Day 18 - My Double-Wide

This is my house. Lovely isn't it? Yes, if you can look past the dumpy yard. Life is about to get exciting because starting today, the landscape is going to change a bit. Not a huge remodel, but when it's done we'll play a little game of "What's different?" The backyard will have the most dramatic change. I'll save the before and after of that for the final reveal because I have a feeling you won't believe your eyes. Side note for my faithful followers: I am not going to be posting for a few days. This is intentional. Instead, I am going to enjoy the long holiday weekend with my boys. I think you should too. So, I'll see you on Monday. Happy 4th! Eat lots of watermelon!

Day 17 - Tricking a 2yr Old

Remember this? I am about to ship my 2yr old niece a duplicate version of her favorite blanket to avert any crisis when her original blanket suddenly disappears (in the laundry). Sydney's a smart girl and may see right through this devious plan. Stay tuned to see if this works...

Day 16 - Observations

Oops, missed a day. Sorry followers. I hope you are not disappointed. Truth be told, the last few days have been pretty uneventful and I ditched the 30 Day Blog Challenge list after about the third day because the topics were just getting too stupid.


I have to say, this blog challenge has had me thinking a little more about what goes on in my life, just so I can return and report. Here is what I've noticed:


I get up and run bright and early in the mornings, as do several other people in this world. The last few times I been out and ran past another runner, I've noticed how nice they smell. It is like a whiff of Downy fabric softener. I am pretty sure I do not smell like Downy fabric softener. In fact, I think my running clothes are permanently marinated in my own stank. There is no good smell coming from me right out the gates. Consider yourselves warned.


I love to eat at the Lion House for lunch and do so on a fairly regular basis. I have noticed the last few times I have been there the line is out the door. Where are all of these people coming from? Well, I can guess since most seem to be youth groups and they are all wearing t-shirts that say "Youth Conference 2011 - Rupert, Idaho 2nd Stake." I thought Youth Conference was a sack lunch event. What are they doing at the Lion House? Today there was a large group who looked like they were from Camp K. I had to text my sister who can appreciate what Camp K offers. She was a counselor one summer and is "all sorts of Camp K" (her words). Those counselors have big hearts, almost as big as the campers'.

Day 15 - Red Pajamas

Happiness consists not of having, but of being; not of possessing, but enjoying...Man is the creator of his own happiness. It is the aroma of life lived in harmony with high ideals. For what a man has he may be dependent upon others; what he is rests with him alone.
~David O. McKay

Day 14 - Party Uphill

If there is one thing I've learned while running a race is that having a cheering squad can really pump you up. This was the most grueling race of my life, but turning the corner and seeing my friends cheering me on gave me more energy than Gu.

Day 13 - Random

I have a different post ready for today, but I don't know if I should post it. Some things are better left unsaid. Maybe it will appear in a few days. I need to sleep on it.
What you get to know is that at this very moment I'm watching Steel Magnolias. One of my favorite movies. I cry every time I watch it for so many reasons - the sacrifice you make to be a mother, a mother losing a child, having close, supportive friends. I even imagine living in Natchitoches, Louisiana where it is filmed, but only for the few hours I'm watching the movie. Louisiana is not on my list of top places to live.

Day 12 - Motivation

I am having trouble finding my motivation for most things in life.

I have to tell myself:

At work: I have to finish this project so I can get paid.

While making dinner: don't starve your child!

In the yard: keep the flowers alive. They are the only distraction from the weeds.

Exercise: do you want to do Ragnar again? Then you have to keep running.

Blog Challenge: surely someone is interested in reading this?

Even so, I just want to sit around. I'm getting lazier by the second.

What do you do to stay motivated?

Day 11 - First Day of Summer

In summer, the song sings itself.

~William Carlos Williams

Day 10 - 18 Months

You are a weed. You grow an inch a day and can be completely annoying. You get into places I don't want you to be. I pull you out, but you keep going back. You can sure be prickly. The tantrums....OH the tantrums!

Then I see you like this: You can be so happy... A little skeptical...

and so smart.

You are talking more and more every day and crack me up when you throw your hands in the air and say, "All done!" or stand at the door begging, "Outside! Outside! Outside!" over and over. Once outside you generally run straight for the street and I have to literally drag you right back to the house {you think it's so funny until you get in the house} and you throw a tantrum.

Nevertheless, you are a sweet boy. It flatters me that you get so excited to see me after a long day. Yesterday I was taking a nap {after running a relay for 35 hours, thank you} and you came running in my bedroom squealing, then right up to my face whispering, "Hi. Hi." Somehow these little moments allow me to forget about that annoying weed and just enjoy my little boy.

Day 9 - Happy Father's Day

To all the dads in our lives, Happy Father's Day!The Dad
PapaPapa Bear

Grandpa Gold

Day 8 - The Young & The Wreckless

Ragnar: 12 runners, 192 miles, 35 hours and almost no sleep. It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E. I will talk about this weekend's adventure some more soon, but right now I am too doggone tired. Yesterday feels like so long ago.

Day 7 - Hip Hip Hooray it's My Birthday!

Today is my birthday and to celebrate, I'm going to do this. Wish me luck! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow with a birthday montage

Day 6 - Girl: "What do you get when this is all over?"

Boy: "....... a shirt."

I find this hilarious as I am about to embark on a big adventure this weekend. Yes, I pay to do this and all I get is a shirt. I think anyone who runs has had this conversation.

What kind of ridiculous things do you pay to do?

Day 5 - What Did You Get in the Mail Today?

I love getting mail. I'm not talking about the mail from people who want money and all the junk. I want the real deal. Send me a letter through the post and you will light up my life for days. I love when a mail order gets to me too. I always wait in anticipation, like I did for this fabric that got to me today. Here's why...

I made a blanket for my niece, Sydney, when she was born. It has become her blanket, THE BLANKET, I'm talking when said blanket is put in the wash, the red phone lights up at the White House type of crisis. I can not tell you how much this makes me happy, that something I gave her she can't live without. Unfortunately, the blanket does need to be washed from time to time and there is no substitute. So my sister and I came up with a brilliant plan: I will make her another blanket, just like her favorite one. Oh it's hard to be so smart all the time! Hopefully our little trick works...

The hard part of this was finding the same fabric I used to make the original blanket. After much online searching I found the two fabrics at two different shops. This is major because this line of fabrics is over two years old and has been discontinued. I have been waiting for the fabric to get here and lo and behold, both fabrics arrived today. Yay! No...wait....Not yay. That's not what I ordered! The cherries are perfect, but do you see that flowery print? It's all wrong. Not even the same designer. I can't trick a 2 yr old with that! Junk mail! Here's what it was supposed to be:

I will try to look on the bright side. When the fabric store remedies the error, at least I'll have some more fun mail to look forward to!!

What did you get in the mail today? Something fun or mostly junk?

Day 4 - A Favorite Photo of Your Best Friend

My Sissy
She is your mirror, shining back at you with a world of possibilities. She is your witness, who sees you at your worst and best, and loves you anyway. She is your partner in crime, your midnight companion, someone who knows you are smiling, even in the dark. She is your teacher, your defense attorney, your personal press agent, even your shrink. Some days, she's the reason you wish you were an only child. ~ Barbara Alpert

Day 3 - The Perfect First Date

Well one thing is certain, in today's era of texting, Facebook, Twitter and the world of online socializing, I honestly think kids these days do not know how to establish real relationships. Will humanity survive? Who knows, but what I do know is Ashley on this season of The Bachelorette had THE BEST first date last week when she and the potential "man of her dreams" had a private dance lesson, afterwhich they went to a mall and had a picnic where she encouraged him to practice the dance with her and BAM, the music started and flash mob erupted. How freaking cool is that?! To end it all they had a live band play for them and the crowd.

I would die if the man of my dreams had surprised me with something like that!

Too bad reality T.V. isn't real. At the end of the day, if I were in the dating world I would be happy with a phone call from a rad guy asking me out. He would pick me up with a bouquet of flowers in hand. We would go for a picnic in the park, ride the paddle boats in the pond and feed the ducks. It would be an afternoon of quality time to get to know each other. Just talking. Face to face. He would think I was so cool, he'd call me and we'd go out again :)

Day 2 - A Photo of Something You Ate Today

I'm not totally sure why what I ate today would be of any interest in a blog challenge, but whatever. I started the day with a GIANT slice of watermelon. Watermelon yells SUMMER! to me and since it was snowing here just a few weeks ago, I thought I'd wishful-think about the warm days that are nigh. Of course I have to balance a slice of watermelon with something a little more naughty. Kati was making cookies and I needed to go for a run. A perfect combination - run to Kati's house and eat cookies! I like it. And I like these little chocolate chip/oatmeal delights. Thanks Kate!

Day 1 - A Photo of Yourself and How the Day Was

I know, it is so trendy. It's like getting a chain email with 100 questions to answer about yourself, then you're supposed to send it to 10 friends and the guy you've been dreaming about is supposed to magically appear. My hunka burnin' love never appears, but I still answer the question because you just never know what could happen. Well, it's another Saturday night and I ain't got nobody, so I'm starting the blog challenge right here, right now. Just like the magical email, there is a good chance the 30 days won't happen. Hang with me anyway because you never know what you might find out...

Day 1: post a photo of yourself with a description of how the day was.

This photo is a year and half old, but it is truly one of my favorites. I have not changed much, except my hair is blond now. My little punkin JW, is totally different, as you can probably imagine.

Speaking of JW, today was all about him {actually, most days are all about him anymore}. We had lunch with Gramma Nay and Papa Bear and headed back to their house to visit for awhile. JW's newest life lesson is all about climbing the stairs. Gramma Nay has a staircase to the second floor that JW thinks is awesome to play on. We spend the better part of our visits climbing up and down the stairs. While JW is great with the going up, coming down still requires some supervision. Today was no different, with one exception. My little dude followed Papa Bear up the stairs but decided to come back down while Papa Bear was not looking. JW knows he has to go down the stairs on his belly. He KNOWS this. Today he decided to be brave and come down like a big boy, stepping down while facing forward, and it resulted in disaster. PLUNK PLUNK PLUNK down more than half the staircase. My mom and I jumped up as fast as we could and I caught him before he hit the bottom. Fortunately JW came out with nothing more than a bonk on the head, and some rattled nerves. Scared the crap out of all of us. Needless to say, he didn't go back up the stairs the rest of the day.

JW's accident proneness for the day doesn't stop there. After lunch we were helping Gramma Nay clean off her patio. She has a picnic table that is just high enough to be out of sight for JW, but it doesn't clear the top of his head. It's like he has a blind spot for those 2 inches or so between his eyes and the top of the table. EVERY TIME he walked by the table he ran into the corner of it. He must have bonked it six times today. We finally moved the table from his path to avert any future brain damage to the kid.

It was otherwise a very lovely day full of wagon rides, blowing bubbles and chasing Gramma's chickens.

GRRRR!

Whenever I am frustrated or annoyed I tend to let out a growl, "GRRR!" I do this to avoid cursing because you-know-who is a little mocking bird and I really don't need him walking around preschool saying "DAMN IT!" all the time. I never realized how much I growl until JW started doing it too. I am reminded every time, without fail, when I need to take a deep breath because JW always repeats after me, "GRRRRR!"