I'm optimistic I can do this . . . .

I know it has been MONTHS, but I DO write in a paper journal everyday!  I think that's just it . . .I'm old fashioned . . . I like PEN and PAPER, not keyboard and screen. Anyway there are many, many things to be glad about and optimistic for. I'm going to try and get back to it, here on the screen.

I have a lifetime love of horses. As a tween through my teenage years I had a pony in England. They were some of the most wonderful days of my life. I love all things horsey . . . .the smell of the horses, the hay, the barn. Mucking out stalls when it's rainy and cold out but you are warm and cozy in the barn. The way horses whinney and push their heads against you, or push their faces deep into pockets to look for treats.
Anyway I resolved this January to somehow get around horses again. I took training at Saddle Up, an organization out towards Leiper's Fork, where disabled children learn to ride, and grow and have fun with horses. It's been a month and, at the moment I go out and feed the horses on Thursday afternoons. I'd LOVE to do more if my schedule will allow.
I take feed buckets and nose bags of pellets and drive in a 4x4 to the various paddocks and fields and find the horses that need feeding (only some get fed at night), throw hay down for others and get to hang out and spend time with them. The hard part is learning which horse is which! There is one horse, Sidney, who they retired and he needs a home. I cannot tell you how much I wish I had a little land and a barn. I've prayed for it a lot the last few weeks! Sidney was mistreated before he was dropped at Saddle Up, he was skin and bones and now has a hip issue. As a result, he cannot be ridden. But he is GORGEOUS and fit and healthy . . . it's just that weight on his back would aggravate his hip problem. They have been trying to find the right home for him for a year. They need to trust that he is going to someone who, when they promise not to ride him, will keep that promise. Plus, most people don't want a horse that they can't ride, but he would make an amazing pet and can still be lunged (and needs to be to keep his muscles strong and healthy) Yesterday, after I fed him, I got to put his blankets on and walk him out to one of the far fields, about 1/4 mile. We chatted all the way and, before I let him loose in the field, I rested my face against his head for a minute. I LOVE this horse. I KNOW now is not the right time for me to have a horse but I secretly hope that no-one will take him and, eventually, I'll find a solution of a barn where I can keep him, and care for him for the remainder of his years.
At the very least I hope someone with a loving heart will take him and give him the life and love he deserves.

This week I go to Florida with Luanne, Karen and Molly (and Steve and Maribeth I think too) for the Disney Princess Half. I am SUPER EXCITED but will miss my Sidney on Thursday and look forward to March 1st to see him again!!

I have to go to bed now. . . . plan on parking at Lu and Karen's halfway point (ish) tomorrow at 6.15am and running to Lipscomb to meet them a 7am, and going back with them. I can't do the whole thing with them as I'm swamped (with good stuff) tomorrow and need to get home but this way I'll get 6 miles in. . . . .

The documentary "I Am"

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Testing, testing, 1, 2, 3, testing . . . .
The site promises me that if I copied and pasted the above mumbo jumbo that when I saved my blog and re-opened it, there would be the trailer to I Am, one of the BEST, most inspiring and uplifting documentaries I have ever seen. We'll see.  I wanted to purchase it on DVD for my bro and sis-in-law for Christmas but it is not out to purchase til January 3rd!
Anyway, logging off to see if this worked (I have a sneaky feeling it wont. Techology is not my gift)

This makes me start blogging again!

This morning my fellow booties and I ran/walked a 5K downtown. We have a friend, Michelle, who has always dreamed of doing a 5K. She was born with some physical challenges but has not let them stop her from doing anything - in fact we met Michelle when she signed up to do bootcamp! I remember thinking then that this is one amazing & courageous woman.

Luanne invited her to one of the training walks we used to do (for some reason we lapsed over the summer) and encouraged her to sign up for this race. I know Michelle has been continuing her walking throughout this time with the goal of this race in her mind. She has battled a bad ankle and had to have shots in it every now and then. I have seen Luanne encouraging her on facebook.
This morning I met Michelle at their car in the dark while her mom pinned her bib number on her shirt. I asked if she was excited and she said "Karen, I am terrified".  After meeting the others at a bus-stop bench and downing some Krispy Kremes, we all ran our own races. Jo (also running her first race) was zippy as could be and finished fast (31 minutes!) Gloria and I met up with her and Molly in the finish corral, closely followed in by Karen and Sharon. We all went over and stood with Michelle's family and then she and Luanne rounded the corner of 2nd onto Demonbreun.

Even remembering watching them now, some 8 hours later, moves me to tears. I ran over to the organizer and told her that they were coming (we had been concerned because they were putting 5K medals away and getting set up with the half marathon ones) and she handed 2 medals to one of the men in uniform who were placing them over people's heads as they finished. Michelle was weeping (with pride I hope), her family were all crying and all of us booties were too. As she neared the finished she began to jog and did so all the way across the finish line! This was not an easy feat for this beautiful woman. It took courage and perseverance and belief. Many of us would have given up months ago, or never even started it. She was "terrified" and she did it anyway. I am inspired by her beyond belief, and SO PROUD to know her.

This is the Diary of an Optimist. I haven't written here for months although it's not because I've stopped being optimistic. I see things everyday that make me optimistic in our world. But I could NOT let this event go by without recording it, even if only I ever see this blog. I am so touched by one woman's determination and by what is achievable when we encourage each other with love and support. I am so grateful for my bootcamp friends, whom I truly love.
Here's Michelle getting her medal! WooHoooo! You ROCK MICHELLE!!

creating fun!

So, quick post today. I am having fun with the website Zazzle . . . .and I wanted to post a quick link, mostly for myself (only for myself I guess as no-one reads this blog!) so I don't forget it.
I'll get back to this blog later:

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Where's May?

I have no excuse for not posting since April 26th. Well, we were away for a week after the half marathon and i was in excrutiating knee pain for a few weeks, but I suppose neither of those precludes me sitting at a computer and typing. Anyway, after a couple of weeks I actually forgot about the blog, totally forgot! Sitting on my deck this morning with a cup of coffee, before the sticky 90 degrees arrives, I was thinking about yesterday and, for some reason, yesterday reminded me I should write in my blog!

First here's a couple of photos from our trip to Folly Beach in South Carolina. . .

It was peaceful, relaxing and fun! (Seems a lifetime ago already!)

Anyhooooo, I damaged my knee in the race. Usually my knee begins to hurt at around mile 7 or 8 but on April 30th, it started before mile 4!!! Stubborn chick that I am I had to finish and Gloria (my running buddy) and I continued running, walking, running, walking to the finish line. Needless to say, I could barely walk during the next week and a half. . . .
It has gotten considerably better but still is sore and last week I finally went to see a 'knee dude' at TOA. He said he wants me to get an MRI, which is happening on Thursday. He told me "NO BOOTCAMP" until after he's looked at the MRI results. I must say though, it is feeling SO much better and I'm thinking it may have healed itself? I don't want to waste the MRI machine's time and energy. . . . ?  I guess I should get it checked out, just so we can make sure it's okay to run again . . . keep you posted.

Now I need to tell you about yesterday's weirdness, but time is flying and I've got dogs to walk so I'll do it tomorrow . . . . it's Memorial Day. Thinking of all the good military folk who defend us and especially the many who have lost their lives doing just that. Thank you . . . .

Ready . . . . or not.

Three days. Well two and a half really. After an ungodly getting up time on Friday, to watch Kate and Wills tie the knot, I will pick Kim and Vivian up at the airport at 10am, ready for our Big Weekend! We have to get to the Expo and then check in to the Hutton, generally loaf about, consuming carbs at every chance, probably including the hotel's pasta dinner. Early to bed, early to rise and we'll hoof it to the start line for the race. Gloria, Kim, Viv and I are in Corral 22. Kelsey, Luanne and Karen are in about 30 or 31 and I hope to run up there to say 'good morning' before getting back to 22 for the start. G and I plan to run and walk as we feel up to it. She is fitter than me and I'm wondering whether to take my ipod shuffle incase we end up splitting when she may wanna run and I wanna walk . . . we'll see. I have a little red 'pouch-thingy' in which I always carry a couple of extra gels and an anti-inflammatory, and a packet of salt (when you sweat like I do, those replacement drinks just don't replace enough sodium - at every race end I have crystals of the stuff on my ears, in my eyebrows, along my hairline. Pretty gross really)

I'm looking forward to it. This is my seventh half marathon. Everytime I say "that's enough of those. I'm gonna stick to 5 and 10K's" and everytime I end up suckered into another one! They're just plain FUN!
Our usual after-race routine will ensue once we get back to the hotel. Shower. Downstairs to consume yummy, guilt-free calories, followed by a good 2 hour nap!   At 5.45 we are off to Taco Mamacitas for some tacos or burritos - me, Viv, Kim, Karen B., Gloria (and possibly James), Natalie and maybe Nicole too. If Charles gets out of work early he may make an appearance too!

I'm SO SO SO looking forward to the weekend. I'm at the Hutton on Saturday but will get up and leave by 5am to get home. We hope to get on the road by 6.30. I hate to leave Kim and Vivian as they have most of Sunday in Nashville but at the time of booking the beach house I only saw the fact that we started our rental on May 1st, the month following the race. It didn't even occur to me that the race was on THE LAST DAY of April!
Packed my i-pad for the beach . . . maybe I'll manage to write a couple of entries in the blog while I'm away!

Two weeks and counting . . . .

 . . . . to our beach trip! SO excited.
And so are the birds apparently. I know it's Spring and they start singing before sunrise. I LOVE laying in bed listening to them. But both yesterday and today one lone bird figured he'd practice his singing at 2am. 2am!  We sleep the majority of the year with a window open and this time of the year all windows are WIDE open.  This little guy was going for it. I lay awake and then realized Charles was awake and, to judge from the tossing and turning in his bed, Nigel's slumber was also being disturbed!
I got up to pull the windows closed a little and actually spoke out into the darkened woods "Hey little guy, go back to bed. No-one's listening to you right now."  He replied with an identical rendition of whatever he'd been saying before but then, I swear, he was quiet! (Then I lay back in bed and felt bad for shushing one of God's creatures, only doing what he is born to do!)

Anyway, two weeks today we'll be in the middle of the Nashville Half Marathon and then we leave for Folly Beach! To say 'I'm ready" for a trip to the beach might be the understatment of the year. Today I plan on getting some stuff together, t-shirts, shorts, paperwork for the house rental as on the Sunday when we leave I will be sleeping with my out of town girlfriends at The Hutton Hotel, who are joining us for the race and, instead of waking at some unearthly hour to get home only to leave again, we have decided that Charles will pack up the car and then pick me up on the way out of town.  I'm hoping this is a wise choice. (a) I'm a control freak and am seriously worried he'll forget something we need to pack and (b) I'll have my no-doubt stinky gear from the race in the hotel room with me and it will have to ride with us in the car for nine hours to South Carolina! Guess I need to add "two or three garbage bags" to the packing list to place said gear in and seal tight til we get to the house and a washer!

OK, I'm rambling as usual. . . . time to get on with the day . . .Happy Saturday y'all!