"Rebel Yell" - Billy Idol

Pita & Peanut last night.
Pita: waaaa. waaaa. waaaa. [as to say, stop your whining]
Peanut:  I don't whine.  I REBEL YELL.

Freaking love my girl & my ipod playlist we listen to in the car.

Feels like it's been a while since I bored you all to tears with a BPP [bullet points post] . . . so bam [ * ] here it is.

* The Pita swears he got food poisoning from mangoes we bought at Costco [I'm pretty sure Costco is too perfect for THAT but whatever].  Food poisoning, I'm finding, is one of those illnesses you can't really help someone through.  You buy the Pepto, make a small pyramid of toilet paper readily available, go gorillas buying bananas . . . . then, seriously. . . . . leave the house for the day.

* We attended a Habitat For Humanity Charity Event over the weekend.  Which of course meant we ended up with the one item we should not have.  The Pita and I + silent auction =  . . . . this never ends well. [well for us anyway]  We are the new proud owners of a 10' guitar with all the teams on it who have played in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl. 

Ummmmm, Yay, us?!

* Finished my run this morning to Peanut asking if she could push the "easy" button.  I said "No, that was freaking hard!"

Her reply, "Mom, it was only 17 miles!" [then I hear, "that was easy!"] I swear, no respect in this household. ;)

* I was the proud recipient of a milk out the nose shower recently.  Holy. Gross. 

Nothing like snotted up milk on your fillet to help you all the sudden feel "done" eating.  [was pretty freaking funny though].

* Is it Saturday yet?  After attending the sweet 16 games in Phoenix this past weekend . . . .

I am beyond ready to see how the final four games turn out . . .

Who are you rooting for?

My bracket . . . it's actually turning out rather nicely given Duke's crap showing. [not that I wanted them to win . . . but C'mon.  Destroyed my bracket]

* And NO.  I will pass.  I do not get sucked into the MEGA-wasted-MILLIONS lotto crap.  The Pita does though.  Gotta love a dreamer.  I do love this stat I heard this morning though:

Based on other U.S. averages, you're about 8,000 times more likely to be murdered than to win the lottery, and about 20,000 times more likely to die in a car crash than hit the lucky numbers.

The odds of winning are 1 in about 176 million.  Which are quite similar to the odds of me running outside tomorrow.

Did you buy a ticket?
If yes, how many?

"Harmony" - Never Shout Never

Today.
Is.
Awesome.

I've got a heart that's overflowing with gratitude and happiness.

Good things have been going on all day and it's only 1pm.

Started my day off with a "way too early" run:

And some "way too freaking awesome" texts from My mom.

Some "way too much like an abdominal workout" laughing with MY Peanut.

Followed by a "way too late" shower.

Which equalled a "way too soggy" hair-do.

Then drove "way too fast" to the airport.

But got there in time to get "way too many photos" of the drop-off. 

But I loved being the nosey, wet rat looking girl taking photos across the road.

To finally meet the "way too awesome" Harmony.

You'll want to go to her blog [here] and read her AMAZING story.

Four minutes passed "way too soon" and she did her check-in.

This woman is "way too incredible".

So great to meet you Harm.
You. AMAZE. Me.

* What's been the high-light of your day so far?*
[Miss Z - I already know yours.  That awesome 6 mile TM workout you ran this morning.] ;)

"Easy" - The Commodores

Rarely do things come "easy".  I know, duh.

However, thanks to Mrs. XLMIC . . . . things are about to get a whole lot easier.

And the "easy" button she sent me . . . .

this
run
felt
easy [HA!] but - awesome.

Peanut did the honors for me . . .

Peanut:  Mom, you done?
Me: yep!
Peanut:  so I can I push it?
Me: heck ya!
Peanut: [pushes it]

Little man who lives inside the button says:  "That was easy."

freaking. love. this. button.

XLMIC. you. rock.

"Saturday" - Fall Out Boy

Six. Things. Saturday.

1. Happy. Freaking. Birthday. To. My. Sister.
The only girl I know who can train for 2.5 months [longest run of 16 miles] then run a 4:15 marathon.

I miss you A!

2. Is it April 4th yet?

3. Loved going to the NCAA game today with the Pita. Not sure when I turned into a Louisville fan but I'm pretty sure "Mr. SIVA" had something to do with it.

4. Paid for a shirt today and had the exact change. . . . . amazing [and a little scary] how such little things make my day.

5. I hit the 900 mile mark for 2012. I may have HAD to add an extra 2 miles to my run today to get there. I liked the way 900 looked WAY better than 898.
w a y better.

6. And yes, these were worth every penny.
Added them to a BLT.

holy. freaking. heaven.

Happy Weekend.

"Shots" - LMFAO

Wordless.  Wednesday.  A la Peanut.

[all of these are her "shots"]

Love. My. Girl.

"So Good" - B.o.B.

Things I'm loving today [T-shirt edition] . . . .

This shirt I found at the Nike outlet in Tucson:

[it's a gun show, har har har]

Which totally sucks compared to . . . .
This shirt from the one and only Caroline:

[as always, the most thoughtful gift ever]

This sign from the above mentioned amazing French Canadian/Californian:

awesome. [FREAKING. awesome.]

This shirt I saw a random [LEGAL] spectator wearing at the Catalina Marathon.

This shirt . . . well . . . it just speaks for it's self.

[I'm just curious what the "warm up" entails.

And this one Dawn swears she'll make for me. Hopefully, faster than her next blog post, what?! ;]

You seen any awesome shirts lately?  Any great one liners?

Catalina Marathon Race REVIEW Recap. "Enjoying The View" - Skillz

There's a reason people put this marathon on their "must do" list.

It.  Is.  Incredible.

I will go into details later this week about our awesome time on the island [getting to California, meeting Caroline & having a blast with my family] but for today . . . just the recap of the race/event and what I liked and possibly didn't like.

We arrived via the Catalina Express, Friday afternoon around 3:30pm.  We found our driver from our hotel and we were off. 

Peanut: "Best ride ever". 
Me:  best ab workout ever.

5pm was packet pick up.  I got there around 5:30.  The line was insane!  Well, for about 2 minutes it was insane.  Then this nice man came out and said, "Any marathoners?"

Then, no joke, TWO of us walked forward.
Packet pick-up in 4 minutes FLAT.

Loved that.

I will say, this is not an "expo" in the way I have come to expect an expo [I'll blame that on RNR races ;) ] to be. 

You will NOT find:
Gu's, compression socks, 26.2 car decals, body glide OR a race T-shirt.
T-shirts are handed after the race when you FINISH.  Freaking loved that. 

You will find:
Friendly staff
Fast & efficient staff
Your bib number + pins
A bag with two papers in it
Your boat ticket

So we had the fabulous "Antonio's" for dinner.  Then it was crash time.
It true Emz fashion.......I slept like 3-4 hours & completely spaced on packing, buying, bringing breakfast.  Uggggg.  Cam out of the bathroom to the Pita making me a "breakfast goodie bag" [ya, that's a first ever, so grateful.]  Ahhhhh, almonds, ChexMix & fruit snacks.  Breakfast of champions.

A 5 Minute walk to the ferry.  And I'm on.  I find a solo area on the floor and sit.  I look up to see a young girl.  All smiles but looks nervous.  VERY nervous.  I wave her over.  We chat.  She's 16.  Yes, 16.  And this is her very first marathon.  HOLY. CRAP.

The ferry goes from Avalon to Two Harbors.  Ride takes about an hour.  Looking around, I notice a few things:

These runners look hardcore.
There's a lot of gold dangling from hats.

A lot of trail running shoes.
A lot of water bottles around people's waists.
A lot of older runners.
NOT a lot of people in tutu's.  weird.
A lot of people either telling me they love my tutu mixed with a lot of not so approving looks from others.  Ehhhh. whatever.

We arrived at Two Harbors with about 40 minutes to spare before go-time.  The weather was perfect.  Not cold at all but that eventually bit us in the backside about 1.5-2 hours later.   

The start of this race felt a lot like the 50 mile Man against Horse Race I ran.  Super laid back.  No one is acting all stressy or doing pick-ups.  Everyone just shooting the crap with their neighbor asking, "how many times you done this?".

My favorite comment at the start line from a 40-ish year old man.

Man: you know this is a serious run right? 
Me [dead serious face]: what? This ISN'T the 5k? 
Him: [blank stare]
Me: see you at the finish.  Looks like a beautiful race.

I took the fist 5 miles very conservatively.  Too conservatively, looking back on it.

At mile 4.75ish.  A gentleman wearing a "dirty 30" shirt [meaning he has run this race 30 times] passed me going up a freaking hard hill [that I chose to walk].

His words:  Let's go cupcake.

I'll be honest, that got my blood boiling.  So I started running.  I caught him.  I said, "You chose just  the right motivational word, see ya!"  Never saw him again.  Cupcake.  Seriously?  Cupcake. I freaking love my tutu.  That guy did me the biggest favor ever.

Ever want to see men pick up their speed in an instant?
Pass them.
in
a
tutu.
They get all kinds of crazy superfunk.

I turned my music on at mile 10.  Only to hear SKILLZ "Enjoying The View", and I certainly was.  This course is beyond words.  Absolutely stunning.

One incredible thing about this race is the volunteers.  The BEST volunteers I have ever had on any race course.  They got better and better as the race went on too.

I do have to say my favorites were at 20 & 22.  Loved. them.

I had a huge surprise at 20 when I saw my Pita & Peanut. 

Took my breath away.  Had NO idea they were going to meet me.  I lit up in excitement. 

Which equalled my pace picking up.  YAY!

Then, I was off for the last 6.2.
Right after I passed another lady came by that Pita & Peanut cheered for.  Pita said her comment was, "HA!  I just got passed by TinkerBell!" 
The Pita cracked up.  Peanut wanted to smack her.  My family rocks.

Insanely beautiful, right?
It was now . . . . . well, FREAKING heating up.  Temperature was at least 15 degrees over the "norm" and well . . . we were all feeling it.

One of the awesome parts of this race?

The last 3 miles are downhill.  Like super downhill.  The last 1.75 miles is a paved road which passed by a golf course, baseball field, lots of golf carts & homes.  I loved all the interaction it allowed with PEOPLE!  I had a permanent smile on my face & threw up my hands in "rock-on" fashion almost the entire 1.75 miles.

Turned the corner to the finish line.  And......Well, I'm just freaking happy.
I can see my Pita.  In the finish line coral.  Like right behind the finish line.  All smiles.  I've never been able to cross a finish line and literally jump [not sure how I jumped but I did] into my husbands arms.  [insert soppy Hollywood drama music, but it was all that to me.]

So. happy.

Like the happiest I've been in about 947 days.  No I didn't "win".  I wasn't fast.  I have yet to get my MAN BQ but........ you know, this run was everything to me.  Not really sure why but I do know . . .  I remembered why I loved running out there.  I loved not having a lot of people around.  I loved taking in the view and thinking of how freaking blessed I am.

and
that's
everything
to
me.

No question.  I'll run this again. [and again, and again, and again . . . ]

"Taper Jean Girl" - Kings Of Leon

Emz 101.

How to taper for a marathon. . . .. . . . in photos
[albeit a non-racing {holy mountain-esque} marathon] . .


Monday:

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

Thursday:

Run 5 miles [sorry, no photo]

Bake these:

. . . then hurry and give them away before you eat them all.

Friday:

Meet this FREAKING awesome lady.

Saturday:

26.2 miles.

Kill. the. hills.

Woooooooooo hoooooooooooooo!

It's textbook running, I tell you.
TextBOOK!


* Do YOU taper like a pro? *
Feel free to email me a "good taper" schedule.

I apparently, don't have one.

"Luke" - Long Beach Dub All Stars

Wordless. Wednesday.

"Smile" - Avril Lavigne

So like most other days . . . . . .

Today I did this:

Which was supposed to be a recovery run [9 miles] but . . . . it was feeling great again today so I rolled with it.  15 miles at 7:29.  Ummmm, that .77 was all cool-down walkin'.
Then I did some laundry and some actual money making work.  My bank account looks a little happier.

Then I went to Costco.  I know, zero shock-factor there. 

It's always one of three people working the all important "show me your money card" door, every time I go.  So, as the routine goes, I reached in my bag-o-tricks to get my cult pass card out . . . . and look up to see my favorite one of the three working the door.

Him:  why hello again.
Me: hey! How are you? [reaching in bag, still]
Him:  ya, you're good.  We see you often.  C'mon in!
Me:  wooooo hoooo!
Him: you always have the biggest smile on your face.  Why are you so happy?
Me:  Well. it. IS. Costco.
Him: ya, ya but thanks for being so happy

I loved the timing of this interaction.
My sister had to give a talk on "happiness" this past Saturday in front of a large group.  I couldn't make it due to Peanut's volleyball tournament but after visiting with my Mom yesterday, I asked her for an emailed copy.

A quote I loved:

"Life is to be enjoyed, not just endured."

She used an analogy that was awesome.  She had given each person a small bag of cotton candy.  Cotton candy makes her happy. 

To some cotton candy = weight gain, rotten teeth & sugar high
To her cotton candy = happy [family] times
like at Suns games, the ball park, Disneyland, the State Fair, Chuck E Cheese [ya, she's awesome, I pay Peanut off so I don't have to go there.]

It's all a matter of perspective.

My perspective is not always rosy and shiny.  Ask the Pita.  Ask Peanut.  Ask the girl who never blogs Dawn.  But I am learning [and very quickly] that the trials I have been given in the last 6 weeks or so have all been much easier due to a better, happier, perspective.

. . . . Why not smile?  

What made you smile today?

"She Takes The Cake" - The Vanderbuilts

I love a good auction.
The only thing I love more than an auction, is a CHARITY auction.

There is something inside me that loves to bid.  I don't care where. 

eBay.
or
church.

yes, church.

There is an annual event each year to raise money for girl's camp.  This being Peanut's first year attending camp = the year we finally got around to going. [yay us.]

Little did I know just how freaking much I'd love this event [ya, it was a 98% dessert auction].
[note to self, do not sit in the front row next year.]

Started off pretty casually.  The Pita let me know which items he wanted.  Quickly followed by, "how much cash you got?".

Candy apple with chocolate & macadamia nuts = $10 [deal]
Two loaves of homemade bread = $10 [deal]

well..............then it just got nuts.

ok, I went nuts.

And I did buy nuts.
And a plaque of a squirrel eating a nut.

I consulted my Dad's iPhone to ask "siri" how much I should pay for a coconut/macadamia cake. 

To which Siri told me:

"I don't know but here are 4 places that serve that cake." - Thanks for nothing Siri.

$90 later.  That cake was mine. [totally worth it, by the way].

Seriously, don't ask about that jaguar thing.

And yes, the cake. . . . it's gone.  I did split 3/8 with my mom.  So it's all good.  right?  right? 

Saturday was busy and yet another freaking awesome day.  Was up at 4:30 getting my run done then off to Apollo for Peanut's volleyball tournament.

Was a riot to be back in the gym I had played in [holyfreakinggasp] 20 years earlier.

So.  many.  awesome.  memories.

Peanut's team completely rocked.

[and yes, the last girl in yellow is seriously 12 years old, awesomely tall]

The Pita had "gone shootin'" for the day.  This man and his guns. 

I guess between the two of us [when the ZOMBIES come] we'll be ready.
Food + guns = we are prepared nuts.

Then I made Peanut drive by the Emz Childhood Casa

for our "listen to mom talk about her amazing childhood" moment.

Then well . . . . . it was all about the basketball game.
I had to start focusing.

Start sending I hate Duke tweets, texts, emails.

I.  Love.  March.

And I kinda love that Duke lost. true story.

Sorry Jason & Caroline.  I'm just so sorry for your loss.
[as if]

So in four days time, I'll be meeting Caroline. [hope she is still talking to me]
And in five days, I'll be running the Catalina Marathon.

Which totally makes sense why I'd run 20 today. 

It was just one of those days where the feet keep going [sans tv, music or phone].  I love how these awesome runs come on days they shouldn't  . . . . but it did freaking make my day.

Happy Monday to ALL!