a life beyond running shoes.

by kristin armstrong. i like her. i love her blog.... and her book is just a long blog post. i always feel like i can relate... she is accessible, honest, funny, self-deprecating in an appropriate and human sort of way.... and she loves running....for so many reasons: for health, for mental sanity, for camaraderie, for space, peace, and well-being, for the challenge.... and while the book itself can be redundant and things don't connect linearly.... i loved it. it was far superior to the other running book i read earlier this year... it was more personal without being trite. i love her perspective... and wish i was in her running group. it did make me miss stef terribly.... and cause me to evaluate every woman running at 6:15 in the morning as a potential running partner..... but i loved how it challenged me to consider challenging myself more as a runner.... since i am one. and i was sad when it was over, almost like i had gained a running friend for a brief moment in time.......

.... well that would be our easter. guess that is what happens when sunday is a work day..... and easter is the biggest work day of the year. i did have to pass off the camera in the midst of the egg hunt and never got a chance for a family photo.... there is always next year. the school we use on sunday mornings let us use the courtyard for our egg hunt. it was awesome! 250 jelly bean filled eggs!

we had a bit different good friday this year. it is the time to reflect on jesus.... his sacrifice, the magnitude of his love for me, the weight of my sin.... looking forward to easter and the glorious resurrection. yet, this year.... it marked the two year anniversary of my father-in-law's passing. all my in-law's were together.... we were not able to be with them. we had to carve out our own space to remember, reflect, grieve, celebrate..... we watched the video from his funeral... i miss a lot about him. these are his hands. something so memorable about him. i miss his laugh. the way he loved my kids. the way he loved me. the husband and father he was..... "may the god of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with the hope by the power of his holy spirit." -rom 15:13 happy easter.

my first attempt at homemade yogurt. it failed..... i tried a recipe i found using a crock pot.... silly me! will try again after easter. i'll keep you posted. my first attempt at homemade granola bars. they were really yummy....but the critics did not agree. my kiddos were not as thrilled as i was by the attempt. apparently they are not as motivated by the lack of corn syrup or lack of trash in my brilliant creation.... perhaps i can just wear them down. i mean, if this is all there is.... perhaps desperation will breed consumption.

think crime novel minus the pinnacle, stressful, threatening encounter between cop and murderer, add poetic writing and a setting like the beginning of angela's ashes .... and that is where you get faithful place by tana french. i read a few critics of the book....phew, some really did not like this book. i think she is a really good writer. i read it sitting in bed by myself while hubbie was at a conference.... so, not too "suspenseful" that a husbandless-house would deter me from reading (meaning, i am scaredy cat and the slightest hint of tension and i would put the book down). i was dutiful and did not read past 10pm because i was flying solo for a couple of days.... i appreciate the somewhat anti-climatic solving of the crime aspect of this novel. it was a lot more about the characters and the setting..... thus aptly title after the neighborhood (faithful place) where our protagonist detective returns to to solve a 20 year old murder of his first love..... i reco...

amazing how when you are in a fog, you don't know exactly how thick it is until you come to the other side. then you can look back and realize exactly how foggy it was..... like when your husband donates a kidney. it was six weeks ago yesterday. definitely a fog. hubbie is back to work full time. he went for his first jog. and is feeling pretty normal.... just gets tired every once in a while. i guess i am feeling pretty normal too. the house is cleaner. i feel less frayed. and i am sitting down to blog..... life is returning to normal. last week we celebrated a six-year-old birthday. with mimi and mr. denny to join the festivities. we had breakfast at chuck *e* cheese. a family day into manhattan (including playing hookie from school). and friends teach us how to make sushi rolls in the comfort of our own home. plus pokemon cake. does it get better?! happy birthday, peanut! ....and happy birthday, uncle bud. the big 3-0!!! you are loved.