Thursday & Friday

We went to the gym with Grandma. We went to the doctor with Mum. We went to Hamilton Southeastern High School with Denise & Dad for our packet pickup (Dad only went because he was convinced we would never find the way there). We introduced the family to the use of ground turkey, instead of ground beef.

Chad wanted to buy bananas, but they were all green. I wanted to eat spaghetti, but we didn't have any.

Recap of the trip: Wednesday

That would be Wednesday the 14th, for those of you keeping score.

Woke up late (3:30 am instead of 3). Delayed in Houston. Delayed in Chicago. Billy (brother) went the wrong way coming out of the airport. Weather in Indiana: Cold and rainy.

All that, and we still managed to get to Grandma's house in time for the HUGE supper she cooked for us.

Punctuated

So we're back in Lubbock, and I just clicked through my blogroll to see what everyone is up to (quite a lot, it seems). An'd I could not help but not'ice that there was qui'te an e'xcess of a'pos'tro'phes all o'er (that one is correct) the int'ernet.

However, I would like to give credit to Andrea, who commented on her countdown clock's (that one is also correct) odd use of the apostrophe as well. For the rest of you, I'm (correct!) sure you can find solace in the fact that you are not alone.

High speed Blogging

So I'm blogging from a brand-new coffee shop in Greenfield, Indiana. And I would really love to regale you with details from the trip, but we have to go to Circle Centre Mall, and that's a bit of a drive from here. And it's raining.

I'm not blogging at 225 mph, but with the Indy 500 two days away, I kind of wish that I could. Maybe I'll try that with my sister's car later.

Where did all these strange accents come from?

(By way of apology in advance: I can't seem to do anything with the formatting when I put photos on here.)

So we've just returned from our sixth Bible Bowl banquet.

(Yes, I did stop to count those on my fingers; if you are curious, our BB years have been: Matthew (2003), Life of Moses (2004), Luke (2005), Joshua, Judges, and Ruth (2006), Acts (2007-- we weren't actually involved this particular year, except that I went to a couple of competitions, we got t-shirts, and went to the banquet), and finally, 1 Samuel in 2008.)

This is a much-anticipated event every spring, if only because it means that the madness is at an end for eight months. But it is also a fun time to get together and act silly, and eat. And act silly.

I was thoroughly delighted that Randy, in the course of trying to use half-a-dozen accents in the space of 30 seconds, stopped to say, "That was a Scottish accent!" Glad that I could be such a good influence on those around me. Yes, my work here is done.

Pictures from the event:

Proud Bible bowl mothers (and sister). It's okay that their kids are teachers, right?

More proud parents (and sister).
















Charlie and Randy, trying to remember which accent they used last.














Tricia and Rebecca.




And the lovely Toni, enjoying the show (and possibly thanking her stars that she is not in it this time around).












Yeah, so I'm like the Bible bowl paparazzi now. I think I got a shot of everyone at least once.

Sorry, but running is the only interesting thing I do.

So it was a 6-mile race today, and I went into it with two goals: 1. Maintain an 11-minute pace, and 2. Finish before the first 11-miler (the longer distance available at this race). I am happy to say I met both of those goals, and am now looking forward to next Saturday's 5K.

Chad is still trying to take care of an injured leg, so he ran slower than me. At one point he had caught up to me and asked me to slow down. What I thought was, "Are you kidding? This is a RACE!" But I didn't have that kind of breath. So I told him to stop trying to catch me and just go at his own pace, which worked out well for both of us.

And again, I loaded up the iPod with songs that I knew would inspire me to run fast, and it worked so very well. I included in the mix two songs from Les Miserables, so in addition to conquering the hill, I also felt I could conquer France. I'll be running without the iPod next weekend, so we'll see how well I can keep the music running through my head.

There was a woman ahead of me who I was keeping pace with for most of the race, but I caught up to her with less than a mile to go. Then I started debating with myself, "Should I go ahead and pass her? Should I wait?" I finally went for it, knowing that she would kick it up a notch and pass me, but that her speeding up would push me to do it, too. Which is exactly what happened; she finished one second ahead of me. It worked out perfectly. (Plus, she got to cross the finish line ahead of someone who is 20 years younger than she is.)

New hair, again

Okay, this picture wasn't taken on my birthday, but it is close enough. People at church didn't recognise me this morning, so I'd say my work here is done.

Thirty!

Yes, the fateful day has come and gone. And along with it, all my excuses for being goofy, acting a bit silly, and making questionable decisions.

Believe it or not, I have reached an age at which a certain standard of maturity is expected (not to mention wisdom and sensibility). To which I just have to say: Dang!

Actually, I am really happy about turning 30. My parents, on the other hand, have gone into mourning at the thought of being old enough to have a 30-year-old. Hee!

In accordance with time-honoured tradition (meaning, this is what I did for my 21st birthday, too), Chad and I went to Friday's. We haven't been to Friday's since we were dating (and probably won't go again until I turn 40), and I gotta tell ya, I think they have remodeled in the intervening time, cause it looked a bit different than I remember. Or perhaps I'm just remembering a different restaurant.

Pictures from my 21st and 30th birthdays will be forthcoming as soon as I can find them.

Also, my pal Dawn sent me a very cute bear, which delighted me to no end.