Halloween

I'd like to tell you all about my Halloween. Yes, I know it was almost a week ago, but let's face it -- that's just how I roll.

I had a super-fun holiday: I made caramel apples, went to the ward trunk-or-treat, visited with friends, and went to bed at 10:30.

But before all that, I ran my first half-marathon! See, I told you I would...

I heard about the Halloween Half on Facebook a couple of months ago. I'd been preparing for a race in November, but thought this one looked like SO much fun. I mean, you all know how much I love Halloween. I couldn't resist the opportunity to do something awesome while looking completely ridiculous...I mean, more than I usually do when I run.

My friend Scott wanted to run with me, so we went as Peter Pan and Tinkerbell -- a far cry from my originally-intended biker chick costume, but who wants to run that far in leather chaps? Yikes!




The race was awesome. There were over 2500 runners, so it was super-packed, but almost everyone was dressed up. It was so much fun. It was all downhill, which in some ways made it easier, but for a couple of days following the race I walked like an 80-year-old woman. I'd never run that far before, so I was happy just to finish...but I know I can do it faster. And I'm going to prove it as soon as I can.

How did you spend your Halloween?

Hello Again!

Well, I’m back. Back to life, back to blogging, back to my normal self again….I think. The summer was crazy and full of changes – some of them awesome, and some I hope never to endure again – but I feel like I’m finally catching my breath. And now I’ve got a lot of catching up to do.

I’ll start with the kitchen chairs.

Remember those ugly brown things I showed you a few months ago? Well, I’ve been busy gluing, carving, drilling, sanding, and painting, and now they look beautiful and brand new! Oh, how I love my Dremel, my cordless drill, and my friend Mr. palm sander.

And oh, how I love my new old chairs.

My table, too, received a very fortunate makeover. This little guy was a hand-me-down from someone in my parents’ ward. It used to be oak-colored with a white laminate top. Not very cute. But now? Now I gaze adoringly at it, my eyes dewy, whenever I enter my kitchen. I love it.

Don’t you?

And as an extra treat, here are some cake stands my sister and I made for her upcoming wedding reception:

You like?

Pooped but Proud

I did something awesome today, guys -- something I've always wanted to do but wasn't sure I could.

I ran the Provo Riverwoods 10-miler. 10 MILES! I've never run that far before!

I feel like the queen of the world.

Half-marathon, anyone?

Perhaps the best part of this is that I did it with my cute friend Andrea B. I told her about a week ago that I was chickening out and wasn't going to run, but she talked me back into it.....then using my unrivaled powers of persuasion, I convinced her to join me. We were both massively intimidated by the prospect of completing a 10-mile race, but we make good cheerleaders for one another.

This morning I WAAAAYYY overslept and it was pouring rain when Andrea came to get me. That almost did us in.

But we're not sissies. So we went for it.



And look how happy we are.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go ice my knees and sleep for a week.

Progress

I've had a project haunting me for months. I'm not sure what compelled me to take it on in the first place -- I guess I'm not happy without at least a half-dozen things to work on -- but now it's time to get a move on. It's as though I've left four old friends stranded in the kitchen, desperate for attention since October. Today, we played for the entire afternoon.



I can't wait to show you when they're done!

Fabulous Friday

Today I....

....embroidered a whole bunch of bags for tomorrow's primary activity....




....then spent the rest of the day with this girl, who's going on a mission to Brazil!




Together, we went here.....



Where, after an agonizing two-and-a-half-month wait, I finally got this...


Then we watched a movie and ate a whole bunch of these:



Today was a great day.

This is really, really gross...

We discovered recently that we have some (most unwelcome) visitors in our apartment -- termites. Yuck! And, what first seemed to be a minor problem now threatens to be quite the ordeal; we've got at least 3 dozen holes in our bathroom wall, and multiple others in the bedroom, office, and living room (thanks in part to Colby, who spent a little too much time obsessively picking at the paint where it was caving in). Some of the holes are huge and you can see the little track marks through the sheet rock. I am so grossed out. If our rent wasn't so cheap I'd probably want to move. Or torch the place. Or both. The Orkin man's coming back on Tuesday to send those little buggers to their poison-y termite graves. Then my heebie-jeebies will go away, and I won't have to drink so much to keep myself calm.

Looking Up

Despite my best efforts (or so I thought), I've been kind of a downer lately. I don't think I realized it until last night when my sister, via Facebook chat, said, "Rachel, has anything good happened lately?"

Oh, how embarrassing.

Let me apologize, then, to anyone who's seen me in my figurative sackcloth-and-ashes. Life's crazy and complicated, but it's not that bad. Actually, there are lots of good things going on:

• The sun is out again.
• I'm going to Boise this weekend.
• I found two great pairs of pants at the mall on Saturday...and got them for $15 each.
• Someone left a plate of warm cookies on our doorstep last night.
• I got a perfect score on my "secret shop" at work last week, and now I get $100 (hello, new running shoes!).
• I paid off a loan last week.
• Last night I played my piano for over an hour.
• Tonight is Zumba night!

There, that feels better; I'll try not to let my personal raincloud get out of control anymore.

What good things have happened to you lately?