So Much To Write, So Little Time

It's hard to believe that this is the last week of November. Where has the year gone?? For myself, this past Thanksgiving Holiday was jammed with a lot of interesting items. I could probably write separate posts for each one, but for the sake of time you all will be thrilled to just receive the "update" version.

1. celebrated the big 'ole Turkey day in Ohio with my Dad. Left early Wednesday and came back on Friday. It was very enjoyable and relaxing. also discovered that Buckeye fans are everywhere (imagine that with a perfect season, right?) While grabbing a quick lunch at Wendy's, I was pleased to know that I could have the Buckeye Brutus Burger with a Buckeye Frozen Frosty for dessert. I would love to see what Wendy's would do for the Hokie fans.

2. celebrated Christmas too with my family (haha) since we wouldn't be back up there until the new year. Jordan and Drew made out like bandits, as always. Maybe this means that we don't have to get them anything else! sweet!

3. ran in a 4-miler race with my Dad "for fun". There were no expectations for this race, well, kinda. I just wanted to finish in 30minutes. Came across the finish line in 30:12. yay. :-) We were rewarded with a Dri-Fit long-sleeve shirt by Brooks, a finisher's medal, gloves, a hat & a free sample of Body-Glide, and a bottle of wine that could put hair on anyone's chest.

4. watched the final football game of the season. Go Hokies! It was great to watch a game in it's entirety. Rumor has it that the Hokies will be going to the Peach Bowl. Good for them, although I think Kev and I are going to pass on it.

5. enjoyed a great tailgate with friends and co-workers. this was by far the most enjoyable tailgate. i even ventured outside of my box and participated in a round or two of flip-cup. yay me. i also stepped up to man the grill for the first time all season. it was extremely pleasing to force people to eat 3-4 hamburgers just so we could get rid of them. oh, let's not forget the granny keg-stand!!

6. i am still experiencing laryngitis....you can stop laughing now, it's not funny. ;-)

7. most enjoyable food this weekend - nope, not the turkey and trimmings....the shrimp tempura (and beth's hawaiian roll) at Poor Billy's. yum!

8. funniest line said at the tailgate - "I worked at, um....er..... at Chuck E. Cheese for 2 years" (Thanks John! I never thought I could laugh so much without making a single sound!)

9. weirdest moment - witnessing a friend practically strangle another friend while being escorted out of the bar. i am sure it was all fun and games....just weird to watch. (i hope you two have worked out your differences! haha!! ;-)

10. funniest event - watching kevin and zach carry bill all the way into bill's house to put him on the couch....only to have bill "magically" walk only seconds afterwards to go to the bathroom. haha!

11. started reading the book, "Inside Intuit" and I am completely amazed thus far. Just from weekend reading I am already halfway done. I can't wait to finish it up. It has sparked a lot of ideas for me, especially with the aspect of software development.

Finding The Right Running Shoe

I am having a time and half finding the right replacement for my current running shoes. I have even tried running in the same model (but newer version) as my old pair, but still no luck. I can't believe that I am having such a hard time finding one that doesn't make my shins hurt. I have truly tested out (by running outside 3 or more miles) in two different models of Adidas. Both cause my feet to roll out more than normal and eventually make my shins extremely tired. I have tried on 8 different kinds so far. I am upset about all of this because it is hindering my training! :-(

Hopefully the folks over at Fleet Feet in Columbus, Ohio can help me out with their extensive fitting and gait analysis. Who knows....they might not have a solution either. haha. But I am willing to try every shoe available though, that's for sure.

Note

The following note was left in my car door the other day at work:

"Rt. front tire needs air -
check all 4 -

Tire Marshall"

Thanks for the heads up Tire Marshall....I haven't had a chance to actually check the pressure yet, but I thankful someone is looking out for my safety! ;-)

Graveyard Shift and Turning 100

Kev and I didn't have a babysitter for today to watch Drew who is still getting over his disease. (haha....the disease isn't really that big of a deal. It's hand/foot/mouth disease. He has a mild case of it and you wouldn't think he has a virus by looking at him.) Anyhow, he has to be out of daycare until it clears up because it's contagious. We couldn't get a babysitter for today and the only way that we could both get to work (and actually get something done) was for one of us to come in super-duper early.

I offered to go in early because I am the nicest wife in the entire world. ;-) Actually, I wanted to come in as early as possible because I can get a lot of stuff done without the interruptions. Jordan and I headed off to bed around 8:45pm. I set my alarm for 4am. Around 2am I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep despite my efforts of trying. At 2:30am I said to myself that it wasn't worth it to go back to sleep and decided to go into work.

On my to work I realized that I didn't have my card key to get into the building. Luckily, my company has 24/7 support and I was able to call our support line and leave a message for them to prop open the door for me. ;-)

Here I am, at work, waiting for my extremely slow accounting software (aka - QuickBooks) to load invoices. If family were not an issue, I would definitely consider the graveyard shift. It's amazing how much you can get done with no one around!

This post also marks the 100th post for my blog. You will not be showered with confetti as I turned that option off in blogger. :-P

Better Choices

Yesterday was one of those days where a Snicker's bar is quite OK to have. I went upstairs during work to do just that. I brought a dollar in change thinking that my snack would only cost 75 cents.....wrong! How did candy bars get so expensive? I am glad that I was prepared and brought extra money!

I go to type in 52 for the Snicker's selection and I immediately change my mind to 44, the York peppermint patty. It's obviously the better (although less satisfying, of course) choice between the two. I was quite proud of myself for making the last minute switch, until my dark chocolate covered peppermint patties get stuck in the turn thingy. Very sad. :-(

I discretely tap on the window to see if will fall, but no luck. I had to resort to a barbaric vending machine tilt to get it to drop. To my surprise, not one....but TWO peppermint patties fall from their resting place!

My conclusion from this experience is that A - you get rewarded for making better food choices with more food or possibly B - the vending company realizes that two packages justify ripping people off. :-/

Family Update

Ok, I have been putting off this particular post for a while now. I suppose this blog is "all about me" but my kids need some mention here.

So let's look at the last few months in review:

1 - Drew finally got a tooth like a week before his birthday. He's currently cutting his third one. Heaven help us once he gets a full set, we won't be able to keep food in the house.

2 - Drew started walking. I think he started walking about 1-2 weeks before his birthday. This was very surprising to us as Jordan didn't start actually walking until after her 1st birthday. That was a neat experience. Too bad YouTube wasn't actually good for us novice film makers. (I wonder how I can get the good quality uploads??!!)

3 - Drew turned 1 year old. Amazing stuff. It's hard to believe that he will be 14 months old this month. I know, I know, a little behind with the updates. Thank god I actually take pictures though.

4 - Jordan is getting smarter every day. I was actually shocked that she believed us when we told her that Halloween only exists on one street in Blacksburg and that people don't give out candy on other streets. However, she remembered the exact street that we went down last year even before we told her we were going down it again. As we left the area I thought for sure she would say something about all the other kids running around on different streets, but by that time she was diggin' into her candy so she was totally distracted!

5 - Jordan is the best big sister/daughter ever. She is always looking out for Drew, especially if he needs something. And let's not forget that when we need something she's all about helping us. Occassionally we will get the response, "I can't help you right now, I am too busy with something" which cracks me up that she has that kind of talking ability.

6 - Jordan is getting better at memorizing words to spell. She loves to look at words and then tell you that she can spell them. She will say, "Mommy, do you want to hear me spell the word 'on'?" I willingly agree and she will close her eyes and spell the word. It's really neat. The words have progressed from 'on' and 'off' to 'Kevin'. I think it's fantastic that she will close her eyes and visualize them while she is trying to spell. This is going to be helpful for her in the future when she is memorizing a mathematical formula or some kind of coding process. ;-)

7 - Jordan is an awesome singer. Believe it or not! It's just so freakin' amazing to hear her sing songs that she has memorized. My favorite thus far has to be the songs from the Little Mermaid DVD that we bought a couple of weeks ago. She started busting out the words the other day and I couldn't believe she had them memorized. She can also hold notes for the proper duration. It's nuts. Don't worry, I have captured some of the moments on video, but not with the songs from the Little Mermaid....I'll get them shortly though!

8 - Drew is still a Momma's/Daddy's boy at night. Kevin will wake up almost every night with Drew and sleep with him until he wakes up in the morning. Occassionally I will do it, but what's amazing is that we know that there is nothing wrong with the kid, he just wants to snuggle. haha. We'll prop him up in the nook of our arms and he will just face you and go right back to sleep. Of course there are those nights though where he will not stop moving and we have to send him back to his crib to cry himself to sleep so that we don't loose it.

9 - Speaking of loosing it, sometimes I will joke around with the kids and say that if they don't stop crying I will be checking myself into the cuckoo house. The other day I attempted to say this but I couldn't get cuckoo out. I kept saying crazy house. Jordan quickly corrected me by saying, "Mommy, you will end up in the CUCKOO house." hahahaha. She's so smart.

10 - Both of my children have distinct features that remind me of myself, or Kevin. The obvious are Jordan's cute pointy ears (Kevin) and Drew's round face (Me). I can't quite get Drew's personality pinned down to either me or Kevin, but Jordan's personality is definitely one that reflects mine. It's quite scary how type-A she can be at times. ;-) Perhaps Drew will continue to be laid back, just like Kevin. But heaven forbid you take away his cup of milk because he will come after you with avengeance. :-)


Ok, that wraps it up for this version of the family update. I'll be back in the next few (prolly 6) months with another great family edition update!

Wanna be like Mike...er...Kevin

Do you remember those commercials with Michael Jordan? Instead of wanting to be like Mike, I want to be like Kevin. I have decided to take on a bench press goal. I mentioned it last week, kinda as a joke, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to do it. Without having a general idea of what I could do right now, I told him that it would be cool if I could bench 100 lbs. It just seems like a nice round number. :-)

This morning he got me on the bench to test out my strength. I warmed up with the bar 12 times. easy-peasy. Then he added 10's on both sides and I did 10 or 12, can't remember the number. He added 10 more on both sides, making it 85 total. I pumped out 10, I think. For my last set, he changed out the 10's and replaced them with 25's on both sides. I looked at it, and thought, no way...95 already?? Sure enough, pressed out 5. Yay! I suppose I have to re-evaluate what a good bench press goal should be. (Maybe I will check the k-minnick bench press archives for a recommendation.....hehe!!)

I can't wait to wake up tomorrow and not be able to lift my arms.

Birthday Weekend

I got an early start to my birthday weekend with dinner at Kabuki Restaurant with my family. Surprisingly enough, all the kids displayed great behavior. It kinda helps with the vent thing they have going on above the grill, it helps drown out all the noise they make. Including Drew who seemed to not get enough white rice. I think he grew about 6 inches, girth-wise. He's such a big boy. The night was topped off with what would turn out to be the first of 3 birthday cakes. yum!!!!

On Friday I joined up with the girls to get a massage. We went to the Blue Ridge School of Massage and were test subjects for their students. I would say that getting a good student is hit or miss. The massage was only $35 for an hour and 15 minutes. No wonder it can be hit or miss! In my opinion, I definitely got a good student. Of course, it could have been that I mentioned that it was my birthday so he “performed” better. Who knows, but the student (Sam) that was assigned to me was awesome! If you happen to get him you are in for a treat. Thanks to Katrina for setting up the appointments for us!

After massages Katrina & Nicole hosted a wine social at their place. We had an assortment of cheese and fruit and enough wine to quench the thirst of a small army. Marisa and Beth were also able to join in on the fun. Katrina even made me a cake that looked like it said I was turning 1306, instead of just 30. They surprised me with a new running shirt for cold weather and a mini foot spa soak, lotion and socks. The soak will definitely come in handy with all that marathon training that is starting up. The shirt is great. It has extra long sleeves so that I can easily wrap my hands inside of them. I am not a big fan of running gloves. The shirt worked out splendid for my first ever Happy Hallow run. (More on that later!) I intended on staying for just a couple of hours because I had a big run to do on Saturday. A couple of hours led to 12:30am….yikes! That wine is not gonna feel good tomorrow morning!

Saturday we all (except for Nicole who is taking it easy due to an injury) headed over to Windsor Hills for a morning run. Beth and Katrina were just out for a portion of the run, meanwhile Marisa and I were scheduled to do an hour and half run. This was the first time that I did Happy Hallow and I will have to say that it was freakin’ hard. Just imagine the worst hill you can think of, and multiply it by 100. I think it was harder for me because I didn’t know when the hill would end. I wasn’t about to charge up the hill and come to find out I was only ½ up it! It was a great run though and I am going to write more about it. (I know, you can’t wait! ;-)

After the run I met up with the family (my sister and her three girls included) at NRV Gymnastics to watch Jordan and my nieces. Afterwards, I went back to the house and showered while Kevin hauled the kids over to his mom’s for the evening. Once Kev returned we went on a little shop spree. :-) He bought a new pair of running shoes and a dress shirt. For my birthday he purchased me a new outfit, including boots, ColdGear (running shirt, tights and a light-weight jacket) by Under Armour. The jacket was an added bonus as the shirt is a little tight by nature and makes me look like the perfect sausage roll. Haha. I can’t wait to try them out tomorrow though!

Once Kev finished shelling out the dough, we headed over to Red Robin for a few drinks and an appetizer. Then we went back to the house to change and drove over to our friend Heather’s house to enjoy the Tech game. Heather made me a cake too that was strawberry with cream cheese icing. It was delicious! It was perfect with a Hokie victory.

Next stop, Big Al’s. We stopped here briefly to catch up with my girls. After a quick drink (ie, SoCo and lime) we shuffled on over to The Nerve for a little dancing. It was great! The place was completely empty, thus no smoke & we did not have to worry about dying of a heat stroke. It was like they reserved the place just for me. ;-) It was nice having everyone around for my birthday. I hope they all had just as much fun as me. (My stories end here for the sake of my mother’s sanity. If you ever need a chuckle, feel free to stop by and get the rest of the scoop.)

Who says turning 30 is such a drag?? Like my friend Marisa wrote in my birthday card, “You are only as old as your friends”….which means I can thank Justina because I get to be 21 again on July 3^rd. Sweet!! I definitely can't wait for that!!!

I will post pictures sometime soon.