You can do it!!!

This past weekend I ran my first 10K.  6.2 miles of running.....if you had ever told me I would CHOOSE to do that, I would have said you were crazy.  Yet, I did it and was so happy.  Mark and I both ran and he was there to cheer me on at the finish line.

The definition of CHEER is to lighten spirits or mood; a source of joy or happiness; a comfort.


Running has become kind of therapeutic for me.  A time where I think about problems, try to come up with solutions, or just analyze life.  I feel better after a run.  My mood is better, my attitude on life is better, I feel like a better person.  We all have our outlets that we use to boost our moods or our attitudes and running has started to become that for me.

Now, back to the cheering part.  I can not even explain how awesome it was to pass people cheering me on as I ran.  Just the little comments of "you can do it," "you're almost there," "great job" all gave me inspiration and motivated me to continue.  These were STRANGERS....people who had no idea what my name was or even cared, but they cheered.....for me.

Mark and I after the 10k.....I am so lucky to have him as an encourager!!!

How do we motivate people in our daily life?  Do we cheer people on?  Do you feel like you cheer others, but no one cheers for you?  We all need encouragement and motivation, we all need our own cheerleaders.  But, we need to remember that people need us to be there for them.  Be an encourager, a motivator......sometimes people need us, more than we know.  Thank you to those who are always cheering me on.....I appreciate you!!!  :)

Confessions of a Bad Mom....Part 1

Okay.....I am about to be brutally honest.  I have given this blog a title of Confessions of a Bad Mom...Part 1, because I am SURE there are many other confessions to come, but today I will pick just one.

First, let me start by saying that I love my girls....they are the BEST and make my job of being a mom my favorite job in the whole world. That being said, they talk a LOT!!!  Now, those of you who know me know that they get this trait from their dad (yeah, right!)  UGH!!  It is a me trait!  Autumn is a visual talker...she talks constantly and uses lots of descriptives, hand motions, body movements, tumbling acts, dance moves, and well, her stories are L-O-N-G!  Nothing wrong with this, but I find myself multi-tasking through the stories.  This makes me sad at times, because I feel I should be giving her my full attention during these riveting stories....so, I will try to work on this.  (Maybe...)  :)

Allie....well, she talks a LOT, but she is more short and to the point, so I find myself listening to her conversation intently until I realize she is going to tell about 500 stories in a short period, and she randomly throws in things that don't make sense.  Things like....my day was great today, I had fun playing outside, I found a moon rock, I think I have ants in my pants, can I go out and play?  What?  Moon rock?  Ants?  Sure, honey....go on out!  What?  How come I'm not asking more questions?

Speaking of questions...just about every conversation in our house that will involve a question starts like this...."Mom, can I ask you a question?"  I tried the response..."You just did.." but it was just met with, "Can I ask another one?"  Sure.  :)

I never thought, key word being THOUGHT, I would be the kind of mom that smiled and nodded at their child and was thinking about a million other things....truth...I am.  :(

Now, I do LOVE our real conversations....the ones where they REALLY talk to me....about their friends, their day, the dreams, goals, etc.  I also, never want to miss out on any of the other conversations either.  I LOVE that they want to talk to me and I am so glad they have so much to say.

So, this mom will try to be a better listener.....a new goal.

Have a GREAT night!  Thanks for listening to me!  :)

Back To Reality.......

Spring Break is over.....I know that I am lucky, with a job that provides a Spring Break, but I felt like it was a NEED this year.  My classes are GREAT, things are going GREAT, but I just needed some down time and am extremely thankful that I got it.

Things I loved about this Spring Break....

1. Sleeping in.....the girls did not wake me until after 8 each day...which was WONDERFUL!!!

2. Having no place to be.....there was nothing that HAD to be done....and that was nice!

3. Being outside....for the most part, we had GREAT weather...which may be a reason it will be hard to go back to school/work....I love being outside in 70-80 degree/sunny days.

4. Reading books.....I read 3 books over the break....loved it.

5. Doing a few arts/crafts...I painted and made a few wreaths.  Such fun!!

6.  Running....I was able to run 25.7 miles over the break!  Yay!!!

7. Spending time with friends....mystery dinners, movies, eating at Cupcakes on Kavanaugh, playing dominoes, visiting, laughing, eating...the list goes on and on.

8. Spending time with my family....I LOVED being home with my girls.  They have been soooooo much fun over the break.  We've played, snuggled, watched TV, gone on picnics, and just spent QUALITY time together.  Mark was even able to take some time off this week which was FANTASTIC!  We were able to take the girls to the movies, go to Wye Mtn., and work in the yard.  We also got to do a few things without kids!  Woooo Hooo!!!

It has been a GREAT week....only 9 more weeks to go until summertime!!!  Yay!!!!  Have a GREAT week!

Rain.....

I don't mind a rainy day.  In fact. sometimes I am GLAD for a rainy day.  Rain, of course, is a need.

However, I think rain is a reminder to us as well.  It is a reminder that not everything about life will be happy and sunshiny all the time.  It is a reminder that sometimes we need to let the tears flow or have a gloomy day, or that we just need down time.

Now that Spring is here, I LOVE being outside.  I love to work in the flower beds, or sit outside and read a book, or play with the girls outside.  But, there are things that must be taken care of inside too.  The sunnier and nicer it is....the less I want to do inside.  Rainy days are the days I don't mind staying inside, I don't feel like I am going to miss out on something by not being outside.

Today worked out perfectly.....it's Spring Break and Mark stayed home with us today.  We went and saw a movie, The Lorax, then went and bought a tree that I have been wanting, a pink dogwood.  Then we came home and planted it.  As soon as it was in the ground and we had packed everything up...down came the rain.  It was perfect timing.  It was time to go in and just be.......:)

What I hope my tree will look like someday.  :)

Now, all this being said...several rainy days can be depressing, plus it can causing flooding, and all sorts of other problems.  So, with any luck this rain will be done soon and I can go back out and enjoy another pretty day.

Good friends.....

What is a good friend?  In church today, we heard the 3 traits that are traits of being a good friend.  The 3 traits aren't anything unexpected, or shocking.....but they did make me think.

1. A GOOD friend encourages us.

Now, let's think about this.  Who do you encourage?  Does that SAME person encourage you?  I have 557 friends on Facebook.  Other than if I have a motivational status that impacts someone, I know I am not encouraging 557 of my friends on a daily basis, or a weekly basis, or monthly basis for that matter.  I do know that I try to encourage my friends, but I don't encourage ALL of them.  However, I started thinking about those that encourage me.  This is an important thing.  It is GREAT that I might encourage some, but who is encouraging me?  I've realized that friends I have gotten upset with or, stopped encouraging is probably a result of the fact I don't feel they encourage me.  Now, please don't think I am asking for encouragement.  I'm not.  I'm just understanding that it is important for it to be a 2 way street.  I also realize that I have probably lost GOOD friends, ones that were encouraging me, when I didn't encourage them.  For that, I am sorry.

2. A GOOD friend keeps us on the right path.

This one is kind of interesting.  I believe it means to keep us going and doing what is right.  I also think it means helping us to be ourselves.  I have some friends who I can truly be myself around and I LOVE being with those people.  I have other friends, that when I am around them I find myself trying to be who they (as I feel) want me to be, and usually those times aren't as fun.  Now, that is silly.  I am who I am...and that should be enough for a GOOD friend.  I think this one is tough for kids in school.  Here is where we have to learn that it is okay to be ourselves and not act like others.

3. A GOOD friend complements us.  (Notice, it's not compliments...though that is always nice.)

A good friend helps us see our strengths and weaknesses.  They are there through the good and bad.  They are there when we need them, whether it be to just listen, or to just talk.  They are willing to support us and tell us the truth when it needs to be heard.  They remind us of our priorities and yet remind us of our free-spiritedness.

Friendship is tough.  You have to be there for the GOOD and the BAD days.  It's funny, there are some friends that I would NEVER tell I had a bad day.....why is that?  We all have them....the truth is I don't think they will really care, so, it is easier to just pretend that my life is great.

I am thankful for all of my friends, but I am especially grateful for my GOOD friends.  My encouragers, my friends who help me to be me and inspire me to have fun and live life to the fullest, my friends who complement me and help to make my life better.

I hope you are this type of friend to others and that you have friends that are this for you.

I loved this scene from Steel Magnolias...."Here, hit this!!!"

Have a WONDERFUL Sunday!  :)

Comfort Zone

I am a pretty safe person.  I am the type that pretty much eats the same thing every time I go to a restaurant. For example, one of my favorite restaurants is Carino's!!  I almost ALWAYS get the Bowtie Festival!  It is super yummy!  When I go to Chick Fil A, I almost always get either a deluxe or spicy deluxe sandwich...LOVE them!  I am the type of person, who if I find a shirt I like, I will buy the same shirt in 3 different colors.  It just works for me.

Lately, I have been stepping out of my comfort zone....living on the edge.  Okay, maybe not living on the edge, but definitely trying some new things.  Some of them I've really enjoyed....others have been, well, PAINFUL to say the least.  :)  Nonetheless, I have had fun trying new things.  Now, I do know that one of the reasons I have enjoyed some new things is because I have had friends/family with me as I have been trying them, and that always makes things better.  

I LOVE Spring and Summer....and am so excited the weather has been so nice lately.  I am excited about all the fun things that come along with warm weather; soccer, grilling out, shopping, lake time, vacation time, pedicures, all these and so much more!

I hope you had a GREAT weekend and have an AWESOME week!  If you feel inspired to try something new...take a friend along, it always makes it better!  :)

High School....

Who were you in high school?

Me....well, I was the good girl.  Seriously.  I didn't do much, if ANYTHING wrong.  I got good grades, played basketball, ran track, volunteered with clubs, and worked.  I was friends with as many people as I could possibly be.  I wasn't the most popular girl, by any stretch.  If anything, I was the goofy girl, who was nice to everyone.  I brought stickers and handed them out on holidays, I was the one who ALWAYS had gum to distribute, I was the one who brought her spaghetti in her thermos for lunch. I carried the massive Valentines' card around all day that wouldn't fit into my locker, so I wouldn't hurt a guys feelings.   I was very naive. I really had no idea that "bad" things went on at my high school.  In fact, at our 10 year reunion someone said they didn't want me to know the "bad" things that went on....they liked that I was clueless.  :)

Who am I now?  Well, pretty much the same person...I would like to think.  However, TEACHING high school has changed me.  I am nice...the majority of the time, but can't stand it when someone talks back to me.  I have found I am not quite the pushover I once was.  I can't just let things go....like I think I used to do.  I am very aware that "bad" things go on and do my best to "bust them."  I find myself encouraging people to talk to the ones who don't have lots of friends, or making sure I talk to them.  I have also realized that some of the people I am teaching will change.  Some will leave high school and become BETTER people, some will continue to be FANTASTIC, and some will probably struggle.

This weekend my brother got married...there are TONS of pics on my FB page...probably too many, but it was an AWESOME time.  One of the things that was surreal to me was seeing my brother's high school friends.  He had quite a few at the wedding and they have grown up to be some GREAT guys!  It is so weird, seeing people from high school and how they have changed.  I mean, these guys danced with my daughters out on the dance floor.  It was just fun to see and made me wonder how others have changed.  You see, in high school we all wanted to be certain people, and I find it fascinating to see the people we have become.  I still have some great friends from high school.  Some that I thought I would be close to, I'm not and some I keep up with more than I ever thought I would.  I loved high school, not saying I would want to go back....but I enjoyed my years of being naive and passing out stickers.  However, I am so impressed by how we turned out as adults.

My brother and my girls.  I am so proud of the guy he is today!  :)
(Cheesy of me, I know!)  :)

Have a GREAT night!