A Thanksgiving Turkey Trot

This year I joined Russ' family in running the annual 5k Virginia Run Turkey Trot. They have been participating in the Turkey Trot for the last 6-7 years and as the newest member of the Marsh family, I participated in my inaugural run. Now, I say run, but technically it was really more of a saunter. You see, I hate running. I love nice walks and enjoy being outside, but make me run for 200 yards (which my cousin Jessica did at the very end) and I'm ready to quit. Luckily, Jessica told me to suck it up for those last 200 yards and even though we were coming in a little later than most "runners", we had people on the sidelines cheering us in as we crossed the finish line. I'll save myself the embarrassment of telling you our time, but let's just say I pretty much only have room to improve. :-) Nevertheless, I did complete the race and I'm proud of myself for doing it.
I will send a shout out to my cousin Stephen for finishing the 5k in 21:38. He's 16 and he's not even a runner! Good work Stephen!
I'm excited to run the Turkey Trot again next year and hopefully improve my time a bit. :-)

Russ and I after the race

The whole gang: Stephen, me, Russ, Shawnee, Emily, Kirk, Tiffany and Jessica

I will say that participating in the Turkey Trot made me feel much better about all the eating I did later in the day. And let me tell you, we had quite the spread. My assignments included an appetizer (homemade pepper jelly over cream cheese with crackers) and sweet potatoes. Both dishes went over very well and I would like to give credit to my mother for the recipes and for teaching me how to cook in general. Thanks Mom!

The pepper jelly. Yum!

$1.95

$1.95 doesn't get you as much now as it used to, but it is still enough for a lot of small purchases. With $1.95 you can buy a carton of eggs, two packs of gum, or an ice cream cone from RiteAid. You know what else you can get for $1.95? One whole gallon of gas! That's right folks. Tonight I paid $1.95 per gallon for a grand total of just under $30 to fill up my entire tank. About three months ago I think I was paying over $4 a gallon. Not anymore! All I've got to say is this better not be a trick.

The last few days...

...I have been down with a nasty sinus infection. As a result, I just haven't been feeling well and I've been fairly opposed to going outside, seeing as it is now winter in Virginia. Yesterday there were snow flurries.
Russ has apparently seen these last few days as an opportunity to win my heart all over again (as if he'd ever lost it!). Among the many wonderful things he always does, he also:
- called the doctor to make an appointment for me
- made me dinner
- did all the laundry and folded it
- picked up my antibiotic prescription
- drew me a bath
- gave me a back and foot massage
- went to the Silver Diner and picked up a Chunky Monkey for me
(For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of a Chunky Monkey, it is the ultimate shake. It has vanilla ice cream, chocolate chips, oreos, bananas and fudge sauce. Amazing.)
In conclusion, I have a wonderful husband and I truly appreciate all the sweet things he has been doing for me while I have been under the weather.
Thanks, sweetheart!

Celebrating 20 Years of Sisters

20 years ago today, I became a sister. I also became a fighter, a hitter, a sharer, a talker, a listener and a best friend. See, the way sisters work, you don't get the best friend part without the fighter part. That's the thing about sisters. You can want to ring her neck and then want to call her ten minutes later with the best news - the kind of news that is only as exciting to a sister as it is to you.

I found a quote once that describes exactly how I feel about being a sister.
"What's the good of news, if you haven't a sister to share it?" - Jenny DeVries

As I thought about being a sister, I came up with some things that seem that embody what a sister is, at least for me.

1. A sister is the person you call when you can't call anyone else.
2. A sister is the person you fight with the most, because they know you the best and they know how to hit where it hurts.
3. A sister is the person you forgive faster than anyone, because it's no fun to be mad at your best friend.

Indulge me now, as I share some of my favorite moments from being a sister in the last few years.

The sketchy hotel in Murcia (or was it Elche?)

Giverny, Paris, France

The sister trip

Christmas in Barcelona

She was the first one I went to after Russ and I came out of the temple.

The very best thing about sisters is that even though 20 years is really amazing, forever is better.
Happy Birthday, Becca! I love you!

5 Months

I'll make this short and sweet, but I just had to quickly mention that Russel and I have been married for five months today. Not long, I know, but long enough for me to recognize that it was the best decision I have ever made. Russ and I had a great adventure today, which I will write about soon, but the best part was just spending the day together.
Thank you for marrying me, sweetheart! I love you!

A Few Days Late and a Couple Dollars Short...But Who Cares, I'm Done!!

I started my final semester of classes for BYU via Indepedent Study when I moved to Virginia in January. I had the lofty goal of completing all my classes in time for April graduation, which gave me a little less than 3 months to finish 6 classes. Was I kidding myself, or what?! I was also recently engaged and planning a wedding. You tell me which is more fun...that's what I thought.

Finally, after 10 months of classes hanging over my head, I am done!!

I flew to Utah last week to take all my finals (it is not required that you take them at BYU, but it ended up being less expensive due to our free round-trip flight on Southwest). In addition to taking my finals, I got to see my wonderful sister, cousin, past roommates and friends. All in all, a great week. The best part is that now I am free of the guilt that comes with doing anything other than Independent Study classes. Oh, and the other best part is that my Mom can finally rest easy, no longer worried that I would never be a college graduate after I decided to go off and get married!

A Girls Day

Today was a perfect girls day out. I met up with my sister-in-law Tiffany and we set out to the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa in Fairfax. Tiffany and I both had gift cards there (I received mine from my wonderful friends Jenny and Shanna for one of my bridal showers) so we decided to splurge on massages. After our wonderfully relaxing massages, we set out to the Cheesecake Factory. Lunch was delicious and, of course, we had cheesecake to top it off! Afterward, seeing as we were already at the mall, we took a little trip to one of our favorite places - Banana Republic.
It was so nice to have a day just for fun and spend time with Tiffany. I am so lucky - I've got the best in-laws around!