Life on the Runn...

Monday mornings are never fun, not for anyone, but this Monday morning was especially draining, and that was before the work day even commenced.  After a weekend away, a weekend in one of my favorite places with my favorite of all people, it's hard to get back to the grind of day-to-day, not-so-normal-anymore life. I didn't get enough sleep last night, and I started up the ol' fly-back-and-forth-to-Colorado grind. The more I thought about it this morning, though, the more I realized one thing: one more Monday means one less Monday until I get to have another fabulous weekend like the I one had this past weekend. This has been one of the most stressful personal and professional stretches of my life, and we're only a month into the school year.  Training for a half-marathon, planning new curriculum, selling a house, and navigating the ins and outs of a 'bi-costal' marriage take a lot out of a girl.  Nonetheless, I spent the first stretch of time at my western ...

Saturday marked year four for Team Zoe, which was created by our cousins Ed and Kaleena. honors their brave little Zoe, who was born with a rare condition called Heterotaxy Syndrome. For my run buddy, my cousin Jenna, and me, it marked the second year we decided to tackle the 8K. The heart of Team Zoe Ed, Kaleena, Jayce, and Zoe  I spent the better part of the day before worrying about the weather - it rained nearly all day and I thought we might be braving our first in-the-rain run. I was glad to see the sun was shining when I woke up Saturday morning, but I was surprised to find I could see my breath while waiting for the bus.  We were good planners and didn't want to be rushing to the start line or waiting for busses, so we met around 8:15am.  We expected the weather would warm up a bit, but we landed up staying in our layers.  Once we got to the meeting place, we gathered our purple ribbons, beads, and bandaids for our Team Zoe shirts.  We chatted, jum...

They say summer is over, and in a family full of teachers, few would disagree.  This past weekend, however, the Runnells family squeezed a bit more summer out of Wisconsin -- and from what I hear, there wasn't much to be had in the past three months, so good for us! On Saturday, after Brian and I got some good climbing in and visited with some pals at Adventure Rock, we headed to Miller  Park to join the Runnells family for the annual Brewers outing.  This year, being that we weren't sure of our schedule when it was decision time, we opted not to get tickets for the game, but we were all in for the tailgate.  The usual suspects were there -- almost all of the cousins, the debates over who is the #1 grandchild, the blonde brownies, and the butter horns -- and even Grandpa decided to join in on the fun.  We chatted, we grilled, we drank, we laughed, and when it was game time, Brian and I scooped up Grandpa and headed out. I definitely wouldn't have minded spendi...

This year is a unique one when it comes to the world of being Mrs. R., high school English teacher. When I joined the West staff, I was assigned English 10 as one of the courses I would teach. Fast-forward, and those 10th graders have become 12th graders.  Coincidentally, I also teach 12th grade, so a good number of the names on my roster are familiar...my 10th grade babies have become 12th grade big kids, and they're all mine again.      It's especially nice that on Teacher Recognition Night for Waukesha West, I was asked to wear the jersey of one of my seniors who was also once one of my sophomores.  And while West plays my alma mater, Mukwonago, this evening, I'm not ashamed to say that I hope the Wolverines walk away with the "W."  There is a lot to be proud of here in the 'Shaw!!  #82 - coincidence?! Notice my beloved Bucky in the background :) 

To steal a few lines from one of our favorites, John Mayer:  Now it's September; the engine's started You're empty-handed and heavy-hearted But just remember on the way home (ooh ooh ooh) That you were never meant to feel alone It takes a little while, but you'd be fine Another good time coming down the line This song, "On the Way Home," has become a bit of an anthem for us.   So this journey, the one I cannot wait to end, began in February of 2013, when Brian looked into an internship-to-employment opportunity with a company in Boulder.  As long as I have known him, and it has been nearly 20 years (holy cow!!), he has loved the mountains and climbing. Considering that, and considering the fact that he wanted nothing more than to move there when he was 17, there was no way I could suggest he do anything but take the internship, and that was what he did. At the time, the thought of him living away from home for an entire month was daunt...

The joy of weekends, well life, in Colorado is that the mountains and climbing are never far away.  In fact, it's rare when the entirety of a weekend isn't spent hiking and/or climbing.  Being that this past weekend was also Brian's birthday weekend, some time in the Park was a must.  It is, after all, his favorite place.  Earlier in the week, some pals from home, Billy and Andrew, joined us in Colorado.  We tried to pack in as much as the greater Boulder area has to offer in the few days Billy was in town (Andrew is sticking around a bit longer); Brian didn't waste any time showing our guests around, and on Tuesday evening, their first night in town, we went to the Park.  Rounding off the whole experience was the chance to chat with a RMNP legend and professional climber.  I think the guys enjoyed day one.  The next few days required less hiking - we went to climbing gyms - but involved a lot of climbing.  I was sore every day and c...

When talk first began of taking a long-weekend trip to Utah, it seemed in the oh-so-very-distant future, but as it is with summer, time moves all too quickly and before we knew it, Psicobloc Masters Series weekend was upon us. "What is Psicobloc?" you ask.  Well, it's a rather unique competitive climbing event, one that involves bouldering on a 55 foot wall above a body of water to reach the top as quickly as possible. Though the concept of deepwater soloing is something typically reserved for places like Mallorca, Spain, the founders of this event made use of the ski jumping pool at the Utah Olympic Park and brought it to the US last year.  Brian and I were unable to attend the inaugural competition as we were celebrating our friend Matt's wedding back in Wisconsin, but this year, we were all in! Brian and I arrived in Park City on Wednesday evening, much later than anticipated thanks to an unexplained delayed departure from DIA.  We spent longer on the runw...