Updated Version

Here is the latest update to my post earlier. It is still snowing so hard and doesn't look like it's stopping any time soon. It's now 330pm and we have at least 3 inches of snow. The kids have been outside sledding and are now back inside having their hot chocolate warm-up! I have to admit, it is pretty....

I have been using this day so far to do absolutely nothing...but think. Today the thoughts on my brain are revolving around how to best go about shedding these 11 lbs I have gained since starting chemo. I'm still hoping that some of it will just fall off (!) as I get further and further away from steroids and such, but I most definitely need to clean up my eating habits as well. I am kind of in a comfort food rut. I've definitely needed some comfort during the last 5 months! Ha! Exercise is not really an issue, but I would like to add more scheduled at-home strength training and a tad less cardio. I need to do something in addition to running. I need a better balance...and a major dose of motivation to change it all up. Any ideas??

Say It's Not So!

NOOOO! Not more snow!! Ugh. Yes, that it the white stuff starting to show up on the ground. And it is coming down like crazy right now. I think the last thing most people around here want right now is snow...WE ARE READY FOR SPRING!! I guess if I have to look at the bright side (and I usually do) at least it's not ice. We are expecting 3-5" of just snow. So that's much better than ice.

I apologize for my lack of posts this week. I have been running crazy, literally and figuratively. I have ran 43 miles this week, (a high since before diagnosis in September woohoo!) and have been grand-champion chauffeur to the boys, too. Zachary's basketball practices are in full swing, some before school and some after, and Tyler's baseball practices started this week. And in between all the sports, other stuff has had to fit into the mix.

Tyler

• Baseball practice
• Orthodontist appt (almost done, yippee!)
• Quiz Bowl practice
• Jr. Beta Red Cross Blood Drive volunteer
• Basketball practice on Saturday morning

Zachary

• Basketball practice every day except Wednesday

Katie

• She's a 5-year old princess with a love for pink, dress-up, and everything fancy. AND she stays home with me :-D 'Nuff said.

Jack

• 2 Different homes being built right now, so 2 crews working in different towns
• Seems like every piece of equipment we had needed some sort of repair this week, so that meant a lot of fixing.
• Went to TX for 2 days to look at/purchase a new dozer because of the previous bullet point...
• Put up with me and my menopause-drive hormones, my coming off steroids emotions, and just general "freak-out" moments of insecurity and anxiety.

Erica

• Daily quiet time/Bible Study
• Ran 43 miles!!
• The driver and scheduler of events listed under the children.
• Delivered broken parts to be repaired.
• General office/bookkeeping work
• Keeping our home looking halfway put together so it doesn't look like a family of pigs live here!

Whew! No wonder I'm tired! So maybe I will just try to relax, watch it snow, and enjoy the day. Because next week it all starts back up again plus add in 2 trips to STL for dr appts. Tuesday we go to the Radiation Oncologist, where we will do the complete set up for radiation which will begin approx 10 days after Tuesday. They are doing everything it takes to be completely set up since we have to drive so far, but that means we will be there from 930am - 330 pm. Loooong day! Then on Friday I go for the heart echo, labs, see my dr, and have the Herceptin infusion, prayerfully. Yeah, I'd better rest up!! Have a fantastic weekend everybody!

Runner's Prayer

"Run by my side;

Live in my heartbeat;

Give strength to my steps.

As the cold surrounds,

As the wind pushes me,

I know you surround me.

As the sun warms me,

As the rain cleanses me,

I know You are touching me.

Challenging me, loving me.

And so I give you this run.

Thank you for matching my stride.

Amen."

How beautiful is this prayer? I found it this morning while looking around online. I try and remember every morning when I am running to "thank God for this run." For the desire, the ability, and the strength to run, and to never take it for granted. Of course, since I am a treadmill runner for the most part, for me I would probably change a few lines of the prayer to say:

"As the walls surround,
As the music pushes me,
I know You surround me.
As the fan cools me,
As the sweat cleanses me,
I know You are touching me."

Maybe cute, but I would love be able to run outside more often. Reasons include, but are not limited to, 1) scheduling, 2) children, 3) temperature, and 4) chicken-ness of running by myself. And I hate it, too, because we live in "God's Country" where we have woods, trees, rivers, springs, state parks - all perfect for the most beautiful, awe-inspiring runs. But instead of lamenting on my daily missed opportunity when I am in my basement office pounding out the miles, maybe I should focus on those rare and marvelous opportunities when I DO get to go for a run outside. Because I truly savor every moment when I do...thanking God the whole time.

Which Is Your Fave?

I was looking at breast cancer awareness ribbons today, and boy was I surprised at the number of different ribbons I found! These are just a few. Which one is your favorite?

Plain and simple

VERY cute!

All jazzed up!



Cute, with an important reminder! No mincing words here!
Cute and sporty kinda.




Sparkly and feisty!




My hubby's favorite...I wonder why?! Oh yeah, I forgot, it's the hot wings!

Sports-themed.

Possibilities

I am sitting here enjoying my first feeling-good day, aka no nausea medicine day, Hallelujah!! From here on out, it is better and better everyday. And, hopefully, no more cravings for bologna and chips! LOL

I got up this morning and had a wonderful bowl of oat bran, have I mentioned how much I LOVE this stuff? I smash up a banana and put in it and sprinkle the top with some cinnamon...mmmmm, delish. Then I put in a 6 mile run, half while listening to some new tunes I downloaded and half while watching my DH dvds. After I got cleaned up, I had a second breakfast and did a load of laundry. I know, exciting, right? But the highlight of my day is easily hands-down my Bible study. I have started a new one online with Beth Moore...LOVE LOVE her! It's called Living Beyond Yourself and it's amazing. She stated last week in her opening video that this series was specifically made for each of us to view at a specific time, whether it is with the audience she did the study with back in 2003 (when it was taped) or me, for example, viewing it some 6 years later. And boy do I believe it! She said something yesterday that I have already recited to several people because it holds so much hope and promise:

God's specialty is making impossibilities possible.

Ah, Sovereign Lord, of course it is! But I had to write that one down because no matter how dire or horrible a situation may seem, God is bigger than ALL OF IT! How comforting and marvelous that we serve a living God that can handle ANYTHING?! I don't know about you, but that makes me feel so.much.better. Instantly. Talk about taking a load off! And that's what He does perfectly: He takes our burdens and bears them Himself. We waste so much time and energy working, worrying, stressing, and such when all we have to do is simply BELIEVE HIM that He can handle it.

"Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you." 1 Peter 5:7

Seriously, this verse, and many others, has sustained me for the last 5 months. I have just been like a sponge, soaking it all up and rejoicing in the fact that I am His Child.

My Last Day 4

Praise God, this is my last Day 4! For those of you who don't know, day 4 of my chemotherapy cycles have been a little on the slow side. I have generally felt more tired and just yuckier on day 4. This LAST cycle was no exception. I have felt like total crap all day. I have been making myself eat all day because that's the only thing that seems to make my stomach feel better. When my stomach gets empty, I get nauseous. But eating isn't really any fun when nothing tastes good. :-( But this afternoon, I had a breakthrough! I had a sudden and very strange craving for...now don't judge...

A Beef Bologna Sandwich and Lay's Sour Cream & Onion Chips!

Crazy. I'm not even a bologna fan, but for some reason it sounded so good that I probably would have walked to the grocery store if my hubby hadn't been able to go fetch my craving! But he did, so here I sit...eating my bologna sandwich and chips. I can hardly believe it myself. But I feel so much better right now that I can't even tell you! LOL I don't even care at this point that my craving is completely devoid of nutritional value. I may even follow it with some chocolate pie that my mother-in-law made!

In hopes that I would feel better, about mid-afternoon, I got on the treadmill and walked for an hour today. It didn't really help, but it didn't hurt either so at least I can say I got some exercise in today. Well I'm off to watch the news and wait for my hubby to get home. I hope everyone has a good evening.

Scripture Memory Team - Verse #4

Today is the 15th of the month, so that means it's time to choose a new Bible verse for Beth Moore's Scripture Memory Team 2009. The verse I chose this time is from the Book of Galatians:

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

I decided upon this verse because this past week I started a new Bible study with Beth called "Living Beyond Yourself," and this is the key verse and basis for the study. BTW, if anyone is interested, the study is online through Lifeway...you will not be disappointed, I promise!

Sing Praise!

I just love this song! It came to mind instantly this morning when I was getting ready to type this post. Sing Praise! High Praise for our God who "never leaves us or forsakes us!" This upbeat song matches my mood today! Hallelujah, LORD!

As laid out by God's perfect timeline and His perfect will, I received my VERY LAST chemo treatment yesterday in STL!!! I am so totally excited to cross this part of my protocol off my list! I go back in 3 weeks to have another echo of my heart to make sure it is still not showing any side effects of the Herceptin, I am BELIEVING GOD that it will either show an improvement or the same. Also on that day we will set up my radiation. God is working and things are moving right along!

Treatment went well yesterday. We had labs, saw the doctor (and had many questions and things to talk about, so this took awhile!), and then went across the lobby for treatment. I was so excited to have Tiffany and her hubby come and sit with us for awhile because she was there getting all geared up for her stem cell transplant. Not excited that she's there, but excited that they came to visit for awhile. My nurse was so sweet when she was running in all my pre-meds to run the Benadryl in last so I wasn't conked out while they were there. They ended up leaving after awhile to go shopping (not fair!! haha!) while I got my Benadryl. And boy, did I get it! I was absolutely knocked out yesterday! I woke up like 2 1/2 hrs later and was still groggy! My hubby told me that they were starting the chemo drugs and asking him my name and birthdate (something they have to do) and I never even stirred. Cool! I slept over half the time. I'm not complaining...by the time I woke up I only had about an hour and a half left!

After we were finished, we headed home, but not before stopping at a BIG Dierberg's grocery store right outside of the city to see if they carried Chobani yogurt...SCORE!!! I piled a ton of them in the cart. I was totally impressed with the store, we will definitely be stopping here each time we head home. When we got to my mom and dad's to pick up the kids, the kids mobbed us! They were so excited to congratulate me on my last chemo! It was so sweet! Even Katie seemed to understand what a BIG day it was.

So today, I got up and made my family heart shaped chocolate chip pancakes, a Valentine's Day tradition at our house. Now I am just going to do a few things around the house and see how I feel. Nothing really sounds good to eat at the moment, so I'm going to go pantry and refrigerator searching and see what I can find! I appreciate all your prayers and encouragement more than you know...this blog has become such a blessing to me. So thank you from the bottom of my heart. I hope ya'll have a wonderful Valentine's Day!!

102 Miles

This is just a very small portion of my running shoes that I have had. I have gotten rid of many pairs through yard sales, donations, etc, but this is just what is in my closet at this moment. I love my Asics! The brightest and cleanest pink and silver ones at the bottom are my new ones that just came in the mail yesterday. I try to get a new pair every 300-500 miles, but I think I was a little over this time...oops! Looks like I need to do another donation/closet clean out! Wonder what else I might find in there?! Hmmmm.......

But back to 102 MILES!!! That's the number of miles I have ran since my last chemo treatment 3 weeks ago! I am so stoked! I have to admit when I was first diagnosed and facing the daunting road of surgery/chemotherapy/radiation, the possibility of not being able to run did cross my mind. Not before "Oh Father, please help me!", or my family, or my health, but it did register in my brain. Maybe it's because it has become my only "me" time, or the fact that I'm doing something positive for my body and my mind, or maybe it's because it was the least serious on my new list of worries. But from the beginning I have prayed for strength and peace,

"Father God, please give me the strength to get through every day for myself and my family with optimism and positivity. Give me the peace of knowing that you will never leave me or forsake me."

And boy did He deliver! Praise God! I thank Him for the ability to run, and the strength to do so. I know it is only because of our Lord that I have sailed through surgery and chemo.

Yesterday after we picked up the boys from school, Katie and I continued on our Valentine treat making adventure. We melted white chocolate and milk chocolate (I really wanted dark but couldn't find it!) and half-dipped pretzel rods in it, laid them on wax paper, and sprinkled them with our leftover Valentine sprinkles. Kind of looks like a delicious chocolate bouquet!

We will be heading to STL at 5am tomorrow for (prayerfully) my last chemo treatment! I know I've said this before, but if ya'll could keep me in your prayers for good blood counts and a smooth and easy trip that would be awesome! I am BELIEVING GOD that will we have a great chemo treatment tomorrow! Thank you all so much for your continued prayers and encouragement. See you tomorrow!

Busy & Prayers

Whew, were the women of our household busy yesterday! I started the day off with a fantastic 5-mile run and then Katie and I headed to PB. Seeing as though Saturday is Valentine's Day I figured I had better make a Wal Mart trip and get the necessities. Necessities being chocolate and the stuff to make cookies!! No seriously, I needed to pick up some cards and goodies for my special Valentines. I was so tired when we were finally headed home, but when we got home, the work really started! We got the groceries unloaded and headed to school to pick up the boys, then made a post office run and headed back home to start the cookie process that I had promised Katie we would do as soon as we got home. Little sweetheart, she had her chair pulled up to the counter and was all ready to go before I even made it in the house. Our kitchen was a cloud of flour and mess by the time we were finished! I'm not even sure how many cookies we made. We did lips and hearts (festive, I know!), decorated them with white icing and 8 different kinds of sprinkles...we used 2 tubs of icing and ran out; there are still probably 2 dozen cookies that need to be iced and sprinkled. But she had a total ball making cookies! It made all the mess and exhaustion worth every minute.

After the cookie mess was cleaned up I started dinner. I made a Taco Ring, recipe from Pampered Chef. I haven't made this is so long, and I don't know why because we love it! And it looks rather pretty when I doll it all up, don't you think?! I served it with a side of Spanish rice and tortilla chips (like I needed those, but yeah, I ate them!). Delish.

Needless to say, when I got the kitchen cleaned up and finally got to sit down, it.felt.so.good. So the rest of the evening, I sat on the couch, sampled some of Katie's treats, and watched American Idol and Biggest Loser (LOVE dvr!).

Today looks to be a much easier day. I got up and did a 5 mile run and I think I prayed for at least a couple miles of it. I just turned my iPod down and had a talk with my Lord. I am so thankful that we can talk to Him anytime, anyplace, anywhere. He doesn't care if I'm a nasty, sweaty mess. Praise Him! I asked a special blessing for my friend who is beginning her stem cell transplant process today, for a friend who's friend lost her battle yesterday, for my children as they go about their day that they would make good decisions and rely on God for everything, for women I don't know but are facing their own battles, and for healing in my own body that God would continue to use the chemo and "send the hornet among them until even the survivors who hide from you have perished" (Deut. 7:20). I prayed for all the researchers and scientists all over the world that they would find a cure for cancer so nobody else will have to face that kind of diagnosis in the future. I thanked Him for the strength He has given me to continue running. I thanked Him for all the strength He has given me, even if a portion of that strength has meant 11 extra lbs! Praise the Lord that I gained weight rather than lost it! *lol* I also spent some time reciting my memory verses over and over. I just ran in total awe of just how BIG AND AWESOME HE TRULY IS!

Here's to a blessed Wednesday, friends.

Weekend Wrap-Up

We had a lovely weekend! I hope everyone else enjoyed theirs!

Saturday: I got up early and did a quick 3 miles on the 'mill before getting cleaned up and heading for a marvelous day out! (BTW: It was my first 40 mile week in months! Yay!!) We all went to Springfield (2 1/2 hrs. from here) and had a great gift card day! I went to the Lifeway store and finally got to pick out a new Bible; I have been using another one that I had a long time ago so I was excited to pick and choose. Unfortunately it is missing all my notes and pictures and little mementos that I had stored in the pages of my other one. :-( We continued on to Bed, Bath, & Beyond (LOVE that store!) where I had $50 left on a gift card from last Christmas. We needed a new toaster and a can opener so that's what we got. Nothing fun. But we had a gift card for Olive Garden, which was HEAVEN! I wish we had an OG closer to us!! We ended the day split up as Katie and I got dropped off at the mall while the men-folk headed to Bass Pro. My wonderful in-laws gave me $100 for my birthday to take shopping so Katie and I had fun shopping and picking out a comfy new outfit for my VERY LAST CHEMO TREATMENT, which (prayerfully) is Friday! But I think the best part of the mall was our Starbucks (me) and cookie (her) break. We are fabulous shopping partners, she and I! And it's only going to get better as she gets older...and more expensive, unfortunately! lol

Sunday: I got up and did my weekly long run. I went 10 miles while continuing watching the first season of DH, thank you sis!! It was great! And...that was pretty much the highlight of my day. We did absolutely nothing the rest of the day, well I didn't. My hubby had to work for a couple of hours, and the kids were in and out playing, but I didn't do much of anything. 10 miles wears me out!

AND it's Monday: Kids are back to school today. I literally had to drag myself out of bed, as they did. What is it about a school day that makes everybody so much more tired then any other day?? But I set out to put in a 5 mile run on the 'mill, got caught up in watching DH and did 6. I incorporated 1- and 2-minutes hill intervals throughout just to change it up a little. Today was one of those days that felt easy, which is surprising considering yesterday's 10-miler. Almost all the snow and ice is gone, Thank You LORD! And this week should be much more normal, schedule-wise. But I miss my boys. :-( I liked having them here everyday. I guess I can start counting down until summer now! I'm also counting down til Friday, which if everything goes well, should be my last chemo treatment!

"Thank you, Jesus, for heaping a fresh dose of strength on me each and every day for the last 5 months. Thank you for giving me Your overwhelming peace, getting me through every treatment, every side effect, with a smile on my face. I pray that You would continue to keep me healthy and strong as You guide us into the next phase of treatment. Guide my heart and my mind to do what You would have me to do. Keep me firmly in Your grip Father, for you are my constant source of stability. In Jesus' Precious Name. Amen."

Rocky Top!!!

Zachary, Katie, Tyler, and I with Coach Pat Summitt (Hubby was taking the picture!)

If you were at our house last night, you would have have heard "Rocky Top" sang over and over, our fave UT cheers, and tons of ORANGE PRIDE! As I've told you before, we are huge Tennessee Lady Vols Basketball fans! We have gone to games every winter for the last 6 years, with the exception of this year due to chemo and such. :-( We absolutely LOVE going and being amidst all the other orange-clad fans and cheering our Lady Vols on to victory! Last night, Coach Pat Summitt recorded her 1,000th win...more than any other coach (male or female) in D1 history. That's quite an accomplishment, and definitely one we would have been there for had it not been for this whole breast cancer thing. UGH! We were in Nashville when she got her 900th win over Vanderbilt in Jan. '06; the atmosphere was truly electrifying!

In December '04 we were in Knoxville for a couple of games the week before Christmas, and one morning we were eating breakfast at a little Ihop there in town. Then-freshman Lady Vol Candace Parker walked in and sat down at the table next to us. Now I don't know if anyone watches sports like we do, but I was totally star struck, she's kinda a big deal! *kinda embarrassed now* I got her autograph and we started talking; she played with the kids and we visited over breakfast. She proceeded to give us her player's tickets to the game that night and told us to come down to the tunnel after the game and she would take us back to the locker room. If you don't know, these girls and coach are treated like rock stars: security, body guards, the whole works. So after the game we spent the next hour or two in the locker room meeting other players and Coach Summitt. We took some pics and left there on a high that you wouldn't even believe. Candace and I kept in touch throughout her years at UT, and we would hook up at games and get to visit and go out to dinner and whatnot. She is now a star in the WNBA.

We were so proud to see Coach Summitt get her big win last night. She is a wonderful teacher, motivator, friend, and mother-figure to her players and she is so appreciative of the Tennessee fans. We wished so bad that we could have been there last night, cheering like crazy in the arena with the other 17,000 people. I was so excited to watch but couldn't help but be sad that we weren't there. But Lord willing, the fact that we aren't there this year means that we will be there for many other games for years to come.

No School

Found out this afternoon that they have cancelled school for the rest of the week...yay! I can't help it, I like having my kids around. I'm kinda like a mama bird in that I like to have all my kids in the nest...constantly! Well, everybody needs a break every now and then but the majority of the time I like to have them here under my wing.

This morning I went back to my mom and dad's to use their treadmill; I ran 6 miles before coming home to clean up and get ready to start the day. Today we went to PB and made a quick Walmart run. My fave purchase: Arnold's Sandwich Thins!! I was so excited to see that they had them. I can't wait to try them. However, it prob won't be tonight. We had a late lunch at my fave Maya's and I am still full...and exhausted. Funny how I can run dozens of miles each week but a trip to PB completely wipes me out! Disgusts me. After lunch and Walmart, we went to Hibbett Sports so I could spend a gift card that my hubby got me for my birthday. I did spend it, on new shoes for Katie and Zachary! Hmmm, not quite what I had in mind, but you gotta do what you gotta do and they both needed new shoes. They grow so fast! Dang!

We are home now. I am relaxing in the recliner, watching the news...apparently Barry Bonds did use steroids...hmmmm, who'd have thought??! I got stuff at Walmart for us to make homemade calzones for dinner (thank you bunches for the idea, LC!) but right now I am too tired to move. So I don't know if it will happen tonight or not! If not we can make them tomorrow. Besides that, I am still full from lunch...that always happens when I go to Maya's, I overdo.

I am going to sign off, but continue to sit here and do nothing...except ask my sweet little daughter who's sitting right here playing her DS to go get me one of my other favorite purchases from WM...a Reese's peanut butter cup heart! Mmmmmm........ Have a good evening!

Let The Melting Begin...

Well the ice and snow are beginning to melt. But it is happening very slowly. We are having beautiful weather, but it is very cold. I think our high today is around 24* with a wind chill of 3*...BRRRRR! We haven't heard yet if the kids will be in school tomorrow or not. The back roads are clearing, but a new concern today is for the roof on the high school which is weak and leaking due to the build up of all the ice and snow. They generally call around 3 with the decision to have school or not. So we'll see. I don't think the boys care!

I had an interesting run at my mom and dad's this morning. Tyler had gone to work with my hubby this morning so I just had Katie and Zachary with me. During my run, my hubby calls and says that Tyler has just passed out! I know my heart rate was probably higher when I was talking to him than when I was running! He was out for about 10 seconds and after he got some breakfast into him he said he felt fine. But it absolutely scared me to death. I had my sister bring him home (that's where they were headed) and I took him up to the dr and had Michelle check him out. She said he looked fine and it was probably due to a nighttime sinus medicine I had given him last night plus not eating before he left. But she's running some blood work; hopefully he's fine.

So we are back home now, and he is still feeling good, just tired. We are just going to rest today and stay warm ! Have a good Tuesday!

Happy Groundhog Day!

Ok, so maybe you've heard...Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this morning which means, sigh, six more weeks of winter. Ugh. As if we haven't suffered enough already! And I'm just saying that because I am still looking at several inches of mostly ice, and some snow leftover from last week's winter storm. The kids are out of school again today; the back roads are still ice covered around here so it may be another day or two of sun and above-freezing temperatures before the kids go back. The boys are LOVING it! They are sledding up a storm and enjoying sleeping in. When they do go back, it will be a rude awakening! Thousands of people in our area are still without power. Some friends of ours about an hour from here were just informed yesterday that it may be weeks to a month before they get power. I know power companies are working around the clock but conditions are still horrible in some places. My sister and her husband got their power back on Saturday, they are praying it stays on. But her in-laws are all staying at her house because they are still without power (and they only live 5 minutes from her). Crazy. Hopefully we will have a pretty week and things can get back to normal...and I hope Phil is off his game this year!

So yesterday was my actual birthday, and Super Bowl Sunday. Since we are trying to keep germs at bay, we didn't have our usual SB party but our nephew Brad came over to watch the game as well as my parents and my brother, Matt. My hubby knows how much I love shrimp so he made tons of peel and eat shrimp for everybody and of course there was the usual suspects: nachos, chips and dip, and pizza. The staples of my evening were shrimp and ice cream cake! I was so excited when my hubby and my boys pulled a DQ ice cream cake out of the freezer last night!!! Oh my, I SO didn't need it, but it was SO GOOD! I had a piece at the start of the Super Bowl, and another 1/2 piece at halftime. I've come to the conclusion that calories don't count on your birthday!!

Congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers on their victory last night. Our household was divided for support of the Steelers and the Cardinals. The boys were cheering for Pittsburgh and my hubby and I were rooting for Arizona. Darn it, AZ almost had it! But I was even happier that it was a good game and not a one-sided blow out. And the commercials were hilarious! The E*Trade babies were so funny, the Doritos ad with the crystal ball was really good, but it was the Pepsi ad where everyone was getting hurt absolutely had us rolling! Especially the boys! Seeing them get so tickled was cracking me up! So it was good night. I hope everybody else enjoyed their evening whether they spent it watching the SB or not!

On a side note, my treadmill is on protest this week. Gasp! It has been acting up for the last couple of days so I asked my hubby to look at it yesterday. When I went downstairs to check on him, he had the whole motor part exposed and taken apart! Double gasp!! It turns out, the drive belt is completely stretched out and needs to be replaced. So I ordered a new one this morning and it should be here by the end of the week...hopefully. So what's a girl to do? Thankfully my mom and dad have a treadmill so the kids and I just loaded up and headed to their house so I could get my run in. I did 7.5 miles while I watched the boys out the window have sled races! It felt great. See you later, lovelies! And thank you all for your birthday wishes!!!

Thoroughly Into My Thirties

My birthday cake! Decorated with all my favorite teams: Tennessee Lady Vols (women's basketball), St. Louis Cardinals, North Carolina Tar Heels (men's basketball), and Indianapolis Colts! It was very cute...and delicious!

Me opening presents! Mom and Dad got me the Willow Tree Nativity Set that I had been wanting! I was so excited! I can't wait until next Christmas to put it up!!

Me and my kiddos posing with the cake!

Family portrait time! I seize every opportunity to take a family pic because it's like pulling teeth to get any of them to go to a photographer's studio to have them done! So this will have to do! It turned out good I think!

At 630am I was officially 31 years old! 31...seems kinda odd, doesn't it? Haha, just jokes! Anyway...it seems like hard to believe that I am actually INTO my thirties. I don't feel my age at all, not that I know what 31 is "supposed" to feel like, but I feel more like...24! Katie told a friend of ours last night at dinner that I was 21! Well, ok! We had a great dinner last night. I had filet mignon and grilled shrimp that was fantastic and afterwards we came back to our house for birthday cake and ice cream...not DQ ice cream cake but it was still good!

I started my special day by putting in 8 miles on the treadmill while watching the first season of Desperate Housewives on DVD that my sister got me. I didn't watch DH until season 3 so I was excited to watch episodes I have never seen! I was going for 10 this morning, but I think my belt needs to be tightened up or something because it keeps doing this slight jerking thing that makes me kinda uncomfortable to run on it. Hopefully my hubby can fix it later today. Speaking of later today, it is sure to include food and football. Another relaxing Sunday at home!

What are your Super Bowl plans, if any? Do you have a favorite team?