Birthday surprises...

So I turned 35 last week. Blah. Not super excited about that but I suppose it's just a number. February 1st...and boy am I happy that January is over. That was a tough month and I'm ready to start fresh. Re-do the New Year. The last year was filled with so much change that I can only imagine what this next year will bring me. I'm ready...bring it on. (But my new wrinkles? I could do without.)

Mike surprised me by bringing the girls (and Paradise cookies) into my office. Most people wouldn't think that's a big deal. However, most people don't work in the ghetto. For reals. There are shootings, overhead helicopter searches, school shut-downs and man hunts on the regular. Needless to say, the girls don't get to venture to my office all that often. Was so special to show the girls off to all my friends/co-workers...and to be able to snuggle on them mid-day. Loved that.

 I couldn't wait to get home after work, as I told Mikey the only thing I wanted to do was go out for Mexican for dinner. I'm not the biggest celebratory person in the world, so this was perfect in my book. As I walked into the house I saw streamers and balloons, wasn't really sure what was going on. The house was spotless. And quiet. I walked into the kitchen and I saw my neighbor Jill, Jaime and 3 of my runner girls. I instantly choked up and started crying. What in the world were they doing in my kitchen? I was in shock. And truly believed they were over to join us for Mexican. Not so much.

The doorbell rang and in walked the Moosbruggers (whom I haven't seen in almost a year!). The tears, I just couldn't stop them. Then the Bowdens. Then Bri all the way from Muncie. Then the Morses. Then the Falciones. With each ring of the doorbell my heart became fuller and fuller. My husband coordinated this entire surprise. And all these friends came over to celebrate my birthday. On a school night. I just couldn't believe any of it. I must have had perma-smile all night, I was so happy.

 Thanks to everyone who came over to surprise me...it meant so much to have you all here. And a special thanks to Mikey who organized the entire kit and kaboodle. He cleaned the house. Decorated. Got pizzas and a cake. Made salads. And invited all the special people in my life. I couldn't have asked for a better birthday.

And I thought we were going out for Mexican.

Princess Playdate...

We've had a few play dates with Izzy's buddy from school, Maggie, in the last week. I think Izzy loves that someone will play princess dress-up and tea parties with her besides her sister. She has a ton of little boy friends (Luke & Sam being her favorites) and she talks about them all the time. But sometimes super heroes and princesses need to play with their own kind :)

 For example, we did princess manicures, had a princess tea party, then watched a princess movie after dinner. We introduced Maggie to our favorite dinner game: funny faces! (Do you love Elvis in the background?!)

 The girls even let little Laney Bug hang out with them when she got home from school

 And last weekend we met Maggie and her family at the pool for some swimming

 The girls went around this whirl pool probably over 25 times...the water pushes them around and they just giggle the entire time (notice them holding princess mermaids).

 Daddy and Laney watched the girls go round and round

Just happy to know there are other little girls out there that are just as obsessed with princesses as Izzy is. Disne.y is going to rock her world!

Muddy Buddies...

I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that marathon runners are no longer the craziest people I know. It's true. There are crazier people out there. And they are called adventure racers. Back in December while Mikey and I were drinking beers in Santa costumes in the warmth of a bar several of my Perfect Stranger girls ran the Huff 50k. Crazy. That's 30 miles. In the mud. I was happy I was in the comfort of a warm beard and company of a cold beer. Jaime and I texted back and forth all morning how crazy the girls were and how happy we were that we weren't there. So why, oh why, did I get roped into running something similar (yet much, much more tame)? It's what we runners do; we are constantly searching for the next "runner's high." We crazy.

Christi, Bri, Amy and I ran the Planet Adventure Winter Trail Quarter Marathon last night. It consisted of a 6.55 mile loop around Eagle Creek. There was also an option to run the half and full marathon (read: 2 or 4 more laps than our 1). I have been sick for the better part of the last 2 weeks with a (self diagnosed) sinus and ear infection. This means I haven't been running much. But what's 6.5 miles? I figured I could run that mileage in my sleep and plus, I was on the mend with the help of my most favorite nurse.

I picked up Christi and we headed down to Amy's house where Bri was there waiting for us. We quickly put on our awesomely bright matching socks and headed to the race.

As soon as we got into Bri's Libby we immediately started talking about how "cray" we were to be heading into the trails. In the dark. In the cold. We all got onto our iPhones and started blasting FB with our excitement (we each were commenting on the others' status updates while we were sitting in the same car with each other...really quite comical). We parked. We got our bibs. And we noticed people staring. I mean, a lot of these runners were here to run a freaking marathon while we were here dressed up as if it were another Mo.non themed run. Let them laugh. We had a blast!

Staying warm in the car

Walking to the start

Head lamps were required (since we'd be running well into the night). Christi & Bri rocked their new knuckle lights and I have to tell you, they were BRIGHT. I mean, if I fell behind, Bri would simply flip her hand behind her and the path was lit up. Those things are powerful!

A before shot of our clean socks and shoes...

While we were waiting for 6 o'clock to arrive we listened to the pre-race instructions. We were warned of slippery stairs and places along the route that were single file only. Yada yada yada, let's get started. And we were off. Running on pavement. No big deal. Riiight.

Within a minute we were on the trails; bobbing and weaving, leaping and lunging, laughing and moaning. To say this was difficult is a severe understatement. The hills, oh the hills! The mud. The icy stairs (and the many bridges we laughingly power walked over). And that was just the first 5 minutes. For reals. Christi soon took off (being the bad a$$ that she is) and the three of us stuck together for the remaining 6 miles.

We took in the scenery (as best we could, as trail running requires ALL your focus on your very next step) as the sun was setting over the reservoir. We got plenty of comments on our socks (reminded me of our tutus from last year's R.agnar). And within the first 2 miles I thought to myself, "How in the eff am I going to finish this?!?" My thighs were burning and my lungs were tight. Screwed. But I powered on. Sometimes taking walking breaks. Was happy to see the slippery stairs, as that meant a rester for my lungs while I slowly watched my step.

We crossed over the reservoir on a narrow gravel trail (or as Bri likes to put it, on an isthmus), with water on both sides of us. This terrain allowed us to take a mental break and take in the scenery. The serene water. The beautiful sunset. As we got to the other side, the sun was down and we looked both ahead and behind us at the trail of headlamps. Was such an amazing moment. And we all relished in it.

Two miles in and we encountered our first aid station. Trail mix anyone?

From what I remember, miles 2-4 were hilly as all get out. There was a LOT of going up and not so much going down. We then remembered we went down a good amount of stairs in the first few miles. Awesome. My legs were en fuego. Aid station #2 offered us the most amazing mini potato I've ever eaten. We fueled up while the volunteers said, "See you next time around!" To which Amy replied, "We'll be at the bar the next time around!" Which got us all to talking...we were so happy we were only doing one lap. And we all agreed we'd do this race again next year while vowing to not ever be talked into more than the quarter. Pinky swear.

Miles 4-6.5 were muddy. I'm talking peanut butter mud. Amy almost lost her shoe because the mud was so thick and unforgiving. I heard her shoe being suctioned from her foot and winced, not wanting to see her argyle sock bare. Thankfully she recovered; however, the worst was yet to come. We tried running on the outskirts of the mud only to find the bare brush contained thorns. Many, many sharp thorns (my thighs have the scratches to prove it!). There was no getting around the mud. I kept on thinking of a book I read to the girls We're Going On A Bear Hunt: "Oh no, mud! Thick, oozy mud! We can't go over it, we can't go under it...oh, no! We'll have to go through it! Squelch, squirt, squelch, squirt." And there was a lot of squelching and squirting. For miles. Uphill. And we paid money to do it.

We finally could hear the announcer's voice at the finish line through the woods and it seemed like forever until we reached him. But we did. All of us finished. Christi rocked it out with a 1:12...

While Amy, Bri and I locked arms and ran through the shute in (very frozen) smiles. I had predicted we'd finish in 1:30 and we came in just shy of that:

A quick picture of our muddied tooters

We stopped for food at the heated recovery (hello PB&J sammies, chili and hot chocolate!) and we were ready to get out of dodge

After a quick change at Amy's house we headed to the bar in our matching PS sweatshirts (jealous?)

Before drinks arrived we passed around our awesomely random finisher's medals to be signed yearbook style by our teammates

We toasted, we drank, we ate, we moaned. We shared many laughs and lots of heart to hearts. I may have even cried (I know, you're not surprised). But to think that a year ago I had one bestie and we felt so alone (yet together) with our addiction to running. That no one in our lives truly understood why we ran. And here we are, one year later, with a lot of closies (Jaim's term) that get us. I mean, Amy & Bri are running one race every month this year, while Christi ran just shy of 100 miles this month. Incredible we all found each other. So very happy, I am.

My beer cup runneth over.

We should be somewhere tropical...

For reals. It's gotten cold here. Quick. Went from 50 degree weather a few weeks ago to the teens and twenties. No thanks. I suppose I have to suffer through this in order to get my coveted summer & fall. I'll make it through. Just will complain a touch.

This weekend was the annual trip when my high school girls travel down from Chicago. They come to Indy in the winter and I travel to them in the summer. Not sure how we got on that schedule but it's been about 8 years that we've done it and we're not stopping any time soon.

Great weekend to travel down to Indy from Chicago you say? Not so much. Chicago got hit with a massive winter storm Friday afternoon, just in time for Mary to leave the 'burbs. Took her a whopping 3 hours to get to Jenny downtown. Then another 7 to get to Indy. By the time they got here it was 2am and they were hoping since they'd been in the car that long that they would've ended up somewhere tropical. Not so much. I'm continually amazed at the lengths my girlfriends go to see me (and the girls and Mikey). Although they didn't end up in Florida, we still managed to have a fun weekend together.

I'm pretty sure I only got 4 hours of sleep Friday night (we're dealing with some sleep issues from Laney - don't even get me started...but tonight we're on crack-down, Healthy Sleep Habit style), which made for a long day Saturday. But there was no way I was going to nap while my girls were here. Made some monkey break and waited for the ooey-gooey cinnamon aroma to wake Jen & Mary to come down and play. Several hours of playing later, we packed up and headed to Izzy's gymnastics class.

 During nap time we went out for lunch and a little shopping...and picked up some craft supplies (it wouldn't be a girls' weekend without a little crafting).

  My friend, Bri, introduced me to the timer feature on my camera that takes 10 picture (rapid-fire style) in a row. I'll spare you the crazy antics that went on but trust me, they are priceless. Note Jenny's awesome belt around her waist; this is a $200 ab "contour belt" purchased from a late-night infomercial by Mary. It was pure comedy to watch her use it (every day they were here) and of course Jenny and then Mike had to try it out (I'm dumb, but not that dumb).

 Saturday we collectively decided to stay in; we ordered pizza, played games, and stayed up way too late. Perfect. We crafted for several more hours this morning before the girls left for home. Thankfully the roads were clear and the weather cooperated so they didn't have another 10 hour trek. Loved having them here. Already planning my summer trip to Chicago. Thinking Lolla.palooza in August.

 And because these are just so darn cute, I have to share:

Here's to being somewhere tropical in less than 11 weeks. But who's counting?

Just another run in the snow...

I'm running the Carmel Half Marathon in April, which is 14 weeks away. My typical 12 week training program hasn't begun yet but I'm doing something a little differently this winter season; I haven't stopped running since my marathon in November. Gasp! Imagine that, I'm running for fun, not just for training! I figure having a solid, strong base level of physical fitness can only help me for my next training program. Novel idea, I know.

Many of the Perfect Strangers are running Spring marathons so this means they are knee deep into their training. Which translates into Saturday morning runs are back on the regular. Giddy up.

Jaime ran a few (very early) miles before meeting me at the Monon. Her first words when she ran up to me were, "I hope you don't want to run faster than 10 minute miles because I can't go one second faster. I have so many layers on that I'm thankful not to be carrying any extra baby weight!" And there she had me laughing at the crack of dawn. And I could totally relate. I was wearing two layers of pants, 4 layers of tops, a very warm winter hat, ultra warm mittens and a neck gaiter. We joked that we felt like Ralphie's little brother, not being able to put our limbs all the way down as we were bundled so heavily. Turns out all those extra layers paid off because not one of us complained of being cold.

Headlamps on a brisk 17 degree January morning

 Jaim and I ran a few miles to meet Karie, who thought we were nuts before this morning and then after seeing the 3 inches of snow on the ground I'm sure she thought we were insane in the membrizzle. Jaime tried to drink some of her fuel only to realize it was slushy. And off we went to meet the next group.

 We found the footing on the trail to be very fresh powder, more slippery in some parts than others. Jaime had a near wipe out but recovered like the graceful dancer that she is. At one point, just as it was becoming light out, we started talking about our Ragnar team and how we changed our name from last year to Perfect Strangers this year. We had just passed a guy and he must have overheard us talking because he chimed in, "Are you girls the Perfect Strangers running group?" Why yes. Yes we are. I must have been beaming because my cheeks hurt (or maybe that was from the frigid temps). Was so proud. And mostly thrilled. Turns out the guy was one of Meggie's very first running partners (they dubbed themselves the "Negative Splits"). Small world.

 We soon noticed a large group of women running towards us and as we got closer (and nearly passed them) we realized it was the gals we were to pick up closer to the BRipp. Funny, we were all so bundled up that we were nearly unrecognizable! We took pictures (this is customary in our group) and turned back around, as it was Jaime's halfway point. A few miles back and we dropped Karie back off at her stop then quickly ran into our last few gals closer to Carmel. We all had different mileage that we needed to run and morning commitments to meet, so this is why there were so many varying starting and stopping points throughout the morning.

 Another mile or so and we were at my stopping point. I hugged the girls goodbye and had headed indoors to warm up (and greet my fellow Carmel Runners Club peeps).

 Christi, Bri and I warming up in our rockin' winter gear. I was talking to a fellow CRC member and he asked about my mileage...I explained to him that I just finished my run with my normal Saturday morning girls. He said, "Oh yeah, are you guys called the Strangers or something?" Yep! That's us! We're kind of a big deal. Ha! So proud to be associated with such strong, beautiful, and compassionate women. I hugged the last of the girls goodbye and drove home with a huge smile on my face. It's amazing that just a year or two ago 8 miles in 3 inches of snow sounded dreadful, yet today it was the highlight of my weekend.

 And on a completely different note, I have to add a few pics of the girls from the weekend. Recently Laney has been getting out of her bed on her own (Izzy has never once done this so it's still pretty new to us). We'll wake up hearing scratching on our door, or see her standing outside our door. I went upstairs yesterday afternoon to grab something (during nap time) and this is what I saw at the top of my stairs. She's never crying. Never playing. Just hanging out. Freaky!

 And this is how Izzy sleeps every night. She sets up every one of her 500 lovies in her bed then falls asleep herself. We routinely "clean up" her bed of all her buddies but somehow they all end up back up in her bed. It's like the E.T. movie...can you find Izzy among all the stuffed animals? Love her. So much.