Finally a Princess

An early morning with the best friends ever...

19,000 of the finest people on the planet...

13.1 miles of roads, Disney characters and music...

My first official half marathon and a personal goal of finishing under two hours and twenty minutes...

And I ended up with this. It was AWESOME!!

Marketing magic

Ah the marketing magic of Disney!

Today we hit the Princess expo. It started off with both Pammy and I getting dusted with fairy dust and wishes that all of our dreams come true. I'm trying to remember what all of my dreams are. Not my sleeping type dreams, those I remember easily because they are somewhat disturbing. I'm talking about those OTHER type of dreams. Those dream ideas before you decide to make them goals. I dwelled on this super deep thought for a whopping thirty seconds before we stumbled into full SHOPPING mode!

If I ever start a business, I'm going to hire disney to do my marketing. Seriously.

How is it that I walked into the expo and my somewhat level headed brain fell out of my head?? Yep, I went into a princess buying frenzy. Grown women everywhere were shopping like they'd never been let out of the house before. Including me. How much princess stuff does a person need? Apparently I needed a lot.

A Dooney bag and four shirts later I finally stopped.

I ALMOST feel sorry for all of you that are going to have to look at me being all "princess-ed" out for the next who knows how long!

On the flip side, I'm totally excited to do this race! (maybe that explains all the shopping?-Mr P will be so thrilled to hear this) Let's do this!!

It's a bird, it's a plane, no, wait. It's a bird....

So- the Princess Half Marathon (it's so important that I felt the need to capitalize all the words) is coming up.  Very quickly.  Like every first time half marathoner, I've been training.  Yep-yep, lots of training going on around here. (did you read that coach?)  But more importantly, I've finally decided what to wear.  That's soooo much more important than logging runs-right?? right??

Since it's Disney, everyone and their crossed eyed cousin dresses up for this thing.  Like Princesses with ball gowns and Prince Charming's with leggings and the frock things they wear.

I feel that if I didn't take part in this halloween type debacle, I'd be stoned or flogged with GU or something.  I can't have that.  I have a vacation to enjoy.  I don't have time to nurse flogging injuries.

Should I dress up as Cinderella?  Belle from Beauty and the Beast? Sleeping Beauty?  Cruella Deville?  Annie from Toy Story?  Snow White? (don't laugh) (no, really, I said don't laugh-I totally thought about it)

Nope.  None of the above.  I decided that I won't take part in the Princess copy cat charade.  Not me.  I'm not that girl.  If I'm going to be a princess, I'm going to be Princess Paula. (duh)  Sooooo, what will your highness (that's me) wear on race day?  Here's a hint-I've gone to the birds!!

Skirt-a super duper (that's a word) running skirt from Sparkle Skirts.  My friend Pammy and I have tried EVERY kind of running skirt out there and finally found these from Sparkle Skirts.  They are WINNER WINNER CHICKEN DINNER!   They don't ride up.  They don't fall off.  (how was that for you Pammy?)  They're just right!  Like the goldilocks of running skirts.  And they *might* be a bit flashy.  Or as Mr. P says, "obnoxious."  Actually, he said that until he actually saw the skirt I ordered and then he said it was actually really cool.  He's a smart man.  Really, really smart.
So-without further a due: here is the race day skirt

PEACOCK!!

I opted for a matching dark blue tee from the Under Amour outlet and I'm thinking my "peacocky" (that should be a word) compression socks and sparkly headband.  It might be bright.  It might be over the top (doubt it).  But it's mine.  All mine.  It's like the superhero of running outfits without being an actually superhero or wearing a cape.  (someday)  And in a few days from now, you can officially refer to me as Prissy Peacock Princess Paula Prickett.  (try saying that seven times fast)  :)

Should I ditch the socks?

The Road Fairy

As I've mentioned before, we live in sticksville.  There are no street lamps, there are no sidewalks and the roads don't have shoulders. Or love handles.  Ha!  that was a joke.  These are the roads upon which  I run and walk the dogs. (trying to sound all "Days of our Lives" there)

In the years we've been living here, we and our dogs have found some moderately entertaining things in the local ditches.  How do they get there?  I suspect a Road Fairy.  Who else would leave a pizza or sandwiches for my pups?  (totally true, and they were very thankful)

Other items we've found along the road include and apparently aren't limited to:

Underwear.
Really?  Were you fooling around by the lake and just "forgot" to put your underwear back on?   Or were the cops chasing you and you threw them out the window as a deterrent?  Did it work?  We totally left them in the ditch in the event you want to return to get them.  They're all yours.  Just saying'...

One North Face Glove.
Dear Roadside Fairy, I like North Face gloves.  If you'd like to leave them for me, I'm a women's size large and I prefer a pair as I currently still have two hands.  Thank you.

Dog Food Bags.
The pups love these.  I always wonder what ferocious critter could be living in side them.  So far, nothing other than a stray piece of kibble.  Lucky for me, bummer for the dogs.  They like critters.

Liquor Bottles.
Looks like the Road Fairy is a booze hound.  I wonder if this might be the explanation to the underwear in the ditch? Stranger things have happened.

Not cool Mr. Road Fairy
I'm just assuming it's a Mr.  not a Mrs.
A Mrs. would have picked these up!

A Big Honking Feather.
 I suspect it's from an eagle (we have both bald and golden around here) or it's from an even more super rare feathered  pterodactyl.  It's so cool I took it home.  Besides, who else has one of these? (other than pterodactyl breeders)

Mailboxes.
Ok, probably not a product of the Road Fairy.  Probably a result the local snow plow, and most likely the bane of postal carriers everywhere.  How can you be happy when you find your mailbox in the ditch??  Yeah, that's what I thought....

I can tell you what the Road Fairy hasn't left us.
He hasn't left us a winning PowerBall ticket.  If you're reading this Mr. Road Fairy, Please-feel free to hook us up!  Any time is good.  No, really, any time now, I'm totally serious....   :)

Love is....

Love is.....

A warm puppy AND a warm blanket.....

And if you're thirsty, you'll wear it when you get a drink....

"Love doesn't make the world go round.  Love is what makes the ride worthwhile."  Franklin Jones

Happy Valentine's Day!   I hope you can spend it with those you love!

Run for Sherry Day

Yesterday was the Run for Sherry and run I did.  It was a blissful (?) minus one when I got ready to run with a zillion mile wind chill.  Thankfully, it's nice and toasty in the basement where the treadmill hangs out!  I donned on my running skirt, filled up my water bottle and hit the "mill."

Obviously, I like to run in the middle of the night?

My running coach had me down for a long run.  I thought last week was a long run.  I was wrong.  She had me down for fourteen miles.  I expressed my concerns with running fourteen miles.  Mostly because my mind thinks that just stupid and totally unnecessary.  It revolted at 13 last week.   As all good running coaches do, she played the nasty card and told me to think about Sherry that last mile and yes, I'll be able to do it.  That's just plain mean.

I chose not to wear my Running for Sherry bib, but rather, put it on my treadmill where I could actually see it.  I ran the first hour in silence in honor of her.  Well, as silent as my treadmill is and as silent as I am when I'm huffing and puffing away.  I ran because she cannot.  I ran because she is still thought of.  I ran because she touched lives.  I ran because people still love her.  

After a hour, my mind was done thinking and I turned on the tv.  I got sucked into watching that Karate Kid movie with Will Smith's kid.  It was um, "different." (that's used in Minnesota context-Minneotians will totally get it)   Not really a fan of the movie-it's hard to like remakes when you're old enough to remember the original.  Still, there were good lessons to be learned.  Especially about how to treat people and how you choose kindness and goodness over being unkind.  Good trumping evil.  I watched until I got to mile fourteen.  Well, actually until I got to mile fourteen and then did a cool down.  

Proof!

The afternoon consisted of a little lunch and loads of laundry ('cause my life is super glamorous that way)  and then we were off to hang out at a local mexican restaurant with some friends.  It was an awesome time and I'm reminded how blessed we are to have such great people in our lives.  I think Sherry would have approved.  

Happy Anniversary!

Mr. P and have been married for a whopping nine years.  He counts his blessings every day that he has such an awesome catch of a wife.  Or, maybe he spends most of his time wondering what on earth he got himself into when he said "I do."  Either way, he's definitely had moments of his life with me when he's said, "I never, ever thought I'd be doing this."  I think that must be the sign of a great marriage.  Or just a sign that he's game enough for my crazy ideas adventures.

To celebrate our wedded bliss, we got a puppy sitter (yes, we do that) and headed to the big city for a night away.  We stayed at the Hotel Ivy.  It's a swanky kind of place that has doormen for the automatic doors and smells like a spa when you walk in.  They even had real glasses in the bathroom.  Swanky.  Apparently the upper class of people in the world use glass glasses in the bathroom and don't just scoop the water right from the faucet when they're brushing their teeth.  Personally, it sounds like a dish washing disaster to me.  The odds of me remembering to wash that glass on a regular basis are not high.  Just saying.   

Night view from Hotel Ivy

Even the hair dryer gets it's own bag.  (mine is jealous?)

We got to eat at my most favoritest (yes, I'm using that word) restaurant.  It's a steak place a mere two stumbling blocks from our swanky hotel.  It's called Manny's.  Just typing the name makes me drool.  Not lying.  We got to sit in the cow hide booth.  We've never sat in the cow hide booth before.  Everyone wants to sit there.  All the other people in the joint are jealous of those in the cow hide booths.  Oddly enough I managed to not embarress myself too much by petting the Hereford hanging on the wall.  But I totally wanted to.  It must have been the after affects of the swanky hotel rubbing off on me.  I totally controlled myself.  Totally.  

How did I manage to resist that??

We gorged on steak and beverages and they gave us an anniversary dessert.  It was custom-they totally hooked us up with fresh strawberries, chocolate and whipped cream.  Yum.  Major yum.  

Mr. P and my our dessert

I love those little get aways with just the two of us and no agenda! We had a great time and I'm so super duper lucky to be married to such a totally awesome guy!  I love you Mr. P!  Here's to many more!

I Can Get The Sticker Now....

Because the Princess Half Marathon is a measly nineteen days and four hours away, I had another long run today.

My running coach wanted me to do thirteen miles.  Uuugh.  Thirteen miles?  Isn't that unlucky or something?  Do people that have a fear of the number thirteen even run half marathons?  It's called triskaidekaphobia by the way-the fear of the number 13, not the fear of running half marathons. Or is it the .1 that makes it ok for them?   Is it a coincidence that buildings don't have a thirteenth floor?  I wondered if I should run with a four leafed clover in my pocket or a rabbits foot around my neck.

Here's the real problem.  I'm not afraid of thirteen.  I love baker's dozens (can we say carbs?).  What a great idea.  The problem was that I wasn't in the mood to run.  This has been happening a lot lately.  I mentally whine for exactly four miles when I run these days.  I panic the next two.  I think about turning around at every other footstep.  I'm really not enjoying my running right now.  If I could, I'd put away my running shoes (novel idea-to actually put my shoes away-ever) and not run until I felt like running rather than when I should be running.  Call it burn out.  Call it the distraction of something shiny. (what? where?)  Call it lack of dedication.  I don't care what you call it, I sucked it up and ran my thirteen miles today even though I didn't mentally want to.  Actually I did 13.1.  Because I can.  Even if I don't want to.

 Now I think I can get the official sticker magnet thingy and outfit out my car-running style.   I won't mention that for years when I saw stickers on cars that were 13.1 or 26.2 I thought it was some kind of Bible verse reference.  I just couldn't figured out what chapter they were referring to!

Source

Run for Sherry February 11, 2012

The following is from the blog Shut Up and Run:

On January 7, 2012, my cousin Sherry, age 43, left her house in the small town of Sidney, Montana at 6:30 a.m. for an early morning run. She didn’t always run in the morning because as a teacher, it was often difficult to fit in runs before she headed to Sidney High School to teach math. January 7 was a Saturday, however, and Sherry had a bit more time to spare. After her run she planned to meet her sister, Rhonda, and head out to their parent’s ranch a few miles outside of town. Her husband, Gary, had gone for a walk at 5:30 a.m. and when he returned home he could tell that Sherry had already left for her run because of the toothpaste splatters in the sink and a light that was on in the kitchen.

Sherry often ran within the town limits and January 7 was no exception. When Sherry did not come home later that morning, however, her husband began to worry. He called the police and a search ensued. By 3:00 p.m. hundreds of volunteers were searching for Sherry and only one clue had been found, Sherry’s right Brook’s running shoe.

My aunt called to tell me that “something bad had happened in Montana.” As the details unfolded, a weight sat in the pit of my stomach. I hoped for the best, but feared the worst. Please find her. Please bring her home.

For several days there was no sign of Sherry. On the seventh day, a tip was received on the FBI’s tip line that led to the arrest of two men, one in North Dakota and one in South Dakota. One of the men confessed to killing Sherry. She had been abducted at 6:40 a.m., only about a mile from her house.

Sherry’s body has not yet been found.

Sherry’s traumatic and heinous death has shocked, angered and saddened her small community. On a much larger scale, it has also rocked the running world from coast to coast and abroad. How could something so random, violent and senseless happen to someone so giving, someone loved by so many?

We have so many emotions. As mothers, runners, and teachers,  we fear it could have been us. Our hearts break for her students, her family, her community. We feel things we don’t know how to express and we cry for someone who we have never met. We hope she did not suffer and we hope that she found peace in her final moments. The human connection often feels deepest during tragedy. These past three weeks this connection has been alive, pulsing and powerful. The goodness has poured out of each and every one of you, demonstrating that good overpowers evil.

Many of you have told me that you have dedicated your runs and races to Sherry. I have talked about wanting to do a planned virtual run in her honor. Her family has given me their blessing and Races 2 Remember has so generously donated their time to creating a running bib for Sherry.

The virtual run will be on Saturday, February 11 at 9 a.m. MST.

• Mark your calendars
• Print out a running bib and pin it to your shirt
• Gather your friends, your running club members, your families
• If it’s wet where you are, “laminate” your bib with postage tape and punch holes in it
• If that time doesn’t work, go when you can
• GO. Run as far and as long as you want. Walk, hike, cycle, rollerblade if you don’t want to or can’t run.
• Please share this on your blogs, Facebooks and Twitters
• Keep it simple. Just run with Sherry on your minds and hearts. 

My goal is to get the MOST love, momentum and energy moving in honor of Sherry. This run symbolizes the beginning if healing and honors a woman who was courageous, strong and loved by so many.

I will be joining so very many people to honor Sherry and help support her family at this tough time.  (let's face it, I'm just not good at stuff to say at times like this-and I'm ok with that)  If it's at all possible, we'd be thrilled to have you join us. Please go to SUAR's blog for more information/updates and if  you're inclined, to donate.  Thank you.