Confession

This is hard to say. Well, not just hard, embarrasing too. I suppose you could also say worrisome. Well, worriesome to me. But I always worry, just ask Todd. If worrying were a profession, I would be the CEO. Back to the topic at hand, I have to confess, I am out of shape....she writes with her head hung in shame.

I have not really exercised in months. MONTHS. I have lost weight too. You know what this means, I have lost mainly muscle- not good. I went to the gym today. It was not pretty. I was huffing and puffing on the tredmill and going at a considerly low speed. AHHH! Not too long ago, I was jogging 13 miles at a time. And I loved it! Today at the gym I cursed the idea of even moving.

I am so devastated. And scared. And mad, at myself. Well, what to do? I guess I just got to get back on the wagon - err I mean treadmill, elliptical, or bike. I hope it doesn't take MONTHS to get back to running the way I used to.

Now, and this is the sick part, like I said I have lost weight. I am wearing smaller sizes. I like weighing less and am slighty afraid that working out will make me gain weight. I know it would be good weight, but that is how screwed my thinking is reagarding weight. There is another thought somewhere in the back of my mind that doesn't even care if I gain 20 pounds while working out again. Because I will physically feel much better if I work out. I hope this thought takes over.

So, here I go. I guess I will see how what happens with this body of mine. Wish me luck.

Spring Break 2010

This spring break was wonderful and jam packed with a lot of fun. This is the rundown:

Friday 12th - half day, had lunch with friends, hiked "A" Mountain with Brennan
Saturday 13th - brunch with the kids
Sunday 14th - dinner with Nana and Papa
Monday 15th - Casa Grande Ruins in Coolidge
Tuesday 16th - rode bikes
Wednesday 17th - traditional St. Patrick's lunch in Fountain Hills
Thursday 18th - Phoenix Zoo, girls night for Mom
Friday 19th - Lunch with friends
Saturday 20th - Cousin Skye's Birthday Party, Date night for Mom and Dad
Sunday 21st - Dinner with Grammy and Pappy, got souvenirs from their European trip

Whew, no wonder I am exhausted! We are so lucky that there are so many fun things to do here. The kids and I made a list of everywhere we want to go, see, and explore in our area. This week we barley scrathced the surface. So, I guess I am looking forward to Summer so we can continue to enjoy Arizona!

Only my kids....

Build the Whitehouse, instead of a sand castle in the sand box...

Would rather go to New York City, instead of the Happiest Place on Earth...

Beg their mother to go to the Four Corners...

Spend all of the contents in their treasure box to buy books...

Create a cellphone out of an 8 X 11 piece of copy paper, it's Verizon by the way...

Like to roll their eyes in the back of their head and try to scare me...

Are afraid to go upstairs alone, they have to have the other with them and the lights on...

Cut their own bangs, ok I think every kid has done that one before :)...

Cut out the mesh parts of the Pack N'Play so that their cousin, who spends most days with us, can get out of bed from his naps earlier...It actually does work



My kids may drive me up the wall sometimes, at least once a day, but they always put a smile on my face. I feel so lucky! All mothers are. So, what are some of things only your children do?

New Calling

As much as I am dreading the Pinewood Derby, I am going to love wearing this to our weekly den meetings:

Suns vs Jazz

Last night we had the pleasure to watch the Suns game with Todd's firm. We had great seats - in the nicest suite I have ever seen at the US Airway Center. We've been in a suite before, but this one was even better! It was huge! We had awesome food too. However, the very best thing about the suite is that you have your own bathroom, which all women know equals zero wait time. Sweet suite.

Too bad the Jazz won. Last time we watched the game in a suite it was the Suns vs Jazz too. The Jazz won then also. Grrr. Todd and I decided we are bad luck and if we get the opportunity to see another Suns/Jazz game in person, we will have to decline! JK

Oh and I have a new celebrity crush, Steve Nash. Go Nashy.

Enough

I am 31 years old. And througout the years I have learned that to truly be happy, I need to surround myself with great people. And I have. By luck, my kids are amazing..beautiful, smart, funny, and kind. By luck, my parents and brothers are some of my greatest friends. Now, Todd, I scouted him out. It was not by luck that I ended up with him. I knew what I wanted in a husband and would not settle for anything less. He is great and makes me happy. It is the same with my friends. I am somewhat picky in that area. I will not spend my precious time with fake, insincere people. That may be why I have only a handful of friends. But quantity does not equal quality. My friends are the best. I can go to them with anything and they will love and support me, not judge me or ridicule me.

So why is it that when I am intentionally hurt by insincere people, people in my life that I unfortunately can't avoid, my feelings are hurt?

I am trying hard to not let these "mean girls" affect me, but it is hard. Sometimes, my 31 year old self feels 13 instead!

Count your many blessings....

Like most of you, this week I am counting a lot of my blessings. Not surprisingly, just like one of my favorite hymns suggested, after counting my blessings, I was surprised with what the Lord has blessed me with. Growing up, I thought blessings were pretty simple to comprehend - they were the good things in our life. In my advanced age I have discovered that, while blessings are good things in our life, they sometimes might stem from something bad.

This year a lot of wonderful things happened to our family. At the same time, this year has been one of my most difficult. When compared to real tragedies, our struggles might seem trivial, but let me tell you - they were pretty hard to deal with. However, after every challenge, something better arose. For instance, Alyssa lost my engagement ring. Todd spent his very last dime on that ring ten years ago when he proposed to me. I was sick when I couldn't find it. Luckily, Todd didn't have to spend his last dime when he bought me another set of rings , which are beautiful. The ring thing was the least of our problems though.

The terrible economy directly affected Todd. This summer was hard. We had to endure situations I naively thought we would never have to. Yet still, there still were good times to be had. We protected our children from the situation as best we could. My family was a source of refuge. With their support we survived. We even had a lot of fun. Todd and I became better friends than ever before. When the summer was over, things were looking up for Todd. In fact, we are probably in a better situation than before.

My Mom likes to remind me that we have to take the good with the bad, that without the bad, we will never know the good. As hard as it is to swallow this, it is true. That is hard for me to understand sometimes. I get panicky if things are good because I am waiting for the other shoe to drop. This year has taught me to stop that silly thinking and just enjoy the happy moments when I can. This will always be a struggle for me, but this year has taught me.

I am grateful for this past year and it's lessons. I am also grateful for my wonderful family. When I would get down, I would look at their faces and think, "How can I be sad when I have them in my life"? My wonderful friends are a huge source of gratitude for me. I have been blessed with wise and truly good people for friends, just being in their presence brings me peace. I am grateful for the gospel, it's principles have kept me safe. I am also grateful for the challenges I face, they are shaping me into a better person, whether I like it or not!