Counting My Blessings

Today I am thankful for the numerous blessings in my life. When I'm whining about money or complaining about my kids and their craziness or bitching about WHATEVER, in the back of my head I KNOW that's it's all surface bullshit. I know that I am LUCKY. So so lucky. So here is a random list of blessings for today...

♥ My Garmin shipped!!! John OK'd a 305 off of Amazon for UNDER $100!!!!! Can't afford - don't care. I'd never seen one that cheap.

♥ Having a couple days in a row where I feel like a good Mom. Sometimes my temper gets the best of me, but lately patience has reigned supreme.

♥ Cardio via dancing like a crazy person with James for 30 minutes. I'd do anything to hear that kid laugh.

♥ Checking things off the "to do" list.

♥ Gearing up for vacation with my family. We're doing Disney, and my kids are almost as excited as I am!

♥ Finding the perfect present for my toughest to shop for.

♥ And the blessing that has made me smile non-stop for the entire day? MY SISTER IS MOVING HERE!!!!!! I haven't lived anywhere REMOTELY close to her in 20 years (she's a Master Sergeant in the USAF) and her husband (who is Army - my sister is retiring in May) got a job HERE! HERE! I can't even begin to describe to you how excited I am - I get to see my nieces!! I get to run with my sister!

I hope you are all counting your blessings today....

You Know You're a Runner When...

So I was reading the newspaper when I noticed an article detailing all the weekend specials leading up to Christmas. My 2 older kids are FLYING through the Harry Potter series (it only took me 2 years - as soon as their cousin gave it the Jordyn seal of approval, NOW they are interested) so I was excited to see some Harry Potter movies listed.

Me: "Hey look guys! On 12/5 they are having a Harry Potter marathon!"

Jenna: looks at me totally confused

Me: "What?"

Jenna: "A bunch of people actually dress up like Harry Potter and run 26 miles?!?"

Me: "Bwahahahahahahaha!!! I seriously love you right now!"

Made.

My.

Day.

Race Report: North Shore Turkey Trot 10k

I got to meet Marcia!! I got to meet Marcia!! I think for this one I was more excited to meet Marcia than I was to run. She was one of the very first running bloggers I started reading last Spring - she's local and she ran the very first 5k I ever did, although I didn't realize it until I read her race report. Even though we ran a couple of the same races this season, we hadn't managed to connect until now.

The forecast was questionable - cold, drizzly, very damp. I left the house with one of everything, not really sure how I'd feel once I got out there. I found easy parking and got in touch with Marcia, and we spent our entire time pre-race in my car chatting. Neither of us was really sure what to wear - Marcia waited until just minutes before the start, finally deciding to check her jacket, hat and mittens. I opted to keep my jacket, since it was still drizzling.

We made it to the start, and hung for just a minute before we were off. I was WAY further up in the pack than I usually start, and spent the first few minutes watching waves of people run past me. Not that it bothered me - I am quite comfortable in my slowness, and it was neat to see just exactly how big the race was.

It was clear early on that I had made the WRONG choice in apparel. I was freakin' HOT. And since I'd pinned my race number to the front of my jacket, there was no easily removing it. So I suffered.

It was also clear early on that this was going to suck. For whatever reason, this run was tough for me. Maybe because I was still fighting this stupid cold, maybe because it as so humid, who knows. By the first mile marker I was wishing I'd done the 5k. And it never got any better.

But I was happy to be out there. The race was hilly and hard, but I was ready for that (I'd run a 5k that covered part of the course in the Spring), and with no time goals at all, I was just glad to be moving. I will admit to walking much more than I usually do (my normal MO is to take a 10 second walk break every half mile or so, but today it was more like every quarter mile) but until mile 5 I was holding a pace under 11 minute miles, so I was happy.

Mile 5 came and I was just wanting to be done. I felt defeated and tired. I was coughing and walking. Ugh. I was managing to keep up with the same pack of runners I'd been hanging with, but it was increasingly difficult to keep pace. I was really happy to see mile 6 and knew the finish line was close.

I crossed the finish line and headed down the chute. Got some water and some Gatorade and caught my breath. Then I realized that I forgot to look at the time when I crossed and my Nike+ was still recording. Oops! I always do that...

I finished in 1:10:02, which was funny since I'd told Marcia when we started that it'd probably take me an hour and ten. On my way back to my car, a woman stopped me and said, "Nice race! I was trying to catch you the whole time, but I never could." It reminded me of my first 5k when I'd said almost the exact same thing to another runner. I guess no matter how terrible you feel like you're doing, it's all relative. It was nice to hear that before I left - I was feeling really slow. She made me smile.

I got home to find that John had accomplished everything I set out for him. I had a nice shower and a lovely Thanksgiving, even if my Father-in-Law DID show up a full hour and 45 minutes before I was ready. Oh well - I wasn't even a little surprised. My parents showed up shortly after that, so I had a team of experts in my kitchen. Dinner was wonderful!

My Mom and I made our annual 4am trek out to make fun of the crazies, and it was nice to hang out with her. We got a good chunk of shopping done and we were home by 8:30am. We hung out for a while before they left for the airport to redo Thanksgiving at my sister's in Texas.

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend as much as I am!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Just one last quick post to say HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Because although I forgot to mention it yesterday, I am thankful for Bloggers. You have all gotten me through my first marathon. I have to thank you for the support, the advice, the encouragement and the occasional slap upside the head when warranted. You all RULE. I hope you all have a fantastic holiday! And a sale-filled Black Friday!

I'll let you all know how my Turkey Trot goes - the forecast says "freezing drizzle." Lovely. But I am oh so zen about it....

Overwhelmingly Thankful (and Clear Water Outdoor 10k Turkey Trot "Race" Report)

I am thankful for good friends.

Kim, Tori and I did this 10k on Saturday (go read their race reports too!). It was a beautiful crisp Fall morning, albeit rather chilly. I spent too much time trying to figure out exactly what to wear (it was about 30 degrees when I left my house that morning) but still manage to meet up with everyone on time for the drive to Lake Geneva, WI.

We picked up out packets and got our bibs pinned on (even though Tori and I would have left them in the car without Kim's gentle reminder) and posed for a picture with the Turkey. Once we started, the temperature felt perfect and we were running conservatively and chatting. Since this was Tori's first run since July (!!) we were letting her set the pace.

It quickly became clear that Tori's KNEE was not at all happy to be running again, so we ended up having a lovely walk together, gabbing about all the things you just can't gab about to the people in your everyday life. It was so perfect! And so nice to get along with someone you just met for the first time as well as you'd gotten along online.

We finally made it to the finish (only 10 minutes after they took it down, lol) to see some really cute kids waiting for us. I said, "awwww, they were waiting for us, how sweet!" and Tori and Kim nodded in agreement. Then Tori did a double take and said, "HEY! Those are MY kids!" Her whole family had come out to surprise her!

We got a blue spruce seedling to take home. It was a great day!


I am thankful for my kids. They are off from school all week and completely messing up my routine, but it's really nice to have them home. We get to go to conferences at school tonight, and hopefully their teachers will think as highly of them as I do.

I am thankful for my husband. He let me be a lump for the better part of the weekend (I'm still getting over the crud) even though HE is still getting over the crud too. He did all my complicated grocery shopping for Thanksgiving dinner, without missing a single thing. AND he finished hanging drywall in the basement. He rules!

I am thankful for Thanksgiving. It is my favorite no frills holiday, requiring no presents or decorations, just family and a nice meal. I'm going to run a 10k Turkey Trot Thanksgiving morning, and hopefully it'll take the edge off my stress - I usually get really overwhelmed the morning of ANY big event. I'm praying that running will help me out with this. Especially since I am way behind because of the crud - which only means I'm EXTRA overwhelmed right now.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Three Things Thursday

1. I have been slammed by the crud that is floating through my house. This time of year, half of us are sick all the time. It's just a matter of who's lucky. This has sidelined my grand master plan of getting back on the wagon this week (or at least out the door) but I'm trying. I just got out of the shower (yes, it's after 2pm, but better late than never right?) and I put on my running clothes so I can go cough outside as soon as the hubs gets home.

2. I need need need to start planning Thanksgiving dinner. Ack. I can't believe that it's a week away! I do so LOVE Thanksgiving though, so I'm really looking forward to it. I'm thankful for a holiday that is so uncomplicated - all it involves is a great meal with family. No extra anything required.

3. I am also looking forward to running with Kim and Tori on Saturday! We are running a 10k Turkey Trot, and it should be a ton of fun. It just so happens that it's my very first organized 10k run, so it's also an automatic PR. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for NO RAIN. But rain or shine, it'll be great hanging out with them.

Smile

Have you ever had one of those days that was just so tumultuous, so terrifying, and out of respect for a family member, you felt wrong about blogging about it? Even though blogging about it was EXACTLY what you wished you could do?

That was my yesterday. And everything worked out just fine, but I was an emotional mess. I didn't ask her, but I'm sure my daughter would be upset if I shared everything here, so I'm just going to say that it was a tough day, but it all worked out fine in the end.

So for today, I share a song I love, and a message shared by a facebook friend this morning that really made an impact on me today.

"Circumstances are, often enough, not up to you. Attitude however, is always up to you." Wise words from a wise friend this morning. Make it a great one!

Psst, It's a Giveaway at IlaxStudio!

Kim is hosting a giveaway of an Under Armour cold gear top in a women's large. If you are interested, go here. But really, don't go, because I want it!

It's The Most Wonderful Time....Of The Year....

Christmas was WAY simpler before I had kids. Seriously, I could get it all done in the last possible second and it was fine. It really went along with my procrastinating nature.

But now that I have kids, I need to be way more on the ball than is customarily me. So I try to get a lot of it, the planning and present buying and cards, done as soon as I can, because I KNOW I will still manage to procrastinate something important. Hopefully this way, it's not TOO many "something important"s.

For the past 3 years, I've used Shutterfly for my holiday cards. I have a huge extended family, and Shutterfly lets me easily create cute custom photo cards for really reasonable prices. AND, if I manage to wait until the last second, I can still get them done and shipped to my house in time for me to slap on stamps and get 'em out. Not that I've ever done that. Ahem.

This was our 2008 holiday card. Cute huh? Next is 2009's version.

I have a huge extended family, and even streamlining my list as much as possible, I still end up sending out about 100 cards a year. I like to make the process as simple as I can (mostly because I am lazy), and Shutterfly helps me do that.

Without further ado, I present this year's holiday masterpiece!

Now I just need to get them ordered up...

FYI, Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. Learn more: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Hooray It's Friday!!!

1. I RAN YESTERDAY!!! It wasn't far, and it wasn't fast, but it felt so so so good.

2. After my run, I drove north to see my favorite veteran (my Daddy) and have coffee and chat. Thanks, albeit belatedly, to all our country's service men and women, and to their families too, for sacrificing so much for our country.

3. Between the running and the escape, I was feeling much better by yesterday afternoon. My poor husband, however, was NOT. He has succumbed to the crud floating around here and was sleeping on the couch when I got home. The change of seasons always hits us hard. Ugh. Julia's already missed 3 days of school - I wish they made a medicine that actually STOPPED the coughing.

4. Tonight, I get to escape again! I'm going to a wine tasting - girls only. It should be fun!

5. DC Rainmaker's giving away a garmin!! One of these days, I'll actually win one. Or buy one. Yeah, probably buy one. *sigh*

Well, I'm Glad THAT'S Over...

Lucky for me, it seems that the whole hip/back spasm thing was a random event. Monday and yesterday, my hip was sore, but it never manifested itself that way again. Thank the Lord! I'll be happy if I NEVER experience that again.

So I planned on running this morning. Mostly because of this:

I don't know what the hell was going on, but my house was a perfect storm of "how to make mom completely nuts" culminating with Julia coughing until she puked requiring her second bath in less than 30 minutes. I live SUCH a glamorous life! You know you all wish you were me. Ahem. Before heading to bed, John asked, "Are you running in the morning?" To which I sarcastically replied, "You'd better hope I do or I might kill somebody." Yep, I'm getting to THAT point.

But the universe had other plans for me, specifically requiring that Julia cough for the entire night yet again (and John slept through all of it yet again) and so my best sleep of the night was had between 4:10 when I turned off my alarm and 6:00 when John got up.

Hopefully tomorrow? I'm starting to feel the taper madness I never felt while I was tapering. I'm all twitchy and bitchy. We'll see...

Time Keeps on Slippin' Slippin' Slippin'....

Hello everyone. My name is Bobbi. It's been 14 days since my last run.

And honestly, while I miss it like crazy, it was a necessary break. Last week was harrowing for me - I felt like shit for physical and emotional reasons and I was too busy processing to worry about it. The weekend forecast was beautiful and our calendar was not jam packed so I was looking forward to running over the weekend.

But then? On Saturday I was on the floor in a "lower back stretch" kind of pose with my knees up under me, leaning forward. We were sorting our family jar of change and counting it out. I figured it was a good opportunity to stretch at the same time, since I'd jacked up my back hauling James around the zoo the previous weekend.

While I was down there, my right lower back and hip spasmed uncontrollably. I couldn't get up and it took my breath away, it hurt so bad.

Once I managed to get up off the floor and stand up, it settled down. I was heading out later for a girls night with a friend so I decided a long hot shower was in order. The rest of the night passed by with no recurrence, and I figured it was a one time thing.

The next morning I got up to use the bathroom and while I was sitting on the toilet, it did it again. My husband was getting worried about me, because it made me cry out in pain and brought tears to my eyes. And I have a pretty ridiculously high pain tolerance. I tried to lay back down, but I couldn't get comfortable. And the kids were up anyhow (curse you DST!!!) so I gave up on that rather quickly. I was sitting in out desk chair with Julia, my 5 year old, next to me and it hit me again. I was BAWLING. I am not sure I've ever experienced anything so excruciating in my life. Poor thing, she was so worried about me. But I was unable to hide it from her. She kept giving me "gentle hugs so I don't hurt your back, Mommy!" Too sweet.

This happened a few more times throughout the morning. Needless to say, there was no running. It was worse when I sat, so I spent the better part of the day standing, because I was afraid to sit down. But by the end of the day, I'd learned how to manage it, and how to anticipate and avoid it.

I have no clue what brought this on. It's sore today, mostly from being wrapped so tight so often yesterday, I'm sure. But it hasn't happened again. Since it doesn't bother me when I'm upright, I think I might try to run a very little bit super gingerly tomorrow. But we'll see.

Has anyone experienced spasms like this before? I'm not sure how much to baby myself since this - I have no clue what the "right" thing to do is....

pleasepleasepleaseplease....

Mike at 26.2 is my cooldown is giving away a Garmin. I want want want it!! You can check it out here, but please don't enter! ;)

Three Things Thursday

1. Biopsy came back on my LEEP. Precancerous. The good news is, Doc got it all. But it's still a little freaky to hear. I am thankful that I decided to bite the bullet and get it over with (my doctor gave me the option of doing it or continued more frequent pap monitoring).

2. After much soul searching, and google searching, I've come to terms with James' screening. Whatever it is that is going on with him (this was NOT diagnostic, rather an evaluation for educational purposes), as long as he's getting the help that he needs the moniker doesn't matter to me. I just want him happy. I've been unable to shoehorn him into any of the autism-ish descriptions I can find, and I'm calling that a good thing.

3. If he gets into the program they are recommending, I will have 3+ hours to myself EVERY WEEKDAY. Oh, the running I will do. In DAYLIGHT.

The Weekend? Perfect. Monday? I'm Not So Sure Yet...

What a great weekend! The weather was so nice, we had a GREAT time at the zoo, we had fun with our pumpkins, I only burnt a FEW seeds, and Trick-or-Treating was a success. I didn't succeed at all in leaving the Halloween candy the hell alone, but once again, I nearly ran out of candy, so I only have to worry about that which DOES NOT belong to me. I highly recommend Halloween at the Milwaukee zoo, for anyone in the area - the kids (and parents too) enjoyed it thoroughly.

This morning, James lost his little mind almost before he was even awake. I got so upset about the prospect of taking him to the screening alone, that my husband came to my rescue (I seriously love that man - he ALWAYS gets it right when it counts) and called in to work so he could come along.

The screening itself went really well, and they will be recommending services for him, so that part I am thrilled about. However, his screening showed he is most likely on the autism spectrum. And I can't quite figure out how I'm supposed to feel about that. So for now, I vacillate wildly between fearfully mourning his "loss" of normalcy to being hopeful for him since we are on to it so early (he's 3). Insert spontaneous fits of crying, and you have my day.

The LEEP went smoothly, no huge deal. I am happy about that. I've been ordered to take it easy for a few days, specifically no running. So I'll be back to it soon. Tori hit it right on the head when she said I was way more worried about James. I'm still way more worried about him.

I am sure I'll have lots more to say on all this soon. But for now I just wanted to let you all know where things stand. Thanks so much for your kind words and good wishes...they mean a lot to me.