The weekend that I crossed the finish line!!!!

Monday... we meet again.... so soon....

Mercy - what a weekend.

Friday, I went to pick up my race packet for the Rodes City 10K & I really had doubts I was going to make the race.  My sinuses still were stopped up, my head still hurt, I still felt weak.  I hadn't even been able to work out not ONE day the week before being sick.  This just didn't look good....

This was exactly how I felt picking up my packet

I woke up on Saturday & got up to start getting ready & just felt blah... really blah... & I said I wasn't going to do it.

... & then I started crying.  Like ugly cry.  Ricky kept asking me what was wrong & I couldn't even put it into words.  I just felt like I was letting myself down.  I know races aren't everything & it wouldn't be the end of the world if I missed it, but it would have been another knock in my confidence.  Something to hit my pride that I psst'ed out at the end of the finish line...

& I couldn't do that... Ricky wouldn't let me do that.  I love that man. 

By this point, it was 7:15 & the race starts at 8... & we live like 35 minutes away from the start line.... & I was still in my pj's.  OH. MY. GOODNESS... I literally grabbed anything, put it on, grabbed what I could think I needed & we zoomed down the road.  Talk about a race.

So we wouldn't have to worry about parking, Ricky said he would sit out & just drop me off at the start line.  Ends up, we got a parking spot like 1 block from the start & he was able to walk with me to the start & we got there with about 2 minutes to spare. Whew!  Angel wings behind me.

I wont go into the logistics of the race... just know - I DID IT!!! I FINISHED!

It was an awful time on the clock for me... its not something I'm proud of.... but I am proud I crossed the finish line. 

Sometime you just have to prove to yourself that you're stronger then you think... you have to push yourself... you just have to cross the finish line...

The rest of Saturday was just great....

Ricky & I went for our usual post-race breakfast at Panera...
& then we went shopping at Sam's club where I walked out with 2 new books.  My treat to myself for making the race.

I had to get home & get cleaned up because I was meeting a potential bride & groom to deliver a contract.  It was such a perfect day, we sat outside at Starbucks with the nicest breeze.  This was a glorious day.

UK was playing in the tournament so I wasn't about to go home after the meeting & jinx anything so I went craft store crazy... & loaded up on some MORE Bible Journaling goodies.  I really do love my time in the Bible now. Journaling like this makes me EXCITED to open my Bible up every night & see what ideas come to me.  & its like my friend Chasity said, I spend more time focused on something in the Bible as I try to create for it, really making the words sink into my heart... I just love this new concept of Bible study.

Latest haul of supplies

Sunday held a day at church where I just left frustrated.  Some days are just like in youth ministry.  The days where you feel like no one is listening & its a struggle to get any of the kids to focus... & days when kids say, "You're so mean!"... its a punch to the gut on those days... but what can you do?

Ricky ended up going roller skating & I went & crashed a girl's family get together.  They were all going to see Cinderella & Chasity asked me if I wanted to come knowing I hadn't seen the movie yet.  Oh goodness. It's even better then I expected.  Seriously.  I already told Ricky I want to go back....

The rest of Sunday just left me knitting... with real needles!!!... & catching up on some TV. 

Finished this hat.. & DRATS... its so big!!!
Anyone have a really big head?... I got a hat just for you!

The Walking Dead!  OH my.... I can't wait for next week's finale... but scared.  It's already been noted that someone is dying.  I'm kinda nervous.

So it was a VERY productive weekend... one where I was sick but didn't let that slow me down... & a beautiful one to boot... & one where I finished it up feeling very accomplished.  Yeah, I'll take more weekends like this please.

 

How was your weekend?

Friday is a Favorite to me....

Favorite Time of the Year

 

 

WE MADE IT!!!!!

SPRING!!!

Our forecast for all next week is in the 60's....

I can't tell you how happy that makes me

 

 

Favorite Make up Product

 

 

 

Avon Eye Shadow Primer

I can't ever keep my eye shadow on.  I'm not sure why. I think I rub my eyes a lot as the day goes on or something, but I have tried so many products trying to keep it on ... at least till noon.  Enter this product.  After trying them all I think, I really do love this Avon one.  It goes on sale for $3.99 a jar all the time & one jar lasts for months.

 

 

Favorite new WANT

 

 

Kelly Moore Bag

I need this camera bag in my life.  Just the color alone is so beautiful!  But it holds a camera, a few lenses, & even a lap top.

Yep... I'll be saving my pennies for this baby!

 

 

Favorite House Idea

 

 

 

Chalk Boards on Pantry Doors

I love this idea so much!  I wonder if they painted chalk board pain on their original cabinets or glued something in.

Looks like the bottom could be used as a cork board as well - hold some notes or coupons for the grocery.

I'm totally checking out the inside of our pantry cabinets when I get home!

 

Favorite Beauty & the Beast of the week

 

 

Aren't these so cute?!?!?

I would almost think they would be easy to make too!

 

 

 

Favorite Funnies

 

You know its true.....

 

 

 



I want to go to Best Buy immediately now

 

How I feel when Ricky talking about basketball

 

 

Exactly why I don't wear heels

The surprised face...What did she think was going to happen?

 

 

How I feel looking at the clock for 4:00... so close...

but just cant get to it

 



A good reminder

Happy Friday everyone!!!

Thankful Thursday {Link Up 11}

Who does not thank for little will not thank for much.

~Estonian Proverb

What I'm Thankful For this week:

...my uncle that is fighting pancreatic cancer got some good news this week.  The chemo seems to be doing a great job & the tumors in his pancreas are not visible right now.  & the ones in his liver.  Two out of three are not able to be seen right now & the 3rd one is so small.  My uncle is probably going to get a good break on chemo!  & the doctor said he could go into remission for years.  Please Lord, let it be!!!  .... please continue to pray for my Uncle Timmie.

A Nikon camera in his hands... my kinda guy!

... Kleenex with lotion in them.  My nose is still feeling like the skin has been ripped off it, but the difference between regular tissue & lotion tissue?  yep, I'm thankful for it every time I have to blow my nose right now... & that's a LOT!

... Nasal spray. I couldn't sleep at night otherwise.  This head cold has been a booger.

... the warm spell of weather we've been having.  Is there any thing better then feeling warmth after a snowy, cold season?

... Riding with the windows down.  Fresh air makes me happy.

... Dancing with the Stars is back on.  I know some people would roll their eyes at that but I just love that show.  I just love all things dance anyways & its just fun entertainment to me.  #TeamDerek


... a surprise in the mail!  I met the coolest lady in a group online that dealt with neuropathy.  She was the only other person who was a runner & kept running though she had this awful foot pain.  We instantly connected & now through the years, have kept up with each other through FB & Instagram.  I feel like I know her & her family & her fur babies so well.... & then I get this package in the mail from her.  Full of yarn & British Tea & a sweet note.  So made my day.  I am so thankful for the amazing people I have met through this little box on my desk.... really cool if you think about it.  People you'd never run across any other way.  God has ways of bringing people together.

... FLIP FLOPS!!! I wore flip flops for the first time this week.... with a maxi skirt.  That's GOTTA be a sign that Spring is here!

... Fresh hair.  I am amazed every 6 weeks when I leave my stylist's shop & my hair is like silk.  She's magic I tell you - magic!

Fresh hair & fresh eye brows
... can make anyone that feels like poop LOOK so much better...

...ear buds at work.  These things save my sanity on most days.

What are you thankful for this week?

Link up with me.... & be sure to visit any one else that links up...

let's be thankful together!!!

 

 

Friendships... what a precious gift

Friendships.

What a special relationship that is.

REAL friends are so hard to come by.  And when you have them, they are blessings.

I always say when I see posts on other blogs, or Facebook posts, or Instagram pictures of girls going on a "Girls Weekend" or even a "Girls Night Out", my comment is always the same... "I'm Jealous"

I am a friendly person.  I have always had a lot of friends in my life.

But those deep friendship relationship are rare & hard to come by.

I had one super close friend in my life growing up.  Stephanie.  We were like sisters.  We were inseparable.  I can't imagine my life without her. 

But as you grow from teenagers to adults, you find your spouses & settle into your new life as a wife, distance got in the middle & I lost that friendship that we once had.  Now, I'm not saying I lost the friend, but the friendship changes.

When Ricky & I moved to Indiana, we met a couple down the street & we all instantly hit it off as friends.  Ironically, the female side of this couple, her name was Stephanie.  I just must be drawn to people with that name....

But it was an instant friendship that was dear.  One of those relationships where we talked every day, we made plans for every weekend, we found each other at one of our houses a few times a week.  Knitting at mine, dinner at hers.  Stephanie knew better then to expect me to cook.  Real friendships can handle truth like that.

I lost that friendship to liver cancer.

& I have many amazing friends in my life who have come into my life since Stephanie left this world.  I am blessed with amazing women who have become my friend since then.  Women who let me love on their family as they have loved on mine.  Women who still call or text or message me to see how life is going, how my parents or grandbabies are, what the latest news is. 



 

But I always say I miss that girlfriend relationship where you vent out your day every evening on the phone.... where you laugh about the funny things your husband did ... where you know you have someone who will go see that girly movie with you that your husband just dreads seeing as soon as the preview comes on. 

Those friendships are so precious.

I don't know if it's just me or if it's just the way social media works. 

I always tell my brides not to expect their wedding to look like something on Pinterest.  Because on Pinterest, you are seeing the ONE good picture of a LOT of weddings for one full day. 

Maybe I keep seeing people's pictures of girlfriends, & outings & hang outs & maybe it just seems like I'm the only one who is waiting for a friend to come pick me up & go shopping....

I saw where Melanie Shankle (AKA Big Mama) has written a new book about friendships.  & first of all, if you haven't ever read any of her books, you MUST. She's hilarious.  and real.

Pulled from Big Mama's Site

But I saw the video of the book & I instantly started crying at my desk.

Good thing I have a head cold.  My eyes have been watering all week so everyone just assumed it was my sinuses kicking in again. 

Just watch....





I'll totally read this book, because I do know what an amazing gift deep friendships are & how special & precious they are....

But it makes my heart ache a little as well....

Not really a point to my post today, but to just remind you to call your friend tonight.  Laugh about something.  Make plans to hang out.  Hold tight to the relationship you have with them.  Life changes way too quickly sometimes.

& if anyone is named Stephanie, give me a call.  I have a feeling we'll be instant friends. :)

If you could go back for one day....

Isn't it something to think about your childhood?  I know for some people, it may not be a happy or pleasant memory.  But I think for the most part, we all have those wonderful moments when we were kids & everything is innocent & full of adventure & fun....

So what if you could go back for only one day....

where would you go?

It's so hard to pick one...

... I'd like to pick the day when my parents threw me a surprise birthday party.  My dad had taken me to go see my grandparents - my Mamaw & Papaw - & we stayed over for awhile.  He brought me home & I instantly noticed coats on the couch.  (I've always been great at noticing things)... went into our basement & there was all my friends.  I'm not even sure what birthday it was for.  10?  13?  I just remember having fun with my friends playing games, eating cake, hanging out... it was a good day.


... but then thinking of my Mamaw & Papaw, I'd love to go back to a day where my whole family was together at their house.  There was so many of us on my mom's side.  It was always full of laughter, & of course with big families, usually drama, & with a Catholic family, usually someone was drunk.  Memories. :)  But it was fun for me to get together with all my cousins & just catch up.  We all led so many different lives & I was always in awe of so many of them.  & just to sit & see my grandparents again.  To taste my grandmother's dumplings again.... that would be a good day.

... Or to go shopping with my Teenie, my other grandmother.  She would always take me out shopping before school.  The store of the time was Bacon's.  It was always such a big deal for her to see what I was going to buy.  I'd go to the dressing room with an arm full of clothes & would have to come out & show her.  It had to be modest, had to be stylish, & if it had an EA logo on it, all the better. .... EA - Etienne Aigner - it was what my grandmother loved more then anything.... I bet my grandmothers purses would be worth money today

anyways. We would always go to Kingfish for popcorn shrimp afterwards.  My grandmother only being able to eat half the order & taking the other half home.  She always checking to see what jewelry I had on for the day.  It was a rule.  I must have on earrings, a necklace & at least ONE ring at all times.  It's what ladies are supposed to do.  I'd love to spend the day with her again showing her what jewelry I have on today.... that would be a fun day.

... Or maybe I'd pick a day where I was out on the boat fishing with my grandfather again.  I'd take more time to talk to him & ask him about all his stories from World War II & the things he lived through.  I never did appreciate them as a little girl but now, I would have written it all down & been amazed at the things he survived.  I'd still throw his fish back in the river though.... that would be a good day... for the fish too :)

.... or maybe I'd go back to a 'sick day' where I wasn't really sick.  One of the days where I just didn't want to go to school &my mom would let me stay home & we'd just have fun playing board games all day long, & playing games with all the fun TV game shows on TV, challenging each other for the first answer.  & people wonder why I'm so good at games?  That's the reason.  My mother & I would laugh for hours just having fun. ... I'd like to do those days over again.

... or maybe I'd go back to the days of going out to my dad's garage when I was little & he would help me create these shapes out of wood on all these huge pieces of equipment.  I'd feel so proud that I made something & I'd enjoy the time spent with my dad while I just hung out in the garage even more painting the piece & going with my dad as he hung it on the front gate for the world to see.  The smell of wood even today takes me right back to that saw dust filled garage.  ... I'd love to smell it fresh again in that place.

... & so many days I would have to choose from my days with my best friend Stephanie.  Days of just staying at each others homes, laughing, doing what girlfriends do.  Watching movies, calling boys on the phone, walking to the local convenient store for Blow Pops & candy.  Where the biggest care in the world then is so small to think about now in an adult mind.  ... I'd love to spend a day with her again so carefree.

Oh wow... so many days to choose from...

& of course there's so many days as an adult I'd like to go back to.  The day the twins were born.  The day I met my husband.  The day driving home from Gatlinburg with my 2nd Stephanie & laughing so hard, we got sick.  The day I got to hold my grandsons for the first time.  The day we got all of our dogs.

I guess I just need to focus on today.  Keeping those wonderful memories alive.  Remembering all the people I'd love to spend the day with again & being thankful for them.  .... & making fantastic new memories so maybe 20 years down the road, THIS would be the day I want to go back to....

 

What day would you like to go back to?

 

The weekend my sinuses punched me in the face... AGAIN!!!

I thought I was doing so good.

Ricky was sick all last week.  I mean SICK... & I thought I was doing so well staying healthy & germ free.

Yeah... SUCKER PUNCH...

I'm sorry, but this makes me kinda laugh

I woke up Saturday feeling a little tickle in my throat & my ears a little clogged.

By Saturday night, I felt like there was a vice on my head...

& by Sunday afternoon, I felt like someone was sitting on my chest just punching me over & over again in my nose & my head.

Seems about right

Fun times.

I originally had plans to get in a 5 mile run since this was the last weekend before my 10K on Saturday.  Didn't happen. & now I'm nervous about the 10K since I'm still feel like I'm breathing through a straw & fuzzy headed from allergy medicine.

& I originally had wanted to get my office room started on putting in my new furniture & getting organized.  Well, the boxes got opened... that's about it.

I will say, I was able to meet up with a former bridesmaid of a wedding I photographed to snag a picture for them to announce their new baby coming... this was early on Saturday so I was still feeling decent.  Thank God.

How dang CUTE is this big sister?!?!?!

I was even able to run over to the local craft store & load up on some more Bible Journaling goodies.  & of course, if  I'm out on a beautiful afternoon & riding with the windows down, I'm getting a Starbucks Green tea Lemonade.  (Fingers crossed that the Peach flavor is coming back soon!!!!)

But that was about the highlight of my weekend....

The rest of it was just about me moaning around the house telling Ricky I feel bad... & giving him a stink eye since he was the one who brought the germs back in the house.

This is the 3rd sinus infection for both of us.

I'm over it... totally over it...

It's supposed to be in the mid 70's today. I'm ready to open my windows & air that baby out.  Hopefully get rid of any lingering germs... until I get home & sneeze all night long again.

If you need me, I'll be in my fuzzy headed coma....

Just wanted to let you know - the winner of my Winter Reading Challenge was drawn

CATHY from Tales from the TCKK Family

She's a fellow knitter & Disney freak... so happy you won Cathy!