Somehow, I never knew this park was here, despite the fact that on the other side of the lake, and the other side of the dam, I routinely have taken walks, and even did my little brother’s graduation pictures there! I used to do Pilates and Yoga in the conference room at my office, but the room is now much more used and I like to get out of the building. I’m so excited to go back, it’s so pretty I didn’t even mind the fact that it was 100 degrees! Hot yoga right?

I have been feeling a bit blah today. I wasn’t happy with my morning run, I was later to work than I wanted to be, the day seemed to drag on and on and on.

But I am sitting outside now, in my backyard that I love, listening to the crickets and the neighborhood dogs and children. My own kids are singing to each other and I can hear them on the baby monitor. I am having my time and it’s beautiful.

And just taking a moment to give thanks for how beautiful and peaceful it is out here I remembered what I saw while running this morning- before I got distracted and ornery about running- I saw two deer. They were eating in the field just outside of the neighborhood, and they both paused to watch me. Their beautiful, humongous eyes said, “Good morning! It’s good to see you up so early!”

I haven’t seen many deer in the last few months and I’ve been missing them. It was good to see them this morning, I’m thankful I got up and had the opportunity.

I went running this morning. I didn’t want to, I didn’t want to get out of bed. To start the run I ran for a minute before deciding I would just walk. After 2 minutes of walking through, I decided I really would run and then I did- 4 min run 2 min walk intervals. I was going to just go for 30 minutes, but ended up extending the run at the end and being gone for 40 minutes. I was really proud of myself.

Then I mapped it and found I only ran 3 miles. I had thought it was probobly 3.5, which meant that I was improving my pace. The thought was very exciting considering I was really moving at a slow jog during the entire “run.” But, no, still right there on my 13 minute mile.

I know I should be proud of myself for hauling my carcass out of bed and out the door, and then finding the motivation to run at all, but all I can focus on is “just 3 miles!”

My summer plans:

July 2: Begin the Creatively Fit Marathon
I took a painting class with Whitney in January and LOVED it. Planning on having painting parties with my kids on Fridays. Anyone know any good recipies for edible paints?

July 25: Music City Triathlon (Sprint)
My last tri was the weekend before Lily’s first birthday. Thought I should do the same to celebrate Austin’s birthday!

Auguts 13-21 Family Vacation in Emily, MN So very excited to relax and get to see everyone without having to run all over creation!

September 25: Women’s Half Marathon
I mean, I’ll have just done a triathlon 2 months before, so I’m blending the training programs. Might as well right?

What are your summer plans?

I don’t have any pictures because I sat in awe for most of the show until I remembered during the last song that I could take one on my phone. It didn’t turn out. Oh well.

Patty Griffin at the Ryman has been one of my “dream shows” ever since I fell in love with her music sometime after the fall of 2004. I know it was after the fall of 2004 because I saw her at ACL Fest (where we got engaged) and said something along the lines of “Wow, she’s singing a lot of Dixie Chicks songs” to which one of the band members I was with said something like “That’s because she wrote them.”

I don’t remember the first time I heard “Rain,”but I am confident that I set my iPod to repeat. I do remember the first time I heard “Heavenly Day”- I was on my lunch break from EMI and drove around for an extra 4 minutes to hear the end of the song. Then I bought it.

I love her voice, I love her songs. She’s amazing.

Oh, and did you know she draws too? You know how I know? My husband gave me one of her drawings for our 5th anniversary. He had gotten it from her for a project he was working right after college. It’s now hanging above my desk at home.

I didn’t get up and go running this morning, but I did make a kick a$$ breakfast!

So my google reader recommended a new blog for me today: Design*Sponge. I thought, hey, I need a quick break, I’ll check it out.

Oh.
My.
Goodness.

How amazing is this:

I love my cheap, bought on clearance for $100 but looks like it costs thousands headboard. But this is just too amazing for words. A pew headboard may be in my future.

I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7) yesterday afternoon. As I tweeted, my life can now resume. There is something about those books that makes doing anything else (cleaning, writing, blogging, sleeping) nearly impossible. What happens? How’s it end?

Then we went to church, the first time we’ve been to Sunday night church in at least 4 years I think- and the sermon was on Revelations 21 and how it’s not just a peachy “happily ever after” that was thrown in the Bible to make us all feel better. It didn’t really have any day-to-day applicability.

Except that it does- the day-to-day applicability is that we have hope in knowing that one day we will be able to say “the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.” He is not going to “fix” this world, he is going to bring a “new heaven and a new earth.”

If you haven’t read the last of the Harry Potter series and intend to, read the rest of this later.

I couldn’t help but consider, while I was sitting there in church, how much the character of Harry Potter is a Jesus figure in the story. He doesn’t create a new heaven and a new earth, but he does defeat evil once and for all by dying and rising again, and he makes his home with his people, living among them.

Now, Harry never claims to be a diety or anything, and it’s just a story, I personally don’t beleive it’s blaphemous. The Christian college I used to attend taught classes to the Elementary Ed majors about the series and how it could or could not be used without contradicting Christianity. There are a series of books available on Amazon debating whether it’s all witchcraft and therefore evil or if there is something we could learn.

I say, if you know someone who cannot grasp who Jesus is and what He did, it seems that using the Harry Potter example would be a way to speak on their level. We just need to be careful not to replace Jesus with Harry Potter.

The gospel seems to be a hot storyline these days in general: between the Chronicals of Narnia series that Disney is working through, The Lord of the Rings, Lost, Harry Potter… the tools for using relevant media are abundant right now. As Christians, I hope we are using them and not fighting them.

I visited a new coffee shop today: Vienna House over off of Caruthers Parkway behind Boscos. I had wonderful coffee, but I was most impressed by the bathroom- first of all- actual towels for the hands. Second- a beautiful dresser with a changing table! As the mother of two small children, that shows me the thoughtfulness of the proprietors even more than the lovely, comfortable seating and decorations.