last night at bedtime, bryce saw me writing in his journal. i've written in it since he was born, and i purposed to do that at least once a month even if it was a quick note. he asked me to read a few to him. we both enjoyed looking back, and a couple made me get teary-eyed. he knows me well, and knew that would happen.
so many of the things i've written in there were moments that seem like yesterday. and so often, the moments that seemed insignificant at the time, are the ones that i treasure the most. i'm so glad i recorded them because there were a few i had forgotten about.
if there was a fire, those journals would be one of the first things i would grab.

it definitely is true what they say, "the days can be long, but the years are short."

• i think bryce ate one too many chicken nuggets today. wow. he has officially surpassed me in consumption.
• we've been playing at the creek by our house quite a bit lately. we're starting to see some green, along with some wildflowers. living here is a dream come true. 
• magnolias are in bloom here. my favorite! so beautiful!!
• running 8 this weekend. rain or shine. or wind. (please let the wind be at my back)
• starting to plan for school next year. i know we will be using the same curriculum because i really love it (i should post more about that soon), which makes planning much easier. never thought i'd be homeschooling this long, but the good has definitely out weighed the bad. God has taught me so much through it.
• one less follower on my blog. i guess it's not that exciting to read a post that says, "i ran 3 miles today."who knew?! ☺
• it's actually surprising anyone reads, considering how many bazillion blogs are out there. wow!
• oh, blogging you are so weird. but, i love you. i have met so many amazing women. so many of you have become friends. i have cried with you, prayed for you, and rejoiced over the things God has done (is doing) in your lives.
• i've stuck with my menu plan this week. i'm afraid to see what baseball will do to our meal times this summer. starting next week, the boy will have games twice a week.
• oh, and did i mention steve and i are going to play on our church softball league...
• and, i'll be training for a marathon...
• and, we'll have swimming lessons, piano lessons and gymnastics all summer?! not sure how we will fit it all in, but it will be fun.

how do you tie your running shoes? do you use any of these methods? Or, do you use something like this?
this is how i always have mine (double knotted and tucked under). they stay out of the way, and i never have a problem with them coming untied.

sometimes small things make big differences.

::friday - 3.5 miles
::saturday - planned on 7, but the loop ended up being 8. i used the run a mile/walk a minute method.
it was my longest run outside in quite awhile.
::sunday - rest day.

4 miles today. 

mile 1 - 9:04
walked 1 minute
mile 2 - 8:45
walked 1 minute
mile 3 - 9:11
walked 1 minute
mile 4 - 9:15


it felt really good to take the short walk break between running today. i think i may try to do this more often. thanks for the reminder of using this method, maia!

yesterday we went to visit my friend jenny and her kids. it was a good day, and the clouds were so beautiful on the way home.

today i ran 4.5 miles. the birds were chirping, and i saw tulips coming up and green grass! a perfect day; not as windy as it has been.
i started out too fast, but then settled into a nice pace. i ran some hills. i know there are
a couple long ones in the upcoming 1/2, so i want to be ready for those.
p.r. here i come!

thanks everyone! after 8 painful days, i am feeling much better. 

i was even able to eat pretty normally when steve and i went out on saturday night.

yesterday i ran a very cold 3 miles.

it was 36 and windy, and i ran in shorts. not a good idea. brr.

today i ran 4 miles (pace 9:33 - good for me). my legs felt good today. i was wishing i had more time for a longer run. ♥ love days like that!  

this is what we woke up to:

it's ok though. we know we're getting closer to nice weather. as you can see, they are still enjoying it.

in other news, i am in a lot of pain with this. it's been over a week now. i've been eating a lot of oatmeal and soup. i haven't had this happen for a few years, and i am really miserable.