One small step

I'm more principle-driven than goal-oriented. For me, that seems to give God more leeway to rule in my life than setting specific expectations. Nonetheless, one "goal" I had for myself this year (well last year actually) was to run an actual 5K race. I run about 9 miles a week and have done so for over a year now, so I've covered the distance many times over. I also do all of my running (so far) outside instead of using a treadmill.

But I knew there would be a different dynamic when 673 other people were running the same course. One thing I didn't know was where to walk into the starting corral. C and L (my cheering team for this race) thought I should start near the front, but I knew MANY people would be passing me and I didn't want to get run over (literally).

The race was the Yiasou Greek Festival 5k and all I really wanted was a t-shirt, my two free tickets to the festival (a yearly date nite tradition for B and I), and to finish under 16min/mile without stopping or dying.

I had the pleasure of meeting up with a brother from our church (he encouraged me the last 400 meters to finish strong) who was also running so that was nice.

I finished 561st out of 674 runners with a 5K time of 31min, 39seconds. My iPod told me I also ran a personal best for the mile, which was cool. I averaged a little over 10min, 12 sec/mile, so goal met. I knew I started faster than normal, but I wasn't sure if I could keep it up all the way. The top three uber-runners in my age group (40-44) ran a 17 minute race so my time is about twice theirs. I finished 79th out of 104 dudes in my age group.

Overall, I think I was able to find open spaces in the crowd to run comfortably in. I didn't dare look behind me 'cause I knew that would slow me down. I was also really tempted to join the growing crowd of walkers during the last half of the race, but I've promised myself never to stop until the end. (keep putting one foot in front of the other and listen to the tunes)

My camera battery was low but C did manage to get one pic of me right after the race. Boy, I look beat! (=

Now I'll start training for a 10k. All glory goes to God for endurance and strength to persevere. He is good!!

Half of a Century

My initial trip to PA was due to the fact that my parents celebrated their 50th Anniversary. My mother said that she never thought that she would make it to her 50th. There is good reason for that. Both of my parents graduated from college and taught for a number of years before they decided to attend Seminary. My mother did not marry until she was 32. They knew each other a short time and were engaged within a matter of months. When my father finally asked my mother out, he asked her for TWO dates. But you see, the odds were against my father and very much so in my mother's favor. There were only a handful of women at the seminary amongst a sea of men.

We only had a small family celebration at my parents' home -- mostly because my brothers and I aren't great at planning.




The following Sunday, my brother took my parents to The Hershey Hotel for brunch and I got to join them. What a yummy treat for all of us!!

A look inside

**Behind the scenes at BnSki**

Turns out B and I were posting (450 mi away from each other) at exactly the same time last night. That's typical for us. I hit Publish and I looked and there were two posts, with exactly the same post time (8:36pm). After reading hers, I HAD to change the date on mine to de-emphasize it. As usual, B's post (even though self deprecated in her comment) was poetic, profound and very well written. It's like she's able to concisely describe the types of things that are always in my head, but I seldom talk about. I've been fortunate to visit three of her parent's homes and she captures the essence of them beautifully in a way that brings so many similar experiences of my own life to mind.

While she's been up north dealing with emotional, sentimental, often difficult but extremely important, once-in-a-lifetime things, my days have consisted of the "every day" of life that she handles so much of in our home. Dishes, meals, the dog, laundry, sweeping, getting 6 ski-bums where they need to be on time, groceries, pharmacies, and trying to remember to meet with God, laugh with my kids and do or speak something affectionate to my beautiful spouse that I miss so much. Oh, and that doesn't even count things like school, attitudes, yard maintenance, alleriges or extra-curricular activities.

As I read her beautiful prose and consider the typical nature of my "gee whiz, looky here" posts, I am SO THANKFUL for all the beautiful things God gives me through my sweet B--and all the hard work and sacrifice she does for our family. It's my privilege to honor her here, publicly, and to release her to do whatever God calls her to do outside of our home.

I miss you honey. I'm glad you're coming home soon. I'm SO grateful for you.

So until I kiss your smiling face again...1,2,3.

The Pieces of our Lives

I have been spending time with my dear parents these last few weeks. They are hoping to move at some point in the not so distant future. For many reasons, they needed help getting started sorting through things in their house. I have only been able to make a small dent, but anything is progress.

Today, I loaded up the van with about 17 boxes of books. Hmmmmmm....I must have inherited my love of books from them. There are more books that need to leave, but they have another destination. The books today each had to travel in my arms up a flight of stairs and across the yard before they reached the van. I then drove them about 30 minutes to a place which might only be a lay over.

It has been an interesting experience going through things. I find myself chuckling to myself as I am reminded of people and events in my life. As mom and I sorted through the many books, she told me stories here and there. As I tried to make dad's workbench less chaotic and I found little items that just reminded me so much of my dad.

Boxes of bows, decorations, puzzles, photos, and little doodads belonged to my mother. She has always had a well decorated home. I don't know how I could be her daughter. I only decorate at Christmas. My mother has decorations for each season of the year. She has always been kind and generous and a package is not wrapped if it does not have a bow. In my house, there are rarely bows -- especially on the gifts that I give. But I am very sentimental. Just like my mom.

Music, books, tools, loose change, projects, flashlights, and tiny religious books found in nooks and crannies of drawers reflect my father. He was the boy scout that I don't think ever grew up. He always loved woodworking and craft projects and there were treasures that any boy would love to be found almost anywhere you looked. In my head, I hear the Baritone of my father's voice and the mellow sound of his trombone. To this day, when my Ski plays his Jackie Gleason, the sobbing trombone makes me think of my dear father.

I always thought that my dad was the coolest guy. It's funny. He reminds me a great deal of my dh. And even more, I see so much of my dad in myself. He is so mischievous and when I find myself pestering my kids, it is sometimes like an echo of my father's voice.

I have seen this week the games I played as a child, the plates I ate from on family camping trips, really neat scrapbooks that I had never seen before. I've used the pots and pans that my mother bought from her uncle many years ago. And those pots are still wonderful. I wish I could find some just like them.

While many of this will not be claimed by family members, these items are not merely things, but moments of our lives. They are gifts given and received, souvenirs from trips and reflections of long hard times of work. It is so funny to me that when I look at a item from our vacation to Florida, I can smell how our closed up house smelled upon our return. As I look at recipes, I can taste my grandmother's cookies and I can smell her pantry. And every time I walk down my parents' walk, I wonder if I will remember it years from now. For even now, I remember how I used to ride my cousin's bike when we stayed at my Grandmother's house. I would follow the paths through her front yard and as it wound its way around to the back and then into the side alley. I wish that I could give all of these memories to my children. I wish that I could look at everything here and sit and tell my children all of the stories in my head.

Every time I come back here, I feel this countryside pull my heart. I don't think I will ever live here again, but as I drove through the rolling hills and curvy roads this afternoon, I once again felt a longing not to leave. There is something for me about seeing a buggy pass buy, the smell of a cow pasture, rows of corn, and those old farmhouses that makes me a little homesick.

But my experiences here have made me feel like one of mom's puzzles. Every piece seems to have different things going on. Together it makes a sometime messy, sometimes crazy, sometimes beautiful, and sometimes serene scenery. But the pieces, no matter how fragmented make up a complete picture. And so, while these things do not make us and while there are many moments in our lives that seem like clutter, the experiences we have make us as individual as we can be and without them, we would not be the same.

iPod wOrthy: FF5

No, not FFH. FF5--Family Force Five. These guys are totally nuts. They're my #2 band (Lost Dogs, FF5, U2) and I REEEALY hope I can get a chance to see them when they come to town in October. We'll see. Their music swings back and forth between keyboard infused "dance" songs and harder rock. They throw guitars across the stage to each other--DURING a song and they all have surnames like SoulGlowActivatr, Phatty, and Chapstique.

There are some bands/musicians I listen to because their talent is just WAAAYYY beyond anything I've seen (and I've seen/heard a LOT of music in my 43 years). There are other bands, though, that give me a similar feeling to looking at modern art. Half of it's "Heck, I could've done THAT!" the other half is "Brilliant!! Why didn't I do that!" or even better yet, "Boy, I'd love to do SOMETHING like THAT some day" Family Force Five is a "some day" band for me.

If a bunch of crazy dudes from Atlanta can create "comic book hero-type" faith- based rock and dance music and not let any lack of talent (which they have) or dancing ability (which, well...never mind) get in the way of having a good time (while not taking themselves too seriously), hmmmmm. I believe I'll have a piece of that!

Family Day....

Saturday, was my son's birthday. It was supposed to be "Family Day," but my three oldest and Ski went to a church thing all day. That's ok. It has been a few years since we had "Family Day."

Life turned out differently than I had planned.

Most people in my life now have no idea about the fact that if I chose my plan for my life instead of God, I would have four teens right now. It is very strange to think that so many people don't know about such a big turning point in my life. I don't mind talking about it at all. It just doesn't come up. It's funny. My mom was always freaked out by death because of some experiences she had as a young child. I never was. I went to many funerals growing up and I just looked at it as a part of life. I worked in a nursing home after college and I often did after death care and I stayed with people as they died. Many times, I did this alone, because the other girls were freaked out. So, I think I have kind of passed that all on to my kids. I have always been very open with them about death and find it so surprising when people want to hide this from their children. In fact, my openness about death really helped my then 4yo dd prepare for the death of her brother.

It had been a few years since I had been to the cemetery. Life goes on and you move on and things get busy. I don't think about it every day and there are times when it seems a long time passes without me thinking about it. We used to go on Memorial Day and July 4th and decorate the graves, but hadn't done that in a little bit. I would be over that way in town, but I always had a time schedule to keep up with. Not long ago, I did stop with 'Stelle on the way home from the French festival. After church this Sunday, we all stopped by. It is not so much sad being there to see our son's grave, but it is really sad to see all of the graves nearby. Almost all of them are children. Some have one date on their graves and others were only a few days old. And some were a year or less or a little more. And still...after all these years, we get a little misty eyed. I don't know why. I guess it is a heart thing.

It was funny...
As we were driving away from the cemetery, the kids said..."Hey, we could have called him A.J." I kind of laughed and said "Yeah. We had planned on that."

I hope that you all don't think this post is morbid. It just seems like a big milestone...would have been 13...that I just can't let it go by and not say anything. I am grateful for all that came from my dear son coming into my life. It's something that I don't expect anyone to understand. People look at me funny when I say that. Oh well....

Ski says...I agree. At 13 I start taking my teens out for coffee and "daddy dates". I enjoy trying to get in their heads and figure out what their dreams, wishes, goals etc. are. N, H and C really seem to enjoy it. I do too. (sigh) Some day I want to see if he's a grown-up in eternity or still little. Somehow I picture him grown and working on my mansion, or wherever God will have B and I (it wouldn't be heaven without hangin' with my sweet B) spend eternity. My heart longs to give him a big father/son hug. Some day....

Biltmore and more, and more

Some shots of the Biltmore House in May...









Wouldn't be a trip without Starbucks right outside the gates--how convenient!!
















Whoa...cute chick alert!!


























Shots of the gardens next time!

In Search of....the perfect dog toy

If you don't own a dog, I bet you have wondered WHY are there so many dog toys out there. Maybe you have also wondered why someone would spend so much money on dog toys. Well, I am here to let you know.

Go ahead and laugh.
I know it is so obvious, but we are first time dog owners.
When we picked up our sweetie, we headed off to the pet store. Naively, we picked out a few toys.

Many times, our doggie appears to be very stupid. However, when it comes to her toys, she has a knack for finding the weak spot and gnawing away. She is also a ripper. Here is the short list of toys that she has gone through...



This toy is still alive. It no longer has legs or a tail. However, it has lasted longer than any of the other toys. In fact, when this toy bites the dust, we just might get another one like it. The kids call it an Ikea dog. I am not sure WHY. It squeaked when it was new and somehow, it still squeaks. That is a major achievement with her. The Kong donut tennis ring is still around, but it lost its squeak within 5 minutes of play. Not quite worth the money that we forked out for that one. Of course, the Kong still is in one piece. I can't figure out what to put in it besides their treats. Everyone says to put peanut butter in there, but of course, that is out. Sunbutter is a bit too runny. She does like it, but it led to her trying to steal Iz's sandwich off of his plate.




This one I found at Harris Teeter for an awesome price. She liked it, but only after most of her other toys were destroyed. When she finally took an interest in it, she began chomping off big hunks from the ends. I was afraid that she would swallow them, so I had to toss this one in the garbage. We have since tried a stronger and sturdier nylabone and it seems to be holding up ok. It has teeth marks on it, but that's ok. If this one doesn't last, we will have to start buying the heavy duty super expensive bones that they make.


Tennis balls designed for dogs. These are great while they last. Her favorite thing to do to these is rip the covering off of them. We found a bunch of these at Harris Teeter on clearance and we thought it was a bargain. Not much of a bargain when she just rips and strips.

Then we saw a seemingly awesome toy. Boy did that thing look sturdy. It had nylon rope and tennis balls on it. We got home and gave it to her. She love it soooooo much that she shredded the thing in minutes. I don't know HOW she did it. That thing looked super strong!!

We bought a cute kangaroo, but she ripped its head off. There have been a few more toys that have crossed our threshold, but those are some of the more memorable ones.

I just spent big bucks on a dog toy and in less than 10 minutes, she has ripped part of it off. The main ball is still in tact, but since she ripped part of it off already, I am not convinced that this toy will be sticking around long. I bought this toy because it was supposed to be very sturdy. People highly recommended it to me. In fact, when I entered the store and made a beeline to that particular display, the proprietor said, "Oh, I see you have a power chewer." Apparently, the toy was made for a dog a bit more ladylike than my girl.

Well, at least ice cubes are cheap and Bully Sticks seem to last. Don't even ask about the bully sticks....

And I bet you're wondering why I would keep buying all of these doggy toys, right?!?! Well, you see, she has not begun to chew on my household goods yet, so I am just trying to keep her interested in ANYTHING but my furniture.

So, if anyone out there is a dog owner and has a very sturdy toy, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE give me some ideas for my Belle.

Not a Thing....

I have pulled up my page to blog a number of times, but I just haven't been able to.
I have been thinking and thinking of fun things to say, but there is not a thing to be funny about.

On Monday, Ski, Iz, and I made the trek to Durham.
We got there later than we hoped, but that was ok. We had nothing planned. For a little bit we vegged in front of the tv and watched "Cash Cab" which Iz thought was cool. He even got some questions right. Then we hunted for dinner. We made a quick stop at Whole Foods and then we found a cool little Middle Eastern place. Well, it wasn't that cool. But I love middle Eastern food, so I thought it was pretty neat. Ski and I split our plates of gyro and kafta. They had the most amazing tahini and hummus. We ended up eating outside because if you wanted to, you could smoke a hookah. No one was doing that, but we thought we had better eat at the outside tables just in case. But seriously, I have decided that dh and I should move to Durham to get our Masters at Duke so we can eat all of our meals at this place. The hysterical thing is that they have a "no Ketchup" rule and even t-shirts that say this, but the guy plunked down a bottle of ketchup at our table with our order.

After dinner, we tried to find coffee, but couldn't find a Starbucks until 10:30 and they had already closed. ;( So, we went off to the hotel for bed. I then woke up at 4:30, 5:00, and 5:30 when I finally got up and took a shower. I am NOT a morning person. I do not sleep well anywhere that is not my own bed.

Iz had breakfast and we all went off to get coffee (or juice) and we ended up at Iz's appointment 45 minutes early. The long and short of our appointment....Iz badly failed the skin test for egg. He developed a huge welt and the allergist said that even if his blood work looked good, we would NOT be doing an egg challenge. When he had his blood drawn, he barely flinched and he DID think it was cool to watch the blood run through the tube. He got a cool floppy dog from the treasure chest and a build-a-bear dog from the lobby table for Chidren's Hospital patients. He also got two cool Hurricanes posters from a guy in the lobby.

It will be a month or so until we find out the results of blood work. Unless there is something earth shattering in that blood work, it looks like we will be status quo (no diet changes) until next August. I am learning not to get my hopes up too much. Not sure if that is a good thing or not.