What's Up Wednesday

I was jonesing to write tonight as I'm all caught up on editing photos. But I don't really have a topic in mind so I found this:

What we're eating this week:

I was out of town this past weekend so Pat made our menu and did the grocery shopping. This is what we're eating: tofu and artichoke casserole, homemade pizza, Thai peanut salad, slow cooker chicken, grilled cheese and tomato soup, artichoke chicken and potatoes, and taco salad.

What I'm reminiscing about:

I've spent some time recently flipping through all the old pictures in my phone. This is the first picture of Finn I have stored in my phone. I had to do a double take because this is Kellan's favorite thing to do. Something about shoes!

What I'm loving...

Roots Thai Coconut Curry Hummus. Heaven in a little container. Just add carrots.

What we've been up to...

These past few weeks have been a little crazy. Either Pat has been out of town or I have. He's been working late or I have. I think we just see each other 5 minutes in the morning and 5 minutes before bed if we're lucky. I always think about how nice it will be when things slow down a little, but that never seems to happen.

What I'm dreading...

I had a really hard time answering this, which is a good thing. I don't have anything in the immediate future that I'm dreading. Finn is in this stage where he talks 100% of the time he is awake. I can't talk on the phone without him taking over the conversation. I can't have a conversation with Pat without Finn interrupting. And although at times I feel frustrated, I remember that there might be a day where I can't get him to talk to me at all (age 14?). So I try to remind myself to cherish his conversations even when it's not the right time for me. I do dread him growing up. I love his innocence.

What I'm working on...

What am I NOT working on? I'm getting everything organized and ready for Christmas mini sessions, trying to gather necessary items to create the various stages. I should be working on my photography blog. Maybe tomorrow. I'm working on planning Finn's 4th and Kellan's 1st birthday parties. Working on what to get them as gifts. We do the 4 gift rule (1 thing to wear, 1 thing to read, 1 thing they want, and 1 thing they need).

What I'm excited about...

In December, Pat and I will celebrate 6 years of marriage. We're going to Sandals in Jamaica for 3 days and 4 nights. I'm excited about that...big time! My sister, mom and auntie are coming from CA and MI to visit us and keep the boys while we're away. I'm VERY excited to spend time with them over the holidays. Magena (sister) is even going to be here for Christmas. I feel very lucky to celebrate the holiday with her and...secretly...I'm excited to get a stocking and stuff it with fun gifts for her.

What I'm watching/reading...

Since it isn't Bachelor or Bachelorette season, I'm not watching TV. Those (aside from the news) are the only shows I watch. So, I'm reading some poetry books, Ruby Holler, and re-reading Cafe (Companion to Daily 5). All of these books are for school. We're trying to get our students to read from a variety of genres and their least favorite is poetry. So I'm trying to find a good poetry book I can do a book-talk on during morning broadcast. I'm reading Ruby Holler which is a children's novel because it's by an author (Sharon Creech) that I like. Her book Walk Two Moons is one of my favorite children's novels. I'm re-reading Cafe because it has been a long time since I read it. And a lot of my teachers read it this summer. I'm trying to know my stuff and keep up with them. I know Judy Blume came out with a new novel and she is one of my favorite authors, so I think I will get that next.

What I'm listening to...

97.3 is my radio station of choice. Is that the "oldies" now? I listen to Pandora a lot. When I run or exercise I prefer the Taylor Swift station. When I need background music if I'm editing pictures or working on a blog, I prefer the Ray LaMontagne station.

What I'm wearing...

Currently I'm in baggy jammies. But I'm very into dresses lately. So easy. Here's one I bought this summer that I love dressing up with heels and a big colorful necklace:

What I'm doing this weekend...

In the background on the news, they just said this weekend is supposed to be on of the wettest weekends on record. Great. Well, I have one photo session scheduled Sunday night. Other than that, no solid plans. Which is good I guess. I was hoping it'd be nice so we could go to Boger City UMC and pick out our pumpkins. Oh well.

What I'm looking forward to next month...

Finn's 4th birthday is October 26th, and although I'm not looking forward to him getting older, I'm excited about his party because HE is excited about his party. It is "Paw Patrol" themed. Also, we're going to our first App football game as a family of four on October 31. So we will probably trick-or-treat in Boone. And I'm sure it'll be SO COLD. But that's ok. Finn and Kellan are both "the blue ninja turtle" per Finn's request. Their costumes look different as one is for a baby and one is for a 4 year old. He is extremely excited to wear his costume and trick-or-treat.

What else is new...

I've started a running club at work with 7 or 8 other teachers. We have just over 40 fourth and fifth grade students who will run with us 2 days a week for just over 2 months to prepare for their 5K in Huntersville in December. I'm excited about it! Of course, it's supposed to rain tomorrow. Trying to come up with a back-up plan.

5 on friday

<ONE>

I could write twenty-five things every Friday of what Finn says that cracks me up throughout the week. This week the two most memorable were:

1)  Me: "Finn, I am not very happy with your choices right now."/Finn: "Are you sure?" (coyly smiling)

...and...

2) Me: "Well I wonder what Mommy will have for dinner. Maybe I'll eat Finn's dinner since he has decided not to eat it."/Finn: "NO! I'm gonna eat it as soon as my grumpies go away! I just need to sit in a quiet place for a minute."

-----------------

Where does he get this stuff?

<TWO>

Pat was out of town this week - here's a virtual high five to you single parents who did it daily (not just one week). You are all amazing (and probably really tired).

 

<THREE>

I've been wanting to find a way to display my race medals and have been scouring Pinterest for a while. Well, I just plain don't have time to make anything. So Etsy.com it was! Here's what I got and will shortly be hanging in my office:

<FOUR>

It has taken MONTHS but I got my work inbox down to five emails before I left for the weekend. I couldn't even do that this summer. And the good thing is, the 5 in my inbox have already been responded to...they're just in there as reminders! I'm tellin' ya, there's something about the good feeling you get with an empty inbox!

 

<FIVE>

I am loving this quote lately: "What if I fail? Oh but my darling what if you fly?" I repeat that to myself a lot.

 

 

13.1

This weekend I ran my fourth half marathon.

That's 13.1 miles to be exact.

My first half was Charlotte's Thunder Road about 3 years ago. I finished somewhere around 2:50:00, and was about 60 lbs heavier. I remember crying at mile 10 because I couldn't believe I made it that far. Then because of the crying, I lost my breath. And the last 3 miles were HARD.

Second half was the High Country Half Marathon, where you begin at Kidd Brewer Stadium (ASU) and run up all these back roads all the way to Blowing Rock. I kid you not, uphill all the way. By this point I was at my goal weight. I don't have a clue how my finish time was, but if I were to guess it would probably be around 2:15:00. I remember falling to the ground at the finish line in tears because it hurt so bad.

Third half, my goal was to finish under 2:00:00. It was the Myrtle Beach Half. FLAT. No hills. My weight was still down below my goal, so I knew making the 2 hour mark was no problem. Until it was. The last 2 miles were running into some fierce wind. It slowed me down majorly. So I finished right around 2:03:00. Just 3 minutes over. I was a little bummed, but I was still able to improve my time.

All three of the above half marathons were between having Finn and Kellan.

Once I got clearance to exercise and had finished nursing Kellan, I began training again. I started off very slowly. 1 mile for a few days, then 1.5 miles. And I gradually built back up to long weekend runs of 8-9, 10-11, and so on. A few weeks before this fourth half marathon, I was back down (almost) to my pre-baby weight. This helped greatly to increase my speed. I'm still about 5-6 lbs heavier than I was at my very lightest, but I'm content to be where I am.

I have really worked hard to increase my speed and endurance so that I could finish under 2 hours on this half marathon. I've run approximately 3 times per week during the week, at about 4:30 am. Those morning runs are typically 3 miles, sometimes 4. Then on weekends I'd do a long run on Saturday and a 5 miler on Sunday. I've been averaging 85-100 miles a month. And on days I wasn't running, I was doing 40-60 minutes of "Insanity" videos. I'm telling you, it works.

I know that to beat 2 hours, your pace has to be faster than an average of 9:08 minutes/mile.

My comfy pace is about 9:15.

I also knew that the Davidson Half is hilly. Especially at mile 11.5 - right as your body is starting to fatigue. And by hilly I mean UP-hilly. So I knew I was going to have to speed through a lot of the miles in order to account for all the up-hills at the end.

I started to really get nervous 2 weeks out. Just thinking about how badly I wanted it.

Picked up my packet on Thursday. "Packet". It consisted of this:

Yes, a t-shirt and a lame number. Not even a really cool number.

The t-shirt might fit over my head if I'm lucky. I got a medium.

I think it was made for an 8 year old.

Friday I tried to hydrate-hydrate-hydrate.

Friday I also tried to eat very well. Lots of fruits and veggies and protein.

I also tried to get some good sleep.

I think I accomplished all of the above.

The morning of, I woke up at 5:30 and took a shower. I know that probably seems odd to shower before you go sweat. But I wanted to feel clean and fresh, and didn't want my hair looking all greasy in addition to the sweat. It's a thing. I know. I drank a cup of coffee, ate a banana with a bit of PB. If you're a runner, you know why you drink the coffee. Coffee works magic. It worked its magic for about an hour and a half.

Got to Davidson about 1/2 hour before gun. Frequented the porta-potties and walked around to warm my muscles. It was a little chilly. My stomach was just-a-turning. I mean, thank God for port-potties.

At the start line, I got in with the 2:00:00 pacers. They described the course and their plan for getting us across under 2 hours. I felt good, but nervous. There were a lot of us aiming for that time.

GUN.

Mile 1 was slightly downhill. I made an effort not to be an over-achiever and exhaust myself in mile 1, but also wanted to stay ahead of the pacers. I made mile 1 under 9:00. That was a good sign.

Every other mile was either right under 9:00 or right over. It really depended on the hills. And really the entire course was significantly hilly. However, there was one hill called Patrick Johnston (named after the road) that was the reason the Davidson Half is so difficult. You run down it at mile 1.5 and up it at 11.5. When I ran down it, I knew it was going to be tough going up. It was a short hill, but very steep. So I picked up the pace.

Lots of nice greenways, a few beautiful neighborhoods. A PGA tournament going on in one of them. Big leaderboards, men standing around with "quiet" signs. The golf people didn't seem to like the fact that we were running around their course...especially with all the cheering sections at each turn. Oh well.

At the turn-around (it was an out and back race), I had no idea where I actually stood. I figured right under an hour, but there was no timing sign. My watch just tells me by the mile, so I had no idea. But, about a minute after the turn-around came the 2 hour pacers. I was doing well!

At mile 7, for some reason, I had this wave of emotion come over me. I started to think about how much distance I had left to cover and how I couldn't wait to see my 3 favorite boys at the finish line. And then I started to think about my mom and how much she would love to have the ability I have to run...but even just to walk. I started to cry. And I remembered how losing your breath can destroy your race. So I choked it up and had to spend 30 seconds coaching myself to get my breath back to match the rhythm of my feet.

Back through the golf course, neighborhoods, and greenways.

And the looming 11.5 hill up ahead. I saw it. And in my head I said some words of encouragement. And I conquered it. I ran the whole thing. And although it slowed me down, it didn't stop me.

Even at the top of the hill, I told myself I could probably run a marathon (that's 26.2 miles). I felt good enough. Yes, I am signing up for a marathon.

Then at 12 miles, I decided I was crazy and that I would never run a marathon. I'm tired!

At 12.5ish miles, I heard the 2 hour pacers coming up behind me. They were yelling (encouragingly) at all the people running with them:

"ONLY 4 MORE MINUTES"

"PUMP YOUR ARMS"

"DON'T STOP"

"YOU'VE COME THIS FAR"

"GO FASTER!"

And I did all of those things. The last 0.2 miles were uphill. And as I saw the turn to the finish line, I saw my 3 favorite boys cheering me on. Pat was filming my run to the finish line, and Finn was shouting GO MOMMY, GO MOMMY! I suddenly had this spurt of energy to kick it into high gear.

And I crossed at 1:58:50.

UNDER 2 HOURS.

(Came in 11th in my age group)

And they handed me my medal.

Um, just an FYI...if you ever decide to run a race where you're giving finisher's medals. Put a dang ribbon on it so the finishers can WEAR it with pride. What is this little mini leather strap?

All day Saturday and Sunday my calves were tight. But I had no knee pain, and that's a wonderful thing. I am so proud of myself. I accomplished something many people only imagine or dream to. I don't have a "what's next" goal. I'm not trying to get my next one under 1:45:00. I'm not going to register for a full marathon. I'm just going to keep running, eat right, and stay healthy.

I'm doing these things not to be "skinny". I'm doing them to be a role model of health and wellness for my boys. I'm doing them so I can live a long healthy life, see my boys graduate college and get jobs. I want to watch them get married and have babies. I want to retire with my hubby at the beach. I want to travel. And I know to do these things I have to take care of ME.

And on another note, I found these two sleeping pictures in my phone. Wanted to share:

Kellan - how he naps:

On his belly, always has always will.

And he has to have a blanket scrunched underneath him.

Finn - how he sleeps:

I know. It freaks me out, too. But if you take his

"Pooh Blankie" off his face, he has a meltdown.

Who wouldn't take care of themselves to spend the rest of their lives with these two little pieces of perfection?

Oh, and October 1 I'm "running into" a running club at St. James.

Bring it!

5 on friday

<ONE>

Tomorrow's the day. 7:30 am. Davidson, NC. It's the half marathon I've been training months to run and this is my thought on it:

In all seriousness...I'm really nervous. This is my 4th half marathon, so it's not that I'm unsure whether I can do it. I know I can. I've set a goal for myself to finish under 2 hours. I've been working so hard for it, and my pace is kinda iffy. I could really use some thoughts, prayers, good vibes - whatever you have to give between 7:30-9:30!

<TWO>
I love looking for inspirational quotes on Pinterest. This is kinda still about number 1. Here are two quotes I've found about running and fitness that I'll be thinking about tomorrow morning. I think they can apply to other things in life as well.

^ My Mom will be in my inspiration tomorrow because of this.

...and...

^ This applies to so much more than running. But it is SO TRUE about running long distances.

<THREE>

If someone could please convey to my children that it's ok to sleep past 5:00 am I'd certainly appreciate it. Man alive!

<FOUR>

Finn just finished his first full week of 3 year old preschool and he loves it. I've already noticed a difference in his maturity. For example, he let me take some pictures of him and even followed directions. This used to be so frustrating for me. It was like a breath of fresh air seeing him ham it up for the camera.

<FIVE>
I'm in full Christmas picture mode with my photography business. I posted Christmas mini session sign ups this week and am more than halfway full already! (Sessions are in November) Pat has been assigned the task of building a mantle for one of the stages. Here's my inspirational picture:

So mine won't be quite as rustic because I don't have a barn on my property, but you get the idea. Then there's this wall tree I'm replicating:

And this vinyl backdrop that I love:

If you're interested in one of the few remaining spaces, you can click HERE to read the details and sign up!

Have a restful weekend,

the prop-man

As I'm sure by now you know, I take pictures as a "side job". I do it because 1) I have always had a love for photography, 2) I need to do something creative, and 3) The extra money is nice when you have children!

I get a lot of inspiration from Pinterest. I don't ever copy exactly what I see, but seeing what other photographers do inspires me to do similar things in my own style. I'm sure my husband shakes his head every time he sees me on Pinterest because it means either 1) I found a new recipe I want him to cook, or 2) I found something I want him to build.

Number 2 is why I'm writing this post. Typically I scour antique stores looking for items I need for shoots and am successful, most of the time. Sometimes I'll post a picture on FB and ask friends if they have items I can borrow, and most of the time they do. There are some times, however, that the items I want need to be built because 1) I can't find them anywhere, or 2) If I can find them, I can't afford them.

So lucky Pat gets charged with creating these dreams for me. And he is a really good sport about it! A few years ago, I wanted a "kissing booth" for my Valentine mini sessions. And this is where it all began. Pat created something I never would've imagined to be so amazing:

I think somewhere along the way, he made me promise I'd re-use the "booth". It's pretty heavy, and takes up a lot of storage space. That summer, the Lemonade stand came to be:

...and this summer, the fishing booth:

I had to hunt all of that distressed wood down, at a place called Splinters and Rags in Vale, that is no longer open. It cost an arm and a leg! So, I knew I was going to have to find a way to re-use the wood after the fishing booth minis so the money toward the wood didn't go to waste. And truly? I wanted it to be something permanent. Pat and I got to thinking, and just randomly one day this summer all the shelving in our garage fell off the wall. No idea why, but it did. And it created this large open wall beside my Chalkboard wall. Then the idea of a reclaimed wood wall was born! Here's a before picture of the wall (before the wood, after the shelves fell):

Oh you see that table saw? That's Pat's new toy! He had to have it to cut the wood so it wouldn't be so heavy. Even exchange, yes? I knew we were going to need a little more wood that what we had from the fishing booth, so a friend at a local store donated a few old pallets that Pat was able to take apart and use. Here's all the wood collected on the floor ready to be nailed to the wall:

Meanwhile in the house, the boys are enjoying the box the table saw came in:

I should've taken this "in progress" picture halfway through, but this is Pat working on the last few little pieces:

And this is the finished product, with a very relieved-to-be-done prop-man:

Isn't it beautiful? I'm so happy with it, and so lucky to have such a supportive husband who doesn't think I'm 100% crazy. This wall will be one of the stages in my Fall Mini Sessions this Saturday and I can't wait to see what it'll look like all set up (white floor, yellow stool, old globe, and cute banner). You can CLICK HERE if you're interested in signing up or reading more details.

Pat~

I appreciate you spending your Labor Day

laboring away so my wood wall dream could

become a beautiful reality. Thank you for

your support and for always being able to

see my vision!

Love,

5 on friday

<ONE>
It's a 3-day weekend. I have 1 photo session and 1 long run planned. Other than that, nothing. And that feels good!

<TWO>
My sister got me this shirt for my birthday. Loving it.

<THREE>
I met my weight loss goal this week. Funny thing is I planned to skip my weigh in due to indulging over my birthday weekend. Glad I didn't! Sure feels good to work on weight maintenance instead of weight loss, and to fit back into my clothes.

<FOUR>
I had a day (or two) this week where I felt like no matter what, I couldn't get anything right. Personally and professionally. I spend a lot of time reflecting on how I could handle situations differently and try to learn from my mistakes. I'm so overly critical of myself sometimes and I need to work on that, especially on forgiving myself. I think it's just in my personality to be a people-pleaser and I'm not sure how to change that. And part of me isn't sure that's such a bad thing.

<FIVE>
Finn starts preschool next Wednesday and I think everyone is ready. I know for sure he is. He will be in the 3s class, which means he has 2 more years before kindergarten. WHAT?! I know two years is a lot of time, but I know it will be gone before I can even blink.

Happy Labor Day weekend!