spotted on a bumper sticker:

CONTRARY to BELIEF
no one owes you anything

napping and chatting

Kindergarten is apparently quite exhausting. For the first week, L'il Sis was coming out of that school looking like she'd been run over by a bus. I'm sure she'll work up some endurance over the year, but for now school just about does her in. She doesn't normally take naps (mainly because she won't sleep at night if we let her). But Thursday was a half-day for some reason so when L'il Sis put herself down for a nap about an hour after we got home, I just let it lie.



While her sister was sleeping, Big Sis went into tween mode. She spent almost all afternoon on the phone. Most of the time, she and a friend from school were calling each other. If this was a preview of life to come...*shudder*
.... I actually had to threaten to make her pay the phone bill to get her off the phone.
(no, this is not her room...she took over my room for all the chatting)

Motivating

Still on the bandwagon, er, treadmill...

I've never been athletic or even particularly active. Running is a totally foreign concept to me (as in "If no one is chasing me, why would I be running?!"). So, just the fact that I've taken up the Couch to 5K program is a huge step for me. I've been running on a treadmill because the one day I ran outside I wanted to die. It wasn't just the heat and humidity. I have no clue how to pace myself apparently. So the treadmill it is.

Now, factor in the fact that I'm not only married to a Marine, but one who is naturally quite lean without much effort on his part. I finished Day 1 of Week 4 on Monday. It involved running for 3 minutes, walking for 90 seconds, running for 5 minutes, walking for 2-1/2 minutes, and then doing it all again. The thought of running for 5 solid minutes terrified me. So when it came time to run for 5 minutes, I set the pace slightly slower than I did for the 3 minute run (very slightly). I wanted to be sure that I actually ran for the entire 5 minutes and didn't give up and slow to a walk prematurely.

I made it through the work out and told Stretch about it later. He told me not to slow it down too much, I needed to keep pushing. Sometimes, I hate being married to a Marine.

Today was Day 2 of Week 4. I kept the same pace for all the runs. It was at a roughly 13-minute mile pace. Which I know is probably super slow. Heck, I used to be able to WALK a 15-minute mile without a problem. (Okay, so that was over a decade ago, but whatevs.)

My point is that despite the slowness, it was HUGE for me. I kept it up. I didn't stop despite really, REALLY wanting to during the last 5 minute run. I can't help wondering where are the endorphins I keep hearing about? They're probably a myth.

Now if I could just see some pounds and inches disappear...

...heavy-hearted......

It took me until almost noon to remember today's date. But I had my reasons. That day 8 years ago was tragic and changed so many of our lives. But today my heart was heavy from more recent events.

Yesterday, a Marine Reservist died during a routine training exercise. Stretch not only saw the event, but then was one of two Marines to notify the young man's parents. As much as we as spouses dread that knock on the door, I can only imagine the heaviness in a Marine's heart as he stands on the other side of that door.

So, in addition to remembering the tragic events of 8 years ago, I'm asking that you keep the Marines of this unit, as well as the family of this young man, in your thoughts and prayers.

Patriot Day giveaway

Head over to the Mrs. and see the blue star she's giving away in honor of Patriot Day.