August wrap up & Favorite Things

Hard to believe that another month has flown by...

Since it was such a busy month and I am combining subjects,

this will be a little longer of a post!

August is probably one of my most favorite months!!!
It is the month I celebrate my birthday and our wedding anniversary ♥
This years birthday was a big one for me... 5-0

August has been filled with love, anticipation & warmth...
As always my family has provided me with much love & support

Anticipation at the thought of what my next 50 years has in store

Warmth from the very HOT days we had this month!!!

I continue to train for my next 1/2 marathon (watch for more info) and am now ready to share my favs for August!!

INK...

I continue to work on my back piece,

I added 6 plumeria flowers...

One for each of my little 'Ohana'!!!

PERIDOT!!

My birthstone - I was gifted the most beautiful ring

to commemorate this milestone birthday...

Monopod!!!

Another gift was this awesome an awesome monopod

now I can play with my camera some more

and attempt to get more amazing shots...

WICKED!!!!!
As a child I looked forward to every April,
which was the annual TV showing of The Wizard of Oz.
To this day I can recite practically the entire movie!!
I brought my kids up enjoying the annual showing too...
I was blessed to be able to see the
"Story Before the Story" about the
Witches of Oz!!!
Oh my goodness, can I just tell you how A.mazing
this show was???
If you have the chance, DO see it!!!

I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings, but it feels good to share my favorite things with my favorite bloggy friends!!!

Favorite Things - June & July

Of course at the top of my favorites would be this!!!

I'm really enjoying my husband's retirement ~

Having dinner prepared and ready when I get home

from work is such a treat!!!

He has even surprised me with appetizers on a few occasions...

I am super happy with our unseasonal weather!!

We have only had one 10 day period of 100+ degrees...

Quite a change from our normal summer weather ~

Oh dear...

I am quite sure that these little morsels

were made by the devil himself!
A little sweet, a little salty ~

YUMMY goodness!!

Pretzel M&M's...

I'm really enjoying the iPhone 4.0 OS upgrade!

I love how I can clean up my applications

into organized folders!

~~* Aloha Friday *~~

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday!!
In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy
and look forward to the weekend.
So I thought that I would take it easy on posting, too.
Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer.
Nothing that requires a lengthy response.

If you’d like to participate, post your own question on your blog
and leave your link here.

Remember to visit the other participants!

~ It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends ~

What experience did you miss out on

and wish you'd been a part of?

My "experience" would be that I am missing out on

growing old along with my Mom.

I miss her every.single.day and want SO much

to share my experiences of being a Mom with her.

I want to show her how much I enjoy

cooking and baking and share my dishes with her.

I carry on each day in the hopes that she is

indeed watching over me, proud of the woman

and Mom that I have become.

MY 1/2 marathon - Part II

Just a short follow-up to my "Part I"...

I'm still in awe of what I have accomplished!

In awe of my mind, body and spirit..

Words simply cannot express all that

flows through you as you cross the FINISH LINE!

All of the early morning training runs, all of the stretching,

motrin/acetamenophen (HA!)

the mental struggle and the anticipation was SO worth it!

To see the smiles on the faces of my family,

the "we're proud of you's" -

ALL so worth it!!
My beautiful medal... I'm very proud of it ♥

At the pre-race expo I was SO excited to meet up with an amazing young woman...

Frayed Laces (AKA Laura) is one bad a$$ chicka!!

Brooks is one of her major sponsors and she was at the expo

promoting Brooks' products.

Not much down time for this little lady

as she is training to compete in the

Ironman (that's 70.3 miles) series

triathlon in Kona Hawaii!!! I'm telling you,

she is simply a.mazing!!

Check out her blog and you will see what I mean...

So sweet of her to take the time out and

visit with dear daughter and I!!

She was very supportive and she even saw me at mile 1,

yelled out MY name and sent me loads of encouragment.

I was super honored as I had only chatted with her

as a bloggy friend and met her this one time,

yet she remembered me

and picked me out of the crowd...

You ROCK FL!!

Here is the sign that dear daughter made for her Momma!!!

D.D.Y.A. is "Don't Doubt Your Awesomeness"...
Dear daughter & I got this phrase from "Frayed Laces"...

She is SO inspiring with her sayings!

My entire family was at mile 6 waving signs and

ringing cow bells as I ran by!

It was so emotional for me,

but I was VERY happy to have them there.

Love U guys ♥

Well, that is my wrap-up of my first 1/2 marathon!

I continue my training for my next 1/2 in Ocotber

and will report updates as I can!

Remember to RUN HAPPY!!!

~~* Aloha Friday *~~

Welcome to this week’s edition of Aloha Friday!!

In Hawaii, Aloha Friday is the day that they take it easy

and look forward to the weekend.

So I thought that I would take it easy on posting, too.

Therefore, I’ll ask a simple question for you to answer.

Nothing that requires a lengthy response.
If you’d like to participate, post your own question on your blog

and leave your link here.

Remember to visit the other participants!

~ It’s a great way to make new bloggy friends ~

What's the best part about a wedding?:

Whether you're an attendee or participant,

there's lots to love about a wedding.

Explain your favorite part...

My favorite part is the entrance of the bride!!

I love to see the faces of the bride and groom

as they see each other.

The emotion that is expressed at just that moment

is simply priceless..

MY 1/2 marathon... Part 1

I did it...

I set a goal, followed the plan and completed it!!!

Goal; to run a half marathon before my 50th birthday ~ CHECK!
The plan; Runner's World SmartCoach ~ CHECK!!!

Complete it; I finished in 2:23:48 CHECK!!!!

I had set a personal goal of finishing in 2 1/2 hours and made it.

Here I am out on the course;

Words really cannot

described how beautiful Seattle is!!

The course had us running along Lake Washington,

we ran by both Qwest & Safeco fields.

The crowds lined the course the majority of the way!!

There were bands playing every mile ~

Steve, Erin & Tommy were at mile 6 with

handmade signs by Erin and cowbells cheering us on!!

Steve met me at the final corner with a bouquet of flowers,

kissed me and said "See you at the finish"!!!

I carried those flowers proudly

across the finish line
as I bawled like a baby...

Seriously, it was such an emotional experience for me!!

TaDa!!! I made it!!

Here I am with my future daughter-in-law

who ran her 1st full marathon in RECORD TIME

and my son-in-law

who completed his 2nd full marathon and NAILED it!!!

The 'OHANA'...

♥ ♥ ♥ these guys!!! and STILL smiling...

Next up, begin training for my next 1/2 marathon in October...

I think I want to get a few more 1/2's

under my belt before thinking about a full... Yes, I said it!

Happy 4th of July

The Countdown has begun

Tomorrow is my big day!!! Send lots of strength here about 7:00AM Pacific Time....
http://bit.ly/5G0JwQ