13.1

As many of you know, I ran my second half marathon on March 7th. Let me tell you, running, when you're starting out, is not fun. Running also seems like an activity that people either enjoy or they hate. I am one of the ones who enjoy it.

1. 

When I did my first half marathon, I did not train well. I did not use a training program, nor did I run very far during my "training." This last time, I trained hard. I found a training program on Pinterest  and followed it almost to a T. I had a minor set back due to a foot injury at about week 7 into my training, but some rest and switching to spinning versus running cured that! And my sweet new running shoes :) It's amazing how awesome I felt while running this time. Mile one is my enemy. Always has been, always will. It sucks. I hate the first mile and it hates me. If I can make it past mile one, I can keep going. I have to get past my mind block and into my zone.

Like last time, and as I expected, I swore, I laughed, I sang, I danced and I finished the race crying. There's just something that comes over me when I see these other runners and supporters of runners who are cheering on the finishers as they near and cross the finish line. I'm a sucker. It's so cool because these are people who I don't even know and they are cheering me on when I feel like I have nothing left to give and want to just sit on the side of the road and lay down....and then devour a cheeseburger. Or a pizza. Or both.

One thing that I found really helps me is to take the advice of my running mentor, my dear sister, Marin, and run a mile for someone in particular. Each mile I ran, I thought about someone in my life that has touched me or that inspired me, all of them are individuals whom I love and I ran that mile for them. I started the mile thinking of someone, sometimes the first person who came to my mind and then said a few things about them and why I was running that mile for  them.

Here are my mile peeps: 
Mile 1-3: Will
         Will had planned on running the half marathon with me and had completed a great majority of the training program with me. He was such a champ and ran at my pace during our long runs and was such a motivator for me. It was about week 7 that his knee was just not cooperating. He hurt it the first time we did the half marathon and this time it got so bad that he couldn't run. Instead of probably hurting himself more, he decided to not run the half marathon. It was so awesome to see his face at the finish line and he was cheering the three of us gals on! I ran the first three miles for him because he could not run and I know it was killing him not to be able to participate in it and feel the incredible high that we were experiencing.

Mile 4: Allie Pal
         I ran mile four for my niece Allie because she's 4 and she's a fun, spunky, independent, little character. I thought of the number four and Pal came to my mind. I love her so much!  I hope she always stays true to herself and doesn't change who she is, because who she is is pretty freaking awesome.

Mile 5: Mims
         Of course I ran a mile for Mims. How can I not?! I am where I am today because of my wonderful mom. She's my rock. She's the best mom I know :) Mims is a woman who has been through so much in one lifetime and is still level headed, strong and compassionate. She is one sassy gal that is so full of life! I think that next to Will, Mims is my biggest cheerleader and just like she used to sit through my entire track meets (what a snooze!!), she would have been at the finish line with Will whooping and hollering just as loud!

Mile 6: Marin
         Marin is my mentor. I have texted, emailed and called her with all of my wacky questions about running (ack! BMs!) and she answered them. She gave me such good advice and had great ideas for me. She is a hardcore runner and is so inspiring! I started running because of her. I know that I can never run like her or be as successful at life as she is, but without knowing it, she pushes me and motivates me to be a better me.

Mile 7: Megan
         My other sister Megan is a runner too, she's more like me, not as hardcore as Marin. Currently, she is in the same boat as Will and cannot run due to injury. Since she can't run, I ran for her. I know she'd love to run! Soon the three of us sisters will run a race together....maybe Megan and I behind Marin, but still together :)

Mile 8: Matt
         Oh Matty. My only brother. He's become such a cool guy. He has grown leaps and bounds from the man he used to be. He is one of the hardest workers I know. I channeled him as I worked hard to stay focused and keep on keeping on during my race. Thanks for the strength brosef!

Mile 9: Me
         Sounds silly, but I ran mile nine for me. I do sometimes do self-talk and try to pump myself up or keep myself going, and knowing that mile ten is my hardest mile, I needed a little positive self-talk. I was nervous about running due to my foot injuries and also, any runner is nervous about possible BMs during a race (Ack! NO THANK YOU!). I was able to get in my zone and just go. I felt good. My training paid off. I found a determination and strength in me that I never knew I had. I was pretty damn proud of myself. I found the athlete in me once again....and it felt so good!

Mile 10: Adri
          I  ran mile ten for one of my besties and running partner, Agies. Let's just say, mile ten felt amazing. No longer was it my hardest mile to finish. The girl proved herself and others wrong with her goal of running three half marathons while she was thirty. She did not only run three half marathons, she joined the Runners Fanataics group by running two half marathons within two weeks of each other. What the heck. How freaking incredibly super duper cool is that?!?! She set a goal and went way above and beyond! You go girl!!

Mile 11: Rachie
           Rachies is one of my besties too.  She and I have been runners together since middle school. Granted, it was a lot shorter distances since we were sprinters. She still runs for fun. I used to think that was so crazy. Running for fun?! Say whaaat? I know that she was thinking positive thoughts for me and Agies during our big run. For your continuous support, I am forever thankful, bestie.

Mile 12 & 13: Grampy
           Grampy is what....83 now. He is Will's grandpa, aka my "adopted" grandpa :) He told me that he walk/runs a mile a day in his garage. He is 83. Seriously? He stepped out a mile in his garage and he walks 10 laps around the garage then switches directions and runs 10 more laps.  How can you not be inspired by that?! Rock on Grampy! I only hope that I can age as gracefully as he and Grammy! Who knows, maybe I'll get him to run a 5k with me someday soon :)

This is my FAVE running song. Totally pumps me up and pushes me. It came on my ipod at mile 13 and I got to cross the finish line with this. I'm a freaking champion....

Tiny Hearts

I came across this music video a couple weeks ago on my lunch break. Something about it just touched me. The gal in the video singing, Kimberly Henderson, became a Facebook sensation when she recorded herself singing this song to her little baby one night.

When I first heard her voice I thought, wow, girl can sing. Go her. Cosco Kids flew her to LA and helped her record some of her songs.  I read an article about her and thought that she was even more amazing. A single mom of four kids. Doing it on her own. Working her butt off to make ends meet and give a life to her kids. She put herself and her passion of singing on the back burner  because she had an important role to play.

My heart breaks for Kimberly. She is highly judged. I realized that I might have judged her too. She is a single mom of four....no father figure. However, as I replayed the video I realized that she is incredibly strong and brave. She's doing this on her own; I can't even imagine what that's like and what that takes. Who are we to judge her? Who are we to judge anyone? Unfortunately, we judge....we all judge...

I think we as a society have become so quick to judge that we don't think about people's feelings, situations or their background. It's kind of dehumanizing and desensitizing. We are human. We have feelings. We cannot know the truth about someone if we continue to judge and assumptions.We need to take the time to know them. Ask questions. More importantly, we need to listen.

We can learn a lot from one another if we allow ourselves to.....

check out Kimberly's Tiny Hearts video here:
https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/this-single-mom-of-4-whose-lullaby-went-viral-is-112050581607.html

Parenthood (the TV show)

Parenthood. Have you heard of it? Well, I LUUUUUUUURVE it. It's one of my favorite shows. Seriously. I would marry the show I love it that much! :)

The sad thing about the show is that it is over. The series finale was on January 29th....I know that because I have it saved in my DVR line up. And yes, I'll probably watch it a few more times. Especially those times when you just need a good cry....or when I miss my Parenthood family.

There are so many reasons I love this show. I think the main thing besides its wit and charm is that it is relatable (is that a word?). Very relate-able (is that how it's supposed to be written?). The family deals with  real life experiences that any other typical American family may, or has already, experience. Everything from death, childbirth, adoption, broken homes, broken hearts, cheating, marriages, divorce, bullying, buying a new home, dealing with addiction, dealing with failure, economic hardship, finding one's self, family drama, family drama and more family drama. I don't know what it is, but I absolutely adore this show (hint hint hubs, I'd like the series on TV DVD!).

Let's talk about the good-bye season. Holy cry fest Batman. I don't think I watched one episode without crying. Not one. I am not usually an emotional person, I don't cry that easily. However, Parenthood gets me almost every. single. time. Dang it! I do love the fact that my sister Megan and I would text about the show. "OMG. Get your tissues ready for tonight's episode girl." It made me feel better that she, as well as some of my other friends, also loved the show as much as me and cried just as hard. Why couldn't' we all be together and watch it and drink wine?!?! Oh right, because I am an ugly crier. And I hate crying in front of others....especially if I ball my eyes out over a TV show....

I remember the finale like it was yesterday. Naturally, just because I enjoy wine with Parenthood, I was enjoying some wine while watching. Maybe it added to my emotional-ness....but I was watching the show with tissues in hand. Boy did those tissues come in handy. Holy cow. If you haven't seen it, sorry, but SPOILER alert: Amber giving birth (balled), naming the baby Zeke (balled) the wedding (balled), Zeke dying (balled), recaps of what happens to each family unit in the future (balled), family spreading the ashes and playing baseball (balled) the family photos at the wedding (balled).....that's when I started crying...and didn't' stop until the end. Or did I....

So no, I did not stop crying. As was the case with the previous episodes. I typically am a week behind because I do not stay up until 11 watching TV...I would fall asleep on the couch, or at my desk at work the next morning. Anyhoo, Will ususally comes home from bowling league right when I end. What happens? Oh he comes in so excited to tell me about his night and he's like "Babe! Hey babe, what's going on?" Then he looks at me puffy eyed and red faced.....cue Maja starting to cry again. "What's going on babe? Why are you crying?" That's when I recap Parenthood for Will.....and yes I cry just as hard as I did when I was watching it alone. I didn't just cry....I started to hiccup cry....and ball uncontrollably. A few times, especially after the finale, I couldn't stop. Will started to laugh at me after a while because, I have to admit too, it was funny....and because he thought I was"cute" when I cry. Um, EXCUSE me. I am  NOT a cute crier,

I hope you all get the chance to watch this awesome show. And if you don't like it, please don't talk to me about it and tell me you don't like it.  Keep that to yourself. I will forever love this show and all the greatness that comes with it....especially Lorelai Gilmore....er I mean, Lauren Graham ;)

Resolutions...SCRATCH that. Goals!

New Year's Resolutions. Do you make them? If so, do you keep them?

 I love the idea of a New Year's  resolution, however, my last year I did not quite fulfill mine. I made three big goals and  am working on two of them pretty diligently, but my third (learn to play guitar) got moved to the back burner. So did my hubs' resolutions.

Why is it that it is so easy to make a resolution, but so hard to keep one? Ahhh the question that has been boggling the minds of Americans for centuries. Okay, probably not the BIGGEST question for Americans, but still. Isn't it odd? Does anyone else feel like a failure when you don't fulfill a resolution? I know I do and did after my 2014 NY resolution fail. Not a good feeling.

So....I have been inspired to change it up for 2015. I was inspired by my favorite blogger, Katie Bower of Bower Power. She, like me, had a hard time keeping her resolutions, so what she is doing for 2015 is setting goals. They are something to work towards, she says. It is more of an "ongoing resolution" because you do not have the pressure to complete something within the designated calendar year.

My friends, I will be setting goals for 2015, not resolutions.

Now comes the hard part, what do I want my goals to be? Hmmm good question. I can be like every other American and say I want to lose weight and be healthy. Uh, le duh! Who doesn't want that! However, this brings me back to one of my resolutions for 2014, which was actually a resolution for my 30th year. Lose 30lbs. while being 30. Let's face it, I am almost 31 (a little  over four months away! yikes) and we would love to expand our family, but before we do that, I would love to drop some extra "baggage" if you will ;) 30 may not be realistic, but I have a number in my head that I would be happy with. I've been wearing my winter coat for quite some time now and this gal is ready to lose it! Okay, so that is a goal. Lose those LBS!!!

My second goal, and maybe a big reason why I didn't' accomplish my resolutions in 2014, is that I want to learn to take time for myself.

I have a hard time with this one because I am just a wife. I am not a mom, I do not have to carpool, plan play dates or dinner parties or attend business dinners with my hubs. I do not have to drive to soccer practice, attend book clubs or bible study. I am just plain ol' me with a very loose and open schedule. I should most definitely be able to do that, right? Wrong. This last year I spent a great deal of time with the hubs, which I DO NOT regret one bit. Love you Willis! However, I think that we both agree that we would like to spend our time together doing more than enjoying some beverages while watching movies on the couch. Yes, we will still do that, but to mix in personal hobbies or joint hobbies would be fun. I personally, want to blog more, read more and craft more. We have started training (currently in week 4) for a half marathon. This has become our focus in the evenings. We plan our weeknight plans around our running. It's been great so far! I have a billion craft projects on Pinterest that I want to tackle and will be blogging about and my reading is forever long.....yay me time!

My last goal (for now, I may add to this list) is to reach out, for lack of better terms, to family and friends more. I remember in college, every Sunday night I would talk to my mom. It was like clockwork. I looked forward to it. It was a way for me to find out what's going on with other family members and family friends back home. Sadly, we don't talk every Sunday, but try to. I've realized more than ever that life is short and unpredictable and we need to live it to the fullest. This to me also means show those who you love that you love them! I am going to try to reach out whether it is a phone call, text message, card in the mail, email, short weekend visit or what have you, that I am going to do this with friends and family. No more excuses, I will find the time to do this. I think this will not only be fulfilling to me, but to those who are involved on the receiving end as well :) (I hope!)

What are YOUR resolutions or goals for 2015?

Thankful.

It's that time of year again when we all gather with our family and friends to enjoy a Thanksgiving feast and reflect on the events of the last year. Last November, I devoted an entry a day to something I am thankful for, but sadly did not do it again this year. I thought about doing it again this year, but I am thankful for the same great things and people in my life and feel incredibly blessed.

This year brought me and Will some hard times, but also some good times. We laughed, we cried, we hugged, we danced, we rose to the occasion, we made we made adult decisions, we grew and we lived a full life.

My husband is the best. He's such a great guy and if you don't know him, you need to. He's pretty darn funny! Will is also very supportive of me in my new endeavors and always has my back. My rock that guy. We continue to have some good times together and we truly are best friends. Okay, enough mushiness, I know, it's gross ;) For reals though, I love the guy to the moon and back.....

My new job is great. I love my new job as a financial aid advisor. I finally get to work with students every day and even though some are difficult, it is so worthwhile. I love teaching moments that I have with students. I feel like I really can make a difference in their lives. My new co-workers rock too, which makes leaving my treasured friends at UI not easy, but it makes my transition a little smoother. Best of all, I get to use my freaking degree! Boom! Go financial literacy....holla.

My family is amazing. I don't think that it is possible to see family enough, but this year we were fortunate enough to see both the Brustuen and Gillespie sides of the family more than normal. We even got to see family that we hardly ever see at all! We have incredible families and they mean so much to us. Only a few members of our family are in Moscow, but you are all in our hearts every day and know that we love you all so much and wish we could see you so much more!

Thank you friends and family for being a part of our lives. We are forever thankful for you. We are excited for this next year and what adventures lie ahead.

We are blessed.

Book Challenge Update

Since my new job has settled down and our busy summer social schedule has also settled down, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to update y'all on my reading challenge.

I finished the Opposite of Maybe and found it to be good, not great, but good. I read it mostly during my lunch breaks at work (oh those were great...I miss lunch breaks!) and it was a great way to unwind and destress at work. I love reading because it allows me to focus in on one thing and I just completely forget about everything else. It's quite nice. :) Anyhoo, back to the book. It ended how I wanted it to, but not before a twist. Girls can be foolish....but the main character finally came around. Phew!

One of our summer events was to visit our good friends Emily and Blair in Selah, WA. Their sweet son, Tucker, is our Godson. We love that little guy to pieces. This year Tucker turned two and since we were on our honeymoon for his first birthday, we definitely wanted to be there for his second. Emily is one of my friends who also loves to read and  coincidentally, we have very similar tastes in books. She actually inspired me to go through our books and purge, which we took to Hastings to see if they would buy some back, which they did, and the rest we let friends go through then donated to Goodwill. Emily and I always share book recommendations and books. I left that weekend with three books of hers: The Fault in Our Stars, Philomena and What Happened to Goodbye. I decided to read The Fault in Our Stars since everyone I have talked to raved about this book.

Then I found out why.

It.Was.Good. I loved this book! It didn't have a "Happy Ending" per se, but it had a good ending and I couldn't have pictured it any other way. The story is about a Hazel, a girl who has terminal cancer. Cancer sucks. Enough said. She meets a boy named Augustus at a group therapy session and her life is changed. I think it was so awesome to see how positive an influence Augustus was on  Hazel and to read about their adventures. I cannot do this book justice, but it's a must read for all! I was warned that it has many sad parts, one in particular, so Emily tried to warn me not to read it in public. Oops. I failed. I finished reading this book when I was on my flight to Seattle to see family. I cried. My eyes were so blurry with tears I couldn't read. Yeah, I am THAT girl.

When we were in Selah, Judy B. (Emily's mom) was there too. We had a long discussion about books and created a list for each other to read. One of the ones I asked to borrow from her was 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess. It was a book that she read for a church small group that my sister Marin was in. I had heard about their discussions and I  thought this would be right up my alley. So  here she is, my current read:

Now, I have just started this book and unfortunately, have not been reading lately. Working on changing that STAT! This book actually has workbook components to it, but since it is not MY book, I am not doing the workbook writing activities. That is why I have a blog ;) So far I love the author and I love the book. It has been heart-warming to hear about how her and her husband adopted two kids from Africa, opened up their house to twelve strangers after a hurricane and how they ultimately looked at their life and realized how much excess stuff they have and how a lifestyle transformation would change their lives. They chose seven areas of their life and focused on one each month for seven months.....I have a feeling that this is going to be a HUGE eye opener for my own life...

Paper: Year One

In June, Will and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary! It's amazing how time flies.....

Will knew that paper was the traditional gift for a first anniversary. He earned brownie points for that :) So, when I was in the kitchen getting some stuff cleaned up and making breakfast, he walked up behind me and said, "Remember how the first anniversary is paper? Well, happy anniversary!" To my surprise, he had a roll of toilet paper in his hand. What the what?!

 I thought it was a joke  since I drink a lot of water and have a small bladder so I always have to pee. Very funny Will, very funny. However, I turned the roll sideways and found a little red thing inside. I am now the proud owner of a red fit bit.

Y'all ever heard of fit bit? It's similar to other fitness bands on the market, but this one takes the cake in my opinion. It tracks my steps, miles, active minutes, calories burned, sleep patterns and then I can enter my food/calorie intake, water drank and my weight and create a weight loss plan. It's the bees knees. Since my new job, I have been using the pedometer on my phone to track my steps. I take the long way into the office and walk up three flights of stairs and the bathroom is about 180 steps away (compared to my last office which was like 10 steps away!). I am obsessed with my fit bit and it has sparked some motivation and has been encouraging me to get fit!

My gift to Will wasn't as cool or exciting, his paper involved a receipt from Old Navy in which I bought him two pairs of shorts and one pair of pants. I know his pant size (I like to dress him!) and unfortunately, got distracted #brightcolors and grabbed the wrong pair. He tried them on and said, "Are these manpris?!?!" Ha ha ha oops! Big difference in length between and 30 and a 33. My bad.

We headed to the Paradise Creek Brewery for lunch. The sign says BEST BURGERS IN PULLMAN. They don't lie. We each got one and I typically don't each burgers, but these ones absolutely rocked the house! And my face! The beers? Always good. I highly recommend JDub's Pale Ale. Delicious. It was during the world cup, so we got to watch a game on the big screen too.

Our main plan for our anniversary was to eat dinner at one of my favorite restaurants, South Fork, in Pullman. Since we just had lunch, we needed to kill time. So, what did we do? Well, duh....we went to a movie! When we left Paradise Creek, we had some time before the movie...apparently, we read the clock wrong. We decided to hit up  the Fireside Grille for a drink before the movie since it's in the same parking lot. When we walked in Fireside I stopped and looked at Will and said almost too excitedly, "Do you hear what song is playing?!?!?! It's our wedding song! This is so great!" Yes, he realized it too.

After our quick stop, we hit up the Village Center Cinema for the new X-Men movies. Was it good? Dang straight. I love all the X-Men movies, but my girl J-Law was in this one.....awesome! We still hadn't worked up enough of an appetite, so we played a round of mini golf. I  lost by three strokes. #Ilethimwinforouranniversary

Finally we went to South Fork. They have some awesome food and a great drink menu. I branched out and tried something new, the Asian chicken salad. YUMMMMM! I think Will had some kind of sandwich, which was also good. Their fries rock. Shoestring and bomb.com.

To end our fun-filled WAM day, we headed home to do what we love to do: watch Harry Potter and lounge in our cozies. It was such a nice day. It was simple, but we shared many laughs and enjoyed each other's company. We've been through one heck of a year and enjoyed every moment of it. To top it off, one of the greatest gifts he could ever give me was to turn off his phone #wifeofaphonesalesmanproblems I also did the same. We took just a few photos, but otherwise we said "See ya world! Today I am with my love, we'll catch ya on the flip side ;) "

Year two of WAM the married years is going to be one wild ride......bring on the adventures!

PS This song is one that came out after we got married, but I fell in love with it the minute I heard it. It totally reminded me of us and how we feel about each other and how we love all the good things, the bad things and the weird things about one another.