too long since i last blogged. i'm just never in the writing mood these days. well, actually i have been in the writing mood, but those thoughts have gone into an old journal of mine that i recently found, one that i'd kept before i began blogging many years ago. ever since i was a wee one i've kept a journal, except that back then i called it a diary. i don't know where all those went. i guess my parents have them in a box somewhere since i can't remember taking them with me when i moved out and married. when i started keeping a blog on xanga, whenever that was (5, 6 7 years ago?), my private journaling fell off. i aim to resurrect that part of journaling though.

we're coming into the home stretch of school. many subjects are near completion and some we've been finished with for a couple of weeks. there is such a sense of accomplishment that we made it through the school year! i'm so proud of my chickadees for patiently enduring under my tutelage! 

i registered for my 7th marathon. October 26th is the day. Brian made a running schedule for me, and i don't have to begin my training in earnest until July. i've only been running short distances lately. we've run several 5K's lately, but i'm taking my precious time getting my speed back. i'm still running 5K's in the 25 min. range and feeling like i have weights on my feet. Margaret and Samuel are a few minutes faster than me now.

we have talked and talked and talked about moving and not moving. we have just not been able to make up our minds. we got our tax assessment for the year and our value went down $20K! i know those numbers don't mean much in the whole scheme of things, but that, along with other things make us think we need to hang on to our place for awhile longer.

my mom just came and took the four big kids until tomorrow evening. she also took Thomas and Mer's two bigger ones. Brian and i are about to go over to the park to get some exercise. i'm looking forward to a little r&r and some time to look over school stuff. even so, anytime the kids go away for the night, i miss them a lot. it hasn't always been this way. when they were younger i didn't miss them as much. sad but true.

it's now monday afternoon. Brian and i had a really nice time out last night. we went for a long walk in the Crestview neighborhood, then shared a mimosa pitcher at Thunderbird Coffee. Hazel kept us up too late with her singing. i had intended to do a 7 mile run at the trail this morning, but was so tired that i ended up run/walking it.

i have several good books i'm reading right now. here are a few of them ~










i'm going to cut this post short and submit it before it drags on another day and becomes old news and i decide not to post it.

cheerio, my friends!

Youth would be an ideal state if it came a little later in life.

- Herbert Henry Asquith