Finally! I did it! I felt like doing a dance of joy and shouting really loudly, but I held back. The golf course where I do my jogging is pretty quiet at 7:45 in the morning, and I didn't want to disturb any residents or hotel guests. The last 10 days or so, exercise of any kind has been an iffy proposition, as my knee has been bothering me. I don't think I injured it, but it's been painful off and on. Oddly, it doesn't hurt to walk or run, but I've been taking it easy in general to try and allow it to get better.
So, now that I know I can endure 3 miles if I want to and I'm feeling good and the stars are aligned and it's not too hot or too foggy or too humid and I wake up on the right side of the bed... I have 12 weeks before I actually run a 5K race to improve to the point that I can tackle the race with confidence. I'm not expecting to place or anything, I just want to finish. I've been saying for several years that "next year I'm going to run in this race," and it feels really good that this year I'm finally going to be ready to do it!
Friday, August 1, 2008
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Earthquake Weather Myth
I've blogged about "earthquake weather" before - still, quiet, often warm, with it's most defining quality being the absence of other notable weather.
Today it's breezy, and like most recent days, it's probably monsooning (is that a word?) out in the desert. Didn't stop the earth from shaking. Of course, it was felt for at least 100 miles in all directions, so it can't possibly be the same weather in that many places.
The news just gleefully reported that there could be aftershocks, and that in fact what we felt could be a "before"shock... implying the possibility of more and greater shaking to come. I'm just not going to think about it.
(If you're a bit of a science nerd like the people in my family, you can go to the USGS website for today's earthquake.)
Today it's breezy, and like most recent days, it's probably monsooning (is that a word?) out in the desert. Didn't stop the earth from shaking. Of course, it was felt for at least 100 miles in all directions, so it can't possibly be the same weather in that many places.
The news just gleefully reported that there could be aftershocks, and that in fact what we felt could be a "before"shock... implying the possibility of more and greater shaking to come. I'm just not going to think about it.
(If you're a bit of a science nerd like the people in my family, you can go to the USGS website for today's earthquake.)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Economic Stimulus
Today I spent almost half of the $600 that was deposited in my bank account a couple months ago, courtesy of George W. Bush and the U.S. Treasury. Just doing my civic duty to stimulate the economy. Most people I know are making a more conservative choice - paying bills, taking care of an unexpected expense, or just saving for a rainy day. Normally, that's where my tax refunds go too, after all, it's not really "extra," it was mine to begin with. Uncle Sam was just "borrowing" it... interest free. But this time it was different, and I don't really have an explanation for why.
So I bought an iPod. I know, I know, I'm definitely not the last person to go digital with music, but I'm pretty far from the first one. I've been talking about it for months and thinking about it at least twice as long. I didn't wake up this morning thinking "today I'm going to buy an iPod" but just finally decided there was no time like the present. It helped that I was shopping with a friend who offered to help me set up my laptop and get started, which no doubt saved me countless hours of reading help menus to figure everything out.
So here I sit with plenty of time on my hands while I rip one CD after another into iTunes. I'm kind of excited. I rarely indulge in something like this, a "toy" for grownups, so it's sort of fun to set up playlists and think about some new music I might like to download. Or maybe some TV shows, or movies, or fun podcasts. I can't wait to listen to any or all of my music this fall when I'm commuting 300 miles a week, without sifting through three visor racks crammed with CD's.
Oh, but wait. My standard-issue car radio isn't quite up to that... and it happens to be broken. So, any guesses how I'm going to spend the rest of the money?
(Three guesses, first two don't count.)
So I bought an iPod. I know, I know, I'm definitely not the last person to go digital with music, but I'm pretty far from the first one. I've been talking about it for months and thinking about it at least twice as long. I didn't wake up this morning thinking "today I'm going to buy an iPod" but just finally decided there was no time like the present. It helped that I was shopping with a friend who offered to help me set up my laptop and get started, which no doubt saved me countless hours of reading help menus to figure everything out.
So here I sit with plenty of time on my hands while I rip one CD after another into iTunes. I'm kind of excited. I rarely indulge in something like this, a "toy" for grownups, so it's sort of fun to set up playlists and think about some new music I might like to download. Or maybe some TV shows, or movies, or fun podcasts. I can't wait to listen to any or all of my music this fall when I'm commuting 300 miles a week, without sifting through three visor racks crammed with CD's.
Oh, but wait. My standard-issue car radio isn't quite up to that... and it happens to be broken. So, any guesses how I'm going to spend the rest of the money?
(Three guesses, first two don't count.)
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Books: Queen of Babble -and- Queen of Babble in the Big City
Queen of Babbleby Meg Cabot
and
Queen of Babble in the Big City
by Meg Cabot
Friday, July 25, 2008
Thankful Thursday: Abundant Grace
I know it's Friday. Again. And that makes this post "late." But what seems to happen is that I spend my Thursdays aware that it is the day I’ve decided to focus on gratitude. By evening, I have been reminded of many things I am thankful for. The last couple of times I've posted on this, that's been evident... my post has been a list, because choosing just one thing to write about has been too hard.
This week, though, I've been thinking about God's amazing grace, prompted by a Bible Study I'm completing with a friend. The book says that it will “help you make the connection between grace as a remote biblical concept and grace as a lifestyle – a reality you experience day in, day out.” That’s what drew me to this particular study: I was so compelled by the promise of experiencing God’s grace daily.
In the first chapter, we completed an exercise of “noticing” God’s presence and provision in our lives. As we shared our stories, we both commented that our hearts had been filled with gratitude to God, just as a result of completing the exercise. One of the things on my friend’s list was the daily light show we call sunset, because every time she observes one she is overwhelmed by its beauty. I, too, have been romanced by the sunset and the magical twilight hour. Once, I drove to the beach with some friends on the longest day of summer for the sole purpose of enjoying the sunset.
God probably did not plan that sunset, or today’s sunset, for my enjoyment. He no doubt had many other things in mind when He set the earth’s path around the sun. But He created it all, and each and every sunset is a reminder of who He is. It reminds me that He created day and night; hours for work and hours for sleep; seasons of warmth and coolness; of cold and sunshine and rain.
Profound.
Amazing.
And though not planned just for me, it is right that when I observe His perfect creation, I praise and thank Him for the beauty it brings to my life.
On Wednesday, we discussed chapter two about grace for regrets and it was partly about confession. The spiritual exercise was to spend an hour or two working through a guided time of confession. I didn’t do it. I told my friend I wasn’t brave enough. I have been struggling with another of the first week’s lessons that spilled over into the topic of confession: God knows us intimately. The blessing of this is the knowledge that by someone else, I am understood. The downside is the knowledge that I have no secrets.
The scripture was from Psalm 32, where David writes that in the aftermath of sin he hid from God, but that in his silence, his “bones wasted away” and his “strength was sapped.” When he turned to God and confessed, he was forgiven and freed from guilt. How many times have I not confessed a sin, foolishly thinking that by not speaking of it, God wouldn’t know. How many times have I experienced the great blessing of erased guilt and restored rightness with God, a feeling so wonderful, so full of grace… that I wonder why I was so foolish? How many more times will I repeat this cycle, proving I am no wiser than the sheep to which God compares his beloved people?
In a few short hours of study and two discussions with my friend, I have been touched by grace. In fact, the hours of conversation on Wednesday have stayed with me these last two days, and have become a blessing of God to notice in this week. I feel as if I’ve just spent time wallowing in God’s goodness, and even now my heart is warmed by how real and powerful His grace is. Thank you, my friend, for walking this part of life’s journey with me.
I think the book is living up to expectations.
This week, though, I've been thinking about God's amazing grace, prompted by a Bible Study I'm completing with a friend. The book says that it will “help you make the connection between grace as a remote biblical concept and grace as a lifestyle – a reality you experience day in, day out.” That’s what drew me to this particular study: I was so compelled by the promise of experiencing God’s grace daily.
In the first chapter, we completed an exercise of “noticing” God’s presence and provision in our lives. As we shared our stories, we both commented that our hearts had been filled with gratitude to God, just as a result of completing the exercise. One of the things on my friend’s list was the daily light show we call sunset, because every time she observes one she is overwhelmed by its beauty. I, too, have been romanced by the sunset and the magical twilight hour. Once, I drove to the beach with some friends on the longest day of summer for the sole purpose of enjoying the sunset.
God probably did not plan that sunset, or today’s sunset, for my enjoyment. He no doubt had many other things in mind when He set the earth’s path around the sun. But He created it all, and each and every sunset is a reminder of who He is. It reminds me that He created day and night; hours for work and hours for sleep; seasons of warmth and coolness; of cold and sunshine and rain.
Profound.
Amazing.
And though not planned just for me, it is right that when I observe His perfect creation, I praise and thank Him for the beauty it brings to my life.
On Wednesday, we discussed chapter two about grace for regrets and it was partly about confession. The spiritual exercise was to spend an hour or two working through a guided time of confession. I didn’t do it. I told my friend I wasn’t brave enough. I have been struggling with another of the first week’s lessons that spilled over into the topic of confession: God knows us intimately. The blessing of this is the knowledge that by someone else, I am understood. The downside is the knowledge that I have no secrets.
The scripture was from Psalm 32, where David writes that in the aftermath of sin he hid from God, but that in his silence, his “bones wasted away” and his “strength was sapped.” When he turned to God and confessed, he was forgiven and freed from guilt. How many times have I not confessed a sin, foolishly thinking that by not speaking of it, God wouldn’t know. How many times have I experienced the great blessing of erased guilt and restored rightness with God, a feeling so wonderful, so full of grace… that I wonder why I was so foolish? How many more times will I repeat this cycle, proving I am no wiser than the sheep to which God compares his beloved people?
In a few short hours of study and two discussions with my friend, I have been touched by grace. In fact, the hours of conversation on Wednesday have stayed with me these last two days, and have become a blessing of God to notice in this week. I feel as if I’ve just spent time wallowing in God’s goodness, and even now my heart is warmed by how real and powerful His grace is. Thank you, my friend, for walking this part of life’s journey with me.
I think the book is living up to expectations.
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