TOGETHER

today i am thankful for: the little people in my life my dear family & friends brooke i got to take a nap food food food our turkey bowl and really comfy pants enjoy your Thanksgiving!

I was going to do this: Inland Trail Marathon but instead I did this: there was 5 others on the plate before i took this picture and this: and this: and this: I also got to spend a few hours with these great friends: to celebrate the October birthdays of these girls: so although i questioned my decision all day, and timed where i would be from 8am until noon, got a little pang in my heart each time i passed a runner out on this beautiful day, i made a great choice and had a BEAUTIFUL Sunday on the BEAUTIFUL BEAUTIFUL Fall day :) Tomorrow though back to this: Have a great week!

What a great experience! I am back from Chicago, my legs are sore and I finished 26.2 miles. It wasn't pretty, but I crossed the finish line with a little spring in my step! Chicago had record breaking temperatures, the high hit 88 degrees! At one point we came around a corner and there was a sign on a bank that said 87, I figured it was wrong that the sign was in the sun and that was with the sun hitting it directly...I was wrong, that sign was RIGHT! This marathon had 45,000 participants, it took us over 18 minutes to get to that start! The crowd support was amazing, at some cheer stations the crowd was 5-6 deep. There were people along the WHOLe route, never an area where no one was there cheering you on. There is an estimated number of 1.5 million spectators and felt as if each one were cheering just for me! We ran through the whole city so I got to see so many different areas I would not have been able to see otherwise. The months and miles leading up to this event really is ...

I am now committed to run 26.2, I have booked the flight. When I started training I didn't know if I would really commit and go, I just thought I would train with them. NOW I cant imagine my running pals being there and me sitting home watching them online. Air Show pricing information Passenger Type Name Confirmation Number Rapid Rewards Number ADULT ELIZABETH SIMON XW8IPB 00000589991043 ITINERARY DEPART OCT 9 Cleveland, OH to Chicago, IL Saturday, October 9, 2010 Travel Time 1 h 10 m (Nonstop) Add EarlyBird Check-In #786 Depart Cleveland, OH (CLE) 11:40 AM Arrive in Chicago (Midway), IL (MDW) 11:50 AM RETURN OCT 10 Chicago, IL to Cleveland, OH Sunday, October 10, 2010 Travel Time 1 h 10 m (Nonstop) Add EarlyBird Check-In #654 Depart Chicago (Midway), IL (MDW) 5:05 PM Arrive in Cleveland, OH (CLE) 7:15 PM

1. running makes me feel so much better 2. i hate the anticipation of getting ready to run 3. it makes me get up at 430am for long runs on the weekends 4. i feel so good when i am finished 5. i have made amazing friends running 6. it has made me a better parent 7. it helps me to think & reflect 8. this picture is of my old shoes, i love my new shoes! 9. getting in the shower with chaffing burns terribly! 10. when the salt drips in your eyes it burns but is a good burn 11. i will not wear compression socks 12. i am not fast nor do i have any desire to be 13. i feel naked without my water bottle 14. i lost my toenail 15. i got a fresh pedicure since i lost my toenail 16. Peanut sweet & salty bars ROCK! 17. i have gone through 2 ipods over the past 2 months 18. todd will never understand how happy running makes me 19. my knees can tell me when the weather is changing 20. i am SO thankful my running pals let me join their 'circle', it has changed me in s...

She is a second grader: she is sassy she spilled purple nail polish on her carpet just 12 hours prior she LoVEs to watch TV she is smart her favorite thing to tell me is 'No' she sleeps in her new loft bed she makes me laugh she is sarcastic...really? and I am thrilled she is mine, just the best parts of her dad and I. He is a Kindergartner he is mean he is a a heartbreaker he LoVEs video games he is smart he eats all the time he is fast he is a negotiator he is a story teller and I am never surprised by him. He just has a personality, not sure where he gets it. He left on the bus today What a crazy feeling when your child is getting on the bus for the first time. I am thinking who is going to watch him, he is a wanderer, they will loose him. I don't know this lady driving the bus, he is going to get annoyed and call someone a loser, he is going to drop his pants and shake his dupa, he will get hungry and angry, they don't know he loves mazes, they will need to give him...

Last week I went and purchased all the school supplies. This trip is insane! People fighting over bins stuffed with crayons, scissors, folders, pencils, markers and snatching them up like they are gold. I do not take the kids with me on this trip, people are mean, mean, mean in the school supply aisle. Complaining about the items they can't find, the fact they have to buy supplies, it is miserable listening to them. The best are the ones with their kids, they are arguing, and it just does not seem to be a fun experience for anyone involved. That is a bummer, I would think kids would be excited about FRESH new school supplies, my kids loved seeing them all on the table the next morning, waiting for them to check them out and figure out who got what. After I went through all the bags and got items labled this is what i ended up with: all the supplies needed for 1 first grader & 1 kindergartner.