I'm back!

Hello, Blogworld....I'm back!

Since this is mostly a running blog, I didn't have much to talk about today since I only ran two times per week the whole summer.  I must confess that I did miss one week.

I was trying to ward off getting injured like I did last Fall when I came back after summer full force with little summer running. 

Anyway, my 4 kids are back at school, and I've run every school morning they've been back.  That puts me at 6 six miles runs in 8 days.

My friends and I are eying a fall half marathon -- the 2nd City of Oaks Half Marathon -- which is in early November.  Several of us ran it last year; it was pretty challenging with the last mile and half or so mostly UP-hill.  That was caps for emphasis.  Anyway, this year's race has been reconfigured so that it doesn't end on a hill.

In my running group - The Trail Mix - there are 12 of us already signed up for the Disney Half Marathon in January.

So, I'm working on a training plan for our group, mostly based on the Galloway plan; I'm trying to figure out how to work in both Half Marathons.  How do we train between the two?  We had to jump in at week 3 or so on the Jeff Galloway training plan, so this week we're already on to a 8 or 9 miler this week.  I'll let you know how it goes. :)

a little bit of crafty

Okay....you know I'm related to two AMAZINGLY artsy and craftsy ladies:

Heidi @ Everyday Cookies at Sweet Woodruff Acres

and e.beck.artist @ e.beck.artist

Well, yesterday in an attempt to be just a tiny bit artsy/crafty (and frugal!) I made 4 cards for 4 friends whose birthday celebration is tonight. These 4 friends are part of the running group I'm in, "Trail Mix." We have birthday get togethers every so often....during the school year, it's usually breakfast after running.

All 4 ladies are getting the same gift: Bolga running socks (my favorite brand):

 And here are the cards I made:

Do I get any Brownie points?? Thanks!

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SCRABBLE

Okay....is this font color pretty close to the color of a Scabble box?? ......this is worth blogging about.....my son #2 scores a 439 in a Scabble game with me today.  He won.  By a bit.  It was in our THIRD Scrabble game of the day.  I think we played Scrabble for almost 7 hours today....maybe more.  One and a half games were at the pool.  The first two matches included a friend of mine who happens to be the mother of daughter #3's friend.  Anyway, my highest score ever (written in the bottom of my Scrabble box as proof) is 438. 

So, son #2 now officially holds the highest score in our family. WOW!!

Just a thought-----try a new game out called Bananagrams if you like Scrabble....it's faster and everyone is engaged all at the same time.

TENNIS ANYONE?

Okay....my goal this summer to just maintain my running for the Fall has been to run at least two times per week....I've done pretty well on that.  For cross training, I've thrown in some tennis recently.  Whew!  NC humidity makes your hand sweaty when you're trying to place tennis.

My son #2 likes to play.....he got a new racquet today...on clearence, with a running club discount, and he paid 2/3's---what a bargain! He wanted to mainly because we only have three racquets and he wanted son #1, dad and me to be able to play doubles with him.  Pretty nice son. :)

We went and saw the Journey to the Center of the Earth movie today---that was a lot of fun.  We used a few movie passes we had for that, so we had a somewhat economical day. :)

Son #1 leaves for the beach this week. He's going to Emerald Isle---last time I was there we had to leave early because a hurricane came.  My third child was a baby and my sister-in-law had just found out she was pregnant with twins.  Hurray!

Hope you are having a happy summer.

Happy Summer!!

Hope ya'll are having a Happy Summer!!

I'm taking it easy on my running--down to 6 miles twice per week.

My son just finished driver's ed, so --CLEAR THE ROADS!!

Oh, and have a glass of Iced Tea.......I think June is National Iced Tea month.

Take a quiz here:

Iced Tea Quiz - AOL Food

Go here for any tea questions:

Tetley USA - Frequently Asked Questions

And for a good recipe that's similar to the one used here in North Carolina by my "Southern" friends, check here:

GRITS - A celebration of Southern cooking and kitchen traditions - Southern Sweet Iced Tea Recipe

Results

Hooray.....I placed in the top ten in my age group for the half marathon!!! I bettered my last Fall's time by 2 minutes: One hour, 51 minutes and 50 seconds for 13.1 miles.  I think I may have pushed a little too hard though....I was WIPED OUT Saturday afternoon......a three hour nap and an upset tummy (that happens if you run a little too hard).

Fun, fun, fun!! My children's school is having a Used Book Sale this week.......my favorite thing to volunteer for.......and volunteers get first pick!!  I found a few books with vintage looking pictures and poems in them....I thought I could be like my sister Heidi and turn them into some cute cards or tags.....my daughter's laughed when I told them that!!  Here are some of the poems and illustrations:

                          

                          

                          

                          

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Long time no blog

Yikes...it's been a while since I blogged!.....I'm in the beginning stages of the college search with a son who's starting to look......also TRACK season has started for two of my kids.......my daughter joined a club soccer team (need I say more).........my youngest has a huge STATE project due soon...........plus, I was getting ready for my next race......which happens to be tomorrow!!!!  I'm running a local Half Marathon (13.1 miles) with 5 friends......I had my boys do rock-paper -scissors to see who would get my performance t-shirt (too masculine looking for my tastes.....plus, I don't love wearing logos, etc) ............we're meeting at my house at 6 am tomorrow.....my Jelly Belly Sport Beans are packed......so time for bed.....wish me luck!!!!!