July

I can tell by all the rage and worry filled emails I've gotten (NOT) that you've all been wondering where I've been. You've been wondering if I've been running and how it's going. (right...our culture doesn't understand accountability in our personal lives) Sorry to have you on the edge of your seat for the last month, I hope your fingernails forgive my absence...

Honestly...after the first week in July, I didn't train another day. I ran after students and my own children, but not anything worth constituting a raised heart-rate for any period of time. HOWEVER (prepare for and insert the typical excuses here) I did not just sit on my cute bum the whole month!! Oh no, friends, this was no vacation.

First week, we did a "Mission" trip in our community. We found people and houses in need in our own community and helped them out in tangible ways. Most of the adults used a week of their vacation to roof and paint houses, mow yards, and reconstruct walls (as well as teach teenagers these skills needed to accomplish said tasks)...in 100+ degree weather, may I add?? Here's a few pics from our week:

2nd week was youth camp. GREAT TIME!!! Some people think I'm crazy, but I love being able to have a positive impact on teenagers lives and their eternity. Every morning I'd wake 20 teenage girls up at 6 am to get ready for the day. (20 girls who had to share 3 showers, 3 toilets and 6 electrical outlets) Yeah...anyway, we'd end the night at about midnight, although that was when some of the best conversations took place and then I took my shower and made sure the girls eventually fell asleep around 1:30. It was an exhausting and amazing week!!
Then, FINALLY I got my children back. Of course they'd grown inches and changed physically in those 3 weeks...I hugged them as long as they let me. My parents and one of my sisters stayed the week with us and we showed them some more of west Texas. It was a lot of fun and I enjoyed my time with them!! We went to a "local" (hour away) farmer's market one day, and that was fun! There wasn't as much of a selection as I'd hoped, but it was still good to buy peaches that hadn't been doused in pesticides and who knows what else! (Ok, so this last week was a vacation...and this past week was me being lazy and enjoying my own bed and house again)

Tomorrow, I start learning to live again. My mom was recently diagnosed as diabetic, and my dad has been for a few years now. All of my grandparents and some of my great-grandparents are/were diabetic. (some of them were due to obesity, some were just "genetically predisposed" I guess) I was gestational diabetic with my sweet girl. I am not obese by any means, but I know that I am a prime candidate for it as well if I do not live wisely. So it is time to get back on track with my health now that I can better control what I eat (being at home again) and how to spend my time. I will start back at Week 1, Day 1 to see how I fare since it's been quite awhile!
(Feel free to kick my cyber butt if I don't!)