Saying Goodbye to an Old Friend

I am retiring my running shorts. As you can see, they are well used. Yes, those are holes. And yes, those holes are in a very precarious place. However, you non-runners, rest assured....running shorts have a liner in them.

I've had these shorts since summer of 2004. I bought them at, of all places, at Ross Dress For Less. It was one of those strokes of luck where you're there on the right day, at the right time and find the perfect buy for the perfect price.

I have loved these shorts. When I bought them, I was about 10 lbs. heavier than I am currently. I loved how they felt as I lost those 10 lbs.....loose and flowing but with a nice waistband that never felt too big or too small.

These shorts have a little pocket in the front that have carried keys, cell phones, sports gels, sports beans, and other misc. items.

I ran my first half-marathon in these shorts, as well as my most recent half-marathon. I have worn these shorts, literally, for almost every run the past six years. In addition to wearing them in the summer, I wear them over my tights in the winter. That little extra bit of clothing does wonders to warm a cold rear-end in the winter months.

I ordered a new pair of shorts this week and received them last night. They fit beautifully. They are the same brand, the same color, and "supposedly" the same short as my former pair. We'll see. I've tried them on. They fit well, but they're different. For one, they are just a tad bit longer and don't have the notch cut out on the side. And of course, there's that obnoxious drawstring that I swear my old pair didn't have, although upon further inspection I have realized they once did, I just took it out. I'm sure these shorts face the same fate.

There are many runs and many miles ahead that will determine if the "new" shorts make the cut, and if they can be put in the same category as the "old" shorts. I just know that it's not going to feel the same getting dressed for my run in the morning. It won't be mindless. I'll be aware that I'm putting on different shorts, that they're a little bit longer, they don't have the notch cut out, and they have that obnoxious drawstring.

It's hard to say goodbye.

I Will Not Should On Myself

In life there are things I need to do. There are also things I want to do. Fortunately for me, oftentimes these are one in the same. Then there's the "shoulds." I should do this, I should do that. I should make that phone call. I should make that visit. I should send that e-mail. I should go here. I should go there. I should, I should, I should.



I don't trust the shoulds. Mostly because I have learned to distinguish a should from a need or a want. Far too often, a should is someone else's voice or someone else's agenda. Far too often, a should is given credence in order to quiet that voice, meet that agenda, or please someone else, oftentimes at the expense of my needs and wants. Shoulds are optional.



That being said, I don't discredit a should when it enters my thoughts. I have learned to pay attention to it, sit with it, and see if it really has the potential to be a need or a want. I ask the Who, Why, and What questions. Who is telling me I should? Why should I? What purpose in life will it serve?

Not too long ago, I made the commitment to myself to only be involved with those people, organizations, and causes that I deeply believe in. All the more reason for me to evaluate a should when it enters my mind. If it let myself, (and I am no different from anyone else) I could spend my weeks, days and hours meeting everyone else's needs and filling everyone else's agenda but my own. I have been there and done that.

I am at a point in my life where my credo is "To thine own self be true." I am also at a point in my life where I trust myself with this credo, because I believe I have my priorities straight and a pretty good idea of what I need and want in order to be who I am and who I want to be.

Therefore, there will be no more shoulding on myself.....because....I shouldn't :)

The Heart of Our Home

I like our home. It's just the right size for our family and provides each of us our own space. We've lived in our home for almost five years and completed finishing the basement two years ago. Since that was quite a laborious endeavor, we laid low in regards to home improvements for a couple of years. However, lately we've become motivated once again to make some changes to our home that hopefully are an expression of who we are. We painted the master bedroom over Christmas break, and I'm in the process of painting my office downstairs. After just finishing the first week of Spring Semester, I have a feeling this paint job is going to take a while.

I must say my favorite room in our home is the kitchen. Our kitchen is spacious and bright, and it's what sold me when we first looked at buying this house. As must as I love the aesthetics of our kitchen, I really love it for the function is serves as the heart of our home. Our kitchen is our family's gathering place. I don't think this is unusual for a lot of families. The entire family can be found here at any given time doing homework, surfing the net, reading, cooking, baking, etc., almost always with some music playing in the background. As a family, we've had some very profound and significant conversations, cried many tears and shared many laughs in our kitchen.

One of the things that feeds my soul the very most is something that is actually quite common and ordinary and takes place in our kitchen. On any given night, (at the current time in our lives it's usually on the weekends), I will be in the kitchen cooking, surrounded by my family. Sometimes we're totally engaged in one another and sometimes each of us is totally engaged in our own "thing." Sometimes I sip a glass of wine as I cook, Chip joins me, and the kids have their beverage of choice. Sometimes we listen to NPR podcasts and sometimes to music. Sometimes there's a dog at someone's feet, a cat on someone's lap, or a dog and chasing each other through the kitchen. While all those dynamics may change, the constants are the wonderful smell of a meal cooking, the end of a day being near, and the fact we're all in the same room together.

I've come to realize this is sacred time. This is the time we spend to regroup from being "out there" all day and all week. This is when we refuel our bodies with food and our minds, souls and spirits with the knowledge that we're loved and accepted as we are and for who we are. Bruised egos are rubbed, hurt feelings are patted, successes are celebrated and dreams are shared. So much LIFE takes place during this time, and it all happens in the heart of our home...our kitchen.

Julie, Julia and Me

Over the Christmas break, we rented several movies to watch. One of my favorites was "Julie and Julia." I absolutely adored this movie, most likely because I absolutely adore both eating and cooking. Besides being entertaining, this movie affirmed my love for cooking (and made me want to do more of it), and really got me itching to blog more.

This blog was set up to be a family blog and it has served that purpose. I've tried to keep family members near and far updated on the ever so ordinary goings-ons of the Fuller family. However, I consistently find myself wanting to process my thoughts and observations in addition to posting a travel log or reviewing our monthly calendar.

So, I am making a New Year's Resolution to blog at least once a week. I'm sure some of these posts will be updates on our family, but I hope to get in some writing time as well...as if I don't do enough of that for school.

So, along those lines, and in keeping with the theme of Julie and Julia, I just want to say that while I loved that movie, it would have been the icing on the cake if the main character had actually gained a few pounds during the course of her 365 days of cooking each and every one of Julia Child's recipes. I mean...come on....how could ANYBODY not gain weight cooking with real butter every day? Even if you only sampled the food, there's the tasting that goes on while cooking to assure the flavor is good, and those tastes all add up. I know it's Hollywood, and in Hollywood you can cook and eat gourmet French food for a year and still look amazingly thin. However, in my humble opinion, it would have made a good movie even better if Julie would have shown her real passion for Julia Child and her cooking by plumping up just a tad.