I did it!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!!!!!!!

I ran the half-marathon this morning!!!! I'm so proud of myself for sticking with it! I was a little worried 'cause I bought my new running shoes while waiting for the sprained ankle (see previous post) to heal... and just when I thought I was ready to run again - I got a horrible cold! It seemed like everything was conspiring against my race! And then I had to travel to 2 diff states shortly after recovery so I got to run maybe 3 times altogether before the day of the marathon! BUT I made it :D My average time per mile was worse than it had been before my "injury" but I still made it in good time... lots of folk behind me when I got to the finish line... hehe!

God is good! I'm thankful for so many many things, I can't even begin to count my blessings. It's been a revealing year for me and God has brought me through every little trial!! He keeps teaching me things about myself, constantly intercedes on my behalf, guides me through the toughest of decisions... even when I try to be stubborn! Baba mi tobi loba!

I ache all over from the running...but it's time for some turrrkeeeey!!!!

until next time... xoxo ;)

image via

Morning Rant: DAMN the shoes!!!

So, last week I went running and got a major ankle sprain after a few miles. I assumed I over-exerted my foot and perhaps it might have something to do with the random flats I wear on the daily. Wrong!

The pain in my foot was completely gone as of a couple of days ago, so I went running. After running just over a mile, my foot started to hurt again. Once again, I just assumed the poor foot just wasn't ready for the run... so I limped back to my car and headed on home. That was a couple of days ago.

So... since then, I've been up and about, living pain-free. I've primarily been wearing my boots (it's cold y'all) and my foot seemed perfectly fine. Did quite a bit of walking yesterday, came home and felt no pain. So once again, like i usually do, I set my alarm for 6:20am (even though I didn't finally close my eyes 'til 2am last night), got up, got dressed, got in my car, and drove to school for my victory run! Now, I run in an indoor track because it's quite cold out (especially in the morning) and parking is about 0.4miles from the building... so I get a "warm-up" walk before and after my run. Anyyywhoo, I'm all dressed and pepped up to go running. I've got my pep music (Freestyle - Don't stop the rock) ready to go, and I'm walking to the building.

But wait.. is that pain i feel in my right foot? Naaah, it's fine. I'll keep walking. No, I think that's actual pain. Wait, am I limping to the building now? Shit - I'm freaking limping! Great... how the heck am I s'posed to run an hour if I can't freaking walk? But.. but.. everything was fine yesterday and I walked quite a bit. But, Oh, I was wearing my boots - not these damn shoes! Oh shit, it's gotta be the shoes! Farrrrrrrrrrrk, do i need new running shoes? I guess I do! Crapdammit! Now I have to limp back to my car? Urrrgh - I could have slept a few more hours! Urrrgh, the half-marathon is in less than 2 weeks now and I'll never be ready! Crap crap crap!

Rant done! *researching running shoes*

wish me luck...

image via

Dream on dreamer...

"Hold fast to your dreams,

for without them life is a broken wingled bird 

that cannot fly"

-Langston Hughes

I forget my dreams ever so often... and everything starts to seem pointless. I find myself measuring my achievements through the eyes of others, forgetting that we don't have the same dreams or goals. I lose focus and I covet. But somewhere deep inside, I know I don't want what they want/have. But in those few seconds/minutes, common sense eludes me and I find myself longing for a dream that was never mine. Thankfully, this isn't a permanent state of mind!

It may seem simple to you but I only dream of being happy. Truly happy! Surrounded by the ones I love - growing in love daily. Life gets so complex with time, that we find ourselves locked in a state of misery we created with our own words & actions... forgetting the simpler things that once brought us joy. I never want to get to that point. I'll stop, I'll listen, I'll pray and I'll look forward to each day knowing it's a day God has made (so I will rejoice and be glad in it!)

We dream for a reason. God puts dreams in our hearts and the ability to achieve them. Every person is different and special.  The moment we forget that, we steal the dreams of others and don't realize 'til we fail in some way, that the dreams were never ours to take.

current state of mind :\

Happy Monday!

I randomly stumbled upon some of Dr. Phil's life laws online. While i might not agree with them all, here are some that I feel are true:

• You cannot change what you do not acknowledge
• We teach people how to treat us
• There is power in forgiveness

So true!

shoulda coulda woulda.... ctrl + alt + delete

A lot of times in life, we say "if i knew then, what i know now... " ... or "i wish i could take it all back" and many things to that effect. Basically, many of us, at different times in our lives, have wished for some BIG ERASER that would take care of our mistakes in life. I guess my question(s) would be this : Would you want to erase an entire memory.... and all that came with it? Delete the good along with the bad? Delete all the lessons learned? I, for one, know that I wouldn't! I know it's okay to make mistakes in life as long as you learn from them and work towards avoiding such mistakes in the future. It's all part of life's journey - the lessons learned! If everything worked out perfectly and we always had an "edit button," life would be so boring and unreal! The hardest but most important thing is forgiving others and forgiving ourselves... and then we can move on with life! That's just my 2 cents. What say ye?!

Music... Again

I love this song... I remember listening to it and thinking i could actually identify with the words. Mind you, i wasn't even a teenager when the song came out so I had nooo clue what she was feeling.

Listening to it now though... I guess i could somewhat identify :)

...

Quotes...

"When people show you who they are, believe them!"


"I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, 
people will forget what you did, 
but people will never forget 
how you made them feel."

- Maya Angelou

and the beat goes on... and on!

It's November!!!! wow, I know i keep saying this but it seems like the year is flying right by. I'm not quite sure how I feel about that. A part of me is super-stoked and part of me wishes the year would slow down a little bit so I could get a lot more done. *SIGH*

It's 22 days to half-marathon!!!! I still have quite a long way to go with my training but I'm pushing myself twice as much now. It's kinda crazy having to wake up at 6:15/6:30am in the fall (it's freeeezing in SC - typically about 30F when i'm leaving home in the morning) to go running! Heck, it's hard enough getting out of the house to go running when the weather's perfect. But i'm not complaining - I gave myself this assignment and it's quite satisfying to know that I've gotten a 5mile run out of the way, showered and had breakfast by 9am! I feel kinda.. umm... brand new? lol.

I actually added some yoga now to my workout routine....so I'm gonna be doing yoga every other day. So far I've had 2 yoga "classes" and they went okay - could've been better. It's kinda hard getting back into it after months of cheating on it with running :) But I like the fact that it gives me a good stretch, amongst other things, especially after a long run. Am I doing too much? I guess i'll find out within the next week. I got a sprained ankle after about 4 miles of running this morning and i pushed myself to the 5th mile thinking it'd go away... and now i'm limping! lol....it hurts like &*(^%($ but i'll be fine. I'll ice it when I get back home later in the day!!!

**cheese alert** Oh, I told boyfriend i'll blog this so here goes - I love that he calls me randomly, out of the blue, just to say "I love you, I appreciate you". He actually says it everyday but every once in a while he specifically stops to tell me that he appreciates me. He said "It's easy to take things for granted when it's been a while... but everyday I realize i'm living my dream with you." It's been almost 6yrs now that we've been dating *gasp* ... (1yr if you actually just count face-time - lol!) ... but thankfully, it feels nothing like it! I still look forward to our tomorrows :) **cheese done**

What else? what else?! ... are there times in your life when you specifically feel like God is interceding on your behalf? I mean, i know constantly know this, somewhere at the back of my mind, but there are specific days when it's sooo apparent - it's staring me right in the face! I see nothing but God's love... TODAY is one of those days! I feel extra blessed and no, I didn't win the lottery or get a new car or anything like that. I just woke up! Thank you Lord!

Ok, i'll get back to work now. A lot to accomplish and the year is running away.... *stooop!*

xoxo
;)

just 'cause...

• just 'cause it's common DON'T make it right!
• just 'cause it's new DON'T make it cool!
• just 'cause you say it DON'T make it gospel!
• just 'cause it's faded DON'T make it retro!
• just 'cause it's dark DON'T make you Goth!
• just 'cause it's wacky DON'T make you amusing!
• just 'cause it's got big words DON'T make it a smart read!
• just 'cause your skin's got color DON'T make you exotic!
• just 'cause you say/do nothing DON'T make you innocent!
• just 'cause you ain't hurt a fly (yet) DON'T mean you won't!
• just 'cause you read big books without pictures DON'T make you a philosopher!
• just 'cause you go to church DON'T make you a Christian!
• just 'cause you're well versed on all religions DON'T make you tolerant!
• just 'cause I choose to say "DON'T" instead of "DOESN'T" DON'T make me a dullard :p

*~2:30am musings! bite me!