Mondays are just crazy.....the kids go back to school, my husband and I head off to work, I have a laundry list of "to do's" for the week, speaking of laundry - there's laundry, dinners, lunches to pack, bills to pay, homework to do, blah, blah, blah. Well, I survived - we all did - and next Monday there is no school, so we won't have to survive another one for a little bit! ha!
The one light in my Mondays....is hula dancing. My beautiful friend Jill is super talented and has been hula dancing since she was 7 years old. She has formed a dance group between some of my other beautiful and talented friends and we get together every Monday night and perfect our routine. Last night I think we were all a little goofy and we were just cracking each other up! The camaraderie and laughter was much needed to close out a hectic day.
You know, there was a time when my kids were little and I felt so consumed by babies, diapers, feedings, working outside of the home, etc. - and I felt like I didn't have any good friends to lean on. I had my sister of course, thank goodness, but it's nice to have some good girl friends to lean on, be silly with, and just to know that there are people out there who relate to your situation. In the last year and a half I have met some of the most wonderful people and the great thing is that our husbands and children enjoy spending time together too! How lucky!
So I am holding up my coffee toast this morning to good family, good friends, and surviving another Monday! Cheers!
Angela
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Monday, February 9, 2009
Weekend Recap
Friday night/Saturday morning - RASCAL FLATTS! woo hoo! I was able to go to the Rascal Flatts concert on Friday night with some of my favorite people. It was a great time and Jessica Simpson opened for them.....UM, if she is overweight/fat/obese - then our countries standards for weight needs to change ASAP! She is great looking and put on a good show! Rascal Flatts, well, they were just okay......JUST KIDDING - the rocked and put on an AMAZING show! Totally worth the money for floor seats!
Afterwards I chauffeured my friends around so they could drink and have a good time and we ended up staying out until 3:00 a.m. - we were talking, being silly, dancing on bars....all completely innocent! ha! ha! I happily delivered them safely home and never once regretted losing a few hours of sleep to make more memories with my girls!
Saturday.....aah, a lazy day! Noah got a chance to go to a friends house and spend the day - he just really enjoys getting to do stuff like this because he's seen his older brother do this and wants so badly to grow up. Randy and Logan ran some errands, got their hair cut, etc., and I relaxed and did some things around the house. I made a big batch of soup and we just relaxed and kicked back in the evening. It was great! I didn't ever take a nap like I thought I would, but I did get to lay around a bit and enjoy the quiet.
Sunday - what a beautiful day! I was supposed to get 10 miles in, well, I did 5 miles - there was a little incident with "black ice" and I slipped and hurt my back, so I cut my run in half - but TOTALLY loved running outside - I definitely run faster outside and the fresh air was great! So I got that done, sent Randy to the Illini game, sent the boys outside, continued to do a few things around the house, then we had a birthday party to go to with our friends - kind of our first "Sunday dinner" of the year.
It was a great weekend, but I definitely feel like I was hit by a truck due to the lack of sleep on Friday! But again, it was worth it! ; )
Hope you have a great week!
Angela
P.S. My favorite quote from the weekend: in response to Noah going to his friend Abel's house on Saturday I said "Now all we need is someone named Cain and Moses to stop by" - ha! ha! I crack myself up!
Afterwards I chauffeured my friends around so they could drink and have a good time and we ended up staying out until 3:00 a.m. - we were talking, being silly, dancing on bars....all completely innocent! ha! ha! I happily delivered them safely home and never once regretted losing a few hours of sleep to make more memories with my girls!
Saturday.....aah, a lazy day! Noah got a chance to go to a friends house and spend the day - he just really enjoys getting to do stuff like this because he's seen his older brother do this and wants so badly to grow up. Randy and Logan ran some errands, got their hair cut, etc., and I relaxed and did some things around the house. I made a big batch of soup and we just relaxed and kicked back in the evening. It was great! I didn't ever take a nap like I thought I would, but I did get to lay around a bit and enjoy the quiet.
Sunday - what a beautiful day! I was supposed to get 10 miles in, well, I did 5 miles - there was a little incident with "black ice" and I slipped and hurt my back, so I cut my run in half - but TOTALLY loved running outside - I definitely run faster outside and the fresh air was great! So I got that done, sent Randy to the Illini game, sent the boys outside, continued to do a few things around the house, then we had a birthday party to go to with our friends - kind of our first "Sunday dinner" of the year.
It was a great weekend, but I definitely feel like I was hit by a truck due to the lack of sleep on Friday! But again, it was worth it! ; )
Hope you have a great week!
Angela
P.S. My favorite quote from the weekend: in response to Noah going to his friend Abel's house on Saturday I said "Now all we need is someone named Cain and Moses to stop by" - ha! ha! I crack myself up!
Friday, February 6, 2009
Rascall Flatts, Jessica Simpson, 6 good friends, and a pair of red high heels.......
'nuff said! I'm looking forward to going to the concert tonight with some of my good friends, listening to some great music from our FLOOR SEATS, wearing my hot new top and my red high heels, and taking a break from the stresses of life.
After that - it's typical weekend stuff, laundry, vacuuming, get the boys' hair cut, take Noah to a play day, church, gathering with friends for a birthday celebration, Illini game.....but for tonight - for a few hours, I'm going to let my hair down and kick up my heels a bit!
Have a wonderful weekend and send prayers my way that I survive my 10 mile run on Sunday....it will be my longest in the training so far! EEK!
Tootles!
Angela
After that - it's typical weekend stuff, laundry, vacuuming, get the boys' hair cut, take Noah to a play day, church, gathering with friends for a birthday celebration, Illini game.....but for tonight - for a few hours, I'm going to let my hair down and kick up my heels a bit!
Have a wonderful weekend and send prayers my way that I survive my 10 mile run on Sunday....it will be my longest in the training so far! EEK!
Tootles!
Angela
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Running Update
Okay, for those of you that don't know already....I'm training for a marathon in April. I'm a jogger, not fanatical at all, but this has been a goal of mine for some time - so I'm doing it!
Last night was my long run for the week - 6 miles - and not being a fanatic of running and not loving the treadmill training right now, I start to talk myself out of it during the run because I get tired or because I feel like I need to be doing laundry or something. At 1.5 miles I started thinking of the things I could be doing, at 3 miles I started thinking "this is where I would be if I were only training for the half-marathon, maybe I should do that instead", at 4 miles I thought "I'll just stop at 4.5 miles - that's good enough right?", at 4.5 miles I thought "Geez, I only have a mile and a half to go - finish it up slacker!", and at 6 miles I put my hands up and did a victory dance, then I realized on race day, I would have 20.2 more miles to go. HA! HA!
I am still at a 13 minute mile, that's been the consistent time for me and honestly I don't think that's bad at all! I'm doing sprints and rest periods in between my jogging trying to build up my endurance. And I downloaded a workout through NikeFit from Jean Benoit - it's 30 minutes of music and her talking to you to check your form, etc. and it really forces you to pick up the pace a bit and pay attention to what you're doing. I am supposed to do a 10 mile timed run on Sunday and am hoping that the weather cooperates and that I can do it outside vs. on the treadmill, I don't love running on the treadmill and am anxious to see if I do better outside.
My husband asked me last night "Why again do you want to run a marathon?" - and I simply replied "Because I can", at least I think I can. I do have Lupus and it does affect my joints, in addition to that I have a degenerative disk disease in my lower spine, for a few years all of my doctors and physical therapists told me that I wouldn't run anymore - something I had grown fond of in the summer of 2006. Then in September/October of 2008 I went through physical therapy through a spine clinic and the therapist showed me how to correct any back pains and how to hold myself differently when I walked. He also said "I don't see why you can't run" and with that simple statement I started to feel the itch to hit the road again. The marathon seemed to be motivation for me to actually start up again.
I know it's going to be tough and I continue to try and talk myself out of it.....because I don't LOVE it yet, because of the cold weather, I'm on a treadmill in my house where the kids can come to me to tie their shoes, or to fix a broken game controller, Randy can bring me the phone when someone calls, and I hear the laundry calling me. I know once I hit the road and feel the gravel under each step, breathe in the fresh air, and see the open road in front of me - I am going to love it. I have outside courses mapped out already and the first sign of warmth - I'll lace up my shoes and hit the road.
Happy running!
Angela
Last night was my long run for the week - 6 miles - and not being a fanatic of running and not loving the treadmill training right now, I start to talk myself out of it during the run because I get tired or because I feel like I need to be doing laundry or something. At 1.5 miles I started thinking of the things I could be doing, at 3 miles I started thinking "this is where I would be if I were only training for the half-marathon, maybe I should do that instead", at 4 miles I thought "I'll just stop at 4.5 miles - that's good enough right?", at 4.5 miles I thought "Geez, I only have a mile and a half to go - finish it up slacker!", and at 6 miles I put my hands up and did a victory dance, then I realized on race day, I would have 20.2 more miles to go. HA! HA!
I am still at a 13 minute mile, that's been the consistent time for me and honestly I don't think that's bad at all! I'm doing sprints and rest periods in between my jogging trying to build up my endurance. And I downloaded a workout through NikeFit from Jean Benoit - it's 30 minutes of music and her talking to you to check your form, etc. and it really forces you to pick up the pace a bit and pay attention to what you're doing. I am supposed to do a 10 mile timed run on Sunday and am hoping that the weather cooperates and that I can do it outside vs. on the treadmill, I don't love running on the treadmill and am anxious to see if I do better outside.
My husband asked me last night "Why again do you want to run a marathon?" - and I simply replied "Because I can", at least I think I can. I do have Lupus and it does affect my joints, in addition to that I have a degenerative disk disease in my lower spine, for a few years all of my doctors and physical therapists told me that I wouldn't run anymore - something I had grown fond of in the summer of 2006. Then in September/October of 2008 I went through physical therapy through a spine clinic and the therapist showed me how to correct any back pains and how to hold myself differently when I walked. He also said "I don't see why you can't run" and with that simple statement I started to feel the itch to hit the road again. The marathon seemed to be motivation for me to actually start up again.
I know it's going to be tough and I continue to try and talk myself out of it.....because I don't LOVE it yet, because of the cold weather, I'm on a treadmill in my house where the kids can come to me to tie their shoes, or to fix a broken game controller, Randy can bring me the phone when someone calls, and I hear the laundry calling me. I know once I hit the road and feel the gravel under each step, breathe in the fresh air, and see the open road in front of me - I am going to love it. I have outside courses mapped out already and the first sign of warmth - I'll lace up my shoes and hit the road.
Happy running!
Angela
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Yawn.....I'm tired!
You know, I just love having lots of fun stuff on the calendar, but it simply doesn't leave much time for sleep!
Friday night was our night to hang out at home and I did get some things done....but that was it!
Saturday started off with a bang - a birthday party for my youngest sons classmate Daisy. Two hours with 15 - 20 five year olds....WHEW! I had to run a few errands after that, eat lunch with the boys and Randy, then Randy and I had to get ready for a fund raiser for our high school Post-Prom. We had that function for 4 hours and then it didn't stop from there.....my husband was having a great time and didn't want to go home, so we headed to a local bar where it seemed like everyone had the same idea we did. It was lots of fun and for my husband, it was a little too much fun....he got a little tipsy! ha! He was funny and borderline obnoxious, so we headed home, where he proceeded to get sick....serves him right for not eating when I told him too! ha!
I was up taking care of my husband until 2:30 a.m., then my oldest son woke up because he had wet the bed - so I was changing sheets and cleaning that up, then when I finally laid down - Randy started to get sick again, UGH!!! I don't know how much sleep I got, but according to the dark circles under my eyes still today....it wasn't much! I'm glad Randy had fun, he rarely over drinks like he did, and I'm glad that I could serve as his designated driver - he got home safely and that is very important! According to him he is never drinking again! ha! ha! (We've all been there honey and I'm not going to hold you to your words! ha!)
Sunday was fun....Randy had lots of guy things to do and I had a fun day planned with my boys. First thing on my list was a hike with our black lab, Lucy. With the winter cold, I feel like she doesn't get enough exercise as she needs, so the warmer weather gave me an opportunity to get her out and get some miles on my running schedule. It was fun and I know she enjoyed it!
Next on our list....ILLINI BASKETBALL! I was able to get two extra tickets to the game and took both the boys and my mom - the win was ugly, but the second half was very exciting and the boys got to see Michael Jordan, which is always fun. One day we will actually meet him - we've seen him about 6 times now - and pretty close up at the United Center game - I just keep holding out for the opportunity to finally introduce ourselves and snap a picture. Overall, super fun and despite the crowded entrance and exit - the boys had a good time and so did my mom!
Final thing on our schedule....SUPERBOWL PARTY! Since all of our guys were hanging together - my girls and I decided to have a party with us and the kids. The game was on, but I don't think we watched any of it - instead we refereed the children and ate TONS! ha! It was great to hang out with them and the kids always have fun together.
We headed home around 7:00 p.m. for a light dinner...apparently my kids didn't eat at the party...only me! ha! ha! So a quick soup and grilled cheese dinner it was! Then showers, a story about Abraham Lincoln, and then bedtime. I should have gone to bed then, but at the party, the girls and I had talked about scary movies and then scary real life stories.....so I couldn't go to sleep until Randy was home......so I finally got to sleep around 11:00 p.m.
WHEW! What a weekend! And Monday was just as crazy -- hectic morning, busy day at work, home for dinner, homework, and I had to get 3 miles in, shower, read the boys a little bit from Tales of Desperaux, Hula dancing from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., get home and clean the kitchen a little more (my husband tries, but never fully cleans like I like it!), laundry (OH THE LAUNDRY), and finally sleep.
I often wonder before children, what I did with my time? I wouldn't change it for the world, but I would like to have a few more hours to do some much needed things like laundry and sleep! ha!
Hope you are having a wonderful week....don't forget to take time for yourself!
Angela
Friday night was our night to hang out at home and I did get some things done....but that was it!
Saturday started off with a bang - a birthday party for my youngest sons classmate Daisy. Two hours with 15 - 20 five year olds....WHEW! I had to run a few errands after that, eat lunch with the boys and Randy, then Randy and I had to get ready for a fund raiser for our high school Post-Prom. We had that function for 4 hours and then it didn't stop from there.....my husband was having a great time and didn't want to go home, so we headed to a local bar where it seemed like everyone had the same idea we did. It was lots of fun and for my husband, it was a little too much fun....he got a little tipsy! ha! He was funny and borderline obnoxious, so we headed home, where he proceeded to get sick....serves him right for not eating when I told him too! ha!
I was up taking care of my husband until 2:30 a.m., then my oldest son woke up because he had wet the bed - so I was changing sheets and cleaning that up, then when I finally laid down - Randy started to get sick again, UGH!!! I don't know how much sleep I got, but according to the dark circles under my eyes still today....it wasn't much! I'm glad Randy had fun, he rarely over drinks like he did, and I'm glad that I could serve as his designated driver - he got home safely and that is very important! According to him he is never drinking again! ha! ha! (We've all been there honey and I'm not going to hold you to your words! ha!)
Sunday was fun....Randy had lots of guy things to do and I had a fun day planned with my boys. First thing on my list was a hike with our black lab, Lucy. With the winter cold, I feel like she doesn't get enough exercise as she needs, so the warmer weather gave me an opportunity to get her out and get some miles on my running schedule. It was fun and I know she enjoyed it!
Next on our list....ILLINI BASKETBALL! I was able to get two extra tickets to the game and took both the boys and my mom - the win was ugly, but the second half was very exciting and the boys got to see Michael Jordan, which is always fun. One day we will actually meet him - we've seen him about 6 times now - and pretty close up at the United Center game - I just keep holding out for the opportunity to finally introduce ourselves and snap a picture. Overall, super fun and despite the crowded entrance and exit - the boys had a good time and so did my mom!
Final thing on our schedule....SUPERBOWL PARTY! Since all of our guys were hanging together - my girls and I decided to have a party with us and the kids. The game was on, but I don't think we watched any of it - instead we refereed the children and ate TONS! ha! It was great to hang out with them and the kids always have fun together.
We headed home around 7:00 p.m. for a light dinner...apparently my kids didn't eat at the party...only me! ha! ha! So a quick soup and grilled cheese dinner it was! Then showers, a story about Abraham Lincoln, and then bedtime. I should have gone to bed then, but at the party, the girls and I had talked about scary movies and then scary real life stories.....so I couldn't go to sleep until Randy was home......so I finally got to sleep around 11:00 p.m.
WHEW! What a weekend! And Monday was just as crazy -- hectic morning, busy day at work, home for dinner, homework, and I had to get 3 miles in, shower, read the boys a little bit from Tales of Desperaux, Hula dancing from 8:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m., get home and clean the kitchen a little more (my husband tries, but never fully cleans like I like it!), laundry (OH THE LAUNDRY), and finally sleep.
I often wonder before children, what I did with my time? I wouldn't change it for the world, but I would like to have a few more hours to do some much needed things like laundry and sleep! ha!
Hope you are having a wonderful week....don't forget to take time for yourself!
Angela
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