Marathon. Marathon?

A big THANK YOU to Gareth's friend Scott for sharing his talent in photography with me. He took these pics at this year's Austin Marathon.

I got a little teary-eyed as I clicked through the photos that told the story of my 26.2 miles, and...I was surprised to see how often I managed to flash a smile. I don't remember smiling that much!

Still can't decide if I ever want to do this again...

T Minus 365 Days

...and counting.

Last weekend, someone asked Gareth and I how long we'd been married. He was a new friend who noticed my ring, but didn't know us very well. Gareth and I exchanged looks and laughed.

I answered, "We've been married for -1 years."

Today!

Left Lane Frustrations

Gareth and I returned from a road trip last Sunday night. I only took the wheel for about 25% of the time, but man do I have a bone to pick in those few hours in the driver's seat!

Who is forgetting to teach our drivers proper ettiquette (and law in some states) about driving in the left lane?!

Apparently, I am not alone in my frustrations with these slow-poke left lane drivers. See here and here.

Please help educate the drivers of America...

Teach your teenagers to use the left lane for passing. Tell your parents, tell your friends, tell the guy sitting in the cubicle next to yours: Slower drivers should drive in the right lane.

These are the rules I use when I am driving on the highway:
1-If no one else is on the road, I drive in the right lane.
2-If I am about to turn right, I drive in the right lane.
3-If I am about to turn left, I drive in the left lane.
4-If I am driving slower than the people around me (and 3 does not apply), I drive in the right lane.
5-If I am driving faster than the people around me (and 2 does not apply), I drive in the left lane.
6-If I am driving in the left lane and have zoned out -- then suddenly realize that I am being passed on the right, I take the next available opportunity to move over to the right lane.

I am not normally described by my friends as a "fast driver". I am actually more frequently described as "grandma" or a "deliberate driver", but I CANNOT stand driving on the highway with people who do not know how to use the left lane.

Can I get some support on this one?!

My Stand-Up Dad

Doesn't every daughter think her father is the funniest man in the world?

From the time I was a young girl, my Dad and I have been laughing together. Most of the time, it's Dad trying to make me laugh.

He must have been a good teacher though, because here are some photos of me (at 2 years-old) trying to make him laugh...















As I got older, we would banter back and forth at the kitchen table.

His signature move is a laugh that's so hard he can't breathe. Veins start to pop out of his head and all you hear is one loud exhale and then silence. Just witnessing Dad laughing like that is enough to send me into hysterics.

As an adult, I found out that Dad once had a dream of becoming a stand-up comedian. I was surprised to hear that at the time, but as I spent more time thinking about my childhood, I could clearly see my Dad's humor. Sometimes it is merely an attempt at humor! (wink)

I must have taken this for granted.

You mean, every father doesn't try to make his family laugh like that?!

Even as a grown woman, there is noone who can make me laugh more genuinely than my Dad. Just the other week, I was on the phone with him at work. It was only a 5 minute phone call to check on something I had delivered to the house. In 5 minutes my Dad made me laugh. Out loud. Hard. I was almost crying.

So on this Father's Day weekend Dad, I want to thank you for making me laugh. For teaching me the importance of laughing. For being silly enough that you never really care whether someone is laughing at you or with you. Either way you've made someone laugh and that is a good thing.


Here's to many more moments to laugh together!

Love,
your witty (read: smart-ass) daughter

His World

One of the things that Gareth and I are talking about a lot lately is finding things to share with each other...

He has patent agent stuff, volleyball, golf, and mountain biking (all things that I don't do). I have academic counseling stuff, running, Bachelor night, and now softball (all things that he doesn't do). We are talking about trying an adventure race together sometime, but the only other thing we share is...well, in Gareth's words, "thank God for Guitar Hero!"

Until we find more than Guitar Hero to do together, both of us will have to sacrifice and enter one another's worlds on occasion.

We recently went on a trip to scout destinations for our wedding in Estes Park, CO. While we were there, I had the chance to enter his world.

Estes Park is a hop, skip, and a jump from Rocky Mountain National Park, so we went hiking together...



Gareth talked to me about the reasons he loves the mountains. I snapped this photo just after he told me, "Babe, this is romantic to me"...


Not necessarily what I would have chosen to do with my day, but I ended up having a great time -- and I was so glad to have shared the day with my mountain man.



It was a good thing too, because Guitar Hero wouldn't have fit in our luggage!

Coyote Nights

Eight years ago, life as I knew it was very different than life as I know it today.

Crazy as it sounds, the night that I saw Coyote Ugly all those years ago, something changed.

In the movie, I saw powerful women taking charge of their lives. Living painfully at times, but really, truly living life. It struck a chord with me because I wasn't living powerfully.

I went to the show with two girlfriends. Jessica and Shari. In the months that followed, the three of us would go out for "Coyote Nights". These nights always involved alcohol, and oftentimes we would find ourselves dancing or just out on the town.

Since those times, I have mastered the art of going out and finding fun, but I still remember those first "Coyote Nights" fondly.

Coyote Ugly has been showing on cable the past couple of weeks and it brought these fun memories to mind.

Who Needs Sleep?

Today I met with a doctor from The Sleep Disorders Center here in town.

Recently, a friend of mine was diagnosed with narcolepsy. As she shared her story, I saw my own life played out in her symptoms.

Tired. Never feeling like I had enough sleep. Could fall asleep anywhere.

I even went in to be tested for thyroid problems about 2 years ago because I was so fatigued all the time...

Today, I have an answer. I have narcolepsy. Just like my friend.

The doctor asked me about my childhood, about how I would take two naps a day for much longer than other children. He asked about junior high and high school, whether I would fall asleep in class or while studying. Ummm...yes. All the time. I told him that I thought I was tired from practice.

He asked me the most embarassing time that I've ever fallen asleep, and I told him about the time that I fell asleep in a booth at a live music event. The band was only a few feet from where I was sleeping and surprisingly, I hadn't been drinking.

He asked me about taking naps, and about how likely it is that I would fall asleep during different activities: reading, watching tv, sitting quietly. I had to tell him that in fact, I almost fell asleep in the waiting room.

His response, "it looks like you can't afford to sit still."

As I sat today, listening to the information on sleep disorders and the specific disorder he thought I had, tears came to my eyes. I was so relieved to finally know what was wrong! I will go back for a sleep study next month to find out more.

I have been lucky to have parents who understood the importance of sleep and napping. Never giving me a hard time about being tired. Gareth is great too, unless he wants me to get up and make breakfast ;-)

Sadly, not everyone in my life has been so forgiving. I have had coaches who thought I was lazy. Who thought that I slept too much. I have had friends and ex-boyfriends who thought I was inconsiderate.

Looks like they were all wrong.

Daily Inspiration

When we are afraid to be as great as we are, we never will be as great as we can be.