This month is whizzing by and I've had a hard time finding the time to document the journey. Although, my consistency with blogging this month has been somewhat lacking, my creativity "projects" press on. Here's a summary of what I've been up to this past ten days.
Day 8-10: Pastor's Wife's Retreat: At first I wasn't planning on going mostly because of the hassle of trying to figure out how Mike was going to juggle watching little man while preaching at two different churches. About a week before the retreat, I realized that I really needed some alone time and that it was important that I take that time away. In that same moment I also realized that I didn't have to figure everything out for Mike in order to go. I am blessed with a very capable husband who is an amazing father that is able to figure out how to take care of our son for a few days. Sometimes I forget that and try to do more than my share of everything which of course leads to unnecessary frustration. Thanks in large part to my April creativity/break out of the routine month, I decided to do things differently. Once the decision was made, I let Mike know what I was planning to do. He happily agreed to step in and let me take the time that I needed. The weekend ended up being a great blessing! I came back energized and happy. Mike and little man Matthew also had a great weekend!
Day 11-13: Picture Prayer Book: I got this idea from the speaker at the retreat and decided I wanted to do it too. A picture prayer book is a photo album of pictures and prayers. You can include any picture you want that reminds you to pray over someone or something. Below the picture is a prayer you write out for that particular person and/or situation. I decided to make a prayer book that focuses on my family and close friends. I will use this book to pray for my friends children, marriages, walks with the Lord, relationships, or whatever else is going on in their lives. I'm not finished with the book yet, but I will continue to work on it throughout the month.
Day 14-17: South Dakota Trip: We decided to take a family trip to unwind and have some time of reflection. This was the first trip that we have taken with just the three of us where we are not going to visit friends or family. It felt a bit strange because we had a huge cabin all to ourselves. It ended up being an amazing weekend! We didn't take any maps or GPS devices and were blessed by the spots and places that we happened to drive by that we were interested in checking out. We went to Mt. Rushmore, Crazy horse, a running store, walked a section of the Mickelson Trail (so beautiful!!), a health food store, a super yummy ice cream place, Honda dealership (we had some car issues on our trip), beautiful lakes, and I forget what else. We were amazed at how effortless this trip was and how much fun we had stopping at places along the way that we normally probably wouldn't have stopped at.
Day 18: Random fact tradition begins: I love gathering and sharing information. Many times, my random pieces of knowledge don't fit into day to day conversations, so I have to keep them inside. This seems like such a waste to me. So I decided to start the Random Fact Tradition. This is how it works: At the end of the day Mike and I exchange a random fact we came across that day. Here are some we've shared: 1) did you know that the Mickelson Trail goes for 109 miles? 2) did you know Grover Cleveland was the only man to serve two non-consecutive terms as president? 3) did you know that the ceiling in our cabin is divided into 38 sections?
Monday, April 19, 2010
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Creating Fun
Today I completed my first week of creating fun and out-of-my-regular-routine experiences. I must say that it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be. Since making the commitment at the beginning of the month to be more creative, I find myself looking for opportunities and/or ideas everywhere I go. Most of my ideas though have come in the shower. As a mom, this is one of the only places of quiet uninterrupted time where thinking can happen.
For those of you who are curious about what I did this week. Here's my first 7 days of creativity/trying something new/breaking out of the rut activities:
Day 1: Fancy Breakfast Day: The menu included crepes, oatmeal-blueberry muffins, eggs, and OJ. I set the table with our best dishes, silverware, and glassware.
Day 2: Family outing to Fort Cody museum and later in the day enjoyed a "Silent" Family Sabbath Worship (10 minutes of listening to praise music, 10 minutes of personal prayer, and 10 minutes of reading the Word to yourself)
Day 3: Agreed to take Matthew to an Easter Egg Hunt and took a yam casserole to share for Sabbath lunch. I had never made one before but it turned out pretty good.
Day 4: Family Gift Exchange: each family member (there were three of us because my sister is staying with us for the week) had $10 to buy special gifts for each other.
Day 5: Sister Fun Date: I took my sister to the salon, lunch, and then to the mall.
Day 6: Family Cleaning Day: We all went down to our house in McCook (that we are still trying to sell by the way) to give it some much needed TLC.
Day 7: Story time at the Library with Matthew
For those of you who are curious about what I did this week. Here's my first 7 days of creativity/trying something new/breaking out of the rut activities:
Day 1: Fancy Breakfast Day: The menu included crepes, oatmeal-blueberry muffins, eggs, and OJ. I set the table with our best dishes, silverware, and glassware.
Day 2: Family outing to Fort Cody museum and later in the day enjoyed a "Silent" Family Sabbath Worship (10 minutes of listening to praise music, 10 minutes of personal prayer, and 10 minutes of reading the Word to yourself)
Day 3: Agreed to take Matthew to an Easter Egg Hunt and took a yam casserole to share for Sabbath lunch. I had never made one before but it turned out pretty good.
Day 4: Family Gift Exchange: each family member (there were three of us because my sister is staying with us for the week) had $10 to buy special gifts for each other.
Day 5: Sister Fun Date: I took my sister to the salon, lunch, and then to the mall.
Day 6: Family Cleaning Day: We all went down to our house in McCook (that we are still trying to sell by the way) to give it some much needed TLC.
Day 7: Story time at the Library with Matthew
Thursday, April 1, 2010
April is about Creating
As I lay my March resolution down and move on to my April resolution, I am filled with excitement. I love starting new things and it's just so invigorating to do it every 30 days. I find myself sharing my resolution idea with whoever will listen. Today, I told my massage therapist about it and I think I have recruited another follower. She told me how happy she was that I was coming to her because now she has started walking with her friends around a mile loop I pointed out to her and now is going to start the 30 day resolution thing. When she told me that I felt like I had just received my gold star for they day. I love getting gold stars!
Anyway, onto my April resolution. This month my focus is on creativity. Let me make it clear that by creativity I don't mean craft-type creations. I don't think I could succumb myself to that kind of torture for any length of time.
Creativity for me means creating opportunities and experiences that lift you out of the ruts of life and transport you to places of exploration, fulfillment, and fun. Although, I have not always thought so, I am a creative person. I love to learn, explore, create, and try to do things where I can leave traces of who I am. Life has a way of taking our creative side and pushing it out of our conscious radar to a place where it can often be forgotten. I have noticed this phenomenon happen in my life way to often. I see it when I cook the same three meals over and over again. I see it when I can't think of any fun games to play with Matthew. I see it when the only thing I can think to do for date night is dinner and a movie. I see it when I play the same songs over and over again when I run. I see it when I read the same genre of books. I know I can do better than that but it seems so exhausting to think of changing what comes so easy. So I stick to what I can do without thinking and leave the creative things to the people that have more time. Well, no more. April for me is going to be about stretching my brain so that I can find the creativity that I know is hiding there and is waiting to be unleashed.
This is how I plan to tackle the month:
1. Everyday I will do something creative. Which in essence means doing something I would normally not do because it requires more work.
2. I will have three areas of focus that will be split into 10 day segments. My focus areas are family, ministry, and self.
These are some of the things I am thinking for each of the areas...
Family:
-Making meals that are different than what I normally cook.
-Have meals in out of ordinary places
-Creating fun play time experiences with Matthew
-Spice up date nights
-Plan fun day trip activities on our family day
Ministry:
-Drama
-Graphic Design-poster design, church logo, etc.
-Website
-Church events-women's ministry and church social
Personal:
-Work on my writing project
-Make a 1/2 marathon shirt
-improve blog
-Do something fun for 5K race.
Throughout the month I will post some of the creative things I am doing. If you have suggestions, please send them my way!
Anyway, onto my April resolution. This month my focus is on creativity. Let me make it clear that by creativity I don't mean craft-type creations. I don't think I could succumb myself to that kind of torture for any length of time.
Creativity for me means creating opportunities and experiences that lift you out of the ruts of life and transport you to places of exploration, fulfillment, and fun. Although, I have not always thought so, I am a creative person. I love to learn, explore, create, and try to do things where I can leave traces of who I am. Life has a way of taking our creative side and pushing it out of our conscious radar to a place where it can often be forgotten. I have noticed this phenomenon happen in my life way to often. I see it when I cook the same three meals over and over again. I see it when I can't think of any fun games to play with Matthew. I see it when the only thing I can think to do for date night is dinner and a movie. I see it when I play the same songs over and over again when I run. I see it when I read the same genre of books. I know I can do better than that but it seems so exhausting to think of changing what comes so easy. So I stick to what I can do without thinking and leave the creative things to the people that have more time. Well, no more. April for me is going to be about stretching my brain so that I can find the creativity that I know is hiding there and is waiting to be unleashed.
This is how I plan to tackle the month:
1. Everyday I will do something creative. Which in essence means doing something I would normally not do because it requires more work.
2. I will have three areas of focus that will be split into 10 day segments. My focus areas are family, ministry, and self.
These are some of the things I am thinking for each of the areas...
Family:
-Making meals that are different than what I normally cook.
-Have meals in out of ordinary places
-Creating fun play time experiences with Matthew
-Spice up date nights
-Plan fun day trip activities on our family day
Ministry:
-Drama
-Graphic Design-poster design, church logo, etc.
-Website
-Church events-women's ministry and church social
Personal:
-Work on my writing project
-Make a 1/2 marathon shirt
-improve blog
-Do something fun for 5K race.
Throughout the month I will post some of the creative things I am doing. If you have suggestions, please send them my way!
March Complete!
My third New Year resolution has come to a close. A part of me is sad because I enjoyed the challenge and accountability. This was by far the resolution that was the most time consuming but in the end left me with a great sense of accomplishment. Before embarking on my March goal, I was afraid that I was setting myself up for failure. Was it possible to really cut my 3 mile time by two whole minutes? Well as it turns out, it is actually possible to do. It was not an easy task but, I am proof that if you put in the training time, it is achievable!
End of the month results:
1 mile time: 8:00
2 mile time: 16:20
3 mile time: 24:29
Weight: 169 (I was hoping to get down to 167 but a trip to KC (to many yummy food temptations) during the last week of my resolution coupled with two missed runs pushed me up 1/2 lb. Nevertheless, I sill lost 3 lbs this month which is great :)
Overall, March was a success! I ran the fastest 3 miles in my life and think I can get faster. I have 19 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight and I think that the shedding of that weight will allow me to run even more efficiently. Who knows what I can achieve if I am actually going at my optimal fitness level. Whenever I think about it, I get inspired to keep pushing and moving forward.
End of the month results:
1 mile time: 8:00
2 mile time: 16:20
3 mile time: 24:29
Weight: 169 (I was hoping to get down to 167 but a trip to KC (to many yummy food temptations) during the last week of my resolution coupled with two missed runs pushed me up 1/2 lb. Nevertheless, I sill lost 3 lbs this month which is great :)
Overall, March was a success! I ran the fastest 3 miles in my life and think I can get faster. I have 19 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight and I think that the shedding of that weight will allow me to run even more efficiently. Who knows what I can achieve if I am actually going at my optimal fitness level. Whenever I think about it, I get inspired to keep pushing and moving forward.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Week Three Update
I've been meaning to write my weekly update since yesterday but the last couple of days were spent in a frenzy of activity and I am just now finding the time to sit down at the computer for a few minutes.
This last week was interesting. I completed all my workouts and logged my food intake 90% of the time. As far as my actions went, I did pretty well. My stress level though was pretty high this week. I found myself worrying about little things as well as big things. I even got a massage which was great but it didn't take me long to tense up again. My weight loss this week, I think was hindered more by my mental attitude than what I was doing physically. I still lost weight but not as much as I was hoping.
Here are my weekly stats:
3 mile run: 24:39
Weight: 168.4
Total weight loss: 0.4 lbs
This Weeks Goals (my final week of the month!):
Monday: Upper Body and Ab workout
Tuesday: 4 mile tempo run
Wednesday: Lower Body and Core Strength
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday:6 mile run
Saturday: Stretch
Sunday: 9 miles @ race pace
Monday: I'll be in KC--might do my long run today instead of Sunday since we'll be traveling. So I'm leaving this day open.
Tuesday (Day 30): 3 mile speed
Weight Loss Goal: 1.6
I'm excited that this is my last week of my March resolution. It's been a great month so far and one that has kept me motivated. I will post my 30 day results on the last day of the month and will also announce my April resolution.
This last week was interesting. I completed all my workouts and logged my food intake 90% of the time. As far as my actions went, I did pretty well. My stress level though was pretty high this week. I found myself worrying about little things as well as big things. I even got a massage which was great but it didn't take me long to tense up again. My weight loss this week, I think was hindered more by my mental attitude than what I was doing physically. I still lost weight but not as much as I was hoping.
Here are my weekly stats:
3 mile run: 24:39
Weight: 168.4
Total weight loss: 0.4 lbs
This Weeks Goals (my final week of the month!):
Monday: Upper Body and Ab workout
Tuesday: 4 mile tempo run
Wednesday: Lower Body and Core Strength
Thursday: 5 mile run
Friday:6 mile run
Saturday: Stretch
Sunday: 9 miles @ race pace
Monday: I'll be in KC--might do my long run today instead of Sunday since we'll be traveling. So I'm leaving this day open.
Tuesday (Day 30): 3 mile speed
Weight Loss Goal: 1.6
I'm excited that this is my last week of my March resolution. It's been a great month so far and one that has kept me motivated. I will post my 30 day results on the last day of the month and will also announce my April resolution.
Friday, March 19, 2010
The Ups and Downs of Running
I struggled with most of my runs this week with the exception of my 'no-watch, smell the roses' run. It took the majority of my will power to actually go out and run my scheduled miles. Every time I made the decision to go run, it was with the promise that it would make me feel better. Running always makes me feel better regardless of how I feel before starting. I can't say that was the case on all my runs this week. This was a bit disconcerting to me.
After thinking about my lack of energy and motivation, I came to the conclusion that part of the problem may be that I'm starting to run longer distances. I'm slowly coming to accpet the truth of what my heart has been trying to tell me ever since I did my first 5K... I don't like running long distances. My favorite races are the 5K and 10K distances. I like to push hard and be done. After running my first 5K, I felt like I had found the distance that was made just for me. The 10K distance left me with a similar feeling. This weekend I have a 9-10 miler to do. I'm only slightly looking forward to it but it's mostly because I love to accomplish the goals I set for myself and not because I like to run that long.
Afte this half marathon, I may just stick to shorter distances. There is a part of me that is tempted to continue training and do a full marathon in the fall. I realize that this temptation comes from the part of myself that constantly pushes to achieve more and not necessarily the part of me that strives for doing only those things that stay true to who I am. It is possible that there is a marathoner hiding inside of me waiting to be discovered. I was reading that between the ages of 20-40 we are figuring out who we really are. If this is true, I have 10 years to figure out what kind of runner I am.
For now, I get great joy from doing my speed and tempo workouts. It is these workouts that bring back the excitement of running. I'm glad I scheduled my speed run on Friday. After I finished, I felt like my running week had been redeemed and the little flame that keeps me running started burning brighter. I ran 3 miles in 24:39 today!! There are 11 days left in this 30 day resolution and I'm pretty confident I will make my goal time of 24:30. I may even do it faster! Wohoo!!!
After thinking about my lack of energy and motivation, I came to the conclusion that part of the problem may be that I'm starting to run longer distances. I'm slowly coming to accpet the truth of what my heart has been trying to tell me ever since I did my first 5K... I don't like running long distances. My favorite races are the 5K and 10K distances. I like to push hard and be done. After running my first 5K, I felt like I had found the distance that was made just for me. The 10K distance left me with a similar feeling. This weekend I have a 9-10 miler to do. I'm only slightly looking forward to it but it's mostly because I love to accomplish the goals I set for myself and not because I like to run that long.
Afte this half marathon, I may just stick to shorter distances. There is a part of me that is tempted to continue training and do a full marathon in the fall. I realize that this temptation comes from the part of myself that constantly pushes to achieve more and not necessarily the part of me that strives for doing only those things that stay true to who I am. It is possible that there is a marathoner hiding inside of me waiting to be discovered. I was reading that between the ages of 20-40 we are figuring out who we really are. If this is true, I have 10 years to figure out what kind of runner I am.
For now, I get great joy from doing my speed and tempo workouts. It is these workouts that bring back the excitement of running. I'm glad I scheduled my speed run on Friday. After I finished, I felt like my running week had been redeemed and the little flame that keeps me running started burning brighter. I ran 3 miles in 24:39 today!! There are 11 days left in this 30 day resolution and I'm pretty confident I will make my goal time of 24:30. I may even do it faster! Wohoo!!!
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Playing Nice
Matthew loves other little kids, especially ones that are younger than him. He likes to hug them and pat their cheeks. He sometimes underestimates his strength and pushes them over or pulls their hair. As a new mom, I don't always know what to do. Most of the time, I'm uncertain as to what Matthew can truly understand and so I struggle with how to explain things in toddler language. I sometimes say things to him that really don't make sense even to me. The other day I said, "We don't push little babies Matthew" and then realized that the "baby" he was pushing was almost a year older than him. I tried to ignore the laughing coming from the other moms in the room and pretended like I knew what I was doing.
I'm hoping to eventually be one of those moms who say really smart things to their kids but for now I just have to settle with telling Matthew to 'Play Nice'. 'Playing nice' covers a multitude of situations and so I think I'm covered for the moment.
Today as I was running, a life changing thought occurred to me. We teach our kids to 'play nice' which in essence means to treat others with tenderness, gentleness, and kindness but somehow we miss telling our kids to 'play nice' with themselves as well. Somewhere along the journey of life, I missed the importance of treating myself with tenderness, gentleness, and kindness. So often in running and in my life, I push hard. I set goals. I make plans. I work hard. In all of that, I stop listening to my body, I stop looking at my surroundings and instead look at the clock, the number of miles run, the goal to achieve. Sadly, I tend to miss the simple joys along the way. I don't 'play nice' with me because I'm always pushing myself to do more and be more.
As I ran today, I made a commitment with myself to 'play nice'. During my run, I slowed down to a pace that was comfortable. I didn't look at my watch. I decided to run until I felt like stopping. I forgot about the miles. I admired the blue sky. I enjoyed the sun shining on my face. I said 'hi' to the people I passed. I refrained from getting in my car when I got home and drive the route I had just run to see how far I had gone. I enjoyed running for the first time in several weeks because I wasn't pushing myself to the limit. It felt good to be nice to my body.
Later in the day I got a massage and was able to fully enjoy it. When my massage therapist leaves the room, she always tells me to stay awhile and relax before getting up. "Take your time," she says. Today, I actually did.
I'm starting to realize more and more that goals can add structure to life, a level of fulfillment, and even a sense of control. All of which are good things. But when goals become a way of defining who you are and their attainment a validation of self worth, it is time to do things differently. It is time for me to start doing things differently.
I will probably always be a goal person but I don't want to miss the life that happens in between each achievement. I want to enjoy the journey and experience the small treasures along the way. I want to be flexible with my goals and give myself permission to do things the 'nice way' (which means doing things that suite my life, body, spirit in the kindest way possible) and not the 'perfect way'(which means doing things according to the standards of others and/or perceived standards of others). I want to 'play nice'. Researchers make the argument that it isn't goal attainment but the process of striving after goals that brings happiness.
Funny, the things that can pop into your head when you run....
I'm hoping to eventually be one of those moms who say really smart things to their kids but for now I just have to settle with telling Matthew to 'Play Nice'. 'Playing nice' covers a multitude of situations and so I think I'm covered for the moment.
Today as I was running, a life changing thought occurred to me. We teach our kids to 'play nice' which in essence means to treat others with tenderness, gentleness, and kindness but somehow we miss telling our kids to 'play nice' with themselves as well. Somewhere along the journey of life, I missed the importance of treating myself with tenderness, gentleness, and kindness. So often in running and in my life, I push hard. I set goals. I make plans. I work hard. In all of that, I stop listening to my body, I stop looking at my surroundings and instead look at the clock, the number of miles run, the goal to achieve. Sadly, I tend to miss the simple joys along the way. I don't 'play nice' with me because I'm always pushing myself to do more and be more.
As I ran today, I made a commitment with myself to 'play nice'. During my run, I slowed down to a pace that was comfortable. I didn't look at my watch. I decided to run until I felt like stopping. I forgot about the miles. I admired the blue sky. I enjoyed the sun shining on my face. I said 'hi' to the people I passed. I refrained from getting in my car when I got home and drive the route I had just run to see how far I had gone. I enjoyed running for the first time in several weeks because I wasn't pushing myself to the limit. It felt good to be nice to my body.
Later in the day I got a massage and was able to fully enjoy it. When my massage therapist leaves the room, she always tells me to stay awhile and relax before getting up. "Take your time," she says. Today, I actually did.
I'm starting to realize more and more that goals can add structure to life, a level of fulfillment, and even a sense of control. All of which are good things. But when goals become a way of defining who you are and their attainment a validation of self worth, it is time to do things differently. It is time for me to start doing things differently.
I will probably always be a goal person but I don't want to miss the life that happens in between each achievement. I want to enjoy the journey and experience the small treasures along the way. I want to be flexible with my goals and give myself permission to do things the 'nice way' (which means doing things that suite my life, body, spirit in the kindest way possible) and not the 'perfect way'(which means doing things according to the standards of others and/or perceived standards of others). I want to 'play nice'. Researchers make the argument that it isn't goal attainment but the process of striving after goals that brings happiness.
Funny, the things that can pop into your head when you run....
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