Another fun day

Today, we woke up to snow and went to bed with snow. All day long we
had snow. :) however, we didn't get to go skiing because of it. So,
Linda, Heidi, and I went to Walmart and bought lots of small sleds
(flat sheets that were slippery on the bottom). We went to a
neighborhood spot, and everyone had a blast! We went down that hill
for about 5 hours straight. I have video that i will upload and lots
of great pictures but I am too tired to figure out how to distribute
right now. Tonight, we went to a Mexican place (Morgan wanted to know
why they eat so much Mexican in Utah), and then the girls went to see
the princess and frog movie while the boys went to avitar. Tomorrow,
we are skiing in Park City. Tomorrow night, Linda and Bubba are having
a party. We are having a great time. I hope you all are enjoying the
holidays. Happy New Year!!!!!

Fun day skiing

Today, we skiied at Sunbasin. It had a great beginner area. The kids
did a great job after their 2 hour lesson. Mike and I were amazed at
then flying down the slopes!

I did a lessson too, and my instructor John took me on the beginner
slope for a bit and then took me up the big mountain. I started to
remember after an hour or so. I could definitely tell I had been
running and such as my legs did y hurt at all. My knees are a little
sore but just a little.

We ended the day with some fantastic hot chocolate and the kids saying
they can't wait to go tomorrow.

Michael and Katie had never seen snow fall until today, so they loved
it when it started snowing around noon.

Tonight, we are eating with Bubba and Mark's families. The kds are
having fun with all of them!

Headed to the slopes!

Yes, this is a sunrise. I can't believe I was up early enough in the 6
degree weather to see it. We are in Morgan county which Morgan thinks
is awesome.

Picture from Zion

We drove through Zion National Park today. It was really amazing to
see the beautiful rocks and mountains. Some were snow capped and some
weren't. There was some snow on the ground, so the kids had a great
time playing in it. We laughed when Morgan didn't want to go at first
and she said, "wow, some rocks with moss on them." of course, she
loved it as we went and she thanked us for going. We saw some Ostrich
and Morgan said, "oh look, there are ostri." then, there was a fruit
company with fruit trees. Mike said ,"look at all the fruit trees."
Katie said, "too bad they are all dead." mike had to explain that they
were just dormant in the winter. :)

We played a word game in the car where you have to add letters to make
a word and if the word stops with you then you get a letter. Facitious
was the best one of the day.

We are at some Mexican place in cedar city. It was really good. Then,
we stopped to get gas and there was the coolest smoothies/milkshake
machine. You picked tour flavor in this little carton and then set it
in this metal cup. It was then sucked into the machine and turned into
a smoothies or milkshake. The kids loved it, so of course we got 4. :)

We drove to Provo where we are spending the night. Tomorrow, we are
Salt Lake bound.

The Gleason Family in the Predator Van

They didn't have the Yukon that we reserved, so we had to get this
enormous van. We are off to Zion National Park. Let the adventure begin!

Waiting to board

Security

Crazy, Busy, Day

This  morning, Morgan was hamming it up on the way to school. She had her reindeer antlers on and she was being silly. I love it when she is silly like that.

 

Work was INSANE. I was supposed to be off, but it is release time so it was crazy. Gotta love the end of year and release time together. We are getting close to being ready for our trip. We spent some crazy about of money on long underwear, gloves, hats, boots, and socks. Let the cold begin! J

 

I am officially on vacation even though I will probably have to do a little work. I am excited to be off until Jan 4^th!!!!!!  Tomorrow, I need to figure out what we are taking on the trip. I have a feeling that we are very underprepared for cold weather. J Morgan seems to think tshirts are going to be ok with her jacket. Hmmmm….

SHOPPING

The shopping never seems to stop this year. I keep thinking I am finished, but it just keeps growing. :) Today, Morgan, Mike and I went shopping. Morgan wanted to get my a present from a clothes store, so she picked out clothes for me at Chico's. It was a lot of fun. Mike looked like he would rather have a tooth pulled, but he came anyway. :) We also went to Dick's to let the winter clothes shopping begin. Man, expensive that stuff is.

Busch Gardens

Saturday, the family went to Busch Gardens. Abhi came with us, and we all had a great time. The lines were pretty long, so we didn’t ride Shiekra. We did ride all the other main roller coasters. The decorations were really nice, and we even saw the tigers and chimpanzees.

Farewell Bugsy (May 91 - Dec 09)

Bugsy was our beloved cat for 18.5 years. I got him in college, so he has been through college life, 1st marriage, baby, divorce, marriage #2, step-kids, 2 more cats, a dog, and various fish, guinea pigs, and hamsters. He even ate the butterflies when Morgan had them grow from caterpillars.

When he was a kitten, he amazed everyone in college with his fetching abilities. He would fetch diet coke caps. He LOVED to "dance" in your hair with his paws. He was a good lap kitty, and he always seemed to know when there was something wrong. I am very thankful for his companionship through all the years, and I am hoping tonight that there really is a kitty heaven. I miss him already.

He used to be a hoss of a cat. He weight 18 lbs at one point, and my parents had a painter who said he was a bob cat. :) Today at the vet he weighed only 8 lbs. :( He was really suffering, and I just couldn't let him suffer like that. We decided to have him put to sleep as he couldn't eat and was very dehydrated. We got to hold him and say goodbye. Morgan went with me and was a trooper. It is so hard to lose a pet.

SEVEN MILES COMPLETED!

Woo Hoo! After last week, I was really scared about this half marathon. That 6 miles was TOUGH. Holly and Jen told me that I really should do the run 5 min walk 30 seconds intervals. So, I decided it was worth a shot. I LOVED IT. I felt so much stronger. I beat my 5 mile time and my 6 mile time, so they were definitely right about going faster. The last mile was still pretty hard, but I banged out 6 without too much trouble. MUCH better than last week. Much. Love it. So happy. 6.1 more to go. :)

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Two and a Half Years SMOKE FREE

December 2nd, I crossed into the 2 and a half years smoke free zone. I can tell such a difference in my life - not only in breathing and exercise, but in every day life. I missed so much life by always leaving what was happening to go outside to smoke, and I couldn't enjoy a lot of what I was there for because I was stressing about getting another smoke.

The most interesting thing is that I could NEVER imagine myself really quitting forever. I really enjoyed smoking when I had one, and it seemed so awful without having them. I simply couldn't really believe that I would make it. However, now, I truly can hardly remember what it was like. When I see people going out to smoke, or stanidng in the cold or rain, or smell the smell, I really can hardly recall it. Isn't that weird?

My statcounter today says that it has been 132 weeks, 3 days, 12 minutes, and 10 seconds since I smoked last. The most amazing stat to me is that had I kept smoking at the rate I was, I would have smoked a whopping 22, 266 cigarettes. I can't even imagine that. It is such an incredible number. I can't even think of what that would look like if you put 22, 266 cigarettes in a row. I hvae also saved $4,007 (using the money I was paying then for a pack and I think it is more now).

Thanks to everyone who supported me in this process. I will update at 3 years! :)

Healthy Choice Steamers Review

I have found the best microwave meals ever, so I decided that I needed to blog about it. They are the healthy choice steamers. I get tired of most microwave meals quickly and usually pick a very limited few to eat because they aren't very good. The chicken gets rubbery, the sauce is caked and dried, etc. However, these Healthy Choice Cafe Steamers are to die for. As far as calories go, you can't beat them. Most of them seem to be in the 250 calorie range, and they have 15g or so of Protein and even around 5g of fiber. However, the best is that they are delicious.

Each meal has a tray that has two part. The top part holds the rice or pasta, the meat,and the veggies. It has holes in it to let the food steam. Under the top tray is the sauce. So, you throw the whole thing in the microwave (take it out of the box first), and you don't poke holes in it or anything. Then, after 4 and a half or 5 minutes, you pull it out. After peeling the plastic off, you dump the top tray of meat, pasta/rice, and veggies into the bown on the bottom which has the sauce. They are really flavorful and cooked perfectly every time.

I haven't had a bad one yet. I love the pesto chicken, the spicy shrimp and chicken, the chicken marsala, etc. I have had a bunch of them, and so far, each one is great. Publix often has them on sale too, so they run around $2.50 a meal. Not bad...:)

Cheer Competition Lakeland

Today, Morgan's teams competed in Lakeland. They did pretty well for it being the first competition for youth and the 2nd for junior. I think they will do well at the next one. They had three girls quit the team and move to another gym. While I might understand them being frustrated, I think it is pretty crappy to do that in the middle of a season. I think you should finish what you start.

Here are the videos I took...(ignore the loud screaming)

Youth 3 Team

Junior 4 Team

SIX MILES COMPLETED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This morning, I managed to fight off nervousness and excuses, and I got out and ran. I am still battling the kidney stone, but it wasn't hurting for the first 5 miles. That last mile was hard. My back hurt by my kidney, my bladder cramped, my legs hurt, my toes hurt...BUT, I kept going. I just ran until the next street sign, the next turn in the road, the next whatever. I took three sips of water at each place I made it. By the last quarter mile, I was enjoying it again. There were these workers pouring concrete right by my house, and they smiled at me each time I passed them (3 times). This other lady was pushing her child in a stroller as a workout, and I am not sure I was looking pretty good as she said" at least you are trying." I am not sure that is a good sign as I don't really want people to say "at least you are trying" LOL.

I felt pretty strong except for 5.25 - 5.75. That was a rough half mile. I did it though!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Kidney stones, Christmas Plans, Doctor

Unfortunately, I have been dealing with another kidney stone. It hasn't been too bad so far, and I have tried really hard to blast it with running when it isn't hurting. I have passed some pieces, so I hope it continues to go away. I went to the doctor today, and I have lost 68 lbs since Feb (60 since I started working out and really trying in May). The doctor was teasing me and asking where I went. :) It felt pretty good. They took a bunch of bloodwork, so it will be interesting to compare it to my last bloodwork. It is weird. I feel so different that it is almost odd thinking about me 6 months ago.

For Christms, we are taking the kids out west to see Mike's family. We are going to ski and such and visit with family. I am excited, but I know it will be COLD.

We watched the Biggest Loser tonight. I cannot believe how good Rebecca looks (go back to being a brunette though in my opinion) and how good Danny looks. That show really has inspired me.

I think I forgot to mention the Blind Side movie. We LOVED that movie. I might have to see it again. Coming from an ALL SEC family, it was a classic. I thought all of them did a great job, but I really thought Sandra Bullock made that movie which surprised me a little. Great story. See it if you haven't.

I am getting close to being done with Christmas shopping. I am ready to be finished. :) I can't believe mom and dad only have 2 weeks left. I can't wait to talk to them! It is so weird how many times I have picked up the phone to call before remembering that they are gone.

Yesterday, I was a complete dork, and I locked myself out of the house. I went to take Sophie out, and the door was cracked when I went out. I didn't notice that it was locked, so I pulled it closed behind me. DOH! Sophie and I were outside for a little over 3 hours waiting on a locksmith. FUN!

Easy 3 mile run

Today was the first time in about two months that I have run two days in a row due to my leg injury. I took it easy and did a run based on my heart rate. I tried to keep my heart rate between 168 and 170. I felt pretty good, and I enjoyed the run. :)

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Christmas Tree UP!

I have been posting more on the couch to 5K blog lately as I have been exercising a lot. I post my workout info there, so I might have posted there if I am behind here.

Yesterday, Morgan had a holiday party at cheer, and I went to dinner with the parents. Today, I ran 4.38 miles and then we decorated the house. Eleven months after we got our TV last year, we finally got the TV stand upstairs!!!! It has been by the dining room table for almost a year. Chris, Michael, Mike, and I moved it upstairs even though I thought I was going to be crushed. Thankfully, we did ok.

We decorated the tree tonight, and it was a lot of fun. We listened to Christmas music and hung ornaments. Grams and Papa are still having fun on their cruise. They are in Dubai now. I miss them SO much, and I can't wait to talk to them!

Alamaba kicked Florida's butt today. I was surprised, but no team has ever finished the season as number one when they started the pre-season as number one. I guess Florida probably won't be the first after the loss today. As my brother Mike said, it was hard to pick which team to pull for as I don't like either!

Today, is the first time in over 10 years on the first Saturday in December that I haven't been at a company holiday party. It was SO weird to watch the SEC game at home. Usually, I am trying to sneak it at a party. :) I miss having the Boston, Pennsylvania, and North Carolina crew in town to celebrate though.