HELP!

Help! Help! Help!

Who knows anything about plants? And growing roots? And soil? And pots?

I need help.

Remember the “plant” I brought home from work? Well, it’s been sitting in a glass of water since the beginning of February and now it’s sprouting roots. Is it time to plant it in some soil? If so, how big does the pot need to be? I need help! Pioneer Woman does not educate me on such things. Someone please help.

Here’s a picture that I took tonight.

See the roots? Is it time? What do I do? (Can you sense my panic? I’m scared to lose the little plant!)

My Little “Plant”

Is it hilarious to anyone other than me that I’m attempting to grow a plant? My coworker cut this branch from a potted plant we have at work that grows real fast. She’s convinced me that I can grow a new plant from this branch. First step, she says, is to keep it in water and let it re-root. We’ll see how it goes…

As strange as it is to “hear” myself say this…it is nice to have something alive and green in the house. 🙂

On Becoming a “Runner” :: part 6

Meeting the Goal

This is pretty simple, but once you’ve decided on your goal and started running, success is realized when you meet that goal. So, keep track of how you’re doing with your training and run the race you signed up for. Or run a mile without stopping. Or finish a certain distance in a set amount of time. Whatever goal you set for yourself, make it happen! The important thing is that you do it and you finish.

Royal Family 5K

In my first two races, I had to walk a little bit. It wasn’t until my third race (which ironically wasn’t officially timed and was considered a “fun run”) that I was able to actually run the entire race. But, in all three cases, the important part is that I finished!

You can also view your training schedule as small goals to meet–day by day and week by week. I try to plan my runs at the beginning of each week and then begin to mentally prepare myself for what’s to come throughout the week. For example, last week my long run was 5 miles. I literally began mentally preparing myself for that run five days before I was going to run it. All week, I knew that the other runs were going to lead up to that day. When Friday came, my mental preparation helped me not back down from my goal of running 5 miles.

And, after meeting your goal, it’s time to set a new one. That’s where my next to last post of this series of blogs comes in.

• Next up: Upping the Ante

On Becoming a “Runner” :: part 2

Setting a Goal

Goal #1: Achieved.

Alright…so for me, step one in becoming what some of you consider a “runner” involved setting a goal for myself. Sounds simple enough, I know, but I needed to know what I was aiming for. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to get myself out running for the shear fitness of it. I needed to know the end result…where I was going…what I was hoping to achieve. And, quite honestly, I didn’t set out with the goal of becoming a “runner.” I was more motivated by wanting to prove to myself that I could accomplish this.

The goal for everyone will be different. You may be reading this thinking, “I’d like to run 5 minutes without stopping” or “I would like to run a mile without stopping.” Whatever it is, it needs to be motivating and challenging enough for you, but not seem completely out of reason. At the beginning, it would not have been a good idea for me to say, “My goal is to run a marathon.” I would have been overwhelmed from the start and would have certainly given up.

So, one crazy night last July, I decided a 5K (3.1 miles) would be my goal. It seemed doable, yet challenging. At that point, it was a “good day” if I could run for 10 minutes on a treadmill without stopping. Running outside in the Florida heat for more than thirty minutes would definitely be a jump for me, but it didn’t seem out of reason.

Another important part of this goal setting for me, was to find an actual race I could sign up for. I didn’t think that simply the ability to run the 3.1 miles would be enough for me. I knew I would need to prove it by doing a race. That same night last July, I signed up to run my first race–Disney’s Twilight Zone Tower of Terror 5K. So not only did I have a goal, but I had money invested. There was no turning back then.

So…if you are wanting to become a “runner” or just want to prove to yourself that you can do something like this, my first recommendation is that you set a goal. Decide what it is that you want to do and write it down. Tell someone about it. Post it on your Facebook status. Set the goal and start getting after it! 🙂

• Next up: Determining a Plan

Watch This. Do It.

I saw this video on my friend Kathleen‘s blog, and you need to watch it. It’s an incredible story about a teenage girl (who is autistic) and her newfound ability to communicate. It’s about 10 minutes long. It’s worth the time.

Autistic Teen Finds Inner Voice

Something Redeeming on MTV

Sometime after college, I finally tore myself away from most of the useless programming on MTV. Occasionally something fun came about, like the Legally Blonde show, and I would set my DVR forgetting that MTV plays reruns 18 out of 24 hours a day.

Last week, my friends Josh and Kami were raving on their Facebook statuses about an episode of a new MTV show, 16 and Pregnant. The episode chronicles the story of a young couple who decide to give their baby girl for adoption. I had NEVER cried watching anything on MTV…until last week. The courage, strength, bravery and selflessness of these two teenagers should be an example to all of us.

So…since there’s nothing decent on summer TV anyway, take some time and watch this episode of 16 and Pregnant. It’s about an hour long, but I think it’s worth your time. And, as someone said to me, “I dare you not to cry.”

Here’s a link to the episode: http://www.mtv.com/videos/16-and-pregnant-ep6-catelynn/1615511/playlist.jhtml

Not Slacking

I promise I’m not slacking. Although it appears that way if you frequent my blog, I promise I’m not. I am doing TWO classes for school right now (one as a directed study) and I am doing so much reading and writing just to keep up. I’ve also got lots of writing to do in the next 6 days for a freelance job I’ve been working on. My little fingers can only type so much on this wonderful MacBook keyboard, and that leaves my blog to suffer right now. I promise I’m coming back. All is not lost. I actually have a few different topics I want to blog about…maybe I should write them out here as a reminder. Yeah…I’ll do that. These are blogs that are brewing in my head:

• You Have All That You Need…And Then Some: a conversation with God
• How Do You Do That?: explaining the 6-week Chanda email update rotation
• Transition vs. Change: just some thoughts from school
• Life As I Know It: an update on me

I know all of those give you compelling reasons to come back. 🙂

Stay tuned.

MIA

Yes…I’ve been MIA in the blogosphere this week. I’m guessing all three of you noticed. 😉

I have been in Birmingham helping some great friends move back to Florida and celebrating a college graduation! Such fun. Been doing lots of reading for school, and I want to share some of it…hoping the three of you reading this aren’t bored by it. I’ll stick some of it up here next week.

Stay tuned.

Coffee Cozy Giveaway!

Danyele at A Thorn Among Roses is hosting a giveaway today featuring items from our Etsy shop–Two Florida Girls. I’ve been following her blog for a little while now, and she is one fun girl!

So, get on over to her blog and enter to win!

And, thanks for hosting such a fun giveaway, Danyele!

Go Vote for Tenth Avenue North

My friends, former CF team members, and fellow PBA alums (minus Jeff), Tenth Avenue North have been nominated for a Dove Award! How exciting for them.

For the first time, fans can vote!

Head over to the Dove Awards site and vote for Tenth Avenue North (Best New Artist).