Friday, August 23, 2013

Monthly Update

Today is August 23, 2013, exactly two months since my 29th birthday and the beginning of my 30x30 Challenge.  So here's an update on my progress so far!

1. Attend Sunday night church at least one night a month - This happened last month and will happen again this upcoming Sunday.  So far, so good!
2. Clean out and organize the office closet - Taylor and I did an initial round of this a few weeks ago.  So while the closet is not totally cleaned out, much less organized, progress has been made in this area.
3. Complete the coursework for my doctoral program - My last semester of coursework officially started this week.  I'm already counting down the weeks until I am finished with it!!
4. Complete the gallery wall in my house - After at least a month of neglect, I actually plan to work on this again this weekend.
5. Create an implement a safety "plan" for the house - Nope, nothing has happened here yet.  Maybe I'll start thinking about it this next month?
6. Defend the proposal for my dissertation - Still hoping to do this in Spring 2014!
7. Deep clean and purge the house of extra junk - Haven't started working on this either...
8. Finally finish watching "Lost" (Accomplished July 27, 2013)
9. Find and buy the perfect little black dress - Again, I have not done this either.
10. Get pedicures with my sisters - Maybe before Christmas or Valentine's Day?  Or for Anna's birthday?
11. Give blood (Accomplished August 9, 2013)
12. Go on a fancy dinner date with my husband - We'll probably do this for his birthday.  Anyone have suggestions of places we should visit?  I was thinking about Vast, at the top of the Devon Tower, but the more ideas, the better!
13. Go to a midnight movie - This is so happening in November!  Catching Fire, whoo-hoo!!
14. Go to Six Flags with a group of friends - Someday?  I have no idea when...
15. Have a certain amount of money in my retirement fun - Wow, I am 89% of the way to accomplishing this goal!  I'll definitely achieve this in another month or so...
16. Have a certain amount of money in our savings account - And I am 56% of the way to accomplishing this goal.
17. Hold a newborn baby (Accomplished July 10, 2013)
18. Keep a regular prayer journal - Oops, haven't start this yet!  Definitely need to get on it.
19. Make extra payments on my husband's student loans - We are still going strong with this.
20. Make extra payments on our mortgage - And we are doing well with this too.
21. Participate in/practice "Meatless Mondays" - This is also going well.
22. Pass my qualifying examination (Accomplished July 23, 2013)
23. Read the entire Bible in one year - I am actually about two weeks behind on my reading plan, so this is something I should really try to catch up on this weekend.
24. Run five 5K races - Two out of the five are done!  And I may be doing the Color Run in October?  Whatever the next one is, it should be fun!!
25. Run a 10K race - Still not sure when I am going to do this...
26. Run a half marathon - I'm hoping to do this in about four weeks.  Eek!!
27. Start a blog (Accomplished June 23, 2013)
28. Take a Barre 3 exercise class - I have everything I need to do this, I just need to actually get it done!
29. Teach a Bible class at my church - Oh, this will be finished in about a week.  I'll be sure to make a post about what we taught and how it went once the class is over.
30. Volunteer at Breakfast on Boulevard - Maybe I should try to do this around Thanksgiving time?

So while there are several things that I still need to think about and plan for, I have actually accomplished almost 17% of the items on the list.  I'd say that's probably right on track to get everything accomplished before my 30th birthday!

And happy weekend, everyone!

Friday, August 16, 2013

Second 5K: The Midnight Streak

Last Saturday, August 10, 2013, I ran my second 5K race of the 30x30 Challenge.  This race was called the Midnight Streak.  And yes, it was a late night race (starting at 11 p.m.), but no, we did not run naked.  In fact, the tee-shirt that was given to each registrant was a very nice DriFit shirt, so that made the decision to register that much easier. 


To my delight, my husband Taylor and our friend John said they would run it with me!  So we all signed up, I picked up our packets, and we headed to the fairgrounds all decked out in our Midnight Streak garb.


Shortly before 11 p.m., Taylor, John, and I found spots close to the starting line.  But as soon as the gun went off, I ran ahead of the boys and didn't look back.  I don't know if it was all of my half marathon training, or the fact that the sun was not beating down on me, but it was my best-feeling race to date.  I set a good, quick pace from the beginning and stuck with it until the end.  And when I finally crossed the finish line, I was thrilled to see a brand new PR - 30 minutes and 11 seconds!  That's a pace of 9:43 per mile, so I was very excited to get a time that was below a 10 minute mile.

I saw the boys a few minutes later when they crossed the finish line together.  Taylor looked great - tired, of course, but not like he was going to pass out or anything.  So that means he didn't hate me as much the next day when he was sore and could hardly walk!

My next race is the half marathon!  It's scheduled for Sunday, September 15 at 6:30 a.m.  Taylor and John want to run again, but not a half marathon, so I think they are going to sign up for the 5K.  And we've already started talking about our October race.  John wants to do the Color Run on October 5.  Anyone out there thinking of/interested in doing the same?  I've never really done a "novelty run," so I'm not sure if it's my thing.  But it's worth a try, right?

Thursday, August 1, 2013

#8: Finally finish watching "Lost"

Well, I did it.  After (what seemed like) years of watching the TV show "Lost," I finally finished it on Saturday, July 27.  So I guess I can officially cross that item off the list.

8. Finally finish watching "Lost" (Accomplished July 27, 2013!)

So why am I just now writing a blog post about it?  Well, I think I needed some time to process the finale before I felt like I could write about it.  See, when I started the 30x30 Challenge a little over a month ago, I was an episode or two into the final season of the show.  (I know, I was about four years behind the rest of the world and didn't even start watching "Lost" until it showed up as a live streaming option on Hulu Plus and Netflix).  And you know what's funny?  When I told people that I had started watching it, almost everyone said, "Oh, don't bother" or "Just stop now" or "There's no need to watch it after season one or two."  But I didn't listen.  I watched.  I got sucked in.  I cried during nearly every John Locke and Jin and Sun episode.  I finally understood the meaning of "Not Penny's boat."  And I grew fascinated with the elusive characters of Desmond Hume and Benjamin Linus. 

So I kept watching.  And I kept wondering.  Would they ever get off the island?  What would happen if they stopped pushing that button?  Would Desmond and Penny ever be reunited?  Was Ben Linus a good guy or a bad guy?  Was John Locke a good guy or a bad guy?  How did the island keep moving and traveling through time?  What happened to Claire?  Why did they have to come back to the island?  Was John Locke really dead?  How did Sayid come back to life?  Who/what the heck was the Smoke Monster?  WHAT ABOUT THAT DARN POLAR BEAR?  And again, would they ever get off the island??

As I got closer and closer to the end of the series, I hoped these and more questions would be answered.  But fortunately, I didn't hold my breath.  Enough people had told me that I would be disappointed by the finale that I wasn't really sure what to expect.  Then, finally, my husband (who had already seen the whole series) and I pushed "play" and started watching the last episode of the last season.  And it seemed pretty good.  But with 15 minutes of the episode left, as Kate was sitting in the car with Jack and telling him that he can go into the church whenever he is ready and that everyone else is waiting for him inside, Taylor paused the show.

Me: "Why did you pause it?"
Taylor: "Well, before we watch the end, I just want you to remember how good the show has been so far.  And remember how much you have loved the characters."

Uh-oh.  That sounded like a disclaimer to me.

Taylor: "In fact, we can stop it right now.  You don't even have to watch the last 15 minutes."
Me: "What?  Honey, I have to watch it.  I mean, I can't watch six seasons of the show and not watch the last 15 minutes.  Besides, it's on my 30x30 list to finish it."
Taylor: "Okay, I just wanted to be sure..."

And he pushed "play."  In disbelief and total confusion, I watched.  I listen closely.  I tried to take in all of the information I could to figure out what was going on.  But then, it ended.  It ended with little explanation or conclusive evidence of what all had really happened on the island.

Taylor stared at me as my jaw hung open and my brow grew furrowed.

Taylor: "Well...?"
Me: "Uh... well... I have no words."

Almost a week later, I still don't have many words.  I won't say that I hated it, or that the ending was downright horrible, but I will say that I am frustrated.  There were so many questions left unanswered, and what bothers me the most is that I feel like the writers really didn't have any answers for many of those questions.  They just kept creating mysteries to keep the show interesting, then finally realized that they had to end it, but had no explanation to end it.  So they just ended it.

Regardless, I'm glad I watched the show.  The scenery and special effects were great.  I loved the acting and the character development.  And I was intrigued by the mystery and the storytelling.  But it will be a while before I jump into another relationship with a J.J. Abrams TV show.  Because let's face it... when it comes to TV shows, that man just breaks my heart.

For those of you who have watched "Lost," what do you think about the series?

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

#22: Pass My Qualifying Exam

Yesterday, after posting a monthly update on my 30x30 progress, I went home to find this:


Well, I didn't find it on the fridge; I found it in the mail.  But I was pretty sure that I knew what it was, and I was right.  It's the official letter stating that I passed my qualifying exams!  So that means I get to cross another item off my 30x30 list!!  So because I love crossing things off lists...
 
22. Pass my qualifying examination (Accomplished July 23, 2013!)
 
So one month into this challenge, I am 10% of the way done.  Not too shabby, right?  

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Monthly Update

Today is July 23, 2013, exactly one month since my 29th birthday and the beginning of my 30x30 Challenge.  (It's also my sister's and brother-in-law's two year wedding anniversary.  Congrats, Kirsten and Jordan!)  So it seemed like an update on my list items would make for an appropriate post.  Here's a look at how I've done so far:
  1. Attend Sunday night church at least one night a month - I promise, I'll get started with this on Sunday!
  2. Clean out and organize the office closet - I haven't even thought about/touched this yet.
  3. Complete the coursework for my doctoral program - I'm halfway through my summer class and have my last two courses in the fall.  So this should be accomplished in early December.
  4. Complete the gallery wall in my house - Slowly but surely, I'm making progress on this one.
  5. Create and implement a safety "plan" for the house - Yeah, I haven't even started thinking about this one either...
  6. Defend the proposal for my dissertation - I'm hopeful that this will happen sometime in Spring 2014.
  7. Deep clean and purge the house of extra junk - This should happen in mid-December, if not sooner.
  8. Finally finish watching "Lost" - I'm actually making progress on this one!  Taylor and I just finished episode 10 (out of 18) in the final season of the series.  So maybe I can cross this off my list in another month or so?
  9. Find and buy the perfect little black dress - I have not looked, found, or purchased this.
  10. Get pedicures with my sisters - Maybe around Christmastime?  Or before Valentine's Day?
  11. Give blood - Yeah, I need to get on that.
  12. Go on a fancy dinner date with my husband - This should happen in October for his birthday, if not sooner.
  13. Go to a midnight movie - The plan here is to attend "Catching Fire" (the second Hunger Games movie) at midnight on November 22.  I've already starting making plans for this!
  14. Go to Six Flags with a group of friends - Maybe in August or September?  For Brian Lair's birthday?
  15. Have a certain amount of money in my retirement fund - I am almost 82% of the way to my goal amount.  Just a few more months and I can cross this off the list!
  16. Have a certain amount of money in our savings account - I am about 51% of the way to this goal amount.  So I need to work on this a little more.
  17. Hold a newborn baby (Accomplished July 10, 2013!)
  18. Keep a regular prayer journal - Still need to get started on this.
  19. Make extra payments on my husband's students loans - Yup, I'm doing this every month.
  20. Make extra payments on our mortgage - Also doing this every month!
  21. Participate in/practice "Meatless Mondays" - So far, so good.  And feeling so much better for it.
  22. Pass my qualifying examination - I'm hoping to receive official word (and good news!) about this by the end of this week.
  23. Read the entire Bible in one year - I've stuck with my reading plan and have read 8% of the entire Bible so far.
  24. Run five 5K races - Ran the first on July 19, 2013 and will hopefully run my second on August 10, 2013.  Then I'll start thinking about which ones to do in October and November...
  25. Run a 10K race - Still need to find and plan for one of these.
  26. Run a half marathon - Hoping to do this on September 15, 2013, so we'll see!  Wow, I get nervous just writing about that!! 
  27. Start a blog (Accomplished June 23, 2013!)
  28. Take a Barre 3 exercise class - Need to schedule this and do it soon.
  29. Teach a Bible class at my church - I'm currently doing this with a friend this quarter.  I'll have to post some information about it before the class ends at the end of next month.
  30. Volunteer at Breakfast on Boulevard - Maybe sometime this fall?
So I've completed about 6% of my list so far, while making good progress in some areas, and absolutely no progress in others.  That's not too bad for the first month, I guess.  But it is a good reminder of the things I should try to think about and do in the coming weeks!

Monday, July 22, 2013

First 5K: Hotter Friday Night 5K

This past Friday, July 19, I ran my first 5K of the 30x30 Challenge.  It look place by the Oklahoma River near downtown Oklahoma City at 8 p.m.  So it was appropriately named the Hotter Friday Night 5K.  (This was part of a "Sizzlin' Summer Series," so the Hot Friday Night 5K was in June and the Hottest Friday Night 5K is in August.)  Of the series, I think this is the only race I'm going to run, mostly because I have plans to participate in some other 5K races instead.

Anyway, my husband and I originally planned on running this race together, but some other stuff came up, so my friend Pam was more than happy to jump in and take his place.  And I was excited to run another race with her!  (Pam and I were on the same relay team at the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon this past April, so it was fun to do another event with her.)  So after picking her up around 7 p.m., we made the quick drive around downtown to get to the park.  And Pam laughed hysterically at this:


That's right; I'm too cheap (and lazy) to update the map on my GPS, so it thinks we're in the middle of nowhere, even though we're on the busiest stretch of I-40 right by downtown Oklahoma City.  Good thing Pam knew for sure where we were going!

In general, the race was good.  Since I was with Pam, who is a much faster and longer distance runner than me, we got a spot close to the starting line.  And when the gun went off, so did Pam!  Within a few seconds, she was out of sight, so I worked on setting a comfortable pace and (literally) taking things one step at a time.  After about the first mile, my awareness of the heat really hightened.  (It was about 95 degrees, which is actually about 10 degrees cooler than it was at the same race last year.  Not that I was crazy enough to run that one!)  As I approached the halfway point, I felt really yucky - that is, until I saw that the clock read 13 minutes and 30 seconds.  That was about two minutes earlier than I expected it to be!  So I tried to keep up my speed, just thinking about my previous time (32 minutes and 20 seconds) that I wanted to beat.  Of course, the second part of the run was more difficult than the first part, but at least the sun was no longer in my eyes and I had a beautiful view of the Oklahoma City skyline. 

And to my surprise, I crossed the finish line with a time of 30 minutes and 42 seconds!


Pam finished about seven minutes before me, which I guess was actually a fairly crummy time for her.  (I'm telling you, people, this girl is FAST!)  But she was very happy for me and my new PR.

I think the second 5K I'm going to run will be on August 10 with my husband and possibly some other friends.  My goal for that one is to get my time below 30 minutes, so wish me luck!

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Half-Marathon Training Highlights

About two weeks ago, my husband and I took a 24 hour trip out of town to celebrate Independence Day with family, friends, food, and of course, fireworks.  After a brief cat nap in the afternoon, I went for a quick three mile run, which was really enjoyable because I was in an area in which I had not previously ran.  I feel like that always makes a run more interesting.  The downside, though, was that I looked like this for the fireworks show that evening...


Yes, my face is about as red as my shirt.  (But my sweet sister-in-law looks great!)  That's primarily because it was hot - at least 90 degrees - and I found myself running a steeper incline than I usually do.  (Our part of the state is pretty flat, but the east part is not, so I wasn't exactly prepared for that.)  It was still a great experience, though.

The rest of my runs have been pretty basic - three miles or so here and there.  (One of my best times, in fact, was three miles in 27 minutes and 49 seconds.)  Then on Saturday, I ran six miles with my friend Pam.  She's a much more accomplished runner than I am, so I was only able to keep up with her because she was fighting an injury.  And even then, six miles was a little more than I was prepared to do.  By the last mile or so, I found myself alternating between running and walking.  But I finished the run (after Pam finished and ran back to "cross the finish line" with me).  So I may have to try to talk her into doing a slighly shorter distance, like five miles, this week!

Pam and I are also running a 5K this Friday night, so I'm looking forward to that.  (Plus, she will be running in the same half marathon as me in September.  Thank goodness because I did not want to do that alone!)  The 5K will be the first of the five that I'm supposed to run this year.  I'm also hoping to beat my PR from my last 5K, which was 32:20.  I was actually kind of disappointed with that time, so I really hope to do better!

Monday, July 15, 2013

Meatless Monday (July 15)

Meatless Monday is still underway, which means I've stuck with it for almost a month now.  And today, I learned that even some fast food places have meatless options (other than fries and grilled cheese sandwiches, which hardly count as healthy).  Behold, the Veggie Delight at Subway!


(Ignore my make-up-less face and rain drenched hair.  It is Monday, after all!) 

This sandwich, made with honey oat bread, was packed with creamy avocado and salty black olives (two of my favorite foods), cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, and tomatoes.  And it was delicious!  In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I order it on a non-meatless day sometime in the future as well.

So you should definitely try it sometime if you haven't already!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

#17: Hold a Newborn Baby

On Wednesday, July 10, I crossed a second item off my 30x30 list.  It was #17: Hold a newborn baby.  Yup, in the mid-afternoon that day, my friends Amanda and Josh welcomed their third child (but first daughter!), Haddie, into the world.


My husband and I visited Josh, Amanda, and Haddie in the hospital right after church - just about five hours after she was born!  And of course, Taylor and I both had to hold her.


She already looks so much like her mom, dad, and brothers!  (I know that sounds crazy - I used to be one of those people who didn't think newborns looked like anyone.  I just thought they looked like very tired, small, and somewhat traumatized human beings.)  But it was amazing to see and hold a sweet new life!

The really good news is that I should have a few more chances to hold newborn babies before I turn 30 next year.  So even though I've crossed the item off the list, I'm looking forward to enjoying the experience several more times.

Until next time, much love to Josh, Amanda, big brothers C and L, and of course, Miss Haddie!

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Gallery Walls and Savings Accounts

I haven't posted in awhile, so it seems like a good time for a 30x30 update.  Because, despite my lack of blogging, I promise that I have been working on my list!

Here are a few (not so) quick updates...

#4: Complete the gallery wall in my house.  We have a small front hallway in our house that desperately needs a little love.  But unfortunately, the space is really too small to build a mudroom or create a "drop off" entryway zone.  So I used Pinterest (of course) to explore other ideas.  That's when I discovered the gallery wall!  (Well, I technically discovered the gallery wall on the Young House Love blog.  If you haven't checked it out, you should because it's gorgeous!)  Then I found a couple of other inspiring gallery wall pictures, like this one and this one.  I was sold!  But like I said earlier, I knew I would have to do the project over time since I didn't have an extra 50-100 frames just lying around.  Anyway, I worked on this project the last two or three weekends and made great progress!  It's still not finished - I probably need at least another 20 or 30 frames for that - but I'm really pleased with how it's coming along.  I think I'll wait another week or two to share a full picture of the space, but here are some sneak peeks:

 
These are the frames that I am using in the hallway.  They are from the Canopy line at Wal-Mart and I love them because they look so much more high end than they cost!  (Plus, they look great with all of the dark wood in our house.)  The matting also really emphasizes the "gallery" look that I am trying to achieve.

 
For anyone who wants to create their own gallery wall, or just needs an easy way to hang a few pictures, here is some great tip: Take a newspaper or leftover wrapping paper and trace the shape of the frame on it.  Then cut it out, flip over the frame, and lay the paper over the back of the frame.  Mark the spot where the nail hole will go.  After that, you just have to tape the paper on the wall (I recommend using a level, especially if you are hanging multiple frames next to each other) and hammer the nail in the marked spot.  Tear off (or carefully remove to reuse) the paper and then hang the picture.  Easy-peasy!
 
#15: Have a certain amount of money in my retirement fund.  Well, I did it.  I finally transferred the money from my old retirement fund to my new one.  And I started contributing to my retirement again.  So while I probably don't have as much saved in my retirement as I should, I'll hit my 30x30 goal in just two more months!  I really could have done some more challenging math on that one, so maybe I'll rephrase my goal to "contribute a certain amount of money in my retirement fund," which won't count the amount that I transferred from another source.  Regardless, I'm pretty pleased about this goal!
 
#16: Have a certain amount of money in our savings account.  This objective will be a little more difficult to achieve, just because of where my husband and I are in life.  However, I believe that we have pretty good financial instincts, though neither of us have been through any kind of formal "training."  I have read some stuff by Dave Ramsey and realized that we already follow several of his recommendations, so that is reassuring, to say the least.  But in general, we follow a simple formula for managing our finances.  John Maxwell calls it the 10-10-80 plan.  So when we get paid (once a month on the same day), I first put 10% of our paychecks into our savings account.  Then I get out our checkbook and write a check for 10% of our paychecks and make it out to our church.  The last 80% of our paycheck is what we have to live on that month.  So it has to cover our mortgage, student loan payments, food bills, gas bills, utility bills, random expenses, etc.  This has worked really well for us and allowed us to not just build up our "don't touch" savings account, but also save up for fun items, like a new TV, anniversary cruise, etc.  To date, we are little over halfway to my 30x30 goal for our savings account.  Slowly but surely, I will hopefully reach this objective as well.
 
#19: Make extra payments on my husband's students loans.  Yikes.  Student loans suck, right?  Well, if you don't have them, consider yourself very lucky because they are no fun.  I won't go into many details about our student loans, but we have them and we want them gone as soon as possible.  Even making extra payments, we are still years away from getting these things out of our lives.  But, every little bit helps and that's why I've been following an extra payment plan since January.  Here's what I do: First, I take the amount of our monthly student loan payment and add $100 to it.  Then I divide that amount by two.  Then, every two weeks (instead of once a month), I pay the divided amount toward the loan.  So let's pretend that our monthly payment is $500.  That plus $100 is $600.  Divided by two, our biweekly payments would be $300.  So not only are we paying an extra $100 a month, but we also end up making a couple extra payments a year since most months have more than four weeks in them.  Yes, there are times that I am tempted to pocket that extra money and spend it now, but this plan will allow us to cut years off the life of our loan.  I don't even know how much interest that will save us, but it is a lot!  So while it definitely hurts a little bit now, I know it will be worth it in the long run.   
 
#20: Make extra payments on our mortgage.  Long story short, we basically do the same thing with our mortgage that we do with my husband's student loans (minus the extra $100 a month).  In fact, Taylor's uncle recommended the bi-weekly payment plan to us when we first bought out house, so we have been using it ever since the beginning of our home ownership days.  When we saw what a difference it made in paying down our interest and escrow amounts, we knew we wanted to use it to pay off his student loans as well.  Again, it's taken some self-control, but I know we will be glad we did it later.
 
#21: Participate in/practice "Meatless Mondays."  Yup!  I'm sticking to it and not eating meat on Mondays.  This means I had a bean burrito at Chipotle yesterday instead of my usual carnitas burrito.  And while I love their delicious pork burritos, I didn't miss the meat as much as I thought I would.  In fact, this seems to get easier every week.  I just hope that I can do it for another 49 weeks! 
 
#23: Read the entire Bible in one year.  I'm still going well with this goal too.  I've actually read 4% of the Bible so far, which means that I've made it through Genesis 42 in the Old Testament and have read the first 14 chapters of Romans in the New Testament.  I'm still loving the YouVersion Bible app and blended reading plan.  I definitely recommend it if you have a smart phone/iPad and a similar goal. 
 
I do have some more updates regarding 5K races, half marathon training, and teaching a Bible class at church, but I will have to save them for another day! 

Thursday, June 27, 2013

Half-Marathon Training Plan

Half-marathon training (begins and) continues!

Today is the fourth day of my half-marathon training plan, which I adapted from a similar plan for novice runners by Hal Higdon.  (Of course, I found this original plan on Pinterest, then modified it to fit my schedule a little better.)  So here's the revised training plan for my half marathon:


I started running after work on Tuesday (Week 1, Day 2).  It's getting pretty hot here - it was 90 degrees on Tuesday afternoon and is supposed to get into the 100s today - but the thought of running on a treadmill just seemed boring to me.  Plus, I ran outside in 93 degree heat about two weeks ago and it wasn't too bad.  So off I went on my three mile run.

Well, I didn't really consider the difference between 90 degrees at 5 p.m. and 93 degrees at 9 p.m. (which is the time that I ran a few weeks ago).  And there is a big difference.  For one, I was running against the wind on most of the trail.  While the breeze cooled me down a little bit, it also meant I had to work harder to keep moving.  There was also very little shade on the trail, so the hot sun beating directly down on me really zapped my energy.  (After all, 5 p.m. is pretty much the "heat of the day" here in the summertime.)  So I ended up running about two miles, then alternating between walking and running for the last mile.  I even got light-headed at one point, which is the first time that has ever happened to me while running.

Anyway, I learned my lesson and instead ran on the treadmill yesterday after work.  It was a much more pleasant experience since all of the lights were off in the gym and I was able to get a treadmill right in front of one of the fans.  And, to make up for my somewhat disappointing run on Tuesday, I actually ran three miles instead of just two.  Which made me think of this:

 
So I'll probably go to the gym again today and save my outdoor runs for either 5:30 a.m. or 8:30 p.m.

In other news, my Bible reading plan is going really well!  I'm still using the YouVersion app and the "Blended" reading plan, but I've started listening to the verses while I read along with them.  This is similar to an audio-book option and I really like it.  The reader's voice kind of sounds like a knock-off of Morgan Freeman's, so I can't complain about that!  The recording also has soft music playing in the background, which is just enough of a distraction to take me out of whatever else I am doing and really focus on what I am reading.  I believe that this is better for my reading comprehension as well!

I hope to tackle a few other projects on my list this weekend, so I'll be sure to post about it if I do!

Monday, June 24, 2013

30x30 Update: #4, #21, #23, and #26

So it's not technically my birthday anymore, but I still took the day off work to relax and spend time with some family and friends.  This included morning coffee with my friend Amanda, shopping and lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with my mom, and a sushi dinner with my husband and his parents.  It was a great day!  Plus, I've already started working on a few of the things on my 30x30 list.  So here's an update...

#4: Complete the gallery wall in my house.  Two and a half years ago, my husband and I bought our first house.  But like a lot of new homeowners, we couldn't afford to furnish and decorate it right away.  (In fact, the only furniture we owned when we moved in were four dining room chairs, a wingback chair that I bought at a garage sale, a small pedestal table that belonged to my husband's grandmother, and a roll-top desk that belonged to his grandfather.)  So as we've accumulated more furniture, I've also started hanging stuff on the walls to make things more homey.  This includes a gallery wall that I decided to "put up" in our main front hallway.  The upside?  Gallery walls are an easy design choice and there are lots of tutorials and inspiring pictures of them on Pinterest.  The downside?  Unless you already own 100 differently sized, but coordinating frames, they aren't cheap.  So for the past two years, I've put almost all of my birthday and Christmas money toward picture frames for the hallway.  Until yesterday, I had nine frames on the wall, but thanks to some birthday money, I was able to buy six more (though I have to exchange two of those because they are the wrong size).  I also have another $50 in birthday money that I will put toward frames for the gallery wall, so I hope to have nearly 20 frames on the wall by the end of the month.  Of course, I'm still far from finishing this project, but at least I've made some progress!

(I know this isn't ground breaking stuff, so I won't be offended if you decide to stop reading this post right now.  I just really hate having "unfinished" projects in my home or my life and that includes insignificant things like the gallery wall.  So, moving on...)

#21: Participate in/practice "Meatless Mondays.I can't quite explain why I want to do this, I just know that I do.  My increased awareness of my health and eating habits started about a year and a half ago when I decided to give up all soda for six months.  I thought it would be impossible, but six months came and went and I realized that I didn't miss it.  (Well, that's not entirely true - I did miss soda a little bit here and there, but the benefits of not drinking soda far outweighed the cons, so it was worth it to me.)  So I decided to do it for six more months, and by the end of the year, I realized it was no longer a personal challenge, but rather a lifestyle choice.  During that time, I also started a regular exercise routine with Camp Gladiator (more on that in later posts) and then got interested in running.  All of these changes inspired me to minimize my meat consumption as well, making today my first official "Meatless Monday."  And it went really well!  I had a banana and an ice cream bar for breakfast (C'mon, I'm still celebrating my birthday!), a pasta dish packed with asparagus and mushrooms for lunch, and sushi for dinner.  So while I simply can't be vegan - I love cheese, eggs, and fish too much - I do like the idea of having one day a week where I remove other meat from my diet.  And I promise my everyday meals are a bit healthier than what I ate today.  Like I said, I was still celebrating my birthday!

#23: Read the entire Bible in one year.  Throughout my life, I'm pretty sure that I've read every verse and line that is in the Bible.  I've just never made a conscious effort to do it in a concentrated amount of time.  So to accomplish this, I'm using a "blended" reading plan on the YouVersion Bible app on my iPad.  "Blended" simply means that I won't be stuck reading the Old Testament until April, but will get to read chapters in both the Old Testament and the New Testament every day.  While I've only completed the first day of the plan, I'm glad I started it.  And I feel like it is going to work really well for me.  I just need to make sure that I complete the readings for the second day as soon as I finish this blog post!

#26: Run a half marathon.  I know.  I'm crazy.  I started running just two months ago and I already think I can run a half marathon.  (Well, I think I can train for a half marathon.  We'll see if I can actually run it.)  So while I've only ever run two 5Ks, I have my sights set on a half marathon that is scheduled for Sunday, September 15.  Yup, it's in 12 weeks.  Yup, that's 13.1 miles.  And the longest distance I've run at one time is 4.19 miles.  So that means I have to start training now.  As in, today.  Fortunately, I am almost finished modifying Hal Higdon's half marathon training plan for novice runners, which I will share once it is finalized.  Anyway, the plan for today was simple - stretch and strengthen.  Normally, I would do this at Camp Galdiator, but it is an off-week for that, so I decided that hours of walking around two different malls and carrying heaving shopping bags would have to suffice.  But tomorrow, I'll get back outside and run about three miles.  So here goes nothing!

Overall, I think this is a good start to accomplishing some of the items on my 30x30 list.  But I better go and read a few chapters of the Bible and get some sleep before running in the morning.  Until next time!

Sunday, June 23, 2013

The 30x30 Challenge

Today - June 23, 2013 - is my 29th birthday. 

Unlike some of my friends, I'm not really that freaked out about turning 30 next year.  In the last 11 years, I graduated from high school, college, and graduate school.  I married my junior high sweetheart, have a great job, am almost finished with my Ph.D., and own a house.  So I'm very happy with where I am in life, as well as where my life is hopefully headed.

But I'm also a woman who is focused on achievements, which means that I'm not satisfied with a simple one day celebration of a year of my life.  So for the last couple of weeks, I worked on creating a 30x30 list, or a challenge, if you will, of 30 things that I hope to do and accomplish before my 30th birthday.  The items on this list include several different types of goals, like ones that are educational, financial, physical, recreational, and spiritual.  Many of them are things I have done before (like attend a midnight movie and hold a newborn baby), while some of them are new (like run a half marathon and read the entire Bible in one year).

So without further ado, here is my official 30x30 Challenge:

1. Attend Sunday night church at least one night a month
2. Clean out and organize the office closet
3. Complete the coursework for my doctoral program
4. Complete the gallery wall in my house
5. Create and implement a safety "plan" for the house
6. Defend the proposal for my dissertation
7. Deep clean and purge the house of extra junk
8. Finally finish watching "Lost"
9. Find and buy the perfect little black dress
10. Get pedicures with my sisters
11. Give blood
12. Go on a fancy dinner date with my husband
13. Go to a midnight movie
14. Go to Six Flags with a group of friends
15. Have a certain amount of money in my retirement fund
16. Have a certain amount of money in our savings account
17. Hold a newborn baby
18. Keep a regular prayer journal
19. Make extra payments on my husband's student loans
20. Make extra payments on our mortgage
21. Participate in/practice "Meatless Mondays"
22. Pass my qualifying examination
23. Read the entire Bible in one year
24. Run five 5K races
25. Run a 10K race
26. Run a half marathon
27. Start a blog
28. Take a Barre 3 exercise class
29. Teach a Bible class at my church
30. Volunteer at Breakfast on Boulevard

This blog will chronicle my attempt to accomplish these 30 tasks, so stay tuned if you are interested.

And with that, I've just accomplished #27: Start a blog!

So here's to the last, great year of my 20s... Hopefully, it will be fun and memorable!!