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miscellany

Here we go again.

1. Did I mention that I cannot wait until Summer? Besides the obvious increase in temps and decrease in Seasonal Affective Disorder, we have two biggies coming our way:

two big reasons to love summer 2009
In reality, I'd settle for a true Spring day instead of this winter crap.
It's been snowing on and off all weekend and even my northern husband is ready to check real estate in Florida. The final straw? Our run down by the lakefront today.

You see, we knew it would be cold [high in the low 30s] and windy [we could see the stoplights swaying in the wind on the way down]. But we had no idea how bad Lake Michigan had it out for us. Our training program called for 11 miles and we were all about it, but honestly Mother Nature and her evil friend The Lake laughed at those plans. When we stepped out of our car and promptly saw a woman's hat fly off her head we knew we were in trouble. When some crunchy dead leaves slammed into our legs at approximately 2556 miles per hour we questioned our sanity. As we took off down the path the wind was blowing so hard against us that we were practically running in place. I have never experienced such strong gusts of bitter cold wind nor do I ever plan to expose myself to elements like these again.

The best part was when Nate abruptly turned around mid-stride and said, "Welp, eff this, " and started trotting back to the car. I was so confused and yet incredibly relieved at his decision to abort mission. Our skin was bright red, our noses were snotty, and we were mumbling obscenities by the end of our 11-turned-4.5 mile run. We decided to reward ourselves with Alterra coffee anyway because we deserved it.

Note to self: it's a bad sign when you only see one other poor soul running at the lakefront. Sometimes you just have to listen to your gut and call it quits, lesson learned.

2. We have a lot of red wine right now, for no reason in particular except that it rules. So I took a bunch of pictures on a day that actually came with sunshine:

AA much?

ah, cedarburg

flare and a funky llama

come into the light

3. Henry and Nate are at their wits end with me and my camera. They are taking some much needed time off from their lives in the spotlight and so I am forced to turn to another subject: myself, without makeup, pre-run. I know, what was I thinking? But I see so many cool self portraits on Flickr and never tire of using my new lens, so I figured what the heck. I could always use another profile pic at some point.

behind a white dog 2

find the light

softer

And those awesome frames? I found them at MCP actions for free. I love actions, especially free ones, and I think I might ask the birthday fairy for a set of 'real' ones. I just can't decide which ones to get. Any suggestions?

4. Project 'Album of 2009' is coming along nicely and I feel less overwhelmed by the ridiculous number of pictures I've taken this year now that I'm almost caught up. I really think that making my 2009 pages for our yearly album as the year passes is one of my best ideas yet. And I love using blog posts for text. Here are a few of my recent faves:
029and030

037and038

041and042

043and044

If you cannot read the quote on the Henry page, get ready to tear up. It says, "He is your friend, your partner, your defender, your dog. You are his life, his love, his leader. He will be yours, faithful and true, to the last beat of his heart. You owe it to him to be worthy of such devotion."

This was a quote I found by an anonymous author on some random website as I searched for cute doggy sayings to add in our album. I have no idea why this quote makes my throat tighten up but it does. It also makes me want to rub Henry's little belly until he passes out from happiness because sometimes I love that little butt head so much it hurts. :::sob:::

5. Laura posted about the movie Spirit of the Marathon. I immediately wanted to watch it and I must say that it almost made me tear up a few times, too. Why am I such a sap these days? Watch this trailer and tell me you aren't inspired:



It follows 5 runners as they train for the Chicago 2005 marathon. Some are elite runners who blow my freaking mind [running 145 miles in a week? Seriously?], some are first-timers who make me reminiscent of last October 5, and some are trying to qualify for Boston [crazies!]. If you watch this movie I think you will understand why people run marathons. In fact, it tipped the scales a little bit further towards me running another full marathon. Both Nate and I are seriously considering Chicago 2009. Seriously. But the whole part about 40,000 other runners potentially trampling me to death kind of freaks me out. And excites me. The $125 entry fee worries me and the time commitment bothers me.....and I think we're gonna do it. But we'll see.

Nothing like being wishy-washy, huh?

6. We have a very busy but fun month ahead of us:

Next weekend: Tailgating in a party tent for a Brewers vs. Cubs game. Squeezing in a 12 miler {weather-permitting}, and Easter brunch. Yum! Fun!

The next weekend: world's quickest trip to STL for a little thing we like to call a 'half marathon' with friends.

The next weekend: celebrate my birth:)

The next weekend: a slightly longer trip to STL for Kristen's wedding.

Holla! I love fun-filled months and I'm sure it will fly by at record speed.

7. Henry reverted back to being a puppy yesterday as he bit a hole through one of our blankets. Excuse me? Since when to dogs who are nearly four years old do such things? I think it's his way of protesting the weather, too.

And that's all I got for now. I must attend to the 15 loads of laundry that await me in a damp, stinky pile full of nastiness. How is it that two people can produce such an obscene amount of dirty clothes in a mere week? It never ends. Laundry and grocery shopping---my eternal nemeses. Does anyone actually like these chores? Can I pay you to do ours?

16 comments:

  1. Ha! I recognize a few bottles of Two Buck Chuck there in your collection. We always have a few bottles as well as a back up.

    You should totally do Chicago. Definitely.

    Hate grocery shopping. Hate it.

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  2. Finally getting around to commenting. I love your blog and have been lurking for awhile :) Anyways, I really appreciate your posts about running. Specifically, for all us non-runners out there. I ran for probably about 2-3 months one summer (no joke) and loved it but fell off the bandwagon. So I would love posts about how to get started (baby steps!). Things like stretching, dealing with injuries, breathing (a challenge always for me), and most importantly - getting started! I have looked around online and it's information overload. So I think coming from you (someone that has actually been there did that!) would be much more encouraging. Thanks and keep up the pics!

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  3. Since seeing Laura's post about that marathon documentary, I've been wanting to check it out too! Not that I have an interest in running a marathon - just love a good documentary.

    And dang, busy weekends ahead. fun stuff though - warm weather is ahead! :)

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  4. Umm...When do I get to come and help you finish off those bottles of red wine?
    And, I love your self portraits. You're gorgeous - up close and without much make up. I'm jealous.

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  5. Haven't clicked over here from GR in awhile - love the new header! The scrapbook pages look great - those Christmas light pics you took are my favorites!

    And mmmmmmmm wine.

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  6. LOVE Charles Shaw wine. Love grocery shopping. Hate laundry.

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  7. Love the scrapbook pages. I really need to get back started on mine. I am feeling soooo overwhelmed with all that I have to do that I keep putting it off. Grocery shopping is the bane of my existence.

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  8. Spring will not arrive until 3 days before my baby. How's that for sketchy lol.

    Too funny that Nate just up and made the decision to stop the run. I no longer question your sanity now lol.

    Run Chicago. Like the wind.

    Your album looks great, as do you sans makeup pre-run.

    I have a great suggestion for actions! But my pregnancy brain stole it and I don't remember where they are from . . .

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  9. Cedar Creek wine is the best :)

    I absolutely, 100% do not blame you for aborting mission on yesterday's run. Holy wind!!

    I'm still loving those album pages!

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  10. Love the album!!
    Awesome job with the running! I wish that I would have started back when you did!! I would be running 10 milers by now too!!

    LOVE your new heading by the way! SO cute!

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  11. I started salivating when I looked at those wine bottles. Does that mean I'm an alcoholic?? Anyway, we did get engaged not too long ago - in October! It's a 6 1/2 month engagement, mostly because we've been together for 6 years, already have a house and live in sin, and already have our dog. So we didn't need a long engagement. However, I would have liked it a LITTLE bit longer now that panic is setting in!!

    Two things:
    1. I'm psyched about your running post since I am slowly entering into that scary world.

    2. I ordered a camera bag from the place you did for my sister who is starting to do it professionally. LOVE IT.

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  12. Love The Fray.
    Have I not asked you nicely in the past to quit showing off?
    Seriously though, the album pages are fantastic and you look beautiful in the close-ups.
    Sounds like you have a busy month ahead of you, though you'll still manage to find time to produce phenomenal posts.
    Go Cubs!

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  13. I'm not sure what series of links I followed to stumble upon your blog, but after reading your running posts - you remind me a lot of myself! Definitely do Chicago. I've run it twice, and it's amazing. Don't let the number of entrants get in the way. It is an amazing course and such a great experience! P.S. And don't worry, I teared up during the youtube clip for the movie, too :)

    -Cathy

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  14. I'm seeing the Fray too!!! (when they come to WA, of course)

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  15. You are so on top of your albums!!! Love the wine bottles pictures. :-)

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  16. YOU.ARE.CRAZY!!! 11 miles? in the winter?? on lake michigan?? pure and simple craziness... your photogs look great! each and every one.

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