A Few Things Worth Noting

I have several items to update everyone on, so I’m going to go ahead and make a list, that way I won’t forget anything.

Special Birthday

One of the highlights of my weekend was the opportunity to celebrate a very important birthday.  My goddaughter, Maren, turned 2!  Maren is Mandy and Grant’s little girl.  She’s been my #1 fan in all my running adventures this year, and our relationship has now progressed to the point where not only does she not cry instantly when she sees me, but she will run and give me a big hug and kiss!  (Okay, she does that to pretty much everybody, but it still makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside.)  There were 6 kids present (including Maren) at her party, and I have to give a big shout out to all you moms because when you get that many kids together, add a big slice of sugary birthday cake, and some kazoos, that is a recipe for chaos!  I went over to Pete’s afterward, laid down on the couch, and he said I was asleep in like 2 seconds.  🙂  All jokes aside though, it was a lot of fun, and there is definitely a part of me that looks forward to a time in my life when I can throw b-day parties for my own little cuties (if I am so fortunate).  Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

Now I might be a little biased, but is she not the cutest thing ever?!?!?!?

Running Update

Just a little tidbit on the post-marathon running.  In a moment of insanity, I agreed to go for a 10-mile run with Pete on Saturday morning.  We were both on a high from the marathon, and I think very surprised at how good our bodies were feeling by Thursday or Friday of last week.  Not wanting to lose any of the fitness we’d gained, we decided to test our legs in an easy 10-miler.  I woke up Saturday morning cursing my decision, but I plastered a smile on my face, slipped on my running tights, and headed to Pete’s where we agreed to meet.  At 8:00am we set off for our run, and I didn’t make it even half a block before I tripped on this metal thing (I can’t even begin to describe it) sticking up out of the sidewalk about 4 inches and twisted my ankle.  It hurt like a bitch, and my ankle started to swell up immediately.  So, I hobbled my pathetic butt back to Pete’s while he set off on the run.  He called me an hour an a half later saying his run was terrible, his body hurt the entire time, and it was definitely too soon after the marathon to be going for a long run.  Two things I learned:  1)  Nobody has any business running more than 2-3 miles just six days after the marathon.  Especially an amateur like me.  2)  The universe has a way of watching out for me.  I am very thankful for the minor injury right at the start of the run.  It probably saved me a lot more pain and heartache if I had made it the 10 miles (although my pride was a bit injured).

My closet business

Yesterday I closed on the sale of my custom closet business.  I started the business in the summer of 2005 so I had been working part time designing and selling custom closets for the past three or more years.  I was surprised to feel so sad after my warehouse was emptied of all the inventory yesterday.  As most of you know, business was pretty terrible the first half of 2008 which basically caused me to accept a new job, begin working full-time and finally, make the decision to sell.  So, when I found a buyer about a month ago, I was ecstatic.  But now that the deal is done, I’m definitely a little bummed.  Being self-employed has always been a dream of mine.  Now I feel like I had the opportunity, and I failed.  Not a great feeling.  Neither is the thought that I’ll be stuck working for “the man” for the next 30 years or more.  Sure it’s fine right now when I’m in a semi-new job and everything is unknown and fresh.  But if history is any predictor (and I hear it is), then in about 2 1/2 years, I will be bored out of my mind at my job and feeling like I am missing out on my life’s calling – whatever that is.  So, back to the drawing board on figuring out my dream career.  Hopefully, in some way that I have not yet determined, I’m getting closer.  I try to always remember one of my favorite quotes from Thomas Edison – “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  It eases the sting a little.

Things I’m looking forward to this week

One of my favorite part of Lyndsay’s blog is when she posts her schedule for the week.  It always makes me feel close to her to know what she’s doing each day, even though she’s thousands of miles away.  So I thought I’d share some things I’m excited about this week.

Tonight I’m going to an Adult Ed workshop called De-Clutter Your Space with my friend, Muriel.  I actually don’t consider my space particularly cluttered as I’m not much of a saver.  But there are a few areas that definitely need improvement – my closets (ironic), my basement workbench area, and my home office.  So, I’m looking forward to some bonding time with Muriel while gaining some new organization skills.  I do love an organized space!

Tomorrow night I have my first coach’s meeting for the Valley Tiger Volleyball Club that I will be coaching this winter.  Although volleyball is one of the true loves in my life, I have never made the time to coach after college.  It seems like there has always been something more important to take up my spare time (getting married, getting divorced, grad school, starting a small busines – you get the idea.)  Anyway, I am REALLY looking forward to trying my hand in coaching.  It will be a lot of fun to share my passion for the game with those eager to learn.  And hopefully I don’t suck.

Thursday night I’m going to a party with Pete at his friend, Erin’s, house.  Okay, Erin is also his ex-girlfriend (as Pete would point out here, from a LONG time ago).  Still, I’m looking forward to getting to know Erin better which will hopefully help curb the minor pangs of jealousy I feel when she is regularly texting him and driving by his house (they live on the same street).  I will be making an extra concerted effort to be my most confident, friendly, witty and fun self.  I will also be making an extra concerted effort not to get embarrassingly drunk and emotional and overly-affectionate (which as we all know for me go hand in hand and are pretty much mortifying for my stoic boyfriend).  I also might need to get a new outfit.  If I don’t have time to squeeze in a shopping trip between now and then, I’m anticipating a Thursday night clothing crisis so, please, have your cellphones close by. 🙂

So that’s pretty much what I’m up to and what’s on my mind this week.  Oh, and one more thing.  Lyndsay made a new friend in Sweden who is a Life Coach, and a few days ago Lynds wrote on her blog some tips she learned from her life coach friend on ways to  live authentically.  I can’t stop thinking about what she wrote.  So here they are for further pondering:

Ways to Authenticity
1. Speak from my heart.
2. Listen from my heart.
3. Follow my urges.  (I agree with Lyndsay, this seems like it could be trouble!)
4. Acknowledge the parts of me that are not nice, kind, positive, etc.
5. Be uncomfortable.
6. Be nervous.
7. Be honest with myself and others (even when I don’t like the truth).
8. Say things aren’t okay when they aren’t.
9. Allow myself to need help.
10. Allow myself not to have all the right answers.
11. Allow myself to not be a ‘good’ girl.
12. Focus on not disappointing myself rather than not disappointing others.
13. Focus on pleasing myself rather than pleasing others.
14. Look at what is not okay in my relationships as a reflection of what is not okay in my relationship with myself.
15. Reveal myself, unfiltered.
16. Make a TO BE list, rather than a TO DO list.
17. Not have it all figured out and do it anway.
18. Have a staunch opinion (less diplomacy).
19. Do and say what I want – Resisting the need to always ‘look good’.
20. Take complete ownership of how my life is.