Motivation

I read a book last week. (Well it took me a week because we left for California in the middle of it and then I realized that it is due back at the library today, so I had to really fast read the last half last night).

The book was 50/50 by Dean Karnazes.

Talk about a guilt-inducing read. Dean is an ultra-marathoner. Meaning he runs 20-100 miles at a time. On purpose. In this book, he talked about the Endurance 50, where he ran 50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days. So, hey, not only running a bunch of marathons, but traveling to all of these places in less than a days time.

I have read other books by Dean and he is super inspiring. Every time I hear about his runs and how much fun he had, I am like, why am I laying on the couch? I need to get up and run! (Until I remember it is 9:00 at night and the temperature is -4 and oh, I am not in shape to run 50 miles at a time).

At one point in this book, he described being a motivational speaker. He mentioned that when he speaks, people are motivated right away. And then as they walk away, that motivation fades. Because you cannot be motivated to do anything by someone else. They can maybe create a spark, but you are the one who needs to fuel the fire. Motivation comes from you, not from someone else.

I was thinking back to when I was in shape and ran a lot. 

Disneyland Half Marathon

What motivated me at that time? One, I really liked to run 5k’s and 10k’s. It was a fun (although expensive) way to spend my weekends. Two, I lived in Southern California. I started my running for mileage in January. Outside. It was beautiful weather to run in, I almost never went on the treadmills to run more than 3 miles. Three, I had a friend who worked out about 10 times as much as I did. I felt once a day was a minimum to keep up with her. Four, I was in semi-decent shape when I started running. And running was so much fun, when I was in shape. My shortest runs were 4 miles. Generally I ran a 6 mile route and that was my run for the day.

Camp Pendleton Mud Run

So where is my motivation now? What motivates me? I want to be able to run the local 5k’s and 10k’s. I want to do a half-marathon. And I want to be able to chase around my little guy this summer when he wants to play outside. I have to get past that first month of working back up to a normal person fitness level. I need to lose some lbs so it is easier to run faster. I need to fall back in love with running. Can I do it on a treadmill? Time will tell….

Vacation!

So as I have mentioned before, I lived for almost 5 years in Southern California. I LOVED it (minus traffic and earthquakes). However, when I got married and knew that we were going to start a family at some point, we decided to move closer to family (mine). So back to South Dakota it was. And even though I love my family and having Z close to them, I still get homesick for OC.

So for my 30th birthday, I told husband that all I wanted was to go back and visit my friends. No gifts, no party, just a flight to LAX, a hotel on the beach, and authentic California sushi.

So here we are!

Walking around the Omaha airport

Sleeping on the plane

We got a fantastic suite right off the beach in Capistrano Beach.  It was an amazing price, like super super cheap and we could walk approximately 20 steps and get to the water.

The view from our patio.

So many amazing sunsets.

No filters on this one.

My friend Alexis threw a little BBQ at her house the day after we arrived. We were able to visit with a bunch of old co-workers but the best part was Alexis had a son only a few months before we had Zeke. He had a built in friend to play with while we were out there. Since Z got up early because of the time change (and because he always gets up early) and Ben gets up early, we got to have breakfast and play time a few times with them. They are such a great family and it was so fun to hang out with them again.

Zeke's new friend Ben

We spent a couple of days at the beach. Z loved the water, even though it was FREEZING. He would totally be a beach baby if we still lived there.

Just lounging at the beach.

Cold Water! Still love it!

Chasing the water

Of course I have to mention the food. We had In-N-Out for our first and last meal there. It's weird, I didn't eat there that often when we lived there but when you can't have it...dang it's good. We also visited the local Trader Joe's. How much do I miss that store!!?! Anytime we go to Minneapolis or Omaha, I try to make a stop to pick up some of my faves (pita chips, salsa, hummus, and lately, chocolate covered potato chips). We also had Daphne's Greek (which has completely changed and is not as good as it used to be), a really expensive and not so good Mexican lunch, PF Changs, Chick-Fil-A (another franchise missing in SD) and SUSHI! Finally! The sushi in the Midwest isn't terrible but you can't beat fresh California sushi.

My "birthday" dinner

Zeke's table

We spent all of Wednesday traveling back. It was enough to make me not want to travel anywhere ever again. But it was a wonderful time and I can not wait to go back!

Til next time California!

Look at Me, Learning Technology!

First, I have learned how to use Google Reader. Oh. My. Gosh. Instead of remembering blog names, saving them to my favorites bar, or hoping that they show up when I search, I can FOLLOW them. And when I do that, I can go to ONE website and it shows me all the new posts!

Technology.

I love you.

I am still working on a blog header, and, well, basically everything else to do with this blog but I hope to learn. Or to find someone to do it for me.

I tried a new Pinterest project on Sunday. Z was getting bored just hanging out with us and we were being lazy, so I made some homemade finger paint.

The instructions and picture came from this blog. It was a great recipe and was super easy.

So I put Zeke in the bathtub. I only had blue and red food coloring so he only got 3 colors.

He wasn't so sure about it. And most of the time he tried to eat it. Luckily it was corn starch and sugar so it didn't hurt him but he did get mad when I pushed his hand from his mouth.

Mom..this is a mess.

Project: Success!

I probably won't do it again until he is a bit older, maybe this summer, but for anyone who has kids over the age of 2, do it! Also, it washes right out of the bathtub and right off his skin so don't worry about food coloring staining anything.

That's all for today!

30 before 30 (part 1)

So I am now 30. A year and a half ago, I noticed the cool thing to do was make a list of 30 things to do before you turn 30. So I did. I finished some, I ignored some, I failed to complete some. I thought I would recap here.

1. Run: specifically a half marathon, 2 10k's, 3 5k's and a fun run.

I did only ok on this one. First, when I set my goals, I was 6 months pregnant, so I knew that i would really only have a summer to get in shape (because it is winter here until May). First, getting in shape SUUCKKS. Every single time I promise myself I will never get out of shape again. I ran the Teapot Days 5k and trained well enough to get to 5 miles. And then the weather turned crazy hot (like a month and a half of 100+ degree weather). That is no excuse, but it was for me and I stopped running. So in total, I ran one real 5k, the Color Run Minneapolis and the Mud Chug in Sioux Falls.

The Color Run

Mud Chug with my hubby

2. Do 30 Day Shred for 30 days straight. 

Nope. Made it 16 days and started over a handful of times. Maybe this year.

3. Volunteer Activity every quarter.

YES! I managed to complete one! I did a different volunteer activity for 6 different quarters. These included: Feeding South Dakota backpack distribution (for 2 summers), Safety Village at the fair, delivered Christmas gifts for Sioux Falls Cares (both years), mentored a (now) 3rd grade girl (both years), made and packaged dog biscuits for the Humane Society, and handed out turkeys during the Ransom Church Turkey giveaway.

4. Teach baby sign language.

Eh. We tried for a bit, but it is more fun when he talks. We know when he is done and when he wants milk, when he is hungry and when he is tired. So...we gave up on this one.

5. Give up desserts for one month.

If you know me, you know this is very very difficult for me. Especially because my husband is cupcake maker extraordinaire. 

Jeff's 80's theme birthday cupcakes

Zeke's 1 year birthday cupcakes

My meal always ends with something sweet. Even if that is a chewy vitamin at the end of the day. I started this 5 different months. However, October 2012 proved successful!

6. Read the Bible.

I am constantly reading the Bible. However, have I read the bible straight through? No. I am still working on that one. I have an app on my phone that is helping me but have not completed this yet.

7. Make homemade ice cream.

To be honest, I just got lazy on this one. We could easily have planned a day and done this but didn't.

8. Host a theme party.

Done! We had an 80's party for Jeff's 26th birthday. Good times were had by all.

Family

My boys

9. Paint a canvas that can hang on my wall.

Well....I did a Pinterest project with Zeke's footprints that included paint and canvas. So I am counting it.

10. Submit an article or an essay to a magazine.

Nope. I did not. However, I did submit a grad school application, and adoption paperwork. I feel like those trump a magazine.

So, obviously there are twenty more but...my little calls. I will carry on tomorrow!

30!

I'm 30. 30 years old. I can kick. I can stretch. And I can kick. (Ok, that's Molly Shannon and she is actually saying 50 years old. See here if you are unfamiliar.)

But that is what has been going through my head. I'm 30. Oofta. However, I am a lot less devastated about it than I thought I would be 5 years ago. When I turned 24, I practically had a nervous breakdown about turning 25. 25 was slightly better but was on the downhill to 30.

My 20's were awesome. The first couple years were in college at SDSU. I loved my friends, I had a great time with the college life, I graduated on the deans list while still having no idea what I wanted to do with my life. Which brings me to years 23 to 27 in California. I learned so much about who I was and what I wanted during those years. I had a fantastic job, awesome friends, a roommate who stuck with me until I got married, an incredible boyfriend turned fiance turned husband. I got a brand new Jeep, a wedding in Grand Cayman and heck, I lived in Southern California, I could go to the beach whenever I wanted.  The last 3 years of the 20's were back in South Dakota in which I bought a house, had a baby and learned to survive winter weather again.

With my 20's being so exciting, I can not wait to see where my 30's will take us.

Happy Birthday to me!

Happy New Year!

Welcome!

 I made several New Year's Goals this year. (I don't make resolutions anymore because I don't feel like I ever keep them. And because they are always the same thing like save money, lose weight, be more organized, etc. Goals are much easier to strive for, can be more original and I can add/remove/change them whenever I want). Anyway, of my goals for the year is to keep a blog. I am striving to write in it at least once a week (more if life gets exciting).

This blog will probably have no rhyme or reason to it. There may be posts on my Pinterest crafts and recipes, running, our adoption (paperwork turned in!), our 1 year old, losing the baby weight (I suppose after a year, it might be time), or just my rambling thoughts. However, with family and friends on both coasts and everywhere in between, this blog will eliminate the need for a Christmas letter.

Thanks for reading!