Chicago Marathon 2010

All I can say is WHAT AN AWESOME WEEKEND!!!!! I'm going to have to break it down into parts. This will be part One.

Matt and Rebecca arrived from Colorado at around 12:30 a.m. on Saturday. Michael picked them up at the airport and they stayed that night at Michael and Bern's house. I didn't get to see them until Saturday afternoon when we all got together at Tresa and Chris's condo in Chicago for a nice pasta dinner. We had to get Matti ready for his loooonnnngggg run the next day. It was so good to see them and to have our family together. We all took turns holding the baby and chatting, but we made it an early evening because Tresa is still a bit sleep deprived and Matt needed to get his rest. A friend of Matt's from Colorado that was also running the marathon came by to say hi. It was great to see him.

On Sundays the trains from where we live that go into the city don't run very often, so in order to get to the marathon by start time, we had to get up at 3:00 a.m. and catch the 4:53 a.m. train. Man was that early! We got to the city and immediately started texting with Matt and Rebecca to see if we would be able to find them before the race. We didn't. They actually were exactly across from us at the starting area, but this is what it looked like.


First of all you couldn't get around the fence and second of all, that sea of hats that you see, are all of the runners. So we were on this side of the runners and Matti and Rebecca were on the other side. Matt was in with the runners and Rebecca was outside the fence on that side. It was nuts and oh so exciting. It was so hard knowing that Matt was so close, but oh so far away. I wanted so badly to give him one more kiss and hug and one more good luck, but there was no way.

It was so emotional waiting for the race to start and then watching them all start walking...slowly....waiting for the runners up front to move far enough forward so the whole group could start moving. It took Matt 20 minutes to actually reach the starting line from where he was!

As soon as the runners were off and running we managed to locate Rebecca. Thank goodness for cell phones and texting! The three of us went to grab some coffee and breakfast to go and started walking to the half way point of the race in the hopes of catching a glimpse of Matt in the sea of runners.

Irv and I actually did a LOT of walking. It wasn't a simple task to get around the throngs of people and all of the closed roads. We walked and we took cabs, and eventually we got to the 13 mile mark and stood and waited with Rebecca. We watched runners go zooming by and other runners trotted by. There were lots of signs and cow bells and yelling and cheering. There were runners in tutus and super hero garb and runners in regular running clothes. It was a sight to see. We got dizzy watching the bobbing heads of thousands of runners while we watched for Matt. Then Rebecca saw him and he saw her and waved. Irv and I didn't see him and he quickly scoured the crowd once he saw Rebecca, but he didn't see us either. She said he looked strong and really good.

We made our way to the finish area. We met at our prearranged spot and it was just so cool. Matt had done a fantastic job.

Remember when I told you he had hurt his knee when he ran the Imogene Mountain Run...well both of his knees started bothering long before the marathon...but he ran anyway and did it in 4 hours 8 minutes and 25 seconds!

To put it in perspective.....there were a total of 35,763 runners and Matt came in 9955th! Out of 19769 male runners, Matt came in 7173rd. Out of the 3001 male runners in his 25-29 age group, Matt came in 1153rd. The winner of the race was a 23 year old Kenyan who ran it in 2 hours, 6 minutes and 24 seconds! It just blows my mind.

We had just the best day. Michael and Bern came down and we met up with them after the race at a bar where we could all sit, have something to eat and watch the Bears game. We caught the 4:30 train and got home around 6:00. It was a long day, but a fantastic day. I am so proud of Matt and of all of the runners. They just amaze me with their strength and their dedication to a sport they love.


I will be back later this week with some after the marathon pictures, some Graham updates, a little bit about my terrifying Chicago Cab ride and about all the work we are doing on our vintage etsy shop. I hope all is well with you. I will chat with you real soon.

Catch Up Time

Well, let's see....Graham will be two weeks old on Friday. He is doing well. He hasn't quite figured out when to sleep and when to eat, but he will when he's ready. His mommy hopes that is soon.

Matt will be home Friday late night. His girlfriend, Rebecca will be with him. We are really looking forward to their visit. We haven't seen them since Christmas.

A friend of mine will be in southern Illinois tomorrow and asked me for a list of Vintage things I am looking for. She said if she sees anything, she will text me a picture to see if I want it. How sweet is that?

Irv is busy working on that old window so we can turn it into something really cool for our shop. I also found a place online that sells the chalkboard vinyl in a big roll. Now I don't have to buy it on e-bay. It came today. Yippee! Now I can make more chalkboards!

I put my SNOW letters in Four Dog Day already. I know it is only October, but they were done and it's cold and snowing somewhere, so why not? I like them.

I fell off the healthy eating and workout wagon for a little while, but I jumped right back on this week. I even walked at lunch today. Chee Hoo for moi!

I need new clothes really really bad. My fall/winter clothes were looking pretty crappy last year so when I pulled them out this year and took a look, I knew they had to GO! So, I logged into Ann Taylor Loft the other night and had some fun. Of course I ordered some cute little sweaters and today it was almost 80 outside....but I've lived here long enough to know that winter is just around the corner.

I went to the GAP on my way home from work the other day to get some khaki pants for this fall and they had 3 pairs of womens khakis. Are you kidding me? It's fall and it is the GAP! How could they NOT have KHAKI pants??? That's what they are known for!! The girl said they aren't sure what happened and that they had lots of black pants. Black pants? I want khaki!! So I bought the pair right off the mannequin!

I took Friday off. We have a really busy weekend planned. We are spending the day at Tresa and Chris's in the city on Saturday and then Sunday is the Chicago Marathon. We will be down there cheering on Matt. His knee is pretty bad right now, so he isn't sure what's going to happen, but he is going to give it one heck of a try. He has trained so hard for this. I hope he can run. I miss being a spectator. It will be fun yelling, "Run Matti run!" :)

I also got my hair cut yesterday....really short. I'm sure I'll have some pictures of it next time.

Well, I really have some work to get done so I have to close for now. I will be back after this wild and wonderful weekend with lots of pictures and stories to share. Have a great rest of the week. Chat with you soon.

Oh, I went for my mammogram today......I hope you are keeping up with yours.

Happy Weekend!

We had a great day today. We met Michael and Bern for breakfast and then headed over to the flea market. This isn't my favorite flea market...it's just too expensive. I prefer the one with all the "junk". We did have fun though...the only bad part was that the temp only got up to 55 today and with the wind it felt like winter! We froze our butts off even though we were dressed warmly.

I found 3 awesome things. The two frames will probably become chalkboards and the window......that will be a surprise.They will all be available in our etsy shop, Four Dog Vintage soon! Irv is already working on the window.



I hope you had a great day today. Tomorrow we are heading out early to go visit Tresa, Chris and little Graham. I will take lots of pictures.

Have a good one and I'll chat with you soon!

Let Me Introduce Myself.....

Hi, I'm Kathy...nice to meet you. :)

I am still here. I am still reading blogs, but just not getting to comment on as many as I did before. Irv and I are working very hard to get more of the chalkboards done, and I am working on more letters for Four Dog Day and I am searching for treasures for Four Dog Vintage. In fact we are headed to a flea market tomorrow with Michael and Bernadette.

So get this...tonight I was scrolling down the blogs I read over on the sidebar of my blog when lo and behold, there was a picture of one of my aprons. Well it seems that Green Girl in Wisconsin is having a giveaway and it is for something from Four Dog Day! Isn't that cool? She decided to feature an etsy shop each month this year and I am it right now. I am so flattered and so excited.

If you have never read Green Girl's blog....you are missing out. She is a fantastic writer that tells the greatest stories. Check out her blog here. There is info about the giveaway here.

So, if you want to read a great blog and win something from my shop....stop on over and visit the Green Girl in Wisconsin. Thanks Green Girl!

Sunday we will be visiting Tresa, Chris and baby Graham! I can't wait to see him again. Then on Friday night, Matt and Rebecca will be flying in from Colorado and on that Sunday 10/10/10....Matt will be running in his first marathon. We will be there to cheer him on....so yep, I am busy, busy, busy....but life is oh so good.

Have a splendid weekend and I'll chat with you soon.

My Newest Project

Can you believe it? No new Graham pictures! That's because I won't see him until the weekend. They are doing well and adjusting to all that is new.

I finally got one of my new chalkboards listed in my etsy shop, Four Dog Vintage. This is a vintage picture frame turned into a chalkboard. I just love this. The hardest part of making these will be finding really unique and awesome frames to use. I have a few more done that I will be listing over the next few days, and then I will be searching high and low for frames. Irv is helping with these and we are hoping they do well. We shall see.

We are counting down the days until Matt gets here to run the Chicago Marathon. He is a bit concerned because he took a bad fall during his Imogene Pass Run and hurt his knee. It is still giving him a hard time when he runs and there isn't much "healing" time left before the marathon. I am keeping my fingers crossed for him. It would be a shame to go through all of that training and not be able to compete.

Depending on the weather, we might go to a big flea market this weekend with Michael and Bernadette. I am hoping we can go and hoping I find lots of awesome stuff!

Well, I have things I need to finish before bed. I hope things are going well for you. I hope to get around to visit all of your wonderful blogs this week. I have so much to catch up on. Have a great evening!

Our Little Man Came Home

Graham and Tresa came home yesterday.

They are both doing well and the period of adjustment for everyone is going nicely. We went yesterday to help them get settled in and then left so they could enjoy their first time in their home as a "family". I am so happy for them all. Such an exciting time for them....and for us.

Today Graham had a blood test to check his bilirubin level. It's fine...so no more concern about that. He has a hematoma on his little head, but it will go away in a few months. It was a tough delivery for mommy and him.

He seems to be a very calm and happy little guy. He got to meet Harley and Casey. The cats were curious. It was cute.


He got a little check up today and everything was good. He's already gaining weight.

We won't see him now until next weekend......that seems so far away.

Who Needs Sleep Anyway?

Just a quick hello....it is actually about 5:30 a.m. I went to bed at about 7:00 last night again and I guess I've had enough sleep. The dog woke me up at 3:00 a.m. to go out and I've been up since.

We went to the hospital to visit Graham and Tresa Saturday. Today we will be meeting them at their condo to help Tresa get up three flights of stairs and to get settled in with the baby. They are all doing well and adjusting.


I was still so tired yesterday from missing a night of sleep, but I'm thinking today will be better. We have shopping and laundry and cleaning to catch up on so it will be a busy day.

Well, I am thinking I should make a list for the grocery store. We aren't sure what time Tresa and Graham will be discharged, but we will need to be ready to go when she calls. Have a great day today and slowly but surely I will getting back to my normal schedule and I will be able to catch up with everyone. Chat with you soon.