NC Mom on the run!

Okay....you know I'm related to two AMAZINGLY artsy and craftsy ladies:

Heidi @ Everyday Cookies at Sweet Woodruff Acres

and e.beck.artist @ e.beck.artist

Well, yesterday in an attempt to be just a tiny bit artsy/crafty (and frugal!) I made 4 cards for 4 friends whose birthday celebration is tonight. These 4 friends are part of the running group I'm in, "Trail Mix." We have birthday get togethers every so often....during the school year, it's usually breakfast after running.

All 4 ladies are getting the same gift: Bolga running socks (my favorite brand):

 And here are the cards I made:

Do I get any Brownie points?? Thanks!

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Okay....is this font color pretty close to the color of a Scabble box?? ......this is worth blogging about.....my son #2 scores a 439 in a Scabble game with me today.  He won.  By a bit.  It was in our THIRD Scrabble game of the day.  I think we played Scrabble for almost 7 hours today....maybe more.  One and a half games were at the pool.  The first two matches included a friend of mine who happens to be the mother of daughter #3's friend.  Anyway, my highest score ever (written in the bottom of my Scrabble box as proof) is 438. 

So, son #2 now officially holds the highest score in our family. WOW!!

Just a thought-----try a new game out called Bananagrams if you like Scrabble....it's faster and everyone is engaged all at the same time.

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Okay....my goal this summer to just maintain my running for the Fall has been to run at least two times per week....I've done pretty well on that.  For cross training, I've thrown in some tennis recently.  Whew!  NC humidity makes your hand sweaty when you're trying to place tennis.

My son #2 likes to play.....he got a new racquet today...on clearence, with a running club discount, and he paid 2/3's---what a bargain! He wanted to mainly because we only have three racquets and he wanted son #1, dad and me to be able to play doubles with him.  Pretty nice son. :)

We went and saw the Journey to the Center of the Earth movie today---that was a lot of fun.  We used a few movie passes we had for that, so we had a somewhat economical day. :)

Son #1 leaves for the beach this week. He's going to Emerald Isle---last time I was there we had to leave early because a hurricane came.  My third child was a baby and my sister-in-law had just found out she was pregnant with twins.  Hurray!

Hope you are having a happy summer.

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Hope ya'll are having a Happy Summer!!

I'm taking it easy on my running--down to 6 miles twice per week.

My son just finished driver's ed, so --CLEAR THE ROADS!!

Oh, and have a glass of Iced Tea.......I think June is National Iced Tea month.

Take a quiz here:

Iced Tea Quiz - AOL Food

Go here for any tea questions:

Tetley USA - Frequently Asked Questions

And for a good recipe that's similar to the one used here in North Carolina by my "Southern" friends, check here:

GRITS - A celebration of Southern cooking and kitchen traditions - Southern Sweet Iced Tea Recipe

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Hooray.....I placed in the top ten in my age group for the half marathon!!! I bettered my last Fall's time by 2 minutes: One hour, 51 minutes and 50 seconds for 13.1 miles.  I think I may have pushed a little too hard though....I was WIPED OUT Saturday afternoon......a three hour nap and an upset tummy (that happens if you run a little too hard).

Fun, fun, fun!! My children's school is having a Used Book Sale this week.......my favorite thing to volunteer for.......and volunteers get first pick!!  I found a few books with vintage looking pictures and poems in them....I thought I could be like my sister Heidi and turn them into some cute cards or tags.....my daughter's laughed when I told them that!!  Here are some of the poems and illustrations:

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Yikes...it's been a while since I blogged!.....I'm in the beginning stages of the college search with a son who's starting to look......also TRACK season has started for two of my kids.......my daughter joined a club soccer team (need I say more).........my youngest has a huge STATE project due soon...........plus, I was getting ready for my next race......which happens to be tomorrow!!!!  I'm running a local Half Marathon (13.1 miles) with 5 friends......I had my boys do rock-paper -scissors to see who would get my performance t-shirt (too masculine looking for my tastes.....plus, I don't love wearing logos, etc) ............we're meeting at my house at 6 am tomorrow.....my Jelly Belly Sport Beans are packed......so time for bed.....wish me luck!!!!!

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So, the decaf I had last night while driving home from a late track meet.....I don't think it was DECAF.   My eyes were wide open til at least 2 am. After a little over 4 hours of sleep last night.....today is a BONA FIDE COFFEE DAY---full strength!!    Have a lot to do and gotta get it all done.  Have a great day!

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Recovering from a 15 1/2 mile run that my friends and I did yesterday.  It did a number on my knees.  Ice, Alleve, contrast baths....and a lot less running today.  We're getting ready for another Half Marathon.  We have only one more long run (17 miles) on our schedule.  I was so proud of a friend that I ran with yesterday.  It was her 51st birthday....and she ran 15 miles (do you get the palindrome thing?).  I want to be able to run 15 miles on my 51st birthday, too!

Beautiful day here!

Time to put up my Easter wreath, I think....my, Easter is just around the corner.

Wishing you HOPE this Easter season.

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 LOL......I got an award from my sister Heidi at her blog: Everyday Cookies at Sweet Woodruff Acres......and another at my sister-in-law Elizabeth's blog  e.beck.artist.  I'm not sure why they tagged my blog because:

a. I know they are the only two people who really ever read my blog.  (I love you, too!!)

b. They are both artsy and crafty and give photos and links everyday, and I blog quite infrequently with few photos and fewer links......which you're supposed to do I hear.......and I think I've never posted an artsy blog....I do post recipes sometimes though!

c. The things I blog about may have interest to them because I'm related to them and they know my children, but probably not to the the big BLOG-WORLD out there.

and

d. I've never had a "give-away" on my blog. I could start, but I'd probably just send each of them something!

Nevertheless, I thank them very much for the honor, and hereby re-tag them back with the !!!!

Pretty much, they are the only blogs I read, except for occasionally peeking at blogs they recommend, so they are the only ones that I'm tagging.  And I do check their blogs faithfully everyday.

Company coming this weekend, so gotta go vacuum. Have a fun weekend!

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'How to Please Your Picky Eater' Video - Rachel Campos-Duffy - AOL Living

LOL....I know Rachel Campos-Duffy knows a lot and she does have some great ideas, but, I'm sorry, she doesn't seem to really know what a true picky eater is......on the other hand, I must have a child who is just a plain off the charts PICKY EATER.  My youngest daughter eats NO FRUITS.  Only ONE VEGETABLE---Broccoli.  NO MEAT, except maybe half a hot dog once every two months or so.  What's left, you might be asking.......WHITE pasta, egg WHITES, WHITE bread, white milk, French toast, pancakes, cheese, yogurt (kid's only and no strawberry or banana, chicken noodle soup (skipping the carrots and the meat), WHITE rice, WHITE cous cous, cereal, oh......she will eat raisins occasionally and once in a blue moon she'll try dried cherries.  Oh, oh, oh....and she drinks a little bit of Apple juice, and a little bit of apple cranberry juice, and grape juice.  Now THAT'S a picky eater.

Amazingly, she's quite a healthy girl....I give her kid's vitamins everyday.

Thank goodness, I'm still somewhat of a picky eater.....I CANNOT eat mayo, salad dressing, mustard, or really fancy dishes from really fancy restaurants.  I've finally learned to choke down the weeds that they serve at really fancy restaurants.

In addition, my sweet daughter has an uncle who was perhaps worse than she was when he was little......I'm not sure he's improved much, either, except I know he eats meat.

I think beyond the taste of foods, it's the texture and the smell.  There must be some research on ultra picky eaters.

She and I sure enjoyed the chocolate chip cookies we made today...ha!

Yes, another batch of chocolate chip cookies.....it's okay....I ran thirteen miles today, so it's okay if I had a chocolate chip cookie!

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