Of course I got behind quickly (very similar to my athletic races these days), but am not caught up, have a custom template that I love and am ready to share! Some things will overlap, some will be new (like you probably don’t need a play by play of Maggie and I making a car trip to the store to get me a Diet Pepsi on my work-at-home Tuesdays), and some are too big to share in the photo-a-day/page-a-week project (of course I am talking about my grandmother-in-law shanking my tire story).

Would love any suggestions for photo ops, questions you have about our daily do-ings and requests.

January 1-7, 2012

This week’s theme was “I Dreamed a Dream” in honor of the MLK holiday. Welp, on Monday Paul was at work, kids were at Robin’s and I had the whole day to make my dream come true. I went to the Natural Science Center with a plan to work on aperture and shutter speed. It was pretty chilly, but the tigers did not disappoint. I set up “camp” near their enclosure and went to work taking photos and notes as I clicked. After awhile a little girl came up asking me what I was doing. I told her I was taking pictures of the tigers.

Then she asked me, “For a book?”

I smiled to myself and said, “Someday, kiddo. Someday.”

AS IF!

I told him I had WAY too many things to look at while I was driving. My personal cell (including email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest), my Blackberry (instant messages, emails, calendar entries), my iPod (podcast during morning show radio commercials), makeup (don’t judge–we were running behind this morning!), swim bag (did I remember my goggles for swimming at lunch today?)… Plus I was thirsty and had to get my water bottle from the back seat!

I know. He didn’t think it was funny either. I told him my theory about MomMom, he still blamed me.

But I know better. My current suspect is Paul. He has had his eye on a new reciever for MONTHS now. I think he rigged up a system so that whenever I went to the ATM (I was leaving the bank drive-through when I was stabbed), the weapon would deploy. Just to punish me for withdrawing money.

The other theory I have with Paul as the prime suspect is that he thinks I am fat and knew when I got cash I was heading straight for the Pepsi machine. Its got to be him, look how shady he is:

The goatee TOTALLY shouts "I DID IT!"

.

So this morning I stopped for an errand and when I was pulling back onto the road, the tire sounded LOUD. I pulled over, opened the door and heard PSHHHHHHHHT. I immediately slammed the door and made a break for it. I was only half mile from work, I could totally make it and be working while I waited for AAA to come (they don’t call me Susie Efficient for nothing). You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes when you are about to die? That didn’t happen to me. But similar to that, as I started to feel the car riding on the wheel rim, Paul giving me non-stop shit for weeks flashed before my eyes. I obeyed my 3rd instinct and pulled over. In case you are keeping a list, my 2nd instinct was to drive into the man made lake toward death so my fun life could replace Paul’s lecture in my last moments on Earth. Then I figured the lake was only about half up to my door, I would live so really  would only block out part of Paul’s yapping so I dismissed that thought. [First instinct you ask? Make a run for it--please keep up, people.] I pulled over and put on the hazards.

In hindsight I feel like I was very mature in my response. Until about 3 years, 3 months ago, 2 weeks and 4 days ago I would have called my dad. You know–because he could be very helpful when he is in Florida or Indiana and I am in NC. But I did what every mature, professional, with-it woman would do. I called my husband and cursed at him VERY LOUDLY. He responded appropriately (i.e. offering to come meet me), I declined and hung up to call AAA.

AAA Ed was a gem, really. He was very concerned when he showed me the tire with the uber long metal piece sticking out of it, bent at an awkward angle. He was convinced I had some pretty formidable foes–mafia, gang member, disgruntled employee? I immediately thought of the geriatric perp responsible for this. Sweet, old soon-to-be-89-year-old my ass. You see, each year MomMom gets Paul and I a membership to AAA. You know how the elderly like to feel “relevant” and “appreciated.” The only logical explanation for “my accident” is that because she was feeling a bit ignored lately and in a fit of demented rage (ok, she officially does not have dementia, but after only 3 years, 3 months ago, 2 weeks and 4 days of being married to Paul, I think I have dementia so naturally she must be a little touched after 36 years of him, right?), she snuck out last night, drove an hour from The Home to our place (don’t even start on the “she doesn’t drive at night” shenanigans–she’s got you fooled too, right?), broke into our garage (I am sure Paul sweetly gave her a spare key back in the day–she only has pretended to lose things to throw us off the scent), planted the shank to implode at  j  u  s  t  the right time…

[...wait for it...]

…so I would have to call AAA….

[...wait for it...]

then thank her profusely in front of everybody at her birthday bash Friday night.

To which she would ask me the story of how it happened, put her hand over her heart and say, “Oh, Susan. Bless your heart.”

I know she looks sweet. You telling me her cane is just a cane too? Have you never seen a Bond movie? Sheesh!

Vote for “Water fun!” click here: http://bit.ly/pXjpuq

Water fun!

Now I need your help because I want to be a professional photographer. Biz sent me a link to a contest that I KNOW I can win if you take a second to vote. I entered the following 4 photos, vote for 1 or all, plus please forward to everyone in your email contacts, please!

Bird at sunrise

To vote for “Bird at sunrise” click here: http://bit.ly/nNgrxp

Having a blast on the boogie board!

To vote for “Having a blast on the boogie board” click here: http://bit.ly/rdN35U

Sunrise on N Myrtle Beach

To vote for “Sunrise on N Myrtle Beach” click here: http://bit.ly/p8CPTy

Water fun!

To vote for “Water fun!” click here: http://bit.ly/pXjpuq

Cincinnati Zoo: Just who is on exhibit here?

This is why The South will NOT rise again.

Look very carefully at this photo–looks like a pretty sweet salad bar, right? I do love me a salad bar. Now look to the far side of this delightful buffet. Yes, that’s right.

LOOK AT THE MAN WITH NO SHIRT ON.

How does it seem ok to let your belly hairs graze my croutons inches away when they have plexiglass blocking your breath 2 feet away from the romaine? Not to mention it was 1000000 degrees so sweat was probably rolling off the dude into the Italian dressing. or deoderant dropping off his armpit hair into the cauliflour. I expressed my outrage to Paul and his sister. I probably even pointed my Yankee finger at the topless salad-eer. All I got was a shrug from Paul, laughter from Elizabeth and from each of them came:

“Yep, welcome to Myrtle Beach.”

Of the three books described in the opening of this Bookworm! series, this is the book that probably made you raise your eyebrows. Or as the author would describe it: cock your head to the side and perk up your ears in question. The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein is again a book I had in my hands, put down, and it appeared at Ruthan’s house. I borrowed it Wednesday after running 6 miles before work (i.e. REALLY tired that night so not lots of time to read) and finished crying in the Subway sandwich shop over my flatbread egg white sammich. I was reading it Wednesday night before meeting my winter Team in Training teammates to work on our fundraising. Turns out one girl is readying it for her book club this month and my friend Lauren has been reading it too! If you have (or have ever in your life had) a dog, you need to read this book. It is hilarious in points (monkey’s are inferior to dogs and Enzo, the dog, is indignant that the monkeys have opposable thumbs when he doesn’t); it is heart breaking in others (did you read about me crying in Subway?). No matter what you will not be wasting your time with this book. If you are a deep thinker (i.e. I am too good to read a book written from a dog’s perspective), be heartened—there were many parts that as I read them, I knew they held a deeper, more mystical message. I didn’t slow down to pick up those messages, I liked the part where Enzo was talking best. Makes me want to be a better Master to Maggie. (sorry Barton)

Oh, Kelly C—thanks for letting Ruthan borrow your book out to me. I took good care of it, didn’t drop it in the toilet or tub!

The humidity was relentless.

The last mile of the route was relentless.

So is cancer. What did you do this weekend to fight? I am relentless for a cure!

The next choice was UBER exciting b/c it was the first book I read on my NEW IPAD (yes, you have to scream it every time you type “NEW IPAD” for the first year—it’s in the EULA contract). This was a big leap for me—I love the feel of books (hardback and paperback), I love the smell of books (I don’t care if someone told me that smell is actually the pages decaying, I want a perfume that smells like it—better yet a cologne that smells like it that Paul can wear). I also love looking at the cover—why did the author choose that cover? That typesetting? Do they like the cover? What were they thinking when they had that PR headshot taken? I also love carrying a book around—makes me feel pretentious, “What? You don’t read World War II historical memoirs over your Panini at lunch? Loser…”

But I also love technology and my husband, and quite frankly, Paul was sick of lugging around my “do box” of books and magazines every time we took a car trip. This way I can store it all on my NEW IPAD and that fits into my purse! My sister has a Kindle and she loves it so I took the leap with a book that has been on my To Read list for over a year or so: Unbroken, by Laura Hillenbrand.

This is the story of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic distance runner who ended up a Pacific POW. Sounds really uplifting, right—you know how difficult running is for my and the Pacific POW camps make Gitmo sound like a resort. In a Pacific POW camp, they were probably begging to “only” be water boarded. I admit, I have always been fascinated by concentration camp stories. In 8^th grade I entered a public speaking contest with a speech about concentration camps. I think the subtitle of Unbroken really sums it up well for me though: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption. I LOVE a good survival story. I LOVE the word RESILIENCE. Not in a Bear Gryllis sort of survival, but when your mental and emotional mettle is tested. What would I do in that situation? I like to think I am a pretty strong chick (beyond bench press), but could I withstand the boredom, physical exertion and starvation (not to mention the torture, of course). And if I could, would I be able to withstand the survivorship? Spoiler Alert: Louis does magnificently and is a new inspiration for me (not necessarily in timing a mile, but in overcoming obstacles).

The only word of caution I have about this book is not to read it when you are backpacking with children. Especially those that tend to be more dramatic than others. You will have no sympathy for a kid whining about walking uphill after you hear of someone’s fingernails being ripped out. No tears are shed for children who dropped s’mores chocolate once you read of a POW who was forced to lick feces from the commander’s boot or be kicked in the face repeatedly. A dramatized headache brings eye rolls when they are not brought on by a beating session where 200+ strikes in one’s face by other men’s fists, clubs, boots, and branches. Its hard to remember to live in the now when reading a book so mesmerizing. Paul plans to read it if I ever give him enough time on my NEW IPAD.

Standby for Part 3!

In the past week or so I have read 3 fantastic books that I have to share w you. They are very different in some obvious ways:

1 fiction, 2 non-fiction
1 author is a dog, 2 are people
1 was on my NEW IPAD, other 2 were paperback
1 was borrowed, 2 were owned

But the one thing all three had in common was that they were all very uplifting, encouraging, happy books. Kind of a variation for me in some ways. I remember going to Barnes and Noble w my family once on vacation and Elli snorted as I came out of the Business section with a book on improving communication, “Why don’t you ever just read fun books?”

A book a read last year or so was We Need to Talk about Kevin, about a boy who is a sociopath and becomes a school shooter (movie debuted at Cannes this year). It was quite chilling and was hard to shake when I finished. Related to that was Room, which I posted about last year about this time.

So that is what I am trying to do now—gather “fun” books that have positive messages. Although I am worried perhaps Paul would have preferred I spend more time in the communication/self-help section and being a step parent has made me NOT read scary-children type books. I’d love to hear what you are reading or what books are on your favorite-of-all-time-will-read-over-and-over list.

Heaven is for Real by Todd Burpo

This book was recommended to me by my friend/Wednesday morning running buddy Ruthan (also one of “The Favorites”). I had seen it several times, picked it up in Target more than once, but not taken the leap. I saw it in her house one Wednesday when I went to run and she said it was a sweet, but powerful book that I had to read. I bought it and it sat on the bookshelf for several weeks until she asked me if I
finished it yet. Two days later I had finished it.

Yes—it is that good. Just like the little boy in it imparts wisdom beyond his years after a trip to Heaven during surgery, this small book packs a powerful message in its fast-paced read. It asked and answered questions I have about Heaven and since it was the experience of a 4-year old boy, I understood much more. It did not feel preachy at all. Instead it really made me want to read more about this Heaven stuff.
In general it was a very positive, uplifting feel good book!

Stay tuned for installments # 2 and 3!

There were 11 obstacles over the course, the last one being a knee deep mud pit with barbed wire over it forcing you to crawl through the mud. My (luckily old about to be donated) running shoes sucked right off my feet the first 2 steps into the pit. I should have trusted my instincts and cannonballed into the pit.

Spectators lined the length of the mudpit.

Two obstacles worried me the most. First was the 2 story high wall to scale over. There was a rope you could climb, but I hadn’t done that since 6th grade… MANY lbs ago. There were 2x4s every 5 feet or so on the side to climb up. I used a combination of rope and 2×4 to get up and over. Second was “Black Out.”  I am not really fond of the dark at all.  This was a short tent-like structure covered in black plastic in the middle of the woods. It was about knee-high, about 50 yards long. We army crawled through it trying not to run into each other. Every 10 yards or so we ran face-first into plastic flaps hanging down, making us think that we were almost done, only to crawl into another “room.”

Maybe I should have a little more sense, but I was not really nervous about the 2nd to last obstacle–jumping over fire. Twice.

Demonstrating my mad vertical leap over the fire pit.

you can run the marathon with me!

Mark your calendars: December 10, 2011 Kiawah Island Marathon or click on the link on our home page. I’m just sayin’…

I spent this past week in Myrtle Beach, SC while it was filled with guests. Notice I am calling you guests, my people, Guests. You know who you are. License plates from Rhode Island, Michigan, Ohio, Vermont. Pale skin blinding everyone on the beach. Now I know you traveled a long way to get to your beach vacation. And most of you completed that trip with screaming kids in the car (I know because they were still screaming on the beach). That could make even the most model parent crabby. But that is no reason to take it out on the rest of us.

Yes, I said us. I am siding w the Southerners. Them.  Those People. I love to see my people (Northerners–and for the sake of this post I am lumping Yankees in with Midwesterners) out on the running trail or bike path. I love to see any people out getting their sweat on. When I give you a shout out, I expect reciprocation. Not stopping for a conversation or a detailed health history (I haven’t gone that far Southern), but at least a smile, eye contact or the ever popular chin lift. Cripes–even the 99 year old man cruising main in his beat down old truck lifts a finger to say, “Hello Neighbor.”

I mean this to be constructive,  my Cold Weather Friend, but lighten up for Pete’s sake. You are on vacation! Oh, and put on some sunscreen–you’re starting to burn.

Lifting my chin in closing,

Susan

My sister is a girl.

I didn’t really have friend-boys growing up to know what boys were like at Tyler’s age.

They are different than girls.

All boy.

Yep, he is spitting. This was at a local winery where we went to listen to blues music. Yes, I spit (or worse) while exercising, but at a winery? All boy.

Not shown is the current selection, the only 14-day book in the pile. It is called, Heads You Lose, and I am LOVING IT! I heard an interview w the authors on NPR and immediately put it on my to-read list. There are 2 authors and they used to be bf/gf, but broke up abotu 10 years ago. She is an established author, he is a poet. They alternated writing chapters, which is great b/c they have different styles–although I think everything flows well. My fav part is that in between each chapter, the editor puts the notes that the authors wrote to each other. They are SO funny and totally make the novel more enjoyable!

I wonder if Paul would write a book with me….