The Challenge 2012…

I am a competitive person.  I need a little friendly competition to motivate myself.  I do not run if I am not training for a race and I usually eat like a complete mess.  I am busy.  My life is busy.  I know, excuses, excuses.

However, back in December our Educator’s Health Alliance was promoting healthy living with its month long challenge...Flab on Fire.  This meant tracking the days I exercised for 30 minutes or more.  The reward, a chance to win a Visa gift card if you are compliant for at least 20 days in December.  The chance to win a Visa gift card, although slim to none, won my heart over immediately.  Plus, the upcoming holidays usually involve a lot of extra indulging so I thought it might counteract some of those calories.  So, I started setting my alarm for 5:35 a.m. (most people had to pick their jaw up off the ground when they heard this.  If you know me at all you know I am NOT a morning person), getting out of bed and heading to the gym for a little morning news and running.  I decided that I was going to become a morning person.  FYI...I’m still working on the whole becoming a morning person.  Baby steps.  I met my goal, but did not win.  Big shocker, but no regrets.

Then came January.  I kept running, but wanted to do something more.  I came across a little challenge online, but needed someone to do it with.  I sent an e-mail to a few people at school and they were all interested.  So I thought I would include anyone at school that wanted to participate.  A little modification and 24 responses later, we were ready to go.  It’s a 4 week weight loss/be healthy challenge.  You earn points throughout the week for different things such as eating fruits and veggies, drinking water, keeping a food journal, not eating sweets and exercising.  My nemesis...eating 3 servings of veggies.  I don’t mind them, but I don’t love them.  So 3 servings can be a lot. 

It has only been 5 days, but I love how excited everyone is.  On Monday there were cupcakes in the teachers’ lounge.  Normally they are gone by 10 a.m. but on Tuesday afternoon one little cupcake still sat in the container.  Now that is dedication.  Can’t wait for the coming weeks.  There is strength in numbers...and competition.

Now for some Pinspiration:

… 

TGIF...

{The Launes}

All Things Running…

It is so easy to blog when I am out of school.  Partially because I have a life again, but mostly because of all my extra time.  I went back to school over a week ago and of course I have been running pretty much non-stop ever since. 

However, I did have a rare opportunity last week...to run outside. In January.  Ohmyword.  It wasn’t even just a nice day for January.  It would have been a nice day in March.  So Jamie and I hit the streets of Ashland for a little January run. 

But we soon discovered what a difference a week makes.  Because exactly one week later the weather went from 70 degrees to negative 10 with wind chill.  Back to the treadmill...but, I did get new running shoes this week!  My feet and knees and shins are all very thankful for this new purchase.  It was time.

It is hard to believe that January is basically halfway over.  The days are slowly getting longer and I just know spring will be here before we know it! 

{The Launes}

NYE 2011…

Some of my favorite memories growing up are from New Years Eve.  Each year I had my best friend Niki spend the night.  We would spend the entire night cutting confetti from old newspapers that had been saved and watching Dick Clark’s Rockin’ New Years Eve.  The Sunday comics were the best because they added some color!  At 11 we would  watch the ball drop in New York and finish our final preparations of gathering pots and pans and last minute confetti cutting.   Then at midnight, we would run outside screaming “Happy New Year” at the top of our lungs while banging on pots and pans and throwing confetti and mom would shoot off her shotgun.  Then we would return inside so Jamie could play Auld Lang Syne on the piano and we could toast the new year with Welch’s sparkling grape juice.

This New Years Eve wasn’t quite up to those standards, but I am pretty sure Trent would not allow me to spend a whole day cutting confetti.  It was however a good day.

The day started early with breakfast.  Please excuse how terrible I look.  I was in much need of a nap yesterday.  And in case you were wondering...yes I took one :)

At night we did headed to the Vests for a little game night and food. 

Another intense game of Acquire was played...

Welch’s Sparkling Grape juice is still my #1 pick for toasting on NYE...

The only person missing from this picture is Sara...

So...

My best efforts at photo shopping with a limited amount of time.  Not to leave out Brian.  He was also missed.  If he was there we could have played Pictionary!

Happy 2012!

and...go big red!

{The Launes}

December Madness…

For Christmas, Trent and I got tickets to a Creighton basketball game from his aunt and uncle.  We started out Christmas vacation right by heading to the game.  Tim and Jessie accompanied us to the game.  I did not remember this from other games that I had been to, but Creighton fans are intense.  They boo, they yell they call the players by their own nicknames.  The fans around us gave Jessie and I some good laughs.  With all the craziness, we still had fun.  And Creighton won.   And “Dougie” had a good game.  Go Jays!

 

I love Christmas break.  I could get use to this.  Watching movies, sleeping in, working out, taking naps, blogging and going to basketball games.  School has mostly been at the back of my mind with the exception of report cards.  Those nasty little things keep creeping into my mind.  I worked on them a little, but I am trying really hard to wait until after New Years to really get back into the school mode.

{The Launes}

Goodbye December…

In like a lion and out like a lamb...that’s December right?  My first post this month was titled Decemburrr.  It was absolutely freezing out and we even had about 6 inches of snow early on.  If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t believe it.  It was not a white Christmas and the temperatures are more like early spring than late December.  In the last week I have made sure to let Trent know that it is December and I am not even wearing a coat...so unlike me!

The extended forecast is looking pretty good...here are the next three days.  I have a feeling I will be wishing for this weather again in a couple of weeks. 

Finally, a little post Christmas song.  Took me until after Christmas to catch up on my e-mail, but I am obsessed with this!  My bucket list includes one day participating in flash mob.  Keep your ears open for me!

Now it’s on to enjoying the final days of 2011...

{The Launes}

R.A.C.K.…

Random Acts of Christmas Kindness.  I found this little idea online and ran with it this Christmas season.  I wanted to find a way to help others and spread a little Christmas cheer.   I also wanted to put a bigger focus on helping others this season instead of getting caught up in all of the “Christmasness” that is all too common.  I brainstormed different ways that Trent and I could help others.  I wanted to keep as much of it in the community as I could.  I created a calendar with something for each day December 1-25. 

By mid December, I hadn’t started my Christmas shopping and I didn’t care.  I was so excited every time I got to check a R.A.C.K. off of my list.  If Trent wasn’t there I would call or text him almost immediately to tell him about it.  What was even better were the few times when I got to see the pure joy of someone who had just been “RACKed!” 

I got a few pictures throughout the month...

Gloves to keep little hands warm...

At school we have a giving tree where the kids bring canned goods for the food pantry.  I promised them I would match whatever they brought.  92 items later, our class total was 184!

I also enlisted the help of my students for another project.  They made cards and we put together a care package to send to a unit serving in Afghanistan.  A few goodies to help make their Christmas a little more merry and bright. 

Trent and I spent a Friday night ringing the bells for the Salvation Army. 

I also put together a couple of gifts for toys for tots in town. 

I didn’t want to forget the local nursing home so I called to get a couple of gift ideas for the residents and put together a couple of packages for them.

I didn’t get pictures of everything throughout the month.   Some of my favorite ones were when we played Secret Santa and anonymously completed a RACK.   A couple of other ones worth mentioning are making dinner for about 15 football players during finals week, buying coffee for the car behind me at Starbucks and delivering Christmas cookies to some of our neighbors. 

I think I may have started a new tradition in the Laune household.  Even better...it was contagious!  My mom and Jamie both had their own RACKs.  I was so proud of them :) 

{The Launes}

Four Christmases…

So I am like a million and two posts behind and it is taking every last bit of energy that I have right now to sit down and blog.  It has been a whirlwind of a December.  So many things have been going on and I have wrote about zero of them.  Christmas festivities have been in full swing for about two weeks.  If you’ve ever seen the movie Four Christmases, I thought the title was appropriate for this post.  Give or take a few...

I think that for the most part pictures do the telling (except for the moments that I got caught up in all of the Christmas cheer and forgot to take pictures.)

It started with the Mason annual girls outing.  This year we headed to The Zin Room for dinner and then onto the theater to see a Christmas play in the old Market. 

In all the hustle and bustle, most of my Christmas shopping had to wait until I went on Christmas break.  That meant Starbucks and shopping all.day.friday.

Shopping all day Friday was followed by wrapping most of Saturday..

Then Trent and I headed off to his grandparents’ for Christmas Eve dinner, church and you guessed it...church again.

Christmas Day included breakfast at the Launes’ followed by some present opening.  Then we headed into Omaha to Jamie and Brian’s for the rest of our Christmas festivities.

We finished off Christmas with a trip to the movie theater to see Sherlock Holmes and finally a game of Acquire.

I really can’t complain about our Christmas setup.  The farthest we had to travel was Plattsmouth.  Otherwise, it was Ashland, Ashland, Ashland and Omaha.  So lucky to have family so close...especially around the holidays. 

I have a few more Christmas related posts coming before 2012 so stay tuned!

Hope you had a very

Merry Christmas!

{The Launes}