I’ve been doing my jogging regimen for a week now, and much to my dismay, I am not sporting well toned calves, fancy shmancy running shoes OR a cute, bobbing pony tail.

I mean, come on!

This week, I’m repeating the first week’s plan in the Couch to 5K program, if you can believe it (and you should, because why would I lie about such a thing?).  I went out a grand total of TWO times during my first week.  I couldn’t even find time to jog three days.  I blame my mini vacation.  It’s the best excuse I can come up with, even though my cute as a button sister in law ran ten miles the first morning we stayed at her house.

Yesterday, I set out on my jog, feeling good and optimistic.  So good that I decided to sprint a bit to avoid waiting at a light.  I tell ya, I was feeling so good as I jetted across the intersection in front of all of those commuters in their CARS (pshaw!), proud as can be of my new (very misguided) identity as a full fledged runner.

I imagined all the drivers watching my early morning dedication and abilities in amazement and awe.  Not really.  I’m not that delusional.

And then I promptly got a cramp in my side.

Yes, I got a cramp in my side after sprinting across one measly, teeny tiny intersection.

I finished my jog, but I’m pretty sure my pace after that point was slower than my first post-epidural steps when I had my husband on one side and a nurse on the other.

I stayed home today.  Take that, side cramp.

Do you know how many times I have tried to become a jogger and failed?

Neither do I.  Too many times, that’s all.  I have probably attempted a jogging regimen at least once a year since 8th grade.  I have tried it outside and inside, in fair weather and miserable weather, in the morning and at night, with a buddy and alone, in a box with a fox…

It just never sticks.

But oh, how I want it to stick!  I look at those joggers on the side of the road, with their perfectly toned legs, pretty pony tails, and stylish running shoes, and I feel a deep longing to be in those fancy schmancy shoes.  I want to experience a “runner’s high” and feel strong.  I even have dreams where I’m running and running, and I feel incredible.  Then I wake up, think about how much my lungs will burn if I even attempt to run longer than 30 seconds, and I promptly go back to sleep.

I know some people think my deep longing to run is insane, while other people completely understand.  And I’m not going to lie.  In my opinion on the matter, I normally fall somewhere around the “This desire is completely insane” end of the spectrum.

Even so, I started a new regimen today.  I feel excited about this one because it seems to be tailored to my personality and abilities (or, more precisely, my lack of abilities).  Have you heard of The Couch to 5K?

The program is based on the fact that most people don’t stick with running because they start too fast and their bodies just tire out before you can say “running shoes.”

That has always been my problem.  I set really high goals on the first day, like “run for 10 minutes without stopping” or “run a half mile without stopping.”  Who do I think I am?  I think I’m that pony-tailed, stylish running shoes wearing lady on the side of the road.  Really, I do.  And I’m not.  Yet.

The thing I liked about my jog today was that it was more walking than jogging.  I didn’t feel too guilty for not pushing very hard because the program tells you NOT to push yourself!

The program has you start out alternating between 60 second jogs and 90 second walks.  About 10 minutes into it, I was thinking how easy it was.  I was beginning to feel that old “push.”  I thought, “This is super easy.  I can do better than this.  Maybe I should start doing 90 second jogs instead of 60 seconds.”  3 minutes later, I was singing a different song. Embarrassingly enough, it got harder.  But it never got TOO hard.  It never got to a point where I had to stop.  And that was a huge confidence booster for me.

It wasn’t the easiest thing to do but it was the easiest attempt at jogging I’ve ever undertaken.  The program states that you’ll be able to run a 5K in two months.  I admit I am incredibly skeptical of that.  That’s Halloween/Thanksgiving time and we all know Halloween is just around the corner!

But if I do succeed, I’ll be able to chase after any costumed punks trying to steal candy this October 31!

Ok, friends.  I do NOT have a systematized food storage plan going on because I meant to only spend $10 a week but this is what I came home with.

Ok, ok.  The cereal was on sale.  A really good sale, PLUS I had a coupon, which brought those giant boxes down to about $1.15 EACH.  I couldn’t pass that up.  Could you?

But everything else?  I have no excuse.  I got a little too excited. 

I immediately came home and entered all my new stuff into www.foodstorageanalyzer.com.  Remember how I only had 9 and a half days of food storage?  Well, now the snazzy little analyzer tells me I have…wait for it…

TWELVE.

UHHH….

I think not.  Those cereal boxes, alone, could feed us for 4 days.  All that applesauce, peanut butter, beans, canned tomatoes, canned corn, canned chicken, corn bread, peanuts and chips should really mean that we have about 4 days more (on TOP of the 4 days the cereal gives us), according to my scientific calculations.  So I think this is about a 7 day storage in ADDITION to everything I already have.  I’m estimating my total food storage is about 3 weeks, NOT 12 days. 

The food storage analyzer site is still good for keeping track of what I have and how many nutrients I have stored, but I really don’t think it’s useful for telling me how many days of storage I have. 

I need to rework my buying plan and come up with my own calculations.  I’ll let you know how it goes next week.  Please keep sending tips my way.  I AM using them!

And I think I’m on the brink of a good system.  It looks good on paper, anyway.  I’ll reveal it to you after I’ve tried it out!

Lately I’ve been on a “72 Hour Kit” and “Food Storage” kick.  What am I talking about?  A 72 hour kit is something you can grab if you have to leave your house in a hurry in the event of some sort of disaster- a flood, an earthquake, you get the idea.  Hopefully, it never EVER needs to be used, but just in case, it’s a grand idea to have a portable bag/wagon/backpack stocked with enough food, water, toilet paper, diapers, flashlights etc. to last you for 3 or so days.

Food storage is something the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints have encouraged families to store.  Ideally, a family should keep a year’s supply of food- enough to feed every member of the family in the event of an emergency.  I have heard many stories of people who have lost jobs but, thankfully, had a food supply they were able to rely on when funds were low or gone.

A year’s supply is MASSIVE, people.  It’s hard to fathom how much food is necessary, which often leads people (ok, ME) to get discouraged and not do much of anything to build up the food storage.

I recently heard about a food storage analyzer where you can input everything you currently have in stock and it will spit out how many days you could survive and how many nutrients you have in supply.

So I went to www.foodstorageanalyzer.com and input my info.  It’s not pretty, friends.  Apparently, tons of peanut butter, spaghetti and applesauce are NOT going to be enough for our family to survive.  If something awful happened and our family could not purchase food, we would have enough to eat for only nine and a half days.

That’s NOT very encouraging.  But it is, however, quite motivating.  Thanks to the website, I now have a clear cut goal.  I know how much more food I need and I know where I am lacking in nutrients.  We have almost no calcium, Vitamin A or Vitamin C in our storage.

So I am on a mission: to get just a ONE MONTH supply of food by the end of October.  Can I triple the amount of food I currently have in just a little over a month’s time?  Can I?  Wish me luck!

Have you heard about the new NBC show, Who Do You Think You Are?

Each week is a different celebrity tracing his/her ancestry.  It’s fascinating to watch them trace clues all over the world to find answers to family mysteries or discover something they never even knew about their ancestry.

It’s so interesting to see these individual stories from huge parts of history.  The show is on Friday nights, and you can also watch full episodes at nbc.com.

Here are some clips:

We all know grandparents love getting cards from toddler grandchildren with scribbles and special stickers on them.  Even though toddlers don’t know what they’re doing, it’s still fun to receive a homemade card with the “signature” of that cute two year old.

Lydia loves scribbling away while chattering about Grandma Diamond or Grandma and Grandpa Brown.  She is even at a stage where she adamantly chooses which card goes to which grandparent.  Somehow, each scribble has meaning to her.

Until now, scribbles, stickers and glued on shapes have been the means of making cards for our family members. 

But we’ve come across an even cuter way to do personalized toddler cards.

This is a Valentine Lydia received from her almost 2 year old friend, Jack.

Making a card this way serves so many purposes.

1. You can see that all the letters of her name are used in the card, so it was made personally for Lydia. 

2. You can also see that it was made personally by little Jack because of the way the letters and hearts are arranged.

3. Jack got a lesson in letters and shapes while he applied his stickers.

4. Lydia loves picking out the letters of her name while she carries the card around the house. 

It’s cute, it’s creative, it’s personal, and it inspires learning.  It’s the perfect way for a toddler to make a card!

When I was seventeen, my church youth group did a time capsule activity.  I remember being very unenthusiastic about this activity.  Now, I can’t figure out why I wasn’t excited- this is exactly the type of thing I love to do!

Well, it’s been ten years since that activity took place.  While putting away the Christmas decorations in our Harry Potter closet under the stairs the other day, I found the time capsule.  My husband has been itching to open it up since we got married, but I’m a stickler for rules.

Since it is now 2010, we were finally allowed to open and reveal the great desires of my 17 year old self.

It was rather disappointing.  Remember- I was unenthusiastic at the time the capsule was sealed.  The things put in the capsule were mostly put in there by my dear friend Jill who wouldn’t let me seal it up without something interesting.  She made copies of pictures and cards for me.

And it looks like I grabbed a few things on my way out the door- the cover of a college application, a certificate for a judged piano performance, my senior picture.  These were interesting to see, but not exactly exciting.

There were two things in the capsule I was happy to see:

1. the pictures Jill copied.  Thank you Jill. 

and

2. a sealed letter from my mother to me.

So that you don’t make the same mistake as me, I have compiled a list of things to include in a time capsule.  At the start of a new year and decade, now is a great time for your family to make your own time capsule!

What to Put in a Time Capsule

1. Lots of pictures.  It made me happy to see a picture of myself with my high school friends.  I am still friends with each one of them today.

2. Letters.  If your children are making a time capsule, write them a letter and seal it up (BEFORE they have read it).  Tell them what you love about them and what you hope for them.  Tell them what you believe and why.  Mention something about what they are currently doing in life.

Have your child write a letter to herself.  Those are so fun to read years later.  If you are making a time capsule for yourself, write yourself a letter.  Think about how old you will be when you open the time capsule, and write about what you hope to have accomplished at that point.

Have siblings, friends and even neighbors write letters too.  Be sure to have them include last names.

3. Lists.  I would have loved to have read a list of what I loved at the age of seventeen.  Or a list of what I hated.  A list of my favorite things in my room.  A list and description of my favorite outfits.  A list of my favorite song artists.  A list of my top 3 college choices.  A list of my favorite books.  A list of my favorite movies.  A Top 10 of my year…you get the idea.

4. Wages and prices.  It would have been fun to find an old pay stub and receipt for something I saved to buy.

5. Labels.  I found a little pink birdhouse with my name on it.  I have no idea where it came from, who made it or why I would have included it in my time capsule.  If you do put an item in your capsule, be sure to include a description of it’s origin and meaning to you at the time.

6. Movie stubs

7. Gas receipts

8. Grocery receipts

9. Your favorite book, cd or movie. Be sure it’s not your only copy since you’re sealing this up for a period of time.

10. Children’s artwork-label label label!  You won’t remember what the scribbles were supposed to be 10 years later!

11. Outlines of hands and feet

12. A lock of hair Since hair color changes (naturally or chemically), it could be fun to compare when you open the capsule.

13. An outgrown but favorite outfit or pair of shoes

14. A calendar of your year- with all the appointments.  Doctor appointments, vacations and piano lessons can be interesting years later! 

15. Paint chips, carpet, fabric swatches from your house

Have you ever made a time capsule?  What did you include?

I did it.  I organized the eyesore in my kitchen.  This spot started out as a place to keep coupons, bills, and mailing supplies.  It quickly turned into this:

First it was piles of junk.  Then, as I grew weary of looking at junk, I started putting those piles of junk in folders.  Soon, the folders got full, and I had to bring in more and more manila replacements.  Finding the checkbook or stamps in this mess required an entire afternoon.

It was ridiculous.  So I purged.  And purged.  And purged. 

Pile #2 of my three piles of junk.

And voila!  I have two main folders- one for bills and one for weekly review.  Also a “Fun Things To Do” folder.

Now I just need to give the table itself a makeover.  Any suggestions?