Thursday, March 27, 2014

One Month Until My First Marathon

As of today, my first full marathon is exactly ONE MONTH away.

To say I am terrified would be an understatement.

I am nervous, anxious, and scared.

But I am also excited, proud, and empowered.

I have been training hard since December, and it feels great to be realizing a dream.

I imagined the physical struggle that would come along with training, but I didn't realize I would get such a rush out of it as well. It's amazing what my body is capable of. I've had a couple setbacks with asthma flare ups and urgent care visits for breathing treatments and steroids (no more running outside in Colorado for me for the time being - bring on the treadmill), but I have also had some amazing runs. I've even set a few personal records - one for my half marathon time by 20 whole minutes and others for distance.

This is NOT fun.

The three pairs of Asics I'm training in... the ones on the right are my marathon shoes!

Oh, Colorado.


This was a proud moment - when I beat my previous half marathon time by 20 minutes!


This was my first distance record since 2008 - and it felt amazing!

  • Are you a runner?
  • What is the most you've ever run?
  • Do you enjoy training for races?
  • Do you have any marathon advice?

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Why I Teach

Right now, I couldn't be happier that it is spring break. I need this week off as much as my students. I am exhausted mentally and physically. It is wonderful to have a little time off to rest.

But I do love my job.

For those of you who don't know, I teach 8th grade language arts at an intervention school. Most of my students are retained 8th graders, meaning they are repeating the school year because their reading levels were so low (YEARS behind grade level). Some of them are first time 8th graders who were chosen to be at our school in order to catch up before it's too late. It's tough work. These are the kids who do not like school. These are the kids who have little support elsewhere in their lives. These are the kids who don't want to work hard.

That said, seeing my students all pumped up for state testing a couple weeks ago was magnificent. I mean, EVERYONE dreads state testing, but it's especially painful for the students who have never been successful in school. These kiddos worried all school year long about how their scores would be, and I am so anxious to get them back (in August). They were working their little butts off all week long. After lots of preparation, many of them feel really proud of their achievements, even if that just means they tried harder than normal and felt better about their answers than normal.

THAT is a win for me. 

I went to a couple of my boys' basketball game this week, and it was so much fun to see them in action! :) 

  • What is your job?
  • Do you love it, like it, or tolerate it?
  • What is the best thing about your job?

Monday, March 17, 2014

Wounded Warrior Family Support

In December, my wonderful friend and fellow military significant other, Elizabeth, and I decided to sign up for our first full marathon. Both of us have run 5Ks and half marathons in the past, but we wanted to step it up one more notch.


We have been training for two and a half months now, and the race is only about a month and a half away!

However, we decided that we didn't want to run just for ourselves. We want to make a difference for others by running this race. We are fundraising for the Wounded Warriors Family Support. Their mission is: to provide support to the families of those who have been wounded, injured or killed during combat operations. The families of our casualties suffer in many ways: some financially, some psychologically.


We created a Facebook page in order for people to donate to this amazing cause. If you feel like helping out, we (and they) would appreciate it immensely. If you are unable to right now but would still like to help, please consider sharing our page via any social media outlet to encourage others to help in any way they can.

You can view our page BY CLICKING HERE or see the official Wounded Warriors Family Support website BY CLICKING HERE.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

30 Before 30 Re-Visit {How I'm Doing}

With about three and a half years to go until I turn 30 (oh my gosh - that sounds crazy), I wanted to look over my "bucket list" of sorts. These are all items I want to accomplish by the time I'm 30. I set these goals on my 26th birthday (last July)... here's an update!

My List to Complete Before July 22nd, 2017:

1. Get Married (less than three months!)
2. Travel to Europe (less than three months!)
3. Get something published somewhere
4. Take a photography class
5. Finish writing a second novel
6. Skydive
7. Paint walls inside a house
8. Travel to South America
9. Sell *more* items on Etsy (sold 50 as of 12/21/13)
10. See a movie alone in a theater (saw The Book Thief in Denver on 11/23/13)
11. Have a baby
12. Run a marathon - registered for Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon on 04/27/14
13. Learn how to sew (simple things)
14. Host a Christmas dinner for more than three people
15. Travel to Africa
16. Create a cookbook of my favorite recipes
17. Visit 10 states I haven’t been to
18. Become fluent in French
19. Start learning German
20. Go out to dinner (at a real restaurant) alone
21. Swim with fish (terrified)
22. Try going vegan for a month
23. Pay for a stranger’s meal
24. Participate in a Bible study with other women
25. Go on (another) hot air balloon flight
26. Ski a “blue” run (accomplished on "Heavenly Daze" at Steamboat Springs on 12/16/13)
27. Adopt a dog (hopefully a high-energy large breed)
28. Travel somewhere alone
29. Teach in a state other than Colorado
30. Live in (at least) three different states

It appears that I am not doing too great. I have sold more items in my Etsy shop (up to 87 sales now), saw a movie alone in a theater (The Book Thief - well worth it!), and skied a blue run at Steamboat Springs. 

In the next few months, though, I'll also be knocking off running a marathon (April 27th), getting married (May 30th), and traveling to Europe (honeymoon in June/July). Who knows - maybe I can sneak a couple other items in before the summer too!

Tuesday, March 4, 2014

You're As Free As a Bird Now (But I Wish That Weren't True)

*** My apologies if you saw this post last year. Today is a day that will forever be in my heart, and this year, I just have so much going on right now that I can't take the appropriate time to fully dedicate a post to my wonderful father... so I'm reposting the one from last year with a few modifications. ***

Eight years ago today, I lost the first man I ever loved.

My dad passed away from a massive heart attack when he was only two days shy of turning 45. I was 18 years old and just two and a half months away from graduating from high school. My little brother, Derek, was just an eighth grader, 14 years old.

From this point on, I apologize for the "stream-of-consciousness" writing. It's difficult to keep all of my thoughts straight as I write this...

From the day I was born, I was always "daddy's little girl". I was his mini-me in looks and personality. We got along so well, and I enjoyed spending time with him. We went running together, and I yelled from the sidelines at his softball games. He dragged me to Best Buy with him time after time when he needed new tunes, and I remember the time when I FINALLY wanted to go with him because I wanted a CD of my very own to play in my Sony Walkman. He was ecstatic because I wasn't complaining about going to "the most boring store on earth", so he bought me TWO CDs to begin my collection. I think he was SLIGHTLY embarrassed with my selections, though, as I chose the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys, naturally. ;) Although, he shouldn't have been TOO embarrassed about that because he used to do my hair and make-up for dance recitals if my mom was at work... totally.

Shortly after returning to school after taking a week off after his sudden death, I received a card FULL of notes from my friends and teachers offering their condolences. One thing in particular that one of my friends wrote sticks out to me, and I rely on this quote regularly: "Tough times don't last, but tough people do." That is always a nice reminder that although my dad is gone and that was definitely an extremely tough point in my life, I must go on. I must keep on living. I'd like to think that I am making him proud as a grow into a woman with a career of my own.

One thing that bugs me more than anything is that he will never meet Dan. Oh, how I wish he could have met Dan. It pains me to know that they will never get to joke around together. They will never sip beers and grill steaks together. They will never bowl or golf together. They will never get to both love me at the same time.

My dad won't be at my wedding in under three months. He won't be there to walk me down the aisle. He won't be sitting there in the front row with my mom. He won't be able to dance with me in front of everyone. Isn't that what every bride dreams of? It is extremely difficult to deal with that knowledge now that the big day is getting so close. 

I miss my dad every single day. Time makes things easier, but I know that I will never let a day pass by without thinking of him. Sometimes, to this day, seven years later, I still hear something cool and think: "My dad would love that!" and make a plan to tell him, only to remember that I can't. And sometimes he appears in my dreams.

I want to share a few (okay, many) pictures with all of my readers. I chose these because they are my favorites. To all of you who knew him: enjoy. These truly are a blast from the past.

just after I was born :)

twins! 






I remember being carried around like this often...




one of my favorites! :)

just after my brother was born :)





one of my favorites :)

playing catch with the football :)

Royal Gorge Bridge :)

Pikes Peak :)

Pikes Peak :)




I LOVE this picture of us :)

I had the opportunity to be nominated for Homecoming Queen my senior year of high school. My dad got all dressed up to walk with me on the football field during the Homecoming football game. These are some of the last pictures we have together, and I will cherish them forever. 

I had the opportunity to be nominated for Homecoming Queen my senior year of high school. My dad got all dressed up to walk with me on the football field during the Homecoming football game. These are some of the last pictures we have together, and I will cherish them forever. 

I had the opportunity to be nominated for Homecoming Queen my senior year of high school. My dad got all dressed up to walk with me on the football field during the Homecoming football game. These are some of the last pictures we have together, and I will cherish them forever. 

I had the opportunity to be nominated for Homecoming Queen my senior year of high school. My dad got all dressed up to walk with me on the football field during the Homecoming football game. These are some of the last pictures we have together, and I will cherish them forever. 

a friend made this collage for me shortly after his death

And in his memory, I'll share his favorite song, the one I can't listen to without succumbing to my emotions, the one we played at his funeral... Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd. You can listen to it by CLICKING HERE.