That's it!

(This picture has nothing to do with this post really- but gosh he is cute!)

I've been thinking a lot lately. About all kinds of stuff. Mainly what I want to be when I grow up.

I haven't really had a desire to go back to school in a long time. I went not too terribly long ago (well, I guess before I had Carter...) and finished my Associates Degree. And that has been enough, until now.

I could never think of what I would want to do as a career. But then I thought of it! Duh! Something that sounds exciting and fun to me, rewarding and something I can help others with. I would really like to major in Spanish.

This sounds somewhat insane to me, just a little. But if I can make it work I would love to work in Lawrence as an interpretor, helping Spanish speaking people do basic daily things that they need help with in an English speaking community. And I thought of something else: I would like to volunteer to help people who want to learn English learn it. That would be so rewarding.

So, Im going to check into things and see what I can do. Wish me luck!

An Easter to Remember

Oh my goodness. What a weekend!

Friday we packed up and drove to Solomon to spend Easter with Darek's parents and his brother. We got into town around 3 and immediately took Carter to an "Easter Egg hunt" but it was really just follow the Eggs to 75,000 pounds of candy. He had a blast. We finished the day off with pizza and laughs.

Saturday morning I woke up and Darek's mom, his brother and I went to the fitness club in Abilene so they could check it out and so I could jog. I jogged 4 miles straight. LOVE IT.

We then went home, I showered then Darek, his brother and I decided why not go get tattoos? Darek and I have been meaning to get our wedding rings tattoo'd on for the longest time. BUT most tattoo artists will not tattoo on fingers. Finally, we found one that would. After about 20 minutes of him trying to talk us out of it (apparently he thinks its a jinx and we are now going to get divorced because we got these tattoos. I don't believe in that.) he finally helped us out. Darek just wanted 2 lines instead of a solid band and I didnt really care what I got because I was just happy to be getting it, so I got the same thing. I love it. Permanent wedding rings! (Yay! Because I don't wear much jewelry so this is perfect!)

We then went back and relaxed for the evening and who knows what else- at this point I'm so tired I can't really remember what we did! Eek.

This morning we woke up, got all gussied up and went to church. Carter kept going "PSSSST!" to the people in front of us during the quietest moments. Yikes. We then had a late breakfast, Carter went and saw some fire trucks, we had a big lunch, easter egg hunt, drive, supper... Oy.

Anyway, that was pretty much it. I think.

Happy Easter!!

I'm still alive.

Just thought you might be wondering since I don't blog everyother day anymore! Here's what I've been up to:

I went and got a few more highlights put in my hair. And some bangs cut. I needed just a bit of a change and that seemed like the perfect thing. Love them so far.

Still running. Tonight I ran 3.5 miles STRAIGHT. FYI- I am no longer happy just doing 3.1 miles, so I do 4 miles every other day. Tonight I ran 3.5 miles, walked .25 and then sprinted .25. Good times.

Tomorrow we are heading to Solomon to have Easter with Darek's family. I will take lots of pics, forget to post them for about a month, and then will post them. So look here in a month for Easter pics.

I've also been making lots of hair clips. I'm going to send some to my super cute nieces and my sister-in-law. I think they will love them! I'm also going to try to start selling some.

I think thats it for now! Happy Easter!!

Nap time

There comes a time in every young mother's life when she must make an important decision. One that could change the outcome of an entire day.

To nap or not to nap.

The kids are BOTH asleep. Mimi even fell asleep. And it is decision time.

To go get some extra beauty sleep? Or to enjoy the quiet, maybe even SHOWER?

I think I will be extra daring and stay awake and enjoy the quiet :)

(Plus I'm sure my husband would appreciate it if I actually shower today.)

My "Ah-Ha!" moment

I don't have a picture of my running to post today. I had a moment of clarity on the treadmill last night and you just can't take a picture of that. You see, I think I have been running for the wrong reasons. I think I have been running for you and not for ME (ok, not really YOU, but you know what I mean, right??). I'm not quite sure how to say how I feel. The closest I can come is to say that I have been running to impress people, not just for me. But that's not quite right, but the closest I can come to expressing it. I need to run for ME. For my health. For my happiness. For pleasure. For fun. For an escape. Since I have been running I feel great about myself. I have lost close to 20 pounds- I didn't even know I COULD lose or NEEDED to lose 20 lbs! But I look great and I feel great. I'm not so achy anymore and I think my bones are getting stronger. I feel stronger in general. And my self esteem is higher than ever. I need to remember this as I run instead of trying to set goals that are more for other people than they are for me. I am still going to do a 5K in almost 1 month. But if I can't run the whole thing I am not going to focus on that. I am going to focus on the fact that I DID it. And I am not going to focus on the fact that there are XXX amount of people there that are faster or slower than me. I am going to focus on the fact that there are XXXXXXXXXXXX amount of people that DIDN'T come or weren't ABLE to do it in the first place. (PS- No matter how hard I tried, this still ran all the paragraphs together! So I used bold to try to separate them!)

5K on a hot, windy day....

Today I participated in my first 5K EVER. I say "participated" in and not "ran" in because I am a bit disappointed.

I usually run on the treadmill. I recently ran 3.1 miles non-stop on the treadmill. But I got quite a lesson today: running outside is WAY more difficult.

It was quite hot for April in Kansas (close to 90) and VERY windy. It was really quite a challenge. I didn't get to run near as much as I thought I should be able to. But it was a lot of fun.

My finishing time was 41:50. My goal is to do a 30 minute 5K. That always seemed rather realistic until now....

Anyway, my goal was to do a 30 minute 5K on May 14th- that was the first 5K I had intended on doing- this one just came up so I did it. And I am glad I did.

Just one of those days....

This picture of Carter's nap kinda explains it all. It has been a lazy day.

I started working out and didn't feel so great so I didn't push it. I have a 5K on Sunday so I didn't want to force anything. Plus, the super heavy lunch I had didn't help matters much.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a super great day outside- sunny and a high of 91 degrees. I'm thinking we are going to make a trip to Mass street in Lawrence or to the Legends for some shopping and walking around.

I will update you about my 5K on Sunday!!

Bring it on, baby!

I have something like 37 days before my goal of being able to run a 5k with no walking. I decided I need to step it up a bit....

Each time I jog I try to go a bit further or do it just a bit faster. Last time I ran something like 2 miles straight. Tonight I wanted to run 2 1/4 to 2 1/2. I honestly didn't think I could do it.

After about 20 minutes of running I kind of get my second wind. I don't feel as out of breath and my muscles feel really good. I hit the 2 mile mark and still kept going- I didn't feel too terrible. And then I hit the 2 1/4 mile mark. I tried focusing on Diego (Carter has to watch tv while I jog) and that kind of helped me keep distracted. He was saving baby condors after all. I hit the 2 1/2 mark. Further than I have ever gone. But really, what is another half mile when you have ran that far?? I figured I needed to give it a shot. 2 3/4 came by and I was getting tired but not dead yet. Then I eeked towards 3 miles. But I really couldnt stop there, could I? After all, a 5K is 3.1 miles.

And I did it. I'm so proud of myself. I know that running on a treadmill is a bit easier than running outside but it is still such a huge step for me.

In other news:

Darek got a different job. I know, I know, he has only been working at his new one for a month. But in that month he has had to stay in a hotel like 3 or 4 times, and has been getting home at like 10 and 11 at night. He did have weekends off which was nice and was an improvement, but it still wasn't great. He got a call for an interview last week and went in and they called him today to deliver the good news. He will be working where my dad works so he will be able to carpool. And he will have set hours (and a set wage- yay!) and will get home around 3 in the afternoon EVERYDAY! And he will still have weekends off except for when they are working overtime. I am so excited!

And Miss Kinsley rolled over on her own. She is so roll-y poll-y that I wasn't sure if she would be able to or not but she did! It was cute but she was immediately mad and couldn't roll back over.

I also signed up for a 5k on Sunday- I may not be able to run the whole thing but it will be good practice for my one in May!

Busy weekend!

This run was actually from 4/1. I've been too busy since then to post about it! I did the run Friday night, then Saturday I had to go get groceries and the usual Saturday morning routine of haircuts and all that jazz. Then Saturday night Darek, Courtney, Stan and I went out for dinner, drinks and bowling. It was a ton of fun. And then yesterday the weather was AMAZING (a bit windy, but beggars can't be choosers). It was 88 out but the wind was blowing 40 mph! It blew in quite the storm last night. And that brings me to today when I have finally found time to post. Anyway, this run was great. I try to push myself a bit more each time and I kept a goal in my head on this one: I wanted to run 2 miles. I really didnt know if I would make it or not. So, I paced myself and when I thought I was going to die I slowed down just a bit more (still jogging, though). I ran for the 2 miles and 27 straight minutes (7 minutes past my longest time). This makes me really proud that I am making it that far/long, but also a bit nervous. I try to do better each time and I keep doing so well that I'm afraid that I wont be able to do as well the next time. Oh well, I guess that happens once in a while so I should just expect it now and then. My next run: sometime today (if the stars align just so and I can get my children to nap at the same time. Har har).