just one more mile...

thought of the day...

2011-11-04T10:25:00.000-05:00

one is never too old for buttered noodles as comfort food.

a few words...

2011-10-30T21:08:00.004-05:00

wow. this is very weird.

after a full 380 days plus away, it's very different to see the plain non-facebook format of blogger again vs what i log in to about three or four times a day, via desktop or mobile (addict? maybe.)

so a few things i felt i may want to address just for the sake of posting.

what's different in over a year?

wow. so very much. and yet? some things remain the same.

mark and i are happy. 9 years plus. love you, baby. even when you have to leave to hit the road as a musician. and i miss your birthday without you :( (we'll make up for it shortly!)

we have george lopez (age 4), quinn (on his way to 11), lucy (the senior at 15) & ellie (turning 8). all animals.

we both have the same careers. last september i added a 3rd job as a run lead out of the lifetime fitness in roseville. which only means i help talk about running to people who won't criticize me for it, and i try to help find those who want to even start walking join in a healthier lifestyle. and the tiny bit of extra dough is nice to put away for future events. so i lead a run once a week, and take folks around the streets and paths of roseville, year round.

the library is the same and yet different. we have a new library in new brighton. that used to be in arden hills.

we have staff members in flux wondering if a program that has been long standing will continue and allow for future growth.

our business in my library since opening on july 10, 2010 has exploded. (some good points here. the bosses love high numbers. for those on the front lines it is extremely stressful yet rewarding at the same time.)

compound that with severely short staffed buildings due to budget cuts, *and* forcing the librarians to unionize, and you have the lowest staff morale ever. apparently some people i work with decided our management wasn't good enough for hearing their complaints, so they decided to form a coup, that less than half of our professionals believe in. (nothing like having 'big brother' watching who's going on vacation when and then complaining about it.) and for those who only show up to get a paycheck and never put in extra time (or god forbid, come in on a day off to get things DONE) it makes me thankful i share an office with people who believe in much my same views.

i love my job in most ways. but some days just make me wonder how the heck it can get much worse or full in terms of what we can offer in such a crisis of staff duties and body counts. for me, it's more than just a paycheck. it's finding that connection with your community. and for that, i'm thankful.

hmmm. what else is different?

friendships have changed. or formed. or dissolved. all of the above. thankful for the good, disheartened for the bad. somehow i thought you magically get to an age where you don't lose friends. not true. at least so far, on my way to age 38. but finding the new ones? blissful.

other news.

some babies have been born, we've all grown older, and mark and i are still childless. which is how life is. but yet, if i (or more often, someone else) asks how running is? i talk about life in that regard. sometimes i get the eyeroll and 'are we talking about running again??' factor from those people who don't run or don't get it.

i am more than happy (and often *initiate*) conversations with people about their kids and families and what's new. i love kids, i just don't happen to have birthed any. i sure have felt like i've seen a great many grow up in my 10 years in the public eye, and for that i'm thankful.

i try not to criticize anyone else's hobbies or passions, whether they be football, star wars, trading cards, pregnancy, kids or online gaming. to each their own.

funny how more than half of my close close friends are either single or childless. both 'unspoken' minorities in my book. is there anything wrong with either group?
absolutely not. but yet, both sets of these folks are looked at as 'why aren't you married?' or 'why don't you have kids?' 'what's wrong with you?'

i'm sorry. i don't ask you to not complain when your kids might be getting to you, or all 3 are sick, or you haven't slept in 2 weeks because of that ear infection Jr. has. so please don't criticize me if i go on vacation every other weekend in summer because i happen to not work, or that i happen to have run a race this weekend that another person has asked me about...i never thought making or having a child or family makes anyone 'normal' or 'better'.

this world is full of an awesome mix of all of us, and that is what makes it robust and interesting.

do i love talking and actually running? of course. that IS hobby/passion/other life.

but do i enjoy a good cup of coffee and talking about adventures or good food or books or wine or dogs or the news? i DO. ask me about *that* sometime.

i'm looking forward to the winter season as, true to the planner i am, and the friends i have found that adore adventures too, we have much to look forward to!

i am not looking forward to the next 12 days of insanity as the budget year ends at work. add in facebook going all wacked out and forcing me to update my handout for class in mid november, and missing some coworkers who have moved on that were awesome to teach with, and it's not what it was. but not everything stays that way. one day at a time, and all will be well. i believe in the glass half full. it's better for everyone. would you want to talk to someone who's sour all of the time about every thing possible?

me neither.

here's to year 44 for mark and year 38 for me around the proverbial bend.

whew. i'm tired.

when it's time...

2011-02-08T22:59:00.006-06:00

i'll whine. i'll hurt. i'll sweat. i'll probably cry a little. and might even bleed.

runs that go AMAZINGLY well and you're like 'yes, as a matter of fact, i *do* kick asphalt. why yes, i *should* wear a cape!'

runs that go so poorly after you've tried to do everything right that day. eat. hydrate. yada yada. and you STILL end up in GI distress for no effing reason.

at the beginning, after a long hiatus away, every step is hard.

most days i don't want to get up in the dark.

or cold.

time wanders on and i grow sick of bananas.

sick of pasta.

tired of 'no, you can't have that half a bag of potato chips. that won't digest well for your run later.'

tired of not being able to drink any friday night wine for 16 weeks. (even less 3 weeks from the start.) (yes, clearly i have never had kids for those who don't know me.)

running for 7 miles feeling like a marathon.

running for 8 miles.

running for 3+ hours straight. just as 'practice'.

buying gu's by the case. because you need em often when you go through 2-4 every weekend for a solid 8 weeks or so...

and then?

the magical day will come. the sun will rise early. the mojo and anticipation will literally pump from the heart through the body.

no sleep the night before. a few hours if you're lucky. restless sleep.

writing your name on your arm in the biggest sharpie they sell.

not trying anything new on race day. EVER. EVER EVER EVER.

sunscreen all over your body. (4+ hours out there can roast you right good if you're fair like me...)

then the bus ride to the start (the 'holy sh*t, i have to run back ALL THIS WAY?' moment happens.)

no matter how many marathons you've run, i think every runner goes through some version or another of all of the above.

i am 2 weeks away from the official start of training for marathon number five.

bought new training shoes today, spanking glowing white, wrapped in their perfect tissue paper enchilada, just waiting to be put on the first time, the 2nd, the 157th time to hit the real open road for 250 miles or so of 'practice'...

i dread part of it. i feel inadequate. i'm not worthy.

and yet, i'll work my ass literally off, feel horrible doing it some of the time and feel like i rule my own little universe the rest when i DO go out and workout 3-4 times a week, diligently, good or bad.

fact: no one makes it to the finish line if they don't put in the work and time.

watch any major race finish line. those people who look like the walking dead at the end? they did something wrong. not to criticize unnecessarily, but they did. if you run smart, train smart and stick to your plan? you will finish. standing up. happy. crying maybe, but not looking like you might curl up in a coffin at any moment because you made poor choices somewhere along the way...

i'll run alone sometimes during the coming months, but more often than not i'll be with friends.

who share the same sick twisted passion for pain and accomplishment.

and that finish line on june 18? will be the end of the winding road to sweet freedom of what one CAN do if they concentrate, focus and dream big.

anyone can have a dream. a want. a passion. an adventure to try out. (or repeat).

mine just happens to involve a lot of running around.

as john bingham loves to say, waddle on, friends. waddle on.

christmas 2010

2010-11-17T22:47:00.002-06:00

Snowing Joy Christmas

Shop Shutterfly.com for elegant Christmas photo cards.

View the entire collection of cards.

2 weeks from now...

2010-05-15T22:09:00.004-05:00

it's camping time!!

planning with the set of friends we're heading to ely with tomorrow night.

this week it's time to try and set up that $30 (originally $200) screen tent I got at REI at their scratch n dent sale on new years day. i know it has a small hole. fixable. but it's always wise to do a test run of the tent set up before heading out to the wilds (yo ally, this was not a slam atcha. honest. you are queen of adventure :) but mostly i just want to see what it looks like set up..

i heart camping.

here's to the summer's adventures ahead...

sunday night. 7-9pm...

2010-05-02T20:15:00.003-05:00

literally?

the first time ALL WEEKEND i have gotten to sit down and do NOTHING.

true story.

i love to be busy. i strive to get schtuff done.

this weekend was a ton of working, running, running around, erranding, planting, seeing a musical and biking my keester off today. 41.5 miles off. only counting because the 150 mile 2 day ride is just over a month away...

i swallowed dinner in about 10 bites total tonight.

and i can't believe i'm looking forward to going to work for 3 days this week as *rest*. i'll shelve or put carts in order or check in and help patrons like a worker bee. but most of it? will feel like a break from the training season i am fully submerged in...not complaining. really. just striving for some kind of balance..

4 days til i get a REAL vacation to florida with ms. gail. can. not. wait. the last time we took a girls only trip?

2002.

now to pray the oil stays away from the florida coast near ft myers :( such a horrendously sad story...

have a great first week of may.

happy 33rd birthday to my little bro, the firefighter in bensonville, IL...

~jd

the past few weeks...

2010-04-25T22:13:00.005-05:00

a few things and goings on:

*learning to bike. a lot. miles and miles. longest ride was today. 40 miles. we're about 6 weeks from the MS 150 event...150 miles in 2 days. (and one good long rest day off on the 3rd day..) thank you to mr ryan for all he's done to help get a wonderful loaner bike ship shape and road ready for the miles i'm going to put on it...(and after a series of unforunate events and weekends, this day going really well was so welcome!)

*learning to swim. last week i swam the length of the pool for the first time. 4 times. here's to more of that.

*putting a sizable amount (most) of our tax refund (and home equity loan) into the big chore of new windows in the whole house. with one more year of tax refund credits, we really feel this is pretty important. so by the end of may? we'll have a shiny glass, no more down the screens/up the storms in the fall, and most importantly, our heating/cooling bills will DROP. thank goodness.

*libraryland is soon to be on the move again. back to the big digs. i have pictures but after a super long day i'm too lazy to go hook the camera up to download right now. believe me. it's a big building. but i think the staffing challenges of our library system completely rival the size of the building. or at least it sure feels that way right now. work has been more fun in the past. but this is just a roller coaster time and i'm looking forward to the big changes ahead. in the near and not so distant future..

*best way to end the weekend? borrowing the newly minted 4 year old maddie next door and taking her for a birthday treat at izzy's. her first trip. since i'm fresh out of kiddos here in my house? it's nice that stacy and travis are willing to give me a loaner for a little while :) they rock.

*may 22nd. my first co-race directorial debut at the Book It! 5K, proceeds going to the library. if you haven't signed up yet? just do it!

so so tired. guten nacht...

what makes a great weekend?

2010-04-04T22:51:00.002-05:00

saturday: my first double digit run since late january in phoenix (sat 4.3.10, 10 miles at 10:25 pace) that went *really* well....

(runners will know, but for those that don't, sometimes runs go fabulously and sometimes they go horribly. and sometimes they're just okay. you can do the same prep before the run and it's literally a roll of the dice as to how it'll go. so when the GOOD ones happen? you love it and it instills in you why you do it to begin with...)

sunday: everyone is hunting eggs or giving baskets to kiddos, and the rest are with family or friends, or both. mark and i? decide that once the breakfast burritos and a little bit of work for me are done, it's time to explore by bike! we start with a vague plan, & wind up riding in to some of the flooded mississippi river trails (mud, water, logs and all), find the higher ground routes, more trails, and lots of exploring! 21.5 miles later? an awesome tour of st paul has happened and despite the saddles being a little sore, we'll take the 2 hour workout adventure that was more fun than feeling like work...

end the night with some homemade pasta and a long overdue (like *years*) dinner date with friends and that? is a great weekend!

up this week? work work swim run bon jovi work & riding. the new challenge is riding 150 miles in 2 days in june. the bike and i? best get to it on being bff's....

i lost my faith a little bit today..

2010-03-29T21:50:00.002-05:00

in humanity.

a patron comes in. super regular nice awesome family.

kids are kids however.

5 1/2 year old melts down. hard. boneless. sobbing. the works.

(noted: she has a 14 month old and 9 year old with her too; including books to check out and a stroller to deal with).

patrons on the internet 10 feet away flip out. FLIP. OUT.

so much so that this poor mother is not only subjected to a man coming all the way out from the internet cave to my desk to loudly complain 'HOW MUCH LONGER DO WE HAVE TO LISTEN TO THIS???' to 5 min later having a lady *herself* verbally confront and yell at the mom in telling her to "LEAVE. NOW. Take him home!". only to have added people at other terminals echo out loud 'yeah! we've had enough!' (really people?? REALLY??)

yeah, that makes the situation better on all fronts. (and like the mom wasn't trying to do that with above mentioned things she had to wrestle with).

i totally defended (she's doing the best she can! this is a public place...) and tried to physically help the mom out. the lack of humanity i witnessed from the mean people made me so frustrated at how soul-less and heartless some people are.

thankfully i believe there to be less of them than the good eggs.

not surprisingly it's full moon in 2 days. may they crawl back under their crabby rocks anytime now...

there are some days...

2010-03-25T18:21:00.002-05:00

the tequila, mix, salt & lime can't hit the glass fast enough.

this?

was one of those days....

not used to the 'norm'...

2010-03-19T19:32:00.002-05:00

this whole one job thing.

on one hand? it's great!

on the other? it sucks. not just the lack of money. i miss seeing my other work friends. working with grown ups. serving people. having my boss teach me how to make a latte. the *right* way. feeling challenged. learning new beers. foods. everything.

so gail? i am really lost today. this is the first weekend since the fire that i have a 3 day weekend with no library work, and no blackbird. no meetings about fundraisers. no happy hours. and i'm a little lost.

so i cleaned the house. had lunch with mark at a fantastic cuban joint in mpls. we haven't really seen each other in a full week. his schedule has been all kinds of dysfunctional lately...

on the flip side, the year long planned trip with my other gail (bff of 30 years) to florida in may is booked! woot!

happy weekend, whatever may come your way...

melting time and mud...

2010-03-09T21:10:00.002-06:00

minnesota is officially in the downslide of winter.

the back yard has lost about 6 inches or more of snowpack in the past week.

swamp season (where the yard is just one soupy disgusting mess) is upon us.

which means it's time to walk the dog again. just one. cora lived for walks. quinn really doesn't care one way or the other. he's happy to go on a walk, but cora *lived* for that. as it gets warmer, the folks who's houses we passed every morning will start asking where the other one is. :(

library construction is on track, and i hope to scoot in in the coming weeks to see the new digs. the last time i saw it was about 2 months ago. so much has happened in the interior since then...

aiming for a july 10 huge grand opening soiree...and may 22nd is the Book It! Library 5K. i hope all of my local folks can take part! it's family friendly and it gives the public a sneak peek of the new building if they take part :)

running season has started, which is good as i took to eating too many donuts and sweets over the winter and officially have some pants i can't fit into :( damn.

still bummed that i have no 2nd job, but at the same time, i'm rather enjoying the life of just one job, and one big time hobby that takes up much time in itself. if i can do without a 2nd job til blackbird reopens (i definitely want to go back..but it's way too early to see when that might be), then i'll have to scrimp even more in budget and just figure out how to get by. quite honestly? i don't want to start over at a new place. working only 1 or 2 shifts a week makes it very hard to fit into a small restaurant, so i'm hoping the bird reopens sooner than later. we'll see. they were well insured, but there's a ton of paperwork and procedures and decisions the owners have to make before i'll have any sense (or for that matter, they too) before we know what's what and when they'll be cooking for their fans again.

right now, i have many responsibilities to take care of winding up the final 2 months in our temporary library home, and ordering a bunch of shiny happy books for the new digs.

life moves on. just a bumpy road sometimes...

you never know...

2010-02-18T22:27:00.002-06:00

when the 'last' of something might happen until it's over.

today was that day.

i last went to work at blackbird on tuesday night. it was a veeeeeery slow evening tending bar with laura and anathea. left around 8pm. took my spicy peanut noodles to go, and had a night at home watching more olympics coverage.

monday, the library was closed. i worked my first (and for now, last) lunch shift. the same shift that crossed over today's tragic events.

today at 2pm i went to lunch from libraryland with a friend. left my cell at work. (unknowingly).

came back 45 min later to find 2 people looking for me with urgent messages.

my blackbird cafe was on fire.

tonight? it's a total loss.

the staff, most of them, gathered at another local mpls restaurant to mourn. and memorize (yes, i made that up). and be together.

i'm not sure what my next gig will be while the owners consider and hopefully do rebuild, but right now the numbness and surreal fact that i will never walk into blackbird again like i knew it is going to take time to grieve.

no one was hurt. everyone's okay. and things can be rebuilt. but it's still sucky to know my friends are out of jobs (their ONLY jobs) and everything they put into their little amazing hole in the wall is gone.

for now.

hi david! and other news

2010-02-15T21:08:00.006-06:00

my one faithful blog reader :)

well, maybe not, but he wondered aloud what was up.

yes, i've been absent. apparently running is all i seem to talk about when i want to write.

or dying dogs.

(ps i still miss her like mad. she was incredible. she *was* my dog. quinn is SO mark's dog. which is great for those two...)

anywho. none of those topics are timely right now...

quinn is healthy as a horse (well he's going to need a serious dental cleaning once that tax refund comes through...) and still loveable but still hates the floors without carpet (scaaaaary slippery!) and still has a head full of white noise i think. he *is* different without his sis around. which we try to compensate for by snuggling on the couch more. (um, can we say retired?) but we're staying at a 1 dog house for now...

running is in Super Taper. that could be the newest marvel member.

i am running. just not much in terms of mileage. which is okay. i did finally sign up for chicago's marathon. it's on october 10th.

for those at home, that date would be 10-10-10. like the 07-07-07 3 years ago when every engaged couple felt they should marry. (and also on that july date a set of rockin' friends gave up the 'what you should do' and went for their dream of being your own boss. their little venture took flight on 07-07-07 as well. so this year, 10-10-10 just seems to be the date i should do my one marathon. back in the sweet home chicago way. (oh, i can almost taste the chicago dog and cheese fries now...)

other than that, i've been snowshoeing around the area when i can, and last weekend learned to cross country ski for the very first time. not sure why it took 36 years to learn, but i loved it and now covet my own skis and want to find trails near and far in the woods to explore...

swimming. that's up next. lessons start at the end of march. (have to register but that's the plan). taking them with a friend at a local pool...and this past weekend, i worked out with 2 friends at different gym location and did an hour in the pool. the deep end. running. (i had a belt on that kept me afloat). but still. running?? in water where you can't touch for almost an hour? solid core/ab workout. i feel it today.

summer 2010 is looking big.

2 Ragnar relays (200 miles, 12 runners, 2 vans of 6, handing off the slap bracelet). one in the wasatch back mountains near salt lake city, and one on the mississippi river side of wisconsin that ends at boom island in mpls. Ragnar = an amazing 30 hours or so. it's crazy. it's tiring. and it's 1000% a blast. i wouldn't have any reason to lie. one of those 'it takes one to know one' situations...

oh, also? directing (with help from 2 other awesome librarians) my first 5K walk/run on may 22, 2010. if you're local, i'd name my first born after you if you took part...all of those who take part get to see the new library FIRST. and of course there's a free t-shirt. jerry says you do races for the free t-shirt. and to support your local library. and it's kids reading garden. follow this yellow brick road if you can actually be there that day.

opening the big huge awesome sparkling jewel of a library on july 10. soft opening a few weeks prior.

and hopefully traveling out to the canadian rockies with my beloved (it's that or a possible back up plan) for a 10 day road/camping trip. we have never had such an adventure, so i'm extremely excited about the possibilities and the pictures i've been finding online...

up next? almost imminently, i'm heading to the north shore in 5 days for 3 nights (with mark and 2 other awesome friends), and then coming home for 3 nights, before driving *back* up with david. i haven't been to the shoreland in 8 months. for me? that's EONS. it's time. and the woods & lake are just as phenomenal in winter as in summer. the bonus? a fraction of the people up there. BLISS i tell you. i'll share my wilderness, but the idiots who are disrespectful and loud with mother nature do nothing but irk me. so having a peaceful quiet but awesome setting to almost myself and my loved ones? it can't be the weekends soon enough!

thanks to ally & her tri-man and his beautiful red dog i still haven't met for taking care of our remaining critters...they make leaving town be okay. we love that trust.

david? you rock. have a fantastic day. and thank you for really 'getting it'. there are few that do the way you do...

happy end to the month. pictures to come in a few weeks...

time...

2009-12-30T23:51:00.005-06:00

i have this weird relationship with time. good and not so good.

i can tell the time of day to almost the minute just by 'feeling' what the daylight is. without a watch around.

my body can wake up when i 'tell' it too, without an alarm (95% of the time).

3 weeks ago yesterday was cora's last day here. i am still completely heartbroken. almost every night, about now, bedtime, i cry. a lot. she was my best friend (besides mark.) she was HERE. and it felt RIGHT. and now it's empty. Quinn is a good boy (most of the time. okay, maybe half the time.) but he's not *her*. Right or wrong, that's the truth.

I noted on December 20th that 6 months had elapsed since completing my first marathon. In scorching heat and humidity. with some of the best people i never knew 2 years ago...

I look at a calendar on June 25th and think, 'huh. 6 months til Christmas'. (now folks will look at that date and think 'the day michael jackson died'. See?!?!?! there I go again! another silly tidbit I totally don't have to remember...)

I can remember my first real kiss (date, year, time) from way back when (nice try, Dad. not going to dish....)

I had an experience almost 2 years ago that shouldn't be anything I remember. But I do. There's so much *other* important data and info to keep straight in the world, what is my issue with time? Why remember something that's trivial?

I look at a calendar again, and see a date waaaay into the future (we're talking something fun we might have to look forward to in August *2011* for goodness sakes) and I get stoked.

who does that??

me.

like or not.

I am a planner.

I am a remember-er (good or not so good events).

so my relationship with time is a little schizophrenic. I love remembering the good. I dislike remembering the bad, and I long for times of 'before' that are no longer. Like adventures with my girl dog. I look forward to next summer's travels, but I pine for the time we had 2 months ago.

and then there's just enjoying the now.

which I do try to *not* take for granted. and just, well, enjoy.

be.

live.

so we end 2009. another year. another 365 days. and another set of selected random dates, events, times, that are imprinted on the ol' noggin'....those i enjoyed, those that were remarkable, those that were forgettable, those to learn from. and those? that just were.

for better or for worse.

this decade was a biggie.

finishing my MLIS. getting a job. getting a new job. (the 'dream job'). getting married. buying a house. making new friends. many new friends. learning to run. learning to run far. learning that anything you put your mind to, you *can* achieve. losing my 2 grandfathers who served in WWII. gaining a stepfamily. gaining a goddaughter and her sister. learning to roll with the changes. and to challenge yourself. and learning that change? *is* okay. even if it hurts sometimes.

here's to more in 2010, as they are sure to be more in all of those categories.

travel. camp. canoe in the back country. go to florida with my best girls of 30 (holy. crap. yes 30) years for the first time in 15 years. open a new library. camp more and take cora back to where she belongs. run the chicago marathon. and whatever else comes my way.

as the old college yearbook staff i was part of used to say...

expect the unexpected. because that's always part of life as well.

here's to you and yours into the new year, as we leave one decade and enter another.

cheers...

~jd

6 years, 10 months, 13 days...

2009-12-07T19:33:00.003-06:00

not nearly enough time for the most loyal canine friend i could have ever asked for.

the cancer has become fierce enough that it has made cora not be able to get comfortable any more, meds or no meds.

this is killing us as much as it's literally killing her. but we want her to be pain free and we have known for too long now that this was the eventual end :( the vet today is pretty certain she has a pathological fracture in her left leg due to a bulbous mass on her shoulder that appeared almost overnight. her spirit is still good (which is so SO hard...) but her body? is broken beyond repair :(

so as of december 8, our girl will run free in the next place and we will miss every bit of her being here with us...

blessings to all during this usual merry time of year. i think our christmas will be more subdued this year...and rightfully so when one of the family is missing...

peace & love...

3 out of 4 legs work well...

2009-11-15T22:13:00.004-06:00

but when it's the front leg that you were told 4 months ago had cancer in the bones, i realize one should feel lucky that they got 4 solid months of a happy waggy dog.

her spirit is still awesome. her personality too. but her body? is failing.

and her owner/mom is just heartsick.

not sure how much time is left, but it's likely not too long...

it's going to be a rough week.

on the flip side she's still here now and we're going out for a slower walk that she still loves...

ruminations

2009-11-11T15:20:00.003-06:00

haven't run more than 5 miles in about 5 days.

this weekend i'll run 3, maybe 5 on saturday. it's our 2nd annual runner retreat to celebrate our awesome 2009 season at friend kim's cabin.

since my last post i remembered a smattering of NYC details to share:
Favorite tidbits I failed to mention in the last post, random order.

1) african man holding a sign with "Twizzlers' on it and the african translation handing out candy. just by himself on a corner. then an older (more than 70 i'd say) european man running next to me with his individually wrapped twizzler was not able to open it. Man nudges me, worried or questioning look like 'can you please tear this baby open for me?' i did. he smiled and kept on truckin'. awesome.

2) similar story to above but without the elderly man. an asian woman holding 'Swedish Fish Here' hand made sign in english and kanji or some asian translation and a little gladware full of red swedish fish. again. awesome.

3) a man. with 2 prosthetic legs. changing them out. Mile 10 or so. In the middle of the route/road. With his pit crew of friends helping. WOW.

4) the sound of thousands of runners and sticky shoes. Gatorade Endurance formula was on the course...it's full of more sodium and other 'goodies' to keep us hydrated. it also has to have more sugar in it. because SO MUCH was on the roads, esp the later we got into the race that when we throw our cups to the side, there's always splash out of what you didn't drink (non runners? we usually don't ever down the whole cup...) so with all that gatorade on the road, our shoes literally stuck to the road for a good 1/4 mile past each water stop. very very weird. shluck shluck shluck shluck....as we all kept on pace..

5) related to above? so much water and gatorade on the road led to the cups themselves literally composting down as we ran over them...most races have people with brooms or rakes get the cups over to the side to prevent runners from slipping/tripping on them. but with so many people on the course it was nearly impossible for them to do that at certain points without becoming hazards with rakes. so composted trampled wet clumpy bits of gatorade cups were all over the road. again, just not the norm...and kinda interesting.

it was an amazing event. it took about a full week for the whole experience to really settle in. yes. i WOULD run it again. it was amazingly cool, even if i still can't believe they let me in...

my next event is not until January, unless I become one of the millions (yes that many) on Turkey Day to run a 5K. which I just might. where's one right by my house. can't really pass that up...and i have the whole day off before turkey day to clean house for our house full of friends to attend thanksgiving dinner. no family near here so it's just us and the friends hanging out. much wine, much delicious food, a variety of topics to laugh about and no dysfunction :) amen!

January is when i hope to travel to phoenix to see baby Julia, mom Karen and dad Jerry...it also happens to be when the Rock N Roll Phoenix marathon and half is. Let's not think crazy. I'd be doing the 13.1. this girl is taking retirement seriously. IF i run a marathon at all next year it'll be Chicago. It's on Oct 10th. That would be 10.10.10. Which I think would be awesome karma and a stellar way to remember when I ran it ;) I still remember 8.8.88. The lights went on at Wrigley Field for the first time. I remember such useless things sometimes...but there you have it.

on the homefront, we got back from Winnipeg, Manitoba on Monday. Mark had a big basso profundo solo to sing in a Rautavaara piece last weekend. The choir director flew us both out, put us up in a beautiful hotel and paid Mark on top of that to take part in this. Very cool! Mark is now wishing he could sing full time and ditch retail land. But reality is that singers just don't make the millions...esp basso profundo singers. yet?

Cora is hanging in there but the limping is getting much worse as time goes on. She was great until about 2 weeks ago. I have a sinking feeling we are in a much diff position now than we were all summer. I hope she sticks around for another couple of months but I know reality may not play out that way. We really don't know. The vet is astounded how well she's done til now. But he has told us many times we're really lucky it's gone this way. And that we just have to see how this continues in the coming weeks. Her spirit is still awesome! Her shoulder sadly is not. We'll keep you posted...

On that note, it's time to get some chores done. Peace & love, ~jd

the recap of the amazing race...

2009-11-03T22:43:00.019-06:00

pull up a chair. this is my longest story ever.
of course it's completely optional and i realize some of you might likely just scroll through the pictures. have at it...

GO MEB GO!!!

a beautiful dedication statue to fred lebow. the founder of the nyc marathon 40 years ago....(he died of brain cancer in the last decade :( very sad.)

oct 30th. fly to NYC LaGuardia. Check in to the very nice Marriott at the airport.

If anyone ever runs this race in the future, I *highly* recommend going with the travel agency that works with the marathon. *super* reasonable rates at the Marriott and a START LINE BUS on race day. SUPER handy!

never been to New York. it was quite the experience. i think Christmas there would magical. the tree. the twinkling lights. the skating rink. the Barney's windows...okay anyway...marathon weekend was magic in it's own way :)

we went to the expo first.
VERY. AWESOME. amazingly this girl didn't spend a million of Visa's dollars as I just couldn't justify $120 for a jacket just because it had the official ING marathon logo on it....I *have* race jackets. That said, I DID go a little crazy at NikeTown on Saturday with some race gear ;) Not too crazy but a few shirts, new shorts (which yes, i totally wore on race day) and a race hat.

niketown bus :)

the expo had welcome signs in about 6 languages.

it was like 'it's a small world marathon style'. and just as much with the many thousands wandering the aisles of vendors, etc.

and at the expo i met my old friend bart yasso. he's famous in the running world. he has a workout named after him. YASSO 800s. google it if you're curious for more. This man has run just about every race you can. Death Valley. Antarctica. A nudest race. ALL of them almost. Super great man...and he signed my bib for me. good karma there!

Friday night was the pasta dinner at Team MS headquarters. Met some great team members..One had just run the NY Ragnar race. One was a priest at St Patrick's Cathedral. One was a businessman from CA. and the list goes on...very nice folks and we learned our team raised $206,000!!! The largest sum yet that they have ever raised for the NYC MS chapter, and the largest team (about 60 folks). A great way to end our first night in the big apple...good pasta, much running talk and inspiration for those we're running for. During the race, early on, maybe mile 5, a man ran up to me and said "are you running for MS?' me: Yes! Him: "*I* have MS!" Me: "Then I am running for YOU!" and he ran onward in his own race...pretty cool!

team MS at our table...

oct 31st. Halloween. Except, in NYC, it is really hard to know who's in halloween garb and who's version of 'fashion' is different than where I live....
we wandered town a bit, wandered central park *a lot* esp the last 2 miles of the course....

walked the final few miles and saw the finish line for the first time...

found dinner that night in Little Italy. Which is right next to Chinatown. Which I found not that pleasant (Chinatown, ie pirated DVD hawkers on every corner, fake handbags, fake rolexes, all of it. i paid, PAID a DOLLAR to pee in a disgusting burger king. because I had to....

dinner btw? was very pleasant :) example A.

lights out about 11pm with the time change. Runners know that one never sleeps well the night before a race. ESP a big race....

alarm set for 4am on November 1st. alarm doesn't even have a chance to go off. this girl's internal clock just knows when to wake up. 4:10 up and at em.

climb into pre-laid-out race attire.

something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue...
pack up a few essentials. find the start line bus down in the lobby at 5am.

(news break: pictures stop here as I didn't take a camera with me on the course. MANY people did, but I had a goal to make and quite honestly I just didn't want to jostle the camera let alone did I have room for one with 2 water bottles, 6 GU packs, pretzels from the plane, gum & sweet tarts :) I was a running snack market!)

buses arrive at the verazzano bridge at 6:15am or so. find a spot to 'camp out' for a solid 3 hours and chat with the following folks. a 40ish VIP man from Ottawa who's run 14 marathons, a 65 year old gent (school administrator) from Miami who hopes to run 3:50 in his first marathon; a lovely Scottish visitor who gave me his brand new sleeping bag to stay warm in when he left with the first wave, a group of 5 Ireland residents who I loved hearing speak, and 2 ladies from the Netherlands who spoke Danish only. (or so it seemed). Again, can you hear It's a Small World in your head? This was in every sense the 'everyman's Olympics'. I couldn't believe I was here. All of these people within about 10 feet of me. And the many many many other international and stateside visitors...

9:30 or so I started the walk to the start line and to the UPS vans to drop my sweats bag and de-layer at least one layer. Temps when I arrived at basecamp were in the upper 40s and a little rainy. Not ideal but the race itself stayed dry! HOORAY!

9:40 was the start of the first wave of elite men and 'general' population (aka fast) folks. the cannon was shot...and Frank started singing "Start spreading the neeeeeeewsss'....SO COOL! The cannon shook the earth. all of it. SO. COOL. they did that (thankfully) for all 3 waves, so that when you crossed the start line officially Frank was singing his heart out to you and all of your close 14,000 friends. (the # of people the started in each wave). And you heard him on the entire 1.5 miles on the bridge....

My start wave was 10:20 and stupid me forgot to start the Garmin until about 3 minutes into the race. Thank god they have people to keep track of your time for you at events like this ;)

Miles 1-10 or so FLEW. For me, this is saying a lot. I never think the miles just melt away where you are all of a sudden like, whoa, 10 miles down? But this time, it really happened that way.

10-17, steady, kept on. Ran with the 5 hour pace group which is why I met my goal of running sub 5. Also ran with a great awesome girl about my age named Emily. Almost the whole race. She was a New Yorker so I kept asking 'where are we now? which borough is this?' Very helpful to run with a local ;) her 2nd marathon, and the last one was NYC last year. The course was great, the support like none other on the sidelines, but it was work, and the concrete *killed* my joints. I have never been this sore :( Worth it? Totally.

Around mile 11 Emily and I were running on the left side of the road. Fans were yelling our name the whole way for about 3 miles...'go Jennifer! looking good' "Run strong Emily!' and so forth. Finally a voice behind us said 'are you guys famous? how does everyone know your name??' the rule is if you are running a big race, put your name on your shirt! who doesn't want support of strangers telling you to put some hustle in it??

We explained this to Kelly. I know her name because this girl (me) LOVES Sharpies. So at the start line/camp area I found a blue one on the ground. You can't let a good Sharpie go to waste!! So I tucked it in my hip pack. Lo and behold, I said, well, I happen to have a Sharpie. Run with us, and at the next water stop, I'll put your name on the front of your pretty plain white shirt. 30 seconds after scrawling K-E-L-L-Y, sure enough, she got lots of 'Go Kelly!'. happy girl strode on :) and Emily and I kept on our way as well...

After mile 18, this girl was starting to tire. I knew Mark would be meeting me at 22.5 miles in with a banana to have some 'real food' and not have to just be using GU. GU works, but after a while it really can make you feel just blech.

Mile 22.5 I found him. He? Was doinking with the camera. Apparently my sub 5 pace was not in his plans so the one time he was adjusting the camera, he missed taking a picture or two. But I got the banana, so bigger deal sealed :) And? He got to witness the elites and pros as they ran by like cheetahs.
Here's Paula...poor in pain Paula. She's still a phenom to me...

here's the 'general population' running past mark...

Miles 23-26.2. the hardest yet. Emily and I just kept plugging along. We ran most of the course like this. Run a mile, walk a minute. It's the Jeff Galloway training plan. But we did 'blow off' a few walk breaks, esp at the end. Despite the great crowds, it was time to get this DONE.

I told Emily a few times 'if you feel a surge, please by all means go ahead. I'm going to keep this steady pace going and if what you say is true (her Garmin worked the whole time; mine timed out on some of the bridges, etc for some weird reason) we were 50 seconds ahead of pace. She too felt good but not 100% so we hung together til the waning 800 meters. Then she found her pocket of energy and took off. See you soon, I thought.

400 meters to go. Keep going, Just Keep Going. (at this point I literally was talking aloud to get myself there).

200 meters. UH-OH. what is this? This horrible I am going to lose my GU Banana Lunch feeling? DAMN IT. Okay here's the thing. the last 200 meters is RIGHT in front of people who have paid a good small fortune to sit AT the finish line area. Like this...

And THIS is when I got the heaves feeling. I never actually lost my lunch but I had a few good dry heaves (sorry, it's part of the true story) and I literally pulled myself over to the side and stopped for about 20 seconds to either lose it all in front of poor paying people or to breathe through it, regain composure and keep going. I did the latter thank God.) Must. Keep. Going. I haven't worked my ass off to literally have it tank AT the finish....just trot it in....just. believe....a couple of deep breaths later (and this whole lil episode took about 30 seconds if that) I was running towards that beautiful blue line and the silver cloaked runners after it (in their heat blankets). run run run run....

FINISH line crossed. this race? COMPLETE.

THEN it was time to stand and shuffle a few inches, literally, at a time to the UPS trucks with our dry clothes in them in the sweats bags and get our goody bag with an apple, a bagel and a gatorade. But imagine running sub 5 hours and then STOPPING. No stretching. No ice for your legs. Nothing but shuffling for a solid 30 minutes or so. again, another reason I'm so sore. and why almost anyone who ran the marathon was clearly visible from blocks away post race.

However, that all said, it was a phenomenally well organized event for 43,000 runners. And I really can't think of what they'd do differently at the end to prevent the log jam of runners waiting to get their bags and exit the park.

I finally found Mark (brought the cell phone with on the entire journey so I COULD find him quickly at the end and on the course) we took a photo and capped off the most amazing race so far.

On the phone with one of about 5 people...crying tears of 'it's done! and wow!'

Would I do it again? Probably. Next year? Too soon to tell. Did it exceed my expectations? I really don't know what my expectations were except to finish and *maybe* PR (set a personal record). I've got the tiny seed planted that says "Chicago" on it. Not sure though. I'm going to enjoy retirement from 26.2 for a while...a good LONG while...

Finish time? 4:58:27. 17 minutes faster than my last 2 marathons :) I'll take it.

Thank you again for ALL of the phenomenal support from friends near and far. I literally could not have done this without all of you.

Much love,
The retired for 2009 Marathoner

here we go....

2009-10-29T22:58:00.002-05:00

here's what i'll wear in 3 days.

here's to the $2450 I raised for MS in honor of Stacy & my aunt...

here's to all of the wonderful supportive friends who will be in my head the whole time..

here's to the amazing race...more after FINISH and a flight home.

paths may split...

2009-10-20T18:53:00.004-05:00

life is one big road map...

marriages start...

babies are born...

kids grow...

schedules can be impossible...

some marriages end...

people might move...

jobs might change or be lost...

sickness can happen...

health might return...

and friends might fall away...

it still won't stop me from thinking 'how are you?'...

and the answer is....plus one more picture!

2009-10-13T23:16:00.004-05:00

i *just* asked this during my marathon on saturday...so nice to have an answer for random trivia....

138,336 steps in 26.2 miles and 69,168 for 13.1!

new york city happens in something like 19 days.

then these barking dogs are bein' put up...

let's hope for dry weather in the 40s, maybe 50s on November 1st....pretty please Ma Nature??

Unrelated, completely, a HUGE congratulations goes out to Karen & Jerry, my stepsis & bro-in-law who welcomed Julia Kaitlyn Snitselaar a whopping 8 weeks EARLY on October 8th :)

Julia is doing well despite being just shy of 4 lbs, and Karen is home resting and recovering. I hope to visit them sometime near the holidays :)

welcome, peanut!

one down, 3 to go...

2009-10-04T19:26:00.006-05:00

(keep reading. this wasn't on today's course. this is next week...)

so the shorty is done. (ps, not to sound one bit cocky that 10 miles is short. it's a big accomplishment and i'm proud that i've learned to run that far. but compared to 18, 20, 22, 26 miles? it's short. next year? i am asking santa for *more* 10 mile races...not marathons...)

TC 10 (and marathon) day is just about over. from here on out in the next 4 weeks, i have 3 races. 2 marathons, and a half marathon through a state park. and considering today was a bit more challenging than i had expected, i hope i don't get my a** handed to me in the coming 3 events. I feel like I'm in the deep end, and boy, this girl sure doesn't swim well.

that said, i'm up for a challenge. (or three). and i'll tackle what I'm handed. (or sign up for, as i realize this is all my doing...)

but let's focus on today....the race went like this...

5:15am-alarm goes off (though I'm pretty much awake so it's just time to get up. I don't sleep well the night before a race and my body knows what time it is, so the alarm is rarely needed. however of course i'm human, so the one night i wouldn't possibly set it, would be the time i actually sleep in and god-forbid miss a race! and i was driving two other runners today, so i had to get it goin' on time!)

5:50am-eat the pre-race banana and drink the pre-race beverage

5:55am-leave for the runner girls houses and drive to the start buses

7:10am - gun time! (we were corral 4 out of 4, and there were about 6000 runners for the 10 mile. the marathon had 2 corrals with 11,000 runners as comparison, and they started an hour later than us)

8:30am - meet cindy's sister and folks at fairview and summit, about 5 miles in...halfway there! feeling pretty okay and strong, keeping a 10:20 pace

8:50 - about 2 miles to go, and feeling a little bit tapped out. CJ got me through. she looked awesome and I just stuck to her as much as I could...

9:00 - my loving biggest fan was at the base of the cathedral cheering us on...i ran over, gave him a big smooch and kept on truckin'! the race wasn't over yet!

9:07 or so, crossed that finish line on a great downhill part of the course to the end!

So, the TC 10 had a great day for running (chilly if you were spectating, but good for going 10 or 26.2 miles) and I finished in 1:43:36. 30 seconds slower than last year, but such is life. it's seconds. and i am not a huge time girl on my races as it is.

next week is the whistlestop marathon in ashland wisconsin. it looked like this last year..

let's hope for similar weather, and i'll just get by, one mile at a time, through the wilds of wisconsin. marathon #2? here i come...after a full week at work, including my first committee meeting of this runner girl helping plan an inaugural 5K run/walk for the library! my love of work and my love of running/walking bonding? wow. who knew?

it's almost time....

2009-10-02T23:24:00.003-05:00

it's twin cities marathon weekend!

i drove down summit tonight and saw all of the barricades and the signs that said 'road closed sunday october 4 6:30-2:00pm' and i thought 'bring it on!'.

mark had a concert tonight and one of the singers said 'are you running on sunday?'

me: yes, the 10 mile

she: oh, so you're part of the reason i can't get anywhere on sunday.

me: give us ONE day, babe. (my exact words said in my jd way of course)

TC weekend is a big deal to about 12,000 runners and 200,000 spectators. so am i getting excited? yes! and boy do i need some good vibes and karma going on...

so here we go...7:05 gun on Sunday morning. I'll be done before 9am. (SOOOOO not like a marathon...) and it's not supposed to rain (fingers crossed! it did last year and the year before that was a hellish heat bath with people dropping over left and right.)

next weekend is my 2nd marathon of the year in ashland, wisconsin.

and NYC? 4 weeks from Sunday. FOUR. wow, this is all getting so real and overwhelming...

so i will continue to bury myself in work and do my best to not worry. (HA!) both are what i do best.

apple crisp time!

2009-09-25T14:02:00.004-05:00

okay, so yeah, i stole that from the star trib site.

however, i'm also passing on news from just below that pic on their site as well...

this recipe.

it was devoured by my co-workers in about an hour today.

granted i had brought it to work right from the oven, so who doesn't like warm apple anything?!?

but it's really super easy and really delicious.

i used honeycrisp apples instead of the mix they call for in the recipe, and it was still awesome and not overly sweet like i feared...

so enjoy!

i'm off to spend a blissful afternoon off from libraryland listening to the much needed rain, reading, baking (another apple crisp that i can have here and to feed my neighbors with) and maybe a nap.

more soon....

retirement...

2009-09-20T06:46:00.000-05:00

from marathoning.

yes. you read that right.

2010 will likely be a year i won't talk one time about running 26.2 miles.

i am sick of running.

yes. you read that right again.

while it's done phenomenal things for me mentally and physically, it's also become something that is *work* lately and not nearly as fun as it used to be. i'm just plain tired of spending every free moment running. while new york will be phenomenal (and completely overwhelming in every sense of the word), i look forward to november 2nd (mark's 42nd birthday coincidentally) as my official retirement date.

i'll keep running over the course of the winter. (i can't really fathom putting all of this work into this year to lose it all by totally giving it up.) so i'll only run 3 or 5 miles every few days. none of this devoting 6 hours every saturday morning to running 18 or 20 or 22 miles. (yawn). my friend ally is going through the same strife...so i'm glad i'm not alone in feeling like i do. there is such a thing as 'burnout' and i don't just mean those high school kids who used to hang out on the corner smoking...

that said, there *are* plans already in the works for 2010 in relation to travel and running. but it's much less running than *training* for a marathon...

i plan to run here.

pretty right?

those are the wasatch range mountains in utah.

there happens to be a ragnar relay there.

that we've already got a team put together for :) jd meet altitude.

i've never run in the mountains. actually mountains and i haven't ever really bonded, much to my chagrin. we just don't have too many mountains close to MN that i hang out at regularly. the mother lake is awesome, but she doesn't come with big range mountains...so next june (coincidentally over grandma's marathon weekend) we'll be heading to utah for 4 or 5 days of fun, running and adventures!

not else much to report. mark's in texas as i write this. he's singing for just a few days, and we found just one day in mid october that we can actually take a day trip to either leaf peep or hike or bike or something just the two of us. which, again, running takes me away from. the husband. not good. but the same goes for his singing. we really don't have the traditional life of seeing each other every evening or on weekends. we see each other, literally, at bedtime and *maybe* one or two evenings a week. if that. i hope by retiring, this will help us see each other more...

we leave for nyc on oct 30th. we fly back nov 2nd. we leave for winnipeg for mark's big 'rock star' solo of a concert on nov 6th. come back the 9th. that's going to be quite a week!

Cora is still hanging in there, and still doing pretty damn well for getting diagnosed with what usually takes greyhounds down within a few months back in June. Quinn is Quinn. lovable. goofy. afraid of all hard surface floors including our own. felines are just as snuggly as ever (as long as they aren't in the same vicinity. ellie still give lucy grief at every turn...)

happy autumn to all (since it's almost equinox day) and be well...~jd

it's been a while...

2009-09-09T21:59:00.012-05:00

first and foremost, thank you to everyone who passed the word and donated what ever amount they could towards my MS NYC goal. I have exceeded the $2000 mark! TWO. THOUSAND. DOLLARS. All for a great cause, a great friend and a huge event. So thank you from the bottom of my heart....Race day is 52 days away...it's never too late to pledge. See my previous post for the link love...

Okay, so after posting that, I then left for about a week in early August with my BFD. That would be my Best Friend David. He's single. He's straight. (and he'll kill me for even saying this out loud but I don't care..) and he IS one of my best friends. And yes, Mark is okay with this. David, Mark and I all used to work at B&N back in the day, and David and I are just great friends who travel well together. And who doesn't love travel???? I thought so....

So David and I went camping. For the first time together and for the first time for him in like 25 years. Pitched the tent at a campground way back in the Superior National Forest just outside Ely, MN (about 4 hours NE of here). And then 2 nights at Bear Head Lake State Park. Also beautiful but much more crowded. I am learning I love deep private campsites that are not often found at state parks...I am not a fan of loud people, barking barking barking dogs or screaming children running around my shared nature spot. I'll share with those for a few minutes but if it's all the time? No way. I'll find camp elsewhere. (rant done). then for another 2 nights we traveled even further north and stayed at Big Bog SRA, which had a campground and camper cabins. Small cabins with electricity but no running water. Delightful though. So here's here's photo mini-album one.

Birch Lake with morning coffee

campsite off the lake...

Big Bog boardwalk. One mile out. One mile back. Beautiful and desolate. Reminded me much of Alaska..(minus the big gorgeous mountains).

fast forward to the weekend of august 21-22nd.
ran my first Ragnar Relay.
what's that, you say?
195 miles. Mostly through WI next to the Mississippi River...
2 vans.
12 runners.
and about 36 hours of awesome camaraderie.

I ran my fastest legs ever.
my first leg was just shy of 8 miles. and I got to start the race at 7:30am in the rain that Friday morning. I apparently ran so fast my 2nd runner wasn't quite ready when I hit the exchange point.

next leg was 6.2 miles long, about 12 hours later. Run from Stockholm to Maiden Rock, WI. That was a tough one. Big hills, not a very happy tummy most of the day lead to a very tough 58 minute run. But I did it, and my girls got me through...Our team was the Chicks. Hence all the yellow. Our Captn Ally did an awesome job sewing aprons for us and decking us out in yellow finery.

starting leg two...the sayings on the truck say it all...

last leg, 5:00am. Run from Stillwater to Bayport.
No one around but runners...
and a stray car or three.
Ran 3.1 miles in about 28 minutes if I recall. (which honestly, I don't. but it was something like that...)

Our Van 1 was done around 10am. Van 2 finished about 2:30pm with CJ being our 12th runner and we brought it home across the finish line as a team. An amazing experience that was a blast and I'd totally do again next year...(ps, Dad, there's a Ragnar relay that runs from Prescott to Mesa every February. Maybe someday...

The Chicks waiting for CJ, our final runner to come in at the finish area.

Okay then to finish out, last weekend was Labor Day somehow.
So we headed outta town.
A friend asked today if I was camped out.
HELL NO.
oh wait, I'm sorry. I tend to speak my mind.
um, why no. maybe no reason to be so emphatic. (except that's sort of how i roll in case you haven't known me long.)
better?
I mean how could anyone get tired of the woods and nature and no electronics??? (okay this girl doesn't get tired of it..not even a little.)
campfires.
camp coffee.
camp moon.
you get the gyst.

But we actually didn't camp as we'd had plans with Don & Mary (great friends of ours) for over a year to stay in a cabin in Itasca State Park. The headwaters of the Mississippi River. So here's a few mini-album shots from that trip. Amazingly perfect weather for 4 days, a stunning state park (also Minnesota's oldest) and we stayed in a renovated 80 year old cabin that used to be where people would check in to use the park back in the 40s and 50s up through the 70s.

the four of us outside the cabin just before departing for home..

we hiked to the top of the old fire tower.
because things like that are there to CLIMB.

we did it! (the wobbling at the top? not so awesome. so we took this quick and started heading back to at least a few stories down..)

now it's 9/9/09 which is good luck in China.
My 2nd marathon is in a month, NYC is in 53 days and then? I am going to retire from long distance running for a while. I'm rather burned out on running long long LONG miles.

But I just found an adult ballet class.
If it's anything like the I Love Lucy episode, I'm SO there :)

time to get serious...

2009-07-29T22:56:00.000-05:00

for at least a few minutes.

follow this link.

it will take you to my first ever charity fundraising page.

i am officially running the world's largest marathon (and my *2nd* major one ever) for the MS folks of the world.

in short, i've always wanted to 'give back' to running.

i want to run for *others*, not *me* all the time.

i've had friends say 'jd, it's NOT all about you all the time'. (i think they're usually kidding; i hope they are, but one never knows. running *has* definitely played a role, sometimes negatively, in some of my friendships).

but i digress.

one of my best friends was recently diagnosed, and when that happened, i knew, KNEW that i needed to try and give back to a society that could help her, and millions of other people.

stacy is so much more than just your 'average next door neighbor'. she, travis (the outdoorsy pabst loving husband), maddie (age 3) and baby-dude cooper (7 months) are awesome amazing friends of ours and we seriously wouldn't want to move ever unless they moved too. we cook for each other. we watch each other's houses. we feed each other's dogs when needed. we laugh, we hang out, we eat. you get the gist...

so i am running NYC for stacy. i am also running NYC for my aunt sonny who lives in oregon. she too has MS and has for almost 30 years. she too is doing pretty well thanks to good treatment and the wonders of modern medicine.

so the deal is i need to raise $500 by sept 1, and $1500 total by mid-october. (or else it all gets charged to me to help...)

any amount you're willing to pledge can be sent right from the link above.

if you have any questions, please email me, and treasure each healthy good day.

~jd

sunday laziness...

2009-07-19T21:38:00.006-05:00

looks like this.

david stopped by for a little while as i had baked him birthday cookies (knowing he was in town) and he helped me break in my new camping toy that i am stoked about! i made a little more than expected over the weekend and had to have this. for all the running i do, i should lounge. that's my new motto. (ps dad, your belated father's day gift is not forgotten. it's not a hammock. but it's on order...random thought but dad reads the blog and i wanted to be sure he knew i didn't forget..)

started the morning with one of Cora's favoritest people ever coming over.
Aimee and I met about 8 years ago when she had adopted her first greyhound Tipper, and i had adopted Cora. Aimee and Cora got some quality time since her diagnosis to hang out on the deck. examples A B & C....

Cora's making the most of not knowing what the future holds. And we leave again next Friday for yet another place we've never been. Much closer than the previous campsite, this time only about 90 miles north. We have a new tent. The 'old' brand new tent had rain fly issues. So REI (the world's BEST company) exchanged it for a newer modeled tent. Which we did set up last night, and by George, it's actually not as intuitive a design as the 'old' one we took back. But I think we got the hang of what we need to do, so we'll see in less than a week.

Oh, and see what happens once you run a marathon?

You don't blog or talk about running for a solid MONTH after. How is it possible that tomorrow it's been one month since Grandma's?? So the official 'countdown to NYC' is now up. Sigh. Back to training. I'm tired and I haven't even started....

making the most of whatever time is left...

2009-07-15T20:19:00.014-05:00

So as most of you know, our older dog, Cora, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on June 22nd.

in plain english she has bone cancer in her left shoulder.

she started limping on and off on her front left foot, and I took her in to the vet 2 days after I ran my first marathon. I think it will forever be synonymous that those events occurred at pretty much the same time. One, a huge high. The other? Crushing at best.

Cora is still acting like a normal dog, and if a stranger met her (many did this past weekend!) you'd never know she was sick.

The vet gave her a month to two months on June 22nd.

We're almost to the one month mark, and still? A great dog who isn't acting sick at all sleeps a lot like normal around our house. Yes, she needs the pain meds, and yes, she got very tired this past weekend when we took her on a pre-planned 3 night camping trip to Madeline Island, WI. But we made the most of her still being pretty well, and made some great memories with her. And she? LOVED the trip.

Here's the proof in the photos....so for as long as we have Cora around, and as much as it hurts so much I can't help but cry sometimes to think of her not living forever, we're going to make the most of the time she can adventure with us and know we love her as much as she loves us.

we leave a week from Friday for yet another camping trip. a) pending on how well Cora is doing and b) weather permitting since it's much closer to home. The time in the woods, the time with our girl we've had almost 7 years (she's 9 1/2 by the way, which is not quite old for a greyhound) just time to live each day as it comes. There are no guarantees in life. This we all know in some capacity. So here's to more adventures as they come....as long as they can.

hooray for...

2009-07-08T22:40:00.003-05:00

neighbors being back home where they belong.

25 feet from us :) YAY NOLLS! Welcome Home! (they were on a week long road trip to Pittsburgh to visit Stacy's side of the family...)

and just in time for us to leave town for 4 days on Friday for Cora's 'Make-a-Wish' camping trip.

she's still doing pretty okay, but it's evident she needs pain meds. She's definitely not as a-okay without them.

but to a stranger? you'd never know she was sick. so that's good.

off to the Apostle Islands this weekend.

(closest vet number in hand just in case. it's good to be prepared).

never been camping with a dog since about 1982. So this should be very interesting.

but I forsee good times and my god, after today's blurring of some major friendship lines, I'm so glad to get the heck out of dodge. It's tough to be stomped on when you're already down. Some days just go that way.

here's to a better tomorrow. and an awesome weekend with my loved ones.

thanks a huge ton to Ally & her Tri-Guy for taking care of our house (and their own!) while we're away...
~jd

it's okay if most of my world feels this way.

2009-07-04T17:17:00.002-05:00

i still found this pretty hilarious.

it's an official friends & family ING New York Marathon tshirt graphic.

happy 4th of july!

been pretty quiet around these parts.

next weekend is camping with cora. that should be interesting. good i hope. i'm making the 'plan b' itinerary in case of super inclement weather. (ie doggy lodging with her people) as we still want to have some kind of family-vacation-that-involves-nothing-to-do-with-singing-or-running.

off to our dear friends place soon to celebrate america's birthday...may all of the friends & family near and far be well!

ps, this is a blog lift from my friend ally. it hits dead on how my race went (except for the very end of her post where she clearly never hit her groove and will hopefully someday be okay with that. or not.)

click here

highest of highs to smashing of lows...

2009-06-23T06:21:00.003-05:00

highs...

running a marathon with 4 of your best friends. and finishing with one of them...

lows...

hearing 30 hours later your amazing loving dog has oseteosarcoma in her shoulder.

is there a record for tears shed in a matter of 4 days??

enjoy the good life while you can.

for this week, outside of worrying on the inside often, i have much to tackle at work and have to put the professional face on. so here we go...

if you want to run a marathon...

2009-06-17T16:12:00.004-05:00

okay, well no one i know but 5 others want to do that.

if you want to *pretend* you want to run a marathon, but don't want to get sweaty, then come along with me.

click here before Friday at 6pm and follow the directions..

(only if you happen to be near a computer on saturday and wonder where i might be; if you have the day off, by all means go outside and play!)

i should finish around 12:40 CST.

that's just about 5 hours from when i actually intend to cross the start timing pad.

72 hours and i'm so done.

my world is so off kilter right now, it's not funny. i'm ready for it all to be the 25th.

see you on the other side...

testing 123...

2009-06-16T19:08:00.002-05:00

new template.

but i'm still doinking around with learning how to navigate around it...

stay tuned...

3 years...

2009-06-14T07:43:00.001-05:00

3 years ago i went here.

ceske budejovice, which is in the land of many z's, c's and j's in their language.

the czech republic.

that year we stayed in the czech republic as part of the rose ensemble tour of germany trip.

(rose is in europe again as i type...their 2nd year in legnano, just outside of milan for a 2 week early music festival of groups from all over the world...)

we stopped in this scenic town for a day jaunt, and it was beautiful, medieval and i picked up at silver bracelet for about 15 euro. simple, easy, goes with everything. it's like wonder woman but smaller and just one. okay so it's nothing like wonder woman ;) but it goes with me..

3 years later, it hasn't come off. even airport security lets me through with it (okay maybe from now on i've jinxed myself). i took it off once or twice. the last time was in february when i got this...

i started running 3 years ago.

coincidence?

believe...it's an easy mantra for anyone to follow...

but in 6 days, all the work, sweat, miles will result in marathon #1 for this girl.

grandma's marathon, june 20th, 2009. summer solstice june 21, 2009 (also a nice thing to be part of that same weekend~)

random thought the other day that weddings, dinner parties, even the oscars have much in common. lots of work, lots of planning, some money, and the grand event is over in a matter of HOURS. but as far as i know, all of those events are completely worth it!

so 3 years after a small trinket that meant nothing more than 'oooh, pretty!' at the time has become part of me and my adventures...here's to many more...and to this week flying by to get the deed done with some of the most amazing friends i could have with me along the way...

how can i not go??

2009-06-07T21:45:00.003-05:00

it just seems wrong to not go.

people who never really talk to me about running have said 'you go girl!'

so somehow I need to raise $$ and find ways to save up to go.

I found a hotel room over the weekend through the website for the marathon in NYC for $159 a night.

at the LaGuardia Airport Marriott through a sports travel agency affiliated with the marathon. If they have rooms left tomorrow, I'm booking one for at least 2 nights.

and I think. I *think* I have Mark on board.

so we'll see...

I started raising funds this weekend by being part of a rockin' garage sale. I made $118. I took the friend who organized it and hosted to breakfast. So I have $100 left for the savings pot.

2 weeks from yesterday, marathon #1 is done.

3 days from now Mark leaves for Italy for 2 weeks. It's going to be very lonely on Grotto til he gets back...time to dive into working longer, reading more and catching up on seeing people I don't see often enough...

today i won the lottery...

2009-06-04T16:29:00.002-05:00

June 4, 2009

Countdown to the start November 1, 2009:
149 Days

Dear Jennifer Dietrich,
Entry Number:
Congratulations! You have been accepted to run the ING New York City Marathon 2009 on Sunday, November 1. On behalf of New York Road Runners, I welcome you to the 40th running of the world’s greatest marathon. We’re hard at work preparing to give you the experience of a lifetime.

i'm still stunned. like a bird hitting the window and not dying, but lying there on the ground for a while going 'what the hell do i do now? my head hurts'

just like that.

and after thinking that i'd be crashing with dad, i called him to share the good news and found out his bad news. he's not going after all to work it for TV sports. :( this means that my going is now a big old question mark.

in theory it's amazing i became one of 50,000 that were accepted out of about 100,000 who try (it's the 'everyman's Boston' marathon where you don't have to qualify by time; just get chosen by lottery) for the world's largest marathon.

november 1st is about 5 months away.

we'll see...i'd be doing it alone, i'm not sure even my husband wants to or can go, and there's that whole upending my entire life to train yet again for 16 weeks just one month after completing Grandma's.

which, yes, is 16 days away. so even *thinking about* marathon #2 when i haven't even finished ONE? yeah, a lot to think about.

and there's that whole lodging thing. who to crash with? or what hotel could i even possibly remotely afford for 2 nights?

stay tuned...and believe...

the last pictures...

2009-06-03T12:36:00.017-05:00

wild river state park, may 23-25, 2009

from the officially drowned camera. mark took it in to national camera and once water damage happens, it's lights out.

at this point i'm still sad and now just pissed that all i had to do was put the camera in a ziploc bag and it would have likely been fine. grrrr. lesson learned the $400 hard way. here's to saving up for another kind of camera down the line...maybe a digital SLR this time. and we can try to sell off the film SLR that we bought about 7 years ago. We just never use it at this point. this little camera traveled a lot of the world with me, and i ran with it during two half marathons. so thanks for the memories lil guy...

here's some parting shots of our camping trip. apparently the card didn't drown, just the hardware.

spring on the forest floor

out walkin'

reflective and calm

trillium's close up

camp grotto

look at this peace.

24 hours later.

early into the voyage.

and after this shot? the winds really picked up, as did the waves and the fight to get back to home base.

next trip isn't for about 6 weeks. in between then it's this girl running her first marathon and mark making the 2nd annual trek to Italia for 2 weeks. so ciao for a few weeks likely. not much to report between now and those events...

the end is near...

2009-05-31T17:52:00.001-05:00

part of team roseville....taken with my old camera that didn't focus too swift..

just got back today from duluth.

had our last realllly long run yesterday.

which thankfully I was able to part take in. I spent friday morning in an MRI machine for a painful 45 minutes. yes, I am a bit claustrophobic, but it was dry, stuffy and after 45 min my back was really sore from just lying there and my arms fell asleep in the funeral hands-crossed-over-one's-heart position. not good.

I saw a sports doctor on Thursday. My left hip has become problematic for the past 5-6 weeks and I've been staving off going to the doctor. But as we have finished long run after long run and I've had consistent pain, I was advised by my coach and my body to just get it checked out.

worst case scenario? stress fracture in my hip/pelvis. if that *had* been the case, and I kept running, I could have really broken something and been on crutches, yada yada for well over a few months. And it would have meant no running immediately for as long as it took to heal. Which means no marathon.

Think of working on a 250 page thesis for a degree and then being told when you turn it in that 'DOH. sorry. that's the wrong requirement. No degree for you'.

Same thing. Not cool. But life goes on and I get that.

Got word on the way up to Duluth on Friday that my MRI scan was clean, no fracture, but swollen and pulled glute and hip muscles were evident. One of the elite runners I met this weekend had a special name for this, which I totally agree with. She said "we call that Hip-a-tight-ass" :) yes. that's what I have.

Doc also advises some PT with folks who specialize in runners, so I'm going to check into that in the next week.

So onward I go in this 16 week dedication to running 26.2 miles.

Saturday the plan was to run 22 miles (all but the last 4) on the actual marathon course.

it went pretty well considering it's over 4 hours of running and one is never quite sure how the body will react to such endeavors, and most runners will tell to follow a few golden and important rules.

*never ever try anything new on race day (this is NOT the day to experiment with what kinds of foods do or don't work in your stomach for 4+ hours. and always wear clothing you've worn on long runs before. otherwise you risk chafing. which is runner code for rubbed raw and bleeding. not pretty.)

*always stick with your plan. what you'll eat, at what mile, when you predict to finish, etc.

*don't go out too fast. HUGELY easier said than done. it's a palpable energy on race morning (shameless plug here. watch spirit of the marathon. it's an amazing documentary on marathoning and even if you could care less about running I think this would give you insight *and* you'd find it enjoyable to learn about why folks like me become 'statistics' in the lore of the 26.2. Check your local library. Most places own it. end of infomercial). keep your pace and finish strong.

Saturday was gorgeous. Very sunny, cool (in the upper 50s) and we saw deer, eagles, sailboats, ore boats, the Mother Lake Superior after mile 7 (the first 7 miles are pretty wooded) and my first flying squirrel (yes really! he floated in front of me and landed in a tree! it was very cool!)

My teammates Cindy, Ruth, Kristen and I staved it out for 22 long miles. We all showed some signs of our bodies saying 'what are you doing to us?' in terms of slightly upset stomachs, and my hip acted up at mile 8 and thankfully the water stop person had advil on her. after that I was okay again. (noted for race day. bring advil.)

Then last night most of the Lifetime Runners went out to whoop it up on the dance floor at a local bar. I just wasn't in the mood for that, plus I knew we'd be up early to get back today so I could work at noon, so Cindy and I took a bottle of wine, some blankets and things to read down to the lake. And we just sat and talked and watched the water and birds. Bliss.

cindy & the big water.

18 days left.

and after that?

run the big race. with ALL of our teammates present for cheering and running their races (some are doing the full, some are doing the half, some are just supporting the rest. love all of my teammates and it felt a little sad that we were missing half the 'family' of runners up there this weekend...)

and then, on june 23rd, it's time for a new goal.

like learning to swim and finding friends who can teach me paddling.

and sit my rear down for a while...if i can stand it...

the park lives up to its name...

2009-05-26T15:38:00.009-05:00

so i was hoping to share photos of our first camping trip in over 7 years, and happy tales of where we traveled, what we saw, etc.

but i have a sad hunch that our camera drowned yesterday so no more photos for a while.

here's how the days went.

after sunday's half marathon in stillwater, i came home, got showered, ate and we hit the road about 1pm to head to center city, mn about 60 minutes from home.

we went to wild river state park, which is about 6000 acres of beauty and did i mention, close to home? love that!

we made two brief stops, and then continued on to the park.

got camp set up (not til 4 since the prior nights campers were still there and had til 4 to leave) and took a hike along the river for a good hour or so. the st croix river runs right along the park. sunday was phenomenal in the weather dept. no winds, sunny skies, about 78. lovely!

hiked back to camp around 7 and got going on dinner...and campfire! smores. just good kick back relaxing time with some vino...

monday woke up to owls calling to each other. not sure what kind, but definitely owls. at 4:30. still cool. went back to sleep for a few hours...

then woke up again to party sunny skies, but some on and off winds. didn't think much of that at the time...

made breakfast, and got clothes out for the day.

decided it would be a great day for a river ride in a canoe at a landing in the park where they rent canoes.

we wore our keen water sandals, wicking tops and shorts. packed a small backpack with the camera, a few snacks, 3 bottles of water, a camp towel and sunscreen.

now here is where of course i'll admit we are novice paddlers. and those who know me well know i am not a swimmer, so of course i always wear my PFD. as does Mark (who can swim, but not sure how well; i've never seen him swim).

get to the place, and the guy tells us for $40 he drives us 10 miles up river, and we float or paddle back down to the landing.

sounds good.

then he says 'yeah the winds yesterday were out of the north, and people were flying down the river...usually takes 3-5 hours, but today the winds are directly out of the south and they're strong.'.

okay HERE is where you *should* tell novice paddlers, 'you know, if you're not experienced, today might not be the best day to try this'.

but no. not such a warning. more like 'okay, that's $40'.

so we and 2 other younger couples who happened to be leaving at the same time as us jumped in the van and headed to the sunrise landing spot.

well within about 30 minutes of being in the canoe, mark and i both realized this was going to be a long hard fight to get downriver. we were battling at least 25-30 mph winds. directly against us. whitecaps. rolling waves. you name it.

i wasn't freaked out though. we just hugged the shoreline (as was recommended by the guy) and made our way down. saw some beautiful bald eagles, and other than a strong arm workout we were fine.

until about 2 hours into it. the gusts were SO strong, that if we didn't get the steering down quite right, we'd end up having to circle around to get control of the canoe and get ourselves pointed in the right direction again.

the river can get to 20ft in some areas, and it's quite wide (or it seemed to be to me) but most of the time we'd get blown and would have to regroup, we'd end up in the middle of the river while doing this. inexperience? probably. i also give the wind a lot of credit at winning.

well, all i remember is trying to circle back around and a huge gust coming and dumping the entire canoe over all the way.

i grabbed for canoe first and then the backpack. looked back at mark, who's head was back above water (we both totally went under) and the first thing he said was 'shore!' so we went with the current over to the muddy shoreline, which thankfully didn't take too long...

the 2nd thing he said was 'i can't believe you still have your hat on!' i was wearing my cowboy hat that does have a string on it, so it stayed on the whole time. i looked in the now flooded upright canoe and saw mark's glasses case (he was not having a contacts day) and grabbed for that and the camera (also sadly totally underwater).

we regrouped at the shoreline and said 'now what?'

well NO one was around. not the other couples. no cabins. nothing.

we had no choice but to dump the canoe (at this point we could touch bottom thank goodness) though it was was the deepest red clay mud i've ever been stuck in. i literally couldn't pull my feet out. (boy did we have on the right footwear though...those keens rocked in this situation).

we got all the water out of the canoe. saw that miraculously we still had both paddles. how i don't know. if we hadn't we really would have been screwed as we never would have made it downriver with none or just one. we'd have had to walk somehow to find help or be rescued somehow :( we didn't have a phone with us, but if we had it only would have ended up being soaked.

i was able to put myself back in the bow, mark used a low tree jutting out into the river to take his place in the stern, and off we went again.

i thought i was fine. until we hit a gust of wind and all i kept flashing back to was going underwater again. not good.

we beached at a sandbar and by this time i was freezing and shaking so bad i couldn't be still. i had no dry clothes (lesson #5 it seems; always bring a wet pack of dry clothes!) and i was beyond freaked at wanting to be on that water again.

we waited about 25 min or so and one of the couples came by and asked if we were okay.

to amy & jay? thank goodness you came by and offered to be our wingmen back to the landing.

we stuck right close by them the rest of the way, and they were my saving grace about wanting to get back in the canoe.

and they too said they almost lost it more than once in tipping over.

but every time we hit a wind, i had to breathe through it and pray (yes really) that we'd make it through without tipping again. we had a solid hour and a half or so after the capsize til we landed for good.

we finally got back to the landing under beautiful blue skies around 4:30.

i have never been so happy to see land in my life.

spent the rest of the day just rejoicing we didn't end up in worse shape than losing some personal belongings, lit the campfire early to dry out, and took a long hot well derserved shower.

ended with more wine, some guitar singing time (in a mostly desolate campground; most folks has left on monday so it seemed we had the whole place to ourselves...pretty awesome) and just being together...

but after that adventure, will i canoe again?

yes.

will i canoe alone with just mark (mainly) on a super windy down a big river?

hell no.

yes i need to learn to swim. and yes, i need to bone up on being safe and learning better canoe techniques. but i really do wish the dude running the canoe place (who by the way wasn't even there when we finished. the whole place was just locked up. we could have stolen the canoe for $40 or if we *had* wound up in worse shape than just capsizing who would have even known we were missing?) had warned against novices going out. common sense on *their* part.

so our first crisis in 10 years together. shook us up and we made it. still very scary. and i feel very, belittled i guess. or ashamed that i put myself in a position that depending on where in the river we had gone in could have been a different outcome in those conditions...

i do love camping. i do love the woods. but this weekend wound up being more adventure than we ever saw coming.

now to figure out how to save up for a camera. :( or pray by some miracle this one makes it...

oh yes, and in 23 days? i run a marathon. i have a 6 miler tonight to regroup my thoughts on...i think that will help. today the weather is gray, gloomy and still. somehow i feel just like that.

i just had...

2009-05-24T11:03:00.002-05:00

the best half marathon ever!

ran it with my phenom friends....

here's what it looked like...

cindy, ally and i ran the first 12 miles together.

ally then ran on to finish her maiden voyage marathon of 2009...

ABSOLUTELY PERFECT day in Stillwater, MN today.

hot air balloons over the city as we drove in on the shuttle buses...

beautiful sunrise.

NOT HOT. just right.

and?

it must be the spider shoes (my new red/white gel nimbii?) that helped me kick it in this race :)

now off to camp!!! woods, hiking, fires, a little wine and mark is going to attempt to teach me a little 12 string acoustic....nice!

ouch...

2009-05-19T22:31:00.003-05:00

5:00 left work with a headache.

took advil.

came home. waited for dh to get here so he could pace me on his bike.

we never do this, but since he doesn't run, i thought it would be a good compromise to have someone with me while i ran alone tonight and it would help keep me motivated in 97 degree heat. (and it worked pretty well! we even stopped by a great friend's house who lives on the route we took :) thanks for the fresh fill up on cold water, Jeremi!!

yes, to those outside the Cities. it was NINETY SEVEN today.

upper 80s to 90s tomorrow as well.

you know what doesn't work?

running in 90+ weather.

but i had to get something in today. i haven't run since my 20 miles on Saturday (when it was freaking THIRTY EIGHT degrees at 8am!! this is a wacky weather state).

so more advil when i got home and lots of water.

2 hours later? i still have a headache :(

might be time for advil PM to get some sleep.

here's to a painfree wednesday. i hope.

a girl loves new shoes.

2009-05-17T07:33:00.001-05:00

pair #2 of gel nimbus 10's are on the way. (the 11s are out brand new, but my color and size apparently are no where to be found...so i'll stick with the pair i know already loves my feet..)

i found a pair from some little running store in Pennsylvania (my local store couldn't get them any longer :( sad.)

my pair were new in January prior to my Maui trip.

they? have worn out. I meant to keep super strict track of miles put on, but didn't. Looking through my workout log though, they're at about 350 miles in 6 months. so, like tires on the car, it's time for a new set :)

also? the body tends to tell the runner when the shoes are kaput. my left hip has been nagging me lately, and yes, i'm running and running and adding miles, but the shoes are super tell tale sign when some aches start that a new pair of Nimbus are needed!

hopefully they arrive before our retreat in 2 weeks. we'll run from the actual start line for Grandma's Marathon to the hotel we're staying at that weekend. 22 miles down the road. the *last* big long run before race day.

somehow, next weekend is Memorial Day weekend. My how time flies! I'm running an inaugural half marathon in Stillwater, then jumping in the car and heading to camp for 2 nights :) can't wait! running, crackling campfire, peace of the woods, hiking, time with mark, coffee from the fire in the morning? sweet goodness! more pictures then...

oh, and the 20 miler? did feel quiet compare to normal LSDs (long slow distance runs)...but we made it, we had a great day (a bit cool and super windy, but hot and humid is always worse!) and we got to see horses on the trail and bald eagles soaring and calling to each other above us. spot on.

so here's to another week done...

there's a new blogger in da house...

2009-05-13T06:50:00.004-05:00

and it goes something like this...

www.twincitiesfoodfinds.blogspot.com

i've told mark for a while now i think he'd be a great blogger about local joints we love or hate.

we're not snooty food folks.

honestly we aren't.

i realize some people don't believe me on this.

but we like quality food, (no, that doesn't mean expensive), often organic, local, all that good stuff....

we avoid chains if at all possible, as they use so much schmutz in their kitchens (frozen foods, microwaves, blech!)

the Cities is so awesomely blessed to have amazing nooks all over the place with both american and international cuisine, that i felt that if mark blogged about our experiences and finds online, it wouldn't reach a huge audience or anything, but it would be at least one more voice out there advocating for the little guys...

the only downside?

that if folks really do read it, it might mean a longer wait to get into our favorite places :)

feeling helpless...and going on...

2009-05-11T21:23:00.003-05:00

38 days til grandma's.

training continues.

work life continues. (though it's still insanely quiet business wise compared to what we were used to. yes, we've only been open 2 weeks now, so i do think it'll pick up...still weird...)

stress about balancing these wacky schedules (2 jobs, training & a marriage) is still high.

i am ready for the race to be done, so life can return to whatever 'normal' is.

training is good. but it IS time sucking. no doubt. but no one can expect to run for 5 hours straight and NOT put time into getting ready for that.

i eat like a horse. i burn a lot of calories. and i try to buy clothes that don't fall off me. (and i am by no means bragging. it is seriously hard to find small/tall clothes. i have become a huge oxymoron. try not to run with that one too much please ;)

looking ahead...

mark and i have at least 2 if not 3 camping trips planned for the summer.

REI had a sale the past 2 weeks and we stocked up on some new gear (sleeping pads, sleeping bags, camp cookware..) and borrowed other supplies from generous friends...I am ready for the campfires, the coffee hot in the morning, steaming in the cup with the sounds of birds singing and nothing else (well maybe the sounds of other campers waking up since we'll be in parks) but that's about all...

that's good news of late.

the bad news is i know of yet another friend who's marriage is totally crumbling, through absolutely NO fault of her own. and she has 3 young children who are also suffering...

i have this insatiable need to try and help those that are close to me. those who i trust, those i call a good friend. and when they are hurting, and have a life literally combusting apart at the seams, i feel so helpless. but i do what i can to help, and just try to be there. what more can i do?

so that's thrown me and my runner girls. it's one of our own who's totally hurting.

and who ran her first marathon, a bit spur of the moment in fargo, nd last weekend (where 10 of us ran the half marathon on a chilly cloudy october-feeling saturday morning...) and this woman? this mom of 3? totally ROCKED.IT. she finished in 4:19, and for those who are totally not runners, that is a very STRONG, pretty fast first marathon. amazing. but she had a lot of energy and emotions to run through, and she did nothing less than what we'd think she can do.

but here? things are pretty well overall. i am wondering just what goal i should have after this 16 weeks of working towards running 26 miles is over.

i have a few ideas.

but for now? like i have to do so often...i take it a day at a time, and i realize that some things are just not in my control. and i have to just keep going and understand/accept that. and try not to think so much...

if anyone had told me 5 years ago that i'd be running 100+ miles per month and training for a marathon, of course i'd say they were freaking out of their gourd.

and so, here i am. doing things i never even had ever considered...

so no fancy pictures.

no funny quips.

just a ruminating kind of post...
peace, ~jd

be careful what you wish for...

2009-05-06T21:54:00.003-05:00

okay i hope i don't get busted for taking that graphic.

but it really feels like how work is lately.

so first....the good news?

lots of patrons love the space.

the board president stopped in today and loved the space.

but the bad news?

the staff can't rattle off in milliseconds where things are any more.

i mean i've been able to say for 7 years that readers were in aisle 13.

now they're in aisle F? I think??

and a friendly coworker said today that they felt kinda lost while working at the kids desk.

answers to patrons 'where are these?' take a little bit longer to fire off from the brain to the tongue these days...

and after being closed a month, and only checking in items that long, there is still a *lot* on the shelves to go out, and there is very little coming back in. so far.

so for all of that time that we were barely able to breathe and were crazy busy for *years*?

this *temporary* quiet lull is just plain weird. and we're just biding our time til 'normal' returns..

have a great rest of the week.

tomorrow? i have to face a very very long day....before leaving early Friday morning! yeehaw to leaving town :)

sometimes you feel like a nut...

2009-05-04T21:31:00.005-05:00

sometimes you don't.

i wish i was talking choclate.

i'm talkin' about somehow i managed to run 18 miles on saturday. (some would call that crazy nutty)

tonight?

i s-l-o-g-g-e-d my way through 7.3. (no nuts, no nothin' involved...)

dead legs. felt like i was running through jello or underwater.

my girls who have done marathons said 'jd. your body just did 18 two days ago. this is normal. you broke down a lot of something-or-other (micro muscles? energy? i forget what they said. that's how much i want to block this out) so give yourself a break.'

well. somehow i gotta keep chuggin' along and take it workout by workout. but MAN tonight was hard.

tomorrow? no running. lots of librarianing. and storytime is back on my new turf. bring on my toddlers :)

~jd

today?

2009-05-02T16:14:00.004-05:00

i ran.

18 miles.

in 3 hours, 40 minutes.

for perspective.

if you drive from my house to just about grand marais, minnesota on the north shore without stopping?

or if you drive from my house to 30 minutes past the wisconsin dells.

it takes the same amount of time.

or you could watch three john hughes' movies in that time.

here's a handy 'jd's show and tell' for where myself and 5 other friends/runners went. if you press 'hybrid' it shows the lakes, and player cracked me up to see the animation...

not quite over the river, but through many many woods and lake areas. actually very scenic for just being around home...

it was hard work. it was long. but with phenomenal friends and others doing the same thing i was (3 of us are marathon training virgins, so this was our inaugural 18 miler), it made each mile much more bearable.

at one point cindy turned to me and said 'i really want to stop. but what am i going to do? i'm in the middle of shoreview!' :) so true. you just have to keep going. i know that race day on june 20th will feel just like that. i know there will be times i want to stop. but i'll just keep going..

after i got home we set up the tent. (part of some campin' stuff a friend lent us for our first outing in years at the end of the month..)

then i promptly got out my new sleeping bag, and fell asleep. i earned a nap.

today is ending much better than yesterday. yesterday consisted of a trying waitress job and tears shed on the way home. i am so very tired of working 2 jobs. and i'm having regrets about leaving the wrong place...i'll just go with it was an off night.

have a great rest of your weekend! mark just asked if i wanted to go to REI to get some more stuff since they're having a sale-palooza. outstanding!
~jd

for allison...

2009-04-29T21:39:00.006-05:00

my one faithful blog reader ;) (and inspiration to try this run-grandma's-26.2-mile-race)

quite honestly i know of one colleague who reads and comments, and my family in arizona. oh, and Jeremi, an awesome mom to 3 year old twins, who share a birthday with my 3 year old awesome neighbor & her mom Stacy (who also reads sometimes)....outside of that? my dh maybe once a while. but that's about it.

so thanks to my 6 faithful readers. thanks for even reading this sludge called 'jd's thoughts'...

i've not done the greatest in the facebook diet...i'm trying. Diets are hard. but blogging? i'm apparently very into that lately...

tonight, i'm watching the Grand Ole Opry Live as i type. only 2 people i know would think this is any sort of cool. but i'm down with how much of a country bumpkin i am....dwight yoakam is on at the moment...

also tonight? i completed something that 97% of the general populous would NEVER find enjoyable, let alone take part in.

i? wish it had been this beautiful...

it wasn't that pretty. but it felt *awesome* when we were done. even more so since we were completing this workout alone, on a high school track, in a cold rain. we being ally, coach ruth, myself, and wanda, a 46 year old grandmother of two who started any sort of exercise at age 45. she is training for her first marathon in may. her first half was just last october. and fun fact? (thanks Al, for letting me use your wordage. often.) wanda was in my blogging class last fall. crazy small world. it was wanda's first workout with us, and speedwork wednesdays are never easy. but she handled it awesomely and we tried to make her feel as welcome as possible during our EIGHT miles in a cold steady most-of-the-time rain. (right, i mentioned that part ;)

that? might equal *insanity* to some, or most of the human race. but as is well known in the running community, you never know what weather will be dealt your way on race day, so it's a good idea to train in anything. and thankfully? minnesota just so happens to *have* everything in the weather dept....so we're all good there. had it started lightning, we would have been safe and headed in.

but we kept going. it's what you do. or at least what these girls do. and i hope that stands for something somewhere somehow. peace...

you know you're a crazy runner when...

2009-04-28T10:52:00.005-05:00

you run these. (JJ Hill mansion steps in a beautiful area of historic St Paul)

14 times.

177 stairs. one trip up, every step. next trip up. every other. repeat.

with a big deep breather in between each set up and set down...what doesn't kill you makes you stronger...

some days...

2009-04-27T17:00:00.003-05:00

you just gotta pull yourself up by the boot straps and keep goin...

work's almost set.

and while i'll miss wearing the comfy clothes each day (ie jeans), i'm ready for the routine or regular work again...

marathon training is continuing...53 days or something like that left til race day.

last weekend I ran a half marathon here in the Cities. I set a personal record time, but quite honestly it about killed me and wasn't my plan. ALWAYS GO WITH THE PLAN. i didn't follow my own advice.

here's a few other random notes:
*dinner with friends? always amazing. whether just a few or a whole flock. here or there or anywhere. might be time to plan...
*gummy bears? great running snacks
*Twitter? completely not my thing. i tried and i just can't get into it.
*Facebook? more my thing, but i find in interesting that in some instances it enhances some friendships and in some i think it inhibits. so i'm going on a facebook diet. i'm on it too much. and unlike a lot of folks, i don't worry about folks from my past finding me. a) i've hidden myself pretty well and b) i don't have anyone from the past that would freak my freak. mostly? it's a craze that i think will eventually wane, and i still 100% prefer my friends in person than online only.
*pets getting older = worry.
*dreams. i have had some very vivid ones lately. about a certain personal topic. i guess i'm going to go with the 'be careful what you wish for' school of thoughts for now...

time to run...

surrounding...

2009-04-26T22:55:00.002-05:00

yourself with good people?

people who care and are great friends?

that's the best thing in life to not ever take for granted...

have a wonderful week!

how to train for a marathon...

2009-04-21T20:42:00.005-05:00

step one. start running.

step two. see step one.

that's pretty much what life has been lately.

i've conquered the 15 and 16 mile distances.

this weekend it's time for a half marathon (yes another one. and one on may 9. and one on may 24. and on the other weeks? it's running 17, 19, 22 miles. is it june 20th yet?

no?

well good. i'm not quite ready. but eating like a horse and my witching hours of waking up at 3:30 am for no reason are back :( bah humbug.

in addition to that, i've been big time nesting in the new library space that is home for a year.

my work space looks like this.

we've been very busy getting the whole new 20,000 sq foot space set up and it's looking really really nice! we open may 2nd, and i have no doubt by then we'll be spot on...

until then, it's time to relax while i'm actually sitting still...

yikes...

2009-04-11T06:46:00.004-05:00

i'm off to run the longest run ever in about an hour.

on a beautiful rail trail that runs from st paul to stillwater.

today's mileage?

15.

next saturday?

16.

may 2nd?

17.

may 16th?

19.

may 30th?

22 miles up in duluth as a 'practice' run...all but the final 4 miles of the marathon route.

the weeks in between are 13 milers on saturdays.

i hear i won't die during thie process.

i'll believe that at the end when the medal is on my neck. until then? i'm pretty freaked out. and taking it one day (and yes, mile) at a time...

i'm now officially in the 'great unknown' of training. new mileage that i've never even attempted before. the folks who train for a marathon *alone* still blow my mind. they are superheroes. i am just as thankful to have a group that i know is there for me and will be counting on me to show up on these long run saturdays...so off i go...

have a great easter weekend ~

isn't it ironic?

2009-04-07T20:26:00.012-05:00

the reasons for thie post...gail, jeff, allison & kate

ironic in the part where my last post was i had no running mojo.

really, i didn't.

and then this past weekend, mark and i went to DC to visit my best friend of 30 years and her family and while i was out there, i took part in a 12,000+ runners 10 mile race during cherry blossom festivities...

mark had never seen DC, so he had a blast looking at history at every turn...and he met baby kate, who at age 18 months was one of gail's kids he'd never even met before. allison, my goddaughter is now 4 1/2 and i hadn't been out to visit since 2007.

and i? had the best race EVER on sunday 4.5.09. even alone. i usually totally gel best with my girls and team. great karma, everyone right there.

but seeing now that in the past 3 months i've run 2 big races out of state and with no one but my iPod to stick with my pace the whole time, i've learned about myself and my pacing...

for a 10 mile race, i knew what my goal was, pace wise and finish time. i made my goal, set a personal best for that distance, and to please my coach and my ally, i finished in negative splits....which means my last 2 miles were my fastest miles....

HOWEVER. in less than 3 months i am slated to run 26.2. for those that suck at math as much as i do, that's 16.2 MORE miles than i ran with HUGE confidence 2 days ago.

but for the race that I just finished, it rocked...

and here are some photos from the race and the trip to celebrate the cherry blossoms in dc at this time of year. which are not overrated one bit. it rained friday. it rained part of monday. and those 2 days in the middle we were in DC? perfection.

sometimes? it just works out in one's favor.

the album:

the awakening statue at national harbor

the tidal basin near jefferson's memorial

gail and the bouncer mark

cherry blossoms were at their gorgeous peak

katherine elizabeth riegel, age 18 months

after the race...it was SO crowded it's amazing that i found gail, jeff & mark again...

the finish line...for what it's worth, i finished in 1:43..

just after crossing the line *and* finding mark

heading TO the start. sun has just risen, about 53 degrees...perfect.

peace...
~jd

my running mojo...

2009-03-30T14:44:00.002-05:00

has disappeared.

that can't be good.

someone please send it back.

i just want to sleep. read. be.

which is not really me all that often....

and we haven't even completed base phase...whiny? check.

confidence lost? at the moment.

but today? supposed to do 7 miles post work. why is it so hard lately to put the shoes on?

for the friends & family...

2009-03-24T21:14:00.003-05:00

ugh. enough work.

that last post took a lot of my evening. why?

because in true jennifer fashion i multitasked my way through a work project, online, on my night off.

caught up with a few folks on facebook.

researched travel links for the work thing.

cooked dinner.

texted mark (he's outta town singin').

not much is super new here.

the library closes in it's current condition a week from today.

april first, we box up all of my department (something i am in charge of, whoo boy! it's going to go very smoothly and quick i predict since i have awesome coworkers...) and moving day is april 9th. (once we box up the kids dept, we of course box up the *rest* of our 20,000 square foot library).

last weekend, 3 co-library-gals and i went to a cabin. martha's folks own it, and we had a restful few days despite dreary march weather. i even got my 12 mile solo run in on saturday morning and had to forgo on the wine friday evening in prep for that. of all nights i was the designated driver girl, and we stayed in ;) the cabin was part of a lodge property near crosslake, mn. which is just a hop, skip and a jump from brainerd, hence babe as our backdrop.

here's the crew. we only talked about libraryland for a small portion of the trip.
from left to right...martha, lisa (yeah, it stinks her eyes are closed :(, me & carol...

we drank some vino.

we sang in a bar. (i apparently sing loud...it's the only way i know how ;)

we met the local legion folk.

we tried to go to a meat raffle but got the night wrong.

we had copious amounts of food.

we found an awesome 2nd hand store.

we soaked in the hottub at midnight. martha ran there barefoot (the building was close, but still! wet frozen muddy ground and she was like a kenyan in a race!)

good times. we hope to repeat it down the line if possible...

so happy spring to you all, as it looks like the times-are-a-changin'...

86 days and counting to the marathon of my life.
~jd

thing 33...travel 2.0

2009-03-24T18:41:00.004-05:00

i like to travel.

i know for some of you this might be a completely new tidbit.

and from others, i get a lot of grief.

before i start, part of this Thing mentioned if you know of a good travel blog to tell about it.

Matt Logelin gets 1000s and 1000s of hits a day on his blog. Is it a travel blog? He'd probably say no, but for a computer guy with a newly minted 1 year old daughter (happy birthday Maddy!!!) he has seen SOOO much of the world and is a rock star photographer for fun. And even though his blog started to share news of a pregnant wife to family back in 'the MN' as he calls it, and ended with the heartbreaking loss of her 24 hours after Madeline's birth, it's got me and most of the world hooked.

Matt has posted so many places worth seeing....the one that sticks in my mind the most is Banff, Canada. I want to see Lake Louise....holy awesome.

okay, anyway, back to the post.

i found The Cranky Flier pretty entertaining....very interesting tidbits into the airline industry and varying airlines. i don't fly nearly enough as many others in the world, but this author seems to really know his stuff...

Virtual Tourist was really well done....I loved the ease of layout, the plethora of links and the quick info and pictures right there. I'm also a big fan of 'personal' reviews from real folks who have stayed places, and those that are here looked credible and honest. nicely done...

For those wanting to start a new travel blog of their own, this is clearly the site for such things...easy to navigate, great stories, photos and everything told first hand. of course the fact that there was a 'marathons' section truly drew me in ;) I help co-teach a blog class at work with a colleague, and it would be fun to use this as a 'highlighted' link for those who are curious about various kinds of blogs out in cyberland...

have i mentioned i like wine? besides water, coffee, organic chocolate milk and runner juice (usually powerade zero), wine is the last of the 'jd's favorite beverages' category. i like a nice frosty beer on a hot day or with friends at a pub, but wine is my booze of choice at home on a quiet night or while hosting a dinner for friends...
so this site was the one i had to peruse...http://winesandtimes.com/wnt/index.php

willamette valley, OR and Sonoma County, CA are on my lists of wines places i'd love to travel to. so if either of those opportunities come my way, I have found the helpful site to plan out my tour.

so thing 33? au revoir~

more work..thing 32..let's mash

2009-03-15T18:48:00.002-05:00

or mashup i guess. 2 different things? i think so...

so, google maps and mashups are the topic of this post.

wow. this was a blast to play with.

i recently got to visit maui, hawaii for a few weeks.

so i chose this as my test subject just for fun....and WOW. that google earth aspect with the satellite view is *phenomenal*. i am so overwhelmed by what technology can do these days. i'm only 35. i can't even imagine how different things will be in the *next* 35 years...

anyway...

here's what i made. (i hope)...

View Larger Map

there's a lot of zooming in and moving west to see what i made...but it's there. simple, a few highlights.

can i see using this in clases on how to use google. do i see using this kind of thing daily at the reference desk? not so much...at least in first impressions.

but is it kinda cool? heck yes! i'll love playing with this kind of thing for future trips or marathons...it's cool to see where you've been or will go...

a lil melancholy...

2009-03-14T21:54:00.003-05:00

well, the ursula's chapter is closed.

after 5 1/2 years of working for a small independent wine bar, i gave notice 2 weeks ago, and tonight was my last shift.

it was really really dead. both school districts in white bear lake started spring break, plus many st patty's day parties are this evening, so it was a quiet night. my fellow runner & friend Kim stopped in with her hubby to drop off some flowers for me...so *so* kind...

it was my choice to resign (though i did say i'd be happy to be on call if they get into a bind). i plan to work for blackbird on saturdays starting in a few weeks. but i am a really loyal employee and i met some awesome folks at ursula's....so i can't help but feel a little sad about leaving a job i've really loved on the whole for the past 5 years. i've learned a ton about wine and good quality food, and for that i'm grateful...

mark left town today. part 2 as to the melancholy-ness.
only gone a few days. but still...

good news? we got new furniture :) it's super comfortable! and of course the zoo agrees as well. (blankets are covering most of the new furniture to try and limit the hair so it's a little hidden...but still comfy! a reclining sofa & loveseat and 2 end tables with new lamps. it's like a *real* room :) maybe i'll post a pic if i take one later this week..it just arrived last night.

also had a great 11 mile run this morning with not as much pain as last week. Did miss Ally & Duana and others who are on vacation around the US. But those folks who did make the run enjoyed a fabulous early spring day where temps were near 30 at the start and near 43 at the end 2 hours later.

work is early tomorrow morning for me. I traded Saturdays for Sundays for the next 3 months, so that's the trade off to training every Saturday morning....so off to bed now...
ps a few things have been taken off the site. links and the 8 ball. too cluttered :(

this week...

2009-03-09T22:12:00.005-05:00

coming to a sky near you...

(a stunning but cold eclipse from about a year ago)

(up in the arrowhead region)

full moon. one of the most beautiful things mother nature gives us.

it also makes little children and infants cry more.

it's true.

i noticed it in the 3 hours in a row i was at the kids desk today at work.

still? it's part of the job, and giving a sympathetic eye towards the parents, or trying to make the kids feel better with a hi or a bye-bye wave if they're leaving, or anything small to try and make it better makes *me* feel like maybe i'm helping...a trick i learned recently was to use bubbles or maracas near the crying child to distract them. gotta go to target to get those ;)

on the running thing...the foot for this runner girl is apparently better. thank. goodness.

an interesting thought popped into my head today.

i've heard this vaguely in other running stories....does running define who you are? does it define your life more than anything else?

it's funny. if folks ask what i do, it's a 50-50 shot of the context and whether 'librarian' or 'i run' comes out first.

if i couldn't run, what would i do? (cry, be depressed, whine a lot more)

if i couldn't run, i realize life wouldn't end. but boy would it be hard. it would be like a part of me wasn't breathing right.

injuries happen. this i know. (do you hear the knocking on wood here? loudly..)

but will anything keep me from my dreams if at all possible?

no.

so does running define me or my life? yes.

but only a part of it.

another interesting query....is running a religion? or an addiction?

you make the call that's right for you....(of course this is a shout out to my runnin' faithful)

peace ~ jd

thing 31...more twitter

2009-03-09T21:41:00.002-05:00

seriously?

*more* tweeting?

okay, here's what i learned...

i changed my screen name.

mother lake girl. i love lake superior. (among many other parts of wilderness & lakes...)

all of that other jazz?

'gift wrap your tweet'????

dudes, i have way more important things to do...like help move and relocate a library and order materials for our collection.

i like twitter for what it was to me, all of a month ago.

quick short updates, a way to see what others are up to for all of 5 or 10 min per day.

so not to be a wet blanket on 30 & 31, but there's not much here that i feel that i want to expand on...

thing 30...rss +

2009-03-09T21:29:00.003-05:00

truthfully?

rss is just not my thing. i'm sorry.

after the first 23 things, i just didn't stick with this.

maybe it's the time i feel it takes to set up what i want it to feed me.

or maybe it's that i have my set ways in how i like to search the web, find news, etc and i'm good with that.

if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

i *did* use delicious when i was in europe last year in order to find all of my news in one spot, and for some reason i will use it 5000 miles from home, but not *at* home. weird? yes.

all done with this.

never say never, but for now? no rss for this girl.

let the countdowns be shown...

2009-03-08T22:31:00.004-05:00

here's what's on tap....(hmmmmm, besides beer...this week's tap beer at work is Moose Drool Ale)

*27 days until the DC Cherry Blossom 10 mile race

*47 days until the Get in Gear 10K, here in Mpls

*60 days until the Fargo Marathon (runnin' the half)

*75 days until the Stillwater Marathon (runnin' the half)

*102 days until Grandma's Marathon. the whole. big. long. race.

my plan? no injuries, taking care of myself, and not being stupid. (ie streaking across a yellow light to try and make it and tweaking a knee or a foot in the process. dumb dumb dumb...)

ipod love

2009-03-08T20:34:00.003-05:00

guess what came over the weekend?

it's awesome.

and as soon as i figure out what i did to screw my foot up, i'll run around with it like a little girl...and look forward to wearing it out just like i did the last one. it took 4 years to do that, so maybe this one will go 5 or 6 :)

thanks, Dad!

thing 29...google tools

2009-03-08T19:15:00.004-05:00

back to work. i kind of sloughed off on this Thing as it looks really long and tedious..

but here's the gist. or what i am aiming for as the gist.

1) google alerts.
i've never used this. how could it be useful for a library setting? i guess it depends on your audience or area of expertise. as a kids librarian, if it was the months between may and august, i might try things like 'summer reading' as key words to be alerted to in news stories, blogs, etc.
for this experiment i chose to put in 'running'. very very broad but we'll see what i think of how it works as those alerts start comin' in...

2) google news.
i messed around with this and read through the varying ways to tailor what kinds of news i could see, but quite honestly, i like the news sources i read and the sites i frequent just fine. i'm leaving this one be...

3)google search wiki
really interesting! i had no idea you could move things around like that in your own google search results wiki and keep track of what you find that way. the searching for a specific URL to add to such results is also pretty cool. say you want to go camping all over MN this summer. i can see looking at varying camp websites, state parks, national forest sites, etc and keeping them all in one spot so that you don't have to go re-search them all again when the time comes to actually reserve a weekend. pretty slick. i think i'd probably use it, but as with many other aspects of this assigment of Things, i'm a little overwhelmed at what i've seen so far just this evenin' and need to kind of file this idea away before i jump in and use it.

4)web history
hmmmm. yet another interesting tidbit. i did enable or turn on my history button. i hadn't prior. esp related to work, when i get patrons who want common sites like 'what do you recommend for a 4th grade boy?' it's nice to access other library sites and booklists to help patrons. i can see using this at work if i had a dedicated station.
i think that privacy is more an issue related to web things more often than not. have most of us become accustomed to most parts of the web being private or safe? yes. but you always have to watch your back and take precautions, just like so many other things in life. i'm interested in sharing browsing history with certain topics, but not everything.

5)gmail.
i've been a fan and user of this part of google for 3 years now at least. i know pretty much most of this part of google inside and out, including the new video/voice possibilities. i kind of like the proverbial curtain of email and chat, so being on camera or hearing a voice i can see being very cool for families or friends far away often, but not an every day thing for me. i LOVE gmail. it's handy. it's easy. it's intuitive. and it's what i use.

6) calendar
use it. love it. so far i only use it for personal stuff. but work stuff is a close second as something i want to use it more for. there's this meeting there, that meeting next week, program dates, etc to put in place, and i think it could be time to branch it out to work life.
it's nice to have a group of people be able to access the same calendar to keep everyone on the same page (pardon the pun). but it's true.

phew. this one took some delving into. but on a sunday night? it's time for some bad but addicting reality tv and dinner. have a great week ya'll....

what's going on in jd-land...

2009-03-05T13:23:00.002-06:00

*i gave notice to a job i've had for 5+ years yesterday. topsy turvy set of circumstances, but in the long run, i had a new boss who, after just 3 months of my working there, just didn't want to lose me. so after giving notice to *that* job last week, it turns out i'm leaving the longer term one instead. i'll miss my customers and my chef, but honestly, it's time to move on if i have the chance. scary? yes. the wine bar has become a 2nd home...but life throws curve balls on top of new adventures and so there it is...

*my new iPod isn't here yet. anxiously awaiting....it's going to feel so nice that it won't be HEAVY to run with anymore!

*week one of marathon training is complete. miles run? 15. over 3 diff days.
i should have done some speedwork last night, but i bagged that for a quick 3 miler and a very impromptu dinner with friends...(which after a not so great day was hugely needed and enjoyed!) so this girl will buck up and follow protocol next week fo' sure...

*speaking of running, i did a really ballsy thing last week. i put my name in the new york city marathon lottery. dad called to say that his TV truck is going to the marathon yet again, and if i wanted to come to the marathon, i should. so i thought 'what the heck...my chances are pretty slim of actually making it in, and if i DO? well, that's a big huge hairy deal and you only live once...race day is november 1st, 2009. i won't find out until mid june (maybe even *after* i run my first marathon) if i get in...but i plan to go none-the-less and volunteer if i can! it's a MASSIVE race. 45,000. big name runners. 100,000 people try to get in...so there's my odds..i'm hoping my coach will join me since there's a free hotel room and she's been a major inspiration for me, but we'll see if that plan comes to fruition...

*the big library move starts in less than one month. holy yikes. however, the weightlifting in moving boxes, lifting, etc, should only HELP marathon training, right?

so there's the report. life keeps on pluggin' along as the season of spring is finally upon us...

day one...

2009-02-28T06:40:00.002-06:00

of marathon training.

6:40am.

sunrise is still about 40 min out i think....

no wind from what i spy out the back window.

but it's -3 out.

MINUS THREE. with a -2 windchill.

it would be worse if it was windy. way worse.

but needless to say i'm a little bit dreading the 8 miler i have in just over an hour.

that said i have a lot of layers to put on in a few minutes, and i'm going to meet ally, coach rudi, and the other marathon virgins, cindy & kristen. so we'll tackle it like we'll tackle this whole marathon thing....together! *big deal here*

i'm still coughing though so this should be an interesting morning.

after the run, it's breakfast time out at a local healthy joint, and then it's haircut day. i'm about 2 weeks overdue in the haircut so i can't wait....

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SANDY! (one of my blog readers and colleague from LibraryLand)

and THANK YOU, DAD for the new iPod on the way!

time to layer up....brrrrrrr! ~runnergirl

rip :(

2009-02-26T23:12:00.002-06:00

my ipod died tonight.

this is a sad sad wintery night :(

the infamous 'folder and exclamation point your ipod is dead' graphic and no more music :(

google image 'ipod death' and you'll see just what i mean.

nnnnnnnnnnnooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! not right before training!!

rip white brick. you got me through many many miles....

dad, is there another one coming or is the next one on me? since you did ask about color choice...

sniff sniff :(

thing 28...

2009-02-26T20:56:00.005-06:00

hmmmm...

well i like my homepage as it is.

i stuck with this blog thing after the last 23 Things, and have altered it as time has gone by.

i did add a few widgets.

my dream of being an iPhone girl is still about a year away.

so a dear friend of mine can shake hers at me with the 8 Ball app all she wants. at least i have my blog ;) (okay SOOOO not the same thing but until i can afford an iPhone and be done with Sprint, i'm stuck...)

and i added the all important first marathon countdown as my training starts in 2 days.

i drove that course over the weekend. i am REALLY going to run 26.2 miles down scenic 61 to canal park?

damn straight. if i have to crawl i'll get there.

whoops. back to the topic at hand. Work.

So those are the 2 widgets i messed around with for Thing 28. mission complete.

play first, then work.

2009-02-26T19:01:00.009-06:00

so these will list this second, not first, but such is life...

it's thursday night and i'm still making my way through the DVR of Oscars....

because i was not around last weekend...I was up on the shore with David for our annual 'yes, sometimes boys and girls can actually be friends without weirdness' weekend....this was our 3rd trip, and we're already looking forward to next year with maybe a few more folks ~

here's a few shots...

we adventured into the winter like true minnesotans and had a blast...it was a gorgeous wonderland of white....

next year i want to know how to cross country ski...and snowshoe more...it's good to have goals.

we found an awesome set of trails to try out in a year...

work is still moving full steam ahead on the huge move and relocation for the next year...

mark's hugely busy as of late hanging out with the Brits who are in town for a concert with the Rose Ensemble this weekend. Today we got about 7 inches or so of fresh snow, and they are in Superior, WI tonight singing with Voces 8 in a spectacular church.

Grandma's Marathon training starts in two days. This has lead to a lot of schedule changes for me. A few of my phenomenal colleagues have gone out of their way to help my goal of becoming a marathoner come true by trading nights and weekends with me for the next 4 months...and i will gladly repay their kindness any way i can...

One of my latest changes hurts my heart some, in that I meant only to do good by starting a 3rd job, and had planned to leave the long standing wait job, but it just didn't play out that way. I'm not making as much at the lil cafe in Mpls as I do in White Bear Lake...so today I had to call my friend and boss, Gail and give her my notice. Which truly bummed us both out.

I know in my next life I won't be so damned attached to everything on earth as much as I tend to get. My passion for so much really leads to my downfall sometimes...

Anyway, is this post really still going on?? time to close...

If anyone sees spring, Minnesota is really ready for that season any time. Seriously. ~jd

thing 27 - twittering and tweeting...

2009-02-19T21:41:00.006-06:00

i tawt i taw a puddy tat....

at least that's how i feel when the words 'twittering and tweeting' come up in some, *any* kind of conversation...

oh the words in this 2.0 and web crazy world.

i did what i was told and i became a twitterer...(which is something that sounds like it needs a prescription drug for use 2 times a day with food, but whatev.)

oh, and my twitter name is 'cowgirljd'. yet another name. the regular ol' jd was taken. :-{

personally? the status bar on facebook attached to a whole plethora of 'friends at your fingertips with more interesting things to read besides one line' is more my thing.

i hear twitter is addicting like FB, so time will tell.

right now?

it's fun to know one or two folks i know who 'tweet' (sheesh i can't believe that's really a THING!) but for now, i'm going to just see how this goes and say i completed this Thing. which was pretty painless. (the worst part was picking the right profile pic ;) always so hard to choose!)

~jd

maritza's post...

2009-02-19T18:16:00.008-06:00

because she wanted to see and she's the furthest away from those i know that read my blog now and again...and she's a fellow runner girl...her bloggage is here...she knows allycat, one of my best friends and totally sporty spice :)

so, here you go miss maritza :) (some day i hope to meet you!)

this is my latest ink.

(yes, dad, i really did that. yes, it's right there for everyone to see. somehow i think the family might think this is a little *too* forward and i await the phone to ring with some kind of commentary...and yes, i am 35 years old, but parents are still parents with opinions they'll share...)

it's to get me through, well, life, but also? my first marathon....

june 20.

i registered this week.

so in all of the miles that i'll start hammering out on the 28th (yes the 16 week training program starts one week and one day from now...) i can look at my teammates, friends, and my own wrist, and do just what it says while trying to not lose my sanity or self worth.

this week, i also got the crud (cough cough cough) and i will blame the constant use of public computers for this. :(

but despite that, here i sit tonight singin' along (loudly and a little raspily) to this:

a country classic girl.. who died too young. but had a great great set of pipes...and good lyrics (with a really young willie helpin her with a few good lyrics...) i sang some patsy at karaoke last week, so i felt like some more tonight while mark is at rehearsal.

i'm tired, sad and wanting to be better...

time for some dinner, chores and a little bit of Things for the workland...

updates on life...

2009-02-15T19:02:00.008-06:00

*valentine's day? is over.
record night at the wine bar. 98 folks served. most ever in 9 years of business. let's hope that's a sign for some kind of stimulus kicking in...and mark and i, while not getting an actual night together, exchanged humorous valentine cards. and humor is a huge thing to me. it helps make life, well, duh, better.

*life at the new waitress job is good. still not 100% comfortable, but with 1 shift a week, it's just going to take time....it's this place...

this was their policy on valentine's day,

valentine's day
We're looking forward to serving you and your lovey-dove!

Regular Hours, Regular Menu, Regular Kick Ass Specials, Regular Sweet-n-Surly Service you've come to know and love.

ADDITIONALLY: Super Special Optional Four Course Menu for $30.00 per person. Add on the Optional Wine Pairing for $15.00 additional per person

As always, we level the playing field for you with NO RESERVATIONS. But, as always, if you can't fly without a rezzie, call ahead to take advantage of our Wait List! It's just like waiting in line on the cold sidewalk, 'cept you're snuggling your lovey-dove in some cozy place until your recommended arrival time.

btw. and i love my bosses (the owners, which is how i hooked up into the new gig). it might be obvious to some of you as to why we get along so well....our styles? are very very similar :) (and on a side note, there was a work party a week ago where a karaoke machine was rented. i took 2nd place in the singin' contest. and for the new girl? i'm happy with that! i *do* love to sing..it was actually my first real outing on singin' in public like that...

*marathon training starts in less than 2 weeks. mentally? i'm still now 100% down with that i can or want to run 5 hours. but i'm going to. with the best women on earth...

*a few short jaunts coming up. one very soon with one of my best friends on earth besides my husband...

*there's 2 new marathons coming to the twin cities, both in may. one falls in line with training. this one:

so i'll run the half there as my last big dance before the BIG dance on june 20th.

the other big event is the inaugural minneapolis marathon (which falls during a duluth retreat to 'practice' 22 miles of running)...

*my library is moving in april. my dept (kids) is moving apr 9-10. this? is my main event. and it thankfully lands a week *after* i get back from DC to a) see Gail and b) run a coolass 10 mile race that filled in 3 hours. (12,000 runners...)

*mark just made me home-made chicken & dumplings for dinner. yum. yum. yum. i do love and appreciate my husband has amazing culinary skills...

*i got yet one more tattoo recently....and with that, i'll close out. it's time to watch a few movies...

~Jen

thing 26...Ning...

2009-02-15T18:10:00.003-06:00

more work stuff....

(to the family/friends outside of this Things project:
i *will* blog about normal life...but i need to do this work project for the next few months, so please bear with me...)

back to the post...

i did sign up for ning.

i had in the earlier 23 Things, but my membership must have expired as i couldn't find myself...

grudgingly, i re-signed up. in all honesty, with email, blogging, & facebook, i really don't see using ning very much, but maybe that'll change. i think i said that about blogging & facebook at one time ;)

it seems like ning is trying to be Facebook.

or was ning first?

i added a friend.

i uploaded a photo.

i replied to some posts.

and i still like facebook first and foremost.

am i missing the point? am i just in the facebook haze?

maybe...we'll see how this goes over time...

thing 25...aka overstimulating your blog...

2009-02-13T11:11:00.012-06:00

so i've tried and added a few test things for this Thing...(and it took a solid amount of time to get through this Thing....woof.)

i believe in some amount of simplicity and i don't want my blog to be an overstimulating mess of icons, links, polls, games, sounds, flashes, etc. so that being said, i added only a couple of extra things that weren't previously there...i'll let others go overboard if that's their thing. it's not mine.

first, i'm not into my blog 'talking' so i perused those options, but chose not to add them...

second, i went with Outbrain as a trial. i like the star rating a little bit better than the ClickComments icons.

personally, my blog to me is meant to be individual. if people like what they read, i'd assume they'd comment. i don't really think i believe in folks 'grading' me on what i say. but i'll leave this up here for a bit and see what happens. i'm not real big on the 'suggested' readings. so far they don't really seem to have much to do with my topics...

for the mapping option, for now i'm testing out both
(where's the E?? sorry, i tend to like things spelled out. i'm not a huge proponent of shorthand) and

gVisit
(all hail google products!!)

i appreciated the links to the free use photos....(do i pull stuff off the web 'unofficially' often? yes. will i not do that as much any more? yes.)
i used to have a Flickr slideshow on my blog....it's out of date now, and i'm maxed out at Flickr's 200 free uploads unless you join for $$. someday in my free time i'll delete the old stuff and upload new. except, quite honestly, posting jpgs either right into here, or onto facebook is way easier...
speaking of the proverbial , i have wasted enough time, on that site for friendliness and social networking, so while i'm sure the recommended 'friend' sites are worthwhile, i didn't spend oodles of time on them.
and with that this post at .

more things on a stick...thing 24

2009-02-12T13:33:00.007-06:00

yep, the avatar is back.

we're encouraged to learn more things for workland.

time is tight lately, only to get tighter.

3 jobs.

marathon training.

and moving an entire 20,000 square foot library 2 miles away. (okay not that i'm going to do that all myself of course...but still...it means much time *away* from the computer and much *more* time with a tape gun and boxes in hand!)

so let's learn more stuff!

because being a librarian is all about life long learning...

and apparently messing around online :)

i mean if we hadn't done the first 23 things, i would know nothing about blogging or facebook.

both addictions of mine since the original things started...so in answer to the suggested blog prompt 'have you blogged since the 23 Things finished?'

um. yes. see the plethora of posts in this girls archive.

so like i *need* anything else to do online, i know...but i'm kind of a task driven girl as well...so off we go into the next set of stick things...

happy trails,
~jd

night teachings...

2009-02-09T12:52:00.004-06:00

tonight is blog class. hello bloggers!

tomorrow night is facebook 101.

all library classes can be found here.

they're free and they're offered at all branches throughout the year.

any questions? feel free to call 651-628-6803 and we'll be happy to assist :)

fading fast....

2009-02-02T19:54:00.013-06:00

a lot of things.

my tan (or a little pinkness is more like it for this girl)...

the warmth i felt in hawaii. vs here in the minnesota cold...

but mostly my awakeness....i'm dropping pretty quick. i landed at 5:15 this morning and have slept about 2 hours total in the past 24 hours. so bed time calls damn soon...

dad is supposed to email me a few more pics from race day on his camera, but dad doesn't read facebook like the rest of the friends, so here's the blog entry about the trip.

Gram was great! She's sharp as a tack for almost 80, and in great health. Very awesome!

the trip was wonderful...warm, sunny (except for 2 days of hearing and smelling rain that was actually quite welcome) and i recharged all of the right auras and batteries i needed to.

so time for some pics. i have no idea if or when i'll be able to go back, so i do count my blessings i was able to experience the past 10 days with both Gram (and dad).

oh, and a few race details for my runnin' folk...

i figured i'd run the half in just about 2.5 hours.

my finish time? 2:28. i know myself pretty dang well...

i also met a fellow twin citian on my flights over and he finished in a great marathon time even garnering an award in his age group! but to have anyone from my hometown practically end up in a race 4000 miles away? kinda cool...it's a small small world...

Gram asked if I'd wear a special chain in my race that Grandpa always wore til the end of his life 4 years ago, and of course i didn't say no.

So Gramps ran a half marathon with me. something i know he never did ;)

after the race on the 25th, we got to see much of the island...
*the road to hana

*paia and makawao (2 very cool towns upcountry)

*big & little beaches near makena
*maui oceanfront aquarium
*lahaina
*ioa valley state park

*waianapanapa state park

*lots of beach time near the condo and humpback whales on a daily basis in the bay viewable from the balcony of condo-sweet-condo

mahalo dad, for coming over for my race, and for taking some pictures too! so now, here's my feets walking into the sunset of this post...

off i go...

2009-01-22T06:02:00.005-06:00

to the wild warm blue yonder of hawaii...

most of my time will be spent lounging on the beaches near maalaea bay on the southern shore of maui.

near this pool:

by these whales...

no idea what the internet will be like or where (not taking the laptop...too much responsibility and it's just another thing to carry with. plus mark needs it at home..)

so i'll blog when i can, briefly, if it's not really all that nearby, and let everyone know of the adventures with gram mcgowan and what we do or i go off and do on my own. not sure really what's in store for this trip except some good home cooked meals (gram has always cooked well!) and my race on sunday the 25th. once i get that 13.1 miles done, then it's *really* time to relax!

for now, i have a few things left to do here at home, then it's time to get on the plane for the 4000 mile ride to honolulu. i have lots of movies with me (taking the portable dvd player) and books and knitting and magazines and an iPod with podcasts. hopefully that will keep me well entertained :)

so stay warm to those in the cold, stay cool to those in the warmth, and we'll chat on the other side...
~Jen

common ground...

2009-01-17T23:54:00.018-06:00

so here's the thing.

runners.

if you are one, you get it.

if you aren't. cool. no problem.
(i won't think any less of you if you don't want to ever run.)

runners all start at the same place.

square one.

(like on pathfinder on the price is right. i love that show. i would love to be a contestant)

you start at the beginning.

and work your way up. step by step. literally. (like duana likes to say :)

if you go the wrong way, or something bad happens (injury, set backs, etc) you pause. stop. heal.

and keep going when you can.

heck, this is a general life principle, right?

everyone who runs has to earn the place they work up to.

every step builds onto the next. all of the blood, sweat & tears. (and those 3 are all part of running...)

sure some folks are more adept at things like athletics. just like some are gifted singers, painters, scientists, librarians :), etc.

but almost anyone who runs starts, literally, at step one. and at so many ages. and from so many backgrounds.

heavy. slim. old. young. disabled. you name it, there is that kind of runner out there. i've witnessed it all at every race i've been to or ran.

seriously. to see an 70+ year old person finish a *marathon*?? or the dad pushing his disabled adult son for miles and miles race after race? i have absolutely no reason not to register and run my first 26.2 this year...

and we runners are all just 'average' folks for the most part.

if we weren't, running wouldn't be exploding in numbers like it has been the past 10 years.

those who do run, in any capacity, really understand each other. we relate to each other. we can strike up completely random conversations at a race without a hitch. we can talk about PR's and what GU we like, and hitting the wall, and 'what model of asics do you have?', or 'is there a medal to that race?' and the list goes on.. and getting that high of loving to talk about your passion with those who also share in it is just plain enjoyable...

when i first started running it took me a solid year almost to feel like i wasn't faking it to be considered part of the 'club' of those who ran.

now i'm proud of it and feel like such a different person than 3 years ago.

the things it's done for me physcially are secondary.

and contrary to popular belief, i DO EAT. i do eat 'bad' things now and then. i also am lucky to have tall thin genes in my family...but i get the 'go eat something!' line a lot....grrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

and on that note, it's amazing to me sometimes how folks will say things like 'who's chasing you??' when they hear i run.

yeah, it can be funny, i know they're kidding. but in a sense, there *is* a stigma by non-runners to judge those who run races. i really don't get why. i know that some folks are totally passionate about some things that are not my thing. but more power to them to love something they do...

on the other hand i have that camp of folks who are like 'you go girl! run like the wind! me? i'll sit back and have a frosty cold one, but you go!'

and i'm happy to have those supporters too...seriously. i think of those folks during my races often! support is SO big in this sport...

i've been corresponding on a fun social level lately with leah. found her on facebook :) (that facebook...it's amazing!) leah was part of a major documentary on marathoning. (she's 2nd from the right here with a bunch of other cool peeps from the movie)

and it's been so very cool! to know that i can just talk and support someone in chicago, who i've never met, in a way that she and i and so many others understand. and i *love* that! i hope i can meet leah in person some day...and thank her for being so inspirational ~ this 2 hour film seriously *did* change me and made me believe...

i run for me.

i run for my friends.

i run *with* my other friends.

i run for so many reasons. everyone who runs does.

it's a feeling that NO ONE can understand unless they try the sport, and become hooked like so many of us who take part have.

it takes time.

it takes dedication.

it takes discipline.

and quite honestly it takes a solid 6 months, to me, to even scratch the surface of 'what am i doing?? why the heck would i want to freeze my arss off on a 10 degree morning at 7:30am to go run outside??'

but the end result?

it feels *phenomenal* when you realize what you are capable of.

a pride you can't describe. and to meet folks along the way that become family, soul mates in all kinds of senses, well, who on earth wouldn't want that?

now if i can just get folks to stop asking about why i don't have kids....

sigh. thanks for reading. enjoy whatever it is that is your passion and do with no holds barred. it's the best thing...

(steps down off the soapbox)

getting it done...

2009-01-09T08:01:00.005-06:00

so in 2 weeks, i'll be here.

and i'm not blogging this to rub in that i'm going somewhere warm & sandy. scout's honor!
i wish i could find someone(s) else to go with me! much as it'll be great to visit with Gram, i really would love to hike and adventure a bit with folks 'my age' too :( so i'm honestly not quite sure what i'll do there a lot of the time, but i plan to find somethin'! (as i don't sit still too swell)

in the course of staying on maui, i'll run some. surprise surprise, i know. but it's pretty cool to me to be able to collect running medals from all over the place if the opportunity is there :) kinda like my camping friend Kelly & her kids trying to camp in all 50 states..and they've been to more than half at this point I believe!

so the first maui oceanfront marathon & half marathon runs on january 25.

i'm not exactly ready. my longest run to date in the past 3 weeks is 7 miles.

i am running 10 miles tomorrow morning, and 10 the saturday after that.

and then it's game time.

so to get me through 13.1 miles all by my lonesome (I'm pretty sure Gram won't be at the race...can't imagine she wants to go) i have created a list of 13 people who mean a ton to me and i am dedicating each mile of the race to those individuals. some are my runners. some are family. some are other vip's in my life. so i am glad that i can dedicate one mile at a time through a whole race to those peeps...

how i'm going to remember who is what mile i haven't figured out yet. i am going to take my camera on the run just cuz, so maybe i'll tape a little list to that or write the names on my arm :) that would work too...

other than that, still waiting for libraryland big wigs to get the lease all signed for our temporary space. we hope to close up april 1 and reopen may 1 in the new spot for just over a year. our main building is going up and out a bit and we'll be big and brighter and shinier and better. but there will be a lot of growing pains in the middle i anticipate. but it will never be boring, which is always good.

so off i go now...i'm behind in a few things to start my day off. stay warm to those in the cold and put on your sunscreen to those in the warmth....~jd

what i did in 2008...

2009-01-01T19:01:00.011-06:00

(outside of workin' many hours and traveling unrelated to running...)

i ran like i didn't know i could.

in my first 'real' season as part of a running team, i earned 5 medals (there are 6 in the picture...one was for dragon boat paddling, 2nd place! and hey it's still a race, and still a medal :)

i ran in 12 races. from 5K to my first, second and third half marathons.

with a dozen amazing women on my team.

i just unearthed my pile of race bibs tonight and was curious how many races i had run since i picked this sport up in january 2006.

overall i've run 23 races total in my career so far.

11 of those were in 2006 and 2007 *combined*.

clearly 2008 was it's own creature and boy did i find a calling...without even realizing how i'd take to the sport. i never knew i had it in me.

so in 2009. my first big race is january 25th, on the island of maui.

then in april i go to DC to a) see my best friend gail & family and b) to run a 10 mile race.

and as i've declared, and sat down with the coach and the CJ at breakfast today to plan it all out, i will be a marathoner as of june.

and i started an official tally of how many miles i run this entire year. something i've never really kept track of.

today was 7 and it was one of my best workouts, especially alone, EVER.

the next posting will return to the regularly scheduled program sans running....

work has a major upcoming change happenin. it's going to be a very interesting next 14 months in library land...

happy new year to everyone near and far! ~jd

happy holidays and safe travels...

2008-12-25T20:03:00.005-06:00

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...

2008-12-20T19:20:00.002-06:00

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...

2008-12-15T09:03:00.004-06:00

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...

2008-12-13T15:35:00.005-06:00

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....

2008-12-12T15:59:00.004-06:00

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...

2008-12-08T23:12:00.010-06:00

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.

2008-12-04T20:56:00.007-06:00

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.

2008-11-30T21:17:00.010-06:00

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...

2008-11-23T08:39:00.005-06:00

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...

2008-11-16T22:25:00.004-06:00

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...

2008-11-09T13:02:00.004-06:00

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...

2008-11-04T23:00:00.006-06:00

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

2008-11-03T22:28:00.012-06:00

(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...

2008-10-29T22:11:00.007-05:00

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....

2008-10-25T21:50:00.006-05:00

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....

2008-10-19T17:12:00.005-05:00

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