New York

Empire State Building



Wicked!!


Ice Skating in Bryant Park


Right after the Marathon

Jessica & I at the Empire State Building

By popular demand, I give you the account of the marathon (and, by default, the entire NYC trip). And yes, 1/6 comments makes it a popular demand.

We flew into NYC on Friday and left on Wednesday. My sister Jessica and her husband Brent came with us. It was so much fun! I was a little worried about leaving the boys at home, but we all did just fine! :)

Friday night we ate dinner at a neat little Thai food place just down the road from our apartment. it was a little strange eating in the dark (only candlelight), but the food was delicious.

Saturday we went to the marathon expo to pick up my race packet. There were so many thousands of people there, it was amazing. It made me more excited for the race, seeing all of these people from different countries, men and women of all shapes, sizes and accents! We walked around, sampled products, got our bright orange free ING hats, struck a pose for the expo photographer, and went along our way.
After the expo we went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It did take us a little while to figure out the subway system, but Luke got us all metro cards and became our official navigator from that point on. The Met is amazing, there is SO much to see. We saw a couple of the new exhibits and then decided to head back to the apartment. My race was in the morning so we took it easy. Brent & Jessica went out to dinner with some relatives, and Luke & I got a pasta dinner from an Italian shop on the corner.
Saturday night/Sunday morning Marathon Prep: The race starts on the Verrazano Bridge, and all traffic on and off the bridge is closed off hours before the race. I was signed up to take a 5 a.m. bus from the NY Public Library to the bridge. I was so worried about missing the bus because the time change was supposed to happen in the middle of the night. I worried that my cell phone wouldn't automatically change in time and I would be an hour late. So I did the only sensible thing....I set my alarm for the middle of the night so I could CHECK and make SURE that my clock would be set on the right time!! I fell asleep pretty quickly and slept well until the alarm went off. Apparently my mind was not functioning correctly at 2:30 a.m. because for the life of me I could not tell for sure if the time on my clock had changed or not! I got online, my computer's clock was not working..... anyway. I finally decided it was probably on the right time, so I was going to go back to bed for another hour...... Can you guess how well that worked? Yup! I was up for the day! I laid in bed for the hour, then got up and got all my gear together. Luke walked me outside to the taxi and I was off! I was only 5 min. down the road when I realized I had forgotten my cell phone! So there are 50,000+ runners in the race, all the volunteers, medical aid people, and the thousands of cheering fans at the end of this race, and I didn't have my cell phone to find my group afterwards? Good thing we had previously set up a meeting place to find each other after the race........or at least we meant to. I decided there must be some sort of camaraderie amongst marathon finishers, right? Surely I would find someone who would loan me their phone for a second. At least I had to hope that would be the case. I didn't have the time to spare to turn around. The taxi driver was very chatty and excited for me. He dropped me off, I got on the very first bus in line, and a few minutes later we were off!
I was warned that it would be chilly at the starting line, waiting for my start time (we got there at 5:30, and my start time wasn't until 10:10. However, the weather was really cold, and it wasn't just chilly, it was freezing! I grabbed a hot chocolate and a bagel from the food stands, headed over to the huge tent, and hunkered down in my $10 sweat suit from WalMart, cheap little gloves and earmuffs from the street vendor, and tried to imagine that I was really warm and limber, sitting there on the cold grass. I met a lady from Ohio who was in her 50s and running her first marathon. We chatted, distracting each other as best we could, but within 30 minutes my legs were stiff, cramping and aching from the cold. About that time, an angel came into my life. Actually, I don't know her name because I couldn't pronounce it, but she was a sweet Asian lady from Jersey who shared her sleeping bag with me. With that baby unzipped and wrapped around our shoulders, the temperatures almost became bearable. Pretty soon a lady came around handing out free fleece hats with the Dunkin' Donuts logo on it. I took two. And wore them both.
I saw SO many different countries represented. Germany, France, Britain, Norway, Finland, Venezuela, Canada (of course the Canadians wore flags on their heads....who else?), Ireland...on and on. It was amazing. It was such a cool feeling to be part of something so big. There were elite runners, beginners, slow and steady runners (that would be me), etc. With all the different distractions, the time quickly passed and we headed over to the starting gates. We enjoyed the bands playing and watched on the huge screens as the elite runners started, and then again as the first wave of runners started. Eventually it was my turn. The starting gun went off....and I kept moving with the crowd toward the starting line. 10 minutes later I reached the starting line!!
At mile 0.25 I met my running partner. Her name was Steph, and she was from "Brooklyn, baby!" We had the same goals and were running the same pace, so we stuck together. At mile 1.1, I ditched my gloves on the side of the road and wrapped my earmuffs around my arm until I would meet up with Luke. By the time we got to mile 2, the crowds of fans started, and never ended. It was so.awesome. The streets were packed, people cheering, people holding signs, people singing, bands playing, people offering hugs and high fives all over.
I will not walk you through every step of the race, because this post is already ridiculously long, and because a lot of the race is a blur. But here are some of the highlights:
-Steph's friend making a sign that said "Cheer for Steph and Becca", then running ahead of us, getting people to cheer for us personally.
-Finally seeing Luke, Brent & Jessica somewhere around mile 11
-Crossing those bridges and seeing the amazing views of NYC
-Running down First Ave. and hearing the deafening sound of literally thousands of cheering fans
-Going through my list. I had previously written a list of people, one for each mile that I was running. I decided to dedicate each mile of the run to someone important to me, that way whenever I was having a particularly tough time, I could think of whoever I was running that mile for and be encouraged by thinking of specifics of that person. This really came in handy during the last four miles, which I ran for Emmett, Braddock, Luke, and myself
-Not a highlight, but a memorable point was when I slightly sprained my left ankle around mile 13. The rest of the race that ankle was pretty touchy, sometimes pretty painful, sometimes not.
-Definitely a highlight turning into Central Park for the last couple miles of the run.
-Seeing the family again less than a mile from the finish line
-Seeing the finish line, I started getting emotional, thinking of how far I had come, how much work I had put into this, how this had been such a huge goal for me, and what an amazing experience it had been.
-Actually crossing the finish line, looking disgusting, tears and sweat all over the place. Receiving my medal and being wrapped in one of those awesome foil blankets. :)
-Finding my friend from Ohio out on the street an hour later, and she let me use her cell phone to call Luke and figure out a place to meet him.

I still can't even describe how amazing this experience was to me. I never thought I could actually run a marathon. To have run the NYC one, which was so huge, and had so many fans there, was indescribable.

The highlights of the rest of the trip:
-Going to Stomp
-Harbor Cruise, seeing Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island
-Going on the Today Show, taking a picture with Meredith, shaking hands with the rest of the crew
-Empire State Building
-Ice Skating in the park
-The brilliance of Times Square at night that makes you feel so small
-Eating the Chocolate Pizza at Max Brenner
-Hot chocolate at Serendipity (highly overrated)
-Rockefeller Center
-Seeing Wicked on Broadway
-Eating pizza and pasta in Little Italy
-Central Park

It was such a fun trip, and one I will not forget anytime soon. Thanks so much Luke, Brent, and Jessica for being so supportive of me in my run! Thanks to everyone who supported me along the way, and sent encouraging texts or voicemails during and after the marathon. Thanks to my parents for watching the boys while we were gone! Definitely a trip worth taking!

P.S. I just had Luke proofread this, and he informed me that this is so long that nobody is going to read the whole thing. So, I apologize for the length, and if you did read the whole thing, thanks from me, and congrats from Luke!

I'm Back!

Let's face it - I am not a great blogger. I make no claims to be good at it, and I seriously considered deleting my blog this year. However, I think we will give it another try! Since my last post...........

Luke & I celebrated our 5 year anniversary
Braddock started Preschool
Braddock's first trip to the ER (notice the purple suture glue on the forehead in some of the pictures)
Emmett's first tooth....then teeth
Emmett started crawling
We moved to Boise
I now work at St. Luke's Hospital
I ran the NYC Marathon!!

Here are a few random pictures from the year. I hope to be a more regular blogger from now on!

November 2010

It has always been a goal of mine to run a marathon someday. Last year I decided I really wanted to run the NYC marathon. I looked into the details and decided I would try to get in it this year. I knew I wanted to have a baby first but I figured if I had at least 9 months between the time the baby was born and the time of the race, I would have enough time to train. I found this video on youtube and got goosebumps when I watched it. The only problem is, so many people want to get in it that they have to put your name in the 'lottery' to see if you get picked. There are over 35,ooo runners, but I think its something like only 1/3 of the applicants get accepted. A few months ago, the applications opened and I applied. Yesterday at noon EDT, the lottery was drawn and .... I GOT IN!! I am so excited and officially have started my training! It will be a huge challenge for me, but I know it is possible and I am really excited for it!

Update

Since it has been so incredibly long since I last posted, here is the Readers Digest version of the last few months:

Braddock loves Santa. He still asks to go sit on Santa's lap.

He is now in gymnastics and is fearless.

He loves his cousins.

We went to the zoo a few weeks ago.

With his best buddy Davis.

He has had some horseback lessons on a miniature horse named Rusty.

We went to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum.

He met his first girlfriend, Olivia at a church party. They danced and held hands all night and he asked about her for months afterwards. She told her mom about a month later that she kissed him that night, which was news to all of us.

I have a new niece and she is adorable.

And who is this? Oh yes, I finally delivered that miniature giant in my belly.

Introducing Emmett Douglas.

Born 2/17 weighing 9 lbs. 10 oz. (who knew!?)

He is very sweet, he sleeps a lot and eats like a champ!

His hair came out a beautiful golden color - another shock!

We are all doing well and are just trying to adjust to our new life!

I Am The Type of Gal....

That loves to feel well-rested, but is definitely a morning person and can't sleep in even if I really need it. Part of it is that my mind gets going, thinking about all the things I need to do and then I can't slow those wheels back down. Also, I really love the morning time when everything is so quiet and peaceful.

That LOVES to read!

That LOVES the outdoors! Hiking, camping, a beautiful drive, a walk, a run, etc....you name it and I love to be outside smelling the *stinkin' fresh air* (thanks for the quote, Jessica)

Likes to have the house clean

Doesn't get stressed out anymore, thanks to nursing school. The most important thing I learned in school is that things can always feel crazy, or chaotic, like there is no way it is all going to get done, but regardless, time passes anyway and everything is okay! It all works out somehow, so there's no use in getting worked up about it.

Is exploring her creative side. I would demonstrate what I mean with a few pictures, but that would ruin a few Christmas gifts. A special post may be dedicated to this later.

Likes to cook, even though it doesn't always turn out the way I want it to.

LOVES my family. I will probably have all boys, but that is definitely okay with me! I love hanging out with my boys! I also love living close to family. I have always had more of a wandering spirit when it comes to where we live ... I like to see new places and try new experiences. I was so excited to live on the east coast for a while. Now I still don't care too much about where we live, but I want to be close to family!

Likes to learn about new things. I want to be a life-long learner.

Hates cancelling on people. I have been doing this more often lately, and I hate it! Sorry everyone I have cancelled on, I promise its not personal!!

Loves lounging around in comfy sweats at home, but loves to get dressed up for a date with my hubby. I love it when he is pleasantly surprised that I actually look decent!! :)

Needs a vacation!! We never took an official honeymoon, and we have never been on a vacation! We have taken lots of trips to visit family, which we love doing, but we have never gone on an official vacation, where the point is just .... vacation!

Chooses water as my all-time #1 favorite drink. Anything else just makes me thirsty for water. I do not like soda. I do love a nice cup of cocoa in the winter, but after its over I need a drink of water.

Loves to go out with Luke - to eat, to plays/dances, to the movies, on road trips, etc. Its nice to get out and do things!

Obviously overuses exclamation points!!

Likes the smell of oranges. I am a sucker for mandarin or tangerine scented candles.

Wants to improve (or create) my skills in photography, pottery, singing, and playing the guitar.


Can't stand to have chapped lips or dry hands.

Is VERY excited for February, to complete this family of four!

These are the random things I could think of at the moment. Thanks for the tag, Maria!

I tag:

Jessica S.
Carrie
Ali
Jessica W.
Melissa
Nicole
Heather
and anyone else that feels like doing it!

Grandma Boo

This is my Grandma Boo & Grandpa Don. Aren't they cute?!

A little over a week ago, my grandma passed away. There was a wonderful memorial service for her this weekend, and since she has been on my mind a lot lately I wanted to write a little bit about her!

You are probably wondering why on earth we call her Grandma "Boo". To be honest, for the longest time I didn't know why, that was just her name to us. Well, her name is Betty, and being in the era she was, she got the nickname 'Betty Boop'. Somehow that Boop got transformed into Boo, and since that is what my dad has called her for at least as long as I can remember, that's what we grew up calling her. Not only has that nickname stuck, so has the orginal nickname it came from. At her memorial service, sharing a table with Grandma's yearbooks, there was a picture of Betty Boop.

She was born in 1930 in Lewiston, Idaho. Her only sibling, Max, was born on her fifth birthday. When she was only seven years old, her dad, who was a semi-pro baseball player, was killed in a hunting accident. Her mom died from cancer later the same year, and Betty and Max were raised by their grandparents.

Grandpa was in the Navy, a Seabee, during WWII. After the war he met Grandma while she was babysitting the daughters of one of his friends. Grandpa was immediately impressed with her and made a wedding proposition to her that very first day! She thought he was crazy, but they began dating. A few months later she agreed to marry him, and in August of 1948 they were hitched, only a month after she turned 18. They just celebrated 61 years a couple of months ago!

Grandma was such a neat person because she was never one to sit around and mope about anything. She had an amazing work ethic and a knack for befriending people. She had many, many 'best friends'. She was am AMAZING pie maker! She was always doing things for other people, stopping by, bringing pies, sending care packages, etc. We just got our last care package from her a few months ago. Shoes for Braddock and a hat for Luke. Even when things were tough physically and financially, she always saw opportunities to serve.

My dad and his sisters say that they had the perfect parents, because they gave them the right balance of freedom with responsibility, they never raised their voices, and they instilled great values into them. The kids were never allowed to say, "I can't", instead they had to either say, "I won't", or "I choose not to". They say that because of this they grew up believing they could do anything.

I went to Grandma's memorial this weekend in California, and it was a wonderful service. Grandma had advanced stages of cancer, and ended up dying from different health complications that came about as a result of the cancer (sepsis and PE after a broken hip, for my nursing friends out there). She was in so much pain the last few months before she passed, and she was not afraid to die. Even in her most painful moments she still took time to enjoy the beauty around her. My aunt told us that a few weeks before she passed, she found grandma in the kitchen, leaning on the counter and looking out the window. She was leaning on the counter because she was in so much excruciating pain that it was the only position she could bear at the moment. She said to my aunt, "Look out the window. Do you see that iris out there? It isn't even the season for irises to be blooming, and there aren't any others around, but there is that one iris standing out there. It brings me so much joy every time I see that iris."

After the designated speakers at the memorial, the time was left open for people in the congregation to share some words if they wanted to. It was so neat to hear all these different people come up and tell stories about grandma. One lady told us how she did not want to go to her high school reunion alone, so grandma came with her. Grandma was known for dressing up to the nines, and when she and her friend came from San Francisco to this high school reunion, people assumed that they were "an item". Grandma's friend was worried and surprised by this, but Grandma said, "Let them think what they want! At least they're paying attention to us!!"

After the service, we all ate pie! It was a special time and I am so glad that I was able to go, it made me feel that much closer to her and I felt like I learned even more about her. Her example of service and hard work has been inspiring to me, as it was to many others.

Seeing as this is possibly the longest post I have ever written, I am sure most of you did not read all of that, but it was therapeutic for me! If you have made it this far and are still reading, then I encourage you to think of ways that you can serve others around you, whether it is by physical acts of kindness to someone, being a better parent, spouse, friend, etc. I will be trying to do the same!

Top Ten Reasons Why I Love My Job

I recently started working at an assisted living facility. It was not where I planned on starting my career, but I have been pleasantly surprised at how much I really love my job so far. Here are a few reasons why:

10. They make brownies and cookies free for anyone to snack on, which not only makes people happy, it also makes it a more pleasant environment

9. They work especially hard on promoting good air quality. We have all been to those facilities where you walk in and the smell just hits you. This is not one of them!

8. Higher pay than the hospital

7. Full time benefits if you work just 20 hours/week

6. Tuition reimbursement, even if the classes are totally unrelated to any specific degree, which means that I will most likely be taking some photography or other artsy classes that I have been interested in for a long time!

5. Small unit = tight knit, family feeling among my coworkers

4. Halloween is a big deal. Every year our unit comes up with a theme, and we all come in for a party in our costumes. Even with one theme, it is amazing the variety that people come up with. For example, have you ever heard of a flower power witch? Or a vampire from the 70s that has a 'fro and wears roller skates all day? This year the theme is Rhinestone Cowboy. If you have any ideas for me, please pass them on. I am feeling the pressure to be creative!! :)

3. Director of Nursing who is very willing to work with my schedule, so that Braddock will only be in babysitting for a few hours a week, and be with either Luke or I the rest of the time.

2. Management and coworkers that are very supportive and helpful. When my grandma passed away during my first week of work, I was amazed at how willing they were to let me take off any time that I needed. I received many offers from coworkers to cover shifts for me, and although I only told one worker about what had happened, every single coworker that I came into contact with afterwards already had heard about it and offered their sincere condolences and support.

1. Being able to care for such amazing people! They have so many amazing stories and experiences, and it is fun to get to know them and learn their humor and personalities. It also helps to know that my grandma was recently receiving this type of care, so it makes it a lot more personal for me and helps me to remember that these are all somebody else's grandparents, and I get to take care of them so their family will be able to enjoy them longer!