A new decade!

This year I turned 40!  I've never been a writer, but it's a new decade for me to try new things.  So here I am!  I am writing a blog - something I never thought I would do.  Because I'm 40 and trying new things, here is a list of things I've done or want to do during this momentous year:

1.  I ran my second half marathon.   I ran my first half marathon on virtually no training at all.  I had some ankle issues and took most of the summer to rest my ankle.  So when the half marathon came up, I completed it, but could not run the entire race.  Hence my desire for a second half marathon.  This time I felt great, trained well, and aced it!  It was fantastic!

2.  I went on a mission trip to Mexico.  This is not my first mission trip to Mexico, but my first to Niños de Mexico in San Vicente outside of Mexico City.  It was such an amazing trip!  I got to love on children, see amazing sites, worked, and learned new skills.  Some highlights were:  playing momma to an orphan by rubbing his head and singing to him, going to Teotihuacan and climbing to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, and learning to tile a floor.

 

Now that I've mentioned the things I've done, here are 2 things I have yet to do…

1.  Chop my hair.  Enough said.  Here's a before picture and a picture of the new 'do I want.  Can I pull this look off?? 

Selfie in the Presidential Palace in Mexico City.  Long hair!

Stacked Curly Bob - Whatcha think?

2.  The second thing I'd like to do during my big year is get my first tattoo.  I always toyed with the idea of getting a tattoo, but could never come up with that ONE THING that speaks to me and signifies importance to me in my life.  Well, I finally found it.  Here's my inspiration:

This verse says it all.  It speaks to me.  I quote it to myself during training runs and yelled it out loud as I was running the last few blocks of my second half marathon.  "Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly;  I do not fight like a boxer beating the air." 1 Corinthians 9:26 (NIV).  I love the multiple meanings this has for me in my life.  Everything I do, everywhere I go, has a purpose and goal.  It's to get me closer to Jesus.  To run the race of life and win the ultimate prize in the end.  

So for right now, I run and serve in an effort to stay fit and fabulous (both physically and spiritually) at the age of 40!