A year ago today I ran a marathon. And even though the past year hasn't gone as expected, I'm right where I'm supposed to be. This may not always be apparent, but I try to remind myself that it is the truth.

Do you allow yourself to dream? I mean really dream? Huge, almost unimaginable wishes for yourself? It wasn't until recently that I realized that I wasn't. I was never truly allowing myself to dream big. I always kept my dreams small, realistic, and what I believed to be "doable." My dreams were "safe." They were things I could easily achieve often with little fear standing in my way. But doing that was setting limits for myself. I was basically deciding what was and wasn't possible before even trying. And if I've learned anything these past couple years, it's that anything is possible. Going from non-athlete to marathon runner really helped me see this. Dreams can be huge, wild, crazy, scary, etc... And really, shouldn't they be? It's those wild, unimaginable dreams that really help you appreciate who it is that you are. They give you purpose. Something to reach for. When you limit your dreams, you're holding yourself back. You'...

This past week, I finally tackled a project I've been neglecting for years--getting a handle on the girls' school work. Bag after bag, box after box had been piling up as I struggled to find the best method to treasure all the artwork and school papers that the girls constantly produce. I had considered countless methods, including scanning or photographing each piece, but every idea seemed overwhelming because I had waited so long (my oldest just started 4th grade). I had a mountain to tackle. Then early this summer, a neighbor mentioned a schoolwork portfolio she had purchased for her 1st grade twins that helped her quickly file away the twins kindergarten papers. The ease and simplicity of the portfolio excited me, so I immediately ran to the store to buy two of my own. But then the empty portfolios sat all summer. The purchase price hadn't included the time necessary to sift through the mountains of paper. Or instructions on how to cram the mountains into a folder. Bu...

It seems like over the past several years, I've seen a lot of emphasis placed on doing what you love. Doing what you love brings great joy and who doesn't want to be happy? But so often we jump immediately to the big stuff like "Am I happy in my career? No? Then change careers." But really, the small stuff can be just as important, if not more important. It's the small, day-to-day stuff that can really add up. Why do I bring this up? It's silly really, but for the past two mornings, during my morning runs, I've listened to my Pandora Christmas music station. I'm currently trying to keep my runs slow as I ease back into the routine, and my normal music mix just gets me going too fast. So I tried a country music mix for a few mornings, which I enjoyed. But yesterday I thought why not give Christmas music a try. I love everything Christmas, especially the music. I'm such a sucker for Bing Crosby and White Christmas. But then I felt a bit silly. And t...

This past birthday in March, I took a leap of faith and signed up to run my second marathon ( CIM in December). And I have struggled to come to terms with my decision ever since. The further I got from my first marathon last December, the harder it has been for me to wrap my mind around the idea of doing it again. This was not helped as I took a break from running to let last year's injuries heal. The further I got out of the running habit, the harder it has been to get it back. It's been a challenging year. Nothing really bad has happened, but I've felt a bit out of sorts and even lost at times. A drastic change from the focus and drive I felt last year. But now, despite a continued struggle over whether or not to run this year's CIM , I have come to the point on the calendar when I needed to start a marathon training plan. Training for a marathon isn't something to procrastinate about. In order to keep my options open, I decided to begin a training plan. Two wee...

Even though my blog hasn't reflected it recently, there is much, much more to me than just running. The ebb and flow of life leads to a natural letting go of activities in order to concentrate on new activities. So as a result of my big year running and losing weight, I just naturally backed away from my creative side. I still found ways to flex my creative muscle, especially in the kitchen, but for the most part, my beautiful craft room was neglected. But I'm suddenly feeling the urge to return to my craft room and to an old hobby--scrapbooking. With the school year starting for my girls this week, I find myself feeling rather nostalgic. But when I want to look back at photos, they're either trapped on my computer or in my phone. It's just not as much fun for me to view a slide show, compared to flipping through the pages of an album. It's time for me to free my trapped photos. I know my girls would also love that. But life is crazy, especially during the school y...

Today, with this blog post, I am joining the Declaration of You Blog Lovin' Tour . The Declaration of You! is a new book by Michelle Ward and Jessica Swift , giving readers all the permission they've craved to step passionately into their lives, discover how they and their gifts are unique and uncover what they are meant to do! When I first learned about the book and the blog tour, it seemed like a fun and exciting opportunity to write, to get back to my blog, and to join forces with over 100 other creative bloggers. This week's topic is self-care, which has been a big area of change for me these past couple years. As a mother, a wife, a daughter, an optometrist, a business owner, etc. it has sometimes been too easy to neglect the area of self-care as I made sure everyone else was taken care of first. Now this doesn't mean I wouldn't try, but often I was too tired to do the things I needed, and wanted, for me. But a couple years ago, I learned some life l...

This morning I woke up early for a run around my normal route. But it wasn't so normal today. Friday afternoon, the nature area around which I run, caught on fire. And there was just enough wind and dry vegetation to make the fire a challenge to put out. It took several hours and 180 firefighters to contain the blaze, which damaged 30 acres and five structures. Two of those structures were homes in the small neighborhood that we live, only 0.3 miles away. Needless to say, it was a nerve wracking several hours, wondering what would happen with the fire and our home. Thankfully everything turned out okay for us, but our nerves are a bit frazzled and our world a bit shaken. It was obviously scary for the girls, between the threat of the fire, the huge cloud of smoke in the sky, the smell of smoke at our house, and the policemen blocking entry to our neighborhood. My youngest, Katherine, has an amazing imagination and can use it to worry quite a bit, but on Friday it was her sister, R...

This week's meeting topic at Weight Watchers was about eating on vacation. It seemed of little value at first, because we have no vacations in sight. Maybe a day trip here and there, but nothing more. But as we discussed the issues and strategies, we were asked to remember past vacations and the successes we had. So I immediately thought of our whirlwind trip to Disneyland for New Years this past December. I remembered packing nutritious snacks, and breakfasts, to not only help with food choices but also to save a little money. But more important than that, I remembered how great I felt during that trip. We spent three long days in the parks, but I felt great. I never truly felt tired the way I had remembered past Disneyland trips. I felt like I could walk for days (which we essentially did). I even remember feeling happy and energized as we waited on Main Street for New Year's Eve fireworks at midnight (my two little girls could not say the same; in fact my five year old...

This past weekend was girls' weekend at my house (although my husband might argue that it's girls' weekend every weekend between me, our two daughters, and even our girl dog). My husband was away doing "boy" things, so my mom came to visit so we could do "girl" things. One of the activities, dare I say the highlight of the weekend, was participating in a 5K on Sunday morning. And it wasn't just any 'ol 5K, it was a women's 5K. Perfect! So when I realized the timing of the event, I signed up my team of women: myself, my mom, and my two daughters, Rebecca (age 8) and Katherine (age 5). This 5K was the first for my mom. She's been to a couple of races as a spectator, but never as a participant. And I was excited to have her joining us in the race fun. Equally excited was Katherine (my 5 year old), because this would be her first chip-timed race. Her excitement didn't come from a desire to be fast and timed, because that was by no means ...

Running on Inspiration #29: Only accepting "all-or-nothing" can sometimes mean not even trying. But something is better than nothing, right? Don't let the need to be perfect stop you from starting. It all adds up. It all counts. Especially the "in-between" stuff. Things worth doing don't always come easy. Often these things take constant effort. Both the obvious effort to get it done, but also the effort it takes to remember what it is that you want to get done. What I find myself working to remember is that being perfect is not the goal . And I'm not saying I'm a perfectionist, because I am not. At least not the stereotype I have in my head. I do not have a pristine house (I'm an awful housekeeper) and I'm the first to say "that's good enough," especially when working on a craft project. Yet I do find myself constantly falling into the trap of an "all-or-nothing" way of thinking, which is no different than expecting ...

I happily embellished my photo using the new (and addicting) iPhone app by  A Beautiful Mess "Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.  Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." ~Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

I've been sitting on some news for a month now. Last month, on my birthday, I got swept away in a daring moment. I was celebrating another year of life (and what an amazing year it was), watching the inspirational Biggest Loser finale, and processing the early death of an acquaintance. And in that moment, I felt a strong need to recommit to myself, my health, and cherish being alive. And so what does one do in that instance? Well I took a daring leap. I jumped online and signed up to run the California International Marathon again this December. I then quickly questioned my sanity. Needless to say, running 26.2 miles is hard, but all the training that goes into it is even harder. And the further I've gotten from December 2nd, the more afraid I've been to do it again. But I remember feeling the desire to do it again that same day, right after finishing my first marathon. I wanted the chance to do it injury-free, so I could give it my all. And I trusted that crazy "some...

Hmm... So what do I mean by this? Let me explain. It started with a few seemingly unrelated ideas. The first bit came last fall from a conversation I had with Tiffany Han , a wonderfully inspiring life coach. It was brought to my attention that things that I had always thought were inherently true about myself didn't have to be that way. If I wanted to change something, I could. I was the storyteller of my life and I could rewrite the story if I so desired. I had that power. Hmm... Then, last month, I finished watching the 14th season of NBC's the Biggest Loser . I've only watch one other season, but both times I found it incredibly inspiring. And one of the contestants, Jackson , at one point said, "Weight loss is 100% mental. You have to want it more than anything." Now from reading people's comments on Facebook, not everyone embraces this point of view. But I recognized its value. I had seen this in my own weight loss journey, as well as in long distance ...

It's been almost four months since I ran my first marathon, and practically that long since I've written a blog post. I know I never quite finished my marathon story here, but I've found it increasingly difficult to return to it. Just as I took a break from running to recover, I seemed to have also taken an unintentional break from writing and creating, too. I'm now slowly returning to everything. It is not only taking effort to build back up my running, but also my writing and creating. And even though it is challenging, these are all necessary activities for me that I hold dear to my heart. As I add them all back into my life, I'm feeling happier, less lost, and more alive. The marathon was an incredible experience. As I've written before, the weather was crazy and my emotions overflowed. Once I started, the weather remained awful, but my emotions actually calmed. I may have been wet, and a little cold, but I had my music in one ear and I was running. I ...

My first "zentangle" I know I owe you the end to my marathon story, but today I need to interrupt that slow moving story for a visit to the present. Since completing my first marathon last December and losing over 40lbs in the process of training, I've actually felt a little lost. After months of training and "dieting," I had reached my finish line. I had achieved some really big goals and faced some really big challenges and fears. So now what? You'd think "set another goal" followed, but between slowing down my running to heal and the holidays and the unpredictability of life, I was hesitant to push myself into another goal right away. And that was alright at first. I had been working hard and a break was in order. So with mixed emotions, I stopped running for awhile and I enjoyed the holidays with my family. I even snuck in a family trip to Disneyland to ring in the New Year (what better way to celebrate a year filled with incredible accom...

As I mentioned before, in the days leading up to the CIM , I was extremely nervous and emotional. I can't tell you when I did something that scared me so much. I really can't. But I faced that fear. Early that Sunday morning, as the rain and wind beat against the house, I got my stuff together and prepared to start, and hopefully finish, my first marathon. Fortunately, I wasn't alone at the start. My friend Paula (whom I had run several races with during the year, including the NWM half marathon in SF ) was just crazy enough to try a marathon with me. So our beloved husbands dropped us off on that dark, stormy morning, armed with their love and encouragement, as well as our rain ponchos, sports goo, etc.. We were dropped off about a mile from the start and I will say that the weather was crazy awful. As we climbed out of the car, we were immediately greeted by the heavy wind and rain. We pushed towards the growing mass of runners and long lines of port-a-potties (an unfort...

Here I am! I did survive my first marathon on December 2, 2012! I am officially a marathoner! Yay! For those who have been wondering, I am sorry I left you hanging for so, so long. December brought some unexpected distractions and I feel like I'm just realizing its January, even though we're over half way through it. Yikes. Nonetheless, here I am 1-1/2 months later and 26.2 miles further into the amazing journey that is my life. As I left off , I grew increasingly nervous as I got closer to the California International Marathon ( CIM ). Not only had my training not gone as plan due to injury (aka IT Band issues ), but the weather became a huge factor. In past years, the CIM would generally fall on a cool, crisp day, but no such luck for me. It was stormy, wet weather with 30-50 mph winds. I must have checked the weather forecast hundreds of times in the days leading up to it, hoping to see a calmer forecast (and I swear when I went to bed the night before, the forecast was cal...

I've been wanting to write a blog post for a while now, but I just can't seem to settle my thoughts long enough to do it. So please forgive the brevity of this post. It is simply an attempt to reach out and help settle my thoughts. This Sunday will be my very first marathon. 26.2 miles. My training, this journey, began eight months ago when I bravely signed up to run in the CIM . And oh what a journey it has been. In recent months, I've been dealing with setback after setback in my training and it makes me nervous. It makes me nervous when things don't go as planned. I am even a little scared. Excited, too, but mostly scared. But that's okay because I am also open. Open to the experience and open to possibilities. Big things happen when we dare to step outside our comfort zone. Some say that's when magic happens. And running a marathon, possibly in the pouring rain, definitely equates to stepping outside of my comfort zone. So wish me luck as I step up to the s...