Category Archives: forgivness

living in the moment.

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Life of a student

wanna be running. sleeping. anything. Doing algebra. (bag of frozen stir-fry with rice. a 15 min meal while writing blog

Here’s another whiny post about my summer classes. I pushed all my horrible classes (like algebra and biology) until the veeeeery end of my college career so when I failed miserably struggled with the classes, I wouldn’t lose my scholarships due to a declining GPA.

Now it’s nearing the end of my college career (YAAAAAY!!!) but I still have to do the dreaded courses (BOOOOO!!!). I know. that was really mature.

 

I haven’t cried for hours over them yet this week, so we’re in great form (but it’s only Tuesday).

BUT I’ve decided to create lists of things that I’m thankful for each day in order to try and stay positive… since being grateful is a much healthier way to live.

76. Finished week one of math (out of eight), did terrible. Will never have to take this class again!

77. Good morning rain. Always feel so calm when I hear it raining <3

78. Free coffee last night at starbucks (grande 1/2 sweet, extra hot, no whip, white mocha). I love my barista!

I’m reading through the book “One Thousand Gifts” by Anne Voskamp with a couple girls, and she talks about being able to life fully, no matter where you are. So I’m taking the challenge and going to try recording 1000 gifts over the course of the next six months. I’m hoping it will make me into more of a grateful person, if I’m constantly looking for 5-6 things per day to add to my list! I’ve really enjoyed the book, and would highly suggest it to my readers. She even lets us read the first chapter free over at her website… if you’re interested :)

Let me know what you think!

What are you guys grateful for? Even when life is rough/not ideal, I can always find a few things I can be thankful for :)

Eating Healthier

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As a runner, it’s so easy to think “It’s OK, I’m going to run today” and proceed to eat whatever I want. Which is pretty often ice cream, chocolate, brownies… and then I make myself sick. And is not definitely not healthy.

Another Mother Runner

OR it’s the OTHER extreme, and I eat tons when I really don’t need to be eating all that. One of my new years resolutions was to eat more veggies (which is hard to do with such a busy schedule), and I’ve been able to incorporate them into my daily routine, but I want to set higher goals than that (no, I’m not starting the Paleo diet… yet).

Cutting out white flour and sugar is about as lofty of the goals that I’ll setting this summer, while trying to run in the summer heat!
I’m in Virginia, and SERIOUSLY this humility is worse than usual (since  I’d really know what usual is since this is my second May here!).

There are a few really important things to include in your diet is you are a woman running. The first and foremost thing you should be worrying about is your iron levels (this is the one I struggle with the most). This is vital in transporting oxygen through your bloodstream, as well as providing a key building block of muscle tissue. One thing I found interesting is that caffeinated products will counteract with your iron intake… so wait a couple hours after eating or taking your iron supplement.

The next important dietary need is calcium, (you know, all that stress on your bones in running). If you don’t drink milk, purchase calcium added products (soy dream, rice milk, orange juice).

Can’t believe I’m saying this, but the third most important thing to include is FAT, from nuts, olive oil, seeds, and avocado but stay away from saturated fats (which mainly come from animal products. ewww).

Notice the lack of white flour and sugar in this list? Yup. Need to cut those out!

Awesome list of foods adapted from Running For Fitness

Like Minded Friends

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 ”Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great. When you are seeking to bring big plans to fruition, it is important with whom you regularly associate. Hang out with friends who are like-minded and who are also designing purpose-filled lives. Similarly, be that kind of a friend for your friends.”

- Mark Twain, was an American humorist, satirist, lecturer and writer; most noted for his novels Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.

The world is full of people that tear you down, but one thing that I’ve learned in the past year is to invest in the relationships that build me up. Sometimes I feel guilty because this means that I’m not taking the time for people that I feel like I should be investing into, but then I remember the way they’ve torn me down and tried to “ belittle [my] ambitions”.

And this makes me sad. I want to share the joys of my present life with those who’ve shared my life with my in the past,  but that’s just not possible. I want to share my successes and growth, but that’s simply not in the cards right now.

And I’m sure I’m not the only one. It’s time to cleanse our lives from negative people. These are the only things I’m allowing in my life:

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things” (Phil 4:8 New International Version).

So today I choose to focus on the truth of who I am. Someone who is strong and determined. Someone who is choosing positive people in my life, and surrounding myself with purity, things that are lovely, and excellence.

I do this because I want to be strong, healthy and happy.

Thinspiration

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For all those avid pinterest-ers and bloggers out there, thinspiration is a huge internet trend. As someone who struggled with an extremely unhealthy view of food and exercise, this is maddening. For all those who have no clue what I’m talking about, it’s basically surfing through pictures of women who are starving themselves or working out until their bodies are literally skin and bones. These women are emaciated with visibly protruding bones. If you can’t count the ribs and see the hip bones protruding, they aren’t ‘thin’ enough. This alarming trend promotes looking at thin celebrities through visual in order to be inspired to continue to lose weight.  
“These sites are very, very dangerous,” said Lynn S. Grefe, MA, president and chief executive officer of the National Eating Disorders Association. “Eating disorders are biologically based psychiatric illnesses, and these sites promote being sick and staying sick … bottom line, they delay treatment.”

Girls, these women are killing themselves. They are not beautiful; they are haunted by self-hatred… because they are unable to accept themselves for who they are.
This blog isn’t to inspire people to be ‘thin’, but to be healthy. If your healthy weight is 150lbs, then be comfortable with that. Don’t worry about losing weight, be concerned about eating balanced meals. Don’t throw your energy into counting calories, throw your energy into a 30 minute walk or run. Love your body, and take care of it. And please, friends, don’t look to pictures of emaciated women to motive you to work out. Loving ourselves should be enough to inspire us to take care of our bodies.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”

It’s still a Mile

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Basically, I run slow. Tyler (my super athlete husband) can run circles around me, despite how much more I run than him. And for awhile it really bothered me. I would put myself down in hopes that someone would tell me the phrase I so depserately wanted to hear “it doesn’t matter”, “at least you’re running and we’re proud of you”.
But what if I didn’t run to be the best, but ran to do my best?
The problem is, I’m an extremely competitive person and I want to be the first one to finish the line… But I need to be happy with competing against myself. And be proud of crossing the finish line.

I’m learning to run farther, maybe not faster. I’m learning to become comfortable with my pace, and love myself despite how slow I am. If my prime running speed is a 10 min mile, I’m going to love that 10 minute mile. Every minute of it. And when someone brags talks about their 7 min mile, I’m going to congratulate them… not compare myself. I’m proud of my milage… I’M PROUD OF ME.

So seriously people, I’m learning to love the sport, embrace how I feel at mile four (wanna give up, wanna give up, wanna give up) and PUSH through it. I might never win a marathon (or run a marathon) but I’m going to love every mile that I do run, because I’m doing this for ME. My body, my health, and freedom. I refuse to compare myself and become injured as a result.

BE PROUD OF YOURSELF… you owe yourself that much!

PS. my hubs is super proud of me and hugs my super gross body after just about every run and tells me how amazing I am. I’m so grateful for him :)

Goodbye, Hello

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Ok, so you remember all those great new years resolutions you made back in… January? How are those coming along? I mean, it’s been about 35 days since we carefully carved out all the goals for the new year, some were naturally extremely unrealistic (like getting all A’s), but others were easy (like laugh everyday). Just in case my new years goals weren’t enough pressure, I also set month goals, like eat veggies every day (check) and buy new running shoes (check). Maintianing this blog every week was another January goal (check), but I failed in running 9 miles this month. My excuse is that I purchased new running shoes and needed to break them in! I think I’m good to go because I did almost 5 on Saturday and don’t have any blisters.
I need to catch up and run my goal of 11 miles this month in order to prepare for the Shamrock 1/2 marathon in 6 very short weeks…

In short, my goals are to say good bye to the unhealthy eating, and hello to the trails this month! Wish me luck!  

I sincerely hope I’m offering just a small glimpse of encoragement to those who have extremely busy lives and are struggling with maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Sometimes things need to be removed from our lives in order to make room for our workouts, and other times we just need to get up earlier, workout instead of watching a TV show, take a walk on our lunch break, or park further from our jobs in order to get some much needed exercise in.

You can do it!

Happy Monday!

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I recently found this mantra on facebook, and fell in love with it. I’m often accused of overdressing. I LOVE pink… clothes, nail polish, shoes, scarves, shirts, and note books.

Obviously laughing is much more fun than running, and it burns a heck of a lot of calories!

Kissing makes me the happiest girl in the world, and I beleive it’s the best medicine for our marriage :)

A pretty girl turns BEAUTIFUL when she laughes, so I’m going to try laugh at everything… jokes, myself…

And this isn’t on the list, but I believe you can get whatever you want with a heck-of-a-lot of work, and I’m not afraid to step up to the plate and go get it! I’m determined to be strong when everything seems to be going wrong, and see the good in it. God’s in control and he won’t let anything happen to us outside of his plan.

Hope this makes you smile like it did to me, and make your day a little better!

Do I Like Myself?

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As I’m writing this, I’m incredibly bored at work. I work in an Admissions office requesting transcripts and there are days when I can hardly cope with the boredom of my job. I love my co-workers, (most of them hahahah) love drinking coffee at my very decorated desk,

managing the 3 GA’s that come in and work with me, all the detailed stuff I have to handle as part of my job… but today, I’m just bored. I can’t even pretend to make up work, because I’ve already done that all week. It’s tuesday, 3:30 pm, and I’m ansty to get off for the night!

I’ve already got my run in for today (3m at 7am) and only that late because it was dark until then. Tonight is biggest loser night, and I know we’ll both be glued to the TV watching the coaches kick the contestants butts! It’s so inspiring to watch people who couldn’t walk up a flight of stairs train for a marathan and sometimes losing up to 100 lbs in the process… it makes me realize that I CAN DO THAT TOO! I’m not allowed to think I can’t train for a half marathon, because if THEY CAN, I CAN! It’s going to take the same amount of dedication and work, and even more discipline because I don’t have a team cheering me on, a coach kicking my butt, and the nation watching… but I know I can do it. What do you find motivating? What inspires you to reach your goals?

I love Lulu’s little quote that I found… and I realized that I based on my outlook on life, I should probably like myself a little more. Actually, I always think I need to do better, perform better (in running and everything else) and the people around me are proud of me for who I am… not what I do. I need to let things roll off my shoulder a little more and let other people take the slack for things I can’t do or control.

So. I decided to make a list of things I like about myself:

1. I love to laugh. A lot. And tickle and cuddle and make jokes and make other people laugh.

2. I like to work hard, whether it’s at work, on my school, cleaning my house… baking… I throw all my energy into whatever I do, and get ‘er done quick!

3. Generally a very optamistic person… I tend to see the good in situations and inspire others to have a better outlook on life.

4. I think I’m an inspiring person. I love seeing the good in people and helping them go further and do more with the gifts I see in them. I love to encourage people when they are down.

What are some things that you love about yourself? What are things that inspire you?