I am about to contradict myself, just go with it.
I love that each year, people want to change. I think goals are good to have and if it takes a new year for people to make them, awesome. Usually though, for me, I think new year resolutions are lame. I am a firm believer that if you want to change something about yourself, there is no better time than right now, or whenever that "right now" is. Last year I semi made a resolution, only because it just so happened to be around the new year. I was running and exercising a lot and felt really great about it, except I wasn't stretching after. I committed myself to stretching really well every single time I exercised. It added at least 10 minutes to my already 60 minute workout and it made a world of difference, physically and mentally. It obviously gave my muscles a chance to recover after the workout is over and it helped me avoid injury. It also gave me 10 minutes to focus and meditate, particularly about my body and what it was capable of. I was able to appreciate it more and acknowledge that I was in a sense, saying "thank you" to my muscles.
Of course it wasn't a prayerful meditation. I was usually listening to My Chemical Romance or No Doubt in my ipod while I was stretched, but it still felt good to think about my body and muscles.
So that was last year....
This year I have a resolution once again, merely because the dates are convenient. I am resolving to get back into my regular exercise routine of running. It isn't that I have stopped exercising all together, I just haven't been running as consistently as I would like. Running is what gets my heart rate up to the BPM that I like and running is surprisingly the best therapy for my knee.
So my goal for this coming year, 2011, is to run at least 500 miles. That really isn't a whole lot, but enough to keep me consistent. It is an average of 10 miles a week, which doesn't seem like much, but it gives me a 2 week cushion for error. I am not training for a marathon. I am not even training for a 5k. I just want to run and I want to know that I CAN again.
So here's to 500 (minimum) miles in 2011!
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Meet Me in St. Louis
I have actually never seen that movie, but I hear it's good!
Saturday after Thanksgiving, we drove about 2 hours from Melissa and Andy's house to take in a couple of sights of St. Louis. Above anything else, I wanted to see the Gateway Arch, so that is where we headed first.
As you can see by the red noses, it was quite cold. We didn't spend a lot of time outside, we went underground the the museum that showcases the western movement. I could have spent hours in there reading every bit of information they had of the old days. Of course, the kiddos only lasted about 1 minute at each stopping point. (And when I say 1 minute, I mean 10 seconds!)
This collage is all thanks to my up and coming photographer Emily. We need to work on the important skill of not chopping off the head.
After the museum, we went back to the vehicles and had a delicious picnic of leftover-turkey sandwiches, chips, and apples. It had warmed up some and we had a good time just hanging out and feeling thrifty by not eating out.
As we drove away from the monument I snapped some photos from the passenger seat. This is the coolest area. I would love to go back when the temperatures warm up a bit and spend some more time there. It's really beautiful.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Galleria Mall. A real mall, people. I can't barely remember the last time I was at a real, 2-level, jam-packed mall. For being all thrifty at lunchtime, we made up for it by going to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Funny thing happened right before dinner though. Melissa and I left the kids with the husbands while she came with me for a make-up consultation. We had about 15 minutes to spare so we browsed around Anthropology. It's a good place to browse for me because I can sit, stare, and fantasize for hours, but not be tempted to buy because everything is so dang expensive. Anyway, as we were walking out the door to leave we spot Stephanie Nielson of the Nie Nie Dialogues. I told myself if I ever ran into her, I would most certainly introduce myself and tell her how much I admire her courage. It was a moment of truth for me, so that is what I did. Melissa and I walked on over to her and introduced ourselves. Her mother was standing right there as well and was was a delight to meet as well. We probably visited for 5 minutes with the two of them. As were about to say goodbye it occurred to me that I had my camera in my purse, so I got brave once again and asked if we could take a photo. Stephanie's mother offered to take the photo but we insisted she be in it. We ended up asking a stranger and I think that made her mom feel pretty happy!
NieNie was beautiful. Her eyes absolutely sparkled and was the first thing I noticed when I looked at her face. And then her jacket...*sigh* I want it. She was very gracious and kind and told us how happy she was that we stopped to speak with her.
It was one of the highlights of the day for sure....and then we topped it off with cheesecake!
Saturday after Thanksgiving, we drove about 2 hours from Melissa and Andy's house to take in a couple of sights of St. Louis. Above anything else, I wanted to see the Gateway Arch, so that is where we headed first.
As you can see by the red noses, it was quite cold. We didn't spend a lot of time outside, we went underground the the museum that showcases the western movement. I could have spent hours in there reading every bit of information they had of the old days. Of course, the kiddos only lasted about 1 minute at each stopping point. (And when I say 1 minute, I mean 10 seconds!)
This collage is all thanks to my up and coming photographer Emily. We need to work on the important skill of not chopping off the head.
After the museum, we went back to the vehicles and had a delicious picnic of leftover-turkey sandwiches, chips, and apples. It had warmed up some and we had a good time just hanging out and feeling thrifty by not eating out.
As we drove away from the monument I snapped some photos from the passenger seat. This is the coolest area. I would love to go back when the temperatures warm up a bit and spend some more time there. It's really beautiful.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Galleria Mall. A real mall, people. I can't barely remember the last time I was at a real, 2-level, jam-packed mall. For being all thrifty at lunchtime, we made up for it by going to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Funny thing happened right before dinner though. Melissa and I left the kids with the husbands while she came with me for a make-up consultation. We had about 15 minutes to spare so we browsed around Anthropology. It's a good place to browse for me because I can sit, stare, and fantasize for hours, but not be tempted to buy because everything is so dang expensive. Anyway, as we were walking out the door to leave we spot Stephanie Nielson of the Nie Nie Dialogues. I told myself if I ever ran into her, I would most certainly introduce myself and tell her how much I admire her courage. It was a moment of truth for me, so that is what I did. Melissa and I walked on over to her and introduced ourselves. Her mother was standing right there as well and was was a delight to meet as well. We probably visited for 5 minutes with the two of them. As were about to say goodbye it occurred to me that I had my camera in my purse, so I got brave once again and asked if we could take a photo. Stephanie's mother offered to take the photo but we insisted she be in it. We ended up asking a stranger and I think that made her mom feel pretty happy!
NieNie was beautiful. Her eyes absolutely sparkled and was the first thing I noticed when I looked at her face. And then her jacket...*sigh* I want it. She was very gracious and kind and told us how happy she was that we stopped to speak with her.
It was one of the highlights of the day for sure....and then we topped it off with cheesecake!
Oh, There's No Place Like Your Friend's Home for the Holidays!
For Thanksgiving, we finally ventured out of our little corner of Southeast Kansas/northeast Oklahoma, to the great state of Missouri! Our friends Andy and Melissa, the ones that visited us over Halloween, hosted us for Thanksgiving. When we all realized that we lived too far away to celebrate with our families, we decided to spend it together. And we had a great time.
Melissa and I spent most of Thursday morning preparing for the big meal. Corky and Andy went to a Turkey-bowl, then had some male bonding time over the Xbox. And the kids had a grand time playing together and watching Christmas DVDs.
Gracey, Emily, and Noah
Apparently sitting on the couch anymore isn't close enough to kill the bad guys!
Taking a break from their bickering to be thankful for each other!
(Okay, that's sort of a joke. They do fight a lot, but they play together all the time too!)
We were so glad to spend time with friends. Friends that now feel like family.
Melissa and I spent most of Thursday morning preparing for the big meal. Corky and Andy went to a Turkey-bowl, then had some male bonding time over the Xbox. And the kids had a grand time playing together and watching Christmas DVDs.
(Okay, that's sort of a joke. They do fight a lot, but they play together all the time too!)
We were so glad to spend time with friends. Friends that now feel like family.
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