Blessings of the Week, November

1: The World Series!

The Rangers made it to the World Series. First time in their 39 year history they won the American League Championship Series. As the mayor of Arlington said, "the Rangers have lifted this town about ten feet off the ground."

It's been fun going to Ranger games all season, long before anyone knew they were going to the playoffs, but it's been particularly fun to go to playoff games. And there was a TON of excitement around World Series games. I had the privilege of going to two of their games in Texas. We had standing room only tickets, and had a great time just being at the World Series!

I must admit though, it was special to watch the Rangers win their first ever World Series game in Ranger Stadium.

It's always more fun to watch games like that with good friends!

A few days after the conclusion of the World Series there was a Ranger Rally. It was a chance for the fans to celebrate the plays and the coaches for a fantastic season. We got to hear from a lot of the major players, like Ian Kinsler and Josh Hamilton.

And mostly just celebrated the fact that the Rangers had such a wonderful season (that's confetti flying through the air if you can't tell)!

2: The Most Fun Race Ever:

On October 30 I ran in what had to be one of the most fun races I've ever been a part of.

It was held in Cleburne, Texas, they had just over 180 participants (which was actually an 80% increase from last year). The race was a fundraiser for an organization that works with mentally handicapped adults, who happened to be the race volunteers that day. Normally the people handing out water/gatorade at water stops aren't particularly friendly, they are there to do their job. These volunteers were the most grateful, encouraging volunteers I had ever met. It made running that much more fun!

The mascot of this organization is a bee. As their website says: "Our mascot, Bud E. Bee is a symbol to those we serve. To look at the bee you think how can such a thing fly. It's wings are too small for it's body. Well, no one seems to have told the bee he couldn't fly; he just does. Our philosophy is the same for the people we serve...we don't set limits...we let them FLY!"

Being that the race was so close to Halloween and their mascot was a bee, Michelle and I decided to dress up at bees. No one else really dressed up for the race, but we had a blast! We made friends with several of the volunteers because of our outfits.

3: Adding a little color to a rainy day:

Why not wear rain boots with a business suit on a rainy day?

4: Getting dressed up:

I rarely have a chance to get really dressed up, and I must admit I'm more of the jeans and t-shirt kind of girl. But I do on occasion like to get dressed up. I had the occasion for an event at UT Arlington a few weeks ago (I wasn't really paying attention though to Michelle as she was trying to take my picture, because I was watching game 2 of the Rangers v. Yankees series).

5: The Caveman Extreme:

I had the opportunity to run in another extremely fun race. This was probably the most challenging 3.1 mile race I have ever run. Named the Caveman Extreme, it had 30 obstacles packed into 3.1 miles. The course was only made more challenging by Mother Nature. But despite the difficulty of the course, it was probably one of the most memorable races I've done. And I had a blast completing the obstacles.

We look a little goofy in the pre-picture because a massive gust of wind had blown through as we were taking it.

And as we finished, it started to rain (even harder than it had on the course), so we decide to head for the cars as soon as we could!