Working from home

Last night I worked from home for about an hour or more after an amazing run outside in January with only running pants and two layers, a long sleeve shirt and a fleece, amazing!!

I was writing with my pen that my friends this girl and this girl picked up for me on NYE, best part of my night.  Okay not really the best part but a memorable part, the best part was starting the  year off with great friends and their husbands!

The pen is from my favorite pizza place.  Not only do they have the best pizza, it is also where Dan and I went to eat on the night we met.  We go there every year for our anniversary.  And now we have gone with some of my favorite people, good times all around!

Thankful to have such great friends and a wonderful boyfriend!

Gratitude

Gratitude is the least of the virtues, but ingratitude is the worst of vices.  ~Thomas Fuller

There is not a more pleasing exercise of the mind than gratitude.  It is accompanied with such an inward satisfaction that the duty is sufficiently rewarded by the performance.  ~Joseph Addison

Gratitude is the music of the heart, when its chords are swept by the breeze of kindness.  ~Author Unknown


Today's theme is Gratitude.  How can one be happy if they are not thankful for everything they have?  I know I'm so thankful for so many things, but I forget.  How can one forget?  It is crazy I know.  So every day I'm going to attempt to try to think of one thing I'm thankful for, the funny thing is once I started concentrating on this I can think of a dozen or more things I'm thankful for and that fills my heart.  How blessed am I to have so many things to be thankful for that I can't narrow it down to one thing a day.   What a terrible problem to have :o) and what a great way to start out each and every day.

Positive Attitude

Happiness is an attitude.  We either make ourselves miserable, or happy and strong.  The amount of work is the same.  ~Francesca Reigler


I like this quote.  It is true.  We can decide to be happy or miserable.  I'm going to actively choose to be happy, every day.  I think it can be similar to working out or any other change we make.  It takes some time to make it a habit but it can be done.  Dan is the best example I have for this. No matter what happens it takes a lot to get that guy down or for him to have a bad day.  Even if he has a bad day one wouldn't always know.  Also surrounding oneself with positive happy people helps.  Eliminate the drama and those that want to create it when it does not need to exist.

Farewell to thee 2011

Hmmm.  Everyone I know is saying farewell to the year.  I think it is appropriate to do so myself.  2011 has been a difficult year.  The theme is CANCER and it is infecting more people than I like to talk about.  From my dad to my cousin's wife who have been hit the hardest.  And whose future's are still being paved.  Thankfully my own brushes have been deemed insignificant in comparison.

I refuse to make resolutions, I believe resolutions are made to be broken.  I prefer to make life long changes knowing that set-backs happen but that if I persevere they are only set-backs.  I would like to improve some things this year that I can carry with me always.

First to let myself be close and stay close to those that I have become the closest to in 2011.  I realized that through all the down times in 2011 that I have really needed people and they have been there.   And if I let them they will continue to be there.

Second to step up things in the exercise department.  Running has been going well, I'm learning to respect it again and actually enjoy it, we have always had a love-hate relationship.  But I am quite a bit of a whiner on the bike at times.  I really need to buck up and accept where I am regarding conditioning and fitness and not complain when those who ride with me are better or stronger, we all have ups and downs, 2011 was a down year in this department for me.  However, I am feeling inspired.  So many people around me are discovering what exercise can do for them and it inspires me to see them figure out what works and how it is going to fit in their lives.

Third to just stop and be appreciative.  I tend to overbook myself and just go from thing to thing without stopping to appreciate the activity or the people or what have you.  And in this one to help those I'm closest to enjoy the good times in their lives, it is a given that we will help each other through the rough times but to really revel with them in the happy times so that the good times can always outshine the shadows.

Fourth to get a little more organized at home.  It is tough living between two places but I use it as an excuse too often for why things don't get put away.

I hope these things become habits that I can take with me beyond 2012.

I'm sure I will come up with more as time goes on, but this is a good start.

So onward and forward.

Have a wonderful NYE, be safe, enjoy the ones you are with!

I know I will be spending it with the people I love.

Minnesota Biking Trip Finally

Things have been crazy.  But I'm finally getting to post about our biking trip to Lanesboro, MN and the Root River Bike Trail.  We had perfect weather.  The fall colors were perfect.  On the way up we stopped in St. Ansgar to visit Dan's old stomping grounds, it is where he had his first teaching job. 

The first day we got there in the mid afternoon so we took a shorter ride.

Apparently happy cows can also be found in Southeastern Minnesota.

I don't have a great picture of the bed and breakfast from the first night and I won't bore you with pictures of the inside of it.

The second day we went for a longer ride and stayed in different Bed and Breakfast that was tucked into the countryside.  We will definitely stay there again, it was serene and beautiful.  The next few pictures are from the B&B and our ride.

Yes, I knitted.

The last day we hiked and shopped and then headed home here are some pictures from our hike.

The trails were around the B&B which you can see in the background.  This is one of the best pictures of us from the trip. 

So fortunate to have found someone who likes to do these sorts of things with me.  Next year we are going to Wisconsin.







Summer re-cap

Well it has been forever since I have posted anything.  We survived TOMRV and actually had a really good time with it, staying in dorms was so much better than camping as is done with RAGBRAI.

We rode one day of RAGBRAI, that was enough, not sure how all of those people survived the heat.

We went to the Sound Garden Concert.
We went to the Heart Concert.

We rode the Harmon Hundred (did the 50 mile option)

And now I'm training for the Des Moines Half Marathon.  I have never really loved running but lately I have been thoroughly enjoying my runs.  Some hurt more than others and some just fly by.  I'm doing  a race this coming weekend Capital Pursuit.  It is a 10 mile run with a downhill finish into downtown.  I am going to acutally race it, as much as it is a race for me.  I was shocked (at first) to find out I'm a much slower runner than I thought.  I bought a Garmin with a GPS in it so I would know how long I was running, the downfall is now I know how fast and how hard I'm working too.  But after the first shock of it I'm okay with it.  I'm enjoying myself and getting healthier and I'd rather run for a lifetime than be fast and injured (that's what I'm telling myself ;o) ). 

In a couple of weeks Dan and I are taking at trip to the Root River Valley Trail .  We are staying in this bed and breakfast the first night and this one the second night.  We are going to bike in the afternoons and relax and just have fun, I'm really looking forward to it. Then we are going to swing by the folk's farm and go to a Jazz Band concert at UNI.  I'm looking foward to a week off of work and getting out of town. 

I will try to get some pictures of our adventures posted soon.

5 days to TOMRV

Well the weekend is almost here for the big bike ride.  We rode 60 on Saturday and 30 on Sunday.  I'm sure the mileage will be okay now the hills might be another thing.  I'm looking forward to an early morning start, love riding my bike when the sun is just coming up.  I'm looking forward to the beautiful Iowa scenery.  Praying for nice weather, rain gear will be there just in case.  Looking forward to seeing what challenges the weekend brings and just going to ride my bike as best as I can.  I'm also looking forward to the pie at dinner and spending some good time with Dan and his family and some of our biking friends. 

Went for my first early morning jog this morning.  It was painful, my body does not appreciate morning runs, never has.  I'm a much better runner after 4 p.m.  However, it is so nice to get up and get it out of the way and my old running partners run in the mornings and I want to start joining them again.  So starting the trek to morning runs and hopefully the Des Moines Marathon half-marathon in October.