Why I work where I work

I had a moment at work today where I almost cried.  That made me realize why I love working here, despite some hardships that have come up recently. 

F0r those of you who don’t know, I work at the YMCA.  Our motto is “we build strong kids, strong families, and strong communities.”  We work hard to build a community atmosphere instead of a gym atmosphere.  We provide financial assistance to families who do not make enough money to join but either need to or want to.  We try to keep our members feeling like family to use, and it shows and you can even feel it. 

We had a member today who was at our old location and came with us when we moved to this new location.  She has a son who has a birthday approaching and she put some money down to have a birthday party at the YMCA on a sunday.  She want to use the rockwall, Yland (play area) and then decided to use the group exercise room to do a fun obstacle course for them.  While trying to plan ahead, she came in this past sunday to scope everything out.  To her disappoinment, she saw that the Junior Jammers (like the spurs dancers but for kids) hold practice in the group exercise room on sunday afternoons (this is new for us).  She then went into a panic mode and did not know what to do.  Her only solution was to cancel the party at the Y and use her own house.  But what if it rains?  What will she do?  She really wanted the YMCA. 

She came in a spoke with a co-worker regarding the situation and they spoke about just cancelling and she deal with the “what ifs.”  Well, I’m not nosey but I want to try to help wherever I can so I listened into their coversation.  I came up with the suggestion to clear the bikes out of the cycle room and use that as an extra area for an obstacle course.  It’s something neither of them even thought about.  Amazing what one more mind can do!  Well, she had unfortunaly already sent the invitations to the printer, so she was out of luck.  On the flip side, she is using us as backup in case it rains that day.  We made things a little better. 

She was just in tonight and I said “back again!”  She said she was now there to workout.  But she then told me that my comment/solution made her feel so good and a little less stressed that there was a solution to that issue.  It’s something they never thought about and only reassured her reasoning for staying with the YMCA.  I made her feel good today…and that’s what matters…and that’s why I work for the YMCA.

Here’s to the nights we felt alive

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays.  This year, I have my own house to actually cook a dinner in…but I won’t be.  Instead, I’ll be hosting dessert and drinks!  I’m actually pretty stoked about this idea and can’t wait to have family over.  My mom, dad, sister, her bf, joey’s family, should make for a big crowd. 

I’ve decided to make the same pumpkin mousse I made last year with the layers of ginger snaps and then make two varieties of delicious drinks:

1) Cranberry Newt:

1 oz rum

Light OJ

Diet cranberry juice

Cranberry is very holidayish, this can be used all season!

2) Cinnamon Snap:

Rum

Diet ginger ale

Apple Cider

Dash of cinnamon

A little pumpkin puree and shake

Another all holidayer drink! 

Get inspired but stay healthy!  Here’s to your holiday nights!  CHEERS

Race Results

Sunday I ventured out on my first half marathon…13.1 miles!  Here are my results:

Time: 2:03:36

Overall: 3271

Female Placing: 1147

Division placing: 246

Click here to watch me cross the finish line…#22587

It was such a wonderful race and a wonderful feeling to be with all those people.  I already signed up for a 10K in San Marcos on December 13th and the Austin Half on Valentines day!  Very addictive!   A new hobby!

 

Some race humor

I saw these online and some of them crack me up…

 

Whatever time you were thinking of leaving to the event, leave 30 minutes earlier. Traffic last year close to race time was horrendous. It would have been faster to walk down 281 to the start line than drive it. Take a shuttle, take it early.

Wear something warm. Last year temps were in the 40s at the start. Could be much warmer this year but who knows. Better to be prepared than stand around shivering for an hour before the start.

If your corral number is at least 2 digits then don’t get too excited when the starting gun goes off, it’s still going to be awhile. Corrals are released with a time delay between each. You will have time for another Red Bull or two before you make it to the actual start.

Remember the Alamo. It comes up early in the race when the crowds are still heavy. After mile 2 you will make a sharp turn and it will be on your right.

Watch for uneven surfaces (formerly known as potholes.) Part of the charm of downtown are the antique streets. Some holes have been around since Teddy Roosevelt first visited. Be careful.

The bands play for free and some are worth every penny. Most actually sound great but there were a few last year that made be pull my headband a little tighter over my ears.

Water. Drink it.

You will be offered a cold sponge near the end of the race. It may seem goofy, but take it and use it on your head and face. It really feels great after all those miles. Then throw it down when you’re done; it’s not a souvenir.

No matter how hard you run, save a little energy for the last quarter mile. There is a death hill right near the finish line. Goats wouldn’t climb it. Just keep thinking that at the top of this hill is the end of your misery.

Stop 20 yards before the finish line to comb your hair and compose yourself. Your picture will be taken as you cross the finish line and most people look like they are ready to faint. Look good in the picture and people will think it must have been an easy race for you.

Don’t forget your ID for the finish line party. A beer might not sound good at the start of the race but by the time you finished it will hit the spot.

After you finish, find the family members or friends who inspired you to run this race and hug them, thank them, and tell them you couldn’t have done it without them. Then tell them they owe you big time for making you go through this.

 

— Scott Peacock

another big accomplishment

Not only have I “scaled” the Grand Canyon and hiked it for 3 days, but I will be adding “running a half marathon” to my list of accomplishments this year. 

Sunday November 15th I will run 13.1 miles through my city of San Antonio.  I have been training for 12 weeks and am excited/nervous/anxious.  My cousin is flying in from Phoenix and running with me, as well as many friends from work.  Things I am looking forward to: 1) pasta the night before, 2) doing this huge accomplisment and having my friends and family watch and 3) getting that free beer at the end and then going to the saucer to drink more!

Please send your good wishes my way and I’ll post pics of my journey! 

PS-I’m the blue trail!

the time has finally come

We got our house today!  We are going to do all the moving (or the majority of it) tomorrow and hopefully sleep in our own beds.  This is a huge point in our lives (as most of you homebuyers know) and we are thrilled to the max!  A place to really call our own, to spread our stuff, to do as we wish, to become our family.  I can’t wait to show you all! 

Things happen when they are supposed to happen.  We “loved” 3 other houses that offers did not get accepted on, and now this one seems like it was meant to be.  Thank God for giving us this gift!

Simple acts of kindness

Joey and I have been so busy lately with the house hunting, paperwork, dealing with work issues, finding things we need for the house, etc.  So we decided to take a break and head to the Flying Saucer last night for some beers.  It was crowded and the only table was with a man sitting by himself at a table for 6.  We joined him and chatted for a few minutes and then had the spacious table all to ourselves.  We chatted like normal people on a date and watched the baseball game.  Then another couple sat with us, around our age, seemed like nice people.  We did not talk but they enjoyed a few beers and left.  Then a group of 5 adults came and sat with us, 2 had to sit somewhere else b/c the table had no room.  They were a happy bunch, celebrating a retirement.  So happy they bought our last drink.  Two of them were from San Antonio, one from california and the rest from Phoenix.  So you KNOW we had a lot to chat about, seeing is I just moved from there.  We were having a great time and come to find out, they all were in town for a conference b/c they all work for USAA.  Well, if you do not know, I have EVERYTHING USAA, accounts, cards, loans, insurance…everything.  They were just thrilled to hear this and this only fueled their happiness to be around us.  The night does end for us working people so we got our check and as soon as I took out my USAA card, they cheered again.  As I passed my tab to the waitress, one of the gentlemen took my card, tossed it back at me, and paid for our tab.  It was a simple act, not too expensive but it was enough to help us out, especially with us paying down our debt and getting a new house.  That act of kindness reminds me that there are good people out there and I hope I can return that favor one day to other unsuspecting couples/families.

these are a few of my favorite things

In keeping in line with Jeni’s theme…these are things I love about fall:

Bonfires

Warm sweaters

Sleeping in the hammock with a blanket

Hot chocolate

Wearing thick socks around the house

Cinnamon sticks

Trendy jackets

The crisp air when you first go outside

No frizzies

Fall walks

The smell of wet leaves

Soup in a breadbowl on a rainy day

Thanksgiving and family

I love the change of season, although I will definately miss summer.  This next year will bring about good things and lots of love, happiness, and good times!

Vision 2010

I worked on a financial plan for Joey and myself this morning in excel and I’m quite proud of myself.  I like to call it “Vision 2010″, our views on our finances for 2010 and where we want to be.  It’s divided into an income section, stating all our sources and how much.  Then it’s divided into an expense side, stating all the bills, what is owed, etc.  I will be documenting each month as the bills go down, savings, go up, and what extra we have to go onto other bills.  Reason being is we do not want to have to rent for a year now.  We’d like to save up to buy a house.  If we can sell our two trailers and two bikes, our bills will be mostly paid and within one to two months, we can be debt free.  That is very crazy to think, but it makes me excited.  Then we can save for a few more months, start looking for houses, and possibly get a new bike for Joey with the house, and a ring for me! 

I’m typing this not only to stay organized, but so we can present this to my mom and dad and show them our goals and what we are working towards, so they know that we are not just “living there” to live there.  We have set goals, dreams, and where we want to be.  Yes, its nice to live at home, but I am a grown up and even though they know I’m responsible, I want to show them more and how much they are appreciated.  They don’t see me going out to eat or spending it on random things all the time and I think that helps.  Yes, it sucks to stay home sometimes, but I think of that vision, and it’s not worth going to the saucer all the time ( sad, I know), or spending money on something I don’t really need. 

So I need that encouragement from you all to keep me going.  Vision 2010-doing it right this time!

My Bears

Beat the Pittsburgh Steelers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looks like a good year, despite that first game. 

And here is my favorite player….

Matt Forte, a great Running Back! 

DA BEARS!!