2014 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I love new years because it is a chance to start over and try to do better in all that you do, or choose to do. My usual goals are to lose weight, make more lunches for my hubs, do better at my church duties.

Here are a list of my goals for this year:

1. Weight loss/Staying Healthy-
This year is different. I can't lose weight because I am pregnant. My goal with that is to not gain too much. I am already doing pretty well in that department. I am still 4-5 pounds under what I started this pregnancy at, which is a pretty good feeling. I am not doing it on purpose. If I am hungry than I eat. But this pregnancy, I am still exercising, a lot more than I was with the first. I feel fuller sooner too. So I am not eating as much as I used to.

Also, I am eating better foods in general. I have indulged, I love my desserts, but again I can't eat too much without feeling icky and sick. So I think that is a good thing for me. I get little tastes not the whole cake! Also once the baby is born my goal is to try and stay healthy, and let my body and the baby do the work in the weight loss dept with the breast feeding. Hoping that this time the breast feeding will help me shed some of the baby weight I put on.

2. Exercise-
I plan on exercising as long as I can before baby. I already know my cutoff for the gym though which will be May 1 so that it is a full month instead of a partial month payment. I plan on running as long as I can too. I will not be running long distances at the end of the pregnancy, but if I can continue to do 1-2 slow, slow, slower miles than that would be nice. But if not, than a nice walk would be great too. I plan on doing yoga up until I have the baby. I will probably fork out a day price to go to the yoga class because I think it will help me in the end more than it does now.

After baby I plan on starting to run again in August. I am giving myself the full 2 months to rest and recover after baby. It could be a little longer depending when the baby arrives in May but Aug 1 I will be in the gym. I also plan on running/walking in the Women's 4 miler that is at the end of Aug/early Sept. It is such a great race I don't want to miss it. Then it is getting back into training and such. Still debating if I can pull off running a 1/2 marathon in November or not. We will see how I am feeling after baby. But that is in the plans for me!

3. Blog pageviews-
I really love writing in this blog. It is personal, it is real and it is fun. I love hearing my friends read it. I would love for all of your friends to read it too. I would love to get double the number of monthly page views by the end of the year. I know that it is just me, but I also know that a year ago, I was looking for other blogs out there to help inspire me to get off my duff and get moving and I hope to do the same for someone else! Through Heather's looking Glass, Healthy Heddleston and This Runners Trials are the 3 blogs that I visit all the time and helped me keep on moving. I am inspired by their stories and adventures!

4. Be a Better Mother-
Yes that is true. I am still learning how to be a mom and there are things that I am lacking in and things that are pretty good. I need/want to be better at reading with my son. Sitting down with him explaining things. Make him put the puzzles together without my help. It is so easy for me to just do things for him. He needs to learn on his own and I really struggle with having him figure it out on his own, cause it is just easier for me to do it for him. On top of that I have to learn how to be a mom to 2 kids. I am scared for this. I am scared about the whole juggling thing. I just hope and pray that my kids are patient with me as I learn how to be a mom to both. As my husband says, take it one day at a time.

5. Continue to grow my piano studio-
I love teaching. I love my students. It is sad that I am having a hard time finding students in my area. By the end of the year I hope to have a steady solid 10 students with a possible wait list. I can only fit 10 in my schedule with the hubs and 10 is plenty to have when I am also a full time stay at home mom. Teaching is just amazing though. I love being able to pass on the love of music to our next generation.

So there you have it! My goals. If I think of any more I will write them out, but I have spent all day thinking about them and this is what I have right now. Also on a cool note, this is my 100th post! Such a small number but still I have done 100 posts in the last 4 months! Pretty neat!

QOTD: Did you make new goals this year or keep some of the old ones?

2013: A Year In Review

This past year has been an interesting one to say the least. My aunt says that the calendar should take a hint from hotels and omit the 13th year. It just doesn't always go right. At least my 2013 is ending on a high note!

My year began with the common, I MUST LOSE WEIGHT, mantra that all new years for most women contain. I worked with my doctor on a natural but very reduced caloric diet intake while taking medicine to help aid in the weight loss. I did lose the weight but SURPRISE, we got pregnant in March, found out April 1. Then all heck broke loose. Things weren't going well. Not even from the start. Matt was out of town the whole time I was pregnant. I had to go to the doc every couple of days for blood work and check-ups. Stress upon stress built! As did my waist line as I had many celebration and sympathy ice cream outings. All the weight I had lost at the beginning of the year was back, and it put me back at my weight from the 1st time I really lost a ton of weight back in 2010-2011.

May rolls around along with my miscarriage and the next day the arrival of Mother's Day and my husband who was hauling butt driving cross country to be with me, after his military training was done. I was in the dumps. I had low self confidence. My faith in Heavenly Father was altered. I thought for sure that it was our miracle. But nope miscarriage #2 in a row. And I had gained 15 lbs quickly and felt bad in that arena. I talked with some friends who told us about a great gym that provides day care, 2.5 hours worth a day. Membership was steeper than we like but the day care provided was the sweet note! So I enrolled in THE BIGGEST GYM I have ever been in. It has everything. Classes, track, weights, cardio, spa the works! I love it.

And I wanted/needed to get back into running. So I signed up for my first 5k. No more excuses. That was my new mantra! I put running races off for years. I thought I was too fat. Too slow. I don't have the running body type. But I have learned, it doesn't matter what you look like, or how slow you go. It is that you finish! Every time I cross that finish line, I cry because I am doing something I never thought I could do. And I don't care if I am the last one to cross. I am honored to cross that line!

I trained with amazing ladies for the women's 4 miler race! Made new friends, kept old ones from prior races. Fell in love with running again. Then BAM! SURPRISE, really, really surprise, cause we weren't "trying". PREGNANT AGAIN! But this time it sticks. My mantra, no excuses stuck in my mind. If the pregnancy is meant to be than I can still run. No excuse to stop running just cause I am pregnant. So run I did, and have! I have run in 5 races this year. 2 5k's, 1 4 miler, 1 10k, and 1 8k. I feel great about myself!

So now the end of the year, I am 20 weeks pregnant, almost 21 weeks. Still running. Still taking care of myself. And so happy with where this year has brought me. I am glad the year is over though, cause it was a rocky first half of the year but hey I survived. Now on to 2014 Where we will meet our new child, I will run more races and learn to run faster and better! I am so happy!

Merry And Bright!

Sorry about yesterday folks! It has been hard few days around here. Kid was/is sick, now I'm sick oh and Daddy is sick too, but I still sent him to work. It is so hard having a 2 year old be sick. He doesn't understand what is going on with him or why I have to give him medicine or why we have to hold an inhaler to his mouth. We ended up going to the Doc office on Monday for Mason. He has a pretty serious cold. He was wheezing all weekend and took him in and he had to do this steam medicine for 10 minutes. WORST 10 MINUTES! I had to hold him down and just deal with the screaming, bitting, scratching, and kicking.

Now I have been knocked down with this thing he has and I can't take a darn thing for it. Having a bad cold and no remedy really stinks! So yesterday I was dealing with him while I was sick. What I don't understand is that when I was pregnant with Mace, I never got sick. Not once. This kid the entire month of December I have been sick. ARGH!

Anyhew, on to Christmas. Matt and I were asked by Santa's elves to finish assembling a wonderful gift for the goomer! We spend 2 nights putting it together and Christmas Eve we finished super gluing all the pieces down. You will see in a bit what it is!

We started with these yummy cinnamon rolls for the morning breakfast, but it ended up being more midmorning before we ate them because they took a little longer than I thought they would. I used Paula Deen's recipe and they were really good. I ended up giving most away to the neighbors for Christmas! It was my first time making homemade cinnamon rolls, ever. So I think I did pretty well!

Mason took a little bit to wake up and not freak out about the gifts under the tree. He didn't want anything to do with opening the gifts until about 10 or so. Some were even later so we just listened to what he wanted. But it definitely wasn't the picture perfect Christmas morning we all think about with children. He cried when he woke up, cried coming down the stairs, threw a wrapped gift we were trying to get him to open and just cried. Like I said around 10 though he started to calm down enough and unwrap some gifts, including some cars which he loved.

The big surprise was in the basement though and once he opened up that sucker he was hooked! HE LOVES his new Cars Land table. We glued the track down completely so that it stayed a track. We know our son and it would have been destroyed in 5 seconds had we not. BEST DECISION EVER! If the super glue ever fails, then we will screw down the pieces but we wanted to start simple with the glue and it seems to be working after 2 full days of playing on it. The rest of the day we just hung out and played, watched TV. Let Mason rest, I rested. Oh I did make my mom's beef stroganoff for lunch and IT HIT THE SPOT! It was so yummy. My husband doesn't like it, and continued to eat the tamales we got for our Christmas Eve dinner. But after the drama of gifts were done we just hung out as a family watching Christmas movies and playing with Mason's new table!

 ~Daddy and Mason working on mommy's fav Christmas Drink.~

Merry Christmas Everyone!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas day today! We had fun here, there was plenty of screaming, sniffling and coughing going on in the house. But we survived and by the end of the day, with the help of medication to the kid, we were all happy and cuddly. I will post more tomorrow about our adventurous day today!

Busy Being Mommy

The last couple of days have been something to say the least! I didn't drink enough water after my long run on Saturday and on Sunday I was dehydrated. I had a hard time eating and drinking and if it got worse I might have had to go in to see the ER. But I worked through it and I am much better now. I have learned my lesson. MORE WATER!

Also the kid has been sick too. That kind of took precedent over my sickness too. He slept in bed with me and was my little minion with a fart gun in my face all night! (see Despicable Me 2 if you don't know what I am talking about!) Went to the doctor today and he is on an inhaler until the cough clears and another medication for his cough/mucus. No ear infections though! THAT IS GOOD NEWS! Thankfully he has his appetite back, he just put 2 handfuls of Chic-fil-a fries on my lap for me to hold him. YUMMO! Anyhew today I have been just busy being a mommy. Taking care of my sick body and my sick son! I will get back to posting tomorrow though for your reading pleasure! Thanks for sticking around!

Food OVERLOAD!

Not only did I make 8 dozen cookies this past weekend, I also signed up to take some cookies to a church function tonight, which means more baking. Then I got a call from the hubs yesterday that he is supposed to bring something to a potluck today. I got the call yesterday afternoon. He has known about this party for over a week and I get the call the day before!

I told him, I bet this is what it feels like when a 10 year old comes up to his mom and says, "mom I have a project due tomorrow. Can you help me make it?" A mom would internally scream, takes a deep breath and calmly asks her kid, " how long have you known about this project?" "3 weeks." ARGH! I know this will happen to us at some point, and more than once. But it just goes to show that my hubby is a big kid! Anyhew, I am making my grandma's marshmallow fruit cocktail (see below for recipe if you want to try it, but my Grandma made it and it is really yummy!) for him to take to work and the cookies for tonight, I am making this easy fudge.

(source of photo)

Tuesday while on the on the treadmill running the Pioneer Women came on the food network and she made Quick and Easy Peppermint Fudge. It looked totally too easy! Just chocolate, sweetened condensed milk and peppermint candies for the topping. That's it! Not sure how it will turn out but 3 ingredients and 2 of them I already have on hand, can't beat that! (Also, I am going to add some chopped walnuts to it. YUMMY!)

Now, time to plan our Christmas meal. What should we do? Oh and yesterday I found out that my mom reads my blog! HI MOM!!! She was asking me questions about the hidden gifts in the house growing up.

Marshmallow Fruit Cocktail: 

2 cans Fruit Cocktail
1 can pineapple triangles
1 can mandarine oranges
1 can maraschino cherries
1 cup shredded coconut
1 c of "tiny" marshmallows
16 oz sour cream
12 tablespoons sugar

Mix together and let set in fridge for a couple hours before serving.

QOTD: Do you do too much cooking/baking around the holiday?

Christmas like a Kid!

I love Christmas. It is my favorite holiday of them all! I remember as a little girl sneaking out of my room and taking a peak at all the gifts under the tree and silently walking back to my room before anyone knew what I did, especially Santa. Didn't want to upset the big guy! I know one year I went out, then after I got back in my room, I heard my brother do the same exact thing. Then at some awful hour in the morning, I would sneak into my brothers room and ask when we should go wake up Mom and Dad, who specifically told us not to bother them until at least 7am. At 7am on the dot we would pounce on them in their bed and ask to open our gifts!!!

As I got older the fun thing was trying to find the hidden gifts in the house. My parents only had a few places that they could hid the gifts, but we found them most of the time. On top of my dad's dresser, in the top of my mom closet, or the back of her filing cabinet. One year they were piled high in the trunk of the car. Another year they were in the attic. Yep we found most of them. Or would shake the ones under the tree trying to figure out what was in it.

How as big kids now can we experience the same excitement about Christmas. This year I feel rushed to get everything sent out. I haven't figured out what I was going to do for Matt.  (actually I did but he spied it and got it last night!) Now to figure something else out. My gifts for me are on their way, and I picked them out. Also this year, Matt and I will be up until all hours of the night on Christmas Eve assembling Mason's HUGE gift from Gma and Gpa. I still plan on having a surprise for Matt, (yes dear you will be surprised by something!) I also can't wait to see Mason's face when he see his awesome gift in the basement! It has to do with Cars, Disney Cars. I will post plenty of pix of him with it on Christmas, have no fear about that!

Try to surprise your significant other. Get them something special that they won't be expecting but will love. See the joy in others around you and in your children on Christmas morning. Not is as sweet and pure as a Child's joy of the magic of Christmas. Take time to spend as a family. Go on a walk or just play more than usual. I still want to make a special meal for us, even if it is just the 3 of us. I will miss not being with extended family but I look forward to making new traditions!

Good Eats- Holiday Treats

Tonight I was schedule to go to a cookie exchange but sadly I am still not feeling 100% and don't want to bake my germs into the cookies or scare the other ladies away with my lovely cough! Ahem. 

I thought I would share with you what I would have brought tonight just for fun. We were asked to bring an appetizer so naturally I wanted to bring pumpkin pie. (plus I would have had to make 2, one for the party and one for the hubs. IT IS HIS FAV!) It counts as an appetizer right??? And the cookies, well let's just say there is a yummy little kick with them. They are super easy to make too. Delicious too!

Both recipes are from Pilsbury, go figure. Now keep in mind these are Holiday Treats. Eat them in moderation because they are in no way healthy foods so eat with caution because the cookies, well, it is hard to have just one! 

Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Pie

A crunchy oat topping complements every bite of creamy pumpkin pie. Refrigerated pie crust makes it super easy! (but I make homemade because it is just more fun!)

8 servings

Crust

 1 box Pillsbury® refrigerated pie crusts, softened as directed on box

I use this recipe by Ina Garten for my perfect pie crust! 

Filling

1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (no pumpkin pie mix)

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk (1 1/2 cups)

½ cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

¼ teaspoon salt

Streusel

¼ cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

½ cup chopped pecans

½ cup quick-cooking oats

Topping

1 teaspoon grated orange peel

1 container (8 oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed (3 cups)

Steps

1) Heat oven to 425°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch glass pie pan as directed on box for One-Crust Filled Pie.

2) In large bowl, mix filling ingredients until well blended. Pour into crust-lined pan.

3) Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350°F; bake 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix streusel ingredients.

4) Sprinkle streusel over pumpkin filling. Bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

5) Gently fold orange peel into whipped topping. Serve pie with topping. Store in refrigerator.

--------------------------------------

Nutty Chocolate Hot Bites

(For cookie exchanges I call them Adult Nookie Cookies, cause they are hot, hot, hot!)

S'more flavors with a pinch of heat fill a yummy chocolate-chip cookie cup.

24 Servings

Ingredients

1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury® Ready to Bake! Refrigerated chocolate chip cookies (24 cookies)

1 ¼ cups Mixed Nuts with Peanuts

1 ¼ cups Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate baking chips

1 ¼ cups marshmallow creme

2 tablespoons half-and-half

1/8 teaspoon Ground Red Pepper (cayenne) (I use an extra dash to get a little more heat)

Steps

1) Heat oven to 375°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups. Place 1 cookie dough round in each cup. Using floured fingers, press dough to flatten slightly.

2) Bake 7 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pans 15 minutes. Remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 20 minutes.

3) Meanwhile, remove Brazil nuts from mixed nuts; coarsely chop Brazil nuts. In 2-quart saucepan, heat chocolate chips, marshmallow creme, half-and-half and red pepper over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until chips are melted and mixture is smooth. Stir in remaining mixed nuts.

4) Drop about 1 tablespoon nut mixture onto each cookie. Let stand about 15 minutes or until chocolate is set. To serve, remove bites from paper baking cups. If desired, place each bite into a new paper baking cup.

Our Christmas Tree- vol 1.

I thought it would be fun to start showing off some of my favorite ornaments on our Christmas tree. Our tree is FULL of memories. We have ornaments from my parents tree that they gave us to fill our tree a few years ago that I grew up with. We have some from my own tree that I had in my room growing up and then we the the ones that Matt and I have been given or collected. We get at least 1 new ornament a year generally we get 3-4 which is pretty cool!

On our tree we have mostly Disney ornaments. I also have quite a few french horns and pianos all over. I have my students look for the hidden pianos and horns and try to see if they can count all of them. I have about 50 horns and pianos all over the tree. I kind of collect them.

We have our small but growing Star Trek collection for both me and Matt. Mason loves it because we have a Borg cube and when you turn on the tree it says, "We are the Borg. Enjoy you holidays. Resistance is futile."

Then we have a small smattering of other stuff, Arizona State stuff, Santa and other fun stuff.

So here is the start of some of my favs this year! In no particular order!

~Mason salt dough ornament that my mom and I made last year with his hand print. Needless to say, his hands have grown.~

 ~Gma gave this to us for Mason's first Christmas! I LOVE IT!~

 ~One of the many french horns all over my tree.~

 ~First ornament on the tree every year. It's tradition! Our first Christmas ornament!It is near the top in the very middle~

 ~Another collection from my mom and dad. Each blue ball, and there are I think 9, has a different image of favorite original attractions at Disneyland. The castle always goes near the middle. Sad story, a few years ago during a move a few got broken and I glued them back together. So the ones with the most cracks are in the back of the tree. Thank goodness my fabs were unharmed.~

 ~One of my former students went to WDW in the beginning of the year and saved this through the year as a Christmas gift to me. The daughter picked it out and everything since Cindy is one of my favs. (she was my fave till Brave came out. Sorry Cindy.)

Gift Giving Guide for the Fledgling Runner

It's that time of year again for people to be asking you, "What do you want for Christmas?" Well, every year I have some idea, this year I really didn't. So what better way to figure out what I would like/actually need for running than to actually sit down and figure it out. Being a new runner I don't have a ton of running clothing. I have generally worked out in a gym so I could wear tank tops year round and shorts but now that I am running outside in this frigid weather, I AM SO NOT DRESSED FOR SUCESS right now! The mornings that I have run I have been freezing and even after running for a bit I am still cold or too hot and sweaty in my current jacket that I am running in because it is not for running. So here goes a list of some items with varying prices from low to VERY high! (But an investment in your new sport.)

1. When we were at the turkey trot we were FREEZING! My toes and hands were the worst.  We were talking with a lady decked out in awesome running apparel and she pointed out her gloves that were flip tips so that you could have your fingers free of material but then flip the top up to keep them nice and toasty. AND they are at TARGET! Check out these Champion flip tip gloves - $16.99

2. As I said earlier, I have the wrong jacket for running. I have an Old Navy Fleece jacket that is tight fitting but does not wick the sweat away. I get hot and stuffy very early on which makes me need to take it off and then I am FREEZING for the remainder of my run. I have been eyeing these Under Armour infrared jackets for awhile and they have the thummy holes! -$124.99

3. Recently somebody, Matt, borrowed my headphones and somebody, ahem, Matt, LOST THEM! ARGH! So now I have no running headphones. GRRR! So I am in the market for some new ones. Another blogger I follow, Healthy Heddleston, posted these on her site and I have been eyeing them for a couple of days now, debating. They look great and they won't come popping out of ears when running because they hook around the back of the ear. So here is a great idea for headphones! Koss Fitclips - $19.99

4. In staying warm I don't want to wear a beanie or a hat. But my ears need to stay warm. These looked cute and for the price, can't beat that! Turtle fur headbands - $10.50

5. When I first joined the Women's 4 Miler training program, I asked my friend Janet what will I need when running in the cold. The first thing she said is that she likes to wear arm sleeves. When she gets hot she just rolls them down and she is good. So this site has super cute fun patterns for sleeves to choose from! Running Skirts Arm Sleeves - $39.00

6. So the running tops I have are tank tops and 1 short sleeve shirt. I use the short sleeve shirt for running outside now, under my fleece jacket. NOT GOOD! but my shirt I have is a running tech shirt so that helps to wick the sweat off my skin but the jacket makes it stuffy. I need some long-sleeved tops. Target has some great priced ones but these Under Armour cozy necks long sleeved shirts look so nice and comfy! But they are pricy, maybe just 1 for the super cold mornings. - $49.99

7. Again I have shorts and 1 pair of capri pants. So I am in the market for a few more pairs of running pants. I don't think I could pull off tights or feel comfortable wearing super tight pants. Just not my thing. And I know the compression pants would be great for my legs, just not great looking, yet. But these Nike capris look pretty nice and it would be something I would try out since my current shorts and capris are all Nike I am used to their style and fit. Nike Epic Running Capris - $75

So here are some ideas. I am sure that I could come up with more but these are what I have for now! Happy hunting and if you have any other ideas on the goods for a fledgling runner leave a comment below!

QOTD: What are your must haves for cold weather running?

Turkey Trot Race Recap

I will get this posted! Since this doesn't require a physical voice I can do this. Mace is still asleep, thank goodness with all the coughing I have been doing, so I have a little mommy time. (He should wake up anytime now since I just said the previous statement!)

For Thanksgiving we were going to NC to visit our closest, in distance, family members. I looked for a race in the area of where they lived and noticed that the Southpark Turkey Trot was celebrating its 25th anniversary and they mentioned a "special medal" on their website. What do I think, NEW BLING! I love getting the racing bibs, and the shirts but the medals gives it an extra little, YEA factor. I earned it. I feel powerful and it is a heavy reminder of what I accomplished to earn. The medals for Disney are what really got me interested in running in the first place. Who wouldn't want a heavy beautiful medal with Mickey on it?

Anyhew. I had been telling Matt all week that it was going to be cold. Really cold. 22 degrees cold! That morning he didn't really believe me I guess until he walked out side and turned back and said, "I don't think so! Are you crazy!?!" I said, "I already paid the fee and when we start running we will warm up anyways." He then contented to mutter how insane I was for wanting to run early in the morning, a holiday morning nonetheless, in the freezing cold. I continued to remind him that he was supporting me and he was happy to support me, but from a nice warm place. Anyhew he was cold and hungry, and grumpy. I don't blame him. IT WAS COLD!

~My first racing tutu! Thanks to Race Junkie!~

We arrived at the race location, 30 minutes early, because I thought it would take longer to arrive. We picked up our racing packet and shirt and high tailed it back to the car to stay warm. Matt didn't turn on the heater so that we would "acclimate" to the cold instead of going from super heated and warm to freezing again. I threw on my new race shirt under my running shirt as I forgot my running jacket at home and my running shirt was short sleeved. I was freezing but it was the perfect amount after I started to get warm. We watched the first race line up from our car and then it was time to head to the potty and then the starting line.

The website said that they limit the race to 11,000 people. It didn't look like that many people but there were a ton. And the was no announcement to get in the pace groups which were set super far apart. I read on another blog that there were about 10, 000 people running that day, there were various race distances. But it took us a min 15 second to get from our pace group, which wasn't even my pace because we were back in the 9 min pace group, because that is as high as it went, to cross the start line. There were a ton of people. And because we were "in a fast pace group and I am slow" I pulled Matt to the side of the street to allow people to pass us easier. People quickly passed us and we were in the back of the pack. As we rounded the first turn the first runners from our race were making the turn to the neighborhood part of the race.

Love the Back!

The race was pretty flat. Compared to Charlottesville area that I am used to running. I was wishing for more hills because that is where I tend to make my speed back. I stated thinking though that this is good practice for the FLAT Disney World race. I guess I have grown the love hills! We kept up a pretty good pace it felt like. We were walking/jogging and I was trying not to push myself too hard. the first water stop we took our water and the volunteers were saying that there was ice in it. I was wondering when it was so cold, why they added ice, but they didn't add ice. The water had iced over on the top! It was hard to get the water down but we needed to conserve the water we were carrying so down it went, burning all the way. At about 3 miles, we came to an area with evenly spaced light poles and I did my run 2 posts, walk 2. I finally felt my toes defrost by this point so I felt like I got my stride, thankfully! We ran through very pretty neighborhoods but at this point I stopped looking at the houses and focused more on making it at the time I wanted. 1:15 or faster. 1:20 was acceptable but I wanted 1:15. So we started to push more as I knew we only had about a mile left. At the entrance to the mall near the finish line we didn't know which side to run on for the median as so many people and cars were trying to leave. So that was a little frustrating. People were still trying to finish a race, don't block the course. We crossed the finish line holding hands, no pix! And I looked at my phone and I finished in 1:10! I was faster than I thought that I would be. I am still running a 14 min mile at 16 weeks pregnant. I was so happy with how I did! I couldn't believe it! I am running the same pace that I ran for the 10k in Oct and 30 second slower per mile from the 4 miler.

I am so proud of my body for doing what it did, IN THE FREEZING COLD! There were a ton of people milling around at the end. We got some more frozen water and gatorade. On the way home though we stopped by Starbucks, which was PACKED to get some hot coco to warm us up all the way. (That is when I started to feel my fingers again).

Note to self: get gloves, and long sleeved shirts! And maybe carpis that retain body heat! I WAS FREEZING!

It was a good race. I wish that the pace markers were closer together and that they included the slower paces too, like 10 min mile and above! Also for them to make an announcement at the beginning that it was about to start. Other than that it was well organized and an easy and beautiful race! Maybe again next year, if we are in town!

Another Year Older

Another year wiser, so they say. I know I have learned a lot in the last year but I still don't feel very wise. I have made some wise choices though, I am running and exercising now. That is pretty smart. I have been teaching in C-ville for nearly a year now, I feel pretty smart doing that with my own business and all. I still think I married THE BEST MAN OF ALL TIME, so yeah, pretty smart there. Love playing in the symphony and doing well, most of the time, check for smartness there. So things are going pretty well.

I am looking forward to my 32nd year, (EEK! Nearly mid 30's) We will introduce a new little soul into this world, I will be a "new mom" again, ok a little nervous about that part. I will continue to teach (with a little time off for mommy and baby, of course) I will run in my first 1/2 marathon. Only a goal I made a few years ago. I think this next year will go pretty well.

Goals for my next year of life: I want to run in more races! Bigger distance races. I would love to do 2 1/2 marathons next year. One in Feb and one post baby. Still trying to decide which one to do post baby though. I look forward to learning how to be a mommy to 2. I want to eat better overall and get back to my pre-pre pregnancy weight (the weight I was before Mason) So let's see where I end up next year. But here's to me to having a great day, (which I will because of my BFF who is sending me cupcakes for my birthday! with plenty to freeze from my fav place GEORGETOWN CUPCAKES! And gluten free! Love you K!)

Also, tomorrow is my turkey trot race recap so make sure to check back. Fun race!

QOTD: Do you prefer a cake or cupcakes?

My Life

I am feeling much better today. The flu like symptoms I had yesterday are gone, but the stuffy nose is here to stay. I think Mace might be getting a stuffy nose so I will take him to the gym today and tomorrow until he is sick that I can't. (They have a pretty strict no sick kid policy, which I totally understand.)

So I guess today is another How wonderful life is moment because I am just happy. I watched Mason climb up on the counter to his cabinet and get his sippy cup down and ask to be filled. Then he went to the fridge and asked nicely for some yogurt. Now he is eating it all on his own, but complaining every little bit because he has yogurt on the side of his mouth and he doesn't like making a mess. He understands these little things and knows how to tell me them, (just not in words quite yet) but he is such a smart little guy.

Tomorrow is a new year for my life. I love where my life is right now. It is exactly where I want it to be. I am thankful for the time I had with my husband before we got blessed with Mason because was are stronger because of it, and it allowed us to do things we probably wouldn't have been able to do. I am glad for when Mason arrived because it really was the "perfect time" for me and us. He helped me during the year of deployment to get through it. And even though we had 2 losses in the last year it helped me know what plan God had for me and that his timing is ultimately the right timing! Now we are expecting a healthy new baby next spring and I am just nervous and excited! I am just thankful today as this is my last day as 31. So a new year begins tomorrow with new goals!

I'm Back

We are back from our fun times in North Carolina with family! Oh, it is so hard to travel with a 2 year old! I love my son, I do. I am so thankful for him, I am. But man! The screaming in the car for 2 hours on the drive down. The, I'm scared cause I don't know where I am, and wake mommy and daddy up at 4am every morning. Oh and the, lets puke on mommy at 5am because I ate too many crackers the night before when Mommy and Daddy with on a double date with my aunt and uncle, was the topper! At least he was super good on the drive up!

I am done ranting. He did have tons of fun playing with his 5 cousins. 4 of them are boys who love to get dirty and play hard. Mason had a ton of fun playing outside in their big, FLAT backyard. (Ours is not flat. It is a steep down hill backyard without a fence so we don't spend time back there right now.) We went to a park on Saturday afternoon, where Mason climbed up the rock wall that was taller than Daddy with a little help from us. (note to self, more park time, especially when new baby comes.) He loved the bon fire and watching TV OUTSIDE at night and cuddling with mommy under 4 blankets to stay warm, and the yummy marshmallows we ate!

He loves his Aunt to death and when he was having a tantrum she stepped in and helped us out. Since she has 5 kids she is super mom and I learned a lot from her. Over the weekend alone, Mason's talking has exploded! We are understanding him better (I think Matt the most because he was finally able to spend days with him at a time and just hear him speak). He learned to communicate better with us. He still gets frustrated when we don't understand what he is trying to say but we did so much better. He can now say pink, bread,  fire. He was putting 2 word sentences together. he said Bye mommy, for the first time, and bye car. It is pretty amazing to watch him grow. He also saw plenty of cows on the drive down and was pointing them out to us.

Thanksgiving the rolls were the hit for him. That was pretty much all he ate. He didn't want any of the ham, sweet potato casserole, mashed potatoes or spinach salad. Just bread (bead) as he called it.

All in all it was a very fun and happy thanksgiving for all! Next time we see the cousins the new baby will be here, and we will have to juggle 2 kids! EEK! But oh how fun to have 2 kids to play with their 5 cousins!

Black Friday and Race Recovery

Today is recovery day from black Friday and all the racing you did around the stores and oh if you did run a race than today is a nice little day to just sit back and relax and rest. See you on Monday with a race recap! I love the holiday weekends to spend with my family!

Black Friday

How many hours have you been awake shopping on Black Friday??? I am like my mother and really don't like this day! I hate how crowded stores are but yes, I agree that there are some amazing sales. We might just go out for a couple of hours to get some kid stuff for Mace and baby #2.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

Hope you guys are having a great Turkey Day today. Good luck if you are running in a turkey trot this morning! We have our 8k that we are running in. SUPER COLD Conditions for me to be running in but I think that will be motivation to hurry up and get back to nice toasty warm house smelling like super yummy holiday feast!

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday today!

How Wonderful Life Is- vol. 4

Last installment of my Thankful Wednesday for the month of November. I hope you guys have been able to reflect on what you are thankful for too this past month.

My home: I am so thankful that I have a roof over my head to keep the cold out and shelter me from the storms of nature and of life. I consider my house a shelter from the outside world. The world is a crazy place and whenever I return home I know that I am safe and can guard those inside by the things I watch and listen to. I try to keep our home filled with love and yummy smells from the kitchen.

Over the next few months with the cold weather I love the warmth our home feels from all of us cuddling under a blanket together, watching a movie and just enjoying these winter months spending good quality time together. Or sitting by the fireplace and feeling the warmth spread through the room. Something about winter just makes me think of more family time. (yes it is because of the holidays mostly but in general we just hang out more) It is too cold to go outside so we just spend all our time inside, together.

My trials: Yes I am crazy but I often find myself thinking about the hard things in life that I have faced. Going through them has sucked, sucked, sucked but on the flip side of the trial I know I have learned something. Throughout our marriage our trial has mostly been about having children. Since it took us 8 years, 3 fertility doctors, 54 shots in my belly and 2 IUI's to get Mason I would say that is a trial. We went through a lot as a couple through those 8 years. A lot of heartache, yelling, and just wanting to give up, but I knew we had to keep trying. Since having Mason, our trial, regarding this topic of having children, has been sustaining the pregnancies. We had 2 confirmed miscarriages, (I think 3 just never confirmed I was pregnant July of 2012. Didn't think it could happen.) Then with this one, I didn't want to believe it was true. The last miscarriage really put me through the ringer! It was hard. I lost my faith in God for a few hours. I was lost and angry. But I now believe that it was my 2x4 to the head to get me moving and stop moping. Cause after that miscarriage, I tried to stop feeling sorry for myself and started to exercise again. And look at me now, running, while 16 weeks pregnant, with our little miracle. (and yesterdays run was overall a faster pace in general than I have done in awhile. So getting better WHILE pregnant! WAHOO!!!) I feel very blessed for our little miracle and the trial I had to go through to get it.

Please don't think we don't have any other trials in our life right now, OH BOY DO WE EVER! But I know we have them for a reason. They will make us stronger, even when we feel like a weakling while going through them. But look back when you have crest over the hill of your trial and see what you learned, and went through and you will know, this is why I had it. You will learn a lot about yourself and what you need to do. It is pretty amazing actually. If you haven't read this poem Footprints in the Sand by Mary Stevenson, check it out! One of my favs to read about going through trials. Again, sucks while going through a trial, believe me, but when you can see the flip side it is pretty amazing knowing that we are not the one in control. Big guy up top is!

QOTD: What are you thankful for the most this month?

Travel and Weather

Hmmmm. It is looking like it is going to be some bad weather today and Wednesday on the busiest travel days no less. We are supposed to be getting some snow by now, hasn't happened yet. But good news for the kids in my city, school has been canceled for today and if it is like this again tomorrow it could very well be canceled tomorrow too, meaning an extra long Thanksgiving break. Here is hoping that we can travel safely when we are leaving! I have some friends leaving town today during the main part of the show/ice storm. So to all who are traveling over the next few days stay safe and Happy Thanksgiving.

Just an FYI, I have some scheduled posts during the break, but they are small and short messages as I won't have my computer with me when we travel. But follow me on my Facebook, Instagram, or twitter for my latest updates. I will have the race recap and holiday recap when I get back! HAPPY THANKSGIVING! See you on the flip side of turkey day!

Good Eats- Spinach Salad

(source)

I know, I know what you are thinking. Spinach salad, blah or I already have a ton of those how is yours any different or special. Here is this AMAZING recipe! It is also REALLY GOOD! The kicker for this salad is the HOMEMADE DRESSING that is TO DIE FOR! Seriously! In my house, it is not a holiday without this salad. So I thought I would bring this out to you before the big day so just in case you want to try out this AMAZINGLY Yummy salad you can!

It is easy. Yummy and everyone will like it, unless they really don't like to eat salads in the first place. Like my husband. It's a lost cause.

Spinach Leaf Salad with Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing

Salad:

~2 bunches fresh spinach leaves, stemmed and washed (pat dry with paper towels.) OR 2 bags of baby spinach leaves

~1/4 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced

~1/2 lb bacon (8 slices), cooked and crumbled

~1/4 lb swiss cheese, grated

~1/4 red onion, thin half moons

~6 boiled eggs, sliced

~croutons

Dressing: Combine in a Blender

~1 cup salad oil

~1/3 cup cider vinegar

~3/4 cup brown sugar

~1 tablespoon dry mustard

~1/2 teaspoon salt

~1 tablespoon red onion (from the salad)

~1 tablespoon poppy seeds

Assemble salad in a large bowel. Combine dressing ingredients in the blender and blend together. (If you pre make the dressing store it in the fridge and blend it together just before serving because the oil will separate.) Just before serving, pour dressing over salad and stir well. Top with croutons. 

There you have it. Super simple and super yummy! Here are some changes that I have made over the years. I buy the bags of spinach, the pre-sliced mushrooms, pre-grated cheese, use the egg slicer thing to slice the eggs and I don't use bacon or croutons in it. Super no-fuss. I also tend to use a smidge more apple cider vinegar and a little extra brown sugar. I like it sweet but tangy! Play around with it and make it your own. Enjoy these good eats. This salad is great anytime but it has become a holiday tradition in my family! Maybe it will be for yours too!

QOTD: Do you think you will try this for one of your Thanksgiving sides? LET ME KNOW IF YOU DO AND WHAT YOU THINK!