I tried for that ten minute mile again this week- fail. 10:25. I would rather it took me 47 minutes than to be this close to the ten minute mark and not be able to do it! Grrrr. Anyway, I did accomplish a 5 MILE RUN! That is the longest I have ever run in my entire life! Next weekend is 5.5 miles and the weekend after that is the 10K and I will FINALLY officially be able to cross something off my list! Yeah!

 My dad asked me this week how he was supposed to know what I had completed on the list.  That answer was simple – “Nothing.”  There are several things that I could consider completed at this time, but I guess I don’t feel as if they are done yet.  Internally, I still feel like there is more for me to do before I can cross Volunteer (#20) off the list.  I have been working with the High School Youth Group at the church for several weeks now and am enjoying my time there. (Shameless plug time: order Papa John’s (University) on Tuesday March 20^th and 10% of the profit for the night goes to the youth group and their trip to the regional youth conference in April) I have been looking for some wine tasting courses online, but they are expensive! I am not sure how far I want to go with that goal either. I want to be able to learn more about mine and the different types and tastes.  Right now I just go to the store and pick a pretty bottle. J I am going to look for some dance lessons or even a cake class to take in the near future.  I have been spending so much time running that I have not had much time to do anything other than that.  I will have to see if the Hubby is interested in some dance lessons.  I have a feeling that my dad might have something up his sleeve to help me with crossing some of the other items off my list as well. 

The Hubby and I have been working very hard to finish our basement project.  When we first moved in the basement was framed, but there wasn’t any insulation or drywall.  I would compare it to hanging out in a tree house as it was pretty darn cold in the winter! A few years ago we did put up drywall and insulation, but we only did an “okay” job.  The problem is that he wants to get projects done quickly and I am a perfectionist and we were not able to find a balance.  It was good enough though and there was now a comfortable temperature reached.  This time we decided to go all out and frame out the doors and windows, paint the walls, and we added bead board around the walls…. and, drumroll please, WE ARE GETTING NEW FURNITURE.  Apparently, as disclosed to me during the Hubby’s Bachelor Party, our couch was very “busy” during college and as we have been out of college for 7 years I thought it might be time to send it to couch heaven.  We should be getting the new furniture by the end of the week or early next week when the painting is complete - J So excited!

I want to cross it off...

This week I came really close to being able to cross one thing off my list (#7 – run a ten minute mile).  I ran .95 miles in ten minutes – and that was after 50 minutes on the elliptical.  I probably could have pushed myself a little bit harder and got the full mile in, but I was so tired already! I am planning on trying again this week.  I just really want to be able to cross something off the list – I want to feel a sense of accomplishment.  I feel like I will be more motivated to finish more of the tasks when I am able to cross one off.  The Hubby asked me yesterday what I plan to do when I stop running.  The truth is, I don’t plan to stop running. I will be “cutting back” and not going to the gym everyday as has become my habit because it is kind of time consuming.  I still plan to go to the gym two to three times a week and allow more time to get some of my other goals completed. 

I think the next major task I am going to take on is catching up on my scrapbook (#14).  I have not touched it since I had surgery a few years ago and had a lot of sitting time on my hands.  I have continued to print pictures and keep them organized – it is just a matter of putting it all together.  I am also still trying to figure out how I want to organize all of the wedding pictures and mementos from those events.  I am thinking about just making one book with all of the bachelor/bachelorette events, the showers, and the BIG DAY! J It has been almost a year… probably about time to get it organized. Ha ha. 

I also think I have convinced the Hubby to take a trip to New York in the Fall (#1) so that it can be crossed off my list as well! We don’t have any major trips planned this year, no weddings at this point.  We are going back to Illinois for a Baptism in May for little Owen and I am very excited to meet the little guy. I also plan on being in Illinois sometime around Easter, depends on when my new little nephew decides to make his appearance.  Well, on the baby note – I need to get some things done around here before leaving for a Gender Reveal Party for the newest member of our group or friends that will be joining us in August.  I am wearing pink to the party, but honestly I don’t care if it is a boy or a girl, I just want to hold the baby! J

Balance

Training, training, training.  I feel that I have spent A LOT of time in training the last several months.  I enjoy training because I love being able to expand my knowledge base and hopefully learn something that can help my foster parents to be better foster parents.  The current issue is I don’t have the time to teach the foster parents any of the knowledge that I am holding in my head.  I won’t bore you with the details of my job.  We have over forty foster children in placement with our agency, thirty foster families, and five staff – I supervise the department meaning I supervise all of the above.  I am also currently training two families to become foster parents as well as transferring several families into the agency.  To put it mildly, I am busy.  The most frustrating thing to me is that I feel like I can do better.  There are so many changes and improvements that I would like to see made within the department and I simply don’t have the time to do it! It really bothers me because I know I am not maximizing the potential of the department.  I need to find a balance with all of my job responsibilities SOON!

I took a week off running due to the job responsibilities, time commitments, and just being otherwise exhausted at the end of the day.  I ran again on Monday night and was only able to complete 2 miles in 25 minutes.  The training schedule called for 3 miles, but that wasn’t going to happen.  I did 45 minutes on the elliptical the next night and nothing tonight due to teaching class at work.  I will be back at the gym tomorrow because MARCH 31 IS ALMOST HERE! I am not worried about my ability to finish the race because I will finish it – I just don’t want to spend all day running 6 miles! I know that the important thing is going to be to continue running after the race as well.  I should probably just sign up for another one so I have another goal in mind… I work better with a plan. J

The positive of it almost being March 31 is that I will officially be able to cross something off my list (#17)! Yeah! I have made tremendous progress on some of the other goals I set for myself.  I think it is safe to say that I am well on my way to becoming a regular at church (#28) as people now know my name.  I have become a volunteer (#20) with the High School Youth Group.  This Friday night I will be participating in a Famine with the Youth Group as well – more about that one later.  The Hubby and I continue or never ending chess game (#16), but I am still learning how to move the pieces.  I found out there are tons of YouTube videos to help you learn how to crochet (#18) so I will be looking into those.  I really want to get caught up on my scrapbook (#14) and I think that is going to be my next accomplishment.  Maybe I can use the crochet practice to decompress?!?!?