Back In Philly

I'm back in Philly now, and it feels great! I actually wasn't ready to leave NC when I did, but I am really glad to be back! I had a good, but LONG trip back on the train. The trip took about an hour longer than expected because of delays, but overall it was good. I actually have some funny stories from the ride, but I will have to add that later.

Today has been a pretty uneventful, but also somewhat busy day. Bonita and Linda went to church with me this morning and we had a good time in Sunday School. We ended up talking a lot about school and it broke my heart as we talked about what their schools are like. I started asking them to raise their hand if they had ever been cussed at by a teacher, if they had ever had a fight break out in their class, if they had ever been called a name by a teacher, if they had ever seen a teacher hit a student or vice versa, and so on. There was not a single question asked in which at least one hand wasn't raised...and most had all hands in the air. No wonder these kids struggle so much in school. I miss After-School...
After church my friends Joy and Jen came over to help me put my treadmill together. That's right, I have a treadmill!!! I've had it for almost 2 weeks and my friend Jared said he would put it together for me, but hasn't yet. I finally got tired of waiting, so we put it together today. I am so excited!!!

No, Gizmo is not running on the treadmill...although he could probably use it, haha. Notice the treadmill is pointed directly at my TV. :) Jen and I are going to run a 10K in May, so I am in training. Wait, did I just say I was going to run a 10K?!? Yes, yes I did. I can hardly believe it myself. I really want to do this though, so hopefully I can stay on track and train for it. Now that I have a treadmill in my house, I really don't have any excuses.Its a pretty sweet treadmill too!! It has different training programs, and its a cross trainer, so you can exercise your whole body. Apparently it also has a talking personal trainer that will take you through a whole body work out (with weights and an ab ball). In addition, it has speakers and a plug in for an MP3 player or an ipod (neither of which I have, but maybe someday) and it has a built in fan. I got a really good deal in it (50% off!!!), which makes it even more exciting!

I am really hoping that the fact that I spent my own money on this will help motivate me even more to use it. I'm not making this a new years resolution, though, just a life goal. I actually really enjoy running and really want to get more into it.

I just got back from dropping Bonita and Linda off. They were invited to a birthday party at a skating rink, so I took them a little while ago. Actually, they spent all afternoon hanging out with Monique and Tasha at their house. It is so exciting to see them hang out without me!! I also felt a huge sense of pride as I dropped them off at the skating rink knowing that I don't have to worry about their behavior at all. They can work my last nerve, but they are very sweet, respectful girls and I know they will be great. I'm also pretty excited that the birthday party was for one of the God's Girls. In fact, there are at least 5 or 6 God's Girls invited to the party.

So, I have about an hour. Its raining outside and cold...I think I'll go for a run. :)