Angel’s Carol By John Rutter
Chocolate Peanut-Butter No Bake Cookies
Some of my favorite cookies….just needed a place to save the recipe.
Ingredients
Directions
In a heavy saucepan bring to a boil, the sugar, cocoa, butter and milk. Let boil for 1 minute then add peanut butter, vanilla and oatmeal. On a sheet of waxed paper, drop mixture by the teaspoonfuls, until cooled and hardened.
5 Miles!
Today I ran 5 miles!!!! Over the last few weeks I’ve been a weeny, only running a mile or two. I started out wanting to run 3 miles. I ran the first three miles around the neighborhood on the pavement.
Mentally I was really sharp today. I knew I could keep going, I knew I could push myself today. I knew I could run 5 miles. It’s amazing how much of running is a mental game.
My feet couldn’t take two more miles on the pavement, so I ran the last two miles on the grassy soccer field. That last half mile my legs felt a little like jelly. But I DID IT!!! It felt so awesome!
The Full 3 Hours
Since the beginning of this year I think we’ve been to church for the full 3 hours once. Sometimes because we woke up late, misses the bus or had a cold etc.
But I was determined to go the whole time today. I prayed for help, and I got it. I actually woke up late, 7:30. We needed to be at the bus stop by 8:15. I was able to get ready in 15 minutes. I kept a prayer in my heart as I woke up the boys. At first they didn’t want to wake up, but I told them that we were going to church. They enjoy church, but they were REALLY excited to go today. They were so good, quickly getting dressed. We got to the bus stop at 8:20. I was worried that we had missed the bus. But a few minutes later our bus pulled up.
We got to church 5 minutes early!
I stayed with the boys during Sharing Time but I talked them into going to Sunday School without me. It was nice to go to my class.
The boys were good during Sacrament, they got a little rowdy the last 10 minutes, but nothing big.
It felt SO GREAT to be able to go to the full block of church. I feel like I’ve been bathed in the Spirit, and I’m loving it!
40 Minutes
Today I ran 40 minutes strait (about 4 miles). It was so cool.
I was talking to James the other day about running and he mentioned something about not forcing it, just run like you’re being dragged along and you’re doing the bare minimum to keep up. Meaning, don’t waste your energy on stomping your feet and swinging around your arms.
Anyway, when I was running and I started to feel like I wanted to stop, I imagined that I had a rope tied around my waist and someone was pulling me along.
I ran until the end of my music, which is 40 minutes. I was so excited. I felt great too. I didn’t feel very tired either. It was great!!
My Running Music
I’ve tried running without music. I’ve tried a bunch of different styles and artists. I think I found the winner.
I know what you’re thinking…”you listen to kids tunes while you run?”
But they’re really fun upbeat songs with a great tempo. The tempo doesn’t change too much from song to song either. So it’s like an upbeat metronome, helping me keep a good pace. (Also, these aren’t your everyday kids songs either, they beat the heck out of Barney!)
I downloaded it from iTunes (comes with music videos too. The kids love them.) But I know you can get it from Amazon.com too
Check it out!
Two Miles
For the last few weeks I’ve been running at the little soccer field by our house. For one mile you have to go around 20 times. It’s hard to keep count, so I just pay attention to the amount of time. For the last week I’ve been running for 20 minutes. Today I decided to run around the neighborhood. It’s only three times around for a mile.
I turned on my running music and got started. When I got to a mile I was surprised, because I felt like I had just started. I easily ran a second a mile, (which was about 20 minutes). I walked the third mile.
I was so excited to find out that I had been running two miles for the last week!
Bare Foot
I recently read an article about runner’s knee. In the comments someone mentioned that they started running bare foot and they no longer had sore knees.
I’ve been having sore knees from running, it’s mostly because I haven’t bought fancy shoes yet. But I decided to try running bare foot yesterday.
It was so great! I ran for 20 minutes strait, only the second time I’ve done that. It reminded me of running around bare foot as a kid.
Half Marathon This Fall
When I first started running back in December it was because I was training to run a half marathon with my sisters in Utah next fall. But I got bummed out thinking that I might not be able to go.
I looked up the date for the half marathon the other day, November 6th. I decided that whether I’m in Utah or not, I’m going to run 13.1 miles on Nov 6th. That has really helped to keep me motivated. Because now I’m doing it for myself.
I Found It!!
I finally found the perfect time to go running.
I tried waking up early, before the kids woke up. But then I remembered that I’m NOT a morning person.
I tried running in the evening after the kids were in bed. But some days I was too tired to go running.
I’ve been running at the little soccer field which is right next to the park near our house. So last week I decided to take the kids with me. I’ve been going around 9:30am before it gets too hot. It’s been great!
Am I Awesome Or What?
It’s a new year so I wanted to put a new theme on our family blog. I found a few that I liked a little bit, but none of them had all of the things I wanted. So I redid all the graphics on one that had a good basic format.
Before:
After:
I always change the themes around a little. But these are the most changes I’ve made so far. I think it turned out really good to.
Are You Still Running?
The other day someone asked me, “are you still running?”
The answer? Yes and no.
I got de-railed during the holidays and gained some weight which bummed me out. I didn’t feel like doing anything for a few weeks, including running.
I started running for a few days then I tripped over one of the kids bikes and sprained my ankle. Over the last week I’ve started walking again. My ankle isn’t up to par for running yet, but I’ve got my finger’s crossed for next week.
Happy Birthday To ME!
Today was a lot of fun. James and the boys gave me a big bag of chocolate bars. So of course I ate chocolate all day…heaven!
We watched some of my favorite movies, The Princess and the Frog (I love all the fun songs) and Avatar (the kids got a kick out of that one).
All afternoon the boys would bring me presents. Plastic bags with toys in them. They’d sing Happy Birthday then excitedly tell me to open them. It was cute.
James did the dishes for me and watched the kids so that I could talk with my sisters on the phone.
After the kids were in bed James and I talked and laughed the rest of the night.
Six Years
James and I have been married 6 years! That’s more than half a decade.
I must say, it’s been some of the most fun, learning, growing, changing, exciting, adventuress years of my life.
Last year we made a big to do about our anniversary. This year we decided to just spend some time together. We didn’t do gifts, although James got me a card. We ordered pizza for dinner and hung out with the kids. It was great.
Torn
At the beginning of December I started running. For the most part I was really enjoying it. I even lost a few pounds. But right now I’m feeling very torn between running and just walking to get a little exercise.
Reason number one. Whenever I ran I would feel so guilty and selfish. Spending all that time and effort when I can’t even get around to cleaning my bath tub more than once a month. Also, the reason I had started running was so that I could go to Utah next year and run a half marathon with my sisters. Just thinking about all the time and money that goes into that trip. It’s also likely that my husband and kids would be stuck at home while I went on a trip just to go run a race.
Reason number two. I mentioned that I lost a few pounds. Well, right after Christmas I had a cough for about two weeks and wasn’t able to go running. In those two weeks I GAINED 10 POUNDS! Now, I can chalk some of that weight up to the food I ate. But I don’t want to start running again if I’m going to gain 10 pounds every time I take some time off from running.
Advice?
Movin' On Up…
Yesterday night I ran a mile strait!
So far I’d run 1/2 mile at a time then walk a little and run 1/2 mile again. But for the first time I ran a mile strait. It totally whipped me out though. It took all I had. I came home and went strait to bed. Then slept most of the day today, (I also have a cold). But it felt great!
I took my dog running with me for the first time yesterday. I can’t decided if she made it easier for me to run that mile or if I could have ran farther without her. It was fun to change it up a little though.
I've Been Good This Year…
I’ve been really good this year, Santa came early to our house.
The boys think it’s really cool to watch the clothes spin around.
I got a cute little, gently used, front loading, washing machine. It’s so great! The clothes came out so clean and almost dry. I’m used to having the clothes dripping as I hang them up.
I’m in heaven!
(The dog isn’t a big fan of the washing machine. She used to sleep in the laundry room, but now she gets to sleep outside.)
Treadmill VS Outdoors
When you walk on a treadmill if you get tired after a mile you can push stop and get off the treadmill. If you’re walking outside and you walk a mile you have to walk a mile back.
I used to prefer walking on a treadmill when I was out of shape and didn’t really want to exercise. But I really enjoy walking outside and having to return from that mile.
Depending how you look at it that could be a good thing or a bad thing. Now sometimes because of weather you have to walk on a treadmill indoors.
What’s your opinion on treadmills vs the outdoors?
It's A Wonderful Life
Today was one of those days where the kids were crying about everything, the sink has a bottom-less amount of dirty dishes and nothing goes right. At the end of the day I just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. We decided to watch a movie instead. I had just downloaded It’s A Wonderful Life. I love that movie! It was just what I needed. After watching it I felt so grateful for all my dirty dishes and crying children. I am so blessed!
Little Achievements
Today I didn’t run that much farther than a few days ago. But it still feels great to run even 1/2 mile farther than last time. I love that feeling of achieving something new, even if it is a small achievement.
One Mile, Piggy-Back Style
Tonight the kids didn’t want to stay at home while I went running. So I strapped Peter to my back and just went for a brisk walk instead of running. I went a half mile with him then came back and took Jimmy for a half mile too. The kids really enjoyed it.
It feels so great!
A Little Easier
I’ve been thinking about running all day. Tonight after I bathed the kids and got them ready for bed it was only 7:00. I thought, “this is it…this is my window….run!” So I put the boys in their room to play and told James that I would be back in an hour.
Instead of running around the neighborhood I decided to run around the nearby soccer field. No cars or barking dogs, I figured the softer ground might help too. It was great! I think the lack of distractions made it easier to zone out and just go.
I started running about 1/4 mile then had to walk. When I started running again I would get to my starting point and think, “I could go around one more time.” I did that for about 1/2 mile. It was so great to just kinda get into a rhythm with my breathing and foot steps etc. I went back and forth 1/4 mile walking, 1/4 mile running the last part of the hour. I went about 2.5 to 3 miles. I love how much easier it was tonight. I’m excited for tomorrow!
Do I Really What To Do This?
So after I woke up early and ran (a few days ago) the next day I was sore and tired and just not sure I really wanted to do it. I made one excuse after another why I couldn’t go running. But then I saw this picture of my sister.
I wanted to look as good in a swimsuit as she did. So YES, I really do want to do this!
