My own brand of therapy

Since I haven't posted a new blog entry in awhile, I figured I'd give you a little update on my life's happenings up to this point. After the marathon, I've been feeling a little (shall we say) unfocused. After debating the matter of 'whether or not do to do another marathon', I've decided to shelve the matter for awhile and focus on other matters. Whether I want to or not, my mind has been cluttered with other thoughts. You see, my dad has been contemplating finding another potential spouse--one of whom did not work out, and another who is a promising possibility. Since its been about two years since my mom died, I know my dad is ready to find someone to share his life with and not be so terribly lonely. Its a bittersweet time for me since I am hopeful for my dad and excited for him in starting a new chapter in his life, but at the same time I am really feeling the loss of my mother. I think reality is starting to set in that she will no longer (physically) be a part of my family here on earth. Sometimes just that thought alone threatens to overwhelm me at times. As with anything in life, I've come to discover that sometimes you just have to roll with the punches and hope that each day is better than the day before. I guess what the French say is true, "C'est la vie".
On a (much) lighter note, I have been trying to occupy my time and thoughts with my newest home improvement project--the hall bathroom. I would love to do some before and after shots of the entire project, but since the 'before' shots of the bath would be too embarrassing, I will just post some 'after' shots and leave the 'before' ones to your imagination. I'm not doing a major remodel, just removing the dreadful sunflower wallpaper, repainting and replacing a light fixture. So far most of the wallpaper is gone, so my next step is to sand, repair, prime and paint the walls (all of which I do while the kids are in bed). Not only is this (hopefully) beautifying my house, but it is also constructively filling my thoughts and my time so I don't have time to feel down. So there you have it--good or bad, home remodeling/redecorating is my therapy.

Interesting Tidbits

My sweet friend, Kim, 'tagged' me to fill out a fun little survey. So, here goes. A little about me...

Two names you go by

1. Mama
2. Rooney (my sister and friends from Illinois call me that--who knows where it came from.)

Two things you are wearing right now

1. sports watch
2. my gray and black striped socks

Two of your favorite things to do

1. Spend time with Jason and the kids
2. Read (book, magazine. Whatever!)

Two things you want very badly at the moment

1. To have a personal housekeeper/chef, errand runner, etc.
2. To be able to see my sister and dad whenever I want to.

Two favorite pets you have/had

1. Sissey and Sara
2. Pepper (my cockapoo I had as a child) I guess that counts as three--oh well. :)

Two people who will fill this out

1. Deanna
2. Holly

Two things you ate today

1. A bowl of Chocolate Honeycomb cereal (yes, I do try to 'fit' chocolate in whenever I can.)
2. an apple

Two people you last talked to

1. Ashlyn
2. Layton

Two things you're doing tomorrow

1. running
2. I'm sure I will be cleaning at some point in the day (again!)

Two longest car rides

1. moving as a child from the coast of Virginia to Boulder, CO
2. Searcy, Arkansas to Naples, Florida on spring break

Two favorite holidays

1. Christmas
2. my kids' birthdays (oops, '3' again!)

Two favorite beverages

1. Diet Green Tea from Lipton
2. Coca-Cola Zero

Two favorite TV shows

1. Divine Design on HGTV
2. Toss-up between House-Hunters and Designed to Sell (also on HGTV)

A "Marathon" Entry

As promised, here are some pictures (and my account) of marathon day. Get ready, this may be a long one...

Here's a pic of my dad (who came all the way from Missouri to see me race) and me in the port-a-can line. Being a newbie at the whole marathon "thing", I was not aware that there were outrageous lines just to go to the bathroom. I actually missed my group running club picture to stand in this line before the race. The wait actually took about a half-an-hour, so I thought I'd snap a quick picture while we were in line. For those of you who have been in a race before, you know what I mean when I tell you that the port-a-cans are definitely part of the race experience.

After my long wait, I was off to the starting line (barely making it in time). What was really weird was that I said goodbye to my dad a block or two before the start line and he somehow ended up standing right next to my spot (among thousands) in line. Here's me after I spotted my dad on the sidewalk, nervously waiting to go. Having my dad there was such a comfort to me. He has always been there for me and it was really special to have him there waiting on the sidelines to see me go.
I wish I had more pictures of me actually running the race, but they wouldn't be pretty. I won't say that I wasn't smiling through some of it, but the last half of it was really more of a wincing expression on my face. My mind and my body were definitely having it out...

Here's a picture of my wonderful in-laws and kids who came along with my hubby and dad to watch me in the race. It was so wonderful to see their smiling faces. It actually gave me a second wind (for awhile) until I got tired again.

Here's me about to cross the finish line. I definitely did not feel like smiling or running for that matter, but I was determined to finish strong. It helped that my running buddy Jessica caught up with me and we crossed the line together.

I couldn't finish this post without posting my video clip crossing the finish line. I'm the one in the orange shirt with the white/black cap running/hobbling in with my friend, Jessica (who's in the turquoise sleeveless shirt).

I'll have to say this event was one of the hardest things I've ever had to voluntarily go through. There were different times during this event where I felt like 'enough is enough'! But I kept imagining my mom encouraging me (or rather, giving me a good kick in the backside) to keep on going. My only regret was that I did not do this while she was alive. I know my family and friends are all proud of me, but I especially know that she is in heaven looking down on me smiling.

Done at last!!!!

Well, it's official. I have completed my first marathon in 5 hours 1 minute and 4 seconds, and let me tell you I am tired!!! It was definitely one of the hardest things I've ever done in my life! At the end of my race, I even shed a few tears. I can definitely say that the race was an extreme mental and emotional test, not to mention a physically challenging one. I actually got to run with some of my running club friends along the way, but nothing could beat seeing my sweet family along the route. I want to thank my dear family and my friends who supported me all along my journey. More pictures to come in a later post, but right now, I'm getting some sleep!!

Calm, Cool and Collected--yeah right!

As most of you may know, I have been training for the past six months to run in my first marathon. Since this momentous occasion is to occur this Sunday, all of my running coaches, the marathon newsletters, etc. have been telling me to take it easy, don't be stressed out. Easier said than done. This week has been made for stress!
Let me give you a little rundown of this past week's events (so far!)...
Sunday evening, I realized I could not find my precious wedding ring. After countless searches through the house and the trash (Yuck--thank you, Jason!) it was nowhere to be found. After many a tear was shed and a sleepless night was to be had, I luckily found it the next day under one of the candles on my dresser--I shouldn't say 'luck' because we prayed about it at Mother's Day Out that day. Oh, speaking of Mother's Day Out...I found out at school on Tuesday that one of the kids in the other 2-year old class (next to Layton's) had head lice. So (big sigh) after thoroughly checking their hair and scalps and washing their hair I declared my kids lice-free (fingers crossed!). Am I stress-free? Not yet!
Stressful event no. 3: Since we just recently had a cold snap, I decided to turn our heater back on. What happened you might ask? Oh, nothing--just a serious burning gas smell. After we called a technician to come over to our house, he said that if the breaker had not tripped a fire could have started in our attic. AARRRRGHHHH! The remedy? Only a few thousand dollars to have it fixed. Yes, all on the eve of my marathon weekend. Tell me this week gets better...

Chewy stops the chatter...I wish!

Well, the holidays are over and my mind has been in a bit of a fog. After all the traveling, unwrapping, Christmas party-going, sorting, organizing and putting-away of all things Christmas, I realized I had been suffering from a tremendous 'blog' writer's block. My nightly dialogue (with myself--scary isn't it?!) when I did find a moment to sit at the computer had been something like this,"Should I post pictures of my holiday travels, log all of my adventures or memorable moments on my blog?""Should I write about something funny/sad/happy?" "Should I post about the New Year's resolutions that I haven't even started working towards yet?" Still feeling slightly uninspired to pen anything to paper (or in reality, type something on my computer), I decided to wait until something popped up in my head to log for future reading. After reading one of my friends blog's (thank you Holly!) of an embarrassing moment, I suddenly felt inspired. I decided I would post some very interesting experiences of mine from holiday vacation. No, it's not about sledding in Illinois, watching it snow, eating with family (at countless restaurants), visiting my Great-Aunt Agnes, who at 99 years old is my Grandpa's youngest sister--no, not anything like that. I wanted to post something that is magically found, quite often, between a mother and her children. EMBARRASSMENT!
I had the opportunity of hearing my daughter voice her honest observations on everything in the world around her. (Boy, that's a fancy way of saying it, isn't it?). This past holiday my sweet, dear daughter Ashlyn embarrassed me--BIG TIME! Once, it occurred when we were leaving a favorite eating establishment of mine, 'Steak 'n Shake'. For those of you who are not familiar with this restaurant, it is similar to Fuddruckers (probably not as fancy or good--but it's not a franchise in Texas so I just HAVE to go there when we are up to visit!) Anyhoo (back to my story), as my dad was carrying Ashlyn out of the restaurant, she calmly said 'out loud', "Grandpa, why is there fur in your boogers?" After he and I shushed her, since it was said quite plainly in front of other restaurant patrons, he laughingly replied, "Honey, that's just Grandpa's nose hair." Okay, maybe not so embarrassing (for me!) and slightly cute. But, not so long after...
Flash forward to the bathroom at a nearby Wal-Mart. I am taking Ashlyn for a potty-break before we have to get in the car and travel again from the farm in Missouri to St. Louis. As I am washing up her hands to leave the bathroom, a very large woman comes into the bathroom. As she is walking past us smiling, Ashlyn starts to say, "Mama, she's....", "Mama, she's..." not quite finding the words for what she wants to say. As I rapidly (and in a panic) tried to finish drying her hands before she got out of her mouth what I feared she'd say, the dreaded word came out (and very loudly I might add!). "Mama, she's fat. Mama, she's fat." Cue the dying inside... I was mortified! Luckily the poor woman had just walked into the stall so she wasn't looking at us when Ashlyn said it, but just the same--it was a very awkward moment! I just quickly whisked her out of the bathroom, wished to myself that I could for once be quicker helping her wash her hands, and calmly explained to her that we don't call people 'that word' because it's not a nice word and it may hurt their feelings. She just calmly answered back, "Okay, mama" and went innocently on her way, while I 'm sure that poor woman was crying to herself in the bathroom stall (okay, she may have not been crying, but I'm sure she was hurt!) After I had paced back and forth for awhile outside the bathroom debating whether or not to see if that poor woman was okay, and deciding that that would be a bad idea, I quickly rounded everyone up and booked it out of there! It was a truly embarrassing experience, but I know it is only one of many to come!

Do you ever find yourself in this situation after a very innocent, but embarrassing observation comes out of your child's mouth?