sunday walk thoughts...

   my dad & I after my first marathon (San Diego Marathon)
   my dad, brothers, sister & I before the St.George Marathon
I had a wonderful Sunday. I love Sundays. I went on a long walk by myself up in the canyon tonight. It was so refreshing & revitalizing. I love walks! I especially love walks when the air is crisp, and my cheeks are chilly, and my body feels alive! I love the peacefulness I feel & I really enjoy the time to myself to think. 

Tonight I was reflecting on the gratitude I have for the experiences I've had in life. I've been blessed with wonderful parents who have taught me a lot of great lessons in live, and have given me many great opportunities to experience many wonderful things. 

I was specifically thinking of a quote I had heard earlier in the night on 60 minutes by Lebron James: "You can't be afraid to fail. You have to accept failure...to get better." I thought a lot about times in my life when I've had to overcome a fear of failure. I think it's so important in life to maintain a cheerfulness and hope and confidence in ourselves that we can overcome difficult times and expect success. 

I love running marathons because I can experience a real sense of accomplishment and success. I've run 6 1/2 marathons...and I'm training for my 7th (the Minneapolis Marathon on May 31st!!!). I've had some really great experiences in those races, and felt a strength within. Marathons are exhilherating & exciting & amazing...and very, very challenging...but I absolutely LOVE them. I ran my first race with my dad. I think the only way I made it through that race was by maintaining a positive attitude throughout the entire race. I didn't let myself get afraid/negative...and I made it across the finish line! It was a great lesson to learn in life. 

Anyway, the Minneapolis Marathon race directors are doing something really neat. They asked race members to submit quotes that motivate them. They are placing a quote at each mile marker as inspiration. I'm really excited for this. I think it'll be a really cool experience.

Here are the quotes I submitted tonight:

"Ask me to play. I'll play. Ask me to shoot. I'll shoot. Ask me to pass. I'll pass. Ask me to steal, block out, sacrifice, lead, dominate. ANYTHING. But it's not what you ask of me. It's what I ask of myself.” - LeBron James "Have faith in your dreams, and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through...if you keep on believing, the dreams that you wish will come true." - Cinderella "“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” - Winston Churchill "Really great people make you feel that you, too, can become great.” - Mark Twain "The secret of life is enjoying the passage of time..nobody knows how we got to the top of the hill, but since we're on our way down we might as well enjoy the ride" - James Taylor "Victory belongs to the most persevering."- Napoleon Bonaparte

Hope you each had a wonderful weekend. Love you all. Love, Leanna

home, sweet, sweet home!!!

It was a wonderful weekend! I was able to go home to Minnesota for 4 1/2 days & they were so much fun!! I was exhausted by the end of the weekend, because they were packed full...but I had a really great time. It was so nice to spend time with my future-husband & my parents & our family. Nate and I spent the first night in Uptown...did a little shopping (SO much fun!!) & ate dinner at a really great Thai restaurant that we LOVE (I got my favorite spicy noodles!) !! On Thursday, I spent the day with my mom & had some great "girl-time" together. Thursday night, Nate & I ate at one of my favorite, favorite, favorite restaurants...It was super yummy!!! He spoiled me....Its the best meal I've had in a really long time. We also went to the Haberdashery (the tux shop) and picked out the tuxes for the wedding....wooo hoooo!!! The tuxedo man was driving Nate a little crazy...but I think we picked out some really good looking tuxes. I went for a really great run on Friday morning...it was nice to be running in MN again. I loved it. We were able to spend some fun time with Papa on Friday afternoon...full of laughter :) On Friday night, we went out to dinner with mom & dad...and then watched some good basketball (GO BUCKY...well, GO BUCKY on Friday night at least! Oh, and the BUCKEYES lost that night...in case you missed it!!) I made a homemade chocolate cake (from scratch) for papa...a first for me. Saturday morning we went to the Pancake House (MMMMMM) with the Wards & mom & dad (I had the "dutch baby"...SO good!!) The rest of Saturday was spent celebrating Papa's 86th birthday with my cousins & their families. It was a really great time!! I loved spending time with the family (especially the little kids...oh yeah, we were jumping on the bed with them...super funny!) & Nate was really happy to meet my cousins. Their kids were SO adorable & we loved spending time with them. One of my favorite parts of the weekend was taking Grace & Cannon on a walk with my mom....we had such a nice time. So glad they were able to make it up. I think Papa really enjoyed himself. He gave a lil birthday speech at the end of the night that was very sweet. I think it was one of his favorite birthdays. It made me very, very happy that we were able to make him feel special!! I gave Papa a framed picture of my Grandma for his birthday. Its a beautiful picture of her when she's young (maybe 25-30). He loved it. It made him sad...but it meant a lot to him. It was nice for me to see how much he still loves her & misses her. It was a very meaningful moment for me. It was a great trip home. We had a wonderful time together. Only 6 more weeks till I move home!!!!!!! I'm a happy girl. I'm very in love with Nate & cant wait to spend all my time with him. I miss my parents & Nate a LOT, but 6 weeks will pass by really quickly.

Oh and....WE'RE GOING TO THE FRAY CONCERT IN JULY!!!!!!!!! NATE SURPRISED ME WITH TICKETS!!!!! I'M SUPER EXCITED.

Oh and...I bought a new wedding dress...its a silly story...but most of you already know it. I'm a crazy girl sometimes.

its a lovely day!

I found some really cool pictures this morning and I thought I'd share some of them with you. I love cool artwork. I have such a strong appreciation for artistic talent!!

I am so excited for the bright blue skies & warm sunshine today! It's beautiful outside!!! I love days like today because I can enjoy the sunshine on my face & I feel so happy.

My "to-do" list for March 14.2009:

1. go for my first "long" run (time to begin training for the Minneapolis marathon...I think my toe is mostly healed, so it's time to lace up my running shoes & listen to some good tunes on my ipod)

2. paint a picture (one of my biggest joys in life is painting & I dont paint often enough).  I'm going to set up my paints on the porch & paint away...I'm really excited. I have some great ideas spinning in my head. Today should be a very colorful day.

3. write some letters & send some cards (I've been meaning to do this for a long time...today's the day!)

4. read a good book in the park....going to get some Starbucks & enjoy the afternoon reading in the park.

That's it! Should be a wonderful day. I hope you each have a great day as well! Days like today are my favorite days!!

why I'm a Badger girl

So...most of you know I'm a huge Wisconsin Badger football fan. Badger football has always (and will always be) one of my favorite joys in life...and there's reason for that. My dad just posted a really great post on our Miller family blog that I absolutely love...so I'm sharing it here too. Enjoy! (Thanks, dad, for sharing this!!)

Badger football It's more than a sport--and more than entertainment...at least for this family. To put this in perspective, let's review a little family history. Grandpa Miller was the oldest of ten children--born at end the of the great depression. His immediate family would never have any money. His father, Howie, was a supervisor at the tire factory (Uniroyal)--not a bad job; but still an economic challenge when you have ten children to feed and clothe. Some of you may remember the small house in Eau Claire that was their home--perhaps 1200 square feet. So, my dad had some notable athletic ability in high school--and was offered a football scholarship at the University of Wisconsin--yes, that included the opportunity to attend college. He goes to Wisconsin--succeeds at football and college and has built a solid foundation for the rest of his life--a big step up and away from his humble roots in Eau Claire--all made possible by a football scholarship. 

Without that scholarship, it's very unlikely he would have ever had the chance to attend college. His football and academic career allowed him to enjoy a very successful business career--providing nicely for our family and allowing each of his six children to attend college (which was a blessing for each of us and all of our children). So, Badger football is more than passing entertainment--it's part of our family legacy and was a watershed event for grandpa and all of us. 

Grandpa was never one to tell many football stories--he always had a quiet humilty surrounding the subject. But he did share a story that is worth repeating. The day he walked on the field as a freshman at Camp Randall there were 12 freshman quarterbacks--imagine that...leaving Eau Claire with hopes of playing college football in the Big Ten--only to arrive to the surprise of a dozen other athletes vying for the same position; perhaps that afternoon he had wished he'd gone to Minnesota--which had also been an option. Well, within a year he was the starting quarterback in Madison--beating out all the others, including the upper classmen. So, when you think your odds are long for success--don't count yourself out! Love, Dad

friends.

I tried going to bed really early tonight because I'm super tired, but I've woken up 3 or 4 time since, really homesick...I'm ready to move home...NOW!! I really, really, really miss my friends. I have some wonderful friends in MN who make me laugh and smile all the time, and who have continued to be really great friends to me since I left. The older I've become, the more I realize how special true friends are.

Thank you to the people in my life who have continued to make me feel loved. I'm so happy I'm marrying my best friend. And I'm so grateful for strong friendships.