The Beginning

Recently, I've found myself thinking that I should blog about the crazy things I do. In the past I've had travel blogs to keep a record of places visited and adventures had - also a place where concerned parties could go to make sure I was still alive after said adventures. But it hasn't been until more recently that I thought I should also try this for my, well, "regular" life. Going back to school (something I never thought I would do), I realized blogging would be a helpful way to remember this period of my life, since I would probably be too busy remember anything than what I was cramming my brain with at the time. Since then, there have been a few endeavors that have pushed me over the edge and into blogdom.

One of the most recent escapades included a detox/cleanse after a mega-marathon of food related documentaries. One of my favorites was Forks Over Knives, but the film that eventually sucked me into a detox was Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. Let's just say there were lots of fruits, veggies and time dedicated to food prep. I didn't find it to be as fabulous or impactful as some do, but I definitely learned a few things: 1) tasty new recipes; 2) I can enjoy cooking - especially when I pull off a new recipe; and 3) eating well is very labor intensive. All in all, I'm glad that I did it, but don't expect to hear about my detox diet again any time soon.

On the very day that I was ending this strange experiment, my dear friend Sadie sent me an email proposing that we run a half marathon this winter. Now, many of you know that on a list of Christineisms, "I don't run" could be included. I will admit, I have tried (what I like to call) not walking a handful of times over the past few months, and Sadie knows this, but I am by no means a runner. Despite the advice of my rational self, I agreed to do it. If all goes as planned, we will be running the Livestrong half marathon in February. It will be in Austin, so I must confess that I've really only said yes to get her to come and visit. I've done my fair share of surprise runs for Sadie in the past (usually involving medical emergencies), so I don't see why we should change this tradition now. As of today, the longest distance I have not walked run at one time is 2 miles; this phenomenon happened once a couple of months ago. Today I ran 1.75 miles without stopping. Needless to say, there's a lot of preparing to do over the next 3 months to build up to 13.1 miles, so you can expect to hear about running milestones (hopefully) in the near future. Here's to another unexpected adventure!

In honor of the half marathon, I feel obligated to share this gem that I found on Facebook last month. This photo says it all.

Above all else, I'm learning to embrace the unexpected adventures in my life. When you leave yourself open to all of life's possibilities (even the crazy ones), I find that's when the best things happen.