a sweet little girl, my new toy, and a conversation with my best buddy...

I finally got to meet sweet Candice Alford! They were in town this past weekend, so I was able to meet up with Matthew, Sarah, and Candice at the basketball game Saturday (...and no, I don't want to talk about the game). That precious child sat perfectly still in my lap for almost half of the game. She is an absolute DOLL, and I have totally got to go to Hammond to visit those sweet friends. I wish we'd been able to capture a picture of Candice actually LOOKING at the camera, but she was really just not interested. She's an angel---just take my word for it.So, I guess you're wondering what my "new toy" is. Allow me to share.

Mom and Dad gave me an early birthday present (really early). I've been wanting a pedometer to use while I train for the half marathon, so the wonderful parents got one for me! It keeps up with my time, distance, and calories burned. It's a handy dandy little gadget, and while it may be nerdy to use, I am enjoying it and don't care what anybody thinks. =)

I'm pretty sure I've blogged about all of my running gadgets, but just in case you missed a post or two, allow me to review the gadgets and their importance:

1. IPod- duh. That's a no brainer. I have to have my music so I can jam to my tunes while I run.

2. cell phone- this is for security reasons. I promise. I'm quite the clutz, and, well, I never really know when I might fall and need to call someone to come get me. So, if you see the cell phone in my hand, at least you know that it's there for that very reason. You will not see me talking and running at the same time. I would most definitely fall.

3. MACE- this is obviously for protection. I carry this in my hand in case someone thinks they can take me down. Or if a dog tries to bite me.

4. My new pedometer. (reason explained above)

Now, I'm sure you're thinking, "how does she run with all of that?" Once again, allow me to explain: IPod is on my arm, cell phone is in my right hand, Mace is in my left hand (I have to have it easily accessible, right?), and my pedometer conveniently clips on to my pants. See?

Here's to hoping that all of my gadgets don't distract me and cause me to REALLY bust it (in which case, I would need my cell phone of course).

Training is going well. I've run 7 miles for the past few Saturdays and it's gotten easier each time. This Saturday I have an 8 mile run, which will be the most I've run yet. I'm kind of excited about it, which I guess is kinda weird.

Now...moving on to my final topic of the evening--Henry. I miss this little guy, as it's been several weeks since I've seen him. He's not one to usually take interest in phone conversations. He has other things to do of course. A few days ago, though, I was talking to Kristen, and I like every other day, I asked her if Henry would talk to me. Usually, she says, "Henry, it's LaLa, do you want to say hey?" His usual response: "nope." I don't take it personally. :) This particular time, he took the phone from Kristen and talked to me for what was definitely the longest phone conversation I've had with him. Here's the gist of our conversation:

H: "hey LaLa"

me: "hey Buddy!"

H: "you comin' to my house?"

me (heartbroken already): "I'm not today, but I'm coming soon. I promise"

H: "you come see my swingset? You come my house?"

me: "soon, buddy. I PROMISE."

H: "I miss you"

me (tears are streaming down my face at this point. I wanted to get in my car that very moment): "I miss you too. Be sweet. I love you."

H: "love you too"

(more was said, of course, but that was no doubt the highlight).

Kristen called me the next day and said that after he got off the phone he asked her if I was coming tomorrow, and when she replied "no," he said "she coming Monday?"

What can I say? The child loves me. =)

Here's a new favorite picture of mine, obviously taken at Christmas. My parents have a train that goes around the tree and Henry is totally obsessed. He will sit like this in front of the tree forever just watching the train go around and around.

Oh how I love that child.