A Quarter of a Century.

Today I turned 25. I was born at 3:56AM so I am already officially 25 years old plus some hours and minutes. Reflecting back on 25 years of life is interesting. I have learned many things but I think I will only share a few.

First. God is important. He is the one being that will always be there for you so stay close to Him. Pray often and He will bless you. Along with this be patient with His timeline. He is pretty smart and knows you better than you know you. He wants what is best you for and will not give you more than you can handle. He loves you and wants you to return to Him your time on this earth is complete.

Second. My mom was always right. I never wanted to believe it, especially when I was a teenager and "knew everything" but now I know she was always right and I should have just listened to her.

Third. School is probably one of the most important things you will accomplish in life. Don't screw it up even if your friends do (if your friends all jumped off a 100 foot cliff to their death would you do it too?). Being smart is cool, maybe not in high school (I don't really know anymore its been almost 10 years since I've been in it) but once you are past high school and all its drama there is college and you can impress your kids with your vast knowledge. I am still impressed by how much my dad knows. I think he could win Jeopardy.

Fourth. Goals! Have them, write them down and your plan to accomplish them. Nothing feels better than accomplishing goals. Sometimes you have to set goals you don't know if you can reach just to prove to yourself that you can. Don't be afraid to fail because you can always try again later.

Fifth. Exercise! I love it and it makes me feel good. The best times are when I get up early and just DO IT! There is never a workout you will regret. Find something physical to do and then find, or make, a friend to do it with. I have a few running buddies and I have a place I play waterpolo during the summer. I have several hiking trails to pick from and a hubby that will go with me. Get out and do something.

Sixth. Hard Work. It's kind of a pain but it is worth it. Nothing that comes easy is worth doing. I read a quote once, somewhere....by someone that went along the lines of the river becomes crooked because it always takes the path of least resistance. Men who do the same end up crooked just like the winding river. Push through what you have to in order to get to where you want to be. Laziness is wastefulness.

Seventh.Laugh at yourself. I do it all the time cause I'm freakin hilarious!!

Eighth. Friends are important. The people you surround yourself with will rub off on you. Choose wisely. I am grateful for the friends I have and have had. I strongly suggest staying in touch with people, which I am awful at and I know I need to do better because I have some cool people as friends and they need to know how much I appreciate them and think about them.

Ninth. Not every idea is a good idea. Jumping off the bed and walking down the stairs backwards seem like fun/interesting ideas. In my experience they lead to broken bones. Broken bones lead to casts or restraints that last for 6+ weeks. When you are in 2nd grade, 6 weeks feels like an eternity. Try not to break bones.

Tenth. Don't let your fear be what holds you back. Okay this may contradict number nine but it's what I would like to leave you with. Fear has kept me from doing several things. I've always been shy (which I link to a form of fear) and I feel my life has suffered a little from it. Now I try to utilize my fear...energy? (for lack of a better word) and use to concur my fears. Still have a long ways to go but as I learned from the movie 'What About Bob?' BABY STEPS!


Thanks for reading! I'm excited to start another year in my life, half way up the "Hill" of life.

And Runnin, Runnin....

I found this through Pinterest but it originally came from here

I found it amusing and some parts true. Please enjoy:

18 Things Nobody Told Me About Running

1. It’s hard…like, really hard. But just like relationships, parenting and figuring out your new iPhone, it gets easier with time. You may even–gasp—start to like it!

2. Clipping your toenails will take precedence over plucking your eyebrows some days.

3. In spite of your childhood hatred of “weird food,” your pantry will be filled with running superfoods you’re not really sure how to pronounce, like quinoa, chia, spirulina and acai.

4. At some point, you will see other runners peeing in public. You will wrinkle your nose at them: EWWW, GROSS!

5. At some point, you, too, will pee in public. You will never judge again.

6. Ditto for snot rockets.

7. When you first start, four miles seems like a lot. One day, you’ll catch yourself telling someone “I only ran four miles today.” Try not to smile smugly when that happens.

8. You’ll wince at a pair of high heels with a $100 price tag, but declare it a bargain if that same tag is on your favorite running shoes.

9. Your laundry basket will smell like a boys’ locker room. You won’t really notice (or care).

10. You’ll geek out at the opportunity to run in the rain, because it’s just that awesome.

11. There will be stretches of days when you don’t feel like running at all. It’s perfectly normal, it’s not a failure, and a few days off does a body good.

12. Like Christmas, you will be wide awake at 2 a.m. on race morning, giggling. Also like Christmas, you will not be allowed to wake anyone in the house up until 5 a.m.

13. Without any prompting on your part, family members, friends and coworkers will take up running, too. They’ll ask all the same questions you had when you started—and this time, you’ll be the one with the answers.

14. The first thing you’ll do when you book a vacation or work travel is look for races and/or cool running routes in the area.

15. “Runger” is real, and it is marvelous. Only pregnant women and runners can truly understand strange cravings at strange times.

16. While running with your friends, you will talk about food, children, current events—everything but running. During cocktail hour with that same group, when you’re showered and wearing “real-world” clothes, all you will talk about, ever, is running.

17. The friends you make through running will become like family.

18. Anyone can do it. (Yes, you!) 

I thought about number 16. It's true. My running buddy and I talk about work, anything and everything while running. When we are at work (cause we are co-workers) we mostly talk about running or exercising or food for running. Anyway I hope if you are a runner you got a good laugh and maybe if you aren't you found something interesting or funny.

For the record, I have not peed in public while running, nor have I blown a snot rocket because it would end up like the situation in Mulan when she tries to spit a lougey and it just sadly drips down... and I don't want snot dripping down my face while I am running without anything to wipe it on but my skin or tank.