Quotes and Goals in Type

I found some of these while surfing other blogs, from blog to blog: see running blog column!

• "Life is a journey not a destination. Enjoy the journey. It will be over way too soon."
• "You can either live your life like a daring adventure or live your life safe but sorry you missed it."
• "The race is not always to the swift, but those who keep on running!"
• "I don't generally like running. I believe in training by rising gently up and down from the bench." Satchel Paige :)
  
• "Aiming for the marathon is a task of sorts which can include terrific highs and lows." -Bill Rodgers
  
• "Being a runner means you are now "free" to win and lose and live life to its fullest." -Bill Rodgers
  

I am committing myself to running most everyday, holding myself accountable by putting the "carrot" at the end of the proverbial stick by blogging my running goals. Goal: I am going to run another marathon: in 2007 and break the four hour mark. But....

I've been scared to commit to another marathon because, well, for starters it is hard work. Second, I am afraid I'll get a teaching job in the fall (which means all kinds of overwhelming changes for this household and me!!!) and not have time to train as I like. Also, the hubby will support any goals and decisions I make, it's just that he's a realist and brings me back to earth. :) It's time consuming for sure; weekend long runs can be two hours. And I know it might not work out... but I love running, once I get into a regular routine. I will think on it more, but this is a goal I hope to accomplish.

I did run again today-in incredible wind. It was great, even sunny for the first 5 minutes of my run...but then the wind kicked in and I'd swear I was in Chicago (the windy city! :)) I didn't wear anything on my ears, because of the sun at the start, so my ears hurt a bit, as well as the runner's cough setting in already. But I bettered my time: 4 miles in 29:24, wind and all. :) When I got home the sky was black. There's no "prediction for rain or showers" but the sky says otherwise... I feel great!! Three days...and counting! :)

Reading

Recent reading:

• I have given up the Gideon book, for now, as I recently realized it is the first of a trilogy that doesn't have the second book coming until next fall. I just couldn't get into it after that, plus the minute bits of time I were reading was spent on my Bible readings. Yes, I read all five chapters "assigned" for this past week.
  
• I went to the bookstore and got a few books: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, book one (which I've read; I've read them all, but had borrowed from the library). My youngest is into fairies, magic, etc. and I thought she'd like us to read it together.
  
• Also, I purchased Motif for Murder, the fourth scrapbooking mystery by Laura Childs, who also writes the Tea Shop Mysteries, which are also very good! My mother has read them/devoured them, and passed them along. I was in the mood for a good mystery, anyway.
  
• I purchased The Treasures of Weatherby by Zilpha Keatley Snyder, as well, which is another book for youth, but will be a fast read that the kids can read after and I can put in a future classroom! :) Always looking for future reads! :) It's "children's fiction" for ages 9-12. My reading choices lately have definitely varied. From fiction for 8 year olds and up, to nonfiction (the 2007 Wine Report I received as a gift for Christmas) to adult mysteries!
• We all got gift cards to our favorite book store, which is why all the purchases. My husband also got a book I'd like to borrow when he's finished: Life of Pi, which sounds very interesting. Even the author sounds intriguing. :)
  

Today's Run

I ran again, today. Two days in a row! :) Today I only ran three miles and ran them in 23 minutes. My legs were sore from yesterday and rather tight muscles. The weather was nasty, thus the three instead of four miles. It was pouring and very windy. It was raining and blowing so hard that I couldn't hear my mp3 player via the headphones in my ears. :) But, I felt good afterward; even the soreness felt good, like my muscles were getting fit again. :)
My husband and I have been keeping track of our exercise and calorie/food intake on a spreadsheet. I found this site: http://www.healthstatus.com/cbc.html
that helps to tell you approximately how many calories you burn during each activity. I found it pretty interesting, and must inform on my blog. :)
Tonight my hubby and I are off on a date. My youngest daughter is off to a friend's slumber party and my oldest is off to a school dance! Wow, I can't believe she's old enough to attend dances. Although, she will be twelve this month! So, we have about two hours of date time. Hopefully we can get in dinner and the bookstore (for which some wonderful family members got us gift cards for Christmas! :))

Running Again

I just feel so much better about myself when I am running. I feel less stressed, I feel fit, I feel good. Well, I started again. My goal is another marathon, if I can fit it in the schedule when the long runs get tough. Although, I just need to make it a priority. So, my current plan is to run everyday that I don't substitute teach. On those days I will yoga 30-50 minutes. I have a good video that gives some cardio, as well as the flexibility poses. This morning I ran for my first day in a while... I ran almost four miles in 30:18. When I start and it's this windy (today it is very windy!) I usually get a "runner's cough" for a few hours. My knees are also sore. Probably because I haven't ran in a while and I started with four miles! :) That's what I like, though. Two miles isn't enough for me anymore. It feels like I'm just getting started! :) Well, that is my current goal/achievement.

Goals and Resolutions

I have begun: some women in my circle group from church have embarked upon a challenge to read the entire New Testament of the Bible throughout the year. There is a weekly schedule that is a chapter per day excluding weekends. To hold ourselves accountable, we are also emailing/having an "online discussion" about what we've read. So, I have read the first two chapters in Matthew's Gospel. I have read parts and pieces many times, but some I haven't read at all. So, this will be good for me and give me a goal every day. Our oldest daughter leaves school in the morning at an earlier hour than our youngest. As I sit in the front room and watch her walk to the bus, I read my daily devotional and now I can also include my chapters. :) It gives me a goal and a good feeling to start the day.

We have begun family meetings, also. We decided to start them and have done one almost every week since December started. Tonight we have one, and I'm in charge of planning (first the husband planned and I was the "recorder", then oldest daughter was the "recorder" while younger daughter planned; we even had one in Chicago). We are making a "time capsule" and the girls, when we spoke of this, decided it should become an annual tradition. Anyway, we bought a cardboard tube of sorts at a craft store, a few strips of paper (for example, one that says baby girl and other pink sentiments, to show we've had two nieces/cousins this past year.) We will cover the container and fill it with items that provide memories of 2006. Then we will do one again next year. I also found a snack (we don't normally do snacks for the meetings; they only last about fifteen minutes...) that is a sugar ice cream cone dipped in melted chocolate and tipped upside down to resemble a new year's party hat. We'll have that and a scoop of ice cream. We'll also look over last year's resolutions and create new ones for next year.

We had a wonderful time visiting my family in my home state, although, as always, it flies by and we never see everyone who wants us to call. I always feel bad for not pleasing everyone, even though I know logically that's not possible. :) My sis in law has wanted to begin scrapbooking, so we sat down together for a bit on New Year's Eve and got her started; sorting pictures, putting them into the book in their chronological order, and starting her first four pages. Now she has an idea of how to tackle it on her own and is excited to do so. I was thinking while we did it, that I'm lucky my husband thinks it is a good hobby. He's supportive of it, compliments it when I'm finished and tells me how much more it will mean in ten years.

I have most of the gifts from this latest trip put away, just a few last things to go. I took the tree down the day after Christmas: we cut a live tree so it was beginning to drop needles and with our trip this past weekend, I didn't want to deal with it when we got back. So, it's been down for a week, and my snowmen collection is out. I love snowmen. Too bad we won't be getting enough snow to play in this year, so the reports go. Unless an unusual snowstorm appears and drops several inches on us.....ahhh, a snowday and reading in front of the fireplace, sledding and hot cocoa, tea or coffee with cookies afterward....a dream. :)

Speaking of cookies, my goals for this year are as usual: eat better, get back into marathon shape because I like the way my body looks and feels after such training, be more patient with kids and husband, back to daily Bible reading, update my resume and take my classes to renew my teaching certificate before they expire this summer.

I think that is all for today's post, and my dryer's buzzing that another load is ready to be folded.