Today my first born turns 16!! Just thinking back over the last 16 years makes my heart full!! I can’t imagine my life without this sweet boy/young man!!!
always with a smile
Jordan is one of those kids who has always been very even tempered and rarely ever upset for very long.
Dinner
These days I rarely have to ask him for help – he just steps in and helps me around the house – especially in the kitchen.
Show Off!!!
I love when he does some of the exercises I like to do even if he can do them better than me!!
silly (this picture is not recent!!!)
Pictures with the boys are always fun – Jordan is silly a lot!!!
on the field
Since starting high school Jordan has developed a huge love of band!!! He loves to practice his trumpet and I enjoy hearing him play.
JROTC
Jordan is in ROTC at school – I know Chris loves seeing him in uniform.
silly
I love that Jordan and Hunter get along so well – they are good friends even if they don’t claim to be!!!
Gladiator
Jordan has loved history and all things related to history for years!!
3 years ago – just starting to run
He tried cross country in middle school and enjoyed the running but not really the competing. Now he just runs because he loves it.
Jordan as a 2 year old with my favorite people in the world!
Even when he was little – always smiling!
Great big brother!
He taught Hunter many things including the “correct” way to use sidewalk chalk.
Hunter, Jordan
Look how Hunter looks up to Jordan!!!
Driving
Now he is 16 – now he has more freedom – now I let him go just a little more.
look at him soar!!
My wish for him is that he will always be this free and willing to dive in to new things!!!
Nov. 10, 1998 Happy Birthday, Jordan
Happy 16th to my sweet boy!! I might always consider you my baby because you were my very first!!!
Sometimes as runners/athletes we make choices based on what we want to do and not what we should do – at least I know I’m like that. This week was one of those times – I just tried to do what I wanted as far as working out. It didn’t really work but…..
Sunday 11/2 – 45 machine gun kicks.
balance on right leg – left leg kicksextend leg
These go quickly – the challenge is supporting yourself on the standing leg and staying balanced while moving your leg back and forth!! And, both sides have to be worked equally –
ready for side 2go
This move is actually one I learned from TaeBo!!!
After a week almost completely off and a couple other minimal weeks, I decided to try and run. It wasn’t great but I pushed through and did a slow 5 miles. (sometimes I’m not very smart!!!)
Monday 11/3 – 45 star crunches – right hand to left foot, down, left hand to right foot = 1 rep.
the nice partup and reach
Return to extended position then switch sides –
reach
And, since I was already working my core I decided to do TaeBo Insane Abs. This workout always makes me sore for a few days!!!
Tuesday 11/4 – 45 standing crunches (hold each crunch about 3 seconds).
readyround and squeeze – blow all the air out and hold
I really like standing crunches like this even though it looks a little odd!!!
I wanted to run again but it only took about 3 steps to realize that wasn’t going to happen. So I walked 6.35 miles at a 10% incline.
Wednesday 11/5 – 45 elbow plank with knee tap to a leg lift – alternate sides (right – left = 1 rep).
start in plankright knee barely taps groundlift right leg
Return to plank then do left side –
left knee taplift left leg
This ended up being a LONG time to hold plank by the time I did all 45 reps!!!
I pulled out another older DVD – Denise Austin: Personal Training System. Many years ago this was my go-to workout when I had a stress fracture in my foot and we were traveling – 20 minutes of cardio, 10 minutes upper body, 10 minutes lower body, 10 minutes abs and 10 minutes stretching.
Thursday 11/6 – 45 fly to pull-over. (8 pounds because 45 is a lot!!)
startopen to flybring arms back to center and push weights togetherpull arms over head (don’t touch the ground)
Keeping this movement slow and controlled is the key (especially on the down part!!). My chest is still sore from this one!!!
I’ve mentioned before that I love the 10 Minute Solution DVDs. I chose Sculpt, Tone & Reshape with the Figure 8 for the workout. The figure 8 is a resistance band.
figure 8 band
I like the combination of moves in the workout using the band!!
Holding plank while lifting and lowering your hips is a challenge – holding the plank on the BOSU makes it an even better challenge!!!
2nd side readydown
And, I tried and failed at running again!! So I just walked 4.25 miles at a 10% incline.
Saturday 11/8 – 45 standing pilates leg circles.
frontout to sideto back – squeeze your butt at this point to help with balance!!
If you look closely you can see that my foot is barely off the ground. Even to close the circle (half circle actually) you keep it just above the ground.
I did all 45 on one leg before switching sides.
frontsideback
I like this move even though it is small – after several reps you will start to feel it in your thighs, core and butt!!
I’m not thrilled that I can’t run still but I guess I will just keep doing things that don’t make my leg hurt worse until I get some answers from the DR(s)!!!
I feel like I’ve been way more negative than I really want to be on here lately so today is all about fun and some of my favorite things!!!
I could spend every day just like this!!!
I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned a time or 500 that the beach is my favorite place!!!
If I can’t be on a beach then a pool with full service and one or more of my favorite people is the next best thing –
see – a tan is always a good thing!!
I might have mentioned that I collect cookbooks. My favorite cookbooks are the Taste of Home books –
Taste of Home & Quick Cooking
My other favorite cookbook is the book that our MOPS (Mothers of Preschool Students) group put together years ago –
MOPS Cookbook
This is the book I go to when it is after 5:00pm and I still don’t have a dinner plan!
I also collect martini glasses. I had a hard time picking a favorite so I went with 3 of my favorites –
Five O’Clock Somewhere Texas Decisions (shoes)
Even though summer is my favorite, I also appreciate the beauty of fall –
from our back deck
Pretty sure that I have talked about how much I like the wine Chris brings back from Germany!!!
German wine in my favorite glass
My favorite way to workout will always be running!!!
Patriot run – Hunter was a great crew member!!!
And, the fact that both of my boys like to run now makes running even better!!
before the 4th of July race around the lake
Some days I look out my kitchen window and feel overwhelmed by the beauty of the lake –
sunset over the lake
And, lately my boots have been making me happy many days!!! It is hard for me to pick a favorite pair (I’m not saying how many pair of cowboy boots I have!!!) but here are a few:
these might be my favoritemy Longhorn boots are a close 2ndmaybe I like these the best…
Boots and dresses are my favorite thing to wear if I’m not wearing workout clothes!!!
What are some of your favorite things? Do you wear cowboy boots?
I know that a traditional family dinner doesn’t work for everyone but it is something that we have always done and I look forward to it every day (well most days)!!!
I don’t set a formal table
but I do set the table (or the boys set it for us!!) every night.
basic set-up
Not fancy but it works – we use cloth napkins because I grew up using them and I like them at dinner.
silly but together
Most nights I put the meal on the table and we self serve or pass bowls around.
boys are funny
We have had some of the best conversations ever during dinner. Everyone is happy because they are being fed and it is a great time to talk about the day.
We had the boys at the table with us when they were still in high chairs. (When it was just Chris and I we didn’t always eat at the table – the couch worked perfectly fine!!!)
Some nights we dish the food (soup in this case) from the stove and just have any sides on the table.
I try to keep things simple so that it isn’t an ordeal because I want it to be something that we all enjoy and look forward to.
We used to have a rule that whoever cooked didn’t clean. When the boys were really young I changed it because working in the kitchen cooking and cleaning was my quiet time (Chris would play with the boys downstairs). Now the boys usually handle most of the clean-up!!
I know that if I’m not home for dinner Chris and the boys usually watch TV while they eat which is fine. Some nights we have to watch important stuff – the end of The Masters, part of the NCAA basketball tournament……but mostly we leave the TV off while we eat.
Some nights we can’t all sit together because of different activities. But, the majority of the time all 4 of us (or 3 if someone is gone) sit down and eat dinner together while we share things about our day and/or solve all the problems in the world!!!
The carton isn’t typical for our dinners but it made me laugh!!!
Do you have family dinners regularly? Do you use cloth napkins?
Purpose – the aim or goal of a person : what a person is trying to do, become, etc. (Merriam-Webster)
There have been many times in my life that I have questioned my purpose. I spent years going to school, college and grad school. I basically have a small collection of degrees that I’ve never really used.
My BS is Chemistry & Biology.
My masters is Sports Medicine.
Then I took graduate classes to get my teaching certification.
I actually used my teaching certification for a few years to teach middle school science. Then I had Jordan and pretty much overnight became a stay-home mom.
And I struggled trying to find my purpose.
I know that taking care of Jordan (and later Hunter) was/is important but I always felt like I should be doing more.
I grew to love my years staying home with my boys and feel blessed that I had the opportunity to be with them every day.
When both boys were in elementary school I took a job as the head secretary/book keeper (still not using any of my education!!) at their school and loved it!! I made a decision to enjoy all parts of the job and be the best secretary I could be to help all of the teachers/staff and students.
After 5 years I knew it was time to move on because I was bored and not putting 100% into the job anymore.
Now we own a business and because Chris is busy (now more than ever) with his job, I pretty much run the business – the good and bad parts!!!
But, there are many days that I still struggle with knowing what my true purpose is.
I know that the roles of being Mom to Jordan and Hunter, wife to Chris and business owner are all important and I love that I get to do all those things.
But……sometimes I still feel like I don’t have a purpose. When I was young I thought I would do something to make a difference in the world. Now I just hope that at some point I make a difference in someone’s life.
For some reason, this fall has been one of those major times in my life (sort of like when I became a new mom) that I feel like I’m sort of searching around trying to make sure I have a purpose and that I’m fulfilling that purpose.
Who knows?! Maybe this is my mid-life crisis!!
Or maybe I just need to run again!!!
Do you ever struggle with knowing and/or living your purpose?
