Three Little Birds

Want to see Italy but feel overwhelmed with how to make it all happen? Love a seamless yet “in the moment” type of trip? We’ve got you covered with all the lessons we learned along the way in our 14 day journey through Italy (some learned the hard way). This will be tips for the actual travel part, packing, & preparation. I’ll do another blog post on tips for when you’re actually there. Here we go! Book a travel agent. We used Pandy Hinson with TravelMation - her services are free for you, but are priceless. She’s been there/done that and can arrange pretty much every single detail. This saved so much time and headache.  Book business class. Especially if you’re going to fly a red-eye or basically anytime that could involve any amount of sleep. It’s cheaper than first class but pricier than economy. But the best parts - at least on our flights - were that you get TONS of leg room, ability to lay down, a real pillow & blanket, and amazing food/drinks. We flew Lufthansa into ...

Up. A direction toward a higher place or position. A term that's used frequently in the trail running world... Pick your feet up... Keep your head up... Keep your heart up... That first statement would be the necessary mantra to avoid catastrophic injury on the trails during my time recently in the NC mountains at Sally McRae's trail running camp (when it didn't happen, I felt the reason for this mantra's purpose, haha). The last statement would be the one that keeps the fire burning for running and for life when it seems the last ember is burning. It's been almost 3 weeks since I arrived at Camp Grier with butterflies in my stomach at the thought of meeting my trail and ultra running idol, Sally McRae. When I found out my husband had gifted me the opportunity to go to this intimate running camp with Sally for my birthday, I knew I'd not only get to finally meet her (I'd stalked her on Instagram forever and in person when we went to spectate at Weste...

So we are control freaks. There. I admit it. We are 100% Type A control freaks. We are list-keepers and item-crosser-offers. We adore predictability. We like to plan ahead, make arrangements, put away for the winter, know what's ahead of us and then basically orchestrate the steps before, during, and after that "thing". We will ensure that we are taken care of. "What wrong with that?" you might ask. Self-sufficiency is a good thing. To a point. Glorification of your own self-sufficiency is  sometimes always a sure-fire way to separate yourself from spontaneity, from freedom of guilt, and from our Creator. The Creator of the stars and blue birds and mountain ranges and the desires of our very own hearts. Let me back up and give you some insight into this revelation I/we had this evening. But first I am going to rewind even further. When we were matched with our birthmom 3 weeks ago, we found out that she was due in 3.5 weeks. YIKES. With our other adoption...

We have had quite a few changes going on. I’ll give you a quick version, so try to keep up. 🤣 Justin had major ankle surgery. About a mile in to a long trail run, he had a sudden sharp pain in his left ankle. Long story very short, he had a bone chip lodged in his ankle joint along with severe tendinopathies of the ankle joint (thanks for decades of repetitive ankle rolling). On Oct 24, he underwent surgery to repair all this - it’s called micro fracture repair. The tendons were all tightened up and reconstructed, holes were drilled into bones to stimulate a faux cartilage to grow (it’s complicated).  He’s been 100% NON-weight bearing since that time. Not a lot of pain, but simple things like getting in and out of the shower, going up steps into the house, helping with laundry, etc are all much more difficult. I’ve (jokingly of course) said that Justin’s been “useless” to me these last few weeks. Haha!! So helping him get his knee scooter to the jeep with the garage door closed...

My eyes are heavy with the haze of anesthesia as I feel the weight of a warm post-op blanket cover my body. I’m suddenly aware of the pain. And then my eyes shoot open and I slur with a heavy tongue and a raspy voice to my husband there at my bedside in the sterile recovery room, “Is it over?! What did he say?!” There’s a pause and a sigh and I suddenly feel a weight in that moment, you know that heaviness of a moment that you know will change your path from here on out. “Babe, he said there’s nothing he could do…” Hot tears stream down my cheeks and the pain of a surgery meant to pave the path towards bringing life into this world is now a dead end. It was my 4th surgery to restore order to my uterus and ovaries, which were a tangled mess of endometriosis & scar tissue from a condition known as Asherman’s Syndrome. When I met my husband, I had already had one surgery that seemed benign enough, but it led to the eventual difficult journey of infertility. Of course we didn’...

A stage race is something that takes a lot of preparation - not just with physical training - but in planning ahead!!   During my long week there in the remote Colorado Rockies, I gave a LOT of thought as to what worked and what didn’t work for us, what items I could have left at home and what things I could not have lived without, items I wish I would have brought with us, and certain reservations/amenities worth the extra money. Here is a compilation of those thoughts for those of you considering TRR or for those of you who’ve already made the leap and are now scratching your heads at where to start… beware, it’s a long post!! But I looked for something like this before we left and found nothing. Reservations / Amenities Hotel/cabin reservations before the race - you will need to book early, like as soon as you register, if you want something good and in downtown Buena Vista. We stayed at a gorgeous cabin about 6 miles out of town - this doesn’t sound like far away, ...