More Great Things

Back as promised with the other great things I mentioned...

Last Wednesday was the last day of our family weight-loss competition, and we all said we would hold onto our final weights until we were together at dinner on Thanksgiving. Coming off the high of my run, I couldn't wait to find out who won, and felt pretty confident that it could be me. My sister made us wait until after we had already eaten dinner to cough up our weights, (thank goodness we eat at like2.) Finally it was time, and I was given the final weights to calculate the percentages. Aaaannnddd....

I WON. 16 pounds in 9 weeks. 8.7% of my body weight gone. And $60 in my pocket ($75 if you count my own $15.) This Thanksgiving was one of the very best ever. I plan to get some jeans that fit and/or a pair of boots - and I can't wait!

The other great thing? A surprise NSV that put me over the moon. Randy, a trainer at my fitness center and the leader of the class I take twice a week, said to me yesterday after class "Morgan, you are looking trim!" I was almost giddy with joy. Because here's the thing - it means something when my family says I am looking good, it means a little bit  more when acquaintances notice it and comment, but for someone who I consider to be something of an expert in this field to tell me, unsolicited, that I am looking "trim" (a word I have possibly never heard before in conjunction with myself, unless it involved a Christmas tree,) it just meant the world. I came home jumping for joy, and my husband just laughed at me.

The other things aren't weight loss related - 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly and a free family photo session from a local photographer (we have only had one professional family photo done with all four kids, and it is along the lines of a posed Olan Mills picture.) That will be taking place Thursday, the day before my daughter's surgery.

So good things have been happening here, and I am making myself take notice and appreciate the good, and use it to bolster me through the challenges that are coming our way. What are the good things happening in your life?

The Run To Feed The Hungry, or My First 5K

There are so many good things to share today that I don't even know just where to start. How many posts start out with a statement like that? I guess that the best place to start is last Thursday, when I faced The Run to Feed the Hungry, my very first 5k.

The morning dawned cold and bright. Ice covered the cars in the driveway and the lawn was frosted in a pretty white. I looked outside and knew that I was going to freeze. But it didn't deter me. I had woken up before my alarm and was dressed by 6, which was a full hour and 15 minutes before we needed to leave. My husband was laying in bed sleepily after his alarm had gone off, unable to drag himself out from under the warm covers. I told him that he didn't have to come and wait for me to run, to which he replied that he wouldn't miss it for anything. Tears in my eyes, I went to my kids' room to wake them up and start getting them fed and bundled for the cold. My oldest daughter, Anna (11), informed me that my youngest, Jonathan, had wet his pajamas at midnight, and that she had wiped him down and changed his clothes and put him back to bed. I thanked her and told her that she should have sent him into me, that I would have taken care of it. "No, you needed your sleep" was her reply. Now completely choked up by the love of my family, I went to the kitchen to start gathering snacks for the morning. My husband really got everyone ready to go, as I kind of wandered from task to task, unable to focus on anything for longer than a couple of minutes. My mind kept going to the run ahead of me, my fears and doubts overtaking my thoughts.

We arrived at the race in good time, and waited a few minutes to meet up with our friends, one of whom was running with me. At four months pregnant, I knew that if I couldn't keep up with her, I was in trouble. We stretched and tried to warm up in the freezing temperatures, braved the porta-potties, and then bid farewell to our husbands and kids and made our way to the corrals. We had to weave our way through the crowd of fun-runners, those who had opted not to be timed. Our bibs were purple to their orange, and a surge of excitement went through me when a man pulled his son out of our path and said "Watch out, they have purple bibs, let them through. PURPLE BIBS COMING THROUGH." I felt set apart and special.

We set ourselves in the 12 minute mile area and listened to the news reporters on the lift in front of us try to energize the crowd. After a word from the mayor and a rendition of "America the Beautiful" sung by a 12 year old girl, the gun was fired and we were off. Or rather, the people in front of us were off, while we took a couple of steps before the crowd thinned enough to let us start to run. The first mile was quick and easy, and my fears began to subside a bit. But as people passed me left and right, I began to think that maybe I was too slow for this. I forcefully pushed those thoughts aside, telling myself over and over, "It's about me, not them." It became my mantra in the first half of my second mile, and kept me going at an even pace when my basic instinct was to speed up. This was where having someone to run with really paid off for me - she set a pace, and she really stuck with it, while there were several times I started to speed to a pace I wouldn't have been able to maintain, and which would have had me walking the rest of the race.

As we approached the water table, my friend asked if I wanted to get a drink. I shook my head, feeling that I didn't want to stop or slow for anything. A minute later, my friend, panting, asked if I thought we were at 2 miles yet. She hadn't been running much prior to this, and as I mentioned she is pregnant, and 2 miles was as much as she had ran in the last couple of weeks. Almost immediately after she asked, the 2 mile marker came up, and renewed her dedication. Reaching the last mile with even breath was amazing for me, and I soared on that feeling as I kept moving forward. By this time, many of the people who had passed us earlier had slowed to a walk, and we were passing them for a change. I was so glad for having listened to my own mantra. The last half mile had the potential to be the slowest and most difficult, as my breathing was finally becoming a bit ragged and my legs were tiring. But ahead, in the distance, was an archway of balloons and a banner proclaiming "FINISH," and nothing was getting me down or stopping me at that point.

We ran under that archway, under the big screen projection of ourselves, and by the timer, and my friend turned to me and said "37 minutes" and I wanted to cry with joy. We ran 12 minute miles, my fastest time to date, and we were both thrilled with our results. I had run my very first 5k, without stopping once, which was my biggest fear overcome. The sense of pride in us, in myself, was almost unparalleled in my life, and I was elated. We found our families on the sidelines, and my kids ran to me and embraced me, and my world was perfect. When they stepped aside, I threw my arms around my husband, who was congratulating me and telling me how proud he was of me, and how I can do anything in this world. It was a wonderful moment.

We gathered the troops and made our way to the free snacks, loading up on fruit and granola bars and water. We visited for a bit before making our way back to our cars and going our separate ways to our homes to get showered and ready for our Thanksgiving meals. I couldn't stop looking at my husband and saying, in a tone of amazement and excitement, "I did it!" It was a truly wonderful morning, and the beginning of a great day.

 (I look at this picture and I honestly think "Who is that girl??? That can't be me.")

There are more wonderful things to share, but I will leave it here for now, and fill you in later.

through someone else's eyes

Today I went to three parent teacher conferences, one for each of my school-age children. The first conferences of the year are for all the parents, whereas later in the year you only have to go to one if the teacher is concerned about your child. I don't expect to have to go back this year. But bragging about how wonderful my kids are doing in school isn't why I am posting (even though they are!) My favorite moment this afternoon was in my 3rd grader, Hailey's, class. Her teacher handed me an assessment Hailey had done for language arts. She was supposed to write a letter to an imaginary pen pal.

As it was supposed to be the first letter she had written to the pal, Hailey was introducing herself and her family. I got to the part about her parents (Hubby and I.) She wrote, "My Dad works at a restaurant. It is called Noodles and Company. My mom doesn't work. She runs." I laughed out loud at the fact that my daughter sees me as a runner. Laughed, and then was very, very flattered and mushy about it. It was one of the sweetest things I could have read today. And the next sentence was "She works out every morning." I was so glad that those are the things that Hailey has been seeing me do.

Those sentences could have said "She sits and watches TV all day." A few years ago, heck, sometimes even a few months ago, that would have been true. Or "She yells." Or even "I don't know what she does all day." But the answers she gave made me feel good about what I have been doing, the progress I have been making, and what my children are noticing.

Even though I may see the ways I fall short or fail, in my child's eyes, I am succeeding.

weigh day

Once again it is a weigh-in day. The second to last one in my competition. If you'll remember, last week I had a gain, and then a not-so-good run, and the combo more or less threw off my groove. Well, this week was much better. My official weight for today was 169.4. HOLY CRAP. I am in the 160's. Not by much its true, but nonetheless, there was a 6 in the tens place in my weight today. It has actually been there for the last three days, which gives me hope that I can make it stick.

This makes it official - I have lost 50 pounds from when I started losing weight about 3 1/2 years ago. It has been a slow progression - I've lost it in about 15-20 pound chunks, losing a chunk (literally) and then maintaining for a while before losing some more. But the thing about it is, in the beginning, I wasn't trying to lose a certain amount of weight, or necessarily any weight at all, I just started walking so that I could sleep better at night. And while I have wished, at different points in time, that it would come off faster, or that during those maintenance times I had kept losing instead, I am pretty proud of myself overall. I haven't gained the weight back at all, and I am still moving forward, however slowly.

As far as this competition goes, I have lost 14.4 pounds in the last 8 weeks, and that seems pretty good to me. Next Wednesday will be the last weigh in, and everyone will withhold their final weights until Thanksgiving when we come together for dinner. At this point, I am winning, but as last week showed me, that could completely change in a week if I don't stay dedicated. Since my sister and my step-mom are smaller than me, it takes a smaller weight loss on their part to pass me in the percentages. So this week I am just going to buckle down and go for the win. The light at the end of the tunnel is my 5k Thanksgiving morning, followed by a guilt-free dinner with my family. Oh yes, a slice of pumpkin pie is on the horizon, and I will use that vision to keep me going.

crazy train

I am officially freaked out at the prospect of running this 5k on Thanksgiving morning. Last week I was excited. I wasn’t sure if I could make it, but I was going to give it my all and I felt like there was a good chance that I could run the whole thing. And I was going to be proud of myself at any rate. What happened, you ask? Well, last Thursday I met the road for the first time, and the two of us didn’t exactly hit it off. I tried, I really did. I was friendly, optimistic, and just short of jovial. But that road? It was unwelcoming. It was indifferent to my efforts. It was unyielding and uncaring. And while I did the best I could, I felt discouraged.

Over the weekend, that discouragement has turned into fear. I am afraid of running on the road again. And I am worried about the 5k. I am apprehensive, frustrated, and embarrassed about something that hasn’t even happened yet. I have visions of me failing, of having to walk most of the race, of having to face my family at dinner afterwards and tell them that I couldn’t run it. I am completely psyching myself out over this.

What’s that you say? Knock it off? Ha, would that I could (and you sound like my husband.) I have been trying to shut my crazy brain off for 30 years. Ok, more like 23 – I don’t think I was really nuts until I was 7. But if you have any idea as to how to turn around this bad train of thought, feel free to let me know. But you know what? Trains are heavy, and they don’t have power steering. 

Healthy Living Checkup courtesy of Mary

I am starting this week off with thievery. What does that portend for the rest of the week????

Anyhow, the wonderful Mary over at A Merry Life posted this with the intention for others to fill it in for themselves, plus I am giving her credit, so perhaps it isn't quite thievery. Emulation? Imitation? Infatuation? Ok, I am getting carried away here. Without further ado, here is my healthy living checkup:

1. The best thing I did for my health last week was increase the amount of fruits and veggies I ate.

2. Today I feel positive towards my healthy living progress.

3.  Small steps bring about big changes. One small step I took for my health last week was drinking water until my pee was clear (tmi?).

4. I will consider this week a success if I am able to continue eating lots of fruits and veggies and not so many carbs. (I really wanted to put in something about my weight going down, but I am trying to separate my definition of success from a number.)

5. My go-to recipe is my egg and veggie scramble - it is always a bit different, but always yummy.

So there you go. Today I am thankful for other bloggers with great ideas, like this list. What are your answers? (Be sure to link it to Mary!)

Funk-y Town

I should probably start with the disclaimer that I am not in a happy place today. I am out of the zone and into a funk. Obviously this mood is going to permeate my blogging today.

Yesterday I finally hit the street for my run. I went into it knowing that it would be different, and harder in a lot of ways, than running on the treadmill. But it wasn't until I started that I knew what kinds of different and difficult it would be. I mapped out a straight shot through town (I live in a place that isn't actually classified as a town because it is so small, and I went down the road to the next place over, which is still small.) I knew where 1.6 miles from where I started was, so that I would know when to turn around and head back. It was relatively flat, or so I thought. So I parked my car and started my run. 

The first few minutes were really, really awkward. I had a really hard time getting a steady pace going, and it was just a different stride on the pavement. I finally got into a groove, had my breathing somewhat even, and was just going. Only to find out pretty soon that my initial pace? Was TOO fast. So that by the time I had gone about a mile, I knew I wasn't going to make it that way. So I slowed down a bit and kept on going. I made it through the halfway/turn back point without stopping, but it wasn't pleasant and it took a LOT of internal dialogging about how I was not going to give up before I had even gone halfway. As I was headed back towards town, though, with my legs aching and my breathing coming in somewhat jagged inhales, I had to take a minute to walk and regroup. It wasn't far - not more than ten steps or so, before I was running again, despite the fact that my body was angry about it. 

Turns out that headed back into town is at a slight incline. Not so noticeable in a car, but on my feet? Crap. But I kept going, kept pushing, for a while, until I had to walk for another minute or so. Lame. But once again I only allowed myself a minute before I was running again. With all intentions of not stopping anymore. And that jived for a while, as painful and difficult as the running was becoming. My abs were amazingly sore from workout class the day before, and I had to keep telling myself that I was not going to be sick, that the soreness was no big deal, and to focus on something else. Oh, and I had to pee. Mostly the whole time. Did you know that bouncing up and down for miles is not easy on a full bladder? Whodda think? 

Anyhow, I was nearing the actual main thoroughfare of town when suddenly I was walking again - like I hadn't even been thinking about doing it but all of a sudden my legs. Just. Stopped. And I muttered a bad word under my breath at my body's mutiny. But I once again gave it about a half minute before I picked up the pace again. At that point I could see the stoplight that marked the end of my run, and I told myself that under no circumstances was I going to stop and walk again before I got to it. And I didn't. 

All in all I probably walked less than an eighth of a mile, but it felt like so much more. I was so angry that I had to walk at all. That wonderful feeling I had from running the distance on the treadmill on Tuesday? Gone. Like a puff of smoke. All I felt was failure, disappointment, and frustration. It was not a good morning. Luckily I came home to breakfast and a day with my hubby and kids.

Today I was back in the gym for cardio and weights, and while I did the workout and put all the effort into it that I usually do, I just wasn't feeling it. I came home and told Hubby that I am out of the zone. The weight-loss, exercise, motivation zone. I gained weight last week, so far this week isn't looking much better, I am sore and feel beaten up all the time, and I am tired. I am officially in a funk. And believe me, I am funk-y. And not the good kind. No visits to Funky Town here. Maybe Funk-y Town. And it isn't nearly as fun or crazy.

So what do I do to start feeling it again? If you have made it this far in this page of blah and negativity, do you have any advice for me?

One step forward and two steps back

Wednesday. The day that the scale and I meet officially (as opposed to all those unofficial meetings during the other 6 days of the week. If it ain't Wednesday, it don't count.) I am on week 7 of the 9 week weight-loss competition with my family, and this morning wasn't pretty. And I don't mean the sight of me with frizzy bed hair staring the scale down naked. Although that couldn't have been all that pretty either. Good thing no one else is awake that early, or in the bathroom with me. But I digress...

This morning I weighed in at 173.8, 1.4 pounds higher than last week's weigh in. Now I could whine and cry about it, I could justify my little heart out, but I am not going to. I am just going to own it. It is what it is, and it isn't changing (not even after I pulled the batteries out to reset the scale. Not my finest (naked) moment.) What I am going to do is move forward. I have two weeks left. Two weeks to regain the lead that I lost to my sister this week (by .2 percent.) Two weeks to make better choices in my eating and keep sweating it out at the gym. Two weeks to lose what I can and win this stinking thing. Because I held the lead for 6 weeks, and that felt too good to let go of now. 

Today I am grateful for second chances, heck, for third, fourth, and fifth chances even. Because I may take a step or two back, but I have the ability to run those two steps over again and keep going.

YES!!!

Um, I did it.

Yes, I did.

I know, I can't believe it either.

Oh, wait, you don't know what I'm talking about?

I ran a 5K on the treadmill this morning.

FIRST TIME EVER.

41ish  minutes. Which doesn't actually matter at all. No matter how fast or slow I ran, I ran the distance. Still coming off a cold.

I am thankful for being able to overcome my mental block which kept telling me to stop, I've been sick, ease back into it. You know what I said to that inner voice? Shutup. And I ran.

Next step? Hitting the street.

Catching a cold and catching up on some gratitude

Here we are on Monday morning once again...somehow I missed posting for the last 3 days, and so I will have some thankfulness to catch up on. But first let me tell you what happened on Friday.


I did my morning run, and for the first time IN MY LIFE I ran for 36ish minutes, and made it a distance of 2.9 miles. I have never, never ran that long or that far before. And while it was still short of my 3.2 mile goal, I was pretty proud of it. I have two weeks and two days until the Thanksgiving 5K that I am signed up for, and I am just going to be focusing on increasing my time and distance. Oh, and on actually running outside. I have been on a treadmill this whole time as I was working through the C25K, and I know that it is totally different running on pavement, and so the plan for this week is to map out my run somewhere near my home (somewhere without hills, as the run in Sacramento is very flat - thank heavens) and get out there and start trying.


Those of you who are runners, or who at least have tried it, how does running on the treadmill compare with the street? What should I be aware of?


As of this minute I am fighting the cold that I have been trying to get my oldest daughter over, and as her surgery is in three and a half weeks neither one of us can be sick. I am drinking tons of water and consuming copious amounts of vitamin C, as well as downing Airborne and zinc, all in an attempt to convince my body that I am NOT going to succumb to this disease. I made the choice to miss my workout this morning, hoping not to push my body over the edge, but I hope to feel good enough by tonight to go and do something. Missing it is like having things crawling under my skin - it is a really unpleasant sensation and I am constantly aware of it and it is wigging me out.


So onto my last 4 days of being thankful...


On day #5, I was grateful for music. I LOVE music. I love to sing (I sang tenor in high school and was in a musical where I was a gospel singing nun.) I love to dance. Music makes me feel lighter and happier when I want to, or it embraces my melancholy when I need it to. I love lyrics and melody. If I had to make the horrible choice between being deaf or blind, I would have to go with blind, because to never hear music again would make my life miserable. Friday night, I went with the hubs to see one of our favorite independent bands at a local night club, and it was wonderful. Music just makes me happy.


My 6th day found me grateful for health as I was saying goodbye to mine - nothing makes you appreciate feeing well like not feeling it. 


Sunday, or day#7, I was thankful for rainy days when I can stay at home in comfy clothes and just rest. I love to listen to the rain hammering outside while I am snuggled up with a cup of herbal tea and my favorite blanket, finishing an entire novel. Ah, that is bliss.


Which brings me to today. Monday. I think that part of the fun of this month of gratitude is waking up and thinking "what will I be grateful for today?" Today I am grateful the days when I am able to get up and make breakfast for my kids. With all my early morning workouts, they have usually eaten when I get back, and mosts of their breakfasts consist of cold cereal and milk. This morning, since I stayed home, I was able to make them French toast (which I abhor but they love) and it was just gratifying to watch them eat it up, some with powdered sugar lips, and to know that I did something right. They will go off to school this morning with bellies full of warm food, and that is a happy thought. 

Becoming an addict

Today was my down day from exercising, but since my internal clock has been reset to early morning workouts, I was up at 6 anyway, and that was sleeping in! The interesting thing is that mentally, I kind of wanted to go to the gym. My brain kind of thought "Hey, you could work out 6 mornings this week instead of 5 - imagine how that would help your weight loss! And you know you feel good when you are all done working out. Even if you accomplish nothing else all day long, you have done that. You're up anyway. There isn't anything here at home that you need to do this early." As you can tell, my brain likes to convince me to do things - hence the reason it can be so hard to avoid eating those baked goodies I love so much - my brain makes such compelling arguments! But my body was telling me a different story, one about achey-burningness in my shoulders and lower back, and stiff legs that were threatening to not even carry me down the hallway, let alone to the gym. I think that right now, with as hard as I am working out, it is important for me to take two days off a week. But I am beginning to see what people say about working out being addictive.

Onto my fourth day of gratefulness - today I was driving Hubby's truck when it ran out of gas on the freeway. No, that isn't what I am grateful for. But I am grateful for my sister-in-law who came to save me from being picked up by a random trucker. She brought gas for my car, and then followed me to the gas station and put in a few more gallons so I could make it home (payday isn't until Saturday - which is why I hadn't filled the tank already to avoid this predicament!) So for all that I sometimes wish for some distance from my in-laws, I am eternally grateful for Jamie's love and assistance.

Weigh-in and a cutie

I cannot wait for the time change on Sunday - dragging myself out of bed at o-dark-thirty is rough. It doesn't help that the house is cold then either. This morning I woke up at 4:30 - the alarm was set for 5, but I always start waking up before them for fear that the alarm will go off and wake up Hubby. For some reason, it has become impossible to set the volume at which the alarm goes off, and it is set at a jump-out-of-bed-you-are-being-robbed-and-murdered volume. Not good. So I was out of bed at 4:50, and at the gym at 5:35.

Since I completed the C25K plan last week, but am still under 3.2 miles, I have extended my running time this week to 32-33 minutes, and am up to somewhere between 2.6 and 2.7 miles. I've got three weeks, and I am slooowly working my way up there.

Weigh-in for my family challenge was today, and I was down another 2.6 pounds, for a grand total of 11.4 pound in the last 6 weeks. Given that I am also adding muscle, I am THRILLED with this. And I am still winning percentage-wise. Which is great - Mama needs a new pair of boots! But I haven't won it yet - my step-mom is making a comeback with her weight loss, and given that she is 30 pounds smaller than me, she doesn't have to take off as much to have a higher percentage. She currently stands at 5.6%, while I am at 6.2% - that is not a big gap. I hadn't perceived her as so much of a threat before, but she is on my heels. Its always the quiet ones! I will tell you, it was much easier to want to take my brother-in-law down, though - I have a bit harder of a time talking smack about my step-mom. I won't let that stop me, though ;) I am going to take her out!

So only good things for this blog post - that is nice. It is bright and sunny here in Northern California, and slated to be unseasonably warm. And here is day #3 of being thankful:

On day #3, I am thankful for my youngest, 3 1/2 year old Jonathan Neil Joyner. With the other three in school all day, he and I get to spend a lot of time together. He is extremely cute, just ask any of the women who he charms each week at church. He flirts with women shamelessly, at the store, the library, the school - any age, any shape and size - he is equal opportunity! Jonathan constantly tries to talk his way into/out of things, starting sentences with "How about" or "I know!" and raising his eyebrows repeatedly at you to try to get you to do what he wants. I am completely immune, unfortunately for him. Since being potty trained earlier this year, he is determined to mark his territory, asking me at every place we go "Do they have a bathroom here?" I have started telling him no, just because I can't take going into one more bathroom when I know he is forcing himself to go (he also has amazing control over that!) He can be cute and cuddly or independent and willful, and I love watching him figure things out each day. One of my favorite things is the fact that he can pick up almost entire songs the first time or two he hears them, and I will catch him singing parts of them while I am driving or while he is playing (makes you pay attention to what he hears - he was singing "Highway to Hell" from the backseat a while back.) I am thankful for all that he adds to my life and our family.

A Serious Topic

Today I have a very serious issue to talk about. Something that has been plaguing me in the last few weeks as I spend my time in the gym. An issue that I suspect I am not the only one familiar with. This issue, dear readers, is butt sweat. (Should I have put a warning at the top that this may be a TMI post???)

When I work out hard, which I have been over the last couple of months, I sweat. I don't get dewy, I don't glisten, I don't glow. I sweat. Sometimes profusely. From my face, from my neck, in my cleavage, and sometimes my arms and torso. All of which I am ok with. It means I am working my body hard, and I am burning calories, and those are the reasons I go to the gym. And I always wipe down the machines after I use them, with a paper towel and anti-bacterial spray. But when I get up from a weight machine where I have been sitting, and there is a strip of sweat on the seat from my derrière, well that is kind of gross and offsetting. Now, when I work out, I wear plain old cotton undies, and usually a pad *just in case*, so shouldn't that block some of that sweat? Maybe it isn't butt sweat, but rather thigh sweat. Still not my favorite. 

So do any of you have this problem. Or are you now sitting at your computers, cringing and thanking the heavens that you don't work out where I work out??? Any input or advice? Or butt sweat stories you'd like to share???

Also, it is Day 2 of Counting My Blessings , and while perhaps I need to work up a thankfulness for my sweating, it isn't what I am grateful for today.

Today as I sit at my desk, making phone calls for dental appointments, calling for support for our upcoming hospital stay, and checking in with family and friends, I am thankful for Mr. Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. I know that there are days when I wish that the telephone wouldn't ring anymore (last night, when all the politicians kept "calling" me to secure my vote is a good example) and I long for a trip to a desert island where no one could find me, but this morning I find the telephone to be an invaluable invention.

What are you thankful for today?  

Counting My Blessings

Somehow it is already November. I have no idea where it came from, or where the year has gone, but there it was this morning, waiting for me when my alarm went off. As we all know, the big deal this month is Turkey Day. Also known as The Day We All Eat Too Much. Or The Day Before Black Friday. Or, for some of us, The Day We All Get Dressed Up To Go and Fight With Our Families (I haven't experienced that one, but have heard stories.) But, officially, it is known as Thanksgiving.

This month, in order to keep  my blessings at the forefront of my mind as our family is going through some hard things, and in order to truly remember to give thanks for those blessings, I am instituting the 25 Days of Thanksgiving. Every day I will post something that I am thankful for. I encourage you all to do the same, whether you post it or not, just take some time every day through Thanksgiving to write down one thing that you are thankful for. Keep the list to look at when times are darker. Or if your times are dark now, use that time every day to find a shaft of light to follow. Surely in this world, where we are all alive and surviving, where we have food and clothes and roofs over our heads, we can find just 25 things to be thankful for.

So today, on the 1st of November, I am thankful for a body that is able to run (even if it doesn't like it) and then go and take a workout class without passing out or throwing up. What are you thankful for?