Here's my virtual start line- Fenway Park- Boston, MA.
After last night's 3 mile jaunt- I'm now 2% into the challenge...
I'm very much looking forward to watching my little guy progress. It gives me great satisfaction.
Here's where I am according to google maps... :P
This morning I took the dogs for a walk again- much to their delight. Bruno loves snatching up sticks.
I saw another all black woolly worm- I never saw one like this before this year.
I was admiring the flowers in Mikayla's butterfly garden when I put the trash out this morning. Flowers make me happy.
We had BLTs for dinner last night with garden fresh tomatoes. Hit the spot. Also fresh cukes. Our garden hasn't been overly productive and we didn't plant as much as I would have liked but it gives me hope for next year!
This year it sure feels that way, doesn’t it. I have to confess- whenever I have said it recently it has had negative connotations. Things have happened this year that I could never have imagined happening in America.
But. Every time those words escape my lips with exasperation- pshhh- anything can happen this year. (Sigh. Eye roll). I hear God whispering back- Yes. Anything. Can. Just believe.
Good things can happen! This whole ridiculous mess we are in- God can redeem it! He can make all things new. He can change hearts and lives. If only we allow him.
This weekend I was at ladies retreat with our church district. It was like no retreat I have been to before. It felt small. Subdued. Quiet. We were separated into small groups. We wore masks. It was only for a day. And yet. God was there. The speakers were phenomenal. The Holy Spirit washing over my tired and weary soul. Renewing my spirit. My hope. My strength.
Even as I type this draft. In the dark. On my phone. It is 5 am. I have been awake for hours. Praying. Thinking. Remembering. My heart feels full. Urgent yet full of hope.
I hope and pray next year retreat is more “normal”. That our small band will multiply many times. That we will have record breaking numbers. That once again we will join together under that tent with hundreds of other ladies worshiping our Lord.
I learned so much this weekend. I am strong. I am victorious. Though the battle is real and raging. I saw tear stained faces- my own included. I don’t know their stories- but God is working. God is working.
One passage we studied was from 1 Kings 19- about Elijah after God had proved himself against the false god of Baal. And Jezebel was after him- vowing to take his very life. How this mighty champion of the Lord became afraid and distraught; even suicidal.
But God met him, ministered to him. Lifted him up. Strengthened him when he was weak.
We learned how anything can be a wonderful opportunity if we let it. For prayer. For compassion. For hope. To love our angry, broken world.
I thought about my Grandma. Her legacy. Her love for Jesus. I thought about how I have a purpose. I was made on purpose. For a purpose. I am loved. And so are you.
One speaker said she expected to hear testimonies next fall of how God has used us- of the mighty things God has done. How people can see- see the difference Jesus makes in our lives. In my life.
Far too often lately I have felt grumpy and tired. Worn out. Like this life in one giant test I am failing. A failure and a fraud. I don’t want to stay there any more.
I want to be fruitful- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. I want them to flow out of me. I want people to know when they need prayer. I am on my knees. I want to be known for my heart of compassion. I want people to know- they are loved.I want to be the person God says I am.
Ephesians 6:14-18 (The Message)
Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. Take all the help you can get, every weapon God has issued, so that when it’s all over but the shouting you’ll still be on your feet. Truth, righteousness, peace, faith, and salvation are more than words. Learn how to apply them. You’ll need them throughout your life. God’s Word is an indispensable weapon. In the same way, prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long. Pray for your brothers and sisters. Keep your eyes open. Keep each other’s spirits up so that no one falls behind or drops out.
Boy, have I been slacking. I think before last night I ran like 1 time in September. The darker mornings, school starting back up, etc... have really derailed my running schedule. Last night though- I was like there is NO reason and NO excuse. Just go. I did. It was wonderful.
Blurry, happy running picture...
I'd been feeling kinda rotten about be such a slacker- trying to figure out a new running routine. Why is it so hard for me to switch gears. I'd actually prefer to still run in the morning time but I can't seem to get over being afraid of the dark. I kinda did at our old house- new neighborhood makes it harder. 😨
Well this morning I decided to sign up for next challenge, so here we go again. It's already under way, so of course I'm starting out behind. I'm doing the Fenway Park to Yankee Stadium (200 miles) - Wicked easy without a cahh. This time I am trying to only count RUNNING miles- last challenge I counted walking too. This challenge ends on Christmas Eve.
I joined the Christopher A. Taddeo Memorial Scholarship. I joined this team because several others in my fb running group were running for this team- in honor and remembrance of one of the group members brother. It kept coming back to me and no other team jumped out at me- so there you go. $10 from each registration fee goes to the Charity Team you join.
I had made this sourdough bread just because- we had it with dinner too. Sadly though- I forgot to feed my Betty all last week and she was beyond spoiled. So now I have to start a new starter...
They are back at school today, the rest of the week will be virtual learning. Next week they get to go two days in person.
But so far they say that seems better than the distance learning that ended off last year. So here's hoping. I'm praying with all my heart that things might go back to more "normal".
Today is also Mikayla's 21 birthday! How on earth did that happen? I am so proud of her and the beautiful young woman she has become.
This past week my Grandma went to be with Jesus. She would have turned 96, the day after tomorrow. I am beyond thankful to have had her in my life these last 40 years.
I know she is happy to be reunited with my Grandpa- she missed him so. They celebrated 60 years of marriage before he passed away.
I am so thankful for this phenomenal couple and the amazing legacy of Faith they left me. Grandma loved Jesus with all she had and was a mighty prayer warrior. I hope I can be a little bit like her in that way.
Especially as she got older she also struggled a lot with emotions and regrets and her perceived failures. I see myself in this as well and am striving to be different. To leave the past where it belongs and remember I am loved and redeemed. I can't go back only forward. I can choose to be joyful in my daily life.
With her Great Grandchildren at her birthday celebration a couple years back.
Grandkids and Spouses
Grandma's recipe boxes have been at my house for a year or so. I never even so much as looked in them until this weekend. My sister wanted to know if her pickle recipe was in there. (It was).
I also found this recipe written in Grandma's own hand- copied from her mother-in-law, who got it from her mother-in-law. I feel like I have to make it just because... That's 5 generations of Nemitz Women, passed down to my daughters would make it 6.
I am so thankful for all the wonder family time this week/weekend. 💖
Pretty good. I like and enjoyed it. It wasn't all together what I was expecting. But that's ok I guess. I heard the author talk about it on WSIRN but I guess all I really remember was something about the beach and it involved social media from that discussion.
It is about Daphne a plus size social media influencer. It talks about things like friendship, family, self image and figuring out what really matters in life.
“There were things you could be hungry for besides food.”
“I was going to eat to nourish myself, I was going to exercise to feel strong and healthy, I was going to let go of the idea of ever being thin, once and for all, and live my life in the body that I had.”
“I’m not brave all the time. No one is. We’ve all been disappointed; we’ve all had our hearts broken, and we’re all just doing our best. Make sure you have people who love you, the real you, not the Instagram you. If you can’t be brave, pretend to be brave, and if you can’t do that yet, know that you aren’t alone. Everyone you see is struggling. Nobody has it all figured out.”
This was a hard read- it begins in 1929 in Germany. Told through the eyes of 4 different women in Berlin. A young Jewish woman, an American woman, married to a German, a German woman and daughter of the American ambassador to Germany.
Watching Hitler come to power through their eyes- seeing the atrocities that were committed. It was sickening at times. It took me a long time to read as it made me quite anxious. There was such a dark air over it all. And yet there was always hope and love woven into the story. I did not realize until reading the author's note as I finished the book that 3 of the 4 women were actual historical characters. These 4 amazing ladies were part of a Resistance seeking to thwart the Nazis.
"Cherish love, Sara." Amalie's voice was a soft, fierce whisper. "Only love will sustain us in these dark times. Fear can't do that. Worry can't. Only Love."
I liked this book OK- I didn't really have strong feelings one way or the other. I was pretty sad about how disconnected the three main female characters were, Annie, her aunt Faye (who raised her) and her cousin Clary. The mystery part was quite the page turner.
"Clary thinks about this while they drive, how we become part of each other’s stories, sometimes because we want to and sometimes because we don’t but have to anyway. Whether we have a main role or a bit part; we are onstage in each other’s lives."
I am on a quest to read more about our various presidents and first ladies. While perusing the library website for books on George and Martha Washington I came across this book. It's rather short and a fairly easy read. I enjoyed the glimpse in the Washington's lives. It goes back and forth between the time when Washington was ending his time at President and his life as a young man going forward through the Revolutionary War and America's most early days. It made me want to learn even about the Washingtons and wish I could peel back time and see them as real life people.
5- Abigail Adams by Woody Holton, Cassandra Campbell (Narrator)
I listened to the audiobook- I found it was pretty interesting. It was recommending by Chelsey on the HeReadSheRead podcast- which ignited my above endeavor. This book is quite long and extensive clocking in at over 24 hours of listening time. But I really enjoyed this look into the 2nd First Lady's life. I think she must have been a remarkable woman. One of the things I loved was that a lot of the book was actually taken from letters written to and from Abigail Adams herself. I also loved that her husband repeatedly referred to her as "saucy". At times I chuckled at the banter that flew back and forth between them.
Honestly, I'm not sure how I feel about this book. It takes place in 1969 in Brooklyn. Parts of it made me so sad. Parts of it were funny. Parts were hopeful. It took me a little bit to get into but once I did I felt invested and needed to find out what happened. I also listened to the author talk about it on Levar Burton's podcast- so that was interesting. I feel like listening to the author talk about his creation always helps. There was certainly an interesting cast of characters and I did love how it showed the tight knit community and also some surprising bonds and overlaps I did not expect. I did think it was worth the read once I was finished. I very much liked the ending of the book.
"She smiled bitterly, and once again the mask she wore so well, the firm lady of strong, impatient indifference whom he’d met when he first walked into the church a week before, broke apart, revealing the vulnerable, lonely soul underneath. She’s just like me, he thought in wonder. She’s as lost as I am."
"Yet despite the dark days ahead he felt himself moving into a light of a different kind. The wonderful, bursting, gorgeous, eye-opening panorama of light that love can bring into a lonely man’s life."
This was our book club selection for this month. Its one I read like 12 years ago for another book club.
An interesting premise. What if Jesus hadn't come 2000 years ago but in present times? (Or 20 years ago- when this book was first published). I did like it- thought provoking- its interesting to think about what it might have been like to be a contemporary with Jesus. I liked how it really showed the humanity of Eli (Jesus), his compassion and sense of humor. It was also interesting to see how Conrad, the main character and investigative reporter, grew and changed after spending considerable time with Eli.
So 7 books in August. It felt like a really mediocre reading month. Nothing really stood out to me to me as spectacular. I feel bad saying that looking back over this list, maybe it was my mood as a read. I don't know....
It took me everyday of the challenge to finish from May 15- August 31. More then once I wanted to quit- especially that first week. I had to keep reminding myself it wasn't supposed to be easy- that's why it's called a "challenge".
This weekend I was scrambling to run my remaining miles. My sister met up with me Sunday and Monday nights to do around 8 of my final miles. It felt great to run with her again.
My brother's family showed up with a finish line and chocolate milk. I could've cried when we crossed the street and I saw them all up there with the finish line stretched across the path.
It was pretty epic and made my night. So thankful for my wonder, thoughtful sister-in-law.
It was pretty fun watching my little guy make her way across NY. Or gal I guess.
The hoodie is super comfy- I love it! And medal is HUGE!
I walked and/or ran everyday in August. That in and of itself is pretty amazing to me. I logged 109.53 miles in August- 71.59 of them running. Over 91 hours of cumulative running and walking!
Feeling pretty proud of that. It has to be my highest ever.
As fall is coming and days are getting shorter I'm wondering how to keep at it and not lose my momentum. Already it's getting harder and harder to get out the door as the darkness lingers later and later. I see more treadmill running in my future- but hopefully there is still a long beautiful fall ahead of us.
I'm thinking I will sign up for the 200 miles level (Fenway Park to Yankee Stadium - Wicked easy without a cahh) of the fall challenge from Sept 8-Dec 24- seeing as in person races still are not a thing. I'm going to miss running the Syracuse Half this year. Also thinking about maybe signing up for a fun themed virtual run this fall- like a pumpkin one in October, a Turkey Trot for November and something Holiday-ish in December- but we'll see.
But anyway for the fall challenge they have several different charities you can choose from to benefit and join their "Team". 200 miles in that time span is roughly 2 miles a day, hopefully even going into the fall and winter and less than desirable weather I can keep that up.
September 8 - December 24, 2020
200 miles, 400 miles, 600 miles, 800 miles and 1000 mile
