Still Crazy After All These Years!

Ahhh! The things I wouldn't do for my dear hubby! Today, we are celebrating 12 years of wedded bliss and, to mark the occasion, we did what any fun-loving, head-over-heels couples would think of off the top of their head - we went to play paintball!

Admittedly, I went into it with some hesitation, but we really did have a good time. I will say getting hit with a paintball was a bit of a shock at first though! I can't say that I got used to it either - I spent a lot of time either running away or standing behind a barrier! I did get a few good hits on Rich though (and he has the welts to prove it!)

The Excitement is Building

Today, in the midst of running errands, we popped over to Ian's school to see if class lists had been posted yet. Granted Ian didn't know much about any of the fourth grade teachers, but there was one he had been mentioning all summer. It turns out that he is in her class and several of his good friends and scouts are in there as well. I know how much effort our principal places in grouping the classes together, so I am looking forward to a great year for Ian!

I Caved In

I think yesterday turned out to be one of the hottest days this summer and I actually caved in and turned on the air conditioning for the first time all summer. I would say that making it until August 18th before turning on the air is a pretty good thing! And, I didn't cave in for that long because a front passed through around 7 and brought the temp back down. It was great sleeping weather!

An AMAZING day!

I finally did it! I don't honestly know what took me so long but God really put it on my heart this year that I needed to go forward and be publicly baptized. The weather could not have been more perfect although the cleanliness of the water in Lake Michigan left a little to be desired. I survived though and am so glad that I made this huge step in going forward in my faith!

Thanks to Ms. M for capturing the moment!

Menu Plan Monday - August 18, 2008

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura. Here's the menu (there's a repeat from last week since we had "grill issues"):

Monday: Grilled Halibut with Pesto
Tuesday: Marinated Pork Tenderloin
Wednesday: Some type of chicken - TBD
Thursday: Sizzled Citrus Shrimp
Friday: TBD

A new meaning of "block party"

Kyra is at a stage where she wants to know a detailed schedule for the day from the minute she wakes up. Sometimes it's not always possible, but I can usually give her a good idea. Today after running our errands she asked what we were doing next. I told her it was lunch time followed by nap time and then we were going to the neighborhood block party to which she responded - "Oh! I'm going to build something!" She is so literal sometimes! I'm sure she'll be fine once she gets out there and there's not a block to be seen though.

Not liking this time difference!

Yes, I every four years, I become an Olympic geek. I'm not really one for the winter games, but I really love the summer games. Of course, last night I had to stay up and watch the all-around in women's gynastics. Go USA! but man I am so not liking being awake today. We've had a pretty lazy morning to say the least!

Menu Plan Monday - August 11, 2008

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura. Here's the menu (if you can't tell, I'm hitting the grill again this week!):

Monday: Turkey Mignon (from Schwann's)
Tuesday: Bacon Bit Burgers
Wednesday: Citrus BBQ Chicken Breasts
Thursday: Sizzled Citrus Shrimp
Friday: TBD

A Morning on the Lakeshore

Today was the Trail-A-Thon Run/Walk right here in town. It certainly wasn't the biggest run, but it was still nice. It was the same route as my typical Monday morning run just in reverse. I finished in 42:58 and 13th overall.

In the opposite direction, Rich, Ian and Kyra did the walk portion. I am so proud that they did all five miles (Kyra spent quite a bit of it in the wagon). Kyra also won a door prize from a local mini mart. She's just thrilled because it's a "purse."

Hope everyone had a great Saturday!

The Early Riser

This morning, I got up at my normal time to go to the gym aournd 5:00. As I was gettng ready, I heard Kyra cry out. Rich ran upstairs to see what the matter was. I heard him "bargaining" with her softly and she eventually calmed down and fell back to sleep. I asked what on earth she had wanted to which he said, "She wanted to go to Target." That silly girl!

Tornado Hits Home

A prayer request if you would. A tornado hit my home town of Griffith, Indiana late last night. I've talked to my mom and she and my dad are fine. My aunt, however, has some severe damage to her home as the tornado blew out all the windows on her first floor. Thankfully, she and my grandma were not in the front room at the time. It's weird looking through the pictures on the newpaper's website as I know a couple of the people pictured.

How to Spend a Rainy Afternoon

We had a lot of rain yesterday and the kids had a little bit of cabin fever. I really didn't want to throw in another movie, so we decided to spend some time in the kitchen making "Hamburger Cookies". This recipe comes from an old cookbook that my mom had while I was growing up from Better Homes & Gardens called Cookies for Kids. I believe it's out of print now, but you can still find copies at used book stores and the like. My mom actually found one for me on Amazon (because there was no way she was giving hers up). These are so simple and easy that even Kyra was able to help out! Here's what you'll need:


1 Box of Vanilla Wafers, 1 package of chocolate wafer cookies (we used Grasshoppers), 1/4 c. coconut, green food coloring.





Place coconut in a small container and add a few drops of food coloring. Cover tightly with a lid and have young hands shake vigorously. When complete, you will have lightly green tinted "lettuce".


On a large cookie sheet, place 24 vanilla wafers flat side up.



Place a chocolate cookie on top of each vanilla wafer.


Place the cookie sheet in a pre-heated oven at 350 for just a minute until . . .


The chocolate on the cookies just starts to melt.



Here's where it helps to have lots of little hands because you need to work quickly so the chocolate doesn't set before the cookies are assembled. Sprinkle each cookie with a little "lettuce" and immediately top with another vanilla wafer (flat side down). Press gently (not too hard or you'll crush the cookie) on top wafer to get the chocolate to "stick".


Take a paint brush with a little water and lightly brush and sprinkle with sesame seeds.


Let your little helpers be proud of their "masterpiece". (and, of course, immediately eat a couple!)

Menu Plan Monday - August 4, 2008

Menu Plan Monday is hosted by Laura. Another week with no "real" meal plan so to speak. Rich has to travel and that means it's myself and the kids. So, here's the menu (again):

Monday: Lemon Herb Pork Tenderloin
Tuesday: TBD
Wednesday: TBD
Thursday: TBD
Friday: TBD

I Hauled Buns!

At least that's what my t-shirt says from the Brat Trot that I ran yesterday. I ran the 4-mile race in "exactly" 35 minutes (I honestly think it was a couple of seconds shy of that, but this was a non-chip timing race). It was good enough for 8th in my age class. I don't have overall results yet. It was a nice race though. Next race is the 5-mile Trail-a-Thon on Saturday.

August Playlist

I've been creating playlists on my iPod for every race that I run and last month, I started creating a monthly playlist for my daily runs. I know that I am always looking for good songs to run to so I thought I would start posting my playlists each month. Here's what is on the list for August:

Our Time Now - Plain White Ts
7 Things - Miley Cyrus
Hicktown - Jason Aldean
I've Got the Joy - Go Fish
This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race - Fall Out Boy
The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
Girlfriend - Avril Lavigne
Loosen Up My Strings - Clint Black
Something Beautiful - Newsboys
I am Free - Newsboys
Something Crazy - Steven Curtis Chapman
Shake It - Metro Station
This is How a Heart Breaks - Rob Thomas