RUN LIKE HELL!

That's exactly what TJ and his sister did.

Three weeks ago, we drove to Portland with TJ's sister and her husband for the RUN LIKE HELL half-marathon. We planned a little extra time into our trip to do a little mini-tour of Portland... but I'll talk about that some other time.

What was so fun about this race, was that it was halloween themed. And what do you get when you mix halloween with a race? Entertainment! I could not believe the crazy outfits people wore. And not only wore, but RAN in! I saw batman, superman, mario, cavemen, numerous guys dressed as girls, guys wearing suits, wonder woman, nurses, prom queens, gorillas, care bears... you name it, people ran in it.

My personal favorite had to be the guy dressed as Fred Flinstone. HE RAN BARE FOOTED! And he was pulling his two kids in one of those kids bicycle trailers that he strapped around his chest. Can you imagine running 13.1 miles like that???? Here's a picture to prove it...

But I digress. Back to TJ and his sister. They both did AMAZING! Their times were well under 2 hours and they both finished strong. We hope to be able to go again next year, and get my little niece in the kids 'Run Like Heck 1/2 mile Run'. And who knows, maybe I'll do a little running too...

Here they are before the race. Yes, it was that dark!

TJ- running strong to the finish

After the race!

my new friend

I have lived in Spokane for just over a year now. In 2 weeks I'll have been at my job for a year. And today, I made my very first Spokane friend.

And she's seven.

Okay, so maybe she's not my very first Spokane friend, but she's the first one to invite me over to her house!

It was really quite wonderful.

I don't know what it is, but I always seem to hit it off with kids, elderly, and developmentally disabled. I'm not saying it's a bad thing, (I think they are some of the most beautiful people), but sometimes I wish I could connect better with people my own age. And the job I have now certainly isn't helping. I tend to forget how to have normal adult conversations when I spend all day talking about hermit crabs and poop, and communicating at a 5-year old level.

Sometimes I wonder if it's because of my own insecurities and fear of being known. I feel like I can be myself around those people and they won't judge me. They don't care if my grammar is bad, or if my shoes don't match my clothes, or whether or not I have all my ducks in a row. I guess I feel safe.

So now all I need to do is get over myself and not care so much about what others think. Easy, right? Then I'll make some grown up friends. And it probably wouldn't hurt if I read some books with big words and tried to expand my vocabulary...

comfort music

It's kind of like comfort food...but minus the calories.

To me, comfort music is what I listen to when I just need something familiar during a time of change. It's music that I don't have to think about. It's music that I never seem to get tired of, even if I put it away for a season. And the sound of it usually brings me back to a different time in my life. Today, I need some comfort music.

So I think I'm going to pull out Enter the Worship Circle - Chair and Microphone I and III, make myself some tea, finish baking a couple of cakes, and head over to the JW coffee shop for some good conversation and knitting.

What's your comfort music?

a little explanation

After getting a text from a very loving and concerned friend (thanks Danille!) asking if I was okay, I thought I'd better explain what exactly happened today.

At the gym I go to, they offer two classes in a row. On days when I'm feeling ambitious, I'll do both. Other days I pick one depending on my schedule or how lazy I feel. When I woke up this morning, I was planning on doing both, but after I got home from work I had convinced myself that since I had such an exhausting work weekend (50 hours in 4 days...) I would nap, and then do one class.

I checked what classes were going on tonight and the first one was a cardio class and the second one was a class called Abs n' Booty (Awesome, right?). Soooo... being that I did not feeling like exerting too much energy, I chose the Abs n' Booty class.

So I enjoyed a nice little nap, dragged myself out of bed and headed to the gym. When I got to there I discovered a room full of people who had just finished the cardio class, but nobody wanting to do Abs n' Booty. The trainer then offered me a free training session instead and I took him up on the offer.

He asked me if I wanted an intense cardio workout or a cardio with weights workout. I told him to pick and he chose the later. I had done this same workout with him when I first joined and I figured it wouldn't be a big deal.

I had made it through almost the entire workout. I had one exercise left to do. I think it was chest presses on one of the machines. I started feeling nauseous and stopped. He went to get me water and the next thing I know I'm on the floor!

Needless to say, I felt like a dork. And to think, I used to be afraid that I would biff it off the treadmill, but I never considered fainting.

Lesson learned today: Breathe while exercising!

note to self:

passing out at the gym is not cool.

thoughtless and exhausted

Being the state that I'm in, it's probably not the best time to write, but... what the heck!

I just got done pulling back-to-back doubles at work + a regular 8 hour shift this morning, and I'm beyond tired. Emotionally and physically.

But there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I have 3 days off IN A ROW this week. And I am pumped.

So what's on my never ending to-do list this week?

#1. Get a Washington drivers license: This one is going to be hard for me to do. I'm really quite fond of my Wisconsin one. And sometimes part of me feels like I'm just on a very long vacation (while having a job and paying rent) and any day now I'll head back home. So getting a Washington drivers license sort of kills that fantasy.

#2. Get a Washington license plate: *see above*. And my tabs expire this month. I really don't have a choice on this one.

#3. Go to Greenbluff!: Greenbluff is a neat little farming community outside of Spokane. I've probably mentioned it before, but it doesn't hurt to repeat myself! Anyway, it is definitely apple picking season and I can't get enough of it. Last week I went there with one of the kiddos I work with and I happened upon the Empire Apple. And it is fantastic! And while I was there, I really super badly wanted a caramel apple, but by the time we had picked the apples and paid for them, the kiddo was DONE. So a caramel apple is a must this time. And cider. Mmm...

#4. Polka Dot Pottery: I painted pottery for the first time last winter with a bunch of really talented, swell gals. And ever since I've had the itch to go back. But this time I'm bringing TJ, and we're going to paint mugs. Fall and Winter are perfect seasons for drinking hot drinks out of mugs and we both loved the idea of custom painting our own. I'll post pictures of the finish products. Well... maybe.

#5. CRAFT SOMETHING: I haven't decided if I want to sew, scrapbook, or knit. (Geez...I never thought this would be a dilemma for me!) But something will get done. Or started.

I could add at least 25 more things to this list, but I learned in college (one of the 3 things I learned) that when it comes to making goals, it's best to ... Keep It Simple Stupid! And since over half of my list is pretty much stuff I want to do, I really shouldn't have a problem following through.

2 years and 1 day

That is how long TJ and I have been married. It's crazy. When I pictured myself being married for 2 years, I also pictured a stable career, knowing where we were going to settle down, and possibly a kid. So yeah. I was way off.

But I'm okay with that. I really like where we are. It's way better than my original little idealistic plan. I can look back over the different experiences we've had, (too many to name), and see how God used all of them to shape us, unify us, and pull us to him.

Bad news though. I had a goal to get all of our wedding pictures in an album by our anniversary, but I failed. I could make excuses, but I won't. Instead, I'll just share some of my favorite pictures with you, and shoot to have them in an album by our 3 year anniversary instead. That should be enough time...