I have been wanting to write a new post, but have been so busy the past few weeks. Where do I begin? Work has been pretty awesome lately! I have gotten a few opportunities to attend some trainings, and obtain certifications in areas that I am currently working in. I am already using some of the information and techniques I have learned. I really can't wait to continue using this information, and to begin doing caregiver trainings! Being away from home, and having to prepare food, and workouts in advance definitely took a little time. I prepped and packed all my meals and brought them with me while I was out of town. It was kind of a pain to make breakfast, lunch and dinner, but I was pretty happy to have the food I was used to while I was gone. The crappy part was that breakfast and lunch were provided at the trainings, but because of my lovely gluten allergy, I couldn't really eat them. :( But it was okay, I came prepared, I ate healthy, didn't get sick, and saved money!! Also, prior to leaving for my trainings I did a little google searching to find a local track to run on. I was super proud of myself for being so prepared! That was until I got to the track and the school's track team was practicing. So I downloaded one of those fancy gps, running apps on my phone and tracked my miles. I was not defeated! Something that almost defeated me prior to going on my trip, was that my car died on me for about the 7th time :((.. Not that this is ever a convenient, but it is even less convenient when you are a community based social worker that does home visits. Almost every time the car had died on me I was working, twice I was meeting with patients.. So needless to say, a new car was in order, or a more reliable car! Well by the grace of God a car fell into place, and that little situation cleared itself up pretty quickly! I will say that my husband and I are working the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace System (the best we can), and that has really helped keep our spending in perspective. I may not have the most amazing, dream car, but I have a car that runs and is reliable. We may not go out to eat as much as we'd like, or buy all the silly things we want, but we have everything we need and we are living within our means! Besides my student loans my husband and I do not have any debt. It is not always easy, but I have to think it is going to be worth it in the end! Just like anything else in life, there is sacrifice, and dedication until you reach your final goal. Which financially would be to be debt free!! Woohoo!! I highly recommend taking Financial Peace, it has really helped my husband and I remain on the same page regarding finances. We paid off both of our cars in the first few months of our marriage, and have been working to save to put both of us back through school without incurring any more debt!!
On another note, I listen to lots of pod casts. I did realize how much I listen to them until the past few days when I did not have the ability to listen to my IPhone in my car, and had to listen to the radio, and I did not recognize a lot of the songs anymore!! But while I had been listening to my IPhone I was made aware of two points that really stuck out to me:
1.Most people don't know what it feels like to be functioning at their optimal level, because they don't put in the work to get there. 2.Don't be jealous of what someone else has, if you are not willing to put in the same time and effort, and go through the struggles they did to get there.
These are such amazing points to reflect on! I really feel like this can be applied to so many things, on so many levels!
I am currently into week 5 of training for the Detroit Half Marathon, with only 10 weeks to go! I am honestly proud of myself for continuing to stick through it! It is getting harder, but I am some how becoming a faster runner! I am up to 6 miles as my longest run, and am pacing between 10:30 and 11:30 per mile. There have been a couple points while running I have had to reflect, pray, and remind myself what I am doing this for. For all those who can't run, I will run for them! Also time is now becoming a factor. At the beginning of this training, I could run a couple of miles on my lunch break, if I didn't have time after work. Now that I am running 4+ miles on a given day it is not that easy. I am having to make a conscious plan of when and wear I am going to run. This week I have been waking up early in the morning to run before work. With the school year approaching again, I feel like this will remain a necessity if I am going to stick with this. It will all be a very careful balancing act of essential activities. Work, school, run, eat, sleep, repeat... And adding more God time in! I had made that commitment to myself along with the running that I will make more time for God as well! Maybe on the days I don't run, maintaining my early morning scheduled to spend time with God! Ah ha! It will be a Divine balance act... Such as life!
