Starting it up: February 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

Feb 09

Not a whole lot has been going on to be completely honest with you. I'm still getting my runs in, which is great. They leave me so, I don't even know if this is the right word for it, but relaxed. I am really enjoying my runs. I've set my sights on at least one 5K per month, or every 6 weeks depending on my schedule, at least 2 10K's by the end of the year, one of which is the Marine Corp Marathon's 10K, and then the San Antonio Half Marathon in November. I signed up at Lifetime Fitness Gym and am loving it! They've got so many great classes and activities so I won't get bored when it comes to cross training. They've got an indoor and outdoor pool for laps as well as swim parks for the kids! Meaning huge slides and waterfalls and lots of fun! Plus, they have child care for 2 hours a day. So while I work out, Ellie chills out and has a good time in child care then if we feel like it we can go play in the pool together for a bit. (We haven't played in the pool yet. She doesn't have a bathing suit yet.) It's really nice. The one friend I have down here that has a little boy six months older than Ellie got a membership too. So, we're holding each other accountable! If she goes, I go, and vice versa. It's nice to have someone else walking in a set of shoes like my own. I got to see a personal trainer/advisor for a free physical anaylsis test. The results weren't the greatest, but I'm happy knowing where I stand and having a base to build off of. I'm going to be doing a cardio point test within the next month and a half. It entails finding out at what point my body is burning fat vs sugar for fuel. It will also tell me exactly how many calories I burn at rest so I can create a nutrition profile specific to my needs. It's a little costly which is why I'm waiting a bit, so we can save for it since it's not a necessity.

Hmmm... what else? We took Ellie to the Witt Museum earlier this week and she loved it. It was a pretty gloomy day but that didn't seem to bother her. She learned how to say bird and is now fixated on them! We also taught her "bear" while we were there, but that one didn't stick. Bears are still dogs, just like anything else that walks on four legs. =) So birds and dogs make up her animal kingdom. Ahh, if only life were so simple. The museum had an exhibit called the gerome project which is about the g-nome and dna. Did you know that our dna is 90% the same as rats, 60% the same as a fruit fly, and 50% the same as a banana?! It was crazy the things we picked up in there. It was really hands on so Ellie got to play with everything! She loved it! We're going to take her back on a tuesday when it's free just to let her run around and play with the fun little toys. I've actually included some pictures from the museum. =)

I think that covers it for now. Enjoy the pictures!

Sunday, February 8, 2009

some videos for your viewing pleasure

This was taken over christmas in sammamish. Now she loves her stroller rides.

This is the daily routine for her now... Enjoy!

Family Retreat

The end of the whole trip!

After the first day.

I think she was a little sleepy... =)

Playing in the dirt next to the pond.

Riding the horse.

Just getting on the horse.

Petting Gemini, who had the same color hair!

Playing with Daddy.

She loves being on his shoulders!

PUPPY!!!!

Playing with the big kids.

During our first exercise.

Well, we just got back from a great weekend. Tom, Ellie and I all went up to Lampasas, TX to Gene Tyson's Corner Ranch for a family retreat. We had a great time and it gave us all some real quality time to spend with one another. There were three separate exercises that involved horses. The first was figuring out how to put a harness over a horse's nose. Yea, not as easy as you think. The split the whole group into two smaller groups. Our group had five families in it. There were six horses out there, and we were told to pick horse, harness it, name it and groom it. So we tried I think three different horses. All of them kept walking away from us. A little frustrating. It took us a little bit, but in the end we had to actually split up. Tom took ellie and they went to play with the dog while I went over to one of the three horses that weren't already "taken." I seriously had to pet him for a good 10 mins before I could maneuver the harness on him. I called him ox. He didn't really like to be groomed. At least not by us. Once I had him harnessed, Tom and Ellie came over. Of course I got the horse that wanted to nudge everything. He started nibbling on Ellie's shoe and that was that! She wanted nothing to do with that horse after that! It was a really good exercise for me and my patience.

Another exercise we had to do was harness a different horse, create an obstacle course, and get the horse to cooperate enough to go through it. Well, sure enough, we got the alpha female, which is actually the alpha animal over ALL the other horses, not the male, which comes second in command. For this exercise, Ellie was actually off playing with the rest of the kids. It was an exercise meant for the adults. Anyway, well, it's kinda hard to lead a leader. We eventually had to ask for help, and between the two of us found a way to get her not only to walk with us, but to stop stopping and occassionally trot with us. We didn't worry too much about the obstacles. For us, we just wanted her to move with us comfortably. When asked what we would call the obstacles in the exercise, I jokingly said, "Well, I'd call her stubborn." And then they asked if there was a way we could connect the exercise with a sitauation in our life. A light bulb went off. She was me! How crazy is that! We couldn't've gotten a better horse for that exercise. We were actually commended on how we didn't worry about all the other stuff. We concerned ourselves with fundamentals and we knew when to ask for help. It was a real eye opener.

And that's still the first day! We also had a great lunch and dinner, and s'mores over the fireplace and a hayride! We had some free time and we got to go on a horse ride. I had ellie in my lap and Tom walked beside us. We were in a ring and there was a trainer right there with us, but Ellie loved being up on that horse. Rebel was his name! He even spooked a bit while we were on him, and it didn't scare Ellie at all. It got Tom a little razzled, but he was at a different angle than us.

Poor Ellie was so tired by the end of the day, she only had a 1 hour nap all day! There was so much to see and do and so many other kids to play with! And the farm dogs! She loved the farm dogs! (Does that surprise anyone???) She was OUT when we got back to the hotel.

The next day, today, was a little bit different. This is where the third exercise horse exercise came in. We left Ellie in the day care today because they told us there wouldn't be much for kids under 4 to do on the ranch until around lunch. We took the day for us. They had the deployed soldiers and their kids go the stables and work on the horses and have one on one conversations, and the spouses stayed up at the retreat house and talked about various issues. It was great hearing that I wasn't alone with some of the things I had been thinking. Tom did get to kinda do the exercise, just without Ellie. He took a lot of pictures, and got to groom Rebel. We picked Ellie up after our little sessions and before lunch, brought her to the Ranch, had lunch and let her run around for a while. The ranch was about 2 hours away from San Antonio, so we wanted her to let off some steam before the long drive. She did. =)

All in all, it was a great trip. We both learned a lot and we're very happy we went. We're hoping to go on the couples' retreat next month, but we'll have to find a sitter for Ellie... we'll see how that one works out. I really hope you enjoy the pictures! =)

Wow, it's been a while part 2

Now it's 2009! We've made history with the first black president. I'm back in San Antonio. Ellie and Tom are adjusting to each other.... and some major decisions need to happen.

Hopefully that was a decent enough way to introduce what this is going to be about. January was full of travel, travel and more travel. Once Tom and I flew back to MD with Ellie, we had to pack up and head south, via car with our two pups. Well, super needy dogs is better put. We drove from Maryland through Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and finally Texas. We stopped twice for overnight stays. The first was in North Carolina and the second in Alabama. Overall, the trip went pretty well. We had a very full car. The trunk was filled to capacity, the two dogs were in the back, Tom and I up front, and all of Tom's crap in the passenger floor. If you couldn't gather, that crap and me had some words when I wasn't driving! Tom did eventually move it to the back which made things a little smoother. The dogs weren't nearly as big an issue as we thought they would be. They slept the whole way, and if they needed to use the bathroom, they let us know. They normally had pretty good timing too! We finally made it to San Antonio, and it felt like home. That's far from saying I don't miss my family already, but it felt nice to know that I had my life back. The reality of things started to settle in when we walked in and I saw that Tom had done A B S O L U T E L Y nothing while he was at home alone for those two weeks. I don't think I would've been as upset, except the one thing I asked him before I left back for MD, was to try to clear out what would be Ellie's room so we would be able to set it up for her. And yep, that wasn't done. Needless to say, that was our first tift since he had been home. It was actually upon rummaging through our stuff that I found a prayer that calmed me down a lot and really made me contemplate what was wrong and was it really worth it. Perfect timing to find that little piece of paper I thought. It was hiding with the rest of our wedding goodies. I let up after that.

We got everything unpack and organized, and poor Tom. He had to deal with my temper tantrums the whole time, and took it like a man! Thank god he did too! I was on a rampage! I may not have mentioned this earlier, but Ellie stayed back in MD with my family so we could get everything moved in a little easier. And it helped sooooo much not having her there. Unfortunately, but the end of say, oh, the fourth day or so, I missed her. I could hear her little babbles and the time just wasn't going by fast enough for me. I would daydream constantly about her, and it was then that I realized that being a mother to her is the greatest gift anyone could have ever given me! Now, don't get me wrong, the time away was nice, but it didn't have to be soooo long. Anyway. After everything was moved in, I actually kept myself busy with home decor things. The really big project was a quilt I was making for my sister. She and my brother in law were the ones bringing Ellie down to us, and I promised her I would have it done for her. In part one of this whole schpeal, I mentioned Mom did all the hard stuff. This was when I found all that out! Binding a quilt is a pain in my butt! And so is really thick loft! But the end result was beautiful! Unfortunately I forgot to get some pictures of it, and maybe one day I'll remember to ask Mandi for some pictures of it.

So Mandi and Steve bring Ellie to us, and then another reality sinks in. Oh, my, God! In a day and a half, it's going to be just the three of us! Holy cow.... now what do we do? I was petrified the day Mandi and Steve left. I had no idea if I would be able to cope, or if Tom would be there for us like he said he would be. To date, everything's great. I couldn't ask for too much more! (money would be nice though) =P I think the only really bad thing so far is I was stressing out about getting a job. Now I'm thinking, since we're financially able to, I might just want to take this opportunity to actually spend as much time with Ellie as I can. Of course Tom and I have had arguments here and there, but nothing worth mentioning. No need to vent on those. He is who he is and I am who I am. We're both trying to adjust and make things work. The three big things that we're trying to decide now are 1. Do I need to go back to work? 2. Should Tom re-enlist in the military? and 3. When are we going to give Ellie a baby brother or sister?

None of the decisions we're taking lightly. We're throwing what-if's as many ways as you can throw them. We're getting opinions from everyone to see how they would do, which is not a deciding factor, but it's nice to get an outsider's perspective. We're happy right now, and hopefully that lasts a while, if not always.

I want to point something out. Last year, I started doing the Nutrisystem diet, and I actually lost about 10-12 lbs doing it. I stopped because I got tired of eating the same things over and over again, plus I wasn't eating it like I was supposed to. Well, anyway, I had two full months of food left over and Steve is taking care of that! I wish him the best of luck and hope he can duke it out longer than I could.

However, with this being a new year, I did make one resolution. Absolutely no more smoking and start leading a healthy lifestyle. I want to be a role model for Ellie and I want her to WANT to follow in mommy's footsteps. The no smoking thing was really easy. Now, onto the harder part. While I was in WA, I saw the season premier of Biggest Loser. The raw emotion of the contestants on the show blew me away. It also scared me in a way. I don't ever want to get into a situation where the doctors are telling my my body is actually OLDER than I am chronologically. I'm hoping that whatever damage I have done to my body, I can slowly undue, and if nothing else, do no more harm to. I decided to become a member of the Biggest Loser Club, and no. I'm not trying to get on the show. This site actually prepares a huge variety of menus for you according to your caloric needs. It keeps things within reason. It also keeps you on track with fitness goals. There are hundreds upon hundreds of blogs and message boards to find other members walking in your same shoes. I wasn't willing to throw all our food away considering we have over 2 1/2 weeks worth of dinners in our house (among other things), but I have take a step forward with the fitness. Tom and I ordered bikes and a child carrier for the bikes so we can take family outtings. I also go on long walks with Ellie, and when Tom gets home we all go for another long walk with the dogs. It's really nice and relaxing. It's actually really nice just to get outside and get some sunshine! Knowing how goal oriented I am, I have set two, what I believe to be realistic goals for myself. After visiting the doctor's I found out my weight was 162 lbs. That's too heavy for me. My goal by the end of this year is to be between 130 and 140 lbs. That brings my BMI into the healthy range. The other goal is that I want to be a runner again. Not an army runner. That was by force. But I want to be a runner for enjoyment. I am using it as a way to get in shape, focus extra engery, balance myself, and make friends. In order to get myself into it though, I found a program, through a suggestion from one of the other members on the Biggest Loser Club (now on referred to BLC). It's called the couch to 5K program, and it's on http://www.coolrunnings.com/ if you want to see what I'm doing. It's geared for people who don't run and want to. Perfect for me. Now comes the goal. I have two. One is dependent on the other. The first is to complete a 5K. In order to push myself towards that goal, I am actually signing up for a local 5K in May! The second goal, which is dependent on how I feel from the first, is that San Antonio has this huge Marathon/Half Marathon. I would love to participate in it. My biggest fear is that I'm rushing things. Which is why I won't sign up for that one until I know how I feel about running more. I started my C2 5K routine on Saturday and it felt awesome! I am extremely motivated to keep going!

I know that this particular blog was rather long, but I wanted to share everything! I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

And by the way, I've already lost 2 lbs! =)

Ellie playing in her favorite spot, our pillows on our bed!

She's always running around trying to put on our clothes!

Told you! Super..... Needy..... Dogs....

Backside of my quilt.

Front side of my quilt.

Wow, it's been a while part 1

So, wow. I didn't realize how long it had actually been since my last posting. Halloween. That's crazy. And way too long. so this is going to be done in segments! Lets see. I guess the next big event was Thanksgiving and Christmas. Both went very smoothly. If I left it at that though, you'd probably be mad at me! Lets see, what can I remember about Thanksgiving???? We had a lot of food, and we actually got our sweet potatoes made unlike last year and our "sandied" yams! We actually had TWO turkeys. Dad deep fried one at Mandi and Steve made the traditional turkey at their house, which is where we all celebrated. Hmm, who all was there. I guess all the regulars. Mandi, Steve and Addyson; Mom and Dad; TJ; Grandpa (??); Grandma, Jim, Shania and Makalia; Ellie and me. My memory is so shot now. Last year was so crazy, I hope I got that right. Everything is kinda mushed in together. I do remember it was really nice to have the whole family there. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas there was one major event.

Tom came home for good... well at least until the next deployment (june 2010???? rumint has started talking already...) Well, the long and short of it is that originally I was going to meet Tom, then I wasn't, then with the help of a journalist client of mine, some big wigs got involved, and I got a free ticket down there and a refund for the original! Tom didn't know I was going to be there and I surprised him! I also surprised him with the fact that since I had gotten there a whole day before him, I called a moving company and got all our goodies out of storage and into our apartment. He was totally stoked and he seemed super happy. Unfortunately, it only last a couple days before I had to go back and finish school. Another week and half... blah! Well, I finished school and he came up to DC on the 20th, and that was the first time he had seen Ellie since August. It took a mere 10 mins before she was all over him again just as she was when he left months before. It was exciting and relieving all at the same time. I'm sure Tom felt the same way. We only spent a couple days in MD but in those days we, well, actually I can't remember all that was done. I know for sure that we made it out to WV for the Stephen's Christmas which was a lot of fun, as always. We also had my immediate family's Christmas. It was basically to exchange gifts between Tom, Ellie and I and the rest of the family. Mandi and Mom both got beautiful coaster sets hand made by Kirk, and Mom and Dad got their first bat box! (also handmade by Kirk) The looks on their faces when they realized what it was was priceless. That was the look that made you realize how much better it is to give than receive! We left for Seattle to spend Christmas, where another surprise awaited!

We told Mom and Dad (Barb and Kirk) that we would be arriving the Saturday after Christmas. Well, the real plan was that we were being picked up by Beth (Tom's sister) and was staying with them for a couple days. Mom and Dad were planned to go to Beth's Christmas Day, and surprise surprise! Who do they see?! Well, not me, I was upstairs blow drying my hair, but.... Tom and Ellie were down stairs to greet them with open arms! I still wish I could've seen their reactions! It was a perfect surprise, and Christmas gift! To top it all off, we had a white Christmas. Yes, Seattle had been hit by a whole mess of snow, and it made the surroundings beautiful to behold (but a pain in the butt to be in). Ellie didn't care too much for the way snow felt. We tried, but... not her cup of tea. We had a great time in Sammamish. We did a whole lot of nothing! It was great, and something I think Tom and I both needed after our past year. We got to see the rest of the immediate family and just spend quality time together. I think that's where all of the bonding really happened with Tom and Ellie. We had told a couple of friends we would try to make it out there, and we did feel bad that we couldn't, but sammamish was a mess and we weren't testing the waters. We had a great Christmas there as well. I also received my set of coasters, as well as beth and meg. There were hand made goodies all around! It was great! A crafty lot they are! I also made my very first quilt! It's a beautiful quilt and I have found a great new hobby. Although, this was made with help from Mom, and had I realized she had done all the hard parts, I may have thought twice before offering to make some for others... more on that later! =P I think that's it for the holidays. In part 2, I'll let you know how the trip to TX went, the move and the adjusting! Much love to you all, and I hope you enjoyed catching up!