Last week we put out a call for new writers, and we were overwhelmed with amazing responses. It was hard narrowing it down but we did manage it, and we feel like hit the jackpot with the two new ladies we chose. Today I’m introducing our new writer Judith!
Well, this is my first post, and I feel it should be monumental or at least inspiring – but if all else fails, hopefully it is at least memorable.
Hi. I’m Judith. Isn’t that how all intros begin? I’m a writer/teacher/wife/mommy/vigilante-by-night (wishful thinking on that last, and I should probably stop binge watching Netflix’s “Daredevil” before writing these posts). I actually did think of a number of ways to introduce myself to y’all (I’m also a Southerner, born and raised in Louisiana), but since I like lists, I thought perhaps I should just do it that way.
1. I have been married to my college sweetheart, Kyle, for almost 10 years, and we have a beautiful, feisty redheaded daughter, our two-year-old Alice. We also have a Chihuahua named Vicki (who I tried to make into my running partner at one point – Advice: Chihuahuas are not runners.).
2. I teach at Louisiana Tech University in Ruston (Need a map to find it? It’s okay, I’ll wait) and absolutely love it. My students, the work, my coworkers – it’s not my dream job, but as no one has yet decided to make a reality show about my life, I’ll settle for my second best dream job.
3. I started running in 2009 when I was overwhelmed. My husband had just been diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, I had just started my Ph.D. program, and I wasn’t sleeping. However, I found out that if I ran three or four miles a day, I could sleep. Less than a year after I started running, I ran my first half marathon.
4. Going along with Number 3, I haven’t run a half marathon in over two years. I’m hoping to change that soon. We shall see.
5. Also going along with Number 3, I did (thank God) graduate with my doctorate degree. In fact, I was told I would graduate two days before my daughter was born. That was a pretty good week.
6. I’m a lazy exerciser. Seriously. Running is the easiest thing for me to do to burn calories. I run to eat, and running has been the most effective way to eat my way through a few helpings of fried fish, jalapeno hush puppies (I seriously could eat jalapenos out of a jar – and will if given the opportunity), French fries, banana pudding, cheesecake…As you can tell, I like to eat. Lazy exerciser, food lover. I do what I must to eat.
7. I used ice cream to bribe my best friend (a non-runner) into training for our first half-marathon. Every night after running, we’d go get ice cream. And somehow we still lost weight and got in pretty good shape!
8. I am active in a few organizations outside of work as well. Our family is active at Temple Baptist Church in Ruston – we love Jesus and hope our lives display His love. I also volunteer for our local CASA – Court Appointed Special Advocates. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, but I feel like I make a difference in children’s lives. If you have more questions about CASA, feel free to email me ([email protected]) or visit the national CASA website.
9. If you want to see a billion pictures of Alice, follow me on Instagram. I also have a Twitter account.
10. I have an obsession with coffee. My current favorite is Railway Coffee, which is a local independent roaster. My husband makes the coffee for us in the morning because I am not a morning person, and one of my favorite times of the day is in the morning when the sun is coming up, I’ve (hopefully) run five miles already, and the day is just full of possibility and excitement.
And that’s it! I hope I didn’t bore you too much with random Judith facts. I am so excited to get to know y’all better and to share in your fitness journeys. I fully believe staying fit is a lifestyle – not a diet. I’m certainly not a nutritionist by any means, but I do my best to maintain a healthy lifestyle for my family and me. If I can inspire, assist, or lend an idea to anyone, that’s great. I do believe fully that you have to make a healthy lifestyle work for you – whether that means waking up at 5 a.m. (like I do) to run or lifting weights at 10 p.m., you just need to find something that works for you. I hope we can learn from each other, and I can’t wait to get started!
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