Sunday, February 27, 2011

It's me verus the Bobbin

Okay I am working on a quilt that I started a year ago, and the bobbin ran out.  No problem, just wind some new thread and keep on keepin' on. Right?  Wrong!  I was stopped in my tracks the other night because the bobbin would not wind properly.  I now have a napping baby (a HUGE improvement over this time yesterday) and a date with my machine.  I will win!

Workout Saturday

My workout on Saturday was pretty much nonexistent.  We played with an out of town friend and had lunch there.  We rushed home and tried to take a nap- fail.  We went to meet Papa and Bella for a quick hello.  We went to Austin Nature Center for more playtime with another friend and dinner.  After a great day of friends and family we arrived home after Little Britches bedtime, got her down quick and I was not far behind her on her trip to dream land.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Workout Friday

We had a playdate this morning at a park that has a trail around it.  We parked at the trail head and jogged to the park.  It was about 0.8 miles.  After playing we jogged back to the car to finish the loop. I don't know how far the backside of the loop was, but it was much shorter than the front part.  After Little Britches went to bed a friend came to walk with me.  We walked 40 minutes, but it only felt like 5.  No matter how much I run I will always love a nice brisk walk and talk with a friend.  Thanks, friend!

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Baby Sign

Our Little Britches loves her baby sign.  She has dropped a lot of signs since her vocabulary has increased so much, but she does still use the sign for Thank You instead of saying the words.  I don't really get that, but hey I will take any form of manners I can get.  Here are a few pictures we took for her Daddy's Valentine's Day gift.  She is signing "I LOVE YOU!", not the short one hand version, but the long, three seperate signs version.



Workout Thursday

Oh my did I work out today!

I started my morning by going on a five mile run with a friend I used to run with weekly, but due to a sickness in her family we have not gotten to run together in a very long time.  The run was good, but the fellowship was better!  I also got to attend Body Jam with my regular gym partner this evening.  Good workout day, indeed.

Nap Time, Oh Nap Time

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE my Little Britches?  Oh my goodness!  She is pretending and "reading" and just loving life- maybe a little too much.  Nap time has been so hit and miss lately.  Some days I will put her down and she goes right to sleep.  Some times I put her down and she ends up spending over an hour trying to get to sleep.  I do not really know what to think for sure, but I will say that if she poops before her nap she is MUCH MORE LIKELY (my husband would have this figured out to a percentage if he were at home) to get a good nap in for the day.  So what does this mean?  Is she ready to potty train?  Does she need a later nap time?  I am not sure, but today was a poop day and therefore a good nap day, so I have the time to even pose the question. 

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Workout Wednesday

Today was a crazy busy day for this momma.  I had Bible Study this mornin, tutoring this afternoon, and church tonight.  I did have about 20 min. between the time I arrived at church and the time I needed to be at my meeting, so what did I do?  Workout!  I walked around our church's parkinglot.  I walked 1.5 miles in 21 minuets.  So today's lesson: Exercise when you can, even if it is just a little.  It is better than nothing!

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Workout Tuesday

I went to the gym and did my interval workout today, which included a 1600 m fast run, a 400 m recovery run, a 1200 m fast run, a 400 m recovery run, an 800 meter fast run, a 400 m recovery run, a 400 m fast run.  I met my friend at the gym and in the 5:00 hour at the gym two treadmills side by side is a miracle.  Of course we did have to choose to use two treadmills in the Cardio Cinema, which I am not a big fan of.  First of all, does it seem dangerous to anyone but me that there are people on top of machines with fast moving parts in the total dark?  I had to use my ipod to find the start button- seriously.  Oh well, it was a good workout!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Workout Monday

Today was a GREAT day in the activity department.  Nothing too intense, just a nice active day.  I first met a friend for part of her "Couch to 5K" training.  It involved walking, jogging, abd running intervals.  That was a nice start to the day. Later MGM and I walked to the park to run and play.  Later in the afternoon the whole family walked over to the other part of our neighborhood to see where a friend was buying a lot to build on.  All in all today we walked/ran 5.5 miles.  My husband also went to get his car inspected today and walked home, then walked back to pick it up.  I love it!  Now if we just would not have eaten out twice today the scale might have moved.  Tomorrow is a new, fresh day with the possibility of new activity and new eating decisions.

Crock Pots vs Microwaves

As I mentioned before I am using a crock pot more often.  That got me thinking about my spiritual journey.  Click on over to All Are Precious In His Sight to see why.  And I noticed no one left me their favorite crock pot ideas.  I would really love to hear yours!

Workout Sunday

Sunday afternoon MGM and I decided to go for a walk.  We were going to take our dog down to the lake and let her chase the ball.  We had gone about 0.6 miles and got a text from my husband saying that his parents had just arrived home from their trip to Denver.  MGM and I decided to walk over there instead.  I turned on the map my run app, but something happened and it didnt' stay on the whole time.  Oh well, I just went to good 'ol http://www.mapmyrun.com/ and mapped my run/walk.  It was 2.6 miles from our house to grandmas.  We did have to go on a very busy road, but not for too long.  Once we got in front of the highschool we went through the parking lots, avoiding the roads. It was fun to go somewhere while exercising!

Saturday, February 19, 2011

Workout Thursday, Friday, and Saturday

Okay here's how I have been:

Thursday- because of a little miscommunication on my part and my hubby and I helping our neighbors move I did not get a work out in.  BOO!

Friday- The neighbors were supposed to leave Friday morning, but were still needing some help, so I helped as much as I could then went for a walk/run.  I kept going around and around in a smallish cirlce in our neighborhood watching for the neighbors to get ready to pull out so I could say good bye.  My hubby came home first.  A funny thing happend on our run, though.  It was a nice day so there were people sitting out on their porch.  Finally after we passed by them for the third time they called out to us that they were curious about something.  We stopped to see what they were curious about.  They asked what our dog had around her neck- poop.  When our dog poops on a run I do my doo doo duty and pick it up in a doggie bag, but I refuse to carry it.  I tie it on my dog's collar.  You think this would discourage her, but no, it doesn't.

Saturday- We got up and got dressed for run, but it was rainy this morning.  We had to spend an hour at the bank this morning with my parents signing some papers etc, so after lunch with them it was nap time for MGM.  After nap time we headed to Lady Bird Lake for a run.  WHOA, there was A LOT of traffic downtown.  We FINALLY got to the trail and got in a 5.3 mile run.  I am not running as well as I want, but I am making improvements and am doing it DAILY, so I know it will get better and better.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Our Little Girls

Someone today posted this article.  I don't often get my information from Redbook, but the last paragraph of the article really tugged at my heart.  It reads like this:
  
         My daughter, Louisa, is beautiful to me, breathtakingly so. It was the first thing I said when she was  
         born, and then I cried because I was so happy to see her. I still feel that way. Every morning, I'm just
         so delighted to see that little face, those strong, chubby limbs. We call her The Viking because she's so
        exuberant, so gung ho. The idea of her some day comparing herself to Cinderella, or Barbie, or some
        simpering teen queen on TV and finding herself lacking — too fat, too skinny, too loud, nose too big,
        lips too small — and trying to compensate with store-bought sexiness breaks my heart. I don't want
        anyone to take that light out of her heart or out of her eyes. My goal then, I suppose, is to teach her to
        see herself as I see her, and to love herself as I love her, as someone who already possesses everything
        she needs.


When I read this I realized at the same moment that I felt this way about my daughter and God feels this same way about me.  In him, I already possesses everything I need.  Thank you, Jesus!

Workout Wednesday

Today was a busy day, but I did squeeze in half an hour of a run/walk this afternoon.  I had downloaded the Map My Run App, which was working great until my phone died. :(  I will have to try it again soon.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Workout Tuesday

Today MGM, Cecilia and I headed out for a 45 min. walk/run.  It was great!

Monday, February 14, 2011

Valentine's Day

I have just had THE BEST Valentine's Day.  My sweet hubby surprised his sweet girls with a day off!  We all went to breakfast.  Then we dropped MGM off to the grandparents.  My sweet husband then took me to Gruene for lunch and antique shopping.  It was GREAT!  Happy Valentine's Day!

Workout Monday

I ran 3 miles today and did Body Pump at the gym.  DAILY makes a difference, even if it is Valentine's Day!!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Church Shopping

This week marks week 3 of trying a different church.  We have been visiting the church that meets right behind our house.  Do we like it because it is so close or because it is actually a good fit for us?  We are trying to discern.  Part of me wants to belong to a church that does things so differently than how I grew up in church, but then part of me likes the comfort of familar things.  The good things MGM sees some of the kids from this particular church at Wednesday Morning Bible Study and MOPS, so she is not going into a room of strangers. Well, here we go again.  Casting our nets....asking God to show us what to do.

Workout Saturday/Sunday

I did not work out Saturday.  My sweet husband was helping a neighbor fix his car ALL DAY LONG, so MGM and I headed out to my parents.  When we go out to my parents we park at their house and walk all over the camp where they live, so I was active on Saturday, despite not getting in a "workout".  Today I will at least run 6 miles.  My training schedule calls for 9 miles, but considering I am still ramping up my miles I think I will tackle 6 first.  I am thinking if I have time I might walk the extra 3 in the beautiful weather we are going to have today. 

Saturday, February 12, 2011

The Park

We love spending time at the park, but today was a rough trip.  It is the first pretty day we have had in a while so the place was busy!  There was a little boy a bit older than MGM playing with rocks today.  He was loading them into a tunnel.  MGM first approached him to join into the fun, but he put his hand out and yelled no.  We decided to play on another part of the playground for a bit.  After some playing MGM noticed that the boy had some playmates join him and she wanted into the group fun.  It seemed like the boy had finished the construction part of his project, so I thought he might not be as offended at her presence.  She walked over and bent down to look in the tunnel with the boy shoved her down.  Now my daughter is a sensitive child.  If you tell her, "Be gentle with the dog."  She sometimes cries.  So you can imagine, a rude shove sent her over the edge.  I told the little boy that pushing was not allows and we stayed in the area with MGM crying her eyes out.  I tried to tell her she was okay.  I encouraged her to ask if she could play with the boys.  By then all the crying got the attention of the other moms.  The mom of the boy who shoved came over.  She asked if someone had pushed.  I told her yes, one of the boys pushed, but I had told him that pushing was not allowed.  She asked if it was her son and I said yes.  As she began to ask her son to apologize, which he did not, I found myself saying that my child was sensitive.  After I said it I regretted it.  I don't want to excuse away who my child is even if it is awkward.  Part of my reaction was my insecurity.  There were a group of moms standing around at the park when I got there.  I wanted to join in the conversation because I so want to make friends in the neighborhood, but the park was crowded and MGM is not really old enough to play safely on her own at on the park equipment especially when there are lots of older kids running about, not paying attention to where they are headed.  So the only time one of them talked to me was because my child was crying her eyes out over what would probably be a "love tap" in a house full of boys.  I felt like a bad mom.  I want to help MGM stand up for herself when she needs to and to always show love and respect, yet I don't feel like I stood up for her or respected her personality.  Well, the good news is the park will be there tomorrow with another opportunity for me to be a better mom.  I love my little sensitive girl.  I know God will use each part of her personality for His glory!

Friday, February 11, 2011

Thursday's Workout

Well I had another killer workout on the books yesterday, but due to time constrants I only got half of it done.  Really the workout called for 9 miles!!  To me, that is a long run, not a mid-week run, but I trust the experts at the FIRST Institute know more than me.  I was supposed to run a 1 mile warm up, 2 miles at tempo, 1 mile at easy, 1 mile at tempo, 1 mile easy, 1 mile tempo, 1 mile easy, 1 mile cool down.  WOW!  I ran the warm up, the 2 miles at temp, 1 mile easy, 1 mile tempo, then cool down.  All in all I finished 5.5 miles in 60 minutes. 

What shall I do today?  Zumba? Walk with my family? Workout video?  The options are fun to think about.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

The Crock Pot is My Friend

Since I have started tutoring two days a week I have also started using my trusty crock pot two days a week.  This works out well.  I drop MGM off to play with her cousin, and within about an hour her daddy comes by to pick her up.  While I am still tutoring they have a hot dinner waiting for them and can start in on evening fun right away.  Today I am making Lasagna, but I would love to hear from you.  What do you like to cook in the crock pot?

Workout Wednesday

I went and joined at friend at Body Flow, which is a bit of yoga and a bit of pilates.  Then I walked for  bit on the treadmill doing a mountain climbing routine that took me to a 30% incline and then to a -3% incline. 

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Monday and Tuesday's Workouts

Monday I attended PUMP class
and today I did an interval run.

The interval run was tough, but not too tough.  I had to warm up for 10 min.  I then had to run 200m fast, 200 meters at regular pace, 400 m fast, 400 meters at regular pace, 600 m fast, 400 meters at regular pace, 800 meters fast, 400 m at regualr pace, 800 meters fast, 400 m at regular pace, 600 meters fast, 400 meters at regular pace, 400 m fast, 400 m at regular pace, 200 m fast, 200 meters at regular pace and then a cool down.  With the warm up and cool down I covered 6 miles in 1 hour and 5 minutes.  I am training for a 10K, which is just over 6 miles.  I would like to finish the 10K in under an hour.  I have 9 weeks to get there, so I have a bit of work to do, but I know it is possible.  I will get there one workout at a time.

Monday, February 7, 2011

Bossin' Our Hearts

I am a guest over at All Are Precious In His Sight.  Lorraine decided to do devotions only once a week, alternating between Mr. Kirsten Walkup and I.  It will give her more room/time to blog about her precious family.  If you haven't taken to the time to get to know this sweet family via the blog, then you should.  You will be encouraged and challenged. 

Friday, February 4, 2011

Pound- lbs

I was helping a math student the other day and we came across a word problem about weight. The problem used lbs to denote pounds. The student paused while reading the problem, not know how to say "lbs". As I was telling her that is how we denote pounds I remembered my own lbs experience.



I don't recall exactly how old I was, but I know I had to be in second half of 6th grade or older than that because this story took place in Palestine, TX, and we didn't move there until the second semester of my 6th grade year. While in the grocery store one day my mom told me to go and pick up 5 pounds of sugar while she picked up something else. As I turned to walk away I said, "Oh you mean 5 libles." As you can imagine, her response was, "What!?!" I explained to her that when I package said lbs it meant libles, which was equivalent to a pound. Where did I come up with this? I have no idea, but it was firmly planted in my head. Did I mention that I was a "Gifted and Talented" student, and made straight A's at this point in my life? Yeah, being good at school is not the same thing as being smart, in case you ever wondered.



Every time I think of this story I laugh. It is just funny! So next time you go to Rudy's and ask for your turkey, just tell them to give you a 1/2 a lible. I am sure they will know what you are talking about. (hehe!)

And if you are wondering why lbs stands for pounds instead of pds, look here. 

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Workout Week

Oh it has been COLD!!!  Like not above freezing for days, cold! (This is highly unusual for central TX.) I did get in a great workout Sunday and Monday, but Tuesday and Wednesday have been push ups and sit ups.  My goal today is an old fashion workout video during nap time since it is still so cold!  I can't wait for it to warm up to exercise!  The weather cannot be an excuse. In life sometimes the circumstances aren't perfect, but we can't let that stop us from experiencing God's best for us.  We just pursue Him anyway.  The same is true in exercise.  So here's to Walk Away the Pounds wtih Leslie Sansone.  On a side note I have lost 4 pounds.

19 Months

On January 28 Little Britches turned 19 months old.  Here is what our day looked like:

We were running early to a meeting, but there was a park near by, so we stopped to play

We left the meeting a little early to go meet Daddy for lunch

 at Whole Foods, his favorite place
 after a nap we met Aunt Brooke for a little play time at another park
 Daddy came and met us after work
and we all played.  Then we went to dinner.  What a fun day!