I want to be happy

I want to be happy.  I think that is something most people want. . .  But today (this whole week really) isn't the time.  You see one of my best friends has lost someone so near and dear to her that my heart breaks just thinking about it.  She lost her big brother.  Death is a really sad, hurtful, horrible thing for those of us left here.  Even when someone is old and you can say "She lived a long full life" it still hurts.  I remember being at my grandmother's funeral and thinking "She lived a long time. I shouldn't' be sad.  I'll see her again." But you know what? I was sad.  And I still am some times.  When I see something that reminds me of her.  Or think of how she used to answer the phone or her beautiful wrap around porch at her house. Or when I look at Miss V her namesake.  I can't help but think what would Grandma think? She never met my husband or saw my kids or our house.  What would she think? She was the most loving & kind hearted person.  She was a widow at 30 with 2 kids at home and 1 on the way. They lived on a farm with crops and cattle and other livestock and she never remarried. I often wonder why but do you think I thought to ask her while she was here? Nope! My guess is her kids came first and she was so busy supporting them that there was no time. She was truly an amazing person.

But back to being happy.  I just can't.  Does that mean I'm walking around upset and mad and feeling emotional all day?  Not at all.  But this verse came to mind.

I have lived this verse so many times.  Thankfully most of them were rejoicing with my friends and family.  So many weddings, babies, jobs, houses, cars & answers to prayer.  I rejoice when my friends rejoice.  I'm happy for them when they are happy or something good happens to them.  But the verse doesn't stop there. It goes on to say "Mourn with those who mourn" or I've heard "weep with those who weep".  Mourn seems more appropriate today as I walk through a sad horrible unthinkable time with my friend. So while I want to be happy and show you so many great things that are happening in our house I just can't.  I want to share how my running is going, I want to show you this amazing new bookshelf I found, but I can't. I'm trying to be respectful of my friend and her loss.  I want her to know how much she is loved & how her brother will not be forgotten. That life will get better.  That grief and loss are a roller coaster.  As you know we experienced a loss in our family earlier this year and most my days are fine. But every now and then I'll find a picture or hear a bird or go to text our family and think of our loss.  I don't text or call my brother-in-law & sister-in-law as much as I should.  I don't tell them enough how I'm praying for them. But I do constantly. Death is a strange, sad, empty thing for those of us left behind. So bear with me while I mourn with my friend. I promise to update you this weekend or next week about my training & show you my bookshelf. I love you all.  I pray for peace and comfort for those who have lost someone dear to them. 

Love, Lacey

My First Run of 2015

I FINALLY busted out my running shoes and went on my first run of 2015!  I went out with a great runner friend of mine, The Sweaty Yeti.  We just did a nice and easy 3 miles.  I let him lead the pace since he had done some weights and squats the day before and his legs were feeling it.  But it was SO good to get out and just run off some emotions and shoot the breeze with a friend!

Have you been out yet this year? How are you feeling?  Have you set any running goals yet?

Love, Lacey

The Huff Recap 2014

Have you missed me?!  Geez life got crazy with the holidays and I honestly couldn't find 5 min to myself.

But I'm BACK!!!!!  And I'm going to give you a quick recap of The Huff that I ran in mid-December and then show you a really cool monthly subscription box for runners!!

So remember when I signed up for a 10 mile trail race in the middle of winter?  You can read about it here!  Well  . . . .

I DID IT!!!!  I ran 10 (it was actually 11) miles on trails in the winter!  The course wasn't so bad.  Lots of hills for Indiana but no water, not a lot of mud, and no snow. 

This is one of my favorite pictures from the race.  That's me on the right laughing.  The guy on the left is my friend "The Yeti".  I call him the sweaty Yeti.  He is so funny and kept me entertained for the first 6 miles.

Here are Kellie, The Yeti, & I before the race.  There was no time after the race for a picture as we were all frozen. But we finished and I might just be in love with trails!! I will DEFINITELY be doing this race again!

Love, Lacey

Running Adventure Clue #3

The third and final clue before the reveal on Thursday.  Are you excited?  Have you figured it out yet?!

THIS is where we are staying!!  Can you believe it?! It's like a dream come true!  I'm SO excited.  Do you see the beach? I'm totally going to get my toes in there!  Do you know where this is? Have you been there?

Go ahead and make your guess in the comments below! All will be revealed THURSDAY!!

Love, Lacey

Pink Ribbon Run 2014

This past Saturday Kellie & I ran a 4 mile race called the Pink Ribbon Run.  As the name would imply it was to raise awareness and money for research for breast cancer.

If you have followed my blog for any amount of time you may remember me mentioning that my grandmother had breast cancer.  But I don't think I ever mentioned that Mr. J's grandmother passed away in 2011 from cancer that had returned from breast cancer.  Her mother (Mr. J's great grandmother) also passed from breast cancer.  So breast cancer is something that is near and dear to our hearts.

I was more than excited to do this race!! (That's me with my arms in the air!)  I have been working with a running coach recently.  That still sounds super weird to say! I'm not a fast runner, a professional runner, or anything close.  I'm not trying to make the Olympic team, or even win a race! I'm simply trying to get better and faster! But my coach has been making me slow down and take my easy runs, EASY! I talked to him and he said that I could "race" this race but then I needed to go back out for another EASY 2 miles.  So I set my pace on my watch to 11 min miles (I told you I wasn't fast!) and set out to eat some miles!

I had so much fun at this race. Kellie and I stayed together for the first 3 miles and then I told her I was leaving her. I sped up a little from mile 3 to 3.5 and then just started to turn it on and pick people off.  By mile 3.9 I turned on the burners and FLEW!  I had one lady between me and the finish line and I wanted to beat her.  I definitely did! I finished the 4 miles in 43:07. Not too bad for taking it easy.

We will definitely do this race EVERY year! I will run for those who can't!

I LOVE my after race banana! And this pic was after we did all 6 miles!!  We were feeling good and happy to be done!

And that's me in BEAST mode!  I was so happy to eat those 6 miles I was ready to take on the world!

QUESTION OF THE DAY!  

What is a cause near and dear to you? Are you competitive?

Love, Lacey

My First Race Volunteer Experience

For those of you that don't know, I'm a runner.  I love to get outside and run! I love the community of runners and the encouragement that you feel from other runners, especially on race day.  With that being said it take a lot of people to put on a race.  The number of volunteers to make a race happen is pretty big.  Especially with longer or bigger races because you just need more help.  You need people helping at intersections, you need people at aid stations, and of course sign ups, packet pick up, finish line helpers.  There are a lot of people needed.  I've always been thankful to the people that volunteer at my races.  Especially those that are cheerful and encourage you as you pass.  But I had never volunteered for race! Well that all changed on Saturday.  Kellie mentioned to me that she was going to volunteer for a local race and I thought You know what? I should do that too! So I emailed the race director, who I know from the local running store, and he said he would be happy to have me! So he told me the time and place to be and that I would most likely be directing people which way to go (either turn for the 20K (12 miles) or go straight for the 5 miles) or cutting off shoes tags or something!  No problem!  I'm here to help in any way I can!  But as the day got closer we started hearing that the weather may not be the best.  When I woke up that morning is was a mixture of rain & snow and very cold! But I wasn't going to let anyone down so I bundled up (insert that I wore MULTIPLE layers of clothing, long johns under my jeans and winter boots) and headed out.  I got to the intersection that I would be directing the runners and this is what I saw. . .

Yeah that's snow! The really wet and heavy snow.  It was very cold and windy!  And if you can't tell it sort of in the middle of the country so no real wind block. I had brought multiple sets of gloves and I'm glad I did because mine got wet quickly from pointing to the directions and cheering the runners on.  

That's me!  I had a headband on to try to block the wind from my ears and my furry hat (it's fake fur!  Don't report me to PETA!).  I stayed in my van until I thought the first runners would be coming by and then I jumped out and started directing!  At first I thought Ok, this isn't so bad.  I'm going to stand here a few hours, help people with which way to go and then go have a Starbucks.  But what happened was I was encouraged!  I tried to cheer everyone on as they passed.  GREAT JOB!  You are flying!!  Keep up the good work!  Looking good ladies!!  The intersection that I was at was not only the turn for the 20K but once they turned, it was an out and back so they had to pass me again. So I tried to remember people as they passed and encourage them on the way back.  I saw a few people I knew but most I had never met.  But you know what? It didn't matter.  I was cheering them all on just like others had done for me so many times.  And it made me feel so good! I loved telling people they were almost there!  I loved cheering on the people that looked like they couldn't go another step.  COME ON KEEP GOING!! I loved the 7 (yes that is right!) year old girl that was running the 20K.  She had such determination and spirit!  She totally inspired me!  She might even be my hero! 

The coolest part was a lady named Tiffany (HI Tiffany if you ever read this!!) lived near the corner I was directing and she came out to talk to me.  Turns out she is a runner and had several friends running this race so she was out cheering them on and came down to talk to me.  We ended up talking for probably 2 hours.  She is a marathoner and a really good one! So I picked her brain a bit and then we started talking Disney and other bucket list races.  She helped me cheer on runners as they passed back by and even gave a couple of her friends hugs as they passed.  That is the thing I love about runners.  We don't have to know each other to feel an instant connection and friendship.  We trade race stories, the good ones and the bad ones, and become instant friends.  I don't know if I'll ever see Tiffany again, or if I would recognize her without our winter gear on, but I'm so thankful that she came out to talk to me. 

After the last of the runners passed me on their way to the finish line I packed up my van and headed that way to pick up Kellie.  I got a big hug from the race director and a personal thank you.  He also gave us a couple pineapples and a loaf of fresh bread!  I didn't need any payment (although the pineapple is AMAZING!) but his personal thank you and the friendships I made that day were priceless!  

Great job to all the runners on Saturday.  Thank you to all of you that said "THANK YOU" on your way by and even if you didn't I won't hold it against you I know you were busy! Running isn't always easy but it's something that I love and so many others do too. I'm so happy to be a part of this community! And I can't wait to see where running takes me this year!

Have you ever volunteered for something? In what ways do you give back?

Love, Lacey

Leading by Example and Accountability

Before I became a mother, I never worried too much or thought too much about my sphere of influence.  I worked full time and was married but who was really going to look up to me? Who would want my advice? Then we had kids! We all know that our kids watch us.  They watch exactly how we do EVERYTHING!  When Miss V was about 2 or 3 Mr. J watched her pretend to put on my makeup.  And she knew exactly what she was doing.  She watches me every day put on my makeup and even has her own brush to pretend with.

Well, a few days ago I was sitting at the island reading the bible and doing my devotions.  It's not something out of the ordinary, I do it almost every day.  But the kids just happened to wake up and come down while I was in the middle of it instead of after I was done.  So each one asked me what I was doing.  "Reading the bible and doing my devotions".  Then the questions of what are devotions and what was I reading in the bible came.  So we talked for a few minutes about what I was doing.  It felt good for them to see me reading God's word because that is a habit I want them to pick up.

Later in the day I told them I was going to workout and that they needed to head upstairs. This too was not unusual, I workout 5 days a week and often do it while the kids are home so they know they need to go upstairs and leave me alone.  So I went to put on my workout clothes and when I came back they were all upstairs. I sat down to put in the video I was doing that day and it was already in the DVD player. I looked at it several times to make sure it was the correct one because I thought it was so strange that it was already in the DVD player.  But I went ahead and did my workout and when I was done I told the kids to come down and get a snack.  Mr. D said "Did you see your video was already in the player for you?"  I said "I did!  Did you put it there?"  He told me he did and then I began to wonder how he knew which one to put in?  You see a rotate through 5 different videos during the week but they aren't in a daily order, they are different every day, so I wasn't sure how he possibly got the correct disc.  He then told me "I looked at your calender!"  It took me a minute to realize that he had looked at my workout schedule and read what I was supposed to do and put the disc in for me. I didn't ever tell him where my schedule was or show him my calendar.  But he has watched me workout and check the schedule and get excited about working out and just knew what needed done.

My friend Chandra from sparkyourmotivation.com/ and I were talking a few weeks ago about being accountable and how to fit a workout in. She is currently doing an exercise streak and is currently on day 69 and hasn't missed a workout yet!  We were talking about how nice it was to just know you were going to workout.  It wasn't a question of IF you were but WHEN.  And somehow that makes it easier to do and more relaxing. I know it sounds dumb but honestly just knowing I'm going to workout and making sure my schedule accommodates that makes it so much easier.  Chandra and I also text each other about our workouts.  When I finish I always text her just to say it's done.  On Monday I just wasn't feeling it.  I could barely get out of bed for no other reason than I was just feeling sorry for myself cause it's winter. LOL  It sounds so stupid now but I was really down on Monday.  And you know what?  I got a text Tuesday morning that said "Did you workout yesterday?  I didn't get a text!".  That text meant so much to me that she really was keeping tabs on me.  But it also fueled my fire to get my double day in to make up for my lazy day!

So all of this say, if you want something bad enough you will find a way!  If you want to workout and be healthier you will find a way!  You will give up that show on tv that you JUST CAN'T MISS to do a workout instead.  You will get up 15 min early just to spend some time with God in His word reading and praying.  You will find someone that will keep you accountable. Someone who will speak truth and love to you when you miss a day.  Find that person.  Let ME be that person! But find someone you can talk to and will keep you going.  Set a schedule, write it down!  Mine is posted right on the fridge!  Everyone can see what I'm supposed to do and if I did it! Make a plan and stick to it!  When you fail to plan, you plan to fail! So plan to succeed with your goals and make that plan!!

Love, Lacey

Holiday Fun with The Calamity Janes

My Breakfast

What an awesome day! A couple of my besties and I (also known as The Calamity Janes) decided we would get together and do teacher gifts as a group.  It helps that one of us is crafty, one of us is an amazing baker, and I was just there for entertainment I'm pretty sure.  So I started my day with this delicious (and filling) breakfast!  If you buy the Naked juice just make sure you watch the calories.  That big bottle had around 600 calories!!  Not bad if you break it up, but if you are downing it all at once you may go over your daily caloric intake pretty quickly.

2 of my besties

Hey look at those gorgeous girls!  L's husband was kind enough to take this picture for us.  Notice J's awesome Christmas sweater?  Wish I would have gotten the memo I have a pretty sweet Christmas sweater myself.  But I did bring my Christmas apron! And J's Christmas apron was actually her grandmothers! I LOVE these girls!

Chalkboard cookie sheets

This was where J really shined!  She is an awesome crafty person, so she came up with this part of the gift.  That's a cookie sheet that she painted with chalkboard paint.  Then decorated with some stickers (that she hot glued on) and a letter for the teacher's name. She also added a little bow at the top at the end.  I told you she is awesome.  These are so cute & a great gift for anyone!  I can see giving these to family or friends. I would use one in our house!  It would make a great prayer request board or scripture memorization or even your grocery list!

Time to get baking!

Here is where L shines!   She came up with so many cookie and bar recipes that my head was spinning!  I tried to help as much as I could but I mostly just burnt the chex mix. Speaking of chex mix, I decided this is the best gf snack.  It's salty & buttery and I can burn it like anything I cook but it tasted SO good!  But L had so many cookies premade or the dough ready for us!  Just amazed at her creativity!

Time to put it together

This is L's dinning room table.  It was full up with goodies!  We made bags of cookies, bark & chex mix! It all looked SO good!

That is a FULL table

And when I say FULL I mean FULL!  This is not a small table!  And we filled it! This side is the bags that we made for the kids' Sunday school teachers!  Those monster cookies almost didn't make it into the bags.  I wanted to smash a couple and run! But it felt so good to make all this up knowing we would make someone (or their family) very happy!

Finished Product!

And there is the finished product!  These are definitely not "bus safe" so I will be hand delivering these to the schools.  There is also a bird seed ornament that goes on top.  It's really adorable!  I'm sure the birds will be flocking to our teacher's houses to get their little beaks on these yummy treats.

All in all it was such a fun day! Not only did a great gift get done but I got to spend some time with my besties!  I love these girls.  I have never had friends that I knew would love me no matter what. The six pack is the kind of group that we may be closer to a certain person at different times in our lives but as a group we love each other and have each others backs no matter what.   I love these girls like sisters and can't imagine myself without them!  Thank you for all the love & support.  And Calamity Janes?! Thanks for making me look good to the teachers!

Love, Lacey