was unbelievably amazing to see two people SO in love and so SURROUNDED by love.

 

Aren’t they beautiful? I like to call them the brunette Barbie and Ken.

They got married in Ferandina beach, FLorida (right outside of Amelia Island) and they couldn’t have asked for better weather! Breezy, in the 70s. Less humid than Atlanta! What a blessing

I know this is blurry..but it’s one of the most amazing pictures. It shows how truly HAPPY they both were.

Rachel and Jeremy are both the most fun people to be around, and their wedding reflected that. Everyone had a great time!

Obviously. Doesn’t my friend Ryan look like a total pimp? How did he get so lucky to have so many fun girls surrounding him!? :-)

For me, it was wonderful to catch up with old friends.

 

And spend time with the other bridesmaids. Every one of us loves Rachel so much and it was so fun to spend time with an awesome group of girls all weekend.

I apologize that it is blurry. We really need to work on getting a real camera and retire the ole iPhone picture being the staple.

Every time I get to see my old friends it makes me miss them that much more when we separate. Does anyone else experience this? Growing up is a really funny thing. You go through highschool and college attached at the hip with friends and then all of the sudden you are an adult, with a mortgage, a job, and little time for big get togethers. Wah! I realize I sound like a big baby, but REALLY — where does the time go?

Seeing Rachel get married was almost as real to me as my own wedding day. For one, it’s more fun to NOT be the bride. It just is. Much less pressure, much less attention. But on the other hand, Rachel and I have experienced every single life milestone together. The night before we were to begin highschool we drove around our neighborhood in a golf cart (who wants to WALK!?) and talked about how scared we were. I can’t even remember of what.

We went on to graduate highschool together, and I left to attend the University of Alabama for college while Rachel stayed around our hometown and went to Kennesaw State University. After a few years at Alabama, I returned.

Rachel and I changed our majors in college to the same exact thing, and embarked on that journey together. We walked across the college graduation stage together.

And now, just a year (almost exactly!) a part, we are old married women!

 

I cannot believe how time flies. In the past we have had plans to live in California, Hawaii and Florida and none of them every happen. Rachel wrote me a card that I opened on her wedding day and one of the things that she wrote really hit home, “We may not be living where we thought…but I think we’re exactly where we are supposed to be.” How true is that? God might not have answered our feable prayers for moving to a new state for a start-over, or a 100k dollar job, or living in the lap of luxury, but he has gifted us with two amazing, God-fearing men that treat us like absolute princesses. I mean, really…we are spoiled. So i’d say we’re pretty darn lucky to have the husbands that we do, and have each other – a friend that has experienced it all right by your side and completely understands.

 

Katie Bagby | 5 comments | Tags: , ,
30 Apr 2012
fitness

Rock N Roll Half-Marathon Recap

Earlier today I wrote a lengthy post about my half-marathon recap, only to discover it managed to delete itself when I pushed “Publish”. Considering I wrote the post on and off throughout my work day, I was just a tad bit annoyed. However, if that’s the worst thing I have to deal with today I think I’m doing alright! :-)

When Josh and I arrived in Nashville we headed straight for the Expo.

The Silver Comet Half-Marathon that I participated in October didn’t hold an expo, so I was extremely excited to walk around and check everything out.

After grabbing my bib we made our way through the different booths and finally back out onto the street and were ready to tour Nashville. We proceeded to walk around for a few hours we went to an early dinner and then on to the hotel for an early bedtime.

4:30 came early, but with the race starting at 7:00 I wanted to make sure I had plenty of time to eat, walk to the start (around a mile) and get out any nervous energy that was lingering.

Thankfully I had my awesome husband/cheerleader/spectator with me who was willing to get up at 4:30.

So handsome! :-)

We got to the start around 6, which was a full hour early, but I would always rather be early than late. We passed the time people watching – there was everyone from nervous newbies (I would classify myself definitely more in this category!) to seasoned runners who looked like they stumbled out of bed and decided to go run 13.1 or 26.2.

I was absolutely terrified that I would have to go pee while running, so I made sure to take full advantage of the porta-potties offered before the race! I even had someone snap a quick shot of Josh and I while in line. I am nothing if not classy ;-)

While waiting for the race to start we ran into my friend Bethany, who managed to fit training for a half-marathon in while completing her law school exams this week. She is amazing!

 

Right after Bethany left to head to her corral, I found my friends that I planned to run with. (I use this term loosely as running is such an individual sport, I knew we wouldn’t be running together the entire time, but I definitely wanted to start together!)

They had some nervous energy as well, so we all got in line for the porta-potties for one last trip before we started. (This would be pee trip numero dos for me.) By the time we got through the line, I had missed my corral and jumped in a few corrals back.

There ended up being over 35,000 people to run on Saturday, and as someone who has only ever run in a 2k person race, it felt almost scary. The first mile is pretty much downhill, so you could see the sea of runners spread before you, and it was an amazing sight.

I knew Josh was waiting for me at mile 3, and he managed to get a shot of me before I felt like death.

Miles 2-8.5 were completely hilly. You would crest one hill only to see another coming. When people kept saying, “It’s a super hilly course” they were not lying. The temperature was around 75-80, but with the body heat it felt like much more, and the course was pretty shade-less, so your energy was constantly being drained by the full-on sun.

For it to be such a populated run, it was amazing how many people solely walking there were. It was a tough mental game for me to have to weave in and out of so many walkers and I definitely could feel it playing with my mental strength. I felt like I couldn’t ever get a good pace or rhythm going because of the crowds and walkers. Now, I am SUPER average paced, so this might not have been the case everywhere on the course, but it was for me.

Prior to starting the race my goals were to finish strong, run the entire race and to come in around 2:15. My first half was run in 2:07, and while I really want to beat that and come in under 2 hours, I didn’t think this was the course to do it on. By mile 10.5, I just wanted to finish. I was still running and had yet to walk (except the 2-3 steps through water stations, I am not experienced enough to drink, run and swallow all at once..I end up choking) but definitely didn’t feel strong. My legs felt as tired at mile 10 as they did at the end of my last half-marathon. I knew I was in for a long 3 miles.

At mile 12 I knew my blood sugar was getting really low as I felt dizzy and light-headed, and by mile 12.2 I was seeing dark spots and getting tunnel vision. I remembered I had a Starburst in my bra (CLASSY, remember?) from one of the spectators along the race course, and I decided to walk while I ate it. I quickly texted Josh that I might be walking the rest of the way. I was SO angry! Here I was SO close to the finish and I felt like my body was failing me. At 12.4 I saw shade and as soon as I hit it at 12.5 I began running again. I finished strong and ran the way in, finishing in 2:16.

Considering how awful I feel like the race went, I am pleased to have a) finished while running and b) not been too far off my goal. There were so many people passing out along the course and I am so glad that I stopped running for the .20 that I did to listen to my body. It was just kind of a crazy race day!

 

My friends and I after! This was their first half and they both did AWESOME! Jessica ran a 2:04 (she would absolutely crush a flatter course) and Ashley was right with me at a 2:17. Both of them are willing to run another half, so that’s a huge success!!

My husband really is the absolute best. Josh met me at miles 3, 10 and 12. He was definitely what kept me going and I was super excited to see him each time he popped up.

After the race I wanted food, a beer and a nap. Josh was more than happy to do all 3 of those things with me. We quickly grabbed some food and a beer (thankfully other runners were drinking so 10:15 on a Saturday morning didn’t seem so odd) and then walked the mile to the hotel to grab some rest and a nap.

Later we felt like bums so we showered and changed and met our friends out for dinner and drinks. (And frozen yogurt of course! But this was consumed WAYY too quickly for a picture. Also, Menchies you have been replaced. Sweet CeCe’s is my new favorite spot. I’m moving to Nashville just to be closer to the best frozen yogurt ever.)

My overall thoughts:

This race was VERY well-organized. With over 35,000 people I never felt like there was chaos or felt like things weren’t running smoothly. I wish there would have been a water station after mile 10 as it got super hot very quickly, and would have loved to have a drink around the 12 mile marker when my sugar dropped. When people say that the course is hilly, they are not exaggerating (I genuinely thought, ‘Eh, it won’t be that bad’. I’m an idiot.). From miles 2-9 there are constant hills and then some SUPER awesome person added a hill at mile 12. Talk about demoralizing.

Personally, I do not plan on running a race this large again. I am SO happy that I have the experience under my belt, but I have discovered that big races just aren’t for me. I remember finishing my first half (The Silver Comet Half Marathon) and having SO much fun. It is capped around 2k participants and I was able to chat with runners around me. With 35,000 there is almost too many people to even talk to. I definitely felt like cattle running together in Nashville. I got done and just thought, “THANK GOODNESS”. It was not nearly the fun race experience that I had last time, and I was a bit sad about that. BUT, you live and you learn and this was a great experience for me learning that I do not enjoy running with 35k of my closest friends for 13.1 miles.

The best part is that I have no desire to sign up for a race any time in the immediate future. After the last half I immediately signed up for this one and I am really excited to NOT train for something and just run for joy and fun with no training plan.

Josh and I had an absolute blast in Nashville, it’s definitely one of my favorite cities, so any visit there is a good time. However next time I visit will not to be in order to participate in this half-marathon. I’m thinking that one was one and done! :-)

How was YOUR weekend!?

Katie Bagby | 7 comments | Tags: , ,
27 Apr 2012
fitness

Here We Go….

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Josh and I arrived in Nashville and headed straight to the Expo to grab my number!

Excited to run tomorrow!

Be back with a full recap on Monday!

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Katie Bagby | 2 comments
20 Apr 2012
fitness

Bachelorette Fun and Training Finale

Last weekend I had the opportunity to go to Charleston with 17 other girls.  We were celebrating one of my very best friend’s Bachelorette Party, and boy did we have a great time.

I felt fortunate to be at the beach again for a second weekend in a row. While Atlantic beaches and the Gulf are two completely different animals, I’m content just being near the water. (And yes, a move to the beach would be at the top of my list if possible).

While I don’t see there being a beach view out my back window any time soon, I know someone who WILL have that opportunity, and I couldn’t be happier for her.

My long-time friend Ashley will soon be taking her talents to South Beach…I mean Jacksonville, where she will complete her dietetic internship at the Mayo Clinic, en route to becoming a Registered Dietician.

How cool is that?

It had been years since I had been able to spend any time with Ashley, and was thrilled when she mentioned that she was also training for a half and would be willing to run with me on Saturday morning.

Saturday morning came and we prepared to run 10 miles.The decision was made to run ON the beach, which is something we never could have effectively done for 10 miles on the Gulf Coast, but with the sand being much more packed down on the East Coast, I was excited to give it a shot. The first 6.5 miles we cruised along, no iPods, just easy conversation with a friend I haven’t seen in years. (Thankfully Ashley was willing to go at my much slower pace!) Then we turned around. The wind that had felt so magnificent at my back now felt like ropes pulling against me as I tried to run through it. Ashley said, “Oh, this is going to be much harder on the way back.” She continued to talk and tell me stories, and for that I am SO thankful because it was truly all I could do to keep going. In the end, we made it! 10 miles done and done, and I feel much more confident about any hills in Nashville after running against that current. I was SO excited to see 10.0 on my Garmin!

While this picture is not from last Saturday, I found it in my Photo file from a picture I sent Josh to describe a harder run – and laughed thinking about how perfectly it described how I felt Saturday.

The rest of the weekend was spent relaxing and celebrating Rachel, one of my dearest friends. Rachel has been wedding planning and working full-time, all the while she is in school for her Masters degree. She is a champ. I couldn’t be more proud and impressed by the grace and ease with which she makes all of the juggling appear to be.

This week I have been a big ole’ slacker. I haven’t felt in tip-top condition, so I have tried to give my body time to heal. Nothing major, just a very sore throat and head cold type symptoms. On Wednesday I decided that despite my feelings I needed to get out and run. As I began to leave Elvis to head out for a quick 3-miler, I decided “Why not just bring him?” I wanted to create a no-pressure run, and bringing E was a sure-fire way to take the pressure off of myself.

I have read multiple websites supporting not running with your dogs until they are one and the hips have fully formed, but as E will be one in less than 2 weeks (May 3rd!), it didn’t seem like it could harm anything.

REMEMBER WHEN HE WAS LIKE THIS!? :-( Not anymore…

It went SO well! Elvis was a champ. I called Josh and said, “GUESS WHO JUST COMPLETED THEIR FIRST 3 MILE RUN!?…ELVIS” he started laughing and said, “You couldn’t even ease him into it? You just went for it?” I knew Elvis would be a great running buddy. His energy is contagious and our first few minutes he was pulling me along at a nice 8 minute flat pace. I knew that I couldn’t keep that up for 3 miles, so I slowed HIM down.

The face of a puppy who just dominated his first run and then immediately came inside and plopped down by the front door. He was SPENT. I am more than excited at how well he did and absolutely cannot wait to begin taking him regularly on my weekly runs of shorter distances. (Although I read that the Goldendoodle can handle the half-marathon distance! Maybe one day, when he’s older, we’ll work him up to running a bit farther).

As for the rest of training, I plan on attempting my last longer run of 8 miles this weekend at some point and then perhaps running 2 miles on Tuesday and Thursday, but that’s about it. I truly cannot believe that after all this time my second half-marathon is so close!

Have a Happy Friday!!

Katie Bagby | 3 comments | Tags: , , ,
12 Apr 2012
faith • food

Easter and Thoughts on the Lenten Season

This Easter, my family and I were fortunate enough to spend our time at my favorite place – the beach. I’m not sure how one can look at the vast ocean and miles upon miles of sand and not be truly blown away by God’s beautiful creations and vastness.

I woke up Saturday morning to complete my longest run before my half-marathon in a few weeks, a 12-miler. To say the scenery I got to run alongside was beautiful would be an understatement.

As it was my last few hours without sweets, (and since I had plenty of time alone) I began to think about the lenten season and sacrifice. It was my first time participating and I really wanted to reflect upon my thoughts of effectiveness, etc. In essence, I think it is absolutely necessary to deny thyself at times. We are in a culture of instant gratification and the term “be still” doesn’t even cross our minds. Any merchandise or food item we could dream of is typically within a 30-minute drive, or internet click-away. What did I learn about myself? I am truly a sugar addict. I was shocked and saddened by how often I found myself wishing to succumb to temptation. I found myself praying simple prayers of gratitude for all the blessings in my life quite often, which was what I tried to do when cravings struck.  I need to be doing this more often in general..but I had no idea how often I would THINK of eating sweets. I mean He gave up so much for all of us and I am struggling with ice cream? How truly weak I am.

A huge “pro” of lent was the ability to describe why I wasn’t eating sweets when I was offered a cookie or other small dessert. I would say “no, thanks! Gave them up for a bit!” and then would be asked why. It was a great opportunity to share about Jesus’ sacrifice that I might not have otherwise had.

In the future, I think I will try to adopt something instead of giving something up. A few people suggested that they did this in my comments section on my Lenten post and I really liked the idea of volunteering once a week, or having more focused quiet times, etc.

It was a wonderful run for reflection and then,before I knew it, it was over and I was back at the house ready for a fun-filled beach day.

This was Elvis’ first beach trip and he did GREAT! I was shocked at how well he adjusted and absolutely loved the sand.

He also enjoyed digging holes and sticking his head in them?? We weren’t sure what on Earth he was doing, but he seemed to be having a great time.

After we left the beach we spent some time working on Easter eggs.

Everyone was very dedicated to creating Easter egg art.

Except for me. I am truly awful. Josh had a pretty bunny.

And my egg had squiggles and an off center swirl top. I’m the worst.

Clint and Presley both dominated my egg decorating abilities, so I obviously am not including their pictures so I don’t look like even more of a loser.

Then, it was time for some ice cream.

It was SOOO delicious, but we both may or may not have felt like absolute crap afterwards. 40+ days without sugar to a sugar overload in ice cream (with cookie dough and oreo’s) does not lead to good feelings. Josh has sworn off desserts for the most part, but I am just going to cut back and hope my tolerance gets built back up ;-)

The next morning we attended a church service nearby overlooking the beach.

Where I happened to catch this wonderful photo sequence of Clint and Presley.

“Oh, hang on..let me fix your shirt…”

“Ok…hurry up..”

“Smile!”

After church, Clint and Pres had to leave us to head back to school, but Josh, Elvis and I all wanted to catch a few more rays before we headed back to Atlanta.

 

Elvis is always excited to spend more time with his favorite person, my dad.

That’s about as close to the water as he wanted to go. He’s a big scaredy cat.

And then we attempted a family picture

Before quickly giving up and just grabbing one of Josh and I. My mom and I were so happy to spend Easter in our favorite spot!

My wonderful parents and our best “couple friends”!

Once we arrived back in Atlanta, I was excited to see that Elvis’ new collar came.

Complete with the bow-tie attachment for when he is feeling like a dapper puppy.

Can you tell how excited he was to be getting his photo taken? This was number 5, at least. He’s a good sport.

Easter was SUCH a great weekend filled with appreciation of our Lord and Savior, spending time with my favorite people, dessert and a great run, all in my favorite place. So blessed and thankful.

 

How did YOU spend Easter?

This weekend I am headed back out-of-town for a Bachelorette Party in Charleston, and can’t wait to complete another long run exploring a place I haven’t ever been before. Nerdy? I think so.

 

 

 

Katie Bagby | 5 comments | Tags: , , ,
01 Apr 2012
life & home

Pre-Baby Bucket List

Before Sunday School today I was standing talking with a few friends when one of the girl’s mentioned her ‘pre-baby bucket list’. This immediately grabbed my attention. I asked what kind of stuff she had on the list and she happened to have the piece of paper with her that she put it on and shared it with me. I absolutely loved the idea, and loved that her and her husband had talked about it. Once we got home from church I decided to create one of my own and ask Josh to add to it.

Josh and I often get asked “So–when are you guys going to have kids?” Especially now that we have been married for almost a year. It seems that after you reach the 6 month mark people are clamoring to know if plans for a little one are on the horizon. We have no plans of trying to conceive right now. We’re much to “selfish” with our time, and we are so enjoying being married just the two of us. This year alone we have 1-2 trips per month planned through August! Granted, all are small in time frame and most are driving distance from our home, we still are enjoying being able to pick up and go when the feeling arises. So without further ado, our “Pre-Baby Bucket List” (so far!) includes:

1. Take a Road Trip
2. Go on an Adventure Vacation
3. Go Skiing Together out West (I have been skiing several times and would always prefer sand and surf, but Josh hasn’t ever gone and it’s definitely a must-do!)
4. Bachelorette Weekend Trip with Friends (Happening the weekend of April 14th for one of my best friends, Rachel!)
5. Finish my gallery wall going up my stairs (Josh laughed at this one, but I really do need to get started! It’s been in the planning stages for wayyy too long.)
6. Wine Tasting at a Vineyard (Check! :-) Birthday Weekend 2012)
7. Ride in a Hot Air Balloon
8. Buy a really nice camera
9. Host a Surprise Party
10. Run a Marathon
11. Get Certified in Something (PT, Yoga, Pilates, Class Instructor, etc.)
12. Pay off our debt (excluding the house)
13. Josh begin his MBA
14. Travel to Europe (Josh)
15. Take a Cooking Class Together

So, there you have it! We finished and Josh goes, “That’s a lot to get accomplished in a few years.” It really is! I’m excited that we have the list so that we can get started. If we don’t get all of these things accomplished before we decide that it’s time to start a family, our lives will go on. We just want to have a list of things that we know are on the “want to do” list.

If you don’t have kids, do you have a pre-baby bucket list? If you do have kids, do you wish you would have made one? What would you have put on it??

Katie Bagby | 9 comments | Tags:
27 Mar 2012
food

Top 10 Go-To Meals

I’ll be honest; I absolutely hate trying to figure out what to cook for dinner every night. If I haven’t pre-planned on Sunday evening what I am going to make all week, then I resort to spending 30 minutes at work searching websites for healthy recipes. It’s inevitable that I find something that sounds WONDERFUL only to be let down when I see the obscure ingredients involved  and the prep and cook time.

Let’s just talk about this for a second: who really has time to spend 1 hour on prep and 1 hour on cooking!? Ok, well… I do – I get off work at 2… BUT I don’t WANT to spend 2 hours on my food unless it’s just going to be phenomenal. And…let’s just be real – I’m not that great at cooking, so more than likely it’s not going to be phenomenal.

Anyone recall the chocolate cake disaster?

 

If you are anything like me you have your “go-to” recipes. The meals that are no brainers and you make so often that when I ask Josh what he wants for dinner he automatically picks off of the below list because that’s what he’s used to eating. Don’t feel too sorry for him though, we are treated to dinner at my mom’s house at least two times a week….and she doesn’t lack variety like I do. So, if you do that math..and account that we typically eat out once or twice…I’m really only cooking 3-4 times a week, so the below ten recipes can usually hold me over for a good 3 weeks before I need to repeat! :-)

My Top Ten Go-To Recipes

1. Shrimp Quesadillas with Black Beans

Source

I saw this recipe on Eat, Live, Run one day and thought, “ten minutes? Shrimp quesadilla? Heck. Yes.” Since that day (in February of last year) it’s become a staple for me.

2. Black bean burgers with Alexia potatoes


3. Spaghetti

Whole wheat pasta, Tomato Basil Sauce with only real ingredients and ground turkey.

 

4. Tilapia with Sweet Potatoes and Asparagus (the below picture is not my “typical” tilapia dinner, rather the only picture I could find of tilapia I had made. I guess because this is my favorite “treat” way to make it!? Hmm. Not sure. But it sure is delicious either way!) Side note: Seeing mashed potatoes makes me want some badly! I’m not sure I’ve had any since this picture. Mmmm.

 

5. BREAKFAST FOR DINNER!!!! Mmmm.

OR if it’s just me…

A green monster smoothie. I absolutely love smoothies during the spring/summer/fall months. I’ve mentioned before that I don’t really LOVE full meals, so if I am on my own for dinner I will make a smoothie and combine it with eating fresh fruits and veggies and call it a night. No need to get a pan dirty! ;-)

 

6. Quinoa

 

Is anyone else just extremely impressed with my photography skills? I choose amazing lighting for all my pictures. All taken with my iPhone, of course, like any photog would choose to use! :-)

7. Homemade Veggie Pizza!

Source

8. Salad

Salad doesn’t usually hold my appetite all night, but I love having salad for dinner. Around 8:00 I’ll start hunting around the kitchen for a snack and usually end up making some popcorn on the stove top (no microwaveable!) or some fruit.
9. Grilled chicken with corn and broccoli

I have no picture of this…but it seems pretty self-explanatory. I use a recipe for the broccoli that I found on Pinterest, and it is AWESOME.

Try it, here!

 

10. Michael Angelo’s lasagna

This is definitely a “packaged food”. However, when I found it in the frozen section I was sold.

I can pronounce every single item on the ingredients list! And for me, that’s big.

I realize that it would be healthier to make my own at home. I also realize that packaged food as a whole is not “healthy”, BUT finding something in the frozen food section that I can pronounce all the ingredients was a HUGE win in my book.

 

 

So, I would love some help! What are YOUR top go-to recipes? I would love a chance of pace!

 

Katie Bagby | 6 comments | Tags: , ,
25 Mar 2012
favorites • life & home

Golden Birthday *24*

As I’ve mentioned just a few times, Saturday was my birthday. This year, Josh surprised me with a weekend getaway to North Georgia Wine Country to stay at an adorable bed and breakfast and go on a multi-stop winery tour and tasting!

He came home with this adorable balloon on Friday afternoon before we left and Elvis HATED it. He would run from the room if it came too close to him. A guard dog he is not.

 

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The Inn was 2 hours away, so we got on the road around 3 to make our 6 o’clock dinner reservation and still have time to check in and get settled.

The Inn was restored in 1986 but left with many of the original pieces.

Photo Bomb!

 

Our room was so cute!

We were also greeted with a complimentary bottle of wine and cheese and fruit tray.

AND a real key. I don’t think I’ve ever had a real door key on a vacation before.

 

After settling in, we had just enough time for a quick glass of wine before dinner.

Not a bad way to kick my birthday weekend off!

 

I ordered the shrimp and grits and BOY WAS IT DELICIOUS! Josh ordered beef tenderloin but it wasn’t nearly as pretty, so I didn’t take a picture of his ;-)

After dinner we walked around the property to explore our weekend home. (And because we both felt like we might die after dinner – I have a bad habit of eating until I am beyond stuffed when I really like something).

 

 

I sent the pictures to my dad who replied, “Think you might be a little spoiled?” I definitely am.

The next morning we enjoyed coffee in the rocking chairs before breakfast.

And Josh caught up on his Drew Brees book.

We were treated to a full country breakfast including biscuits, homemade granola and yogurt, fruit and grits. It was unbelievable. At this point I was sure I’d gained 5 pounds and I hadn’t been on the property a full 24 hours.

After breakfast it was time to load the shuttle for our winery tasting and tour. The first stop was Tiger Mountain Vineyards which is family owned and operated.

At the end of the day Josh and I both decided that this was our very favorite. We were able to see the vineyards, learn about the wine making process and interact with the owners. It was more about the process and less about the tasting.

Next up, Habersham Winery

Nerd alert! I was able to tour this old farmhouse turned antique store AND buy whole wheat pastry flour from the store across from the winery that milled it themselves. I was in heaven.

Our next stop of the day had a really cool atmosphere AND PEACH WINE SLUSHIES!! Holy yum.

It was unbelievable. I asked Josh to share it with me and then proceeded to grab the straw every two seconds.

While drinking my heaven in a glass, we walked across to the old general store.

When you walked in it looked as if they disappeared and decided not to sell anymore. Everything was intact behind the counter.

From the general store we were able to walk to our last winery of the day, Yonah.

Woo wind!

By this time we were “wined” out.

The wine tour was SO much fun. I had a blast getting to try all different wines that I usually wouldn’t venture out to from fear of buying a whole bottle and hating it. At one point Josh had me try one of his that he had picked and said, “Try this ..I love it.” I start to sip and he says, “It’s Muscadine”. At which point I get the full taste in my mouth and almost throw up. It was SO sweet. I immediately ran to the snack table and stuff cheese and crackers in my mouth. You might say we have different wine tastes…

Once we returned to the Inn, I quickly changed and we headed out to eat — lots of wine drinking and not a lot of food eating. We ordered juicy cheeseburgers that were absolutely wonderful and beers – Josh said he didn’t care what we had to drink as long as the word “wine” wasn’t involved. We ordered the $3.50 Shock Top and it came out and was bigger than my entire head.

Definitely a lot of bang for your buck! A beer has never tasted so good. Following dinner we went to see The Hunger Games and it did not disappoint. Movies rarely can compare to their book counterparts, but this movie did a phenomenal job of staying close to the book script and the casting was impeccable. They did SUCH a great job of reading character descriptions and casting from there (unlike Twilight – anyone else ever noticed Jacob was supposed to be like 6’5? Taylor Lautner is SHORT). If I hadn’t of read the book I am sure there were a few parts I would have been confused about, so I still recommend reading it, but overall I loved the movie.

This morning we got up ready to see our puppy!

Elvis was on puppy-vacation with my parents. Him and my dad are two peas in a pod, so we weren’t worried about him, but we were ready to see him!

Josh got invited to go to the NCAA Elite 8 to watch Kentucky vs. Baylor play, so he quickly ditched me (kidding! He was so sweet and asked if I minded if he went — the boy just went through a full weekend wine-tasting, he needed sports in his veins!). I came home and quickly changed clothes for a run that felt NEEDED after 2 hours in the car and so much junk food. So I am now in my favorite outfit of Nike shorts and a sweatshirt enjoying spending time with my mom while she cooks my birthday dinner (I wasn’t kidding, my birthday celebrations never end). BREAKFAST FOR DINNER!!! If a girl can’t have dessert, what is better than a full breakfast spread for dinner with no guilt? NOTHING! :-)

I received so many birthday texts and Facebook’s, I felt so special and loved. I am so beyond blessed by the people in my life, I am constantly thanking God. I have an amazing husband, my parents are my favorite people, I have the best friends I could imagine that challenge me to grow as a Christian, humble me with their friendship, and then can turn around and have conversations about what swimsuit makes your butt look better. These friendships are rare and wonderful! I have a feeling that 24 will be just as special as 23!

 

 

Katie Bagby | 9 comments | Tags: , , ,
20 Mar 2012
fitness • food

Health Initiative at Work

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Over the past few months my boss has been working hard to lose weight, exericse and eat a healthier diet. He often enlists my help in ordering at restaurants and asks for help in comparing which foods are better for you than others. Recently I noticed on his calendar that he had a “Health Initiative” meeting scheduled. When I asked him about it he described a meeting of a few employees who were interested in becoming active and learning more about health while also losing weight and creating a “team-building” type experience. What an aweomse idea!!

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While I wasn’t invited to this meeting, I took it upon myself to put some ideas on paper and present them to him. Thankfully, he wasn’t offended that I took it upon myself and was receptive to my ideas. One of the problems that I noticed with his original plan is that it focused solely on running races.

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How are we going to equip our employees with the ability to run the 5k?  Most people cannot just go out and run without training.

Also, running is just one aspect of health. Someone that only runs and doesn’t do any other forms of exercise is not a well-rounded healthy individual. Health isn’t one dimensional, likewise neither should a work program be that is seeking to promote health.

I created a list of ideas ranging from providing fruit and water in the break room to hosting on-site yoga classes, a “Lunch and Learn” series where professionals such as Nurses, Doctors, Personal Trainers, Nutritionist and Triathletes come in and present to the staff and other incentives such as flex-plans (working from 7:30 to 4:30 instead of 8-5, etc).

I am hoping for this Health Initative to include several aspects of health including:

  1.  Healthy Eating
  2. Active Lifestyle
  3. Time Management
  4. Work/Life Balance

My meeting is next Monday, so I am anxious to see if any of my ideas go over well!!!

 

Elvis says, “I love being healthy..just look at my pearly whites!” :-)

 

 

 

Do you have any advice on things to add to a work health initiative?

Katie Bagby | 4 comments | Tags:
13 Mar 2012
life & home

All Things March

I am SO THANKFUL that it is March!!! I absolutely love March. 1) It’s my birthday month. 2) It’s usually the first time I get to wear shorts (its 78 degrees today..THANK YOU GEORGIA..I love you). 3) It’s my birthday month  4) The sun shines longer.

My birthday is March 24th and this is a special birthday…My GOLDEN BIRTHDAY! Does anyone else think that Golden Birthdays are super neat? In case there are people out there who are not as obsessed with celebrating themselves  their birthdays as I am, your Golden Birthday is when the day of the month that your birthday falls on (aka the 24th for me) and the age you are turning (aka 24 for me) are the same! Pretty neat, huh? Josh’s Golden Birthday was age 2, so I’m thinking he’s a little jealous of my special day that’s coming up ;-)

(Wish I was spending my birthday here!!)

I have no idea how I will be celebrating, so for those of you that live local, please give me ideas! I would usually start my day with a 10 dollar Menchies frozen yogurt and end it with a Great American Cookie Cake, but as I gave up desserts for lent…that probably won’t be happening this year.

Side Note:: My brother and his girlfriend went to Yoforia last weekend and spent 3.71. Total. How is this possible!? Typically mine and Josh’s orders are double this…each. He’s not a complete lost cause though, he does enjoy McFlurries, which are absolutely wonderful. (Can you tell lent is getting to me!? – I have actually really been able to use the time I spend craving desert to focus on drawing closer to Christ and focusing on becoming more like Him, however a girl has to dream about ice cream every now and then. Sometimes these earthly reminders are a great way to draw us closer to Him as we deny ourselves and our own wants and wishes.)

In other March related news, Josh found a four leaf clover!

He went and bought a lottery ticket in hopes that his clover-luck would rub off in other areas of our life, but no such luck. I thought it was pretty neat that he found one! He was out walking Elvis by his office and happened to look down and voila!

I have never found a four-leaf clover. I can remember looking for them on the play ground when I was younger, but I am fairly sure that my attention span is too short to look for too long and I was on to some other playground game (like playing Mary Kate and Ashley.. you ALWAYS wanted to be Mary Kate..having two names was so much cooler than 1) before I could find one.

Does anyone else fill out a March Madness bracket? I do not watch college basketball at all. The only channel that we ever watch in our house is ESPN, so I occasionally hear score updates on SportsCenter while getting ready for work, but other than that I have no interest. Basically, I know nothing. However whenever a tournament bracket and the ability to fill it out presents itself to me, I always jump at the chance. Can I just say that I NEVER, repeat NEVER win. I watch college football religiously and at the beginning of each bowl season my family does a “Bowl Pick Em”. My brother wins EVERY SINGLE TIME. I always get close (this time I was second — I think. No one dispute me.) And I know about football.  So when it comes time for the March Madness bracket I always just choose completely random teams because the wound from my loss to my brother is still fairly fresh in my mind. One year I picked solely on team colors and another on mascots. This year I went through and looked and whatever my initial thought was, I went with it. No over-analyzing because it gets me nowhere. I think I have Davidson going to the final 4 in my work bracket. (At this comment Josh laughed and said, “Do you know where Davidson is located even?” Thank you, honey.) Along with Florida St., Kentucky and a team that I cannot think of but it’s another rando.

If you don’t fill one out, you should. It makes the games more fun..and lets be serious — you’re going to have to hear about it at work until it’s over with..might as well have a few teams to root for!

 

So that’s my all things March update — HOW ARE THINGS GOING FOR YOU!?

Katie Bagby | One comment | Tags: , , ,
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