Sprouts

 
Here are the little plants that we planted around Christmas. Chase's plant is growing like crazy!



My seeds sprouted and are finally starting to come along. (Boris's seeds never sprouted)



And our newest edition....a strawberry plant!


 

Another Birthday Came and Went

 
I am officially in the last year of my 20s (30s here I come). This year my birthday was fairly bland although after all was said and done I did end up with a great girls night dinner, some special sparkly lip gloss, some great books, Beauty and the Beast, a fun crocheted scarf, really cool wishing paper (which I hope works soon so that we can move), a gift card to Lululemon (because can one ever have enough Lulu in their lives), an iTunes gift card, yummy smelling soaps, some moolah, some amazing asian food and delicious cake. So I guess for all my complaining it was a pretty good haul. Also B got me a new ring setting for Valentine's day / my birthday - it is being set now I can't wait to get it back!!!

Hopefully this year is just prep for my amazing 30s =)

PS: Due to life stress I have totally fallen off the blogging wagon (and a few other wagons like the weight loss one and the taking pictures one and the crafting one - you get the picture) but slowly but surely I hope to reclaim my hobbies!
 

Bummer of a Day

 
So the day hasn't exactly gone well for me...

- It started with ballet class - apparently the beginner / intermediate class that I took wasn't exactly beginner. There were people putting on pointe shoes for the floor portion. So I stuck around for the barre (messed up horribly because they combinations were so complicated) and then left when they started the center portion. I am going to try an easier class soon and see if it goes better. Strength and flexibility weren't an issue, it was more trying to remember what I was suppose to be doing...
- Then I went for a run which was okay except that I think I messed up my knee...OUCH
- We got an offer on our house - which should have been exciting except that they offered us 40K less then the listing price - seriously?!?!?! No we are not going to "give away" our house!
- Got in a fight with B
- But I did end the night with a nice date night dinner out so I guess that is good way to help turn things around

Hopefully tomorrow will be a better day!
 

Try Try Again

 
Fell off my dieting and exercise wagon for the last two days...again...I think I was wallowing in "why won't my house sell" / "I hate my period" pity.

Getting back on track tomorrow.

The experience made me think about my food bucket list (things I intend to gorge on if I can ever eat anything I want):
- queso and tortillas
- Cheetos
- fondu
- root beer floats and milk shakes
- bread pudding
- deep friend ice cream
- banana spring rolls
- Vietnemese eggrolls and roll your own spring rolls
- Little Debbie Christmas Trees
- Starbucks caramel apple cider
- scones
- bagels lots and lots of bagels
- mac and cheese
- spinach and artichoke dip
- biscuit Chick-fil-a breakfast sandwiches
- loaves and loaves of fresh bread

I'm sure there are about 500 other things but those are the things I am thinking about tonight.
 

Plans for 2011

 
So here they are, my 2011 goals (yes yes it is a lot - I think I broke the 2 - 3 goals rule - but a year is a long time and I plan on making the last year of my 20s a good one).

Personal
- I want to try to do spontaneous fun activities with Chase
- I am going to put some effort into how I dress / accessorize / look / etc (this is the first area of my life that I typically stop paying attention to when things get busy)

Here was my attempt to look cute on New Year's Eve Eve (my parents watched the kiddos so we could go out on a date night - we went to Maggiano's and played Settlers of Catan - it was a blast)



- I want to make at least 1 new friend this year - a couple friend or a friend who has a kiddo Chase can play with would be a plus (I feel like we have downsized a lot with how crazy life has been and that maybe it is time to put ourselves out there again)

Here is a picture of me with Capricious - my dearest friend - I suspect we will be friends for the rest of our lives.





- I want to get so good at my job that I can do an outstanding job with very little stress
- I really slacked in the photo department this year so next year I want to do a better job of taking photos

Here is a picture of me and B - it was another great year with him and I am looking forward to the next 1, 10, 20, forever...



- I want to try to start cooking a family dinner more often

Fitness
- I want to run a race of some sort during 2011 (even just a 5K so I can say I've done it once)
- Be able to comfortably run 5 miles (I am at about 4 right now) and be able to run a 5K in < 30 minutes
- I want to master two out of the following four yoga poses (hurdler, forearm stand, handstand, or peacock)
- I am going to lose 5 lbs (which would put me lower then my pre-kiddo weight YIPPEE!)
- I want to take at least 1 adult ballet class and 1 Zumba class
 

Another Year Gone

 
Here are a few things that I remember about 2010...

- This was the summer I fell in love with Yoga and the year I started running
- The iPads came out and everyone in my family is addicted (especially B)
- Chase's favorite thing this year was superheroes (hero up!)
- Boris had quite the health challenges this year (not a happy memory but definitely a big player in 2010)
- Chase's mastered counting, his ABCs, tracing letters, and is working on letter sounds (2011 may be the year he learns to read)
- I had many fabulous "Kate Dates" with my BFF Capricious
- Boris became a CIO before 30 (Wow!)
- I read a lot of fantasy / sci fi romance novels
- My parents were amazing this year with all the love, help, and support they gave us
- I finished knitting my first sweater and quilted my first queen sized quilt (it was quite a quilting year for me)
- Chase was potty trained woohoo!
- This is the year we decided to move the city (granted that will probably actually happen next year)
- We had an amazing family vacation in Breckenridge
- Chase got his first bike
- Boris was in The Reformers


 

Trained Dog

 
After we move a trained dog may be in our future (or at least I hope). I think that is the only way I could ever own a big dog, I am not sure I could be committed enough to doing the training myself.

I have been searching the internet for programs where you can buy dogs that have already been through obedience training and the prison trained dog program looks promising. They are more reasonably priced then some of the other sites.

The only thing to consider is that I am not sure B could survive the dog hair that goes along with having a big dog....


 

Merry Christmas!

 


Merry Christmas Eve / Merry Christmas everyone!!! Hopefully Santa brings you all something nice tonight.

This holiday season I am grateful for my amazing mom and dad, Chase, Boris, all our amazing friends, and the health that we have. I could go on and on...I think there are a lot of things for my family to be thankful for this year and that is really a blessing!
 

Ben Does Life

 
My friend turned me on to a cool blog. Ben Does Life. Very inspiring. Check it out.
 

The Running Experiment

 
So I am quite possibly the worst runner in the world. In fact last year I was going to try running a 5K with B and I just couldn't do it so he did it without me. Amazingly since I have started yoga the muscles in my knees and legs have finally gotten strong enough that I can run without pain. Today I wanted a baseline of what I could do and I was shooting for 10 minute miles so I wanted to finish my 5K in 30 minutes. Unfortunately I fell short of my goal and it took me 32 minutes. I am officially the worlds slowest runner. My hope is that if I can squeeze running into my exercise routine two to three times a week that I will be able to run a 5K in well under 30 minutes in a few months. Wish me luck...I am going to need it.

Note: So far my favorite part of running are my new running shoes and cute running outfits! I swear the gear is the only thing that keeps me exercising. One of my favorite things is the reflection running skirt from Lulumon.



Note 2: The other thing I'm going to experiment with is Zumba. I am taking my first class with a coworker next week. I am terribly uncoordinated so it may be a disaster but more to come on that soon.
 

A Whole New Look

 
Yesterday was quite the day. I cut may hair (which has been long for about 2.5 years)! I think I am still adjusting to the new look.



Also I got a new tattoo (apparently 3 wasn't enough, we'll see if 4 is...)!!! It is part of a poem that I wrote for Chase.




 

Random Thoughts

 
I've had a lot of things on my mind lately...

Yoga is ever present in my thoughts, it has helped with my joint pain tremendously. I highly recommend Core Power Yoga if you haven't tried it before (they even offer a free week).



My older dog Bugsy hasn't been doing so well lately...he is becoming aggressive as his vision starts to go. It has been stressing me out a lot lately.



Poodle puppies have been on my mind...



I have been thinking about redoing our backyard. I think we will try to do it next spring, I can't wait!



The Melting Pot, Fondu, and basically any kind of melted cheese or good food have been constantly in my thoughts...



Most importantly, vacation has been on mind. It can't get here soon enough!



What you have been thinking about lately?

Life is Good

 
Today I am feeling inspired. One of my coworkers was recently diagnosed with Colon Cancer and her positive outlook on life has been amazing. She is almost done with her first round of treatment and based on her blog entry it sounds like the side effects are starting to get pretty bad and yet she is hanging in there amazingly. Talk about inner strength, it is humbling to watch. I just hope that I can handle the obstacles that life throws at me with that much grace. So for today, I am just going to try to be grateful for how lucky I am and for all the good things in life.
 

Happy Mother's Day!

 
Happy Mother's day to all the fabulous moms out there! I hope you all enjoyed your weekend as much as I did. I honestly didn't have many expectations for this weekend (because I feel spoiled by my husband and family numerous times during the year not just on one day) but it ended up turning out perfectly - I love when that happens.

My Mother's Day Weekend looked like:
- An entire day of babysitting from my mom and dad (who happen to be the best parents ever)
- Hanging with one of my friends that I haven't seen in ages (outside in perfect weather)
- Sewing my hexagon quilt with Capricious while stuffing myself full of Hot Tamales candy
- Flowers, Godiva Chocolate, Soft Pretzels, and a Pandora charm
- A nice new hair cut and eye brow wax
- Finishing the first season of Bones
- Sleeping in
- My dad's yummy blueberry waffles and sausage
- A doting husband who let me do everything I wanted to this weekend without any complaints
- Lots of hugs and kisses and sweetness from Chase (he was amazingly well behaved this weekend)
- Chase blurting out what my "surprise" present was first thing this morning

Everything was perfect, it will be a hard weekend to top next year...I feel lucky to be a mom.

Here is the tattoo I got on my first mother's day.



Also, here is a picture of the pottery pieces Chase made as gifts for people, cute don't you think...


 

Diet, So I can have S'more

 
This is what my Friday night looked like, what about you?



It's all Capricious's fault...


 

Easter

 
We hosted Easter brunch this year and had a great time. Dyed some eggs, did an egg hunt, ate great food, played some games...overall quite the success.

Quote of the Day: The Easter Bunny brought Chase a giant bubble wand and when he pulled it out of the basket he said "OOOH makeup for my eyes?!?!?! Thanks!"

Chase is a very serious egg dyer.


Here is a picture of Chase's new sandbox - not really Easter related but still fun.


This is apparently what happens to eggs when you boil the water before you put the eggs in.


Walmart Candy goodness =)

 

2010 Plans

 

What does 2010 have in store for me? Of course there are the typical things such as being a good wife, good mother, good friend etc, but here are a few additional things I want to try to take on.

- For the last 3 - 6 months I have spent a lot of time thinking about what it would be like and what it would take to be able to quit my job and be self-employed. I am still a few years out because that goal isn't realistic until Chase is in school but that leaves me a few more years to start planning / preparing. So 2010 will hopefully be my first steps in that direction. Specifically I want to focus on seeing if there is anything specific that I can market (I am a rather unfocused crafter and if I am going to try to get a little business going I probably need a theme and consistency). Then in 2011 and 2012 I want to try to actually get my Etsy shop going.

- Another goal of mine is to actually put some thought into my blog. Typically I just post whatever is on my mind, in 2010 I want to be a bit more thoughtful about whether or not readers would enjoy reading the posts. I think if I eventually want to start some kind of homemade shop it would be nice to have a blog following to share ideas with.

- I would like to learn a bit more about photography and digital art design. Both topics have always interested me.

- Lastly, I would like to try to get healthy again. I have let that ball drop ever since I had Chase and got sick but it is time to pick it back up again.

What are your plans for 2010?
 

Christmas Moments

 
Our family had a bit of a rough holiday this year, I won't get into the details but I thought that instead of posting all of my holiday complaints I would post Chase's top hilarious / touching / aren't 2 year olds wonderful moments.

Moment 1)
Earlier today B and I were upstairs and Chase was downstairs decorating his brand new "house". He kept saying he was doing his "work". Chase suddenly started yelling up to us "Red Face...Mommy See Red Face...Look at Red Face!!!". I had NO CLUE what he was talking about until he came running upstairs....



Apparently I didn't learn my lesson because this is what Chase's face looked like later in the afternoon....



Here is the lovely house that he decorated.


Moment 2)
We were driving to my parent's house for Christmas and Chase kept pointing at a homeless man saying "What's that mommy what's that...." He was insistent because I think it looked out of the norm to him, so I said "Chase some people don't have homes..." and he said "That's really sad mommy". It made me tear up...I am amazed at how young of an age kids notice things like that.

Moment 3)
My aunt and her two daughters were kind enough to watch Chase while B and I grabbed dinner at our favorite restaurant and while we were picking him up and getting him changed into his jammies he proudly announced to everyone "Look at my pee pee it's huge!" LOL...apparently even 2 year old "men" think that size matters.





One last thought, we keep asking Chase what he liked the most about Christmas and he says "the CAAAANDY" in a drawn out adoring voice.

 

Operate with Care

 
Here are today's top three reasons why chronically ill people with head colds should not be allowed to operate machinery.

1) Backing into parked cars while pulling out of a parking spot (I swear it came out of no where)
2) Driving over LARGE hunks of ice that are in the middle of the highway for reasons I can't explain
3) Shutting the garage door on your bumper and scratching the heck out of it (aren't there sensors for that?!)

Yes, I have had better days...

I just can't focus!

 
For some reason I just can't focus lately. There are Christmas gifts to be made, there are house renovations startings, there is a sick two year old to be taken care of, there is Firefly to watch, there are girls nights that need to be organized, there are parties to go to, there are family pictures that need to be taken, there are calendars that need to be made, scrapbooks that need to be finished (heck started at this rate), my Etsy shop is in desperate need of an overhaul, and yet there isn't enough time to do nearly enough of the things I want to do. Oh yah and I guess I have to remember to also go to work, clean the house, and take care of regular duties.

That being said, I am guessing my blog may suffer while I run off to take care of other things...

(It's really too bad because I have some great crafting going on lately, I'll at least try to take pictures to post in January when life settles down again.)