Total Miles - 2011

As we wrap up the year, I just wanted to let you know that I finished 2011 with 555 miles.  I think this graphic rounded up...  I thought it was 554 plus a fraction, but 555 sounds cooler.

I've never set a mileage goal; I wanted to track my actuals first before setting any sort of goal for improvement.  It was sometimes a challenge to fit this in, so I guess my goal is to do at least 500 again for 2012.  Wish me luck!!!

Christmas Travels Part 2

And now, for the second half of our trip!


Sunday 12/25


 We woke up at my parents' house and discovered that Santa had been there!  He filled stockings and left a few gifts, with a note saying that the rest were back at our house.  The girls were thrilled as they'd been concerned that Santa wouldn't be able to find them while out of town.  :)

Gifts!

Dumbo!

My parents were at church that morning, but after they came back, we had lunch and called my brother and his wife to wish them a Merry Christmas.  They'd decided not to travel for the holidays this year, so it was good to catch up with them over the phone.


Later, we went to my Grandma Wanda's house for dinner and gifts with a good portion of my mom's side of the family.  I mashed the potatoes and helped with the vegetables and beverages.  I don't think I'd ever actually *done* anything to assist with Christmas at her house before, but with her getting older, I was happy to pitch in where I could.  We had a delicious dinner and a great time opening gifts with our aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Of course, we had to snack on Grandma's famous homemade candies, and even took a bunch of them with us for the road.  

Here we are at Grandma's house!

The girls with my Grandma

Dressing up with Grandma's wigs!

Monday 12/26


After another delightful run, I got myself cleaned up and we got ready for a visit from my dear cousin Becci and her family.  We were happy to see Magnus again, growing up to be such a big boy, and thrilled to meet Marit for the first time.  She is so precious!  

The girls and I snuggle with Marit

I think Natalie intimidated Magnus a little bit, but he and Katie became fast friends when she showed him how to push buttons on her DSi.  We had a wonderful time catching up with Becci and Abe, and my parents really enjoyed having them around, too.  We weren't able to spend time with anyone else from Dad's side of the family this year, so that short visit from B and crew was such a blessing.  


Tuesday 12/27


The girls and I spent most of the morning hanging out with our friends Bev and Ruby at their office.  That may not sound too exciting, but we enjoyed ourselves.  Bev is my friend Kelly's mom, and Ruby has always been like an extra grandma to me, so I love catching up with them when we can.


We had lunch on Tuesday with our friends Joe, Amy, and Jacob at Famous Dave's BBQ.  We love Famous Dave's!  It is a must for every time we are in the Midwest.  Jacob is 2, and we hadn't seen their family since before he was born, so it was a lot of fun to see them.  After lunch we ran some errands before returning to my parents' house.  My mom had some craft projects set up for them to do in the afternoon.  They beaded bracelets and necklaces and colored stickers, so it was a lot of fun.  


Wednesday 12/28


Travel day!  We easily got ourselves cleaned up and packed in the morning.  My Grandma Wanda came over to have lunch with us before we needed to leave for the airport.  Our first flight was mid-afternoon, and after a layover, we left at about 7:20pm from Minneapolis to fly back here.  A three-plus-hour flight at night where they DID NOT DIM THE CABIN LIGHTS.  Thanks a lot, Delta, for ensuring that my over-tired children would not be able to sleep on your flight, thus annoying everyone in a 10-foot radius.


But.  We survived.  A frustrating trip back, but we made it, and I will not let my travel annoyances ruin my memories of an overall FANTASTIC trip.  Thank you so much, Mom and Dad, for being wonderful hosts!  We love you and appreciate your hospitality!!!

Christmas Travels Part 1

We arrived at my parents' house on 12/21 in the afternoon.  Barely any snow, and mild temps, it was a stark contrast to years' past!  We jumped right in to the business of seeing everyone.


Thursday 12/22


We met my good friends Kelly and Jennifer, plus Jen's family, for lunch at Red Robin and a trip to the local Sioux City Public Museum.  Lunch was delicious, as always, and the museum was fabulous.  Just this year they moved it from the creaky old mansion it had been housed in to a new, modern, open space in the middle of downtown.  Everything is so nice and easily accessible.  We loved exploring our region's history with so much room to walk around!  It was hard to get the 5 kids all in one place for a group photo, and I never was able to accomplish that.

Katie, Abby, Natalie, and Kelly

Natalie, with some of the only snow we found

Katie, Natalie, Charlie, and Lincoln

I remember when my brother came face-to-face with This Guy at the old museum!

Charlie, Katie, Lincoln, and Abby

So much fun, and as always, soooo goood to see everyone!!!


Friday 12/23


We had some flurries overnight, but it was warming up in the morning.  I went for a run, then afterward, my mom and I walked the girls down to the park to play for a bit.  Not much snow to speak of, but they did get a handful...

Snow!

My brother Travis and his family came over in the afternoon.  We opened gifts, and had fun playing with the new things we received.

The aftermath

Natalie with her little horse farm

Dad and I cooked up a 12-lb pork loin for supper, and Trav and I helped him with all the sides.  It was a lot of fun working in the kitchen with everyone like that, especially with Mom and Dad's butt-kickin' new oven.  The food was delicious!!! 

Natalie, Katie, Ian, and Bryce

After more playing, Trav's kids all got their pajamas on for the drive home.  We had to have one good group picture before they left. 

Bryce, Layla, Ian, Katie, and Natalie

Saturday 12/24


Since the weather was nice, we wanted to get the girls out and walking around.  After lunch, we went to Trinity Heights, which is a beautiful area that formerly housed a Catholic college, then a high school.  Now it is a lovely landscaped garden filled with various statues to view.  Free of charge, it was a nice place to go and stretch our legs for a while.

Nice weather for a walk

Katie reads the Ten Commandments

Us with Mary

Later in the day, we went to Christmas Eve service with my parents at their church.  It was nice to catch up with some familiar faces and introduce the girls to some new (to them) friends.  We really enjoyed the service.  Afterward, we had our traditional trip to a family friends' house for soup, sandwiches, and desserts.  The girls and I played air hockey, and Natalie found a new friend in Gracie, a Great Pyrenees.

Before I beat them handily

Natalie and Gracie

So, the first half of the trip went really well!  Stay tuned for details from Christmas Day through the end of our vacation!

Christmas Catch-Up

We hosted Colin's parents at our house on Sat. 12/17 for dinner and gift-opening.  Since our trip to the not-so-great-white-North was Dec. 21-28, this was the best time to get us together to celebrate at our house.

Grandma and Poppop always bring the girls' gifts in these giant bags

Natalie, ready to open!

Doodle tablecloth!

Natalie got Go-Go the Walkin' Pup

We opened so many nice gifts.  My favorite is one I got from Colin and the girls:  a Garmin Forerunner 405!!!  Colin and I had talked about this a bit, but I was really surprised that they actually bought it!  This thing is almost smarter than I am.  :)


So, it was a nice evening of hanging out at home and playing with all our new gadgets, toys, and animals.  I couldn't have asked for anything better.

Grandma made new Christmas dresses

Sunday 12/18 was our annual Christmas concert at church.  Our music ministry has been under new leadership this year since our beloved director Jeff and his family moved out of town in the spring.  The program was not as long as in years past, and it was more geared toward choral music, not so much instrumental, but it was still wonderful.  Everything went so well, and I was so happy that we were able to use our talents to celebrate Christ's birth in such a beautiful way.  I was also so happy for Joey, our new director, that his first big Christmas program went off without a hitch!  And, as always, I was thankful that my family was able to come and enjoy it, new Christmas dresses and all.  :)

Holiday Break

With a lot going on right now, I'm going to take a short break and do some catch-up posts at the end of the year.  There will be lots to talk about, including our concert at church and Christmas celebrations with family and friends.


MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

23rd Annual Say No to Drugs Holiday Classic: 10K Race Results

Saturday I ran in the 23rd Annual Say No to Drugs Holiday Classic.  I chose the 10K option, as did Kim and Michelle from my church.  When I was considering this race, Michelle was the one who talked me into it.  I'd never participated in this race before, but was pleased with the ease of registration and packet pick-up, the starting location at Coachman Park, and the low, low price of $19 for a 10K.  

I'd picked up my packet ahead of time, but I did need to pick up my chip on Saturday morning.  We parked the van about 2 blocks from the park, and my family stayed in there watching Tangled while I went to get my chip.  Then I watched more of Tangled with them until I decided to head back into the park and get ready for the start.  They had a lot of port-a-potties, but none of them had toilet paper!  Still, I was able to do my business in plenty of time to get warmed up and over to the starting line. 

I never did see Kim and Michelle before the start.  I just tried to get into the pack a little ways back (turns out I was farther back than I'd thought!), and wait for the gun.  The start of the race is uphill on Drew Street for about 2 blocks.  We then turn and go into downtown Clearwater, and then turn again to go up and over the Memorial Causeway Bridge.  It seems daunting when you drive over it, so I was trying not to let the height scare me.  I just kept pushing up and up, telling myself that I eat bridges like this for breakfast!  (Even though, really, I don't!)  The first mile marker was on the bridge as we were going up and up.  Mile 1 Split:  8:16

Bridge photos from Frederick Gottemoeller Bridgescape LLC

So I finally crested the bridge, surprised at my split, and flew down the other side with the aid of gravity.  The weather was lovely, and it was very nice running on the causeway out toward the beach in the morning.  Crowds were still thick, but I hit Mile 2 pretty quickly.  Mile 2 Split:  8:07

And here is where I was thinking that maybe I was going too fast.  Because, really, 8:07???  That's obscene.  There was another little bridge, up and over, and then we were in Clearwater Beach.  We went around the traffic circle and headed north on the strip.  For some reason, I didn't think I would have to go that far north, so it seemed like a long way, but I was still feeling pretty good.  I hit Mile 3 and the turnaround by the fire station, and although I did slow up quite a bit, I was still surprised that I was sub-9.  Mile 3 Split:  8:43

After the turnaround, I saw Michelle and Kim and waved at them, yelling encouragement as they headed toward the Mile 3 marker.  I kept plugging along, starting to feel terribly slow, and chugged around the traffic circle and back onto the causeway.  The sun was in my eyes and it seemed pretty lonely out there!  Mile 4 Split:  8:56

While we were still on the causeway, they diverted us from the roadway onto the bike/pedestrian path that parallels the road around Mile 4.  I started feeling like I might throw up, which I didn't want to do.  I tried to slow down more to keep my breakfast inside me.  Eventually the feeling passed, and I didn't get sick, but when I checked my watch, I hadn't slowed down as much as I thought I had!  And it was getting hard, too, as I was climbing up the Memorial Causeway Bridge again to get back into Clearwater.  Mile 5 Split:  8:57

With the Mile 5 marker partway up the bridge, it just felt like it went on forever and ever...  It seemed much longer of an incline the second time around!  But I made it to the top without any walking.  Since we were on the pedestrian part of the bridge, we went down the spiral pedestrian ramp.  I was afraid I'd get dizzy, and happy that I didn't.  Once the ramp spits you out, you have to u-turn, then go up another hill to get back into downtown Clearwater.  Not a very long hill, but I just wasn't in the mood for it any more.  I charged up the hill, turned north, and kept plugging along, though I was quickly running out of gas.  Mile 6 Split:  9:07

After Mile 6, you turn left and it's back down the hill on Drew Street to the finish line (same as start line).  Some people were really letting it rip down the hill, almost dangerously fast.  I just coasted down, comfortably fast, waving and screaming to my cheering family, and blasted across the finish line.  Last 0.2 Split:  1:40

If you zoom in, never mind that lost look on my face...

SO, my overall time was 53:48.60.  To which I say, I never knew I was that fast.  9th out of 56 in my age group, 59th out of 387 women, 233rd out of 741 runners overall.  

I made my family stay at the finish area until we cheered Kim and Michelle across the finish line.  Great job, ladies!!!  They finished in about 1:04:00.  They had to walk a little going up the bridge the second time, but they still did really well, and improved from their previous 10K times from a few weeks ago.

Overall, I enjoyed the race.  Coachman Park was a great location to start/finish a race.  It was well-organized and had plenty of volunteer support.  No finisher medal, but hey, it was only $19 and I got a rockin' long sleeve tech tee for it.  I did like the course, but oh boy, that bridge is a challenge!  You just can't let it scare you, though.  I'm so glad my family came out to cheer me on.  It means a lot to me to have them at the finish line!

Lessons Learned

Last week, Katie's school was having a sale in the library of small, reasonably priced gift items that most kids would be able to afford for their parents or siblings.  For just a few dollars, there was a lot to choose from.  Katie took money from her own piggy bank so that she could buy things for Natalie and us.  I was so happy for her that she had picked them out just for us and was planning to use money that she'd earned to buy them.


So she bought them.  And one of the leaders of the after-school program, Ms. G, helped her wrap them.  


And then one of her friends stole one of the gifts and took it home to pass off as his own.  


Katie was furious.  She didn't know at first where it had gone.  One of the other after-school leaders, Ms. P, saw our friend stick it in his backpack when his mom came to get him.  Then Katie was distraught.  How would she get this back, this special gift she'd picked out for Daddy?  She sobbed all the way home.  This happens to be a family we know pretty well from our church and from many years at pre-school, etc, so I was a little miffed myself.  But I told Katie to give him a chance to return it, and if he didn't the next day, then we'd call his mom.  (Personally, I was dreading this sort of confrontation.)


Unbeknownst to me, Ms. G and Ms. P conferred after Katie left in tears that afternoon, and they called our friend's mom.  Mom was extremely upset with her son for doing this, and to someone they've known for so long!  The gift was returned the next day, along with a handwritten apology card to Katie.  He said in there that he learned his lesson.  We ran into his mom that afternoon, too, and she apologized as well.  We've forgiven them, but Katie still talks about this situation.


Katie has learned to keep better track of her things, to not let them out of her sight for too long with others around, and, sadly, learned that you can't always trust people who are your friends.  People do bad things sometimes, and I'm glad this has all ended relatively well for something that was so upsetting.


Her friend learned not to swipe things that aren't his, and also that he needs to tell his mom the truth when she already knows it from her phone call from Ms. G.  He was totally busted!


Still friends, but I don't think Katie will let him close to her stuff ever again!

Legoland!

Over the weekend, we took advantage of fancy hotel (where Colin had a conference) and some discount park tickets (which I got through work) to make our maiden trip to Legoland Florida!!!

Colin and the girls at the entrance 

The crowds were light and the weather was fabulous first thing in the morning.  We were able to ride many attractions with little to no wait.  Of course, it was sometimes hard to get to where you were going because you had to stop and admire all the Lego creations throughout the park.

After riding the Dragon

Royal Joust!

Natalie liked to joust as well

My fave - tiny Lego marching band in front of the tiny Lego Capitol 

There was only one ride we hit that Natalie was too short to go on, a rollercoaster that Colin and Katie did together (see pic at the bottom).  Natalie and I went on the boat ride next to the octopus while they were doing their ride.

Watch out for the Lego octopus!

After having a morning of fun, we took a break in Pirate's Cove to watch the waterskiing show.  It was awesome.  The plot was a bit corny (if you're an adult), but the action was great.  Trick waterskiing, plus action on jetskiis.  We loved it!  It was nice to sit down and watch the entertainment before we had lunch.

These dudes even water ski!  Dressed like this!

Our treasure

Lego donkey

So much fun!!!

We did a few more rides in the afternoon, but not too many.  The girls wanted to do more of the interactive play areas, and the lines were getting longer for the rides we wanted to do.  We knew that Natalie's patience wouldn't be able to take it, especially since she hadn't had a nap.  Once her patience was pretty much gone, and the sky was clouding over, we decided to hit the road.  Both girls slept on the way home (though Katie denies it).


Legoland is an awesome place to take your kids!  Our girls don't even like Legos, really, and they still had a great time.  They love the rides, and love to admire others' work, but we didn't even go to the areas where you could build your own stuff.  It's a bit farther outside Orlando than Disney and the other parks, but if you have the time, it's worth it.  Less crowded than Disney World, and a little more reasonably priced (a little).  We'll definitely have to go back!!!

December Running Ramblings

So, I signed up for a 10K in just over a week.  I think I'm crazy for doing this, but I'll be OK.  I haven't run 6 miles consecutively but once in the past several months, but I've been consistently running 3-5 miles several times per week all year long.  I'd been considering the race, but when 2 gals from church said they were going to run it, it didn't take a lot of arm-twisting to get me to sign up, too.  Wish me luck!


Crazier yet, I'm considering switching to early morning running in the new year.  As in, waking up at 4:30 and running at 5 early.  I normally get up at 5:30 during the week anyway, so I'm wondering if I can handle that extra hour.  It would be the best time to run when nobody will miss me away from the house.  In the past, I've trained for my longer races during lunch or after work, but with changes in my work schedule and environment, I can't really count on that anymore.  So, it may be 5am for me!


All along, I've been planning on running the Gasparilla 15K again in 2012.  But recently, I've had 2 of my co-workers decide that they want to run the Gasparilla 5K, their first-ever 5Ks, as part of their healthiness and weight loss journeys.  And over 2 years ago, I'd promised one of them, Crystal, that I would run a 5K with her whenever she was ready.  


So.  Do I run both the 15K AND the 5K?  Would that be crazy?  What do you think?

More Christmas Prep

Besides visiting Santa over the weekend, we also did this:

Friday evening

Sunday afternoon

More sprinkles, please!

Now, I just need to get myself in gear with the Christmas cards!!!

Smokin' Good Time

Yesterday we hosted our 5th annual barbecue contest at work.  We had 6 teams competing for the trophy, and they were out all night smoking their meat.  This was the 2nd year I've helped out, and I've had a great time.  Because, really, who doesn't love something officially entitled "Smokin' Good Time"???  Especially when the proceeds benefit local charities?


I helped with advanced ticket sales, and for the contest, I helped at the sides table.  We had to get everything set up, were responsible for serving over 300 people their rolls, baked beans, corn, and potato salad, and then got everything cleaned up again when we were done.  I love working there because you get to say hi to everyone that comes through the line, and that's fun for me.  This year I got tickets for Colin and his dad, and they were amazed at how big the production actually was.  There are more and more attendees every year that get to sample barbecue from all 6 teams, then vote on their favorite.  This year's champion team had been 2nd the last 2 years in a row, so even though they weren't my personal favorite, they were still delicious enough to win the coveted pig trophy.


What started as a morale-booster for the different teams in our department has turned into a much-hyped event that our department hosts for pretty much everyone to participate in.  I am amazed at how well it is pulled off every time...  what seems like madness first thing in the morning turns into a seamless event by lunchtime.  I'm happy that I could help to contribute in my own way to something so fun and tasty.  :)