a life beyond running shoes.

in the loosest sense of the word, i am a researcher. i like to read multiple things about one thing. the paris wife: a novel . by paula mclain. oh, i loved it. but it took a few things that i happen to have already loved:  the idea of paris in the 20s; ernest hemingway, fitzgerald, picasso; cafes, writers, wine; a different era. it was a world away.  it was hemingway's world in paris, spain, italy, etc.  this is the story of hemingway and his first wife, hadley.  i think it is mostly based on their letters and hemingway's memoir a moveable feast .  i loved living in their tiny apartment, meeting with gertrude stein, and having drinks with f. scott.  having just seen midnight in paris (woody allen film) a few months ago, i was ready to be swept away.  too bad hemingway's marriage is short lived but his stories live on...... i also tried hemingway's boat: everything he loved in life, and lost, 1934 - 1961 by paul hendrickson.  it w...

wow! first grade open house. art show and all.  we got to see his turtle art but he was also super  proud of some things in his classroom. he let us read a story he wrote  that had a beginning, middle, and end. my favorite was his weekend journal which concluded "all in all, it was a good weekend." love it!!! hard to believe he was hardly reading just over a year ago. i think peanut has made the transition rather well. now, if only i could feel as settled.

seems like most have read her.  this is one of my new york finds...... sitting on a stoop, pick up, read. i have a pile of those.  i am trying to get through some of that pile. sometimes you win..... sometimes you don't. this was a win - for me. rise and shine . by anna quindlen two sister, two new yorks. one the media darling of american, one a social worker in the bronx.  they are formed by tragedy of their youth, manage to remain consistent in their relationship but live in different worlds. perhaps i loved the small details of new york that a tourist might miss.... the reference to a grocery store, the way to navigate sidewalks, or the reality that there are multiple cities within new york.  maybe i like the story of sisters. i have one that i love. we are different. these sisters are different.  perhaps, i like that i was caught in a story that concluded.... not resolved or tied up nicely but finished with just a bit of redemption. i enjoy...

it is where we have spent almost every saturday. what is great is that there are three kids in peanut's class.... all the other kids go to his actual school or live on our street.  we actually feel like we are getting to know people.  and frankly, his uniform is just super cute! and his brother, while not playing himself, gets all decked out in his own version of a uniform..... which includes a jeter jersey.  we are merely tolerated but since californians are actually lame sports fans, we get by.

the prodigal god: recovering the heart of the christian faith by: tim keller the parable of the prodigal son.... but really there are two lost brothers. and there is one redeeming father who gives a feast for those who return. to be reminded so eloquently of the father's love for me through a closer look at this parable was not only refreshing for my soul but also amazingly convicting. keller redefinition of lostness shows me the mirror to my soul taking me that much deeper in my understanding how how great my need for a the true elder brother (Jesus) who loves, obey, sacrifices, and pursues perfectly.  some quotes: the hearts of the two brothers were the same...both were alienated from the father's heart; both were lost sons.  they both were using the father for their own self-centered ends rather than loving, enjoying, and serving him for his own sake. this means you can rebel against god and be alienated from him either by breaking his rules or by keeping them dilig...

reading one heavy novel necessitated two fluffy. little bee . by chris cleeve. nigirian refugee at a british immigration center meets british liberal editor of a woman's trash magazine with an insipid husband and a lackluster infidelity. while i can say it is a compelling and intriguing story. what i can also say is that the infidelity bothers me.... it might not bother all but it is a storyline that i find problematic and unsettling. perhaps, it is my moral high ground but i read the synopsis of some of his other books and the topic is repeated. anyway, an event on a nigirian beach bring sarah and little bee together.  the book deals with the atrocities of nigiria as the "black gold" country and the complicated issues of asylum and immigration. the times reviewer said that it is not just a political novel but a story of human triumph.  i found very little triumph in the story actually.  so there  you have it.  not a huge fan of the author but was glad to...

hubbie and i actually got to attend a conference a couple of weeks ago thanks to my  mom for coming up and keeping our kids. kevin twit came and spoke on how songs shape our souls . here is his article titled "why we still need hymns." he was awesome. our hymn sing was a sweet balm to my soul. here was one of the nuggets that he shared with us that i have been attached to ever since: Beams of Heaven ©2004 Christopher Miner Music.  Words: Charles Tindley.  Music: Christopher Miner. 1. Beams of heaven as I go,  through the wilderness below,  guide my feet in peaceful ways,  turn my midnights into days.  When in the darkness I would grope,  faith always sees a star of hope, and soon from all life's grief and danger  I  shall be free someday.  I shall be free someday. 2. Often times my sky is clear,  joy abounds without a tear;  though a day so bright begun,  clouds may hide tomorrow's ...

hiking to turtle rock with daddy. sonoma to train town and olive oil tasting. sausalito for the bay discovery museum.     point reyes for whale watching and elephant seal sightings.  so cool!!! i've been whale watching before but have never actually seen a whale....we saw at least five (or perhaps it was one whale that we saw five times). and lots of movies in jammies for rainy days in between. 

if you know me, you  know i will find a topic and then read a few things about it: barefoot running eating locally and now...... olive oil. got this book for christmas which of course, lead me to other books. extra virginity: the sublime and scandalous world of olive oil by tom mueller frankly, i just love the subtitle. it was a fascinating read. the history of olive oil, the parallels to the wine industry, the scandals that have changed the italian wine industry and how little has changed in the olive oil industry. i loved learning about something that has such beneficial properties, but have almost none when diluted or marketed as something it is not..... like extra virgin.  it has lead me to explore some local olive producers and even gone taste testing here in northern california.  second book: the passionate olive: 101 things to do with olive oil by carol firenze oh....she gets creative.  but first she almost summarizes what i read in the ...

this year for lent i decided to read a biography of someone whose faith would encourage my own.  i read about amy carmichael.  a chance to die: the life and legacy of amy carmichael by: elisabeth elliot i found amy carmichael to be of the most resolute faith, but of someone who would intimidate me greatly should i ever meet in person.  she was focused and determined.... i often thought about my own faith as i read about her life and ministry of prayer....which was the point of reading about her during lent.  but i also found elliot's writing very documentary like.  i would have like it to be more narrative, a story woven around a culture and a woman whose faith remained ever steady in times of woe and sorrow. i loved how elliot would site the hymns that amy would remind herself of... and how rich the story was told through amy's own poems and letters BUT i have to say, elliot's writing was not compelling.  i guess it didn't need to be in order to con...

was full..... we had a passover meal and a good friday service. it was delightful. then an easter morning with egg hunts and friends over for lunch. can't complain at all.  strange not to celebrate with our normal brooklyn crew or a house full after service but still quite able to celebrate a risen savior. and a side note, i ran a 5K over the weekend and got my fastest time yet (28:27) for a new PR..... there was even a hill in there. i was actually second in my age group. that is just crazy! 

it is hard to figure out what to blog about.....  so a month has gone by and low and behold another birthday. peanut is 7. he is enjoying first grade. we are all slowly making friends.  it is not home yet..... it will just take time. but we had a great time celebrating number 7. favorite part....the shoes (from princess sweet pea herself). bowling and sushi. (and i did not make the cake..... a new high school friend did). (thanks to mimi who caved on the sushi when learning that he had to choose between the two for a birthday celebration.....oh, what are mimis for?)

she wanted homemade pizza  and a tangled cake. here is the best i could do..... and we had a ball with some of our new friends. three is a big deal. it means she is not small anymore. she is little but not a baby. always MY baby..... but not a baby. she is also sporting a new haircut. super cute... thanks daddy.  (he cute about 4 inches off)

can i admit that i feel as if i have reached my adventure threshold? please, no more adventures. we took residence of our new home a week ago. we thought we would only be "house camping" for a few days...... well, one week later and the moving truck should arrive tomorrow. we have had some fun in the meantime. perhaps i will post later about the adventure of driving our family of five across the country, visiting friends & family over five days and 2900 miles.... perhaps, i will just put it behind me and move forward to our new life on the west coast. but until i decide, here are pics from point reyes beach...... hard to believe we live here.  you can hear him saying, "i'm king of the world." she was so grumpy that daddy and the boys climbed the rocks without her. exploring tide pools for the first time. so, i guess we are enjoying the newness of our life our here. it is gorgeous..... it ha...

okay friends.... i have a had a great group to run with.  i have always had awesome running partners...... but never a full group.  when we are all there (which is seldom), there are eight including me. i will miss this group.  and yes, i might find others to run with in california but none like this.   so i came up with some adjectives (and specific definition that suited) for each since it is such a funny, strange, awesome, random combination of individuals...... i have enjoyed every lap, mile, and conversation. thank you for letting me join your group. you were a balm to my wounded soul...... MS - GRACE (a temporary immunity or exemption; a reprieve). it was (is) so nice to rest in your gentle spirit. in you i found a reprieve. CS - HONEST (not false or misleading; genuine). you are refreshing, straightforward, and a faithful companion. in you there is no guile. SS - UNDAUNTED (resolutely courageous). you gospel orient the group with your bo...

so i have to admit that i am not totally done with the three musketeers .... and in light of that, i needed a few things that were vastly different....thus..... january's reads: beyond the bougenvilla . by doloras durando. it was a free download for my kindle.   it was entertaining.... which means it held my interest. the main character was an abused girl from one of the dakotas who moved to los angeles at the end of the great depression. it is a story of sorrow and the human spirit of tenacity and perseverance. for a free book, i enjoyed it. and i think it is super cool that the author is about 90 years old and wrote this last year. that is just cool! a good and perfect gift . by amy julia becker. while ann voskamp's book drove me crazy with its lack of details, becker's book chronicles her journey of discovering that her daughter was born with down syndrome.....the struggle of faith in not-believing and believing god's goodness in the midst of it....

one thousand gifts . by ann voskamp. there are so many rich truths that she so poetically expresses in a way that make truth alive, rich, and powerful.  but it is such a raw book. there is a depth of sorrow of pain of tragedy....you almost don't want to read..... and yet, she is so honest that it is engaging and captivating in such a way that you have to keep reading.  she speaks....and my heart echos.  my heart cries out a resounding affirmation of her words. she says it like i wish i could..... and yet, there is hope.  the hope that only christ can bring.....christ the broken, crucified savior who gives thanks with his life....breaks it and then gives it away.  it is transformative.....and i pass it along to you. i'm amputated. i have hacked my life up into grace moments and cruse moments. the chopping that has cut myself off from the embracing love of a god who "does not enjoy hurting people or causing them to sorrow" (lamentations 3:33), but labo...

christmas in florida feels different than christmas in new york.  (notice short sleeves.....and my new hair cut) but the blessing is that we got to be here at all. we had not planned on traveling this xmas, so the fact that we got be with family was a blessing for sure. it reminded me that in the midst of grieving loss there are amazing things to celebrate and being with family this season really helped make advent real..... that we really do look forward to what is coming. and while we have gotten to do fun things.... like play outside all the time, run in shorts, grill out....... we look forward to what god is bring in 2012. by the way, hubbie was out running trails and this is what he saw...... if you look closely it is a 12 foot gator. it was about 10 feet from him.  yup, life in this here florida.

we had a 5th bday celebration right before xmas. little bit was fully celebrated! it was his first birthday party.....  we played a version of pin the tail on the donkey (pin the gator on the football).   had a very rowdy game of tag football. had a very special cake.......  are you seeing the theme here? the boys have loved being in gatorland...... and we made it the theme of the party. and little bit loves football...... especially his daddy & grandpa's team - the florida gators. it was great to see him so excited and see him participate. i was nervous that with all the attention he would get shy and sullen....nope, he loved every minute. (and so did i). it is hard to believe he is five.  his birth seems like a lifetime ago.... and i guess it was. happy birthday, little bit!