The Friday Four, Part 23

~1~

Randy Travis has been very ill over the past couple of weeks.  I was shocked when I realized that he's only 54, because he looks decades older; he's had a rough few years.  My dad listened to country music radio when I was a kid - he still does today - and Randy Travis came on the music scene when I was around nine or ten, so his songs are tinged with nostalgia for me.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Forever and Ever, Amen (One of his earliest #1s, released in 1987.)

Deeper Than the Holler (Another #1 from the late 1980s, sung here as a duet with Josh Turner.)

Ok, just one more.  This is Whisper My Name, a hit from the mid-1990s.  Try to ignore the epic hair.

~2~

I am not an athletic person.  Never have been.  I played one season of soccer in (I think) third grade and it was one of the more miserable experiences of my life.  That is the extent of my sports career.  And I'm definitely not a runner.  I feel absolute awe towards those who regularly complete marathons and the like, but I can honestly say I've never been tempted to join their number.

But.

One of my young women from church wanted to start the Couch to 5K program in preparation for a 5K run on Labor Day.  And I wanted to be supportive.  And I've known that I need to get some exercise and get in better shape for a while.  So here was my chance.

I like that the program ramps up slowly.  The beginning of the week is still a challenge for those of us who are out of shape, but it's a manageable challenge and while I can't say that I love running, I do feel better after I finish the day's outlined run.  And it's been fun to spend a little more time with some great young women.

We're at the end of week three now and that's one-third of the way through!  Only six weeks to go!

~3~

How is it possible that my oldest child has absolutely NO socks that don't have holes in the heels?  Seriously.  I just did laundry and threw away about a dozen socks because they had holes you could stick a baseball through and realized that left him with one pair, and that one's looking pretty sketchy.  Are they all like that or is there a brand of socks out there somewhere that is at least a little more durable?

They pretty much all looked like this.  Except
he wouldn't be caught dead in Patriots socks...
photo courtesy chipgriffin via flickr

~4~

I love running in to people I know when I'm out and about around town.  In one day this past week I bumped into the owner of my favorite restaurant in Spokane, a grad school classmate, and one of my young women from church and her mom.  And it's always nice when their reaction is a genuine, glad-to-see-you smile. :)

And if you haven't been to Cafe Italiano, yet...go!  And tell Vagelie I said hi!