Sunday, December 18, 2011
Visit to see Santa
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
White Rock Marathon 2011
Back in July my running friend Kim was planning to run a marathon for her 40th birthday. I told her I would do the training with her but I was only going to do the half since by golly I'm nowhere near 40!
I had a lot of other things going on in my life and running a marathon just didn't make sense. We joined the Frisco Running Club training group to get ready. We had both run about a million and one half marathons so the training was really easy in the beginning. After awhile it started getting harder as the runs got longer but I kept running with Kim and the full group instead of the half group. Somewhere along the way I decided I'm just gonna run the full and cross this off my bucket list!
On race day I woke up around 4 am and heard the sound of rain...not just rain but POURING rain hitting the window. I can't remember the last time it rained in Dallas. Reese has rain boots that she adores and I can think of 2 times in the last 6 months I let her wear them on a completely dry day because it just NEVER rains!
I got ready and headed out to meet Kim and the group and it continued to rain. I kept praying it would stop but somewhere along the way I accepted the fact that we were gonna get wet. We accessorized with these hefty size trash bags that we had to borrow from a friend. All I had was the kitchen kind that smelled like Febreeze..ha!
The race folks were nice enough to open up this building for us to wait in until start time. We killed about 30 minutes in the bathroom line and then finally decided to head out in the rain, find the bag check and then line up in our corral. As soon as we got outside we found another bathroom with a much shorter line and decided to stop again(HELLO NERVES). After that we were about 5 minutes from the 8am start and think we will just dump our bags at the start line and go. Turns out they moved the bag check inside because of the rain so we have to run about 1/2 mile to the building, toss the bags and run 1/2 mile back to the start. We were scheduled to be in corral D which would have most likely pushed our start time to 830ish anyway but we were on the wrong side of the fence as the runners were rolling by. PANIC! We tried to make our way through the spectators to a break in the fence but finally found a place to just climb the fence with a little help from some random strangers:) So we were on the course and crossed the start mat with 3:47 on the clock. Score! We started running and despite the rain the excitement was flowing! We quickly shed our trash bags because they were just awkward. After the first mile the rain stopped or at least slowed to a drizzle. I started to get hot and took my purple jacket off and tied it around my waist. I told Kim I was going to give it to a friend who was supposed to be watching for us at mile 5. She said she thought I would regret it..she was right! Around mile 3 the rain began pouring again and it poured the entire race.
Here we are at mile 3..I was happy..Kim is looking confused:)
This is the picture on the race website of the course around the lake....
It was nothing like that at all! The wind and the rain around the lake were brutal. At times the rain was literally beating us in the face.
About 25,000 people were expected. 6000 marathoners, 13,000 half marathoners and the rest were doing the marathon relay. About 4500 ended up finishing the marathon. I think the other 1500 were probably carried away with hypothermia. It was seriously cold and miserable! My mom came to watch Reese and they had plans to come out and watch us but I nixed those plans after seeing the weather. I was afraid of having a sick kid coupled with not being able to walk on Monday.
Despite the rain I felt really really good. I think it must have been 100% adrenaline. I felt better then during most of our LONG training runs in much better weather.
This is somewhere around mile 5 because I still had my water belt..I dumped it at mile 7.
Right before mile 9 the half marathoners split off from the full marathoners as the full group heads out to the White Rock Lake. After having run this half many many times before I got a little fearful to not be turning to head back to the finish. I even said to Kim "this is our last chance to bail!" She was starting to hurt and I think she might of considered it. So I started talking..y'all know I am good at that:) I kept trying to tell her stories and I think I even sang a few children's songs (sadly that's about all I know.)
Around mile 18 I said goodbye to Kim. She was hurting from a lingering foot injury and was starting to slow way down. I was a little afraid to take off on my own since we had done almost every long run together and I still had 8 miles to go. Eight miles is a long time to be alone with the thoughts in my head..it's scary up there..haha! However, I still felt pretty good so off I went.
Everything I had read/heard about this race said if you have anyone at all who cares about you heck or even just a random acquaintance tell them to cheer you on at mile 21. Mile 21 was all uphill..they call them "The Dolly Parton Hills" and they were miserable! Fortunately I saw a familiar face right before turning to head up the hill because it was BRUTAL! It took me from mile 21 to around 23 to recover from the hills. I was cold, I was soaking wet and my legs were starting to hurt. During that time I kept hearing this guy in the crowd say "DIG DEEP". No idea who he was...and maybe he only said it once but I just kept repeating it in my head.
I started to really pay attention to the crowd around me and reading all the signs they had made. OMG there were some funny ones. Every time I saw something that made me smile I tried really really hard to commit it to memory.....no way I remember them all but here are a few that made me laugh
"You are running better then Rick Perry!" Ha!
"Running takes balls..other sports just play with them!" (Sorry momma I know it's crude.)
Chafe now, Brag Later!" (Ouch!)
"Beer misses you!" (Oh and I miss you too..hehe!)
I think this is right around mile 23. I look oddly happy..maybe because it was downhill. I like how everyone was waving at the camera.
Around mile 24 I realized that I was going to be fine and I just soaked (no pun intended) up the crowd and started to think about all the things I was going to eat afterwards. I ate two packs of cranberry flavored GU chomps during the race and if I never see those things again that would be fine with me.
My goal for this race was to finish under 5 hours and I came in at 4:53. I was happy with that time and curious about how much better it might have been had it not been dumping buckets of rain?! The jury is still out on whether or not I do another full marathon but I'm thinking that 26.2 medal looks a little lonely amongst all those mere 13.1 medals...
I had a lot of other things going on in my life and running a marathon just didn't make sense. We joined the Frisco Running Club training group to get ready. We had both run about a million and one half marathons so the training was really easy in the beginning. After awhile it started getting harder as the runs got longer but I kept running with Kim and the full group instead of the half group. Somewhere along the way I decided I'm just gonna run the full and cross this off my bucket list!
On race day I woke up around 4 am and heard the sound of rain...not just rain but POURING rain hitting the window. I can't remember the last time it rained in Dallas. Reese has rain boots that she adores and I can think of 2 times in the last 6 months I let her wear them on a completely dry day because it just NEVER rains!
I got ready and headed out to meet Kim and the group and it continued to rain. I kept praying it would stop but somewhere along the way I accepted the fact that we were gonna get wet. We accessorized with these hefty size trash bags that we had to borrow from a friend. All I had was the kitchen kind that smelled like Febreeze..ha!
The race folks were nice enough to open up this building for us to wait in until start time. We killed about 30 minutes in the bathroom line and then finally decided to head out in the rain, find the bag check and then line up in our corral. As soon as we got outside we found another bathroom with a much shorter line and decided to stop again(HELLO NERVES). After that we were about 5 minutes from the 8am start and think we will just dump our bags at the start line and go. Turns out they moved the bag check inside because of the rain so we have to run about 1/2 mile to the building, toss the bags and run 1/2 mile back to the start. We were scheduled to be in corral D which would have most likely pushed our start time to 830ish anyway but we were on the wrong side of the fence as the runners were rolling by. PANIC! We tried to make our way through the spectators to a break in the fence but finally found a place to just climb the fence with a little help from some random strangers:) So we were on the course and crossed the start mat with 3:47 on the clock. Score! We started running and despite the rain the excitement was flowing! We quickly shed our trash bags because they were just awkward. After the first mile the rain stopped or at least slowed to a drizzle. I started to get hot and took my purple jacket off and tied it around my waist. I told Kim I was going to give it to a friend who was supposed to be watching for us at mile 5. She said she thought I would regret it..she was right! Around mile 3 the rain began pouring again and it poured the entire race.
Here we are at mile 3..I was happy..Kim is looking confused:)
This is the picture on the race website of the course around the lake....
It was nothing like that at all! The wind and the rain around the lake were brutal. At times the rain was literally beating us in the face.
About 25,000 people were expected. 6000 marathoners, 13,000 half marathoners and the rest were doing the marathon relay. About 4500 ended up finishing the marathon. I think the other 1500 were probably carried away with hypothermia. It was seriously cold and miserable! My mom came to watch Reese and they had plans to come out and watch us but I nixed those plans after seeing the weather. I was afraid of having a sick kid coupled with not being able to walk on Monday.
Despite the rain I felt really really good. I think it must have been 100% adrenaline. I felt better then during most of our LONG training runs in much better weather.
This is somewhere around mile 5 because I still had my water belt..I dumped it at mile 7.
Right before mile 9 the half marathoners split off from the full marathoners as the full group heads out to the White Rock Lake. After having run this half many many times before I got a little fearful to not be turning to head back to the finish. I even said to Kim "this is our last chance to bail!" She was starting to hurt and I think she might of considered it. So I started talking..y'all know I am good at that:) I kept trying to tell her stories and I think I even sang a few children's songs (sadly that's about all I know.)
Around mile 18 I said goodbye to Kim. She was hurting from a lingering foot injury and was starting to slow way down. I was a little afraid to take off on my own since we had done almost every long run together and I still had 8 miles to go. Eight miles is a long time to be alone with the thoughts in my head..it's scary up there..haha! However, I still felt pretty good so off I went.
Everything I had read/heard about this race said if you have anyone at all who cares about you heck or even just a random acquaintance tell them to cheer you on at mile 21. Mile 21 was all uphill..they call them "The Dolly Parton Hills" and they were miserable! Fortunately I saw a familiar face right before turning to head up the hill because it was BRUTAL! It took me from mile 21 to around 23 to recover from the hills. I was cold, I was soaking wet and my legs were starting to hurt. During that time I kept hearing this guy in the crowd say "DIG DEEP". No idea who he was...and maybe he only said it once but I just kept repeating it in my head.
I started to really pay attention to the crowd around me and reading all the signs they had made. OMG there were some funny ones. Every time I saw something that made me smile I tried really really hard to commit it to memory.....no way I remember them all but here are a few that made me laugh
"You are running better then Rick Perry!" Ha!
"Running takes balls..other sports just play with them!" (Sorry momma I know it's crude.)
Chafe now, Brag Later!" (Ouch!)
"Beer misses you!" (Oh and I miss you too..hehe!)
I think this is right around mile 23. I look oddly happy..maybe because it was downhill. I like how everyone was waving at the camera.
Around mile 24 I realized that I was going to be fine and I just soaked (no pun intended) up the crowd and started to think about all the things I was going to eat afterwards. I ate two packs of cranberry flavored GU chomps during the race and if I never see those things again that would be fine with me.
My goal for this race was to finish under 5 hours and I came in at 4:53. I was happy with that time and curious about how much better it might have been had it not been dumping buckets of rain?! The jury is still out on whether or not I do another full marathon but I'm thinking that 26.2 medal looks a little lonely amongst all those mere 13.1 medals...
Friday, December 2, 2011
An Airplane Party!
Reese celebrated her 4th birthday with a party at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. It has a really cool kids play area along with airplanes the kids can roam through and its BIG. Perfect for people who don't want to be trapped together in a small room if you know what I mean:)
Not a bit shocked that she picked pink and purple for her party stuff.
Lots of her favorite friends came to celebrate with her.
About to blow out the candles!
She did a lot of running EVERYWHERE in her frilly skirt! She was SOOO excited to be the Birthday Girl.
Happy Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!
Thanks to all our friends who help make Reese's birthday special! Love you all!
Not a bit shocked that she picked pink and purple for her party stuff.
Lots of her favorite friends came to celebrate with her.
She did a lot of running EVERYWHERE in her frilly skirt! She was SOOO excited to be the Birthday Girl.
Happy Happy Birthday my sweet baby girl!
Thanks to all our friends who help make Reese's birthday special! Love you all!
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Give Thanks in the Lord Always
Things have been totally craaaazyyy these days and I'll be perfectly honest its easy to get down and just feel plain rotten about life. Reese had her 4 year well visit the other week and she did not pass her hearing screen. We were refferred to an ENT where we learned that she had significant hearing loss and will need hearing aids for the rest of her life. Wow! Talk about a shock to your heart! I spent the day we got the news in tears nearly all day. I left work early to go pick up little miss and spend some extra time with her and she was just as happy as she could be. Kids are awesome like that?! It was cold and rainy and we decided to put our PJ's on at like 3:00 in the afternoon and snuggle up in the bed. We read and colored and talked. I was quickly reminded that I should be grateful for my beautiful, funny, smart, bossy, silly, strong willed little girl! I realize that it could be SO MUCH WORSE! What an amazing gift she is to me and will be to everyone she touches in life!
Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for men. Psalm 107:8
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
PINKALICIOUS!!!!
Reese and I had the chance to go see Pinkalicous the musical last Sunday with some of our most favorite peeps Elyse, Landry and of course their mommas.
Susan found these shirts at Target and we decided they should all wear them to the show. The girls were SO excited!
We got there in time to pose for some pics before the show. There were like 987868 little pink girls everywhere ha!
After the show the girlie's had some ice cream and ran around singing the songs from the show.
It was a really cute show and as always we loved getting to hang with our peeps. Thanks Erin and Susan for organizing!
Susan found these shirts at Target and we decided they should all wear them to the show. The girls were SO excited!
We got there in time to pose for some pics before the show. There were like 987868 little pink girls everywhere ha!
After the show the girlie's had some ice cream and ran around singing the songs from the show.
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
33 things I've learned in 33 years.
In honor of turning 34(big sigh) where has the time gone?! This was my 30th birthday present.
It seems like the birthdays since then have come and gone in the blink if an eye. I sure hope time slows down..like WAY down before she turns 34 and I turn 64! YIKES!
My 33rd year was interesting, happy, fulfilling, perplexing, funny, sorrowful and just plain crazy all rolled into one. I think I learned a few things...
1) The best things in life are found when you are not even looking for them!!!
2) Sometimes it's perfectly OK to let the house get a little messy...life is too short to always worry about everything being just "perfect"
3)My friends and family are pretty amazing. I could never repay them for all the things they have done for me in this ONE year alone!
4)I am just as head over heals in love with my daughter this year as I was the day she was born.
5)I still must have ONE diet dr pepper every day!
6)I don't always love my job but I work for good people and they are good to me and for that I am grateful.
7)Motherhood is by far the most challenging job I have ever had.
5)I still love to exercise.
6)Summer is and always will be my favorite season...I'm a sun worshipper:)
7)"Stuff" does not make me happy. In fact I have lived with very little this year.
8)My daughter becomes more of a girly girl every day and I love it even though I was never a girly girl growing up.
9)I have never been a napper but have come to enjoy a Saturday or Sunday afternoon nap.
10)I love, love, love to run!
11)I still love to cook and bake although I don't do either that often anymore.
12)I have stopped looking back because I am focused on moving forward.
13)I really really like cherry sours! Reese does not like them.
14)Grey's Anatomy is still my fav tv show.
15)I can run 20+miles and live to tell about it!
16)I prefer to stick with what I know...I eat the same thing for lunch almost every single day.
17)I've learned you can't change other people and it's a waste of time to try.
18)I do not like snakes, rats, bugs or raccoon's.. Yuck Yuck Yuck!
19)I know that God has a plan for me..can't wait for him to enlighten me:)
20) You can never have enough fresh flowers in the house:)
21) I am perplexed by the fact that every kid I know pronounces crayon as "crown". Who changed the pronunciation??
22) I LOVE the sunshine!
23) I wish I was better at taking pictures. I am HORRIBLE!
24) Over the counter cough and cold medicine does not work.
25) I can't wait until I can start reading chapter books to Reese.
26) Worry will not solve problems so I don't (or try really hard not too)!
27) I always wanted an EZ bake oven when I was a kid. Reese got one for her birthday. How convenient!
28) I have learned to only surround myself with people who make me happy.
29) No matter how old you get your never to old to need your mom.
30) Take every opportunity to snuggle your babies as they will be grown in the blink of an eye:(
31) Even at age 34 the best birthday cake is homemade by momma..
32)More then ever I am thankful for the start of a new year and anxious to see whats in store for us:)
33)I celebrated my birthday with some pretty special people but this one is by far my FAVORITE...
Why yes we had been playing with my new lipstick moments before the pictures was taken:)
Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday special! I love you all dearly.
It seems like the birthdays since then have come and gone in the blink if an eye. I sure hope time slows down..like WAY down before she turns 34 and I turn 64! YIKES!
My 33rd year was interesting, happy, fulfilling, perplexing, funny, sorrowful and just plain crazy all rolled into one. I think I learned a few things...
1) The best things in life are found when you are not even looking for them!!!
2) Sometimes it's perfectly OK to let the house get a little messy...life is too short to always worry about everything being just "perfect"
3)My friends and family are pretty amazing. I could never repay them for all the things they have done for me in this ONE year alone!
4)I am just as head over heals in love with my daughter this year as I was the day she was born.
5)I still must have ONE diet dr pepper every day!
6)I don't always love my job but I work for good people and they are good to me and for that I am grateful.
7)Motherhood is by far the most challenging job I have ever had.
5)I still love to exercise.
6)Summer is and always will be my favorite season...I'm a sun worshipper:)
7)"Stuff" does not make me happy. In fact I have lived with very little this year.
8)My daughter becomes more of a girly girl every day and I love it even though I was never a girly girl growing up.
9)I have never been a napper but have come to enjoy a Saturday or Sunday afternoon nap.
10)I love, love, love to run!
11)I still love to cook and bake although I don't do either that often anymore.
12)I have stopped looking back because I am focused on moving forward.
13)I really really like cherry sours! Reese does not like them.
14)Grey's Anatomy is still my fav tv show.
15)I can run 20+miles and live to tell about it!
16)I prefer to stick with what I know...I eat the same thing for lunch almost every single day.
17)I've learned you can't change other people and it's a waste of time to try.
18)I do not like snakes, rats, bugs or raccoon's.. Yuck Yuck Yuck!
19)I know that God has a plan for me..can't wait for him to enlighten me:)
20) You can never have enough fresh flowers in the house:)
21) I am perplexed by the fact that every kid I know pronounces crayon as "crown". Who changed the pronunciation??
22) I LOVE the sunshine!
23) I wish I was better at taking pictures. I am HORRIBLE!
24) Over the counter cough and cold medicine does not work.
25) I can't wait until I can start reading chapter books to Reese.
26) Worry will not solve problems so I don't (or try really hard not too)!
27) I always wanted an EZ bake oven when I was a kid. Reese got one for her birthday. How convenient!
28) I have learned to only surround myself with people who make me happy.
29) No matter how old you get your never to old to need your mom.
30) Take every opportunity to snuggle your babies as they will be grown in the blink of an eye:(
31) Even at age 34 the best birthday cake is homemade by momma..
32)More then ever I am thankful for the start of a new year and anxious to see whats in store for us:)
33)I celebrated my birthday with some pretty special people but this one is by far my FAVORITE...
Thank you to everyone who helped make my birthday special! I love you all dearly.
Friday, November 11, 2011
A fresh new start and a bunch of randomness
I am so so so excited about my new blog makeover...what do y'all think? Sometimes its the little things that help me make it through the day. Along with a blog makeover, Reese and I both celebrating birthdays and I am looking forward to the freshness of starting another year. What will this year bring for us?!
Almost gone are the days of randomly bursting into tears. People at my office must think I have very severe allergies..hahahaha!
Reese and I decided to play hooky one day this week just for the heck of it. We were totally lazy and stayed in our pajamas most of the day however we did muster up the energy to get pedicures:)
I am well aware that Halloween is over but a certain 4 year old(still can't believe she is 4!!) had her heart set on pumpkin toes before we ever left the house. What the heck pumpkin toes for all!! I'm kinda enjoying the little pumpkin smiling up at me every morning..we could all use a friendly smile right?!
A sweet friend of mine gave Reese this cute purse with 4 bucks in it for her birthday. She was so stoked to have her own money.
She also got a few gift cards for her birthday so she wanted to do a little shopping with her money. We headed over to Tarjay and perused the toy aisles with great intensity. Reese found many things she wanted and we discussed how much money she had and what she could afford to buy. Initially she tried the "i want this but you buy it with your money momma" approach but I reminded her that we were only spending her money and she would have to choose wisely. What a great lesson for a little 4 year old! So after very careful consideration Reese chose a $9 dollar doctor kit and a red and green lollipop from the Christmas section. I think she was enamored with the doctor kit because we had just been to Dr Nail for her well visit the day before.
I am getting so excited to see if all my marathon training will pay off. Only 4 more weeks until the White Rock Marathon. Yikes! I am super duper excited, nervous, anxious basically just a big ball of worry ha! I am 100% confident that I will cross the finish line even if I have to crawl..ha!
I got this slutty mcslutty dress for my company Christmas party. Hopefully after running 26.2 miles I'll be skinny enough to squeeze into it...haha! Reese said I looked beautiful...have I mentioned I heart her?!
And I leave you with this sweet girl.
Happy Friday Everyone!
Almost gone are the days of randomly bursting into tears. People at my office must think I have very severe allergies..hahahaha!
Reese and I decided to play hooky one day this week just for the heck of it. We were totally lazy and stayed in our pajamas most of the day however we did muster up the energy to get pedicures:)
I am well aware that Halloween is over but a certain 4 year old(still can't believe she is 4!!) had her heart set on pumpkin toes before we ever left the house. What the heck pumpkin toes for all!! I'm kinda enjoying the little pumpkin smiling up at me every morning..we could all use a friendly smile right?!
A sweet friend of mine gave Reese this cute purse with 4 bucks in it for her birthday. She was so stoked to have her own money.
I am getting so excited to see if all my marathon training will pay off. Only 4 more weeks until the White Rock Marathon. Yikes! I am super duper excited, nervous, anxious basically just a big ball of worry ha! I am 100% confident that I will cross the finish line even if I have to crawl..ha!
I got this slutty mcslutty dress for my company Christmas party. Hopefully after running 26.2 miles I'll be skinny enough to squeeze into it...haha! Reese said I looked beautiful...have I mentioned I heart her?!
And I leave you with this sweet girl.
Happy Friday Everyone!
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