Let's Go Back: Colonial Williamsburg

We had so much fun on our trip to Colonial Williamsburg.  It was kind of a spur-of-the-moment trip, but it ended up coming together quite nicely!  I really wished that we'd had at least one more full day there to see everything we wanted to see.  But we wanted to see it at least once before we moved back, and we wanted to see it at Christmas, so we made the trip over for a short weekend get-a-way!

This is the Governor's Palace, and it was also our entertainment for the night!  I had called the Williamsburg visitor's center to make our hotel reservation and ended up asking for suggestions on things to do while we were there.  The girl proceeded to tell me that were over two hundred different shows that they offer during the Christmas holidays. And without going through the whole list, we settled on Christmas Tide at Home!  We enjoyed a guided tour around the grounds of the Governor's Palace where we experienced Christmases past in Colonial Williamsburg, learned about their various traditions and customs, and learned about the first Christmas tree in Colonial Williamsburg.  I gave it two thumbs up!

My personal favorite shop...

The Williamsburg Hotel

We also got to see the College of William and Mary.  Founded in 1693, it is the second oldest college in the U.S. behind Harvard.
 

Jonathans's favorite shop...

At one point, I asked Jonathan to "wait right here while I go to the restroom".  Needless to say, he wondered off and went and took pictures of William and Mary...This is me looking for him...Looks like we need a vocabulary lesson...   

Another really neat thing they had was this little portable stage.  This crowd is gathered around watching this guy perform "A Christmas Carol"!  We had so much fun, and I am so glad we got to experience it at Christmas!
      

Deception is a Green Monster

Well, I tried it, and it wasn't horrible.

It sure looks horrible though...

I had seen these on other blogs and needless to say, I was a little skeptical.  I mean the color alone is enough to turn one's stomach.  But once you get past that aspect of it, it's actually pretty good.  I made the Blueberry-Banana Green Monster, although I think you could put just about anything in it as long as it was healthy.  In other words, no pizza smoothies! 

This particular smoothie consists of 1 tbs. flax seed, 2 c. baby spinach, 1 banana, 1 - 1.25 c. almond milk, and 1/2 c. blueberries.  You can find different recipes and the story behind it all here.  Once I read that it has miraculous skin-clearing and hair/nail growing abilities, I was in.  A girl needs all the help she can get!

Let's Go Back: McDonald's Half Marathon

I've decided to change the name of my blog to "Sad and Neglected". . .

So, it's been a while, needless to say, and a lot has happened!  And rather than dump it all in one post, I'm going to do a series of posts, cleverly entitled "Let's Go Back".  Brilliant, I know.

First stop, the McDonald's Half Marathon!  Wow, what an experience!  I can definately see how people get addicted to these things.  Friday night we drove over to Richmond to spend the night before the big run on Saturday.  Upon our arrival, we made our way over to the race expo, to get Jonathan's bib and free race t-shirt.  The expo was very cool to me, since I had never been to one before - they had all kinds of running paraphernalia!  Next, we found the nearest Carabbas to get in our recommended amount of "carbo-loading" AND finished off a desert called "Chocolate Dream".  Now, we may have taken the recommendation and run with it a bit, but hey, we weren't looking for a PR, just a finish. 

As you know, I unfortunately was not able to run in it, but Jonathan was, and he did a great job.  He said that it was pretty tough, seeing as up to that point the farthest we had run was 8 miles, but he gutted it out and finished in 2:04:52!  So proud of him and his accomplishment!!! 

Oh, Beautiful Town of Lexington

Workout - 4.5 mi, 47 min.  (Nice and slow...)

With fall officially here, Jonathan and I decided to get out and become "one" with nature.  We have been given the opportunity to live in one of the most beautiful parts of the country - truly, it is breathtaking.  I really wonder if people who were born and raised here appreciate just how beautiful it actually is.  Any time I'm lucky enough to get out of the office and take a drive down any one of the many two lane country roads in the area,  I honestly feel like I'm driving through a postcard.  It's at times like these when I really wish I knew the exact setting on my camera to capture exactly what I'm seeing at that moment.  I can't tell you how many times a day I think to myself, "I can't believe we get to live here.  This is so pretty."

A couple of weekends ago, we drove out to Goshen Pass - a popular nearby spot for all kinds of outdoor activities.  We had heard so many wonderful things about it, and let me tell you, it did not disappoint!

This past Sunday, we took our six miles to the Chessie Nature Trail and finished in 59:55!  With times like these, we may need to think about investing in personalized Road I.D. bracelets, lest we pass out on the trail and can't be identified.  We were told about this beautiful, FLAT trail by a fellow classmate of Jonathan's, and boy are we glad!  It runs along side the Maurry River, is covered in a canopy of soon-to-be fall-colored trees, and did I mention it's flat!  A nice break from the hilly streets of Lexington.  Till next time!