A Runner's Reward

I admit I have a little bit of a problem. Yesterday I went running around Lake Johnson in the morning...only 2.75 miles, but with some killer hills...and then ran another 2.5 miles in the afternoon just because I felt antsy. This is becoming more and more the norm. Run once, run twice. Run more. Wait, run again.

I like the transformation it has made on me. I like running outside, in the cold, the rain, the fresh air. The elements just make it seem more "present". I also like the fact that I now can't seem to gain a pound and I am finding muscles that never existed before. I've dropped about 30 pounds and kept it off, but the dispersion keeps changing. Not that I am complaining...

The hard part? The clothes. Oh my, my beautiful clothes. I went through everything earlier and can probably only wear about 1/3. And of those, it is only because I purchased them in the last month, couldn't fit into them before, or can effectively hide the fact that they truly are too big. Not to be materialistic...but there are some beautiful things that now just sit and scoff at me.

So...I am becoming friends with a local tailor. I spent several hours there today, being groped, and pinned, and stuck and laughed at. In a nice way of course. One of the seamstresses actually asked me if I purposefully bought all my clothes three sizes too big. And a very nice man actually giggled a little as I stood holding handfuls of cloth in my hand in order to keep my favorite pair of Tahari pants from falling to the floor.

It was all worthwhile though, as another woman in a similar predicament started up a conversation with me. Turns out we are both new runners and running is what we credit for our clothing dilemmas. As I stood on the platform holding up my shirt so I could get pinned yet again...she looked at me and said...YOU ARE REALLY SUPER SKINNY.

I thank you oh stranger at the tailor. I have NEVER heard those words before. I have never known that term. I like it. I own it. I am it. Running is more than just sanity.

Let's Begin Again

For a variety of reasons I have been a bit absent this month. I needed to pay attention to what I was doing, and how I was doing it without the unintentional interruptions of others. This path is one hell of a learning experience and one I sometimes need to course out myself. I also needed to keep the misinterpretations at a minimum. Of course, my silence has created its own set of challenges.

With that said...let's begin again.

While this stage of the house is essentially complete, it does still have some finishing touches that we'd been neglecting. Until this week, that is.

Over a few weekends Michael and I hit up the local home improvement stores and found a new front storm door, a doggie door and tile for the kitchen backsplash.

The backsplash was the last thing that needed to be finished in the kitchen. While it looked great, it just felt "unfinished". Unfinished. That one word could sum up my 2009.

The tile was such a tremendous find! I knew I wanted glass and something small. I thought I wanted round, but once we saw the gorgeous sheets of tiny bronze and amber squares, we knew this was it. We also found a few ceramic and glass tiles that had been returned from another store. They only had a few and we grabbed them.

Michael fortunately has retained all his tile talent and created yet another stunning piece. I only had to grout and clean...

This seems like a good way to begin again.

November...Bring it.

Yesterday a coworker looked inquisitively at me and said, "You look like the cat that ate the canary. Someone is making you happy". That woman has some strong and slightly scary powers of insight.

According to the Chinese horoscope, my good fortune should not be upon me until this Saturday. Well, I have been warranted an early release from chaos and have been granted the right of bliss. I am moving from the time entitled "Vulnerable" to that of "Glorious Breakthroughs". It says that this is my month of transformation and all the changes are excellent. Apparently it only takes one look to know that the transformation has already begun!

The cat has found the someones and the somethings, in very unexpected places. Recently I've been at the Lexington BBQ Fest and wine tasting with great friends. I also kicked one of their asses in a rematch of travel Scrabble...that would be twice now. I've also been fortunate to hike up to MacRae Peak on Grandfather Mountain. Cables and ladders and wind, oh my. The views, the company, and the landscape was so well worth the pain in my knees the next day.


And then. And then there was Halloween. As everyone knows, this is the best day of the year for me. I just love everything about it...and it really doesn't matter if it is spent by throwing a huge drunken costume party or just quietly sitting on the porch with friends...drinking wine and passing out candy. I admit that I was unprepared for the awesomeness of this one. Memorable? Just call it infamous. Friends, food, Glogg, debauchery, a legendary gay nightclub, dancing, seeing 4a and thinking that too was awesome. Just awesome.

If that weren't delightful enough, November entered my world with an extra hour of needed sleep and a smile on my face. That smile stayed all the way through to West Virginia and back...car finally came through, and the Iona plate has been reborn.

Yeah, you can call this cat happy...and I have someones to thank for that.