kiss & tell

Tis the season of Love. Why not tell us a little bit about your first kiss?

We’ll choose our favorite story Wednesday morning and make someone’s Valentine’s Day just a little sweeter by sending a little package of love from Silverbox.  Simply respond below, or on our Facebook Page.

My first kiss... Seth P., 5th grade, Spin the Bottle at his Birthday Party. I brought him the Rosanna, Toto 45 record as a gift. Oh, the things we remember when there's emotion intertwined to the moment.

firstkissblog

an easter scavenger hunt for the big kids

Are your kiddos getting a little too old for an egg hunt?Here's an easy idea to step it up a little. A photo scavenger hunt.

1. Plan a scavenger hunt route. (We planned ours for outside, but inside the house works just fine too.) 2. Take zoomed-in photos of the area you'd like to have the egg hunt. 3. Print out photos. (We used 4x6" photo prints). 4. Appropriately place your pictures, so the photo clue directs you to the next location. (We placed our clues in fun envelopes). 5. Of course your final destination should have a basket full of goodies! 6. Have fun and Enjoy!

Happy Easter from Silverbox!

i'm possible

 

Today begins day one of my 125-day marathon training. It's a keep-your-cap-down and focus only on the steps right in front of you kind of day.

I went out for a run with my daughter yesterday and let myself down, as I couldn't take more than a five mile run. While she pushed saying I could do it, I had to stop, and essentially quit on my own child. She went on for another seven miles. If that doesn't hurt your spirit, nothing does. I looked down at my clock the moment I stopped. The dreaded 45 minute mark. It's such a breaking point for me. Why at 45 minutes, I don't know. On day one of this training, I still have no idea as to how I'll be able to run for over four hours let alone 45 minutes.

I decided that I was going to sign up for a full marathon, unknowingly, in the last mile of the 1/2 marathon I ran last year. You see, there is a point in the race where the full and 1/2 marathons runners split. The people running the full go one way and the 1/2 marathoners are yards from the finish. If you can imagine at this split people cheering, the build up, the emotion. It's all here. What was not comprehendible was the fact that the people continuing to run another 13.1 miles had to hear all of this excitement of "you're all most there", "only 500 more yards to go", "you'll get to rest in 30 secs", etc.  At that moment I decided to sign up for the impossible.

I will never lessen the value of running and finishing a 1/2 marathon and the feeling I had that day, but I was instantaneously put into a moment of disbelief before I even finished. How in the world can you continue on after hearing all of that pomp and circumstance? To be honest, I still don't know. The word impossible has been in my mind, but I will let that word depart from my vocabulary today. Today impossible is an opinion. It's a dare.

So here I am on day one, not sure how this is going to go, can hardly hang onto a 45 minute run, but know that there is something inside all of us that is greater than any challenge.

I'll be taking one day at a time and staying thankful for the ability to even train. It could be turning 40, but I'm on a mission to feel life a little deeper this year. I hear that crossing the finish line of a marathon will change your life forever. Between family, friends, a running group, and some awesome work clients, I'm pretty sure I have one of the best support teams you can imagine.

In the next 18 weeks I'll also be compiling a list of 26.2 things that I am grateful for and plan to think of each one of them on their dedicated mile as my feet hit the pavement on November 18th. I'm saving the last 1.2 miles for myself. You don't get anywhere without respecting yourself first.

plan B

This past week while on vacation I had every intention on painting a picture. I arranged the perfect set up by the beach. My paints and brushes, glass of wine and good music. I sat and contemplated as to what to create. I even went as far as asking my Facebook family for suggestions. While they were wonderful, I did end up leaving my week's vacation with a white canvas in tow. The evening I got home from vacation, my friend Rich called to touch base about a Color Run we were running in the next morning. As we were chatting he asked what I ended up painting while away. I mentioned that I came home with a blank canvas. He suggested bringing it to the Color Run. What an idea.

The next day I ran my 5K with a canvas in hand. It was truthfully the most fun run I ever had in my lifetime, and the canvas was a huge hit.

While it's not the canvas image I envisioned, I do know that sometimes you can prepare all you want for the perfect plan, but things may not go your way. Consider that many times the most beautiful (and colorful) things happen when you embrace plan B.