52 Adventures

My friend Aline introduced me to a blog called The Year of 52 Adventures (http://yearof52adventures.com/). A woman named Kimberly started a blog challenging people to have an adventure every week in 2010 and write about it. We are three weeks in and the blog is already very entertaining and exciting.

It is impossible to read something like that and not want to try it out myself. I am a little late, but last night I started making a list of all of the things that I would like to do this year. I don't want to plan out all of my weeks, because I am hoping that some of my adventures will be spontaneous and unexpected.

I have been keeping up with the year so far without even really trying. For the first three weeks of my year of adventures, I:

Ran 5 miles for the first time
Went to a ballroom class
Ate fondue

So far, my plans for the next 49 weeks consist of big, medium and small plans for adventure. Keep in mind, all of these adventures will be firsts for me. Hence the "adventure" part.

Bake a cake
Sew a quilt top
Take a cooking class
Run 10 miles
Run a 1/2 marathon
Go to New Orleans
Go to Six Flags in New Jersey
Graduate from college

I am open to suggestions! I would also love to hear any of your lists if you decide to participate in the 52 weeks of adventures.

I Feel Too Christmas-y To Go To Work

For the last few weeks at work we have been moving our office, which means that everyone has been in jeans and sneakers and not much work has been done. Tomorrow is the first day that we will all be buckling down again, wearing office-y clothes, and trying to catch up. I'm hoping that wearing a dress and heels will be enough to get me in the buckle-down-and-work mood after the weirdness of the move and this glorious long weekend.

I am in the first week of a new course at school, and my last two courses have been a little off-kilter due to all of the visitors and traveling. I struggled to keep up, assignments were late, and I didn't get the best grades. So far I'm on track, even ahead, in this course. It's another thing to attack with a renewed sense of motivation.

Unfortunately, with Christmas coming and my excitement at our upcoming trip home, I am having a hard time being motivated to do anything besides bake Christmas cookies, decorate my house, and go to the gym so I look extra-great when I see family. And shop for presents, of course.

5K and 50 Miles in 30 Days

Regardless of the fact that I am online all day and part of every evening, I cannot seem to keep up a blog! Maybe there is some way to link it up to my Facebook since everyone knows I spend plenty of time there.

This spring/summer I ahve really been pushing myself to run as often as possible. I used to prefer weight training to cardio, but now that it is such a hassle for me to get to the gym after work, I would rather head out for a run and put off weights until the weekend.

One of the goals on my list is to run a 5K. Last weekend I decided to jump on a treadmill and see if I could make it all of the way to the end. Turns out, I can run over three miles without stopping now. I have come very far from my first 3/4 mile run last summer. After I ran three miles, I signed up for a 5K next Saturday in Alexandria. I am excited to accomplish taht goal and mark it off of my list.

I do not want to finish this 5K, then start slacking off on the running. I decided to challenge myself to run 50 miles in 30 days. I started on Saturday, June 13th and I will go until July 12th. That is somewhere between 1/5 and 2 miles each day. I am confident that I can make it, but it is going to be hard. What better way to push myself to keep running? I need to think of a fun reward if I do run the full 50. A massage? A small shopping spree? A day at an amusement park?

I have a few summer goals to keep me busy over the next few months. One of them is to sign up to finish school. I really really really need to just get it done. I told myself that if I got married and starting moving on with my life before I finished, I would never finish. I should have listened to myself! Now is the time, while we are living in one place and we do not have kids.

Anyone have their own exciting summer goal list?