a life beyond running shoes.

if you run, you are a runner. it doesn't matter how fast or how far. it doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. there is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. you just run. -- john bingham disclaimer, i did not READ these two books.... i skimmed them. but i have changed the way i run. it is crazy. it is a bit like following alice down the rabbit hole. i am not kidding. i am a little obsessed. poor little bit has had to watch more than just a few you*tube videos on all of this. barefoot running . he is an advocate of barefoot living.... but as it relates to my post born to run running life.... he is in agreement regarding the forefoot strike. since i don't plan on running barefoot (often), it was a bit too much for me in terms of how to strengthen up my feet. but the take away is about posture, strike placement, and some toe & foot strengthening exercises. chi running . using methods and philosop...

three cups of tea . by greg mortenson and david oliver relin such a good use of my time. should have passed this one along. should have purchased this one for friends. then i saw the 60 minutes story . questions the accuracy of mortenson's story, his program, his finances. **sigh** i value truth. it is a priority of our home. now what? so, i read on line. i read the nytimes article that doesn't necessarily counter the other new program's story. mortenson defends his story. his friend published a story as an op-ed piece . i liked that point of view. kristof doesn't know what to make of the accusations. but he knows greg mortenson and also knows mortenson's limitations. mortenson never claimed to be organized or financially savvy. and yet he started a foundation, built schools, risked his life, and is changing the world. what have i done? frankly, if only half of what he has accomplished is actually true.... it is amazing, remarkable, incredible. it is hard to balanc...

i have not hid my love for YA (young adult) literature. in fact, i am re-reading all the harry potter books before the last and final movie comes out this summer. and i really did read all the twilight books. (i don't claim that i always read good books, wink, wink). but i loved the hunger games . and of course, the movie is being made. it is all over the blogisphere. and here is the cool part: brooke, who is a babysitter for a kid at the boys' school, just got cast. here is the post from one of the fan websites. (perhaps, i have seen this blog before... cough, cough). brooke is going to be octavia. (small but really cool part) i think i was the only mom on the schoolyard the literally yelped when she was talking about her audition..... then i really did scream when she said she got the part. perhaps it is because i was the only one that knew what she was auditioning for and HOW S TINKIN' COOL IT IS!!! and i just hang with her on the park bench while the kids ru...

just some cute photos. you know the long walk from baseball to the car what just "too long" that my six year old needed to ride in the stroller too. she got this hat as a hand-me-down and will not take it of f. you can't tell in the photo, but she got a bit of a trim. this was taken upon arriving home from stitches: and this is new fun app on my phone.... just playing around:

walking gently on the earth by lisa graham mcminn & megan anna neff i feel like i am always evaluating where i can give up more. where to live simpler. where to make choices that reflect god's care for his creation. i didn't feel like anything in this book was new. i had either read it before, thought through, or talked with someone about it. the main difference is the authors come from a distinctly christian, biblical point of view. some key principles from the book: give first live with margin share and borrow stuff reuse, buy used, recycle pursue justice for people using your consumer power do no harm - protect ecological systems seek contentment just the idea of giving first and finishing with being content are challenging whether or not you consider your carbon footprint. god has called to us as stewards of his creation, and this book gives good basis for it and good resources in each chapter for considering it further. warning.... they do get controversial. ...

happy birthday, daddy!

i ran the brooklyn half marathon today. finally, a day with no rain..... but only after a fully water logged week. in terms of race prep, it made me nervous not to have a week of any miles. but i got up early... well, normal early for a running day. walked three-fourths o f a mile to the bus. ran into a few folks i knew..... but then found my corral.... and waited for the start. i hate standing around at the start of a race by myself. i feel self-conscious. i start analyzing my training... i start to psyche myself out. no good. i was missing stef this morning. this was my first brooklyn half without her. it was also my first brooklyn half running the opposite way. we started in the park. did a full two loops (which means i met the hill twice). ran down ocean parkway. turned on surf avenue and finished on coney island's boardwalk. i had a great race. i found someone i knew and ran with her and her friend from mile 1 - 9. that made all the difference. at mile 9, i...

or at least it can feel that way. living in a borough of one of the greatest cities in the world.... and most of my life is playgrounds, diapers, homework, and dinner.... with a bit of running thrown in..... i can get down on my lack of cultural experiences. between the financials of getting out much less getting a babysitter. ...... fu'gettaboutit. or at least it can seem that way. in the midst of surviving life with three small kids, major surgery, the anniversary of loss.... we have had an uncanny season of cultural opportunities: a concert. (that is glenn phillips from toad the wet sprocket.... the band i saw) a top modern dance company's performance. (albeit three weeks post-op) the opera. (see previous post ) the ballet. (mind you lincoln center twice in a month.... i have not been once in the six and a half years we have been here). plus, a small off-off-off (not even near) broadway play. it is because we have experienced the overly generous kindness of f...

i read this book in a few days.... what to do with it now will take forever to figure out. i mean, running barefoot... that is crazy talk. born to run . christopher mcdougall how do i even begin..... it is fascinating, if nothing else. it might totally be nuts. or he might be just enough genius to be right. i have no idea. i don't know enough. just the story of the ultra-runners was so fascinating. those people are nuts. and the journey is full of such characters.... and they are real people. but i can tell you i have been googling him and this line of thinking ever since i finished the book. and i bought it for my dad and brother. there. that is endorsement if ever i've had one.... especially since in my "green" moments, i am all about the library. i mean, i really have to want a book OR i must be really behind in requesting it from the library for my next book club meeting.... and here i went and ordered two copies of the same book. maybe i just want someone e...

last week was full of fun! cousin baby bear came to visit... oh, he brought my brother and his wife with him as well. brooklyn bridge, playgrounds, ny style pizza, peanut butter balls, the sand box, the stoop, and sidewalks.... too much fun. then i hosted a bridal shower while daddy took little bit to the ER for stitches. (he was jumping off a wall...of course he was). three stitches! but i made scones for our english tea party. it was delightful!

and we have success! 1. homemade granola bars add peanut butter and more chocolate chips! okay... so, i am still eating more of them than my children but at least they didn't turn up their noses right away. peanut actually ate his in his lunch and little bit ate one on the bus home from a long morning. (desperation just might breed consumption!) recipe: (adapted from ina garten - the barefoot contessa) 2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal 1/2 cup of puffed rice cereal 1/2 cup sliced almonds 1/2 cup toasted wheat germ 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 2/3 cup honey 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed 1/4 cup of peanut butter 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 1/2 cup dried cranberries Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper. Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and puffed rice cereal together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned. Transfer the...

an opinion about opera that is. i have been to two in my life. i don't consider that enough to have figured out if i love it or not. i mean, i have friends that LOVE it. (i took one hoping she would rub off on me) i have an old friend who was in new york city opera's production of seance on a wet afternoon by stephen schwartz (from wicked and aladdin ). he was one of the singers and was incredible. the entire cast was incredible for that matter. (me with singer friend, todd wilander) i don't really know what i think of english opera. it was a bit jarring to have operatic voice singing, "billy" over and over again. as much as i am not accustomed to the genre, the voices were amazing.... and the show riveting. the lead soprano was .... phew... amazing. and one of the fun things about knowing a cast member, is getting to go back stage. um... shaking hands with stephen schwartz. ...and sitting on the rather spectacular set. throw in a super bizarre party upstai...

by kristin armstrong. i like her. i love her blog.... and her book is just a long blog post. i always feel like i can relate... she is accessible, honest, funny, self-deprecating in an appropriate and human sort of way.... and she loves running....for so many reasons: for health, for mental sanity, for camaraderie, for space, peace, and well-being, for the challenge.... and while the book itself can be redundant and things don't connect linearly.... i loved it. it was far superior to the other running book i read earlier this year... it was more personal without being trite. i love her perspective... and wish i was in her running group. it did make me miss stef terribly.... and cause me to evaluate every woman running at 6:15 in the morning as a potential running partner..... but i loved how it challenged me to consider challenging myself more as a runner.... since i am one. and i was sad when it was over, almost like i had gained a running friend for a brief moment in time.......

.... well that would be our easter. guess that is what happens when sunday is a work day..... and easter is the biggest work day of the year. i did have to pass off the camera in the midst of the egg hunt and never got a chance for a family photo.... there is always next year. the school we use on sunday mornings let us use the courtyard for our egg hunt. it was awesome! 250 jelly bean filled eggs!

we had a bit different good friday this year. it is the time to reflect on jesus.... his sacrifice, the magnitude of his love for me, the weight of my sin.... looking forward to easter and the glorious resurrection. yet, this year.... it marked the two year anniversary of my father-in-law's passing. all my in-law's were together.... we were not able to be with them. we had to carve out our own space to remember, reflect, grieve, celebrate..... we watched the video from his funeral... i miss a lot about him. these are his hands. something so memorable about him. i miss his laugh. the way he loved my kids. the way he loved me. the husband and father he was..... "may the god of hope fill you will all joy and peace as you trust in him so that you may overflow with the hope by the power of his holy spirit." -rom 15:13 happy easter.

my first attempt at homemade yogurt. it failed..... i tried a recipe i found using a crock pot.... silly me! will try again after easter. i'll keep you posted. my first attempt at homemade granola bars. they were really yummy....but the critics did not agree. my kiddos were not as thrilled as i was by the attempt. apparently they are not as motivated by the lack of corn syrup or lack of trash in my brilliant creation.... perhaps i can just wear them down. i mean, if this is all there is.... perhaps desperation will breed consumption.

think crime novel minus the pinnacle, stressful, threatening encounter between cop and murderer, add poetic writing and a setting like the beginning of angela's ashes .... and that is where you get faithful place by tana french. i read a few critics of the book....phew, some really did not like this book. i think she is a really good writer. i read it sitting in bed by myself while hubbie was at a conference.... so, not too "suspenseful" that a husbandless-house would deter me from reading (meaning, i am scaredy cat and the slightest hint of tension and i would put the book down). i was dutiful and did not read past 10pm because i was flying solo for a couple of days.... i appreciate the somewhat anti-climatic solving of the crime aspect of this novel. it was a lot more about the characters and the setting..... thus aptly title after the neighborhood (faithful place) where our protagonist detective returns to to solve a 20 year old murder of his first love..... i reco...

amazing how when you are in a fog, you don't know exactly how thick it is until you come to the other side. then you can look back and realize exactly how foggy it was..... like when your husband donates a kidney. it was six weeks ago yesterday. definitely a fog. hubbie is back to work full time. he went for his first jog. and is feeling pretty normal.... just gets tired every once in a while. i guess i am feeling pretty normal too. the house is cleaner. i feel less frayed. and i am sitting down to blog..... life is returning to normal. last week we celebrated a six-year-old birthday. with mimi and mr. denny to join the festivities. we had breakfast at chuck *e* cheese. a family day into manhattan (including playing hookie from school). and friends teach us how to make sushi rolls in the comfort of our own home. plus pokemon cake. does it get better?! happy birthday, peanut! ....and happy birthday, uncle bud. the big 3-0!!! you are loved.

seriously. i have not cried through a book like this since i read a severe mercy years ago. same kind of different as me . ron hall & denver moore. homeless man.... who was a sharecropper (aka slave). wealthy man..... who makes millions selling art. they become friends because of the rich wife. she loves jesus. she loves the homeless man. she gets her rich husband to love the homeless man. she dies. it is the story of their friendships, their struggles with faith, god showing up, amazing things happening..... and of course, my snippet of a post can do no justice to their story. a story of redemption. of grace. of love. of jesus. and of course i started it thinking it was a different book entirely. boy was i wrong, but glad i was. i must have heard of it since i actually requested it from the library. i figured out i had the wrong book about 30 pages into when i realized it had nothing to do with ethiopia. whoops. i love good mistakes!

okay.....not that old, but certainly not recent. a mother's heart . jean fleming (published 1982) i have been working on this book since january.... it took a while but it was worth it. i found her "dated-ness" refreshing, straight-forward, honest, and biblical. while, there were a few theological differences.... they were minor and did not deter from the heart of her book. a few good nuggest: "the single most important decision a mother can make is to develop her own life with god." (page 59) "the goal of parenting is not for us to decide what we want our children to become and then ruthlessly teach, train, squeeze, badger, and cajole them into that mold. instead, we must recognize that god has already designed them." (page 89) there were other good things that were just good reminders of thinking about my kids in term of their spiritual hearts. remembering to pray for them as individuals.....pray for myself as the mom of three individuals and the...