10th anniversary, baby-making, and more

So much updating to do. So many things left on our to-do list before summer vacation ends. Figured I’d write up a quick what’s-going-on-over-here type post today before I dig into other good stuff later this week and beyond.

Like, literally dig in . . .

// 1: Upcoming posts

Here’s what on tap for soon. Hold me to them! I should be better scheduling my time now that school is back in session. I have gotten rather lax with my wake-ups since I don’t HAVE to finish my freelance stuff in the early AM hours. But come next Tuesday, I’ll be up at 5:30 AM each morning. I’m even considering getting up earlier to shift my workouts.

We’ll see. Regardless:

• 5 frugal accomplishments as of late
• Suburban homesteading projects for fall
• Budget update and whether or not we’re paying down our debt
• Super easy yeasted naan recipe perfect for freezing + making individual pizzas
• Our family command center that’s both fabulous and functional
• Day in the life of a coach’s wife
• More second-hand shopping ninja tips, including thoughts on resale
• Less waste missteps I’ve made and how I’ve corrected them
• Inexpensive toddler + big kid activities we’re enjoying
• Our favorite vegetarian school lunches

// 2: Back-to-school stuff

So many of you guys are already in back-to-school mode. We’re still off for a little over a week, so it hasn’t been too much of a thing in our house. Still, we’ve purchased our school supplies, browsed good lunch recipes on Pinterest, and done the necessary school clothes shopping. Thing is, now we’ve got TOO many clothes between those that kinda-sorta fit and those that are brand-spanking new. I’m going to go through and try my best to make a more minimal wardrobe for Ada (and Eloise), and I hope to share that soon.

I definitely want to keep the nicer, newer things for school but also have a good stock of play clothing, as Ada plays HARD. She’s always getting grass stains and holes. I need to find better ways to launder out the stains and maybe even learn some mending. It’s always a shame when a pair of pants is good except a pesky hole at the knee.

Any suggestions?

// 3: 1997 style

Anyone else a fan of Safiya Nygaard? Yeah, she may be more than a decade my junior -- but her videos are well-researched and often hilarious. I especially enjoyed the latest exploration of style in the late 1990s -- 1997, specifically.

Some of you guys may recognize those magazines, advertisements, and Delia’s catalogs. I am definitely guilty at age 13 of taking a photo of Rachel from Friends into my hairdresser. Heck, in 1997, I was in my most prime teenage year because it was all so new to me. I tried all these trends, including the chopsticks in my hair.

// 4: Uterine happenings

I had my midwife appointment last Wednesday. I was particularly anxious about this appointment because my midwife is leaving the area. There also aren’t any midwives currently working in my area aside from another one who is leaving in November. So, I need to find another doctor, which is kind of weird for me. I’ve been at the same practice for a decade. But the doctor I may go with is at another practice and another hospital.

Though we aren’t 100 percent ready to (or sure we will) try for a third, I had a lot of questions for my midwife because she was most familiar with my issues from before Eloise’s pregnancy. In the end, we decided that if we do go that route, I will immediately using baby aspirin and progesterone. Research is mixed on whether or not this combination truly works. It did for me -- but it could have been coincidental (I think not -- but I don’t hold a medical degree). Anyway, I now have a standing prescription at the pharmacy that’s good for a year. We’ll see if we end up using it or what happens there.

Obviously it may seem strange to some of you for sharing this type of information. I only do it because I think trying after having losses is hard. I know some of you have found my blog through dealing with infertility or miscarriage. Even if you’ve had another successful pregnancy, the doubt and fear is very real. I don’t take any of it for granted. In the end, if we do try for another child I’m not thinking I could emotionally deal with going through what happened the last time. So, if it came to that, we’d likely (happily) move onto life as a family of four.

// 5: The big 1-0

Stephen and I will be celebrating out 10th wedding anniversary on Friday. I mean, that’s pretty insane to me. We started dating in college in 2005, so we’ve been together a little over 12 years. In the last 10, we’ve moved cities, bought two houses, had two kids, and shared a bunch of other milestones.

10 years of marriage looks pretty great, eh?


Here’s more photos from our wedding day. I scanned them in because this was before it was necessarily normal to get big digital drop boxes of your photos. This was also before the times of Pinterest and crazy photo-shoots. I sort of love that we got married before it became all rustic barns, Mason jars, and food trucks.

Some of my friends have jetted off to Europe or done other grand things to celebrate their milestone anniversaries. Sure, that’s would be fun. Maybe I’m a little jealous. But money/time doesn’t allow for those things over here. Instead, we bought a luxury edition of Scrabble (ours is white) that I found for less than half price at Home Goods, went out to our favorite Indian restaurant when we had babysitting a few weeks back, and will probably spend the evening on Friday crafting a homemade meal. And that’s truly enough. We’re both easy to please.

That’s all for today. More soon! 

Any requests for which posts to do sooner rather than later?

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Happy, Happy . . .

Today's our 4-year wedding anniversary. Four years! First, here's an embarrassing photo. But it's one of the first of the two of us together . . . way back in 2005!

Fast-forward to this same date in 2007:


I can't believe how much has happened since these photos were taken. We graduated college (and Stephen, graduate school). Changed jobs -- some of us (cough, ASHLEY) several times. We moved cities. We bought a house. We almost completely changed everything inside that house. We started (never home)maker. We trained and completed our first marathons. We've gone fun places. Made great food. And now we're expecting our first child.


We look pretty different, too!


I'd say they have been the most action-packed four years of our lives. Likely only to pale in comparison to the next four (or so) years.


But we're ready and excited for it all. Thanks to all of your for helping to make the last two years extra fun with all your comments, suggestions, and support!

And here's to 4,000, er, 40 more years!


Pssst: Today on on (never home)maker, baby! I wrote all about my recent at-home workout experience. That actually kicked my preggo butt! It's not running . . . but there are definitely other ways to get a sweat on in the third trimester!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!!

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24 Days and Counting . . .

The Wineglass Marathon is only 24 days away! We're getting incredibly excited about it, too! We each are in the middle of our last "hard" week before our taper. Only one super-long 20-miler to go. Then, it's smooth sailing until October 3rd. My goal for this race is to finish in under 4:00:00.


To be honest, I'm nervous about my ability to meet this goal. I'm also incredibly nervous about injuring myself in the middle of the race (it happened in Philly last November). One more thing: I'm scared that I'll get sick before the race (also like last year). I'm not one to make excuses, especially for my running, but my finish time last year (4:10:40) was definitely impacted by everything I just listed.

Here's specifically why I'm freaking out:

1. I trained very well last year, at least in my opinion. I rarely missed a workout in Hal Higdon's Intermediate I plan. My pace (and race times) all pointed to a 4-hour finish (3:58 to be exact). I felt confident. But I may have run my long runs too fast. Usually they were between 9-min to 9:10-min per mile -- since it was my first marathon, I think I probably should have done a beginning plan . . . and slowed these runs to maybe 9:20 to 9:30 pace.
2. The very day after my last 20 mile run last year, I feel terribly ill with bronchitis. I was sick -- in bed -- with a fever for nearly an entire week (I also missed four days of work, which isn't typical for me). The cough lingered until a few days before the marathon, and I'm almost certain the lung damage was still there on race day. Plus, having a fever for a week isn't exactly good for healing muscles. Ugh.
3. I don't know how it happened, but around the middle the marathon, I developed tendinitis in my left foot. It felt like my foot would split in half and break. Dramatic, but I was almost crying the whole last half. I kept going on it because I had done all the training -- I couldn't imagine not finishing! I couldn't run for several weeks after the race. Really, I could hardly walk. I did a lot of indoor cycling and about two months after my finish, I could manage 3 miles again (with some pain). I'm hoping this doesn't happen again. It was awful!

In the back of my mind, I am thinking about all of these things. I'm hoping that this year, I'm stronger. I already feel less tired this training season -- I remember last year, I would fall asleep at 9PM and have a heck of a time waking up each morning. I'm rebounding from my long runs faster. I'm also trying to take them slower and get more time on my feet.

My pace is around the same as it was last year for these runs, but I know that my racing pace is faster (because I've improved dramatically in the half marathon, from a 1:53:49 last year to a 1:46:31 this year).



One reason I'm really hoping to stay injury free is because this past weekend while we were in Philly, we were feeling so nostalgic for the marathon . . . we decided to see if there were any spots left. And there were (and are still, if you're interested!). Yes: WE SIGNED UP FOR THE PHILADELPHIA MARATHON -- again. It's on November 21st this year. This gives us 7 weeks between races.

I'm going to follow Hal Higdon's "senior" marathon plan -- which features only 3 runs per week and two days of stretching/strengthening (can you say YOGA?).


I'm hoping to cruise on all the hard training I've already done and just maintain. I think it can be done, and I'm excited to see how training three days a week feels for my body.

But . . . one thing at a time. Wineglass is the immediate goal.


Last night, I decided to up my 8 mile run to a 10 mile (I missed my 12-miler over the weekend due to some family issues). I was extremely apprehensive about it, too. I mean, it's only 2 additional miles, but after working at 9 to 5 job, my energy is sort of, well, not there. Back up for a minute: I started off the day with a great 3 mile Vibrams walk (I jogged a mile in the middle). I just felt like I wanted to get out into the crisp air. It was a great way to start the day.


After work, I rushed into the house to get my gear on. I drank some water and munched on a corner of the vegan chocolate chip shortbread. Stephen ran the first 5.2 miles with me. We held a nice average pace of around 8:22 per mile. It was a fantastic warm-up, and I think if I hadn't run with him -- I may not have been able to do the whole 10. He ran in his new Bikila Vibrams, which are made specifically for running. He's loving them so far -- no injuries or sore spots to report.

Then we ran back to the house and I grabbed a quick glass of water. I took Stephen's Garmin on the second half of my run. I haven't been timing my runs much lately. Just trying to finish the mileage. But I'm happy I timed myself! I ran the second half of the run -- which was 5.11 miles -- in 41:25 (an average pace of 8:07). Most of the time that pace was steady, but I know my first mile was in 8:04 . . . and my second mile was in 7:53! Unfortunately, Stephen likes to keep his Garmin online profile "clean" -- so he deleted all my info before I had a chance to get screen shots (UGH!).

I'd describe my effort for this run as "comfortably hard."

The total distance: 10.33 miles.
Total run time: 1:25:08 -- 8:14 pace.

When I plug this into a race time predictor for my "possible" marathon finish, I get around 3:48:00. But I'm not getting cocky. Again, just finishing uninjured would be fine with me!

I guess we'll see . . .


Thanks for letting me get all that out there. The more I talk about the race, the most excited I become! Now, here are some more photos from our jaunt into Philly.





AMAZING vegan brunch at Mi Lah . . .



Also! My anniversary gift: a pair of Vibram Performas . . . in plum. Very cute work shoes :) I snagged a pair at the Philadelphia Runner (after a trip to City Sports turned up nothing).

And PS: The people who work at Philadelphia Runner RULE (at least those who work in the Center City location). They were so helpful and nice!



If you want to look at more photos from our weekend, just check out this post. Philadelphia is one of our favorite cities . . . and we can't wait to run through the whole town in November!

Have you ever been apprehensive about a big race? Excited, but still have some jitters? Tell us about it! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com. I could use all the advice and support you can give!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Weekend in Photos and Giveaway Winner

Hey, everyone! Thanks for bearing with us during our long weekend off from blogging. We had intended to take a little break anyway (for our anniversary), but the weekend took some twists and turns we didn't exactly expect. In short: We weren't home. At all. And our anniversary celebration is on hold for the moment, too. But it's all good: Welcome to Tuesday!

Here are just a few photos from our crazy here-there-and-everywhere weekend. We'll get into the who/what/when stuff in more detail soon.

ITHACA





NEW JERSEY





PHILADELPHIA






GIVEAWAY WINNER

Congrats to Emmy (of Why Isn't Chocolate on My Meal Plan?) -- she's the lucky winner of our Operation Beautiful book giveaway. We'll mail out her copy of Caitlin Boyle's new book ASAP.




Here's what Emmy had to say:

Hi Ashley, I've never commented before but I love reading the blog- it is so inspiring. I have my own blog focusing on my recovery from anorexia and your current post inspired me to comment since I think Operation Beautiful is so wonderful.

Here is my story about a random act of kindness that changed my life (and includes the word beautiful): It was a morning last spring before class. I was standing in front of the mirror in absolute despair, hating my reflection. I had been trying to recover from anorexia for 3 years and just felt stuck, like I would be the one person who could never get better. On this particular morning, I had tried on approximately 10 different outfits and was still dissatisfied. I was about to crawl back into bed for the day and skip my classes when I suddenly thought "I am tired of feeling bad about the way I look. I would never treat someone else the way I am treating myself. I am tired of feeling fat and ugly." So I put on the first outfit I had tried on a walked out the door. The first person I passed on my class was a random boy I had never seen before. He said "you are beautiful."

I have had many ups and downs, but I've been dedicated to recovery ever since. Keep up the awesome work with your blog.

xoxo Emmy

So, that's all for now. It's good to be back. I see that a lot of you enjoyed the beet pizza dough! That's fantastic!!! On Friday night (when we visited with our friends Lindsey and John, above) -- I decided I may need to hire a creative team. John immediately said, "Oh, you mean -- BEETZA?" I don't know how I missed that one . . .

What did you do this weekend or for the holiday? We're (again) getting psyched for autumn. Leaves are falling and temps are getting cooler, at least at night. Anyway, let us know! Just leave a comment or email us at neverhomemaker [at] gmail [dot] com.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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To Have and To Hold: Our 3-Year Anniversary

Happy anniversary to US (tomorrow, that is)! Three years ago, the temps were crisp, the skies were sunny, and Stephen and I tied the knot before 80 of our closest family and friends. We're postponing our "real" celebration to this weekend (still not totally sure what we're doing), but we thought you might enjoy some photos from our big day.

September 1, 2007





Do we still have your attention? If not, you may be interested to know that Steff from Steff Says sang at our wedding! What was the song? "Love" by John Lennon.


And a few more wedding photos for good measure:






You can view more of our scanned wedding photos by following this link. You may not actually KNOW us, but along with house crashing (which you can get to by clicking "TOUR" on the linkbar above), wedding crashing is a whole lot of fun!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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