now, it's getting personal ...

Back on my 300th post, I asked you to comment with any question you wanted me to answer. The response was huge. Way too much for one entry. So, I have decided to categorize the questions and reply in a series of posts over the next few weeks. Most recently, I discussed my life as a mother-runner. Today, I'll answer those questions that touch upon my relationship with J and the non-running part of my life ...

Katye asked: "I want to know about your wedding! When/where/how? How old were you? what was your dress and wedding like? And pictures would be fabulous ..."

Oh, my wedding. The prettiest day of my life. Here's how it happened ...

J and I started dating in June of 2002. I knew I wanted to marry him about two weeks later. He, being the practical one, waited 10 months to ask me. We got married 14 months later on June 25, 2004. I was 22 and J was 24.

I knew from the start that I wanted a small wedding, especially since we were going to be paying for most of it (and I was still in college, with basically zero income). But a small wedding was easier said than done. Both of us come from large families. My mom is one of eight and his dad is one of six. Add all of those people to our group of friends and people who would get an invitation out of obligation and we were looking at a guest list of over 250. So, we changed our plans. We decided to have a destination wedding in the Bahamas instead of a traditional wedding back home.

I thought by planning a wedding abroad that we would minimize our costs (which is true - at least in our situation). I figured we'd have 20 people there. Max. Obviously, if people had to travel to a foreign country to get there, fewer would come. Right? Wrong. Instead, 80 of our closest friends and family made the trip. We had our ceremony on the beach. The day was absolutely beautiful. It was perfect and looking back on it now, I wouldn't have had it any other way. Here are some of my favorite pictures from our wedding ...

Earth Momma Mer asked: "When are you and J going on your next vacation alone and where will you go?"

J and I are going on our first vacation (without the kids) since our honeymoon in June. We are traveling to Key West for five days. It is J's birthday trip, but happens to fall on our sixth anniversary.

Sarah asked: "Besides running, what is your next favorite thing to do that is something just for yourself?"

I'll be honest. Other than running, I don't take very much time for myself. Now that I am no longer nursing and the girls are getting older, I am getting better about getting out of the house for a weekend here and there. But, every time I leave, it's usually for a race (I'm traveling to races a lot this year). So, again, that brings be back to running. OK, wait. Something I really love to do is to get a massage. So relaxing. But, it's cheaper to run. You know what, I'm not picky. If I get to go grocery shopping without my kids, it has been a good day for me.

Barefoot AngieB asked: "If you had a day all to yourself and you felt confident that all your family was well taken care of, what would you do?"

OK, if we are living in a fantasy world where my kids are taken care of and money is no object then I would spend the day with a personal stylist. I know, it doesn't sound like much, but I have NO STYLE. I am either wearing running clothes or race tees. It would be so great to go shopping without any interruptions. And it would be even better if someone would tell me what looks good on me. And it would be the absolute best if someone else picked up the tab.

And finally, Momma Twitch asked: "What is one thing you REALLY love about yourself and one thing that you can't stand?"

I really love that I have self confidence (that is in no way tied to my body image). I have learned to be proud of my strengths and accept my weaknesses as an opportunity to improve. I'm self motivated and unstoppable.

With that said, I really can't stand that I have a tendency hold back my thoughts because I am afraid of how others will react (you probably don't get that from this blog though). I don't like tension, so I will avoid situations where it arises. I really wish I could just man up and face those situations head on.