October photo dump

Ahhhhh - Where has October gone?! I cannot believe it is time for October's photo dump and I have fallen off the blogging horse for several weeks (SORRY). Life has been nuts. However with this month's photo dump you will be caught back up pretty quickly:

Grandpa's 85th Birthday party
LOVE HIM

Some of the Thomson Women with Grandpa

Warrior Day of Service prep
300 Junior High & Senior High youth
doing service projects around our area on
an early out day

why wouldn't we let the baby play on the pool
table while we prepped Warrior Day of Service?!

Crocheted some cute hats for
my favorite twins

Warrior day of Service
Beautiful Choas

Trip to Minneapolis with my family

Dinner with my parents

A very entertaining evening with:
Brother, Husband, Dad, & Cousin
Oh. The. Stories.

Lobster grilled cheese with an egg on top
It was AMAZING!

Magic Bands Arrived

Winterizing Camp
This is what we call putting all our eggs in one basket
Dear Mice, STAY OUT of our new mattresses.

A beautiful fall day horse back riding with a member from church
I LOVE instagram (follow me: sathomson)

Gross rainy day 10K in Fargo
sorry about the blurry pic but it is all we got
NO MEDAL :( we got a hockey puck
How am I suppose to hang that on my wall?

Many a good walk and run at the Arb
BEAUTIFUL fall trees with berries

WE SOLD OUR HOUSE!
I was looking threw the abstract of title of the house
and this is the first entry. It was originally built in 1870
We live (until mid November) in a piece of history

One of the church ladies is afraid I will have cold toes this winter
so she made me a pair of slippers

My husband this morning
He is dressed as the dude from Texas Chainsaw Massacre
I did his makeup and was pretty proud of it

How was your October? 

Did I miss anything in your world?

Tell me something ridiculously random.

Wedding Dress Shopping

Done. Check one more thing off the to-do list before June 8.

I have to admit I was not overly looking forward to dress shopping. I hate wearing a dress 99% of the time and would much rather wear jeans and a sweatshirt than a dress any day. Either way, I am getting married and it does require a dress (yes I know there are pant suit options and all sorts of other ridiculous options but really I should probably wear a dress to my wedding). I realize that this is the day (or months in some women's lives) that they look forward to since they are young girls. I on the other hand dreaded the idea of going wedding dress shopping. I hate shopping particularly for dresses, particularly fancy dress shopping where I feel pressure of one sort of another.

This past Saturday after the Fargo Mini Marathon, my mother, and a good friend and I headed out on what I knew would be a daunting task. I knew I had to try on what felt like a bazillion dresses. I had two appointments, one at a small bridal store and one at a all too common bridal store. I tried on what felt like every dress the small bridal store had and had two dresses (totally and completely different from each other) that I liked at the end of our time there. At store number two I tried on what felt like another bazillion dresses, although the nice part at store two was I didn't have to try on several styles of dresses as I had tried on those styles at store one and knew I hated them. All throughout the appointment we kept comparing every dress back to the two dresses from store one. After store two we went back to store one again and I tried on those two dresses again (twice each) and ended up picking one of the dresses. I had a really hard time choosing a dress, both were nice for sure. I wasn't sure how to choose which dress, I knew I wouldn't have the over the top experience that some people have that leave them in tears the moment that they put on a dress, but I was hoping that I would at least have teh gut feeling that "this is the one" and as I went back and forth between the two dresses the one I chose just seemed right.

I sort of am annoyed at the wedding industry most days, I find it obnoxious that their sizing required me to buy a dress that is four sizes bigger than my pant size, seriously, why can't they make their sizing normal?! I am also annoyed at how big of an industry it has become and I really am trying to not make this wedding over the top and materialistic. I really am trying to focus on what is important and not spend a ton and a half. I really am trying to keep it relatively simple. But I keep hitting a wall with the wedding world, it is a crazy crazy crazy world!

At the end of the day as annoyed as I am with the wedding industry I am jazzed that I have a wedding dress and don't have to go shopping for a dress again. I am thankful for friends and family who will witness to our wedding, hold us in prayer, and will help us as we journey into life as a married couple despite what the wedding industry is or is not.
 

Fargo Mini Marathon 2012 Review

Fargo Mini Marathon's Running Reformers

         This was the first year of the Fargo Mini Marathon, this race took place of the Oktoberfest run that had usually took place in mid-October. The race was moved to south Fargo and began and ended in the Scheel's arena. The race seemed well organized from the start & packet pick up was a breeze. The shirts are wonderful athletic shirts rather than cotton we got the same Asics bags that they use for the Fargo marathon in May.
     The race took off late due to massive amounts of problems with traffic and being able to get to the arena on time, I was thankful our hotel was super close to the arena making getting there a bit easier. There was three races: 5k, 10k, and a half marathon. There was also a kids race at noon. The half marathon began last. The course was interesting to say the least, some of the volunteers were phenomenal and some of the volunteers were less than helpful. The race was a little hard to figure out because it felt like we kept running through a ton of different housing communities, all which looked the same and were to a certain degree switchbacks. There was even a few times that we got on paths that felt like we were running through people's yards. It was good but interesting to say the least. The wind blew strong and hard as there is very little to block the wind out there.
      There were moments that I wish I had a camera with me because seriously there were arrows on the ground pointing in all three directions, thank God I run mid-pack and didn't have to try to figure out where I was going, I definitely would have gotten confused and turned around. I am not certain if I liked this year's route better than the old one, I know change is always hard, but this course felt so strange to say the least. Although I am sure I'll get use to it and as the neighborhoods develop a little that will help so then there is not construction workers and trucks everywhere. Despite the crazy route, I was happy to have set a new personal record. I am certain that for me any given race is about 75% mental game and 25% physical game. I have to keep overcoming the mentla game that sometimes gets the better of me.
     I always love getting the medal placed around my neck at the end of a race and the runner's high that follows. Ahhh how wonderful - gives me reason to run. Overall I was satisfied with the race. The Running Reformers ran well for sure, we came in with three personal records and a fourth good run. I am proud to be a running reformer. The post race food was slightly strange, it was cookies, chicken noodle soup, bread, and peanut/candy corn mix. I missed the bananas and Cass Clay chocolate milk. I love racing with friends for sure!!!!
     I am jazzed that this week is going to be a 2 medal week, this coming Saturday I get to earn my Crosslake Run series medal as well. I am running the Monster Dash 5k in Crosslake on Saturday, should be wonderful. This race also has me jazzed and re-excited about training for the Tinkerbell half marathon this January in Disneyland!

Sick

Dear sickness invading my body,
   You have had your four days and I am over you, okay so I am clearly not over you as I still feel like crap. I have tried going to the doctor (which for me is a huge step) and they say you are viral and there is nothing I can do other than let my body battle you. I am annoyed with you. My throat hurts and my nose is like a faucet. I am taking vitamin c to combat you as well as drinking far more water than I can fathom. Yesterday I tried to flush you out with over 150 ounces of water. Leave me alone.
    Truth be told what annoys me more than being sick is the training you are screwing up. Do you know that I am running a half marathon on the 20th? While I am thankful you didn't show up over that weekend, I am still over the top annoyed. I can't make up for the training lost or the miles I wish I had run. I can't make up for wanting to get in one more super hard long run and you screwed it up. Three-fourths of the way through you make me incapable of finishing what I had started, I was coughing and my throat stinging. You annoy me. GO AWAY and do not come back, you aren't welcome.
     When you leave please also don't go to anyone else. So far you have stayed away from my fiance (which I am not certain how as he as sat on the couch next to me as I coughed and coughed and coughed, not to mention he leans over and kisses me goodnight when he is leaving each night) please continue to do so. I need to keep training, I need to keep running, I need to be able to talk on the phone to run and not sound like I do. So please please please, leave me alone.
Love,
  Me