yes, i ran a half marathon.

This past weekend my best friend came into town with her husband for a mini family reunion and to run the Fresno Half Marathon! Erikka's family came up to Fresno too. I was so excited to see them and super nervous to run the Half since I didn't exactly train as well as I could have. But the race was a success! I managed to run, well jog the entire thing! And Erikka and Eric got a time of 2:13! I was and still am, very proud of all of us! I kept thinking 'I can't believe I finished!!'

Morning of the race, I found out they forgot to put my name on my bib!!

I was a little angry! haha.

Eric, Erikka, me Jodie, & Collin all dressed and ready to run the 13.1!!

Finishers!! Woo hooo! So excited! ...and sore!

This I Believe II

If you value people and their stories, read this book.

If you are inspired by what others have experienced, read this book.

If you believe that everyone had a unique and purposeful life, read this book.

It's a collection of stories that reminds us of the beauty in humanity.

We don't have to look very far to find it...

new sneaks and a half.

Let me tell you, it is not fun running with sneakers that are not right for your feet.

The little training I have done for my half marathon (in less than 2 weeks, eekkk!), I have done with sneakers that make my feet (well left foot) go numb. Now it doesn't hurt per-say, but it doesn't feel good. I thought it worthwhile to get a new pair of sneaks before I attempt this giant feat. The good news, I think I found a pair that will work, finally! So now, anytime I go into a shoe store, all I say is this: "I'm a men's 8 wide".

the phantom of the opera is here...inside my mind.

A childhood dream was realized tonight when I was able to see Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages Theater! I've been trying to remember what it was about the show that made me want to see it so badly as a kid. All I can really remember is being intrigued by the music, and this phantom character.

The show was very entertaining, a little hard to follow as almost the entire plot was exposed through song, but so fun to watch. I kept dealing with the inter-turmoil of whether to love or hate the phantom. I mostly just feel sad for him, but he made some pretty bad choices.

I'm so glad I finally got to see this show!

parking tickets.

Oh the parking ticket. I'm lucky enough to have only gotten one parking ticket in my 8 years of driving. And I do have to give the awesome and sassy Jess Koehler a shout out for trying so hard to get me out of mine.

But today I saw the meterman (or is it metermaid? or neither?), or the guy who gives the tickets, I saw him giving a ticket. Then I saw the guys who the car belonged to. They were seconds away from getting back to there car and avoiding the ticket (something I can relate to). And it's not like the meter guy is doing anything wrong, but it just stinks when you have to watch yourself get a ticket. It's like you can feel the money being withdrawn from your bank account.

marry me, mr. schuester?

I don't think I can fully express in words how much I love Glee. I'm serious.

japan: part six, oyama!

After traveling all around Japan, we headed back to Kathryn and Ryan's small town Oyama, a couple hours north of Tokyo. We spent my last 2 days in their town recovering from the 4 days of constant walking and I got a chance to see what part of their everyday life is like.

Walking back to their apartments from the train station

The apartment complex!

On Saturday, Kathryn and Ryan both had to work so I spent part of the day exploring the town. I found a beautiful river and walked around for the better part of the afternoon.

Ice cream again! Blueberry this time :)

Kathryn took me to the grocery store and we saw some octopus... it's popular in Japan!

Saturday night we went to an Izakiah (I don't think that's how you spell it...ha.) But basically it's a restaurant/bar where you can get all you can drink for 1000 yen (like $12). It was great!

Breakfast with Kathryn!

Kathryn and I found these craft chiles at a store in Nara and thought "we can make these", so we did. I can't wait to try them on my own! Although it's way more fun to craft with Kathryn.

My last dinner...it was Shabu-Shabu. All you can eat where you dip thin pieces of beef and pork in to boiling broth. You can add veggies and pasta too! So tasty!

Saki! We even warmed it up, I thought it was great!

I miss you guys!

Peace. Goodbye Japan. Thanks for showing me a good time.