#25 & #26

#25 was The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah.  It was about two sisters surviving Nazi occupation of France during the Second World War. It was heartbreaking in its descriptions of the cruelty and what happened to the people. Each sister chose a different way to survive and each was worthy and hard.  The story lost me at the end...the ending wasn't so believable but I enjoyed the novel.

fl: If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are. ll: Wounds heal.  Love lasts. We remain. 

#26 was Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani. This was a fast read...and not a well written piece of literature by any means.  The main character is a likable self-proclaimed spinster who looks for love, but not really. It flip flops around and the scenes that could be really great are one or two sentences long. There are more in this series, but I will not be reading them. 

fl: This will be a good weekend for reading. ll: I want to watch the two of them forever--a daughter learning to trust, and a father doing the thing he does best: protecting her. 

Run, Santa, Run

The last Grand Prix race of the 2015 season ~ it's been a long season, but it's certainly been a fun one. ~ Run, Santa, Run took place on a 60 degree Sunday morning.  So amazing to wear a skirt and short sleeves & be WARM at the start on the 13th of December.  Mike & I arrived at our usual early time & got a good parking spot.  Sure does take the stress out to get there just a little bit earlier than necessary.  It gives us time to use the pots, talk to peeps, get our bearings & get in a warm up.  

Summer wear in DECEMBER!

This picture cracks me up!  You can see me and Mike in the crowd looking very serious.

I had told Leslie that I was going to put myself on her hip for this race.  We both wore our skirts & pink tops (I struggled with the definition of pink) and we started side by side.  About .2 in, we were both working too hard to talk,    But I stuck by her until the end.  I enjoyed to course.  It was a loop that included a little up and down two side streets.  Once we made the turn back onto The 20, I could see Dairy Queen in the distance, and knew there was a finish line around there, but I couldn't see the big blue arch for the bend in the road.  Finally I rounded the bend & there was the arch.  Leslie has a kick that I just don't have.  She beat me by a few seconds...and puked.  Didn't PR, but it sure felt like an all out effort.  I was so focused {read, working too hard to notice anything else} I didn't notice Mike zip by us.  HE beat us while stopping to TIE HIS SHOE {you'd think he'd learn to tie 'em tight} and Run Jump for Brenda's camera!  I did not run jump...wish I would have, it may have given me just the push I needed to enjoy the race a little more.

This is also the first race in a while that I didn't place in.  Fourth for my age group while running 23:17.  huh.  Such a kick in the pants to not be a place winner.  I know that sounds so cocky and non-humble...but I'm "not gonna lie" {side note: I totally hate that phrase...I typed it tongue-in-cheek, so please read it that way}

So the lesson for me is I won't always win.  AND that's why you run jump when the opportunity presents itself.  joy & running  They should go together & they didn't really for me today.

Me & Brenda

John's snacks vs mine & Mike's face!

NERC runners

#24 ~ The Husband's Secret

I have really enjoyed Liane Moriarty's novels.  #24 is The Husband's Secret ~ and it was another well written story.  It was not my favorite of her stories ~ as it was such a SAD story.  It involves affairs & community standing & family relationships & murder.  The characters are mostly likable, but I did have trouble reconciling the ending.  While I'm all for "happily ever after", I'm not sure it works for me in this story.

Quote:
loc 3118~ ...does a tiara really count as an Easter hat?


fl: It was all because of the Berlin Wall.  ll: Some secrets are meant to stay secret forever.  Just ask Pandora.

Advent

Advent.  The season of preparing.  Waiting for the arrival of a notable person, thing or event.  The most wonderful time of the year.  Advent for me is always an anxious time of trying to get it all done; get it all done right; and remember the real reason ~ the birth of a baby boy to save the world.  I think I'm getting better at being less anxious.  The house is decorated.  The tree is up.  The presents are being bought. The music is being played.  

The Madison High School Jazz Band had their first Christmas performance at Giant Eagle on Friday night.  They sounded great & Jacob rocked his solos.  Once again, so thankful that both my boys have been blessed by the Madison Band Program.  

While we were listening to the Band ~ I catch a glimpse of the TV in the far back corner  (You can see the TV in the picture)  What is on that TV, you might be wondering?  A picture of Bruce Springsteen with the words "Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band  Live at Quicken Loans Arena"  WHAT?  A real quick search on my phone finds that Bruce announced Tour Dates!  And CLEVELAND is on the list.  February 23.  Tempted to get tickets for Pittsburgh...but I may be in Florida that date.  I guess I'll be happy with one concert.  SOOOOO excited for show #11!  Here are my hopes:  I hope he plays Sherry Darling and Roselita and Thunder Road.

On Saturday we got up early & lifted for 12 minutes so we could be running by 7:15.  Got in our 10 miles...During which we were yelled at by a police officer.  Seems it's illegal to cross train tracks when the gate is down...even when there is plenty of room to do so.   ~ story:  As we were running south on 528 we can see that the far gates are down ~ but no train.  We can also see there is a police car with its lights on.  As we get closer the near gates come down... and I see we have enough time to cross, so I say, "Go" so we all run across...However, just as I yell "Go"  the cops yells, "Get Back."  I'm kinda shocked that I've been given a directive from a police officer, but I'm not about to ignore it, so I turn around.  As we are running around the village grounds to get in our extra 1/2 mile we discuss the legalities of crossing tracks when the gate is down. Mike thought that maybe there was something going on on the other side of the tracks that would have been unsafe for us to be involved with; he just can't comprehend why we weren't allowed to cross the tracks.  But realistically, we kinda figure it must be illegal and laugh at the thought of being arrested during our Saturday morning run.  {I won't tell the story about the time we were running down Bates}  Later in the day I Google Ohio Revised Code & discover that it is a $55.00 fine to cross tracks when the gate is down.  That would have been an expensive 10 mile run.  And embarrassing.  Bad enough to get yelled at by an officer of the law.  Being thrown into the car handcuffed would have been horrible.
I'm 52 miles (or so) into my Rudolph Challenge 2015.  Doing all the events will be 66.6 miles.  I'm going to run all of them in full except the 26.2 ~ that one will be broken into pieces.  I will do that distance again, just not this month!

We had to run early because Dodd had plans that morning.  Seems little baby William Glenn Dodd was coming into the world.  What a beautiful thing ~ a newborn baby.  Such promise and love.  So sweet and precious.

So as we celebrate this season of Advent I want to remember the blessings that I have in my life.  Family, Friends, Music, Running.