26.2 miles

My alarm clock woke me up at 4:00 this morning in my freezing cold bedroom. To be that cold under my warm blankets and dressed in my cozy pjs was not a good sign about what it would be like outside. I quickly prepared myself for the morning adorned in my marathon gear - complete with thick socks, layered shirts, hoodie and ipod. I fueled myself up with a peanut butter sandwich, grapefruit and water. I was ready to go.

The plan was for me to pick Kristi up at 4:45 and we would head out for our crazy adventure. By 5:00 I had already "pulled a Kristin". I stepped right into a deep mud puddle and my feet were soaked. No one was surprised. Around 5:45 we started the race with about 12 other "marathon walkers"(everyone else would start around 7:00). It was pitch black outside, the air was frigid and my ipod was being stupid and not working. Great!

Kristi and I walked the first lap together and I must say it wasn't that bad. The adrenaline was still pumping and the sun was coming up - by golly I was gonna make it. After the first lap she went on ahead of me and I started the second lap with a friend, Melissa, doing the half marathon. It was a nice surprise that allowed us to catch up with each other. By the end of the first half though I was hurting. The last 13.1 miles were very hard. Everyone there was so encouraging and supportive through the entire process. I might have been one of the last people to finish - but I made it. Kristi had finished way before me and her kids waited patiently for me to round the corner. They ran into the finish line with me and it was just a bundle of fun. We took tons of pictures.

The Blazines and I went to Mely's to eat a yummy lunch and Kristi and I could hardly stand up straight to walk in. My legs and feet are killing me and I have the most ridiculously large blisters all over my feet. I will be proudly wearing my flip flops to work tomorrow and hoping to get a little grace.

I am nervous about what tomorrow will bring, but I figure hot baths and tylenol/motrin will take care of it. I appreciate all the support via fb and text messages throughout the morning ~ overall it was a good day!

Short and Sweet

I would like to start off by apologizing to the 2 blog readers I have out there (hehehe) for neglecting my blog. I am more or less going to continue to neglect it, but I thought I would stop by and say hi. My life has been incredibly busy for the past month with lots of changes. You should be on the edge of your keyboard waiting some fun new blogs in March.

I will leave you with this tidbit: I have officially started my small group at CCCC and it has been great. For the most part the peeps in the small group are young, but they are fun. I am actually only about 3 years older than most of them, but I feel ancient. Since all my friends in the area are married with the babies I am super pumped about some new peeps in my social demographic. You know people to play Jenga with on Valentine's Day and stuff like that.

More to come.....

Achieving My Childhood Dreams

I am sitting in my room getting everything together to head to Livingston for a funeral tomorrow. My best friend's mother died Saturday night. Between that and reading "The Last Lecture" I have been thinking a lot about life lessons and leaving a legacy.

I watched the video of Randy Pausch's "Last Lecture" several months ago and awaited the book in my stocking. (I was with my mother when she bought it.) I have truly been inspired by the book to think about my life and my own dreams - not for what I can do for myself, but what my life will mean for others.

I have achieved many of my dreams already, but I sit here today and wonder if I fully understood what those opportunities meant. Did I fully appreciate the experience of achieving my dreams? I don't know - lots of journal entries logged in the past couple of days.

For my blog readers I will include a list of my childhood dreams (not yet achieved):

• Graduate with my PhD (or EdD)
• Become a News Anchor (I could really care less about this dream these days)
• Visit New York City
• Publish a book
• Own a house
• Be a wife and mother (although not yet achieved I have had the opportunity to love on and care for a number of children)

For the most part my childhood dreams are pretty blah, but I do hope that I will take some time to examine how I go about accomplishing these things in my life. I also hope that I take the time to step back from my dreams and help others achieve their personal dreams.

Take some time to check out the video or read the book - very good! www.thelastlecture.com

Christmas Vaca Quick Update

Just a quick update from the FABULOUS Christmas break! I would like to start off by saying I left work Friday afternoon, December 18, around 12:45 and did not return until yesterday morning. (Have I told you that I like this new gig?)

I had a wonderful time in Livingston visiting the fam. My nephews are getting so grown up and it was great seeing them. Little Roper is just precious! I got to love on him so much! Basically my week was just spent catching up with old friends and hanging out with the fam. I spent hours snuggled under a blanket and watching NCIS and Criminal Minds marathons. I cross-stitched things for my grandmothers and great aunt for Christmas. It was all pretty mindless and restful.

Christmas traditions are not really traditions anymore. Too many others things going on. That makes me a little sad around the holidays, but life goes on I guess. I was abundantly blessed with presents. I got a camera and an electric toothbrush - which is my favorite. I got money from grandparents and other relatives, which was given as a gift to the family of my compassion child. I am so blessed to be in a life stage where I can pretty much buy whatever I want. It is wonderful - and stressful at the same time. I don't want to become consumed with things and forget the actual needs people have. I don't ever want to take for granted what is given to me - I sometimes remind myself of that 3 and 4 times daily.

I went to Austin to visit Courtney on Monday and got to see the capitol. (I also learned when to use capitol vs. capital - thanks to the Texas History teacher herself!) On the way home I visited some peeps in College Station and got to stock up on some new A&M gear. (Jenny - the 2014 shirts reminded me of you and made me cringe a little bit - that is 11 years past when I graduated - YIKES.)

I came back to Houston for New Year's Eve and hung out with The Wilson and Blazine Clan. We had a super fun evening. I am a little old for NYE I guess - I was asleep on the couch before 11:00. I slept and lazed around most of the day Friday.

Saturday/Sunday I crashed the outlet malls and got a new purse and a cute new dress! I also got to spend some wonderful quality time with an old friend. :) It was a perfect ending for my holiday!

Vaca Movie List:
Sherlock Holmes
Up In The Air
Nine
Did You Hear About the Morgans
It's Complicated

*I wasn't super impressed with any of them!*

Peanut Update: Things aren't looking up for my sweet girl. She will be having her surgery (which I said I was not going to do - but you see how far that got me) in 2 weeks. She is still on a no stair policy. They will be watching to see if the disc will go back in place - if it pops out of socket things are not good AT ALL!

BIG NEWS for 2010: I have officially decided to buy a house this year! I had my first conversation with my financial planner. I am excited and scared all at the same time!

Hoarders

I by no means live in filth like the families on the television show "Hoarders", but I must admit that I do like to hang on to things that hold sentimental value. I was especially proned to hoarding things in Jr. High and High School. Since I left for college (in 2001), my parents have moved downstairs and use my bathroom/closet and turned my old bedroom into a gym. During the holidays I spent some time cleaning out some of my "stuff" that had been shoved in every nook and cranny. I thought I would share with my blog readers a few of my favorite things that I found during the purge. These things have had a part in shaping me into the person I am today.

• "Marty (ex-boyfriend) Memories": I got a good laugh finding the Valentine's Day card where he wrote "You are so sweat". That was classic. Now that he is married I hope he has learned how to tell his wife that she is "sweet" and not "sweat". I also enjoyed reading the yearly Thanksgiving Day cards he gave me. This yearly ritual meant so much that I have started giving people Thanksgiving Day cards/presents. The most meaningful things I found were cards given to me by his mother. She died in 2001 and was an amazing woman who I think about often. It was nice to take some time to remember who she was and how she influenced my life.
• Awards and Recognitions: I found every old report card, TAAS test score, College Acceptance letter and all 500 medals neatly organized and separated by grades/schools. Along with those things I found yearbooks, stacks of school pictures and the 2 "Letter Blankets" I received for Academic Excellence. It was fun to look through these things and think back about how much I have changed through the years. I have great memories from my years in grade school. I kept all of these things - obviously.
• GT Projects: I found a binder I made the year I worked with the Special Ed department for my independent project. It was fun to look through the book and see how my life was change working with those guys. I laughed out loud when I read at the end of the book "I hope that one day I have the opportunity to work with special needs children as an adult. I learned as much from them as they learned from me." I would say that this year my life has been changed having the opportunity to teach - and I am teaching special ed!
• Letters/School Pictures: I found stacks and stacks of letters written from friends and passed in the hallways. Lots of BFFs and FFL. I loved looking at the pictures of Lee Ann through the years and all the letters we wrote back and forth. Drama - Drama - Drama - it is a miracle we made it through those years.
• Get Well Soon stuff: For my blog readers that are unaware - on March 12, 1996 I fell off my horse and had some serious injuries. I was lifeflighted to Herman Hospital. It was a life changing experience for many people involved. People from all over were praying for me and my family. God's power was made evident through the miracles seen during that time. I had a hard time getting rid of things from that part of my life. I had even kept the restraints used on my bed in ICU. I threw most of it away, but I did keep a binder I made of the cards sent to me during my hospitalization and recovery time. I had over 200 cards sent to me and received over 20 stuffed animals (flowers were not allowed while I was in ICU). It is nice to remember how people supported my family during this time, but more importantly a sign of how when people come together in prayer God's power is made known.

I dwindled my keepsakes down considerably, but I will never forget the memories made during my childhood. I look forward to looking back on these days and seeing how the memories I am making today will change the person I become. Stay tuned.

Princess Peanut Buttercup

I adopted my precious Peanut Buttercup 4 years ago and she has been the love of my life ever since. She is the most annoyingly yappy dog and has zero control of her bladder or licking, but I love her anyway. Sunday afternoon I walked in my parent's house and there was no sign of her. She never barked or moved out of her spot. I knew something was wrong. She had started feeling bad Saturday night, but my parents had waited to tell me.

I took her to the vet this morning. They determined that she has injured her back, mainly due to the fact that her spine can't support the extra 5 lbs. she has gained living with Nana and Puddin'. After several x-rays (and lots of $$$) they gave her a shot of morphine and some medicine to take.

When we got home she couldn't keep her eyes open and did nothing but sleep and lay around all afternoon. After taking her medicine tonight she finally started acting more like herself.

The vet found bladder stones on the x-rays and says that it is a result of frequent urinary tract infections (of which I had no clue she was having). The vet says they need to come out - which means surgery. I am leaning towards being a selfish pet owner and forgoing the surgery. I figure if mom has had 4 kidney stones stuck in her bladder for over 2 months now and lived without having surgery then Peanut can handle it too.

Her follow-up appointment is on January 2. I said I was going to send Kev-o to be the one to say "no" to the surgery. In the mean time Peanut is not allowed to jump, climb up or down stairs andd must remain on a strict diet. I hope that and her medicine makes her feel as good as new.

*History Update* My Papa has now called me 3 times to update me on history. I am required to stop by for a book to read before our history lesson. Just so you know he has twice commented on my degrees and how they obviously mean nothing (another jab against A&M for the Texas grad - with a history degree). If you know him you understand that the stupid comment now makes me a complete idiot in his mind.

Christmas Break - Part 1

My first Christmas break as a teacher has officially started. I must say the start to the break has exceeded my expectations. It has been fabulous!!!!

I got to leave school around 12:45 on Friday afternoon and went to Kyle and Mary Michele's house to hang out with Meredith. I had so much fun catching up with her! Friday night Kristi, Mary Michele, Meredith and I had a GNO. We went to Galveston to enjoy yummy Mexican food at Tortuga and the Festival of Lights at Moody Gardens. The weather was perfect and the company was even better. We laughed so hard the people at surrounding tables were giving us looks. Now that is a good time. It was fun to catch up and enjoy some laughs together. This was my first year to enjoy the Festival of Lights and they did not disappoint...well...there were some lights out which stunk....but overall they were beautiful and it was fun!

The night was made complete with frequent updates from Michelle and the arrival of baby Megan!

Saturday morning I got to meet my new roommate Megan Kate Tanner. She is absolutely beautiful and I can't wait to watch her grow up! After Will arrived with Madisyn I left to allow them time to hang out as a family.

Saturday was the girls' (Faith, Hope and Joy) 7th birthday. It is hard to imagine that they have gotten so big. When I talked to them on the phone it made my heart melt thinking about how much they have grown up! They had just turned 1 when I first started working for them. WoW - time flies!

I spent the rest of my morning running errands and taking a nap! This is one of the wonderful things about holidays/weekends....uuummmmm!

Saturday afternoon I got my hair done for the holiday season. I love the new color and the girl did a great job on the cut! I'll take pics to show the new do later. Then I went to The Woodlands to hang out with an old friend. We had a great evening catching up and hanging out with each other. Good Times and a fun evening to start the break! :)

I traveled to Livingston this afternoon - just in time to catch the last part of Sunday lunch. I made a stupid comment about not knowing when the Civil War was, so now I get to spend Tuesday morning having a history lesson with Papa - woopee! This will teach me to keep my mouth shut.

I am snug as a bug in my warm bed and happy to be spending time with my family!