07.04.08
5 Things About the Peachtree Road Race.
1. I finished it.
2. I didn’t die.
3. I didn’t pass out on Cardiac Hill.
4. I’m not telling anyone my finishing time.
5. I’m going to do it again next year. Hopefully faster. 
Archive for Better Me
05.04.08
Hmmm.
So, it looks like I’ve got just under 9 weeks until the Peachtree. And I am nowhere near in shape for a 10K.
Perhaps I ought to get on that.
12.31.06
Farewell, 2006.
Happy New Year, y’all.
I guess it’s time for one of those deep, introspective blog posts where I reminisce about all the things that happened to me this year. But at the same time, I don’t want this to turn into one of those run-of-the-mill Christmas Letters (”Susie won the school spelling bee this year! Austin is captain of his pee-wee soccer team!”) that we lovingly mock when we receive them in the mail, but at the same time, we’d be very hurt if our friends and relatives didn’t send us any. So, instead, I thought I’d do a couple of lists, one of things I’ve learned in 2006, and one of things I want to do in 2007.
Top Five Lessons I’ve Learned This Year:
1) I am not 100% in control of anything. If there’s one lesson I’ve learned this year, this is it. Trying to control so many aspects of my life usually only makes me a stressed-out mess.
2) I am a rather impatient person. This isn’t news, of course. I’ve known I’m impatient pretty much all my life. But, it’s just become a bit more apparent this year!
3) Upsetting myself is stupid. Nine times out of ten when I get upset, I’ve done it to myself, either by overthinking something or dwelling on something unpleasant.
4) My relationship with God is directly relational to my happiness. I know, I know. I should have learned this a LONG time ago. And I did. But, I’ve found it’s a lesson I have to learn over and over and over again.
5) Sometimes, you gotta just let things slide off your back. Being overly sensitive about things really gets you nowhere except upset. And that’s just not cool.
So, in the spirit of learning and letting things go, I have also made another list:
Top Five Things I Vow to Do in 2007:
1) Read more books. One thing I haven’t done in 2006 is read enough. I read MAYBE five or six books this year, and I want to change that. My goal for 2007 is to read 25 books - roughly one book every two weeks or so. Hopefully I’ll read more than that, but I’m aiming low!
2) Drink more wine. There’s really no reason for this one other than the fact that I enjoy a nice glass of wine and I don’t drink it as often as I’d like. Haha.
3) Finally clean my closets. I’ve found that clutter in my house is usually directly proportional to clutter in my life. So, cleaning out my closets is a way of letting go of a lot of stuff.
4) Pray more effectively. I currently pray quite often, but I think it’s mostly like asking God for stuff like He’s the big Santa Claus in the sky. Instead of asking for things I want, I need to be asking God what He wants for me and to use me effectively. And I need to be able to listen to what He says, even if it’s not something I want to hear.
5) Blog more often. So, my last post here was in mid-November, and that’s pretty bad. I’m going to try to make it a point to check in here at least once a week or so. We’ll see how that goes. Haha.
So, there they are. I hope your 2006 has been as blessed as mine - lots of good times with friends and family, and lots to be thankful for!
Here’s to 2007 - Happy New Year!
08.23.06
This’ll humble you.
So, one night last week, Jeff and I went to the YMCA near our house to work out. Jeff usually runs the track, but I usually hop on an elliptical or a treadmill and go to town.
Well, I’m running on the treadmill, and going at a pretty good clip (for me). I’m not really paying attention to what’s going on at any of the machines around me (I was watching one of the TV’s), but out of the corner of my eye, I noticed someone get on the treadmill next to me and start running.
Y’all, she TOOK OFF. I’m talking like twice my speed. I didn’t want to stare, so I figured that since my time was almost up on the treadmill and she had just started, I would sneak a look at her speed as I stepped off of mine. So, my time runs out, and I gingerly step off of the machine, walk over to the stand where they keep the disinfectant spray you’re supposed to use on the equipment after you’re done, and grab a couple of paper towels to help me clean the machine off.
As I walked back to the treadmill I had been on, I started to take a glance at the speed she was running at. But I didn’t make it that far, because what else I saw stopped me dead in my tracks.
Y’all, she was PREGNANT. Not, like barely pregnant. I’m talking “I’m going to have this baby RIGHT NOW” pregnant.
Nothing like having a woman who’s eight months pregnant outrun you to help give a little shot to the ol’ self-esteem. 
08.16.06
How to be a Domestic Goddess.
Once or twice a year, I seem to get this bug where I feel the incessant need to clean my entire house from top to bottom. I think the obsessive-compulsive part of me really enjoys it - I get to make lists of things to clean, schedules of when to clean them, reorganize closets, get rid of things I don’t use, and, best of all, make use of my handy-dandy label maker.
I look at websites (like OrganizedHome.com) with articles on how to clean more efficiently, how to come up with a cleaning schedule, and even how to (gasp!) make your own cleaning wipes! (How cool is that?)
So, I have forewarned Jeff that a massive cleaning is coming up, and although he’s usually a huge help around the house (he usually has bathroom duty, since I HATE cleaning bathrooms), he knows not to interfere when I do a deep clean. He’ll tidy things for me (like picking up the umpteen billion magazines and newspapers we have laying about), but leave the scrubbing to me!
Anyway, that’s my project for the next couple of weeks before football starts and I have no more free time on the weekends.
(Help me, I’m turning into my mother-in-law.)