Advent is here!

For this coming year, I'm trying to connect in a fresh way with the historic church calendar. To do so, I'm using this book. As it so happens, the calendar started on November 27 with the first day of Advent. Wanting to share the Advent experience with the kids, I went on the hunt the other day for an Advent candle holder. The problem? I came up empty. Nada. Zilch. Nothing at Pier One, Michaels or KMart. Maybe I should have gone up to the Bible store, but there in the aisle at Michaels, I had a vision. And here it is:

What old married couples do on lazy Friday afternoons...

About that running thing...

So it turns out that 2011 was a tough year for this particular runner. When I look back at my 2011 goals and intentions, I note that I accomplished, well, none of my goals. Instead, it was a year of injuries (primarily my right calf and knee) and, grrr, lots of races registered for but not finished. In fact, I only managed to really race once in 2011 and in the end, I'll have hit just over 500 miles total when I was aiming for 1000.

Because of this, I'm on a break. I'm opting to not run through Christmas, hoping that Santa will put 3 easy miles in my stocking. Along the way, I'm working on a few things:

1. Becoming pain free in my knee. So far, so good, but I'm thinking about going back to the ortho to take a look at it nonetheless.

2. Stretching. Trying to loosen up daily.

3. Riding. I'm aiming for 75 miles a week on the road bike. That's a lot of time in spandex right there. 

4. Reading. I'm working on digesting Daniel's Running Formula by famed running coach Jack Daniels. A different Jack Daniels.

5. Planning. I'm looking ahead toward a 2012 where there can be racing! Thinking about this one and then dreaming of this one.

In the meantime, here's a shot from the Two Cities half from earlier this month:

You know you're married to an author when...

...one of the after-dinner family games in our rotation is a game called "Storytelling." The goal of this game is to go around the circle and tell a communal story. Each time it's your turn, you pull a piece of paper out of the hat, then whatever is written on it becomes the thing you need to work into the story when it's your turn.

Which brings me to tonight's story, the one where ol' George the confused rabbit was up in the hot air balloon. And just before the part where the clown springs up surprising him, and a few steps before the pirate poked a hole in the balloon sending it earthward into the apple tree, there was Josh's part. Here's my paraphrase:

"And then, this bird, this bird comes flying by and it, it...poops onto the balloon. It poops, onto the balloon, and then, the poop, the poop, it becomes.......................chocolate ice cream."

Yep, his word was chocolate ice cream.

So look for Amy's book Baffled George and the Chocolate Poopy Cream coming soon to a store near you...

Fundraising: Sometimes you feel like a spiritual giant...

...and other times you feel like this. Thanks Krizel.

Fall highlight & wow I'm tall...

What do YOU do when you spill hot chocolate on your keyboard?!?

Most bizarre roadside marker ever?

As a history major, I'm all for roadside historical markers, and I've been known to stop and gawk at a few in my day. But there's this one on one of the trails that I run on that always strikes me as kinda random. 

 

 















I wonder if it was even successful?!?