There's nothing like running nearly 5 miles with an Egg McMuffin at the half-way mark on a gorgeous morning. :) I am bored easily and therefore am trying to find ways to make my runs more interesting. You would think I run 20 miles to have a chance to get bored, but nope--I get bored after about two or three. I am, of course, a new runner and hope to gradually increase mileage. Right now, 3.5 is as long as I go without walking, but know, even then, I could run another mile or more if I didn't talk myself out of it. Until then, I am having fun mapping out routes that end at yummy destinations. Yesterday, it was a 3.3 mile route ending at Tropical Smoothie. Because I have to walk home then, I am still able to burn calories-- food in hand! Tomorrow, I am thinking a Subway breakfast sandwich is a good idea. I LOVE food, and if it motivates me to run farther, then awesome!

Four more days until Phoebe comes home!!! I can't wait! She was supposed to come up by car with her grandmother yesterday, but plans changed. She is now flying up on Wednesday with her friend and a friend of Olivia's. Their friends will be visiting for a week. We have many fun things planned such as seeing Harry Potter 7 in IMAX, glow-in-the-dark mini-golf, and Hershey Park. I am sure shopping will be on their agenda as well. But that they will have to do that on their own because I'd rather get a filling than shop at the mall. Now that I can no longer shop at Gymboree for my "little girls", shopping has completely lost its appeal.

Today, Olivia and I plan on continuing our organizing frenzy begun yesterday. She turned their bedroom and closet upside down making it look absolutely amazing! I organized my desk and the school supplies as I plan on ordering this years school books in the next week or so.

Well, I'm off to do chores! :) Happy Saturday all.

Can I just start by saying that I NEVER want summer to end? I just love this season, and seeing school supplies in Walmart the other day reminded me that another school year will indeed arrive despite my objections.

Olivia and I have been having a fun week trying to stay busy while Phoebe is visiting friends and family in North Carolina. We lived near Wilmington, NC for ten years, and my girls will always consider it "home". But Olivia and I miss Phoebe so much! She flew down on Wednesday and will be traveling back Friday the 15th by car with my mother-in-law. She will be bringing one of her best friends, Heather, with her to visit with us for a week. They have been friends since the first grade, and I am thrilled that she is able to spend time with her even if it's lonely here without her.

Tonight Olivia and I are going to Barnes and Noble. It's been a favorite "hang out" spot for us for over ten years. We used to do our homeschool lessons at the Barnes and Noble in North Carolina, and I spent many hours studying for my college exams there. Thank God for Frappucinos and stuffed pretzels!!

Oh, I almost forgot to mention--- my ankle is BETTER!!!! I am so incredibly thankful and happy :) I was able to run over 3 miles for the last three days without a problem, so I am ready to add some mileage and see how it goes. I may even go for a second run this evening. I like running twice a day. (Mostly because I can eat more!) I've had ice cream three times this week! So far, Lapp Valley Farm Peanut Butter Ripple is my favorite!

I haven't posted in awhile (obviously). I don't like to "talk" when I am irritated and for approximately the last two weeks, I have been a little bit perturbed. Why? Well, as it turns out, I have really started to like running. It's quite miraculous because a month ago I still despised it, but did it because it was the fastest, easiest, and cheapest way to burn calories. I progressed at a snails pace, but gradually increased speed and distance. Then one day, about a month ago, I said to myself, "that was sort of fun." I'm not sure if that's exactly how it went, but I have started to really like running: there is something about not needing anything but a pair of sneakers-- and truly you don't even need them. I am all for minimalism.

So, now back to why I was irritated: INJURY! I am still not sure if I hurt my Achilles or peroneal tendon (or maybe it was neither), but what I do know is I could barely walk let alone run. Talk about frustrating! I believe it had something to do with running on sand over vacation. I had just cancelled my YMCA membership, but thankfully it is paid through mid-July so I have been able to use the recumbent bike and run in the pool while waiting for my ankle to heal. Well, last night, I was able to fast walk three miles with little pain. I am so thankful, because, honestly, I was beginning to worry that I'll never run again. I know that sounds crazy, but I can't remember ever being injured before and I was so disappointed that I just started worrying when I should have had more faith. I knew my mom, daughters, and Crystal were praying for me, and for that I am VERY thankful.

Tonight I will be heading out to walk again. My goal is to run a short distance Monday and see how my ankle responds. I'm hoping for the best!

Wow! What a nice, relaxing vacation. :) The first day I woke up at my normal 4am start time, but by the second morning, I had the sleeping-in thing figured out, and managed to remain in bed until nearly 8am! Pretty impressive I'd say. My parents were the only other ones up at this time, but they are seniors now, and I guess that's what seniors do-- get up at the crack of dawn, read the paper, and go out for breakfast.

I started each day with a small run: part road, part beach. Yes, I know I was on vacation, but I still wanted to keep up the miraculous momentum I've had these months since my first 5k in April. I imagined it would be majestic running on the beach-- like in a movie or on a cool, inspiring poster you see in the dentist's office, but it was actually pretty difficult. Walking was nice, but running on the sand (yes, I ran on the wet sand) was killer. But what was super cool was when my feet landed back on the road after being in the sand; I felt so light and fast. It was really neat. Not neat enough to do it again though. The next morning, I stuck to the road and took a slow walk on the beach with my girls later that day.

We cruised up and down the boardwalks of Ocean City, MD and Rehobeth. (I preferred the latter.) I enjoyed the quaint shops of Rehobeth and a little smoothie bar named the "Greenman". I spent very little money (yay), but did buy some running apparel at the outlets for dirt cheap-- pretty pumped about my pink Under Armor Shirt :)

It was too short a vacation, but I am very thankful I was blessed to have it. My parents picked a beautiful home overlooking the bay, my girls got to spend time with their cousins, and I got to be with my sister.

Countdown to vacation

I am up at 4am, 365 days a year, to do a paper route. I've thought of quitting a million and one times, but can't stand the thought of giving up the money. It started as my daughters route and when afternoon routes were cut two years ago, we accepted a morning route. It proved to be too early for my teen, but I ended up keeping it for myself after getting used to the cash. :) Most of it goes to extras and savings, and I can do my route and be back home before the girls even know I was gone. It works out very well with homeschooling and I have a great sub for when I want to take off. I have not taken a day in eight months, so I am very much looking forward to our mini-vacation to the beach this Thursday through Sunday. "Sleeping in" will be wonderful, although my idea of "sleeping in" probably won't be later than 7am. I'm even more excited about staying up past 9pm. I wonder what goes on in the world that late at night? I'll find out in five days!

It's been a good week-- although I had to look at my calendar to see what I did over the past few days :). I am continuing to tackle the garage, and it is looking wonderful-- that is compared to what our garage has looked like over the first 17 years of our marriage. I consider my husband a "pack rat", but he is learning to give things up. Although he still has his Nintendo from the early 1990's. I, however, do not like clutter, and think hard about what is important to keep. If it were up to me, I would move into a 500 square foot tiny house when our girls are married and on their own. I don't like to take up a lot of space and I think I would enjoy the freedom a small place and minimalist lifestyle would afford me. My hubby does not agree, but I shall keep working on him over the next 5-10 years. I certainly don't wish my daughters out and get "empty nest" just thinking about it. But I do enjoy looking at tiny-house plans from time to time.

Happy Memorial Day! What a beautiful weekend we had here. Our holiday was very relaxing-- no big cookout or party to attend. Saturday was typical with me wrapping nearly 300 newspapers in preparation for delivery of the Sunday paper and Olivia has her cello lessons on Saturdays while Phoebe works until 3.

Hubby and I also gave our garage a make-over. We had a box spring, love seat, chair, dresser, side table, bike, metal bed frame and a lamp that we needed to get out of there. I couldn't even concentrate on organizing until they were gone. Now had I prepared, I may have gotten a little money for a few of those items, but I was not going to be patient. So I checked the price of junk removal and almost passed out at the estimate. Yeah right! I immediately advertised a few of the items on Craig's list for "free" and within minutes, I had emails and every item advertised was picked up with in hours! A few items, such as the 30 year old dresser, were not worth advertising. So, my husband had a fun time busting it up with his foot. It was more difficult than he thought--it was solid maple. But he enjoyed doing it. We then took the destroyed dresser and a few other items to our neighborhood dumpster and finished organizing the garage. It feels amazing to have that mostly finished. I just have about 10 boxes of books to go through yet-- most of which I intend to donate to the library-- we are huge fans of the public library and there nearly every week or two. They have the room and the book shelves; I do not.

Sunday I went to church alone. It wasn't supposed to be that way, but Phoebe spent the night at a friends, and my hubby overslept. I had to be there an hour early because I am a greeter and because it was so nice out, I decided to ride my bike (which is in rather bad shape). I didn't have time to check over the bike too much, but quickly inflated the tires and took off. Half way along the mere two-mile ride, I noticed the tires had gone flat making it rather difficult to move along and the gears kept slipping. With my pants rolled up to knee, I spent most the trip peddling in the standing position to keep the bike moving and felt super ridiculous! I pictured myself sweaty and red-faced with bugs in my hair by the time I reached church. :) I think I will get my bike serviced before I attempt that again.

We had a wonderful lunch after service at my parents house and later enjoyed some Maggie Moo's ice cream and mini-golfing.