Viva Las Vegas

I am now home after a great weekend in Las Vegas with friends. I am happy, sad and exhausted.

I drove to Las Vegas Friday afternoon. I have to say, it was a nice drive through the California and Nevada desert and mountains. It was nice to have the quiet time and be able to sing loudly without anyone telling me to be quiet. I must say that, based on the billboards along the way, the majority of people who drive along I-15 from San Diego to Las Vegas must be obese. I say this because the number of billboards advertising lap band surgery was pretty astounding. I was beginning to get a complex.

It was so so so good to see my friends. I met up with Steve and Tish and Kanayo from Maryland. They are dear friends and it was wonderful to see them, catch up and spend 3 days with them. Friday night we just got dinner, played some slots and talked.

We went to Dick's Last Resort for dinner. This place is hysterical. All the servers are rude and basically curse you out. This would be poor customer service if it weren't for the fact that we as customers can curse back without getting thrown out of the place. What everyone hopes for is that their server will place a paper hat on their head. These hats usually have something rude (albeit false and in jest) about the wearer written by the server. We all got hats except poor Steve. Apparently he wasn't hat-worthy.

Saturday we went to the race expo. The expo was pretty enormous. It's one of the largest race expos in the country. When we got there, it wasn't open yet, so people were lining up to get in. The line had to be at least half a mile long. We were thinking the whole process of getting our packet would take all day. But once they opened the doors to the expo, everything went very smoothly. We all had our packets within 10 minutes. The best part? Seeing the running Elvii. They were very cool. And I did see a few of them running the marathon Sunday night.

After the expo, we walked through the Venetian and had lunch. We had to go to the Mirage to pick up the tickets for the Beatles Cirque de Soliel show we were going to that night. The line for that was a mile long and not moving, so we all took turns going into the gift shop and walking around. The area where the show was so so cool! It was hard for me to not buy everything in the gift shop but I didn't leave empty-handed. Once we had the tickets and were done playing around in the shop, we headed back to our hotel. We stayed at the Luxor which was really such a let down compared to the other hotels. It's old and tired. The other hotels, while they may be the same age or only slightly newer, seem so much more alive and happening. While we stayed at the Luxor primarily out of convenience and proximity to the race start/finish, I would not stay there again.

Anyway, for dinner Saturday night, we went to B.B. King's restaurant, which was kind of lackluster. The food was fine, but nothing that really knocked my socks off.

After dinner we went to the Revolution Bar which is a bar in the Mirage that is essentially a Beatles bar. They only play Beatles music, which is definitely my kinda place! The place is very mod and psychedelic, all very cool. We had a great time there.

After drinks, we saw Beatles Cirque de Soliel, which was absolutely amazing. Whether you love the Beatles or not, this show is just too good to miss. But as a Beatles fan, I was just in absolute heaven. The show itself really touched on all senses. It was really a good show.

Sunday we really didn't do anything. We just hung out, ate and got ready for the race. The race itself was fun. I won't go into tremendous detail as I've written a race recap over at my running blog, so if you're interested you can read that post. But as this was my first race after the babies were born, I didn't really have any expectations. It went better than I thought it would and it feels good to be back among my people!

After the race, we were all pretty tired. We had grand plans of partying and shots and getting crazy. But when the time came, we just wanted to eat and then go to sleep, which is what we did. Everyone had early flights out this morning, so we had to say our goodbyes last night. It was sad for me because I don't know when I'll see them again. These people have been such good friends to me. They've been there for me when others haven't and have been an important part of my life. I miss them and I'm sad that I won't see them for some time. We're hoping to do something like this every year so hopefully I'll see them next year!

As I said in the beginning, I'm pretty exhausted, so I'm sure I'm leaving things out. If I think of anything, I'll be sure to edit this post. So check back in a few days!

Here Comes The Sun

I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted.

I've been wanting to post. I have formulated posts in my head and thought about what I would want to talk about. It all comes back to the baby and what I've been dealing with in getting through our loss. I know not everyone really wants to read about it so I don't post. But then I think, "Um...it's my blog. My thoughts."

Anyway, the past few months have flown by. A lot has happened but a lot hasn't happened too. I feel like I really turned a corner with my 50K back in March. Since then I have run another marathon, a few half marathons, a 10-miler, etc. Running has really been my salvation. It's been fun. But I have also come upon the date where I found out I was pregnant last year and now a lot of my time is spent thinking about what I was doing last year at this time and how different I thought things would be now.

But I feel like I actually have the strength to deal with it now. I can sit and think about what we lost and not feel that hole in my heart. I am not over it, please don't think I've moved on. But I feel like I've found my strength...I have finally found the strength to not only wake up each morning but get out of bed.

Back one morning in April, I was taking Keller to school and "Here Comes The Sun" came on. Keller and I listen to the Beatles every time we're in the car. And while this song has come on a million times before, this one morning it came on and it hit me. I was welcoming the sun in my life. I could feel happiness again and it felt good.

Wow. It was huge. There were tears streaming down my face as I listened to the words to the song. The sun was shining on me and the long, cold winter filled with sadness and despair was behind me. The memories are still there and I can still feel the sadness and I miss what would have been, but I can look forward now. I can see that there's still a huge, long sun-filled road ahead of me.


Here Comes The Sun
The Beatles (George Harrison)

Here comes the sun, doo da doo doo
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright

Little darling
It's been a long, cold, lonely winter
Little darling
It feels like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright

Little darling
The smiles returning to their faces
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been here

Here comes the sun
Here comes the sun, and I say
It's alright

Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes
Sun, sun, sun, here it comes

Little darling
I see the ice is slowly melting
Little darling
It seems like years since it's been clear

Here comes the sun, here comes the sun and I say,
It's alright

I'm So Excited (And I Just Can't Hide It!)

Today is an important Monday for many reasons.

The January 2009 issue of Runner's World hit the shelf over the weekend and guess who happens to be in it? That's right, me! I have known about this for some time and it's been killing me not to say anything (unless it didn't happen) and to wait to see if it did.

There is a section of the magazine that's a Q & A with experts. And I'm one of the experts this month. It's pretty cool and something on my life list that I can cross off (being in Runner's World). In case you happen to pick up the issue, it's page 38. :)

Also exciting news is that this past Saturday morning was the goal race for my Beginning 5K group. They were all there with bells on (it was the Jingle Bell 5K after all). It was so cold (20 degrees). But everyone finished in great time and I couldn't be more proud.

Today also happens to be the 28th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. While this isn't really a very happy thing, it is something that should be acknowledged (in my opinion). John Lennon was such a visionary and so ahead of his time. His unfortunate and tragic death really robbed the world of true greatness. There are times when I have gotten upset that the coming generations of people will never know music genius like Lennon and the Beatles. I know, I'm getting crazy, but the Beatles were more than just a band and it's important that their influence is still felt.

Anyhoo, the last item of interest today is that I am wearing a real shoe on my left foot. Yay! I am not wearing that hideous shoe anymore. Well, I'm not wearing it right now, anyway. My toe/foot has been feeling better, so I thought I'd give a real shoe a try. It seems to be all right at the moment but I did bring my ugly shoe with me today in case my foot starts hurting badly.

So, that's the news this fine, yet extremely cold, Monday morning. Have a good one!

They Say It's Your Birthday

We have a tradition in my house: we play The Beatles' "Birthday" for everyone's birthday. We play it for me, John, Keller, Lola, and Percy. Even if you have to work or go to school on your birthday, at least you have a few minutes all about you. As it should be.

And this morning was no different. It took me a while to get moving this morning though. I'm kind of feeling a little old. I was stiff and achy, so I needed to do a little yoga to get loosened up. Then we let it loose and danced. We danced to the song twice and I think, if Keller had his way, we'd be dancing all day. But we old folks needed to rest.

I was telling John this morning that this will be the first birthday I have to work in 4 years. I've been home with Keller every year, plus the year I was pregnant with him. So, I haven't worked on my birthday since 2004! That's kind of nuts. But I'm only working a half day so it shouldn't be too bad.

So, it's my birthday, and life is good. I hope everyone has a great day!

I'm So Tired

How is it that The Beatles have a song that fits every single situation? As you may or may not remember, I use song titles/lyrics/etc. as the titles of my posts (you're supposed to guess who sings it! It's a game!). I've been trying to mix it up and not put titles from The Beatles, but sometimes that's really all there is that fits.

I am so freaking glad this week is over and we have a 3-day weekend. Work wasn't necessarily busy, but it was hectic. Things just popping up here and there that need immediate attention. And in between busy days at work, I was looking at schools, making phone calls, and generally drowning in worry over Keller. But I believe we've found a school for him that will be wonderful. I feel really good about this place and I hope with everything that it will be all right for Keller.

Speaking of Keller, I do have a funny story to share. After school yesterday, I took Keller to the pool. I brought all his stuff and planned on changing him there in the restroom. But there was a swim meet going on and it was a little chaotic when we got there, so we just went straight to the pool. I was changing him in the corner by the edge of the area, next to the fence that surrounds the pool. I took his diaper off and he started to pee. I told him to stop, which he did, and we went over to the fence and I told him to pee out onto the grass. Which he did. I think he liked peeing through the fence. It was pretty hilarious.

So, even through crappy weeks, we can still manage to find something funny. And my sweet husband got me a gift of massages for the next 3 months! I am a lucky person. And I know things will work out in the end.

Happy Independence Day! Power to the People!

They say it's your birthday...

Yesterday was John's birthday. I won't say how old he is because he'll get mad at me, but let's just say he's older than me. :)

Anyway, I think John had a good day. We were up fairly early, as usual. I had a run to get in, so I was up. But Keller was up at about 6:00, which is par for the course. We started the morning off with the Birthday dance (we play Birthday by The Beatles and dance for everyone's birthday every year. Even for Lola and Percy's birthdays). That is always fun.

John and Keller then ran the Germantown 5-miler kids run, which was 1K. Keller ran almost the entire thing! But he ultimately hit the wall and needed a ride from Papa. But they finished the race and Keller earned a nice medal.

After the race, they played in the moonbounce together and that was really fun. We then had breakfast (yum! Chick-fil-a breakfast rocks). We danced to the Birthday song again and John then went on a nice bike ride for some quality John-time.

Once John got home, we were going to go to the Strawberry Festival in Potomac, but Keller had different plans. He slept until 3:15, which was about a 3.5 hour nap. The festival ended at 4:00, so we figured by the time we got down there, we wouldn't get to do very much. Oh well, there's always next year.

We went out to dinner with Lynne, Randy and Elena. This past Thursday was Lynne's birthday, so it was nice to celebrate two of my favorite people together. We went up to Frederick and had dinner at Isabella's. It's a Spanish tapas place that Lynne, Randy and Elena had been to a bunch of times, but we had never been. We love Spanish food, so we were up for it. It was so good! We ate so much and everything was so good. Keller enjoyed the paella the most. He ate tons of that. I can't wait to go back there.

Then we walked around downtown Frederick for a little while. There are some really cute shops and restaurants along Market Street. John got some rather unique Nikes at one shop. They are interesting, to say the least. He likes them and that's all that matters.

We then came home and everyone went to sleep. Overall, it was a nice day and I hope John had a great birthday. He deserves it! He is such a wonderful person, I hope he knows how much we all love him. We are very lucky to have him!

Happy Birthday, John. Je t'aime, mon petit chou!

Obsession

Oh my God! I have got serious problems.

Anyone that knows me, knows I tend to have a bit of an obsessive personality. All right, maybe it's more than "a bit." When I decide that I love something or am really into it, I have the tendency to go a little nuts. Let's go over some of my most recent obsessions: earrings, lip stick, hair bands, juicing, salad (yes, salad), getting a haircut and what that would entail, anything that has to do with my child, makeup (that was expensive), dresses, and so on. I have had little mini-obsessions recently. Nothing to really tell anyone about. I had a brief obsession with lip balm recently only because I developed an allergic reaction to my current one. But I think that's worked itself out. I was obsessed with podcasts for a little while because I listen to them on the bus. I LOVE Ricky Gervais' podcast. I love him. I was obsessed with these Nike running capris for about a week or so. I bought 1 pair when we were in San Diego in January. I loved them so much, I bought 3 more pairs back in April. Then we were at the outlets last weekend and I was about to buy some more and John looked at me like I was crazy. Like you can talk, buster.

But now I feel like I have these fleeting obsessions throughout the day. So, I'll be sitting at my desk at work and have this insane thought about how I absolutely HAVE to go find a shoe store and buy a new pair of shoes. I mean, right now. And then, strangely, it passes. And I feel a little tired after it. What the hell?

Isn't that what happens to drug addicts? Don't they have an intense urge to get high, then they get high, and then they crash and are tired? Does this mean I'm addicted to being obsessed? Seriously, I'm a little scared about this. I sound like a lunatic.

In case you haven't noticed, the latest obsession is this blog. When something happens to me or crosses my mind, I think about how it would be a great blog topic. I sit and think up blog post titles. I had a brief thought that every single blog post title would be the title of a Beatles' song. Like this one was going to be 'Helter Skelter.' But then I figured people would get sick of that.

That's really all I had to say on the topic. I'm hoping that I don't spiral out of control, running out of my office screaming that I absolutely HAVE to go to the store and buy their entire stock of some random item like paper plates. Hmmm....