Daredevil

 Our Abbey had a belated birthday party at a place called Sender One. It is climbing facility that has all kinds of, well, climbing opportunities. She was in heaven! I, on the other had, nearly broke out in hives as it made me recall my permanently scarring episode of climbing Mt. Whitney back it 2013. Even a year and a half later, it still makes me shudder to remember the longest 21 hours of my life!

 Even if this type of "fun" is not for me, watching her climb and challenge herself, and try new things, made me realize that that is a good analogy for life. Everyone can stay on the ground. Everyone can play it safe. Everyone can do the same old thing, day after day. There is comfort in knowing what to expect. But, here's the thing about life. Even if you "play it safe", things happen that you don't expect. People get sick. Jobs are lost or changed. People hurt your feelings. Roofs leak. Kids misbehave. No one is exempt from the changes and challenges this world puts before us.
You can't hide under a rock, so you may as well climb!

Who Knew?

Starbucks introduced an even larger size for their cold drinks called "trenta" back in 2011. I like to order my black iced tea in that size, as it lasts me pretty much all afternoon. Last week, someone told me that a trenta cup holds an entire bottle of wine!!!!! I was skeptical until I found this proof myself. What a concept! I mean, it's a good idea to recycle, right? So, when I finish my iced tea and pour wine in the cup, it's like I am helping to save the planet. One cup at a time!!
Do you think anyone would notice if I have it on the sidelines of the ball field? Will it just look like REALLY dark tea??? Hmmmmm....not that I would ever do such a thing!! Wink! Wink!
Thanks, Starbucks!

Feet

 My dogs were barking after the half marathon on Sunday, so I treated myself to a fancy pedicure. This photo only proves, no matter how you paint them, they are still ugly feet!! Bones stick out that never did before. There are red spots and aches and pains. I think I broke my toe climbing Mt. Whitney over a year and a half ago and it never has straightened out since! All in all, they won't be calling any time soon to ask me to be a foot model!
Anybody who knows me, knows I am a data person. I can't help it. I like to know the numbers, the breakdown, the facts. After looking at these ghastly feet, I had to know how many miles I had put on them over the last five years of running races. Now, this is not my daily runs, this is ONLY races. I have run in twenty four 5Ks, two 8Ks, six 10Ks, two 15Ks, one Ragnar relay and twenty half marathons. That adds up to 1,090.2 miles of races! No wonder these feet look like they do!! They have earned every bend, gash and lump. They have served me well and I hope continue to do so in the future.

My heart wants to run...and run.....and run.  Thank you feet for helping me feel happy.

Texter Failure

I couldn't have said it better myself! I am a lousy texter! My kids say I ask too many questions at once and they find it amusing to reply with only one "yes" or "no"  which leaves me wondering what question they answered! I am sure it is a generational thing.  They LOVE to text and, I think, choose it as their mode of communication rather than actually speaking with another human!! I need facial expressions. I need voice inflection. I need human contact of some sort.
I know I have blogged about this before, but I really hate to text and resort to it only because I know my kids want me to text. I want to be modern and with the times. I don't want to be left in the dust of new technology. I want to be that "cool grammie". I am not sure how successful I am at achieving this.
If you have an opinion....call me!!!!!

Things vs Experiences

There are two schools of thought about gifts. One is that "things" are always fun to get and a birthday is a great excuse to get "things" and get spoiled. The other school of thought is that "experiences" are the best gift of all. As the kids have gotten older, I have tried to give them more of the experience and less of the things. This is especially true for Abbey as her birthday is just after Christmas with all its indulgent bounty. Today, she and I had a birthday shopping day that incorporated both the "things" and the ""experience".
This little one is a fashion aficionado who can't get enough of clothes and shoes (hmmm, wonder where that comes from!?) She worked me for an entire outfit...shoes, socks, pants, shirt, vest and hat! She found that polka dot vest and literally built her outfit around it! She insisted that we buy both black and white socks as the print socks she already owns would never match! She is very persuasive!
Afterwards, she picked a spot for lunch and it was Subway (got off cheap on that one!!) She ate every bite of it and we sat next to each other looking out the window and chatting about what we saw. She is observant and asks a lot of questions. Conversations with seven year olds can keep you on your toes!
So, I guess it was a birthday celebration of both ~ things and experiences. Long after the clothes no longer fit, I hope she remembers the day and the time we spent together, laughing and talking about everything and nothing.
I know I will!