Thank You, Debbie Downer

The other day at the gym I was almost done with my workout when a lady came up and stood on the treadmill next to me as if she wanted to talk to me.  I took out my headphones and paused the machine.  She introduced herself and I can't remember her name, but we'll call her Debbie.  I introduced myself and our conversation went something like this...

Debbie, "I see you running a lot.  Are you training for anything?"

Me, "Yep, I am running in the PF Chang Marathon."

Debbie, "I've run it 3 times.  This will be my 4th."

Me, "Really, wow.  How is it?  I guess you probably liked it if you keep doing it."

Debbie, "It's pretty good.  One year it was freezing cold and I didn't do so well.  But I don't expect it to be like that this year."

At this point I am thinking, "This girl seems nice... offering some knowledge from her experiences."

Debbie, "Have you done a marathon before?"

Me, "No.  I've done a half, but this is my first full marathon."

Debbie, "How do you think you'll do?  Do you have a goal?"

Me, "Well, if I base it on my half..."

Debbie, "Which you can't."

Me, "...then somewhere around 4 hours.  I'd like to keep my pace at about 10 minutes a mile."

Debbie, "Which you won't."

Me, "Oh, yeah.  Well, I know I'll be slower than my half for sure, but I think 10 minute miles is reasonable for me."

Debbie, "Well, unless you are some amazing superwoman runner, you won't."  Yep, that's what she said.

Now I'm thinking something like, "Wow.  Okay.  You can go away now.  And, by the way, I am an amazing superwoman runner!!!"

Me, "Okay...hmmm..."

Debbie, "Yeah, a marathon is nothing like a half marathon.  You'll feel like you're gonna die!  It's pretty close though, huh?  I have a 20 miler this weekend and then we taper down."

Me, "It is coming fast.  Mine is just 18 this week and another 18 next week, then I taper.  Well, good luck on your training and maybe I'll see you at the race."

Debbie, "Yeah, nice to meet you.  Bye!"

Now, I'm all for hearing advise from people who are experienced, but geez... Talk about a downer!  She could have tactfully said something like, "That's a serious goal for a first time marathoner, but remember, finishing is the ultimate goal, right?"  So she could get across the message that she thinks I might not really make my goal.  But, to flat out say I can't and won't, I'd say is pretty presumptuous.

Who is she to tell me what I can or can't do?!  And you know what?  I have to believe that I am amazing or else I wouldn't be able to finish!  This race is serious and unless I make my mind believe I can do it, I physically will not be able to.

I know I do not really know what a marathon is like, and I am expecting it to kick my butt, and I probably will feel like I am going to die by the end, but I feel like I am prepared.  At the time I ran the half, (13.1 miles) the most I had run by that point was 11.  Now I have run 19 and have followed the training schedule so I believe I will finish and meet my goal.  I think--and maybe I'm wrong, but I don't think so--that a half marathon is a little bit like a full marathon.  I see these equations in my head:

training for half marathon=successful half marathon
training for full marathon=successful full marathon

I mean, I've trained, mentally and physically for this race.  Even if I'm not ready, I have to believe I am or I have lost before I started.

I have experienced the amazing things your physical body can do when your mind believes it can.  This race will be another to add to the list.

Maybe afterwards I'll say that she was right and I was crazy for thinking I could make it around 4 hours.

But, probably not.

Christmas Bike 2009

Jaxon riding his bike for the first time.  

He was chasing daddy and thought it was the funniest thing!

He got frustrated when he had trouble with the pedals.

Who needs the basketball hoop when you can play in the box?

Henry thought it was fun to wear this for about 3 seconds, then screamed and ripped it off.

Christmas 2009

All Jaxon wanted from Santa was a Lightsaber (and sometimes he would also say a football helmet, but Santa didn't get that so we didn't remind Jax).  He was so excited when he opened it!

Henry toppled over when he opened his!

Here he was in a daze when he woke up.  Look at those lips!

The boys in their matching pj's!

Family picture

Opening gifts at Granny's...

Henry loved his Mickey Mouse shirt and wanted to put it on right away.

Jaxon opening his Spiderman suit.  Looks like Grandpa is just as excited as Jaxon!

Henry loves his singing letter toy!

Henry on his Tigger toy.  He loves it too because it plays music.

Henry loved Jaxon's bike too

And was sad he couldn't ride it.

Christmas Eve 2009

We went to Nana & Papa's for Christmas Eve.  Jaxon and Daddy loved playing with the wrapping paper tubes.

Here's the family shot.  We were in love with these penguins.  The best part about them was they were on clearance at Target for like $2.50!

Here are the Yule Logs.  Beautiful!

Jaxon lined up everyone single file in his nativity to see the baby Jesus.  What a cutie!

We decorated Nutter Butter cookies to go with the Snowman spiritual thought.

We all had such a great time playing games and being in the Christmas spirit!  Family time is the best, especially during Christmas!

Bum

Jax, "Mommy, don't tell me I smell like bum."

Me, "Well, sometimes your bum is stinky."

Jax, "Well, sometimes I itch it."

I hadn't even mentioned a smelly bum when he said that.  I was just helping him get his pants back on after he went potty.  Maybe he thought his bum was stinky?

Disclaimer:  My kids get baths every night.  We rarely skip, but sometimes their bums do get stinky.

Hand Delivered Christmas Gift?

Nope.  Today I was hand delivered my photo red light ticket--ugg!

It's my first ticket and I knew it flashed me when it happened.  It was taken on Halloween and I was SO mad!  I hate those things!  At least when you get pulled over you can plead with the officer to NOT give you the ticket.  These machines have no mercy!  Hate them!

Merry Christmas to me!

Oh, and that little bride and groom glass ornament I posted about a few days ago... Henry dropped it on the tile and it broke.  I saw that he had it, but went to the washroom to drop a dirty towel in the basket and when ran back to him and it was too late.  :(  At least he had this cute little smile on his face though!

AND... Tomorrow is my last long run before the marathon!  Yea!  It's 18 miles for the second time.  Actually, last week I thought about only having one long run left and was kind of sad.  I really enjoy being out in the beautiful weather for a good three to three and a half hours once a week.  I feel so free while I'm out there running all over the place.

Today when I ran I was having a killer pain behind my right knee.  I mean, it was bad.  I had to stop a few times and usually I'm able to run through any pains I'm having.  It started about mile 16 last week, but today it was there right when I started running.  That's pretty much terrible news because I have come this far without an injury and it would be SO sad if this keeps me from being able to race.  I'll be taking pain killers tomorrow for sure!

I better get to bed!

No, Thank You

I receive e-mails from Forever 21 and today I clicked on it to link me to their site.  This was one of the shirts advertised on the homepage.

I think it's terrible!  Christmas is SO not about the gifts and it may be a joke, but I don't like it or think it's appropriate.  It doesn't matter to me which holiday you are celebrating, but celebrate it for the right reason--and that reason shouldn't be gifts.

Don't mess with the birth of the Savior of the world anytime, especially Christmas time!

Bedtime Questions

"Mommy, you have sweet dreams, okay?"

"Mommy, we can cuddle in the morning?"

"Mommy, there will be monsters in my room?"

"Mommy, are we on the planet Earth?"

"Mommy, there's gonna be ally cats?"

"Mommy, are you gonna leave the door open?"

--Jaxon 12/21/09


"How am I so blessed?"

--Mommy 12/21/09

Oh Christmas Tree

Jaxon is putting stickers on his ornament.

Ever Christmas since we've been married I have searched for a tree topper.  Devin and I both prefer a star for the top of our tree but, I have not found a single one that I like.

After an unsuccessful search again this year, I decided didn't want the top to be bare again so pulled out some craft supplies and make one.  I used a paper towel roll with a cut out paper star (doubled for reinforcement) and some "warm fuzzies" to decorate it.

Jaxon was a great helper, but sadly got 2 hot glue burns in the process.

Here he is putting it on the top of the tree!

Though I love ornaments that match with a cute color scheme and make the tree look so pretty, I really like ornaments that mean something the best.  Here are some of my favorite...

Here is the one Jaxon was making.  He put half of each of the 4 stickers packages on his ornament.  As you can see, quite a few overlapped.  What a silly boy!  I could have "fixed" it, but the way he chose to do it is what makes it so cute and special.  It didn't need to be "fixed."

This is a baby Jesus that Devin made.

I'm not a big fan of these glass ornaments, but this one I love because it was from our first Christmas together. <3

This is an ornament I sent Devin while he was on his mission.  When I sent it I remember wondering if it would be on OUR tree someday.

This is a cute ornament from the Epcot Center in Florida.  We went there at Christmas time in 2007 with Devin's family.  We had a blast!  I love how she has a little baby--so cute!

This is from San Diego.  I bought it when Devin was selling pest control there over the summer.  I love it because it is a snowman made with sand!  Plus, it's a cute girl sandwoman with a flower in her hair and a grass skirt and lei.

We got this ornament on our honeymoon in Laughlin, Nevada (remember, we were married December 18--right in the middle of the holiday season).  I don't really recommend going to Laughlin.  It's basically a mini Vegas, and for a Mormon, there's just not much to do.  Luckily, since we were on our honeymoon we could keep ourselves busy without even leaving our room...

Kitchen Towels & Santa Hats... Headdresses of All Kinds

For some reason Henry likes to walk around with the kitchen towel on his head.  It's fun to see him doing silly things like this.  It's not real safe, but it's pretty cute!

Henry decided to open his presents early!  Luckily, I found him before he got too far.

For our ward Christmas breakfast the kids got to take pictures with Santa.  Jaxon told him he wanted a Light Saber again.

I made Henry sit there for a minute so I could get this picture.  He's so cute!

Jaxon with his Santa beard and hat last year...

And this year...

5 Years

The 18th was our 5th wedding anniversary!  I can't believe it has been 5 years.  The two years I waited for Devin seemed longer than these past 5.  

To celebrate on the actual day, we ate at The Deli.  It was fabulous!  Loved the atmosphere and the food, and the prices were pretty good.  We didn't have a babysitter so we brought the boys (and Jeni too).  I pretty much loathe taking kids out to eat because getting them to sit still in an environment that's new and needs to be explored is quite a task.  But, they both ate and behaved perfectly.

Devin said that the carrot cake from The Deli has been voted by some magazines as the best in The Valley so of course he had to try it.  It was good, but his cake certainly could give the chef a run for his money.

So to really celebrate, the next night we dropped the kids off at Devin's parents and we headed to a nice child-free dinner at Buca Di Beppo because it's one of our favorites and we had a coupon for a free appetizer.  We got stuffed mushrooms and salad.  It was very delicious as usual!

After dinner we went to see a movie.  We didn't really have one picked out.  We figured we'd decide when we arrived at the theater.  I wanted a romantic comedy so I thought Have You Heard About the Morgans would be a good choice.  We got tickets and while we waited decided to try the chocolate Coke at Johnny Rockets.  I was a believer, but Devin was skeptical.  He ended up loving it and wanted to shout from the rooftops about how good it was.  He really loved it.

While we enjoyed our Coke and fries we debated over our movie choice.  He wanted to see Avatar, but I was not interested in that one at all.  But, I figured that all the good parts of The Morgans were probably in the previews so took a chance on Avatar.  I'm really glad we did because I LOVED it!  It was so great.  I could have cut some of the action scenes a little shorter, but the movie was fantastic.  Go see it...I mean it!  Oh, we saw it in 3D and it made it that much cooler!

My favorite part of the night was when the movie ended and we stood up and Devin said, "Oh my legs!" like he was in pain from a strenuous activity or hard labor or something.  I had run 18 miles that morning!  And HE was the one complaining about his legs!  Seriously?

The movie was almost 3 hours so we got home pretty late.  It was a fun day and I am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man!

3D Avatar glasses

Project Plans

Now that I have a break, I'm gonna be busy trying to make some of these:

Christmas Ornament Wreath
By  Thrifty Decor Chick

Santa Trees
By  Thrifty Decor Chick

Block Puzzle
By  Making the World Cuter

Vintage Looking Pic
By  Diary of a Craftaholic

Photo Plate
By  Diary of a Craftaholic

Straightner Sleeve
By  Diary of a Craftaholic

Big & Small Frames in One
By  Shanty 2 Chic

Tile Coasters
By  Making The World Cuter

I don't really have a plan for these, but they are super cute!
Paper Pine Cone
By  Diary of a Craftaholic

MBP Free to Fart America

I read this  here and was amused so I thought I'd share...


Anyway, I was going to talk about how inconvenient it actually is that farting is such a taboo thing to do. I had the opportunity to hear the Apostle, Elder Quentin Cook speak at a lunch thingy today. After having just had a jalapeno burger from Carl's Junior I had some mad gas. Well, there were like 200 people in the room and I had to fart. I was concentrating so much on holding it in and not sqeaking a peeper that I could focus on nothing else.

Why is farting so bad? Really? I mean coughing is gross, so is sneezing, and people do that in public without major embarrassment all the time. If I could have just let a couple go today, I would have been fine. Instead I spent the meeting repeatedly clenching and relaxing just enough to make sure nothing slipped out, and I didn't hear a word the man said. The Apostle was trumped by my gas. It just isn't right. I can't help that food gives me gas. What if Cook's dissertation on "morality in business" would have changed my life. It may have been the greatest news I would have ever heard. Yet I missed out because farting is such a "bad" thing. Can you imagine if I was at the sermon on the mount and I had to fart.

I think we, the human race, should eliminate this problem. Join me in my quest for a Free to Fart America. It will only work if you can fart confidently in front of others and if when people fart you can refrain from causing a big scene whether it's laughter or disgust. You can actually catch something from a cough or a sneeze. Nobody gets sick from a fart. Yet farts are received with laughter and mockery, and coughs score a "bless you" from anyone within ear shot. Next time I hear a "fffrrrrtttt-ftt-fffffrrr woosh ffrrt-t - ttt", I am going to say, "bless you." Seriously people, is holding your farts worth missing out on enlightenment and possibly eternal salvation?

-Jake


Oh, and though it's gross and think it would take some getting used to, I do agree.  What do you think?

Tennis Shoes & Toenails

A few things I am thankful for:

Closed toed shoes so I can hide my overrun, overworked feet.  They don't hide it well.

Arizona winter weather.  It's not too cold to go running outside, even after dark.  I don't know how people do it other places.  I'd be a popsicle!

Neighbors who decorate their houses for the holidays.  It's so fun to go running after dark through the neighborhood looking at all the lights.  It really puts me in the Christmas mood!

Devin, who wants to spend the few moments of free time we have together, but understands that I have to go for my run.

Jaxon, who comes with me to the Y even when he is tired enough to fall asleep on the floor in the middle of a room of screaming kids.

Henry, who just started giving kisses and hasn't denied me once.

Crafts

Crafting...I LOVE it!

Paper
Cloth
Gluing
Sewing
Beads
Flowers
Ribbon
Buttons
Stickers
Paint
Wood
Mod Podge!
All destined for cuteness!

I'm having withdrawals because there are SO many cute holiday crafts that I would love to make, but haven't had the time or money to go to the store for supplies.  It's a tragedy.

A Few Henry & Jaxon Things

Henry has been such a delight lately.  He is learning and growing so fast I want to record some of the things he's doing now.

When I give him something I want him to throw away I tell him, "Go put this in the garbage" and he takes it and throws it away.

He knows what it means when I tell him to "Sit down on your bottom/bum."

He is the best sleeper!  Well, he would be the best sleeper if he wasn't such a light sleeper, but he is fabulous when it's time to go down because I just lay him in his bed and he goes right to sleep.  This also works in the pack in play at other people's houses.  This is something I really, really appreciate because Jaxon wasn't like this.  And, it's such a pain to have to leave someone's house when you are visiting because your kid needs to nap.  Being able to put him down anywhere is the greatest!  Parenting tip #1 in my book:  Put your baby in their bed while they are still awake so they can learn to go to sleep on their own.  Otherwise, you'll be holding them for hours and though it's cute at first, but in the long run, it just isn't best for them or you.

He goes to sleep at about 7:00 and sleeps until about 7:00.  He usually naps about 3 hours total during the day.  Sometimes all at once, and sometimes he'll take 2 short naps.  It is wonderful!

When Henry gets hurt he says in this little whiney voice, "Ow Owieeeeee."  It started when he had diaper rash one day and I said, "Oh that's owie, huh?"  After that, he understood "owie" and uses the phrase daily.

Henry can say baby, cheese, banana, ball, shoes, outside.

He can use a big boy cup by himself, but we are still practicing the spoon.  That's a hard one for me to let him do because it makes such a mess.

When I tell him, "Give mommy kissie" he kisses me then he usually points to my forehead and wants to do "noggins" so we then bonk foreheads.

He has been doing these for a while, but he makes animal sounds:  monkey, bear, pig, horse, sheep, dog, cat, bird.

He has also known some for a while, but is continuing to learn body parts.  He knows eyes, tummy, fingers, toes, nose, ears.

One more thing, today Jaxon was playing with Play Dough and I sat Henry up to the counter and gave him a glob and grabbed it and put it in his mouth!  I told him no and he cried about it like I hurt his feelings.  I calmed him down and gave him some more and told him not to eat it.  He did it again.  I think we'll try Play Dough again when he's a little bigger.

Oh, and Henry climbs on EVERYthing!

A few notes on Jaxon...
Before his bath each night he knows he has to put his clothes in his laundry basket before he gets in the tub.  He's such a good little boy about it.  I'm teaching him to do this because one, he is able to do it so I do not need to do it for him; and two, when he is a grown man with a wife of his own, she will be lucky and hopefully appreciate that he puts his clothes in the hamper rather than on the floor.

No need to read into that...Devin is good about putting his clothes in the hamper :)

I know some people say the terrible twos get worse at age three, but for Jaxon that wasn't the case.  It's like something clicked and he went back to the sweet, obedient child I knew and loved.  He still has problems listening at times and throws fits here and there, but is pretty much 100x better!  It's fabulous!

And Jaxon met Santa!  Jaxon told Santa he wanted a Light Saber and then asked, "Where is it?" like he was going to magically pull it out right there.  Little kids are so innocent and sweet!

He has also mentioned he wants a football helmet so he can play.  He likes to watch it with daddy.

Gym Thoughts

My mind tends to wander while I'm on the treadmill.  These are some of the thoughts that occupied my mind during my past few runs...

Sweat on chapped hands
Since winter has come in AZ my hands have been so dry and recently they got so bad they cracked in a few spots.  When I run and my hands start sweating it burns my poor little knuckles.

Sweat drops making me itch
As my body gets warmed up and my head starts sweating I can feel the little droplets running down my scalp and it so itchy!  Until my whole head is damp with sweat, I am constantly scratching!

Sweat on my earphones
Another sweat issue...One thing I love is when I drop my earphones for a bit and when I put them back in they are all wet from the sweat dripping down them (sarcasm, in case you didn't catch it).

Heart rate reader on Treadmill
There is one treadmill at the Y that's a little shady.  When it's not being used it flashes an estimated heart rate.  The rest of the machines sit with a blank screen.  I just wonder what's up with that...

Guess What They Look Like game
A little game I like to play is to try to guess what the people look like on the machines in front of me.  At our Y, the elliptical machines are behind the bikes and the treadmills are behind the elliptical machines.  So, if I get there and people are working out on the machines in front of me, I try to guess what they look like.  It's kinda entertaining.

Shower curtain
I discovered that showering at the Y is the greatest idea.  If I shower at home I have to worry about the boys...are they going to get hurt, fight, raid the candy bowl, etc.  I could shower when Henry naps and Jaxon watches a movie, but then I'm using precious "my time" to shower.  So, I leave the boys in the kids center for a few extra minutes and enjoy a worry-free shower all to myself.  But...the shower curtains are in desperate need of replacements.  The holes at the top that the rings go through are breaking and the metal rings are rusting.  They don't stay closed very well because of the broken holes unless you stuff it between your stall and the next.  It works, but I figure with what people pay per month for a membership, they can afford to get new curtains.

Toenails
I was told that marathoners often lose toenails.  Well, I was doing good until this past week with the 2nd 16 miler.  The toes next to my big toes on both feet feel like they are going to lose their nails.  It's kinda freaking me out.  It hurts to wear socks and really hurts when little Henry steps on them.  I'm not sure what to do about it.  I don't think my shoes are too small.  They have been fine all this time.  I thought it was just from running so many miles.  Does anyone know of a solution?  Do tell.  Please!

GU
Gu is my new best friend.  Chocolate is so yummy:)

Oma
My Oma (means Grandma in German) is the best.  She watches the kids pretty much every Saturday so I can do my long run.  (Devin has wrestling practice.)  I love her and she is fabulous!

6 more weeks of training and then it's the RACE!!!

4 Outta 5 Aint Bad!

Devin, "You're such a good cook, Sweets."
Ruthann, "Really?"
Devin, "Yeah, everything about this meal was excellent."

I have to savor this moment...

Lately, I have been making dinner about 4 nights a week.  And guess what?  I actually like it!  

And I figured out this little secret Devin has been keeping from me...it's not that hard!  I always thought it was hard and time consuming to make a good meal, so I was too intimidated to try.  But it's actually pretty easy to make something really good.  The more meals I make, the more I learn how to make other meals too.  It's kind of exciting!  (A little Molly Mormon sounding, I'm sure, but it's true.)

Marathon 2nd Thoughts...

So...training has been really though lately.  Mentally tough.

I love running, but when it takes literally ALL of my free time, and time with my boys and husband, I don't love it so much.

Since I watch kids now from 7 am to almost 6 pm, I have to do my runs at night.  That means they are during my time with the boys (without the daycare kids) and time with Devin.

Then, my long runs are on Saturdays, which take up most of the morning.

It has just been really wearing on me.  I am not a quitter so I won't stop now.  I have come so far!  Only one more milage increase...18...and I'll be at the longest of the training runs.  After doing 16 last week, it's hard to imagine adding 10 to that to equal the race distance.

In the book I'm reading, The Non-Runner's Marathon Trainer, page 72 says,

"When the moment comes in the marathon when you feel you can't go on...you will go on anyway because you have done it so many times in the past and because of that, you will believe that you can do it again."

This is SO true!  When I am running and running and running and want to stop, I tell myself something like, "You have felt this way before and didn't stop so you CAN'T stop now!" and it keeps me going!

I do love running, I just gotta get out of this funk.  I ordered new shoes because by now mine have almost 200 miles just from the past 9 weeks of training and within the next week they will have over 230, so that might help mix things up a bit.  Though, they are the same shoes I have, so I guess that's not much for mixing things up.  But, I did order this blister powder that might help my blisters go away.  They seem to be permanent.  At least they aren't painful anymore, but they do make my usually cute toes look ugly.

Kiva.org

For Henry's birthday, my brother gave him a $25 gift certificate to Kiva.org.  This is what the website says about itself...

We Let You Loan to Low Income Entrepreneurs

Kiva is the world's first person-to-person micro-lending website, empowering individuals to lend to unique entrepreneurs around the globe.Kiva's mission is to connect people through lending for the sake of alleviating poverty.

The people you see on Kiva's site are real individuals. When you browse entrepreneurs' profiles on Kiva, choose someone to lend to, and then make a loan, you are helping a real person make great strides towards economic independence and improve life for themselves, their family, and their community. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates and track repayments. Then, when you get your loan money back, you can relend to someone else.

Basically, you donate money to people across the world who use the money as a small business loan.  It enables people to get loans to further their business so they can support themselves and their families.  Then, they pay the money back and you get your money back and can reinvest in someone else.

I think it is so great.  Kiva doesn't take any of the money you lend either; 100% of it goes toward the entrepreneur you choose.  You get to pick who your money goes to.  I picked a musician who plays a drum at weddings.  He wants to get more instruments so he will be in more demand.  I picked him because Henry loves music so I thought he would be happy with this choice.  Also, this man has a wife and 2 kids to support so I feel really good about helping him.

Anyway, I just wanted to post about this site because I think it is a great way to help people.  For one, it's a loan, not a donation so your money will be returned and you can continue to help person after person with the same money.  Also, seeing pictures and reading about these people who are asking for help makes me realize how blessed I am.  I have an amazing live and am so thankful.

Thanks, Joshua, for a great gift.  And thanks for your example of charity.  Jaxon and Henry are so blessed to have you as an uncle.  I love you, brother!