Christmas in Ohio

In our 11 years of marriage we've only spent 1 Christmas at home. It was the year I was 9 months pregnant with Lucy and I loved it! There was no traveling, no whiny kids in the car, no family drama's, no living out of suitcases, no having to worry about pets, no crushed presents, and on and on and on. I have to admit I get grumpy when I'm not home. I'm off my sleep, diet and workout schedules and we all know that's not good for anyone.

Tomorrow we will be cleaning out the car and packing up again to head for Delaware. Apart from my grumpiness we had a good time. I left my camera at my Aunts house so I will have to share the pictures later. But here are some highlights, good and bad, that happened these past two weeks.

-Trey got a sweet remote control car that he loved. It lasted about 2 second before Cross broke the antenna off:(
-The weather was nice enough that we were able to go play in my Grandma's river.
-I took classes from a little blond named Hunny......she gave me a run for my money.
-Family drama. Enough said
-I swam 2 miles....not at one time.
-Everyone but me had some kind of cold.
-Diesel was the best dog ever!
-It snowed twice.
-I had two weirdo's tell me their life stories while in the sauna. An 80 year old man in purple speedos and a 27 year old guy doing through a divorce. What is it about me that attracts weirdo's?
-Ethan and I went on 3 months worth of dates in 1 day.
-I saw a few friends from highschool.
-My kids ate their first lunchable because nothing was open Christmas day. Unfortunately they loved them.
-And of course lots and lots of family time!

Merry Christmas bloggers!

Girls night out

 Lucy loves ballet. She started taking classes about a year ago and fell in love. I grew up around dance because my mom owned dance studio's and still teaches today. So, although I don't openly say it, I really want her to be a dancer. She can choose what she wants but I love watching her dance and she is so good at at.

She has been wanting a mommy night so we got dressed up and went to see the Nutcracker. She was especially excited to see her older teenage friend Rachel dance in it. So here we are all fancy. We both changed shoes a few time....like mother, like daughter.

We made a stop for hot chocolate at Starbuck first. She loves hot chocolate......not the healthy kind either. For some reason she loved this holly tree.

She was so excited to have a nutcracker on her bag.

And a donut!

She gave me "86,000 thumbs up!

She had to call Granny at intermission to tell her where she was. She also found her ballet class friends and left for about 20 minutes to sit with them the second half. They grow up too fast!

She didn't like the "boy in the tights with no shirt". I didn't either.

The is Rachel! She is a rockstar to Lucy! I used to babysit Rachel when she was in her little pink leotard. Now she's a teenager and a very talented dancer. We love you Rachel.

We had so much fun and Lucy didn't even fall asleep. We had some funny conversations.
Lucy:"what is that?" Me: "That's a cool looking recycle bin." Lucy "please don't make me recycle my dress!"

Lucy: "burp, excuse me, I had too much hot chocolate and donuts! I need to remember that next time."

Lucy: What is that?" Me: "That's an old paper towel dispenser." Lucy: Wow! That's cool....are you old like that?"

Lucy:"Please don't get in an accident momma." Me:"What makes you say that?" Lucy:"I love you and don't want to not have a mommy."

Lucy:"boys are stinky, right momma?" Me: "Yes! very stinky"

I love my girl. Everyone should be lucky enough a Lucy in their life.

                                       

Insecurities

First of all please don't judge me on my spelling, writing, grammar and punctuation! I ain't no good at any of it. Thanks:)

I was reading Trathlete magazine and found this quote. "our insecurities keep us in a safe place and off the playing field where the chance of failure lurks." That pretty much sums up most of my life.

I'm not a mushy, emotional person at all. And I really don't like sharing my feelings but I'm going to share my struggles with insecurities with you.

I grew up hating myself. Not feeling smart enough, good enough, skinny enough, pretty enough....just plain not good enough. I remember being at gymnastics around age 6 and thinking my legs were fat and didn't want to take my shorts off. I hated having to be in a bathing suit and felt uncomfortable doing all the sports I was involved.

I became bulemic and anorexic.

I was homecoming queen, a varsity athlete, cheerleader and was voted best body by my class senior year. I was happy and perfect looking in but I hated myself for years.

I had no confidence whatsoever.....until about 5 years ago. I want to share this because because I know everyone deals with insecurities especially women.

I learned some things I want to share that might help you fight your insecurities weather it be a food issue, weight,or a fear of something that's holding you back.

I realized food is energy! I was fighting a fear of food my whole life. I thought if I ate too much I could one a few things. a. Get rid of it b.exercise it off or c. Let it make me fat. At least that is what my brain was telling me. Learning how to eat the right food at the right time took away my struggle. I no longer count calories or workout for hours hoping to burn off the bad stuff. I eat because my body wants to eat. It gives me energy.

A calorie is not a calorie. I will fight this till the day I die. You can't tell me a 300 calorie donut and a 300 calorie chicken breast are the same! A donut is full of fat and sugar that has no nurtrion whatsoever. It will leave you feeling hungry and sluggish in an hour. A chicken breast will give you protein, nutrients and will keep you full for 3 up to 3 hours. Which is better? That's a no brainier!

I learned that I was skinny fat. I was doing hours of cardio but had no muscle. For some reason we are afraid of weights and looking like men. And whoever said an hour of cardio is the law? We get on a cardio machine for 60 minutes, burn 500-600 calories then go home and tell ourselves it's ok to eat the huge bowl of ice cream. Don't lie...I know you do that! I did.

Muscle is what changes your body. It sculpts it better than any form of cardio. Don't get me wrong, you need cardio but not not 7 hours a week. Wouldn't it be nice to eat healthy whole food, and know that you don't have to burn it off? It takes all the counting out of the equation! Eating clean and adding wights gave me confidence. My war with food just disappeared!

My number one thing that changed me was knowing that God created me. He doesn't make mistakes! My favorite verse is "I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

This world is consumed with fashion, riches, fame, sex, perfect bodies and youth. I was looking to world for my confidence when I realized I can only find my confidence in God. Yes, outward beauty has some worth but it fades. What happenes when we die? We surly can't take our bodies with us. We struggle to look perfect when it doesn't matter. I lived most of my life feeling like I didn't matter. But I matter to God and that's all that counts! It takes all the pressure off me to look and act a certain way.

I've realized God created me to do His work. I need to take care of it.

I think it's funny that God turned my fear of food into a love of food! He took my crazy exercise obsession and turned it into a job that I love! Funny how he uses people in the craziest ways! We con only be strong if our strength is in him.

What are you insecure about? What makes you uncomfortable? What are you afraid of? Be honest with yourself! Fight it! Get out of your comfort zone! You can do do big things....you have no limits! I always say God is bigger!

Busy week

Last Tuesday night a  wonderful lady from church wanted to take our family to the Christmas lighst in OC. It was a long ride for only a ten minute train ride but the kids loved it!

They kept commenting on how big the tree was! 

This is what happens when you give kids finger paint. The bath tub was a mess!

Lucy had her open house for ballet and tap. She loves to dance and is really good AND so darn cute! Trey took the pictures......

Shuffle step,shuffle step, shuffle ball change, shuffle step.

I think this might be the highlight of the year! My niece TJ"s first concert. God has blessed this girl with so much talent.

And I'm blessed to be her Aunt:)

I dressed like a rock star in honor of her. Those are her converse and her skirt. I didn't embarrass her....at least I don't think I did.

Saturday morning Susan and I went to watch our friends run! GoooJenn!

Gooooo Steph!

Saturday afternoon we went to watch my nephew Micah's basketball game.

Saturday night we had a surprise party for a great friend Dawn. I won't say how old she is:)

Trey got a haircut. He wanted it spiky like his cousin Stephen. I'm happy he doesn't want the Justin Bieber  cut. He looks so big!

Sunday afternoon our church had it big brothers, big sisters party.  Here are the two kids we sponsored. They were so excited about the presents they received. My kids loved giving which makes me so thankful! Excuse Lucy's manners. She loves dresses but doesn't know how to act in them sometimes.

It was crazy in up in here! We had 53 littles and bigs at the party.  So great to know that we were able to help some kids out that might not have gotten a thing

Yo Adrian, my bike trainer ain't so bad!

Ethan put his bike on the trainer this week and rode a few times. He said 10 minutes was like eternity. Which is what I hear from most people. So I haven't been that excited to try it out.

BUT, this morning I went with my friend Susan to watch my running buddies run the Rehoboth full and half marathon. I was supposed to be running but decided not to:( Anyway, I was inspired after watching everyone! So I got home and asked Ethan to put my bike on so I could try it out.

I needed to set up a few things before my "ride". A run isn't complete without the Rocky soundtrack so I figured a ride couldn't be complete without a Rocky movie. I'm going to be honest. My life isn't complete without Rocky. But most of you know this already. I'm a Rocky fanatic and proud of it!

I love all the Rocky movies but 2 is my favorite. The training sequence is by far the best! But halfway through it started skipping so I finished up with 4. I love "hearts on fire" and the hardcore workout he does in Russia in this one. Drago ain't so bad!

My 3 clickers, water, wonder women cup and of course my little red bike make the set up complete.

I actually enjoyed my first ride on the trainer. I went for 1:03, till the end when Rocky takes Drago down and he says "if I can change, and you can change, everybody can change".  I love that part!

Then I decided to do a brick workout since Cross was still sleeping and the other 2 were with Ethan. So I kept  my diaper bike shorts on and went to find some matching socks. That of course didn't go so well. Once I found my socks I went looking for my new running shoes. Did I mention I have like 8 pair of workout shoes? I ended wearing an old pair because I couldn't find my new ones. Grrrr

After a very looooong transition time I hopped on the treadmill. About 2 miles into this happens. Not cool!

I only lasted about 5 more minutes because I was about to shoot myself in the head. I despise the treadmill! It doesn't help that we don't have a dvd player in the garage so I didn't have Rocky playing. The Army/Navy was on.....boring. Total workout time:1:35. Not too bad considering I was going to be lazy today.

So.....I think the bike trainer will be just fine! At least for now. Check back with me later after I've had to sit on it for 5 hours. 

Back to Rocky. I'm going to leave you with some of favorite Rocky quotes.

~Yo, Adrian, we did it! Duh, I think that's everyone's favorite.

~It ain't about how hard you hit, it's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward, how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!

~To beat me he's gonna have to kill to me. And to kill me, he's gonna have to have the heart to stand in front of me. And to do that, he's got to be willing to die himself. I don't know if he's ready to do that.

~You're gonna have to go through hell, worse than any nightmare you've ever dreamed. But when it's over, I know you'll be the one standing. You know what you have to do. Do it!

~You ain't so bad.

Life's a beach when you live at the beach!

Trey loves the beach more than Cross and Lucy. He always has. There is not one bit of fear in him. He was made for the beach. 

 We were able to go to the beach for a little while today. It's December but it was so nice outside! The beach is my favorite place to be. It doesn't matter if it's cold, warm, rainy, or snowy. It makes me thankful when I'm selfish, happy when I'm sad and energized when I'm tired. The beach is the best of God's creations. Being there put in a place of peace.

Lucy loves the sand but usually freaks out in the water. She will spend hours and hours digging for sand crabs, naming them and playing with them till they are lifeless.

                                              I love watching my kids love the beach.

The beach is the best place to be for this guy. He can run and scream and chase seagulls all he wants. He love go in the "deep waters".

This city girl has been blessed to have lived at the beach for almost 12 years now. Thinking about that today brought some memories to mind. Here are some I'd like to share.
~Ethan losing his wedding ring in the waves 2 weeks after we got married.
~The first time we took Brutus to the beach and watched him run. The last time we took him:(
~Seeing Mark take out a lady while riding a wave. He hit her hard....she didn't get back in.
~Sitting on the beach after the 1st of 3 miscarriages and knowing God is bigger!
~Playing tackle football with Trey and him pulling my bottoms down. I rather forget that one.
~Watching all 3 kids eat sand covered food like it's not big deal.
~My 1st swim with Jenn in the bay.
~Another swim with Jenn, Morgan and Steph in hurricane Irene.
~22 straight beach days! This was before kids.
~Learning to surf, sup and one attempt at skim boarding. I almost broke my hip.
~Beach bootcamp with my Quest peeps!
~ Watching Adam save a girl from drowning. Her and her dad were so thankful....at least we think they were. They spoke Chinese.
~Watching Trey smoke his first cigaret. gross
~The days before kids when I could take a book and a towel and just read. Man that was sooo long ago.
~Freaking my mom out with sand crabs.
~Realizing I'm actually swimming with sharks.
~Learning how fun it is to throw clear jellyfish at people.
~Trying to nurse Trey under a blanket on the 4th of July. It ended up with me in tears and running to the car in frustration.
~Fishing with Steve and Dawn in their sweet boat.
~Thrashers, Grotto and Louis subs.

There are so many memories I am thankful for. It will be hard if we ever leave and I don't have a beach to go to whenever I want. As for now....I'm going to savor every second.

All I want for Christmas is a bike trainer

If you would have asked me 6 months ago what a bike trainer was I wouldn't have had a clue.  Maybe a person who does training rides with you? Nope, it's the contraption to the left.

In the cold months you put your bike on this thing and ride miles, and miles and miles in front a tv. It sounds horrible to me!(I need to be outside) It's supposed to be better than a spin bike because you need to be on your bike if your training for a long ride, which I am. You are able to shift and change positions as if your on the road. You don't have to worry about weather or time of day.

I've learned that there are many different kids of trainers out there. Some that cost a couple thousand. Yikes!  They can give you specific ironman courses, watts, speed and cadence. Yea, that's pretty cool but I just need to ride.

So of course I get on Craigs list. If you know me you know I like nice things but I won't pay full price for anything. I found this one listed for $35 in Rehoboth. SOLD!

Speaking of Craigs... list have you guys heard about the Craigs list killer in Akron, Ohio? Pretty creepy. These people have an add looking for farm hands on their 600 acre farm. The people go thinking they are going to interview but instead are murdered and put into a grave. There have been 3 deaths so far. I have to admit I was a little nervous about going to get this trainer. I told Ethan where I was going and then called after to let him know I was still alive with my trainer in the back of my car. Yay! Think twice before buying off Craigs list if your in Ohio.....just saying.

Anyway, I checked out the brand and it sells for $200 so I think I got a sweet deal. I haven't used it yet because I'm not sure how. But I know I'll be sick of it very soon so I'm not in that big of a hurry! But I'll be sure to let you know:)

Too many socks!

my socks

I'm your average girl who loves clothes and shoes but this picture of socks really got me thinking. If you look at my "regular clothes" and my workout clothes I think you'd be surprised.

I have a closet filled with all regular stuff, shoes, jeans, dresses....just the normal stuff. Then I have a big dresser filled with only my workout clothes. I'm pretty sure the workout clothes out number the regular clothes by far!

Which brings me to the socks. The first drawer consists of socks and unmentionables(that word always cracks me up). I have tons of socks, mostly little ankle socks for running and exercising. But lets be clear. Not the ankle socks that give you cankles! I'm very picky about my socks. They have to be thin and should barley be seen inside the shoe. Anyway, it never fails that when I go get a pair this is what I see(picture). There is never a match......EVER! What happens to them?!?!

Drawer #2, Workout pants. I'm a little embarrassed to admit this but I counted just my black workout pants. I have 22 pair of them! That's not counting running shorts, sweatpants or other colors....just black pants. But do you think I can just grab a pair and slip them on? NOPE. I have to find my favorite ones that I wear all the time.

If you have known me for awhile you know I'm obsessed with sweat pants...I always have been. My mom finally got me in a pair of non-sweatpants in 6th grade. I live in them but once again I'm very picky. My favorite sweatpants are abercrombie. I've had a love affair with them since highschool(my birthday is next month). If you were to meet my mom and sister you would see that they also live in sweatpants. I'm always complimenting others on their sweats not their boots which I also love! The only time I'm not in sweats is church. I do have other clothes. I love people's reactions when they see me out of my workout clothes. Yes, I do dry my hair, wash my face, put makeup on and I even wear perfume....I have other smells than sweat.

Drawer # 3, workout shirts and t-shirts. I'm total opposite of a hoarder but for some reason I can't get rid of old t-shirts. I have 2 shirts in that drawer that are like 15 years old. Do I wear them? No!.....well maybe sometimes. hmmmmm, is that gross? Out of probably 50 shirts of all shapes, sizes and colors I only wear a handful of them. It usually ends up being the cheap wal-mart tanks that I put on. What is my problem? Am I the only one? It takes my like 10 minutes to get dressed by the time I go through all 3 drawers.

Yet, if you go shopping with me guess where you'll find me. looking for workout clothes.