Number 13

I am thankful that I can run.  Especially when it's for a good cause.  Today Erin and I, along with several other coworkers, participated in the Buddy's Race Against Cancer.  It is a 5K.  Now, I believe I have mentioned that I am not the worlds fastest runner.  I'm usually somewhere near the middle when the race results come out.  But I'm really thankful I can do the race at all. 

Because of a car accident and subsequent back surgery when I was little, my dad was never able to run, so it makes me proud that I can.  Plus, the Buddy's race has lots of meaning for me.  I have lost friends and relatives to cancer and also celebrate with the friends and family that are currently celebrating their survival.  I ran in memory of my Grandad, my Dad, my coworkers Shirley and Reno, and for my friend Tim, who recently passed away.  I ran in celebration of my cousins Mary and Gale, my friends Lori and Ranee, and my father-in-law Chuck who was just recently diagnosed with lung cancer.  Actually, if you have a second, I'd appreciate a prayer for Chuck.  He is currently undergoing treatment.

To be really honest, I don't like running.  You know that runner's high that people talk about?  I've never experienced that and wonder if really it's just an old wives tale.  But I know that cardiovascular activity is good for my heart.  And it helps my jeans fit.  But most of all, I know that I'm blessed that God gave me a working pair of legs, so I should probably put them to good use. 



Number 12

I am thankful for modern technology.  I mean, without it, I couldn't do this blog at all.  Or make a phone call.  Or watch Jeopardy.

What did we do before email?  Or online checking?  I especially love the whole advent of the digital camera.  I remember when you paid for all your pictures to be developed and when it turned out that really only 3 of the 24 were good, you still had to suck it up and pay for 24.  Now you can take 500 pictures and weed out the ugly ones and pay to have only 7 printed.  Absolutely genius.

And let's not forget about cell phones.  I remember when I had a 30 minute per month plan when I started college.  It was for emergency use only.  And the phone itself was about as big as a glass jar of ketchup and weighed just as much.  Losing your phone meant you lost the 10 numbers stored in the "quick dial" feature, not losing pictures and apps along with all of your contacts. 

In college, we might have checked our email at a computer center once a week if we remembered.  Now I probably check it at least twice per day.  And Facebook may still be a huge waste of time, but I appreciate that it lets me see pictures of people I haven't seen in 20 years. 

I remember telling Collen several years ago that I was pretty sure this whole Internet thing was probably a passing fad.  I guess I'll happily eat that bowl of crow now.

Number 11

Today is Veteran's Day.  I am thankful for all of the veterans who have served our country.  No matter your political affiliation or preference, I bet you're happy that we live in a free country.  I know I am.

My husband is a veteran.  I very vividly remember the year we spent apart while he was a combat medic in Iraq.  I remember not being able to call him and wondering when he would be able to call me.  I remember worrying about whether he would hit an roadside bomb (IED- improvised explosive device) or be shot while doing daily missions into extremely volatile, dangerous cities.  I also remember very well the phone call I received one night from the military, informing me that his group had hit an IED and that Erin had been mildly injured.  I remember being so, SO thankful that it wasn't worse. 

Not only am I the wife of a veteran, I am also the proud niece of, cousin of, daughter-in-law of, sister-in law, and friend of veterans.  Soldiers make so many sacrifices so we can live in our country, safe and with plenty of freedom.  I'm thankful for all the veterans for what they have done for us.

This morning, Kenzie's school had a Veteran's Day program, in which Erin was a part of.  This is him with Tennessee's Adjutant General, Major General Max Haston.

Number 10

Today I am thankful for fast food restaurants.  Yes, they do possess certain negative attributes:  Although they have healthy items, those are usually not what I'm buying.  As much as I like the healthier options offered at Taco Bell, I'm probably going to go for the double-decker taco or the Mexican pizza.  Many are overpriced.  Have you ever made a bowl of oatmeal at home and threw in some nuts and cranberries or raisins?  Have you ever bought a small bowl of the same thing at Starbucks?  What was the price difference?  And you know, I love a McDonalds or Burger King hamburger.  But most would argue that the quality is nowhere near a hamburger you pat out yourself and cook on your own grill.

I like it though.  It's convenient.  And let's be honest here.  If it weren't for the occasional fast food run, my family would likely starve.

Last week on the slide at Burger King

Number 8

I am thankful for my job.  I work at KDL Pathology as a Pathologist Assistant.  This means I do the gross dissection of tissue specimens.  Lots of people think my job is disgusting.  But I really like it.  And it's interesting.  Erin does the same thing, so over dinner, we often talk about a cool specimen we cut that day.  And tons of people have skinned a buck or cleaned a fish, but how many have gutted a human or cut open a gallbladder? 

I have always wanted to work in the medical field.  I love the "blood and guts" stuff.  But I was always apprehensive about working around patients.  I get attached too easily.  In college, while working at an outpatient imaging center, I would put patients in the MRI or CT then get them out after their scan.  Sometimes during their test, on the screen you could see that it was really a big fat tumor that was causing their problem and it really bothered me that I knew before they did.  It was hard walking them back to the dressing room and lying, saying I didn't know, when they asked if everything looked okay- because not being a radiologist, it was illegal to tell them anything regarding results (plus that was not something I was qualified to do in the first place).  I would then go home and think about that patient for days.  Especially since you never know how they turned out.

This is one reason that Pathology is a fitting field for me.  I get specimens from literally tens of thousands of patients every year.  But the only time I see a patient's face is if there is a picture attached to the requisition form.  You know how they say lots of people would turn vegetarian if they saw how their meat actually made it from the cow to their table?  Well, this is similar.  There's no emotional attachment I take home at night but I still get to make a difference in people's lives while doing what I love.

Right now there are so many people who have lost jobs in our struggling economy.  I truly feel blessed to not only have a job at all, but one that I honestly enjoy.  Part of that is because of who I work with and work for.  It's a lot easier to like your job if you like your coworkers.  I'm thankful to be a part of the KDL family.  Maybe that sounds lame, but it's seriously true.

Halloween is a big deal at KDL.  We also had a 40's flapper and 2 more pirates.

Number 7

I'm thankful I live in the South; more specifically, Knoxville.  Although not exactly a jet-setting,  globe-trotter, I have enough traveling under my belt to know that the South is definitely where it's at!  People are more considerate, we have actual seasons without having a 9 month winter (or summer, depending on where you live), drivers tend to be more skilled (I know that's just my personal opinion), and who doesn't like to hear a bit of southern drawl?  The World's Fair was here and there was even an episode of The Simpson's where Bart and his friends go on a road trip to Knoxville.  Not to mention Volunteer football!

For me, Knoxville strikes the balance between "big city" and "small town".  It's neither really, but is somewhere perfectly placed in the middle.  When going somewhere, there's a good chance you'll see someone you know, but you don't know everyone.

I really like where we live in Knoxville too.  It's within a half-mile of the lake and from our front porch, you can see the Smoky Mountains in the distance.  Within 2 minutes, you can be in the middle of a cow pasture and swear that "town" is hours away.  But it's only a 20 minute drive to Starbucks, the mall, the movies, or downtown where you would swear that "the country" is a faraway drive.

I love local businesses like The Pizza Kitchen and I love how people still wave when driving down the back roads.  I love how neighbors are friendly and our idea of a good night might be playing corn hole or hanging out around the fire pit.  I love wearing orange and going to UT football games.  I love how when asking directions, you might hear, "well, you go down this road a little piece and turn left".  Only in the south does one know how far a "little piece" could be.

I love Knoxville and haven't found anywhere else I'd rather be.

Number 6

Today I am thankful for my husband, Erin.  The reason he is number 6 is because today is our anniversary!  I am thankful for him for countless reasons.  I admit, sometimes I do want to throw all his clothes out on the front lawn and set them on fire.  But the other 98% of the time, he's amazing and I am so very lucky to have him. 

I often can't figure out if we are exactly alike or total opposites.  We are both stubborn, love to be outside, have the exact same job, are sadly procrastinators, enjoy the same TV shows (which is interesting since we really don't watch a lot of TV to begin with), and these things make it really fun to be together.  Then again, we have a completely different way of how to clean a house (and both of us think ours is the right way), he loves spicy/salty food whereas I live on sweets and bread, he doesn't like cats (although I have caught him petting Pippa on more than one occasion), I'm more of a democrat while he's more of a republican, and he runs fast whereas I'm a slowpoke.  These things make it fun to be together too though because it gives us something to argue talk about!

Erin is really good to me.  And he's good to others too.  He knows what chivalry is and practices it often.  He's handsome.  He makes me laugh-  and that's important because good looks will only get you so far :)  He motivates me to exercise.  And not in that "hey baby, you should start hitting the gym" way. I ran my first 5K a month after I turned 30 and we have been running them together ever since.  Had he not encouraged me to run with him, I probably would have never signed up for a single one.  I mean, you're paying to wear yourself out running!  He teaches me things- anything from how to tie certain kinds of knots to a different way to dissect a prostate.  He's really good at picking out heels for me.  There has never been a time that I opened a gift of shoes and was disappointed.  He's a hard worker.  And when I'm super stressed, he knows how to make me feel better.

I know I am opinionated and messy and probably sometimes hard to live with.  But Erin is the best and I just love hanging out with him and being his wife.  I know I'm so lucky to have this husband of mine. 

Yesterday evening at Joe's wedding

Number 5

I am thankful that 9 years ago, I chose Kappa Delta as my sorority.  Today was homecoming.  I go back every year to watch the parade and hang out with college friends.  Over the years, our group has added husbands, then kids to the mix.  The active KD's always do an alumni luncheon afterwards, proudly wearing their pins, prompting us all to remember what it means to be a KD lady.

In college, these girls were some of my very best friends.  We went out at night together, borrowed each other's clothes, helped one another out with hard classes, went on spring break trips, did charity work, cried on each other's shoulders during break-ups and loss of family members, laughed at each other, performed in countless stage shows, prayed together, watched 90210, and we always went to homecoming.

In the years since college, we have been each other's bridesmaids, celebrated births, mourned divorces and miscarriages, had yard sales together, gone to Pampered Chef parties, called to discuss the latest celebrity gossip, prayed about lost jobs and sick family members, went on road trips, babysat each other's kids, and ran 5K races for charity.  We still laugh at each other and we still go to homecoming.

I know now that during rush, when they say that you are a KD for life, they are making true statements.  I can go literally months without talking to these girls and pick right back up where we left off the moment we text, email, or see each other.  Like today.  Some I talk to on a daily basis, others it might be once a year.  But we're still like family.  Don't get me wrong- I have lots of non-KD friends and they are amazing too!  It's just really cool to be a part of something so awesome and know that it's truly lifelong.  Definitely something to be thankful for.

KD legacies, best friends, & future college roomies!

Number 4

I am thankful for my Mom.  She is the nicest person.  She is so giving and really sees the best in people (something that I admit I sometimes have trouble doing).  Mom really loves me and I'm very lucky to have her.  She's always been supportive of me and my decisions (even when they turn out to be the wrong ones). 

Mom has taught me some important stuff so far:

-taking the high road & being the bigger person
-that strict parenting sucks for a kid at the time, but pays off big-time for them later
-that tanning beds give you wrinkles
-patience
-the importance of taking care of my skin
-treating people the way I like to be treated
-how spending time with the elderly, family or not, is so valuable for you and for them
-that if you're going to watch any soap opera at all, Young & the Restless is really the only good one
-how sometimes you have to make a mess to clean up a mess
-how to braid hair
-giving to those in need
-that a spiral perm isn't right for everybody

This is just twelve things.  I bet I could list hundreds.  I know everyone loves their Mom and thinks their Mom is the best.  But seriously, you guys are all wrong.  Mine is the best. 

4 generations.  3 happy, 1 cross.

Number 3

I would like to preface this by saying that the things I am thankful for will appear in no particular order.  I think it's much more interesting to do it this way. 

Sometimes it's the little things that give us joy.  Today I am thankful that my jeans fit.  That might sound shallow, but hear me out. 

On October 24th, McDonalds just finished up their month-long Monopoly marketing ploy which is designed to suck patrons into the store, sometimes more than once a day, who hope to win money and prizes.  I was one of those foolish Americans along with my friend Adam.  The end result was us winning 38 food prizes, 60 photo prints from Snapfish, $10 toward an EA Sports video game, and exactly zero dollars.

I also won just enough extra weight to prevent my jeans from fitting.

You can imagine the thrill I experienced this morning when trying on a pair and realizing I could get them buttoned without looking like a busted can of biscuits.

Not a recent picture, but these are those jeans.

Number 2

Today I am thankful for Kenzie.  She can make me madder than a wet cat.  But more often, she makes my heart melt.  She teaches me how to have a more open mind and how to share.  She's really funny.  She also teaches me fast forgiveness without holding a grudge.  Like if we have had some type of problem (meltdown, tantrum, fit, etc.) and subsequent punishment (stand in a corner, get toys taken away, a spanking, gasp!), she is so quick to get past it and forgive, even if she's been really mad at me! 

Kenzie is smart and driven to do her best at school.  She tells me that she wants to be the smartest kid in the class.  I'm thankful for that, because some kids really just don't care.

I'm really thankful that we are so close.  We love having "girl days" together and just hanging out.  I really hope that doesn't go away during the teenage years.  Please make a mental note to pray for that with me in about 10 years!

30 days of being thankful

Everyone is doing this thing on Facebook where daily, they list something they are thankful for.  I've decided that's a pretty cool thing to do.  So I'm doing it here.

Number 1.

I am thankful for a God that loves me.  I'm nowhere near perfect.  In fact, I screw-up pretty regularly.  You know that whole "God never gives you more than you can handle" saying?  Well, it's true.  There have been rough patches I've had to struggle through.  But in general, I have a pretty awesome life.  And I know who to thank for that.

The Effects of Aging

Sunday was my birthday.  As all of you know, I turned 24.  Okay, fine, not really.  I turned 32.  Whatever.  Erin threw me a ridiculously fun 80's theme birthday party on Saturday night (pictures to follow, don't have my camera).  I was super excited that everyone chose to dress up because that just makes a party so much more fun, you know?  Even the kids that came (like including babies and toddlers) were dressed in totally tubular 80's style.  I will post pictures in a bit.

Anyway, Sunday I had to run into work to finish up some specimens.  I keep another pair of shoes there that are comfortable because my job requires I stand while cutting tissue and dictating (called grossing- and not because the specimens are "gross", even though sometimes they are, that's just what it's called).  It's commonplace for me to kick off whatever shoes I'm wearing and slip on my "grossing shoes". 

So I kick off my shoes and realize something rather upsetting:

These are the shoes I took off.

They do not match.

Now, you may be thinking "well, they aren't THAT different", but let me show you something else:

This is a view from the back.  The left one is significantly taller!  How did I not notice that?! 

Clearly it's the old age.

*Sigh*

Not crying today. Not going to do it.

The first day of kindergarten has finally arrived.  Kenzie was excited to go and has had her new Barbie backpack fully stocked for a few weeks now.  In Knox County, kindergarteners go to school on a "staggered schedule" for the first two weeks.  This means that each kid only goes for one assigned day (with another 3-4 kids) to get them used to school.  They also only go until noon these days.  Furthermore, kindergarten gets out of school at 1:00 daily (almost 2 hours earlier than everyone else) for the rest of the year.

I find this to be totally unnecessary.

First of all, Kenzie has been at a real school for the past two years for a curriculum based preschool.  She knows what school is.  I understand that some kids are fresh out of the house with no preschool at all, but come on.  Have they ever been to Sunday school?  Or dance class?  Or any organized activity at all?  If you're five years old, you know how to play with other kids and how to do what you're told. 

Second of all, this schedule is terribly inconvenient for working parents.  School has already started back (college too) so there are no available Samantha's or summer camps.  Daycares won't let you send your kid for 4 days only for 2 weeks only.  And I really didn't want to use 8 vacation days.  Fortunately, my Mom agreed to help me out so we have each driven to and from Crossville, over an hour away, twice this week.  That's roughly 560 total miles.  In 4 days.  And we will do it again next week.

Anyway, I'm sure I'm not the first parent to think this is completely crazy, so I'll hush about it.  Kenzie will be in kindergarten full time soon enough, so I'll deal with this bump in the road.

*stepping off of soap box*

I'm sure she will have lots of stories about today and I can't wait to hear them.  You will be proud to know that I successfully walked out of the school with my head high rather than as a sobbing lump of sad Mommy.

I did kind of want to cry a little though.

Yeah, yeah, so it's been since March.  Let me tell you about my morning.

Our roof suffered major injuries during the hail storm in April and has to be replaced.  The roofers got here today at 8:30 to begin work.  Today.  Like 4 months later.  It's cool though; I know they've been busy.  Well, when I went to pull out of the garage, there were about 300 piles of roofing equipment spread all over the driveway.  And a big long truck blocking the whole thing at the bottom too.  Every worker was on the roof so I had to walk down the driveway just for them to see me.  Trying to convey the message "Can you move your stuff so I can get my car out of the garage" was about as difficult as asking them to write out the pythagorean theorem because I don't think they knew anyone was home in the first place & couldn't see the garage door open from where they were on the roof.  And they didn't speak English.

Next, I went to Kroger because Kenzie needed a specific kind of Lunchable to take to school.  I stopped at the Starbucks inside and ordered my regular:  Grande Lite Mocha Coconut Frappuccino with an extra shot of espresso.  Trajedy struck again when she told me they didn't have the coconut flavor and it had likely been discontinued for the season. 

I took Kenzie to school and signed her in, however, not a single soul could be found.  I ran into a couple teachers and they denied seeing any of a group of about 30 preschoolers all morning.  I kind of feel like the noise generated from that group alone would be hard to miss.  Anyway, after walking all over the school, I finally found them all outside.  Behind the school.

Finally on the way to work, while driving down the interstate, a semi blew a tire and most of it flew back and hit my car.  Surprisingly, and thankfully, I can't see any damage to my car.

I had planned to get to work around 9.  It ended up being around 10.

This all happened in an hour.  See how my intentions are good and things just happen?  Same thing with the blog.  Good intentions + poor follow-through = neglected blog.

So here are the last two weeks in our life-

By the way, the top picture is "Diva Pippa", dressed by Kenzie of course, two days ago.

This "cake" is not really a cake at all.  In fact, it should be called "hardest to make fake cake in the world" because it's really made out of watermelon, kiwi, blueberries, strawberries, and whipped cream.  And making the bottom half wasn't hard.  But what happens when you have a really heavy, wet, watermelon disc and then try to set it on top of perfectly placed blueberries and whipped cream?  It squishes everything out because whipped cream isn't all that dense.  Erin showed me a picture of one (sans recipe) and since I'm such an awesome wife, I made it for him.  It did taste really good though.

This cake, which I did not make, was brought by Erin's coworkers for his last day at work at Fort Sanders Regional.  He had been there for 10 years so they threw him a little going-away party.  He has accepted a new job at Parkwest Hospital, which is much closer to us.  Same job, different location.  And he really loves it so far.

Our sweet Kenzie had to have surgery last week.  She had 2 hernias and they were evidently congenital.  They weren't causing her any trouble, but her doctor said they needed to be repaired before she got any older.  In true Kenzie fashion, she took it like a big girl and did really well.

The dog she is holding is a girl and it's name is Joshua.  Kenzie put bows on Joshua's ears the night before.

This is right after she came back down from recovery.  They gave her a grape popsicle, hence the purple teeth. . .

She was quite proud of her IV, although at the time, she didnt realize it was actually connected to her.  She thought it was just a tube taped to her hand.

She has since asked to go back and do "doctor day" again.

On the way home, she asked for ice cream for lunch.  She hadn't been allowed to eat or drink anything since midnight the night before and had done SO well at the hospital. . .

Who would say no?  I mean really.  Plus, I wanted ice cream with tons of candy on top too.

Speaking of ice cream, the ice cream truck has been frequenting our neighborhood and that is pretty much the best news ever for me because it's the ONLY way I can get one of these:

If you know where I can just buy these, please let me know.  Because we've been looking since I was about 8 or 9 years old.  That's a true statement.

Best.  Stuff.  Ever.



You know, I really don't know what is wrong with the blog below.  My "Year in Pictures" is for some reason posting as "Few Months in Pictures".  I can look into this later- right now, I'm catching up.  Now, let me preface this with a disclaimer:  I got a new camera for Christmas.  Some of these pics are either terribly washed out or blurry or just plain bad looking.  I'm pretty sure it's due to one of two reasons:  Either something is wrong with the camera or it's user error and perhaps we need to read the manual; Of course it's probably the first reason.

We kicked off New Year's Eve at Travis and Noel's.  Surely you have heard me talk about them.  Or you've at least heard us talk about how we are going to bring back the art of the arranged marriage in about 20 years.  That's when we plan to marry off Kenzie and their son Ethan. 

This is the best picture I have of the two of us from that evening.  And I have about 8 or 9.  Stupid camera.

They started out dressed up for a party and ended up dressed as a fireman and a doctor.  Cute as always.

These are mint Oreo truffles.  They are one of the things I made for the party.  If you have ever had Oreo truffles, then you should be quite proud that I was able to actually make it out of the front door with this many for the party.  It's so easy to eat like 3.  Or 10.  Anyway, I was kind of proud of how they turned out.

Next we headed to Todd and Danielle's house who live a couple houses down from us.  This is where we rang in the New Year and the picture above is when Erin and Kenzie are saying "Happy New Year!".  I believe all the Polte Pirates were in attendance.  I have gobs of pictues from this night.  Few are acceptable to use without consulting with my fellow Pirates to get permission first.  Ahem, there are no inappropriate pictures, mind you.  I just think it's nice to ask first.  Maybe you will see more at a later date.

This is my very good friend and neighbor (and fellow Pirate) Cherie.  Quick related funny story (which you already saw if you are on Facebook):

     Kenzie:  "Mommy, I want a Mexico kiss."
     Me:  "What's a Mexico kiss?"
     Kenzie:  "It's where you rub your noses together."
     Me:  "Oh!  An Eskimo kiss!"

Well, Cherie is who taught Kenzie how to Eskimo kiss.

It's our tradition to have a New Year's Day dinner at our house.  I have a few pictures of the spread, but honestly, the lighting (stupid camera) makes it look puny and pitiful.  And it certainly was not that way.  I know this because it was my blood, sweat, and tears that made every single bit from scratch (which I honestly enjoy- and it's not hard, just time consuming).  It is the one day where I don't make a single substitution in any recipe for the sake of healthy eating.  It is fattening and it is good.  So I will not show a picture that doesn't do the meal justice.  Instead I'll show some people who were able to enjoy it with us.

Isn't it a bit ridiculous that Noel just had that baby AND ate a big meal, yet still looks that great?  Almost feels unfair. 

Great picture of Mom and Collen.  I take it as a compliment that Denton and Noel didn't look at the camera because they were focusing on dessert.  And that's cool.  After all, the only picture of me this day was one where I had a fork in my mouth.



The Year in Pictures

Happy New Year!

Wait, what?  It's the 31st?  Well, it's still January for a few more hours so I think it's okay to still call it the "new year".  Besides, you know me.  Better late than never.  Right?

I figure that the best way to sum up the entire 2010 is with pictures.  If Time magazine can do it, so can I.

January

The traditional New Year's Day meal that I make TOTALLY from scratch.  To be fair, I guess I should mention that at least half of my recipes are Aunt Deloris', so it's not like I just came up with them alone.

Kenzie had just come home from her friend Julia's birthday party at The Groovy Pad.  They do your hair, makeup, and nails and then you dress up like a princess.  Right up her alley.



February

Father/Daughter date night.  There are about one hundred pics from this night.  None of her and Erin since he was taking the pictures.  All the big girls danced with Kenzie.  I don't know this girl, but you can tell Kenzie was just eating up the attention like a biscuit.  She SO looks forward to this every year.

If you're wondering where March is, I honestly put the best pics in an April blog last year.  What a let-down, huh?

April

Next to our tree on Easter.  Isn't it pretty?  The flowers only last a few days & often the wind blows them all away before we can take a picture.  We got lucky to have such a beautiful day.

I don't remember what the problem was here, I just know that this is one of my all time favorite pictures of Kenzie.  Such a grumpy little squirrel!  It got better once we got to the farm.

Okay, so grumpy little squirrel doesn't look much happier here, but I think she was just ready to hunt eggs.  To our left is our cousin Abby.  I've probably mentioned her on here before.  Anyway, Kenzie pretty much thinks she's the bee's knees; I don't blame her.  Abby is pretty awesome.  Plus she introduced me to the amazement that is Charming Charlies. 

Hunting for eggs in the very same hiding spots I checked when I was her age.  I'm really glad that she is getting to experience the annual egg hunts at the farm.  There really is nothing like it.

Have I ever put a picture of Mom on here?  I don't think I have.  That's actually pretty shamefull now that I think about it.  I'll have to do better in that department.  You'll notice that Collen is holding a bag.  That bag contains Kenzie's loot collected so far.  It's just not fashionable (or practical) to carry around a huge basket so you have to dump out your eggs somewhere.

Our first 5K of the season.  It was the Clean Air Run.  I'm not the best runner.  I try really hard though.  Afterward, I remember being very proud that I didn't stop to walk at all- well, really I was just proud I didn't collapse on the side of the road.

Kenzie's school went on a field trip to Dollywood & I was a chaperone.  These are some of her very best school friends:  Maliyah, Julia, and Slade.  I was kind of tired by the end of that day.

 

This is just before the Loop Lope 5K at Cades Cove in the Smokey Mountains. They had just reopened the loop and were doing a one time race to celebrate.  It was very cold that morning.  Then again, it was 6:45a.m.  In April.  In the Smokey's.

I'm going to brag here.  I know that's a little crass, but I don't care.  Erin and I both got 2nd place in our age groups in that race!  The man in the middle is the mayor of Townsend.  See the medal around my neck?  And my trophy?  They're legit.  Got 'em from the mayor.  I even have them displayed in the living room.  Shameless?  Of course.  Do I care?  Not this time.

This is us a little more gussied up.  We were on our way to see The Barber of Seville (you know, that opera that has the Figaro, Figaro song in it).  It was very enjoyable.  Although, I did have to switch seats at intermission because the lady sitting next to me must have accidentally spilled her entire bottle of perfume on herself before she arrived.

I took Kenzie with me to have my car serviced & ended up taking one of their convertibles for the afternoon.  It was exactly like my car on the inside (the color was different though) & Kenzie asked how they cut the top off our car.  She thought it was super cool.  A couple months later, I ended up getting one of these.  Now all she talks about is how she doesn't like it & asks when we are going to get our old car back because she doesn't like the wind blowing her hair.  And just so you know, we were parked when I took this.  Didn't want you to think I was driving and taking pictures.