Can you believe this month—this year—is coming to a close? I cannot. Here’s a quick life update combined with a few lessons I learned in October:
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You all sure know how to make a girl feel good after a hard week! Thank you for the well wishes!
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Signs proclaiming “Hot Firemen Ahead!” will unfortunately not make my legs go any faster after running twelve miles. I did the Nike Women’s Half-Marathon in San Francisco, along with four friends, this month. It was amazing! (And yes, there are firemen at the finish line—passing out Tiffany’s boxes no less!) If you need a confidence boost, train for an event. It will put you on top of the world!
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Quinn makes the cutest Cinderella ever! The boys were doting over her while we got her dressed. Also, I learned that Butterfingers are hard to come by in my kids’ trick-or-treating bags. (Hoping for better luck this Thursday night!)
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I’m not the only one who gets behind on her children’s hygiene! Maybe you all can hold me accountable for clipping my boys’ nails and giving them baths, and I can do the same for you??
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I like the iPhone even more than I thought I would. I finally bid a bittersweet farewell to my flip phone…and gave my husband one less reason to make fun of me! I’m most excited about the camera and the notes function. I think this means I’ll be able to pull up a grocery list without scrounging through my diaper bag for that stray piece of paper! What feature can you not live without?
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Two and half hours to myself at the end of a rough week does wonders. For the last couple of years I’ve been able to have a local college student (and now, good friend) come watch my kids while I get away for a few hours, a couple times a month. I usually use this time to write, and I so appreciate how restorative it is for me. Give me a park bench, a notebook, and a reason to wear cute shoes (pictured above), and I am a renewed wife and mother. (Whether you hire a babysitter, swap with a friend, or just dash out for a bit on a Saturday when your husband is home, it is so worth it!)
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I want to pin down what makes me unmistakeable. What makes my writing recognizable? What do I most want you to take away from reading here? I recently listened to this this fantastic podcast featuring Alexandra Franzen, and I was inspired to think hard about what makes me me and to not feel like I need to run away from it. I may be talking about this more in the future and would love your input. We’ll see.
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This Marriage Diaries thing is going to be meaningful. We are off to a great start, and I cannot wait to see what one of my favorite bloggers has to say next Tuesday.
Well, friends, if it is quiet around here this week, it is because I am busy chasing two avengers and a mini-Cinderalla with my iPhone camera. 🙂 I cannot thank you enough for reading and sharing what I write here—even the random posts like today’s!
Happy early Halloween, and may November go a little slower than October!
What a nice month! Congratulation on the race. I love the grocery IQ app – it’s free and your husband can also have it on his phone and you can link the lists – useful for those honey can you stop at the store on your way home nights 🙂
Ooh, thanks, Marcella! I will definitely look up grocery IQ, because Ryan and I would for sure get good use out of it! Thank you!
I’m so happy you got an iPhone! I love the reminders app. It helps me feel organized and accomplished when I get to check something off my to-do list. And the notes feature is awesome too.
Those little kids are so cute in their Halloween costumes! And way to go doing that race! XOX
So proud of you, awesome runner!! Maybe we can be virtual running buddies 🙂 You always inspire me to hit the pavement!
What I love most about your blog is that you are real and care about the community you’ve created at Let Why Lead. Your honesty and encouragement always keep me coming back for more!
FOR SURE! Have you done any running lately? Let’s get this buddy thing going! 🙂 I did like ten minutes today at the gym, but I’d forgotten my headphones, and running on a treadmill without them is practically impossible! The real challenge now is sticking with exercise even after my event…Hold me to it!
Hooray! I haven’t :-/ I had a concussion relapse a couple of months ago so I had to stop running for a bit, but now I can again! I just need the motivation 🙂 My goal is to start with a mile and rebuild from there. It’s amazing how time off bumps you back down to square one! I’m dying to get back into it though!
Erica, oh how I LOVE reading your entries! They seriously help me to see things in my life with a perspective from mountaintops. You leave me feeling so hopeful and excited about life, what a true talent you have. And congrats on the new iPhone, I too recently got one after months of weighing the pros and cons, if the extra expense would be worth it and am I HAPPY I got it! I love the photo editing apps Afterlight and VSCO, they’re super and beautifull. Also, I’m loving and appreciating the Marriage Diaries, what a great window to relate through and learn from.
Hi Karen! You are way too nice, in regards to my writing, but I mean it when I say you are truly one of the top 5 sweetest people I have ever met. Thank you. I’ve been using VSCO on my husband’s iphone for a while (and love it, too!), but I will definitely check out Afterlight. Thanks for the recommendation!
What? Firemen + Tiffany Boxes?? Wow. I think I’d like my husband holding a Tiffany box at the end of the race, that would really make me swoon…or faint from exhaustion. Good for you for completing a half-marathon! Your kiddos are adorable all dressed up and Quinn sure does make one darling Cinderella 🙂
I know, right?! It’s hilarious. I was just so tired & dazed that I barely noticed anything beyond my pressing desire to get a drink, a bit of food for energy, and somewhere to SIT! And my favorite part of the whole event was honestly when I heard by boys ringing their cowbells, which led to us all finding each other amid the crowd. Better than firefighters any day!
But the event is seriously incredible, with about 30,000 women running, so if you ever want to do it, just let me know! 🙂