Linking up with Kelly's Korner... Guest post

Today is link-up day with Kelly's Korner a fun blog that Amanda follows. And it just so happens that it's Show Us Your Singles Friday. Amanda has given me permission to post on her behalf and share a little bit about her. Oh, I'm her sister-in-law Deana.

I've known Amanda for about 9 years now and we have walked quite the journey. She is one of the most genuine people I've ever met and she is known for her truth speaking abilities. In her friend circle she is known as the truth speaker. She values authenticity and seeks that out in all of her friendships. She is rather hilarious and loves to laugh. She will be competing in her first Triathlon on Sunday and completed a 1/2 marathon in May. She enjoys the challenge of doing things she never thought possible even though it can be scary. She is passionate about Jesus, serves at her church and loves children. Right now she is in school getting her Graduate Certificate in Teaching. She'd love to live in a city and work in an inner city school and make an impact on the children there. I've heard her say many times that she just wants to change the world. The crazy thing is, I really think she could do it. She is one of those people you just love to be around. And when you leave hanging out, you feel like a better person. She deeply cares for people and what they're walking through at the time. Community is a huge desire of hers and she loves to connect and hang out with others. I've been praying a long time for the person Amanda is to meet and know that the Lord is preparing the man for her in the right time. 

Thanks for letting me share about my sweet sister in law. She really is an amazing person! Comment on this post if you would like to connect with her or connect someone you know with her! 

and... i'm back

happy new year?!?! yes, a bit late. i'm pretty sure that everyone who used to follow me has probably given up on coming here for a new post. well friends, the lack in posting is about to change. not to sound redundant but life has been busy busy with work, school, 2nd job at a gym, church things, training and such. never a dull moment. and yes, i am beginning to realize the importance of having me time. me time that is more than just a three mile run or so. really taking time to invest in me. how come that is so difficult? so life has been rather interesting for a while. many different changes going on around me that in one way or another indirectly affect me. and if i'm honest, it's been really hard. harder than i imagined. through it all though, the Lord has been so faithful to me. over and over proving His love for me and showing me how deeply he knows me. it's beautiful really. in the last couple months, i have reconnected with some amazing women. women that were in my life at a previous time but didn't really connect with them before, but now connecting on such a deeper level. just another way God has shown me how much he cares for me. definitely learning the discipline of trust and timing. and the reality that our definition of good and God's definition of good might not look the same. important truths to to know and believe unwaveringly.

in other news...

i got a tattoo. yep. i finally told my dad, so now i can make it web official. i really like it and think i'll like it more when i can wear shoes that show it off. i've been wanting a tat for a while now. just never found a time that seemed right. one day a couple of my friends were like, let's go get our tattoos. and we did. 6 months to the day of my 1/2 marathon. the tattoo is on my foot and says ...so she did... from the saying "she believed she could so she did." i realize that some people completely disagree with tattoos and you know what, that's totally fine. i'm not forcing anyone to get one, and we'll just leave it at that.

i am training for my 1/2. trying not to beat myself up for taking a little running hiatus. i'm pretty discouraged if i going to be honest. it's hard to get back in to. and then i get mad at myself for not sticking with it. so, i must remember that a strength is building. strength not just physically but mentally as well. and that's exciting. i will push through.

i also signed up to be part of a training group called Tri It For Life. It is a group of women that train together for a sprint triathlon. i've known several women to go through that program and they have had nothing but good things to say about it. we will be participating in the Rambling Rose Tri in Huntersville September 23rd. i'm excited to push myself physically in this way. and i am excited to connect with other women who have the same goal!

i'm believing this year is going to be so good. even with all of the changes going on. i just know it's going to be amazing.

"every passion has a destiny" -billy mills-

"if you are running, you are a runner"

some news

hello there friends. I am beginning to think that I start each blog post with an apology as to why I haven't been posting. Why change things now, right? So, I'm sorry I haven't posted. Life around these parts has been um, let's see, CRAZY. Who knew that working AND going to school AND trying to have a life with my community here would be so time consuming. I wake up tired and go to bed exhausted every. single. day. I wouldn't change it though. Nope. Nope. Did you know that I love connecting with people? It just makes my heart so incredibly happy. There are so many amazing people out there with beautiful stories and I love that I can hear about them! on that note, I am so freakin' blessed with the friends I have in my life. Amazing I tell ya. I mean, really. People who are all up in your business and call you out on your junk. That's real friendship right there. It's messy and beautiful all at the same time. How does that happen? Have you surrounded yourself with amazing people? I think you should share about it! There is just something about sitting with someone, knowing that you can be real and honest and that they will love you anyway and walk with you. that's beautiful.

Ok, definitely got a little side tracked.

I've got some exciting news to share with you. I ALREADY HAVE PLANS FOR MY 29TH BIRTHDAY!! WHOOP WHOOP. i LOVE my birthday, did you know? So... I've been wanting to run a 1/2 for about a year now, ever since I got that crazy running bug. I said I was going to run a couple different ones, but did I train? Nope. HUGE bummer. BUT BUT BUT... May 27th I will be running my first 1/2 marathon in the spectacular city of BOSTON! That's right my friends! I will be spending my first day of 29 running 13.1 miles through a historic city and loving every minute of it. Well, maybe the last part is a little bit a hope instead of a fact! But I'm going to do it, and it's going to be amazing. The training will be hard and time consuming but the end result will be worth it. So. very. worth. it!

There you go. That's my exciting news. I actually got very very nervous as I hit the "complete" button for the registration.

Here goes nothing and everything all at the same time.

"If you run, you are a runner. It doesn't matter how fast or how far. It doesn't matter if today is your first day or if you've been running for twenty years. There is no test to pass, no license to earn, no membership card to get. You just run." John Bingham

"The only thing standing between you and your goal is your WILLPOWER"

"The only way to finish is to start"

Fall is in the air...

WOOHOO... Fall is in the air and my heart couldn't be happier! And along with the cooler temperatures comes more of an excitement to put on my running shoes. FINALLY. my love has returned to me. that darn humidity and stifling heat is a killer. It's hard getting back in to the groove, I'm discovering. but, I can't stop now, I've come too far to go back.

Lots of things have been happening around these parts lately. My dear friend Emily got married labor day weekend. She was a beautiful bride! such a sweet sweet person! I'm so excited for her.

Also, school started back. I am getting to know 13 cute little children. They're really funny this year and make me laugh every day. especially at the end of the day when they're tired and crying and counting out loud. It's really quite hilarious! I get called Mr. Phelan often and have to tell the children that the bus is in fact coming later. It's like they don't want to hang out with me forever. I do understand the reasoning behind it though, so I don't take it personally. :-)

Remember that little thing on my nose?!?! yeah, that procedure is scheduled for THIS thursday at 7:30 in the morning. it could last anywhere between 2 and 5 hours. I am praying for closer to 2 than 5 that's for sure.

Oh another thing, I started college again. I'm taking courses to get my teaching license. I must admit, it's rather interesting going back to school after being out for 5 years. I am enjoying the content. I turn my first assignment in tomorrow, so we'll see how I do! I'm a bit nervous!

I will try to be better at updating. My next race is October 1st. It's the Susan G. Komen race for the cure! This is my 2nd year doing it and I also get to run this one with my dad! Great times to be had I'm sure!

Happy Monday to all of you! Have an awesome week!

4 mile race recap and a little extra goodness

I forgot to give a recap of my 4 miler that took place a couple of weekends ago on the 16th of July. I was REALLY worried about the run. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to do it. This heat is putting a damper on my running routine. I am sure I am beginning to sound like a broken record since that seems to be all that I am talking about these days on the blog. Anyway. I was very worried about this race. I found myself thinking about it every night before I went to sleep the whole week prior. I was mentally running the race from start to finish with my eyes closed, thinking about the places that would be most challenging and seeing myself push thru. One night as I was running the race in my head, the Lord gave me a really cool image. I was running the race and came to a place a little further than 1/2 way, that I would have to stop and walk every time I practiced the route. Every. single. time. I would stop in this one spot. So I am running along and all of a sudden, a HUGE bolder out of nowhere just lands right in front of me. I thought... well isn't this just awesome. And then I thought to myself, this rock will not stop me from finishing. So I put my arms under the rock, lifted it over my head and threw it backwards as if it were just a pebble. I really felt like the Lord told me that this race was going to be a breakthrough for me in my running. I was a little more at peace with this race after that image, but still wasn't completely confident in my ability. Race morning comes a long and my sweet friend Drenna decided to run along with me.And you know what? The weather was around 66 degrees! Praise Jesus and Hallelujah! Another thing I was rather preoccupied with was coming in last! I knew this race wasn't very large and when I asked the total number of runners, I was told 800... well that dude LIED to me. There were only 458 runners! Drenna and I positioned ourselves in the back of the pack. I knew that I needed to really be careful with my pace this day so that I wouldn't get completely exhausted in the first mile, that also happened to be uphill. Awesome, right? I finally found my groove right before mile 2, shortly after seeing my friend Cori driving on the road. I thought, I am doing this, and this is going to be good! And I did just that. I did it. And the spot that I always stopped at and where the bolder met me in my dream, I ran right thru. No stopping for me! I rounded the corner right after the mile 3 sign and said, Amanda you are so close. Just keep going. So I ran hard up one heck of a hill and thought about dying at the top next to the nice police man, but then "Marvelous Light" came on my iPod and it gave me an extra boost to complete the race. My friend Anne Marie who is an amazing runner, came back to meet me and ran in with me. I thought I was going to be running for an hour, but I finished at 48:40. YES!

This race it seemed that I was very aware of how my body was feeling. My ankles hurt, my legs hurt and my legs just felt heavy. But I didn't stop! I did a lot of self coaching along the way (thanks Eric Hoffberg) and tried to mentally cheer myself along! It was also quite lovely to see these faces at the finish line..

And of course, no race would be complete without going to breakfast at Original House of Pancakes to celebrate! It was such a lovely cool day! thank you sweet Jesus for knowing my heart so well!

In other news... I went to the dermatologist last week. I have this freckle on my lower lip and while I was home for the 4th, my dad recommended that I get that thing checked out. I like the sun and the sun likes me but doesn't like my skin. So I went and the freckle on my lip is just that, a freckle. I also had her check a spot on my arm, she sliced that one right out and I almost forgot to mention this little place on my nose, right next to my nose ring. I knew it was there, but honestly didn't think it was a mole or anything to be concerned of. My friend Mikala said I should get that one looked at just to be on the safe side. I still almost forgot even in Dr.'s office. So she took that one too...

That's with the bandaid...

without the bandaid...

Don't worry, she didn't turn my nose black, that's just silver nitrate to stop the bleeding. I got my pathology report back and my arm mole was fine, but for my little nose mole, that wasn't the case. Turns out that little sucker was a Basal Cell Carcinoma. Huge bummer. I have to have another procedure done at a surgery center where they will do a procedure called MOH's surgery. You should google it... after I did, I was a bit frightened and rather worried for my nose hole! I will keep you posted on what takes place.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Tonight we are celebrating my sweet friend Emily and her upcoming wedding! Should be a great night full of great stories and lots of laughter!

the heat...

this heat. it just might be killing me. I am having the hardest time running. This morning I woke up and was out the door at 5:50 in hopes of getting a cooler morning run in, as opposed to my hotter than hot night runs that I would prefer, but it was DISGUSTING at 5:50. There was no breeze, no crispness, nada. It's really affecting my running. I haven't been able to run more than 3 miles without walking. And the sweat. oh the sweat. goodness gracious. I think I lose a gallon of water out of my body when I'm running these days.

I'm running a 4 mile race on Saturday. Honestly, I'm a bit worried about it. well, more than a bit. On my run this morning I even thought... maybe I will just not run it. I thought about that a bit more and decided that I can't do that to myself. Yes, it will be hard. I might even have to walk. And I keep telling myself that it will be ok. I've never run a 4 mile race before, so the goal of this race will be to finish. I don't want to be last, but if that happens, that's ok too. I just want to cross the finish line with my head held high and another race behind me. I will enjoy it though. I always love the race atmosphere. I will keep chanting I can do it I can do it I can do it every step of the way!

A side note...

I'm LOVING summer break. My hours are definitely LONGER than a school day, but the girls I get to hang out with are so much fun and we enjoy our time together. We go to the pool often, the library, the park and play around the house. I love the flexibility of hanging out with other people too. Mondays we hang out with my friend Laurel and her 2 kids at her pool and it's so lovely being able to have adult interaction! We've been to Discovery Place and I'm planning a few more fun field trips for the remainder of our time together!

I would love for the fall weather to get here quickly... but I'm not ready for school to start, even though I miss my school friends like whoa!

Have an awesome Tuesday. Wherever you are... stay cool!

no excuses...

I've thought many different times about what I'd say to all of you for my absence, but then I just didn't really have a good excuse. You should know that my running hasn't progressed really, and it's because I haven't pushed myself. Yes, the weather is extremely hot here in Charlotte, but that isn't a great excuse, I could discipline myself enough to wake up early in the morning and run, or I could continue running at night. Honestly, I have a really hard time waking up to run. I can't seem to get motivated to run before the sun comes up unless it's a race day. Maybe it's a running rut. I don't know. I have a race July 16th. It's a 4 miler with my dear friend Africa. I think it's going to be awesome... but I need to get off the couch to make sure I can complete the race!!

What do you guys do when life gets really busy, the days get really hot, and you lose a bit of motivation to continue running?

And eating. whew. I am not sure I should get started on that subject. My food choices have been less than desirable and I am thinking that is another contributer to my running rut. Ugh. I just wish it were easy. and that I didn't really have to work at it each day. or that I could just really want celery sticks and carrot juice all the time. now, please hear me for a second. I think there is definitely a balance issue here. Balancing what's good for you while allowing yourself to enjoy something that you like that isn't necessarily healthy every once in a while. I'm not very good at the balancing thing. I've been praying a lot about that lately. Jesus, please let me live a balanced life. I'm all or nothing. And I must admit, it's a daily struggle. But I really believe that I am capable of walking this out and pushing thru and each day I will prove to myself that I can do this.

Side note that is still some what connected:

My great friend gave me a ring for my birthday that says "You Are Brave." I think it's a super fabulous ring. If you know me at all, you know that I am not much of a jewelry wearer. The only "jewelry" i wear is my nose ring, and I am sure the term jewelry is debatable. Anyway. I LOVE this ring. It's not something that I would normally wear, but the more I wear it the more I just think... this is so me!!! I can't wait to show it to you! I am not sure what the material is that has the words on it, but maybe it's polymers clay, and the letters were pressed into it and then water colored a shade of green. It's perfect. As I was wearing it today, I kept thinking about the word brave. Then I decided to look up the definition to gain a better understanding...

Brave: 1. People who are ready to face and endure danger or pain

2. A young man who shows courage or a fighting spirit

I like that. I like it a lot. I will choose to walk in that. I am brave. I am ready to face the pain that comes with running and I am a fighter with great courage! This process is difficult, but it's so worth it! So so worth it! I can't lose sight of that!