Honestly I should be ashamed to admit
how happy I am
to see them
GO!
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| My first (like in my whole life) medal! |
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31st Annual St. Malachi Run |
One might think from reading some of my recent posts, advocating for orphans, showcasing the faces of special need adoption and traveling to orphanages around the world, that I am some sort of selfless humanitarian.
Giving without regard to my own wants and needs (cough).
Ummmm no.
Right after I posted yesterday, I got into my car and drove to the plastic surgeon's office for a facial peel and some botox.
Clearly the only thing "deep" about me is the conflict within.
That and this one line in my forehead. (humpf)
Sometimes I think I need to chuck it all
the worldly trappings
consumerism
vanity
my Louboutins
These things don't exactly line up with the other things I am passionate about.
But I am weak. I want my STUFF and my ideals too.
So I ask you is it possible
To save the world (or my little piece of it)
and wear the perfect shade of lipstick too??
but I hate to lose.
I 'm a genuine bad sport when it comes to losing.
Graceless. I know.
This morning I woke to see my blog has dropped to number 11. Not even in the top 10 anymore.
The loss is crushing.
But it is temporary I promise you.
I'm not just any ole "Mommy Blogger", I'm an adoptive mom damn it.
We don't give up.
Ever.
So I am calling on my adoptive cohorts to get this blog
AN ADOPTION BLOG
back into the top ten.
Please vote today and each time you stop by FIVE OF MY OWN. Just click the link below. It will take you to the top mommy site. Once there the vote is cast.
What. Have. I. Done?
I'm no runner. Seriously I'm not being modest.
At best, I lumber... sometimes with a convulsive stumble and limp.
I didn't run lumber at all until last August when I started dragging myself around the track while Nolan was at football practice. It all began as just something to do while I waited for him. Practice was a couple hours each night and I figured it was better than doing what most of the parents were doing which was mainly sitting on camp chairs and digging into bags of Doritos.
Ever the optimist delusional maniac, by September I was signed up for the Two Hearts for Hope 5k. It was a classic move for me. Swept up in the excitement of helping raise money for a good cause and the chance to meet up with a bunch of Kaz friends I decided to ignore the reality that I had yet to finish more than two laps around the track without a break. I did cross the finish line but it was not a pretty site.
A normal person would have learned her lesson.
(I think we've already established that normal isn't exactly my strong suit.)
So I now I find myself signed up to run a half marathon.
That's 13.1 miles
In a row.
In 10 weeks.
I reiterate, what have I done?
This week I think I officially reached the freak out/I can't do this stage.
Now sobering up to the grim reality of what lays ahead of me I am searching for training tips, techniques and equipment that might offer some promise of actually getting me across the finish line.
And here lies the reason for this post. Some of you must be runners. Runners who have some amazing secret to effortlessly gliding 13.1 miles. I want need your training tips!
Now ideally I would like to find a training program that requires me to run very slowly on an limited and inconsistent schedule excluding; bad weather days, days when I have a late meeting at work, the week of my period, any night I feel like having a glass of wine or morning I want to sleep late or the night that Glee is on. Also it should not include hills, heavy breathing or undue sweating.
Otherwise I am completely open. Your willing student.
Bring it.
In addition to a marathon panacea I also need a few more votes to break into the top ten at Top Mommy Blogs.
Read more...
I love that people visit my blog and sometimes stay long enough to read and even comment on my mutterings. Really I am appreciative but seriously I'm no writer. I'm a yammerer (that's a word isn't it?), I blab about myself and my kids and my cause of the day and basically keep a public journal of my mostly mundane life. Somehow it works: me the (over) exposer, you the voyeur but literature it ain't.
Hey Thanks, we got into the TOP 25!.... (#15 out of 1,200 blogs) and we're the #1 adoption blog! Cool. Fun. Neato.
But I'm over it.
Really as amusing as that was, I write for myself not a top mommy blog ranking. I figure one day when I'm old(er) and loosing (more of) my faculties I can read about the incredible mundane-nous of my life. (And oh, it is incredible.) It's that or scrabbooking and trust me that ain't happening.
So go ahead and click if you like but I promise no more cheesy solicitations.
Two Hearts for Hope Mission Statement:
We believe God has called everyone to take care of the orphans. Our mission is to provide hope to the orphans of Kazakhstan through the donations we collect and the projects we organize. We believe by showing God's love, we are able to foster emotional and spiritual growth in these children. We believe that through our actions we exhibit the truth of the Gospel of Jesus. With God's guidance, our hope is to provide a better understanding of the plight of the orphans in Kazakhstan while providing the basic necessities these children lack.
We believe:- It is the responsibility of all God's children to take care of the orphans.- We are best able to provide for orphans.- Every orphan deserves something of their own.- Hope is a very powerful thing and with it, we can change lives
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I heard a comedian once joke that the minivan was a way to say to the rest of the world, (I'll clean this up)..."I never plan to get lucky again".
I love my mini van. There I said it. And I mean it, my mini van rocks!
Now I know a lot of you wouldn't be caught dead in one and truthfully I too was once a MV hater but with five kids I've got to say nothing beats it for convenience, comfort and all around practicality.
Of course I've been through my "I'm too cool to minivan" phase to be sure. In the past 10 years I've driven a BMW 3 series convertible (with a spoiler thank you very much) and a BMW SUV (my nod to my complaining kids who were being blown away in the back of the convertible) and then back to a BMW M Roadster (vroom, vroom drive THAT to the PTA meeting).
But when we started down the adoption path and faced the reality of transporting a family of seven with two kids still in car seats, I finally had to succumb to the "dreaded" minivan.
(BTW I considered doing what a lot of my similarly situated friends did to avoid the ridicule of the MV: I almost bought an SUV. But who are we kidding? You and I both know those are just people who need a MV but are "too cool" (read as too insecure) to buy one. Yeah, yeah, driving in the snow...whatever... be honest, the only off roading you do is when you drive over the curb trying to park at the mall. Guess some of us just have a little more self esteem. I digress.)
So just when I had completely resigned myself to the leagues of minivan driving supermoms and accepted my fate of being a chronically unhip soccer mom, Toyota goes and makes MV's ( and me) cool again. (OK if you are sneering at my Sienna being cool you and your turbo engine can leave.)
Yes my minivan is no longer a shameless concession to a life filled with cheerios and diaper bags. It is (drum roll please) my SWAGGER WAGON, complete with it's own rap. Dig it.
I am PROUD to drive my Swagger Wagon to the kid's schools, to the hockey games and ballet lessons, to the grocery store and to work AND to the hottest night clubs in town (once I figure out where they are).
I do not need a sports car to be cool.
My Swagger Wagon makes a statement...it tells the world I have kids-LOTS of KIDS (see the stick figure family on the back windshield-yeah they're ALL MINE).
It lets everyone (behind me) know I love Kazakhstan and China and Cyclone's Hockey and Brown University and the University of Akron too.
Try to get your Porshe to do all that!
I'm glad Toyota is getting the message out that Swagger Wagons are cool. In fact I was so inspired that today I ordered this final bit of flair for my own sweet ride...
Yeah some people got all glitzy tonight, we got sweaty. This is what happens when you don't plan in advance for a babysitter on New Year''s Eve.
Actually we didn't plan this either until another Kaz Mom, Melissa Scott sent me a message asking if I would run. It is after all in my home town. Since running a half marathon is on my unfinished 2010 resolution list and since I haven't run in over a month it seemed like a good way to get my butt back in gear. So glad I did because it was fun and a wake up call too. No more month long hiatuses for me!
To make this extra special Dart, my non runner hubby ran with me (ok he ran/walked somewhere behind me but still he supported me 100%). Yeah, he's pretty great that way **swoon**.
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| 800 runners and I wasn't even last! |
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| Ladies, he taken. |
Max received a parrot for his birthday.
The parrot was fully-grown with a bad attitude and worse vocabulary. Every other word was an expletive. Those that weren’t expletives were, to say the least very rude.
Max tried hard to change the bird’s attitude and was constantly saying polite words, playing soft music, anything he could think of to try and set a good example. Nothing worked.
He yelled at the bird and the bird yelled back. He shook the bird and the bird just got angrier and became even more rude. Finally in a moment of desperation. Max put the parrot in the FREEZER.
For a few moments he heard the bird squawk and kick and scream. Then suddenly, there was silence…..
-Not a sound for half a minute. Max was frightened that he might have hurt the bird and quickly opened the freezer door.
The Parrot calmly stepped out onto Max’s extended arm and said:
“I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I will endeavor at once to correct my behavior. I really am truly sorry and beg your forgiveness.”
Max was astonished at the bird’s change in attitude and was about to ask what had made the difference and caused such a dramatic change when the parrot continued:
“May I ask what the turkey did???”
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| Ready. Set. Go! UP HILL!!! |
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| Crossing the finish line with my awesome (slightly cold) Team Printy! |
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| Kaz Mama's Angela, Stacy, Regina and me |
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| Accepting our prize for first place stroller finish ...they made that up for us:-) |
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