Grandma Betty

Today is very likely my Grandma’s last day of this life.

Her health has been slowly declining over the past few years and just a few months ago her family had to put her in a nursing home. Though I knew the time was coming, the midday call still came as a shock to me that she only had a little time left. I know that she will soon be pain free and reuniting with her husband and many family members, but I’m still saddened to have been so far away the last few years of her life. I hope my kids will remember the few memories they had with her. I know I will always will…

My Grandma and mom April 2008

Recommit

re·com·mit

tr.v.re·com·mit·ted, re·com·mit·ting, re·com·mits

1. To commit again.

2. To refer (proposed legislation, for example) to a committee again.

Recommit is not the prettiest word. Not even the most interesting either, but this was the word I had picked earlier in the year to be my word. The word that could remind and direct me of my personal goals for the new year. This dictionary definition does not describe my feelings about recommitting at all.

Last fall I had my mind made up of all the things that I wanted to accomplish this year. I had a good variety of all kinds of things on my list; spiritual, physical, mental… I do have to say they were geared more towards improving myself, which is not uncommon for goals, but when we discovered we were adding another member to our family, my focus quickly changed.

I thought more about the effects that this change would not only bring for me, but for my kids and husband as we already seem to juggle so much. I was more than a little worried that some things in my life would get the short end of my time and dedication and I didn’t want that at all. I picked the word that I thought would help me to make more of an effort in the areas of my life that really mattered, and I was pretty sure that doing this would also help me to re-evaluate where all of my “extra” time was spent. I thought for sure that I would have to let go of some of my prior obligations and make some big adjustments.

Of course, nothing ever turns out exactly as we plan, so I have been pleasantly surprised to see what this one word has actually helped me accomplish over the last little while.

Recommit to me, meant that I not just fulfilled my obligations and duties, (both new and old) but that I really put 100% into everything that I am committed to. From my kids, my girl scout troop, my church calling in the Young Women’s program and Jake, to all the little things like making dinner and trying to be happy and creative about it, I wanted to be and do better.

I’m far from perfect about it, probably not even close to 90% (I blame my old, pregnant body for that), but my attitude is better. I feel good about my progress and I see the difference this goal is making for me. I have more sense of completion when I know that I’m giving more than I have and seeing things all the way through. It’s a very simple goal, yet there are days that I still struggle and want to just do things to cross them off my list and I have to remind myself to do my best… Hmm, seems I say that to my kids an awful lot too. To “slow down and do their best work”.

I guess it’s about time I started taking my own advice. 🙂 Would love to hear how all of your goals are going…

For The Record(s)

*This post was started 2 months ago and will be the 1st of many catch up posts*

I decided it was high time for a catch-up post, but I’m going to go backwards so that my brain doesn’t have to strain and think back 4 months. For now anyways.

Let’s see, just this last week Miranda had strep throat, Geoffrey is getting over croup and Jake is looking for a new job. again. Don’t worry, this has been the only really rough week of the year. I promise the rest of this post is much more positive. Although I better wait a few days to post it since I really haven’t told either of our parents that he is out of work. Hmm. Must do that soon.

Right now we are in the middle of Girl Scout cookie sales which I have to say I quite enjoy. We get to hang out in front of grocery stores and keep girls out of trouble and on task which is always tricky, but we also have a yearly spot at our local butcher shop (The Pork Shop) which sells $1 brats every Saturday in March and there is always a fun crowd there to entertain us. (and of course the great neighbors who come and say hi too!)

Last weekend I was able to be part of another Ragnar del sol team. This experience was much different than 3 years ago being a driver instead of a runner. (you can read about that here, here and here) I still got zero sleep and was exhausted when I got home, but didn’t have the “I’m going to die” feeling and no sore legs. My bff flew in from Texas to be on our team and my aunt, cousin and a sorority sister all came down from Utah to run too. Those 4 plus 2 other friends from my hood all kicked booty and every single one of them beat their projected time for the race. It’s a good thing I didn’t run my original legs or I’m afraid I would have pulled down our team average drastically. {sigh} I’ll get back there soon enough…

I really had the best time with everyone in my van and I’m pretty sure everyone else had a great time too because of all the emails going around planning out a bunch more teams for next year. The weather was perfect, the course was even better this time around and we couldn’t have asked for a funner group of women to spend the weekend with. Great all around!

Miranda turned 7 (back in January) and a highlight was going to dinner and Build A Bear with her BFF Tawny. Miranda’s energy is still off the charts, but she is so sweet and can sit still through reading books together, movies and does pretty good being reverent at church. (3 hours is a long time for her for sure!) Miranda’s favorites right now are riding her bike, playing games (any and all) and spending time outside with anyone who will play with her.

Miranda is also taking ballet lessons right now and LOVES it! I really thought she would be losing interest by now, because, well, it is Miranda, but she is doing fantastic and taking it all very seriously. She’s a lot more graceful than I thought she would be too. I hope she decides to stick with it for a while as I can see it really being somewhere she can shine. Of course, Miss straight-A’s is an exceptional student too, it’s just nice to see her finding and developing other talents.

…more updates to come soon.

Anything But Boring

We’ve had a great few weeks here, actually a few great months, but I’ll at least re-cap from Spring Break to now.

Me, the family and my 4 month belly at the zoo.

My parents were here for a week and we had nonstop fun. We went to the zoo, (of course) the Arizona Science Center, we swam, visited parks and ate out way more than is healthy. It was fantastic! They sure spoil us, and the kids were so happy to wake up to Nana & Papa every morning. I’m sure my parents won’t miss Geoffrey ‘talking’ to them for hours every night while they tried to sleep, but he sure was sad to see them go.

Petting some stingrays. (Maddy shredded her shirt on the splash pad slide)

My sister joined us all for the weekend as well. She and I hit some awesome garage sales, got a manicure and pedicure (which I literally had not done in years) and then she was lucky enough to hang out selling Girl Scout cookies with me and my troop for five hours straight on Saturday.   Keri, you are a good sport!

Geoffrey livin’ it up in the splash pad at the zoo.

Monday was right back to routine and school. With the help of her dad and myself, Maddy finally finished her science project (tornado in a bottle) and we all decided that even though we “started” weeks before it was due, we will make sure that we don’t have to dedicate more than 6 hours straight to getting Maddy to do anything that involves scientific thinking and legible writing at the same time. And with a deadline. Wow.

Patrick freezing in the splash pad at the zoo.

Of course it turned out great and she was so proud when she got to show her project off to us and Jake’s cousin & wife who met us at the science fair that Thursday night. They stayed the rest of the weekend with us  and we had a great time. My kids seriously LOVE them! It was hard to get the kids to take breaks in monopolizing of the cousins time playing games and Star Wars guys, but we were still able to sneak in another trip to the zoo, as well as a dad/cousin/daughter Girl Scout bowling day and a nephew’s birthday party at the park.

The kids celebrating the finish of orange picking for the day. (Feb.)

We’ve done a lot more lately, but that will have to be another post. Life is still insanely busy and we are expecting Jake’s parents in a few short hours for the next round of spring visitors. I love that our parents come down and stay and put up with us and our crazy household.

This visit will be a little more project oriented as we are hosting Jake’s Grandma Fern’s 90 birthday party here. She’ll be coming in town soon too and we are trying to get the house/yard looking it’s best for the big event. I thought it would be a great time to tackle the painting of all the interior doors in the house, only to discover after re-hanging them that the trim then looked gray. The two-tone look was not really what I was after, so all day today I have been painting trim while listening to this.

My parents with the kids.

Jake is looking for work again, so not only have I had some extra help with the normal routine, he’s also been able to spend lots of quality time with our kids and house guests.  I also *might* be overwhelming him with huge to-do lists everyday as well. It’s been great! . . . for me. So far we have refinished a dining room table, a media cabinet and a futon for the playroom. Next up he gets to weed and get the yard ready for new rock. I’m sure he’s SO ready to get back to a real job and have a break from me. 🙂

It’s been great to get a good start on so many things, but now I need to focus on de-cluttering (again) before I jump into any new projects. Not to mention the ones that I still need to finish, like my sister’s curtains that I have had since Christmas. I did finish one at least…

Valance for her craft room window.

The other curtain will be almost like this just taller and the ruffles on the bottom will be taller as well. That one will be for the craft closet. Maybe after I finish them I’ll be more confident in sewing some curtains for my house since the girls room is the only one that has curtains right now. And I didn’t even make them, my mom did! Slacker! I’m slowly feeling more overwhelmed than accomplished, so I’ll leave it at that.

This spring has been great, the weather is lovely and we couldn’t be happier with family visiting and the new baby on the way. Life is good. Busy, but good. Hope you are all enjoying your spring as well. Any fun plans? or projects? would love to catch up with all of you that I have neglected the last little bit!

No Foolin’

I’ve been meaning to share something here for a while and just realized that I’m sharing on April Fool’s Day so I may not be believed, but that’s kind of okay with me. Sometimes I can’t believe it myself.

Truth is, we’re expecting our fifth baby in a few short months. For real. Not only that, but I’m already half way there and we know it’s a boy. That’s not the reason I haven’t been around much, but it has been causing my early bedtimes (9pm) and if I have had any ‘free-time’ at all a nap usually wins out over everything else. {I heart my naps!}

This time around has been so different compared to the others. I haven’t had any morning sickness and have still been able to get up early and run, though lately I’ve done more walking and my running is more like a very slow jog, but it’s more than I’ve ever been able to do with any other pregnancies so I’m pleased!

I was in denial for the first 11 weeks until I had my first ultrasound because I really didn’t feel pregnant at all and was convinced something was wrong. Luckily I was wrong and all is well. Now at 20 weeks I’m looking/feeling more pregnant and am just starting to get a little uncomfortable. I have had to stash away all my regular sized clothing and even went shopping for a maternity swimsuit because I will actually have to brave the Arizona heat all summer this time. I can only run off to Utah for a short trip in June and will have to be back for Dr. appointments for the rest of July and however long in August until my Dr. makes me baby is ready.

We’re all excited here and I’ve been slowly re-buying everything that baby might need since yet again I got rid of everything as soon as Geoffrey outgrew it. (toys, clothes, equipment, etc.) But this baby was totally planned. . . that part might be considered the April Fools. 😉

New Music Crush

Don’t worry, I have some “real” posts in the works, but couldn’t resist posting this song today. I saw Civil Twilight last week here in Scottsdale at a teeny bar. Seriously. Like easily under 100 people and it was AMAZING. Steven McKellar’s voice is unreal. It’s perfect, sliky-smooth, haunting even.

They have a new album coming out this April and I got to hear some of the new songs at the concert which made me anticipate it even more. I really hope this band takes off and gets the attention they deserve soon. I mean, I paid $10 to be 5 feet away from a band with easily as much talent as Coldplay and some of my other favorites. If you live in Utah, you can pay $12 and see them this next Monday. Of course I highly recommend that you do so.

They have so many great songs. Check out Letters From The Sky, Human, Soldier and Anybody Out There for a few samples. And I’m sure I don’t really need to point out that Steven is kind of nice to look at right? I didn’t think so…

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I found this fun idea for the kid’s valentine’s here and absolutely love it! So I took some pics and put Jake on Photoshop duty. Fun, cute and easy. Just the way I like it!

We’re doing lots of Valentine’s celebrating this year, but strangely nothing today.

The girls had their school parties on Friday and Patrick’s joy-school party is tomorrow, but I have a Girl Scout meeting tonight. (who planned that?!)  I made a yummy dinner last night and Maddy made us all some great chocolate chip cookies almost all by herself. Totally a first!

Jake and I forced ourselves to stay up and watch a movie after the kids went to bed last night. Okay, I forced myself to stay awake after Jake played the longest game of Cranium ever while I patiently waited to get our kid-lets to bed so I wouldn’t change my mind about staying up past 11pm. Aren’t I so romantic? I guess 13 years of marriage will do that to you.

Hope you all have a great Valentine’s Day! xoxo

Breaking The Silence

I’m not going to start by listing all the things that keep me from writing lately. I’ve done that PLENTY of times. Most of you who check in with me know the usual suspects so I’ll just get on with it…

In addition to my normal routine, I have been doing an awful lot of pondering these days. I read. I watch. I listen. I meditate. I pray. I have become quite the observer as of late. It’s an old role for me, but one that has found me again in the  few quiet moments of the day. I’ve enjoyed this reprieve of sorts and it’s now time to get doing again.

During this reflective time, I’ve also wondered what I looked like to all of you observers, so I started back-reading the last 3 years of this blog. If I didn’t know myself, I would guess that I am a runner who takes extended breaks to have babies, (quite a few of them) a lover of all things edible, someone with fierce but often flighty passions,  and I’m fairly certain you would feel the love I have for my family and friends as well.

What you may not see is someone who spills her guts (in very obscure ways which don’t seem like I’m spilling anything) for sake of documenting all of her life and keeping her sanity. A woman searching for daily balance while still finding ways to create and develop her talents. A mother/sister/daughter who wants to leave a glimpse of her life for her loved ones that contains more than just the “facts”.

What you also don’t see (and something I’ve been terrible of noting as of late) is how much inspiration and joy I get from reading and seeing all the beautiful things that you all contribute to your outlets, whether it’s in the blogging world, facebook notes, or real-life interactions. Thanks to all of you who have also jumped back into writing this year. You have helped me find my resolve sooner.

I may not always have time to comment, but I am usually around.

This year my writing plan is to do more than last year. That’s it. Shouldn’t be too hard since I barely kept a presence here at all. This is still my journal of sorts and I’m ready to be more committed to it. There are so many things that I was reminded of reading old posts that I am starting to really understand how this spot is mostly for me, though I hope I can amuse some of you in the process as well.

Now that it’s February I’m working on my New Year’s resolutions. January was just too soon after the holidays for any sort of goal tackling. I have loved the idea about a one word theme as a simple reminder of what I am striving for. So far I have narrowed my list to 4 words. (what can I say? I have many goals) The finalist are gratitude, shine, believe, or wisdom. I’m hoping to narrow it down soon and get started. First I need to update my 35 list. Wow. I really let myself get behind, didn’t I?!

Well, first post of 2011 is now done, but there will be more in Feb. I promise! The writing juices are now flowing…

‘Tis The Season

*Guerrilla update*

My Girl Scouts did a great job of giving secret gifts and nice notes on doors, they just didn’t really “get” the anonymous part of the whole thing. 🙂 I’m pleased they got into the spirit of giving anyway.  As for myself, an opportunity arose while I was in Salt Lake to contribute in a sub for santa for a newly divorced mom trying to give her 3 teenage kids a great Christmas on her own. She is lucky to have such supportive friends in her life (including my sister) and I was thankful for a chance to help!

I’ve been trying to think of something to do to help me get in the Christmas mode of thinking (which is really hard to do in Arizona with palm trees and mid 70 80 temps) and knew this was my answer. I read about this on my friend Jamie’s blog, which she got from Jen at  Gilding Lilies, that I’m pretty much just going to copy and paste so you get the original idea in the creator’s own words.

Last year I decided to do a Guerrilla Holiday, and I want to do it again this year, and I’m hoping you will want to join me. Here is the big idea. Have you ever heard of Guerrilla Artist’s? Basically, they are artists that make art and install, preform, or attach it to public spaces, with the intention of affecting the world in a creative and thought provoking way (to paraphrase Keri Smith). These installations are often anonymous, and very unique. Do a web search for “guerrilla art” and you will see many wonderful examples. My idea is to remove some of the hype from the holiday and remind people of the simple joy of kindness. I think we all get so wrapped up in the stress of the season, we sometimes forget about small ways we can feel, and spread joy.  I’m talking about some random acts of giving. Tiny stuff, sweet stuff, unexpected stuff. Here are some ideas to get your creative juices flowing. Decorate a public and unexpected object. Put a handmade greeting card on a strangers windshield. If you’re a crafter, make something small, and stick it in a neighbors mailbox. Go for a walk and stick a single shiny ornament on every tree that you pass. Tie a pretty tag, with a few kind words, on somebodies trash can (won’t that just freak them out!). One of my readers tucked handmade beaded bookmarks in library books. There are a million possibilities. Make a sticker or a sign. Do you have something to say about the holiday season? Well, this is your chance! Won’t you join me? I am really excited to see what you do. Send me some pictures, or tell me some stories, and I will try to post as many of them as I can. Spread the word, and take a Guerrilla Holiday Button. Let’s see what we can do. I believe this could be something special, don’t you?!

I absolutely LOVE this idea and really wanted to pass it on to any of you who are looking for a way to share your talents and Christmas spirit with those around you this year. I’m lucky to have many opportunities to provide service in my church and neighborhood, but there’s something about secret “gift” giving that makes me all tingly and warm! I’ll sure need that the next few weeks as I head to Utah.

I also passed this challenge on to my 12 girl scouts as well, along with a little bribery from me, so I’m excited to see what creative things they come up with.

Hope you are all enjoying this holiday season so far! I have lots to share, but most likely it will be in the new year. Good thing that is right around the corner, because I’m sure missing this place…

See you soon!

K

Get Cozy

I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get to this post about my triathlon, I wanted to earlier, but this time of year always does me in. I’m up to my eyeballs in projects for Thanksgiving and Christmas so there is no such thing as free time right now. However, I need to get this all down before I forget, so I’ll make sure not to answer the door or phone until it’s done this time!

First of all, thanks to Lindsey for convincing me to do this, and thanks to Cresta for reminding me that it’s on my list when I thought about NOT doing it. And thank you to Melody, Trisha, Lindsey and Meili for training with me. I would have never done this without all the help along the way no matter how small the push, it all helped! Meili, thanks for being a good sport and completing the race with me. I can’t believe your very first race ever was this tri! You were awesome and I’m so jealous impressed with your natural athleticism, and am so happy we conquered this goal together! It was fun!(?)

I learned so much while training for this race. There are probably quite a few things I would do differently, but overall I’m really pleased with how it all turned out. My goal was to finish around an hour and a half, and I was 2 minutes under my goal. Considering I rode a mountain bike instead of a road bike and started to get a nasty cold the day before, I was actually ecstatic and shocked when I found out my time. After this race I told Jake I finally felt like an athlete. Not that I didn’t really before, but I think I discovered how much my body is really able to do. It was empowering to say the least.

If you’re thinking of participating in a triathlon, here are some little tips that may be helpful (or not) that I came up with:

1. Get a training buddy. Or 2. Or 3. It’s so much easier to train if you have someone to workout with and to push you when you don’t want to jump in the freezing cold water for a swim.
2. Make sure the pool you’re training in is going to be heated when the outside temps drop. Maybe get a temporary pass at a gym that has a pool. That way you can swim, bike then run without worrying about weather, bikes, etc.
3. Find your bike before you sign up. Buy or borrow a road bike, but do it in plenty of time so you can train with it. If you try and find a seat post on a vintage race bike the week before it’s not going to work! For real.
4. Don’t worry so much about what to wear race day. Try different combinations, then see what you are most comfortable in. Not everyone dresses like those you see in the Iron Man races, so as long as you’re not trying to race in your p.j.’s you’re going to fit in just fine.
5. Over prepare for race day. Bring a jacket, beanie, gloves, and items for any weather. Bring extra fueling items and a bike pump. Even if it is super warm on your race day and all the extras sit in your bag, you’ll feel more at ease knowing you were ready for anything.
6. Don’t drink too much on the hour long drive to the race, or while waiting for the race to begin. I wasn’t so smart this time, but I had one more reason to not stop running at the end when I didn’t really want to run anymore…
7. Relax! Don’t worry too much about all the unknown in terms of race day. Talk to those who have done it before (if possible) to ease your mind and tell you what they would do differently next time or what worked for them. This is a HUGE help!

The only thing that held me back from doing a tri before (besides the time commitment) was the idea of swimming in a race. I’m not a strong swimmer by any means, so I wasn’t sure this was something I could physically do. The first time I tried to swim the 400 meters I kept choking on the water and my lungs felt like they might explode. It also took me over 30 minutes! (that’s really slow btw) I really wondered if I was cut out to even do the race.

I had to re-learn how to breathe in a pool and luckily I know an incredible swimming coach who gave me some wonderful tips that greatly helped me improve my time. By the 3rd week of workouts I had almost cut my time in half, which gave me a lot of hope! I really came to love my swimming workouts and even miss them now. Yes, there were times that I jumped in a freezing pool when it was under 60 degrees outside that weren’t so fun, but the post workout feeling is pretty nice. You can feel every part of your body working together, or in my case attempting to work together. It’s like a full body workout without all the gear and the sweat!

The race I did was also held in a pool vs. a lake (which would completely freak me out) and we swam serpentine style. Basically one person would swim down the first lane, then would go under the rope and swim back to the start wall until the next rope and so on to the end of the pool. Every 10 seconds the next person in line would be allowed to go and so forth. We were in the middle of the crowd and I think we waited at least 45 minutes to get in the pool. Thank goodness the sun was out to keep our backs somewhat warm, but the gel that I had eaten right before we entered the pool area ended up wearing off mid bike ride. I really should have packed an extra on me… anyway, I finished the swim in a little over 11 minutes. It wasn’t my best time, but I was so happy when it was over! (the pool was heated, which was wonderful, and the water was warmer than the air)

it was chilly waiting for the race to start

My transition to my bike was pretty quick. I only had to put my shoes and socks on and re-pin my number on my swim tank. I thought I was being smart pinning it on a long sleeve T before the race when it was really cold, but by the time I was done with my swim, it had warmed up and I was plenty warm from the swim! I felt like I got a great start on the bike and I cruised along pretty quick on the first half of the course that was slightly downhill. I did get passed by 5 or 20 bikes, but I passed a couple myself too. The last quarter was a little harder, but of all the events I think the biking was the easiest for me. I’m really thinking more seriously about biking a century now that I’ve been training on a bike more.

After the bike my legs turned to jello. I took a little longer on my transition than I needed to try and give myself a little break. Even though the biking wasn’t too bad, my throat was killing me and my lungs were not too happy either. I walked/limped for the first bit, then decided to start running after I could feel my feet again. I really wanted to walk, but I knew if I did that I would never be able to start running again and that would totally kill my time. (I also drank too much if you remember, so that kept me moving as well)

waiting for our turn to swim and trying to stay warm in the sun rays

The last mile of the race was pretty miserable. I was running on a dirt trail right next to a concrete wall and it was really hot outside. Well, maybe 75 degrees, but it felt sweltering to me at that moment. I was exhausted by then for sure, but it was my throat that was bothering me more than anything. I thought for sure that I had strep or something equally terrible again, but I didn’t. I did sleep for 3 hours after the race, and again the next day, due to racing while sick. There was no way I was going to miss my race though!

Right before the finish line I saw Jake and the kids waving from the side of the dirt trail. They gave me the boost I needed to speed up and finish the race strong. Funny how a little thing like that will get you going when you don’t have anything left. Okay, maybe it was 4 little things.

I was plenty warm here, an hour and a half later

After the race I got my medal, my bike and the rest of the gear and sent Jake to put it in the car. I got my meal ticket and went over to the breakfast table to find out that only orange and apple wedges were left. What the?! Didn’t they know how many people signed up for the race? There were plenty of people behind me too! Swell. A bagel or muffin really would have been nice…

we are really happy to be finished!

Instead Jake, I and the kids proceeded directly to Rubio’s where I devoured the best grilled chicken tacos of my life. Then I promptly fell asleep in the car for the whole ride home. The end.

*Thanks for the photos Meili!