Being twisted a million different ways

add the stress of buying a house, working 11-12 hour days, trying to train for upcoming races, dealing with office BS, and the possibility of having to travel anywhere in the country at a moments notice...really makes for some interesting thoughts in my head...ARRRG!
How do you fit it all into one day? well, take it one day at a time. I got through yesterday ok and today is well on its way out. Tomorrow will be another day and the days add up. Pretty soon the rough patch is gone and a lot was learned. Yesterday, I learned the day was all in my attitude. If I let people or situations mess with my serenity, then yes...the day went awry. If I kept focused on myself and the task at hand, not worrying about what everyone else is doing....and the day went wonderful. Trying to stay positive and doing the best possible job I can do. What more can anyone ask for?
Things I am grateful for today:

• my health
• my family
• stable blood sugar (ha! I am doing a good job with nutrition today)
• clean drinking water
• clean clothes
• a job
• herbal tea
• a computer network that hasnt crashed
• phish and youtubes of phish
• the woods

Ok, thats all for now. Hope anyone who is reading this has a great day! If you are having a shitty one, just list everything you are grateful for today...at this exact moment and your day may not seem so shitty.
XOXOXOX

When the days go by...

And what a day it was. Capon Valley 50k was last Saturday and I have to admit, it is one of my favorite races. Sure, the scenery is lush and beautiful..but the people make this race. The volunteers who spend their entire day out helping the runners reach their goal. I am talking about lovely people who say, "thank you for running this race" when you reach their aid station. Volunteers who make a bbq chicken dinner for every runner. I am talking about a home cooked meal! Homemade dressings for the salads, pies, baked beans, and even the BBQ sauce is homemade. So much love is poured into this race, it makes for a lovely experience. I had a smile on my face the entire run.

And the run itself? Well considering it had a cumulative elevation gain of 11,000 feet and i had zero training (seriously, I havent run over 15 miles in months) I finished in 6:35. Not too shabby, considering. The best part is that I feel great. No soreness, tightness, nothing. The climbs were great and the downhills were my favorite, super fast and not very technical. As I recall, I actually threw my arms up and yelled as I ran down the hills..laughing like a little kid. Trail running and ultras do that to me. Maybe there was something in the bananas.

Today? I am fully recovered. Actually, I was fully recovered on Sunday morning. It may be the time i have spent strength training in the gym, or maybe it was the kindness of a community helping me along. Whatever it was, it was a beautiful day and I am glad I was around to see it.

The end of the month holds another 50k put on by a super talented and nutty ultra girl. She describes the course as having, "Barkley-esque climbs" and "dont plan on PR'ing this course". YEEEHAW! I cant wait.

Nothing much on the jewelery front right now except some sketches. My "studio" is a bit of a mess right now and I havent had any time to get in there and straighten things up. I did buy some really cool pieces of stone and petrified wood when I was out in CO. There are big plans in the works for those pieces.

Kiss the mountain air we breathe, oh its time to fly.

XOXOXOOX