I recently had a conversation with my best friend about something I heard on Oprah years ago that has stuck with me. She stated that those people who reported the highest degree of happiness attributed their happiness to being thankful. This assessment has rarely failed to be true. While we all know someone who has it "better" than we do, we also don't have to think too hard to think of someone or many someones who are less fortunate.
As many of you who are most likely to read my blog know, my Grandad recently had a laryngectomy (removal of his voicebox). It was an eleven-hour procedure, and I still choke up sometimes to think that I'll never hear his voice again. However, I feel so fortunate to still have him alive and regaining strength and health. I have some things that I feel like I could wallow in pity about - and sometimes I do. However, keeping Oprah's statistic in mind, I continue to be thankful for the fact that Grandad will be here to dance with me at my wedding; my mom is the most real person I know, and I love that about her; Steven lights up my life and still takes my breath away; and I have three very best girlfriends (I mean, the kind of friends most people never have, and I have three!).
So while I might have bad days, exhausting weeks, and trying situations, if I begin to count my blessings one by one, I would be occupied indefinitely!
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Friday, March 6, 2009
A Good Laugh
I mean, really, what good is life if you can't have a good laugh at your own expense. Please see what I mean by visiting the following website
http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=46714&PWD=&BIB=13131
I keep pulling it up and I can't stop laughing! Seriously, was I in childbirth or something? IT WAS FIVE KILOMETERS! Get a grip, Liz!
And not nearly as ammusing, Steven's finish
http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=46714&PWD=&BIB=13132
How 'bout those windpants, though?! They should bring a smile to your face.
I'm sorry that the website will not let you use my picture as your new desktop. It would make a great addition to anyone's work space. :o)
http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=46714&PWD=&BIB=13131
I keep pulling it up and I can't stop laughing! Seriously, was I in childbirth or something? IT WAS FIVE KILOMETERS! Get a grip, Liz!
And not nearly as ammusing, Steven's finish
http://brightroom.com/view_user_event.asp?EVENTID=46714&PWD=&BIB=13132
How 'bout those windpants, though?! They should bring a smile to your face.
I'm sorry that the website will not let you use my picture as your new desktop. It would make a great addition to anyone's work space. :o)
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Not So Hot
The title of this blog is a reflection of both my performance at the Cowtown Race as well as the weather.
Last week in Waco, TX the temperature reached over 80 degrees on more than one day. I had my A/C running most of the week. It would be just my luck that approximately 16 hours before I was to run an outside race that a cold front would blow in. This wasn't a cool front either, folks; this was a COLD front, FREEZING front had there been precipitation. I was moderately prepared with capri sweats and a sweatshirt. Steven...not so much. I had warned him about the cold front, but he assured me that his running shorts and t-shirt would suffice. He, more so than I, underestimated the power of Jack Frost. By the time we arrived in Ft. Worth at 7 pm on Friday, it was frigid, and the wind was piercing. We tried to believe that our bodies in motion would keep us warm the following morning.
HMPH!
Dana and Ryan (the two friends we stayed with) came to the bedroom door at 7 am to wake us from our slumber. SEVEN A.M.!!! We were supposed to begin at 7:30, and I hadn't had any sort of breathing treatment! We would be fighting a crowd of 17 THOUSAND other racers for parking. I had no hope of making it in time, but thought we would just be stragglers with the other oversleepers. So Steven steps outside to confirm that it is in fact only 30 degrees outside (much colder when the wind chill is considered) and returned with a look of disbelief that his wardrobe selection consisted of the shorts and t's. We scrambled to leave. Ryan let Steven barrow some hunter green, unlined windpants with a hole in the knee...Steven was desperate!
So the four of us load up in Ryan's truck. It had no heater. We fought the fog on the windshield by turning on the cold air until it was unbearable. The window would defog momentarily until our witty banter fogged it up again. This pattern endured the entire way to Sundance Square.
When we arrived, parking was easier than we anticipated. We saw racers herded behind the start line and thought that we might have actually made it! We made our way into the herd only to notice that our white bibs were surrounded by blue ones. We had unintentionally joined the 5K. :o( We were pretty disappointed, but we finished the race. At one point, the 5K trail joined with the 10K and then split again. There was a volunteer directing traffic. Steven and I were shamed as the volunteer vehemently directed us to the right. Steven had to shout out to him that we overslept and were just running the 5K; I tried no form of communication as oxygen intake was my primary goal at this juncture.
It never warmed up. No matter how fast I ran or didn't run, my fingers were frost bitten and I felt frozen from head to toe. As the finish line grew nearer, we of course decided to jog it out. I believe the decision was premature because about 20-30 yards before the finish line, I felt like I couldn't run another step. It was at that time I realized why people pass out at the end of a race. I wanted to stop so badly, but there were a hundred people on the sideline cheering us on. I felt like slowing down would disappoint each one of those hundred strangers, and who wants to disappoint a hundred strangers? What an odd form of peer pressure! 40 minutes and 3 seconds after starting the race, we crossed the finish line together.
And so concludes the half-marathon training that began on December 7, 2008. However, I am inspired to try to overdo it again in the near future. I'm going to try a half-marathon at the beginning of April. I'm excited about it. I've printed out the last five weeks of Hal Higdon's training for a half. That means I will be running 4.5 miles tomorrow! Good bye failure! Hello over-ambitious!
Last week in Waco, TX the temperature reached over 80 degrees on more than one day. I had my A/C running most of the week. It would be just my luck that approximately 16 hours before I was to run an outside race that a cold front would blow in. This wasn't a cool front either, folks; this was a COLD front, FREEZING front had there been precipitation. I was moderately prepared with capri sweats and a sweatshirt. Steven...not so much. I had warned him about the cold front, but he assured me that his running shorts and t-shirt would suffice. He, more so than I, underestimated the power of Jack Frost. By the time we arrived in Ft. Worth at 7 pm on Friday, it was frigid, and the wind was piercing. We tried to believe that our bodies in motion would keep us warm the following morning.
HMPH!
Dana and Ryan (the two friends we stayed with) came to the bedroom door at 7 am to wake us from our slumber. SEVEN A.M.!!! We were supposed to begin at 7:30, and I hadn't had any sort of breathing treatment! We would be fighting a crowd of 17 THOUSAND other racers for parking. I had no hope of making it in time, but thought we would just be stragglers with the other oversleepers. So Steven steps outside to confirm that it is in fact only 30 degrees outside (much colder when the wind chill is considered) and returned with a look of disbelief that his wardrobe selection consisted of the shorts and t's. We scrambled to leave. Ryan let Steven barrow some hunter green, unlined windpants with a hole in the knee...Steven was desperate!
So the four of us load up in Ryan's truck. It had no heater. We fought the fog on the windshield by turning on the cold air until it was unbearable. The window would defog momentarily until our witty banter fogged it up again. This pattern endured the entire way to Sundance Square.
When we arrived, parking was easier than we anticipated. We saw racers herded behind the start line and thought that we might have actually made it! We made our way into the herd only to notice that our white bibs were surrounded by blue ones. We had unintentionally joined the 5K. :o( We were pretty disappointed, but we finished the race. At one point, the 5K trail joined with the 10K and then split again. There was a volunteer directing traffic. Steven and I were shamed as the volunteer vehemently directed us to the right. Steven had to shout out to him that we overslept and were just running the 5K; I tried no form of communication as oxygen intake was my primary goal at this juncture.
It never warmed up. No matter how fast I ran or didn't run, my fingers were frost bitten and I felt frozen from head to toe. As the finish line grew nearer, we of course decided to jog it out. I believe the decision was premature because about 20-30 yards before the finish line, I felt like I couldn't run another step. It was at that time I realized why people pass out at the end of a race. I wanted to stop so badly, but there were a hundred people on the sideline cheering us on. I felt like slowing down would disappoint each one of those hundred strangers, and who wants to disappoint a hundred strangers? What an odd form of peer pressure! 40 minutes and 3 seconds after starting the race, we crossed the finish line together.
And so concludes the half-marathon training that began on December 7, 2008. However, I am inspired to try to overdo it again in the near future. I'm going to try a half-marathon at the beginning of April. I'm excited about it. I've printed out the last five weeks of Hal Higdon's training for a half. That means I will be running 4.5 miles tomorrow! Good bye failure! Hello over-ambitious!
Thursday, February 26, 2009
On Your Mark
For the past three months I have been training for a half-marathon. Impressed, are you? Don't be. I use the term "training" very loosely. The first month went incredibly well: calendar on the fridge, boxes to check when assigned workout was completed (and most were). And then something happened. Partly was that I got a bad case of allergies or cold or something, but that's no excuse! So needless to say, I have reduced my expectation to a 10K...hey, it's still over 6 miles...and my training is now only mental. I tell myself everyday, "Don't worry. You won't die. It's not like you have to run the whole thing. Completion is the goal."
That's right ladies and gents. I have adequately prepared myself for a substandard performance.
Cowtown, here I come!
That's right ladies and gents. I have adequately prepared myself for a substandard performance.
Cowtown, here I come!
Sunday, February 15, 2009
IOU one
This blog is redeemable for a bath with Liz. Get your heads out of the gutter!
I promised Mandi that I would blog once a week. Knowing that my promises (at least about blogging) are worthless, I told her to provide a consequence if I did not. That consequence was that I had to come bathe the kiddos. Well, I know she was being a sweet friend by not calling me out last week when I came over to do my taxes. I know she thought about it at least once, and even gave the kids their bath while I was there! But nary a word was said.
So chica, whenever you read this, I suspect that you will be glad to redeem it. Although you know you'll wanna give me one lesson before you let me loose, I can't wait to get me feet wet! (pun intended)
I promised Mandi that I would blog once a week. Knowing that my promises (at least about blogging) are worthless, I told her to provide a consequence if I did not. That consequence was that I had to come bathe the kiddos. Well, I know she was being a sweet friend by not calling me out last week when I came over to do my taxes. I know she thought about it at least once, and even gave the kids their bath while I was there! But nary a word was said.
So chica, whenever you read this, I suspect that you will be glad to redeem it. Although you know you'll wanna give me one lesson before you let me loose, I can't wait to get me feet wet! (pun intended)
He Lies to Me!
My S.O. (significant other) has told me a lie many times.
He tells me I'm beautiful. Yes, he has his corrective lenses in. Yes, he is trustworthy in every other regard. But beautiful? I am hardly deserving of such a compliment. But he is so persistent that I'm starting to believe that his words are in fact sincere.
Most who know me know that I am confident, although I hope not conceited. On the best of days, my short stature and chubby cheeks merit the description of "cute." I'm not gorgeous, simply well-maintained (again, at best). Somehow, I have deceived one poor soul into believing that I am beautiful! And so he gives me butterflies, and that's no lie.
He tells me I'm beautiful. Yes, he has his corrective lenses in. Yes, he is trustworthy in every other regard. But beautiful? I am hardly deserving of such a compliment. But he is so persistent that I'm starting to believe that his words are in fact sincere.
Most who know me know that I am confident, although I hope not conceited. On the best of days, my short stature and chubby cheeks merit the description of "cute." I'm not gorgeous, simply well-maintained (again, at best). Somehow, I have deceived one poor soul into believing that I am beautiful! And so he gives me butterflies, and that's no lie.
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