Things worth getting excited about 1 June 2008

1)  It’s summer dishes time again!  My favorite aisles at Target and Wal-Mart are filled with colorful plastic kitchenware…all for 1.99 or less.

2)  Foxboro Hottubs:  Green Day does 60s rock = my new summer soundtrack.

3)  Good friends who love nerdy board games.  Favorites:  Apples to Apples, Quiddler, Settlers of Catan, any and all trivial pursuit…

4)  It’s summer movie season.  Batman will be here before you know it.

5)  New Mountain Dew flavors! Glory be!

6)  David Sedaris has a new book, y’all: When You Are Engulfed in Flames

7)  In just one week I will be hanging out with 330 of Missouri’s smartest kids, working with the most positive, creative staff in the world. 

8 )  Ira Glass in St. Louis in September…though fall is really to far away to even imagine right now.

It’s all good.

doe-eyed optimism 11 November 2007

Sunday November 11
Veterans Day
Ran 20/Walk 20…but it was a fast walk
Went over to Kevin’s to have him wrap my foot beforehand. This blister is a bitch.

Today’s run, while not particularly stellar, was redeemed by the stellar weather. It’s freakin’ 70 degrees on Veterans Day. Beautiful! Just being outside on a day like this, sloshing my feet through the crunchy leaves (can you “slosh” through something crunchy? I don’t think so. But I want to), running past downtown Springfield landmarks makes me just fall in love with life and Springfield, and believe in surprises and possibility.

I know I always adopt this doe-eyed sentimentality after a run on a pretty Sunday, and I’ll acknowledge that it’s probably just runner’s high talking, but I won’t apologize for being happy. I’m learning to not do that.

(Ew. That sounds emo and self-conscious, and blogiotypical doesn’t it? But oh well. No more perfectionism. No more constant self-editing.)

In just three weeks I’m going to run a half-marathon in the birthplace of rock and roll…if that’s not something to feel a litte doe-eyed about, I don’t know what is.