lent anyone?

Did you give something up for Lent this year? Although I am a Presbyterian, and we don't typically give anything up for Lent, Molly loves to do it (and is really good at it too) so I usually do too. This year I thought I would do something a little different, yet just as effective. This year I am adding something important to my life every day. The end goal is the same...each time I do it, I think of the ultimate sacrifice Jesus made for all of us.

play food from bugbitesplayfood's etsy store

This year I am committing to eating one piece of fruit every day during Lent. Hopefully I will stick with it permanently. It is really hard to get good fruit here in the winter, so usually I end up with the rickets or something like that by the time the spring rolls around. Not this year.


Tonight: 2 mile run and then a 2-frozen banana-fresh orange juice-and a splash of milk smoothie.


Yummo!

sore

Great quad stretch recommended by fitsugar. Trying it tonight!

6 miles Monday + 4 miles Tuesday = Very Sore Quads.

Ouch

Pardon me as I limp around today and dope up on Aleve.

half

Yesterday I ran 6 miles. I consider this to be 1/2 of the half-marathon I will be running in April. Cool, huh?

Above is a picture of my running partner..sleeping. Seriously, this is Emmy, and she runs with me on every run. Today she is getting bathed and groomed, and I want to preserve her good smell, so I will have to sneak out of the house to run while she is outside.

Don't worry. I did some research and it appears that it is fine for her to run long distances with me as long as she can handle it and gets water breaks when I do.

weekend past

in 48 hours:

6 third grade basketball games

12 halves of basketball

240 minutes of basketball

1 techinical foul

5 wins and one loss

300 miles of driving to said basketball games

18 hours spent in Newton, KS

4 Redbox movies

3 stops at McDonalds, 1 stop at Wendy's and 1 dinner at Applebees

reward: 3rd place!

off the wagon

Image from www.nataliedee.com

It's official, I am off the wagon and on the Diet Coke again. I need to do a cleanse again, anybody up for that?

re-entry

The view from our back door

I returned from Colorado Tuesday night about 6pm. The last passenger had been dropped off, and Molly came running down the street to greet me. Cool-as-a-cucumber Carson walked up and gave me a big hug, careful not to show too much emotion, as he is almost 9, you know. Todd was waiting in the kitchen for me with open arms.

My re-entry to the real world had happened. Right away we started in on homework and got ready to go watch the town rivalry basketball game. I had on my new keens and away we went.

All day long I thought about all the wonderful experiences I had over the past 5 days:

Penni, Katy, Susan and me getting ready for a morning walk

• Our 7-hour drive to Colorado seemed like 30 minutes or so. It is amazing how quickly time flies when 5 women are in a car chatting away. We even stopped 4 times to go to the bathroom, and once for lunch, but there were no men to get mad at us.
• A long walk in the cold Colorado morning is so refreshing, especially when it is snowing a little.
• Laughter is indeed the best exercise for your abs. Mine are in great shape after this weekend.
• I learned more about my friends that I ever imagined. Some of them are so quiet, but almost every comment they make is hilarious. Others are very private, but honest and inquisitive. One of them suffers from Cystic Fibrosis, but never ever lets that get her down. Another is the most talkative, creative person around. Finally, one friend who couldn't come at the last minute was in out thoughts the entire time.
• Spending hours upon hours at a bead store is the best way to both have a great time and to help someones struggling business.
• You don't have to spend much money at all to have a good time in the mountains of Colorado. Walking by the river, climbing rocks, going to St. Elmo, lunching in Salida, and watching a movie all cost next to nothing and provide hours of entertainment.
• There is nothing better than having someone else cook for you. We ate blueberry coffee cake, apple-butter bacon, white chili, honey-butter corn bread, french toast with bacon, chili-cheese-egg bake, cheeseburger casserole with bacon, broccoli quiche, and cranberry scones. Yes, there was a lot of bacon, and it was great! All of this was in addition to the spiked hot cocoa, spin-artichoke dip, heart shaped sugar cookies, trail mix, Chex mix, puppy chow, peanut butter cookies, and occasional glass of wine.
• Running at 8000 feet is really, really hard.
• A short 6 mile drive can turn into the most wonderful morning filled with many photos, a winding river and even a little spur-of-the-moment rock climbing.

Self portrait of me and Margy

This little vacation/girls trip could not have come at a better time. We are already planning and looking forward to the next one!

What the Fuck Wednesday

This image from I Suwannee, original from I don't-know-where.

I know this was on Jamie's post, but It has been burned into my mind ever since I saw it. I can't stop thinking about it. Really. What the fuck? It HAS to be photoshopped.

leaving...again

Bright and early this morning I am leaving for Buena Vista, CO with 5 other girls. In October I bought from the Salina Art Center the use of a home for a $950 donation. I will admit, I did bid on it behind Todd's back. He kept getting up and wandering off during the auction, so it wasn't really my fault!

Image Credit: Greg Burke via here

It was really easy to gather 6 girls together who were looking for a few days away in the middle of the winter. My friends Cara, Katy, Penni, Margy and Susan are going with me. We are leaving at 6am and driving the 8-9 hours to BV. We will spend all day Saturday, Sunday and Monday hanging out, eating, drinking and just generally enjoying each other's company. We will drive back home on Tuesday.



We divided up into pairs and each set of us will be responsible for breakfast and dinner on a particular day. Margy and I are bringing a blueberry loaf and making wonderful bacon for our breakfast, and we'll make white chili, and the best cornbread ever for dinner. Of course we will have mimosas with our breakfast and a glass of cold Kim Crawford at dinner. I can't wait to see what everyone else has planned for us to eat! Tonight I made a big batch of puppy chow to share in the suburban on the way there.



We are all bringing our "girl" movies to watch as we lounge. I got The Sex and the City movie for Christmas, and have been saving it for this trip! I also saw that on Lifetime this weekend, we will have our pick of any romantic movie ever made. There are hot springs nearby, as well as skiing, cross country skiing and snowshoeing activities to do. There are several fun little stores and galleries to visit. Right near our place is a great little trail to go exploring on.



I am really looking forward to hanging out with the girls and doing as little or as much as I feel like doing. I am taking my camera and hoping to spend some time alone with it. Maybe something good will come of it!



I'll miss you all, but will check in from time to time I am sure!

open letter to the running gods

monday's run was long
5 miles to be exact
it was warm and windy
and almost the death of me

why do you insist in challenging me like this?

upon leaving the house
I felt like I could run all day
but after that first hill
I could not get enough oxygen into my lungs

why do you insist in challenging me like this?

the dog was running along with me
and for once hadn't stopped to poop
her tongue was hanging out
but she never once slowed down

why do you insist in challenging me like this?

I was afraid I would have to call Todd
at the half-way mark to take me home
but when I turned around, wind at my back
I felt great again, like Artemis had jumped off my back

now I know why you challenge me like this...

today's run way a measly easy 2 miles
out and back from my house in only 20 minutes
no hills, no traffic, and a full moon rising
you were only preparing me for today

thank you.

What the Fuck Wednesday

WHAT THE FUCK?

Look closely, look very closely. It's not what you think it is.

Of course...from here.

basketball and chili

This was a strange weekend. Molly left Friday night to travel with my mom and nieces to Houston. She was over the moon about this trip. I hope it meets her very high expectations. Todd, Carson and I went to the local high school basketball game. They won by like 40 points.





Saturday morning was leisurely, but we had to leave the house by 11am to head to Hutchinson, KS for yet another 3rd grade basketball tournament. Carson didn't feel great when he woke up, but after a few tylenol, he was good to go. When we got there, we watched as the officials lowered the goals to 8'. Our boys practice and play on 10' goals, so it looked like we might be able to dunk it!

image from here

The boys won their first game handily, and we left the gym for Freddy's Frozen Custard for lunch...them's some good steak burgers! Carson stayed in the suburban and took another Tylenol as he was starting to feel puny again. It was obvious during the second game that he was really feeling badly. Good thing they played a second grade team as he didn't have to put forth too much effort. We came straight home and put on our jammies and watched Space Chimps from the Red box.


This morning, Carson woke up with a fever, headache and sore throat. I called the coach and told him that Carson wouldn't be able to play today. They didn't call someone to replace him...which makes me feel good, like they'd rather have nobody than to find a replacement for Carson. The team lost the first game today and won the second. Apparently several other boys were not feeling well either, but didn't have fevers yet. I no longer feel so bad about keeping him at home. When the team returned, a few of the boys went over to my in-laws (Carson was on their couch for a few hours this afternoon) and took Carson the medal he earned from the tournament. How sweet is that? He really does have the best coaches and friends.

After lunch I cooked some ground beef and started a pot of chili. Man, was it good. It was cool, but humid here today, and a warm bowl of chili just hit the spot. If we only had more cheddar cheese, I would go have myself another bowl!

image from here, but my chili DID look like that!

The rest of the evening will be spent changing the sheets on Carson's bed, making him toast, and just hanging out on the couch with him. Looks like he will be home from school tomorrow. Good thing my father-in-law will be home. I need to work a few days this week before I go on my next trip...with the girls to Colorado! Jealous?

hmmm...

Does it piss any of you off that there are these "brilliant public servants" out there who keep having to withdraw their names from nomination due to unpaid back taxes?

Come on? Do these people think they are better than the rest of us? Why do they think they don't have to pay but the rest of us do?

and ps...why didn't the Obama people know this before they were nominated?

7 years and 2 months

Correctly tied shoe Incorrectly tied shoe

Tonight was a banner night. My Molly (7 years and 2 months old) finally learned to tie her shoes tonight. THANK GOD! I know, I know...that's way too old for learning how to tie her shoes.

You see, Molly has one heck of a temper, and any time someone tried to help her, she got mad. So, I finally bucked the system and MADE her do it. We only yelled at each other 3 times. Hooray! We haven't had Velcro shoes in our house for about a year now, but tying her shoes has gotten old. It takes her a mighty long time to tie, but it's worth the wait.

ps, pictures from here...and go there if you want to learn more interesting facts about shoe lacing and tying!