Yes WE Can!

I just did something brand new for me; I gave to a political campaign. I have been thinking for the past few weeks about donating to the Obama 08 campaign, and I finally did it. I didn't give very much, but my hope is that a lot of people around the country are giving the same small amount I did, and it will help the campaign. I've done my homework looking at the issues each candidate is behind (both sides of the aisle) and I feel best about Obama and what he could do to turn this country around. For those of you who are just voting the way you've always voted, or think that because you are a Christian you need to automatically vote for the Republican, please take some time to read the candidate's position papers on different issues and make an educated, informed decision of who you want to run our country.

pizza

I have eaten more pizza in the past two weeks than should be allowed. Pizza Hut pizza, too...not even my favorite.

I train foster parents on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings and on Saturdays. (we got out early today, which is why I am blogging at 3pm instead of teaching a class). This is our first week of a new class, and we feed everyone pizza, because it's cheap. And if 10 people show up instead of the 40 that originally signed on to come, we aren't out a whole lot of money. So I ordered pizza for 30 people on Tuesday, and 9 showed up. I ordered pizza for 40 people on Wednesday, and it was all gone, because people were taking whole pizzas home with them. I ordered pizza for 30 people again on Thursday, hoping more people would show up. We had 8. So yesterday, I looked over my list of who was supposed to come to orientation today, and we had around 40. So I ordered pizza for 40 people. 11 showed up.

My poor husband has been eating pizza all week that I bring home from work. My poor gastrointestinal system has been processing pizza all week. I never want to see another piece of pizza again. Ever.

I also need to learn how to get people to come to things they commit to.

In other news, 10k training is about to begin. Eek! I have spent way too much time on runnersworld.com this week trying to figure out what my next steps should be. Becky and I ran two miles this morning to just stay moving while we decide how to get to our next goal. We ran in the rain; we are that hard core. Rain was actually drizzle, so it's not that much to crow about. It's amazing how good I feel after running, even just for a little bit. I hadn't run at all since last Saturday because I didn't feel well at the beginning of the week and then I just got lazy at the end of the week. I am one step closer to being a runner because I now feel better after I run than before I run, and I feel better on days that I run compared to days where I am lazy. I'm on my way.

SUCCESS!

Today was the Bunny Run 5k, and yes people, I finally ran an entire 5k from start to finish!! I ran in three 5ks last year, but walked at least some bits of them. I ran in a 10k (hmmm...I shouldn't say 'ran,' because I honestly walked 9/10ths of it), and didn't finish in time to actually get a time. I ran/walked a half marathon as well, which I do feel was a bit of an accomplishment.

But now, NOW, I truly feel like I am a runner. Granted, some walkers finished before I did, but I'm going to forget about that for the time being. I even got my targeted time: 36 minutes. That's a PR for me! It's a steady 12 minute mile, which is perfectly fine in my book. I would eventually like to get up to a 10 minute mile, but I'm not working on speed this year, I'm working on distance. The next goal is the MLK Memorial Day 10k. I have 9 weeks to add three more miles; we'll see how that goes. The YV 5k is April 19th, so I'll see how I'm doing at the half-way point.

I'm feeling really good physically and emotionally. My cheerleaders are Becky, Katie and Jonathan, and I can't thank them enough. For some of you, running three miles might be a piece of cake, but it has taken me a year to reach this goal, and I am basking in my victory!

And it's Easter weekend! How awesome is that : ) I loooove Easter, and I lose it every Easter morning at some point during the service because God is so good to me!

Road Run

Not for the first time, I am doubting the accuracy of mapquest. I apparently ran 3 miles in 34 minutes this morning, but I don't think that could possibly be true, because I took a .25 mile walk break at about the 2.5 mile mark.

Treadmill Run

Tonight I ran 2.75 miles in 31 minutes. I thought maybe if I keep a record, I can better track how I'm training for the half. The Bunny Run is this Saturday, and it may be my first time to run the entire 5k. We'll see.

Oh, and here is why I love my YMCA:
1. There are all different shapes, sizes, and colors of people.
2. So far, I run faster and longer than most people, and that boosts my self esteem.
3. Someone delivered a Vespa to the Y and had a bunch of volunteers help get it out of the crate and running. Yep, a Vespa in the foyer of the Mason YMCA!

Awesome Evening

Most of you who have known me for a while know that I rarely take time to slow down and enjoy myself. Neurotic has unfortunately been a word used to describe me. Thanks to my new job which is considerably less stressful and time consuming than my previous job, I am on my way to being more laid back. I still haven't gotten a good, consistent time to read my Bible, and that is something that needs to change asap. At least two times a week I have been able to spend some time knitting. I do feel that I've been able to take time each day to contain the clutter in my apartment so as to prevent the clutter from turning into a mess. I am a work in progress.

Last night was a really good night for relaxing and taking my time. We went to Bosco's after choir rehearsal to celebrate St. Patrick's Day with some friends. I was able to munch on spinach artichoke dip, sip on some Midtown Brown, and laugh with my husband and our friend Justin. It was so nice to sit and talk. We opted for the patio instead of the bar, because we needed to be low key. The weather was great (just a little humid, just a little breezy). We decided to go home and take the dorm-room butterfly chairs out onto the balcony to continue enjoying the night. We felt very much at home out there, watching the cars go up and down Poplar, hypothesizing why there was a run on the tiger market around 10:30pm, and dreaming out loud about our future.

It was a good evening, hopefully one that will repeat itself.

Who are you and where did you come from?

Hello friends! I had a blog over at myspace for a while, but I had to cut myself off of myspace because I would spend way to much time looking at random pages. I am that much of a loser. In the past month or two, I started taking a midmorning break at work to see friends’ blogs, and most of those are on blogger, so I decided to make the switch. I rarely used any of the features on myspace like the wall, picture gallery, music stuff, bulletins, etc. so I won’t be missing very much. Honestly, the only reason I joined myspace to begin with was that my friend Becky would set some of her blogs to ‘friends only’ when she wanted to talk about work, so I was forced against my will to join.

What am I going to write about? Call me crazy, but I hesitated to come over to blogger because I don’t have a baby. 99% of my friends with blogs have children. Does one have to have reproduced in order to have a blog? Of course not! So I won’t be writing about babies. I also hesitated to be a real blogger since I’m not very witty. I’m not one for snarky comments, although I wish I could make people laugh out loud like I do when I read Becky’s blog. I will probably write about running (especially training for the half marathon in December), general susie-homemaker-ness (cooking, knitting, sewing), social/political issues (I’m pretty blue), and I guess pretty much anything else that strikes my fancy.

Here’s the breakdown on me:

• I am 26, married almost 3 years to the most wonderful boy ever (that’s Jonathan).
• I am a Christian, and was blessed to grow up in a Christian home. I cannot imagine my life without faith in God, and I cannot fathom the love God has for me.
• I am a social worker, and I am 8/9^ths of the way through my MSW program at the University of Tennessee School of Social Work. My job is recruiting and training foster parents with Youth Villages. My graduate internship is with the Child Assessment Program at LeBonheur Children’s Medical Center. That will end in April and I will go back to only having one job. Hallelujah!
• Our cat, Sigma, loves Jonathan and puts up with me. I have many theories on this.
• I pretend to be a runner. I also pretend to be a knitter. How about you just pretend along with me?

Thanks for reading! Hopefully I will be able to hold someone’s interest : )

Big thanks to Becky for coming over to my apartment and giving me a crash course in blogger. You’re awesome! See, I'm already using the link knowledge you gave me : )