Y'all come on in!

What a wonderful day! Slept in a little bit and didn't meet my girls and the trail until 5:30! I know, I'm such a slug. It really warmed up over night so the temps were a perfect low 50's. But it was humid as all get out. Ew. I enjoyed the pre-dawn 5.3 miles on this Christmas Eve morn with my girlies. Then I can home, took a shower and hopped back in the biscuit! Hubs says that doesn't count as a nap, just rolling over and going back to sleep! Hubs took off on his new motorcyle (yes, I am a VERY good wife) so I had the house to myself. Yahoo! Now, I love, adore and cherish Hubs. He is AWESOME! But I love having our abode to myself sometimes too! Enjoyed the quiet while I cleaned and cooked. I love "lazy" days where I actually accomplish quite a bit!

So I got the idea for a virtual Holiday Home Tour from Nikemom. I've certainly enjoyed it so I thought I'd post a few pics of our house on this Christmas Eve. Come along if you like!

Thought we would start with The Tree

Hubs named our little Elf, Clarence.

Our packages. This little cutie is my dad. I made the tags out of scrapbook paper, 99 cent stamps from Michaels (the whole alphabet for under a dollar!), photo corners and, of course photos I scanned in and turned sepia. They turned out exactly like I wanted!

Next we are in the entryway. Just some of my snowmen. I love the little chubby guys - and the more glitter the better! Oops, looks like the clock stopped last night - time to wind.

Our nativity. I quilt, so when I saw the quilt design, I knew it was the perfect one for our home. Jim Shore is so talented!

This is the small tree where I hang all of our vintage Shiny Brite. I love driving up to see the tree lights in the front window! I wish the color was yummier in this one, but Northern Exposure in the afternoon, whatta gonna do? Notice the vintage 50's tablecloth. I'm all about mid century!

On to the kitchen. This swag has the cookie cutters from my childhood wired to it. I used to love to make cookies with my mom, but I think I used these more on play-doh than anything else!

The makings of the first pecan pie of the day. I made two AND about two dozen yummy mini pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Delish - and YES I've sampled quite a bit today. I can't bring the cupcakes that didn't turn out right, now can I? And they are mini, after all...

One happy kitty. The oven was on for hours and she napped up on the warmness of the cabinet all day.

It's Christmas Eve. Hubs and I watched The Grinch while scarfing down breakfast for dinner. (my fave!) Going to see if I can convince Hubs to take a walk around the neighborhood to look at lights. (and perhaps walk off a few of those cupcakes! Y'all have a Merry Christmas!!!

Marathon Love

If you didn't catch it last night, check your listings for Marathon Love on Discovery Health. Not just for runners...for anyone with a heart. I was crying 5 minutes into it. This is a story about a young man, who when his fiancee was in a debilitating accident, stuck with her. Helped her learn to talk again, walk again...and because he didn't want to miss even a minute with her, as a runner he learned to run marathons. With her. What an amazing story. And it gets even better.

Just watch!

I did it

I did it. I did it. I did it. I did it.

I did it.

Race Day, White Rock 2008. Warm and humid. Just what you would expect in December, right? My crew arrived at 6:30 and we were off.

Jennifer, Kat and Michelle.

Pre-race

Checked our bags and Michelle and I went to potty one last time. Oops. Who knew the potty line would be so frickin' long? The porta potties were right by the start line, separated by a fence. By the time we were done, there were so many people in line, you couldn't get through the small opening in the fence. People were climbing over, but then were you gonna jump down? So we waited until the gun and the crowd to disperse a bit. Which meant, we missed Kat and Kathleen. But at least we had each other - nervous pee-ers unite!

It was windy, windy, windy and warm. But once we weaved in and out of those who started off walking or just slower than us we were doing all right. Michelle claimed she was struggling, just not in the mental mood for a half marathon, but I think she was playing possum because she did great! The bands were enjoyable, the fans crazy and the runners in good spirits. Speaking of fans - Elizabeth and her crew were out at mile 7 in sombreros, shaking their maracas (actual maracas people) and offering "aid." I took the small cup, seeing the golden liquid with foam, assuming it was apple juice. It was Tecate. Um, so I don't drink beer anyway, and this wasn't the time to start! I know some people swear by it; I guess it is rich in carbs. But what a surprise! Those crazy ladies! Thanks girls for coming out to cheer on the 17,000 runners today. We appreciate your support!

We ended up running the last 4 miles on the Katy trail. Downhill. Out of the wind. Perfect conditions. Except for the walkers. And the couple holding hands. Really? Sweet, but best left for the park -NOT a marathon. Move outta the way lovebirds, I have a PR to meet.

Ms. Possum (otherwise known as Michelle) kicked it into high gear and it was all I could do to follow her. Checking her Garmin at mile 11 she informed me that if we ran the last two miles at sub 10, we could make my goal of 2:22. I asked what our current pace was. Good grief I sure felt like I was already running sub 10...and in fact, we were. 9:20. Which for me, is pretty much like running a sub 6 mile. That's FAST for this slow girl!

And we did it. That finish line couldn't get there fast enough - it was warming up so quickly. Final time 2:20:50. Yea!!! That's 6 minutes off my best time. Thank you Michelle; I couldn't have done it without you! You are a GREAT running partner - you really push me. I'm sorry if I held you back!

Post race. It's finally over!

It was warmer that we hoped for, but all in all a great day. Jennifer and Kat both did better than they think they did. I'm proud of my whole crew! A special shout out to Sarah and the rest of her relay team who ran a very impressive 26.2 miles in only 4:22! And to Sarah's huzzy Matt. He ran his very first marathon in only 4:13! Wow!

Now I'm icing my tight knee, nursing some sore toes and looking forward to a few 5Ks in January before Cowtown calls my name.