Flood, Part 1

D-man and I awoke at 5:15 this morning to 2 inches of water in our house. Luckily, we have tile throughout the house and 4-inch tile baseboards. Right? Not today! Over the next hour-and-a-half, the water rose to 8 inches (mid-shin level, seriously!) and it was pouring in the back door and in the door from the garage at one point. Both were closed.

I had standing water in my car. Both our front yard and back yard were under water. The water was waist-deep in the street.

The waters have receded (fairly quickly, I might add, though I'm not used to floods, so this may be normal) and we're drying out. Pictures to come.

Over the last week, we've had an eventful time. D-man's mom came into town this weekend to take care of a little business, and we went to the warehouse where their crate stuff is stored (the stuff they crated to bring back to the US from Brasil). Included in that crate stuff was my china cabinet (made from the wood of a demolished farmhouse), my tea set (which we managed to find half of), and my marble-top table with palm leaves inlaid on top. The cabinet is in the house, and the table is waiting for a place. I'm not sure where it's going yet.

I started my running again today, and I feel surprisingly good. I have been fighting a headache all weekend, and I thought it may not be helped by running (as opposed to walking), but there is currently no relapse in sight.

Interval Training, Interval

I have been on a sort of hiatus from training for the past week, due to knee pain, which is apparently very common for beginning runners. It started last Saturday and kept getting worse, even after I decided to take a few days off on Monday. Then I figured out that the knee pain wasn't only from running. It was from really being sick. (Oh, the joy of being married -- sharing everything -- yes, everything) I've had a cold, complete with body aches, that was graciously given to me by D-man as he was trying to get rid of it himself. After a few days of sick-infested bedding and torrential rain here in Houston (praise God our house didn't flood), I am feeling somewhat closer to my normal state. Not 100%, but close enough to get on the bike today and think about running again soon.

Pulitzer 2009

The Pulitzer prize winners will be announced today at 3 p.m., EDT. Update on the winner for fiction/novel to come.

Update:
The winner has been announced. This year it's Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. On the list it goes!

Abundant blessings

D-man and I spent the weekend in Louisiana with Big Shady and her family, and I was completely blessed and refreshed. I hadn't been there in 3 1/2 years, and I had forgotten what a retreat it is to be there. Her parents are amazing people, and I love being around them. Her nephews are the cutest little guys ever, and they had much fun playing with Mr. D-man. Complete with flipping the canoe. Twice. Once with the boys in it, and once with the dog.

It is amazing what a weekend away from home, as restful as home is, will do for your soul. I was blessed to see Big Shady and participate in her family's version of the Passover dinner, celebrating God's specific provision for their family at this time of year, every year. I was blessed, as always, to hear her dad preach, and to worship in ways that I often don't feel comfortable with elsewhere. I was blessed to make Big Shady laugh with a comment that wasn't necessarily meant to be funny. I was blessed to watch Mr. D-man play with Big Shady's nephews and know that he is going to be a wonderful father someday, as he is being a wonderful husband in the here and now. I have prayed that we would have eyes to see God's specific provision for our needs (sometimes it's only a matter of perspective!), so that we may celebrate it. May He be faithful, as He always is, to answer.

Recent Headlines

A current headline on weather.com: "Western storminess leads to severe storms"

Interval Training, Week 2

I started week 2's workouts today, and I was really excited about the difference I felt in the running portions of the intervals. I was able to run a little longer without looking at my watch (all the while wondering when it would be over), though by the 5th 90-second interval, I had the world's biggest side stitch and didn't know if I could do number 6 (which turned out to be 2 full minutes instead of 1 1/2). That I am writing this post says that I did, in fact, complete number 6, and I survived well and am quite proud of myself.

On to the 5K!

Interval Training, Day 1

I decided a couple of days ago that I was going to start some interval training. Why I decided that I cannot, for the life of me, figure out this morning. I can walk 3 miles at a pretty good pace without getting winded. I hate to run. HATE it. So, I can't figure out what inspired me except the novelty of a challenge. The particular intervals I'm doing are designed to get you from nothing to running 3 continuous miles in 9 weeks. Pretty good, since we're thinking about doing a 5K in about that. Free Astros tickets come into the motivation for that one -- 2 for each participant. It's good to have goals.

Anyway, I did my first session yesterday, and I am SORE. I'm not sure how I feel about that, except I'm glad that I was acquainted with exercise and didn't try to start from nothing. Anyone out there have any ideas or advice on how to get the most out of interval training?