Progress

Hello? HELLO! Is this thing on?? I'm not sure I have have any readers left out there, but here I sit.  I thought I'd update everyone on my journey.

My weight loss has come to a stand still since my Dad died. Because until recently...I honesty did not care.   I'm grateful I have gained hardly any weight back,  but it sure isn't moving the other way either. So..it IS time to get busy again. It's for sure a 2 steps forward, one step back thing.

I completed a 10K in Garden City Saturday.  I ran A LOT.  I have been working on a running program, and until this, I had only done 2 miles. I'm not really sure what I was thinking when I signed up, but I did finish and managed to take a personal record by taking off over 3 mins off my time from a 10K almost exactly a year ago. Maybe soon I'll actually TRAIN for a 10K and see what I can do! HA!

 

You know the saying sometimes I open my mouth and my mother comes out? Well, this picture makes me laugh..because ALL I SEE is my mom!! ;) The older I get, the more she blinks back at me when I look in the mirror! This is the AFTER picture..see how red I am??  HAHA

I got REALLY tired around mile 4.5-5.  The road we were coming off of seemed like it would never end.  And then a song came on through my headphones that reminded me of Jamie. And of my Dad. 

My heart and lungs are strong enough to do whatever I ask them to do. I'm alive.  I suddenly felt super silly for feeling tired, and told myself to NUT UP, BUTTERCUP.  I plowed through those last few miles and felt great as I crossed that line.

My recovery time has been much easier this time. I had some butt/ back of the thigh pain, and was super stiff. But--no blisters, no shin pain, no knee pain. God Bless you, GoRUN, for my new shoes!!

I also realized that while I may  not think much is changing scale wise, I CERTAINLY would not have signed up to do 6 miles, "just for fun" a year and a half ago. 

Progress is STILL progress, no matter how slow, or what form it shows itself! Must keep telling myself this!

Feels Like Fall

Today in SC Kansas, it feels like falls.

The boys have started school.  I have a junior and a freshman in my house. Tristen had the normal freshman jitters, but after the first day of not being able to find his classes and almost walking in to the girls bathrooms, he claims its "just school" now.  I don't really enjoy sending my boys to school. It nothing to do with a school issue. I just like having them around. ;) This year I get to sleep in bit longer. For the first time ever both my boys are in the same school in the same town we live in.  Now, the time Tristen was getting out bed, was the time he was getting on the bus in previous years.

This season also found us with another first. For the first time since Jacob was a 4th grader..I have no one playing football. My feelings change a lot on this. As tired and worn out as I'm feeling these days, I'm mostly thankful, mixed with just a bit of sadness.

Tristen sent off his German Chocolate Cake Friday morning to the state fair, and was THRILLED to see it earned him a blue ribbon!

Our family recently went to Kansas City and took in a Royals game. Tristen and Danny are huge fans. Jacob and I..well, we enjoyed the experience. ;)  Out of the 4 of us, 3 of us are not city people, and couldn't wait to be back at home to our sleepy little town.  It WAS fun!

 

Pre-game--hoping to get a warm up ball.

My garden has really produced this year!! I have many jars of canned jalapenos, banana peppers, and okra. My freezer is full of pretty tomatoes that I'll turn into salsa when things slow down a bit.

I'm sure every family goes through this, but Dan and I are on a mission to de-stress our family as much as possible right now.  This has resulted in a step down on a board, downsizing on a couple of things,  asking for help, and the admittance of "if it doesn't get done right now, the world will not end,"  and not feeling guilty about saying NO when asked to do something I don't have time for or just don't want to do.  (I'm getting better at this one.)  My boys didn't complete their record books for 4-H this year. Guess what.. I'm almost positive they will still grow up and be productive members of society. 

Back in January I started a running program and then had to stop for health reasons. I have recently found one that I LOVE, and have really taken off with it.  I'm slow. Painfully of slow. But I love it.  Recently I started having some knee issues, and decided I probably needed new shoes. So, my very loving, tired of hearing her complain, husband drug my butt to GoRun to be fitted.  I wasn't sure what to to expect, but the very sweet girl looked at my shoes, and how they were wearing, watched me walk away from her, and then back, and then made me run on a treadmill while a high speed camera recorded my feet.
I'm not sure why it bothered me so much. But I was MORTIFIED! and HORRIFIED.  Its really no wonder my knees had been hurting. Or that my ankles just haven't snapped right off.

 

I over pronate. When I run, I turn my foot out, land on the side of my foot, roll it in, and then step and repeat. Danny loved it, and made sounds like we were passing a really gruesome accident on the high way. After trying on a stack of shoes, I put on the ones that were MADE FOR ME. They have taken away every ache and pain I had. Like walking on clouds. I highly recommend getting fitted! I just wish I would have done it sooner!!

And this past weekend, we partied hard as this little cutie turned one year old.

Michelle, Tarquin, and Jayden Michael, the brown eyed ball of sunshine.

I'm constantly amazed at how fast life can change in a year, both good and bad.