It's official...

I'm a triathlete!!!

The race went great last night! I was pretty happy with how I did, especially considering how little time I had to train. Now that I know I'm capable of doing it, I'm going to properly train for one in October. It looks like I may have a new addiction...


And to make the night even more special, some of our dear friends from Sunday School showed up to surprise me! It meant so much to me to have them there. It was so nice hearing them cheer me on. There were definitely a few moments in the race when I wondered if I was capable of doing this. But I just kept remembering Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." I am so thankful that God gave me the strength to achieve this accomplishment. The glory goes to Him.

{Hubby and I having one last motivational chat before heading out for the swim}

{Getting ready for the choppy ocean water}

{And we're off!}

{Hubby and I heading out together for the bike ride...it was so nice to have this little moment with him so he could give me words of encouragement}

{Coming in from the bike ride and seeing my friends cheering for me was an awesome feeling}

{Waving at my cheering section as I head out for the run}

{Hubby and I got some goodies since we both competed}

{Did I mention that hubby won first place AGAIN?!? He is seriously amazing!!}

{As for me, I am thrilled with my cute t-shirt! It feels so good to have earned the right to wear this!}

Freaking out...

I can't beleive my triathlon is TOMORROW night...where did these last 3 weeks go?? I feel so unprepared. Originally, my goal was to try to finish somewhere in the middle of my age group. Now I just want to finish! At this point I am so over cycling and swimming. Actually I'm over any form of working out/training in general. I just want to lay on the couch reading magazines and eating cupcakes. But I know it will all be worth it when I cross the finish line and am able to add "triathlete" to my list of accomplishments.

I sure do hope the shirts for this event are cute.

When life hands you lemons...

Today I am seriously wishing I had some delicious lemon treat to totally indulge in. Maybe lemon cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. But no such luck. So I drove through Dunkin Donuts and got a huge coffee and a chocolate frosted donut. Isn't it lovely that I'm eating this junk 4 days before my triathlon? But it was necessary.

{What I want...}

{image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/s4xton/2222141030/}

{What I got...}

{image from http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/booksblog/2007/dec/10/week}

You see, the universe was against me today. Today was supposed to be lovely...finish some patient reports, class, then Bible study. I was especially looking forward to Bible study because a friend's mom is in town and she made these AMAZING chocolate cake balls for us to snack on (we're talking chocolate cake dipped in more chocolate, drizzled with even more chocolate...pure heaven). So I get to work this morning and try to open one of the reports. These reports take about 8 hours to do, and I was almost done. Well, it seems that the ancient computer, with it's ancient edition of Word, screwed up the format of the report to the point that it would not even open. And it could not be recovered. All that work...down the drain. Did I mention it's due tomorrow?

So no Bible study with the girls for me tonight, and no deliciously blissful little chocolate cake balls either. It's going to be a long night. And I'm going to need some serious retail therapy tomorrow after I turn these reports in.

Le Weekend...

Can you believe that it's already Monday again? And that July is already almost over? I can't believe that summer is almost over. I always have mixed emotions about the end of summer. On the one hand, fall is my favorite season and it's filled with some of my favorite things: LSU football season, Halloween, Oktoberfest, my birthday, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

I can't wait for:

{Geaux Tigers! Saturday afternoons and nights will be filled with LSU football, friends, and Cajun food.}

{Oktoberfest is one of my favorite festivals. Who can resist German beer, brats, soft pretzels, and polka music?}

{Trips to the pumpkin patch with my little pumpkin.}

{Carving pumpkins into spooky designs...then toasting the seeds.}

{Birthday cupcakes, made with love by hubby.}

Yet I always miss the somewhat lazy days of summer. Although it's pretty much always summer in this part of Florida, it's just not the same.

My entire weekend was spent cleaning. Seriously. The only time this weekend I was not cleaning was when I was at church yesterday morning. Our apartment turns into a disaster area very quickly due to our hectic schedules. One of our couches was completely buried in research articles. We threw out like 10 bags of just paper trash (mostly research articles I had to read during last semester!). We also have about 6 bags of clothes to take to Goodwill. Somehow, I still have no room in my closet. How is that possible?? We still have lots more work to do, but we made a huge dent in the mess this weekend.

I got in a few runs over the weekend, but triathlon training has mostly slowed down now. This week will just be about keeping my muscles loose. I can't believe that the race is now less than a week away :/ My nervousness is starting to get out of control! I'm now to the point where I'm just ready for it to be over.

Hoping you all had a fabulous weekend!

Watermelon Salad

I am always on the look-out for easy healthy recipes that I can make for lunch. Hubby and I are both in love with this refreshingly cool summer salad. The great thing about this recipe is that there are no measured amounts, so you can add as much (or as little) of each ingredient as you want.

Watermelon Salad
(from Women's Health magazine)

watermelon, cubed
radishes
chives
feta cheese (I use reduced fat)
extra virgin olive oil
iceberg lettuce

{Cube fresh watermelon and put in a medium to large bowl.}

{Slice radishes paper thin.}

{Add radishes and finely chopped chives to bowl of watermelon.}

{Now add some feta and drizzle on some olive oil. Toss a few times to coat.}

{Serve over an iceberg wedge. Make sure to pour the juice from the bowl onto the lettuce too.}

Enjoy!!

Even my dog loves watermelon...

I must confess that watermelon season is one the things I adore most about the summer. When I lived in Louisiana, we used to always go to my uncle's house on Sunday afternoons. During the summer, he would always have a fresh watermelon to share. We would spread newspapers out on the kitchen table and cut the melon into huge chunks. I would always be covered in sticky red juice before I was finished with my slice.

Fortunately, hubby shares my love for this summertime fruit. One day for lunch this week I made us watermelon salads that were AMAZING! I promise to take photos and share the recipe the next time I make it (which I assure you will be soon).

Yesterday afternoon I stopped at a produce stand and picked up a rather delicious looking watermelon for only $1.99. It is currently sitting in my fridge, waiting to be devoured after hubby and I come in from our evening run. However, there is another member of our little family that loves watermelon...


So it looks like we may have some competition for our post-run snack. It's a good thing she's small and can't open the refrigerator door. Otherwise, I think we just might be in trouble...

Looking out for sea monsters...

I can't believe that my triathlon is now less than two weeks away. My mind is now pondering all of the things that could wrong. Yesterday, hubby and I went to the beach to practice open water swimming. I swam right into a small island of seaweed about 50 meters out. Keep in mind that it's really hard to see where you are going when you are swimming in the ocean. I was just swimming along, when suddenly I'm being grabbed by all of these slimy long tentacles. I keep thinking about what would have happened had I noticed two beady eyes staring at me as I struggled to untangle myself (*shudder*). So now I not only have to worry about not drowning, but I need to be on the look out for sea monsters too. So much to think about.

This weekend was spent training and rounding up triathlon gear. I think assembling the proper attire is the best part of any activity =) Hopefully the sea monsters won't get me before anyone has a chance to see it.

{New aero bars and speedometer for my bike}

{Oakley Jawbones for cycling and running}

{Italian tires to give me speed}

{Aqua Sphere tri goggles...so I can spot any sea monsters before they try to eat me}

{Our running shoes are now equipped with Yanks so we will waste no time in T2}

{Tri top from 2XU}

{Tri shorts from 2XU}

My latest addiction: Cloverbelle

You know how you sometimes go into a shop and you are just overwhelmed because you want EVERYTHING in it? Well, that's exactly how I felt when I discovered Cloverbelle. Southern belles love their jewelry, especially when it makes a statement. Each unique piece is handcrafted in Atlanta, utilizing only the finest materials. I must have browsed the site for an hour before finally selecting these gorgeous pieces:


I cannot wait to wear these with a simple crisp shirt and pencil skirt or jeans. I told hubby that each birthday and Christmas must now include a gift from Cloverbelle!

Some of my other favorites:

{Nothing says Southern belle like rows and rows of delicate pearls}

{Chunky black beads would be the perfect compliment to a classic sheath dress}

{I love the idea of wearing this butterfly cuff with a breezy summer dress and cowboy boots}

{This sweet necklace would look perfect with a buttery soft t-shirt and tulip skirt}

You can check out the Cloverbelle website here, but I must warn you...you are going to want everything! When you place your order, leave the artist a comment and let her know that you found out about her amazing line from me (Lacey). Happy shopping!!

A bit of happiness for your Friday...

I just love Fridays, don't you? The past few Fridays I have been treating our little apartment to fresh flowers. I just love soaking in how pretty they are as I have my morning coffee or do my daily Bible study. My favorites:

{Peonies...finally! I have been craving these for so long!}

{I could not resist this color combination of fresh roses.}

I also love to bake on Friday nights. Lately, I have been craving all things lemon. I made a cake with Meyer lemons last week, but my favorite lemony indulgence has been scones with lemon curd. If you have not tried this stuff, you must go to Williams Sonoma immediately!


I started this Friday off with triathlon training...I ran a 5k and swam 1100 meters in the early morning hours. I then met my friend C for lunch at Ballyhoo. It was so nice to have a leisurely lunch and catch up with her.

I'm sure that by now you are getting sick of seeing pictures of my dog, but I just had to share this one with you. I love how she is smiling and so content in her little bike basket. Hubby hurt his foot yesterday, so this morning he took his bike and Heaven to the trail with me while I ran. He and Heaven rode along beside me, coaching and giving me water. I felt like a pro :)


What is everyone doing this weekend? My plans include {more} training and writing psych reports. Hopefully some fun will be squeezed in there somewhere :)

Wishing you all a very happy Friday!!

it seems that hubby is kind of a big deal...

Hubby and I had such a busy holiday weekend. I still don't feel like I have fully recovered! On Friday night, we had an Italian party with a group of friends. Everyone brought different Italian foods and wines...it was a really fun night. Saturday morning, we had to get up at 4:00 AM for hubby's triathlon. I'm the type of girl who needs her beauty sleep, so I was not too pleased about having to get up so early on a Saturday. But the triathlon turned out to be really fun, and hubby won first place!! I am so proud of him!!

{Hubby finishing his swim and running out of the ocean.}

{Hubby on his bike...cycling is his best discipline.}

{Hubby with his 1st place medal!}

Hubby and I are doing another triathlon on July 25. It will be my first one so I'm kind of nervous! We've been filling all of our free time with training, but I love that it's something we can do together. Plus I got to shop for some fun triathlon gear :)

Who needs Nobu when you've got great friends?

Well first of all...I survived finals week and am now another semester closer to being done with doctor school! Woo-hoo!! Thanks so much for all of your sweet words of encouragement throughout the week!

Okay, now on to the fun stuff!

Last weekend we got together with some of the other couples in our Sunday School class and had the most amazing time. The theme was sushi night! Hubby and I are now dying to learn how to make sushi because our friends did such an amazing job.







After stuffing ourselves with many delicious rolls and Japanese salad, it was time to let our competitive sides emerge. We had a blast playing Apples to Apples, the Newlywed Game, and Catch Phrase. I feel so blessed that we have a great group of Christian friends! Here is my favorite photo from the night:

Wishing you all a fabulous holiday weekend!!
Happy Birthday America!!