Why Do You Run?

Bibs for my daughter and I to wear on National Running Day 2013

Today (June 5, 2013) is National Running Day.

 

Why I Run

I run to push myself to the next level. I have *never* run in my life until 8 weeks ago, and I see the difference. I also run to have a fun outlet with my daughter, alleviate frustration and other negative emotions, and will continue to run to keep this weight off since I recently reached my goal. Making new friends is a pleasant side effect of this newfound determination I have.

This Girl is on Fire: My Life in May 2013

My Weight Watcher’s 10% keychain is holding symbols of my milestones (from right to left): Live Life Active charm, Goal charm, 25 lb loss charm, 16 weeks charm, and 5K race charm. All that’s missing is my Lifetime charm–I’ll get it in June.

In May 2013, I got my new running habit off to a good start with some training runs and PRs.  I also met another celebrity (sort of), reluctantly renewed the lease on my dwelling, attended my first homeschool conference, saw my share of movies, met someone new, and got a taste of what my summer will be like without the girl. Read on for the deets… (except for the met someone new part, ha ha).

 

She’s Done Losing

I’ll start off my monthly recap with my two biggest accomplishments for the month, which include my Weight Watchers progress and running stuff.
According to my scale, which I weigh myself on periodically, first thing in the morning after voiding, naked), I reached my goal weight in April, losing 30 pounds since June 2012. But clothed at Weight Watchers, I didn’t reach that goal until Mid-May. I had a terrible cold (while it was 80s outside all week), so my appetite was smaller, but not by much. I think I hit the finish line by 1) wearing light dresses to the WW meeting, 2) eating a low carb diet for a few weeks, and 3) running about 10 miles a week, which is a fitness activity my body is not used to.  I’ll remain on “Maintenance” for 6 weeks before achieving “Lifetime” status near the end of June, so long as I weigh no more than 2 pounds above or below my goal weight (so far so good).

The Start of Something Big: My Life in April 2013

April 2013 was a great month for me. My life has taken some awesome, positive, encouraging turns. I completed the A to Z Challenge with 26 new posts in one month! Here’s a few other highlights:

 

• I ran a free promotion on my first book with Amazon Kindle. It hit #1 that week.
• I reached my 25 lb milestone on Weight Watchers, after battling a plateau for the past few months. (I’m less than 2 lbs from my goal weight.)
• Turbokick has taken a temporary backseat as I’ve taken up running into my workout routine.  I completed a 6K, and felt unstoppable. I believe running 3 to 4 times a week has helped me break my plateau.
• My forthcoming book cover is complete. The book is in editorial now–still on track for a summer release.
• Made some great connections while networking, which I haven’t done since last year. One of those connections resulted in a spotlight on People You Need to Know Women’s Magazine. I’m expecting more fruit from additional contacts as well.
• Reconnected with two people I’ve loved, and made peace with them.
• Had an awesome, fun visit from my sister, whom I last saw a few months ago when I surprised her for her birthday.  I love my family!!

I’m feeling really grateful about something else that’s pretty promising, but I’m going to hold my tongue for a bit. Can you guess what it is?

What are your plans for May?

Zoom Zip Zing–In the Zone!

When starting this A to Z Challenge on April 1, I didn’t know where I was going to pull 26 blog posts from. I schedule myself time to draw up an editorial calendar so I can plan out my content, but I mostly write here when inspired. My thanks to all the new readers and subscribers (some of whom are also victors in the Challenge). I received more consistent comments in this one month than most of the 6-year history of Daree’s Insights.

Xavier, DMX and Iyanla

Xavier Simmons and his famous father, rapper DMX (“Dead Man X”) were recently featured on an episode of OWN’s “Iyanla Fix My Life.” DMX admitted that he has done drugs most of his life and cheated on his wife numerous times, having 7 children with other women (in addition to theirs).

His oldest child (with his estranged wife) is now a man in search of a healthy relationship with his father. Unfortunately Xavier’s wish was not fulfilled–at least not yet. DMX was unwilling to accept Xavier’s request to get off drugs in order to have a healthy relationship with him. His attitude and speech was (I am paraphrasing)- “You can accept me as I am [an unrecovered addict] or else forget it.” DMX also cursed Iyanla numerous times and walked out on the interview repeatedly. He’s facing a lot of demons, and it was hard to watch.

Warring Against the Odds

What follows is a guest post from a man who is playing a tug of war in his relationship with his firstborn daughter, which is being threatened by her mother. If you can relate, please feel free to comment.

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As a non-custodial parent, I can attest to the battle that rages every day in courtrooms and living rooms around this country over issues of child support, child custody, and more.  These private wars take on a life of their own when you add in lawyers, judges, counselors, evaluators, case handlers, etc.; all people will little to no interest in the actual outcome of the decisions they make or the lives they affect.

Source: Ontario Family Law Blog

I don’t like having third parties involved in matters affecting my child, but there’s something I dislike even more.  That’s coming to the realization that my child’s mother has been mentally poisoning my child to believe that she is a victim of some kind and that daddy hates mommy.  I was shocked when I realized that matters handled at the courthouse were being discussed and shared openly with this child.

When asked why she would be sharing this with a pre-teen, the mother’s response was “well, she deserves to know what’s going on with her.  Since this affects her, she has a right to know.”  Really?  I don’t think so.

Operating in the Favor You Already Have

Last weekend, I attended the 2013 Life & Favor Singles Empowerment Conference  at the Greater Community COGIC. Pastor Matthew L. Brown opened up with a dynamite message about favor. (I missed a lot by putting my notes on my phone instead of on paper, but I have to share this with you.)

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Favor is the traceable, trackable evidence of God’s benefit in your life.  God gave you favor from the day you were conceived. You’ve always had it. It’s an attitude of intentional determination.

It’s important for us to live our lives conscious of this and do everything with an attitude of favor.  Be IN life, don’t just get THROUGH life. Favor allows you enjoy your journey.
Make sure you give your all because favor is renewed every day. You should die empty.

9 Steps to Good Parenting

photo credit: Brett Jordan via photopin cc

This post is a primer of sorts, adapted from notes I took from my pastor, Joel Gregory, from a message entitled, “The 12 Steps to Parenting” in October 2011 (I had to make the blog title fit the A to Z Challenge!). The points are his, but the commentary is mine except where noted. (Note: These are in a random order- not necessarily in order of most importance.)

1 – Make sure your children are taught to respect authority. You have to model this yourself as well–it’s not just for the kiddies. You like to run every yellow light you encounter, talk back to cops, and speak to other adults in authority in a rude or impatient manner, it doesn’t matter what you tell your kids to do in school. They will learn from your behavior more than your words. “Be careful to be respectful even when you’ve done right and authority seems to be wrong. [In such cases,] God will deal with that authoritative figure.”

Kids Who Aren’t Cute and Cuddly

Credit: Fanpop

I’ve got a shocking admission to make: I don’t like some my daughter’s friends.

What the heck is wrong with me? How can I not like little girls when I have one myself?

Well I’ll tell you… it’s not all of them, of course, but she’s an only child and ALWAYS asks to play with other kids, even on days when she went to school–it doesn’t matter.

My daughter is very well-behaved in public and with other adults. If she wasn’t, I’m sure she wouldn’t be popular or repeatedly get asked to do things with their kids. No, she’s not perfect, but I can 99.9% guarantee that she’s behaves as well or better for other adults as she does with me.

Juvie Rape and Jada’s Plea

Following the “hot” news stories is not what I do, but a recent one that got my attention is the incident in Steubenville, OH where a 16 year old girl was raped and onlookers broadcast it on their social media networks instead of getting help.

Those that chose to treat as an event worthy of tweet and social media broadcasting instead of calling for help are (IMO) just as guilty as those who physically committed the crime.

 

Indifference or Ignorance?

Our culture is insensitive to victims of rape, especially when the victim knows her attacker(s) and/or alcohol/drugs are involved. But what about the attitude of young people toward all this… is rape just a part of the casual hook-up culture among young people these days?

Were those kids really that indifferent? Too scared to be a courageous bystander? Was it just another party? Consider this snippet from an article in The Christian Science Monitor:

Without some forum for discussing these societal images and counteracting their influence, teens’ sense of right and wrong can be obscured.

“Students should have the opportunity to have conversations about media literacy and the understanding that what we see in the media is not always a great reflection of consent,” says Ms. Rosenstein of Advocates for Youth.

What if this 16 year old were your daughter, sister or cousin? Where do we draw the line?

Credit: Feministe

Men Can Stop Rape is an international organization that mobilizes men to use their strength for creating cultures free from violence, especially men’s violence against women. They recently launched WHERE DO YOU STAND?, a new bystander intervention campaign for college men.  WHERE DO YOU STAND? positively portrays young men as vital allies and invites all men to consider their own stance on men preventing sexism and sexual assault.