Race Review: Run Wild for Autism 5K

A pre-race shot

A few weeks ago my Auntie Marie told my sisters and I about the team that our Auntie Lowella was putting together for the Run Wild for Autism 5k, in honor of her son, Alex. Oh, by the way these Aunties (as seen in the photo above in the top right and bottom, respectively) are actually my great-aunts to all you non-Filipinos and they're like my age, so calling them "Auntie" has always been a little funny to me.

We woke up bright and early to make the drive up to Baltimore. Because we didn't pick up our race packets beforehand, we had to get there early to pick them up onsite. The vibe was nice, as it wasn't one of those huge corporate organized races. You can tell it was locally supported and organized because even the Maryland State Troopers were running the 5k showing their support! We got there sooner than expected, but enjoyed the beautiful scenery around us. The start location was outside of the Maryland Zoo and unfortunately we didn't run through the zoo.  The landscape that we did run through was gorgeous nonetheless. There was a 1k walk/fun run option as well as the 5k (each started at a slightly different location). When we were called to start, I put in my headphones, turned on my Runkeeper (they didn't have timing chips, but I think they were manually tracking the time) and I was on my way.

The race took place in Druid Hill Park, which was pretty hilly. The course didn't have super steep hills, like here, but they were the gradual hills that kick your butt! You don't realize why you're calves have been burning until it's too late! We started off the first mile or so in a wooded area which provided some much needed shade as I was starting to get really hot!

The second mile of the race took us around Druid Lake, at which point the sun was blazing! The run around Druid Lake also offered some really great views of Baltimore City. I wanted to stop to take a picture, but I wanted to stay on the task at hand! By this point, I had lost my sisters, but I maintained my pace because Jill usually sneaks up on me at the finish. I would later learn that Jill's too small shoes would be her downfall. I finally beat her! Woohoo! Although she was handicapped!

The last mile brought us back to the woods (and back to the shade!), and the finish line was almost in sight; however, we had to go up one last hill! Ack! I ran up the hill and made it around the corner to the finish line and I made it under 40 minutes (which was my goal)!

I met up with the family after the race as we gathered some water, juice boxes, fruit, and granola bars as post-race snacks. There was a table that was offering free informational and children's autism  books, which I thought was great! Jill was going to give her books to her friend that works with an autistic child. What a great idea, pass it on!

Overall, I would say it was a terrific race that helped me prepare for the Army 10-miler that I am doing next month. Good times with family for a great cause!

Let Me See Your Peacock (Bathroom)

If you've been a reader of my blog you'll know that sometimes I like to incorporate song titles into my blog titles. Living on the (L)edge and Walking into Spiderwebs are some examples that come to mind. If you know who sings this song/blog title you get double points as it might be a little obscure, especially for you non-pop listeners. Anyway, onto the bathroom update!

I think I can finally say that one of the rooms in our house is officially done. I think we're done with the downstairs bathroom which is our main bathroom. Yes, it could probably use a full remodel five years down the road, but I think we've made it look pretty nice as it can be from a cost effective standpoint. The glass tile and spa finishes will have to wait. ;)

For some reason, I don't have any pictures of how our bathroom looked before, but it pretty much looked like it did in these pictures below, except the walls were a light beige/off-white. 

If you remember here I recruited my sisters with the lovely duty of painting our downstairs bathroom and they were less than enthused. And as you can guess, you get what you pay for so we knew that we would have go back and touch up the paint. By the way, we didn't pay them anything, so you can guess what type of job we got, lol. Since this bathroom is pretty big I thought we could get away with painting it a darker color. I wanted to go with a peacock color theme with blues and greens and pops of chartreuse. 

Here's a shot of Justin touching up the paint. He hates painting and curses everytime the painters tape lets him down.

In addition to touching up the paint, Justin patched up some uneven spots on the wall...

To prettify the space, I found some art for the walls. At first, I wasn't sure what I should put in the bathroom because of moisture, but I found just the perfect thing online. And they were my favorite price, too: free!

Q.A. Design was offering various state and country prints as free downloads. Unfortunately, you can't change where the heart is located on each state so their locations are kind of random. Since I'm using them in the bathroom, if they ever got ruined by dampness I could easily replace them. I downloaded the states that were nearest and dearest to me and headed to my local copy center to enlarge them and print them out. It seems that I have a thing for state art. I think they complement the United Plates of America I have in the dining room. :)

Here are the prints up close:

The state of my birth and where we got married:

Not sure if that's Sacramento

Justin's beloved Bluegrass state and where we first fell in love...awww...

 

That might be Frankfort?

This one is obvious...

Why there's a heart over the Palisades is beyond me...

 And the lovely place where I spent half my adolescence...

And I am completely baffled at why the heart is in Salisbury and not Annapolis...



Here's a shot of Justin putting up the pictures...

One over the toilet...

...and the other three near the door. I love them! They really add a pop of color!

Sorry I'm not able to get a good shot of the bathroom (I'll try to get a better shot next time), but with teal walls, our bright shower curtain, and the state pictures, I think our bathroom is now complete!

Yard Sale Finds

On Friday, I got to leave early because my work gave us early release. Upon driving home, I stumbled across a yard sale that had some pretty interesting finds.

Here's a plug-in bar sign and painting. These were the ones that I didn't pick!

I found this retro fan on this table. This seems to be a pretty trendy design element that I've been seeing on design blogs (such as on Young House Love). Too bad I don't need a fan or else I would've totally taken it

These end tables were pretty cool too. With a can of spray paint I'm sure you could make these good as new in a bright white or punchy magenta. Unfortunately, I don't think I could commit to remaking them or else I so would have taken the one with the drop leaves.

Below is what I ended up getting: a bridge painting, mounted steer horns, a Miller High Life lighted bar sign (in cursive it says, "The Champage of Bottle Beer"), and a small, blue dish. The High Life sign is pretty ironic since I hate High Life (Justin loves it), but I couldn't pass it up. Both the light and the clock mechanism were in working condition! I think I made out like a bandit paying $15 for all four items. On eBay, vintage plug-in bar signs can go for hundreds of dollars. Now, all I have to do is find a way to incorporate all of this in the decor of our house (without making it look like a pool hall!).