things i want to do, in no particular order

- Handle daily finances for the family well; keep possessions at a need-based minimum, try to utilize public resources or secondhand places as first inquiry, give away/share/sell items we outgrow

- Actively support the people whose work Daniel and I partner with through financial sponsorship (as a start)

- Run at least a 5K (minimum 20-30 minutes) every day, with one rest day per week; 10K on Friday mornings (Saturday mornings after we leave Israel)

- Prepare nutritious meals/snacks with organic, farmer-to-table vegetables on a regular basis for the family

- Have a job outside of the family that enables me to contribute to better public discourse/critical thinking, but also leave me enough time to be available for the needs of my family and friends

- Spent less time on Facebook/Develop a better social network via letter-writing, phone calls, face-to-face meetings

- Be more consistent about (daily) intentional time spent with God

- Have a healthier (more consistent) bedtime schedule

- Keep a relatively tidy living space for the family

All of these things look entirely doable when laid out like this, and yet I feel like a description of my current life is so far from these hardly fantastical ideals. Why?

back to square one

Went out for my first run since running the 10K event in Jerusalem. I had felt invincible after that race--so invincible that I was all set to register for the half-marathon in Haifa next month, and also immediately signed up for a 10K event that will be held in the Carmel forest. 

Then I got sick. Really, really sick. And it's still hanging out, mostly in my respiratory system and sinus. But I'm tired of being sick and trying to wait it out, so I got up and went for a morning run today before Daniel's absence and the kids make it impossible the rest of the day.

It felt awful. I walked several times. I felt like I'm back to my first runs since Petra's birth. Sigh. I guess I can give thanks for the fact that I actually did run (for about 20 minutes). Which is better than nothing.... right?

Maybe I'll just do another 10K for the Haifa event next month...