Fit for Me 32/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-32 minute training run. I ran during the workday, and I found the key to coming back to work without dying of heat is wearing a skirt. Apparently my legs needed to breathe. Also 2nd day hair.

Saturday-I did a race in town around a local lake. It was not a run; it was a hike. I ran what I could, but I walked a lot more than I planned since the terrain was a lot more treacherous than I remember from our excursions there before. There were small slat bridges, creek beds you had to run straight down then straight back up, and rocks jutting up everywhere. So instead of risking a sprained ankle, I walked a lot to get through it.

Tuesday-36 minute training run. This was was a huge struggle. I was having such a hard time meeting each of my time splits. As I was doing the cool-down, I realized that the incline was set on a 2 instead of the .5 I normally do. No wonder I was having trouble.

Impressed by:

I kept going through that trail run. There were parts where I wondered why I sign up for these things, but it is always great to cross the finish line.

Struggled with:

I need to do some other workouts besides running. I am starting to get in a rut with running, which always happens mid-training for me. So I need something to jazz it up for a a little bit.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did not meet my goal of running one of the trail miles at a 10 minute pace. It just wasn’t worth it on that path.

What is my goal for next week?

To do one workout that is not running.

Fitness Thoughts:

I never look good in the running photos…How do people do it? I always come out looking like I am going to puke or that I am taking it much more serious than I actually am. I mean look at the kid before me-having the time of his life in his little bandana.

11813485_938101422894806_120917297985061843_nAre you race photogenic? How do you do it?

35 Before 35 Update

Another month has come and gone.

1. Crochet something else besides blankets or scarves at least once a year (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020)

2. Do a photography challenge

  • This time next month, I will have completed my year challenge! Here are some that I haven’t shared somewhere on the blog yet.

11856538_10100867058535111_6372170943206173786_o

11865199_10100867070660811_3516135528659606870_o

11850740_10100868199423761_929399628444617497_o

3. Visit 5 cities I have never been to before (7/5)

4. Tour at least one a winery, brewery, or distillery

5. Send at least 5 snail mail a month

6. Become a “professional” photographer

7. Run at least 10 races (any distance) (4/10)

  • I did Kicks in the Sticks this weekend. It was a 3.5 trail run. It was definitely all trail and not much run.

8. Go camping with Tom

9. Pay for the car behind me in a drive through

10. See Tyrone Wells live as many times as possible

11. Tour Fort Defiance here in Clarksville

12. Water ski with my dad

13. Do a 5K with my mom

14. Take a swing dance class with Tom

15. Read at least one fun book a month and one professional development book every three months

16. Take a pottery or stained glass class

17. Do one new recipe each month

  • I made Zucchini Blueberry Bread. I received so many compliments for this bread. Compliments like, “This is better than my grandma’s.” Pat myself on the back.
  • I tried a one pot recipe. It was super easy and quick. AND MADE SO MUCH. Go try this recipe now. Tom’s only recommendation is more sausage.
  • We made this casserole this weekend while my mom visited. It was pretty tasty, but I would recommend more cheese.

18. See both a Clemson and UCM football game live

19. Find a place to volunteer on a regular basis

20. Go hiking

  • That trail run was pretty much hiking.

21. Ride in a hot air balloon

22. Go to at least 20 “new to me” restaurants. (27/20)

  • International Cafe-small greek cafe here in town that has great gyros!
  • Ingredient-restaurant downtown with great burgers (my mouth is watering thinking about that bleu cheese burger I had), but it seemed a little over-priced for what they were offering.

23. Stay at a bed and breakfast

24. Spend a day without electronics (phone, t.v. and computer)

25. Do something unique and new for my birthdays

26. Explore Nashville while we live here

27. Watch at least 10 movies that I have not seen before that won Best Picture at the Oscars and at least 20 documentaries (not necessarily Oscar winning) Movies (2/10); Documentaries (7/20)

28. Sew an item of clothing from scratch

29. Do a personal devotional/bible study on my own

30. Be a mascot for an event

31. Go on our honeymoon (preferably somewhere tropical)

32. Host an annual NCAA Basketball Tournament Championship game party

33. Go on a mission trip

34. Be on a recreation volleyball team

35. Become a mom

  • George started walking this last month! Big milestone!

I would say I didn’t do too bad this month considering we were moving practically the whole month. Here’s to another month of living!

Fit for Me 31/52

What I did last week:

Thursday-40 minute training run

Saturday-BodyPump for an hour. I only had to take a break during the chest track.

Sunday-This was the longest run I have done in a long time: 52 minutes. And unfortunately, I chose the wrong way on the Katy Trail to run-the way without shade. Bummer. But I still rocked it out, and I felt really good about it.

Monday-It was zoo day. We were at the zoo for about 5 hours, which means a lot of walking.

Tuesday-30 minute training run. I will admit, I did more walking than running. Midway through I stopped following my plan. I was pushing the stroller in a new park that was unreasonably hilly. So I decided to just walk the last 10 minutes.

Impressed by:

Killing that run on Sunday. I am really liking doing this time ratio for my runs because it is a lot easier for me to say just run for 2 more minutes or whatnot instead of thinking I have a quarter mile left.

Struggled with:

My niece asked me this week if I was having another baby. And when I told her no, she pointed to my belly and asked why it looked so big. It took all I had not to have some reaction to her and keep my composure while trying to explain what was going on with my belly. I cried all the way home. I have been working my tail off (at least I feel like it) and to have a kid say that so point blank was a little horrifying. I talked to my other half (not Tom-great friend from college “other half”), and she has three kids and commiserated with me that she has heard this as well from her older boys. While it still sucks, at least I know I am in good company with the apparent momma pouch.

Did I meet my goal from last week?

I did not hit all my runs like I wanted, but here is to another week.

What is my goal for next week?

i want to do more ab workouts, just kidding. I wallowed for one night, I don’t need to focus on a 5 year old’s comments anymore. I am running a trail race this weekend, and I would like to run at least one of the miles at a 10 minute pace. I am not familiar with the trail so an 11 minute mile may be more likely.

Fitness Thoughts:

Fitness is just as much of a mental game as it is physical.

f7098f06ac72fe0dae6bed63240c4ec7image via

Home.

So we are new homeowners.

IMG_9509 (1024x683)

While it is mostly been a good endeavor, there have been some struggles.

So Tom and I have come up with our pro/con list of new homeownership.

Pro-Awesome big windows that allow for natural lighting pretty much all day.

Con-Having to find curtains and real blinds for said windows. (read spend lots of money)

Pro-Big yard that allows the dogs to run A LOT; they basically have a dog park. And hopefully it will be a great space for George to play once he is not walking around like a drunk.

Con-Typically cities own dog parks and have crews to maintain that greenspace. It takes Tom pretty much a whole day to mow and weed eat. And this doesn’t even begin to factor in the future flower and vegetable/fruit beds we hope to have. Work.

IMG_9452 (1024x683)

Pro-An unfinished basement allows us to have a lot of potential to design a space exactly how we like.

Con-An unfinished basement is just that, an unfinished basement. It’s a soul sucking abyss of things that you still own and plans that haven’t happened yet.

IMG_9553 (1024x683)

Pro-We don’t have to ask permission to do ANYTHING. General maintenance can just be done.  And we can paint a room any color we want.

Con-We have to pay for general maintenance. We can’t just call someone and say come fix it.

Pro-We finally have space for any type of furniture we want. We can actually have nice grown up furniture especially since we know we wont be moving anytime soon. So the investments seems to go longer.

Con-Who can afford all this furniture? We have empty rooms right now. Also nice furniture takes time to deliver…Lawn chairs it is then.

IMG_9483 (1024x683)

Pro-Wood floors look great.

Con-Unless they are the slightest bit dirty (with dog hair), then they look awful. And don’t even get me started on the price of rugs that are apparently needed with wood floors. I might as well have carpet…

While it can be daunting to have a house with the work that goes into it, we actually have a lot of pros.

Tom finally has a shop. We have a dining room that is just a dining room and not part of another room. We have three bathrooms. I have a kitchen I can do pretty much anything in and not feel cramped. And hopefully someday very soon, I will have a craft room!

And this little man gets the space to explore, dream, and let his imagination run wild.

IMG_9540 (1024x683)

I may be in the minority saying that I actually like that we are paying a mortgage. Yea it stinks to be tied down for that time financially, however I now feel that I am investing in my own space instead of throwing away rent money. We also settled on a place that meant our mortgage payment was not much more than we were already paying for rent, so it hopefully wont be too much of a hit. Note:  if I had a choice of not paying anything for a house, I would take that offer like George takes pasta, immediately.

IMG_9431 (1024x683)

This was Tom’s response to buying a house. “What’s the next adult thing we have to do? Do we buy a van?”

This weekend we moved the last of our stuff to the new house. There are days were I am still in awe that we live here permanently. (Part of that could be because we have nothing on the walls yet and still many boxes to unpack and organize.) The longest we have lived somewhere is 3 years (outside of our childhood homes). Throughout our relationship we have moved collectively 11 times. Eleven times in eight years.

Well we are finally home. I can’t wait to see all the memories made. The meals shared. George’s first. Maybe another baby. Just the regular days.

It’s time to settle for real. Naturally, we are all excited.

IMG_9563 (1024x683)

Forewarning, this may turn into more of a DIY/home-makeover blog. We are compiling a long to-do list by room that I will be adding as a new page to the blog so you can follow along in our homemaking endeavors.

Don’t worry there will still be lots of George posts.

Why I Still Blog

I started blogging three years ago.

Three years ago, I thought this was going to be a fad. It was just something to distract me from Tom’s deployment.

Little did I know, I would still be doing it even now that Tom is no longer active in the military.

So why do I still do it?

1. It’s a release for me. I have always enjoyed writing, and expressing my thoughts this way has been good for my soul. Through this writing, I have been able to open up about insecurities in my life (faith, work, family…). I am not sure I would have faced some things as fully if it weren’t for this space allowing me to open up. (Ripping the band aid off in some ways.) I have been able to embrace some of the hard things by just putting them out there, and found support and people relating to my issues. I don’t have to open up about these things, but I have found that having this space pushes me to be not only honest with others about the reality of life, but mostly with myself about the imperfections and to celebrate the growth.

2. I have really enjoyed connecting with others. Whether that is with my blog friends or people I know in real life, I feel that I have been able to get to know people better through my blog. It’s perfect way for this introvert to do some mass socialization.

3. Free books. Through some connections on these interwebs, I have been able to review books in exchange for a book. Yes, please! I am not going to lie that this is an awesome perk to blogging.

4. I like having a space to chronicle not only my life, but also my marriage and George’s life (which I guess are extensions of my life…). I read back on George’s monthly updates, and there are things I have already forgotten. It is great to have this space to have as a photo diary of sorts to remember our life we have made but to see what we came out of as well.

5. I enjoy it. Plain and simple. Blogging has become a hobby of mine. I like that it ebbs and flows. It is there when I need it, but I don’t feel pressured to do it every day. I get to write about things that I want to write about:  things that I am passionate about, things I find funny, things that inspire me, you know my things. So I will keep doing it as long as it doesn’t feel like a job, and I keep getting something good out of it.

4d185db1945c43056fad534fa0b5c3a9image via

Thank you for reading. While a lot of reasons I blog seem to be for myself, I have really enjoyed the connections I have made with others by sharing my stories. Your comments and messages mean a lot to me. I do hope that by putting my life out there I am able to touch and impact others through my words. So thank you for coming to my space!

Here’s to another year of writing ahead!