Thanksgiving 2013

This Thanksgiving was filled with lots of good food, lots of good laughs, and some good shooting. Ideal Goucher Thanksgiving. Yes I'm a Goucher but more than likely not related to Kara or her husband. That would be cool though. Anyway, back to our day.

Snacks:

 My fave: homemade rolls

Food & Family:

Goucher Family Fun:

 Me and my awkward self and thin hair

My son captured this beauty..it's a good thing I was just playing..

That's my boy! Shooting his first "real" shotgun. He hit the can both times! I tried to get our daughter to shoot the pellet gun but she's a little unsure right now. Plus she's only going on 5 so she has some time to learn. ;-)

I hope everyone had an awesome day. We did!

Yosemite Physical Therapy Review

Yosemite Physical Therapy

(Atwater, Ca)

I want to start off by saying how pleased I am with my overall visit with YPT. I was a bit nervous at first since I've never had to go to physical therapy before, so I was unsure of what was to come. Plus, putting your body (my neck) in the hands of a stranger can be nerve racking. (No pun intended)

I suffered for over a year with horrible headaches after running as short as 2 miles. These weren't your average take-a-pill and get-over-it kind of headaches. I would need complete darkness and quiet in order to just deal with the pain. A cool rag over most of my face and propping myself up helped relieve the pain too. After lots of research I self diagnosed myself with exertion headaches. After experiencing a couple more of these devils, I finally decided to see a Neurologist just to make sure nothing else was going on. She told me I may have a hypersensitive Occipital Nerve on the right side of my neck which could be triggering the headaches.

She respected my wishes when I told her I do not want to take medication. She referred me to YPT and told me if the headaches persist then to come back and see her. 

I won't go into detail about everything that was done because obviously (in my opinion) they knew what they were doing. Here's a list of my ratings based on a 1-5 star scale. 1 being least impressed and 5 being extremely impressed.

First Impression: 5 Stars. New(er) building, always greeted with a smiling face.

Promptness: 5 Stars. The longest I've waited to be seen was probably 2-3 minutes.

Cleanliness: 5 Stars. Very clean & organized.

Teamwork: 5 Stars. Great teamwork. Everyone seems to work very well together and seems to be in-sync with one another. 

Attentiveness: 5 Stars. I never felt like I was left on my own. There was always someone checking on me and making sure I knew what I was doing, or asking if I was doing ok.

Friendliness: 5 Stars. Each and every one of the staff members are very friendly and outgoing. 

Overall: 5 Stars. (did you think I'd rate anything less?) Very comfortable and inviting environment. I'm extremely happy with my overall visit.

I've been headache free for about 3 weeks now and that is a huge relief for me. I know that there is a chance they could come back, with the help of other things like hot weather conditions, exertion and dehydration. I'm not saying that I am completely healed from headaches/migraines; but what I am saying is that going to physical therapy has helped tremendously and has taught me some very valuable things like stretches and exercises to strengthen my back and neck to reduce the risk of future headaches. 

I highly recommend Yosemite Physical Therapy to anyone who lives in the area and is looking for a professional, informative, helpful and friendly staff. 

I also want to encourage others to give physical therapy a try before turning to pain medication which could be potentially harmful in the long run and usually only "coats" the problem. 

A glimpse of my day

Since Jillian kicked my bootay yesterday and I can barely walk today, I did a lot of baking and preparing for tomorrow's feast at my mom's house.

In the midst of all the goodie making we went to see my sister and niece. (She babysits for my brother) 

Chalk is so much fun for kids who live way out in the country. 

My son's very artistic. 

Hopscotch is still fun. 

And now I'll let you drool over some of the things we made today.

 Apple Pie

Chocolate peanut butter bark

White chocolate and milk chocolate pretzels

Cherry crescent rolls

We should try to live every day in a state of thanksgiving.

Count your blessings, not your problems. 

Enjoy your time with loved ones tomorrow. Make great memories.

&

Don't eat too much! 

It's been nice

Today was like a really good dream. 

I woke up on my own. 

I had a full cup of coffee with no interruptions.

I had time to pray,

 and even get ready in the privacy of my own bathroom. 

If you're a mother you may be thinking, "how?"

The answer is a word that starts with g and ends in ma. Grandma. Yes, our kids have been with their grandma since yesterday evening and it's been nice.

My two rugrats are on the right. They sure love their grandma. And so do we. :-)

We're very thankful for her. We wouldn't have many date nights if we didn't have her. 

AND her services are free.

Every parent needs one of these.

So here's a few pics from our much needed date

 He had chicken enchiladas and I had a tri tip French dip sandwich with a salad. I told him to get used to the weird picture taking. Makes blogs more interesting. 

Branding Iron never dissapoints and their prices are great.

Raspberry sherbet :-) this was just a teaser so later we got some ice cream. They always give little pieces of mint chocolates in the shape of a boot, but today we got a pumpkin and a turkey.

We ate them before even thinking of taking a photo. 

Opposites attract. 

It sure has been nice..but like they say, all good things must come to an end.

(We love our children more than words can express, but it's ok for parents to enjoy time to themselves once in a while.)

5 mile Turkey Trot

Today was my first ever 5 mile race/run. I've never ran more than 4.5 miles and that was with a couple walk breaks. I am very happy to say that I ran the whole time, only walked to grab a cup of gatorade and drink it so I didn't spill it all over myself..still managed to spill some on my skirt but oh well. Most made it to my stomach.

Early, cold morning. She stayed in her pjs's and just put a jacket and shoes on. 

Pre race nerves set in.. I'm pretty sure we were all too frozen to move in closer for the photo. 

The race started out really well. I felt awesome up until about mile 3. Then I started to feel little aches and pains in my knees and ankles. I kept pushing and talked myself through it. At one point I thought I was last but then I looked behind me and saw two other women. I was able to pass one girl right before the finish. I didn't place 1st, 2nd or 3rd in my age group so I'm waiting to see the results online. I finished in 49 minutes which I'm happy with because I told my husband I really want to finish in under 50 minutes. 

 Whew! Glad that's over!

I'm uploading from my phone so the bottom pic should've went first..

It was a cool run along a bike path by a river..but it wasn't planned out very well. I'm pleased with my performance so that's what matters right?

T shirt = lazy/night shirt  

Post race meal. Yum!

The so called refreshments was gatorade and cut up bagels in a pile on a table with a tub of fake butter to spread on the bagels...not cool. I know I'm sounding really ungrateful but when you pay for a race, it's kind of a bummer to see "refreshments" put out this way..plus we ran a 3 miler back in July and got some awesome burritos afterwards..they kind of raised the bar for our refreshment expectations.

And a photo to show why I call myself the long haired runner. 

Now all I want to do is lay around but my kids won't allow that so maybe I'll hobble to the grocery store if my legs will allow me to. 

What did everyone else do this Saturday morning? 

Any races? 

What's your favorite thing to do after a run or race?

What I Did Wednesday

Today my daughter decided she wanted to be up at 5:30 am. I persuaded her to go back to bed after she got up 2 more times..I was able to doze off until about 6:45 then she came back in my room but crawled in my bed this time. By then I was ready for some coffee.

After getting Daniel to school Kate and I decided we wanted to browse around at Target. Shopping always sounds good on a cloudy day.

Totally her idea. She asks me to take her photo in this thing every time we go to Target.

I hate feeding my kids kraft macaroni n cheese..I just do. So to make myself feel better and to make my kids happy, I buy Annie's. Today I found a really cute box of farm noodles! 

Pretty darn cute eh? 

Sorry about the sideways pic. There's a tractor, cow, a barn, a bunny and a carrot the same size as the bunny. Our family loves Annie's products. 

I had a salvadorian rice and shredded chicken burrito for lunch but it was gone before I even thought about taking a pic. 

After lunch I decided to tackle this:

We just moved and we have no shed or garage..the man says if I want a treadmill then I need to organize this mess and make room for one...I conquered that task today. 

No I did not just push everything out of the way..

Snacking on these makes snacking oh so fun! 

The weather has finally changed to the cloudy rainy season so I really need a treadmill for days like today...I was being hopeful and got dressed and arranged for the kids to hang out with their g ma.. but then the sky got dark and rain started coming down..

I was sad. And so were my shoes. All work and no play is no fun. 

Even if I didn't get a run in I still had a productive day. How was your Wednesday? I'd like to know! 

Have you ever ran in the rain? 

Do you feel drawn to shopping then its cold or wet out?

Thankful Tuesday

I thought of this post while I was getting a massage in Physical Therapy today. Maybe it's because Thanksgiving is right around the corner or maybe it's just nice to think of all the things you're thankful for. To remind yourself how blessed you are. I've heard many times, "Count your blessings, not your problems." It's a good quote to live by. Anywho, here is a list of things I am thankful for:

1. Of course number one on my list will always be God. I am so thankful to have the God of the universe walking through this life with me. I would be lost without Him.

2. My family, friends, acquaintances, people in my life, people from my past, people I have yet to meet. You all have a reason for being in my life. I wouldn't be who I am today if it weren't for most of the people in my life. 
3. My children. They are my world. Yes, even when I'm mad at them or irritated with them. I am so thankful God gave us two completely different, unique, talented, sweet hearted and beautiful children. I've learned more from my kids than from anyone. 

 Daniel-10 yrs old & Kate-4 (almost 5) yrs old

4. My husband. I am so blessed to be married to a man who loves God and strives to do his very best to support and provide for his family. He has made so many sacrifices for us. I can't thank him enough for just being who he is. He also loves to run! So that's a plus. :-) 

5. Physical Therapy. I have learned so much about my body the past few weeks. I've also learned some pretty sweet tricks to roll out my muscles with two tennis balls and some really good back strengthening exercises. I love when I come out of something smarter than when I went in. 

6. Food. Lately I've been trying new recipes and broadening my horizons when it comes to food. I usually play it safe and stick with what I know I like, but lately, trying new things hasn't let me down. I'm thankful for food & the job my husband has so we can buy the foods we enjoy.

7. Cereal. I know this is considered a food BUT I'm thankful for cereal because it's so versatile (not sure if that's the right word now that I'm proof reading). I can eat it any time of the day and it still tastes good and satisfies my hunger. 

8. The internet. Yes, I'm thankful for the internet. So I can blog (and have my 1 follower receive my post via email since for some weird reason I haven't had any other followers) and so I can read other blogs from mother runners or anyone else who has something inspiring or funny to say.

9. Transportation. My trusty Subaru has been having some issues lately. So it's time to move on. :-( I'm very sad about this because I just put a 5k sticker on the back window like 2 weeks ago! BUT on the bright side, my wonderful husband has given me his Dodge Dakota and he's going to drive back and forth to work in something like a Saturn so that the kids and I have something reliable. Isn't that sweet?! AND he said I can put race stickers on the back window. Sounds like a deal to me.  

10. This one should've been higher on the list but it just now popped into my head. I'm thankful for a house to live in with warmth when we need it, and cooling when we need it. Something that so many people don't have. It's such a luxury to be able to just flip a switch and boom, hot/cool air coming out of vents. 

11. Hot showers. I. LOVE. HOT. SHOWERS. 

12. I almost forgot. I can't believe I almost forgot this one. I'm thankful for my two legs. No joke. Without them I couldn't run or walk or do anything else that I probably take for granted every day. Even if I'm not too pleased with them at the moment, I'm still thankful for my strong, healthy legs. 

So there's my list. If I think of anything else I'll add it. 

So what are YOU thankful for this fine Tuesday evening?

We're ending our evening with dinner with the fam and some freshly made banana bread for dessert. Life is good.

Motivational Monday (2)

I really like this photo. It speaks for itself. 

Boy have I been feeling down in the dumps today! 

I'm thinking a good run this evening will snap me out of it. I have my first

5 mile race this coming Saturday but I'm really not feeling motivated to do 

anything today. Maybe I'll get in a lower body/leg workout. Maybe I won't. 

We'll see. I'm not setting anything in stone. I blame the cloudy weather for 

my dumpy mood. 

Time for some motivation!! Doesn't usually take long to get me motivated to run or get moving after google-ing "running inspiration".

I tend to forget that I enjoy running. I forget why I run sometimes. Then something happens in my life and all I can think about is going out for a run to clear my head. To get out the frustration. To let go and leave everything in God's hands. 

Right now I have a pressing issue that involves one of our children and I just don't even know where to begin. I can't just push it to the back of my mind and hope for the best and pray it all turns out o.k. My mind doesn't work that way. I want to be proactive now. Significantly lower the chances of something horrible happening. I refuse to be one of those parents that doesn't take action when something serious has surfaced. This issue is most likely why I'm feeling "down in the dumps" but all I need is a little motivation. And most of the time that comes from just going out and running and clearing my head and coming home ready to take the first step. Running, meditation and prayer always provide what I need to keep moving forward. 

It's interesting how writing out what I'm feeling helps. Maybe it simply puts things into perspective and causes me to sit and think about the issues at hand. And helps me to realize that I can do all things through Christ which gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13) 

How is your Monday going?

Feel free to leave a comment to motivate or to give me a good chuckle. 

Warning: this post contains the words Throw Up

This is usually how we wake up. All smiles.

But today was different. This is how I felt.

And here is why:

Last night was a nightmare. Kate woke up around midnight with some post nasal drip going on (gross, I know). She had one of these nights a few weeks ago and it was horrible! For both of us. She HATES throwing up, who doesn't? But last night she remembered that when her nose is draining, it might make her throw up. She must have a really sensitive gag reflex like her daddy. So she wakes up around midnight, I get her back in bed, calmed down.

As soon as I go back to my bed, get comfy, here she comes again. Boom boom boom boom boom go her footsteps through our raised foundation house with wood floors. I get back up with her, give her a drink of water, a couple saltines because she said her tummy was feeling bad, prayed with her then went back to my bed. Same thing keeps happening..over. and over. and over again. We ended up on the couch, together. Which does not work well with a 4 (almost 5) year old. I felt really bad for her because she kept whimpering because she was freaked out about throwing up. There wasn't anything I could really do for her besides comfort her. So I stayed up with her from 1am to about 3am.

 I moved over to the loveseat because I just couldn't get comfy once she fell asleep. As soon as I dozed off, she starts barfing. All the way to the bathroom. Gets to the bathroom and decides to throw up on the rug instead of in the toilet. Can't say I blame her for that one. Her brother still doesn't know how to aim. I get everything cleaned up, we settle back in the living room, her on the big sofa, me on the tiny loveseat. Perfect. We sleep until the coffee pot turns on automatically at 6:10am. Boom. She's wide awake and ready to talk my head off. Yikes what a night! But I will say this: It gave me a good excuse to lay around in lazy clothes all day and not get in a workout because I had a splitting headache. Drank two cups of coffee, 1 cup of tea and later had a diet pepsi. Still not awake and totally looking forward to bed and it's only 4:30 pm.

She redeemed herself by rubbing my feet.

 Then asked me to rub hers. -_-

We did go to town in my lazy clothes and pick up a part for my car that seems to have given up the ghost.
Rented Monsters University (which is awesome, by the way) and I'm sure we'll have it memorized before 9pm tomorrow.
Browsed Walgreens and found this cool gadget that our son desperately needs. (I promise I don't pick on him like I am in this post)

I can't decide if this is just wrong or pretty cool.

3 hours later and I'm finishing up this post. Getting ready to watch Monsters University for the 2nd time today with my little Kate and the husband. Our son is staying with his cousin tonight so Kate is living it up, enjoying being the only kid in the house. Goodnight everyone! 

-How do you deal with stressful/sleepless nights? Next day remedies or just indulge in tons of caffeine to function? 

-Do you have a favorite "kid" movie? I really like all the Ice Age movies. And Despicable Me. :-D

-Have you ever tried this Wax Vac??? Please tell what it's like to use one! But go easy on the details please.