Running Goals

This comes from an old 2004 Nike ad and it totally rocks! Here's hoping it speaks to you too!!



No one runs in my family.

I am not built like a runner.

My bones aren’t weightless.

My legs aren’t gazelle-like.

As a child, no one ever said,

“Now that one…she’s going

to be a runner.”

I am not a marathon runner.

But, I know that no one

is a marathon runner until

they actually run one.

I love this. Sometimes I get embarrassed when someone who's super athletic or skinny finds out I'm exercising and running. I mean, I'm definatly not in "runner's shape" right now. I'm still overweight so I feel like I might be getting the whole up and down look along with the "hmmmm..." response. It's probably mostly all in my head.

So maybe I'll never run a full 26 mile marathon. BUT I will run a 5k. I'll probably run a 10k. I might even try a half marathon. And to me, that means I'm a runner, even if someone else doesn't agree. I'm setting goals and meeting them so cheers to that!




I've actually met my personal goal of being able to run 3.1 miles without stopping!! My time is about 34:20 so I'm by NO means the fastest chica out there for sure. I've got LOTS of room for improvement. However, I'm very pleased with myself for now. Hopefully by time the fall rolls around I will improve my time and not be the last one to cross the finish line at my first official 5k! And you know what? Even if I am so what?! I will have actually ran one!!

Roller Girl

Here's one reason why "Go Roller Skating" is on my goal list for 2011. How fun does this look?





Yeah, that's my little roller girl on her first roller skates. How cute is that? She had so much fun and is actually really good! I remember how much of a good time I would have as a kid skatin' around. Good times!

STATUS UPDATE: I deleted my Facebook! (GASP!)

Instert ditzy blonde voice here

OMG I cannot believe I totally deleted my FB!

Okay enough of that

Yep, I took a major step back into the early 2000's and I must say it feels refreshing!

Prepare yourself for a Facebook rant!

The whole competition on FB of who's life is more perfect, who has the cutest kids, the sweetest husband, blah blah blah...I couldn't handle it anymore!! No, I don't care that you are at the mall with your brother and you're going to lunch later. No, I don't care that you did 40 loads of laundry today and you're tired. If you want to talk about your day moment by moment- start a blog! Don't indindate my homepage with lame status updates!! Don't get me wrong, FB is great for staying in touch with family or seeing what long lost friends are up to, but in the end- I feel like it's turning into junior high or something. Maybe it's just me that's had this experience with FB, maybe not. Maybe that's why other media outlets such as myspace and friendster went down the tubes. They became an annoyance to most of their users. Some told me- "just don't go on it anymore." But I'm weak and if it's there- I'm gonna log in a few times a week. I ended up just rolling my eyes at people's posts the whole time.
Also, did you know when I deleted my FB page, it said it would "save" my previous info, so if I changed my mind about cancelling, I could sign up again with my same account ID and password and all my stuff would be there like I never left at all!! That's creepy! They've got all my personal info archived somewhere and there is nothing I can do about it. It's like my mama says, "There's something to be said for having your own little corner in the world", and I totally agree. Also, my blog had been seriously neglected. I guess it was time to choose between one or the other. The blog won!! (Which I can delete at anytime I want and it will be wiped off the face of the Earth. Now isn't that better?)

Okay, so that is that. Hopefully I didn't sound too bitchy and crabby. And if so, I'm sorry. Go post something on your FB status about it!!

The Lucky Ones

The Leprechans snuck into our house on St. Paddy's Day this year and fun was had by all!
When Parker and Callie woke up, they realized we were hit! :) First off, a bunch of the furniture was turned upside down, toys were dressed up like them, and the biggest trick of all- their shoes had been stolen!! (yeah, just learned that that's a thing- lephrechauns steal shoes??!!) The Leprechauns left a note for the kids sending them on a scavenger hunt all over the house looking for their shoes. While on the hunt they noticed those darn little guys even turned the toilet water green!!


Eventually the clues led the kids to the fridge where their shoes were found with gold coins. Callie wasn't too sure about these tricky leprechauns!!

The table was decorated and they had clover crazy staws left on their green plates. We then had breakfast with Lucky Charms cereal and green milk.



Next up, the kids colored lots of pictures of rainbows, lephrechauns, 4 leaf clovers, and all things St. Patricks Day. They were just coloring pages I had printed off the internet.
After that, we of course had to wear our green. I didn't tell them about the whole pinching thing yet. That would just end in tears! We then headed out to the park for some fun and on the way home stopped off at McD's for a Shamrock Shake. Ms. Abby also had to come along!

When we got home Auntie and the cousins came over to make cookies and Irish Bread. They were mostly interested in playing outside though, so I did most of the work. They enjoyed the eating part afterwards though!!

For dinner we had cabbage and sausage..trying to say with the Irish theme and all. The kids had a great day and loved St. Paddy's Day. For the next couple days they kept asking me if the Lephrechauns had come back and taken their shoes. I told them no, but they always come back every Spring so keep an eye out!!
I hope you had a fun St. Patrick's Day as well and are blessed with lots of rainbows and pots of gold this year ;)

2011: The Year I Started Running

I'm loving this year so far! Maybe it's all the freaking running I've been doing because the endorphins are a-pumpin! I'm training for a 5k people! Forever I've always admired runners. It started out as a vanity thing..I mean, come on..runners have amazing bodies. Toned arms, flat tummies, long lean legs. Who doesn't want that?!
But then I tried running and failed miserably and I realized, not only do I admire their bodies, I admire their determination, their motivation, their mental strength..So last fall I started the couch to 5k program. I only made it to week 6 when the weather turned cold and the holidays came. Yes, I know..excuses. I also hit my highest weight ever (other than being pregnant) and was pretty bummed about the way I was looking.
I also always had a personal goal that before I turned 30, I was going to run a 5k without walking. It seemed like such a crazy goal because I've never been a runner. Not even close. Although I played sports in high school and worked out at the gym in college, I could NEVER run a mile straight. I could barely run for a minute! So, I jumped back on the running bandwagon with the new year. I started walking on the treadmill for only 20 minutes at a time 3-4 times per week. My endurance was low and I needed to build my muslces and lungs up. This guy has become my new best friend: THE DREADMILL!!!
After working my you-know-what off, I'm now able to run a mile without stopping! In fact, the other day I ran a mock 5k on the treadmill and finished in 36 minutes even. That's basically an 11:30 mile for you number people. Yes, I'm slow! But slow is faster than not moving at all, right? I only had to walk twice for about a minute. I'm hoping to improve my time and speed and will run my 'real' 5K in the fall this year. I've also lost about 13 pounds over the past 2 months which is icing on the cake! Only 7 more pounds and I'll be Pre-Parker weight!!
It's been crazy how much meeting these small running goals have changed my attitude about me. Running is hard for me. It does not come naturally. But I'm pushing myself. Going outside my comfort zone. And to me, that's awesome because I like my comfort zone. Who knows, maybe it's true what they say about getting older...The Best is Yet to Be!

2011..The Best Year Ever!

Well 2010 is over and what? I haven't blogged for 4 months? No! That's not like me! Well okay. It totally is.

The last half of 2010 totally rocked the house! We had 3 birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. That's right. We are party animals.

So Callie's 2nd birthday was a blast. We did a Carnival theme. We had all kinds of carnival games like ring toss, baseball toss, water guns, lollipop pull..you know..all the classics! For food we had a BBQ and cupcakes with Callie's little face on toothpicks. It was too cute peeps! We were supposed to have cotton candy, but I don't know what happened with that..I think the machine was not working or something. We had an old fashioned popcorn popper, and pop and water to drink. The water bottles even had custom labels to celebrate our Callie Dee's big day. It was the Greatest Show on Earth! She got tons o presents. Her main gift from Cory and I was a camera. Girl is obsessed with taking pictures. Speaking of which, party pics to come...


Next up was Parker's 3rd birthday. Oh wait. Cory had a birthday in there too..but ssshhh..he doesn't get as fun party as the kids, and frankly I think he's a little jealous. For Parker's bday, we had a camping themed party. Yes, I like themes. Since Parker's a little too young to do the whole sleepover camp-out thing, we just had a campfire in the backyard. We roasted hot dogs, made s'mores, played games. We had the good old fishing game going, as well as pin the tail on the squirrel. The cake was yummy. Fred Meyers bakery..who knew? This was the first birthday party we've had a the new house.



Parker and Sebastian roasting weenies


Nothing like a campfire roast!




Diggin' into the presents


Cake time!


Auntie M and Callie Dee. We borrowed Uncle Trek's fishing boat as a decoration. Thanks Trek!






Callie was hiding from the campfire as the guys got it going with gasoline. Smart girl.

Grandma Lucy and Lukey Loo



Ca and the kids



Blowing out the candles..



Look what I won!



Brady playing with the train table Cory and I made for Parker.




Fishin' game! Aunt Jaclyn trying to escape the madness!!



More fishing!

Seeing his cake..wow! Now that face is priceless!

A week later came Halloween. Parker was a doctor, Callie a nurse, and my mom and I were their patients. Cory says he was the perpatator who victimized me and my mom. See what I live with people? He's sick I tell you! We did the usual..went downtown for trick or treating, then to Grandpa's work to say hi, then up to Grandma Teona's to hang out. Actually handing out the candy to the kids was Parker and Callie's favorite part. To this day though, Callie is convinced that she is a nurse- not me!








Thanksgiving was quiet..nothing exciting..pigged out at home..yum! Christmas was good too. We opened presents, went to Uncle Randy's, then Grandma Teona and Grandpa Bruce's house, then a present drop off at home, then over to 'Ca's and Grammies to dinner and more presents. We were pooped, but it was fun. We also welcomed a new family member.."Kitty". Cory and I got the kids a kitten..well, Santa did. Sometimes her name is Kitty, sometimes it's Meow. Note to self: Don't let the 2 and 3 year old name pets.

New Years was good..kids almost made it to midnight..11:30 baby! That's good for them! Prior to that, we did a little of this:



Chuck E. Cheese!! Oh Yeah!

After the New Year, I did a little of this:


>
Yes, I learned how to shoot a gun. I'm a bada**, I know..

So now, onto my birthday. Whoop Whoop. It's tomorrow. I'm old.er. Lovin' it. After that, it's the March of Dimes fundraiser. Then the big V-Day! Whoa. This must be why time flies..always something going on.

On the home front, we've had some not-so-great luck. Our dishwasher broke, we had a couple pipes leak, then we had a clog in our plumbing that caused flooding, which required a professional.

Oh well! Cheers to the New Year! A little bad luck won't keep us down. 2011 is going to be the best year ever!!!

Summer Fun

This summer has been so much fun! I was hoping to keep the blog more updated but well, I have been too busy enjoying my summer!! That's a good reason, right? Let me share some of our summer adventures..

For 4th of July, we went down to the river for the day. We listened to the bands, took a train ride, threw rocks in the water, and ate lunch and ice cream. Later that night we lit off fireworks in mom and dad's backyard and had a bbq. We ended up watching the fireworks from the river on top of the Lampson building..we had a perfect view!







We did some scootin'...


Parker and Brady were in the Tiny Tot Olympics! Everyone won, of course! Callie was too young, but she snuck into a few events. We're flexing our olympic sized muscles in this picture.


We most recently took a trip to Mt. Hood, OR for a little R&R. It was amazing..totally what I needed! Cory, my Dad, and I were able to go whitewater rafting. Seriously people, if you have never done this or think it's too scary, you just HAVE to try it. While we were there we also went to the SkiBowl Adventure park which was also fun. We did an awesome zip line while the kids played in the "play zone" and Parker went on a kiddie boat ride. The wanted to ride the ponies, but when it came down to it..they both chickened out! There is tons of stuff for the older kids to do so I would totally recommend it if you have not so little ones. They have this HUGE slide (and when I say slide I mean it goes down the entire mountain) that we can't wait to hit in the future. We also did some fishing...but just caught a lot of sea weed. In the pic below I'm fishing at Trillium Lake..can you beat that view? I don't think so. This trip really inspired me to be more adventureous in my life and go outside my comfort zone! I can't say enough how lovely this area was. Most of the pics are on our other computer, so I'll post those later.



We've also gone camping at Lake Easton which was lots of fun too. We took the kids into Seattle to the Science Center and saw the dinosaur exhibit. Callie was a little nervous at first, but she got over it really fast and had a great time. We enjoyed fishing, campfires, smores, and watching the "squirrlies". Like all vacations though, it was over too soon!

Other updates are...I got a new car!! Yay!! The kids were getting a little too scrunched up in the backseat of the wagon so we sold it and bough a suburban! It's sooo nice and low mileage and I couldn't be happier. It's been a great roadtrip car with more than enough room. Of course my Dad helped hook me up!! If you need a car, go see him at Overturf. K, that was my little shout out to pops :)
Also, I became an Auntie again!! Melissa delivered a healthy, super cute, wonderful baby boy in June. Our little Lukey Loo is so sweet and doing great. Oh did I mention she barely made it to the hospital in time?! Like no time to start an IV, the doctor at the nurses desk delivered him, and she was just getting wheeled into the room when she was pushing. Crazy, right?! Wow. She's a champ! Anyway, Callie adores "baby" and is always keeping watch over him when he's around. We are sure blessed with all these babies!!
Is that enough excitement for 1 summer or what?! Now we are heading into the end of summer, but still have plenty of adventure left in us. We are getting excited for the fair and planning Callie's 2nd bday and Parker's 3rd. Oh and I guess Cory's birthday is somewhere in there as well as our 4 year wedding anniversary. Time to PAR-TAY!