Emerald 12K Across the Bay, March 20, 2011

The Emerald 12K Across the Bay Race!!

I wish I could start my post with an intro like, "The day of race dawned bright and clear with the promise of sunshine and perfect running conditions ahead," but as you can see from the photos, the day most certainly "dawned" in no such a way! It stormed and rained and thundered and lightninged and pounded all night long - I know this because I was awake for most of it.... :) When I finally drug myself out of bed from the worst night's sleep ever, my first thought was, "Maybe they'll cancel the race!" Nah. They specifically said, "Rain or Shine!!!"

I grabbed my healthy, energy-inducing breakfast (coffee, a cookie and a cheese stick) and then Eric, Anne, Charlie and Angie picked me up at 7:00. Away we went to Sausalito where transport buses took us to the race start line. When I got on the bus and the driver was blasting Kirk Franklin, I knew it was gonna be a GREAT day - rain OR shine!!!

I finished in a fairly respectable 1 hour and 36 minutes - 6 minutes over my goal. :( If I hadn't paused to take pictures I might've made it!!! But it was worth it to capture a few great memories! Unfortunately taking pictures on my iPhone means that they turn out very small and sorta hard to see!!

What a great course, mostly flat and fast, with amazingly beautiful and scenic views around every turn and corner. We ate at Calzones in Little Italy in San Fran afterwards - like starving crazy people, that's what we were.

While I'd been looking forward to this run for several months, I can't say that I was at my most prepared!!! I'm feeling a wee tad SORE today!!! But I can say that I'm back and ready to start seriously preparing for our Half Marathon coming up in Windsor in May. Still on track!!

Get out and enjoy this nice spring weather, Y'all!!! (If you're having any where you are!!)

Blessings!!!

The Rainbow!

So were were huffing and puffing along, running south on the Golden Gate Bridge, and it was RAINING!!!! We were SOOOOO hoping the rain would stay away, but it didn't! And let me tell you, it's WINDY up there! And so beautiful.... So anyway, then Angie said, "Hey look at the rainbow!" AMAZING!!!

The Duck Shoes

These crazy "running" shoes have single-footedly been the greatest source of entertainment for me lately! They crack me up! And make my toes cringe at the mere thought of wearing them for the length of a race, constantly feeling like you've got something stuck between your toes, because, well, you DO. Apparently they're all the rage - for some people, and then there are those who run BARE foot!!! What!!!????

Visit From Ohio Family!!

Oh, how quiet and empty our house is now.... :(

But, oh, how much FUN we had while they were here!!!!!

After anticipating their visit for MONTHS, their time here was gone before we knew it, but we made so many wonderful memories!

My mom, my grand-mother, my Aunt Lori and my nuzzin McKayla (that's niece/cousin = nuzzin) came on Saturday last weekend. It was a gorgeous sunny 60+ degree day in the bay area when they landed, so we were able to visit the pier and see a few sights and stock up on salt water taffy before we came home.

One thing that we HAD to do before they left was to take a drive out to the coast on the beaitful and scenic River Road to see the ocean. It was a little overcast, but even that couldn't put a shadow on the beauty of the beach. It just never gets old!! McKayla even had to take her shoes and sock off and dip her toes in the Pacific! Brrrr!

I'm so blessed to have had them here and hope it's not their last visit!! Let's plan a 2012 reunion?!?! :)

More Beach Fun!

Happy Birthday, Aunt Lori!!!

March is birthday month for ALL of the lovely ladies who came to visit me this week (as well as my sister who was noticeable missing.... Boo Hoo!) And Aunt Lori's birthday happened to land on this past Monday while they were here, which was so special!! After a little visit to the spa, some shopping, lunch, and MORE shopping, we came home and had dinner and watched a movie! What a fun and very FULL day! (McKayla and the girls and I made her a "California Dream Cake" in honor of her visiting us (OK, so in the MOPS cookbook it's called a mandarin dream cake, but I had to change it up a little) :-)

Ouch!!

So McKayla decided on another ear piercing while she was here! It's super cute!! (But I don't think she slept on her left side for a few nights....) :)

Mini Extreme Makeover

One of the projects that I wanted to do while I had extra hands here to help me was to fix up the girls' room. Or shall I say "Ni'ke's room".... Since Rea has taken over the loft/guest bedroom/David's room, I decided to get rid of one of the beds in their room (the yucky broken one) and give it a little face lift. It turned out absolutely adorable!! (I wish I had a before shot to compare.) I teased my ladies all week about them being my hired help, what with all the work they did to help while they were here! (This is a picture of them ironing the cute pink curtains that I found on SALE!!!)

So in the mean time, Rea was a teeny bit jealous when she saw the new and improved room, and surprise, surprise, decided that maybe she'd like to stay in this room after all and NOT move to the loft. So she has slept on her sleeping bag on the floor for three nights now, having a slumber party... :) On my agenda this weekend is to find some new "girly bedding" for the loft so that she feels like it's HER room and will actually sleep in it! (You mean 6 year old girls don't like blue and gray plaid on their beds??)

"They're Leavin'.. On a Jet Plane!!!

Well finally! After a long, rip roarin', rambunctious week at work, I can say that I'm DONE and officially on VACATION!!!! My family will be here in two short days, and the level of excitement here at the house is like none I've ever seen before!

So many questions, so very many of them.... Non. Stop. All. Day. Loooooong. :)

"When will they be here?"
"How long can they stay? Till Christmas, right?"
"What are we supposed to call them?"
"Is McKayla pretty?"
"What does she look like?"
"How old is she?"
"Will they play with us?"
"Can we go shopping with you?"
"Will we like them?"
"Can Grandma fix my purse?"
"Can we get a jumpy house for Aunt Lori's birthday?"
How many grandmas do we have???"


And on and on! Very cute!

Lots to do! Gotta run! Many adventures await us this next week!! God, You're so good!