Walking...

A year ago I was on crutches due to a fracture in my foot. It wasn't painful, but it was really inconvenient. Prior to that incident, I had been exercising very regularly and was feeling pretty good. Ironically, being on crutches is a good workout for the upper body, and using them on stairs, which I had to twice a day was an exercise in agility. Since the foot healed, I have been fairly sedentary, and I knew I needed some incentive to move.

Today was the Cascade Half Marathon. I've never done a half marathon, and I don't plan to! Two years ago, I walked the 10K which is a bit longer than I really enjoy. This year, I kept it simple and opted for the 2 mile "fun run/walk". It was a nice, flat course and I was done in 35 minutes. Not too bad for not doing much for the last several months.

The word....

So, within a couple days of the last post, my 2014 word showed up.

Challenge

So I guess 2014 with be the year of challenge. Hopefully that means ways I challenge myself, and not having to deal with overwhelming external challenges. 

Happy New Year!

Good bye 2013...It was a good year.

• My job brought a new adventure. 6th graders are interesting, funny, and child-like. I know. They are children. But they are so different from 8th graders who believe they are very grown-up and mature. 
• I bought a new home...buying a house has been a different adventure. It feels like home which is nice and cozy and yet home ownership is such a huge responsibility.
• I came to some personal realizations. Man (or in my case woman) plans...God laughs. Some of the hopes/dreams/plans don't pan out the way you expect but you get up and move forward.

Hello 2014!

• A new year. 
• A fresh start.
• New opportunities.
• New adventures.

For the past few years I've been working to document my life for a variety of reasons. I've tried blogging, scrapbooking, focus words, photos, journaling....I've discovered that no one thing works perfectly, or best. They all have their ups and downs. Some days/weeks/months I don't feel much like doing any of it. I've also noticed that I have some very regimented aspects of my life. Is it tradition? Habit? Why do I do what I do, when I do it and how I do it? Is it because that's expected? I suspect there is truth to all of these reasons. But I really got to thinking about this as I tried to define my focus word for 2014.

It's January 1 and I still don't have my 2014 word...This is not an auspicious beginning.

Thanksgiving Weekend

It was a busy weekend. I had Wednesday off, and spent the day taking care of household chores. I also made Lemon Angel bars for Thanksgiving dinner before heading to my parents'.

We had a really nice Thanksgiving even though about one-third of the family was just getting over being sick, sick, or headed toward being sick. Luckily, I've managed to avoid getting sick so far. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos of the day to share. They all came out really bad.

My mother, sister and I braved the Black Friday shopping spree again. We pulled an all-nighter and finished quite a bit of shopping. I bought myself a new camera to avoid future missed holidays.

Friday afternoon we cut Christmas trees at the home of my 8th grade math teacher. He's retired now and grows a few on his property. Usually, I have a Nordmann fir. This year, I went with a grand fir.

It looks good in my new house. I spent the rest of the weekend working on decorating my house. Some things haven't been out of storage in years, so it was fun to unpack and display them. 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Birthday!

With the guys away, the girls (and kids) will play...Happy Birthday Mama!

Sunny Fall Days

We just had to enjoy the incredibly beautiful weather.