ramblings of an inconsistent blogger

so i really do enjoy blogging... i don't mean to neglect it for months on end. i think i explained it best to someone (probably my mom, who wishes i would blog more) like this:

for me, blogging is like stretching before & after running. i know it's important, and i even know i feel better when i stretch consistently. but even more important than stretching is the act of getting my butt out of bed, going for a run, eating healthy foods & drinking plenty of water. that's a lot of important stuff, and i can't keep them all up at the same time. something has to go, and most often, it's the stretching. or the blogging. you still with me?

the important things that are crowding out the blogging right now are mostly mundane:

#1: doing relaxing, summer-y things with my girls, such as the zoo & botanical gardens & finding new playgrounds & going swimming.

#2: ramping up my running schedule to train for some longer races... another half marathon in october and a full marathon in december. this is taking a lot of my energy because (gasp) i'm old. it used to be that, if i was just disciplined enough, i could do just about any distance or speed i wanted. now i'm plenty disciplined, but everything hurts & sags & jiggles when i run. it's awesome.

#3: having lots of friends over to our house, which is fun & tiring all at once. i'm becoming more extroverted (thanks matt), but i'm still a big fan of alone time. so i have tons of fun while friends are at our house, then i collapse when they leave. : ) i love it, though- please still come over, friends!

so you'd think i'd have an ENORMOUS list of things that were keeping me so busy i couldn't spin out a 15 minute blog post... sadly, that's really it. #1 occupies most of my time because i chose not to put the girls in VBS or summer camps this summer. yes, i'm slightly wistful about having a few hours to myself while the kids are away... but i stand by my decision to have one last summer without lessons & programs before caroline jumps into the big world of school & social outings, etc.

it is tiring and restful at the same time.

that's all for now... i do have pictures to post from 4th of July & Julia's birthday. maybe i'll go on a rampage & blog twice this month! woohoo!

thanks for being patient with me...