Random

My new hobby this week is counting calories :) It's not fun starting out, but it shows me how much I've really been eating. Ha. So not good. Anyway, it's day four and I'm already getting used to it. We've been enjoying school lately. We've been doing little workbooks and crafts. One thing we started that the boys Love so far is doing field journals. Each boy picked a topic and they have little blank books from Barebooks that they use. Brannon picked "Chicken behavior". Each day he draws a picture and writes a sentence about chicken behavior. Since we have chicks right now he's been doing his observations on them. Today he drew a picture of our outdoor cage we put them in when it's warm enough out and he wrote "Chickans lic to go out side and play in the sun." Joshua chose to do his journal on things he's built. I love seeing what they put in them. The best part is they love to do it. They will happily draw and write with little prompting from me. That's my kind of school :) I've slowed down school with Brannon and we've been going over the same words and reading the same book all week. He seems to be improving slowly and gaining a tiny bit more confidence as he begins to read easier. So, until we can get into the eye doctor to talk about dyslexia, I think this is how we'll keep on. He really likes the math books I got for him and he and Joshua enjoy doing addition flash cards together. Especially when every couple days whoever gets the most cards gets a little prize. This also motivates Joshua to practice with me on the side:) Our first race is in a little over a week. I don't feel ready at all! But, it's only ten miles and I know I can make it that far "easily", I just don't know how fast I can do it... I'll be practicing on our trail Saturday and a trail across town Sunday. If I have a babysitter for the race I'll definitely try it... So, update to come:) I've been waiting for the rain to let up so I can get out in the garden. There are things that need to be planted now...or a couple weeks ago! And yesterday when it was lovely warm and sunny I wasn't allowed to garden because I'd just had my back adjusted. And today it's cold again, and I'm feeling rather lazy... :P I Did work out this morning, that may be the most I get done today, lol...

Picking Myself Back Up

I just read this post http://downfromthedoor.blogspot.com/2010/07/racing-and-stretching.html from last summer and I'm so glad I wrote it. I needed the encouragement just now. All my plans for racing short track last year went down the drain. I raced a second race in Jacksonville, but it we had just returned from Idaho the Friday before and I guess I was drained from travelling or something because even though I'd kept up on my riding I had a terrible time with the race. It was the same track as the first one I did and I struggled even harder than before. Then, as I was standing there wondering if I was going to attempt any of the Pistis short tracks in the following weeks I won a special prize in the raffle. All five Pistis races free. Well, that pretty much made up my mind for me ;-) I thought "Ok, Lord, I think You're talking to me here" The first race I had a cold. The second one we had to be at a ministry team meeting. The third race I had a cold. The fourth race I actually signed up for and rode a practice lap to warm up. I didn't even push hard and by the time I was 2/3 of the way through I was shaking so bad I couldn't continue. The fifth race we were rushing back from out of town, but due to doing a favor for a friend who was with us we showed up at the track just as the beginner category was crossing the finish line for the final lap. It was such a fiasco the whole month, I was so discouraged. Then, due mostly to lots of viruses and other health issues I barely rode a handful of times in the next five months. And in December and January I gained ten pounds. A year and a half to lose it, a month and a half to gain it back. I was So stressed and depressed for a couple months. I've cheered up now. Kind of picked myself up and started trudging forward again. It's still a struggle every single day. I'm still fighting the slack eating habits I slopped into throughout the winter. On the exercise front though I've been doing cardio workouts with friends two to three times a week and strength training once or twice a week. Which is a whole lot better than nothing!! I rode my bike two and a half;) times this week (the half time being an aborted attempt to ride up our hill). I seem to have lost what little technical ability I had gained last spring and summer, so trail riding is a bit scary at the moment, but I know I'll gain it back quickly. I plan on racing cross country races this season. The first one is coming up on April 10th. It's a difficult and sloppy/muddy trail though and I've been strongly advised by my hubby that we have to get there early the day before so I can ride the trail and see if it's beyond me or not before I decide if I want to race it. I'm super nervous all over again, being so out of shape. But, I think I've put my finger on why I want to do this. It doesn't have anything to do with being competitive or not. It's because I want to be strong. I've been physically weak for so many years now. Many of the times I was laying there I was imagining being athletic in some way. Now having found a sport I love those dreams are waking up again. I would appreciate your prayers, my friends. I am so easily discouraged these days. I need to keep fighting for the health of this body of mine. I need it for me, my family needs it. Thanks for listening to me ramble:)