Shamrock Shuffle

Tomorrow I am doing a 5K walk in Chicago. It is called the Shamrock Shuffle. They have a 8K run and a 5K walk. I am doing the walk with a girlfriend. I went and got our packets today. There are over 30,000 people signed up. Can't wait. I'll tell you all about it later.

There are possible AM showers and the high will be about 46 degrees. I'm off to plan my outfit. :-)

Incredible

Quote of the day. . .

"Mom, that was the most incredible experience of my life." Here's the story. . . ..

I had a pretty busy day today. I worked out for almost 2 hours.
I picked up my son at school, took him to voice lessons and took a walk while he was there, and then headed off to my daughter's school to pick her up. They both had great days at school. I love talkng to them in the car.

I decided that I would take them out to eat. We went to Culvers. It's a hamburger place if you don't know that. They are know for their burgers and their custard. I got a burger, but no fries and still had no soda. I only had two bites of ice cream.
After dinner it was about 6:15pm and I was getting tired and just wanted to get home. On the way home my daughter asks, "hey, Mom, can we go for a walk tonight on the trail?" I said, "how about tomorrow? Oh, wait a minute they are predicting a bad snow storm for tomorrow. Ok, we'll go tonight." My son wasn't sold on the idea because he wanted to get home to play his WII, but he said that it was ok.

My daugher, age 10, just joined a running club aferschool and is really into running now ( she is going to run cross country next year and start doing 5K's with me ), so she would run ahead of Parker and me and then head back down the trail. At one point she told me that she was going to run to a bench and would wait for me there. Parker ran ahead too. They started yelling that there were deer.
I shuffled ahead and saw my kids by the bench and the deer about 15 feet away from them. As I got closer I saw another deer running right by them.

My daughter said as she rounded the bend and saw the deer it was running right next to her about 4 feet to her right and then crossed in front of her and went into the trees where it just stood watching her once she sat on the bench. The second deer jumped over some bush and headed into the trees. I caught up to them and my daughter looked up at me and said,
"Mom, that was the most incredible experience of my life." She then walked back with me to the car as we took in birds, animal tracks in the trail, and a beautiful sunset all while my son ran ahead to the top of the hill yelling, "I'm king of the world." It doesn't get much better than that. I was very happy.

At the point of deciding whether we would go for a walk I was tired, had to go to the bathroom, and was cold. It was 50 degrees at the warmest part of the day, but at this point the sun was setting and it was only about 35 degrees. We were not prepared for a walk as far as proper jackets and such. I had worked out a lot today and was going to put the walk on hold, but with the snow coming who knows how long till we could go for a walk again. I'm so glad I did because I would have cost my daughter her most incredible experience thus far in her life.

Please take the time to be spontaneous. We all have places to be and things to do. Those things will always be there and we need to just let go sometimes. If you don't you could miss the most incredible moments of your life.

By the way I had dibs on the front bathroom when we got home and I did make it. :-) I wasn't so sure I would.

Yeah Me!!!!

I have been having some HUGE successes this week.

I have been praying and spending time with God everyday this week.
I have been out driving and been very hungry and did not stop at fast food places.
I have been writing down all my food intake.
I have worked out everyday since Sunday.
I have been drinking no soda for 11 days.
I have not had any artificial sweetners for just as long in anything I have eaten or drank.
I've been eating way more fruits and veggies.
I have gotten a lot cleaned around the house.
I have a B average in my literature class that I am doing online.
I have been more patient with my kids.
I have been a lot more happy this week.
I have watched a lot less TV this week. Exceptions: Dr. Phil and American Idol.

YEAH ME!!!! It truly only takes one decision at a time to be a successful, happy person.

Goals for today:

Spend time with God
Get to the gym today and do an hour of cardio.
Eat right.
Finish my reading for my homework.
Do laundry.
Get my kids to church and do homework while they are there.
Go to bed early.


You know those rubber braclets that people wear all the time. I found one that my old church gave away. It says "Walk in the Spirit." That is referring to the Spirit of God. In the Bible in Galatians 5 it lists the fruit of the Spirit. They are:
Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-control. I am trying to live this way in every aspect of my life and my bracelet is a helpful reminder. The other bracelet I am wearing is to help me to remember not to complain. It says, "A complaint free world." You can read about it at www.acomplaintfreeworld.org

Have a great Wednesday everyone.

To a great week of training and working out.

I found a great treadmill routine I think we should all check out. If any of you try it let me know.

Do not worry. . . Be happy

To go along with my last post about making one decision at a time, towards my life of happiness and wellness, I am going to live by this verse:

Matthew 6:34 (New International Version)

Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

That must be where the saying take one day at a time, came from.

Have a great Sunday everyone!!

I just got back from church and my Sunday school teacher shared these verses with us today. He was talking about God's power. I love these verses.

I Chronicles 29:11-12 (New Living Translation)

11-Yours, O Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the victory, and the majesty. Everything in the heaven and on earth is yours, O Lord, and this is your kingdom. We adore you as the one who is over all things.

12-Riches and honor come from you alone, for you rule over everything. Power and might are in your hand, and it is at your discretion that people are made great and given strength.


Thank you Lord for these verses. Please give me strength to overcome my eating issues and please give me the strength to get in shape, so that I can bring glory and honor to you in ways that I have never imagined before. Thank you for loving me and for being here for me in everyway even when I didn't realize it. Help me this week to make good decisions that are pleasing to you. In Jesus' name, Amen!!

Just some thoughts

I read a blog by my friend, Benny. He always seems to know to say and when to say it. His last two blog posts have been very thought provoking for me. His blog is at www.ironbenny.blogspot.com.

He talked about happiness and your health and how all it takes is one decision at a time and when you find health you will find happiness and when you find happiness you will find good health.

He also talked about how in life we make decisions all the time. What fuel is best for our car? What is the best food to feed our pets? We are always making the best decisions for our pets, cars, jobs, and families, but we need to start doing that for ourselves. What kind of feul are you willing to put in your body?

I have really been giving my life over to God more and more each day and these things really did hit home with me. I know with God's help, friends help, and belief in myself I can start fueling my body better and living the life I derserve.

One line that really hit home in Benny's post was this:

"Do you want to struggle for the rest of your life, or do you want wellness for the rest of your life? The choice is yours. Rich or poor, the cost is the same. Make the decision to be free from your debt in life. Relieve yourself of those pressures by making the decision for wellness. Make wellness your priority just like you've made your career and your family your priority. Do it for yourself. For your loved ones. For the world. Just do it. Make the RIGHT decision."

I have always been a person that puts others first. I have a HUGE giving heart and would do anything for anybody. I even got a pin from a cast member at Disney World because I was caught doing a good deed. My point is I've always been a giver. I have learned over the last few years to say NO more and I have decided that I need to take care of myself better. I am 34 and am sick and tired of being sick and tired. The feul that I am going to put in my body is only going to be fuel that gives me positive energy. Not only am I talking about physical food, but also what I watch on TV, who I hang around with, what kind of music I listen to etc. etc. I am starting to take an inventory or my life and with God's help make the changes that I need to.

Whether or not I do another triathlon is not the issue anymore. It's whether or not I am happy and energetic and how I use these things to better my life, my family's lives, the lives of others around me, and how I, Melissa, can change the world (I know that sounds like I am going to enter a beauty pagent now).

I want to thank Benny for posting and challenging me. Keep those posts coming, Benny. I appreciate them.

The No Soda Showdown

Yesterday my brother had an idea and asked me if I wanted to give up soda with him starting today. It's something I've been wanting to do, so I said sure. He loves Mountain Dew and I love Diet Coke. I used to love Dr. Pepper, but gave that up years ago. Whoever gives in first and drinks a soda has to buy the other person a CD. You are going down Big Brother. Hmmmm, I wonder what CD I'll get? Any suggestions. I love Christian hip/hop, dance music, and anything good to workout to. Leave a comment with any suggestions.

My brother loves Dew as you can tell. He even wrote a poem about it years ago. Here it is:

An Ode to Dew

Do I have my Dew?
I do!
Do I do my Dew?
I do!

I do my Dew,
And Dew my do,
I cannot do
Without my Dew.

For when I Dew
I better do,
So when I must do
I do Dew too!

Without my Dew,
I cannot do,
I cannot do,
Without my Dew.

So I Dew
It’s true, It’s true!
It’s true that I will
Do my Dew!

Yes!
To my Dew,
I am true,
To my Dew,
And not a few!

Do I do a Dew?
Do I do two Dews?
Two Dews I do!
Two Dews I do!
I do two Dews
Yes, it’s true!

When I do a Dew or two,
Then I do another Dew,
Another Dew I do it’s true,
The Dews I do are not a few!

If do a Dew that’s not so new
Then do Dews on Dews on Dews,
To undo Dew that wasn’t new,
For do not do Dews that are not new!

A true Dew? Not new? Not true!
Dew not new? Do NOT Do!
Do not do a Dew not new!

Well, I did my Dew,
My Dew I did,
My Dew is empty,
My Dew is rid.

I did rid my Dew I did.
Can’t do Dew if Dew is did!
If Dew is did, no more to drink,
Then no more poem I can think.

If no more think from no more drink,
Then no more Dew to run my head,
I did the Dew, now do the bed.

Game on BIG BROTHER!!

I'm still here!!

I have had a lot going on in my life. I travelled a lot as you know. I know I promised pictures and it will happen soon.
I graduate December of 2008 and I have 4 online courses due before I can student teach in August.
I have been having some minor medical issues concerning my ankles.
I have been trying to figure out the whole triathlon thing and what part it is going to play in my life this summer.
I am still working out and still losing weight, but I have decided after much prayer and consideration that I will not be doing any triathlons this summer.
I am still going to do smaller events and will still be active and losing weight. I have just decided that I need to concentrate on my ankles and getting more fit before doing another triathlon event. It was very hard and I have had my good cry about it, but I am at peace with this decision.
I have had to realize that even if I never do another triathlon that I have done three and what an awesome accomplishment that is. I am and will always be a triathlete. I am so proud of myself for that title. However, I am not giving up on doing more. I am excited to come back in '09 and do a sprint triathlon again and an olympic distance for the first time.
That is where I am at right now. It was very hard for me to verbalize this and blog about this because I was feeling like I let myself down and others down, but now I realize that another important part of triathlon training and bettering my life is listening to my body, soul, and mind. If I don't, I will be worse off.

I want to thank those of you (and you know who you are) who have helped me with this decision and for encouraging me. I know this is the right thing to do.

Event coming up:

March 30,2008 Shamrock Shuffle-There is a 5k walk and a 10 run. I am doing the 5k
August 2008-Apple Cider Century-I will do the 25 mile loop

Main goals from now until end of June-finish 3 of my 4 online classes, workout on a regular basis, and lose 30 pounds.