I just cannot express how excited I am!
My team got into the NWHM for this October, and it's a big deal.
I kind of want to go around telling everyone about it, but seeing how it's still six months away, I feel like people would get tired of hearing me talk about it.
Here's the thing:
1. I get to run with some of my favourite ladies, and about 24,995 other ladies.
2. We get Tiffany necklaces at the finish line. (Handed out by firemen, but that's not the part I'm excited about.)
3. This will be my third Half Marathon.
4. This was a lottery entry. The odds were NOT in our favour, and I got in on my first year. It was my team-mate Brenda's fifth year of registering, and she is beyond excited.
5. It's my first "destination" race. I've driven a few hours for races before, the furthest being Seattle, but this one I actually have to fly to. It's like a mini-vacation for me. (Mind you, I'm going to have to scrape every penny from now until October to pay for my plane ticket and hotel and to have spending money, but I think the experience will be so worth it!)
I just can't wait! I don't plan on trying to beat my PR since I want to be able to take it easy on the course and take pictures since I'm sure it will be a scenic race (Not to mention all those famous SF hills....)
I'm flat out stealing Anna's idea from Day Zero Project. It's 101 things to do in 1,001 days. Which would put me ending at January 15, 2015 (my mother-in-law's birthday!)
Some of the things started to sound kind of New Year's Resolution-ish, but I kept to things I thought would be fun, necessary or doable. It's okay if you don't want to read the whole list, but if you do, hopefully it will inspire you to think up a fun list you'd like to tackle over the next couple of years....
1. Come up with a cleaning schedule - and use it!
2. Cook dinner for Phil three times a month. (I've been blessed with a husband who likes to cook and is good at it, but I know sometimes he'd like a break.)
3. Learn to style my hair.
4. Count my shoes. I'm curious how many I have, and how many it takes before I'm admitted to shoe shoppers anonymous.
5. Run four half marathons.
6. Set up my sewing area.
7. Make a quilt for each of the boys.
8. Find a cheap hobby (if that exists....)
9. Re-read the Mandie, Elizabeth Gail, and Saddle Club books before I pass them down to my nieces.
10. Visit Nova Scotia.
11. Teach Oliver, Oakley, and Elliot to downhill ski.
12. Ride the roller coaster during S2S.
13. Give someone a thoughtful present without occasion.
14. Reclaim Banff with happy memories.
15. Take more pictures.
16. Learn the features of my new sewing machine.
17. Not freak out when the boys have legos everywhere.
18. Start running with Rocket - we could both use it.
19. Keep the top of my dresser and nightstand clutter free.
20. Figure out ways to maximize the gas mileage in my Jeep.
21. Befriend other moms from preschool.
22. Read through the Bible.
23. Play outside with the kids.
24. Learn to save money.
25. Pay the bills with Phil so I'm aware of our finances.
26. Make an effort to keep in touch with friends.
27. Toilet train Elliot.
28. Floss enough so the the dentist won't scold me for not flossing.
29. Tend my garden more than three times per season.
30. Make the bed more often.
31. Remember to put other's needs before my own.
32. Wear lipstick (without feeling like a six-year old playing dress up, or a prostitute.)
33. Catch up on Downton Abbey and Mad Men.
34. Finish the hand quilt I started in 2006.
35. Pray for the neighbours that seem to hate us.
36. Get passports for the boys.
37. Visit Kenya before Phil's aunt moves stateside.
38. Get the rest of my things out of mom's house.
39. Actually use my treadmill.
40. Start working out again.
41. Do ten projects I've pinned on Pinterest.
42. Keep my orchid alive through summer.
43. Find a way to clean the nastiness out of my couches.
44. Get slip covers for my couches
45. Print and mail pictures to Phil's grandmas more often.
46. Make a chore list for the kids.
47. Make plans for a fabulous adult-only vacation.
48. Make plans for a fun-filled family vacation.
49. Figure out what I want to be when I "grow up." (Will I stay at home after the kids are in school full time? Should I go back to school myself? Etc....)
50. Not get annoyed so easily.
51. Learn the names of four other people on our street.
52. Set up play-dates for the kids.
53. Come up with projects/activities for the kids.
54. Use my crock pot!
55. Bring in a treat to the police station.
56. Teach Rocket to "shake."
57. Babysit for our neighbours so they can go out on a date. (Different neighbours than previously mentioned.)
58. Find the mouse in the garage!
59. Learn to use the BBQ.
60. Bike the kids to school (this depends on where they will go to Kindergarten.)
61. Wake up with a good attitude. (or fake it!)
62. Get Elliot's picture in the paper so we'll have had all three in there.
63. Try the new gel nailpolish.
64. Make 12 new scrapbook pages.
65. Make a curtain for the kitchen window.
66. Fix the holes in Oliver's jeans.
67. Hold my own in a conversation with Phil's family. (This is not easy when you have a lawyer, surgeon, medical researcher, and future biologists at the table.)
68. Visit the library once a month.
69. Learn how to bind quilts the correct way.
70. Update family pictures.
71. Correspond with an old friend electroniclessly.
72. Have a fun, themed party.
73. Figure out an occasion where I can wear evening gowns.
74. Get tickets to the masquerade at the Fox Theatre.
75. Support a local artist.
76. Get a perfect score on Nintendo Wii Archery.
77. Shoot a real bow and arrow.
78. See a doctor about the circulation in my fingers.
79. Go through the bottle of daily vitamins that Phil bought me.
80. Sew an article of clothing from a pattern.
81. Finish the autumn quilt I started last fall.
82. Beat my 5K and Half marathon PRs.
83. Do the Mt. Si relay again - with a camera this time!
84. Take my guitar out of its case and see if I remember how to play.
85. Have one of my cakes up on the Sunday Sweets portion of Cake Wrecks.
86. Submit one of my cakes to the Sunday Sweets.
87. Find a non-dessert wine I like.
88. Go through my closet and get rid of dresses that no longer fit.
89. Sketch out the ideas for the children's book I have.
90. Find a babysitter! (That isn't my mom or sister-in-law.)
91. Sew covers for the throw pillows in the living room.
92. Build up a stash of fabric.
93. Get rid of tupperware that no longer has a lid, is only a lid or is grossly discoloured.
94. Send Grandmaman a birthday card.
95. Paint the laundry room.
96. Donate blood. (If I'm no longer anemic.)
97. Keep keeping track of all the miles I run.
98. Get out my watercolours and paint something.
99. Learn how to make a hot latte and London Fog at home.
100. Start learning Italian.
101. Make jam from scratch on my own.
