Cotton Balls and Creepin'

  i've been making an effort to do more outdoor running since i've got some long runs coming up in my immediate future.  getting used to the cold isn't as easy as it used to be.  but running long distance on the treadmill is torture for me.  i'd rather be cold.  tonight i did hill sprints outside.  i was struggling, my lungs were on fire, and i was slow.  i definitely need to get back in the habit of doing those on a weekly basis.

 

cody and ollie had a big day of pampering.  they smell so good and ollie looks like a fluffy cotton ball.  i was feeding the furry monsters and ollie stole the container.

cody started creepin' around the corner to try and grab it.  they were very entertaining.

all of that fun wore ollie out.

i've been playing with different settings on my fancy camera.  this thing can do so many amazing things.  i need someone to read the manual to me, show me what to do and then take all my pictures.

prefer running outside or on the treadmill?

A New Year

 

i picked up the idea of choosing one word to describe the new year from kathleen over at www.jeremyandkathleen.blogspot.com.  she and jeremy always have the best ideas.  after reading her resolutions post, i thought about what word i would choose for this new year.  as most of you know, 2012 was the worst year of my entire life.  it was a year full of sadness and anger.  so for 2013, i choose the word healing.  i am going to do my best to work on finding peace with what happened in 2012, focus on letting go of the past and living in the present.  i want 2013 to be the best year of my life.
cheers to a new year.

what word would you use to describe this new year? 

Are You Sure I'm Not Italian?

 hello friends.

 

 

i've been busy, lazy, traveling...you know, all the normal excuses.  i was shopping after thanksgiving (like friday afternoon - none of this 8:00 pm on thanksgiving day crap) and saw this cute ipad case for $8.  i bought it to hold me over until i can make a decision on a more expensive one.  i do know that i want a dark grey smart cover and a case that is big enough for the ipad and smart cover.  after having the ipad for a few weeks, i've noticed that not having anything to prop it up with is a pain in the butt. 

 

 

this weekend sis and i headed up to columbus to see family.  we spent time with the bro friday night and saturday.  we all headed out to the movies to see life of pi in 3d.  that was my first 3d movie.  pretty cool.  and the actual movie was awesome (might have been a wee bit mature for the kiddos but i think they liked it).  it was such a thought provoking movie...haven't seen one like that in quite some time.

 

 

before heading to the movies though, we had our own version of chops where the kids picked out 3-4 ingredients and came up with something for us to eat.  the ingredients were peanut butter, saltine crackers, sprinkles, and frosted cheerios.  yes, quite the combination.

 

 

 

we chose a winner:

 

 

which meant this guy was pretty unhappy:

 

 

these kiddos are such sweethearts and we had fun hanging out with them.  it's so hard to believe how fast they are growing up.  they'll be driving before we know it.

 

 

we headed out early evening to attend our aunt's best friend's birthday party.  my aunt's best friend is one of the funniest women i've ever met.  she's loud, bold, demanding, and very loving...she's an italian.  i'm pretty sure i have italian in my blood.

 

 

aunt karen is on the left - mary, the birthday girl, on the right

 

 

 

it's always fun hanging out with mary and her family.  i feel like i fit right in with those italians.  we ate too much food and laughed too loud.  it was perfect.  we all went home with our hearts and bellies full.

 

 

this morning we visited with our great aunt who is still as feisty as she was thirty years ago.  this beautiful woman will be 94 soon.  she's full of life and a joy to be around.

 

 

i'm so glad we were able to visit with so many of our loved ones this weekend.  i am very lucky to have such wonderful people in my life.  this year has been the hardest time of my life and sometimes i forget how much support i have...this was a nice reminder.

Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

if you follow me on twitter or instagram, you already know an ipad is on its way to my house (courtesy of my awesome mother and bennie!!!!!!).  early christmas presents are the best.  i've searched etsy for a case and came up with these: 

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

 

here

 

i love all of them for different reasons.  i can't decide if i should get one that has a stand or a soft case.  any suggestions?  any other places i should look besides etsy?