I. Ran. Ten. Miles!!!! Reaching that double digit milestone feels oh so good.

And the run itself didn’t feel half bad either!

I woke up while it was still pitch black dark outside and grumbled for not forcing myself to bed earlier last night. How time leaps so suddenly from 7:30 pm to 10:30 pm I will never know. It’s mighty hard waking up so early to eat even when you aren’t hungry. But fuel is most important for long runs, so chow down I will!

Don’t you love the high class Instagram-broken-muffin-smooshed-Larabar-on-a-napkin shot? You may sign up for photo lessons with me through my contact page.

Then, after chilling, digesting, and using Twitter to motivate me for an hour, I finally laced up, started my Garmin, strapped on the Spibelt, and took off.

And I survived!

No, really…I survived. Running ten miles was the easy part of this run, it seemed.

When I got to the running path, I opted to go a different direction than my normal route to have some different scenery. This part of the running pathway is a little older and mostly made up of “boardwalks”.

Boards + running = not safe for this klutzo. I tripped six times on my run. I’m thankful I didn’t sprain an ankle and only came out with my confidence bruised a bit.

Although the tripping wasn’t quite as embarrassing as what happened towards the end of my run. After 7.5 miles, things started to get a bit hotter and I went for a big gulp of my water. Note to self: only small sips work while I’m on the move.

The water ended up going down the wrong pipe and left me splurting and coughing with water gushing out of my nose. I should have taken a bow for the show I gave all the other runners passing by.

So, despite almost choking to death (dramatic much?) or almost taking a face plant numerous times, I survived the run and felt on top of the world as I walked back to my car.

See what my shirt says? It most definitely is.

• What time did you wake up this morning?
• Are you a klutz?

First thing’s first – if you haven’t weighed in on my response post to Lisa’s take on the Healthy Living Summit, you should. Both are sparking GREAT discussions and I would love to hear your take!!!

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Today started out as one of those days. I accidentally hit the off button instead of the snooze button on the alarm and overslept by an hour. That meant I started the day in a tizzy rushing around like a mad woman. That rushing ended in a bowl of Braedon’s oatmeal and apple sauce mixture flying through the air and landing with a big kersplat in the middle of the floor I actually took the time to mop well this week. All with the lovely tune of a hungry little boy banging and moaning in the background.

Yea. One of those days. Good thing one of those days can quickly turn around! Just as I was about to let a stream of not nice words run through my head, I heard a chime from my phone. The chime that brings me back to sanity more times than I care to admit…

Yes. I have daily reminders go off every two hours from 8 am to 10 pm for PRAYER. I hear the chime and I remember to pause, take a deep breath, and acknowledge I need help from The Greatest Guy Ever. Then, I can count my blessings, change my perspective, and move on with my day until I need that same reminder again two hours later. Hey – I never said I was perfect!

After my close call with the meltdown of all meltdowns, I got on with the day. And a good day it was! After the standard morning routine around here, I went out and lived. You know – that thing that comes before blogging. Peter and I met up on his lunch break for some play time with the kids at the park.

It’s so perfect that his work is a relatively short drive from home and right next to a park just the right size for Makenzie. It’s always so empty mid-day too. It’s a little haven for our family to get some quality time together.

This day’s park fun focused on one thing: the swings!!! Makenzie has long been obsessed with swings. We used to have to beg her to go play with other kids on the playground because she would easily spend the entire hour or so at the park having us push her in the swings. Now, she loves climbing and sliding more…except when she sees her brother get his first taste of the swings.

He started off a little unsure…so Makenzie decided to show him how its done.

He couldn’t take his eyes off her! So cute how much he looks up to his big sis.

After that, little B got the swing of it (ha!) and joined the fun.

The joy in his face here just melts me! Could that picture BE any cuter?! <—Yes, I watch too much Friends still.

It was the perfect little afternoon at the park. And when the chime on my phone went off on my way home, I needed no help remembering to thank God for my blessings.

And if you’re up for a little video fun of the park…here ya go!

What was your favorite thing to do on the playground growing up?

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LUNA BAR GIVEAWAY WINNERS (chosen from random.org):

• Coco @ Got 2 Run 4 Me (#203)
• Michelle Fritzier -reader (#132)
• Jennifer @ The Blessed Home (#117)
• Chelsey @ Clean Eating Chelsey (#150)
• Lindsay @ The Lean Green Bean (#38)

Check your email so you can claim your prize!