Rock and Roll Marathon 2009

We did it! Yesterday, my friend Dawn and I completed our first 1/2 marathon, and boy are we glad that it's over! I cannot begin to express how supportive everyone was during the run. We started the race down in Tukwila at 7am (although we technically didn't cross the start line until 8:16am since they had to stagger the 25,000 people that were running) and ended at Qwest Field, in Seattle, 3 hours later. We ran most of the time but walked the big hills so that we wouldn't collapse and give up. There were so many volunteers along the way passing out water, Jolly Ranchers, Vaseline, bandaids and Gatorade. We ran through neighborhoods where everyone was sitting in their lawn chairs blasting Michael Jackson and cheering us on. About 20 different cheerleading squads from the surrounding area's were dressed as rock and roll girls doing cheers for all of the runners. Some people stood out in thier lawns for hours spraying their hoses on all of us that crossed by their houses. About 12 bands were staggered throughout the 13.1 miles playing their music as we crossed each milestone. And my beloved trainer Trista was there at the 13 mile mark cheering us on and going crazy as she saw us come running down off of the viaduct. I started crying when I saw her just knowing how proud she was of us, and seeing her there cheering us on. It was a great day. The weather could not have been more perfect and I am so incredibly excited to do it again next year. My main goal for this year was just finishing the race and keeping a good pace, but next year I'm going for a goal with a much better time (better start training now). I have to praise God for waking me up at 4am when my alarm clock did not go off at 3:30am. I have no other explanation as to why I would have waken up so early. All in all a great experience and I am so thankful that I can rest a bit from here on out.

One Week Till The Big Day...

Today is exactly one week from my first 1/2 Marathon. This might not be an accomplishment for most people, but it is for me. I'm pretty excited to get it over with and hopefully all of the hard work will pay off. It's been exhausting these past few months finding time to train between a full time job (2 of them if you count being a mother), starting plenty of summer projects on the house, teaching Sunday school, and everything else that is thrown our way. But I'm excited to give it a shot! I guess this explains for the lack of posts. Bring on the summer!

My 27th Birthday...

Two weeks ago, I celebrated my 27th birthday. I don't know why, but I always forget how old I am now (even when I just wrote 'my 27th birthday' I had to do the math.....seriously). I'm not a huge fan of my birthday (like some people are) but it is fun having a few days where people are extra nice to you and do fun little things for you (like buying you coffee, giving you a sweet card, hearing from those people you barely ever talk to, etc) but the best part about birthdays (for me anyways) is spending quality time with my family and close friends. Josh always goes above and beyond making me feel special....so it was a fun-filled weekend. And it helps that I have an awesome boss who gives us our birthdays off! I actually chose to take the following Monday as my birthday day off since there were a couple of things that needed to get done (my birthday was on a Friday this year)....SO, here's a breakdown of what I did to celebrate and also a few pics to go with everything (which will probably end up posting at the top of my blog since I still cannot figure out how to post pictures at the end of my blog). Ha ha. Maybe that'll be my goal to try and figure out during the 27th year of my life. :)

Also, I'm mainly posting the following list of events so that I have them for my own memory. It seems as the years go by, I start forgetting little things and details (which totally annoys me since I am usually notorious for my brilliant memory of events and remembering details towards all of the small things). In high school, I could watch a movie and recite almost any line in that particular movie afterwards. My friends would always laugh, but I think it partially drove them nuts. To this day, I can probably recite any full scene from a Friends episode that I've seen. It's a really weird talent that I have. Anyways, if you're approaching your 30's, have a 3 year old, balance work/mothering, training for a 1/2 marathon, struggling with Fibromyalgia and auto-immune stuff, or any one of the above....not to mention all of those above things at the same time...you probably struggle with remembering past events and the small details too. Lately it seems as though I can barely remember to take out the garbage every Wednesday morning. Anyways, here's to being 27! And mainly, by doing this every year on my blog, I won't be racking my brain trying to remember what I spent the previous birthday doing. :)

Friday (my actual Birthday) Josh surprised me at the office with a dozen roses, my princess Ava by his side, a Jamba Juice, and was planning to take a walk with me like I normally do on my break if time allows (how sweet) but the weather was crummy and I had a pile of work on my desk that needed to go away (especially with my 3-day weekend ahead and all). Therefore I got to have about 20 minutes of Ava in my office helping me make some very important phone calls. I also got to show her off to a couple of my favorite clients. That night, my best friend Kym's family came over for a BBQ and the kiddos played together all night. Kym, if you ever read this, thank you for always being there for me and just being that person you are to me. I love you like my sister and am so thankful for everything we've been through together. I love you!

I have no clue what I did on Saturday......let me think for a second about that one.......(do you see why I'm posting this?) Ha ha.

Okay, now I remember, Saturday I woke up to some sunshine and took a 3 mile jog with Ava. Then we did my favorite thing to do on a Saturday afternoon.....stuff around the house, yard work, taking Ava to the park, etc.... After Ava's nap we took a family trip up to the Outlet Malls and I blew most of my birthday cash at the Nike Store on a bunch of new work out clothes, running shoes, and stuff like that. I also picked out a few shirts from the GAP (don't think I bought anything there since high school) but they actually had some cute tee's for like $6/piece! Right up my ally.

Sunday was spent with both of our families at the Emerald Downs, where I gambled away the rest of my birthday money (I actually hit a tri-fecta and picked the winning horse in race one....won $90 on a $4 bet....and the rest went south from then on). There were great times to be had by all. If you live in this area and have never been to the Emerald Downs, I would definitely suggest going! The kids also have fun getting to see the horses up close, and going in the kid-friendly toys. We had a caricaturist draw Ava's picture, and it turned out adorable.

Monday was, of course, the day I had off for my birthday....so I took care of some loose ends around the house, went to an appointment, and finished de-junking some of our closets (with the glorious help of my little princess of course).

All in all it was a fabulous weekend and I'm one year closer to being 30 now. My goal is to keep this blog updated until I turn 30. (I just came up with that, by the way). This way I can listen to myself whine about how old I'm getting every year, all-the-while wishing I could go back to being the age I was the previous year, and reminisce about how young my daughter looks in all of the photos we take each year. In all seriousness though, I do feel more and more blessed as the years go by. In that respect, I guess getting older is not that bad. Here's to being 27.

Excuse me while I pass Judgement for a second...

Okay, I see alot of crazy things here in Washington. Some of them shock me, while others don't. Just thought I'd share with you something that shocked me on Friday evening.....this might not shock alot of you...but it did me.

Friday evening Josh plays is a softball league with our church team. He'll drop off Ava to my work and we'll head over to the fields for a fun (and usually freezing) Friday night watching a couple of softball games. On this particular Friday I wanted to pick up a coffee on the way to the game. Usually I would try to find a Starbucks, but we were in a hurry and needed to hit up a local drive through. I drove by one of the drive throughs....closed. The next one I saw was about a quarter of a mile down the street with flashing lights 'espresso espresso'. Perfect.

I had to wait in line as one customer purchased their coffee. It seemed like it was taking an awful long time. I almost got frustrated and drove away since we were already late for the game. But, by this time, 3 car fulls of people had pulled in behind me. When it was my turn, I pulled up to the window to order my overpriced beverage. I was greeted by a girl wearing star shaped pasties on her chest, and a thong underwear. At this point, I could do 1 of 3 things.
A. Drive away
B. Order my drink, and pretend like everything was normal
C. Order my drink, and ask her why on earth such a beautiful girl would do this to herself

I chose B. We ordered our normal drinks (Ava usually gets a steamed milk) all the while, Ava was in the back of the car screaming things like "Mama, where are her clothes?" "Mama, that's SILLY", "Mama, she's NAKED!". It was absolutely hilarious. The 'naked girl' serving our coffee could obviously here my fearless daughter saying these things. The only thing I said to her was "Aren't you cold? It's freezing out!". To which she replied, "No, it's a bit windy...but that helps the tips". I didn't know what she meant by this until I realized....cold weather+naked girl=you know what I'm talking about. Come on now. Seriously? I know to most of you, this is old news. But I have never, ever, had a naked person serve me my coffee. I've heard of the lingere stands, but this seems to be on a whole different level. What if the steaming hot milk splattered on her? Why did she work alone, in that outfit? Wouldn't she be scared of someone trying to take advantage of her? I just did not get it at all. This is Washington. It's not like we're in OC California where the weather is really nice. It's freaking freezing here all of the time. I realized at that point why the person in front of me was taking such a long time, and then looked behind me to the 3 cars of people (all men of course). Maybe it's just the age I am, but I felt really bad subjecting my daughter to that. We did get a good laugh out of it though. The name of the place had 'bikini' in the title, but there was no bikini going on. It was straight pasties, and a thong. That's all folks. Just wanted to share. What types of things have shocked you this week?

My Spin On Chicken Nachos

I've been trying to eat really healthy and think of new dishes for the family. Oprah had a "Celebrity Chef's" edition this week, and it was fun hearing some new tips and ideas. One thing they talked about was how using leftovers can save you a ton of money. I am pretty good about this. Usually I will stock up on a few roasted chicken's from Costco (only $4/chicken) and they can each make about 4 dinners/piece. I will spend an evening shredding the meat and freezing them into separate bags (which only takes about 15 minutes) but it really comes in handy when you want to throw a quick soup in the crock pot or make some chicken enchilada's. Tonight I decided to make a healthier version of chicken nachos. One of the chef's on Oprah showed a family an easy way to make healthier tortilla chips. You just buy whole wheat tortilla's and cut them into small triangles....throw them in the oven for 5 minutes (on 400 degree's) and you have some very low sodium/low calorie chips (no salt is needed either)!. So, I decided to use up a bag of frozen chicken meat and make a healthier version of chicken nachos.....here goes!

I think this whole dish probably cost about $5. It went great with my mango salsa (I will post that recipe one day too)....

Ingredients:

One bag of shredded chicken (about 1/4 of a roasted chicken)

Tortilla chips (Homemade)

4 small peppers (I used yellow, green, orange, and red)

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (low fat)

Diced tomatoes

Garlic Powder

Olive Oil

Chopped Chives

1 can black beans....drained

1/2 cup shredded lettuce

Directions:

First, cut up about 5 whole wheat tortillas into quarter's (4 triangles each). Sprinkle with a bit of garlic powder and cook in oven at 400 degree's for 5 minutes.

In small saute pan, heat olive oil and cook the peppers for about 3-4 minutes

Put the tortilla chips in an oven-safe dish....and layer on top of chips (in an order similar to this): black beans, shredded lettuce, shredded chicken, diced tomatoes, sauteed peppers, shredded mozzarella cheese, and top with chopped chives. Put back in oven until cheese melts.

Enjoy!....perhaps with some mango salsa!

Global Food Crisis Day

https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/global-food-crisis.htm

One person in seven goes to bed hungry every day.

One-third of the world’s population is undernourished.

There are 25,000 starvation-related deaths each day.

Each night more than 300 million children go to bed hungry.

Every day, over 12,000 children (one every 7 seconds) die from hunger-related causes.

Approximately 146 million or 27 percent of children under age 5 in developing countries are underweight.

Nearly 17 percent of babies in developing countries are born with a low birth weight compared with only 7 percent of babies in industrialized countries.

More than 4.4 million children die from malnutrition each year.

Worldwide, 161 million preschool children suffer chronic malnutrition.

Tomorrow is Global Food Crisis Day. I am going to partake in the challenge and stick to eating only one cup of rice per day (which is equivalent to what many children and families around the world are only able to eat in a given day). I know that this challenge won't make a difference in the world, but I hope that it will raise awareness in myself.....make a difference in myself; my attitude. It absolutely breaks my heart to read the statistics up above. I could never imagine watching my child go hungry. When you are a mother, the desire to provide for your family is a constant aching in your heart....a constant battle. Thinking about families all over the world who have to watch their children go hungry is devastating. Here are a few more statistics.

• $13 helps a child for one month
• $39 helps three children for one month
• $78 helps six children for one month

If these statistics have weighed heavy on your heart, I would encourage you to donate. If you can't donate, I would encourage you to partake in the challenge. One cup of rice tomorrow. That's it. Let me know if you do this, I'd love to hear about it!




http://www.one.org/, http://www.bread.org/, http://www.unicef.org/, http://www.who.int/, http://www.unep.org/

Day 2 Since The Binkie Fairy Arrived...

I've had alot of people ask me how things have been around the Heston Household since the magical Binkie Fairy came on Friday night. Let's just say that we're all a little tired around here. Saturday morning was pretty difficult for me (I know, this all sounds really pathetic, you don't have to comment on that....). Josh, I mean, the Binkie Fairy, thought it would be a good idea around 4am on Saturday morning to just rip out the binkie from poor Ava's mouth and let her wake up around 8am without it. What Josh, I mean the Binkie Fairy, did not plan on was Ava waking up IMMEDIATELY in major melt-down mode trying to figure out why her binkie had been ripped from her mouth suddenly in the middle of her slumber. Both barbies were waiting for her on her pillow (like we had told her would happen)....but she was NOT having it at all. After throwing both barbies across the room, throwing a fit for about 2 hours sobbing and asking me "where is my binkie? Mama, please go get me another binkie!".....she finally calmed down and watched a movie with me (mind you, this was still at like 5:30am). I didn't think it would be so hard on me. Hearing your daughter sobbing unconditionally, and knowing that you could fix it (by caving and just going to the store for a new binkie), was really difficult for me. I think it is because I'm such a people pleaser. I can NEVER say no to anyone. Don't get me wrong, Ava does not get everything she wants, but there is nothing harder than seeing your child suffer. I know that this is all very silly, but I did get teary eyed and felt bad for her! She's had her 'plug' ever since she was one day old, and I can only imagine what children go through when their security items are taken away.

Anyways, all of that aside, today has been a much better day. None of us have really slept all that much this weekend (of course, I'm getting over being really sick and having Ava wake up every couple of hours screaming for her binkie haven't helped much) but we're getting through it. Thank you for all of your funny emails and comments. Parenting is such a wonderful journey and it's comforting knowing that we're all in this together!

Dear Ava...

Dear Ava,

I am writing you this letter on the night of March 6th, 2009. I suspect that this is going to be a most terrifying and difficult night for you (your dad and I too). You see, tonight, the Binkie Fairy is coming to take away your most prized possession. I'm still trying to figure out why this fairy did not grace us with her presence back when you were only 1 year old. I think it would have made things a whole lot easier on all of us. On the contrary, she has waited until you are almost 3 years old to come and rip you from the security item that you have (most definitely) HAD to keep intact every night of your life (at least up until this point). A few weeks ago I thought it would be a good idea to remove the binkie from your mouth while you were sleeping and get rid of it once and for all. I figured it was time to let it go, and thought you would wake up in the morning forgetting about your beloved binkie. However, I woke up at 1am to the most bone shattering scream I have ever heard. You don't even WANT to know the thoughts that had run through my mind (as to why you were shrilling at the top of your lungs like that). I bolted to your room, only to find you sobbing and trying to mutter the words "Binkie! Where is my binkie?" through the most pathetic tears I have ever seen. It was then that your dad and I decided we would have to be a bit more creative in our endeavor....

A few weeks went by since that night, and your dad and I put the whole idea of "getting rid of the binkie" on the back burner. That is, until we were having dinner with our good friend Tonya (a dental hygienist) who told us that you would probably develop buck teeth from using your binkie this long (okay, she didn't say it like that....but your father did not have to hear another word about it and decided that it would be terminated immediately). After consulting with some friends, we decided to tell you the following story (so that you would understand why you will be waking up tomorrow with no binkie in your mouth) *sigh*. Twenty years down the road when you are talking to your therapist and trying to decipher at what point things turned south in your life, you can show him/her this letter to answer this exact question.

So, here is the story (as you know it) as to what is magically going to happen tonight.....

A beautiful fairy (who we've shown you pictures of in your coloring books)...named the "Binkie Fairy" is going to fly to our house tonight around 1am. She will somehow enter our house (Note to self, do not arm the alarm system), walk up the stairs (sprinkling her magic fairy dust as she goes), tip-toe into your room (and, yes, we will actually be sprinkling some leftover Halloween glitter onto the stairs for special effects) and find your bedroom. She will then sneak into your room, remove your binkie from your mouth, and leave you 2 barbies on your pillow while you sleep. (It was supposed to be only one barbie, but then you couldn't make up your mind as to what barbie you wanted more...so the gracious binkie fairy has opted to spoil you during this horrific time and just give you both the Ariel Mermaid Barbie AND the Ballerina Barbie). When you wake up, you will see your new barbies in your bed, find her fairy dust leading out to the front door, and be SO happy that she has brought you presents in exchange for your binkies!

For some reason, I don't think that this will be your initial reaction....but this is the way it is all supposed to go down, God willing.

Ever since we told you about this magical fairy that is coming, you have been asking millions and millions of questions about it. Here are a few of my favorites....

"Mama, is the binkie fairy taking my binkie so that all the little babies in the world can have them?"

"Will my barbies have their own binkies, mama?" (Um, that would be NO)....

"Mama, will I still have a binkie in my backpack at church?"

"I'm a big girl now, is that why I can't have my binkie anymore?" (No, it's because I don't want you to have buck teeth).

"Mama, where do binkies come from" (Although, I'd rather answer this question than "where do babies come from?")....

So, there you have it. We have decided to tell you that your first question is true. The Binkie Fairy is coming because all of the new little babies in the world need to have your binkies. Now, after I'm done with this letter, your father and I have to tear apart the house and make sure we are not missing any old binkies that might have fallen in between couch cushions, or under the bed. Please, dear child, do not make these next few nights difficult for yourself. I know it is going to be a very traumatic experience to go through, but we know you can do it. I apologize we didn't summon the Binkie Fairy to come to our house a year or two ago. And now it seems as though your binkie is just an extension of your face. Although I'm excited to see you play with your new barbies, I'm saddened that this night will signify a turning point in your life. You are almost 3, which means you will be entering into pre-school soon, and are not my infant baby anymore. Your father and I love you more than you will ever know. Please remember that as you will probably be hating us very much this next week.

Love, Mommy

A Few Thoughts From Last Night...

I'm not going to sit here and complain about the season finale of the Bachelor last night. It is what it is. As much as I don't believe that Jason should have gone about everything the way he did, he is a real person and a sinner just like the rest of us. He's made some horrible choices, and that is his problem. He did exactly what he told everyone he didn't want to do from the beginning, but whatever. There was no need to break up with Melissa on National TV. If Jason and Melissa really had broken up beforehand (like he claimed to have done on the Jimmy Kimmel show last night) then why did he have to do it again on National TV? Her reaction to everything proved that she didn't know the extent of everything (even though he claimed that she did). Anyways, we can't change what he did, but I do want to point out a few things that I found really odd (in respect to ABC and the way they handled everything)....

#1. When they show Jason proposing to someone in the beginning of the Bachelor (on the beginning highlights for the seasons show when we first started watching in January), they show him proposing to a gal wearing a light blue dress. However, neither Mel or Molly were wearing a light blue dress at the finale. Isn't that odd? Seriously, play back the previews from the first Bachelor preview and watch him down on one knee....it was totally fabricated. Or, check out the blogs that show him proposing to someone in the previews. It's not the same person. They do, however, go as far to show him proposing to a girl wearing a gold pinky ring (which was obviously Melissa). This shows you how badly they wanted everyone to think it was Melissa who won. AND, if Jason really broke up with Melissa at the ATRF (After the Rose finale) that was filmed in January....they wouldn't have needed to make it seem like he was indeed proposing to her in NZ (since they knew the outcome before it aired). It seems like this whole heart-break dump was planned from the beginning (no matter how much Jason and ABC try to deny it)...

#2. The WHOLE reason they taped the 'finale after the rose' without audience members, is because Molly and Jason were ACTING the whole time. There is no other reason that they would not have taped it in front of audience members. Since it was all an act, they knew that they would need to stop-plays, re-do scenes, and cut out alot of the retakes that they had to do. You could TOTALLY tell after they had seen eachother for the 'first time' that they had seen eachother since the send-off in NZ. You could tell when they greeted eachother and said "Oh my gosh, it's been awhile!" that they were totally faking it. They had to of seen eachother since New Zealand and they were trying to make it seem like they hadn't.

#3. Any normal girl in the real world would not have accepted a proposal to get back together with someone that quickly after they had split up (on national television) after a 2 month romance with another girl. Molly said herself how angry she was when he broke up with her, and any normal girl would not be making out and holding hands with a guy who had been engaged 'up until that point' and had JUST dumped his fiance on national television. Come on. Who would do that? This also goes to show you just how much of a prick Jason is. You don't break up with a fiance and then make out with the runner up on National TV 5 minutes later. Where is your sensitivity chip?

#4. All of the contestants who sign up on the bachelor/bachelorette are signed to a 5 million contract. This means, if they spill the beans about the show, they can be sued for 5 million dollars. This is exactly why none of the girls who were involved in this show can really talk about what happened (behind the cameras). It sucks that it has to be this way. It is horrible that good girls like Melissa have to deal with all of this crap. In the end, it's always the good girls that suffer.

I don't know why I care this much. I will sit here and talk about the fact that I will never watch this horrible show ever again, but I know I will. It's horrible that ABC can get all of us this hooked and make it ruin our week since we feel bad for Melissa. I guess the only happiness I have is that Jason will have to deal with his choices/consequences and we all know that this stupid relationship with Molly will have a shorter shelf life than the yogurt in my fridge. And if I'm wrong, I will make it up to all of you.

End of The Rainbow

Just when you think Google outdid everyone by finding the "Lost City of Atlantis" (did you see that?) some guy in California found the end of the rainbow. Kinda fitting that I found this photo today on the same day that the Bachelor is coming to an end. 5 hours and counting...

My Guilty Pleasure...The Bachelor

Most of you who read this blog know that I am obsessed with this season's "The Bachelor". Don't ask me why, I just am. I have never really gotten into the show this much before, but there's something about Jason that seems more real and sincere than the others they've had on the show before. Where am I going with this? Well, since I am anticipating the finale that is airing next week, I have been reading some blogs about theories that people have come up with. I found this blog and it started to make sense to me (with hearing Chris Harrison saying that the 'After the Rose Finale' is going to be super intense and unpredictible). I sure hope it's not true! I really like Melissa, and I'm gonna be pretty upset if this all pans out the way this guy claims it is going to happen.....http://dontbejelly.wordpress.com/2009/02/24/the-bachelor-a-conspiracy-theory/

Anyone out there think this might be the case? I wouldn't put it past ABC and reality TV in general. Okay, I really need to find something better to do with my time...

Top 3 Blonde Moments of 2009 (So Far)...

I can laugh at the fact that I'm a blond, and do justice to my hair color. I pay alot of money to have my hair look like this, and I guess I can handle the 'blond' jokes that are thrown my way every so often. Okay, I'm naturally a dirty-blond people! I guess the rules still apply though. SO.....this got me thinking to my top few blond moments from 2009 (so far). It's not fun if we can't make fun of ourselves, right?

#1. Bringing my wrong vehicle to the emissions test place. Shhhh...don't tell my husband. I would never live this one down. The thing is, I knew it was our truck that needed the emissions test, and I still drove through with my SUV???? Here's what happened (after waiting in line for 20 minutes)...

Me: Hi there! Busy day? I'm glad I made it through before lunchtime!
Him: Hi miss, cute sweater, where did you get it?
Me: Thanks! My mother in law bought it for me! I get compliments on it all the time. :)
Him: Um, miss, can I see your registration? (after he scanned my VIN number on my car).
Me: Here you go!
Him: Miss, this is your insurance card....
Me: Whoopsie daisy! Here you go....
Him: Miss, this is the wrong vehicle
Me: I have the wrong registration in here? Weird!
Him: No miss, you are driving through with the wrong vehicle
Me: Oh my gosh, I'm in the SUV, huh?
Him: Yes ma'am, this renewal is for a 2004 Chevy Silverado
Me: Well, at least I didn't pay yet! See ya.

I will have to find another emissions place in the state of WA to bring the truck to. They probably have my picture up at that Everett location....

#2. Playing an entire song at band rehearsal (with the Pathways Church Band) in the wrong key. I couldn't really hear myself playing, but I knew something didn't sound right, and I can't believe I played the whole thing in the wrong key! I'm currently learning how to read chord charts (instead of playing sheet music the way it's written) so it's been a learning experience for me. Since this was only my 2nd rehearsal, I was pretty mortified. It's bad enough I don't know what the heck I'm doing yet, and I'm sure the guys in the band were like "Um, what in the heck is she doing?". Practice makes perfect. Unless you cannot hear what you're playing (except for small bits here and there).

#3. Trying to pay my Comcast bill over the phone with my Macy's Credit Card (it's the same color as my regular major credit card). I kept trying to pay over the phone automatically, and I couldn't find out why in the heck it wasn't working! Finally, I opted to transfer out of the automated service, and speak with a representative (to pay the $10 fee which I really didn't want to do) but I totally forgot to mail the payment (even though it was ready to go in my mail basket), and the payment was 4 days away from the due date. I didn't want to risk it being late, so I tried to pay it over the phone. Finally, the guy on the phone asked me what type of credit card it was, that's when I saw MACYS written across it. I didn't have the nerve to tell him, so I think I accused them of their system being screwed up, hung up the phone, called back, and paid (automatically, waiving any fee) over the phone with my correct major visa credit card. This is why I don't pay bills over the phone people. I'm pretty old fashioned in the sense that I buy stamps and mail in my check payment every month. For now, I've removed that credit card from my wallet completely. I probably should have done this in the first place.


I'm sure there's a lot more where this came from.

The Other Love In My Life...

In honor of Valentines Day, I thought I would share some of the things I love about the other love in my life...my daughter Ava...and I thought it would be fun to post some old pictures of her, since I didn't have a blog back then. I constantly share things about my husband, and other things that I love in this world...but rarely do I comment on the little things I love about my daughter Ava. Here goes...

I love how she is my little "Mother Hen". She LOVES taking care of other kids and making sure that her daddy and I are doing okay (so cute coming from a tiny little 2 year old).

I love how she always tells me how proud of me she is (could that be any cuter?)

I love how she snuggles me every night right before she goes to bed....it's like the only time during the day that she actually sits still for 2 minutes.

I love how I see both my husband and myself when I look into her adorable big green eyes.

I love how she carries her blanket into our room around 2am every night, climbs into our bed, rolls over the top of me, and settles in between Josh and I for the remainder of our slumber.

I love how obsessed she is when it comes to washing her hands...and has to do it like a million times a day (just like her daddy).

I love how she tells me how beautiful I am every morning.

I love how she wears my high heels around our house, carrying her purse, and pushing her mini-sized stroller with her dollies strapped into it...

I love how she SCREAMS her head off everytime I touch the bandaid she's had on her elbow for the past 2 months.....the owie is gone (of course)...but she is still dramatic over it because she won't let me remove the bandaid.

I love how her shampoo smells in her hair after she gets out of the tub.

I love how she is such a daddy's girl.

I love how she pretends to play piano with me everytime I'm practicing.

I love hearing her sing songs that she's learned in church or at daycare.....there's something about hearing your child sing....now matter how good or bad they are.

I love how she tries desperately to close her eyes while we pray, but is always peeking and giggling.

I love that God intrusted me with such an amazing little girl.

I Enjoy The Small Things In Life...

I totally enjoy the small things in life. It doesn't take alot to impress me. When you're married, you really come to appreciate the little things that your spouse does for you....and I hope that my husband appreciates that I don't expect a whole lot (I don't need big gifts or fancy dinners to jump-start our marriage). What I need is knowing that my loved one is attentive to my needs, and wants to satisfy them...no matter how small or big that is! One of the things Josh and I bicker about constantly is the fact that he never brings our travel coffee mugs home from work. This totally irritates me! I know, it could be worse, right? Well, yesterday morning when I came down to start our coffee pot...there were a few of our mugs sitting on the counter...washed and ready for me to use. The note read..."These are all for you and all CLEAN baby!" It totally made my day. I love that my husband knows how he can lift my spirits and make me happy. It's all about the little things.



Another thing that makes me happy is when he folds all of our laundry that I've washed. I'm guilty of washing tons of laundry and leaving them all in the basket for a couple of days. But I HATE folding laundry. The other day, I was out shopping with a girlfriend...and I came home to ALL of the laundry I had washed that morning folded and hung up/put away. This meant so much to me!



The final thing that means the world to me is when he'll volunteer constantly to give me a back rub before we go to bed. I usually do not even have to ask. When I was pregnant, I got a back rub every night. He never missed a night. I would say I'm lucky to get them about twice a week now, but I think that's pretty awesome! Especially with the achy muscles that I constantly have.



Don't worry, I pay attention to his needs/wants too. But this post is all about giving my husband props to paying attention to the small things in life that I really appreciate. So, what are the small things that you appreciate in life or from your loved one?

Baked Salmon with Tomatoes, Spinach & Mushrooms...

I absolutely love to cook and try new dishes. Although I'm a full time working mommy, my number one priority when I get home from work is to make sure that there is a hot dinner waiting for my husband when he gets home (okay, not every night but like 90% of the time). It's important for me to keep my man happy....and we all know that the #1 place to a man's heart is through his stomach! So, where am I going with this? Well, since I wake up at 5am and don't get home from work until 6:30pm, I usually have to prepare our meals in advance (or at least prep the meat, defrost items, prepare seasonings, etc...) before leaving for work. I will usually take Ava grocery shopping with me on Thursday or Saturday so we can plan out our meals for the week. And it TOTALLY helps now that I've registered for the Kraft Recipe Website online. It's totally free, and will cater to your needs/likes. I've found some awesome recipes/tips here. It will also email me with new recipe ideas throughout the week. I love this! When you initially register it asks you questions about your likes/dislikes/priorities. I usually need something that can be prepared ahead of time, is healthy, and doesn't take a lot of time to cook. So, now I get emails with recipes that are just what I need! Here is one that I tried out recently, it was delicious and only took about 1/2 an hour to prepare/make. I served it with some brown rice and grilled asparagus. Enjoy!

What You Need
4 salmon fillets (1 lb.) (I used the pre-packaged single serving Costco salmon)
2 cups chopped fresh spinach leaves
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1 tomato, chopped
1/3 cup KRAFT Sun-Dried Tomato Dressing

Make It

HEAT oven to 375°F. Place fish fillets, skin sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.
MIX remaining ingredients until blended; spoon over fish.
BAKE 20 to 25 min. or until fish flakes easily with fork.

And now I know...

Nobody ever told me that you could dial 911 from a phone that did not have my SIM card in it...

But today I found out.

So, Thursdays are my favorite days. I get to spend the day with Ava and do whatever we please. Usually that entails going for a walk, spending time with my sister or friends, shopping, and just playing together. There are no expectations. She chooses what we do, and I go along with it. Today she wanted to play with my phone. Well, not my current phone...

My co-workers phone had been trashed, and I told her that I had one she could borrow. Today, I charged it up for her and got it ready for her use. Apparently, after we got back from our walk, Ava thought it would be fun to talk on it. I watched as she forcefully grabbed it off of the charger. I thought she was pretending, but apparently she was really talking to someone on the other end. Here is what I heard....

Ava..."Hi, how are you? What's your name? How are ya? You wanna come over?"

Me..."Ava, please bring me that phone. It's not a toy"..

Ava..."No, I'm talking on it MAMA!"

Me..."Ok, whatever, have fun!"

Ava...."Whatever MAMA, I'm talking to Kendal!"

Me..."Kendal is with her mommy, you need to have lunch. And if you talk to me with that tone of voice one more time, you WILL have a time out..."

Ava..."So, you wanna come over here? What is YOUR name? My name is AVA!"

Me...(after realizing that something was going on)..."What's going on honey?"

Ava...."Um....WHAT? I DON'T KNOW!"

That's when I heard the ladies voice on the other end....

We talked for a few minutes, just to confirm that everything was indeed okay. As much as I appreciate that they take the time to confirm that 911 was not needed....I had an eggplant parmesan casserole in the oven and another billion things to do..

They sent reinforcement just in case. I guess I can laugh about it now, but I never had any clue that you could dial SOS from a phone that did not have a SIM card in it. At least I met our friendly neighborhood police.

I guess we live and we learn. Ava will never play with any of our phones again.

Until next time!

A New Look

After having the same lay-out for nearly 6 months, I decided my blog needed a make-over! One of these days I desperately need to switch to word-press....but until then, enjoy!

What do you think?

I crave change.

A Great Day

Sunday was a great day. I watched my precious niece, Reese, be dedicated at our church...and also witnessed my sister Colleen's baptism. What a wonderful way to start the week.

You know you need a maid when...

You know you need a maid when you ask your daughter what she wants for breakfast and she looks down at the counter, points to yesterday's cereal which is hardened and stuck to the surface, and says "I want THIS kind MAMA!"

I think I need to clean house today.

3 Years of Marriage...

Josh and I celebrated 3 years of marriage on January 14th. After being married 3 years (lucky number 3) a lot has happened in our life. We have made many memories together and I can't wait for the next 50+ years. I know it sounds cliche, but I really did marry the best man in the whole world. Sorry ladies. He makes me laugh more than any other person I know. I couldn't picture myself with someone who didn't make me laugh as much as he did. Here are some things that have happened over the past 3 years...

We had a precious baby girl who has brought tremendous joy into our lives, and changed me in ways that I could never imagine...

We bought our first house in 2007...

We changed about 8,000 diapers...

We hosted about a BILLION parties. If you know me, you know that I love to be a hostess...

We spent 8 days in Cancun for our one year anniversary, lost our luggage for 3 days, and flew the Mexicana Airlines on one of the weirdest flights I've ever experienced...

We've been in about a million weddings...

We had our baby girl dedicated to the Lord in front of our closest family and friends...

We shed many tears with family members....during both the good and bad times...

Josh threw me off of a jet ski when we were in Lake Chelan and landed me in the ER...thanks babe.

We became part of an awesome church and have built some great relationships...

I watched one too many football games to count...

Played about a trillion games of Phase Ten...

Changed my hair color 6 times...

We swam with dolphins in Mexico...and experience I'll never forget...

I can't wait to see where this journey will take us in the next 3 years...

Little Ballerina

Ava is obsessed with wearing her little tu-tu and watching a ballerina DVD my mom bought her for Christmas. She is such a little sweet heart. I love watching her evolving brain take-in the motions and directions from the DVD. She is at an age where she is constantly learning, watching, absorbing, and mimicking what she sees. I sometimes wish that I could freeze this age forever! Hopefully we will get her into some ballerina/dance classes when she turns 3 in May. Here is a picture of her at my moms house watching her little DVD and following along.

Here's to 2009...Cheers!

Last night we celebrated New Years Eve and brought in 2009. My sisters family and my best friend Kym's family all came over with the kids and we had a blast! The guys hung out and played darts most of the night, while us girls chatted away and played Guitar Hero for awhile. I hate most video games, but Guitar Hero is so much fun (could be the musician part of me that loves playing music?). We ended the night by hitting up the hot tub once the kids had gone to bed. The sleepover with the kiddos didn't go too hot, but it was fun for us adults to spend some time together and bring in the new year! Here's some things I'm looking foreword to in 2009...and some things I'm hoping for too!

Here's to 2009....

Celebrating Ava's 3rd birthday in May. Having a 3 year old is really going to make me feel old!

Hopefully bringing another child into this world....God willing.

Celebrating our anniversary on January 14th. I am incredibly lucky to have married the best man in the world!

Growing closer to God and seeing what wonderful things he has planned for me this year.

Watching a new President come into office....and seeing what he does for our Country.

Finally finishing Ava's scrap-book so I can give it to her already!

My husband's 10 year reunion....that'll make us feel old too!

Organizing all of my junk drawers and closet

Trying to work out at least 5 days a week....for a year. Yeah, we'll see!

Possibly starting a small business on the side of my normal job...

Spending a lot of time with my best friends, they are the best!, and possibly making some new friends too...

Going to Cabo with my husband and Ava

So......what are you doing in 2009???