Thoughts for the Road - #13

Love yourself, for who and what you are; protect your dream and develop your talent to the fullest extent. ~ Joan Benoit Samuelson

Thoughts for the Road - #74

I love what running does for me. I love the time that I get just to think. I love that I'm pushing myself be it on a treadmill or in the park. I love that time. ~ Elisabeth Hasselbeck, Cohost, The View

Winter Blooms 4

True to form, ours is definitely a Saturnalia Cactus.

Ho Saturnalia!

Saturnalia became one of the most popular Roman festivals. It was marked by tomfoolery and reversal of social roles, in which slaves and masters ostensibly switched places, much like the Lord of Misrule in later Christian celebrations.

Saturnalia was introduced around 217 BCE to raise citizen morale after a crushing military defeat at the hands of the Carthaginians.[1] Originally celebrated for a day, on December 17, its popularity saw it grow until it became a week-long extravaganza, ending on the 23rd. Efforts to shorten the celebration were unsuccessful. Augustus tried to reduce it to three days, and Caligula to five. These attempts caused uproar and massive revolts among the Roman citizens.

Saturnalia involved the conventional sacrifices, a couch (lectisternium) set out in front of the temple of Saturn and the untying of the ropes that bound the statue of Saturn during the rest of the year. A Saturnalicius princeps was elected master of ceremonies for the proceedings. Besides the public rites there were a series of holidays and customs celebrated privately. The celebrations included a school holiday, the making and giving of small presents (saturnalia et sigillaricia) and a special market (sigillaria). Gambling was allowed for all, even slaves.

Saturnalia was a time to eat, drink, and be merry. The toga was not worn, but rather the synthesis, i.e. colorful, informal "dinner clothes"; and the pileus (freedman's hat) was worn by everyone. Slaves were exempt from punishment, and treated their masters with (a pretense of) disrespect. The slaves celebrated a banquet: before, with, or served by the masters. Yet the reversal of the social order was mostly superficial; the banquet, for example, would often be prepared by the slaves, and they would prepare their masters' dinner as well. It was license within careful boundaries; it reversed the social order without subverting it.[2]

The customary greeting for the occasion is a "Io, Saturnalia!" — Io (pronounced "e-o") being a Latin interjection related to "ho" (as in "Ho, praise to Saturn").

Winter Blooms 3

Thoughts for the Road - #21

Remember, the feeling you get from a good run is far better than the feeling you get from sitting around wishing you were running. ~ Sarah Condor

Something in Your Stocking — The iPod Shuffle Contest

Something in Your Stocking — The iPod Shuffle Contest

There are so many cool holiday contests out there right now and I have even joined in on a few. This has lead me to being able to enjoy other folk's blogs too! Check out the above link for a running related holiday contest.

Winter Blooms 2

Winter Blooms

Potential for a lot of blooms this year!

Thoughts for the Road - #87

Thank God for running. It is the ultimate detox for me, whether my poison is bubbles, a foul mood, or a bad attitude. If I combat inertia, get out, and get moving, eventually every kind of toxin works its way out. ~ Kristin Armstrong, Author and runner

Thoughts for the Road - #79

May the road rise up to greet you, and the wind always be at your back. ~ Irish proverb