I'm back!

So, after a few months hiatus, I'm back and will try to post more frequently. Much has happened since the end of April, including the completion of a practicum with Ducks Unlimited and graduation with my Advanced Diploma in Geographic Information Systems. Once all my school work was finished, I found that I really didn't want to sit behind a computer at all, which equalled no new posts. :)

However, I'm trying to settle into a new routine that balances computer work with other activities and I'm finding myself drawn back to some of these outlets. I bought a 3-month membership at a local gym because they had a summer special and after sitting on my butt for 2 years while taking classes, I've been feeling pretty out of shape. After one month of going 2-3 times a week for 1-2 hours each time, I am starting to feel healthier. Just yesterday I was finishing up my session with some cardio and ended up running for 15 minutes straight, even though my goal had only been 10 minutes - and I felt like I could have gone for another 5 without a problem! To those of you who run, that may not seem like much, but I got excited about that. To put it into perspective, my first day at the gym I ended up doing intervals of running for 2 minutes, then walking for 2, simply because I couldn't run for longer without a break. I'd say that's progress. :) On days that I can't get to the gym, I'm trying to get myself to go for a short (15 min) run in the evening through a local park, just to keep active.

When I started this whole gym-thing, Mark was pretty skeptical that I would stay committed to going regularly, but just the other day he said that he probably wouldn't argue if I wanted to sign up for a year membership next because I've proven that I'll use it. To be honest, I'm rediscovering that I actually really enjoy the hard work and I've really missed being so active - I really haven't done this since being in basketball and volleyball in high school.

In other news, I've started a photo album for this summer's random activities and I'll be updating it as I have more pictures to add (click on the Spring & Summer 2009 photo on the right). I'll drop a note here when there are new ones to browse.

I'm working on a newsletter that will hopefully go out within a few days, although we've got a wedding this weekend which might take precedence. :) Once the newsletter has been sent out, I will have more updates to write about here.

Until then, you'll just have to wait in suspense.