Introducing...

Hello!

This is my husband Chad, and me, authors of this blog. The photo above is from our most recent Christmas card. (Living in Central Illinois, our snuggies get plenty of use during the cold winter months. Spring is right around the corner.)

We do not spend ALL of our time in snuggies however. Even though it's winter here, we love to stay on the go visiting family and friends on the weekends and occasionally squeezing in a run on the snowy roads. More on that in a bit.

I started this blog for a couple reasons, an outlet to keep in touch, a source to document the exciting moments (and not so exciting moments) of our lives and lastly to keep accountable on a healthy lifestyle.

A bit of a background on us:

We met in the fall of 2004 in DeKalb, Illinois through mutual friends while Chad was in his senior year at Northern Illinois University, I graduated from Monmouth College (Go Scots!) earlier the same year. We became friends over the next several months and began dating the following year in 2005, while I was residing in Arkansas and he was living in Iowa, both for our first employers.

During the course of our long-distance relationship we continued our college style habits. Long days sitting in the office combined with unhealthy eating habits, we were gaining a lot of weight. Our rare moments together were spent dining out or watching movies. These habits stuck with us even as I relocated to Washington, Illinois and Chad eventually following.

After viewing photos of a friend's wedding we had attended together in 2007, I saw what we had become and it wasn't pretty or what I affectionately refer to as, "In love fat". We decided that day that we were going to make a lifestyle change. Things have not been the same since!

Our wedding date was October 18, 2008. This gave me extra motivation to get in shape. Chad was great support even after he had reached a healthy weight.

Over the last couple of years, we have enjoyed competing in 5Ks, 10Ks, half-marathons and other races. Most recently we trained for and ran the 2010 Chicago Marathon. Yowza! It was hot that day and neither of us performed to the level that we had trained. We intend to do another marathon - hopefully in 2012!

Beyond running, we enjoy traveling. Weekend trips to Chicago to cheer for the Cubs, St. Louis, Kansas City, Mendota, and Maytown to visit family and friends keep us busy and entertained. Join us for the journey.

Any other questions, just ask.

A Sunday Adventure

Chad and I were up fairly early for a Sunday to get an early start on a morning adventure. We had plans to head to tiny Delavan, Illinois to dine at The Harvest Cafe.

We arrived by 9 am and chose our seat at a cozy booth. Our waitress, who we later discovered shared our relatively rare last name, brought the menus and took our drink orders. I was overwhelmed by all the delicious menu selections - I wanted to try one of everything.

The concept of a Farm to Table restaurant is really appealing to me. Plus the entrées seemed to be steps ahead of the typical greasy spoon fare. Even in the dead of the Midwest winter, everything appeared to be fresh. So delicious!

Chad narrowed his choice down to biscuits with lamb sausage gravy with a side of pancakes.

For me, the decadent French Toast with homemade brioche topped whipped mascapone and a side of a homemade biscuit. (I had originally requested the homemade granola, yogurt and fruit as a side to my French Toast but the waitress informed me that the granola had not been made yet today.)

Our breakfast selections took some time but were well worth the wait! The photos of our main I snapped do not do our dishes justice but I am still a novice with our point and shoot camera. We both cleaned our plates but I became uncomfortably full about 3/4 of the way through but the French Toast and the biscuits tasted too delicious to quit. A bad habit, I know!

Following our fantastic breakfast at the Harvest Cafe, we drove the scenic route back home to Washington. A great way to start the day!