2010 Petaluma Footrace!!!!

So, let me paint the backdrop for you.....

A perfectly beautiful, sunny day. (It was 77 here today!) I hopped out of bed at 6:30 am, and my awesome, supportive family all followed shortly thereafter!

I could end my story there, and I'd be happy, because it meant so much to me for them to be there cheering me on!

We got to the race early and was able to get a table for us to all sit at while the kids had a bite to eat and we walked around to see all the vendors. My adorable little children made signs and posters for me that they held up at the start of the race as I ran by! Almost started crying!! And my husband, who knows how much I love to capture memories of any and every special occasion, took lots of pictures for me!! (I even managed to get HIM in one!)

I wouldn't say I was nervous, but as my friend Karla said, "I was nerved up!" I guess it was just the anticipation of it all - it really was just so much fun! Karla is my friend from work who introduced me to this particular 5K and inspired me to start running again, so a big huge thanks to her! Her family was all there to support her as well, and I know we were feeling like the most loved mommies in Sonoma county today! Looking forward to lots more races with you, girl!!

Well, a Smith family outing wouldn't be complete without at least one little "snafoo", and just such a snafoo was discovered when Daryle and I went to take everybody to the bathroom shortly before the race began. Now, I don't have to remind you how much I detest port-a-potties, (please refer to my Avon Walk post from July '09 for a reminder) but there weren't alot of options for "real" bathrooms. Turns out our children have inherited this pure hate for "boxes of crap" from us. Rea was actually SOBBING because she was so grossed out and "couldn't find the flush handle to make it all go away." It took alot of coaxing and counseling to get her to finally go so that I wouldn't be late for the start of the race!! (I was furious because there was no hand-sanitizer and the nurse in me was mentally tallying infectious diseases by the thousands, but I digress...)

Daryle went into the port-a-potty with Ya'shar because, well, he'd be the one to fall in, if anyone would. When they came out, I saw him laughing and shaking his head as they walked towards us.

Turns out Ya'shar opted NOT to put any underwear on this morning beneath his khakis, which is a real head-scratcher since I had laid out a pile of clothes for him to put on that truly DID include a pair of spiderman underwear. When asked the usual question that always follows his antics, "Ya'shar, why did you do that?" his answer left us with a lot more questions that will probably remain equally unanswered.

"I just felt like leaving them at home today."

Characters of the Day!!

We made sure to get our picture with all of the "special guests" that made appearances at the event today. One of my favorites was Clo the cow, whose happy face graces many of the hilarious billboards out here advertising milk. "California cows are happy cows!" At least I think that was her...

Anyway, my ABSOLUTE favorite characters of the day were the four little Smith kids. What's not to love?!

Made It!!

It felt so good to reach a goal I'd work hard to get to! I had to have a picture under the "Finish" sign, but didn't make my way over there till about 15 minutes after I'd gotten done. My official time for completing my first 5K in 10 years was.... (drum roll, please!) 44 minutes and 40 seconds. Yes, I realize that, wow, I managed to run a 15 minute mile, THREE times, but I'm stinkin' proud!!! I did NOT walk any of the run, which was my own little personal goal!

Im hoping to run at least a 5k or a 10K each month from here on out!! Working my way towards the Half-marathons and full marathons...... :)

Hooray for 3-Day Weekends!

I'll be packing alot into my weekend "off", but I'm looking forward to putting a big dent into my list! Grocery shopping, running errands, laundry and cleaning, running, and I've promised to play "kitchen" with the girls. (I found a practically new play kitchen set at a garage sale the other day - along with lots of other awesome stuff - and I can't drag them away from it since!)

Three more days till the big RUN on Sunday, can't wait for that! My 10-day challenge has gone fairly well. Feeling rotten + work + inclement weather hindered my plans a little, but it wasn't a total wash! I'm feeling more confident with my endurance and know I'll keep up the running after Sunday, which is what I wanted most. I didn't want to feel like I dreaded it and I had to hurry up and get it over with and then just want to let all my hard work go after I fulfilled my committment. I actually really like running!

Rea keeps saying she wants to go running with me, but I told her she had to wait a few years before I would let her make me look bad. :)

The weather is looking great for the weekend - in the 70's by Saturday! The kids are looking forward to going, too - there's food and live music and a raffle and all kinds of fun. It's my first year there and hopefully the first of many!

www.petalumafootrace.com

Have an all-day meeting tomorrow, and then can work on getting in a couple more runs. Giddyup, here we go!!

P.S. Funny story:
I opened the pantry to get a snack for Ma-lak and Rea to take to school this morning. I reached into a box of granola bars, and found it EMPTY except for a 1/2 eaten one, still in the wrapper. When I looked around for an obvious culprit, 3/4 of my little darlings all pointed their fingers and ratted out the youngest little dude. I said, "Ya'shar! Why did you do that?" He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Well, I was full and you said we shouldn't waste food." (sigh)

Funny Things My Kids Say, Volume 37

Daryle: "I'm hungry! I think I'll eat Ya'shar's ears for breakfast!!!" (He picked up Ya'shar and proceeded to "chew" his ears and tickle him till he giggled so hard he couldn't breathe!)

Ya'shar (gasping for breath): "But Daddy! You can't eat me! Then you'd be an eagle!!!"

Ma-lak (always able to translate): "No, he means you can't eat people because it's ILLEGAL!!!!"

Ooooohhhh....

I love that our kids get so excited about going to church and they anticipate it all week long! Almost every morning, one or some of them ask, "Is today church day?" And I say, "No, not till next week."

The other day, the girls were playing with their dolls and I overheard Ni'ke saying to Rea, "I know! Let's go to my next week church!"

I asked her what her "next week church" was, and she said, "You know, the church that we always go to "next week." Too funny.

Last night I sent the kids upstairs to put on their pajamas and brush their teeth before bed. Our usual routine is that I help them do their flossing at night because it's a little calmer than in the morning and we have more time. Rea has been trying to do it herself, but her teeth are so crowded, and it's so awkward for her, I usually have to help her too. I walked up the stairs and heard her in the bathroom, sobbing. When I opened the door, she had about 3 feet of dental floss wrapped around her hands and fingers and was having a rough time! (We were out of the much easier floss picks!) She looked at me with her eyes full of tears and said, "If I don't floss my teeth, Dr. Berger is going to be really mad and he won't let me pick a prize from the prize shelf next time!!" I assured her that Dr. Berger would understand if she needed some help and that he's NOT big and mean and scarey! Who knew that pencils and fake plastic chatterbox teeth were such a huge incentive for flossing?!

On Ma-lak's homework paper this week, he was asked to write 4 different sentences using the following words: buy, pretty, my, else

So he wrote:

My mom is really pretty.
I wish she would buy me a new dinosaur.
She doesn't have anything else to do.

Joggers Who Stare at Goats...

I've always thought it was cool how our subdivision sits right on the edge of the city, hardly even IN the city, which I really like because I AM just a country girl at heart. While I admit to being moderately infatuated with big cities and love to take trips to ANY of them, I really do just love solitude and wide open spaces.

No local around here would ever think to call Santa Rosa a "city", but to me it's still a big huge metropolis. Did I mention I grew up on a pig farm? If there are taxis and city buses and more Starbucks in a square mile than there are houses, then it's a city.

I even made up my own word for where we live - "rurban" Santa Rosa (rural/urban). The city has spread and sprawled out so much in the recent years, mostly from people trying to get up further north away from San Francisco. The land developers have gobbled up tons of acreage in the surrounding farmland, and our neighborhood is only 10-15 years old, and still growing!

So it's not unusual at all to go to Target and shop with the smell of the nearby cow pasture filling your nostrils. Or I guess to go for a run and dead-end into a cul de sac that adjoins to a farm.

On my usual jogging route, I run on my street, from one end of Blue Sky Lane to the other, which is about 1/4 of a mile long. My husband, ever the safety conscious one, likes to be able to walk out our front door and look up and down the street to "get a visual" of where I am and check on me. The one end of our street dead ends into a beautiful community park that hooks onto the kids' school, and has the most perfect view of the mountains. The OTHER end of the street, as I found out the other day, dead ends into a pasture with lots of sheep and goats, and a few llamas thrown in. I had to do a double take because it was so out of place to see all those farm animals basically in our neighbor's back yard!

But it's all good. I know that when I've stared at the goats 6 times, then I've done my 3 miles and it's time to slow down to my "cool down" walking lap and call it a day. And I kinda like feeling that I live in the country, sorta by a farm.... with animals. I don't want to be a TOTAL city slicker.

Last night I'd barely started my run (Day 3!!) and it started to rain! I was drenched and frozen, so I went inside, made a pie, put it in the oven and went back out again after it let up. Got back in perfect time to take the pie out of the oven!

And something else I'm learning... Controlling my breathing is crucial to NOT swallowing bugs. I must look like an air-sucking guppie when I run, but I'm getting that one down real fast.

All in all, a good "Day 3" run. When I got back in, my dinner consisted of the previously mentioned pie, a bowl of rice and half a box of Whoppers. What can I say? The heart wants what it wants. And I'm already depriving my body of coveted latent activity, I'm certainly not going to take away carbs and simple sugars, too. That would be down right silly.

Hmmm.... I think I found my next 10 Day Challenge.

My 10-Day Challenge

So, in honor of my upcoming 5K run that I've committed to and so far NOT regretted, I decided to set some goals for myself! I've been hit or miss with being consistant in getting out there and running, so I decided to challenge myself to run EVERYDAY for the last 10 days before the race. So far, 2 down and 8 more days to go, with Day 10 being "Race Day"! Let me be clear that I am in no way planning to race anybody, I just want to finish! (Preferably without stopping to walk.)

My fan club (aka my CHILDREN!) are almost as excited about next week as I am and have promised to cheer me on when I get tired. That will motivate more than anything!

I definitely have been enjoying myself. I'd forgotten how much I love being out, alone with my thoughts to think. Yesterday I remembered the Prayer Walks we used to do when I lived in Archbold (Ohio). What a blessing those were! I think our church organized it, and the city was divided into "grids". Groups of people would walk through the neighborhood in their assigned section, praying for the people living there. I decided to start praying for the people on my street on Blue Sky Lane, for their health, their safety, for healing for family relationships, and anything else that comes to mind! Hmmm.... Could this be the start of an organized prayer walk group for our subdivision? Perhaps so....

Anyway, the countdown is on, and I'm up for the challenge! Supposed to be some rain and hail later today, so hope to get in a run before the storm!

The Book Worm Returns!!

Even as a very young girl, I loved to read. ALWAYS had my nose in a book! My mom dreaded when I would start a new one, especially if it was more than 200 pages. She would affectionately say that I would be "worthless to help around the house" until it was finished! When I was in high school, I volunteered to work in the library during my study hall, that way I had first dibs on any new books that came. And I was the one who hid a paper back inside my World Geography book during class, pretending to be completely engrossed in tiny little Djbouti on the continent of Africa. I would rather read than eat or sleep!

As I grew older, my love for reading didn't really leave, but having TIME for it came and went depending on what was going on in my life. Didn't read much for fun during nursing school, no time for that! And in recent years, motherhood has become the real-life adventure to replace the ones I'd only read about before!

But over a decade ago, a very dear friend introduced me to a wonderful Christian author named Francine Rivers. Her books are the "can't put 'em down" kind that just draw you in, and you go crazy waiting to get your hands on the next one in a series. She always has such powerful messages, and an almost tangible sincerity that you feel HAD to have come from her own life's experiences.

A few weeks ago I was chatting with a friend from work, who I affectionately call "mom". Kim is a wise mother who reminds me alot of my own, and always has plenty of hugs and smiles for me when she sees I'm feeling a tad homesick! We were talking about motherhood and our kids, and she said, "Hey, have you ever heard of this author? I bet you'd really like her books..." She pulled out a Francine Rivers book, and I got all excited and gasped delightedly at the wonder that we shared something else in common!

Turns out that Kim actually KNOWS Mrs. Rivers, and they are friends! Little did I know that Francine and her family settled in northern California, a few miles from here actually - what a small world! I felt like I knew a celebrity!

She promised to give me the book to read after she was done, and sure enough, I got my hands on it a few days later! Turns out the perfect time to read it was Easter weekend, with all our cold rainy weather... I gobbled up that 500 page book like an old pro!

And cried through most of it.....

What a precious book! The kind that stays with you for a long time, that you actually LEARN something from. I highly recommend it, especially for any mothers of daughters... You will be blessed!

Now if I can only manage to wait till the sequel comes out this fall!!

Easter Conversations

Rea: "Hey Mommy, Is Jesus risen yet?"

Me: "Yes! That's why we celebrate Easter!"

Rea: "Well where did he rise up to?"

Me: "He went up to heaven."

Rea: "Is he still there?"

Me: "Yes, but He's here with us, too. In our hearts and all around us!"

Rea: "But I want to see his FACE!!"

Me: "Yes, me too... We will some day."

Rea: "Well I love Jesus, and I'm gonna love Him forever!"

Me: "I'm very happy to hear that."

Rea: "If you love him forever, he'll love you forever, too!"

Me: "Yep, but He always loves us regardless, that's the cool thing about Jesus."

Rea: "What does regardless mean?"

Training Run!!

Well, I finally got completely tired of hearing myself say, "I need to start running again..." and then doing absolutely NOTHING to make it happen. So after months of latent activity, I gave the 'ole legs a trial run, and 3 days later I'm hobbling around like an 80 year old woman! Ironically enough, most of the 80 year old women I know could actually sprint circles around me, so maybe that wasn't the best analogy...

The excuses, oh they are so many!! I'm tired. I work nights. I don't have time. I'm just so busy. I haven't eaten yet. I just ate. The socks I like are in the laundry. I'm tired. I need to go to Walmart. What if a telemarketer calls and I'm not here to tell him to stop calling? I'm tired. You get the idea...

But guess what? I feel really good! I mean I HURT and ache in horribly awful places, but I feel so good!! I slept pretty great this week which is such a precious thing these days. So the excuses? Not really holding up much anymore.

I'm signed up for my first 5K run of the year on April 18, the Petaluma Foot Race! Way super excited, and it's just good to have a specific goal to work toward. Plus I get a cool t-shirt! :O) This is my first one actually in TEN years, the last being the Pettisville Tromp Through the Swamp in 2000, for all my Ohio friends! Good times!

So I'll keep a runnin' and take it a day at a time, getting stronger everyday. Working towards my bigger goal of a marathon! For now I'm just happy to have made the effort to "get back where I was" even though that place is still a tiny speck on the distant horizon!