so long 2012

there have been a few good things happen during this year, but for the most part i'm ready to say goodbye to 2012 and look forward to a better 2013.

the year started ok - getting sideline passes to a few bowl games with jim from terrell daily photo.

but then mid-january my grandma had a few small strokes. she was in the hospital for a week and a nursing home for a week. her health steadily declined following the strokes, and she passed on january 31st.   it was tough losing her, especially losing someone so close.

my grandma was a marine's wife and she loved everything about the marines.  so shortly after her passing, i signed up to run the 37th annual Marine Corps Marathon in DC.  my longest run prior to this was a half marathon, 13.1 miles - so the full marathon distance of 26.2 really seemed a challenge for me. kind of a long-off, far-away thing that i didn't understand how hard it was going to be at first.

the marathon was october 28th, and it followed 4 months of training. running 4-5 times a week, with one of those being a long run on the weekend. it took a real desire and dedication to keep up with the schedule, but knowing this huge thing was looming at the end also forced us keep at it. we skipped a few practice runs, but not many. it was a tough goal and a real challenge to run the 26.2 - and it's definitely NOT something i'd do regularly or every year.... but it was a great experience that was life-changing in a way. to push your body to its limits and have the mental power to continue was amazing. i feel i can work at any goal and achieve it now.

so i suffered a big loss at the beginning of the year. and enjoyed a tremendously rewarding, personal achievement at the end. and to commemorate the long hours of training and preparation, and eventual completion of the marathon, i got a tattoo - a 26.2 on the back of my leg.

so here's a toast to grandmas and 26.2 tattoos.

and a fond farewell to 2012 and wishes for a prosperous and joy-filled 2013 for us all!

looking back in 2012

i tried out a beard in 2012... never had one before =)  it started out itchy - i liked it, but as the weather got hotter it was a little much running with it in the hot afternoons.

old pics

today's photo was taken around 1971 or 72... another pic of my brother and me. this was taken on his first day of school, and he's holding a bag of school supplies.

christmas easter

merry Christmas, easter bunny!

BC

oh, sadie

my mom's cat sadie... she was very interested in all the dangling ornaments =)

silver trees

an oldie of my aunt... i remember my grandma having a silver tree like this when i was a kid too =)

merry christmas to all!!

old times

my brother greg on the left, mom and me on the right =)
circa 1973 or 74

one little light

one little christmas light laying on the ground...

12 days left in the year... can't believe it's gone by so quickly!

looking back

Christmas time is a good time to look back and reflect on the year... look thru old pics and create a collage of pics for keepsakes =)

Christmas Parade

downtown terrell's annual christmas parade!

dawn

just checking in... the posts have still been sporadic, but i'm working back to my daily status =)

happy thanksgiving!!

fields of...

in 2010 they had this field planted with these beautiful sunflowers... 2011 was corn, which died in the heat wave... and 2012 was cotton.  can't wait to see what 2013 brings =)

reward

rewards shouldn't be so painful! it's all worth it though. 26.2 miles!!

mission accomplished!

it was a long training process for the marathon - 4 months to be exact... we logged some long hours of running during week nights and over the weekends.

it was all worth it!

especially now, a day and a half later when i can walk semi-normally again =)

looking up

well, i can't believe it's down to the final week before the marathon. i remember when we had over 100 days left to train! now it's down to 6days, and only about 2 training runs left...  i think i can do it! =)  we've done most of the training runs, only skipped a few - and i think i'm ready! battled a bad back all weekend, but that was loosening up and feeling better on the last long run tonight. 8 miles and no back pain, so i think i'm good. fingers crossed!

a view from behind

Today's photo is a replica of the statue of liberty from the State Fair.

And a view from behind =)

**Thanks to Jim at Terrell Daily Photo for the 2nd pic!

Big Tex RIP

Big Tex burned down today!  Such a sad feeling - it feels like i lost part of my childhood... They'll have a new one next year, but it won't be the same. So long, Tex.

time marches on

actually, time is flying by!  less than 2 weeks til the marathon and my anxiety grows a little more each day. we've both prepared, trained fairly consistently and followed the training program. so it should be fine.

today's photo was the beautiful view of white rock lake before our 9 mile run this morning. we got a good rain shower overnight, and the air was crisp and clean. our last 2 runs at white rock were rainy and then cold. so today was a nice change. we should be prepared for any kind of weather! =)

fair day!

the state fair of texas is only open for about 3 weeks a year (september 28th thru october 21st!) so if you wait too long, a lot of times it's over before you know it.

today is our fair day. and today's post is a dark photo of the killdare's, a must-see Celtic band that plays on the Backdoor Stage every hour beginning at 2pm. it's a great show, and a nice shady place to sit and get out of the afternoon sun =)

running sunset

or, sunset while running....

downtown

moore hard bodies from the south alley =)

train depot

today's photo was taken at the downtown train depot. is it friday yet? =)

signs

one from the archives, taken back in January of this year.  just 26 days til the marathon!

outdoor kitty

hard to believe 3/4 of the year is over!  just 28 more days til the marathon in DC.

i'm trying to get back to posting regularly... been kinda busy with the marathon training. today we finished an 18.6 mile run at white rock lake... and i can still feel the pain in my legs =)

and in the beginning

here's the beginning of the backyard transformation, started in March 2012.

keeping on

today's photo was taken exactly a year ago at the 'flights of our fathers' fly-in 2011.

it's been a tough year making new milestones and first anniversaries since my grandma's been gone.  i still feel her with me a lot of the time though, and pushing me to stand up for myself when i'd normally let things slide. she was a tough old broad and didn't take any guff from anyone. even me...

it's a long road we travel, and that marathon is only 37 days away!  this weekend is a 17 mile run.  and i'm running in the same shoes grandma got me for christmas last year.  =)

planes

one more from the fly-in... hope everyone had a great wednesday.

one more time...

and today is one more photo taken from the fly in saturday =)   remember 'no hand press'!

saturday fly-in

today's photo was taken on the under side of an airplane wing at this weekend's fly in.

frosty in a box sunday

if there's a box in the house... frosty's been in it or he will be...

a view from the mezzanine

jim scored us both press credentials for a game at Cowboys Stadium this past week.  if you look real close, he's down on the sidelines taking pics in this photo.

this pic was a view from the mezzanine level. the stadium is huge.

head's up

if you're in Terrell tomorrow, keep an eye out for planes for the 'Flights of our Fathers'  flying into town for the annual fly-in.

only 42 days left til the marathon... 26.2 miles...

two fun guy

or fungis... funguses? that's what it is. =)

reminds me of some muppet creature:

joseph

one from the archives today... joseph the donkey =)

driveway after

as a follow up to yesterday's post... this is a view of the gate and fence in the driveway now

driveway

here's a before pic of the driveway... tomorrow i'll post a pic of the new gate. really love the way it wall turned out =)

new fence

the new fence install started 2 days ago, and they've made a LOT of progress!!

working and saving for several months to get the fence i wanted makes finally getting it feel that much better! i've had anticipation for almost 3 months! =)

backyard

i've been saving for a couple months to replace the fence in the backyard.

this is a before photo -- work begins tomorrow!

sunday eve

another weekend gone too soon...

tonight's photo is BC... a side view =)

city limits

one from the archives today.... i think the population has changed since i took this pic =)