Day 354

Pick a pair, any pair... I'm anxiously awaiting my new shoes, the ones that I'll wear for the NYC Marathon. Until Mr. UPS man shows up at the door, I'm alternating between these old reliables.

Day 353

Somebody said something about grilled cheese sandwiches today, which of course put me in a mood for a grilled cheese sandwich. I added turkey to mine, so I guess it's not technically a grilled cheese anymore, but it was good anyway. As were the last of the summer strawberries. And yes, that is a Tarzan plate under it.

Day 352

Fall is here! Afternoon temps in the low 80s means windows down, open sunroof & windblown hair, just like I like it!

Day 351

Had to take pic of personalized bib & medal from yesterday's race. This was my 13th half, and absolutely one of my top five race experiences!

Day 350

I paced a group of runners today at the Heels & Hills & Him half-marathon today; most of the runners were feeling strong enough to run ahead of pace after a while. But Candace stuck with me for the whole race, and finished her first half right on target at 2:39:40. Her family met her at the finish, which is always a great thing to have loved ones there to celebrate with us! Congratulations, Candace!

Day 349

Happy Birthday, Alicia! Yes, that's chocolate pie. At breakfast. There may have also been mimosas. You'll never know for sure!

Day 348

Benjamin had a friend's birthday party to attend on Friday night, so I caught up to him at Dave & Busters, shooting some kind of alien. Hard to know exactly what was going on - just figured it was a lot of fun.

Day 347

Crazy, no? I'm pacing the 2:40 half-marathoners at the Heels & Hills & Him race this weekend, and all the pacers decided to wear pink shirts, black bottoms & pink socks. I couldn't find solid socks so I went with these striped jobs. I was initially frightened, but I've had them on all day now and I'm kind of starting to enjoy them!

Day 346

Still not cleared to skate but we've got the uniform now. Sadly his usual number 10 was already taken, so we have to get used to 14.

Day 345

Added a couple of new charms to my bracelet today; every one tells a story & I really need to remember to wear it on occasion...

UPDATE:  Two days later, I wanted to show my unicorn to someone and it was GONE! It apparently hadn't been soldered properly and fell off. Bummer. I'm going back to get it added back as soon as I can.

Day 344

What? Some people have a liquor cabinet. I have a Ben & Jerry's shelf...

Day 343

20 miles ain't nothing to this chick! Ran a last long slow distance run with two of my girls yesterday & Kris here was just as cool & styling at the end as she usually is! Taper time for her & all other Chicago peeps starts now.

Day 342

Even with the map I still got turned around out there... but it was still a great morning run despite being disoriented a couple of times!

Day 341

Another night in suburbia, another amazing Texas sunset right beyond the stoplights. Pretty amazing clouds out tonight!

Day 340

Taken yesterday at Texas Roadhouse (which was founded in Illinois, btw, if you read their website - WTF!?). They are much more delicious than they look!

Day 339

He doesn't look dizzy... Recovering from a concussion this week, Sandro has been relegated to the activity level of the fat cat in his lap.

Day 338

Babe's honey bear. Now we just need biscuits!

Day 338

Late posting, but I did capture the late setting sun through the trees last night, while catching a quiet moment at the park between obligations.

Day 337

Another early morning run, another beautiful sunrise...

Day 336

Did a 10K today with some friends and we of course had to try to take the traditional pre-race group self-portrait. It was a bit of a challenge! There are so many great things wrong with this pic, and so many things that are perfect about it! We did ask a passerby to take a nice group shot for posterity, but these are the kind of pics that make my day!!

Day 335

Date night! Fish tacos! Guacamole! A margarita I may or may not have had a few sips of! Yay!

Day 334

These were green yesterday - at this rate they'll be overripe at midnight. Grrr.

Day 333

Ben-jammin' will really be jamming soon... he's joining the band at school & decided to learn to play the bass. He's excited - should be a fun time.

Day 332

He's almost ten, but he still wants to be tucked in at night, with his stuffed bunny and his pile of books at his head. I'm so glad that I'm home to do this now, and that he didn't outgrow it while I was out traveling for work. The good-night tuck is a ruse - he ends up staying awake later than he should reading anything he can get his hands on, not unlike I did as a child. And that's OK.

Day 331

I am so blessed to have so many friends to share my running with. I met up with my favorite girls, originally met on Twitter but who are all bonafide In-Real-Life friends now, for a 20-mile run around White Rock Lake today. The three of them are training for the Chicago Marathon on 10-10-10, and none had ever run that far before. It was a sincere pleasure to be there with them as they crossed that milestone in preparation for their marathon journey. We had lots of laughs, outrageous conversation, a few songs, and some pain and frustration - all par for the course in a 20-mile run. Thanks, girls!

Day 330

Sitting outside, under the trees, enjoying weather that's not 104 for once.

Day 329

Ben-jammin' at driving range, enjoying the sunshine.

Day 328

Had a craving for steak tonight. 'twas indeed great!!

Day 327

Saw this last lonely sunflower on my run tonight - maybe that means fall is on the way?

Day 326

Texas, Texas, yee-haw! After being told I would lose some Texas points for never having line-danced, I had to earn them back by showing my Lone Star colors!

Day 325

Hot & humid makes for gnarly clouds.