Run Forrest Run!

Recently, I decided that I want to train for a half-marathon. Go ahead…laugh…I know you want to.  I’ve always thought it would be fun to participate in some sort of race – my body tends to disagree with me, however, when I actually get around to running in the afternoons.  I’m pretty positive I have the knees of a 92 year old due to participating in pretty much every sport available when I was growing up, but I decided I am going to suck it up and actually do it. A friend told me about this website www.marathonrookie.com where it tells you all about what you need to do to become a marathon runner. I’m starting off with the half-marathon training and if I can survive that I MIGHT do the full marathon training. I’m loving this website because it gives you a schedule to follow, which I’m all about. I was able to write in my planner how many miles to run on what days (I even put it red ink so it will stand out and hopefully motivate me!) I’m the type of person that if it’s in my planner, I’ve GOT to get it done so I can mark it off (I love checking things off of a list ;D – you can add that to my love of math that makes me a total dork). So I’m hoping that this method will prove to be more successful than the “I need to run today but ….” method that I’ve been following lately. I also like the schedule that it gives because you aren’t running every day…you run short distances 3 days a week (Monday, Wednesday and Thursday) then a longer distance on Saturday.  This is what hooked me because I have to fit it in between getting home from work and cooking supper – which isn’t long enough for long distances. I am also a fan of the days off to recuperate! Tanner SAYS he’s not much of a runner (but he’s better than me) so I’m not sure if I can get him to join me in my endeavor but hopefully he’ll come around. =) I’m starting the schedule next Monday so if anyone wants to join in here’s the link to it… http://www.marathonrookie.com/half-marathon-training.html. I’ll keep you posted on progress…that is, if I’m still alive after the first week! 

Something Worth Celebrating

It’s a new year so I figured I should probably write a new blog. I failed miserably in 2010 at my goal of blogging - hopefully I can do better in 2011. A lot has been happening since my last (and first) post. We had our first Holiday season together – and I’d say we passed through it with flying colors! It was somewhat of a worry of how we would split the time up since we have family so spread apart. Thankfully, we were able to see both families for both holidays.

 For Thanksgiving, we had lunch with my family at my grandparents’ house and then left and went to Texas and had dinner with his parents and stayed for a couple of days. It makes it harder when grandparents start getting to the stage of “this may be their last” and I feel like all of my grandparents are at that point.  I don’t want to miss making memories with them while I still can. When I went back to work after Thanksgiving, I was already counting the days until Christmas! I love Christmas and everything that comes with it. Even the crowds…somehow they are included in my “what do you think of” about Christmastime. We worked hard on our house to make it feel like home before the holidays.  We painted the last major room (all that’s left is the foyer and bathrooms! Yay!) and refinished the molding in that room – it is our music/reading room. Now THAT was a project – and I am very proud of how it turned out. Below are some pictures of the process. We took down the molding, sanded it and refinished it with a darker stain then nailed it back on. We did the chair rail as well, but this shows the difference in looks just to give you an idea.

Speaking of projects, I have come to realize how wonderful of a handyman my husband is. He fixed our blinds that Maverick chewed up with some string and saved us the 40 dollars it would have taken to replace them, he fixed our garage door (the motor decided to go out and trap me inside on a day when I had a dentist appointment!) and saved us about $500 by installing it himself!, and other little things that come up all the time. I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful and hard working husband!

Ok, back to the Holidays (sorry for the ramble – just so much to catch up on!) Christmas: what an incredible first Christmas we had! We went and picked out our tree after Thanksgiving and had so much fun getting it up! It was an absolutely gorgeous and massive tree and our few ornaments looked pretty puny hung on it, but it was ours =). 

My aunt gave us an entire set of St. Jude ornaments so we used my old artificial tree and put it in the dining room (so it could be seen from the street) and made a St. Jude tree. The week before Christmas, we took a trip to Boston and had such a wonderful time.  It was our first vacation together since the Honeymoon and we enjoyed making memories that will last us a lifetime.  I surprised Tanner with Celtics tickets as his Christmas present and I think I got some points for that one =). I loved watching him during the game and seeing how much fun he was having. 

We flew home on Christmas Eve and attended our first Christmas Eve service together.  Even though he was “working,” I got to sit up in the booth with him so we could enjoy it together.  After church we had Christmas with my family. Christmas day, we made a big breakfast, opened presents and headed to mom and dad’s for lunch. The next day we went to Jackson to meet up with his parents and aunts and uncles. It was wonderful getting to see them during the holidays! Tuesday, we drove to Texarkana and met back up with his parents at his grandmother’s house. This was the first time I had met her and I really enjoyed the time we got to spend there.  The next day we drove further north (I think) to Hot Springs to see his other grandparents. We did a little touring of the actual hot springs and bath houses and spent the evening playing a new game we gave his parents. The scenery was beautiful and the company was heartwarming. Family means everything to me and I’m so blessed to have extended mine over the past few months. 

Once we got home we had 2 days to relax before going back to work (loving the school system work schedule!) and spent that time putting up Christmas decorations and getting the house back in order. It was nice to just be at home all day with my husband and not have anywhere we had to be or anything we HAD to do. Now, it’s back to the real world and my countdown to Spring Break is already on =) For now I am just going to sit back and enjoy the ride, though!