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