It's Finally Almost Time!!!

A million and a half weeks ago, my best friend emailed and asked if I wanted to accompany her to the Kenny Chesney concert on August 20 and of course I said "HELL YES!!!!". I think that's a direct quote. Anyway, after weeks and months of waiting... the time is almost here!!!! I'm giddy with anticipation. Seriously, I have a major relationship with Kenny... in my mind, of course. We've never met, but I love him. Truly, madly, deeply. If I would have met him before I met my wonderful husband... let's just say I wouldn't be living in little old Michigan!!!! Anyway... the show is Saturday and tomorrow morning (after I get my long run in and out of the way) I'm driving over to spend the weekend with my bestie and we are going to have so much fun together!

Yes, this is the third time I'll have seen him in concert. Yes, all three will be with said friend. Yes, she is my hero for getting us tickets. And yes, I will be screaming at the top of my lungs for several hours on Saturday. I will probably not be able to talk much on Sunday. If you know me, you know how rare this is. Yes, I've been obsessing for two weeks about what I'm going to wear to this event. Yes, I'm aware that it really makes no difference as he won't actually see me. No, it doesn't matter... I'm still fretting as I pack!!!!

I'm a little nuts, but I just may be the lunatic he's looking for!!! Wait, that's another artist... drat! Kenny... I'm coming baby... hold on to your hat!!!!

Lazy Crazy Hazy Days of Summer...

Well, it's been a long hot summer, and that's alright with me!!! There's been nothing earth shattering to write about except a tragically bad decision my younger son made a couple days after I wrote my last post which has basically left me shocked and completely numb to be honest. I won't get into it here, but suffice it to say, he's in trouble. Big trouble. He's already been grounded for a month. He can't wait for school to start. He better have learned his lesson!!!!

Anyway, the rest of my life has been really boring since I work all day and run when I need to train and that's about it. I have managed a few walks along the boardwalk, a girls night out with my neighborhood girls and a couple of dinner dates with my husband. We even saw the last Harry Potter movie at the theater for our anniversary date! We celebrated our 17th anniversary a couple weeks ago which I'm pretty proud of. Other than that, it's been business as usual.

So this will be short and sweet, I just didn't realize it had been this long since I posted!!! This coming weekend is one I've been looking forward to for months. Going to my dear friend's house for the weekend and we have tickets for TWO different concerts!!! Friday night we'll see the J. Geiles band and Saturday is KENNY CHESNEY!!!! If you know me... you know how much I love that man... it's slightly bordering on obsessive, but it's all good. I even found out that Zac Brown Band is opening, which I also love, so it should be an amazing weekend for sure! I'll see if I can take some pics....

Not Much....

Not much new going on in la-la land. Oh, I'm still running.. haven't missed a training run, but really that's about it! I had a week of vacation in which I accomplished squat-nothing... I went back to work and it was the same old stuff-different day... just nothing new in my life! I guess that's ok, but I'm totally bored right now! I'm ready for some adventure... but it will have to wait. Reality can really suck sometimes.

But... on the other hand... in the past year, I've lost 40 pounds. I've become a runner. I've transformed by body from a chubby size 14/16 to a size 6. I've learned how to take care of this temple and gift from God called the human body. I've inspired others to take better care of themselves. I've used every opportunity available to raise my voice in song. I've maintained friendships with some of the best people on this earth. I've cheered for my children, cried for them, and enjoyed them often. I've danced in the rain. I've read a lot of books. I've watched some really bad tv. I've watched the first three Twilight movies about a million times each. Not much, but it's my life.

All in all... it's just fine. Someday I hope to be able to say I live the life of adventure I long for... and today is nowhere near that day. I'm ok with that for the most part. But sometimes, it feels like life is just passing by. Somedays it feels like there's just not much to say. Today is one of those days... Today not much happened.

Maybe tomorrow.....

Another One Bites The Dust....

That's how I felt after I ran the Zeeland Zoom 5k last night! Since I hadn't really been training for speed (that 1/2 marathon is my main focus right now) and I only ran my last 5k three and a half weeks ago, my goal was just to finish around 30 minutes. So I ran a couple of easy miles (training plan called for 5 total for the day) and walked around for a good hour before the race. The weather was perfect. It's was in my town so I was familiar with the streets. It's a super flat course, so I knew I could finish strong. I was feeling good! I'd gotten a free entry from my chiropractor's office so I didn't even have to pay!!! Woohoo!

So I found a couple friends from church at the starting line and we talked about how fast we were hoping to finish. I figured we'd be all pretty close together, so I wasn't worried even though we were pretty close to the front. Closer than I usually am. Then the gun went off. My friend Lori was off like a shot (this didn't surprise me, she's a speedy one!) and I just focused on my music and my breathing. My pace was good, quick, but good. I felt really good on that first mile and knew I was heading to beat my last best time. Just before mile 2 I realized I had to use the bathroom. Not a little bit... I had to PEE!!!! Oh my goodness... what the heck to do????

Yup, I kept going. And going... and by the time I was finished with the race, I still had to pee soooo bad.... it was not pretty!!! I finished a little quicker than my last race, but I seriously think if I'd have been running on an empty bladder I could have run even faster. Who knows, I finished and that's all that really matters! So now off to finish the rest of my training. I'm thinking about another 5k in a few more weeks.. if I do this one it will be on hills, so I'm not exactly sure if I'll do it, but the challenge might be worth it!!!

But next time... bathroom just before the starting gun... no matter what!!!!

Oh, and I got myself a new handy-dandy heart rate monitor. It's a cool little watch/chest strap combo that monitors your heart rate and tells you exactly how your training is going and how many calories you're burning. I've been wanting one for a while, but finally splurged. I'm hoping it gets me training in the right zones so I don't overdo it but continue to increase my fitness levels as time goes on. The last thing I need is to become another statistic of someone who looks like they are fit and has a heart attack on the sidewalk! No kidding, that happens a lot. I'm hoping this will stop that from happening. Although, I must admit, I was pushing really hard last night!!! Felt good... still feel good, so I'm ok.

I have a little date night planned with my sister tomorrow... I'm hoping we have a blast seeing a band that a friend of mine from college has that's playing a bunch of old 80's alternative music! We used to listen to just that type of music back in high school, so this should be insteresting! Plus, I don't get out much... we should have fun!

TTFN....

Heaven Help Us....

My son got his learner's permit yesterday. That means he can drive. With a parent (or designated adult over 21) and closely supervised, but he is on the road. With other cars. In traffic sometimes. On the highways. Yup, I'm nervous. Who wouldn't be??? But you know what? He's pretty good. For a beginner. And he's still just that, a beginner. So say a prayer and watch out for my little white minivan... he's probably behind the wheel!!! Heaven help us!!!!

On another note, heaven got another angel this week. A dear lady I have known for many, many years passed away. She was the nicest lady in our little neighborhood and ALWAYS had a smile for all of us. Her three kids are dear friends and we grew up doing all sorts of crazy things together... I won't get into all that here, but suffice to say I still love these three so much! Two of them stood up in my wedding!!!! Anyway, their Mom is now an angel watching us from heaven instead of the front door.. or the window... or the kitchen counter. I can honestly say she is the kind of Mom I hope to be. She was one of a kind, and we will all truly miss her. The only shining light on losing her now, is that she was really sick. She had dimentia and ALS. The last 2 years were hard for the entire family, and she is now at rest. This is good, but it doesn't mean the loss is less difficult. So we will celebrate her life, grieve with her family and friends, and thank God for the time we had with Sandy. Take care of her, Father... and use this new angel wisely!!!!

I hit a new weight loss goal today, I'm not sharing my actual numbers here just yet, but know that I'm smaller than my wedding weight. Actually, I'm smaller than I've been in so long I can't remember the last time I was this weight! Kind of amazing, but also a little sad. I'm shooting to continue at this point and see where my body settles in. I think I have another 10 pounds to lose, but we'll see. When I'm done, I'll try to post a before and after. I don't have a good before, but there's one that I think might work... I'll need to do some cropping, but it might give you an idea of where I've come from!!!!

I'm on vacation for the next nine days, so if something comes to me that I want to share, I'll have more freedom to write. Hoping to pick up my guitar again this week.. and get a pedicure... and clean my house... and hit the pool or waterpark... yes, I have big goals! God bless you, and Sandy... say hi to my Dad if you see him up there!!!!

Lessons Learned????

This post is about something I'm not good at.... saying no. It's a lesson that I've tried to learn in the past couple of years and while I'm getting better at it, I still haven't mastered it. I think it's a girl thing. Or a mom thing. Maybe just a me thing. I like to be needed! I love to do things for other people. But sometimes I have to say no. I just can't do everything for everyone!!! Especially if I need to take care of myself and my family. They really should come first, after all!!!!

But this spring I got roped into something of which I'm pretty proud. I have a friend from my church who is an awesome single dad. He has two teenagers that he is raising alone. He's doing a great job! His kids are polite, smart, eager to help others, friendly, and involved in church. This fall, my friend (who is a youth group leader himself) was hurt, at youth group! His foot was toast. He's since been off work, had two surgeries and has now lost his job due to having to take so much time off. He's broke. His daughter graduated. There was no way he could do a graduation party. My Bible study group wanted to help. I was volunteered to lead the effort. I didn't say no. She really deserved a party!

So, I planned the party. I shopped for the party (thanks to the financial donations of the ladies of my Bible study group.) I rented the room for the party. I basically put on the party. Did I mention everyone was mysteriously out of town or busy with other engagements??? Yup. I had two ladies come and help decorate. One brought veggies. The rest was me. Well, the Dad did make food and his Mom did too (yum) but the rest was me. I'm not saying this to brag, I'm really not that great of a party planner, but rather to show that I'm a slow learner. I needed to say no. This was stress I didn't need!!! But I really like this family. They don't deserve all the things that are happening to them. It really wasn't hard to do. I didn't spend much of my own money, just some time. What's time and a little effort to help someone in need???? I'm glad I did it. So sometimes it's ok to say yes. Sometimes it's good to feel needed. Sometimes, you just need to do the right thing.

I don't know if I learned my lesson. Mainly because I don't know which lesson I was supposed to learn! Am I taking on too much? Sometimes. Is it good to help people in their time of need? Yes! Even if that means you don't get your laundry or grocery shopping done for the week? Sometimes, that's ok too.... I'll make up for the groceries tomorrow, and as for the laundry... good thing we all have extra clothes!!!!

So I'm looking forward to a weekend with nothing planned. Then I send one kid away for a youth group trip for a week and the other finishes driver's ed and starts a temporary part time job!!!! After that... I'm taking a week off. I need a break!!!!

TTFN...

Summer's HERE!!!

Yup, it's finally summer in West Michigan! It's been a rainy and chilly spring, so this warm up is just what I needed to get in the mood to really get outside! For me, summer is about long walks, bike rides, ice cream and the water. We were hoping to get our boat out last weekend, but both of our cars broke down. Yup, both of them. At the same time. It was not fun at all. Got hubby's car fixed on Friday and mine will be picked up in the morning, but it's been a stressful couple of days. Oh well, it's only money.. right???

So today officially started the training for my first half marathon. The race will be September 24. I'm pumped about it, but nervous too. I really think I can do it and make a respectable time, but I have a ton of training to do. I have a plan, and I think I can stick to it, but it's more running than I've ever done, so let the adventure begin!!!! Tonight was a "2 miles easy" night, which meant my pace was around 12 minute miles. That's not as hard as it was a few months ago, so I'm happy about that, but with the heat and humidity I was literally dripping when I got home!!! Tomorrow is a "non-running" day, which I still hope to get in a workout at the gym with the weights. I found a great standing ab/core workout the other day in a magazine that I'm eager to use. I've done it twice, but with some regular sessions I am hoping to see some inches off my tummy and waist! Besides, a strong core really helps runners... and that's another great reason to do the workout!

I'm sure I'll post more about my training runs as they get harder, and longer, and faster... so if it bores you, I apologize. Truly I just want to be the best me I can be... and running is making me stronger inside and out. What more can I ask for???? Besides... there's nothing wrong with wanting to be a hot mama, right?

Gotta go get the hubby soon since I have his car and mine's still at the shop. Hope you have a great night!!! TTFN.