Thankful Thursday

I’ve recently found, or have been found, by way back friends on FaceBook. High school friends, and even a few from elementary school. I have my myPod on Shuffle Songs and “Sweet Child O Mine” by Guns and Roses just came on.

I feel old.

Some of the folks I’ve found look the same as I remember them, some of them even better! But a lot of them, look, well, old. Of course, comparing other “27” year olds to my memory of them as 16 really isn’t fair. That’s all I got though. They don’t look their age, the just look, old! Marriages, divorces, children, jobs, military service, wars, tragedy…LIFE has taken its toll. They look old.

How did this happen?

And it makes me sad to think that these same people are looking at my photos on FB, all these years later, thinking, “Wow, That Pink Girl looks…old!” ‘Cause I sure can’t hold up to my 16 year old self after all these years. Again, not a fair comparison.

I look at old photos of me and Hubs. We’ve been married for nearly 8 years and we dated for a loooong time before that. And we look so young in those old photos! Even in our wedding pictures, which feels about 2 weeks ago, we look so much younger! When did we get so, so, old? Where did the time go?

I text. I Twitter. I blog. I know who all the cool new artists are. I still shop in the Juniors section. (sometimes)

But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m barreling quickly into, gasp, adulthood and, bigger gasp, middle age.

I AM old.

Yeah, I’m not the same size I was in high school. I’ve got a few wrinkles on my mug. I might have found one gray hair. (just one and I keep removing the offending strand each time I find it…when will it get the message?) And no, I haven’t accomplished everything my 16 year old self hoped to accomplish.

BUT.

My life is great! I’m so blessed. I’m healthy, I’m happy, I have a great job, I travel; I have a very full life. I’ve got great friends, a loving family and a husband that takes the cake. In a world where many undeveloped counties have an average life expectancy of under 50, heck yes I’m old! And my chances are pretty good that I’ll get even older.

Whoo hoo!

I’m so thankful for each and every day I’ve had. I’m and thankful for each additional day God choose to bless me with.

As John Lennon wrote,

Grow old along with me
The best is yet to be
When our time has come
We will be as one
God bless our love
God bless our love

And for clarification, I'm "27" not actually 27. Each year I celebrate the anniversary of my 27th birthday. I figured, it was a good year, why not? ;o)

I need a weekend

To recover from our weekend!  I quite felt  like  I was in a pinball game, moving every which way all weekend long.

Thursday night’s “Oreo” workout was brutal.  Should have been called “double stuff.” Normally the thought of Oreos makes me ill, and this workout was no exception.  400, 800, 400, repeat. All at 5K pace.  Finally, one last 400 at all out max pace.  Coach staggered our starts by 5 seconds and we were instructed to try to “catch” the person in front of us.  I thought I was going to hurl.  For reals y’all!  But it was a great workout still.  And boy was I sore on Friday! I love those lingering reminders from our muscles, reminders of a job well done.

Friday I Shredded then proceeded to enjoy an amazing day off. Amazing in that…well, duh, I didn’t have to get up and go to work!  I love my job, I do, but I ALSO very much enjoy doing nothing.  I’m very skilled at doing nothing.  And who doesn’t want to do what they excel at?

Exactly.

Friday night we headed to the mall for some Mi Cocina (delish) and some shopping.  Mostly window shopping.  We’ve been trying to stay away from the mall because, you know, if you don’t go shopping, you won’t spend any money.  And that usually works.  But somehow I manage to spend it all the same.  I bought some super cute shoes from Nordies a few weeks back, but upon receiving them, decided they just weren’t as comfortable as I had hoped. And let’s be real.  If they aren’t comfortable at home, what are they going to feel like after a few hours on my feet at work?  So, return them I did.  It’s always nice to stroll the mall with Hubs though.  Gives me an excuse to hold his hand. Aw.

Saturday’s “long run” was uneventful. I planned an 8.18 mile route, (don’t you just love Map My Run?) but we ended up cutting it short by a mile.  Since we aren’t training for anything right now, I think some of us aren’t as motivated right now.  We have some tired ladies.  Not me!  I miss the days of running 10 miles, declaring , “Let’s run 2 more!” and actually getting a positive response. Where are the girls who used to run hills with me after 12 miles?  I miss pushing myself!  It’s about time for marathon training to begin. Can you tell I’m mentally ready?

Saturday afternoon I had the privilege of attending Cody and Summer’s wedding at Prestonwood.  The ceremony was beautiful, as was the bride.  What an amazing blessing to be a part of such a momentous occasion.  They walk in as individuals, and walk out as a couple, united for life in holy matrimony.  As everyone headed down the aisle towards the reception, I watched her grandmother lovingly help her grandfather out of the pew.  She took his hand and smiled at him as he arranged his cane.  My heart smiled.  I hope that’s me and Hubs some day, married forever and still smiling at one another.  And pray for that same blessing for Cody and Summer.  Congratulations y’all!

Sunday afternoon, we helped make lunches for the Austin Street Shelter.  I haven’t handled that much ham in a very long time, well, actually, never!  We then moved on to a party to celebrate the engagement of one of Hubs’ co-workers.  There were lots of children in attendance last night.  We were amused watching the smallest child (17 mos) “vacuum” the yard for hours with the host’s cricket bat. 

Home just in time to shower and crawl in the biscuit before bedtime.

So, in summary, whew!

Driving Naked

And other hazards of commuting.

When I'm in my car, I feel invisible. Even though I can clearly see into the cars around me. Even though I can see them smoking, dialing, dancing, singing, whatevs. Even though. I am completely confident that no one can see me.
I am also very hot natured. And I'm not convinced that they have turned the air on at work yet. It's very, very warm to me. I spend most of the day flushed, fearful that I might explode.
I'm also a little dramatic at times.
So the other day I wore a cute, short sleeve jacket to work. Pink, of course. And under the cute, pink, short sleeve jacket, I wore a thin white tank top with lace trim. Really a camisole I guess, but it's cotton and has thicker straps so a lot like a tank.
Tired of being hot and concerned about spontaneous combustion, once I plopped into my Civic, I shed my cute, pink jacket and sat in my vehicle in my white cotton tank top, enjoying the rush of cool air. You see, I HAVE turned my air on.
But as I pulled out of my parking spot and proceeded to maneuver my way out of our parking garage, I suddenly became keenly aware that, in fact, others CAN see me in my car. And I'm only wearing a thin, lacy strap, white cotton camisole. I felt positively scandalous with my bare arms! (it's a pretty conservative dress code we follow, exposed brassieres and not par) Of course there was a long line to get out of the garage and I imagined all eyes on my near nakedness, taking notes, sure to report me to HR the next morning. And then I noticed the security cameras. Pointing right at my windshield. I prayed for glare.
I wear tank tops all the time. This one was no different. But somehow, just being in the same building where men aren't even allowed to wear short sleeves, I felt over exposed and ookey.
I won't do that again.
But I must say, driving home near naked isn't so bad once you're out of the garage and among strangers.
Have a great day!

It's an addiction for certain

Nike Tempo shorts, how do I love thee?  Let me count the ways…

I love you in navy, in black with pink, in pink on pink, in light pink with black, in light blue…

And now in lavender with hot pink and also in burnt orange.

I cannot stop with the Nike Tempo shorts.  They are my FAVORITE running short.  I like the Nike Pacer, but always come back to the Tempo.  Perhaps because Nike tempts me with so many yummy colors! 

Academy had Nike Tempo shorts on sale for just $19.99, a fact pointed out to me by my girl Lucy, early on Saturday morning.  I managed to make it all the way to Saturday evening before heading to Academy to buy JUST ONE PAIR.  And yet I came home with two.  I think I showed restraint.  The lavender and hot pink are so delightfully girly! 

 

Saturday’s “long run” of 6 miles just wasn’t enough for me, so after bidding the girls adieu, I headed to the track for some plyometrics.  Yes, I always feel like a fool prancing up and down the yard lines, but what a great workout!  My hamstrings sure were sore on Sunday.  I’m skipping, jumping, bounding, lunging and grapevining my way to fitness.

 

I bought a 26.2 sticker last week.  Two actually.  I put one on the fridge and another up at my desk at work for inspiration.  So anytime I start to shove some garbage into my cake hole, hopefully I’ll be reminded that I have a much LARGER goal than just immediate gratification.   As I type this I am consuming a piece of cinnamon salt water taffy.  Maybe it takes a few hours to work. 

 

What little tricks do YOU do to keep inspired?

20 Questions and a few Demands

I've been tagged by a Toronto Girl Out West!

The rules are:
1. Fill it out
2. Change one question with one of your own
3. Add an additional question
4. Tag 3 other people to do the same

1. What are your current obsessions? Running for sure, reading blogs and always, pink

2. Which item from your closet are you wearing most often? I am so tired of pretty much everything in my closet except for my shoes. I'm loving my green BP flats right now.


3. Last thing you bought for yourself? A dancing rooster yard ornament from Hobby Lobby. I'm 80, I know.

4. What’s for dinner? Prolly Grape Nuts and tangerines. I know, I'm sooo culinarily challenged

5. Say something to the person who tagged you: I love how optimistic you are in your posts. I can almost HEAR the excitement in your voice as you blog about your upcoming wedding! (AND about your Green Monsters!)

6. What is one item you could not live without? Lip balm. I stash it everywhere. The car, my desk at work, by my bed, of course my purse, in my Spibelt...

7. Vacation spots you must visit before you die? I'd really like to go to Sweden and also, strangely enough, Iceland. But I might starve. They eat blood pudding there. Ew. For some reason I also really want to go to Nebraska. I just love the Midwest!

8. Three things to do before you die: For someone who absolutely loves to make lists, I strangely don't really have a "Bucket" list. I'm always up for new challenges but I'm so happy with my life that if Jesus came for me now, I'd be totally okay with what I've already accomplished. That DOESN'T mean I'm smug about what I've accomplished, just that I'm content!

9. What are you reading right now? I recently finished 50/50 by Dean Karnazes and now I'm reading Nixon's Vietnam War by Jeffrey Kimball. Little known fact, I'm kinda a Vietnam, uh, what is the word? Fan certainly isn't right, I don't know enough to be a "buff." Let's just say I'm fascinated. I'm especially interested in the nurse's experience. But that's not what this book is about. Home Before Morning by Lynda Van Devanter is a very good one.

10. What is the last movie you saw and enjoyed? We all know I'm not good about seeing first run movies. I make a trip to the theater once every 5 years or so. I did Stivo Raising Helen and managed to make it all the way through.

11. What’s your guilty pleasure? cupcakes, for sure, with buttercream frosting

12. What’s your favorite smell? Cinnamon or fresh eucalyptus

13. Best thing you ate or drank lately? I recently consumed some dark chocolate covered almonds. Yummers.

14. Favorite Quote? Dr. King's "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

15. Describe one of your happiest moments. Pretty much any moment with Hubs. Every day I am thankful that God has blessed me with another day with him. I LOVE this man!

16. Whats one thing you can't go a day with out doing? Google Readering my blogs, Twittering, FaceBook...we'll file all three with digital reading

17. Name one person you admire. My grandad, Pappy. He's a great story teller, he's funny, he is sincere and he never has an unkind word to say about anyone. He's always discreetly extending a helping hand, often before anyone else even knows of the need. He's a man of strong character and even stronger faith. I love it that he still calls me Rabbit and after all these years still tells everyone the story of how I first winked at him when I was a baby. (and laughs like it just happened)

18. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas! I love the family time, the memories, shopping for those I love, the giving spirit that is in the air, all the cheesy movies and the tacky decorations! But mostly I love the promise that Christmas holds. The hope. "I will honor Christmas in my heart and try keep it all the year." Charles Dickens.

19. How many pairs of shoes (not just running) do you have?? I just counted. 14 not counting running shoes, cleats, tap shoes or skates. So 20 total.

20. What is the biggest obstacle you have had to over come? I firmly believe that God puts obstacles in our way to present us with opportunities to grow, to learn and to challenge us to be better people. My biggest personal crisis/obstacle involves Hubs and maybe I'll blog about that someday soon.

The Man I Love, bravely killing a spider. With hockey sticks, of course. How else would you kill a spider? I'm really not sure why he isn't wearing a shirt. At least it is the backyard. So WT. Sigh.

Thankful Thursday

I finished mowing the lawn, tidied up the garage a bit, then grabbed my Runner's World and plopped down on a lawn chair. Get me some Vit D and enjoy a quick article.


And what did I see when I looked up?
Today, I am thankful for rainbows.

And on a much lesser note, my project of the day was so steam clean my shower with the Shark Steamer. Oh how I love that little machine! To top it all off, I also began the tedious task of scraping all of the caulk away from our shower door. I'm letting it all dry out tonight and tomorrow I'll recaulk with fresh, clean, clear caulk. Oh, the little things that no one will ever notice, but make SUCH a big difference.

Staycation

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I've been on staycation and doing everything else but blogging! I'm not very good at doing nothing. Last week when people asked me what my plans were, I usually answered, "To do whatever I want and to relax." Friends just nodded knowingly; I don't stand still well.

But I did y'all! Thursday's run was scrapped because of the smoke. Friday morning was the triumphant return of pregnant Sarah. It was still smoky, and strangely cool, but we shuffled our way to 4 miles. It's so nice to have my running buddy back! I hope she feels better this trimester. Saturday we did not run AT ALL! I know, shocking. We've been training for something or other since August. This was a hard earned, and much deserved break. As much as I enjoyed sleeping in, I missed my girls and was eager to start Session 3 of Spring Speed on Monday. Of course we ran the Magic Mile. Funny, just 6 weeks ago I was beyond thrilled with my 8:09:99. And yet, when I ran 8:10 this week, I was disappointed. So was my coach. She tsk tsk'd me when I told her I hadn't really run in days. Guilt. AND the few girls who were actually slower than me didn't return for Session 3. So, in just over a year, I have knocked over 2 minutes off my mile, yet am STILL the slowest girl in class. Yeesh.

I made a list of Things to Accomplish this week. Here is what I've done thus far:

1. Re-organize kitchen cabinets, removing items I'm not using on a regular basis. Downsizing my gadgets!
2. Magic erasing kitchen cabinets. I'm in a long term love affair with Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers. We have a lot of painted woodwork in our home and Mr. C keeps my cabinets sparkly!
3. Caulk and paint the crown moulding that Hubs installed in our bathroom.

4. I carried that can of white paint around for hours yesterday and touched up most of the baseboards in our house, as well as a lot of the trim work around the doors. You know, you try to keep it clean, but life comes with little dings here and there. It now looks mahvelous. I figured you didn't really want a photo of my baseboards.

5. Trimmed all of the hedges and a few trees. Yes, I even broke out the chain saw. We will def be calling for special trash pickup on Monday. I've got LOTS of branches for the city to mulch! I'll spare you a photo, but look at this darling rooster I picked up at Hobby Lobby.

Here is the sad truth. I have an inner struggle between my love of cheesy chickens and Pottery Barn. These things do not mix. And I squash my desire to decorate in toile with chickens roosting all over the house, every now and then I indulge my love of poultry and plant a pullet here and there. You can't see it in the photo, but he's kicking out his front leg, like he's doing the Chicken Dance! And for half off, I just couldn't pass him up.

6. I've spray painted the chandelier...photos to come once it is hung.

7. Sprayed all of the wrought iron railings in the front and back porches.

8. Done Jillian's 30 Shred each and every day.

The list continues with the even more mundane. I'm thinking of heading to the nursery to pick up some shrubs. It is supposed to rain tomorrow, I want to take advantage of the soft soil and rework some of our landscaping. (or lack thereof) I NEED to head to the mall to replace the now two pairs of pants that I finally retired. The lining split, right across the, ahem, backside. And I wore them entirely too long after the great divide. But I don't want to leave that house! I'm enjoying just being at home (and watching 7th Heaven reruns) entirely too much. I just wish Staycation could last a little longer.

As I was rearranging furniture this afternoon, I cam across this unusual sight. Believe me the lion has finally laid down with the lamb. (or has the lion lain down with the lamb?) These two do NOT get along! They are prolly just trying to stay out of the way so I don't paint them too!

Lastly, Hubs announced this weekend that he would like to take a Beach Vacation this summer. This is a surprise to me for several reasons, namely, we are not Beach People. I prefer to stay out of pools of water that are not chlorinated, I despise the heat and frankly, neither of us are good at relaxing. Which is what I gather most of y'all do at the beach. So I propose to you, where should we go? Jules says Hawaii, and looking at Chic Runner's photo, I agree. But Hawaii is not in the budget. Keeping in mind, my beach vacay experience is limited to Galveston and Padre. So I'm not hard to impress! I'd love your suggestions for something out of the ordinary, yet totally accessible.

Thankful Thursday

I am thankful that I serve a God who loves me, even when I am at my most unloveable. I am thankful that He gave his only son, for me, and for you!

For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16

On a much lesser note, I am thankful that Morgan and I decided to NOT run this evening due to the poor air quality. There are out of control wildfires in the Panhandle. The smoke is blowing across the state and it looks like this:

Gross, right? Not exactly the type of air you want to be heaving in and out as you run. I'm hoping it will be better in the am when we all head out to the trail for our usual Friday morning adventure. No one will e-mail me back and I'm ready to hit the hay already! Michelle suggested we meet at 6:30, a whopping 1 and 1/2 hours later than normal. Whoo hoo! So I guess I'll climb in that biscuit, set my alarm for 6:10 and hope somebody texts me at some point if they all decide to meet earlier.

Details to come on a shirt exchange. I'm keeping you in suspense. Can you stand it?

Big D

So I did Jillian Michael's 30 Shred on Wednesday. Level 1 wasn't as challenging as I had hoped. I wasn't a bit sore on Thursday. Boo. That pain lets you know you were workin' it!

Friday, however, was an entirely different story. Let's just say that all those squats had my "sitting" muscles crying out in pain. Yeeeaaaaah. Def felt it. Probably not the BEST move right before a half, but whatevs. I'm looking forward to trying again on Monday. (at least I had the sense NOT to do it on Saturday)

I enjoyed sleeping in on Saturday. Enjoyed it so much that even though I took at 3 hour nap after work on Friday, AND went to bed at 10 Friday night, I still slept until 10:45 Saturday morning. Tired much? Ventured to the mall Saturday night to meet Jules and Jules. Yes, those actually are two separate people, I'm not confused. I picked up my Clinique Bonus and a fetch pair of navy wedges at Nordies. Only I didn't actually GET my cute new shoes, they were out of my size. Soooo, the uber helpful Shoe Man ordered them. I can't wait!

Hit the sack early, 'cause naturally I'm wiped out having been awake a full 9 hours and all. I don't know WHAT is wrong with me. I'm just exhausted lately.

Race Morning breezy and cool. Okay, so breezy is an understatement. It was windtastic out there! I had low expectations because A. it's a fairly hilly course (for here) and B. You know, my extreme exhaustion these days. We had a good time though, I even serenaded those running in the general vicinity with my own rendition of the Beatles "Birthday." I do that. I customize songs to meet the needs of a particular situation. I spotted a dude wearing a sign that read, "It's my birthday - I'm 40!" So clearly he needed a song! Kat started us off and I finished. Moving lines like, "You say it's your birthday, gonna run a marathon. You say it's your birthday, trudging up those hill yeah." Lyrical genius, that's me.

You know I always pick out one person to beat. Last race was 8 year old Simon, (yeah, I have NO standards...didn't say they had to be difficult to pass!) this race...Yellow Shirted Spitter Girl. I picked her off for that reason alone. She spit every 10th of a mile; I'm sure of it. She nearly got me on several occasions - absolutely NO spitting etiquette. AND she ran through all the water stops on the right side, i.e. the slow side, and nearly knocked a few others runners down. Not cool. Well, all that salivating did her no good. I beat her by several minutes. Go me.

Per ush I totally forgot to stop my watch. I know that we at least finished in less than 2:25, but I have a feeling it was closer to 2:19. Results aren't quite out there yet. Could have done better, but all in all, pleased with my time. Always love a good half marathon with my crew.

I pity the fool who...

misses out on Chic Runner's awesome $100 gift certificate giveaway for Online Shoes. First off, she writes a super dooper blog (she's hilarious AND informative) secondly, who can't use a Franklin for shoes? Go now!

I started the hundred pushup challenge again on Monday. I sorta slacked off after our trip to the Motorcity and never quite recovered. I only did 49 during our final evals. But I'm back on track and fully committed. I'm going to get to 100! (but boy my abs sure are sore this time round...oh, did I forget to mention that I'm doing them military style this go 'round?)


I succumbed to peer pressure and bought Jillian's 30 Day Shred. Because everyone else is doing it - and with great reports! I figure it's way cheaper than a gym and what have I really go to lose if I follow it? I start tonight so we'll see how it goes. I expect to be sore.


But not too sore to run a half on Sunday. Yeah, I signed up for Big D. I did. And I'm dragging my girls with me. We'll have fun, the weather should be nice and it will be half #3 for this Spring. I'm hoping for a repeat of 2:20. Or perhaps even something that ends in "een!" Maybe I'll manage to work another in before it gets Africa hot.


Big D reminds me of Katie, who sent me the book 50/50 by Dean Karnazes which is FREAKIN AWESOME and totally inspiring! He's an ultra marathoner, and I swear God put him together a little differntly than the rest of us. But he tells his story well; I couldn't put it down! I'm going to buy my own copy so I can have one to keep. I won't be running 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days but I know I will rely on his experience and words of wisdom while training for my first full marathon this year. Would you like to be duly inspired? Then leave a comment on this post with your e-mail. Random # generator will do the rest. I'll pick a winner on Sunday after my half. Here's the deal though. If you win, once you read it, you gotta pass it on to another blogger. Post a photo of you with the book and offer it up to inspire others. Kinda like this:


And who needs inspiration? Uh, girls that are going to be running the NYC marathon on Nov 1st! Girls like...ME! Today I signed up for guaranteed entry with ING Run For Something Better. It's a neat program designed at keeping NYC public school kids active and fit in the fight against childhood obesity. I'm in y'all! More details on this to come, but right now I'm super stoked, to use a term from my youth. I'M GOING TO RUN NYC!!!
I'm ready to start my training, I'm ready to start planning, heck, I'm so pumped on adrenaline, I'm ready to run it right now! I know I have a lot of hard work ahead of me, but I can do this. This is the year I become a Real Runner. Whoo hoo!