a life beyond running shoes.

i saw him last night. (ALL of him for that matter) ian mckellen as king lear. oh my gracious!!! i have never seen such amazing performances. the entire cast was outrageously awesome. it is what real talent looks like, with real theater, and real performances. i am spoiled now. it is such a performance that i will still be telling my kids about it 10 years from now.... because i was there AND stayed awake the whole time.

finally!!! i got to run with my running partner. it is amazing how quickly 3 miles can go when there is conversation, laughter, and motivation..... it was wonderful. i think we are both in pretty good shape.... and even discussed a potential race. it was so nice to catch up with her semester, family, work, training, etc. the best part was realizing that when we met our old friend the hill, it was done easily and without hitting the pause button on our chat. it took so much less effort than my encounter with the hill the day before. amazing how a little bit of company can make something difficult seem less torturous. i assume that is the metaphor for struggle in life, or life in general. when we live our lives with other people, the load is less burdensome. but it is hard to get past the idea that we have to manage it all by ourselves. i am a prideful creation who does not like to ask for help, yet i physically feel the benefit of running with a partner. i may not get there as ...

my run on saturday made me acutely aware of the fact that i run in shorts. running down ocean parkway (envisioned by architect olmsted in 1866, this path connects prospect park to coney island) at 7:30 am means i come face to face with different groups of folks walking to shabbat service dressed in long black skirts, wigs, hats, black suits, kippots (or yarmulke), and tzitzit (tassels). i on the other hand am in a tank & shorts bobbing along listening to postal service & feist trying to get in my 5 miles. i am aware of the uniqueness of new york where cultures really do collide. case and point, i turn off ocean parkway and passed a woman in a full burqa. i often see arabic woman wearing head scarves (especially in our new neighborhood), but this was the first time i had personally seen the full burqa. then take my walk to lunch with my friend on sunday after church..... we come across a block party of high end sports cars..... lamborghini, porshe, ferrari, etc. that was...

tee, hee..... right?! well, sometimes i think i'm not.... like when hanging around john's family where EVERYONE is competitive (almost). but... the reality is that i am. i can just choose when to tap in to it. like with my new nike+ sport pedometer. i go out and jog, it records my time & distance, it links it to a website. on this website you can start challenges or join a challenge. i challenged one of the other pastors that my husband knows to see who could run the most miles in 30 days. i figured we could both use the motivation. a little competition never hurt anyone, right?! but now i want to win. like on tuesday... out for a run with the jog stroller in the middle of a great pace around the full loop, feeling good, thinking about trying for another half loop..... increase the mileage. and the nine month old starts falling a part. like he is hungry or something because the bottle he had an hour ago is not still sustaining him. kids can be so demanding! i resig...

i can honestly say that i have failed to fully appreciate the fact that we get the new york times . mostly because i would rather watch what not to wear , read other people's blogs, or whatever novel i am engaged with. but this morning, after my run outside.... i sat on the floor to stretch with the book review section. the essay this week was about allan bloom's book and the debate that has continued to ensue regarding the famous love of mine.... the literary canon. his book (published in 1988) claims "that abandoning the Western canon had dumbed down universities, while the 'relativism' that had replaced it had 'extinguished the real motive of education, the search for a good life....that many earlier contributions were just watered-down versions of Heidegger, Nietzsche, Weber, Freud, and other Continental thinkers.'" what is interesting is to know that this debate continues. as an english teacher by trade (yes, one that fails to use capital letters...

one thought i had for our meal week is to do homemade pizza on friday nights. in our old neighborhood, i could find pizza dough for $2.50. in our new neighborhood, rent may be cheaper but the pizza dough ain't. SO.....i made my own. it actually got twice as big as this. we made BBQ chicken pizza (without cheese for our older son). his cheese allergy is what prompted this "at home pizza." we can't do take out pizza on a whim. that has its perks & pitfalls. one - it is easy for a meal. the other hand - it saves me from greasy pizza which helps the waist line. anyway.... we had pasture raised chicken roasted from monday night left over, so we smothered it in bbq sauce with red onions & cheese...yummy! this morning we hit the farmers market again. the egg lady was not there nor was the milk guy. argh! i did pick up a flyer about pasture-raised dairy & meat... here are some fun facts: pasture-raised beef are grown in less crowded & stressful condition...

since trekking into the farmer's market via the subway weekly, i have become a bit more adventurous with our activities in new york mostly because we are no longer limited to where we can walk to..... (almost 9 months) so, today the boys and i ventured down to coney island with some friends. we basically just played in the sand for two hours, dodged pieces of glass, and ate lunch around 10am. it was a great way to spend $4 on the subway! (especially since the 87% humidity is gone and it was a lovely 74 degrees & partly cloudy - perfect beach weather for this fair mom) (almost 2 and a half)

so, where did i go? i'm not really sure. it isn't like i have been idle. we are pretty much settled into the new apartment.... our pretty new chairs for our living room (which was painted since this pic). we didn't have enough seating and had to get some more cool place for people to put their rumps when they come to visit. our foyer.... i have a foyer. i have a place to put & display all of my great photos & my hutch with my china. and my pretty new bedroom. i have been reading a ton..... this was our most recent book club book. we met about three weeks ago and had a great discussion. i just checked out the follow-up book to this from the library. i met with three women to dialogue about this book. it is all about chastity.... from a christian perspective. it is about the best book i have read on christian living. i am in the middle of this and just working through it slowly. it is overwhelming and challenging all at the same time. i wrestle with what does it ...

one of the blunders in moving is that we have lost our email access. for those of you that know my email.... it is the same just with gmail.com now. i have retired my earthlink account that i have had for 10 years. i shed a tear. some photos: our living room at 8:00pm on Friday night..... our living room at midnight..... all the boxes have just been moved to the appropriate room. my hutch that is not a toy storage is now a real china hutch....

this family looks cute & content..... we looked haggard, spent, exhausted, and worn. it was a long day. while getting home last week via weather & plane delays was an opportunity to look on the bright side....i missed this opportunity because it took all of my prayer strength to simply maintain composure. FRIDAY, AUGUST 17TH 8:00 am movers expected...... 9:45 movers arrived. 10:30 am i arrive at new apartment to get keys & figure out the lay of the land for the movers who are finishing the first load and heading over in approximately 20 minutes. i am greeted by the super whose first response is, "didn't anyone call you?" that would be a negative. he proceeds to get the building manager to take me up to our new apartment. i walk in to find a full work crew painting, hammering, grouting what is supposed to be our finished apartment. the manager says, "i don't think you will be able to move in today." FUNNY!!! HA, HA, HA! he wasn't joking but...

yup...the battle of the bulge. i lost... the cookies won....and so did the ice cream AND the publix brand cookies with the frosting on top. it was a tasty battle......every last calorie that made up the three pounds i gained while vacationing. now, to get back to reality.

could have been the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day......if i wasn't convinced that it could have been worse. i woke up with menstrual cramps....my first in 17 months. at least i wasn't pregnant. we left for the airport. we were running late because we let A get a quick little nap. we found out upon check-in that our plane had not left new york yet. at least we didn't miss our flight. in the midst of our delayed flight.....we enjoyed a sweet flight attendant who entertained our two year old as we figured out our flight situation. new york was flooded, our flight canceled, there were no car services with available cars to pick us up from the airport, subways were not running reliably, the cab line was going to insane,and it was too much to ask of our friends to pick us up....we decided to fly out first thing this morning. at least we didn't figure this all out in new york, at dinner time, with two hungry & tired little boys, and no baby food. i checked in ...

and it is SO GOOD!!!! here on the beach with lots of family to help with babies... full time dad help and cousins to boot. is this heaven? 1 book read. (that would be harry potter) 2 pieces of birthday cake 3 runs (two on the beach; one with my mother-in-law and the jog stroller) 4 days of relaxing 239 oreos consumed (not really but it could feel like that) ah....vacation.

trophy. of course, i am not sure he really understands what it is for or why he got it but he loves playing it like a guitar. he won the 20 yard dash.... he was the only competitor. he was really cute!

sunday afternoon....minor league baseball game. fun in the sun. paid no attention to the fact that there was a game going on....just chatted and ate hotdogs. great outing! brooklyn cyclones rock!!! then comes monday.....we had a terrible, no good, whiny day. so like any good parent....we venture out into the rain. destination: farmer's market! subway = adventure...not matter the weather, no matter the day! purchase: fresh beets. we roasted them ourselves, served them up on fresh mesculin with toasted pecans & goat cheese. add one side of fresh zucchini pasta & tomatoes..... you get one yummy dinner. you also kill most of the day with whiny boy in the stroller leaving the afternoon free for some movie action plus fresh popcorn! two more sleeps until flordia.

liz gilbert's journey is not one i want to re-create because it starts from just a place of pain & woundedness yet the fact that she travels so freely & for such personal introspection is painfully appealing. four months in italy, four in india, four in indonesia (bali). i can dream can't i. i think the part that appeals most to me....after i get over my insatiable desire to eat & drink my own way through italy.... is the quiet & personal reflection she has the chance to explore in india. she spends time at a ashram learning how to meditate. this is something i have so little practice at that my soul craves for the quiet solitude of that aspect of devotion. my own faith is hungry for it. to work on my prayer life, to know jesus more intimately, to get past my own selfishness and really learn how to pray for others & the world. that would be cool! and now i can start harry potter!!

okay, so it wasn't me. i did much better than i could have expected...especially since i had extremely low expectations. but micah won his age division...okay, he was the only one in his division....but those are minor details. i was motivated by one particular individual. he was about 60, wearing a yellow coney island shirt....he was ahead of me up until the hill (mile 2). i slowly started to pass him. creeping up on his tail. i was motivated by one sole thought, "i need to beat the guy running in tevas." i did!!! 31:55 was my time. a PR no less. AND, we signed our lease on a three bedroom apartment yesterday. AND, vacation is only five days away. i think i can, i think i can, i think i can.

the park has a zoo inside it. that is right...our park. it also has a ice rink, lake for boat rides, baseball fields, a duck pond, a historical house, and includes my running loop which is 3.3 miles around. but, back to the zoo. we went for our adventure there this morning. the oppressive heat had a reprieve today and the walk was manageable. what was too scary in may, was fun today - feeding the goats. actually, he wouldn't eve go near the goats in may.... improvement. we saw the meer cats, a red panda, sea lions, poisonous frogs, but no wallabies. they were hiding. it was a great morning!

star 76 . a tee shirt company that is also a nonprofit (limited tees by emerging artists). our friend from church got this started. i think people can be so cool!!! pay day is friday....perhaps an internet order is in the works. also, i signed up for a 5K this saturday. i've recruited the husband to take the older one in the jog stroller and am going to coerce a friend to take the younger one. there is ice cream at the finish line!! it is a fund raiser for teen challenge : a local (meaning brooklyn) faith-based comprehensive residential program for those seeking to overcome drug addiction. it is still a 5K.

.....a foodie? so, the new york times had an article this past weekend about how the movie ratatouille would never have made $47 million ten years ago. the article is called " foodies at the movies : chopped liver to hero." bruni concludes that "'Ratatouille' suggests that many Americans have come to consider a dinner plate a canvas as worthy as any other." have i become one of those foodies? is that bad? and what does it mean to be a foodie? so, i looked it up on wikipedia.... definition: "foodies differ from gourmets in that gourmets are epicures of refined taste who may or may not be professionals in the food industry, whereas foodies are amateurs who simply love food for consumption, study, preparation, and news." i think i might be one! but, i don't like foodies. they are snobby and obnoxious. i like food & good food & i am learning about different ways to look at food... but i sill like hotdogs (and even the non-kosher, fu...