Monday, October 15, 2012

Checking back in...

Clearly, I fell off the blogging bandwagon.  You know, life and all that.  Too many Pinterest crafts, not enough time to blog about them, etc. :)

Life hasn't changed a whole lot, it's only gotten better (and busier!) in the past 9 months.  Teaching ten year olds, doing crafts, running, and staying busy in my new home.

Last spring, I became a certified barre3 instructor (read back to my very first post to learn more about how I became absolutely addicted to this amazing fitness form) and teach a few days a week.  Teaching these classes and helping people to work toward their fitness and lifestyle goals is such a special thing.  Even though days where I teach kids AND adults can get busy, I am always so thankful for the balance that barre3 provides my life.  It is such a positive community.  If you've ever considered trying it, touch base with me and I'd love to have you in a class to check it out.  You will be hooked!

Also along the same fitness goals, I decided last spring to sign up for the New York Marathon.  I signed up in April, when the race felt forever away, and I'm now only 20 days away.  This will be my 3rd full marathon, but the nerves and excitement are still as real as ever.  One special thing that I chose to do this time around was to run for charity.  I did a lot of resarch about the charities available for this race, and as soon as I found out that I could run for Autism Speaks, my search was over.  I committed to raising $3,000 for this charity and it has been one of the best experiences of my life.  I have raised money in myriad ways and have been overwhelmed with the amount of support I have received.  I honed my sewing skills and started making and selling scarves, I coordinated an event at glassybaby in Madrona, I collected hundreds of dollars worth of donation items for silent auctions, and I reached out to as many people as possible.  I love sharing the message of this special organization.  Plus, one great thing about this fundraising is that some organizations include travel expenses or races registration in their fees, but I paid for all of that, so 100% of the money I raise goes directly to the organization.  Pretty awesome!
My first scarf that I made.  I've made a lot of these ones!
Me and some dear friends enjoying the glassybaby event.
Me and Kenny at the glassybaby event.  He and my dad were great man supporters. :)

I'm also excited about this marathon because I'm running it with my dad.  He's a speed demon and could likely lap me on a marathon, but he is a great supporter and "coach" (he made my whole training schedule that's proudly hanging on my fridge), and we have such a great time running together.  This is my first out-of-state marathon and I can't imagine a more exciting race venue.  When I very first got interested in running, my dad gave me a book called A Race Like No Other, which walks the reader through all 26.2 miles of the NY Marathon.  This race, then, clearly has special sentimental meaning to me.  I can't wait to experience the real deal.   My sister ran the Nike Women's Marathon this past weekend and my pride in her has only increased my excitement about my own upcoming race.  I just love having such a healthy and fitness-oriented family these days.

I've also begun working on my Master's Degree (I'm getting my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction), so that's keeping me on my toes, too.  I love going to my night class once a week and having relevant discussions with other professionals.  I'm in my second quarter and really enjoying the whole experience.  Currently, I am taking a course in social justice, and, for lack of a better phrase it is a mind trip.  Our professor is very unconventional and pushes us well beyond our cumfort levels to a lot of deep personal and cultural reflection.  It is a great, albeit often cognitively uncomfortable, course.  I've come to crave that internal conflict that the topics in this course are able to find.

Well, exciting.  I am looking forward to becoming consistent in sharing crafts, cooking endeavors, race experiences, and everything in between.  Now, more than ever, I really am running around...