10k

Do our run, get an event shirt that’s retail value is only one dollar less than your entry fee. Eat some bananas and RX Bars and churros after the finish line. Do our free yoga class afterward to stretch yourself out, and take the $88 mat you used home for free.

Not bad, lululemon. Not bad at all for your first effort at a run in Houston. We accept ad we thank you for the event.

P.S. My man got himself the fastest time he’s ever gotten on a 10k today, and he didn’t even prep. He signed up late, did a two-mile run earlier this week, and hoped for the best in his shorts, tank top, light sweater thing, and gloves in the sudden near-freezing temperatures. And he did his best, quite literally. Super proud of him, and grateful to have him be with me in this beautiful, wonderful, awe-inspiring life.

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Cold

Usually, by morning, the ice in my YETI tumbler – no lid – is long gone, with only a hint of cold to the water still in it. Sometimes, when I go to bed earlier, the water is barely cool by morning. Today, however, even with the heat on in the house, as I am going to bed at nearly 11pm, there is still a huge chunk of ice sitting in my tumbler from last night… clearly, it has gotten cold here.

I whipped out my ski pants and winter coat and wool beret and SmartWool socks – and I even tested those in my tennis shoes – to wear tomorrow morning for this run. My man is running in it, and I am volunteering for it. I am so glad I had the karate thing at the park this morning, so I was clear on what was warm enough and what wasn’t. (Three layers of pants was okay, as were three layers on top, including a casual winter coat. The warmer socks were nowhere near enough. The cotton knit beanie made all the difference.) So, I think I’m ready for the weather tomorrow, which will be even colder than it was today – today was 41/5, but tomorrow morning is forecasted as 39/4 degrees. Since I’ll be doing a lot of standing around outside, possibly even in the wind, I think the winter costa Ms ski pants are a good move. My man, however, might not have the right gear for his run… the plan at present is for him to wear high socks and a warm top and gloves, plus a pair of sweatpants that he’ll pass off to me just before he starts off… We certainly shall see how that goes, shan’t we? 😛

Say a prayer for us, if you don’t mind, please. Keep us safe and appropriately warm, God. Amen.

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Holy Mary, Mother of God

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women, and blessed is the Fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

Tonight just feels like the right kind of night to pray… just to pray.

Oh, my love and my life, God, may your will be done. Help us to pursue your will fully, and grant us the courage, purpose, grace, and ease to fulfill it. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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P.S. Happy Veterans’ Day, and thank you to all who have given themselves in service to the safety and livelihoods of others.

Juice Cleanse

“How are you feeling today?
I’m feeling dreadful. My stomach hurts, I off and on feel like I might vomit, and my body is miserable.
Talk about detox.”

We have been eating loads of junk we don’t usually eat, mostly because of the season – candy (Halloween), pumpkin pie (Fall), eggnog (almost Winter), pizza (because we get it at Costco, where we get the pumpkin pie), and chocolate milk (because we’re already drinking the eggnog, which is dairy!). So, we determined that a juice cleanse was in order. And we started it today. And I have never had such a struggle with a juice cleanse in my life as I had today. Goodness, I felt dreadful. And I also was freezing all day long… and I might have actually had a fever… :/ Like I said, it was rough today.

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Opera

It’s just so dramatic… Of course they both died at the end, to be forever in their love through death, as they sacrificed themselves to save her husband, whom she never really liked or loved, but who was going to die rather than reveal her secret to the world.

And of course the show used real fire for the bonfire-beacon on the stage and threw real massive buckets of water onto the stage to show the tide crashing into the cave where the two lovers were now ball-and-chained to die by drowning with the tide rising. Very cool effect from each.

And of course we both snoozed for st least part of the show – how can one not with such lulling music in a dark space with a cozy chair, holding the hand of one one loves?

I just love opera.

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Sometimes…

Sometimes, life just feels really sucky.

And that’s completely okay. Truly, it is. Just allow it to be exactly as it is, and embrace it for itself. Treat it exactly the same as moments of awesomeness and joy, and they are all merely sort of life and can teach us something at every step… even when they suck.

You can do this, Banana… truly, you can.

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Brain stuff

Do you ever get to the end of a day, just before bed, and go to think back on how the day went and all, but you can’t recall what you actually did that day? Sure, you remember the most recent stuff. But the whole first half is definitely a total blank, as well as half of the later stuff.

This seems to happen to me often. As with all the other times, I have to go in reverse for my day – start with the most recent thing, and move backwards from there. Then, eventually, I get to how it all started. But, boy, does it feel silly! And it takes actual focus on remembering things step-by-step in reverse. I can’t just ask my brain, “Hey, what did we do today?” It has no clue. It tells me to do the filing work and figure it all out…

Of course, now I can remember what I did today – it was a lot and it was great. But it took real effort just now to get there, and I still don’t have all of it (I know this, because little pieces still keep popping up into my mind, and I realize that I’d left that out so far…). Nuts, right??

Anyway, that’s how my brain works. That’s why I like having social media as my personal photo album – the photos remind me of the awesome things I’ve done and places I’ve been. Nuts, but that’s how it is, you know?

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I want to ride my bicycle

I want to ride my biiiike.

The ride was a success this morning, despite my bike’s falling (I stayed on my feet, through the fall, though), my mom not even noticing and thereby leaving us behind for 2/3 of the first half, my man fooling around with tricks and other stress-inducing and higher-risk activities rather constantly, and the path being terribly marked (only mile markers 1-5, 12, and 13 were up… marking the kilometers…, and there was almost no signage at all on the way back, leaving loads of people to have to double back and find the way on sorts that varied from the way out…, and the police crossing-guards all disappeared, too). Also, it was cold almost the entire time(!!!). That was a surprise. I purposely didn’t bring the extra layers beyond a long-sleeve and a short rain jacket this time because of the forecasted temperature elevation shortly after we were starting the ride. But it worked out okay by the end, with a little bit of sun shining beautifully for the after-party.

Of course, I had to rush to an outdoor training thing up north afterward, and we ended up standing in the shade for hours, despite the whole rest of the place being in blazing sunlight (which is why I’d left all seaters and jackets in the car, yet again). So, I never fully warmed up all day. And that’s probably why I just took an absurdly hot and long shower… it was over 82° in the bathroom when I finished showering, and it felt great. (Remember that I typically prefer cooler temperatures. I just also want to be dressed appropriately for those temperatures, and I wasn’t today.)

Anyway, good day, all in all. I love my man. I love God. I love my mom. I love my life. I love today. Thank you, God. Amen.

P.S. He swears he’s watching the baseball game right now…, but that absurdly loud snoring coming from the curled up man on the sofa begs to differ. 😂

P.P.S. I woke him up for the ninth inning, because I knew he’d want to witness that live. Certainly glad I did! Congratulations, gentlemen. Well played.

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I can ride my bike

with handlebars, thank you very much.

And, tomorrow, I shall. It will be the Houston Park-to-Port bicycle ride from a main park in the city, Hermann Park, to the Port of Houston. It will be a great event, and I am stoked to be doing it both with my mom, again, and my man, for the first time. Yay!

Thank you, God. Please, keep us safe and able all throughout tomorrow. In your name, I pray. Amen.

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