therefore i run in such a way, as not without aim...I cor. 9:26

what a weekend we had! the kids had a four day weekend. Friday morning i got called by Meals on Wheels to fill in. they gave me a small route, but instead of all the clients being in one complex, as are those on my route, they were each at separate houses in a pretty scary area. after that we went downtown to the Allan House where Jess' reception was going to be. the kids and i helped arrange flowers for the table settings. we had to run back home to do some chores at home before hopping back in the car to go back downtown to pick up our marathon packets at the health and fitness expo at Palmer. the kids were great. they're kind of used to this routine and love to go to the expo and get all the free goodies like Larabars and Soyjoys.

Brian's parents were at the house when we got home. after Brian got home from work, we quickly got ready for the wedding and made it just in time. thankfully it was at our church and not across town which would have been near impossible to get to at 6 pm. on a Friday evening.

the wedding was beautiful. it was wonderful to see my sweet friend marry a good guy. it was just a couple of years ago that she was telling Janet and me that she really, really wanted to get married. =)

the reception was a lot of fun, too, and the Allen House was a beautiful place to have it.

Brian and i went to a funeral on Saturday morning for an old family friend, Ruth. i think i mentioned her death in a previous blog post. after that we had two basketball games to attend - we watched Samuel and William's team and John's team play simultaneously. we all ran errands Saturday afternoon, then met up to have dinner at Trudy's per Samuel's birthday request. Brian's parents watched the kids that evening while Brian and i went out and got 11th hour things done in preparation for the marathon.

we were up and at 'em at 4:30 Sunday morning. marathon morn is always exciting. we drive downtown while it's still dark and join the throngs of other runners heading to the start line and the vibe is so upbeat and energizing. we met up with a couple of friends, Chris Condit and Bob Donaldson. Chris and i lined up together with the 4:15 pace group. Brian found uncle Bob (Simon), and they lined up with the 4:00 pace group, and that was the last i saw of Brian until i finished the race.

i felt the best i've felt running a marathon as far as joints and all that. i hardly stopped to walk at all, and only stopped once to stretch in the final 2 miles. i ran the first half pretty fast, which surprised me once i realized that (from reading my times on the marathon website afterwards) since that is the hardest part of the race with all the hills. but i slowed down in the last ten miles and ended up running the thing in 4:19.

near mile 22 or 23 i spotted the Zamora family, so i had Gracie snap this picture of me and the boys

Jose on the left and Ricky on the right.

i saw a few familiar face along the race route that cheered me up and gave me the oomph to keep going, and for that i am so grateful - Abby Adams and her dad, Cheryll and John, Elliot, the Peacock family, Mandy Condit, and Brian's parents with our kids, and then Zamoras.

Brian and me, post race~

below are my stats from the marathon website~

Distance	MAR
Clock Time	4:35:34
Chip Time	4:19:41
Overall Place	1767 / 4804
Gender Place	459 / 1944
Division Place	82 / 350
Tot Div	4804
Tot Gend	1944
Tot Ag	350
5K Rank	INC
5K Time
10M Rank	2447
10M Time	1:36:36
Half Rank	2196
Half Time	2:05:41
20M Rank	1897
20M Time	3:14:29
Final 10K Rank	1767
Final 10K Time	4:19:41
Total Pace	9:55/M

we had a party for Samuel on Sunday afternoon after we had had a chance to shower and clean up. a couple of his classmates came, plus the relatives, and also the Zamora family.

the kids had Monday off, so we got to relax a bit and take our time jumping back into things. parent-teacher conferences were that day. we met with William's teacher, which was stressful. she's a very intense person and i know she thinks Brian and i are the worst excuse for parents ever. Samuel had her last year, and she just couldn't deal with all his issues. now she has William with his quirkiness, and she just thinks we're some kind of religious wacko quack parents.  but after that we went over to Samuel's teacher, and she's a breath of fresh air. she's kind of quirky herself, had long wild graying hair, wears knee socks, and multiple ear piercings. you know, she's so Austin. she's also very respectful of us as parents, never questioning our decisions for our kids. Samuel has really jelled with her, and she doesn't try to put him in a box.  i really like her. we met with John's teacher after that. we were so glad to get a good report about him. his behavior has improved and he's making some progress in reading. he's a natural at math, thankfully, so that even if he is behind in reading, that shouldn't keep him from moving up to 2nd grade next year.

we didn't meet with Margaret's teachers because they said she was doing fine.

after P/T conferences, the kids and i went down to Daddy's to do a little trailer maintenance. we're going to loan it to Jess' new inlaws for about a month, and i needed to clean it and check to make sure the pipe hadn't frozen and busted in the last few weeks. we cleaned everything, including wiping out the fridge that had mildewed since it was last used.

as we drove away i started feeling sick, and i just got worse and worse. i went straight to bed when we got home. i took Samuel and William to their bball practice last night, but could barely stand it i was so chilled. i literally thought i was dying i felt so sick. i shivered all night and my head hurt so bad i cried.

weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning! i felt better this morning, just wiped out. i called in sick for Classical Conversations. i was so glad i did, because i really needed a day to rest. i think i may have had a bad reaction to the mold in the trailer's fridge. i'm so glad it doesn't seem to be the flu.

i did laundry and cleaned house most of the day. i love days like that.

i'm not feeling too bad at all from the marathon. i will probably hit the gym tomorrow and see how these old legs do.

the Run for Ricky endeavor has done more than we dreamed, praise God! we have about $2400 in pledges. now we're just waiting for the people to send them in so we can give the money to the Zamoras at one time.

 i'm reading Decent Exposure about talking to your kids about sex. it's kind of old, like 1988, or something, but i guess they knew about sex even back then.

i'm off to bed now.

i have a lot of catching up to do, but i can only remember as far back as last weekend.

sickness descended on our home so i ended up taking Margaret to her basketball game and Brian stayed home with the boys. the boys skipped their games on Saturday and rested up. i hosted a lingerie shower for my Jess friend that afternoon, so most of the morning was spent getting ready for that. the shower went well and it felt nice to be back on the entertaining circuit.

Brian and i were up and at 'em Sunday morning for a 13 or 14 mile run, our last hurrah before the Big Race. we got back and cleaned up and still managed to make it to early service at church and then Sunday School. Roger came over in the late afternoon to watch the kids and let the cousins play together so Brian and i could go out. Brian had a table for us at Eastside Cafe, our favorite. this is the coolest restaurant! what other place can you go for a top notch meal and superb wine list with a garden outback and chickens wandering the premises? even better is that it's in our 'hood. we lingered over dinner and a bottle of wine, just enjoying each other's company.

Monday - back out there running, trying to finish this marathon training season strong. having pleasant weather has made running much easier. i met Brian for lunch later that day, and then we went to look at new settings for my engagement ring. if you keep up with this blog, you may remember that the diamond fell out back in September, and i miraculously found it on the floor in the classroom where i teach Sunday school. Brian's Valentine gift for me was to get it reset.
Margaret and i did a Girl Scout cookie booth Monday afternoon with a fellow GS and her mom. we're nearing the end of cookie sales, and we've sold nearly three times as many as we sold last year, though the troop as a whole has sold much less than last year. ??

Tuesday - Brian took the kids to school, and i rode over shortly thereafter on my bike. i had been recruited to help with class pictures. never realized how much work that is! they weren't just doing group pics, but individual full body shots as well. my job was to pose each child, and the pose differed depending on the age. up and down, up and down. for three hours. then i helped with the 6th grade graduation pics, dressing the kids in their gowns and such. i was physically spent by lunch, but i rode over to Redeemer to spend the rest of the afternoon doing childcare for Classical Conversations. that evening i took Margaret over to Kealing Middle School to register for her classes in case she doesn't make it into the magnet programs. wow! that made her suddenly seem so grown up! then i took her to basketball practice while Brian took the boys to Boy Scouts. it was a busy day, and i was glad to crawl into my poofy bed at the end of it.

Wednesday - today was Walk on Wednesday, so i took the kids to Mueller Lake Park, about halfway between our house and Maplewood, and we walked to school from there. after getting everyone situated, i drove down to Lady Bird Lake and ran 4 and a half miles. i had my Meals on Wheels route after that. i can't recall what i did the rest of the afternoon, but i'm sure it was real important and life altering.

This morning i went over to the church and led my little class. i'm pretty sure i was rather grumpy and short fused with the kids. ugh. i had about 45 minutes between the time i got out of there and when i had to be back at the church to help decorate for Jess' wedding, just enough time to gobble my pb&j, drive over to Brian's office and switch out cars, and then run home to change outfits to something less nursery worker and more girlfriend. i enjoyed being there for Jess on this her big Day Before. the church is rather pretty in it's simplicity, so not much is needed to make a statement of subdued beauty. the candles and rose pedals will go far. i hung around until the kids got out of school. today starts a four day weekend for them!
this evening we all went over to the Y together since John had basketball practice. the rest of us played bball together on the outside courts. it was heavenly to be out there in shorts and tshirts. is spring finally here in Texas?
this weekend holds a lot for us. tomorrow i'm going to help Jess decorate her reception venue. i also need to pick up Brian and my race packets for the marathon. Brian's parents come in some time in the afternoon. then  Brian and i have Jess and Chris' wedding in the evening. GB and Nonny will watch the kids for us, so Brian and i can party hearty. or as hearty as you can when you have a marathon to run in the next 36 hours.

a dear friend died yesterday, Ruth Sassmann. she lived next door to Daddy all my life. she was 78. Brian and i will probably go her her funeral Saturday morning. then we have the boys' basketball games. and then nothing on the agenda but resting our legs.

Sunday is Samuel's tenth birthday. when did that little red baby get to be half a man? he's nearly as tall as me. i'm sure by this time next year he will be taller than me. he's a gem, and i'm so proud to call him son.
and then there's the marathon. i think i'm ready. i have added motivation as i'm running for Ricky. this little guy is a fighter. he's endured heart, spine, and brain surgery as he copes with a genetic disorder. and then there is this recent leukemia diagnosis. he's seen it all. and yet he carries on and is one of the happiest kids you'll ever meet. the response to our little grassroots effort to raise money for the family has been amazing! we've passed the $2K mark! praise God!
we'll be having a party for Samuel after the marathon on Sunday. if Brian and i are still in the land of the living.
well, i'm fading fast. hope you now feel up-to-date.

carry on

a video from Coupland Dance Hall last Saturday night with Pat singing his crowd pleaser Carry On.

more this and that

let me see if i can do a quick recap.

we got snow last week. in fact the kids were granted a rare Snow Day, and didn't have to go in to school on Friday. we went over to Mueller and played in it for a short time. thankfully the sun came out and melted it all away by the next day. i am not a fan of the white stuff for more than a day. cold makes me want to cry. but we were back up into the 60's the next afternoon.

 snow event of 2011

my mom came and got the kids on Friday afternoon, and Brian and i enjoyed a weekend to ourselves. that evening when he go off work, we biked over to Chipotle on our new bikes, then over to Target to do a little shopping. we came home and watched Walk the Line, propped up on pillows in the bed. and it was good.

we went down to Lady Bird Lake the next morning and ran 10 miles. i was feeling really tired. i think it's this medicine i'm taking. it just takes everything out of me. not sure if i'll continue taking it. i don't like feeling sleepy all the time. i after our run we went back home and worked around the house the rest of the day on various painting jobs. so many of our dangling house projects are coming together finally!

after dinner we cleaned up and drove out to Coupland, about half an hour out of town. it's a farming community with this dancehall right there in the old downtown. Pat Green came on around 10:45, and played for maybe an hour and a half. it was a lot of fun with everyone dancing to his music on the way-too-crowded dance floor. i think that's the 5th time i've seen Pat in concert, and probably the most enjoyable.

^looking pretty tired about 1 am.

we managed to get up and get to the first service Sunday morning. we drove out to get the kids in Burnet Sunday afternoon. my mom had watched all 9 grands for the weekend! i know they had a great time.

this is a busy week. i'm having a lingerie shower for Jess here on Saturday, so i have lots of cleaning and such to do in preparation for that. Dan will be working over here most of the week finishing up the new baseboards, drywall, built-ins in the den, and other odd jobs.

we'll be getting some more freezing weather this week, so i want to get out and enjoy the outside before that. i'm about to head off to work at the church. i think i'll ride my bike over there today...

never produced material discovered

Wednesday, Feb. 2

i'm sitting here in the warm kitchen while Margaret sits next to me working in her middle school applications. i've got deep dish pizza crust rising and some Grapenuts bars cooling in the fridge. i'm thinking these bars might be a good, healthy snack for the kids.

i had a lazy day today. Brian took the kids to school, so i got to kick back and relax once they were gone. i soaked in the tub for a long time reading my book, listening to the radio talk nonstop about the possibility of snow in Austin. i went over to the Y and exercised for an hour or so. the lady who is the head honcho at the fitness center is a Maplewood mom. she's like 5 feet taller than me and is rather intimidating. i always feel like i'm doing all my workouts wrong when she's around. not that she's ever said anything to me, i just always get that feeling.

i had to swap out cars with Brian and get some groceries. i have to remember that the commuter rail always runs past HEB Hancock Center right around the time the kids are getting out of school. too many times i've got stuck there waiting for the train behind a line of cars and been late to get the kids. like today.

still haven't seen a snow yet. not even one.

start again

i heard this song on the Derek Webb station on Pandora this evening. i've heard it before. we bought the cd way back when, but i never paid attention to the words because the music (and Andrew Osenga's voice) were so annoying, but it brought me to tears today. this is my (almost daily) prayer.

start again

I have a constant need for motion
I need to leave the past behind
To see all the good things I left dying come to life
So long I let the lies deceive me and I let them take their toll
I’m growing tired of the illusion I’m in control

Cause you are there in all my histories, my victories and pains
You are there in all my shadows, with forgiveness you are waiting
When I need a place to hide, when I need a place to hide,

I need hope to start again
I need hope to start again
You give me hope, I need hope to start again

Into my own hands I take matters
Cause deep in my heart I stole the throne
Where you have always led so faithfully I know
Doesn’t it seem I’m always running
Most of the time it’s not to you
Give me faith to know your promises are true

Cause you are there in all my histories, my victories and pains
You are there in all my shadows, with forgiveness you are waiting
When I need a place to hide, when I need a place to hide,

I need hope to start again
I need hope to start again
You give me hope, I need hope to start again

Here is the place where I face my secrets
Where I lay them down

When I need a place to hide, when I need a place to hide
When I need a place to hide

I need hope to start again, I need hope to start again
You give me hope, I need hope to start again

two for one. actually make that three for one.

ode to Brian...


if only i was poetic. writing poetry for me is in the same category as trying to be sensual. i just feel like a fake and can only burst out laughing.

yesterday the world celebrated the anniversary of my husband's birth. he is really a great guy, much better than i deserve, and i really feel like i got the better end of the deal in this thing. i'm so thankful for his 38 years. i've been blessed to know him for 16 and a half of those. i'm sure those have been the better sixteen years of my life.

we had another crazy weekend back a few days ago when it was the weekend (trying to catch up here). basketball game on Friday night, then another couple of games on Saturday morning. Samuel and William went over to a school friend's house by the name of Jade Oakley. wouldn't you have loved a name like that as a kid? and yeah, he lives up to his name. he's c.o.o.l. Margaret and i did a Girl Scout cookie booth at Walgreen's again. this time Marissa and her mom, Sherry sold with us. we sold about 110 boxes, which i thought phenomenal!

we all gathered back home and had dinner together, then it was Saturday night bathing time. Brian and i had intended to go out somewhere nearby to watch the Longhorn's play the Aggies in basketball, maybe at Nomad's or Pacos Tacos, two neighborhood spots, but we tired out and just watched the game at home.

Brian got up early on Sunday and ran 24 miles. incredible, huh? i can't imagine doing that just for a training run. i took the kids to the early service at church, then Sunday School. Brian cleaned up from his run and went to the late service. i went down to Lady Bird Lake and did a ten mile run Sunday afternoon. i was still feeling "off" and couldn't make myself run further though i had wanted to run more like 17 miles.

Sunday evening we had the Langleys over. that's Keegan's family. we grilled burgers and the grown ups visited while the kids played outside and then on the wii. Joseph and Karen are a fun couple and we had a great time and vowed to do it again.

yesterday was beautiful. too bad it couldn't have stayed that way, weather-wise. i made a birthday cake for Jules, or Julesie, as everyone calls her. it was a two layer, one chocolate, one vanilla, with buttercream frosting, decorated with purple polka dots, per Jules request. i also got in a workout at the Y, some thrifting, and some house cleaning.

tuesday, which by now is yesterday, since i've made a habit of stretching these blog posts out over several days...well, tuesday i went to work at the church. i only worked half the day because i wasn't feeling great, and had a doctor's appointment the afternoon. i don't know this doctor real well, though we've been seeing each other for a few years now. there is something about his him that is a little too perfect. i bet he never has to clean under his fingernails because they never get dirty. he's the kind of person that can do the white pants look because there'd never be a chance of him getting them dirty. i guess that's the kind of person you want checking out all your parts. but anyways, i went in for a colon issue, and ended up talking to him about my feelings. i sat there and got all weepy on him. not literally on him. but i did cry. i told him about feeling blue more and more. but yet, i'm not lying in bed all day wishing i could die. i'm a go-getter, getting up at 5 every morning and going full speed all day. so we talked it all through discussed family history and whatnot, and he gave me some meds to see if they help. after i got my prescription at HEB awhile later, i opened the bottle and was disappointed to see how tiny the pill was. i guess i was thinking i needed a really big one to fix my problems. but i took my one little pill  as prescribed, and i tell ya, immediately everything came in color. happiness descended upon me and birds began to sing. it was probably all my imagination, but i did feel better psychologically, like now i'm making a fresh start. we'll see where this takes me. hopefully i don't get full on crazy from it.

i fixed a meal for the Zamoras last night. when i do a meal for a family, i usually make double and keep half for us. Joseph came by to take the boys to Boy Scouts, then i left to take the food to the Zamoras and workout at the Y. Brian and Margaret ate dinner on their own, then went to basketball practice. Brian has taken over coaching her team since her coach has some connection with the Super Bowl security and had to abandon his coaching. since he left and Brian took over, the team has won every game.

i'm reading this book called The Liar's Club. so far it is hilarious. it's this lady's autobiography. i don't know if she's someone famous, someone i should know, but she writes with such frankness and witt of her growing up in east Texas in the 60's. her family is very white trash and she doesn't candy coat things. she does a great job of making it beautiful despite the ugliness of it all. it's another one of my thirft store finds.


Margaret and i are supposed to do a cookie booth this afternoon. the temp is not supposed to get above freezing. i just don't know if we can sit out there in front of Walgreen's for two hours. i doubt anyone would stop to buy anything anyways. they'll probably just rush on to their cars as fast as they can.

Thursday, Feb. 3

i never got around to finishing that post yesterday. i spent most of Wednesday painting the bathrooms. they'll be a very light gray, both of them, when i'm done. so i painted, listened to the radio, and drank coffee. it was nice to be all cozy in my house while it was so miserably cold out. i went to the Y and exercised for about 45 minutes before getting the kids at school. i've kind of abandoned outdoors running and taken up residence at the Y instead. hopefully i'll be ready come marathon day in two weeks.

last night we worked on Margaret's applications for middle school magnet programs. the deadline is tomorrow, and she's applying for all three, which is a lot of work. one is an all-girl's school that goes through highschool, the other is a junior high that focuses on law and humanities, and the other is a junior high that emphasises math and science. the third, Kealing, is probably the most rigorous and is located closest to us. the girl's school, Ann Richard's, is way down south, and Fulmore, the law and humanities school, is near downtown. if she gets in to any of them, she'd be bussed. most of her friends want to go to Fulmore. Brian and i aren't sure what we want for her. i think she has the grades to get in to any of them. so we wait and pray.

ladies' Bible study got cancelled for this morning, so i have a free day. i'm thinking i'll finish painting the bathrooms, maybe go have lunch with the kids, go exercise at the Y, maybe go down and visit Daddy. all before the snow gets here, the Blizzard and 2011.