Hard to admit

I found a quote that pretty much sums up why I love to do races:
The difference between a goal and a dream is a deadline. -Steve Smith
If I leave it up to me, I'll probably never find the time to do it. But if I have a date in the future that I need to be prepared for, I'll work towards it.

I was struggling with all the positive affirmations people were showering on me recently. Calling me inspirational 'n stuff. I don't get it. I mean I'm thrilled that people can look at me and say to themselves "if she can do it, I can do it" because I know it's possible for them too. And if seeing me and knowing my story helps them believe it to be true for them too, then fine, I'm an inspiration.

When we ran the Bellingham 1/2 marathon there was a man that was not "built like a runner" not unlike myself or Michael. Now Michael is athletically gifted and driven and has the ability to run a 2 hour 1/2 marathon. I, however, am not so gifted and every mile is a slow struggle for me. But it's OK, because I'm proud that I'm out there doing it, and I cross the same finish line as those who can run it in half the time. But this man was kind of "hanging" with us. Then he told Michael that he wouldn't be where he was if it wasn't for us. We were his inspiration. He was clinging to us as his own drive to finish, and finish stronger than he ever had before. We high fived each other and cheered each other to the finish line. And although it wasn't a PR for me (and poor Mike yo-yo'ed back and forth running ahead then coming back for me) we helped someone PR that day. And that's good enough for me.

Now... I also have been bad about running lately. I just lost my mojo. But I have been attending group exercise classes several times a week. And they're fun and I'm making friends or at least feeling like I'm a member of my new community. One of the classes is called 'Cycle-Yo!" and it's 30 minutes of spin class and 30 minutes of yoga. I am by far the heaviest member of all the classes, but it never really interfered with my workout until Friday. We were in a particular yoga pose (I usually do the basics only due to my lack of balance) but this position I found that I was flexible enough to try for a more advanced pose. Except I couldn't get my leg to stay in place to complete the pose... because my fat middle wouldn't let me bend any further. So every time I tried to bend more, my leg would squish out of position and the instructor would look at me with disappointment (because I know she is obsessed with form over whether or not one can do the most advanced pose) and so I had to tell her "I'm too fat to do the pose." Then I tried to not cry for the rest of class. Even Savasana sucked, and it's usually the whole reason I even do yoga.

So... I'm going to fix it. After the Halloween sugar cookies are gone :)

Pumpin Pickin

Woop, two posts in two days! I'm only 2 weeks behind on my blog now...

We went to The Farm at Swans Trail a couple of weeks ago and we had a blast! The weather was perfect, the hand-dipped corn dogs were delish, the duck races were hilarious, the corn maze was fun (and mildly educational), and our pumpkins are perfect.

The Washington state corn maze: we entered in Spokane and exited in Grey's Harbor.
Mike helped me scratch an item off my bucket list: We made out like teenagers (for the 2 seconds before the kids caught us) in a corn field. Us islanders didn't have dark corn mazes to roam and flirt in... we had "the clear cuts" and "maple point". I have yet to make out with Mike at either of those places either...
I believe we were on "I-90" heading East.
Brady in one of his finer big brother moments: helping his sisters up the hay rolls.
The Farm had a litter of barn kittens for the kids to hold and love. You'd think the girls had not ever had a kitten in their arms before (umm... Pickles???) the way they gushed over the sleeping kitties.

Brady sitting on his pumpkin throne...

Niner

I just got a ass-chewing from both my boyfriend and best friend about my lackluster blogging lately. And I can count on those two to give it to me straight, so I guess I better shape up. In my defense, blogger hasn't been overly user-friendly lately, and I don't think I've had a comment posted on my blog in months, which is a little discouraging as well. So if you're reading this, let me know! I perform much better with some peer pressure!


Erin and I had planned a triple birthday party at the Lynnwood Parks & Rec pool. They recently renovated it and added a mini-indoor water park and it is awesome! Unfortunately, several kids got ill (including Christian, one of the birthday boys!) and had to miss the party. It was an even bigger shame that our entire guest list couldn't make it when we showed up and discovered we had the whole water park to ourselves! The ones who were able to make it were not disappointed: 2 water slides; a lazy river complete with rapids and a whirlpool; water cannons; a gigantic bucket that fills with water and sends a tidal wave down on top of the kids; a submerged playground for the tots; and a hot tub for the adults (that is still kid friendly).

But before we got wet, we headed down to the port to say hi to Mike and "help" him move a crane. I love that he can expose the kids to these unique experiences, so many places are so rigid in their liability concerns that kids can't get in there and actually put their hands on what interests them. I think that children retain so much more when they are interested and can put what they're learning into real action. Brady can read about and hear Mike talk about all the heavy equipment and get excited, but when he can put his hands on a crane or a forklift, it all clicks. Then consequent conversations and books are so much more relevant to him. Michael's job is so cool!
Daddy's co-pilot.

Crisp

I think "crisp" is an excellent word to describe the beautiful fall day we're having today...The suns out but I still need a cozy sweater, it's like the perfect balance of weather.

I went grocery shopping the other day and noticed that they had these disgusting looking chocolate covered marshmallows on sale and thought "the kids will flip for these". So I picked up 3 and after I had them bring in the recycling bins and help me unload the groceries from the car I gave them their treat. And they flipped! But halfway through hers, Natalie asked if she could throw it away because she was "getting a bit of a sugar rush".
There are about 13 women in my book club, but somehow the only pictures I have from the evening is alcohol:
And caramel testicles.
We have a ACE hardware just down the hill from us and we love it for our weekend projects. Michael had me down there 3 times this weekend for different parts and pieces for various projects and by the end of the day, I considered this little fella my friend. I named him "Pimp my Pooch"

Hell Run and Love Birds

Man I have a lot of catching up to do! I'm over a week behind in my blogging but I'm trying to get caught up and have been struggling with organizing my feelings over all this positive energy and affirmations and blessings that seem to have been coming my way recently... So in the mean time I'll stick to the easy stuff and blog about what we've been doing which is so much easier to write about versus blogging about what I've been feeling.

On the 1st we ran in the Hell Run. It was on the 'pretty good' of the mud runs we've done over the last year. We slogged through mud, we hurdled walls, we crawled under barbed wire...

... and we lept over fire!
And I froze my tuckus off while waiting for some friends to finish!
You may ask why we do such things? For the free coupon on our bib that entitles us to a couple of cold ones. Who cares that it's 10:30 in the morning and it's 50 degrees and raining? It's beer and it's free! And all those poor souls that paid the entry fee but are not yet 21? Yep, we snatched all their free beer stubs too.
Mikes best friend Rob and his beautiful wife Tracy (Mongo and Morti to the derby world) celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary. Tracy wore her wedding dress all night and they had a Hawaiian theme not unlike their reception all those years ago. I met lots of their friends and family and reunited with some old acquaintances, it was a fun night. I had the pleasure of meeting Paul, a long time friend of Rob's. He lives in Toronto, so the first thing Mike says to Paul is "Heather doesn't like Canadians." Which isn't entirely true. But if you've driven or shopped in Bellingham, you know my plight. But we had a good laugh over it. Or he at least let me off the hook. Paul's mother was given a medication while she was pregnant with Paul which resulted in him being born without limbs. He is a remarkable man. And of course now we're friends on Facebook (along with 3 or 4 more people I met at the party... the inevitable "hey are you on facebook? Me too!")
The lovely couple.
And there's a viral-kinda photo thing on the interweb where people take a photo from many years ago and recreate it. So when Rob and Mike wore the same shirts that they wore 10 years ago, I decided to jump on the bandwagon and make a 'then and now' photo of my own.

Being 9

I've been a little light in the paparazzi game, so here's what I came up with last week:

Tweedle Dee? He picked the one with the pink frosting.
After school birthday snack from Simply Sweet cupcakes in Snohomish.
What's a birthday without a little wrestling match with your favorite orange kitty? Pickles and B got a few rounds in before school.

Brady being greeted by his buddies with birthday wishes.