a life beyond running shoes.

a few quick reads.... honey for a woman's heart gladys hunt i skimmed. it is an elaborate book list.....but pause everyone once in a while to get the nuggets of wisdom and insight into that was fun, encouraging, and reminded me to read good stuff. "reading is a sage way to bump up against life. reading may be an escape, but it is not escape from my own life and problems. it is escape from the narrow boundaries of being only me. reading in some wonderful way helps me find out who i am." (page 24) i was going to return it to the friend i borrowed it from, but decided to go back through it and write down some titles i wanted to remember to put on my "to read" list. it was long but of some good stuff.... not sure it was anything i could not have come up with on my own, but it was a good read. a few authors i would like to check out are: isabel allende, maeve bundy, anne tyler, gail godwin. and i was reminded again that i need to read little women !...

to sing his praises..... praying words would penetrate my heart.... remind me of truths.... and delight in god's love for me... glorious things of thee are spoken zion, city of our god; he, whose word cannot be broken, formed thee for his own abode on the rock of ages founded what can shake thy sure repose? with salvation's walls surrounded, thou mayst smile at all thy foes. see the streams of living waters, springing from eternal love. well supplies thy sons and daughters, and all fears of want removes. what can faint while such a river ever flows their thirst to quench? grace which like the lord, the giver, never fails from age to age. savior, if of zion's city, i, through grace, a member am, let the world deride or pity, i will glory in thy name fading is the worlding's pleasure, all is boasted pomp and show solid joys and lasting treasures none but zion's children know. -- words by john newton, 1779 amazing to think we still sing words so rich and...

she is cute and sweet and fun. but don't let that fool you. she tantrums. she kicks. she yells. she fights. she whines. she resists. and that is the state of my heart. i am fighting the idea that my plan is no longer god's plan. i had a 20 year plan that included my children graduating from high school in this house. i don't shift gears easily. church was so good for me yesterday. to be called into god's presence. to be ushered into worshiping the king. to repent of my toddler-heart. to proclaim god's goodness that endures forever. it is changing my heart....slowly.

this blogging thing is weird. how public do i get.... should i be..... when do i process....how.... etc. well, as to not emotionally vomit via the internet, i will give the bullet points of our summer: my husband resigned from his position as a church planting pastor due to financial reasons. i started packing. my husband did three weeks of home-improvement projects to get our house ready. we put our house on the market. we left on vacation without daddy..... change of plans due to implosion brooklyn. had a blast in california. changed our summer itinerary and came home by passing time in florida. had our final worship service... in our hone no less for an added sweetness. got an offer on the house....countered, accepted. un-enrolled boys from public school. started paperwork to homeschool. kids got sick. left again on vacation. kids had 10 days of stomach bug. had a awesome time at a lake in tennessee with cousins, family, and gramma. my husband had a skype interview with another chur...

in the woods . tana french. dublin murder mystery squad. can i give spoilers? well, i will. main character goes into a myopic funk and ruins the whole story. one of the mysteries remains unsolved, which is super frustrating, and the fun relationship between the partners unravels ridiculously. that being said, i could not put it down and was dying to finish. i did have disturbing dreams.....missing children, murder site, etc. so.... final analysis. it was her first novel.... but i will most likely read her second that takes the female detective's point of view on a new case. i did read the third one of the series and was on the fence about it as well.... so lois, not sure i disliked it but can't say i loved it. dead until dark. living dead in dallas. club dead . charlaine harris okay, i read the first three sookie stackhouse books. more vampire fiction..... adult version though. definitely NOT for juvenile audience. i was also on the fence....but then read two m...

phew! finished!!! i re-read the harry potter series. i got the idea from another friend. i was not original. i have held off seeing the final film until i finished the final book. it took three months....but i did it! harry potter and the sorcerer's stone. year one. harry potter and the chamber of secrets. year two. harry potter and the prisoner of azkaban. year three. harry potter and the goblet of fire. year four. harry potter and the order of the phoenix. year five. harry potter and the half-blood prince. year six. harry potter and the deathly hallows . the final installment. i have discussed with another literary friend the merits of the above mentioned series. he claims that they are drivel, hardly worth being called literature, and not worth the time to read much less read a second time. i disagree. while, i would not put under the category of fantastic literature.... i find them entertaining, engaging, fun, complicate, insightful, and overall great. i can't ...

preface: our family has major things going on right now......and we have been flying around the country, back again, leaving for family vacation, back again...... i don't have the mental space to blog about. i will at some point. but until then.... books. maine . by j. courtney sullivan. it was a library recommendation. thought i would give it awhirl. well, i was disappointed. i was captivated by the relational dynamics of the four women the story is told through. the irish-catholic history was fascinating and portrayed in a authentic and in no-way-demeaning sort of way. i love generational sagas. but this one left me craving for some sort of resolution at the end. it ended..... as all stories must. but i had invested so much into their lives.... sigh. disappointed. oh well. it made me want to rent a cabin on the shores of maine. in fact, i even spent about an hour perusing websites. alas, we will vacation in tennessee this summer and be so thankful to be with family....

we have hit the public pools, the beach, and the playgrounds.... all in our first full week of summer. we also had our first experience at day camp.... we opted for the sports camp variety. the boys loved it.... and sweet pea conned the director out of her own camp shirt. very cute!!!

two books from last month.... see, i am behind. having so much summer fun, i just have not sat down to blog all about it. shocking!! the dew breaker . by edwidge danticat she uses the history of haiti and immigration to new york as the backdrop for this collection of vignettes that are all tied together. it is like reading eight short stories that are all linked together.... there was only one that i was thoroughly confused on how it connected. this is where i am thankful for my book club to enlighten me.... and help me appreciate a good haiitan fish cake. i think part of why i loved this book is the connection to my own neighborhood of brooklyn. the streets i walk, the neighbors i pass, could all have been part of this story..... strides: running through history with an unlikely athlete . by benjamin cheever. okay.... i am a nerd. i am also on a reading about running kick. cheever sort of goes through the history of running. but i can't say it is complete or thorough. it is...

j ust to clarify.... we are not out of school yet. but we have had pre-k graduation..... little bit got to be the engine on the train to the stage. it was the only way his teachers could get him to participate. sigh......such the individual.... and kindergarten "stepping up".... peanut got the writing award and made the honor roll for his class. and of course, sweet pea just gets to join in all the fun failing to realize that it is NOT about her (smile, wink)......

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!