a life beyond running shoes.

yesterday was my birthday!!! we played at the park.....man, am i cute! i got lots of help with my candle and discovered i LOVE chocolate angel food cupcakes! my brother even helped mom cook. it was a GREAT day.

now while i sometimes feel i need to be institutionalized (especially after long days with these two crazies)..... this is in fact our apartment hallway. while it looks sterile..... it kind of is, but homey nonetheless. i think the wreath on our door helps here are the boys.....

from everyone. i notice it from my children.... BUT it flows from me on my morning runs. there is something about cold weather that just makes it run freely... more freely than my legs. i finally broke through the drudgery of running. november was a wash....i hardly count it... painful, discouraging, and slow. december has been much better. it was 6:45 and the sky was lightening... but the sun had not quite popped out. the snow from last night did not stick, and very little ice was left on the sidewalks. it was 35 degrees.... and i still broke a sweat. my legs finally felt good moving; my mind was able to think through the holidays; i finally found my rhythm. it was quite; i felt quite. (the cars are just white noise) four and half miles later i felt like a runner.

our first snow.... how they got to church.... (in the snow) nursing colds..... practicing indoor soccer.... decorating xmas tree.... killing time...... our first vegan rice krispie treats......

my book club met last night to discuss our reading of jhumpa lahiri's book the namesake . we ate samosa, rasgula (milk balls that are sweet & a dessert), and burfi. it was all very yummy & our discussion was interesting, diverse, and engaging. we all liked the book with mixed reviews of specific characters. we all found her to be a captivating writer with vivid descriptions of culture, food, and traditions. i think i enjoyed it so much because it was a different culture than i have read much about. i was captivated by this story of immigrant parents and their first born children particularly the main character, gogal, and his assimilation between two world. our october book was howard's end , which i did not finish, but has been a crowd favorite. i loved being in old england with ladies and gentlemen, but also the delicate topics of class & money, land & family. we also briefly discussed how on beauty echoes part of howard's end , yet with much dis...

both boys are under the weather. the older one getting over something; the younger just getting it... means yesterday was a tough day. i was showered with generosity. first act of generosity: my husband kicked me out of the house to go get a cup of coffee and read for an hour...away from the kids. i found a little bit of extra money in my pocket, so i opted for a glass of wine from our favorite new restaurant in our new neighborhood... the farm on adderly. well, that glass of wine ended up being their provencal martini -- lavender & rosemary infused. i read my book ( the omnivore's dilemma - which will take me until next summer to get through) and saw a couple from church that live near us. second act of generosity: that couple paid for my martini and gave me $20 to get some dessert & another drink. they were more than kind. it was a wonderful reprieve from fussy, sick children. i even got to talk to the owner & his sister about living here and some strange connect...

this is how i like my men..... for thanksgiving day, the boys made pumpkin scones. okay. not great. then on monday, the boys tried their hand at cinnamon scones. scrumptious!! i found a recipe that called for 2T of milk and sour cream.... and since we have an organic market in our neighborhood, i spotted tofutti sour cream. so with a bit of shortening, soy milk, and tofutti cream cheese.... we had scones that our first born could eat. and we enjoyed them as well. next time i think a few cinnamon chips would put them over the edge to being dynamite.

we had such a fun time. it was a bit chaotic trying to get all the side dishes heated, biscuits baked, and turkey sliced in a one-butt kitchen.... but it all worked out. we tried our hand at our first free-range turkey.... i think it would have been scrumptious if we had fried it. we pretty much eat the turkey to justify the sides..... which included: sweet potato souffle traditional dressing very fancy, yummy dressing green bean casserole baked acorn squash with maple glaze homemade cranberry sauce garlic, cheese biscuits pecan pie pumpkin pie apple pie AND a chocolate fountain with fruit (thus the chocolate face photo) and ample wine just so you don't think i pulled off this feast, it was a potluck with our small group. we even played a round of scene it (movie trivia game).

for those who have followed along, i have taken you on my journey of food. it started by simply going to the farmers' market on saturday and has become more of our way of life through some very minimal reading and other websites. this book has been part of the journey. i started it months ago and finally finished. i can't say i buy the whole thing, especially since they are philopophically in favor of veganism or in the least vegetarianism .... but there are aspects that propel me further down this path... however that path is to be defined. here are some things that struck me..... in the conclusion of the book they sum up their five ethical principles. here is what how it specifically challenges me regarding my food choices. 1. transparency: we have the right to know how our food is produced. challenge: i should care how my food is produced. 2. fairness: producing food should not impose cost to others. challenge: i should care more about how my food choices reflect the full...

last night's grey's anatomy kind of messed with my head. it was all about how the hospital was really not any better (or more mature) than high school. i need to stop watching. it is weird; i think i have come so far, yet my struggles don't really seem to change. am i too loud, too quiet, on the "in crowd," authentic enough, too transparent, HOW obnoxious is my laugh, really...... all those insecurities that i think i have laid to rest slowly creep in every once in awhile no matter how much more i understand of myself or of how god created me. i even had an old friend in town a couple of weeks ago and could feel myself seeking approval....looking for validations on my weight loss, hair color, home decor, cooking, balance between funky diva & full-time mom.... anything to say that i am better or different (improved) from who i was then..... i got none. which i think is what i needed to be reminded that once again my fear of man can often times be larger than ...

i finally got my shoes laced up this morning. it has been over a week since i ran. it was brutal. i was not expecting anything less that that, but when it is upon you.... argh! i had to talk myself into every step i took. i couldn't get my pace consistent. my breathing was laborious. it was just a hard run..... but it guess getting back on the horse typically is. i have grand ideas of running the turkey trot thanksgiving morning..... i guess i'll have to see if i can back out there on saturday. i read articles all the time about running while sick.... i just can't do it. but i got back out there.

he is such a fan..... this is our friend beau.... he loves our kids. our kids love him & his wife. i think they hang out with us because of our kids.

our little one is in a hurry to keep up. he is finally cutting his first two teeth..... loves picking up books, bringing them to you, sits down in your lap, and waits for you to read it to him. we are also getting lots of really cute chattering. hope you can hear the babbles at the end of the clip.

this blog is for one person.... my brother. deployed sunday for his third tour with the marine corps.... second to the middle east. let us talk for a moment about our favorite movie characters. this happens to be one of mine: val kilmer as doc holliday in the movie tombstone . full of the best quotable quotes, sexy as all get out, and full of heart. we tivo'd the movie last weekend and watched it last night. i laughed out loud at some scenes because they are so familiar (having seen this movie a bazillion times) and new because it has been a while since viewing. it made me think of my brother almost the whole movie. perhaps the only other movies that might make me think of him as much are: navy seals , k2 , or dirty dancing . dirty dancing is the only movie on this list that does not include actor michael biehn..... hum?! we won't really comment on the nature of this movie, but it is hard being the baby of the family with two older sisters.... huh, bud?! anyway..... to my br...

how i wish a mommy could get sick days. if only i could have called in a sub for wednesday because after coming home from a week & a half in florida, we hosted three new york marathoners (my mother-in-law, father-in-law, & sister-in-law) plus one spectator for four nights.... i came down with the flu/cold yuckiness. luckily, my husband was all hands on deck and came home early wednesday to help with the boys, eat homemade chicken noodle soup, and make me hot tea. in the midst of being on the couch or in the toddler bed, i started reading this novel. i finished it last night (less than 48 hours from when i started). it is a tale of an incident resembling columbine i n small town new hampshire. it is also about how the various people cope, deal, instigate, cause, and heal from this horrific event. i was gripped... whether it was feeding on my own fears as a parent, as a parent of boys, my fear of parenting teenagers.... or what, but i HAD to finish. i was almost too engage...

and probably a dollar short..... but not short on cuteness..... the dragon & tigger (who was mistaken for a girl). our first trick-or-treat experience was way fun... especially since we got to meet some of our new neighbors. .... and to my dear brother who shipped out yesterday for some far off destination in the middle east.... i will think of you with every post!!!

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...