Okay kids. I need help! I found a (bridesmaid) dress online that I think I like, so now I need some feedback. It’s a little darker than I originally wanted, but there’s something about it I like. It’s a dark charcoal with what appears to be a light grey and pink flower splash down the one side. Paired with a kick ass pair of pink heels, it could be a really cute combo. And maybe the boys could wear matching charcoal suits? Best yet – it only costs $68! Obviously a visit to the store is needed to see this bad boy in person, feel the fabric, make sure it’s not a cheap POS, etc. I’m not even posting where the dress is from because I know it will create biased opinions (as it has done for me). So now I need your feedback and honest opinions…

Love it, hate it? Thoughts, feelings, reactions?? Help!

The schedule has officially been made! Training for Chicago starts June 9th, which is frighteningly close considering how little running I’ve done since the Pig.

I think this is going to be a very different training experience for us. First off – the weather. Much as I hated training in the cold, I think training through the summer is going to be very difficult. I’m imagining we are going to have to run in either the really early morning, or late at night once the sun has gone down. Running mid-day through the summer is not going to be pretty, especially on longer runs. Bonus – maybe I’ll get a nice tan?

The other problem is that for me, summer brings packed weekends and a very busy schedule. Never one to turn down anything, looking ahead through my summer calendar there is a concert, weekend trip, wedding, etc. going on almost every weekend. In the winter we had a lot less going on because we were too comfy in our warm house to go out and do anything. It will be interesting to see how we manage to prioritize our long runs on Saturday mornings when it is the last thing we want to do. I think it will be good for us though, keeping with our new lifestyle of more running and less late nights at the bar!

This weekend is my 5 year college reunion. I’m so excited to go back and see all the changes at Denison – I haven’t been there in probably 3 years. I’m also really excited because this is Casey’s first trip to Granville! Denison was such a big part of my life, and I’m excited to finally take Casey there and have him share the experience. Not to mention I get to show him off:) Lindsey and I have joked that we are going to wear our marathon medals to the reunion. Who would have guessed that this chubby girl who partied too much is now a dedicated marathoner? I guess those are kind of changes that 5 years can bring…

Counting the clock until this workday is over. At 4pm I’m hitting the road with Lindsey and Wes and heading to Indianapolis for a weekend campout. This will be my 3rd Indy 500 – always an experience…

Last night I was running around getting ready, doing laundry, all the other stuff that has to get done before I could take off for the weekend. Around 8pm I started feeling guilty that I had skipped a lot of running this week. It was starting to get dark, and I knew Casey would hate it if he knew I went running alone in the dark, so I leashed up Indy and hit the pavement. I actually had a really good run! My first good run post marathon. It was short – only 3 miles – but I felt really strong and fast, and didn’t drag the way I have the past few weeks. So that was a good motivator going into the weekend of laziness and gluttony.

Next step on the wedding front is that we need to meet with a caterer. Once we have that firmed up, we’ll have our two big expenses covered, so we can see where we stand after that. I haven’t shopped for my dress yet – I’m thinking that will happen around the end of summer. I’m really nervous about it! You all know that I am the most indecisve person ever, so it’s so hard for me to imagine just picking ONE dress! Not that I need more than one, I just mean there are so many little details that I like in the dresses I rip out of magazines – now I need to make them all come together into one fabulous dress.

I’ve found from magazines and web searching that I reaaaaaally like the dresses by Nicole Miller. And surprisingly they don’t cost a fortune! Problem is, the closest Nicole Miller store to here is in Chicago. But I do have several Chicago trips planned this year (including the marathon!), so that might be a possibility. (MA* – they also have one in Winter Park, Florida – road trip on my next visit?) I’m also going to look at Saks downtown and see if they have any of her stuff. It looks great in print, but obviously I’d like to see it in person too.

Outside of MY wedding, I am getting super excited to be the maid of honor at Liz’s wedding on July 4th! It’s coming up so quickly, and now we’re getting to plan all the fun stuff like showers, bachelorette party, spa days, etc. I’m really nervous – my first time as a bridesmaid! But I guess I’ll be getting in good practice for my own trip down the aisle.

Back to work…