In my last post I mentioned that I went home for Pumpkin Fest in Keene, NH, earlier in the month, because HGTV was sponsoring a competition with Highwood, IL. Well, tonight the episode will aire at 9pmEST!! Join me and The Boy as we watch. Let us know what you think of where we grew up, and the quirky festival we’ve been to every year!
It happened again. I fell of the face of the earth for an unreasonable amount of time. I tend to cycle like this, and I really don’t understand why. Regardless, I’m back! And I’ve got some ‘splaining to do [props to those of you who know what that is referencing].
After my last post, things got a little crazy in my life. The Boy and I hit some rough waters in our relationship, mostly my fault, and well… Things just got too distracting for me. I didn’t feel like sharing anything that was happening…
The Primal Challenge fell apart not even a week in. It had a lot to do with the issues The Boy and I were having, but also work was crazy for both of us. So it was really hard to cook primally all the time. I definitely was in a phase of shame and embarrassment about how I was doing, and didn’t want to post to tell y’all that I was failing miserably in all aspects of my life haha.
Anywho, the summer ended with going to a new close friend’s wedding on Labor Day, and a surprise trip home courtesy of my boss. He called me one Saturday morning, and told me he was paying for me to fly home for a 4 day weekend for my birthday. Kind of a huge surprise, but it was the highlight of my September.
After I returned from my trip home, the weekend after the wedding, I really started my training for my 5ks in October. The Boy helped to train me, and I feel it brought us closer together. It allowed us to rebuild our friendship and work towards something as a team. It gave us some of the things I feel we were lacking, or had completely lost, for a while. We ran 3 times a week for about a month, and then work got crazy again for me. I didn’t get to train as much as I wanted, but I trained enough to feel like I could get by.
About a week before my first 5k, the Color Run in DC, set to be on October 21st, my mom told me about the Pumpkin Fest in my hometown (Keene, NH), and how they were making it much bigger than anything ever before. And before y’all think I’m off my rocker, I’ll let you in on a little known secret: Keene, NH is the first place to ever hold the Guinness Book of World Records for most carved and lit Jack-o-lanterns in one place, at one time. We had the highest record of 29,800ish pumpkins, for about 2 or 3 years. But… Boston got a hold of the idea one year (about 2 or 3 years ago), and beat our record their first try. Last year a town in Illinois got wind of it too. They beat us their first try as well. Keene’s city council decided to cut the funding for the Pumpkin Fest after Illinois beat us. There wasn’t supposed to be a Pumpkin Fest this year. Well… HGTV heard about the Illinois town and Keene having very similar records. They decided to hold a competition between the two towns, to see who could battle it out for a win. They had two of their TV personalities get involved, one going to either location, and they filmed what went down. With the extra funding, Keene was able to make it much bigger than ever before. So! Being a small town girl, I got very excited about this year’s Pumpkin Fest. I decided it was a once-in-a-lifetime thing, and passed up my ticket to participate in the Color Run 5k, and went home with The Boy to get in on the pumpkin action. [NOTE: The show HGTV was filming for is called “Pumpkin Wars” and airs on Halloween night on HGTV. Y’all need to watch it with me!]
The Pumpkin Fest turned out to be awesome. Lots of people, and LOTS of pumpkins (we carved 16 to donate to the cause!!). It was a little sad coming back to DC, since the weekend wasn’t pretty short. But it’s only about a month and half til Christmas. I can make it that long haha.
This weekend, yesterday to be exact, was D-Day with my training. I ran my first 5k ever at the Glo Run in DC. It went so, so, so much better than I ever expected it would. It was hard, and at times I didn’t think I’d make it. But I did. I didn’t run the whole thing straight because it was really hard to see in parts, but I ran most of it. Running this race gave me such a confidence boost because I ran the farthest I’ve ever run, and kept a pace I set at shorter distances. For me, I kicked ass. It has made me want to keep running, and keep getting better. I want to run a 5k one day without stopping to walk for a bit. I want to run 10 or 11 minute miles. I never, ever, thought I’d be a runner… And I’ve always wanted to be. This was a huge accomplishment for me, and I couldn’t have done it without The Boy. He helped me so much, gave me encouragement when I needed it, and pushed me when he knew I could give more. The sweat and tears were worth it. I’m hooked, and have big dreams for myself.
So that’s what I’ve been doing with my life since I last posted. I’m gonna get back on posting regularly, but it probably won’t be daily. To hold you over until the next post, here’s some photos of life since July.
Talk with you soon, peeps.
Peace and love.
xoxo
Bexy Anne Takes on Reality 