sara with camera

Little Fear

Last night I ran 7 miles, (it was supposed to be 12mi, but I shuffled that to today) tonight I ran 10, and tomorrow will be 8.  Obviously, I was two short tonight.  I probably could have managed them, but I had no idea how far I had run.  I plotted a course on mapmyrun.com before heading out, but didn't stick to it because the wind was insane and I chickened out.  These days those first few miles are killer and I'm easily deterred until I hit my groove (4mi maybe- not sure).  This whole long distance runner mindset is new to me and really odd- my entire running life (until now) has consisted of going all out on those first few miles and dragging butt for the remainder.  Yet another reason I need a running partner.  By the way, I took the Ipod along and played the Paste #42 CD sampler that arrived in the mail yesterday.  I'm still digesting issue #s 40 & 41.  So far, I think I like the Weepies and Tift Merritt.

So I'm getting into better shape than I was before, (when I ran only sporadically and went for much shorter runs) and I'm worried that after the marathon is over and I cut back- Way back, I'll be in worse shape than before all this running and with bum knees and hips and all to boot.  That's been faintly haunting me lately.  Take Oprah, for example, she ran a marathon and was skinny Oprah for awhile.  Now she's not skinny Oprah anymore.  She still looks good, but she has a stylist and a makeup artist and a chef.  I just have two boys who tear up the house whenever I take time for personal hygiene.  Someone tell me that I'm way off base here and come fall I won't turn into fat Oprah.  AND, for crying out loud, I Still need book suggestions.  Love you all, Sara   

A Song or Two

Although a bit spoiled by JCPenney (it appears in their commercial for their new American Living line by Ralph Lauren- premiered last night during the Oscars), this song, Killing the Blues, by Alison Krauss & Robert Plant is one I listen to over and over.  I also like Gone, Gone, Gone from their relatively new CD Raising Sand.  The other songs I'm still listening to.  Unfortunately, Allison Krauss sings a song from a man's perspective, and I just can't get over it.  Patti Griffin also does that in a song (I'm sure they're not the only ones), and as much as I love her, I have to skip it.  Another song I listen to over and over these days is Life is Beautiful by Vega 4.  Their CD You and Others is only tolerable.  Says the 30 year old who can't remember lyrics.  What can I say?

Running Accountability & MORE

This is going to be short because sitter Becky has the kids, and the house needs all the attention it can get (again, really).  So I've decided (unless you protest) to record my runs by blog.  I think it'll make me go faster (and maybe you too Jan or Kalissa)- you know that whole competitive thing I have going on.  So, for today:

Distance: 4mi

Time: a sad 38:40 (2nd run post illness- at least this time I wasn't coughing the entire route)

Music: Bob Schneider's The Californian. I like it and it's not too slow to run to, but if F-bombs (songs 1&2) or generally ribald topics make you cringe, it's not for you.

On to the house cleaning- I may add more later!  Love, Sara

So now that time is no longer money, I'm back!  The house is practically spotless (only the living room floor & 1 load of laundry remain) because I was a cleaning machine while Matti napped & then Katherine & Matt had us over for dinner (when we're not here, Matti can't mess it up).  Our meal: Pizza which had a whole wheat (homemade) crust & pureed spinach underneath the sauce.  Very yummy & it's total victory anytime Auden and I get our vegetables (I actually like quite a few vegetables, it's just spinach and kin that turn me off).  It was great because the boys skipped lunch and last night's supper (apparently, they aren't fond of the meatloaf or tuna casserole we're still working on, and I've been a mean mom who won't give them anything else).

I didn't blog yesterday even though I had the best of intentions- we spent the better part of the day in Topeka with Jan & Aunt Francis (Granny's sister).  After hitting a fabric store (Jan's going to introduce me to the world of quilting which is just what I need- another craft that's going to suck me in.  There should be a limit.  We can't all be Martha Stewart, right?  But I really want to, and I'm lucky to have someone to show me the ropes), we ate at Annie's  Place. It was very good.  I had the Three Cheese Quiche with the Potato Cheese Soup, & for an appetizer, we shared the hot air fries with homemade chicken gravy (actual chunks of chicken in there- that's a good thing).  For the sake of balance, I probably should have gone with the vegetable soup, but I don't believe that one could ever eat too much cheese.  I'm dragging Chris there when he gets here, and we're definitely going to get to the pie next time.  After Annie's, we went to Toys'R'Us, and the boys picked out Phlat Balls.

We completely scored (the boys and I) because not only did Jan make an embroidered long sleeve running shirt for me, but she paid for lunch, and then Aunt Fran bought the movie Cars for the boys (Auden is quite a fan and naturally Matti is too).  More than all of that, it was wonderful to see them both, especially since we hadn't seen Aunt Francis since this summer.

Friends, family, & good food.  It really doesn't get much better.   

Catching Up

My sweet & thoughtful husband gave me a RunTex gift card for Christmas (which came with a free & aesthetically pleasing RunTex shirt in the correct size).  He's well aware of the popular maxim, "A running wife is a happy wife."  So, Kalissa and I made a trip to Austin today to pick out my present which was, predictably, the Mizuno Wave Creation 8 (my Mizuno Wave Creation 7's had had it).  I do not accessorize much, but Easy Laces are a fashion necessity for running shoes.  White shoe laces?  C'mon.  Green this year, and I was excited to see that the Creation 8's were a little less orange than the 7's.  To test them out (I've only worn this same model for at least 6 consecutive years now), Kalissa and I jogged part of the Town Lake trail.  We're sore- already.  Maybe that was because we ran right before Christmas lunch yesterday too.  She's cutting out on me tomorrow & Friday- something about Basketball practice & a game.  As if I wasn't happy enough that I was getting new shoes with snazzy green laces, the RunTex employee who helped us gave Kalissa and me free RunTex shirts (that's two for me, folks).  So if there's anything I like more than multiple, free RunTex shirts, it's tortillas, beans, rice, & pico de gallo from my beloved TacoXpress.  Yep, lunch there can't be beat.  Between lunch and the run we hit a fabric store, Craftorama & Waterloo Records (the go-to place for that difficult to find record or perhaps the KGSR Vol.15 compilation CD that mom set me up with for Christmas). 

After our run, we treated ourselves to Amy's Ice Cream.  I had the Orange Cranberry (it made up for not having cranberry sauce on Christmas- Walmart was out of fresh ones) which was absolutely dreamy.  Kalissa & I were super impressed by the employee who tossed scoops into the air and caught them with the dish.  It's a skill I'm determined to learn (maybe).  Oh, and the tip jar had a sign above it explaining that tips were being solicited for the purposed of buying "the state of New Hampshire; it's keen."  I decided that I need to incorporate keen into my vocabulary. It's definitely underused.  We tried to visit our Aunt Anita, but she apparently doesn't sit at home all day waiting for relatives to drop by unannounced.  We ended up leaving a note.  That's about it except for our supper at Storm's on the way back. The burgers are the yummiest (despite the website picture- really).  I had fried pickles with mine and they were a bit heavy on the pepper, but Lara really liked them (she ate my hour-old leftovers).

So my knitting exploits have gone undocumented for the last few days, and while I haven't been as busy knitting as I'd like, I have begun a few new projects.  Currently in progress: a pair of socks for me,

a cabled scarf for me,   

and a Debbie Bliss boatneck sweater for Matti (composed of 4 pieces- back, front, sleeves 1&2): back done & sleeve 1 begun (as pictured below).

Lastly, I thought I would include a video of the kiddos checking out the contents of their stockings:

Download open_stockings.wmv

Love, Sara

Oh, I almost forgot to add the photo of David in his Earflap Hat!