Ups and Downs on a Wednesday Night

I just got back from a roller coaster of a night. It started with a great road run in the hills by my parents house. I've been on a treadmill for so long that I forgot how awesome and difficult road runs can be. I didn't have music, which was okay. I had changed plans at the last minute and ditched my class at the gym for the run. The ups were really hard--I was sucking air and my legs were burning, but the downs were such a rewarding recovery.

After changing, I let my girls keep playing with grandma (she was so fun) and I left for my religion class. Peter Breinholt taught us tonight. The topic was putting off the natural man. I loved it! It was amazing how it fit into exactly what I have been studying about gaining more light and knowledge as we Come Unto Christ. We also discussed the differences between information, knowledge and wisdom. We can receive everything that Our Father offers us through the Atonement of Jesus Christ and receive it through the Holy Ghost as we put off the natural man and exercise faith, hope and charity. It was such a spiritual high that ended with Peter singing us a song that he had written for his son when his son was 4 years old. I really don't remember all of the great lyrics, but I remember how I felt as I sat in the chapel and soaked in the meaning and feeling of the song. What I gained from the song to the 4 year old was that I love my girls so much. A great part of being a single mom is that I can snuggle them, read to them, pray with them and then watch them drift off to sleep without any thing else to do for the evening. I've recognized this as such a blessing--I can just soak it all in and have nothing else on my list of things to do. The house is silent and there are no other duties and no one else that needs any attention. Bedtime is not a rush. Peter's song talked to the 4 year old about how quickly he will grow and leave the nest to fly. There will be great things to see and feelings to feel while soaring, but for now, the child is ours. My girls are safely in the nest for me to fall in love with over and over again. This was such a sweet experience for me tonight.

Contrast this to 35 minutes later as I'm driving toward home with my girls in the car, one of them screaming psychotically at the top of her lungs because she had fallen asleep at grandma's house and was disgusted that I dare take her back to our BORING house. Suddenly, I was ready to rush through bedtime and get as far away from this angry little bird as I could.

The Ups and Downs of being a single mom on a Wednesday night. Lovely.

Running with Celebrities

I got a pocket, a pocket full of sunshine--take me away. A SWEET ESCAPE! So, I've been running with the Black Eyed Peas. It pretty much rocks. My feet have been getting Stronger with Kayne West and his motivational speeches remind me that "that which does not kill me only makes me stronger". Fergie reminds me constantly that Big Girls Don't Cry even when it hurts. It's personal and I've got to get a move on with my life.

There's one runner who keeps talking about a black horse and a cherry tree, but I have no idea who she is. She gets me running fast but then ditches me telling me that I'm not the running mate for her. She's weird.

One of my favorite friends is Daniel from Canada. He can turn any bad day into an awesome run. He reminds me in the mornings, that if I can run 3 miles before breakfast, then I can basically do anything else the day has to throw at me. John Marz and Taylor Swift miss me during my runs--they are good company during warm-ups or steep hills though. The Lifehouse boys can't keep up with us, but they're always there watching and waiting to stretch with me after my run. You and Me and all of the people with nothing to do, nothing to prove but --- wait, we've got lots to do and lots to prove so let's go running!!

I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT I USED TO RUN WITHOUT MUSIC!! What on earth was I thinking??

Happy 2011!!

Resolutions

Well, obviously my main one is to continue to lose weight. I lost 2 pounds on my cruise and then gained 2 in the 2 weeks that followed. This past week I work really hard at eating tons of veggies and exercising enough. I lost 4 pounds and 3 inches on my waist. Hopefully, this awesome start to 2011 will keep me going. I am falling in love with the treadmill again. At this time last year I was running 3 miles 3 or 4 times each week. My goal is to increase my weekly mileage so that I'm getting a few 6 milers in each week. My treadmill will arrive here in a week and a couple of days. The gym's cardio machines are riduculously occupied during the month of January, so it will be nice to run at home in the early mornings before the cherubs wake up.

Here are some other resolutions:

1- Hold more meaningful Family Home Evenings (spiritual meetings held on Monday evenings within the home)

2- Keep the house "company ready" -- this is so much easier now that school is back in--we aren't around to make messes.

3- Go on a date. (This sounds easy, but it actually terrifies me) During the month of November, I was asked out on dates by 3 different really decent men. I truly do want to get to know them eventually, but I told them I wouldn't be ready until January. Now it is January and I really have no desire to date. This resolution is one that may take a few months to even discuss again.

4- Go out at least once every other week. This will be going to a singles activity or a girls' night out. I realize that now that I am working fulltime again, it is easy to go into hiding and I know that's not healthy. I was "in hiding" while living in Malaysia. I worked and then spent every other second of my life with my girls. At first it seems really responsible, but eventually, you get so lonely that it hurts. I'm at the "ready to hide" again stage. I recognize this and want to prevent it from happening. I'm really thankful for the group fitness classes that I attend. I always look forward to those and my girls really love the hour at the gym child center, while I have my classes.

Exercise

Yesterday, I did a long run. My legs were burning and even after the run the pain was increasing. Usually, the pain goes away about an hour after the run and then muscle soreness wakes me up the next morning--but yesterday I got no relief. I actually had to take a painkiller to get to sleep. For those of you who know me well, I avoid painkillers unless I really can't deal with the pain over a period of time. Anyway, today I dreaded going to RPM (indoor biking class with awesome music and an instructor bossing us around telling us we are going up imaginary hills and we have to increase our tension or telling us we are in a race and we have to pedal faster). I forced my sore legs (actually sore body) to the class anyway and I am SO GLAD that I did. The class was hard, the instructor was pushy and I really pushed it more than normal. It felt awesome!!

My muscles needed that intense biking workout in order to release all the lactic acid from yesterday's brutal run.

Now I probably should be stretching and drinking water. The guy next to me informed me that I was dehydrated. He told me that my face was too red and I didn't have a large enough puddle of sweat under my bike. Good to know--thank-you to my new biking stranger friend.