Well, the Holidays have been survived, and they were actually quite enjoyable. Lots of fireplace time, a yummy Xmas brunch, and time with my favorite kiddoes. I came back from Canyon a day early to get my last big long run in and will certainly remember to do that again. It was really nice to have Sunday afternoon to regroup and relax a little bit before starting into the work week. Here are some random tidbits to wrap up 2009...
Though I’m sure it’s been around a while, I’ve discovered a “new to me” website called FPO. I found the link through another site and have been looking through it in the last day or so. Surprisingly, Facebook designed a really amazing piece for their top advertising clients. I also found an old colleague's work on there as well. Quite impressive.
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So, two and a half weeks til Doomsday, and by that, I mean none other than the Houston marathon. Woohoo! I typically border on anxious/nervous about this time, but found myself getting closer to excitement today. A little preview…
The Chevron Houston Marathon is the nation's premier winter marathon, annually attracting participants from all 50 U.S. states and more than 20 foreign countries. It has been ranked among the top five marathons in the nation by Ultimate Guide to Marathons for fastest course, organization and crowd support. More than 5,000 volunteers organize the race, which is Houston's largest single-day sporting event. In July, the Aramco Houston Half Marathon reached capacity in less than 24 hours, while registration for the 38th running of the marathon was completed just hours later. The combined field limit will be 22,000 runners.
While I am sure to never run into them, here are a few of the Elites that will be joining us on the 17th: Kenyans Jason Mbote, third at the 2008 Seoul International Marathon in 2:07:37, and Charles Kibiwott, fifth in the same race in 2:08:30, are among the top men's seeds. Joining Mbote and Kibiwott in Houston are countrymen Benson and David Cheruiyot (not related). Benson Cheruiyot ran a breakthrough race at the 2009 Chevron Houston Marathon by clocking a time of 2:11:33 - his best marathon effort by two and a half minutes. He also finished third in Houston in 2007. David Cheruiyot, one of only two men to win in Houston three times, won back-to-back marathons in 2005 and 2006, and took the top spot again in 2008.
Brett Gotcher (Flagstaff, Ariz.), who finished third in the 2009 USA Half Marathon Championships, will return to Houston in January but move up in distance. The 25-year-old Gotcher will make his marathon debut as one of the top seeds in the 38th running of the Chevron Houston Marathon. The former Stanford University All-American at 10,000 meters won his first national road title in September, claiming the 20K crown in 58:57 in New Haven, Conn.
Paige Higgins (Flagstaff, Ariz.) and Erin Moeller (Mt. Vernon, Iowa) are the top American women entered in the Chevron Houston Marathon. Higgins brings a 2:33:06 personal record into the race. She qualified for the 2009 World Track & Field Championships in the marathon and finished 30th in 2:37:11. Moeller was 10th at the 2008 USA Olympic Trials Marathon in 2:36:51. In the nine marathons Moeller has completed, she has netted six top-10 finishes.
Shalane Flanagan (Pittsboro, N.C.), who won a bronze medal in the 10,000 meters at the 2008 Olympics, will make her half-marathon debut in January at the 2010 USA Half Marathon Championships hosted by the Aramco Houston Half Marathon. The 28-year-old Flanagan has been one of the best middle-distance runners in the U.S. over the past six years, making two Olympic teams and setting American records on the track at 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Flanagan was the USA champion at 5,000 meters in 2005 and 2007, before winning the USA Olympic Trials at 10,000 meters in 2008. That victory sent her to Beijing, where she became only the second American woman in history to medal in the event at the Olympic Games. Her American Record of 30:22 run in China still stands. Joining Flanagan on the starting line January 17, 2010 will be the top finisher from the 2009 national championships, Magdalena Lewy Boulet (Oakland, Calif.), who crossed the finish line in 1:11:47. She will be returning to defend her title.
Elite runners in both men's and women's marathons will be vying for $130,000 in prize money, with a $35,000 first-place award in both races. Too bad there’s not a purse for a 4.5 hour race time… But ya know, they will run for thousands of dollars, and we will run for thousands of kids in slavery. I’m ok with that.
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New fav: wearing a scarf all day. Who knew?
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I joined the Skype community the other day and am quite excited, although I’m not sure who I’ll be Skype-ing, just thought I’d be fun. Need to figure out how the video camera part works though. It’s a work in progress.
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In other running news, Boston will be one to watch this spring… John Hancock Financial announced a few weeks ago that both Meb and Ryan Hall have signed on to run for the win in April, each seeking to be the first male American winner since 1983. Keflezighi sits at a 2:09:15 PR with his New York City win while Hall boasts a 2:06:17. The match-up should be a good one. Press release here.
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The week back in Dallas has been a pretty quiet one so far. Lots of downtime at work and not much going on in the evenings. Could it be that life is slowing down slightly? Eh, doubt it. New Year’s is here, but not too many plans in the works just yet. Thought about camping, but it might be too cold… Considered ice skating, but after a vision of breaking an ankle, thought better of it… Might have to resort to going out somewhere Thursday night and returning for a movie marathon with Rachel. Poor kid is on call for work all weekend. Gross. Anyway, this guy I’ve been working with this week (who happens to be a runner and designer and church-goer… crazy) asked me about NY’s Resolutions the other day. I still think they’re overrated, but maybe it wouldn’t hurt to come up with a few… stay tuned.
Archive for 2009
Last Saturday I met DonMark and Greg over in FW for the Urban Dare. SO much fun; you’ve got to check out this race! They took off from the Ginger Man Pub at noon on a wild, crazy photo race around downtown FW... 5-7 miles on foot. Given 12 clues, they had to figure out answers and map a route to various locations. Out of 30+ teams, these guys came in fourth place with a time of 1 hour, 48-ish minutes. Good thing they were able to have a “phone a friend”! ;) A trip to Luke’s Locker and Mellow Mushroom completed a very enjoyable day.
Speaking of races, here’s one to check out: the Warrior Dash. Wow.
Also, the date for this year’s 3P Challenge in Denton is set for March 27th. Mark that calendar!
And if you’re planning to participate in an upcoming race/cheer someone on who is/want another way to support the Mercy Project, we’ve sent MP Team shirts to the printer and will have them ready to deliver by the first of the year. The idea behind the shirts is to have another way to spread the word about the children in Ghana. The more people we can share with, the more we’ll be able to help those sweet kids. Click on the image below to see the shirt design up close and let me know if you’d like one. They are available in regular t-shirts or tek shirts.
I feel like I’ve posted a lot on here about ways to help the cause and such, but I also want you to know that the support Mercy Project has received so far has just been overwhelming. An awesome Spring fundraiser as well as other ideas are in the works for this next year. More on that later, but get excited and get onboard! If you’re on FB, join our page here, and consider becoming a monthly donor this next year. God is doing powerful things through this work!
Much has been going on in the last few weeks. Helped Rachel celebrate her 30th Birthday, enjoyed a Girl’s Night Out to Chili’s with church friends, logged several miles in the early morning cold, and baked copious amounts of M&M cookies. After baking 6 dozen cookies for our friends at the Lakeshore Apartments in Rowlett, our list grew to sharing some with other friends and neighbors, as well as taking into account a bit of taste-testing ourselves. So another M&M run to the store had to be made. Sometimes you just gotta take one for the team…
Well friends, the Christmas season is upon us. I mean, it has been for awhile now, but judging from the city traffic over the last week... it's really here.
Based on the idea of the Advent Conspiracy, a new video called the Christmas Conspiracy, was developed for Mercy Project. This Conspiracy is about a group of people who are conspiring to make Christmas more meaningful this year, to remember what the holiday is really supposed to be about. It's people who want to make this season less about stuff that doesn't matter and more about stuff that does.
This past Sunday, several churches near and far showed this video during their worship services to encourage others to focus more on life and less on the hustle and bustle.
What if we did something different this Christmas? Like save the lives of children.
Christmas Conspiracy Video
We have officially welcomed the Holiday season in apartment 2227. While this picture does not do justice for our small little tree, it is indeed magnificent. It's fiber optic, so looks awesome at night, but my poor camera apparently has no desire to help me prove that. Anyway, now that we're 17 days out (yikes!), let the festivities begin!
In the last 168 hours I:
*said a very sad goodbye to my iPod mini. It was a good 5 year run, but playing 2 songs before the battery dies just isn't cutting it anymore.
*have been blessed to welcome Micah Elisabeth Field to her sweet family. God is so good!
*embraced wintertime temperatures. Sorta.
*have been booted from a freelance job for requesting two days off for Christmas after working consistent 50-60 hrs/wk for the past 5 weeks.
*realized just how out-of-shape I am in preparation for Houston, YET how excited I am for the race.
*discovered the need for compartmentalizing life.
*sang my praises to the individual who invented car seat heaters.
*enjoyed a Friday night out – it's been WAY too long.
*caught up with some old friends.
*met someone who grew up in Australia.
*ate at Macaroni Grill – always a favorite.
*confirmed the fact that I detest Wal-Mart.
*experienced the microwavable soup container for the first time. Those things are pretty cool.
*begrudgingly started Christmas shopping.
... and a million other things.
Well, I have returned from yet another crazy Nickson holiday weekend. It was a good one. Hectic as always, but good. Brought some cooler temperatures back to Dallas with me, but hopefully left the snow behind, at least for a few more weeks. Have now unpacked and am trying to regroup before jumping into another busy week here. Christmas is right around the corner and the Houston Marathon following closely at Santa's heels. Time to kick it in gear! Good thing I'm so well-rested...! Here's how I left the Nickson casa this morning...
So, it's that time of year we like to call Thanksgiving. I was working on an events calendar at work this week that had to be translated into Spanish. Now I'm no linguist, but apparently the translation for "Thanksgiving" in Spanish is "Acción de Gracias", or "actions of thanks". I like that. I like the thought of portraying our thankfulness through action. I don't know what that looks like for you, but I know it's worth some thought on my part. How can I actively show my thanks to friends, family, and my God this week?
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And pardon the watermarked image, but I ran across this yesterday in an image search (apparently if you search "holiday spa" this little guy comes up!) and can't help but share. Happy Turkey Day!
Yesterday, I was Superwoman. And then Monday happened. And reality set in. And I went back to work for "Meryl". But back to yesterday... It was productive. It was successful. It was full of good fellowship and food. Hard to beat.
Started out with a solid worship time at Heritage. We had a really good group and enjoyed sharing a special communion time in small groups gathered around tables, discussing thoughts of thanksgiving, the life of Jesus, and how we can take our communion time into our dining rooms this week.
The afternoon was pure madness. I dashed around the apartment heating up a turkey, painting furiously to finish Baby Field's giraffe, making a run to Michael's for varnish at the last minute, and getting everything ready to go for the evening. Rachel helped me out by making my fruit salad and helping load the car. Superwoman certainly needs a sidekick.
We were so blessed last night to have 30ish guests at our Thanksgiving Banquet at Heritage. We had invited our friends at the apartment complex we've been involved with down the street, and were so excited to have such a great turnout. Full turkey feast, good conversation, and new friends.
Finished out the evening with a quick trip to the Fieldhouse, where the giraffe is now awaiting the arrival of a sweet little one!
Today's the big day! Wyatt Cody is 3 years old, so hard to believe! We celebrated last weekend with a Camping/John Deere-themed birthday party in DM & Em's backyard. Campfire, tent, chili, stories, songs, and tractor cake! Here are some shots:
the amazing tractor cake, made by GT...
traditional story time with Katy...
manning the grill... er, campfire...
cake-cutting...
presents in the tent...
and my personal favorite... Hungry, Hungry, Hippo!
Love you Wyatt!
Here's how it all went down, to the best of my recollection...
Leg #1: I suit up in reflective gear and set out from Lake Ray Hubbard.
Leg #2: Russell "picks up the torch" and runs across a dark scary bridge.
Allison & Nathan complete their first legs after being chased by stray canines. We discover that no one knows how to properly use the pepper spray!
Amber runs over a huge piece of wire in Jeremy's car...
Leg #7: We arrive at 45 after the initial trek through town and Chris takes off on his first leg. The van goes on ahead while the car starts tailing. Along comes a policeman wondering if everything is alright...
Leg #8: Jared heads out to wrap up round 1... and gets re-routed due to road closures from high water. He ends up on the opposite side of the highway and has to jump the median to get to the next exchange point. In the dark. Trooper.
Enjoying our mini-feasts of PBJ's, crackers, granola bars, fruit, and cookies...
Leg #9: Second leg for me and really digging the night-time scene. Very peaceful. Perfect temperature.
Leg #10: Russell and I exchange at the Galaxy Drive-In Theater outside Ennis. As he heads out, a few dogs decide to join him. Good thing he's quick... But not quick enough to escape the law. 3 police cars surround us, while another pulls Russell over. Apparently someone placed a 911 call: "Someone is being chased down the highway by a car!" Right... Upon explanation, one of the officers tells his partner: "They're doing some kind of marathon or something." Um, actually, more like 9 of them. Care to donate to the cause? Undeterred, we press on.
Van and car crews switch out and Amber, Chris, Jared, Russell, and I drive ahead in an attempt to sleep for a few hours. Not happening.
Leg#16: Upon looking for the next exchange point at a Rest Stop, we realize that the Rest Stop has been bull-dozed!
Leg #17: Daylight has dawned! I tackle my longest leg of 5.9 miles on the highway. Apparently I'm good at getting truckers to stop and make sure I'm ok. 3, to be exact.
Both van and car are traveling together now. Arrival time slated to be way earlier than expected. By about 6 hours. Stacey and Wrigley stop by to say hello and cheer us on. 
Leg 21: Allison is the toughest person I know. She is rocking along on a hurt knee with blinding speed.
Leg 22: Pope completes yet another leg with his hands in the air.
We hit the hills. And they are monsters. First Chris, followed by Jared, myself, and Russell, who rounds out the battle with a solid 6.7 miles... Pace slows down a bit, but we push through to complete round 4. Jared starts craving hot dogs.
A random guy pulls over to talk to us. Turns out he graduated from ACU and "couldn't not stop at the sight of a CofC van"!
Leg 33: Night is upon us. Once again, I have the first leg in the dark. Headlamp, check. Rachel, Jeremy, Russell, and Will trail behind me while the van drives on ahead.
Leg 36: Will stops traffic in his blinding Brook's jacket. As he takes off from a Rest Stop (that does actually exist), Jeremy, Amber, and I stop to go down the slide at a nearby playground. Russell snaps a picture while thinking we've all lost our minds. No doubt we have at this point!
We catch up to the van, kick our compadres out and try to sleep. Again, not much to be had. Meanwhile, Allison blazes by the Huntsville Prison in the orange vest. 
Leg 41: It is time to finish this relay out! Fatigued but determined, we begin our final legs. A few more slopes to tackle, and it's pretty chilly out. Will yells "You're almost there!" out the window to me. He is later thankful that I didn't hear him.
Leg 43: Jeremy's final leg takes him on a (planned) wild goose chase through the little town of Willis to visit O'Reilly's Auto Parts. Retracing his steps, he completes his journey, and Will takes off in his arm warmers. We encounter a crazy driver who stops to shake his fist at us as he swerves down the road.
One more van swap, and we drive ahead to an empty parking lot to wait for our compadres to finish up. After a text from Amber of impending arrival, I try to wake my sleeping teammates. Will and Jeremy throw fits like small children at being awoken. I am beyond delirious and determined and make them get up anyway. 
Leg 49: All 8 of us shuffle through the final mile together. Amber and Rachel drive ahead to open the gate for us but cannot find the right street. Groans ensue, but we are not deterred. Finally through the gate, we round the corner and arrive at our destination on Lake Conroe. It is 5 AM. Exhausted, smelly, and hungry, we take a moment to rejoice in the finish.
We take a moment to pray and remember the children on Lake Volta who are the reason we just ran 240 miles.
More pictures here.
We ran to Houston. Still trying to wrap my head around it! These last few days I've found myself wondering, "Did that really happen?!", "Is it already over with?!", and "When can we do that again?". Whew!
I had every good intention of documenting the journey as we went, but it just didn't seem like a top priority at the time. So, first, here are a few things you may be curious about. If this bores you, fast-forward to the next post to see some pictures and highlights of our 240 miles. Enjoy... we sure did!
TEAM.
To begin with, meet our team. These guys were absolutely stellar. Our 5 hour early arrival time certainly proved that, but aside from quick feet, this crew was incredibly adaptable and enjoyable to be around. It's pretty incredible what can be accomplished when people combine passion and talent for a worthy cause, and I was certainly honored to be invited along. We met up at 6 PM on Thursday night (several of us meeting for the first time!), went over final details, loaded up, and headed to a site on Lake Ray Hubbard to kick things off.
Jeremy, Will, Jared, Nathan, Gretchen, Allison, Chris, & Russell
LOGISTICS.
While we planned as much as possible beforehand, a lot of the relay was simply "see how it goes". Our friend Roy drove the church van, decked out with tarps and blankets, while my roomies Rachel and Amber drove a second vehicle. During the daytime, the current runner was dropped off at their start point, and then we all drove ahead to the next exchange to have the next runner ready to go. At night time, the car and "runners on deck" tailed the entire way (for safety). The van with the other half of the team drove ahead a few hours in an attempt to get some sleep. Once half the night legs were completed, we swapped places and continued on til daylight.
ROUTE.
Most of the route ran along the feeder road of 45, although there were several points in which we had to jump onto 45 itself. The 4th round of legs proved the most difficult. Hills, hills, and more hills. And I'm not talking about gradual inclines. I'm talking up-and-down, never-ending, steep climbs. Pope claimed these hills would rival ski slopes! Everyone ran 6 legs, ranging from 3-6.5 miles (30 miles total), and then we all shuffled through the final mile together.
GOALS.
Our planned arrival time was 10 AM Saturday morning. However, 5 of our guys consistently ran 7:15-7:45 minute miles and ate up the pavement much quicker than expected. While the hills slowed us a bit, we ended up averaging around 8:40 mile pace as a team. This allowed us to finish the 240 miles in just under 34 hours! We arrived at Lake Conroe around 5 AM Saturday morning. Aside from completion, our main purpose was to raise awareness and financial support for The Mercy Project. And that we did! Totaling around $5,000, we were overwhelmed with the support of friends, family, and complete strangers. It was awesome to know that every step of the journey meant one step closer to rescue for our friends in Ghana.
You can still help! Go to www.mercyproject.net for more information!
So as of last night, I had this week free to catch up on life, get relay pictures and recap posted on here, start the next painting project, get a few items ready for leaving town again this weekend, kick off the next design projects, etc, etc. But, after an early morning phone call and as much of a dash to get ready as my body would allow, I headed out to a new job site for the day/week/who knows how long. Though the week just turned into crazy business, I'm certainly glad for the hours. Taking it all in stride...
Anyway, I wanted to go ahead and post a quick bit about the next Mercy Project... project. Several of the kids from Ghana who have been rescued from slavery colored pictures for us and they have been made into Christmas cards with their pictures, names, ages, and rescue dates on the back. We are expecting to get the cards this week from a printer in Missouri, and I'm quite anxious to see how they turn out. If you'd like to purchase some of these cards to share with family and friends, you can visit this link or feel free to contact me. The cards are available for $12 per box, which includes 2 each of 5 different designs (10 total cards). This is a great way to support these kiddoes and spread the word about Mercy Project for those of you who plan to send out Holiday cards... or would like to start that tradition. Images of the 5 cards are below. Click to enlarge.
Relay documentation to come!
240 miles later, we are done. Rolled into Lake Conroe area at about 5 AM this morning. Nothing short of one of the most amazing things I've ever been apart of. Truly blessed and honored to have been on this team. Lots of miles, crazy stories, laughter, hills, pictures... and lots of Ghana children one step closer to rescue. More to come...
Check out www.mercyproject.net for more information and please consider donating to such an amazing cause!
And so it arrives... the weekend we've been planning for and anxiously awaiting is here. It's time to Run For Their Lives!
I spent some time out at White Rock last weekend and couldn't help but be reminded of the stark contrast between the lake here in Dallas and the one I know of in Ghana, West Africa. While White Rock isn’t the cleanest and most picturesque spot, it does boast a nice view of Downtown and provides a bit of an oasis in the middle of the busy city. The lake is lined with million dollar homes, many undergoing new construction and landscaping. Out on the water you will find equally expensive sailboats and rowing/skulling teams practicing together. There are people everywhere – families enjoying picnics and birthday celebrations, friends smiling and sharing, teammates encouraging and cheering, children playing and laughing. Here you will find life and wealth and a glimpse of happiness.
Though I’ve yet to witness it, I know that Lake Volta boasts a very different environment. Dirty. Poverty-stricken. Far from a safe haven. Children out on the water, fishing and working all day long. No picnics and smiling faces. Here you will find death and pain and no glimpse of hope.
And so, I was reminded.
I'm excited and blessed to be apart of the team of 8 that will leave Lake Ray Hubbard tomorrow evening and head to Lake Conroe. While there is always the pressure I put on myself to perform well and not be the "weakest link", I am excited. I am excited because I know this is about so much more than me. This is about our chance to do something a little bit "outside the box" to give life and hope and smiles to some very special kids.
Please pray for our team and drivers this weekend. If all goes according to plan, we'll begin our journey at 7 tomorrow night and complete the route sometime around 10 Saturday morning. Of course pray for safety and health and endurance, but also pray that not a mile would be run without us stopping to be reminded. 
(photo taken by C.Field)
Trunk or Treat was a hit on Sunday night. We were able to get in a few hours of cake-walking, face-painting, ring-tossing, picture-taking, cupcake-decoration, craft-making, and trunk-visiting before a massive thunderstorm rolled in and sent us running for cover. Because of Amber’s love for Buzz Lightyear and all things Toy Story, we dressed up as Jessie and Woody and decked out the back of my car like Andy’s room. Pretty fantastic, if I do say so myself. (We were missing the Bucket O’ Soldiers, but didn’t want to get too political with the décor.) Anyway, everyone went all out and there were some fabulous costumes and decorations. Hope the kids had fun; we sure did!
The next few days include a little bit of actual work at the old stomping grounds, last minute errands, laundry, rest, and final preparations for heading to Houston on Thursday night. Woohoo!
So on Sunday, the Heritage clan is putting on a little Carnival/Trunk or Treat/Halloween Extravaganza for some of our friends at an apartment complex in Rowlett. I must say, I'm pretty pumped. I've never decorated a trunk before for this kind of thing, so I'm excited to see how it goes. Amber and I spent some quality time last night working on our costumes and decor. It's gonna be amazing. Here's a little preview:
So I went out for a run earlier this evening, dodging runners and walkers and battling it out with the gale forces. Rounded a corner and totally got attacked by one of these:
At the time, I was certain it was a cross between a black bear and Snuffleupagus (see the resemblance?), but I couldn't be sure.
All I know is, the thing veered into my path and was pretty solid upon impact. (No, I wasn't going to move out of the way for the beast; it was taking up the entire sidewalk!) Anyway, I totally could've taken it, but I figured since it was on a leash, the fight wouldn't be fair. So instead, I glared at its "handlers" and continued on my way...
What a day.
Here's to the next post being a bit more meaningful...
Hmm... what to write... something brilliant... something profound... something catchy... I got nothin'.
We did have an A/C pipe sorta explode in our bathroom yesterday. That was fun. Picture vomit all over everywhere, smell and all, and you get the idea. But, the beauty of living in an apartment is that I simply backed away, closed the door, and made a phone call. By the time I returned from running errands, everything was fixed and at least somewhat cleaned up.
In weekend news, the craft show was a complete bust. Complete. BUT, we certainly had a fun time and enjoyed setting up our little booth and experiencing all that is "the craft world". It's one of a kind! Let me know if you need Christmas presents. I have 3 huge tubs stacked up in my room with various options, not to mention things tucked under my dresser and bed!
14 days out from the relay! Woohoo! Shirts are in and look pretty cool, a few more fundraisers in the works, and all the last minute details falling into place. Gonna be fantastic!
Watching the Food Network while on the treadmill really isn't the best idea. I think my stomach is still reeling...
If I ever have the need to clean up after a dead body someday, I will certainly utilize the vacuum at the Shell station down the street. I went to clean my car out this afternoon, and darn, that think will suck the life out of you if you're not careful! (Perhaps I should not have watched Sunshine Cleaning this week... It was terrible anyway.) For $1.25, you too can wipe the evidence clean...
If I had a quarter for every time I thought about sitting down to update the 'ole blog, I'd have enough funds to operate the previously mentioned vacuum for the rest of my life...
Moving on, last night at Conversation Cafe, we discussed some really great stuff. Some really tough stuff. Like what it means to be radical in living out our faith. And how our generation has become too "safe" in our Christianity. I was convicted and challenged. And I think that's where it all begins. I'm grateful for times like that and for people who are willing to dig deeper...
Brown paint does not cover as well as black, and white covers even less. This I know, but it was once again impressed upon me as I have undertaken hours of painting this week in preparation for the big craft show extravaganza this weekend. Market in the Meadow. Saturday 9-5 and Sunday 11-5. We'll be in the center gym area; come by and say hello!
Scrambles eggs at downtown diners... yes, please...
A few nights ago we enjoyed having some people over to cook out and celebrate Kathleen's birthday. Three things stuck out to me from the evening. 1: $1.50 "single-serving" grills actually cook much better than I initially thought. 2: I want to be more intentional about having people over for dinner and conversation. I forget what a blessing that really is and was glad for the reminder the other night. 3: You can never go wrong with chocolate cake and sprinkles...
Went to the printer this week to pick up another round of wedding invitations I was working on for a friend. Also, our relay shirts are being printed right now. It's really a lot of fun to see design projects in those final stages and then (hopefully!) to have a good final product. Makes the work getting to that point so worthwhile...
Sleep is for the weak...
Three weeks from RIGHT NOW we'll be taking off for Houston on foot. S-c-a-r-y! I mean... E-X-C-I-T-I-N-G! Everything seems to be falling into place really well in preparation for our endeavor. I'm anxious to see how it all plays out. If you are still wanting to help support The Mercy Project, it's not too late! Please send any donations you'd like to contribute; a big thanks to those who have already done so...
Excited about a fun weekend with Mom and M. Pictures to come!
Fall is finally here! Temperatures are cooling and Honeycrisp apples are $1/lb. at the grocery store (eating one right now). Love. It.
It’s been yet another busy week here in Dallas. We moved apartments this last weekend and have been busy painting, cleaning, unpacking and rearranging. But most everything seems to be settled; we lack only to get pictures up on the walls. The neighbors are pretty low-key so far, aside from the incessant barking of one “trot-line bait” dog across the way. That’ll have to stop…
Anyway, filling my time over the next 10 days making all the last minute preparations for our craft show on the 10-11th. Can’t believe it’s actually right around the corner. Lots to accomplish between now and then, that’s for sure. Wrapping up a few other projects as well in the next few weeks and then will be ready to breathe again… and gear up for the relay at the end of the month!
Our Heritage crew enjoyed another fantastic Salt –n- Light activity on Sunday night. We took about 40 pizzas, drinks, and dessert down the road to an apartment complex to share with our neighbors there; about 60-70 people showed up for dinner and good conversation. I’m always reminded in doing things like this that as much as we hope to bless the lives of those around us, we tend to walk away equally (if not more so) blessed by them. Such was certainly the case on Sunday night. Looking forward to many more similar occasions in the future.
And now, some parting words of wisdom: "Even after all these years, running continues to amaze me. Mostly in its ability to clarify - to make things OK and bring you back down to earth, even when things are insane. Especially when things are insane." ~Mark Remy (Executive Editor of Runner's World)
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this weather! I'm thinking about moving to Seattle. Ok, not really, but the 80 degree weather and rain are truly fantastic. I also really love the fact that, thank to my awesome Dad, my car door has been adjusted and no longer leaks water. (Abby, I promise it's safe to go through the car wash now!)
I just returned from an entire week in Canyon. Wyatt and I crashed at the 4N Ranch for the week and enjoyed our time with Pa and GT. It was a busy one, filled with pumpkin patch picking, wheelbarrow rides, cupcakes, and lots of craft show work. We also enjoyed celebrating Mom's birthday, Dad's induction as an Elder at University, and Pop's 75th birthday/50 years of pharmacy work. So proud of my family! Below are some shots from the week.
Now it's back to city life and time to buckle down even more. Moving apartments in a week and a half, craft show extravaganza in a little over three weeks, relay run closing in soon after that, and lots more to do in-between. And of course, I have a stack of 4-5 good books I'd like to be reading right now. Sigh... never enough time...
