Hey Julie!

So...

The Mrs. and I were talking the other day and I have a box full of my old NU marching band t-shirts sitting in the other room and always thought it would be cool to make those into a quilt for my Man's basement. Anyway, there are a handful of local quilters that make them, but I figured we would ask if you were interested to give you something to do on cold Winter nights. If you're interested, we could talk all sorts of details and woudl even pay you for your time, either in fiancial planning advice (avoid Asian markets right now) or in cold hard cash!

Thoughts???

My New Year's resolution -- resolved!

The fine folks on the Runner's World message boards warned me that once I finished my race, I'd have the itch to compete again.

Well, they're right. Five minutes after I finished my race on Saturday, I told Andy that I'd had so much fun that I couldn't wait to try another one. My final time was 32:42. That put me in the bottom half of my age group, but considering the relatively short amount of time I've been training, I'm really happy. Now I have a time to beat.

I was worried about my adrenaline getting the best of me and starting out too fast. I think I overcompensated almost too much and ran the first mile at the tail end of the pack. I picked up my pace significantly around 1.5 miles and cruised the rest of the way. I was super proud of my performance in mile 2. That part of the course had a steep hill. The hill training I'd done in the 2-3 weeks prior to the race really helped. I actually passed three people on the HILL! That was a huge psychological boost going into the final stretch.

Andy took some nice photos. They're on my Facebook page, if you're interested.

Other stats:
Weather: 30 degrees, with a light breeze and a few flurries.
Number of runners: 50-75, maybe? I'm glad I chose a small race for my first one.
Swag: A cute Turkey Trot t-shirt and a water bottle.
What's next: Replacing my shoes, for sure. More strength training. I'll also start increasing my distance to improve my conditioning. AND I'm recruiting Hayley to run the next one with me. :)

Hibernation season is here.

I put my garden to bed today. I cut most of the coneflowers, daylilies, phlox, and sedum to the ground, but I left a few seed heads for the birds to snack on. The ornamental grass looks really pretty with a dusting of snow, so that stayed, too. I also raked leaves and put away the deck furniture.

I was a huge slacker in the garden department this year, but this little yearly ritual made me feel better, like everything was coming full circle. In reality, this was one of my worst gardening years yet. All the tomatoes and peppers died -- meanwhile, Grandpa harvested 250 tomatoes from only two plants -- and my basil plant was rather sparse. By mid-June, I was already tired of battling our heavy clay soil and the neighbors' weeds that invade our yard every year. Dealing with the same problems every year aggravates me. So, I just stopped trying. I did the bare minimum to get by, but I did not lovingly tend to my plants like I usually do. Poor plants. (On the bright side, most of the flowers survived despite my neglect.)

It's hibernation season indoors, too. I'm cleaning, baking, burning candles, and wearing sweatpants most evenings. Even Blue senses winter is coming. He's been sleeping in the warmest corners of the house and begging for cuddles, a rare thing for him.

I'm a summer-lover at heart, but I do appreciate the ritual of preparing for winter. For now, until the winter malaise sets in, I'll savor my soft sweatpants, fuzzy blankets, hot soup, giant mugs of hot cocoa, and cuddly husband & cat.

P.S. Mary, how is your awesome loungewear treating you?

Not much new

I'm living in the north woods. There's not much to say about that. Activities are at a minimum. I don't even have a sewing project in the works!

Today I posted my resume for the first time, in search of a job in the Denver area post-graduation. That's kind of exciting I guess.

What am I saying... I miss Madison (and my Paul)! And I miss my Mary and my dear Nebraska cousins.

Meanwhile I'm watching Meet Me in St. Louis. Cute movie, but I'm getting tired of sitting on the couch.