Jersey Wedding Weekend!

Was anyone else as tired as I was today?  Because I certainly was wiped.  When I was yawning at 8:30 a.m. this morning I knew it was going to be a long day.  And although the day actually went by pretty fast at work, it was a struggle.   Part of the reason it was a struggle is because my pants were so tight at the waist it was squeezing off my circulation and also causing me anxiety that I need to start eating right again.  So there was that.

I'm guessing that another reason the day was so draining was because of the busy-ness of my past two days since I last left you.  On Saturday morning after putting up my last post, I got myself all dolled up and jumped in the car and drove the 3.5 hours to the Jersey Shore for my friend's wedding.   I felt like sort of a dork stopping at the rest stops all dressed up for a wedding but whatever.

I have been visiting her at the shore since the summer of 2007 and have loved and truly enjoyed all of my visits there.  She lives in a beautiful town right on the beach and it is not at all like the Jersey Shore you see on TV, but a really great community of loving, friendly, fun people!  I wore a dress that I bought in Nice, France when I was traveling earlier this year, which was pretty fun as well.  I love wearing things that I have collected around the world.

This wedding was a little nerve-wracking for me as I was heading there because I was the only one from our group of friends that was attending.  I have met many of Lauren's friends and family throughout the years that I have visited her, but I knew that they would all be meeting up for the wedding and didn't want to be the random lone ranger.  However, the moment I arrived at the church and her younger brother greeted me enthusiastically -- whom I hadn't seen in YEARS -- I knew it was going to be a fun day.

The ceremony was beautiful and touching and the reception was a BLAST. I had almost forgotten how much fun this group of people are and I was pleasantly surprised at in fact how many people I did know and had met over the years!  From the kids she used to babysit and their mom, to her friends and family members, to the parents and siblings of many of her friends!  Lauren commented to me a couple times about how independent I was just going to the wedding alone and loved that she didn't need to be worried about me having a good time.  However, I really think it is a testament to her having such loving and fun people in her life for not having to feel like an outsider at all!

The food was delicious, the dancing was fun, the after party was ridiculous, and the whole night was just beautiful celebrating Lauren and her husband.  Plus, I got to spend lots of time with their super handsome little boy!

And can we talk about how pretty my friend is for a moment?  It is a little blurry but I love how beautiful and loving she looks in this photo with her son.

Since I was heading down to the Jersey Shore for the wedding, I had packed a bathing suit and had planned to just hang at the beach for a little bit before heading back to Albany.  There turned out to be a post-wedding pool party going on which I was able to join and it made the weekend so much more fun to be able to spend more quality time with my friend and her family.  Why can't all the people I love just be in one place??  And while we're at it, can the ice cream truck come around every day and have no calories?

When I got back to Albany, I quickly parked, unloaded the car, changed my clothes, and headed out around 7:30 p.m. for a 5 mile run.  I was dreading doing my weekend run but also really didn't want to NOT do it.  I had been putting it off all weekend and I should have just done it Saturday morning, but I am proud I was able to get it in.

Less than 12 hours later I was up and running again, this time with my friends from Albany for our usual Monday morning workout!  My legs felt heavy but we did a 4-mile run at a pretty good pace, with Jess's encouragement.  Plus, there were about a hundred snapping turtles out this morning (WTF?) which apparently is something that I never knew I should be afraid of!

My friends told me that their heads move really fast and they will just bite you and eat you up if they catch you.  So have fun with that, people!  My pace definitely quickened as we ran past the snapping turtles.  I was joking that our run was like the race of the tortoise and the hare because we also saw lots of bunnies throughout the route, but that is pretty normal.

My encounters with small creatures continued this evening as I took a walk through the park with my friend and found some duckies!  So, ya know.  This was pretty much my day.  I'm a regular old Cinderella singing songs with the animals.

So, with that randomness.  I am going to sign off.  Happy start of the week to you all!