Princess 1/2 part 1

It's over. Finished. Gone. No longer. Bye-bye.

And it went just like that... snap. Blink of an eye.

I ran a half marathon. That's 13.1 miles to be precise. And really, by the time you add up all of the miles I walked before and after the race it's really more like 10,000. But, who's counting? Not me.

So yes. My grand adventure. My torturous training. My aching feet. My goal. My dream. My crazy idea. Is over.

It's a little bit sad.

You know how it all started... that one crazy idea that popped up in my head way back when... and somehow turned into signing up for and running the Princess 1/2. Who would have thought I would actually do it?

The training was endless. The training was dreadful. And deadly. But I managed. Then I found myself on an airplane flying towards my doom.

The Princess 1/2.

My sister, friend, and hubs, all kept asking me if I was excited, pumped up... Let me think about that, Um no. Thankfully I was too busy to really dread it and it crept up on me like a little alligator.

So it begins: Saturday we went to the Expo Center to get our bibs (the things you have to pin on your clothes while you run) and welcome packets. While we were there we even got some free socks, cause we said we were running for Princess Belle (my personal favorite princess). It was pretty sweet getting the awesome new socks. What was not so sweet about the Expo Center was this:

In case you can't tell, there are millions of people there. Crazy! But that's where we had to go. My favorite thing is to be squished and surrounded by millions of people.

But we survived and then we were rewarded:

Showing our bibs off : )

Yes, that's right, we got our picture with the butlers, I happen to know that the one on the right loves stripes, good pick.

Unfortunately the hott and juicy details of the actual run will have to wait until tomorrow. So come back soon!!

almost there...

Best week of training ever. I don't have to run. Not one single solitary mile.

Until Sunday at which point I will collapse into a heap and die from broken legs.

Oh well, it's been ... an experience.

I will never forget it.

Nope.

permanent

I try to decorate here and there, mostly at my house, and sometimes it turns out looking nice. Other times it can be quite disastrous. Anyhow. I have this problem that comes along with decorating. I'm scared to put holes in the walls. You see, of all of the places I have ever lived (which is countless let me assure you) I was never allowed to put holes in the walls. This was fine. I managed with super glue (just kidding) and duct tape (not kidding). Most things stayed put. But mostly I didn't hang things on the walls. Just didn't do it.

Even now that we have a house there are only a few precious things hanging on the walls. I think the reason I don't hang things on our walls is because it is permeant. Once it's up, it's up. There is no going back. It also means that we are staying in our house for longer than a year (I don't really even remember the last time I lived in one place for a year straight, maybe when I was 10, who knows. I don't). For some reason this scares me a little bit. While I love the fact that we have a beautiful home and I love that we are staying here for longer than I have lived anywhere else in over a decade, it is still a little terrifying to be so ... permeant. Hanging things on the walls only shows that yes, yes indeed, this is our permanent home and we will be here.

So anyway, the other day the hubs and I were out and about with gift card money (the best kind there is) and stumbled across some super cute decorations for our bedroom. We bought them (again an amazing feat as I only looked up and said, "I like those!" and not even two whole minutes later we were buying them. Crazy, I know!). We decided it (our bedroom) needed a little bit of pizzazz and finally mustered up the courage to buy (and keep) some decorations.

I would show you a before picture, except I can't seem to find one. So just imagine a blank blue wall above black head board. Cause that's what it looked like before.

Before picture:

insert the image you see in your head of an empty blue wall with a black headboard on it.

After picture:

No more empty blue wall... no sir. It's a good thing I like this new decor considering as how I just poked 900 little holes in the wall above our bed and am stuck with it either way : )

the locker

So, I really shouldn't be doing this right now: writing that is... at least on here... But I can't help myself. I just have to. I feel like it helps me keep my sanity. That or it's just a really wonderful procrastination tool that makes me feel like I'm being productive. Really, it's a win win. Procrastinate while doing something good and useful. right.

Anyhow. I went running the other day (I seem to be finding myself doing an awful lot of running lately...) and it was miserable. As always. Cause really, can running ever be fun? I think not. I am still trying to figure out how I am going to manage to drag my feet across 13 miles of pavement in less than 10 hours. O, where have my smarts gone? So yes. I went running. I have been going straight to run after I get out of school (that way I avoid the large and busy crowds and just get it over and done with, both of which I quite like). Usually I lug my purse, coat, scarf, hat, mittens, and bag of workout clothes around with me (but really it's not a bag of workout clothes that I'm totting around the gym because I've just changed out of my school clothes into my workout clothes, so I suppose it would be more accurate to say "totting around my back of school clothes"). Either way, I am lugging a lot around. So one day I had the genius idea to utilize the lockers that are available for use in the ladies locker room. I was all excited and crammed all of my crap in the little cubby/locker thingy. Then I set the code. Thankfully I was bright enough to test my combination out before locking my precious belongings in the locker. It worked. I shut the door and left.

Five hours later after I finished my three mile run I went to get my stuff. And the locker wouldn't open. I kept trying and trying but to no avail, my locker was broken. So I tried the one next to it, hoping for better luck. It opened, but there was nothing in it so of course it was going to open. I tried the next one and the next one ... None of them were working, or if they were it was like the second on, there was nothing in it. not so helpful. I decided the best thing for me to do would be to leave. Forget about my stuff, who needs it anyway.

Wait. I do. That's right. My keys are in there and I would need those to get home. After seven more hours of fiddling with the dang lockers I retuned to the original one. The one that was broken. And guess what? It wasn't broken any more. It just went "pop!" and opened right on up and my bags and fluffy coat came tumbling out. Lovely. I just wasted ten hours of my life trying to get a freakin' locker door open. Why it didn't cooperate in the first place I will never know. ... maybe I'm supposed to be working on my patience? who knows.

But yes. That is my locker story. I'm pretty sure I won't be using the lockers any more.

sweet friend

I have a friend. And she happens to like me. She is so sweet she made me something. I know you've all noticed it. It's too adorable to miss. That's right, you guessed it: my header. She made it. Just for me! What a sweetheart. I can say that cause she really is. She has her own blog: http://jessandjoshromano.blogspot.com (not that that's what makes her so sweet) and I told her how stinkin' adorable her blog was and how much I loved it and admired her header, then she said she could make me a header! Wow. What a treat. Not only is Jess amazingly gifted when it comes to blogging, she also makes some yummy chili (as you can tell if you read her blog post "Thought I'd Share"). Now I want some chili too... what a dilemma. eh, I guess I'll just have to make some. yum. She also is just pretty amazing all around. We lived together once upon a time... but then I moved and then she moved and so now we rarely get to even visit. shame. Jess is also pretty great at lots of other things too, but I won't tell you all about that right now.

Goodness! Jess is a Genius! Amazing! Wonderful! So incredibly talented! It's true. I have been fooling with trying to get header on my blog for a year, a year. And Everything I try fails miserably. It won't center, it's too small, too big, not right... something is always always wrong. Apparently the header department on Blogger dislikes me very much. Then Jess gives it a go and wha-la! She's like the Fairy Godmother or something.

I was just so wonderfully excited about my wonderfully new cute header I just had to share the creative and sweet friend that is behind it! I hope you all enjoy it as much as me : )

3 things

I've been thinking and well, here are a few things I love:

1. I love that I can call my sister and that my nephew will answer the phone and excitedly greet me, "Hello Auntie Wonderful!" just kidding about the wonderful part, but he really does say my name and I love that. I love that he is two (and a half?) and can tell that I am the one calling to chat (which probably has something to do with the fact that any time I call my sister a picture of me pops up on her phone). I love that after answering the phone he proceeds to tell me all about how he is doing, he got a ballon, it's blue, it's awesome, it has string.... but he will not tell me where he got it from. You know, the important stuff in life. Obviously. I love that he suddenly said, "Ok, I love you. Bye. Here's Mommy," and then when Mommy was talking to me he announced rather loudly that I didn't ask to talk to Mommy and that he wasn't finished talking to me. I love it. Love it. Pretty much nephews and nieces are the best thing on the planet. They are just so wonderful and adorable and cuddly (unless of course they aren't the cuddly type or they are 15 years old in which case they are probably a little too old for cuddling). I love that I have 10 wonderful and beautiful and adorable nephews and nieces. I love it when I actually get to visit them and see them and play with them and squish their little faces. Love it.

2. I love that I am enjoying my second snow day this week, and it's only Wednesday. Yes, it is wonderful. I don't care what any one says, snow days are Amazing. And a blessing. I love being home and getting stuff done: you know like all of that laundry I was telling you about the other day. Still, I love it, the snow makes me happy. It's so pretty and wonderful. I love snow days because I am able to regroup and figure out what I need to do and when I need to do and possibly even get it done. Although, I've had some trouble getting some of the homeworks done today... ai. I really just don't want to, and I find this much more enjoyable than working on something entirely dreadful.

3. I love that I have a happy and cozy home filled with love and joy and yummy smells (most of the time that is). I love that there is a wonderful hubs here and a sweet puppy who is learning more and more every day how to behave like I want him to (that is: to sleep and not bite me). Yes. It's pretty marvelous.

Yes. These are the things I love.

mountains and piles and oodles and boodles

I washed clothes on Friday. Which happened to be a snow day. So Obviously I had oodles and boodles of spare time to do laundry, clean our disastrous house, wash the dishes, do homework, and and run 900 miles. Obviously I could do them all.

Well, as it would happen the only thing I could really check off my list was the homework (and even still it wasn't all done) and the laundry (which was only washed and shoved in the dryer). So really, what did I get done on my snow day? I could not tell you.

What I can tell you is that it took me five years to get the laundry I had washed on Friday folded and put away. And by the time it was put away I found that there was another mountain of dirty laundry that needed to be washed. But that's the cycle of laundry. At least I have a mountain of dirty clothes that I can wash...

Also, since I'm on a roll of giving you a real live update on how I'm doing, I figured I might as well also let you know that I haven't washed a single dish in ... ever. It's true. My sink is piled high with dirty dishes, as are my counters: disgusting. But in the grand scheme of things, what's a few dirty dishes? What's a pile high of laundry? What do these things matter? What are they to me? My sanity. That's what. I lost it the other day when I took the time to survey the disrepair of my once delightful home. I can't stand it. I can't take it. So, I did something about it... kind of... ten years later, like I said.

yep.