Wild - The journey

I read the book Wild by Cheryl Strayed about a year ago and watched the movie last night.  The story is about a womans journey to find herself along the 1,000 mile hike along the Pacific Crest Trail. I really enjoyed the book, great sense of who she was and what she was dealing with. To have a failed marriage, betrayal, and the passing of her mother from cancer in a very short amount of time. Cherly's idea of solitude surrounded by the quiet and serene setting of nature itself was far from the truth. Despite all the trials and hardships, Cheryl endures mile after mile, day after day with more confidence and resolve to continue her journey. She meets other hikers who appreciate and admire her strength and drive, especially given she is tackling this hike alone. While the book gave a current perspective of her reflections, the movie provided great insight from her insights as a child on different memories, which I really liked. So many different issues to think about, how would you handle things, how you learn from past situations, how you find peace, resolve, and forgiveness. Reese Witherspoon did an amazing job, her range and adaptation for Cheryl's character was spot on.
#wild #CherylStrayed #journey #peace

Through the eyes

Do you ever wonder how you look through the eyes of others?  As a mother to 3 wonderful children, I think about their viewpoint constantly.... Am I doing enough, am I patient, am I setting a good example, am I strong and confident in their eyes? 

Last night the kids school had their Art and Science night where each class showcase different projects. Carolyn and Nick's class also made special flowers describing their mothers. It was a blessing and affirmation that in their eyes I am doing okay as a mother. Moments like this is what makes parenting such an honor.

 

Nature at it's best

Happy Earth Day 2015! What a great opportunity to appreciate the wonderful earth and nature that we have surrounding us. For the past few years we have made a trip to Yosemite, a simply breathtaking place. It never ceases to amaze me the natural beauty Yosemite has to offer. The kids love being in nature, going on hikes, and enjoying the river with the beautiful backdrop of half dome. I feel so fortunate that we live in an area that we can take advantage of this natural beauty and all that it has to offer. What is your favorite place to visit to take in nature?

Daily Motivation

As summer quickly approaches us I am more than ever motivated to eat healthy and exercise on a regular basis. I find that the more I try to focus on how I am caring for myself, the better my attitude gets. It is important to take time for yourself, but so often with working full time, managing the kids crazy schedules along with homework and housework, the time for "me" is left on the side. Trying to find that balance so that I can take the time needed for me and my physcial and mental health. Thinking about signing up for another half marathon, having a deadline/goal is always great motivation for me. Something about making the committment really kicks my training in high gear.

Strong is beautiful

I recently ran in a race in Santa Cruz called the She is Beautiful. It was a great run dedicated to woman and their strength and beauty. Along the route they had great inspirational quotes which made the run so enjoyable.

What Alice Forgot

I recently read the book entitled What Alice Forgot and last night met with the book club to discuss it. It was a gripping story about a 39 year old woman who has an accident and cannot remember the last 10 years of her life. She thinks she is recently married and pregnant with her first child- when in fact she has three children and is going through a very ugly divorce. As she tries to understand how her life is, her children are, her friends are, and why she and her husband are going through a divorce she comes to several important realizations. In discussing the book last night there were several questions that we discussed as a group and one of them really struck a chord with me- Are you more like the younger Alice or the older Alice and are you proud of your parenting style with your children. This was a very hard question to answer for me, and some of the other women also struggled to pinpoint their answer. Our oldest child just turned 7 in March, so ten years ago, it was just me and my husband- what did we do with all of our time? It was hard for many of us to remember what that was like- almost like we too like Alice couldn't remember or relate. In the world I live in now, we are constantly on the go- soccer, tee ball, or ballet practice, kids birthday parties, making lunches, helping with homework, volunteering at the school and/or church. I have this great sense of having to keep all the balls in motion while maintaining a calm disposition- is that even possible when working full time and managing 3 children under the age of 7? I desire to have a calm, relaxed environment for the children to grow up in, yet so often I find myself stressed or anxious to ensure all is perfect..... where is the balance? I like Alice, need to be more flexible and patient when understand the current situation/surroundings. Try to take a step back and see if it is worth the effort, stress, and emotions in whatever you may encounter. As I have mentioned before, I think a lot has to do with the environment that our family is currently in. My husband and I both work full time, with demanding jobs that require a lot from us Monday-Friday. On the weekends, we are busy with sporting events which occupy quite a bit of time, yet the kids love them- it is part of the American dream- yet we still have to get house chores done, grocery shopping for the week, homework/book reports completed, and then have time to ourselves as a family. I need to remind myself more often that it started with my husband and I, and the love we had built a wonderful family with three amazing children. Cherish these years, because like everyone says they grow up so fast- which is so true, it is hard to believe our oldest is 7 and the twins will be 6 in August. Try to be patient, calm, relaxed, flexible- especially when the situation is stressful and unnerving at the moment- take a deep breath and push away the stress- be better to live in the moment.

Challenges are great for the mind and body!!

This morning started off with  6am pickup from two friends to head to Santa Cruz for a half marathon run. It was a beautiful morning, the course was so scenic- along the coast. I had finished the previous two half marathons in 2:10 and 2:11 each- today was 2:14.... Honestly I had hoped to finish in less than 2:10, but within 4 minutes isn't so bad right? Considering I hadn't really been running and/or training seriously I think it was good. Some runs you are in that groove- the music, the tempo, the strides- however I haven't got to that point where my body isn't fighting my mind- but hope to break this barrier in the coming months.  I'm planning on running another half marathon in July and hope that I can push through and run stronger, continue to improve!!