Family at Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

"Stuck...stuck...STUUUUUCCCCKKKK!"

Happy Christmas Eve Eve

When Christmas comes around we have plenty of decorations for the house left over from our wedding. We have several frosted glass snowflake bowls, vases, and candle holders. This bowl has some of the ornaments that I made to hand out at our wedding. They are full of detail: our names, the wedding date, snowflakes, and a bow on top! However, we forgot the small detail of how to hand them out to people at the wedding. Therefore, they sat in a box in the corner of the reception!

This is one of our favorite ornaments. It means a lot to me to get it out each year and turn it to the new year. It makes me think, "Wow! 4 Christmases together!" But at the same time, the window can go all the way past 75 years!

Making Progress!

We are currently getting tons of rain on top of the mountain of ice that we got today. Traveling is definitely not fun right now. Surprisingly I had a busy day at work. I think people decided to brave the roads because they had to go shopping anyway, why not stop at the dentist?! I am looking forward to having several days off and seeing family and friends!

Yummy

Craig thought it would be fun to make some Christmas cookies. However, we don't have any cute cookie cutters, so we just made round cookies. Craig made the icing and was going to leave it white until I suggested food coloring!! After 50 drops of red food coloring, the icing was still pink, so we gave up. (The pink in the middle of the cookie above is as close to red as we got!) It went well with the minty green. Only one cookie got the special three-color treatment! All that matters is that the cookies were delicious!

BP

120/80...That is Craig's new blood pressure! Yay! Craig went back to his family doctor and they are pleased with how he has responded to the medication.

We cleaned Craig's incision Sunday night and it was a bit dramatic. There was some dead skin and some smells and some overall grossness. I wasn't prepared for how I would react since I deal with blood and icky smells everyday. This was different because it was someone I love! Anyway, after I got over being a little sick to my stomach, I helped him clean it as much as I could. I think it looks like it is healing like it supposed to. I took pictures but decided not to post them. You're welcome!

We ordered our last Christmas gift over the Internet last night. I am definitely behind this year on being prepared. Since I have to do all the shopping, Craig is supposed to do the wrapping...however, nothing is wrapped yet! Hope everyone is more successful at being ready for Christmas than I am!

Presents!

Each year my Aunt and Uncle give us a Christmas ornament. They are always something unique, different, or meaningful in some way. One of the most beautiful ornaments we have is a very delicate snowflake that they gave us the year that we got married that went along with our snowflake themed wedding. This year I was warned that this ornament would make me chuckle. I opened the box and found a pea! This is a running joke that has to do with my Aunt not being very fond of peas. I love it! We also received a BEAUTIFUL Christmas card that my Aunt made. She is so talented and has been making her own cards for many years. She designed and created our wedding invitations.

We also received paperwhite narcissus bulbs! They are sitting in the kitchen window because they need a lot of light. They are supposed to bloom in 4 to 6 weeks, so they have a lot of growing to do!

Craig's appointment this week went well with him coming home in an air cast. This gives him some freedom to take it off for a few minutes at a time. He still can't apply any weight to his ankle, even with the cast on. We will re-do the dressing on his incision on Sunday. He made it through his finals and is not really sure what to do with himself. I tried to get a picture, but this is all the cooperation I got.

Yuck

I am totally grossed out! We had a mouse! Yuck! I found my apple on the kitchen table had been nibbled on. We put out traps and within a couple hours the mouse had been caught!

I have an irrational fear of mice. Some people are afraid of spiders or snakes, but for me it is mice. I had a bad experience when I was younger where I actually stepped on a dead one with my bare foot. I am on top of furniture and screaming whenever I see them. So even though the greedy, grimy, nasty thing has been caught, I am still paranoid. I know it has friends. Tonight when I was doing the dishes the static in my pajama pants made me think that a mouse was touching me.

(The only reason I took the above picture is because Craig didn't believe me when I told him that a mouse had gotten on the table and eaten our apple. He said, "You probably just dropped the apple." So I took the picture and showed it to him while he was sitting safely on the couch!)

Once I feel like the house is de-moused and de-germed maybe I will get the Christmas decorations out!

Getting around

Craig has been taking advantage of rides from public safety in their golf cart to get to class. Even though he can drive and has a handicap tag for the car, it is still a long walk, sometimes including steps. Craig has 4 finals this week, one per day.

He has another appointment with the surgeon Tuesday the 9th. So we'll see how well things are healing.

We were able to attend the Terre Haute Symphony Saturday night. It was a great Christmas concert!

Ankle Update

Craig had his follow-up appointment today with his surgeon. It went well and he got a full cast put on - a lovely shade of blue. He will go back next week to get the stitches out. The surgeon was pleased with the healing so far. He had two pins and one plate placed during his surgery. The surgeon said there were small parts of the bone that had crumbled, but they were in the correct place for healing! Wow! Not to mention all the torn ligaments that have to heal too. Right after Craig fell, his description of his ankle was, "floppy." Now I guess I understand why.

Thanks for everyone's prayers!

Happy 25th!

Happy Birthday to Craig! This isn't how we had planned spending Craig's birthday with a broken leg, but I hope today is a happy, pain-free day!

Craig did not take any pain medication for most of the day yesterday. He said his leg felt fine until he had to stand and then he could really feel the blood rush in and it hurt. He has been doing a great job staying off his leg and keeping it elevated. Yesterday he was finally awake long enough to look at some homework. He has two projects due this coming week and then he needs to study for finals.

I have been taking his blood pressure and unfortunately it is still very elevated. His doctor recommended no caffeine and low sodium diet. Craig hasn't drank pop for almost two years, but Craig enjoys coffee VERY much! I am amazed that he hasn't had coffee for a week! It is also hard to believe that it has already been a week since he fell.

Usually for our birthdays we like to enjoy an event rather than getting a material possession. One year we went to the symphony and last year we went to a concert. This year for Craig's birthday I hope I can make it special enough because I don't have anything for him and we won't be going anywhere special!

I am very thankful for Craig and I love him very much. I hope he has a great birthday!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Just a very quick note to say that Craig is doing ok. His pain is staying under control with medication. We ended up staying a second night because his blood pressure went way high. They finally decided that it was elevated due to pain and the stress of being in the hospital. We have an appointment with his surgeon Monday and an appt. with his family doctor on Tuesday to follow up on the blood pressure!

Hope everyone is enjoying their family and food!

Uh-Oh!

Craig broke his leg!!!

Craig stepped out the door and the mat slipped out from under him on Saturday morning. After a trip to the ER, we were told that he had a fracture. After a trip to an orthopaedic surgeon this morning, Craig is scheduled for surgery this evening.

Of course Craig is not happy, but he has a great attitude as always. We are praying for his pain to be under control and for the healing to be quick!

Flurries!

It has been snowing off and on this week! Actually only spotted flurries. I guess when it gets this cold, it is a little easier to believe that Christmas is on the way!

I put off writing my paper all week. I finally sat down last night and wrote the whole thing. The paper is about my relationship with God. It has made me realize just how evident God has been in my life and how thankful I should be. Even though there are things that I would change about my past, I know that God has a reason and lesson for each event.

Working out at the gym is going well...so far. Usually I stay motivated for at least a week before I try coming up with excuses for not wanting to work out. Any excuse will do..."I don't feel like it."..."It's Thursday."..."I should go home and do the dishes/laundry/wash my hair, ect." I have found that my ipod is very essential to working out in the gym because I don't have the changing scenery to distract me from my discomfort.

Ramblings

This has been quite a week, but it ended with a good, relaxing weekend. I really let work stress me out at the beginning of the week. I had a very busy schedule the first half of the week and I wasn't happy with how I handled my attitude through it. My schedule fell apart Thursday and I actually had time to remember why I like my job. An 8 year old made my week on Thursday afternoon. Unfortunately she had never had a dental exam and her mouth was full of decay. This situation doesn't happen very often because the state requires a dental exam before kids can enter public school for kindergarten. She attends a private school and was a lot of fun to work with, however, she has a lot of dental work ahead of her.

Another stress happened Tuesday night when I managed to tick my English professor off. We have required chats to discuss topics and one of my questions to the professor was misunderstood. I really didn't mean any harm, but I wrote an apology email and when she replied, she said that she had felt challenged by my question and therefore ticked. Not a good thing. Fortunately, only one more essay and a final exam left for the class.

This week I realized that I had only ran twice in the month since the marathon. I'm not really a cold weather runner, so I decided that I needed to get a gym membership. I went back to my old gym at Union Hospital and got signed up again. Since I am "new" I get four free personal training sessions. I met with a trainer, Chad, on Friday after work and got a good full body workout. One of the areas that I knew would enhance my running and was highly recommended was doing cross training to strengthen other muscles and to reduce injury. However, I never really made the time to get those workouts in. So even though I felt like I was in shape, I knew that I was going to be sore after lifting weights.

I enjoyed Chad's knowledge and the workout, however he isn't very good at listening. I told him that I had just run a marathon, but he still made the comment that I should start feeling like I have more energy once I start working out. Hello - I have been working out!! At the end of the session, I was asking him a question about how often to weight train vs. cardio. He told me that I could do cardio three to five times a week because "You don't need to lose that much weight." Now if I had told him that it was goal of mine to lose weight, I would have appreciated the comment. However, I don't feel like I need to lose weight (and if I do, I am happy to be in denial!) So that has been the running joke this weekend, that I don't need to lose THAT much weight! Actually Chad did a body fat assessment and after pinching me three times, he assessed that my percentage was average. So anyway, my goal is to work out 5 days a week, with weights 3 times weekly. Also, I don't think I'll be going back to Chad!

I'm officially in the Christmas mood after I watched "Elf" this weekend. I already have the Christmas CDs in the car. We attempted to get our Christmas shopping started today, but didn't find anything. (I did find a pair of sunglasses for 90% off!!! You can't beat a pair of sunglasses for $2.60!!!)

Today was one of the weeks that I work in the nursery at church. On an average Sunday, we might have one or two babies for the two of us. However, today we had six kids with three of them needing constant attention! It was a workout!

This will hopefully be a better week. I have a paper due Friday and Craig has a second interview on Thursday.

Bedford 08

We were invited to Bedford for the weekend to a friend's family farm. We have been there several times, but less over the past couple years due to being busy with school. It was a cold weekend, but it was nice to get away for a night.This is some of the old mining equipment that drowned when they hit the water table.

Craig and Chase enjoy some cookie and crumb time together

This is from one of the highest points in the quarry

ACS pictures

I got an email today posting some more pictures that were taken at the ACS tent after the race. This is where I met up with Sarah, Eric, and Craig after the race. I really don't know how I got from the finish line to this point besides following someone in a blue ACS shirt.

We were given the option of filling out a "In Memory" or "In Honor of" card. It is neat and sad at the same time at the number of cards that were filled out.

One of the perks of being an ACS charity runner was a free 5 minute massage after the race. There was also food, a changing area, ice, and the tent to hang out in. Craig tried his best to get me to eat, but my stomach was really upset and everything sounded gross. My main goal was to just leave and start walking back to the hotel. They were definitely prepared to be very accommodating to the runners even though I really didn't take advantage of any it!

I had the opportunity to talk to my co-worker, Tana, who is back to work after her husband's death. One of the first things she told me was that she framed the ribbon with Warren's name on it that I wore during the marathon. That really meant a lot to me because I know it meant a lot to her. I think Tana is doing as well as she can. She said the nights are the worst right now and that she's not sure her loss has fully hit her yet. Her family definitely needs our continued prayers.

Happy Election Day

We heard all the buzz that election lines were going to be long, so we got up early to make sure that we could vote before work/school. We made it to City Hall (12 blocks from our house) by 6:10 and were home by 6:20! We were about the 15th or 16th to vote. I did have some selfish motives today. #1) I wanted a "I voted sticker" to wear...no such luck. #2) Since we were up so early, I was aching for a cinnamon roll from our favorite coffee shop...no such luck. So by the time I got to work this morning, I was hungry and realizing how tired I was. Everyone I talked to today was very enthusiastic about voting! I also heard several comments about how "this is one of the most important elections I will ever vote in." I hope people took it seriously and made informed votes!

Halloween 08

Hawaiian Hula girl meets sexy construction worker!

Craig's friend - Blake "Sweeney Todd"

Halloween Party

I can't remember the last year that I dressed up to go trick-or-treating. This year we have been invited to a party, with costumes required! With little time and little money, WHAT SHOULD I BE?!

Life after the marathon

It has been a good week since the big day. I was lucky enough to have four days off after the race. I don't think I would have been worth very much Monday or Tuesday at work. Thankfully my dentist decided to take his family to Florida for the week! By the time I worked at the other office on Friday, I was feeling fine. I went for a short run Monday night and was surprised that my legs felt fine.

Craig and I were blessed to watch Rachel and Owen for Tammy and Nathan on Saturday. Tammy was able to "santa" shop, clean most of her house, and grocery shop while the kids were at our house! We were hoping to visit a pumkin farm, but Owen needed some extra sleep, so there was only about an hour or two when both kids were awake.


Rachel and I dug out some markers and colored pencils. I found some old stamper markers! I forgot how much fun those are. Rachel practiced writing her "R"s. I could tell she had been instructed before because as soon as she finished one R, she would say, "Again!" in a stern teacher voice!

Owen and I took a walk to the mailbox and picked some mums. He tried to play with our big pumpkin. Unfortunately he spotted that two of our neighbors have swing sets, but I wasn't comfortable letting him play on them. Our house just isn't prepared for a busy 1 1/2 year old!

We had a FEAST for dinner Monday night! Alaskan Salmon! One of our patients lives in Alaska and was in town visiting family and they were nice enough to bring some frozen salmon. After a quick call to Uncle Bill for his yummy recipe and advice about what to do with the skin, the salmon turned out great! Craig is staying busy with school. His schedule was crazy about 2 weeks ago with midterms, but it has calmed down since. He does have an exam tomorrow, but that's not why he is snarling. He doesn't feel good. (Put your lower lip out and say "awww!") I'm hoping it is just a scratchy throat and doesn't develop into something worse! or give it to me!

Pictures

Chicago Marathon 2008

Saturday morning we finally left after I felt like everything had been packed. Thanks to Mike, we borrowed his GPS, we made it to our first destination without any problems.

We went to the expo to pick up my packet. But of course our very FIRST stop had to be Starbucks so that Craig could wake up! The expo area was packed with people! This is where I picked up my bib, timing chip, shirt, and info. There were tons of vendors there and it was pretty overwhelming! I bought a really cool shirt as a souvenir for the event.



We stopped at the American Cancer Society booth to check in with them. We put up an "In Memory Of" for Warren. Warren and Tana were truly my inspiration during the race. I thought of them and their pain and it helped me remember what I was enduring was only temporary.

The marathon had an Event Alert System to help communicate to the runners what the conditions were. This sign was at the expo, Saturday, already elevated to "Moderate: Less than ideal condition - Slow down/Be prepared for worsening conditions" About half way through the race on Sunday the conditions were elevated to "High: Potentially dangerous conditions - Slow down/Observe course changes/Follow event official instruction/Consider stopping."

Race Morning:

I knew when I stepped out of the hotel lobby and it wasn't even necessary for me to wear my long sleeve t-shirt over my race clothes, that it was going to be warm. I was able to meet up with Sarah and Eric before I got into my starting area with the 9:00/mile pace group. The starting area was SO packed with people. I was touching at least 3 other people at all times before the race started! It was horrible! There was definitely no room for stretching. (Not that I would, that is what the first 5 miles are for!)

The race started right on time and in the very first mile we went under a long underpass. Unfortunately, my watch lost satellite signal and was short by .30 for distance the whole race. I think the time also got delayed. So I was a little disappointed with that, but in all reality, I didn't use my watch a whole lot. I quickly realized that I wasn't going to be telling my body how fast to go, but it would be my body that determined my pace. It was just so warm. I stayed with the pace group the first couple miles but they moved very fast through the water stations. I skipped a water station just to try to catch up with them, but weaving in and around people takes a lot of energy. I wore my fuel belt which carried 32 ounces of water and by the end of the race I was trying to squeeze every drip out of them.

One of the best memories is meeting another ACS runner before the start. She was also running for a co-worker's spouse who had recently lost their battle with cancer. She seemed very nice and very nervous to try to keep up with the 4 hour pace group. We started together and then ran into each other several different times during the race. When we met up at mile 16 not even close to the pace group, I told her our average pace was around 9:40. We both agreed that our time was no longer our goal, but just finishing.

The crowd was amazing! There was 26.2 miles of people on both sides of the street and sometimes in the median shouting, cheering, blowing horns, ringing cow bells, holding signs, anything to cheer us on. I got the biggest boost when someone would yell, "Go ACS!" It would make me smile and I would wave or throw an arm in the air. Many runners put their name on the front of their shirt so they could be cheered for specifically. I ran next to a Jose for several miles and he definitely got a lot of cheers.

The volunteers were amazing as well. There was supposed to be 20 aid stations, but I think more might have been added due to the heat. At just about every aid station I drank a cup of Gatorade, sipped some water and dumped the rest on my head. We got sponges soaked in cold water and they were helpful in cooling off. A couple of stations offered cups of ice cubes. It felt so great to put one in my mouth! I put a cube in my shirt and the rest in my hat. I don't think it took very long for them to melt.

Craig, Sarah, and Eric were able to see me at mile 2, 12, and 26. The only time I saw them was at mile 26. There is a gradual hill right before the 26 mile mark and once I made it to the top I heard my name! I saw Craig, Sarah, and Eric and I was SO happy! They were basically standing on the last corner before the finish line. Once I turned that corner and saw the finish, I was very emotional. So much went into that moment. Not only was I finally able to be DONE with this race, but all the training, all the reasons I was running just hit me. It was great.

I looked at my unofficial times for the race. Total time was 4:38:00. I was very surprised to see that my time at 13.1 miles was 2:05. This is only 5 minutes off pace. My body really felt pretty bad the whole race. I didn't realize that I wasn't too far off pace for the first half. However, after the half way point my mile splits got longer and longer. Once I saw the conditions had worsened and people all around me were walking more frequently, I knew that I needed to run a smart race. I started walking through the water stations. I had to get off on the side once to stretch my quad. My right quad really started cramping and it surprised me because I have never had a problem like that before. Usually if anything cramps, it is my calves. I knew I needed to listen to my body, but it was saying that I was thirsty the whole time!

After the race I met up with Sarah, Eric, and Craig at the ACS tent. Craig greeted me with a rose! Craig was very happy to see me, he had been so worried. When he saw me at mile 12 he knew that I didn't look good. Sarah said that it looked like I was just concentrating on putting one foot in front of the other. So for the next 14 miles Craig was worried that I would over-exert myself or get hurt. I was able to get changed out of my clothes and get some more water and shade at the ACS tent. My stomach was very upset. I think I just had too much Gatorade and Gu on my stomach without any real food to offset the sugar. My body from the waist down hurt to touch, like a bruise for the first 12 hours. The greatest pain came about 36 hours after the race and even ibuprofen didn't help. By Wednesday morning, I woke up feeling MUCH better! Overall, I can't really complain about how my body endured the race. I had two tiny chafe marks in my armpits and only one purple toenail. My body has a while to completely repair from all the micro-tears and I am happy to have at least 26 days of resting.

The question has been asked, "Will you run another marathon?" and the answer is..."No...at this point." If you asked me during the race I would have screamed NO!! But I have a tiny bit of competitiveness with myself and I KNOW that I could have run a better race in cooler conditions. I might not have made my goal of 4 hours, but I know I would have been able to enjoy the race. I wasn't going slow so that I could enjoy the race, I was going the fastest pace my body would allow me to go in the heat. My biggest disappointment is that I was in pain and not achieving my main goal of having fun.

A few hours ago I realized that Craig's commencement and the Indianapolis Mini-marathon are on two different weekends in May, so I will be able to give the mini another shot a third year in a row! Only 6 months away!