Day 138: New Year's Eve

A year ago today I was flying to North Carolina to spend a long weekend with my other half...we were in the car driving at midnite so I didn't even get a kiss but that was ok because we were actually getting to spend 4 days together. This was very exciting considering we hardly ever saw one another. I live in Kentucky and he was stationed at Fort Bragg. Fast forward a year to today, we've been apart now 138 days. I haven't even seen him through webcam that entire time because where he's stationed doesn't have good internet. That's alright because in 2.5 weeks he will be home! I've got so much to do between now and then...for starters finding the keys to his truck...whoops misplaced both sets!

I'm looking forward to what 2010 will bring. I'm going to focus more on training and improving all aspects of my running. So far I only have 1 race planned...a half marathon on April 11th. I really wanted to do the full but with coaching during the spring there's no possible way for me to train. However, softball ends at the end of May/beginning of June and I'm debating on training for a marathon in October. I'd also like to do the mini in Chicago at the beginning of August. My number one goal for running for 2010 is to do 1000+ miles.

Hope everyone enjoys their New Years! I'm heading to spend time with my best friend, her hubby and adorable 2 year old early tomorrow morning. She's in her 2nd year of medical school so we don't get to see each other that often. Besides spending time with her we're going to make a visit to Fleet Feet. I'm really excited about getting a new pair of running shoes! And maybe we'll stop by the Cheesecake Factory too!

Birthday

Today is my nephew's 11th birthday...this morning on the way to work I reflected back on the past 5.5 years. I got a little teary eyed. I almost can't believe that him and my niece have been with us that long and have spent that many birthdays without their parents. It also made me think about how many things in life they still have to go through without their parents...turning 16 and learning how to drive, prom, high school graduation, dating, heartbreaks, marriage, etc. It breaks my heart to know they won't get the normal experience like all their friends, so if I overdue on gifts for their birthdays and Christmas I tell myself it's perfectly ok. So tonight we're going to celebrate and go to dinner at his choice (the local pizza place with all sorts of greasiness...i'll just have to run a little extra!)

Waiting

I'm sitting in my office hoping and praying our President comes around at 4:00 this afternoon to tell the few of us that are actually here to go home. My boss took an 1.5 lunch and left at 3:00...must be nice! There's plenty I need to be doing outside of working...my family makes it a tradition to eat at Moonlight, so that's on the agenda for tonight. Then my mom and I are going to pick up a few last minute items for xmas and I need to get a good run in too. That will probably happen around 10:00 PM. I'm hoping the rain holds off so I can get an early morning run in before all the festivities start tomorrow, but at least I'm looking at a four day weekend...woohoo!

Wishing all the soldiers (including my hubby), that don't get to spend it with their families, have a safe Christmas.

Oh and for all you Twilight Saga lovers...my husband informed me yesterday that he has a copy of New Moon on his hard drive...needless to say I'm extremely jealous and looking forward to burning a copy when he's home in January!!!

Young Athletes

Can anyone please explain to me what's wrong with the young athletes today? I have been so disappointed in my returning players during this first month of conditioning. First and foremost the fact they have been skipping it all together. It has always been known if you're a returning player it is expected for you to show up and not miss unless there was a reasonable excuse. Where did the desire and drive go in young kids today? They refuse to work hard and expect it to just be handed to them...I really don't understand. I guess it's just a different generation than when I played.

Comments, suggestions, opinions????

That time of year

It's almost Christmas time, but this one won't be a happy one. I'm celebrating alone this year as my husband doesn't get to come home. It's probably for the best because it's only a matter of days before my grandmother will no longer be with us. The Hospice nurse told us several days ago she only had 4 days or so left but that she's a fighter and she's trying to hold on for Christmas. I hope she makes it that long.

I finally finished my Christmas shopping today!!! Thank goodness...I'm such a scrooge I know but I really can't wait for the holidays to be over. However, I did buy my dad a kettlebell so I can't wait to try it out! I'm starting to feel unmotivated in my runs because I loathe the treadmill...and the weather was terrible here this weekend...I look forward to my weekends because that's when I get to run outside in the daylight but I was forced to run on the treadmill...I'm hoping the weather turns better for the four days I'm off this week so I can get the opportunity to run outside.

Hope you had a good weekend!

What a day...

I knew my day was off to a great start when I stopped for gas on my way to work this morning. As I was standing trying to hurry the process along because it was 20 degrees outside, I glanced down to notice I'm standing in dip spit, there were 10 different "piles" really close together. I was absolutely furious! On a positive note it was mostly frozen and only very little got on my shoes but that's not the point here! Can you believe how inconsiderate some people are to spit their nasty tobacco juice where people must stand to pump their gas? My dear husband has this nasty habit too...not the spitting in inappropriate places but the nasty tobacco habit. He tried quitting for me before being deployed but he's had a fat lip in every picture I've seen of him from Afghanistan. I understand him needing some way to relax/de-stress over there, but let's hope that the 15 days we get to spend together in January he won't feel the need to have that in his mouth!

Now with an hour left of work things have finally slowed down! And no softball conditioning tonight...too bad I need to get a little something to go with my secret pal gift for tomorrow and my nephew has a test I have to help him study for. I really need to get on the treadmill for about 2 hours to run off all the chocolate I ate today.

Happy Hump Day!

Where did the weekend go?

I'm not really sure where my weekend went...I need another couple of days. Friday night I left early from work to pick up my niece and nephew to meet my dad at the hospital. My uncle was admitted last week...he's having a triple bypass and a valve replacement this morning. So needless to say we spent most of the weekend at the hospital and at my grandparents. We're hoping my grandma can hang on a few more weeks and get through Christmas. I managed to get a little xmas shopping in too...I'm almost done with the exception of my hubby. I've gotten him a few things but I'm waiting until after xmas to do his shopping....I'm really hoping for really good deals. And since he won't be home until sometime in late January/February he won't ever know the difference. I also managed to squeeze in a few workouts too. My niece and I braved the cold on Saturday for 3.5 miles...I believe it was 38 degrees when we started so not as cold as the previous weekend! I planned on running outside Sunday too, but I wussed out and got on the treadmill instead.

Hope your weekend was better than mine...

Sending Mail Overseas

Go figure, I sent hubby two boxes on Monday and my mom sent him two packages too and guess what I got today...an email from the FRG saying his address had changed. He has been telling me there was a possibly that they were moving for the past few weeks but it never happened and I wanted to get boxes to him before the holidays so I went ahead and mailed it to stand a chance. Good thing I didn't take a chance and send something expensive in them just incase he moved. Hopefully they eventually make it there.

My workout was rough tonight...my legs just didn't want to move...they felt like they weighed a hundred pounds a piece...hopefully the rest of the week will go better...

Running on Empty

I am so exhausted...could it be that I don't seem to sleep much any more, or the fact I started working out again and did 10 straight days without taking a day off, or that my days have gotten really long with my real job then tutoring after that for an hour then an hour and a half of softball conditioning and then working out after that, or that I had to go into work an hour early for the blood drive I'm in charge of, or that my iron was really low...I wasn't even able to donate this time around. Needless to say I'm run down and going to bed early tonight.

Hubby and I have been apart almost 4 months now...mid-tour leave can't get here soon enough!

Much Better Day

Ok, so today was a much better day. My boss was still gone on business so work wasn't too bad. Unfortunately she'll be back tomorrow but I'll have a pretty busy day so hopefully she'll stay out of my hair. My girls are working really hard at conditioning...I know it's only the 2nd week but I hope they keep up the effort. I can't wait to see what some of these girls can do on the softball field.

My workout was good tonight...25 minute interval training. I wish I had more time to dedicate to training. I'll have to wait until June gets here to really push myself. From the middle of February until the beginning of June softball will be 5-6 days a week, 2-3 hours a day. I'm still going to try to get a mini accomplished in April...we'll see how that goes.

The waiting game begins again...

In a Funk

Do you ever have those days where nothing seems to go your way? Everything seems wrong and nothing seems right. I know I should be elated that I heard from my husband yesterday and today (and don't get me wrong I was happy to hear his voice) it just seemed everything we talked about turned into little disagreements. I don't know what it was. I guess it's the time we've been away from one another, almost 4 months now. He doesn't have much to say and doesn't want to talk a lot about things which is fine. It's just sometimes it feels he's keeping things from me...maybe it's me being paranoid. I've been in some really bad relationships and we didn't get off to a great start. I really can't wait until February, it'll put my mind at ease.

Freezing Cold

What a workout this morning. My old softball buddy bailed on me...can't say I blame her. It was 33 degrees this morning and she decided to sleep in. I did drag my niece with me. It was my first time running in this cold weather this year and my lungs are feeling it. Got a long way to go but at least I'm trying to push my body to give more...and my calves are screaming at me now!

Hubby called last night around midnight! Thankfully I was still awake watching Sons of Anarchy otherwise I probably wouldn't have heard the phone. It was great to finally hear his voice...until next time...

Productive Day

I helped my mom put up their tree this morning after a good morning run. Then back to my house to do laundry (my least favorite chore) and a little cleaning. Then off to do a little xmas shopping with my mom. We had hoped to get done this weekend but that's not going to happen. Now off to watch a few episodes of Sons of Anarchy with my dad before catching some zzz's before tomorrow's workout with an old softball friend.

Hubby didn't call today but I did get to chat with him through email for a little while...better than nothing!

Done!

Woohoo...I just got my project sent out the door with FedEx! I've never been more excited to get something done than now. I just hope it's finished and they rule in our favor and that's the end of it. I just hope it doesn't end up going to Federal Court. There will be a lot more research to be done if that happens...crossing my fingers it doesn't! I think I'm going to celebrate with a glass of wine tonight...maybe two! But only after my workout of course.

Still no call from hubby...there's always tomorrow

Long Day

Wow it feels like it's been one of the longest days. I've been working so hard on a project at work and when we turned it into our lawyers for them to go over with a fine tooth comb before turning it into the opposing lawyers. I have to send it to them tomorrow so it arrives on Monday. Tonight I get a call at 7:30 that says our lawyers never received the documents. Geez, now I've got to resend everything to him tomorrow then fix what corrections they find and get it sent out! Bring on 5:00 Friday afternoon and maybe a margarita!

Oh and still no phone call from hubby...still waiting

Long Way To Go

Just finished my workout for today...32 minutes 2.27 miles...I've got a long way to go to get back in shape...but I guess it's better than nothing. I've been reading a lot of inspirational blogs that have motivated me beyond where I've been before. I've never been so excited to train before! Can't wait to see what the next several months bring...

Conditioning with my softball team has been going very well...the girls are all working very hard, a little talkative but what can you expect with a group of 30+ teenage girls. I can't wait until our season starts in March. We finished as the Region Runner-Up last year and we should be a much better team this year!

Can't wait to hear from my hubby...gotta love the waiting game :(

Panera Bagels

My morning didn't start off on a good note...I over slept! But somehow I still managed to get to work 15 minutes early! To my surprise a vendor brought in Panera bagels this morning...I rushed to the kitchen and snatched the last Cinnamon Crunch bagel in the the box! It must be my lucky day. I'm going to overlook the fact that wasn't exactly on my diet I started two days ago :) A girl's gotta indulge every now and then!

If you've never tried one of these bagels, I would highly recommend.

Not a good time of year

This has got to be the worse time of the year for my family...two years ago we hospitalized my nephew for 4 weeks due to some psychological problems. Tonight in between work and my first night of softball conditioning he had another episode similar to what had him "committed" before. I believe it was his bipolar disorder flaring up but it was almost scary to witness. Then on top that we've had several deaths in our family during this time of year. It sure would be nice to have a happy holiday season.

On a good note...conditioning went good tonight. I have a feeling that the majority of them will be very sore tomorrow morning. Wonder how many of them won't come back tomorrow...

Where did the last four days go???

Well I certainly can't believe it's already Sunday night...I'm not ready for a new work week to start. Not only is it another work week but softball conditioning starts tomorrow. Not looking forward to dealing with about 40 teenage girls...anyone want to trade places with me? It hopefully won't go too bad. I hope any way.

We finally had our family time at the movies. Old Dogs, another great movie. We missed all the previews and didn't get to sit together because we got there so late!

I started my training today...mini marathon in April. It'll be my 2nd one. The first was in October 2008. I had originally planned on doing the Walt Disney Marathon in January 2010...I had even done about 2.5 months of training when I decided I didn't want to use my vacation time to fly to Orlando to compete in the race. It would be wasting time I'd get to spend with my hubby when he comes home on R&R and when his deployment is over next fall...we plan on taking a long vacation...the honeymoon we never got. We got married on June 27th and he deployed August 15th. Can't wait!

Go Cats!

Well tonight was suppose to be a family night of a movie (Old Dogs) and dinner with my parents and niece and nephew. We still haven't made it to the movie and I don't see that happening tonight considering it's almost 9:00. My dad wanted to watch the start of the UK football game but we thought it'd be a blow out...it's not! The Cats are only down by 3 at the start of the 4th quarter! At least during the game I got my online Safety class for softball done. I've only known about it for 3 months and it had to be done before Monday...nothing like procrastination!

Back to the game...GO CATS!!!

Game Plan Time

With Thanksgiving dinner over and the kids in their rooms, it's time to plan our strategy for the chaotic madness tomorrow morning that is known as Black Friday. My mom and I have made this a tradition for the past 4 years. I'm just thankful this year we don't have any big ticket items we have to fight in line for...whew thank goodness! We started our shopping last weekend so we might be able to finish tomorrow except for a few small things.

Good luck to all of you who are braving the chaos in the wee hours of the morning...try to stay warm!

Tick Tock

Well I've officially started my count down for my 4 day holiday weekend...t-minus 30 minutes! My hubby has helped the afternoon fly by...thankfully, for me anyway, he couldn't sleep so he's been IMing me all afternoon. Not the same as hearing his voice but it was a much needed talk. I miss the days of being able to text him all day while I was at work...those days will be back here before I know it. These next 6.5 months are going to fly by because softball starts on Monday (well conditioning for those who are up to my workouts)...I'm so not prepared. Last year I had the first 3 weeks worth of workouts done a month ahead of time. Not the story this year...I've been traveling so much for my real job I haven't been able to even think softball...but I do have a four day weekend to plan!

I've been reading a lot of lists for what others are thankful for, so here's a few things I am thankful for:

1. Family that supports me through anything.
2. My husband.
3. The men and women that serve our country day in and day out.
4. Having a job in this economy.
5. Being able to pay all our bills on time every month.
6. Having friends that have my back no matter what.
7. My niece and nephew who have lost so much.
8. My brother who saved my life (his death brought me out of a 10 year depression - however, I'd give anything to take his place so his kids could have one parent back)
9. My dad for always pushing my to be my best.
10. Kodiak - my Alaskan Malamute
11. My mom for being the rock that has held our family together

Happy Thanksgiving to you and your families.

Frustrated

Ok...well I know I'm overreacting but it still really frustrates me. The past couple of weeks I've only been hearing from my husband (AJ) once a week...they're in a very remote area. This past Saturday was that day. Well this morning he IM'd my phone (at 5 AM)...he was at kaf so he had a 30 minute time limit on the computer...in that 30 minutes he only sent 5 messages and I finally woke up for the last one but by the time I responded I assume he had already gotten off. But I thought to myself at least I'll have an email waiting for me at work. Well I got to work early hoping to read an email from him responding to one of the 20 I'd sent him since the last time he'd been online. And to my surprise I had nothing. Needless to say I was very disappointed...I'm trying not to be mad but I guess I'm hurt more than mad. And on top of that he tells me he spent a little more money on a bag and more socks...well he spent $400 dollars...who spends that much money at one time while they're deployed! Needless to say I'm not too happy about that either! I don't want to argue with him about money but he tends to spend more than he has. I just recently paid off all his debt bills that we weren't aware he had from 2003...the week after he deployed his mother brought over all his mail...he'd been getting these notices for a long time and you want to know what she did...ripped them up and trashed them. I was in complete shock...she could have paid all these off his last deployment. That's a whole other issue I don't want to get into now.

Tough Decisions

Last night my dad and his sisters made the decision to bring in Hospice for my grandma...I believe this should have been done weeks ago. She is 90 years old, refuses to eat, drink or take her meds, is in kidney failure and hasn't gotten out of bed for roughly two months now maybe longer except when she's been taken to the hospital every other week. She's lived a long and healthy life and she's ready to go...she's been saying she doesn't know why she's still here. I know why...there are a few in my family that haven't been ready. Most of them have now excepted it and have said their goodbyes. I worry about how it's going to affect my niece and nephew...their parents were killed in a car accident 5.5 years ago...they were in the car too. They've experienced a few deaths since then and haven't handled it well. The girl (I'll call her T) feels she can't let herself love anyone any more because every time she does they die. The boy (W) has a hard time grasping things...he's almost 11 and is on meds for ADHD, Bipolar, Seizures, and has a learning disability (there's a possibility as he goes through puberty he will "grow" out of some of that...we can only hope).

But now my family and I have to begin the waiting game of watching her lay there and die...

Reality of War

ok...so i'm new to the blogging world...so please bear with me until I get the hang of this...

When did the war become real to you...can you remember the exact day or event? Was it the day the Twin Towers collapsed? Or when your husband, wife, son, or daughter deployed to the Middle East? Hearing your loved one's voice for the first time since being in a war zone?

The night it became real to me...
I was out with some friends that were in town for the weekend and unexpectedly received a call from my husband...I hurried outside so I could hear him better...we chit chatted for a while and then he told me...he and his guys had hit an IED...he assured me he was fine and no one had gotten hurt but the reality of what could have happened hit me like a ton of bricks...believe me I prayed and thanked God he and his guys were safe

Until his return home I will continue to pray daily that he stays safe and unharmed...