Race Day

And I didn’t participate . . . once again. The big race day was this past Sunday and I still wasn’t ready for a 5k. We’re talking a 5k people. Not a marathon, not even a half marathon or a 10k. I have consistently been running since . . . February? I can’t really remember when I started. But for some reason, I can’t get past that 2 mile mark. In fact, 2 miles still isn’t easy breezy like I hoped it would be by now. Well, one time, several weeks ago, I ran 2.3, but I was outside. Maybe I should get OFF the treadmill and head outdoors – there’s a thought. Or like yesterday, I ran 2, walked .5 and then ran another .5. But I want to be able to run the entire 5k – no walking. Jeremy tells me it’s all in my head. I say it has a lot more to do with my lungs and legs than my head. So, once again I am postponing this run for another few weeks. I won’t even list the date that I am going to aim for because we all know how that goes.

Maybe the reason I am struggling so much with this running, is actually your lack of input. If you remember, I requested your song suggestions. And let me just say - I got nothing!! Well, my sister directed me to a helpful blog, so that was good. But friends, are you all ashamed/embarrassed of your move music?? Amanda M., Amy, Kristy (not to mention any specific names or anything). Whatever songs you list have nothing to do with your character or moral code. People won’t judge you. We are all open-minded here. I just NEED some new music and would love to hear your suggestions.

Turkeys

Jeremy and I currently ride to and from work together. We have a lot of stupid conversations in a week. Lots of great ones. But also some ridiculous, make-believe-type, stupid talks. It entertains us. I decided to document a conversation that we had today on our way home. I think this one took us by surprise.

Jeremy: hey, there are turkeys over there!!!
Melodie: what kind of turkeys?
Jeremy: turkey-turkeys.
Melodie: well, I didn’t know if you meant turkeys or sandwich deli meat.
Jeremy: Yeah, there is sandwich meat laying over there on the side of the road and I just happened to notice it.

In my defense, we had just come from the gym, it had been a long day and I was whooped. And frankly, I was not really listening. But after I realized how I had responded to his statement, I attempted to cover the fact that I hadn’t been listening. Stay tuned for more stupid conversations . . . as we have plenty to share.

And the tradition continues . . .

We had a wonderful weekend with our dear friends, Josh and Amanda. They became friends of mine during our college years. Josh and Jeremy have actually been friends since the 8th grade (Go bobcats!). At some point a few years ago we started a fun tradition with these guys. Every fall they come to Oklahoma to visit us for a weekend. And every spring we go to visit them. I am confident that this will be a long standing tradition. Even when life gets busy and our families grow larger, we’ll continue our bi-annual visits. Well, this past weekend was the much anticipated spring get-together at their home near Dallas. Typically these weekends consist of: golf for the boys, shopping for the girls, wonderfully cooked dinners and also some delicious eating out, an addictive marble game that normally goes into the wee hours of the night (every night), and just chatting and catching up on life. Time spent with these friends is always so familiar and comfortable. You know the type. It feels effortless . . . probably because it's just so darn easy. So you don’t see one another every week, or even every month, but when you get together, you pick back up right where you left off the last time. Never an awkward hello, but often a tearful goodbye (for me at least). As time passes and we walk through different struggles and victories, they become less like friends and more like family to me. I guess that is the best way to describe it. This type of friendship is something that I possibly took for granted 6+ years ago when I was surrounded by these relationships. Maybe I thought it would always be easy to create this type of bond. How I miss regular time spent with friends like this! And so here are few pictures from our fun weekend in Dallas!

Seriously, 2 of a kind right here. Great friends! VERY similar personalities which is probably the reason they get along so well.

This is Amanda and me at Lone Star Park. That's right, we went to the horse races on Saturday. Did a little gambling, lost a little money. Amanda did win $1.25 with her bet on "Summer Gal". She was insistent on choosing her horse by it's name, not stats. And 1 particular time, that worked for her. She was also insistent on screaming at the top of her lungs, "Come on Summer Gal" through the entire race. She looked and sounded like a regular. She said it was her first time, but maybe she goes every weekend. Who knows!

Pretty incredible huh? It was a fun day at the races.

Long Awaited Visit

Jeremy and I snuck away for the weekend to visit some friends that had moved south to Texas last year. And who can really blame them for that!? We spent a great weekend with Matt, Katy and little Miss Matilyn (in the picture above, wearing the "Sunday" bib). The last time I held Matilyn, she was only a few weeks old and it was the day they moved away. Now she is a whopping 7 months old. And as you can see from the picture, she should definitely be in the running as the next Gerber baby. She is such a happy girl and was a true delight all weekend.

Katy and I pampered ourselves with pedicures and some shopping. Matt and Jeremy played some golf and did some other guy things. Jeremy can be talked into traveling anywhere if he is told that he should probably bring his golf clubs. We also enjoyed a fabulous dinner at Pappadeaux (one of my ALL-TIME favorites!) It was a relaxing weekend with these dear friends. We hadn’t sat down and talked face to face since they left here in September. Oh how we miss seeing them more regularly! But how thrilled we were to see their new place, new friends, new church and to see that they have quickly made it their home.

Just some thoughts

Just recently a thought came into my head that hasn’t been there in a while. I was thinking how it might have been fun to be pregnant last year and walk through pregnancy with a certain friend. A special someone that was enjoying the same experience. Well, I can’t say “enjoying” because if I remember correctly, she vomited at least twice a day until her 3rd trimester. Jeremy, I, she and her husband went out for steaks one night when she was feeling better. She didn’t make it out of the parking lot after enjoying a delicious dinner. She opened the truck door and planted that meal in the gravel. Poor girl! But when that thought came into my head . . . just about how that would have been fun to go through it all together, I quickly realized that I wouldn’t be here, at this place right now. And this is truly where I want to be!! I wouldn’t be waiting with anticipation for that infamous phone call where we are told that we have been chosen. And then with that thought, there came another one . . . as quickly as we get that anticipated phone call, that moment will be gone forever at the same hurried speed. That initial moment of pure excitement and delight will be over . . . not to be relived with this child. Oh does this even make sense to anyone else? Maybe it could be compared to seeing the positive pregnancy test or hearing your baby’s heartbeat for the first time. Perhaps, a moment and a feeling deep inside that you wish you could bottle up and hold onto forever. Those moments that put a lump in your throat that you can’t swallow away. We’re not there yet – to that moment. We’re in the wait. But there is something very special about this wait. Maybe just the spontaneity of knowing I could be a mother tomorrow. Or knowing that our baby is (most likely) growing and thriving in some brave woman’s womb right now! I just want to absorb it all and breathe it all in . . . the hope and eagerness of what is to come. The waiting isn’t necessarily fun and my desire for our baby grows stronger each day. But I fear that in trying to rush the wait, those dear moments might possibly slip through my fingers and I might miss something terribly important. And now I’ve got that lump in my throat that I can’t seem to swallow away.

Logging My Jogging

Please note that I did say jogging. Which is much different than running. I don’t claim to run. I never have made that claim. So I have returned to jogging . . . my first love. Oh that’s a lie! It’s been in my life off and on for as long as I can remember. I usually end up giving up the jogging because I don’t really enjoy it. I mean, I love it when I am done; but during the event I’m usually hating it. But I do feel it is best for weight loss and overall cardio. So I choose it, rather than the other options. So now, I will be logging my weekly miles, over there on the right. For all of you serious runners, consider me a beginner. I really want to be a runner. It’s in my heart . . . the desire, that is. And still sometimes I wonder if I will make it to a marathon. Today I only jogged 2 miles and it was a challenge, so 26 really seems daunting to me at this point. Some days I will be hitting the pavement and other times the treadmill. But either way, I will be adding up my miles as I go along in the week. That 5.3 may not budge this week as we are going out of town for the weekend. But I may try to get in 1 run while we are away.

I was supposed to do my first 5k in early March, but I got sick and blah blah blah . . . I’m sure you don’t want to hear my very good excuses. So the new date will be April 27^th. Plenty of time, right? I hope so! So that is what I am working towards.

And here is where I need your input. I have a new running friend. It is my IPOD Shuffle and she is a lifesaver. And a tiny, little thing. There is no more need to read the captions on the TV screens at the gym to keep my mind off of my tired legs and collapsing lungs. I just listen to her sing to me. So I need some heart-pumpin-cardio-music to get me through these runs. Oops . . . sorry . . . these jogs. As much as I love the Josh Turner that Jeremy downloaded, it sure makes me want to slow down, or just stop all together. So send me your best suggestions and I will begin my downloading.

Under the Big Top

This is where we spent Saturday evening. Yes, we enjoyed our first circus. Well, my first circus . . . though my mom has promised to me that I have been to a circus during my childhood. The event is nowhere in my memory. So for my birthday, Jeremy took me to the circus. It was the best entertainment I have had in quite some time. I think I will need to make it an annual event. I saw the most amazing the things. Elephants that would shake their hineys to rap music. Huge bears that would walk up and down stairs on their hands only. Legs straight up in the air! I kid you not! Then there were the human tricks that were making me hold my breath. People, such as trapeze artists, are a bit extreme for me. You couldn’t pay me a million dollars to do some of that stuff. And if I remember correctly, I made that statement more than once on Saturday evening. I don't care if there is a net to catch me!! (Which wasn't always the case for these people.) Since our last vacation in May when I chickened out on our zip lining excursion, I have come to terms with the fact that maybe I have become a tad bit scared of heights. I made it through the first zip line (after the local boy gave some encouraging words and a gentle shove), but I wasn’t to keen on the idea of walking tight ropes and other IMPOSSIBLE obstacles to get to the remaining zip lines. So another local boy soon became my hero as they belayed me to the ground. While my husband looked on, probably embarrassed that I was holding up the line of the brave souls behind me. Back to the circus . . . So even watching the more adventurous human events at the circus had my heart thumping! It was an incredible evening. And I wish you could have been there to see it for yourself. My stories just can't do it justice.