{beauty}

I wore these shoes on New Year's Eve.  They were a BOGO indulge I gave to myself back in October.     Remember, these shoes?  Well, they were my "BO" and the above were my "GO".  I love how substantial yet dainty they are with their ballet pink palette and tiny textured swiss dots.  With them on, I am about 6'1".  These pumps are comfy and sassy.  And, from my New Year's Eve test drive, they seem to be great dancers too.  I felt beautiful wearing these. 

The above were my Christmas gift from Kenny.  These are my 3rd pair of this exact running shoe.  I heart them big time.  I run about 15 miles a week in these babies.  To be honest, it takes everything in me not to wear them all the time because they are that comfortable.  These kicks are like my house shoes.  My slippers.  My sappy shoes as Kenny's Mamaw would say.  And, you know what?  I feel just as beautiful wearing these as I did wearing the above dainties.  There is strength inside a lady.  Strength to suck it up, carry on, make it happen and smile through on those days that suck. Women have a wonderful sense of making things seamless in a world full of stitches.  There is strength inside us so magnificent that it can't help but radiate the beauty of you.

{in peep toe pumps or kick ass running shoes}

God gave you beauty.  

It's your job to go out and let the world see Him shine.

.mac :)

1:44

A hair follicle frenzy,

Summiting from side-to-side,

A pony tail's roller coaster ride.

Kick-to-the beat pounding,

My feet?

Perhaps.

My beat?

Oh, yes.

Massive numbers.

iPods and watches.

"This run's for my daughter fighting cancer" signs pinned ahead of me.

I run faster.

Faster, because I CAN.

Faster, because I AM.

Able.

Inspired.

Fumes rumble inside my insides deep.

Decadent primal inertia flickers.

And I...

ignite |igˈnīt|verbcatch fire or cause to catch fire : [ intrans.
Neither sweat nor exhasution can fumigate my soul.I am present.Focused.Salt-N-Peppa's "Push It" Maino's "All the Above"Eminem's "Loose Yourself"
...."And the beat goes on, dadoom, dadoom, dadda..."
All of my yesterday's become my now.Gettum, feet.Legs lengthy, I stretch.Breathes holy and rhythmic.
Find me, finish line. Find me.
Ready or not, here I come.
.mac :)

Off!

On top.
On bottom.

And I am off for a run!

Happy Saturday, peeps!

.mac :)

Extending

Extend is a useful word.

It is appropriate in so many facets of my life.

This past Saturday Kim, her teaching buddy Rebekah, Kenny & myself ran in the Scenic City 5K.

From the pictures you can clearly see my dream outfit was no where near my start or finish line. Neither was make-up for that matter.

But being cute isn't what it's always about.

{I shutter as I just re-read my last sentence.}

Extending, however, is.

Extending the love for someone new in your family.

Extending the experiences you have together.

And Saturday's 5K did just that and more for me.

Extending, to me, is stretching myself further than I thought I could go.

It's grabbing onto what I know and moving faster and more fluid in my pace.

As my legs rhythmically propelled this 5K's course, extending was all I could think about.

Move forward.

Stretch further.

Reach out.

Exceed your limits.

And as my body put this notion in motion, my mind extended on anything but the pitter-patter of my size eights.

I thought of the freedom I have been extended with a healthy body and mind.

And I thought of the friends I ache for struggling for their very life.

I thought of the blessing God has extended me with 2 happy, bright boys to build into men.

And I thought of the sweet friends I know that ache for this very blessing in their own lives.

I thought of the talent I have been extended through the gifts of creating and teaching.

And I thought of those near and dear to me still searching for their strengths.

I thought of the hope that has been extended to me through a father's model.

And I thought of fatherless little ones out there still aching to call out to a daddy.

I thought of the tenacious spirit that has extended through my mom's body and into mine.

And I thought of the moms who never even gave themselves the chance to be called mama.

Move forward.

Stretch further

Reach out.

Exceed your limits.

Saturday's run was God's pep talk to me. As my feet and legs extended over and again, God's message did just that too.

Extend, Meghan.

Move forward.

Stretch further.

Reach out.

Exceed your limits.

• Move forward with Me. You are Mine. An extension of Me.
• Stretch further as My child. Let go of doubt; grab hold of my design for your life.
• Reach out to those who need Me. Smile. Serve. Soul Search.
• Exceed your limits as My limits for you do not exist. You can do all things through me for I strengthen you.

And my heart leapt at every extension of His words.

At His blessings in my life.

In my prayers for those who ache and hurt that healing, hope & health may come.

Through His call for me to extend.

Nail punctured hands extended on a wooden cross for me.

I will extend past myself and rest in His will for my life.

Move forward.

Stretch further.

Reach out.

Exceed your limits.

This guy above is doing just that.

Extending.

I see God's hand in His life from the front row seats.

Wonder just who saved those seats for me?

Crossing the finish line was only the start of my next race.

Who knew God was a runner?

.mac

14-9-12

So those numbers in my post title?

Yeah, that's 3 weeks worth of running.

Kenny's gift to me this Christmas was an iPod. I was so excited to have my very own. Our families, along with myself, all pitched in 4 years ago to get Kenny an iPod for his birthday. Since then, we have just shared.

But, I got my own!

And you know when you get a new toy on Christmas Day you just have to play with it!

I had started back running the week of Christmas as a gift to myself.

I love running. I always have. In high school and college, I finished in the top 3 in distance running when training for basketball and soccer. But I wouldn't consider myself ultra fast or anything. I think it's just my time. My time with myself, the road, and God.

I was running on a pretty regular regimen this summer, but when late fall hit and work k.Mac holiday orders picked up, I let running go to the wayside.

So, the week of Christmas I decided I would give myself the gift of running. We have no gym membership. Running outside in the elements is what Kenny and I do.

I kinda like not being confined to a treadmill or track. I like the change up of scenery.

So you can imagine I was so ecstatic to be given my very own iPod for Christmas!

Making my playlist is critical. I have to have just the right beats to get my kicks a-kickin' if you know what I mean.

I like all kinds of music. Ranging anywhere from Dolly Partin, Dr. Dre, Green Day, Alison Krauss, Billy Joel & Miley Cyrus. Kenny actually teases me that my running playlist is comparible to what foods I eat together.

Cause you see I can throw roast and onions, almond slivers, Parmesan cheese, red peppers, and strawberry slices in a wrap, warm it, and eat it up like candy!

Variety and texture is a must for this girl.

I actually have a new song for my new year. This song is a killer motivator for me. KILLER. You wanna talk about doubling my pace.

I am hooked on the message in the lyrics.

It's about fighting for better.

Rising above.

Expecting the best.

Letting go of the damage.

Going after your dreams.

Making them a reality.

My favorite line: "I'm prefectin' my hustle".

{Cause that's what we all should be doing.}

And the beat is the best.

Plus, a solid chorus.

{A repeater on my playlist no doubt.}

So the week of Christmas: 14 miles.

Week between Christmas and New Years: 9 miles.

First week of the 2010: 12 miles.

One of my new year's resolutions was to run a 1/2 marathon in April with my sister-in-law. And we are adding a little bit more to that. Kenny, Kim, and I are running the Scenic City Half Marathon. Kim's brother, Brad, is running the full 1/2 marathon. Kenny, Kim, and I are just doing a warm up to the 1/2 marathon for April so we are doing the 5k.

And I gotta look cute!

So let's shop around, shall we?

Loving these Nike Air Max. They are so smooth and sleek looking and they are my all time favorite color: CORAL. I bet I could superfly in these mammer-jammers. Cause cute shoes make you run faster, you know that right?

And then I will have to have some real mac daddy running pants, huh?

I think these will do.

And we all know purple is hot right now. I am debating on this running shirt for the winter/early spring months:

I am a sucker for the mock turtle neck. Truly, I am.

But this electric aqua is calling my name too:

Oooh, the choices.

Either hues would juxtapose my coral sneaks wonderfully.

I am leaning toward the purple. I'm not gonna lie.

Now to decide on a warm, trendy jacket to layer over top. I am thinking something in the heather gray arena. Whatcha think?

I already have great sleek black warming gloves and a super cute black ear wrap headband.

See, exercising is fun!

• It's the 2nd full week of 2010.
• Get your mantra song.
• Get motivated.
• Get cute.
• Make a change.
• Then smile and be proud you did!

All the above,

.mac