Movin' it with Michelle

Weekly wrap up! 10 weeks down!

May 16, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

It’s time for the weekly wrap!!! My week was busy as per usual, but overall a really good week. We are 16 days in to our monthly plank-a-day challenge and my longest has been just over 4 minutes! It’s fun seeing so many pages doing fun challenges!

Here’s my run down…

Monday Ran 2.5 miles, planked 3:01

Tuesday Ran 2.25 miles, planked 3:13 and did my killer arm workout.

Wednesday planked 4:22

Thursday ran 1.1 miles, planked 2:02

Friday planked 3:11 and did my killer arm workout

Saturday planked 3:06 with my mine, and this was even AFTER her amazing dance recital!

Sunday planked 3:14 and did my killer arm workout

Thursday we had band open house (she’s decided on the saxophone, YAY!) for my little one, who isn’t so little anymore. I just finished registering her for 5^th grade. This will be the last year I have an elementary school student. Cry. Did I mention my oldest will be taking her driver’s test within the next couple weeks? Double cry! LOL

Friday was dress rehearsal for her, so it was a mad rush to get home on time, get changed and her in full costume but we made it!

Saturday we had her recital, and she all of the girls were just amazing. She was sad her Daddy couldn’t make it, but he was with us in spirit.

So while my workouts aren’t the best in regards to length, I AM pleased I am really getting into a groove with my schedule. Tomorrow is the 10 week mark of my husband’s deployment, and I can happily say we’re a 5^th of the way done! ❤

Linking up with Holly and Tricia for the weekly wrap up! Please check ‘em out!!!!

How was your week? Do you plank?

Cheers!

Michelle

Deployment thoughts, Uncategorized

Strength, decisions and 9 weeks of deployment down!

May 11, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

So I’ve totally failed at regular blogging. Guilty as charged! I’ve been terrible at commenting on people’s blogs. Guilty again! I truly apologize, because I really do enjoy blogging. Please don’t give up on me! LOL!!!

But I am pouring myself in to my job, my KIDS, and improving my home right now, and that means some things have to give. First being, blogging 3 times each week. It’s rough finding spare time as we all know…so I’ve decided that I’m 99.9% not running the Rockford half marathon on the 22nd of this month. (I originally signed up for the full, and that’s a definite NO). I haven’t trained, because that would mean taking far too much time away from my kids. I’ve never not ran a race that I’ve signed up for, so the pride thing is still nagging at me a little, but I think I am ok with my choice. Who knows, maybe I’ll wake up next weekend and change my mind. Stranger things have happened.

So instead of marathon training, I’ve really jumped in with my weight training while maintaining cardio by running on the treadmill at least 2-3 times per week. I can do this from the comforts of my own home, and that alleviates the guilt of having my 16 year old constantly babysitting her sister. I’m in week two of weight training and am really seeing early results that please me, and make me smile. It’s nice to feel proud of ourselves from time to time, and while running will always be a love of mine, I’ve been lifting weights nearly just as long in my life and it feels good to feel strong again. I’m also planking daily this month still, and I’ve started doing more core work every day.

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So while I started this deployment with high hopes and plans, I am realizing I just need to take things one day at a time. Because you just never know what life will give you on any certain day. And accepting that is tough for someone like me, because I plan…well…everything. Here’s to flying by the seat of my pants! LOL!!!!

Highs for the week are highlighted in photos:

Longest plank this month!

My beautiful daughter’s that took me out to dinner after work, on Mother’s day

Getting stuff ready for care packages for my hubby

My little one made me this for Mother’s day!

Lows for the week were a little all over the place. Without disclosing details I’ll say that the communication with my hubby has been minimal, and I had a really hard time after the kids went to bed on Mother’s day. A good cry fest, and I was feeling a bit better the next day.

I will say, I can proudly add the title of “Plummer” to my list of titles, LOL. Yup, gotta love the deployment curse!!!

Are you a planner? For the Moms, did you have to work on Mother’s day? Do you enjoy weight lifting?

Thanks for your awesome love and support, and patience during this crazy time. I’m with y’all in spirit, I promise, and I will make a better effort to hang out with everyone! ❤

Cheers,

Michelle

Deployment thoughts, Sunday Supper, weekly wrap up

Weekly wrap 4/25-5/1

May 2, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

Well I swore I’d keep posting at least once a week, and even though I really contemplated posting that I’d be taking a break from the blog I decided to slap myself in the face and at least write SOMETHING.

Last week, I worked out….ONCE. Yup. Just once. Did I mention I have a half marathon (of which I originally signed up for the full) coming up in three weeks? #allthesuck

I just had too much on my plate. My work days equate to nearly 10 hours with my commute. Rushing home to pick up kids, go to my dental appt. Tuesday, my kids dental appts. Wednesday and getting my youngest to dance class on Thursday completely consumed the evening of last week, which is usually when I work out. The little bit of free time I had was spent cleaning, doing laundry, making lunches, paying bills and trying not to go nuts all in one breath. So Friday we went out for dinner to start our weekend right. I did however spend the rest of my evening cleaning, but hey, what can you do?

I did decide to cut myself some slack and just have a FUN day with my girls on Saturday. My youngest and I ran errands and took the dog to the groomers while my oldest took her time getting ready (Seriously, HOW does it take TWO hours to shower and get ready??? LOL!!!!).

We picked her up, and headed out to see the movies. We saw The Jungle Book, and it was REALLY good. I was highly impressed with the special effects, and have been told the only “real” thing in the movie was the little boy. WOW! We then ate at one of our new favorite places in Geneva, Hache’. Our food was good, but sadly our service wasn’t on point. We chalked it up to “everyone has a bad day” and will definitely return. My youngest daughter came down before going to bed, and presented me with this. Yes, we had a good cry…#allthefeels

Sunday I decided May is a new month, and I will be holding myself accountable by planking every day. No matter if it’s a minute or five minutes I will do my best each day. I’ll be posting my planks on my FB, so feel free to join in.

My youngest and I finished our puzzle, and we spent the most of Sunday relaxing and doing laundry.

I did bake some yummy trout!!! I simply seasoned with salt and pepper and a little extra virgin olive oil, and added shallots, garlic and lemons and dried basil. Wrap it up in parchment paper and bake at 350 degrees for about 20-25 minutes.

Sunday evening we got our last call for a bit. It was an emotional call, and seeing my husband tear up nearly broke my heart. He has been so strong through all of this, and I suppose a part of me secretly needed to see that he missed us too. Two months down, 10 to go!!!

How was your week? Do you find it difficult to juggle all the things?

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the weekly wrap! Please make sure to head on over and give these amazing ladies some love!

Cheers!

Michelle

Deployment thoughts, food, moving forward, Recipes, weekly wrap up

Going on 7…weekly wrap!

April 24, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

Well, we’re going on 7 weeks down this coming Tuesday. As of late, things have somewhat evened out at least emotionally, that is until last week. See, we are our HUGE inspection at work that gives us our national accreditation and they show up unannounced. Ok, so deep breathes. I walk in to work on Tuesday with the news they’ll be here in an hour. No big deal, right? Its just ONE day, and how bad could it be? Well, when after introductions they announced they’d be inspecting our lab for THREE days. Gulp. Needless to say my long days and still needing to maintain our evening schedules left very little for working out. Good news is, we got through the inspection with only minor write ups that have already been fixed. If stress burned as many calories as working out does, I’d be 10 lbs. lighter after last week. ROFL!!!

Friday my oldest daughter, J, had plans with her friend, so I took my mini for Mani’s and Pedi’s after I picked her up from school and we ran a few errands. We never do things like this, so it was quite the treat.

Saturday J had a mandatory study session at school from 10:15-2:30 so after dropping her off my mini and I went out for breakfast. And guess who we saw?!? Donnie Wahlberg sat RIGHT there at the counter when I was paying for our meal. No, I didn’t take a pic, but YES it totally happened, LOL!!!! Sure, Mark is cuter, but I was star struck nonetheless!

donnoe

Saturday night I was heading to Chicago to watch The Avett Brothers in concert at the Chicago theater with a very dear friend of mine. We headed downtown at around 4 P.M., had dinner at the Public House, and went for drinks at 3 Dots and a Dash before heading to the concert.

I haven’t been “out” in ages, I supposed more so due to guilt because I feel like my kids need me even more now that we are a single parent family. But J said, “Mom, GO! Have FUN!!!” And fun, I had. I smiled the entire evening, and sang my heart out during the concert.

Sunday I really wanted to relax. But, I had my fun last night so yard work trumped my plans of lounging on the couch. I spent 2 hours spreading turf builder and weed killer on my 1.5 acres of land. My arms are truly, officially SMOKED. LOL!!

4.24.yard

Tonight I cooked a simple yet yummy dinner!!!

Here’s the recipe for my Asian inspired chicken. I marinated 4 chicken thighs in soy sauce, garlic powder, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper for 30 minutes. I took 1 bag of baby broccoli and drizzed it with extra virgin olive oil, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1/4 cup of parmesan cheese. Season with salt and pepper and place on a baking sheet, and roast for 40 minutes at 375 degrees. Simply pan fry the chicken (pouring the marinade over the top) in a non stick pan for about 12 minutes or until cooked through. Cut at a diagonal, and serve over your favorite brown rice/quinoa. Top with the roasted broccoli!

4.24.dinner

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the weekly wrap!! Please make sure to check out these (and all the amazing linkers) amazing ladies!!! How was your week? Try any new recipes? Do you have a big yard?

WeeklyWrap

Have a great week!!!!

Cheers!

Michelle

Uncategorized

Weekly Wrap 4/11-4/17

April 17, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

I’ve honestly tried to sit and write a post, for several days. I pour myself a glass of wine, boot up my computer, and stare at the blank screen. And nada…zilch…the words just won’t come to my brain. I assume this is because I am so tired of being sad, and writing about being sad, that I just want to block everything out. I don’t want to write about it, because that will mean I am reliving the tough days, and to be honest I’ve had my fair share of tough days these last 6 weeks.

We filled the week with work/school, workouts, and good food coupled with quality time. J had a very busy week with school and after school activities so the evenings were mostly just me and S. My youngest (S) has been struggling with school, her daddy leaving, and just this age in general. She’s no longer a little, but she’s not a teen yet either. Hearing her teacher tell me she sees her alone, and sometimes in a dark place broke my heart. Because she has always been such a happy little girl.

Monday, Monday…hmmm, what the heck did I do Monday besides go to work? Yikes…I forget.

Tuesday S asked if she could go on a run with me, so of course I said yes. Because I was running 4 miles, she scootered along and we had a blast! It was good to hear her laugh, and see her have a good time. I am really working on keeping her spirits up.

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Wednesday we did a good boot camp workout and I ran 2 miles. (How did I not take ANY pictures…whoops!!)

Thursday S has dance class, so that takes up most of our evening because its a mad rush to pick her up from school, get home to get dinner made and then we change and head out the door. I normally don’t sit down til 8:30, and my day starts at 5:45 am, so needless to say Thursdays I am pretty tired.

Friday after work, the girls and I wore our “Running back” Unit T-shirts my hubby got for us, and we headed out to our favorite Mexican place. After the kids went to bed, my neighbors invited me over for some wine and a bon-fire and it felt so nice to talk to adults. The weeks get pretty lonely, especially the evenings and I catch myself holing up and that’s not good. But I hate to be a burden, and hate to bug people when I know everyone has their own “stuff.”

I finished my Friday by dragging all the these branches to the curb. Keep in mind it’s a good half acre I had to drag them to the curb! I call that winning for cross training.

4.17.5.png

Saturday I decided it was a day of retail therapy. The girls and I headed to Geneva, and stopped by all of our favorite shops, and my very favorite called Denise’s Adornments. We also tried a new restaurant called Al Chulo which is a modern Mexican tapas eatery just outside of Geneva in West Chicago.

Today was supposed to be my run day, but beautiful weather lead to running errands with the top down on my Jeep, and a day filled with cleaning the garage and washing the cars. Sadly with everything going on, something has to give, and for now that is my running. I get it in when I can, but time taking care of my home and my girls is more important. S even was able to have a impromptu play date, so extra winning for us all!

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I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia for the weekly wrap! Please head over and support these amazing women!

WeeklyWrap

How was your week? Do you count yard work/chores as cross training?

Have a great week everyone!!

Cheers!

Michelle

Deployment thoughts

Oops, I did it again…

April 10, 2016April 10, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

I lost my smile…

One of the many reasons I have been struggling with the absence of my husband, is that he makes me smile, daily. The very presence of him, calms me, motivates me, inspires me, etc. When I say, he is my person…he really IS. I don’t have a female “Bestie” or “BFF” like most women do. Sure, I have girl friends but they’ve all got their lives and their friends that they are much closer with so without my husband, I get pretty lonely to say the least.

I was having lunch with my sister on Friday and we were talking about how when my husband talks to his soldiers, the room instantly lights up and you can FEEL how they respond to him. The inspiration in the air is tangible. He is a TRUE leader. He is where he is meant to be in life. And then it hit me. Like a ton of bricks. He does all that for our family too. For the last 5 weeks, you can feel the void left in the house so strongly that sometimes I dread going home after work.

And that sucks.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO because I am tired of these sad, Debbie downer sad posts, I am going to make a list of things that make me smile. Because I need to find my smile again. My kids need me to find it, too.

SnapChat. I made an account a while back, but didn’t understand the purpose of this app. I mean, are you supposed to take selfies of yourself over and over and send them to people? I don’t like pictures of myself, so there’s that, too. So after last week’s YUCK fest I invited my teen to join me for my youngest daughter’s dance class. We had a little fun with SnapChat and by the end of the 1 1/2 hours we were laughing so hard tears were pouring down our faces.

4.10.1 — Like my facial expression? ROFL!!!

My sister. Last week I wanted to literally hole myself up and just forget the world. But she won’t let me, and for that I am forever grateful. She lets me be me, with all my faults and is there for me always. She had my kids spend the weekend with her because 1. I am working all weekend again and that sucks for the kids, and 2. They sure could use a break from reality for a couple days. #sistering

Seeing my husband’s face. I’ve asked him to try and send pictures when he can. Yesterday while I was working, I got this picture to brighten my day.

Support. Between my Mom and my sister checking on me several times each week, to one of the Army wives who texts me every day, along with my friend Andrea who also texts me every night (for the last 5 weeks nearly!!!) “NNT” which has always been our thing (Night Night Termite) when we talk, I feel so very blessed. AND, I came home last Tuesday from work to find my neighbor had mowed my lawn! How awesome is that?While I may not have a female “BFF” I do have a lot of people who make the time to show they care.

4.10.5 — That’s love right there, LOL!!! ❤

Running! Of course! I ran twice last week, and am hoping to get a few miles in tomorrow since it’s my day off! I have concluded that I don’t like the Brooks Launch 3’s as much as the 2’s. The toe box is just a little different, and they don’t have that same airy feel.

Doesn't everyone lounge around the house in their old marathon running shoes? — Doesn’t everyone lounge around the house in their old marathon running shoes?

With that, I bid you all a happy weekend! Tell me something that makes YOU smile?! Ready, GO!

Cheers! ❤

Michelle

Deployment thoughts, firsts, Uncategorized

Week 4…unfortunate firsts and lessons

April 5, 2016April 5, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

In keeping with my “Tuesday firsts” post, I am forcing myself to write, and not give up on the goal I’ve set.

As you read yesterday, for the first time last week, I visited the Art Institute of Chicago. It was REALLY cool, and I love seeing all of the beautiful artwork and reading about the history of Van Gogh’s life. Winning. I also ran for the first time in over a week last night. It was only 2 miles, and it was on the treadmill, but I ran!

week4

Yet while last week was amazing, this week started out darn right terrible. NOTE: If you are looking for an upbeat post, this isn’t it…But I do manage to end on a good note!!

I didn’t sleep Sunday night, yet made it through my work day with little residual damage having been so tired. But during the day I had numerous texts, all from my teen telling me how horrible she felt. Keep in mind, I am not a terrible Mom who isn’t compassionate about her child. That statement couldn’t be farther from the truth. But I AM keen to her past behavior and am well aware of her patterns. Every. Single. TIME. My husband travels, she pulls this…she is too tired, has tummy issues, you name it…anything to NOT go to school. It’s downright maddening because I already have SOOOOOOOOOOOO much on my plate. SOOOO, we of course had a major blow out (not a first), and I can’t even repeat some of the things that were said. Words hurt. And you can’t erase them. Just sayin’…

I am NOT doing so hot at this single Mom gig, I tell you that. And last night, hearing my daughter scream how miserable I make her, multiple times, left me with the heaviest of hearts. So I cried. A lot. Then I parked myself on the bathroom floor while my daughter took a shower, refusing to leave yet sadly wanting to run away as I heard her sob.

We mended things the best we could, but I did not sleep again last night. She did not go to school. And our hearts, are still very heavy. And for the first time in quite a while, I felt defeated. Deflated. And all the other bad D words you can think of. I no longer believed I could do this. And that made me feel like a failure.

Am I ruining my daughter’s spirit? Ugh. I just can’t. I had my spirit ruined back when I was her age due to other circumstances, and it took me nearly 25 years to find it again…Please God, don’t let me be ruining her spirit. How am I going to get through this year?

Simply stated, I have to get through this year. I am left with no choice but to have to keep going. But for the first time I question our ability to get through this in one piece and without shattered spirits. Numerous texts from my sister and Mom last night and today helped, and I can tell you had it not been for my sister, I probably would’ve been sent home today. #sistering

And then I remember. This is just one of the many phases of deployment. Today, I am sad, heartbroken, tired, and feeling so very empty without my person. But tomorrow…tomorrow is a new day. And I have to believe, I have to TRY to believe that I can do this, and do it without too many bumps and bruises. Last night I put in my green light bulb to support the soldiers who are deployed, and I prayed. I prayed. And I prayed some more.

week4door

Thankfully today, after a lot of talking and some rest, I think she’s feeling better and realizes she can’t keep repeated this pattern. #fingerscrossed

Tonight, I decided we needed some Portillos for dinner…because what is life without a good salad and French fries? #balanceright

week4portillos

Week 4/52….22 weeks until our halfway point. Deep. Breaths.

How do you turn a bad situation around? Any firsts you’d like to share?

Thanks for all of the amazing support! Keep on Movin’ forward!

Cheers ❤

Michelle

weekly wrap up

Weekly wrap and Spring break fun 3/28-4/3

April 4, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

For the first time since I have had kids, I took off work for Spring break. I worked last weekend, which means I had last Monday off so technically I only needed to take 4 days of vacation. We didn’t have a ton planned, but we did decide to do at least SOMETHING most of the days, while allowing ourselves 2 days of sheer blissful laziness. I didn’t work out once, and since I am still coming down from a nasty chest cold, I don’t feel very bad about it minus the mental benefits I am missing dearly.

Monday: Doctor appointment for my oldest. Sadly, she takes after me TOO much, and has developed bad headaches/migraines. She of course thinks she is going to die, because when you are 16 everything is dramatic, and breathing is even hard. Needless to say keeping the drama at bay and my nerves somewhat calm has been a challenge. (Note, she was fine ALL week during spring break and today not an hour after school starts I get an “I’m dying” text. Lord help me.)

Tuesday: A day in the city. We took the train down to Chicago with plans to visit the Shedd aquarium but decided to not waste 2 hours of our day in line. Instead we went to lunch, visited The Art Institute, saw our neighbor’s son who goes to school in the city, and finished the day off with a nice dinner.

Wednesday: Lazy day on the couch. We played games, watched movies and just relaxed. It was glorious.

Thursday: Trip to my work and the movies. Since it was my 2 year anniversary at my job, and my kids had never met my coworkers I decided to stop by with my kids and picked up some yummy bakery bread for everyone. After which we headed to see the Batman vs. Superman movie. Despite terrible reviews, we actually enjoyed the movie for the most part.

Friday: Consignment shopping Part 1. My oldest was doing some studying with her friend, so I took my youngest and we headed out to our favorite consignment shops. We both scored a few really cute things, and for a fraction of what we would have paid in the actual stores. I also went through all of my youngest daughter’s clothes and packed up what didn’t fit her anymore. Yes, this pile of clothes is how I entertained myself Friday night. Don’t judge, LOL.

Saturday: Consignment shopping Part 2. Since my oldest was busy the day prior, we took her shopping to Plato’s closet to pick up some Spring/Summer clothes. All while battling the Spring blizzardy sunshiny windy crazy weather, LOL. I then cleaned out my entire closet (minus the shoes) and organized thusly. Ah…how I’ve missed my OCD, LOL. These projects keep my mind busy at least, so that’s a win, right? We also have 4 bags of clothes that we’ve purged, so double win!

Sunday: Crockpot cooking and second lazy day. I woke up fairly early, and made my favorite Chicken soup. The rest of the day was spent mainly on the couch, with a little vacuuming and dusting added in, LOL.

I’m linking up with Holly and Tricia again, and hope you head over and support these amazing woman and all the awesome women that participate!

How was your week? Are you able to take time off work during spring break? Did you go anywhere new/fun?

Cheers! Have a great week!

❤ Michelle

Uncategorized

Week 3…breakdowns and new beginnings

March 29, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

Ok, so I won’t lie. After Tuesday’s post about my light bulb moment describing how I was going to tackle this deployment, my what was a little cough turned in to a full blown chest cold. The 4 miler I did on Tuesday also did me in, and I knew I couldn’t run for at least a few days. Add on a HUGE blow out with my teenager, moments of sitting curled up on my floor in a corner crying as I group texted my Mom and sister hoping they’d save me, and trying to figure out HOW I could save Easter even though I was working all day Saturday and Sunday…and yeah. This girl took a few steps back to say the least.

Me, on weekend duty at the lab. Don’t I look all official, and TIRED? LOL

We decided coloring eggs must happen, and of course last minute Saturday night!

I didn’t work out other than light arm weights a couple times last week after Tuesday. And since my week now starts on a Monday I’ll wrap this up with the weekly wrap with Holly and Tricia.

WeeklyWrap

So if you read last week’s post, you read that I was going to start celebrating firsts. My last week of firsts goes a little like this…

I took my daughter’s window shopping for the first time in ages. As in, we aren’t buying anything we don’t NEED and are just going to enjoy each other’s company while having fun looking at fun and pretty things.

Hats, all the hats, always!

Because Tiera’s always make us smile

We spent Easter at our neighbors house for the first time, and I felt so blessed they welcomed us over after I got home from work.

We went to the city today. By ourselves. Ok, this was a second time solo for us, but still, lol! And we ate at two new restaurants (Flat top grill for a quick light lunch, and Osterio Via Stato for dinner), and visited the Art Institute of Chicago for the first time even though we’ve lived here for almost 5 years.

For the first time in a few weeks, I finally felt like cooking. Wasn’t fancy, but yummy!

week3food — polish sausage, sweet potato yumminess!

And for the first time but not the last time, I cried and screamed saying I couldn’t do this, and patted myself on the back saying YES I CAN! lol! Welcome to my rollercoaster!

This coming week I hope to get back on a workout schedule despite my cough, and continue to move forward with building a routine.

We’re now 3/52 weeks down in this deployment….23 weeks to our halfway point!!!!

How was your week? How do/did you celebrate Easter?

Cheers!

Michelle

Tuesday Firsts, Uncategorized

Marathons and Deployments and how I tackle both with a similar strategy!

March 22, 2016March 23, 2016 Movin' it with Michelle

I had posted to my FB just last night that I was excited that tomorrow (today) marked week 2 of 52. I have found that counting down by DAYS is far too mentally challenging in regards to my husband’s homecoming. I mean, really, seeing 300+ days on my countdown app is quite disheartening to say the least. A friend of mine, and fellow blogger Hanna over at The Millennial next door pointed out that 52/2 is 26. And we all know that 26 (.2) miles is the marathon distance. And suddenly the light bulb went on. Light bulb!!!

I have always prided myself in regards to distance running. I am by far NOT a fast runner. BUT…I can sure run far. My mental strength has always gotten me through, in all aspects of life, really… Last year’s full marathon was a mental feat of strength in and of itself, and I will forever boast about how proud I am of my sister for not quitting. We were out on that road, in the cold, in the rain, in the drizzly fog that felt like little ice pellets poking us in the eyes by the 6^th hour. But. We finished. We are some pretty tough chickadees.

So what does all this have to do with my husband’s deployment? Well, I am going to break up the time into chunks, just like I do the distances of my long runs/races. I count back as well as celebrate the time already completed. For example, if I have to run 12 miles, I break it down to running 6 miles, twice….but once I get to the half way point of 6 miles, I then count down…5 miles to go, 7 miles in the books, and so on and so forth. It sounds like a lot of math and we all know runners brain isn’t the sharpest, but it keeps me focused and it keeps me feeling strong. It has worked for me, nearly every single race. I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to a bad training run or race. We’re only human right!

So my friends, every Tuesday we will have our deployment marathon countdown, filled with at least ONE first that occurred during that week. I encourage you to post a “first” each week to the comments as well! Challenge yourself to try new things, listen to new music, read a new book, cook a new recipe! The options are limitless!

This week, we mailed our first care package to my husband (yesterday) and today I mailed him his first 5 lb. back of Atomic fireball candy, LOL. I also challenged myself by taking the first steps in obtaining my professional license in Florida. One can never be too prepared, right?

10401263_10153892735540781_7675556968745240390_n — First package, MAILED!

We have survived 2 weeks of him being gone, 24 weeks until our halfway mark with 48 weeks to go. I will admit, that nearly every single day so far has been a roller coaster. I sometimes start off rough, and even out as the day goes along. My routine is fairly set, but sometimes little things that normally wouldn’t push my buttons nearly send me through the roof. So tonight when I was contacted by Cascia from Healthy Mom’s magazine that I was listed in the top 100 running blogs, it was just the boost I needed to get out the door running tonight. You can find the list HERE, please go check out these amazing blogs for more inspiration!!!

12095046_1121301677912956_6017511235057450050_o — Tonight’s run-ingested several bugs, had to stop and cough up lung cookies several times, and my legs felt like bricks the first 3 miles. BUT. I ran. Did you?

SO who’s with me in regards to a new “First” every week? How do you tackle long distance challenges-both in life and in running?

Thanks everyone, you’ve all been amazing through this difficult time!!!

❤

Michelle

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