Christmas Cheer

So I didn't realize it has been since August that I last posted a blog, and that one was lame. I guess part of the reason I am writing now explains my absence.


The best I can do right now is just start, and the best thing I have to say is... Have you ever felt like you are working so hard at doing everything "right" and yet nothing comes out "right"?
I am currently in a self-pity state of mind, and as a result so frustrated with my life. The BF and I just had a long drawn out conversation that ended with me in tears over my lack of satisfaction with career/job. Call me crazy, but I feel cheated and I have never let these emotions come out before now but I will try to organize them as best as possible.
I worked really hard to get my master's degree. I was always in class, did my homework way more diligently than as an undergrad (which means I did it, not hard to out do my undergrad self), I made some great friends and connections, and really felt passionate about the subject matter. Everyone said that would happen with an advanced degree, your classes are more specialized so you feel more connected and therefore generally like school more. I was, and am, proud of what I accomoplished.
BUT
It seems all for nought. I spent almost an entire year substitute teaching, and for those of you who have never done it even the long term stuff is thankless. You are not a real employee and everyone knows it; other teachers, parents, and students. Most importantly you know it. After a while your pay comes at a day rate of a teacher however that does not include any benefits, benefits of respect from your fellows, health benefits, and the benefit of knowing you have a job at the end of the year (or the chance to keep the one you have). Sure you could look through the lens of you gain experience, meet lots of people, and get an "in" with a school system but that would totally ruin my current mood.
Now I am 18 months out from graduation and am working part time for an hourly wage in an elementary afterschool program. I quite like the program I work for, and it is the kind of program I would put my kids in if I had any, however it does not meet my standard for what I thought I was going to be doing at this point in life. Again, I could look at all the things I am learning; patience, active listening, extra empahsis on preparation and over planning... but all of those are things I am figuring out on the job. In this case it is not the job I want, and trained for, or am willing to settle for long term and it frustrated me that I am not learning those things in a position that they would have more relevance and impact on my career not just my job.
So I find myself answering the question, why are you doing this? Primarily, I am thankful to have a job. I bring home a paycheck (although it may only be a portion of the paycheck I deserve, it is what I signed up for). I am thankful that the kids I work with are so challenging, fun, and wonderful, if they did not challenge me and make me think every day I would not care as much. I am thankful for my surroundings and the love and support I get from family that encourage me to learn from this job and move forward when the time is right. I guess I am doing this job for all those reasons, and the big one that there are not options in my field at this time. I look, and apply but this seems to be getting the best of me right now.

So what is my major malfunction tonight, why the frantic tizzy? Well, to put if frankly I am selfish in a very non-traditional way. The BF always knows just what to gift people (read me) to make them feel special. I know I am not hard to buy for and that my wants are more like not really on the need list, but on the lifestyle needs list. Things like new running shoes, not really a need, but if I am going to keep running (lifestyle choice) they qualify. For Christmas, he really wants a baseball card that I can't afford to buy him. It is all he has talked about wanting, and I am frustrated. Let me start with I would love for him to want something I could actually pick out on my own but that is not how he rolls. He mentioned a longsleeved shirt, but I would never pretend to be able to pick something like that out for him. I would challenge him with something he would never wear and that makes the whole purchase pointless. I am back to the card I can't afford. I mentioned to him a NFL game. His NFL team vs. the quaterback that led his college team to a BCS Champoinship play Christmas eve and I would love to go see the game. I thought it would be great fun, drive down that morning and back after the game but not a chance, no excitement or enthusiasm about the idea which deflated me quite a bit. He wants it to be a whole weekend, drive down, spend the night, go to the game and buy stuff there... I was counting tickets, food, and gas. Again, I can't afford the whole package on my part time wage.
So I here I am, frustrated with myself. And over what? A Christmas gift. I have never been a good gifter. I was the youngest in my family and Mom gave us money on Thanskgiving to buy our own gifts. I never had to think about what I wanted and ask for them and then wait and hope. I am used to having socks and underwear wrapped under the tree and an orange and chap-stik in my stocking. You get excited over anything when that it the bar that has been set. Maybe I should find some terrible tie and give it to him, like my mom. Maybe if I did that he would be happy with anything the next year. Course I would not know, she has given him a tie every year of our relationship so I am not sure that plan would work, but at least he would laugh with me and not at me later. At least I come by my gifting abilities honestly!
My problem is two fold, first I can't afford what The BF really wants (whether I understand why a grown man needs another basebal card or not) and second I am terrible at gifting so I can literally think of nothing else to get him that will impact him the same way as the boring obvious.

PS I have a friend who posted something interesting on facebook. It was a part of a much larger message, but the part I remember was something to the effect of why are you so concerned about what you are getting for Christmas, it is not your birthday. I really like that, problem is I am more concerned about what I am able to give.

Semantics

Semantics-A stupid part of the english language in which people actually argue the meaning of words. As if I want to argue with you about what the damn word means to you. Go fuck yourselves you self absorbed bastards. (urban dictionary)

Is it all in what you say, or is it all in how you say it? Could it be a combination or the two, or should we argue how to intrepret meanings of things?
Text messages are often taken the wrong way, "maybe if you could see my face when I typed that you would know I was laughing" are words often spoken as damage control between friends. We have all had situations of word intrepretation that have gotten us into trouble, maybe even less obvious than not reading sarcasm in a text.
So despite urban dictionay's definition calling semantics stupid I would like to look at the word dealbreaker, I think it deserves a closer look at ways the word can and should be used.

Dealbreaker-

A deal breaker is ‘the catch’ that a particular individual cannot overlook and ultimately outweighs any redeeming quality the individual may possess. (urban dictionary) To begin, I used Urban Dictionary definitions to offer the meaning that is used in conversation not the original/official definition. Often when people argue semantics a quick check to urbandictionary could easily solve the disagreement. Anyway. Dealbreakers are a good concept, there is something about what is going on that you just refuse to give a second chance. The word is often used in relation to well relationships after Liz Lemon popularized the word on 30 Rock. He is bald, dealbreaker. He lives at home with his mom, dealbreaker. She is a single mom, dealbreaker. You get the idea. Again, this sounds like an easy way to narrow your options, preventing you from spending time in relationships that have no future (I am guessing that you have so many people lined up that you need to remove people before giving them a chance). The second part of the definition is often overlooked as a result of the "dealbreaker," often these people have real redeeming qualities. The word has gained new momentum into our daily lives recently and I personally hate the concept. Where I come from (actually I don't think this matters, but it sounds good) we call this close minded. You would seriously turn down a date with a bald person based on the number of hairs on his/her head? The redeeming qualities of that person may make you so happy and in love that you forget all about the hair. Or you may fall in love with a fully hairy person to be disappointed later by a gradual balding. Or the ultimate in terrible alternatives, you have a medical condition that takes your hair (some people would say Karma here but again there are semantics that can be argued so I will save Karma for another rant). I do not wish these things on people I just think that by remaining open to all different options you remain open to living life.   I feel this way for 2 reasons, the most obvious is if I had created a set of "dealbreakers" for my potential spouse I would be in a very different place. I always thought I knew what I wanted, but remained open to available options. Not only would I not be with the person I am with, smoker would have been a dealbreaker, I would not be the person I have become as a result of meeting and learning about so many different people and the circumstances they have overcome resulting in their personal story. The second reason is more political than personal. I think that dealbreakers are ruining the way we think about government and compromise. Like I said earlier I equate this to close mindedness but before I begin to explain what I mean I want to say this is neither a Democrat or Republican problem, it is a problem with how we intrepret the word, its semantics.   With dealbreakers holding hostage any real conversations in Washington, the American legislative process suffers. I realize that there are a few people who really support every dealbreaker that the representatives of the people have to stick to, but here is the problem with leading the legislature by rules of dealbreakers: nothing gets accomplished. And not only that, I think I would be ok if there were serious conversations and debates that resulted in the deal being broken by an issue that came up and was seriously debated but broke the deal. The problem now is all a group has to say is that a certain issue is off the table for debate and debate does not even take place. I feel the same way about threatning to filibuster: DO IT! If something really is so terrible that voters would be appaled by them, debate your point to your peers, explain it in a proper debate where your opponent has the opportunity to offer a rebuttal. This opens you to the idea of compromise. (WHAT? compromise?) I have devised a quiz like the ones girls used to take in the magazines to determine if they really were with the right boy, or if they should wear lipstick to let you know where you stand on the issue of dealbreakers. I have made it easy just one question with a lead up story. You are house hunting with your spouse and you really have your eyes set on a very small nieghborhood. You know some of the people who live there are really like the schools for your kids. School starts in 3 weeks so you really need a move-in ready house and a fast closing. The only house for sale in the neighborhood is on a small lot and it is the furthest house from the people you know. The agent tells you the seller is very motivated and would be willing to close quickly as they already moved into a new home and are anxious to get rid of this mortgage. You go in and house is beautiful, all of the space you could possibly need for the kids plus a huge walk-out basement with a surprisingly large area for the backyard. The kitchen if perfect, bathrooms updated, bedrooms just the right size (you get the idea here). You do a walk around and notice a crack in the foundation. The question is what do you do now: A) Dealbreaker. You will not purchase a house with a crack in the foundation. You will not have a house at all in 3 weeks if necessary to keep from having a house with a crack in the foundation. B) Offer pending. You will not purchase a house with a crack in the foundation. You ask the agent if the sellers are motivated enough to have the crack fixed. If they are, and the rest of the inspection is satisfactory you are willing to make an offer. The offer includes that the crack must be fixed and the sell is pending a professional inspection for other problems. If problems come up you and the seller will have to discuss either a reduction in the offer price since the closing date can't be moved. C) Offer NOW! We love the house and I am sure that the crack can be fixed at some point, right? We like the nieghborhood and if the seller is willing to close even if it is a week after school starts we want this neighborhood and this is the only house so we will take it. In this situation you could say dealbreaker, noone wants to buy a house even if it is their dream house with a crack in the foundation (imagery there, that can be applied anywhere) but if you are unwilling to compromise a little time to get everything else you want you lose. I do not understand being so resolute in getting everything you want that you leave almost everything you want on the table with a willing to compromise seller. People selling houses usually want out, and would willingly pay or compensate a buyer for this kind of repair. Apply this to Washington, if you are so resolute on getting everything you want that you are unwilling to even ask what someone else is willing to give NEWSFLASH: everyone loses. I don't care if you think a group will get mad that you went in to a debate and had to give a little on the crack, they will be living in a house they love when move in time comes. The alternative is being homeless. rant done.

Everyday for almost a year

Thanks to a good idea from a friend of mine I have (almost) decided to try and take a picture every day for a year. My friend is doing random things that she sees or does every day. My idea is to take a picture off the deck at sunset or very close to sunset. I have really enjoyed the view and sitting out and having a glass of wine while the sun goes down. This is the time of day that The BF and I really get to talk about things and what is going on in the coming day.

There are a few problem with my idea: one is my camera broke on tornado day, so that makes picture taking kind of hard. Next I am planning on going out of town for a week this weekend, also complicating my ability to take a picture off he deck. My final problem is that we are only going to be here through the middle of June next year, but like the title says almost a year!
I do have a solution that I hope solves both: I will find a pawn shop on my way to the beach and purchase a camera and then take pictures of sunset there to get ready... We will see.

Just as a starter image. This one was taken from The BF's phone on June 17th!

June continued...

Free Wheel: So this year, as you may have realized, I have given myself the freedom to just go for things. I had always been to afraid to start running and go for a half marathon, but I did it. I have never known what to expect from my 30th birthday, but I took it with grace. There are lots of things that we want to do but talk ourseves out of for many reasons: fear of the unknown anybody? Free Wheel is no so much unknown to me, my dad rode many times when I was growing up. I even rode half of Free Wheel the year after 11th grade and I loved it. So when I think what possessed me to do it this year, I don't know but I will tell the whole story.
Sometimes we all have a little free time, and we notice on one of our friends facebook page something that interests us either a person we know (knew in a previous life), a place we think is neat, ok lets face it most of the time we facebook stalk people for their gossip and pictures. One evening I was facebook stalking and came across and friend's dad, who I have known forever. I looked at his info and there it was, he likes Oklahoma Free Wheel. So like any good facebook stalker I clicked on it, liked it, and started reading the posts. It so happened that I chose the perfect moment to do so, the route for 2011 had been posted literally seconds before. I look at the route, and what do I see Checotah- on Tuesday night. What? WHat? WHAT? How exciting! Free Wheel is stopping in my home town. I do what any good daughter would do and call my dad all excited, "did you know Free Wheel is stopping in Checotah? Isn't that exciting? Are we going to do it this year?" I said before I knew what had come out of my mouth. Dad may have been a little overwhelmed with me and this exhuberance. "Sure we are, have you been riding?" "No, but I have bene running, and after that I will ride some and we will be ready, no problems Dad we got this!"
And that my readers is how you wind up on a weeklong bike ride, from Texas (or at least 20 miles from Texas) to Kansas, in the middle of June, with a bicycle, tent, and a change of clothes. I would not change a moment of this experience for the riches I will never have.
Through all the rational thinking we were doing Dad and I convinced ourselves and then my brother that this would be the greatest fun for my 7 year old nephew. How that occurred I will never know (it was back and forth, touch and go for a while) but we went to get Jenson Friday afternoon and began the journey. I wish my camera had not crapped out on me but I will do my best with what I have.
We left Saturday for Durant where we were staying for the first night. On the SOSU campus, just happens to be the school Jensons parents we to. And we slept in the shadow of their old dorm building. One of the rules for the game for him was that he would help put up his tent, keep track of all his bike riding gear (helmet, sunglasses, shorts, bottles...) Jenson was not sold on the benifit of the padded shorts or in 7 year old terms "the Diaper" and I think he felt a little silly wearing shorts that were supposed to be tight and just drooped off his skinny body.
Morning one we went to breakfast Jenson and I still in pajamas to discover that all the other riders were already wearing "the Diaper". Since we had Jenson with us we decided to bring a car and see how the riding would go for Dad and Jenson on a tandem. They had not really had much chance to practice or ride together so it was going to be 10 miles at a time. The parts they rode I would drive and vice versa, and we were not out here alone. The friends dad who directed me to the Free Wheel facebook page was with us as well as 10 or so other people. We were in great company in our little group so if anyone needed a ride we were there to help.
So I met the group at the first rest stop of the whole ride, Jenson jumped off the back of the bike with the biggest smile a 7 year old can make! He kept telling me he had ridden the tandem for 11 miles and it was fun. And he saw all kinds of dead animals, and people keep telling him how cool it is that he is riding on Free Wheel. Can we say ego boost? Wow!
This rest stop he met a man named Mike who told him that his principal from school was here on a bike too. This was very confusing for Jenson, as you know teachers and principals live at school and are only there to give homework and punish little children. During the summer they sit around the school and think up new ways to torture students. He was still a little shy about talking to new people and not so sure about the videographer when she asked him questions about riding and how much fun it was. Later when Dad saw the video and Jenson in it twice it was an immediate purchase, Apa Sir was SO proud!
The riding was fun and camping at least as fun. The first night Jenson wanted to ride his bike some more so I tried out the tandem with him, I am not quite tall enough for that kind of machine. Writing about it takes away from the beauty of simplicity: wake up (early!), dress in the Diaper, pack, take down tent, put bags on trailer, get on bike and ride stopping every 10ish miles for more water and snacks, get to next town, put up tent, shower, sit until dark, sleep, repeat. This very simple concept leaves out such vital parts of my normal day here (including facebook) and if it were not for Jenson I would have left my phone off the whole time. We visited with good friends, swam in local pools and lakes, occasionally visited local hot spots and museums, and watched Jenson learn to take responsibility for himself.
On the Monday night I was tired and had not showered after swimming in the pool when Jenson started wanting dinner. In this particular town they set up a pavilion with food and drinks in the camping area and there were people walking that way. I asked him if he wanted to go and gave him $5 to get dinner with. I know this sounds silly but he got himself a hot dog, gatorade and his change all by himself (with a little help I am sure, thank you Thomas and Cindy) but still a very big deal.
Wednesday morning the three of us got to ride together, a friend drove our car (again thank you CIndy) so that we could spend a little family time before Jenson headed home. I am really glad that I did not have to witness that all along, Jenson is still just a little small for the bike and therefore spent most of his time turned around looking at things with his hands and feet all over the place. He stayed safe and had the best time doing it so what do I know!

Here are the 3 of us enjoying a shady spot atop a hill.
I assure you I am only on the phone to get Jenson's ride home figured out!

After Jenson went home Dad and I relaxed just a little more. It was really fun having him along and he did a great job of taking care of himself but no matter how much he is able to do on his own he still is seven.

Visiting the Route 66 Museum (they had a/c!)

I guess my favorite parts of Free Wheel are different, but somehow to me they are the same. Getting to disconnect from everything going on (can anyone say Casey who? What trial?) including facebook and therefore really getting to connect with my dad. Riding your bike for 50 miles a day through the back roads of Oklahoma gives you time to talk about a lot of stuff and just reflect on life. Dad is so good at absorbing input before making a decision that I often like to run ideas past him just to see what his reaction will be. We had lots of good talks and time to be quiet as well.
For anyone looking for the best Father's Day gift ever I highly recommend this. I realize that it ends the day before Father's Day, but what would be a better gift than a week of open views and open ends for where the bike will take you?

In this case it took us to Caldwell, KS
This is the crew we were with most of the time! Thanks Jennifer for the pic!!

Shade was a priority and this little shady spot was hard to leave!

I admit that I am crazy and decided to attend a wedding reception that evening, and I would not have done this for just anyone. BUT when your friend is having a wedding reception less than 2 hours from your current location, and you both live at least 8 hours from said spot you have to go!
Honestly who can say no to this?

Thanks Mom for coming to pick me up and for driving for this evening!
I enjoyed our time together too!!

If I were smart I would have said no to something that night, my quads were screaming all night to stop dancing. They are still a little upset at me when I climb stairs they sent a little reminder of the day I rode 40 miles on a bike, sat in a car for 2 hours, then danced for 2 hours.
The real fun began when I had to make the trek to my new home, now it is not a 10 hour drive it is 14!! And I got to make that with both dogs and a car full of stuff (quads were not happy to have to sit still that long) we made lots of stops and tried to stay awake. Luckily I arrived in time to spend about an hour with The BF while he was still in his 30's and then got ready to plan what I could possibly do for his birthday in a town I have been in for less than 12 hours! I think he liked the non-party of the whole day. Next year I am going to have to be sneaky and have a 41st birthday party... surprise!! Hopefully next June will not be as insane as this year!

Sometimes I like to list things, hey that is how this blog got started! Accomplishments in June 2011
Packing house/move (this is way more involved than can be expressed in words)
The BF starts new job!!
The BF turns 40
Ride FreeWheel 2011 with Dad and Jenson
Unpack things in new house
Return to B-ham for weekend of cleaning (realize that move was best thing to happen for us)

Hopefully July and on continues to have great things in store for us!!

What a month...

All of June I was out of blogger commission and here I am July 4th and just getting around to telling my reader about what I have done. I will try and do this in an organized way with topics in bold and colorful out to the side, consider each one a different post just combined for ease on writing and not repeating myself! So to start!!
July 4th: This is my first holiday in Hendersonville ever and it has been amazing! Yesterday we went for a walk and explored a lot of the area that is a little off the beaten path. There is a big old hotel that sits on top of the hill looming over all things that occur on the lake. Unfortunately the hotel is in foreclosure or something that keeps it closed. When we got back we started herb shopping so I could plant my garden in the backyard. I took a little break to swim in the lake before getting dirty!! Then movie watching to lead us to the big finale. The BF and I then sat out on the deck and watched our nieghbors set off fireworks. Thank goodness for neighbors who have the desire to start little fires, I like the pretty boom and surprisingly so did Cricket.
As great as this day was it make me think of 4th's of the past and what a ton of memories are tied up in this happy day. My earliest memories are of Mom giving each of us $10 for firework money. We were responsible for choosing what we wanted and budgeting how to spend. Then the evening we would set off the pretty night ones and take turns with the punk! I personally loved sparklers and I remember mom always made me stick the hot end into the ground so we would not start a fire.
As we got older the boys got to cool for setting off the little cones and fountains, and I started spending time in Texas with my Great Aunt Jane and her daughter Beth's family. This is where most of my 4th of July memories come from. We would play in the pool all day, Aunt Jane would cook brisket, and then walk over to Paschall Park in Mesquite, TX for the fireworks show. They would have the all day carnival and music (the Dixie Chicks played one year) and vendors all over. It was so much fun. These memories are the best!!
As I got older and in college I didn't go to Texas as often to visit family so I started spending the 4th out on Lake Eufaula with friends. Well those were some crazy times, that might be all I remember about those summers.
Then we have 2003. This year for my family saw the end of a generation. I don't know if it is better to lose a generation in a year, or have them all spread out over time so you spend time greiving over and over. Anyway, in 2003 holiday's took on a whole new meaning. It seemed like no matter what holiday someone was going to die. The Fourth of July did not escape the 2003 curse, but I will always remember and honor Aunt Jane of the 4th of July. Every firework that goes off reminds me of Aunt Jane. I guess Katy Perry is right about fireworks, who knew!

Moving:I guess I should use a dreary color for moving due to the way it makes me feel, but I choose to be happy and at least try to make this fun! For those of you who have never moved with a significant other, how should I say this? DON"T DO IT! I really thought I was going to get out of most of the crap, which comes in the next heading, but no I did not get out of this adventure.
First, we tried to have a garage sale of all of our stuff we don't want to move. I had been sort of planning a garage sale for at least a year and getting my stuff piled up and asking The BF to go through his old stuff and get rid of it. I know there are things in his room that he has kept since college that will never fit him again, it is almost like a hoarder but not quite.
So garage sale day comes, and I did convince him to add quite a bit to the party. Mostly it was furniture and other huge items. He did let me finally sell the lawn mower that has been broken for a year now and let me tell you something about a garage sale ad: if you want people to show up put lawn mower in the ad! FOR SALE: Lawn Mower (if you put it, they will come). We were on 2 different pages with the garage sale pricing. My idea was that we do not want this stuff, we do not want to move this stuff, sell it for the price that gets people to take it away fast! The BF comes outside and freaks out that I am giving this stuff away. Note to reader, what we don't sell we are donating. I had to release control on this one, the beginning of my having to release control during this move.
Next, I realize I am leaving town the weekend of the big move out so I have tons of packing and planning to do before I can leave without feeling guilty. I went to the grocery stores, stole boxes fromthe side of the road, combined already packed things to steal those boxes, and I tried to get all of my stuff organized. So we rented a fully furnished house in North Carolina and this meant that we had to get all of our stuff into storage in B-ham, decide which things we need in the house, and I had to pack my car for a weeklong bike ride/wedding reception trip. This was lots of organizing on my part.
Well we spent 5 days toting things to the storage unit and tried to keep it as organized as possible, I knew that this was going to be a disaster once I left, but we could start out on a good foot at least. The thing was even though we were kept busy the boxes that went were mostly mine. I kept trying to get The BF to pack boxes of his stuff and get it moved, but he was on a different schedule than I was so I had to let go of some control (again).
As I have previously blogged we had the tornado damage, and during the garage sale I had to explain over and over about the damage to the house and about the trees that are still down. This is another control issue of mine, a storm comes in and damages stuff but then there is the whole clean-up process. Let me be clear, it is a process. And I could not control any of it. Just living there was actually causing anxiety for me, every day there would be a new tree cut off something, or another huge load of branches moved so that more damage could be seen from the road.
Needless to say at this point the move, and my having to let go of control in so many different places really was not my favorite thing to do. It would put it up there as my least favorite things ever with the year 2003. That just made the disconnection the following week all that much sweeter...

Free Wheel:

New House:

Planning a Summer:

OK I said that I would write about all of these in one sitting, but I changed my mind. This gives me a little time to walk the dogs and let me contacts keep from drying to my eyes from looking so long at this screen. I have to admit another thing, I have been watching some Real Housewives as I have typed and I have finally caught up on the episodes I have recorded so it is outside I go (for now).

Funny Times, Funny Signs

So happy that Blogger came back, but even happier when this unfinished blog was still ready for me to read over and add some pictures! Hooray...
Anyway, I keep forgetting to remember, my favorite part of the 1/2 Marathon was the signs and the people along the way! I wish I could have taken pictures of some of it but I will do my best to re-create the run through the sideshow!

First, as I said before I started with my brother! As we crossed the start line to the left there were tons of people wearing dark gray shirts that said Baker, in orange! I of course knew that they were there to cheer me on specifically, Go BU! I saw them a few times and I actually think someone with the last name Baker was running near me, but it was fun!

Along the first part of the run lots of people had noise makers and were yelling go runners! It had me thinking, were they yelling that specifically at the people running or did the people walking (in my way!) get pleasure from the runner yell? Anyway it was nice to start with people yelling at you!

The first water station I bypassed, but the water people were really excited. One had a serious coach voice and it took me straight back to high school basketball. I think I ran really hard for at least a half mile after he yelled. He was so good I wanted to take him along and just have him yell when I was feeling bored or distracted!
For the first few miles the signs were mostly directed at individual people. One girl spotted the person she had a sign for and started yelling about the time I came up near the curb. I mentioned to her that the sign was upside-down. I mean if you spend the effort to make a specific sign I would at least want someone to tell me I was holding it wrong! She thanked me and went on yelling.
"Run Kelly, we are so proud of you" only it was upside-down, much funnier!
All of this is through downtown, but neighborhoods are when it got fun, well if torture is your idea of fun! These people were just lounging in their front yards with mimosas and martinis nicely stationed on tables in the front yard. I mean if you can't leave your house for a few hours on a Saturday morning why not torture the people who are keeping you locked in?!
One of these houses was not like the others, it looked like an off campus frat house or something very much similar. I hope that gives you an idea, they had a broken window upstairs and the porch was in disrepair. They were drinking cheap beer not the requisite champagne on ice in the silver bucket. Again I hope you get the idea. This house had one of my favorites:
"Brett and Todd stop running and fix our house." stapled to a tree, and written on a box.
At the end of this street, when we turned left there were a few people holding signs pointing right, this was getting toward half way for the 1/2ers and as if we had not just come out of torture central with the mimosas this sign said free beer. (it was pointing the wrong way, but I genuinely think there was beer the other way people were asking serious questions)
Then we went toward a very narrow street and funny signs started popping up everywhere! It was time to get a laugh at the expense of these people who have chosen to run for an entire morning. I guess the spectators knew we did not need encouragement at the point, we were well aware of the crazy nature of what we were doing, we needed humor (or booze).
"It was really early when I got up this morning and made this sign too!"
"I don't do marathons, I do a marathon runner." This was a t-shirt but still made me laugh!
"Chaffe now, care later"
"Feel the chaffe"
"Bill, puke here" Gift bag attached to this one
"Hurry up my legs hurt"
"Should I be worried about what is chasing all you people?" There were a few with different variations of this idea.
"It was hard making this sign too"
"Free High 5s" And lots of people just hanging out willing to high five runners along the way!
 A few of the signs had the priceless theme:
"Race entry- $95
Running Shoes $95
Pride- Priceless" Again there were a few variations on the theme!

There was also a pretty intense hill about this point. I say intense in relation to how many people stopped running right in front of me and killed my hill mojo! This is the only time I have been thankful that my neighborhood is so hilly! The people along this hill were giving us distance to the top and encouragement, and there was another coach voice that caught my attention, as if I were not trying hard enough to get up the hill already!
"This hill is as bad as it seems, accept the suck"
More Chaffe related signs here, I guess they knew the beginning was not the place for chaffe signs!
As I said before the personal signs seemed to be more toward the beginning, but here there were a few lots of "GO MOM, We are proud of you" 
"Run Forrest Run" I think that this was actually a personal sign and just funny coincidence that the most over done running joke was the same as his name!
At the top of this hill was a restaurant trying to attract people to come back later by handing out "free beer". There were lots of people drinking it too (I later found out Jeff was one of those people!) These were not little shots like the water stations, these were glasses of beer! I don't know how you would run and drink that much, I struggled with the bathroom cup sized water.
About the time I saw the 2nd Elvis (I did not see the running Elvis) there was a lady running in a veil in front of me with the t-shirt "This time next week I am running down the aisle" I hope she is running the right way!
The last person I really remember was Gator Lady! All of us had a different Gator Lady story, but she managed to catch everyone's attention.
Gator Lady should be easy to describe, a lady with an alligator. The gator was stuffed and on a leash and she was YELLING! I mean she would read someones shirt and then tell them to run hard they were almost there! My brother said she was telling people to run or she would let that gator chase them to the finish.

I would like to point out, although the brother has a much lower corral number he finished behind me! Hooray for turning 30 and finally beating my brother all in the same day!

I had so much fun with trying to remember all these signs I thought I would look at some more: this is hilarious! Just a bunch of signs, many of which I remember the same sentiment in Nashville. I like the last one posted there in particular, just me! And check out Kate's blog, she helped me remember some of the signs she thought were good and also blogged about the race.

What are some of the funny signs you have seen while running? I know some of the readers have finished more 1/2s and marathons and you have to have a favorite story!

Moving Forward Starts Here and Now

The following is a very lengthy account of the events that took place in the Western North Carolina area this past weekend. If you want the synopsis scroll to the final 2 paragraphs, they sum it up nicely in one sentence!
Thursday after school we started driving the direction of Knoxville. We went through a few towns that no longer exist, and Chattanooga got hit pretty hard by tornadoes as well. All this tornado action I have gotten in the last 2 weeks is almost overwhelming. You know sometimes how if you see something all the time it disappears? Well not this. I am emotional every time I see even a broken tree, and getting home and back has been a serious challenge. I feel like I am preggers I am so emotional lately, let me be clear I AM NOT WITH CHILD, just really emotional at all the destruction I have seen. We have seen all along the 65 corridor and now the 20 and 59 corridors as well, plus our nieghborhood. It is really incredible. Anyway. We got about 20 miles from Knoxville and stopped for the night. We looked at a few more places online and went to bed.
Side note: After I spend hours and hours looking for houses, making calls, scheduling appointments based on how far houses were from each other, mapping out 2 days of viewings I determined that The BF could take control this time. I honestly could not do the same thing again, I was taking calls during class the first time and with testing going on I can't have my phone even on much less answer calls. The BF took the opposite approach of me. He had looked at a few places, made calls to people who lived in the area, and decided we would just play by ear. I tried to warn him that these people do not answer calls they call back, and that many of the houses online are already rented. I would say around 80% of the houses are already rented or have an application. He thought oh this will not be that hard. Also we do not have GPS, so in my plan I had directions from house to house all lined up going from south to north based on the 2 days and the appointments were scheduled accordingly. Justin had no clue where anything was, and he has no internal compass so he gets really frustrated at me for constantly saying we are going the wrong direction.
Back to the story. We drove in Friday, and had an afternoon appointment. Checked into the hotel, got directions and went off to this and one other house close that we had the door code for. The first one he hated. It was an awkward layout but it had storage and space inside but little outside space. It was a duplex and I honestly think he was done when the car next door was a little beat up. I hate it but he is so brand oriented. The next one was in a cute little neighborhood, wood floors in the TINY living space, basement with man cave space and office space, the other half of the basement was storage and there was an outdoor storage building. Upstairs were 2 small bedrooms and a slightly larger master with a TINY half bath. The kitchen was tiny and there was a chandelier right in front of the glass doors to the deck. I think it would have been really awkward to put a table there, it was right in front of the door but if you didn't you would hit your head constantly. The BF of course loved it due to large deck, wood floors, and man cave. I was more hesitant due to TINY! The lady showing us the house did not give us a second to talk or anything she just stood there and somehow I talked him down seeing as this was only the second house we looked at and we were not really even sure we wanted to live in the area. The lady called later and said the other couple took the house. I was thankful, I think The BF was upset at that point. He had no other things scheduled so we made some calls and off we went to Weaverville, a town north of Asheville.
There we looked at a townhouse, brand new, great appliances and all the stuff people usually want. No storage, no parking, even smaller than the house, and it was a middle unit. It said fenced in yard, and there was no chance there was going to be a private fence, maybe all the houses in back would share a fence but Cricket can be a bitch when it comes to neighbors so that place was out. We really liked that town, there were lots of people out and walking parks all over ect. so we drove for a while looking for signs. We called on a few and most of them were no dogs, or only one bathroom.

We decided to go have dinner downtown Asheville and start fresh Saturday in Hendersonville.
Parked behind a place called the Thirsty Monk. Walked around a bit. A random dude dressed in a nun outfit ran across traffic into the thirsty monk... Just up the street was a traffic triangle around a park. In the park was a drum circle. There were lots random people just dancing in the park, kids playing hackey sack, and a guy with those sticks that have the tassels on the end, I am not sure the point of them. We walked around and listened for a while, it is kind of infectious the feeling of just move the body. Of course I was hungry and wanted to potty so we found the nearest place with drink specials listed outside, a place called Tall Gary's Cantina. I think the memo got crumbled on the way to the company that made the awning though. Outside it looked like some place called tallgarys and it was in that font that indicated Italian food. Anyway $2 Margaritas and top shelf tequila shots for $5. oh yeah and appetizers were $3. The server told us they are smaller portions than normal but holy cow we could have both only eaten the "smaller portion" appetizer and been full.
We went back to the hotel and I took a dip in the hot tub! I have been wanting a hot tub since last weekend when the hotel there advertised a pool and hot tub and they were closed. BOO I say.
Saturday we did a drive by of quite a few places. None of which The BF wanted to really look at, he had his reasons for all of them. He is much pickier about the neighborhood we will live in, I grew up in Checotah after all!

Then we moved to the south toward Hendersonville. He had chosen a townhouse in a neighborhood that we both though we would like. It is a gated community with lap pool so I was in for my tri training. We had to go in a talk to the sales team since we could not get in the gate alone. He told us there were no rental houses at the moment inside, but there were some for sale that he thought may rent. He showed us around, and clearly wanted us to buy a lot and start building a house. Forget the fact that we only have 2 weeks, but he did show us inside one of the houses for sale and despite the really 90's deco it was a really nice house. It had storage in the basement, 3 bedrooms with huge closets, a large eat in kitchen and large living/dining room. He said the main reason the house is still on the market is the carpet colors (teal and forest green) and the matching counter tops (teal!) No maintenance yard. Blah Blah The BF wants this house, it is $1300 a month. I tell him we will look for ways to budget that much but he will have to make sacrifices not just me. I knew this was going to happen, he is so predictable. Set a budget, and all along he kept saying I am not going to limit my looking to that budget but if a house offers something else and is more expensive I am going to look at it. Here he decided that the pool (which he will never see) and the guard gate (which will be a thorn in my side every time leaving you have to go through the gate) are worth $300. I really like this house as well, but am really hesitant. When The BF also hesitated I knew we were going to have to talk about it and sacrifice a lot to make it work.
We went to drive by another house. This one is a funny story, I called the guy who listed it on Craigs List and he literally spent more time talking me out of looking at the house then he did telling me about it. He insisted that the house was very rural and not really in Hendersonville. It is 4 miles from center of town, and the whole 4 miles there are houses, hoods, stores, and road leading to the highway. It did however sit on an acre and in front of a neighborhood with maybe 4 acre lots. Rural compared to Manhattan but downright booming metropolis compared to my definition of rural. We decided to go back and see this one inside if we don't take the other place. The bedrooms looked really little, but otherwise it looked nice. I later found out that it has no AC and although he plans on putting in a window unit I am not sure I want to spend that week long summer in agony from heat. The lot is shaded and all but I am hesitant since I have never experienced a summer where 90 is really the hottest it gets, and that is only for a few days. I don't know how to deal with this kind of summer yet!
We went to find a hotel and watch the Kentucky Derby. It was fine, we had 2 places we liked and knew we wanted to stay in Hendersonville. Pretty accomplished for 2 days and if he had to come back I was not going to make the trip. His standards are obviously much higher than mine so I am ok with that, and I know even though he may want to he will not get us in over our heads without serious consultation. He hates serious consultation!
I spent a few hours thinking about how to tell him if we take the house for $1300 that means no cable until I am working and we have paid off some of our debt, and managed to save 2 months bills: a minimum of 6 months and preferably the whole time we are in that house so we can save even more than that just in case! (PS if you are going to ask me to marry you, you will need some money saved up that I don't know about, I am glad he does not read my blog) 
Anyway we went to downtown Hendersonville and I am seriously in love. Asheville had all the shops like Mass St. in Lawrence: local coffee shops, bars, restaurants, breweries, random kitch shops, furniture... think Lawrence plus bums and homeless dog people. Are they really homeless I dont know, but you know the type with the random dogs. The BF talks to them all and tries to explain that he is not blowing them off, he really has no cash. All of this in his clean polo shirt while these people clearly could care less they just want money not the story.
Side story: When we were in London we stopped in a pub one afternoon in Kensington right off the high street. Harrods around the corner. He went out to smoke and I had noticed this lady walking back and forth with a stroller, but with the cover zipped on the opening like it was raining. She was the gypsy type.  He came in and asked me if I have any bills. I said for what, he started telling me some sob story and looked up to the window. There she was this lady, huddled under the awning and the stroller just hanging out in the sprinkling rain. I know I said the thing was zipped up but still you would at least put it under the awning if there were really a baby. He tells me he only has change in his pocket and I freak out. Do you know that some of that "change" is worth more than a dollar? I looked up at the lady and caught her eyes, she took off. The bar man at the point also asked if that lady was begging and called the police. The BF had given her about 8 pounds which at the time was $16, he is really compassionate, one of the main reasons I fell for him turns out to drive me crazy sometimes now!
So back to Asheville, I can see me getting really annoyed with bums but at the same time I like the artsy parts of the town.
Hendersonville has the old downtown, with courthouse square, all the local shops and restaurants although here it is a little more antiques than fair traded goods, but it is less touristy also. We had dinner at a pub: 2 beers, appetizer, dinner salad, and burger all for $25! I don't know about where you live but here we can not go to the local bar that has mediocre food and get a beer each and share an appetizer for that price, much less a really good burger and organic locally grown salad with fresh house made dressing.
I am totally sold! Every house we looked at has a snow shovel! The BF should be excited about that part, and I know I said I would never move somewhere that cold again, but all the locals say that you only have to shovel your driveway and the roads are cleared in a day. No one works that first day and then you just get to enjoy the views! And the views are incredible holy cow almost everywhere you can catch a really special view. Autumn is the season to be there I guess. All the B 'n B's have specials for fall already. You can't book less than 3 nights in many of them during that season. I am really excited for that.
Our server one night told us that we have never experienced 4 season living like we will there! That is exciting, and it makes winter more tolerable if you know that you get a spring and fall not just from cold to hot and back again!

Yesterday The BF got a call from his new boss and they decided to push the start date back 2 weeks. There are a few reasons, but mostly I think that The boss's house got hit by tornado as well and he has not gotten as much done as he wanted to before The BF started. He did find out that he will be getting a Ford Escape for his car. I had been thinking about them again, due to my not really car shopping, car shopping. It is down to a small SUV (Escape or Rav4) or a Subaru. I am actually leaning toward Subaru, but if I can buy that one when The BF's get the 50,000 miles on it that may be a better deal We will have to see how it drives, longest test drive ever!
As a result The BF turned down the $1300 house yesterday. I am glad, and I think it was the right decision. Now with 2 more weeks to look and find something more in the budget I think we will be happier. I think that no cable during football season is a serious enough trade off that he will really have to love a house to propose to me again that we do something that high!

I am hopeful still about getting a job there in a school. Hendersonville is a lot of retired people so they are paying for schools they are not using. The guy we talked to said his daughter is in 1st grade and last year they had 2 students over quota for student/teacher ratio in the whole grade. So a week into the year they hired a new teacher so they would have lower student/teacher ratios. That was really good news! There are 2 high schools in the immediate area and Asheville is really close, plus there are county schools all the way up the road. It sounds like a better situation than Alabama at the very least, which is something!

So we accomplished really nothing in the end, but we do have a narrowed down idea of where we want to be and we have realized that we are on a budget no matter how sure we are that I get a job due to our need to pay debt and save! I feel good about where we are right now.

Oh yeah and we learned that Clemson is closer than UT or UGA which we thought were the closest chances of seeing Auburn play in the next few years and AU plays Clemson in Clemson this season! The BF is happy and he has not been there for a game, double bonus!

May Day

Well I have hinted and even gone as far as saying this, but I have not made the official announcement yet. We are moving to Asheville, NC. There that part is done! Can we just leave already?

Well ok there is more to it than just speaking it into truth! First, due to the storms last week we had to postpone our house hunting trip by a week. We leave today after school to find a place and quite frankly for my first trip to Asheville. I had bags packed and all ready to head toward the east when we were blocked into our nieghborhood. Luckily everyone we had scheduled appointments with were very understanding of the dilemma and wished us well here before making the trip.
Our getting the house on the market in Cahaba Heights was also delayed by the storm (new story of my life, blame it on the storm)! We were supposed to have a realtor come look at the house the 27th as well but of course that could not happen. With the tree down in the backyard, the branches all over waiting to be picked up, and the tree that is cracking the ground out back just waiting for the next strong wind it is looking less and less promising that the house will be on the market before we head out. I know that I should not say this outloud but I really hope that the market in our neighborhood is still as vibrant as before. A large portion of the appeal of Cahaba Heights as a community are the mature trees and closeness to city. Unfortunately, the tree population took a serious down turn and the views are drastically different now that a week ago. Our house still has the features that made it appealing before for the most part, including the huge basement ready to be finished! Surely a realtor can market that right.

Tomorrow I will deliver on the funniest signs from the 1/2, I have been laughing about some of them for a while now on the drive. We are in Knoxville for the night, off the Asheville in the morning! Hopefully I will have a good update tomorrow night! Sleep tight. 

BirthMonth went out with a bang!

As I indicated in the last post birthmonth went out with a bang for me! I have been trying to post something for a few days now, but I can't seem to get my head around what to say. I am going to start with the 1/2 Marathon for now, and a short final list update!

So through all that happened on Wednesday April 27 I knew I still wanted to run the 1/2 Marathon and thank goodness I had that goal to keep my mind busy and not totally consumed by the chaos around me. I tried to talk The BF into going to Nashville Thursday and settling into a hotel so we would have power and we could try to get our minds clear, well my mind clear at least. We decided to stay in B-ham and luckily his parents got power that afternoon so I was able to get up for the Royal Wedding! (OK maybe that was a little bit of the reason I wanted to go to Nashville early!)
Luckily, my brother who ran the 1/2 with me was able to come spend the night with us and after a little side trip back to the neighborhood we headed north. Mind you we had no power at home, so we had no idea where the tornado had gone other than what we heard in the short bursts on radio in the car or from neighbors. I can attest that Tuscaloosa got the local and national press, and I know that it is bad there but I am not sure that they deserved all the attention. On our way up I-65 about Decatur we got hungry and pulled off the road. NIGHTMARE! There were 8 cars waiting for every gas pump at the first stop, and there were 3 gas stations right off the highway. We turned around and got right back on the road, about 40 miles later we tried a simliar turn with similar results. This time we decided to just go in and get some food and skip on the gas until later.
At Subway I wanted a pizza, but there is no pizza crusts; how about a wheat bread, no; this went on and finally we just went with the luck of the draw on bread. Meat was not as bad, but close. There were no chips in the station, people were wandering in asking any question you can imagine. It was the twilight zone in there. Randomly along the highway we ran into places where you could see tornadic or high speed winds that came through. Steel light poles just pretzled, debris caught in the barbs of fences, trees down, and again all sorts of damage to structures and landscape. Tuscaloosa got it bad, but if the highway is any indication of North Alabama it is as bad there!
When we got to Nashville we headed out to the expo to get our packets and meet our friends for dinner. We had a very delicious, slow, carb loaded plate each and went back to the hotel for bed.
Saturday morning came very early, but heck after the past few mornings I was totally prepared. With exception of the shuttle coming and leaving 15 minutes before we scheduled our pick-up the morning went off well. We showed up at the start line and the magnitude of the whole deal set in. Since the shuttle situation my running buddy had driven to the start herself, and in over 30,000 people I never saw sight of her. My brother and I checked our stuff and next hitch, I left my sunglasses in the bag. We headed back toward the start line with only a mile long detour through the porta-potty line. While in line we made a few great sightings, my favorite was Biggest Loser style weight loss man who was behind us. He had clearly been prepping for this race for at least a year, the skin on his legs was droopier than any post baby boobies I have ever seen. It bugs me that on the Biggest Loser you see the people when they are really fat with minimal clothes, but when they start getting thinner they clothe them more. I mean I get that you want people to think they are going to look great, and nothing is great about saggy skin but for the same reason people want to see bin Laden I want to see the sag!
Back to Nashville: Jeff and I started together, well we were in the same place. The second we crossed the start ine Jeff was gone. I was impressed with his pace and really hoped that he would be able to keep up the whole time. I will spare the dirty details of the whole race but I have to say I had a great time. I ran in and out of random conversations and was really encouraged by the people and signs along the way. The bands we ran into were fun, and it was just way more fun than I could ever imagined.
When I crossed the finish line my knees had started to hurt and I was so happy to be done, but man alive there are a lot of people running and then all of a sudden they are stopped. Inside the "secure area" there was food galore but I had to find another porta-potty! I had been running for over 2 hours and drinking water about every 3 miles. I know that most people would have sweated out all the water but I really had to potty.
The next step was finding everyone, and man was I glad that we decided on U as our family reunion letter. It was super close to the end and I was able to sit down sooner than if we had chosen almost any other letter! The BF was there with a hug and Happy Birthday! Oh yeah it is my 30th birthday, HURRAH!
While waiting on the others to finish I managed to get my shoes off and discover some serious blisters (which after a short run today are in serious hurt mode) but otherwise I was feeling good.
I spent most of the rest of the afternoon resting in bed, but we did have a really nice dinner in MidTown Nashville and went to a few local bars. It was all in all a great way to spend my 30th birthday!

In my last update on the list I feel a little guilty about some of the things, but I will go through them quickly!

22. Make a summer decision about work This is something I will need to change my focus to Asheville. We were planning a trip there for Wednesday, but after the tornado hit Cahaba Heights we were not able to make the trip, there are a few things that this last minute storm impacted!

21. Figure out a budget to get through the summer

18. Complete a puzzle This one I blame on the dogs. I got the puzzle out, set it up, worked on it, and came home from work to discover pieces eaten and scattered all over. Don't worry I still had fun with it, and I know sometimes I need to slow down and enjoy things other than TV (The purpose of this was to get me doing anything but watch TV and I have definitely accomplished the background meaning of the goal)

17. Wish an old friend Happy Birthday

15. Remind myself why I am doing these things.

14. Get the sewing machine out of the basement Well the machine is out, but it is not doing anything now. It is packed up and ready for the move. Half of and accomplishment again, the purpose this time not accomplished but the actual goal yes!

12. Spend the better part of a day cyber stalking all things Royal Wedding and prepare DVR

11. Call Scott

9. Start riding for Free Wheel I will do this, when I can get the bike out of the basement. I will do this!

8. Start graduation cards

7. Clear out and organize basement closet

6. Donate unwanted clothes/shoes This has a while new meaning! We are still going to have a garage sale, but hopefully we will be able to also donate things we are not moving to help people re-build their lives. We are going to have a better idea once we find a place in Asheville what furniture we can leave in B-ham for people who need it!

5. Enjoy Easter and celebrate the life I am living

4. Write rec letters for Tri Delta girls This is the only one I do not feel bad about. I fully intended to have resumes and all the stuff I would need from the girls, and only one has managed to get it together. Rec Letters not done, but grad cards are!?

2. Reflect on accomplishments in my first 30 years.

1. FINISH THE ROCK N ROLL HALF MARATHON. 




Don't worry I will continue to update the blog and I will do better with more moving details soon! We will hopefully know after this weekend what the plan is for the whole process! Wish us luck in NC Friday when we look at houses, and wish us luck in getting the house in Cahaba Heights on the market with all the stuff going on in the neighborhood.

Storm Stories

 I will start with Justin, I, and the dogs are all in perfect condition. My nerves are the worst off right now but we are ok.
Yesterday morning I woke up before my alarm when the tornado siren blew. I got up and checked the weather on TV, the morning weather girl clearly did not get her sensationalize all thunderstorm class. She was pretty calm talked about the "squal line" that was 60 miles away from us. I thought ok 60 miles that means I can get at least 30 more minutes of sleep before I need to check again. I went back to bed. For those of you in Oklahoma, and maybe other places... Tornado sirens here blow through the entire county when any part of the county is put under warning. It is very frustrating for me coming from a place where that means you should be able to see a tornado if the siren blows. I tend to disregard them since they are a spring constant, and I will not comment on the sensationalization of any possible rotation in a thunderstorm. These weather men need to get out more often.
So I went to bed, but I pulled the curtain to the side so I could see out and drifted in and out of sleep. It was raining but not hard and not constantly. About 30 minutes later the power went off, another common occurance. That woke Justin up and went to the bathroom. (bedroom in front of house, bathroom in back0 I was considering getting up and deciding on getting in the shower to go to work. The birds had been chirping for a while and the had suddenly stopped so I looked out the window again and there was an all of a sudden weird feeling. The trees were straight up, and then they were sideways blowing in the wind. I grabbed one dog under each arm and was yelling for Justin to go to the basement. I did not know that Justin had the same weird look out the window feeling I had, and he was yelling at me to get the dogs and get to the basement. Our house is not so big that we can't hear each other but we couldn't. So we ran down and he opened the walk out door while I looked out the window. In the time it took us to run 8 feel from the bedroom to the basement we had a backyard full of tree. Very luckily it missed the house completely. Another tree lost its top limbs and some of them hit the gutters and deck, causing minor damage. Another tree on the other side lost a very large branch that also missed the house by less than 5 feet.
Since it seemed that the worst part was over we went back upstairs and in a stunned moment walked around the house like a normal morning. Funny part of the morning: I went to the bathroom to get my glasses, so all these previous details have been in fuzzy vision plus groggy morning brain. When I walked into the kitchen Justin was pouting water into the coffee maker. I said oh are you making coffee, waiting on his respnse of oh yeah the power is out. Instead he turned around and said yeah what else would I be doing. He had already plugged in the coffee maker and was turning it on when he looked at me and started laughing, oh that was a joke, funny you are this early in the morning.
We walked outside, just as the whole neighborhood was coming out for a moment. It was still sprinkling a little so we all yelled we were ok. Our neighbor up the hill had 2 huge trees blocking her house completely from view. Buddy went to check on them and she and her children were all ok. The man from the next house over was ok, and then it started to rain a little harder. I went in to figure out what I was going to do about the day, I was still in get out and go to work mode. Justin was convinced my car would not make it out of the neighborhood so he went to see if he could get out. he didnt make it over the hill (literally less than .1 miles away) and there was the first of many trees blocking the road.
I got my friend Kate on the phone, and luckily she was able to cancel my job for me. Little did I know the reason I could not get anyone at the High School was they had no power either.
Once it stopped raining we went on a trek. Amazing how many neighbors became lumberjacks in a matter of hours yesterday. We went just to explore for a little bit, and ended up all the way at the bottom of the neighborhood just amazed at the devastation. With roads nearly completely blocked it was a constant battle to find the clearest route out or around and obstacle. Many of our neighbors with little children were leaving due to no power. So baby being held, bags and blanket tied everywhere, and just about everyone has dogs so dragging dogs along as well. Insanity is the only way I can think to describe the first 5 hours. At one point there were so many power lines just strewn about that a couple with 2 dogs and a baby had no choice but to let the dogs off leash to get through. We were holding bags and passing babies back and forth over trees and lines for about 30 minutes through one of the harder hit areas the dogs were testing all the power lines making sure they were not live.
At the bottom of the neighborhood we got news of our first fatality. A man cutting a branch off the car of his next door neighbor had a loose branch fall and kill him. The stories we had gathered on the way down of people being trapped in their house that was split in half by a tree, and trees impaling the middle of houses and so far everyone had been safe. But for the death we hear of to be a man helping out was a hard blow.
We walked back up the other side of the circle, and this direction the fire department had started clearing. So although there were trees everywhere and sawdust all over the road we were coming from the direction of civilization so it seemed a little less totally destroyed. The fire department met up with some of our neighbors who were cutting the other direction at about 3:30 in the afternoon and we knew that we could get out. Our next door had started her grill and was cooking everything she had that would possibly go bad and everyone was trying to get enough stuff together for a little block grill party. We were HUNGRY at this point. So with our ability to get out of the neighborhood and our gossip that Publix had a generator we drove down. Luckily they had just gotten a shipment of ice so we grabbed some and some hamburger buns. Since they techincally did not have power they could not sell anything refrigerated. We went back and had our little cook out.
The next big event was the cutting of the 2 trees off the house up the hill. We all stood at the end of the cul-de-sac while 3 men cut and hauled down 2 massive trees. When I say that you could not see the house I literally mean that. It is a typical ranch style 50's home with a carport at the end and flowerbeds out front. From the street all you  could see was tree. When the tree was down her little boy said it looked much better with the tree blocking it. Insightful, but they were lucky as well. The carport was severly damaged, but the car only had the back window broken out. The house will get a new roof, but she said no water got in the house!
As this was winding down the tornado was tormenting Tuscaloosa and Buddy had his weather radio out. When Buddy said head to the basements the family from up the hill came with us, they only have a little basement the little boy told me. He meant the crawl space.
Our basement being the little boy haven that it is about 15 minutes into our dark rainy sit in the basement he looked at me and said this has been the best day ever. I said what do you mean? here were his reasons. First we didn't have to go to school even though mommy said we have to tomorrow if it is open. Then we got to climb on that HUGE tree for a while. And eat burgers for lunch outside. Then we found that snakeskin (yes he found about a 5 foot long snake skin and tormented us with it for at least an hour, but when I told him there were drums in the basement he literally threw it over his shoulder and started walking to the house) and now I get to play drums and throw sticks. I guess for a 7 year old boy that is a pretty fun day!
We went back inside, and this is about the time that phone number one went battery dead. I had an old phone that had a little charge left so I hooked that up and with it dark and really boring we went to bed. It was HOT and quiet and the sky toward the west (Tuskaloosa and downtown B-ham) was red and really eerie. I have seen lots of storms in my life and this was eerie.
This morning was much better I was able to get Justin coffee before he woke from the generator powered grocery store. We did some clearing and some more walking around. yesterday I had noticed some pretty big cracks in the ground surround one of our larger trees. This morning they were bigger. This tree sits very close to the septic tank that we just had replaced and lines replaced on. It smells over there now. So Justin went out looking for people to give an estimate on getting the tree out of the yard, and getting this tree down. Since the septic tank has been compromised insurance should pay for it so that is helpful. The tree in the yard he thinks is more questionable. It does have a branch on the deck, but has not caused any damage there so depending on the adjustor they may or most likely may not pay.
Justin's parents got power on at their house today so we made the short trip over to return to civilization. I need my Royal Wedding fix for sure. Estimates for our power to return are around 3 weeks. We will have to see how this all goes...
I don't know what happened in our neighborhood, but all the stories I heard were of last second (literally) getting out of the way before the trees fell on beds and cribs. There are a few homes in our part of the neighborhood with pretty severe damage, but just down the next step of the hill there is more than one house split in 2 peices to the ground.
So many things to be thankful about today, and so many to be thoughful about.

One week away from my goal

Well BirthMonth is on the downhill slide, and my 20's are seriously lacking the longevity I always knew they would present. All I can do is say wow what a decade!
Lets see if I can hit some high points...
The day I turned 20 I had a serious breakdown. Really, I am taking the whole end of the 20's better than I did the end of my teenage years. When I turned 20 I thought it was time to grow up and be responsible, if you knew me then you know I needed a few more years before I could say I obtained a sense of responsibility.

My first trip abroad in the last decade was when I studied abroad at Harlaxton College. (again with the responsibility, or lack there of) I met some of my very best friends there and got to know some friends better. Nothing like a study abroad experience to make for life long friendships. I cannot imagine my life without those experiences in class, school, and life. Oh the places you will go: England, Belgium, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Lichtenstein, and Greece but listing the countries does not begin to explain the places I experienced along the way.
Quickly upon my arrival back in the states, well 3 days later, I had my 21st birthday. A milestone in any young American's life, with the exception that I had lived in England for the past 4 months. I did go ahead and partake as any student on their 21st birthday though.
That summer was a doozie back in Checotah, then off to start my senior year at Baker U. What a good time and not just saying this but lots of studying. The was the year the library opened back up on campus and we sure did enjoy the "view". I had a few friends who just hung out there and while there were still people coming in and out spent our time socializing, only after everyone else was sleeping did we begin our homework.
Begin 2003: Over spring break I made another trip to London and this time went alone. I did go to visit some friends in Grantham and at Harlaxton as well as make new friends in London. I did some research at Lords Cricket Grounds for my capstone paper and really learned a lot about my topic, no matter what my overall grade reflected.
That summer was a very relaxing time, from the pool to baseball games with my friend John. We ended with a cross country road trip to California, and what a journey.
Fall back to school (everyone needs that little extra bit of time in college to wrap things up) it was different with half of my class gone and working. I lucked out and had a great place to live and friends who were willing to keep me company off campus. This last semester is filled with so many memories of good times weekend afternoons with Jimi, the Halloween parties, and football games.
2003 is most famous in family for the people we lost, and what a journey that became. The end of a generation on both the Hey and Meador side of my family left in same year, only Aunt Ivy made it to 2004.
So 2004 brought even more exciting travel and new friends. I was honored to have the opportunity to live and work at Pax Lodge in London. For those of you who do not know what this is a brief synopsis is that the World Association of Girl Guide and Girl Scouts have 4 World Centers, Our Chalet in Switzerland, Our Cabana in Mexico, Sangam in India, and finally Pax Lodge in London. Each different center provides a different experience for young ladies to come and partake in. London serves as the urban experience that is closely related to Lord and Lady Baden Powell and the beginnings of scouting. As an 18 year old girl I came for a week and learned a lot from the volunteers that kept the Lodge running. I could not believe I was going to be a part of providing the same experience for other young ladies across the world.

While here I worked and played among some of the most amazing women I will ever meet. The dedication and motivation I have taken from these women have changed my life. Today in church our pastor mentioned having as few as 5 life changing moments per person. Most people mention things like falling in love, getting married and having children. Spending time at Pax Lodge and forming life long friendships with women from every corner of the globe ranks above anything to this point in my life. I knew it would be fun, but I had no idea I would develop an affinity for Springbok rugby, Japanese culture, Canadian weather, Swedish animal sounds, and Russian-well Russians. The ways I changed are innumerable and I wish I could thank the people who made it possible more often.

It had to end and upon my return to the states I quickly gathered my things for the next big move to Dallas. My friend Jimi and I were ready to start a new life and move around in a new environment. The 1.5 years in the apartment saw much and participated in much including the takeover from Hurricane Katrina, we even had our own FEMA refugee in the form of friend Andrea.  (She was not really a Katrina refugee)
I was able to spend tons of time with my nephew Jenson and be in the same city when little brother Ian cam along 2 years later. Tuesdays with the boys became a regular thing and I really enjoyed the time with family in Dallas.
I was soon transferred to Oklahoma and closer to my hometown. My brother and sister-in-law soon returned north with the boys so I still was able to spend time with them and enjoy the boys growing up. I added a new member to my family when I got Cricket from the Claremore Animal Shelter. She was so sweet in her kennel just looking up at me, she fit most of the requirements I had for my new dog and she has enriched my life in ways I could not imagine.
On a routine business trip to Dallas my life would change again, this time in a way I could never have expected. More on the second half of this decade in life tomorrow!

April 19, 1995

There are not many things I remember about 8th grade. I remember that I was really into playing trombone, and was pretty good if I may pat myself on the back. I can name my teachers, but that is not unique, I am pretty sure that I can name all my teachers from kindergarten on up. I have pictures that remind me of who my friends were throughout the year, and I had those friends who were around always. We got to go to the Omniplex one day, was that in May? I wore a skort to 8th grade graduation, but I may only remember that because of all the pictures.
Hmmmm, well April 19, 1995 has lots of details, details not related to any other day of the year.
Second Period, Coach Tanner, in the portable room outside Longfellow Junior High. He was my first teacher crush, and may I say good taste for an 8th grader. Who knows what we were learning after all it was a coach/teacher and this was not the "advanced class" with Mrs. Slinkard, they had a research paper, we didn't. An announcement was made that a bombing had happened in OKC at the federal building. We didn't get many details and being in the portable we didn't have a television hooked up. We had to pull in one of the TV carts and get it set up before learning any details.
I remember Dawna was in this class, a young lady known for drama. She immediately began hysterical crying. Before I say the next thing I want to be clear: I grew up in Checotah, OK population 3,500 on a good day in summer. Most people who raise children in Checotah do so because they were raised in Checotah. The people in my kindergarten class are for the most part the same people I graduated with 12 years later. Not a whole lot of population shifting in so people who moved in were rare. Dawna was one of those students. She had family in town, through marriage, so they moved from the OKC area to Checotah. When Dawna started crying I could not understand the problem, once she got herself under control we realized she had family members who worked in different federal agencies. And the announcement only said that there had been a bombing in a federal building.

Once Coach Tanner got a TV set up, and Dawna sent to the counselor's office, we began to see the tragedy unfold.
It was when the TV prompted people to think about the families that are in areas of OKC surrounding the blast that I realized my brother was there. He had gone to OKC for TSA state conference and who knows where the event he is participating in is located. As the details of how strong the blast was, and all the glass that had broken in buildings for blocks around, panic began to set in. In 8th grade I was so self centered I had forgotten to think about my own brother.
I now felt so bad about even starting to laugh about Dawna's immediate hysterics. Again, 8th grade provides me some excuse for my behavior.
My brother was in his hotel room, 7 miles from the explosion. To be more specific he was in the bathroom (I always thought that was funny, again 8th grader funny) and they were not sure what had happened at first. The hotel thought maybe a car had hit the building, it registered a 3 on the Richter scale so no small earthquake for Oklahoma.
I also remember the Daily Oklahoman on the anniversary providing updates of the injured children. Even as an 8th grader and 9th grader I knew that I did not want to have hundreds of surgeries to reconstruct my body, skin, and life.
Through tragedy comes hope: or something like that. It seems so senseless that things like this have to happen to bring hope, it really feels like we as human beings could extract hope from life in ways that does not require so much death, destruction, and devastation.
I don't remember the specific lesson plan Coach Tanner was going to teach that day, or and lesson plan from 8th grade in specific. I know that I learned things from my teachers, and that their well planned lesson plans provided me the building blocks for 9th grade and beyond. The one lesson I took from 8th grade is to find hope from everyday life, not to require wake up moments to remind me of hope and the joy of everyday.
Despite this I do recommend visiting this website: Interactive OKC info it has really great interactive stuff to look at and shows a lot of stuff (for lack of a better word, sorry for the vague nature of stuff). The intro is really cool to watch, and worth the 30 seconds or whatever it takes.

The Survivor Tree

I know this if really off topic from my usual I had a great run today posts, but I asked every class today if they knew what happened on this day in 1995. They know this is what I do, I ask this day in history questions. Usually someone gets it pretty fast, or at least guesses well. I gave them that it happened in my home state of Oklahoma, the date, and to some classes I mentioned it was the worst terrorist attack on US soil before 2001. Not a single class knew this. The closest was a girl who said it was the Oklahoma City shooting, I asked "Shooting?" and she busied herself doing homework. When I said "Bombing?" she gave the teenage answer, "that is what I meant." I was devastated. This is their lifetime, and although it was very early lifetime for them still in their lifetime. Devastated actually does not describe how I felt and needed an outlet, thanks for making it to the end.