Couch to 5K

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A few weeks ago, I finished a couch to 5K program. This may not sounds like much of a life event, but I'm pretty excited about it. 

I've been a "walker" my whole life and have a relatively healthy and active lifestyle. I've always wanted to run, but have never been able to. I'd start running, last 3 blocks, and be painfully winded. I could walk for hours on end and be fine, but two minutes of running was out of the question.

Enter the Couch to 5K Running Plan. I figured this plan could give me a leg up- heck, I'm not even starting from couch potato position.

There were weeks that were easy, and weeks that were very hard. I had to repeat the fourth week 3 times- for whatever reason, I couldn't push through and finish the last running chunk. But I did eventually!

I'm proud of myself for sticking with something that was hard, and often not fun. But it feels SO good to have accomplished a goal I've always wanted, but never thought I could. Now I can easily run for a half and hour- CRAZY!

I'm not one of those nuts who thinks that running is incredibly fun and addicting. There are moments of a run that feel fun (like when it's windy and I'm running downhill listening to Baba Yetu and I feel like a fully competent Ethiopian marathon runner, gallivanting across the African dessert.). Don't make fun.

I learned a few things that have helped me run:

• Tell people. They'll hold you accountable to keep going.
• Circular breathing (in through your nose, out through your mouth). This was game changing.
• It's okay to slow your pace. My goal was for time, not distance. I'm still working my way up to the distance of a 5K (the program works both ways, you can use it for time or for distance- I chose time). I know I'll get there soon!
• Upbeat music. I needed it the first few weeks to keep me going and to keep my pace. Here's my (embarrassing) list of songs that I found helpful while running:
• "That Girl" (Frankie J) Frank Frank Frank Frank Frank Fresssshhhh. Not super edifying, but the perfect running beat.
• "I Need Love" (NSYNC). Yes.... a boy band. :)
• Fireflies (Owl City)
• Your Great Name (Natalie Grant) 
• Breathe (Michelle Branch)
• Baba Yetu (Christopher Tin)
• Marry You (Bruno Mars)
• Testify to Love (Avalon) This one I'm a little embarrassed about. Avalon was very candy pop and 8th grade, but it ended up being a great running song and the lyrics are good. And true. :)
• Curbside Prophet (Jason Mraz)

So there it is. I finished the program, and am still going strong. It took me longer than 9 weeks due to multiple April blizzards (like, snow day April blizzards) and not always doing the 3 workouts per week. 

And I did. And so can you!

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We MUST press on to know this Christ!

I'm a senior high small group leader at church this year, and last night we watched a short video of John Piper talking on the Supremacy of Christ. It was so powerful and so moving, I had to share it with you. I think this is a snippet of a conference he gave recently. Listening to this brings me to tears.

Here's the audio. We had a different video with visual last night, but I can't find it. My favorite part is around 10:00.

One young lady in my group had such a moving though: "God is so BIG and POWERFUL, and yet he came to die for ME." For me and you, and whoever will believe in Him in faith. Isn't it amazing? It truly is the best news of all.

Thinking of the words to one of my favorite hymns:

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought,
My sin, not in part but the whole-
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more!
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

A Few of My Favorite Things

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day! Charlie and I tried something new this year- fondue! It was fabulous and delicious and fun. I'd highly recommend it! We borrowed my mother-in-law's pot, so now I need to track one down for myself.

In lieu of a home projects post (no real updates yet/ready), I thought I'd compile a list of my favorite things. Just to share with you all. And to maybe give you an idea of something new to try!

 

1. Norwex Cloths: I'm a clean freak, and often clean with only water. How?! These cloths. They've got antibacterial magic built into each cloth, so you don't need to use any chemicals. Check out the link if you don't believe me.

 

2. Target's Esma Sandals: A staple from last summer, there are still a few pairs left online! Super comfortable AND they don't fall of your feet while walking (any one else have this sandal/flip flop problem?) I loved them so much I got gold and went back for blue.

 

3. TRESsemme FreshStart Dry Shampoo: Admission- I wash my hair every other day. This stuff make my hair look, feel, and smell fresher on day two. And, it adds a little bit of tack and body.

 

4. Sally Hanson's Triple Strong Nail Polish: For those of us who live in the real world with laundry and dishes and scratching our husband's heads, anything that makes an at home manicure last a few days longer sans chips is a winner.

 

5. Muk Luks: I'm chronically cold, and these keep your toes AND your legs warm Woot woot!

 

6. Tazo Passion Tea: Yummy and fruity-full. This tea actually has depth and substance- I like teas that taste more like juice than weak fruity water. (Just like the Honest Toddler).

 

7. Aviators: Wearing these makes me feel like Tammy Taylor from Friday Night Lights.

 

8. Spin Pins: 1-2 of these pins replaces 15 bobby pins. Amazing! Here's how they work.

 

9. Levi's Curve ID Skinny Jeans: For any of you looking for skinny jeans with a bit of heft (not jeggings!) these are the ticket. I looked forever before finding these, and they're the best. They hold their shape after multiple wearings, and are a classic dark wash. Also, Levi's Curve ID lets you practically customize jeans for your body. Awesome!

 

10. White and Coral Ikat Scarf: A 2011 birthday present from Forever21, it will live in my closet until 2081. It's so fresh and springy.

 

11. Bed Buddy: Finally, an UNSCENTED microwavable rice bag. Scented ones make me feel nauseous, so this is a real treat.

 

12. Burt's Bees: Rounding out the list, because who doesn't love Burt's Bees?

Easy, Inexpensive Event Decor

A week and a half ago, I decorated for our church's anual Titus 2 Women's Mentee Coffee. It's an event with approximatly 120 in attendance, and a $150 budget for me to work with. Here's what I came up with this year:

I used a bunch of paper lanterns and hung them behind the main food table, instead of a centerpiece. I also used a grouping of different sized and colored lanterns as table centerpieces.

Real dishes would be nice, but not cost effective. Target had cute pink and white polka dot napkins, and I set the gold plates on the table to boost the color scheme instead of setting them on the food table. Here's the overall look:

I thought things turned out pretty cute. Hopefully I'll be able to reuse the lanterns for another event!

Life Recently

I've yet to photograph some more projects. In the meantime, here's some iPhone pics of life recently.

This picture is for Mom, who thinks our house is always so clean.

It isn't.

I've been paralyzed at the thought of buying the wrong shade of blue-gray. I spent too many hours narrowing down 16 paint chips to these here, and then ended up getting a different color entirely. Charlie's input: "They all look white." Thanks.

I still love my snugly buddy. This is part of our morning ritual:

My brother is awesome and created Giant Jenga. We played this a few months back (yes, not recent, but still cool).

Daniel shows the proper posture for self protection when Giant Jenga falls:

We've also got some of this stuff going up somewhere in the house... sometime soon. Very cryptic.

That's all for now, folks.

A Sweater. Aha.

Just wanted to share that I now have something useful to do with all of Leo's hair. To think I've been vacuuming it up and throwing it away all this time...

Photo via Pinterest

54 Tissue Paper Pom Poms

That's right. I made 54. And I may never fold one again in my life. But they certainly turned out cute! Here's some photos I snapped this afternoon after decorating for the Titus II Mentee Coffee that our church puts on every January:

And some other details:

Merry Christmas!

"...Mild he lays his glory by,
Born that man no more may die!
Born to raise the sons of earth,
Born to give them second birth!
Hark! the herald angels sing,

Glory to the newborn King!"

What a Savior we have! What marvelous love! My heart is filled with thankfulness tonight that Jesus Christ didn't leave me in my sin: He was born in a stable and died on a cross, all in order that he might give me new life in Him.

Can you believe it? This is the best news ever! "...for from His fullness we have all received grace upon grace." -John 1:16

A Christmas Wish Fulfilled

It's the official beginning to our Christmas celebration tonight! Charlie and I have always celebrated "our" Christmas together on the 23rd- that way we're able to make sure that we get some much needed "us" time amidst the various family celebrations. We cook dinner together, open gifts, watch Elf, and eat dessert. It's one of my favorite traditions.

One of the little things that I'm excited about this Christmas is that the railing is finally painted. Hence, the garland looks even better this year, with it's clean, crisp backdrop. I'm a garland girl. A tree is nice, but if forced to pick between the two, garland wins ever time.

The first time we ever set foot in our home, one of my first thoughts was, "This is a Christmas house." That sounds totally dorky, I know. But there were all of these prominent railings just screaming for lights and garland, and I could already envision a tree in the living room. I suppose I broke the golden rule of not imagining yourself and belongings in the house before it's a done deal.

But I did. And this year, the white railings and the garland and lights looks awesome, if I can say so. My "photographing things in low light" skills are not completely up to par, but you get the idea. It feels great to see a house project dream come to fruition two and a half years later.

Merry (almost!) Christmas!

Looking Forward to Saturday...

Snow! I've been impatiently waiting for snow for weeks- it just makes everything look so pretty and Christmas-like.

Woohoo!

Pumpkin Carving and a Birthday Party

Happy Halloween! More importantly, happy birthday Dad!

We had a really fun time celebrating Dad's birthday on Saturday night. Mom bought a bunch of pumpkins, and we spent a good chunk of the evening carving them.

For anyone who's looking for a last minute pumpkin carving template, here's the site where we got ours. (Mine says "BOO" and Charlie's is the wizard. He's way more talented than me.)

Dad did the cool candle, and Daniel made his own eyeball template:

Some more photos from the evening:

I love little details. Can you tell? :)

There were a lot of pictures with knives like this. A little creepy. I'll spare you the rest.

However, this next one involves a fork, so I think it passes muster:

Charlie, the pumpkin pro, at work.

Mom didn't have a pumpkin to carve. But she does have some cute slippers:

Of course, I made everyone save their pumpkin seeds so I could roast them. Does anyone else do this? They're so good!

We also busted out of our buster bar mold and ate banana split trifle instead.

Enjoy your evening!

A New View on Halloween

Our church sends our a weekly newsletter called the Star (or, if you get it via email, it's the eStar:).

There was a great, thought provoking article on Halloween. It's definitely worth the five minutes it takes to read.

Some snippets:

"What if the main issue became whether our enjoyment of Jesus and his victory over Satan and the powers of darkness might incline us to think less about our private enjoyments and more about how we might love others?"

"What if we capitalized on the opportunity to take a step forward in an ongoing process of witnessing to our neighbors, co-workers, and extended families about who Jesus is and what he accomplished at Calvary for the wicked like us?"

I'm definitely challenged by David Mathis to think outside of my timid, self-aware box and to look for opportunities to be bold for Jesus.

North Shore Trip

This weekend my family took a trip to a beautiful cabin in Tofte, Minnesota. Tofte is about 60 minutes northeast of Two Harbors, and 30 minutes southwest of Grand Marais. It was relaxing, beautiful, and VERY cold and windy.

We bummed around Grand Marais and ate at The Angry Trout:

We celebrated a birthday:

No, that isn't birthday cake. It's buster bar (oreo layer, ice cream layer, peanut layer, fudge layer- also known as manna from heaven). This is what my family does instead of birthday cake, and it is much, much better, my friends.

We did a lot of this:

And this:

We had magnificent views out of the window:

Doesn't Lake Superior look like it's silver?

We hiked around Temperance River:

We found some rocks:

And juggled some rocks:

My family is pretty great, too:

Charlie took this last picture of Daniel. I can't take credit :)

Here we are. This would be a potential Christmas card picture if it weren't for the Napoleon Dynamite Butterfly Hands.

What fall or winter trips do you have coming up?