TAG

If the shoe fits....okay, I think I'll own this today!!! Just call me TAG for short!!
Happy Monday!

A Story

 Once upon a time, there was a girl. She was not athletic. In fact, she hated sports. She was not popular. She was not pretty. She was smart. She knew the answers when the other kids didn’t. Something happened to the girl when she was in her fifth decade. She suddenly decided to try running. It made her lungs burn. It made her legs ache. She couldn’t get very far, but she kept at it. Sometimes she said to herself, “I hate running!” Sometimes she said it out loud, “I hate running!”  She still kept at it. She entered her first 5K and, although it was hard and she wasn’t that fast, she was hooked. She ran another and another and another. She tested her own limits and tried a 10K. She amazed herself that she finished and didn’t throw up!

After a year of running short races, the crazy notion of trying a half marathon crept into her brain. She tried to ignore it, but it wouldn’t go away. Could she make it? Could she finish? The questions nagged her and so she trained for it. She ran and she ran and she ran. She ran when it was cold outside. She ran when it was hot outside. She just kept running. Even if the run was hard, the way she felt when it was over was hard to describe. She felt happy and accomplished and at peace. These were not things that this girl usually felt.

The years went by and the races she ran added up to dozens. Sometimes she ran fast and sometimes she ran like a snail. It didn’t matter because the feeling at the end was always the same - wonderful. The rack in her workout room was full of medals she had received. Sometimes she looked them over and still marveled that a girl like her, smart, not athletic, had accomplished so much. Silly things, those medals, but for this girl, they may as well have been diamonds. They were precious to her.

Sometimes she got aches and pains. Sometimes there were injuries. These were the times, when she could not run, that she was reminded how much she loved to run, how much she needed it to stay grounded and sane in her crazy world. She always whispered a little prayer of thanksgiving for her ability to run, injury free and healthy. She meant every word.

Most stories that start with, “Once upon a time…” usually end with, “And she lived happily ever after.”

This story, however, must end with “to be continued…” God willing…

Everything?!

The land mines of marriage. Do you know how to safely navigate them? Take it from someone who has been married a loooooong time ~ full disclosure is overrated! 
Isn't that what girlfriends are for?!?!?!

Mini Donuts

 If you read my blog dated Oct 1st, you saw my wonderful recipe to make pumpkin spice muffins using only TWO ingredients (a box spice cake mix and 1 small can of pumpkin). The weather here has finally dropped a bit, no longer 98 degrees but in the low 80s, so I am in full fall mode. I decided to tweak the recipe a little and turn the muffins into mini donuts.

 I bought orange frosting (actually vanilla tasting, but a beautiful, dark orange color), mini tootsie rolls and a green Wilton sugar sheet. I have never worked with sugar sheets before and let me just use one word...EASY!! They are fully edible.

You probably guessed where this was going. Mini donuts become mini pumpkins by frosting them, using a tootsie roll for the stem poked in the middle and cutting out little leaves from the sugar sheet.
My official taste testers are due here from school any minute. We'll see what they have to say and how they rate them!
 

Ferris Wheel of Life

Life has its ups and downs. Enjoy the ride. Make sure to have people by your side that really love you, not just say they love you. It has always been, and it will always be true ~ actions speak louder than words. How do you know for sure, you ask? That little voice inside your head...that one that you sometimes ignore and then wish you'd listened to? Yeah, that's the one. Well, that little voice knows what's real...and so do you!

Inspire Someone

Although this sign is meant for runners, I really think it crosses over to all aspects of life. You never know who is listening, watching and being inspired by you. Maddy (granddaughter #1) was learning "in-" words last week and their definitions. Two of the words were "instruct" and "inspire". We had a discussion about the meaning of each and the difference from merely teaching someone something (instruct) and going beyond just showing and teaching to arousing or producing a feeling or thought in someone else by your actions or words (inspire).
What and who inspires us may vary at different stages of our lives. People who inspire us, challenge us to be better. People who inspire us, cause us to want more, for ourselves and the world around us. People who inspire us, leave us with thoughts and ideas that were not there before we met them.
The smallest action can be inspiring to us and that means, the smallest action on our part, can inspire someone else.
Heady stuff...not to be taken lightly.
Surround yourself with inspiring people. It rubs off.

Easy = Yummy

It's October 1st and even if we are about to have another heat wave of one hundred degree temps, I want to think about fall and making soups and baking yummy things. Trying new recipes and pulling out old favorites are all part of the fall season leading into the holidays. The house smells divine. The kids enjoy being my "official taste testers". I just love it!
People sometimes don't believe me when I give them this simple, two ingredient receipt for pumpkin muffins. All it takes is a box spice cake mix and a small can of pumpkin. THAT'S IT!!! No eggs, no oil, no water. I have been making these muffins for several years now and they are moist and yummy, I promise!! How? I don't really know, but who cares? The results are yummy and one you can even feel good about gifting to others. I like to put some in a basket and wrap them in a fall dish towel. Two gifts in one! Such a quick and easy way to brighten someone's day.
Life is hard. These muffins are easy!