Laundry, laundry everywhere...

I little over a year ago, S and I bought our first house.  It needed, and still needs, some work to get it just how we want it. But time and money seem to keep it in an under-construction state.  Several rooms are half-finished, with piles of stuff in the middle of the floor.  Admittedly, it does not help that I cannot do just one project at a time.  I have to have several projects going on, or else I get bored.

Anyway, with all of the piles everywhere, I got a bit lazy and started throwing my dirty laundry in to piles, too.  I HATE washing laundry, so the piles grew.  As the piles grew, S grew more and more annoyed with me.  (And I don't blame him.  I was being quite a slob.)

I decided to do something about my dirty little habit, and I turned to Ana White's blog for inspiration.  Not only did I find the inspiration I needed, but I found a solution -- a very easy, why-didn't-I-think-of-that solution.  On Ana's site, I found, and printed, plans for a laundry basket dresser.

The laundry basket dresser is basically a plywood (Purebond plywood) box.  The box has six supports -- three on each side -- to house three standard laundry baskets.  The baskets can just slide into the dresser when you need them.  Genius!

I took Ana's sketch, added legs to it (but without a brace--they're just screwed in), and got to work.

Unfortunately, the day S took me to Home Depot to get plywood cut, I was in a lot of pain.  And pain medication + writing down measurements = wood cut to the wrong width.  The back of the dresser is about an inch too short, but it's not noticeable at all with the back being against the bedroom wall.

When I was more clear-headed, I built the box, working hard to get things square.  (Getting projects square can be a bit challenging when S is at work and I'm building by myself.)  In a very short time, the dresser was built.  I then painted it with two coats of Annie Sloan's chalk paint in graphite.  After a soft wax finish, it was ready to go into our bedroom.

I bought three laundry baskets and labeled them for sorting.  I put a thin basket on top of the dresser for my silks and cashmere.  A small glass candy dish is a catch-all for items left in our pockets.

And since I hate laundry so much, I thought I'd try to make it seem a little more pleasant by placing one of my favorite possessions on top of the laundry dresser.   When my sister was pregnant with my niece, she didn't announce her pregnancy.  She wanted us to all find out at the same time.  So for Christmas, she gave each of us a framed sonogram photo.  My little niece has brought so much joy to my life and that photo reminds me of how blessed I am.

Lupus update

I now have a local rheumatologist, and I LOVE her!  I'm back on my 3 mg of prednisone (yuck) and my Imuran (I was off it while my liver enzymes were sky-high).  I'm still on the same dose of plaquenil that I've been on for several year.

This summer, after I got out of my funk, I was doing well.  I had bad days, but they were outnumbered by the good days.  But, now that it's getting cold, I feel worse.  I'm getting several oral and nasal ulcers.  My joints are so sore.  Granted, when you live with daily pain, you can often push through the soreness.  I had to do that during the race today.

When I got home from Iowa this afternoon, I was wiped and had to take a nap.  After I woke up from my nap, I realized I kind of overdid it this weekend -- and the weekend is only half done!  One of the first things I noticed when I woke up was the presence of that oh-so-lovely butterfly rash.  When my face starts to discolor, I know I need to scale back a bit and relax.

Race 14: October 6, 2012 - 12:1 Half Marathon in Danville, Iowa

Last night, I went to bed very early (between 7:30 and 8:00 p.m.) since I had to wake up at 2:00 a.m to get ready for my drive to Iowa.  S. couldn't join me on this trip, so I needed some rest to make it to and from Danville, Iowa safely.  When my alarm -- or alarms, since I set 6 alarms just in case -- screeched it's morning wake-up song, I really did not want to get out of bed.  It was in the mid 30s outside, and I was quite comfy on my heated mattress pad.  But I somehow managed to get up, get ready, and get out the door by 2:45 a.m.

The drive was peaceful and uneventful.  That early in the morning, there were hardly any cars on the road.  I made it to Danville with plenty of time to pick up race packet and bib.

But when I entered the expo, there was no bib with my name on it.  Apparently, my name was in the computer with at 2010 registration date!  The address under my name was incorrect.  It was a big, odd mix-up.  The race workers were so sweet, though, and found a bib for me.  They didn't charge me another fee.  But since the race was for a good cause (clean water for underdeveloped nations), I gave them all the cash I had.  I was just so impressed with how kind and courteous everyone was.

It was 34 degrees at the time of race start, so I stood inside as long as I could.  I only braved the cold after the race instructions were issued to the runners.  Luckily, I warmed up pretty quickly after I started running.  I started at a pretty good pace, but quickly realized my time goal would have to change.  I wanted to finish under 2 hours.  But once I discovered how challenging and brutal the VERY hilly course was, I decided I wanted to finish under 2 hours and 20 minutes.

I spent the first 6 miles in complete awe of the scenery.  This was probably the most beautiful course I've ever run.  The course went through two amazing parks and over a lake.  All of the leaves on the trees were turning, so we were surrounded with golden and fiery leaves.  It was mesmerizing.

I continued to admire the course for the rest of the race, but I was a little distracted because I started talking to another St. Louis area resident.  An older man who was running the same pace as I was talked to me about his 50 states goal.  He and his wife (who ran much faster than we did) were completing their 18th race.  It was so inspiring to talk to him.  And it's a lot harder to focus on the tough hills when you're busy talking.

I left my new friend when we reached mile 12.  Once I see the finish line, I can't help but speed up.  So, I raced to the end, and reached my goal.  I ran 2:19:26 according to my stopwatch.  Yay!

After the race, I hid in the bathroom and cried.  I was just so relieved to have completed a race after taking so much time off.  It was one of those wonderful moments that you need to keep going.  I'm am just so thankful.

Race 13: April 17, 2011 - Kansas Half Marathon in Lawrence

I've been meaning to update this for a while.  Now, I no longer remember the details of my 13th race.  I blame it on Lupus brain ;)  I remember it was a beautiful sunny day, and I had fun looking at the town as I ran through it.  But, really, that's all I can recall. 

The only hints I have about this trip are photos S. and I took with a crazy-looking Jayhawk statue.

Sadly, this was my last race until today.  I went almost a year and a half without completing a race because life just got in the way.  My grandfather was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, and S. and I used all of our race fee money on gasoline to drive to visit Grandpa and Grandma as often as possible.  My grandfather was a strong and sweet man -- he loved running with his dog, delivered meals on wheels to seniors younger than himself, and was still so in love with Grandma.  He fought hard, but in January, the cancer finally won.  After that, I was admittedly a little depressed.  I no longer had the energy nor the strength to run.

I didn't start running again until June.  In June, S. and I registered for the Walt Disney World Marathon.  Registering for this race and paying the exorbitant race fees gave me the kick in the pants that I needed.  I began running again, starting with short 3 mile runs.  Now, I'm back up to race distance runs.  Last Saturday, I had a very successful 17 mile run.  Today, I ran a somewhat slow half marathon on a challenging and hilly course.  It may sound out, but finishing another race today was such a relief.

Earring holder

During my husband's second year of B school, we were living in a two bedroom duplex in a house built in 1908. This older house had little built-in storage, so we were constantly trying to combat clutter. And since one of us is a sentimental pack-rat (yes, I fully admit that I cannot let go of items), the clutter always seem to grow.

To control my wardrobe, we bought nice looking storage boxes to store sweaters and the like. My jewelry went into two large jewelry boxes. My scarves were stored in a drawer in my nightstand. And, once put in those places, those items stayed there. These storage solutions did help with the clutter, but they did not help my wardrobe. If something was out-of-sight, it was out-of-mind. I quickly realized that, being a very visual person, I did not wear clothing or jewelry that I could not see. Therefore, I began a search for new ways to store clothes and jewelry--ways that would let me see the jewelry and clothing, but would still be neat and organized.

I stumbled upon this picture on the Pottery Barn website (unfortunately, the link no longer works and they no longer have this item).

I fell in love with the idea of using my jewelry as art, and realized I could easily DIY the earring holder. So, I took a cheap $2 wooden frame (from Wal-Mart), silver paint, small wire nails, and some thin wire.

First, I painted the frame silver--I hated the dark black frame and wanted it lighter. Then, I decided on the number of rows of wire I wanted. I debated using two or three, but decided on two. I used small wire nails and hammered them into the back of the frame where I wanted the wire to end and begin. With a pair of needle-nose pliers, I attached the wire, twisting it tightly around the base of the nails. Then I added my earrings.

I loved the finished look! I could see my earrings, yet they were neatly corralled. This was a perfect storage solution for our apartment.

Even though I made this holder a while ago, I'm posting it now because I recently unpacked it and realized that the wire had stretched and bent during our move. :-( Bummer. I decided to fix up the frame a little bit (the corners were separating, so I filled them with putty) and make a new jewelry holder. This time, I'm going to use cup hooks and hang my necklaces from them. I now have two new earring holders (one from redenvelope.com and one from Target), so I no longer need the PB-inspired earring holder anyway. I can't wait to finish the necklace holder and post pics!

Living (or not) with lupus

Lupus seems so much worse during winter. The cold temperatures really mess with my joints, causing more pain than during the warm, humid summers. This makes living a "normal" life during the winter months very difficult. Things that other people dread but still do (e.g., going outside to scrape the ice off the car windshield) can cause me so much pain that I'm basically immobilized for the remainder of the day. In the winter, I have to be more careful about planning and juggling things.

I know that doing certain outdoor activities will render me useless for several hours, if not days. So, while I plan to go ice skating with my husband tomorrow night, I know I should keep my Saturday clear so I can recover. I also know that I should do some work (I'm way behind on writing articles) before we leave to skate, since I won't be able to type after being in the cold.

Because of lupus, I have mixed thoughts and feelings about winter. I want a good long freeze to kill the eggs of the bugs that will invade my very organic garden this summer. But I don't want to feel the freeze myself. I long for summer, when I can feel a little more normal.

Simple console table

I love Ana White’s website. And I have a bit of a girl-crush on Ana herself. She is amazing and skilled at building things. I totally want her to move to St. Louis so we can be BFFs and work on projects together :-)

But in all seriousness, if you haven’t checked out her website, I highly recommend it. There are a lot of woodworking project plans with free tutorials. Lovely!

After getting irritated with my husband’s habit of just throwing down his wallet and key on any empty surface in the house, I decided he needed a designated spot for his stuff. Naturally, I went to Ana-White.com to look for plans for a console table. There, I found the Simple, Cheap and Easy Console Table plans. This table has nice, clean lines. The simple angles fit with the many pieces of Asian décor that we have. So, the Simple, Cheap and Easy Console Table was a clear winner.

Since this table was a gift for my husband (and a small gift for me since it would mean he’d no longer just throw his stuff around), I worked on it while he was at work and after he went to bed at night. It took a little longer than I had planned because I bought cheap white board from big box lumber. I bought the straightest pieces I could find, but even these pieces were mildly warped. So, pulling the pieces square was difficult since I was doing the work without help and without clamps. (I bought new clamps after finishing this piece.)

Painting and sealing were a bit of a problem on this piece. I wanted to use low VOC paint, so I was stuck using latex on wood. Wood and latex paint are NOT the best of friends, and the finish can have a bit of tack. The sticky, tackiness goes away after a while, but it can be annoying at first. I prefer the look of an oil enamel on wood, but the latex is more environmentally friendly.

I was disappointed with the brown latex finish, but as it's cured, it has grown on me. My husband picked out the color and really likes the finish. I'm just glad he now has a bowl on a table to keep his stuff tidy.

Race 12: March 20 - Germantown Half Marathon in Memphis

With Lady after the Germantown Half Marathon

I forgot to write about this race and race 13. So much has been going on in our lives that it

just slipped my mind.

My hubby eating Memphis barbecue the night before the race

This was a fun race for me. My husband, our dog, and I camped out at a state park in the Memphis area the night before. It was a beautiful place to camp, and I was thrilled that my husband could be there for this race.

The race start - aren't the trees beautiful?!

The race was a modified out-and-back course. It ran through a neighborhood, where the residents sat outside in their yards to cheer us on. This makes any race better! There was even a little girl dressed up in a princess costume cheering us on. :-)

Like most races, I ran with complete strangers who quickly became friends. There's something about traveling over 13 miles together on foot that just brings people together! Only at the final stretch did we breakaway from each other to finish.

At the final stretch -- we all broke away and finished at our own speed.

At the end of the race, my husband and dog ran beside me as I finished. I love how supportive my husband is! After I cooled down a bit and ate some bananas, we went downtown to eat brunch at a restaurant with a dog-friendly patio. We then strolled around downtown, and walked to the park at the riverfront. Lovely!

The three of us after the race.

A DIY upholstered ottoman

Our new ottoman. Ignore the mess in the background--we are still unpacking!

As I’ve stated before, I’ve been making a lot of furniture and décor for our new house. One of the things I really wanted was a storage ottoman for the living room. I wanted a replacement for our coffee table after I turned it into a bench (more on that later). But when I searched for an ottoman, I couldn’t find one I like for a price that I thought was reasonable. So, I decided to make it myself.

Here are the steps I took when making our new ottoman. This is not a tutorial per

se, but just a list of the steps I took to make our ottoman.

Step 1: Look online for inspiration pieces.

I scoured the internet for inspiration ottomans. I looked at all of my regular sites: West Elm, Z Gallerie, Crate & Barrel, Jonathan Adler, and Pottery Barn. I then searched through all of the ottomans at AllModern.com. Finding the perfect inspiration was hard, but I finally found one that I loved.

This is the inspiration piece--from AllModern.com

Step 2: Put the inspiration picture on Pinterest.com

I had to put the picture of the inspiration on my Future DIY pinterest.com board. This kept me accountable—I couldn’t procrastinate too long knowing it was posted for all to see. Granted, it sat on my DIY board for over 5 weeks... It might still be sitting on that board if it hadn't been for the Pinterest challenge hosted by Young House Love, Bower Power, Ana White, and House of Earnest. Even though I'm not sure it really qualifies for the challenge (does it count if I pinned it myself?), this challenge still lit a fire under my rear, so to speak. It got me building and blogging.

Step 3: Decide on the size

I used the measurements of the inspiration piece as a starting point. But since I had specific items that I wanted stored (e.g., my husband’s RockBand accessories), I put the items in a pile and measured them. Using the sizes of the items to be stored, I found my minimum measurements. I then added 2 inches to both the length and width so I could be certain that there would be ample storage.

Step 4: Build a box

Building an ottoman really isn’t too hard. Basically, you build an open box using your measurements. I used 3/4" plywood to create my box and lid. It’s pretty logical and self-explanatory. I cut the plywood to measure and used kreg screws and lots of glue to hold all of it together.

Step 5: Build a lid

If you don’t care about the height of the lid, I suggest just using a flat lid that rests on top of the box portion. This is the easiest way. And, since I like to complicate things, this is not the way I chose to do our ottoman. I chose to have a tall lid that is 4 inches high. This means I had to cut 4 extra pieces of plywood. But I love the way it looks, and think the added effort was worth it. If you plan on tufting the lid, drill your holes now.

Step 6: Add the legs before you upholster

I just used scrap 2x2 pieces as legs. Since I was planning on lining the inside of the ottoman, I just screwed the legs to the box from the inside. Easy, peasy.

Step 7: Upholster

Upholstering the ottoman required quite a bit of sewing. I used a separate piece of fabric for each surface, and stitched them together using my sewing machine. For the lid, I used some single welt cording that I made by cutting the fabric on the bias and sewing it around some cord. (Because I’m cheap, I re-used the free cording that Lowe’s gives you to tie your trunk shut.)

The body of the ottoman after upholstering, before lining.

Step 8: Tuft

I used a button maker to make covered 7/8” cover buttons. Using these buttons and heavy duty upholstery thread, I tufted 8 spots on the top of the ottoman lid. This step isn’t necessary, but it definitely makes the piece look a bit more professional and a bit less DIY.

A view from the top -- it shows some of the tufting.

I love the end result. It wasn’t very expensive, and it houses my husband’s belongings perfectly!

Here’s the breakdown of the costs:

3/4” plywood (I used purebond, so it was a bit pricey) $41.00

2x2 legs – they were made from scrap $ 0.00

Spray paint for legs – leftover from another project $ 0.00

Fabric – 2 yards on sale at Hancocks $18.00

Buttons $3.00

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Approximate total $62.00

Lupus and pain scales

When you tell your doctor that you are experiencing pain, the doctor often asks what type of pain you are feeling? Sharp pain? Stabbing pain? Dull pain? But the problem with lupus is that the answer can be all of the above. You can feel a dull ache in your joints while resting, but an intense, sharp pain when you try to bend them.

And the answer is also complex when the doctor asks, "On a scale of 1-10, how is your pain?" Different areas of the body experience different levels of pain. And as a lupus patient, you live with almost constant pain during flares. So, you start to get used to pain. And as your pain threshold grows, your pain number can decrease despite no change in actual pain levels.

When I'm stressed, my pain levels fluctuate so dramatically. This makes it so hard to plan activities and to plan projects. And not being able to plan projects makes the stress levels increase. It's very cyclical.

Anyhow, this pain has made remodeling and building difficult. In the last 3 months, I've not accomplished as much around our new-to-us house as I have planned. We have a huge list of to-dos, but haven't made as large of a dent in it as I'd like. But we have made a dent, and I'm thankful for that. We have had our wood floors refinished. One of our bathrooms has been remodeled, although the contractors didn't do a very good job and we're going to have to redo it. I have made a beautiful upholstered bed and tufted headboard for our bedroom, a new rustic & modern dining table, an upholstered storage ottoman, a tilt-out garbage bin, a liquor cabinet, a side table, and refinished two chairs for our den. I still have to finish a daybed, chairs for the dining table, a bench for the dining table, a laundry basket dresser, a shoe dresser, and two small square ottomans for in front of the daybed. The to-do list just seems so large! I just hope it's not too cold of a winter as the cold makes the pain worse! I just have to remind myself that I need to suck it up and deal with it :-)

No races right now

I haven't be able to run any races in a while because too many other things are going on in my life.

First, my blood pressure has been too high, and my Dr. doesn't want me to stroke out while I run. So, she told me not to run until we can figure out if my lupus is hurting my kidneys, and until we can get my numbers down. Luckily, it's slowly getting lower, and will hopefully be back to normal soon. I can't wait to get clearance to run again!

Second, my husband and I just bought a house. It was a foreclosure, and it needed a lot of work. We've been using our spare money (a.k.a., my racing fund) to renovate and furnish our new place. Working on our house has been a physical drain. With the stress and physical activity, I feel like I'm in a constant flare-up. It's really hard to hold a saw steady when your finger joints are swollen and inflamed.

Third, any extra money we have that hasn't gone into the house is being saved so we can visit my grandparents. My grandfather has inoperable, un-treatable pancreatic cancer. I want to spend as much time as possible with him before he leaves this world for a better place.

With these three interrupting factors, my racing has been put aside for a few months. In a couple of months, I should start again. But for now, there are other things that need my attention.

Race 11: February 27 – Cowtown Marathon

On February 25, my husband and I flew to DFW for the Cowtown Marathon in Fort Worth. His mother and stepfather came to meet us at the airport, and drove us to their house in Fort Worth. Arriving two days before the race gave us time to hang out with friends, and catch up with family, which was lovely.

Saturday, my mother-in-law enjoyed a day of exploring different eateries in Fort Worth. I enjoyed a delicious lunch of a chicken salad croissant, cake, and gelato. I was having a wonderful time with my mother-in-law, when my head started to throb and my lupus medicine began to churn in my stomach. I asked if we could call it a day, and we went back to their house. There, I spent the rest of the day and night terribly sick. I couldn’t keep down any food. I was cold and clammy. I ached all over.

When Sunday morning came, I debated running the marathon. But our friend Derek came down from Tulsa to run it with me. And I couldn’t bear with the idea of paying $85 for a race without completing it. Therefore, I decided to run and, if needed, walk the race.

We started off at a good pace, and Derek and I chatted—catching up on our various life events. I still ached, but I was having fun. We ran through downtown Fort Worth, and the course was nice and shady. Our pace was easy enough for periodic text messages and phone calls to and from our family members (my parents drove up from Houston to cheer us on).

At mile 13, my husband, the best man from our wedding, and my in-laws were waiting in front of a friend’s house, ringing cowbells and cheering us on. We stopped, briefly. And my husband gave me some medicine for my aching joints. He also told me where my parents were (they hadn’t quite arrived at the city by this point).

At mile 19, my husband, parents, and in-laws met us. By this point, I was feeling weak and extremely achy. I stopped and talked with my parents for a bit. I told Derek to run on without me. He protested, but eventually I convinced him. My parents and husband walked with me a little bit, and then they left to meet me at the finish.

At this time, the course was getting very sunny. The sun is like kryptonite for a person with lupus, and I quickly felt what little energy I had fading. But God sent me an angel in the form of another runner, who had stopped to walk. I finished my last 5 miles with an older gentleman whose name I can no longer remember. We walked those final miles, chatting about our families, jobs, and travels. He encouraged me, and I did the same for him. This man, whose personality was so much like my father’s, made sure I finished what I started. He even encouraged me to run over the finish line, despite our 6+ hour finishing time.

I’ve had better and faster races, but I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud of finishing a race. I could have easily quit, and used my lupus as an excuse. But I didn’t let my upset stomach, aching joints, or dwindling energy stand in my way. Lupus may have slowed me down, but it didn’t drive me to quit!

Race 10: November 21 - Tulsa, Oklahoma

I've been procrastinating writing about this race. This was by far the worst race I've ever been to. It was a horrible, gut-wrenching experience. At this race, I saw a young man die.

I was shortly behind the 27 year old guy when he collapsed. When I saw confusion, I sped up and reached the man just as a cardiac nurse was starting chest compressions. I was just one of many racers who stopped to help and offered to take over when the nurse tired, which she never did. She was amazing. For a full 6 minutes, she performed CPR. I just sat, helpless, feeling for his femoral pulse. His pulse was at best, thready and weak, at worst, nonexistent. The only air that came out of him was agonal breathing.

After a couple of minutes of compressions, we wondered where in the world the EMTs could be with the AED, so I sprinted down to a police officer that I had seen. When I asked him if he knew where the closest AED was, he gave me no verbal answer. Nor did he seem to care that there was a runner who cardiac arrested. He just grunted in the direction of the distant-sounding ambulance sirens.

Frustrated, I sprinted back to a medical tent. Again, this was useless. While the medical volunteers at least seemed genuinely concerned, they said that there were no AEDs on the course. I was shocked to hear this since a runner had previously passed away during this race.

When I made it back to the man, the nurse was still performing compressions. She was intense, concentrating on trying to keep this young guy (a kid in my 30+ mind) alive. Shortly after I returned, a race official pulled up on a golf cart. He asked if any of us knew the man. None of us did. The only thing that we knew was that his first name was Marcus--it was printed on his bib. The official seemed confused when we runners explained to him that Marcus was not carrying any keys and no longer had his bag claim tag attached to his bib, so it was logical to assume that he checked a bag at the bag check tent. We explained to the official that the bag would contain Marcus's personal items. But, again, the official just looked confused and stood staring at us for way too long.

By the time the ambulance reached Marcus, the four minute window for the best response to the AED had elapsed by two full minutes. The EMTs took over compressions and hooked the man up to the AED, but it was to no avail. He was never revived. And my heart broke as they took him away because I knew he would soon be pronounced dead.

After Marcus was loaded into the ambulance and taken to a nearby hospital, the nurse (whose name I unfortunately forgot) and I walked together for a mile. She was an amazing person, and she, too, was disappointed in the emergency response time. After a mile of walking and talking, we fell into silence. Then we went our own ways. She decided to run to the finish line (where, incidentally, she greeted me with a hug when I finished). And I decided to call my mother and cry.

I was just so upset with the race situation and needed to talk to someone about why I never want to run in Tulsa again. The medical tents were not well stocked, race officials were clueless, and the police monitoring the course were rude and not helpful.

(In case you're interested in Marcus's story, here's an article about his death. http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20101123_12_A1_CUTLIN202598 His family and friends continue to be in my thoughts and prayers.)

Race 9: November 20 - Cotter, AR

The weekend of November 20-21, I had registered for two races: one in Arkansas, one in Oklahoma. Since we knew I would feel exhausted after the Arkansas race, my husband and I agreed that I would drive from St. Louis to Cotter. Then, after the race, he would drive to Tulsa while I rested. And this is how our weekend began. I went to be very early on Friday night so I would be well rested. We got up very, very early—at 1:30 a.m.—and I packed up the car. Steven and the dog both slept as I drove.

There was no traffic, so we arrived very early. After we parked at the school where the packet pickup was, I slept some in the driver’s seat. It was very chilly and humid, so the longer I could stay inside, the better. I waited until the last moment to board the shuttle bus to the start line by the river.

After being bussed to the start, the other runners and I waited in the cold fog to begin. Most of us jumped around and fidgeted to warm our frozen limbs. The few moments before the start were, admittedly, miserable. But once we began, the race was quite pleasant.

The course was an out-and-back on the road on the edge of the White River. As we ran, the mist settled on the river’s surface. It was beautiful—a quiet, peaceful race without any pretense.

Steven, still exhausted, slept in the car during the race. I didn’t want him to meet me at the finish area, so he stayed in the car until I was bussed back to the school. After letting him sleep for a while, I woke him for the post-race lunch. It was a lovely potluck that several race volunteers organized. I fueled up on chicken soup and brownies, and felt refreshed. Then, I did something that I haven’t done in years—I showered in a high school locker room and changed into clean clothes.

After such an early morning and a decent race time (despite a broken toe), I fell sound asleep as Steven drove to Tulsa.

My bloody broken toe

Race 8: November 7--Huntington, WV

The plane crash that killed 37 football players from Marshall University occurred in 1970 (eight years before I was born). Last year marked the 40th anniversary of that tragedy. Therefore, the race directors of the Marshall University Marathon and Half Marathon decided to honor those players during the 2010 race. During a section of the race that went through the grounds of the university, runners carried carnations to honor those who passed in that crash. It was very touching, making this one of the most beautiful races I’ve ever participated in.

This race was also fun. The last 100 yards of the race are run across the football field. As you arrive onto the field, a volunteer passes you a football. You then race to the finish line with your football. Upon scoring your touchdown, you get your medal.

The course was lovely, and, for a small race, had more volunteers and supporters than I expected. The best way to describe this race is to say it was charming and southern. In fact, the refueling options were very small southern town. There were hamburgers and hotdogs aplenty. The potato chip supply was staggering, and there were varieties of Little Debbies that I didn’t even know existed. You could also grab a fried pie and wash it down with your choice of Pepsi product. It was fun to look at the selection of food products, but I was really glad I had packed a lunch at Grandma and Grandpa’s. (I stayed at my grandparents the night before the race since they live less than 3 hours from Huntington, WV.) After eating my prepacked meal in the stands of the football stadium, chatting with some locals, I changed clothes and headed back to my grandparents.

Goals for 2010 reached

I ran 10 half marathons in 10 different states in 2010. The last three I haven't posted about yet. These three include the Marshall University Marathon and half, White River Marathon in Arkansas, and the Route 66 Marathon and half in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Something very tragic happened at the last race, so I just haven't felt like writing about these races yet. In time, I will include them.

In 2010, I also completed 52 books. I enjoyed this goal so much that I'm extending it to this year as well. Except this year I want to read MORE than 52 books.

Race 7: October 17 - Denver, CO

Saturday, October 16, Steven and I woke up before dawn to head to the airport for our flight. We parked, and took the shuttle to the terminal. Surprisingly, we made it to our gate with plenty of time since I refused the full body scan and received a very lengthy and intimate pat down. After sleeping on our flight, we landed in Denver feeling a bit discombobulated. We picked up our rental car, and drove to a small coffee shop downtown for, breakfast, tea (for me) and coffee (for Steven).

After refueling, we went to the race expo to check in and get our race packets and bibs. The expo was a nice size, and we ended up with a lot of freebies. I had fun sampling gels, drinks, and other snacks. (Luckily, I don’t have stomach problems in races!) Steven managed to score two free technical shirts. Gotta love the freebies!

I had to write on the inspiration board at the expo.

Outside the expo

At the expo -- Steven's super fast time!

At the expo -- sporting the Elvis mask

Since UT was playing, as soon as we left the expo went over to the bar at the Hard Rock Café to watch the game. While we were there, six very intoxicated, middle-aged UT fans came in to watch the game, too. And somehow they convinced Steven to do a few shots with him, despite the fact that he had to run 13.1 miles the following day. I wisely stuck with water.

Steven with his fellow UT fans

They kept buying Steven shots to celebrate the game

At the Hard Rock bar

When the game was over, we checked into our hotel and rested before going to dinner at the Cheeky Monk Belgium Beer Café. I had a salad and a three cheese mac ‘n cheese dish. The mac n’ cheese was a little heavy, but I don’t get sick to my stomach when I run. In fact, I feel nauseous if I don’t eat before I run.

At the Cheeky Monk

Unfortunately, the service was really slow, so our meal took over 1.5 hours. We got back to our hotel pretty late, which meant we didn’t sleep as long as I wanted. Morning came a bit too early. But we groggily got up, ate, and walked the mile from our hotel to the race start.

The busy start line

For an inaugural race, it was a lot more crowded with participants than I expected. Steven and I squeezed into our corral and waited to start. Even after the race started, it took over 20 minutes for our corral to reach the start line. With 16,000 runners, it takes a while to start!

Yay! Texans!

One of the bands on the course

We ran a nice pace—slower than I’m used to. Steven is in great shape, but he excels at shorter distances. He can kick my rear in a 5k race. But I have a faster half marathon time than he does. So it was a nice steady race for me—no pain, and plenty of opportunities to take photos.

Steven running

My soul-mate

There weren't many supporters on the course, but these women rocked! They were at every turn!

I have mixed feelings about the race. The course was well designed. Running through the park was lovely, and running downhill to the finish was really nice. But the crowd support was poor for such a large race. And being a Rock ‘N Roll marathon and half, I expected more bands. I was surprised by the long stretches of silence. I was even more surprised that there was no sunscreen at the medical aid tents. We were running at altitude—sunscreen is a must. Even though I liberally applied sunscreen before the race, there was a point where I wanted to reapply because it was sunnier than I expected. So many larger races have sunscreen available. It was a bit ridiculous that this race did not. I think that for the second year of the race, the race directors have a few things to improve. But overall it was a very pleasant race. And I having Steven run it with me made it even better!

Steven finishing the race

Fall health update

I haven’t been updating, but luckily it’s not because my lupus is getting the best of me. It’s because I’ve been busy writing, studying, and trying to stay on top of daily tasks. I still have to sleep more than the average person, and sometimes feel weak and tired. But with the Plaquenil and Imuran, I am so much better than I was. The joint pain is still there, but I’m now used to it and it doesn’t get in my way.

Race 6: June 6—Ann Arbor, MI

With wedding planning--and now a huge pile of thank you notes to write--I haven’t updated this as often as I would like. But with my first race of the fall season tomorrow, I decided I needed to post about my last race.

The Illinois Capitol Building

On June 4, my husband, our dog, and I packed up our car and started the 8 hour drive from St. Louis to Ann Arbor. We took our time driving there because we wanted to stop in Springfield, IL to visit the capitol. We were being tourists for the weekend!

Our trunk was full of camping gear—we were going to stop in Indiana and spend the night in our tent. But we both got too tired before we made it to the state park where we had planned to camp. So it was the iPhone and hotwire.com to the rescue! We found an inexpensive room and stopped for the night.

The next morning, we got up and drove to Michigan. We decided to take a slight detour –we went to Lansing to see Michigan’s capitol. It was pretty, but not nearly as impressive as Illinois’s. We made it to Ann Arbor to the Dexter-Ann Arbor Half Marathon expo with an hour to spare! My husband walked the dog around a grassy field while I went and picked up my runner’s packet. We then had plenty of time to explore Ann Arbor.

The Michigan Capitol Building

Downtown Ann Arbor has several food options with outdoor seating, so we decided to have dinner outside at a Japanese-French fusion café. The food was very interesting and delicious. While sitting and eating, numerous people stopped and asked us about our dog. She had just been to the groomer for a haircut, and so many people told us she looked like a young black fox! She received so much attention that weekend!

Part of our dinner at the Japanese-French cafe

After eating dinner, then dessert (ice cream and cupcakes!), we wandered around downtown and attended an African American Heritage Festival. Again, the dog received a lot of attention—and a hot dog! She was in doggie heaven!

Samoa cupcake

Toasted coconut ice cream

African American Heritage Festival

After a couple of hours, it started to rain, so we decided to go drive to our campsite and set up our tent for the night. When we arrived at the campsite, the park ranger informed us that there was a tornado headed in our direction. She suggested that we find a hotel instead of camping. By this time, the rain was pouring and the campgrounds were all soaked. We agreed that a hotel would be a better option. Once again, the iPhone and hotwire.com rescued us. We found an inexpensive, pet-friendly hotel room, and crashed for the night.

I didn’t sleep well because our darling dog is terrified of storms. She wanted to be as close to me as possible, and her trembling kept me awake. But I did manage to get a few hours rest before I needed to be in Dexter.

Looking tired in our hotel on race morning

On race morning, my husband drove me to the township of Dexter and dropped me off. (He then went back to the hotel to sleep some more!) Shortly after I arrived at the starting line, the race officials announced that the tornado uprooted a tree, and the tree was now blocking the course. We had to wait an extra 30 minutes before starting. This threw a lot of people off because they had already consumed their pre-run energy drinks and bars.

Once the tree was cleared, we all took off. The course was beautiful. We ran alongside a river, which was bursting with water from the storms. The scenery was lush and green—very serene. The only negative about the course was the actual road that we ran on. We ran from Dexter to downtown Ann Arbor, and the road was filled with potholes. I tripped several times, and saw others stumbling in the holes as well. But, overall, this was a lovely course with a surprising number of race supporters.

The sign for the race near the finish line in downtown Ann Arbor

The race ended in downtown Ann Arbor, where the Taste of Ann Arbor Festival was being held. I met my husband near the recovery tents (I had called him when I reached mile 10 to make sure he was awake). After a long run, I went and enjoyed some Indian food at one of the festival tents. Yum!

My medal and race number

Enjoying the Taste of Ann Arbor

Brief update

So, I haven't updated this page in a while. Not for lack of running or because I was too sick to write. But I haven't added to this page because I was too busy getting ready for my wedding. Even though my husband and I have been legally married over a year (we got married at the Justice of the Peace in Richardson, TX), we had planned to have a more traditional ceremony and reception this year. On August 14, 2010, we got married...again. It was a beautiful and fun ceremony. But planning the wedding and making the decorations, bouquets, cupcakes, save-the-date booklets, invitations, and other odds and ends proved to be very time consuming.

Now that the wedding is over, I still have to write thank you notes and find a home for all the wonderful gifts that we received. But now I at least have time to write.

As far as my health is concerned, the Imuran seems to be working well. The only problem is that it does it's job very well--it really suppresses my immune system. This keeps my immune system from attacking my body, but it also keeps my immune system from attacking invading pathogens. This means that anytime I'm around someone sick, I have to be extra careful. And when I was recently around my adorable niece and nephew, I caught a 72 hour stomach bug and a 2 week cold. But it was worth it to play with them!

My most recent half marathon was on June 6 in Ann Arbor, MI. Most places are not race heavy during the summer--the summer is a time for light training. But now that it's cooling off a bit, the fall race season is starting. So far, I'm registered for two races this fall: Denver and Tulsa. I need 2 more to reach my goal of 10 this year (50 races in 5 years equals 10 a year). I think I will be running one in Iowa and possibly one in Arkansas. I'm researching races tonight!