Hellooooooooooooooo everybody! I'm baaaaaack.

Finally!

Ummmm, yeah. I just realized that it's been over a month since I last blogged.

And it's been almost two months since this happened. So here's the report on my half marathon. Heather and I went to Vancouver the day before the race and took some classes to learn about chi running and about stretching and strengthening exercises for runners. That was very informative and fun. It was raining really hard that day and we, being desert dwellers, were kind of freaking out about running in that type of weather. But the next day was dry and a perfect temperature for running.

The race didn't go so well for us, neither of us were feeling too stellar, but we muddled through it and we survived. I have no plans of running another half marathon, but would love to do some shorter races. We applied to run in the Hood to Coast, but that race is so popular, that it's very hard to get in. We didn't. We have hopes of running it in 2011, though. We'll see what happens.

In November Chris got to go on a "guys trip" to Playa del Carmen, Mexico with his dad, brothers (Spencer and Robbie) and his brother-in-law (Brian). They had a lot of fun hanging out without any women telling them what to do. Chris tells me that he would have preferred to stay home and rake leaves with me, but I'm pretty sure that's just my consolation prize to make me feel better about not getting to go.

Actually, I'm positive about that.

You can't look at this picture and believe that he'd rather rake leaves!

Dear Chris,

If you're going to lie to me, please try to make it believable. Maybe tell me that you rode to the moon with Elvis or something. That's something I can believe!

Love,

Jodi
P.S. I'm sorry that your baby brothers can grow more facial hair than you.

P.P.S. Please tell me that you don't wear a speedo like they do.

Shine like the top of the Chrysler Building!

I'm feeling like orphan Annie today. Why? Let me explain. The last two months have been crazy, frantic, knock your socks off busy. Now all of that is over. Woot! Woot! I'm finding myself with a little bit of time on my hands, and I'm faced with a decision of what to do with it. So as I was pondering this dilemma this morning I had a nice conversation with myself. It went something like this:

Me: "What should I do this week? I don't have any Scentsy parties until Saturday. I don't have to clean anyone else's houses this week. Chris is out of town. I don't have to do sharing time next Sunday. I should definitely do something productive with my time."

Me: "Well, it's time to get back in to running. You've given yourself two weeks off, you know."

Me: "I know. I will definitely run this week. But that's not going to take all of my time."

Me: "Soooo, what else ya gonna do?"

Me: "First the windows, then the floors. That way if I drip..."

So there you have it, folks. The exciting life of a mom/wife. I find myself in an exciting situation and I choose to clean. I will do some deep cleaning, some leaf raking, some running and some reading. Because, um yeah, I totally treated myself to a trip to the library. Easily pleased? I think so.

Duct tape fixes all problems.

Lately I've been doing a lot of running in preparation for another half marathon. Why do I do this to myself? Well, it's hard to put it into words, but I guess I must like it! It's interesting because while I'm running all I can think about is being done. But when I'm not running, I spend a lot of time thinking about it. Although it may seem mundane, every run is a new experience. If you ask me how my run went, I'll always have something to say. Wanna know what I have to say about yesterday's run? Too bad. I'm gonna tell you anyways.
Yesterday was my long run. I do one long run every week, usually on Tuesdays. All the other days are between 3 and 5 miles, a track workout (400m repeats) or a stretch/strengthen workout. But yesterday was my first 7 mile run since last year. So I was a little bit nervous, but not too bad. I just take it one mile at a time.
I got up at 6 am so I could run before it got hot. (Note to self: that was NOT early enough!) I was out the door just before 7 am and by the time I could see the big sign at the hospital it read 79 degrees. By the time I actually got to the sign it was 80. I rounded the corner and within about a quarter of a mile there was another one of those reader board signs. It read 81. Holy cow! It wasn't even 7:30 yet! I know 81 degrees doesn't sound that hot, but keep in mind that there is NO SHADE in this town, the sun was beating down on me and I was running! Needless to say, I lost over two pounds during that run, and it all came out my pores.
That run was so brutal. Definitely the worst one I've ever had. I even have battle wounds. A blood blister on my foot and, well, um, um...Let's just say that the new sports bra has a seam that rubs! Too much information, I know. Forget you ever read that.
So in conclusion, here's what I learned:
*I need to find a cool shady spot to run. I may resort to running circles around my maple tree.
*Duct tape works for preventing blisters. Now that I've had two blisters in the same spot, I will definitely be putting some on before my runs.
*3 for $10 sports bras are not a good deal.
*I may try using duct tape instead of the bra next time.

13.1 Miles

Yep, I did it. And I'm still alive! It was an awesome experience. 1000 women poised at the starting line, ready to do something amazing. The energy was so incredible, that it carried me for two hours and twenty minutes to the finish line. I wish I had pictures of that part, but my camera weighs like THREE WHOLE OUNCES and I wasn't about to carry it the whole way. So you'll have to settle for some before and after pictures.

See these feet? They are getting ready to do something they've never done before. They thought they never could. But they worked hard, got sweaty and often endured pain so that they could carry their owner where she wanted to go. Thank you, feet! You deserve some new running shoes. And a replacement pair for the other ones I left in the hotel. I liked this picture because it shows the chip that they use to record your time on my left foot AND my early birthday present on the right foot. The technology that's available to runners these days is amazing. And I like it. I also like this picture because someday I might develop cankles and I'll enjoy looking back at the good ole' days when you could see bones and things there.

This next one is gonna take a lot of humility to post. Because it's the dreaded after picture. Not only that, but it's a self portrait. So it's pretty terrible. But I was alone in the hotel and what's a girl to do? I had to document this experience. So brace yourselves. Here it is.

Notice the little white dots in my hairline? No, it didn't snow, although it was cold. That's salt. Like from sweat. EEEWWW! Now would someone please send me the "MOST CRAZIEST AND HUMBLE PERSON WHO POSTS A TERRIBLE SELF-PORTRAIT OF THEMSELF AWARD?" I'm pretty sure I deserve it. Well, except for that saying about how as soon as you say you're humble, you're not humble. And the fact that I'm TOTALLY BRAGGING about running this race. But I am pretty proud of myself. In case you couldn't tell. I think I was a bit delirious at the moment, too.

This next picture is of me (on the right) with the three other women that I went with. I can't say that I ran with them because we run at different paces, so we split off and ran separately. It was good to just be able to zone out with my ipod and not worry about anyone else.

All in all it was a fabulous, amazing, inspiring, awesome, wonderful, terrific, and cool experience. And I just might do it again.

Plea, leap, pirouette and run

Tonight the Eugene Ballet Company is coming to OUR little town to perform Swan Lake! Amazingly, none of the boys were interested in going so it's just Jantzen and me. A girls night out! We rarely get any sort of arts or culture here so I have to jump on these opportunities when they come. The last time we experienced anything like this was when we went to the harp concert in Utah last March. Yes, it's been that long. Well, unless you count the boys playing guitar hero on the Wii.
I've only got three more days until my big half-marathon and I'm SO NERVOUS!! I'm excited for it to finally be here so that I can quit worrying about it. I missed my 10 mile run last weekend because of some back problems so I'm feeling a little under prepared. But I just have to remind myself that it's not the end of the world if I don't do well. Like what's gonna happen? Will I not make it to the Olympics or something? Please, I know the IOC will be busting down my door come 2012, begging me to compete. And I'll just turn my nose up at them and tell them that the Olympics are so BELOW me. I need some real competition here.

Run, Forrest, Run!

Today was the Hermiston Education Foundation Fun Run, and the kids and I all participated in some way or another. (Chris had to work) At first, some of them were not too excited about it, but I talked them into it and they were all glad that they decided to go. We had so much fun!

Carson ran the 5K and kept pace with me. After every mile, they had tables full of trinkets for the kids. Daniel has been sick this week so he didn't run, but he helped out at one of the trinket tables and served as our paparazzi as we went by. Thanks Daniel!

Keaton is such an awesome big brother to Jantzen. He walked it with her, and carried her a little bit of the way, too. I think I've said this before, but Jantzen is so lucky to have him for a big brother. He is so good to her. At an age where kids are starting to become "too good" for their families, Keaton shows no signs of that. They had a great time together, and when I passed them Jantzen was so excited to show me all her little toys that I had to check them out real quick. My apologies to the other people who were captured in this shot. I'm sure they wouldn't mind my posting this, based on how sweet Keaton and Jantzen look.Here's me, running with Cathy. She's the one responsible for getting me mixed up with this whole half-marathon idea. Then she had the nerve to leave me in the last little bit and beat me by about 30 seconds to take first place.

Chris was able to take an ambulance and leave work for a little bit with Dan, whose wife was also running in the race. They were at the finish line when we got there. I was glad to see them because I thought I might need a shock with the defibrillator and some oxygen.

We can't wait to do it again next year!

Eight

Today I ran EIGHT MILES!! Nuff said.

Oh, man! I'm a blogging slacker! It's not that I don't have anything to write about. It's just that, well, um, nevermind the excuses. They're boring anyways.
So the best news is that SCHOOL STARTED THIS WEEK!!!!! I used to complain that we had to start before Labor Day, but now I'm wondering...What was I thinking? This totally rocks! All the boys head out at about 8 and then it's peace and quiet around here. Well, except for Jantzie. But she'll be starting preschool in "six sleeps." I had forgotten what it was like to clean a room and have it stay that way for more than 15 minutes. I could swear I did the dishes at least 20 times a day during the summer. And nevermind how many times I wiped the counters. My dishrag wringing calluses were getting really big, I tell ya!
Ever since Daniel arrived the kids have been extra... well...let's just say...energetic. They love having a big brother to wrestle with and to exchange wedgies and titty twisters with several times a minute. (Is that how you spell titty? Now that's a word I've never put in writing.) Anyways, they're worried that they'll get "man-boob cancer" from all of this, but apparently not worried enough, because they haven't stopped.
We were lucky enough to have visits from Grandma Shanna and Grandma Fay in the last couple of weeks. The kids always love to show them what they've been up to. Mostly all at once within the first two minutes of their arrival, but hey what can I say? They're excited!
Things with my Scentsy business are really taking off. The booth I had at the fair turned out to be very beneficial, and now I just have to figure out how to fit it all into my already full schedule. All of a sudden I have a kid in preschool, a kid in elementary school, a kid in middle school and a kid in high school. Whew! This is gonna be hard to keep up on! My calendar looks like graffiti on the side of a bridge with everything trying to squish into the boxes. Tonight at dinner Chris asked if maybe I'd like to have a palm pilot or something (maybe because I triple booked myself for two separate days next week), but my first thought was that it would just take too much time to use. I rather like my old fashioned squish it into the boxes on the calendar method. Besides that, I think I'd rather have one of those rockin' nike plus things that works with your ipod to tell you how far you've run, how fast, and whether your butt is still jiggling like it did three months ago when you first started running regularly. OK, just joking on that last one. And speaking of running, I'm still doing it. I'm not sure if I'd say that I'm enjoying it or not, but I like that I'm about 10 pounds lighter while still eating whatever I want. In the past I've heard runners talk about how good they feel afterward, how they grow to like the pain, how it's not really that hard to run far, etc.. And I've always rolled my eyes and thought that they are just some weird breed from Neptune or something. But I'm getting to where I feel like that too. I started running for the first time just shortly after Jantzen was born, and I was so proud when I could run a mile without stopping. In all my years of playing sports growing up, running was always really hard for me. But now four miles is considered a short run, and I don't even bother bringing water with me. A while back I bought some of those energy cube things with electrolytes and stuff in them for my long runs. And it's funny that I haven't used them yet because I don't think I've had any long runs yet. Three years ago I would have thought seven miles was a long run! It's amazing how your perspective changes when you set your sights on 13.1 miles rather than the 3.1 I would always run in races. Anyways, I guess what I'm saying is that it's true what those crazy runners say. You just gotta get out and try it.
And oh, yeah, Chris is going to be gone all next week for HAZMAT training in Portland. But don't worry. He'll be home for a whole week before he leaves again for more of the same. Now would someone please spill some chlorine or gasoline or acid somewhere so that he can put all this knowledge to use? Then at least we would feel like these FOUR WEEKS of training in Portland are not wasted. Thank you very much

Big Five

Big Five Sporting Goods opened in our small town today! We are growing slowly but surely. Big Five isn't my favorite sporting goods store, but it's a step in the right direction. I can't tell you how excited we are to be able to buy shoes in this town! In the past if we needed running shoes or cleats we had to drive 45 minutes to Tri-Cities. WOOOHOOO!!!
In other "FIVE NEWS"...
With my half marathon coming up in four months, it's time to get serious about adding miles to my training regimen. I've gotten pretty comfortable with my usual 4.3 and for some reason 5 seemed like so much more to me. But I'm happy to report that I survived it this morning. It wasn't pretty, though. With the weather getting warmer it's getting harder. And it probably doesn't help that I haven't been cooking balanced meals for the past week since the kids have been gone. I think I've had popcorn for dinner twice and graham crackers once. Terrible, huh? So I guess it could be said that kids keep their parents healthy in some ways. I guess it makes up for all the gray hair they're giving me.

Random ramblings

OK, so it's been awhile. I've been busy. Let's start by going back to last week. On Sunday (Mother's Day) Chris had to leave for Portland for a haz mat class. On Wednesday morning, Keaton left for his field trip to the coast. After school that day, Carson, Jantzen and I packed up and headed down to Portland to enjoy the free hotel. It worked out perfectly, because there happened to be a crazy heat wave while we were there, and the pool just happened to be outside. We met up with Dana and Jennifer to experience IKEA for the very first time. That was fun, but one hour of child care is NOT ENOUGH TIME to go through that store. The kids found that they could fit inside the lockers and I was tempted to lock them in so I could finish my shopping. But no. When it came right down to it, I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Cousin Cole came to the hotel to swim with us after IKEA. I'm not sure why the kids chose the hot tub over the pool when it was 95 degrees outside, but whatever.

While in Portland we also BOUGHT A CAR!

On Friday afternoon, we met Keaton's bus in Troutdale, put him in the car and headed to Springfield to see our new nephew/cousin, Jace.

On Sunday was his blessing, and like the angel that he is, he slept through the whole thing. On Monday we packed up and came home. Gas prices are so crazy high that I don't know when we'll ever get to leave the house again. We spent so much money on gas, I can't even bring myself to total it up.

In other news...

We had a spider day on Wednesday. I think it began when Chris picked his shorts up off the floor and put them on, just like he does every morning. It didn't take too long for him to feel a little tickle "down there". Needless to say, all clothes were off and the spider was dead in about two seconds flat! (I'm sure he loves that I'm sharing this.)

Then, when Carson was leaving for school he discovered something in the garage. You see, back in the fall I found this most amazing and huge spider that I had ever seen. So I did what any good mother would do. I captured it in the kids' bug catcher thingy. This spider was so fat, that it looked like its abdomen would burst. Carson took it to school for show and tell. Other teachers were asking to show it in their classrooms. It was quite a big deal at the school. And even for a while after, teachers would ask how she was doing. Not too long later, she made a nest inside the bug catcher then died. We set the cage on a shelf in the garage and promptly forgot about it. Until Wednesday. We had a scene that brought back memories of the movie "Arachnophobia". There were webs all around the cage and the shelves that it was sitting on. And suspended in those webs were hundreds of tiny little spiders. EEWWWWW!!!!! We had a spider holocaust with the bug spray.

On Thursday I had a body composition test. While I won't share the results, I am relieved to know that I am within normal range for my age. I'd still like to lose some weight, but maybe I'm not as fat as I think. I'll have another test done right before I run the half-marathon in October to see what all the running is doing for me.

Well, that about covers it for the last couple of weeks. I'll be back in a month or so. haha

What was I thinking?

(Panting)Yep, that knot in my stomach was a sign. (Breathe, breathe) That was the hardest run I've ever ran! When I got there, they very casually mentioned that we'd be running up the biggest hill in Hermiston during this, the first run I've done in months. I so wanted to start walking. If I had been alone, I would have hitchhiked home. But I guess that good ole' pride kept me going. All I have to say is that the chocolate at the end of that race better be good! I'm going back to bed now.

Running...hmmm

I realize that it's only been 11 days since I posted about not ever running again. But there's this new yoga and fitness studio in town that I went to check out yesterday. They didn't have any yoga classes that would fit into my schedule right now, but they do have this running group that's training for a half marathon in October. She made it sound like so much fun! It's called the Girlfriends Half Marathon, and it's only for women. If you think you're crazy enough to do it too, here's the linkwww.nwpersonaltraining.com/subs/events/event_details.php?event_id=18 There's chocolate and massages at the end. What more could a woman want?? I'm thinking that if I'm running with friends it will be easier. So wish me luck. I'm leaving right now for my first run, and I have a bit of a knot in my stomach. Do you think that's a sign?