Ordinary

I realize this pic's a little blurry, but I think you get the idea.  If you're not sure...yes, that's me, working out in a weight room.  What you can't tell is that it's at the fire station.  And I have muscles.  No one is more surprised than I am.  :-) 

We work out.  We go to work.  We do ordinary things like shop at the grocey store and dance in the aisles. We watch the Lady Bears not show up in the Final Four game, and hang out with dear, sweet friends.  And I love it all.  {I must admit, that someties I do get a little distracted by something shiny on my hand, but I'm good with that.} 

This week I had the privelege of hanging out with Chef Sarah, who's in town from London.  Catching up on her exciting life overseas was such a treat.  Tonight is dinner with SMoo, and then a very special girls weekend with most of my nearest and dearest.  I. Can't. Wait.

Good for the Soul

{My flowers came with me to work.  They are so happy and make me smile!}

There are some things that are especially good for the soul. Things that make you stop and appreciate the moment.  Things that cause you to pause and be thankful. 

Yesterday Adam and I ran together for the first time in a month.  Adam's been hurt, and yesterday we got to jog again.  The weather was beautiful, and we braved the wind.  We talked as we ran about how we'd missed running alongside each other.  He commented how great it felt to run, and that it was good for the soul.  (So I'm taking his words and running with them.  No pun intended.)

I left Adam's last night quite full: a full tummy, a full heart and full hands (he gave me those pretty pink flowers).  :-) We fed the ducks at sunset and made friends with the locals who come to do this every day.  It was a day especially good for the soul.

After all that, I had a slumber party with my mom and my aunt.  We stayed up 'til almost midnight catching up.  It was some good girl time. (But we missed you, Anna!)  It, too, was good for the soul.

And Fridays are definitely good for the soul--anticipating the weekend ahead and the adventures to be had. 

Happy Friday, friends.

Monday Letters

{Sunday lunch with la familia @ Chili's}

Dear Troy, having you home this weekend has been so much fun.  Yesterday sitting around with Mom and Dad helping you craft your resume will always be a funny and sweet memory.  I'm so excited about the opportunities you'll have in some snazzy summer internship.  Dear church friends, it's always nice to come back to visit.  I love it when we can catch up & it's as if time never passed.  I think this spot will always feel like home.  Dear AMP, I'm excited about our new project.  Hopefully our adventures to Home Depot will not resemble last night's dream I had where the store turned into Willy Wonka's chocolate factory maze.  And here's to more Springtime runs, bike rides and impromptu dance parties.  Dear Barnes & Noble, I love getting lost between the bookshelves...even if "everyone" is reading on iPads and Kindles now.  I don't think that will ever get old.  SMoo, I treasure our conversations.  Thanks for being such an insightful friend.  I so glad you're here!  Dear weekend, come again soon, ok??

Marathon Man: Disney Style

Last Sunday, Dad finished 26.2 miles, and we couldn't be more proud!

Finished!!

There's another photo of me, SMoo and Dad running when we met up with him at mile 23 (our 6 mile plan was thwarted by the super-controlled Disney race map), but it's not loading at the moment.  We ran with him to the end and got to be there as he crossed the finish line.

He pushed through and made it, despite the unexpected knee and hip pain that began on mile 12.  We got text updates at miles 5, 10, 13.2 and 20, so we kind of knew where he was.  Isn't modern technology grand?! 

We caught him coming out of MGM/Hollywood Studios, and I swear I looked like a complete idiot jumping up and down, yelling, "Go Dad!  Woohoo!  Come on Gary!"  It was really exciting, and I didn't care.  Everyone around us started cheering, too.  SMoo and I jumped in (which is technically banditing a run!) and got to run behind Disney and through Epcot.  We tried to come up with anything and everything imaginable to talk about and try and keep Dad's mind occupied.  I'm pretty sure I even said, "Look!  There's England!  Hey, We're in France!" as we were running through all the countries.  At least we tried.

After you cross the finish line, they give you a space blanket to stay warm, then your medal, and then you stop at the medical tent. They have people ready to help you with ice packs.  We determined that saran-wrap is only good for attaching ice packs to knees, nothing else!  Dad said if he could've run with those, that would've been perfect!

The whole experience was really inspiring.  Mom was saying that as an adult, you don't have many opportunities to hear people cheering you on like it was happening on race day.  People were lining the route, and everyone had names on their bibs, so you could cheer for them by name, even if you didn't know them.  Mom, SMoo and I nearly froze as we waited, but we kept warm by jumping up and down and walking along the route waiting for Dad and cheering others on.  We even got a few Delta should outs, since SMoo was wearing a DDD fleece.  Fun stuff.   

SMoo is ready to run the half marathon there, but I haven't quite caught the bug yet.  I'm just going to stick to my 5k for now and hopefully add a 10k this year. 

Dad, we are so proud of you!  Thanks for letting us tag along and visit Disney World with you.  Love you bunches.

Five For Friday

Happy Friday, friends!  Here are Five things from my week:

1.  Wednesday's Girls' night with Gentry, Molly, Smoo and Claire was so much fun.  I'm thinking we'll have to make it a more regular occurance! {Photo coming soon} 2.  I loved this Valentine's poem and photos from author John Piper to his wife.  I realize it's only January, but I just happened upon it and thought I'd share.  3.  Thursday night, Adam and I ran the longest I've ever run!  And then we had spaghetti--it never tasted so good.  I'm getting ready to leave this afternoon for Disney World to finish the last 6 miles of my dad's marathon with him.  We are excited!  SMoo is coming along to run and be my roller coaster buddy--mom and dad opted out of that part.  :-)  4.  I designed my new blog header on Monday, and the Bible Verse in it is from the NET Bible.  I thought it was fitting for January.  {And if you want help desiging a blog-topper or just help with your blog design in general, let me know.  I'd really love to help!} 5.  MCP Actions is starting Project 52, where you upload a photo each week to  flicr account, in hopes that practice will help us improve over time.  I'm going to try it, so we'll see!

Mickey, here I come!

A Christmas Date

Dear AMP, thanks for stretching my Christmas out as long as possible.  Giving me your Christmas gift in Iowa let me anticipate our Christmas date, which I loved.  {The anticipation and the date!}  After a long run, I think we clean up pretty well!  Dinner at Spaghetti Warehouse was delicious.  And then we got to the Meyerson Symphony Center downtown feeling oh-so-cultured.  We settled into our wonderful seats and the performance began.

I think my eyes were as wide as saucers the entire time, 

my smile even bigger.    

Mannheim Steamroller was amazing...nothing compares to live music, especially in the symphony hall.  I think half of the time I was thinking how cool it was to be there, and the other half was wondering how I found a guy that makes me feel so special (all the time!).

Highlights

via

This has been a fabulous week--and I don't want to forget it.  Corner Bakery provided some much-welcomed laughter and sweet time with the most fabulous date on Sunday evening.  Tuesday brought my longest run ever, and it was even great running in the cold.  Walking back into the smell of ribs in the crockpot was divine (I'd highly recommend it).  And then getting bundled up for a Starbucks run and a light show set to music made for a magical part of Christmas with AMP.  An impromptu lunch with Sarah at La Madeleine was such a treat on Wednesday.  Today, I left my purse in a Walmart  shopping cart, and they went to great lengths to track me down.  Grateful for the good samaritan who found it.  I think I must've been thinking about a 4-day weekend that's about to start right...now!

THREE Trees

I got into the holiday spirit very quickly last weekend and put up three trees in about 36 hours.  Crazy, right?

I started Friday morning after Thanksgiving with my mom.  (And by morning, I totally mean around noon...)  I walked downstairs, and my parents had already pulled all the Christmas stuff down from the attic and the big tree was in place in the den.

The past few years, we've done two 3-foot trees, which are just smaller and more manageable, so imagine my surprise to see the big tree ready and waiting for decorations!  Mom and I had a great time listening to Christmas music and decorating the tree.

We have this fun tradition of getting an ornament anytime we travel, so it was fun to remember the trips we've been on.  The oldest ornament might be the "ALOHA" one cross-stitched from when my parents went to Hawaii when they were first married.  Pretty cute!

Friday afternoon, I headed to Adam's.  We ran, and the weather was beautiful!  We were passing this one spot on the lake about sunset, and tons of ducks and geese were gathered at the edge.  We went over to look, and a van pulled up soon after.  Apparently Charles works for the city, and he comes every day to feed them, and these birds know it.  (So smart.)  We learned all about the African geese, the Chinese geese and the newest additions, the two Canadian geese that had just arrived (My personal faves).  They ate bread out of our hands.  It was kind of surreal, and definitely one of my favorite memories.  

After dinner at Chili's, a Starbucks stop and putting the Christmas music on, we got out the tree!  It was so fun.  I loved this day.

There really are ornaments on the tree, but they're just a bit hard to see in this pic...

 

Saturday, Claire and I came back to our apartment after spending the weekend with our families.  It was so fun to catch up and hear what went on.  I was reminded again how much I love living with her!  

We pulled out our tree, and this year, Claire was able to add LOTS of ornaments!  Last year, she started out with six, and by the end of the holidays, she'd been given lots more by her adoring students.  It was so fun to pull them all out and remember how we got them.

My mom's mom, "Nanny," used to give us an ornament each year, so that when we grew up and had a tree of our own, we'd have lots to hang up.  Well, her plan worked, because I have 24 year's worth of ornaments now!  I also started collecting them when I travel, and I have one from almost every country I visited in Europe.  It was really funny to try and find ornaments in some places, but always and adventure! 

Surprisingly, I'm not tired of trees or Christmas music yet!  Good thing, since it's the beginning of December.  This truly is one of my favorite times of the year.  I'm loving it!

How Sweet It Is...

Have you ever had a moment where you step back and realize your life is really sweet?
Like, really, really good?
Today was one of those days for me.

Today reminded me how much I have to be thankful for.
Today I got to have a really great lunch with my Dad.
Today I got to run in the cold weather with Adam and talk.
Today I got some time to myself to think.

Tomorrow I have lunch with a dear, sweet friend.
Saturday I will celebrate being alive 24 years with some of my nearest and dearest.
Wednesday I will continue that with my family--I like to drag out the celebration as long as possible...
Thursday my family will all get together under one roof and celebrate being especially Thankful.

And while most of us haven't had actual locusts eat away at us, I'm certain we can all think of times when things weren't going so great, and we were wondering what in the heck was going on.  I love that God restores things.  In His way, and in His time.

I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten— 

   the great locust and the young locust, 

   the other locusts and the locust swarm— 

my great army that I sent among you. 

 You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, 

   and you will praise the name of the LORD your God, 

   who has worked wonders for you; 

never again will my people be shamed. 

 Then you will know that I am in Israel, 

   that I am the LORD your God, 

   and that there is no other; 

never again will my people be shamed.

Joel 2:25-27

Now that's really something to be thankful for.

Haiti Makes me Think

When I heard about the earthquake in Haiti last January, I couldn't even pronounce the country's name properly.  Embarrassing?  A bit.  Now, almost every day, it is in my face, in some way, shape or form.

Sometimes I have really wild dreams.  A few months ago, I dreamed that I was with a Baylor friend, teaching school where she and her husband are in Port-au-Prince.  One scene was me at the school with the kids, and the next thing I know, Adam is there and we're looking for a place to run.  I looked at him and said, "Adam, we can't run in the slums!"  But we did anyways, and we ran past tent cities and crumbling buildings.  So there I was, running.  In Haiti.  Whoa.  Talk about mind-blowing.

There's another family teaching at this same school, the Hendricks.  They have four boys and just uprooted their life and moved in August.  The mom, Heather, never fails to make me think.  Today she wrote about the "thankful tree" that she just hung up in their house.  She tore off the leaves from last year with things that her family had written on them.  And today, she posted this:

"As I was hanging our Thankful Tree on our wall in Haiti, I had to first remove last year's leaves. It was sweet to read what each of us had written.  We were thankful for things like frogs, cheese, forgiveness, chicken-n-dumplings, friends, mornings we get to sleep in.  As I was ripping off the used leaves, I whispered to the Lord..."I'm sorry.  I had no idea last year that we should be thankful for unlimited access to clean, running water.  24 hour electricity.  For a country filled with healthy churches pastored by men who love God and humbly preach the truth of God's Word.  For a government that builds libraries and roads and provides an education for its people.  That women and children are protected,not perfectly, but it's at least on our government's radar.  I'm sorry for not even thinking about how blessed we are to have three meals a day and a roof over our heads.  God forgive me.  I didn't know."


So during this month where we are especially reminded to be thankful, I'm reminded to be grateful for so many things I take for granted--especially things like water and electricity.  Today, I'm incredibly thankful for Haiti and those serving there.  Thank you for reminding me to get out of my bubble, to face reality and really become more aware of what's happening around me.  

Friday Fun

Lunch at Chili's.  The taste of Dr. Pepper and a bacon cheese burger.  (Can't beat it.)  Two games at Top Golf.  A beautiful day for a little competition.  You would never know I took three semesters of golf at Baylor.  (I'm horrible.)  A trip to Target for some socks, which turned into a hunt for jeans.  Unsuccessful with the jeans, but a fun trip, nonetheless.  I typically don't end up in the guys clothing section.  It was fun to spice things up a bit.    Watching "Cake Boss," just for the heck of it.    Crunches and push ups (It's a new addition to my workouts.  Mostly only fun to do when Adam's around.  Shocking, I know.)  A Night Run.  The smell of firewood, the cool air, the smooth water on the lake, the view of Downtown all lit up.  Definitely my favorite run I've ever done.  I'm a fan of this cool weather running.  Mac and Cheese for dinner.  Watching the Rangers playoff game.  (Too bad they lost.)  It's amazing what all you can do when you have a half day off from work.  I loved every minute.  

(This was actually taken another half day I was able to take in May.  We went to Six Flags.  Have I mentioned that I love half days?  Fun things always seem to happen.)

A Full Fall Weekend

Dear 5k, thanks for letting me kick your booty this weekend.  It felt good.  Dear Adam, thanks for circling back after finishing your race to run with me.  Running next to you never gets old...except for when I'm really tired.  :-)  And I really like this picture of us.  I think we'd make a pretty good three-legged race team.  Just sayin'. PS--I'm proud of you for winning in your age group.  You're a stud.

I'm pretty sure Adam was saying, 

"Shay, go kick his butt. Don't let an old man beat you again."  

This time, I didn't.  Thanks for the nudge.

(I found these photos here...just for the record.)

Dear AMP, after the race you made pancakes and added special ingredients.  They were so yummy.  And when I asked for a Mickey Mouse pancake that turned into a Baylor Bear, I'm pretty sure it was the reason they beat Kansas that day.  Sic' em.

Dear Chef Sarah, thanks for planning a girls' night out.  Without your party planning expertise, we would've missed watching the DART train at Twisted Root Burger Co...

and Sara Bareilles in concert.  And that would've been a shame, for sure.  

{Claire, Stephanie, Smoo, Me and Sarah}

Oh, Sara B.  You were a great entertainer and a wonderful musician.  

Thank you for acknowledging that getting to do what you love for a living is a wonderful thing. 

Dear Pumpkins, you make our apartment look more like Fall.  

I loved getting goosebumps from the breeze as I picked you out at Whole Foods on Sunday.  

How was your weekend?  Did it feel like Fall to you??

Grumpy to Grateful

This afternoon I was quite grumpy.  My day did not turn out like I had planned. (Shocking, right?)  I mentioned this to a friend who said, "Sometimes we feel grumpy when we forget to be grateful."  She was right.

I flipped through my pictures, some old and some new, and found several people and experiences that I was grateful for recently.  And I'm already feeling better.  I posted a similar story here last October about my mom singing "Count Your Blessings" to us whenever we complained.  Once again, it turns out she was right.

Here's what I'm thankful for today, at this moment:

{Amanda's wedding, August 2009}

I got to see Amanda two days in a row, since she was in town for work.  

{Baylor Basketball game, last season}

I had lunch with my cousins, aunt and uncle and a few others, on Sunday.  It was so. much. fun.  And we all know I love them.  My aunt and uncle just moved back here, so I'm excited to see them more often.

Because I didn't want her to feel left out, here's my cousin, Anna.  I've always liked this picture.  Maybe because we were just so goofy.  This was on a ski trip when my hair was braid-able...so a long time ago!

{My 22nd birthday lunch}

I had a nice little phone chat with my dad today.  It was sweet.

I got to catch up with Katie on the phone on Monday night.  Loved it.  

She starts teaching school this week.  So fun!

Papa and I had a little text session last night.  I love that he can text.  

And I also love this pic from earlier this summer when Troy was in town.  They love each other.  

And I love them. 

I'm looking forward to dinner with this chicky tomorrow night!

Isn't he just the sweetest dog ever?  

Tonight I had a good catch-up chat with Claire, and she let me play in her makeup.  She loves anything sparkly.  I watched her put on four different shades of shimmer this evening.  Hilarious.

  

These flowers next to my sink greet me every morning.  They are still so pretty after more than two weeks!  They make me smile when I think that this guy gave them to me...

AMP:  You make me laugh. 

I'm thankful for our run in the rain sprinkles 

last night, and the "dinner of athletes."  It was yummy.  

Thanks for being my most faithful reader.  

So now I'm feeling a lot more grateful--thanks for reading down this far!  :-)  My lesson for today: gratefulness often outweighs grumpiness.

Today's Letters

In the style of Today's Letters...

Dear Tahoe, yesterday you hit 100,000 miles.  Thanks for toting me back and forth from Waco to home so many times during college, and now from work to home for almost a year.  Someday if I get a dog, I think I'll name it Tahoe.  Because I like you that much.  Dear day-off from work, I thoroughly enjoyed you.  Please come again soon.  Dear Papa, I'm glad I caught you between all your many travels.  Lunch with you was sweet, funny and entertaining, as usual.  Dear College Football, I'm so glad you're back.  You provide such a great soundtrack for fall weather, afternoon naps, and lots of school spirit.  Dear New Running Kicks, I'm really grateful for you, because now my little toes don't hurt when I run.  Dear Roomdog, glad we got to catch up last night, slumber-party-style.  I've missed you.  Dear AMP, spending yesterday with you was a great way to enjoy beautiful weather and running in the park.  Loved every minute.  

Happy Weekend!

1 Graduation + 1 (2 Mile) Relay + 1 Pup = 2.5 days of Weekend Fun

This past Friday, Adam graduated from the Fire Academy, so that makes him an official fire fighter and paramedic now, after a year and a half of training!

{All the guys wore their Dress Blue Uniforms for graduation...so handsome!}

We celebrated all weekend long with this delicious cake that Adam's parents brought down from Iowa.  (They brought corn, too, haha.  It was seriously the prettiest corn I've ever seen.  I haven't tasted any (yet!) but it looks delicious.  Seriously...don't laugh!)

It's crazy to think that when Adam was moving down here in October 2008, I was here with these sweet friends, not knowing what life would look like after Baylor.

{Me with Katie and Smoo--Fall, 2008}

During that time, we made tons of good memories and are still close friends.  It's comforting to know that some things stay the same, and yet some things change...

Like me running a two-mile relay with Adam last Saturday!  

It was quite a challenge, and I was so nervous.  We walked up to this much larger event than my first 5k, and there were all these RUNNERS there.  (As in legit runners who've done this before.)  I was really intimidated and didn't say much at all. 

Adam ran the first and last legs of the relay, and I ran the middle part of it.  I knew it would be different than the 5k because the course was on grass and dirt, not to mention trying to run with a baton.  There were hay bales to jump over, and it was super hot.  It was hilly, too, and I ended up walking more than I anticipated.  Needless to say, I was frustrated at myself during my two miles because I walked a bit.  And I stepped in a pile of ants, too.  Oh man.

BUT, we finished, and Adam told me afterwards that I ran my two miles in 20 minutes and 30 seconds.  I was shocked!  Seriously.  (By the way...he ran his much faster!)  Apparently my nerves and frustration had quite the effect on my running ability!  

In the end, I was really glad we ran, and it was fun to do together.  :-)  And now I can say I've done a relay!  Last time, I didn't get to keep my number, but I did on Saturday!  It's the little things in life, right?

Speaking of little things...the rest of the weekend was just really relaxing and low-key.  It was so nice not having anything much planned!  I stayed at my parent's house and took care of Skippy while they were out of town.

My favorite thing is when I walk out the garage, and he usually follows me right to this spot.   He peeks his head around the corner and just sees me to the door.  Such a gentleman, that Skippy!  So ignore the laundry basket and toilet paper...welcome to our real life.  :-)  I just wanted to capture Skippy Dog and the little things he does.  Isn't he sweet??

A Scare and A Surprise

This morning certainly started out with a twist.  I went running since it's about 20 degrees cooler at 6:30 a.m. compared to running at night.  Anyone else ready for Fall??

Well, I had my iPod in, and I had turned around to come back home.  I was on a road with lots of cars and felt safe.  Until someone came up and grabbed me and wrapped me in a hug.  I screamed.  I'm sure everyone at the stoplight wasn't certain what to think.  

It was Lyndsy.  I saw her running in the neighborhood yesterday on my way to work, and then we got to run together for just a little bit today!  It was quite a treat.  Unless you count the part where she scared the living daylights out of me.  But I'll forgive her.

{In the Swiss Alps in 2009!  Lyndsy is on the left.}

When we studied abroad in Europe together, she would run every.single.morning.  Even when it was super cold (which pretty much ended up being evey day.)  The only running I did was to catch a train or two along the way.  In fact, we almost missed most of our trains by a few seconds.  Good thing I could keep up with the Baylor track star! 

She's studying pretty much all the time for Physical Therapy school, so it was an unexpected treat to get to see her this morning.  Emhpasis on the unexpected.  :-)  Who knew that I'd have to be running in order to see her!

My First 5k!

Sunday morning, bright and early, I got up to run my first 5k.  I didn't sleep much the night before because I was nervous and excited. 

Claire and I left around 6:30 and got there with plenty of time to spare.  Adam met us there, and as we were waiting, we thought we might be the youngest runners there.  Seriously, everyone that got there early was OLD!  {Like 80.  No joke.}

Soon enough, more people started coming, so that made me feel better!

 

Of course, I forgot to see if my camera was charged, so it's a good thing I had my iPhone (yet another reason to really like it!). 

 

{Claire and I pre-race!}

{With my running coach!}

{Rockin' our iPods.  Go Team.}

 

 

Adam snapped some photos as we were running and ran alongside us throughout the race. 

I've been running at about a 12:30 pace, and I was SHOCKED to get to the first mile after only 10 minutes.  Talk about an adrenaline rush!  I walked briefly two times, just to have a break for a second, but I was always eager to get running again.

As I came up to the finish line, this old man had been running a behind me.  He said, "Come on kid, kick it in gear!"  And then blazed past me to the finish.  Needless to say I hurried up!

 

 

{All Smiles!}

Here I am just crossing the finish line at 32:46!!!  It was a really exciting moment!  My goal was to finish under 40 minutes, and I blew past that.  I really had no idea that would happen!

 

 

 {Sweaty post-race pics with our medals!}

I went from running 2 minutes to 32 minutes, thanks to Adam, and I can hardly still believe it! 

Claire and I were home by 9:30, and we both felt like we'd accomplished so much already for the day!  I took my time showering and getting ready, and I even tried to take a nap, but I was just too pumped for that. 

We joined Mom, Dad and Papa for lunch at Houlihan's, and it was so delicious.  Mom and Dad gave me this card, and inside was a running ribbon I'd received in elementary school.  Our P.E. teacher kept track of how many miles we ran, and every 5 mile incriments, we'd get a little ribbon and post it by our name.  Mom found one and stuck it inside the card.  :-)

 

 

 

 

And then we most definitely ordered dessert!  But we did share it with the whole table.  Promise. 

After lunch, Claire and I did a little shoe shopping (I'm convinced it's a great way to recover from a run), hanging out, and nail painting.  And then I'd been instructed to wear a dress and be ready for a fancy dinner that night.  :-)

 

Adam picked me up, and we went to Jaspar's for dinner to celebrate my first 5k.  So incredibly delicious.  We had their blue cheese potato chips, chicken and porkloin and then creme brulee and cherrly limeade pie for dessert.  Whoa.  I was still full when I woke up Monday morning.  And that never happens.

 

 

 

This is definitely my favorite picture right now. 

Needless to say, I spent the whole day feeling very encouraged, loved and celebrated!  I received so many texts, messages and Facebook comments from friends and family.  They know that this was a huge accomplishment for the previously non-runner-Shay.  But now, I guess I'm officially a runner!  And I'm already planning to do my next 5k very soon, and hopefully in under 30 minutes.  We shall see!