The 8th Nephiece Has Arrived :)

I'm fully aware that there is no such word as "nephiece". However, it drives me batty that there is not a word in the English language that is non-gender specific to describe your nieces and nephews. It really makes for a hard conversation when someone asks you about your nieces and nephews and you can't lump them into one sum count. If you were to respond that you have 8 nieces and nephews. Does that mean you have 8 nieces and 8 nephews or does it mean that you have 8 total? So, what was meant to be a simple question turns out with a complex answer. You have to clarify saying that I have 3 nieces and 5 nephews.

At any rate, I'm simplifying here by saying that I am now the proud aunt of 8 nephieces. The littlest nephew arrived yesterday afternoon. I got to hold him briefly. He has pretty big feet already and has a ton of blond curly hair. So, so so cute! I can't wait to hold that little boy again. Congratulations to Megan and Nate!

Pleasant Time in Pleasanton

This weekend I had the opportunity to visit one of my most favorite people in the whole wide world . . . Stace! We spent most of the time in Pleasanton. It was such a charming little town complete with a main street with cute shops, weekly farmer's markets, horse racing and auto shows. I felt like I had warped to the "Wild Hearts Can't Be Broken" era. The town is 100% appropriately named. It really was pleasant!

We ventured into San Fran for one day. We literally walked from one end of the city to the other. Along the way we encountered all the crazies that were out and about: silverman, goldman, begging for beer man, street dancerman, disco-roller skating girl and last of all the bushman!

Our goal was to cross the Golden Gate Bridge. We came this close (fingers about an inch apart) from getting to the bridge when fatigue set in and our dinner plans came through. At least we got our picture taken with it. I don't think that I have ever walked that much at one time. By the time the day was over my legs were more tired than they normally are after any marathon that I have ran. It felt so good to just relax that evening and all of Sunday.

I know why people say they left their heart in San Francisco! Thanks Stace for the good times :)

What Just Happened Moment

Have you ever had that sinking sensation that you have slept through your alarm by accidentally pressing ignore instead of snooze? That's exactly what happened to me last night. You read me correctly. Not this morning, but last night. No lie. I went to bed last night at 11:15 pm. As I lay there trying to fall asleep, my mind somehow fast forwarded 6 hours. I opened my eyes in a panic thinking that I had slept in. I grabbed my phone to see what time it was. Only 11:30 pm? How did that happen? In only 15 minutes I'd tricked myself into thinking I'd slept a whole night. Fastest night sleep EVER!

Lyric Mishaps

As I was driving home today a song came on the radio that I hadn't heard in pretty much forever. It brought back memories of a time I heard it during a trip with my sisters. It was then that I learned that my sister had the lyrics completely wrong. I thought I would share a few examples of lyric mishaps we've had in our family:


Mariah Carey's lyrics - I want to share forever with you baby
Kate's interpretation - I wanna shiver-er with you baby



Kiss' lyrics - I want to rock & roll all night and party everyday
Jules interpretation - I want to rock & roll all night and part of everyday
(really Jules, just “part” of everyday?)

Michael Jackson's lyrics - And no message could have been any clearer
Rach's interpretation - And no mustache could have been any clearer
(what does that mean exactly?)

Lest you think I’m perfect and lest you think I’m poking fun at others mistakes, I’ve had my fair share. Here’s a few:


Billy Joel's lyrics - I’m not ashamed to say the wild boys were my friends
My interpretation - I’m not ashamed to save the wild forest for my friends

Air Supply's lyrics - Every time I see you all the rays of the sun are streaming through the waves in your hair
My interpretation - Every time I see you or the raze of the sun of streaming the winds of your hair
(pure gibberish)



What are your lyric mishaps?

Creepy Crawly Dream

I had a crazy messed up dream the other night. I usually don't dream so it seemed especially weird. Well, I guess everyone dreams, so I should more accurately say that I usually don't remember my dreams. This was one where I woke myself up from shrieking out loud.

The dream starts out with a nice little ladybug that was crawling under my skin along my wrist. I know, weird, but it seemed so real and actually plausible . . . dreams do that sometimes. At any rate, I didn't pay too much attention to the ladybug and before I knew it, it had crawled to the top of my index finger. I was trying to figure out how to get the ladybug out from under my skin when it started to crawl back down my finger. I didn't want it to get lost inside of me so I tried to trap the ladybug at the top of my finger by pressing down with my other index finger against the side of the finger where the ladybug was. This must have made the ladybug irate because it then proceeded to try to get past the wall that I had created with my finger. Each time it rammed into the "wall" it bounced back and tried harder to ram past the "wall" again. With each rebound the ladybug began to morph into a bigger and bigger and uglier and uglier bug until it became a potato bug about to burst through my skin.

Needless to say I was freaked out by what was happening. That is when I shrieked out loud and woke myself up. I had a hard time falling back to sleep and I swear I felt a literal pain in my index finger. I was so tempted to turn on the light to make sure my finger was intact and that there was no ladybug crawling under my skin.

Can anyone tell me what this creepy crawly dream means?

No longer wondering

Just the other day I drove past the "Italian Village". It's a local restaurant that has some eye-catching signage that looks like a jack with knobs of lights on the end of each spoke. I can't tell you how many times I've driven past that place in my life, but I've never once set foot in there. In addition, I've never heard anyone talking about going out to eat there. Because of this, I vocally said "I wonder who eats at the Italian Village?".

Lo and behold a few days later in reading a friends blog, I found the answer to that question.

Thanks Julie for answering my two-day question. I no longer have to wonder.

The Marathon - I love to hate you & I hate to love you

I think I’ve had to take a reality check today after completing my “unlucky # 13” marathon. I’ve come to the conclusion that I have been lying to myself for the past 7 years. If I am being completely honest, there really is nothing pleasant about pounding the pavement for a solid 26.2 miles. It seems to get less and less pleasant with every footfall after you hit the 20 mile marker. Even the aftermath is worse than running the race.

Somehow, I’ve managed to convince myself all of this time that doing a marathon is “fun”. It comes across as a pretty weak argument when I start listing things that I’ve experienced with the race, like:

• lack of sleep the night before
• waking up before the sun has even started to think about rising
• loosing every single toenail
• getting blood blisters the size of your foot arch
• chaffing . . . I think I need to start investing in some chub-rub ;)
• being stuck in a Nor’easter and feeling like hypothermia is hovering over me ready to attack before the race even starts
• having your legs feel like they’ve turned to lead 20 miles into it
• feeling like your innards have been twisted in knots post-race and beginning to wonder if you’ll ever NOT feel every particle of food moving through your digestive system
• getting major charlie-horses in your calves post-race and forced to be a statue while on-lookers stare at you like you’re a real loon
  

etc etc. I could go on forever about the dreadful things, but I think you get the picture. Luckily not all of these happened on the same race!

Somehow the feeling of accomplishment once you have completed it far outweighs any pain the marathon puts you through . . . and tricks you into believing that it is “fun”. There is also nothing quite so exhilarating as the crowds that cheer you on, hearing the cow-bells and seeing the finish line just 365 yards away and knowing that you can do it. You’ve come so far, there is no possible way you can stop now.

I’ve even tried to convince others that they should attempt the marathon because it will change their life. That statement, I can with 100% honesty, say is true. You will never be the same individual post the marathon as you were pre. Just a mere 3 hour torturous run and you have yourself a new you; A you with a realization that you can do hard things; A you that realizes that nothing is impossible and the only thing that would ever hold you back is your lack of desire. It is so empowering!

I guess that is why I have a love / hate relationship with this event. I'm already getting pumped for numero 14 :)