parks and recreation

i'm pretty sure i can count on ONE hand the number of times i went to a public park growing up. i vaguely remember stopping at a park on a road trip to eat our lunch {the one time we didn't use our lovely red and white checkered hospital pillows instead}. okay, that might be it. i can't remember another time.

my friends out here and i were talking about this one day. we never remember going to the park as little kids and we had no idea why.

um...because we had backyards!

well, since we will never come close to owing enough california real estate to include living quarters AND grass, we go to the park! a lot. it's a necessity to get out of our 1000 sq. foot apartment and enjoy the great outdoors. and we can even do it in january.

leah is getting better and better at navigating the playground. we sit, we explore, we climb, we slide, we swing, we sip, we play.
today, leah learned how to drink from a drinking fountain. in the past she just splashed her hands in, but today she took a sip. and was pleasantly surprised. so she took another. and another. i think i was holding her at the fountain for about 10 minutes. i even took this picture while holding and waiting. that's talent.leah's new favorite is walking this great expanse. she is completely content just wandering on her own and doesn't want to turn around to come back. if she reaches the end, she turns to the left or right and comes back maybe 10 feet...and then goes to the end again. sometimes we play ring around the rosies in the field...that girl is a giggle box.and both grandmas will be happy to know that, even though we don't have our own garden, and therefore, no weeds, we are still teaching her to pull her own weight. the girl is a green thumb waiting to happen.we ALWAYS wear our park pants {no reason to ruin perfectly good clothes}.and then we eat our apples on the walk home.

finish what you start take three

i am the queen of staring projects and not finishing them {quickly}. i usually finish, it just takes me awhile.

i've also noticed that i tend to gather more and more projects the busier i am. i think creating things is a way for me to kind of relax, so when i'm busy with other things, it's an outlet for me.

but that creates a problem.

already busy + extra creating = even more busy.

oh well.

this is one of my newest creations. the EASIEST sundress in the world. honestly. anyone can make this. it's not even real smocking. you use elastic thread in your bobbin and the work is done for you. rectangle + elastic thread + 2 hems + straps. done.
it's a little long because i did the length guesswork while her highness was sleeping. i do want it long-ish, but i think i'm going to take the hem up a little.
and doesn't it match her new shoes PERFECTLY? did i mention leah woke up about 2 weeks ago and none of her shoes fit? not a single pair. so, we've been doing some shoe shopping at our house. it's a good thing, though. the poor girl was in size 4 shoes (12 month olds wear them) for about a year. time to move on.

and while she's such a cute model, here are some leah-isms as of late:

she is obsessed. obsessed. with grass. she could play with it, pick at it, stare at it, pull it, throw it, {eat it}, for hours.
and she's doing really well with her walking, but if there is any sort of reasonably sized crack, she resorts to her once-famous elephant walk. so cute.

i {want to} give up...

...but i won't.

But I want to.

I've tried nine times - yes NINE times - to run a half marathon in under 2 hours. 1:59:59 is all I'm askin' here folks. And I can't seem to do it.

Sure, for some of those races {cough cough, Nike Women's, cough cough} it just wasn't attainable. But yesterday, I ran in the See Jane Run half marathon in Alameda, CA. It's flat. It's nearly at sea-level. And I had trained at a 9-minute mile pace and under.

{aren't running pictures just beautiful?!}

I trained mostly with two other girls. They both made it in under 2 hours.

They both made it in WELL under 2 hours, not just seconds to spare.

I started off great...and I paced myself so I wouldn't crash. And then "crash" I did. My legs just would not keep up. I felt okay, I pushed myself and I was giving it my all. But I guess my 'all' just wasn't good enough.

And it leaves me to wonder. Some people just have it in them. They're just runners. It's easy for them and they're naturally good at it. Running is not easy for me. And I'm not naturally good at it. But, I do take pride in the fact that I've worked hard at it and I feel good when I do it. And I usually enjoy the results of improvement.

Yesterday, I didn't enjoy those results. I ran a PR {personal record}, but for some reason that wasn't enough. It wasn't my goal. The ONLY reason I signed up for this race was to run it in under two hours. That didn't happen and now I'm just bummed that I'm out the money and the time it took. I could have run 13.1 miles around my neighborhood...and had a less stressful week for doing it.

I'm contemplating just becoming a trainer. I seem to have a knack for running with others who have goals...and they always reach their goals. Maybe I'm just a good supporter and encourager...and maybe I just haven't found the right kind of support or encouragement that I need at that crucial point in the race {probably because they're all ahead of me by that point}. I don't know.

But...I'd love some tips. To those of you who have set goals and attained them...what are your secrets? How can I run faster? How can I not crash? How can I start to really enjoy running again???

spring recital 2009

a success. 

a little bit of may...

we've done more than just watch American Idol at our house...we also watch Biggest Loser, Dancing with the Stars, Castle, The Office, 30 Rock and lots of other stuff. And...

a bit of leisurely reading (and toenail painting)...enjoying our new fan (it really works!)...a bit of working out...a yummy memorial day bbq with these beauties (and their cute families)...a baby shower for a beautiful new mom and a precious baby girl (while ryan and leah had a picnic in her room to stay out of our hair)...and a memorial weekend hike with these guys... poor, poor livvy got car sick on the way up (as in tossed her cookies car sick)...but her parents made up for it by carrying her around in her chariot for the duration of the hike. you can't tell from the picture, but they were feeding her grapes as they walked. and p.s. remember to bring your jacket on a hike. no matter what. it was warm when we started...and then all those clouds rolled in. freeeeeeeeezing. leah looks really cute with a red nose.

more to come. in the next 46 hours: two baby showers, one piano recital, one half marathon, one carnival...and probably something that i've forgotten about. i'm off...

THOROUGHLY surprised and thoroughly happy

wow. i didn't see it coming. but i'm so glad it did. ryan's been calling me a nerd all night and i don't care. kris is the only contestant this season from whom i've purchased anything on iTunes. great choice, America.

first day of school?

Leah started school today.

I keep thinking, "I'm not old enough to have a child in school. Leah's not old enough to go to school." And then I remember I'm right. I'm not old enough. She's not old enough.

But it's not that kind of school. We still have a few more years for that one.

She started some schooling today through the state to help her with her gross motor skills and her speech/communication delays. Two days a week for a few hours.

The teacher is great. The aides are great. The other kids are great. Two of them have Down's Syndrome. When I first saw them, I worried because I didn't think Leah was that far behind...but then I quickly realized there isn't any other group of kids with whom I'd rather have her spending time. They are beyond sweet.

So, here's to the first day of school. And progress. And new friends. And fun, new back-to-school outfits. She won't look so cute in the future. 'Arts and crafts' doesn't bode well with nice, new clothes. :)

i'm one lucky girl...

...to be sandwiched between two of the coolest girls i know.

3...2...1!!

Today we ran the Los Altos Hills Pathways 10k (me) and 5k (ryan).

Two years ago Ryan got 3rd place in his age division for the 5k.

Last year he got 2nd.

This year, he was determined to get first. Only, this was his quote last night: "Crap! I can't believe I forgot to train for the race tomorrow."

Yah, so when we got there this morning and saw more people, by far, than we have ever seen at this race, thoughts of him achieving that elusive number one spot quickly fled from our minds. He just mentioned he wanted to beat "her" - a nearly 80 old lady off in the distance (he did).

After I crossed the finish line, I asked him how he did. His response?: "Pretty good."

Then I talked to some of my friends. One said, "Isn't it cool that Ryan got first in his age division!?"

What!?!

Yah, he did. He got first place. And now he says he's retiring from running.

Here's the group...some of us at least:

And here is a map of the elevation for the 10k: You can give kudos if you'd like. I don't mind. Oh, and Kudos to Kristen who competed in her first-ever race! Yay Kristen!!

06

01 child

02 degrees
03 apartments
04 jobs
05 {i can't think of anything for five. hehe.}
06 yearsHappy SIXTH anniversary to my one and only...