Purling Sprite

Relaxing

Saturday morning, my legs were shot, I had finished running 9 miles on Thursday and then Friday I decided to do leg work at the gym. What I thought as a great idea, resulted in my legs being completely exhausted. Saturday morning, as I got out bed the only thoughts were of me staying in bed all day long. The constant reminder at the back of my head kept hammering my upcoming half marathon on May 16th. As I struggled out of bed and finally to make a move for the training ahead, I looked out the window only to find that Mother Nature had thwarted my plans of my outdoor 6 mile run. Falling from the sky were big dollops of snow, I say dollops because they were more rain than snow. I shivered and climbed back in bed and stayed there until noon.

At noon, I got out of bed and decided to put my "big girl panties on" and climb on my treadmill aka dreadmill. 5.5 arduous miles on the forsaken thing were all I could take. I so hate the darn thing. I love it because it got me started running but I hate its monotony and that it makes even the shortest distance feel like a marathon mentally. With legs shaking, I got off the thing and although they had been sore before I began, to my surprise I found that I was a bit limber and not  as stiff as when I began. Training for this half marathon has been harder than last year. Despite the fact that I was fatter last year and less in shape, Mother Nature gave me better weather to train last year than this year. But, I believe that everything will be okay....I will survive the upcoming half and with a little effort, I hope to be able to get a new PR.

 

Since I couldn't move much from my soreness, I sat on the couch for most of Saturday afternoon. As I sat, I began knitting a pair of socks. Not for work. Not for a gift. But just for plain fun. I grabbed some of my favorite sock yarn, SweetGeorgia and I casted on for Angee, a sock pattern from Cookie's new book Sock Innovation. As I began knitting, I lost myself in the movement of my hands and became entranced in the repetitive motion. My legs were getting the needed rest and my mind for the first time in months was getting a break from all the work that it had been doing. Blessed bliss!

Late in the evening, the kiddos were both antsy and wanted to get out and do something. They also don't do very well with cold weather and feel like caged cats inside our house. They crave movement and a way to spend their energy. We called our friends and packed the kiddos  in the car and headed to the local fun place for kids, called the Fun Park. We took little Nyah bowling for the first time in her life and I relished the minutes I spent showing her how to roll the bowling ball. As you can imagine, her little arms have very little strength and the ball took awhile to reach the pins but each time it reached them, we made sure we all cheered for her. Bryant was in the zone there, he loves sports and he always gives his 100 percent. He did fairly well with bowling but the next activity was his and his alone. Rollerblading!

Rollerblading was intense to say the least. My legs ached but I wanted to be there for my son and daughter so I got the skates on and got on the rink. Bryant needed little help, even when he fell, he just got up and kept going and going and going. Nyah didn't like the activity as much and decided to go and play at the slides instead, our friend Sarah took her and Sam and I were able to stay skating with Bryant. As I watched my son, with sweat streaming down his face, I wondered at his strength and his never ending amount of energy. Even when he fell (and he fell many times), he just dusted his little jeans, checked his hands, and kept going. If only I had his energy and his determination. He has such a great future ahead of him, we just need to be there to point him in the right direction. I so enjoyed watching him do his best. As we took our skates off, he showed me where the skates had rubbed his skin raw, all around his little calves. I told him concerned that he should have stopped and he said to me with conviction, "a little hurt is not going to make me stop Mom." He is his father's son, determined! Little Nyah wanted to stay and keep playing but once 10pm rolls around we know that both, her and Bryant start getting crabby and need their sleep. We headed home and they had a little ice cream and went to bed. As I crawled into my own bed, exhausted from the day's activities, I couldn't help but smile. It had been a wonderful Saturday, filled with many things I enjoy: running, knitting, and the best part of it all: family and friends together.

San Diego Here we Come. Part III

I know it is probably only my Mom who is eager to find out the rest of the story about our trip, so without further interruption, the last installment.

Visiting Seaworld & the San Diego Zoo

The last adventure happened at Seaworld, San Diego. We loved it! Everything about it was just sensational. Bryant's favorite section was the Shark Encounter. It was amazing walking through the entire exhibit, especially going through the glass tunnel and you can see all the sharks surrounding you. Kind of scary!

Nyah's favorite part was seeing the dolphin show. It was quite remarkable to see those wonderful creatures so close. They are so friendly and lovely.

We all enjoyed going to the Shamu Believe show. It was in one word: Inspiring. I came out of that show believing that I could really do anything. It made me think that maybe if I learnt to swim better that I too could become a Shamu trainer. I loved it! We all liked it so much that we came back to the night show to watch the Shamu Rocks on Around the World. It is amazing that they can teach these wonderful creatures so many things and that we can learn from them too.

On the very last day, we were all tired and ready to come home, however, we still had tickets to go to the San Diego Zoo and the Wild San Diego Zoo. We dragged our tired feet to the San Diego zoo and while the kids started off quite happy within an hour or so of being at the zoo, they grew tired and started whining and fighting. We saw only a few exhibits and we decided that to keep the harmony it was best to pack up and go. Unfortunately, we didn't make it to the Wild San Diego zoo, maybe next time.

Our entire vacation was full of fun and busy all the time (as captured by those last two pictures of the kiddos asleep in the car). It gave us the chance to dedicate our entire time to our children. They were happy that for once our attention was focused 100% on them and not on work or something or other around the house. Personally, I enjoyed having my little family all to myself :).

Momma loves you little ones....I hope we can do this again and again and again.

Somebunny lost a tooth!

And Momma helped. It was just dangling there for a few weeks and I couldn't take it any longer. I decided to "look at it" and I grabbed a paper towel to cover any bleeding. He was just sitting there letting me "look at it". I told him it was really wiggly. He said "don't pull it". I said I didn't but I did. There were a few tears (his little eyes still look watery in the pic) but nothing that ice cream couldn't fix. It is his first top tooth lost. He has a new window and it makes for some funny moments :)

San Diego Here we Come. Part II

The second day we spent at a fun place for the kiddos. Legoland. It may sound a bit weird but it is actually a fun place to visit. There are places where the kids can build stuff out of legos but it is not all about that. There are rides that even my shorty little 37 inch Nyah can go on. She was thrilled to go on rides, especially the fast ones. There were so many rides that they really enjoyed, I am just going to highlight the ones that they enjoyed the very most. Of course, if you asked them they'll just tell you "Legoland"...so the entire thing was the most fun for them. Both, her and Bryant absolutely loved the Coastersauros roller coaster ride that we took. It wasn't anything fancy but it was fast enough for them and for us (we are not avid roller coaster fans). Another place where they just had a blast and we got to sit down and get a breather while they enjoyed themselves was the Hideaways in Castle Hill. If you are planning a visit to Legoland, be sure to put this on your list, probably mid way down the list so that you can take a little break while the Wild Things still play. The last favorite for my kiddos: Volvo Driving school--talk about being excited to get a piece of paper. At the end of the driving, they get their own Driver's License! Yeah, they both wanted drive the car after wards. They have one for little ones (3-5yrs) and one for the older kiddos.

A huge highlight for us, the adults, was viewing all the minilands. Looking at all the different places of the world was fantastic! Both, Sam and I, were in awe of all the time and effort that the builders put into making all the little cities/landmarks. The children thought they were neat too, but not as neat as the rides. I can say that I have seen the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel tower, even if they were made out Legos. Definitely a fun attraction to spend an hour or two observing.

We didn't get to do half the things in the park but we felt that the kids had had plenty of fun. Maybe on a next trip will catch all the other fun things we didn't get to do this time around, such as the Lost Kingdom Land of Adventure (the line for this was super long and I didn't want to waste time waiting on the lines so we just did other stuff). We got there at opening (10am) and we left the place at 6pm...dragging our feet and completely and absolutely exhausted!

Making memories with the kiddos and hubby is sure one of my life's highlights!

Part III to come :)...Seaworld!

San Diego Here we Come. Part I

I am a spur of the moment person. I like to pick up and go and do things when my head tells me to and thus our latest trip to San Diego. It started as a trip to Moab but then we found out that the Jeep Safari was going and it was almost impossible to get a hotel room so I looked a little further south and west and we ended up in San Diego. The sun, the beach, the theme parks. Wednesday morning was spent on the internet booking hotels and buying tickets for different places and we were off! We left Thursday morning in our little zoomer, crazy 14hours in the car. The kids were great during the drive, not once they asked to go potty or to stop (and no, they didn't watch tv either, they just played with their LeapPads). We told them ahead of time that it would take all day long...probably when the stars came out we would arrive to our destination. They didn't ask the "are we there yet" as they knew that we were in for a looong drive. They were so good and were so excited about our little vacation. They are like Mom and like to do things spontaneously.

We stayed at a great hotel for our first night. The Grand Pacific Palisades Resort --2 pools, one of them an olympic size pool for me to swim, 3 hot tubs, kids playgrounds, game room, and a good enough gym. It was also very well located, right next to Legoland and SeaLife. We loved our stay at this hotel, the villa we stayed at was fully furnished and even a little kitchennette where we found popcorn and hot chocolate. Lovely place!

The first day we visited SeaLife to see the ocean critters up close. The children enjoyed looking at the octopus and the rays the most. Did you know that Octopus have 3 hearts and they have blue blood? We didn't know, quite interesting facts! We were also quite impressed by the Swordfish speed--60mph! Those things are fast!

After Sealife, we headed to the Carlsbad beach. It was the kids' first time seeing the ocean and I had been looking forward to this day for a very long time. I grew up by the beach and I wanted my kids to see what it was like. Their little eyes popped big and their little mouths dropped open as they exclaimed "Wow, it is big!" I loved it! It was exactly what I was expecting. I can't wait for them to see all the wonders of the world.

Part II coming up next...

Happy 8th Anniversary!

Yesterday was our anniversary. Eight wonderful years together. When I think about it, it seems that it hasn't been long at all, yet we have accomplished so much together. We have two little munchkins, whom we can't live without. We have moved about five times, in those five times, we have owned two homes, including the one in the middle of no-mans-land. We have taken a couple of family vacations, nothing exotic, however, they have brought us together and that's what counts. I have grown older, and so have you, but we still see each other with love and respect and that is what matters most.  Companions we are. I am so grateful that I have chosen you to be by my side for eternity. You love me for who I am and for what I can become. I thank you for supporting me and for uplifting me each and every day. I hope that I am to you what you are to me. Happy anniversary my love. 

An Award: Kreativ Blogger

 I feel honored to receive an award of this magnitude, thank you to Robin from Rockin' the Loom for nominating me for this award. It gives me a little poke to blog a little more about the Kreative aspects of my life.

Here’s what I have to do:  The rules of this award are to list seven things I love and then pass it on to another seven KreativBloggers.

Seven things I love:
1) Swimming
2) Cycling
3) Running
4) Eating (especially after the above 3)
5) Knitting...playing with yarn
6) My children
7) Hanging out friends and family and enjoying #4 :)

The seven bloggers that I nominate to receive this award  are(many of them do not read my blog, but I enjoy their creations and information).

1. MizFit Online (her information just rocks and keeps me motivated)
2. ChefMessy (she loves to create things with her son and it gets me pumped to do the same with my children)
3. Pioneer Woman Photography (her photography is just amazing!)
4. Girl Who Knits (her knitting is fabulous, the best I have ever seen)
5. Susan B. Anderson (she is a designer, a mommy, a runner, and I met her in person)
6. PlanetJune (when I learn to crochet, I'll make every single one of her patterns)
7. BrooklynTweed (well, he is BrooklynTweed, his designs are the best in the industry and his photography gives more beauty to all his amazing designs.)

Again, thank you Robin for the nomination. I promise to post more crafty things soon.

Glynis Socks, Sock Innovation Book

These socks are amazing! I was one of the lucky people who got to help Cookie A knit some of the sample socks for her book: Sock Innovation

The pattern is great! Easy to read and although the stitch pattern looks complicated, it is not. It is easy enough but yet it has enough lace to keep you interested and on the ball.

Like all of Cookie's patterns, you won't be disappointed with this one. It is well written, and the chart makes the lace section super simple.

 All the socks in the book are amazing! Hubby was even impressed, and it takes a lot for him to be impressed with knitted items. For the first time ever, he said "this book is great! those socks are nice looking!"

Pick up your copy from your local yarn shop or online. You won't be disappointed. Great patterns, well written with superb techniques!

I am already planning to cast on for Angee with some lovely SweetGeorgia Yarn.

March Monthly Totals

 Woosh! March went by so fast. I think it is the pressing Ogden Half Marathon that makes the days just disappear. As each day passes, I realize that my sorry butt is not ready for the upcoming "race". I want to run outside, I really do, but our weather here in Northern Utah has been the pits! Beautiful sunshine one day and the very next day 10 inches of snow. Maybe if I were a kid, in northern NY, I would be happy for the white fluffy stuff (in NY it seems they cancel school if they get one inch of snow, here, we can be drowning in it and they still expect the kids to show up to school), however, as an adult that needs to drive around and get errands done, the white fluffy stuff gets tiresome after a month or so. Not to mention, I am not hardcore enough to brave the elements while kicking asphalt.

(picture: last year's Ogden Half--my very first half marathon)

Despite the terrible weather, the monthly totals are not completely pathetic. Here is the monthly shot:

It looks quite full each day--except for Sundays which is my rest day. The actual numbers:

I swam a little bit over 15 miles! Quite happy with that number. April won't be as high as I have to dedicate more time to running though.

Spinning and cycling: 140 miles or so. Not bad. If the weather cooperates, this number will start getting higher and higher as our group starts doing Saturday rides.

Running: not good at all. Just 36 miles...what I consider the minimum to keep my legs moving. Again, when the weather starts warming up, this number will increase a little bit.

Weight training: although the numbers report doesn't show this, the monthly does. I did 14 days of strength workouts. I am very pleased about this and I feel the difference. I can see changes happening. The body definitely shows changes faster when weights are involved. Again, I am eager to see what a year of weight training will do to my body.