Inside

Inside the lilly

Originally uploaded by sellke

Off to a warmer climate for a few days.

Here’s to your inner Lilly, may you find what you need inside.

Race #1…done!

13.1 Finished!

Originally uploaded by sellke

Cheers to Erika and Todd for finishing their first 1/2 marathon! And Courtney, thanks for joining in the fun.

Running is so much more fun with all of you guys around.

Who have you helped get published today?

Have you ever written a book or gotten an article published?  I haven’t.  And until I meet Aimee, I had no idea what the process of book writing even looked like.  

As an avid reader, I just enjoyed books and never even thought about the process behind creating characters, themes, images, subtext, putting it all together, making it all work, then rewriting bits and pieces over and over and over until the “work” really comes together.  It’s an amazing process to learn about. And once all the pieces are in place, then you try to get it published.  

And that my friend’s is were you come in.  

In October, Aimee entered her novel manuscript BEING GOOD ABOUT IT in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition and has made it to the Semi-Finalist Round.  Penguin editors will now select the 100 Finalists, and one of those will receive a standard publishing contract.

BUT, PEOPLE NEED TO WRITE REVIEWS!  

So please…take a few moments to download and read the excerpt from her book, then just go to the bottom of the page and click on “Create your own review” and write away. 

Thanks for your help and enjoy the story, you won’t be disappointed!

And so it shall be

My friend Aimee asked if I had started training yet for the season.  I told her I hadn’t, but that I can feel it coming.  It’s like a train you can hear in the distance, you know it’s coming, you can hear it, you start to feel it and by the time it hits you, it is running on all cylinders and practically knocks you down.

This year’s race schedule is going to be a little different. There seems to be a lot more running. I’m going to blame this on my running group.  Too much time together running makes you think crazy thoughts, like marathons you vowed never to do again. My hope is that with these people, it will be easier, better and maybe even fun.

With all that extra running it could go one of two ways: (1) I am going to have the best season of my life or (2) I will go down in a raging ball of flames.

So here’s what this season looks like:

January:  Securian Frozen Half Marathon

May: Lake Minnetonka Half Marathon

June: Buffalo Triathlon (sprint) & Grandma’s Marathon

July: Life Time Fitness Triathlon (olympic) & Chisago Lakes Half Ironman 

And then I will rest.

Sweet little baby

This past weekend Jen and I were given a three day Stay at Home Mommy Pass.  We left our six kids, two husbands, three cats and two fish behind so we could fly to Boston to meet, in person, Anne Marie and JP’s new sweet little wonder kin…Baby H. 

I’m not allowed to slather the internet with pictures of the most adorable and intelligent child on the plant yet, but soon I am sure, I’ll keep you posted.

It was one of those weekends that fills you up.  One of those moments in time that you cherish because they are so few and far between.  One of those times where friends catch up, sit back, share, and enjoy the new little wonder that is suddenly there sharing your home, your space and every waking moment.

I forgot what that stage looks and feels like.  The sweet smell, the tiniest of noises and squeaks and sighs, the weight and warmth of a sleeping little one that looks so angelic and innocent. At that stage anything at all is possible, dreams are being built and his future is being visualized while his parents gaze into his blue eyes.

And oh yeah…I forgot about the sleepless nights, the questioning and the not knowing what to do next.

How fast the “baby fears” fade and how quickly the new family becomes an agile unit making its very own way down the path of life.

Welcome to the world H, you are one lucky little man.

Sing it loud & proud

Here is PJ’s friend and classmate.  Chinese has never sounded so cute.

Taking flight

I really enjoy the azalea plants in our front yard.  They are really resilient little flora.  I love the way they keep their leaves all year long and are so expressive.  When it is dry they wilt slightly, when it is nice and they are well watered they are plump and lovely, when it is biter cold outside they curl up as if to ward off the elements.

On one particularly cold morning I pointed the curled up leaves to PJ.  She said, “They look just like dragon flies.”

And at that moment I realized, yet again, how differently adults see the world.  I simply saw leaves in their varying shapes, PJ made it come to life.  I just love that about kids!

First inkling of things to come

At some point in time your kid’s friends have more influence over your kid than you do as a parent.  I am officially here to document that today is the day for CT.

We are not a boxer wearing family.  We’ve got nothing against boxers.  We just choose briefs, even the little ones (not little in size or width in the back end, little as in for the little kids, for those of you who need clarification).

About a month ago, CT came home from school and asked if the next time I bought him underwear if it could be boxers.  I nodded a dismissing yes and then went on with the line of questioning that follows when one said child or household for that matter doesn’t even own or wear boxers.  How, who, where, are you really going to disturb the force Luke?  BUT YOUR FATHER? 

His best friend…his best friend wears boxers, that is the answer.  And now he wants to too.

And today, donning his first pair of Hanna Andersson boxer briefs, he looked at me with a smile on his face as he strode across the kitchen floor and said, “Mom, I feel cool today!”

It’s hard to go back

Today I overheard a woman say to her friend:

So I asked Jack what he wanted for breakfast this morning and he said, I want a big’ol bowl of I DON’T WANT TO GO TO SCHOOL!

Laying still

During the past couple weeks the kids have been home there has been a lot of outside play time.  This play time has consisted of time trudging through the snow, time sledding, and time making and throwing large snow balls. 

Every so often I’ll catch one of them just laying there, arms out, legs out, face up, looking at the sky.  Just being still.  Laying perfectly still.

I remember those moments in childhood, those moments of stillness.  They were always fleeting but so vivid.  There was always something to see, the leaves in the trees that actually made noise if you were still enough to listen, the clouds that made pictures in the sky if you didn’t avert your eyes, the tiniest of snow flakes that would kiss your nose if you waited long enough.

And then, just as quick as they came, they were gone. And in my case, the stillness was usually destroyed by my brother pelting me in the head with a snow ball.