Just to name a few.....

1. Our weather has returned to normal. We are having beautiful, sunny, breezy days with cool nights.

2. Mighty Mouth got her hair permed and cut into a bob it looks adorable and it is so easy to manage in the morning. Thanks Mom.....

3. I did 3 miles tonight and maintained 16.5 minutes per mile. It just about killed me but I am getting closer to that 16 minute mile. Then I just have to be able to maintain it for 13.1 miles. (trying not to worry to much about that, after all I have till October)

4. Soccer Girl and Boyfriend have made it to the one month mark this time around.

5. My Mom has started walking with me and I am so proud of her. I push her really hard and she complains the WHOLE time but she does it and that's what matters..

6. I tried butternut squash for the first time last night and I am in love. It tasted just like sweet potatoes but with half the carbs.... Yummy.... Thanks Gram for telling me how to cook it.

7. I am really enjoying my evenings this past week because high school soccer is over and little league softball hasn't started yet for the younger two. I have about another three weeks before the weekday evening rush returns.

8. There are three movies I really want to see "The lovely Bones", Extraordinary Measures", and "It's complicated" and just can't seem to fit even one of them in. Oh well, I guess I will wait for pay per view (I love the convenience of pay per view). It's probably better that way anyhow because I want to read the book "The lovely Bones" before I see the movie and I haven't finished "Love, Eat, Pray" yet. It's a good book I am just finding it hard to finish.

9. I was trying to make it to ten but nine is all you get........

My competition......

You all know well that our house is very similar to a small zoo with all of our pets. But I don't think I have ever shared with you how one of our animals competes with me for my husband's affections. Yes, you see in his feline mind I am completely convinced that our huge black cat Tuesday truly believes that he and he alone is the love of my husband's life. Anytime the Englishman sits down to do anything Tuesday is in his lap. He doesn't just sit in his lap and wait to be stroked he takes his whole furry soft self and rubs all over the Englishman's chest. It is so funny to watch. Tuesday loves Sunday afternoons because he knows that the Englishman whenever possible tries to catch a nap on the couch. This means that Tuesday will get a good 2 hours of uninterrupted cuddle time. The saddest part of this is that the girls and I would love for Tuesday to show some of his affection to us. We would be more than willing to let him cuddle with us anytime he wanted. Unfortunately, Tuesday is not a friendly cat at all. To be truthful he is vicious and he bites for no reason. He doesn't normally break the skin. (Like that should make a difference right?) His bite is more of a warning or I would never risk him with my day care kids. Plus, little kids learn fast to avoid him at all costs. My little Hollie refers to our cats as the "nice meow meow" and the "bite meow meow" It is also unfortunate that he is so beautiful because visitors are always drawn to him. I then embarrassed (Because who keeps a cat that bites anyway? Yeah, that would be me.) have to say "please don't try to pet the black cat he is mean." It would be so much easier if he was ugly. People don't want to pet an ugly cat right???


Tuesday and the Englishman last Sunday "NAPTIME"

Notice the paw lovingly possessively outstretched around HIS love.....

Picnic in the Park

Look at those grump faces....

Me and my Gram

My pretty Girls...

Love this picture...

Dad's Girls

Posing for Mom....

Time for Lunch....

Young Love.........

Dominic and Hannah BFF's

It's Official

IT'S OFFICIAL

I HAVE OFFICIALLY REGISTERED FOR MY VERY FIRST RACE.

It is a 5k on February 27th and I am very excited. I am running/walking it with my BFF and I am really looking forward to it (I can't believe those words were just typed by my hands) may this be the first of many, many races to come. Here's to being fit by 40!!!!!!

Ego Bruise Ouch!!!!

So this afternoon I am walking around the neighborhood with two of my little charges. Hollie age 4 and Dominic age 2. They are having a blast on the little tricycle and scooter. An older gentleman neighbor is outside and he smiles at the children. He then looks at me and in the nicest of voices says. "Hi there, are these two little cuties your Grandchildren?" WHAT???? Did he just say what I think he did??? GRANDCHILDREN??? You have got to be kidding!!! So I smile sweetly and in the nicest of voices I reply "No I just babysit them, my children are in SCHOOL. Of course, I didn't mention that one of them is only one short year away from graduating from High School. He didn't need to know that, he had already done enough damage to my ego. Oh, and just for the record when I am out and about with Dominic (because he is blonde haired and blue eyed like me) I hear all the time "Oh little guy you look just like your Mommy" to which from now on instead of "oh he's not mine." I am going to reply "oh do you think so? THANKS!!!"


Have a great Weekend!!!!

TGIF....

Just some quick thoughts:

1. I am so glad it's Friday.

2. We have had cold weather (and I really mean cold, highs in the forties and lows in the thirties) for a week now and other than (because I am frugal) having to run my heat I am loving it. Of course, I am complaining like the rest of us Floridians but secretly I am enjoying every minute because I know it won't last.

3. Soccer Girl and her on again off again boyfriend are "ON AGAIN" and so far so good, I think this time might really be good....

4. I have been doing really well on my commitment to exercise since December 1 (I thought why be like everyone else and wait till Jan 1 LOL) I really want to do the Epcot half marathon in October. I am not worried so much about the distance as I am the time rules, you have to maintain a sixteen minute mile. This will require running a big portion and I just have such a hard time running, I am much better at speed walking. I keep hearing that running gets easier the more you do it. Well, it has been 6 weeks now so PLEASE get easier soon.

5. I have my Valentine decorations up already. To be truthful, I put them up a couple days after the Christmas stuff came down. The house looked so bare I had to do something.

6. I think I better finish this post and get motivated. My niece and sister are coming over for a play date with my little Dominic and he keeps chanting "Suzie, when baby Hannah coming?" This cracks me up that he calls her baby because he is a whopping 6 months older than her.....

Have a great weekend!!!!!!!!!!!!

The simplicity of childhood faith......

I just started reading a book called Eat, Pray, Love. One of my New Years resolutions is to read more books in 2010. Reading for me is something I do in phases, sometimes I read voraciously two to three books in a month, other times I can go six months not reading so much as a magazine. I have been in a dry spell with reading lately and decided to remedy this in 2010. But here I go off subject again. Anyway, this book is about one woman's journey to find herself I guess you could say, and to find a relationship with God. While reading tonight I was reminded of an incident with Miss Priss that happened a few years ago. I actually think of this incident a lot. I don't like to talk about my faith a lot (not because I am embarrassed by it in any way, but more so because of the fact that I am not a member of any one kind of organized religion. I am more of a Cafeteria Christian so to speak, I take little bits of different faiths and go with it in my own way) So because of this I don't feel like I have the knowledge or ability to share religion or my feelings about God with others because I have nothing to back it up other than what I know to be true in my heart. However, I want to share this incident that happened with Miss Priss because 1. you know this blog is like a journal for me and 2. because for me it was such a light bulb moment that maybe you will get something out of it too.

Finally, The story:

About four years ago when Miss Priss was about 8 she accidently left a wet wash cloth on the top of the TV in her bedroom. (I am one of those bad Mom's that lets her children have a TV in their rooms. So after several hours on the TV the water seeped into the TV and it stopped working. I was very upset with her and explained how she had to take better care of her things. I told her that she would have to wait a long time to get another TV because they were expensive and so on and so forth. Well, of course she was very upset and there were tears and she asked if maybe the TV would work in a couple of days after it dried out a bit. I told her that was possible and we would just have to wait and see. Sure enough after a couple of days the TV came back on. When it did she looked at me with a big smile on her face and said "I prayed to God to fix the TV and he answered my prayer Mommy" My first instinct at this comment was to explain to her that there were so many more important things to pray for, families dealing with tragedies, sick children, national disasters. Then I realized how wonderful it was that at 8 years old she was turning to God in prayer with her worries and concerns. While her worries and concerns were trivial in my oppinion compared to what was going on in the world they were important TO HER and SHE was and is important to God. I learned a lesson that day. I have always said I want to have a close relationship with God. I have close relationships with the people in my life by communicating with them all the time. I think of my family and close friends, I share everything with them and never worry for a second that it may be to trivial or not important enough for them to listen to me. I strive to be there for them too because I love them and want to help them in anyway that I can. I learned that day that I need to turn to the Lord in prayer about every thing in my life and pray even harder for those who are struggling with tragedy or hardships. Prayer should be simple and easy like a conversation with a loved one. We should all have the faith of a child, faith that if we have a trouble or concern we just need to pray about it because it will be OK.........

Never a day wasted......

"Sometimes I look at other people and their lives and everything they've accomplished, and I haven't, then I look at one of my kids and I know not a single day has been wasted."

Nora Walker (Brothers and Sisters)