turkey trot 2012: my first 5K!

Thanksgiving morning 2012, Kelly and I ran our first 5K!

When we first began running in August, I could barely do 1 minute of running without feeling like I was going to die.  We have come such a long way since then.  

It was a cold morning, but not unbearable.  We waited in the lobby until it was time to get started.

Of course, we had to wear our turkey hats!

Carson came to support.  He decided that next year, he might walk it.

One of my goals was to run the entire 5K without walking....  And I did it.
I also wanted to run it in under 40 minutes.... My official time was 35:36....I completed the run in 35 minutes and 36 seconds! Kelly's time was 32:49!   I was so very happy and proud of us.

Being physically fit, has not been a big part of my life.  And the older I get, the harder it is to stay "healthy" without making fitness a part of my life.  So, I'm hoping to continue with running for as long as I possibly can.  I love how I feel after a run, and I'm amazed at how if I push through the pain, it becomes bearable to endure.

Celebration kiss!

The group after our run.  (Ready to eat breakfast!)

Now, we are training for a 10K!  I can't wait!

sisters' weekend -2012: Here's to US!

Last weekend, Kel and I headed to Bentonville/Rogers, AR to spend the weekend shopping and having fun!!  We met our sister-in-law, Keri, and her sister, Leslie.

Before we left, Kel and I had a mani/pedi date!

It was so nice to get my nails "did" for a change.  I usually just do a pedicure.  But I decided to splurge and do them both!

And we're off!!!

After we arrived, we spent some time at the mall before the others arrived.  They have a Williams-Sonoma!!!!!!!  We visited this store a few times during the weekend.

That evening we waited a LONG time to eat at PF Chang's.  It was the craft fair weekend down there, and many ladies had the same idea for dinner. 

We had a few drinks while we waited.  It was great to sit and talk.  So, we really didn't mind the wait.  And the payoff was soooooooo goooood!  Love me some shrimp fried rice!!

Saturday morning, we were ready for a full day of shopping!

Downtown Bentonville had a few cute shops and the buildings were great! 

The weather was beau-ti-ful!!

This store, called The Moustache Store, was adorable!!  I was more excited about this picture than what was inside!!

Loved this cute little barber shop!

Keri took us to this pizza place for lunch....

Uh-mazing!!

 

Kel and me!!

Leslie and Keri...

The  Pinnacle Promenade Mall at night...

That evening, we got all dressed up and went to Bonefish Grill for a nice dinner. 

Oh. My. 
It was delish!!

I had the crab crusted Orange Roughy with feta cheese and garlic creamed potatoes....

Simply, the BEST fish I have ever had.  EVER.

Wish we had one in our neck of the woods....
If you ever have the chance to go to one..... I HIGHLY reccommend it. ;)

Thanks sisters, for such a super weekend of laughing, shopping, singing, story telling, eating, drinking, talking and bonding.....

It was the best!

Here's to us!!!!

a fun list:

I saw this on another blog, and I thought it would be fun. 

You copy and paste the list on your blog, and then bold the things that you have done.  I made the items red and then commented on some of them.

1. Started your own blog - thanks to Jen and Tammy. 

2. Slept under the stars- in 9th grade I believe, with my friends, Nancy, Tonya, Angel, and Tammy on a trampoline in Tammy's backyard.  so. fun.

3. Played in a band - played piano, so no band.

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity

7. Been to Disneyland - when Carson was 3.  loved. it.

8. Climbed a mountain - in North Carolina.

9. Held a praying mantis (no way)

10. Sang a solo - sang many as a kid.

11. Bungee jumped

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightening storm

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning - or thought it was. 

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetable - with Eric- tomatoes, green peppers, and cucumbers

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept on an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitch hiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill - as a kid

24. Built a snow fort- with my dad.  He built one with huge ice blocks.

25. Held a lamb

26. Gone skinny dipping

27. Run a Marathon - really, walked a 5K.

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse - in 1st grade at school.

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset - ocean/beach sunsets are the best.

31. Hit a home run - only because they kept throwing the ball past each plate and I made it to the next base each time. :)

32. Been on a cruise - 2 fabulous cruises.

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community - used to drive by them every time I went to Spfld from Mansfield

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied - I'm not dissatisfied. (is that a word?)

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing - Chimney Rock, North Carolina

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted - not painted but a characture drawn. :)

48. Gone deep sea fishing

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling - with Eric

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud - mud pies in 1st grade

54. Gone to a drive-in theater - with my family as a kid.  It was cheaper than the indoor theater and we LOVED it.

55. Been in a movie

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business - if you count being a Creative Memories consultant...

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Rome

60. Served at a soup kitchen - not soup, but food.

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma

65. Gone sky diving

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check - in college

68. Flown in a helicopter

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy - A few dolls.

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten Caviar - on the cruise.  Tasted like salty eyeballs popping my mouth.

72. Pieced a quilt - as a child, I made one for a family friend.

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle - as a kid.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book - no, but I wrote a song

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car - a 1989 Ford Escort.  My first car.

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper - all through high school for various reasons in my small hometown.

85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chickenpox - twice.  Didn't have them bad enough the first time.

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club -Beth Moore

93. Got a   tattoo - no, but I want one...

94. Had a baby - the absolute best experience of my life was being pregnant.

95. Seen the Alamo in person - on a San Antonio vacation in college.

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a law suit - only if you count those huge suits that they send you in the mail and you fill  it out and end up winning $7.42.

98. Owned a cell phone - Um, I'm slightly attached to it.

99. Been stung by a bee - at the pool, on my finger.

I got 43 out of 99.

Not bad.  I guess.

I'll be waiting to see my other blogging friends' lists.  Tag you're it!

 

houligans at Houliha's

Recently, we were lucky enough to leave all the kids at Grandma Pat's and the Sallee brothers and "sister" wives (HA!) went to Houliha's for dinner! We called it Houliha's because the 'n' was out on the sign when we arrived. :)

Scott had called and reserved a table.  We were thrilled when we realized that meant we had our own private room, and we did not have to wait in the long line!  So fab!

Our waiter, Dominique, was a very nice guy and he kept the drinks and food a comin'.  We actually had glass doors on the room.  So, every time he entered... we raised our glass and yelled DOM!  I think he liked it, either that or he was really annoyed and cussed us every time he left the room.

My super-duper frozen strawberry margarita!

Keri's buffet of martinis!

We called Angie and Mindy during our fun, because we missed them so much and wished they were there.  I think they had a really good laugh at our craziness.

After dinner, we went to Scott and Kelly's for a little bit.  

We did not go to Midnight Rodeo and we did not ride the bull. ;)

I'm elated that we took the time to go out.  It was a wonderful time.

fun-filled family weekend

This has been such a busy yet fun weekend! It started on Thursday. Carson and I have wanted to make some cake pops. I bought this book in the Spring, and Carson loves to get it out and just look at all the different kinds... page by page.So, Thursday we went to Hobby Lobby to buy the supplies we would need to make the pops... $40 later... we were ready to give it a go.

In honor of Angie and Mindy coming for a visit... we decided on puppies. They have 3 dogs of their own, and Carson loves his pup (or brother as he calls him) Ollie.

We began at 2:00 pm. First we crumbled the completely cooled cake that I had made the night before in a large bowl. Next we added 3/4 of a container of premade icing. This was the easy part!

Next, we used our cookie scoop to form the mixture into balls. Also, not hard to do.

We finished each ball, by rolling it with VERY CLEAN HANDS!! Carson helped with all of this and did a great job!

Then it was time to freeze the balls so they would be set enough for dipping. While I waited on them, I began making the puppy ears. I had to make ears on clear plastic spoons with chocolate candy melts. I was supposed to make 48 PAIRS! But I stopped at 24 pairs. OH. MY. GOSH. My hand was killing me from all the squeezing!! Next, we put those in the freezer and started dipping the balls. BUT, the balls were not set enough and I had to put them in for 30 more minutes. Once they came out the second time, I realized that I was going to have to rotate the 2 different trays of balls, b/c when they were out too long they wouldn't dip and stay on the stick. So, I worked on that FOREVER!!!! And finally began attaching the ears, the life savers for the color and painting the faces with edible markers. After making 10 puppies, I realized, that there was no way I was going to get them done before midnight if I continued trying to make puppies. I gave up, and just made the cake pops..... Can you see the mess? My other counters we completely covered and a mess also.

The puppies turned out pretty cute, but I just didn't have it in me to do them all... By the time I got finished it was 8:00 pm. That's right 6 hours to make 48 cake pops!

I decided next time, we're making plain cake pops or I'll pick a decorative one that is much less involved.The were really good, though.

Friday, Eric's siblings came over for some tri-tip, au gratin potatoes, grilled asparagus, grilled pineapple, and garlic bread. We had a great time hanging out and spending time together. After dinner, they all helped me pull a prank on our neighbors. Gary turned 60 on Saturday. I thought it would be great to celebrate it with a bang. So we sort of ran down in broad daylight and trashed their house!

He is a Jayhawk's fan and really doesn't like Mizzou, but Scott made sure his window said otherwise!

Lovely flowers and empty Corona bottles...

Everyone slowed down that was driving by and just looked as the went. It was kind of funny doing it in broad daylight. We posed for a pic before we left.

Walking home... to hang out and wait for a phone call...

We enjoyed a beverage while we waited. Nik took 3 pictures and they were ALL blurry!

Gary finally called wanting to know why all the Corona bottles were empty. HA! I think Lauren thought it was very exciting. She wants us to decorate for her birthday too. I don't think Gary and Fran will go for that idea. :)

Happy birthday Gary. We had to make it memorable!

Kendall and Khloe spent the night Friday night. Saturday, Carson spent some time with Grandpa and Grandma while we ran errands. That evening we celebrated Gary's birthday with their fam at Hinode.

Today, we celebrated Father's Day of course.

Love this picture of Carson kissing his daddy. Happy Father's Day Eric. I know it makes you so happy to have such a great relationship with your little boy. I love how you'd rather spend time with him than do anything else. He will always remember and cherish all the time you spend with him.

Just like I do with my dad. Looking back, I don't remember toys that I did or didn't get... I just remember always being with my dad, always going places with my dad, and always getting hugs and kisses from my dad. I felt and still feel such unconditional love from my parents and I'm so blessed to have my father.

Happy Father's Eric and Dad!

Carson's message to you both: Happy Father's Day and I love you!