Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Attention Ladies

There are to be no excuses this year. I am strongly encouraging some participation in a triathlon this year!

Once again, there are quite a few months between now and July. It all starts with one lap of the pool, one lap of a track and a couple of miles on a bike. Anyone can do it!!

http://www.trekwomenstriathlonseries.com/wisconsin.html

This is the link for an all-women's tri up in Pleasant Prairie, WI. I will be participating in at least three races this year, and this will be one of them. Lake Andrea is a great place to swim and PP really knows how to host a great race. Please join me and you, too, will see how inspirational it is to watch women of all shapes and sizes cheer and motivate one another to cross the finish line.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Family Weekend

That is how I felt this weekend. I got to 'borrow' my brothers kids :) I guess that's better than saying babysit when you're referring to your adorable nephews. My brother was really sick with the stomach flu and had to go to the hospital on Thursday night. So, Thursday through Sunday Jack was at my house. Braxton only stayed on Thursday and Friday because he was having his 11th birthday bash back at his house on Saturday. The kicker about B is that he didn't have to stay on Friday, but he walked to our house from school because he wanted to come and keep Graminator company. Sweetest thing....Anyway, I would like to think it was a little like having my own kid(s) in the house for a few days. They drove Jeff a little nutty, but it was fine by me. Friday night we went shopping for Braxton's birthday party supplies. He decided on having a luau theme since it's been so darn cold. Because Jack was being a good boy, he got him a $9 Lightning McQueen balloon. That thing was twice the size of him, but it was hilarious and worth it. We ended up going home and curling up on the couch to watch the Incredibles. It was really cute and we had fun. I was exhausted though and fell asleep before 11. NICE!

Saturday morning brough Jeff home from work at 4am. He seemed pretty upset and just couldn't stop talking about how badly he wants to move out of here and just be us out in Colorado. He doesn't open up that much to me about things that he wants, so I decided to let him go even though it was the middle of the night. He has been a real trooper with having my family staying with us. He is so patient and kind and I'm really lucky to have such a great husband. I think that this situation has actually brought us closer together and we have greater respect for each other and our time together.

Anyway, Carynn brought Josephine and Finley over in the morning for a playdate with Jack. They were all SO adorable playing with one another. They played airplanes and chased each other around...and sort of watched the Little Mermaid. It was so nice to finally have them all together and I hope we can do it again! After that, we took Jack to play at Chuck E Cheese with Mom too! It was actually really fun and surprisingly clean in there. Afterwards, Uncle Keck and Auntie (as he calls us) took the munchkin to Jewel so we could get him popsicles. Yes, we bribed him to do a lot of things for popsicles. Being good, eating dinner, taking a "rest" for thirty minutes. Very effective!

We played and played and Jack even helped with the laundry. As we were sitting on the floor waiting for the washing machine to fill up with water, he asked me the most interesting question, "Auntie, why are you happy?" I didn't even pause, and said, "becuase you're here". Which is true. It just struck me as such an innocent question and yet something quite profound to think about. We always spend so much time thinking about reasons why we aren't as happy as we could be, that I think we fail to stop and think about all of the things in our life that actually make us happy. Jack eventually grabbed his blanket and crawled next to me on the couch and fell asleep in my arms. At that moment, for me, it was a realization that my family, as nuts as we can be, actually make me happy.

Sunday morning Jeff and I got up and ran 7 miles at the gym. That's my longest run to date and it felt really good! We spent the rest of the day cleaning the house, doing laundry and enjoying each other's company in the peace and quiet of our home. Sunday afternoons have become the only time when we don't usually have people ino ur house, so we try to enjoy it while we can! Overall, it was a really nice and quiet and fun weekend without going out partying or spending money on useless, wasteful things. I hope to have more like this. And sometime in the future, enjoy these weekends with kids of our own.

Why are you happy?

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

I'm Taking You By The Horns '09

That quote is from the first day of the new year, by my wonderful hubby. I'm sure it had something to do with driving or being a little tipsy...but it was hilarious and a pretty darn good motto for the new year.

My friend Sarah sent me this pretty interesting questionnaire that asks you to reflect on your 2008 and make plans for 2009. Wow - I realized that I accomplished nothing in 2008. Not one goal. Not even the slightest bit of headway. I want to thank her for sending me that little nugget of "wake your ass up, slacker"! So, I have decided this year to put myself and my goals ahead of everything else and see if I can't follow through on something. Here is a little sampling of this year's goals. Please hold me to them, I'll need some help!!

I will choose my words more carefully.
I will drink only in moderation.
I will go home before midnight.
I will slow down and enjoy the present, for tomorrow it's gone.
I will be more careful with my money and purchase less.
I will be more patient.
I will learn self-discipline.
I will run two half-marathons.
I will start to learn a new language.
I will not give up my childhood dreams and I will do what is necessary to achieve them.
I will re-evaluate my definition of hard work.
I will write in a journal.
I will take 15 minutes and give them to myself each day.
I will do yoga once a week.
I will be grateful for what I have.
I will go to church.
I will watch less TV and read more books.

This is my year of personal enrichment and fulfillment. It is my last year in my "20s" and I'd like to take it out better than I've had any other year. And at the same weight as I was in '99 :)

Here's to me; here's to you and here's to a happy and accomplished 2009!

Peace!