Here goes nothing!

You guys, I am so excited and terrified about my latest goal, that I have hesitated to talk to many people about it at all.

I love my group fitness classes at the Y. I love the instructors there, and the energy, and the team-like atmosphere between the regulars.

I love it so much that I decided to get certified to teach!

I've been talking with Joel about doing this for the last year or so, and started googling info and asking questions over the last 6 months. In the process of looking into the options and certifications, I had to sift through some different opinions, and decide what route I'd like to take. I talked to the group fitness director at my gym, and a few of my favorite instructors about what they did, and what they'd recommend.

And today, I registered. I'm signed up for my Group Exercise certification workshop and exam. I'm doing it. For real.

And now that I've paid my first $300, and announced it here on the world wide web (let's be real, probably only a dozen people will read this), I'm horrified.

I'm not the most super-fit lady I know. I'm not the peppiest, most outgoing lady either. I can't do more than a few pushups on my toes, and I still can't do a pullup. But you know what? If I wait until I get all of that figured out, I may never feel strong enough, good enough, fit enough to do it at all.

So this is as much a personal journey as anything.

I know that learning to teach high-energy classes while speaking (not huffing and puffing) into a microphone is not going to come naturally. It's not going to be easy or quick. I will need to improve... a lot. And that's part of the journey that I'm excited about.

Yesterday, a friend told me that I inspired her to start running.

And you know what? Someone once inspired me to start running.

And someone inspired her to start running.

I am not really thin or super fit, but something about my journey is able to motivate someone else to start a new one of their own. The lady who inspired me to start didn't have a chiseled body or a bunch of medals, but her determination was admirable. And I thought, if she can do this, maybe I can too.

And that's the really cool thing. Being able to spur each other on. We have the opportunity to be part of a chain of contagious encouragement and enthusiasm!

SO WHAT DO I HAVE TO LOSE?

Maybe I will suck.

 I mean... I'm not the most coordinated person out there.

My bridesmaids tried for like 2 hours to teach me the Electric Slide, unsuccessfully, before calling me a hopeless case.

(Wine may have contributed to my inability to remember the steps... maybe.)

I might find that I don't enjoy it like I thought I would.

Maybe I won't lose a single inch or pound.

(My love of pizza, beer, ice cream, pasta, wine... food in general... may very well make that the case.)

But maybe I'll finally know what I want to be when I grow up.

Maybe I'll get in the best shape of my life, and inspire some other people to do so alongside me.

Maybe I'll be so incredibly glad that I didn't wait until I felt or looked like a fitness instructor to become one.

So... here goes nothing!

My first half marathon recap!

Check!

One item crossed off the bucket list!

I ran the Garry Bjorklund Half Marathon over the weekend, my very first half marathon, and it was fantastic.

A friend of Joel's from high school, along with his adorable wife, persuaded us to sign up for this race back in February. It's a lottery, and we signed up as a team of 4, so we were either all in or all not. It runs in conjunction with Grandma's Marathon, and is a HUGE race.

Training Schedule

After getting in, I set to work putting together a training schedule that worked for us. It was a hybrid of a few different ones I found online, and included running 3x/wk for 12 weeks.

We decided to keep it loose.
So each week, we had to find time to complete our 3 runs for the week, in no particular order, and on no particular day.

Because that's the way we roll.

If we had set it up in any strict fashion, we would have surely screwed it all up. :-)

I'm gonna rock 2013... I hope. :-)

I will be turning 30 this summer.

I am not even a little bit afraid of that number. In fact, I'm so used to being the youngest, that it's almost a relief to be entering my 30's. Like I'll finally be legit. :-)

But for some reason, I have an incredible amount of drive this year, to cross some things off of my bucket list.

I have struggled the last 5 or 6 years with inconsistency. I desperately want the life I live to be congruent with the life I want to live, and with what I believe. I have been compelled to challenge myself, by identifying what is really at the core of my beliefs, goals and motivations. And to try to narrow down my priorities and focus on growing into my real self.

Maybe 30 is a little late to be just now evaluating all of this. Better late than never, right?

So here are some things I am working toward this year:


I am reading the Bible cover to cover. In order. Not skipping even the most cringe-worthy or boring parts.

I struggle sometimes, with reconciling the almighty, just, holy God of the Old Testament, with the God who would humble himself so much as to die for us. I want to understand God's heart for me, for us.

I have read the whole bible a couple of times, but it's always been broken down for me into a kind of daily schedule. Usually something like 1 chapter of the Old Testament, 1 chapter in Psalms, 1 in Proverbs, and 1 in the New Testament. ... Or something similar. And I've read many parts of the Bible dozens of times, maybe more. But it seems like it loses all of it's chronology and context when it's all broken up in chunks.

So I want to just take it as it is. And read it all the way through. And soak up the STORY of it.


I'm training to run a half marathon in June.

I didn't start out with any intention of becoming a "runner". But I am amazed at what this running stuff has done for me. I have never been athletic or physically fit, and it has never been much of a priority for me. However, I want my body to be strong and healthy. Osteoporosis runs in my family, as does heart disease. Running seemed to me to be a good, accessible fitness option, since you don't need any equipment or a membership to a gym.

Over time I have decided that I love it. It reminds me how lucky I am to be ABLE to move my body in this way; I know many people who physically don't have the option of running. It reminds me that this vain physical perfection women are pushed to pursue is so unimportant. My body is not my identity! It is a tool, a vehicle. And I want to teach my girls to love their bodies for all of the things their bodies enable them to do, not for what they look like.

Oh, also, it makes me feel just a little bit bad-ass to have sweat literally dripping off of me. :-)


I want to get baptized this year.

When I was a baby, I was not baptized, I was dedicated. In a ceremony where the parents dedicate their child to God, and where they publicly vow to raise that child in the Christian faith.

Now, I think the issue of baby baptism vs. dedication is debatable, but I'm not debating it. I think the intentions of our hearts are what God's looking at, not weather we were splashed or simply prayed for in the front of a congregation as an infant.

Nonetheless, my mom explained to me as a child that she believed baptism should be something one chooses, when they are old enough to understand that choice.

I have wanted to be baptized many times, but wanted it not to be just a religious next-step. I want to read, understand, and wholeheartedly mean it, when I make that commitment.


So that's my to-do list so far for this year.
Now that I've shared it with you, I'm accountable to follow through, right? :-)

The barn with a name

I have a dream.
A dream that's been growing since I was young, became real with the planning of my wedding, and has become a nagging obsession since.

You might think it sounds crazy, but I want to own a barn.

Yep. You read that right. A barn.

I don't want to raise any animals. I'm not really a big animal person.
I don't want to plant crops, although apple trees would be cool.
No, I want to own a barn as a facility to host weddings and other events.

Here's the story behind this dream:

When I was young, I somehow managed to think I was a country girl. I never lived on a farm. I never rode a horse. I lived in suburban Twin Cities MN. But the woods was my favorite place on God's earth, and I had a thing for antiquity. I used to dream up a wedding in my head where we set up hay bales in rows for guests to sit on during the ceremony, and where we retreated to the rustic stone and weathered-wood barn for a reception and dance.

I've always had a thing for barns. There is something about the architecture of them. They tell a story about a certain period of our history. And they are rotting and falling over in neglect in fields and groves all across our country. They are not being put to use, and so they are deteriorating. It makes me sad to see a barn sagging and collapsing- especially the giant old barns, skillfully built, that have been around for 100 years or more.

When it was time to plan my wedding, my mom and I drove every dang back road within a 20 mile radius of our home, looking for a barn in which we could possibly host a wedding. We checked out apple orchards, family farms, horse stables, wineries... What we found out was that there are really very few such venues in the area.

Click here to see some examples of the kind of setting I'm talking about.



There is a particular barn, in Nowthen, MN (No, really. You gotta love a town named Nowthen!), that I've admired for many, many years. Probably since I could drive a car. I remember driving with my brother, taking pictures of barns and silos as we cruised the back roads in the rural areas north of our home. And I remember once pulling over to take a picture of this one particular barn, and thinking that of all of the barns I'd seen, this one was the most... majestic.

Now, majestic may not seem to you like a great adjective to describe a barn. But it was strong and tall and held its own weight. Though you could tell it was neglected, and would have been entitled to a little sagging here and there, it stood proud. It was unique. It was a round barn, with a giant cupola, brick base, and windows all around. And it commanded a beautiful property, bordering a lake, with mature trees and a beautiful home.

Over time, I've stopped at or driven by this barn many times. And over time, the dream has grown. I WANT THAT BARN! And then I want as many people as possible to see it and enjoy its character.

Just for fun, I began think... what would I name the barn, if ever I were blessed enough to own it?
I prayed about it... I thought about it... I brainstormed... You know, just for fun.
A dozen super-stupid names crossed my mind, and were instantly vetoed. I just couldn't pin a name on the dream.

So I consulted Google. :o)
I started searching for "wedding barn" and "historic barn"... just looking at the names of different barns, both the wedding-venue type, and other. Then I happened to search "historic barns, MN", which led me to a page listing the barns in MN that are on the National Registrar of Historic Places. Just for fun, I clicked on my county, and took a look at the historic sites listed.

And then, holy moly! Guess what I saw?!? MY BARN! Staring at me from my computer screen! The link led to a Wikipedia page, telling me the history and THE NAME of my barn! (Please excuse all of the exclamations. I am fully aware that none of this is as exciting to you as it is to me.)


So there it is. Sparre Barn of Nowthen, MN.

Now I realize that this is sounding silly to some people. But what I'm about to tell you will sound even sillier (sillier is not a word- I know). I want to go knock on the owner's door. I want to show up with a folder of pictures and tell them about my dream for their barn. I want to give them my card (I don't actually have a card- I'm a stay-at-home-mom- but I'd make one especially for them!), and ask them to contact me if ever they were looking to sell the property. I want to research rules and regulations regarding properties on the National Registrar of Historic Places and think about business plans and finances.... and... and...

Halt!

I'm way ahead of myself, I know.
So for now, I will do none of the above.
But I will pray. And I will wait. And if this dream persists, I will probably go knock on their door someday. I will not bombard them with my silly dream, but I will politely give them my contact info and ask them to contact me if ever they sell. And I will pray some more.

Did absense make your heart grow fonder? ... I thought not.

Hi... I suck.
Yeah, I know.
It's been well over a year.
I have no excuses.
Don't hate me, mmkay?
:o)

So, I've been thinking. Since I just suck at this bloggity-blog stuff, maybe I should just delete my account and not pretend to be a blogger. (BTW, I don't, by ANY stretch of the term, think of or refer to myself as a blogger.) But I don't really want to delete my account, or my past posts. I like 'em. So can I just be an online journal-er instead?

Because, you see, the thing is that I don't really have much to share with you except my random shenanigans, my ideas, my dreams, and my point of view. I'm not here to share recipes with you or make in-depth tutorials. I'm still working on figuring out just about every aspect of my life, so I'm not going to sit here and dole out advice or wisdom. I'm just me, and I just randomly feel like creating a written account of what's up in my life and my head.

Is that acceptable?
Do you accept these terms?
Sweet. Thanks.

Updates and recent happenings :o)

I've been gone for so long! So much has happened! Where to begin?!!

OK, I will not try to recap the last 11 months. Instead, I'll vaguely fill you in on each of us- what we're up to and anything noteworthy that's happened since August of last year.

I quit working full-time shortly after my last post, and have been enjoying (It's been quite the adjustment, and I'm just now finally beginning to feel like I've got a grip on things) being home with the kids. Emrick did not like sleeping through the night until just about 2 months ago. 8 months of sleep deprivation will suck the sanity out of anyone, especially the mom who has little adult interaction or alone time. Thankfully, Joel is really pretty good about taking the kids and letting me get some time out, and we made it to the sleeps-through-the-night-every-night milestone- YAY!

I used to think that if I had the opportunity to stay home, I would be able to do all of these projects and crafts and activities. I thought I'd have time to stay in shape, bake, keep my house clean, refinish furniture, accomplish some DIY projects, take my kids to parks and museums, etc.
What I realized pretty quickly was that I have to pick my priorities, because doing it all, all the time, will never happen. So, I clean my house when I get around to that, I decided parks and museums are a little overrated (my kids seem to like the walking paths in our neighborhood better than any museum) showers are now a spectator sport, and everyone's better off if mom has a cup of coffee before anyone does ANYTHING in the morning. :o)

I did start running, and have actually learned to love running outdoors, which is something I never thought I'd say. I'm not fast, but improving. My 5K is averaging about 32 min. If you don't run, you might be slightly impressed that I can run 5K (3.1 miles) at all. But if you're a runner, you know how slow that is. But it's a start, and I'm improving, so... yay me!

And I've started some of the kinds of projects I had hoped to do. For instance, I refinished a table I've had forever:

 I made this quilt for Afton:

And I've gotten together with my friend Heidi (see her blog here) and her girls a couple of times to do some fun projects too:

for project info, see here

for project info, see here

So, that's what I've been up to lately. :-)

Gillian has been keeping busy playing softball this summer, having Kool-Aid stands, playing with the neighbor kids, enjoying a volleyball camp, biking with daddy, and all kinds of other good summertime fun. She's going to be starting 2nd grade in another month or so!

Afton is.... well, she's Afton! If you remember, I was a little worried about her lack of vocabulary. Well, we are definitely no longer worried. She caught up quickly and is now saying all kinds of stuff. She says "Oh my gosh!" all the time, and it makes me chuckle. When she says Emrick's name, it sounds like "Emuck", but she usually just calls him baby. She still calls Gillian "Gigi" and we all like it, so I don't think that'll change anytime too soon. She is quite the little spit-fire, and the terrific twos are upon us now, so life with her is almost always interesting and entertaining.

Emrick is already 10 months old and is growing like crazy. He's so laid back and happy most of the time! He's got 5 teeth so far, babbles all the time, crawls and climbs all over the place (no walking yet), and loves to play catch! He also LOVES the water, which is a really good thing with all of this hot, sticky weather we've been having. It makes a trip to the lake or the river, or even just the kiddie pool in the back yard, a lot of fun. :o)

Joel is doing well, not much out of the ordinary. He is focusing on biking a lot this summer. He has recently been biking home from work on Thursdays (downtown Minneapolis to Ramsey), which is around 25 miles, depending on his route. Otherwise, he's still working at Old Republic doing computer stuff (all of which is Greek to me), and enjoys spending time with the kids and I going for nice long walks.

So, that's where we're at. Here is where I would normally make a promise or state my intent to never, ever let so much time lapse between posts again. But.... I'm not prepared to make such promises. I can say that I will try to be better at keeping up on this blog now that life has settled back to something of a "normal" though. :o) Adios amigos!

Aaaaaand... I'm back!

Whew!
In case you were wondering, I am still alive and kickin'!

It's been almost a year since my last post, and things have changed immensely!

First of all, let me introduce the reason (or at least the only viable excuse I can come up with) for my hiatus. On September 22, 2010, we welcomed a perfectly healthy little guy to our family! We named him Emrick Matthew, and he was 7 lbs. 9 oz. and 21 inches, every bit of him perfectly wonderful!

Time has flown since then, and now he's 10 months old. YIKES!

Everyone is well, and growing as weeds- I mean children- should. ;-) More on what we've been up to later. For now I just wanted to resurrect myself from the land of the blogging dead.