Mixin' it up at The Estate

Yes, I have been blogging a lot lately. I suppose one will seek out connection with the outside world when left with a quazi-vacuum of time following the loss of a relationship. Anyway, today's post is about some of the changes I've made around the house. As you'll see in the pictures, I've added a house plant to the mix. I call him Frizzy. He just spoke to me at Whole Foods, so I brought him home. I've also replaced my ginormous dining room table that seated six (eight with the optional leaf) with a tall-top table that normally seats two, but can be folded out to seat four (that would require a couple more chairs I don't have, but whatever). I feel like I have a whole new dining room. Other changes will be forthcoming, but for now, here are some pictures of the progress here at The Estate.

Training for a marathon

As some of you know, I have run the Country Music Half Marathon the past two years here in Nashville. Both years, I followed the training schedule and arrived at race day feeling great. Neither race was "easy," but I felt good about my efforts. So, this summer, I decided to train for and run a full marathon in San Antonio. I'm five or six weeks into my training schedule, and this morning, I hit the proverbial wall. I walked out my door this morning at 8:30 with intention of running 12 miles. I've previously run 9, 10, and 7 miles on long run days, and figured the 12-miler would be tough, but not ridiculously so. I was wrong. By about mile 7, I was totally zapped. I ended up slowing down to walk about every 10 minutes and just couldn't get back on top. I seem to have run out of fuel, because my breathing was fine, but my legs just didn't want to function. Anyway, all of this is to say that, while I arrived home feeling very discouraged, I plan to continue with my training and fight through it.

If any of you Renderings readers out there want to join me in San Antonio to run or simply cheer on November 16th, I would welcome the company. Otherwise, just say a prayer for me and my legs.

On a totally unrelated note, I was pretty fired up by Joe Biden's speech last night. I've always liked him, and I'm totally psyched that he's Barack Obama's running mate. In addition, I continue to be impressed with how cool Obama seems. I mean, he walked out on that stage like a celebrity last night. I love that he's this intelligent, well-spoken guy who also has swagger and chutzpah. O-BA-MA!!!

Why some republicans suck...

The following load of crap ended up in my inbox today from one of my more conservative church members, despite repeated attempts on my part to ask him not to send me such hateful propaganda. My "favorite" part is when they make fun of Ted Kennedy, because, you know, having a life-threatening brain tumor isn't enough. Anyway, this is the kind of crap that makes me never ever ever want to listen to a damned word a republican says:

2008 Democrat National Convention Schedule of Events

7:00 pm OPENING FLAG BURNING

7:15 pm PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE U.N.

7:20 pm Ted Kennedy PROPOSES A TOAST

7:25 pm NONRELIGIOUS PRAYER AND WORSHIP - by Jesse Jackson & Al Sharpton

7:45 pm CEREMONIAL TREE HUGGING - by Darryl Hannah

7:55 pm Ted Kennedy PROPOSES A TOAST

8:00 pm HOW I INVENTED THE INTERNET - by Al Gore

8:15 pm GAY WEDDING PLANNING - by Rosie O'Donnell

8:35 pm Ted Kennedy PROPOSES A TOAST

8:40 pm OUR TROOPS ARE WAR CRIMINALS - by John Kerry

9.00 pm MEMORIAL SERVICE FOR SADDAM AND HIS SONS - by Cindy Sheehan and Susan Sarandon

10:00 pm ANSWERING MACHINE ETIQUETTE - by Alec Baldwin

11:00 pm Ted Kennedy PROPOSES A TOAST

11:05 pm COLLECTION FOR THE OSAMA BIN LADEN KIDNEY TRANSPLANT FUND - by Barbara Streisand

11:15 pm FREE THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS FROM GUANTANAMO BAY - by Sean Penn

11:30 pm OVAL OFFICE AFFAIRS - by William Jefferson Clinton

11:45 pm Ted Kennedy PROPOSES A TOAST

11:50 pm HOW GEORGE BUSH BROUGHT DOWN THE WORLD TRADE TOWERS - by Howard Dean

12:15 am TRUTH IN BROADCASTING AWARD - Presented to Dan Rather by Michael Moore

12:25 am Ted Kennedy PROPOSES A TOAST

12:30 am SATELLITE ADDRESS - by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

12:45 am NOMINATION OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA - by Nancy Pelosi

1:00 am Ted Kennedy PROPOSES A TOAST

1:05 am CORONATION OF BARACK HUSSEIN OBAMA

1:30 am Ted Kennedy PROPOSES ANOTHER TOWSSHT

1:35 am Bill Clinton asks Ted Kennedy to drive Hillary home

The Love of a Child

This little girl is the 2.5 year old daughter of a couple of my good friends from church. This evening, when I went over to their house for dinner, she made my night. As I walked up to the door, she was jumping up and down and clapping about my arrival. As soon as I entered the house, I just had to go and see her new big girl bed. She was quite proud of it. I was introduced to Baby Lucy and some other dolls and then I was asked if I had a big boy bed. I told her that, yes, I do have a big boy bed.

After awhile, her Mom (who is a few weeks away from having another child) asked the little girl to show me the gift that she (the little girl) would be giving to Baby Brother. It was a little palm tree with small slots for pictures as the branches. She went from branch to branch telling me who people were: Mama, Dad, Nanna and Papa, Grandpa, and herself. Then, she got this perplexed look on her face and said, “There’s no picture of Mr. Alan on here.” Then, I laughed pretty uncontrollably when her solution was, “We should take out Mama’s picture and put one in of Mr. Alan.” I told her that I was flattered, but that Mama’s picture should probably stay in there.

It was so great to experience that little girl’s love this evening. As far as she was concerned, I was part of the family, even if just for that moment or for the evening. As her Mom and Dad prepared dinner, we hung out, talked, played silly games, and simply enjoyed one another’s company. Tonight, that sweet girl pictured above taught me to sit back and enjoy simple camaraderie and friendship, and that sometimes it’s good to jump up and down and clap when you see somebody you love to be around.