Staying Home With Books

After a week or so of our quarantine, I began to feel out of sorts. When I scrolled through my Facebook or Instagram feed it seemed like everyone was having so much fun while sheltering at home. Baking homemade bread. Cleaning out closets. Working in the yard. Preparing themed meals. Watching hours of Netflix. In general--getting lots of things done! Personally, my life had not changed much except that I was not driving the kids to activities 3 days a week or going to church services 3 times a week. Our homeschool load and my housework responsibilities stayed the same, and so I did not suddenly find myself with large pockets of time to fill.

Or so I thought. 

I had a pity party for a couple of days, and then I began to take a closer look and find the blessings of being at home all the time. Actually, I did have extra time in my day. Driving to and from those activities plus the time while they were doing the things did take lots of time. Running errands and buying groceries did take lots of time. And now that I was home all day, every day with no interruptions, I found that I could do some extra and fun things too!

Two fun and rewarding activities have been worked into my day almost every single day since mid-March. These are things that I was not doing consistently or spending large amounts of time on before sheltering at home.

Reading and Walking.

(It's a long story why I am not running anymore, and that's another blog post.)

I realized that walking up and down my driveway was great therapy. I had time to do it for thirty minutes each morning before we began school because (1)we were starting school later than normal since we did not have activities to get to at the end of the school day and (2) I did not need to allow time to shower, blow-dry my hair, and put on makeup because--no outside the house activities!

I also found that I can walk again for thirty minutes or more either during our lunch break or when I am done teaching for the day, usually by 1:30 or 2:00. And, many afternoons or nights, either before or after supper, Jimmy and I are walking for 20-30 minutes.  All those minutes of walking are adding up, and I feel so much better for doing it! I am closing the rings on my watch again. Yay!

An even bigger benefit is that when I am walking alone, usually an hour or more each day, I listen to audio books. I am on my third audio book, all listened to while walking up and down my driveway!

First I listened to The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. (9 hours, 53 minutes). Next, I finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. (I had about 13 hours left in that book). Beginning in March of 2019, Leah, Sam, and I have listened to all of the Harry Potter books whenever we were in the car. We were about halfway through book 7 when the coronavirus came, and suddenly we were not in our car anymore! Leah and Sam both finished reading it at night, but I decided to finish it on Audible while walking.  I am now listening to The Dearly Beloved by Cara Wall. It is 10 hours, 50 minutes, and I have 8.5 hours left. 

Sometimes I listen to podcasts for a little while in between book chapters or books, but mostly I have listened to books. It has been most enjoyable!

Another blessing of extra time I have found is reading books. I am reading at least two books at a time in addition to my audio book--one on my iPad kindle app and one that is a hardback or paperback. I make time almost every afternoon to sit outside and read, and I also read in bed each night.

Here are the books I have read since the beginning of January, with most of them being completed since March:

Tending Roses by Lisa Wingate

The Guardians by John Grisham

Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin

The Mountain Between Us by Charles Martin

The Light of the World by Elizabeth Alexander

Never Say Never by Lisa Wingate

Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod

On the Bright Side by Melanie Shankle

The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate

The Patron Saint of Liars by Ann Patchett

Hannah Coulter by Wendall Berry (a reread)

The Prayer Box by Lisa Wingate

My Antonia by Willa Cather

Don't Overthink It by Anne Bogel

I am currently reading:

Greensleeves by Eloise Jarvis McGraw

The Language of the Sycamores by Lisa Wingate

Books I have just purchased and are ready to be read next:

Camino Winds by John Grisham

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

The Accidentals by Minrose Gwin

Melanie Shankle's timely released book, On the Bright Side, reminded me to do just that. One big bright side of being home all the time is lots of time for reading---and walking.

Let's Talk About Running Again

I have a love/hate relationship with running. Although I have run fairly consistently for 11 years now, it continues to be a struggle most days. Up until about three years ago I continually trained for six marathons and numerous half-marathons. I ran my last marathon in December of 2014, and I have not even considered running another one since! I have still run one or two half-marathons a year since that time, but I have almost lost my interest in that too.

I ran two half-marathons recently--one in December and one in January. The December one was ok. My training was poor. I ran only 1-3 days a week, but for the last four weeks prior to the race I did a  10-12 mile run weekly. On race day I finished with a respectable time, (however pretty slow for me), but I was sore for days. I vowed then that I would train better for my January half-marathon.

But I didn't.
It was Christmas holidays and all my people were here for almost two weeks and of course I did not want to run. My plan for the Mississippi Blues Half Marathon on January 27 was to run/walk and somehow finish before Jimmy finished the marathon. Note to self: running a half-marathon without proper training is not the smartest idea.
I walked/ran in about 1/2 mile intervals. It was cold, and it rained the entire time. I listened to podcasts and just took my time. I set a PR for my slowest half-marathon ever!

So here I am. I have not been motivated to run for so long now. I even stopped going to CrossFit for all of December and January. I began CrossFit again at the beginning of February, and I am slowly getting my groove back. I also printed out a training plan for the Coke 10K on May 5. I actually completed all my miles for week one (which ended today). Progress. 

For me, exercise is like most other tasks. Once I get started and in a routine, I am fine. It's just taking the first step, literally. I am ALWAYS glad once I am through exercising. I like how I feel when I run in the mornings or go to Crossfit (well, except for being sore sometimes after Crossfit---but I am so weak and am basically starting over and my Coach is modifying everything for me---so I am not really even that sore yet!) My clothes fit better when I run on a regular basis. 

So I am challenging myself, again, to follow a training plan for an upcoming race. This time I am going to do it. 

Do you need to challenge yourself? Do you have a fitness goal? Do you want to join me in making exercising five days a week a top priority? Walk, run, aerobics, CrossFit, yoga, pilates.....whatever form of exercise you are motivated to do. Please join me. Let's be successful together. 

Saturday's Progress

I have had such a productive day!  Yay!

I left for Sam's and Kroger to buy my weekly groceries at 7:10AM, and I was home by 9:00AM. Then after unloading and putting away the groceries, I began my computer work. I completed our paperwork for our taxes, and I will submit them to the accountant on Monday. What a load off my mind! Next, I completely prepared for my English class for this Wednesday. That is another load off my mind. I have some extra appointments this week (a doctor checkup and a hair appointment), so I really wanted to have all my school prep done before the new week began. After that I did some wedding work!

Here is what I have checked off my wedding planning list:

• Ordered bridesmaids dresses for Olivia's wedding for Leah and Julie
• Uploaded the pictures of wedding ideas to the memory stick. I will print those out Monday when I am in town.
• Finalized Julie's wedding guest list, double checked the names and addresses, and gathered a few lacking addresses. 
• Researched, pondered, texted Leanna a hundred times, and finally decided on the wording for Julie's wedding invitations! I also included "the favor of your reply' cards. Leanna and I researched and pondered the spelling for favor vs. favour. We went with favor.  I have not actually submitted the order for the invitations yet because I am awaiting a promo code from my "Wedding Invitation Specialist" via text or email. :) This lady was assigned to me after I ordered several invitation samples. 

A little side story:

I have injured myself, again doing Crossfit. I have battled this same shoulder/neck/upper back/only on the right side pain on and off since last April. It improved over the summer, but I re-injured myself back in the fall. I modified my workouts to eliminate the exercises I felt were contributing to the pain, but until I took off 6 six weeks in December and January, I was not completely pain free. 

So I began going back to Crossfit about 3 weeks ago. I attended 4 classes and was doing just fine. Then this past Monday....well, during the workout, I felt just fine. But by Tuesday, I knew something was wrong, and by Thursday I was in much pain. So much so that I could not run. Or walk, or brush my teeth, or use my right arm in any way without pain. 

I actually went to my family doctor Thursday to see if I had any major injury that I should do something about more than rest. He tactfully suggested that I may need avoid the weightlifting that I knew was causing the injury! He never came out and said I was too old for Crossfit, but encouraged me to stay active in non-pain causing forms of exercise! :) I am taking a lot of Motrin and Tylenol and one 20mg steroid yesterday and one today. That has helped me so much! The dr. told me to completely rest from exercising until I was pain free. I plan to run as soon as doing so doesn't hurt my shoulder.

I also plan to go back to Crossfit class later next week. I will avoid all presses/weightlifting/snatches, etc. that aggravate my shoulder. I guess I will just be doing box jumps and burpees! Fun! It doesn't seem like pull-ups or rowing hurt my shoulder. I know you are thinking, "Why don't you just quit doing Crossfit?" Well. I really like my class. I would go to socialize with my friends even if we didn't do the workouts!

How was your Saturday?

Books, Running, Life.....

I finished David Copperfield a couple of days ago.  I really liked that book.  I have decided that I really like Charles Dickens, and so I plan to read some more of his books.  I think my next one will be Oliver Twist.  So far I have read Great Expectations and A Tale of Two Cities by Dickens, and I thoroughly enjoyed both of them.

But the reality is that I have so many books on my must read now list, with the Bible in 90 Days (I am 1/3 of the way through) and The Red Badge of Courage (for my English class) being top priority.  Oh, and my Running Book Club selection, Better Than Before.  However our running club has not met in a few weeks because it has been too cold to run outside.  I refuse to run outside if the temperature is below freezing, and we have had many, many below freezing mornings lately.

Which brings me to my next topic:  running.  Oh, the love/hate relationship I have with regular running.  I love actually running--well I don't love it on the treadmill which is where I have been doing most of my running, when I run, lately....but I really, really enjoy running outside--either with friends (therapy session) or alone (prayer and sorting out my thoughts sessions), but the logistics of fitting regular running into my daily routine is challenging, and that's an understatement.  (Wow!  That was a long sentence!)  So for me, the stress of running is the planning and talking myself into doing it, not the actual running itself.  Yes.  This is still my challenge after 9 years of regular, consistent running.

My running goals for 2016 include logging 1000 miles for the year and training and running a marathon (my 6th).  I haven't selected the marathon yet, but it will probably be St. Jude in December in Memphis.  I am failing so far amassing the miles.....I need to average 20 miles a week to get to 1000 for the year, and I have run 20 miles per week only once this year.  Most weeks I have 18 or less. But there is still time!  Progress, not perfection, right?

And because I like to stretch myself even further, I have added two new exercise things to my plate.  I attended a piyo (pilates/yoga) for the first time last week with a friend of mine, and I plan to go to this class twice a week.  Also, a group of ladies from my church have formed a CrossFit class, and I hope to attend that 2 times a week beginning next week.  We will see if I can CrossFit, Yoga, and run......or if I am just asking for trouble!  :)

Life.....
I am in new season of motherhood.....my oldest two growing up and spreading their wings, my middle one preparing to leave home for college in the next year and a half, and my youngest two, thankfully still at home with me for several years to come!  Most days I think parenting lots of little children with diapers, pacifiers,  and sippy cups to be much easier than where I am today.  But with God's help, lots of prayer and Bible reading, and hopefully a friend or two who can guide me along the way I will figure it all out.

Happy Friday!

I Finished Insanity!

Tuesday was my 63rd and final day of the Insanity Workout.  I am a graduate!  I have downloaded the paperwork to fill out to get my Insanity t-shirt.  You cannot buy these t-shirts, nor will they give you one unless you prove that you have completed the program.  I am looking forward to receiving and wearing my Insanity t-shirt!

I did not take before and after pictures, and I forgot to take any body measurements (except for my weight) before I began.  However, on day 22 I took several basic body measurements--waist, hips, thigh, arm, etc.  I measured myself again on day 63, and I was shocked!  I lost 8 inches total!  1 in. in each arm, 1.5 in. in each thigh, 2 in. in my waist, and 1 in. in my hips.  I would have never guessed!  I am so glad that I measured.  My weight increased by 3 pounds, so I am guessing that toning up really does develop muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat.

Looking back, the program was not really that hard, however I was intimidated the first week.  I recommend this exercise program to anyone who wants to lose some weight or simply tone up and increase your body strength.  I would not recommend this to someone who is currently doing NO exercise, but if you are already in pretty decent shape, then you can do it!  I will confess that during some (ok a lot) of the workouts I felt like I was going to throw up!  It is an intense workout!  But I kept telling myself, if I can run a marathon, surely I can do a 50 minute workout!  Shaun T., the instructor is very encouraging, and I enjoyed trying to keep up with the other participants.

I am resting for the next week or so, and I am still unsure of my next exercise plan.  I want to do some sort of combination of running and strength training.  I don't want to lose these muscles that I have built up!  I don't have any half-marathons coming up, but I do plan to run the Coke 10K in May with Leah.  This will be her very first 10K.  She is following the training plan that the Coke Commit to be Fit is publishing on Facebook.  She is running 3 days a week, and has just built up to 20 minutes per session.  She is so excited, and I am looking forward to running this with her!

Stick With It Saturday

www.thekelleyeight.com

I had a really good exercise week!  I got all of my miles in (28)!  I worked out 5 days this week.

1.  CrossFit workout
2.  6 miles--treadmill
3.  4 miles--treadmill
4.  6 miles--treadmill
5.  12 miles--outside with Lynn, Julie (she did 6), Amber, and part of the time with Lynn's husband Kelly.

I am planning to run my second (and probably last) marathon for a while on December 3.  That is 16 weeks from today!  I am going to follow the exact same training plan that Koach made me for my last marathon.  It is a 14 week plan, so I will begin it two weeks from Monday.  For the next two weeks, my planned running mileage is 30 miles plus 1-2 CrossFit workouts and/or Cardio Recovery from Insanity.

How is your exercising going?  I want to encourage you to get moving!  Take a walk.  Let your children walk with you, push them in a stroller, or let them ride their bikes while you walk.  Thirty minutes a day will make you feel great!  Try it!

Stick With It Saturday

Samantha over at The Kelley Eight, frequently blogs on Saturdays about her exercising report for the week.  I am always encouraged when I read about other busy mothers making time for exercise, and I also love to celebrate with them their accomplishments.  So today, I will share my exercising for the week.

But first, I must share that this week has not been the best--exercise wise for me.  I am short 15 miles this week.  15 miles!  It's ok though.  I will begin again on Monday, and I will get all of my miles in next week.  (In the running world, new weeks begin on Mondays.)

Monday:  Rest day.  I was super sore after Sunday night's CrossFit workout which included 5 quarter mile sprints.

Tuesday:  Ran 3 miles followed by a CrossFit workout.

Wednesday:  Ran 6 miles.

Thursday:  Ran 2 miles followed by a CrossFit workout.  This one included 50 box jumps.  I have mastered the box jump!  But my knee was hurting a little bit yesterday....

Friday:  Planned to run 14 miles at 6:15 AM, but one of my running partners woke up with a high fever and the other one (Lynn) is in New York City!  With her husband Kelly.  So I never ran yesterday.  I just couldn't motivate myself to run 14 miles on the treadmill.  I began working on my school stuff instead.

Saturday:  That's today!  I have considered running my long run on the treadmill.....but I have talked myself out of it!  I do not want to spend 2.5-3 hours on the treadmill today.  Instead, I have planned a marathon school planning session!  So that leaves Sunday.....

Sunday:  Crossfit is planned for tomorrow night with our group.  It may or may not include a little bit of running, and I may or may not run an extra mile or two for a warm up or cool down.  Bottom line:  I was supposed to run 26 miles this week, and so far I have run only 11.

Some weeks are like that.

Next week's running mileage is 28.  I will get those miles in.  Check back next Saturday to see if I actually did!

Hello Out There!

I have so much that I want to blog about.....Rustic Youth Camp, our fun Fourth of July celebration, school and VBS prep....

But I have been sick!  Nothing serious, but a pretty bad sore throat and now a full-blown cold.  Just enough to make me feel tired and keep me from functioning at full speed.  Julie, Leah, and Sam have all had swimmer's ear, and Leah has had a sore throat as well.

I finally finished the camp laundry--the grand total (using my large front loading washer) was 13 loads!  I skipped laundry yesterday (just fell too yukky), so today my washer and dryer will be working hard again!  I also need to have an ironing marathon.

I took 10 days off from exercising.  10 days!  I can't remember the last time I rested for that many days.  I only took off 7 days after my marathon.  Anyway, between camp preparations, actually attending camp, camp recovery, and then getting sick, I skipped a total of 10 days!  The good thing is, my knees have stopped hurting!  So resting from the jumping in the Insanity workouts has proved to be beneficial.  I jumped right back into running on Tuesday of this week.  Tuesday morning, Jimmy and I ran 6 miles on a trail.  I am not a big trail running fan, but this trail on the Natchez Trace was actually nice, and I did enjoy the run.  I think it was the company rather than the actual trail!  Yesterday, Jimmy and I met my friend  Amber for a 10 mile run--on the road.  I was pretty sore yesterday, but not injured.  And my knees still feel great!  I am planning on doing an Insanity workout later today, but not do any of the jumps.

I am working hard on preparing for our upcoming VBS.  Our VBS lasts for 4 days, and I am teaching the K-2 grade class.  I am anticipating 12-15 students.  My lessons are:

1. Elijah and the 450 prophets of Baal
2. Ezekiel and the dry bones
3. Gideon and the 300 men
4. Balaam and the donkey

Well, that's about all that is going on around here....I did my monthly Walmart shopping yesterday, and I bought some school supplies!  They are already putting everything out and selling it at a super low price.  I bought a few things at Staples too.  I mostly stocked up on glue, glue sticks, pencils, spiral notebooks, composition books, construction paper, and notebook paper.  That is really all that we need.  I need to restock our paint supply, and I plan on getting some new binders for the children, but that is about all for this year.

Most of the pictures from camp and all of the ones from July the 4th are all on Jimmy's computer.  I hope to get on there today and choose some for my blog.  We had a really, really fun Fourth of July with some of our dear friends.

Have a good summer day!

Insanity Day 31

I did it!

I am still walking around!  In fact, it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be!  I surprised myself.  I made it through the entire warm-up without having to stop.  Then we did the max interval training which is 3 minutes of a series of exercises (45 seconds per exercise) with a 30 second break in between.  I think we did 4 or maybe 6 sets of the 3 minute torture followed by the 30 second try to catch your breath so you won't aspirate the water Shaun T. keeps telling you to drink!.  I lost count.  The total workout was 56 minutes. 

There were some new variations of push-ups that I couldn't master (some I just couldn't even do more than one or two of)--how many variations of the push-up can Shaun T. come up with?  So I just did the best I could on those moves and substituted with the push-ups that I can do after I tried and failed at the new kinds.  I plan to master those push-ups!

Here are some pictures of Jimmy's latest handy work.

 the new pull-up bar

On the floor, you can see the mat that I do the Insanity on.

This is the plyometric (jump) box.

The main box is 16 inches tall (perfect for Lynn, me and the other girls).  In the background you can see a 4 inch insert which will make the box 20 inches tall (for the men).

the 4 inch insert

the plyo box at 20 inches tall

painted and almost finished--Jimmy has to put a carpet covering on the top so we won't slip when we jump up on the box

Today is NOT a vacation day.  Jimmy went back to work today, so we are getting ready to do school.

Have a great weekend everyone!