Such a bittersweet Thanksgiving

Yesterday was Thanksgiving.  Bet y'all knew that.  If you are anything like me, you still feel slightly uncomfortably full.  Last year, I think I made a list of things to be thankful for, both big and small.  I love doing things like that.  I actually have a nice little notebook that I jot a few things down in every morning (unless I oversleep, which is often.)  There are millions of things to be thankful for this year, but in our family we are pretty focused on just one, and that is my Uncle Bob.  What an awesome guy.  For most of my life, he and my Aunt Jan and their 2 daughters (Melissa and Jessica) have lived in Napa, CA.  He is a retired pilot.  He is one of my most favorite people on earth.  I don't know all the medical technicalities of the situation, but last  week something happened that caused areas of his brain to not receive adequate oxygen and he went into a sort of coma-like state.  Now, his wife, children, grandchildren and friends are sitting by his side and saying their last words, praying for peace and comfort, sharing stories and beautiful memories and tears.  The last time I cried writing a blog post was when Luther died.  Oddly enough, the 2 stories relate more than you would think.  Uncle Bob and Aunt Jan were responsible for our desire to have a basset hound, years ago.  Brad and I had traveled to Napa for Jessica and Alex's wedding, and we got to spend lots of time with their basset, Molly.  And when I was young and visited with my parents, they had Herbie.  I loved those dogs.

Please say a prayer for the Blair family.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful uncle, with such fond memories.  I hope very much to have the opportunity to see him one more time, even if it happens when his life here is over.  Also, this is a little sappier than I tend to be, but make sure you tell your family and friends that you love them.  Often.

I borrowed this picture from Aunt Jan's facebook.  Look at those beautiful grandkids!

And then I went running

Inspirational graffiti on my run:)

I had made a little note to myself in my planner at the beginning of November that if I was going to run the full marathon, I needed to make a training plan.  When I saw that a few weeks ago, I ignored it.  I was "too busy, too tired, too out of shape, too slow, too old".  Some combination of those excuses.  But then this weekend I had some time to myself and a beautiful day, so I decided to go for a run, to assess the situation.  And here is what I have decided...........I am going to register for the full marathon in December when registration opens.  What?!?  Something is wrong with me.  I am suuuuper nervous but at the same time, pretty excited.  Its not like I went out and ran 15 miles this weekend.  I did 6.  At well over 9 minute miles.  The thing that made me decide to take the plunge was how good it felt.  If I hadn't wanted to see the second half of the Husker football game, I could have easily done 10 miles.  And its only November!  Here's the deal with me and running.  Or me and sports for that matter.  I am not coordinated.  I am not competitive.  I am not fast.  Therefore, team sports and I do not mix.  I gave it a shot.  I played softball, soccer, volleyball, and basketball all at some point in my youth.  And I apologize to anyone who had to be on a team with me:) I was told by our family physician when I was young that I had bad knees and would never be a runner.  So I guess I never even really considered sports that I actually may have been able to do, like cross country or track.  I mean, I would not have been good at them, but I could have participated.  But I never even tried.  Then I became a grown up, I guess and needed a stress relieving hobby so I started running.  Its a very cheap hobby, thank goodness!  And I'm also kind of a stubborn grown up, so when I started thinking back about that doctor (maybe some of you remember him.  He had all those marathon posters in his office?) I thought, "I'll show him."  So I ran the Lincoln Half Marathon in 2008 and then again in 2011.  But what I really want to do?  The full marathon.  And then, if my body isn't destroyed by that, someday I would like to do an ultramarathon.  And a trail marathon.  And travel around the country doing marathons.  Ok, I might be getting a little carried away, but you get the idea.
So, I am sharing this on my blog in hopes of giving myself some major accountability.  Like, if you are watching at mile 20 on May 5th and you have waited for over 4 hours and you don't see me, you should give me a major guilt trip.  I am really going to need help from my family if I'm going to do this right.  Like, lots of time to run.  Lots of support to eat as healthy as possible and get as much rest as possible.  We will revisit this topic in a few months, I would suppose.  But for now, I better get to meal and workout planning!

All kinds of stuff and things

A quick look at things, through pictures.  Early October at Martin's Apple Orchard.  Great place to take the family in the fall and we got a bag of the BEST apples I have ever tasted.

And then I put a picture on Instagram and Anderson Cooper liked it.  And I got all excited.  I mean, its ANDERSON COOPER.  I'm sure he operates his show's Instagram all by himself, right?!?

 

Then there were pumpkin flavored things.  Like pancakes.

And scones.

Then Willa and I spent an afternoon shopping with Tosha.  And enjoying Happy Hour.  I'm sure that Happy Hour is not a proper noun but I feel it is important enough to capitalize, ok?

Then there were presidential and vice-presidential debates to be enjoyed with warm, spiced apple cider drinks and family. 

Then we pulled off a fun surprise for a good friend.  And this was the night that prompted the new 2 Drink Maximum Rule that I have in place for myself.  And it also taught me not to take shots of vodka and then play tag.

Then there was the pumpkin patch.  JK's to be exact.  

Brad and I had a few nights out.  The Yelawolf concert at the Bourbon Theater

And the Hers Launch Party at Voda

Willa, Borne, and Wash at the Hoffman's Halloween party

And Halloween!  We love trick or treating in the Highlands.

Fort building.

My first movie with Willa - Wreck It, Ralph!

Aaaaand...Voting!  I was going to do a whole post about the election, but Facebook got me so flustered about the whole thing that all I will say is, its never a good idea to call me (or imply that I might be) lazy or dependent on the government.  

In a big 'ole nutshell, that's what we have been up to the past several weeks, aside from being busy busy at our jobs.  And Willa has been busy just getting bigger and smarter.  It is so much fun to watch her learn and also to observe her making friends.  She has got counting and abc's down, really is starting to grasp days of the week and shapes, is trying to actually draw things and color in the lines rather than just making big blobs of color, remembers the words to songs they sing in school, can compare and contrast the Michael C. Hall of Dexter with the one of 6 Feet Under, knew the names and faces of both presidential candidates, and is super excited to get big so she can go hunting with Grandpa with her very own gun!