Thoughts for Thursday

Outside my window... pitch, black dark. The sun isn't even up yet. Claire and I got up early to put signs all around the house for Mike's birthday.

I am thankful for... my husband. Today is his birthday and I am thankful God know He is the perfect husband for me.

I am wearing... The same things as last time!!! haha. My FAVORITE Vera Bradley pajama pants that I got a few years ago at the awesome Vera warehouse sale and a purple Old Navy T-shirt.

I am remembering... all the things I have to do for the birthday celebrations in my house. Mike - today, Claire - 2/10, Mom - 2/16.

I am going... to work! This is a work day. I am thankful for my job but would rather stay home.

I am reading... Fresh WInd, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala

I am hoping... it doesn't snow this weekend and mess up plans for Claire's birthday party.

On my mind... getting some coffee - SOON.

From the kitchen... triple chocolate cheesecake I made last night for Mike's bday.

Around the house... people are slowly stirring getting ready for the day to begin.

Plans for the weekend...Girl's Night Out, Cheerleading, FOUR basketball games on Saturday, Claire's birthday party on Saturday, church, lunch with our widow for Big Hug Sunday, Super Bowl

One of my favorite things...my daughter's heart

Fun in the Snow

I love snow days!!! Yesterday was so fun. We met some of our friends over at school to sled down an awesome hill. It is the perfect hill because it is pretty steep but then you have the whole football field to slow you down. We had a blast. At first we were just going to send the kids and dads but then decided that the moms shouldn't miss out on the fun. I am so proud of myself because I even tried going over this skateboard ramp on my sled. If you hit it just right it would send you airborn. My friend and I tried to do it but couldn't ever hit it straight on. I am usually not very daring so that was a big step for me. We got such a great workout walking up the hill after each sledding run.

Here is a video of my kids going down the hill.

Here is Claire and her friend on the sled:


After we finished sledding we headed home for a quiet afternoon. I cooked a big pot of chili and made some cornbread and brownies. Taylor's friend came home with him from sledding and once they walked in the door I hardly ever saw them. My brother, sister-in-law and nephew came to eat with us and we played a few games together. It was such a fun day!

Thoughts

I stole this from another blog and I might nake this a regular feature.

Outside my window... gray and cold - the kind of day that makes you want to stay inside ALL day in your comfy clothes.

I am thankful for... Fridays!!! I love the prospect of a weekend ahead, especially when they aren't too busy.

I am wearing... my FAVORITE Vera Bradley pajama pants that I got a few years ago at the awesome Vera warehouse sale and a purple Old Navy T-shirt.

I am remembering... the people of Haiti and all they are going through right now.

I am going... to do laundry ALL day until I finish, to close a bank account and get a new car battery today.

I am reading... The Partner by John Grisham

I am hoping... to have the urge to stop eating junk food soon.

On my mind... what to do for Spring Break.

From the kitchen... coffee, coffee, coffee

Around the house... I love my new sofa in my keeping room and my new barstools in my kitchen. It is such a cozy space.

Plans for the weekend... cheerleading, basketball game, basketball practices and a soccer game; dinner with friends before the soccer game, church and a meeting after church.

One of my favorite things... laying on the couch reading by the fire with my kids and husband close by.

Dolphin's Cove or In Your Eyes?

I have decided that choosing paint colors is extremely overwhelming, and that is because there are too many of them and they have names that don't make sense or look anything like what they sound like. We had almost our entire house painted last week so I have become very familiar with the Benjamin Moore color wheel. There are 1,621 colors to be exact.

For my house I stayed pretty simple. I settled on plantation beige for the main living area color; our bedroom is french vanilla; our bathroom is antique glassware, Taylor's room is feather gray and Claire's room is some shade of pink that I forgot the name of. None of those actually sound too strange although feather gray is way more blue than gray and plantation beige is more gold than anything. Plus - when I think of plantations - I don't think of beige or gold or anything close to what the color actually looks like.

Take Workout Green for example. What in the world? Is that because after you work out you feel like you are going to throw up and your face gets green? The actual color is a cross between lime and seafoam. Can't you just say "half lime/half seafoam." You can actually picture that in your mind better than workout green. Or what about Quiet Moments. Before I tell you what quiet moments actually looks like - think about what a quiet moment looks like to you. I bet it is different for everyone. To me it would be a very light shade of blue with a little aqua thrown in - or maybe a slightly tinted white. Benjamin Moore says it is a medium shade of gray/green. Or how about Country Romance? I picture some annoying shade of red or pink because really - what is a "country romance"? The good people pf Benjamin Moore see it as a dark taupey/purply/brown.

I think paint companies should just take the 133 Crayola crayon colors and work from that. Every color of paint would just be some darker or lighter version of the crayon color. You have your basic colors that we all know and love - blue, red, green, yellow, etc. Then you have varying shades of those colors. For example you'd have your basic yellow then within yellow you'd have the following: canary, dandelion, goldenrod, green yellow, laser lemon, lemon yellow, orange yellow, sunglow, and unmellow yellow. Within those you can go darker or lighter and that allows for PLENTY of choices. It is too overwhelming to pick between 174 shades of white/beige for your room.

Next time someone asks me my favorite color, I am going to tell them it is either Dolphin's Cove or In Your Eyes. That sounds way more exotic than saying light turquoise blue.

A Rite of Passage

I had my first mammogram today. My old OB had wanted me to have one when I was 35, but I said no way and decided to wait until I turned 40. Well - now that 40 is upon me it was time. I probably would have procrastinated (I am good at that) for a while but my mom decided we would bond together over mammograms. She actually made my appointment for me, and so I decided it was best to get in the car when she pulled in my driveway to pick me up.

I must say it was no big deal. I wasn't the least bit worried about it, but I didn't really know what to expect. After we checked in, we were called back to a waiting room and showed into an area where they had individual changing rooms stocked with lovely blue paper short gowns. They make you undress from the waist up and then put the gown on. I obeyed the orders and went back into the main waiting room. I wanted to take pictures of mom and I in our matching gowns for our Facebook pages but I decided some might get offended. The room we waited in was stocked kind of like a spa. It had decaf coffee with a cinnamon flavor, hot water for cocoa or tea, ice water, muffins and candy. It had a flatscreen tv on the wall and plenty of magazines to look at. If they had a sauna or steam room I might have stayed all day. Unfortunately, the wait was a very short wait one and the spa similarities ended there.

From here on I'll spare the gory details, but let's just say this might be the first time in my life where I enjoyed having a somewhat large chest. I think if you have something for the technician to actually work with it doesn't really hurt. For anyone that is flat-chested I imagine it might be a little painful, or at the very least uncomfortable, as your skin is pulled, stretched, lifted and then flattened like a pancake. As I said, it didn't hurt at all, it was just a little awkward standing topless having a stranger lift your boobs onto a shelf.

One of my friends told me her technician asked her if she had implants. I don't think you would ask someone that unless you actually couldn't tell if they were real or not. Unfortunately nobody asked me that today. I guess the fact that my boobs hang down to my waist is a dead giveaway that they are as real as they come. You are not allowed to wear deodarant when you have a mammpgram, and so the changing room is stocked with spray deodarant for you to use when you are finished (another spa-like similarity.)

All in all my rite of passage into 40 was pretty uneventful. I am glad to say I can check this off my list of things to do and can stay away from mammograms until age 45.

That's a Wrap

Happy New Year 2010! I am enjoying a FABULOUS day (actually a fabulous week) baking with Claire, sitting by the fire, drinking cider, playing Carolinaoploy with Taylor and Mike, organizing and now for the first time in many months - blogging. I answered these questions last year and I loved it as a wrap-up to the year before - so I decided to do it again. So, complete with pictures, here goes:

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? That is easy - a marathon that somewhat took over my life for over half the year. There were other firsts that coincided with the marathon - physical therapy for my knee, and a heart stress test. For the first time I also chaired a committee at church, had a child go to middle school, went to the James K. Polk museum (been around FOREVER), went to Charleston and got my first pair of cowboy boots just to name a few!

First day of middle school:


2. Did you keep your new years' resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I wanted to read the Bible through in a year and lasted until about March. I plan on trying again in 2010.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Yes, my brother and sister-in-law had their first baby - my precious nephew Knox - in June. Mike's sister also had a baby, her fourth, our nephew Nolan.

Baby Knox:


4. Did anyone close to you die? No, thank goodness.

5. What places did you visit? The first place we went in 2009 was in March to Washington, D.C. over the first part of Spring Break. We had a great time visiting our friends and attending their son's bar mitzvah and sightseeing, too. In May Taylor and I made a day trip to Charleston with the fifth grade class. Also in May all the boys in our family went on a weekend guys BBQ trip. In June, the four of us went to Hilton Head for the first time. We had a lot of fun. Also in June Mike and I made our annual trip to Sonoma which is always GREAT. We spent a week at Sunset at the end of July. In Sept. Taylor and I spent a few days in the mountains at Windy Gap. We also went to my parents' mountain house in Boone for Labor Day and Thanksgiving weekend. In October Mike and I spent a night in Chapel Hill. In Oct./Nov. our family, along with my parents, went to NYC for the marathon. We didn't do much far away travel, but every trip was a lot of fun!

Washington, D.C.:


Taylor and I in Charleston:


Harbourtown in Hilton Head:


Our hotel in Sonoma:


Sunset Beach:


New York:


6. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? That is so easy - Nov. 1 - because that is the day I ran the New York Marathon. That is by far the most memorable - even in my whole life - but the entire month of Nov. was VERY memorable. Nov. 1 - marathon; Nov. 13 - turned 40; Nov. 18 - moved into a new house. I was somewhat glad for Dec. so I could breathe again.



7. What was your biggest achievement of the year? See # 6! I give all credit to God for any achievements I may have accomplished this year - especially getting me through November 2009.

Mike and I at the finish line:


8. What was your biggest failure? Same as last year - when I said unkind things to anyone, speaking before thinking, not spending time with God daily, being critical...I would also add not having enough faith.

9. Did you suffer illness or injury? I hurt my knee training for the marathon and then I hurt the other knee when I fell while I was running in Chapel Hill. I also had some anxiety and panic attacks in the fall centered around the amount of things weighing on my mind and taking up my time.

10. What was the best thing you bought? Easy - a new house and some of the things that go in it.

11. Where did most of your money go? New house, private school tuition, household expenses, church and other charities.

12. What did you get really, really, really excited about? The marathon and my new house.

13. What song will always remind you of 2009? "Back in the New York Groove" by Ace Frehley - random I know - but it was playing while we were running the marathon and I loved it!

14. What do you wish you'd done more of? Read, spend time in God's word, being still and quiet

15. What do you wish you'd done less of? Waste time, eat, be busy

16. What was your favorite TV program? House, Survivor, American Idol, Glee

17. What was the best book you read this year? The Help

18. What did you want and get? a new house, cowboy boots, red patent dansko clogs,

19. What was your favorite film of this year? Blindside, Invictus, The Proposal

20. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you? Well - this was the big 4-0. The day before my birthday, the girls at work went all out and decorated my office and hallway with marathon-themed decorations. We had a yummy luncheon with the whole floor, too. I went down and got Claire out of the cafeteria so she could eat with us. On my actual birthday, my sweet mom gave me a wonderful birthday luncheon at Red Rocks with about 20 of my friends. It was filled with childhood friends, high school friends, and adult friends. It was so fun. I had dinner that weekend with my parents, Zach & Laura and family at Greek Isles - YUM! Of course the trip to New York a few weeks before and the move a week after was all part of the celebration. I am still waiting on a girls weekend to celebrate, too.

Decorations at work:


Claire and I at work:


Mom and I at my birthday lunch:


21. What political issue stirred you the most? I guess the presidential inauguration. Even though the candidate I wanted to win, didn't - I still enjoyed watching history being made and all of the pomp and circumstance that comes with how we bring our new leaders into office.

So that was a fun look back at 2009. Here we are in 2010 - I can't wait to see what it brings. My desire is for a calmer year of sitting still long enough to hear God speak and to go wherever He leads me.

Summer is OVER

I am going back to work in one hour and 15 minutes. Actually I am only working for about 30 minutes today, but tomorrow I will be there all day. I always have mixed emotions about this. It is exciting seeing everyone at work and being a part of the school community, but it also means the days of freedom are over. I am trying to think of some fun things to do this week for my kids, especially some fun way to celebrate Taylor starting middle school next Monday, but the creative juices are not flowing. Any suggestions, anyone?

On the housing front, we have had a lot of showings. For that I am thankful. It seems like people like the house, but for some reason it isn't the right one for them. One couple chose somthing smaller and closer in town and one couple liked the house but not the lot. That is okay with me, it only takes one person, and we are prepared to be in this for a while. Keeping it clean has been relatively easy. My family has done a pretty good job of helping on this front. It should be even easier once school starts.

Marathon training. Well, where do I begin? Mike and I ran 13 miles once and 10 miles twice. The 13-miler was an ADVENTURE. We started at the greenway too late in the day and were still running when the sun went down (and when the thiunder and lightning started). The greenway isn't the safest place to be at night and we found that out. There were a few sketchy characters whose actions caused us to ditch the greenway and duck into a backyard. Unfortunately when we did that we didn't know where we were and had to find our way out of a neighborhood. We ended up on Carmel Rd on the other side of Johnston Rd. There were no sidewalks and it was pouring down rain & thunder & lightning. After we survived the scary men I was sure we were going to get hit by a car or struck by lightning. We finally found sidewalks and continued (after one phone call to my brother to maybe come pick us up) to the end. My adrenaline definitely kicked in which took my mind off some of my physical misery. One of the lessons I learned was that iPhones do you no good when you are soaking wet and can't dry off your finger tips!!!!

This week we run 15 miles. It still makes me laugh when I think about what I am doing. It is so hard and yet we are doing it. I am so thankful that God has given me the strength (both mental and physical) to keep this up. This is week 7 of the 18 week program so we are almost halfway there. I am praying my knees and feet/ankles will hold up, because they are definitely giving me trouble. I am also interested to see how going back to work impacts my training.