Love...

Love is a symbol of eternity. It wipes out all sense of time, destroying all memory of a beginning and all fear of an end. ~Author Unknown

True love stories never have endings. ~Richard Bach

Love unlocks doors and opens windows that weren't even there before. ~Mignon McLaughlin

You know you're in love when you don't want to fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams. ~Dr. Seuss

Just because somebody doesn't love you the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't love you with all they have. ~Author Unknown

Anyone can catch your eye, but it takes someone special to catch your heart. ~Author Unknown

True love is when you put someone on a pedestal, and they fall - but you are there to catch them. ~Author Unknown

Love is not blind - it sees more, not less. But because it sees more, it is willing to see less. ~Julins Gordon

To the world you might be one person, but to one person you might be the world. ~Author Unknown

It's so easy to fall in love but hard to find someone who will catch you. ~Author Unknown

Come live in my heart and pay no rent. ~Samuel Lover

If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden. ~Claudia Ghandi

Falling in love is so hard on the knees. ~Aerosmith

Love is a gross exaggeration of the difference between one person and everybody else. ~George Bernard Shaw

Race Details! :)

So race morning started out good. I chomped down an energy bar and a bottle of water with some zipfizz, then hopped in the shower...

I packed a change of clothes since after the race we were going to go watch Paul's daughter in a softball game.

I looked outside when letting the dogs in and freaked! Rain!!!! So, I grabbed my old running shoes...in the event that I may need them. Didn't want to get the new shoes wet!

Off I go to pick up Paul...and we drive toward the race location.

Rain, rain, and pouring rain! It was difficult for me to see while driving...I was not happy. My first race and it's pouring rain! I did not want to run in the rain! Ugh!

So we get to the race location and park. The rain is not stopping. We see people walking/running around getting drenched...and I mean drenched! Off and on rain for about a half hour. I stop a couple people and they tell us the race start has been delayed - thank goodness!

I can't stand it so I go out by the library and stretch. I go back to the car. Big support by Paul...LOL!!!

I finally suck it up and go over to where the race is going to start... It's sprinkling and my glasses are getting all mucked up. Wonderful.... The race starts and off I go...

As soon as we start running, it starts pouring...again. It rains hard for a good five minutes...I take off my glasses and shove them down my sports bra. Don't really need them anyway! And nothing like your feet squishing in your shoes...bleck!

Running, running, running....

I get to the two mile marker and the guy shouts out 16:20. Wowie! I'm running just over 8 minute miles! :) Once past the two mile mark, it goes from road to running on a trail...full of puddles and mud...yuk-o!

We get back on some asphalt and zoom, zoom, zoom again! I see the finish and there is a huge puddle. It was probably 7ft across and 10ft long... I figure no going around and slowing down, so right down the middle I go. Plus, I figure it will make a great pic! :)

I get passed the finish and slow down... No idea of my time... Look around... No Paul... Walk around... No Paul... Head back to where we were parked...no car! Huh? Then I see him...in the car...holding up a towel he had just purchased for me... I wasn't happy that he wasn't at the finish for my first ever race...but thanked him for the towel. I could tell Paul felt bad that he missed it... :( ...but I teased him anyway. ;P

We walk back because I want to find out my time... We had to wait a while for the rest of the folks to finish...

Finally, they posted the times....

I ROCK IT OUT!!!! 25:58 at a 8:23 minute mile pace!!!!! WooHooo!!!!

I was 2nd in my age group and 111th of 249 overall!!!

It was tough, but I made it and I did better than I ever expected I would!!!!

I Rocked It!

Oh yeah baby...I ROCKED IT!!!!!

My first ever race... A 5K (a little over 3 miles)...

28:58 overall time.

8:23 minute pace.

2nd in my age range.

111th of 249 runners.

I'll write more about the race later...gotta run...pun intendend!

ROCK ON!!!! I'm geeked!!!! :)

(and Paul was there, too! :) :) )

Oh, Whoa is Me

So I'm feeling sorry for myself tonight....

I have my first "real" race this coming Saturday morning. Sure I've done a couple races, but I've never ran one for "real" time. So, this will be my first official race.

I picked up my number and shirt this evening. I'm so geeked about it!!!! I'm number 601...which really could be lucky number "7" because 6 + 0 + 1 = 7. I know, I know, not only am I geeked...I am a geek! LOL!!!

But...as of now, I'm going all by myself. :(

I don't want to go by myself. I want someone there jumping up and down and cheering me on as I run past the finish line...

I don't think I should have to ask anyone to come...but no one is offering to come cheer me on. I want someone to be there to share my excitement. And this is really bumming me out. I know everyone thinks I'm very independent, but come on people!

I was thinking I would ask Paul to come with me tonight...but he had some stuff come up with his daughter's softball team and I didn't want to bring it up because bascially it's a cluster f..k situation and I didn't want to seem selfish. And I know he has his kids Friday night and the race is at 9 a.m. Saturday morning...excuses, excuses, excuses not to ask...

But I do want to be selfish!!!!!! I want to scream...why isn't anyone offering to come to my race?!?!

I don't want to be there alone...

What fun is celebrating at the finish line all alone? :(

Guess I'm gonna have to suck it up and ask someone to come with me...

So...oh, whoa is me...I feel sorry for myself.

Leap of Faith

Sometimes we have to take a leap of faith no matter how scared we are...

Off I go...leaping...praying I miss landing in the poop...and...praying I find at least one coin from the pot 'o gold at the end of the rainbow...

Geronimo!!!!! :)

Me, scared?

Been very busy as of late!

Last week I was off of work...and extremely swamped with home improvement projects. I got the bug from Paul...and have no clue what made me jump in with both feet. But that's me, jump right in with both feet with little thought to what could possibly happen or go wrong...because, of course, all will go well without a hitch. Ha, ha, ha! ;P

Basically I spent the past week painting, running and contemplating my life...

I started out thinking I would paint the living room. I got a bunch of those samplers and had big blotches of paint all over my living room wall. Blotches are a far cry from a sample paper hanging on the wall for the past year. Yes, that's right...I had a sample color slip hanging on the wall for the past year...and have done nothing until now.

Well after the blotches of paint on the living room wall, instead of choosing a color and going with it, I put some blotches on the kitchen wall, too!

Let's see... one red wall in the kitchen...one primer coat and two coats of color... Think I still may need a third coat of red. Then I decided that I couldn't leave the other three walls white, so they are now a nice carmel brown. ;P That took about three or four days...

Then there's the foyer, living room and hall way... A nice milk chocolate brown...or rather cinnamon spice to be exact! Two coats...may need a third.

Also thought I could refinish the fireplace in the living room...started that prior to painting. What a mess!!!! Wound up just sanding the top down after trying to strip away the paint. A little delay, hence painting the kitchen first.

Throw in running four to six miles a day....

And today, Paul stopped by and tore out the carpet and padding in the living room, foyer and hallway for me... Nice hardwood floors underneath all that! :)

Soooo...still have trim to paint in the kitchen, foyer, living room and hallway. Still have staples and tack board to pull out in the foyer, living room and hallway...have done quite a bit of staple pulling after my four mile run today, but got tired and gave up. ;P Should I mention that the kitchen ceiling now needs painting because the blue tape pulled the ceiling paint off and I now have a nice sporadic mint green trim around the edges of it?!?!? ARGH - I actually cried when that happened.

Did a lot of contemplating this past week, too. Had a really wonderful weekend away with Paul... And I'm scared. Scared of getting hurt again. But we are both giving a lot of effort into making things work between us...and we do get along... I'm just really, really scared about getting hurt...really scared. Ah well...nothing ventured, nothing gained. And I know what I'm getting into...eyes wide open...and heart opening up again, too. Hence me being scared. Plus, Paul is going to be really busy with work and kids the next month or two...and since quality time is a biggie for me, so I have to remind myself to not take things personally...which I have a tendancy to do even when it's not meant to be that way.

I have my first race this weekend... A 5K. Should be okay. Paul has been roller blading with me while I run. I like that because it pushes me to run faster. Next month I have an 8K and a 5K...and then the Half Marathon in October... Maybe the 10K Turkey Trot in November.

Blah, blah, blah... I've been putting off writing because I haven't really been able to figure out what was bugging me. I like doing things for myself. I enjoy seeing the results. But...it's time to let someone in and let them be more a part of my life...and have I mentioned that I'm scared??? LOL!!!

Ah well, better wrap things up and head to bed...

Fever

I must be a loon.

It was 90+ degrees today and what did I do as soon as I got home?

Ran.

I ran up to the park and loopedy looped it four times, then headed back home. It took a good 30 minutes to run 2.5 miles...but given how hot it was...I guess not too bad.

I drank three bottles of water afterward and could have wrung out my sports bra. Plus, it took a good twenty minutes to cool down. Talk about sweaty and yuky... I know, I know, TMI, but oh well! LOL!!!

Apparently, I have running fever!