a life beyond running shoes.

we have had a ball in the snow. we love it when school is canceled! thank you, mayor. half of that pile is what left over from the snowfall over christmas. will it ever leave..... not anytime soon. guess i should order those snow boots for sweet pea already!

2005 My Name is Asher Lev Atonement In the Time of Butterflies Disgrace The God of Small Things Fortress of Solitude Middlesex Reading Lolita in Tehran Proof 2006 Gilead An Invisible Sign of My Own History of Love Pinkerton’s Sister The Dive from Clausen’s Pier Seven Gothic Tales Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close On Beauty 2007 The Brother’s Karamazov (read half) The Devil in the White City A Handbook of American Prayer The Book of Daniel The Book Thief The Beantrees Howard’s End The Namesake 2008 The Maltese Falcon Waiting Luncheon of the Boating Party The Secret River The Eyre Affair Fahrenheit 451 Jane Eyre Sister Carrie 2009 Then We Came to the End Let Us Now Praise Famous Men (only got through a quarter of) Song of the Lark New England White Run The Chosen Place, The Timeless People Vanity Fair Three Junes 2010 The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo Sophie’s Choice Heat Cutting for Stone Moon Tiger South of Broad Founding Brothers Agaat (started didn't finish) 2011 Ghostwri...

i yell that whenever we drive past a police car. it drives my 5 year old crazy. but this actually refers to my book club's 50th book. ghostwritten . by david mitchell we finished and discussed this past friday. i was 20 pages from the end but thoroughly enjoyed the discussion....even though the book did not lend itself to too much discussion. that being said, it was a divisive books. some really didn't like it and called this first novel attempt annoying while trying too hard; some thought it rather innovating and interesting. i was somewhere in the middle. it was like nine short stories that somehow intersect and while not completely coming together at the end all circle around interesting thoughts on chance, fate, and the idea of destiny versus random atoms bumping against each other. it was fun to find all the intersection between the stories. but there was some strange stuff as well..... but i agreed with my group that the middle of the book was by far the strongest....

and she is missing her gran-babies.... here are some pics from our adventure to the brooklyn children's museum.

my final post for the year....... my last reads: welcoming justice by charles march and john perkins. short but excellent. post civil rights movement toward racial reconciliation through the amazing work god is doing. "a new conviction that christian love could not rest content until it found space for the neighbor and the enemy." (28) "to be a public disciple means finding a place in the world where the kingdom of god is taking shape and getting yourself there." (32) "our biggest problem as christians is that we want the miracle without the love. we want to see the kind of healing jesus brought, but we don't want to learn jesus' way of loving broken people." (77) the girl who kicked the hornet's nest . by steig larsson. total money makeover . by dave ramsey. agaat . by Marlene van Niekerk (i didnt' finish and barely felt like i started but it was my last book club book so i felt like listing it). great house . by nicole krauss. happy re...

christmas in the city. our annual lessons and carols. christmas eve. our first trip to train exhibit at new york botanic gardens. thank you nanee and big for this fun adventure! christmas morning. reading the luke story.....just a bit blurry without my flash. (still hadn't had my coffee) sweet pea's first baby doll. christmas sweatshirts.

our first real snow..... a white christmas 48 late. i'll post christmas pics later but here is what we did before breakfast. played in the middle of the street. 22 degrees. not sure how many inches but central park got 13 inches.... that is plenty for a good snowball. of course, in the middle of the night the wind got up to 50 mph. that would not be fun to play in.......snow has stopped but wind should die down this afternoon. happy winter to all our family in much warmer places!!!

full of bowling, cake and fun presents. hard to believe he is 4. wow!!!

well, glad tidings all around..... mom ran off to hawaii and got married. hooray!!! we love mr. denny! now both my parents have remarried wonderful people!

spiderman on broadway. it was fabulous.... and it doesn't hurt that i have a little bit of a crush on the lead. peter parker played by reeve carney. friend, steve, came from LA to do the east coast thing. he hit some football games, some hockey games, but i got to tag along for this. it was awesome!!! we hung out after and said hi. steve knows reeve.....a little. reeve is a little dreamy. okay, the show is excellent. the music by bono & the edge.....rocks. sitting next to some guys, i realized my first major concert was U2..... fall 1992 dodger stadium....zoo tv tour. choreography was stellar. there were a few weird things about the spider (arachne) mythology.... okay, really weird... on the verge of creepy....but i still loved it!

our first time to go and engage the macy's day parade..... we saw them blowing up the balloons. done and done. my family thinks we can mark it off our "new york to do" list. i vote we try again in about five years. turkey trot. my fastest race ever!!!! 5 miles - 47:10 stef and i rocked it!!! turkeys fried. table set. napkins sewed. wine poured. tiramisu eaten. advent begun: three days ago we celebrated the beginning of advent. tree decorated wreath made. charlie brown christmas soundtrack playing. as with every year, i try and figure out how to make this season more theological than material... more about the what....or actually the who. in the church calendar this season is marked by the color purple. (and this year g'ma sewed the church vestments.... all weekend) we have a christmas tree with purple lights and purple ornaments. we light the purple candle this week. we will take down the purple ornaments the week before christmas and put up all of our ...

lord, you said, "if you love me, you will obey what i command.' forgive us our lukewarm love and our disobedience. lord, you said, "you may ask for anything in my name." forgive us when we think we need to solve our own problems. lord, you said, "do not let you hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." we confess that our lives are often consumed by worry and anxiety. lord, you said, "if you remain in me and i in you, you will bear much fruit." forgive us our barren lives, lord. lord, you said, "you must testify, for you have been with me." we confess lord, that we have been too often silent. lord, you said, "love each other as i have loved you." in this and so many other ways, we confess our failures and our shortcomings. forgive us, we pray, in your name. amen.

of course, i dont' think you can actually see the leaves in the shot. but this is one of the neighborhood playgrounds. it was 45 degrees.... i had on my hat & gloves. the kids didn't. playground in the midst of buildings. gotta love brooklyn! and yes we do. and how much do i love little bit's giggle..... he loves to go as high as possible. peanut does not.

trick or treating with dad! he had two batmen and a dinosaur (4th year using the costume that we aren't quite sure if it is a dragon or dinosaur) with him plus some friends from church. thanks you for joining my family!!! of course, peanut (who is allergic to milk) traded all of his chocolate candy before i could get home and intervene.....so that i could have it for myself. selfish mommy!

it was awesome!! sometimes i make the caveat by say, "as much as 26.2 miles can be." the honest truth is that it really was awesome. i had a blast. i woke up around 5 am.... the alarm was not set to go off until 5:30. my brother was actually awake as well. we just laid there talking to each other until the alarm. he showered..... i prepped: peanut butter sandwich, protein shake, body glide, teeth, socks, hat, clothes. i had made walnut bran blueberry pancakes (recipe from runner's world) to bring while we were standing around.... packed those in my sweatshirt i planned on tossing when the race started. we got downstairs around 6 and met dad & lois (our designated documentarian). we were only a few blocks away from union station to catch the metro. we were all pretty excited. we got to the pentagon before the sun was up! the 10 minute walk to the actual start felt longer than it was partially due to nerves and my need to use the potty! i ate my pancakes while i wait...

phew. could we have packed anymore in? attend pre-k party - check. attend chuck e. cheese bday party - check. get nap in car for little bit - check. help out at pumpkin sale at school - check. make dinner - check. attend school harvest night - check. done and done! now for sleep and a train ride to DC in the am!

week total: 7 miles. training is over! now it is race time. i have already packed my bag. i don't leave for two days but i am ready. last weekend i was starting to get really nervous. then i had a shift of perspective. i will remember this weekend for the rest of my life. ...and it will have NOTHING to do with what time i cross the finish line. my dad, brother, and i are running this together. we are going to take tons of pictures. we are making memories. we are going to have a blast..... and run a marathon in the midst of it. i am hoping for a good race. a great race would be awesome. but a terrible race wouldn't change the absolute gift that this weekend is going to be!!! i am totally excited!!!

our family and some friends from church did a 5K walk in what we sometimes refer to as our backyard.... prospect park. we brought the bikes, jog stroller, and had good intentions of walking around the park with all the other walkers. our crew lasted about a half mile before tears, tired, complaining. we cut through, saw our friends and then cut back around to meet them at the finish line. it was a spectacular day. we love supporting our park. but we live and learn that taking kids for a 5K bike ride with too many hills was not a wise idea. maybe next year?

long run: 6.6 miles i was supposed to do 8 but i was late meeting stef. i got stuck behind the garbage truck and then behind 3 school buses. since i didn't have to leave at the crack of dawn, i forgot that i was going to have to contend with traffic. weather was spectacular. two loops, some good conversation, and easy legs. it was a fabulous run. week total: 14.3 this time next week, i will be packed and be going to bed early. it is hard to believe that the race is a week away. it is hard to believe that i have done all the hard work. it is hard to believe that what i thought i could not do (train), i have done. now i just have to run the race. simple..... right?!

good hair . by chris rock. how does america define beauty mostly among african-american women? his three-year old daughter asked him why she didn't have good hair. he looks into the industry, the ideals, the money, and the need. it is fascinating. i almost don't know how to discuss it because on one hand, it seems like an amazing amount of money for relaxer and weaves. on the other hand, don't i get my roots done every six weeks to maintain this mane of blond hair that is only about ten shades lighter than my natural hair? and what do i believe about the extent a woman should go to in order to feel beautiful? i guess i am torn. it seems like a lot. it seems like we have created a culture where white, flowing, wavy (not nappy) hair is what is beautiful. that makes me sad to think of the little girls in my neighborhood, on my street not thinking that their hair is beautiful. god did make her hair different than my daughter's....and just because my daughter...