Friday, October 31, 2008

Pimping Amy

Chubby Girl Running aka Amy is exactly the kind of blog I was looking for when I had the idea for pimping blogs. I stumbled upon her as I did a Blog Crawl yesterday, and now I am going to work my way through her archives.

Not only is she a highly entertaining writer, but she just completed her first half-marathon, which is a huge inspiration to me! I am not a runner, yet, well, maybe I am, but I still don't feel like it sometimes. ReadingAmy's blog is just the encouragement I need.

While I love the friends I am training with, I feel like they are just speeding right along and I'm going to keel over at any minute. I think Amy and I could have a good run together, then kick back and drink a beer afterwards.

Even if you aren't into running, Amy's writing is fun and full of real life. I look forward to going through all her archives and I'm excited that there aren't years and years of them so I may actually be able to get through them all!

Thursday, October 30, 2008

Pimping Rebecca

Rebecca and I have known each other since first grade when we were both in Ms. Cockerham's class (trying learning that name as a 6 year old). Throughout the 12 years we attended school together, we shared classes, went to the same church and had a lot of the same friends. I think, though, it was chorus that really brought us closer and bonded our friendship.

Starting in 9th grade, there was a group of us in chorus that hung out and had tons of fun. A couple of the guys were older than us and I was "in love" with the one who Rebecca dated. Everyone knew it though and we all laughed about it. I remember asking one of the other guys, Jason, how everyone knew and he said it was because I was nice to Rebecca's boyfriend and so mean to him (Jason). Jason was so crazy and annoying though, it was hard not to be mean to him. ha ha

This was the group of friends who kept me honest when my boyfriend, who didn't attend our school, was pulling me in the wrong direction.

Rebecca is one of the sweetest people you will ever meet, but she can be feisty if need be. During our 10th year reunion, her little boy, Brooks, started to toddle away from her, but one sharp, "Brooks!" made him scurry back. I marveled at her parenting, as Peyton was already running me ragged. And then the baby, Reese, every time I see his picture, I see Rebecca as a little girl with her perfect ponytails and ribbons.

I'm so glad we found each other again!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Pimping Tamara

What can I say about Tamara without filling an entire blog? She is my sister, if not in blood, spirit. She is my bestest friend in the whole wide world. She is the one that even though we may disagree and piss each other off, I know she will always be there for me.

We met when we were 7 years old and became fast friends being that we were the quickest in the class and generally had extra time on our hands. We're survived her moving away and coming back, me moving away and staying, one divorce, two husbands, 4 children, cancer, death and the everyday hum drum of life.

She's coming to visit in a couple weeks for our annual get together and I couldn't be more excited. I wish I could steal her away for a whole month.





ok, guys, that's all in my queue. If you want your blog pimped, shoot me an e-mail. Tell your friends, neighbors and enemies.

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Pimping Suz

Aside from Larry, Suz is the very first friend from the Internet that I met in person. Gosh, Suz and I have known each other for years. We met, ha ha, on a Dawson's Creek message board. We were both HUGE fans and wrote Fan Fic about the show. Before Suz had little Roo and she worked outside of the home, we e-mailed about 100 times a day. No lie. At that time, we kept a running commentary all day long. Even today when she has a spare moment and is on the computer, we will catch up through 5, 10, 15 e-mails before her attention is needed by her precious little girl.

Suz is great because she is not afraid to speak her mind and as per her tag line she is "Not Your Typical Mommy." Her husband is an amazing photographer and the family of three lives on a farm shared by his parents surrounded by huge space and lots and lots of animals.

I am often in awe and admittedly slightly jealous of their non-traditional lifestyle that doesn't include 9-5 jobs or keeping up with the Jones. Recently, Suz was contacted by a local magazine and asked to share some of her entries with their readers. I couldn't be more proud and I know she has longed for an opportunity like this for a long time!

Although we don't get to see each other very often, Suz is one of my dearest friends and I couldn't imagine not having her burning bright spirit in my life.

Monday, October 27, 2008

Pimping Chelle

If you ever need a really creative, fun activity to do with your children Chelle, or Ms. Congeniality is the woman you want to call, or e-mail, or comment on her blog. This woman has boundless energy and ideas and I am always amazed by the wonderful ways she handles holidays, birthdays, and really just any weekend with her family.

The stories she tells about her Man-cub and The Girl show what an awesome mom she is and I know her kids are so very lucky to have her. Also, Chelle is just someone I would love to sit down and have a glass of wine with on a cool fall day under the roof of her huge wrap around porch.

It's funny how well I feel that I know Chell even though we've never met in person. I really don't even know how long we've been reading each other's blog, except that it's been a few years. Chell is a prime example of how you can be friends with someone that lives a thousand miles away.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Pimping Summer

Summer aka Marie, has been one of my very good friends since the 6th grade when she moved to Montgomery and began attended my elementary school. After high school graduation, she and her high school sweetheart were married and moved to Hawaii as Jay was a Marine Man.

A few years later, they moved to Tampa and we were able to get together a couple of times. Wild fun was had by all!

Now they have settled in North Carolina and have two boys, Brantley, who is now 13 (!!!) (I remember holding him not a week after he was born) and Parker, who is fast approaching 2.

Summer recently traveled to Malawi to mission and her blog Look Out shares these adventures as well as many other awesome thoughts, good causes and provoking posts.

Funny story: Up until she and Jay were married, Summer was known as Marie, her middle name, and actually, that's still how I think of her. When I went to visit her in Tampa, Summer, one of her friends and I were talking and I kept saying, "Marie this and Marie that." Finally, her friend stopped me and asked, "Who is Marie?"

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Pimp Your Blog

While I love reading my very popular bloggers, I'm in the mood for some new blood. I decided, just now, that I should host a Pimp My Blog on this site. So, if you want to Pimp Your Blog, shoot me over an e-mail eldk0404 at gmail.com with the subject line Pimp My Blog and I will post a new entry a day until I run out. Tell your friends, pimp this idea on your own blog, send them here! Let's get some lesser known blogs known!

(Please send me e-mails! I will feel so very unloved if no one sends me a request!)

Also, if anyone is good at making widgets and stuff and wants to create one for this idea, feel free and I will share them here.

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Injured!

Two friends and I are running a half marathon in Miami on January 25. We've been seriously training for about 6 weeks now and I have my first injury. Saturday night we ran/walked 6 miles and by Saturday night, the bottom of my foot hurt ever time I stepped down. I went to the chiropractor yesterday and about jumped off the table.

My hips and pelvis are so knotted up that it felt like he was grabbing the muscles and trying to manually untie them, which in a way, I guess he was. He said that because I was so out of whack that the pain manifested itself in my arch. As long as I stay off of it, it's ok, but as soon as I walk for longer than 5 minutes, it feels like I am walking on a very large and nasty bruise.

Not so good when I need to run 3 miles today and Thursday and then 7 this weekend.

I'm so frustrated because this has not been easy for me. I am not a runner. My friends just seem to be coasting along and I am clawing my way through every practice. I can't afford to miss a week at this point.

I'm going to "run" in the pool tonight and be grateful that I live in a city where it is still warm enough to do that. I have to go back to the chiro on Thursday for him to torture me some more and hopefully these kinks will work themselves out.

Larry and I are also going to Key West this weekend for his birthday and I have to be able to walk then too or Larry is going to get awfully tired of carrying me. ha

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Family

My younger cousin and I are exactly 18 months and five minutes apart. I have a clear picture of the two of us in my mind, dressed in my grandmother's play clothes, and standing in front of a huge tree in the side yard. Two little girls, one dark like the night and one bright as the sun. At that time in our lives, our personalities conformed to the genetic coloring. I was quieter and I've been told prone to crying or pouting. My cousin, Kelsey, was a sunny little girl, at least at that young age. Divorce and possible feelings of abandonment darkened her light over the years.

My aunt painted portraits of us. I was a nymph sneaking in a broken or raised window, the night behind me. Kelsey was with a rooster, I think, and the sun was coming up in the background. Unfortunately, due to a fire, these paintings were lost a few years ago.

We shared ice cream with sprinkles using my Grandmother's long silver sundae spoons. Stayed up late into the night whispering, giggling, just being little girls.

Kelsey moved to Atlanta, oh about 15 years ago now, I guess. She gave birth to two little girls at an early age, out of wedlock, a shame to our deeply rooted southern family. I've never met those little girls, who aren't so little anymore.

I haven't even seen my cousin in 10 years; don't even know where she is.

I look for her sometimes on MySpace or FaceBook. I think it would be nice to talk to her again. Sometimes I just get sad that we're no longer a part of each other's lives. You would think that with my dad having 5 brothers and 1 sister there would be a ton of cousins running around, but not so much. The few I have are younger than me and we've never been close.

Sometimes it just hits me and I get a little melancholy.

Friday, October 03, 2008

Something to Think About

While I won't go into a political rampage on this site, I do want to offer this fact that I read in light of last night's vice-presidential debates.

There is a 32% rate throughout our presidential history that the vice-president has taken over for the president. Broken down, that is 14 of the last 44 vice-presidents.

Just something to think about.