Say Cheese

Spending an extra long weekend with my first born daughter.  Love having her around.  Not making the same mistake I did when Amidala was here.  Took 278 pictures today.  

She is teaching me new things.  Like if I hold the camera high over my head, my facebook shots will be more flattering. 

Ya think?

Refrigerator Star of the Week

Who this is:  Spencer (and Spencer)
How I am related to Spencer:  I am his favorite aunt
My favorite memory of Spencer:  Him jumping into the creek in his underwear.
My favorite Spencer quote:  "I wished you hadn't telled me that."
What I like best about Spencer:  His magnetic personality


Adding "update the refrigerator magnets" to the sand pail list.

Honest Race Recap

Honestly...
1. I did 'run' the 5K on Saturday. 
2. I started out strong.  
3. I passed every one of the other runners. 
4. I finished with a PR for my over 50 races. 
5. I placed second overall. 
No, really.  All true. 

Okay, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? 
1. I did not walk any part of the 5K. (Goal met!)
2. I ran the first 12 feet along side another woman, then I had to slow down because I knew the pace was much too fast for me to be able to sustain and finish.  (She was running with her dad who was about 102 years old.  He passed me about 24 feet into the race.) 
3. It was an out and back race so I passed everyone when I was on my way out--and they were on their way back.  (To my credit--I didn't pass anyone in my first mile, so no one was running twice as fast as me.)
4.  It is the only race I have run since I turned 50.
5.  I placed second in fundraising.  (I won a t-shirt and two complimentary weeks' membership at the fitness/wellness center.  I regifted the t-shirt to the Goob and the gift certificate to the STP.)  I did finish ahead of the 'walkers'.  Maybe more importantly, I did finish.  And one more thing off the sand pail list.
Run a 5k.
Noticed the Dodge City Gazette Editor was there with his camera.  Expect this weeks headline to be Chubby Woman Runs 5K.  Hopefully they print the pictures on an inside page.

Like Sand in a Sand Pail

3.  Run 5K
4.  Run a 5K

Bouyed by my success at wogging a little over three miles this am, I went ahead and registered for a 5K this weekend.  It is being run on my usual running path and starts just three blocks from my house, so it won't get any easier than this.  And I could register online.  Which means I didn't have to actually face anyone and say I planned to run a 5K. 
Since Parenthood is no longer on TV, I have a new favorite TV show.  Duck Dynasty.  Unlike Parenthood, which was a TV family that I wanted to be part of, Duck Dynasty is the TV family that makes me glad for the family I am a part of.  I tell you what--there are more quotable moments in that show than I can remember.  Here is my favorite Phil quote from last night's episode:  (What?  You missed it?  Come on over-I have it DVRed and I will gladly sit and watch it again with you.) 

Local Chubby Woman Eaten by Alligator. 

I tell you what.  A man who speaks in headlines makes me 'happy, happy'.  Too bad this week's Dodge City Gazette has already gone to press.  Expect the headline would read, "Local Chubby Woman Registers for 5K."  And, just for registering, I got my own web page.  You can check it out here.  I expect to have a PR for my official over 50 races.  I'll let you know how it goes.



Pounding Nails

While I was assembling my pallet edging I hit my ring finger with a hammer.  How exactly I managed to whap the end of my ring finger while hammering a nail is still an unanswered question.  Because I was in such I-might-throw-up-pain right after it happened that I don't have a clear memory of the actual event. (What I do have is a is a purple swollen ring finger, with nail that might fall off in the not too distant future.)  I had to lay down flat on the floor while I iced it because I thought I might pass out.  Obviously I could not pound any more nails and the STP had to finish the edging. 
All the while Izma's voice was ringing in my head.  "Smash it with a hammer."
Not exactly brilliant, I tell you.

A Bloomin' Miracle

The other day I was walking past the neighbor's house admiring her flowers and noticed that she has a yellow iris.  I have iris, but they are all purple.  I have had them for four years.  I used to have a yellow iris at my old house.  And I wished I had a different colored iris here. I  thought briefly about my alternate hands and about digging out the neighbor's iris, but she has a dog who barks, and I hardly ever just dig flowers out of front yards of houses where people are still living. 
But the next day, right in the middle of my purple iris, was a peachy pink iris.  That had never been there before.  And the STP thinks it just never bloomed before.  But I'm thinking it was a miracle.

A little gift to me from God Himself.  A little reward for not digging out the neighbor's yellow iris. 

Sand Pail List addendum

2.  Go to the drive-in.  See a pirate movie.  Eat popcorn.  Laugh my booty off.

Sometimes it is good to have accomplished something on the list before you even know it is on the list.   Aaarrr.

What Happened on the Patio

I know what the sign says.




 But regardless, I am going to tell you something that happened in the side yard today. 
First you should know there is a side of the back yard I never show you.

This is the side you usually see.  The hosta and the stolen peonies (let's just call them what they are, since we are being honest about the side yard).  But just a few feet away is this:

A totally unlandscaped wasteland.  I had no ideas and an inadequate budget that has kept me from doing anything except sitting with my back to it.  The STP is tired of weed eating along the chain link fence.  So this week his OCD-self decided to do something about it.  He priced edging.  He talked to the men at the Dodge City Building Center.  He made me look at low bamboo edging on the internet.  He made me think about it until we came up with a plan. A plan and some pallets.  A man and his sawzall.

Goob:  What are you doing?

Me:  Arranging these boards so they look random and unarranged.  AAARRR

Goob:  Just saying Aaarrr at the end of a sentence does not make everything alright.

At the end of the day (and a total cost of less than $9.00) the STP had a weed eater friendly edging.

And my ostrich plume fern has a new home. 

It is supposed to grow 4-6 feet high.  I think that will take a miracle.  Or at least some miracle gro.

The STP also went for a bike ride with me today and cut the boards for the giant jenga game.  Have I mentioned lately how much I like that guy?

Flamingo Invasion

The local youth center is doing a flamingo fundraiser.  Where they put a flock of tacky  pink flamingoes in your yard and make you pay money to have them removed.  This week they put them in my yard. 

One problem.  Tacky pink flamingoes are right at home in my yard.

 So I was not highly motivated to pay to have them removed.  I contemplated keeping them.  But then the local youth center staff contemplated charging me rent for the flock.  So I had them come and get them.  And I paid extra to have them delivered to the front yard of my choosing.  I did not, however, pay the 'flock insurance' that would keep them from coming back.  Just in case someone wants to send tham back where they belong.

So Little Time

On my sand pail list--which is like a bucket list only just for the summer.  I have had one of these for years--just didn't know what to call it.
1.  Watch and catch fireflies with Claire and Nick

Ladies Retreat

When you pack for ladies retreat take a few things that are important. 

Like every color of nail polish you own.

While you are at ladies retreat, do a little shopping.  Like for some new glitter in some colors you really need.

Apply polish to your PW's toenails.  Let her pick the colors she wants.

Then glitter liberally.

Clearcoat and Ta DA!!   The most awesome my toenails have ever been. With thanks to 'my girl'.

Oh, and I did have a few spiritual moments as well.

Addendum:  "My girl" says that is not all of her nail polish.

I Blame Eve Too

Remember all the books I am going to write?  Well here is one I don't have to.  Because someone beat me to it.  And I am not even a little bit jealous.  (Okay, maybe a little bit.)  But really if you are waiting for me to write a book, you might want to go ahead and read this one.  I Blame Eve by Susanna Foth Aughtmon.  I have read and recommended her previous 2 books.  (All I Need Is Jesus and a Good Pair of Jeans,  and  My Bangs Look Good and Other Lies I Tell Myself.)   So I feel like I know her.  We've dealt with Grace and Truth together.  And this month, along with our sister Eve of Genesis fame, we tackled my perfectionism, my control issues, and my tendency to entertain snakes. 

Here are some random things I like about the book author:
1.  Her honesty
2.  Her sense of humor
3.  Her list of 40 yucky things she blames Eve for--from arm flab to death
   (I liked it so much I was thinking of listing 100 yucky things in the month of May.  Kind of like an anti-thanksgiving list. I haven't completely ruled it out.)
4.  Her description of the Eden gene
5.  She writes short chapters
6.  She writes about real life.
7.  She challenges me without heaping guilt on me.

I liked the book, but I really like the author.  I think she could be my sister.  Or at least my friend.  So I am going to let her have this one. (Even though I still have some good snake stories.) In addition to crossing another book off my reasonable resolution list, I am crossing off  'write a book about Eve'.

I am hanging onto my dream of actually writing a book. 

The Other Side of the Mountain

The Goob is finishing up his required driving hours in order to get his license later this month.  So this week when he was on Spring break and gas is finally at $4.00 a gallon, he has been driving for no other reason than to drive.  Twice he has gone over the mountain for dinner.  And to see what he could see.  Two hours one way.  Back late?  After dark hours.  I rode with him once.  (That makes a total of two times in twelve months that I have ridden in the vehicle when he has been behind the wheel.  I may have a trust issue.) 

This GPS shot has more to do with the mayhem that results from not updating the GPS after road construction, than with the Goob's driving skills.  (Although anytime I go over the mountain I am keenly aware of the possibility of driving into the abyss.)

At any rate, the Goob will be sixteen this month and you know what that means.  He will be doing his own laundry. (Deep breath while I deal with trusting him with the washing machine.)

You Misjudge Me

Got My New Shoes On

When I was in Chicago a few weeks ago I ran into the mall and tried on some new running shoes.  I was contemplating the trendy barefoot kind of running shoes, but the helpful young man at the running shoe store talked me out of them.  And into something better for my plantar faciitis plagued feet.  But they didn't have my size in the color I wanted.  (Which really wasn't the color I wanted, but the more acceptable color they came in--just sayin')  So the very helpful young man said they could ship them right to my front door.  Free of charge.  In 3 to 5 days.  And since he was telling me this on Tuesday, I fully expected to arrive home on Friday and put my new shoes on.
 Enter UPS.  Remember them?  The logistics people?

They picked up my shoes in Roanoke VA and arrived and departed them 6 times enroute to my front porch.  Because they love logistics.  I consider my new shoes cross country running shoes because they have already come across the country.
Albeit in a box.

Inside a box.

But I don't think they could be any better.  They even came wrapped in paper that said "Run Happy".

The only one more excited than me about my new shoes is the SLD.

Her tail wags so hard at the sight of them on my feet, that she actually launches herself. 

We got as far as the end of the street before it started raining on us and we ran back home.  The good thing about the SLD is that she will be equally excited the next time she sees me wearing the running shoes. 
If only my enthusiasm was as unflagging.  Run Happy!

Indeed

Dust Yourself Off

According to the book I am currently reading:

Over the course of a year, a five-person family will accumulate 40 pounds of dust, according to one estimate.

I'm not recommending this as good reading, just a comment to bring closure to my Lenten fast from dusting.  (And wondering who makes these kind of estimates.)
I have one more post from my mission trip to Mexico rambling about in my head.  I have been hesitant to share it with you.  Because you might think less of me after you know this.  Because, truthfully, I think less of myself now that I know this about myself.
Remember that my mantra before I left on the trip was "I live to serve."  I've actually used this for years.  I was fond of using it when my kids were in grade school and would call from the school office to have me deliver something they forgot:  a homework assignment, a lunch, a clarinet.  A little reminder to myself that if I really lived to serve that I wouldn't feel so put out to actually be called to serve.  I'd like to think that I had gotten better at serving as I got older matured.

But here is what I discovered in Mexico.  ( Unfortunately, no, not a lost city of gold.)  Even as I endeavor to live to serve, the fact is that I do not like to serve.  Unless I get to pick when I serve.  And how I serve.  And whom I serve.  I am happy to plant or paint things.  I am less happy to water things with a holey bucket or to wash out the paint brushes.  And I am really not happy when you get to plant and I have to water.  Or you get to paint and I have to wash out the brushes.  And I am downright put out if you expect me to water your plants or wash out your brushes.  Because I don't mind serving, but I strongly dislike (okay, I hate) being treated like a servant. 
So on this Good Friday, here is what the hand of God has reached out and written on my dusty heart:

"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:45)

and another reminder that my attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself   
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
 (Philippians 2:6-8)

If I haven't grasped the fullness of this whole 'very nature of a servant' concept by Easter Sunday, do you think I can put off dusting until I get it right? 

Paint and Pallet

The STP was so glad to have me home that he just let me do whatever I wanted to do today. And I wanted to paint this sign for my patio.  So I did. 

Unlikely Events

While we were waiting out the thunderstorm, waiting for takeoff aboard the 757 at O'hare, the pilot suggested we listen to the flight attendants' little presentation on exits, seatbelts, oxygen masks falling from overhead, and flotation devices--in case of an 'unlikely event'.  I believe his exact words were, "Better to know it and not need it, than to need it and not know it."  Happy to report that the plane landed safely in Denver without the occurance of any unlikely events.  So just in case this was my really lucky day, or in case I still had an unlikely event coming my way, I stopped between flights to purchase myself a lottery ticket.

Because you have to play to win.  And my chances were as good as anyone else's.  And better than most Wyoming residents, because true to it's empty map self, Wyoming is one of the 8 states that does not participate in the MEGAmillions lotto.  And even though my chances of winning were slightly less than dying of a lightning strike, I had already lived through a thunderstorm and avoided a plane crash into water earlier that very day. so I was feeling pretty good about my chances.  I could hear that pilot's voice in my head:  "Better to have played and lost, than to never have played." 

I didn't play your birthday.  Or mine.  I let Jesus pick the numbers.  When I got home, I fessed up to the STP that I had gambled a dollar.  And along with the rest of the country, we discussed what we would do with our my millions. I wanted to wait until today to check my numbers.  You know, go to bed with the possibility of being a multimillionaire still on the table.  But the STP talked me into checking last night.  And, sorry to say, I was not the big winner.
(The STP resisted the urge to say, " I wanna show you something, its my shocked face.")
At the end of the day I was not a millionaire.  But on the other hand, I did not get struck by lightning.  I did not have any use for an oxygen mask.  I did not get mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day.  So I went to bed thankful for the absence of any unlikely events in my day.
But if perchance Jesus helped you pick the winning numbers, I want you to know that I was going to totally share my winnings with you.

Can't Get There From Here

Searching for flights for the summer tour.  Typed in my destination and my travel dates and discovered to my dismay that my search yielded no available  flights.  Adjusted my dates and tried alternate points of departure.  NO MATCHING RESULTS.  A slight panic, major disbelief. Until I discovered that in airport mode PGH is Pantnagar not Pittsburgh. 
Tomorrow I fly from Chicago.