Fueled by champagne and Sex and the City...

Tonight was ladies night (the boys are golfing) so it was an evening to re-watch "Sex and the City" movie and drink champagne and gossip (really, aren't all girl nights this? even our "book club"?). Anyways, I've been thinking a lot lately about the amazing women I know and with Mother's Day coming up, this entry is for all the incredible women I've had the opportunity to meet. If you had asked me a couple years ago if I was a "girls girl" or a "guys girl"- I most definitely would've said guys' girl. Don't get me wrong- the picture/caption above was MADE for me (I am SO girly!) but I was always the girl that got along better with boys- girls are far more cunning and smart- also the object of competion (clothes, hair, weight,etc...this list could go on forever) but then things began to change.

My mom has always been an inspiration to me- she was a great mother and has always been there for me- through tears (and tears and tears- there was the Shane era after all!) and laughter and has now become one of my best friends. I'm sure Gary has a count of how many times we talk a day but it has to be at least 2-3....or more:) My sister is also one of my best friends- she has seen me at my worst (and I at hers:)) and we have the best time whenever we hang out. My family, especially the females, are especially close. Want to see the 8th wonder of the world? Spend time in an enclosed environment (car, restaurant, your choice) and watch how we interact- it drives everyone CRAZY but us! We all talk at the exact same time but yet we all hear each other...I think we should be in a record book or something somewhere:) My aunt Lezlie and cousin Jill are two of the greatest ladies I know and any outing with them is guaranteed to be the best. My grandma is a very special person to me. She doesn't know this (she will now- it's on a blog!) but anytime I have trouble sleeping I think about all her visits when I was little and how we colored together- if I concentrate hard enough I can still smell the crayons in the coffee jar that we would color with. Some of my fondest memories that make my heart just ache to be little again (because sometimes, wouldn't that be nice?) are visiting here in Colorado- walking into her cozy condo late at night, sitting down for toasted tortillas and cheese and then I was the lucky grandchild that got to share her waterbed and listen to the june bugs as we fell asleep.

The list of women extends to my best friends- Jen (20+ years!), Hayley and Krystal- each time I spend time with anyone of these people there is bound to be a good time. The biggest change that was made for me being a "girls girl" was me becoming a mammographer. I was a little worried about working with all women, having all female patients- that's a recipe for drama if I ever heard one. But it has changed my life. I have met some of the strongest women I think I will ever know. I see women look cancer in the face everyday- women who have husbands, jobs, young children and responsibility galore- and tackle it head on. I see everyday the strength that God has given us as women. Men are physically stronger but we have the ability to deal with life and death with a grace and strength that always amazes me. I see women take cancer in the same stride that they would take a cold- you deal with it, do what you have to do and move on. why? Because you are strong and people depend on you- we, as women, are the rocks in peoples lives.

We did it!

Okay, not the hottest picture of the 3 of us but how great can we look after running 26.2 miles?! It was quite an experience, let me tell you! We drove down Saturday morning in our car decked out with "Run like a girl- Eugene 2010" on the back. We arrived in Eugene to collect our packets, numbers and shoe chips...along with 8,000 (seriously!) other people- it was crazy! Then off to the store..if you haven't been to Eugene, you should- just to people watch. We saw a man with a cat riding piggyback (no joke- everyone whipped out their phone and took a picture) and a man in a dress in the span of about 2 minutes...it's an odd place. We entertained ourselves on the ride down with Mad Libs~ if you haven't done them since you were little, do them again but they are WAY more fun if you make them kind of dirty:) Holly also read to us from Cosmo and we learned some VERY interesting things that I can't post here but email me if you want details:) We had dinner, watched a movie and then off to bed...and set the alarm for 5 am:(

Woke up, got ready and drove in...Hayley dropped us off and we got in the incredibly long lines for the Honeybuckets (why do they call them that? Nothing that goes on in there is sweet....). We patiently waited our turn and without going in to too much detail, let's just say everyone was nervous and just breathe through your mouth in line. We got our places, said a prayer...and we're off! I'm feeling good, my leg doesn't hurt, I'm hydrated, people are cheering...and that's mile 1. Mile 2 my pulled muscle starts to hurt but is quickly overrun by the pain everywhere else in my body. Miles 2-12 were fine- people cheering along the way- Hayley taking pics, my dad and Lorri around every bend....about mile 18 it started to hurt pretty bad in my feet and hips but we pressed on. Then we hit the dreaded mile 20 that everyone tells you about- at this point, this is the farthest I have ever run but I just kept telling myself- 6 more miles- that's nothing. Then mile 21 hit and until mile 25 that was the longest running I have ever done. It's hot at this point- you don't want to stop for any more gatorade b/c it means walking/slowing down and it feels almost physically impossible to start again. People who were running strong around you start walking and the temptation to stop, just for a minute, is so great- but we resisted! Then we saw 26....and then the tunnel of people and ran in- while they are announcing your name across the loudspeaker. It was a very surreal experience- by that point your brain is so fuzzy and I kept looking down at my legs amazed that they were still moving.

And then I got up today and realized that somewhere along the trail- not sure when- a truck must have hit me. I think I now know what it feels like to be 80 and I don't like it one bit! Alright...back to my couch...if I get up now I'll be there in about 20 minutes!!

Cured!

So I had a massage last night for my pulled muscle and at many points I kept opening my eyes to look and just make sure she didn't have needles she was poking me with or maybe burning me with a match- it was that painful. So I limped home and fell into bed and slept poorly again with my back hurting. I love sleep. I HATE no sleep and I am NOT a happy camper when I don't get my sleep. The thing (besides pasta and bagels) that I was most excited about during marathon training was the part that said the week of the marathon to start getting an extra hour of sleep. I gleefully told Eric this and he said "Uh, I think this is for people who don't get 9 hours a night already miss "I go to bed at 10 and get up at 7." It's true, I do, but I could always use more sleep!

So today I went to the chiropractor and was a little scared b/c of the terrifying warnings that my co-workers were giving me about being paralyzed, etc. I even had one lady at my work tell me to not let her "adjust your sacrum by going through (the back door to put it nicely:))." WHAT?!? And yes, she did venture near that region but when my cheeks clenched up like buns of steel she explained that she was going NEAR that region but not in..whew! I was able to relax for most of it...except everytime I breathed out and she went to pop and I kept thinking "This is it- I'm going to be paralyzed!" but I wasn't and feel 100% better. My sacrum was out, therefore causing my right leg to be shorter than my left so not only was I in pain but I was deformed:( 3 Ribs were also out and she put those right back in and I feel so much better. NOW I can get excited about Sunday- mainly I was getting sad b/c there was just no way I was going to do it...now I am!

Oh, and I have ADDED to the laundry pile. Matt and Hayley came over the other night and Matt said "What's going on in there Eric?" I'm still holding strong and yes, mom, I know it's a case of karma:)

Salt Shaker or Russian Warning?

Obviously I watch WAY too much CSI/Criminal Minds/Law and Order when this scenario occured at our house. I came downstairs the other morning to feed Hurley and saw a sterling silver salt shaker on the counter by the fruit bowl. Unusual? Maybe not to some, but we don't HAVE a sterling silver salt shaker. Instead of being logical and thinking that maybe, just maybe, the other person in the house bought it, I begin to think. Where did this come from? I call Eric and no answer on his phone...call again and no answer. When he does call me back I'm in a panic- "Do you know where this salt shaker came from?" to which his reply is "Umm...I bought it- where did you think it came from?" Know what I said? I thought our Russian neighbors, who hate us and repeatedly try to ride their bikes in front of my car so I will hit them (true story- another time though) had snuck in during the night and planted this salt shaker so that I would know that they were in our house while we were asleep and had planted it as a warning. A warning to what- I have no idea. It was at this point when I repeated this to Eric that I realized how CRAZY my mind works and no wonder I have anxiety! I always check the back door at night b/c I'm also convinced that someone will open the garage when we're gone and crawl into a crawl space and live in our house without us knowing (now you're thinking about that too!)....I think I need to watch happier things- like "The Hills"- good thing that's on tonight:)

Dead Laundry Fairy update: It will all come to a head in about 30 minutes when people start arriving for dinner. We have 5 of us total and only 4 seats in our kitchen....I swear I'm not going to crack and give in! More tomorrow....

Operation Laundry

I know I just posted but I have to fill all you readers in on my operation laundry mission. If you have met Eric, you know he has more clothes than anyone could possibly need (35 white t-shirts, really?!). Anyways, since we don't have a clothes drying rack our dining room table/chairs have been turned into a giant clothesline and I've put my foot down! I can't stand clutter (I know mom- weird huh?!) so everyday I will pick up the clothes and bring them upstairs (no, I don't put them away- I just throw them in his closet and close the door!) but all the wives at my work keeping telling me I need to train him better so this is my first try at some retraining. I just have left it in the dining room. It's been almost 2 weeks now and the clothes continue to pile up...he hasn't said anything and neither have I. We have a friend coming over tomorrow night for dinner and can't wait to see if the clothes magically disappear....the laundry fairy has officially died! I'll keep you posted....

Countdown to Sunday!

Wow- only 6 days and I will be setting off for my first marathon! Excited but also very nervous- especially considering my hamstring has chosen the last 2 weeks to begin it's rebellion against this running stuff. I chose (studpidly- yes, you can all say I told you so) to run last Saturday and am paying for it now. I am going for a massage on Wednesday (that ought to be akward to say the least- more on that in a moment) so hoping that works this out. Between patients at work I've been using a breast ice pack to ice my injury but the pull is situated in such a place that it looks more like I'm icing my crotch so showing her my injury ought to be interesting! I'm really excited too for a girls' weekend (plus house husband Gabe!) and to prove to myself I can run 26.2 miles. We made the mistake of coming up with the grand plan of a marathon after consuming copious amounts of champagne...I frequently dream of that night never happening when I'm getting up on a cold Saturday morning to run 20 miles! Okay, off to rest and watch the Blazer game but watch for more posts...I think I'm going to like this blog thing:)