"C" is for Construction

This post has been drafted since October 2011.  Yes...2011.  A few months after Tully, who is now 2, was born, I knew that doors on my office were an absolute necessity.  Here is a before shot.

My office was initially a dining room that opened up to the entry way and kitchen.  We have an island and eat-in kitchen area, so we had absolutely no use for an additional formal dining room.  After consulting with our realtor, we decided to wall up the opening to the kitchen and put doors along the entry-way opening.

The same guy who did my closet and laundry room came back for this project.  The first time the custom doors arrived, they were 6' 8".  We ordered 8'.  Back they went.  Second order arrived but had damaged glass.  Returned.  Damaged glass door came back with different glass than the other panels.  The fourth order was finally correct and undamaged, so we hired some painters and completed the project.  Woo hoo!

Here are the progress and final photos.  The project wrapped up in 2012.  Tully was at least 1, and Clare wasn't born yet, so that puts us between April and December...sometime in there.  My mommy brain can't nail down a date more concrete than that.  John brought out his electrical engineering skills and installed the desk lighting for me.  He also rewired the existing kitchen switch to the outer wall and made the original switch my new desk light switch.  Resourceful and practical.  Thanks, babe!

1) wall installed 2) cabinets installed and 3) painted

1) doors installed and 2) painted

Next projects...the chimney is being rebuilt, and then granite is being installed in the kitchen.  All in May.  Nearly full master bathroom remodel also coming in 2013.  Whoever got the brilliant idea to undertake all of these projects with two small children needs their head examined.

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"C" is for Caved In

This is embarrassing....like I-can't-believe-I'm-writing-about-this-on-my-blog embarrassing.  John was peacefully laying in bed the other night when I hopped in.  I rolled towards his side to show him the monitor where I set up both cameras to view Tully's and Clare's rooms.  Next thing I know there's a huge crash, and I'm laying a foot lower than John is.  I had snapped the board under our bed and damaged the side rail support causing the whole thing to cave in on my side.  Weak boards?  Pregnancy weight?  Combo of the two?  Who knows.  Needless to say it scared John to death and dealt a major blow to my self-esteem.

Now that I've written this, I think the dust bunnies under the bed might actually be the most embarrassing part.  Thank you, Zach, for leaving massive puffs of your black dog hair hidden under my bed.

John moved the broken board a few inches towards the headboard and re-drilled holes to connect it to the rail support.  For a short-term fix we rounded up some books, paint cans, and the leftover fence boards from this project.  Then we rigged this setup, since the vertical supports clearly weren't doing their jobs.

I'm not sure who thought designing a king-sized bed with three support boards was a good idea, but they need to be fired.  I remember my little twin bed growing up had something like ten boards under it, and it was just a TWIN.  So in addition to repairing the busted rail support along the side, we'll definitely be adding more boards to go across the bed frame.

I guess the bright side to this story is that the area under our bed is now super clean and dust bunny free.

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"C" is for Craft (Holiday Wreath Edition)

I've enjoyed making wreaths for our front door this year.  I did one for summer and then changed out the flowers for fall.  Since I already have a lighted Christmas wreath, I didn't need anything new for my house this month.  But a friend recently bought a new home, so I decided a front door holiday wreath would be a nice housewarming gift.  It's definitely my favorite so far, and the possibilities for these are endless.  Original inspiration and instructions here.

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"C" is for Can

In September, the city issued new trash cans that are huge.  Ours is 64 gallons, and that's not even the largest one they offer.  Previously we kept our small, 32-gallon, trash can in the garage, but there's no room for a bigger one in there.  We needed to keep the new trash can in a reasonably accessible place, since we take all dirty diapers to the outside trash immediately, but our HOA prohibits the storage of trash cans that are visible from the street.  I asked John if he could build a little fence on the side of the house that would block the view of the trash can.  Then I also asked if he could put down pavers, so I didn't have to walk through any grass or mud to get there.  Last request--sit the can on pavers too.

He laid the pavers with sand and paver base at a slight angle so water drains away from the house.  They are perfectly level with the ground, and he even managed to work around the downspout drain coming off the house.  Then he measured for the fence that was just high enough to conceal the trash can but short enough for me to reach over.  What's even more impressive is that he completed most of the work on the weekends with Tully "helping".  If you've ever had help from a toddler, you know it usually involves more searching for misplaced tools and hidden hardware than actual productivity.

I should also mention that our neighbor paid nearly $500 for the little walkway outside her gate, and ours looks just as fabulous!  Now I can ignore all of the nasty-grams from our HOA about visible trash cans too.  Thanks, John!

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"C" is for College

I've been wanting to hang a nice Texas A&M flag outside of our house for years now.  Half of the people in our neighborhood have OU or OSU flags up each weekend, and I've even seen one t.u. flag.  No bueno.  I felt like we needed bring some maroon and white to the area.  The previous home-owners had already installed a flag bracket near the garage, so I just needed the flag and a pole.  The flag part actually took a little thought and research because one-sided flags read from left to right and most are double-sided with the caveat that one side is the reverse of the other.  This would mean the flag text would face our house instead of out towards the street, and those driving by would see a backward image.  I figured out banner-style flags were smaller and usually came in double-sided versions that read correctly on both sides.  My other criteria was that the flag be embroidered and not screen printed, so the letters wouldn't peel off.  After I got the flag, we picked up a wooden flag pole at Lowes.

I was super proud and happy until John walked into the house that evening holding the flag telling me  the bracket snapped.  Our glorious flag lasted all of 6 hours.  Now we need to take down the old bracket and intall a new one.  I'm not sure how one installs a bracket on brick, but John is pretty handy, so hopefully we're flying our Aggie colors again soon...especially for the bowl game AND our Heisman candidate quarterback, "Johnny Football".  Gig 'Em, Ags!

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"C" is for Craft (Thanks)

A friend on Facebook posted this little project, and I thought it would be perfect for Tully's teachers at Lake Hills Montessori.  They have been fantastic to create work specifically for him, since he is younger than the two and three year olds, and they were great to talk with us about Tully's poor behavior (See "C" is for Conference) and work towards a solution.

Original link for this project on Pinterest here.

items needed:

• 5x7 thanks a latte print
• card stock
• coffee sleeves
• stapler
• double sided tape
• gift card from starbucks or other coffee house
• twine

I needed six cards, so I wanted two printed per page.  I quickly created a collage on www.picmonkey.com and printed the image below.  (Double latte, anyone?  I'm so funny.)  I have a black and white laser printer, so I used orange card stock for color.

After trimming the edges with a paper cutter, I mostly followed the original directions, except I switched the last two steps, so I could staple the twine in place at the same time I attached the coffee sleeves to the paper.

• trim the coffee sleeve to the appropriate width for your print cutting along the corrugated lines
• place a piece of double sided tape to the very bottom of sleeve and attach to print
• tie some fun twine around your gift
• staple sides of the sleeve and twine
• insert card

Ta da!

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"C" is for Catalog

Does anyone else call customer service to be removed from the mailing list for every single unwanted catalog they get in the mail?  And why is it when I order something online companies automatically assume I'm going to become a catalog ordering customer?

 
I have a love-hate relationship with snail mail.  I hate junk mail, catalogs, flyers, etc., but I love personal cards and letters.  I keep all of them too.

I have notes from my mom that she would put in my lunch when I was in school and even the ones she mailed to me at college.  There are birthday cards, some pics of school friends and old boyfriends, some fun folders and items from my time as a Fish Camp counselor at Texas A&M, keepsakes from my wedding and honeymoon, and lots of holiday cards from friends and family.  Do I really need to keep all of it? Probably not.  I have no idea what I'll do with this stuff, but I managed to put it in some clear bins in an easily accessible location, so I can see everything and add to it, as needed.  I even started boxes for John and Tully.  John has an awesome scrapbook that his friends made when he was moving from Australia back to the U.S.  Apparently he was very popular with the ladies there!  There are also some great scrapbooks from one of his ex-girlfriends and his sister.  I love seeing how his life was before "us".  Maybe one day Tully or Clare will enjoy looking back through our things to see how we were when we were kids.  Until then, I'll keep stuffing memories into these bins and cataloging our lives.

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"C" is for Conversation

John goes to bed before me, so he's usually asleep or almost asleep by the time I get there.  He's talked to me in his sleep before, but sometimes it's in the middle of the night, so I'm too out of it to remember or make sense of it.   A couple nights ago I laid down, and he said something about putting Zach, our dog, to bed.  I thought he was making sure I brought Zach from the living room to the bedroom, but then he continued to mumble something.  I realized he was asleep, so I asked him several more questions:

Do you want me to make sure Zach is in bed?
Where do you want him to sleep?
Are you sure?

He answered all of my questions, but he was mumbling and getting more frustrated each time I asked something.  He finally told me to put Zach to sleep on the floor but not in his bed where he usually sleeps.  I started laughing hysterically, and that's when he woke up asking why I was laughing in his ear like a hyena.  I could tell he was still really mad about answering the questions and even more upset that I had woken him up.  Then the confusion set in.  He's a deep sleeper (I'm not), so it always cracks me up when he tries to act coherent at night.  At least this time he wasn't talking to me about parts they manufacture at work--boring!

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"C" is for Caribbean

 We took a "babymoon" to the Caribbean in September to enjoy some quiet time together before Clare arrives.  We stayed at Secrets St. James in Montego Bay, Jamaica for almost a week, and it was really nice to get away.  We had everything we needed at the resort, so we spent our time sleeping, eating, laying at the pool/beach, reading, snorkeling, and sailing.  John also found a lot of time to play beach volleyball.  I was an excellent cheerleader.

There was a little concierge-type lounge near the main lobby of our hotel, and we made good use of it between meals.  If we didn't feel like walking down to the restaurants, we could make a meal out of the food there.  I felt like I was a bit of a waste at an all-inclusive resort, but John did enough drinking for the both of us.  He also got a kick out of the Jamaican paper, which was a copy (literally) of several other papers folded together.

John also enjoyed teasing the fish outside our hotel.  He doesn't even have any food, but they always reacted like this.

It rained several days while we were there, but that didn't stop us from reading books on the patio.  It didn't really matter to us where we relaxed, as long as we didn't have to chase a toddler around.  (Thanks, Grammy & PawPaw, for keeping Tully while we vacationed!)  John also captured some beautiful sunsets when it wasn't raining.

Funny story on the second to last day of our trip--I wanted to print our boarding passes to skip the lines at the airport because we only had carry-on luggage.  I tried to log in to the computers in the main lobby, but they make you use one wi-fi username and password for the entire stay, and it only works on one device at a time.  As much as I love Apple products, especially my iPhone, it didn't allow me to log off of the wi-fi even if I disabled the wi-fi and turned off the phone completely.  The only way to log off of the account was to wait 24 hours until it automatically kicked the phone out of the system.  I tried explaining this to the lady at the front desk and kindly asked her to use another wi-fi account to access the main computers in the lobby.  Clearly I cannot print from my iPhone, and I'm thinking to myself--shouldn't they have one account for ANYONE to use at those main computers??!!  Anyway, she told me I could call the internet cafe for help.  This wasn't the type of resort where you get told to figure it out yourself.  They are VERY service oriented, and I was shocked she didn't offer to just print our passes out quickly from her computer.  Printing our boarding passes seemed like a simple enough request to me.  Anyway, the lady's lack of helpfulness combined with my pregnancy hormones resulted in me asking John to take care of it while I stormed off to the room and viciously texted my mom (from my iPhone that was still obviously connected to the wi-fi...ha!).  I was telling my mom how I was going to need the address so I could write a letter when I got home.  She listened to me vent, asked for the resort info, and then I put my phone on the charger while I took a nap.  I didn't get any further texts from her or John because the wi-fi only worked from the balcony in our room, and my phone was charging inside.  Next thing I know, John is back in the room telling me the general manager was in the lobby helping him, and the GM was there because John's mother-in-law had called.  He questioned/corrected the GM saying, "You mean my wife?"  GM: "No your MIL...in Oklahoma"  I checked my phone texts and sure enough my mom had called the hotel (honestly to get contact info for my letter writing campaign), but she ended up talking directly to the GM.  I'm sure John wanted to dig a hole and bury himself, but that's just how my mom rolls.  All I could do was laugh.  She knew we wanted a super-relaxing stress free vacation, and some biddy at the front desk couldn't take two seconds out of her day to help me.  Mama bear in full force.  It took some patience on John's end, but they eventually kicked his phone from the system, got him logged into the main lobby computer, added paper and toner from the neighboring resort to the printer, and printed those gosh darn boarding passes.  They also sent up an over-priced bottle of champagne as an apology.  Just what this pregnant lady wanted.  (Our neighbors thoroughly enjoyed it!)

So minus the boarding pass debacle, we had an excellent trip.  We will definitely be taking more kid-free trips as long as we have infants and toddlers.  Susan, a friend of mine from college, is a travel agent, and she helped up narrow down our options in the Caribbean.  We're thinking Turks and Caicos or Dominican Republic for our next trip.  Better start saving now! 

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"C" is for Craft (Door Wreath Update)

This summer I participated in a little Pinterest Challenge to actually DO something I saw on Pinterest.  I made a wreath for our front door, which I thought turned out pretty good.  (See "C" is for Craft for tutorial.)  Unfortunately, the "C" fell off after only a few weeks (days?), but hey...I tried.

Since summer is officially over I decided to update the front door wreath for fall.  Here's the before and after.

Click photo to zoom for details.

This time I bought smaller, cheaper flowers at Hobby Lobby, and I used plastic loops for retail price tags to secure the "C" to the wreath.  The hot glue and wood glue didn't work.  I suppose you could use fishing line, since most people don't have tagging loops around.  I picked up some dark yellow paint and added a coat over the existing light green.  It took me longer to cut the wire stems than it did to actually arrange the flowers, so this was a pretty quick and easy update.  We're now ready for cool weather and trick-or-treaters!

If you're wondering about the small, black and white sign to the right of the door, I ordered it on Etsy with custom text.  "Baby sleeping.  Knock, if needed.  No solicitors."  Not one solicitor has bothered me since I placed the sign outside, and you have to actually lift the sign up to get to the doorbell, so UPS and FedEx have cut that out too.  There's nothing worse than the doorbell and a barking dog while kids are trying to sleep.  I leave the sign up all the time to cover naps and Tully's early bed times.  I figure this thing will be near the door for a few years.

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"C" is for Confessions

The girl working the drive through at Braums is on to me.  I visited three times last week for a chocolate mix with oreos.  I'm thinking I should tell her I'm pregnant and that ice cream is high in calcium.

I've been coughing since June 20.  I thought it was a virus, since John got sick first, then Tully, then me.  John asked me last week, if I was ever going to stop coughing.  I should probably go to the doctor to confirm it's allergies and not some rare Canadian cough bug I picked up on vacation.

I set up my work laptop last week.  It took nearly seven hours and three restarts before it was fully updated and ready to run.   I am reminded why I absolutely despise PCs and Windows operating systems.

We had doors installed in my office, but they have semi-transparent glass.  I actually crawled on the floor to hide from Tully when I saw him walking toward the room one time.  I need to put up some curtains or shades, so he can't see in.

I had a complete meltdown last week when Medco charged me nearly $400 for prescriptions due to a mistake on the doctor's part.  First and last time I'll let them make that mistake.

Tully is doing well in school.  Drop offs are tearful for him, but he is recovering quickly and doing great in the classroom.  (He's even telling the teacher when his diaper is wet and actually sat on the potty yesterday!!) I jammed some Skrillex on BPM full blast when I dropped him off today.  Mommy freedom!

I got a notice in the mailbox where USPS tried to deliver a package, so I filled out the form and gave instructions to leave the package on the porch.  The mail man tried to deliver the package again, and instead of leaving it on the porch, left me a final notice.  I went to the post office and gave the lady working the counter a piece of my mind.  Obviously she's not a mail carrier and doesn't do routes, but I told her I wasn't happy to have to drive there to pick up the package when they should have left it at my house in the first place.  Recently I noticed there is highlighted text on the label with our names inside the mailbox that says "LEAVE PARCELS".  Guess someone relayed my message?

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"C" is for Conflagration

For those wanting to help regarding the wild fires, especially near Cushing, OK:

1) WARM BODIES: Love INC of Greater Cushing is looking for volunteers to work in the office and warehouse receiving and organizing donations at 203 W. Moses.   Their goal is to operate from 9-4 every day, instead of only a few hours each week.  Call (918) 225-1125 to volunteer your time.

2) GOODS DONATIONS: You can drop off household items at 203 W. Moses.  Love INC is working with local fire departments, churches, the American Red Cross, and directly with victims to get supplies where they are needed.  For a list of needs visit the Love INC of Greater Cushing FB page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/134836895410/

3) MONETARY DONATIONS:

a) When Love INC cannot meet a specific need or item request, they can go out and purchase goods directly.  They need funds to fulfill these requests.  Call (918) 225-1125 or stop by 203 W. Moses to donate.

b) The Tulsa Area Chapter of the American Red Cross is also taking donations to help local area victims and firefighters.  To donate online visit http://www.tulsaredcross.org/redcross/ and click the DONATE tab.

If you are a victim of the wild fires or know someone who could use help from the American Red Cross, stop by the Senior Citizens Center at 203 E. Cherry in Cushing to start paperwork.  The Red Cross shelter in Sand Springs is also open.

There are many, many churches and local groups stepping up to help, but I hope the list above provides others some direction in how and where to give.

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"C" is for Confessions

This is my second post in the Wednesday Confessional series started by Courtney.  My first confession? I'm late for this week's confessions.

I brushed my teeth the other night before bed and then promptly went into the kitchen to make a bowl of cereal.  (Mommy brain?)  I had to brush them again.

I took a bunch of boxes out to the curb for trash pick up on Thursday night.  Trash pick up is on Monday.

I drove to the store to buy chicken (and chicken only) to make dinner, and I came home with chicken, chocolate hostess donuts, and a box of brownie mix.

I ate most of the bag of hostess donuts on the drive home.  The only thing that really stopped me from eating all of them was that they were melty and getting all over my fingers.

Tully's second day of school was terrible.  He cried when I left, cried when I got there, cried on the way home, and did the end of cry/hiccup like breath while sleeping when he got home.  World's worst mommy for sending him to school yesterday.  Poor, poor Tully Bear.

To add to Tully's already terrible second day of school, he had a major diaper blowout.  I failed to mention this to John the day it happened, and when I told him this morning, he said I HAD to put it in writing somewhere, so he could remember to tell Tully's future dates that he pooped his pants the second day of school.  John just got his first nomination for Daddy of the Year.

I had someone tell me today that I didn't have much of a baby bump and that it looked more like I had just eaten a cheeseburger.  Compliment or insult?  You decide.

I got a spam comment a day or so after lecturing everyone last week for having CAPTCHA enabled.  It was easy to delete, so I have not turned it back on, but still...you can all say, "I told you so!" now.

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"C" is for Confessions

Last week Courtney started doing "Wednesday Confessional" posts.  For the most part I think mommy bloggers post only the good things online, which sort of gives the impression that life is perfect.  It's not, but no one wants to sit around listening bad news all the time either.  I think a weekly confession provides a good balance.  Here are my spilled secrets for the week:

• I ate some cool whip with frozen dark chocolate chips for dessert last night.  I told myself the cool whip was healthier than ice cream.  John looked at me like I was from another planet when I made the bowl.  It was random but good.
• I let Tully watch Baby Signing Time videos on the mini-DVD player while he eats.  I know kids under two aren't supposed to watch TV, blah, blah, blah....but the kid is quiet, and he is learning sign language.  He hates the regular TV anyway, unless it's on Toddler Tunes music channel.
• I get easily obsessed with finding THE perfect (insert item you would buy: stroller/coffee maker/vacation resort) and can spend hours or even days researching.  I stayed up until 3am the other night looking into double strollers.  I found what I thought would be the best "everyday" double stroller for us, only to talk to John the next morning and decide we would use a double jogging stroller more.
• It drives me nuts when people baby talk, especially to toddlers learning to talk.  High-pitched voice for an infant? Fine.  Fake or shortened words combined with the high-pitched voice for a toddler? STOP IT!
• I'm ready to cut Tully's hair.  He has these crazy curls in the back that make a mullet, and there's this one long piece that curls up on top.  John and my mom said to leave it, but I might get out the clippers before he starts school next week.
• I like to eat Lucky Charms for dinner sometimes.
• I get mad when blogs make you type the CAPTCHA phrase/number thingy to prove you are not a robot when posting comments.  I NEVER get it right the first time.  Unless you are Ree Drummond from The Pioneer Woman or Glennon from Momastery, you probably aren't going to have spammers leaving comments on your blog, so go ahead and remove that for me.  Please and thank you.

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"C" is for Canine Cut

John got the brilliant idea to shave our dog.  His original plan was to shave, shave him and leave the fur around his neck, so Zach looked like a lion.  Luckily I intervened and convinced John that a short haircut would be more appropriate for the summer and would prevent sunburn.  I cannot imagine if our poor dog was sunburned because we cut his hair too short.  So John bought some trimmers and got started.  Zach sat still the whole time like the good boy he is.  Tully's bath time rolled around about the time John was finishing up, so I agreed to do the last little bit while he took Tully inside to get ready for bed.   John had left Zach's tail fluffy, so I cut all the hair off except for the end.  Zach had a little poof like a lion, and I thought it was hilarious.  Unfortunately, John didn't even notice when he came back outside, but he agreed it was funny once I told him.  Hey...I try.  It's almost impossible to tell that his hair is shorter in the pictures, but we really did trim a lot off.  I'm hoping it helps with the shedding inside too.

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"C" is for Craft (Door Wreath)

Last week Rachel@InNoSimpleLanguage linked up with Sherry@YoungHouseLove for a Pinterest Challenge.  Aren't we all guilty of pinning, pinning, pinning and not doing, doing, doing?!  Well, Rachel got on the ball and made a hydrangea alphabet wreath.

I absolutely love how it turned out, so I decided I needed a summer wreath on my front door too.  If you read my blog regularly, you know I am not a crafty person.  Most of my craft ideas involve thinking up something and having my husband or a contractor finish it.  Luckily this craft only took two trips to Hobby Lobby and maybe an hour of my time.   Here is how mine looks!

Shopping list:

• Wreath
• Fake flowers (apparently I bought the most expensive ones with the thickest stems known to mankind...ugh!)
• Wooden letter
• Acrylic paint
• Foam paint brush
• Glue gun
• Wreath hanger

Also needed:

• Scissors
• Wire cutters

All in I spent about $40.  The first trip to Hobby Lobby I bought glue sticks for the glue gun.  I didn't end up needing much glue at all, except for gluing the letter to the wreath, which was a good thing because I bought the wrong size glue sticks anyway.  Two glue sticks came with the gun, and I only used one of those.  I knew I had a wreath hanger at home for my Christmas wreath, but I forgot it had bells on it.  Can't really use that in July :-\  So the second trip to Hobby Lobby was to return the unused glue sticks and buy a new wreath hanger.  I originally thought I would get a hanger that went over the top of the door, but I saw these cool magnetic ones on the same shelf.  I was pretty sure our front door was metal, so I went with the magnetic hanger.  Thank you to the inventor of the magnetic wreath hanger.  It's barely noticeable on the door.

magnetic wreath hanger

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"C" is for Calgary

We started our trip here in the States and made a little detour through Utah for Kristen's wedding before flying to Canada.  Zion was beautiful and so was Kristen.  We spent a some time hiking and exploring Zion National Park when we weren't visiting with friends at rehearsal dinner or at the wedding.  It was fun to have most of the Nerd Herd in one place at one time too.

To get to the wedding in Utah, we flew through Vegas.  We had a few hours to kill before we needed to be at the airport when we were leaving, so we visited Circus Circus and the Aquarium at Mandalay Bay.  Tully really enjoyed looking at all of the rides and watching the kids play at Circus Circus, and John and I had a good time checking out the sharks at the aquarium.  Vegas with a one year old is waaaaaaaay different than a normal trip to Vegas.  I've been to Vegas twice now without really drinking.  I think I'm going to make it a priority to go back in a couple years and do Vegas right!

Taking a break outside at Circus Circus

From Vegas we headed off to Calgary.  John had to be in Canada for the Global Petroleum Show for work, so Tully and I were mostly tagging along.  I have family in Canada, and our friends from Texas, Sarah and John, live there too, so I figured I could make the rounds while he was tied up with co-workers.  We did visit the petroleum show with John one morning for a few hours.  Tully did pretty good riding around in the stroller checking out all of the big equipment.  I also stopped by to see my Great Aunt Louise, so she could meet Tully.  When we weren't at the hotel or visiting family, I ended up spending basically the entire trip at Sarah & John's house.  It was perfect because they have a two year old son, so we had a place to play, eat, and nap, if needed.  Sarah was an absolute lifesaver because there's no way I could have done that week in the hotel by myself.  We visited parks, ran errands, and shared lots of mommy stories while the kids played.  Sarah and John even babysat Tully while John and I made the quick drive out to Banff National Park.  We rode the gondola, bought me an overpriced t-shirt, ate, and headed back to Calgary.  It was a really short trip but a great little break for us to spend time together.  We also got a babysitter one night for both kids while the adults had a double date at a really nice French restaurant.  We didn't get home until after 11, and we kinda didn't know what to do with ourselves!  We never go out and come home late.  John and Sarah were fantastic hosts, and we really enjoyed our time in Calgary with them.  I hope we get to see them in Texas soon, or maybe Sarah's John will get a random work trip to Tulsa, so they can come visit!

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"C" is for C25K

Is it possible to fail at the Couch to 5K program?  I didn't think so, but I may be proving myself wrong.  Week 1, good.  Week 2, good.  Week 3, only got 2 runs in, but they were easy.  Week 4, 1 run.  Week 5, and it's already Thursday with no run.  So the goal today in addition to working a full day, taking Tully to swim lessons, picking up another cake, and getting Tully's one year photos retaken, is to run.  I'm definitely going to be sucking wind at Head for the Cure on May 12.  I guess the only excuse I will have is that I'm pushing almost 50 lbs of stroller and baby weight (on Tully, not me, thank goodness).

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"C" is for C25K

Guess who is back on the Couch to 5K (C25K) bandwagon? This girl!  Here we are ready to walk run.

I started C25K when I was pregnant with Tully in 2010 and made it through Week 6 of the program.  When I stopped jogging at seven months pregnant it was a decent accomplishment.  My goal this time is to run in the Head for the Cure 5K North Texas for my friend, Stevie, on May 12.   I have eight weeks to get ready.  Each workout starts with a brisk 5 minute warmup walk.  Here's the plan:

Week	Workout 1	Workout 2	Workout 3
1	Alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
2	Alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.	Alternate 90 seconds of jogging and two minutes of walking for a total of 20 minutes.
3	Two repetitions of the following: Jog 90 seconds Walk 90 seconds Jog 3 minutes Walk 3 minutes	Two repetitions of the following: Jog 90 seconds Walk 90 seconds Jog 3 minutes Walk 3 minutes	Two repetitions of the following: Jog 90 seconds Walk 90 seconds Jog 3 minutes Walk 3 minutes
4	Jog 3 minutes Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes Walk 2.5 minutes Jog 3 minutes Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes	Jog 3 minutes Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes Walk 2.5 minutes Jog 3 minutes Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes	Jog 3 minutes Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes Walk 2.5 minutes Jog 3 minutes Walk 90 seconds Jog 5 minutes
5	Jog 5 minutes Walk 3 minutes Jog 5 minutes Walk 3 minutes Jog 5 minutes	Jog 8 minutes Walk 5 minutes Jog 8 minutes	Jog 2 miles (or 20 minutes).
6	Jog 5 minutes Walk 3 minutes Jog 8 minutes Walk 3 minutes Jog 5 minutes	Jog 10 minutes Walk 3 minutes Jog 10 minutes	Jog 2.25 miles (or 22 minutes).
7	Jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).	Jog 2.5 miles (or 25 minutes).
8	Jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).	Jog 2.75 miles (or 28 minutes).
9	Jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).	Jog 3 miles (or 30 minutes).

I've completed week 1 of training with no problems thanks to my super supportive husband.  He tells terrible jokes and pushes my buttons in general to keep my mind off the running.  Our dog, Zach, tags along too, and I usually don't mind when he stops for a potty break, so I can rest.  Tully has been a trooper so far and seems to be enjoying his morning outing, and I'm burning some extra calories pushing him along in the stroller.  Thank goodness for the BOB--it's a great jogging stroller!

I use RunKeeper on my iPhone to track our runs, and it gives cues for when to walk or jog.  When we first started C25K in 2010 I had to check my watch every minute or so, which was really annoying.  It's nice now for the little computer lady to tell me when to get my butt in gear.

The other benefit is that my sleep schedule is getting back on track.  Tully sleeps through the night, but I've really struggled going to bed at a decent hour.  We run in the mornings, and 6:30 AM comes waaaaaay too early, if I don't get my sleep.  I have to say going to bed on time is actually a lot harder than the running itself right now.  Hopefully in another week or two my body will get the message that sleep between the hours of 10:00 PM and 6:00 AM is important.

Wish us luck on our journey, and if you're in the Dallas area looking for a quick weekend workout, sign up for the 5K on May 12 to support Stevie in her fight against brain cancer by clicking the Head for the Cure image below!

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"C" is for Cupid

I had to work in DC the week of Valentine's Day, so I enlisted some help from Nanna to make sure John knew he was very, very loved while Tully and I were on the east coast.  I wrapped up four gifts for him and left "themed" notes with each one.  Then I put sticky notes with a designated day on it and asked Nanna to stop by the house to put the right one out.  I wish I would have taken photos of the finished products, but this should give you an idea of what I did.

Notes, gift sacks, and a couple of the gifts

Tuesday (Feb 14): Valentine's Day card with a gift certificate for a massage at SCI.
Theme: RELAX - "Enjoy your time and relax while we're gone..."

Wednesday (Feb 15): Lean Production book.
Theme: LEAN - "You can lean on me..."

Thursday (Feb 16): Box of Hot Tamales candy.
Theme: HOT (Um...my parents read this...)

Friday (Feb 17): Rokinon fisheye lens for Canon T2i.
Theme: EYE - "I've got an eye for you..."

I have to admit I was quite proud of myself and couldn't wait to hear from him when he got his gift each evening.  I feel like it's twice as exciting to give a gift as it is to receive one.  Even writing this a month later makes me all happy inside!  All I can hope is that I did so well Valentine's week that John will forgive me for forgetting our anniversary two weeks later.  Oopsie!  Happy three years and counting, sweetie.  I love you!

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