Latest

I really liked the bullet point format of my last update, so it's back, baby.

• Photos above are from apple picking and a trip to the zoo with Rebekah and her family, then Parker at the playground on one of our mornings alone together, then some train station shots are on our way to the aquarium, and finally a few shots from my 10k race last weekend. I finally downloaded all the photos on my camera from the last 6 weeks!!
• Just sitting here on a Sunday morning and decided it was a good time to update my blog. We picked up new poster paints for the kids yesterday, and they are currently knee deep in preparations for an "art show". So far, they've churned out 10 paintings between the two of them... we are running out of space for them to dry!! I love when they do arts and crafts projects, but it wasn't quite as cool when Chad and I were woken up this morning to the sounds of them dragging the the arts & crafts table into the family room (better light for their work?), followed by Brandon saying, "No Parker! You can't pour all the paint on the paper; you need a brush!" Chad and I had to hop out of bed to make sure that paint wasn't just being dumped everywhere... good morning, sleepyheads!
• Chad is getting quotes to have our house painted... think we know who we are going to go with and think we might try to get it done in the next couple weeks before the weather gets back. The primary color of the house is going to remain about the same (I think we are going with a color called Brandon Beige... because really, who could resist a color with their son's name in it??), but then the shutters and door are going to be a deep forest green. I think it's going to look nice - I'm excited to see it.
• Chad also got a heads up this week that his company will be switching healthcare plans for the new year. Again. This is our third plan in the last four years. Not only is our monthly premium going up, but we now have to meet certain deductibles before they cover costs, and even then we are responsible for 20% of everything. So, basically, we are getting totally screwed. In other news, his company is considering replacing the restrooms with coin-operated models, keeping the office open on major holidays, and charging for use of the elevator. But, I'm not bitter.
• Got my flu shot this week - happy to have that off my to-do list. It will be interesting to see if the seasonal flu has much of an impact this year
• Read a bunch of books lately... "Liberation" by Brian Francis Slattery (got this one for Chad for Xmas last year, but he thought I might like it, too. Very creative book that takes place in the future... I give it 3.75 stars out of 5... great story but it was definitely a book that you had to concentrate on the whole time you were reading because the author switches narrators without any segue way); "Day After Night" by Anita Diamant (5 stars - read this in one day - love this author - takes place in post WWII in a refugee camp for Jews in what will become Israel); "A Separate Country" by Robert Hicks (4 stars - took a while to get into this book about Gen. Hood and his family in anti-bellum New Orleans - but the second half was really good); "Sarah's Key" by Tatiana de Rosnay (4.5 stars - bounces back and forth between an American living in France current day and a little Parisian girl during WWII) and "Bed & Breakfast" by Lois Battle (4 stars - quick read with a good story about family dynamics)
• I've been doing a lot of running lately to gear up for next weekend's half-marathon. I ran in a 10k race last weekend on a beautiful fall day... came in 4th and averaged 6:56 minute miles, so I felt good about that. Yesterday, I did a 12 mile training run, which was by far the longest I have ever run. My knees were really aching by the end, but they feel fine today. Other than achy knees, I felt good and was able to keep a good pace - somewhere around 8:15 miles. A nice side benefit is that I had a bottomless appetite for the rest of the day and so was able to indulge in one of my favorite pasttimes... cleaning my plate and those of everyone around me.
• Chad ran 3.8 miles yesterday, which I was so impressed with!! It's hard to believe that just 7 or 8 weeks ago, he had never run any distance at all. Now, he never misses a run, runs at a good pace, and keeps adding to his distance. I'm so happy for him, and I love that I can talk to him as a fellow runner now!
• I could make all kinds of promises now about updating my blog more often, but... I'll just keep doing the best I can!