You think you have it bad?

It's hard not to get down on life.

Life is hard. Work sucks, not enough money, need a vacation, too tired, can't sleep, gotta clean the house, walk the dogs, pay the bills, check the mail, check my email, get a car wash/oil change, oh, what are we having for dinner? I got a big blister, ow my toe really hurts, I have a headache, my stomach hurts, work is really stressing me out, my family is stressing me out, this last five pounds, SERIOUSLY!?



http://www.goshdawnit.com/2008/03/and-my-life-just-turned-upside-down.html



I had a post already started.

Then I got this link in the weekly Team in Training email. It mentioned that Dawn's boyfriend said one time that Dawn worried she hadn't done anything "meaningful" with her life. Well, I beg to differ. And I can't stop reading this blog. Dawn, is well, WAS my age. WAS. I can't stop thinking about that. In one of the pictures she's wearing a shirt I have. She has a lab. She has practically the same boat we have. I am so humbled right now.

Isn't that funny how life does that to you? It comes and kicks you in the butt, just when you need it.

What Dawn wouldn't do to be able to go to work, to pay the bills, to walk her dog, to ride in her boat. To have dinner with her boyfriend, friends, and family. To not be in pain, and not be sick.

I thank you Dawn, for sharing your story. For touching my heart and reminding me that it's the simple things in life that matter. For making me realize how lucky I am and reminding me not to take this gift of life I have for granted.

38 days out. and. this.

38 days out. I'm so freaked out, excited, anxious, nervous, scared and pumped up.

First 20 mile run was Saturday. I can't tell a lie. It. was. tough! This Saturday will be 14-16 (gotta see how I feel, keep reading!) Then another 18 and yes, a second 20. Sound excessive? I love it. I'm addicted. I want to be prepared and I will be ready!! *in my head the rocky theme is playing*

I really like 16 mile runs. It's a GREAT length. You run far enough to say. HA! I ran *16* miles today! BOO YA! But you still feel pretty good when you are done. And it's not THAT insane of an amount of miles. It's crazy, yes. But not insane.

I sometimes feel like Pinocchio when I'm running these crazy miles.
Like my arms and legs are attached to strings and someone's being lazy with the control. I feel like my hips and knees and elbows and ankles are all wobbly and wiggly and just may fall right off. I wonder what I look like when I feel like this? ha ha. It can't be good. I don't want to know! But who cares? I ran 20 miles Saturday. BOO YA!

and.

I ended up with this.




It didn't start out like this. of course! They never do. It was a big fluid filled sac, otherwise known as a blister. It hurt, but it was intact. I had a special blister band-aid on it, and it was fine. However in the excitement of a promise of a river trip, Maya stepped on my toe and the rest, my dear friends, is history!

I am taking GREAT care of it. (Luckily I have access to ALL kinds of wonderful wound care supplies) I haven't run since (gasp) Monday! I have it dressed and clean and elevated whenever I can. I'm taking Vitamin A, C, D, fish oil, zinc and a cocktail of tylenol and motrin and it's feeling pretty good. I took the dogs on a 1 mile walk tonight and wore running shoes for the first time since Monday. Not too bad. Not great. But not too bad.

Mentally. I'm freaking out.
I have worked SO hard and trained SO long for this to have an injury!
I just have to remind myself to take it one day at a time, take a deep breath.
and hell, it's only a blister.

Before and somewhere in between...

This is one of the best before pictures I can find. Yes, the dogs are the MAIN point of the picture, but I figure here you can see the vinyl floor underneath them (it looks like tile, but no, it's vinyl) The carpet behind Zoe and also on the landing of the stairs...the barely there paint on the wall (a borrrrring off white), and the color the door is stained...YUCK!
oh, AND aren't my kids SO cute!?!


Here's the kitchen, light tan cabinets with plain boring counters. The wall to the left of the fridge is a barn red... like the next picture, which is the half bath. I just continued the barn red into there, but only half way. You can see DH has half installed the bead board and took out the toilet by the time I got my camera ready.



This is the living room. I painted this one wall a green as an accent wall. I actually still really like this color, but! Out with the old, in with the neutral! We also got rid of the couch and now my treadmill is sitting neglected in the garage. BOO!


What luxurious accommodations...


It took us probably 10 days to scrape and sand the concrete out...dang vinyl glue and floor float! I HATE YOU!

Can't forget about the cabinet sanding. Otherwise known as hell on earth. Sawdust (sanddust?) EVERYWHERE. And I mean EVERYWHERE. I'll leave that at THAT.

It felt never ending. It was torture. But, it's done! YIPPEE!



Finally ready to pick a paint color! After about 2 weeks of having paint squares taped to the wall we agreed on one color, got a sample, painted a section and decided we HATED it! We then each picked one and picked a compromise color. We ended up picking the one in the middle. Thank goodness for sample sizes!


The dogs didn't like the painting too much. For some reason they loved to sit up against the wall or section I had JUST primed or painted. WTH? They had to be caged in.

LOVE IT! Love the door, love the wall color, LOVE the smell of fresh paint in the house! The color of the door is also the color of the banister, the stairs and will be the new color of the cabinets!
I am in LOVE with this half bath. I can't believe DH is so good at everything he does! *right here he would say, "honey WHY OH WHY do you doubt me!?!?* He's wonderful! The bead board and railing look AWESOME! I can't wait to get the pedestal sink in (it will go in on the left where you can't see in this pic) as well as get my bathroom back downstairs so I don't have to go upstairs everytime to tinkle!
DH also wanted to tear out the old pantry shelving and replace it with better wood and extend it around the right side. Wonderful! He's a ROCK star, what can I say!?!? I can't wait to go OCD in here.

Well, I think that's enough for now. We still have SO much work to do but we've come a long way baby...
I think Chico's as excited for the tile as I am!
Ciao!