Time to party!!

This was the week we’ve all been waiting for. Okay, well not everyone…lol! My family and I are all set to celebrate this little big guy’s FIRST BIRTHDAY!!!

12 months=1 year in case you didn't know :D

12 months=1 year in case you didn’t know 😀

The official day was this past Wednesday and unfortunately, our new 1 year old was home sick 😦 He wasn’t able to face plant himself in chocolate cake then but he’s definitely well enough to give it a go at his party tomorrow 🙂

I wasn’t able to run after Wednesday and Thursday as I was home with my son. Today will be spent taking care of last minute party planning but I’ll be heading out for my long run tomorrow morning before the festivities begin. His birthday theme is Summer Fun, I’m Turning ONE and we’ll have plenty of water activities because, well…

Yesterday's temps...

Yesterday’s temps…

At least it’ll be a cool 108 tomorrow…

giphy I hope you all have a great weekend!! Who’s running, who’s racing??

What’s your favorite way to celebrate your birthday?

An offer too good to refuse…except I had to

Way back when, seven years ago lol!, I started my teaching career. My first year I was so scared and intimidated by everything and everyone, especially the veteran teachers. Here I was, 22 years old, fresh out of college, wanting to teach high school juniors American literature–what the heck did I know about what I was doing??

The school that hired me had an absolutely amazing English department so I knew I was in good hands. (It still does despite many teachers retiring or moving on)

One of those teachers was a man named John–he worked there my first two years and his wife, also an English teacher, was actually my student/teacher mentor. John has a no nonsense aura about him; he doesn’t mince words and is super, super smart. Like you’re afraid to say something stupid in front him smart. I remember the first time I met him, I called him Mr. Prather, like if I was a student! He quickly said it was okay for me to call him by his first name, after all, we were co-workers. (eek!)

John was known for being a top teacher. All the students liked him and not because his classes were easy–in fact, his classes challenged the students and they loved it. At the time, he taught the same subject I did and yes, I felt like I was way out of my league compared to him.

In addition to being known as a fabulous teacher, John is an accomplished runner. He currently coaches our high school’s cross country team. He has the same success with his athletes that he does with his students in that they love his coaching style, respect him, and take on the challenges he gives them.

So when I got an e-mail from him last month offering me an assistant coaching position, I FREAKED OUT. I mean, I screamed out loud after reading.

This is a man whose intelligence I’d admired and respected, who I’ve always (even now) been kind of afraid to even talk to, asking ME to work beside him!

I didn’t know what to say.

A million things went through my head–yet, the main question was, could I do it?

I already knew the answer to that.

No.

😦

The high school I work at is a 40 minute drive from where I live. I have to leave at 6:30 in the morning to make it there on time and I drive against traffic both ways. With practices, I wouldn’t be getting home til past my kids’ bedtimes. Traveling would further keep me away from home. I couldn’t do it to my kids or my husband.

And oh yeah, I’m currently training for a marathon.

It just wouldn’t work. So, I e-mailed back a sad no.

I let him know that I was extremely honored to even be considered and that it would have been a dream to work with him. I know that I could have learned so much–with my own running and especially working with student athletes, something I’ve always wanted to do.

It was such a great opportunity, one that I hope I’ll get another chance at in the future when the time is right. I just know that that time is not now.

I made sure the e-mail went into the Saved folder so that I could go back and look at it every once and a while–I know that it’ll always be a good pick-me-upper when I need one 🙂

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Have you ever had to say no to something you really wanted to say yes to?

Do you always have a lot of things going on because you don’t want to say no? (For some reason, this is me. But I’m learning.)

More than halfway done!!!

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If you’ve been reading the last couple of months then you know that I’m currently on a summer challenge of 100 Days of No Soda. Well, I’m past the halfway point!!!

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People have told me that once I’m done, I’ll probably not want to drink soda any more…..yeah……no.

I know it’s sad, but I still crave it. Like, a lot. I’m fairly certain that I won’t drink it as much as I used to–6 to 8 cans a day–but I think if I managed to keep it under 3 that would be enough for me to be content. A breakfast, lunch, and dinner soda. 🙂

I’m pretty proud though that I’ve gone this far without cheating. Not even once. And I’ve really wanted to.

People have asked me why or what my purpose in doing this is. What I wanted to see is how much, if anything, my body changed with marathon training and a healthier diet. And it has! Pre-challenge I had 5 pesky pounds keeping me from my pre-pregnancy weight. Well, 53 days into the challenge, they’re gone. I also feel less heavy in general, like the bad food I was eating was weighing me down.

I knew that by eliminating soda, I would be helping to improve my diet. A lot of what I ate (and okay, still sometimes eat) is fast food, meals that come with a soft drink. Since I’m not drinking soda, I feel less compelled to order a # whatever from a drive thru. Instead, I make something at home and eat it drinking water.

I haven’t replaced soda with anything either. I’m not a tea drinker nor do I like many juices. I’ll have a recovery drink after workouts–I’m currently loving Rockin’ Refuel chocolate milk (I don’t care that some people say it’s not good for you. Chocolate milk is amazing.) and I’ll put Tailwind in my water during runs, but besides that, I’m really just drinking plain ‘ol H2O. I don’t even like lemon wedges or cucumbers in my water. I like just water. I’m seriously a plain Jane when it comes to food.

The challenge will get harder once I get back to work in August. I’m not exaggerating when I say I drank a lot of soda. In my classroom, I have a mini fridge under my desk that I would stock with Coke. No joke.

I’ll tackle that battle when it comes…..

Any habits you have that are/would be tough to break?

What’s your favorite drink to quench your thirst?