September Summary

I can hardly believe that September is almost over. So much has happened this month and I really haven't blogged about anything. The best way for me to update ya'll about recent happenings is to just post some pics with brief captions. If you're super interested in knowing more about something, then post a comment and I'll go more into detail.

Here we go.......

Schlafly's Art Outside 2009

I assisted my friend, Rachel (also a Med Wife), with her first art festival that ran from Sept. 11-13. Of course, I only helped her on the 11th while her hubby was in class. We spent 4 hours setting up her booth that day and then it opened for business. I enjoyed learning some of what artists go through at this sort of stuff. It was really hard work putting up the tent, display shelves, and lighting. I have to say that my favorite part of setting up was putting out her beautiful ceramics. I loved every single piece. Rachel is quite the artist!

2nd Annual Strides 4 Kids

Bagels from St. Louis Bread Company (aka Panera)

These are a must for after a race!

A couple of Med Wives and a tiny tot participated

in the 5K.

Way to represent, ladies!

Fuze was one of the sponsors. I just LOVE this stuff!

......And they're off!

The group of volunteers. Most of them are

Med Students and spouses.

Go SLU MED!

I was the official event photographer for the

Strides 4 Kids run that was held on

Saturday, Sept. 12, 2009. The money raised goes to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

Great job to everyone who participated!

**I'll be posting all 900+ pics on my website soon. I'll provide the link soon, so stay posted!**

Great Forest Park Balloon Glow

My parents were in town Sept. 17-19. We had so much fun! On Sept. 17 we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner. This is one of my favorite restaurants. I had a house salad, sirloin steak, and green beans. I suggested the sirloin beef tips with mashed potatoes for my parents and they were impressed. They don't usually go to Texas Roadhouse, but I wouldn't be surprised if they started going there more often. After dinner we went to hear the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra perform a free concert on Art Hill in Forest Park. The weather was perfect for an outdoor concert and the SLSO played magnificently! We took the pups and they also enjoyed the performance.

The next day was filled with shopping and spending time together. My parents treated us to a few things while we were shopping. I'm actually enjoying some if it right now in my coffee. I got a couple bottles of sugar free Torani syrup. Yum! Thanks for spoiling us, Mom & Dad! Ooh, and my Dad put a new watch battery in my Nike sports watch. I have about 3 sports watches and 10 casual/dress watches with dead batteries (yea, I sorta have a thing for watches... love 'em!). I'm not really worried about the majority of them since I'm not working a whole lot right now, but I am so glad I have a working watch to wear on my runs.We went to the Boathouse that evening for dinner and then walked over to the Great Balloon Glow in Forest Park. It was so neat! We've all been to balloon glow's before, but this one seemed so much better.

There were tons of balloons!

The next morning (Saturday) we went to try out Crepes in the City for breakfast. Wow! This place was amazing! I still can't stop thinking about how delicious everything tasted. The atmosphere was very relaxing too. This is definitely on my list of favorite places to eat. I can't wait to go again. Oh, and if you ever give this place a try, I highly suggest ordering the Zamba on the sun-dried tomato crepe. So good and decently low-carb.

My biggest loser plan is going really well. I wish I could lose weight faster, but that's just because I'm an American girl that wants instant gratification. I know it's not healthy to lose as fast as I'd like. I'm not posting numbers or anything, but I'm half-way to my goal. I'm down a few clothing sizes, my rings no longer fit, and most of my shoes sound like flip flops because my feet have shrunk at least 1/2 a size. I'm not complaining, I'm just sayin'. I had a gigantic pile of clothes that kept accumulating. Thankfully I was able to find a couple of accepting people to take it off my hands. I'm glad they were able to find some good use for all of my clothes that no longer fit. Several of the items still had tags on them. Lets just say that my approach to shopping is going to be completely different when I redo my wardrobe one of these days.

More on that later.

David finished outpatient pediatrics and his week in nursery. I'm so glad he survived. In case you didn't know, David isn't too fond of other peoples kids. Nothing personal, that's just how he is and he's always been that way. I am happy to report that he was successful in nursery and even changed

some diapers. That's a first!!!

David started inpatient pediatrics today. I'll try to keep you posted on that one.

I've been subbing a little bit here and there. Sadly, I didn't get a call today. Hopefully I'll get one tomorrow. I have a doctor appointment on Wednesday. That's gonna be interesting and probably determine what the next few months have in store for me. Wish me luck!

I am happy to report that I do have sub jobs booked for this Thursday, Friday, and Monday.

Thank goodness!

Well, my time is up and I need to get out and enjoy the weather. It's currently 59 degrees and windy here in St. Louis. It's actually what I call

"Oklahoma Windy!"

Love it!!!!

Time for a run! = )

Run, Jenn, Run!!!

I had my 2nd outdoor run tonight. We had planned on going for a run earlier in the day, but the rainy weather forced us to change our plans. Instead, we went to REI and shopped around for a while. It's always a good time there.

Once again I lusted over the bike that's on my wish list. I could just "Ooh and Awww" over it all day long. Even if money was coming in by bucket loads right now, I wouldn't purchase it until I lost more weight. I spotted a few other items that were on my wish list and showed them to David. He now has plenty of gift ideas for after I reach my goal weight. ; )

We spent some time running errands on this rainy day. Target, Trader Joe's, Petsmart, and World Market were all on our list. Thankfully, we made it out of all places without spending too much money. Ethan's Greenie's were actually the biggest expense, but we buy those things in bulk and won't need more for at least 3 months.

Once it stopped raining we went to Grant's Trail for our run. When I started out I thought I may just end up walking because I didn't feel up to running at that point. I quickly gave up on that thought and just started running. It felt so good! I ran 2.10 miles without stopping even once. I was so proud of myself. That's a huge accomplishment for me. Even back in 2004 when I had been running for several months I couldn't ever get to that point. I really think I could have gone farther tonight, but the sun had just gone down and we had to get home. I'd love to go again tomorrow, but I'm betting I'll be too sore. Maybe my next time out I'll shoot for 3 miles. I'm just going to keep trucking along and we'll see where this leads me. I have some ideas brewing in my head, but it's still too early to get my hopes up. I will say that I AM A CHANGED WOMAN! New perspectives, new habits, new lifestyle! It's a whole new me!

Sooner Loss

I just finished watching the OU vs BYU game. It started at 6pm central time on ESPN.

The game was horrible!!! It looked like a freakin' half-time show with all of the flags. Sam Bradford was injured and who knows when he'll be able to play again. Football aside, I really do hope he's going to be alright and that his injury isn't too serious. I'm praying for a speedy recovery. Now, back to the game...... it was no good! We lost and now David and I will be in mourning for a while. Seriously unbelievable!

I'd normally make myself some decaf coffee with Bailey's or have a beer after a game like that, but I'm not drinking any of that stuff these days because of my extreme diet. So, I just get to sit here and be upset about the entire situation and let my blood pressure rise. I'm still in shock. Hopefully this ticked off energy will kick tomorrow's workout up a notch.

This wasn't a good start to the season. I hope we play better from here on out. C'mon Oklahoma! BOOMER SOONER!!!

PS. If you want to comment on this post and don't have anything nice to say or if you want to rub it in, then please keep it to yourself. Thanks.