happily random

Lucky Number 13... 2013

I have high hopes for this year: new home, new jobs, new schools, new friends. The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades. At least that's what I'm hoping. 2012 was one of the hardest years of my life with financial struggles, the closing of our business, and the picking up and moving 1,000 from home. While I still mourn the life I left behind (mostly friends I desperately miss every day), with the beginning of a New Year, I have hope that this year is going to be a good one.

Now that all my children are in school fulltime, for the first time in 12 years, I have a job outside the home. Just before Christmas I started working parttime at Archiver's (a scrapbooking chain) as a class instructor. So far I'm really enjoying it, not only the scrapbooking atmosphere and nice coworkers but also bringing home a paycheck.

I'll also be turning 40 this year. In celebration of this great milestone, my best friend Shannon would like to run a half-marathon together. With a 5K under my belt, I think I can be ready to add another 10-miles onto that total by October. *gulp* Gotta love those 10K and marathon trainer apps on iTunes!

Gotta get back into music. Leaving behind my regular singing gig at my church back in Idaho has been a real hole in my life since I moved. The Christmas season really solidified that longing as it's one of my favorite musical seasons. Not only that, but I have wanted to learn to play the guitar for years now. I think that time has come.

I'm not really into the whole "resolutions" thing, but I do feel like good things are in our future. As I say goodbye to the old, I welcome the new with hope.

"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jeremiah 29:11

 

Eye of the Tiger And All That... Sort Of

I always said the only way that I would be a runner is if someone was chasing me. Even then, I'm not sure that I wouldn't just rather have them catch me than actually run. But this year something changed. I'm not exactly sure what it was, but since I hate running so much I decided that I wanted to conquer it. In my mind I felt like because I dreaded the idea of it so much that it had somehow defeated me. So on my quest to get into better shape, I decided to take up running (which I wrote about previously how I started here) in May.

Fast forward six months. My move to Colorado put a bit of a delay on my intial goal to run a 5K -- altitude change and lack of oxygen is a major hurdle -- but I finally completed my first goal on Thanksgiving day, running the Redline Turkey Day 5K. My goal wasn't to be fast, but just to run the whole thing, which I did. My husband, kids and sister were there to cheer me on, even braving the constant chilly wind that blew the whole morning just to be there. I loved knowing that they were waiting for me at the finish line.

3,000+ runners is certainly energizing. I had my playlist on my iPhone to set my pace so I didn't push too hard to stay with crowd. The first two miles I felt great. The last one was rough -- uphill and into the gusty wind -- but I kept putting one foot in front of the other and ran to the finish. My pace was 13.2 minutes per mile, which won't win any races, but I'm happy with. I know I'll get faster as I keep training and more than anything I'm just proud of myself for getting it done.

My next goal is to run a 10K, which I would like to do in the spring. My best friend would like to run a half marathon with me for my 40th birthday, just 10 months away. I find that having a goal keeps me motivated to keep getting out there and pounding the pavement.

Oh, and an added bonus... since I began running I've taken off 25 lbs. Add that to the 15 I lost before that and I'm down 40 lbs for the year. All in all, it's sure has been worth the effort.

Four Most Dreaded Words

The four most dreaded words a mother can hear from her child: Mommy, my tummy hurts. I woke up to those exact words from my 8-year-old son last night. On the positive side, I was able to get him set up with a big pot in his bed before the main event began. Finally closed my eyes for the night at about 5 a.m. only to be awoken by the ever delightful sound of my alarm too soon after. Spent most of the day recovering from lack of sleep and doting on my boys (they're both sick now).

The horror of these words is not the single event that follows, but instead the dread that it's going to make its way through the entire household before it's done. It's like a poisonous snake hidden in your home: you're not sure where it's hiding and you don't know when or if it'll strike again.

So now we wait. And disinfect everything that anyone might possibly touch. Maybe, just maybe, it'll pass the rest of us by...

Cookie Day: Salted Mudslide Cookies

Yeh, yeh, I know. I'm an inconsistent blogger. So live with it. Trying to do better, get it into my routine, see if I can truly make a go at writing down my thoughts. 

Cookie day today. I don't really like store-bought, pre-package cookies. Anyone else thinks they're just too crunchy? Cookies should be chewy inside with a crunchy outside, chocolate oozing with each bite. Store-bought cookies just aren't like that, although I will make an exception for Girl Scout Samoas, but then who wouldn't? Anyway, I try to make at least one batch at the beginning of every week for the kids' and my Tall Man's lunches... and to much on myself from time to time. All that running makes for a healthy appetite.

Pinterest is a great enabler. Cookie recipes galore. Today I made Salted Mudslide Cookies from How Sweet It Is. Yum, yum! Chocolate chocolate chip with coffee and Kalua? Who wouldn't want to try them?

*I didn't use chocolate chunks because I had chocolate chips in my pantry. Still equally yummy. And I sprinkled the salt on before they baked which worked just fine.

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Halloween

Now that we no longer live in the boonies where no one but us could see if we decorated for the holidays or not, my kids have become very gung-ho about making sure that our house is all decked out. Halloween being our first holiday in our new neighborhood home, they have been planning for a month to deck the halls with spiderwebs and pumpkins. In the spirit of the season (ha-ha, spirit), I saw this black tulle wreath in the Pottery Barn catalogue for my front door. Not wanting to shell out the fortune for the one in the catalogue, I decided to make one myself. Heading to Hobby Lobby with list in hand, I grabbed a few simple items and literally threw this together in about 30 minutes.

• Roll of black tulle (25 yards about 7" wide) - $3.99 (Used 40% off coupon)
• 9" embroidery hoop - $1.29
• Wide orange Polka Dotted Ribbon - $3.99 (on sale for $2.00)
• Orange Cardstock
• Thin Ribbon for pennant

This craft was not exact in the least and so easy I had my 6-year-old helping me tie the tulle onto the hoop. I cut pieces off the roll of tulle about 12-16" in length and knotted them one at time around the hoop, using the entire roll (which I was very relieved that one roll was the perfect amount as I really didn't want to make a trip to buy more).

For a little added touch (which wasn't on the one in the Pottery Barn catalogue), I designed up little pennant banner, printed it out on orange cardstock, trimmed it out and strung it on some purple gingham ribbon I had in my stash, tying each end of the ribbon to each side of the wreath. You can download and print out one of your own below onto an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of cardstock.

To hang the wreath, I cut a 3' piece of the wide polka dotted ribbon and looped it around the top of the wreath and actually stapled it to together to hold it on. To hang it I just used some strong tape and taped it to the inside top of the door.

Easy Peasy. And I think it turned out very cute. Take that, Pottery Barn! ;)

BOO Pennant template download (pdf)

Ear Piercing?

"Mom, can I get my ear pierced?"

That's a question every parent hears one time or another... from her daughters. I was getting it from my 10-year-old and 8-year-old sons.

"Let's think on that for a bit and make sure this is something you really want to do, okay?" Honestly, I was completely caught off guard by the request and needed some time to regroup. Neither one of my sons are the type you would think of wanting an earring. I don't know why I found the request so shocking as I had my nose pierced five years ago. My sons each wanting an ear pierced was rather tame by comparison.

The requests kept coming in throughout the summer. They would not be detered despite my stalling and were still just as sure of their decision to get it done as they were when they first requested it three months ago. So shortly after school started, we took them to get it done. They each got one ear pierced.

When it came down to it, my sons having an ear pierced was not that big a deal. It's not like they ask for a tattoo (not till they are out on their own) or gauges in their ears (ick!). They both think it's cool and have handled the inevidible teasing from some boys at school with an amazing amount of confidence, which is always a good lesson to learn. I'm actually very proud of how they handled the situation all around.

Not only that, but my son's are now the coolest boys at their elementary school.

Book Review: Daring Greatly

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; . . . who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly.” —Theodore Roosevelt

When I read this quote from Teddy Roosevelt, I feel like there is nothing I can't do, no obstacle I can't conquer with hard work and perseverance; I feel a longing to run out the door and find my destiny. But then it hits me, that this quote doesn't say that I should "dare to do great things" but instead to "dare greatly": to take a risk, to put it all on the line, to be in the position to fall flat on my face.... in essence, to be vulnerable. Whoa there... be vulnerable? Exactly. And that is what the book Daring Greatly by Brene Brown is all about: it's about embracing our vulnerability to have a more meaningful and fulfilling life.

This concept tends to go against the world's I-Can-Do-It-All, Never-Admit-Defeat, Vulnerability-is-a-Weakness, self-sufficient mentality. We often associate thoughts of vulnerabilty with fear and shame, but until we put ourselves out there, that yearning for love and joy cannot be fulfilled.

As a Christ-follower, this all comes very close to what we strive for in our Christian walk with a realization that only when we surrender our will over to God can we truly experience life, although Daring Greatly doesn't quite go that far. Despite that, I found it an inspirational book definitely worth the time it took to read, with many practical, real-world thoughts and tips to help focus my mind on the haves of my life instead of the have-nots. "Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk."

Check out the book and get involved in the discussion at Blogher.com.

* In the interest of full disclosure, this was part of a compensated campaign as part of the BlogHer Book Club.  That said, all opinions stated here are my own.

Running: It Really is Mind Over Matter

I have always thought that running was something you did only when a zombie or axe murderer was chasing you. Even then, getting caught might be better than the actual running, at least in my mind. The only time in my life that I had ever done any running other than in sports was in high school when they made me run for a grade.

So four months ago when I announced to my husband that I was going to start running, I don't think he really took me seriously. As a part of my road to better health I decided that I needed to exercise and I really didn't want to join a gym... again. I decided that running was something that I could do virtually anywhere and it was pretty cheap, but mostly I just wanted to see if I could do it. Actually run. For exercise. And maybe even like it.

Being the tech-junkie that I am, I figured my iPhone had "an app for that" and I was not disappointed. I used an app called 5K Runner by Heavy Duty apps, which basically is designed to take an out-of-shape lazy gal and train her to run 5k over the course of 8 weeks. I was a little skeptical, but there is a free version to give it a try, so I did. The full version is $2.99, which I did end up buying. *Note: there is also a 10K Runner app for $3.99 and if you think you might want to do 10K, it's worth paying the extra buck getting that one instead, as it's exactly the same except it goes to 10K instead of 5K. Luckily the app starts out with just 1 minute runs followed by a 1.5 minute walk, because that was a lot in the beginning. I remember every time the run times would increase, I thought I would never make it, but with a little willpower, I did it. It's a blessing that this app will run simultaneously with the music player on my iPhone (as well as with a GPS distance-tracker app... but I'll get into that on a later post). Good tunes really helped!

About 2 weeks in, I got posterior shin splits and took a couple weeks off to heal -- ouch! A trip to Fleet Feet fixed me up; they watched me run and recommended shoes accordingly. With new stability running shoes I was back at it with no further problems. They were a little pricy, but I have since learned that good running shoes for your particular stride and feet are key! I kept doing my three runs a week like clockwork, excited to see my endurance increasing each week. Although I don't know if you could say that I enjoyed the running, I was proud of my myself for doing it and felt great when I was done. I actually started looking forward to it!

Never thought I would actually be able to do it, but I completed my first 5K run a week before moving from Coeur d'Alene. With that under my belt, I got a start on the 10K Runner app but since moving to Colorado I've had to take it a little easier as my body adjusts to the altitude! Despite that, I'm still running three days a week albeit with a few more breaks to catch my breath. I'm most definitely in better shape now than I have been since college. Once I'm a bit more acclimated, I would like to run an actual 5K race.

Let this be an inspiration to all my lazy friends out there, because I am the queen of them all. If I can do it, I know you can too! I never thought I would ever, ever say these words, but I actually like to run now. It just takes making your body do what your brain tells it to.