Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2015

Yoga

Yoga, Yoga, you are no fun; But my doctor says you are the one? I don't want to believe him; but alas I will try... But understand at some point, I will breakdown and cry... I tried a nice video, cause those people were pretty... But I thought better lessons would have come from my kitty... My cat thought it funny that I stretched like a dog... So she taught me new poses that made me look like a hog... During my yoga, sweat suddenly appeared... I thought this was just stretching!!! now I'm 'a feared...' Cow pose, dog pose, frog pose, OH MY!!!!!! Fish pose, monkey pose, locust pose, SIGH!!!! Why, oh why, can't we call it what it is... Flatulence inducing, hard exercise schiz!!! Many props to the yogis, who are limber and strong... If your expecting me to join you, please don't wait very long... Namaste Funny, this pose was NOT on my yoga pose.

Auntie Sarah's Incredible Gobble Gobble Home Grown 5k

The medals In my opinion, there is nothing better than a little running prior to indulging in a huge Thanksgiving dinner! In my opinion, there is nothing worse than paying 40 bucks to run a race, prior to indulging in a huge Thanksgiving dinner... In this situation, what is one to do? Here are the various options... Don't Run!  I mean, is it really that important to get a bit of exercise in prior to eating? There are so many things that have to get done on Thanksgiving, that honestly, there really isn't enough time in the day to cook a turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, cranberries AND set the table, AND clean the bathrooms, AND do the dishes, AND make appetizers, AND run a race... Or is there? Well I can't answer this question because I typically don't do that much stuff, but my mom does... Run alone!  Why would one do this? All the family and friends are around, and so it seems silly to spend time alone. In this case, it might make sense to go back to optio

Thanksgiving

My favorite holiday is right around the corner. There is nothing better to me than enjoying my family without any expectations other than just hanging out. Next week, I will get to see all SIX of my nieces and nephews, my parents and all of my siblings in one place. The together time will be short lived, and that is why it is even more important that I enjoy every moment I have with them over the weekend. The next time we are all in one place at once might not have for a year or more. Anyway, I know many people who feel as though being outwardly thankful in November is silly because you should technically be thankful all year round. I would agree with the spirit of that statement, and although I am thankful all year round, I don't necessarily shout from the rooftops because being thankful doesn't have to be public. Just because people choose to be thankful individually, doesn't mean they aren't thankful, they simply are choosing to do it behind the scenes. I like to

Stuck in the Future

What? Stuck in the future? Is this even possible? Well, let's take a step back here...  Last week, I was cleaning out another section of my house. While cleaning out, and purging, it is not uncommon to run across old memories. To that point, I happened to run across a CD that was made for me by an ex several years ago. The funny thing is I have never listened to this CD until this past week, in fact I didn't even know it existed until last week. It was a fun find that I have listened to several times at this point. What made me even more curious was that several people asked me if I was going to contact my ex to say thanks for the CD. Why the heck would I do that? It was the past, and it was a wonderful and no so wonderful time all at once. I'm thankful for the time, but reaching out is only something I would do if I were still hanging on to that relationship. At some point you just have to let it go, and let it go I did, several years ago!!! I can certainly be than

How to Finish Upright...

We all have had those moments when we literally feel like our legs have been knocked out from under us. I'll never forget the time I had to do a reading at church, during the most revered priest's funeral mass, with a full house. I felt honored to be chosen to do a reading, but something about that moment gave me weak legs; I literally thought I was going to fall over while walking back to my pew. And then there was that other time when I did my grandma's eulogy... Quivering voice, short of breath, shaky legs, thinking I was going to tip over at any given moment. Maybe it is just funerals that make me feel that way, some could argue, however there have been other random moments of shaky legs... A surprise breakup several years ago, a car crash a couple of weeks ago, a MS diagnosis a couple of years ago, being selected to serve on a jury for a murder trial, forgetting to do that important task at work, having to tell my dad I screwed up (and this has happened countles

The Girl Who Came in Last

DLF, ever see that acronym before? No, seriously it is a thing, it means Dead Last Finish. I don't think I have ever heard of it before, or if I did, I simply forgot about it. My friend and I were talking about what it feels like to come in last place at a race, especially when you know you are last from the start. I can say so many things about the feeling of coming in last place, after all, it has "happened to me" a handful of times during this short athletic life of mine. Let's first reflect on one of the 'greats' who came in last place... Remember this guy?   He was the amazing dude who kept going for 17 hours, just to cross the finish line of the Chicago Marathon in 2013. He was determined, and simply kept going... I heard he has finished other marathons over the years, which is amazing to me, because at what point do you give up? Today, I was talking to a colleague about the 5 mile race this weekend, in which I tied for last place with my bestes

Who Inspires?

Everyone is inspired by different things and people, which is natural, because let's face it, if we all liked the same things, life would be pretty boring. While watching all of the people who went out to see an Olympic Athlete in Columbus this week, I learned that I am absolutely not inspired, nor interested, in spending my time going to see a professional athlete who has spent her life as a career runner. Career runners just don't do it for me. Is it cool that they are fast enough to run in the Olympics? Yep. Is it cool that they have won several marathons? Yep. Is it cool that they traveled the world? Yep. But watching career runners, who spend their life chasing after the fastest finish line, simply doesn't do anything for me... If it does something for you, enjoy the experience!!! So, what/who inspires me? Well, let me tell you... Kayla Montgomery - HS runner who has MS - This is a girl who doesn't hold back. She runs despite the difficulty she experiences pos

Complaining

I'm so determined right now. Determined to make excuse after excuse for my current condition. Up 25 pounds of the 100 plus pounds I originally lost. Unable to comfortably run more than 4 miles. Skipped a big race several weeks ago because I wasn't ready. Why, you may ask? Well I'll tell you... I'm tired, had personal trauma, enjoy cookies (especially when I am having personal trauma), not comfortable running alone, couldn't get to the gym, and have been uncomfortable for weeks. A friend of mine just texted me and said something like: 'Your body doesn't do heat. Apparently mine doesn't do cold.' I totally understand what she is feeling!!! It sucks when your body doesn't react as intended. Here's the thing, my body does do cold, so much so that I keep my house at a frigid 65-68 degrees all times of the year; and then all of a sudden it doesn't, do cold that is. This week for example? I walked around thinking, 'damn, I'm uncomfo

One More Step...

What do you do the day after your best run in a long time? Or when you don't have a car? Or when you are hiding from your cat because she has decided to aggressively nibble on your toes? Or when you are avoiding a mountain of laundry? Or when you just finished reading a book? Well, one might hang out on the couch and watch TV, but instead I've decided to start thinking about an event schedule for 2016. It has been a long time since I have intentionally planned a race schedule, and I figured it is time. It is time to get off my butt. It is time for me to make goals again. It is time for me to get athletically organized again. It is time for me to acknowledge that MS isn't holding me back, I AM holding me back. When my best buddy told me recently that she wanted to start running a little faster, I said No Problem... Let's do it. Low and behold, we took the challenge to heart without even knowing it. Thirty seconds faster per mile, and we both have survived. Ask me

Never EVER Give Up

Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide. No escape from reality. Open your eyes Look up to the skies, and see... ... Nothing really matters, Anyone can see... Nothing really matters to me... If you are not living in a hole, you probably have heard those lyrics. There are so many interpretations of the song Bohemian Rhapsody  but the best interpretations is always your own, right? So, I've had a tough week, with glimpses of amazing, and I'm sure my perspective will flip eventually to amazing week with glimpses of tough.  So many things that can't be summed up on this blog, but one of the lessons I was constantly reminded of is that regardless of the situation, you have to charge on. There is never a circumstance that warrants throwing in the towel. What does this mean? Well, I had a miserable run on Tuesday, one of those runs that made me wonder how in the heck I was able to do a marathon in this lifetime, one of those runs that was so misera

Celebrate

I'm always working on something. The projects might include organizing my house, training for a half marathon, cleaning out my car, doing my dishes, organizing my cat toys. I also spend a lot of time creating stuff. For instance, last Christmas was the year of the homemade gift! I spend so much time making things for other people, and I love the joy I see (or the eye rolls) when I give someone one of my home made gifts, but I never make anything for myself. And then, every once in awhile I do work on little 'gifts' for myself. When I do, it gives me so much satisfaction.  Most recently, I decided I needed to do something for myself. In the interest in also organizing my race stuff, I jumped into a medal 'rack' and framing some bibs from various races. You see, I keep my bibs for no good reason. I knew they would just end up in the trash some day, and then I decided they couldn't. I mean, they must have meant something to me if I have kept them around this lo

An Extrovert's Dilemma

I've talked about the difference between an introvert and an extrovert before on my blog. The topic resurfaces in life from time to time, and the past week is one of those times. Someone shared a shirt that had a reference regarding how to treat an introvert. In this email exchange I stated that there needed to be a shirt for the extrovert, but they pointed out that an extrovert doesn't need a shirt because everyone knows everything about an extrovert from their feelings, down to what they ate for lunch. I responded stating that the comment was proof that a shirt needed to be made for the extrovert that says something like this: 'Just because I'm an extrovert, doesn't mean you know me. All you know is what I ate for lunch!!!' I should mention this exchange was in jest because we all know each other well, and we were poking fun at our differences. This exchange got me thinking and researching again about the extrovert, so I hit google to find out if anyone ha

Camp Auntie Sarah

I had the pleasure of spending the past ten days with two of my nieces and nephews. Four of those days, the third of the Watts clan was part of the fun. My sister has named this week Camp Auntie Sarah. Because this is my second year hanging out with the kids, she must have decided to formalize the name. What a fantastic ten days!!! I learned a lot during camp because I feel like I got to take a look at my life through a child's eye. It reminded me of some of the most important lessons that I have learned in life so far. Here are the lessons: Treat people how you want to be treated: When I was a kid, I was relentlessly teased by my siblings. I'm certain I annoyed the crap out of them, which is likely why they teased me. They had me stick my tongue to D batteries, vacuumed my back, gave me 'sprite' or some mixture of baking soda and vinegar to drink. While watching my niece and nephew relentlessly tease each other one minute, and play games the next, that actions r

21 Days

I dream of the day in which I get all my chores done. I dream of the day when I get home and Piper hasn't put socks in her water bowl, clothes on my living room floor, and toys at the bottom of the basement stairs. I dream of the day when I treat people how THEY need to be treated. I dream of the day when my association fixes my basement, like they should have back in January. I dream of the day when there is no pain felt by me or my friends. I dream of the day when getting out the door for a workout isn't a chore, again. . I think I need to keep living, because one of these days, all those dreams will come true, but at what cost? Dreaming is awesome. I love dreams because they are your mind telling you what you can do, if you put your mind to it. Certain things come at a cost though. For instance, if I want to come home to no socks in my cat's water bowl, that means I have to put all my socks away. See my first dream? That has to happen first. Similarly, I dream of

Fixation

I'm told that I can get fixated on things, and simply not let them go. These fixations come and go, but I typically have a couple of days every four weeks or so in which I'll grab onto something, and latch on. I remember my sister once likened certain people who were dating to a fish hook and a fish. Important background is that there are two types of fish hooks, one with a barb, the other without. Hooks without barbs are easier to remove from the fish; hooks with barbs can get stuck and can sometimes damage the fish when removed. The situation was this... We knew a girl who was dating a guy, guy broke up with the girl, girl latched on and wouldn't let go. This was way back in the days of pagers and home phones, so she would call and page. It was like she was a fish hook with a barb, and the poor guy was stuck, and he didn't even realize it. He would start to shake her off but the barb would reengage the minute it started escaping him. This went on forever!!!! Well,

Sail Away

One of my greatest friend always reminds me that the past is the past. I'm so glad she has taught me that, especially since I have recently been going crazy thinking about my physical aptitude from the past. For instance, I had the endurance to run a marathon! That was a six hour feat that was super intense and rewarding. And then there was the half iron man which was an 8 plus hour adventure through the woods of Wisconsin. I NEVER felt so accomplished... So, why is it that today I can't do those things? If I continue to focus on that fact, I would likely never be able to move forward. It would be like an emotional attachment to what I used to be, and guess what? That is my past!!! This doesn't mean that I can't do it again in the future, as a matter of fact, I will... Here's the thing, it will be totally different because I'm different. I refuse to attach myself to one moment in time and expect it to be the same. I'm not going to attach myself to that

What is a Burpee?

When I first heard the term burpee, I smiled because it made me think of how I talk to a little baby when they burp. I say in a cute little baby voice, "oh, you just had a burpee" and the baby coos and smiles because they feel such great relief! Hmmm... Or is that my sister in law? (I would totally link a video, but I don't want to embarrass her.) I also imagine, when I hear the word burpee, a beautiful large garden with all the tomatoes, beans, strawberries and blueberries a person can eat! Just thinking about it now makes me want to make a blueberry pie! That lovely seed company can produce food infinitely. Then I was introduced to exercise for fun and learned that a burpee is an exercise that includes pushups, jumping and squatting. I heard of these things and couldn't figure out what was fun about this exercise. Perhaps it was simply created because trainers needed to create some sort of new exercise that would keep people coming back for more. My MS class

This is Real... Real Life...

In my world, with every good plan comes a slump... We'll call this the exercise slump! First it was the rain, but I managed to semi-train for the bike ride through that. Then it was the heat. OH. MY. GOSH. the HEAT!!!!! It took my breath away this weekend. I did everything I could to stay inside, except for when I didn't. For example, my neighbor's weeds were about to make me crazy, so I pulled them!!! (Not before I pulled my own though, for those who are shaking their heads right now.) I also found myself at the Jazz and Ribs Fest, and today at the Franklin County Fair. Really, at both fest/fair outings, I was on the hunt for roasted corn. Would you believe the Fair didn't have any? It was so shocking... I'm not a winter weather complainer. I save it all up for the summer because, well, the heat is icky to me!!! I only wish I could blame my slump on the weather. If I'm being honest, I just haven't had the desire. I could say it is lack of energy, but I k

God Stopped Crying BUT Forgot to Iron the Earth

Sue and I had another fantastic adventure this past weekend. We took on another MS ride for which we raised over $1700 between the two of us. Thank you to those who have donated. If I haven't sent an email to thank you yet, I'm sorry, but you will get one soon!!! When Sue and I signed up for this ride, I personally thought it would be a rolling hill kinda ride; not a pounding hill after hill, leg cramping, 50 mile up hill vs. 5 mile down hill kinda ride... We got the latter. And you know what? We cranked it out!!! Sue and I headed out around 7:15 to embark on our 50 mile journey. What they don't tell you when you sign up for these rides, is that the mileage is a rough estimate. So, you may have paid for 50 miles, but then the race organizers decide to throw in 5 extra for free. Not something you asked for, but were graciously given... Do you say thank you? Or expletive you? It really depends on the ride. This weekend, had I not been in a very positive mood, I would h

Why is God Crying?

As the skies opened up on my way home from work today, I started wondering why it won't stop raining, like, EVER!!!!!!!!!! Not only was the rain torrential, but the thunder and lightning was of the variety that you have to swerve while driving down the street so as to avoid the lightning bolts from hitting your car. OK, OK... that is a slight exaggeration, but still, I think it helps you understand my point... All of this made me think of the days in which I was petrified by storms, and I would sit on the couch with my mom in the middle of the night talking about why it rains. She was equally scared of the thunder storms at the time, so it is likely that my presence was just as comforting to her, as hers was to me! Regardless, in her many explanations of why it rains I heard reasons that included Mother Mary was crying, the thunder was because people in heaven were bowling, and the lightning happened when someone got a strike. I have heard so many reasons why it rains, but the one

The Damn Birds

I finally have a working computer again!!!!!!!!! Who knew that a new power cord could be so hard to find? My computer is not that old but turns out, if a newer version of a Microsoft product comes out, Microsoft makes it very difficult to procure replacement cords for older products.  I've been absent from the blog the above mentioned reason. I don't find it an easy prospect to write a blog post on a touch screen phone with a 3 inch cell phone screen. I have so much to post from birds, trail angst, and general stories from the trail. Where to begin? I don't even know... I'll keep it simple...  Take a look at this picture, they are cute right? Don't be fooled, they eventually turn into this, keep reading to hear my stories. If you know me at all, you know that I have bad bird energy. Birds hate me; I hate birds. If there is a 'bird house' at a zoo, I will loudly decline walking through the bird-itat because all those darn birds wi