Five for Friday: October 12

1.  My husband, Dave, finished his first marathon last Sunday at the Twin Cities Marathon!!!  Official time 4:58:47.  So proud of him!

Dave, our son Liam, and Dave's dad Tom on the way to packet pickup.

2.  At the marathon expo, I met the ladies behind chicked.com.  I first heard of them through fellow GOTRIbal Ambassador and pro triathlete, Gillian Clayton. 

Photo from chicked.com

My first thought after seeing their awesome shirts and cycling kit was, "I probably should get faster before I wear that..."  But then I saw this...

Not me... picture from chicked.com

the Minne-skirt!  Um, LOVE at first sight!  Plus I find out that this is a Minnesota company?  How could I not buy one of these?!? 
So, of course, when at the expo, after meeting Jennifer and Gretchen ( and then walking around the expo, trying to convince my hubby why I just HAD to have one),  I purchased my very own Minne-skirt. 
This turned out to be a great decision when it was only 30 degrees on race morning!  GREAT running weather, COLD spectating weather!  My new skirt kept me nice and toasty warm!

3.  A friend linked this recipe on Facebook earlier this week.  These will be made in my house before the week is over.  They look delicious!

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Pancakes via Girl Cooks World (photo: Girl Cooks World)

4.  Work on the "new" house is going well.  Today I played with my new toy... a brand new shiny miter saw!

Ain't she purty???

I also picked this find up off the curb during Windom's "junk days" with the idea of turning it into an entertainment center.  Painting is in progress.  I will post "after" pictures when I get it done.

A fresh coat of paint and some cord holes in the back should make her good as new!

5.  I am seriously considering taking a Facebook vacation until this election is over.  Presidential election, gay marriage on the ballot in Minnesota... political comments abound in my news feed (making me wonder sometimes why some of my friends are my friends).  I try not to use this blog or my Facebook page to discuss politics or religion, so this is the one thing I will say...  It makes my heart cringe to hear or read comments of bigotry, intolerance and hatred and then have them justified by the person giving the opinion with "because I am a Christian". 
I do not attend church regularly, and my belief may not be as strong as some, but I do know this:

Matthew 22:34-40

34But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, gathered themselves together. 35And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question, trying him: 36Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law? 37And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38This is the great and first commandment. 39And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. 40On these two commandments the whole law hangeth, and the prophets. 

(Source: Bible, American Standard Version.)

There is no clause afterward that says, "except for homosexuals", except for (insert race or religion here)", "except for..."  Well, there just are no exceptions.  These commandments are given in Mark (12:28-31) and Luke (10:25-29) as well, so it seems to me that if you identify as a Christian, this would be a pretty important lesson. 

And that's all I will say about politics and religion for now. 


May you have a wonderful weekend free of political commercials!