Little Daily Escape

Prayer Request

2012-01-30T07:01:00.000-05:00

At the end of last week, my friend Elisa's parents were involved in an accident that left them both injured, her dad critically. They could really use thoughts and prayers for healing. Please remember Elisa and her sister also as they travel to be closer to their parents during this time of need. Thanks, friends!

Build A Bear

2012-01-28T20:53:00.000-05:00

Today we attended a party for our friend Maya at Build a Bear Workshop. It's a place we'd never taken the girls, and quite frankly, one I almost wish they didn't know existed. (Is that bad? I feel like a meanie when I say that, but now that they've been once, they're already begging to go back at our earliest possible convenience.)

Anyway. Maya's party! We assembled in the mall before the stores even opened so that our party could start immediately at 10am. The girls were all able to pick out their own animal from a select price range. We put hearts inside the animals, named them, and stuffed them. Once all girls had stuffed their animal, we "bathed" them, then picked an outfit from selections chosen by Maya's mom. The girls were also able to pick out bows for their animal's ears, which was very nice.

Stuffing our animals

Natalie with Bunny

Natalie and Katie with their new friends

All the party girls with their bears and bunnies!

Build a Bear can be sort of overwhelming with all the options they have. Other parents were buying accessories for their girls' bears above and beyond what was included in the party, so I sprung for a pair of shoes for each of our animals. After a group picture with our fuzzy new friends, we were off to the food court for pizza and cupcakes!

It was a fun party and a neat idea that I had never considered. I think this would only work well with girls of a certain age group -- Natalie was almost too young to stay interested in the process. Happy Birthday Maya, and thanks for the fun morning!

11 Random Post

2012-01-26T21:30:00.000-05:00

I got tagged by Christina to do this 11 Random post.

Here are the rules:
1. Post these rules
2. You must post 11 random things about yourself
3. Answer the questions set for you in their post
4. Create 11 new questions for the people you tag to answer
5. Go to their blog and tell them you’ve tagged them
6. No stuff in the tagging section about you are tagged if you are reading this. You legitimately have to tag 11 people!

My 11 Randoms:

1. I've really missed cross-country skiing... can't do that so much here in Florida.
2. I like to have a Dr. Pepper every day at lunch. Without it, I'm not always sure I can make it through the afternoon (especially at work).
3. I've enjoyed early-morning workouts more than I thought I would.
4. My friends at church orchestra laughed at me this week for being a nerd when I showed up for rehearsal in a Han Solo shirt, with a Yoda keychain in hand. :)
5. Like Christina, I am also a natural worrier, also from my mom. I need to have something to worry about at all times.
6. Even though I don't care for either team, I'm looking forward to the Super Bowl next week.
7. My manager thinks we should do a high-ropes course as a team building activity. I'm totally in! I think it sounds awesome.
8. My parents have agreed to come to Disney World with us this summer. Yahoo!
9. I'm learning that managing people at work is surprisingly similar to managing your children at home. They just have bigger egos than children.
10. I can't sleep at night if my feet are cold.
11. I always, always, always look forward to the weekend!

Christina's 11 Questions:

1. Favorite dish/food?

This will probably make me sound like a college kid... I still really love pizza! I think that's my favorite.

2. Favorite singer?

Harry Connick, Jr.

3. Chick flick? Thrillers? Scary movies?

I prefer thrillers... something that keeps you on the edge of your seat.

4. Favorite beverage?

Dr. Pepper

5. What's your typical/usual daily outfit?

khaki pants, button-down or other dressy shirt

6. What's your usual workout outfit?

UnderArmour short sleeve shirt, Nike tempo shorts, Thorlo experia socks, Saucony shoes

7. Pet peeve?

Liars

8. Introvert or extrovert?

Extrovert, though I think I'm becoming more introverted as I get older

9. What do you always have in your grocery cart?

Kashi Go Lean Crisp Toasted Berry Crumble. Yum!

10. Your best trait?

usually willing to give people the benefit of the doubt

11. Your worst trait?

probably usually willing to give people the benefit of the doubt... I can be too trusting

Here are my questions:

1. What's your favorite season?
2. Favorite dessert?
3. Favorite place you've been on vacation?
4. Do you prefer Niagara Falls or the Grand Canyon?
5. Did you ever play a musical instrument?
6. Favorite color?
7. Favorite song?
8. Star Wars or Star Trek?
9. When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?
10. Favorite NFL team?
11. Do you prefer ironing or washing dishes?

OK, now I know I'm supposed to tag 11 people. Problem is, I don't know that I have 11 people I follow or that follow me that I could tag! So I'm afraid the chain is going to end here. But, if you're leaving a comment, you can pick one (or more) of my 11 questions above to answer in the comment box.

Running Group in My Future?

2012-01-23T07:30:00.000-05:00

So after two weeks, this early morning workout stuff has not been too bad. It is so quiet and calm outside before everyone gets up! And after 2 weeks, I have gotten more used to it and not been quite as tired at work during the day.

Sunday, though, I think I tweaked something in my right ITB area. It felt funny when I was still about a mile from home, like it was cramping up, so I slowed up a little. And really, it wasn't too bad, but then when I made the turn from the main road into our subdivision, it twinged quite a bit. I slowed more, and eventually just walked the last couple blocks home. I hated, hated, hated walking, but I had to. It feels a little stiff, and stairs are slightly uncomfortable, but I'm surviving. Hopefully some ice, Icy Hot, and rest will help it before I run again on Tuesday.

In other running news, at church, Michelle proposed that we start a group to train for a local half marathon in November where a bunch of moms can all do it together. She's doing the Disney Princess Half at the end of February, and I'm doing the 15K in town right after that, so this November race is still a ways off. It would be fun, though. I don't have anyone to run with, and Michelle often runs with one other person, but if we could get a bigger group, women of all speeds, it might be fun to do our long runs together like that, and then race together. Something to think about!

I Painted My Toenails!

2012-01-21T20:16:00.000-05:00

After Natalie got up from her nap this afternoon, she was relaxing on the couch a bit. I was sitting next to her and reached over to squeeze her cute little toes. Her toenail felt a little funny, so I rubbed it some more, and as I turned my head to look at it, Natalie said, "Yeah, I painted my toenails during nap." So nonchalantly, but I scared the heck out of her when I jumped and screamed, "You did what!?!?!? Where!?!?!?!"

Indeed she had painted her toenails glittery blue, as well as about half of her little toes. I took her back to her room and had her show me where she was sitting and how she did this. She'd sat at the end of her bed on her toybox, Kleenex under her toes to catch any drips, and pulled back the blinds to do this with sunlight. Apparently she knows that turning on her bedroom light will alert me to the fact that she's doing something she's not supposed to, so she used natural light. Amazingly, she hadn't made a mess, and the Kleenex had caught any drips. The only flaw to her plan was that she didn't throw away the Kleenex -- she just stuffed them under her bed when she was done. Silly girl!

It was hard to be too mad at her when she was so cute. But I did take all the nail polish and put it somewhere that only I can reach. I don't want to take a chance on this happening again, but with bad results!

Chocolate Ravioli

2012-01-18T21:08:00.000-05:00

On Sunday, the girls went to their grandparents' for the afternoon to make ravioli for our dinner. I dropped them off, then after some errands, I swung by the house to get Colin, and we went over to enjoy some homemade ravioli!

It was going much slower than anticipated... Katie and Poppop were rolling out the gluten-free pasta, and Natalie and Grandma were busy making 3 different kinds of fillings, then stamping out ravioli. They made the all-cheese ravioli square, and the cheese and prosciutto ravioli round. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough time to make the cheese and spinach ravioli. Bummer... I would've liked that one.

With dinner almost an hour later than originally projected, we were STARVING when we finally sat down to our two delicious types of ravioli, plus homemade meatballs and 2 different kinds of sausages. Yum!!! Everything turned out really well, so it was worth the wait.

And for dessert... chocolate ravioli! They filled ravioli with Nutella, then after boiling, they deep-fried them to give them a nice crispy outside. Sprinkled with powdered sugar and cinnamon, they were a fabulous dessert. The girls worked very hard on the meal, and it was all delicious. I never would've thought about chocolate ravioli as a dessert possibility, but it worked!

MLK - Day Off

2012-01-16T15:23:00.002-05:00

It's a holiday for me, so while Colin is at work, Natalie is at pre-school, and Katie is at Skateworld with her after-school group, I've been busy with other things.

The girls helped me start a pot roast in the crock pot this morning before I dropped them off. Since then, I have:

Been to the Y and completed my strength training workout per my race plan.
Finally taken the time to set up my Garmin account and download all my running data from the Forerunner. That was pretty cool!
Cleaned myself up.
Waxed my eyebrows.
Ironed clothes.
Had lunch.
Hit the mall to shop for Katie's birthday and also use a Loft gift card for myself (PS - this was awesome! I got 3 shirts, 2 of this in blue and green and one of this, the whole store was 40% off, and I got an additional 15% off for using a gift card. It should've been just over $100, which was the amount of the gift card, but now I have almost half of it left! I can shop again!)
Watched Young and the Restless on the DVR...

And now here I am. I have some cleaning/de-cluttering to tackle, and also pants to hem and Katie's gifts to wrap. We'll see how much of that I can complete before Colin brings the girls home and I need to work on dinner.

If this was a holiday for you, too, I hope you enjoyed the extra time off! Back to work tomorrow!

Online Discretion

2012-01-12T20:43:00.000-05:00

If you've been reading a while, you know I don't talk about work too much. I enjoy my job, and it's a part of who I am, but for the most part, it is not exciting enough to feel like I need to share with the rest of the world. If you know me in real life, you know what I do.

In addition, I don't know that I've mentioned my employer by name on my blog. Part of that is for my own privacy, and part of it is because, if you live around here, you would likely have an opinion to voice about them, be it positive or negative. And since this is about me, not my work, I'd rather keep that out of it. I think I'm in the majority on this one. Most bloggers purposely exclude information like that.

However.

Do you remember this post, Resolutions, from back around my birthday? I vaguely do (and I wrote it!)... I talked about needing to bring more of the Mom side of my personality to work. Mom Megan has been slowly coming to the workplace, with more direct instructions and better delegation. Most of my team members have been just fine with this, and in fact, I think it's actually improved my relationship with one of them. He knows, more specifically, what it takes to get the job done, and that's helped the both of us. One, though, is having an awakening about the fact that I'm serious. Unfortunately, the awakening is also being discussed in detail in public conversations on Facebook, and it is just not appropriate. I've read so many articles about how online behavior can hurt your employment, or endanger your chance of finding new employment, so I'm careful about what I write. Not everyone is, though, and it shows.

Next week, one of the topics in our manager's staff meeting is going to be about online discretion, and it couldn't come at a better time. If I'm not getting through to this individual, perhaps a lively discussion facilitated by our manager will be able to make headway. Otherwise, I'm not sure what I'll be able to do to drive home the message of "think before you speak/call/email/post". It will likely not be pretty.

The Insanity Begins...

2012-01-09T20:29:00.000-05:00

This week I'm beginning my prep for the 15K race that's the first weekend in March. I figured I needed 8 weeks to get ready for it based on the distances I currently run. Like last year, I'm using a modified Hal Higdon 15K/10-mile training plan. I do need some sort of plan to keep myself on track, and now that I've run a couple long-ish races, I see how I can start with one of his plans and tweak a few things to better meet my needs.

The other trick is scheduling this all in. For the last year or so, I've mostly been running at lunchtime during the week, then mornings on weekends. I get out of work late enough that it's hard to run in the evenings when we have dinner, homework, activities, etc with the girls. However, it is hard to run more than about 3 miles at lunch since I have limited time to do that, shower, change, and get back to my desk.

So now we are at early morning running. I normally get up at 5:30 for work. Starting this week, I'm going to get up before that most of the days during the week so that I can run or go to the Y for weights/cross-training (based on that day's schedule), then return home and be in the shower at pretty much my normal time. Today was my first day, and I will just say that it was not intolerable. :) The hardest part for me is putting my contacts in so early and expecting my eyes to see! We'll see if I have the same opinion a few weeks in, or if this just turns into drudgery. But it's the best I can do to meet my objective of finishing the 15K faster than last year!

PS - Speaking of insanity, my friend Phillip ran the Goofy's Race and a Half Challenge at Walt Disney World over the weekend. Yes, that's a half marathon on Saturday followed by the full marathon on Sunday! He is insane! But if anyone could do it, Phillip could. Way to go, buddy! We're proud of you!!!

Ease Back Into Work

2012-01-06T21:21:00.000-05:00

Going back to work after vacation is never fun. You get used to the sleeping in, the relaxed pace, the ability to change your schedule to whatever, whenever during the day. I am thankful that we went back to work on a 4-day week to ease back into it! Now we have a full week, followed by another 4-day week for Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

And after that, there are no holidays on the schedule until Memorial Day! It's a long stretch, but I guess that's why we also have floating holidays and vacation days -- I'll have to use at least one before May to give myself a break from work!!!

We're back to having a regular weekend, too, with time at the Y, swimming lessons, shopping, and a birthday party for one of our friends. Can't wait!

Happy New Year! Now Go Back to School!

2012-01-03T18:37:00.000-05:00

Our New Year's Eve was exactly what I needed after traveling... the girls went to bed at a normal hour, Colin and I watched a movie and ate ice cream, and then we went to bed well before midnight. I was happy that everyone slept through our neighbors shooting off fireworks!

And, because New Year's Day was on a Sunday, Colin and I and many others had Monday off work as our holiday. Public schools, however, were back in session on January 2! Our preschool was open that day as well since they provide after-school care. This gave Colin and I a rare day to ourselves.

After I dropped the girls off, I went running and went to the Y to lift weights. He stayed home to clean the garage a bit and play video games. When I returned, we cleaned out the big freezer and worked on a few other non-glamorous tasks. After I showered/changed, we went shopping. I was surprised that Colin would actually want to accompany me for some returns and exchanges from the Christmas season, but he did, and we had a nice time. We managed to hit 5 stores at 2 malls, all before lunch. Then we had a late-ish lunch at LeeRoy Selmon's, a place we both love but rarely get to.

And that left the whole afternoon open for watching The Young and the Restless, more cleaning, and more TV. Exciting!!! But so peaceful. And we really did a lot around the house, so that was a good thing, too. We did pick the girls up a little earlier than normal and made it a great day overall.

So, crazy public school scheduling leads to a bonus day off with just my husband. You can't beat that!

Total Miles - 2011

2011-12-31T15:08:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-29T15:04:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-25T16:30:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-22T15:59:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-20T20:59:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-18T22:25:00.002-05:00

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

2011-12-16T22:00:00.003-05:00

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!

2011-12-13T21:47:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-09T17:53:00.000-05:00

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

2011-12-06T22:03:00.001-05:00

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

2011-12-03T22:10:00.001-05:00

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. :)

Christmas Prep

2011-11-30T22:11:00.000-05:00

Thanksgiving weekend is behind us, and I did a lot over the long holiday weekend in terms of getting us prepared for Christmas.

Friday -- Colin and I did a little shopping while my car was in the shop (the girls were helping their grandparents with tree decorations at that time). Black Friday, true, but by mid-morning, there were no crowds to fight with. Just peaceful, easy shopping with lots of good deals still to be had. I also spent 2 straight hours wrapping gifts that afternoon. And I'm STILL not done!

Saturday -- The girls helped me do a little shopping in the morning, and we put up our tree in the afternoon. We got a bigger fake tree this year, bigger than the one I had when I lived in an apartment by myself. It was a lot of fun to put up and decorate!

Decorating the new tree!

Sunday -- I started boxing up gifts that we need to ship. Also, the girls and I made our first-ever batch of buckeyes. Delicious!!! We used my grandma's recipe and it worked out really well. We dipped well over 100 buckeyes, and I was worn out afterward.

Katie was a super helper!

You can probably tell from my body language that we just dropped one!

It was a great weekend, and we certainly got a lot accomplished. Christmas is still coming quickly, but I think I'll be ready. :)

500 Miles!

2011-11-27T14:22:00.001-05:00

Did you see my widget this weekend? On Saturday, I hit 500 miles for the year!

OK, technically only 499.6...

I've never set a mileage goal before. Like any good engineer, I knew I needed to see how I was currently performing before I set any sort of goal for myself. You need data before you can find ways to improve! So I've been tracking my mileage all year long. After a while, it seemed like 500 would be feasible before the end of the year. And here I am!

It was rather anti-climactic, really. I was on the treadmill at the Y, got frustrated/bored after 2.5 miles, went and lifted weights for a while, and then came back and ran the last 1.5 about half an hour later. I couldn't leave, knowing I was so close! But I've done it, and I'm still going strong. We'll see what my 2011 total ends up being in just over a month!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T21:17:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, I made all the pies using a gluten-free pie crust mix so that my mother-in-law could enjoy them, too. One box makes 4 crusts, so I made apple (2 crusts), pumpkin, and pecan. I was pleasantly surprised with the taste, as some gluten-free products just don't taste all that spectacular. These were pretty good, though. My biggest problem was that they had a tacky texture even after lots of refrigeration, making them nearly impossible to roll out and put in the pie plate. I ended up doing a lattice for the apple because I was so frustrated with the crust!

Pecan and pumpkin

Apple lattice

I did one pie Wednesday night and the other 2 this morning. By 10am, I was all done, the girls were watching the Disney princess movie marathon on the Disney Channel, and Colin was playing video games... I decided to go out for a run! Beautiful morning, and there were lots of other runners out, to. So nice to see!

We had lunch, had a little nap, talked to my family, and then went over to Colin's parents' for our Thanksgiving meal. Yum, yum, yum! Smoked turkey and all the trimmings! His mom even baked the stuffing inside pumpkins, something I'd never seen before, but she'd seen on TV earlier this week. How cool!

Stuffing IN pumpkins for serving

We enjoyed our day, relaxing and spending time with family, even if it included the wishbone battle.

The wishbone!

The struggle

The victor!

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving, too!

Natalie's First Dental Appointment

2011-11-23T21:36:00.000-05:00

I wrote about Katie's first dental appointment, and now it's time for Natalie's. She's heard so many stories about Katie going to the dentist that she was a very enthusiastic patient!

We were the first ones there in the morning, and they were able to do both girls' cleanings at the same time, in rooms right next to each other. Natalie was full of smiles and sitting with her mouth wide open, even before they needed her to. She did so well, all through the cleaning and X-rays. I was so proud! They moved Natalie and I into the same room with Katie so that the dentist could examine both of them back-to-back.

Both girls have great teeth, NO CAVITIES. Hooray! But they both have things to work on... Katie has a baby tooth that needs to come out with the big tooth coming in right behind it, so she needs to start wiggling. And Natalie needs to stop sucking her thumb. I know that, I've always known that, but now she's heard it straight from the dentist. It'll be hard for her to stop, but we need to work on it.

They both did so well. Katie is still a little squirrelly during her appointment, and Natalie was gung-ho, so both good in their own ways. I'm glad we made it through another appointment, and I don't have to worry about this again for another 6 months. :)

Bok Tower Gardens

2011-11-21T20:16:00.000-05:00

On the way back from our road trip, we stopped for lunch and to visit Bok Tower Gardens. So close, yet we'd never been there. What a beautiful place!

The girls and I near the carillon tower

Bok Tower

We started at the visitor's center, walked through the gardens up to the tower, and spent quite a bit of time wandering around the tower, admiring it and its surrounding koi ponds. Since one of the daily carillon concerts was coming up soon, we played in the open area downhill from the tower until it was start time.

Natalie and I

Miss Katie

The music was beautiful, but the girls weren't as interested as we were after about the first 5 minutes. They were just ready to go home. We decided to walk slowly out of the gardens as we listened to the rest of the concert.

Colin with his girls

Gorgeous weather, gorgeos location. We were glad we stopped and stretched our legs before the rest of the drive home!!!

Weekend Road Trip

2011-11-20T21:57:00.000-05:00

This weekend we took an overnight trip to visit Colin's great-aunt and uncle for their 60th anniversary party! 60 years is quite impressive, and I haven't had the opportunity to meet many people on this side of the family, so I was definitely in!

After our last soccer games of the season, we hopped in the van and took off. After a brief stop to check in at the hotel, we were off to the dinner party. The food was delicious, and we had a lot of fun meeting so many of Colin's mom's relatives. They are spread up the east coast of the US from here to Delaware, so it was so nice to see everyone all in one place like that.

We stayed at the hotel overnight, then met up with everyone again this morning for breakfast before we left to drive home.

Here we are with Colin's mom and her aunt Alice

Lots of driving, but so much fun, and so worth it. Happy anniversary, Alice and Freddy! As they said in the toast, may you have 60 more!

Great American Teach-In

2011-11-17T21:59:00.000-05:00

Today I had the pleasure of visiting Katie's class for the Great American Teach-In. I was nervous, because I was following a police officer who let them all use the loudspeaker in his squad car. How do you follow something fun like that?

But we had a GREAT time! I was barely done introducing myself and they were already asking questions. We talked about my education, the kinds of classes I had to take in college, and the kinds of things I do now. I had lots of pictures and various sample items for them to look at and feel. We talked about waste-to-energy versus landfilling for garbage disposal options. The thing they were most excited about was the tire shredder I talked about! And who can blame them... Watching tires get shredded is pretty cool.

The kids were so polite and seemed to enjoy my presentation. Katie's teacher even said he learned quite a bit from me as well. I had goodie bags with pens, pencils, and small toys to hand out to everyone, and I had coloring pages about landfills and waste-to-energy facilities (trust me, that was hard to find online since most coloring pages are related only to recycling). I'm so glad I had the opportunity to present to her classroom. I hope the girls don't mind me coming back in the future!

The Great American Teach-In is such a neat opportunity for school kids to learn about a wide variety of careers. Besides myself and the officers, I also ran into a financial planner, an exterminator, and a guest services manager for a large stadium while at school. And I know there were so many more throughout the day (including reporters from the station linked to above)! Our school had a nice reception area for all the speakers and had several volunteers to escort us to/from the classrooms. Everything was so well-organized, and they really made us feel welcome. I loved it. I'd definitely do it again!

PS - Katie's teacher is supposed to email me a photo of me standing with Katie wearing the bulletproof vest, holding cuffs and a billy club. She looked too cute!

Watching You

2011-11-15T21:56:00.000-05:00

The other day I was frustrated with something, but I don't even remember what at this point. As I was getting angrier, Natalie stopped me and said, "You have to be nice, Mama. You know who's watching you, right?"

"No, who?" I sort of snapped at her.

"Santa Claus. And Jesus. They see you. So you have to be nice all the time!"

That Natalie. What a sweetheart. And a good reminder that others are observing my actions all the time, whether I think they are or not!

Veteran's Day Wrap-Up

2011-11-12T18:17:00.000-05:00

Ah, Veteran's Day... the day that my kids don't know I don't have to work and I am able to Christmas shop for them in peace... The jig may be up, though. Natalie especially was awfully suspicious of me.

I took the girls in to preschool since the after-school group had fun activities planned for Katie and friends as well. Then I went running... 6 miles! 6! Colin asked if I had turned into Forrest Gump. :) Not really, but I was on a local trail and wanted to see if I could make it to a certain more scenic point before I turned around. That, plus I want to run a 10K in December and I was interested in seeing how close to ready I might be. Turns out, pretty close.

After that, I:

Cleaned up and had a snack.
Watched some programs off the DVR and formulated a shopping plan while having another snack.
Went to Toys R Us for my mega-shopping for the girls.
Met Colin for lunch at Smoky Bones BBQ.
Went to the mall and did more Christmas shopping for Colin, the girls, my mom, and my grandma.
Went to Kohl's for clothing gifts.
Came home and found a way to hide everything!
Picked up the girls, who were suspicious of me getting them early and wearing casual clothing, not work clothes. :)

We had a good rest of the afternoon and evening, and spent time talking to my brother, my favorite veteran. He'd had a bad day at work, so I hope we were able to brighten his evening some.

Thank you Tyson and Angie, and all veterans, for your service to our country!!!

I Run This Town

2011-11-09T18:01:00.000-05:00

I don't know if I'd mentioned it, but my in-laws bought me a medal hanger from Allied Medal Displays for my birthday. We FINALLY got around to hanging it up over the weekend!

Natalie helped me dig through my trunk to find the medals I have. I am so happy to have a place to display them! Looks like I will need to enter more races so I can fill it out all the way. :) The ones on white ribbons are from races I ran in college, but the medals didn't come on a ribbon. Luckily in my trunk we also had some white ribbon from when I was in Jennifer's wedding, so I used that to hang my medals that needed an assist. I knew that would come in handy some day!

I thought that was a great hanger for me. North side, south side, downtown, west side... (not so much east)... I really do run all over this town. Thank you for the great gift!!!

DSi Day

2011-11-07T22:06:00.000-05:00

Finally! Katie has been saving up her allowance and gift money for quite some time, and Friday, she finally bought her Nintendo DSi! After school, we went to the bank to withdraw money from her savings account. We went directly to Target and got a pink DSi, a pink Hello Kitty carrying case for it, and 3 games. Lucky for us, Target was having a sale on all games where you buy 2 and get 1 free.

Lucky for Katie, it had quite a bit of battery charge straight out of the box. She and Natalie spent the rest of the afternoon playing it, until we made her stop to go out to eat.

We are SO PROUD of her! She had a goal to buy this, she saved when she could've been buying other toys, she was focused, and she achieved her goal. It was a good lesson for Katie on the rewards that hard work can bring. Great job!!!

1 Mile Pumpkin Run

2011-11-05T22:04:00.001-04:00

Finally, the day has arrived! The 1 mile Pumpkin Run! I've done the 5K option 2 times before, so doing the 1-mile as a family was a new experience for all of us. Especially considering I'm the only one that ever runs. :)

They had an early packet pick-up at the Y on Friday, so we got our numbers and goody bags then on our way out to eat.

Saturday we got up early to get dressed and get to the Y for our timing chips. It's not that far, but we wanted to make sure we were there in plenty of time. I was able to pick up the chips for our whole family while they sat in the van and played. Closer to go-time, we all went inside so we could use the restroom and stretch. It was a little cool out this morning, so the girls preferred to stretch inside since we could.

Bondi band girls! Katie frowning on purpose...

Eventually it was getting too warm inside for us, so we went outside to walk around and watch the start of the 5K. Five minutes after they took off, it was time for the 1-mile race. And we were off! Surprisingly, Natalie took off like she was shot out of a cannon. I was seriously afraid of her getting ahead of herself and wiping out on the pavement. But she did great. Katie did great, also, but her pace was less consistent. She would sprint for a while, then come to a dead stop and start walking extremely slowly. I did wear my hydration pack, which seems silly for only 1 mile, but I know the girls, and I knew they'd want water the whole time.

We did really well up until the turnaround at the half mile point. It seemed so short to me to be turning around already, which made Colin laugh. We were really just trying to herd the girls around and keep us all somewhat together. But at the half mile, Natalie announced she was too tired and wanted to walk. Then she wanted to be carried. Up on Colin's shoulders, they speed-walked along behind us as Katie and I continued the sprint/dragging walk pattern. That didn't last too long, though, because Natalie got angry that Katie was getting ahead, so she demanded to get down so she could catch up with us. Lucky for her, Katie was walking more than running at that point, so Natalie got really close to us.

With a little less than a quarter mile left, I told them I was going to blast ahead so I could take the finish line pictures. I almost missed the chip timer thingy in my haste to turn around, but I did cross it, so my finish time did register.

Katie approaches the finish, just behind our friend Anthony

2 seconds later, here comes Natalie! Finishing strong while Katie stops to pose.

Finisher ribbons!

We were all so proud of ourselves for finishing this race! Here are our official times:

Me - 12:28.5
Katie - 13:31.1
Natalie - 13:33.7
Colin - 13:37.8

We were surprised that the girls completed it so well. Both Colin and I figured it would take 20 minutes plus, with one or both of the girls being carried the majority of the way. But it wasn't like that at all. They were out there to go fast and enjoy themselves, and they certainly did just that. It's a smaller race, and since it's sponsored by our Y and our neighborhood association, we knew a lot of the people there. Everyone cheered for everyone else, and it was just a fun morning of hanging out with friends.

The girls can't wait to do it again next year!!!

Home with Natalie

2011-11-04T21:46:00.000-04:00

Our preschool was closed for 2 days this week so they could take the teachers to a national conference that happens to be nearby. We've had quite a while to prepare for this, and we decided that I'd stay home with Natalie both days.

It was so nice to stay home when we're NOT sick and worrying about the doctor, prescriptions, temperatures, etc. Natalie and I took Katie to school both days, worked out at the Y (well, she played in the nursery) both days, went to get my hair cut, had lunch with Daddy and Poppop, did some early Christmas shopping, colored, cleaned up, reorganized, made sure we picked up Katie at the end of the school day, and worked on a number of small projects. Natalie was a little wild and crazy, especially on Day 2. Perhaps it was the excitement of having my full attention for 2 straight days? Or perhaps I should've run her around the back yard a lot to burn off energy. At any rate, she barely napped and was nuts by bedtime both nights. It's OK, though. I had a lot of fun with her!

Going back to work Monday will be a total drag!!!

New Shoes

2011-11-03T21:45:00.000-04:00

You may remember that a little while ago, I was grumbling about the fact that my favorite shoes appeared to only be in the stores in a pink version... Unable to find my Saucony Hurricanes in stores, pink or otherwise, I sucked it up and ordered them online. It was very strange for me... I love trying on shoes, and it was hard for me to just order shoes without trying them on first! I crossed my fingers that they would fit the same as the previous two pairs.

New Hurricanes vs. Old Hurricanes

You probably can't tell, but there's barely any heel wear on the old Hurricanes!

And they do fit! I am thrilled that they feel just fine. They're all ready for the Pumpkin Run this weekend!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T22:32:00.000-04:00

Sunday evening, the girls helped Colin carve the pumpkin. Katie helped scoop out innards, and the two of them designed the face.

Natalie had her pre-school Halloween party in the afternoon, and then after an early supper, it was time for trick-or-treating!

Snow Fairy Katie, Pirate Gavin, and Fairy Princess Natalie

We enjoyed beautiful weather for trick-or-treating with our neighbor, Pirate Gavin. Clear weather, a little bit cool, and so nice for walking around the neighborhood. Cherie and I had time to catch up as the kids were loading up on candy. By the end of the evening, I had to carry both girls' buckets!

We had a blast, and in my opinion, the best part of all was that everyone cooperated, no one fussed, and we made it around and back home with no incidents. :)

Happy Halloween from our family to yours!!!

Storybook Character Parade!

2011-10-29T22:21:00.000-04:00

Yesterday I had the pleasure of attending the annual Storybook Character Parade at Katie's school. What fun! It is so neat to see the kids in their costumes, toting around their favorite book with them. Here is the class before the parade started.

Unfortunately, I didn't get very many good pictures of the parade itself. They were moving so fast! And I was having trouble working out flash vs. no flash in the covered corridor. But everyone enjoyed themselves, and there was a good turnout of parents and family members to cheer them on, celebrate literacy, and celebrate the end of Red Ribbon Week.

Have a safe and happy Halloween, everyone!!!

Twister the Cricket

2011-10-26T22:15:00.000-04:00

Katie's afterschool group recently learned about crickets. They kept a cricket diary, and then were given their very own pet cricket to bring home. Katie named hers Twister, or Twister Storm if you want to use his last name also (not TwisterStorm, as I kept calling him). Twister lived in a bowl, drank water from a sponge, and ate fruit. I was in charge of changing his food and water every other day since Katie was afraid she might actually touch him. :)

Since his bowl was getting a bit yucky, after keeping him at home for just over a week, we decided to let Twister go back to his natural habitat over the weekend.

Katie and Twister

Twister, sitting on his sponge

We released Twister into our back yard at lunchtime. Katie was concerned that if we waited too long, he wouldn't be able to find adequate shelter before nightfall. How sweet!

Ready to release Twister

Jump like the wind, little buddy!

And Twister did jump out into the yard and hop away. The cutest pictures is the one I didn't get... Katie sitting on the edge of her bed that evening, listening out the window, counting the chirps to see if Twister was telling her the temperature outside.

We hope you're doing well in your outdoor home, Twister!

And I learned something very important... we're not ready for a pet any bigger than a cricket. Yet. The girls just aren't responsible enough to handle it. Some day, though. Some day.

Keeping the Weight Off

2011-10-22T21:55:00.000-04:00

Long-time readers may remember that I participated in a weight loss contest at work last summer. I fluctuated in a 2-lb range the entire time and didn't actually lose a bit. Same for my co-worker Marsha. She and I were the two people with the lowest starting weights, the two people that others thought didn't belong in a weight loss contest.

Fast forward to now, 13 months later. Jump-started by that holiday distance challenge I did through the Y, I've lost and kept off about 18-20 pounds. I'm eating a lot better, and I just feel so much better. Same with my co-worker Marsha. She's made a real effort to exercise more and eat healthier, and she's lost 20 pounds, with a goal to lose an additional 14. Go, Marsha!!!

I am pretty sure that, one year later, we are the only two who have been successful at keeping the weight off. I credit that to real lifestyle changes for the both of us, and I hope we are successful at maintaining this into the future!

Running Rumor

2011-10-19T20:10:00.000-04:00

I heard a rumor from a reliable source that the Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series may bring an event to St. Pete.... I see the half-marathon on the schedule for 2012, but I heard that they may bring a full marathon to our neighbor city sometime soon. True? I will have to let you know what I find out!

Sweet & Sassy

2011-10-15T18:26:00.000-04:00

This weekend, we attended a Sweet & Sassy birthday party for our friend Kacey. Never been to Sweet & Sassy??? Neither had I. It was an experience, to say the least... and the girls LOVED it!

First, you choose your princess gown...

Then comes nails, make-up, and hair, complete with lots of glitter spray...

Then you walk the catwalk for the fashion show...

Have a dance party with your friends...

Participate in a limbo contest...

Attend your princess coronation...

And finally, enjoy pizza and ice cream!

Like I said, the girls had a great time. Sweet & Sassy has regular hair/spa services, too, and their prices aren't too bad. We may go back for a special occasion, just us, but I don't know about hosting a party here. That may be a little too much for me!

Happy 7th birthday, Kacey!!! We had a great time!!!

Running Ramblings - October

2011-10-12T21:03:00.000-04:00

Here we are, almost halfway through the month already! Where does the time go? I feel like it's been a blur with soccer, parent-teacher conferences, Natalie's party, and all sorts of activities at work. But there's still time for running!

Unfortunately for me and many other runners who work downtown, they recently closed the Platt Street bridge for renovations. It will be closed until January. January! This is the bridge that leads to Bayshore Boulevard, the greatest uninterrupted stretch of sidewalk on which to run. I know the repairs to this historic structure are needed, but this is a total bummer. I've been trying out different routes over my lunchtime run, and it's been OK, but I miss my Bayshore.

Next running topic: shoes. I need new shoes, and my preference is to just buy the new version of my favorites, Saucony Hurricane. But here's the only problem of the ones I've seen in the stores:

You might not see the problem... I don't like pink. The fact that I've only seen them pink in the stores is quite distressing to me. That sounds silly, I'm sure, but I don't think I could wear a shoe with this much pink. I have seen them online, straight from the manufacturer, in lime green, and that is more my style, but what happened to blue?

Other than that, running is just fine. It continues to be the bright spot in my work day when I can get out for a couple miles over lunch!

Natalie is 4!

2011-10-09T22:19:00.005-04:00

Happy Birthday Natalie! Today you are 4, and we are so thrilled!

We got up and opened gifts first thing before getting ready for Sunday school.

New clothes

Dress from Mommy and Daddy

Fashionista Barbie from Katie

She had other new clothes, toys, books, and DVDs from us, my parents, and my grandma. We had a blast opening presents! Which almost made me late for my gig at church with the orchestra... oops! Natalie had fun wearing a new dress to Sunday school and letting everyone know that she's 4 today!

After lunch we watched Shrek Forever After, which was one of the gifts from my parents. The weather was miserable today, so it was the perfect day to stay inside with a movie. Later on, we did our shopping at Target and went to dinner at Applebee's, which was Natalie's choice. Yum!

I'm so glad you had a great day, Natalie! You are such a joy: smart, sassy, and full of energy. We love you, birthday girl!!!

Natalie's Frog Party!

2011-10-08T21:50:00.000-04:00

We celebrated Natalie's 4th birthday in style with a frog party at the YMCA! Here are the girls before we left the house:

Apparently when I do this in Chrome, it doesn't rotate photos for me?

I really think we need some kind of frequent-partier card for the Y. Between the 2 girls, this is the 5th party we have hosted there, and we have loved every one of them!

Katie tries the bars

Natalie

Natalie, Raina, Ethan, and Jasmin

Natalie on the beam

Ethan and Jasmin, ready to jump!

Our party crowd

Mmmm... pizza and cheetos!

Change of crowns

Make a wish!

My frog cupcakes

Yum!

Presents!!!

Natalie had a great time playing with her friends, and I was so happy with how smoothly everything went. I think with each party, we learn a little more, prepare a little better, and are able to have things go off without a hitch. Everyone was really well-behaved this time, too, which makes it so nice to host such a large group when we all get along.

Thank you everyone who helped Natalie have a GREAT party!!!

Frog Party

2011-10-04T07:00:00.000-04:00

Natalie's 4th birthday is coming up, and she decided she wants a frog theme party. We ordered frog invitations through Snapfish, and also a variety of frog tableware for the party. Everything is almost set, but the biggest challenge I have left is the frog cupcakes.

Hopefully this will go more smoothly than when I attempted to make peanut butter icing last year at Christmas. I sure hope so... I'm not exactly artistic, but I've looked at tons of pictures online, and I'm going for something like this:

photo from www.solidrecipe.com

I figure I can practice making a lot of eyes before I stick any on the cupcakes since I have a ton of marshmallows (or smarshmallow, as Natalie calls them). I have all the supplies so I'll be ready to crank them out this weekend. Stay tuned for photos of the finished product!

Soccer Time!

2011-10-02T21:20:00.000-04:00

Fall soccer started off this weekend with beautiful, cooler temperatures. After STILL waking up with it being 80 degrees in the early morning all through September, we loved the fact that it wasn't quite 70 when we went to Katie's 8AM game on Saturday.

Katie did not enjoy the temperature as much as I did!

Katie's team is the Green Dragons, and they took on the Aquatots (which isn't a very intimidating name, is it?). Here are a couple action shots as they battled to a 1-1 tie. Katie nearly had a goal, but it bounced off the post. Bummer! She played very well the entire game. We were so pleased!

Once her game was done, the rest of the family went home while I went for a quick 3 mile run. I was able to get home and clean up before we had to be back for Natalie's game at 10:30.

Natalie's team is the Pirates, and they took on another group of Green Dragons. Popular name! We were so proud of Natalie. After spending most of last season whining and sucking her thumb, she was in the thick of it the entire game. She even scored a goal!!!

I just love her hair in this action shot!

Deion Sanders-like celebration following her goal

Hooray, Natalie!

Both girls really enjoyed themselves, which made it that much more fun for us. I hope we can keep up the enthusiasm for the entire season!

Run, My Little Pumpkins

2011-09-28T18:24:00.000-04:00

Over the weekend, Katie asked me out of the blue why there are no races for kids. I said that there are, you just have to find them, practice running that far, and then go to the race. My example was our local Pumpkin Run, which has the 5K option as well as the 1 mile family fun run. That certainly caught her interest, and she decided that she wanted to run one mile with me. Natalie chimed in that she wants to run one mile as well, and they collectively decided that Colin needed to sign up, too, so that our family does it together.

I have 4 registration forms -- we're going to run one mile together!!!

To help us prepare, we drove the car around our block to measure it with the odometer and discovered it is 0.4 miles. Late Sunday afternoon, Katie and I put on our shoes and went around the block. We jogged 1 minute, then walked 1 minute, repeat, until we made it all the way around. She didn't seem tired at all and told me that we need to run longer next time. So we will! It is hard to run during the week with dance classes and soccer practice, but we will find time to increase our running time, as well as our total distance, until we are ready to go one mile in just over a month from now. It'll be exciting!!!

500

2011-09-25T18:11:00.000-04:00

500 Posts.

I write so sporadically, it's amazing to me that I made it to that number!

To my reader(s)... thanks for sticking with me. You've read about the birth of my 2nd daughter, the loss of one uncle, two grandparents, and three co-workers. A half-marathon and a 15K, also a stress fracture that kept me sidelined in between. Personal highs and lows in potty training, work tasks, and life in general.

I write this to get the thoughts out of my head with the hopes that somewhere, somehow, someone will relate to me and know that we can go through these things together. I appreciate all of you listening!!!

Work Updates

2011-09-22T22:01:00.001-04:00

It's been another challenging week at work as we wrap up the fiscal year, but I got some great news this morning... I finally moved to the top of the waiting list and got one of the coveted parking spots outside our building! My co-worker Michelle giggled and asked who was so happy with me to get me bumped up like that. Apparently the "list" has a little leeway to it, but I'll take it. It sure beats parking in a municipal lot and hiking in every morning.

Then, after lunch, I got the word that I'll be one of the fire wardens for our floor starting October 1. Again, I was talking to Michelle when this happened, and she giggled and asked who was so upset with me to make me the fire warden. It's a job that no one wants, but in the event of an emergency, I'm one of 2 people responsible for clearing our floor. I groaned, but Michelle said I have a natural ability that lends itself to being a good fire warden. I asked what that is. Her reply?

"You're used to herding around people that don't always want to listen to you!"

Yes, I suppose being a mom will make me a good fire warden. :)

Birthday

2011-09-18T21:46:00.021-04:00

Today was my birthday, and we had a fabulous day together as a family.

First, I got up and ran 4 miles before the sun came up. As it peeked over the horizon on my last mile, the colors were just so beautiful. I really knew it would be a great day.

We went to church and got groceries, then headed out for some Mexican for lunch.

I'd made sure we ate at a particular Moe's, because it's closest to The Cupcake Spot!!!

So you are probably thinking, tacos and cupcakes... can it get any better???

Natalie took a nap and Katie used the quiet time to play Barbies. I talked to my grandma and both my brothers. When the girls were up, we went out for our next great adventure: The Lion King in 3D!

Colin had never seen The Lion King. The girls had, but not the whole thing all at once. I loved this movie when it first came out, so I was super-excited to go see it all together. And in 3D! That was pretty awesome, especially on the panoramic shots. I felt like the birds were flying in from over my shoulder! We really enjoyed ourselves. We wrapped up the evening by having some fried chicken on the way home. My parents called as the girls were getting ready for bed, so I talked to them for a long time as Colin handled getting the girls to sleep.

It was a great day.

But I missed my Grandma Eileen a lot. She's been gone for almost 6 months now, and it just really hit me more so today than any other day. No frilly birthday card from her, with a little note in that spidery cursive writing that seems to wander from the lines as much as it wanders between topics. She hadn't called me on my birthday in years, but I sure would've loved to hear her voice. For church, the girls picked out a dress for me that I hadn't worn in a long time... I wore it to my brother's wedding. Grandma Eileen was very vocal about her dislike of that dress and its uneven hemline. Just putting it on made me think of her. At church, the opening hymn was "How Great Thou Art", which we sang at her funeral. I always sing with gusto at church, but I had a little extra-extra gusto, just for her. Fried chicken was good. Not as good as she would've fried up on the farm, but still tasty.

It was a great day, and I know that she is with me. :)

Trust Me

2011-09-17T22:20:00.000-04:00

We had my birthday party tonight!

It wasn't a big crowd, just us and my in-laws, but it was great. We had steaks, baked potatoes, and corn on the cob, all from the grill. Colin worked really hard to make a delicious meal for us. After I opened gifts, we had ice cream: chocolate, and then 2 from Ben & Jerry's, Late Night Snack and Peanut Butter Cup. I looooved Late Night Snack, and the only reason I bought it is because it has Jimmy Fallon on the carton. But it was delicious with its little chocolate-covered potato chips. Yum!

Back to the gifts, though. I got a lot of nice things, so I'll just give you pictures of my favorite two. Colin's parents got me a medal display rack that I was looking at for my race medals.

I Run This Town

Colin got me a collection of shirts to replace my aging white I'm A Pepper one that I happened to be wearing today...

Trust Me, I'm a Dr!

Can you believe I have 4 Dr. Pepper shirts now? The white one won't be with us much longer, but I'll still have 3, and that's pretty awesome.

And it's not even my real birthday yet, so there's still more celebrating to do! I'll fill you in on how it all goes. :)

Resolutions

2011-09-15T21:14:00.004-04:00

I had a training class at work this afternoon called "The Principles and Qualities of Genuine Leadership". Most of it revolved around actively listening to focus on the problem, not the person, and strategies to encourage and motivate employees to tackle things they didn't think they had the confidence to do. When I returned to my desk afterward and started talking about the class with my supervisor, he said, only half jokingly,

"Did it teach you about being firm and direct?"

Well, no, it didn't, but his not-so-subtle point is well taken. That is something I'm having a hard time with in my new role as a supervisor. I only have 3 direct reports. They all range from 15 to 25+ years older than me. I sometimes have a hard time being firm with someone my parents' age that I really think should know certain things without me having to tell them. I'm going to have to start bringing Mom Megan along to work.

Mom Megan and Work Megan are a little different from each other. At home, I can be quite a taskmaster, easily frustrated when my repeated instructions are not followed, annoyance increasing with each additional time I have to say, "Put On Your Shoes!" (or other command) without seeing results. I'm sure you other moms know what I mean.

But at home, I'm dealing with little people that have a hard time staying focused, especially if toys are around, books are open, or TV is on. Mom Megan doesn't really like that I have to stay on them like that, but I will if it gets the job done.

Work Megan thinks that older people should be able to focus better, to be able to get things done without repeated instructions. Over the last year, I have found that that isn't the case with some people. Some adults are just as bad as little kids. They need constant reminders. They need someone to be firm and direct, and that has not been me. Work Megan doesn't always like to take time away from what she's doing to focus on the problems that other people are causing. They obviously are not solving themselves, though. I think I'm afraid that if I bring a little of Mom Megan to work, my team members will not like her and will be even less cooperative than they sometimes are.

But it's becoming obvious that I'll need to change something if I want my team members to change their ways. And with my birthday coming up, I think it's time I make a new year resolution for myself. I resolve to be more direct when approaching employees about a problem situation. I resolve to be more firm when I speak with employees, and to document, document, document. They may not like it, so I hope that I am able to find a good balance between Mom Megan and Work Megan that has a positive effect on my employees' performance.

New Camera

2011-09-11T21:35:00.001-04:00

After the crummy pictures from the zoo trip, we decided to buy a new camera. We read some reviews online and decided to buy a Nikon Coolpix S9100. Our favorite features are:

Burst! You can set it to take several pictures in quick succession, then keep the ones you want and delete the rest. Colin took several pictures of me working around the kitchen on burst, and reviewing them is like watching myself in a flip book. Cool!
Smile detector! You can set the auto-timer for 2 seconds, 10 seconds, or when the subject smiles. I doubted it, but it works!

So far, we've just taken pictures around the house to test it. I can't wait until we have a good opportunity for real, share-worthy pictures!

New Eye Doctor

2011-09-09T17:35:00.001-04:00

I did it. I dumped my optometrist.

After last year's eye exam, I was so frustrated with that woman that I felt I needed to seek other options. With some asking around, I got several recommendations for the same practice. It's close to my house, has convenient hours, and has 3 well-qualified optometrists to choose from. So I went for it.

I had my annual exam right before Labor Day weekend and had a very positive experience. The office staff was friendly and helpful. The doctor was thorough, professional, and listened to my concerns. Since my right eye is in the middle between 2 different prescriptions, she let me try out the 2 different strengths for a week so I could decide for myself which one worked better in day-to-day operations. It is a monthly-wear contact, but a different brand than I previously used. So far, so good, though.

I had a follow-up appointment today, where we decided on the stronger of the 2 prescriptions for my right eye. I ordered my contacts, got the fit of my glasses adjusted, and was out of there. Everything was so pleasant, so easy... Just like it should be. I am glad I made the switch.

Colin will still be seeing the old eye doctor. He's never had a problem with her, and that's fine with me. But if he ever wants to switch, I know who I will recommend.

Labor Day Wrap-Up

2011-09-06T07:37:00.000-04:00

For our holiday, we started off with a trip to Lowry Park Zoo. I don't think Natalie had been there, so this was definitely a fun morning for us. There were a few sprinkles mid-morning, but overall, the weather was nice. My camera was having trouble focusing today (and I hope it's not pooping out on me!), so photos to share are limited.

We were so proud of Katie! She usually doesn't like touching animals or being near them, so this was a big moment... she rode the camel!

Riding Wade the Camel

All done!

We missed giraffe feeding time, so Natalie was terribly disappointed. But we did enjoy seeing them, as well as elephants, zebras, rhinos, and all sorts of primates. Natalie and I also took a walk through the aviary, which Katie was happy to avoid.

We also spent time in the kids' area, playing, going on some rides, and seeing some of the smaller animals. I'm surprised Natalie passed up the opportunity to feed goats, but there's always next time. The girls rode the ponies, and Natalie went back for a ride on a llama!

Pony rides

Natalie and Admiral the Llama

It was a fun morning out. We didn't even get to some parts of the zoo, but we can do that another time. We had a late lunch at Sonic and came home to take a little nap.

The girls watched a movie this afternoon while I baked brownies. We had mini meatloaf for supper (recipe from Cookie Monster and the C is for Cooking book), and Katie was a great helper in putting the meal together. After dinner, we played Yahtzee as a family before it was time for the girls to get ready for bed.

A fun day! Now it's time to face a short week at work. :)

See and Be Seen

2011-09-05T21:35:00.000-04:00

I'm still enjoying my Sunday morning running, weather permitting, getting up at 6am to do so. Last week I got rained out, so this was the first Sunday for me to try my new toy, my head lamp!

I went 4 miles, and I will admit, I took it a bit slower, unsure of how this head lamp would work. It did great at filling in the gaps between streetlights. I was able to shut it off with about a half mile left as the sun was rising and I could see well enough. I'm not sure I'd want it as my only light source at about 1am, if I were to ever be out at that crazy hour, but it served its purpose well for running in a populated area. I wore it with a baseball cap, worried that it would be too heavy or bounce around a lot, so I wanted the bill of the cap to support it.

Fresh off my 4 miles

This morning I went out for 3 miles and decided to wear the lamp with no hat, just the Bondi band for my hair. I actually think this worked even better. It didn't slip or bounce around at all, and my head was way cooler. Also, I suspect that the lamp pushed into the embroidery on my hat, making a dent in my forehead on Sunday. I also fear the dent was there when I went to church 2+ hours later, and I'm thankful that people are kind enough to not say anything.

Head lamp gets 2 thumbs up from me! I'm glad I have this additional tool to allow me to run at other times of day that I might not have considered before.

Peanuts and Crackerjacks

2011-09-04T21:14:00.000-04:00

Or, a mouth full of gummy worms...

We celebrated our neighbor Gavin's 6th birthday with a Saturday night out at the baseball game. Lots of empty seats, which is too bad, because it was the last home game for our minor league team this season.

We had a GREAT time! Gavin loves baseball, so they had a patio party for his birthday. Back in the old days, I loved me a good White Sox patio party... This was almost as fun. We had plenty to eat, the girls got to bounce in a bounce house, there were cupcakes, and Gavin got to throw out the ceremonial first pitch (his mom has connections). True, we didn't make it ALL the way through the game because Natalie was getting tired and out of control, but we had a lot of fun. The weather was nice, the game was interesting, and the girls asked lots of good questions. My favorite was Natalie repeatedly asking, "Where's that guy going???" when the left fielder would pace around between pitches. :)

It was really their first baseball game, because it's hard to count Katie attending one when she was 3 months old. I think we'll go back next season! Tickets are cheaper than MLB and parking is easy, so this is definitely something we'll do again.

Welcome, New Little One

2011-09-01T20:52:00.000-04:00

Congratulations to Becci, Abe, and Magnus, who welcomed baby Marit to their family this afternoon. At 4 lb 5 oz and 18" long, she's small but mighty. A few weeks early, but doing very well. I'm so thrilled for the new family, and I can't wait to see pictures of my cousin's beautiful new daughter!!!

Running Rain-Out

2011-08-29T07:33:00.001-04:00

Supposedly Hurricane Irene was going to suck out all our moisture in order to dump it elsewhere. I was pretty surprised Sunday morning when I could hear it pouring outside, complete with lots of thunder, before my alarm went off. I convinced myself that it would stop in the hour I had before the 6am alarm. And it did! So when I got up and all was quiet, I scrambled quickly into my clothes. I was kind of excited... Colin bought me a headlamp, and this was to be my first pre-sunrise run using it.

And then it started pouring again. I was so bummed! Lots of thunder and lightning. I turned on the TV and there was a thin, but steady, line of storms that would be heading over us pretty much all morning. So I resigned myself to just doing a workout DVD. I did my DWTS Latin Cardio Dance instead, which is not the most challenging cardio-wise, but comes with a lot of toning exercises at the end that are fun to do. In fact, I'd actually like to just do that on a loop for some toning. :)

Even though it did clear out later in the day, we had plenty to do, so I didn't bother trying to run. I'd already gotten a workout in, dancing with Maks on my DVD. I'd hoped my August miles would be more than July, but I just don't think that will happen. Oh well.

Lasagna

2011-08-27T22:23:00.001-04:00

You are probably going to laugh at this, but until recently, I have never made my own lasagna. Ever. I know, I'm this old, and just hadn't done it! I'm lazy, I guess.

My family loves lasagna, but we often bought Michael Angelo's... until they changed packaging, reduced product size, and jacked the price simultaneously. Fooey on them. So we tried Stouffer's, but their sauce is blah. Moving on, we also experimented with Marie Callendar's, but it has too much spinach for the girls' liking. Makes it too bitter.

Not able to get a good lasagna anymore from my grocer's freezer section, I knew what I had to do. Suck it up and make it myself. Thank goodness for Ronzoni oven-ready lasagna noodles!

Before

After!

While it was more effort, obviously, than throwing something in the microwave, doing it this way has a lot of benefits:

Fresher ingredients
I can control the ingredients used, including type of sauce, and would never put spinach on lasagna (I'm looking at you, Marie Callendar!)
I can control the quantities used, meaning, for us:

Less meat
Less sauce
MORE CHEESE!

Easy to make ahead of time and bake later
One pan makes 2 whole meals for our family, as well as a couple spare pieces for Colin or I to take for lunch
Tastes DELICIOUS!

OK. So now I'm sold. I don't think I'll ever go back to microwave lasagna again!

Pre-K Adventures

2011-08-24T22:04:00.000-04:00

Our big girl Natalie moved into the pre-K-4 classroom this week. She's still 3, so this was a big deal, to move her up with some of her friends that are already 4 and will be going to kindergarten a year before her based on when the birthdays fall.

We know she's ready, academically. I was so pleased that the teachers think so, too, and I was thrilled when they called to ask me if it was OK to move Natalie at the beginning of the school year. She's mastered everything in the pre-K-3 room and has started to get a bit of an attitude about it, too. We often hear, "I know that already", with a dismissive hand wave, when we try to teach her something new.

I did second-guess myself a little this week, though. Maybe she's not mature enough yet for the 4-year-old room? Natalie did have some rough days and is having a little trouble adjusting to a different teacher instead of her beloved 3-year-old instructor. I talked to both of those ladies, and they think she'll be just fine. Natalie just needs a little time to warm up to her new environment. I can't wait to hear about all the things she'll learn now that she's with the slightly older crowd. :)

First Day of First Grade

2011-08-23T21:55:00.001-04:00

It's back to school time! Katie is in first grade now and started the year off with some razzle-dazzle.

Katie, Penguino, and Natalie

Even Penguino buckles up!

After we dropped Natalie off at pre-K, I took Katie in to school. We'd visited her classroom and met her teacher at open house last week, so it was nice to know exactly where we were going. We saw a few of Katie's friends on the way in, and even stopped to see her kindergarten teacher and give her a hug before settling in to first grade!

In the first grade pod

Getting organized!

Katie and I were both a little surprised that her teacher was letting everyone pick out their own desks. He must think they are very responsible. :) They had music playing and coloring pages for everyone, so it was a great morning. I was so happy when Katie came home tonight, overflowing with excitement to share everything about first grade. It's so great to us that she loves school, and we love hearing about it!

Fun with Pipe Cleaners

2011-08-20T22:13:00.000-04:00

The girls often do crafts with their grandma on the weekends. Recently, they've made a lot of pipe-cleaner art.

Natalie sports a pipe cleaner mustache

Katie made a tiara and magic wand!

They've made so many other neat things, and also used pipe cleaners in collages to make pictures of my dad to send to him. He's got the most famous mustache they know, so it was pretty fun to see their portraits of him. I'm sure he'll love them when they arrive in the mail! We had to include photos of both girls with the pipe cleaner mustache, of course. :)

I Shouldn't Have Said That

2011-08-18T21:36:00.001-04:00

...because all through my treadmill runs Wednesday and Thursday, my brain obsessed over the motion of my right leg. It was terrible. I even cut off slightly early today because it was all I could think about. I don't care about the heat. I'm running outside over lunch next week, by hook or by crook!

Until then, if you have any thoughts or suggestions, stretches, exercises, tips, etc, to help me feel more aligned, please let me know!

Sooo Over the Treadmill

2011-08-16T19:56:00.000-04:00

It's still hot and sweaty summer here, and since I can only run over lunch on the weekdays due to my work schedule, I'm still inside on the treadmill. And it's getting old. So, so old.

Over the weekend, I had great outside, morning runs on Saturday and Sunday both. And it was glorious! How I wish I could get back to outside running during the week when it's not a gazillion degrees at noon (OK, maybe that's an exaggeration. It is more like 95 with a heat index well over 100.). I am seriously counting the days to when it's about 89 at noon. I think it will be tolerable then.

My main beefs with the treadmill, besides the fact that you don't go anywhere, are this:

1. I think I am going faster than what the treadmill display tells me. Seriously. I have enough good, outdoor routes where I know I am running 9:45/mile or less. However, on the treadmill, running 9:45/mile makes me feel like I am careening out of control. I have to set it to about 10:10/mile so that my whole body can keep up, and that is slightly demoralizing. I know I'm faster than that!!!

2. The fact that the treadmill is so constant means I can't have any little variations in my pace, like you would feel on little hills or going around obstacles outside. I suppose I could get fancy and put in inclines (I do sometimes do speedwork), but often, I don't.

3. This is such a mental game for me, too, because after about 2 miles on the treadmill, I feel like my right knee is a little loose, for lack of a better term. This probably sounds silly, but it's like I have trouble getting my right foot to strike properly 100% of the time, and I feel like if you were to watch me from behind, you would see my right leg from the knee down flapping out of control. I'm sure that's another exaggeration, but it makes me self-conscious that I feel like my leg's out of control, and then I spend too much time worrying about it and I hurt my brain. You may be telling me that for Pete's sake, I just need to slow down the speed! Well, see #1 above. I don't want to. And I am stubborn about that. Mostly because I never get that feeling when I'm running outside.

So that (along with some field work I had to do) is why I haven't been on the treadmill yet this week. I need a mental break from it. But I'll be back tomorrow. And Thursday. And hopefully my brain doesn't hurt as much. But honestly, I can't wait to get out on Beautiful Bayshore again and leave that dreadmill in the dust!

Summer's Almost Over

2011-08-11T21:31:00.000-04:00

Well, there's only 1 week left in summer vacation. Where has the time gone!?! I can't believe that soon Katie will be starting first grade. We didn't have a huge extended vacation this year or anything, but we've sure had a lot of fun.

The girls finished up the spring soccer season, then took the summer off from organized sports. It was so nice to not worry about juggling basketball games and swimming on Saturdays. They'll both be playing fall soccer, though, which starts in September.

Katie had a successful dance recital but has truly been missing her weekly class during the summer break. Lucky for her, dance starts again soon, and this year Natalie will be taking class as well. Their class times are back-to-back, so it shouldn't be too hard on our schedule.

We had a lot of fun attending different birthday parties this summer. The girls are both blessed with many good friends, and we were glad we were able to have fun with some of them on their special days.

Katie has been reading and doing different homework-type activities all summer long. She wants to be ready for first grade!!! Katie also likes to watch Wheel of Fortune on TV, almost every evening if she can. She's discovered she likes playing Scrabble, too. As she says, she likes to practice spelling words, and she likes to see what kind of words I can spell, too. I love Scrabble, too, so it's fun for both of us. :)

And, of course, DISNEY WORLD! We had such a fabulous time. It's only been a few weeks since we were there, but there are some days when I'm just ready to go back. I like the magic. :)

Is it just me, or did the summer seem too short? Is everyone else ready for the new school year to begin???

Not a Mistake

2011-08-10T21:11:00.000-04:00

We had a great sermon at church by Rev. Mac on Sunday about how our being there that day wasn't a mistake. We were all there for a reason, a part of God's overall plan. It was such a good message. To keep it light, in traditional Rev. Mac fashion, he also told a bunch of stories about things that happened at church that were mistakes.

When performing his first-ever baptism as a newly ordained minister, Rev. Mac had his bookmark in the wrong spot and started going through a funeral service instead, much to the horror of the teenage girl he was baptizing.

Rev. Mac has also broken his favorite communion challis several times. He didn't mention it, but it reminded me of a time when he tripped on the church balcony stairs and fell on his bottom, miraculously not spilling a drop from the challis, or breaking it... that time.

And, the one that kept me giggling through the entire service...

This didn't happen to Rev. Mac, but one of his friends. He was performing a wedding for a young couple, and since the bride was pretty nervous, the pastor wanted the best man to read 1 John 4:18 at the service, kind of an additional special message to calm her down. Not knowing the difference, the best man read John 4:18, confused as to what that passage had to do with the matters at hand.

1 John 4:18
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

John 4:18
The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.

So, yes, mistakes happen, even at church! But our being there was not a mistake. Our being HERE, part of God's plan, is no mistake, either.

Another Special Birthday

2011-08-05T22:17:00.001-04:00

Colin celebrated his birthday today -- isn't it great that the 2 most special guys I know have birthdays in the same week?

The girls and I got him some new shirts, a board game we can play together, and a new hedge trimmer. We had a nice dinner out at Applebee's and a relaxing evening at home.

Can you believe I didn't take any pictures? Though I anticipate I will when his parents come over tomorrow for dinner and cake. So, in lieu of a birthday picture of the birthday boy, I will re-use this one from Disney World a few weeks ago.

Happy birthday from your princesses!!!

Sweat IS Beautiful!

2011-08-04T07:57:00.001-04:00

For the past few weeks, Jen @ PriorFatGirl has been posting photos of women, post-workout, in all our sweaty glory. I submitted one, and I made this week's list! Check me out, along with all those other healthy, glowing women here:

Sweat is beautiful.

I think it's awesome that she posts these photos. I love the good feeling I get after a nice run or a tough workout, and I love that Jen recognizes that!!! Thanks for helping us remember that there's no shame in getting a little sweaty with hard work. :)

60

2011-08-02T21:52:00.001-04:00

Can you believe this guy turned 60? So youthful, sledding with his grandkids this past Christmas?

Happy birthday to one of the greatest guys I know. We love you, Dad!!!

Big Girl Bed!

2011-07-31T16:53:00.001-04:00

We got Katie a twin bed when she turned 4. It was a birthday gift, and she was truly surprised, as I think she would've otherwise stayed in her toddler bed forever.

Not Natalie. But then, don't they say the second child often does things sooner/faster? We'd talked about getting her a twin bed before her 4th birthday, but never really decided if we wanted to or not. Ever since our vacation, though, Natalie has been campaigning hard for that big-girl bed. Colin and I bought some accessories for it last weekend, not sure when we would actually buy the bed. He surprised even me when he brought it home and set it up earlier this week!

Hooray!

I'd ordered the Barbie comforter online... it came 2 days after the bed.

Natalie loves the new blanket!

Sorry the pictures are a little blurry, but I think they show well enough how excited she is to have her big-girl bed!!! Hooray, Natalie!!!

Fashion Show

2011-07-28T19:41:00.000-04:00

One of our friends recently (finally?!) cleaned out their college-age daughter's closet and gifted us with several years' worth of dance recital outfits and Halloween costumes. She told me that if it occupied the girls for even an hour, she will feel happy that the items went to good use. I think that's an understatement. Here's a sampling of outfits:

Thank you, Marianne and family, for your kindness! With a giant tub of sequins, ruffles, sparkles, feathers, and fur, the girls have already put on many fashion shows and look forward to many more!

Girl Power

2011-07-24T20:53:00.001-04:00

When I run on Sunday mornings, I often see people out and about, even though I leave the house around 6:30. You would think that's too early to be running, but you have to go out then if you want to beat the heat! I'm glad others have the same idea. As I ran today, I decided to keep a tally of the other people I saw out running, walking, or biking.

12 total.

8 women, 4 men.

GO GIRLS!!!!!!!

It kind of makes sense when I remember back to an article I read recently talking about the decline in the number of men entering local races. The female entrants have been increasing, with males staying steady or decreasing. I think that's awesome. I think it's wonderful that other women are finding enjoyment in something I have liked for so long. I'm glad we're out there being fit and fabulous. I'm glad we're setting good examples for our children by being active parents.

(Now I'll have to count every week and see how the numbers work out.)

Disney Weekend - Day 3

2011-07-20T07:28:00.001-04:00

On our final day, we visited Animal Kingdom. We were there right when it opened, and I know the crowds were lighter than they were at Magic Kingdom.

Our first destination was Kali River Rapids. I was thrilled that Natalie was tall enough to ride it! So was she. This may have been our favorite ride of the whole weekend. We all got wet, but that was OK. I almost wish we could've gone back later in the day to get wet and cooled off again!

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Tigers!?

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Tigers!!

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Katie met Pocahontas while Natalie was at the petting zoo

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Jiminey Cricket!

Katie and I went to the educational area while Natalie and Colin were at the petting zoo to see her beloved goats. We had lunch and waited as some suspicious clouds passed. Then it was back out to play in Dinoland USA. We played for too long (oops) and missed the starting times of 2 shows we were interested in, and ended up not staying long enough for them to come around again. After too much fun, a snack, and more shopping, the girls were worn out. It was mid-afternoon when we left.

The attractions we tackled the third day were: Kali River Rapids, Maharajah Jungle Trek, Wildlife Express Train, Conservation Station, Affection Section, Boneyard, Triceratop Spin, and Kids Discovery Clubs. Again, we brought in our own snacks and ate lunch in the park. That system really worked well for us.

We went back to the hotel, and since the weather was nice, we swam in the big pool that has the water slides. We had a GREAT time!!! We swam until we got too hungry, then cleaned up quickly and went out to eat off-campus. We hit the hotel gift shop after dinner, then watched movies in our room until it was bedtime.

Since we just had 3-day passes for the park, we slept that last night in the hotel, slept in a bit in the morning, then had breakfast and checked out for our return trip home. We had so much fun, but there is still much left to explore on future vacations!

And that was part of it... We had a twofold mission for the trip: to have fun, and to learn tips to enhance our fun for next time when we are planning a larger group trip in 2012. Missions accomplished!!!

Things I learned on Day 3:

They charge $9.95/day for internet at Disney resorts. So, if you can stand being without email for that long (which was hard for me!), give it a whirl. Otherwise, it will cost you.
Animal Kingdom has a LOT more shade than Magic Kingdom. The landscaping is designed to give you the feel of being in the rain forest. It's helpful when it's so hot out. However, don't forget to hydrate!
Being a newer park, Animal Kingdom also seemed to have better accessibility for those guests in wheelchairs and scooters.
Be mindful of the times that shows are starting, if you are interested in watching one. The Lion King show is very popular and filled up fast. We weren't watching the clock and missed the early-afternoon viewing of both shows we were interested in.
Wear sunscreen!
Bring plastic bags inside your backpack to keep your important things wet on the water rides. Good thing we'd done that, because we got soaked!

See ya real soon, Disney World!!!

Disney Weekend - Day 2

2011-07-19T07:09:00.002-04:00

Our second day was again spent at the Magic Kingdom. We ate breakfast at the hotel and goofed off a little, so we weren't there *right* when it opened this time. That's OK, we still did pretty well.

The first thing I wanted to do was ride Splash Mountain. We ran into these two on the way there and had to stop and say hello.

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Natalie really loved the attention from Aladdin

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Katie, Jasmine, Natalie, and Aladdin

But we did make it to Splash Mountain. As I feared, Natalie was too short to be able to ride, so she and Colin went off to play while Katie and I waited in line to get wet. We loved it!!!

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Going to the Fort on Tom Sawyer's Island

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Barrel Bridge!

The attractions we tackled the second day were: Splash Mountain, Tom Sawyer's Island, and the Haunted Mansion. Again, we brought in our own snacks and ate lunch in the park. We didn't do as much because the girls really ran out of gas early. After lunch, we did a little shopping and then went back to the hotel.

Our intention was to nap, swim, eat dinner, and return to the park for the evening parade. Due to a big thunderstorm that afternoon, it didn't work out that way. We napped, we swam a little (before the thunder), we ate out, and then, since it was still pouring outside, we decided not to return to the park. We watched movies in our room instead until it was bedtime. So, we didn't get to see the night parade or the evening fireworks, but that just gives us another reason to go back later!

Things I learned on Day 2:

Even breakfast is expensive at the Happiest Place on Earth. If you are in a "moderate" resort, as we were, you'll have a mini-fridge. Stock it with more than water so you can save money by eating breakfast in your room.
If your kids are interested in meeting the characters, buy an autograph book. They sell them everywhere, parks and hotels. This did not occur to me until too late in the trip. We have lots of photos of the girls with characters, but they'd like the autographs, too.
There is some benefit to having your own vehicle. We were able to go to/from the park without having to wait on the shuttle bus, and we were able to eat supper off-campus when we were bored of park food.

Disney Weekend - Day 1

2011-07-18T11:51:00.001-04:00

We just got back from a long weekend at Disney World. Woohoo! We stayed over there for 3 nights and spent 3 days going through the parks. We all had a fabulous time. Here are some pictures of things we did.

We spent Day 1 at the Magic Kingdom, arriving right when the gates opened. Being there early has its benefits!

The girls wanted to ride Dumbo first!

After a few rides, I got to meet up with this chap.

Colin with his princesses near Cinderella's Castle

Katie couldn't wait to ride the teacups!

Ice cream is always a good treat in the sweaty Florida weather

The attractions we tackled the first day were: Dumbo, Snow White, Prince Charming's Carousel, Aladdin's Flying Carpets, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, Pooh, Teacups, PeopleMover, and Carousel of Progress. We brought in our own snacks and ate lunch in the park.

Then we checked into our room at the Carribean Beach Resort. I was thrilled to get us a Pirate Room!

Our hotel room

We cleaned up and got ready for our Happily Ever After Buffet at 1900 Park Fare, located at the Grand Floridian Resort. Colin and I wanted one splurge on a character dining experience, and this was a good one. The buffet has lots of choices, including lots of kid-friendly items. The food is good, and Cinderella and Prince Charming, as well as the stepmother and stepsisters, come right to every table to visit.

Prince Charming!

Cinderella!

The girls loved meeting all the characters, and I felt that the stepsisters were the funniest of all. Somewhat bossy and very talkative, they can easily steal the show. We had a great evening out, and I would definitely recommend this dinner to families with young daughters that are visiting Disney.

Things I learned on Day 1:

Get there as soon as the park opens. It seems that the biggest influx of people happens in the 10am to 11am hour, so it's nice to beat the rush.
Go to the park with a focused plan of the top 2-3 things you want to do that day. If you can get them done while the crowds are light, it's so much easier on everyone.
Pack in your own snacks and water to save money. You'll have to buy more water as the day goes on, but you will have saved some.
If your kids are old enough, try to do it without a stroller. Yes, it's a lot of walking for little legs, but having to park a stroller and load/unload everyone at every stop can be a drag. We managed to make it all 3 days with no stroller.
Know your limits. This is a no-brainer for parents, but know when your kids are tired and when you need to duck out of there. You may not see everything you wanted to on your list, but you can keep everyone happier if you stop when the kids need to stop.
This was a new one to me: check into your hotel FIRST when you arrive, even if it's so early in the day that your room isn't ready. You'll get a parking pass good for the entire property for the length of your stay, so you won't have to pay to park when you get to one of the theme parks. I didn't know this, so we'd already paid $14 to park at the Magic Kingdom, when a 15-minute detour past our hotel to get the parking pass would've saved us that.

Stay tuned for posts about Days 2 and 3!

Jump Rope

2011-07-13T21:01:00.001-04:00

Today at the fitness center, all the treadmills were occupied. Rather than wait for one (or run outside in the ridiculous noontime heat and humidity), I biked for a while, then went to the vacant group exercise room to do something I haven't done in a while.

Jump rope!

I alternated between jumping rope and doing other types of exercises to get my blood pumping. I did 1-minute sets of jumping, and was very impressed with myself when I didn't trip up once. It's been years since I jumped rope. I was quite surprised with myself. :)

So, no running today, but I was happy I was able to improvise and find something else to do. I'm sure it was good for my calves, too!

Sunday Run

2011-07-10T16:38:00.000-04:00

Today I did another 4-mile run before church. When I left the house at 6:30, it was 80 degrees and 85% humidity. Yikes! So this is what I looked like when I returned:

Like that outfit? Natalie picked out the combo for me.

I was drenched. And that's why it's hard to run outside here this time of year.

In other running-related news, I gave away our jogging stroller last week. It was kind of sad for me. I'm afraid I'll miss it. Katie loved riding in it, all the way up until she got way too tall. She'd probably still ride in it if I could find a way to make her legs fit. Natalie never liked it all that much, so even though she technically still fits, I haven't used it in months. I knew it was time to find it a new home. I found a taker in my co-worker John. He and his wife are expecting their first baby shortly, and they both like to run, so he said he'd take it now and hold it until the baby is able to ride in it in a few months. Take good care of my stroller, John! I hope it serves you and your family well.

Long Weekend Pics

2011-07-08T21:28:00.000-04:00

I had the best intentions of posting these with the details from the weekend... Oops!

Cutest cornshuckers ever!

Ready for some croquet!

Natalie wins... her way!

Ready to wrap it up for the day

So there are the illustrations of how we spent our 4th. :)

Long Weekend Wrap-Up

2011-07-06T20:49:00.000-04:00

Our holiday weekend wasn't all that eventful, but that's a GOOD thing! Here are a few more details on how we relaxed.

Saturday

The girls had their swimming lessons, then we went to the Y so I could work out. Due to a big project, Colin ended up being at work most of the day. It turned out OK with just us girls. After the workout, we watched Tangled, had lunch, took naps, did laundry, did our Target shopping, and prepared supper. Colin came home as we were starting dinner, and the rest of our evening went on pretty much like normal, playing out in the yard for a while before the girls had to get ready for bed.

Sunday

This was exciting for 2 reasons: we were back together as an orchestra playing patriotic music for church, AND it was the first Sunday for our new pastor! Our flute player Craig is also a band director, so since we are currently without a music director at church, he led us in Liberty Bell March (yay, Sousa!), God Bless America, and My Country 'Tis of Thee. He then went on to lead the choir in America the Beautiful and The Battle Hymn of the Republic. Gotta love the music! What a great way to celebrate America's birthday. It was interesting to have our first Sunday with Pastor Brent, too. He seems very likeable, and we'll get used to each other as a group. I know we will.

The rest of Sunday was pretty relaxed. I baked cookies, the girls went to hang out with Colin's parents for a while, and we had a good evening. Colin and I decided to watch True Grit after the girls went to sleep. We both enjoyed it, even though I dozed off a little before the end. Whoops!

Monday

I got up to have a 4-mile run, but since I felt pretty good, I ended up doing 5. I hadn't run 5 miles since March, so I was pretty excited with myself about that. After I cleaned up, the girls and I shucked corn and did other dinner prep in the morning. We went to the mall when it opened, did a little shopping, played on the play area, ate at the food court, and headed back home.

Later in the afternoon, Colin's parents came over for a holiday cookout. We played croquet, had some delicious food, and topped it all off with ice cream! Yum!

A good, relaxing weekend. You can't beat that!

Still Looking Good at 235

2011-07-04T07:48:00.003-04:00

I was wondering what I should write about for the 4th of July, and then it landed in my inbox. I'm on the mailing list for many of my legislators, and I received this from Sen. Bill Nelson. Here is an excerpt:

"Some 235 years ago this weekend, John Adams proclaimed that July 2 would mark the most memorable epoch in the history of America. It was on that day the Continental Congress declared the 13 colonies free and independent of Great Britain’s crown. It was two days after that when Thomas Jefferson’s Declaration of Independence was adopted.

And when did Americans first celebrate their independence?

Philadelphia is said to have thrown a big party on July 8, 1776, including a parade and the firing of guns. George Washington, then camped near New York City, heard the news on July 9 and celebrated then. But in 1781, Massachusetts became the first state to recognize July 4 as a state celebration. Ten years later, the young nation’s celebration was dubbed Independence Day.

This Independence Day, I hope every American will stop and think for just a minute about our freedoms – and just how much we owe those who came here long before us and mutually pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor. And let us also remember the young men and women who have died in defense of those freedoms.

We traditionally observe the Fourth with fireworks and fanfare, pomp and parade. But today we remain engaged in far-away struggles to promote and protect the rights of others who, like us, value freedom and independence. Many of our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen are spending their Fourth in Iraq and Afghanistan and other parts of world.

I recently was reminded of the commitment and selfless sacrifice demonstrated by one of America’s World War II veterans, who lives in my state of Florida.

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Rickel, of Boca Raton, served as a waist gunner on a B-17 Flying Fortress. Sgt. Rickel survived the daring bombing campaign of Schweinfurt, Germany in October 1943, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his heroism or extraordinary achievement.

Sgt. Rickel and all the military members and all their families knew the risks and sacrifices they were making were worth it. As President Reagan once said, “Some things are worth dying for ... democracy is worth dying for, because it's the most deeply honorable form of government ever devised by man.”

Indeed, our democracy is something to celebrate."

Our democracy IS something to celebrate! Thank you, Sen. Nelson, for the message.

Happy Birthday, America!!!

Mid-Year Mileage

2011-07-01T20:32:00.000-04:00

I know a lot of runners set mileage goals for the year... I never have. But I would like to. So, before I go there, I figured I need to know where I'm at now before I can set a goal for future performance (like any good engineer, right?).

I started tracking my miles on www.dailymile.com at the beginning of January. This graphic is for me through the end of June: 260 miles. I don't know if the second half of the year will be quite as high since I don't really train for any races in the fall, but we'll see where it goes! This has been very interesting, and I'm glad I've started putting in the extra effort to track the miles since I'm already putting in the effort to run them.

At-Home Beautification

2011-06-28T21:24:00.001-04:00

You may think I'm crazy, but recently, I've decided to start waxing my own eyebrows.

Think about it. One salon visit for this service costs roughly $15, before tip. I have to remember to make an appointment before I look like a uni-brow. I have to take the time out of my day to go over there. I have to wait while she finishes with other customers. Repeat this every 3-4 weeks, and it has just started to seem like a hassle. It didn't used to, but over the past year or so, it really has. I've even had my friend Crystal wax me once in a while when I don't feel like bothering with the salon. Crystal will do JoAnn and I for free if we can make time to do it after work. She does her own eyebrows all the time.

So I decided a few weeks ago while wandering around Walgreen's that I would give it a shot. I bought a waxing kit and magnifying mirror for a whopping $12.82. I did it that night, heating up the wax in the microwave, and although it felt like it took me forever, I liked the results. So I've done it twice more since then, getting faster every time. I have to do it about every 2 weeks, so a little more frequently than going to the salon, but waxing at home definitely has its benefits. Mostly, it's AT HOME. The cost savings is nice, too, but I am just starting to get too lazy in my old age to have someone do that for me when I can do it for myself. In my pajamas. :)

Would you ever wax your own eyebrows???

Lightning

2011-06-26T21:22:00.002-04:00

Today I decided I would get up at 6am and run. I'd done it for a few Sundays but skipped Father's Day. It had rained much of yesterday, so I flipped on the TV and saw that rain was coming, but still probably an hour away. That was OK, I could get out and back in that amount of time. I laced up my shoes and took off with the rest of my family still in bed.

The sidewalks were wet in our neighborhood. I got up to the main drag, turned left, and BAM! A HUGE bolt of lightning to the west, and not that far away. Yikes. I paused a bit, and BAM! A second one! Well, that is too much lightning for me, so I turned around and high-tailed it back home. Total miles = 0.5.

Instead I popped a workout DVD in and sweated my buns off until my family woke up. I don't love it as much as running, but it works. I'm glad I did it. I didn't have a chance to go to the Y today, and it rained until nearly dinnertime, so I wouldn't have been able to run outside, anyway.

I would say, "Here's hoping our weather improves!", but I've seen the forecast. It won't. It'll be one soggy week around here.

Operation Christmas Child

2011-06-22T22:24:00.000-04:00

Christmas? In June? You bet!!!

Our church strongly supports Operation Christmas Child. While most people who support this ministry pack their shoeboxes in November, our church chooses to do this over the summer. I think I've mentioned this in previous years. My family really likes the opportunity to pack shoeboxes full of gifts in the summer. It helps us to remember that there are people in this world who need assistance all year long, not just at the holidays. This year we packed two boxes for little girls somewhere in this world.

Katie, my trusty assistant

Each box you fill also needs a small monetary donation to pay for shipping charges. New this year is the option to pay online. We chose that because you get a bar code that will help you track your box! I can't wait to find out where our boxes go. Central America? Africa? You never know! I will be sure to provide an update when I find out.

This is such a simple thing to do that will make a big impact on a child that may have never received a Christmas gift. Please consider doing this with your family or church group if you have the opportunity.