Oh, Hello There

I'm pretty pitiful at blog posting. It's not even like I've been super boring lately. I've just been a slacker! For a first post back in, I think I will do an update on my yearly goals.

1. Read 50 books. 
I've made a lot of progress here since I last checked in. I have read 24 books so far this year! I have found some really great books (and some not so great ones) that will live on my shelves for years to come.

2. Run in 3 races.

I ran in the Illinois Marathon Relay on Saturday. I completed my 6.8 mile leg in 1:14:xx. This was 5 minutes faster than my training run at that distance and I kept my overall pace at just under 11min/mile, which is a big accomplishment for me since all of my training runs had me around 11:20-11:30min/mile.

I plan to run the 2 mile State Fair parade run in August and the Abe's Amble 10k on the last day of the fair. That will make 3 races for the year. I'd also like to find a 5k somewhere. We've talked about do a Chicago weekend with a race in there, so we'll see.

I'm toying with the idea of training for a half this fall. There are some things that may come up in the next couple of months that could change that, but for now I think I will start training like I am doing that.

3. Join a church.
We tried out a nondenominational Christian church a couple of weeks ago and I do not plan to ever go back. Too pushy. The experience did enlighten me as to why some people I know are how they are, though, so not a completely bad experience.

After some research, I have decided I would like to try the Episcopal church. We will likely do that next weekend. There are three in town.

4. Buy a bike and use it to commute to work.
I have enough saved to buy it and will be going sometime this month! I can't wait!

5. Complete a month long personal spending freeze.

Haven't done it yet. I'd say let's try May, but I'm buying the bike this month so...

6. Take a class for fun.
We took a 6 week long swing dance class here at work in March and April. It was a lot of fun!

7. Complete a crochet project.
Nope.

8. Go to a local theater production.
Nada.

9. Volunteer.
Need to get working on this!

10. Grow something in the garden and keep it alive.

My indoor plant died. I have a new flower in my office. Hopefully it will survive. I need to get some flowers for my porch pots soon and will probably buy a couple tomato plants at the Farmers' Market next month.

11. Eat only from the Farmers' Market for one week.

The market opens in May.

12. Try 5 new restaurants. 
I can't remember, but I don't think I have tried any new ones this year. I need to work on this! I love trying new places to eat.