Fruits of the Spirit

In the Bible study my friend Chandra and I are doing together (God's Wisdom for a Mother's Heart by Bobbie Wolgemuth), a recent day had us looking at Galatians 5:22-23 and the fruits of the spirit. The book suggested we look for these things in our kids and praise and affirm them when we see these qualities.

I decided to make them each a visual reminder of these traits. We've decided to make this an Easter project. Our goal is to learn about and demonstrate each of the 9 fruits of the spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control...before Easter.
The picture shows what it will look like when we are done. For now, they each have a little tree of their own that is blank. We'll add the fruits as I "catch" them showing one of the qualities. It's already led to some really good discussions with them about growing in Christ and how we show people these things.

Weekend run

This weekend's long run was moved back to Saturday because we wanted to go to the early service at church to see two sweet girls be baptized. Their parents are in our small group, and they are friends with our daughter. I'm glad we were able to go.

The run kicked off a busy weekend, but that's the best way, right?

Carrie and I met up for a planned 8. I told her when we started that I wasn't sure I could go that far. However, the run went by pretty quickly. It's amazing how that happens when you're running with someone. We had to walk once...blame that one on a cranky tummy...but it was a good run. I actually felt like my body...well, at least my legs...could have run a couple more. Love that feeling.

I'm counting this run as my Moms Run This Town February Fitness Challenge. I forgot to print my bib, so the picture of my sister and me will have to do.

I've got a couple more virtual runs planned for March, but my hubby and I are looking for another real race. We thought we had one picked, a local 5k, but then we realized that it was at the same time as our church's Easter egg drop. Back to looking again...

Mileage Report
Weekly: 24.7 miles
YTD: 136.5 miles

Three Thing Thursday

1. I decided kind of last minute to give up Facebook for Lent. This isn't really a part of our church's practices, but for the past couple of years, my hubby and I have given up something. I realized I spend way too much time doing absolutely nothing on Facebook. I have nothing against it and really do enjoy keeping up with friends on there, but feeling like I need to check it when I wake up, get to school, leave school, etc. wasn't good. It's a lot harder than I thought it would be, actually. It's such a habit to click on that app on my phone.

2. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed right now. It's not that there's anything big looming over my head. It's just all the little things that feel like the tiny snowflakes that make up an avalanche. I have always been a very type A person, and I've somehow morphed into a very type B personality. I was always stressed like that, but this isn't any better. I need routine, crave it, really. I've got routine as far as each day, running, etc., but it's the other junk...the cleaning, meal planning, grocery shopping, work projects...that I need to fit into my schedule. And strength training. I have got to fit that it in.

3. On a different note, we're planning a Mother's Day run for our family. The details are still in the works, but it should be a lot of fun. All of us, including the little ones in strollers, running or walking together, followed by brunch.

Challenge 52-6

I'm going to work backwards here and give you a challenge based on something I've already done this week. If I'd been on top of things, I would have written this Monday morning and then completed the task Monday afternoon...and come out looking like a rockstar. Oh, well. Still trying to cut myself some slack.

Your challenge: try something new. It could be a new food, a new workout, a new haircut, a new style, a new route to work...whatever floats your boat.

For me, I stepped outside my comfort zone Monday when I was asked to go run The Monster, quite possibly the only parking garage in our town, after inservice Monday with some other teachers. First, I rarely run with others, so that was somewhat new. Second, fitting this into my schedule isn't easy. And third, it's running uphill for 8 stories and then back down.

I'm glad I went and gave this a try! I got to run with my sister again. Plus, it was an awesome workout. I didn't go as far as I wanted, but I was in a little of a time crunch. It all worked out.

Foggy fun

Last night, I got a text from my sister asking if I was going to run this morning. I was going to text her the same thing, so we made plans to run together this morning. I'm glad we did. I'm not sure I would have made myself get out of bed had she not been waiting for me!

But I'm so glad I did!

We had a great run together. We didn't really have any specific goals, pace or distance, in mind, so we took it easy, explored a new route and enjoyed the run.

We went down to the lake trail, and this is what we found:

We decided not to run the trail since we couldn't see anything, but we did enjoy stopping and enjoying the view. We headed back the direction we came and ran through a neighborhood we don't usually go through. Overall...a really great run!

Mileage:
Weekly: 10.7 miles (not counting today...I never know which way to put Sunday)
YTD: 111.8 miles

Family run

We had told the kids that we would take them on a run, a first for us, this weekend if it was nice. It wasn't. But that didn't stop us!

Notice her BondiBand, SPI Belt and running "tights" :)

It was cool and rainy, but we geared up and got the jogger out for our first family run. I love that we didn't let the weather stop us! We had so much fun together. SB ran the whole first mile and did awesome! Ryan, at just 4, handled a lot more than I thought he would. He hopped in and out of the jogger quite a bit, but that was what made this run so great...no set pace or distance, just us being active.

We actually ran to McDonald's (about 1.25 miles in about 20 minutes), had lunch, and ran/walked home (almost another mile in about 17 minutes). I stopped the watch if we were loading or unloading the jogger.

Yes, I know running to McDonald's might seem a little ironic, but the alternative was having Dad pick it up and eat it in front of the TV.

I have to say that this run ranks right up there with some of my best!

Weekend Recap

This was the weekend that just almost didn't happen. However, I'm so glad everything finally straightened out so we could enjoy our weekend away.

When we booked our hotel with Priceline, we were so excited when we got the Gaylord Texan at a decent rate! We decided to celebrate our 10th anniversary a little early and got another night.

We got an email overnight from the race directors advising those in the 15K that run slower than 12:00/miles to consider moving to the 5K to avoid hypothermia and excess exposure to the cold. Granted, it wasn't that cold, but by Texas standards, I guess it was. I know the race officials were worried people wouldn't dress appropriately for the weather since we're not used to it. I think it was 31 at race time with a colder wind chill.

We met up with my parents, my sister and her husband in the parking lot to get our bibs, including the ones we wore for the virtual run for Sherry Arnold. It was so cold that we didn't want to get out there any earlier than we had to.

We didn't hang around the start line long before it was time to go. The corral was really crowded, mainly because people kept joining us even if that wasn't their assigned corral. It worked out fine though. We ran the first mile without any walk breaks, and after that, our walk breaks were short and usually just for uphill sections. I was really proud of Chad! He did great!

We went and got our chocolate fix indoors (thank goodness!) before heading out to the finish line to watch my mom and sister finish. However, we didn't realize that there was a different finish line for the 15K...one about 1/3 of a mile away! Since Dad was walking with a walking stick and in one real shoe and one slide, I grabbed the camera and took off. I got there in time to see a couple of friends and my sister finish, but I totally missed Mom's finish. She was only about 3 minutes behind Carrie, but I never saw her. They did great! I wish I could run as fast as they do!

After they got their chocolate fondue fix, we headed out for brunch. We originally headed to Twisted Root, a burger place (yes, I know it's not really brunch, but it sounded good). However, it was closed "for deep cleaning." The nearest one wasn't open yet either. We found a pancake place, but the only parking was in a parking lot that had a sign saying "Manny's Parking Only: Towaway Zone." We decided we'd take our chances, but when we walked down the block, we realized that place was packed. Since we were already in Manny's parking lot, we decided to eat there. It's funny how things work out...we walked in thinking we'd be eating a Mexican food lunch, but the menu showed breakfast was served all day long...and it was awesome!

Chad and I were the only ones who were staying another night, so after brunch, we headed back to our hotel. We stopped at Grapevine Mills first and then Chick-Fil-A for lunch (yum!). The best thing about a weekend away...an uninterrupted nap! Well, it was uninterrupted for me. Apparently, I was so out of it that I never even heard housekeeping try to come in the room. We went out Saturday night as a Valentine's Day/anniversary celebration.

Last week's miles

Yes, it's Wednesday and I just now realized I didn't do a mileage total for last week.

Last week (2/6-2/11)
Weekly: 12.1 miles
YTD: 101.1
Check that out! 100 miles already! I just noticed that DailyMile has me at 110 miles so far this year....guess I need to do some recalculating. :)

See...I'm cutting myself some slack already. I'm not going to stress about my imperfect record keeping (although I will fix it!). I'm not going to worry about the fact that I'm several days late with this post. I will eventually post a weekend recap of the Hot Chocolate 5K. Until then, I'm just going to enjoy being where I am.

Challenge 52-5

I missed doing a challenge last week, and it's Tuesday already for this week. So, this week's challenge? Cut yourself some slack. Maybe you've been trying to do too much. Maybe you've been putting off something you don't want to do. Maybe the voices in your head are telling you that you aren't doing enough. So...give yourself a break, let go of the ideas of perfection floating around your head, and just "be where your feet are."

Three Thing Thursday

1. Look what came in the mail this week! I gotta say, I love the bling! I was so excited to get my Rock Encore medal for doing two Rock N Roll Series Half Marathons this past year...first Dallas, then Vegas. I know it's a marketing trick, but it sure makes me want to do three this year :)

2. It has been a crazy week. My son was sick on Thursday, went to the doctor, found out he had a sinus infection, got the ok to go to preschool, went to school, and threw up. My daughter was running a fever last night but seems ok now. My dad, who was supposed to run this weekend, stepped on a nail last night and spent a good chunk of the night in the ER. My mom, who was also supposed to run this weekend, is having major back issues and pain. We're down from 8 running this, to 6, and now 3.

3. But...I am so ready for this weekend. It has been a stressful, crazy, long week, and a weekend away with my hubby is just what I need. We'll be running the Hot Chocolate 5K together...and it's his first race! I'm excited enough about that, but then my awesome husband went and scored us an amazing hotel on Priceline for not one, but two, nights! Happy Valenetine's Day to us!

A little behind

Last week's miles
Weekly: 19.81 miles
YTD: 88.66 miles

I had plenty of miles last week because I got to run with my hubby not once, but twice! We ran on Thursday to kick off date night, and then we ran again Saturday morning since the kids were with my parents. It was awesome! He's doing really great with the C25K program. Our race is this weekend, and I'm really looking forward to it!

The Versatile Blogger

The Rules for this award:


1-Nominate 15 fellow bloggers.

2-Inform the bloggers of their nomination.

3-Share 7 random things about yourself.

4-Thank the blogger who nominated you.

5-Add the Versatile Blog Award picture on your blog post.

Oh, dear. I hope I know 15 bloggers to nominate. But I'm thrilled to have been given this award by Carrie at Family Fitness Food. I was going to wait until I had some sort of pictures to go with these, but I've put it off long enough...

So, my random 7 things:
1. I really am a homebody. I once thought I could change that and attempted a 5-week study in London. I came home after 13 days.
2. I prefer to eat my food one thing at a time, turning my plate as I go.
3. I was on a martial arts performance team in college with my best friend Chandra.
4. I love my crockpot and cook in it at least once a week. I even started a Crockpot Cookers page on Facebook.
5. I have a major texture issue with foods. For example, I can't stand canned or frozen spinach, but I love it fresh.
6. I don't run outdoors with music. I get distracted and can't focus on the run. In fact, I don't listen to a lot of music in general. The last songs I got were from my mom's running playlist (and boy, was I shocked!).
7. I am in a super organizing mood right now and have worked almost all the way through my kitchen...just a one more drawer to go. The sight of an organized spice cabinet makes me happy :)

Ok, nope, I don't know 15 bloggers...so if you're up for this...give it a shot!

Three Thing Thursday

Three Virtual Runs coming up

1. February's Challenge in Moms Run This Town 2012 Challenge for A Change. Each month this group is hosting a new challenge, complete with prizes. Last month's was a series of challenges...this month is a virtual run instead.

2. The month of March: Prematurity Sucks Virtual 5K, a fundraiser for March of Dimes. Two moms of premature little ones are raising money to support March of Dimes.

3. March 1-15: Let's Move it Momma's Spring Fever 5K or 10K. Marissa is ready for spring and is hosting a virtual run with prizes

***And don't forget the virtual run in memory of Sherry Arnold on February 11. I posted about it here yesterday.

Run for Sherry

Many of you heard the news story about Sherry Arnold, a mother, teacher and runner, who disappeared while out for a run Saturday, January 7 in her small Montana town.Two men have been arrested in her dissapearance. A virtual run has been organized for February 11 in her honor. For more information, you can check out Shut Up and Run or find the Facebook page for the run.

What resonates with me most are a couple of lines written by her cousin Beth (of Shut Up and Run). The first is from her blog about the purpose of the run: "My goal is to get the MOST love, momentum, and energy moving in honor of Sherry." Later, on her Facebook page, she wrote, "Let's keep the momentum going and make the earth MOVE that day." Something about a collective movement of runners having that kind of positive impact on the world in the wake of an event so tragic stirs my soul to action.

For me, I'll be running the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k in Dallas with a bib for Sherry on my back. My parents, husband, sister and brother-in-law will all be running that race. Out of the 6 of us running, 5 of us are teachers and 3 of us are moms...so it's easy for us to feel a connection to Sherry. We'll be wearing bibs like the one above in addition to our race bibs. I hope you'll join us in running that day in her honor...and if you can, donating to help her kids and family.