Much like my sister, I too am an avid list maker. Truth be told. Here is my list of goals for month of June!

• Continue running or biking six times a week. No excuses.
• Cut back on snacking (darn you Flavor Blasted Goldfish!) in order to make the above worthwhile.
• Finish reading Crazy Love, The Irresistible Revolution, and one or two stories out of my C.S. Lewis Complete Works. (This should be incredibly attainable!)
• Continue reading a gospel and Psalm every day, as well as journaling.
• Become less anxious about situations I cannot control, bah.
• Complete (3) craft projects I have pinned on Pinterest.
• In addition to the above, continue learning how to work with my sewing machine.
• Learn more about my camera and how to use it, possibly buy the 50mm before we head for Destin.
• Write better and sillier letters to Hayden each week. My letters are probably going to get boring!
• Continue praying about next summer and the possibility of {this}. 

I might come back over the weeks and add a few more that I remember. At the end of June we shall see where I am with all these goals! What are your goals for this month? Make a list on your blog... it's fun!

If you're looking for some good bloggin' this afternoon, head over to one of my favorite blogs Today's Letters.

Em and Mr. Loerke have been married for six years and write each other love letters everyday. I really love it because writing letters is something the Bum (or Scoob) and I have done for the past two years being long distance! It's so true that seeing a letter addressed to you is something that brings a smile to your face and really makes you feel loved! Anyway, Em is hilarious with every comment she makes and the pictures she takes. She's also really into everything outdoorsy and listens to some rockin' music, which makes us a match made in heaven. Yes, I feel like I am living in a space time continuum! I love waking up and reading their blog each morning because it just starts my day off right.

Another awesome thing they do is a thing called Fist Pump Fridays. Any of their (bazillions) of readers can send them pictures "fist-pumping" or "leg-kicking" celebrating any achievement they have made, and they post these pictures each Friday. Go and check out today's FPF and you might see a familiar face rocking a woobie cape and all! Then go read about what a woobie cape, the biscuit, and the MR340 (hello, bucketlist!) all mean! 

I hope you are all having a great weekend! Be on the lookout for my week in ten and a half update coming soon!

In 4 days I am running my half marathon in Oklahoma City! Yeehaw! I am really excited, especially because I am running the OKC Memorial Marathon. It is apparently an incredibly moving experience, because before they start the races they have 168 seconds of silence for those killed in the Murrah Building bombing. I think if I need any inspiration to run that day, that silence and remembrance of all the innocent lives lost will be it. They also line the course with banners of the names of every person killed. What a great way to remember them.

As for me personally, I am just running this to complete my first half marathon. I am not concentrating on my time (because I definitely haven't trained well enough to be expecting a great time) but rather the fact that I can run 13.1 miles and feel good about it! Obviously, I am going to keep running and challenging myself and begin focusing on my times once I finish this first one. See my post about the four seasons challenge to see about my future plans for my running. I know a half isn't something that is super incredible or anything, but the fact that I stuck with it makes me proud.

My daddy also bought me a brand new pair of running shoes this weekend while I was home. The shoes I was running in were many years old and were giving me gnarly blisters, so I decided to upgrade now, even though I haven't had a lot of time to break them in. However, no blisters can be worse (hopefully) than the ones I was getting before, so I think it'll be great. My dad is an avid runner. I think he runs every day, which is amazing to me. He swears by the Asics brand, and knowing Mr. Fitness endorses them, that's what I went with as well. I definitely feel a lot better in my new Asics. They are super cushy and fit the width of my foot a lot better! Thanks, Daddy-O!

My new kicks.... holla!

I am super excited. Keep me in your prayers Saturday night that I get enough carbs to sustain my run, and if you happen to be awake at 5:30AM on Sunday, pray that I am physically/mentally prepared! I am hoping the adrenaline will get me through this!

I really hate when I have put my mind to something and then end up not being able to do it.

I was going to run about nine miles today. I had mentally prepared for this... told myself I was going to do it. About a mile into my run my calves started burning intensely as they have for the past week or so that I have been running. This burning is so intense that I have to stop and stretch them out, and start again, with the pain coming back momentarily. My nine miles quickly turned into three... and that really upsets me.

Do any of you have suggestions on how to combat this? I stretch thoroughly before and after each run, I hydrate a lot, and I usually eat a spoonful of peanut butter after my run to give me protein to rebuild my muscles. My dad thinks I run on my toes, which is probably true (thanks ballet... now I am twinkle-toes!). So I will try to focus on running heel-toe... but if any one else has a good suggestion, I would love it!

My race that I am running is in 2.5 weeks, and at this rate, I feel like I won't be able to finish it because of this pain. NOT what I want. 

A while back (I think) I wrote how I was starting training for a half marathon! To my surprise, I am actually staying with it! I didn't start my actual training until I came back from Christmas break, just ran every few days to stay in shape, because the new marathon I am running is not until April 10. So every other day I run 3 miles to keep building my endurance. Then, once a week, I run one mile more than I ran the last week. I started running 2 miles, then the next 3, 4, and so on. Right now I am at six miles. Because of the weather I have been having to run in the gym on the elliptical and on the track. This week it was finally warm enough to run outside and let me tell you. I felt like I was starting all over from the beginning! The changing elevations and inclines make it tougher, but it feels so much better. I can already feel myself getting acclimated to the outdoors. I found an application that serves as a GPS, calorie counter, pace keeper that is really handy, and helps me track my progress. I am really just excited that I have stayed with it and that it's becoming something I want to do more than feel I need to. Every other day (sometimes every day) I look forward to my runs. And usually I go to an abs class afterwards which gets me all feelin' fit. And I like it. I also am looking forward to my running partner. Even though he's six hours away and isn't quite as disciplined (yet!) he will be awesome to run with and will definitely kick my butt. My pace is probably double his... looks like we are going to have to compensate here! But I just can't wait until the Big D marathon on April 10th and to cross that finish line! And hopefully continue with training and complete the four seasons challenge! 

I feel like Hayden and I will be doing something goofy at the finish line, so this picture seemed to fit. Minus holding hands. That's cheezy. Gross.

Why do girls wear nike shorts in the thirty-nine degree weather? Obviously you are cold, with your down jacket on. So make it easier on yourself and put some pants on, too! Likewise, leggings are not pants. Again, if you're cold, be smart and put real pants on. I understand wearing leggings if you are about to go run a marathon... but chances are, that's not the case.

Speaking of marathons. Today I am starting training to run my first half-marathon in March. 13.1 miles. And I can do it. This prepares me for another task on my bucket list- doing a triathlon. One thing at a time. But I am really excited. I feel like I need to prove this to myself, and to keep up with it. I have about 16 weeks to train, but I know now I will take some off for the holidays. So I should be in pretty good shape come March. I am really excited about it, and am going to try my hardest to keep with it. Prayers would be encouraging! Here's the link for the race.

I want to open a bakery. This bakery will be a collaboration with my handmade shop that I also want to open.

My brilliant cupcake/pastry/handmade shop will be named....
(drum roll please)

PINWHEELSandPASTRIES!

Too bad I actually have to go to college and get into medical school and become a physician (well, actually I am lucky enough to hope this will happen.) But if things don't go my way, this will be my back-up career.

In the meantime, beginning an owl pillow today for my room, as well as a rose pound cake. Post pictures when I am done.