Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts
Showing posts with label spring. Show all posts

Monday, April 14, 2014

Spring, Sports, and Sweat

Gorgeous weather in April? Yes, the weekend was marvelous, windy but warm. Birds sang, daffodils waved, and bunnies darted about in our backyard.



Since summer and *gasp* shorts are right around the corner, I added jogging to my exercise routine. I say routine lightly because it's more random than an actual schedule. It depends on the weather, the day, who needs to be where when, and if I'm exhausted or not. I power-walked and jogged twice this week. Not great, but something. :)

Last week kicked off both my kids' spring sports seasons. My daughter runs track, and the first meet was Tuesday night. At home games, I usually volunteer, and I was on stopwatch duty. Let me tell you, timing to place is a lot harder than timing a lane. It stressed me out!

I had to time the fourth place runner, which means trying to figure out the fourth person who crosses the finish line. The 100-mile dash? Horrifying! All the runners cross the line together. But the other volunteer parents made the event fun, and I got through the three hour meet with only one mistake and my lower back in knots.

My son's first baseball game was Saturday. The team we played had a big opening day ceremony for their program. They had the Toledo Mudhens mascot, Muddy, come out to throw the first pitch, someone sang the national anthem, and they introduced all of the players on each team for all four fields. We had a terrific time!

If you're a sports mom, you know the mom-jitters a new season brings. I always enjoy week two a bit more than week one, and by the last game of the season, I'm more than ready for a break. Being gone up to four nights a week and every other weekend gets hectic. Sometimes I hope for thunderstorms so we can have a normal night at home. That's terrible but it's true!

How was your weekend? Does it feel like spring where you live? Our temperatures are going to drop to the high forties, low fifties the rest of the week, so I'll be back in my sweaters. 

Have a terrific day!

Monday, March 31, 2014

End of March Smiles

Can I tell you how much I loved yesterday? I love, love, loved yesterday! First of all, I was able to drink coffee and watch Pioneer Woman before church--my favorite way to spend a weekend morning. Lots of babies and kids attended the service, which made me happy, and the sermon spoke right to my heart.

Sophie wouldn't pose for me on the walk, so I found this older shot of her!


Our weather has been so cold and miserable all year, but we were blessed with a fifty degree day and sunny to boot!

Sophie and I took a three-mile walk by the river in the afternoon. The trees are still bare and the path had slight remnants of ice, but the sound of birds twittering all around reminded me spring really is on its way. Boy, am I ready for it!

The walk posed a wee problem. Mini-dachshund's legs are very close to the ground. Sophie's belly and chest were caked with mud. She went straight to the bathtub when we got home. :)

Another nice thing about the weekend? Homemade meals. Our weekends have been packed all year. It felt great to take my time and make a pot of chili, a batch of pumpkin muffins, and a roast. 

Did you have a nice weekend? Anything stand out that made you smile?

*I won't be around to moderate today, but please leave a comment! I love reading your thoughts.*

Have a fabulous day!

Monday, April 5, 2010

April: A New Beginning

With the warmer weather, I watch the variety of birds return home. New buds perch on the ends of the tree branches, waiting for the proper time to unfurl. The dead, yellow grass gets pushed up by green blades. People walk with a bounce in their step instead of stooping in protection from the bitter cold. Spring is a welcome beginning to another season of outdoor life after being cooped up for months.

When I brainstormed possible topics for this month’s blog, the obvious correlation between spring and beginnings occurred, but the term “new beginning” seemed an oxymoron. Aren’t all beginnings new?


Well, no. Some don't feel new. It’s easy to slip into routines and habits and let the freshness of life become stale. Some beginnings simply feel as if we’ve been there, done that. They may introduce heavy layers of responsibilities. When aspects of our life feel repetitive and boring, we can approach them in a new way.

Join me all month as we discuss a variety of methods to bring the "new" back to our beginnings, whether in our novels or our routine daily tasks. Let's view each day as a new beginning—the start of a fulfilled life.

I’m celebrating this new beginning—the return of spring--with a vase of flowers.

How will you celebrate the beginning of April?