I WILL NOT HAVE TO WEAR GYM SHORTS

I did it! I did it! I found dress for the wedding! In fact I found three dresses and a pair of shoes and a watch and some earrings. We went to store called Goodies and I found a nice blue long dress. In fact my daughter said it made me "look so thin". How could I walk away from a dress like that. So I checked the tag and winced....$79. I do not like to pay that much for an article of clothing unless it is in the form of a running shoe. But after realizing the wedding was NEXT friday and with the knowledge that it "made me look thin" I was like "what the heck" and dutiful bought the dress. Big surprise...when the girl rung it up it rung up at $30! Then we went to another store and I found another dress that would actually look nicer because then I would match with my husband who is in the wedding party and it was on sale for $30.00! Then my sister found another dress for me to try on and I looked at it and said "yuck". She said "Shut up and try it on anyway to see how it looks" I tried it on...thought it looked okay. Went out to be inspected by daughter, sister, neice...they gasped "OH my gosh you look great...you look so skinny" Okay when you have people staring with their mouth open and uttering the word "skinny" I would not have cared if that dress was $100.00. It was mine....and yes yes it rung up as $30.00! I almost fainted from joy. I then got the shopping fever and finished up my trip with a pair of low heel sandals, 2 pairs of earrings, one earring/necklace set and a watch. I was like a junkie...I needed more and more. Only stopped shopping because my daughter and niece were complaining like old ladies...they were tired, they were hungry, their feet hurt. 40 year old woman out shopped the two 20 year olds. Go Middle Aged Women Go!
P.S. I found an awesome pair of black heels that I was vehemently told by my three shopping partners "NO NO NO you do not look like a nice woman in those shoes" (words slightly cleaned up for public reading) I sighed..I wanted them...I remembered the coat incident (see previous post/coat/man/Las Vegas) and put them back. Have a great day!

THIS IS WHAT I MEAN

Daughter reads blog, says to me "I see someone took her sensative pill this morning."
This is why I love my family.

GOAL OBTAINED and BEING MUSHY

I have succesfully completed my training schedule for this week. In fact a day ahead time. I did my 3 mile run today. While not fast I did complete it. I thought about quitting several times but talked myself into slowing it down but not walking...so I made it! I usually take Saturdays off but am trying to switch from Sunday to Saturdays for several reasons: 1. The races are usually on Saturdays, 2. I need to get to Sunday School on time and 3. I need to stay awake during the service. Saturdays are hard for me because I run on Thursday (granted a short one but running nonetheless), and Friday is spinning and boot camp which burns my legs out. But I thought well since all the organized races are usually on a Saturday I should probably get use to it now. My food day has been good so far. My daughter laughed when I told her because she pointed out that was only 9:30 am. I told her that I have managed to screw up my food many many Saturdays well before 9:30 am. Right now I am eating an apple like a good girl and this morning I had oatmeal with apples (not instant...my own homemade). I did open the cubboard and saw Oreos so I quickly slammed the door. So far so good! Well I better get to work...kitchen clean now and off to work on the laundry room...blah I hate housework.
WARNING: MUSHY AND CORNY READ WITH CAUTION!~
Note to my Family as a whole: I love you all and am so grateful for all of you.
To my Children: I love your senses of humor. You make me me laugh and that is a gift! Kendra I am thankful that we are finding our way back to each other. Believe it or not we are very much alike (which is what caused friction when you were young but this will keep us tight in the long run)You are going to be an awesome mother and you are an awesome daughter.....James..you are a determined and focused man...you hold your path steady.... Brad...you are caring man and loving man...you have a strong and tender heart. Brad you a an awesome father and James when your times comes to have a child you too will be an awesome father. You my children are gifted with the compassion, tenderness, loyalty, strength and very important... humor. You love with your entire heart.
Thank you Brad, James and Kendra for I can "count" on my children if I need them. I love you!
To my Children's spouses and soon to be spouse: I am so grateful my children have found you and that you have become a part of our family. It takes a brave person to enter this family willingly. I LOVE you all! You are my children! Lucas: you are always there when I need you...and you NEVER complain....you are my son and I love you...Natalie...I love you...you are my daughter...as with Kendra believe it or not we are very much alike...Tasha...officially entering our family in November...we don't have to wait till November to say you are part of the family..I love you...you are my daughter....the first time you came to a family function you impressed me with your quick wit and inability to be shaken those qualities will serve you well in this family.
To My Grandchildren Both Born and Unborn: I have always wanted to be a grandmother!.Tyson the first time you slipped your small hand into mine to go trick or treating...you had my heart. You are an awesome kid...you make me laugh...and I am so thankful that you are in our lives I may not have been part of your life when you were a baby but I feel like I have loved you your whole life. Carissa...my first granddaughter...no words can express how my heart feels... Adam: you are not here yet but you fill my heart! I am counting the days till I can hold you in my arms.
To my Sisters: I love your loyalty and knowing even if we don't see each other every day that you always "have my back" You make me laugh...laugh...laugh and how lucky am I to have sisters! We fight, we cry, we scream, but we always love each other. I love you.
To my Mother: I love you for supporting me and listening to my endless gabbing about my fitness goals. Because heaven only knows only a Mother's love could tolerate that! I am so glad that you are back in town. And I truely love that I can share my Y experience with you because it is such a big part of my life. You make me feel loved! I love you.
To Sue (My other Mother): Thank you for helping to raise us and loving us like we were your own. What a heart to raise 2 bratty little girls! I love you.
To Mae: I am so grateful that my father married you and brought you to our family. Thank you for taking such good care of my father...we know that was quite a task! We love you and thank you for loving us (and we are a hard bunch to love!). I love you.
To My Grandma Casey: You are a strong woman and you are my role model for strength. I love you and wish that we had gotten to spend more time together when I was growing up. I love you.
To My Neices: I love you. Over the years I have watched you grow up...Amanda you have grown up to be wonderful caring woman, I love you, Amber..you are still young and have a long road yet till adulthood...keep your path steady...you are strong young woman I love you . Abby: you are still a very small girl but think you are going to be quite a magnicient woman, I love you.
To my Husband: I had to save you for last because the best is always saved till last. I love you. We have had a long long journey but we made it and it is worth every tear shed (on both our parts). I love you!

To those of you that are not mentioned it not for lack of love but lack of time. I have to be ready in one hour to go out of town but please know that all my family is in my heart and if even one person was missing it would leave a scar on my heart. I LOVE YOU all!

Me and My Baby

Me and my baby! This picture was taken in our basement. Note the gigantic scene behind me. For some reason we thought that decorating scheme was awesome. Also note the lovely burnt orange couch. We were very poor and most of our furniture was found on "Trash Day". We had a giant Telephone Spool in our living room for a coffee table. Our upstair furniture was that big wooden burlap looking furniture. We had crates for shelves and our kitchen table was a card table and chairs. I would lovingly make Tuna Cassarole for my spouse and set our "Table" for dinner. Poor guy ate lots of Tuna Cassarole because that was one of the few things I could cook. (I cook now though!) We had an old wringer washer to use and then I would hang our stuff out to dry...I still remember how stiff our clothes were from sun drying. My kids have started their adult lives MUCH MUCH better then their father and I did.
Random Memory: We bought our first TV at Kmart and had to bring it home on the city bus because we did not have a car. The TV was very heavy and we had to carry it from the bus stop to our house (which was several blocks). We were soooo excited when we plugged it in even if we only got like 2 channels. We've come along way baby!

New Training Schedule and FAMILY NEWS

I am ready to train for the 10k in October. Here is the first part of my training. When I complete this series I will move to an intermediate series. My workout schedule will stay the same for Monday, Wed, Friday: Spinning/Power Hour, Swimming, Spinning/Power Hour. I will still lift on Tuesday and Thursdays mornings. The running schedule will be as follows:
Week 1: Tuesday 2.5m, Thursday 2m, Sunday 3/m (This week)
2: Tuesday 2.5m, Thursday 2m, Sunday 3.5m
3: Tuesday 2.5m, Thursday 2m, Sunday 4m
4. Tuesday 3m, Thursday 2m, Sunday 4m
5. Tuesday 3m, Thursday 2m, Sunday 4.5m
6. Tuesday 3m, Thursday 2m, Sunday 5m
7. Tuesday 3m, Thrusday 2m, Sunday 5.5m
8. Tuesday 3m, Thursday 2m, Sunday 6m

This new training schedule is suppose to be a gradual increase in milage (.5) per week. This is suppose to help reduce the likelyhood of injuries. After I get this series done then its moving onto the next level! At some point if I do not feel ready to move on I can repeat weeks. Since I have lots of time till the 10k I can train slow and steady. However, the 10k route is VERY hilly so I am going to HAVE to work some hills in. I don't do well with hills...come to think of it I don't do so hot on flat land either. So far so good with my foot. It is feeling stronger and stronger. Though it still doesn't feel entirely right...but darn close.

Okay on to family news:

Daughter/Son in Law/Grandson: She had her prenatal checkup and Baby Adam is doing great. She has an ultrasound scheduled for next week. They have also had the offer accepted on the house and hopefully will be moving in June...well before Adam is to make his arrival. Its a really nice house and I know they will be very happy in it.

Mother: Recoving well from her surgery. Hope she is up and about soon!

Niece/Nephew in Law: Amanda and Roger are getting baptised this Sunday. Congratulations! Wedding countdown: 8 DAYS. I noticed today that my neice Amber has become a vegatarian....eat Protein girl...not so much peanut butter though...that makes Groleau woman expand!!!!

Food: WE GOT MUSHROOMS....yummy........ Please be proud of me I passed on not one but two requests for lunch dates....because I am strong...because I am good...because I gotta run the mini next year and must abide by my only one lunch out during the week per everyother month rule.

CAR: i cleaned out the moving trash bin that is also my car. I swept up graham cracker crumbs. I threw away Altoid Tins, empty water bottles, stryofoam coffee cups and even old newspapers (yard sale ads). You can now see my floorboards and my seats. My other car was disgusting and when I bought this Saturn I made a bet with my son that I could keep my car clean for a year. I made it and then the day after the year was up...I quit being neat and tidy. I did notice I had an odd assortment of stuff in my trunk: 1 pair of rollar blades, 3 bags of sidewalk melt, one mini portable grill in a box (no charcoal though), 1 stadium cushion, and umbrella, a fold up seat with an attached umbrella, a bag containing gloves, a book, and some papers that at some point I must have thought important enough to put in the bag, and 4 (yes 4) ice scrapers.

Home Improvement: Guess what my back room is not empty! I hate home improvement. I must finish the emptying process this weekend. I think I should just move to a new house.

Okay very hungry must eat dinner. I am very delayed on my meal as I stopped by my mother's to make sure she was doing okay and also stopped at my sister's to drop off the festival cart..She was eating dinner.....so hungry...fried chicken...wanted to rip it out of her hands...but had my doubts on whether I could take her....the woman in our family are freakishly strong and our powers are magnified when we are defending our food. I know I could probably take down Hulk Hogan for a cookie....

Running like the "Wind"? Nah don't think so!

Okay today was a pretty good run. Did not keep track of my time but did about 2.5 miles. Which is my goal for today. Ran outside..in the wind (strong strong wind)...in the dark...and it was "GOOD" My foot did not hurt even though I was running on pavement. I have been running outdoors only one day a week and using the treadmill the other two running days to save my foot the stress of the hard pavement. Foot held up good but I think I will use the treadmill on Thursday for my three miler and ease back into it. Unless I get lucky and they leave the gates unlocked on the highschool track, then I could do the whole hamster on a wheel thing (but a nice shock absorbant wheel). Okay back to today. I ran the 2.5 (might actually have been a teensy bit more) then finished up another 1 mile on the treadmill, walking it on the 14 for incline...big indoor hill. I then lifted and did 1 1/2 chin ups all myself (not the machine). It hurt..I grunted...Julie our instructor for Woman on Weights/Power Hour said she was impressed I could bend my head back that far! Hahaha Julie! I guess I thought the harder I tilted my head back that faster my chin would get up there. At any rate my goal is to do 5 chin ups in a row. Considering that I am still lifting a substantial amount of Kim that will be an awesome accomplishment. Is it impressive for a woman weighing all of 100 pounds to do chin ups???I think not. It is us, the woman of girth, that are the heros when we hoist our generous proportioned bodies up there! Workout for the rest of the week...tomorrow Swimming, Thusday 3 miles/lifting, Friday Spinning/Power Hour and then for the weekend a 4 miler and my body better not bale on me. I am going to not give it junk and furnish it with lots of good nutrients. No pie, no cookies, no muffins, no cereal...well maybe some cereal. Lots of fruit, protein and vegtables. I am going to try to be good because if I can control my weekend food then I KNOW I can get in shape for a 10k and ultimately the mini!!!! I will be a Power Woman, A She Rah, A Warrior Princess, Mini Mama Shakalaka...I will be a "RUNNER".
Ohhhh my my I got myself so worked up it is all I can do to not throw my running shoes on and take off out the door! However, my inner slug is very dominent tonight and it is demanding my pajamas and my new issue of Runners magazine. That reminds me of the old days when I would watch Denise Austin doing her exercises while I sat on the couch drinking coffee in my pajamas. I would always say "Yeah I need to start doing this but perhaps I need to watch for awhile to get familiar with the moves" Yeah right...there is never a tomorrow for exercise....only a right now!

Enjoyability Factor of Workouts 100%
Perceived Effort: 1,000,000%
Actual Effort Probably: 85%

Phrase of the Day: "Mom, Do I need to hit you with the stupid stick again" Uttered by son (over the phone because he dares not say that in person on account of I could kick his rear! hahahaha).

Buddy Brad

Here is Grandpa and Buddy Brad. That is what my husband called my son when he was a baby. Such a sweet and cute baby and he is a handsome young man today. He is also a great father to his children and I love him very much.

I SCREAM YOU SCREAM WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICECREAM

My niece Amber and Grandpa (my dad). That year he came to visit he lit up a cigarette and Amber says to him "Bad Gampa" (yes she did leave out the R and the D).

Unsuccessful.ONCE AGAIN!

This morning's run turned into a jog 1 mile then sprint/walk/jog 3 miles. I could not get my head in the right place. To much drama in my life. I need to get over it and move on! So I will! No more thinking, thinking, thinking! The gloom that is enveloping me needs to go. I need to get back in my "Kim you are wonderful mode" It is horrible for others to have to live with but oh so very good for me! So I am going to chin up....chant "Kim you are awesome" Look at my calendar and realize I have only 1 year to be able to get in shape for the Mini and start RUNNING. Clear my mind, my heart and make my body work! The only tears I want to be shedding are the ones from when my body is screaming "Stop Stop you are torturing me!" So HERE'S TO LIFE AND LIVING...GO KIM GO!

Miles on My Car for Adam

Kendra and I have logged in the miles! We have yard saled like crazy. We have found lots of cute outfits. But I have noticed something. The nicer the housing development the higher the prices. I do not think people have the whole yard sale thing figured out! Yard Sale stuff should be priced to sell....you are getting rid of stuff...it is not a profit making sale. Okay in my mind who goes to yard sales? People that are looking for a bargin! Middle class people right? If I wanted to pay $6.00 for a baby outfit I would go to the store. I asked a lady if she would go down on an outfit and she just stared at my dumbfounded as If I had asked her to disrobe, put a daisy wreath in her hair and dance down the street. She said "Why those are practically brand new!" So I guess she can just cart them back into her house when her yard sale is over. My mom told me this is the formula for pricing large ticket items...1/4 of your purchase price...then be ready to dicker. Now for clothing that is another matter....I think .25, .50 and .75 for normal things and 1.00 to 1.50 for something especially cute. My favorite yard sale dickering story is when I tried to buy a purse( of course we were in the "nice" part of town). It was a unique looking kind of purse (unique meaning I thought it is ugly) but I knew a family member would especially like it. The price $5.00 bucks. Now I don't like spending $5.00 on ugly so I asked her if she would take $3.00. She said "Well it was a gift" I might add it still had the tag on it! I said "Oh that's nice will you take $3.00 for it though". She said "It's been in my closet and never been used sooooo nooooooo I can't go down on it." Okay so what's up?...it still had the tag...she never used it...probably never would...so why could she not sell it for $3.00. Needless to say I put it back and it is probably STILL in her closet. Now just to let you know, I do go to yard sales in all parts of town and I have found some really nice stuff from the "middle class" (which is me!) and it was CHEAP! Though I have found some odd things. My daughter and I were at a yard sale on Friday and she picked up a Ryan's (a buffet) nametag with the name Kim on it. It was $.25. She said "Mom you want to get this in case you ever work at Ryans" Hahahahah I have raised a comedian. To be fair though I can't rag on upper middle class yard sales all the time because I got some baby stuff from this absolutely sweet woman ( who lived in a BEAUTIFUL home)and it was CHEAP and in perfect condition. I really need to send her an email thanking her! But for the most part...the rule applies...the nicer the house the more $ you are going to pay for the stuff they have. You ask why do I keep going to the "nice" end if it sends me into a rant? Shouldn't I just keep to my own end of town and quit whining? It's because occasionally you will strike gold and find some nice wealthy woman that was graced with some good old fashioned yard sale sense. These are some yard sales guidelines I have come up with.
1. Do not base the price of your stuff based on the value of your home.
2. Do not sell things with your name, your children's names, dates and birth weights because NO BODY is going to buy it.
3. Have a sense of humor when we laugh at your baby's birth plaque and your nametags.
4.Do not throw your yard sale clothes on a blanket so they buyer has to bend over to sort thru the stuff. It is hard for preganant woman and their older mothers to bend over to look thru it.
5.Have change
6.Be willing to dicker

I had a yard sale once...never never never again...I don't care if I give it to somebody or it goes to the goodwill. I don't care if it is "practically new" and I could make money off of it. My last yard sale was a disasater and I ended up $10.00 in the hole. The family wanted a yard sale. Family members brought their junk over. Paid for ad, set up tables, put stuff out, oddly enough I could not part with hardly anything (hard to imagine) so I had hardly anything in it. It got late, people got hungry. I did not want to fix anything...paid for Wendys....there went my yard sale $. It rained (despite Buzz advising me it would be a lovely day). I had to put away stuff in the rain...it was all in my garage...WET BIG MESS! NEVER NEVER AGAIN!
P.S. When people started buying though I got "garage sale fever" and was running in to get stuff to sell of my husband's that I thought he did not need. He saw his boots...they were like new( he never really wore them often), I put a sticker for a $.25 on them. He removed the sticker and took his boots back in the house. He look offended. I TOLD him I was going to give him all the money for his stuff. He did not look any happier.

Well it is time to run. I am tired. My legs hurt. My head hurts. My eyes hurt. I do not want to run! But I know if I do not I will kick myself later. I must run in the morning because I do not run in the middle of the day or evening. I am a procrastinator so If I put it off it does not get done and there is just too much traffic out and people will stare at the poor pathetic woman that is panting and looking like she is in the throes of death. So I run while the town sleeps....Ususally I see very few cars on the weekends when I run early and during the weekdays when I run it is still dark so even when there is traffic they can't get a good looksie at my pain and agony . Time to shoe up!!! I hope Gwen Steffani can wake me up!

Saying Goodby/I Need to Run

Saying goodby is hard...I need to run.

Yeah Mom

Kudos for Mom for getting up two mornings in a row to go to the Y with NO wake up call!
Go Mommy!

I THOUGHT I COULD..I THOUGHT I COULD.DIDN'T

Sigh....I did not make my goal. Missed it by 2 lousy minutes. 3 miles in 38 minutes. I probably could have made my goal if I did not spend the first 5 minutes warming up by walking. I probably should do my warm up...THEN start my time. Oh well there is always next week. Saturday or Sunday is 4 miles. Tomorrow is spinning and boot camp...then yard sales with my daughter. I am playing hooky from work to go to yard sales. We are in hot pursuit of baby items. I am anxious for my little buddy to get here! Grandma (me) has her house full of baby stuff so ALL my grandbabies can come over and hang out and their Mommas and Papas don't have to drag a bunch of stuff with them. Being Grandma is AWESOME all the love and none of the work!
News of No Interest: We found a litter of wild kittens in our garage. Our dogs were going nuts trying to dig into a cubboard. My husband opened it up and there they were... 5 cute little kittens...eyes not even open. The mother has moved them now because of the dogs. (The dog actually had Momma Cat in his jaws but my husband saved her. She is fine!) At any rate it took her an entire day but she has moved them to (what I hope is) a more secure hiding place.

Wedding Update: My neice's wedding is 2 weeks away. I still have nothing to wear because everything I have tried on I look horrible in. Kendra and I will try looking for a dress tomorrow after yard sales. My neice still does not have her doves. I think her hope is dimming as Denise has stood firm on "Doves are a waste of money".

Phrase of the Day: "That guy has my bunny". Family can you guess who said this, when and what was happening?

Improvement

Wooo Hooo I did 2 miles in exactly 25 minutes. (5 minutes warming up walking included in that 25 minutes). I think my foot is holding up! I then did another mile of sprint walk so I would not stress my foot. My goal tomorrow 3 miles in 36 minutes. If I don't make it that's okay but I am going to try really hard! I will at least go for the three miles even if I go over time. Goal for Saturday morning 4 miles...no time stress...just 4 miles. Next week will up the Tuesday run to 2.5 miles, do 3 on Thursday, then just do 4 again on Saturday. The following week I will increase the Saturday to 4 1/2. I really want to do the 10k this October with an ulitimate goal of the Mini next May. Which means I really need to work because I was not born to be an "Athlete". I was born to be a sitter and reader.
Some considerations : I need to make sure I do not over stress my foot will trying to train and I really really really need to take off at least 15 pounds...20 would be great! I am not worried about "looking fat" I am worried about this extra weight putting a strain on my foot.
Oh my goodness I do rattle on about my foot...but this whole foot injury has just consumed me. I guess my family is right...I am obsessive. (Shrug) I guess better to be obsessive about working out then Taco Bell! Well better get to bed if I want to get up ready to run! Got my shoes, my clothes and music ready to go! To paraphrase Earl (off the show my name is Earl) 4:30 am comes early for a girl like me. Good night all...hoped you enjoyed my pictures and were able to stay awake while reading my incredible boring talk about running (or rather my version of running).

Jamie's Got A Gun

My husband created a gun toting Yosimite Sam. My son loves ALL guns! Even toy guns...he took my cap gun from me last year and would not give it back! You can see by the looks on their faces that they think guns are totally awesome. They go target shooting quite often...something I do not wish to participate in...see previous blog note on target practice/crouching in truck. James is probably about 8 years old. He is 24 now. By the way AMMO is expensive!

And the Parade of Photos Begins

This is me and my daughter when she actually loved and adored me AND thought I was the smartest woman in the world. I think she might love me now....maybe starting to adore but is STILL refusing to acknowledge that yes I am the smartest woman in the world.

Easter Fun

Well everyone is gone and the house is quiet...don't quite like it. I miss the noise and excitement. We had an easter egg hunt yesterday. Here is Abby, me and Ty on the hunt for eggs.

I AM WOMAN HEAR ME ROAR!

I DID 4 MILES NO WALKING! 45 MINUTES! I think the M&Ms I ate yesterday gave me stamina! I did the Rocky thing when I got to my house! I probably looked stupid did not care...overjoyed.

Go Kim Go

Yeah for Kim. My foot is getting stronger after 8 months! I added back in a third day of running this week. I was doing just Tuesdays and Saturdays/or Sundays. This week I added Thursday I did 2 1/2 miles at 12 miles per hour pace. Yeah Kim! I could have easily done the 3 miles because I had no foot or ankle pain whatsoever but did not want to push it. And I have no pain this evening! Go Kim Go! I thought just adding the third day was enough. This weekend I plan on doing at least 3 miles straight and then 1 mile of sprint/walk. So my week totals were Tuesday 2miles/1 mile sprint/run, Thursday 2.5 miles/1 mile sprint run, with a scheduled run for Saturday morning of 3miles/1 mile sprint/run. Also by Friday will have in about 2 hours of spinning, 2 hours of boot camp, 45 minutes of water power hour and an Hour and half of lifting. Also add in a little Misc. precor time. Can I add in my mall walking time? NO! For next week I may only increase the Tuesday to 2 1/2 mile then 1/2 mile sprint run. I will slowly add time and speed!
Enjoyability Factor of Workouts 100%

Updates:

Dental: I have decided that I am worth $6,500 and will be having the bone grafting done! Actually I think Susan had the $ right! I am worth a million bucks! Oh no here comes the ego....My next appointment will be just a root planing thing and then it will be time to schedule the first leg of my "Million Dollar Mouth Journey". As I have probably written before I am a big baby when it comes to pain and I will expect to be waited on hand and foot and will be eating Loratabs like they are Tic Tacs. I will be unbearable to be around. I will be cranky and evil (even more so then usual). Congratulations to my mother who has also overcome a major dental phobia and went to the DENTIST. She is going to be having some major work soon....I think maybe she might get excited about it when she finds out they will give her pain medication. Mom "Do you want a Darvon?" A Sob sob for my sister who had a root canal the other day and then the same day the tooth that had the root canal done BROKE off and she had to have it pulled after all. All that money down the drain! Poor Denise!

Grandchildren: My daughter felt her baby boy kick! Tyson just finished his first session of swim lessons and starts second session next week. I am so glad he is learning to swim. I think all children should learn to swim so they don't end up like me! I went to the mall this week to buy myself a dress and came out of the store with 5 outfits for "Adam", one Fisher Price Aqaurium for the Crib and a pull and play caterpillar.

Shopping for Dresses: Aggggg! It is horrible! No woman should have to go thru this. I tried on many many dresses and figured out pretty quick that I was going to look like crap in everything I tried on. There was one that I particularly liked the style but the material looked like drapery material. I will NEVER find a dress to wear to my neices wedding. I am going to go out and try again next week after I have had a suitable time to recover from the trauma of it all. The mirrors are VERY unkind. J.C. Penneys would certainly sell more dresses if the dressing room had mirrors that reflected the image of Jessica Simpson when gazed into. I need a magic dress, one that will lift, form and conceal.

Dogs: We gave the stupid dog a bath and he STILL stinks. Today when I came home I chased him around with a Febreez bottle. He really runs quite fast. I think I may attach an air freshner to his collar. Here is a picture of the dog that DOES NOT stink! My girl Lizzie. Well not really my girl because she far prefers my husband but I was the one that bought her (he picked her out though). She looks like a giant teddy bear.

Visitor: I had to stop blogging for a while to answer the door and one of the children I use to do daycare for stopped by my house. It was so nice to see her! Every once in awhile some of my daycare children will stop by to say hello! It is nice to know that they remember me and have fond memories of their years at my daycare. I think the last baby I had in my daycare is now 6 years old. It seems like years since I have had my daycare but in fact it has only been about 6 1/2 years. I raised many babies and have seen many children off to their first day of school. I really miss working with children. I would dearly love to be able to stay at home and take care of my grandchildren but that is just not possible (because I need income and I just could not would not charge to take care of my grandchildren) Tyson has asked me many questions about my daycare and he has remarked more then once that he "wishes he could have come to my house then".

Okay I am going to log off now because I have stretched my husbands good will to the breaking point by being on the computer almost all night. Please keep checking back because over the next several weeks we are going to be taking a walk into the past. Beware! Will it be your picture that makes my blog? What kind of pictures do I have in my possession? Hmmmm....we will see......

Be looking next week for the first of many!

Have a great day tomorrow!

Kim

I HAVE A SATURN IN MY MOUTH

I went to the periodontal doctor yesterday and he says it going to cost about $6500 for the oral surgery. That is the same price I paid for my car! I am not happy! I guess it costs so much because it involves bone grafting and other unpleasant procedures. Should I invest that much or just continue to see my family dentist and prolong things as long as I can. The problem of course is bone loss. My teeth actually have no cavaties whatsoever! But if I continue the bone will continue to deteriorate...shudder.... and then eventually over a period of time I will have nothing to hold my pearlie whites in place and then ...you guessed it...George Washingtons. I want the surgery...my spouse says no just hold out...my sister who has her own teeth problems is getting ready to drop $6000 in her mouth, her boss says each tooth is like a precious diamond. I tend to think like my sister's boss...I like my diamonds and they are in pretty good shape...its is just the ring itself that needs help. Would you throw away a whole diamond because the ring was bent or something...no you would have it reset! So what do you think? However, I can't keep thinking that $6,500 is alot of money! We don't have dental so this is going to be out of pocket money. We are not wealthy people but we do okay. I will have to juggle some things around by could probably come up with 1/2 of the cash now and then maybe if the it is possible do the other side of my mouth at the end of the year. So Fix or wait?
Boy I thought when I had the other dental work done that I would be done for a while but noooooo. My darn diabetic mouth. Okay I am sick of thinking about my mouth...it consumed me yesterday and put me in the worse mood ever! On to more pleasant topics.

Exercise: Sunday did 4 miles NOT successfully. Had to walk/run the entire route. It took about 50 minutes. I don't know what was wrong with me. Had no energy, could not control my breathing, my mind would not empty so I could enjoy it. For me part of this process is mental..If I can't get my brain to turn off I don't enjoy it...if I can turn "off" my brain then my enjoyability factor is tremendous. So my brain was "On", my muscles would not relax, my lungs would not expand, all in all it was 50 minutes of torture. Monday was much better. It was spinning and power hour. Yesterday pretty good. I did not get to work out as long because I had an 8:00 appointment and I did not even get to the Y until 5:15 and then have to go to the locker room, put my gear away...etc... Did 30 minutes on the treadmill. Got 2 miles in 26 minutes, which means my foot is holding its own. The last 10 minutes were spent doing sprints on the treadmill. Lifted which went well. Today is swimming. BLAH to swimming. The ONLY reason I continue to swim is that I hate it so much. That sounded odd didn't it? But my logic behind that statement is that by doing something I hate I teach my self discipline. AHH now it makes sense doesn't it?

Home Projects: My laundry room is still not empty. I just look at it and get overwhelmed. I am going to come home on my lunch break the rest of the week and spend 10 minutes each day getting that room cleared out. I need to get it emptied so we can start the remodeling process. I HATE HOME PROJECTS probably even MORE then swimming.

Weekend Plans: Attn: ALL Family Members: The Easter Egg hunt is at 4:00 this Saturday. Thought I am going to say come over at 3:30 and then we will color easter eggs first. The meal will be CrockpotTurkey and Dressing, Green Bean Cassarole, Maybe some Apple Salad, and Blueberry Cream Cake for Dessert. Attn: Brad, Natalie, James, Tasha, Kendra and Lucas we will have a dinner after church on Sunday...around 1:00. Ham, Scalloped Potatos, Corn, Broccoli, yeast rolls and Apple Pie for Dessert. Kendra don't forget we are going to do yard sales Saturday morning. I will be at your house around 7:00 am.

Okay it is time to pack up my bag and get my rear to the Y to swim....what a way to start my day. I hope it is not all down hill from there.

P.S. I have the Blues today! I must pick myself up!!! I wanted cookies yesterday to console myself but ended up eating peanut butter and crackers. Peanut Butter and Crackers do not heal the blues. Chocolate Chip Cookies heal the blues.

FOLGERS AIN'T GONNA CUT IT

Arose this morning at 6:00 a.m. so I must have been tired. It seems like I was on the go all day yesterday. First of all I was up way to late Friday night. I think it was midnight before I got to bed and then I was up by 5:00 a.m (which is still oversleeping for me...I usually get up at 4:30 a.m.). As I write I have a cup of coffee next to me. I was out of the good stuff and so Folgers it is. Once you have real coffee drinking the supermarket stuff is like drinking carmal water. The first time I had my first real cup of coffee (from the little coffee shop next door to my office) I felt like I could push my car home! Oh my how I ramble...back to yesterday's agenda.

Started off at 5:00 am by deciding not to exercise and sort of straighten up the house.....really it needs far more then straightened but that about all I was interest in doing.

At 8:10 a.m. out the door and heading to Ty's Pinewood Derby race that started at 8:30 am.. There were lots of cool Pinewood Derby cars there. Tyson was so excited. Boy did it bring back memories of my days with the boys and their Pinewood Derby cars. Event attended by: His Mom, His Braddie (my son Brad), his baby sister Carissa, Ty's Grandma Debbie, Grandma Kim and Grandpa Jerry.

By around 9:45 out the door and on my way to pick up Kendra so we could hit a couple of yard sales before our noon Memorial/Lunch at Arni's Pizza. We found NO awesome deals at yardsales found one measly crib sheet, one itty bitty baby doll to put in my toybox and 2 mystery books. At the last yard sale we went to there was what appeared to be a nice elderly Grandmother with her middle aged daughter. They and I were both looking at a Barbie trike that was marked $5.00. I kept thinking "Yeah I would snatch that up for $3.00 but I don't really want to spend $5.00". Then I heard the daughter say to her mother, "Do you want to get that bike for $5.00" The nice grandmotherly woman replied, "I guess...if you think we would flip it for $7 bucks or so." They were yard sale sharks...the people that the true yard salers fear! What are yard sale sharks...well they are the people that go around and buy all all the baby stuff/kid stuff and then resell it resale shops. They can be spotted by: they will usually grab the stuff up in a huge pile, they don't dicker about the price(which means they think it very flippable),they usually don't have a kid or pregnant woman in tow, and they have that hungry predatory look. It is kinda of annoying because people like myself want to buy it and USE it. On the other hand the sharks are just trying to make a living. You have to get up early to beat the sharks because once the sharks are out they devour all the good baby/kid stuff.

At 11:40 we were on our way to Arni's for the lunch memorial for the two Grandpas/Fathers.
Attended by: Myself, Kendra, James, Tasha, Grandma Janice (my mom), Grandma Sue(my other mother), Aunt Susie (my sister, this was her idea! Thanks Susie!), Grandma Casey(My Grandmother), Aunt Carol, Uncle Floyd, Aunt Connie, Cousin Dale, Amanda (my neice), Aunt Denise, Dan, Amanda, Abby (my nieces), Roger and attended by telephone Grandma Mae(my other mother). Aunt Connie read a book she wrote about "Her Brother Chuck" and gave us a copy....Beautiful! Aunt Susie read a song that touched her and reminded her of Dad. I read a letter written by Grandma Mae. We then shared some pictures we had brought from home. Ended the lunch by releasing balloons.

After that off to an appointment to look at a crib. Then met Kendra's husband at Once Upon a Child ( a consignment shop, for those of us from the old school ....Thrift Shop....but with way nicer stuff). Bought a portable swing and a sports bear crib set, and cute Bazoka Joe onesie.

Out the store...back in another store...quick stop in the grocery to pick up my Easter ham before the ran out.

Back in the car...run Kim run...to Aunt Denise house to visit a little longer.

Then Home again Home again Jiggity Jig.

Decided I did not feel like cooking dinner and my husband was having a frozen pizza (because I am a bad non cooking wife on the weekend). I did not want frozen pizza as I had at mass quantities of pizza for lunch and then had pie at my sisters. Sat around decided yes I need to have SOMETHING for dinner. So started to eat frozen cookie dough (which I had to microwave because it bent my metal spoon) Ate few spoons. Decided I would not be able to run on Sunday morning if all I ate for dinner was cookie dought so wandered around in the kitchen looking in cubboards and fridge. Contemplated having a Slim Jim (on account of protein?) decided bad choice...finally settled on bowl of oatmeal with walnuts and raisens. BLAH but healthy.

Finally collapsed into bed at 9:30 and did not wake up till 6:00 which brings us back to today. I have spent all this time rambling about my day which probably no one cares about and the people that would care were there with me anyway. Oh well since there is no one to talk to this early might as well write! It's just like talking and boy do I like to talk.

Better get out the door it is almost 7:15 which means I have an hour to run and then have to get ready for church.

I will post pictures from my day later...maybe today...maybe not.... Going to Church, grocery store and then Kendra and Lucas are coming over tonight...but I will get them posted.

Think fast and strong thoughts for me while I attempt to run!
Kim

Random Contemplations from the Mind of Kim

Spending the evening with my grandchildren has gotten my mind a rolling. I have to say I truly love children. Why? Because they have an unbridled enthusiasm for life..simple things are fun. Children notice things that as adults we pass right by. The get excited about things. As adults we lose the ability to have let loose and have fun. We become jaded. I think adults should stop and remember what is was like to "play". We need to "See" things. These are things I have enjoyed doing and seeing with my grandson and nieces:
1)Playing a mean game of slap jack and war (or as Tyson called it when he was little...the army game with cards)
2)Looking at Roly Poly Bugs
3)Popping caps with a rock
4)Checking out the dead bird on the street (with Amber when she was younger..this was not the fun thing it was the "seeing" thing,,,I might add I saw and was disgusted but she thought it was cool) Really any dead animal probably would have sufficed we just happened across a bird.
5)Playing with play doh (grandson/nieces are a great cover for me enjoying this because a 43 year old woman playing with play doh looks odd but if you have a child around it appears to be perfectly normal)(I like play doh!)
6)Going down the curly slide at the park
7) Going on the Tilt A Whirl and making it go so fast that you can not stop laughing.
8)Catching lightening bugs
9)Taking a walk after dusk with our flashlights
10)Making a leaf fort
11)Swinging at the park, getting the swing going really high and then lean backwards (though I am enjoying THAT less as I get older)
12) Staying outside till it is WAY dark! Usually playing basketball on our court! (We have flood lights)
13)Spotting a toad and chasing it down to catch it (This gets harder as you get older!)

Children have fun! I think adults should try to have more fun! I always try to let my inner child out once in awhile and darn what society thinks. My inner child this week wants to color easter eggs and she's gonna!

Phrase of the Day: "You better let me go thru the door first because I don't think there is room for me and your head" Spoken by Melissa and referring to my over inflated ego.

Cooperative/Crafty Boy

Ty sure loves his crafts and he is really really good about cleaning up after himself! He is most creative! I love him...he thinks I am an artist!

A Grandpa is a Great Place to Nap

I think sombody's heart has been stolen!

SHOW ME THE MONEY

The boy loves his money!

Hippity Hoppity Easter's in its way!

Well, in Whoville they say that the Grinch's small heart grew three sizes that day.

The line from the movie sums up my feelings when I spend time with my grandchildren. My heart just swells till it feels like my chest will rupture.

Illusions of Self Importance

I do not know why but for the last couple of weeks I have been just thinking "Kim your awesome, Kim your great" My HEAD is HUGE! Why you ask...I just don't know...It's just been feel good about Kim weeks. I don't really have anything to be all pumped up about. Haven't lost anymore weight, can't do a 10 minute mile or a even a 12 for that matter, don't look all that hot and have not even come up with a cure for the common cold. So what's up with my ego???? Perhaps my mood/ego can be attributable to the mix of exercise. I think the spinning/power hour class sends my endorphin levels to an all time high and are likely converting into egodorphins which is causing the major head swellage. Is anyone else suffering from this odd condition?
Update:
Niece: Abby came over to see Aunt Kim last night. She was quite happy to see that I had two new Barbies for the toybox Abby says "I LOVE them". She is a very intelligent girl. Right now she seems to be interested in Hot Air Ballons (why we don't know). The other day she was in the car with her mother and Abby was drawing on her Magna Doodle. Her mother asked her "What are you drawing" Abby (who is 3) replied, "I am drawing a Hot Air Ballon. Hot Air Balloons can be tricky to draw". Abby is a loud and boisterous girl and is going to turn out to be a loud and boisterous woman (just like all the woman in our family).

Weekend Plans: We are having a lunch in honor of our father and other father. Chuck and Richard. We miss them both very much! Most of all I miss the laughter because they both had awesome senses of humor. Special Memories:
Dad/Beating him at scrabble the very first time. Because he never just let us win and when I won...I really won, hearing him laugh when I would tell him about, what I thought, were offensive remarks made by my husband...he would laugh and say "That's my boy". Teaching us to play poker and gamble with things like nuts and candy instead of poker chips. Dad's face when he was cracking up with laughter when Baby Susan quit (he ran a restaraunt and he evidently enraged her***side note*** in our family we are ALWAYS enraging each other) and she threw her apron at him yelled, "I am quitting!" walked out then turned around grabbed a container and said, " And I am taking my breakfast to go" His face was bright red he was laughing so hard he was doubled over and tears were streaming down his face. (Susan returned to work the next morning). I don't think I ever have seen him laugh so hard...except for maybe when he would tell the Mae/purse story!
Grandpa Richard/Hearing him say "Oh Boy". and then Driving up to Pine Village and seeing him riding on his lawn mower and watching him wave to us as we pulled into the drive. Hearing him ask for weeks and weeks everytime I went out there"Did you bring me Burger King?" I would says "No No No Burger King for you!" Then as usually when I went out there he said, "Did you bring me Burger King?" and ta da from behind my back I pulled out a bag of Burger King. He says "OH BOY!" and his eyes lit up and a huge smile crossed his face. Watching him smack the horse with the shovel (don't worry animals lovers it was on the rump and not so very hard) and my favorite story when I was right and he was WRONG WRONG WRONG about the halter for the horse and even when I was RIGHT he refused to cave and admit my absolutely rightness. He would just laugh and NOT admit my RIGHTNESS and would just shake his head!
Many many more stories those are just ones that popped into my mind today.
Oops time to go back to work.

The Iron Maiden Returns

2 miles in 26 minutes...no pain...just a little tight in the foot....MY FOOT IS GETTING STRONGER! 2 miles straight then one mile of sprint/walk= 3 miles Felt like going further but thought I better take it easy on my foot.
45 minutes of Lifting. Tried a new ab exercise: on incline bench with 10 pound weight held behind my head and then UP....ouch ouch ouch. Got to quit doing the bicep work.....and the tricep work...however I am getting the Lucy Lawless look on my arms...so maybe not????
I am fired up I WANT to do the 10k this FALL with a passion!
Blah! Tomorrow is swimming.

Updates:
Vehicles: At the ripe old age of 43 I have jumped my first vehicle! Melissa and looked like idiots trying to figure out how to use the jumper cables but we DID it. Granted it took probably three times as long then if my husband had done it but we DID it. No explosions, no facial scarring from battery acid, the building by our cars is still standing....Job well done! Also the day of the gentleman is no longer. A man walked right to his car, which was right in front of ours, looked our way and did not even offer to help (and we obviously looked like we did NOT know what we were doing)! Sometimes Women's Rights bites us in the rear!

Dog: I tripped over my dog and he freaked out and BIT me! Right in the meaty part of my thigh! It is all different shades of purple...yuck. He was banned outside in the rain until I calmed down and was no longer threatening to send him to Doggie Jail. He is so lucky I could still exercise because if I would have missed classes it would have been goodby Zedo! He is definely not worth spending money on Meaty Bones...he will get the generic no flavor bones for the next month.

Daughter: I had great time with my daughter on Saturday when we did the yard sale thing. However, we have determined that I am blind (due to my identification difficultes with mailboxes vs. yardsale signs) and have absolutely no sense of direction (due to turning left when my daughter kept saying "Turn right Mom, Mom turn right...I said right right right). I probably should not be allowed to hold a driver's license.

Oops time to go back to work and earn my dollars.

I am no Martha Stuart

I have decided, at long last, that my laundry room/storage room needs some serious TLC (which I hold Amy totally responsible for my urge to retile!). So it begins....everything I mean everything must be removed from the laundry room (including the large closet) so that the walls can be drywalled and the floor replaced. 20 years of crap is alot of stuff to move. I have been moving and moving and moving and my laundry room is still NOT empty. My husband says that I should throw stuff away...but I swear that I need each and every item that is in that room! Well maybe I don't need the collection of star war guys but I am keeping them for someone...I just don't know who. Perhaps I could scale down my large large collection of board games but I need those in case I get snowed in and the cable goes out! The large ice cream buckets???no maybe I will need to use them for a dog water bowl, The Mason Jars??well you never know when you will need a jar to put something in! So you can see the problem I am having? At any rate I am lugging the stuff up up up the stairs to the spare bedroom, which now looks like some eccentric old lady resides there.
I have some, what I thought to be, awesome ideas for my laundry room, which my husband, who has really good taste, has told me are NOT good ideas. For instance I want this really cool emerald tile...He says our room will look like "The Emerald City". So I guess I will empty the room and then we will go pick out paint and tile of which he will ulitimately choose because I really do have no taste and very poor decorating skills. I decorate my living room by taking a jar(see why I can't throw them away) and sticking silk flowers in it and WA LA
"Designs by Kim".

Exercise Update:
Monday: Spinning one hour... Spin..spin...up, down up, down, climb, hover, jog, hard climb....tired tired legs.
Power Hour:Lunge, steps, Lunge, Steps etc....pushups, ab work.....tired Kim, sore Kim, HAPPY KIM!
Surely after all this torture I am putting myself thru I will be able to do a 10k in October! Think healing thoughts for my foot...cause by cardio is ready, my legs are ready...just gotta get the foot and ankle ready! It is getting stronger everyday!!!!