A Splash of Color

We've undertaken a couple small projects around here recently.  I'll share this one today, then one later in the week.  With pictures!

For Christmas, my Grandma Wanda likes to get every family a "house gift".  One of my friends has giggled about this, and I admit, it might seem strange if you're not used to her concept.  Every person gets a couple gifts, and every house gets a gift.  Anyway, Grandma Wanda forgot to buy us a house gift this year and instead gave me some cash while we were at her house.  After some consideration, here is what we spent it on:

New shower curtain and rug

Lovely chocolate brown garbage can

New toothbrush holder -- the blue doesn't match, but it was the only one with a smiley so I had to have it!

Our bathroom had been very cream-colored.  It was the original shower curtain, etc. that we'd registered for as wedding gifts.  Cream with some sage green and tan accents.  We liked it, and it looked fine when we lived in the apartment many moons ago, but when we bought our house, it really just kind of blended in with the very cream-colored bathroom.  Re-doing the bathroom has not been high on our priority list, and the curtain, etc. were fairly new still when we moved here, so we just let it ride.  It wasn't until after Christmas when I had that amount of money for our house that it hit me.  I knew that would be a good place to make a change!

Blue and brown spice things up.  Coincidentally, it also matches our bedding fairly well.  Plus, I never realized how old that old rug had become.  This new one is so luxurious.  Love it!

Not As Young As I Used To Be

At least my joints certainly aren't!

I bet we all feel that way sometimes, right?  Remembering things we used to do frequently that seem like youthful foolishness, or even difficult, right now?

I probably sound like I'm 60 years old, starting off like that, but I'm learning the hard way that my knees aren't as young as they used to be.  And the culprit is youth basketball.

One thing we are working on more with the 5-6 year old league is proper defensive positioning, which includes the "chair" position and shuffling from side to side.  I've been happily demonstrating this at practice for some basic drills, but last night, they set up a full offense vs. defense comprised of the different coaches.  I was on defense, up at the top in our 2-3 zone.  I was back and forth and all over the place, pestering this guy I was guarding who was a good foot taller than me.  It was fun!  I was in the zone!  Quick!  Aggressive!  Like I was 17 again!

Until I stopped moving and walked with my team back over to our basket (with Katie VERY proud of me for being a good example for the kids).  Then my left knee started to lock up a bit.  It's the same knee I wear the brace on when I run, but not thinking, I hadn't been wearing my brace to basketball.  I need to start.  The doctor wants me to keep wearing it so I don't hurt myself on lateral movements, and here I am, lateral movements all over the place.  Flash back to college and it was basketball that injured that knee in the first place.  Oh, Megan.  Will I ever learn?

I came home and had some ice and ibuprofen.  I slept it off, and with some stretching and a little more ibuprofen, I wasn't feeling too bad today.  I even ran my scheduled 4 miles over lunch!  A little slower, but with the brace holding my joint in place, I didn't feel bad at all.  I've iced more tonight and am trying to rest it a bit.  Tomorrow is a cross-training day on the schedule, and instead of doing my Jillian DVD, which is kind of hard core, I think I'm just going to walk.  Walking counts as cross-training, and I think that will be better for me.  Keep the knee moving, but with less strenuous work.  I should be ready for my 5 miles on Sunday.

So.  As much as I hate admitting that my body is older now, I need to do a better job of knowing my limits.  I don't want 5-6 basketball to keep me from my goal of a successful 15K race!

Princesses and Puppies

Katie and Natalie love to play princesses.  They also love to play with all the seemingly thousands of stuffed animals around the house.  So I took this cute picture of my princesses with their puppies the other day:

Natalie's dog is Serena and Katie's is Ballerina.  :)

And this is Natalie from over the weekend.  I just took this picture so you can see how colorful she is when she dresses herself.  :)

Have a great day!!!

First 5 Down

Working toward the 15K, today was my first 5 mile run of the year...  longest so far.  It was sunny but cool when I ventured out mid-afternoon.  I was a little sore (I did my Jillian Michaels DVD for my cross-training day yesterday and used muscles I'd forgotten I had!), but came in with a time of 49:25, so not too shabby.

Here I am afterward, modeling my new running outfit:

New shirt was a Christmas gift from my brother Travis, and new shorts were from my spree at Sports Authority on Monday.  I told you I bought some funky colors!  I was starting to get bored of all my black and gray shorts.  :)

Also on that spree, I got some new shoes.  Here are some photos to compare new vs. old:

I never realize how badly they're worn until I compare them with new shoes.  Yikes!

Anyway, I felt great running, and I hope that continues on through race day!

First Basketball Saturday

Today was the first day of games for our winter basketball season.  I was worn out afterward!

Go Eagles!

Natalie's team, the Eagles, played at 9am.  We only have 7 kids on our roster, and only 5 showed up for the first practice/game.  Yikes!  That meant everyone had to play the entire game with no breaks.  Luckily, they all hung in there and did a great job.  Cherie and I have coached 2 of the boys before, so at least we knew them and their families.  Since it was only the first game, a lot of kids were easily confused.  We hope to improve upon that as the season progresses.  :)

Go Dolphins!

Katie and Gavin's team, the Dolphins, had the 11am game.  It started late due to some technical difficulties in getting the baskets to the proper height.  We survived.  :)  We have 10 on our roster in this league, and 9 of the kids were there, so everyone got plenty of playing time.  I thought everyone did really well for a first game.  You can tell that many of them have played before.  It was close, but we lost by 1 basket in the closing seconds.  Darn!  I'm excited to see how we do next week when we have everyone there.

Natalie wasn't able to swim due to a schedule conflict, but Colin did take Katie to swimming at the regular time.  We'll be switching swim times at the beginning of February to avoid most of the basketball game conflicts for the next several weeks. 

Basketball sure is fun!  The beginning of this season has been exhausting already (due to coordination issues with the Y staff), but with one game under our belt, I'm feeling better already.  :)

Another New Baby

Congratulations to our friends Carl and Andrea on the birth of their son, Henry James.  Henry arrived early this morning, 8.4 pounds, 21.5 inches long.  I can't wait to see pictures!

Carl has long felt like another brother in my family, and I am just thrilled that he and Andrea are experiencing the joys of parenthood!  :)

Down With Cholesterol!

I recently had a cholesterol re-check due to my slightly elevated results from 6 months ago (HERE).  The results are in...  drum roll, please...

I dropped 30 points in 6 months!!!

I was thrilled to hear this, mainly because it's good for me, but also because it means I was able to do it naturally without any drastic measures.  Here are some changes I've made in the past 6 months that have been beneficial to my heart health:

• I stopped eating bacon with breakfast every day.  I'm sure you are saying, "Duh, Megan, of course your cholesterol was high if you ate bacon every day!"  Well, yes.  And this proves it.  Bacon is so delicious, and they make it so convenient now with microwaveable servings!  But it's also a "sometimes" food, and I'm treating it as such.
• I started adding ground flaxseed to my cereal in the morning and to my yogurt every time I eat it.  I also sprinkle it on peanut butter toast and on my ice cream sometimes!  Easy, inexpensive, and good for you.
• Instead of drinking orange juice for breakfast, I've started doing a 50/50 of OJ and grapefruit juice.  That was hard for me at first, but now I almost like it...  regular OJ seems too sweet to me now if it doesn't have that grapefruit pucker to it.
• I started being more conscious of my fruit and vegetable intake every day.  I try.  I know I'm not perfect and I still fall short in the vegetable category sometimes, but I'm trying!
• I've maintained my current level of exercise, or increased, even when I don't feel like it.
• I've done a better job with portion control and trying to make better food choices, in general.

(Note, I am not a doctor, and if you need to talk to your doctor about cholesterol, you should do so!  I'm just sharing some things that worked for me.)

Long Weekend Update

Hopefully everyone had a great weekend!  Some of us (myself included) enjoyed an extra day off due to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday.  It was raining and miserable here most of the day Monday, but I didn't let that stop me from checking a lot of things off my "to-do" list!


But first, I was SO GLAD to have one more nice, regular weekend of taking the girls to swimming, working out on Saturday, running on Sunday, and just hanging out.  We had a great weekend.  Basketball games start this Saturday and it's going to be MADNESS! 

Yesterday, Natalie went off to preschool and Katie went in, too, since her after-school group was going on a roller skating trip, and she was totally psyched for that.  I used my time wisely and still didn't accomplish half of what I wanted to (maybe I should start making shorter lists?).


I worked out in the morning.  Then, after cleaning up, I went to Target to get Katie some birthday gifts and to buy Valentine items for the whole family.  I returned home, wrapped the gifts, and also wrapped some gifts we'd bought on Saturday that I need to put in the mail.


Colin picked me up as I was finishing wrapping so we could go to Natalie's parent-teacher conferece at pre-school.  It is so nice to hear a teacher say so many kind words about your child!  And even though she can act like a holy terror at home sometimes, it is nice to hear that she is well-behaved at school.  :)  Because of how she tries to imitate Katie, her writing, counting, and letter-recognition skills are way above average at this point.  We are so proud! 


After that, Colin and I had a nice lunch out at Chili's.  He took me back home (because he had to return to work), where I did some laundry and cleaning up before heading out for my next round of shopping!  I picked up new Saucony running shoes, 2 pairs of Nike shorts (in funky colors!), and 2 UnderArmour shirts.  The best part?  All ON SALE!  Plus a coupon I scored out of the Gasparilla registration brochure!  Then I went to the mall and got some products from Bath & Body Works, another gift for Katie, and some picture frames before heading home.

The rest of my afternoon/evening was filled with the craziness that is 3-4 year old basketball.  This is my 4th season as a coach for this age group, and never has it been as disorganized as it is right now.  Our games start this Saturday, and they finally announced the schedule on Monday.  They also completely reshuffled everyone's roster, so that parents I'd made contact with before are now no longer on our team and I have to coordinate with a whole new set of people.  Thankfully the 5-6 league is more organized (somehow, though they are run by the same person).  Cherie and I spent much time this weekend complaining to each other about it as it has been a lot more stressful this year than any time in the past.

So there was my weekend...  Did you do anything exciting???

Busy Family

After our trip, we had a little break, and now we are full-on into January activities!  Oh boy!  Here are some of the things we have going on around here:

Swimming

The girls still swim on Saturday mornings.  They love it and are steadily improving.  We hope to keep them in as long as we can, but I foresee a conflict coming on because of...

Basketball x2

Yes, both girls are playing basketball this winter, and my friend Cherie and I are coaching both teams!  We must be crazy!  We don't have the game schedules yet, but Natalie's 3-4 league is most likely to have a conflict with swimming times based on when their games are usually played on Saturdays.  Katie and Gavin are playing in the 5-6 league, so their games are a little later.  Also new to 5-6 league is a practice one evening per week in addition to the game on Saturday.  We have survived the first practice, even though games don't start yet.  Our team picked the name Dolphins, which is pretty cool.  It is starting to get a little more competitive, and I'm not sure Katie enjoys that.  This may end up being her last season of basketball, but we'll see.

Dance

Katie loves dance, which she goes to one afternoon a week.  Colin takes her and Natalie to dance since it's just early enough where I can't get there easily after work.  Natalie enjoys watching, but isn't sure if she'd want to start taking dance class as well.  Katie and the girls are hard at work on their recital song and trying to guess what their costumes will be this year. 

Orchestra

Church orchestra started back up for select people because we are going to do a Big Band concert as part of the upcoming Valentine Dinner!  I love the music, but it is a lot of work.  Our director, Jeff, wanted to do a Big Band concert a year or so ago, but the scheduling just didn't work out, so we held on to the music in case we ever came back to it.  It's pretty challenging, so I know I'll have some practicing to do over the next few weeks.

Training

You may have noticed I added a mileage widget to the right side of my page...  Always looking for a new challenge, I signed up for the Gasparilla 15K at the end of February.  I've run the 5K a few times and am just looking for something different.  I created a training schedule that is kind of a hybrid from Hal Higdon's 15K and half marathon programs.  Some things I am doing differently than I did for last year's half marathon training are: 

1. Running during lunch 2 days a week.  This takes some of the burden off Colin in the evenings, especially with all our other activities.
2. Adding speed work once a week.  I know that if you want to race fast, you have to train fast, so hopefully this will help improve my splits. 

I'll let you know how it's going!

With all of that going on around here, you can probably guess that I'm thankful I have a 3-day weekend coming up.  :)

An Awesome Surprise

So we went back to church yesterday after missing the past couple of weeks, and had an awesome surprise.

Tim Zimmerman & The King's Brass!!!

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!  I may disparage trumpets when I actually have to play with them, but there is not much I enjoy listening to more than a good brass ensemble.  They'd visited a few years back, if I remember correctly, because some of it seemed familiar.

Love them!  From start to finish, they are just incredible.  They even have a musical adaptation of the story of David and Goliath that they do during the children's moment.  They played mostly hymns, some arranged in an interesting way.  For example, I thought Amazing Grace sounded more like Elvis's CC Rider, if you can imagine that.  They also play a few praise songs and some classical pieces.  I loved soaking it up and singing along, and it looks like everyone else did, too.  It is such a blessing to have that kind of fabulous music there.  So uplifting.  I hope they make their way back to our church again some time!

And if they are ever in YOUR area, you should totally see them.  You'll love it!

Don't Gain -- Maintain! Results!

As you may remember, I signed up for the Don't Gain -- Maintain!  challenge with Mary and friends.  My initial weight was 136 during the week of Thanksgiving.  I weighed in the first week of the year for our final round, and I weighed 131.  So, not only did I NOT gain the average 7 pounds that people put on during the holidays, I actually lost 5.  I credit the Y and that insane Holiday Distance Challenge for shrinking my booty like that.

Also, isn't it funny?  I was in the weight loss contest at work over the summer and didn't budge.  Since the contest ended, I've lost 10 pounds.  I guess I needed to stop thinking about it so much and just let it happen based on improved diet and exercise.

(Late) Christmas Recap

You know, we went to Iowa, and I was so excited to show you all some pictures that I forgot I never mentioned what we did for Christmas here at home!  I'm glad Jennifer gave me that prompt.  :)

Christmas Eve I was still suffering a bit from the head cold, so the girls and I slept in.  Colin went to the office for a bit in the morning, and eventually, us girls went out on the bike trail.  They took their bike and trike and I walked along.  Natalie did GREAT...  until she pooped out.  We went about a mile total, with me carrying the tricycle for almost half the time.  Oh well.  I know it will be more fun to her as she gets older.

We went to Colin's parents' in the afternoon for an early dinner and some gifts!  We really enjoyed the chocolate cupcakes and peppermint ice cream for dessert.  :)

Peppermint ice cream!

Mmm...  Chocolate...

Katie got Rapunzel with the hair braider!

Natalie shows off my cupcake tower

Natalie with one of her books

We didn't stay at their house too late because I had to play in orchestra for Christmas Eve service at 8pm, and the girls were anxious to set out cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer.  The girls were asleep when I got back from church, which was great because Colin and I had a few preparations to take care of before we called it a night.

Christmas morning, we were up at 6am and ready to open presents!!!

Zhu Zhu Pets!  And a maze!

Computer Engineer Barbie!

Hey, what happened to my husband?

Another game we can play

Teacup Piggy!

We didn't really have a "big" gift this year, so I tried to get a good variety of smaller things, and it seems like that went over well.  The Teacup Piggies are a big hit (in fact, even my hair stylist wants one, and she's 50!).  They also love the Zhu Zhu Pets and Squinkies.  The girls each got a small sparkly purse in their stocking, and they filled the purses with Squinkies for the trip to Iowa and back.  We also got books and clothes, and a few other things.  Natalie loves her new Dora backpack, and Katie was thrilled by her Hello Kitty umbrella!  Colin and I each got some new shirts for each other from our favorite site, ThinkGeek.  He and the girls also got me some of my favorite running socks.  Fabulous!!!

Since we were traveling the next day, we spent most of our time doing laundry and packing.  We let the girls stay in their pajamas, playing, pretty much all day.  We had pizza for supper.  :)  And then went to bed early due to our flight the next morning.

And that was our Christmas.  Sorry it took me so long, but hope you enjoy the pictures!!!

New Year's Eve? Missed It.

To wrap up our trip, our Friday in Iowa was really fairly uneventful.  The weather was still being uncooperative, so we didn't want to go out unless we had to.  That was OK, though, because my mom and I finished some laundry, Colin and I packed the bags, and the girls had more fun coloring on their box houses and playing with my old Strawberry Shortcakes and my beloved astronaut Barbie.  That was the only Barbie I really loved.  She had a science-related job!!!

My dad and I did go out to make a gift exchange later in the day as the weather cleared a bit.  We all had pizza for supper and tried to go to bed early to prepare for our travels the next day.  I totally forgot it was New Year's Eve! 

And our New Year's Day was spent traveling.  The weather was nice, and although we had some ground delays coming back through St. Louis, it wasn't so bad.  The girls traveled really well, and we were so proud of them on the trip for how well they did overall.  We like taking them places when they act so nice!!!

Now we're back into our old routine.  Natalie missed her preschool teacher, and Katie missed all her school friends, so they've had a great time this week catching up with everyone!

Old Friends and New Babies

Tyson had to leave to drive back home on Wednesday, and I needed a quick picture with him as we were loading his car.  His old Ranger Challenge jacket, still at Mom and Dad's, had just helped block the wind for me on a quick run out into the country and back (also long enough to provide extra butt-coverage!).

We met my good friend Kelly for lunch on Wednesday.  She was a bit under the weather last week, and I was so glad she recovered enough to meet us out, even if just for a little while.  I think she found the girls quite entertaining.  :)

Thursday we ventured into Minnesota to visit my Dad's mom.  She's 93, still lives on her own, and still cooked a delicious roast beef dinner for us, complete with a chocolate cake from scratch for dessert.  Grandma amazes me! 

Katie, Natalie, and I hang out with Grandma Eileen

Our plans were to meet up with my cousin Becci after leaving Grandma's to see her for a bit and meet her new baby Magnus.  Mother Nature was getting in the way, though, with freezing rain and poor road conditions.  Becci met us at a restaurant parking lot near her house and let us play with Magnus in the van for a few minutes as we chatted so we could at least hug and kiss him.

Katie and I both love his little round, bald head!

Magnus is 6 months old, so not as new as Layla, but this was the first time we'd gotten to meet him, and it was a real treat.  He is a sweetheart!

We did make it safely back to my parents, though it took nearly twice as long to get back as it did to get to Minnesota in the first place.  It was a long day, but Colin was a superstar driving on the icy roads, and it was so worth it to see some of my most favorite people on my Dad's side of the family.

Chocolate Balls and Sledding

The first 2 days after we arrived in Iowa were spent visiting with family.  We celebrated Christmas with my mom's family on Monday.  Grandma was a little disappointed about the "small" crowd --16 people!  It was our first Christmas without my Uncle Lowell, so there were tears and hugs off and on as we talked about him and shared stories of past holidays.  Katie and Natalie had a great time playing with my cousins, who I still think of as being little, but are growing up way too fast (now ages 22, 20, and 16)!

Natalie hangs out with Kaitlin and her boyfriend Beau

Grandma is on a tight budget but still had 3 gifts for everyone under the tree.  She loves Christmas, so it's hard to get her to cut back more than we've already made her.  One of the highlights of the evening was when she brought all her Christmas candy and cookies in from the back porch, where they'd been chilling.  Katie and Natalie LOVED the buckeyes.  It was so hard to drag them away from Grandma's house when they kept crying out, "Just one more chocolate ball!  Pleeeeeease!!!"

On Tuesday, we spent the afternoon and evening at my brother Travis and Sarah's house.  They just moved to a new (to them) house over the summer, so it was interesting to check everything out.  We opened gifts right away, then went outside to test the new sled my parents got Bryce.

My dad trying to hang on to Bryce, Katie, and Natalie

Travis decides to take it for a spin

Dad gives Katie and I a push

Best picture of the night (although dark) - Natalie being ejected off the sled with Bryce and Tyson

I had a great time hanging out with both of my brothers.  We really missed Angie, Tyson's wife who is currently deployed to Iraq, so we talked about her quite a bit.  Travis and Sarah cooked up a good meal for us and Dad made 2 pies, so there was definitely a lot of food.

And I can't forget, we got to meet my new niece Layla!  She was only 8 days old when we saw her, and so tiny and so precious.

Natalie, Bryce, and Katie give Layla some love.  I get a kick out of the look on her little face!

My parents with their grandkids:  Natalie (3), Bryce (5), Layla, Katie (5), and Ian (2)

It was so great to see so many people those first 2 days, but it was a lot of driving, and we were sure pooped afterwards.  Good thing we got to sleep in almost every day the entire vacation!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, friends!!!  We just got back from a weeklong trip visiting family in Iowa, Minnesota, and South Dakota, and we had a GREAT time!!!

Here's one of the things the girls enjoyed while we were there:

My parents got new living room furniture at the beginning of December and saved 2 of the Very Large Boxes.  The girls loved playing in them with Grandpa, and by the end of the week, they'd decorated the 2 boxes with markers, crayons, and cut-out windows and chimneys.  So fun!

Our flights went smoothly both directions, and for the most part, the weather cooperated.  We got to see so many family members and meet new babies.  It was great!  I'll detail that more, with pictures, as we go through this week.