Here we go again...

I am leaving in one hour for St. George to pick up my race packet and get my head ready for my "big" race (Painter's half marathon) There are 1700 runners this year, biggest ever. I know I will be so happy when I cross the finish line, but I don't know how painful it will be getting there! I am so grateful for Power Bar gel

and its delicious, slimy texture (not!!!) Yes, I buy it by the case. Pathetic, I know, but cheaper!!

It's Official

I am the meanest mom in the world! My darling 12-year-old Taylor wanted a cell phone so badly for Christmas. So, of course, Santa brought her one. With conditions!! No text, mom controls the calls coming in, and the phone is not available at certain hours of the day (and night). Once the minutes are gone, she can only call mobile to mobile (meaning mom). ALL her friends have text. It's so unfair! I am the meanest mom in the world!!

Kids Say the Darndest Things!

Cameron (my five year old - six next week) and I were talking about school. He was sad his primary teacher had moved away to go to school. He asked my why grownups go to school? Grownups shouldn't have to go to school. So I told him grownups can go to school. He then asks me why I don't go school. Is it because I have already learned how to be a mom? Do they teach you how to yell and stuff at school? Maybe I have a few things to work on . . .

St. George or Bust

In 5 days I will be running the St. George Painter's Half Marathon for the third time. I do this every year, ask myself the same questions. Am I ready? Did I train hard enough? Can I make it past mile 10? Am I going to shart my pants? Wish me luck. Hopefully all will go well. I want to beat my time from last year. (I won't write it - it is a little slower than I like.) My husband is running as well as my uncle Randy. They both smoke me - they are much faster than I am. So I will be running alone.

At least I get a weekend in St. George, right? And besides - I am going to run the St. George Marathon this year (if the lottery Gods shine on me). Hence the title of my blog - I want to say I have run a marathon. I think it will be an amazing feeling to cross that finish line. When I finish a race, especially a long one, I feel like I can do anything in the world! I know if I can run a 1/2, so can anyone else. When I started out, I ran one lap around the high school track and thought I was going to die. Now I can run 13.1 miles and not die! Amazing how that works. I know if I can run a half, I can run a full (I hope). So running partner (you know who you are) get ready because I will need you!! For my two dear friends who actually read my blog and give me such nice comments and support, thank you! I love you both!! (Again, you know who you are!)

Keep on running . . .

Running Sucks!!

I ran a 10 mile trainer today with my husband. The wind was blowing (hard and cold!!) out of the south. I slipped on some ice and went down on my face. I am super graceful - I know. I decided that today running sucks. And I think I can run a marathon???? 1/2 Marathon in 9 days. I hope I survive.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all my friends and fellow runners. Good riddance to 2008 and welcome 2009. I would post all of my new year's resolutions if I ever made any. I never keep them so I quit making them. I am going to keep track of all the miles I run, though. I am at 10 so far. I went for a run with my husband yesterday. He talked me into going outside (ew!). We were going to do a nice 9 miles. He runs faster than me so I had to follow behind. The roads were clear for the most part. The sidewalks were not. For those of you that don't shovel your sidewalks, you suck!!! Also, for those of you that swerve into runners, you suck!! Other than that, not too bad. I finally caught my husband (he was waiting for me at a corner) and he tells me I have three more miles to go. So I follow behind (again) and we keep running. And running. And running. And running. I am falling farther and farther behind him, thinking when is he going to stop? I know this has to be close to three miles. I see him coming towards me (he has already run to the end of the street and is on his way back) and he yells at me - "go to the stop sign and that is ten!"

So I ran to the stop sign and did my 10. I was not happy with him, though. I only wanted to run 9 and he made me run 10! Oh well. I ate a lot of extra chocolate last night to make up for that extra mile. 1/2 Maraton is in two weeks. I will run 10 next week. Pray for me that it won't snow again until I get my 10 done!! It is much more entertaining to run 10 miles outside than it is to run 10 miles on a treadmill. I hope I can run my half marathon without dying. Someday this will get easier, right? (Not likely.) And I think I want to run a marathon?!??

After my half marathon I want to go on a cruise and get out of the snow (and away from running schedules). Any suggestions for a fun Caribbean cruise? Anyone, anywhere?

I think I am addicted to blogging.

What do Dwight Schrute and Poo Have in Common??

Nothing. Everything. I have two Christmas parties that I look forward to every year. The first is a party with our friends. We get together with our spouses, have dinner and exchange white elephant gifts. The second is a party with my husband's family (just the adults) where we have dinner and exchange white elephant gifts. I always have a blast at both of these parties. This year was no exception. That is where Dwight Schrute comes in. I love The Office. I watch it religiously. I watch the re-runs religiously. I have The Office theme song as the ringtone on my cell. I just can't get enough. You can imagine my extreme joy when I opened my white elephant gift from Casey and Corbin to discover a Dwight Schrute bobblehead! I thought I had died and gone to heaven. I could not believe that I got the Dwight doll. I was so worried someone would steal it from me (and they did). But Dwight was destined to be mine and he did make it home with me.

The second party (with my husband's family - adults only) we exchanged white elephant gifts as well. I got Auntie Les' gift. She is known for her practical jokes, so I knew her gift would be good. I open it up, and it is a book called "What's your Poo Telling You?" It is the most hilarious book I have ever seen. I could not part with it. Luckily, no one stole it and it made it home with me. So now the answer to the question, what do Dwight Schrute and Poo have in common? The answer - they are both the best white elephant gifts I have ever received! They are displayed proudly on my desk in my home office. Watch out for next year - I have already found a great gift. I guess you'll just have to wait to see what it is.

Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas all my friends! I hope the holiday found you all happy and healthy. We are still trying to dig out of our snowstorm. Thank heaven for friends with tractors and four wheelers because our snow blower isn't touching it!

Here are some pics of our annual Robinson Santa Party. Mom and dad have a really fun party with Santa every year. All the cousins come (even our St. George cousins). All the kids exchange cousin gifts. Then santa appears. Here were some of the top santa requests:

A Razor moped
New Shoes (my 12 year old nephew)
A cell phone (my 12 year old daugher)
Wii and Wii games
New Clothes

I am happy to report everyone was happy.

Our own family Christmas was great. Ashlie got the moped she wanted. Cameron got a Wii and games. Taylor (finally) got a cell phone. Mom and dad got Guitar Hero pajamas along with Aerosmith Guitar Hero. Of course, I am the ultimate guitar hero!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. And no, I did not run on Christmas day. I did walk for 45 minutes, though. I am in training, you know!

Getting Ready for the Half - 27 Days and Counting

My annual half marathon is coming up - January 17th, 2009 to be exact. This will be my third year running this race. I am hoping this time it will be easier, but I am not counting on it. I train all through the holidays, and that can be fun and not so fun. This year my husband (Chris) will run it with me for the first time ever! Well, we won't actually run together. We will start at the same time, and I will spend the entire race trying to catch him. He is an awesome runner - much faster than I am. So the countdown begins - 27 days until racetime!

Snow, Snow, Snow!

The snowstorms this week have been fabulous - I love the snow! Just kidding. I hate the snow, the cold, anything that is not related to summer or warm temperatures. I am definitely a palm trees and warm ocean breezes girl. When you are a wimpy runner like I am, snow is not so great. Because of the snow and the freezing temperatures, I have been forced to run inside on the treadmill. So boring! I would love to run outside, but the sidewalks are too icy and I am too klutzy. I can't even walk to my mailbox without falling. So there goes any chance of me running outside! Oh well, treadmills are nice, too.
When I was trying to shovel the walks, I got too tired. I told Cameron to come inside, we would finish it later when his dad got home. But Cameron wasn't done playing in the snow, so he takes the shovel from me and says, "I'll do it, mom!" So here are the pictures of my darling 5-year-old boy shoveling the driveway for the first time. He actually did a pretty good job!