Merry Christmas Cindy Loo hoo!

This weekend Ali threw Jason a surprise party for his 30th birthday. It was Caddy Shack style and a lot of fun. Allison, Amy, Kristi & I met to discuss details a couple of times and Allison went above and beyond for a birthday party.


Here are some of the pictures..
 

Kristi, Ali, Me & Amy

Kelly trying to get the dance party started...

After the party we stopped by HCS & Alexis' house to check on Alexis. Good news, the prayers are working on her mom please keep them up. Anyway while we were there we were talking about the crazies and the end of our streets who have not only have lights up but the whole penguin snow village up and inflated. HSC is the grinch and Alexis is the complete opposite serving as Cindy Loo Hoo. She and Kelly have a common thread with their love for the holiday season.


Saturday we were supposed to run, but it was cold and kelly was bound and determined that we were going to get Christmas lights. So we headed to Lowe's and Home Depot and got close to 6 boxes of led lights. We originally were going to do the whole trade in you old lights at home depot, but Lowe's had a really good deal going on so it made more sense economically to get them from Lowe's and keep our old ones.

Next we had to head to cheap thrills since the sexy 70's outfit I got Kelly was a little to snug in the polyester pants, plus they were to short. So we headed to fville.

We did find him an even better outfit, but of course when we got there Kelly decided he needed a matching jacket and maybe some platform shoes.. I finally had to drag him out.

After that it was around 3 and we were both getting hungry since we had missed lunch so we took Kelly to Grub's to have his first Grubs burger. He was very impressed. We decided we should just split something since it was 3:30 by the time we sat down to eat, so we had the Banana Fire burger and it didn't disappoint.

We stopped by Sam's and walmart and on our way home from those Kelly mentioned we still had a ton of lights left.

K- "Wouldn't it be funny if we put them on Marcus' house."

Me- thinking through the logistics of how in the world we would be able to do that? they would hear it wouldn't they? "Yes that would be hilarous.. but how could we do it?"

K- "They went to the game didn't they?"

Me- "PERFECT!!!"

Me- "You know he is going to be soooo annoyed."

K-"Alexis we like it though right.. I mean she loves Christmas right?"

Me- "oh yeah I think she will think it is funny.. HCS will be super annoyed though."

K-"oh, ok good."

So we drive one street over to casa de carlson, grab the ladder and we were ready. 35 minutes later and we had a Christmas Masterpiece!

Since it was only 6:30 we decided to leave them unplugged until at least 1/2 time so we didn't waste their electricity.


I even text Alexis to see if they were still at the game. Around 9ish Kelly went to turn the lights on.

So then.. we wait.

By like 10 Kelly was antsy and wanting to know why we hadn't had a call yet. So he does a drive by. He barrels in to the house.. "THEY AREN"T HOME YET!!!

I MEAN THEY HAVE A PREGNANT GIRL SURELY THEY NEED TO GET HER HOME!!"

I start laughing and remind him that Alexis is not your average pregnant girl and doesn't use the pregnancy as an excuse.

So we wait.. for almost another hour.. until I get a text from Alexis..

"Sooo our house has Christmas lights on it"...

I then send her this picture of our hard work!

Needless to say HSC was not the biggest fan of our little joke. I wanted to remind him it could be much worse we could have done tacky lights that didn't match!


Yesterday we ran 8. Kelly hasn't been running as much since school is taking up a very large part of his time. I have been almost closet training. Not that it was a secret, just more of the fact that I could see him just springing it on me that he wanted to do a race and me not being ready. Also I just didn't make it completely public how much I was running. When I left one of mine runs are the garmin and he saw the pace he decided that he was no longer letting me run alone. So yesterday we laced up the shoes and headed to the Bentonville trail. There is 2 pretty big hills along the trail and for the mile leading up to the hill I could just feel the weight pressing on me I once read that running is 20% physical and 80% mental.. Let me tell you I agree. Because just thinking about running up that hill made me want to quit. I finished though and the time wasn't the worst. It was right at a 9 minute pace. No, not my best, but it will do. It did help me to realize that i need to do more hill training on my runs!

*did you know that less than 1/2 percent of the US population has ran a marathon as of 2009.*

run like your pregnant?

When I first started running, my mom told me she was worried about me jostling my ovaries and other internal parts around... She is not the only one. When I went in for a Dr. appointment one time the Dr. told me that running wasn't good for your body. So, while I was reading the September Runners World (yes I am behind.. I've been a little busy) and it talked about the two women running through their pregnancy it got me wondering.. If people tell you running is so hard on you when you are not pregnant.. imagine what they say when they see the preggo girls booking it down the street at sub 6 minute miles!

I also want to say... I DON'T have baby fever by writing this. I do think I caught my running bug again.

Mainly I just think these women are hard core and pretty darn impressive so they get a post.

First thing is, I am 28. More than likely I will not be ready for a bebe until I am 30. We are going to Europe next year and we will be ready after that. One thing that worries me is how everyone acts like if I wait until I am 30 I might as well be waiting until I am 100. I always get the, "well what if you have problems?" This has worried me many times until Kelly & I talked about it. He very calmly told me that if the Lord doesn't want me to have kids at 30, what makes me think he will want me to have them at 28?

Plus... This chica really wants to visit Italy before I do anything else!

Anyway.. Kara is 32 (Marathon time 2:25) and Paula is 36 (Marathon time 2:15). They are both having kids. Yeah! I feel better!

Next they have an insane training plan...

Pre pregnancy:

"logging about 100 miles a week and maintaining a 5:40-permile pace over 26.2 miles is simply part of the job"

I can not even run one mile at 5:40 let alone 26.2! They still work out 2 times a day.

 Paula talks about how she runs in an antigravity chamber and some days she would set the chamber to 128 lbs and be able to run 8 miles at a 4:50 per mile pace. Then she said other days with out the chamber she was only running 7:30 miles.

Her 1st trimester she went from 100 miles a week to 50 miles per week in the 2nd trimester she was back up to about 80 & in the 3rd she was somewhere in between.

KARA GOUCHER: "Because this is my first pregnancy, I didn't know what to expect. During my first trimester, I felt tired and nauseous, but usually 10 minutes into a run, I'd feel better. By the fifth month, I felt great—I was able to train twice a day and lift weights three days a week. But priorities definitely have shifted. Training isn't about staying fit as much as staying sane."

 PAULA RADCLIFFE: It's hard when people say, "Are you sure you're doing the right thing? What if you're shaking that baby to death?" That worried me the first time. I'm more relaxed this time. I mean, obviously I still do all of the checks to make sure that all of the kicks are still there in the right places and that I'm eating right. I don't regret anything I did through my pregnancy with Isla [her 3-year-old daughter]. She came out perfect, so hopefully the same thing will happen again.

How do you think being active influences pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery?
PR: Being fit definitely helps. Even if you have a complicated pregnancy, the fact that you're fit is still going to help your body handle that situation. And I think that being fit through labor helps. The mental techniques you know from getting through races help to keep the concentration and stay focused. You come back stronger because you're happier, because you have a child that you love and cherish, and it's something you really wanted in your life. You probably become a little bit more focused as well, because your priorities are sharpened. And the time away from intense training means that you come back more refreshed. There is a flip side, though, because you are so used to being in tune with your body, and having this body that responds so well to what you ask it to do. You can't do that during pregnancy. You feel frumpy and fat. You kind of have this anxiety because you know you have to put on a certain amount of weight and hit the target so the baby is healthy, but it's hard to get fat and to go through that.
Paula, how did the pain of labor compare to racing?

PR: The pain of labor is more intense. But I found that it was just not comparable. When you run a marathon, your body is working with you and you've trained and prepared for it. With labor, for me, my body seemed to be working against me. But you handle it because you're in shape and because you have that mental outlook of getting through training or a marathon.KG: My husband was tossing around the idea of a natural, at-home birth, so he rented this video, The Business of Being Born, and it had the exact opposite effect that he was hoping for. I'm open-minded. I definitely want to deliver in the hospital, and I want the option of the epidural. But I'm in denial about the whole birthing process still

Notice the running skirt..

Oh how I heart the running skirt.



Have you experienced any uncomfortable moments on runs? Bladder issues?PR: I think we had one nightmare run, didn't we?KG: I've had a few.PR: Kara and I were in Portland on this long run, and I just had to keep stopping. You have to just listen to your body. You can't ignore it. Some days I feel really uncomfortable. And if I stop and get down on all fours just to kind of move the baby, suddenly running will be a lot more comfortable.KG: I'm sure all the people in my neighborhood have seen me pop a squat. It just comes and there's nothing I can do. At first I was horrified. But then my husband's like, "Just laugh about it."

Emotional Basket Case.. yep there is a group for it on Facebook...

So I wrote the post for the last entry on MONDAY. then today I realize.. I never posted my Monday musings!


Today is going to be a ranting of sorts so please forgive me.

This week has been a really tough week. I think I am on estrogen over load! I have not cried this much in quite possibly years!

It started off bad when I got in a minor fender bender at the beginning of the week. To make matters worse it was with my BIL who has a case of the OCD and it is heightened when it comes to his car. When Kelly found out about the car he was soo angry and told me that however much it cost it was coming out of my girls weekend trip. This caused me to break down. Now, I get that actions have consequences, but at the same time I have been looking forward to this trip for such a long time. Then BIL took his car for estimates.. he took it to 3 and they were all around 1k mine was over 600. UGH! I had a full on break down as I was driving down the road on my way back from the body shop. Not only did it break my heart about the girls trip, but also that is a whole lot of money to me... I feel like that is a whole lot of money to anyone, but is a big ole student loan payment for me!


I find someone that is a friend of a friend that runs a shop who is approved by our insurance, he told me he could fix mine not through insurance for 400, but BIL was still 1k so we decide to just file a claim.
 
There are a few other things I have going on right now and as much as I would like to share the whole story I am just not able to write about it at the moment. I am just very stressed and having a hard time with things. I continue to repeat Proverbs 3:3 & 3:5-6 and I know that God has a plan for me and my life, but sometimes it really is hard to muddle through and see the big picture. Then I think maybe I am not meant to see the big picture. I am supposed to just walk by faith. Today at work a co-worker was talking about a special she had seen on tv. It was about the writers of tv shows. The writer said that when she started writing the story line she already knew what the series finally was going to be. Do you think that is what our lives are supposed to be like? God has the script and the cast already lined up and knows what the series finally is before he even starts? I am choosing to go with this thought, some how it brings me some comfort.

The hubs is really stressed right now. Which makes me really stressed. Last night he told me I make his life harder. This crushed me. I tried really hard not to cry. Really hard. I bit my lip and walked in to the closet and sat down and cried. Yes it is a random place, but my MIL uses that as her place and I figure she has things figured out pretty well I will follow this example. So I sat there and cried and prayed.
 
I know that sometimes a comment like this would have just rolled right off, but after the week I have had it didn't it hurt and I spent a good 45 minutes crying in the closet. With that being said when you are saying prayers.. any sent my way would be appreciated.




To lighten to mood after my ranting...... And while we are getting personal I noticed these things about myself today:

1. I feel guilty if I use paper towels over the hand dryer. Some days I just want to reach for a paper towel, but the little voice in my head tells me to, "save a tree use a paper towel"

2. I pick out my underwear and socks. To the point that I will dig through the drawers and put pairs back if I'm not "feelin it"

3. I kiss Callaway good bye and tell him I love him when I leave the house

4. I don't know how to take compliments. A guy at work told me he saw my picture in Citiscapes for Komen and then in something else for Make-A-Wish and I didn't know how to say thank you for some reason.

5. Sometimes if I really like the shoes I have on for the day I get sassy. Today they are patent leather & a shade of red-which should equate to a good day right?

so the conversation went a lil something like this..

I have been searching for a costume for Voyage (which is the 20th if you want tickets!) I couldn't decide which era I wanted to do, but I figured I would have to come up with a costume that would appease the hubs. So I went with the easiest. Dazed and Confused.. Mathew McConaughy style. I got him some fabulous brown polyester pants and a great pearl snap shirt. I picked 2 dresses out for me..

I wanted to wear some sassy white go-go boots, but apparently they don't make a mass quantity of them, and the ones that I found locally you can't have any bit of a calf or they wont fit! So I come in to work on Friday and randomly ask one of the girls at work..
Me-"Hey, D you got any roller skates?"
D- "yeah they are out in my trunk."
Me- "seriously.. not only was I not serious, but there is no way I would expect them to be in your car?"
D- "yeah I use skate all the time."
Me- "so these are like legit skates, not ones form when you were like 12, or the ones you strap to your shoes, or even the inline kind right?"
She goes out to the car.. and comes back in.. with these!

SHUT up!
I promptly put these on and acted like a Sonic car hop for all of 10 minutes.

Friday night we went over to our friends Patric and Megans house. We played poker. It has been a while since I played poker and it made me very thankful that my daddy taught me how to play a long long time ago! I beat Kelly on a couple of hands which is saying something.. one because I am not the best at lying. My neck turns a crazy bright color of crimson and I am unable to hide the expression.. two because like I said it has been a while since I played.

Saturday we ran errands and even went to the golf course for me to get some practice. I had my long run this weekend did it in about 8:30 which is good if I can continue to build on my mileage but still be able to keep that pace. If I was that would make my marathon time more impactful. If I was able to run the Marathon at a 9:30 pace.. I would finish the thing in just over 4 hours.

I have been busy at work.. we are putting on this event in December and I am in charge of making sure it goes off perfectly. So I am in extreme OCD mode is making sure everything goes perfect.

Kelly put him on the train so I could get some pictures.. He was sooooo scared this was my first shot

Stupid new blogger wont let me rotate the pictures!!!

As you can see by the ears.. he wasn't happy

those are kellys legs... and yes he is crazy!

SEW close to Christmas!

Can you believe there are only 52 days until Christmas?

Callaway isn't worried about it though, he is just chillin'.

This seems absolutely crazy to me! With getting in to the Christmas spirit here are a few things that I am loving right now...

Over the knee boots. No not pretty woman style boots, but more of the rebel without a cause motorcycle style. I am thinking black is what I need most of, but I keep getting drawn to the precious brown ones!!

These are Steve Madden from Victoria's Secret

$289--ouch LOVE is painful!

These are also from Vikki's they are by Sketcher and only

$99

Last these are from Jessica Simpson

middle of the road with $160

Dear over the knee boots.. i heart you!





A serger.. I have been really working on Christmas presents here lately.. which if you are my mother and reading this you need to stop right this minute.


Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars, and STEP AWAY from the HP! Anyway, I have been working on what i am going to make everyone this year. I am very excited about these projects because I love shopping for people and taking the time to pick out the perfect present. I do not love when no one tells me what they want and I have to do a stupid giftcard. Don't get me wrong sometimes they are ok, but I just like the personalness that comes with picking out something and now even making something.

So for my mom it was tough, but I thought I could make her a bag. She can either use it as a casual purse, a small travel bag, or even a sassy lunch bag!

This bag was a great project and I really liked working with the canvas material and will probably make another one. I am working on my SIL & MIL's gifts too, but I don't have pictures of theirs yet as soon as I do I will post.

These were at a local store here and I had to take a picture.. the Hog ones... THIRTY bucks?? for real? I can do that! The other was 15!! DONE. I am making those this weekend! 

This bag was a great project and I really liked working with the canvas material and will probably make another one. I am working on my SIL & MIL's gifts too, but I don't have pictures of theirs yet as soon as I do I will post.

Which brings me back to the fact that if I had a serger some of the projects would be much easier.. but at the same time I have done ok without one, but i just kind of feel like it would make my life easier...

Next up the Silhouette. Jenni from the Block has one and not gonna lie it is a whole big cup of AWESOMENESS.

There are a bunch of really cool projects that I could make and I feel like all those baby showers I go to, gifts would now be a snap!




A jacket... My Northface got a substantial amount of paint on it when we moved in to our house (since we were painting at the beginning of February)I found a couple of cute ones online...

Guess what I found these past few weeks? MY RUNNING SHOES! They didn't runaway on me after all. I was a little worried there for a bit that they were going to peace out on me since they hadn't seen the light of day for about 3 months (DANG YOU SUMMER). Well I picked up my precious pearl izumis and they hadn't missed a beat. Now I can say with complete honesty that I am not one of those people who can take the months off and then pick up my Paula Radcliffe speed back up.. WHO am I kidding? I never had Paula's speed.. Oprah maybe, but never paula.

Marathon Time.. 2:15:25

lets all just have a moment of silence for RR's abs....

Ryan Reynolds, NYC Marathon, 2008 (3:50)

Oprah Winfrey, 1994 Marine Corps Marathon (4:29:15)

Katie Holmes, 2007 New York City Marathon (5:29:58)

Mario López, 2002 Boston Marathon (5:41:42)

It does make me feel FABULOUS that I dominated Mario's Marathon time...
Now if only B would run a marathon I would be a happy kid.

So I went ahead and took the leap and got my lil training plan all mapped out. This will help me be ready to go for the moment that it gets in to Kelly's head that we are in fact doing the LR full. I have been mentally preparing myself. Each week I have been adding miles. Well this weekend I was supposed to run 6 for my "long run."

(The way the plan works is 3 days a week I run. Monday is an easy run, Wednesday is a speed/hill/tempo run, and Saturday is the long run. Most people start a marathon plan with the long run already up to about 8 miles. Well Since I haven't seriously ran since May I needed to get back to that point. Then each week you and 2 miles to your long run..) Since I am starting this so far out we are able to add 1 mile a time on our long runs up until the 14-16 milers. Well I waited to late to run and I was still really full from breakfast on Saturday so Queen Quits-a-lot stopped after about 3 miles. Me being SUPER frustrated with myself I headed to Hobby Lobby to get some fabric.. and while I was there I treated my quitter self to some Andy's frozen custard..

Now in my defense I have wanted some of this since the beginning of October and had yet to indulge. I did it up right though.. James Brown-(vanilla with brownies) But instead of the hot fudge that goes in the middle.. this fat kid got peanut butter in the middle. I did this so when Sunday rolled around my inner skinny would yell at the outer fat that ate the custard and BOOK IT!

Sunday I ran 5 @ 8:30 pace. UGH! Then on Monday I had channeled my inner skinny again and was READY.. well it was thundering and lightning so no go there.

Which brings me today. On the schedule we had 5 mile tempo run. 1 warm up 3 @ 8:10 pace & 1 cool down.

I did the first mile in 8:36

mile 2 in 8:05

mile 3 in 8:01

mile 4 in 7:50

mile 5 in 8:18

Right at 41 minutes...

Which I am pretty proud of! With an average of 8:10 per mile. Since I was only really supposed to do 3 miles at that pace.. it will work just fine for me!

**PS** here is what I made with the fabric from Hobby Lobby..It is going to be a quilt.. this is my first square***

 

 

This is the cape I made for Luke.. Jim's Son... No pictures yet of him in it..

 Yep.. kids.. I am big time.. that little beauty is in fact reversible!