Winter Running Part 1

I am trying to figure out this winter running thing. Two extremely nauseous runs=one disgruntled me. I am attempting to figure out what to wear when. Twelve degrees. That was the temp. of my run this morning. Yeah, it's double digits. Barely. As I pause in the middle of an attempted speed workout, I pick some berries off a tree to take home and soak in the sunshine. I took them home and put them in a vase, probably in desperation to bring some life indoors. It is pink on the horizon as the sun comes up to remind us again that it has not forgotten us. It feels some days lately that the sun had abandoned us. Oh, glorious ball of warmness, please light up the day and warm us up to the predicted 34 degrees. So, as I figure out this whole winter running mess, bundle up or enjoy living in warm climates. Just keep running, because the sun will eventually figure out it belongs on this side of the world.

New Mexico, 1/2 marathon, and the great, wild west

Ok, so I have again been delinquent about posting anything. This should speak volumes about the crazy, busy work schedule. So, here is the quickie update.

A few weeks ago, my dad and Kristen ran their first 1/2 marathon. Although my dad was adamant to run 13 the week of the race, I am sure that he was glad he didn't. They loved the run and finished together (the announcer said that it was a great way for my sister to spend the day with her dad). My dad is already attempting to convince my mom to run the race next year, but she is not quite so convinced.



My mom and I went to Albuquerque for a few days. She had a conference and I tagged along for a relatively cheap trip. In true me fashion, I took little time to explore the city running and spent much of the time my mom was in a conference out and about. One of the things I love about Albuquerque: the city loves art as much as I do. Everywhere you looked, it was there. Green chile, biscochitos, turquoise jewelry, and mountains I could not explore.:( That sums up New Mexico.:) Maybe I should start wearing cool ponchos...

Bad dog

We have a bad dog who needs constant redirection. In efforts to keep him out of certain areas of the house, my dad put up a board. Thus far, it has been effective. Now only if we can stop tripping on it...

My Wednesday

Tonight, I saw a super cool girl play volleyball. Even though the Warriors gave them a run for their money, Tayler and the Eagles won. :)


On the way to taking a couple of kids to kids' group tonight, this is the conversation that occurred in my car:

Kid 1: If you drive a car in the middle of the desert, you will run into a cactus.
Me: I have been in the middle of the desert and I have not ran into a cactus.
Kid 1: You have?
Kid 2: If you drive in Mexico without any hands [on the wheel], then you will run into buildings.
Kid 1: That can happen here too.
Kid 2: Yeah, you're right, it can.

Seriously...I don't know where they come up with this stuff, but it is amazing to hear kids' minds at work. :)

Birthday week continues...

In honor of birthday week (because there have been so many birthdays), Angie was born today.

(Sorry, cuz, I had to gank this from your Facebook.)


Tomorrow is my cousin Lindsay's birthday. Happy birthday!

Birthday day

Today is the birthday day! Today is my my grandpa (Pa)'s birthday, Harmony (my roommate from college)'s birthday, and Rebecca (my friend from grad school)'s birthday! Happy Birthday! Enjoy your day!

Labor Day

At First, I thought that this blog would be titled "Chicago Hates Me," but I now have since recanted that statement. I went to Chicago for Labor Day weekend, which has been in the works for about two months. At the last minute, my friend Rebecca could not come up from Nashville to go, but I still enjoyed my time.:(

I left early Sat. morning and dropped off some stuff at college for my sister, Kristen. Just a note: her dorm room was pretty CLEAN and she has been living there for about 2 weeks. I was impressed and told her so.

Then, I drove on to Grace's house, where we went garage saling (only to find a piece of plastic attached to my tire), then on to a sandwich place where we were served an extra sandwich by accident, resulting in a massive amount of food, and then we headed to downtown. The strap to my bag also broke, resulting in an interesting situation to waltz around downtown with an open bag. Thankfully, when we went to a festival where we found super cool and super cheap jewelry, Grace carried my stuff.:)




Then...we went to Alhambra, a Mediterranean restaurant. Instead of the regular Flamenco dancers, they had belly dancers for a very long show. The weirdest part...there was a male with a medallion about 1/3 the size of his chest. I am not sure what that was about.


Sunday was church (we couldn't seem to make it on time to any of the million services or so from Harvest), then lunch/coffee with Uncle Rick, my cousin, Lindsay, and my friend, Adriana. It was very awesome to make the connections between people I know. They were interested in my uncle's ministry and wanted to help out if possible.

That evening, we went to a bonfire "out in the middle of nowhere". (Please note here: this is from Grace, a city dweller. In reality, it was way out in the west suburbs in a tree-lined neighborhood in a huuuuuge house that had a moderate-size backyard and plenty of neighbors.) Haha...I love her.



The crazy drive home required at least one picture, so I settled on the Sanitary Lunch. We should have eaten there during State Dance Competition this spring.

Ode to September

Gone are the days when I thought Sept. was a useless month, squeezed in between summer and fall as a month with little point. Now, I see September as the heralding of fall, an extra space gap between the longest and shortest days of the year. It is a time to breathe deeply and enjoy a break from the chaos that was this summer. So...I will lay outside after work, take walks, and breathe deeply, knowing that this day is one day closer to beautiful leaves and trying to soak up the last few minutes of sunlight for the day. Happy September!

Another day in the life of a social worker...

"I'm not an addict...I can stop anytime I want." If I was paid $1 for every time I heard that, I would take an extra day off (or at least have a nice steak dinner...either or which would be nice). Some days, working with court mandated clients is difficult and stressful. Other times, it is so rewarding to make a positive impact on people's lives. I think everyone starting social work should work with court-mandated clients. It is so character-building to learn compassion and confrontation at the same time. In the ebb and flow of child welfare, we are in our busy season, which sometimes means 10-12 hour days. However, I am grateful for this job and know God has called me here for now.

Life moves on...

I was able to see my roommate from college few weekends ago. Spending time with Kimber was tons of fun.
I am so excited that she is pregnant! Congrats K!






Last weekend, we moved Kristen into Olivet. She is now officially a college freshman, which is still a little surreal. I am sure that she will have a great year!

Her room is now clean, which is a major task in, which I have included a picture of for proof. We enjoyed a double rainbow next to a wind farm on our trip up to Bourbonnais, which I have included for your viewing pleasure. Zoe is missing her like crazy and so needy with her gone.





This weekend, they honored my uncle's memory at a football game by dedicating the season to him. They put his initials with crosses on the backs of their helmets and had a ceremony. Although the game was only called after only 10 plays, they won the rescheduled game the next day. It was a shame we couldn't see Lathan play, but he was able to stand on the sidelines, along with Landon, who is able to dress all season, although he still can't play because of his knee.