Cleaning the Blog Cobwebs and Silencing the Crickets: List of Things I'm Loving Right This Second

I came to my blog today for the first time since January.   Wooo weee, it's been awhile.  You know that sound of crickets that you hear on a quiet night where nobody is around...the dead of night...deserted?? I wish I was technologically saavy enough to just snap my fingers and make that sound appear in this post because it would be most fitting...you would hear what I was hearing when I logged on to my blog this morning.  Crickets. And a whole load of bloggy cobwebs to dust off.  I guess that's what happens when you stop blogging completely for two long months.  But I'm still here...alive, happy, and healthy.

I'm giving myself ten minutes (okay, post note:  it took much longer than 10 min!) to sit down and write on my blog this morning before heading out for a run and then off to teach.  Ten minutes.  Not a lot of time for someone who hasn't blogged in two months.  I think a bulleted list just might be in order.

Things I'm Loving Right This Second (in no particular order but simply stream of consciousness style):

• We just had a weekend away in Portland.  Lots of family birthdays to celebrate (my husband, daughter, father-in-law, brother-in-law, nephew...).  Oh, and YES, my husband and I got two nights away downtown in a hotel where our only agenda was to enjoy being kid-free and focused on each other!  Live music, sushi, Voodoo Donuts, Portland breweries, and a beautiful city that I love!  
• During our getaway time, it rained and gloomed Portland style.  But even with the rain, we had such a good time.  A highlight was definitely the 2 Cellos concert we went to on Sunday!  I had been waiting for this concert for so long and it did not disappoint!  

The Sun!!! It came out for us very briefly right before the concert in Portland!  I LOVE this man and so glad I got to celebrate his birthday with him ...just us!

Such a neat old venue to see my favorite music!  

• Running.  I love how running fits into my life these days and how I fit with running!  It's been such an enjoyable few months of logging miles.  Most my runs have been easy trail runs in these Bend, OR mountains.  I've also had a few road runs to test out my legs and get a better idea of what paces I can realistically expect from myself for Boston.  I'm still planning on keeping Boston easier, pressure-free and fun but it is still good to know general paces to gage where that "fun zone" is for me. My weekly mileage is around 40-50 miles.  I've run two 20 milers but on the mountain trails with slower splits, they have ended up being the longest (time-wise) I've ever run outside of a race.  I have a 22 miler this week.    
• I ran a 15k in Portland this weekend as a non-race tempoish kind of workout and a way to see what going from Central Oregon mountain elevation to close to sea level would feel like.  Wahoo!  I was so excited to feel so strong and have paces that would feel much harder in Bend feel relatively easy!  My goal was to run strong, comfortable and consistent.  Faster than an every day easy run obviously but I wanted a pace that I felt like I could keep up for longer than a 15k!  And I'll admit, I really don't like the feeling of pushing myself past comfort these days with running...and you know, that's OK!  It's where I'm at.  Some would consider this pretty lame but I like running in this comfort zone and still finding opportunities to get faster even though it's not all-out racing.  My 15k was at a 7:11 average with my splits pretty darn close to nailing it in terms of consistent!  5k splits:  22:11; 22:26; 22:22.  This run made me smile! I'll take 3 consecutive comfortably strong 5ks any day over one all-out racing 5k.  Being out on these trails most of the time and not being able to go by pace can certainly make me feel a little clueless when it comes to knowing what kind of overall running shape I'm in but runs like this are just enough to confirm that I'm building running fitness.  Now back to the trails! They are certainly better for my body than pounding pavement.  

One wet, windy Luckython run but it was wonderful being out there feeling so happy and strong and testing these legs out at sea level!  

• Sports for my kids. All my kids are in soccer now and I'm officially that soccer mom with the minivan full of soccer balls and stinky socks.  And oh boy oh boy is my minivan stinky!  Stinky van and all, I'm loving this part of life where I get to drive my kids (good quality time actually) to practices and see them enjoy being active and making friends!  I don't love it every day but today I'm realizing more than ever what a privilege is.  
• New friends and adventures.  Last week I went with my friend Corie on a spontaneous snowshoeing adventure in the place of a run.  A short 20 minute drive down the road and we were climbing Mt. Tumalo only to be greeted by the most amazing views when we got to the top!  You bet I sat down to write.  I love living here.  

• Teaching.  I never saw myself as a substitute teacher but I've been doing some of that lately. Just for fun and a way to feed my professional brain.  And you know, I LOVE it.  It feels so good to be back in the classroom. It's been nice to see the other side...before, I'd just call in a sub and never really know what it was like on their end.  Even if it is just my toe in the water, I'm reminded that my passions for certain topics in education are still very much there.  Subbing also gives me a chance to get to know different schools and grades/subjects for if/when I do decide to return to the classroom full time.  I'm not there yet though and I'm loving the flexibility that subbing gives me.  
• Muse Womens Conference.  Just last week, there was this inspiring women's conference here in Bend.  So many wonderful parts about this conference!  I didn't get to attend all of it but the parts I did attend, filled me with such good energy!  I was honored to be asked to present in this conference at the Outdoors Women Salon Series.  Not only did it stretch me to tell a bit of my story, but I was challenged to reflect on my life and relationship with the outdoors/trail running.  I also got to present with a group of women that had incredible stories to share!  Thankful for new opportunities, learning, and connections/friendships.  

Thankful for the notes option on my phone for when I was reflecting on my outdoor experiences for the Muse Conference.  

• Yoga.  2015 is my year for yoga.  More on that later.  Muse conference (Yoga workshop with Sean Corne) played part with this inspiration but I've actually been drawn to being more involved with yoga for quite some time now....for many reasons.  
• Contentment.  con·tent¹/kənˈtent/

  adjective in a state of peaceful happiness. If I had to choose one word to describe how I'm feeling right now with life...parenting, marriage, friendships, career, running, etc. ... it would be contentment.   I'm truly at a place where I feel like I'm living PRESENT.  I'm right where I want to be.  I've been good at acknowledging the things we are doing really well with and accepting the messy that life brings without being too hard on myself.  I have lots of goals and dreams for the future but none of them them are so consuming to where I'm missing out on my NOW or feeling like I'm not enough.  I'm happier, more settled, and within myself than I've been in some time.  This is a good good feeling.

I'm officially out of time and certain this post is full of typos and all sorts of run-on sentences but so are my personal journals and I'm choosing to see this as an online journal entry!  

Happy Tuesday,

Amanda

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You can also find me writing at Run with Me Kids