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My Family, My House, My Workouts, Off We Go!, The Kids

Countdown to 50 – 9 Weeks to Go

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I have nine weeks until I turn 50.

Remember when I had 163 days left?  What have I been doing the last 100 days?

Here’s what I didn’t do:  I didn’t complete the 40 Bags in 40 Days Challenge, and I didn’t lose any weight despite making some changes in my diet.

Here’s what I did do:

I watched my daughter and her basketball team, the Lady Bruins, win back-to-back state championships. These young women accomplished this goal while trying to manage everything else that high school threw at them.  For my daughter, there were many late nights, missed classes, lower grades, and lots of social sacrificing. As a mom, the biggest lesson during the season was learning to listen to what she was saying, rather than telling her what to do.

This sign was presented to the Lady Bruins by the Town of Hempstead.

I also traveled to Japan and I was surprised to see how my son seemed to have matured exponentially in three months.   Everything that made me cry by Day 3, he had tackled — living in a foreign country, commuting on a complicated train system, trying unknown foods, and essentially embracing a different culture.  Who was this man? I am not yet ready to concede that he is “grown,” but he’s close.

Entrance to Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto, Japan.

So, despite trying to focus on myself, I find that my life is really centered around the kids, who are no longer really kids.

The kids taking a selfie at the Fushimi Inari-taisha Shrine in Kyoto, Japan.

Perhaps I haven’t figured out how to re-focus to my own needs because I am not really sure what those are.

For the next nine weeks, I am going to focus on my health.  This new blood pressure medication that I am taking seems to be working.  I have walked consecutively for 4 days on the treadmill.  I am eating salad everyday and trying to drink more water.

Hopefully Spring comes soon and I can walk outside instead of on this treadmill.

I have nine weeks until I turn 50.  What things do you do to stay healthy or get in better shape?

 

 

Off We Go!

Roadtrip!

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I want to be a better traveler.

All stages of traveling (planning, packing, traveling, and unpacking) are exhausting for me.  It isn’t until much later, when we’re reminiscing about the trip, that I can appreciate how much fun it was.

It’s hard work being crazy.  I have packing lists that I print out for me and for the kids.  I google the hotel’s address so I can see where we can eat.  I plan our itinerary of the places we’ll visit.  Then we leave before dawn so we can beat traffic. 

In between all this planning, there’s also the worrying.  What if something goes wrong?  Can we leave the house for this long?  Did I turn off the coffee maker?  What did I forget?

Using my new minimalist ideas, I’m going to pack less and plan less. Will it be possible for me to go with the flow?  Can I refrain from saying, “Hurry! We have to get there early before it gets too crowded”?

I’d like to visit some states on Elena’s Bucket List and make the stops memorable.   I’ll try not to keep checking my watch.  I will make an effort to live in the moment.

Instead of trying to “make good time” TO our destination, I’ll try to “have a good time” AT our destination.

Any travel tips for me?  Share with me some ideas on how you travel with your family or pets.

Off We Go!

Where to?

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I love to travel.  I wish we had done it more when the kids were younger because now travel competes with school, sports, music, etc.  In two years, Jackson will be going to college and then it’ll really be a challenge to make it happen.

So I am making a conscious effort this year to travel as a family.

The next trip I’m planning is a roadtrip to Louisville, KY, so Bojangles can meet his Aunt Joanie and Uncle Jimmy– planned stops include Pittsburgh, PA (home of the Steelers); Terre Haute, IN (Del’s old stomping grounds); Chicago, IL (to visit my niece Emily at DePaul University); and Cleveland, OH (not really sure why).  We’re saving money by using up some of Del’s Hilton Honors points and crashing at my brother’s house.   I’m looking forward to crossing some states off of Elena’s Bucket List.

I would love to know how others juggle family schedules with travel plans.  Have you recently planned a family trip?  Do you have any tips for traveling with a dog?  Please share with me.