CLOSING TIME

This is the post that I've written so many times in my head over the past few months.  I have blogged off and on here for the past 13 years!!  My life has changed so much since then.  I've learned that often time beginnings are scary and endings are sad.  But so far I have survived every single one of them!!  There is so much uncertainty these days. And there are SO MANY THINGS I have ZERO control over.  I have learned there are basically two things I can control: 1. MY attitude and 2. MY effort.  And so this is what I have decided to focus on.  I can choose to be positive no matter what my surroundings look like, and I can choose to work hard no matter what life deals me!  If you know anything about me, you know I love music.  I love listening and finding new songs.  I love sharing songs with my people.  And I love love love good lyrics!  Many things that I quote often come from song lyrics. 

Good vibes.  Open up the champagne...pop. Ain't nothing gonna break my stride.  Life is short and love is rare....we all deserve to be happy while we're here.  The house don't fall when the bones are good.  Breathe in...breathe out...move on.  What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Nothing's gonna stop us.  Always be sure to count your blessings. Everything's gonna be alright. There's a song for everything (and yes that is a song lyric)!!!!  Maybe I need to start a new blog all about songs I love...or maybe not. 

I think the point I'm trying to make is that it's time for me to hang up my blogging hat.  There are so many other social media platforms that take up enough of my time, and blogging is not one of the ones I am passionate about anymore.  So if you need to get your "Denise fix", you are welcome to stalk find me on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Snapchat!!

So to quote the song Closing Time..... "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here".....

Denise out!

Ain't It Funny How Life Changes.....

Well I realize it's been a very long time (almost 8 months!) since I've written here!  The last time I wrote I was getting ready for the Indy Mini Marathon in May, I was doing another Whole30, I was living my everyday normal life: going to work, taking care of kids and a house.  Well I did complete another Whole30 (HOLLAR!).  I also got another PR at the race on May 5th (HOLLAR!).  Life was pretty good.  The school year was winding down for the kids.  And this is about the time the proverbial rug got pulled out from beneath me.  My (then) husband filed for divorce.  There had been conversations about this topic before, but I obviously did not have my eyes or ears open, nor did I believe this would ever happen to me.  So I found myself looking back at the past 22 years of my life and everything that I believed and thought and trusted in.  My life as I knew it no longer existed.  

Ain't it funny how life changes
You wake up, ain't nothing the same and life changes
You can't stop it, just hop on the train and
You never know what's gonna happen
You make your plans and you hear god laughing
Life changes, and I wouldn't change it for the world, the world, oh no
And I wouldn't change it for the world, the world, oh no  (Life Changes ~Thomas Rhett)

There are many things I could say about what led to my husband filing for divorce.  But I do not feel this is the place to air my dirty laundry.  I also know that there are two sides to every story and there is also the truth.  I just have been reminding myself over and over that everything happens for a reason.  It may takes weeks, months, even years to figure it all out.  But nothing in life is wasted and there is always something to learn.  I've also learned that just about every country song is about a relationship, a break up, or getting over a relationship or break up!!  

So what have I been doing the last 7 months?!? (besides listening to country music)

1.  I've learned A. LOT. about myself.  I've learned I am way stronger than I thought I could ever be.  I've learned I can get shit done!  I've become way more independent than I thought I ever could be.  I've dealt with things I never thought I'd have to deal with.  I've become a happier person.  I've focused a lot on myself.  I've gotten sad and mad, but have quickly gotten over it.  I also found out how many people really love me!  #NewMe

2.  I bought my house from my ex and myself.  I applied and qualified for a mortgage all by myself.  I got that done in less than 60 days!  I then decided to paint my horrible orange and brown kitchen a beautiful shade called Mindful Gray and absolutely love it.  It's amazing what a new paint color can do.  It's kind of like starting all over which I felt like I did every single morning I got up. #BeginAgain

3.  I picked up more hours at work.  I officially became a 40 hours/week employee.  Something I hadn't done in over 15 years!  I also had to get my own insurance benefits from my employer. Something I hadn't done in over 21 years!  So basically I became a functioning member of society all by myself.  #LifeGoals

4.  I've done more things that I never had to do before.  Yard work.  Unclog toilets. Take out the garbage.  I've also learned to take care of myself.  I've clung to everything that Whole30 taught me.  I decided I could either get fit or fat the last 7 months.  A friend from work and I decided at the last minute to sign up for a fall mini marathon.  I think we had less than 8 weeks to train for it.  And wouldn't you know we crushed it!  I got my PR in November with a time I never would have thought possible.  I have been healthier this time of year than I can ever remember.  No Christmas chub for me this year....hallelujah! #TakingCareOfBusiness

I cling to the promise that "The Best is Yet To Come!!"  When someone tells me, "You look happier" (which has happened several times), that is the best compliment I can receive.  I truly believe the best years of my life are ahead of me.  

Whole 30 So Far This Year

I thought I'd do a Whole 30 2018 update.... I know everyone's been waiting for this 😃

JANUARY

I started a new round of Whole 30 on January 1st.  After more than 2 months of awful eating (hello Reese's pumpkins and trees, Halloween candy, Thanksgiving, and Christmas food everywhere), I felt awful.  My clothes were getting tight.  My scrubs at work were getting tight.  The Christmas chub really caught up with me.  I'm not going to lie, this round of Whole30 was my worst one!  I felt better, but not amazing like other rounds.  My clothes fit a little better.  And I started really training for the mini marathon which is May 5th (Cinco de Mayo).  I finished my 30 days, and went back to "normal" eating.

FEBRUARY

For some reason February seemed like a really long month, even though it's the shortest.  Weird.  I continued adding miles each week to my running.  I would do a short (3.1 mile) run on Wednesdays, then a longer run on Saturdays.  Our gym started a running club, so a co-worker and I would meet at 8 am Saturdays to run.  I also started eating more.  My mindset was "hey I'm running lots of miles each week, so I can eat whatever I want", which is totally the wrong way to think.  I would buy a treat that would turn into 3 or 4 days of eating junk.  Then Monday would come and I'd try to start eating healthier, then the cycle of running/poor choices would continue.  Crazy!!

MARCH

More running.  More bad eating.  Every time I would start to make better choices, something would pop up.  I know.  Life happens.  Easter candy makes a yearly appearance.  Chocolate is on sale...I buy it....I tell myself "it's for the kids"....then next thing I know I've eaten an entire 6 pack of Reese's Eggs. (do you see a theme here?!?)  I should know better by now.  I keep adding more mileage every week.  And I tell myself a new round of Whole30 will start the day after Easter...April 2nd!!

APRIL

Easter arrives.  I eat a lot of food.  I eat a lot of dessert.  My niece made a three layer cake with buttercream frosting, and I eat a large piece.  I'm almost to the point of nausea from food-overload.  I know Whole30 starts tomorrow.  So I wake up Monday morning rearing to go.  By 3:00 that afternoon I'm dizzy, nauseous, and have a horrible headache.  I try hydrating and finally take some tylenol.  I want to go to bed.  I know that 2 months of eating junk is not good, and my body is telling me this same information.  Thankfully I wake up feeling much better the next day, and every day after that!  I'm doing well this round, and I'm going to feel great for the Indy Mini Marathon.  I've had two 10 mile runs the last two weeks, and have not died yet!  My clothes fit so much better.  My scrubs aren't tight...hallelujah!  We have to order our scrubs at work, and I didn't want to have to go up a size!  I keep telling myself to remember how good I feel right now.  I'll update once the #IndyMini is over!!

My Completely Honest Review of The City Museum in St. Louis

It’s Spring Break time here in Indiana.  My kids have 2 glorious weeks off. (We are on a balanced calendar schedule, so our break is a little earlier than most schools.)  It’s definitely not warm! It’s the first day of Spring, and it snowed. I’m a nurse who works with lots of other moms of school aged children, so taking time off during school breaks is a precious commodity.  This year, I took ½ of the first week off so I could spend some time with my 12 year old twins. Their almost 17 year old brother is on a church mission trip this week. So I decided to take the twins to St. Louis rather than sit around the house and fight for 3 days.  Might as well fight in another city!

I’ve heard lots of good things about the City Museum, and did a little research.  The day I planned to go I woke up in the hotel room with the worse case of vertigo ever.  I’ve never had this before, and don’t know what cause it. I’m saying I was dehydrated from driving all day the day before, then not drinking any water the rest of the day.  Who knows?!? So we got a much later start than I had planned. Our hotel was on the south side of town, so by the time we got downtown it was a little past noon. I knew the museum closed at 5:00, so we’d have at least 4 hours there.  It was a very cloudy cold day. The website mentioned the serpent parking lot that charges $10. I totally missed that lot, but ahead was a giant sign that said MUSEUM PARKING and a guy waving a flag. I totally fell for the flag waving, and thankfully we pulled into a ground floor spot.  When I went to pay it was $15, which I wasn’t going to complain about. It was covered parking and there were free dum-dum suckers for the kids! So we left the garage and it started raining (of course I left my hooded coat in the car because I didn’t want to carry it), then the flag waving guy comes running out to tell us we are walking the wrong way (of course).  So the walk to the museum in the rain took even longer. We finally find the group entrance and walk around until we find the area to pay. I’m soaked and now carrying 2 wet sweatshirts!

We paid our admission fee of $14 each person.  Our total was $45.86. We were each given a City Museum bracelet to wear.  They recommend writing your phone # on your kids bracelets...highly recommend.  I saw 3 lost kids in the time we were there….one hysterically sobbing...and two normal frightened/lost kids.  There’s also a sign reading “NO WI-FI. PLAY WITH YOUR CHILDREN”. Also note there are no physical maps. I’m guessing this saves paper and money.  But I have no idea if we saw everything in the museum or not. There is a large outdoor climbing/play area that was closed due to weather. We were bummed about this.  The outside climbing area looks like lots of fun and would make for some great photos!

There are tons of tunnels, slides, crawling mazes, and places kids can pop out of.  Some of them you have no idea how they got there. You look up and there are kids above you….pretty strange.  I’m a tall mom (6’) and I’m training for a mini marathon so my knees are not in the best shape right now. Also the vertigo was better, but I was definitely not feeling 100%.  There’s no way I could have crawled through any of these tunnels. Also the darkness kind of freaked me out. Luckily I have 2 12 year olds, so I told them they had to stay together at all times.  And I showed them where I’d be waiting. Every time they found me! I would not have sent younger kids or kids by themselves through these. I saw a few loyal dads with knee pads on, and I saw a few freaked out moms because they had no idea where their kids were.  There are multiple slides in the museum. The slides were my boys favorite parts. Crawling to them not so much. They were definitely sweaty after a couple of slides, and they are both in pretty good shape. I was a chubby, not in shape kid growing up, and there is no way I could have done half of the stuff in this museum when I was a kid!  Seriously! Also if I had younger kids, I don’t think I would have let them climb by themselves. Like I said I saw 3 lost kids in the time we were there.

After being there for close to 2 hours, they said they were ready to go. I talked them into some food hoping they’d get a second wind.  We got 2 small pizzas, 3 waters, and 2 chips for the price of $25.25. The pizza was a cracker like crust, and my kids did not enjoy it.  I carried around 2 boxes of pizza the rest of the day because I’d just spent $25!! I talked them into walking around a little more. We found a couple areas we hadn’t seen yet.  There was a warp wall which my boys enjoyed climbing and another slide. That lasted maybe another 30 minutes. And that’s all I could squeak out of them. By this time they were more than ready to go.  So we took another rainy walk to the parking garage (we took the right way the first time), and went back to our hotel.

*We totally missed the circus.  I think we would have enjoyed watching it.

*The roof was closed for the season.  I’m sure it’s open in the summer.

*Having the outside part open would have been way more enjoyable for my kids.

*We bought nothing at the gift shop.  My boys didn’t even want to look inside!

*No one in my party got lost!

*Total spent $86.11

So that’s this mom’s take on the City Museum.  When I asked my boys if they’d go back they said only if they could play outside.

The Masterpiece

Happy Valentine's Day!  Just a quick book I want to share with you all.  Yes, its' a love story, but it is also a great read!!  This was originally an Instagram post, so I actually finished this book a week ago...

So I just finished The Masterpiece this morning! Redemption and Romance are the two themes woven throughout this story. She uses a graffiti artist as one of the main characters which I found interesting!  I loved getting to know the two main characters and how they use the past to connect to their future.  Kind of like the love God offers us on a daily basis.

My favorite quote from the book.....

“God had been drawing them to Him from the time they were children, both desperately in need and longing for a father. Long before they knew Him, he had been at work in their lives. The Lord had promised those who believe that He would take away the stony, stubborn heart; give them a tender, responsive heart; and put His Spirit in them so they could follow Him.” 

As a Tyndale blogger, I received a copy of this book in exchange for my review.  Opinions are mine.

Whole 30

* photo from whole30.com *

So I just finished another round of Whole30 yesterday! I honestly can’t remember how many rounds I’ve officially finished. I’m thinking 3 maybe 4? Anyway January this year has been the slowest month ever. I just saw an Instagram post that said it feels like January 74th.... and that’s exactly how I feel. I’m hoping February goes a little faster. To celebrate my Whole30 today I ate a Greek yogurt (the zero additives kind which I'm pretty sure was a Kroger freebie) and a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips because I know how to par-tay!!!  What do the next 30 days look like? I’m thinking more healthy eating and more Whole30. The Indy Mini will be here before I know it. Then summertime! Come on May!! Come on warm weather. I’m never going to complain about it being too hot after this winter.  (Yea right!?!) 

Cross Country Mom

So this year one of my boys decided to try a new sport.  And I am so excited!!  Last spring after a not-so-stellar basketball season (it's tough being short), this kid decided to go to tennis camp.  He really enjoyed it, the Jr Hi coach was very encouraging.  She even sent us names of people who offered private lessons if he was interested.  So I thought he would definitely want to play tennis.  However, the last day of school he brought home a flyer about cross country conditioning for the entire summer, and said he wanted to go really bad!  I thought it would last a day, boy was I wrong.  This meant finding him a ride for the mornings, and him getting up early twice a week the entire summer.  Which he did and never complained.  

Fast forward to cross country season, and he is still in love with running.  And I am in love with cross country.  I never thought I would say that sentence.  Here are some reasons I love this sport....

1. There are no referees! Which means no parent yelling at the referees.  It's amazing!  No "you suck", "that was a horrible call", "where are your glasses?", "I can tell this is your home town", "blow the #$%&@ whistle", "are you kidding me?!?".  (all of which I've heard spectators yell)

2.  No one is telling the kids all the bad things they are doing.  No "that was a bad pass", "why didn't you catch that?", "are you kidding me?", "are you going to play or not? you're wasting my time."  (all of which I've heard parents yell at kids)

3.  Everyone is cheering for everyone.  First place or last place, everyone gets cheered for.  It is so encouraging to see the slowest runner still being rooted for.  I've seriously gotten a little emotional watching some of these kids run.  To see all the hard work these kids have put in and the hours of running they've done just gets me all choked up.

4.  It's an individual sport and a team sport.  I have no idea how the scoring/point system works.  I do know it helps to have several fast runners on one team.  Our boys team has won meets without a 1st or 2nd place runner. (still don't understand that)  So you are not only running for yourself, but also the others on your team.

5.  And lastly I love cross country because of this guy right here.  Our team has 4 7th graders who are pretty fast, and they are already talking about next season.  He's also trying to talk his twin brother (who is fast/plays soccer) into joining cross country in 8th grade.  If this happens, I'll fall even more in love!!! #allthehearts #XC

Summer = Half Over!!

First I have to say that this summer is flying by.  June went way too fast.  July will go even faster I'm sure.  Then school starts August 2nd!  I cannot believe I will have a junior in high school (who just got his driver's license this week!) and two boys in junior high.  Also recently I just figured out that when my oldest is a freshman in college, I'll have two freshman in high school....3 freshman in one year.  SLOW DOWN TIME......

Here are some fun things we did this June.  Our middle son played in a weekend soccer tournament and they ended up in 2nd place.  We had a very rough soccer season with not a lot of wins, so it was nice to end the season with a few wins and a plaque for being in the final game.  We have about 6 weeks of no soccer, then we will be back at it!

The boys have been begging me to sign them up for a mini marathon, so I told them they had to start small.  We did a local 5K in our town a few weekends ago.  Let's just say these boys are fast.  This was all of us before the race.  Devin has a face of fear, although he has been going to cross-country conditioning at the junior high all summer.  They ended up finishing 2nd and 3rd place just behind the cross-country coach who is very fast.  I jogged slowly with a friend from work, and we all survived!

This guy's cross country conditioning definitely paid off because he beat his brother!  Which was his ultimate goal.  He really enjoys running, his brother not so much.  We have already signed up for his second 5K in August which is at Lucas Oil Stadium.  So we will keep on training.  His cross country team has a goal of running a total of 100 miles this summer, so he needs to get moving.  It definitely has kept me motivated to do the same!

May is almost Over!

I cannot believe May is almost over.  Another Indy 500 is finished.  School is out for the summer.  Let the fun begin.  I have lived in Indiana for 37 of my 42 years of life and have been to zero Indy 500 races.  Growing up, this was never anything anyone in my family did. I've learned there are racing families and there are non-racing families.  I definitely am the non-racing family variety.  Fun fact, my sister married into a racing family (I did not), and my 16 year old son has been to several races with her son.  Maybe one year, I will go with them.  Just to say I've attended...I think one race would be enough for me!

I just wanted everyone to know (in case you don't follow my Instagram, which you totally should) that I did in fact finish the mini marathon with my best time ever.  2:39:17!!!  My average mile time was 12:08/mile which I was so excited about after training on the treadmill with a 12:00 mile pace.  The weather that morning was very iffy...it looked like lots of rain would be happening.  However it ended up being a great day, and I ran most of the race with a rain jacket tied around my waist.  This year is the best I have felt before, during, and after.  I think my training and doing the Whole30 helped me.  I finished 36 days of Whole30 to get me to race day, then the next day we celebrated Mother's Day a week early where I ate a giant piece of cake at The Cake Bake Shop.  It was well worth it...not one single regret!!  I really believe eating Whole30 changes a lot of things for me including my attitude and how I feel in general.  So my plan is to stick to Whole30 for 99.9% of the time.  I did add sugar-free creamer to my diet (I know...chemicals and such, but it's so good!), and I plan to allow myself one treat on the weekend.  So far, so good!!

So what's next for me?  I want to continue jogging 3-4 miles twice a week.  The boys really want to do a 5K this summer, so I am planning on signing us up for one.  They also want to join the jr. high cross country team, so they will need to also jog/run each week.  I keep telling them they are not going to be lazy all summer!  Hopefully they will read some?!? (which can be very painful to enforce)  And does the amount of toilet paper consumed during the summer quadruple, or is that just at my house?!?  I'm thinking of ordering toilet paper on Amazon because I'm afraid we will run out.

Whole30 + Mini Marathon Training = One Crazy Month!!

So it's been another long stretch since I've posted on the blog!  I'm definitely more active on Instagram, and I've noticed lots of bloggers I loved to follow have fallen off the blogging wagon.  Maybe it's because of the ages of our kids that keep us busy, busy, busy!!  It's fun having things to do, but sometimes it's more fun having NOTHING to do (which rarely happens in my case!)

The Indy Mini Marathon is quickly approaching, and I've been putting on the miles at the gym on the treadmill.  One thing that definitely has helped this time is the mini iPad.  I've been catching up on lots of shows (The Middle, American Housewife, and The Goldbergs mostly) that I never have time to watch at home.  I've been going to the gym 2 days a week (my day off work, then Saturday or Sunday depending on sports schedules) and doing a short run (3-4 miles) during the week and a long run on the weekend.  The longest weekend run before the race will be 8 miles which is longer than last year's training regime.  So all in all I'm feeling pretty good about May 6th and am not dreading it yet!  I think I said last year I was going to keep running after the mini, but that did not happen.  In fact, I didn't start training this year until February....yikes!  Much later than I had planned originally, but at least I got started and was able to keep with it.  This will be my 5th Indy Mini, and I hope to beat my previous times....we shall see!   Here's my official running plan I made myself....

Now about the Whole30!!!  April 1st I started a new round of Whole30.  If you follow Melissa Hartwig at all on social media, you know she encouraged her followers to start a round of Whole30 on that date.  Looking at the calendar, the month included Easter (think Reese's Eggs) and my twin's birthday (think peanut butter icing), so I knew if I made the commitment, I'd be missing out on two of my favorite things to eat.  Now granted, after doing Whole30 several times, I try my hardest to eat that way 90% of the time.  But for some reason this year after the holidays, my eating went way down hill.  As I described it to my co-workers, "I fell off the wagon, then rolled down the hill!!"

This is a very bad thing if you want your clothes to fit...which is where I was.  My jeans were tight and I just felt bad most of the time.  So I made the commitment to doing Whole30 the month of April, and I survived Easter and the birthday without cheating.  And let's just say I'm so glad I did!  Here are the benefits that I have noticed after 26 days of this.....

1. my clothes fit again

2. I swear my body has Whole 30 memory

3. my back fat has gotten smaller

4. I feel better

5. I'm not as tired in the morning when I get up

6. my mini marathon training has felt great (I don't dread getting on the treadmill....HUGE!)

7. all around I think my mood/attitude is better (my family might protest this one)

So I'm so glad I decided to do this again.  Technically this round is over April 30th, but I think I'm going to go for a Whole36 so I don't mess myself up before the mini.  I'd hate to have issues in the middle of Speedway, Indiana with only port-a-pots.  What's the first thing I'm eating day 37, I'm not sure yet....but I'm leaning towards this!!

Just Some Numbers

ZERO....the number of LuLuRoe items of clothing that I own.  All of a sudden, everyone on Facebook is posting about LuLuRoe leggings, tunics, dresses, tops, etc.... They all have names and fit differently and you have to have a LuLuRoe unboxing Facebook video... I just don't get it!  Maybe that's why I have no clothing items from them.

SEVEN....the number of times I cried while my twins and I watched A Dog's Purpose at the movie theatre yesterday.  In my defense I begged them to go see Beauty and the Beast with me,  but they turned me down.  I compromised by going to see a movie about a dog.  Boy was it emotional.  I guess I cannot handle dogs dying.

ELEVEN...the number of days until I have a 16 year old boy.  I am mostly excited for 16 because it means 90 days later he can get his drivers license.  This means less running him around and a little more freedom for him.  It also means insurance for a 16 year old boy which I am not excited about!

SEVEN HUNDRED....the number of hours I've watched NCAA men's basketball since the March Madness tournament began.  We did another family bracket, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to win this year. (again)

THIRTY SEVEN...the number of times I swept up dog hair this week.  There is something about spring and dogs, and it drives me crazy.  It's insane here.  I'm hoping it ends soon!

A Few Weeks.....

We have been so busy!  It seems like everyone I talk to is busy.  Our kids and jobs definitely keep us very busy.  This time of year always seems to get busier with four exciting holidays right in a row (Boo Boo!!  Gobble Gobble!! Ho Ho!! Happy New Year!!)  It's also the start of basketball season, and with three boys in three different leagues, we are definitely going to get busier.

Last weekend we ended our middle son's travel soccer season (he's the only one that plays a dedicated fall sport).  We were at a tournament for the weekend, and sadly the games were not in our favor.  It was ok, but we were definitely bummed after not scoring a single goal two games in a row.  The coach quickly got the team together to say a fast goodbye (he had another son playing on a different field).  As he was walking away he said, "see you in a couple weeks".  And us moms who are trying to gather our kids, bags, chairs, water bottles, and soccer balls look at each other thinking "a couple weeks?!? What?!?"  The season is over....spring soccer is months away!   As the coach is walking away a mom yells, "what's in a couple weeks???"  He stopped, thought, and replied, "indoor conditioning starts right after January 1st....it will seem like a couple of weeks to you all!"  This totally got me thinking that "YES! it will feel like a couple of weeks!!"

In a couple of weeks, Thanksgiving will be over, Christmas shopping will need to be finished, then it will be 2017!  

On that note, I wanted to include a couple of referral links.  If you don't have Swagbucks, Ebates, or Ibotta, I highly recommend you getting these apps.  They save me money (not tons of money, but money none the less!)  I am saving my Swagbucks for an Amazon gift card to buy Christmas gifts.  I just got a $30 check from Ebates in the mail!   And I have over $200 in my Ibotta Christmas fund!!  These are definitely wins for me and you too.

SWAGBUCKS

EBATES

IBOTTA

Happy Shopping to you!!  And see you in a couple of weeks, or maybe in January!!

Summer is Over!

Am I the only one that feels like June and July lasted 5 minutes each?!?  It's crazy how fast the 2 months went.  The boys felt the same way!  We did not take an organized family vacation this summer.  We have plans to travel for fall break in October.  They did get to go to Kentucky twice for a long weekend, but other than that we stayed close to home.  I picked 2 pictures for each boy to describe their summer.

 Row 1.  We went to the public pool quit a bit this summer.  My 11 year old twins begged me to let them ride their bikes by themselves to the pool, but I didn't think they were ready for it. They did however convince my mom that I let them do this, and they got a free day of swimming while I was at work.  We watched lots of NBA playoffs in June.  I have a huge Steph Curry/Golden State Warriors fan, and he was very upset when the Cavaliers won the playoffs.  He found his brother's shirt, and we staged this picture to text him.  (No actual Cavalier/Lebron James shirt was harmed in the making of this picture)

Row 2. My middle son had a summer of soccer.  We played a few games then a weekend tournament in June.  It was the hottest weekend we had (so far), and we sat in the hot, humid weather.  His team ended up winning the championship game (by default...the team they were supposed to play didn't show up.  They did go undefeated, my son scored a goal (I may have knocked over my chair cheering for him), and it was a great end to their season.  After bringing home a recipe book from the library, I asked him to pick out a recipe to make. He picked homemade strawberry shortcakes, something I had never made before.  This was the shortcake dough which ended up tasting just ok.  Not a favorite dessert by any means.

Row 3.  My oldest son cleaned out his closet and sadly he threw out his rock and fossil collection.  It made me a little sad to see these in the trash pile.  He used to be into rocks, fossils, and sea creatures big time.  Lots of time collecting and researching and it's all over.  One weekend the twins were gone, I took him and a friend to an indoor rock climbing place (Climb Time Indy), and they had lots of fun.  This was how he felt after an hour at the place.  

And now that their summer is "officially" over, they are almost done with 2 weeks of school.  Only 7 more weeks until fall break (not that we're counting or anything)!!  I had to go to work their first day, so I was sent these pictures.  Not too bad!  We are going to kick some sixth grade and sophomore butt!!

May Photo Dump

I know it's already June, and I'm totally behind the times.  But it's my blog, and I'll do what I want to.  The first 2 pictures are my Mother's Day surprises from my kids.  Megan, Garret, and Harley had flowers delivered to me at work the Friday before; It was so nice to be surprised by beautiful flowers from my Colorado peeps.  The second picture is my new Yeti mug {which I LOVE!!}.  The camo thermos was what Steve wrapped up to give me first...he printed off the YETI words and taped it to the thermos.  Then told me he just saved us 40 bucks.....He's so funny.  Then he gave me the real YETI cup which I have taken to and from work every day since then.  It's awesome!

We celebrate Health Care Team Week at my work every year, and this year's theme was FIESTA!!  We had so much fun every day with different activities.  The OR was in charge of the salsa/guacamole contest that week.  You can tell by the picture what great participation we had.  And yours truly came in second with a tasty pineapple salsa I made.  Sadly there was no second place prize.

One evening I stopped at my sister's house to use her Cricut machine to make a big "D" to put on my YETI cup.  Since they are becoming more popular, I don't want anyone to accidentally drink out of my cup!  That would be bad!

And what's May without finishing up the school year with a wonderful fifth grade history project.  Both of my 5th graders needed to get a good grade on this project, so I put dad in charge of making Conestoga Wagons (with the boys help, or course!).  We made two of the exact same thing, then each boy had to have a presentation typed out to present to the class.  Both of their presentations were similar, with just a few personal tweaks.  It's funny that there was a 10% difference in their project grades!  Although their presentations might have been what caused that.  Who knows!?!   But the final Conestoga Wagons turned out great!  I told my husband he could sell the pattern to 4th grade parents for next year.

 May is race month in Indiana, and I've never been to the Indianapolis 500.  I've lived here 36 out of my 41 years and have yet to see the actual race.  This year we did go to the parade for the first (and last) time.  It was ok, just really really hot sitting on metal bleachers in the sun.  I did get this close to Mrs. Brady (aka Florence Henderson).  There were several other celebrities, but none as exciting as her!!

And lastly we survived 5th grade.  Barely.  The boys love to dab as you can see in this picture.  They are so thankful it's summer.  They've already been staying up way too late (thanks to the NBA playoffs) and trying to get away with anything they (or the neighbors) can think of.  August 1st will be here before we know it.  Because as we all know, the days go slow, but the years go fast!!

Indy Mini Marathon Update

So the Indy Mini is over, and I am so glad!  Let's just say every year I go to bed the night before the race and say a quiet prayer.  It involves rain and lightning and the race being cancelled.  And again this year I woke up to clear skies, a slight breeze, and the forecast showing sun until the race would be over.  So once again I drug myself out of bed and met the girls I ride with every year and found myself in Corral X waiting and waiting with the huge mass of people.  The view is always a good one, and I love what they did to the side of the JW Marriott.  May is definitely all about Indy Car Racing in Indiana!!

So this year I actually started training in January (unlike any other year), and I was looking forward to seeing how it would pay off in the end.  I was able to do 6 solid miles at a 12 min/mile pace on the treadmill.  The one thing I did not do was run outside at all.  This had me a little nervous because I wasn't sure I would be able to pace myself at this speed.  I quickly found a lady who was going the pace I felt like was 12 minute miles and decided just to follow her.  It worked out great....until she started walking at mile 3!  So I decided to see how far I could go without stopping to walk.  And guess what?  The training paid off big time!  I was able to complete the whole 13.1 miles without stopping to walk (unless I was forced to by the people in front of me, or if I got stuck in a water pit stop).  Here you can see I kept my 12 minute mile pace roughly close.  When I saw my pace or the whole race, I was thrilled.  And to finish under 3 hours was the icing on the cake (more on that later)!

The medal they handed out this year was my favorite so far.  With the 40th running of this particular race, I think the design is perfect.  As a lady in her 40s, I appreciate it a little more!

My employer gave out free Fitbit zips this year, so I was able to see how many steps I actually took that day.  I'm pretty sure I won't see numbers like that again until next May.  Yes, I've already signed up for next year!  I couldn't resist the $10 discount they offer right after the race.  Now I need to work on my goal for next year!

This is my 4th Indy Mini, but only the 3rd under my own name (a friend gave me her entry the first year, so I was Jenny that time).  You can find your archived times on the Indy Mini Marathon website. And I absolutely love seeing the progress I've made!  Momma has gotten faster in her old age!!

I couldn't do a post without sharing this beauty.  Oh my word!!  Marathon Foto, I will not be ordering this or any pictures from you.  (This was the best one!)  I cannot decide if I am in pain, need to use the bathroom, or just plain crazy here.  I've offered 8x10s to my family, but so far no one has taken me up on the offer.

I talked about cake earlier, and this was part of what I ate Saturday evening after the race.  I was able to join my mom, sister, and niece for a Mother's Day celebration that evening.  I was glad to be able to walk and sit down without too much pain.  This banana cake with peanut butter icing from The Cake Bake Shoppe was delicious.  I ate it all without feeling one bit guilty!

Final thoughts about this year's mini marathon.

1.  I'm so glad I trained this year!  My longest training run was 6 miles which felt like forever on the treadmill.  For next year, I think a longer training run will be in order.

2.  I bought a FlipBelt at the packet pick-up/vendor expo and was very glad I did.  In the past I have dropped my phone at least twice during the race.  I did not have to worry about it at all the entire time.  And I didn't have to switch hands or worry about getting drinks at the pit stops with a phone in one hand.

3. I used wireless headphones which I highly recommend.  One less thing to worry about!

4. I want to continue to do a run at least once a week.  I'm thinking 3.1 miles sounds good now, and it will feel like a breeze compared to 13.1!

5. May 6, 2017 will be here before I know it!  Time flies.

On Running....

For the last 3 years, I have walked the Indy Mini Marathon.  I've not trained at all, go walk 13.1 miles, then moan, groan, and hobble around for several days afterwards.  Then about day 3 after the walking, I say out loud, "I'm never doing that again".  Then on day 7 or 8 after the marathon, they always send an email that includes $10 off next year's race if you sign up now.  And guess what I do?!?  Of course I sign up.  Because by this time I'm {mostly} walking like a normal human being.

This year in January I decided 2016 was going to be different.  I was actually going to train for this year's mini marathon.  I had grand ideas of starting slowly (around 3-3.5 miles), then gradually adding a mile or so each week.  Which was all good until I got to mile 6.  It seems I can't get past mile 6 (which isn't even half of the race).  I have been doing all my training on the treadmills at the gym because of our Midwest winter that will not go away.  And going one more second past mile 6 has me wanting to cry!  I've kind of looked at training plans and I should be up to about 10 miles if I want to really do the whole mini without walking.  So we shall see..... I have 3 more Saturdays {when I do my longer runs} until the actual race.  Maybe I can get past 6 miles.  Maybe not.  Either way I hope and pray that I don't hobble around like an old lady the week afterwards.  And I'm pretty sure this will be my last Indy Mini {until I get the $10 off next year email....}!

*I am not a real runner by any means.  When I say run, it's more of a slow jog/trot.*
*My pace is about a 12 minute mile.  Like I said I am not a real runner.*

Interview With a Fifteen Year Old!

The last time I interviewed this kid on my blog he was turning eight years old!  I blinked and now he is fifteen.  How does this happen?  Where does the time go? How do some days drag on and on, but the year flies by?  In fifteen years my oldest son will be thirty!  This will be an exciting year in his life with driver's ed, getting a learner's permit, and finishing the first year of high school.  I am looking forward to the day he can drive himself to practice.

So without further ado, here is the {long awaited} Interview With a Fifteen Year Old!!!

What is your favorite subject in school?  Radio and TV

What is your favorite restaurant? Fogo De Chao (un-ending meat)

Who is your boy best friend? Andrew Chase Joshua (that's 3 boys)

Who is your girl best friend? Alex R and Haley C

What is your favorite TV show? Fresh Prince of Bel-Air

What is your favorite school lunch? Pizza Calzone

What size shoe do you wear? 12

What is your favorite drink? Arizona drinks or FIJI water

What is your favorite thing to do outside? hoop

What is your favorite animal? (still) a stingray 

What do you want to be when you grow up?  Hooper or Sports broadcaster

Who is your favorite singer? Kanye West, Childish Gambino, and Lil Wayne

Being mom to this kid is fun, entertaining, exciting, and unpredictable.  Noah is a loyal brother and friend, a great student, and an entrepreneur.   He is a good communicator, and I love watching him play basketball.  If you can't tell, I am very proud of him and cannot wait to see where the next few years take him!

Updates (aka It's Been a While Since I've Blogged)

It's winter here in Indiana.  We have been blessed with a very mild winter until the cold and snow hit us on Saturday night.  Since then it's been freezing cold, snowy, and icy.  I had to drag out boots, gloves, hats, and real winter coats.  We have seriously been wearing jackets and vests before this weather hit!  We've already lost gloves and discovered boots from last year don't fit.  Who's ready for spring?!?  This girl!

I realize it's been a long time since I've written anything, so I thought I'd explain what has been happening around here...

1.  Basketball.  I have a freshman playing school ball and a fifth grader playing travel ball.  We go to lots of games and practices.  I am so looking forward to when my oldest son can drive!!  I have kept track of how many books I've read for the past few years.  This year I am going to keep track of how many basketball games I watch (and think of all the time I could be reading.....sigh!).

2.  Work.  I bit the bullet in November and officially picked up full time hours (36 hours/week) at my real job.  Lots of factors went into this decision, and so far I am surviving.  I've been blessed to work part time since my oldest son was born (except for a brief time when we moved back to Indiana), so I really have nothing to complain about.  Kids just keep getting more expensive each year.  I remember thinking I could not wait to get the twins out of diapers because we would save so much money!!  Oh how I wish the days of diapers were still here.  Not really, however, sports fees, school lunches, big kid shoes, and feeding growing boys really adds up!

3.  Whole30.  I started another real round of Whole30 this month.  I tell myself I eat this way about 90% of the time, but the month of December sure did a number on me.  It started with a cookie day we had at work (everyone brought in their favorite Christmas cookie to share), then went downhill from there.  I may or may not have eaten an entire container of pumpkin pie ice cream.  Then I decided I had to consume some Reese's Trees, even if they were not shaped like trees (who cares?!?).  Then for about 2 weeks I ate whatever the heck I wanted.  Now that I'm back to Whole30, there is a LOT more food prep, which takes a lot of time.  But is definitely worth it!

So that's what has been happening around here, and what I'll be doing the rest of this month!  So who knows when I'll write again.