What Thanksgiving means to me...

Thanksgiving is one of the hardest times of year.
To me, it represents my mom...All of it...
It was "her" holiday...
She loved getting all of us together.
She prepared the most amazing food~
(I wish I would have learned from her).
Thanksgiving to me simply is.... my mom.
Without her it is just not the same.

Hug your family tight tonight...
Enjoy the people in your life...
Enjoy the moments that are yours together...
Have a very Happy Thanksgiving...
Thank you for being a part of my life...

2nd 5k down...

Heather and I completed our second 5K yesterday! It feels great!
We started the couch to 5K program on Halloween day, 3 weeks ago. We have completed week 6 of the program in just 3 weeks. I think we are addicted to running!
There are not many more scheduled runs through the end of the year here in Utah, due to the weather I suppose, but we are now on the lookout for awesome runs next year. It is so exciting and fun to have someone to run with and keep you motivated!
We have found some really fun runs in 2011 that we are so excited for. I will have to post more about them as we do them!
It feels good to be able to say...
I am a runner!

***On a side note, does anyone know how to set up a fund raising run??***
I have a few ideas and I need some help in knowing how to set them up! ~ Thank you!

the 19th again...

Every month it comes around...every month I try not to focus on it....
yet tomorrow it is here again, and I think about my mom and the fact that it has been 15 months since she's been gone...
How could I have gotten through 15 months of my life with out her?
I miss her every second of every single day.
I miss the amazing presence that she had in my life and the lives of everyone around her.
I miss her laugh...
and her voice...
and our talks
and her advice...
and the help she always gave me through, what I thought at the time were the difficult moments in life...Which somehow don't even compare to the difficult times that exist now that she is no longer here.
I miss the days we got to spend together.
I miss the togetherness that she brought to our family.
I miss the awesome things that she always found for us to do.
I miss hearing her call me Tiff, or sweetie pie.
I miss her so very much.
I am forever and always...
Rena's daughter...

What is your favorite....

I know the time is coming to break out the Christmas music, though I haven't yet...
This one is my very favorite album, I listen to it over and over and over again.
Her voice is, in my opinion, so angelic and beautiful.
And I love this Album~ there are great songs on here that are not necessarily Christmas songs, but have such amazing lyrics and incredible meaning (I know that most, if not all of them are not originally hers).
A few of my favorites are
River...
Wintersong...
and
Song for a Winters Night...
They are simply beautiful.
What are your favorite holiday cd's?

Friends, Fall and Lots of Laughter....

Yesterday after my run, I met up with two of my favorite friends, Becky and Andy...
They had been doing leaf clean up and had mentioned the fun photos they had taken with the help of the leaf blower so we tried it again. Here are a few fun shots from yesterday....
Because when you are 36, you can still be 12 at heart! The pictures make me realize that I am just a big kid! :)
Becky has a few more on her Iphone that I may have to post another day!
Laughter is my favorite thing.
My abs hurt so bad today from the amount of laughing we did yesterday! :)

Ran my first 5K this morning

alongside one of my very best friends on earth...

I'm on the left with the braids and Heather is on the right.
We decided about 2 weeks ago to start the Couch to 5K program. We have completed about 4 weeks worth of the runs in just two weeks. We signed up for this run, not knowing how much of it we would actually run, but we ran most of it. A few walk breaks but mostly we ran...and it felt AWESOME!! We did it in about 33 minutes.
I am so proud of Heather! She sets her mind on something and she does it.
I am very grateful to have her as my friend....
21 plus years and counting!
(sorry for the I-phone photos but it is all we had)....

Saw this on Wednesday....

I loved it and the message it had~
"It's Kind Of A Funny Story"

What a great movie...
Have you seen anything good lately?
I love movie recommendations!
'Tis the season for movies!

Ornament swap....

I just signed up for this swap! I thought my pottery class would be the perfect place to create some ornaments for this....and to help me get into the Holidays a little more, I need all the help I can get again this year~ The holidays seem to be extremely difficult still~ I'll post what I make and what I receive when the swap is finished!

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Grief programs and groups....

Earlier this year I decided to join a grief group through the College of Nursing at the University of Utah~ It was 8 weeks long, one night a week.
I met the most amazing women in that group. We were all dealing with Loss and grieving...Trying to make it through each day.
I highly recommend something like that if you are ever in the place in life that you need it.
They have groups for children, loss of a spouse, general loss, etc...
On the last day of our class they gave us these beautiful ceramic hearts~ Since that day I have never taken it out of my purse. I carry it with me always.
If you or anyone you know are going through loss, I cannot tell you how much this grief group helped me.
We continue to meet for dinner about every 6 weeks~
They are such an amazing support for me, and I hope I am for them.

Dear Uggs...

I know you are not the best looking shoes in the world, but I would like to thank you for the small amount of warmth, and comfort you provide me during the long, cold winter....

Running....

Over the past year I have had a very strong desire to run for some reason, but I have never been a runner or at least, I have never thought of myself as one, until now...
I have a long way to go.
My best friend and I decided about a week ago that we wanted to start running together, to train for a 5k. We each got the Couch to 5 K app for our iphones and started running last Sunday. We run on our own treadmills at home or we meet and run if time and weather permits.
We decided to just sign up for a 5 k, even though we will only be in week 3 of the program. We actually ended up signing up for two!
The first one will be next Saturday and the 2nd one will be the Saturday after that. I am really looking forward to running along side such an amazing friend!
I'll try to get a photo or two during our 5k's!

This beautiful print....

Arrived in the mail this week~ I think I must still get the original~ :)
I love it!
One day I will post about dragonflies and the meaning they have for me but for now I will just say that I have been considering a tattoo for a while now. I know that I want a dragonfly, I was just not sure where I would want to get one, until the day this painting came across my google reader~ It was then I knew. Now I just need to find the artist and design.
But I love the placement of the simple dragonfly on the front of the shoulder...
Isn't this painting amazing!!
I cannot wait to frame it and put it up in my home.
Artist....Pilgrim Of The Moon...They are incredible artists!

I am super excited to try this tonight!

Anti-gravity yoga! :)

Some days this seems so appealing....

I think I am extra tired and just feeling a little defeated and down lately....Sleeping for a while seems like just what I need...
Instead, I will try to keep my head held high and be active and fake a smile until a real one returns...