June already?

I can't believe this year is 1/2 over. My quest to go beyond the daily grind is 1/2 over! I feel like I haven't accomplished as much as I wanted to, but I have kept busy trying new things - cross country skiing, painting class, 5k running. I wish there was more, but money and time have not been on my side this year.

May flew by. I didn't do the hiking club. I was supposed to, but May was very busy or very rainy on the weekends of the hikes. I plan on doing it during the month of June. I know there is a hike next weekend, and I'm hoping to make it!

Also, for the month of June I plan on eating only locally grown fruits and veggies. I think the farmer's market will start in my city in June. I can also visit various farmstands in the area. This will be a challenge because I have been very lazy lately with my cooking. I've been taking the easy way out and not doing much cooking at all. So my challenge for the month of June is to use locally grown food and cook more!

Flashback to April - Me? A Runner?

Starting back in late March/early April I started training for a 5k with a friend. Now, let me explain that I am NOT A RUNNER! I always joke that I feel like an Oompaloompa. I also feel like I run and my butt follows in slow motion after me. I can't explain it really, but I feel 100% ridiculous running.

However, there has always been a part of me that wants to be a runner. So, I started using the Couch to 5K program. It's a great 9 week program, and it teaches you how to run longer distances. I'm in love with this program! I highly recommend buying the app for it. It also connects to your music, so you don't have to run in silence or listen to preset music.

I started off really well with this program. I was progressing very nicely, and then BAM! April vacation hit. I went to Myrtle Beach and tried running on the beach - but it didn't work out so nicely. From then on, I've been stuck at week 6. I should have been done with the program last week, but I'm not. I've had a bit of trouble getting back into it. It's just pure laziness right now. So I'm still doing week 6, and will most likely stick with this for awhile. I'm slowly starting to hit my brick wall.

I was supposed to do a 5k race yesterday, but ended up not going. Instead, I did my own 5k loop around my city. I had a certain time in mind that I wanted to complete it, and I finished at exactly that moment (plus an additional 4 seconds). I did a combination of walk and run. I was pretty proud of myself for completing it. I am now focusing on improving that time. I usually run 2-3x week, on top of the additional workouts I do.

As I said before, I highly recommend the Couch to 5k program for anyone who can't run but wants to!

Rewind Back to March

Back in March I participated in a Paint Bar class with a bunch of friends. Basically you drink wine and paint. What's not to love about that? We had such a good time. The teacher was fabulous. Our topic was Wine for Two. She taught us where to put certain markings on our canvas and how to connect everything. I'm not at all artistic, and I have to say that my picture came out awesome!!! I'm doing another one tonight. I can't wait.

This is one of my newest favorite things to do. I feel like I'm at a strange age where bars/clubs just aren't fun anymore (and haven't been for awhile!), and I'm not settled down with a family or kids yet. I feel like I don't have a lot of activities that are out there for me. However, I found this one!

Update!

So, things on my monthly adventure calendar have not gone the way I planned. Time to make new adventures instead!

February - snowshoeing lessons <- NO SNOW!

March - volunteering at a dog shelter <- WEEKENDS TOO HECTIC!

April - dodgeball league --- lord help me!!! I'm most intimidated by this idea!!! I'm not that athletic, but it looks like a blast. I guess this is the whole point of me getting out of my rut!! <- NOT ENOUGH MONEY!

Instead, this is the new plan.

March - Paint Bar. I would give my left arm to be creative, so I took a Paint Bar class. Completed it, and loved it. Will write more later on this!

April - Training for a 5k. Lord help me :)

May - still planning on doing the hiking club. Will also run my first 5k! Skydiving? Maybe.

I feel good that I'm not just sitting around doing nothing! I may not be following my original calendar according to plan, but I'm out of my rut at least! I still want to do dodgeball. I may push that into June. However, I played dodgeball with my students the other day. If 3rd graders can kick my butt, can you imagine what will happen if I play with adults?

February was a bust!

This month I was supposed to try snowshoeing. It would have been great - except for the fact that no new snow has fallen! Everything that is left is hard, icy snow. It's a solid sheet of ice out there. Snow shoeing would have ended my life ;) I don't think that I'll get to this challenge before the end of this month. Maybe next year!

However, this month hasn't been a complete waste of my time. I joined a new gym, and have tried classes that I never would have tried before. I have had such a good time making a complete fool of myself! I feel great, and have am having fun meeting new people.

So even though I didn't follow the correct plan for February, I did get out of my daily rut by trying new classes!

My horoscope?!?!?

If you go back to my very first post, I posted something about my 2011 horoscope. There were different sections, but the one that cracked me up the most was about my love life. It talked about my mating season. "Book special beauty treatments, give yourself plenty of playtime and vamp up your online profile because mating season will have officially begin."

Ha, could it be coming true? I just signed up for online dating and have been communicating with a guy. He asked about getting together, and now I'm waiting for a response. Even though this isn't part of my monthly adventures it is beyond my daily grind!!!! Let's see how this all plays out! :)

As far as February adventures, as long as the snow sticks around I'll be out trying my snowshoeing adventure next week during vacation!

Last cross-country post for January

I have successfully completed my first month of adventure. I know we still have about 2 weeks left of the month, but how much more can I write about skiing? :) I have x-country skied 3x in the last week. My muscles hate me. However, I love all the calories I have burned this week alone! I wore my HRM yesterday, and it said I burned 1100 calories. This is way better than going to the gym. I hate the gym!

I have loved every second of x-country skiing and I plan on keeping it up for the remainder of the winter. I'm hoping to get out there at least once a week, while managing to keep up with my other monthly adventures.

Next up? Snowshoeing!