Turkey Day 2009

The end of 2009 became very busy...



Steve, Matthew, Jazmin and Olivia came to visit over Thanksgiving. Steve did some great 'popping' the kiddos on the trampoline. (Photos blatantly 'borrowed' from Jazmin's blog.)

Turkey placemats for the kids. Gobble gobble! Plus cookie favors - yummy.

We had two tables of folks for Turkey Day. Here is table one with some appetizers, along with napkin rings made by yours truly.

We did a little Christmas decorating over the Holiday. Here are the letters I made - they are sparkly! But the photo didn't come out very sparkly...boo.

Tristen and Sydney decorate their own tree in the family room.

The kids love when Matthew and Olivia come to visit!

What I am doing this Saturday...

I will be on the couch, eating bon-bons, and watching super-fit people for 1.5 hours. Do not disturb me!

Jennifer...1, Old Floors...0

Yes I finally defeated my old downstairs carpet. Just before Thanksgiving we replaced the downstairs carpets with wood floors. They whipped right through it! For two days I wouldn't even let anyone walk on them because I love them so much.

Bye bye old carpet!

Hello new floors!

Yes, I love them this much.

Also, new last month...Tristen attended his first Mavericks game and of course Jeff had to get him a new jersey. Here he is being a little silly. Every time Dirk scores, Tristen says 'yes!' and does a little fist-pump.

Of course Sydney wanted a picture taken of her as well...

Party Time!

It was party time this weekend! Tristen finished his soccer season and we had our team pizza party. Of course the most exciting part is - getting the trophy! Tristen had a great time this season.



Sydney attended a friends birthday party after the soccer party. She had her face painted (like minnie mouse). All the little kids crowded around the face painting table until it was their turn - that was a hit! And of course they played on giant inflatables. Once everyone had their face painted, the talented lady then began making balloon animals! Here is Sydney with her 'flower' balloon.



This coming weekend is my birthday! I will probably celebrate with a nap because I am worn out from all the parties!

When you've got, you got it...

Sydney is very much a girly-girl. So it did not surprise me when she begged to attend the cheer 'stretch and grow' class at her preschool.

A teacher comes in once a week for 45 minutes to teach this cheer clinic. After some serious begging, I agreed to enroll her in the class. I figured she loves attending with her friends and her brother already has an activity so it's her turn for one.

This week they 'performed' a pep rally for the parents. It was really very cute and the girls just had so much fun. Here's some (bad-camera) clips from the 'show'.

Real Sports...

Ihad a conversation during my epic run this past Sunday that I thought was kind of interesting. And it reminded me of a funny clip.

My running partner said he always says 'no' when people ask him if he is an athlete. He related how this past week at work they were in a conversation about sports. (Side note: Isn't there always the guy who is into every game played on ESPN, checks out the box scores, and thinks the water-cooler conversation should always be about last night's game, whatever game was on, regardless of the sport? I should know about this -- I live with one. And there's nothing wrong with it - they are usually very jovial and social; it's just easy for me to stereotype and lump them together. I mean somebody's gotta keep fantasy leagues and espn in business right?)

Anyway, the guy asks John if he is an athlete, i.e. plays anything. John says no, he's not athletic at all (silly John!); because in his mind he has never played a team sport and is uncoordinated at any of those sports. This from a guy who just completed a 6-hour race that covered 70.3 miles! And his friend interjects with

"No, that's not true - he's a triathlete!"

So we were discussing if triathlon is a sport or not. I have decided yes, it requires athletic talent (if you want to be good), refining form, strength and endurance. Jeff only thinks races count. Of course, he is also one of those guys. Which I say with a ton of love! It was all a good-natured conversation. Now, chess....hmmmm.

This clip is a little old, but still funny. From a show called Eastbound and Down... "Relief Pitcher Kenny Powers was poised to rule the Big Leagues, but two things got in the way: his fading fastball and his insufferable personality."

A Country Thanksgiving

This weekend we celebrated an early Thanksgiving with my maternal Grandmother and family. Everyone is so busy during the actual Holiday that it becomes easier This side of my family is decidedly 'country'. Built a house on the prairie, down to earth, good country food, wear cowboy hats, keep horses and chickens kind of people. So it was only appropriate that the event be held at the community center in Blue Ridge, TX....population 970.

Directions went something like...travel down this major highway, turn right on this tiny road and when you get into Blue Ridge turn right at THE stop sign. Yeah, the one stop sign. Driving down this tiny road into the middle of nowhere, Jeff and I kept looking at each other like 'where are we going?' We finally found the place and they had a surprisingly cute playground and a community center with a little kitchen to heat up the food.

First order of business was eat! We had all the traditional Thanksgiving foods plus Grandmas giblets gravy. Since I don't think about what is in it, I think it's pretty good.

Then we played games and the kids were able to have fun running around outside and playing on the playground. It was a bright and sunny day - perfect for being outside.

Jeff spent the day on crutches. He sprained his ankle pretty badly in a game Friday night. Silly Jeff. If there is a family gathering I can almost guarantee that he will be hurt. We've spent many holiday mornings in an ER or with him hobbling around unable to help. Hey wait... hmmm...maybe that is a clue! ;)

We had a great time seeing the family and celebrating together! Happy early T-day!

I Looped the Lake Award

White Rock Lake (WRL) is a bit of a workout mecca here in DFW. There are cyclists, runners, dog-walkers, frisbee players, rowers, and all kinds of other activites that take place at this small lake. Well, except swimming. Swimming has not been allowed at White Rock Lake since 1952. If you're running in Dallas you will probably run at the lake at some point, perhaps in training or maybe in one of the popular running races held there.

Every athletic event has its own 'milestones'. And the first time you reach that milestone is exciting. The first time you scored 25 points in a basketball game, won a championship, scored a hole-in-one, biked 50 miles, completed your first race. To those who run in or near WRL, there is a milestone of the first time you loop the lake and make the 9.3mile run around the perimeter of the lake. Everything up until this point has been an out-and-back run.

This weekend my teammate Robert and I completed our first lake loop. My team, even those members I didn't know, were all very encouraging. They said good luck and we were off! I ran with my teammates Yuri and John, who kept me company with his zany stories and my mind off the nonsense that is running this far.

Mile 1-3: Feeling slow. I realize I am fatigued from the week and not feeling my best. Last week, during my 8 mile run I felt great and ready for the challenge. This week, not at all.

Mile 4-6: Feeling ok. Settle into a steady pace. I also resolve to the knowledge that the run today will hurt. I just did not wake up feeling my best and my schedule was off this week. I'll make it just fine, but I hope to be more rested and ready the next time I have a long run.

Mile 7-8: Starting to ache. Every time I stop for water, it hurts to start back up. Right knee becomes sore. Stopping very long is not an option. During mile 7 my running partner, John (who is training for the 2010 Ironman CDA) says 'I think you are sand-bagging. Let's run this next mile closer to 10min pace - I'll let you lead what feels comfortably faster.' So we run this mile in 9:40 before going back to 10:30's.

Mile 9 + .3: Mix of fatigue & excitement. Both knees are slightly sore. Breathing is a little more labored so I try to focus on breathing smooth and staying relaxed. Going up the last little hill, John reminds me how close we are to finishing! (My teammates are great at telling you how good you look and that you are doing great; no matter if you look like a rat that crawled out of the trash and are dragging one foot in some kind of weird limp with a face red like a tomato. Not that I know what that looks like...)

Finish: Elation! I say I have never been more excited to see that parking lot in my life! My total time is 1:39:05, a 10:39m/mi avg. including warm-up. When I first stop, everything hurts. After 15 minutes of walking and a good, long stretch I feel normal again. About 20 people congratulate us on completing our first loop!

Then Coach Gayle presented us with our 'medals'. :) They were bagels with 'I Looped the Lake' written in colorful marker on them and bows attached. It was so fun and thoughtful to have a little celebration of our first loop. It was the farthest that Robert or I have ever run. Evvveeerrrr.

I am very thankful to my friends who ran with me, teammates who encouraged me, and family who supports me. Thank you to all the supportive people in my life! I appreciate each and every one of you!

I am not a pirate...or new blog look yay!

I spent a few minutes Friday night on changing up the blog. I still have some elements I am adding in, but what do you think so far? I like the white background better - it seems easier on my eyes, I widened the column, changed a few things here and there, created the new header labels, etc. I created the new layout using design elements from melissa bennett's acid wash collection. Here is what she says about the collection:

Ha! Just so you know I did pay for use of the elements - hence, I am not a pirate! That reminds me of a conversation in New York. When my brother was in school in New Haven, CT I went up to visit him and we went in to New York for a day trip. We wanted to take the subway downtown. Steve asked a lady working a metro booth if the particular rail we were at would take us down to the stop we wanted. She barked out directions...which my brother repeated back to her to make sure he got them right. She replied, in a miffed tone, 'What are you...a parrot? a pirate?". We just stared back, totally confused, but later -- that was funny. And that was a good introduction to the real New Yorker. Nice people with a little gruff exterior.

Hope you like the new look!

Trick or Treat

I love Halloween! We love to have halloween parties and carve jack-o-lanterns. This year with the addition of school and other activities we decided to keep it simple!

Sydney really wanted to be a princess again. Because I am a mean Mom I said no! Pick something else....so she picked Tinkerbell. She is very much a girly-girl! Tristen wanted to be a Ninja. Hu-waahhhh!



We added glitter and sparkles to Sydney's face. She adored it. I think she would dress up like this every day if she could.

I told Tristen to show me his fighting stance. You can bet he made 'fighting sounds' with those 'ninja tools of death' all night long.

We attended our church's annual 'Trunk-or-Treat' party. Everyone gathers at the church and opens their trunks for trick-or-treating from car to car. Thus, trunk-or-treat. Families fill the parking lot and this year was no exception. We had hot dogs, chips and drinks to start and then the kids 'trunk-or-treat' from car trunk to car trunk. It's a really fun idea and the kids get plenty of fun in while we get to visit with our friends.

Sydney followed around this cute little girl, Reagan, from our church all night. There were a ton of adorable costumes.

Our in-laws John and Audrey and their family were able to attend this year again. Steven was Batman (his mom made that cowl - awesome!) and Margaret was a pink princess.

After awhile Sydney got tired of the wings so I became a mutant tinkerbell. Trunk or treat is nice because it is quick and to the point.

Here is Sydney trying to be cool like Auntie Liz...this photo made me laugh so hard.

After the party, we went back to our neighborhood for some old-fashioned trick-or-treating! The kids love running from house to house. The kiddos all enjoyed their glow sticks as well.

We filled the kids buckets (again) with candy and then headed back to the house. Tristen was pretty good - he always made sure the kids waited on the doorstep until Margaret caught up before ringing the doorbell. Of course, he did want to also be first on that doorstep...

Ahhhhh!!!! A scary monster!! Oh wait...that's me.

Hope you had a wonderful Halloween! Thanks to everyone who partied with us!