Run for the Rocks

So today is a run to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs, it's a half-marathon (13.1) in my town. Hubs and my friend started running at the beginning of the summer. I know your first thought is, wow, what a ridiculous time to start when the weather was averaging around oh........10873742874 degrees.....but I never said they were smart— dedicated and driven- yes, smartest tacks on the board - no. Anyway,  they have been running and getting better so they got this whacky idea to run this race. They register and are official, they have a number, a tshirt & hat, and the all important goodie bag. All the trappings of a dedicated race participant.

Angel, Kim and Greg Pre-Race

I know you are thinking, I wonder why she (being me) doesn't run with them..... well the answer is simple- I. Don't. Run. end of story. I thought back and can't think of a single time I ran for "fun". While the other kids were playing tag and chase, I was content to hang upside down on the monkey bars and worry someone might accidentally see my pink flowered underpants. I do however remember a time of playing cops and robbers and running and putting my arm through a glass door, I have no other memories of running. OK, maybe one more.......when I was a teenager and we tp'd a house and the porch light came on mid roll.......but then that's it, no more.

Kim and Greg - 11 miles

Kim and Greg - about 12 miles

 
But back to hubs and his run. I think the tally was about 350 runners and they zigged and zagged all through town, he and his faithful running companion, Kim kept on pace and ran the entire way. I went to watch at a few different places along the way and took a few pictures (which I am much better at than running) and only found myself distracted once by a really pretty butterfly that was missing part of a wing. But fortunately they hollered at me and got my attention before they were completely past me and I managed to get a few pics taken of them.

Lovely butterfly at the last mile

Kim, Greg and Kerri Shroyer coming into Gowans for finish

All summer long he has been giving their stat numbers to me. I am not a numbers person and I'm sure my eyes just kinda glaze over as I nod dumbly at his reports. I sometimes feel as though  I am receiving the coordinates to some long buried treasure or something.....it was a 13.25 at 5.93.......what the heck? maybe this is a long kept secret of DB Cooper......anyway to me it is mumbo jumbo but to him it is the ends to a successful and pleasing, first time ever race. Good job Greg and Kim. (and to race veteran Angel)

Kim, Greg and Angel

QR codes: An addiction waiting to happen (to both scanning and Roy's)

At ESSDACK we have been using QR codes in our marketing efforts to catch a few of those savvy smart phone users that have the barcode scanner apps installed. Our social media princess, Jaime (Life as a Digital Mom) has been trying to think of new and exciting ways to encourage, lure or just plain trick people into reading and exploring our sites, newsletters and blogs. Her latest attempt was that of placing a "secret" QR code and making it a game to see who could name it the quickest. I was honored that the first one she chose was a link to one of my blog entries and referenced it on my facebook page.

I suppose I should not have been surprised when I started getting the questions about what is a QR code and how do I make it work? First let me regurgitate the info on what exactly a QR code is, instead of trying to wax eloquently about it, I will just reference an explanation (from ourchurch.com) that is very clear and concise:

What is a QR code?
A QR Code is a two-dimensional barcode, which has encoded in it a URL (web address), text, or other information. It can be read by a QR code scanner, including QR scanner smartphone apps.
How can I read a QR code?
If you have a smartphone, go to the app store and search for a QR code reader. You’ll find several free apps. Run the app and then hold your phone’s camera over a QR code to read it. Most QR codes you’ll come across have a URL encoded, so chances are when you read the QR code it will take you to a web page.
What’s the point of QR codes?
QR codes link offline information to online content, effectively providing additional information and even multimedia to an offline experience. If you’ve created print material that included a URL for more information, a QR code for that URL could also be added to enable smartphone users to go directly to that web page without having to type in the web address.

So I decided to create one (I used kaywa) and demonstrate how simple to create and how simple to read.

This code takes you to one of my very favorite places to eat, Roy's Hickory Pit BBQ, here in Hutchinson, Kansas. (Thank you Kevin Honeycutt for the awesome picture of Roy's ribs) People come from all over the US and I suspect foreign countries to eat there. It's small but packs a huge punch in the taste and satisfaction department, and Anne and Ryan are two of the friendliest people you'll ever meet. You can sit in the dining area at a table or gather like the family you'll be, around the big round table in the front. A word of warning, be prepared to smell like the scent of smoked ribs the rest of the day and don't be surprised when no matter where you go the rest of the day, you will see people sniff the air around you and tell you how jealous they are because they KNOW you had lunch at Roy's. Smelly? yes, Blissful? Absolutely. Too bad I can't embed the aroma into the code, you'd be hooked for sure.

You blink and they're gone..........

My picture for this week is a graphic I made to use on the swim schedule for last year. Like many sports teams they make a poster to post in businesses around town. The high school is large enough that it generally doesn't make sense to try and have all the team members, so the seniors receive a little special attention and recognition by being featured. The picture on the surface probably isn't that impressive, however let me share some background. The boys wanted the white t's and jeans, so I thought maybe we could grunge it up a bit with being in front of an old building where I love to take pictures. I also used one of my very favorite products, a filter for photoshop called, Topaz. LOVE IT! Well, the picture itself should have been fairly straight forward except for the day of the pictures, not everyone was available. Not giving up, we shot without them...... Now some would have said too bad, so sad, you just won't be in the picture, but not me, the mother in me wanted all of them in it.

We set up with the five that showed up and did what we could. I took two more the following week at the school and then the other two separately when we could. It was kind of a challenge but I think we managed to pull it off and no one knew they weren't all there at once. The boys were even amazed and it gave me the opportunity to remind them not to believe everything they see in print.

The seniors from last year were very special to me, considering one of them was my own baby. When I first saw this picture again it made me think how quickly it all passed. From a sputtering little toddler in the bath tub to a gigantic fish in the pool. And at 6'4" when he wore his full body suit, he was quite intimidating, like a big shark. It still makes me smile when I think of the first time I saw him with that on......... oh my. He even had a little speech he made at the end of the year about his "magic suit." I remember once the paper was interviewing after a meet where he had done particularly well and he was quoted as saying, "it was the new suit, I just felt faster" or something like that, he took a lot of ribbing about that for a while. At the end of the year I made books for the coaches and each kid had a page and was encouraged to write a personal note to the coach and we typed it and included it in the book. I used the poster picture for the cover and another picture of many of the medals for the back. It turned out really well. And in Brett's graduation book, I included a page about the "magic suit".



Looking back it is hard to believe that one minute they are needing a bandaid because they fell and skinned their knees and are sure they are going to bleed to death  and the next they have blood running down their legs from trying to shave their sasquatch-like legs with a disposable razor. (swim parents will get that...)

I know the phrase- you blink and they are gone - is so cliché, but it is so true. And now I've blinked.