Thankful Thursday

Tags

Family, Thankful

Every once in awhile I do Thankful Thursday posts that are dedicated to something specific (often times it’s running after half marathons). Today I’d like to dedicate this Thankful Thursday post to my youngest brother (soccer brother) who just graduated from college last Saturday.

I keep most information & pictures of my family members off my blog, but I thought I’d share this one (since he little and obviously doesn’t look like this today)- this is the day that I first met my brother, and the first time I ever held him.

I’m thankful for 4 “bonus years” with my brother. When I went 10 hours away to college, I never imagined us living in the same place again. He surprised me almost five years ago by asking if he could come stay with me while he had his official try out for the soccer team at the college. He decided to move down to go to college, and it’s been great to get to be around him for 4 more years.

I’m thankful for all the soccer games I got to attend. I missed out on 6 years of soccer games for my brother (and obviously those 6 years were really formative years in his soccer ability), so to be able to sit and watch him play collegiate soccer for 4 years was a true pleasure. I loved getting to sit in the stands and scream and cheer. I loved getting to hear all the fans talk about how great of a player my brother was. I loved getting to see him help lead his team to Nationals, be named conference player of the week, etc… I was thankful I was on the sidelines when he got his concussion and his other injuries, so I could help take care of him. I’m thankful I got to be his #1 fan for 4 years…. and I’m thankful that he’s not done with his soccer career yet.

I’m thankful for the hours we spent lifting (and the talks we had in the gym). The last three spring semesters we lifted almost every week together at the gym. While we occasionally lifted first thing in the morning, we usually lifted when he was done with class and I was done with work. It was a great time to catch up on one another’s lives. He taught me correct lifting form, and gave me a huge amount of different exercises to do. I hope I can continue “arms and abs” in a similar fashion to what we did, but having him there to help and encourage me can’t be replicated. I’m SO so sad that these times are ending, but I’m also thankful that they happened at all.

I’m thankful for the hours and hours of car trip time we’ve had. When he first moved here, I was a little annoyed because with 2 of us we drove home instead of flying (which I did the first 6 years)- driving 10 hours each way on holidays is long (hello holiday traffic jams), tedious, and takes away 2 days of the break. However, I look back on all the hours we spent sitting in a car together fondly. We sang, listened to books on tape, and had great conversations. I got to learn more about his life, his friends, and it was genuinely fun. I’ll really miss his company on those long trips home now…

I’m thankful for the races that he’s been at, along with all the advice he’s given me as I’ve trained. He really helped to calm my nerves as he came to my first half marathon, and I was so thankful that he was there. He ran those last 3 miles off to the side of the course, and it’s a great memory!

I’m thankful for his laughter and jokes, and I’m going to miss them! He’s not only the most athletic one in the family, but he’s also the comedian of the family. His quick jokes and play on words is so funny, and has added levity to tough days.

I’m thankful that I got to see my brother at random moments throughout my day. Because college classes aren’t always back to back, he had free hours throughout the day, and sometimes he’d pop over to my office just to say hi. I’m definitely going to miss that.

I’m thankful for the encouragement and hugs. Sometimes there’s just nothing like a family member hugging you in a tough moment, am I right? I was lucky to have a family member close to me over the past few years.

I’m thankful for the hours of movies and TV shows that we watched. We watched Frozen twice in the last week and a half, and yes- we sang along to it. I’m thankful that we had the chance to watch all of the seasons of “The League” this semester (it was such a fun way to end a busy day), and I’m thankful for all the hours of House we’ve watched.

Let’s be honest. I’m thankful for so many other things too. Really, I’m just thankful that I had 4 more years with my brother. I’m not sure if we’ll ever live in the same place (or even state) again- if he has his way (and I hope he does) he’ll be playing soccer in another country soon enough, and then I won’t really get to see him. I’m so thankful that we really had a chance to be friends instead of JUST siblings (because let’s be honest- the difference between elementary school and high school is huge, so we were always in pretty different life stages). I’m thankful he’s my brother.

Now it’s your turn to share. What’s one thing you’re thankful for in one of your siblings? Do you live close to or far away from your family members?

Looking for more ways to connect?

• Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
• Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

My Baby Brother Is A College Graduate!

Tags

Family

For four years I’ve had the pleasure of getting to live near my baby brother again as he went through college. I moved 10 hours from home when he was in middle school, and didn’t go home much, even in the summer. I missed a lot. So, when he decided to follow me and come to college near where I live, I was THRILLED. He’s a soccer player, and it’s been especially fun to get to watch him play college soccer for four years, even helping take his team to Nationals. I’ve enjoyed getting to lift with him almost every week during the spring semesters, and I’ve definitely learned quite a bit about health and strength training from him. What’s been even better is that he got to live with me this year, which was something that neither of us were planning on when he first came down here for school. Even though I didn’t get to see him every day this year (let’s be honest- so often I was asleep before he got home and had left for work before he woke up), I loved getting to spend more time with him!

Graduation weekend started out with a really fancy dinner- steak, lobster, lots of veggies, a huge table of bread with 4 types of speciality butter (i got pesto butter and ginger chili butter), lots of types of salad, delicious appetizers, and four delicious desserts to choose from! YUMMMM- I was still REALLY full a few hours later- it felt like Thanksgiving!

There was absolutely no way I could eat all of this. Seriously- look how huge that steak is!

This Lemon Tart was the size of a salad plate. You better believe I ate the entire thing!

Another great joy of the weekend is that my Air Force Brother was able to come for about 34 hours to see him graduate. I haven’t seen AF Brother since Christmas, and likely won’t see him again until Thanksgiving or Christmas , so I was thrilled to get to see him at all.

Graduation was actually pretty exciting (I know that some of them can get really long and boring), but I knew lots of people in his class who were graduating, so that helped. He was smiling his little 3 year old smile- the smile that he did from the youngest age when he was just carefree and happy- it was so great to see. He’s worked so hard throughout college, and it’s been great to get to see firsthand. My family spent the day together, going on a 4 mile walk around campus, and my brothers and I stayed up pretty late on Saturday night hanging out.

The weekend went too fast, and the 4 years that my brother was in college went way too fast too. I’m so thankful that I got 4 bonus years of life to get to spend with my brother. Watching him pull away with his packed car was really sad, and I’ve definitely cried a few times since he left, but ultimately I’m happy for him. And now I can’t wait to see where his soccer takes him!!

*****************************************************

Looking for more ways to connect?

• Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
• Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

Memorial Day Virtual 5k Race

Tags

Family, Holiday, Race, Racing, Running

Earlier this month I won a giveaway from Erica for a free Memorial Day virtual race through vacation races. Memorial day, as I mentioned yesterday, is a meaningful day to me, so I was happy to get to run this race.

My youngest brother graduated from college on Saturday (SO so proud of him- more on that tomorrow) and I was up late that night celebrating with him, so when I woke up early on Sunday to take my other brother part way to the airport, I felt a little blah. Once I started running around 9:30 though, that all went away. The sun was out in full force, the humidity was high, and I was a little emotional (with both my brothers leaving that day). I had also woken up at some point in the middle of the night because my left calf muscle cramped up and it was really painful- I immediately sat straight up and tried to dig at the cramp to get it to relax- OUCH!! It was still a little sore and tender as I laced up my shoes. I started off pretty quickly (especially for all of these variables in play, and hit my first mile in under 11 minutes- oops). I wasn’t wearing my garmin and went out too fast.

I also found a “hill” (when I say hill, I mean that the incline is about 30 feet, and that’s as much of a hill as I have around me) to run up and down, and that added a bit of fun to my route. About half of the route was on a new-to-me road, and that also helped to shake it up a bit.

I tried to use some of the time I was running to pray for our military members (currently serving, those who have served in the past/were injured or in some other way traumatized) and their family members (again- those who have lost a family member, are currently in the middle of a loved one’s deployment, or are dealing with the fallout of some other aspect of their family member’s service). I spent about a mile and a half praying and thinking about it-that certainly didn’t help my level of emotional-ness throughout the day!

I hit 3.1 in 34:50- again, not my fastest 5k at all, but with all the variables mentioned above, I’ll take it. I ended up running a bit more for a total of 3.6 miles for the morning. Overall I felt pretty great. My muscle in my calf is still a tiny bit sore where it cramped up, but hopefully it’ll be back to normal quickly!

Shirt that came with the race.

Once again, I just wanted to say thank you to any military members and their families- I SO appreciate your service and your sacrifice.

Looking for more ways to connect?

• Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
• Find me on ‘Bloglovin

 

How To Make Jello Eggs!

Tags

Cooking, Family, Food, Holiday

When I was in mid-elementary school, my mom got these jello molds and started to make jello eggs for us at Easter time! Not only are they fun, but a great snack to take to all sorts of spring get togethers (I even made them for the fourth of July last year!). They’re relatively easy, but you need to plan ahead a bit to let them solidify in the refrigerator.

I have the recipe that my mom sent me, and I’ve spent about 10 minutes looking online to see if I could find it somewhere to link to. I couldn’t find it, so sorry if there’s one exactly the same that’s already out there!

Ingredients

• 4 packages of unflavored gelatin
• 3 boxes of flavored jello mix (your choice in flavors!)
• 3.5 cups of boiling water
• 0.5 cup of ice water
• oil spray (could use olive oil and a piece of paper towel I suppose)

Spray jello molds with oil spray so that the jello eggs will come out easily! Once you’ve done this, close the molds tightly together.

Bring about 4 cups of water to a hard boil. While you’re doing this, mix the gelatin packages with the jello packages in a bowl. Make sure to stir thoroughly together. Once the water is up to a boil, pour water from pan into a measuring cup and dump into the jello mix. Mix water and jello mix together thoroughly before putting in the half a cup of ice water. Quickly dump the mix into the measuring cup again (you want a good pouring spout) and pour slowly into the jello mold. When I made these on Saturday after my half marathon I made a mess (I blame it on all the energy I used earlier in the day), so you want to try to avoid that (but it’s not a big deal if you spill on the outside of the molds).

You want to fill right up the top of the egg part. Once you’re done filling them, put the tray that the molds are on into the refrigerator for 3 hours. Once they are set, use a knife to pop the molds open and shake the egg molds upside down into a bowl. You can also slide a knife between the egg and the mold to loosen it.

Store in a container in the refrigerator and enjoy! Kids LOVE these as they’re really a grab and go snack, but adults love them as well! If you’re looking for other recipes, check out my recipe page.

Now it’s your turn to share! What’s something you grew up eating on Easter? 

Looking for more ways to connect?

• Connect on twitter @kalolainastar
• Find me on ‘Bloglovin

When Grandparents Die {and a random act of kindness}

Tags

Family, Relationships, Thankful

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” – 2nd Corinthians 4: 16-18

Two weeks ago I got a tough text message (yes- a text) that said that my grandpa had gone into the ICU due to pneumonia. Quickly he was sedated and put on a ventilator to allow him to try to fight the pneumonia (he’s had Parkinson’s for the last few years, so his health hasn’t been good in a few years. It was a tough week, as every time a text came through or my phone rang, I was wondering if it was the call to tell me he had died. They took him off the ventilator last Sunday night at 4:50 pm, and he lived until Monday night at 5:00 pm, when he passed away. I’m no stranger to grandparent’s dying, as I’ve lost my other grandpa and my grandma.

I got the call right after I had hopped on my bike trainer for a short afternoon ride. The ride was fueld purely by emotion, but overall the ride was good. Last week was tough, for multiple reasons, and it’s still tough today.

I wasn’t able to go to the funeral (again, for multiple reasons), and this was really hard as well. I had mentioned on Tuesday to my mom that maybe my brothers and I could be face timed or skyped into the funeral so that we could be “present” and say goodbye to my grandpa as well.

So today, I want to say “thank you” to the kind stranger who held my dad’s phone for an hour so that I could be facetimed into my grandpa’s funeral. I’m sure it wasn’t easy at all to hold a phone steady for an hour, but she was willing to do it, and gave me a priceless gift. She gave me the gift of being present, of being able to celebrate my grandpa’s life. The kindness of a stranger means so so much to me.

It was far more clear than this, but you get the idea of what it looked like.

I’m sad for me and sad for my family. I’ll miss my grandpa. But I’m happy for him to be out of this body, that he is heaven where pain and suffering no longer exist. And I’m thankful that I could be present, even at a distance.

Now it’s your turn to share! Who would you like to say “thank you” to today? Have you either done or received an act of kindness lately?

Having A Healthy Thanksgiving

Tags

Family, Holiday, Mental Health

It’s a holiday week! These sorts of weeks are fun as there’s a great energy in the air at work, and this week I only work Monday and Tuesday 🙂 I know that this week is busy for lots of people as we’re busy cleaning, packing, traveling, and cooking as we prepare for Thanksgiving, so I’ll keep this short and sweet.

Holidays can be a really happy time, but when stress exists in our life (especially tension in our family), holidays can be stressful. For today’s “mental health monday” post, I thought I would pull together a few other posts I’ve written in the past few years that talk about healthy holidays:

Surviving The Holidays With Family: Basic tips to stay healthy when you’re interacting with family

Grounding Techniques: Particularly stressful if a fight is going on and anxiety is increasing. This helps keep us grounded.

Owning Our Reactions: This is of particular importance when stress runs high and we get frustrated with those around us. This goes back to the series on boundaries.

Grief During the Christmas Season: While the title of this post was “Christmas”, I think a lot of these things listed here are applicable to Thanksgiving as well.

REBT Self Help Form and The Thought Record: Both of these posts go through different forms and step by step processes to keep our thoughts and feelings in check when we start to feel anxious, depressed, frustrated, and stressed.

Catastrophizing and Black & White Thinking: Two posts I did on two different cognitive distortions. These can easily come out in full force during holidays and family get togethers.

Reducing Stress During the Holiday Season : Practical steps to decrease stress.

Now it’s your turn to share! What do you do to try to stay healthy on Thanksgiving? 

On This Veteran’s Day, We Remember

Tags

Family, Military, Thankful

Today is Veteran’s Day, so I won’t be doing my typical Mental Health Monday post; today I want to focus on our veterans. Last year I wrote a post on how to support our veterans, including a list of things that you can do to participate and show your thanks. Make sure to check it out.

This past weekend I spent on an Air Force Base as my brother officially received his pilot wings. I stood there and clapped for the 20-something men and women who have given up their lives to fly fights, bombers, and carriers to keep the rest of us safe. It was moving to see their excitement and commitment. I stood and watched our nation’s newest pilots take the next step in their service to our country.

I’m very aware that no matter what I do, what I say, or how I respond, it could never ever equal the service and sacrifice that our veterans have made. But that doesn’t mean we don’t try to give our thanks to them in the ways that we can.

THANK YOU to all the men and woman who serve our country, as well as the men and women who support those who serve our country. Regardless, it’s certainly a burden to bear, but one that is well worth it.

Thankful Thursday

Tags

Biking, Fall, Family, Thankful

Happy Thursday! It’s time to get thankful. I want to remind you all to keep hunting for the provisions and blessings in your life, both big and small! That being said, here’s what I’m thankful for today:

I’m thankful that my brother got the plane he wanted! Last Friday I mentioned that my brother in the Air Force was about to find out what plane he’ll be flying for the next 20ish years. Well, he found out on Friday night and according to him, he’s “so pumped”! I’ve talked to him for a few hours since then, and I’m just so happy and thankful that he’s so happy.

I’m thankful that I’ve gotten to watch my brother play soccer the last four years. My other brother is a senior in college, and plays soccer for the school. I feel so lucky to have had the opportunity to watch him grow and become a truly amazing player over the last four years. This past Saturday was senior night, and as I walked out onto the field with him, I felt an immense amount of pride. I’m thankful I’ve been present for these huge moments in his life.

I’m thankful for the ability to ride my bike. I think my days of biking outside are numbered, so I’ve tried to take advantage of the time as I have it. I’m thankful that I even got a bike this year, as last year all fall I biked indoors one morning a week. I’m thankful for my bike and the route that I have to enjoy.

I’m thankful for the beautiful colors. Some days I drive just a little bit slower home from work so I can really take in the colors and beauty around me. My life feels so rushed right now, so I enjoy the moments to slow down and breathe.

I’m thankful for my co-workers. I know I’ve mentioned this several times, but I seriously do appreciate them. I’m specifically thankful for a few of them. They provide so much laughter, encouragement, and support in my day, and I can’t imagine dealing with the crises that I’ve had to deal with the last 2 months without them. They’re awesome.

Now it’s your turn to share! What (or who) are you thankful for right now? Tell me about a little blessing you’ve noticed! 

Celebrating My Birthday!

Tags

2013 Challenge, Biking, Exercise, Family, Pilates, Race, Running

Well. I’m another year older as my birthday was yesterday, the 6th. I have to admit, I’m not a huge fan of seeing my age slowly tick higher and higher. But then, as I was running today, I was thinking that on my birthday 3 years ago, I couldn’t even run half a mile. So, while I am three years older than at that time, my body is so much stronger and healthier than then… so that sort of makes me younger, right? 🙂

My day was pretty great. My mom had to teach a Pilates class first thing in the morning, so I went to her class to spend a little time with her. After that I went on my annual Birthday run. I did a 5K run,and counted that as my Birthday Bash virtual race. It was pretty humid outside, so my pace was a little slower than usual, but for my birthday runs I never like to go fast anyways. I like to take time to think about the last year of my life, and appreciate what my body has done for me over the last twelve months. The run was fun.

After running I went out for a delicious Greek lunch, and they sang to me and I got a free Greek dessert! I laid outside for about an hour and read, and then did a few errands and chores around the house. Then I went on a bike ride with my family, followed by dinner and cupcakes (the same I had last year!) with my family and my sweet neighbor who has been, in many ways, like a grandparent to me (and has known me since I was 2). The day has been filled with texts, facebook messages, tweets, and phone calls from friends and family members, and it’s been fun to connect to so many people in my life today! That’s one nice thing about birthdays- you get the chance to hear from and connect with people that you might not have for a few months.

Now I’m sneaking in a few minutes of Shark Week before I head to bed. I’m thankful to have been given another year of life, and am excited to see where this year goes!

Do you do an annual birthday run? Is there an activity that you really love to do on your birthday? (I’ve always been happy that my birthday is in the summer so I can spend the day outdoors!)

Marco Island, Florida

Tags

Exercise, Family, Picture, Summer, Travel

I just got back from a vacation to one of my favorite places on earth- Marco Island, Florida! My family has been going to this island for a few generations, so it’s really become a family tradition. My time there, as always, was really enjoyable and relaxing, and I thought I’d share a piece of it here!

Clockwise from Top Left: 1: Sunset the first night! I never get tired of them! 2: Dolphins! I went out boating with my relatives and there were 7 dolphins swimming around and under the boat. So cool!  3: Out at the pool! 4: Kayaking

1: Amazing Honey Chicken Salad from a restaurant called Mangos! YUMMY! 2: Out of control humidity and heat meant constant sweating and absolutely no beach runs this trip 😦  3: I wish I could build a tiki hut in my house! 4: Sunset!

1: Smallpox has always been an interesting subject for me, so as soon as I spotted a book on the eradication efforts in India, I snatched it up and read it by the pool! 2: Fourth of July Fireworks. I talked more about the 4th here. 3: More sunset! 4: A sand castle snowman in a bikini! Cute.

1: A bald eagle/American flag sand creation. 2: Early morning walk on the beach. 3: sunset! 4: A lightning storm in the clouds! So cool looking!

1: HUGE snails come out after the sunset. 2: These sunsets were unreal. Oh yeah- no filters on any of these pictures by the way! 3: sunset 4: View of the marina at the Esplanade where Mangoes Restaurant is

I mentioned that I had extended and immediate family down there, and it was so fantastic to see all of them! I mentioned that I didn’t end up running on the beach at all while there. I’m so sad because I really love to run down there, but it was just too hot and humid and it would’ve been especially unsafe due to POTS. In order to still get some exercise, I walked every day on the beach (the views make the walks AMAZING!), and tried a new-to-me exercise: pool running! This was the perfect way to still “run” and get cardio while making sure that I didn’t overheat at all. Win-win!

Other than that, most of my days included a 4 mile walk on the beach, sitting out and reading at the pool, and swimming out at the ocean. However, the last few days the beach was inundated with baby jellyfish and multiple people were getting stung, so I didn’t go in the ocean at all those days! The days are leisurely there, and I love them!

Now it’s your turn to share! Do you have a favorite vacation place you’ve gone to multiple times? What’s your favorite thing to do on vacation?