Avengers Official Race Guide

The Official Race Guide for the Inaugural Avengers Hlaf & 5k Weekend has been released!

You can find the whole guide here.

I've included some of the highlights below.

I'm really looking forward to the 5k. After all the time and effort I put into making our costumes, I can't wait to wear them with my friend. :)

Will you be there for the Avengers weekend? Looking forward to anything in particular?

There's No Place Like Home

The wait is finally over!

My husband finally got his long awaited call letting him know where we will be moving. And I am so so happy to say that we're going back home to California! The Bay Area, to be exact, which is where we are both from.

Too bad getting there isn't as easy as clicking my heels.

His co-workers started getting calls a week before he got his. That 5 days of waiting was really draining. I would literally jump every time my husband's phone would buzz. It's kind of like that 3 minutes of holding your breath while waiting for the results of a pregnancy test. ;)

The good news is that relocation is taken care of. Apparently they'll even pack up our apartment for us! But being the type-A/OCD person I am, I'll be packing. Since I'll be the one unpacking, I really prefer not to have a "hey, I wonder what's in this mystery box?" moment at our new place. It'll still be wonderful to not have to drive the 30 hrs back to CA. 

Unfortunately we get to do the housing hunt again. I'm suffering from some major sticker shock! We've lived roughly in the same area before, but I'm realizing now just how good of a deal we had. Cross your fingers that we find a decent apartment without breaking the bank.

All in all, it feels great to have a plan and to know that we'll be back home soon. :)

Best Surprise Ever

My husband isn't big on surprises or huge romantic gestures like whisking me away on a surprise weekend getaway. I'm ok with it, that's not the reason I fell in love with him.

We spent 6 months living apart, him in Texas and me in California. It was tough trying to stay connected with busy schedules and the time difference didn't help. A lot of the time it was a text here and there with the occasional "let's actually talk in __ days." Finally, we decided that I'd move to Texas at the end of July. It was great to have an "end" date, but it also meant we'd go 2.5 months without seeing each other. :(

We planned it out- my last day of work was going to be Thursday, I'd clean the apartment Friday, he'd fly in Friday night, then we would pack and drive out over the weekend. 

On Wednesday, I'm finishing up after we closed at work. Generally this time is pretty quiet, each of us does out own stuff, then we head out at the same time. So I was surprised when my co-worker rushes up to me and says she needs my help urgently. URGENTLY. She's new in her position, as well as pregnant and her hormones/emotions had been out of whack that week, so I didn't delay. She brings me to the back storage room and starts flipping through a stack of papers she has in her hand.

Me: What's up?
Her: Um... 
*flips through papers*
Me: Oh, hey, you opened an account for him? 
*stops flipping*
Her: Yeah! What do you think about his name?
Me: Huh?
Her: His name. What do you think?
(keep in mind, my co-worker is pregnant)
Me: Um... It's nice I guess?
Her: But what would you use as a nick name?
*I give her a puzzled look*
Her: Or would that be his nick name?
Me: Is this the problem....?

At this point our boss comes in.

Boss: What are you guys doing in here?
Me: Well... She was going to show me something...

Then my other co-worker busts in. 

Other co-worker: Kim! I need you! Right now! 

At this point I'm thinking WTF is going on?! Did someone spike the water in the break room?!

I go out and there's my husband, standing there in his cowboy hat and boots, 2 days earlier than I expected. And boy was I surprised! I shed a few tears, probably from the emotional overload of stress/relief.

Sorry I don't have a better picture!

He had to carry his hat on the plane. :D

My co-workers had helped him plan this for months. My husband said he felt so bad each time I grumbled about him arriving so late because he knew he'd be surprising me. :)

Moving was definitely bittersweet. As long as we'd been together, we'd lived in the same town. We spent 5 years in this last apartment, including the first 4 years of marriage. 

I took a picture of him here when he left, so happy to be together again. :)

Have you ever been surprised by a significant other? 

East Coast Trip!

Two weekends ago, my husband and I headed back to the West Coast for a wedding.

Last weekend we went to the East Coast.

And now I've been super sick since we got back. I blame it on all the traveling. :/

I had the hardest time trying to figure out what to wear since I currently live in shorts and tank tops. In the end, the weather was beautiful and I enjoyed being cold for once. Ah the little joys in life. ;) 

We got to drive this beauty around for the weekend. We didn't want a giant Jeep, so they upgraded us to a Camaro. As a little girl, I had a brief moment of wanting to be a Nascar driver, so I enjoyed driving this car. Fun times! :)

We took some time to explore Yale's campus. Beautiful buildings!

Don't forget- on October 1st, Gilmore Girls is coming to Netflix! Yay!

But the real reason we were there- my husband's mom got married! Just a small casual outdoor ceremony with close friends and family.

While waiting at the airport... 

Nope, he is definitely not for boring people. Way too much fun and energy for that. :)

Waiting and waiting...

It's been about a month and a half since I moved to Dallas. So far I'm really enjoying it! The people are great and it's been very relaxing. 

But now it's getting a little stressful. My husband's training portion of work is coming to an end and he will be getting moved to a permanent office soon. Supposedly we're moving around October 1st. That's in 2 weeks. And as of now we have no idea where we are going.

We're literally waiting on one phone call. ARG! I hate waiting. :/

How do you curb your angst and just be patient?

Official Avengers Half & 5k Courses!

The official courses for the Avengers half marathon and 5k courses have been posted to the runDisney website! 

Avengers 5k

Avengers Half

It'll be nice to run different courses at Disneyland other than the Disneyland races over Labor Day weekend and Tinker Bell in January.

What do you think of these new courses?

Training Tuesday

Training for:

Weekly Recap

Tues: 1 mile

Wed: cross train

Thurs: cross train

Fri: rest

Sat: (out of town)

Sun: (out of town)

Mon: cross train

My motivation to run has faded. And it's my own fault. Last week or so I went for a run right before sunset. It was beautiful, only like 85 degrees and there wasn't any sun beating down on me. For the first time since I moved here, I was able to run and just enjoy it. I was able to run at the speed I used to, and boy did it feel good! But since then, I just get discouraged at the thought of running during the day. I know I could always go in the evening or early in the morning, but spending time with the hubs or sleep always seems to win out.

On the upside, I discovered a new fitness app that I've been using to cross train. It's called FitStar and it's got a ton of great 20-30 min workouts ranging from Boot Camp styles to more relaxing morning wake ups. I try to do one a day or two if I don't run.

Saw this on a giant Jenga piece when we went out.

This weekend we also took a quick (like 30 hrs) trip back home to CA to celebrate the marriage of one of my childhood friends. It was great to see people I haven't seen in a long time. It's probably just me, but I've known these friends since birth. Crazy that we've gone from the playground to weddings! *sniff*

Best Friends since birth!

My goal this week is to just get out there and run. Bite the bullet and get over my dread of running in the heat. I know it has to be done, especially if I want to have any hope of finishing the WDW Marathon!

Do you ever get discouraged about running? How did you overcome it?

Friday Foodie Five: Disney-style

This week's Foodie Friday is going to be a bit different. I'll be highlighting five of my favorite Mickey-shaped foods!

 Mini Mickey Waffles

You can find these around the parks, but my favorite place to get them is the Carnation Cafe at Disneyland. And this past trip, we discovered that my allergic-to-everything-under-the-sun friend can eat a version of these!

Mickey Cream Puffs

One of my dad's favorite desserts is cream puffs. I was making them one day and decided to make Mickey ones! 

Mickey Pants Ice Cream Sundae

Found at Beaches & Cream in WDW,

Plaza Ice Cream Parlor and Plaza Restaurant Restaurant in Disneyland, and Clarabelle's Hand Scooped Ice Cream in California Adventure.

I've never had this, but that sink is too cute!

Pastel Mickey Macarons

Aren't these just beautiful?! I didn't make these, but they're on my to-make list!

Photo from 8&8 Baking Co.

Mickey Ice Cream Bars
One of my all time favorite treats to enjoy at Disney!

Do you have a favorite Mickey-shaped food?

Costumes: Tuesdays on the Run Link-up

This is my first time with the Tuesdays on the Run link-up. Let's hope I did it right!
A big shout out to the hosts of this link-up: Patty at My No-Guilt Life, April at Run the Great Wide Somewhere, and Erika at MCM Mama Runs.

This week's topic is Racing in Costume!

When I started my running journey in 2011, I didn't even consider running in costume- I was more focused on finishing! It wasn't until my 3rd runDisney event that I wore a costume, but since then, I've been hooked!

C3PO & R2D2

Disneyland 10k, 2013

As my first costume attempt, I wanted something easy. My husband didn't want to be a prince, though he did suggest we go as Jasmine and Jafar. Haha.

I purchased my R2D2 tank top and hat. I decorated my husband's gold C3PO shirt with a sharpie, some black tech fabric, and some colored elastic cording.

We definitely have the height difference down!

Hipster Disney Princesses Jasmine & Snow White
Neverland 5k, 2014
My friend and I planned to walk the 5k, so we didn't have to worry about it being runner-friendly. She came up with the idea to go as Hipster Disney princesses, complete with signs. Everything was regular clothing, which was helpful in the cold morning!

Tinker Bell
Tinker Bell 10k, 2014
The Tinker Bell 10k was the first race I've run alone. I was a little nervous, so I figured a costume was in order! I went with a super easy version of Tink, mostly because I already had a green running tank. Plus it fit the race theme! I made a skirt from green confetti dot material (same stuff as the Sparkle Athletic skirts) and wore the official white and green runDisney Tink Sweaty Band.

Simple Snow White

Tinker Bell Half Marathon, 2014

Being my 3rd race of the weekend, I kept it simple with a nod to Snow White. I wore a red Sweaty Band, my Team#runDisney shirt, and a yellow Sparkle Athletic skirt.

I don't think I'll ever go back to non-costume running, at least for runDisney events. Even if it's something simple, like my nod to Snow White, it definitely adds to the fun! 

I've got some fun costumes coming up.

 I love me some wine, but I went with a "dine" theme for Wine & Dine.

At the request of my 5k friend (same one who did with Neverland 5k with me),

I'm tackling my most adventurous sewing project for the Avengers 5k! I'm super excited to reveal them in November! :)

I'm still debating what to do for the Avengers Half. Any suggestions?

Do you run in costumes?