As the title suggests, I am working to get physical. I did two triathlons last summer and thought I was well on my way to being a healthier individual and I was PROUD! Then, along came a ectopic pregnancy that required surgery, a cross country move and a miscarriage shortly after said move and I am sad to say, I am back to being a part-time couch potato. Other than walking home with my daughter from school every afternoon, I haven’t been doing much.
In the past, I have tried just about every exercise program known to man and haven’t stuck with any of them. Pilates, Hip Hop Abs, The Firm have all been at my house at some point in time and all got stuck in the DVD case and left there. I have learned that I’m just not good with videos and not coordinated enough for aerobics. I did enjoy the tri-training last summer, though. Well, I enjoyed all of it except the running, which I pretty much just ignored. HA HA. I HATE, HATE, HATE running. It is definitely not my strong point and never has been. So, I have decided to tackle running. I figure that since I hate it so much, I should just tackle it. Maybe if I turn working out into a huge challenge that I have to win, maybe I will stick with it and maybe, just maybe, I will get a little healthier in the process.
So, I downloaded the Couch to 5K app on my phone and started doing it officially on Sunday. Today was workout day two which consisted of walk 90 seconds, run 60 seconds for 20 minutes with a 5 minute warm up and cool down. So, the first four 90 second runs KILL ME! I don’t know if I’m just not warmed up or if it is mental or what, but it is excruciating. I do them slow, like at a 15 minute mile pace, which I’m not even sure counts a jog. I think I can probably walk that fast. After the first four, I do manage to speed up a little, but not much. UGH!
I am also working on being physical in other ways as well. I have been taking the dogs to the dog park the past couple of days and walked with my neighbor last night for a little over an hour. We’re planning on doing it again tonight. I guess that is something! Every little bit is supposed to count, right?
I guess at the end of this journey, one of two things can happen. Either I will learn to love running or I will be able to say that despite my hate, I did it.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Checking In...
Okay, I guess I’m overdue for an update. Things here are pretty good! Lila is still doing great in school and Cory’s job is going pretty good. It is busy, busy for him which means a lot of early mornings and late nights. We’re adjusting, though and I’ve made some friends with my neighbors which is nice. It looks like we’re all in the same boat as far as the hours our spouses are working. We all stay home with our kids; so on sunny days we are all usually hanging out in our front yards, watching our kids play in the cul-de-sac. Lucky for us, we had almost an entire week of sunshine last week. Unluckily, the rain is back in force this week.
The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. As some of you know, I was asked to co-lead our FRG (Family Readiness Group) and agreed. Luckily for me, the lady that is co-leading with me is turning out to be a good friend and I think we work well together. I’m looking forward to where we are going to take the group and I hope we have a lot of ladies that get involved. I have been a part of some great FRGs in the past that supported me during some very difficult times. I hope that I can give back and we can do that for someone else.
Easter was a busy time for us as well. We had our Battalion Easter Event on Palm Sunday, which required some of us ladies to stuff 200 eggs and our company to supply a game or activity. Luckily, our tailgating/Steeplechase days paid off as we already had a bean bag toss game and ladder golf, as well as folding tables/chairs. We had a great time and the weather was fantastic. Everyone was talking about Lila all day as she climbed a tree in her cowboy boots to get the prize egg. I also hosted the Easter Event at the Fisher House on Good Friday. For those of you not familiar with the Fisher House, it is a place where military families can stay while they or family members are undergoing treatment at a military facility. I became familiar with the Fisher House in It is an awesome organization and I was super-excited to be a part of the Easter Event. The Fisher House really strives to make the families feel at home as much as possible. When I first volunteered to host the event, I had a little freak out moment as I realized how much was involved. Luckily for me, several ladies from our FRG stepped up and helped me out. I can’t explain how much I appreciate their help, especially since I hadn’t even met several of them when they volunteered. We supplied snacks for the families, treat bags for the kids, colored Easter eggs and even had an Easter Egg Hunt. There was only one child staying at the house so we brought our kids with us to hunt eggs with him. It was such a fun and special day. I am looking forward to staying involved with this organization in the future.
My friend Buffy visited with us last week and I loved it. It was so nice to see a familiar face. We stayed up entirely too late at night chatting and laughing hysterically, which made for very tired mornings when that alarm went off. Her brother who lives north of Seattle invited us up for Easter Sunday, so after church we headed up to his house. We had a great time, fantastic food and they had an egg hunt for the kids. I think I might get to see her again this Saturday before she heads back home. She has been sharing her time between our house and her brother’s house.
I guess that is about it for now. We are praying for everyone back home with the thunderstorms and tornados. I hope that y’all stay safe. We love you guys!
The past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. As some of you know, I was asked to co-lead our FRG (Family Readiness Group) and agreed. Luckily for me, the lady that is co-leading with me is turning out to be a good friend and I think we work well together. I’m looking forward to where we are going to take the group and I hope we have a lot of ladies that get involved. I have been a part of some great FRGs in the past that supported me during some very difficult times. I hope that I can give back and we can do that for someone else.
Easter was a busy time for us as well. We had our Battalion Easter Event on Palm Sunday, which required some of us ladies to stuff 200 eggs and our company to supply a game or activity. Luckily, our tailgating/Steeplechase days paid off as we already had a bean bag toss game and ladder golf, as well as folding tables/chairs. We had a great time and the weather was fantastic. Everyone was talking about Lila all day as she climbed a tree in her cowboy boots to get the prize egg. I also hosted the Easter Event at the Fisher House on Good Friday. For those of you not familiar with the Fisher House, it is a place where military families can stay while they or family members are undergoing treatment at a military facility. I became familiar with the Fisher House in It is an awesome organization and I was super-excited to be a part of the Easter Event. The Fisher House really strives to make the families feel at home as much as possible. When I first volunteered to host the event, I had a little freak out moment as I realized how much was involved. Luckily for me, several ladies from our FRG stepped up and helped me out. I can’t explain how much I appreciate their help, especially since I hadn’t even met several of them when they volunteered. We supplied snacks for the families, treat bags for the kids, colored Easter eggs and even had an Easter Egg Hunt. There was only one child staying at the house so we brought our kids with us to hunt eggs with him. It was such a fun and special day. I am looking forward to staying involved with this organization in the future.
My friend Buffy visited with us last week and I loved it. It was so nice to see a familiar face. We stayed up entirely too late at night chatting and laughing hysterically, which made for very tired mornings when that alarm went off. Her brother who lives north of Seattle invited us up for Easter Sunday, so after church we headed up to his house. We had a great time, fantastic food and they had an egg hunt for the kids. I think I might get to see her again this Saturday before she heads back home. She has been sharing her time between our house and her brother’s house.
I guess that is about it for now. We are praying for everyone back home with the thunderstorms and tornados. I hope that y’all stay safe. We love you guys!
Friday, March 25, 2011
Praying on Paper
I’m not comfortable praying out loud. There. I said it. I hear others pray over dinner and family gatherings like our Uncle John and my brother-in-law Brian and I wish that I could be as eloquent at prayers and blessings as them. I’m not. It’s weird for me because public speaking doesn’t bother me at all. I have given speeches in front of huge groups, spoken on TV, performed in plays, given presentations in front of executives at my job, but still, when I try to pray out loud, I clam up. I am sure it is one of those things where practice makes perfect, but I feel inadequate. I know this is ridiculous and there is no such thing as a bad prayer. However, it doesn’t change the way I feel. I don’t even pray out loud when I am by myself.
Instead, I pray on paper. I’ve always been a writer and I do use that term loosely. I love keeping journals, writing stories, even making up stories on demand for my kids. I’ve always like writing things down; jotting down feelings and things that were good about my day. While I have never been a dedicated journal keeper, I do write down my feelings and thoughts, often on scraps of paper that end up getting stuck in a book somewhere or tossed away. This is also how I pray. I write down my prayers…prayers for my family, friends, myself; prayers for people I’ve never met. I’m comfortable there, expressing myself silently on a piece of paper. Someday, I hope I find my voice. I’m working on it.
Instead, I pray on paper. I’ve always been a writer and I do use that term loosely. I love keeping journals, writing stories, even making up stories on demand for my kids. I’ve always like writing things down; jotting down feelings and things that were good about my day. While I have never been a dedicated journal keeper, I do write down my feelings and thoughts, often on scraps of paper that end up getting stuck in a book somewhere or tossed away. This is also how I pray. I write down my prayers…prayers for my family, friends, myself; prayers for people I’ve never met. I’m comfortable there, expressing myself silently on a piece of paper. Someday, I hope I find my voice. I’m working on it.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Playing Catch Up
I guess I am seriously behind in my blogging. It has been a busy time to say the least. We got to Ft. Lewis January 20th and Cory immediately had to sign in to post in order for us to be able to get on post housing. For some of you, I’m sure it is quite the shock that I decided to live on post as it is something I have always been hesitant to do. However, after only one evening of rush hour traffic on I-5, right off post, it was a pretty easy decision. So far, it has been a pretty good one. Lila’s school is only a couple of a block walk and there is a huge lake within walking distance as well which is pretty awesome, or at least it will be when the weather warms up.
So, when we got to Ft. Lewis we had to stay in guest housing for a little over a week, which basically amounted to living in a one bedroom studio apartment with 4 of us. It was a little crazy to say the least, but we consider ourselves lucky that it was such a short time. We have friends who have spent months living in guest housing or hotel rooms with their families while they waited for on post housing.
Our house on post is pretty nice. It is actually bigger than our old house square footage wise and has a garage which is nice, although I have yet to be able to park in the garage since our belongings were delivered. We’ve been in our house for over a month and unfortunately, the garage has been the overflow space or the “we don’t need that immediately and will get to it later” space. We finally started working on getting it organized this weekend and hopefully, I will actually be able to use it before too much longer. So, while our house is technically bigger than our old one, it is smaller as far as living space because it has TONS of storage. I think I could turn my laundry room into another room if needed. Plus, there is this HUGE storage room off the laundry with shelves all the way up one wall. It is super-nice; along with my walk in closet which I LOVE.
We moved into our house on January 31st and Cory left a week later to go back to Georgia to pick up his truck, the dogs and his Uncle John who made the trip back here with him. It was a long and tiring trip for them, but I think they enjoyed spending so much time with each other. However, I think 4 days in the truck with the stinky dogs may have been a little much for them. I have to put huge thanks out here to our friends Katherine and Keary in Athens who watched our dogs for us until we got settled and Cory got back to get them, which ended up being about a month. It is rare in life to find such wonderful friends who will put up with you, much less your pain in the butt dogs, who pee’ed on everything in their yard repeatedly (I hope they don’t send me a bill for dead plants) and who repeatedly dug under their fence to escape. Kat and Keary, we love you guys and can’t wait to see you this summer when you come visit us.
Since we have been here we have done quite a bit of exploring. After our trip across the country, it doesn’t seem like much to jump in the car for a couple hour jaunt. We have visited Seattle where we visited Pike’s Place Market which attacks your senses as soon as you walk into the place. It is a combination Farmer’s and Fish Market, completed with fish throwing and tons of vendors selling everything from clothing and toys to handmade crafts. It was wild to say the least. We HAD to stop by Beeker’s Handmade Cheese, home of Oprah’s favorite mac and cheese. We didn’t try the mac and cheese, but their Flagship Cheese, is fantastic.
We also visited Portland and made a trip to VooDoo donuts thanks to a recommendation to my very dear (and not forgotten) friend Jennifer. I can honestly say she is the best friend I ever forgot and the donuts were delish. I know that the idea of bacon on a donut may sound weird, but the maple bacon bar was phenomenal. We also visited Powell’s City of Books which is a multiple story bookstore that covers an entire city block. It was spectacular and is full of both new and used books. They have a children’s section that is the size of your average bookstore, so Lila was in heaven. For those of you who know of my fondness for reading, you can only imagine how excited I got…kid in a candy store excited doesn’t even get close to how I felt. We spent several hours perusing books ranging from Ferdinand the Bull to Furniture Building for Dummies. The bookstore is organized just like a library, so everything is easy to find.
There is also Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. It is beautiful and has a beach right on Puget Sound where you can picnic. They also have a 5-mile drive through old growth forest which is beautiful and on Saturday morning they close the road to auto traffic and it is just open for pedestrians and bicyclists. I definitely have it on my to-do list to ride there at sunrise. It’s not a long ride, but gorgeous and I think you can make it longer by driving through other parts of the park. There is also a zoo and aquarium in the park. We are considering getting annual passes for both as they are fairly reasonable.
I have to say that the Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, even if it does rain A LOT. We are surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides and when the sky is clear, you are constantly surprised when suddenly you see these majestic mountain ranges in the distance. The view of Mt. Rainier or Rain-ier is spectacular, especially when the sun is setting. Due to the clouds and distance, it seems to be constantly changing shape and color, depending on the time of day. Lila has been studying it in school and has told us we will be in big trouble if it ever erupts, not from the lava, but from the melting glaciers that will basically flood everything with mud. Good times!!! Apparently, not only do we have to worry about volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens and Rainier), but also earthquakes, although it has been years since either happened. On a good note, we hardly ever have thunderstorms or tornados.
So, I’ve tried to put a lot in one blog, so hopefully I haven’t rambled too much. To all our family and friends, we love and miss you.
So, when we got to Ft. Lewis we had to stay in guest housing for a little over a week, which basically amounted to living in a one bedroom studio apartment with 4 of us. It was a little crazy to say the least, but we consider ourselves lucky that it was such a short time. We have friends who have spent months living in guest housing or hotel rooms with their families while they waited for on post housing.
Our house on post is pretty nice. It is actually bigger than our old house square footage wise and has a garage which is nice, although I have yet to be able to park in the garage since our belongings were delivered. We’ve been in our house for over a month and unfortunately, the garage has been the overflow space or the “we don’t need that immediately and will get to it later” space. We finally started working on getting it organized this weekend and hopefully, I will actually be able to use it before too much longer. So, while our house is technically bigger than our old one, it is smaller as far as living space because it has TONS of storage. I think I could turn my laundry room into another room if needed. Plus, there is this HUGE storage room off the laundry with shelves all the way up one wall. It is super-nice; along with my walk in closet which I LOVE.
We moved into our house on January 31st and Cory left a week later to go back to Georgia to pick up his truck, the dogs and his Uncle John who made the trip back here with him. It was a long and tiring trip for them, but I think they enjoyed spending so much time with each other. However, I think 4 days in the truck with the stinky dogs may have been a little much for them. I have to put huge thanks out here to our friends Katherine and Keary in Athens who watched our dogs for us until we got settled and Cory got back to get them, which ended up being about a month. It is rare in life to find such wonderful friends who will put up with you, much less your pain in the butt dogs, who pee’ed on everything in their yard repeatedly (I hope they don’t send me a bill for dead plants) and who repeatedly dug under their fence to escape. Kat and Keary, we love you guys and can’t wait to see you this summer when you come visit us.
Since we have been here we have done quite a bit of exploring. After our trip across the country, it doesn’t seem like much to jump in the car for a couple hour jaunt. We have visited Seattle where we visited Pike’s Place Market which attacks your senses as soon as you walk into the place. It is a combination Farmer’s and Fish Market, completed with fish throwing and tons of vendors selling everything from clothing and toys to handmade crafts. It was wild to say the least. We HAD to stop by Beeker’s Handmade Cheese, home of Oprah’s favorite mac and cheese. We didn’t try the mac and cheese, but their Flagship Cheese, is fantastic.
We also visited Portland and made a trip to VooDoo donuts thanks to a recommendation to my very dear (and not forgotten) friend Jennifer. I can honestly say she is the best friend I ever forgot and the donuts were delish. I know that the idea of bacon on a donut may sound weird, but the maple bacon bar was phenomenal. We also visited Powell’s City of Books which is a multiple story bookstore that covers an entire city block. It was spectacular and is full of both new and used books. They have a children’s section that is the size of your average bookstore, so Lila was in heaven. For those of you who know of my fondness for reading, you can only imagine how excited I got…kid in a candy store excited doesn’t even get close to how I felt. We spent several hours perusing books ranging from Ferdinand the Bull to Furniture Building for Dummies. The bookstore is organized just like a library, so everything is easy to find.
There is also Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. It is beautiful and has a beach right on Puget Sound where you can picnic. They also have a 5-mile drive through old growth forest which is beautiful and on Saturday morning they close the road to auto traffic and it is just open for pedestrians and bicyclists. I definitely have it on my to-do list to ride there at sunrise. It’s not a long ride, but gorgeous and I think you can make it longer by driving through other parts of the park. There is also a zoo and aquarium in the park. We are considering getting annual passes for both as they are fairly reasonable.
I have to say that the Pacific Northwest is one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen, even if it does rain A LOT. We are surrounded by mountains on pretty much all sides and when the sky is clear, you are constantly surprised when suddenly you see these majestic mountain ranges in the distance. The view of Mt. Rainier or Rain-ier is spectacular, especially when the sun is setting. Due to the clouds and distance, it seems to be constantly changing shape and color, depending on the time of day. Lila has been studying it in school and has told us we will be in big trouble if it ever erupts, not from the lava, but from the melting glaciers that will basically flood everything with mud. Good times!!! Apparently, not only do we have to worry about volcanoes (Mt. St. Helens and Rainier), but also earthquakes, although it has been years since either happened. On a good note, we hardly ever have thunderstorms or tornados.
So, I’ve tried to put a lot in one blog, so hopefully I haven’t rambled too much. To all our family and friends, we love and miss you.
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