One Word (Two Really)

For a little over a week I've been seeing a bunch of tweets about something called #reverb10.

At first I was confused.

Of course, this might be because I was WAY behind on my Google Reader and hadn't read about it yet.

But no matter.

I finally did figure it out.

Reverb10 is all about writing prompts. This site sends one writing prompt per day for the entire month of December to all participants. Participants are then supposed to blog each day about the writing prompts.

Each writing prompt is supposed to help the blogger/participant reflect on the last year and send good thoughts forth for the coming year.

Sounds cool yeah?

Well, if you are a slacker blogger like I am then no, not so cool.

There's no way I can keep up and blog every day for the entire month. Especially not since I've missed the first week and a half of the month and will be traveling for the latter half.

Anyway. Even though I am not truly participating, I can't get the first writing prompt out of my head:

December 1 – One Word. Encapsulate the year 2010 in one word. Explain why you’re choosing that word. Now, imagine it’s one year from today, what would you like the word to be that captures 2011 for you? (Author: Gwen Bell).


I've been thinking about this since I read it on some other blogger's pages. 


So again, I'm not participating in the entire month but I may pick and choose some of the prompts to write about. 


My word for 2010: Connect


Over the course of the last year I have been able to connect with so many people, places and things. 


I've connected with so many fabulous women over the year:

I have also enjoyed how much my little family has been connecting this year. Not only have The Hubble and I been able to reconnect.

But most of all, I've loved watching Little Butt and her daddy connect and form a solid relationship.

I have reconnected with my mother after an almost 3 year estrangement.

AND. 

I have connected with all of you fabulous bloggers.

It's amazing to me how much I genuinely care for people through their blogs. 

I feel as though I have gotten to know so many people whom I wouldn't otherwise have had the chance to meet.

When I look back on 2011. I would like my one word to be: Growth

Even though The Hubble and I will be separated, I would like us to continue to grow, as a couple and as individuals.

Little Butt continues to grow every day. She will be going to school soon and following her own path of growing and learning. But I hope that her relationship with us, as her parents and her family, continues to grown.

My little family will grow in more ways than one and it is exciting the paths that we will each take.

Whether together, or separated, we will still be connected and grow in the same direction.

I would like my relationships to continue to strengthen and grow.

I would like my strength and determination to continue to grow.

I would like a year of growth, both mentally and spiritually (but maybe not so much physically, ha!).

If you were to play along, what would your words be?

Couch to 5k: Week Five

Photo by emples

Success!

So, I know I haven't posted anything about this for a couple weeks.

Honestly, with all the traveling we did over Thanksgiving, I ended up taking a whole week off. It was unintentional. I ran that Monday, then not again until the following Monday.

When I looked at week 5 last week I thought...there's no way I'm going to be able to do this.

I mean, on Friday they expect you to run 20 minutes straight. No walking! 

This for the girl who has been repeating every week twice? Who felt like she was going to die at the end of running 5 minutes?? No way was this going to happen!

But happen it did! I couldn't believe it!!! I did it!!! I ran for 20 minutes straight!!!

I thought the week was going to be a bust though.

Monday I went to the track and it was crazy windy. The sky was super dark and I didn't even need my sunglasses (but I kept them on anyway). The wind resistance was incredible. 

But I was able to complete the require intervals. I felt awesome. I knew I could do it though because I had done it the Monday before in Alabama.

After that workout, I had The Hubble walk me through the gym on post so that I could start going inside on bad weather days. I really want to use the gym sparingly. I'm just not a treadmill person.

On Wednesday, it was bright and sunny outside. But it was cold. C-O-L-D. Freezing! Like seriously. 

I got to the track and did a 'warm-up' lap. By the end of that lap I knew I had to stop and get my gloves (which I found in the trunk of my car!). I put them on and tried another 'warm-up' lap. 

I knew then that I should have taken it inside. My face and thighs were completely numb. I couldn't feel my lips but when I would rub them together they felt like they were taking up half of my face.

Pretty much I felt like this:

Source

But for some stupid reason, I decided to try to stick it out. That didn't really work out. I did good the first half, which was an 8  minute run. But the second 8 minute run, I ended up walking for half a lap in the middle of that one. After the workout I was frozen solid. 

And I sneezed about a million times. It was crazy! 

It took me about half the day to warm up.

Friday was warmer so I headed to the track. When I got there, there were a bunch of soldiers setting up tents around the track so I parked and decided to take the urban trail that goes through and around post. 

I figured if I could do Wednesday over again that would be cool. 

I got to 8 minutes and felt great so I pushed it to 10 minutes. By then I figured if I was already halfway there maybe I could push it a bit further. 

Well, by the time I made it to the 15 minute mark there was no turning back. I was going to finish the full 20 minutes or pass out trying. 

The only bad part is that the last 5 minutes was at a steady incline. A friend of mine always told me she hated that slight hill because it was at the end of her run and it never let up...

I completely understand that now.

So. I'm counting this week as a success since I succeeded 2 out of 3 days. 

I am nervous with the weather getting colder. 

Will I be able to run on a treadmill for that extended amount of time?

I already feel like I was going crazy and wasn't at my best going circles around a track.

I guess I will do what I have to do. 

Week five of the Couch to 5k program is:

Monday:

Warm up 5 minutes

Run 5 minutes

Walk 3 minutes

Run 5 minutes

Walk 3 minutes

Run 5 minutes

Wednesday:

Warm up 5 minutes

Run 8 minutes

Walk 5 minutes

Run 8 minutes (I failed at this part)

Friday:

Warm up 5 minutes

Run 20 minutes (no walking)

So seriously. I still cannot believe I was able to run for 20 minutes straight! 

I am completely amazed with myself at this moment. We will see how this week goes.

But I wanted to let you all know that I'm still going strong.

Oh! Also, I'm planning on starting the 30 day shred challenge in mid to late January. Anyone interested in joining? We can start a group and keep each other motivated and hold each other accountable.

If you are interested, a couple friends and I started a Facebook page called Operation Motivation: Fiercely Achieving Fabulosity.

And just one last thing before I go. Please jump over to my friend Amanda's page and congratulate her. Amanda has started her journey to a healthier her and has already lost 19 pounds in 7 weeks!!!

Okay. That is all.

Carry on.

For Further Reading Check Out:

• Couch to 5k: Week Four (Again)

Thanksgiving 2010 Recap

Wowwee, wow, wow, wowwee, wow. 

I can't believe how long I've been gone!

Sorry I've been missing. 

Did you have a nice Thanksgiving???

We did. Although, ours included a TON of traveling. 

Well, probably not a ton. But we did clock a significant amount of miles.

On Saturday (no, not tomorrow or last Saturday...the one before Thanksgiving...yes, that's how long it's been since I've been on here) we drove to my dad's house in Alabama. That was a good 12 hour drive. 

We got into town and were starving so we had some yummy Mellow Mushroom pizza. If you have never tried Mellow Mushroom, you don't know what you are missing! They have the BEST wheat pizza crust I've ever tasted!

Anyway. On Sunday when we woke up, my stepmom, stepgrandma and I made a grocery list for Thanksgiving. Since we were headed to Kentucky mid-week we got the groceries early so Friday we could whip together our meal. After we got the list situated and all got ready we went grocery shopping. It wasn't too bad at that time. We got all our stuff for a delicious meal. That night, we went for a yummy sushi dinner. Is it wrong that the best sushi roll I've ever had was made in Dothan, AL?? 

Monday was a nice down day where we just sat around. I did go for a run that morning but that was the only day I did run. We had too much going on. We packed that night.

Tuesday morning we got up, got ready and jumped in our BAV (otherwise known as Big Ass Van) to head to Kentucky for my stepbro's graduation from Basic.

Here's the BAV my dad rented for our trip. We had 7 people traveling and needed room for our luggage as well. We all fit quite nicely actually.

The Hubble definitely looked right at home in the BAV. Although, I think he's pretty used to riding in these things by now.

Little Butt was pretty excited as well. 

So we drove 8 hours to Ft. Knox on Tuesday. We got in around dinner time but didn't end up settling in and getting dinner until around 8pm.

We all turned in pretty early because the next morning we had to be at the gymnasium for the graduation by 0730.

The graduation was awesome (I'd never been to one before) and my stepbro looked so proud to be wearing that uniform. He had all his own Army tales and 'horror stories.' It was so cute to see all these young men so excited about signing up and serving their country.

The Hubble wore his uniform to the graduation as a sign of respect and tradition. He was moved to witness such a momentous time for these young men as well. This dude loves what he does and it shows. 

And I love it when he wears that uniform. The red suspenders. That's what it's all about baby. Sexy!

We ended up signing out my stepbro and a friend of his for the day. We found food then went to the mall. The guys were just so happy to be anywhere other than post that they were excited to walk through a mall.

I did end up finding a coat there though!

Source

I love it and am very excited that after 11 years I finally found the perfect coat!

On Thursday we were able to get into a restaurant that was having a "by reservation only" Thanksgiving buffet. The food was amazing and the service was incredible. I'm so glad we were able to eat there. It was delicious.

While my stepbro visited with his father and my stepmom, The Hubble, Little Butt and I spent a lot of time in our hotel room. We wanted to give them time to visit as a family. 

So Little Butt played a lot.

And The Hubble and I read a lot. 

I was able to read a couple books during this trip so that was a big plus!

Friday morning we got up and got on the road by 0600. We drove the 8 hours back to my dad's house and made it there a little after lunch time. 

We quickly got to work making our own little Thanksgiving dinner for us...only a day late. 

I made a pumpkin cheesecake. 

My stepmom and stepgrandma tried to kill themselves to make stuffed jalapenos. (The Hubble threw these on the grill and they were SO much better than oven baked)

The Hubble even helped!

And then my dad carried around Little Butt in a bag. I don't know. I try not to explain these things. 

The meal turned out delicious. 

We ate our weight in food and watched Love Actually. I've never really gotten that movie. 

The next day was spent doing laundry, packing and reading. Just so we could get up on Sunday and make the 12 hour drive back home.

I have to say though. The ultimate icing on the cake for me this trip (besides seeing my dad, stepmom and stepgrandma and being able to attend my stepbro's graduation) was the amazing gift my stepmom gave me.

That's right!!! I am now the proud owner of a nook! 

My stepmom got this nook several months ago and had never used it. She didn't see herself using it anytime soon and she knew I would put it to good use. So...she gave it to me! I was so shocked and excited. I felt as though I couldn't accept it but secretly wanted to grab it and run for the hills in case she changed her mind! But she insisted and it now lives with me. I'm super excited about it.

Hopefully this post will help me get back into the swing of things. At least until it's time to take the 3 week road trip through Texas starting on the 18th of this month. 

Phew!

If you made it to the end of this you are amazing and I want to be your best friend. 

Now...to make it through my Google Reader. I'm sorry to say I may not read it. When I logged in the other day it was closer to 800 than 700 and it's probably gotten worse. Anything new with you??