Running Happy

My happy Brooks running compression socks

My running buddy for a few minutes, a goofy duck

My run Saturday morning was not all happiness. I have been under a lot of stress lately and it's worn me out physically. Add to that the horrible heat and lack of nutrition, well, it was not my best run. But I did have a few moments of great joy on that run.

It started with the socks. Yes, wearing fun socks or a cute outfit just cheers a girl up on a long run. Bill gave me these adorable Brooks compression socks and I really felt a lot more cheerful because of them.

If you are open to it, many fun and happy things can happen on a run. I noticed the small hills on the route. I enjoyed the sound of the birds and the rustling of the leaves as a light wind blew through the trails. Lots of folks were out running or walking their dogs or slowly cycling along and it was nice seeing their smiling faces.

I think my favorite part of the run was the brief time I spent at the very end of Cochrans Crossing. This hilarious duck seemed to be lost, far away from the big pond. As I ran, he ran too. Along the trail he ran and I thought maybe we were racing, but as I got closer, he got a little scared and left the trail for the golf course.

Thankfully my husband brought me a sports drink when I needed it at mile 5 and I was able to finish my 9.5 miler feeling strong. You know you've had a happy run when you come back after enduring hardships only able to remember the happy parts of the run.

Cupcake Sliders

My mom and I are heading to a bake sale at Texas Children's Hospital tomorrow morning to raise funds for childhood neuroblastoma research. We are participating in honor of a great young man named Matthew who is a 17-year-old high school senior battling this horrible disease.

We both made some great baked goods but I'm most impressed with Morgan's contribution. She made these adorable cupcakes that look like little burgers. So cute! They are made with white cake batter to resemble the buns, a brownie in the shape of the burger, coconut dyed green to resemble lettuce and red frosting for the ketchup. The "fries" are apple slices.

So thankful to have a creative daughter :-)

Breakfast for Dinner

Just one of those nights here at Casa Crews. Long and exhausting day and Bill & I are happily having chili. But Dylan doesn't like chili. So I thought I would make his favorite meal- pancakes and bacon. And not just any ole pancakes either- chocolate chip pancakes! And that bacon is what he refers to as "real bacon" because I didn't buy the turkey bacon (or even worse, veggie bacon).

Ah, dinner time on a cold Thursday night. Yum!

The Family That PLAYS Together

How I love my swimming family! All four of us have been (or currently are) competitive swimmers. The only swim coach who could say that he coached all four of us at one time or another was the late Dick Bower. We sure miss him.

This past Sunday, I hired a photographer to shoot Dylan underwater. He got some amazing shots of my boy swimming. I really wanted those this year because this is the year that he lettered in high school swimming.

While there, we also had a family photo taken. This has to be one of the most fabulous family photos ever taken! Us doing what we love all together. Made my heart happy.