Because it's Cheaper Than Therapy~

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Signed up for my first

two half-marathons for 2012~

looking at two more for the summer in Cali~

Hoping to do two in the fall,

yes, my goal is 6 this year :)

Summer 11

10K on the the 4th of July

  

 On July 4th, I ran a 10K with my dear friend Robin.

The weather was perfect, the route was great, minus the 

1.5 miles of hills that started the race! 

So proud of Robin for completing her first run. Signing her up for more.

She just doesn't know it! ; )

Yesterday was one of the most beautiful days I have seen in Oregon! I like HOT and it was perfect! Biking is one of our favorite things to do and we love the city! We road all over different bike paths and city streets, stopping for an iced coffee at Starbucks! I could barely stay focused on the ride because I wanted to stop and take pictures of every interesting person we passed! ha! It was a perfect day, ending with dinner downtown! Loved it! These are some pictures I was able to take on my phone. Not too great but the scenery was amazing!

Perfect day in the city!

Portland, Oregon

Portland Spirit

Mt. Hood in the distance

Busy Days for the Fam~

 A few weeks ago Darren ran his first full marathon!

So proud of him! Like I said before, we just started running in

November and he has really worked hard

to get to this point by May!

I knew he would do great!

His 42 year old body took about

4 days to recover..crazy I know!

I feel like I'm still trying to recover

from the half marathon, LAST MONTH!

It was a fun day! I love the excitement

at marathons-cheering for strangers,

knowing that everyone worked hard to get there!

Hope we do more soon!

Darren just left to go pick up our boy from his

first year of college!! yay!

It was such an awesome year for him!

So proud of him too and so thankful

that God has provided this opportunity

to be a part of an incredible college and group of friends!

August 2010

Getting ready to say good-bye to Tim

and driving 1300 miles home!

~Beautiful Molly~

Jr/Sr Banquet~

Masquerade Ball

Best banquet ever~

(since I'm ONE of the jr class advisors, haha)

My baby went to Outdoor School

last week with the 6th grade!

It really does get harder to send your kids

off on trips! Once again, how did we get here

so fast!? She is usually my little buddy,

standing beside me as we wave good bye

to her brother and sister for trips like this!

She had a great time, of course! :)

Just a quick update on this family!

So much going on and it doesn't slow down anytime soon!

That's ok, it's the fun kind of busy! (minus moving, not fun)

Thirteen point One at Forty-One!

The half-marathon that I started training for in

late November, on dark, rainy nights

with my patient husband is now over!

I am ready for half-marathon number two!

(not anytime soon..ha)

The race could not have gone better!

I was worried about leg cramps, stomach cramps,

shoe issues, sock issues, rain, etc.

These are all things that I had to deal with, work through

the last 4 months. But thankfully, Sunday, was

a perfect, perfect day!

I realized quickly that I would not be running

along side anyone. Darren obviously would outrun

me the first mile, so we said our goodbyes at the

starting line. It was ok to be alone because I

could set my own pace, listen to my playlist and focus

finishing. A few things I would like to note about my first

 half-marathon:

1.  Mile one came fast
2.  Mile two took forever
3.  At one point I was sure mile 5 was coming up, but was happy to see 8! Did I fall asleep!!? lol!
4. A man a ways ahead of me took off his shoe and shook it over his head, I thought he was shaking a bird over his head...that was mile 9. I was losing it!
5. There was a lady a little bit in front of me that I decided to set my pace with..I knew if I could keep up with her I was doing OK..so I kept my eye on her white hat..by mile 11 that hat was lavender in my delirious eyes!
6. I don't like running with Darren's fanny pack thingy...even though I kept my chapstick, tissue, phone and ipod in it! I only used the ipod.
7. I was happy I wore new socks and peanut butter toast was the perfect breakfast!
8. Anyone can run, ANYONE CAN RUN! (if I can do it, anyone can)
9. I was happy to not have to put those porta-potties to use!
10. I AM SIGNING UP FOR ANOTHER ONE IN JUNE..and JULY and AUGUST! : )

So excited to cheer Darren on in his first MARATHON in a few weeks! Wow, I can't imagine! 

                        

My end of the race gifts from my parents and bro and sis!

It's All in Your Perspective~ (and a half-marathon)

When you look at the world in a narrow way,

how narrow it seems! When you look at it in a mean way,

how mean it is! When you look at it selfishly,

how selfish it is! But when you look at it in a broad,

generous, friendly spirit, what wonderful

 people you find in it.

-Horace Rutledg-

How true I have found this the statement to be.

 It's all in our perspective!

We focus on the negative, everything around us is

 NEGATIVE...

narrow, mean and selfish!

I find the days I am able to start like this, coffee

and the WORD...the world all of

a sudden is generous, friendly and filled with wonderful people!

I think it's called..."Renewing our mind and being like Christ" :)

I want it..need it..desire it..crave it and only survive and thrive with..

MORE OF JESUS~

Darren and I had a great, long, lazy morning doing this!!

On a different note...tomorrow we will be running our

first half-marathon. 13.1 miles!

I think I'm ready, except for the fact that I

just had the most delicious artichoke, chicken pizza,

I AM READY!!

I have my number, my marathon shirt and the rest

of my outfit laying out on my bed..even my new ultra light, micro thin running sock!

That's how excited I am! ha!



Darren holding our route map! whoohoo!



WISH ME LUCK~

peace out~

Be Comfortable Running, It's Possible!

So, as I've mentioned, I've taken up running in the last 4-5 months!

 CRAZY to even think about! I have always been somewhat active but

NEVER a runner!  I decided to join Darren on a few runs last fall and really

started seeing a change. Each time it was easier to run a little bit further and it felt good!

Good? Kind of! The after workout good! The legs cramps, not so much!

Either way, it's my new workout of choice! ha!

Darren no longer runs with me since he is training for the Eugene Marathon in May.

I get excited about my "long" runs...a big 8 miles and that's his average day!

He really was my motivator in getting started though :)

Here are some of my favorite things to have/wear when running!

Since I started running in the winter, I usually wear the pants in the middle.

I actually picked them up at Old Navy and love them. Easy and light to run in.

My 2nd fave are the capris, which I joyfully ran in today...SUN!

I am hoping by the time my half-marathon comes around (one month)

I will be able to wear these cute Nike shorts.

I always wear my water proof Northface jacket.

(again, not today :)

Love these shoes!

We have also found a great running store ROAD RUNNER

I invested in some shoe inserts, (shoe dog)

I have some pretty crazy arches and these seemed to help with the

leg cramps a bit.

I wear two of these!

No joke!

It makes my runs a little

more enjoyable! ha!

My phone is my ipod with

a few good playlists

and I use RUNKEEPER

to track my miles and pace.

A must for me, I love

seeing my progress..so motivating!

Becca has a great, informative post about

being a new runner too. Check it out..and her cute blog!

Seeing Through the Fog

Yesterday I went for a run in the rain. Nothing new in the NW.

Actually, we have had nice weather lately and my runs have

been dry and clear. 

 Someone told me that during a long run, it's

good to find a "focal point" at every turn

(I'm new at this, remember, so I'm not trying to sound like I know anything about what I'm saying,ha)

I have pretty set run that I do. I know when the 3 mile mark is,

how many more blocks to make it four and how many minutes make it 8! 

On each turn, I do have a mark that I keep my eye on while trying to breath :)

It helps me stay focused and strangly enough, I am able to pace

my breathing. I love the feeling of watching that focal point get closer and closer

 and before I know it, I'm there.....Ready to re-focus, feeling accomplished and

ready for more.

Yesterday, the rain and fog were so thick, I could barely see one foot in front of me. So,

that is what I did, watched my feet. Not good running tactic, I don't think, but I needed to meet my goal and not take a day off. So, despite the rain, I went out.

(with my awesome running partner, my daughter)

Throughout the entire run, I looked at my feet, watching each step,

 trying not to fall, trying to miss huge puddles and pot holes.

Many times during that hour, I would get my bearings and realize that I was

much farther in my run than I realized. JOY! Also, my ipod was stuck on WORSHIP music, slow worship music.  Again, not too motivating for my run. As I ended my run, I realized how sweet my run had actually been...focusing one step at a time, while emmersed in worship.

So much like our walk with the Lord. Sometimes we can see the goal in front of us and other times  things can seem so foggy, we can barely see our own two feet. Whatever the view, I want those words from Jesus echoing in my ear;

Keep your eye on the prize, trust in Me, I'm in control, this is the way walk in it

(Isaiah 30) 

SOMETIMES GOD REQUIRES US TO FOLLOW A FAIR

AMOUNT OF REPETITION FOR A LONG TIME UNTIL

 HE DEEMS A SEASON COMPLETE! 

Beth Moore

HERE

God Lasts~Siesta Scripture Memory Verse

I have chosen a verse in Isaiah 40 to be my next memory verse for the next 2 weeks. I am going to be memorizing in the Message version. I have read this verse many times over the last few days. Everything in our life is so uncertain right now with our future at our home church, my husband's job, etc! But this verse is a reminder that no matter how weary we are, GOD NEVER, EVER gets weary! HE energizes us! WOW! Clinging to that, claiming that, shouting that and posting on my fridge, my mirror, my kids mirror and my forhead! ha!

God doesn't come and go. God lasts.

He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
Isaiah 40:29 (Msg)


In other news, I am training for a half-marathon in April. This running thing is new to me. I never would've thought I could be a "runner" I'm not really. I have started running for about 2 months now with Darren and I love/hate it! I love how I feel when I'm done, ha! duh! But mostly, I love how I have gone from running 1.5 miles to at least 3-4 every other day and once a week I run 6-7. I will be actually starting my training on Feb. 1. Now to figure out the whole nutrition thing!! Any ideas for chronic leg cramps??

A few months ago my favorite Bible that I have been using for about 10 years, completely fell apart. SAD! I pulled out my one from college, that still had my maiden name on it, but I just couldn't get used to it. There's just something about "YOUR Bible" I noticed that I wasn't sitting down with it, open in my lap for quiet time very much and going straight to Biblegateway.com or reading the YouVersion on my phone. Those are both great but I greatly missed the quietness of having the Word open, on the couch, no technology...etc! All that to say, I came home from work the other day and it was FIXED..put back together. Darren worked his magic and it's like new! I LOVE IT! Funny how things like a familiar Bible, with your own writing and underlining and sidenotes etc can be hard to give up! Anyways, Happy girl!!

The rain is never ending here and I'm determined to not let it affect my mood, but it's soooo very hard! We thought we might get snow last week, which would've been a nice change. But we just got more of this!!

On my new phone I have the weather for our town, San Diego, where my son lives and LA where my brother lives...bad idea, doesn't help my outlook on these gray days! ha! Enough about that!