Cheerios and Shoelaces

On October 22, 2014December 14, 2014 By DGThomaIn Exercise, Family, Food, Humor/Light Hearted, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

For several years, the Nike Women’s Marathon in San Francisco had been an elusive goal. It was on my “to do” list, but it seemed something always interfered. Either my training schedule was off or the timing of the race kept me from being able to participate.

After all who wouldn’t want a medal from Tiffany!

When I decided that I would take the time to train and would definitely run in 2008 I discovered the only way for me to participate was through a lottery.

Although I didn’t believe I would make it in, I decided to register and take my chances with the lottery. I immediately started soliciting family and friends to participate with me. My first call was to my daughter, who was in law school. I convinced her to train with me so we could submit for the lottery as a team. I soon had enlisted my sister and my son’s girlfriend as well. Of course the unexpected happened and our team was selected in the lottery! Now I was forced to train!

I was determined to stick to my training program. I am notorious for getting pulled off my training schedule by daily demands. As a result, when I went to visit my daughter and granddaughter in Tulsa, OK, I made sure to pack both my running bag and my commitment.

Tulsa has a very nice running trail not too far from my daughter’s apartment. I got up early on Saturday morning, and created one of my favorite running snacks, (Cheerios, pecans, dried fruit and bits of a bagel). Since I managed to forget my SPIbelt (a stretchy fabric pouch on a belt), I pinned a baggie to the back of my shorts and my husband and I set off for a quick 8 mile run. I chose to run out 4 miles and back and my husband soon left me behind as I settled in at a comfortable pace.

At about mile three, my shoelaces began to loosen and for some reason, they were hitting against the back of my legs. Frustrated, I stopped, retied my shoes and took off again. My new shoes had particularly long shoestrings and soon I could feel them blowing against the back of my legs again. Checking the shoes, I discovered the laces seemed fine. Puzzled, I finished my run.

As I waited for my husband to meet me I reached for my snack, only to discover the baggie was empty. Apparently, friction had worn a hole in the plastic and the snack mix had slowly dropped through until the bag was empty! It turns out it wasn’t the shoelaces hitting my leg, it was the snack mix. I wondered why everyone I passed had such big smiles! My husband confirmed that fact, when he said he followed the trail of Cheerios and pecans to find me.

I Remember…

On October 15, 2014October 15, 2014 By DGThomaIn Family, Writing1 Comment

Several years ago, I completed a writing exercise that began with the prompt “I remember when”. Looking back through my notes, I decided to reinvent it as a blog post, if possible. Working with one of the thoughts, the result is this week’s post.

I remember when yesterday was today. I remember climbing a tree and my older brother scolding me and insisting I come down. I remember tagging along after my brother and his friends. He was only 18 months older but always acted like he was in charge.

I also remember how he begged me to pitch to him so he could practice his batting. Terrified of being hit, I refused. After numerous pleadings and promises that he wouldn’t hit the ball at me, I finally acquiesced. I must be an amazing pitcher. I threw the ball over our makeshift home plate and my brother swung. I heard the ball hit the wooden bat as the bat and ball connected. Instinctively, I ducked, covered my head with my arms and felt the ball sail over my head.

Shocked, my brother dropped the bat and ran toward me. After making sure the ball didn’t hit me, he grinned and said, “That would have been a home run!” I wasn’t as impressed with his batting as he was. Although I never pitched to him again, in retrospect, I’m sure it was the pitch that was truly impressive!

Growing up, my brother and I were very close at least from my perspective. To him I was probably an annoyance and a pest. To his credit, he never actually said as much.

When we were in high school, I backed into his car, breaking both his headlights. At 16, I was terrified to tell him, but I knew I would have to face it. I went to find him and let him know what I had done. I expected his temper to flair but was pleasantly surprised with his response. He walked to his car, looked at the lights and grinned. Shaking his head, he simply said, “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.” I remember being immensely relieved!

Not all memories regarding my brother are happy ones. Years after the batting incident, I recall a memory I will never forget. My plane landed in Washington DC and I turned my phone on to listen to messages. Returning my calls, I discovered my brother had been diagnosed with cancer. For several years he fought a tough battle valiantly before losing the fight.

But I don’t choose to remember those years. When I think about my brother, I remember climbing trees, pitching baseballs and long talks. Those are indeed very good memories.

Cows and Bananas

On October 11, 2014October 11, 2014 By DGThomaIn Animal Stories, Family, Humor/Light Hearted, Musings, Writing2 Comments

I live in a somewhat rural area of a large Texas metropolis. On any given day, my visual experiences may include a view of farm animals at a doughnut shop or someone whose complete attire consists of a thong and stiletto’s walking down a major downtown street.

This week, on my way home from work, I had the pleasure of seeing a banana riding a bicycle. Yes, it was really an individual wearing a yellow banana costume while riding his bike but even that takes a fair amount of talent.

That smile invoking moment was followed about half an hour later by a cow chasing a calf chasing a family of deer. And no, sadly I didn’t get pictures of either of these.

When we turned off the highway, the traffic noise immediately fell away and the home trees came into view.

As we neared the turn to our house, I realized the pond which had been bone dry was now filled, thanks to our feast of recent rain showers. Thinking happy thoughts, I suddenly noticed a calf sprinting, (yes sprinting) along the fence line headed in the general direction of the pond. The calf was followed by his mother (I can only assume) lumbering after him at something close to a sprint. Thinking they thought we were coming to feed them, my husband and I were startled when a family of deer, burst out of the trees along the fence line and sprinted across the road in front of our car. No one was harmed and all made it home safely.

I know I am easily entertained, but I love living where I get to experience such a diversity of entertainment. It mostly makes up for the lack of cable and the faltering internet service.

Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon – Part 2

On October 8, 2014November 17, 2014 By DGThomaIn Family, Travel, WritingLeave a comment

The Seattle marathon started June 21, 2014 at 7:00 AM sharp on a cool Saturday morning. After grabbing coffee and a bagel from our hotel, we walked the few blocks to the start line. The temperature was in the low 60’s; perfect running weather for me.

As I waited outside the portable toilets, commonly known as Port-a-Potties, I met a fellow runner from Seattle. We visited and spent about 15 minutes discussing the best angle to take a picture of the space needle when you are directly below it. As we said goodbye and left to find our corrals, she asked where I lived. I responded, “Texas.” Laughing she said, “I could tell you weren’t local, you have a strong accent.” I laughed too and said, “I was just about to say I knew you were local because you have an accent!” Smiling, we both headed to our corrals where we lined up with more than 14,500 eager athletes.

One of my favorite parts of running a marathon is meeting new people and making new friends. After you’ve run a few marathons, you start seeing familiar faces.

Lining up in Seattle, I stood near a group of Team and Training (TNT) participants from the San Francisco area. TNT is an organization, that in exchange for training and support, you raise money towards cures for blood cancers like leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma. As an alumni participant I am always watching for the bright purple shirts. Participants are always so upbeat and energetic.

The starting gun sounded at 7:00 AM and the first wave of runners were off. Since I was in a corral several blocks from the start line, my start was about 30 minutes after the elite lead runners.

My plan was to run 4 minutes and walk 1 minute, a method developed by Jeff Galloway. I finally made it to the start line, and John Bingham, also known as the Penguin, started us on our way after announcing this would be his farewell tour. He is a champion of the non-elite runners. I set my Garmin (watch) on intervals and pushed the start button. I was officially off! I was able to maintain the 4:1 ratio for the first 18 or so miles and still felt reasonably okay.

At about mile three, I met more TNT runners from Texas. There were two ladies from San Antonio, whose name I didn’t get. Then I met Tom from Dallas. Tom was run/walking for Team in Training and on the out and back paths where we passed each other, Tom would call out to me “Go Texas!”

The course took us down Ranier Ave and through Seward Park both offering a beautiful view of Mount Ranier. By the time I hit mile 15 it was starting to warm up significantly.

At mile 20 when I was starting to wonder if I had enough cash for a taxi, Tom spotted me again and yelled, “Go Texas!” so I did.

I finished about 45 minutes after my husband based on time, but since he started almost 20 minutes before me, he had quite a wait for me to finish. Still moving forward, I crossed the finish line much faster than I had expected. I was thrilled to have the finishers’ medal placed around my neck and a cold bottle of chocolate milk to drink. I wanted food and rest, in that order! Marathon number 16 was done.

Finisher’s medal

We were too tired to participate in the post marathon festivities, so we opted for a bath, a nice meal and pajamas for the evening.

On Sunday, we scheduled a tour of the Pike Place Market. The tour started at 10:00 AM. We booked the tour through Public Market Tours. We walked about 12 blocks to meet our tour guide so we could stretch our muscles after the run on Saturday. We were a few minutes early and went for coffee while we waited. We skipped the line at the “original” Starbucks and ducked into Tully’s for a delicious cup of coffee. We were the only two signed up, so we had a personalized tour. I won’t spoil the tour for you in case you ever make it to Seattle, but it was a great guided tour with a lot of historical information and laughter. It was just what we were looking for and the highlight of my day. I even managed to view the gum wall without getting too grossed out!

We ate lunch at Maximilien which sits in the heart of downtown Seattle’s historic Pike Place Market. Maximilien is a charming restaurant located with a view of Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, West Seattle & the Olympic Mountain.

Before heading back to our hotel, we visited the Lionheart Bookstore, located in Pikes Market. The owner likes to respond to questions by singing his answers. He told us he wasn’t just an owner but was the sixth custodian of the bookstore.

I love bookstores and Lionheart did not disappoint. We wandered in and out of the shops of Pike Place market exploring the shops at each level. In the afternoon we headed back toward our hotel, tackling the steep hills leading away from Pike Place Market.

We stopped in at Cherry Street Coffee House where I had a piece of Ginger Peach, Gluten free bread with a Coffee Latte. It was a lovely treat!

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When we reached our hotel, we put our feet up, and snacked on some fresh cherries we purchased at the Market.

All in all it was a wonderful trip!

Seattle Rock and Roll Marathon – Part 1

On October 1, 2014 By DGThomaIn Musings, Travel, Writing1 Comment

A lot of people think running marathons is absolutely crazy and some days I agree.
Other days, it keeps me sane. My husband and I normally run one or two marathons a
year. I may run or I may walk, but there is something about completing a 26.2
mile course that makes me think I can do anything.

However, my dedication to running this past year has been almost nonexistent. I was
sidelined with some health issues for a while and had difficulty regaining my motivation to restart my training.

Nevertheless, when my husband suggested we should run the Seattle Rock and Roll
Marathon in June, I decided to give it a shot. Seattle would be
marathon number 16 for me and the first for Washington State. I was hoping
registering to run 26.2 miles would motivate me and maybe it did, just a bit. We
registered for the marathon, made flight arrangements and reserved our hotel. The big “C”, (commitment) did get me out of bed on weekends. I managed to get in some runs with
my running group and even a few runs on the treadmill.

Finally marathon weekend arrived and we headed to the airport for our evening flight. The marathon was scheduled for Saturday, but we were hoping to maximize our relaxation time and minimize any last minute stress by leaving on Thursday.

Our trip started out a little rocky. When we pulled up to our regular car park, we were stopped at the gate by a very nice young man. “Reservation?” he asked. Of course we didn’t make a reservation. In response to our “No”, he replied, “Sorry, we are completely full.” Well, a bump in the road, but nothing major, right? We headed for the airport in search of terminal parking. Still on schedule, we arrived at the airport and discovered that due to construction, all parking was full except the overflow parking lot. Off we went to find a space in overflow parking which was out in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, we were able to find (uncovered) parking quickly, catch a bus back to the terminal, and finally make it through security.

Knowing we would arrive late in Seattle, we grabbed some food and made it to our gate with a little time to spare. Hoping the rest of the trip would be uneventful, we boarded on time and with the exception of the crazy lady on the plane (but that’s another story! Planes, misgivings and singing), we had a pleasant trip.

When we landed we exited the plane, made our way through the chaos of airport security and retrieved our luggage. Discovering our hotel didn’t provide a shuttle, we opted to rent a car. Dragging our bags behind us, we followed the rental car signs to reach the rental counter and negotiated a vehicle. Finally, worn out, we headed to our hotel.

Checking into our hotel turned out to be the best part of the day. It was late when we arrived, but the night manager was awesome. He was already working with a guest, so there was a small wait to check in. It was almost midnight, but the manager was upbeat, smiling and apologetic, even though the wait was only a few extra minutes. We even scored free parking!

The hotel was a suite with two bedrooms, a kitchenette and a separate living room area. Much more space than we needed, but staying there for four days was wonderful. The Space Needle was one block from our hotel and could be seen from the window. Everything we needed was within walking distance. Seattle Space Needle

After a great night’s sleep, Friday morning, we headed to the Seattle Health & Fitness Expo. The expo was a huge market where exhibitors offer free samples, showcase the latest in running gear, sports apparel, health & nutritional information and more. We walked a block to the Seattle Center Monorail station and rode the monorail to Westlake Center where we caught a bus to Century Field Event Center for packet pickup. (shirts, race bibs, timing chip, etc.).

We spent several hours wandering around the expo before leaving a few dollars lighter, juggling our packets and multiple purchases. Weary and hungry we went in search of lunch before heading back to the hotel to relax and prepare for our early morning event on Saturday. More on the Seattle trip next post……..

In search of a Piñata…..

On September 24, 2014 By DGThomaIn Family, Friends, Humor/Light Hearted, Musings, Writing1 Comment

Sometimes there just isn’t enough silly in the world.

When I found out my adult children were both going to be home (in my home) for their birthdays, I decided to create a party reminiscent of one of their childhood celebrations. My son and daughter were born 2 years and 5 days apart. Until the age of 11 and 13, they always shared a birthday party. One year the party was a Sesame street theme, and another year it was a skating party. No matter what the theme, we always had a great family celebration and lots of fun.

I enlisted my granddaughter, Jill and her mother to help with the planning. We set off to our local big box store to buy some party favors. As we filled our cart with bubbles, noise makers and more party favors, Jill looked up and said “We have to get a piñata!” There were several piñatas on the shelf; a traditional donkey, a Teen-aged Mutant Ninja Turtle (the new version) and a few miscellaneous others.

But, hanging from a wire overhead, there were a dozen or more colorful piñatas. Right in the center was a brightly colored bull piñata. It was perfect and exactly what we wanted. My daughter, Kat, went to find a sales associate to assist us in retrieving the piñata.

Kat returned with an associate who informed us Martha was on the way. Ten minutes later we were debating how to make a human pyramid so we could get the piñata ourselves. We couldn’t agree who should be the base of the pyramid or we might have attempted it. My vote was to stand in the cart and try to reach for it. I was vetoed for safety reasons.

About this time Martha showed up and started rummaging around at the ends of the aisles. Grumbling and frowning, she mumbled something about a piñata stick. She continued to pace back and forth, up and down the aisle as if the infamous piñata stick might appear by osmosis. We on the other hand were still planning a pyramid strategy when she left the aisle.

Suddenly, over the loud speaker we heard “Who has taken the piñata stick? Someone please return the piñata stick immediately”. By now, I had started to bounce on my feet a bit wondering if I could jump up and knock the piñata down. A manager wandered by and I launched into the quandary of the missing piñata stick and explained that I was thinking I could almost reach it if I jumped up. Now the manager looked up and I could tell he was wondering if he could jump up and grab the piñata, but instead he said he would go find Penny, because she could fix anything.

Now another 10 minutes went by before the manager and Penny returned. The manager smiled and told us we were in good hands as he wandered away. Martha returned and continued walking aimlessly up and down while Penny searched secret hideaways behind the end-caps. Still no one had recovered the elusive piñata stick. Penny left and I’m thinking “Who needs a piñata anyway”, when suddenly she returned triumphantly holding the piñata stick. The entire aisle broke into cheers, (even though it was only the three of us and the returning manager), it was still awesome.

One manager, and three associates later, we had a Piñata in hand and were off to plan a birthday party!

Biking and Other Happy Rembrances

On September 17, 2014 By DGThomaIn Friends, Musings, Writing2 Comments

Flipping through some old journals recently, I found an entry about my introduction to bike riding. It invoked a wonderfully pleasant memory.

About 20 years ago, I was recently divorced and trying to determine who I was supposed to be and who I wanted to become. One of my newly acquired interests was cycling. I’d made a new friend who was an avid cyclist and was not only teaching me to love riding but also loaned me a bike.

One of our first cycling trips was to Caprock Canyons State Park just outside Quitaque, Texas. We started the trip on Friday, arriving late and spending the night at a campsite. Early the next morning we awoke to a herd of deer outside our campsite. The deer were shrouded in fog and milling about on the grass completely unaffected by our presence. After a quick breakfast of granola bars, we set out on our bicycles.

6:00 AM and ready to ride - maybe! — 6:00 AM and ready to ride – maybe!

We rode on the park roads to help me get comfortable on the bike. The roads were very hilly and I remember flying down the hills, building speed and then having to get off the bike and push it up the next hill, so I could soar down again! I felt like I was six years old! Of course my friend had no problem biking up or down. We logged seven miles that morning and I was quite proud of the accomplishment.

In the afternoon, we drove to Quitaque Canyon Trail. The trail is a nature trail formed along the path of an old railroad route.

The Quitaque Canyon Trail is about 17 miles long and according to Rails to Trails “This area is one of the most picturesque and interesting throughout the entire Trailway due in part to Clarity Tunnel at mile 12.”

I wouldn’t know about that. I only made about 1/2 mile through the sand when I realized I wasn’t quite ready to tackle bicycling through sand. I chose instead to sit at the trail head and write in my journal. It was a beautiful and restful afternoon.

A few things that stand out in my mind from that day are: Friends are invaluable, laughter really is the best medicine and the Rails-to-Trails Conservatory is a great organization.

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy is a non-profit organization. They have repurposed over 20,000 miles of trail. If you enjoy nature and the idea of recycling the rail network to provide a trail system appeals to you, I highly recommend searching one of the Rails to Trails across the United States to hike or bike. Relax, rediscover nature and maybe smile a bit.

Labor Day Celebration

On September 10, 2014 By DGThomaIn Family, Food, Writing1 Comment

Labor Day falls on the first Monday in September. It is intended to be a celebration of social and economic successes for American workers. What it has become is a celebration of eating food and family gatherings. (Made possible by the economic successes of American workers)

My Labor Day plans this year were to relax at home, foot elevated. I was sidelined with a broken toe, my husband Ron was out-of-town and the rest of my extended family had made other plans.

My plans were very non-specific . I anticipated a quiet day at home catching up on some reading, writing and sewing. Happily, my plans changed.

On Saturday I found out my son was coming on Monday to spend the day and my husband was planning on returning early in the afternoon on Monday. I love company and I love celebrations! I was excited I would have enough people for a quasi-celebration, but suddenly I needed to plan a meal for Monday evening.

I wanted to serve something non-traditional. Normally, we would just grill burgers and hot dogs for the guys and maybe tuna steaks or shrimp for me. That just didn’t sound appealing this time.

So stepping out from the norm, we came up with something a bit different. Our menu consisted of Jalapeño chicken and venison sausage for the meat lovers. For me, it was Lentil Hyderabad (lentils with spices and chilies) and a curry wild rice mix. We bought some freshly baked Naan bread and grilled fresh sweet potato and Irish potato spears, lightly salted. It was a wonderful meal, but even as wonderful as it was, my favorite part was the dessert. (Of Course!)

We sliced peaches, topped them with fresh blueberries, then sprinkled them lightly with a small amount of brown sugar and nutmeg.

We served the warm fruit with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was absolutely delicious and completely different from our normal holiday meal. Considering it was last minute, I think it just may be one of my favorite holiday meals.

Catching flies with honey, Why?

On September 3, 2014September 3, 2014 By DGThomaIn Family, Food, Friends, Humor/Light Hearted, WritingLeave a comment

The real question is can you really catch more flies with honey? And why would you want to catch more flies? Not me! But a loose translation of “nice things happen when you behave nicely” sounds a little better.

You hear a lot about people doing nice things for total strangers, otherwise known as random acts of kindness. I think that’s awesome, and I wish I remembered to do it more often.

I recently had a great experience at Starbucks and it wasn’t because I had invented and ordered the largest and most obnoxious combination I could find.

My sister, Deb and I were meeting on the road midway between our respective homes. She lives on the Texas coast and I live in Central Texas.

We met in the parking lot of a shopping center and after exchanging boxes and bags; we decided to grab a coffee for the road from the Starbucks across the street.

The store wasn’t particularly crowded when we walked in which looked promising. However, when Deb tried to pay for her drink, the computers went down. A manager came and took over the register but still couldn’t get the transaction to process. My son and I were next in line and the barista and manager kept apologizing for the delay.

My son, Rich previously managed a retail store, so he just smiled and said he understood. He assured them both that it was not a problem. It was probably only 6 or 7 minutes of waiting. Rich entertained us all, the employees included, with jokes and stories. We all laughed and enjoyed ourselves despite the situation.

When my son and I were finally able to place our order, I handed them cash, since they seemed to still be having trouble with the card reader.

The manager shook his head and said, “No charge, you guys were great. I’m sorry for the wait. ” What a wonderful surprise! Maybe our drinks would still have been free if we had grumbled and complained, but the mood would certainly have been different for all of us. (And yes my sister’s drink was also free!)

I’m not saying that I am never the grumbling complaining customer, but it was a wonderful reminder that sometimes being pleasant pays off. Thank you Mr. Starbuck’s manager for making our day a little brighter!

The Promise of Spring

On August 31, 2014 By DGThomaIn WritingLeave a comment

Sharing a post from Spring of this year.

KatrinaWightman.com

A few days ago, a lovely purple iris bloom appeared in my garden. The iris was a gift from my father’s garden. He shared it with me a few years ago, but this is the first time it has bloomed. I couldn’t help but smile when I found the bloom! It stirred memories of time spent in the garden with my dad and let me know that Spring has arrived here in Central Texas. Our roads are lined with wildflowers such as Bluebonnets and Indian Paintbrush, but the single iris bloom was more significant to me. I felt the stirrings of new beginnings and wondrous memories yet to be made with my children and grandchildren.

In researching the color purple I discovered that it is a combination of blue and red. Blue is calming and red represents energy. How perfect! I also learned that the color purple doesn’t often appear in…

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