He's A Happy Camper

I haven't blogged much since I got home from the Disneyland Half Marathon Weekend. I still need to do all of my recaps from the expo, the 5K and the half, but my wine consumption has increased lately and I've had trouble blogging when I get home from our nightly Kemah Farms happy hours. I'm starting to think we need to hold AA meetings at the barn instead.

As you all know, I retired my show horse, Bam Bam Rubble. Just wanted to show a few new pictures. He's enjoying his new life which warms my heart.

Happy Friday!

Visitation Rights and The Friends We Have

As you all know, (and by "you all", I mean the 3 people that read my blog *wave*) I made the difficult decision to retire my show horse, Bam Bam Rubble. It's been a rough few weeks getting used to Bam not being at the barn.

I went to visit him today and he looks damn happy! I'm so lucky that his new owners said I could come see him any time. I get visitation rights!

It's really helped me be able to let go just knowing that he's somewhere nearby and I can see him. I found him a home where he would be happy and if they ever do have to get rid of him, I get first right of refusal.

My usual Sunday Breakfast Club (another group for whom I am truly thankful - more on my thankfulness in a minute...) decided we should take a little road trip after breakfast to go see him.

Sunday Breakfast Club - not pictured is me
cuz I'm the photographer

He's finally out with the rest of the herd and looks really happy. In fact, he looks so happy that he barely gave us the time of day. Sheesh, Bam Bam, nice to see you, too!

He's already found a new BFF. His name his Parker and apparently, BBR is attached to him like glue. It's pretty cute. And he looks really happy having an entire herd of horses to play with.

Parker with BBR

Could they be any cuter?

It was bitter sweet going to see him today. I'm thrilled that he seems very relaxed and happy but a little sad that he didn't really seem to care that we came to visit. I suppose that's a little like what moms feel when they send their kids off to college and they would rather hang out with their friends than see their parents.

I miss him, but I know I found the right place for him.

In other news, I need to take a minute to really appreciate some of the people in my life. I'm currently trying to scrounge up enough money to buy my possible new show horse. I don't want to jinx anything, so I don't want to blog about him until it's a done deal, but I was telling my friend, JS (I'm not sure how people feel about being named in a blog so I will go with initials), about him and just mentioned that my source of funds was a little rocky and that I wasn't going to get excited about anything until everything was a done deal. She flat out, without any hesitation, offered to loan me the money.

Now, that certainly wasn't my intent when I told her, I just get really leery of counting chickens before they hatch, so I mentioned that until the funds were raised and I had a set of clean x-rays from a pre-purchase exam, I won't let myself get too excited (much to the dismay of my trainer who is jumping out of her skin with excitement at the idea of me owning this horse.)

And I would be really remiss if I didn't mention my friend, DP, who has listened to me whine and cry about various things in my life for the last few months - including some serious heartbreak.

She's also been a huge supporter of my running. Not only fiscally, but I couldn't ask for a better cheer leader. She's donated a huge sum of money to my fund raising for Chances For Children and she loves being signed up for runner tracking. I know if I ever needed anything, she would be there- no questions asked. I really don't think she has any idea how wonderful she is and how much I've gained just by having her in my life (even if she does live on the other side of the country!)

Yeah, yeah, I know I'm slow and shouldn't have felt
 like I was dying, but baby steps, right?

In my defense, I had barely run for the
 3 weeks prior to this race...

I'm really lucky to have such amazing friends. Sometimes, things seem so hard. We get hurt or get our hearts broken and other bad things and we forget to be thankful for the great things that we do have. A lot of sad things have happened in the last year and a half and I'm so grateful to have people in my life that love and support me.

I think I should blog about that stuff more. I'm luckier than most when it comes to friends and family, and I should recognize them more. Maybe I should make that a regular blogging topic...

Happy Sunday. :)

I Heart New York!

I received my charity invitation for the New York City Marathon!

I'm so excited now! I can't wait to see NYC in the fall. The few times I've been to the Big Apple, it's been in the summer, so I can't wait to see the fall colors in Central Park.

I'm assuming all of this training in the scorching heat will really pay off when we get to NYC in November. I don't even care about all of the drama associated with the baggage check debacle. Woot! I'm going to run NYC!

My friend, Amber, also enabled me to purchase new red Doc Martens for the occasion. I haven't purchased them yet, but I will. Oh, yes, I will. I'm so excited the Docs are back in style. Does that make me a grunge nerd? I don't care. I still want them.

Now I just need to look cute in skinny jeans to complete my ensemble. It won't be cold in Phoenix, yet, so I also need to find a cute coat. Maybe red to match?

Better go run some more! 10 mile group run in the morning. I'm ready!

Moving Along... Life Improvement

While I'm a little Disneyed out, I'm sad to be going home. Right now, I'm sitting at John Wayne airport in SoCal waiting for my flight.

Over all, we had a really fun time. I finally got my PR after more than a year and a half of races, which was fabulous!

I've been traveling A LOT since I started running races, not to mention a few fun trips thrown in like spending 8 days in New York last summer and there's a consistent feeling of anxiety that plagues me every time I head home.

I think it's safe to assume that if you suffer from anxiety like I do and your anxiety subsides every time you leave town, then maybe some life changes need to happen.

First, I'm thinking I need to learn to be more present. I'm really bad at getting myself stuck in the past or fretting about the future. One day at a time, right? Things just tend to pile on and I start to get overwhelmed instead of just breaking things down into smaller increments.

Second, I'm without animals for the first time in my life. My dog and cat both passed away in the last year an a half and I had to retire Bam Bam, the wonder pony, which was not only really upsetting and depressing, but also came with a new set of worries as I had to let go of him and trust that he would be happy.

I haven't gone searching for new house pets, yet, because I worry about the expense. Not to mention that I'm now in the market for a new show horse and that ain't cheap!

Third, I think there's something to be said for the feeling of well being that comes with being on love. Maybe my brain is still in the Disney sphere of fairy tale realities, but I'm happy when I have someone special in my life.

I've lived on my own for most of my adult life, so settling down with someone would definitely be a change of pace for me. But I think I would be happier. But you never know, break ups are horrible, too. I'm assuming it is worth the risk, or Match.com wouldn't have so much business. Maybe having someone beside you at night is worth all of the drama to find "the one".

The trick is actually taking the risk, which I can make into the scariest thing on the planet. But I think it's time to put on my big girl panties and stop being such a chicken.

Fourth, I need some organization. And like everything else, if I break it down into smaller increments, it won't be so overwhelming. I'm constantly running around from work to the barn to the gym, etc, and it's amazing I get anywhere with my head still attached.

I would hate to have to cut into my blog reading or Pinterest obsession but sacrifices need to be made.

Maybe by blogging about it, I can get the job done. What do you think? I welcome any and all advice. I'm a moron when it comes to dating and my house is a disaster. Someone help me!

Life's too short to be unhappy or stressed. I need to make some changes. Stay tuned for updates. The next time you hear from me, I will be home!

By the way, according to the Disney personality test, I'm most like Lady from Lady and The Tramp. Hrrmph. I was hoping for Belle or Ariel. I would be a great Disney girl!

Being in Love (your brain at Disney)

First of all, you'd think Blogger would have come up with a better app by now. It doesn't matter if you are using the iPad, iPhone, or Android, the app blows. I suppose it's better than nothing, but it's not great. I really wish I could control the placement of photos and add captions, but *siiiiiigh*, such things are not to be. I could have dragged my laptop on this trip, like any real blogger would do, but A.) I'm lazy and B.) I don't know if posting pictures of medals and my horse counts as really blogging.... (I would insert a smart assy ecard here or something, BUT I CAN'T because I can't put pictures where I want them, nor can I use italics, so I went with ALL CAPS.)

Annnnnyway... The parks don't open until 10 this morning, so I'm bored out of my mind while the rest of my family is snoozing away. I regularly get up at 5, so sleeping until 6:30 feels late.

I don't know how I survived pre-smart phone. I used to have to carry books to entertain myself. Sheesh.

Where was I going with my rambles about nothing? Ah yes, being in love, otherwise known as being Disneyfied.

Seriously, there's something about being at a Disney park that makes me feel all ooey and gooey about wanting to be in love. Now I'm not typically an ooey gooey type of person. But Disney will do that to you.

And Pinterest. Effing Pinterest will make make you feel like the biggest loser ever with all of its cutesy engagement and wedding photos. Damn you, Pinterest, for making me want a country chic barn wedding after I decided that eloping to Vegas was perfectly acceptable!

Despite how this post sounds, I'm actually not a bitter single lady. Really, I'm not. But put me in the midst of all of the hand holding and smooching that happens at Disneyland and I get all wistful and wishing I was one of those people.

And yeah, when I do fall, I get all ooey and gooey, just like everyone else. In fact, maybe I'm worse. I become one of those people I would like to smack. I'm obnoxious when I'm in love, but it's fun. And I think I'm ready to try again, because Pinterest and Disney have convinced me that love conquers all!! (Nevermind, the possible heartbreak. We don't pay attention to those things here at Disney!)

If you're not on Pinterest, stay away. Far, far away. It will suck up HOURS of your life. And make you start planning country weddings you never wanted until you saw it pinned. You've been warned.

A PR? Yes, please!

FINALLY! Finally, I got a new PR. Okay, so I'm still slow, but it's new personal record for moi. I even broke into the 2:30s with a time of 2:39. My previous PR was 2:45 and I did that in January 2011. It only took 13 half marathons to get the job done. (and maybe some actual training. Who knew?)

A PR AT THE HAPPIEST RACE ON EARTH! Woooooot!

All of this marathon training is definitely paying off. Not to mention the 15 or so pounds I've dropped since May. It makes a huge difference.

I'm still at the land of the mouse for today and tomorrow. I'm heading home Wednesday and I will have a full recap of the expo, 5K, and Half Marathon for you when I get back!

Howdy! From the Happiest Place, er Race, On Earth!

Just a quick hello from Disneyland! Having a great time.

The 5K was this morning and the Half is tomorrow. So far, I've been really smart and I'm not over doing it, but I did manage to hurt my back, so I'm a little concerned about tomorrow.

I've spent the day napping and stretching so that I do not aggravate the pain in my back and that seems to be helping.

Still hoping for a PR tomorrow, but I'm not going to be broken hearted if I don't get one. With all of the Bam Bam drama, I've hardly run and now my back is tweaked.

The good thing is, you can't help but have fun at a Disney Race.

Here's a few pics so far...