Favorite photos from September 23-27, 2013

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis 
Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, Mike Campbell
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Stephen Rebello
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan
Detroit: An American Autopsy, Charlie LeDuff
Top of the Morning, Brian Stelter
A Private Disgrace: Lizze Borden by Daylight, Victoria Lincoln
Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and the Greatest Race Ever Run, Matt Fitzgerald
Waiting to be Heard, Amanda Knox
Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, Scott Thorson & Alex Thorleifson
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder, Charles Graeber
The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story, Lily Koppel
The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America, Christian Wolmar
Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall, Will Ellsworth-Jones
Detroit City Is the Place to Be, Mark Binelli 
Wreck of the Wabash, Laurie C. Dickens  
Hidden History of Detroit, Amy Elliott Bragg
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
Kate: The Biography, Marcia Moody
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, Piper Kerman
Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City, Gordon Young
This Town, Mark Leibovich
City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist
Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America, Sam Roberts
The Princess Diana Conspiracy, Alan Power 
The Shadow King; The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy, Jo Marchant

Currently Reading: Seabiscuit: An American Legend, Laura Hillenbrand

Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association Region Ten II - Adrian, MI

Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association

Region 10 Equestrian competition

Adrian, MI - Lenawee County Fair and Event Grounds
September 8, 2013

Calvary Cemetery VIII - Toledo, OH

Ballet West

Breaking Pointe is a reality TV show on the CW Network. It is a show that goes behind the scenes at Ballet West, a ballet company in Salt Lake City, Utah. The season finale of Breaking Pointe was broadcasted on September 17.

Ballet West is hosted a season finale party in Salt Lake City last night. Cast members attended the party and watched the finale with fans. As a fan of the show, I was sent an email inviting me to RSVP to the party. I would have loved to attend the party and meet the dancers. But it really just wasn't a option for me.

The only way to watch the wonderful dancers from Ballet West is on this reality show, Breaking Pointe. CW Network should be deciding soon if it will get a Season Three. I hope it does. Ballet is not on TV a lot. Shows like this can help keep the art alive and help introduce it to a new audience. Ballet is beautiful and it deserves a spot on next summer's CW lineup.

Bulldog Run 5K

I ran the Bulldog Run 5K Saturday morning. It was a cool, sunny and breezy morning. The temperatures were in the low 50s when the race started.

My hamstring hasn't been 100% since before my half marathon, I decided to take the first mile easy to see how it felt. The first half mile I was in a group of three women and a guy. I ended up passing the two of the ladies, then the man. I wanted to stay with one of the women, but she ended up running away from me. At the mile mark, my watch read 9:15. My hamstring wasn't bothering me, so I decided to pick up the pace. I knew that the guy was still behind me at the mile mark because I could hear his Garmin making noise.

When I did pick up the pace, I knew I dropped the guy behind me. I couldn't hear his Garmin anymore, so I know I put a gap in between us. Breaking away from the guy behind me, I found myself running alone. I ran by myself for the rest of the race because of my easy first mile. I was hoping I latch myself on the back of someone, but everyone was too far ahead of me.

At the second mile mark, my watch read 18:00. I was happy to have had a negative split. When I crossed streets, I could hear the volunteers telling whoever was behind me, "Good job!" My goal for the rest of the race was to have no one pass me.

Crossing an intersection to the final stretch, I was surprised no volunteers were standing in the street to block traffic. As soon as I crossed one lane, a van was approaching. The van was going right at or just above the speed limit. I was thankful I crossed just in time. As I rounded the final corner, I was expecting to run into the football stadium and run a loop around the field and finish. This year the race finished right before entering the stadium. If I knew that race finished in a different spot, I would have actually sprinted to the finish line. Maybe it's better I didn't know. That final sprint could have hurt my hamstring.

I finished the 5K in 26:51 and placed third in my age group. Even if my hamstring was 100%, I would have finished in the same spot. The two ladies that finished ahead of me were quick.

Books read in 2013

Between Here and April, Deborah Copaken Kogan
Bleed for Me, Michael Robotham
The Making of a Royal Romance, Katie Nicholl 
Prince Philip: The Turbulent Early Life of the Man Who Married Queen Elizabeth II, Philip Eade
The Black Box, Michael Connelly
The Painted Girls, Cathy Marie Buchanan
The Drowning House, Elizabeth Black
Killing Kennedy, Bill O'Reilly
Argo, Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio
Mad Women: The Other Side of Life on Madison Avenue in the '60s and Beyond, Jane Maas
Marilyn Monroe: A Case for Murder, Jay Margolis 
Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last, Mike Campbell
Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho, Stephen Rebello
Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness, Susannah Cahalan
Detroit: An American Autopsy, Charlie LeDuff
Top of the Morning, Brian Stelter
A Private Disgrace: Lizze Borden by Daylight, Victoria Lincoln
Iron War: Dave Scott, Mark Allen and the Greatest Race Ever Run, Matt Fitzgerald
Waiting to be Heard, Amanda Knox
Behind the Candelabra: My Life with Liberace, Scott Thorson & Alex Thorleifson
The Good Nurse: A True Story of Medicine, Madness and Murder, Charles Graeber
The Astronaut Wives Club: A True Story, Lily Koppel
The Great Railroad Revolution: The History of Trains in America, Christian Wolmar
Banksy: The Man Behind the Wall, Will Ellsworth-Jones
Detroit City Is the Place to Be, Mark Binelli 
Wreck of the Wabash, Laurie C. Dickens  
Hidden History of Detroit, Amy Elliott Bragg
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
Kate: The Biography, Marcia Moody
Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison, Piper Kerman
Teardown: Memoir of a Vanishing City, Gordon Young
This Town, Mark Leibovich
City of Scoundrels, Gary Krist
Grand Central: How a Train Station Transformed America, Sam Roberts
The Princess Diana Conspiracy, Alan Power 

Currently Reading: The Shadow King; The Bizarre Afterlife of King Tut's Mummy, Jo Marchant

Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association Region Ten I - Adrian, MI

Michigan Interscholastic Horsemanship Association
Region 10 Equestrian competition

Adrian, MI - Lenawee County Fair and Event Grounds
September 8, 2013