Ready to Run

Well in the two and a half years I've been sitting at a desk job I've finally managed to gain back the almost 20 pounds I'd lost in my manual labor job at the barn. I knew eventually all the sitting, plus cookie eating would catch up with me. It's also made my back start to hurt. I find it amazing that shoveling, lifting and carrying four about four or five hours a day for two years never once made my back hurt, but two years of imobility has. Any way I digress.

Oppourtunity and motivation has come. My church is sponsoring a 5K to raise money for our sister church in Kibali, Rwanda Africa. They are looking to raise money for a number of things, including livestock for families, school fees for the children and funds to continue building a desperatly needed health clinic for the community.

On Saturday I spent a lovely day with my mom. She took me shoping. (I love that I'm thirty and mom my still takes me shoping.) We bought a pair of running shoes so I can do this right and not hurt myself. Thanks mom.

Yesterday I took my first run in them. It was actually fun. I'm trying to follow a training schedule and so far so good. I have exactly the amount of time they say is nessesary to train before the race. Really they suggest six weeks, I have five at this point. I had already started walking and I would do a couple intervals of running with no problem, so I think I'm ok to start into the second week of training intervals.

If anyone is interested cause you,

a) love me

b) love Rwanda or

c) aren't running or walking yourself,

I'd love sponsors. Here is a link to the site for more information on the race and sponsorship. http://www.runforrwanda.org/

Americano-ization

So I pull up to the Starbucks drive-through the other day and order a grande Americano. If you don't know, an Americano is a few shots of espresso topped off with hot water.

Then the gal asks me, "would you like an extra energy boost in that?"

I didn't quite understand or believe what I just heard. "Do I want what?" I ask.

"An extra energy boost?"

My face screws up, I start laughing, "an extra energy boost?" my brain catches up with the insanity and I think to myself, you don't think the three shots of espresso will be enough boost? It's caffeine, what could be more boosting than caffeine? If I wanted more boost I'd have you add an extra shot. I refrain I pull it all back, smile and say, "No thanks."

I drive away. Only in America does it have to be more sugar in your sugar, more stimulant in your stimulant, bigger, better, energiz-er. Oi, isn't it enough to just be addicted to the caffeine part of the coffee? Maybe next time I'll ask them about what exactly this is. Probably a concoction of ginseng and vitamins or something healthy sounding, but sure to get my heart racing.

The new room

I don't know if you'll be bored with it, but I find it endlessly fascinating what the change in my bedroom has done to me.

Point one - Clothes are no longer collecting on the chair they are hung up or put in the hamper right away. I had no idea this would be a byproduct of rearranging the furniture in the room. My theory is that the chair is now blocked by the bed. Either I hang the clothes back up or walk all the way around the bed to the chair (that's silly). I can't put the clothes on the bed because I'm going to sleep in it. Amazing! This is a life long battle and the chair has really served as more of a hanger as long as it's been in my room. I actually sit in the chair now!

Point two - The bed gets made every day. I think there are two reasons for this. First, I bought a beautiful pillow to display on the bed. It makes me happy to see all the pillows stacked neatly with it in front. Second, the bed is no longer along the wall, but in the center of the room, so it's not like arm wrestling to get the bed spread nice and smooth. I just flip the covers up and it's done. How exciting!

Point three - I want to lay in bed and read in the evening. There are two reasons for this. First the lamp is now next to the bed so when I get sleepy as I'm reading I don't have to get up out of bed to turn off the light. I'm sure you all know how annoying that can be. The second reason is that I now have a night stand of sorts, it's a filing cabinet, next to the bed to set my book, glasses and phone on (which is my alarm). I don't have to set it all on the floor and wonder if I'll step on it as I get out of bed in the morning. The only thing that would make this situation more perfect is if it were an actual night stand and the lamp was on it. Well . . . something to look forward to ; )

I wonder what other changes this new arrangement will lead to?

Old Job, New Bedroom

So I didn't get the job I applied for. I found out Thursday after work. They were gracious about it and even apologetic for having drug me through the process and then hiring internally in the end.

After crying for a while, mostly over the miserable thought of going back to work the next day with no hope in site for an exit, I felt ok. I started to move forward again.

I've just been in a waiting mode ever since I applied and I've been putting some things off I've wanted to do. On Friday when I came home from work I had so much energy I reorganized all the furniture in my room. I've been dreaming for years of having a room that was just a bedroom, not my office or computer room or TV room, but just a bedroom, a peaceful place where I can relax. I packed up all the things I thought I couldn't live with out, but can. It was really amazing because for the first time in five or six years everything has a place. There was no random object left that I didn't know what to do with. I even went through the pile (you know the pile) that keeps shifting around for months because you don't know what to do with it. There isn't a piece of paper left laying around haunting me.

The walls had remained undecorated because they are plaster and require predrilling holes in order to hammer a nail into it. I got over the obstacle asked the neighbor if I could borrow their drill and hung pictures, curtain rods and a decorative sconce. I'm giddy, I love my new room. I even allowed myself to purchase a few throw pillows and some sheers.

So even though I'm still here in the old job I've got a new bedroom that makes me happy every time I walk into it.

Seeing?

I tried to see if there was something intresting or inspiring or thought provoking that I could write about today and post. I couldn't find it.

I got home and thought maybe I would put something up that someone else wrote that I find interesting or inspiring or thought provoking, so I went to my little quote book. Here is what I found.

"Poets are at the mercy of what they see."
-Kathleen Norris.

Yep. Still as true as the day I wrote it down.

401Ks or 403b in my case

I feel so responsible. Today I signed up for a retirement account. It was painless and I'll only miss a small amount from each pay check.

Somehow this makes me feel like I'm finally an adult. Just think if I'd done this years ago, I could have been feeling like an adult for sometime now. Oh well, I've always been a late bloomer ; )