Running in the New Year

The end of 2010 concludes our year of running. At the beginning of last year, the hubby and I decided that we would start running and soon we dedicated ourselves to running one 5k a month. We began our New Year's resolution in March, and I am proud to report that the only month I missed was July and that's only because there were no 5ks to participate in (I think because of the sweltering heat here in the South).

Come March we were well conditioned and ready to go. On March 20, we participated in our first ever 5k. I must admit that I was a bit nervous. I never participated in a 5k before and I wasn't familiar with the logistics. But everything turned out fine and I actually placed second in my age group. My very first 5k and I won a trophy! Can you believe that?

In April, there weren't a lot of 5ks to choose from so we ran in a 2 mile. There was also a 10k that day but we weren't even going to delve into that. We thought those people were out of their minds for running so far. Overall, the hubby placed second with a time of 14:09.

In May, we were able to participate in a 5k right in our hometown. Out of 209 people the hubby came in 17th place. I was so proud of him. And we both placed third in our age groups.

In June, I participated in the Sweat'n Oil 5k (the hubby said he gave up running for the summer because it's so dang hot). It was a really great run but it was really REALLY hot! And again I placed in my age group.

In August, we both ran in the Diamondhead 5k. I have to say that race was the hardest one I've ever run. Diamondhead, Miss. is full of hills and the humidity that day was killer (see how red our faces are). I did place third in my age group though.

September was full of fun runs. The hubby completed his first duathlon where he ran 2 miles, kayaked 2 miles and ran another 2 miles. He did an awesome job and finished in 57:20. Also that month, we competed in the annual Volkslauf 5.5 mile mud run. It was so diry and so much fun! We are definitely going back next year.

In October, we did the Halloween Hustle 5k. It was at night and the path was lit up with luminary bags. It was really nice but I didn't where my glasses and I really can't see in the dark. Needless to say the only reason I ran it so fast was because I was trying to keep up with the guy in the white shirt in front of me so I wouldn't get lost (yikes!). The hubby and I both placed in our age groups.

In November, we ran in the 20th Annual Mississippi Coast 5k. It was FREEZING! I think it was about 35 degrees during the run (which is really cold for South Mississippi), and I don't think either of us even broke a sweat. I placed second in my new age group, 25-29 year old females.

After all the running we did we decided to end the year with a bang. We actually competed in our first 10k in December! I am proud to say that the hubby finished in 66th place with a time of 49:20 and I finished in 177th place (hey, no complaining here) with a time of 1:02:29. I remember thinking back in April that a 10k seemed so far, but it really wasn't bad.

We definitely accomplished a new resolution and we will continue running. In fact, the hubby is signed up to compete in an ultramarathon (that's right, I said ultra) in March. Him and five teammates will run 126 miles from Baton Rouge to New Orleans. I'm so excited for him!

But what will my new year's resolution be for the upcoming year? I guess I need to figure that out soon...

'Tis the Season...

'Tis the season for giving. The holidays give people a wonderful opportunity to spend time with family and friends, celebrate the birth of our savior, Jesus Christ, eat lots of great food, decorate trees and homes, give and receive awesome gifts, ride around and look at all the pretty lights and bake cookies and make gingerbread houses.

But sadly it also becomes a time of stress and depression for those who cannot experience all these simple luxuries that so many people take for granted during the Christmas season. Many people cannot afford to succumb to the societal pressures that the commercialization of Christmas has created, while others simply don't have a family to celebarate the holidays with.

That's why I, along with many others, like to think of this time of year as a time of giving. A girl I went to college with once said that her family alternates years for when they give and when they receive. Every other year they take all of the money they would have spent on Christmas and buy gifts for a family in need. I think this is a wonderful way to be completely selfless during the holiday season. And while it may be a little too late to dedicate yourself to something like this there are many other ways to give this time of year.

Sure you can always donate to Toys for Tots or the Christmas Tree Angel program but there are so many other ways to help and many other people who need help this year. I have compiled a list of things you can do with family and friends to contribute to the season of giving...

Christmas 2009

(1) Get in touch with your local bishop, pastor or priest to find a family in need. You can buy gifts and food for the family and have fun delivering the goodies on Christmas Eve in a hit and run.

(2) You know that old lady down the street that's always yelling at you to keep your dog off her lawn? Well, she deserves love too. You can bring her a warm meal or cookies. You can leave it anonymously or stick around and give her an ear to talk to.

(3) Cover someone's meal at a restaurant. It's as simple as requesting a $10 gift card for the people standing behind you at McDonald's or asking the waiter to let you cover the bill for another family seated in the restaurant. This simple act of kindness will definitely lift someone's spirit and hopefully encourage them to "pay it forward."

(4) Pets need love too during the holidays. Animal shelters around the nation are being overcrowded with with cats and dogs, especially as the economy continues to worsen and people are having to choose feeding their kids over feeding their pets. Shelters are non-profit organizations that work solely from donors. You can either spend a Saturday feeding and walking the animals and cleaning the kennels or you can offer a monetary donation to help get them through the next year.

(5) Invite someone you don't know that well over for dinner. You never know what friendships can be born over a simple meal. The hubby and I used to be so caught up with our busy lives that we never took time to make new friends. Shamefully, a new couple that moved into our ward invited us to have dinner with them instead of the other way around. Now we are great friends and the hubby and I take more opportunities to do the same with others.

Christmas 2007

(6) Whatever happened to Christmas caroling? This is something that my family did often when I was growing up. I remember knocking on the door of an elderly woman one night and as we belted into O Holy Night you could actually feel the shock and excitement beaming from her face. And she made us stick around for milk and cookies so it was definitely worth braving the cold. As I have grown older I see less and less of this but I say let's bring it back this year!

(7) Bake cookies for your neighbors. These days we live so close to one another yet we hardly know eachother. Take time this season to reach out to those who live around you by leaving a yummy gift in their mailbox or on their doorstep.

(8) Visit a nursing home on Christmas Day. Sure it's nice to relax and hang out with family and friends this day, but sadly there are many people living in nursing homes who don't get any visitors all year long. Make their day by taking an hour or two to share yourself or your family with them.

(9) Leave some baked goodies for the garbage men. It's a dirty job but somebody has to do it. Why not make their job a little more pleasant by leaving them a present? This is something that my grandmother has always done every year and I think it's a great way to show these people that you really appreciate what they do.

(10) Do you know a couple who could really use a break from the kids or who need to get away to do a little Christmas shopping? The holidays can be hard on parents with young kids but you can help lighten their load. Offer to babysit one night so that the couple can enjoy a nice date together. And as an added bonus, clean the house while their gone.


Christmas 2006

(11) Did you forget something and need to pick it up last minute on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day? Give the cashier a tip at the check-out. It doesn't have to be money, it can be as simple as adding a candy bar to your check-out list. Give it to them and tell them how much you appreciate the sacrifice they're making to make your life a little easier.

(12) Do you see a homeless person walking in the cold but are too scared to give them a lift? You don't have to. Call a cab and pay them in advance to take them as far as the payment will go. You may also offer them directions to the nearest homeless shelter.

There are tons of ways to show you care this Christmas season and lots of them won't cost you a penny. Don't procrastinate...the holiday season is already here. And I guarantee you that you'll walk away feeling even better than those you served :)

Peace Begins with a Dialogue

Read here >>>> Hiker Freed from Tehran Prison: Time for U.S.-Iran Ties

Sarah Shourd, her boyfriend at the time and one of their good friends were hiking in Iraq in July 2009 when they were arrested by Iranian officials who said they had crossed the border. Accused of espionage, the three spent 410 days together in a Tehran prison before Sarah was freed on humanitarian grounds. Sarah's boyfriend, Shane, proposed to her while they were in prison and him and his friend still remain imprisoned in Iran.

Sarah and Shane. Photo courtesy of news.com.au.

Since Sarah was freed, she has spoken about her experience many times. In her interviews and speeches she never speaks poorly about the Iranian people. Instead she calls for both the U.S. and Iran to open a better dialogue between them.

Sarah and Shane lived in Demascus for a year teaching English to refugees and practicing journalism, respectively. Both, truly believed in the possibility of creating a bridge between the two cultures through their humanitarian efforts. Their time spent there was an effort to embrace the Middle Eastern/Muslim culture and share it with it with those who were interested, which eventually led to their friend's visit in July.

Many people believe that Sarah and her friends were merely improsined due to political tensions between the two countries. In fact, two witnesses claim that the hikers were not in Iran territory at all but were in fact kidnapped from Iraq. The U.S. has no current diplomatic relations with Iran and has resorted to communicating with Iranian officials through Sweden.

Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal and Sarah Shourd. Photo courtesy of http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/.



Sarah has become an advocate for improving relations between the two nations so that nothing like this will ever happen again. She stated, "I don't believe that the animosity between Iran and the United States is an insuperable obstacle; it's the responsibility of all governments to engage diplomatically, regardless of their differences, and when they can't or don't, it is their people who suffer the most."

I agree with Sarah and I believe that maintaining an open dialogue with anyone, whether it be between governments, family members, friends, spouses, etc., keeps peace at the forefront of a relationship. What do you think?

100 Books to Read in Your Life

My aunt recently sent me a list of 100 books you should read in your lifetime. Now that I'm finished with all my college classes (you heard me right...FINISHED!) I'm beginning a new adventure. I want to read and own (hardback only please) every book on the list. I can just see my bookshelves now filled with all the greatest literary works...*sigh*.

Although I'm extremely turned off to fantasy books I will at least read the first book in the series. (I apologize to all my Twlight, Harry Potter fanatics. Plus, I know Aunt J will be proud :) Besides, reading only the first book brings my total to exactly 100.

Here's the list if you would like to join me on this adventure...

A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens

I think I'll begin with this one...since it's Christmas time and all :)

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien
Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte
Harry Potter series, by J.K. Rowling
To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
The Holy Bible (I have started this but would rather stick to the BOM because it's so much easier.)
Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte
Nineteen Eighty Four, by George Orwell
His Dark Materials, by Philip Pullman
Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens
Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott
Tess of the D'Urbervilles, by Thomas Hardy
Catch-22, by Joseph Heller
Complete Works of Shakespeare (Oh boy, this will be a doozy! For those of you wondering, it includes 42 pieces of work that are basically written in a foreign language.)
Rebecca, by Daphne Du Maurier
The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien
Birdsong, by Sebastian Faulks
Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
The Time Traveler's Wife, by Audrey Niffenegger
Middlemarch, by George Eliot
Gone with the Wind, by Margaret Mitchell
The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Bleak House, by Charles Dickens
War and Peace, by Leo Tolstoy
The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams
Brideshead Revisited, by Evelyn Waugh
Crime and Punishment, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Grapes of Wrath, by John Steinbeck
Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Carroll
The Wind in the Willows, by Kenneth Grahame
Anna Karenina, by Leo Tolstoy
David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens
Chronicles of Narnia, by C.S. Lewis
Emma, by Jane Austen
Persuasion, by Jane Austen
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, C.S. Lewis (I'm not sure why this is listed separately as it is part of the Chronicles of Narnia.)
The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
Captain Corelli’s Mandolin, by Louis De Berniere
Memoirs of a Geisha, by Willaim Golden
Winnie the Pooh, by A.A. Milne (This one should be easy...I hope.)
Animal Farm, by George Orwell (I've actually already read this. I know I'm from Mississippi, but we were actually required to read this in high school. But I think I will read it again :)
The Da Vinci Code, by Dan Brown
One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabrial Garcia Marquez
A Prayer for Owen Meaney, by John Irving
The Woman in White, by Wilkie Collins
Anne of Green Gables, L.M. Montgomery (I love this movie!)
Far from the Madding Crowd, by Thomas Hardy
The Handmaids Tale, by Margaret Atwood
Lord of the Flies, by William Golding (I read this one too in high school. It's crazy! I highly recommend it.)
Atonement, by Ian McEwan
Life of Pi, by Yann Martell
Dune, by Frank Herbert
Cold Comfort Farm, by Stella Gibbons
Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen
A Suitable Boy, by Vikram Seth
The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens (Believe it or not, I did start this one...it's incredibly hard to read. I might have to move it to the bottom of the list.)
Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon
Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov
The Secret History, by Donna Tartt
The Lovely Bones, by Alice Sebold
Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas
On the Road, by Jack Kerouac
Jude the Obscure, by Thomas Hardy
Bridget Jones’s Diary, by Helen Fielding (I hope the book is as good as the movie.)
Midnight’s Children, by Salman Rushdie
Moby Dick, by Herman Melville
Oliver Twist, by Charles Dickens
Dracula, by Bram Stoker
The Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson (I love love LOVE the 1993 adaptation of this movie. It's so sweet.)
Notes from a Small Island, by Bill Bryson
Ulysses, by James Joyce
The Bell Jar, by Sylvia Plath
Swallows and Amazons, by Arthur Ransome
Germinal, by Emile Zola
Vanity Fair, by William Makepeace Thackeray
Possession, by A.S. Byatt
Cloud Atlas, by Charles Mitchell
The Color Purple, by Alice Walker (Another great movie!)
The Remains of the Day, by Kazuo Ishiguro
Madame Bovary, by Gustave Flaubert
A Fine Balance, by Rohinton Mistry
Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White
The Five People You Meet In Heaven, by Mitch Albom
Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Faraway Tree collection, by Enid Blyton
Heart of Darkness, by Joseph Conrad
The Little Prince, by Antoine de Saint Exupery
The Wasp Factory, by Iain Banks
Watership Down, by Richard Adams
A Confederacy of Dunces, by John Kennedy Toole
A Town Like Alice, by Nevil Shute
The Three Musketeers, by Alexandre Dumas
Hamlet, by William Shakespeare (Again, I don't know why this one is listed seperately from the works of Shakespear.)
Charlie & the Chocolate Factory, by Roald Dahl
Les Miserables, by Victor Hugo

Gollee, that's a lot of books! Can't I just watch the movies?...just kidding.

Where Did November Go?

This month just flew by. I know I probably say this every month but this time it really did.

Let's recap....

The hubby took me camping.

I turned 25.

We visited grandparents in Alabama.

The hubby killed a doe (yes, he is turning into a redneck. i'll give more details later).

Spent some time with the brand spanking new cousin.

Took family photos.

Ate turkey with the in-laws.

Decorated our tree.

Ran another 5k in a new age group (25-29) and placed second.

MSU won the Egg Bowl.

So close to finishing my master's I can taste the success.