Revelations

Yesterday Chip and I ran our first half marathon. It was awesome!

 

Chip came in 12th for his age group, and I beat my personal time goal.

Here are pictures from our race!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This was RIGHT after I finished haha

 Here is us with our 2014 to-do list and our very first accomplished task!!

The whole experience was really great. I'm not sure if I will ever do one again, running isn't my "thing" per say, but I think it was an important thing for me to experience. I learned a lot from this.

 

During the race, around mile 4 or 5, I had a sort of self realization or revelation that really struck me.

 

I was running a half marathon. Me. Of my own free will, and with my very own body. No one made me do this, and no one was doing this for me. This was all Emilee. And it felt good. I felt accomplished. I had been fearful of this experience for months. I was certain that I would physically, mentally or emotionally NOT be able to accomplish this goal.

 

And then mile 4-5 happened. I was proud of my body. Not only in that I was running this 13.1 mile race, but proud of the body that I have right now. It's not perfect, and many would maybe think negatively about it, but its mine. I own it. I own it in that I am proud of it. It gets me from point A to point B, it allows my husband the ability to hug and kiss his wife, to hold her hand, to love her, this body is healthy and able, it is absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, it allows me to hold my nieces and nephews, hold my beloved pets, embrace family and friends, play, and run, among a million other things. This isn't all to say that my body is 100% perfect or that I always will feel this confident, but this is an important step to loving myself. This body has changed over time, not always in ways I love, but the fact that bodies can morph, and adapt, change, & change back is amazing, astonishing, and admirable. We are so resilient in our physical forms. During that mile 4-5 I came to love something that I have hated, shamed, hidden and loathed for so long. That was perhaps the most amazing experience during this half marathon adventure. Today I am at peace and I am no longer AFRAID of what others may perceive this body to be.

It's mine, and I love it.

 

This brings me to another fun thing.

My friend Marquette has a theme for the year and wrote about it on Pinstrosity. I too picked a theme for the year, but I hadn't thought to talk about it, but I think it pertains to this post.

Fearless.

 

Last year wasn't laced in fear for me by any means, but having this as my go to thought in life this last month has been remarkable. I make no apologies for being myself, and I'm not worried about what people think about me or what I'm doing. It is most certainly not up to them to decide.

 

2014 is a year of firsts for the Goutcher's and I am beyond excited. This theme was just a natural progression of all that we have in store for us this year.

-Em

2014! The year of the Goutcher

2014 is here!

 I have been meaning to write a blog every Sunday but those have turned into days when Chip and I can chill and be happy just hanging at the house not being on social media or watching TV. Since school started it has been our day for us! We love it!

 

Christmas was great! Except I had strep. Blah blah blah, I ended up having strep through Christmas and then on to New Years also, so we brought in the New Year in bed, with soup and movies and two sickies (aren't I so nice, I passed on my ickyness to Chip, right after he got food poisoning). 2013 wasn't a bad year by any means but it wasn't anything remotely very exciting. I went to school literally all year, Spring, two summer sessions, and fall. It was only fitting to see the year out by getting sick haha

 

But the new year is here and we are rip rearin' to go!!!

 

We made a list of all the fun adventures we have planned and ready to go for the year. They aren't a bucket list, but more of an itinerary. I really feel like this year is the year of the Goutcher. We have lots of fun trips planned, lots of friends are getting married and having babies and we get to celebrate with them. We also graduate WNMU this year. I couldn't be happier!! I am literally already counting down the days. School isn't my thing so only having one year left is like dangling a Beggin' Strip in front of a dog.

 

We run our first half marathon this week!!

I am ready for it to be over, but I also can't believe how far I have come in such a short amount of time. If you had told me November 1st 2013 that I would run a half marathon I would have outright laughed at you, but now I KNOW that this is something I can do. Chip is pretty excited too, I think he is more amped than I am, running isn't necessarily my thing but putting this on a list as a task made it easier to accomplish for me. I live for lists.

 

I started a new job at the school. I am now in the Purchasing Department. I like it, its a lot of paper shuffling and organizing, I love organizing. the people are pretty nice and I am just really grateful that I was able to get a job. My previous department ran out of funding for my job the day after school got out. I was bummed but I was never worried, the Lord has always taken care of Chip and I and I knew something would work out one way or another.

 

We are looking seriously at Grad Schools now and will take a big trip to go visit + or - 10 grad schools in May. This will be a vacation/National Park/ Road Trip/College Trip for us. We will be gone probably about 3 weeks and we are stoked! This will be an awesome way for us to feel out the schools, the atmosphere of the programs we are looking at and the towns that we would potentially be moving to.

 

And for the fun part, a few fun things we have been up to since I blogged last...in no particular order. Also my blogger won't let me change the size of the pictures for some reason :( Sorry :(

I made this diaper bassinet with Chip's help for my friend Mal's baby shower, it was fun to make and it was a big hit!!

 

A very sick New Year's Eve.

I promised Chip I would try to not be a Grinch this year, so we ate  made a ginger bread house!

When we went to ABQ before Christmas we were able to stop in and see Mal and Mitch and their pretty new house!

Mal and I at her baby shower, I can't wait to meet Grace!

Personally I like this picture better haha

Our 10 miler right before we got sick. It snowed, uphill, both ways. But actually that was the truth of it!

We attended a Zombie Wedding of Awesomeness.

Us with the crazy Payne kids, Marianne was asleep or cranky haha I can't remember, but she is there in spirit in the form of a magnet of her face :)

 Me and the newest nephew Baby J :)

This little guy got lost, and then found his way home later that day last week. Dog gone it he is stinkin' cute, his 11th birthday was January 11th! :) My sweet boy Elmo.

First day of school!