The Halloween Hustle

Tom Sawyer, Curious George, and (Where’s) Waldo hopped in the car this morning at 7am and sped off into the day. At least that’s who we were trying to look like. Perhaps my costume this year was a fail. Anyway, we pull into the parking lot where the Halloween Hustle 5K was taking place in our little Louisiana town. It was quite chilly for us so we didn’t get out of the car immediately. While we’re hanging out in the car, we begin to realize we’re the only people dressed up. Like THE ONLY PEOPLE. The registration form clearly stated to be creative and wear your costumes!

We can’t be the only creative people who like to run in Deridder, can we?

Captain J begins to flip. He’s all, “I can’t believe you talked me into this”, “What was I thinking?” , “The things I do for love!” And I’m all, “Oh well, we’re festive, dear. It’s okay!” I crawl in the backseat to begin feeding my little monkey. Meanwhile, J is saying how he is not getting out of the car to get our tshirts and race numbers. Then he tells me, “Hey, can you unlatch him and buckle him back in? I’m going home to change.”

Bah (Halloween) humbug!

We sped home because the race was starting in 9 minutes. 9 minutes!

Captain J runs inside and comes back out donning a Kurdish football uniform and I smile inside knowing that he does, in fact, love me. He dressed up! Hip hip hooray! I guess Tom Sawyer was a little much for him. Anywho…

we make it back to the starting line just in time and I get in the very back because I’m pushing a stroller and I just know I’m going to be slow as Christmas. The facilitators of the race are snapping photos left and right and some guy with a wig on shouts, “Why am I the only one dressed up?!”

Umm.

Yeah, I look like this every day.

Long story short,my army man and I looked like a bunch of weirdos running the streets of Deridder this morning. Good thing Baby K is still small, otherwise I fear he’d be quite ashamed. But all hope for the day was not lost. Ya see…this Mama (all worried about her out-of-shape self, disgusted by the 6-7ish extra pounds still lingering from the pregnancy) came in 2nd place of the 20-29 year old female division. Totally wasn’t expecting that! There weren’t many people in that group, I’ll admit, but as my dear friend Laura Faye said, “A win is a win!”

Baby K says, “Give me that medal, Mom!”

And I least I wasn’t dead last. Honestly, I thought I would be.

Have a super, fantastic, spooky Halloween y’all. I’ll be giving out candy with Baby K Curious George.

P.S.- Monday is the last day to enter my giveaway!

A bunch of nothing

Sometimes one just needs to write. The idea of catharsis is one that has diminished in popularity among friends, but it’s always gaining popularity in the counseling field. After all, what is counseling if it’s not having someone who is paid to listen to you? Sure, there are helpful therapists out there, but what we, as human beings, really need is just someone to listen to us. Perhaps that’s why I write so often. It’s a type of catharsis for me, a release. So, as I sit here with a glass of wine and wide eyes, I wonder, did that just happen?

I won’t go into details, but I’ll let you know the ballpark I’m in: I don’t understand why people feel the need to put others down in order to make themselves feel better. I’ve seen this on a much larger scale all over the news this week, but what I’m referring to are those little jabs, those small one -liners that cut right to your core. There are people in my life that can accomplish this with ease. When something in their life gets rough, their first step on their own personal road to recovery is to criticize mine. If you have to start a sentence with, “At least…” or some other mean spirited comparison phrase then I probably don’t NEED to hear that. Jus’ sayin.’ The weird thing is- I don’t really care enough to feel really bad about it. I mean, I know what this person said is far from truth and they probably don’t really believe what was said either and it was just a way for them to release as well. I’m not mad or sad, just slightly irritated because this isn’t the first time this person has graced me with their careless tongue. I just pray that I can search my heart and find forgiveness for them because it truly is a small, miniscule thing. The idea that keeps resounding in my head though is, why do I continue to entertain their insecurities? I’m not sure.

What else is going on with me? Well, aside from that minor annoyance earlier, I’m doing great. Jordan and I have a lot of exciting news. For starters, Captain J received his selection letter for a big bad army school (removed). Yeah, that’s right…the big time. People keep asking me how I feel about this and I’m not sure I know how to respond. I mean, most people immediately say, “Oh, I’m sorry, Kace…” which tells me I truly don’t know what I’m getting myself into! The role of an (removed) wife? Can I handle that? I know we’ll make it work if that’s where God wants Captain J to be. Above all worries and fears, I’m happy for him. I know this is what he wants career-wise so I support him. This summer will provide insight into what the next few years of our lives will look like so I’m excited to see what happens. Captain J will be sent off sometime this summer to go into the next phase of selection. Prayers are very much appreciated!

The most thrilling news, in my opinion, is the fact that I have in my possession two tickets to Hawaii for the month of June! Captain J and I are finally getting our honeymoon that we didn’t get to have. It’s going to be such a blessing to be able to visit somewhere warm, tropical, and gorgeous after having spent a winter in Alaska. We plan on finishing up our Scuba Diving Certification, fishing, and relaxing on the beach. 10 days of uninterrupted bliss…I cannot wait!

Many times people ask what’s up with ME and I really don’t have much of an answer for them. Sometimes it  feels as if my life is so closely intertwined with Captain J’s that I don’t have much of a life outside of him, but I know that’s not true. So, to enlighten you on what’s going on in my world, I will say that I’m pretty content in doing a whole bunch of nothing. Many of you have sent me encoraging emails, comments, messages, and phone calls telling me I should publish my writing. I don’t know how serious I am to take you, but I have begun to write some of my thoughts down elsewhere (besides this blog). The trouble with writing or any other thing that one may be good at, it’s often just something I do so I never think of it as anything exceptional. Whether what I say is interesting enough for people to want to read or not, I have started writing notes occasionally of what is laid upon my heart. Maybe it will never be a great piece of work, but I write anyway in the hope that my children and grandchildren will have a readily available glimpse into my life as a twenty something year old. That thought keeps me writing. Besides, I really enjoy it!

I’ve also been trying to whip my butt into shape, as you can see here. I don’t know how much my body has changed, but I can truly feel the difference. I’m happier when I’m working out, releasing endorphins. Pretty soon I’m hoping to settle on a half marathon to do this summer. I’ll be keeping my eyes peeled. Alaskans are hardcore so they often don’t have the 13.1 mile race, it’s all or nothing. There’s no way I can finish a full marathon would want to run 26 miles at this point in my life so that simply won’t be happening. I’d love to do another half marathon, though so that is definitely in the works for me. I’ll keep you updated.

I’m going to peace out now because I fear I’m boring you with my game of catch up. Tell me, what’s going on with YOU?

Reawakening

Well, it’s another gorgeous day in Alaska. The skies are blue and the wind is blowing the trees back and forth, side to side. This is exciting because I know spring is on its way. Typically during the winter Fairbanks gets very little wind. In the spring and summer, all bets are off. Needless to say, the wind is a welcomed change. When I go outside now it feels like a reawakening of my soul. Corny? Maybe, but it’s true. I can go for a run. I can wear something besides sweaters and long johns. Good grief, I can even shovel dog and moose poo and be content because it feels so wonderful outside. Our highs have been anywhere from upper twenties to lower forties! Since I’ve moved up here, I often get asked about the light/dark situation here. People are intrigued by it, as am I. Our days are getting much longer. It’s usually light outside around 7:45am and it doesn’t get dark again until about 8 o’clock in the evening. I love having these longer days. I’m truly looking forward to summer when it feels like the days never end. I’ve never experienced complete light in the middle of the night. I can’t imagine what it will be like yet. I wonder if I’ll be able to get any shut eye. Anyway, as I said, stepping outside feels as if the world is new again. In a way, it is. Around town, I’ll catch glimpses of people with an extra spring in their step that I contribute to the rise in temps. Just last week, I was driving down the road and I saw a soldier coming towards me in his truck, windows down, ACUs on, music blasting, and breaking out some intense car moves. He looked pretty excited to be off work and to be able to feel the fresh air on his face. Yes, it’s those little things that make us happy, isn’t it?

As you can read in my previous post, my weekend was interesting. I got a chance to finally get out of the house and do something I’ve been wanting to do for awhile and that is participate in Operation Beautiful. It’s such an easy way to brighten someone’s day. Be sure to click on the link for more info. If you do not know about it, the idea is to tell someone they’re beautiful. Of course there are several ways of doing so, but usually this is done via anonymous notes left for others to find. I didn’t get to take a picture of what I left on a bathroom mirror at a local Italian restaurant, but it felt good to do this one thing for someone else. I wrote, “You are beautiful. Pass it on” with ridiculous hearts all over the pink sticky note. The neat thing about leaving it at a restaurant was the rare opportunity for me to watch who I knew had read the note. Our table was beside the bathroom (eew? lol), but it was the perfect place for me to see the affect it had on people. I felt like most were smiling at they left the room. Maybe it was simply because they were returning to the table with their loved ones waiting, but I like to think that the small note I left made a big impact on their day. Hopefully, someone took the note home with them and then made a few of their own to leave in bathrooms all over Fairbanks! It’s just so easy to show some compassion. The kindness of strangers can go a long way, in my opinion. Go check out the website and see what you can do.

Speaking of feeling beautiful. I do, I do! Captain J is pretty good about reminding me 🙂 But that’s not why I’m feeling better and better about myself. It’s because I’ve been getting busy working on my beach bod. A couple weeks ago, I wrote a blog topic entitled Think Yourself Thin in which I proposed to start up P90x again. Well, that didn’t really happen. haha Until now. I finally got the ball rolling and I’m going to stick to it. I won’t go on and on about it here because I’ve written about it here. Yes, I’ve started yet another blog. I know what you’re thinking (“this girl has too much time on her hands”), but I’ve got plenty of time to maintain my blogs. I decided to start another one for a couple of reasons. The first one being that my fitness blog is for me. It’s to keep me on track with my progress and daily goals. I debated on whether I would promote it, but I decided I would mainly because I’ve monetized it. I switched to Blogger so that I could use google adsense to get paid when visitors clicked on the links on my new page, My World, My Playground. Hint, hint. So, show me some love over there.

Are you confused yet? No, I’m not deleting Confessions of a Snow Bunny or Learning to Live and Living to Learn. I love wordpress for it’s professional feel and tons of editing options. Plus, I’ve really aquired a large following here and I don’t want you guys to quit reading. I enjoy connecting with all of you and updating those back home of my happenings here. I have simply added another blog to my list of things to do, which is fine by me. It can be good reading material for the chronically bored, as well.

I’m done with my shameless plugging and linking now. I’m headed outside to “Live in the Sunshine!” Time for a run. Perhaps I’ll run a few errands today so I can get to work on some recipes that my mother and mother-in-law have sent me recently. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on my cooking adventures if I choose to tackle that path this week. J is the cook around here 😉

(P.S. Like the new layout? I polled some bloggers who said they preferred a light background with dark writing as opposed to what I had. I hope you like the changes.)

Much love,
Mrs. K

Think yourself thin?

I come to you today with a brownie in hand to enlighten you on my perspective of America’s overweight/obesity epidemic. (Yes, the brownie is all part of my plan.) I kid you not, all of the following scenarios have happened to me today and I’ve only been awake for about five hours-

1. On an online forum I participate in, one witty, intelligent, sweet young lady posted a thread called something like ‘show me your tummys!’
2. I am in the habit of reading Psychology Today pretty religiously and I woke up to this topic this morning.
3. I’m currently tuned into Project Runway that is known for tall, slender, gorgeous models working with fashion designers.
4. I thought about all the media I’ve been bombarded with in regards to body image in just the last few hours so I go to the kitchen, pour a glass of milk, and grab a brownie to satisfy me while I step up on a bloggy soapbox.

What? I do have a reason for this brownie!

Do you see the problem here? America has become obsessed with all things diet, exercise, and healthy living but the problem is we don’t actually follow through with all of it. We research it, decide ‘that would totally work’, and then we go get a brownie while we “plan” on changing our behaviors.

See, I’m only eating to prove a point 😉

Additionally, I realized I was very much a part of this thinking problem when I became annoyed that the Olympics meant that I couldn’t watch Biggest Loser. What do ya mean- I should be excited about the Olympics?! hehe What does that say about our country that I would rather watch people try to lose weight than tune into see the world’s greatest athletes?  Gah, I’m terrible.

Anyway…

Unfortunately, we can’t think ourselves to thinness or health. We CAN, however, think our way to happiness. My mother has told me that my entire life and I’m pretty sure she’s on to something! I think the two should be able to entertwine. Lord knows, I’m no advocate for healthy living, but I do know how to make myself happy.

Example number one-

But I also value feeling good about myself physically so when I start to not like what’s staring back at me in the mirror, I try to do something about it. I think it’s about that time again. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve embraced my body but I would love to have that “in-shape” feeling again. You know what I’m talking about- I want to feel like I could take on anything, that I’m prepared for a summer in Alaska with my Army Ranger. I can barely keep up right now.

So here’s my pledge. It’s P90x time again! I’m going to Walmart this weekend, buying a video cable, and then I’m tackling that program again. The brownies are gone so there’s no excuse now. Who is with me?