Halu-Halo

As the luck of this non-Irish would have it:

1. I'm late in posting a celebratory St. Paddy's day photo. But what the heck, it's my blog.

So, Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

But I have a good excuse!

2. I've only started to walk well today. And lift my arms. And think straight, because my brain is a muscle too, no? And since every muscle in my body was in agony until this morning, from my race this weekend (on St. Patrick's day!), I can say that today I am functioning and coherent.

It was a wonderful run through DC, and I ran my tushie off.  

I mean, I really felt like I didn't have a tushie when I woke up Sunday morning. Unfortunately, I realized this morning that it's still here :(  . I guess that means I have to run some more.

The race was a celebration of the training my cousin and I have been doing since November. She is a much faster runner than me, and it helped me immensely. It's also a bonus that she's a personal trainer. I get my training for free - ha! Lucky for me, I get beat up every weekend. 

This may be my next challenge.

3. But I've had things to keep my busy! Preparing my query (yes! Query Hell has begun!), is one; attempting to break from my manuscript to clear my mind before I attack it again is another. And this:

*insert mischievious giggle*  Oh yes, my friends...my library holds came in and I am happily inundated with such lovelies to read. My imagination runs amuck with books. (Maybe I should let it run my next half- marathon for me. No?)

So, ya'll know where I'll be this week: at home! (Stretching, reading, stretching, revising query and cursing, stretching, and crumpling paper and throwing query at the computer screen. And stretching.)

I hope you have a great weekend!

Happy Tuesday!

10 Things that make you go...

10. It's supposed to snow tomorrow?  I'm starting to fear the Mayan predictions of weather gone wild before the end of the world.  

9.  And along those lines, I have found myself not completely prepared for this weather.  Son #2 asked me this morning if I knew where his winter coat was, and by golly, I had no idea.

8.  In fact, we're supposed to have family pictures taken on Sunday (on location, natural light).  I may have to rethink the tutu that I was planning for Daughter #1 to wear.  It's now supposed to be about 40 degrees.

7.  It's also supposed to be pretty chilly for Halloween.  How do I  supplement Daughter #1's witch tutu without me covering up her black and white striped tights?      

6. Speaking of Halloween - it falls on a Monday this year.  Are schools ready for candy hangover symptoms that are sure to rear their ugly little heads?  I can't be held responsible for Krabby Patties that find themselves into my children's backpacks.

5.  I will, after all, be focusing on digging out all of the Snickers and Kit Kats to put in the freezer for my own personal consumption.

4.  Even though my doctor just this last week thought I could lose a few pounds.  As a "preventative measure" she said. Humph.

3.  I told her I would do my best.  After Halloween.  Or maybe after Thanksgiving.

2.  I need the calories!  I will be writing my heart out in November.  And training for my first half marathon in March.   

...and the #1 Thing that will make you go Eek in the Halu-Halo household is

1.  I have a Finished Object to show!  Can I get a...WOOP-WOOP!  

A charity quilt made using fabrics designed by Jay McCarroll himself....fabrics donated to members of the Modern Quilt Guilds for a quilt challenge.  The NOVA Modern Quilt Guild will be sending our quilts to Inova Fairfax Hospital NICU.

I call it "Building Blocks," and I dream for it to go to a baby who will lay, roll, and grow on it, dragging it along, dirtying it, staining it, so his parent will have to patch or re-sew it, and rewash it again and again.    

It is about 30 x 45, made improv style using a log cabin method.

 

 

I hope you all had a wonderful Friday.  Stay warm Northeast!

Still Army Strong

This morning my groin muscles are screaming at me.  I was barely able to get down the stairs to wish Hubby a good day at work.  If I didn't think he was going to laugh at me, I probably would have just waved him away and somehow directed Sugar the Boxer to walk herself.  Then again, if I didn't force myself to move, my muscles probably would have locked up in place, so instead I balled up my complaints and swallowed them whole.

Because I am a finisher.

A proud finisher, actually. 

The Army Ten Miler was a race I have wanted to do for a long time.  While I'm not a Bucket List maker, I pined at the opportunity that I could show myself that I could finish 10 miles and run with my community of Army supporters.  

But of course, life happened: moving, babies & the usual Army shenanigans. 

This year was my chance.  I trained with a great friend of mine, and in the process changed my idea of running.

I hated running while in the Army because of the pressure running symbolized, though I was a fair runner back then.  But after I left the Army I avoided it except for weight loss, and in the last decade, I preached at how terrible I am at it, and how slow I am.  

I suppose it's part of my self-depracating humor, but can I tell you all a secret?  

I am actually really proud of myself.  

Who knew I would become a reformed runner?

And who knew that I would finish with my personal record? (which may be slow to you all, but in my eyes, I was the wind incarnate)

I mean, I have always known that the concept of Army Strong is for the entire unit - the organization, the soldiers, the family.  But, as a veteran-turned-spouse, sometimes I forget.  My life in the last decade has been ArmyStrongSpouseFamilySupportUnit.  Out of necessity. 

Hubby for a week had been deflecting my race neurosis; on Sunday he cheered for me from the sidelines, and then greeted me with a hug and an "I'm so proud of you" after I crossed the finish line.  He knew I would do well all the while, although I didn't want to believe him.

On Sunday, Army Strong was me.  Me the former Army Nurse, me the Army Spouse Extraordinaire, me the Mom of Century, me the Writer of the Next Bestseller, me the Crafter of all of this year's Christmas Gifts.(excuse my shameful endorphins)

Now if I can only stand from this chair...

 

Have a great Tuesday!  I hope your weekend went well!