New shoes and awesome dudes

Here are my new Brooks Glycerin shoes -- $119 at Fleet Feet in St. Louis, minus the $50 gift card Matt's girlfriend Amanda's family gave me from that store. I just felt like they needed to be showcased, so apologies to my ex-wife as I borrowed their centerpiece, because they kind of look like fruit. Plus, they were perfectly clean out of the box. The marathoner saleswoman at Fleet Feet was excellent, gathering every piece of data about my feet, announcing that I have high arches (I had no idea, could be a major step forward for me after plantar fasciitis!), and having me run out front in a few different pairs. These were the ones. I love them.



I was able to house-sit my 16-year-old Ben and my 13-year-old Josh that whole week while my ex and her husband were in Mexico, and my 20-year-old Matt and Amanda were there on both weekends from University of Missouri. It was a GREAT week with my crew who I always miss so much. They are the reasons I am going back to St. Louis for the April 6 marathon...looking forward to showing them how we roll.

Here's Josh, the "Big Chief" -- love that buzzcut:



Here's Ben, my Mr. Football, with Erica as I made them a candlelit dinner the day before Valentine's Day (since I had no one to make one for):



Here is Matt and Amanda, the straight-A power couple: