Running with Joy!

What brings you joy?  I really like joy.  Sometimes I find myself driving home and I just gently realize, I'm full of joy!  There are many things that bring me joy.  Baby Girl's silly faces, Baby Boy's weekly garbage truck report, my children playing on the beach, Hubby coming home early from work...but I'm going to take a very materialistic slant here, shoes bring me joy.

I love shoes!  I even have a t-shirt that a good friend gave me that says, "I (heart) shoes!"  I even wore it to school when it was "Superhero" day and announced that I was a "Shoe-perhero"! Hah!!

A couple of years ago I saw these shoes in a magazine.  They are Coach shoes, but not just any Coach shoes, they are Coach Legacy shoes - I have no idea what the heck that means, but the magazine made a point of calling it out!  So I went in search of these shoes.  I discovered that there are only 2 Coach Legacy stores in the US.  I had to call the Coach Legacy store in New York to obtain these fabulous shoes.

Well, the day they arrived, was a very bad day at work.  I came home in a terrible mood.  But, when I walked in the door and saw my package from the UPS man, I was - you guessed it - filled with joy!  But wait, it got even more joyous!  I opened the plain cardboard box that they arrived in only to find a beautiful, striped Coach bag with a shiny, gleaming box inside!  I gently pulled out the shoebox and opened it.  Ahhh!  There they were, even more beautiful than the picture in the magazine!

I love wearing these shoes!  I walk with a joyful gait all day long.  Plus, they are really comfy!  Surprisingly!

I now have to thank you for not commenting on how big my feet look in these photos!  Yes, my feet are big - 9 1/2, but the camera seemed to add inches to my feet - silly camera!

So, now it's your turn - what brings you joy?

P.S.  It may not surprise you now to learn that I own many pairs of shoes.  I may be bringing a "Shoes-day Tuesday" entry to my blog on occasion - that's something I enjoyed seeing at A Mile in Mom's Manolos.  Check it out - she's got some great shoes! 

Hope you had a great day!

Running the 9 Miler!

My latest race of the season was in April at the Big Sur Marathon!  I have to clarify here, I didn't run a marathon, I only ran a 9 mile race!  Isn't that the lamest clarification?  9 miles is a lot of miles, yet when I told people I was running, they asked, "The Marathon?"  And my sheepish response was, "No, uhh, just the 9 mile race..."  Should anyone be sheepish about running 9 miles? NO!!!  So, I hereby proclaim, proudly - 

I ran 9 miles!!  

And, I have a really cool medal to prove it!

My goal in this race was to have a pace of less than 10:30 per mile.  I've found that I'm just starting to get faster after over a year of running, and I was thrilled with my 10:10 per mile pace!!

Now, when I run a long distance, (remember, 9 miles is a long distance) the first few miles are really interesting and full of awe and enthusiasm, but after those first few miles, you have some time on your hands and not much else to do except listen to the i-Pod and look at people.  People passing you, people that you are passing, people cheering, people dressed in ways that they really shouldn't be dressed!!  Ok, so there it is, I love looking at what people are wearing - sometimes with admiration, sometimes with scrutiny, and sometimes with "jaw-dropping 'what the hell we're you thinking?'"

So here are 9 "Rants & Raves" to match the 9 miles that I ran!

1. Rave - The Big Sur Coastline - it is simply my most favorite place to be!  I, quite literally, could spend hours just sitting enjoying the view - breathtaking! 

    2. Rant - Don't have too big of a smile on your face when you're coming back from the turn-around     when I'm only on mile 4! This means you, 24-year old Berkeley kid!!

3.  Rave - Very unique ceramic medal for all finishers!

4.  Rant - If you're not an Olympian, perhaps you should reconsider wearing only a running bra and shorts during your race!

5.  Rave - Very enthusiastic groups at every mile shouting words of encouragement!

6.  Rant - Don't wear white running shorts if you're a man - actually this applies to women also - please, there are children watching this race!!

7.  Rave - My fans!  

Me & the Babies! My biggest fans!

8.  Rant - Don't yell, "Why are you slowing down?" to people coming into the finish!  We're tired - and why aren't you out here running next to me?

9.  Rave - Being blessed with a healthy body that allows me to run!  Thank you Lord!

Still able to walk upright! It was a good day!

Here's some thrilling news!  Running Buddy and I were picked out of a random draw to run the Nike Women's Half Marathon in San Francisco in October!!  What's the big excitement about this?  The hunky firemen dressed in tuxedos handing out Tiffany necklaces at the end of the race!  

Woo hoo!  I'm going to fool myself into thinking that I'm actually "lookin' good" at the end of a 13.1 mile race!  What fun!

Hey, thanks for visiting!

Running in the Yard!

This week I'm joining up for the first time with A Southern Daydreamer for Outdoor Wednesday!  I'm excited to show you what's happening outdoors at my house!

This iris comes back year after year - with absolutely no help from me!  It's a lovely surprise to see it pop up in the back yard!  Is it just me, or does anyone else see an angry "kitty face" in the middle?

This Gerbera Daisy is my favorite!  They are so simple and strong!  And this one actually got some help from me to grow!  I put a little raised bed in place with some pavers and planted a bed of daisies - unbelievably I have kept them alive for the 2nd year.  Are you getting the idea here that I really like gardening, but I'm not that good at it?

I planted azaleas on the north side, but they are getting too much shade, so sadly, this will be the only bloom until I transplant them to a "more desirable locale".

This Chrysler Imperial is my greatest success story!  We've had 2 tree roses by the front door for about 10 years, and they bloom like wild!  This Beauty has the most heavenly scent!

Baby Girl found this ladybug and thought she might want to be part of my blog!

Baby Boy made this birdhouse from a kit when he was 5.  You can barely see it, but he wrote "Birds Enter Hear".  Thankfully his spelling has improved over the years!

Finally, here's one of my 2 cats - Simon.  He's not part of the outdoors, but he dreams of wild bird dinners - sorry Simon, it's Friskies again tonight!

Hope you enjoyed visiting the outdoors here in my neighborhood!  Thanks for stopping by!  Why don't you swing on over to A Southern Daydreamer and see what else is happening on Outdoor Wednesday!