The 5k

I made it.

I don't know how but .... I made it.

I actually did quite well (THANK GOD) for not practicing or working out to lead up to the event.

I came in 17th place over all (and there were maybe 300 or 400 runners??). I was the 4th female to finish, and I was 2nd in my age class. KEEP IN MIND THIS ROUTE WAS FLAT AS A PANCAKE. I can promise you that if we had even a hint of a hill, my ass would not have made it as smoothly and successfully.

I was SOOOO happy to see such a fantastic turnout for this first annual event. People of ALL ages were there to run/walk. The 2nd place winner was actually a kid that was about 10 years old... maybe younger? The 1st place woman was 42 (go girl!) and people of all shapes and sizes entered. I LOVED IT. A good friend of ours entered the race and finished without stopping, and he JUST started training 5 weeks ago.

I ran the Nashville "Boo Dash" in October of 2001 for a "Jog Run" Class at college (yes, they had this class, and yes I got credit.....sounds pretty unfair doesn't it?) I did alright, but not as well as I would have liked then. But, I must blame it on THE HILLS. And Nashville has them. Oh yes. They do.

But today was actually pretty "easy" (term used loosely) . I'm just thankful that I didn't blow my knee out or fall on my face as I actually almost did about a 1/2 mile in when my toe found my loose shoe lace. (Mom - I had to hold back a "SON OF A BITCH!.... oh my, I almost fell down!" when that happened.....**inside joke**)

The race actually had a weird twist to the whole thing though. The new contestants from The Biggest Loser were running with us, so there were camera crews EVERYWHERE following the race. It was actually quite annoying trying run around them.


Following the race, I was blessed to meet some people. I made a new friend, Simone, and her two beautiful children. They are from Australia, and they moved here about a year ago. She beat me in the race (I don't hold that against her! haha!) but that did strike up conversation that we should go running together sometime when our "kiddo" schedules coincide. I hope that happens, because she is really cool. And I need more girlfriends here. That area of my new world here is coming around. I've made some good ones through events like this race, and at church, thank goodness. And the ones with kiddos Joey's age are coming out of their holes just like I am, because our kids are finally old enough to need buddies of their own. Its about time because Joey REALLY needs to learn how to play nice. (He swatted and screamed at Rudy, our dog, the other day, when he was playing with Joey's ball. Time to find him a good playmate when he gets mad at THE DOG!!! Holy smokes.)

Run Forrest!

I signed up for our little town's Springfest 5k. I run it tomorrow. At 8am.

Crap. First of all, to do anything physical at 8am that requires getting OUT of bed (sorry mom) is not exactly my forte. And second, I've been running lately (when I can which usually amounts to about 2 or 3 times a week) but I haven't hit 5k yet....in fact, I doubt that I've ran a full 5k since BEFORE I was pregnant with Joey. But I'm going to do it this weekend. What the heck.

I'm going to suck bad. I'll let you know how it goes. I think I can do it ....

No pictures at the finish line please. ha!

Snip-Snip

I cut Joey's hair the other day. WHOA, my heart was beating fast. I've never cut hair before (besides a little snip snip on my own hair where the beautician had missed a few after coming home from a trip to the salon), and he had never had his hair cut before. Talk about PRESSURE.

His beautiful little curls were starting to look a little feminine, so I decided that I wasn't going to be one of those moms that let his hair grown 1/2 way down his back, and have to answer the question "ahhhh so cute! Boy or girl?" every time we visit the grocery store.

Joe and I battled over who essentially should cut his hair. I wanted to take him to the lady that just cut off my hair (14 inches!!!!!), but he was adamantly opposed to someone else putting scissors near his eyes. I don't blame him, but I assured JOe that they had (a) experience cutting hair, (b) experience cutting KIDS hair, and (c) it would probably be much better than ME putting scissors anywhere near his face.

Joe went out of town at the beginning of this week, and I decided to get brave.

I did it. My heart about beat its way out of my chest. I think I did alright. :)

Here it was before the cut....
And here it is after the cut. (Sorry for the bad picture.... I can't really keep him in one place for a good shot any more. Seems like I just get the back of his head these days as he's bolting away.)

Music Meme

I got this "meme" from Just Eat Your Cupcake . I decided this one looked fun, and so I did it, whether I really had the time to or not. ((I didn't, but what the heck...I needed some me time.) Some of the way these answers fell surprised me. Very ironic!

Here's how to do it: Put your ipod on shuffle and press next for each question. Write down the song that's playing as an answer.

1) How would you describe yourself?

Green Eyes by Coldplay – Well, I don’t have green eyes. At all. Not even in a different light. They are black brown. Just about as dark as can be. BUT…this happens to be one of my favorite songs on my whole list of tune selections. When I thought I might try to break out as an artist, I wanted to cover this song, country-pop style. But it is odd – every lyric that was sang is what my hubby has said to me at some point or another – even before he heard the song – except for the “green eyes” part….

2) What do you like in a guy/girl?

“Come Away With Me” by Norah Jones – You mean, MY guy…. He’s not as sentimental as this song, but the “I want to walk with you on a cloudy day, where the yellow grass grows knee high” and such is proverbial for our marriage. I love this song. Its just the classic love song. In fact, I’ve sang it at 2 weddings.

3) What is your motto?

“Oh Atlanta” by Alison Kraus & Union Station – “Same old place, same old city. What can I do, I’m falling in love… Oh Atlanta, I hear you calling, I’m heading back to youuuuu one fine day” MMMMMMM!!!!! This song is delicious! I love Atlanta, and I love this song!

4) What do your friends think of you?

“A Clean Pair of Eyes” by David Gray – This is an interesting irony. I should hope that my friends feel that I have a clean pair of eyes – a forgiving heart and ofference of a new clean start after blemished situation. The song actually is a prayer to God to be able to see with a clean pair of eyes following a mass of dreams that speak of fear, silence and doubt. In another aspect, maybe my friends think that I can be one that continues to hope for good things following negativity?? Now I’m reaching….

5) What do you think about often?

“Gravity” by Coldplay – You know, I thought that Gravity songs by John Mayer or Alison Kraus really fit more my style of thinking. And I’ve never really listened to the words of this song as much as I did the melody. But today I listened. And I cried. I see it as a song about the ultimate love, and then the tragic turn of losing the one you love to death – how you are pulled together through the gravity of love, and the only thing that can pull you apart is the gravity of death. If you do not have this song in your itunes collection, you must get it. It will set your mood. Its absolutely, absolutely….beautiful.

6) What do your parents think of you?

“Hurricane” by Mindy Smith – Wow…what a day to concentrate on the lyrics of the songs I really dig. I don’t know if this pertains to how my parents think of me, but this is such a beautiful song as well. If the lyrics were anything descriptive of hurricane, they could probably think this of me when I was about 18. But this is another song about loss and leaving, and the troubles of moving on. In this song, it would be best for a hurricane, or something of a natural force of destruction, force her to move on with her life, as she hasn’t the strength to move herself. Another good one for the lonely tune list. And what a VOICE……..what a voice. My dear friend Amanda has this voice on steroids, and every time I hear Mindy, I think of Amanda. I hope you are still singing, Amanda….

7) What do you think of your best friend?

“Bleeders” by the Wallflowers – Nah, Joe doesn’t “bleed” easy. I bleed much easier than he does. Emotionally, not physically.

8) What do you think of the person you like?

“Within You” by Ray LaMontagne – The only lyrics to this song is “War is not the answer, the answer is within you. Love, Love…..” Ironic selection. This has been his lesson of the year.

9) What do you want to be when you grow up?

“Sexy Ladies” by Justin Timberlake
Just the fact that I have this song means that I haven’t grown up – you may as well consider me a 14 year old girl because I have a little JT in my collection. But what can I say… I dig his stuff. And Joey and I like to dance to it. But yes, when I grow up, maybe I’ll finally be a “sexy lady.”

10) What do you think when you see the person you like?

“Fumbling Toward Ecstasy” by Sara McLachlin – Another ironic selection. The person I “like” of course is the one I love – my husband. There is fear hidden in love, at times. Fear and love are opposites, yet they intertwine. And I still have fears within our love, and yes, we fumble with each other towards the ecstasy of finding our love. We are in love, yet, it grows as fears are destroyed, one by one.


11) What song will they play at your wedding?

“Cold Water” by Damien Rice
Considering I’ve already had my wedding, and this song was not on the satellite radio mix going on in the background of our little reception, it SHOULD have been played…if you know what I mean.

12) What will they play at your funeral?

“Tripping Billies” by the Dave Matthews Band - “Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die….”

13) What is your hobby/interest?

“If you could only see” by Tonic – the only thing hobbyish about this song for me is singing it. I love this song. Who doesn’t?


14) What is your biggest fear?

“Crash Into Me” by the Dave Matthews Band – well, you know. It’s a fear. I don’t like car accidents …. Or tornados.

15) What is your biggest secret?

“Turn Me On” by Norah Jones.
Getting a little personal, are we now??

16) What do you think of your friends?

“Slave Song” by Sade.
This doesn’t fit AT ALL.

17) What is your theme song?

“These Arms of Mine” by Otis Redding – Yearning for my man, only. And my baby boy. I gotta have hugs from my mens.

18) What do you think of your family?

“White Christmas” by Dean Martin – Ok, so this is my lone Christmas album in my itunes selection and somehow out of 1500+ songs, WHITE DAMN CHRISTMAS pops in on the list. I guess it kind of fits though. I like Christmas with my family. I love it, in fact. ☺ I’ll take a White Christmas right here. Perfect fit.

19) What is your best friend's theme song?

“Kind and Generous” by Natalie Merchant – this would be my man. ☺ I couldn’t’ think of a more perfect song….!

20) What is your mood right now?

“Everytime You Say Goodbye” by Alison Kraus and Union Station. – “There's a restless feeling knocking at my door today
There's a shadow hanging 'round my garden gate” I have been feeling VERY restless lately. I need a break. Bad. I need to have some “me” time, some away time. I need to recharge my battery. YES, this is my mood.

21) If your heart could talk what would it say?

“Hurricane Waters” by Citizen Cope – “I will carry you through the hurricane waters, And I'll remember you in the blue skies.” My sentiments exactly.

22) What do your co-workers think of you?

“Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor Opus 23” by Tchiakovsky – complicated and clumsy? Yeah, probably – but I don’t have any co-workers so its all good.

23) What does your future look like?

“Harder to Breathe” by Maroon 5
hmmm…. Probably some truth to this, but I’m always hoping that it will be easier to breathe, metaphorically speaking. But as I get older physically, you know how the body gets. At least I don’t smoke.

Ashlyn Helene O'Keefe

Hey hey! We have another addition to announce. My childhood friend, Michelle had a beautiful baby girl last week. Her name is Ashlyn Helene O'Keefe. She's GAWWWWGEOUS. Michelle is doing great and the baby is doing perfect.

Catch of the day

Guess what's on the menu tonight?

(kidding)

We caught this little bugger in mom's shed in iowa trying to sneak catfood. The things we do for fun....

I'm no hypochondriac, but....

I believe that I have what they call "Momnesia." I saw it on the NBC nightly news and thought "Okay....so it IS true, and I'm not crazy, and yes its true - I'm losing my mind - but its ok."

I used to have next to photographic memory. I could pull names, numbers and memories out of my head like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Now, I can't even remember what the hell I just did with my coffee cup literally 5 seconds ago.

My "momnesia" is also semi-A.D.D. I start one thing, and I rabbit trail off to something else....and then rabbit trail off from that trail to another, until I come full circle back to the point of origination, and NOT ONE SINGLE DAMN THING GOT DONE.

I also used to be sort of semi-Jason-Bourne-ish where I could walk into a room, scan it within a half second, turn around and tell you that there is are approximately 10 paces to the coffee pot, and 3 more paces to the conference room, a Green Bay Packers magnet on the fridge, a fat man about 57 years old in a green suit behind a yellow desk, a woman about 35 years old with scuffed brown high heels and a creme colored polka dotted dress is half drunk on her way to the back room to probably have a cigarette, and the clock is hung cockeyed, and a little to the left of center of the room, as well as there is water damage to the ceiling in 7 different spots. Now, I can't even remember where I was 10 minutes ago.

I'm tellin' ya.....I'm losing it.

Murderous Memphis

Memphis is really starting to scare me.......

This just happened, and its just another bizarre killing. There is just so much violence. Its getting out of control, folks.

There have been home invasions just about every other night in really nice neighborhoods where the victims have been tied up with zip ties while four masked and armed robbers rip their houses apart for valuables. So far, no one has been killed in those robberies, but some have been brutally assaulted.

Murder, murder, murder - every day. Something new. Just two weeks ago, they found a dismembered body in the Coldwater River, only 40 minutes from here (maybe less).

There are mindless drive-bys. Several pregnant women have been murdered. Many drug deals going bad.

I watch a lot of forensic programs on tv, and many of the stories come straight out of Memphis. I was watching The First 48 the other night, and every episode they feature two murder crimes at one time, but in two different cities. Every episode featured a crime out of Memphis.

It has become number 8 in the top 10 most dangerous cities. Compton CA is safer than Memphis if that is believable. Surprisingly, St Louis was number one worst city. I'm not sure how credible the list is though.... it says that Coral Springs FL is a safe place to live and I know that's not all that true.

Anyway, I don't go there alone, and you can see why. Statistics say that violent crime happens to every one out of a hundred people.

Storm Damage

Last night, in a twist of the unexpected, we had some really bad storms - again. This time, we had damage. We are all in perfect condition, and thankfully we have our lives. In the grand scheme of things, we lost nothing except a few things here and there.

We had been keeping track of the weather most all day, and toward 6pm, we had shut off the radio and we were flipping channels on the tv, not really concerned with what was going on north and south of us (of which, we had been told all day that was where the thunderstorm action was going to be, primarily.). Next thing I know, Joe says "OH MY GOD, Kate - there's rotation on top of our town right this moment."

"What??" I said. "I don't hear anything."

Right then, the wind kicked up hard and our satellite went out. We opened the back door, and it was straight line winds across our backyard. No wind blowing inside because it was blowing south to north, sideways. We didn't hear any sirens going off, but we still grabbed a bunch of couch cushions and headed straight for the laundry room. Once we were safe inside, we practically stopped breathing so we could listen. We could hear something ripping off our roof, and every now and then something bang up against the side of our house.

A few minutes later, we emerged from the laundry room to check out the storm. The winds were not straight lined any longer, but still blowing very hard in every which way. Rain pouring out of the night sky in buckets. JD, Joe's cousin who lives behind us, reported in to us that he had shingles all over his yard from neighboring houses, and the winds had taken down a portion of his fencing. This was the rain and wind situation was the condition for the next two and a half hours. Our street was a river, and our backyard was a pond.

About an hour after we had paid a visit to the laundry room, the doorbell rang frantically. Startled, we ran to the door to find our next door neighbor with a flashlight and raingear telling us that all the shingles in the YARDS were from our house, and that we were missing about 1/3 of our shingle coverage. I ran outside in the rain and flood to see. Sure enough......

I went back inside and began inspecting the house. Within moments, I had found leaks in several rooms in the house.

The attic had 2 major leaks. I crawled up through the insulation and boards and stablized some buckets. Next, our guest bedroom had 3 major leaks, and Joey's room had 2 major leaks. Joe and I moved some furniture and placed buckets out to catch the water. I went to the other attic entrance and found another leak. Our upstairs bathroom had a leak coming through the vent. After we had found all the leaks we could, and made mental notes of the other water damages that hadn't sprouted leaks yet, we calmed down, cooked dinner and TRIED to put Joey down in our room, as we didn't want leaks to sprout over his head in the middle of the night in his room.

Finally the rain stopped. The leaking continued for probably another 30 minutes, then subsided. We inspected the house one more time and found major water damage in our living room.

Our satellite system was still down - most likely damaged in the storm - so we weren't able to see if there were any other storm systems coming. We had a weather radio, but we weren't really relying too heavily on that since it didn't even warn us of the storm that had hit earlier. ((It warned, but not for our town. It just stated that our county was going to get a little hit, but nothing to be alarmed about.))

This morning when we awoke, we were able to see all the roof damages. About 1/3 of our shingles are missing on the south side of our house - we are going to need major repairs (thank God we are renting). One of our vehicles took a hit from flying debris.... most likely a couple of shingles.

And now.......its snowing.

Enid

We took Joey to Enid Lake on Sunday afternoon for a little "beautiful weather get-a-way." He ran around like crazy and burned off some serious energy. We enjoyed getting him out to breathe some fresh air and see a little more of the world than just the inside of our house....