May Goal Check In

May is always a busy time with the end of school and the beginning of summer. We go from my favorite thing "a routine" to my least favorite thing, "different things every day". But that's ok, I've had a week of cool mornings to run in and I can finally eat my normal meat and bread diet again! (See Below) Happy summer everyone, try not to loose them kids. 

Read 18 Books 9/18 

I read two books in May. Both were fiction and just fun reads. I've also started the second DUNE book but those take awhile for me to read. I think Science Fiction is just like that for me. I'm going to try to rush though because I want to do the Library Summer reading challenge that is six books in June and July. I'm laser focused! 

Don't Let Her Stay by Nicola Sanders is probably the best thriller I've read this year. The story has lots of twists and turns and I really like that. You will want to strangle the main character (out of frustration) for the entire book but that's also what keeps you reading. Recommend! 

The Return by Nicolas Sparks was a book my mom read and I haven't read a Nicolas Sparks book in a long time to I grabbed it after her. Unlike the thriller I read before this book, The Return was a little too predictable. The only twist was in the love story and was actually kind of off putting, so I made myself finish it for the secondary story he had going on. Maybe that's his talent, even if you aren't rooting for the love story there is always something else going on. It was a so-so for me. 

Run 600 Miles 251/600

I made my goal of 55 miles today, the last day of the month! 

Monthly Healthy Habit Eat More Fruits and Vegetables 

So this was a kick in the mouth this month. I don't like veggies so from May 1st-18th I was hitting the fruit hard. An apple every morning for breakfast, oranges for a snack and another apple at night if I was still hungry. Just when I thought I was liking my new diet I got something I've never had before. Canker sores in my mouth! One quickly turned into four, turned into me not being able to eat anything besides oatmeal and mashed potatoes! When a new ones kept popping up I actually went to urgent care, where the doctor asked if I had changed my diet. Why yes I had, because coffee and chocolate never did this to me! So, I tried with the fruits and vegetables, my body rejected them! It took a week to be able to eat normal again. I don't recommend the canker sore diet. 

2024 Money Goals:   

• Replace Garage Door Replace Windows Changed this once again. Facing another hot summer, finally bit the bullet and had estimates done on the windows. Picked a company, paid half of the cost and now I wait......
• Down payment on New Car
• Pay Mortg. Principle down 4K Made a principle payment in May
• Hit my Savings Goals for the year Put money in the savings account in May, but also made a withdrawal for the windows. So my savings account is sad, but not financing windows makes me happy. 

Last day of school lunch is our tradition. 
Most years it is at Red Lobster. Alex had pasta with a side
of steak. LOL 

My mouth was hurting, I had mashed potatoes. :-( 

Daryl has his favorite Crab Legs! 

4 New States!

 Trying to hit all 50 states has been a fun way to see other parts of the county. Who knew that the state of New Jersey had a huge elephant that is the #1 roadside attraction in the country? Well I know that now and I got to tour Lucy the elephant! 

States crossed off the list were Maryland (had fun in Baltimore), West Virginia (Kayaked the Potomac river and had a beer on the West Virginia side), Delaware (Tried soft shell crab, it's not for me) and New Jersey (My favorite state of the trip)! 

With those four down I now only have 15 to go! While everyday had sightseeing stops and tons of good food, New Jersey was my favorite. Jeff and I got to play some slot machines in Atlantic City, Ride a Ferris wheel on the boardwalk and walk Alpacas. It was so much fun! Probably the other big highlights of the trip was hiking in Shenandoah park and seeing waterfalls and kayaking down the Potomac for two hours. 

It was all relaxing and an adventure. Our next trip will be with 5 kids...sooooo....probably not as relaxing. LOL, glad we had this trip first!  

 

My map is looking great!

The view from the top of Lucy

Our first and probably only ride on an elephant!

Built in 1881 as a spectacle to attract real 
estate investors. Restored in 1974.

Jeff got to walk the "cool as a cucumber" Victoria. 

I had the spicy Lennox that was fine as long as I didn't want to pet her.

Atlantic City Ferris Wheel

Maryland Lighthouse!

My beer from West Virginia in Harpers Ferry

It was good after our Kayak adventure

To commemorate Jeff and I's first national park, we bought the book to stamp.
This is our first stamp!

Waterfall, there were actually several on the hike we took. 

Happy Graduation Cadence!

 This weekend we packed up the car and headed across the state to see Cadence graduate from Lakin High School. The Stiles' hosted us Friday night in Hays so we could break up the trip a little bit and see our more cousins! It was so great to see so much family, our aunts and uncles that came to cheer Cadence on. Also, my sister can throw quite the party, everything was delicious. I wish we could have stayed longer but we had a LONG drive home. 

Congratulations Cadence, I'm so excited for you and to see you write the next chapter of your story! 

Coming together to celebrate our girl!
Sofia is not taller than me, she was wearing heels.

These cousins are across the state but 
love every chance they can get to be together!

In Hays I got to visit Catrick Stiles, my brother keeps trying to give him back!
LOL 

My cards partner is always Clara! 

She is official! 

Running With the Cows

 My Mother's Day gift to myself was a half marathon entry. I'm not sure why I thought I would beat my time from the TopCity Half but I thought positive thoughts alone would make me fast. Didn't really work. Turns out not following a training plan is starting to affect my race times. Who knew?! 

I'm still glad I ran the race. Running With the Cows is always a fun event with lots of volunteer support and great post race food. I lined up with the 2:15 pacers and they were great. But at mile 8 I had to walk a little, next thing I knew the 2:20 pacers passed me. I finished with a time of 2:22. For hitting a wall so quickly I'm just glad I finished. My next race is a 10K so maybe I should start training for that. LOL 

On Mother's Day the boys agreed I could pick the place to eat and they walked around the zoo with me. It was a nice afternoon and they didn't fight too much. That's about the most I can ask these days. On Friday I planted some flowers around my house and on Sunday I mowed and cleaned up the yard. It was a good weekend to catch up on house things! 

We are getting good use out of our family pass. 
This was Daryl and I's second zoo trip of the weekend!

My lunch pick was Jason's Deli, we all like different
ice cream. 

Wishing my flowers good luck!

Daryl took this picture but cropped himself out
because he didn't like his hair. LOL 

Goal Check In, 4 Months Down!

The whole month of April was a blur. Alex and I both agreed last night we can't believe it is May! He said it feels like he just started 6th grade and now he is almost done. I agreed! But with 4 months down, how are the goals looking?! 

Read 18 Books 7/18 

I read two books in April! One almost exclusively on my trip to New York City. I love that my friends like to take time in the hotel to just recharge and chill. For me that meant reading. 

Our Missing Hearts by Celeste Ng was one of those books that could go from fiction to non fiction too easily. In the world she creates a market meltdown is blamed on China. America not only embraces the sentiment but it legalizes discrimination against anything that could be Chinese. They claim it's patriotic. This book was written in 2020 and the author pulled from experiences all around her that were not pretty. It's a great book even if it's awful and scary. The pages after the book is over written from the author to her readers was especially moving. Recommend! 

Change Anything by Kerry Patterson was my non fiction read for the month. It has research and advice to change our bad habits. I have fallen off of my healthy diet and exercise habits this year. I'm using the advice of this book to get back into my healthy habits. I've been using the methods for a week and so far, so good! 

Run 600 Miles 196/600

Even with my half marathon in April I only logged 40 miles for the month. My goal is 50 miles a month so I need to do a little better unless I want to run 80 miles in December. And trust me, I don't want to run 80 miles in December! 

Monthly Healthy Habit Water

I'm still trying to drink my water and eat more fruits and vegetables. I was doing pretty badly at this in the beginning of April but once I got back from Vacation I've been having fruit for breakfast and making sure to take my water with me all day. It's working! I have carrots at work for my snack this week. Who even is this?! 

2024 Money Goals:   

• Replace Garage Door
• Down payment on New Car
• Pay Mortg. Principle down 4K Made a principle payment in April
• Hit my Savings Goals for the year Put money in the savings account in April 

Alex feeding a very nice giraffe at the Topeka Zoo! 

Daryl taking a selfie with the giraffes, they seemed into it!

Daryl preparing to go into a very wet tube
that is for children much smaller than him.

He did get all the way through! I had already left to see the bears.