Happy Mother's Day

My mom is great and I really miss her. I hope she's having a good day. :) Here is a poem I wrote for her as her Mother's Day card.

What I Got From My Mom

Pretty sky-blue eyes, a perfectly round face,

short legs that make it easy to

fit comfortably in small places,

Quinn-feet that Dad calls flat and fat,

but which I happen to think look super cute

in their size six and a half summer sandals!

 

Baby-fine hair that's thin and soft,

hard to grow out but easy to dry.

Pale Irish skin, lots of freckles,

and of course that infamous Quinn pooch,

which gives me an incentive

to go the gym and keep up with my crunches!

A face that always looks younger than I am,

thanks to seemingly wrinkle-free skin and some miracle

from above that she must have passed down to me.

A cute little nose and a big cheeky grin,

a face that clearly lights up or shuts down

depending on what my heart is feeling or my mind is thinking. 

An emotional and sensitive disposition,

a sometimes sudden spontaneity and love of everything fun.

A sense of humor and the ability to laugh

at whatever happens in life, even when it's hard.

And of course a sense of personal responsibility--

she refused to ever help me wake up in the morning!

A shared love of books, music and creative pursuits,

and the occasional tear-jerker or romantic comedy.

The knowledge that family is important,

worth cherishing and keeping close to my heart,

and that relationships are more important

than money, possessions, or anything else in life.

Encouragement, support, a listening and understanding ear.

And love, from head to toe, inside and out,

which I felt as a baby and at every age since,

which surrounds me in everything I do,

and for which I feel very grateful,

today on Mother’s Day, and every day.

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY, MOM. I LOVE YOU. :-)
<3 <3 <3

Day 7/9 of Marathon Training, and Law Day luncheon

Today was week 1, day 2 of my marathon training program.  I didn't run yesterday.  Yesterday was a horrible day for me and I just didn't have the time.  Today I ran 3 miles along a Rio Grand trial with my friend Carey and her dog Tux. Sadly I didn't bring Venus because I had to go straight to my writing group meeting afterwards. It was a hard run but a nice trail. It is close to the Flying Star in the North Valley which is pretty close to where I live and not far from where Carey lives on the West Side. There's a dirt path along each side of the ditch bank and it goes very far. There are some pretty houses and yards to look at while passing by, and it's a nice place for the dogs. At one part it is very clumpy with sand, which was annoying. Other than that I like the route a lot and want to do it again soon! It took me 34 minutes which is s-l-o-w but it really felt hard! Carey kicks my butt and I have to get into better shape to catch up with her!

Also today I attended the Albuquerque Bar Association luncheon, which is held the first Tuesday of every month, and today was the Law Day lunch.  The national purpose of the American Bar Association was to celebrate the legacy of John Adams, and this was mentioned at our lunch but no one really talked about it in depth.  Instead Chief Justice of the NM Supreme Court, Justice Charles Daniels, gave a really interesting talk on technology in the Supreme Court and the law, from the quill to the computer. It encompassed a lot of things from early New Mexico history about how at one point the territorial map put us in Texas (the line was drawn to the Rio Grande) and how at another time the territory of New Mexico stretched through Nevada, making "Caesar's Palace a place in New Mexico." It was quite funny and entertaining. I also had the opporunity to visit with a lot of friends, former law school classmates and former colleagues (I've worked at four firms in the past five years, so, I have a lot of former colleagues. ;)

In other news, I put my deposit down for the apartment yesterday, so I'm definitely moving! I have a couple weeks to sort through my stuff and then I think I'm going to start moving in around May 14th, but I don't have to be out of my house until May 31st because I already paid for the last month's rent. I like that I have a lot of time to do it and I want to make sure I set up my new place very nicely, because I never really got around to setting up my current place at all. I always thought I would either move back into my own house across the street, or move back home to Pennsylvania/Maryland where my family is! Now I'm still here and it's time to get organized and finally settle in.

Three Pounds Lost During Week One

This morning, exactly a week after I started the marathon training program, I found out I lost another pound, which brings me down by almost 3 pounds in one week. :-)

The strange thing is that I haven't been crash dieting or doing anything extreme. I've just been watching what I eat and trying to eat smaller amounts and healthier foods. I guess since I haven't been doing anything in quite awhile, it's easy to lose weight. But eventually I'll probably have to be stricter about what I eat to get in the best shape possible.

Last week I had some pizza at work for Administrative Professionals day, some leftover Easter chocolate that people brought into work (it was rather morbid: a huge chocolate bunny chopped up into bits the day after Easter!), a donut on Friday which is always bagels or donuts week at my firm (hmmm, work is a bad influence on my diet! ;), and of course some alcohol (but not as much as normal as I'm trying to cut back on that for more reasons than calories-- just overall I want a healthier lifestyle). I suppose those things didn't matter much because overall I was quite food-conscience and made oatmeal with flaxseed and berries, and grilled chicken and veggies and hard-boiled eggs (yummy) etc.

I'm making small changes so as not to overwhelm myself but eventually I'd like to be strict about it and cut out almost all sugar and processed foods and just eat clean.  I was there at one point (I was following the principles of Tosca Reno's The Eat Clean Diet [eat only whole, natural foods], without doing the actual diet plan), and it was the best feeling in the world! Not only did I lose weight but I felt like I was radiating energy and my skin was super smooth and clean, etc. I would like to get back there but it seems so hard because it takes a long time to buy, prepare, cook and package the food. Right now I am so busy taking care of Katie, and just started this training program which takes a lot more time out of my schedule than I'm used to, and soon I'll be moving. So I think after I'm moved into my new place (or at least by the beginning of summer/June) I'll make nutrition a priority but until then I'll keep taking baby steps and paying attention to what I eat.

I love Tosca Reno and the eating clean concept:

Week One Training Recap

It's the end of my first week of marathon training. Here's a recap:

Mon 4/25  3.5 miles, 40 min
Tue 4/26  2.5 miles, 30 min
Wed 4/27 2.85 miles, 32 min
Thu 4/28  3.5 miles, 40 min        Speed Intervals
Fri, 4/29   Rest
Sat, 4/30  4 miles, 44 min  Long Run
Sun, 5/1

Total: 19 miles, 216 minutes (3.6 hours)

I'm off to a good start. :-) And I'm down two pounds since starting the program.

Day 6/7 of Marathon Training

I didn't get to do Run for the Zoo this morning because I stupidly left my key in my friend's car last night and didn't realize it until it was time to drive to the race! I suppose it was for the best, though, because the weather was really really crappy-- cold and windy-- and so my time would have been horrible. There's another 5K run next weekend I'll do instead.

I was rather sore after my four-mile fast-ish treadmill run yesterday at the gym, so I did an easy run with Venus along the ditch bank near my house. We went for 2.65 miles (30 minutes) which neatly wrapped up the week. I'll post a Week One recap next.

I spent most of today listing books and other things on eBay. I decided I'm definitely going to take the apartment, so, it's time to downsize and get rid of a bunch of stuff!  Bye bye clutter. :) With today being May 1st, it's the start of my new budget, which basically means keeping track of what I spend and trying not to spend as much as I usually do. This should be fun... yeah right.