Long time no see!!

Hello good folks!!  It's been a long time since I've been on, and I apologize for that.  Life has been busy and I've made some life changes of my own. 

In November I turned 40 and had a wonderful surprise by a friend of mine at work.  My wall was plastered with lots of "over the hill" signs.  It was a great day and ended up being a day I enjoyed rather than one I dreaded.  I decided that week to give myself a special gift, of an active lifestyle.  I bought myself a DVD and set up the basement so I have a little spot of my own to do my workouts.  I got back on the treadmill and we got a exercise bike too.  Now I have a variety to use.  The Saturday after my birthday, a friend who was my age passed away suddenly, leaving behind his wife and four children.  He was he sole provider of the family.  His passing was hard to accept, for my own reasons, and I decided that from this point on I was going to keep myself active and healthy.

Since I've started, I've lost over 10 pounds and signed up for my first 5K ever!

I had never been a runner before, but I became one and have learned to enjoy it.  That's me in the middle wearing pink.  The ladies on either side are my friends from school who decided to do the run with me.  What fun!!

Yes...this is a REAL smile on my face, not a fake one! 

My wonderful hubby (on the left) also ran with me, but not with me.  I told him to run ahead.  I didn't want to hold him back and knew I would.  He did his 3.1 miles in about 22 minutes!!  Hopefully my time will be posted soon so I know what I did, but I'm figuring about 35-40 minutes!  I don't think that's too bad considering it's my first race ever.

Well, I've done enough for now, and I want to get ready to do my run tonight.  I'll try to be better at keeping up with my blog.

Snow

Snow. Tiny, six-sided crystals of water that glisten like diamonds when the sun is shining, sparkling like glitter that have been scattered all over the ground. It can be light and fluffy, blowing easily in the slightest breeze, or wet and heavy, weighing down the trees and their branches. In the beginning of the season, snow has a magical quality that everyone can appreciate, but as the winter drags on, and the more it accumulates, the less it holds its charm. By mid-January we begin to get tired of this white stuff. On warm days, it changes quality and can turn to a dirty, salty, slushy-brown mush that stains your pant legs when you walk, dirties up your shoes, creating a salt mark on leather, and sticks to the bottom half of your car.

There’s a time for snow. From November to January it’s almost necessary to have snow to help create the magical ambiance of Thanksgiving, the miraculous enchantment of Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa, and exciting allure of New Year’s Eve. However, after months of bi-weekly snowstorms that close schools and bury cars in the driveways and parking lots, with thirty-mile per hour winds and sub-zero, double-digit temperatures, we’re ready for spring when mid-March comes around.

As a child, I always wanted snow for my birthday, which is in mid-November. If I awoke to the scene of snow on the rooftops and lawns it would make my day. Even to this day it I feel a special little-girl feeling if there’s snow on the ground on my birthday, like Mother Nature giving me a little gift just for me. However, after the holidays have passed the need for the charm is gone. Come mid-March, it’s time for the snow to start disappearing. I’ve seen years when there’s still snow on the ground up until May! I read the blogs that others have written about how they have flowers blooming and the snow has melted and such, and I’m so jealous! But, in spite of the snow season lasting so long, I do love Northern Maine and wouldn’t move anywhere else, willingly of course, for the world.

Today is Friday the 13th. I was born on the thirteenth of the month, and occasionally my birthday will land on a Friday, like this year. Everyone seems to get all worked up about the day. I understand why, but it doesn’t really bother me. Don’t get me wrong, I do remember what day it is throughout the day, but after all is said and done, it ends up being a relatively normal day. Nothing bad, or good for that matter, out of the ordinary ever happens just because it’s Friday the 13th.

According to the Livescience Staff’s article on Yahoo News today, the fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskavedekatriaphobia (I’m not even going to try to pronounce this). Even though many may not admit it, lots of people fear this number. Any place where luck is considered important doesn’t even use the number 13. Hospitals don’t use 13 as a room number, tall buildings don’t have a 13th floor, and airports don’t have a 13th terminal. What I find funny is although buildings, hospitals, and airports may number their floors, rooms, and terminals so they skip the number 13, we all know somewhere in the back of our minds that the 14th floor, the 14th hospital room, and the 14th terminal are really the 13th. We try to trick ourselves, and it seems to give people comfort, but does it really change that fact?

How often do we try to trick ourselves in other aspects of our lives? Haven’t we ever tried to trick ourselves into thinking that something was okay because we called it something else, you know, mind over matter. Anyhow, I look at Friday the 13th as a lucky day, just don’t ask me to walk under any ladders or let any black cats cross my path (fortunately I don’t know of any black cats), and better hope that I don’t drop any mirrors! Have a lucky day everyone!!