Life on the Runn...

This long weekend has been a reminder of how blessed I am, of how very much I have to be thankful for.  My five stress-free days included time with family and friends, lots of working out, and more laughing (and food!) than my stomach could handle.   I even squeezed in a bit of cleaning and holiday decorating.   I am so lucky to have the family I have.   Be it the family I was born into or the family I joined when Brian and I got married, I am surrounded by wonderful people who love me and who I love dearly!  The Turkey Trot 8K with my Run Buddy I will never stop being grateful for this woman!  Thanks to Jenna, I've run more than I ever thought I would be running again, I've pushed myself,  and I've achieved awesome goals.  The bond we have as cousins and fellow runners is a gift I hold very near and dear to my heart!  It wasn't as cold as other runs have been, but it was our first rainy run. These cinnamon rolls were a nice reward at the finish

In light of the tragedy the befell the people of Paris Friday evening, it's impossible not to put everything into perspective.  I am so very luck to live the life I do, to feel safe and secure and loved. That I will never stop appreciating.  And despite the sadness the encompassed the world, it was a wonderful fall weekend in Southeaster Wisconsin, an absolutely perfect one. After another draining work week (they seem to be the standard these days), it was off to Kenosha. Being that the West football team played at Indian Trail High School, my final teaching home during my Kenosha Unified School District tenure, and being that my bestie lives and still teaches in Kenosha, I thought it would be a fantastic to travel south.  Brian and I joined Katie and her husband, Ryan, for dinner and drinks.  It was so wonderful to see my dear, dear friend, to catch up, to laugh about that absurdity of day-to-day life as teachers, to feel an ache in my side and in my cheeks from laughing so muc

On this day in 1984 I relinquished my relatively short-lived title of Only Child, and aside from the infrequent (yes, I'm being facetious) jest of the merits of having remained one, I haven't looked back.   I cannot pinpoint the exact moment when I recognized the privilege that having a sibling is, but I have never forgotten it.  My brother was my very first friend and he remains the closest and best friend I'll ever have, and I have some really great friends.  My brother knows me better than any other person; he knows how to push my buttons, how to make me laugh, how to convince me to do things I'm afraid of, and he never lets me forget a poor choice, a good story, or a moment when I got him in trouble.   Having a sibling truly is having a friend who never has to go home. There was always someone to play school with, someone to have my back and cover for me, someone to be right in the mix with me.  And even as we grow older and life takes us different places -

Mike and Christina, our wonderful cousins and fellow Badgers, invited us to the Halloween game several weeks ago.  Since we had also hoped to get to a game with our friends Billy and Courtney, we made a plan for all six of us to enjoy one Saturday of Badger fun.  We envisioned a cool but comfortable fall day, sunshine, drinks, lots of cheering, you know, a perfect day at Camp Randall.  The weather had other plans. Truthfully, though, aside from the mist that persisted all darn day, we had no complaints.  It wasn't cold, the game was an easy one to watch (way to dominate, Bucky!!), and the company was excellent. We started our day at the Big 10 for a few drinks as we waited for Mike and Christina to arrive.  Then we made our way to the game, where we had plenty of time to catch up on the comings and goings of everyone's lives, share Camp Randall memories, laugh uncontrollably, and sing along to all our favorite game day songs. at Jordan's Big 10 most of our crew