Happy Thanksgiving- let's go run!

Happy Thanksgiving friends!
Today we went for a run. We usually do the Turkey Trot in OKC, but we were boycotting it because it cost so much so we decided to do our own at Bluff Creek trails.

Here we are at the start:

I started running, but instantly the cold air was burning my lungs. I haven't run outside in the cold and it made me have great difficulty breathing. I had to stop and go back home. So here is where I wound up doing my Thanksgiving Day run:


It was all good anyway, and I wound up having a great run- and I could breathe. Double bonus! :)

Then I ate more than I needed to later that afternoon at Grandma and Grandpa's house. MMMMMM Thanksgiving feast! How I love thee!

Mmmmm... it's almost here

Yippee- Thanksgiving Day is almost here! :) Although I always eat a bit too much, it's nice to have one day to eat all the foods that I only get to eat once a year. I'm pondering riding my bike to the in-laws house tomorrow morning (40 miles away), then sleeping there and having Rian come over when he gets off work. We're bringing the mountain bikes and will do some riding Thanksgiving morning. We had better be sure to wear some bright orange, tho, as it's hunting season and I don't want to wind up shot on Thanksgiving Day (and miss all that food- shoooot no!).
Today it's bright and sunny outside. I love the sun- even if the temperature has the wind chill in the 30's. :)

There are many things to be thankful for this time of year. Here is a brief list of mine:
*family and friends
*my 3 dogs that I love like children
*a warm home with plenty of food (even if I'm a bit gluttonous at times)
*security
*a great job

I could go on and on, but I shall not. Life is good. If I learned anything over the last week- it's to enjoy each day like it's your last. Make the most of it!

It's so very sad...

Yesterday was my saddest day of teaching in 12 years. I arrived at school to find out that one of our students (a little 3rd grader) was murdered by his father earlier that morning. It was a very tragic situation. They lived only one block from school. They were a very loving family. It makes no sense. It never will...

I'm oh so sad. I checked in his library book today and had to take his library card from his classes cards and delete him from the computer. Those were the three hardest things to do. Just little things like that are so difficult- it's like erasing him.

I just don't understand it all. Dad was mentally unstable, but to do something so terrible is beyond comprehension. It's been a rough couple days at school. If you pray, please say prayers for his mother and family. So many lives are changed forever...

Treh heh heh head mill...

Think of a monk chanting Gregorian chants when you read that title.
Houston: "The treadmill has landed. This is one giant leap for mankind."

We finally have the treadmill. I say finally because we bought it on Tuesday but didn't bring it home until yesterday. It only took 3 hours and a dozen curse words to put it together. Not too bad. I'll take a picture of it later and post it here for you to see. It's a behemoth of a machine. Takes up a ton of space- but I LOVE it. I'm so glad that we have it!!!! Rian is the first to break it in (and he was so reluctant and didn't want me to have it... hee hee). He's doing a 2 hour run on it right now. I'll go for a measly 30 minute run when he's done. I can't wait!

Post Part II:
I got on and ran a 5K after Rian got done. The treadmill counts the distance to the thousandths of a mile. It's amazing how long it takes to go one tenth when you're watching the hundredths and thousandths places tick off VERY slowly. ;)
I love having a treadmill in my living room. I wore what I wanted to wear, not what looked decent on me and hid my bulges. I would have never worn that in public, but it's perfectly acceptable in my living room. What a freeing feeling.

We went rock climbing this afternoon with another couple for an hour and a half. I need to work on finger/hand strength. I have all the power I need in my legs, but I have trouble grabbing hold of little handholds and holding on. I did a good, high climb today. I made a few little monkey jumps (maybe not really big jumps- but big for me). I still have that fear of heights that keeps me from going too high. I got higher than I ever have before, but I just get to a certain height and know I need to stop and come down. Maybe one day I'll climb to the top. Maybe...

Mmmmm.... lazy days

This is how I feel today: lazy, lazy, lazy. I LOVE lazy Saturdays. It's 11:00 and I'm still in my pajamas- with no plans to get out of them anytime soon. Sure, there are things I need to do, but I shall not do anything unless I absolutely HAVE to!!! :)

Today we get to pick up our treadmill that we purchased on Tuesday. I'm so very excited!!!! I can't wait to get it home, spend countless hours in frustration putting it together, and then enjoying the sweet, sweet glory of enjoying the walk/run afterward. I'm sure there will be many foul words uttered this afternoon... always are when putting things together using instruction manuals that were made for NASA scientists. I could have spent money to have them put it together for us, but that's just wasted money and wouldn't allow us to bond. :)

Off to do more sitting and watching t.v. It's a rough life.

I wanna live here... and I wish my running shoes would shut up!

So I wanna live here one day: The Oregon coast in all it's beauty. What's not to love? Ocean. Beach. Rocky cliffs. Seals. Breathtaking views. Waves crashing. The hum of the ocean. The feel of sea spray. Hurricanes.

The misty fog makes the coastline just beautiful...
I love this shot!
Makes me want to take my shoes off and go for a walk in the warm sand...


Oh yes, and my running shoes were looking at me longingly today. In fact, they followed me around the house for hours as I did my fall cleaning (like spring cleaning but just in the fall). I just looked at them and said "You just shut up and sit there... I'll get to you when I'm darn good and ready." It was a super nice day outside. I should have gone for a run, but didn't feel like it. Not today. Especially not when you taunt me and harass me.

Bumper sticker philosophy

Today I shall share few words. My bumper stickers shall say it all...