8-26

I went to my aunt's memorial service today. It was so beautiful and cheerful truly a celebration of her life. My great aunt was a very special lady whom had a lot of grace and made everyone feel special and accepted. She was a woman of faith with a strong love for Christ. Her service really showed the love and Grace of God. There were even a few words said, that made me think about my own faith and how I can grow stronger. The pastor said, anyone can talk to God, lots of people talk to God, but how many people are really listening to God. I really want to be a good listener and I realize that I need to spend more time with God, listening to him and seeking him. I spend so much time talking, occupying my time, staying busy when in reality I need to listen more and share more of me with him.

My aunt was from a big family, had a big family, who also had big families... so yeah, there was lots of family and with lots of family comes lots of food. I was so worried about this. I didn't have time to go to the gym today and to be honest, I think my body needs a break so I chose not to run tonight. I knew I needed to be cautious with my eating because it's so easy to be tempted and be thrown off track. There was so much food: Pasta Salad, Spaggheti salad, potatoe salad, fruit salad, green salad, aram sandwiches, lunch meat, rolls, vegatble trays, tri tip, baked beans and yeah more than 2 tables filled with scrumptious tantalizing baked goods and deserts. So incredible, so tempting. I made my daughters plates then decided to make my own. Cautiously, I got fruit salad, green salad, baked beans, tri tip, and the smallest moresal of a brownie I could find. I ate my food and did not go near the desert table. Although I have to admit the cupcakes looked incredible and were calling my name. I was so proud of myself.

So many family members commented on how good I looked. I wore the red dress I blogged about a few days ago. It's not really funural attire but I knew it fit and not much else does. My uncle John even complimented me, he said I looked beautiful and asked about my routine. I've never been complimented that I can remember from my uncle, not for earning my degrees, not for my looks, nothing. If anything, the only conversations I recall with him include me leaving feeling worse about myself because of some commment or another he made and hurt my feelings. It felt so good today though. I can't even begin to tell you how many compliments I received from family.

This evening my girls and I went to the farmers market. It's the last one of the year. I'm going to miss going with my girls. We got lots of fruit and goodies. A few weeks ago, I bought my girls honey sticks and I ended up using Amelia's in my oatmeal it was so good I wanted to come back and get a jar. So tonight, I made sure I got some and I'm looking forward to making Oatmeal with it again. Incredible. I just love everything about the farmers markets, the food, the atmosphere and healthy lifestyle. If you have one in your area, I highly recommend checking it out.

7/29

I slept in this morning until 9:30 am, when Mariyn came in and woke me up. I kinda wanted to get up early and get to body pump and cycle... but yeah that didn't happen. I was so warn out from swimming laps last night, I just couldn't get up and when I did, I was groggy. I swam until 11 o'clock last night. I did a lot of chatting to though but I think we did 70 laps. Zamara swam with me and helped me out a lot on my technique. I've never been taught to have proper form so apparently I waste a lot of energy and work a lot harder than necessary to get across the pool. Most of the time when I'm working on form or technique I don't really feel the difference but yeah this time I did.

70 laps x 40 feet = 2800 feet = 853.44 meters = 0.53 miles
I swam more than twice the difference I will have to for my tri. But I break it down into 10 lap segments.

It took me a long time to want to actually get moving. I got to the gym around noon and did an hour of weights. Daycare closes at 1 and like I said, my body was very warn out. I think someone was picking up on me at the gym. I noticed he was sort of following me from machine to machine, watching me, trying to make small talk. Then he asked me if I came here often. Uhh-- yeah nearly every day, lol. I was a little embarrassed and just kept working out. He so wasn't my type, even if I wasn't married.

I didn't do any cardio today at the gym. I knew I wanted to ride bikes with the girls this evening to the farmers market. We took along one of Mariyn's friends. I bought some plums and corn on the cob. We also bought tri-tip sandwiches for dinner. I feel so healthy just saying my girls and I rode our bikes to the farmers market. Exercise incorporated with fresh fruits and veggies - just makes me feel good like I'm giving my kids the skills they need to live a healthy lifestyle. We took the long way home on our bikes and road around the neighborhood. Of course we stopped at the park and I let the girls play a bit. Then I took Mariyn's friend home.

I talked to her mom for a while. We haven't chatted since the beginning of summer and school is going to start again soon. Her daughter was invited to go to the movies with a group of friends for the first time this week, parents drop off and pick up. She said she was so nervous. I completely understood. I remember being nervous like that back when Mariyn was in kindergarten, they invited her to go to Awana's with them. It was the first time she went somewhere with someone other than family. I shared about Mariyn spending the night with her friend the other day. She seemed just as protective as I am in regards to spending the night. So maybe, I'm not so crazy after all... ha ha

I can't believe summer is almost over. Next week really is our last week of summer before school starts. While I miss the routine of school, I really enjoy the time with my girls. Hopefully, I'll get to do something fun with them next week. :)