Melissa, Oh?

First off, I want to say thank you for all the kind words and support last week. Having a heavy heart and no outlet is at times, lonely. But, things are not all bad. In the good-news department, I have some exciting things to report:
Good friend news #1
My friend Michael, an actor, has landed a commercial. [...]

It’s 1980-something and I’m in the back of mom’s station wagon, sitting on blue vinyl with my neighbor Lauren sitting across from me, and we’re on the way to school. Jenny and Kevin are in the car as well. Lauren says to me, “Why don’t you ask your mom if the tooth fairy is real?”
It’s never [...]

So, better late than never on the Christmas blog post, right? I’ll try not to bore you with all of the details, but I wanted you to see what my grandmother thought of this present I made for her. Instead of telling you, I’ll show you with pictures, all beautifully captured by Jeff:

 
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Also, I had [...]

When I was a child, my aunt Josie had a book made that featured myself and my cousin David. I thought it was so cool, reading about our day of chasing foxes or whatever we were doing in the adventure. A few months ago I thought of that book and then found myself thinking – [...]

So, I’m a little late on the the whole “look back/look ahead” post that comes at the end of the year, but I was too busy celebrating the holidays to take the time to sit down and think about it! So, better late than never, right?
Last year I wrote about some thoughts on 2008, and [...]

So you guys want to know what’s next after the Thunder Road Marathon, huh? Me too.
I’m still in recovery and taking it easy but I can’t wait to get back out there.
The first official thing on the calendar is our annual Mount Mitchell winter trip. It’s coming up in a couple of weeks, and I [...]

How do I put this experience into words? Where do I even begin to describe this moment?
Jeff said I should title this blog post “I beat Superman.” Because I did, in fact, beat Superman at the Thunder Road Marathon on Saturday.

But I know it’s not about who I beat or who beat me. I was [...]

These are good times, my friends. Good times.
As I prepare to run the longest run of my entire life in 3 days, my job this week has been to relax and be stress-free. And you know what I’ve realized? It’s really not that difficult.
There is a lot to be happy about. Whether I’m  going to [...]

I am a half-marathoner.
I did it. And I can honestly say it could not have gone any better.
The weather was absolutely perfect (overcast and rainy, around 60 degrees) for the Spinx Runfest Half Marathon in Greenville, SC. My clothes were perfect, nothing was rubbing or hurting or cutting or annoying. The new race number belt [...]

Last night I dreamed I was 5 years old. I was at my parents’ old house on Silverwood Drive, the one with wood paneling walls and linoleum everywhere. My brother was a baby, sitting in his high chair, getting spoon-fed by my mom (ok, so he would have been nursing probably. My timing is off. [...]