...thinks a lot...writes about stuff...

In loving memory of Carol Hoffman 1933-2025 You slipped away like sunlightmelting on the edge of dawn—like the sway of the wave returning to the oceanjust the hushof petals falling, softlyafter the bloom. The sky didn’t weep.It opened.Rain falling, filling the space you leftTears falling, us feeling bereft. A soft wind gathered youin invisible arms,and you rose,a feather in the breathof…

Motherhood starts with blood, sweat and tears – LITERALLY. It continues on with hope mingled with fear and joy. There is exhaustion. There is panic. There are late nights that blur into mornings. BUT there are smiles. There are quiet snuggles. There are moments when your heart is full and tears track down your cheeks. There is nothing in life that can prepare you for it. The evening of March 24,…

Holy crap. It’s been over a year since I wrote one of these. I’m sorry? You’re welcome??? Runner’s Log 4/11/2023 👟 72 frickin’ degrees…heck ya I’m running outside 👟 This is the first time running on the road since September…here goes nothing. 👟 If I’m alive and have blood pumping through my veins, why do my legs look a shade paler than a corpse? 👟 If I’m right-brained and right-handed, why…

This is not one of my sarcastic posts, so if that’s what you came for, you may want to move on. Also, please excuse grammatical errors. This post is heart-driven. I’ve been thinking about pain a lot lately. As someone who suffers from chronic migraines, it frequently passes my mind. Friends who know me well, know that I am religious. I’m not the perfect example (sometimes I wonder if I’m even a…

When I was a very little girl, I had my heart set on a baby doll that came with her own cradle. I searched for it in the JCPenney catalog, wrote Santa a letter, and wished for it every night.That was the very thing that I received Christmas morning, and I thought I knew what Christmas was truly about I got a little older and wanted Christmas to feel like Christmas. It’s weird growing up in the…

WANTED: Motivation, Energy (and Sanity) #runnerslogs #running #motherrunner #whyamistilldoingthis

Runner’s Logs: 3/12/2021 – Yes, I’m aware of how long it’s been since the last post. See title of this post for explanation. 👟 Took my measurements the other day and I’m doing great! 👟 I celebrated by eating a donut. UPDATE: measurements aren’t so great now. 👟 Why is it I have solid intent to workout but as soon as I walk through my door at the end of the door, it disappears? Is there like a…

Grief, Hindsight, and a Dash of Reality

Grief is stupid. One minute you’re laughing and the next you’re trying to conduct music in front of a church congregation and trying not to cry. Grief is also as inconvenient as it is brutally honest. Combine grief with a sprinkle of hindsight and prepare yourself for some pretty heavy self-loathing. But sometimes, I think, we need that dash of reality. A few months before my 13th birthday, my…

This is a talk that I gave in church on January 9, 2022. For my friends of different faiths or those of my atheist friends, you may not be able to apply everything that I spoke about but please know that I will be the boost when you’re trying to take that first step or your safe place when you don’t know how to start your climb. I know I’ve mentioned before, probably obnoxiously so, how much I…

Good news. Bad news.

Runner’s Log 7/12/2021 – (It’s been a heck of a long time since one of these…) 👟 Good news: When challenged to a race by my four-wheeler riding son, I can run (according to him) 10 miles an hour. 👟 Bad news: I can only maintain that speed for about 5 seconds. 👟 Common sense news: You shouldn’t try to run 10 miles an hour in the first half mile of your run especially if you just did 30 minutes…

I ran 4 miles every day for a year – seriously.

(Originally posted on my personal blog – dandelionmax.wordpress.com on March 25, 2021) Today marks one year of one of the wildest ideas I’ve ever had, and no, I don’t mean getting married and moving to Wisconsin. On March 25, 2020, I woke up, realized I had a daughter getting married in a matter of months, and I looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy’s busted sister. (Don’t pacify me, I was getting…

I put in 4 miles every day for a year – Yep, you read that right.

Today marks one year of one of the wildest ideas I’ve ever had, and no, I don’t mean getting married and moving to Wisconsin. On March 25, 2020, I woke up, realized I had a daughter getting married in a matter of months, and I looked like the Pillsbury Dough Boy’s busted sister. (Don’t pacify me, I was getting pretty squishy.) I finally had been able to ease migraines enough to start running…

Daith Piercing for Migraines – One Year In

For years, I had frequent headaches. I thought they were just sinus headaches but after speaking with a specialist, I realized they were actually migraines. In August of 2019, I suffered the worst migraine I’d ever had. It lasted 18 hrs. I could not eat – everything came back up. I could not sleep. I took Tylenol with Codeine and could not get relief. I actually couldn’t talk because it hurt so…

Grandma’s Pockets

Do you ever know you want to say something but you’re not sure how to say it? That’s where I’m at right now, so please bear with me. On January 21, 2021, my Grandma Una passed away. Grandma never met a person she couldn’t be nice to (at least not that she let us know) and never came across a sewing project that she shouldn’t conquer. From blankets to potholders or doll clothes to full sized…

Clean Mirrors and New Eyes

As a kid, my sister and I had to get creative to find ways to entertain ourselves. We mastered the art of monkey climbing the archway to the dining room, we figured out how to jump from furniture piece to furniture piece without stepping in hot lava, aka the floor, and we spent hours outside perfecting the perfect mesquite-bean mud pie. One of my favorite things to do was to take the hand mirror…

It’s Christmas Eve and I’m just sitting here going through a checklist in my mind, making sure I’ve got all the gifts taken care of. I know what you’re thinking – Christmas is more than just gifts. What if I told you Christmas is ALL about the gifts? Before you get your panties in a twist, let me explain. When my youngest son was little, he carried around a sweet, soft, stuffed Pooh Bear. I…

Doggie treats and my derriere

👟Runner’s Log 7/31/2020

👟Holy crap, my knees hurt. KT tape, don’t fail me now.

👟When my niece was young and didn’t want to do something, she would say “knees hurt”. When I say “knees hurt” it’s because I don’t want to run but also because my knees, do in fact, hurt. 🤷🏼‍♀️

👟By mile 1.5, my knees feel warmed up. It’s either that or the knee caps have detached and my body is in shock. It’s…

Let’s talk about sweat, baby.

Runner’s Log 6/30/2020

👟I had a REALLY hard time waking up this morning. I wanted to be on the road running by 6:30 a.m. but my body just didn’t want to get with the program. I should’ve listened. #foreshadowing

👟Why does it look like there is smoke in the air? Oh. That’s moisture in the air. Maybe it will drift off as the morning progresses. That’s a thing? Right????

👟It’s like…