three years.

Lois Ann Grubbs

June 9, 1935- March 31, 2007

[Dear Memaw, I have to continually remind myself that God had a plan and a reason for taking you when He did. You were suffering and He knew it was time for you to be home with Him. I wonder if He told you that I ran a 5k last weekend. Grandaddy came out and watched me, all bundled up in his coat and Wildcats hat. Ma and Nini cried when I crossed the finish-line. I trained a bit in the cemetery beforehand. It felt like you were with me. I bet you're dancing around the kitchen of heaven humming a little tune right now. I love you. I love you. I love you. I miss you like crazy. Thank you for loving me in a way that only you could. Thank you for constantly lifting me up before the Lord. I would not be where I am today without you.]

Twenty-Three before Twenty-Four: FIVE.

The fifth thing on my list of Twenty-Three before Twenty-Four was to compete in a 5k. Some of you may already know that Regs and I have been training for this 5k since January. We were doing really well there at the beginning...and then I took a trip to Philly, Regs worked weird hours, I started working in Chesapoop... etc, etc. We didn't get to run together as much as we wanted to towards the end. Since the beginning, our goal has been to finish the race in 30 minutes. (We changed that goal later to 45 minutes...lack of confidence, surplus of doubt.)

Sooooo.....Today was RACE DAY!!!

*Ma and Nini came along and were both geared with a camera to adequately document such a momentous occasion. Thank you, thank you, thank you both!

Before the race: Regs, Rachel (holding an enema plush...eww), Mr. Polyp and Me. We ran Mutt & Jeff's 5k for Colorectal Cancer...

Listening to the extremely confusing pre-race instructions. "Walkers, you must have one foot on the ground at all times. If you're walking then you're not jogging, and if you're not walking then you're running or jogging." (??- I guess you had to be there.)

Woah, baby! Rachel finished in 22 minutes, so she backtracked and found me and Regs just before the 3 mile marker. When Rachel found us, I asked her what time it was. She said 9:02. I was dumbfounded. I knew we started the race at 8:30 and I did the math real quick. "It's only been 32 minutes, Regs!"

Regs and I "sprinted" the last tenth of a mile. I say "sprinted" because our "sprint" was faster than the jog we had been doing, but I don't know that you could call it a full-on sprint. We were SO happy to see the finish line. So extremely happy.

Hot and sweaty. Walking it out and catching my breath.

(Hey Regs, Can we call ourselves "runners" now? =])

Oh yea! When Regs and I rounded the first corner of the course I felt something hitting my ankle. I looked down and wouldn't you know it, my shoe was untied. I didn't dare stop though. No, sir. I ran the entire race (minus about 2/10 mile walk in the middle) with my shoe untied. Thank goodness I was wearing my Nike Free 5.0's or else they would've fallen off. They fit like a glove and feel like a sock so they stayed on and snug without a problem. (Thanks to Barley for suggesting a great running shoe.)

After the race, I think it's safe to say that we were all at least a bit tired. We had to wait around for what seemed like forever for the awards ceremony. I don't know that we would've stayed except for the fact that Rachel's superwoman. (No kidding. She's really great. I forgot she was running until this morning and it was like a special treat to see her there in the parking lot when we pulled in.)

She won "First Woman Overall". Yay, Rachel!!!

I am very happy with the results of the race. Thirty three minutes for my first 5k is a-ok with me. I never thought I'd be able to compete (or even participate) in any type of running event a few years ago, so this was a big accomplishment. I am thankful and proud.

So, there you have it. After the awards, Regs, Ma, Nini and I set off for Cracker Barrel for some delicious breakfast. I was beat by the time me and Ma got home and took a bit of a nap. I took Jonah to see a specialist when I got up. He's feeling much better (...his tension was all off). I'm working on two projects now back-and-forth. One is giving me a headache, and I can't let it get me down.

Lerv to you, bloggy buds. Thanks for the support.

**Happy 2 Years Clean, Barley!**

(You can check out significant things number ONE, TWO, THREE and FOUR too if you've missed them.)

this is just wrong. 2nd ed.

I saw this on my way home from work tonight.

Seriously?

Twenty-Three before Twenty-Four: FOUR.

Woot woot!!! Number Fourrrrrrr!!! I didn't set out to start or complete a "significant thing" this weekend, but it happened.

On Friday night, I got a little inspired. I was all tired and ready for bed around 8pm (Old lady, I know.)...but thennn.... I saw a pile of fabric in the corner of my room, and BabyGirl was just staring me down. So, I just started turning her dials and making her my size. I cranked her wide open (without taking one measurement) and thought that I'd just go from there, but then I got a tinge of doubt. What if this won't really fit me? How can I tell...Oh! There's a "piece of my clothing" on the floor of my room that I could try on BabyGirl and see for sure. Whoa. It didn't fit. I cranked her back down to the base size and...bada-boom...we were set to go.

(Then I went to bed. Yep. That was it for Friday.)

The picture above and the picture below are the only ones I took during the process. I was in the zone. There were no expectations, no patterns, no measurements, and no deadlines. Just me, my music (Fleet Foxes and Lightspeed Champion--my constant companions), coffee and what felt like 3 million pins. I just kept pinning (and re-pinning) and chopping and singing and stitching. *Jonah's not feeling very well. His tension is all off...so we had a bit of a go every once in a while. Poor thing. I need to get him some help.*
That was my Saturday. As you can see, I ended up with this top...I'd like to call it a tunic, because I don't think that "shirt" accurately describes what it is. I'm not sure that it's actually a tunic though, either. Call it what you will. (It doesn't really matter.=] )



This creative expression needed to happen. The process was very cathartic and made me extremely happy. It felt really good to make something from my own hands, out of my own head and to wear it with pride. Instant mood-booster.
So there you have it. Significant Thing Number Four.

As usual, I'm taking all suggestions into consideration for the remaining 19 things on my list. (I guess it's more like 15 or 16 things... I already have a few in the works.)

Lerv, lerv.

P.S.- I really loved this picture taken this afternoon. (The subject of the photo has asked to remain nameless. Fair enough.)

that dirty dog.

I bought a bunch of yogurt the other day at S(p)am's Club to go along with my granola for lunches at work. (Yay for pre-packaged portions, no dishes to wash, 0% fat and only 80 calories!)

I hadn't tried the peach or blueberry variety until after I bought it. Peach is definitely not my favorite, but the blueberry is just as good as the strawberry. No matter. I take a cup of yogurt each day, choosing the next flavor in the rotation (peach, blueberry, strawberry, peach, blueberry, strawberry...). I push through the peach day knowing that the blueberry day will be better and the strawberry day is right around the corner. Or will it?! Probably not. Wait. Why?...because I have a dirty dog for a weasel-y brother.

This boy gets home tonight at 11:30pm after traipsing around in the woods all day with a friend. He was especially tired and hungry. I went into the living room to say hello before going to bed and I see him eating a cup of yogurt and granola. (Ok. I can handle that.) I look closer. STRAWBERRY. (This wouldn't be so alarming if I hadn't seen him eat a cup of strawberry yogurt with my granola the night before...he should be eating a peach or a blueberry...and the scarcity of the granola... I won't even go there...Ok. I'll just say that I have stockpiled 24 boxes of this elusive granola and hidden them away from the rest of Newport News...it's that good...but I digress.) I immediately go to the fridge to count my cups of yogurt. Exactly what I thought. ONE strawberry left and 4 of each of the blueberry and the peach.

After attempting to convince my brother and Ma of the importance of following the rotation of the yogurts, Hosh protests that he's too tired to talk about it and pretends to snooze on the couch. (I know his tricks, so...) I immediately sit on top of him. "Hosh! You can't just eat the strawberry yogurt." "Ok, Jess. I'll have the blueberry ones too."

Oh good golly! Does anyone have any respect for the yogurt rotation?! Have a peach!!!

Ay caramba.

shh!

Not a word.

Nobody tell Hosh that I wore his hat out tonight

(.....aaaaafter he put it on, took it off, put it back on, changed his shirt, decided finally not to wear it and walked out the door on the way to his first of three band/music practices tonight).

Not one. Thanks.

Lerv.

(insider info from an addict.)

Twenty-Three before Twenty-Four: THREE.

The next significant thing to be accomplished on my list of Twenty-Three before Twenty-Four was (*drumroll, please!*) to learn to drive a stick-shift. Since Hosh recently bought a new vehicle, his old car was available for my use in this venture. Pop volunteered to take me out today until I got the hang of it. I love him to death. Brave soul. I got to the shop before Pop and decided to take advantage of the surroundings for a quick photo op.

After the teaching/learning time, I got to check out Pop's newest addition to the troop. She's a 1970 Harley-Davidson FLH...and she has ape-hangers (a personal fav).

There was a plan to take some pictures and/or video of the learning process, but that plan went out the window after about the fourth stall-out and the sixth "Now stop and do it uh-ginn ." Sooooo these pictures will just have to do in their stead.

I know what you're thinking also..."Jecca better get her tail in gear if she's going to finish 20 more "significant things" before December 11!" Yes. Thank you. I know. I have three things definitely in the works and one (hopefully all) of them will be done in two weeks. Alsooooo, I'm still looking for things to fill my list. So far I've gotten only a couple suggestions. One included freeing zoo animals (Trev) and the other included public nudity (Nini). I can pretty confidently say that I won't be completing either of those things (although the second is most tempting and more likely). So, please feel free to make suggestions. They will at least be considered seriously before being thrown out. =)

Lerv, lerv.

cemetery on saturday.

I went to visit Memaw today at the cemetery. I asked my mom before I went if it was acceptable to take a run while I was there. She said people do it all the time. So I did too.

So now (after a trip to the bank and Sam's Club, and a phone chat with Barls) I'm working on a super secret crafty (again). It might end up being a semi-super secret crafty, depending on my level of confidence in my own skills and judgment abilities. We'll see. I think I might have done all I can do... Ugh... What do you think, bloggy buds?

Is a super secret crafty with a possibility of being slightly off better than a semi-super secret crafty that has more of a possibility of being right on? Or are they both equally exciting and acceptable?

Lerv.

a good day.

I've been listening to Priscilla Ahn like it's my job lately. This morning she told me it was going to be a good day. (Sorry I couldn't find her actual music video, but listen to the song anyways.)

The beach has really been calling my name lately, so I decided to pay it a visit.

That extremely scary bird was occupying my usual spot, but I didn't dare ask him to move...and this was as close as I got to him (using extreme zoom...homie don't play).

I love the Lion's Bridge. Annnnd yes, that is my coffee sitting on the statue. :)

The Lion's Bridge is behind the Mariner's Museum, who just so happened to be hosting some sort of re-enactment today.

Well, hello Christopher Newport!!!

After my adventure to the beach, I stopped at Village Thrift and found a ton of awesome sewing accoutrements for $14. I didn't find any buttons though, which is what I was actually after. So, I went to visit JoAnn's Fabric store where I found out that March is National Craft Month. A little redonk, yea? (I'm so excited though.)

When I got home, Hosh asked if I wanted to go get something to eat with him. We went to Cheddar's and he drove us in his Honda Element. We listened to The Mars Volta, which I haven't heard in a long time. Hosh also took me by Food Lion to get some yogurt, and he helped me with a super secret crafty once we got home.

Nowwwwwww, I've got my friends (candles) all ready and I'm getting to work work WORK on that super secret crafty. It might be the death of me, but that's a chance I'm willing to take.

(This post is extremely random. My storyline is fragmented. My apologies. I've got my head in craft-world.)

Lerv.

nose knows.

I don't know about the rest of you, but certain smells have the power to instantly transport me to another time and place. I've noticed it especially as of late.

For instance:

The smell of wood and laundry takes me to Stanley-Land. I am surrounded by family, pups and love. Someone's looking for something. Someone's calling for someone they can't find. Mama's offering to make me something to eat, and I'm grinning from ear to ear.

The smell of winter is a wonderful thing. I could never describe it; it's impossible (but it's amazing). Whenever I smell winter I am taken back to my freshman dorm room at PBU. Renae and I are sitting, listening to music and "doing homework". I smell winter (because we keep the window open all year round). I tell Renae. She doesn't understand. We are bonded forever.
The smell of Vurt and cigarrettes puts me back in the presence of a dear friend. We are riding in the car, talking, laughing and probably drinking Starbucks. We make it a regular thing, because it's more than good in theory.

The smell of Polo takes me back to Sunday mornings as a child. My father wore Polo cologne and made cinnamon buns for us before church. I can't get enough of the smell. I hug him and bury my nose in his neck. (This technique proves to be most effective and is used later in life to identify and remember especially important people.)

The smell of grass mixed with a certain humidity in the air transports me to track practices after classes in high school. There's a whole lot of messing around and not a lot of practicing. I think I know everything about the world and how things should turn out. I am blissfully mistaken.

The smell of Comet cleaner takes me back to summer days of old. I'm sitting on the counter in the kitchen. Ma's slicing strawberries and sprinkling sugar over them. We'll have strawberry shortcake for dessert after a day in the sun at the beach.

Now I'm wondering about you, my bloggy buds. I'd love to hear about the smells that transport you to somewhere else. I think that sometimes your nose knows exactly where you secretly want or need to be.

Lerv, lerv.