a gardener- part 2

I had to leave town unexpectedly for a week, and unfortunately, my strawberry plants didn't appreciate that. They, as well as my dillweed plant were near death.  I transplanted the strawberries into a "hospital" pot.  My mint wasn't looking so healthy, but luckily, a little sprig survived and grew.  The others didn't look so good either, but they survived.  After giving the strawberries two weeks, we ended up putting them to rest, and then my husband replaced them with acorn squash.   So lesson learned.  Strawberry plants are needy.  Basil, cucumbers, and peppers are heartier.

a gardener

I've always wanted to have a garden, but I haven't been able to really keep any indoor plants alive, and because I live in a condo, I don't have a backyard. I do, however, have a planter box on my balcony that I've never utilized. Two weeks ago, the weather was beautiful, and I got inspired.

I went to Home Depot and decided to go all out. I bought peonies, strawberries, and herbs. 

It's been two weeks, and we've had some variable weather, but I'm happy to report that I think they're all still alive.  I started feeding them Miracle Grow today (to be given once every 2 weeks). I found some great tips on newgardener.com.  My mint plant is going wild, so I'm getting very excited about having fresh mint soon. I've read that if I want to take the herbs, I shouldn't take more than 1/3 of it.  Fresh mojitos anyone? :)

a half-marathon jogger

So I've never been athletic. In elementary school, I was usually the kid that was sitting out due to an injury.  I didn't do sports.  I did a short stint in martial arts, but nothing competitive.  In med school (more like during my year off in med school), I joined Crunch gym (do they even have those anymore?) and that motivated me to work out. Once I started residency, that quickly ended.  I even have a small gym in my building, but for some reason, it was just too difficult to take the elevator down to get in a work out. Plus, I liked Crunch because of the classes, and I found the treadmill quite monotonous and boring.

In residency, as I had gained a lot of weight from being immobile, I started thinking about what I could do that would be entertaining and active.  I knew a lot of runners, but I knew I could never be that hardcore, cuz let's be honest, I'm a slug that is not athletic nor motivated.  Two years ago, when my father-in-law was diagnosed with lung cancer, I got a spark of motivation.  I signed up for the 5K Lung Run that raises money for lung cancer research, and it's kept me going since.  I'm not fast, by any means, but to be able to just be present and participatory is enough to give me a little high.  In addition, signing up for races forces me to train for them, which forces me to work out.

Last year, my new year's resolution was to do 3 5Ks and at least 1 10K which I was able to accomplish.  This year, I started 2013 by doing the Commitment Day 5K on New year's day.  It was freezing, and I hadn't been running because of the winter, but I still did it.  Totally not in shape, but it was the idea of starting the year off being active that I loved.  I skipped the Warm Your Heart 5K this year, because it gave me a lot of back pain last year (I think the cement floors were just too much for me).  I think I had a scheduling conflict for Cupid's Chase this year too, so my second run of the year was St. Paddy's Day 8K.  That one was a little awful.  I wasn't well trained for it, and, just like the Commitment Day race, it snowed for a little bit of it.  :p

So one of my work colleagues/friend is a major runner. He's done multiple marathons, including the Chicago Marathon twice.  He invited me to train for the Chicago Marathon this year, to which I applied, uh... I don't think I can commit to that.  To go from a 10K to a marathon?  I don't think so.  And he should know better with our work hours.  As a compromise, I signed up for the Spring Half Marathon which is in May.

I signed up for active.com, and they have a training program for half marathons, but I just haven't been able to keep up with it.  Half of it is my schedule, and the other half is my lack of motivation.  It's awful, I know.  I've been trying to be more consistent with running these last two weeks (I know, just two), and it helps that it's actually warm enough to run outside.  (I'm still not a fan of the treadmill.  I feel like a trapped hamster).  I don't think I have enough time to train properly for the race, again, but I am going to go to it and just be present.  And hopefully, at some point, I will finish the race.

How do you stay motivated?

a blogger

I had this idea to start a blog as I was in an alpha state, as I was getting a massage yesterday.  You wouldn't believe the wacky things that go through my head before I fall asleep.  Anyway, it floated into my head as I thought about how I want to try to better myself and continue to grow, so why not document my experiences, so may be other people may benefit?  Or not.  :)  I actually have had a blog in the past on xanga, years ago, when blogging was up and coming.  I used it more as a diary, and it was good, because I actually met some cool people that way and became friends.  Last year, I tried starting a blog again, but it ended up being a place of ranting, and it just didn't seem productive or beneficial.  That lasted all of two months. 

So this is me, trying to become a blogger.  My goal is to blog at least once a week, and hopefully, about something I'm learning to do or try, and this will keep me accountable. 

I would love to hear input as these posts start.  Thanks for reading!