Happy New Decade!

Happy New Year! Can you believe it is here? The start of a new year . . . the start of a new decade! Have you thought about it? Where were you (physically, spiritually, emotionally) in 2010? How has your life changed?

Physically, I weighed more than 100 pounds than I do today. I truly did not realize how big I was. I could not walk from the front door of my house to the street/mailbox without huffing and puffing. My oldest graduated from high school in the summer and moved to Florida in the fall. My dad passed away in June. My husband had his third joint replacement surgery in less than a year. It was definitely a year of ups and downs. It felt like the downs outweighed the ups in 2010.

Sometime after that, I decided that it was time for me to pay attention to myself and what I needed instead of devoting all of my time and energy to others. My two older children were out of high school, married, and on their own. My youngest was not school age yet, so I had the time and energy to focus on what I needed.

I started by walking. I didn’t really focus on my diet. I tried to eat “healthier,” but my focus was getting exercise. After all, we hear all of the time that to lose weight you need to eat less and move more. Eventually I tried some group exercise classes at my local community center. The best thing I got from that was a personal trainer that convinced me that I could do anything I wanted.

A friend at church introduced me to juicing. This was a big influence in changing the way I ate. Not only did juicing itself help stop the cravings, it also acted as a stepping stone to adopting healthier food choices. I decided to cut out as much highly processed food as possible. This put an end to most junk food and foods containing flour and sugar. Adopting the Bright Line Eating lifestyle was just another step from where I already was.

Most people over estimate what can be achieved in a year and under estimate what can be done in a decade.

Neil Martin

Convinced that I could accomplish anything, I signed up for a Couch to 5K program. After watching me run my first 5K, my oldest daughter started running with me and came up with the crazy idea for us to run a 5K a month. This has kept me running all year long and has led to meeting new people and some wonderful friendships.

Now, as we go into a new year and a new decade, I’m thinking about not only how my life might be different in a year, but also how my life might be different in a decade. Ten years ago if you told me I’d be starting off 2020 with a run with my running buddies, I’d tell you that you were crazy–and so were they! Today, I can’t wait to get out there!

That said, I’m excited to see what the next year and the next decade have in store! In the next decade, my youngest will be an adult. I have grandchildren that will be teenagers. Perhaps there will be more grandchildren! Will I still be running? Will I still be writing this blog? I can’t imagine how technology will change between now and then. What are your expectations for the next decade?

‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Jeremiah 29:11

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It’s Summer!

Yes! Summer is here! It’s my favorite time of year. What’s yours?

I feel like summer is a time to be free and enjoy the outdoors. As a school-age child, summer meant no school and lots of time to play outdoors. As a homeschool mom, it’s almost the same feeling! It’s a time to lighten up on the academics and to concentrate on being outdoors and preparing for the next school year. Planning the next school year and seeing what we’re going to be learning is always exciting.

Summer is a time of lots of fresh fruits and vegetables in season. Lately we’ve had blueberries on sale in the grocery store. I love blueberries and have been able to have fresh blueberries instead of frozen with my BLE breakfast every morning.

I love going to our local farmers’ market and loading up on local produce. I take my fold-up wagon and buy what’s available–corn, tomatoes, cucumbers, potatoes, eggs, fresh made bread, and the list goes on and on.

June 21st is often referred to as the “longest day of the year.” I know it’s not actually the longest day of the year since all days have 24 hours in them. However, it is the day with the most day light. That is the one drawback of summer–the days are going to start getting shorter in terms of daylight.

Our summer started with thunderstorms, a possible gustnado, and torrential downpours this morning. There were 18,000 people without electricity due to high winds and lightening strikes. There were over 25 water rescues due to flash flooding. However, tomorrow is bringing us warm, 90 degree weather. After a morning run, we are planning on being poolside!

What are your summer plans?

He made the moon for the seasons; The sun knows the place of its setting. Psalm 104:19

A Sentence a Day for March 2018.

I cannot take credit for this idea. This is something that I saw somewhere out on the blogosphere. I thought it looked like a fun idea. I thought it would be fun to also include a few pictures from throughout the month. For April, I will concentrate on making each entry a complete sentence and making each sentence more descriptive.

3rd, Saturday.  Ran the Liberty Hospital 5K and completely exhausted myself by walking home.

4th, Sunday.  Church, out to eat, and then a windy but warm trail walk.

5th, Monday.  Was hard to watch, but went to see Tortured for Christ.

6th, Tuesday.  A very windy, gray day to stay inside.

7th, Wednesday.  Ran 4 miles tonight–first time since last fall.

8th, Thursday.  Took a walk to the end of the street and back with my oldest whom I hadn’t seen for a few weeks.

9th, Friday.  The cat escaped from the house today, but we found her lying on the deck railing in the warm sunshine.

10th, Saturday.  Another cloudy, blah day.

11th, Sunday.  Went to see 15:17 to Paris.

12th, Monday.  Went with DH to his dentist appointment and then ate lunch at the Little General Store.

13th, Tuesday.  Cinderella is happy that she got her cleats and shingards for soccer.

14th, Wednesday.  Supporting  a friend through a difficult time.

15th, Thursday.  A perfect day weatherwise, so we took the princess to the park.

16th, Friday.  A day to stay home and do some house cleaning.

17th, Saturday.  Cinderella had her first soccer game, and they won!

18th, Sunday.  Sundays are often the busiest day of the week!

19th, Monday.  Today was a hard day, so I stayed home instead of running with my friends.

20th, Tuesday.  A cloudy, cold day to start Couch to 5K.

21st, Wednesday.  Cinderella was extremely disappointed that soccer practice was cancelled tonight.

22nd, Thursday.  It’s finally starting to feel like spring!

23rd, Friday.  It was an eventful day starting with a field trip, the library, and then the hospital!

24th, Saturday.  Liam Alistair enters the world at 2:14 am.

25th, Sunday.  Got to visit Liam this afternoon, but Nurse Ratched won’t even let me hold him.

26th, Monday.  I spent the afternoon and night at the hospital with Liam.

27th, Tuesday.  Liam came home this afternoon.

28th, Wednesday.  Ran in the rain tonight with Cinderella.

29th, Thursday.  It was a cold run tonight, but at least it was dry.

30th, Friday.  Finally, sunshine!

31st, Saturday.  Preparing for Easter Sunday.

Slowing Down

As I mentioned in my last post, it was a huge disappointment to end up with a severe ankle sprain just a few days before what is one of the most important races of the year for me.

I spent the first week after my injury wallowing in my mire and eating lots of chocolate.  I tried to continue with my 10,000 steps a day, but it soon became obvious that this was more than my ankle could tolerate right now.  The doctor kept telling me, “You’re going to have to lay off.”

The first thing I did was to cut my daily step goal in half to 5,000 steps.  This is equal to a couple of walks around the block each day, which is enough to make my ankle feel better, but also enough to make it want to swell.  I’ve also been concentrating on my eating.  No more chocolate and back to Bright Line Eating.

This time of year is always a big switch in schedules for me.  Our running group has quit meeting three days a week and it’s now back to school time, so there’s a big switch up in our daily activities anyway.  This year’s switch up has been bigger than expected.

I started a project last summer of going room by room, closet by closet, and drawer by drawer getting rid of things we no longer need or use.  We have gotten rid of so much “stuff” and have so  much more that needs to go.  I’m continuing that project as I can.

The time that I spent running in the past is now spent doing strengthening exercises for my ankle every day.  I’ve discovered that they can easily be done while sitting in the recliner with the footrest up, so that makes them more comfortable and enjoyable.  After those are done in the morning, I then spend time getting my electrodes placed and then wrapping my foot in some way to help keep them in place.  I use a TENS unit all day every day, 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off.  Yes, these are my electronic shock treatments.  At night I’m sleeping with a compression sock to help with the swelling and a brace which immobilizes my ankle and helps with the pain.

I’ve had to face one of my biggest fears:  If I stop running or exercising, I’ll never start again and go back to being a couch potato.  I’ve finally decided that this is not true.  Where I am now is temporary.  I’ll do what I can, slowly increasing my activity, until I’m back to where I was.  It will probably take months, but that’s ok.  There’s nothing like having goals to work towards!

Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am.  Philippians 4:11

305 lbs. Making Progress

The summer went by very, very quickly.  I did the Couch to 5K program again in hopes of improving my running abilities.  Running was still hard.  There were days that I struggled.  I was still towards the back of the pack, but I was no longer the very last person.  Doing it with a group of friends was what made it fun, and I was determined to run every step we were to run.

I liked running very much, but I wasn’t in love with it yet.  It was still difficult at times.  There were times when our group met or when we had a race, that I dreaded it and didn’t want to do it.  I always made myself do it because I always felt so much better afterwards.  But, before we started, there were often thoughts of dread going through my mind.

I was relieved when August and my birthday rolled around.  Knowing that the eights stink, I was very glad to no longer be 48.  I was determined that life was going to be better.

August also meant that it was time to start getting serious about school again.  God led me to an organizing system for homeschoolers that I was sure was going to be the answer I was looking for.  It was a compact, easy way to organize our school and also encouraged Cinderella to do what she could on her own.  I was really expecting this system to be a miracle worker for us.

August was also an eventful month in that my oldest daughter and her husband bought a house just down the street from us.  Hopefully, this would mean more time with them and our granddaughter.  Is there ever enough?

Now that school was in session, my schedule was even tighter.  All the errands and chores that I used to do during the day now had to be done in the evening.  Our Couch to 5K group was still meeting three nights a week, so most of my grocery shopping and errands were done on my way home from running.  There was no such thing as spare time.

When September rolled around, the Couch to 5K program came to an end.  The big finale this year was a different race in a nearby city, hence a different route.  We made the mistake of not previewing the route before the race, so we did not know what to expect.  It was an out and back, so at least we knew what to expect on the way back!

This race was on a Saturday, so I had to get the day off.  Cinderella wanted to run in the race so I signed her up for the one mile fun run.  This race included a one mile fun run, a 5K, and a 10K.  All the races started at the same time, they just had a different turn around point.  The only problem with this is that Cinderella didn’t turn around at the one-mile mark.  She kept running, and I was afraid she would end up in the next county or something.  Thankfully, she stayed with people she knew, and ended up running the 5K.  Unfortunately, the one mile fun run was not timed, so she did not have a bib and there was no record of her time.  Otherwise, she would’ve gotten a medal simply because she was the only one in her age group.

This was a small race with few people in each age group, so many in our group received medals.  After watching my teammates work so hard all summer, it was great to see them receive medals at their very first race.  Cinderella was very disappointed that she didn’t get a medal, so my son-in-law gave her his–which she still has to this day.

In the end, I was glad that I did the program again.  I tried to be an encouragement to my friends that were new to the program, but they ended up being a great encouragement to me.  I always hoped that some lightbulb would come on and I would suddenly realize what I needed to change to become a much faster runner.  That never happened and still hasn’t happened.  Still, my endurance was way up, and my speed was increasing with each race I ran.  I was making progress, and I was content with that.

First Place Runner!

One evening during a meeting, I received a phone call.  I recognized the number as coming from the family that I grew up next door to.  My first thought was that something horrible had happened.  Instead, I was asked if I wanted to run a 5K–in two weeks.  A business had purchased bibs and had two that were unclaimed.  My daughter and I could have them for free if we wanted.  No runner is going to turn that offer down!

April 22 was my second 5K for April, and one that was not planned.  The money for this 5K went to support a local Christian school.  This school is attached to a church that many, many years ago my two older kids took co op classes at.  So, I was familiar with the church and school and felt like it was a worthwhile cause.

At packet pick up we got some cool swag.  Lots of local coupons including $5 off at a local grocery store.  We also got red t-shirts and glittery headbands that aren’t supposed to slide on your head.

The race itself was at a local park with a trail.  We were somewhat familiar with the park but not the trail in particular.  We had to drive by it to get to packet pick up, so we took a drive through the park and looked over the trail the best we could.  Upon leaving we noticed a big hill with a monstrous grade.  The only question was, were we going to be running up it or down it tomorrow?

The forecast for the race was 45 degrees and a light rain.  The only race I’ve had to run in the rain was warm enough that it wasn’t cold.  I didn’t know how I would handle this one.  I’ve been told by veteran runners that the secret is to stay dry.  How to do that, I wasn’t sure.

As Friday progressed, I kept checking the weather forecast for Saturday morning at race time.  The temperature kept going up and the chance of rain kept going down.  By the time I went to bed, the forecast was 53 degrees, windy and cloudy, but no rain.  I was thankful and dressed for the forecasted weather.

Saturday morning arrived and it was 53 degrees, very windy, and the sun was shining.  I was thankful not to be running in the rain, but I was also a bit overdressed since I was expecting it to be cloudy.

The race course was interesting.  We were told that last year the course was a bit short, so we had a little out and back we had to do before running on the paved trail.  We had to do two laps around the trail.  It didn’t take long to realize that we had to go up that gnarly hill twice!

Other than the hill, it was a nice course.  I mostly ran up the hill the first time around and did more walking up the hill the second time around.  I knew it wasn’t worth it to wear myself out running up this hill.

I crossed the finish line huffing and puffing.  Then, when I saw my time I was very disappointed.  It was the worst I had done in a very long time.  Once I caught up with my daughter (literally), she told me that she was also disappointed with her time.  We blamed the wind, we blamed the hill, we blamed everything except ourselves!  Then, I looked at the stats on my Fitbit.  We had actually run 3.3 miles–nearly a quarter of a mile further.

I’ve been telling people that I’d get first place as soon as I found a race small enough.  As far as participants go, this was probably the smallest race I’ve ever run.  In fact, it was small enough that I was probably the only runner in my age group.  Which, of course, put me in first place!  Yah, check out that white ribbon around my neck that says “1st Place.”

305 lbs. The Phone Call That was Never Made

I went into my second day of work with one hour of sleep under my belt.  Shortly after my phone call with Mr. G., he sent me a text reiterating everything he had said to me on the phone.  I kept reminding myself that hurting people hurt people.  I could not imagine how this whole experience of the past several months must’ve been for Mr. G.  Three hours later I got another text taking back some of what he had said–mostly anything that could be considered slander against his former employer.  He did not take back anything hateful he said about me personally.

I was devastated and had no idea how I was going to make it through the day.  Unfortunately, I had about a 20 minute drive to work, which was just enough time to think about the events of the night before.  I walked in the door sniffling, and my boss, Mr K., asked me if I had a cold coming on.

Once I got situated, I went into Mr. K.’s office and gave him a Reader’s Digest version of what had happened the night before.  I told him that I thought it would be a good idea if the number on the phone was changed since a lot of the drivers and probably Mr. G.’s friends already had it pre-programmed into their phones.  Mr. K. called Charles about the matter and I heard, “. . . she’s very upset about the way Mr. G. treated her.”

Before the day was even over, I got a text from one of Mr. G’s friends.  I ignored it.  Mr. K. and I went online and tried to change the number, but we were not allowed access.  I stopped by the cell phone store on the way home and tried to get the number changed.  I personally was not listed on the account, so I was not able to do so.

I went home that evening physically and emotionally exhausted.  I had huge doubts about accepting this job, and a very bad feeling about it once I did accept it.  Was this what the bad feelings were all about?

I was concerned about it being a strain on the family.  I knew we could make it through the summer, but my main concern was the fall once school started.  We would have to make some huge changes to our homeschool.  Every negative concern that I had about taking the position, my husband had a solution for.  I reluctantly accepted the job after he convinced me that we could “make it work.”  Moments after I called Charles and accepted the job, my husband walked in the front door and said, “I think maybe it would be better if you just stayed home.”  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  I told him if I wasn’t going to take the job that I needed to call Charles back right that moment and tell him.  That phone call was never made, and at this moment I was truly regretting it.

A friend loves at all times . . .  Proverbs 17:17a

305 lbs. The Eights Stink

I was totally unaware that the last time I would work was that meeting in January to introduce us to our potential new employer.  I was never given a termination date.  After the third consecutive week of being told that Mr. G. was going to cover my shift because of changes coming, I told him that I was going to assume that I was out of a job unless told otherwise.

My communications with Mr. G. became fewer and further between.  I told him that I knew that would happen and that eventually they would come to an end.  However, he promised me that we were friends for life.  I so wanted to believe that.  He also promised me a job as soon as he was given the reigns, so to speak.    I wanted to believe that too.

Even though I rarely actually saw the people I worked with because I worked from home, I missed them terribly.  All of our communications was through text or telephone, so I would spend time talking to each one of them while we were working.  It was my connection with the outside world.  After spending Monday-Friday homeschooling a seven year old, I was ready for some adult conversation.  Since my employment came to a blunt, unexpected end, there were no goodbyes.

I knew the drivers were not allowed to use their phones while driving and I certainly didn’t want to cause any problems, so I did not try to contact any of them.  These were men with families that needed their jobs.  I could pray for them and hope they were doing well, but I wasn’t going to do anything to jeopardize their income.

The Commit to Get Fit program had just started, so I continued with it.  My daughter had talked me into trying some boot-camp type classes.  Burn, Build, and Tone was on Monday and Wednesday evenings, and it was as tough as it sounded.  Then, she talked me into trying Metcon on Saturday mornings.  It was equally as tough, but I enjoyed it.

We had to weigh in and do our BMI each week with our trainer.  Our age was required for the BMI machine, and I had to tell Cole every week my age.  I would tell Cole, “Forty-eight.  Don’t you remember?  The eights stink.”  And that’s how it had been for me.  Every age ending in eight really did stink.

The Commit to Get Fit program was over in mid-March.  This year, there was a closing ceremony that was very nice.  We all met one evening in a room with tables and chairs at the community center.  There were healthy snacks and drinks available.  Everyone in our group sat at a table with our trainer, Cole.  Each trainer had an opportunity to say something about their group and to hand out awards if desired.  Some did more than others, but Cole definitely stood out.

Cole spoke about our group in general, and then had an award for each one of us.    Cole had very kind, yet humorous words to say about each of us as well.  We were all laughing and crying at the same time.  When Cole got to me, he mentioned that I had been with him for two years in a row, and that both times had been around very stressful events.  Until then, I had completely forgotten about the year before, but my mind immediately flashed back to Bob and his illness.  And, with that, Cole presented me with the “Veteran Award.”  We hugged, and I cried.  It’s a simple-looking award printed on white card stock, but it means the world to me because of what it represents–a lot of blood, sweat, and tears (literally) with a true friend.

Feeling Fabulous

I wrote in a previous post how this past summer had been a stressful one.  I think most of the time we don’t realize how detrimental stress is to our health.

I spent the summer (starting in May, actually) working a part-time job away from home.  I had worked this same job from home for three years.  The company I worked for was sold, and the new owners would not allow me to work from home.  This meant a lot of changes for our household.

Just being absent from home two days out of the week meant that I had seven days of home management to cram into five.  I came up with a schedule of how to get everything done.  It was tough and often meant running late at night.

Still, there were some things that were unavoidable with my absence.  The biggest of these was missing family time with my children and grandchildren.

And then, there was my health.  I spent the summer losing two pounds, gaining two pounds, losing two pounds, and gaining two pounds.  I was not able to exercise as often or at optimal times.  Often, I was running later at night which meant trouble sleeping that night.  There were times that I just didn’t feel up to par or felt that I was not getting the nutrients my body needed.  My last visit to the dentist started out with, “Have you been clenching your teeth again?”

However, it was not a total loss.  I was forced to find more efficient ways to do things around the house.  I found an awesome system for our homeschool that is working fabulously for us.  I also had to figure out how to prepare salads in a jar and other snacks that I could take on the run.

I had absolutely no complaints about my job or the people I worked with.  In fact, it was easy money.  Still, I had to let it go.  It was not something I wanted to do.  The extra income was nice.  I loved the people and the industry I worked in.  However, it was not worth the stress it was causing at home and the time I was missing with my family.

My last day of work was November 26, and I’m already enjoying the benefits.  My home is more relaxed and less stressful, I’m spending more time with my children and grandchildren, I’m running or going to the gym six days a week, I’m drinking lots of juice, the needle on the scale is steadily going down, and I feel fabulous!

Back to Homeschool

All across America, whether you have school age children or not, this time of year is often thought of as “back to school.” We had the recent sales tax holiday where many school supplies were tax free for a weekend. We’ve all been inundated with “back to school” ads from various retailers, and most of us are once again seeing the yellow school buses in and around our neighborhoods.

Most homeschools also experience a “back to school” transition this time of year. Even those that homeschool year round often take a shortened summer break or go with a lighter schedule during the summer. Sometimes the transition back to spending more time every day doing school work can be difficult for the whole family. Here are some things you can do to help make that transition smooth and peaceful.

Start your school year in the middle of the week. By starting your school year off later in the week (let’s say Wednesday), you will only have three days of school before the weekend is here and you have a break again. You can make it an even lighter transition, by starting your school year the Wednesday before Labor Day, taking the weekend and Labor Day off, and then you will only have four days of school your second week of school. Even if you don’t start the week before Labor Day, you can still take the next Monday off.

Regardless of when you start cracking the books open again, you most likely will find that there are some supplies that you forgot to purchase. The fast approaching three-day weekend will give you a chance to go out and purchase those supplies that you find you need.

Make your first day of school a day of fun. Instead of cracking the books open right away, take some time to play some educational games. If you use binders or notebooks, let your children make covers for them. Take pictures and record some vital statistics such as your children’s height and weight. Have your children fill out an annual survey asking about all their favorite things. Do very little bookwork on this day. Let your children review and get excited about the materials you plan to use this coming year.

Also remember that you do not have to start all subjects on day one. Another way to transition into the school year is to start with a few subjects and then add a subject or two each week. This method can help the whole family transition back into a regular routine.

Regardless of how your school operates, remember that it’s your school and it is up to you to customize it to fit your family. If something isn’t working (and you will have something that doesn’t), change it or get rid of it. There is nothing that says that you must educate your children Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. Education can happen any time of the day and any day of the week, so take advantage of it and do what best fits your children and your family.