Happy Wednesday!

An Aspiration...

photo credit

"I would like to be remembered as someone who accomplished useful deeds, and who was a kind and loving person. I would like to leave the memory of a human being with a correct attitude and who did her best to help others." ~ Grace Kelly

Awe-inspiring

photos by Bryant Austin

Bryant Austin creates life-sized images of whales.  I would absolutely love to see these photographs in person....

Happy Valentine's Day!

Jin Juhua kisses her husband Zhong Weiqiao at a gathering of 60 couples who have been married to each other for over five decades, in Kaihua village of Zhuji city, Zhejiang province, China, on Feb. 14. Jin and Zhong have been married for more than 60 years.  photo via MSNBC photo gallery

Yes, I realize that it's almost 10 days past the 14th of February, but shouldn't Valentine's Day be celebrated EVERYDAY versus being confined to just one particular day out of the entire year?  (Plus, I've been terrible about updating this blog so I'm only now getting around to posting at all, let alone a Valentine's Day post!) 

And a few more lovely stories and photos that made my heart smile...

There's no one else I'd rather spend my next 50+ Valentine's Days with than my handsome hubby.  I love you, Bru.

Some photos that make me happy...and a video that brought tears to my eyes

via Mary Ruffle

by Olivia Bell

one of my three sweet, sweet nephews

photo by Craig Carpenter

via Simply Bloom Photography

another courtesy of  Mary

via 16 House

this happy boy is another of my gorgeous nephews

by Ella May

this photo via dream and wake makes me miss my Lulu

my favorite photo of my brothers and me

And finally...this video had me smiling through tears...

~ I hope that everyone has a lovely Tuesday ~

2010 Salt Lake City Half Marathon

(image via Huntsman Cancer Foundation)

I ran in the Salt Lake City Half-Marathon yesterday (I'm using the word "ran" very liberally here...it was more like a fast jog.)  I'd actually planned to participate in the full marathon back in January, but around the last week of March when I realized that I hadn't run for over a month I started thinking that maybe I should scale down to the half. 

This was my seventh half-marathon and I didn't set a PR by any means!  My training for this particular event was sporadic (if not non-existent!) because of work and a lot of traveling (I know--excuses, excuses...)  The last time I'd run before the race was April 9th when I ran 2 miles for my PT test (which I also did not train for--geez!)  I ended up in the lower mid-pack with a finish of 2:21:11 (that's a 10:46 pace--I was runner # 1748 out of a field of 2882.)  This isn't the first half that I've run with no training and I always kick myself afterwards--if my performance is relatively mediocre without training, it'd be nice to see what I could do WITH some training!

Even if I didn't do as well as I'd have liked, I really enjoyed the whole experience.   Bruce was an excellent cheerleader/support team, and I had a lot of fun during the actual run.  Unfortunately, the battery to my camera died so I didn't get to take any photos--huge bummer because it was a perfect day and I kept seeing things during the run that I wanted to take pictures of:  a nail salon in Sugarhouse with a sign advertising for pedicures and asking, "Do your feet hurt?"...Two girls running together in bright red tutus...A sweet, sweet 9-year-old little girl running (with perfect form, may I add!) alongside her mom ...An older gentleman who ran the entire half marathon while pushing a man in a wheelchair that was adorned with flags...A guy on the side of the route wearing a purple feathered hat and playing his guitar for the runners...

I was able to stick with the pose running for the first 4 miles and actually felt great until about mile 9.  Once I got to the (evil and COMPLETELY uphill!) street leading up to the Capitol Building at about mile 11.5, I was definitely ready to finish!  At that point all I could think about were the bananas, ice cream bars, and Paradise Bakery rolls waiting for me at the end...I was SO hungry!

All in all, I had a lot of fun, but I definitely need to work on training before events (I'm not as young as I used to be!!)  It was a beautiful day today and I was able to get a short jog/walk in this afternoon to work out some of the soreness.  I do have a lovely dime-sized blister the color of a watermelon Jolly Rancher on my toe as a souvenir, but I don't feel as tired or as achy today as I thought I would.  So I guess that means I have no excuse not to show up to a WOD tomorrow at CFUV, right??  :-)

(photo credits)

(photo by Theorris)

A Dream

image by thresca via mary ruffle

A Life Less Ordinary

art by Belle and Boo via Sheye Rosemeyer

Sheye Rosemeyer's writing and photography is achingly, devastatingly beautiful.  I find myself moved, inspired, and smiling through tears while reading her eloquent words.  The world is a more beautiful place for having her in it.

There's no place like home...

photo by Betty Mullet

I'm so excited to be getting home tomorrow night after being away for three weeks!  Even better:  I'll be on leave for two weeks before having to head back to work.  I plan to spend some quality time with my handsome husband, cuddle with my Lucy, hang out with some good friends, and just enjoy being back home...maybe I'll even have one of these days.

A few things I've found around the web that have made me smile over the last week: 

Genius!  Why didn't I think of this?? 

My new favorite tea of the moment...it'd be even more fun steeped in this

I've definitely had days where I could relate to how Laurel is feeling

Oooh, oooh, oooh...free ice cream!!

Inspiring

I love my pet, too, but...honestly??

Make a custom duvet cover

Beautiful.  I can't decide which one I love the best

I adore this movie

I want to frame this for my kitchen

Have a fun weekend!

A poem for Monday...

image via All the Pieces of Me

Pomegranates

his hands curl

gracefully, clenching

the round pomegranate

and a knife that crunches through its thick skin

he slowly clasps each half, deliberately pulls them apart

for his daughter

like a magic show.

he reveals the crimson treasures within,

hundreds of delicate little jewels, fragile pockets of pure sweetness

and revels in each moment as her eyes, and the juicy halves, open wider.

—Beth Kacel

Have a wonderful weekend!

lovely photo by Mary Swenson 

How sweet is this photo??  I stumbled across Mary's blog the other day and absolutely loved her work--it's so beautiful.  Through her site, I also discovered Karey's wonderful blog.  They both collaborate at T. ruffles.  Stop by their little slices of the internet...I'm sure you'll love them as much as I do.

Another week down and one more to go before I'm finished with all of my training here in Little Rock and am able to get back to my handsome husband, sweet kitty, and cozy home. 

One positive thing about being here in Arkansas for three weeks is that I'm only a 6 hour drive away from Huntsville, so I'm able to spend the weekends visiting with my family.  Last weekend Mom and I did a little shopping, Billy brought Ethan over to Mom and Dad's house to hang out for most of the day,  Amber came over for dinner after taking in a play with her Mom, Dad barbecued the kal-bi that Mom made for us, and Dad and I went to mass on Sunday before I headed back to Little Rock.  Whew!  We fit quite a bit into just two days! 

I'd thought about driving to Nashville instead of Huntsville this weekend so that I could visit with Mark, Jackie, and Griffin.  Unfortunately, the timing is bad.  Jackie has to work this weekend, and Mark will be busy packing up the house for their move.  Instead, I may be able to see Mark and Griffin for a short visit when Mark brings Griffin down to Huntsville to spend the weekend with Jackie's mom, Linda.   Fingers crossed...

Happy Friday, everyone--I hope you all have a fantastic weekend!

Do good, feel good

image via grow.cook.eat

I loved Ashley's post on Tuesday--what a great message.  It's so true that while a good deed makes the recipient feel good, the giver gets just as much (if not more) joy from the act...sometimes I get so caught up in the craziness that is my life and I forget that. 

So I'm echoing Ashley's request:  go out and do something nice for someone today--pay the toll for the person in the car behind you...call your mother-in-law just to say hi...share your umbrella with someone who doesn't have one...compliment your waitress to her manager...mail a sweet handwritten note to your grandmother to let her know that you miss her (or better yet, if you live close-by stop in for a visit)...sit down and color with your nephew...bake some brownies and bring them in to your office...

I hope that everyone has a beautiful day today.

I'm so ready for spring...

(images via han picked)

Have a lovely weekend...

(photo by Anna Aden)

Happy weekend, everyone!  I just finished a week of SARC (Sexual Assault Response Coordinator) training in preparation for the deployment in June.  It was a really good course--heavy subject matter, but a really important program that I'm excited to be a part of.  

I'm looking forward to heading to Huntsville for the weekend to visit with the family before coming  back to Little Rock for two more weeks of training (the S-1 course this time.)  I hope you all have a relaxing and fun weekend...

How Genetics Work

Joanna posted this on her blog today and it made me laugh out loud!  It's been a long week of 12+ hour training days (and it's not over 'til Saturday afternoon!), so I was very ready for a smile...

image via Casanova Wong

There's no place like home...especially when it smells like cinnamon rolls!

(photo via Pinch My Salt)

Last night Bruce and I got back from our 10-day road trip around the Northwest visiting his family and some of our friends.  It was wonderful to get away and we had such a great time, but it's so nice to be home!

I saw Nicole's post about her heart-shaped cinnamon rolls and thought that they look so pretty and yummy!  I just may have to try my hand at these this weekend...

A Poem for Friday

 

(photo by Jenny Litchfield)

 
This Is Just To Say 

I have eaten
the plums
that were in
the icebox

and which
you were probably
saving
for breakfast

Forgive me
they were delicious
so sweet
and so cold

-William Carlos Williams

Hello, Weekend!

photo by Jesús Manuel Nieto Bobadilla

Bruce and I are going away for a few days away to visit with his parents.  We're heading to his doctor this morning to see if they'll okay a walking boot (fingers crossed!), then up to Moscow (Idaho) to visit with his Dad and Judy for a few days.  After that, we'll make the trip up to the Seattle area to visit with his Mom (and to drive up to Vancouver to take in the Olympic sights) before coming back home through Boise to visit with his brother, Jay....Whew!....I'm definitely looking forward to some time away, but I think I'll need a vacation just THINKING about all of the driving on this trip!  Good thing we're both big fans of roadtrips...

I'll post some photos when we get back.  In the meantime, I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!

(P.S. How lovely is this photo?!  I adore it...AND it's free for download.  The image is available on Oh Brooke and I found the link on Little Green Notebook. )

Not quite Friday (but almost!)

(photo via annierudenphotography.com)

Just one more day 'til the weekend!  I can make it...I can make it...I can make it...

Happy Monday!

(photo by Abby Welker)