Goal Accomplished...

I will admit that sometimes I make a goal and I don't follow through.  I tend to be in the moment a lot and an idea sounds so great until it gets really close and I realize that I am not prepared.  So when I announced a few months ago that I would be training for a half-marathon I was worried that I might be flaky and not complete my goal. 

I'm happy to say that I did it...I followed through...religiously trained for 13 weeks and yesterday I finished my first half-marathon with a time of 2 hours and 30 minutes.  I realize that for some of you it might not sound like a great time but it was 20 minutes faster than I thought I would finish.  I also ran the entire race and only stopped a few times to either stretch or get a drink.

My sister Jamie and bestest friend Jenn dropped me off at the starting line and then went on to two check points (mile 5 & 9) to cheer me on and keep me motivated.  They were also there when I crossed the finish line.  It was so awesome to have such a great support system.

There were definitely a few times during the run that I had to dig deep (especially when my right knee started to kill me at mile 5) but for the most part it was an amazing experience.  I am proud of myself for seeing it through and putting in the work to accomplish my goal.

Today I am a little lot sore and walking like a crazy lady but the feeling of accomplishment is worth the pain.  I can't wait to do it again!!  Sweet half-

Grandma Anna Mae...we love you...

In the last few years I have posted several times about my grandparents, how amazing they are and how lucky we are to have them in our lives.  Sadly, over the weekend our sweet Grandma Anna Mae was called to be with God.  My heart hurts for the loss of the matriarch of our family.  She exemplified everything good in marriage, love, family, community and faith.  When I think of the time I spent with my grandma I am literally full of joy.  She loved each of us unconditionally and saw the good in everyone.  Anyone who knew grandma felt a special connection to her.  She was truly beautiful in every way.  Her presence will be missed each day but she will be remembered in our hearts forever.  

 

 

Sweet grandma-

Thursday Inspiration-A mothers strength...

I realize that this makes two posts in a row that are pretty intense.  I try to keep things pretty light hearted here but sometimes things touch me in a way that is unexplainable.  Today I am sharing with you a story of a mother who's 7 month old son was diagnosed with a terminal illness.  Her strength and faith in God will inspire you and make you want to be a better person.  As a mother I am in awe of how she is choosing to handle such a life shattering situation.  Instead of living out her sons last days/months/years in denial and sadness...she is using them to help others and enjoy every moment.  She and her family are facing one of my biggest fears with an attitude that is beyond admiral.

I invite you to head over to her blog and read about her journey.

  www.lifewithahappyheart.com 

You will cry and your heart will hurt for them but I guarantee that you will learn something from her unending faith and I promise that once you have read her story you will have a new found perspective.  If she can choose happiness during one of life's most difficult battles then I believe we all can.  Sweet inspiration- 

Remembering 9/11...

12 years ago I was going through my normal morning routine.  My 4yr. old and 2 yr. old babies were just finishing breakfast.  I always watched the TODAY show as the kids got up and around...it was then that the fateful events of 9/11 were happening live on my television.  It was such a surreal feeling as I sat there and watched it unfold.  I remember the helplessness that came over me as my thoughts turned to all of those who were in "the eye of the storm."  As the day went on and on and the details emerged that feeling only became more evident.  My heart hurt for every single person involved and for our nation as a whole.

That day will forever be engraved in my mind.  I remember details of that day down to what I was wearing.  I remember feeling guilty because we were safe and so many were not.  I still get choked up when I watch clips of that day.  It was a day that forever changed our country.  A day in which too many innocent people lost their lives and loved ones for no good reason.

It was also a day that heroes emerged.  A day that our nation came together and took a stand against those who so viciously attacked us.  American flags adorned almost every home across the country.  Communities came together to pray.  Schools took a moment of silence.  Charities were formed and supported.  As we went through one of the single most heart breaking moments in American history our country stood strong.

Last night as I was making my rounds and putting the kids to bed, Tales asked me what 9/11 meant.  It never really occurred to me that she didn't know because it was such a life changing moment for me.  I stood there for a moment and thought of how to answer.  I wanted to give her enough details so that she would know but not enough to make her worry.  I kept my explanation short and tried to really concentrate on the heroic people who made it so much less than what it could have been.  How the terrorist set out to destroy America and the opposite happened.

Today I want to take a moment to remember 9/11 and the 3000 + men, women and children who lost their lives on that day.  I want to remember the thousands of volunteers who selflessly put their lives in danger to save a stranger.  Today I want to remember how wonderful it is to be an American.  Sweet remembrance-

 

Tye Dye Cake on the inside...

When I first began making birthday cakes years ago, they would give me cake flavor and theme.  That was it. 

I now find myself  making cakes in which the inside of the cake looks a certain way.  If you remember, in June I made Lanie a "zebra on the inside" cake and now her sister Harley has requested a "tye dye on the inside" cake.  I'm not complaining...I love a challenge and I always tell them I will make whatever they want.  It is just funny to see how things change...even birthday cakes.

Taters and Tales don't even want birthday cakes anymore...they prefer things like brownies and cheesecake.  I guess that when your mom is making a cake or two a week then the desire for it wears off.  Thank goodness I have other sweeties to make cakes for.

 

 

To make it I used one white cake mix and prepared the batter just like is says on the back of the box.  I then divided the batter into 5 bowls...plastic cups would be so much easier.  To each bowl I added food coloring until I got the desired shade.  I used purple, blue, red, yellow and green...

 

 

I used gel colors that I found at my local Safeway in the baking section...

 

 

I lined the bottom of two 8" round cake pans and sprayed them with cooking spray.  Just like the zebra cake I started with one color and put about 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of both pans...

 

 

To the middle of that I used another color...

 

 

And another and another until all 5 colors had been used...

 

 

I then baked it according to the box instructions and let them cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes before I removed them from the pans.  Let them cool completely before decorating.

Here is the final product...

 

Happy Birthday Harley!!!

Sweet Harley-

My baby is 16...

16 years ago today I had my first baby.  He was 3 weeks early, suffered from colic and didn't sleep until he was 5...I was exhausted for years.  Now he is my quite boy who is bigger than me (& his dad) and ready to get his drivers license.  It is so CRRRAAAZZZYYY!!  Now I realize that I am constantly saying how fast time flies but good gracious...this is pretty ridiculous.  16 years passing in what seems like the blink of an eye is just too much for this mama.  So in attempt to not completely loose it, I have decided that instead of telling you how very much I love him and million wonderful things he brings to my life...I'm just going to reminisce through photos. 



Taters favorite things in order...Golf...Sage (his Yorkie)...NASCAR...& Mom :)

 



He has a quite sense of humor and likes to be silly (with Grader)...

 



 

First his permit and now in a few days...his license...

 

He has always been a Mama's boy...

 

 

His grandparents have always meant the world to him.  Here he is with his Mamu Albertson...

 

 

When he was about 4 his love of NASCAR began.  He thought he was a race car driver and now wishes he was...

 

 

His first day of school (1st grade) and just yesterday he started his sophomore year...

 

 

Two of a kind...Papa B & Tater...

 



He and Landen have been friends since preschool and share he exact same schedule this year...watch out for these two...

 



 

Watching him play football is one of my all-time joys...

 

Happy Birthday Tater.  Sweet boy-

Weightloss Wednesday...

As you know, I am in my final stages of training for my half marathon on September 22nd and I am TOTALLY freaking out.  My runs lately have been just short of completely terrible!  I'm not quite sure what is making it that way but I am trying to power through.  The fact is...if my runs don't improve dramatically in the next few weeks, I may be walking part of the race & that is not what I set out to do.  It is frustrating to say the least. 

I enjoy running and look forward to it because the feeling that you have after a good run is amazing.  They call it a "runners high" and I can't quite explain it.  It doesn't always happen but if it does it is at the end of a run.  I get filled with emotion and feel like I could run forever.  It is powerful and I sadly it hasn't happened for way to long.

I guess that when I set out 13 weeks ago to train for this race I thought that I would just go out, get my runs in and that would be that.  I didn't realize that there would be some really rough patches.  I didn't realize that there would be slumps.  I definitely didn't realize or think it would be this close to race day. 

I will admit that I am sad that I am having such a hard time but I am not giving up (even though there are parts of me that want to).  I am going to continue running with the hope that each run will get better.  If I can't run the entire race then I guess that is the way it goes.  That just means that I will be training for another one sometime soon because I want to reach my goal of running the entire 13.1 miles.  I'm determined and if it doesn't happen this time...I will try again and again until I do.

When I began running I didn't realize the life lessons that it would teach me.  I thought that I was just taking on a new form of exercise and that was it.  But it has taught me how important mind over matter is.  I really never understood what a mental game running was and how that can help in so many other aspects of life.  Believing you can do something is more important that actually doing it.  Visualizing yourself completing a task and being strong mentally is more powerful than anything physical.  Pushing through a hard run is just like pushing through any battle in life.  There are always difficult people and situations that affect our lives but if you just keep your head down and power through then the rewards can be great.  Running like life is proving to be hard but I will keep pounding the pavement until it gets better.  Sweet training-