Update Central

I've been away from the blog world, but this time my absence was not due to sick children!

1. Since deciding to do a Half, I really have been running more. My training plan isn't set yet, but a few gals (from our newly-formed Saturday morning running group!) and I have our sights on the Portland Half in August . . . or maybe Seattle in November.

2. I've been putting our YMCA membership to better use and even have our daughter taking a Toddler Sports class (fits perfectly between my run & shower and the time we have to leave to get Mr. Music from preschool - full morning, but awesome!).

3. We took a trip to Yosemite National Park - AMAZING (that's me running through the valley, because I could).

4. We Are Girls Who Love to Run finally has a Facebook page - become a fan - REALLY!!

5. I've joined the world of Twitter (@writingrunner), though I'm still tinkering with it to figure out what it is all about.

6. Though I've been home since Monday night, my brain is still stuck in Yosemite. My only running was once through a meadow with my son (seen above), but you can surely see why I've had a hard time getting back to "real life" once you take a look at these photos (we took nearly 250 in the 3 days we were there . . . and that was just OUR camera - my brother-in-law's fam took just as many with theirs!).

7. Be sure you take the time this weekend to thank a Service Member (former/current and/or their family members) for their dedication to our country and our freedom.

And now I leave you with images from the amazing national treasure that is Yosemite National Park (yes, we took these ourselves!!!):

Starting with a Thankful Heart

I'm keeping it simple today, folks. I'm thankful for:

5. The smiles induced by a furry dog who decides to take a nap on a freshly-mopped floor (ie, still wet - the floor, not the dog)

4. Breathtaking pink and purple hued sunsets 5 nights in a row that make you forget the fog-filled mornings

3. Two kids to bed on time without complaints because they played hard all day (and didn't really nap).

2. The baby jogger/hill combo that provides a much needed mental and physical challenge and reminds me why I love running so

1. The calming of my mind when I came to the realization that I don't HAVE to run the Seattle Half Marathon this year - letting go of that goal for now will bring a balance back to my life that my family needs AND puts the fun back into running. I won't shelve it forever, just put it on hold until it can be a healthy part of my life balance instead of a stressful one. I bet my running frequency will even improve now. Funny how that works!

What are YOU thankful for today?

Sunday: Gearing up for the Week (School Open House!)

First, I'm happy to report that I DID get out for a run on Thursday afternoon, which made both Albus (my faithful dog) and me happy. It was just a 20 minute number, but it was just what we needed and it fit perfectly into the afternoon before I had to pick up the kids and get going with dinner stuff.



I started today with a run. That really is one of my favorite ways to start a day. I should do it more often - Albus thinks so, too. Another short one, at 23 minutes, but it was nice.


This is the last week of vacation - holy moly! And, even though this week marks the end of one chunk of the year and the end of our "lazy days", it is one my son has been looking forward to for a few weeks: his pre-school Open House is on Tuesday! He's anxious to see his teachers again, see familiar faces that will be in his class again and maybe even visit for a few minutes with some of the kiddos who are moving up to the big Kindergarten class.


I'm confident that the year will be another good one for us. Mr. Music (for those of you who are "new" readers, that's what I call my son) attends a Montessori School, so he'll have the same pair of teachers this year as he did last year. His class is a multi-age pre-school group with kids ages 2.75 - 5. It'll be a great mix of kids from last year and younger kids entering school for the first time. The start of the year is always exciting - and I'm happy to see my son's confidence and independence blossom as he builds a solid foundation at pre-school.




His teachers are FANTASTIC and do a great job of introducing the kids to a balance of learning experiences - and quite thoroughly, too. After their tree unit in the spring, Mr. Music could clearly identify which trees are coniferous and which are deciduous - using those terms! (Coniferous Photo Credit. Deciduous Photo Credit.)


I also like how calm and respectful the Montessori environment is. Conflicts are resolved with conversation and kids discussing how they feel about what happened - and after just a few weeks of modeling by the teachers and older students, these little folks really do put the problem-solving and conflict resolution techinques to work on their own. I'm hoping those lessons work their way into solving sibling conflicts at home soon, too! One step at a time, right?!

This week also kicks-off my Half Marathon Training Plan for the Seattle Half Marathon! I've opted to go with the running plan from Marathoning for Mortals. I followed the run-walk full marathon plan from that book in 2003 when I ran the SunTrust Marathon in Virginia and I found it to mesh nicely with my chaotic teaching/graduate student/wife life. I found a few other plans in Runner's World and on-line, but I do find some comfort in sticking with the "known". And so - tomorrow I'll get it going. I'm REALLY doing this! (Photo credit) And, yes, for those of you who are sticklers for details, I KNOW that marathons don't have runers start in starting blocks!! I just though the image was an appropriate one for the start of something BIG in my life -and running-related, if not a perfect match.

Thursday - Hanging in There (And swinging wildly!)

So, I mentioned the other day that I have some things developing for my book. Today one of those things came to life - hooray!

The Seattle Marathon will have my book, We Are Girls Who Love to Run (Somos Chicas y A Nosotras Nos Encanta Correr), available on their merchandise page!

So, it isn't there today . . . but it will be up soon. If you know anyone who is pondering participating in the race, let them know they can order my book through The Seattle Marathon, too! It will be available with 2 other children's book titles: Pellie Runs a Marathon and Coco Loves to Tri, both of which have been reviewed by Carol Goodrow on KidsRunning.com. Check them out and then order the trio to share with your favorite budding runners!

On the running front, I'm determined to get in a run this afternoon. With the chaos before our trip to CA, the adventures there and the chaos post-trip of getting the kids back on schedule, I haven't been running. AGH! And, that's not good with the Half coming up! So, after a bit of work while the kids play with friends, I'm lacing up those shoes and heading out. I'll probably leave the Garmin behind because I just want to go and enjoy being back on the road without worrying about what this lull in running has done to my speed.

I hope your week is going well. Happy running - and hooray - tomorrow's Friday!

Tuesday - Trials & Achievements (A healthy mix of both)

I'm pretty sure I've never posted at 6PM before, though I'm now 125 posts into this little blogging experience (how'd THAT happen?!), so maybe one or two of them were post-dinner ramblings. I'm writing now because my husband and dad took the kids to Lowe's so I could have some time to myself. I even passed up the opportunity to join my mom and her sister for a trip to Ben Franklin to look at quilt fabric and then a viewing of Mama Mia. Yup, sometimes it is just nice to be able to sit back and breathe once and awhile.

Can you hear that? What, you don't hear anything? Me neither!!!! That's because there is nothing to hear but the sound of the click-clacking of the keys as I type. I can even take a break from this to make myself a cappuchino because I'm not trying to get it all in while one kid is napping and the other is listening to the shortest book on tape in the world!

This is me leaving to make myself that yummy coffee treat (I'll of course follow it up with a tall glass of water, because if I play my cards right, I'll get a run in this evening after the kids go to bed - could happen!). And there's no danger of little fingers typing their own little message while I'm gone!

OK, the machine is warming up. I love our espresso machine - and to think I thought my husband was crazy for wanting something a bit more "splurgy" (if that isn't already a word, it is now) like our Magnifica!

So, here are my current trials:

- There's a business event I SHOULD go to on Thursday night (and I want to go, too). BUT, that same night would also be great to get back to yoga or even attend a Design Your Own Annabelle Handbag Party (here's a sample from the Spring line. The fall fabrics aren't on the site yet - they're being unveiled on Thursday!). Know how I can be in three places at once? Me neither. POM - I see how you feel with wanting to ditch the "special stuff" to just have down time!

- summer is nearly over and I'm trying to cram the remaining items of our "Summer Wish List" into these last 2 weeks, which seems silly because . . . the onset of school doesn't mean that we can't have adventures and, as recorded history shows us - summer shall return!

- I have 2 newspaper articles to write in the next few weeks (I'd never make it as a staff writer, it just takes me too long to get things the way I want them)

- a stack of press releases need my attention if I'm going to keep book sales going like they are (and they're going well!) without forking out too much of our budget on advertising

- I've verbally committed myself to run the Seattle Half Marathon the weekend of Thanksgiving (sort of a 2 week late 30th birthday gift to myself) but haven't picked a plan

- I'm not sure that there are any training plans that allow you to run while sleeping - know of one?

- My daughter's quilt sits half finished. If I can get it done in the next 2 weeks it can go in our town's annual quilt show.

That being said, there ARE some achievements to celebrate:

- the laundry from our CA trip is DONE!

- After a week of eating out and simple oven-warmed dinners, I made a lasagna from scratch tonight - and the dishes are already in the dishwasher!

- My newspaper article about our quilt shop, The Quilter's Garden, will be in tomorrow's paper

- I have some promising nibbles on some big opportunities for the book

But, enough about me . . . what about YOU? Anything pressing going on this week? Anything you feel like celebrating?

I'm off to find a spoon to get the last of the foam from the bottom of my cup. Yum!