A Dimming Star

We have been informed that Mr. Tucker is fading quickly tonight. His bright shining star is dimming with every labored breath he takes. What a great life he has lived! From the mischief he got into as a puppy (pulling a roll of toilet paper around the house!) to licking every single inch of someones face, there was never a dull moment in his life (nor ours).

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
For if I pass with morning's light,
They cannot say I didn't fight!

We only wish we were half as strong as you are, Tucker. We love you!

Eco Chique Boutique

Think of us as one of those little, hidden boutiques that you pass by every time you walk down the street and you keep saying to yourself that "I'll have to stop in there one of these days"...

Make today that day!

Stop by Eco Chique Boutique - you won't be sorry.

Etsy ecochiqueboutique

Born This Way

I have accepted the fact that God made me who I am. He created me in my mother's womb with no details left unseen. He breathed life into my lungs, connected the synapses in my brain, and even put a little hair on my head.

I thank Him for giving me this life and this body.

However...

Lately, I cannot say that I have been thanking Him all that much for the generous endowment that He so graciously bestowed upon me. After taking up the Couch to 5k program (I'm on Week 2), I have to admit that I've been having some half hour long quarrels with the Big Man Upstairs for this...gift.

I mean, OUCH. C'mon Lord, give me a little help here!

So maybe it was divine intervention, or maybe it was a little help from Google, but I found The Fiona:

It's recommended for the bustier types, like me, by women who have run into the same issue. I wore it for my run/walk today and it was woooooonderful! In fact, I need to get it out of the wash now and hang it up to dry!

Major props to the Moving Comfort brand. It was finally nice to find something that WORKED!

The 60 Pound Gorilla

So there's this Gorilla in the corner of the room. She's quite small, actually, for her species. She's actually shrunken some, since the last time I looked over at her. Her name is 'Weight' and she is mine. I own her. In fact, I brought her into this world! Cute as she may be, I'm looking to get rid of her.

You see, I am apparently a very neglectful owner. In the beginning, I fed her all kinds of things! You name it, she ate it. But, now that I've been feeding her less AND making her workout, poor girl has lost almost 60lbs and only has 60 more left to give!

So if someone would be so kind as to just go ahead and take my 60lb primate, it would make it much easier on me...she gets to be a little too burdensome when I'm running.

I can just leave the back door open sometime...if she 'happens' to get out, I can't say that I'll miss her! :o)

I can do it!

Today, I wore this shirt on my run/walk.It is 88 degrees and my face is still bright red, BUT there was a high anvil cloud from a storm out west covering only my route.

God does wonderful things. :o)

5 Years

Five years ago, Matt and I met in person for the first time. We had been talking on the phone, for a month or so, before September 10th, 2005.

He showed up on a beautiful, sunny afternoon at my parents house. Mom and dad had just returned from a garage sale, so he was greeted by the whole family! :o)

We've had ups and downs, bumps and bruises, a wedding and a few surgeries...

but I wouldn't change a thing, even if I could.

I love you, babe.

Let's Get Physical

I decided to try a Couch to 5k podcast from iTunes yesterday. The point is to start out slow - walk 5 min, run 90 sec, walk 2 min, etc. Obviously, if you are not a runner, you should know that you can't start out in a sprint right away. Nor should you (or could you!) attempt to run a marathon. So this podcast appeared to be the perfect fit for me!

I made the mistake of taking Buddy with me. After almost pulling me into oncoming traffic, stopping to pee at EVERY telephone pole/fire hydrant, and not to mention going #2 IN THE STREET...he won't be going with me again. I love him to pieces, but it was really hard to get any kind of rhythm going!

The running part of the routine wasn't too difficult. At one point, I did feel like I was almost dragging my feet and my lungs started to burn, but I just kept going.

My upcoming goal is to do a 5k coming up in November. I can't tell you yet if I'm going to walk it, run it, or both - but the point is that I'm doing it!

~Emily