What is my problem?

I really think I have the "running thing" down, but when I add ANY other goals to that I fail. I was able to run this week. Actually, I ran 5 times this week, and by Friday I was tired. As for my other goals I have failed. I don't know why I can't do the throw downs or the Abs of Steel. It just doesn't happen. I think I need to change my approach.

This time I am going to try a new angle, food. On top of running 4-5 times this week I am going to eat 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables a day. The average American diet has about 14 grams of fiber. The recommended amount is 25-30 grams fiber per day. And I know that I don't eat enough fruits and veggies.

Here's the challenge:

1. Run 4 times this week-30 minutes.

2. Eat 5 servings of fruits and/or vegetables every day

Babies really do a number!!!

I know I haven't been in the best of shape, but with running I have really improved. I went to the doctor this week and found out I have lost two pounds in two weeks and three pounds since December. But better than that, my clothes are starting to get really loose and all of my pants aren't even staying up. Crazy, huh?

I also realized that I love running. I never thought I would say that but I miss it when I don't go and I look forward to my runs. I love it. I made my goal of running 4 times last week and I will carry that over to this week.

As for the throw downs--that is a different story. My stomach muscles are shot after three pregnancies and it is going to take a lot of work to undo the damage. I only did them twice last week. So this week I will up the ante just a bit and throw in some Abs of Steel workouts. We'll see if that will be a bit nicer to my tummy. Here is this weeks Challenge:

1. Run 4 times this week, 30 minutes each time (maybe even five if I feel so inclined)
2. Do two sets of "throw downs" 3 times this week
3. Do 15 minute Abs of Steel workout-twice

The Sun will come out Tomorrow...(More like this week)

I took last week off from running, thanks to some of my friend's advice. I used the week to recover from a nasty, lingering cold. And yes, I still have it, but I can't rest anymore. I went running on Saturday and loved it. This week is going to be similar to last week. I am going to run 4 times this week. The first time being this morning.

Also, I am going to do "throw downs" with James every night this week. Now before you dirty minded people start getting carried away, throw downs are when you lay on your back and the other person stands at your head. You hold on to their ankles and lift both legs up to your head. Then the person standing "throws" or pushes your legs down to the floor and you have to not let your legs touch the floor and then again raise your legs up. My roommate in Logan taught them to me and it is a VERY effective stomach exercise. Go ahead try them, they are hard, huh?

Anyway:

1. Run for 30 minutes, 4 times this week

2. 2 sets of throw downs 6 days this week

I have had better Weeks.

I did not make my goals this week. Life has been pretty busy around here. I was sick all week (and still not better) and I have been working on two callings. Like I said, crazy! But I did get my running in last week, just not the spot training. So this next week I am going easy on myself. I will just do the running. Once I get that down solid maybe I can add something else.

So here it is:

Running for 30 minutes 4 days this week.

Should be easy, right? Anyway, wish me luck!

My new goal.

I have been running for the last 6 weeks. I have been posting my goals here but I have decided to move over to my blog. This week my goal is to run 4 times this week and do my abs/buns of steel workout four times this week. So here it is:

1. Run for 30 minutes 4 times this week

2. Do 15 minutes of "Abs/buns of steel" 4 times this week

I am not sure how I will do because I have been sick for the last few days. I guess only time will tell. See you next week.

Bedtime Stories

Always, when I have a million things to do, Lucy does the cutest things. She wanted to play house and I was the daughter. It was time for me to go to sleep and so she decided to tell me a bedtime story. I was lucky enough to record it. I think if we let her she could talk forever. Enjoy!

**UPDATE**

So really sad, I tried to upload the video and for some reason I completely deleted it. I was really bummed. So here James is trying to get the story from her.

Cheers

Sorry to be such a dud on my blog. I have been taking a break from blogging and I am still not ready to come back. I have been focusing on my kids, scrapbooking, running and my new calling (Relief Society Secretary) Not to mention James' new BUSY calling. I am sorry I haven't posting anything in a while and I didn't want my last posting to be so "blah." Now that you know where I have been you can stop worrying. I still like emails and phone calls (and I am still checking other blogs.) So farewell for now, -cheers.

Blah!

Blah, blah, blah blah blah.

Thank You Perspective!

Now if only they can make something for The Office and Facebook!

More than meets the eye.

Yesterday, we were getting ready for dinner when the power went out and we hear three loud booms. I stuck my head out and heard that the booms were coming from up the street. We all came out of the house and visited with the neighbors. I concluded that it was a transformer and 30-40 minutes later the power was back on. When I picked James up from work I told him about our exciting afternoon, then Thomas chimed in: "I am going to tell Jorge at school it was a transformer. He likes Transformers. He wears a Transformers t-shirt sometimes and he will think that is neat."

I LOVE having a little boy!!

Hair for Locks of Love

I just donated my hair to Locks of Love. I had been growing my hair out for several months and it was getting unmanageably long. It was fun getting it all chopped off today. It turns out that although there are rules to donating to Locks of Love, they are not as stringent as I once thought. I took pictures of the whole process (well, the cutting part of it).

Here is the before. My hair hit about the middle of my back.

And the chopping began. She was about to pull out a chainsaw to cut through it all.

The lovely ponytail. I hope it can help another little girl.

My final short cut. I was glad that it wasn't as short as I thought it would be.

I love having the freedom of short hair. It feels so great. So, if you have the patience, I recommend donating a pony tail. It was great fun. As a side note, you would think I would have donated my hair once we moved to Texas at the hottest part of the year. Oh and I did get a new hair dryer and I LOVE it!

Sad, So Sad!

I had to give a talk in church today. I was really nervous so naturally I woke up insanely early. I figured that since I couldn't sleep I would blow dry my hair straight. My hair is super long, long enough that...well, it's long. So I was half way through drying my hair when the unthinkable happened. My hair dryer was slipping into the sink, so I stopped it and in doing so, knocked it into the TOILET!!!! I hurried and unplugged it and tried to shake out the water. It was gone, my wonderful hair dryer was dying, and quick. I just stood there in horror as my favorite bathroom appliance coughed, sputtered and then died(and smelled like melting plastic). James didn't believe me when I told him how sad I was. How many things do you have from 10th grade and still use it? This was my last. Oh how I will miss this dear, dear friend!!!!! So I am now in the market for a new hair dryer. Any suggestions? I am getting a new hair cut at the end of this week and I have to have a new hair dryer before then. Sad, so sad.

On My Wishlist.

Here is a little gem of a website that I stumbled upon and there are so many cute things. The site is called 2 Little Mammas. I love the baby bundle, it sounds so perfect for my diaper bag. Also, I really like the CARe Seat. I wish we had that for our little Geo. Instead we were scrubbing the car about every six months. And everything is so cute. There are also tutus, lunch bags and another favorite-hair accessories. So if you have some time check it out.

Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

These dresses are so adorable how could I not try and win them? This is a MUST SEE!!!! Believe me. Enjoy. Queen of Hearts and Alice in Wonderland Costume Set GIVEAWAY!!!!

It starts early...

So we have this tradition at family night. Right after we discuss all the things we are doing in the week we have Thomas stand and report about how school is going. Lucy also has to report about her day/week. We have started recording them because we hear the funniest things in their reports. Here is a little excerpt of Lucy's report.

Luckily the family night lesson was about babies and so we were able to answer her question and transition into the lesson pretty smoothly. Anyway, we love our kids so much and we just love doing family night. The kids look forward to it and they also like having responsibilities in F.H.E.

I think the only draw back (if you can call it a draw back) is that I try to make new and different desserts for the treat. The problem is that we have so many leftovers that it turns out to be my Tuesday morning breakfast. Like, last night I made these pumpkin bars, oh they are so good. I highly recommend them, just make sure you have lots of people to help you eat them.

Rainbow Cupcakes

Since Thomas' first birthday I have been excited about taking cupcakes into school. This year I was finally able to do it. I wanted to make it special, so I did a bit of research. I first got this idea from a theme on iGoogle. I thought, "what in the world are rainbow cupcakes?" So I then did a search for them, apparently they are pretty popular. The first site I stopped at was Our Best Bites and her pictures were beautiful! I then checked with James to make sure that rainbow cupcakes were boyish enough. Once I got the okay I went to baking. I tried to take as many pictures as I could-with my new camera it was really fun. I love how pretty these turned out, and they went over well with all of the 4/5 year olds in Thomas'' class. (and they tasted great too!)

Proof!

I don't know how she did it but my sister-in-law got Dylan to laugh. This video was taken about 2 weeks ago and ever since I have tried my darnedest to make him laugh. I have gotten some good smiles but yet to get a giggle. I am glad I have the video as proof otherwise I wouldn't believe he does laugh. Well, enjoy! (Dylan doesn't really start laughing until about 30 seconds into the clip.)

I am so Cool, not really.

I just had a great time yesterday at the Jason Mraz concert. It was an outdoor concert and lots of fun. We couldn't find a baby sitter so the kids ended up coming with us. And other than staying up late, they had a great time too. The kids danced on the lawn in front of us and they were more entertaining than the concert (although I am a bit partial to them). Dylan SLEPT through it! If you can believe it, I worried a bit about his hearing but it's fine.

Anyway, back to the concert, lots of fun. Jason Mraz is a great performer and really good music. The music is kinda jazzy/blues, reggae, rock, a little rap, and folk-if that makes any sense. He is most famously know for "I'm Yours," which is a really good song. I posted it below, Enjoy.

Oh, When we came home I called my sister in Las Vegas to tell her how cool I was that I went to a "hip" concert. She had to point out that if I have to say that then I am not cool. Ouch!

A Very Merry Birthday!

This posting is to help my friend, Sarah, celebrate a very special birthday. We have been friends since we were in diapers.

My parents moved to Kentucky when I was about a year old

and we met Sarah's family there.

We were great friends as little children, but her family moved to Connecticut and we moved to California.

We feebly tried to keep in touch through snail mail (back then that was all that existed) but being a kid I wasn't very good at it.

Then, when I was eleven years old my parents told me we were moving to Connecticut-3 miles from Sarah's house. I am so lucky that she was there for me in my teenage years.

We never had many classes together but we had a locker next to each other. Also, it was great having another LDS friend in high school. There weren't many of us Mormons in school. Other than my family, Sarah has known me longer than anyone else and we have been through it all together.

We got married within three months of each other and we each had baby boys four months apart from each other.

Sarah, have a very happy birthday and don't let numbers bother you, you are only as young as you feel! I am glad you are going through "this birthday" before me, let me know how it goes. Best Wishes!

Need an idea for Dinner tonight?

This recipe is my own invention and it went over very well with the little critics.

Thomas: "Mama, this is the best chicken I have ever had."

Lucy: "I love it, I mean, I like it." (which is good enough for me, she ate it.)

It's really simple to make and I made it with all things I had on hand. Here it is:

Kitchen Sink Chicken

Ingredients:

4 chicken breasts

1 small bag of bacon bits (real bacon) or 6-8 slices of bacon, cooked and chopped
1 onion, sauteed
2 slices of ham, chopped
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 Tbsp corn starch
pepper to taste

Directions:
Place the chicken in a baking dish and set aside. Mix the rest of the ingredients in a bowl and make sure the corn starch evenly coats everything. Place the mixture over the chicken. Place dish in the oven and bake at 350* for about an hour or until the chicken is no longer pink.

That is it. I like it served over mashed potatoes with a side of veggies. The next time I think I am going to add fresh mushrooms to the mix. We like it, and the next time we have guests I am making it for them. So if you try it, tell me what you think.