317 / 365: 8K Day!

I honestly thought things would not go well this morning. One sure sign appeared last night. A car in front of us was waiting to make a left turn at a traffic light. When the light turned green, it made a right turn. Its license plate: ILEADU. Be afraid, be VERY afraid!

But I digress. Today turned out MUCH better than anticipated!! A great run at 56:59. This was my best time ever!! I think there were a few factors that helped:
-AMAZING weather!
-I dressed light.
-Leggings to keep my legs warm.
-Physical therapy
-Sunday's long run.
-GPS all week. (Walking outside with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders every morning this week.)
-A light meal last night. (I finally conceded that a little 8K does NOT warrant a "Carbo Loaded Dinner". My denial always bloated me on race day.)
-Parking 9 miles from the start / finish. This made for a thorough pre-race warm up and cool down. I also burned off post race food by eating it as I walked back to the van. I really think the schlep to and from the van was another 8K in and of itself.
-Having a supportive family to keep the home fires burning while I trained. I love these guys!

Now I know what a "runner's high" really feels like. It took me forever to come down to take a snooze between the race and the family's afternoon agenda. While I'm still kind of tired, I feel good knowing that I reached my goal of 1 hour or under.

Time to chill and chow down.

Until next time....rest away!

316 / 365: Run!

In my dreams, I am Kenyan. In my life, I am Roseanne.

Until next time....run away!

315 / 365: Decision 7

"I Will Persist Without Exception"

Today, the "I" is being changed to "We". Today, MGR and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. No brass bands, bells or whistles (except maybe to extol the gaudiness of the flag shirt he wore today!), but a nice, "calm" (relative term in our house) affirmation that we made it.

It has not been an easy ten years, but we persisted. We got through school, babies, changing jobs, changing residences, etc. still standing, still functioning, still loving each other. Yes, we argue. Yes we disagree. But most of the time we discuss, we compromise and yes, we forgive. Sometimes with laughter, always with love. We will keep on keepin' on....

Will it always be this way? I hope so!

Until next time....persist away!

314 / 365: Decision 6

This is truly a weakness of mine....let's hold onto someone's transgressions til they go to the grave....and maybe even longer! So there!

Having an unforgiving soul is truly a time waster. Just this evening, I had a siding salesman come to the door, asking if he could come by tomorrow to measure my house and give me an estimate. I told him that we had someone in mind to do the house (we do) and that I wouldn't be home tomorrow til 9pm (I won't). He saw MGR pull in the driveway and said, "Well, I'll just talk with your husband." Who did he think I was, Donna Reed? Talk with my husband? I'm actually still seething about this! Needless to say, this has been on my mind since he came to the door almost 5 hours ago. Yes, 5 hours of stewing when I could be forgiving.

This is going to be a very hard transition to make. Sometimes forgiving is easy: a person cuts you off in traffic, a child says something inappropriate, etc. However, sometimes it's just too damn hard to let go. So it just festers in my mind and soul, taking up valuable time and space, waiting for me to do.....absolutely nothing about it! Now that's being productive....not!!

Until next time....forgive away!!

313 / 365: Decision 5

The GPS activity did not go well.
I was cold, then hot, then cold, then hot.
My nose ran the entire morning.
I stepped in dog poop somewhere while fumbling through the above mentioned GPS activity.
Cache #2 disappeared.
Benchmark and Portal issues.
Ended the work day 3 miles from home, but had to drive out to Matoaca (45 minutes round trip) to return JOR's football uniform.

But you what? I'm smiling!!

I think I'm getting better at this decision. I try to look at the bright side of things. Today, the weather was beautiful, I cleaned off my shoes, issues were solved and the uniform is out of our house!

A guest author visited MGR's school yesterday. One of the things she said was, "Before you enter (school or home), wipe your feet of all the 'dirt' so you don't carry it in with you." Amen! MGR and I have decided to try this approach. When work gets "dirty", we'll leave it outside. We'll choose to be happy.

"The Traveler's Gift" is based on seven decisions presented by seven historical figures. The one presenting Decision 5 ("Choosing to be happy")? Anne Frank! I guess if she chose to be happy, I should shut up!

Until next time....smile away!

312 / 365: Decision 4

The Certain Decision: I have a decided heart....I think.

Well, I sounded like it in last night's post and actually I'm feeling good about it today. No worries, we're not losing the house or anything that extreme. We have carried this debt burden long enough and just want to get rid of it.

My decided heart has lots to do with my faith in God. He has not been in my "Traveler's Gift" posts, but I do think He's the deliverer of the gifts. I know He's with me, as He and I have had many LONG conversations (yes, there are times I listen...OK....sometimes....) and He has helped me throughout my life.

I feel this decided heart is God giving me the swift kick I need. Yes, He kicks me, but where is He when He's done kicking? Behind me. It's good to know God has my back. All the more reason to make a decision and act on it.

Until next time....decide away!! (Don't worry, He's got your back!)

311 / 365: Decision 3

I am choosing to act! MGR and I have had to swallow a very hard, very bitter pill. Our finances are in really bad shape, mostly due to our bad behavior (see, I'm taking responsibility, Decision 1!). I've spent most of this fall cutting "frills" out of our household budget and got a part-time job to earn extra money. While this has helped, we want to do more to get rid of our debt. We're now in the process of working with an outside agency to give us a hand.

It took reading "The Traveler's Gift" to get me to this last step. While I could have sat and wallowed in self-pity, the better plan was one of action. No, it's not going to be easy. No, it's not going to be fun. Yes, it's going to get us where we need to be. It's the only way we are going to achieve our goals. We need to act!

Keep your fingers crossed!

Until next time....act away!