Stress

A cause for stress, or a way to release it?



There are many different ways to handle stress, and different people handle stress in different ways. For me, my outlet has been exercise. However, recently I have been toying with the idea of registering for the Des Moines marathon. Somehow, with the thought of the marathon, running became a new stress factor rather than a way to release it. I began to worry about things like, will I be ready, what kind of pace should I shoot for, will I be able to get in enough training time prior to race day.

The thing is, it is something I would like to do, and although I know the amount of time remaining to prepare is dwindling, there is no reason I can't meet this challenge without it causing additional stress. I simply need to keep in mind the reason I am running is for personal satisfaction and as a way to get away from the normal day to day stresses that life presents. In order to ensure that this does not become a source of additional stress, I do need to lighten up on my goals though. I am no longer going to push myself to complete within a specific time, but rather simply enjoy the fact that I am doing it.

I guess in typing this post, I have talked myself into doing this and will be registering to run the Des Moines marathon on October 18th.

Fun Week

Work is going to dominate my life this week. Not only do I get to spend two nights this week working, but on top of that I also have a ton of new projects and updates I need to make to existing projects and documentation due to my new director that started a couple weeks ago. Luckily, there is not a lot that is really required of me during the night implementations other than monitoring the work. Therefore, I hope to be able to complete the majority of my documentation updates during those times. This should allow me to keep my normal busy schedule during regular business hours.

Hopefully, it will be a nice relaxing weekend at home and I will be able to get some rest and things will return to a normal schedule next week.

Stromboli

My kids all love it when I make stromboli and I have gotten quite good at it recently. Generally speaking it is actually quite easy to make. However, I guess I got a little over confident, and decided to make some for Lindsey, Haylee, and Bennett the other night. In doing so, I learned a valuable lesson... not all mixers are created equal.

My dough simply did not turn out the way it should, and that makes making stromboli quite the challenge. I did manage to get it rolled out, all the good stuff added, and was able to roll it up and get it onto a pan for baking. However, it was far from my best work. Lindsey was extremely nice and polite about the whole thing and told me how wonderful it turned out, but the reality of it was that it simply was not as good as I had wanted to make for them.

I made some more over the weekend and it turned out like it should.


I had to bring some back for Lindsey to try, just to let her know how it is supposed to taste. Now, I think I might be making some more later this week.

Star Wars

This is what happens when a seven year old and a three year old play Star Wars and the seven year old gets the higher ground...


The three year old is always doomed to be the one to die.


Okay, it probably doesn't matter if he had the higher ground or not, but she dies so well anyway!

Odd but Nice

This weekend was a welcomed change from my normal weekend with the kids. At first, I thought I was in for a bad weekend because I was being told I needed to hurry home. Then when I got there, no one was home. That was a little frustrating, but not really all that out of the ordinary for Michelle.

Anyway, about 15 minutes later, Michelle pulls in the drive and drops off the kids and takes off. She never came in, and never returned for the rest of the weekend. She had not told me that she had any plans or anything. I guess that is the part that is so odd about the whole thing. However, without her at the house, I was able to have a really nice quiet relaxing weekend with my little ones. It was a great weekend filled with video games, books, snuggles, and tickles. Hopefully, this is the start of a new trend for my weekends with the kids.

Running

To give you an idea of how my running is going, I went and picked this up at the store on Monday.



Yeah... I know, it goes along with getting older. Hopefully, it will help me get back to where I can run with just the standard pain and fatigue one normally gets from running. Believe me, that's enough. I don't need any extra discomfort from bad knees. I'm not sure if it will help or not, or how long I will need to take it before I can feel a difference (if I ever will). However, I figured it can't hurt, and if I am going to have a shot at being able to complete a marathon, I needed to do something.

Back to School

Carter with his Transformers lunch box after his first day back at school...


He seemed very pleased with his first day, and loves his new teacher. I think it is going to be a good year for my little guy.


Emmy spent the day with her mom, but she was sporting her own backpack. She wants to go to school just like everyone else.


There are times when she acts like she is already ready to join them...


They simply grow up too fast!!!