Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Bucket List


Fellow blogger Erin requested a "20 things I would like to do before I die list" so I'm gonna give it a go. I actually had a list like this in high school and I wish I could find it to see how many things on it I have accomplished, I do know that run the Boston Marathon was on it as well as ride in a taxi. I have successfully checked those items off. I guess I better see what I can do with the rest of these:

1. Write and publish a book.
2. Raise a leader dog for the blind.
3. Live off the land, except for bare minimum staples, for a year.
4. Travel to all of the homes that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in.
5. Visit Africa.
6. Run a marathon in Alaska.
7. Enter a quilt in our county fair.
8. Go on a trip by myself.
9. Raise sheep.
10. Complete a triathlon.
11. Participate in a canoe race.
12. Run an ultra.

I'll have to work on eight more, maybe dig up that old list and see where I stand...

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Creepy Craft

The most difficult part of this project was hiding the Dum Dums until Ollie fell asleep so we could make them without a taste tester!


They will all creep and crawl to school on Friday for the Halloween festivities.


Well, almost all of them.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Insanity


I'm not sure insanity is the word, maybe stupidity sums them up better. Reading news stories like this and this really make my life seem normal. Some days I am glad for that.

Friday, October 24, 2008

Having One of Those Days? Me Too

















More than a thousand ice sculptures representing human silhouettes by Brazilian artist Nele Azevedo slowly melt away, Florence, Italy.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Cottage Chic? Country Chic Living?


Or how about four kids, 2 dogs and no money chic?

I finally peeled off the wallpaper yesterday in one fell swoop. Well it didn't come off that easy, but after a trip to our local friendly ACE store where I purchased some DIF, a spray bottle and a bit of motivation I was able to remove it all. And now I clearly see why we had to wallpaper the room. I had myself all set to just paint because it is more economical and easier to change but I'm not quite sure that the defects in the 100 year-old walls will not be glaring.

Not one to go down without a fight I went to the BHG website for some inspiration, however, their decorating collections just don't seem to fit my lifestyle. Maybe if I got rid of the animals, found homes for the children, sent the husband to live in the barn and, well, basically lived alone, it would work. Then I could select between Chic I and Chic II or even Living with Books. Not that I truly care for any of those options but the ability to pick something other than super-heavy-duty-extremely washable paint would be nice.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Monday, October 20, 2008

Really, I Did Run


That race? Remember that trail race I was so looking forward to over a week ago? I did make it to the starting line and found myself running on an incredible trail. The first lap was pleasant with rolling hills around the lake, the second loop added a tremendous hill in addition to the rolling ones already on the course and the third lap, well the third lap kicked my ass with a mountain that the race directors tried to call a hill on the race flyers. Liars! There was an older gentleman making the climb behind me and he kept shouting what he might have thought were helpful directions that consisted of warnings that what appears to be the end of the "hill" is not. We climbed, it would level for 10 yards, we climbed again, it leveled again, we climbed again... I seriously considered tucking into a ball and rolling down the other side. Note: for those of you that are non-runners going down a lengthy hill can be more difficult than climbing it because you have to keep yourself from toppling over and that uses very different muscles.

Anyway, I survived. As far as rating the race, I loved the course but there were no mile markers which also means no split-times. There was only one aid station so if you were running the 8.5 mile race there was lots of space in-between available hydration (I carried my hand-held bottle with me.) The awards, as you can see, are plaques and NOT mugs. Bummer, big bummer.

My biggest beef was actually the lack of beef, or at least some filling post-race food. They only had bananas and apples. I spend the days before a race training and eating well and the last thing I want to see upon landing at the finish line is another banana! I would like to see some type of muffin, cookie, or a cinnamon crunch bagel from Panera. You know, real food.



***These race directors were very economical in that they used numbers from The Crim that were leftover. I'm glad I got one that said 10 mile on it and not 1 Mile like some runners did.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

Truffle Anyone?

Hershey's better move out of the way because BHG Pumpkin-Spiced Gingersnap Truffles are where it's at! I'll admit if you are not a lover of the flavor of the season you may not take to these. But if you find yourself ordering the Pumpkin Spiced Latte at Starbuck's I suggest taking a few minutes to make these amazingly easy and tasty truffles. These are exactly what I envisioned when I saw Hershey's had a pumpkin spiced Kiss.



They may not be as pretty as the Hershey creation but a little fancy foil does not foil the taste buds!

Thursday, October 9, 2008

As Long As I Have My Running Shoes


This election is wrecking havoc on my brain so I've decided to forgo the evil thoughts I have about it and resume a life of ignorance. Some people may consider this irresponsible or just plain stupid but I've had enough of people gleefully supporting one candidate while denouncing the other. Both sides are being slaughtered and praised at the same time, it just depends on who you want to believe and want you want to believe in. At this time I'm gonna believe in my running shoes because I know where they've been, who they associate with and how they'll treat me. There are no surprises and no matter what happens I'll always have them (or a pair just like them) and unless things get really bad I'll always be able to lace up and tromp down the road.

I read a few running blogs and last night as I was preparing for my psyche to go into another fit regarding this damn election I realized that if you only read these blogs and nothing else you would have no idea that America was divided and getting prepared for a major election. Say what you want about people that are not making this election their life-consuming hobby but they have other ways to feel triumphant. I like runners. Especially these runners. Sure they may be in the midst of marathon taper and have nothing but 26.2 miles or more on the mind, but I relish the focus on the run and not The Race.

This weekend I'm gearing up for another trail race and I'm popping the vitamin C to keep a creepy cold at bay. Part of me dreads the whole race scene, (Just ask those that travel with me, I'm a pretty nervous racer.) but if my memory serves me correctly I'll be elated at the finish and pleased later in the day when my legs ache and my muscles protest at the sight of stairs.

I don't need this election in my life, all I need is my running shoes and perhaps a bit of decent chocolate. It doesn't matter who wins as long as the medical *marijuana* legislation passes in Michigan so that when we have national health care (Let's just pray it isn't modeled after the government school system, Medicaid, social security or any of those other wonderful government controlled areas, or better yet the Secretary of State.) and it takes me a year to see my rheumatologist I'll at least have something for the pain lupus causes.

Enjoy The Race. I know I'll have a great time at mine and I'm confident that my shoes and I will have a clear head at the end!

Friday, October 3, 2008

Really *Viagra*, I'm Good

I don't know how admin@Viagra got my email address but I'm getting a bit tired of them sending me messages as if they are my friend. The last thing I need is that drug in my house. There are no ED issues for any male person at this homestead. And if there were I would not be in any hurry to fix them.

So please admin@Viagra don't send me a message with the subject line "re:message" as if (as if!) I contacted you in the first place. Because you see, we already have four delightful children that remind me everyday why one more in the mix is totally unnecessary. And because we have these wonderful short people running around here there is rarely time to devote to recreational activities such as the one your medication promotes-especially for that kind of duration.