Run for your life

So, I have to brag a little here. (If you have already heard about this, please exercise patience-I know, I know, you've probably heard about it MORE than once too) Anyway, I have started jogging. Now, if you know me well at all, you will know that exercise has not been a part of my daily regimine for......well, ever-ok? there you made me say it. I have NEVER exercised regularly. But, about a month ago, I tried, just for the heck of it to jog around my block (which is just over .5 miles) Guess what, I could NOT jog the whole way around w/out stopping. And when I got back to the house, I nearly vommited. And really did vommit after a subsequent run. Well, this started me thinking about the health of my heart and lungs who would start to burn merely at the thought of running-I would wheez, caugh, sputter, gag, shake and feel light headed after .5 miles. So, I said to myself, "self, this is RIDICULOUS. You are a young, active, healthy 25 year old woman. You are at your prime-and THIS is all you can do? Man UP!" So, I am starting out small (1-1.5 miles/night). I know it's not much. My goal is to build up to where I can run at least 5 miles w/out stopping. But for now, I am pleased as punch with my steady progress in the ease of being able to run that one mile. I imagine the fat around my heart melting away as I jog. I have been very dilligent to run it EVERY night. And now, it's becoming a little ritual for me. An emotional release, where I can either talk to myself, sing, think or NOT think. I love it. I am feeling more balanced and confident in myself. I can do hard things. I just keep telling myself that. What do you guys do that you are proud of in your life that makes you feel like you can do hard things?

Tradition!

I've been thinking a lot about traditions lately and how important they are in building and keeping family/friend ties close. I think that there is something really neat about having a tradition that you do with your friends/family. It can be anything from going somewhere to eat regularly to playing games on Tuesday nights to gathering together to watch General Conference. Just anything to make you feel like you are a part of something special. I want to start making a special effort to recognize the traditions that I have and start a few new ones this season. Here are some of my favorite traditions both w/ my family and friends from over the years:

1. One semester of college, I made a new group of friends from a late night English class that we all had together. We were sort of an unlikely group of people, but somehow we bonded. And we started going to a restaurant called Coco's after class to have breakfast for dinner. It was a short-lived tradition, but really fun.

2. As a little girl, one of my FAVORITE traditions was getting to stay home from school to decorate the house for Christmas with mom. One day after Thanksgiving, mom would sneakily ask me if I wanted to stay home from school to help her decorate the house. Now, this was a VERY unusual occasion for her b/c normally if I stayed home from school-no matter how sick I was-I had to clean, just to be sure that I wasn't staying home to have fun. So, this one day a year when she let me off the hook, became such a fun day. We'd get out the Christmas boxes full of decorations, iron ribbons to hang on the tree, polish ornaments, hang stockings and listen to Christmas music to our hearts content. I just remember feeling like a little elf getting to assist my mom in the wondrous transformation that occurred when she turned our house into a winter wonderland. This is definately a tradition that I will keep up with my daughters.

3. Christmas Hike. Our family has the tradition of going on a hike on Christmas day after all the presents are opened. I never thought about how unusual this tradition is until Morgan pointed out that most places are way too cold/covered in snow on Christmas to go on a hike. So, that is a plus of being in Vegas for Christmas!

4. Emerald Salad. For as long as I can remember, a dish called Emerald Salad has been served ONLY at Thanksgiving time in my family. Now, I won't divulge the secret-passed-down through the generations-recipe for this dish, but sufficed to say, it is yummy. I look forward to having this each year and have actually inherited the Emerald Salad making duty in our family. (To all those who attended the JPM Thanksgiving, sorry it didn't set up-something went very wrong and it ended up soupy)

5. Monday Night Baseball. My senior year of high school, my friends and I had a tradition to play baseball in the fields near Sam Boyd Stadium every monday night after fhe. They boys were really good and serious about the game, but the girls were mostly there to socialize and have fun. The tradition almost always included a trip to Jack in the Box for a milkshake afterwards.

What are some of your traditions?