Christmas...

So we had some excitement here in Oklahoma on Christmas Eve. 14.1 inches of snow at the airport, which I believe is an all-time record for snowfall in the state. Crazy, huh?

The in-laws were in the car for 11 hours driving in from T town. The trip is usually about 2 hours. They got stuck at the end of the turnpike behind a jack-knifed semi and apparently ODOT had to wait for 7 hours for a wrecker to clear it. Thankfully, they had eaten lunch and filled up the gas tank before they left Tulsa. They made it all the way to our house and then couldn't get all the way in the driveway. So the car spent the night parked half way in the street.

It was a good Christmas though.

Camy loved her zhu zhu pet and the skirts I bought for her and Cars, along with the leggings from gammy. She has had a pair on every day since Christmas. Thankfully, the skirt that I got Cars, which is a size smaller than the one I bought Camy, fits Camy ok.

I know I should have done two pairs of yoga pants for Cars and two skirts for Camy, but I thought they both might like both outfits.

Oh well, I guess I'll know for next time. My girls definitely have their own style.

Carson also loved her zhu zhu pet. The girls have a list with all the names of the zhu zhu pets that they have hanging in their room now. They have marked off the names of the two they have and have plans to get the other seven.

Carson especially liked the iPod Touch from gammy and pop. The Paul Frank cover we got her is too cute. (Camy got Hello Kitty for hers.)

The green vest she has on is her new favorite. She has been wearing it around the house non stop. I think she thinks it's a hoodie and not a real coat. Oh well, at least she likes it.

I know I am a little biased, but I think this is the best Christmas present anyone got. My very own Kitchenaid stand mixer! I love love love it. Got to whip up some very tasty mashed potatoes for Christmas dinner, and made some pizza dough the other night. I haven't done any real baking since I got it on account of the fact that I have tons of cookies and cupcakes left since our guest list was shortened by the storm. Oh well, there will be plenty of time to bake and bake!

So now it's almost the new year. 2009 has been a great year. We have our finances in order and are on our way to being debt free. I ran 4) 5ks, one Pub Run, did one sprint triathlon and one killer duathlon. I feel like I am in the best shape of my life and am ready for some new challenges in 2010.

First is the half marathon in March. I am going to rest my quad for a few days and then get back at it. Happy New Year!

I Can't Resist...

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/wed-november-18-2009/daily-show--the-rogue-warrior

I can't resist. Sarah Palin will be in Norman tomorrow for a book singing and I saw this on The Daily Show. It is too funny. How people can be behind this woman is beyond me.

More from the Pub Run...

Carson and Camy with their Pop and Gammy doing the one mile fun run, while we did the four mile run.

Camy even had on a plaid skirt.

McNellie's Pub Run

The family traveled to Tulsa this weekend to participate in the McNellie's Pub Run. Well, all but little Rocky, he went to visit Aunt Karen and Uncle Shawn. Three dogs are hard to travel with.

The run was 4 miles, and Josh opted for the Guinness Challenge. After about 2 miles, and after 3 miles he had to drink a cup of Guinness, and then again before he crossed the finish line. I was glad that I opted for the alcohol free run.

I was nervous about the run because I hadn't run in a few weeks. I had taken a week off after the Monster Dash because my upper thighs were bothering me, and that turned into two weeks when I got sick on Halloween weekend. No swine flue here though, thankfully. Sick in a non-contagious manner. So two weeks no running, and then the ultimate boot camp started last Monday. Four days a week this time, and then a cancelled running group on Tuesday night. I was wondering if I would remember how to run.

Turns out I did not so bad. I finished in 38:27 which was under the 10 minute a mile pace I was shooting for. Josh did great, running almost all of it and drinking all of his beer. I heard one guy tell another guy that I ran by that he was planning to only do Pub Runs from now on. I thought that was funny. The in-laws and the girls got to see lots of people puking at the finish line, makes for great family entertainment I think!

So for the first time in a while I don't have any races coming up. Whatever will I do?

Boot Camp For Real...

So the latest boot camp at the Y started this morning. It's gonna be hard core this time. Six weeks, four mornings a week, except for Thanksgiving week when we'll only have two days. Our Monday morning instructor is for real! He's actually been through three different boot camps and is conducting our Monday mornings like they do it for real. My arms are going to be quite sore I think.

The Girl Scout camp-out was fun. Only tears twice, and participation in almost everything by my two. I slept horribly on the cot in the tree house cabin. The girls didn't seem to notice. I do think that I would like to stay home next time though!

On with the week!

Monster Dash...

I completely forgot to post something about the Monster Dash that Stacy and I did on October 24th. Not a good race for me. My first problem was the fact that we participated in a Zumbathon the night before. Two hours of zumba, technically we only stayed for an hour and a half, the night before a 5k was probably not the best decision we've ever made. It was for a good cause, Komen for the Cure and it was pretty fun. I don't envision myself signing up for a bunch of zumba classes though. It was pretty hard on the knees.

The Monster Dash was fun, the course wasn't the most boring I've run, but I finished in just over 30 minutes. Other than boot camp last week I haven't run since. The guy in the Gumby costume deserved a prize for running in that thing. I would never have gotten up and said, "Hey, let me put this Gumby costume on for the race today." I did get passed by two women pushing strollers that didn't run the whole race and just sprinted at the end. Seriously, that's not winning!

Not Much Going On...

So it's been a slow couple of weeks. I just got this picture of Kyle and I after the Fall Classic, yes, that is a beer in my hand! So fun!

We had a fun Halloween. I don't have any pictures yet, but I'll probably pose one or two when I get them.

I have been under the weather since Saturday night so I have just been trying to recover all week. No fun. The girls and I have a Girl Scout camp out on Saturday night that I am not looking forward to. I am sure they will have fun though.

I have been doing quite a bit of baking. I am testing out a crock pot version of the minestrone that I make to see if it's good enough to enter into the crock pot cook off at Josh's work next week. I think tomorrow I'll try my black bean and sweet potato enchiladas in the crock pot to see if that might be better. I am shooting for the vegetarian category of the contest, maybe it won't be too crowded! I'd sure like to win the $25!

Fall Classic Duathlon

I honestly don't know what I was thinking. Maybe it was the high of completing my first triathlon that clouded my judgement a bit. I can't be sure.

Yesterday I participate, note that I didn't say competed, in the Fall Classic Duathlon. It was a gruelling 4k run, 24k bike, 4k run. Don't get me wrong, I had fun. But I think I would have had more fun had both of the runs been on level surfaces. The hills were killers! I ran the first one in 23:52. Not too bad, I didn't want to overdo it since I had a lot more race to cover after that. The hardest part for me is definitely the bike leg. It was an out and back course, and it was on a 2 lane highway that was hilly. I rode out on the side of the road to stay out of traffic and it was just bumpy the whole way. My back is not liking me today for that. On the way back I stayed more on the road and let me say that I felt like I was flying after the slow trek out. My horrible bike time was 1:11:31, definitely impressing anyone with that.

By the time I got off the bike my legs felt like rubber and it was time to hit the running course again. I couldn't run the whole thing this time. I did run as much as possible and was running when I crossed the finish line at 26:19. Overall it was 2:04:37. I did finish though, if not impressively!

I must say the best part of the whole race was the ice cold beer that I got in my souvenir glass at the finish line. I don't think a beer has ever tasted so good. I was wondering why they run it in the afternoon, I assume that is why.

I went home and was in bed by about 7:45 last night. I took today off from exercise and it'll be back to boot camp in the morning and the running group in the afternoon. I have another 5k on Saturday. I must be crazy.

OKC Race for the Cure 2009

So this past Saturday was the Race for the Cure. This is a special event for me and I look forward to it every year. Jen, Karen and I have participated since 2001 and though our team Sooner Girls for the Cure has grown and shrunk in size over the years, we still manage to show up!

Let me just say, it was freezing! Seriously, it has never been that cold for the race. I actually invested in long pants and a long sleeve shirt to run in this year. I did have to take my jacket off about 100 yards into the race, and managed to drop my ipod on the ground in the process. So that slowed me down a bit. I still managed to finish in 28:24, which is a good time for me. Not as fast as the 5k at the end of the Tie Dye Tri, but it was really cold and you have to weave in and out of the thousands of people that are participating! Something to be said about the smaller races, you don't usually have people with strollers at the 9 minute pace marker!

I did have a little pain in my hip the next day, but now on Thursday, it looks like that is going away. Thankfully, the Fall Classic duathlon is on Sunday and I would hate to have paid my $40 and not be able to participate.

Stacy has also asked me to join her in the Monster Dash on the 24th. Of course I am in. I hope I get to see some little kids doing the fun run in their Halloween costumes!

Looks like Josh and the kiddos are going to head up to Tulsa this weekend for the girls' and Jill's annual Halloween costume expedition. They just love that tradition. Josh will get to watch the OU Texas game with his dad, and I'll probably give the house a deep cleaning. Now we just have to figure out which dog(s) go and which one(s) stay with me. Here's hoping to it being me and Lucy this weekend!

So Lucy is going back to the vet today to get her stitches out. She had the hematoma drained from her ear two weeks ago and it really looks like it has healed up nicely. Thankfully, she didn't have to wear a cone so we didn't have to deal with the ackwardness of all of that! She really seems like a different dog in the last few weeks. We are thinking that her arthritis meds and the one for her heart are making her feel better. She has actually been sort of running around the house a bit, and she even wanted up on the couch with me on Monday when I was home with a sick Camy.

I Did It!!!

So, I am officially a triathlete. Really? I don't think anyone is more surprised than I am! The Tie Dye Tri was on Saturday and I did it, and I finished, and I did great!

I was very nervous. Josh went with me to get my stuff set up and get checked in. I opted to not do the warm up swim because the water was cold and it was a pretty cold morning. So we just hung out in the gym until race time. I was number 48, meaning I had the 48th fastest time for the swim on my registration. When we lined up for the swim, I got to chat with the other participants in line with me, and there were plenty of nerves going on.

The swim went great! I got to pass some people, and finished in 8:14, and I was off to the bike. I got to see Jill, Pat, the girls and Kyle and April on the way to my transition, which was nice. My transition took almost four minutes, which was not very good, but it was nice that there were not alot of people on the course when I got out there. My bike took a little over 48 minutes, and then after a transition for the run that took a little over a minute, I was off on the 5k.

Thanks to Tommy for keeping me focused, I turned in a personal best for the 5K. 27:27! I can't believe it! After everything else I had already done. I had a huge grin on my face when it was all over and found out that I finished 58th out of about 120 women. Not bad for my first time! I can't wait to do it again!

48 Hours and Counting...

Okay, so in 48 hours I will be done with my first triathlon. Seems easy, right? Well getting me from here to there is causing me much stress! I have been having nightmares all week about missing my spot for the swim, or forgetting something I need. I keep thinking, what did I get myself into?

So many things to decide, what time to get there, should I do the warm up swim, should I run beforehand? Thankfully, Josh has been nominated to come with me to get me checked in and gets to hang out until the race starts. Jill and Pat and the girls will be along later, along with Stacy and Kyle and April. Too bad none of my immediate family will be there.

So my last workout is tonight, 20 minutes on the bike, 20 minute run. I am hoping to get some good tips on the transitions out of Tommy tonight!

This is the Big Week...

Okay, so it's been 12 weeks since I signed up and started training for the Tie Dye Tri, and it's finally here! I am so nervous. This will be a much lighter week of workouts than the last few, which will be nice, but come Saturday morning it's race time!

I think I am finally comfortable on the bike. Rode 16.6 miles on Saturday, including part of the course over by Target, then did a 12 miles yesterday, just around the block. (The four mile block!) Yesterday was interesting, riding in the fog, made me a little nervous and the condensation on the bike was also on my eyelashes. Ha!

This week will be all about carbs and hydration! Well, starting on Wednesday. If my stomach has this many knots in it already, I am going to be a mess on Saturday!

The Worries Have Returned...

So Carson has been worried all week about her doctor's appointment today. They have their 9 year check up today, and they are supposed to get he flu mist. At least I hope they both can get it, Camy had to get the shot last year so we'll see. Carson has been worried about this all week.

How many times can I tell her that she is not getting a shot before she believes me. I am getting ready to leave to go pick them up from school, so we'll see how it goes.

Odds and Ends...

Got a great recipe emailed from the Whole Foods website yesterday. I just had to try it out last night and it was yummy. Josh even liked it and I had leftovers for lunch today.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=2008

I ran in the Brookhaven run over the weekend. I wasn't as fast as the Moore War run, coming in at 28:28, but I think I worked out more last week than the week before. The 35 minutes we spend on the bike before we ran the 5k course for the Tie Dye Tri made Thursday's workout a killer! It is Thursday again and I think I will be hurting later!

I finished the had I was making for Carson on Saturday and got Cameron's done on Sunday. The picture was taken on Monday morning, pre-breakfast/hair brushing/getting dressed. I think their hats look fabulous!

Moore War 5k

So the first ever Moore War 5k was held this weekend in what could be called my home town. It was funny to park in the old parking lot at the high school and we even snuck a peak into the pool. Turns out Jen still holds the school record in the 200 Free! From 1990!

It was great seeing Devon, Dwayne and Chris before and after the race. The race, though, had to be the most boring 5k course I've ever run. Not that I have run lots, but it was just straight down Eastern to 19th street, and then over to Broadway and back to just past Main. That hill on 19th street was a killer though! I did much better than I had hoped. I ran it in just under 28 minutes. I finished 3rd out of 24 women in my age group, Jen was 4th.

Stacy had me go out and run the 5k race course for the triathlon on Sunday. May was I tired. We finished in just over 34 minutes with a short walk after about 2.5 miles. Stacy said that she thought she was gonna throw up so we had to slow it down. I have to run tonight for my tri training. After that it's parent meetings at school. That's gonna be interesting!

I made one of my favorite new dishes for dinner last night...
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/patrick-and-gina-neely/ginas-summer-tomato-pie-recipe/index.html

It turned out so good this time. We had a big red and a big yellow tomato from the farmer's market and they were so good.

Chicken and Dumplings...

Okay, I made the best dish for dinner last night.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=1173

It was so yummy, with the sweet potatoes and carrots. I just did two chicken breasts and boiled them in vegetable stock and then used the remainder to make the rest, and I skipped the Swiss chard. There was no oil or butter in this recipe! It didn't take too long, and I had lots left over for lunch today. I should have put a little more milk in the dumplings but they were still very tastey!

I have triathlon training tonight. We are going to bike and run. Lord help me. I went to go swim this morning and they pool was closed for lightening! Whatever, in all my years on the high school swim team, never once did Kevin ever say, "There's lightening in the area, we better call it a day!" I have to decide if I am going to do trekking tomorrow or if I want to go swim to get ready for the Moore War 5K on Saturday. Decisions, decisions.

I started a new knitting project last night. I am officially doing a shape other than a square or rectangle. We'll see how this hat turns out, but I think it's gonna be good.

Farmer's Market...

So we finally made it to the Cleveland County Farmer's Market on Saturday. It was awesome! We bought red potatoes, mushrooms, a tomato, watermelon, okra, red onions. And for much cheaper than at the grocery store.

I made an especially yummy recipe last night that I found on the Whole Foods website. Nice and easy and a great summer dish. I have leftovers with me for lunch today with a salad.

http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/recipe.php?recipeId=1924

I bought a bike this weekend! I am officially going to be doing the triathlon now. It hasn't seemed real until now. Is it possible to be nervous for an entire month? I think I am on my way!

Slumber Party! Part 2...

So we survived. But just barely. We had ten girls between the ages of 7 and 10 at our house on Saturday night and let me just say that little girls scream alot!

We made tie dye t-shirts to start off the night. After everyone signed all the shirts, we put rubber bands around them and took the girls into the garage to work with the dye. Let me just say that if you give girls this young tie dye paint, you should give them rubber gloves to wear. Secondly, my garage floor will never be the same! They were covered in dye! After a momentary freak out, what were their parents going to think? I googled dye removal and we ended up running a sink full of warm water, adding a little bleach and having them all soak for a bit. It worked like a charm.

The biggest area of conflict was the trampoline. We told them only four girls at a time, and we had lots of "I just got on", "They've been on forever", and even a couple "You said we could stay on until the pizza got here". We only had three girls say that they wanted to go home, including Paige, my niece, and oldest kid at the party. She turned out to be the first to fall asleep.

I finally turned the tv off at about 3am, and all the girls were asleep at 3:30, but then up again by about 7:30. I was worn out.

Brunch went well, I got rave reviews about my enchiladas from my dad, and not much feed back from anyone else. We got the house back to normal, got the girls new bedding on their beds and did a little rearranging in their bedroom. Rocky was especially worn out by the weekend.

So now after today I'll be off for two days getting everything ready to back to school. Where did the summer go?

Slumber Party!

So my babies are nine now and for their party this year we are going for the slumber party. It's been a long time since we hosted a big one so it should be interesting.

Tomorrow night at 6pm, we've got 8 girls R.S.V.P.'d to come. From my count only four of them have alpha female type personalities. We are hoping they can each have at least one kids to boss around and everyone will get along splendidly. I asked the girls what they want for snacks, Oreos, marshmallows, cheese puffs, and cheese and crackers. I will be making a whole bunch of cup cakes tomorrow. The two of them can't decide on one flavor, so we will have to do a box of chocolate and one of vanilla. They did both decide on chocolate icing for all of them, so that's good.

I feel like I have so much left to do! Josh and the girls are going to run to the store today to get the food items, and I will make a run to Hobby Lobby after work. We are supposed to take them to dinner for their birthday, but again they can't decide on one place. I told them that I'd take one and Josh could take the other and we'd go to different places but that didn't go over well with both of them. Again with the not agreeing!

I am going to go to the running group at the Y in the morning at 7, that should be interesting. I guess they run about five miles so we'll see how far I can go. After that it's party planning and brunch preparation for Sunday when my family comes to celebrate with the girls.

I think I have a good menu planned, breakfast enchiladas (http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/sunny-anderson/breakfast-enchiladas-with-red-sauce-recipe/index.html), Josh's fried potatoes, bacon (for Cars), and I thought I'd do a fruit salad and maybe some banana bread. A little something for everyone, I hope.

Mexican Food...

So I tried a new recipe on Monday night, and it was awesome. I found it on the Whole Foods website, it was for Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas, and they were super yummy. I was a little skeptical at first but even Josh loved them.

Check out the recipe here:
href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/budgetrecipechallenge/recipe2.php">

I used canned green chili sauce (because I'm a little lazy sometimes) and I boiled the sweet potatoes for about 20 minutes. I also mixed everything in the filling together before I filled my corn tortillas.

Tuesday...

So my babies turned nine yesterday. NINE! Where have these last nine years gone that they could possibly be that old? Crazy. Cars woke up and the first thing she said yesterday was, I'm a nine-year-old girl today! Gotta love that that is what can make a kid so happy. They were very excited about the Simply Shabby Chic blankets we got them from Target. They are so soft.

So I finished my biggest knitting project to date on Sunday night. It's a baby blanket and it's really snuggly! I can't wait to give it away! Now I'm working on a scarf for Jana, it seems so small in comparison!

So I am back on the workout train. I swam yesterday morning and had my lunch-time yoga that was awesome. Today it was boot camp and my arms are like jello today. I think I'm gonna be hurting tomorrow.

Back to the Real World...

So we got home from West Virginia on Wednesday afternoon, and man am I worn out still. We had a great time and the RV was a really good idea. Leah's wedding in the little country church was very nice, too bad there was no air conditioning during the service! The potluck reception was fun, the kids danced for a long time and there was minimal fighting! We had a bonfire at Julia's and Chuck's that night, Jen made a pitcher of Colorado Bulldogs, and Patrick was only slightly burned by the fire. Drunk Josh made an appearance, luckily I missed it.

The trip back to Linda's was fun, with eight kids in the RV. We made a stop off at the Summersville Lake to let the kids do a little swimming. Would have been nice if we hadn't forgotten the girls' bathing suits for the trip, but Hannah was definitely not happy about swimming in her clothes. She did eventually break down and swim and she had fun. The kids rode horses at Linda's on Monday and I am the only one that got stepped on. Jen got stung on the boob by a crazy bee.

Overall, it was an awesome trip and my kids seemed to really have alot of fun, I am glad to be home and out of that RV. It was back to bootcamp yesterday, and I am hurting today.

On the Road...

Well we just passed through Hurricane West Virginia, we have about 130 miles to our exit. It has been a long night, it has rained alot today.

We did get all the kiddos to sleep last night at about 11, and we only wasted about 40 minutes trying to find diesel outside of St Louis last night.

Parker and Camy are both asleep in the back and the rest of them keep pestering us for more food. It's been a great trip so far...

Monday...

So I had a horrible run this morning. I just couldn't get it going. I ended up walking on the treadmill instead. I hate days like that.

Boot camp starts in the morning, and then I'm off to West Virginia tomorrow night. I am looking forward to the trip, I know my girls are excited about loading up the RV and traveling across the country.

What do you make to take to a potluck wedding? I am stumped!

I found a cute black dress at Francesca's to wear, unfortunately, Karen bought a little black dress too. Honestly, I think mine is cuter though! Ha!

Nothing Exciting...

So it's been a pretty uneventful day so far. Slept in, until 5:40 to come in to work early so I can get off early for triathlon training tonight. Josh is golfing so I need to be able to go home before I go to the Y, gotta take care of the doggies.

Made some killer sweet potato risotto last night using the bottle of reisling I bought recently. So yummy!

Just a quiet evening at home with the kiddos gone. They'll be back tomorrow night or Saturday morning so it'll all be back to normal then.

At the Gym, Again...

So last night we meet for triathlon training and worked on running. Ten minutes on the indoor track, followed by suicides in the gym, and then another ten on the track. Tommy, the guy leading the class, was great, he worked with me on my form when I run and I think that his tips will help me tremendously.

I was pretty worn out after the testing for the new boot camp yesterday morning. I was pretty sore this morning. I opted to go swim this morning. A mile in the pool and I feel pretty good. I am hoping I'll feel even better after yoga at lunch.

And They are Off, Again...

So my kiddos got home very late on Sunday night. They hit something in the road on Saturday afternoon and busted a hole in my aunt's gas tank, spent three hours on the side of the road waiting for the wrecker, and then had to wait for my brother-in-law to drive 100 miles out of the way of the hotel to pick them up. Sunday morning they had to drive another 80 miles round trip to pick up the rental car that my aunts used to take my nieces back to West Virginia. It was a very long weekend for them.

After sleeping in yesterday, hanging out with their Gammy and a Girl Scout pool party last night, they were on the road to Tulsa this morning at about 11. They are quite the little travelers!

I got in the pool and swam on Saturday. Just a mile, but it felt pretty good. I did the preliminary test for the newest boot camp. I ran my 1.5 miles in 14:52, did 32 sit-ups in a minute, 20 regular push-ups in a minute, 30 bicep curls in a minute, discovered that I am less flexible than I thought, and that I cannot do a pull-up. I am hoping for some improvement over the next five weeks.

I've got triathlon training tonight, sprints this time. Should be interesting!

No Blood From Me...

So I helped organize a blood drive at my work today. A former co-worker is going through chemo right now and she has to have blood products with each round of treatment. So we got it all organized, got everyone signed up and I was the second person to go to day.

I was shocked to find out that, since my dad was in the Air Force, and we lived in Germany when I was a child, that I am not a desirable blood donor. I was the first one told that I couldn't donate! Turns out, I was one of only two people turned away. I am very bummed about the whole situation. My sister said it probably has something to do with Mad Cow, whatever!

I slept in for the third day in a row today. I have my triathlon training at 6 tonight, and tonight we'll be on the stationary bike, because it's a million degrees out and I don't currently have a non-stationary bike!

Talked to Cars last night, she cried for about thirty seconds and then went on to tell me how much fun she's having on their trip. Rocky is still depressed!

Running...

So I had my first group workout for the triathlon last night. We ran for almost 40 minutes on the treadmill on account of the fact that it is about a billion degrees in Oklahoma this week. I did pretty good, I ran 3.4 miles total and that was with bumping up my speed at the end to a 6.2 to finish it off.

Thursday we get to do work on the stationary bike. I slept in again this morning, still weird, and all I am doing is a yoga class at lunch.

Hair cut and color tonight, yeah!

Still haven't talked to the kiddos, guess they are having too much fun to be concerned with ole mom! Didn't get ahold of anyone last night. Rocky is beside himself with saddness, he can't figure out where his girls are. I let him in their room this morning and he jumped up on Camy's bed and began sucking on the fleece blanket on her bed. Crazy dog!

Sleeping In...

So today, for the first workday in I don't know how long I didn't get up to go to the gym this morning. It was weird and kinda hard to sleep in until six o'clock! I am so used to getting up and getting going.

I have my first group training session for the triathlon tonight at six. We have to run for 20 minutes. I just hope that it won't be outside since it's only about a million degrees out today!

Went bowling after work yesterday at the Red Pin, had a beer (a rarity for me on a weeknight!) and then had dinner at Earl's (yum!). Called to check on C & C in West Virginia, they haven't even called us since they left me on Sunday! They are having a great time, picking and snapping beans, building a tent, getting the eggs from the chickens and hunting for the kitties. I believe this is what it feels like to not be needed! Ha!

West Virginia...

So I drove the kiddos to meet my aunt in Mt. Vernon, Il Saturday so they could go spend the week in West Virginia. We drove to Tulsa Friday night to crash with the in-laws so that took over 100 miles off the trip on Saturday.

Got to the hotel early and the girls got to swim before we ate dinner in the hotel restaurant where Cars threw a huge fit about how she was gonna miss me when they were gone. She was much better after we were done and even apologized after we went swimming later. They both acted like I couldn't leave fast enough on Sunday morning.

Mate it home in just over 8.5 hours, with only a 20 minute stop in Springfield, and some horrible rain after I got through St. Louis. Got home, made dinner and pretty much went to bed.

Forced myself to get out of bed to go run for 25 minutes, as per my triathlon training guide. We have no food in the house now, and I am so tired...

TGIF...

So I forgot to post about my first cycling class yesterday. It was a killer, I really felt like I worked hard. It was nice to not have my knees bother me afterwards too. My butt was a little sore from the seat!

Today it was trekking, and Brooks was filling in for Lori the regular instructor for Friday mornings. Seriously, who can run at 18 clicks over their set (which for me put put me at 6.8) and he had us running at 10% incline! I thought I would die. On a positive note, I did burn 470 calories and went 3.7 miles! Yeah!

So tonight starts the trek to get the girls to West Virginia for the week. We are heading to Tulsa tonight to stay at Gammy and Pop's house and then it'll be on to Mt. Vernon, IL tomorrow. They are excited about the indoor pool at the hotel.

Fingers crossed that Carson's stress level isn't too bad. She was worried last night, but after the 15 minutes of worry time we spend on it she seemed better. We packed her worry book just in case!

Abs Class

So I am another day closer to starting my triathlon training. Today was an easy day, 20 minutes on the bike and then the 30 minute abs class. I'll go do my yoga at lunch and get nice and stretched out. Yeah!

Had a sick sitter today so my day seems off already. Had to wait until Josh got home from work to leave. Carson was very upset that she didn't get to do something fun today. I think Josh is going to take them to BK for lunch, and while that doesn't sound appetizing to me at all, I am sure the girls will love it.

Triathlon Training...

So I officially signed up to train for the Tie Dye Triathlon at the Y this morning. I completely forgot to actually register for the event though. Go figure.

Looks like I have a friend that will loan me a bike to use, let's hope I don't kill myself on it.

Took it easy this morning, 35 minutes on the treadmill, ran for about 27 minutes, did 3 miles total. My knees were killing me last night after the strength and conditioning class, but they felt fine on the treadmill today.

In the training packet I got this morning, it talks about the benefits of yoga for running, swimming and biking! Yeah, I'll keep going at least twice a week.

Boot Camp

So I weighed in this morning and have officially completed my second boot camp. Officially, I lost close to 7 lbs in a month. By my calculations that about 4.5% of my body weight! I also lost 2 inches on my waist and my thigh.

My next goal is going to be to complete the Tie Dye Tri the end of September.

The sanctioned event includes a 500-yard indoor swim (snake swim staggered at 15-second intervals), a 12-mile bike ride, and a 5K run.

I figure the hardest part for most people would be the swimming, but I think I've got that down. I just have to beg, borrow or steal a bike that I can use.

So this is day 1, today I did the strength and conditioning class and I'll be off to yoga in another hour. I am hoping to be able to keep up all the work I've put in so far!

The Decemberists

So a week ago I was sitting in the St. Louis airport waiting on a flight to get back to OKC. Gotta love flying stand-by.

We saw The Decemberists on Sunday night at The Palace, with Blind Pilot. I was very impressed with Blind Pilot, they were easy to listen to and laid back, kinda like I should be sitting on a beach somewhere kinda music. I need to get their album and listen to it some more.

The Decemberists were awesome! They played The Hazards of Love album from beginning to end in the first set. Such a good album. I love that their music tells stories, though the last song The Hazards of Love 4, keeps me sad at the end, wishing that William and Margaret got to live happily ever after. The Rake Song was great placed in the middle of the album as well. After the intermission, they played some of my favorites, July! July!, O Valencia, and covered a Heart song that showed how great the to women that sang on the album were.

St. Louis was fun, our first anniversary trip. It's been 13 years, finally we went somewhere. Stayed at the swamky Moonrise Hotel. Very nice! We ate at a restaurant called Pi, not spelled pi, the symbol for pi. Great thin crust pizza and flirtini. The rooftop bar at the hotel had a very nice view of downtown St. Louis. We ate at Blueberry Hill before the concert, they had some great spicy shrimp that we had for an appetiser but the Jerk Chicken Sandwich wasn't that great.

I almost injured myself walking to the concert. I ended up scraping off a few layers of my big toenail on my right foot and needing a band-aid stop at the hotel before the concert. Good think I had flip-flops on!

All in all, a great trip. I am ready for the next album!

More on Knitting

So I am very excited about my new hobby. It has been two and a half weeks since I officially became a knitter. I have knitted four washcloths, two scarfs and have started a third, and have plans for the two after that.

I purchased "Stitch and Bitch", a book about knitting and have taught myself a second stitch. The first scarf for Camy, was just the basic garter stitch that we learned in the class, for Carson's I taught myself how to purl, and her scarf looks completely different from her sister's. On the one that I am making for myself, unless I decide to give it away, I am using the two stitches I know and I am making a ribbed scarf!

The kiddos are very excited about their new scarfs, Carson wore hers again to school today, even though it's going to be about 80 degrees today. I think that she is making a fashion statement more than keeping her little neck warm. I showed the scarfs to my sisters and they seem to not get it. My 3-year-old niece Hannah, was very excited about them. I have plans to make her a purple one now.

I figure after I master the squares and rectangles it'll be time to move on to other shapes. I think this is something I could be doing for a long time to come.

Knitting...

So I officially have a new hobby. Last Monday night my girls and their Girl Scout troop went to L&b Yarn Co. for a knitting lesson. Since it was my idea, I got to go, and I got the chance to learn how to knit, again.

I learned last summer at my company picnic, but with the move to the new house and everything I put my scarf down that I had been working on and hadn't picked it back up. The class was learning how to make a washcloth.

It has been a week and I am officially a pro. I made four washcloths last week (the picture is my first one), and I took my girls back on Saturday to pick out yarn for scarfs that I am going to make them. Yes, I know it's much too warm for scarfs, but they are very excited about them, and I am very excited about being able to create something that they will love.

Carson has decided that she loves knitting and wants to take the little camp they offer this summer. Cameron decided that she hates it. We'll see, maybe she'll want to in the future if I keep at it.

Mother's Day

So in two days, it'll be Mother's Day again. Not my favorite holiday of the year, but don't get me wrong, I do enjoy how excited my girls get about the day. It's nice to have someone that will think and plan how they can have their dad bring you breakfast in bed, as a surprise, that one day of the year.

Not only is it Mother's Day in two days, but today, May 8Th is the anniversary of my own mother's death. It's been 28 years since my mother died of breast cancer. Ironically, she was 28 when she died. This time of the year serves as a reminder of what I lost and missed out on for the majority of my life.

On this bittersweet holiday for me I'll remember that I have two girls that love me and love that they can show that love, and I'll try not to dwell on the fact that I don't remember my last Mother's Day with my own mom.

Shopping

Every woman needs a friend they can shop with. Quite often I find myself shopping by myself but yesterday I realized that shopping with a friend is so much better. It was so nice to have someone that convinced me to try on things that I never would have picked out for myself. It was especially nice considering all the bargains we found!

So go shop and take a friend, unless you don't really have money to spend!

Jaw Surgery...

So I am sitting at the hospital with my twin sister, Karen. She had jaw surgery yesterday afternoon. She has had problems with her teeth all her life and since she never got braces as a kid she has spend the last few years trying to correct them all.

She has had braces for a few years but she still needed the surgery to fix some other problems. The surgery was only supposed to take four hours and it took almost six. Once they got in there they realized that her jaw was very delicate and they had to be very careful. When she was done she missed her seizure medicine because she was still asleep.

She did have a seizure last night, and since they didn't want her to be alone, I am here giving my brother-in-law a break to go home and get some sleep.

She is going to look really different I think. She is very swollen right now but I can already tell that she is not going to look like the sister I've known for the last almost 35 years. She will be off work for three weeks because she won't be able to drive, and she won't be able to eat real food for four. Talk about a crash diet!

She appears to be in some pain, and luckily they gave her some liquid pain meds and she is asleep now. So for me it's daytime television for a few hours!

Friendship Bracelets...

Last night I volunteered at my daughter's Girl Scout meeting, and got to help our troop make friendship bracelets. It's been quite a while since my last friendship bracelet, but it brought back fond memories.

Let me just say that it is difficult getting eight and nine year old girls to pay attention long enough to teach them the technique, but they all seemed to catch on with more or less help.

If you'd like to relive some childhood memories, here's a link to make your own.
http://www.makingfriends.com/jewelry/macrame.htm

The design on this link is a little different than the ones we made last night but it looks like it would be a good project as well.

Twins

So for almost eight years I have learned of the challenges of twins. I am a twin myself and I thought that would prepare me for the situations that arise when you are dealing with two children of the exact same age. Boy was I wrong.

School has been difficult. When you have one twin that breezes through school work and another that struggles the entire time you have to make hard choices. My kids are young, their birthday is in August and we started them in kindergarten when they were five. If I could get a do-over that is probably one thing I would do differently. The thought has come up of repeating a grade, but to make it easier on one makes it more difficult for the other. I can have one kid that is completely bored and another that is right where she should be, or I can have one kid that still does above average in their current grade, and the other that struggles all the time.

Today presented challenge as well. One got invited to go to the zoo with a friend, the other was not invited. How do you try to make it fair for both of them when they aren't doing the exact same things all the time. As a twin I do know that they won't have all the same friends and won't do all the same things all the time but it's hard to try to make it fair when they do different things.

So Camy is off to the zoo and Carson's friend is on her way over. Maybe they will be excited to see each other and maybe be a little nicer to each other after a day apart.

Boot Camp

So the Y in Norman is having a six week boot camp. I saw the sign up for it last week and for some reason thought it would be a good idea. The cost is only $60, which from what I have heard is dirt cheap.

I got to meet with the instructor and discuss my goals, and today I am going to meet with the nutritionist about my eating habits. (I am not too excited about that!) I am not looking to loose weight, I think that I am at a good weight for me, I don't want to have to fight with it. I know what I should and shouldn't eat and I'd like to have the things I shouldn't have in moderation. (The whole moderation is my problem though.)

As I am very much a morning person and always work out in the morning, the 5:45 am time is perfect for me. I seriously didn't know what I was getting myself into with this. On Tuesday for the first class, we did push-ups, sit ups, lunges, squats, some sort of bear crawl and another strange thing where we had to be on our hands and feet (not your knees) and push a towel across the basketball court.

At 6:40 am, on my way home to get my kiddos ready for school and myself ready for work, the pain was already setting in. I have sore muscles in places I never realized I had muscles! I would stretch one way and another muscle somewhere else would hurt. If I thought I was hurting on Tuesday, that was nothing compared to what I felt like when I woke up on Wednesday morning. Not only did my legs still hurt, but also my arms, shoulders, neck and back!

I forced myself out of bed and went and walked two miles on the treadmill. By the end of the day at work I decided that I needed a good yoga class. So I went and did that last night. It's a good thing I did, too. I was able to walk almost normally this morning, just in time to get back to the Y for the second class. Today we did dips, push-ups, squats and all sorts of torturous exercises.

I am fine sitting at my desk, but when I go to get up the pain sets in again. I think I am getting better since the more I move the less it hurts, but it's hard to be too active when you sit at a desk all day!

So two classes down, ten more to go. I also have to get in two weight training sessions and one tread mill workout each week, and I don't think I'm going to give up the Yoga either. That class made me feel good.

Gymnastics Class

So I have discovered what is wrong with America. I am sitting outside my daughter's gymnastics class and I think that what is wrong with this country is all right here.

When did we become a country full of adults that thought my kid is going to be the next best...fill in the blank. I just watched a dad with his daughter that couldn't be more than six make her do push ups before her class even started. In the middle of the waiting room. Then there were demands to see her hand-stand, and then yelling at her because when he wanted her to stretch she wasn't keeping her body straight enough. This was a man that looked like he could stand to do a few push ups himself.

This week, like many weeks past, I have witnesses people letting their children run wild in the confines of the waiting room and then getting mad at their behavior. What are these children learning? Not good behavior, that they can push and push until their parent starts yelling, or better yet until they grab then roughly by the are to try, and I mean that loosly, to get them to behave.

Is it easier to parent that way? To push and push and let them push and push? I do know that my children aren't perfect, neither is my parenting for that matter. I do like to think that I have always been able to take them in public and have them behave for the most part. If you let your kids run wild then they will be wild.

Crazy Television

So last night, I was too exhausted to commit myself to any of my favorite Sunday night shows. Thank god for my DVR, I can watch everything when I am less tired!

I was flipping around and came upon a show on TLC, something about "I didn't know I was pregnant!" I was instantly sucked in to this show. It was very entertaining with the high drama re-enactments. It did get me thinking though, how in the heck would you not know you were pregnant? It is completely mind boggling to me.

When I think about my own pregnancy, and the 36 weeks of nausea and throwing up, the laying on my left side, the inability to drink water becasue it tasted like crap, the craving for Root Beer and the inevitable hiccups. How could someone not know they were pregnant?

How can you give birth to a child in the toilet at your work, or in a dirty camp ground bathroom? I just don't get it. All I can say is that it was amazing that all the children seemed to have turned out okay.

I might be more likely to have another baby, not that my two aren't more than enough for me, if I didn't have to feel like I was pregnant!

Poor Little Rocky

So Rocky, my Boston Terrier, and I had our third obedience class tonight. He has taken the entire class with Josh already, this is our second time through.

We worked on walking on lead outside in the parking lot. Rocky did pretty good, we do alot of walk forward and then when Rocky decided to small something or to try to go after something we get to turn around and go the other way. He is a very hard worker, he just gets interested in other things.

We worked on "Come" which Rocky did pretty well with. We ended the class with "Wait". When it was our turn to try we went to stand by the door and I said "Wait" and opened the door a little bit and had it come back when he tried to go out too quickly. I heard the squealing sound and it didn't register at first that it was my Rocky crying because his front paw got stuck in the door. We got him out of it and he didn't want to go on. He just laid down in a ball and was ready to quit. He took a little coaxing but we got out and Jackie, our teacher, checked his paw out and he's fine. He was never big on going through the door to leave, we usually have to drag him out of the room, but tonight it was even worse.

Poor little guy, he's okay though. We have some work to do this week.

The Snow Storm that Wasn't.

So again, in Oklahoma, the local news stations created the usual frenzy that usually comes with the impending huge weather event.

Depending on which TV station you were watching, anywhere from three to six inches of snow was expected here in central Oklahoma. So what happened? The school and business closing for OKC started on Thursday. Businesses closed early on Friday, my husband's closed at three. People made frantic trips to the grocery store, like six inches would keep us unable to do any shopping for days and days.

And what happened? Nothing. Well almost nothing. We got quite a bit of rain on Friday, and it was pretty cold for the end of March but the huge snow storm? Didn't happen. When I woke up on Saturday and looked out the window the grass was dusted with snow, but it was gone after a few hours. Saturday morning brought a few flurries, but again, no real accumulations.

My kids had been looking forward to possibly sledding. But I guess we'll have to wait until next winter for that.