Happy New Year!

We started a tradition a few years ago, mostly because I was lazy and didn't feel like cooking, lol. But the kids love it so we continue it :). I cut up some meat and cheese, put some mandarin oranges, maybe some pineapple, crackers, just little things we can spear with toothpicks and eat. The kids have a great time every year, clean up is easy, and I win the cool mom award (even if it's only for an hour or so :P)

The table all fancied up with the "nice" glasses too! hehe

A close up of the spread, go me!

May the New Year bring much happiness and love to you all. May we all have the strength and determination to give ourselves what we deserve. ((hugs))

Merry Christmas

Nothing says Christmas in Utah like snow.

Or mini mittens and socks for the tree, aww :)



It's snowing hard out there today, crazy. I was planning on a library trip but I think we'll wait until tomorrow ;). Fine by me, I can knit more cute ornaments, each takes about an hour which makes me feel like a super power knitter, lol.

I would like to wish each of you a Merry Christmas.

So proud!

LittleMan was behind in reading when he started 1st grade, he didn't know most of his letters or their sounds. When we homeschooled he had begun reading but lost a lot of it over the summer when I let him just work on math, since he loves math! Anyway, we just got his report card, he is officially on grade level now, woohoo! His reading resource teacher works with him daily and he practices at home daily as well. His confidence has grown and he catches himself reading without realizing it, so fun!!

I'm proud of you big guy :)

M is on the left, he is pretending to be missing a finger (I think he needs to work on that trick, hehe), cousin W in the back as Spiderman and LittleMan as a fire fighter.

Angry!!

I am so angry and frustrated and mad and pissed off!! Ok, so they all mean basically the same thing, but since I don't swear I need to repeat myself, lol.

Anyway, my Personal Injury Protection (PIP) is $3,000 here in Utah and my insurance is required to pay that out, they go after the other drivers insurance for reimbursement. If the costs go over that I have to get a lawyer and fight the at fault drivers insurance. Well, I was informed that I've run out of my PIP and now I have to go through my health insurance ($40 copay) or get a lawyer.

The accident was not my fault, but the whole thing has been this huge hassle and now I get to add more to it. I'm just MAD!! gah!

Choices

LittleMan is sick, he is 6 years old, too young to stay home alone. But I have school too, is he sick enough he shouldn't go? Well enough he can walk about a mile each way to my class (yes, it's that far literally)? Me staying home isn't ideal either, only a few more weeks of school, finals are coming.

It's time like these that I second guess my decision to go back to school, I'm sure I'll have times like these when I go back to work too. Parenting, isn't it fun?

p.s. yes I love being a mom, just being a bit grouchy this morning, we'll figure out what to do.

Edited: I took him with me, he got winded pretty easily this morning but by this afternoon he is feeling a lot better. Though now he wants to go to school with me again tomorrow, lol. Thanks for the support girls, you are the best!

I am such a dork!

I was taking a quick shower this morning, our water heater runs out of water really quickly, and started running out of hot water. I decided to try and rinse the conditioner out of my hair while I shaved my legs. Well, I only did the back! I forgot to rinse the front, lol. I was rushing out the door to my chiropractor appointment when I realized my mistake.

Oops.

Yeah, so I went anyway, luckily for me, I didn't put much on the front so it wasn't too noticeable, or is that lucky? ;)

"School" pictures

I decided not to purchase school pictures this year, I knew they wouldn't turn out and they are freaking expensive. But I have been harassed by my mom, Aunt, Grandma's, and MIL about new pictures of the kids, so we decided to head up the canyon and take some pictures on our own. (and, no, the school pictures didn't turn out, hehe)

I need help deciding which ones to print for wallets and then 3 x 5 or 4 x 6's for the Grandma's.

#1 (incidentally, when did she get so grown up?)



#2
#1
#2 (yes, we'll crop out annoying man that refused to move so I could take this picture)
#1, this one has more shadow that I remember :S, so I don't think it's even in the running but here it is anyway :)

#2
#3

Yes, they are much better quality than it appears here and we'll crop the photos too. Maybe I should beg one of my sisters to come out and take pictures, they are much better than me.

Pictures

Ready for my scary pictures? Well, if not then don't look because here they are, lol.

Just laughing at a man in front of me trying to get his shirt back over his head, he had it behind his neck so the shirt wouldn't rub his nipples any more (they were bleeding, eww and ouch!). He had his race number on his shirt and the photographer wouldn't be able to identify him without the number, lol.



Texting my Hunny and my Aunt, it was cold, I was wet, tired, miserable and needed the encouragement. This was around mile 18.

I look dumb, but I was so surprised at the muscle definition so I had to show it off, lol. This is almost at the finish line.

Woohoo, exhausted, cold, and my legs didn't really work anymore. But I did it :)

St. George marathon race report

Sorry for the long and rambling report, I promise I edited it to shorten it and this is the best I could do :P. I will post pictures as I get them. And thanks to all of you that have supported me, I definitely needed it and thought of each of you while I was out there.

I obsessed with the weather up until Friday morning, I was so busy preparing for the trip and our mini vacation afterward that I forgot to check the weather one more time. I was prepared for a chance of rain and some cooler temps but not prepared for what I got.

I knew I wouldn't sleep, so I decided to ride up on the early bus and just hang out and enjoy the experience. When I arrived in St. George is was pretty warm so I didn't put my pants on, I figured my legs would be warm enough. What a mistake that ended up being, I was freezing. The wind was really strong up at the start so we couldn't all huddle around the fires, you had to stand along the sides for quite a while. Then the rain began, luckily a sweet woman next to me had an extra mylar blanket so I used that until the volunteers started giving out trash bags.

I joined the 5 hour pace group since that was my original goal, but 15 minutes slower than my predicted time after Hobble Creek. I was worried since I missed so many runs due to my car accident and hip injury. The pace team leader was hilarious and I really looked forward to running with him, unfortunately he apparently decided to bank some time after hearing about Veyo (he was from New Jersey) the first mile was 11:23, just a tad fast (shooting for 11:27) but the next mile he started pulling ahead, I tried to hold my pace and I finished it in 10:57 oops, mile three the group was quite a bit ahead and I hit it in 10:27, at this point I knew I was on my own. I was cold and wet and not happy to running 23 more miles in this weather.

I'm thinking that maybe if I could run faster I wouldn't have frozen so much ;). By mile 11 I was really struggling with the cold, I was shivering and angry. I never thought about dropping out, I was just mad that I had to continue in this rain, hehe. I decided that I had to start using up my motivations early, I had planned the last 6 miles to run each one for a family member or friend that inspired me along the way. I chose my Uncle Jeff first since I wasn't really hurting, but mentally I was struggling, he died from complications of arthritis at the age of 52. He spent most of his life in excruciating pain and he always just tried to do his best and keep plugging along. Thinking of Jeff really helped me for the next several miles.

Mile 13 was a low point for me, I couldn't feel my fingers any more and I knew I hadn't even reached the hardest part of the race yet. I'm actually thinking that mile 13 was my "wall" because after that I knew I just needed one foot in front of the other. I did cry at the aid station, I couldn't open the stupid banana and I just cried, so embarassing now. One of the volunteers laughed and then caught herself and said "You can do it, sweetie, you are halfway there" I was mad at her for laughing at me, but it did give me something to think about, so that's good.

At mile 14 I took a picture of myself with my cellphone and text it to my husband, my Aunt and some friends hoping for some support. My husband and Aunt sent encouraging texts which really helped through the hard times. At mile 18 I started to hurt, my left knee was really complaining by then and my stomach was already complaining about the Gu. I think I sat in the porta potty here for 3 or 4 minutes, just to dry out for a little bit and to prepare for the continuing rain.

By mile 21 it was just a drizzle out, but I was so wet I didn't notice if it was raining or drizzling or dry, I didn't care anymore. I discovered that I liked carrying some toilet paper in my hand, I could have one dry spot on my body and that a big comfort to me. Strange how odd little things keep you going.

At the mile 25 aid station I saw a porta potty and decided to use it so I wouldn't have to worry about it at the end, lol. After the little potty break I decided that I would do no more walking or stopping and would finish as fast as I could, after many 12:45+ min miles I finished this one in 11:02 and the last .2 in a 10:15 pace. I saw my family standing on the side waiting for me and I began to cry, I'm sure the finishing photo is going to be flattering, ha.

The sweet volunteer handing out the metals was an older gentleman, reminded me of my Dad. I was crying by now and he gave me a big hug, told me he was so proud of me and that I worked really hard and should be proud of myself. I hobbled over to my family and gave them all hugs and cried some more. One downside to being slow is they run out of food sometimes, I got an ice cream but the only other thing available was melons and grapes, I don't like melons and people were just sticking their hands in the grapes, eww so I didn't get anything else to eat. I did get a coke to drink and we hobbled over to get my gear and the car.

I ended up using the porta potties 8 or 9 times during the race, my garmin has me running for 5 hrs 18 min, so I wasted a lot of time in the potties. I didn't drink more than normal, in fact I drank less than normal so I don't know why I had to go so often, that's something I'll have to work on next time. Yes, there will be a next time :)

I hate the cold, always have, so I doubt I'll be running any winter races after this :P

A quicky

I will post a long and rambling report later. I just wanted to let you all know that I made it :). It rained, a lot, it was windy from time to time. I froze. I cussed. I finished it.

5 hours and 40ish minutes.

About to freak out.

The marathon is in 4 days, or 3 days and 20 hours if you go by the countdown clock on the stgeorgemarathon.com website :P.

I'm as ready as I'll ever be, I'm just about over the cold that tried to suck out my soul over the weekend (yeah, I heard it's normal to get sick during the taper, but didn't my body know I like to not be normal? yeah.), I have a huge list of stuff to do before Friday morning so we can head down south for the race. I just bombed my math test, because I suck. And here I sit, about ready to have a panic attack rather than doing laundry or washing the kitchen floor, or even making my bed.

Me, anxious? why do you ask?

And here I am contemplating planning my next marathon for next May and I haven't even survived the first one yet, lol. I guess I like this near panic feeling :P.

Can I join the "real" mom club now?

That's right, I finally got my mini van, woot!And Stu thought we were going to get a little sporty car for our second vehicle, hee!

So happy, I sucked in my gut so you wouldn't see how I look pregnant next to my mom mobile, lol.
Yeah, haven't been running, cleaning, doing homework, much of anything except going to school and walking all over campus again and again. And again.

p.s. please ignore that I'm wearing socks with my sandals, I took my tennis shoes off and Stu wanted me to pose by the van so I slipped my sandals on quickly. I promise I didn't leave the yard like that ;).

Random Pictures

M at his birthday party, mmmm....cupcakes

The Comcast cable guy, no way could I do his job. High ladders and hanging on wires, no thanks.

L at the zoo on the carousel, too grownup!
LittleMan eating a snowcone, mmmm....snowcone.

Update

I didn't give a lot of information on my fender-bender after my race, so I thought I would throw that out here now. I was rear-ended at about 20-25 mph and I had just gone over a bridge so I was pointing down at an angle. Immediately after the impact my right hip started hurting, I forgot about it with the adrenalin and all that going on after the accident. The day after the race I realized my hip was still hurting, more than my very sore quads, not good.

Sunday I was able to rest for most of the day and Monday I resumed my regular schedule, with my hip hurting more and more. Tuesday I realized that I really wasn't walking normally and my muscles were feeling much better yet my hip still hurt quite a bit. I decided to see a Chiropractor the next day and he told me that I shouldn't run, walk for long periods or sit for more than 20 minutes. Crap! I felt quite a bit better after the adjustment so I decided that maybe I should find someone with more sports related experience.

I started running again yesterday, after 9 days of resting and it felt great! I did end up sore that night, but felt fine this morning for my run. I saw the new Chiropractor today and he said I should still run but if it hurt at all I needed to stop. He is going to watch me run on Monday and help me see if maybe my stride or shoes contributed to the injury and hopefully he can fix me fast enough to run the marathon.

So for now, I'm optimistic that it will still happen but also know that I may have to alter my plans and run a marathon in December or January.

All for now :)

Sweet!

I asked my friend to make a shirt for me to wear during marathon training and at races, to memorialize my Uncle's that have passed. All three of my Uncles have inspired me in different ways and I wanted that strength with me as I pushed myself harder than I ever have before.

And here it is :)


I looooOOOooovveee it :)

Hobble Creek Half Marathon race report part 2

This race starts at 7:30, which is way too late for August in Utah, but I guess the race directors have to do what they can to get everyone up to the start. It took a good 20 minutes to get up the canyon and buses started loading at 5:15 am. Cathleen (my friend that trained with me, this was her first half marathon, she rocks!) and I ran for about 1/2 mile or so for a warm up, it was pretty chilly up there. We stretched out and then chatted for a little while. We tried to get in the middle of the pack for the start, but it was pretty packed.

The "gun" goes off, it was a police siren sound, kind of weird but whatever. And we don't move, it took about a minute and 20 seconds to cross the line, dang it. Then it was so crowded that we couldn't get into a good groove until about 1.5 miles in :S. I started cramping almost immediately, in my abs, but toughed it out until the 3 mile aid station where I walked and drank water. I decided to start munching on sports beans to see if that would help, it really didn't :(. I was well hydrated and thought I ate well the days prior, so I don't know what was up.

After the mile 3 aid station I decided it was time to just push it as much as I could since this was supposed to be the best downhill part of the course. I passed many many runners through here, which was pretty motivating. My one complaint is the campfire smoke, it kind of just hangs out there in the canyon, but didn't last too long which was good.

I took a Gu at mile 7 or so with the Heed sports drink, man that stuff was gross! I forced myself to drink it because it was getting hot and I was still cramping! Luckily it calmed down just a bit so I could ignore it fairly well. There were quite a few hills through mile 10 or so, which was a surprise to me, no one said anything except for the hill around mile 10.5-11, though it is Utah I should have known ;).

At the mile 11.5 water station, the person in front of me stopped completely, so I had to do the same, I was never able to recover fully and my pace suffered :(. I had been following blue shorts girl for about 2 miles, her pace was pretty even, which was really helpful but I lost her here and had to settle for passing other people instead.

Now, before you all think I'm a big jerk, I was tired and had to pick any motivation that I could. I know people have different ailments and or philosophies when it comes to long distance running, so I don't fault her for what happened, I just used it as motivation. Ok, disclaimer done. There was a woman that was running with a friend and she kept peeing her pants, I passed them at mile 8.5 or so, not wanting to get splashed, it was that bad. But they caught me after the 11.5 aid station, I kept them close, as she went again! And at mile 13 I passed them one last time, I didn't want to be behind her in the photos, I know! I'm so mean.

I really wish I would have had someone to run with, I think I could have done even better, oh and the cramping didn't help either, I forgot to say that I had to stop and walk for about 20 seconds while I tried to stretch the cramp out, that was at mile 11 or so.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with my performance and I'm sure I'll give the race another chance, see if I can run more even splits. I usually remember a little more about the course than I do this time, I guess the fender bender knocked out some of my memory, hehe. Though this report is long enough, so I guess that's good that I don't remember.

Here are my splits, I lost my signal on my Garmin through the canyon, so my mile splits are off a bit.

Mile 1 - 10:25 very crowded at the start
Mile 2 - 10:10 still trying to get my groove
Mile 3 - 10:38 water stop and stretch the abs
Mile 4 - 9:42 nice downhill
Mile 5 - 9:56
Mile 6 - 9:42 found someone to pace with, but he drops back at the aid station :(
Mile 7 - 10:10 aid station and out onto the main road
Mile 8 - 10:11 mean hill
Mile 9 - 10:06
Mile 10 - 10:33 aid station
Mile 11 - 10:48 aid station and walk to stretch again
Mile 12 - 10:43 it's hot!
Mile 13 - 9:08 Garmin reads 12.92 miles, so this is a 9:56 pace

Per Garmin 2:12:16 :). Official results still aren't up yet, so I don't know the seconds, just 2:13:xx

I guess my thoughts that I can't hold a 9:xx mile for more than a mile are wrong, hehe.

Hobble Creek Half Marathon race report

I’m cheating, I’ll come back with a nice and juicy race report later, but for now I’m exhausted and lazy :P.

A goal 2 hrs 10 min. (in my dreams)
B goal 2 hrs 13 min. (only if it's as downhill as they claim)
C goal 2 hrs 15 min (this one is the one I thought I could do if I pushed hard)
D goal 2 hrs 20 min, the goal I wanted back in 2006 and missed by 2 minutes.

Gun time 2 hrs 13 min
Garmin 2 hrs 12 min 26 seconds, woohoo!! 9+ minute personal record for me, yippee!!

then I got rear-ended on my way home :(. I’m ok and it looks like it’s just my bumper, so we’ll see. I’m going to veg out on the couch for awhile and recooperate. I promise to return with more details later, thanks so much for all of your support!

Nervous!

Tomorrow is my half marathon, my goal pace race. I have had goal times before, but none that felt just a little too fast. I'm at a point in my running "career" that is kind of a turning point of sorts. My legs go faster than I think they can and my mind isn't sure I should push myself that hard. I want to pick a goal pace that will be a stretch for me, to see if I can get out of my rut. It's not fast by any means, I'll still be towards the back of the pack, but it's fast for me and that's what counts :).

So wish me luck and hopefully tomorrow I'll have a fantastic report for you!

No, I am not revealing my goal time :P.

The First Day of school

The kids started school today, yes I cried :).

Here is LittleMan, he goes a little early to get some reading help, so he was all alone. He seemed excited and not at all nervous, phew.


He was so excited that we got there early and he had time to play on the playground. I got several pictures and this one was my favorite. "Mom, can I drop down?" yes, buddy, you can do whatever you want. He is my shadow, so it will be interesting to see how he handles being gone all day.


M and L were too cool for more than one picture, so this is all I got :(.

M said he stayed up too late last night so he was tired, he was very subdued while waiting for his teacher, hopefully he relaxes a bit and enjoys himself.

L was nervous, she is in 6th grade (holy crap, how did that happen?) and most of the girls that were there waiting for school to start already know each other, so L had to stand alone. I hope she wins them over quickly and has tons of friends by days end.

I didn't cry until I came home to an empty house, I know I'll get over it soon :P, but I miss them.

Happy Birthday M :)

I can't believe my second born child is now 8! Time has flown so much faster than I ever could have imagined. I know I'm old enough to have kids this age, but 33 still feels too young (yeah, I had a birthday this month too, go me lol).

So this post is to M, my sweet, energetic, adventurous, smart, stubborn boy. I am so happy to be your mom, you challenge me every day, wanting to know everything, wanting hugs, help building your new lego castle, new music on your mp3 play or to show me a new trick you figured out on your bike. I am much happier with you around.

M got a new shirt a few weeks ago and it says pretty much that his way is the only way. He asked what it meant and I told him that it meant he thought he was in charge. So he proudly told Stu that he was now the boss, L said "dad is older than you, you can't be the boss" M said "I've been around since the Roman Empire" Made me very proud, hehehe.

I love you!