Tag Archives: blogging

Happy New Year!

I got an email from my big sister nagging me about being lax on my blog, so I thought I’d just stop in and say “Hiya!”

My big sis Angela on graduation day from the University of Arizona.

Hope everyone had a rockin’ New Years Eve!! It was traditional for us… a little karaoke and then we watched the Space Needle fireworks on TV. We had some Christmas crackers to pop open at midnight, so minimal noise… other than the whistle AJ got in his. And no… I have no idea why they sell Christmas crackers for NYE here.

After a nice 10-day vacation, I had to go back to work on Tuesday which proved to be difficult. I had gotten used to sleeping in; however, I managed some time on the treadmill before heading off to work, hoping it would put me in the right frame of mind. It may have helped. A little. Our first patient of the year was a barred owl trapped in a chimney. PSA: If you don’t want birds in your chimney, cover your chimney with wire so the birds can’t enter. Nesting season will be here soon and some birds love to nest in chimneys. Once a bird has laid its eggs, it is a U.S. federal offense to disturb the nest until it’s empty, so plan ahead and be prepared.

Tomorrow is D-Day for AJ. Back to school he goes after a nice 2-week winter break. I probably dread it more than he does. Getting him up in the early morning hours is hellish… but Santa was smart and gave him a new alarm clock. Now if only I could find one that sounded more like an air raid siren…

#truth

Thanks to #SquadRunner and the motivation I get from my teammates, running has been good to me… or I’ve been good to my running. Either/or. While my mileage wasn’t high by any standards last week (just over 13 miles), I did have a 6-day running streak going through New Year’s weekend, with 2 runs completed on January 1st to start the year off right (one was 1.5 miles, the other a nice 5K). I have my first race coming up the beginning of March (Seattle Hot Chocolate 15K… more on that later), and I’ve also entered a 175-mile challenge… run 175 miles by March 16 (34 miles down, 141 to go).

Points reset every month.

So endeth the first week of 2018! Dilly dilly! Make it a great 2nd week, my friends!!

Okay sis, you can stop nagging me now, lol. (c. 1973)

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

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That’s a saying we use regularly in my house. “Sittin’ on the dock of the bay.” It completely explains our current state of activity. No further explanation needed when asked ‘whatcha doing.’

I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Watching the tide roll away
Ooo, I’m just sittin’ on the dock of the bay
Wastin’ time

(Admit it… you sang those lyrics while you read them, didn’t you)

Today is the first real day of my holiday vacation and I’m sittin’ on the dock of the bay. And I’m not ashamed to say it loud and proud.

Anyone having fun with their runs and participating in the #RunChatHunt? I doubt I’ll complete the challenge, but I have managed to find a couple of the items, such as inflatables:

And a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree:

James also created a SquadRunner team of 20 people to keep us motivated and running through the holidays and beyond. We compete with other teams around the world for standings, and each day there is a quiz you can take for points, not to mention new missions (must reach a certain distance or time) which will also give you extra points.

Today’s mission is 9.5 miles. I need to get out and complete at least half of it, but it is so cold out there. Okay, nothing like riding a bike in 18 deg F cold (Jim… brrrr), but it’s cold for us… for me. My cat has taken up residence in the warmest bathroom in the house and is laying on the heating vent. You see, we had a White Christmas. Yes indeedy… it snowed.

Anyway, back to SquadRunner, we have a great team and are currently ranked 41st out of a couple hundred. Our 20 team members hail from around the globe… Germany, UK, Canada, East Coast, West Coast. We motivate, encourage, and celebrate each other. It has been such a great and positive experience and it makes me want to get out and get some mileage for the team… cold or no cold. But right now, I’m still sittin’ on the dock of the bay.

I have thoroughly enjoyed my relaxing morning, getting caught up with all of you: AJ vacationing in Arizona; Brian re-running his Village of the Damned series (which is what got me hooked on Bonnywood Manor to begin with); AB traveling during the holidays and most recently Rome; and I always enjoy reading T’s happenings and thoughts, as well as Marie’s Monday school. Also hoping for wellness for GH and a speedy recovery for Randy who recently ruptured his Achilles and had to have surgery. And hey! After a long hiatus, welcome back, WBFM!

Sometimes it’s good just sittin’ on the dock of the bay!

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!

Lucky Number 13

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Actually, I’m not fond of this number at all.

At The Last Supper, there were 13 people around the table… the 13th supposedly being Judas who betrayed Christ.

On Friday the 13th, in October 1307, Philip IV of France arrested hundreds of the Knights Templar, then tortured and murdered them (they protected Christian pilgrims during the Crusades).

In a tarot card deck, XIII is the card of Death.

The Apollo 13 lunar mission was a “successful failure” (successful because no one died).

However….

That isn’t really the point of my post.

My point then?? Glad you asked!!

My baby boy just turned 13!! I am now officially the mother of a teenager (may the Good Lord have mercy on my soul)!

Happy Birthday AJ!!

1st Birthday

9th Birthday

13 candles nearly set off the smoke detectors.

13th Birthday

Wow. Growing up. #GoHawks

I’m still not fond of the number 13… but I think I can live with it for a year.

Busy Much?

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The last couple of weeks have been an absolute blur and I think my brain is fried. It’s only been 3 weeks since I ran my last race, 2 weeks since my mother-in-law Janet went back to the UK, 1 week since AJ began summer break, and yet all events seem like forever ago. In that time, I’ve had a huge fundraiser gala to contend with, a hubby with a hurt back (who is thankfully on the mend… see here), and I’m trying really hard to wrap my head around marathon training 6 days a week. This will now be my life for the next 4 months… work and training. I’ve come to the conclusion that something has to give, so I won’t be doing the cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, etc., anymore. Besides, I’d much rather keep in touch with my blogging friends than do all that other mindless nonsense… and now that James is healing, he can clean and do laundry and… lol, sorry, I’m getting ahead of myself. Let me back up…

Fundraiser Gala: One week after Janet left, the rescue and rehab center where I work held a huge fundraiser gala with dinner, entertainment, and a silent auction. The director and I were working like mad the week before to get everything together for the event, and now I’m still quite busy tracking donors and silent auction winners and all the stuff that follows an event such as this. No matter… we had a great time, and I’m happy to say it was a great success.

This was actually supposed to be an adults-only evening, but I was able to sneak AJ in to watch the raptor presentation. He hung out in our room afterwards for the rest of the night.

All the tables were decorated with cute little stuffed animals that anyone could adopt (raccoons, opossums, coyotes, owls, eagles, squirrels, etc.). They even came with their own adoption certificates. Below are the two we adopted. All of them were dressed up with little tulle “bow ties” for their gala evening.

Below is a video that was made in 2015. Back then, we needed help with refurbishing the hospital area. We were able to raise all the funds for that; however we are now in need of new eagle flights. While the video that was shown last Saturday night is not available publicly yet, I thought you might enjoy seeing where I spend a lot of my days. When the other video becomes available, I’ll show that one to you as well, then you can see the difference in the hospital… a little inside look of a rescue center, so to speak. (By the way… the raccoons at the beginning really are just hanging upside down. They were babies when they came to us and learned how to climb the chain links… all were happily released back into the wild).

Training: Yeah, I’ve been doing that too. I’ve had to start getting up before the sun to avoid the heat and mugginess of the season, but we all do what we gotta do. I’m just thankful I don’t have mom duties first thing anymore (you know… making lunches, giving rides, and the biggie of waking up a child). I won’t go much into detail about the runs right now (only because this post is getting too long), but I am hitting them as scheduled… not so much on the cross training yet… but the runs are extremely important. You can’t fake your way through a marathon if you want to beat the sweeper, haha.

Up next: Queen with Adam Lambert! This Saturday! I cannot wait!

Have a great week, my friends!

Thanks to a Teacher, I Learned from a Child

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The long-awaited last day of school has finally arrived.

AJ excelled in the 6th grade, and while he did well grade-wise, I mean more that he excelled as a person and grew quite a bit emotionally, and I believe his teachers played a huge part in that.

All of his teachers were amazing and deserve gratitude and thanks; however, one teacher stands out in particular. This particular teacher helped AJ develop his love for history. And adventure. And the ancient aliens who may or may not have built the pyramids (more on that later… ).

The last essay AJ wrote for this teacher was about “Grit.” This was not a required assignment. But from what I understand, quite a few students completed it, including AJ. Their reward? A hat that says “Grit.” Just one more way to get the kids to think and to write. On their own. Without any pressure of a grade or a deadline. “Learn to love learning;” one of the first steps to school success, in my opinion.

Thank you, Mr. Larson, for inspiring my child to be the best that he could possibly be. You have made a tremendous impact on AJ’s learning, and for that, we are extremely grateful. He wears that hat with pride.

And for all the other teachers out there who inspire our kids, thank you so much for what you do. May you all have a happy and relaxing summer holiday! You’ve certainly earned it!

In case you’re curious about what my kid wrote… here ya go:

What is grit? Grit could mean sand, or it could mean that you never give up and keep trying. Determined, brave, toughness–all of these things could mean grit, but there are a lot more words that can mean grit.

I would like to tell you a story of a man named James Edward Howard. He is my great-great grandfather that fought in World War 1. He was born in Ipswich, Suffolk, UK, on the 4th of April 1890. During the war, he transferred to the Royal Engineers from the Suffolk Regiment. He died June 1st, 1929. He was at the battle of Ypres when he got badly gassed. After the war was done, he suffered very poor health due to the mustard gas. His last few years, he was in and out of the hospital as he developed Tuberculosis which was his cause of death. He survived for 15 years after the war and after being gassed. This man had a lot of grit to be ill and survive for that long. That is why I wanted to share this story with you.

I used grit last year. I came through a tough time when my grandma and uncle died within a few months of each other. The thing is I didn’t get sorry for myself or get sad, I just accepted the way things happened. My cat also died 2 months after my grandma died. He had been around me my whole life but I kept fighting and never got sad or anything, and that is how I used grit.

That wraps up my whole grit essay. I hoped you learned a little more about me. Always remember to never give up, there is always hope.

Thanks to a teacher, today I learned from a child. I learned “… there is always hope.”

17 Years

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2000

Today is mine and 50 in 50 Marathon Quest’s 17th wedding anniversary, so in honor of this special day, I found some great words of advice for anyone who may be interested in having a loving, long-lasting relationship:

To keep your marriage brimming

With love in the loving cup,

Whenever you’re wrong — admit it,

Whenever you’re right — shut up.

2017

Happy Anniversary James!

#MyFirstPostRevisited

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Thanks to T. Wayne from A Joyful Process for nominating me for the “My First Blog Post” challenge. The challenge was created by Sarah Brentyn of the Lemon Shark blog.

Of course, there are rules (always rules!). In a twist, these rules are in levels:

Obvious rules:

No cheating. (It must be your first post. Not your second post, not one you love…first post only.)
Link back to the person who tagged you (thank them if you feel like it or, if not, curse them with a plague of ladybugs).

Other rules:

Cut and paste your old post into a new post or reblog your own bad self. (Either way is fine but NO editing.)
Put the hashtag #MyFirstPostRevisited in your title.
Tag five (5) other bloggers to take up this challenge.
Notify your tags in the comment section of their blog (don’t just hope they notice a pingback somewhere in their spam).
Feel free to cut and paste the badge to use in your post. Notify your tags in the comment section of their blog (don’t just hope they notice a pingback somewhere in their spam).
Include “the rules” in your post.

My nominees (who are under no obligation to participate) are as follows:

50 in 50 Marathon Quest (do we really know what your first post says? hmmm?)

Bonnywood Manor (because I can’t find your very first post ever written, and I know a lot of us would love to see it).

The Hangry Runner (I see your first post, but I think it deserves repeating, although that raccoon is freaking adorable, :D)

Running To Travel (the same… I see your first post, but it deserves repeating, ;D)

Slow Runner Girl (because you’re amazing and you’ve come so far!)

This is not an award… it’s a challenge! Are you up for the challenge?

My first post ever written… I remember it well (5 July, 2015). I had just gotten back from a run, sat down at my computer, and let my fingers do the post-run walking. The rest is history. Kind of wish I wasn’t complaining about the heat so much back then…

First and only week of pre-training… done!

I loved the Fit One Boise event so much that I’m making it my premium race this year. Last year I ran the 10K; this year will be the half. There wasn’t anything I didn’t love about it… the course was gorgeous, the people and volunteers were ultra-friendly, the post-race snacks were fabulous (all the chocolate milk a girl could want), and the bling was everything a bling should be, sparkly and big!

So, tomorrow begins the countdown and training for this super fun event, and today, I finished my only week of pre-training to dust off the cobwebs. And boy, do I hurt because I let my training slide. There’s not a muscle in my legs that don’t say ouch, WTH!

For this upcoming cycle, I will be using one of Hal Higdon’s plans, the Novice 2. I figure it fits as this is my second year in. I also like it because the mileage in the middle of the week is doable, and the LSR’s on the weekend gradually increase each week to where I’ll be running 12 miles the week before Boise. It’s important to me that I get that long mileage in so my body is aware of exactly how much pain it’s going to be in when it crosses the finish line.

My next three training runs will be 3 miles long each, and I have this wicked loop in my neighborhood that’s uphill both ways, with another killer hill smack dab in the middle of it. See picture below. I’ll measure my progress on this one particular loop as I will always have a 3-mile run each week of my training. Today was a test run… not even worth posting a time. Okay, so I walked a lot of it. Did I mention it was hot! I guess I really shouldn’t complain… The Motivator is training for the Chicago Marathon and had to run 9 miles today in the heat. We should’ve gotten up earlier…

On top of the hill looking down… it’s even worse going up!

Thursday’s Happenings

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It was a gorgeous day in the Pacific Northwest today… unseasonably sunny and warm. I hope this isn’t the warm before the storm, BUT, I’ll bask in it for the short time we have it.

And when it’s sunny, this usually happens at the center:

All kinds of animals were released into the beautiful sunshine today (yes, even some squirrels), but the above red-tail hawk was especially happy to be sprung. He was none too pleased to be in a hospital for the short time he was there. Fly and be free, little guy!

Also, James and I were contacted by the Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa coming up. We have been chosen to be on the blogging panel at the expo for the marathon as their first ever “couple” bloggers. We will be at the expo on Saturday, November 19th, from 3 to 4 p.m. If you happen to be running Route 66, please stop by and say hi! We would love to meet you! This will be the next-to-the-last race for us for the year, with the Mukilteo Turkey Trot the following week being the last and final race for 2016 (phew!).

James’s site is still having problems showing up in the reader, so if you follow him, he’s just posted about his October goals. You can see his latest post here. He can be quite funny at times you know, 🙂

That’s it, that’s all I’ve got. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!!

Will you be in Tulsa on the 20th?
If you run, is a Turkey Trot on your schedule?
Do you prefer hamburgers or hot dogs? 😉

Missoula Half-Marathon

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Many of you know I just completed the Missoula Half-Marathon this past Sunday and James completed the full. What a great little racecation! It was a whirlwind, but totally worth every moment we spent there and on the road.

To recap, we left the Seattle area on Friday afternoon and drove to Spokane to stay the night, meeting up with fellow blogger Renee on Saturday morning. We then drove the rest of the way to Missoula, just in time for the expo and to see Jeff Galloway. Dinner was at 7 and sleep for me came at midnight.

Rocks! In a river!! Apparently great for fishing!

RACE DAY: We woke up at 3:30 for a 6 a.m. start time… mind you, this was Montana time. In Seattle time, it was only 2:30 a.m. Ack! And we all know sleep doesn’t come easy the night before a race.

Logistics were easy… we walked across the bridge right behind the hotel and there were the shuttle buses hauling people to the start line. Once at the start line, it was port-a-loo heaven! And I’m not kidding. They were everywhere. No one had to suffer or stress. Kudos to the race director on the potties! (For those who don’t race, port-a-loos are a super important part of the start line, which is why every runner will report on them!)

As well, they had fireworks going off about every 6 to 7 minutes. Okay, that was a little unnerving and unnecessary, but it was entertaining.

Then at 6 a.m., the cannon fired (yes, a booming cannon, just in case the fireworks didn’t wake you up) and the finale of the fireworks were set off (for those of us who had to wait a couple of minutes to cross the start line). By the way, Jeff Galloway was running the half with his 90-year-old friend. How’s that for inspiring?!! If I would’ve known they were behind me, I totally would’ve backed up and ran with them.

THE COURSE: Gorgeous. Farms, trees, rivers, historic neighborhoods, and basically flat. Loved it. I ran out of air at about mile 9 or 10, but that’s what happens when you train at sea level. I’m thinking James and I probably need to go hike up one of the mountains here to get some practice with breathing at different elevations.

An entertainer playing a violin on the side while we went past. There were also bands, drums, people with stereos to keep us going.

THE PEOPLE AND VOLUNTEERS: So very nice, so friendly, so helpful. I didn’t run into one single person who wasn’t encouraging and uplifting throughout the race. I wasn’t too impressed at mile 11 when people were saying, “you’re almost there” (because I wasn’t anywhere near the finish line), but that was my emotional breakdown, not theirs, so I really appreciated their support regardless of my state of mind.

THE FINISH LINE: Again, fabulous! For recovery food, they had a lovely quinoa salad, bananas, oranges, watermelon, frozen fruit bars, nuts, bagels, fig newtons… a great spread! At the family meetup area, all racers got a free beer and a free finisher picture, and they were selling fry bread and other things, just in case the food at the finish line didn’t quite get it done for you.

A moose with running shoes on the bling… too cute.

POST-RACE CELEBRATION: I think I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. After sleeping for a couple of hours, we went out and enjoyed. Our eyes were much bigger than our stomachs, but it was nice having a sample of everything.

Chicken strips, quesadilla, and nachos.

James and his father Rick, who came to watch and celebrate, and who also brought AJ back after he spent the previous week in Boise.

This was a fabulous race and a fabulous time, and I felt it was very well organized. Thankfully we didn’t run into even one snafu, and that’s always bonus. This race may actually have moved to the very top of my favorites list, so I highly recommend it if you’re looking to run in Montana!!

I think this bike totally works for the treasure hunt!

Be sure to stay tuned to 50 in 50 Marathon Quest to see his full race report. He had a nasty mountain to climb that forced practically everyone to walk…

A Little of This… Some of That…

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Detox Sucks

The holiday celebrations are over now as mum-in-law Janet has gone back to the UK. No more debauchery for us… we have races coming up… all… summer… long. With the first one being this Saturday. And by debauchery, I mean this:

Well, at least until Saturday night after Rock ‘N’ Roll Seattle, then it’s Mexican Food and karaoke!

Plantar Fasciitis

I haven’t been brutally honest with everyone about my foot health. After running SLC in April, I developed heel pain. And then I got the flu. And I was bed-bound for a week. And when I finally was able to get out of bed, I couldn’t stand on my feet because of the pain. Holy wow! So I’ve been hating life this past month (not really, but you know what I mean), and this is my new norm:

Ice baths. And rolling. And ice packs nearly every hour. And tape. And ibuprofen. A LOT of ibuprofen. I have good days and I have bad days, but I’m hoping for a good day on Saturday. I’m still going to participate in the race, and I am risking a DNF, but I just don’t have it in me to quit a race before I even start. I’ve tried 2 different types of shoe inserts and have a completely different type on the way now. At this point, it certainly can’t hurt. So stay tuned… will she finish or will she DNF?! (spoiler alert: she will finish)

Graduation Day

And last but not least, my baby boy has now graduated from the 5th grade and is on to the middle school, although he looks like he should probably be in high school. We went to dinner the other night and we asked for a children’s menu. The hostess was confused. She looked behind us to see if we had a young child or if she missed counting somebody. I had to explain to her that the kid towering over her was only 11. Mind blown.

Anyway, what proud mom doesn’t want to show off her child’s accomplishments?! So here ya go… scenes from today (and he should be paying me big money for not posting the video of him #singingnotsinging).

This is his 5th grade teacher. She was in the 5th grade the year he was born, in 2004. Anyone feel old yet?

Cheers!! Have a great rest of your week!!

Never A Dull Bling

The trials and tribulations of a 40-something novice runner

Tag Archives: blogging

Happy New Year!

Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay

Lucky Number 13

My baby boy just turned 13!! I am now officially the mother of a teenager (may the Good Lord have mercy on my soul)!

Happy Birthday AJ!!

Busy Much?

Thanks to a Teacher, I Learned from a Child

Thank you, Mr. Larson, for inspiring my child to be the best that he could possibly be. You have made a tremendous impact on AJ’s learning, and for that, we are extremely grateful. He wears that hat with pride.

17 Years

Today is mine and 50 in 50 Marathon Quest’s 17th wedding anniversary, so in honor of this special day, I found some great words of advice for anyone who may be interested in having a loving, long-lasting relationship:

Happy Anniversary James!

#MyFirstPostRevisited

First and only week of pre-training… done!

Thursday’s Happenings

Missoula Half-Marathon

A Little of This… Some of That…

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My baby boy just turned 13!! I am now officially the mother of a teenager (may the Good Lord have mercy on my soul)!

Happy Birthday AJ!!

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Thank you, Mr. Larson, for inspiring my child to be the best that he could possibly be. You have made a tremendous impact on AJ’s learning, and for that, we are extremely grateful. He wears that hat with pride.

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Today is mine and 50 in 50 Marathon Quest’s 17th wedding anniversary, so in honor of this special day, I found some great words of advice for anyone who may be interested in having a loving, long-lasting relationship:

Happy Anniversary James!

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First and only week of pre-training… done!

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