I just arrived home after spending the last several days sorting through my parents home of 50 years. We spent 3 very intense days purging to get the home we grew up in ready for sale. Bear, Sue, Doug as well as Annette & Mike Madden were there helping out & giving 150% of effort to the cause. It was life altering. Although we weren’t setting any world records with our cleaning and dumping, we did manage to stay strong as a family, stay focused on the job at hand & feel proud that everyone came out smiling at the end.

Perhaps the life lessons I learned working closely with my siblings & my parents will help my head get my body through that morning of intensity.

You can save all the stuff you think is important~but in the end it’s keeping your body, mind & spirit in good shape. I love my life but I need to “unstuff” it so my kids don’t need a dumpster when we decide to move!

I’m thinking the military families know all about taking only what is necessary to survive! We could all take a lesson or two from the experts on essentials!

Xoxo,

The Granite Girls

Wow! 2 in a row…..the Granite Girls are finally in their Tuesday groove! We have 3 days left before we compete in the Timberman Sprint Triathlon this coming Saturday. There will be five of us competing…..all in different age groups. Tim will go off first as he is our youngest male; then Lauren; then Jay; then Bear; then me. I’m in the old lady wave which suits me just fine as they are less aggressive in the water. It’s the worst part with everyone kicking & trying to just get out of the water! It’s hard to swim straight.

Anyway, I decided to go pretty hard today and biked to boot camp with my backpack. Bear came and lead the way. He was so sweet as he kept circling back so as not to get too far ahead! The route we have to take to get off the island can be a bit challenging with traffic but we made it with 6 minutes to spare before our grueling hour of bootcamp started. The entire hour was centered around the medicine ball. Whether we were lifting it over our heads or balancing on it for a plank, it was an incredible core workout resulting in an awesome sweat!

I don’t know first hand about alot of things that go on with military families in the summer but I’m sure they sweat more than just from a physical aspect. So many uncertainties on a daily basis….just making the best of each day with what they have wherever they are based. I will continue to pray for those who keep us all safe.

xoxo
Granite Girls

Today I went for a 2.5 mile run with my husband around Portsmouth! We ran past our old house and through the downtown area… Such a cute place to live. 🙂
Tim is still recovering from his surgery and it is truly amazing to see how far he has come in the past 6 weeks. He’s doing FABULOUS!!!
We continue to train for our August 18th triathlon. Tim is planning on doing it!!
Hope everyone is enjoying their summer and Everyday keeping in mind the men and women in the military fighting for us.
Xoxo
Granite Girls

I have been back in NH for the past week… What a treat it has been!
Today I went for a 12.5 mile bike ride with my husband around the sea coast area. There is nothing like riding along side the ocean. We have started our training for the 2012 Timberman triathlon! More updates on training to come!
Xoxo
Granite Girls

What another incredible summer day! Got up @ 6:00 & met Jay at the Mines Fall path and ran a 5K. We have never really measured it but know from how fast we pace ourselves and how much we talk! It was a pretty good run along the Nashua River, under the highway and back again to the parking lot. We were talking about how quickly the Timberman Triathlon is coming up in August & how we both need to step it up as it is a tough course! The normal way for us to train in the past has been to swim 2 days in a row; bike 2 days in a row; run 2 days in a row & then rest. I will have to brick tomorrow & swim first with a short run afterwards. It will be fun to have Lauren & Tim at the lake this weekend to do some training!

Bear, Tim & I went on two incredible hikes this past weekend! One was the bridle path on Rattlesnake & the other was Red HIll. Both views were magnificent at the top but even better was the company! We went first thing in the morning both Sat. & Sunday……such a perfect way to start each day! Tim is recovering quite well from his surgery. I’m very impressed with his goal to compete in the Timberman on August 18th.

So many reasons to be thankful for all that is around us and those around to share the daily little things. Nick & Alex should write a blog about their cross country trek from LA to NH. That would be quite an interesting read!

Lots of love from the GG xoxo~

Donna & Lauren

Today I went for a run in my old stompting ground…Chicago! It has been so hot there the past several weeks, I was fortunate to get a bit of a breeze down by the lake front. 

We had a great night with good friends, and burned several additional calories dancing!! 

Xoxo Granite girl subbing in for Mr. Saturday!! 

I have been in Salt Lake City, Utah this whole week and have been able to take advanage of the beautiful weather.

  Myself and a co-worker went on a 4.5 mile run today around the city of Salt Lake.  We ran through the down town area and up and around their capitol building! What fabulous views we saw at the top.  It’s amazing to see the beauty of our nation!  Each and every day we need to keep in mind how fortunate we are, especially to have men and women in the military fighting for this beautiful country of ours!

xoxo

Granite Girls

We’ve had a ton going on over the past few days…getting ready for my sister’s wedding! So the workouts haven’t been as frequent but still trying to get a good sweat in every day. We are gearing up for the big 5 mile 4th of July road race tomorrow!! All up hill….

We took a nice after dinner walk with my Husband tonight, who is recovering from surgery.  To think where he was a week ago, it’s absolutely amazing how resilient the human body is. 

Practicing our choreographed dance for the wedding tonight was also a way to get a good sweat in!!

Happy Birthday to DK…her birthday is the 4^th of July!!

Xoxo

Granite Girls

Hi everyone.

Late post due to some unforeseen family circumstances down in Boston but it was good to get my blood flowing yesterday morning before the rest of the day was spent with my husband helping him recover from his surgery.

I went for a 30 minute run in Needham, MA. Very hot and sticky but always great to get a sweat going early in the morning.

Keep up the good work.

xoxo Granite Girls

Although this blog is coming one day late~I can still feel the humidity we ran in yesterday!  I’m not complaining as it IS summer & I’m so sure that the temperatures overseas are much hotter than this & they don’t get to pick their “workout” clothing.  Something about a lulu lemon top & pants just would not sit right with the military!

 So Jay & I met and went on the stationery bike for a half hour.  They were intervals so worked hard for several minutes and then took a minute break.  It was a great sweat!  Afterwards we ran outside at Mine Falls on a dirt path along the Nashua river for about 20 minutes.  Couldn’t believe what an awesome workout that was.  It’s actually called a “brick” when in training for a triathlon.  Hopefully I will have lake buddies this summer who will push me to do more of them! 

A big shout out for all of you who get through your military days without complaining about the heat ~  I will keep that close to mind the next time I find myself wanting to whine!

xoxo

Granite Girls