a life beyond running shoes.

my last post of the year..... the last books i read. i'll have to go back and see if i read any of the books i had wanted to read this year and start my list for 2010..... supper of the lamb . this is my favorite book of the year. loved it. loved it. loved it. husband gave it to me for my birthday and it took me the fall to finish it. it is the most unconventional cookbook i have encountered. it is some recipes, some theology, some hospitality, some fun. he is a home cook, lover of food, and episcopalian priest. he tells the story of how to cook with some recipe entwined. some of it is just about the goodness of god's creation and sharing it with others. i highly recommend it for anyone, even if you don't think you like to cook. the hunger games . i have never been shy about my willingness to read just about anything. someone gave me this YOUNG ADULT fiction...... i devoured it. there is a sequel and i am plagued with the idea that my library may not have it and i ma...

first, snow fall. walking to church..... walking to pizza for lunch. birthday boy's choice. then, lessons and carols. finally, cake! and there you have a three-year-old birthday. by the way, when i showed him the cake this morning..... exact words: "what is that?"

day 19: activity. chuck e. cheese (birthday boy got to pick outing - birthday is tomorrow) mommy's activity: make birthday cake. (funny thing about my boys wanting superhero cakes - they don't really know who spiderman (peanut's 4th b-day) and batman are.... i mean, they do have those jammies, but they have never seen a show, read a book, or had an action figure for either of these guys... and yet, that is the cake they wanted). so be it. pics of the birthday boy tomorrow!

day 17: ornament craft someone had to make the girl for sweet pea. day 18: paper mache! fun with drippy glue and tissue paper! in my attempt at hand-made gifts.....mommy's sewing time. sneak peak..... won't reveal until after christmas.

day 15: practical activity. pick up friend from airport. day 16: adventure in the city. first... grand central station. laser light shown on the ceiling. toy train exhibit at transit store. then, saks fifth avenue's window display. finally, rockefeller christmas tree. fun christmas things in new york city. maybe next we can hit saks & macy's windows.... but not this year. this morning's run was cold! stef.... running over the weekend without you was terrible. at least i had you this morning in the 27 degree weather to commiserate about the hill...... one day we will get to the top and realize that we talked the whole way. it was not today but.... one day!

peanut: i'm going to eat you up. little bit: no, you can't. p: yes, i can.... yum. i'm eating you. lb: NO .... i won't know when to put on my jammies if i'm inside your tummy. p: but i'm going to eat you. lb: NO .... jammies are for the outside. i dont' want to be in your tummy. p: but i'm going to eat you. lb: MOM ... i don't want to get eat... for real. i'm not sure i understand the logic about the jammies but it made sense to him) day 10: just playing with glitter glue. little bit had a cold and was less than enthusiastic. day 11: make snack for party. YUM!!!we call it puppy chow but i have seen it called muddy buddies. day 12: bake cookies. day 13: decorate and eat cookies with out neighbors.... our annual block cookie decorating party. (an attempt to get to know our neighbors) ps. my computer is on the fritz. it would not even start up on sunday.... argh!!! so... limited creative posting ability. :(

advent project: nothing says i love you like paint! genius friend (AP) found this art project. love it! peanut was totally into it. little bit was into it for about half the canvas. it took work to get him to finish. the third canvas was a joint effort.

day 7: project with daddy. christmas tree cones decorated with pom poms. easy as pie as long as daddy can find the glue! mommy's advent activity: having lunch & shopping in the city with friends. most certainly a favorite advent activity of mine. my run today (day 7 that is) was 32 degrees but sunny. in case you were wondering. day 8: glitter glue. does it matter what was made? not really. we actually made cards..... sort of. these are supposed to be on card stock... but i left it in the car and was already in my jammies and didn't want to have to go out in the cold, unlock the gate, get car open, get supplies, lock gate, come back inside. i know.... what a whiner i am! we'll have to see if all that glue actually dries. using cookie cutter shapes, we had lots of fun. it was in our hair, on clothes, under nails. i think i actually saw some in my dinner..... lots of fun!

merciful god, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of jesus christ our redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one god, now and forever. amen . (book of common prayer) come thou long expected jesus, born to set thy people free from our fears and sins release us, let us find our rest in thee israel's strength and consolation, hope of all the saints thou art dear desire of every nation, joy of every longing heart. -charles wesley, words. advent activity: charlie brown christmas.

okay.... one of my favorite parts of the holiday season is the christmas tree. i love the lights. i love going through all the ornaments. we do not have the beautiful tree with all the color coordinated ribbons and ornaments. our decorations range from hand-made to personalized trains, toy soldiers, baby's first, etc. i love going through them and thinking about what year it was received and what it signified. while the sentimentality of each ornament is lost on the boys at this point, the joy of having their own ornaments was a delight. we also made hot chocolate. yum!

day 3.... paper chain. failure. peanut loved cutting the strips but got frustrating at having to link the chain pieces together with the glue. he didn't realize that you have to let the glue dry just a wee bit before you try and pull it apart. we got three links done. little bit loved cutting.... just not following lines. his project was renamed "confetti." (guess which one of my children likes rules?) day 4.... peanut butter bars. success! yeah, team "get your hands messy to make a snack for mommy's book club and call it an advent activity" - we rock! and they are always yummy. also, we had 9 month check-up and (almost) three-year-old check up. collectively, 5 shots, one finger poke, a TB test, hearing test, and vision test. RESULTS: sweet pea - 17 pounds 13 ounces. little bit - 28 pounds 2 ounces. peanut - 32 pounds 2 ounces. mommy - not going to talk about my weight....argh!

school of essential ingredients . loved it. in fact it might be one of my favorite books from this year.. loved the characters the premise of eight people meeting at a cooking school. getting their stories as they cook, interact, and learn. love the fact that the chef/teacher uses local produces, fresh ingredients, and seems to be able to "feel" the food versus rely on a recipe. it was great and all about food. confessions of a jane austen addict . such a facinating premise. character (who is a self-proclaimed JA addict) wakes up as jane mansfield in 1813. she faces the challenge of navigating the social system, hygiene, and love in a society that she has romantized from JA's novels. it was creative and interesting. hunger . the follow-up to a love noire . richer, deeper, more emotional. i cried through half of it. it take the two characters that i enjoyed from the first novel into post-9/11 lives. where they are, what has happened, and who they are and are bec...

it is all things snowmen around here. craft time took far less time than i had hoped. of course, sweet pea wants in on the fun! we are having fun so far. it is fun to make garland with the fine motor skills of a two & four year old. ps. shout out - thanks for a great run today. my running partner (aka - stef OR MAP - most awesome partner) it was a great run this morning. 3.3 miles went fast.... i think we are getting faster. amazing how we didn't really have to hit pause on the hill. some days we just rock. weather: 42 degrees. not bad for a december morning. and by the way.... i was a bit teary just before the hill. i love this journey with you. even the hard parts.

.... the boys had a blast passing out invitations to our block cookie decorating party in a few weeks. we even had another friend come and help us. they rang the doorbell.....waited.... then handed it to them if they were home. if not.... we left in mailbox. peanut loved meeting our neighbors. he loved ringing the doorbell. he loved telling them all about our cookie party. it was mostly fun to realize how many more of our neighbors we know this year than last year. and by the way.... it was 48 degrees as we passed these out. notice what little bit is wearing. crazy nut!

we are in advent. but tomorrow is the first day of december. in an attempt to help make this more about time together and others, i have tried to come up with a craft for each day until the 25th. some will be gifts (spoiler alert), some will be for decoration for the house, and some are just to be doing something with our hands. let me share the joy of the psalmist who said, "i was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the lord." may every opportunity offered to worship you in your house find me eager to join in hearing your word, in singing your praise, in lifting my heart to you in prayer. (prayer book)

..... is sew church vestments. but alas, i did. these are temporary until we can get someone to make "real" ones.... but until then, these work for advent (thus the purple). we also made advent wreaths today. it was a great community building time for our congregation and for our host congregation. we made about 30 wreaths between the two churches. great fun! almighty god, give us grace that we may cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your son jesus christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in glorious majesty to judge the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the holy spirit, one god, now and forever. amen . (book of common prayer)

making homemade fried donuts (aka beignets). making hand turkeys. lots of togetherness from colds, the holiday, and vacation. thanks for some fun days, daddy! (when does everyone go back to work & school) getting ready for advent!