Mom

"Somebody's Hero" -Jamie O'Neal

She's never pulled anyone from a burning building
She's never rocked Central Park to a half a million fans, screaming out her name
She's never hit a shot to win the game
She's never left her footprints on the moon
She's never made a solo hot air balloon ride, around the world,
No, she's just your everyday average girl (but)

She's somebody's hero
A hero to her baby with a skinned up knee
A little kiss is all she needs
The keeper of the cheerios
The voice that brings Snow White to life
Bedtime stories every night
And that smile lets her know
She's somebody's hero

oh oh
She didn't get a check every week like a nine-to fiver
But she's been a waiter, and a cook and a taxi driver
For twenty years, there at home, until the day her girl was grown
Giving all her love to her was her life's ambition
But now her baby's movin' on, and she'll soon be missin' her
But not today, those are tears of joy runnin' down her face

She's somebody's hero
A hero to her daughter in her wedding dress
She gave her wings to leave the nest
It hurts to let her baby go down the aisle she walks right by
Looks back into her mother's eyes
And that smile lets her know oh oh oh
She's somebody's hero

...

Happy Mother's Day to my beautiful Mother!  Thank you for every bit of love and support you have given me through the years.  Thank you for being there for me for every skinned knee and broken heart.  Thank you for believing in me when I don't and always putting your children first.  I am so lucky to call you my Mom. 

Staples.

They told us to keep Ellie calm after her spay...  Unfortunately, she doesn't really do calm.  She prefers crazy to calm.  So tonight when we realized she pulled out some of her stitches, we went back to the vet.  He closed her back up with staples and sent us on our way... with more instructions to keep her calm.  Really??

He makes me laugh

I received an email today that had me crying in the clinic from laughing so hard.  I know some of you find my husband as hysterical as I do, so I thought I'd share it with you guys...

{Background: I made an enchilada lasagna last night for dinner while Mike was at his soccer game.  Also, we affectionately refer to our furry zoo members as dinosaurs (Elladon, Jastasaur, Pouncesaur).}

My new toy

As a "graduation" gift, the mister surprised me with a new camera!  We've been dreaming about one of these for awhile (especially since the new pup).

So far about all I've mastered is AUTO, but I hope to eventually figure out how to take advantage of the technology.  One of the first things we did was take Ellie to the dog park to try it out.  It was an unfortunately dreary day but the photos turned out pretty awesome.

 

These pictures remind me... We picked her up from getting spayed this morning and they said "try to keep her calm for about 10 days."  I hope they were joking.

Country Music Marathon Recap #2

This Saturday in Nashville was the Country Music Marathon and my second chance to run 13.1 miles. This year's race had the added excitement of one of our best friends coming to run it with us. 

Race expo

Everyone was saying I shouldn't be nervous since I already knew I was capable of running that far.  I, however, think the opposite.  Last year I was excited and foolishly believed 13 miles would not be much harder than 11.  This year... I knew the challenge I was in for.

Pre-race

J with our race support team

30,000 runners

The day was gorgeous- warm and sunny.  Unfortunately, Nashville is about the hilliest place on earth and my legs and lungs decided they were over it about mile 8.  Last year, the out-and-back part of the course meant you got to run down the hills for a bit... they took that out this time around and added a new, even hillier road giving us no break!

Getting through the final hour of the race was the hardest thing I've ever done in my life.  Everything in my body wanted to quit.  Luckily, Mike kept encouraging me to keep going.  I'm really not sure how I made it through to the end but crossing the finish line was an awesome feeling.  

finished!!!

With Publix as a sponsor, the post-race spread was pretty great and we quickly devoured some snacks and several bottles of water and Cytomax.  We found Julianne and congratulated her on her ridiculous race.

We took some pictures with the pretty skyline on our way back over the walking bridge to catch a cab back to our car.  

 

The rest of the day was spent eating massive quantities of wings and mac and cheese and catching up on sleep after our 4:30 am wake-up.

That night we went downtown for dinner and some honky-tonkin'.  J's boyfriend Akira joined us for the weekend (although sadly couldn't run the race because of a sprained ankle) so she wanted to show him the best place in Nashville: The Stage.

so fun!

so happy to be done running!

love this boy.  he deserves an extra medal after this race.

I spent the last couple miles bargaining with myself that if I just finished the race, I would never make myself run again.  As any runner will tell you, races have a way of making you forget the hell you go through and leave you with awesome memories.  While I haven't completely forgotten the pain and tears, I was enticed by an advertisement for a "fast and flat race" and have already signed up for my next 13.1 in October.  The Mister is taking a time-out on long runs for now (he's signed up for his first duathalon next month), but he's promised to be full of sideline support with waters, signs, and orange slices.

Easter Recap

My Easter surprises from the mister...

yummm! 

And his from me...

worst wife ever!

A few sunny pictures...

Hope you all had a happy Easter!

Mom's visit

Last weekend we {finally} got to introduce my mom to Nashville!  While her visit was a quick one, we tried to cram a few of our favorite things into the couple of days we had.  

Wine tasting at Arrington Vineyards.

Newest members of the wine club!

Ol' Rusty.... the Factory in Franklin, TN.

 

 Touring campus.

 and Centennial Park.

She said she hadn't played pool in forty years... then she kicked our butt...

 Can you name the Honky Tonk?

The puppies even calmed down by the end!  Hopefully, all four pounds of Sassy have recovered from my mega puppy. 

Despite the weekend going by way too fast, it was a fun one.  I loved getting to see my mom and share a little part of our lives up here with her.