Summer Is Almost Over...

Downtown Campus-Still so so excited to start doing church downtown. Can't wait for January and this change in our routine!

 No More Pro-Dani decided to not be a "pro" anymore. It's funny what can change in a year. Initially, I thought it was so "cool" that Dani had her pro card, and was devoted in a way that made her a "professional." A year later, I am wayyyyyyy more proud of her for giving that part of it up and loving herself enough to take away that pressure and title.

This shirt just makes me happy, because it's so so true. 

 Jill and Andrew Are Married- This has to be one of the top 3 prettiest weddings I have ever been too! Even though it rained all day (literally until 3pm) the evening ended up being gorgeous with perfect weather. The ceremony was held in her parent's front yard, and the reception took place in the biggest tent I have ever seen! The flowers, the decor, and Jill were all gorgeous. I'm so excited that Jill and Andrew can move past the wedding now, and start their life together. Love them!

56- Every time I serve in 56, I am amazed at how much these kids teach me. The stories they tell as 6th grade girls, usually has me nodding my head in agreement. They are precious and amazing, and definitely the thing I will miss most when we start going downtown. 

New Goals- After Ironman, I was determined to set some new goals. I had the weird feeling that I wasn't moving back...but I wasn't moving forward either. So, I've decided to tackle the LCHF/primal way of eating-strict for a solid 3 weeks. I need to pull in the reigns and get back on track. Here's to a new way of training, and hopefully crushing some health/tri goals in 2017.  

I've had a harsh realization that progress photos are one of the best ways to keep me on track
...as painful as it can be to take them. 

Date Day- Ahhhh!!!! This should be #1 on the list. It has been a loooong time since Jordan and I have had a day to enjoy each other-stupid adulting. In the morning, we met Brit at Eagle Creek and we walked the trails and had a much needed catching up. After that, Jordan and I spent the rest of the morning looking for a gift for Carole's birthday...with no luck. After we both realized we were hungry and cranky, we went home for lunch and spent the afternoon napping and relaxing. It was amazing.

I love him so much. Those hands...I can't. 

 After our previous attempt to putt-putt this summer got ruined by the death of my iphone, we decided we needed to try again before the summer was over. It was so much fun, and the weather was perfect-the humidity is finally going away.

After putt-putt, we went to dinner and enjoyed more of the great weather at Bar Louie. We couldn't believe how ready we were for bed after dinner, and then we realized it was ONLY...8:30!!! We forced ourselves to go to Target...only because we couldn't let ourselves be that lame. Spoiler alert, we are that lame. 

I can't say it enough. Jordan is amazing. He keeps me grounded, disciplined, and taken care of. He is a servant, and I strive to serve like he does. Date nights are good for the soul, and I'm so lucky I have him to date.

He loved that I was trying to take his picture... "Just look natural...look into the sunset..." His response, "I'm going to kill you if you don't stop trying to take hipster pictures."

IRONMAN Wisconsin

If you had told me one year ago that I would drive 6 hours to watch someone compete in an Ironman, I would have laughed in your face. In fact, I laughed in Dani's when she had told me last year that she had gone to watch Nick and had driven home at 1am. She told me that day on jabber that she had been so inspired that she was ready to tackle a full. One year later, that crazy friend was me, and she was out there competing.

To say that this was an experience would be an understatement. I was able to stay with Brittany's college roommate, Kaylee and her husband Mitch. I had only met them briefly 3 years ago. They were the sweetest, kindest, most gracious hosts. They took me to a local Chinese restaurant that had delicious home-made lo mein-----a-mazzziiinnggg. Kaylee left me this sweet note the next morning. I have been blessed with the kindest friends, who have the kindest friends.

I didn't want to impede on Kaylee and Mitch's entire day, so I roamed around the lake and downtown for a good 4 hours. The weather was amazing, and it was fun to explore a town that I knew nothing about, on my own. I would much rather have had Jordan along for the trip, but it was fun to be somewhere alone for the first time in about 5 years.

Lake Monona was gorgeous. There were several people out kayaking, paddle boarding, and sailing. Such a fun and active place to live...if not for the ridiculous winters, and living pretty far from just about every major city in the mid-west.

The closest I'll probably be to the Ironman finishing chute, ha!
 Watching the set-up was pretty crazy, it takes A LOT to put on a race of this size-amazing.

I got to Madison pretty early(they're an hour behind Indiana time) so I spent about 4 hours exploring the capital and State St. Their capital building is huge and beautiful, it puts Indiana's to shame.

The theme of the weekend. If nothing else, watching an Ironman
will show you that you are capable of much more than you think you are.

All of the shops were adorable, and I could have spent a fortune buying dumb knickknacks.
This magnet was my personal favorite.

The most amazing ice-cream. Scotch ale ice cream with a ribbon of caramel and chunks of heath bar.
It was so good, that I went back the next day and got a second.

 Sunday morning started early. The pros started swimming at 6:45...and so did the tears. I have literally never cried so much in one day. The emotions of seeing all of the athletes who have prepared, their families, and their supporters was too much. I heard the coolest stories, scary tri experiences, and met athletes of all levels. I spent a good hour talking to a man who was supposed to compete, and ended up being hit by a car 2 weeks before the race and broke his shoulder. I met some seriously intense coaches-so glad that Dani has a supportive normal coach.

The start of the swim. You could see the separation of the front swimmers pretty early on. I have never seen that many swimmers at one time-the sound was the most surprising part-that many hands hitting the water at once.

Dani made it out of the water in great time, and I was able to see her

come out of transition and grab her bike-so fun to watch and cheer.

I was able to stand super close to where Dani transitioned-so fun to cheer her on from that close.
The people standing next to me asked me if I was a cheerleader in a former life, proudly, I answered "Yep! Absolutely!"

This year marked 15 years since 9/11/2001. While Dani was on the bike, I went to the 9/11 remembrance ceremony held near the capital. It was very well done, really emotional, and the most beautiful morning.
I even met the mayor of Madison before the ceremony started-ha!

There were so many cute coffee shops around the square.
 This particular cup came from my favorite place, Colectivo. Their avocado BLT was delish, and this cup was my favorite. By the end of the day, I had ingested way too much caffeine-that mixed with nerves, I was about 2 beats away from an MI. 

 The bike portion took about 5 and a half hours. The run was by far the most fun to cheer for. I was able to see Dani a few times. She ROCKED a 3:30 marathon-so crazy fast.

I grabbed dinner at this Chicago food truck, Fib's. Jordan would have loved it.

Waiting for the finish was painful. By the end of the day, I had become so emotionally invested in the entire process, that I was crying every time someone came across the finish line. It hit me how much each of these people had invested over the past 6 months or more. To get to this point is such an amazing accomplishment, regardless of the time it takes you.

Dani finished in 10:25, as the 9th pro female. Ridiculous. Her first ironman, and she absolutely blew it out of the water.  To be there and cheer was such a full-circle moment. Triathlon has changed my life. It has brought out the best and the worst in me, but regardless has changed me for the good. I've met some of the kindest and most genuine people as well. So thankful that Brittany talked me into doing GoGirl.

This picture was a complete accident. I thought I was taking a video, but switched it to camera without me knowing, and I'm so so so glad that it did. That smile. That joy. Those tears. It made me so happy to see Dani so happy. The amount of work that she has put into preparing for this race, eating a strict diet, getting up crazy early-it all was so worth it in this moment.



So proud of this girl. So thankful for her friendship. Can't wait for many more races to come.

House Crashing: East Nashville

This house-oh my goodness. I'm a self-professed DIY and design nerd, and this house was one of the most amazing things I have ever seen. Like, I dropped my bags and ran around like a child an arcade...petting things, cooing like a baby, and saying "What?! I love this! Can I live here?! Ohhhh look at that!!!!" It was embarrassing. 

Bethany's cousin and her husband bought this house (which was once a bed and breakfast) a few years ago and re-did EVERYTHING. The old details are there, but everything has been updated and re-done. 

These photos don't do it any justice. I'm no Young House Love photographer...but I couldn't help but run around and take photos like I was. 

Kitchen: The soapstone counters...I was found every morning petting them, and pretending like it was my kitchen. I'm not kidding...I wish I was. 

The dining room table was made by a family friend, and the chandelier is the original that they restored. 

This living room was everything...there literally was nothing I would change in my own house. 

The adorable entryway.

This open shelving...I would marry it. 

That giant chalkboard was so fun!

The office: complete with a handmade lighting fixture-be still my heart. 

The run an Airbnb in their back yard-that blue door...that brick patio...I want it all. 

The bathroom floors.....gaaahahhhhhh. Mixing the tile and wood, I petted that too. 

Their bedroom...I stopped my creepiness at taking a picture of their bed, but spoiler alert: they had an awesome headboard that was a repurposed door. 

Every light in the house was amazing. 

The details were so cute, and made the house. 

The mix of tiles in the upstairs bath was great. 

Entertainment center turned Jack and Jill sinks...yessss. 

#bryn&drewsayido

Bryn was super sweet, and invited me to come along for her bachelorette party in Nashville this past weekend. I'm so glad that Drew is marrying her...I can't say that enough. Also, I love Nashville (my #1 choice if someone asked me where I would want to move outside on Indiana.) The weekend was super fun. Kaci, Bethany, and Bryn showed me the ropes on how to actually act 25, haha. Let's just say, I'm not cut out for it-but it was definitely fun to do it for a weekend. 

We spent Friday night at Arrington Winery. Arrington is about 25 minutes outside of Nashville, and it's GORGEOUS! The wine wasn't bad either! After a few hours at the winery, we did dinner at Edly's-delicious delicious barbecue! 

Saturday morning, we slept in and went to 5 Daughter's bakery for "cronuts." 

Oh ma goooooonnneeessssssssss. These things were unbelievable. I had Cinnamon Carmel Popcorn. After the bakery, we romped around Centennial Park and went to Pinewood Social for brunch. 

This sandwich: pork belly, egg over easy, american cheese, arugula, and siracha mayo. It was un-real. 

Tranquil & Serene: One of the best cocktails I've ever had. 

After naps, yes...naps. We had dinner at Cabana, came home and opened gifts, and went out on Broadway. After an interesting Lyft ride with "Lisa" we went to a few of the bars on Broadway. It was so busy, and I can't imagine how people do this all the time. 12-2 was rough, but I rallied around 3AM....that's right, I stayed out til well past 3 AM, which was 4 Indiana time. It was hilarious, tiring, and somewhat embarrasing, but I'm so glad that I went! Bethany was an amazing host, and it was fun to spend time with Kaci, who I had never really spent time with. Thanks for a fun weekend, ladies!

Fancy Mules: Delicious!