Motivation Monday: 10 Mile Training, Week 1

Today I start training for the 10 mile Cherry Blossoms run that I'll be doing with Charbelle!! It has been nice to take some time away from training since the marathon in early October but I am definitely ready to be back on 'the grid'. I find that I sort of lack motivation/direction when I'm not training for anything!

I debated about which training plan to follow but decided to go with Hal Higdon's novice plan. Am I novice? No, not really, but I wanted to ease back into training so I decided to go with an easier plan. I can always modify it down the road if it seems too easy for me.

I will probably use this training plan as a guideline and will modify it to make it work for me. My goal is to run 3 days a week, strength train 1 day a week, and cross train 1 day a week. My rest days will be Monday and Friday. I hope that I can maintain this schedule + studying for the CFA + adjusting to a new position. If that all get to be too much, I will adjust things accordingly.

I don't really have a time goal for this 10 miler. I honestly just want to have a blast and take in the sights! I want to be able to chat along the way with Charbelle and feel good at the end of the race. 10 miles is a great distance - it's challenging, but it shouldn't wipe me out like longer distances. I have only done one other 10 mile race and my time for that was 1:36:10. Could I beat that time on April 3? Yes, probably... Will I be upset if I don't beat it in this race? I hope not - I honestly just want to get out there and have fun!

30 Before 30 Update

It's been awhile since I've re-visited this 30 before 30 list... Truth be told, I haven't accomplished a whole lot. BUT, I accomplished more than I would have had I not made this list so I still consider it a success. Here it is... I crossed off things that have been accomplished... items I am on track to accomplish are in green... items I am not on track to accomplish are in red... items that aren't feasible are in italics..

Health:
1. Work my way up to being able to do 20 real push-ups. I can only do 'girl' ones currently.
2. Run my 2nd full marathon (will be running this marathon!)
3. Join a local running club (tried this & did not care for running with others)
4. Go one month without eating out
5. Get a body fat assessment done, most likely in the 'Bod Pod'
6. Run a 5k in 27 minutes (PR is 30 minutes)

Cooking:
7. Learn how to roast a chicken
8. Make one new recipe/month
9. Host a dinner party
10. Find a cooking class/seminar to attend
11. Go to a knife skills class (at Kitchen Window)

Finances:
12. List or rent out my condo on or before my 30th birthday
13. Set up a living will
14. Put at least $1,000/month in savings

Faith:
15. Join the women's group at my church
16. Spend 1 hour in the Eucharistic Adoration Chapel each month
17. Go to a Cathedral Young Adults event

Crafting/Cultural:
18. Learn how to knit socks
19. Learn to crochet
20. See a ballet or opera production (I will go to one in Paris on 2/15 so I am going to count this as it's close to my birthday!)
21. Do something with the photos from my France trip

Miscellaneous:
22. Meet a blogger friend in real life!
23. Send one piece of snail mail/month
24. Buy a new set of dishes
25. Read 3 classic novels (I read The Bell Jar, I Capture the Castle, and A Christmas Carol)
26. Make over my blog
27. Do a hair workshop with my best friend Brooke.
28. Visit my grandma at least once every 3 months.
29. Climb Inspiration Peak in the fall when the leaves are changing
30. Visit the Duluth, MN area

I have accomplished or am on track to accomplish 13 out of the 30 goals. I am actually ok with this. Sure, I wish I was on track to accomplish more but had I not made this list, some of those goals wouldn't have been accomplished so I still consider this list a success.

Between now and my 30th birthday (or maybe on my 30th birthday) I want to Learn how to roast a chicken. I might need to enlist the help of my mom or brother... we'll see. Or maybe I will just figure it out on my own!

Giveaway Time!

Greetings - it's almost Friday! Yippee!

The lovely team at CSN has offered to do another giveaway post. By now I assume most of you are familiar with CSN. They have anything from modern dining room furniture to cookware to bedding. They have 200+ websites, so the options are endless.

One lucky winner will receive a $50 gift certificate to use on one of their sites!

If I had $50 to spend, I'd maybe use it towards...

this All-Clad 12" Frying Pan...

or a Wusthof paring knife...

or perhaps I would use it towards this mandolin. I have wanted one for a while but now I REALLY want one after reading Kelly's post about Parsnip fries last week! Yum!

To enter the giveaway, please comment by 10 pm CST on Wednesday, January 26th and let me know what you'd purchase! I'll announce the winner next Thursday!

On Coming Full Circle

2011 is off to a bit of a whirlwind start for me. My mind is still spinning over everything that has occurred. Yes, I have been nursing a heart ache, which really sucks, but thus far the good has far outweighed the bad.

The exciting news I alluded to last week is that I started a new position yesterday! I am still with my current employer, The Chariot, so it's an internal move but it's one that I am very excited about. As I've said in the past, 2010 was an interesting year career-wise. I left a job at The Psych Experiment and returned to The Chariot in April. The position I returned to was not a perfect fit - but it got my foot back in the door.

I worked hard the last 9 months and touched base with some of my contacts within the organization. I set up a lunch with a contact in November and came to find out that he had a position that he'd be hiring for - and he wanted ME to apply! The position is a great fit for me; it utilizes my MBA and Math degrees and will have a good balance of analytical work + communication. I might even get to do a little writing!!

There were a lot of moments last year where I asked God WHY he was allowing me to go through this difficult experience. I was haunted by what happened at The Psych Experiment and it took me a long time to recover from it. I know that's a vague explanation, but there are just some stories that we will never tell. But over the last 9 months, I have proved myself, healed, and have slowly, but surely, found my way back to being "confident, self-assured Lisa."

Life has sort of come full circle for me. I returned to a division of my company that I left when I went to The Pysch Experiment. Yesterday I walked into an office with friendly, familiar faces. I know my boss and what to expect for this position. It's going to be challenging and that intimidates me a bit - but I KNOW I can do it.

Wish me luck!

Have you ever gone through something difficult in your professional life? What helped you get through it? I got through it with the support of friends and family - I don't know what I would do without them!!

Ten on Tuesday

1. What’s your favorite color to paint your nails?
Clear. It's the only sustainable color. My nails chip so easily (it seems) and I am too lazy to re-apply polish every couple of days.

But really, I maybe paint my nails twice a year? It's just not a priority for me.

2. Do you like to sneeze?
I don't mind it. It's the best feeling when you can feel a sneeze coming on and then you sneeze. Ah, sweet relief.

3. How often do you fill up your car with gas?
About once/week.

4. Were you named after anyone?
I don't think so.

5. Have you made any good recipes lately?
Yes. I made this bean and rice dish on a week night 2 week ago and it was awesome! And super simple. And then I made my favorite recipe ever, Beef in Pomegranate Sauce, which is SO easy and it's so good, you will want to lick your plate afterwards. Seriously, MAKE IT!

6. What’s an easy money-saving tip that you use regularly?
My newest one is parking at an off-site parking place instead of parking at the airport. Airport parking in Minneapolis ridiculously expensive. It's $18/day for our main terminal. It's $9.75 at this off-site place. I feel a bit sheepish about the fact that I have lived here for nearly 8 years and am just discovering this now.

I also save money by rarely buying coffee drinks. I used to drink 3-4 lattes a week. Oy vey, that adds up fast. Now I rarely buy a latte. It's so much cheaper to make it at home!

7. Would you rather have a sore throat or an ear ache?
A sore throat. I haven't had a bad ear ache ever, but I had a mild one once and oh my gosh, it was painful!

8. Do you have any scars? What are they from?
Yes. A small scar on my forehead from being accidentally catapulted into a tv set by my older sister.

9. What are you “known for” in your circle of friends/family?
I am known for my love of pickles in my family.

I am sort of known as the librarian in my group of friends because I own a lot of books, I like to make book recommendations, and I tend to dress like a librarian.

I am also known for being very punctual and being obsessed with all things French!

10. How do you like to eat your pancakes?
I like them with a little bit of maple syrup on them. Mmm... And I really like my pancakes with fresh blueberries IN them. Delicious.

Taking to the Skies...

Happy Friday! I hope everyone has had a fantastic week! I am in the best mood ever! Why? Well, first off, I have some exciting news which I will share with you next week (no, it has nothing to do with boys. I am done with dating for awhile). The other reason for my good mood is that I am flying to Tucson tonight after work to visit my little sister, Abby and her husband Ryan!

That's us last February - notice that she's in a pea coat and I'm in a tank top!! Her blood has gotten a little thin since she moved south!

Truth be told, we had bit to a tenuous relationship growing up... Actually, that is an understatement. I tried to play mother hen was completely over-bearing - as I described it in my wedding speech, I was a "helicopter sibling." (I'm sure you're familiar with the term "helicopter parent.")

Luckily, we both did a whole lot of growing up and now I can say that she is one of my best friends and someone I turn to for advice quite a bit. My mom is probably smugly smiling as she reads this as for years she has told us we would be best friends some day.

This will be a quick trip but a fun one! I arrive late tonight and fly out Monday morning, but we'll get 2 full days together! I can't wait to go for runs (without worrying about losing a body party to frost bite!), drink coffee, talk face-to-face, road trip to Phoenix to visit my friend Heidi, and GRILL!

I'm sure I'll take pictures and do a recap at some point this month!

I'll leave you with one final pic of us and a funny story.

So when Abby got married - some people thought we were twins... Like one of the ushers actually said to Abby's husband: "I didn't know you were marrying a twin!" The photographers then referred to us as "the twins" for the rest of the weekend. I see some resemblance - but twins? I think that's a stretch... After her wedding, this was my profile picture on facebook for awhile. The sister of a good friend saw it and thought I had photoshopped my head onto the body of a bride. I thought that was hilarious - and a bit ALARMING that she thought I'd actually do that.

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! Tell me - do you think my sister and I look like twins?

Book Review: Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Last week, I read "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," by Amy Chua. In her memoir, Chua shares her parenting techniques and compares them to the "Western approach" to parenting. I obviously do not have children so have no experience parenting but I was drawn to this book as I am curious about other culture's approaches to parenting. I've heard anecdotes about the Chinese approach to parenting, in passing, so was intrigued by a detailed account of Chua's parenting. The book was a fast, easy read but I must say it was quite appalling. To some extent, she seems to make a joke of the way she treats her daughters or thinks it is 'cute' - but in my opinion, her treatment of her daughters borders on verbal abuse in some circumstances. For instance, at one point she refers to her daughters as garbage... My jaw sort of dropped when I read that! I simply can not fathom my parents referring to me as garbage!!

Her rearing techniques seem to be successful with her older daughter but her younger daughter does not take well to the way Chua treats her - or the rigorous schedule. In the end, it seems to backfire and I think that Chua realizes that her strict approach is maybe not the best approach in all circumstances.

Chua is very critical of the "western approach" to parenting. She thinks that, under the western approach, children have too many freedoms and that parents try to be a friend instead of a parent. I think this is probably the case in some families, but it was never the case in my mine. I consider my mom a friend now, but when I was an adolescent that wasn't the case. My parents were strict, but not excessively. They instilled values such as discipline but I still enjoyed my childhood. In my opinion, Chua essentially robs her children of having a childhood. Yes, they are accomplished musicians and did well in school but is it worth the price of not relaxing and enjoying what should be, to some extent, a carefree time in your life?

I gave this book 3 stars on goodreads as it was an engaging, fast read. If I was rating it based on my opinion of the author, I would probably give it 1 or 2 stars, though!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from TLC Book Tours. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.