a life beyond running shoes.

as i ran with my mother-in-law's training group this morning, i got lots of tales from the strange universe that is polk county..... 1. police force honored for rescuing a man from an alligator....he lost an arm but was spared his life. 2. local football team was going for state record last night.... 53 consecutive wins. 3. marathon plans..... this is their fourth fall marathon. 4. the geese around the lake that scare the snot out of me. 5. the naked man that we saw about 3/4 of a mile into our run.... that gave us enough conversation for the first three miles. 6. the bunny we saw that we thought was fake..... that took up at least half a mile of conversation as they discussed all of the wild life spotted on 5:30am runs: opossums, raccons, ducks, geese, etc. 7. the 10th anniversary of parker street ministry (a local inner-city ministry). 8. the fact that i was able to keep up with this amazing group of ladies for their 9 mile run (i did 8.5 miles - my longest run yet).

when running in florida, in 100% humidity, at 5:30 in the morning, in the dark, in heat that is OPPRESSIVE, on a 4 mile hill workout...... don't try and keep up with your sister-in-law who ran track in college and is training for the new york marathon and plans on keeping pace with your husband's cousin's wife who is training to run a 3:40 marathon in order to qualify for boston. that is what i call a bad idea. and just down right impossible. but i did the workout!!! can i do 5:30 again tomorrow? not sure..... but i did get to see a movie today. gone baby gone . intense. really intense. and visit with some of our favorite friends. encouraging. simply encouraging.

about my fist interval training run this morning.....but i won't. it was hard and no fun....especially with a jog stroller. so, i will share about my first home baked apple pie.....done twice. this first one looks so much prettier than the second one ..... too bad it wasn't edible. i read the recipe wrong.... what might you say would indicate that...... the smoke alarm? that perhaps might indicate recipe gone bad! so we tried round two..... yum! fresh picked apples from our fall retreat..... homemade crust..... even tastier with caramel swirled ice cream. it was such a shame that neither of my children really liked it. more for me!

browsing around through the nikeplus website & my itunes, i found some cool mixes especially created for workouts.... some even include voice overs from coaches. okay, so i downloaded one and have yet to try this "increase your endurance" workout. the nano & nikeplus have the setting called "powersong" that can be accessed at anytime during a run....for instance, at the end of a run or up a hill or at a moment when one would need an extra push. my personal powersong reminds me that i have an affinity for all things juvenile: fall out boy's "thnks fr th mmrs." it always helps me finish my runs with that extra UMPF! but, i spent about an hour working on my running playlist. downloading a few new songs, rearranging the order, deleting some that fail to inspire, etc. then, i hit the pavement...... i think i smiled for at least the first half hour of my run. i was flat out enjoying myself. delighted with good, grooving music. good beats that kept...

he will be 10 months on saturday.... that is correct. he is only 9 1/2 months old. we talked about how he didn't really have permission to walk yet..... his obedience bodes well for the teenage years.

this is what we do for fun.... we make up songs... (he is saying "bless you.") here are our costumes. we wore them to the playground. why not get more than just one day of trick or treating out of them. thank you aunt laurie & uncle dre for such cute outfits!!

it was still dark at 6:30 this morning when i laced up my shoes. i hadn't run in a week and a half due to coming home from california with a head cold. i was not looking forward to it. i had already lost the challenge and my motivation had waned. should i do the short loop twice or meet my friend the hill? i decided to just face the hill. i was dreading it. everyone was passing me. i felt sluggish, yet i felt i had started too fast and was going to have nothing left in my legs for the way home. at a nice, steady pace it is a 5 minute hill. thanks to some good music, i clocked 4:30 on that hill. i thought i was struggling with each step i pounded.... yet the hill was telling me otherwise. my body was moving with memory and ignoring my head that was trying to get in the way. i found a rhythm that was steady yet arguably difficult as i could not get my own voice to be quiet long enough to enjoy the downhill portion of my run..... three blocks to go. i wanted to quit so badly. the tra...

could this really be the beginning of a new world order? yup..... later (after this clip) he took 4 full steps then sat down.

A is my serious child....he only breaks a smile when he has food or is being tickled. my siblings & spouses ...... of course i think my kids are the cutest around...... he was on a mission for bread thus the smile!

my dad got married in napa valley, ca this past weekend. black tie.... very fancy. vineyards.... yummy wine. siblings.... lots of laughing. more pictures to come.

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...