Chasing the Dream

Isaac’s first birthday party was Saturday - he had a...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:51:57 -0600

The giant 'pup pup' from his Aunt BC

Dancing to Elmo's World

His 'pup pup' cake

Isaac's very own smash cake

Making some progress

Isaac’s first birthday party was Saturday - he had a blast! It was a puppy theme since “pup pup” was his first word.

New Marathon Route Leads to Record Time

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:18:50 -0600

New Marathon Route Leads to Record Time: Springfield News-Leader article on Sunday’s marathon...

What a roller-coaster weekend! Friday morning I woke up feeling...

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 13:11:20 -0600

Approaching the end

Right after crossing the finish line

What a roller-coaster weekend! Friday morning I woke up feeling sick and felt worse as the day progressed. I was a little congested and had a sore throat. I had a hard time sleeping because of it Friday night, so first thing Saturday morning I went to urgent care thinking I had a sinus infection and that the doctor could give me a powerful decongestant to keep me clear for Sunday’s half marathon. Bad news: I have strep. The doctor told me I could not run Sunday morning. I politely told her I didn’t care if I had strep; I was going to run anyway. She said I would never finish. I said she didn’t know me very well.

I called my mom, who told me I shouldn’t run. I cried, and then we I agreed that I would just take it easy but still run. I took my first dose of antibiotics, which wiped me out and made me a little woozy. It didn’t take long to decide that the antibiotics would have to wait until Sunday afternoon. Saturday was pretty low-key: Isaac’s birthday party, where I had to pretend to be well while not making contact with the babies (don’t worry - the doc said it was only contagious through sharing food or drinks), picking up my registration packet, curling up on the couch to watch a movie, and having some homemade chicken noodle soup my mom brought over.

Saturday night I woke up every hour or so all night long, afraid that I hadn’t set my clocks back or that I would sleep through the alarm. I finally got up at 5, took a shower to wake myself up and try to clear my sinuses, hopped in the car with my brother-in-law, and headed to Bass Pro.

It was a beautiful day with absolutely perfect weather. I fell into my stride almost immediately, feeling comfortable at my goal pace for the first 7 miles or so. When I got to mile 8, I started to feel tired. I pushed through it and was surprised when my Nike+ said I had just 3 miles to go. The first 6 mile markers had been spot on with my Nike+, so I just lost track of time and trusted it to be right because there were no mile markers between 6 and 10 when we were on the trail. I was pretty impressed with myself, but my trust later proved to be misplaced when my ipod told me I had 400 meters to go as I passed the 11 mile marker. Disappointing.

I kept going, but I could feel myself slowing down. Way down. When I got to mile 12, I had absolutely nothing left to give. I felt like I should curl up on the sidewalk and wait for one of those bicycle EMTs to find me. I have no idea what my pace was for the last mile, and quite frankly, I don’t want to know. The volunteers along the course were much closer together for the last mile, and they were so encouraging. I kept going, made it to the back of Bass Pro, and gave it everything I had around the building and down the chute to the finish line. My mom, sister, and some friends who had finished before me were cheering me on. LDC snapped a couple of fuzzy pictures. (I looked beautiful, I know…) My pace was 13 minutes over what I expected, and even more over what I had hoped for on a perfect day. My right knee is swollen and sore, my left foot is black and blue, and I have mysterious bruises on my right arm and chest. Totally worth it.

Mom drove me home, I showered, ate a peanut butter sandwich, and crashed on the couch. I paid (and am still paying) the price for not following the doctor’s orders, but it was my first half marathon and I had been planning on it for months. I had to go. But the next time I come down with strep the day before a half marathon, I’ll stay home in bed.

Oh, yeah. And my mom is making me a carb-filled meal tonight! ...

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:16:24 -0500

Oh, yeah. And my mom is making me a carb-filled meal tonight! Time to load up on spaghetti and garlic bread, guilt-free.

Visualization

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:04:11 -0500

Thanks to the torrential downpours last night and a very annoying sump pump whose location is still...

kari-shma: “Warm Coat” Fine Art Print by bobbymcleod...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:47:33 -0500

kari-shma:

“Warm Coat” Fine Art Print by bobbymcleod [2479939-2] - RedBubble

This song has been playing over and over in my head for the past...

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:44:37 -0500

This song has been playing over and over in my head for the past two weeks. Kinda makes me wonder if there’s a reason for that, particularly the “I had no business leavin’” part.

Maybe it’s because I spent almost a week with my family this month, or maybe it’s because my parents are moving back in a couple of weeks. Hmmm.

Photo

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:10:26 -0500

Our pilot

Air Force stud

Last day at American Airlines

At three years old

Friday night I found out that my grandma wanted someone to speak at Pap-Pap’s funeral on...

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 12:07:47 -0500

Friday night I found out that my grandma wanted someone to speak at Pap-Pap’s funeral on...

"BC, come out and play with me, and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree. Slide down my..."

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 01:40:37 -0500

“BC, come out and play with me, and bring your dollies three, climb up my apple tree. Slide...

I’m not normally a huge fan of pumpkin, but I picked this...

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 14:42:35 -0500

I’m not normally a huge fan of pumpkin, but I picked this up Sunday night from White Barn Candle Company and have been burning it in my office the past two days. Pumpkin Patch is my new favorite scent! We had some leaks in the office due to the torrential rains of the past week, and it is keeping the musty smell rising from the carpets at bay.

Miss whiteglovesandpartymanners, is this appropriate for next...

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:29:54 -0500

Miss whiteglovesandpartymanners, is this appropriate for next year’s Kentucky Derby party?

Obama awarded World's Greatest Grandpa Mug. World's Greatest Grandpa Committee Chair explains, "Well he's not a grandpa yet but we're pretty sure he'll be the greatest and this is to encourage him."

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:48:40 -0500

onemoretimewithfeeling: baitandswitch: patrick barb

Annie Williams - “Hold My Hand”

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 00:08:40 -0500

Annie Williams - “Hold My Hand”

The dining room is unintentionally a tribute to my Great-Great...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:49:39 -0500

The dining room is unintentionally a tribute to my Great-Great Aunt Edna. She was a music teacher for years, one of those old school teachers who believed she should stay single in order to commit herself 100% to her students despite being pursued by more than a few eligible bachelors.

We were close, probably because of our love of piano. The antique table (which we recently found out is by an artisan whose work fetches high dollar at auction) belonged to her, and someday my mom will give me the matching buffet and china cabinet when I have a formal dining room. The chairs have seen better days, but I recovered them and am hoping to get a little more life from them.

The piano is a buffet-style from the 1940s. It wasn’t hers, but I think it matches the painting beautifully. She taught a harmonica band in Charleroi, PA, for years, and one year her students gave her that painting. It took years of sweet-talking, but my mom finally gave in and passed it on to me. The dining room style is definitely different from the rest of my house, but I was willing to compromise to make this work.

The living room - can you tell I love color? Can’t live...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:34:00 -0500

LOVE LOVE LOVE this tray

Half off at Pier 1, baby!

This sucked to put together - worth it

Awesome painting from Etsy

This will eventually hang over the TV

The living room - can you tell I love color? Can’t live without it.

I finally got some batteries for my camera and have decided to...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:26:04 -0500

I finally got some batteries for my camera and have decided to upload some of the progress I made on my house. This is it, for now.

This is my guest room - I was going for a relaxing, neutral, natural, comfy hotel feel. I like it. Some of my favorites: teeny tiny plants on the bookcase, the bowl on the nightstand hand-carved out of a tree root, votives filled with twigs, the dragonfly pillow, and the tray with Walden and a leather journal.

I might be Isaac’s favorite aunt (I’ve established...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:17:00 -0500

I might be Isaac’s favorite aunt (I’ve established this fact already, if only in my own mind) because he has his own toy box at my house. It looks suspiciously like a leather cube/ottoman thing, but when you take the top off you will discover treasures an 11 month old cannot resist:

Touch and Feel books a-plenty
An mp3 player that plays animal sounds and songs and alternates between horns, piano, and guitar
A laptop. A LAPTOP! Isaac loves his dad’s laptop, but he knows that he’s not allowed to play with it. So I got him his very own laptop, complete with a mirror that lights up with animals and shapes. And the sounds it makes are waaaaay more fun than his dad’s laptop. He can play with it for HOURS after skipping both naps and keep a smile on his face the whole time. No lie.

His birthday is coming up at the end of the month (hello, Halloween birthday party!), and I think his auntie is going to fill the toy box to the brim.

I love my grandparents

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 16:09:41 -0500

I took Friday off work and went down to Tulsa for the weekend to visit my Pap-Pap in the hospital. ...

Saturday night I went to a haunted house with ADB and...

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 15:59:35 -0500

Saturday night I went to a haunted house with ADB and felt totally out of place. Apparently when you’re 15 years old the hottest place to take a date is a haunted house, and then it’s super cool to make out the whole time. I felt like marching up to a few of them and enforcing the “dollar bill” rule we had at high school dances (a dollar bill has to fit between you and your date or you’re kicked out).

I can count on two hands how many people I saw who were my age or older (including security and staff). Oh, and did I mention that there was somewhere around 4000 people in line there? We waited for over an hour in line before we FINALLY got to go in. We were about 4 minutes into it when we were ushered outside to wait for another hour. Turns out another cool thing to do when you’re a teenager on a date is pull the fire alarm in a haunted house. By the time it was all said and done, we spent almost 4 hours trying to get through a 20 minute haunted house. Good times.