Livin the High Life

This week is just a flyin by! I guess I assumed it would drag since I was on vacation last week, but thankfully its rockin!! This week has been pretty bussssyyy but so, so great!!! Here's my workout schedule for this week- sorry it's just now coming up!

Monday- AM Group strength training; PM- brick work: 3 mi run, spin class

Tuesday- 1 mi warm up, 45 mins on elliptical during lunch

Wednesday- AM Group strength training; PM Boot camp (new instructor= HARD)

Thursday- Rest! :)

Friday- AM Group Strength training

Saturday- 6+ mile run

Sunday- Rest

Want to know what really sucks??? That I took ONE week off from strength training while I was at the beach (while still running everyday) and I already lost strength. During my AM group strength tranings this week, I've still used the same weight as normal, but geeeeeeez am I SORE!!! I kinda like it though.. means I'm doin something right, right? :)

Want to know what really doesn't suck???

GAMECOCKS WINNING THE COLLEGE WORLD SERIES FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT YEAR!!!!!!!!!!!!! Loooove my Gamecocks!! :)



This has definitely been a high light of the week. Another highlight??

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MEEEEEE!! :)

I feel so blessed by all of the sweet people in my life that have taken time to wish me a Happy Birthday today! Thank you!!!

Today is also one of my favorite co-worker's last day of work before retirement. So, we're all headed to a local restaurant after work for a farewell celebration Happy Hour. Afterwards, I'm meeting my whole family for dinner at Outback! I can't tell you the last time I ate there, but I'm pretty excited!!! Craving that bread!! :)

Another highlight??

My wonderfully amazing husband got a promotion this week!!!!! Wooooo hoooo!! Sooo proud of you, Cory! :) You deserve it and so, so much more!

What a hottie.

Want Another?

We officially reserved our new town home! We move at the end of July!!!!! I went and toured it just to make sure everything was good, and since then, I've probably spent a good 46 hours on potterybarn.com. I'm clinically obsessed with Pottery Barn. How do they just make it look so good?? I've gotten some really good DIY ideas and can't wait to get started! Our living room/bed room is coastal/nautical themed, which I love, so I'm wanting to stick with that theme and amp it up some. Here are a few ideas I have so far-



I'm planning to make a version of this myself- incorporating our colors and maybe a few pieces of cork, and painting faded coastal images on the wood slabs to hang in our living room.

We have solid chocolate colored sofa/love seat but I love the cream with it- so I'm thinking of getting some cream throw pillows. Also, LOVE the lantern + the candle/rope inside and the lantern on the wall!

Here's one I found online that I like:



Too bad they're $79.... booooo



I'm still unsure what our kitchen theme will be, but I really like this and am thinking about making one with an "H" on it:

I'm sure there will be many, many more ideas to come! Plleeeaassee let me know if you have any! :)

Hope everyone has a great day!! 

Heaven on Earth

Hey guys! Just catching you up on the past week. In case you missed it, Part I with details on my BFF's wedding was covered yesterday.

After leaving a rainy and stormy Asheville on Sunday, Cory and I headed back to The Thrill to make a quick pit stop to see sweet Reagan. After spending some time "awwwing" over the wittle baby, we dropped off our wedding clothes at our apartment, grabbed lunch and trekked on to our little piece of Heaven on Earth- Oak Island, NC.

Many many years ago, my Grandaddy and his best friend drew up house plans depicting everything they dreamed of for a beach home. Shortly after Grandaddy passed away, the plans were put into action.

 "Grandpa's Vision" was born.

This home is more than just a location for our entire family to get together each summer, it's become a memory- a place we can remember and feel close to Grandaddy, knowing this was truly his "vision" of perfection, a place we make new memories, and reminisce on the old days at Gran and Grandaddy's home in High Point, a place where cousins get closer each year, a place I once introduced Cory to the family for the first time, and a place of simplicity, family, and calmness. Of course, we've definitely had our fair share of drama throughout the years, but those are the memories that make us laugh today.

This is the one week of every year that I simply cannot wait for. One week a year of pure happiness, a true "vacation." This year was no different. Cory and I arrived around 7pm on Sunday night and were promptly met with a glass of White Russians (have a mentioned my family loves a good time?) After eating a fabulously prepared meal, the cousins all played a few games of Apples to Apples while the guys watched baseball and drank beer. First night success.

After a very unstable workout schedule the week before, I woke up Monday ready to run. Naturally, my body woke me up around 7am and I hit the beach for a 5 mile run. There's just something peaceful about a morning run at Oak Island. You don't need music, the waves are plenty; and there's not another soul on the beach. Oak Island is a very secluded beach with only one small area for public entry- my idea of a beach!

The majority of the week followed the same schedule- wake up, run, eat breakfast, lay on the beach, lunch, lay on the beach more, shower, cocktail hour, dinner, lay around, go to sleep. Exactly my idea of vacation. :)

While basking in the sun, I read the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. I really loved it and recommend it to anyone looking for a good summer book. The movie comes out Aug. 12th!!

Of course, Cory and my brother-in-law, Tony, played their annual golf game- except this year I got a hilarious phone call from Cory- needing a ride home. They had a little too much fun golfing, many stories ensued...including Cory leaving his poor phone on the golf cart over night....

Thursday night, we all drove to Wilmington, where Gran lives. I haven't been able to see my grandmother since November (!!!) and I was very excited to make the short trip to see her. Gran moved to Wilmington a few years ago, where my aunt and uncle live, so they could be close to her. Gran was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and currently lives in a retirement community. For the most part, she does really well and her hilarious, witty personality still shines through, regularly. We picked up Gran and went to dinner at Blue Water Grill, a water front restaurant. It was absolutely beautiful! Our party of 16 was given an upstairs table overlooking the water.

For dinner, I got the Island Style Grilled Mahi Mahi that was great! It was served with citrus vinaigrette and mango salsa + beans, rice and veggies. The whole table also split a dessert sampler, that was obviously amazing!



Me and Gran



The whole Knox Family



The cousins



Friday night, sadly our last night at OKI, Jennifer (aka our professional chef, seriously) cooked us a fabulous dinner. She was taking cooking a little too seriously though, so me and Mel decided she needed to loosen things up...



ICED!!! :)



This was her first experience being Iced...so naturally we needed to break her in good and gave her a hot Melon flavored Smirnoff Ice...yummy.

Cory and I got up early on Saturday, cleaned our part of the house and headed home. It was a sad, sad day. We arrived home around noon and immediately headed to see Reagan. We spent the rest of the day hanging around the house and watching movies- vacation will wear you out! ;)

I'm already counting down til next year's trip... it'll be our "Ten Year Vacation Anniversary." It's gonna be a good one! :)

My Best Friend's Wedding

Hey long lost friends!

I swear. I will never go this long without blogging, ever again! As I mentioned a few times, the last few weeks in June were/are packed to the brim, but sooo great!

There's no way on Earth I could write a single post about the last week and a half, and there's definitely no way in HELL you'd stick around long enough to read it, so I'm going to do several catch-up posts!

First of all, naturally I'm completely obsessed with little Ray. Cory and I have visited her every day we've been in town (which is only 4!!) and are already wrapped around her precious finger. We even made a special trip home just to get our "Reagan fix." Not to worry though, because her hectic little life is basically streamed live through Facebook and Cory and I just loved the updates while we were on vacay.



Proud Mama



Second, backing up to last weekend my best friend made THE MOST beautiful bride on Earth. I had to hold back some serious tears throughout the weekend, that wedding was just something else! :)

Friday around noon, Cory and I headed off to Asheville, NC for the wedding. We checked into our hotel and met at Deer Park at the Biltmore Estate for the Rehearsal. Everything went smoothly and the venue was absolutely stunning.

The Wedding Party at the Rehearsal

Cory...the stand-in guest(s)

After rehearsing, we had a little time to kill before dinner so Cory and I headed to our new little home to freshen up.



Welcome Home!



Sike! I wish... that place is outrageous! It is so huge and beautiful and detailed and breathtaking!

After oogling the Biltmore House, we all met at Chef Mo's for dinner. We were seated in a private room and ate AMAZING food while watching a slide show Jenna made of her and Daniel's lives. It would have made a caveman teary without all the sentimental songs... but wooo those just put it over the top! I've known this girl since we were five years old, and seeing those pictures of her growing up put me on a fast track down memory lane!

For dinner, I had the Roasted Salmon with Granny Smith apple glaze, side of kale and garlic mashed potatoes with a glass of Malbec. It was incredible!!! For dessert, we feasted on a homemade Reece's cake... ho-ly yum. It definitely stole the show!



Sorry for the photo quality...it's all I got!
The infamous Reece cake has a hunter+deer and says
"I'm settin you free. I've found the one for me."
Too cute.



After dinner, we went out for a few drinks to ease the soon-to-be Mr. and Mrs. Brown's nerves.

***SIDE TRACK***

As you may or may not have noticed, on Saturday mornings I ALWAYS get up at the crack of dawn to crank out a run before it gets hot. Meaning, 6am at the latest. For over a year. Basically every single Saturday. Cory and I were supposed to meet Jenna and the bridal party for a Bridal Breakfast at 9am on the morning of Jenna's wedding. At 10am, I woke up. FAIL.

Seriously. I'm the worst friend EVER. I set my alarm to go off at 7am to give me time for a short run before showering. At 10am, I woke up to our hotel phone ringing, Jenna thought we'd been killed. Apparently, the dang AC was so incredibly loud that it masked the sound of my alarm, paired with the fact that I didn't get much sleep the week before, my body just wasn't having it. I can't tell you the last time I slept that late. Ugh. Awful, terrible friend. :(

Of course, Jenna kept her cool, like normal, and didn't let it phase her. Cory and I grabbed a quick breakfast at Starbucks then met her and the other bridesmaids at the hair salon. I stayed for a few hours before heading back to the hotel to shower and do my hair- umm yeah, I took a risk and decided I wanted to do my own hair...I'm weird and like to put myself into uncomfortable and stressful situations. Keeps me on my toes.

Luckily, it turned out A-OK.

Afterwards, Cory drove me to meet Jenna at her hotel room to finish getting ready.

She was absolutely breathtaking!

I'll let the photos take over from here:

Beautiful wedding. Stunning venue. Breathtaking bride!!!

SHE'S HERE!

Baby Reagan has arrived!!!

5lbs. 10oz, 20" at 9:31pm 6/15/2011

The last few days have been eventful, to say the least! It all started Tuesday night. I was sound asleep, minding my own business when Cory busted through the door screaming

"KRIS! GET UP! PAGE'S WATER BROKE!!"

My heart started flying and my hands were shaking- I do so well under pressure. We kissed Anney goodbye, jumped in the car and covered 15 miles in 3 minutes. Well, basically.

When we got there, we went back to Page's room and she was doing great. She was having very mild contractions that she couldn't even feel yet and everything looked good. The doctors said Reagan was in position and we just had to wait for labor to kick in. So, we waited. And waited. And slept crooked in hospital chairs. And ate pretzel m&ms. And waited.

At 5am the doctor came in to check on her progress. Since labor wasn't coming along real quick, they decided to induce her and begin her on pitocin, increasing her dosage every 30 minutes. I've never seen a woman in labor so calm (like I have experience).  Around 10am, she was feeling some pain and was given the epidural- and took it like a rockstar!

I had to leave to go into work for a while and felt like I was on speed. I became a certified professional Facebook Stalker, thriving on updates from the grandparents. I could hardly sit still and by noon, my stomach was in knots and I just had to go. Cory stayed at the hospital, giving me updates, and told me Ray Jay could come any time. Naturally, I raced to the hospital like I was runnin from the cops and got there just in time!

To wait.

Each hour, she got just a little more dilated and we went back in her room to sit with her. The doctor was scheduled to come back in at 6pm, 18 hours after her water broke. A little after he showed up,  we got the news that she was fully dilated and ready to start pushing! Woo hooooo!

Cory and I sat in the "grieving room" (sorry, offensive I know.. but they assured us that no one needed it, and that it wasn't bad luck) because it was just down the hall from Page's room. We waited on hands and knees like 5 year-olds spying on their parents, trying to hear something, anything. We battled rude nurses and lost Hospital Wanderes. The rest of the family was in the waiting area. About 30 minutes later, we heard Chad scuffling down the hall. He said the doctor was giving her a 20 minute break because RJ was too high and he wanted her to come down some in order to get under the pelvic bone- plus he had to run do a quick c-section, NBD.

They started back around 7pm. Cory and I gave up and joined the rest of the family outside in the waiting area.

And waited patiently.

The waiting really wasn't so bad.

We were all far too pumped to be bored and by now, we'd all caught our 8th wind.

At 8:30pm, Chad came out to tell us the pushing wasn't going so well. Page was the Queen of Pushing, but RJ was just too high to come. The best thing for everyone was a c-section. So, they took her down to the OR, and we prayed. We knew we'd have a precious new baby in our lives very very soon.

Chad came in to tell us the news at 9:45- He was a DAD!! Reagan was a teeny precious little bundle of joy and he was so proud of his girls- they worked HARD! Cory and I are so proud of our little niece, and of course- we're proud of Page and Chad. Those three sure are blessings! After 22.5 hours of labor, the prize was more than worth it. Cory and I already love her so much and can't wait to have her in our lives!