First Run Since The Marathon

This morning I ran for the first time since my marathon.
Three slow miles on the treadmill while watching an episode of The Biggest Loser.
I am still battered!  I thought my soreness was gone, but I was wrong.  My thighs and legs ached at the beginning, but by the end I think I worked all the soreness out.  I plan to attempt five miles tomorrow.  And then ten on Friday.  I have the Disney Half Marathon coming up, and so I need to stay somewhat in shape in order to finish that and still be able to go to the park that day.

After that race, I don't have any more races on my calendar.  My plan is to exercise for up to one hour each morning, 4-5 days a week.  Once a week I plan to meet Leanna (and hopefully Lynn sometimes too) for a 10 mile run.  I may do some of my Shaun T workout videos on some mornings to mix things up.  That's my plan.

Do you have an exercise plan for 2015?  Make one.  :)  Schedule at least 30 minutes of your day for brisk walking or maybe even an exercise video.  Find a friend to join you at least once a week for even more motivation and fun!  My weekly runs with friends are as much about mental therapy as they are about physical exercise.  We solve all our problems while pounding the pavement!

We are busy, busy enjoying our December/January holiday season.  We celebrated Christmas with my extended family last Saturday, and we will celebrate with Jimmy's family on this coming Saturday.

Here is one picture that captured the delight of the day.

And here is the family photo that I am trying to upload as the header of this blog.  I can't figure it out…..it is too huge no matter what I do.  Anyway, here are the Johnsons:  December 2014.

Merry Christmas!

Our Johnson Christmas Party

Last night we hosted our annual Johnson Christmas Party, which includes Jimmy's extended family and honorary Johnsons as well (Kelly and Lynn and their family).

 The young children played legos and dolls.
The teens and pre-teens played card games and chess.

I prepared Taco Soup, Vegetarian Chili, and Chicken Vegetable Soup.  Everyone else brought either an appetizer or dessert (or both!), and we ate and visited and generally just had fun with each other.

 

 

Lots of laughter could be heard throughout the house.

It really was a nice evening!

Junior Olympics National Championship XC Meet

On the same day that I left for Huntsville for my marathon, Jimmy and Julie left bright and early for the Memphis airport.  They flew to Charleston, South Carolina, and then drove a rental car on to Myrtle Beach so Julie could compete in the Junior Olympics National Cross Country Meet on Saturday. The opportunity for Julie to run in this meet came about after Jimmy and I had signed up for the Rocket City Marathon, and both events were on the same day.  We decided to split up.  Jimmy took Julie to her meet, and I took the rest of the children with me to Huntsville.

Julie had an amazing weekend with her daddy!  They enjoyed some quality time together, and Julie ran a fabulous race.  She set her personal record in the 5K distance with a finishing time of 19:34!  We are all so proud of her!  She has worked so hard this cross country season (really the work began early in the summer), and all of that hard work paid off in her last XC meet of her high school career.
She finished 18th out of 83 girls (in the ages 17-18 female group) from across the country.  She was awarded a medal and a hat, and Jimmy also bought her a cool shirt with all of the participants' names (from her age group) listed on the back.

They were able to make a trip to the beach and do a little bit of sightseeing before returning home on Sunday.  I was so happy to have our entire family together Sunday afternoon.  And we will all be together until Olivia leaves to go back to college the first week of January.

Would you like to know the logistics of that running weekend?  It took some planning and figuring, but with the help of some special friends, we got it all worked out.

1.  Jimmy and Julie left at 5:00 AM for the Memphis airport.
2.  Clay, Leah, Sam, and I left about noon to pick up Leanna and make the three hour drive to Huntsville.
3.  We dropped Leanna off at her hotel, and then the children and I walked to the race expo to pick up my race number and do a little bit of shopping.
4.  At 4:00 PM, our special friends, Ben and Stacy, picked up Olivia from the Birmingham airport.  She was flying home for Christmas break.
5.  We drove about 40 minutes to Hartselle to meet Ben, Stacy, and Olivia! at their home.  We were so happy to see Olivia!
6. We spent the night at the Walkers' home, and enjoyed a delicious supper with them and their friends, David and Maggie.
7.  At 5:45 AM Saturday morning, David drove me to the race.  Thank you David!
8.  Later that morning Ben drove my car with my four children to the race to see me finish.
9.  At 1:00 PM our time, Julie ran her fantastic race!
10. We said goodbye to Ben, Stacy, and David, and after eating and a visit to Target, the children and I drove back home.  I think we got home around 7:00 PM
11.  Jimmy and Julie attended the awards ceremony for the meet Saturday night.

Thanks to cell phones, we were able to keep up with each other all weekend.  We talked, texted, and shared pictures, and Jimmy and Julie were able to track me during my marathon.

It was not the best set-up…..our family being divided during the weekend, but it all worked out!
Julie had a wonderful race, and I was happy with my race too.

Rocket City Marathon

Well.  On Saturday, I ran my LAST marathon.  It turned out to be both a tortuous and wonderful experience!

Leanna and I have trained for the last few months for this marathon.  It was my 5th official and her first.  We were joined by Stacee and two of her friends, Doug and Tracy.  We all started out together.  My original goal was to run the marathon in 4 hours and 28 minutes.  That would be a PR (personal record) for me, and I felt like Leanna, Stacee, and I could do that.  But towards the end of our training, I was tired, and I had my doubts!  Just before the race began Stacee stated that she felt sure we could do a 4:25.  Alright! I was ready!

Around mile 5, Doug and I were chatting away about Disney World, and I think we must have picked up the pace a little bit.  I figured Leanna, Stacy, and Tracy were right behind us.  At the next water stop, I walked the length of it and drank water, while Doug continued running.  I looked behind and didn't see Leanna…..I looked ahead and didn't see Doug.  I panicked a little bit.  Then I sped up, hoping to catch up with Doug.  I looked and looked for him, but never saw him.  I looked behind periodically for Leanna and Stacee, but to no avail.  I turned back to look every now and then when we turned a corner…..I kept on scanning the runners ahead of me…..but I never saw any of my group!

By mile 10, I gave up finding them, and resigned myself to running the marathon alone! There were people calling out the time at every mile marker, and I could tell that I had a pretty good pace.  Hmmmmm, I thought…...maybe I can run a PR and really, really be done with running marathons and also be happy with my time.  I decided that if I had to run this race alone, I was determined to push myself and post a good finish time.

So I kept on running and running and running, and I thought the race would never end! At mile 18, I began to get a little crazy, and by mile 20 I was really crazy.  It was cold.  The wind was blowing.  I was ready to be done.  But I kept on running.  At times I was having a conversation with myself like Rapunzel from Tangled when she first escapes the castle.  "I'm going to die!…..Best. Day. Ever……..Why am I doing this?……I am going to be so happy with my finish time……I'm going to die!….I can't wait to tell Jimmy about my race…..and so it went.

I really about lost my mind.  Miles 23-26 were the worst.  I walked a little bit between water stops, but walking actually was more painful than running at this point.  My pace was slowing, but I was determined by this point to finish under 4:20.  Near the finish line I saw four of my children and some dear friends (It's another story why Jimmy and Julie were not there), and I was encouraged to smile and keep going.

And then the finish line.  Woo! Hoo!

The clock said 4:19:06, but, my official finish time was 4:18:30!  I was soooo happy!

And then I crashed.  It was miserable.  Three people asked me if I needed the medical tent.  Ha!  I just needed for my whole body to stop hurting.  It took me about an hour to recover.  I got a massage and ate some post-race food.

Then I loaded up the kids, we had some lunch and then we went to Target.

After shopping for a while we drove three hours home.  I was exhausted.

But I am so happy with my marathon time!

And that was the last. marathon. ever.

My Christmas Card Tree

Last year I started a new tradition…..hanging our Christmas cards on this little artificial tree.  I saw this idea on someone's blog, and I thought it was such a great idea.  We had this unused tree, leftover from when it used to be on display in one of my dormer windows.  We replaced it with a different (and much prettier) kind of tree, and so this tree needed a home.

It is a small, not-so-full tree, but the lights really give it sparkle, and it is a fun way to display the cards.  I hang them with plain brown clothespins, but if you were really creative, you could paint them red and green, or decoupage them, or cover them with cute scrapbooking paper, etc.  Or you could just leave them natural!

I think I had some red and green fabric to serve as a tree skirt for this tree last year.  I have not come across it this year…..but I plan to cover the bottom with presents that will go to our Simmons Christmas party as soon as I get them wrapped, so that will make it look better.

Speaking of Christmas cards, ours came in yesterday!  And with the help of my elves named Clay, Leah, and Sam, we got them all stuffed, addressed, and stamped, and ready to go last night.  I will mail them today!  Hooray!

Today's Holiday Hint:
Make a list of what special Christmas treats/cookies/goodies/etc. that you plan to make.  Are you going to share them with others?  Do you need something to take to a party?  Plan the quantity that you need and make a master shopping list for all of the ingredients.  I am going to buy my special ingredients over the next few days.  We plan to begin our holiday baking next Monday.  Fun!

Holiday Hints

Create a December Calendar of Events

Last week I printed out a December calendar and wrote down all of the month's events.  Places to be, parties to host, activities to do with the children, etc.  It helps to see the big picture of the month.  After listing all of the items that are assigned a particular date, I then filled in the gaps with things I want to do with the children this month. Doing this made me realize that I really prefer not doing any school after Thanksgiving!  I plan to budget this month off in our school calendar next year.  We are planning a trip to Disney early next year, and since I needed a chunk of time off for that I did not schedule us much time off before Christmas Day this year. So here we are doing school for most of the day and then squeezing in the Christmas fun.

Create a Plan For Sibling Gifts

For many years now I have hosted a sibling store.  When my children were younger, it was just too stressful to take them one at a time to a store for them to buy their siblings a gift with their own money.  Throughout the years they have made handmade gifts for one another (and they are continuing to do that), but they also like a "store bought" gift for each other sometimes too.  So I created a sibling store.  Basically I bought 4 gifts for each of my children to be placed in our store.  These were items that I felt were educational or fun, or things that they had asked for.  Sometimes I put more than 4 items in the store, and what no one chose ended up being a gift from Mama and Daddy.

One at a time the children would come into the room and "shop".  I charged each of them a flat fee for all four gifts….based on their age.  Very young children would pay $2-3 (total) for their gifts, and older children would pay $10-20.  Then they would wrap their gifts and place them under the tree.  

This year, however, I am not having the sibling store.  I have two children with a driver's license, and it is really no trouble to take any of the them to the store to shop.  I scheduled shopping for your siblings on our December calendar this week.  Today I will take Sam shopping.  He wants to buy some supplies to make Leah a gift, and then he has a short list of gifts that he needs to buy.  He will spend his own money on his siblings.  I will take the other children, one at a time to town this week.

However it's done, I think it is special and fun for my children to give one another gifts.  They take a lot of time planning what they want to make and buy each other.  Then they eagerly anticipate their siblings opening and enjoying their gifts.  

Today's Christmas Tip

About a month ago, while I was reading my friend Lori's blog (not a we've met in real life friend, but an internet friend and a sister in Christ, and we would so be in person friends if we lived in the same area! friend) I saw the greatest idea that she had done. And I immediately did it for my family.

You can read the complete post here, and I highly recommend it.
Christmas is Coming: the Sane, Serene, and the Satisfying Holiday Plan.

Here is the nitty gritty though…….

All you have to do is ask each family member this question: What three things make the holiday happy for you?

So I cut red paper into squares and gave a piece to each child.  Then I taped a large piece of paper on our marker board where I had previously listed all of the normal Christmas activities that we did each year or most years.  Some of these things were non-negotiable (like buying and decorating a live Christmas tree), and others were traditions that we had started in years past which may or may not still be meaningful to everyone. I listed 18 holiday happenings.

Then I explained to the children that I wanted them to look over the list and write down their top 3, not to be skipped under any circumstances Christmas holidays activities.  At first they were so sad!  They asked me if we were really going to drop some of our beloved traditions?  I texted a photo of the list to Olivia and asked her to do the same.  She was a little shocked too!  Then Sam had a bright idea….."Let's each list three different things and then we can keep almost all of them!"  (What a smart idea!).  But I asked them to not discuss it with each other, but to please just list what they really wanted to do.  I assured them that we would continue to do all 18, if it was going to crush them to drop something, but let's just make our lists and see what happens.  

I was interested to see what was important to them.  I wanted to see if anything that I spent a great deal of time and effort on meant nothing to them, or if there was an activity or event that didn't require that much of me, but they LOVED it.  

In the end, almost every single activity was listed by at least one person, and many things were listed by two or more children.  Leah could not limit herself to just 3 (she listed 5), and Sam had an even harder time---he listed 8 things!

In all, this was an eye-opening experience.  I loved seeing what each child listed.  We did drop a few activities, and I am making sure that what they listed will be done with great fun and fanfare. 

So, we bought and decorated a live tree.  We are exchanging gifts. We are making goodies to share with friends and family.  And we are doing a whole lot of other things too. 

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas!

Happy December!

I have been alternating between distress and delight this December……how about you?

Here are some pictures of my delight.  Keep in mind that I am not a good photographer.  I just focus (or try to!) and click.  I don't edit the pictures before I post….sometimes I do crop them, but that's about all.  

On Tuesday before Thanksgiving, the other Kelly (that's what my children started calling our college friend, Kelly--to keep from mixing him up with our friend Kelly who is the husband of my friend Lynn) came over to decorate our house for the Christmas season.  Kelly as been doing this for me for 10 years now, and my house would not look nearly as pretty without his help.  He does all the arranging on the mantle, the dining room table, on a couple of other tables, my Santas, my light fixtures, and lots and lots of garland.  While he works his magic, the children and I put out other holiday whatnots, and try to help him when possible.  Mostly we just stay out of his way!

We bought our (live) tree that same day, but we waited to decorate it until Olivia came home from college for her Thanksgiving break.  I picked her up from the airport about lunch time on Wednesday, and we were home by about 2:00 (lots of traffic!).  I took a couple of hours to put the lights on the tree, and then the children decorated it while I prepared supper.  Olivia took a nap during this time which is why I do not have a picture of her.  But she was there!  And it was a happy time.  

 Beginning to place the ornaments

 Since Clay is the tallest, he has ladder duty.

 Our pretty tree

 One of the table arrangements Kelly did.

The cross-stitched Santa was made by my Meme (who passed away last February). The Johnsons pottery platter was made by Jimmy's sister, Jenny.

 My collection of Santa Clauses.  This is at the top of our TV cabinet.

 The finished tree

 Another table arrangement by Kelly.

This is the welded tree that Clay made me for Mother's Day.  I hung salt dough ornaments made and painted by Julie along with our purchased and dated family ornaments that I have collected through the years.  I have not hung this year's ornament on this tree yet. The tree topper was made by Leah--out of duct tape.

 My dining room

On top of the chest in my dining room

 Decorating the tree

 More decorating

The last table that Kelly did.  Jimmy bought me those three cute trees several years ago after I admired them in our local florist's window.  I love those tree!

So, that's some of my December delight.

My December distress includes the fact that I am training for a marathon, we are still doing school, I have not completed my Christmas shopping or even list making, and I have not made any handmade gifts.

I did get our Christmas cards ordered at 1:00 AM Tuesday morning!

I already know several changes that I plan to make for the time between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day to be more enjoyable next year.  Live and learn. You can't do it all.  More posts to come concerning ways I have simplified (a little) this Christmas season, and what I plan to do differently in the future. 

P.S. I am trying to put a family picture at the top of my blog like I used to have, but I cannot figure out how to keep it from being so huge.  And my blog title disappears when I include the picture.  Any words of wisdom?

Our Trip to Utah

A while back, on September 30, our family flew to St. George, Utah, for a week long vacation.  Well, actually we flew into Las Vegas and then rented a minivan for the two hour scenic trip to St. George. Jimmy and I made this same trip two years ago for him to run the St. George Marathon, but without any of our children.  We enjoyed it so much, and the landscape was so breathtaking, that we knew right away that we wanted to return and bring the children with us.  Sadly, Olivia was at college so she could not join us.  However, when she was home for her fall break, she viewed the hundreds of pictures Jimmy made while we were out there and her siblings told her all about their adventures.

We spent our days roaming around and taking short hikes in Snow Canyon and Zion National Parks. The mountains and vegetation is unlike anything we have here in Mississippi.  God's creation really is awesome!

The children, especially Leah and Sam, climbed many, many rocks!

We hiked The Narrows, part of which included a trek down the river.  That water was FREEZING!  Leah and I turned around before the end of this hike.  We waited on the others on a rock in the sun, trying to warm up!

This picture was taken just before we did the hike up to Angel's Landing.  Do you see the warning sign in the upper right hand corner?  I stayed pretty nervous on some of these hikes, fearful that Sam would fall!  We did not actually hike Angel's Landing, but we went up to the point where you can go on to that spot.  It's called Scout's Lookout. That was a dangerous enough hike in my opinion!

Everywhere we looked, the scenery was beautiful!

Jimmy ran the St. George Marathon again, and he did a great job!  He was slower than his last time on this course, but he finished strong and healthy.  Last time he injured himself, and it took him about a year to fully recover.  This picture was taken after the marathon, and you can see that he looks good and is smiling!

Another hike.  Those kids will climb on anything and anywhere!
I began to get a little claustrophobic in this part of the hike.

The day before we left we went back to Las Vegas in order to fly out the next morning. We attended a worship service at the same place we went the last time we were in town, and it was nice to see old friends.  Later that afternoon we took the children to Hoover Dam.  This picture is taken inside the dam. We also walked across the mile long pedestrian bridge that overlooks the river and the dam.  That made me a little nervous too.

Just before going to the airport for our flight home, Jimmy took the boys to the Lamborghini dealership.  They were THRILLED.  Both of them are really interested in Lamborghinis, and they were able to see numerous ones in person.  But they did not touch them!  One of the employees at the dealership was really nice and allowed Jimmy to take their picture with every single car (but no touching!).

This is a super short synopsis of a really wonderful trip.  It was very relaxing for me.  I ran 2 times while I was out there, and running in that altitude and up and down those hills proved to be a tough workout. I never set an alarm, and the days were so nice just spending time with my family and enjoying God's marvelous creation.

It was a good trip.

2,672

I filled up my most recent Gratitude Journal yesterday.  I began it on March 18, 2012, and I wrote on the last line yesterday, November 18, 2014.  2 years and 8 months.  I aim to record 5 things each day that I am thankful for, but if you do the math, you will see that I missed some days here and there.  But still.  2,672 blessings are a lot. I wish I numbered my entries from the beginning…..I started listing five things I am thankful for each day over 18 years ago. These blessings are recorded in plain spiral bound notebooks, pretty journals, and also on loose leaf paper in various binders.

I just started a book called Climb Happiness Hill by Alan Bryan.  My friend, Joe, lent it to me, saying that he was pretty sure it was out of print.  I did a little bit of googling, and I found it!  I am taking good care of his copy, but I plan to order my own in the next couple of days.  I am not even through the first chapter, but I can already tell that this will be a book that I read and reread.  The author presents "Rules for Happy Living", and there are 15 in all.  The first rule is one that we all know:

Count your blessings, not your troubles.

Keeping a gratitude journal is one way to do that.  Also, as you go about your day, whenever stress, doubts, complaints, etc., creep into your thinking (and will eventually come out of your mouth!), purpose to count some of your blessings instead.  I began trying this yesterday.  What a challenge.  I was surprised at how many negative thoughts and internal murmurings ran through my brain.  As much as I remembered to, I would stop myself and quickly think of a positive spin on that negative thought.

I plan to continue this challenge today.  Wouldn't that be a good habit to develop?  To purpose to replace all negative thinking with positive instead.  To express thankfulness in each and every situation.  We are commanded to do that, you know.

"in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:18

That pretty much sums it up…..in everything give thanks.

I began a new gratitude journal today.  It is a pretty one that my girls gave me for my birthday.  I had been saving it for this purpose.

So what about you?  Can you purpose to count your blessings, not your troubles today?  Can you recored your blessings in a notebook?

Menu, Miles, MSU, and More

Menu:
stir fry vegetables
brown rice
homemade egg rolls

penne pasta with zucchini and red sauce
salad

homemade chicken noodle soup
homemade bread
salad

baked potatoes
salad

sauteed vegetable and hummus wraps
sweet and spicy sweet potato rounds

chili

You can visit OrgJunkie for more menu ideas.

Sweet and Spicy Sweet Potato Rounds

4 sweet potatoes

2 Tbs. brown sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

3/4 tsp. ground cumin

3/4 tsp. paprika

3/4 tsp. chili powder

2 Tbs. olive oil

Peel and slice potatoes thinly. Pour olive oil over potatoes in a large bowl, and stir to coat.  Sprinkle spices and brown sugar over potatoes, and stir again until all potatoes are covered.

Place on a greased or foil-covered and sprayed baking sheet, in a single layer.

Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or until potatoes are tender or slightly crunchy.

Miles:

This is the peak mileage week of our marathon training.  I ran 11 miles this morning, and I have 36 miles left.  One run will be my long run of 22 miles.  I am planning on meeting Leanna and Stacee for that run on Friday.  The rest of the week I will run 6, 4, and 4.  I think that adds up to 47!

MSU:

Sadly, Mississippi State could not pull off a win against Alabama.  However, we had lots of fun watching the game----good food, good friends, good fellowship.  We had four couples and 17 children at Leanna's house for the game.  It was a fun afternoon.

More:

My dryer stopped working on Friday, and so I spent Friday night at the laundrymat.  Fun!  I do love those huge washers and dryers though.  I got all of my laundry done in 1.5 hours.  Folded too.  The repairman is here this morning, and I will be washing, drying, and folding for the rest of today when he gets it up and running!  I am so appreciative for modern conveniences!

We plan to get our Christmas tree at the beginning of next week.  That is if the nursery where I buy my tree from each year has them.  I plan to get a SMALL tree this year.  Last year's tree grew on the way home from the nursery.  It was SO LARGE last year…..and a little bit lopsided.  It did not look like that at the nursery! So, I will be looking for a smallish tree--9 feet tall, max.

Happy Monday to you!

Frazzled

That's how I feel, but I am working on it!

I'm nearing the end of my marathon training.  In fact, next week is the highest mileage of all--47 miles with a long run of 22 miles.  Yesterday Leanna and I ran 18 miles in the freezing cold (31 degrees), and it actually sleeted while we ran!  We were not expecting that! Tomorrow I plan to run 9 miles with Lynn, and she just texted me that the temperature will be 24 degrees!  Crazy!  I will wear tights, running pants, five shirts, two pairs of gloves, a hat, and a headband.

Lynn came over yesterday afternoon, and she and I along with our girls went the the city of Baldwyn's Christmas Open House for an evening of Christmas shopping.  It was a lot of fun!  We met Leanna there too.  I got quite a bit of my shopping done.  Those were my first purchases of the season.  I made a list and felt quite accomplished checking many items off.  Jimmy and Leanna's cousin, Season, has the cutest store in Baldwyn, and I bought several gifts there.

I worked some on my Christmas binder this morning. I began by transferring everything to a new, larger binder.  Mine was overflowing.  I love the Better Binders from Staples, and I had an empty one just waiting to be my new Christmas binder.  I cleaned out some extra and unnecessary pages and then printed out a master gift list table.  It includes each person that I give a gift to, what the gift is (I fill in this part as I make or buy the gift), and when it is wrapped. I use basically the same table each year.  I just delete last year's data, and print out and save a new blank one.

And one more thing:

Hail State!

RANK	TEAM	PV RANK
1	Mississippi State (48)	1
2	Florida State (12)	2
3	Oregon	5
4	Alabama	4

We will be watching tomorrow's game with our fellow Bulldogs:  Lynn, Kelly, Leanna, Joe, John, and Leigh (who really is a Bama fan) and all of our families. 

Cinnamon Muffins

These are Leah's favorite.  I made them this morning so I thought I would share the recipe before we begin school.

***You may substitute the flour with all-purpose flour.  I grind my own flours, and use those, but I am sure that regular flour will work great!  You can also use any kind of milk.  I use organic sugar (I think it's raw?…..it's pretty big brown granules…..I bought a 50 lb. bag from Azure Standard almost a year ago), but again, plain white sugar will do too. Oh, and instead of the ground flaxseed meal, you could substitute 2 eggs.

I think that is all the modifications.

Here is my recipe:

Cinnamon Muffins

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup oat flour

1 cup brown rice flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2/3 cup sugar

2 Tbs. ground flaxseed meal

2 Tbs. cinnamon

1 cup natural (unsweetened) applesauce

3 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. almond extract

2 cups milk (I use 1 cup soy and 1 cup almond)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Blend dry ingredients thoroughly.  Add wet ingredients and stir until well combined.  Bake in greased ( I spray with olive oil spray) muffin tins for 25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Makes 16 muffins. 

It's Already November

Where does the time go?  I can't believe that it is November.

I have done nothing to prepare for Christmas.  Well, I have bought a roll of red wrapping paper and two rolls of easy to tie ribbon.  And like I said last month, I am NOT buying anymore gift wrapping supplies.  My challenge for myself is to use up all that I already have!

Some years I have had all of my Christmas shopping done BEFORE THANKSGIVING!  Not this year.  In fact, I have only not even begun a list yet.  But I plan to make a list before next Thursday.  That is the night that I am going to the Baldwyn Downtown Open House. (And I totally just made that name up).  It is is downtown Baldwyn (where Leanna and I do our long runs each week), and it is their Christmas open house, but I don't know the official name of this event.  I just know that Baldwyn has the cutest gift shops, one of which is owned by one of Jimmy's first cousins, and I plan to get a lot of my Christmas shopping done from 5-8 next Thursday night.  Fun!

Last weekend was so much fun!  First, we went to our friends, the Prince's house for a Halloween party.  Jimmy and I dressed up as Mr. and Mrs. Incredible, only I did not wear red spandex.  I made our costumes (don't be impressed), and they did turn out cute!  I will post a picture another day. (They are in my phone, and my phone is far away from me right now.)  Julie was Rapunzel from Tangled, and she made her costume too, and you will be impressed when I share the picture.  Leah was Dorothy, (wearing a cute costume my mother made), and Clay and Sam were, well, I'll let you see when I share the pictures.

Then, on Saturday, we went to see the Bulldogs play.  The #1 football team in the nation, Mississippi State!  We arrived in Starkville at noon, and joined Kelly and Lynn and their children for a chilly day of football, food, and fun. It was cold! We had not tailgated since the last year that we had season tickets with Kelly and Lynn, and that was was several years ago. We really had a great time.  We went early to secure our spots near the sidewalk for the Dawg Walk, and that was an experience!  Those football players were treated like movie stars walking on the red carpet!  Ha!  And Dak Prescott had three bodyguards!

We almost froze at the game, but we stayed until the very last second.  What an exhausting game.  Thankfully, the Bulldogs came out on top.  We got back to our tailgating spot about 10:00 PM.  We had already packed everything up before the game, so we hung out in and around Kelly and Lynn's truck until 11:30, and truly "tailgated".  We ate the rest of our food and drank cokes from the back of the truck.  And most of us crammed inside the truck to try to keep warm.  When the traffic looked like it was moving more than 1 foot per five minutes, we decided to ease into the line of cars and try to get home.
We arrived home at 1:00 AM.  I am so glad that we got to set the clocks back.  We needed that extra hour of sleep.

I am drowning in schoolwork, making study guides, list making, graduation planning, marathon training, grocery shopping, laundry, housecleaning (or lack thereof), etc.---just like you!  :)

Olivia is in New York for a national college XC meet.  Wow.  She is far away from us!
The kids are ready for me to read Farmer Boy to them before bed…….

Some Random Things

1. It's October and that means Breast Cancer Awareness month.  Here is your friendly reminder to schedule or at least think about when you need to schedule your mammogram (if you are of the age or heath history that warrants a mammogram).  Also please consider cleaning up your diet and adding or increasing your exercise if applicable.
2. For the last two years, in honor of this month, I (with the help of friends and family) have sewn comfort pillows and drain bag holders for mastectomy patients.  This year I have not even bought the supplies to do so!  I am regretful about this, but it is what it is.  This is a project that is very dear to my heart, and even as I type this I am inspired to go to Hobby Lobby today or another day this week and buy what I need and get to sewing.  Hmmmm.  Maybe I can…..
3. Also in honor of this month, my friend John is holding another WOD for the Cure.  His first one was two years ago when I was recovering from my 3rd and final breast cancer-related surgery, and so I could not participate.  Sadly, I cannot participate this year either because of a previous commitment!  I am still buying a t-shirt to show my support.  Thank you John for doing this.  All proceeds will go to the Women First Resource Center here in Tupelo.  This is one of the organizations where I donate my pillows and bags.
4. While I was running on my treadmill yesterday morning I watched some of the last of the Love Comes Softly DVD series.  I think there are eight movies in all, and I have watched all of them while running on the treadmill over the last few months.  Anyway, in yesterday's movie (I can't remember the name…..they all have the word LOVE in the titles), Clark had every single thing that you could think of going wrong in his life.  His wife had just died, his daughter almost burned down their house, he was about to lose his home and land because he was so behind on his mortgage payments, and the area was suffering from a lengthy and severe drought (which is why he was behind financially).  He and his father were trying, unsuccessfully, to dig a well to use for irrigation, and Clark just lost it.  He. Had. Had. Enough. Adversity.  His father offered this sage advice. (And I paraphrase.)

When you are overwhelmed, just do the next thing.  The next thing, the one that is right in front of you.  Just do it.  And then do the next thing.  And so on.

So that is something for us all to ponder today.  Whatever is overwhelming YOU today, just do the new thing.  Make a list if you have to, and maybe the first thing on your list needs to be PRAY.  Whatever it is, just do the next thing.  And then the next.  And so on. And remember...

"And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

Colossians 3:17

My Newest Nephew

It is with great joy and happiness that I share with you the arrival of my newest nephew!  Russ, Megan, and Millie Janalee have a new baby boy in their family.  You can read all about him by clicking here.

We are going to meet Smith this afternoon, and I cannot wait to hold this precious bundle of joy!
But before that fun event, I have to do some Saturday chores. What about you?  What plans do you have for this beautiful day?  (The weather is so nice here where I live….slightly cool--fall is in the air.)

I encourage you to look around you today and make a mental (or literal) list of things that you are thankful for today.  Choose to express joy today.  Pray for someone in need.

Enjoy your Saturday!

Happy Days

Olivia is home for her short fall break, and we are all so excited! She has to go back on Sunday, so we are squeezing in all of the rest, food, and fun that we can.  We are taking off from school today, but tomorrow we plan to have a regular school day.

This week has gone by so fast!  Tuesday, Julie and Clay made the 11 hour round trip for a XC meet.  Thankfully, our two Spartans coaches each drove an 11 passenger van and took the entire team by themselves.  I was so weary from traveling--I was so thankful that Heather and David did that.  Our boys and girls teams both did fantastic!  The boys won 2nd place (coming behind the first place team by only 2 points), and our girls won 3rd place.  We also had some individual runner's awards too.  Go Spartans!

The weather is getting cooler here, and the leaves are changing on the trees. God's creation is so beautiful!

***Holiday Tip***
It's time to start thinking about your Christmas cards (if you send them).  I wanted to take the picture for our card this weekend, but the boys need haircuts.  So, I will take them during Olivia's Thanksgiving break.  I will be thinking about and planning what I want them to wear.  I may look at the cards on Shutterfly and choose my card.  Then I can match the children's clothes to the card.  Anyway, that's my goal for now.  Choose the card and plan the outfits.  I'll take the picture during Thanksgiving break and order them right away.  I should have them ready to go out by the beginning of December.

Don't Let Perfect Be the Enemy of Good

I like that quote.

I first heard it this summer when I was reading The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin, and then again just a few weeks ago when my friend John shared a short lesson at our Wednesday night Bible study.
You can apply this quote to a variety of situations. It is great to set goals.  In fact, failure to dream and plan can prevent you from accomplishing anything.  But, sometimes, in striving to attain the goal (whatever that goal may be, whether large or small), we may lose sight of the joy and growth during the process, or we may give up the goal altogether if the work of attaining it is too difficult.  Or too messy.  Or too whatever.
In a small way, I am applying that quote to my day today.

Don't let perfect be the enemy of good.

I began my day "behind" because I stayed up till after midnight trying to catch up on paperwork, etc., after begin away from home for so long.  I got up just in time to make Jimmy's lunch before he left for work, and by the time I had finished my Bible study and making my plan of attack for the day, it was just minutes until 8:00, my time for everyone to start school time.

I am still in my pajamas.  It is 4:04 PM.

I have not run.

I did not read Leah's Sonlight books before she left for piano lessons with her older siblings.

I still have a load of laundry to fold.

I did not get Clay's essay lesson prepared in time to teach it to him today. 

I have not done any housework today.

But, I am not going to let this define my day.  The day is not over.  But even if it was, I can choose to dwell on what I did do today. The day has not been perfect, but the day has been good.

There is always something to be thankful for, in every day, in every situation.  Sometimes you have to look a little bit harder, but it's there.

I have good health.

I read books to my sweet 8 year old.

I am listening to this same sweet little boy chatter away about his stuffed animals riding his lego creation as I type this.  (He chatters ALL DAY LONG). 

I studied a difficult algebra lesson today and I actually understood it!  I just hope I can remember it Wednesday when I have to teach it to Clay.

I almost have supper ready to put in the oven, and I may, just may get my run in after all--while the supper is cooking--if we don't lose power because we are having storms here right now, and our power goes out every time we have bad weather…..

I got all of my other schoolwork done with my children.

I made two phone calls on my list today.

So, even though today has not been a perfect day (when is a day perfect?), it can still be good.  I am preaching to myself here!

Menu and Miles

Hello!

I got home last Thursday night just in time to attend our gospel meeting at our church. (I spent a little bit of extra time at the Memphis airport visiting newsstands until I found Sports Illustrated--the issue with MSU and Ole Miss on the cover--I found them!) I was weary from traveling, but it had been so, so good to visit with Olivia, even though the visit was brief.

Friday I began my day with a 16 mile run.  Not the best idea! I ran two runs of 6 miles and 4 miles on our vacation to Utah, and none, not one mile, until Friday of last week.  It had been two weeks since my last long run, and attempting that distance after that long of a break was unwise!  I made it fine (just a little bit tired) until mile 10.  It was a struggle after that.  Leanna and I had planned to run 17, but I could not make it another step.  She finished without me.  I was sore all Friday and Saturday, but I am feeling much better today.

Here is this week's plan, and I am going to follow it!

Monday:  6 or 9 (depends on how late I stay up tonight catching up on bills, mail, etc.)
Tuesday:  6 or 9 (whichever I don't do on Monday)
Wednesday:  6
Thursday:  rest
Friday:  18
Saturday:  rest
Total:  39

I took Sam and Leah to a 2 hour birthday party this afternoon, and while they were there I shopped at Bath and Body Works, Walmart (monthly shopping), Kroger (weekly shopping), and Sam's (just a few things I did not pick up last week during my monthly shopping just a couple of hours before I left on my road trip). I was flying through those stores!

Here is the menu for the week:

Monday:  veggie burgers, slaw, baked beans
Tuesday:  rice and beans buffet
Wednesday:  Julie cooks (I think it's an Indian dish)
Thursday:  turkey meatloaves, mashed potatoes, green peas, rolls
Friday:  stir fry, rice, spring rolls
Saturday:  taco soup
Sunday:  pasta salad and fruit salad

Visit OrgJunkie.com for more menu ideas.

One more thing:

What an exciting weekend for the Bulldogs!

Going or Coming?

So here's the deal.

I left home at 6:00 AM (Central time zone) with my family (minus Olivia--at college) on September 29, for a vacation to St. George, Utah.  We flew into Las Vegas (Pacific time zone) and rented a van to drive the 2 hours to St. George (Mountain time zone).  We had a wonderful time in Utah, visiting Zion National Park for two full days and Snow Canyon on two other days.  We did a variety of other fun things too. While we were there Jimmy ran the St. George Marathon.  We came back to Las Vegas on Sunday morning, worshiped with a group of Christians there, and then visited Hoover Dam. We flew home Monday, October 6 (back to Central time zone)and arrived home at 9:30 PM.  I then left Tuesday, October 7, to begin driving to Olivia's school to deliver her a car.  I stopped halfway (Eastern time zone), spent the night, and started early yesterday morning driving the rest of the way.  We have had a nice but brief visit.  She is in class right now, and I am doing her laundry.  I am flying home after lunch today.
So between Sunday and Wednesday I have been in the following states:  Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida.  I will add Tennessee to this list today.  :)

I really don't know if I am coming or going!

Here are a couple of pictures from our trip (we took over 500, I think!)

"But I will hope continually, and will praise You yet more and more."

Psalm 71:14

Menu and Miles

Hello there!

I am planning only four meals right now.  This weekend I plan to do my major once a month shopping at Sam's and Walmart, and I will also plan the rest of my meals (loosely) for October.  

Menu

Meal 1:  salad, oven baked sweet potato and regular potato fries

Meal 2:  pasta salad, green salad, fruit

Meal 3:  taco soup (crock pot)

Meal 4:  stir fry vegetables, brown rice, baked spring rolls

I know that I list salad a lot on my menus, and sometimes with not much else, so I guess some of you are thinking, "How do they get full on salad?"  Well, my salads are more than lettuce and tomatoes.  

When I buy groceries each week, my girls and I usually chop up the broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, ice berg lettuce, and sometimes bell peppers and green onions too.  I store these in the refrigerator, and it is so easy to add them to a green salad, a bowl of rice and beans, or to our pasta salad.

Here is what we choose from when making a salad each day:

iceberg lettuce

spinach

spring mix

romaine

shredded cabbage

tomatoes

carrots

broccoli

cauliflower

bell peppers

green onions

sunflower seeds

pumpkin seeds

slivered almonds

pecans

walnuts

dried craisins

golden raisins

strawberries

blueberries

oranges

chickpeas

black beans

corn

So, you can get a variety of nutrition from the above ingredients, mixed and matched in different ways. I always have homemade bread (made by my resident chef, Julie!) to accompany the meal.  I also always have on hand brown rice, potatoes, or quinoa to round out the meal.

Be sure to visit OrgJunkie.com for more menu inspiration.

Miles

Well I am beginning Week 5 of 14 of my current marathon training.  I did not do my long run last week because of traveling, but I plan to get my miles in this week.  :) Here they are--

9, 17, 6, 5, for a total of 37.  

Have a happy day, and let's all think before we speak today.  :)

"Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so."

James 3:10