Fallin' off the Wagon

It seems like my children's colds will never go away.  Between their runny noses and coughing, teething, etc I can get a good night's rest and have put off running for so long.  I think it's only been two weeks and feels like so much longer.  I'm going to have to start from square one on my training, I'm afraid.  So depressing...makes me want to go stuff myself with a chocolate cake to celebrate.  Ugh.   (BTW I don't do that, I just fantasize about excuses to go do it.) :)

A Terrific Application

I stumbled across Homeschool Tracker a couple weeks ago, thanks to my online homeschool group.  She suggested I google it and check it out.  It has been a wonderful resource.  All the books, software, movies, and games can be input and assigned daily with grades and time tracked easily.  It takes a while to put it all in but once it's in, simply print an assignment page and the child's books and directions are laid out clearly.

Before I tried using an Excel spreadsheet but it wasn't easy to follow or keep up with.  This is an access application that comes with no instructions but is easy to figure out.  You can print all kinds of reports including report cards and a journal.  You can choose holidays, sick days and school days and mark them.

Life is busy!

I've thought about writing so many times this week but it seems it has just flown by!  Between trying to run every other day and school and the kids, I can't just sit and write much. 

One morning we decided to have muffins for breakfast and I happened to have a package of Martha White banana nut mix.  It's been a long time since I used mixes because I am wholly convinced homemade items always taste better, but life has gotten even busier so we've started using them again.  This batch turned out just awful.  I don't know if the mix was molded or what happened but I know it wasn't on my end.  According to the directions, you add milk, stir it up and bake.  Hard to mess that up!  The milk wasn't bad either!  I checked.  The flavor was so chemical like tasting that the girls wouldn't even finish one, which is very unlike my baked good addicts!  Then we tried the MW blueberry mix.  It was tastier but still, sugar was the only flavor.  There's no actual fruit of any kind in it.  At least Jiffy has dehydrated apples that are dyed blue!

We also went to Mardel's this week because of their free lamination promotion.  Usually, I buy clear shelf liner contact paper to laminate our items.  The final product wasn't as thick as we're used to, but it was SO much easier!!!  And their normal price is 25 cents/foot.  That is both sides, not per side.  You just stick your papers in a roller one at a time and it presses it through on the other side into a long stream of clear wrap and you're done.  I will never laminate myself again if I can help it.  Cutting it out took a while but I would have to do that either way.

As for running this week?  I ran once.  Ugh.  I'm about to run again here in a minute.  I'm dreading it in a way since I know I haven't kept it up like I should.  So I should be on week 5 but I'm just starting week 4 now.  I'm only up to a 12 minute stretch at a time.  I have a long way to go, but I am so looking forward to being able to run that long that the anticipation keeps me, mostly, motivated.

Women of Faith 2010

I was fortunate to get to go to the Women of Faith conference. I've wanted to go many times before but it never worked out. This time I wasn't even a little excited. It seemed to be such an inconvenient time and location and took so much effort to get there. I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. All the speakers' stories were so moving!

The line up included Mary Mary, Natalie Grant, Sheila Walsh, Lori Robertson, Michelle Aguilar, Marcus Buckingham, Lisa Harper, and Karen James.

I bought Marc Buckingham's book: Find Your Strongest Life: What the Happiest and Most Successful Women Do Differently. He was very funny and made a lot of sense. I wanted to buy Sheila's and Lisa's books as well but I will have to borrow them since the first book wasn't even in the budget.

I was able to run the day before the conference but with the long hours found it too difficult today. I guess I'll have to catch up tomorrow.

Celebrating week 3!

I'm not celebrating big, but I am proud of myself and thankful to God for the healthy, strong body that is able to accomplish all that I set my mind to, with His help! I can't take all the credit. My life is too full and blessed to be orchestrated by a mere man.

As I was saying...week three! I'm following a six week training plan I found on www.about.com on training for a 5k. I've always hated running in the past so I thought I should start small and work up to the larger races. I realize this can take quite some time to develop the endurance I need for a marathon but I'm determined. I don't have a legacy to follow of health nuts, athletes or any sort of good example in that area I suppose but it's something I want my kids to see me doing. I hope it will inspire them to either join me or find their own preferred sport to keep them active and healthy.

I remember daydreaming as a teenager about married life.  We would have a beautiful house, many adorable children, and I would be organized.  Life would flow smoothly and quality time together would be blissful.  Sigh.

It's funny looking back.  Three years ago I decided to stay home and no longer pay complete strangers to educate and train my children.  I loved my job and it was hard to let go.  I was sure I would miss it despite the crazy hours and cranky co-workers.  My stay-home friends cautioned me.  Don't take on too much, it's easy to get carried away thinking you'll have "all this free time now".  You know, that's the first thing I did too!  I started sewing again and organizing everything!  That's when I started a Facebook page actually because I was bored at home about to have child #2.  Everything was clean and I thought "piece of cake".  This rocks!

Somehow over the months and years of breakfast, dishes, lunch, dishes, nap, snack, dinner, dishes, baths, errands, playdates, hurry up, eat slower, sit down, stand up, pick that up, put that down I've lost time to do anything I truly enjoy nor can I enjoy any moments I get.  If I do get some quiet time, it's spent thinking about all that I need to do now that the kids don't need me at the current moment.

I have actually made myself sit down and drink a much loved treat (Starbucks xoxo) and flip through a magazine a couple times lately.  I have taken a bath once over the last two months.  Those things are nice but it just doesn't happen often and sure doesn't benefit me much, which brings me to my newest path on this journey: running.  Not only do I get to rock out to some great music minus the whining for a while, I also get in shape too!

I used to go to the gym as often as church pre-children.  I've tried to exercise regularly since but it seems nothing happens regularly other than diaper changes and meal times post-children.  I've fantasized about running a marathon flippantly a few times, but about a month ago I got serious.  Something in me just decided it was time!  So I've made it happen.  I take the time whenever I can get it but for two weeks I have been running and it has been great!  The funny thing is I really hate running.  I get tired and just want to quit but it gets those endorphins going and I visualize crossing that finish line, having accomplished a new level of fitness in my life and it keeps me going.  Well, that is, in addition to the music rocking on my mp3 player and the thought of fitting into that pile of clothes I thought I'd never wear again!