Pickles on Their Eyes

One of my children, who shall remain anonymous, asked the other day why people put pickles on their eyes. I explained that it was cucumbers that people sometimes put on their eyes, and it was to relieve puffiness. I was then corrected that cucumbers are made into pickles, so technically they were pickles. Rather than argue, I just smiled.

So, here are my little ones with pickles on their eyes...

I Think I Can, I Think I Can...

In less than a month I will be running the Pensacola Double Bridge Run. As the title suggests, it is a 15K run over the two bridges from Pensacola, through Gulf Breeze, and onto Pensacola Beach.

I consider myself to be a fit person, exercising quite regularly. I run, bike, hike, kayak, walk. I even participated in a 5 hour Adventure Race with my hubby last year. But I have yet to run 9.3 miles in one stretch.

I'm working my booty off (literally) in preparation for this race. Hubby and I ran 61 minutes on Sunday (he's running the race too). I'm trying to keep up with Dad, who ran over an hour as well on Sunday. He'll also be joining us for the race.

I'm looking forward to the continued challenge of extending my runs and ultimately running the 15K race. A first place (or any place) ribbon are not on my agenda. I'm just looking forward to the challenge and finishing the race. I'd love to work myself up to a half marathon in the next few years...but let's focus on one challenge at a time.

Hubby and I also planned out our two Adventure Races for the year. We're looking at one in June and one in September. I truly enjoy spending time with him preparing for and participating in these races. Woohoo for marrying your best friend! Let the good times continue to roll.

2010 Goals

With a new year come new goals. January 1st always feels like an opportunity at a fresh start. I used to have New Year’s “resolutions,” but like many, found that they were in some cases too lofty to actually achieve, or became tedious after a few months. Instead of “resolutions,” I like the idea of “goals.” Goals give me something to strive for, and if for some reason I find them to be too overwhelming, I have the opportunity to alter them as needed.

After reading about The Happy Housewife’s goals, I decided to break my goals down into categories, that way I can work on multiple areas of my life this year.

My 2010 Goals

Organization
Purge the house – work on one room each month (clean from top to bottom)
Hold two garage sales (spring/fall)
Reevaluate filing system – purge unneeded items; possibly scan others to disk

Health
Stay active – make exercising a priority (30+ minutes 5+ days/week)
Complete two or more running/adventure races
Complete the Detox Strategy or similar detox program
Try an Elimination and/or Rotation diet

Financial
Do not add pay increase to budget – save part of the increase (to fund fall vacation), pay down Jeep with the rest
Check budget weekly to monitor spending

Learning
Increase time spent reading to kids
Work more one-on-one with each child
Schedule kids’ learning time around their individual clocks (Jolie early morning, Jensen midday, Jake early evening)
Plan and order new materials in the spring to avoid rush

Personal
Have some fun – go on a monthly date night with Hubby (rock climbing, kayaking, biking, etc.)
Try hard to stick to my schedule – I know I work best with a schedule, and need to stick to it
Get out in the garden daily (if the weather allows)
Decrease computer time
Read more books that are outside my comfort zone (political, economic, etc.)