Blogging Again?

There hasn't been much to blog about lately. Occasionally I have a good rant I'd like to get off my chest but then I'm too busy at the time to write or it would be construed as offensive to someone (not offensive in some sort of ugly, vulgar way, you know what I mean.) I will say this, Socialism Shmocialism, and the world has always been good/evil and I don't necessarily think it's any worse now. Remember hearing about that whole Holocaust thing? Anyway, I don't have time for a good rant at the moment. I will say this: I am at my wits end. I worked out for 90 days, six days a week. Felt fine the whole time after the first week. Then I finish and take a few days off. Yes, I started slacking and was down to two or three workouts a week. I have been fighting off injuries left and right since. What's the deal? I was actually excited to start seriously running and I was making progress. A friend of mine is trying to talk me into running a marathon in two years when we hit the big 4-0. I'm not ready to commit because, let's face it, I'd probably be one of those rare cases of death by running induced cardiac arrest. Or at least have to undergo a long series of knee surgeries. I know, there is no cure for hypochondria. But I was considering training for more 5ks and I'd even like to do a 10k, never done that before. But now the foot isn't cooperating, even though I was nice to it and bought pretty new running shoes. And they were more than just a pretty face. So now I need to take it easy on the foot, hope it gets better and take it to a doctor soon if it doesn't. Maybe I should look into this new workout that all the celebrities are raving about (at least acccording to some show on the lastest workouts all the celebrities are raving about that I saw around the new year.) It looks like an upside down bicycle and you pedal with your hands as fast as you can. Then I'd probably have a shoulder injury. Maybe I just need to get some patience. There are some things happening, hopefully. I've already told too many people and I'm afraid I'm going to jinx myself so I'll hold off on talking about that. We are going to Arizona for Spring Break. We weren't sure until just yesterday but it's a go now. Yay! 85 degrees! Seems like it's usually about 95 so it should be just right, or so weather.com says. Arizona is where my mom and stepdad and two sisters and brother and families live. The kids haven't been down to see my family in three years and my mom misses them so that will be nice. There has been a lot of, ehem, drama going on down South lately but it's looking like it will be a good trip regardless of that. While we were there we wanted to go take a tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Taliesin West but it will cost over a hundred bucks to tour for 90 minutes. I was trying to justify it saying, he's a world famous architect, it's like visiting Europe! But Frank and Europe will have to wait. Not in this economy, right? So maybe some nice hikes on South Mountain and Superstition Mountain will suffice. That is if my stupid foot will hold up. Stupid foot!

Things That Have Attacked Me In A Dream

bears
sharks
snakes
dinosaurs
ducks
mutant dogs with long curvy fangs
squirrels
chipmunks
bad guys
Russians
dogs
bear cubs (they didn't actually attack me but where bear cubs are,
momma bears are right behind)
terrorists
more dinosaurs
alligators
spiders
bugs
monsters
aliens
bees

What does it all mean? I never should have read Jurassic Park back in the early '90s....

Happy Tag!

6 Things that make me happy:

1. Great, energetic piano music.
2. Running and getting hyper to great energetic piano music.
3. People who do kind things when I feel I don't deserve it.
4. Being hopeful about the future in hard times. I don't care what you say, Glenn Beck, I'm going to try to prepare for the worst while being hopeful for the future. That's not exactly how I wanted to phrase that but I didn't want to go all PG on you.
5. Having a husband who I have things in common with- being passionate about similar things and finding humor in similar things. Not everything , of course, but enough to make life good.
6. Cute, blond children.

I tag: Ritsumei, Jen, Jenn, Terri, Isabella, and Zoe

...

I love the playroom under the stairs! This is Noah (of course) watching a movie while his sisters watch HSM3 in the family room. He's also slept there for the last three nights. See the secret entrance on the left side that leads from the family room closet. There used to be a window too, on the right, until we finished the bedroom on the other side and covered it up. Isabella and her friends like to set up club HQ in there. It's a good place to go star gazing-glow in the dark stickers on the ceiling. It's been a fun little hangout place for the kids. I tell Isabella and Zoe we should move one of them into Noah's room and this can be his room. He'd probably love it, for a while anyway!

Mommy Tag

1. Typically what time do you wake up? 7 am.
2. On a good night what time are your kids in bed? 9:30.
3. How long have you been a mommy? 11 years.
4. How old were you when you became a mommy? 26. So glad it wasn't any younger!
5. What is your favorite kids tv show/movie? I loved that Kit Kittredge American Girl movie. I've always been a fan of Arthur, even though it's pretty old now.
6. What is your least favorite kids tv show? Teletubbies, some of the tweeny disney shows like that short show between other shows with the high school kids in the hall acting like morons.
7. What is your favorite chore? Favorite chore? Isn't that an oxymoron?
8. What is your favorite meal to cook? Chicken tacos.
9. What is the meal you cook most often? Uh, spagetti?
10. What is your kids' favorite meal? That I cook? Chicken tacos and Crazy Casserole. They also love the kid's stand by: cheese pizza and mac n' cheese.
11. What is your favorite thing your husband does with your kids? He wrestles with them and plays soccer and he's always finding interesting and educational things to show them on the internet. He really is a great dad.
12.What are 5 things that make you smile when you're being a mom? 1. That they all still like to blow kisses to me. 2. Our drawn out bedtime routine that is too long but I will really miss it one day. 3. Scooter adventures with the kids. 4. Giving and receiving hugs and kisses on the cheeks. 5. That they really are good kids!
14. When was the last time you went out without your kids? Valentines Day.
15. What is your favorite pass time/activity to do with your kids? Going on adventures with them in the summer and holiday tradition stuff.
16. Name 1 thing you said you'd never do as a mom: I know I said a million things but it's been too long since I was a kid to remember. I'm old!
17. What is your favorite quality that your mom has? The way she would listen to me gab on and on before bedtime every night as a teenager. Those were good conversations.
18. What is your advice for new moms? Relax. Most of your screw ups won't psychologically damage them. (At least that's what I keep telling myself!)
19. What is the scariest or most heartbreaking moment as a mom? The hurt that they go through growing up, that we all go through, and there is nothing we can do about it as parents but let them get through it and, hopefully, learn and grow from it.
20. What is your most joyful moment of being a mom? Seeing them succeed and overcome their weaknesses.
21. When was the last time you were told 'I Love You' by one of your kids? Today when I dropped Noah off at school.

Pay It Forward!

I commented on a friends blog for a fun surprise- and now it's your turn. Comment on mine and you'll get something fun from me!

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me!

My choice--for you!

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
1. I make NO guarantees that you will LIKE what I make! (I can only hope)
2. What I create will be just for you.
3. It WILL be done this year.
4. You have no CLUE what it’s going to be … it may be cards, a bookmark, something delicious or a complete surprise to you (and me!) … who knows?
5. Most importantly, you MUST offer the same deal on your blog - the first 5 people to comment on your blog get something made by YOU!

Skatin'

So Tuesday we took the kids roller skating. It was Noah's first time roller skating and he pretty much hugged the wall with one hand while holding onto me with the other. Far more successful than last year's trip ice skating. By the end he had improved and was able to let go of the wall and just coast along while I held his hand. The girls were pretty good at it since they have in line skates at home and they've successfully ice skated before. Strangely enough, it seemed like ice skating was easier for them than roller skating was. I was having flashbacks of the early 1990's from seeing all the strobe lights and smelling the men's cologne (Obsession or Polo, do they still make that stuff?) Reminding me of all the dances I used to frequent back in the day. I also learned that when exiting the rink with your six year old holding your hand, one should quickly move out of the exit and the path of people skating out of the rink at 50 mph, knocking you down in seemingly slow motion like a couple of bowling pins.

Just My Opinion

Blogging Don'ts:

Don't put pictures of your kid's poo on your blog. More than once I've seen a picture of a baby's dirty diaper or the remains of a toddler's naptime hijinks posted on a blog for all the world to see. This is brought to you usually by women who would probably never think to put swear words on their blog. But trust me, a picture of your kid's poo is far more profane than any swear word could ever be.

Don't post more than one picture of your baby or toddler eating a meal in his or her high chair with food smeared all over his or her face. Especially if the kid's mouth is open and full of chunks of cheese. I understand that once in a great while it's kind of cute (except for the open mouthed cheese part). Heck, I have a black and white picture of Noah with food on his face in a Blurb book. But in my defense, this was cake on his first birthday and he has this look on his face that says "Who Me?" One picture is okay, but continuing to put this kind of picture on your blog is excessive and, let's face it, just plain gross.

As a disclaimer, this isn't directed towards anyone I know personally. Just some things I've stumbled upon randomly. :)

V-Day

Valentine's Day was pretty great this year. We didn't have time to put together this Gingerbread Christmas Tree kit I got back in December so we decided to make a Valentine's Tree. I think it turned out much better than our annual gingerbread house usually does. Less room for impatience induced mess. So it was a fun FHE activity with the kids. Brent gave me some beautiful pink tulips, my favorite flowers. Brent's mom volunteered to babysit on Valentine's Day (thank you Cathy!) so we got to go on a date. A valentine's date isn't usually a priority around here so that was pretty cool. We went out to dinner and talked about silly stuff and laughed and laughed, having a great time. It was so nice being out together because it has been a really dreadful, depressing post Christmas winter season for me. I always get kind of depressed in January. Christmas is over, weather is dreary, life is kind of boring. Kind of that seasonal affective disorder I guess. Maybe I need to go sit under a lamp every Saturday through the end of winter. Last year I was able to avoid the whole thing because I had "Election Fever". This year that was all over, of course. So I'd go turn of CNN, often a happy place for me, and all I would see is two senators or pundits arguing about the stimulus thing and how it wasn't going to work and how the whole country and world are going to you know where in a hand basket. There was no love there. Not even from Wolf or Anderson. So the date was a great evening away from everything. We ended it going to see the movie He's Just Not That Into You, which was much better than I thought it would be and one of the better chick flicks I've seen in a while. Brent even liked it.

P90 Wrap Up

Well I did it! I finished Power 90. 90 days and about 78 workouts later, how did it all turn out? I lost 3 pounds! Ha ha! I know, three teeny tiny measly pounds. I was only down two pounds four days ago so I really made up ground in the last couple days. I told my friend Jenn about my two pound loss the other day and she laughed at me. It's okay, the intent wasn't malicious or anything. I reeeeally don't care that I only lost three pounds. After all, at Christmas time I was up three over my starting weight when I was confused into thinking the true meaning of Christmas had something to do with caramel filled chocolate kisses. So, in a way I'm down six and I now have the muscle mass of a 35 year old. Nothing to scoff at there. So I feel like I'm in much better shape and I've stoked the furnace. Last night I was even able to demonstrate some pretty awesome choreography to a High School Musical 3 song ("The Boys are Back" or something like that) which ended with rolling under a bed and jumping out the other side. Okay, I didn't actually do the rolling. Had Noah do it for me.

Remember the vegetarian thing? Well I guess we made it through that. We did cheat a few times. Have you ever tried to eat vegetarian at Applebee's? No easy task there. I really didn't discover many new exciting recipes. Mostly, I just modified dishes I already made. So I still need to work on my quest to eat less processed food. My favorite substitute was throwing in Morningstar Farms Crumbles in everything that would have normally required chicken or hamburger. The hamburger subbing part was easy since we don't really eat that anyway. So it was crumbles in tacos, crumbles in lasagna, crumbles in crazy casserole (Brent's family's recipe, which is basically taco salad with Doritos). Throwing cans of beans in various dishes worked great as well. Remember, fiber is our friend. One thing that was good was baked sweet potato fries. Just slice up some sweet potatoes, coat in a little canola oil and salt and bake for about 30 minutes. So, I'd say we are healthier for it. After about four weeks I stopped jonesing for ice cream- it was a trying time for the family. ;) We didn't give up treats altogether (which may explain the three pound loss in 90 days). Moderation baby, that's the key! I figure if you lose the weight very very slowly, you'll keep it off easier anyway. Eventually, you have to go off a diet so the closer it mirrors regular life (meaning eating healthy in general with treats every now and then) the easier it is to maintain. I'm some sort of guru now, I tell ya. So I think we'll still eat vegetarian at least half the time. It was cheaper too I noticed. Not something to ignore in these times of economic uncertainty.

Here's one more recipe. If you like chili and enchiladas you'll like this:

Vegetarian Enchilada Bake

About 15 corn tortillas
4 cans vegetarian chili (Nalley's works well)
1 medium can enchilada sauce
1 can sliced olives
about 1 1/2 cups cheddar cheese

Tear up tortillas. Spray non stick spray on bottom of 9x13 baking dish. Cover bottom of dish with 1/3 of tortillas. Spread 2 cans of chili over tortillas. Spread about 1/3 of enchilada sauce over chili. Repeat layers of 1/3 tortillas, chili and enchilada sauce. Spread the last third of the tortillas, followed by more enchilada sauce. Top with cheese and olives. Bake in 375 preheated oven for about 35 minutes. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, etc. Serve with fruit or whatever. Makes enough for two nights for a family of 5. Actually tastes better warmed up on second night.

How Well Do You Know Your Husband?

These memes are popping up all over facebook. I resisted doing any of them for a while then finally did the "25 random things about me" meme. Almost did it anyway, then I accidentally deleted it before I posted it. So I gave up, decided to stick with putting them on my blog. So here's one:

1. He's sitting in front of the TV, what is on the screen? The Office or Colbert Report or Simpsons.

2. You're out to eat; what kind of dressing does he get on his salad? Ranch, unless it's one of those fruity, nutty salads then whatever vinaigrette comes with it. He loves salads.

3. What's one food he doesn't like? Rare meat.

4. You go out to eat and have a drink. What does he order? Water, sometimes sprite. We've both weaned ourselves off of pop over the last few years.

5. Where did he go to high school? West Jordan High School.

6. What size shoe does he wear? 10.

7. If he was to collect anything, what would it be? He used to collect metal object: keys, nuts and bolts, etc.

8. What is his favorite type of sandwich? Those big fat hamburgers at Carl's Jr. (he very rarely eats them though).

9. What would he eat every day if he could? Well he eats the same lunch every day so I guess PB&J, orange, banana, yogurt with flax seed, carrots, nuts and dried fruit. Or maybe a taco salad.

10. What is his favorite cereal? Cheerios.

11. What would he never wear? A sweater vest.

12. What is his favorite sports team? Isabella, Zoe and Noah's soccer teams. He finds watching sports on tv as boring as I do.
(thank you!)

13. Who did he vote for? Duh, Obama.

14. Who is his best friend? Me, of course. :)

15. What is something you do that he wishes you wouldn't do? Neglect the laundry.

16. What is his heritage? Um, some English, German, etc. He also tried to convince me he was 1/4 black when I first met him. Didn't fall for that one, at least not more than a few seconds.

17. You bake him a cake for his birthday; what kind of cake? Carrot cake, every year.

18. Did he play sports in high school? Soccer.

19. What kind of music does he like? Some alternative, he loves finding new stuff off of the NPR show "All Songs Considered".

20. *Bonus question. How many monitors does he have on his computer? 3!!!