Many thanks. Now...let's run!

Thanks folks, for your kind words and encouragement. I'm so happy that this blog continues to be a fixture in my life, and that my dear Bloggie and I have worked out a balance that works for us. Sometimes I post, sometimes I don't, it's all okay. Thank you guys for checking in with me from time to time. It's always nice to hear from all of you.

So, about that giveaway. I put all of the names in a hat, and Jack picked...JMac!!! Yippee! I guess the forces have a clever way of working, don't they? Now I can finally pay you back for the awesome shirt that's enjoying it's third go-around on Zöe. I'll email you later, Jen, with details. Congrats! A great excuse for a get-together dontcha think?

Now for something totally different. My brother and Nicole got me a really nifty gadget for my birthday. Have you heard of Nike+? It has completely re-invigorated my running training! You can download stats from each of your runs to keep track of things like distance, pace, calories burned, etc. It works in connection with the iPod Nano, so you get great tunes to boot. And you can specify what song you want for your "Powersong" to kick in a boost when you really need it. I swear, technology rocks so hard.



So I've been having fun gathering running songs for my playlist, preferably ones with a good beat that make me want to move. I've got some pretty eclectic tastes. Here are a few from my list that you might enjoy:

1. I Want Candy - Bow Wow Wow
2. Take Your Mama - Scissor Sisters
3. Pump It - Black Eyed Peas
4. I'm Too Sexy - Right Said Fred
5. Wannabe - Spice Girls
6. Here it Goes Again - Ok Go
7. It's a Beautiful Life - Ace of Base
8. Sexyback - Justin Timberlake
9. Such Great Heights - Postal Service
10. Vacation - Go gos
11. Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
12. Light and Day - Polyphonic Spree
13. Take on me - Aha
14. Walking on Sunshine - Katrina and the Waves
15. Move on Up - Curtis Mayfield

Please leave a comment and tell me what song (or songs) really get you in the mood to run, jump, skip, dance, twirl or do some step aerobics. I'm always scouting for new or forgotten tunes. Happy groovin'!

Edited to add: I just ran this morning with some new additions to my playlist (thanks Erica!). When I finished my workout I was surprised to hear Paula Radcliffe pop into my iPod, lovely Brittish accent and all, to congratulate me on a new personal best for the mile! Woohoo! Seriously, how did I ever run without this fun gadget?!?

Playing catch-up...with a prize

Lordy! I haven't posted since when?!? So many things have been going on around here that I've wanted to post about, and the longer I've waited the longer the list has grown. So, sorry people but this is going to be a list-type post: the past seven (!) weeks in abbreviated review. Some of these items really deserve a post entirely of their own, but seeing that life just keeps propelling us forward, um, yeah, it's likely not gonna' happen. So without further ado:


Made five teacher gifts: two Stash and Dash bags (I love that pattern!), one bag of my own creation, as well as a larger and a smaller framed version of this Kindergarten auction project for the teachers to keep.

Hosted a 1950's themed Women's Poker Night as an auction item for the Preschool. Remember the one last year?

















Graduated a Kindergartener!


Ran the Helvetia Half Marathon with Sarah. Sorry, no Chariot's of Fire-type photo for this one.


















Had a super great visit with Grandpa Jim and Grandma Reni from Indiana, as well as Auntie Andrea from Pasadena.



With Sarah, competed in...and WON(!!!) Portland's Rose City Runaround: patterned after The Amazing Race, 25 two-person teams in a five-hour city-wide challenge. I have never, ever done anything harder in my entire life, and that includes running five marathons and birthing three children. A very, very sweet victory! Am I letting you guys in on my competitive side a little bit? Yep, I think so.





Celebrated my birthday...37 years! A morning treasure-hunt with a new Wii as our pot of gold, a delicious pajama brunch (cooked by Eric) with my girlfriends, a lovely new hammock for the side-porch, and a great whole-family celebration in the evening with my very favorite blueberry pie ever.




Enjoyed a rocket-filled Fourth of July with family, friends, lots of kids, great food, legal and illegal (shhhhh...) fireworks, and a funny red, white and blue photo session.



Celebrated our anniversary...10 years! An awesome new handheld GPS (I've finally decided to embrace the fact that, yes, I'm a geeky gadget girl...you wanna make somethin' of it?), some family geocaching (so awesome!), a long lingering dinner with Eric at Jake's, and some photobooth time at the new Ace Hotel.

And I think that covers it. If you've made it this far you deserve a reward, and a reward you may receive. Tomorrow marks my two-years-of-blogging anniversary, and in honor of this I'm going to do my very first-ever giveaway. Leave a comment sometime between now and, say, Tuesday. On Wednesday I'll randomly select a name and the winner will receive a custom-made Stash and Dash bag of their very own. Your chances of winning are pretty darn good, I would imagine. I'm not exactly the most prolific blogger around, and I'm sure most people gave up on me a long time ago. So, give it a whirl.

And in honor of my blogiversary, I need to give all of you out there a big "Thank You" from the bottom of my heart for reading, commenting and generally supporting my blogging endeavor. This blog has been the most amazing outlet for me. It's enabled me to stop (albeit infrequently), celebrate and reflect on the moments in life that might otherwise not receive special notice. I was originally inspired by this lovely friend of mine, who is now continually amazing me with her adventures in China. Along the way I've made some fun, lovely, creative, smart, virtual connections, as well as some real- live human connections to boot! I've bugged a few other crazy souls until they joined in the fray. Had some fun with family blogging. And even re-connected with a friend from college. Who knew?

My heartfelt love and thanks to all for a fantastic two years!