Top 10 Things I Have Learned from Running

1.   Pounding pavement is better than pounding your fists.
2.   Sweat washes you from the inside out.
3.   Endurance is earned.
4.   Determination is a decision.
5.   Focus is found in the will to finish.
6.   Goals are only accomplished if you take one step at a time.
7.   Hard work makes a difference.
8.   Strength is built through daily discipline.
9.   It only really hurts when you give up.
10. Sometimes it's the only thing that makes sense.

In Her Shoes

The other night Paul valiantly turned on the DVR to a movie that he had recorded for me. He felt that I had "earned" a chick flick. It was a movie that neither of us had heard of, but its title definitely had "chick flick" potential.

In Her Shoes.

Whether or not you decide to see this movie, I offer my standard disclaimer. I definitely believe watching the movie will require a filter. Especially, I suspect, if you elect to watch the movie unedited for television. But, its story had me in uncontrollable sobs by the end. Sobs that were healing but hard.

Poor Paul.

2011 marked a new journey for me. One that had me miles from where I started, when I graduated from Cal Poly ready to impart teenagers with a passion of literature.

The protagonist in the movie, through several gut wrenching events, completely uproots her life. She walks away from a promising career in law and becomes a dog walker. Through her journey, which I suspect is far more developed on the pages of the book than it was in the movie, she is healed.

Healed from the need to protect others.

Healed from the need to secure her importance in this world.

Healed from the need to be anything other than what she is.

Healed from the need to hide behind her success.

I, like the protagonist, needed healing. The evidence of this mounted as 2010 marched onward. At the end of 2010, I walked away from education and my "need" to help students everywhere and crawled toward lives of my precious babies.

To say that 2011 was an adjustment would be the biggest understatement I've ever made. Never did I think I would walk away from my career.

Today, I bake cakes to help people celebrate life's accomplishments and joys. Occasionally, I substitute teach in classrooms throughout Highlands Ranch.

Today, I am healed.

Tomorrow, I find my voice!

You Just Want Me to Be Great!

45 minutes until swim practice.

I can see it in her eyes. She doesn't want to go.

I am NOT in the mood to deal with the drama of the ever changing teenage attitude.

I have two choices. I can ignore it, or I can hit it head on knowing that I will walk into a hornet's nest if I do.

OH YES I DID!!!

After I successfully deliver, what I believe to be the single best lecture I have given to date, she responds with eyes rolled so far back in her head that I'm pretty sure she could see her brain stem. She delivers the next statement with such conviction and passion that I am sure she believes she has closed the case.

"This is all your fault! You just want me to be great!"

"Fine, call Kimsey and your dad and tell them you won't be at practice."

15 minutes later someone was swimming a 200 freestyle warmup.

"Did You Hear That Maddy?"

Watching sports today is an art form-especially navigating the commericials.
SO, mom's of boys, listen up.

One Sunday afternoon, while doing laundry in the basement, I hear Hunter launch into hysterical laughter. Laughter reserved for embarrassment or bodily noises that boys find hilarious and will remain unmentioned.

I then hear him utter words that bring me to a cold sweat.
"Maddy, did you hear that?"

I cautiously climbed the basement stairs and stupidly asked, "Hear what, Hunter?"

"That commericial."

With fear and trembling I inquired, "What did it say?"

"Ask your doctor if you are healthy enough for sex." was the reply he gave.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Maddy's eyes pop out of her head. She looked at me in horror as if to say "YOU AREN'T GOING TO TELL HIM ARE YOU?!?"

I was NOT about to have THAT conversation-not without Paul. But, much to my chagrin, I also knew I could not let it go."Do you know what sex is Hunter?"

"I think so."

Gulp!

"What is it?"

Suffice it to say, he is not quite there, but his little gifted mind is definitely putting it together. I relayed the events to Paul when he returned home from his errand. He then proceeds to tell me the PROCEDURE for watching sporting events. Given that the target audience is middle aged men, he turns the channel during commercials.

Yeah, that would have been good to know.

Things that can be learned in the middle of the night!

• Snow reflects a soft purple hue under the street lights.
• My house makes very odd noises.
• Apparently the insomniac is the target audience for "Paid Programming" ads.
• My couch may match the decor, but it is no place to sleep.
• Tylenol PM does not make me drowsy.
• Tension Tamer tea does not tame my tension.
• There are a lot of people on the road in the middle of the night. Which begs the question, where could they possibly be going?
  
• Paul can sleep through anything, even his snoring.
• I have got to finish painting the upstairs hall way.
• 3 AM is very, very late.

My Latest Fear

I absolutely love my husband! He calms me down and keeps me grounded...Usually.

The one area of "opportunity" would be the sheer horror he creates within in me regarding food safety.

Granted, I want my family safe from bacteria and food born illness. But given my aptitude for fear and his knowledge of all things food related, it can be a recipe for starvation and disaster.

It started with chicken...for the first 4 years of our marriage I refused to cook chicken...Why...
Salmonella, of course!

Then, when Paul finally figured out I wasn't cooking chicken because of fear, he gave me helpful strategies so that I could cook chicken fear free.

This involved the cone of safety, half a container of antibacterial wipes, and chicken that in the end could be used for shoe leather...BUT IT WAS COOKED.

Time has corrected this issue, and I am happy to report my family enjoys moist chicken...most of the time.

With the latest food born disaster, peanut butter has become my nemesis.

Paul lovingly emails me the latest products that I am to avoid like the plague at the store. Let me tell you the list has become too long to count. There are products I have never even heard of on the list.

During my most recent shopping trip, I rounded the corner to the snack aisle. I stopped dead in my tracks. I was paralyzed with fear...I didn't have the list...I didn't want to buy anything for fear of death by Salmonella...

We still live in America right?

My Newest, Most Favorite Flair!

I am smack dab in the middle of Facebook mania. Give me a month, I'll settle in.

Today my friend Stephanie sent me the best flair ever!

I will no longer refer to myself as OCD. I am officially CDO-That's OCD in alphabetical order!

Thanks Steph. It totally made me smile!

"Yeah, It's an Oxymoron!"

Paul recently posted a story on his blog heychefpw that opens the door to this one!

When Paul and I were engaged, we attended a premarital class at our church. The purpose was to address and to discuss the key areas of marriage. The point was to help us at least start the dialogue so that when things arose in the marriage, we would have already had some semblance of a plan to help with the challenges we might face.

On one particular evening the topic was finances.

The question before us was, "Of the two of you, who is the most frugal?" Hands down me! I was about to answer when, in horror, I hear Paul blurt out, "No question, it's me!"

Excuse me...Did I hear you right?

I looked at him with clear confusion (note the post's title) and said, "What did you say?"

"I'm by far more frugal than you." This of course got smirks from the group, especially the males who apparently felt his pain and identified with the fact that he faced a marriage in which he would painfully work to the bone, and I would frivolously spend his every last penny.

I calmly (which is a miracle I know, but Paul would tell the story the same way) said, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah, Honey, look at how much money I have compared to you?" This brought audible laughter from the men.

At that moment it hit me.

(Imagine the light bulb and thought cloud here) He has NO idea what frugal means.

I CLEARLY love this man. Because those of you who know me, know that apart from integrity, nothing is more important to me than justice. I wanted nothing more than to explain that I had the biggest bank account, I had savings set aside, I had no credit card debt. He had several credit cards with significant balances. He had no savings account to speak of and was at that time living paycheck to paycheck.

Instead, I WAS SILENT...I let those guys think I was a typical Los Gatos girl shopping her head off. It was my sign that Paul was the one!

On the way home that night, I said to him, "Paul, do you know what frugal means?"

"Yeah, it's like overboard, outlandish. You know, like the frugal gourmet." (It's an old TV cooking show about a guy who makes outlandish meals on a great budget.)

"Yeah, it's an oxymoron. Frugal means cheap, doesn't spend carelessly."

"Oh, is that why he always talks about how much money he saved?"

What have you been doing up here?

Today was cleaning day...Self explanatory...right...Yeah, as long as you aren't Hunter Sheridan Worley...

Those of you that know me, know that I am completely OCD. Paul would say I rival Kathy Bates in the movie version of Stephan King's Misery. I can spot something out of place before it moves...i.e. my shell tower at work...another time another place...

As a result, Cleaning Day used to mean, I sent the kids down to the basement to play (and honestly stay out of my way) so that I could clean the house "correctly" top to bottom. It would be able to pass the black light test with flying colors when I was done.

I did however, come to my senses, and I have since delegated chores (hence, I am no longer a member of the fun club). Maddy gets in, gets it done and moves on. Hunter...well, let's just say that he gets a little distracted.

Hunter, after being lost in his room for what seemed to be hours, emerged and declared that he was done with his room-he was going down to play with sissy in the basement. He shut his door to keep Koda out and headed to the basement. I continued the task of sanitizing the bathroom.
I proceeded to Hunter's room to vacuum. My horrified response sent Paul scaling the stairs, believing I was bleeding profusely.

Hunter's bed was unmade, the curtain to his "hideout" was on the floor, his desk was a disaster, his drawers were open and over flowing with "important stuff." His hats were everywhere.

But then it caught my eye...his lego table was immaculate...

Are you serious...

"Hunter Sheridan Worley..."

"What have you been doing up here?"

Mama Ceo Likes Me!

I have been the biggest blogging flake in the history of blogging. (Gee, I was dramatic, imagine that!) But with one encouraging blog from Mama Ceo, I'm back!

Now all I have to do is list 5 of my addictions and pass on the award...5 addictions...no problem...5 favorite blogs no problem. Sit back, have a great laugh, and cyber your way to fun reading...

My top 5 addictions, in no particular order,

1. Facebook

2. Diet Coke

3. Flashpoint-New TV show...like I needed another show to watch.

4. M & M's

5. Blogging

And now I pass this award on to 5 fantastic bloggers again in no particular order...

1. These are the days of our lives

2. The Glamorous Life

3. Home of the Lazy Dog

4. Along Schaefer Road

5. I'm NO superMom but I'm LOVING it!

Happy Reading!