happy holidays and safe travels...

tis the week of holiday parties, travel, presents & time off of work (for most i hope!)

we have a combination of all of that here in our little abode.

but first, the big news.

cooper louis noll was born on 12.24.08 at 5:07am. he came in a just over 7 lbs and has really big feet for such an itty bitty thing :) must take after daddio already!

stacy called at 2am on the 24th to say 'hi jennifer'. (per my offer as her due date drew closer that if she needed anything, to call me. no matter what time.)

'hey stacy, how are you?' (a bit of knowing in my voice here)

'um, i'm pretty good. could you come over for a bit and stay with maddie til my mom gets here?' (madalyn is 2 1/2 and pretty much one of the cutest kids on earth with an amazing vocabulary as her pa loves ginormous words).

so off i go, finding non-pj clothing, spectacles, & make the 20 foot walk next door.

after a few hugs and 'have a good birth!' off they went to the hospital at nearly 2:30am and cooper arrived just after 5. stacy is very fortunate so far to bear children pretty efficiently and without complications...lucky girl from many other stories i've heard!

mark and i got to visit today for the first time and meet cooper at st johns. and he was, of course, adorable. stacy was very thankful for my being around to jaunt over as it likely made the difference in her being able to get the magic shot for pain...any time i can lend a hand, i'm glad i can help. and we love our neighbors/friends very very much. they are wonderful...

today's paper featured a local family who makes my day every time the visit the library. here's their story. a wonderful piece on a wonderful family.

last night we got to hang out with some friends we haven't seen much this year, but had a bang up time enjoying fondue with the 6 of us and one really really HOT oil pot! it was quite the sight and we all had good food & laughs through the evening...we took the dogs (aimee has 3 greyhounds as well) so even the hounds had a good christmas eve hanging with *their* friends :)

today, christmas day, was a mixture of laying low, visiting the new babe, and i was able to get a run in at como park with another friend/teammate of mine who met me there. seeing as i have a half marathon in maui one month from today, and i'm in the OFF season of running, any mileage i can get outside is a big deal. this race coming up by far will be my slowest, but i'm already okay with that. it's MAUI. so walk or slow pace be damned. it's another medal for this girl and that is the big payoff. did i mention it's MAUI? with my Gram. (mark will be traveling to texas and mississippi then...damn i wish he could be there...)

tomorrow i work some, as with the rest of the weekend, and then i know before i realize it it'll be a normal monday-back-to-the-routine week.

sorry i have no pictures for this post. i just haven't taken any lately.

so whether you are near or far, be safe, happiest of holidays and please use a designated driver if you're out celebrating and be safe. or call me. i'll fetch anyone who needs a ride.
peace, love & joy, ~jd

my new mantra...

well, it's not new.

it's been in my heart & mind for a long, long while.

and will carry me into 2009 which i feel will be a life changing year.

the mantra?

one word.

believe.

kind of fitting during thie time of year as well...

merry christmas to everyone near and far. ~Jen

determimation...

i should learn from my dog. dig deep and get what you want. or something like that...

this comes on the heels of me finishing this book over the weekend...

great book, great story, many tears at the end, yes i'll see the movie..i related to some of the angst dogs can cause as...

i came home last night from some errands and found my formally zipped gym bag contents sprawled all over the floor.

quinn is our resident 'eater'. usually just paper (tp, newspaper, junk mail, $20 bills, etc)

when we leave the house, both hounds are muzzled.

usually to just put our minds at ease that they're not getting into mischief, but quinn is king of eating through his muzzle. he must have a tongue like a giraffe! but we still just try to keep things out of reach...

apparently last night he was bound and determined to find *something* to ingest so he found my energy gel that i use for really long runs in the training season. these are vacuum sealed and you tear into them to drink em up.

i found this *in* his muzzle when i got home:


nothing else had been touched. and seeing how much of the gel was still in the package despite it being completely open was my christmas miracle. because cleaning that stuff up (think corn syrup) out of carpet, couch cushions, etc, would have been horrible :(

dogs. can't live with em. can't live without them. (this coming after the cat helped me just knock a mug of coffee onto the floor into many broken pieces :( sigh...

don't mess with some librarians...

including this one.

i'd do the same thing...chasing this inconsiderate grinch >:-{

you go girl!

(not the smartest place to set the table up i'll admit though...)

way to go, josie girl!

now back to your regularly scheduled programs...

on the fence....

trying to decide if i should ditch the blog.

i like that the folks and friends far away like to peruse it now and again and it makes me feel somewhat connected to them being across the miles.

but i really feel like i don't have that much to say, and that much of it revolves around running. which to most is not their thing or misunderstood.

but mostly i don't have much to say.

it *is* a great medium to share pictures and stories from trips that i might be fortunate to take...but there's sites like flickr for that.

hmmmm. well i guess if i do yank it down i'll just send one last 'the end' post.

while it's still here, just a brief update. this week was tough. it was awesome to have mark home and within a matter of hours he was explaining to me, quite painfully, that he'll miss the grandma's marathon next june in duluth. the biggest challenge of my life. really really not intending drama here, but how many of *you* have considered running 26 miles? heck, i hadn't until just a month ago or so. but to those who run races, of any distance, it's always important to have loved ones there. if at all possible. so to hear mark's news was just crushing. i know he's stuck. he loves to sing. i've loved to learn to run. and neither are very interactive with the other.

then there's the whole christmas thing. i have 3 jobs now, in order to pay down bills. and while i love love LOVE giving things to people, this year is just so tight. i am opting to go to maui in january to visit gram. she is VERY much looking forward to it, and being 35 and being fortunate to have a grandmother around, let alone one who travels on her own, is a big deal. i too am looking forward to it. (but again, mark can't join me due to singing.)

so i need to pay for maui, and pay for christmas, in limited capacity, for the family. i'm pretty crafty so i'm trying to make a lot of home-made gifts. and i also do things like sell items on eBay or consign clothing to pay for gifts. the little things.

i know i don't need to buy dad a lexus or anything (sorry dad ;) but when we have family in 4 different states, finding the right gift in a budget and shipping them on time becomes a challenge. i emailed my really close friends this week to say 'hey, you know what? in the past sometimes little gifts come my way at the holiday....and this year i'm asking kindly that you not buy me anything. friendship is the biggest deal to me. the talks. the coffee dates. the breakfast dates. the time spent together as my friend'. and i got many responses echoing my sentiments. so i know i'm not alone. still doesn't add to my sadness that i can't shower my friends (and their kids or pets) with kindness....it's what i love to do.

so this week was an up and down week. i was really ready to just have some quality time with mark and enjoy the holiday seasons spirit and then real world stuff hit and it's not as rosy as the movies always make life out to be.

that said, i did make some cookies last night to feel somewhat domestic and enjoy the spirit with a few girlfriends (one of whom is due with baby #2 in less than a month and i can't wait to meet the new little Noll...)

my thoughts are with another amazing friend of 30 years back in chicago who is going through the challenge of major marital problems....and it's hard to be so far away when she's hurting so much.

this weekend i am meeting with some friends, of which we 'adopted' a local shelter family to buy gifts for and I did spend some of my funds for christmas on this cause. a great one. so off i go to gather those few gifts together and walk some dogs as the sun sets...stay warm and for those nearby, hope your shovels are at the ready. again. tis the season ~ jd

waiting...

como park, st paul, mn

i figured i'd update the blog a bit while i wait for mark to arrive.

he's due in sometime very late tonight, and after taking a very long nap this afternoon to get rid of a noreaster of a sinus headache, i'm not tired.

so i'll blog a bit and then keep reading. i just started 'marley & me' by john grogan. the movie hits theaters in time for that present-giving, buget-sucking holiday (ie i have barely shopped yet and am very low on cash...which equals this girl having 3 jobs..) anywho, the book is great so far, and i look forward to the film with ms. aniston & mr. wilson in it...

oh, and mark's on his way back from a tour of the northeast...vermont, massachussettes & ny..with the ensemble of rose singers...

a few pictures to share from tonight's first significant snowfall of the season. looks like it *will* be a white christmas here in the mn...first, the one on the top of this post. and then this one...


i went out for short 3 mile run after work tonight. there's about 2" on the ground now (with 2-3 " more by morning) and when it snows at night it's so quiet and light out from the reflection of the freshly fallen white stuff. love that...

over the weekend, my runner girls and i got together to celebrate mary's 56th birthday. she's run 2 marathons (i think just two) and is one classy lady! So we all got out the required 'little black dress' and went downtown to celebrate. here's a few pics from that..

mary is the front right gal..


this is allycat & i. i watched her run grandma's marathon for the first time last summer. she looked like this...



she's the SMILING one in the middle. of her first marathon. about 1/4 mile from THE. END.
did i mention she was smiling??? like for real! she has made me believe. (and she is one of the funniest and true-est people i have ever met...)

another rock solid runner girl i'll profile is my neighbor cindy. (who lives about 3 blocks from me on the same grotto street) cindy, who turns 40 in May, and thinks that milestone would be a darn fine time to *also* run her first marathon. cindy, who i rocked the TC 10 with back in October. so i am very stoked that she's willing to declare she too will run Grandma's 2009 pretty much right next to me, and likely our coach ruth as well..

it's looking like i might travel to DC in april. to see my bff gail and family, and to run this. it's supposedly very hard to get into (filled in something like 4 hours last year) but they take 12,000 to run a 10 mile race around DC during the pretty pink flowering tree season. so what a good way to blend my travel with another cool race t-shirt ;) so first we'll see if i get in (registration is next week) and 2nd we'll see if northwest airlines has a seat from my frequent flyer miles...

lots to look forward to in '09 i suppose. 2008 had lots of great things happen in my running life. there were lots of challenges along the big road of 'regular' life, what ever that is, but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. for the most part all things are good now, and i keep on moving on one day at a time...

so there's a post about all things random jd....as i still wait for dh to come home...

i have declared.

i will sign up, and barring any injuries or god's free will of kaboshing this plan for any reason, i WILL run the full 26.2 Grandma's Marathon on june 20, 2009 in duluth, minnesota.

am i freaked out? heck yes. i've gotten to the end of 13.1 miles pretty much staggering and feeling damn tired. so DOUBLE that? almost 5 or more hours of running? um....let's not talk about it quite yet. but if oprah, katie holmes and countless unknown novices complete marathons for the first time every year, well heck, i. can. too. i just have to work on it....and train. and train some more. and, that's right. keep on training.

and any and all friends, family or strangers who want to be there in the last 5-6 miles to help me get through it are welcome.

and if you seriously *do* want to come visit, you need to decide soon. lodging in the duluth area fills fast, and some places open reservations in january.

but first and foremost, i'm doing all i can to train my brain, along with my legs, that i *can* do this.

i absolutely can not thank enough allison, ruth, kim, karen, claudia, val and the rest of my run club teammates for helping me find my way this past year and become the runner and person i am now. And of course i thank mark from the bottom of my heart as well for supporting me along the way with my countless hours running and not being home on the opposite schedules that he sings around the country and world. i know we don't always see eye to eye on the topic of running, but i know he's proud of me...

and back to ally for a minute. THIS GIRL? she has really *really* made me believe. she keeps me grounded. she's honest. and she's run her first 3 marathons this year. grandma's being her first. and the 2nd two? within a WEEK of each other. one in san francisco, and one in wisconsin (how's that for a juxtaposition?) and she has become my role model. she? is magic. and a mere 10 months ago? we had not met. allison? you? are my runner girl hero. in true allison speak :)

peace & love through the miles...dream big. because if you do? anything is possible that you pu your mind to...
~jd

my favorite things.

oprah has a list every year.

i'm not nearly as big as oprah. i'm about as big as my frame of 6 feet ;) or as big as my audience of about 30 toddlers every week allows me to be.

but here's a few of my favorite things.

cheers ~

*woodwick candles: they crackle like a real little fire as, like the name says, the wick is wooden. nice scents too, not wholly overpowering. i'm a big fan of the 'sheer woods' flavor in the Fusion line.



*christmas lights and window boxes: i have mine all done as of today. not a lot of decor for our little home, but enough to make it feel festive ~ i have mainly all red & white lights going on, with a few more colors interspersed on our little tree ~


*snow at this time of year. especially the *first* snow of the season...and seeing it up on lake superior and then a mere days later in my own backyard is pretty great :)


*the grinch: who couldn't love cindy lou who, max and the green guy who's heart grows two sizes by the end?


*even in snow, i run. i run in these babies..: asics gel nimbus 10s. the 11s should be out in january. shoes are good for about 6 months or more depending on mileage. but i'm true to these shoes and they'll likely carry me through my first marathon next june...


so, julie andrews, i do love whiskers on kittens and big wooly mittens too, but i also love those things above in addition to many more that won't fit on the blog at the moment :)

peace and joy to the season of snow, good cheer and all of that~ jd

of all people...

to tell me i need to update my blog, it's my husband.

for someone who has his own website that he updates, oh, every *year* or so, i find this a bit ironic ;)

there's not too much to report, so i don't update the blog when the news is meager. (i post really mundane things to facebook instead...isn't that what it's for? :)

i recently started a new waitress job. yes, job #3. i also recently charged a ticket to visit Gram in maui from jan 22-feb 2. so adding one more job will help me pay off that ticket sooner than later, and will keep me busy while mark endures a crazy singing/retail season from now until early february.

the new gig does make me feel like my "new girl" crown is very much on display, but i hope i'll fit in within a few weeks and that i won't feel so freaked out..

turkey day is in a mere 5 days.

my mom is coming up to visit for the first time in 6 years.

haven't seen her in almost 2 years, which is embarrassing to admit, but it's just how it's been. fwiw, i *have* invited her up each summer to go enjoy the northern part of our state or even wisconsin, but it's never panned out.

so on wednesday, she and ron will head up hwy 61 to lutsen, and later in the day, mark and i and the 2 greyhounds will follow...our first family vacation with the dogs.

it'll be a short trip, but any time i can visit the mother lake, i am a happy girl. i don't care what date or season it is.

i love it especially when the water is 'angry'...big waves, winds, gray skies?? bring it on. it's still as beautiful to me as a calm still summer day when the clean water is a deep blue...

things i am thankful for?
*the love of my husband

*the love of my friends

*the love of family across the miles

*having a roof over my head

*a stable and wonderful career (or two)

*my furkids

*wine, coffee & running (in no particular order)

may you all have a wonderful week of giving thanks for whatever it is that makes your own world's go round...~jd

perspective...

it's sunday night. about 10:30...

this will be my earliest bedtime in about 4 days....

i spent the weekend with the runner girls at friend kim's family cabin about 100 miles north of here.

no, it wasn't on the north shore. yes, i love the north shore, but i do love exploring *different* areas if the situation arises....

there were 8 of us up there total most of the weekend, but ally, kim and i enjoyed the pleasure of heading up there on our own on thursday night, and everyone else joined us between friday & saturday evenings....

we had much girl bonding...(no, sorry, no pillow fights ;) including talk about running, next year's races, and more than anything *RELAXING*. we knitted. we watched 7 movies over 3 days. and yes, we ran. some of us a few miles more than others depending on how we felt. I got in almost 11 miles in, and for all the bitchin' and whining i did about it before hand, it went pretty darn well....(i can get whiney...is that a shocker?? hahaha~)

i am very very close to making it official that as of january 15, 2009, i will register for grandma's full marathon in duluth on june 20, 2009.

but i'm not quite there yet. i still can't put my head or mental prowess around just how long and taxing both mentally and physically that will be.

and, seriously, i have to talk to the workplace about this. training for a full 26.2 race WILL affect my work schedule, and for all practical purposes, i have to talk to the bosses about how to make this possible. if they say it just won't work, well, then i'm out...

i had an amazingly laid back weekend with the girls, and after all of the miles, sweat & tears we shared over the past 9 months of training, traveling and racing, it was soooooo welcome to just be together hanging out, talking, eating, drinking and being together (outside of a workout or two). i did miss mark, and it always feels weird to not have him around, but this weekend it was all girls all the time, and i counted my blessings to have such amazing friends in my life. not just in running, but on many fronts.

there's not a whole heckofa lot to blog about lately, so stay warm as winter descends upon us and if anything blog worthy pops up, i'll post it. but until then i think i might start a new diet of sorts...and limit my time online. believe it or not. happy november....~jd

a 55 degree difference...

last sunday?

mark's birthday. gorgeous. 70 degrees. walked the dogs...indian summer.

this sunday?

windchill (yep. that word is back..) makes it feel like 15.

yes, *above* zero, but still...

this is what our yard looks like in the past week. due to our neighbor's ginormous silver maple that likes to wait to shed late in the fall...


yep, there's lots of grass under the carpet of leaves. but until it is *warmer* and dry (it's rained and snowed some the past few days too making leaf raking today one of the least desirable chores ever) the yard will look like this...



not much news around here. heading down to see my friend David for an overnight visit tonight, and then heading to my friend kim's cabin in a week with the runner girls to have a celebratory retreat after all of the running we did the past 8 months.

birthday is wednesday and really don't have any plans other than getting a run in (one of the few days this week i can do that). I did order myself a birthday present this week, and successfully sold some dansko clogs on eBay to help pay for my present. (yep, more shoes).

i can't believe thanksgiving is a mere 3 weeks away.
well off to nap on a lazy sunday afternoon....hope everyone is well. ~J

i look forward...

to the next 4 years.

and am proud to be part of u.s. history tonight.

and missing my native home town just a bit as our president elect speaks in a beautiful park.

what an amazing day...

indian summer

(cora on the trail...in her pumpkin finery...)

we've had stunning weather the past few days. 70s, sunny, very un-november-like.

mark turned 40 + 1 on Sunday the 2nd. We took the doggers for a really nice long walk to a local lake and back (even tried to stop and see a family who lives nearby; sorry Jeremi :( we missed you!)

So a few photos...


my other half and our version of kids...


late autumn on lake mccarron's

when we got home the dogs were f-l-a-t (yes, even more than normal!) almost immediately.

remember, greyhounds are sprinters, and these guys took a leisurely almost 2 mile walk. so they were tuckered out. (after that we wine-bar-hopped (dh's idea, which was great!) and visited three local wine bars for appetizers and wine that we had never been to. good times...) anywho...

our 'third' dog joined cora on the new beds...


have a good first week of the 11th month, and let's hope tomorrow's election brings the right results for once...

~jd

frustration...with just my own self...

some things i do well.

some things i do really well.

some things i try to do well but they take work. (that's okay. i'm good with challenges...)

and sometimes i think i'm on my game and then *bam*.

i'm not.

so tonight i realized it's october 29th and i am behind in a monthly duty for work
(there are very vaild other work reasons for this occurring in the first place. i didn't mean to slack, scout's honor!)
also got a rightfully questioning email from a coworker basically saying 'what gives??'

so i am sitting here at home after a good workout with my run club (praise the good guy upstairs for this group...they really save my sanity and make me a better person...) and am slaving away over ordering books for the kids department from a major library jobber's website.

so tired....

but then right after i sit down, here comes my girl ellie...


and all is right with the world in that moment. purring commences...and i continue to frantically type away ISBN numbers...

and then, all of a sudden, it's almost time for bed and another day to start....*yawn*. til later...~jd

birthdays....

it's the season.

mom's was sept 7th.

dad's is tomorrow (10/26) along with his fraternal twin bro of course... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD!!! since i know he actually does read this....

here we are at my step-sister karen's wedding in january...


mark's is in a week....(best get shopping. hope to find the perfect gift...)
his present will be obama pulling it out 2 days after his birthday as a gift...help us all...

and my candles get blown out is in 3 weeks. all 35 of them. how the hell did that happen?? but i took this online quiz recently and apparently my 'true' age is 18. hmmmmm, is that a good thing?? physically, yo, i'll take it!! emotionally or mentally? i know i'm much more 35 than 18...

anwyay, related to my b-day...

so tonight i found these online. told dh about them...but it's not a suprise when you find your *own* presents ;) so i can dream...



to me these are part biker chick and part totally practical and would be well worn with jeans or waitressing in my black duds for those times when i just can't wear the kickin' cowboy boots....and a few of my peeps are super fans of clogs...long live dansko!!

birthdays are fun. great times to get friends together. time to drink. and the best old fashioned gift? besides seeing your favorite people, to me, it's birthday cards in the *actual* mail. those colorful envelopes might be enough. the handwritten signature. a small handwritten message. that have NOTHING to do with email or typing or any of that.

it's the one time a year (okay at christmas i'm a big fan of photo cards too) i much prefer snail mail. heck ride a pony to get it to me. if i can see your actual signature, hoo-ray! (i mean if you really think about it, how many of you would be able to recognize a good friend's actual handwriting if a sample was given?) a little sad to me. but ironic i guess since i can't 'handwrite a blog entry ;) yet. goodness knows what will happen 5 or 10 years from now...

OMG. a blog post without ONE SINGLE WORD about my sporty past-time. :) it's the off season :) though i did do 7 miles today. but just to retain some sort of routine....

so again, happy birthday Dad. i'll talk to you tomorrow....your loving daughter ~jmd

all's well....

that ends well...

the weekend is hours from being over and it's been a busy no-as-sick-as-i-felt-thursday 3 days....

friday: day off of work.. laid low, read, did a few errands, waitressed @ night. busy evening at usrula's helped bring in a little extra money for sunday's plans...
saturday: 9am, took part in the 'run for the apples' 5 mile race out at pine tree orchards out in white bear lake. just out past jesse ventura's heavily guarded house....

rudi, kim, cindy, kristi & i all ran the race. in good times too (cindy and i both PR'd, which means we ran our fastest 5 mile race time yet....)

we had heard from 4 other team mates of our's that this race is *horrible*. like the words 'hell' & 'satan' were both used....rather strong, and the mention of at least one killer hill, if not more than that were talked about. supposedly a horrible rutted trail race through an orchard & pumpkin patch, and oh yes, some corn.

well bring it on! i love a good challenge....

so the race started at 9, and just as we started, two majestic huge white trumpeter swans took off right over us. VERY cool! love me my birdlife, especially while out running...can't say why, but there it is...

finished about 46 minutes later, enjoyed fresh cider, apples (of course) and then purchased some yummy goods in their store before hitting a breakfast spot with the runner girls. and would i do that race again? heck, yes!! i don't know what those girls were beetchin' about....

saturday afternoon, did NOTHING. very bad. i should have been doing SOMETHING but just didn't feel like it.

saturday night, enjoyed a great campfire (i took to being the 'wood wench' to keep the fire big and hot) at a friend's big open house party. met some new friends of hers, hung out with a few i know well, and enjoyed a great fall evening by firelight...
it looked like this, without that lake in the background ;)















sunday: made up for saturday basically, in terms of doing something productive. started it at work. wanted to check in a great many new materials that came in for the kids dept on thursday & friday...and i really wanted time alone to weed. aka go through my Juvy nonfiction area, book by book in the 500s and choose what is old. out of date, or in bad condition (or all 3) and make space on the shelves....

so i put in a good three hours of solid work getting things in order, processed and weeded...without any interruption. bliss. and hugely productive!

then i was time to come home and restain the deck. (mark recently replaced 5 rotting boards that were in dire need of being taken out) and in that we had 20 red boards and 5 white ones. not good. esp for OCD girl.

so i stained the deck floor, sealed the windows with zip strip, cleaned the first floor, did laundry and a plethora of little tasks....

and mark was home most of the day as well, and he made some rockin' home made bread that has made the house smell like a bakery....:) there are worse things....

now we actually are heading on a date night with some friends, which hasn't happened in a long time. so i'm looking forward to that....and on that note, i must get my arss going as we're leaving shortly....have a good week...~jd

weekend recap...

one of my favorite shots from the trip. i never take a camera with, but this race i felt really needed the camera present. i absolutely love fall & the woods overall...

and while i'm not wholly unhappy with myself with this race's results, i'm not thrilled either.

finished my last big race of the year (that i've planned).

i was consistent. i did run well for almost all of the race. but i also tanked on the same bleeping last 2 miles that i've tanked on in the 2 previous half marathons i completed. lack of energy, side stitch, where-the-bleep-is-the-finish-line-since-i-don't-know-this-course???

while i realize that the majority of the world's population are not distance runners, and yes, it's great to just complete this milestone, it's still frustrating when you let the brain win, and let your guard down enough and you fail yourself. or walk when you know you should push through. running is *SO* mental. and i have more work to do...

i tend to not get over things very easily, as a few of my friends have pointed out recently. hard to hear? yes, in fact when it's said right to my face it ticks me off like a spark to a match. but i know they're right. sigh. i'm pretty passionate about a lot of things, and i tend to take things too hard and care too much, which honest to god really can mess with me at times. i hate it. but it makes me who i am so i have to figure out how to spin that and make it work in my *favor* for once. or more often...

overall, big picture of the weekend as a whole? it *WAS* a good weekend~ AMAZING colors! beautiful course! almost all wide flat awesome trail...2 girls finished the full marathon, 4 of us the half. one of my friends had a runner's worst nightmare....had to pull out of the marathon race due to pushing herself too hard..made herself sick...she was really hoping to qualify for the boston marathon. a MAJOR goal for many experienced runners. She was crushed to have to pull out at mile 17, but she and Allycat have another marathon in 6 days (yes really!) so she did the right thing by pulling herself out. (no other choice really other than walking the remaining 9 miles back, which of course no one would really want to do, esp after being sick).

met some new people, spent time bonding as runners and great girlfriends, and ran into some familiar surprise faces you didn't know you'd see up at this particular race. (one of my regular's at ursula's was there which was a great surprise!)

i packed exactly TWO pairs of shoes. my asics and my ariat cowboy boots. that's it. that is the least amount of shoes i believe i have ever packed. on top of that? my two absolute favorite pairs...and it was great to see more cowboy boots & hats on local's at the brewery place than not. i think i'd do well in a small town...

a few pictures....they're pretty big files so click em to make em bigger if you wish...

the start of the half marathon in moquah...


the first mile...on a beautiful morning...


right before the final half mile...are we in wisconsin or what? pointing folks who use the trail to the nearby bar :) had to take a photo of that...


the first four half marathon finishers...


marathoners ally & karen icing in the mother lake...which it might look really silly to wear all that garb on your body to just soak your lower legs in icy water, but it really does help them stay warm in the right places...


allison & i at the post race brewery dinner....good beer, great friends, a photo or two..


on top of being disappointed in my finish is my post-vacation funk. and the plan that i have no races on the books, no major vacation plans for the future and that all feels wrong. almost stifling. and somehow lonely. which is probably just lame to write...

i sometimes feel like i get tired of planning trips or getaways all the time, but i almost always have something on the books to look forward to. since i have no real races planned, the running is going into a much more relaxed pattern. no more super long workouts. no more strict plans for so many miles per week...not until next training season in march. oh i'll still run 3-4 times a week, but if i miss a day or two or three, it'll be *okay*.

now we're in the thick of music season, so mark is gone almost every night during the week between music rehearsals or gigs, and working full time retail. so it'll be a lot of solo time hanging out at home, and it's time to break out the knitting and put some of my creative powers to work to make some christmas gifts. i can actually read more books (such a novel idea for a librarian).

to end on a glass-half-full kinda note, i AM proud of my accomplishments and goals that i did attain in the past 7-8 months. and here is the bling, all 5 medals, that make great reminders in my daily routine that every step, every mile, every race, good or bad, were worth it. ~jd

one more...

race. of the 'season'. running season pretty much goes may-october as far as big time races go....boston, fargo, grandma's, twin cities, chicago, san francisco, new york, marine corp to drop a few big time names...

this weekend me & da girls are running the whistlestop in ashland, WI.


3 peeps are doing the whole big 26.2, 4 of us are doing the 13.1 (by this point i'm sure you know which group i'm in ;)

ashland, for those that don't know, is near bayfield, way up on that little jutting out point of the state..beautiful part of WI. lots of fall colors at this time of year (hoo-ray!) and unlike last weekend, it's not supposed to rain that i read anywhere. and if it does, well, i've learned i can run in that too...


as a kid i went camping many summers with mom & dad & bro @ copper falls state park, in mellen, a small town about 30 min south of ashland, so i have had a good attachment to northern wisconsin for a long time.

i have no plans to pr this weekend (ie set a personal record) but you never know....i plan to run strong, finish well and rush back to shower and change so i can welcome home my marathon ladies @ the finish....

our hotel has a waterpark. can i tell you how old i last was when i went to a waterpark? probably 18, the summer my best high school friends and i jetted to disney world right after graduation...so suffice it to say, it's been a long time ;) but coach rudi is bringing her kids, and heck, even growd-ups need to unwind and the waterpark might just be the icing on the cake of an amazingly fun and challenging weekend ~ so better be sure i pack some kind of pool wear in addition to the running gear and man, i hope they have enough of the 'kiss my caboose' shorts they're selling at the marathon, cuz jd would love a pair of those bad boys ;)

more pics about the whole shebang sometime next week....peace & love, ~jd

a must see...

for anyone who knows a runner or *is* a runner....



this just came out yesterday....

it is phenomenal.

yes, it's about running. it highlights 2 novices, 1 regular 70ish gent, and 2 elite runners who train to complete (and win) the Chicago Marathon in 2005.

Seeing as a) I am a runner, b) I am running a half marathon this weekend, and c) The Chicago Marathon is this weekend, I wanted to plug this film. And watch it again too. It was in theaters for limited release earlier in the year...

I've begged our library system to order it.

And if I ever watch this the night before things like Grandma's Marathon opens for registration, I will, without a doubt, register.

I am not yet ready to eat my words, but a marathon just might be in my future...dream big. ~jd

there is nothing better...

than feeling exceedingly tired and being excited that you found really high quality awesome sheets on clearance today that cost nothing what they should have.

and that you get to go home and crawl into them in a matter of hours...

it's the little things sometimes.

high thread count awesomely soft sheets are one of this runner girl's favorite must haves.

swedish fish rank right up there as well :) (as do gebera daisies)

anyone else have favorites to share?

race day....the best yet...

first, and foremost, i had hoped for some fun pics to add to this post.

no dice. you'll read soon why not.

this morning started early.

4:45am or so...didn't sleep well as it was the night before race day.

'6000 people in my race' race day, in the hometown no less.

for some reason i was a little freaked about it....turned out to be my best race. ever. yep, i PR'd. set a personal record. 1:43:12. last time i ran a 10 mile my time was 5 minutes slower...so any kind of PR is one that i'll take....

despite 1.5 miles or so of cold hard rain at the finish...still a stellar day..

i ran the whole race with my amazing teammate (and she just so happens to live 2 blocks from me) Cindy..

we carpooled together with team member Val to the Kelly Inn in St Paul...

caught the school bus to the Dome near the start. fretted about how a steady rain was evident on the drive over the to Dome. hoped it would stop.

waited around the dome for a good 30-40 minutes and then it was time to find our corral. think cattle. 3 corrals. 3 sets of many many humans crammed into these starting areas that are fenced off.

finally, our wave, the last, was able to start....yay! we're off. except that there are so many people running that it takes a solid 2 miles or more to really get any room to spread out comfortably.

big cheers went up as we ran under the new 35W bridge (which prior to that i had yet to even drive over)...and we were soon a good 3-4 miles into the race...

it was awesome to run the race with Cindy. We played off each other's strengths really well, kept each other company and it was just a great time all around. we both said over and over we would never be where we are as runners if we hadn't joined our run club, and we are so SO thankful for our coaches working with us to make us competent, educated and successful runners....

3 times we saw our fellow runner gals, Allison, Karen, Claudia & Rudi at various viewing spots along Summit...having fans be there in person will do nothing but get you more motivated to get through another mile....so thanks girls! Ally, loved the sign! SO you!

the miles continued to flew by, and as they did the skies got a little bit darker....finally, by just after mile 8, the drizzle started. lightly at first of course, and then, with about 1.5 left, the skies opened into a really steady rain. by this point i was pretty chilled....and the rain didn't help.

but regardless of that, the finish to the race, soggy or not, was *awesome*. There was the end of Summit Ave, with Garrison Keillor walking to his house...'hi Garrison!' then the Catherdral looming in all of it's glory with the church bells striking 9am was right around the corner...

then the beautifully magnificent downhill into the finish area, complete with a ginormous American flag hoisted between two fire trucks...rain or no rain, i had my game face on with a smile no less, my legs were flying, and it was my best finish ever....

then we stopped running. give me that mylar blanket. now. holy cold to the bone! still smiling, still just being in the elements, literally....but it took a solid few hours to warm up! so the camera was in my sweats bag, and with the rain, there was just no reason to take pictures....sadly.

so was it the perfect day? yes and no. but overall, yet another thing that makes me feel that all of this work is worth it and that if you have a goal, all of that hard work pays off big time...

after the race we went to one of my favorite breakfast spots ever for corn pancakes, and then i took a huge nap. bliss.

one week from tonight I return from my last race of the season...hoping it goes just as well, even if it's 3.1 miles longer than today....

it's a full week for this runner girl. i turn into computer teaching girl for a few nights leading library patrons who wish to know more about Facebook & blogging through the paces....

so for now, that's all she wrote...~jd

save them....

today is october 1st.

october is breast cancer awareness month....

according to the CDC:
*breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in women

*in 2004 over 186,000 women and 1,800 men were diagnosed

*in 2004 over 40,000 women and 350 men died from the disease

*it is one of the fastest growing diseases in women under 40

*the survival rate increases dramatically with early detection...this means self exams are imperative!

I have a cancer survivor grandmother of over 30 years.....she's almost 80 and still travels to Hawaii every winter to spend time with her friends...she's living on her own, sharp as a wit, and is someone that I could have lost at a very young age had she not been one of the lucky ones to survive.

Back in 2004, one of my high school classmates, Erica Bald, died of breast cancer at age 30. She left behind a husband and 2 small children...Erica was full of life, and while we drifted after high school, she did keep in touch with a mutual friend until the end. She had an amazing smile and laugh and it was shocking to learn of her death at such an early age 4 years ago...

I know that anyone reading this knows of someone, *someone* who has either lived or died from this diesase...

I rarely get preachy...not meaning to be so here. But for the sake of knowing how important girlfriends, wives, sisters, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, and friends are to all of us, I felt a few words about this topic and the importance of self exams would be worthy...be well...~jd

i'm a fan....

of this clip.

mark was in paris when this aired.

he too got a good laugh out of it when he returned to US soil...

for those who missed it or just have to see it again.

the resemblance/satirizing is scarily accurate...for fey more than poehler but both are hilarious together in my humble opinion.

Tiny Fey as Sarah Palin — SNL Video Clip | Amy Poehler, Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Tina Fey : Just Jared

Posted using ShareThis

november 4th. vote. duh. for those who are all up on technology and already saw this on my facebook page, apologies for the duplication...now get back to work! ;) ~jd

coming soon to a forest near you...

okay well maybe you'll have to drive a little bit, but not too far.

lots of awesome state parks near the Cities...and beyond~



this is from my 23 Things list from this past spring when I had to learn to use new technolgies. A few of my peeps have recently finished their 23 Things, so congrats ya'll! This photo was shot on Heartbreak Ridge up near Tofte 2 years ago. Gorgeous road full of maples...

here's another helpful link to help you guage colors and if you should drive near or far...

so enjoy~ have some warm cider, mulled wine or just a good ol' caramel apple...
welcome to another season...~jd

another medal, another challenge, another nap..

this is all about my first duathlon. if you have no interest in reading this, then i won't be offended. i won't even know! so thanks for stopping by and i'll write about non-jock-y stuff next time...

so. i did it. :)

time out. today had another amazing event going on in memory of a woman who used to live in MN with her beloved, and moved out to LA a few years ago. sadly, Liz Logelin passed away in March right after her daughter was born. Today was the first ever Liz Logelin Memorial 5K, held by her dh Matt, and due to my previous plan to do the duathlon I stuck to that plan. but I thought of Matt & Liz & Maddie often on my ride....blessings, Matt, and hope your 5K went wonderfully!)

so....
the iron girl duathlon.

it's like a triathlon but without the swimming part.

as has been covered before, i don't know how to do this. yet. by next summer i plan to know.

today's duathlon was run 2 miles, bike 22, run 2.

and Iron Girl is for all women. 900+ of us. *including* Rena, my job swap anchor girl :) said a quick hello to her and to Diana Pierce, another KARE11 girl. and apparently this is the largest women's only duathlon in the nation....kinda cool.

anyway...(ADOS, right?)

woke up at 4:!5. didn't need the alarm as usual. woke up *earlier* than the 5 bells i had hoped for.

got myself ready, checked the news online, ate the proverbial pre-race banana, drank water, yada yada.

got to bloomington around 6:30am. i wasn't nervous per se, but i wasn't all calm either. just kinda 'what am i in for? how will this go?'

got my bike to the transition area. learned about drafting and other official terms and rules that i'd need to follow during the race.

felt like a total imposter...'why am i here? how did they let a novice like me in?'

but all went well.

Val found me right away. YAY! a familiar face! we were supposed to have 5 teamgirls of mine doing this event, but due to life's occurrences, only Val & I could do it.


she helped show me how to get my bike into the really crowded rack and then it was almost time for the start. (okay the below photo doesn't make it look that full, but believe me, they were! this was taken pretty early into pre-race set up...)


Aflac was the major sponsor, so instead of a horn for the start of each wave group there was a really loud AFLAC! duck sound. kinda different but fun...

First 2 miles were the warm up.....finished in about 20 min....

then, time to find the bike, put on the helmet, put on the gloves, figure out my new borrowed pedal basket clip things and off i go.

i didn't mean to, but i kinda left Val back during the bike part, but she had told me on the run part that i should just go....our bikes were pretty far apart in transition and she hasn't ridden lately at all, and i've done some training, albeit just some.

so i did the bike part (2 laps of 11 miles with some pretty good hills! my arss is still barkin at me!) solo and then got back to transition to take off the helmet, put on the visor and run my noodly legs for 2 more miles.

somehow i ran just shy of 9 minute miles for the last 2. how on earth i did that i don't know. i felt like i was s-l-o-g-g-i-n-g....like barely running.

then the finish line! HOO-RAY.



I got my medal, i got my Aflac duck sponge to soak off some of the salty skin i had goin, and waited at the finish to greet Val.

then it was time to eat!! good spread, found a few friends Val knew, and capped my first duathlon experience with another medal for my collection.


It was a gorgeous day, perfect weather, beautiful course and something i really really want to do again....ANYBODY can do this. The last finisher came through with a time of 3:30, almost 90 min past when I finished. but she got a rousing ovation from all of us cheering her and her friend on and it was actully really emotional to welcome them to the finish line! hung out for a little while longer, took some snapshots, and then packed up to head home.


now it's time to n-a-p.

i earned it today. monday will be here before i know it and it's back to the rat race of library life (which is a-okay!)...peace, ~jd

so what's yours?

let's talk fun stuff...like what's your secret talent? stupid party trick? weird quirk? (moles or body stuff can be kept to yourselves people...;)

my crazy weird quirk is i have a pretty damn accurate 'internal' clock.

i rarely, if ever, set an alarm to wake up. i just wake up when i know i need to.

work at 8am? body wakes up at 6:30.

run at 7am? eyes flutter open at 5:45.

wake up in the middle of the night cuz i can't sleep? odds are it's between 3 & 3:30. maybe 4.

don't need to be up for anything? up by 8am anyway, but we have 2 dogs who have to be fed so *their* internal clocks wake them up.

a month ago when friend Lisa and I were up north, randomly throughout the day we were curious about 'what time is it?'. It became a game by the end of the trip for Lisa to 'quiz' me and within 5 min or so every time i was on. "can you tell time by the sun???" she asked. well i guess so. I just have a 'time' thing.

care to share yours?
~jd

ps for dad & other country friends....the new boots don't match the new hat. need to shop more i guess :) i never thought i'd buy brown boots..but i'm pretty attached...

apparently....

with the new facebook you can link your blog info in facebook and vice versa with a badge for your blog... well thank goodness because it's so hard to find information out about anybody these days! ;)

i think this might be overkill, but i feel like a) i want to know how this works for the sake of knowing how it works, and b) it could come in handy in real work life related to teaching others stuff about this...

it's really nice to be able to do this from home while drinking just a little red wine on a chilly evening. happy full harvest moon....

oh, wait. one more thing....there's a new Blogger link i'd like to request some help with. If you follow my blog now and then, or have it as a feed, could you help me with the "Followers" box on the right halfway down? I have no idea how that works....so sign up...please :) how's that for blatant?

please help teach the librarian runner cowgirl...
~jd

you find out who your friends are....

just like the song goes....

been a challenging few weeks especially.

so it's one day at a time i've decided. for now.

many challenges, nothing life or death, but i've been really sad. (family, don't worry. it's okay...life just has it's challenges sometimes)

i'm hoping this week goes muuuuuuuch better than last. but it's been day by day....get through one, hope for a better tomorrow....

a few updates:

*Mark & Rose are in France until later this week....a 6 day trip all for 2 gigs. Hey LW or SW....any cool conferences I can jet away to for work that match up to what Mark gets to do? ;)
probably not. darn.

*I have new cowboy boots that I am wishing went with everything professional i own to wear to work every day. Sadly, I'll have to wait until our once-a-year-yes-you-can-wear-jeans work day in November to wear them as an employee. :(

*Dogs are good. There have been some cooler nights in the past few weeks, meaning, yes, it's Jammie Time. If they don't wear their jammies and it's cold they get up during the night to nest nest nest nest nest nest, oh, and NEST, their blankets. SUPER annoying. Put the jammies on? they're much better...

*Cats are all just lovely. Ellie is the best at coming to see me at night, Lucy comes while I'm working on work stuff on the warm laptop. When she wanders up, I put the laptop aside and she takes residence in it's spot. purring away...

*I become an Iron Girl in one week. Run 2, bike 22, run 2. Get a medal. And celebrate with some great girls that night. I would absolutely suck living on a desert island by myself. I have to have my friends.

be well, stay warm (if you need that) and hope everyone has a good upcoming week...

the blog is open....again...

there are a few reasons for this.

1) a few folks actually had links to my blog through theirs. to which i was unaware of this. until the past few weeks. I knew i was part of my girl Ally's blog, but that was it until a few others came forward...and if Ally is getting people knowing her in races *from her blog*, well then.....i want in on some of that action too :) Ally *is* my superhero. this girl can do anything....she's had a phenomenal summer and i look forward to our iron girl experience in a week (yikes!!)

2) those who actually read my blog (still humbling..it's just me...) and had it as a feed (really??) could no longer get the news of the jd-blogging world. they had to log in. and why would i make them take that extra 2 steps??

3) as long as those that i post pictures of don't care if strangers find it, then okay.

so the "anybody" button was checked and unless i get a creepy stalker i don't know asking or posting weird stuff, then i'll open up the bar, er, blog again...

it's been a heck of a week. to those who have had to witness it, my apologies. i hope to be back to whatever normal is soon...~jd

facebook thoughts...

it's crazy at work lately.

facebook people everywhere.

there's this 23 Things that librarians were encouraged to complete to learning today's newest technologies, etc.

the two "Things", admittedly, that stuck with me most were facebook & blogging.

i'm now helping teach classes to the general public on both. 6 months ago i had absolutely no experience with either.

they're not hard. they're rather addicting in ways.

but with a few good friends joining facebook just in the past few weeks, now it appears to be all facebook all the time at work. which is fun and exciting and great to see folks all jazzed up about new technologies.

'did you get my flair??!!'

'hey, i wrote on your wall first!'

that kind of thing.

that said, it makes me crave the bigger picture.

real conversations.

real people.

real experiences away from a computer.

it's actually rather scary to think that while, yes it's fun to see what sally jane is doing right now, i'd rather go with her for a drink or coffee or something *in person*....if my real friendships start waning due to computers the blog and my facebook account stops.

maybe it's just a funk i'm in. but i really crave the 'in person' thing lately....i feel almost lame as i feel like i'm constantly asking friends 'what are you doing this weekend?' 'wanna go to xyz?'....maybe i'm too much of a planner. i have to give up the 'must plan everything' trait.

maybe that's way to open. or honest. maybe it's just that today was just like alexander's was from a long ago kids classic. it was a terrible horrible no go very bad day. let's hope tomorrow or the next day or even the one after that, is better. ~jd

what to do at 5am?

*yawn*
well post a little i guess...

yesterday one of our little neighborhood breakfast spots was turned into a hollywood set....Joel & Ethan Coen (the geniuses behind Fargo and No Country For Old Men) are shooting for a few days at the Keys Cafe about 2 miles from our house. lots of 1960s cars around as I guess the film is set in '67....so that was cool to drive by a few times...

LibraryLand is good...looking forward to the time coming up in early winter when it looks likely our building will close and pack up to move to a temporary locale for a year while they build an entire upstairs onto our building. I look forward to jeans jeans jeans and good hard work. Our county board still has some big decisions to approve, and once that's done next month (we hope!) the ball really starts rolling...it's been really interesting to be part of the redesign committee and see how major projects like this take shape.

RunningWorld is going well. less than 2 weeks til the first of 3 big races this fall...the team and i have set dates for our post-races fall retreat, and it looks likely it's going to be at our friend Kim's cabin, which I have heard nothing but great things about....on a lake, brand new home, campfires outside.....heaven basically. and right after my birthday...way to ring in 35 :)



and looking forward to some harvest time this upcoming weekend....one of my favorite little local wineries hosts anybody who wants to bring in the grapes every weekend in September to come out and do so. Nan, the owner who I adore, is awesome and she gets local chefs to come and make lots of yummy food (usually big huge pots of soup and other easy to feed a crowd meals) to feed the folks who want to help a small farmer/vinter out. It's great fun and will keep me occupied while Mark is off in Paris for a week singing.

so I should try and nod off again if possible before heading to storytime in a few hours. The chill has returned to the early morning hours here in MN and we fired up the pellet stove for warmth for the first time this season just yesterday....hi to Dad & Leesa and those family far away who I don't see often enough....be well. ~Jen