Steve and I took a walk tonight around the Wetlands here in Zeeland, and it was so relaxing! We spent the better part of half an hour (or more, I'm not really sure) just standing there observing all the millions of tadpoles and listening the frogs croaking excitedly at each other. We wandered around to a different part of the pond and counted at least 12 different frogs poking their heads out of the water! Okay, so one of those "frogs" turned out to be a turtle (!) but still, behind us there were two more frogs, so really, it works out.
We saw a mama duck and her babies and went over to see them more closely, but when we got too close they scurried up the bank into the woods. Steve was a bit disappointed that the ducks "wouldn't come out to play" but we did get a close-up view of a red-winged blackbird. It chattered at us for intruding on its territory.
All in all, it was a very peaceful experience. I loved every single minute of it!
May 31, 2009
May 17, 2009
theories on laundry
I was thinking this afternoon while folding laundry, and I decided that this particular household chore (the folding, not the laundry itself) is a waste of time and energy. I mean really, at some point this week we're just going to put these same clothes on (I see the same clothes week after week...hey, we all have our favorites!) and wear them till they're all wrinkly and smelly again. In theory, I could just leave them all in a pile and we could dig through them for what we want.
Ok, so this only works for us in theory because after a while, I would get tired of that massive pile of clothes getting in my way and mingling with our dirty clothes that inevitably never make it into the hamper. Not to mention that while I'm not what you'd call a neat freak, I prefer smooth clothes over wrinkly any day. So, until Steve makes enough money to hire someone to do my laundry, including the folding and putting away part, I'll just have to waste my time...sadness. ;)
Ok, so this only works for us in theory because after a while, I would get tired of that massive pile of clothes getting in my way and mingling with our dirty clothes that inevitably never make it into the hamper. Not to mention that while I'm not what you'd call a neat freak, I prefer smooth clothes over wrinkly any day. So, until Steve makes enough money to hire someone to do my laundry, including the folding and putting away part, I'll just have to waste my time...sadness. ;)
May 9, 2009
all done
So 4 and 1/2 months of training have come to an end: I raced the 5K at the Riverbank Run today. Let me recap a bit of my morning for you:
I left right when I thought I should to get to Elaine's house in time to carpool and have plenty of time before the 7:30 start of my race (hers started at 8). I forgot construction and ended up being 5 minutes late!
So we got a late start but figured we were still doing okay timewise...wrong! We were going to exit at Ottawa Ave. to get to our parking spot but there was a LOOOOONNNNNGGG line of traffic waiting to exit there, so we continued on thinking we'd take the next exit, College Ave. Wrong again: College is closed for construction and the detour sends you on down the road to Fuller, where we exited and headed on our way back to Michigan Ave. By the time we parked and walked back down to Ottawa Ave. and DeVos Place, the loudspeakers were announcing 5 minutes until the start of the 5K!!!!! I hurried and picked up my packet with my bib and time chip in it, and Elaine was amazing and put the chip on my shoe while I pinned on my bib. I made it to the starting line with 3 minutes to spare, only to get caught up in the 12-minute-mile group.
Needless to say, I started the race pretty much at the back of the pack and spent the whole 3.2 miles trying to play catch-up. My chip time will most likely be at least 4 minutes faster than my start-to-finish time but I feel confident that I ran a strong race. I'll probably update later tonite with my times and place, but for now I'm okay with a 34 minute 5K (start-to-finish).
Elaine ran the 10K and ended up running pretty much the whole thing in the rain, but she finished strong and we decided next year we're running the same race. It just wasn't the same without our running buddy there to encourage us when the going got tough!!!!
All in all it was a good experience, and we're setting our sights higher for next year: 25K here we come!!!
EDIT:
I just checked my race results, and instead of shaving time like I had hoped, I ended up running it a couple minutes slower!!! My chip time was 32:06, clock time was 36:14. I had wanted to shave time rather than add it, but I felt more confident about my run today. I don't get it...
I left right when I thought I should to get to Elaine's house in time to carpool and have plenty of time before the 7:30 start of my race (hers started at 8). I forgot construction and ended up being 5 minutes late!
So we got a late start but figured we were still doing okay timewise...wrong! We were going to exit at Ottawa Ave. to get to our parking spot but there was a LOOOOONNNNNGGG line of traffic waiting to exit there, so we continued on thinking we'd take the next exit, College Ave. Wrong again: College is closed for construction and the detour sends you on down the road to Fuller, where we exited and headed on our way back to Michigan Ave. By the time we parked and walked back down to Ottawa Ave. and DeVos Place, the loudspeakers were announcing 5 minutes until the start of the 5K!!!!! I hurried and picked up my packet with my bib and time chip in it, and Elaine was amazing and put the chip on my shoe while I pinned on my bib. I made it to the starting line with 3 minutes to spare, only to get caught up in the 12-minute-mile group.
Needless to say, I started the race pretty much at the back of the pack and spent the whole 3.2 miles trying to play catch-up. My chip time will most likely be at least 4 minutes faster than my start-to-finish time but I feel confident that I ran a strong race. I'll probably update later tonite with my times and place, but for now I'm okay with a 34 minute 5K (start-to-finish).
Elaine ran the 10K and ended up running pretty much the whole thing in the rain, but she finished strong and we decided next year we're running the same race. It just wasn't the same without our running buddy there to encourage us when the going got tough!!!!
All in all it was a good experience, and we're setting our sights higher for next year: 25K here we come!!!
EDIT:
I just checked my race results, and instead of shaving time like I had hoped, I ended up running it a couple minutes slower!!! My chip time was 32:06, clock time was 36:14. I had wanted to shave time rather than add it, but I felt more confident about my run today. I don't get it...
April 29, 2009
celebrity?
I just felt the need to post this. Not sure why, but it is kinda cool that my picture was in the Grand Rapids Press (although I'm not exactly a fan EVER of how I look in pictures!) So feast your eyes!
http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2009/04/zeeland_downtown_abuzz_over_pl.html
I would just like to say that I didn't even know this had been published yet. My father-in-law - IN TENNESSEE - saw this before I did!!!!! He was kind enough to send me the link.
Thank you, thank you...I'll be here all week. ;)
http://www.mlive.com/news/
I would just like to say that I didn't even know this had been published yet. My father-in-law - IN TENNESSEE - saw this before I did!!!!! He was kind enough to send me the link.
Thank you, thank you...I'll be here all week. ;)
April 26, 2009
grrrrrr...
I should be trying to sleep, but instead I'm sitting here worrying about what my problem is. You see, I'm fine all week; a few mood swings here and there but nothing real serious usually. Then Sunday rolls around and I fall into this serious funk that usually ends up with me pissed off at Steve for absolutely no freakin reason. Then I get pissed at myself for being pissed at Steve and, well, I can't think of a Sunday I haven't cried in over a month. You'd think, what with Sunday being the one day a week we sit and do nothing, I should be well-rested, relaxed, in a good mood, you know, happy. What is wrong with me??!!
If you're one of the 2 people who read this and made it this far, I apologize for whining...I just needed to get this off my chest...again. :-/
If you're one of the 2 people who read this and made it this far, I apologize for whining...I just needed to get this off my chest...again. :-/
April 4, 2009
love
"It wasn't that it was easy,or that it made me happy,or that I could lie down at night & breathe deep.It was just- Good,I thought,to love" - borrowed from ellery's twitter page
Love isn't easy. I smile as I say this because when I was little, I smirked when adults would tell me that love takes work. They made it seem easy, so I assumed it was. Fast forward 2+ years into my marriage and I have to swallow my pride and acknowledge that, yes, Mom and Dad were right. Sometimes it would probably be easier to throw in the towel and call it quits. But not only is that against everything I believe in, but it's so much more gratifying to work through the issues (regardless of how mundane!) and come out stronger for it. It is good to love; it's satisfying, fulfilling, completing. While once I couldn't imagine ever finding someone to settle down with, now I can't imagine my life without him. No, love isn't easy, but it is so worth the effort it requires. =)
Love isn't easy. I smile as I say this because when I was little, I smirked when adults would tell me that love takes work. They made it seem easy, so I assumed it was. Fast forward 2+ years into my marriage and I have to swallow my pride and acknowledge that, yes, Mom and Dad were right. Sometimes it would probably be easier to throw in the towel and call it quits. But not only is that against everything I believe in, but it's so much more gratifying to work through the issues (regardless of how mundane!) and come out stronger for it. It is good to love; it's satisfying, fulfilling, completing. While once I couldn't imagine ever finding someone to settle down with, now I can't imagine my life without him. No, love isn't easy, but it is so worth the effort it requires. =)
March 28, 2009
ramblings
I'm not sure what I had in mind to blog tonite...I just wanted to take the time and sit. Not be running off to parties or showers or lunches; just being. Don't get me wrong, I've thoroughly enjoyed the time spent with friends, whether we were catching up or celebrating up-coming marriages. But I haven't been home much these last couple of days. I never seem to understand how much I need my me-time until I don't get as much as usual. It feels, I don't know, stressful? That's not the word I was looking for but I think it describes how I feel. Spread thin; rushing from one event to another, penciling in time for everything and everybody. Right now is me-time. And I have to tell you, it's heavenly. Have a great night everybody! =)
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