Repurposed Item

I have recently become addicted to a blog, blue yonder. She is having a contest that ends, tonight. I am such a procrastinator!!! Anyways, you post about a repurposed item that you have created.

I LOVE garage sales, I just can't pass up inexpensive treasures. There is so much potential in peoples junk, and it is great to browse and dream of the great things they can become. Plus, my husband and I have made quite a bit of money on some things we have picked up at garage sales. We once got a couple golf clubs at a yard sale, posted them on ebay and sold them for $50 each. We also bought a beer maker for a couple of dollars at a yard sale, intending to use it for root beer. We never did make it, but we sold it on ebay for $30.

Being able to make money on yard sales is a fun bonus, but my real love of yard sales comes from saving great items from the landfill, and having a fabulous addition to my home decor.

Michael happened to be with me when I found this particular repurposed item. He knows I have a weakness for frames, and tries to deter me from buying more of them. When I spotted a 30"x55" dark brown frame with a print of a cabin set in the woods, no other colors but brown were used, different shades of brown (these prints were ever so popular in the '80's), he was adamant that we did NOT buy it. I understand why he didn't want me to get it, for one, it is huge. We also have a ton of frames that are not currently being used, and it was ugly!!!! The frame had nice clean lines, and I knew I could just pop the print out, or paint right on top of it. It was perfect, and for only $1 it was a steal of a deal!

I debated what to do with it, and decided to paint the frame white, and put chalk board paint right on top of the print. I hang it in my kitchen and have used it to post the meals for the week, but currently I like to put quotes that I enjoy on it.

(Of course, no offense to organized people!)

I'm finally done pouting

Don't let this picture fool you....I'm really good at posing and smiling for a camera, right after the picture was taken I went right back to crying.

Actually right after the picture was taken, I heard some crazy fool yell, "Hey, slow down!" Later I found out it was my husband Michael, he wanted to take another picture. Don't be confused, it was not because I was running so fast that he couldn't take a picture, it is because our camera is so slow. I think it can only take one picture per minute. What kind of crazy person yells, "Slow Down!" at the end of a race?!?!?!?

Anyways....

I'm finally done pouting so now I can tell you about the 1/2 marathon (13.1 miles) I ran last Saturday. I didn't do as well as I had hoped.

I thought I was so well prepared, I had done a 10 mile run, thinking if I can do 10, I can do 13, no problem. This has worked for me in the past. I had done plenty of long runs 7, 8, 9 milers. But, those long runs were on a nice inside track, no wind, no hills, no hard pavement, and Apolo Ohno in the distance. I had not done any outside running all season, plus I decided only a month and a half ago that I was going to do the race, so I didn't have as much prep time as I would normally give myself. I tend to jump into things.

The race started out well, except that I wasn't able to empty the old bladder before the race. I decided I would take a bathroom break on the course somewhere. At about mile 4, there was a short downhill jaunt. I won't mention what happened concerning my bladder and the embarrassing thing I did in front of 100's of people. Soon after, my knee started to ache, it had been bothering me the last couple weeks, but I bought some new insoles for my shoes and called it good. The knee was still hurting on my long runs, but I thought I could get through it with positive thinking. It was hurting when running on a nice cushy track, I should have known it would double the pain running on pavement. Again, I overestimated the power of my positive thinking.

I already had a blister and I really should have been sensible on this one, positive thinking won't keep a blister from getting worse. I could have at least put a patch of mole skin on it or something! I had to try really hard not to think about that blister. Self Talk: Think positive, think positive, oh this blister hurts, oh my aching knee, this is so fun, no it's not, think positive, think positive.

Potty break. Oh, it felt so good to stop running AND to go potty. There was a few minute wait, and I was glad to take it.

Around mile 9 is where the marathon course and the 1/2 marathon course merge. I began to have flashbacks of running the marathon on that very same course 4 years earlier, seeing the sign "Mile 23" made me sick to my stomach, I remembered the pain in every cell of my body, the chaffing on my arms from years ago came back to haunt me. OH, and some peanut company has the nerve to advertise their peanuts at that point, give me a break, the last thing I want is a packet of salty peanuts! It made me want to vomit my goo energy packet just thinking about eating them.

My goal was to run it in less than 2 hours. I thought this was a pretty generous goal, it was in line with my practice run pace, and I always run a lot faster in a race. All the people running along with you, the crowds, the music, normally make me run faster..... I finished at 2:09. This is about 25 mins. slower than my best 1/2 marathon time.

I wanted to cry. I was angry with myself, but mostly disappointed that I didn't do better.

BUT, after a few days of contemplation, I'm realizing the positives from this experience:

• I got in better shape, and we all know that swimsuit weather is ensuing
  
• I got a hilarious story involving my brother and a banana....to be shared in a future post
  
• I have a time to beat in August when I run the Hobble Creek 1/2 marathon
  
• After Reece saw the finish line and the excitement of racing, he wants to start training for a 5k (3 miles)
• Michael hopped on a treadmill this week (I'm so proud!)

Pictured Below my brother Cam, Me, Cameron's wife Betty (I'm in the middle so they can hold me up)
Actually I ended up with a blister the size of a silver dollar and I didn't want to stand on it.

You're Crazy!

This morning Mason crawled into bed with me and he was playing around and here is the conversation we had:

Me: Mason, you are crazy!
Mason: No I'm not
Me: OK, you are silly!
Mason: No, I'm not
Me: You are loco!
Mason: No I'm not
Me: You're nuts!
Mason: Mommy, no potty talk!

I guess that a 2 1/2 year old learns potty words a lot earlier when he has an older brother.

Update: My friend Megan and her Dad

Flash Back Friday: Daddy Daughter Dates

What a sweet backdrop! And what a great sport my dad was to get his picture taken with me in it. I don't really remember much about this night, it had to have been when I was in 5th grade because it was in Texas and in 6th grade I started growing out my bangs, one of the smartest things I've ever done in my life. I'm really liking my dads mustache, it is pretty sweet.

Our Quest to a Healthier Breakfast

Does this look familiar? Bowls of cereal this large are common in our home. With the massive amounts of cereal being consumed, you would think the kids could make it till noon before they eat again. Not so, by 9:30 the kids are claiming they are starving and must have a snack. Healthy snack around our house is at 10:30 and I endure listening to whining for an hour.

I refuse to buy 'colorful' cereal, even though my husband proved to me the other cereals have just as much sugar. Colorful for some reason just seems like it is less healthy, plus, have you ever changed a diaper after a child has eaten Fruity Pebbles? Turquoise is not something you should see in a diaper.

Sunday night I announced to the kids that breakfast would be served at 7:30, and I would begin preparing at 7:15, and everyone was invited to help..... cereal would not be provided. This did not go over well. I decided I better hide the cereal in case the kids decided to sneak some cereal before I woke up.


7:15 rolled around and Mason set the table, Reece boiled the eggs, and Maya worked on her beauty sleep. I got the rest of breakfast prepared. We all sat down together, said a prayer, and had a breakfast feast consisting of:

-Hard boiled eggs
-Oatmeal
-Yogurt
-Organic granola
-Apples
-Oranges
-Strawberries
-Milk

As we were sitting around the table, Maya asked Reece if he liked oatmeal, he answered by saying, "I don't like oatmeal, I LOVE oatmeal!" Ahhhh, music to my ears, someone said something other than a complaint at the table!!! We talked about what our day would consist of, then we all cleared the table together and cleaned up the kitchen. Not only did we have a healthy breakfast together, but we talked about our day, and had a quiet relaxed moment together before our busy day started.

Now, here is the best part, 9:30 rolled around and there were no requests for food. 10:30 came and went, still no requests for healthy snack. At 11:30 the kids started migrating to the kitchen asking for something to eat. It was a success!!! They actually stayed full until lunch time.

This morning Michael was able to join us for breakfast, oh what fun! We are excited to experiment with some other recipes such as whole wheat pancakes, bran muffins, omelets etc.

If you have any great egg recipes, you can enter the Egg Recipe Contest on my Backyard Farming Blog

Flashback Friday: Punky Bruster

I LOVED Punky Bruster as a kid, I wanted to be her so badly. Looking back, I'm not sure why, maybe because of the great outfits or her amazing room that she supposedly painted herself. I never could understand why my mom didn't want me to paint my own room, Punky did such a great job! If I remember correct Punky was left at the grocery store by her mom, and somehow cranky old Henry found her. I wanted to be her? I can still sing the entire theme song, I linked it yesterday for your listening and viewing pleasure.

Below is a picture of me and my California friend Megan, not to be confused with my crazy Texas friend Megan. You can see us sporting our "punky" 80's outfits. My mom bought me the leggings and Megan liked them so much, she got some for her too. The outfit is just not complete without the jean skirt, side ponytail and different color shoes.

I swore that leggings would NEVER make a comeback, but I am eating my words. The saddest thing about it all is that I actually think the leggings are cute. Just shoot me now.

Well, my daughter has a little of this punky style in her. I have been letting her dress herself lately and I have been so overjoyed by what she puts together, it just makes me so happy.

My favorite item in this outfit is of course the tights.

And of course, this outfit would not be complete without the ladybug rain boots. Notice in the top right corner of the picture is my yoga frog doing tree pose.

Mason wanted to get in on the picture taking action which is very unusual, so I took the opportunity. I thought his pose was cute, but I hope he doesn't end up being a cheerleader, I think right after this he was doing spirit fingers.

Isn't she beautiful?

Do you let your kids (husbands included he he he) dress themselves?

punky brewster

It's Official!

I am now officially registered for the Salt Lake City 1/2 Marathon scheduled for April 19th. Maybe I should start running, what do you think? Actually I have been training for the last 2 months. I've only gotten up to a 10 mile run, but I figure that is close enough right? If I can run 10 miles, what is another 3?

Who has races lined up this spring/summer? Anyone tried a triathlon? I really want to do one and every year I say I'm going to do one, but never do.

Sword, Shoes, and Shades

I'm Back in Babylon

Well, the Babylon challenge ended today. It was supposed to demonstrate how you can be, "IN the world, but not OF the world", if you have ever heard that saying. It also was to demonstrate how you could replace some of the time with electronics with better activities. I learned a lot from the challenge and I'm glad that I did it.

Sunday night as we drove home from a family dinner, we explained the rules of the challenge to the kids. Reece completely lost it. He was crying, and very angry. We let him voice his concerns and then we explained that we would be replacing all the TV, computer, and video games with other fun activities. Mason kept asking me, "I still play Power Rangers?", I had to continually explain to him that, "yes, he could still play with power rangers." Maya of course, was in her own little world.

I prepared myself for Monday morning to be terrible. The kids normally wake up around 6 or 6:30 and watch cartoons till their lazy mom pulls herself out of bed at around 7:15. To my surprise, Reece and Mason slept in until 7:15, and I had to wake Maya up at 8. Without the draw of the TV, there was no reason for them to wake up before the sun was out. So, I was already seeing benefits, the kids got all the sleep active growing kids need.

By 9:00am, the house was clean, beds were made, dishes were all put away, it was great. The lure of checking emails, blogs, and such was there, but I stayed away and was amazed at how much I was able to get done without stopping to check for a recipe here, email this person there, etc. Mason was playing Power Rangers on the floor, I sat down and played with him for 10 mins. and had the greatest time with him.

For lunch I normally make the kids lunch, grab something from the fridge for myself and plop in front of the computer and catch up on whatever I feel like looking at online. This week, I sat with the kids and ate with them. I was surprised at how talkative they were and how much fun I had spending just 5 mins to eat with them.

Throughout the day, it got a little difficult and I realized that I would use a movie in the afternoon as a crutch for when I had had enough of the kids. I realized that I didn't really need it, engaging them in an activity works even better than a movie. When Reece got home from school, he rode his bike or shot baskets, in my book that is better than watching an 'educational' afternoon show.

When it comes to TV, Michael and I definately do not have a problem (except when it comes to the show Lost) so it wasn't really difficult to give up TV in the evening.

During this challenge, I had explained to Reece that one of the reasons we were doing this challenge was to receive blessings. There were times though that I had to get online like to pay bills, get a recipe, check my emails (for work), or check mapquest. I had gotten online to pay a bill, and Reece walked in the room and said, "We aren't going to get any blessings because you just got on the computer." It was nice to have him keep me in line in case I slipped up, and I explained that there are certain things that I needed to get on the computer for, and we were just going to have to make exceptions.

All in all, this week went really smooth, and it wasn't as difficult as I had anticipated. I learned a lot about myself and my children, and I was able to enjoy them more when I wasn't constantly drawn to the computer. Maya even said to me one of the days, "You are such a nice mommy!" I felt like a better mom, and it was easier for me to enjoy my day with them.

I will be making some changes in my internet habits such as not getting online until the kids are in 'rest time'. I will be turning the computer off at night so that when I wake up, it isn't as accessible. As for TV, I'm going to slowly phase out TV before school, and now that it is spring, I will be encouraging outside play rather than afternoon TV watching. I will also be eating lunch with my kids each day, maybe it will help me remember to eat lunch.

As for the radio, it wasn't very hard to go without unless I was in the car, then it was difficult. Today, I did have my itunes playing on my computer ALL DAY. I think I missed it more than I thought. I won't be making any changes in my normal music listening.

Like I said, I'm glad that I took the challenge and was able to see how some of my habits could be changed for the better.