Life in The Fast Lane....

So it's been a busy week. It didn't turn out exactly as planned, but I think it definitely turned out the way it should. A bullet list by day, because I do love order and clean lines:

• Sunday: I took the kids to Sunday School while Aaron slept in. I did a few errands and then picked the kids up. I put together a crock-pot meal for them to eat while I went downtown. I went downtown to the Amazing Race. We ran ourselves all over downtown, had a blast, but still came in last. Had we been able to get the first clue, we would have been third, but since we had to go back and get the first clue, we were last. They were able to raise about 400 dollars for Aaron's cousin's family, so that makes me happy! Afterward, Elizabeth and I had a quick snack at the Chocolate Cafe (BEST MOCHA EVER!!) and then we hoofed it to Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the craziest Colts game.... leave it to the Colts to put you on the edge of your seat, especially when playing the Patriots! We had way too much fun, and I'm thinking that it might be the beginning of the end of corporate outings at my company...... the casualty list did NOT include me, thankyouverymuch!


• Monday: Because I went to the game, I had to give up the sixth row center tickets to see Rob Zombie... *sobs* It was a great time, too... the friend that I went with nearly got up on stage AND caught the drum head that the drummer threw out into the crowd. DAAAAMN!!


• Tuesday: I got up to run, but it was sprinkling, so I went home. Too funny, though, as my friend ran anyway. Oh, well! In the evening, we got together with Aaron's parents and sister and niece to have a Mexican fiesta. Collin is now thirteen. WTF?! But he's an awesome young man, even when he's not answering the phone when I call or when he half-eats a whole bowl of leftovers (and throws the rest away... grrrrr...).


• Wednesday: I finally went to karate and then went for what might be my last Wednesday night at my "cheers" bar.... so sad that it might close and am at a total loss for where to hang out when it does... so don't want to go back to the loud-karoke place... *sigh*


• Thursday: I went on my first run in a long time! I didn't do fabulous, but it was definitely good to get back at it. I also took a half-day off work to take Griffin to the eye doctor. He's doing VERY well with his glasses and the patch therapy has gained a bit of sight back for him, so the doctor is very pleased. I then took lunch to the twins at school. It was too funny to spend time with them like that. As a working mom, I don't get much of a chance to do things at school. The rest of the day was a bit downhill from there, because we didn't go to karate and I totally forgot Griffin's pack meeting. Some days I feel like a big loser mom.


• Friday: Sparring night! I didn't too badly for someone who's not been a regular karate trainer....I miss doing karate with regularity. It makes me sad to not feel well enough to work out. Aaron went out with his friends to BW's to play some trivia, and Collin went camping with the Boy Scouts, so the twins and I snuggled in and watched the second Transformers movie. It was a good time!


• Saturday: I got up and ran... it felt good, even though I'm still down on endurance. I came home and made the twins banana pancakes. Then, because I'm feeling out of shape and I'm a glutton for punishment, I did the Chest & Back P90X workout. After that, I went to a local craft fair, which was a bit of a disappointment. Instead of staying home and relaxing, Aaron and I took the twins to the McD's drive-thru and then ate lunch at Yats, a yummy Cajun restaurant. Then we went to try out mattresses....Did you know that the life of the average mattress is 8-10 years? And that we've had our mattress for over 10 now? We're totally due. And we're hoping to get things in the works for a new one soon. We'll see. And finally, before Aaron got totally worn out (he's recovering from being sick... and still feels ill most times), we went to Michael's.... I was going to get a frame for whomever was to receive the below picture I made. But I loved it so much when I put it together, it's now hanging in my kitchen.... So I'm not quite finished with my homemade Christmas! *winks*

Almost Two Weeks?

...has it really been that long? I shall give you a bullet list of things that went down while I was ignoring the blog.....

• I've attempted, unsuccessfully, thank goodness, to hack up a lung. I'm still occasionally working on this feat, and will let you know if I prove successful at any given moment. There really does seem to be no end in sight.
• Griffin spent a few days off school with a fever and some congestion. His pediatrician, whom I love dearly, provided both of us with antibiotics that will hopefully make us better....should the culprit actually be of bacterial nature instead of viral.... the jury's still out on that!
• Being sick tends to have some advantages... Mine are rock hard abs (from all the coughing) and being able to get two-thirds of my homemade Christmas presents completed. I'm actually quite excited about my offerings this year, and hope that the girls will be pleased.
• A blue crayon in my dryer precluded me from getting much-needed lounge time last Sunday. But I managed to save most of the clothing that was affected. Only a few items of clothing and a fraction of the skin on my left forefinger were lost in the process.
• Nexcare sport band-aids really do stick well to busy forefingers that get washed on a frequent basis!
• Griffin is very busy with the Cub Scouts. Last Saturday he worked on a family scrapbook and this Saturday he went door-to-door in a nearby neighborhood collecting non-perishable foods for a local food pantry.
• We're working on our third straight weekend of birthday parties. Two weeks ago our buddy Gavin invited the twins, last weekend our buddy Caroline had them, and this weekend our friends Gage, Claire, and Drew will have the twins. The lunacy of this is not lost on me, and sometimes I wish that we weren't so popular.

And now for a bullet list of what my rock and roll lifestyle will hold in the near future (less the aforementioned birthday celebrations):

• Tomorrow, provided the impending rains stop prior to 1:30, I will be downtown with three friends to participate in the Amazing Race, which is a benefit for my husband's cousin's family. Their son, who is eight months to the day older than Collin, is undergoing treatment for Ewing's Sarcoma, which is a rare bone cancer. The proceeds from this venture will benefit both the family and Riley Hospital in Indianapolis, where he is receiving his care. I really hope that the weather holds out so that the three teams that were directly and indirectly accumulated through me can participate and help the family raise about $150! I'm sure that any bit helps this family!
• Tomorrow night I will be remaining downtown to go with my office to the Colts game. My boss, ever the last-minute guy, announced yesterday that he'd scored tickets for our office to go to the game. As the Colts and Patriots are a huge NFL rivalry, I'm excited to go.
• And, because it doesn't really matter if I rest or not, Monday will find me back downtown to go to the Rob Zombie concert. A friend of mine scored sixth-row tickets and asked if we wanted to go.
• Tuesday, my baby will officially be a teenager.... I can't believe that I've been a mom for 13 years now. He's definitely turning into a young man right before my eyes, with all the goods and bads that come along with finding his wings.

After that, I do believe that I might be grounding myself to the house for a bit. My kids are going to start to wonder who that strange lady is, and Aaron's finally contracted that which has been plaguing me for the last few weeks. So I'm going to need to stay home for a while to reconnect with my family (and let my body relax a little!).

Fun Weekend For Which I'm Paying Dearly....

We had a great time over Halloween weekend. The twins went trick-or-treating with their friends, and it was really funny how it all turned out. Griffin would be the shorter of the Clone Troopers. The tall one is his friend Jon, with whom he was stoked beyond belief to go around the neighborhood with. The other girls are Claire and Kate, with whom the twins are good friends, and with whose parents I love hanging.... good times!




....after trick-or-treating, we went out with Jill, despite the fact I was starting the downhill slide on health. Jill let me borrow one of her costumes, and we went out, eating, drinking, and dancing. It was a good time! Aaron went with us and we wound up meeting up with Nay. Good times, good times....














....Sunday found me downtown with Aaron at the Colts game. My work got a pair of free tickets, and I finally got to go to Lucas Oil Stadium and watch a game. The Colts squeaked out a victory, so it was definitely a good time. Of course, now, I am still hacking up a lung, and just wish I could spend the day in bed. Yes, today is Wednesday, and I'm still feeling like crap. I will give this another few days before I go see my doc. *sigh* Gotta love this time of year for this kind of stuff....

First 5K....

.....I can't believe that I ran 3.1 miles today. I know that doesn't sound like a lot. BUT... when you consider my lazy ass only walked the mile in high school to pass gym class, I think that it's a success! My friend Rebecca (who goes to my dojo and will be testing for her black belt next Friday!) and I have been running together for about two or so weeks now. On a fluke, we decided to sign up for a 5K to benefit a local free medical clinic run by my old church.

......To be very honest, I'm not feeling all that swell lately, so I was kind of nervous to even attempt this, but it's amazing how "not wanting to let someone down" will motivate you to keep at it. So I found myself in the parking lot of my old church this morning, thinking that I would run 2 miles, tops. We kept going, though, and finished the race, even though I sooooo wanted to quit after hitting that 2 mile marker sign! We ran it in just over 31 minutes, too, which is a little faster than our typical pace!

..... I know it's a small accomplishment, but I'm proud of myself for sticking it out. And thankful for my friend Rebecca and her dog Simon, who have let me horn in on their morning runs. It's definitely more fun to work out WITH someone.

Evidence Of a Really Good Time....

.... so here is evidence of our quest for trying as many kinds of beer cheese brat soup as possible during our vacation in the Wisconsin Dells. I believe this one was my favorite of the two I tried. I didn't get to try the third soup, as Erin spiked a fever on the last night of our trip, and opted to stay at the condo with me than to go out. I can't say that I blame her. We snuggled up and watched the Wizard of Oz. I even got to start on my homemade Christmas presents that night, so all was not lost.....

......here we are (Aaron's behind hte camera this time) at what was MY FAVORITE restaurant of the whole trip... the Log Cabin. Here is where Scott laughed at me when I all but picked up my plate and licked it clean. Apologies for the darkness...we're still trying to figure Canny out.

.... so tonight I signed up to do my very first 5K run. I am not entirely sure that I'll be able to RUN the entire thing, but my friend Rebecca O and I are going to try. She's let me horn in on her morning runs with her lovely pooch Simon. Simon is our pace setter for the first leg of our run, and we wind up slowing the pace as he gets tired in the second lege of the run. Back to Saturday's race.... I'm positively shitting myself at the thought now. Oh, well, it's all going for a good cause.

... and with the running, I'm not sure that I'll ever run so much as a marathon, but I would like to get to the point where a 5K is comfortable. That's 3 miles... maybe a 10K later? Do they even do 10K races? Who knows? For the moment, it's been yet another way I am seeing what I can do with my body. And it's been feeling pretty good! (aside from the pesky shin pains I get from time to time)

....Oh, and yes, I've officially begun my homemade Christmas gifts for the girls! I was so inspired by the neat things I saw at the craft mall. Who knew that is all it would take to get my creative (or at least my working hands) moving. It's not really creative genius when you steal someone's idea, but this has truly been fun so far.....

A Fabulous Time...

...so we went at the end of last week with Judy and her family to Wisconsin Dells. None of us had ever vacationed with friends before, and didn't realize just how fun it could be. How Judy and the gang put up with us for four days solid is beyond me! But we all had a blast, and found a mission that we accepted wholeheartedly.... to try every beer cheese brat soup we could. I think I tried two, but Erin fell ill (strep! go us!) the last night we were there, so I didn't get to try the third kind. Boy, that stuff was good!

...we did more than eat, but I think that most would agree with me that the eating was the best part of the vacation, behind the sheer enjoyment of being in eachother's company. My favorite meal of all was at a place that we almost didn't go to! It was called the Log Cabin restaurant, and it had the best home cooking that I've ever had at a restaurant. I had pot roast. And even Scott had to laugh at me as I licked my lips and looked around, realizing that I plowed through all my food first. He wasn't going to say anything, but did chuckle after I said it myself.

...Oh, like I said, we did more than eat.... we went to Mt. Olympus, which has a pretty good indoor water park. My favorite spot there was a hot tub big enough for twenty-eight.... the kids went with us down big water slides, and they loved it! We also played in a big pool. Another day, the kids went to a place called Wizard Quest with the guys while Judy and I went to a craft mall. At first glance, I gave us maybe fifteen minutes in the place.... but we spent about an hour and a half there. There was so much stuff in there! And it was good stuff! Worth buying... and taking pictures of! It was such good inspiration that we went to Wal-Mart that evening and bought supplies to make some of our own things. (I'm partially through my homemade Christmas!!)

...Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, so Sunday we went home to greet our boys, who got home that day from California. They had a good time. Collin doesn't show his emotions outright, but he was overcome with how much fun he had.

....Back to the grind now... *sigh*

Gearing Up For Vacations!!

So I can't remember if I've told the blog-world about Collin's Fall Break vacation? You see, Collin's friend Noah's family has a tradition that their grandparents take them on a vacation of their choosing when they turn 13. And, since Noah doesn't have a cousin his age, as has typically happened in their past, he got to choose a friend to take. And he chose Collin. And they're going to CALIFORNIA to Disneyland and Lego Land. I have a few very strong emotions surrounding this trip....

1. TOTAL EXCITEMENT: I couldn't be more excited for Collin... it's his first plane ride. And he's going to a location that probably won't be on Byers' family radar for...well forever, due to the fact that California isn't convenient to get to by car and plane tickets there can be quite expensive. So this is a unique opportunity for him. Awesome! I hope that he takes pictures!
2. TOTAL FEAR: Dude! It's my BABY going ALL THE WAY to California... WITHOUT ME! four days, he'll be away from me, and I'll have no control. No guidance. Nothing. *eeek!*
3. TOTAL JEALOUSY: Dude! It's my BABY going ALL THE WAY TO CALIFORNIA....WITHOUT ME! I'm jealous as hell, and there is no way I can lie about it. I wanna go to California!

OK, so, for the record, the first one totally outweighs the other two (by a narrow margin). I'm totally excited about his trip, and hope that he has a blast.

So we're getting ready this evening to go on our own little trip... again with the Workman's (see how unbelievably good they are to our family?). Tomorrow, after the boys have been safely deposited at the airport, we're all going to bust a move out. I've heard so many good things about Wisconsin Dells (which, by the way, isn't California...lucky little bastards... NO... AM HAPPY *winks*), that I can't wait to get up there and be let loose with Canny to capture the surroundings. Apparently Thursday is half-price day at a local amusement/water park, so we think that's where we're headed. After that, we don't have any firm plans, except to relax and enjoy eachother's company (There may or may not be a plan in the works for a brewery run... we'll see.).

I can't wait to go away for a few days and be away from the office. It's long overdue. Of course, this is all provided that no one gets sick in the next few days. I do believe Judy and I would cry honest to goodness tears if something were to jack up our plans. I know for certain that I would.

Oh, as a further update, I have my phone back in my possession. Apparently, I must have put it on the top of my car (as Griffin was throwing a fit about his jacket lining and while strapping him into the car), as the street sweeper found it in front of a nearby restaurant, NOT the one we ate at on Sunday night. But, since the guy works nights, it was a little difficult coordinating the return of my phone, so it took place at midnight at the service desk at our local Wal-Mart. Ensuring that the children would not be motherless by the end of the exchange (trust no one!), I enlisted my friend to come with me. I bought him a beer in return for his body-guard services. But the guy was totally cool and I totally would have bought HIM a beer, too, but he was on the clock. May all the good karma he can take be with him!

Things are starting to totally look up, my friends. And I really hope they stay there, or I just don't know what I'll do. I think I've had about all the drama I can take for a bit!