Nebraska State Fair!

That was such a fun weekend! I met up with a friend in Grand Island, Nebraska for the Sate Fair! I haven't been to the fair since it was in Lincoln. It was a nice change of pace compared to the work week.

These bunnies! So cute. A woman walked by and said they look like Doberman Bunnies! Ha!

Tuna Salad in a cucumber! Little too sweet for my taste, but at least it was a vegetable!

LOOK at this beautiful horse! Belgian Horses are HUGE. I'm not very tall, but DANG. Their hooves were massive.

I'm not sure what kind of horse this was, but huge as well. They were gorgeous and so gentle!

676 pound pumpkin.

Ha. This was funny.

We couldn't figure out where the water was coming from. It was a fossil and gemstone station for the kids (big and small). We were so confused!

This little baby lost its mother. :( We had rain, and I think she was swept up with the waterway. The other kittens are eating on their own, but this one is the runt. Hopefully she/he will be okay. I named it Tux. :)

Two Posts in one week?

I know, right? What just happened? ;-) Ha.

This week has been a little easier than the last. Kind of. Less tears, more sullen, I suppose.

Yesterday, I met some of my family at Toast in Lincoln for supper. I don't think they have a thing on the menu that I haven't liked so far! I got the Caesar Wrap with chicken. So good! They overdid it with the black olives...just a few do the trick! I felt like I was a little too sullen that day. :-( I'm trying, but things are still really hard right now.

My ex's parents are married to different people, so I felt like I lost two families when we split up. I feel like he took the rug out from underneath me and the floor disappeared. The free-fall isn't so startling this week, but it's still present. We are supposed to meet for dinner one night this week or next, hopefully that will be a positive thing. I want to help, but I can't. My grief right now is very great and raw. I'm not sure how to navigate this 'friend' thing yet, I'm not sure what that means to me.

My mom posted the quote, 'What if I Fall? Oh my Darling, What if you Fly?' My wings may be broken, but since Halloween is coming up, I guess I need to find myself a broomstick to make up for what I lack right now. ;-) I'm not sure what that means, but I'll figure it out.
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On the Crohn's front:  It was a little bit of a struggle this week. I left so quickly over the weekend, I didn't really think about packing proper food for myself. You would think hanging out with a bunch of farmers would mean at least some sort of vegetable. ;-) I loaded up on salsa and things like that, so it wouldn't be a total catastrophe! I am feeling the effects of that weekend. Lots of water and good food this week to counteract it.

Oh, and I am so irritated. I was supposed to have a beef brisket for my lunches this week, but the only briskets I found were HUGE and cost $45 and above!! What?? C'mon guys. I realize that beef brisket is something that you only buy for huge parties, but I digress. Sigh. Next time I'll do a little more digging. I only went to one grocery store because I was in a hurry.

My running needs some work. I am being lazy, and it's showing!! It's staying darker in the mornings and it's hard to get up and just get it done! I need some motivation.

Eclipse Weekend

Hello!! I hope everyone's weekend was amazing.

Mine started out hard. I went for a run on Saturday morning and mowed my lawn. Break ups are just heartbreaking. I went to see him on Saturday afternoon after I finished all of my work at home. I guess it's really over now, but at least now I know where we stand. It really sucks losing someone you love completely to the unknown. He doesn't know where to turn, and I can't help him with any of it.

I made the split decision that night to visit a friend that lives a few hours from me. I called her telling her what went down, and she suggested that I come out to visit and stay for the Eclipse Party. I packed up my stuff, dropped my dog off at my parents' house, and off I went.

That break was exactly what I needed. Took a breath (okay, lots of breaths), gave myself some space to process and deal with it all, and I had a wonderful time in northern Nebraska. I even called in on Monday so I could enjoy the Eclipse with my friend.
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The Eclipse of 2017!! What a wonderful experience! Holy cow! I really thought everyone was CRAZY to come all the way here from everywhere imaginable. (I had heard there were people here from England!) That was awesome to see, as well. The drive home was....interesting. It required a certain amount of patience and I avoided I-80 at ALL cost. Smartest decision ever. ;-)

We had quite the spread of food. Burgers, hot dogs, chips and salsa, deviled duck eggs (yes, really!), and even cupcakes! I am going to be dreaming about those deviled duck eggs for a very long time. I have two friends that I get duck eggs from. I love them so much! They have more flavor, and they are bigger than a chicken egg. Win-win! ;-) Ha. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

This is the view her parents have every single day:

My crazy, amazing friend:

The 'boys' and Charlie the donkey!! They were soooo sweet!

Here are my friend's chickens! Their eggs are delicious:

Here are the ducks. Their eggs are even MORE delicious:

This is at totality. Gorgeous 360 sunset. Absolutely gorgeous:

The clouds out here were so weird. It had stormed the night before; there was even a tornado!

Here is a panoramic picture I took. 

  Can you see the star?

The sun and the star:

That was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had with nature. This weekend started out so painful, and ended with a sense of calm and clarity. I have an idea of what to do next, so I better get started!

OK, I May Have Lied.....

I may have lied the other day. Just a tiny bit. I MAY have signed up for another race. ;-) Ha. I signed up for the Buffalo Run 5 miler. That was fun last year, so I'm going to do it again this year. $20 for 5 miles, and I get a pair of shorts instead of a freaking T-shirt? Yay! The shorts from last year were really cute! It will be interesting to see what they come up with this year.

I haven't said much about my Crohn's Disease lately. To me, it's completely gone. I feel like a new person, and have for a very long time! It's amazing what the right nutritionist can do for someone! I am on the Jason Pearson Diet. Diet being loosely used here, by the way. Some days are harder than others (willpower and all that!) but I am still going strong. I've been off my medication since November of 2016!! (!!!!!!!!) I've had a few slips here and there, but I think it's just dry skin that causes issues, and probably not eating enough fat some days. I can't even tell you how much better life is on that front. Now to get the rest of my life figured out, and I'll be set!

Starting Over

First blog post in a while. This year was a lot better than last year in a lot of ways. I 'think' everything will work itself out, but for now, I'm just taking it one day at a time. There's a lot to think about, and there's a lot to straighten out. I feel like I'm waiting for something to happen, but if I don't DO something, then nothing will ever change. Change is good sometimes, even when it sucks. (I wrote this paragraph in 2016. Crappy that I'm going through this again this year, but funny that a pastor said that exact same thing to me yesterday about DOing something if you want to find your strength). I can DO all things through Christ who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13. The catch is, you have to DO something, not sit on your butt waiting for things to happen.

I dealt with a lot of tragedy last year, and a little tragedy this year. Some of it has been absolutely terrible, and the rest of it seems to at least be improving. Hopefully. At the end of it all, I came out a little stronger than I thought I would. Now another blow has come to pass, and here I sit. I do not like the unknown. I find it hard and frustrating.

I have an opportunity coming my way, but I feel like it's going nowhere. I know I need to be patient, but it's running thin.
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On the running front, it's getting better. My calf has loosened up to the point where I'm not feeling like death after every single minor run. ;-) It's still very annoying! But, I have races coming up! Specifically my last 10k of the season, The Harvest Moon Hustle (I don't get my BRIN series medal until I finish all three 10k's!) AND my second half marathon. VEGAS. Hopefully I will be able to get back to training for real so I can at least TRY to beat my PR of 2:34:43. I guess we'll see when the time comes!

Before the half, I ran a 5k (ish). The Color Vibe! That was so much fun! Even though it was rainy and muddy! So much color!! Those volunteers were amazing, as well.

 


My last 10k was fun! Cornfield Cornfield on my birthday! That was crazy! We had a tornado go through the night before, so the whole thing was a mess! Oh sweet volunteers, we LOVE you!! They had it all cleaned up and ready to go for the race! The only thing they had no control over was the power. They had to use a generator for the mics. I didn't even know they didn't have power until they told us! 1:04:20. 10:22 pace. Much better than the Leprechaun Chase in March!

After that race, I had a friend that put on a 5k in her hometown of Firth, NE. They raised funds for CPR classes for the town! How neat is that? That was a fun little race, and we received medals! If I look like I'm in pain here, I am:

There were some hills...and I'm still trying to loosen up my calf muscle! So much fun!

I'm not sure what's going to happen next, I just hope things start to look UP.