Three Little Words

How can three little words
carry from my soul to yours
the way I feel about you

creating a connection
able to withstand any
distance or onslaught

How do three little words
floating from your lips
so drenched in meaning

steeped with passion
cause my soul to sing
and my heart to leap

How are three little words
ever alive and capable to
change my life, to change our lives

infusing our existence with color
filling our days with meaning
connecting us for eternity

Lazy Sunday Afternoons

Lazy Sunday afternoons
on my back porch swing
not a cloud in the sky

not a chore to be done
the sun caresses and warms my skin
birds chirp the music for the scene

a spider web sparkles like crystal thread
red domed lady bugs crawl along the banister
Lucy naps on the rug by the door

occasional breezes stir the wind chimes
humming birds search for sweet nectar
mountains fill the background view

dandelions like miniature sunbursts dot the yard
I melt into this painting while
swinging on my back porch swing.

Things that made me smile this week

Ten things that made me smile this week

1. Sharing Vietnamese sandwiches with Josh and Hallie. Very spicy, but delicious!

2. Good brakes on my car! It was a REALLY close call!

3. the orangy-red feathers on a robin - yeah, I got that close. It was so beautiful.

4. Finding an error on the controller's spreadsheet. This sounds kind of mean, but its just that she's brilliant and knows accounting better than anyone. I just stumbled upon something, but I got bragging rights for about 5 minutes.

5. My friend's laughter. I have some really good friends and I really enjoy being with them. Knowing that they are happy and enjoying life truly blesses me!

6. Working out with Ruth. Ruth holds me accountable and pushes me. We egg each other on.

7. New jeans one size smaller! Sweet! Okay, I'll fess up - I bought 4 pair of jeans.

8. Playing my flute. I forgot how much fun it is. I'm working an a classical piece.

9. Hanging out at Charlie B's Rhythm and Brews. It's just so comfortable there. The food is good, the coffee delish, and the music amazing. . . . .what's not to like?

10. Watching this elderly couple at the fundraiser the other evening. I'll share more about that on another post. But it was truly a delightful experience.

Come walk with me

Most people seem to think that training for a marathon is difficult. It really isn’t. It’s just a matter of dedication. You have to want it. Do you want to know what the worse part of training and competing in a marathon is? It’s swollen fingers. Yep, that’s right. Your hands are moving back forth rapidly and the fingers fill up with blood. It can actually be quite painful especially if you have had an injury to a finger lately. In the first marathon I did, around mile 12, people were running or walking with their hands in the air. It looked like we were all surrendering. It was pretty funny.


So I want to share with you some of the reasons why I do marathons.


1. There’s the goal thing. You know setting/achieving a goal – blah blah sense of accomplishment. Okay, that one’s out of the way.

2. Then there is the fitness benefit. For me that means way cuter clothes and I love cute clothes. So there you go, now you know the real reason I am a marathoner.

3. There’s the fact that your brain goes into this idle mode. . . down time for my brain - essential. So those are some of the reasons I like training.


Now here's what keeps me going back out on the road:
Screaming yellow flowers
character in the sky
views of snow dusted mountains
smell of freshly mowed grass
old fences that stretch along the path
gnarly branches
the way the tops of trees touch the sky
animals like baby cows, perfectly blue birds, old lazy horses, nervous deer, dogs that bark hello to me
other pavement pounders out putting mileage on their shoes who wave a greeting.

Enjoy the pics from my training session today. Just a small sampling but enough to give you a taste.

If you are ever in the area, I’d be happy to show you what I’m talking about.

Come walk with me.

I am so blessed.

Seeker

I got to spend the other night at a writer's conference. It was amazing. I want to be a writer. My sister told me when I was 8 years old that I would be a writer. We didn't talk intimately much at all like sisters are supposed to, but I remember the day she turned to me and told me that I was going to be a writer. It was such a real moment in my life. It was one day that we connected like sisters are supposed to. That was a long time ago.

So anyway, I got to spend last evening with Sage Cohen. She's amazing and kind and talented. Here's her website: http://www.sagesaidso.com/. She sent me an e-mail earlier encouraging me to write and thanking me for visiting with her. I told you she was kind. Her signature block reads Poet.Writer.Seeker. I like that.

Between the writers in my life already and my online writer's group, I've been learning (relearning) a lot. I can't tell you how much I've forgotten and I love getting this part of my life back. I've dug up old journals. Wow! I used to write. I've always hidden my writing unless it was something silly. But no more. I don't have anything to show you now, but I will.

This is so much fun!

Don't Tell My Boss Please

The weather was gorgeous
My office was hot
The work was unyielding
So I took a shot

I grabbed my briefcase
Shut down my laptop
Turned off the lights
And was out like a shot

Jumped into my car
and stepped on the gas
Cranked up some tunes
Said "finally, at last"

Once I got home
I put on play clothes
got a leash for Lucy
and on the trail we go.

We walked and we walked
soaked up the sunshine
So happy to say
that today was all mine.

Happiness this week

I had such a wonderful week. Just thought I'd share some of the things that made me happy this week:

1. I noticed that my workout coat is the same color pink as the dogwood blossoms. Sweet.

2. Watching the tips of Lucy’s ears flip when we walk. It’s like they are waving hello to everything.

3. Singing in church. Nice.

4. Talking to an old friend on the phone this week. That just blessed me all over.

5. Pretty pink nail polish. It’s just so girly. It made me smile.

6. Having a friend come to dinner and asking if I would make my BBQ Meatballs. What a compliment! So I made a double batch.

7. Checking off the longest training run before the marathon. I enjoyed accomplishing that.

8. Hearing my best friend laugh. We have way too much fun. No, we have just the right amount of fun and we laugh a lot.

9. Smelling freshly mowed grass. Ahhh.... I love that smell. Makes we want to play softball.

10. Laughing at myself when I realized I was singing along to my Ipod while wearing earbuds. That was funny.

There are hundreds of other things like the views of Mt. Jefferson and Mary's Peak, the multitude of daffodils, watching Lucy nap, the buds on the trees, the sounds of the birds on the trail yesterday, the color of the birds, listening to my favorite song, mastering a logic problem, a great cup of tea. It's so awesome being surrounded by joy and blessing and happiness. I love my life.