40 and Fabulous

I am turning 40, I know that everyone will eventually turn 40, but I am actually turning 40 in 2009 and I am feeling a little uneasy about it. So, I have decided to make a list of 40 things that I want to do before I turn 40!!! Now this in itself is a little harder than I had anticipated, I can’t necessarily go tour Europe for a month with 5 kids (if you see what I am talking about). So I am trying to come up with 40 things for a mother of 5 kids (all under the age of 8), on a limited budget and also limited time. And I really don’t want to do anything that will get me seriously injured or inflict pain (so the tattooing idea is out).

So, I did what all Americans do when then need some help to a serious question, I turned to “Google” and typed “100 top things to do before you die” or in my case turn 40, and the list that Google felt was appropriate was lame, so I went to my Brother and he had found this list which I thought was much better: (Bolded things I have done)

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon (ran two Half-Marathon does that count?)
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen an eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee.

I think that I may have to modify the list slightly; it does have some serious potential (the other list had “grow a beard”, though my facial hair could come in rather thick if I allowed, I will not grow a beard!!). So with some slight alterations I may come to realize that I have lived a pretty darn good 40 years and not have to do anything next year……

To Be Continued………

Pastor or Pimp Daddy!

My husband is considering changing religion, (no not really) but at the very least taking some advice from a Pastor who seems to have everyone talking (or doing something else).

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/24/us/24sex.html?_r=1&ei=5070&emc=eta1

Broken, Burnt and Stranded

My sweet little Sally has a broken leg, a “fracture” in medical lingo, which by the way took the doctors quite a long time to identify, but in their defense it did take Steve and me 4 days to identify something was wrong. And we still have absolutely no idea how it happened. The month of October has been a complete blur and November made this sound “WOOOSH”. I did manage to run out of gas, having to call my Mother in law to rescue me, then make the dreaded call to my husband to “eat crow” because he had warned and warned of the car not being able to run with out gas. I said, “Oh, you silly man, I have plenty of gas”. I then turned on my stove trying to make dinner and set the cake-save aflame (which I had placed on the stove) with Bailey’s birthday cake in it, which gave it quite a little smoked flavor and completely melted my favorite and only cake save. I have ½ potty trained Sam, he still feels more comfortable pooping in his pants than on the toilet, and peeing on his friends floor, which is absolutely delightful. But all is well, only one broken leg, one fire, one fuel issue and 3 accidents at friend’s houses. I chalk that up to a pretty darn great month!!!! Oh ya, add one bunny killing to that tally. But I still feel pretty darn great!!

Everyone should have a favorite tree, this happens to be my favorite in the Fall; it is so bright, with huge big leaves. I always take some pictures of the tree and this year decided to throw my kids in the mix! Or is it the other way around… It is very difficult to get my kids to stay focused long enough for some pictures, Sam chose this time to poop in his pants so was hiding from me and Sally was happier behind that camera on my lap, but the other three were angels and let me take as many pictures as I wanted. I think that my kids are so darn cute!! My photo skills could use some improvement, but my kids are perfect.

Twilight!!!

Yes, it is this week!! I am so excited, and I am not sure why. I know that it's going to be a little bit of a let down, I have set myself up for that, even the previews seems to deviate from the book too much and that bugs . I have picked up the book and have been rereading highlights and it has gotten me really looking forward to the movie. In fact, dare I say a little giddy!! Edward as well as Mr. Darcie (Deep sigh) and a long list of romantic heartthrobs make me feel this way, my husband included--gentlemen that women only dream of. I know that if Steve were a Vampire he would resist the urge to suck out all my blood, and if my sister had run off with some guy and was going to ruin my good name he would be that guy to save the day. Is it the feelings of forbidden love, the excitement of new love? You know what I am talking about, we all have felt it numerous times in our lives, it is such a great feeling. So my question is, How do we have that feeling more often? This is my new quest!! This will be fun, Steve will not know what hit him!! Just to be clear, I am not searching for new love or forbidden love, I have already found the love of my life, but sometimes the giddyness gets barried beneath a pile of laundry, so my quest is to find the excitment and get giddy at least once a day, I don't know, does that seem like too much? Am I going to get drunk on giddyness? I don't know, we will soon see!! Okay, back to Twilight, if you are not excited about the movie, pick up that book and get bit again with the Edward bug, and if you have never read the book, beg, borrow or check out from your local library and get reading. You have 4 days!!!

Road Rage

I actually got “Road Raged” at today!! Now, I have to admit this is not the first time this has happen to me, I’m not known for my driving skills and I tend to irritate other drivers on the road, who apparently think they should be in the Nascar. But, this happened going out of our neighborhood and I didn’t gun the car when the light turned green. I got the laying on the horn irritation honk!! No, I did not get the nice two short honks that says “Hey the light has turned green”, I got the full on HONK that says “Move your fanny out of my way”. Apparently the two seconds that I hesitated at the light was making him dreadfully late. Then he followed it up by what I like to call “the speed by irritation glance”. It was wonderful and it gave me such a warm fuzzy feeling that I could feel my middle finger screaming at me “Just do it”!!!! I did refrain, but to my surprise and delight we pulled up next to him three lights down the road so instead of flipping him off and making myself look stupid, I made my kids stick their tongues out at him all during the red light. (I got Him)!!! hee hee hee haa haa haa (evil laugh)

So here is my advice for the week, if you are going to road rage have some common sense, make it actually worth the rage, a two second light, not worth it. It really has to be running you off the road type violation to warrant real rage and don’t make the mistake of raging on someone who lives in your neighborhood. This guy made three mistakes, two second light rage, someone in the neighborhood and I went to school with this guy!!! I have to say, he was an a— in school and apparently still is!!

My SIsters!!

I absolutely love my sisters, this was taken in 04 at our favorite vacation spot "McCall". I of course am trying to hide behind everyone so not to ruin the picture. But, I truly have 5 of the most fabulous sisters, they are my support, my phone buddies, my exercise companions, my examples and my best friends. I am hoping to add 2 more to the list soon!!

Thigh Friction

I was walking Lucy to school and the entire way kept hearing a noise that sounded like something was stuck in the stroller tire. I’d stop, check the stroller, nothing. I did this at least 10 times, stop to check the tires, nothing. What is that noise?!! To my utter embarrassment but not my complete surprise, I realized it was my pants rubbing together—“Thigh Friction”. How annoying, is it the way my legs are shaped? Is it the additional fat? Is it the way I walk? I don’t know, probably a combination of all, but whatever the case may be, it is very annoying!! I am annoyed with myself, but also annoyed with all those people out there who don’t seem to have the same problem. I have seen people running, who have bigger thighs than me, yet are wearing the short shorts!! Are they running bowlegged? Do they go through a jar of Vaseline? Do they occasionally do the wide leg, short yank? I do not get it, whenever I try and run with short shorts, within 10 steps my shorts are up so far it’s like a belt!! And I think I may even be making a slight cricket sound. My husband seems to think that it is a sizing issue – Umm, I’ not sure what that even means, does he mean my shorts or my legs? not that it really even matters anyway because it is so darn cold I would not be wearing shorty shorts, but that gives me a couple of months to solve this mystery of the “Thigh Friction”. In the mean time I am going to stray away from purchasing any corduroy or parachute pants that seem to cause the most noise.

Daddy's Girl

I am totally a daddy’s girl, and lets be honest, I am a mommy’s girls as well. But nothing melts my heart more than seeing my kids with my dad. And can I tell you, my parents spend plenty of time with my kids and they always have magical, wonderful things to do. Whether it is finding snails in the back yard, digging up worms, picking apples for the bunnies, gathering acorns, playing in the playhouse, taking walks to the creek, reading fun books, you name it and the adventures are endless.

Our Newport Coast trip is definitely one of our favorite adventures we get to spend with my parents. We enjoy going to Disneyland, to the beach, riding the fairy, going to the swap meet, shopping at Fashion Island, and of course laying by the pool. I absolutely love everything about this trip, other than I think it needs to be longer. When I say “laying by the pool” I use that term lightly, our kids do not let us sit for long, but luckily that is when Grandma and Grandpa come to the rescue. My dad spends hours playing ping pong with Sam, and my mom holds Sally or sits with her when she is asleep, and they go on ride after ride with the kids at Disneyland. We are all on the go from sun up to sun down, in fact it does take me about a week to recoup from the vacation, but it is worth it.

This is Sally having a tantrum at the beach, I do the same thing when we have to leave, but it does not look this cute!

I'm Feeling Good!!

I received this email this morning from a friend and "belly laughed" until I almost wet my pants!! I think this may be the answer that I have been searching for!! "No more guilt" Thank you Jackie (and Dr. Phil) you are my hero. I am currently going to have to do some shopping, and then follow Dr. Phil's advice and I will let you know how it goes. I soon will have my inner peace.

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works, and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed, 'The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and have never finished.'So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn't finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off a bottle of Crown Whisky, a bottle of Bailey's Irish Cream, a package of Oreos, the remainder of an old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, a bag Doritos, and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel right now.Pass this on to those whom you think might be in need of inner peace.

I should be doing Laundry

I have a serious problem, as I am sure many other women do…The Guilt. Whenever I sit down to do anything, I can think of at least one million other things that I should be doing, one of which is always Laundry!!! Laundry is never ending at my house, and the thing that really peeves me off, is when my kids throw CLEAN clothes in to be washed (as if I do not have enough dirty, hey, lets rewash all the clean stuff, too). So here I sit, feeling guilty because I should be doing laundry, cleaning a bathroom, mopping the floor, grinding wheat into flour to make home made bread, you know, something of that nature. So how do I rid myself of some of the endless guilt that plagues my life? I have tried many methods, my latest; I like to call it “Living in Denial”. “That Bathroom is not that dirty” “This shirt can be reworn” “Those aren’t that wrinkly”. It is a temporary fix, I know, but it is working for me (kinda). The only time I do not have guilt over one thing or another, is when we are on vacation and I can just focus on family, well, we all know you can’t vacation all the time. So anyway, I got to go, I am hand weaving a basket, and brandishing a small blanket out of real rabbit fur, while boondoggling key chains for neighborhood Christmas gifts, oh yeah, and laundry….Anyone living the guilt free life, let me in on your secret.!

No Testicles

I am a little sad to announce that the Vet found no testicles on any of our bunnies. Which everyone knows what that means, except for my 5 year old daughter who was standing with me and was arguing with the Vet with a confused look on her face saying “Peanut keeps jumping on the other bunnies. He is going to get them pregnant,” and looking at me with that question in her eyes, “What is a testicle?” and “What is this loon of a man talking about?”

The Vet was an extremely nice man. I was just regretting the fact that I brought my 3 year old and 5 year old kids because he kept using the word “Testicles”, “I can’t find any testicles”, The testicles will enlarge with age”, “Sometimes the testicles will hide”. So if you hear my kids using the word “testicles” they did not hear it from me, and I am not ready to teach that lesson yet. (When I do teach that lesson, I am not using the word testicles!!)

But aside from the testicle trauma this morning, we have so enjoyed the bunnies so much and have been sad and happy to see them go to different homes. Steve still thinks that we have one left to give away, but that is still under debate.

Bunnies Bunnies and more Bunnies!!!!

Favorite Vacation Spot!!!

Another unbelievable vacation to one of our favorite vacation spots, McCall. I probably took 500 pictures so here are a few to recap the week.

Trek

Oh, my goodness, that was so much fun. Steve and I had such a great experience on trek that if they asked us to do it again next week, we would jump on board! We have never camped very much. Steve didn’t camp much growing up, and I did with my family, but my dad did everything while I kicked it by the fire. So all around this was an adventure—lighting the lantern and the Coleman stove were probably our biggest challenges. But we really did come home with a better respect and love for the pioneers and for the kids that were in our family.

I won’t get into too much detail, or I will get all sappy and teary-eyed, but also seeing the entire neighborhood around every corner with smiles and hugs made my heart swell with pride that we live in such a great community. One of my favorite parts was being able to say stuff like “Honey, have you seen my bonnet?” “Don’t get hit with the handcart” “Watch out for that sage brush” “Honey, have you fastened the shelter correctly?” “That cow has big udders.” When do you ever get to say stuff like that, unless you’re Amish? It was great!

Mamma Mia!

Grab your girlfriends and run, walk, ride, scoot or crawl as fast as you can to this show!! It was awesome, I laughed, I cried, I giggled, I sang, I clapped out loud and actually screamed at one point. Now, I have to tell you that I have been feeling a little nostalgic because my 20 year reunion coming up and getting in contact with some old friends has been really fun. So this show and the great music took me back to so many memories. My parents were always playing ABBA; I don’t think there is a song I don’t know by heart. But also the girlfriend goofiness’ brought back so many memories, how many times I would laugh so hard almost peeing my pants!!!
I have seen the play, and I actually liked this better, but my sister in-law went with some friends and they were truly upset feeling like the movie mocked the play, and do you know what I say to that!! PULL THAT STICK OUT OF YOUR BACK SIDE!! and relax! How can you go wrong with a show that has romance, silliness’, humor, dancing, and songs that are classics that make you want to get up and dance? I really did have a good “belly laugh” and that is always required on girl’s night out and I think that Jodi almost did pee her pants (which is also a good belly laugh)!!
So my advice for the week (which is always good advice), get up and dance even if you don’t got the moves, make up some moves and by damn get some hip actions into it, sing loud, whenever and wherever you are, who cares if you don’t know the words, make up your own words, they are probably better than the original. (For the longest time I thought it was “do the funky lady” but it was “Dude looks like a lady”) I like mine better.

SPUDMAN!!!

Wow what can I say, that was a good time!!! Dare I say GREAT time! Well, after completely having a freakout the day before and becoming so nervous that I was snapping at everyone, giggling hystrically, crying, panicking, and then the calm of denial sank in and everything seemed fine. Then, of course, the whole process started over again, snapping, giggling, crying panicking etc—you get the idea! But I ended up having so much fun, the swim was great, the hardest part of that was getting out of the wet suit, I looked similar to a sick animal shedding skin that does not want to come off, convulsing, dislocating body parts, that kind of thing.


But as soon as that thing was off, I was off with a smile on my face. I met a lot of nice people who were very encouraging as they passed, and I had great cheerleaders at every station. My sister and two brother in-laws came to support us all (me, Steve, my sister and little brother) and it made all the difference having some people there cheering us on. I wish I had that for my everyday tasks “Great job changing that diaper” “Way to go on that laundry” “Wow that shirt looks white” “your doing a great job cleaning that toilet”, little cheers when you change to a new chore, that would be great!!

I will definitely sign up for the Spudman next year, and I am currently considering the Bear Lake Brawl Triathlon. And as far as the bike, as I said, I loved the entire triathlon and did not heave my bike off a cliff (it wasn’t my bike) and am currently in the market for a bike and a sassy biker shirt!!

Total time 3 hours 3 minutes and blah blah blah seconds!! I am aiming for under 3 next year.

20 Year Reunion

My 20th year reunion is coming up in a week (wow that went by fast) but it has really made me think back on people and friends that I have not seen in a long time. How they are doing, what they are doing. I recently have hooked back up with my best friend in high school Kathy here are pictures of both of us,

apparently I am blocking the sun, I was really into perms and Kathy evidently was really into layers. The 80’s, what a fashion statement, I had a date ask me if my hair needed help into the car, that was how big my hair was!! And I guess in the 80’s there was no face powder, because I am really shinny. Well, 20 years has gone by and I am no cooler now than I was then, I am currently 40 lbs overweight, I am breaking out like a 14 year old boy, and oh yes, I have a cold sore that looks like someone has punched me in the lip, I have currently developed a nervous twitch in my right eye and do to “The fall” I am limping slightly on my left knee, all I need is a hunch back to make the ansombal complete. But all in all I am looking forward to seeing some good friends, belly laughing until I snort, talking about the crazy stuff we would do, and for a moment remembering what is was like to have not a care in the world and not a one responsibility other than to have fun, and then running to my car and driving as fast as I can back to my “whole world” my kids. Be careful if you blink, your kids will be attending their 20th year reunion, time has a way of tricking us and leaving us with only scattered memories..

Bear Lake and THE BIG YELLOW TUBE

If you are ever feeling down and out all you need is a good ride on the yellow tube! I am a firm believer in “Just Add Water” for many things, a good smoothie, a great pancake mix, and of course, kids, just add water and the fun is endless. But if you throw in the YELLOW TUBE, you are in for a guaranteed good time. Put on a life jacket, get two buddies and jump on, this ride consists of being hurled through air and water at top speeds, while bouncing uncontrollable over waves that have been special made to give you air!! All the while laughing and giggling like school girls, holding on for dear life, you are having so much fun but you also have the added element of terror. My two buddies happened to be Steve and Brent and when I say giggled like school girls, I was referring to them, I have never in my life seen two grown men laugh and giggle so hard over being bounced and thrown wildly around, but again these are the effects of the YELLOW TUBE. So if your husband is a stick in the mud (which mine is not) get him on the YELLOW TUBE.

Well, add that with a great family, and you are defiantly in for a great time, I was sad that this was probably our last bear lake trip this year, we have such a great time on the beach, in the water, on the boats and just hanging out together. Thanks Dad & Mom for putting up with all 8 of us, our kids and our kid like spouses.

Traithlon Training Con't

Biking

I fell, and really that is stating it nicely. When I say I fell, I mean that I fell as if someone had dropped me off the roof of a house and apparently I must have thrashed like a fish in the process because there is not one inch of my body that doesn’t hurt and have a bruise from the incident. But luckily I had time in the falling process to angle my knee precisely to slam it directly into the asphalt, absorbing the majority of the impact and inflicting maximum pain and bruising while simultaneously taking my other leg and scraping it against the bike pedal, leaving six scrape-bruises (that’s what I like to call them), bleeding and sore, all the while whimpering like a baby and cursing like a sailor.

I did get up, peel the bike off my battered body, get back on the bike, and proceed to fall immediately off, having just enough time to stick out my hand and hip to take the impact the second time, leaving those few remaining body parts that were unharmed from the first fall now pained, bruised and bleeding!!! Hey, I have an idea, let’s invent something that can go 30-plus miles per hour, let’s make the seat so uncomfortable that people have to wear tight pants with a pad in them so it feels like they are wearing a diaper, let’s make the tires so skinny that when they ride over a crack in the road there is the added danger of the tire getting wedged, hey, then let’s change the pedals so they have to wear shoes so they are clipped onto the death trap and CAN”T GET OFF. Stupid people, stupid me. As soon as this triathlon is over I am heaving the bike off a cliff.

PS Still not loving the biking!!

The Contest

Well do to some extreme exhaustion I slipped into a slight coma state last night, therefore losing my position in the contest. But I am going to proceed as planned and hope that Kim was unable to locate a tent that she was looking for and that Matt gets called out of town, gets some extreme fatigue, or that Dave finally breaks and goes to Lorena’s for a smothered burrito. If something miraculous does not happen, there is no way that I am going to win, which is ok, it has been a fun event. In spite of my best efforts I did not get the lawn furniture that I wanted, but did negotiate for “some” lawn furniture, But I have to say the POWER!!! It is amazing AHHH HEEE HEEEE (that is my evil laugh).

My friend Becky was never in the contest, she gave up after the first day, (which I have to say, she better try harder next time, because I can not crack Kim and Jodi by myself, she needs to put in a little more effort.) I have another contest starting when this one ends that will prove to be the POWER winner of all time, we will see how that one plays out. (or if the POWER thing is really just in my head to make me feel better about having absolutely no control what so ever). We shall see! AHH HEE HEEE HEEE (Evil laugh again)

Thin Lizzie

Thin Lizzie—this is the name of the torture that I received on Tuesday during my training session. “Thin Lizzie” was a BRUTAL workout, this was definitely one of the hardest workouts yet!! It consisted of step back overhead lunges, a crunch ball roller thingy, and the worst of all, the bear crawl overhead push press, which is when I started whimpering like a baby. It is never a pretty site, but I do believe I looked as if I had been dragged to the depths of hell. It felt that way as well, as all my muscles were burning and shaking on the verge of uncontrollable spasms, and I was sweating profusely, hoping that she will be merciful, but she is not. I picture hell to be the same.

Kathy said that this is working my “CORE”, I think that she may have forgotten that my core is similar to a jello mass, so working something that doesn’t exsist is really hard and makes me want to cry! I do feel that I am getting stronger, but she knows and so she puts on more weight or makes me do it faster or more reps so it always will be painful (I picture hell to be the same).

Despite all my complaining, when I am done and crawling to my car, I am grateful that she is my trainer and that she pushes me harder than I would ever push myself. My weight training before Kathy consisted of hauling kids around, doing laundry, pushing the stroller, etc. Now I can do these things without breaking a sweat. And I will do the “Thin Lizzie” again and again if I can look like Liz when I am done. If you want to see and try the whole workout, go to www.fitzoneradio.com and go to the fastloss workouts, then Thin Lizzie. Let me know what you think (or if I am just being a wimp!).

Triathlon Training

Biking

I have been taking spin classes for quite a long time. I love spinning, and I feel rather confident in the class, doing the jumps, hills, sprints, etc. without a problem, and while I am in the class I can visualize myself actually out on the road doing similar things. When I run I see packs of bikers riding very fast all in unison, like they are almost connected to each other and know each others moves.

I envisioned my biking experience to be similar to what I had seen and experienced in the spin classes. To start out, I do not have the proper biking outfit, which is fine, and I don’t have a helmet yet, so I had to use Bailey’s, which was a little snug and made me look ridiculous, not that I need much help with that. The first three miles were completely downhill and there was smoke coming off my brakes, because I did not want to go too fast, and all the while my husband was yelling at me to “STOP RIDING YOUR BRAKES”, “PEDAL”, “SHIFT INTO ANOTHER GEAR”, “YOUR GEARS ARE BY YOUR HANDS”, “WHAT ARE YOU DOING”, “GET OUT OF THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD”, “YOU HAVE GOT TO GO FASTER”, “STOP”, “STOP”, “PULL INTO THAT PARKING LOT”, “SHIFT”, USE YOUR BRAKE NOW”, “STOP DOING THAT”.

In my mind I had a few choice things that I was yelling at him as well, but could not vocalize them for fear of falling off the bike. Well, to summarize, there are a lot more dangers out on the open road than in a spin class, little rocks, cars, cracks in the road, pot holes, bugs, all of which could send you head over heels, sprawled on the asphalt with my daughter’s pink helmet protecting only a small portion of my head, and my husband shaking his head in embarrassment. So, needless to say, I am going to require a little more practice on the bike.

Fathers Day Food

The old saying is that a way to a mans heart is through his stomach, I believe that is the second way! But,I have been thinking of what to do for Fathers day, our church is painfully early (8:30) and we are usually shoving fishy crackers down our kids as we race out the door, screaming and yelling at each other and the kids, becuase we can never seem to get up in enough time to find shoes and comb hair let alone have a nice breakfast. So here is my solution for Fathers day, two recipes that I know Steve loves and I can do the night before, pop in the oven in the morning and voila, a grab and run breakfast that does not even require utinsels

Hawaiin Meatballs

Hawaiian Meatballs

1 can crushed pineapple
¼ Cup Brown Sugar
1 Table Vinegar
1 Tablespoons Soy Sauce 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Combine ingredients in a bowl and pour over cooked meatballs in your pan, simmer until sauce thickens and is hot. Serve with rice or noodles
You can use the Costco meatballs or make your own, I have done both and they taste about the same.

Premier Cheesecake Bars! Yunmmy

Premier Cheesecake Cranberry Bars

1 cups flour
1 ½ cups quick cooking oat
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter softened
1 pkg 12 oz white choc chips
1 pkg 8 oz cream cheese
1 can 14 oz Sweetened Condensed milk
¼ cup lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
1 can 16 oz whole berry cranberry sauce
1 tablespoons corn starch

Combine first four ingredients until crumbly, stir in white choc chips. Reserve 2 ½ cups of mixture for the top and press the remaining into a greased 9 x 13 baking pan.

Beat the cream cheese until creamy, add sweetened milk, lemon juice and vanilla mix until creamy. Pour over crust. Combine cranberries and cornstarch and spoon over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle with the remaining crumble white choc. mixture and bake at 350 for 35 to 40 min. Refrigerate until serving.

1/2 Marathon Junky

As you all know Steve and I ran the Ogden ½ Marathon on Saturday! I carried our camera to document some of the highlights of the run but upon completion and returning home our camera is out of commission still holding the pictures safely inside. (I hope) So you will have to use your imagination. I talked Kris and Emili into running with me because I hate running by myself and in the first five seconds of the race they both left me in the dust, so I turned to my only other companion, the ipod, only to discover that it had locked up and refused to play any of my music that I had so carefully selected for the run. So the first stretch, which happened to be uphill, was a little more painful than I had hoped.

But the aid stations every two miles were awesome—it was almost like a 13 mile buffet, there was fruit, gum, drinks (I could have used something a little stronger), cinnamon bears, taffy, granola bars, wow!. I was afraid to eat too much, for fear I would be stuck in the port a potty for 20 min. so I began stockpiling stuff in my fanny pack. I did at one point try to eat a gummy bear and almost died on the trail. The little sucker slipped back into my throat so I was coughing and sputtering for a good ¼ mile!! My time ended up being 2 hours and 21 min. Steve did great, coming in at 1 hr 42 min, and being the sweet husband that he is came back to find me and ran the last mile with me, right when I really needed someone. I was starting to use profanity and wondering why in the H _ _ _ I would every run 13 miles, when we finally crossed the finish line, and I felt great. I will run the Ogden ½ again. I loved it not only because of the great food but because running 13 miles gives you such a high. That is my 3rd ½ marathon and I hope to run at least 20 more!!!

SHOE HEAVEN!!

Me, Lucy, and Sally went shopping at DSW, the new shoe store in Layton. Now for those of you who have not been into DSW let me explain my experience. I walked into the store and was immediately transported to a different place which I like to call “Shoe Heaven”—angels started singing sweet music, the sweet smell of leather filled my nose, rows and rows of shoes as far as the eyes could see. I began walking the aisles, talking to myself to take it slow, wanting the girly girl shoes, but knowing with 5 kids that was not really practical, so then deciding to get a pair of practical shoes and maybe two pairs of girly girl shoes, all the while picturing myself in the girly girl shoes chasing a kid and possible breaking a limb, but who cared I was in shoe heaven. Just seeing the names like “Steve Madden” “Two Lips” and “Mootsie Tootsie” sent shivers down my spine, I had almost made my selections and was headed to the counter when something entered my head “Do you really need those shoes”; “are these in the budget this month” It was my HUSBAND!!!! I think he must have a sixth sense about when I am to spend money and sends me mind messages, who let him in shoe HEAVEN!! Well I left with NO practical shoes and No girly shoes! But if you are looking for some sassy new shoes, then I would recommend DSW (Shoe Heaven) (Just wear headphones). Lovs

Just a Start!!

You may be wondering why in the world I would put a picture of myself in a swimsuit on my blog!! I am asking myself the same question, and I can only claim temporary insanity!! But moving on, I do not know much about blogs but I do know that if I continue to blog than the picture of me in a swimsuit will gradually move down the page and will no longer be the first thing you see when coming to my blog, which will be a positive for everyone. Here is another lovely picture, just to help with the progress in moving the swimsuit picture down! Lovs!

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