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Well, today's run is complete. Ugh. It was super hot. At 18.25 or so, my right calf began to cramp, like seize up. I would run about ten to fifteen steps and it would cramp, causing me to gasp, walk ten to fifteen steps, then feel better, begin shuffling steps, then running...until the next ten to fifteen steps. It was a pain, but the coaches who were there said it was better to do this (or quit and go home, which was unacceptable to me) than injure myself. All totaled, my run ended up being 19.35 miles, walking included. And 20 next week??!! Well, I will cross that bridge next week. :)
Some foolish person (ahem, me) scheduled a neighborhood (6 families and ours) get together at our house for today. Yes, today. We... I mean I wanted to have the party on the patio before the start of school, sports, etc. Only now there is pending rain in the forecast. Can you believe it? Drought conditions for months and now some rain on my patio party. Well, good company and wine will cheer me up. :)
Other information from earlier this month: we went to Cedar Point with family. I wasn't keen on the idea because I don't like heights, speed or twirling until you lose your lunch. However, my husband does, my children wanted to try it... you know. Well, we got there with my brother-in-law and his family, went to Soak City (I'm not a fan of water, either.. I'm rather wimpy :)) We had a nice evening there, then the next morning, onto the roller coasters! My husband said, "Come on the Iron Dragon. It's not bad at all." When he saw my pale face after, he stopped asking me to ride. I had fun with my daughters and little nephews! I also had fun taking photos! My daughters fared much better, braving things that made them nervous. It was a fun time had by all. (FYI, I'm brave about other things like big dogs and riding horses.... Really.) :)
I haven't informed about anything lately, so:
My daughters were in the mood to listen to "kids' music" instead of our usual contemporary Christian, so I broke out some of our old favorites. Some of them are quite funny, and poetic in their words! Here they are:

• Great Big Sun by Justin Roberts
• My Best Friend is a Salamander, and My Green Kite by Peter Himmelman
  
• Evergreen Everblue by Raffi
• Rhinoceros Tap, Philadelphia Chickens and Dog Train by Sandra Boynton
• Silly Songs
• Songs I Heard by Harry Connick, Jr.
• Hey, It's Franklin (based on Franklin the turtle from the Franklin books for kids)

Well, the thunder is approaching, so I must go bring some of our outside things into the house. Bummer.

It's been a while

I have let more time pass than I like to in between blogs, so there is much to update.
Currently, I wait for the clock so I can go for my long run. 19 miles today. I was so exhausted and sore after 17, and the weather has been so hot and humid that I am very nervous for today's run. It should take about three hours. I should be ready to eat and nap when it's over. Hopefully the chafing I've experienced in recent weeks isn't a factor today, but I suspect it might be. The purple toenail I have that "serves as a badge of honor", so says the running store owner, hadn't been bothering me, so I hope that's true today, as well. Our group has plenty of water and Gatorade stops, so we can stay well hydrated, I have my three packs of gu, the ipod, and my watch. I took it a bit easy this week, due to the heat index over 100. I know to be careful in the heat, but I still feel guilty not achieving what the schedule says.
I got my hair cut two weeks ago. Very short, shorter than I've had in a while. It's fun, low maintenance and cute on me, but hard to keep out of my face on run days. "Bobby pins" will have to do. I hope they hold for three hours.
School starts this coming week and both girls are very excited. We went school shopping and paid an arm and a leg, as both girls have grown an inch over the summer! Of course nothing they had still fits them...
Our oldest had her first cross country scrimmage this past week, in the heat. She ran a smart race; starting slow, picking off people and getting faster as she went. She had a good time!
My youngest has started soccer and knows many girls on her team. She's excited to start a more regular practice schedule.
Well, it's time to head off on the run, I will write more later. Take care!

Another Run Down!

We are going after Vacation Bible School tonight, to meet up with my parents and camp with them for the weekend! I'm very much looking forward to it! But, I didn't want to worry about what I ate tonight, how I slept and a longer drive to meet the crew that I train with on Saturdays, so I ran today. I ate pasta last night to help, although my appetite has decreased lately. I ran-get this: 16 miles!!! By myself! I was nervous, because I haven't done over 14 this year, as regular readers know. At mile 15, I was hurting, of course, but I did it! It was not nearly the time frame I'd like: the 8:30 range, although I'm pacifying myself by remembering that it was 72 degrees when I started!!! I got up at around 5:30am, got ready, filled my Gatorade and water bottles, etc. I left around 6am and got back a little after 8am. Still, it was so humid and hot, it was very hard to breathe! But, I did it! :) I am excited, can you tell?? :) My minute per mile time was in the 9:00 range. Like I said, not the 8:30 I hoped for, but I will get there!! :)
The humidity is supposed to move off tonight for most of tomorrow, but not the heat, so camping in our pop up camper should be fun!! :)
My quest/hope for a teaching job hasn't led anywhere, yet, but I'm still hopeful, looking at the positives. :) School doesn't start for another month... :) I got out my tubs of information I've been saving for years and cut it down from two tubs to one, recycling all those notes from college classes with abbreviations I no longer remember the meaning of... Some pages I have far too many copies of, when I only need one... These types of things. I also have begun reviewing some of the newest, most relevant information, just in case...
The girls are growing up so fast, at our house. My oldest careening towards cross country practice-a school organized sport and 7th grade, as well. My youngest racing to grow up just as fast and in the process, growing up faster than it seems our first did! She's very excited about heading to third grade!! Counting down the days.
I am reading a new book that was recommended to me: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar: Understanding Philosophy through Jokes I am always looking for a nonfiction book to read, but one I will like... This came highly recommended as very funny and fun to read-while you're learning! :) So, I thought I'd try it. I'm only on the first couple pages, so I will keep you posted on that.
My garden looks awful-the heat is scorching it and the lawn, despite repeated watering. Although the beetles seem to be less...
That's all I have from here! Have a great weekend, reader!!

More Vacation Bible School

I'm in the midst of another awesome week of Vacation Bible School. Our church does three sessions, one evening session at our main campus, one evening session at our newly added campus, and one morning/daytime session at the main campus. I signed up to organize and run games for the two evening sessions. Now, we're in the second session! I mentioned a few posts ago that the last session I did was smaller than in years past. Well, this one is smaller still, but we're having fun in different, but still fun, ways. At our main campus, the only play area we have is inside the gym, which has slippery floors, so we can't play the water games. This second campus has areas outside where we can play water games! So, I'm picking up sponges for a water relay tomorrow and I think (being that it's supposed to be 94 degrees tomorrow!) they will thoroughly enjoy getting wet! Each game has a message to go with our week's Bible Points and theme, as well.
That's all for today; I just wanted to share the joy I feel over seeing kids be excited about God/Faith and singing with happiness. It's totally contagious and very fun to be a part of it!! :)