Monthly Archives: November 2009

Christmas Time is Here

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Christmas time is here and I couldn’t be happier!

 

Christmas time is here

Happiness and cheer

Fun for all that children call

Their favorite time of the year

 

 

I love Christmas and all the sights, smells and sounds associated with it, but particularly the sounds.  Christmas music moves me. So, for the next four Musical Mondays leading up to Christmas, I’ll be featuring some of my favorite Christmas songs.

 

When it comes to Christmas music during the holidays, my DH are worlds apart.  We have quite different tastes when it comes to our favorite music, especially Christmas music.

 

For Allan growing up a young lad in the UK, a new Christmas pop hit topped the charts every holiday season.  In fact, the movie, Love Actually, pokes fun at this UK Christmas tradition.

 

 

Sure the usual Christmas classics, such as Crosby, Sinatra and Martin are equally cherished on both sides of the pond, but there are some UK Christmas classics I had never heard before Allan introduced them to me.

 

Allan has a Christmas compilation CD of UK holiday hits from over the years and honestly the songs on this CD make me anything but merry.  Some of the songs are so depressing, I feel compelled to tie a noose around my neck.  One song in particular, Fairytale of New York by The Pogues, makes me want to drown my sorrows with some Irish whisky rather than deck the halls with boughs of holly.

 

 

To shake off the depressing mood of his favorite Christmas tune, I crank up one of my favorite upbeat, happy holiday hits because for me, Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year!

 

 

Thanksgiving: Then and Now

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PhotobucketWhen Allana attended preschool in 2006, her class sang “Tellie Turkey” during their Thanksgiving feast.  (Allana is the first girl on the left in the long-sleeve pink shirt.)

 

 

 

This year, Emmalynn’s class sang the same song dressed as pilgrims.  I loved reliving the experience all over again!  (Emmalynn is the second little pilgrim girl on the left.)

 

 

 


One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims

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Last year in first grade, Allana dressed as a pilgrim for her class’s Thanksgiving feast.  My mom made this costume for my sister’s third grade Thanksgiving feast when we were kids.  Can you believe my mom saved it all these years?

 

 

This year, Emmalynn’s preschool hosted a  Thanksgiving feast complete with turkey, pumpkin pie and little children singing dressed as pilgrims.

 

 

 

Give Thanks

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For years, I have coveted over a platter that hangs in my friend’s kitchen.  Her young child’s precious handprint forms a turkey in the center with the words “Give Thanks” cascading over the top of the dish.

 

I have always loved that memento and vowed someday I would take my children to a “paint your own pottery” place to create the same platter with them.

 

Truth be told, I don’t have patience for paint your own pottery places.  Those places drain the life out of me.  There’s way too many color choices and way too many breakables lying about for my four year old to literally act like a bull in a china shop.  Therefore, my inability to make stupid decisions paired with my “You break it; you buy it” fear has kept me away.  I simply avoid the scene entirely and we find other ways to let our creative juices flow without shattering dishes along with our self-esteem.

 

Then, last week Allana, Emmalynn and I attended a birthday party at You Do the Dishes in New Tampa.  My girls were thrilled to paint a small figurine and begged me to paint more.  Finally, I felt the inspiration to paint a handprint turkey platter.  The timing was perfect.  The staff was so helpful and hands-on that my anxiety over perfectionism and colors was greatly reduced.

 

Ready to gobble up more fun, the girls were so excited to paint a dish for Mommy.  I couldn’t believe what angels sat before me.  Allana picked the colors without hesitation and Emmalynn avoided knocking over shelves of pottery.  Plus, the supportive staff helped make our handprint project a success.

 

A few days later, our turkey handprint platter was ready.  I couldn’t wait to see how it came out!  I finally possessed my own precious timeless piece to hang in my kitchen!

 

And then, my heart sank.  A large crack appeared down the center of the platter.  My precious turkey dish was now trash.

 

I began to feel sorry myself and whined about not having a turkey platter for Thanksgiving.  I had waited years for this dish and now it seemed I was the real turkey.

 

The owner explained that occasionally the heat in the kiln will causes pieces to crack and she reassured me I could make another at no additional cost.

 

Even though I could easily make another, could I replicate the whole experience?  Would my children be as willing and well-behaved as before?

 

Then, I realized how ridiculously shallow I sounded.  It’s just a dish.

 

I should be thankful that my children have hands to make turkey handprints.

I should be thankful that I can even afford to make this dish when other families lack food for their dishes.

I should be thankful that I have a car to drive to pottery place and a home for us and all our belongings.

I should be thankful that I have two healthy children and be grateful for every moment we spend together even when they drive my crazy.

I should be thankful for my health and my husband’s health.

 

From this experience, I was grateful for my cracked dish and the lesson in humility it gave me.  Like the dish, my life is not perfect but it’s full of many blessings.  So, for my husband, my two beautiful girls, the occasional cracked dish, the handprints and marker murals on walls and the many other messy blessings in my life…

 

I give thanks.


My Women’s Half Marathon

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“I have this thing with fives”, Tiffany informed me last Saturday.  “The number five is not a good number for me.  Bad things always happen, especially on May 5.”

 

Tiffany was assigned bib number 325 for Sunday’s Women’s Half Marathon and she was not happy about it until I informed her that the sum of the three digits equals 10.  “So, think 10”, I told her and her anxiety over her bib number seemed to dissipate.

 

Did I mention my bib number was 580?  The sum of my three digits left me with 13 and not a good sign.

 

The 5K and the half marathoners shared the same start time.  With ridiculous numbers of people (close to 4000 and mostly women obviously) squeezed into the corral, Tiffany and I couldn’t start at our pace group.  When the race began, it took us 3 minutes to even cross the start line.

 

 

For the first mile or so, I exerted so much energy trying to weave in and out of walkers.  A fork in the road at the half mile mark detoured the 5K runners left while the half marathoners turned right.  Many runners/walkers were confused by the detour and it caused a great deal of congestion at this particular turn in the course.  By the time we reached mile marker 1 at the St. Pete Pier, I lost Tiffany in the crowd.

 

 

David, our super Strider leader, told us he would be cheering for us around the 2.5 mile mark and sure enough, he was there with camera in hand.  Even though, I didn’t have Tiffany running along side of me, it was nice to see a smiling face cheering for me in the sidelines.

 

For the first half of the race, I kept my pace at a steady 9:15-9:30.  I so desperately wanted to finish at the 2 hour mark.

 

Although I studied the course map beforehand to memorize all the water stations, snack stops and bathroom breaks, somehow I overlooked the cobblestone, uneven roads, “hills”, bridges and numerous turns.  All these obstacles combined with weaving around walkers, I felt unprepared.

 

 

Around mile 6, I chose to run on the sidewalk rather than the uneven cobblestone road and I worried how my knees would hold up.  I slowed down my pace to about 10:00-10:30 and my knees seemed happy.

 

 

Then around mile 10, the heat began to bother me, but I soon cooled off around mile 11 when the race course led us into Tropicana Field.  Running the bases was the highlight of the run for me.  The a/c and the squishy turf were a welcomed relief and my pace dropped down to 8:00.  Although, I could have run a few more homeruns, the course led us back out into the heat for the last two miles.

 

 

As I passed David at the finish line, I gave him my trademark smile and waved even though I wanted to cry.  I felt so defeated.  The heat killed me.  My legs hurt.  I just wanted to go home and go back to bed.

 

I was not happy with my performance.  David tried to ease my sorrow by telling me that I’m way too hard on myself, but I know how I’ve performed at other races and it’s disappointing when I can’t hit those numbers again.  I suppose I should be grateful that I can even finish.

 

To quote John “The Penguin” Bingham, “The miracle isn’t that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.”


Clock time 2:17:15

Chip Time 2:14:14

Pace 10:14.8

Place 924/3411

Gender Place 864/3275

 

As for Tiffany, fives may not be so bad after all or maybe thinking 10 worked out well for her.  She finished 2:03. Way to go, Tiffany! :-)

 

I’m Every Dirty Woman

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This week’s Musical Monday is inspired by yesterday’s Women’s Half Marathon.  With over 5000 women, there was a whole lot of sweat and estrogen.  I’ll have a full race report a little later today, but in the meantime enjoy these tunes which best describe my experience.

 

 

Coexist: A Celebration of Peace

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Today, Run DMT is featured as a guest blogger on Good Mourning, Glory! Read about how my family coexists and incorporates other cultures into our Christmas traditions with the help from our Advent calendar.

 

When you stop by, check out the other Coexist guest bloggers and her great giveaways too.

 

I am Woman. Hear Me Flush.

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Last Saturday, Tiffany and I ran 13 miles to prepare for the Women’s Half Marathon this Sunday.  This has been longest our run on the Starkey Trail and it was good that we did.  We now know we don’t like running long distances on the trail.  We prefer running in our neighborhood because of the available bathrooms and convenient snack stops.  Thankfully, there are water stations along the trail, but all that rehydration only makes you need to pee more and there’s a lot to be said about bathroom breaks that don’t require you to relieve yourself in palm fronds or behind a tree.

 

As for our run, we weren’t really pushing it and so our time wasn’t the greatest.  We were conserving our energy for Sunday’s race.  We’re both hoping to finish under 2 hours.

13 Miles

2:38:36

Ave Pace 12:12

 

As for the rest of the week, I ran on Monday and Tuesday, but my times were o.k. My calves were pretty sore from Saturday’s run, so I decided to rest the remainder of the week.

Monday 11/15

4.05 Miles

39:46

Ave Pace 9:49

 

Tuesday 11/16

3.28 Miles

30:59

Ave Pace 9:26

 

I’m really looking forward to race on Sunday.  Much like the Race for the Cure, the course will follow along the streets of St. Pete.  Although I’ve been studying over the course map, I didn’t see any bathroom stops, first aid stations, water stations or snack stops and for a moment I thought our Starkey Trail run had prepared us for this race more than we realized!  Then, I found all my lovely stops on the FAQ page.  Phew.

 

WHERE ARE THE AID STATIONS AND WHAT IS BEING SERVED?

Half Marathon Course Aid Stations:

Mile 1.75    (Water and Lemon-Lime Gatorade)
Mile 4    (Water and Lemon-Lime Gatorade)
Mile 6    (Water and Lemon-Lime Gatorade)
Mile 8.1   (GU Gel – Espresso Love, Chocolate Outrage, Vanilla Bean, Tri Berry, Stawberry Banana)
Mile 8.2   (Water and Lemon-Lime Gatorade)
Mile 10   (Water and Lemon-Lime Gatorade)
Mile 12   (Water and Lemon-Lime Gatorade)

All aid stations will also have portable toilets.

 

(Thank goodness!)

 

Have I mentioned how excited I am about  “the ultimate race goodie bag”, my hot pink Crocs and my medal? :-)

 

All Half Marathon participants will receive the ultimate goodie bag including: official Women’s Half Marathon Crocs and a reusable, recycled Kendall Kollection tote bag designed by Jacqueline Savage McFee. Also included in the bag will be additional Kendall Kollection products manufactured by Carolina Pad, race chocolates and more!

 

 

 

 

 

Bathroom breaks, bling and goodie bags with shoes and chocolate.  What more could a woman ask for?

From a Distance

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To kick off the holiday season, Diane of Good Mourning, Glory! will be hosting a week long blog carnival complete with guest bloggers and giveaways to celebrate diversity and coexistence.  Yours truly will be a guest blogger on Saturday, November 21.

 

Therefore, to celebrate the Coexist Blog Carnival, Diane (also our Musical Monday host) has requested this week’s participants pick a song with a coexist theme.  I chose From a Distance by Bette Midler.

 

 

Several years ago during my teaching days, my elementary students sang From a Distance for our holiday concert.  The words are much more meaningful when you hear a choir of young children from different ethnicities sing the song.  I still get choked thinking about their sweet voices.

 

As I searched for the video, I stumbled upon a Christmas version of From a Distance.  It’s a nice twist to a song already about peace, harmony and love for everyman.

 

 

I hope you watch the Christmas version.  The images are truly stunning.