Friday Confessions

Hello my amigas. We close out another week, and you know what that means. Confession time.

So lets get this started.

Here are my weekly confessions:

1.I threw a banana peel out my window. I said to no one in particular, here you go animals. I didn't throw it in the grass, or out in a field. I just threw it in the center of the street.

2.I have not plucked/waxed my eyebrows since January. I know this because I got my eyebrows waxed this week, and the lady told me the last time I had be in was January. She may or my not have gasped when I laid down on the table and she inspected my brows.

3. I went to the restroom at work, and before I got in the stall, I had unbuttoned and unzipped my pants. Totally spaced out that I was in a public environment.

4. It takes me at least 2 minutes every morning to choose my pen and highlighter combo at work. Everyday I start my morning with my to do list. And every morning, it takes forever for me to pick my pen for the day, and even longer to decide what highlighter color to use. I get such a thrill highlighting things off my list each day. Yea, I am a big dork.

You know the drill. Fess up friends!

Giving Up the Mill

Can you spot me? I am in the crowd, somewhere. Its like where's Waldo, except you don't know who I am and what I look like. I'll give you a hint, I am one of the runners, not one of the onlookers. 

I have given up the treadmill. My very first race a few years ago was a 10 mile trail run. I trained for it everyday on the treadmill. At the time, I didn't know much about running. I had no plan and no gear. I just put on my tennis shoes, got on the old mill, hit start and ran. Everyday, I ran on the treadmill. I told myself that if I could run 8 miles on the mill, then I could handle 10 miles outside. Looking back on it, I don't think I even realized it was a trail run until the day of the race.

Once I decided to do my first marathon, I did all of my runs on the treadmill except for my long runs on Saturday. Again, every evening after work, I went to the gym, grabbed a mill, and ran mile after mile on that thing.

How the heck did I do that?

Today, I hate the treadmill with the passion of 1,000 suns. Seriously, I hate the treadmill. Last week, I had an easy 3 miler on deck, and I wanted to get some cross training in afterwards. Those 3 miles were the longest, most painful miles I have had in years. I was bored out of my mind, even though there were 10 t.v.'s hanging in front of me. I seriously could not handle how bored I was on the machine.

Running outside, and being outside is more enjoyable than ever now. I find that I am inside so much these days, that any chance I have to get outdoors, I leap at. Even if I am not somewhere particularly beautiful, I still crave the fresh(ish?) air filling my lunges. There is something so much more serene and peaceful about running outside for me than hitting the treadmill now. I am sure I will chicken out one morning when its 30 degrees outside and head for the gym rather than tough out the cold. For now, I'm going to keep hitting the pavement.

Are you a treadmill runner/walker? What do you do to make the time pass quickly?

Friday Confessions

Happy Friday Friends. I hope you have had a wonderful week and that you have something fun planned for this weekend.

Time to fess up to what we did this week.

1.I walked into a public restroom and it smelled like poo and mothballs. I said out loud "Wow, someone must crap mothballs." I heard someone clear their throat from the stall. Whoops.

2. I got into an argument with my dog.  P and I took the dogs for a walk, and I stepped on his foot and he let out a yelp. I looked at him and said "Its not my fault, its yours, you got in my way." My poor dog just looked at me and P cocked his head to the side and said "You do realize you are trying to argue with our dog, right. Just say sorry, pet him, and move on."

3. I used the phrase "Decorated yard of the month this month, are you f'ing kidding me, this whole thing is so political." A little back story, if you join the neighborhood association, you are eligible to win yard of the month or decorated yard of the month. One neighbor has won yard of the month and now just won decorated yard of the month, and I am bitter about it. But, we have not joined the neighborhood association, so I am not sure why it bothers me so much.

Thats it. I've been a bad girl this week. Fess up y'all.

A Thank You to my Dad, on Veterans Day

This is a picture of that young man, he is just not so young in this picture.

Many years ago, there was a young boy fresh out of high school, just a year into his college career who was drafted. A young man that had only traveled between two places, Louisiana and Texas. A young man who didn't have much in the way of opportunities or money. A young man who would not flee when he was summoned to duty. A young man who was scared about what was to come in a far away place that was nearly 9,000 miles from anything he had ever known. A young man plucked from oblivion and flown to a scary and war torn country.

That young man was my dad.

Today dad, I salute you, and I thank you for your service in the military. I can't imagine the emotions, adrenaline, or fear that you experienced when your number was called. I can't imagine what it was like to be taken from your home, from everything you had even known, and shipped across the world to fight.

You never talked much about your time in the war, and I understand why. Much like the men and women today, you came home with scars, and I am sure the mental scars ran deeper than any of the physical. By the grace of God, you survived, came home, went to work, met mom, had a couple of kids, and built a life for yourself. You gave so much, and asked so little in return.

Thank you for being brave and for fighting for our freedom. Thank you for serving your country.
And, if there are any veterans out there who read this little blog, thank you from the bottom of my heart.  I am in awe of you and I am grateful for your courage and strength.

Happy Veterans day.

Friday Confessions

Happy Friday my virtual friends. I hope you have had an amazing week, and that today is the best Friday ever!

Lets get our confession on.

1.I proved a point to P, and then gloated, a lot. I walked around saying "I'm right, I'm right, I'm right." I kept saying "this makes me so happy, it is the greatest day ever." I then proceeded to dance around and do my I'm right, you are wrong dance and cheer. I am thankful he loves me despite my jerky behavior.

2. I saw a woman do something disgusting in the locker room at the gym, and I gasped, loudly. I won't tell you what she did, but I was unable to hide my shock. She looked at me, and I turned, and walked straight out of the locker room. It was tres awkward.

3. I was eating, talking on the phone, and driving at the same time. I noticed dog hair on my apple. I ate it anyway. So now, the puppies are really a part of me forever.

Fess up my friends!

The Run I Needed

There are those runs that are hard, and you just have to plow your way through them.  When every step feels heavy, and the seconds tick by slowly, and you just want to quit. 

Via Pinterest

WELL I AM NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT RUN TODAY! Last night, it happened. That magical run when everything happens perfectly, that run that gives you the push you need to get through all the bad runs. The running experience that makes you grin ear to ear while you are out on the road like an idiot. A run that is so hard, but feels so good.  That run that reminds you of why you run.

This year, running has been painful in so many ways. From my foot problems, to IT band issues, to running in 100+ degree weather, its been my least favorite year for running. As a result, I have not signed up for any races, I haven't push myself, and my entire year as felt uninspired. P has even noticed it. He said "I feel like you are running just to mark it off your check list." Its true, that exactly what I have been doing. 

But, last night, was amazing. I set out for the run, and I had some pretty low expectations. I had a tempo run on schedule, and I my expectations were low. Right before I set out for my run, I realized I left my Garmin at the office. So I would have to run by feel, and not by the numbers. I felt comfortable, and the first 20 minute warm up flew by really quickly. Once I got to the middle stage of my run, the tempo phase, I started to push a bit harder. I have no idea what my pace was, but it felt fast. I needed to cover 20 minutes as that speed, so I made up my mind to embrace the pain, and went with it. I checked my watch a few times, and it seems as if the minutes were flying by. I felt like I was flying. The last two minutes of the tempo phase came up, and I decided that I felt so good that I was going to keep pushing, and really open up my stride. I was running hard, I was running fast, and I feel like the last 2 minutes I was probably hitting low 7:00's. 

Once my run was finished, I was actually bummed. I wanted to keep running, to keep pushing, to savor every step, because for me, runs like that are few and far between. As soon as I finished, I stood outside, and the endorphins came a flooding into my brain. I bounced in the house, and was a chatter box, and I kept walking around the house like an idiot. I think when I finally went to bed, I had a huge smile on my face because of this one magical run. 

How's your running? Any races on the calendar? How do you power through the slumps? What keeps you motivated?

Is Civic Duty a thing of the past?

Today was election day. When I woke up this morning, in my ear, I swear I heard my mother asking "Did you vote? I hope you voted, its important to vote."

Yes mother, I voted today. Normally, voting is a really emotional experience for me. I walk to the poll with tears in my eyes. I have tears of gratitude that I get to cast my vote, and make my voice heard, no matter how small, I still get to have my say.

Today, there were no tears, but there was sadness. I was so saddened that I pulled up to my polling place, and found a spot in the front row. As I walked to the entrance, I saw the signs posted to keep solicitors away. I stopped, glanced around and chucked bitterly to myself. Those signs were not needed. There was no one there to yell at me, or trying to influence my vote. No one was attempting to keep me from the polls. In fact, there was no one there at all.

As I walked into the polling office, I signed the voter roll, picked up my ballot, and filled in the blanks.  I went to the machine and as I scanned my ballot, the counter ticked up to number 44. Only 43 others took the time to vote today in my district. This evening, 6 hours later, P went to vote, and his vote was number 89. How very sad. In someways, it felt so very unAmerican, and in others, it felt very American. I fear that we have turned into a country of ungovernables. No matter who is in office, we gripe. Our guy, their guy, it does not seem to matter any more because most of us are not concerned enough to do anything about the situation. I fear that we have become too complacent to care.

I fear that we have forgotten the value of the vote, and the sacrifice it took to earn it. As a woman, it is an honor to vote, because so many of my sisters before me were kept from the polls because of their sex. They were kept from the polls because they were perceived to be to weak and too uneducated. Besides, why would they need to vote when their husband could do it for them. I think of Elizabeth Cady Stanton or Sarah Grimke. Women who fought and dreamed, and hoped that their daughters would have the chance to vote.

I wish that my experience at the polls today was different. I wish that I needed to circle the parking lot to find a spot. I wish that there were people with posters and signs, chanting, yelling, and beckoning me to come and listen for a moment. I wish the line of voters was out the door. I wish I had to wait to vote. I wish the poll workers were swamped with work to do. I wish there were more people out there who cared.

All over the world, right now, there are men and women fighting for freedom.  They are waking up this morning, and gearing up for another day of political activism. They are sacrificing their time, their money, their resources to fight another day. They fight to have a chance to have their voice heard. They put their children to bed each night and as they look at them, their strength is renewed, because they see who they are fighting for. To make tomorrow better than it is today.

I think about men and women the world over who live under dictators or monarchs who make their rules and decide the course of action for their people. I think of countries where elections are rigged, and the outcome is predetermined.

Right now, I am grateful. I am grateful that I used my voice, that I cast my ballot, and that I exercised my fundamental right as an American. This week, I aim to do an act of service for my fellow Americans every day. I vow to honor someone, to serve someone, and to give to someone. 

Happy Election day my dear friends.

Friday Confessions

Hello, Howdy, Hola to you my amigas and amigos. Are there any amigos that read this?

Here are my weekly confessions:

1.I ate more candy than I gave away on Halloween. Ugh. No wonder I feel like crap today? I need some veggies and nutrients in a bad way. 

2.I had road rage in a parking lot, and yelled at someone. My windows were down, and they heard me. It was Sunday afternoon and I went to fill up with gas, and this guy sat in the middle of the driveway, and no one could get around him. I watched him talk and pet his dogs. I waited for a while, then honked, and he would not move. Finally, I started getting my crazy on and yelled and threw my hands in the air. I managed to edge by him, but he heard everything I said. 

3. I have been LAZY this week. So many days I have come home and laid on the couch and done nothing.

4. I picked a fight with P about cleaning up the kitchen. Rather than politely ask about cleaning the kitchen, I cocked an attitude with him and made it into a bigger situation than it should have been. 

Thats it. Fess up my friends!