A Dangling Carrot

 Like the majority of women in this country, I have constant and rarely reached health/weight-loss/get fit, (whatever you want to call it) goals.  I go to the gym regularly, but I rarely change my routine, or work hard enough to make much of a difference.  I like to eat a lot of healthy food, but I also eat an equal amount of junk food.  These make for a problem when it comes to reaching my goals and looking better.
Today, in an effort to motivate me a little more, I bought a pair of pants that are currently too small for me.  Goal pants, as I like to call it.  The thing is, this is not a new tactic for me, and the worst part is, it's never worked in the past, I just end up donating my never-been-worn-goal pants to someone else who is fortunate enough to not need to make the same goals as myself.

So here I am yet again, with goal to fit into a pair of pants that I bought knowing full well that I'll have to do some sufficient hiney shedding before I can comfortably claim them as mine.  Hopefully they'll still be in style when that day comes.  I'll try to keep you posted if it happens, perhaps there will even be a picture featuring my legs in said pants.
Does anyone else do this to themselves?

Not Dreaming of a White Christmas

I never liked the song I'm dreaming of a White Christmas, because I've never liked snow and winter.  I like sunshine and warmth. 
Upon moving to Ohio, I had no idea that the sun liked to hide for the winter, last winter it didn't show it's glorious face for what felt like 4 months straight. 
Today I received a Christmas miracle from my friend the sun. 
December 24th, the sun is shining!  There is no snow, and the sky is blue with a high of 40 degrees. That's my kind of winter.

words

Gracie has a growing vocabulary. But sometimes her words require a little translating. She says :
Momma= momma
Momma= play with me
momma= get that
momma= i'm hungry
momma= pick me up
momma= let's go
momma= hi dad

Ridiculous Incentives

It was bagels and schmear that got me out of bed this morning. 
I am trying to stick to a routine of waking up early to go to the gym and work out and be able to shower and have some me time, all before Gracie wakes up at 7:30 (ps, I hate you Daylight Savings Time, your throwing off my daughter's sleep schedule).  As it gets colder, waking up early gets harder.  I was actually awake already when the alarm went off, and I didn't exactly fall back to sleep, I just didn't want to get out of bed, for 35 minutes I thought of reasons why I don't need to actually get up this morning, or why I have legitimate excuses not to (the baby woke up at 3:00am and kept me up for 10 minutes, it's going to be a sunny day - I can run later, I could just make today my off day, and the list goes on and on). 
But then I remembered that at my gym, the second Tuesday of the month is Bagel day, and you can take as many as you want, and they're good.  At that thought I sprung to action.  I couldn't miss the opportunity to get free bagels for my family for breakfast.
Gotta get my money's worth for the gym membership, right?

Pretty Girl

My little girl is pretty, and goofy.   Here's a random selection..

 

 

My daughter is not a racist

We were starting to wonder, but she proved otherwise. 

Thanks for your patience with our small one, Kwame. :)

Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged

In an attempt to repent of my ignorance I have written the following statement of admission:

I plead guilty to the following offense: 
Judging a mother for letting her young children watch "too much" TV. 

At one point my assessment of "too much" TV watching may or may not have even constituted as just a little more than none at all. 
Before I had children I had a vision of being a super parent, with learning activities constantly up my sleeve ready to keep MY child's attention. 
Now that I am a parent, my previous vision is slowly fading into a more realistic picture. 
Sometimes I just need the baby to sit quietly and stop climbing in the dish washer, in the dryer, in the trash can, in the toilet, pushing the chairs around, getting in the fridge, pulling out all the books from all the shelves, all the tupperware, pots, pans, bags, towels and washclothes from the cupboards and drawers and just stop stop stop stop stop.
I love my daughter, every moment of every day is not like that (but there is usually a moment in almost every day where she is like that). 
So, I committed the offense of which I have unrighteously judged against.
I turned on the TV.
Not only that, I searched for a show that would most keep her attention.
I taught her to watch TV.
Today I washed the dishes, tidied up the kitchen and switched the laundry while my busy toddlerbaby sat peacefully on the couch crunching cheerios and hugging her teddy mesmerized by the picture and sounds coming from the television. She sat for at least 25 minutes.    (Sesame Street, it's genius)
I can't say that I'm proud of it, but at the same time I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I am elated by the thought that she doesn't have to be asleep in order for me to get something done without my little buddy at my heels, literally pushing and pulling me along.

Online Shopping

We decided that we want to get Gracie her own little chair for Christmas, while we were shopping on amazon for baby/toddler chairs we found this one:

Very cute, eh?  (it's not the one she's getting)

The chair only had one poor review, here's what it said:

2.0 out of 5 stars Dissatisfied, September 28, 2011

LUKE: This review is for: Trend Lab Ultrasuede Club Chair, Red (Baby Product)

I'm afraid that I have to say that this chair is not at all what it appears to be. I was under the impression that it was for an adult. Turns out, it is child-sized. You'd think that they'd put that in the description somewhere...


HILARIOUS!  Just imagining this guy receive a baby chair at the door made us laugh with tears for a solid 10 minutes, it still gives me the giggles. 

Gross

Welp, it happened. 
I knew it would, I just hoped it wouldn't. 
Gracie tasted dog poop today.

I don't really like dogs, and I even more dislike irresponsible dog owners who don't clean up after their pups.  In fact, one of the few things that I dislike about our apartments is that they allow pets, I'd rather they didn't, then there wouldn't be any dogs around, and therefore, no dog poop.

However, doing away with dogs wouldn't solve our poopy problem all together.
Gracie stuck her finger in her own poop.  After doing her business in her potty chair she quickly got up to see her product and touched it before I could swoop down and save her finger.  
She was probably very confused at my bi-polar display of emotions - going from YAY Gracie!  Good job pooping in the potty to NO Gracie don't touch it! Bad!   (Luckily that experience has not resulted in less usage of the potty)

The little babe has got to learn that yes, everybody poops, but no we do not need to touch said poop.
Gross.

hiccups

I feel like I can truthfully brag (if that's the right word for it) that I get the hiccups far more often than the average human over the age of 2 (babies definitely beat me on this one).
Although I often execute the usual methods of getting rid of the hiccups, such as holding my breathe, drinking lots of water, thinking really really hard about the next upcoming hiccup and some more breathe holding and water drinking, nothing really helps; the hiccups leave when they want to leave just as they came when they wanted to come. 
I've found though that no one really seems to be bothered by somebody elses hiccups, in fact, they're often revered as humorously cute. And, I can't deny that I do find ways to be both cute and humorous, so I suppose the hiccups could be counted as a blessing, if they're contributing to my likability.
But when I am awaken from a lovely slumber at 2:23 am with uncontrollable hiccups that refuse to yield, I must say, all cuteness that may have previously existed completely ceases.
This time, the hiccups went too far.

laughing at myself.

I'm number 1478 on the waiting list for a reserved book at the library.  I could just buy the book, but I'm not in any hurry to read it, and I'm cheap.
I'll just wait for the free version. 

I'm a mom

As I was picking up Gracie's toys this morning, a task I do 3 or 4 times a day, I couldn't help but think to myself, I love being a mom.  There is nothing in this whole world that could replace me and my role as Gracie's mother.  Even more, there is also nothing that could replace the joy that Gracie brings to my life. 
Additionally, I love being my husband's wife. 


I pity the women who spend their lives complaining about their role as a wife, mother and homemaker.  I am doing the most important job, I'm the rock of our home and my family needs me, even though my work isn't glamorous, exciting or monetarily fruitful.

These two best friends are my best friends.

Beach, Tupperware, Collages!

We went to the Beach on Memorial Day, and I learned that I can download a free photo program and make a collage.  hurray!

Gracie is crawling around everywhere.  I had to rearrange our cupboards so that she can pull whatever she wants out of them without breaking anything.  It's fun following her around all day picking things up so that I don't trip and break my nose.

Perfect Driving Record

I got pulled over today.  I deserved it.
Don't you hate that feeling after you've handed over your license, registration and proof of insurance, while the cop is back in his car doing who knows what, wondering: Am I going to get a ticket?  How much will it be?  Should I go to court or just pay it?  Where am I going to get the money to pay it?  How much will my insurance go up now?  Is my husband going to be mad at me?  Why couldn't my baby have been bawling when he came to the window? How long does this take? sheesh

I've only got one ticket, and it was in Puerto Rico, on my mission, it was embarrassing.
But that doesn't mean I've only been pulled over only once. Oh, I've been pulled over many a times.  But I seem to have this way with the policemen that makes them always want to take it easy on me.  That's why I'm the primary driver in our family.

So I shouldn't have been surprised when the officer handed back my license and said:
"I didn't want to mess up your perfect driving record, and you've got a little baby"
I thanked him sincerely, we chatted a little about the neighbors in the area who had made complaints which led him to monitor that street and he sent me on my way.

I love being a woman.

13.1

For Mother's Day, I gave myself the gift of health and endurance.  I ran 13.1 miles (on Saturday May 7th).
It was amazing.  My dear friend Angie trained, and ran the race with me.  She is a rock star.  I swear that woman never gets tired.  She was full of energy the entire race, which was great for me because I had someone to keep up with, and ended up finishing the race over a minute faster per mile than we trained for.  I expected to finish in about 2 hours 40 minutes (i'm slow), and instead my end time was 2:14!  It felt great. 

The course was amazing, it ran through all the cool parts of Columbus click here if you're interested.

So here's what I learned for the next race:
Don't drink a lot of water 1 hour before the race
Go potty twice
My bladder isn't as strong as it once was

lol yes, I may have had a small uncontrollable trickle during the last few miles of the race.  My only goal was to run the whole way, and stopping at one of the porta potties did not fit into reaching that goal.  
I ran my hardest, I have no regrets or if onlys. 

Goodbye my good ole trousers

This is a letter to my favorite pair of jeans.

Dear Jeans,
I purchased you in 2001, my freshman year of college.  You were hip and made my bottom look hot.  I loved slipping my legs into your 98% cotton 2% spandex blend.  You traveled with me from Virginia, to New York to Hawaii and back home to Utah.  I left you behind, tucked safely in a box, when I went to Puerto Rico.  When I came back to claim you, you were a little more snug than when I left.  I pumped and I sweat in order to fit loosely into you again.  After I got married, I gained too many happy wife pounds, and could no longer bare to tear your tiny threads as they stretched across my legs.  Again, I had to say farewell until I was able to fit into you again.  For three long years, although unseen, you did not go forgotten as I regretfully purchased larger and larger pants. 
Finally, yesterday, May 4th 2011, I pulled you out of the box you had been hiding in for years, and slipped you on.  To my astonishment, you fit!  I have been working hard, running, sweating, and declining many sweets so that I could see you again.  But, the sad truth is, I just don't like you anymore.  You are no longer fashionable, you have bleach spots, you have frayed bottoms, and are thread bare in other places. So I must bid you adieu, donate you, and never see you again.  I hope that the next person to wear you has many happy times in you.

Lovingly,
Sabrina

I'm a runner

It's only been about 2 years since I chose running as my exercise of choice.  And honestly, I didn't really even like running then, it just happened that with triathlons you can't skip the third event, running.  I much more preferred swimming and biking.  In 2009 I completed two triathlons, and a couple other small running races, just for fun, with my mom. 
All the time I spent running for my training always felt like a chore, I ran because I had to. 
After I gained way too much weight during my pregnancy and realized that it wasn't coming off, I signed up for a half marathon.  I needed something that would force me get healthy.  I totally stalled my training.  I wasn't looking forward to hitting the pavement (or in most cases, the treadmill).  Grudgingly, but dutifully, I did eventually follow a training schedule.
Then, after 5 months of chore training, I finally realized that I looked forward to my runs. 
I started running just for fun on days when I had already done my scheduled training. 
I itched for Skylar to come home so I could take off without the jogging stroller.
And I look forward to Saturdays when I do my long runs. 
Today, I ran 11 miles, and it felt great.
My race is in two weeks, and I fully intend to continue a similar schedule after the race is over. 

I love running, and I've never felt better.

Baby Led Weaning (BLW)

This is Gracie at 7 months eating real food:

On that tray is sliced tomato, cucumber and strawberries.

I read about BLW on one of my natural parenting forums and it just sounded like the right thing to do.  So here's a little summary of what I've learned.

History of baby food: Feeding children pureed foods didn't start until around the 1950s when mother's started getting busy and less interested in breastfeeding and there was a boom in making processed foods, which people were super excited about.  Formula was created and the folks believed that man-made food was better than nature made food.  The thing is, while our modern formula still doesn't hold a candle to breastmilk, it wasn't even remotely as good then as it is now, so babies that were fed formula were extremely malnourished and had to get food from somewhere else.  So some parents had to start spoon feeding their 6 week old little ones pureed vegetables and fruits, because obviously they can't munch on a carrot stick as a newborn.  Of course a nourishment need became a marketable commodity, and viola, the invention of bottled baby food. 

What I've learned and experienced with BWL: When Gracie got old enough to be able to start trying foods other than milk, we got pretty excited.  I don't think anyone will argue with me that it's just fun to see your child grow up and experience life.  I found that spoon feeding Gracie seemed like more of a chore than it was enjoyable for either of us.
At this age, she gets all of her nutrients from milk anyway, so solid foods are really just for fun and practice; so why not have fun and practice eating real foods?  We started out really cautious, just letting her lick a piece of fruit or vegetable we were eating, but she started getting more aggressive and wanted it for herself.  So we started giving her her own pieces of food, and she loved it. 
At first the baby will just lick and suck on the food, they really don't get much from it, but it's fun for them to explore different textures and tastes.  When Gracie figured out that she can actually bite a piece of pear off, I got a little nervous, but, it turns out babies are still really smart and she'd just spit out the pieces.  Babies have a sensitive gag reflex, so normally their bodies won't let them swallow something that won't go down properly.  After a while, they get better and better at eating.  Gracie can now eat a whole strawberry, almost a whole piece of a pear, and most of anything I give her, depending on the texture.  She likes tomato slices because they are soft and she can gum them down and swallow much of it.  I've given her every fruit or vegetable that I have on my own plate and she does what she can with it.

Meal times are messy, but they're tons of fun.  I love that I know exactly what she's eating and don't have to wonder if it's really just mashed green beans in that glass bottle.  

After we eat, Gracie gets a bath in the sink, and she takes washing down her meal into her own hands.

Babies are more resilient than we give them credit for.  Unless there are known allergies in the family, or if the baby has health problems then you don't need to worry about giving one food at a time with a week in between introducing a new food like the doctors recommend.
The big no-nos for babies are salt (their kidneys can't handle it yet)  honey (there's risk of botulism) and sugar (obvious reasons). Cows milk shouldn't be given until the child is 1 year old, at which point it should be whole milk.  If you give your child juice it should be 1 part juice to 10 parts water. 

And that's just about all I know. 
One other bonus that we've enjoyed is Gracie's poops have become super regular which really helps with EC, so she hasn't had a poopy diaper in a long time.  I think we're both pretty happy about that.

The Big Three Oh

No it is not my birthday, and no I was not born in 1981.  I have lost 30 pounds. 
Thirty pounds.
That's a lot of weight. 
It's more than two Gracie's.
I fit into my skinny girl shorts today, of course I've got to slim down a little more for them to look good, but nevertheless, they fit.  I was shocked.
In addition, I ran the furthest distance of my life today.  8.5 miles.  It was a little slow, but I didn't stop or walk. 
I'd call that some serious progress.

Give me my pants back!

By the end of my pregnancy with Gracie, I had gained almost 50 lbs.  I was convinced it was because I had a huge monster baby inside me, and the rest was water weight.  HA! I couldn't be more wrong.  Baby G came out only weighing 6 lbs.  When she was two weeks old, I had only lost about 16 lbs. of actual baby weight, and then I was stuck.  I would get so mad when friends of mine, who had their babies, 1, 2 or 3 months after mine would announce, very shortly after the birth of their babes, that they were already back in their pre-pregnancy pants.  yay for you guys.  When Gracie turned 2 months old, I was still wearing my maternity pants because they were all that fit.  How depressing! 
Finally I had to accept the fact that I'm not like my skinny friends.  Breastfeeding was not a weight loss key for me, and I had to start literally working my butt off if I ever wanted to take control of my body again. 
So I stopped buying pre-made cookie dough, I learned how to bake my own whole grain bread, and I registered for a half marathon.
I can't count calories, it makes me crazy and if I'm thinking about food all day, then I just want it more. 
I try to eat only whole, real foods.  I avoid processed foods as much as I can.  This has made me learn new recipe, as well as change my tastes.  I keep around plenty of fruits and veggies and I drink a lot of water.  I eat either a salad or a green smoothie for breakfast.

And finally, finally, my little girl is 7 months, and I am down 26 lbs, and 3 belt holes.  And yes, I pulled out my jeans again! 

Family Health Update

I just feel like writing this post because if I ever read back on this blog as the story of my life, I will want to know the outcome of my illness this week.  So it turns out I just had a 24 hour flu thing.  I never believed in the 24 hour flu.  Literally.  I thought it was a myth, or food poisoning. But I really was just sick for seriously 24 hours, to the minute.  I got sick around 4:00 while I was at the zoo, went from feeling great to suddenly being punched in the stomach, I felt well enough to go for my short 2.5 mile run that evening, but my crazy leg pain wasn't because of my run, it was because of the flu.  I know this because Skylar contacted the exact same thing I had the next day, he started feeling sick around 4:00, couldn't sleep all night because he was achy, spent the day throwing up, then was better by dinner the next day, around the same time he started feeling ill.
I cant' say whether or not Gracie got any form of the flu as well because she got some shots the day Skylar was sick and was acting a bit unhappy, but I couldn't tell whether it was from the shots, or the flu.  She never threw up, just acted clingy, sleepy and achy. 

oh where oh where has my she-lion gone?

I practically never get sick.  In the four years I've been married I can count on less than a whole hand how many times I've felt really down in the dumps.  Two of those times are today, and about 3 weeks ago when we all had something icky.
I didn't ever realize how healthy I was until I married my sweetheart, who, bless his heart, gets sick probably 6 times a year.  And I never do anything different around him, and I never catch whatever he's got.  In October 2009, hubby got the swine flu. I didn't even catch the sniffles.
So far, it seems that Gracie has been blessed with my she-lion immune system that catches and kills anything within arms length.  Her daddy got sick the week she was born, being a new and excited father he couldn't resist but to still hold her and love on her.  And being the admiring wife of that new daddy, I couldn't resist how cute the daddy daughter pair were, so I didn't intervene.  Gracie was fine, she didn't get sick.  Daddy got sick again a few months later.  Again we didn't do anything different, and neither of us she-lions were slowed down.
At 5 and 1/2 months Gracie picked something up from somewhere else, and much to my dismay, she got her mommy sick (and to no one's surprise mommy got daddy sick too). 
And now. I don't know where it came from, but I want it to go away.  I feel absolutely disgusting.  I ran only 2.5 miles last evening and hurt more than I ever have after much lengthier and more strenuous workouts.  Then I couldn't sleep all night either because my screaming legs woke me up or because I felt like hurling.
I'd take a bad cold over a nauseous tummy any day.
Please please she-lion, come back!
 

To regret or not to regret. That is the question.

I've come up with a new theme for my choice making. 
Regret.
As in, which would I regret more, option A or B? 
I think about this every time Skylar nudges me at 5:00am and says, are you going to get up and go to the gym?
And I think to myself:  No Thanks, I'd rather stay in my warm bed.
Then I ask myself, which will I regret more, staying in bed? or getting up and working out?  As tempting as it is to stay in bed, I know that I'll be happier if I get up. 
So I do (most days). 
I find myself in a similar situation with eating chocolate.  Nearly every hour I hear my head having this conversation:
What do you want more? The brownie, or the skinny body?
This one is a toss up.  Sometimes I want the brownie more, sometimes I want my skinny body back more.  Unfortunately, in this case, I'm really asking myself the wrong question.  I should be asking the same question as I do when I'm in bed.  Would I regret eating the brownie more than I would regret refraining from the delicious chocolatey yumminess?  In that case, I would say, although I really really really want the chocolate more than I want to meet my goal (in that very second), I do, at least, know that I would regret it promptly afterward.  Thus, I would choose not to partake. 

You see, this is how my inner devil tricks me. I need to be more consistent in thinking about which option I would regret more rather than which one I happen to want more at the moment. 
Gotta think big picture.
Or in my case, skinny picture?


P.S. I'm not like most girls who has their pregnancy weight melt away by only breathing and breastfeeding.  For me it's been a hard, grueling process, but I'm getting there. So far, I've lost 17 lbs, only 11 more to go until I'm at pre-pregnancy. (then 10 more after that to really satisfy my vanity)

Potty Update

A few people have asked me how the potty training (or EC [elimination communication]) is going with Gracie. So here's a little report on that.
Let me first say, Gracie is a very contented child.  The biggest thing with EC is the Communication part.  Mommy is supposed to communicate with baby the potty cues, then baby is supposed to communicate with mommy (somehow) when she needs to eliminate. 
I'll boldly say I've done my part.  Gracie has definitely learned that pssst psst means "go pee now" (unfortunately we failed with the poop cue, so psst means both)  Gracie is really good at actually pushing her  little muscles and making herself go when I put her on the potty and tell her to go, even if it's just a tiny little teaspoon she's able to eliminate.  So in that sense, we're doing great and I'm really proud of her.
However, on Gracie's end, where most babies have some sort of cue as to when they need to poop (the pees are less obvious for most kids) I have found nothing with Gracie.  She doesn't grunt, fart, smile, cry, nothing.  She'll just be playing one second and pooping the next.  I try to catch her poops immediately and put her on the potty (after it's too late) and tell her where she should do that, but she just laughs at me, and sometimes she'll give me a little pity pee.  Of course there are some days where I do have motherly intuition and I'm able to catch her poops in the potty.  Those are really good days. 
And of course some days are better than others.  It all depends on how much effort I put into helping her.  For example, today, our washing machine is broken, so I'm trying not to dirty any diapers since I don't know when it will be fixed and it's almost 2:00, and she's only had one dirty diaper (pooped while I was eating breakfast, the little stinker).  Otherwise all of her elimination has been in the potty. 

 

 She's a good girl.

Pretty Baby

This is me being a braggy mom.
Isn't my baby pretty?

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

This post is a book review.  If you're anything like me, you'll see that's the case and click on to the next blog without even skimming.  That's fine.  But I just have one thing to say before you click away.  I wouldn't be writing a book review unless I thought the book was really interesting and had some affect on my life view.  With that being said, I will proceed.

 Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua tells her personal story about how Chinese parenting is better than Western parenting.  So, if you've ever wondered why Asian kids are always the ones who excel the most at music, math, science, and pretty much everything that they do, it's not because of any special Asian gift, it's because their parents force them to be nothing short of better than awesome.  The parents are extremely critical, high strung, slave drivers.  But what is interrupted as cruel in Western society is showing love in Chinese.  Chinese parents push their children so hard because they know that their child can be great and it's not loving to let them be mediocre.
I'm a fan of discipline.  And I want my daughter to feel good about herself, and while I know there is no way that I could not be a "Chinese" mother, I am definitely more determined to do whatever I can to help my little girl, and future children, be successful.
I had a great mother, and I know that she tried her best, but she either trusted me too much to make my own decisions or was always too busy and tired that she didn't fight me when I wanted to quit.  She didn't push me to do anything.  So while I "won" as a child and got out of ballet lessons, or practicing the piano or play any sports, or do anything other than play with my friends and watch TV, I ultimately lost big time as I am now a talentless adult with little achievements to speak of from my youth.  I don't want that to happen to Gracie. Having her hate me is a small price to pay for her to learn to be a hard worker and excel. 

If you want to read a synopsis of the book and get a better idea of what I'm talking about, click here

I really enjoyed the book, it was a quick fun read even if you're not a parent.  Often times I caught myself laughing out loud. 

I broke

I didn't grow up with video games.
I hardly even had friends that had video games.
I stink at playing video games.
I hate video games.


I admit that I am one of those people who believed that video games are evil, plain and simple.  They are mind sucking, time wasting, loser making toys that are not necessary for anything.

Then I met Nintendo Wii.
And it was L O V E

Here's why I love the Wii
You actually move around while playing Wii games.  My first exposure to Wii was Wii Bowling, and I won, and I loved it.  Then we played all sorts of Wii Sports and I worked up a major sweat, and I loved it.
Also, all the Wii games I ever played were family friendly, so it was more like sitting down and playing a board game.
Of course I learned that Wii does have certain games that I hate, which I will not name because the list would be too long, but let's just say, if it's not family friendly and or not making you move around, then I have very strong negative feelings for it.

So (more story telling before I get to the point) during Christmas break while Skylar and I were visiting Utah, we spent much of the time playing the Wii because we did not have a vehicle and no one was very keen on either chauffeuring us around or letting us borrow their car, and there wasn't much else to do as our families left for work or school or whatever else they did during their normal lives.
And we had fun, and I truly realized that maybe some video games are not so bad. And maybe it might be nice to play a Wii game instead of Rumikub, Scrabble or Monopoly (because those are basically the only games we have). 
We got some money for Christmas.
But I'm still too cheap to cave in.
So the deal maker was this:
Skylar gets points on Lexis Nexis (a law search engine).  Every day that he does research he gets 15 points, plus more bonus points for other various and random reasons.  He can buy things with his points through Lexis Nexis.  So, we saved up enough points to buy an Amazon gift card to pay for our Wii (we did have to supplement a little with our Christmas money, thanks Grandma and Grandpa).

So, it came in the mail today.  And we've bowled, and played tennis, and I lost everything, and I laughed.


The end.

Running Report

I'm training for a half marathon which will be on May 7th. 
I'm ashamed to say that I've known about it for 3 months now and I am still behind on my training schedule.

I have some excuses
1. It's cold.
2. I have a baby to care for and a husband in law school.
3. It's cold.

Skylar came home early yesterday so I could go to the gym, I was so excited I ran out of the house and forgot to tape my leg, so I was only able to run 1 mile then had to do the rest of my time on the elliptical.
Boo.

Skylar came home early again today so I could try again, I did remember to tape my leg this time, but my car was so covered in ice and it took me so long just to leave my driveway that I lost about 10 minutes of my precious running time, then I had to wait another 5 minutes to get on a treadmill at the gym.  (lame!)
So there's good news and bad news about tonight's run. 
Good news, I was able to run!
Bad news, I didn't run my goal of 4 miles.
Good news, I did run 3.8 miles at my fastest time yet.

Mind you, my fastest run is rather pathetic to one who truly may call themselves a runner.  My average speed was 9:30 m/m.  I usually run at about a 10:40 m/m.
So, being short legged, overweight and inherently slow, a 9:30 minute/mile average was pretty freakin awesome for me. 

Shin Splints

I guess I got shin splints.  I didn't know what it was, I just knew my leg started hurting when I started running.  So my dear more educated friends told me I had shin splints and taught me how to take care of it and prevent future problems.
Exercise the shins - you can do this by repeatedly tapping your toe until it burns and burns.  I've been doing this a lot lately.   You can also walk around on your heels until it burns.


Wrap: I'll let the picture explain itself.

So I taped my leg this morning and ran three miles pain free!  Huray!!

Oh, there they are.

That's right, the watch and sunglasses are stuck to the wall. 

(please don't judge me by the messy dresser)

Poached Egg

Skylar wanted eggs benedict, so we did it.
I don't know why I've always thought that poaching an egg would be hard, for some reason on movies and cooking shows they make the poached egg like the ultimate egg cooking test, which is dumb because it's super easy.
Boil the water, then let it simmer, add vinegar to the water.  Crack the egg into a separate dish.

Pour in the egg, and don't worry, the whites will gather themselves together again.

I don't know how long it's supposed to cook, but maybe 3 minutes?  I just let it go until it looks like the whites are all cooked. Then pull it out with a slotted spoon to drain out the water. 

Lay it on top of whatever you want to eat it on.  :)  
In our case we used ciabatta bread, our personal favorite, gouda cheese (totally perfect for the dish!)  canadian bacon, and topped it with some hollendaise sauce.  
Delicious!!!

On MasterChief the true test of the properly poached egg was to see if the yolk was runny

 Yep, it's perfect!!

Yumm... I think I'll have this for dinner again.


(The only downer is the poached egg gets cold really fast so you have to eat it as soon as you make it, so no eating poached eggs together as a family.  One person cooks while the other eats)

King James I of England and IV of Scotland.

Skylar and I are both reading the New Testament this year, and I got curious about King James since we read the King James Version of the Bible, also known as the Authorized Version.

King James was crowned King of Scotland when he was 13 months, but did not take the throne until he was 16.  His mother was imprisoned for 19 years for conspiracy to kill Queen Elizabeth.
James is known for being highly educated thanks to his tutor George Buchanan. 
James allied with Queen Elizabeth I and took her throne over England when she died, so he was King of both Scotland and England.  (Interesting side note: Merlin predicted a Scotsman would rule England one day which is why England  tried so hard to subjugate them)

He authorized the English translation of the Bible for the Puritans who insisted that everyone should be able to know and read God's word without intermediaries.  It became known as the authorized version because it was the only Bible authorized to be read aloud in churches. 

I'm grateful to great men and women of the past who did things to make our lives more convenient.

Home Sweet Home

Here's what I learned in the last 2 1/2 weeks:

There's no place like home.

And there's no better way to appreciate home than being away for an extended amount of time.

So as soon as I get my home back in order, I will get back to my random studying, meanwhile, here are some cute pictures of Gracie, taken while we were gone.