Things of late

Tyler had a birthday.

He had a hard time with his candles {weak lungs}.

It was a very festive event.
Then we had a baby shower for these lovey ladies. Our child count is raising dramatically. No thanks to me and Tyler mind you.

Malorie then had a birthday at the food carts. I ate a lot. Including two pizzas.

Addy practiced her scrunch face...which she has clearly mastered.
Locke tried out his first cigarette {okay okay this was totally my idea. Katie just indulges us}.

We did some babysitting. Macy got stuck in a chair. We are obviously going to be great parents.

Then we hit up the rhododendron gardens. They are beautiful. I practiced taking photos with my new awesome camera and realized that I have a lot to learn. And I mean a lot.

The flowers were so lovely we wanted to eat them. So I did.

Oh, I also got some grown up jellies, and while it goes without saying, I am madly in love with them. I owe these babies to the shopping extraordinaire: Mrs. Jackson {who never ceases to find the very best things at the very best prices}. She is a pro. Seriously.

And that about sums it up.

Back in the saddle again

I have once again "committed" to a life of exercise and healthy living. This is obviously not new to me, or probably to you, since (I hope its not just me) we all go through these phases of devout dedication to a new and healthier 'me' and then slip back into our old ways of TV watching with the ice cream carton on our laps when we could be out shedding the pounds instead of eating them up by the spoonful. The past 4 months have been that way for me (meaning the ice cream/couch/TV combo), and luckily for me I have had the very convenient excuse of foot surgery to fall back on. Naturally one cannot do ANYTHING but eat ice cream and watch TV if they have an injured foot.

Somehow I have finally managed to snap myself out of my laziness and just to guarantee that I last longer than 4 days on the exercise program I went out and signed myself up for a 1/2 marathon on June 12. Wha? This gives me 7 weeks to get ready to run 13 plus miles. This all sounded like a very good idea right up until the second after I clicked the submit button sending off my $65 {which is enough to guarantee that I show up and run...even if it means I am crawling across the finish line}. A flood of terror thereafter ensued.

But now that my initial nauseous wave of nerves has blown over I think I am actually excited. I have always wanted to give this a try. I love to run when I can actually talk myself into getting out my door. And there is not a more beautiful place to run than Oregon. I am already looking forward to this accomplishment, and for me it will be a huge one. I have only been at this a week and a half but already I can feel my energy rising and can see an improvement in the distance I can go. Granted I can also feel my body screaming in resistance to the sudden upheaval of my lazier days. I also seem to have the body of a 75 year old woman. Between my still not 100% healed foot (I want to smash my doctor for telling me everything would be back to normal and good to go after 2 months), my highly braced knee that likes to pop out of the socket, my other aching foot that the same doctor claims is totally fine, and a newly strained calf muscle I am a bit of a mess. But I just tell myself that these are the left over joys of too many years of dance now mixed with running 18 miles last week after nearly 6 months of total inactivity. Apparently its all or nothing with me. My new mantra? Achy body equals progress. That's what I tell myself at least.

So here is to hoping that by announcing to the blogosphere that I am doing this run and I am going to do it well, that I will actually follow through. I am now committed. I am reluctantly excited. Wish me luck. I am going to need it.

Here is an artistic flowery shot to fulfill my need for photos with every post.

Some photos I found whilst digging through the archives...

These little babies took me for a trip down collegiate memory lane. Three of my favorite friends/roomies and I took a quick trip to San Francisco many years ago. It was one of my favorite trips. I love these girls. And I miss them. Life after college took us all to very different places, but I am ever grateful to still have all of them in my life. Even if it is not as much as I wish.

Good News!

Hibiscus Iced Tea is back at Peets!

I have missed it through the winter months.
Hooray for Spring.

Also, I am now the proud owner of a Nikon D40, thanks to Sarser dear. I am a picture taking maniac...and I love it.