The end of August

I'm pretty sure that this August was the fastest moving month.

Ever.

Well, second to July. Those months were moving out of the year like they stole something from May and June. Dang.

So, there are three weeks until the end of summer. How will you savor these next weeks? 

Relationships: I'm in LOVE

Kenley doesn't know what I'm about to do.

We're sitting in the living room and watching tv. I'm writing this blog on Monday...the 23rd. We're just about to hit the 24th of August...we will have been married ten months tomorrow.

I'm going to ask Kenley what are his ten favorite memories.

The Wedding.
The Honeymoon. (Miami <3)
Getting our dog, Dolly. We got her the Sunday after we got married.

He got distracted by this weird television show...dual survivors or something or rather.

Moving into our current place.
Maxwell/Jill Scott Concert in STL.
Our trip to Lexington in May.
My parents' visit.
Traveling to Nashville for our goddaughter's birthday.


Mine are:
Walking our dog together.
Working in the yard together.
Laughing really hard at something insignificant.
Cooking together. Kenley is a good good good good cook.
Sunday grocery shopping. We walk around Bakers, separately, and we are so in tune to our grocery list. It is magic.
Our wedding was pretty spectacular.
Celebrating Thanksgiving together was fun.
Talking with Kenley about what would be next for me in regards of a job...I felt so understood and loved.
ER visits with Kenley. This will always stick out to me...not a favorite like I'd like to do this again...but I love this kid and don't want anything to happen to him.
Our travels. He's a fun road tripper and airplane companion.

I've written ten...K got stuck at 8. Let's see if he has any more. (I haven't read him mine yet)

Wait for it.
Valentine's Day in KC was fun.
We went to a Japanese Steakhouse together...I(Jara) had been craving it SO much...we went straight up to Benihana. Classic.

These are just a few fun memories. I like to capture memories...I don't want to forget them.
Ever.

GARDENING: the smell of basil and tomato

Today I'm thankful for our garden. I planted basil, peppers, rosemary, tomatoes and mint.

Our mint is going crazy.

Each time I water our garden or walk through it...I'll rub my hands on the basil...basil has an unmistakable scent. After the basil I'll touch the tomato plants. It doesn't take much for the tomato plants to offer a pretty strong aroma. And I love the smells.

Basil and tomatoes have a really strong presence and always sorta scream summer.

I'm happy for our garden.

A Marathon?

A fellow gym member has mentioned that she wants to run a marathon.
She asked me to run it with her.
I asked K if he would run it.
He said he would train with me.

Should I train for a marathon for my 30th?

Introducing!!!!

Me!

I have some of the most incredible friends. They are making introductions on my behalf, sending out my resume, you know...being incredible friends.

One of my friends put me in touch with the editors of Omaha.net. Omaha.net is a pretty fun online place for you to get all of the information you need about Omaha, I mean everything. I will be contributing to a blog on health once a month.

Big smiles.

I have a few ideas floating around my head. I'm looking forward to writing again. I'm looking forward to having a writing deadline. I'm also looking forward to having my work edited. I'm looking forward to putting some writing roots in Omaha. I don't know how to explain this very well, but i'm looking forward to connecting to Omaha in a way through my writing.

Stay tuned as I'm sure I'll let you know when I'm posting online!

Turning 30....a way to celebrate

I want to learn how to Chicago step.
Anyone know where I can learn?

All smiles and the chronology of my journey

Today I decided I would mix up my Turbo Kick routine a little bit...I mixed my routine up with some older rounds and newer rounds. It was really fun. I had some new participants and some old participants...and no mic.

So. I had fun. I screamed. My voice cracked. And I didn't care. I was there in class loving life.

At the end of class I mentioned that one of my friends was a personal trainer at another Y and also a massage therapist. A few people came up to her after class and asked her some questions. One woman, i'll call her Mary, came up to me and we ended up chatting. She said that she loved taking my class and Nick's class because we made it so inclusive. I told her that's the beauty of health, health should be accessible to anyone. I told her about my own health journey and that I was close to 230 pounds a few years ago and I decided to take my health seriously. I joined Weight Watchers and was in all of the Y classes I could take. There was a point during all of those classes that I knew I wanted to become an instructor.

After class I walked downstairs, full of sweat, and some new participants asked me more questions. They wanted to know when I taught and if the class could take 12 more people. I said of course. The new participants are part of a local program and they said that they enjoyed the class and wanted to keep coming - it was good for them. I smiled. I'm not perfect at working out or teaching, but I am all smiles.

I left the gym floating. I called my workout instructor inspiration and told him thank you for what he does.

This is where I've come from...
















To now: