Friday's Joy

Mic tap, mic tap. Is this thing on? 

Hi friends! I am linking up with Erika and Andrea today! I am so excited to read your posts. 

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Week in Review 

Sometimes you need to RUN to get a photo with Buster

I have been a little MIA on here this week. I have given myself grace while adjusting to new things. There are only so many hours in a day and there are way too many things that I want to do. This week, SUNSHINE and WARM WEATHER ruled the agenda. There were so many days that the sun was out and all I wanted to do was to walk and enjoy the sunshine. I figured WGJ would always be here but the sunshine always. 

One fun notable thing I did this past week was I ran my fifth 5K for this year. This one had to be the prettiest BUT also the hilly-ist. I had alot of fun with this and  I am definitely excited to run more in the warmer months. I had plans to get my recap up this past week but I'll get to it.  

Nothing too crazy this week, which made me happy! I am feeling good and doing good; I am happy to be here. 

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Links 

Mystery Pasta/// This story can only come out of NJ. I cannot tell you how many news outlets have picked up this ridiculous story and every time I saw the photo of  the piles of pasta on the river bank. HA HA!

The Office Themed 5K//// How neat is this?! I found this by total accident but I immediately felt FOMO when I saw this was run in Scranton and by certain places featured in the show. Adding to my 5k wish list! (Did I mention costumes were encouraged!)

Coronation funny tweets/// So many notable and funny things happened at the Coronation last week. My favorite parts were seeing the RBF Kate was giving in that gorgeous dress, Prince Louis antics and of course how silly King Charles looked. That crown really is hard to wear. 

$1k to watch Fast and the Furious/// Sign Keith and I up. We would happily watch these. We are already doing this without the incentive of money.

Sunday Reset/// I love the Everygirl and this is a perfect list to 'reset' yourself and get yourself on track for a good week. I do a lot of these things and it truly does make a HUGE difference in my week. 

Police Unity Tour in Toms River/// The Police Unity Tour kicked off this week as hundreds of police officers make their way down to Washington DC on bicycles. I went into work late on Tuesday morning and I was able to see the officers roll into Downtown for the rose ceremony. It was really special and I was in the right place at the right time.

Meteor strikes a house in NJ/// Again, something I feel that can really only happen in New Jersey. What are the chances. HA! 

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Looking forward

Mother's Day on Sunday. Mama is so excited to plant the flowers she picked up on earlier this week with me on Sunday. Nice low-key day. 

This upcoming week, is the Church carnival and I've been looking forward to this since February(?!) Something different and exciting. I'm hoping for a ferris wheel and cotton candy. 

ALSO! The tenth installment of the Fast and Furious franchise comes out on Friday and guess who already bought their tickets (yes, its Keith and I)

 I am also hoping for more sunshine and warm weather.

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Posts this week 

Did you miss my posts this week? Find them below:

Nope, none. I was busy living life off line. 

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[[Cause when I looked at you, I seen my one good move; Yeah, You're my one good move- Charles Esten]]

12 in 12: May

 If you're new here, start with The Plan then come back to this post 🏃‍♀️ 

I've heard of this race for a few years now.- River to Bay 5K. We are really lucky to be living in an area where we are so close to so many different bodies of water. This is the 31st year it's being run. I was so excited to participate. 

Toms River Kiwanis Club  is the sponsor of this race and this race benefits the Kiwanis scholarships for students.

I took a drive on Thursday before work to scout out where the start line is and to see where the route roughly is. I saw a huge sign that says it'd thr 31st River to Bay 5K! How exciting is that?! 

Week of Race 

I went for 2 walks this week and I ran a mile on the treadmill earlier this week. I didn't exactly train for the 5K- lousy weather and life happening; I knew I needed to move this week.  

I wasn't sure what to wear for this race. The weather had been all over the map and since we were going to be by the water, I knew it would be slightly colder than inland. I also didn't purchase a special pair of socks for this race. After going through my clothes, I settled on black yoga pants, a yellow tee, my bunny socks and my new New Balance sneaks. 

I also finalized my playlist this week making sure I absolutely love the songs I have on there and in the right order. That middle song is super important for my pacing. That has been a great way for me to determine if I'm on track.

Night before Race 

Friday afternoon they had a bib pickup at the location of the race. This was the first time, I was able to pick up my bib and swag (!!) bag before a race. As I parked I was instantly blown away (again) by the view. This made me extra excited for the race. I got my bib and my swag bag full of goodies!

The shirt for this race has to be one of my favorites. The back has a beautiful photo of a painting of sailboats that are the ones in the background of the race bib.

Morning of Race 

I was cranky in the morning. I'm not sure if it was nerves or what but I was cranky. 

My parents and I drove to Island Heights and it was a BEAUTIFUL day,  like picture perfect. We parked (much better parking situation and parking attendants) and we milled around waiting for the race to start.

We were sitting down by the water and I saw this yellow thing walking around. I quickly realized it was BUSTER, the mascot from the Jersey Shore Blue Claws. I got so giddy that I ran over to him and his handler and to see if I could take a photo with him. He was so excited and the handler did such a great job taking photos:

My parents and I did our pre race selfies as always. My cheer squad was down a person today but Keith made sure to text me before and after the race to check in. I felt his support from the distance but I sure did miss him!

Right before Race

I was all ready in the group- middle of the pack like always waiting around. 

I for sure there was going to be a horn to signal us to go BUT we got a cannon. Yup a BOOOOOM! and we were off. 

Such a tiny cannon, such a BIG sound. 

During the Race 

My mom caught these photos of me right after the start line:

Woof! This was a rough race and I thought multiple times "yikes I didn't train enough" and "oh look how pretty the scenery. " I struggled with this race, there were a lot of hills but I loved running around the town and seeing all the pretty houses. 

There was one thing that surprised me was that the side streets weren't closed off,  only the major streets. I chuckled when I realized this; I know this is a sleepy little town but its still a race.  

I tried to keep the large group in front of me in sight 90% of the time but when we  rounded the corner to go by the river, they seemed to disappear. Lol  I don't know where they went. I looked down at my phone one moment and poof! they were gone the next moment. 

I did appreciate the Kiwanis members at each mile marker shouting out the times. Once I got to the 

I had to stop to take my sweatshirt off after the big hill; i was sweating so much. I thought taking my sweatshirt off would be easy BUT between my ear buds and my bib pinned onto my sweatshirt and being sweaty it was messy. Bless anyone watching me, I was mess.

When I finally saw the 3 mile sign, I just KNEW the finish line was close but it also seemed so far  away. As I rounded the bend, I saw my dad then my mom and then the finish line. I was so excited; I really struggled to complete this race. They gave me the last bit of oomph to get to that finish line.

I was beyond excited to finish this race. The finish line was a little wacky but I crossed it!

I saw a photographer at the finish line and i said yo my self, smile! I glanced at my time as I crossed the finish line. I grabbed a water bottle and turned around to go see my parents 

This race has to be one of the prettiest ones I ran but also the hilly-ist ones too. 

I quickly realized I need to train better for the next one.

After the Race 

I walked over to my parents for after race hugs! We also ended up meeting a neighbor of ours and chatting for a bit. We walked over to the staging area where they were going to hand out the awards. I know I wasn't getting an award but we wanted to see where the music was coming from. To our surprise, it was a man playing a guitar. He was so good! 

We took a post run photo by the sign and down by the water. 

Results 

Chip time: 37:58.04

I was 108 out of 182 for my age group. Again, just below the middle. 

I was 212 out of 322 overall. I was just below the middle of the pack. 

My goal was to do better than my previous Race and I DID IT! I was 2:08 faster than last month's average. (I was approximately 2 minutes slower than the Taco Trot time.) 

Music 

To see what was on my playlist this month, click here. 

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Well, that's #5 of the 12 5K's I'm running this year. YAY! 

Next month, it's the Red Bank Classic in Red Bank. I am hoping for warmer weather and an Instagram Alter Ego Ambassador Meetup!!

Did you miss last month's 5K? Check out April's  and the other races I've run previously: 

March 2023 | February 2023 | January 2023 | December  2022 | August 2022 | August 2017 

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[[Run when you can, Walk if you have to, Crawl if you must Just never give up- Dearn Karnazes]]

Prayer Journal

Kate Bowman of Lonestar Southern talked about prayer journaling on her insta-reels back in 2020. She talked about how she has looked back on different seasons of life and seen what prayers she was praying and how eventually her prayers were answered. 

She spoke so passionately about it and at the time I was floundering during the pandemic. This really hit home for me and I said to myself, 'why not try this? Maybe it will help me get out of my head'  That was in April 2020. Having somewhere to put my thoughts and fears and worries could be helpful. I didn't have anything to lose. 

The idea of having a specific place to write your prayers down or to write down what's heavy on your heart is comforting. 

Looking back over these older entries,it's brilliant to see how things improved, changed and eventually got better. You can see my prayers being answered and what gratitude I hold for those answered prayers. 

When I write in my prayer journal, it's a informal note. It's a written conversation between me and God asking for guidance, clarity, peace or something specific. Sometimes my entries are short, sometimes they are long. Whatever it takes to get thr worries out of my heart and on to the page. 

I don't use my prayer journal daily, I use it when I feel a pull to write it in. Sometimes weeks or months go by but I always come back to it. 

I wanted my prayer journal to be a special notebook that I looked forward to writing in. I had bought this journal years ago at TJ Maxx. I wanted to use it for something special and this, a prayer journal, is the perfect occasion. 

Do you pray? Do you use a prayer journal? 

[[There is power in persistent prayer. Michael 7:7]]

Friday's Joy

 

Happy May! Chapter 5 of the year. I've been  looking forward to this for a while. 

I'm linking up with Erika and Andrea for Friday's Favorites. I can't wait to read your posts! 

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Week in Review 

This week has been a good one. We had a weekend of unbelievable rain and when the sun came out on Monday, I forgot what it was for a minute! Ha. 

On Monday I went to go pick up a book at the library and overheard the sweetest thing ever!

A man walks up to the circulation desk and says : 

"I need to speak to a manager right now"

"Okay, sir, what is it that you need a manager for"

My ears perked up at this point, I thought to myself,  ohhh this is going to be good!

 And he says: 

"I want to commend someone for being so helpful and kind to me " 

Color me shocked! This was not what I expected at all. This put the biggest smile on my face. 

Tuesday was the 4 year anniversary of my surgery that helped me get back to a normal life with Crohn's Disease. It is hard to believe that its only been 4 years. What this surgery gave back to me is immeasurable. Life will always be full of gratitude; for this reason and many others. 

Went to the gym Tuesday night and it was lovely.  I found a cool tree and a odd looking bug on my walk to the gym. I didn't exactly have a plan for the gym but I went and I got it done.  

Cold weather has been around for way too long. Ha! It's May, I should be wearing sundresses and sandals by now lol!

I saw this bumper sticker and it made me giggle for way too long

 "Some folks are wise, and some are otherwise " 

Fage Best Self Lactose Free Greek yogurt. Game changer. I've struggled my whole life trying to find a yogurt that will make my belly happy and this is it. I used to eat Good Karmas raspberry flaxseed yogurt and it was fantastic but right around the pandemic, they stopped making it. 

Keith and I went out on a date night last night to the Chicken  or the Egg. It was sooo good. We both got breakfast sandwiches and margaritas. Early Cinco de Mayo and weekend celebration. 

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Links 

Tom Hanks, a typewriter & local man//// a local typewriter collector got an antique from Tom Hanks himself. Its a sweet story to read.

Home Run Celebration/// I love when we celebrate others' accomplishments. This was really sweet and long awaited! 

Brushstroke Landscapes/// How amazing is this?! The amount of detail and time it took to complete one of these landscapes is unbelievable. 

May the 4th be with you//// Happy belated Star Wars Day..... I swear Ketih is rubbing off on me.  HA!

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Looking forward

River to Bay 5K tomorrow! (Scouted out course already!) 

Lunch with my parents and Keith on Sunday 

I have a dentist appointment next week and I'm hoping for warmer weather for more walks outside  

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Posts this week 

Did you miss my posts this week? Find them below:

Random #16 | April Work #OOTD

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[[Life is a gift. Wake up every day and realize that.]]

April Work #ootd

April is a hard month to dress for. Judging from these photos, I dressed for fall, spring and summer. I think I was too stubborn to pull out an winter outfit but some days were cold! 

Let's jump into the review of these outfits. 

Week 1

This yellow top I have mixed feeling about. There is just something about it that doesn't feel right. 

The pants on Tuesday were navy and oh so comfortable. I love that top (mama has a matching one!)

Wednesdays outfit is a favorite from the fall; I think this is a repeat for that year.

Thursdays top  was a good transition piece for spring. 

Loved all these outfits this week! 

Week 2

Mondays outfit was so comfortable. It's those Rachel Zoe pants from TJ Maxx. 

Tuesday was another repeat with the navy polka dots and green pants. How can you go wrong?! 

Wednesday I broke our my fiesta sleeve top ans gold sandals. Who knew some fun sleeves and glittery sandals can improve your whole mood. This will be a repeat all summer. 

Thursday was the first day I wore a sundress all year! Yay! Paired it with a demin jacket- perfect!

Friday ended with bright green pants and navy puff sleeve top. Still on the sandal train. 

Loved all these outfits too!

Week 3

Monday was a partial repeat- instead of pants, I wore a skirt. 

Tuesday was an old favorite and a repeat from previous months.

I love Wednesdays top but it's very flowy and hard to photograph. 

Thursdays outfit made me so happy. Though that top is hard to distinguish if it's navy blue or black. I took a guess and went the navy route. 

Friday jeans AND sandals. This is an old favorite too!

Another week of LOVES

Week 4

Mondays outfit was a repeat from St. Patrick's Day. It just screams spring to me. 

Tuesdays Coral flutter sleeve top was a favorite last year. 

Wednesdays outfit screams spring! ( I could just see Miranda from The Devil Wears Prada saying " floral? For spring?! Groundbreaking.) 

Another navy, green and tan outfit on Thursday. I can't wait to wear this with sandals when it gets warmer out. 

Friday brought back two favorites, my wedge sneakers and my light blue and white stripe top. I might feel like Smee from Peter pan but it's so comfortable. 

Yay! Another week of all outfits I LOVE!

Bonus

Easter Sunday

Keith and I didn not talk about our Easter Sunday outfits, we just happened to match. Both outfits are well loved favorites. 

*** when we stopped to pick up beer before heading to my parents, the liquor store clerk said something along the lines of the following:

Clerk: that's a nice dress 

Me: thank you

Clerk looking at Keith, asking me: did you pick out his out?

Me: nope, he did that on his own. Totally unintentionally 

Clerk: oh, sorry dude, rough time out here.

Me: giggles

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Wahooo! I loved all my outfits this month. 

5 repeats from previous months. Some are variations but others are exact duplicates. 

This project is really making me use all the tops/sweaters I have. I can't want to start to transition into more summery pieces in May! 

What is your favorite outfit you repeat? 

[[Real style is never right or wrong. Its a matter of being yourself on purpose.-G. Bruce Boyer]]

Random #16

Happy May!

Another post of recapping all the randomness I've taken screenshots of during April. 

Enjoy!

Brushing upon some Irish traditions

This was unexpected

I had to read this twice in the missle in church HA!

It's me. I'm Big Bird

Smiley faces and exclamation points are a staple in my work world

I found this weeks before Keith and I had this *exact* conversation

Pantone always hits it out of the park

You choose to be happy

HA HA HA

Heck yes!

I usually say hi to the dog first

HA HA HA 

Not my best fashion years

Sound advice

Everyday girls > 

I've never thought about  this in this way BUT its true!

Accurate

Manners make a man

Life mission

choose wisely

I can't even argue how ACCURATE this is

I might have sent this to Keith last month

Add to recipe book

HA! 

So orange isn't that terrible

Look there's me! 
Bottom right smiling!

ain't that the truth!

excited is an understatement

Thanks for the 45 minute break JCPL!

Reverse hibernation or hibernation? 

Love these moments

Too nice 

History that Dad was part of

Yay! That's my cousin!

But I want more..... please

These targeted ads really get me

50K views!

One Fire A always comes through with colorful content

I don't need an $80 bathing suit

I don't need an $80 bathing suit

I don't need an $80 bathing suit

Such a unique componsition

This would make cooking a lot more fun

I'm a creature of habit. 
I still do this.

HA HA HA

Obsessed with these photos!

Daily struggles

joyful

2009 and 2010 were some curious years for me

Snacks all the way!

Sent this to mama and she laughed

We want houses, we are paid in monopoly money apparently

extra lucky

There is no singular share of white. 

oh so appreciative! 

so many choices and decisions

I think we need a Scholastic Book Fair for adults

It's me.

Duly noted. I am working on this.

.....I listened to a 20 minute podcast about Sea Slugs.

All the heart eyes

Woof! That was a lot of randomness this month! Hope you enjoyed a deep dive into my camera roll!

[[Always be on the lookout for the presence of Wonder- E.B. White]]