happy easter! he is risen!!

:: Happy Easter!! I am so thankful for Jesus, and what he did for me. What he did for us all! None of us deserve this blessing, but God loves us so much that he sent Jesus for US. To cleanse us and wipe away our sins. What an overwhelming reality!!!

:: Catching up on another episode of The Bible...I'm a few behind, but it is very interesting to see the story played out in visual form. Are you watching? I haven't made it yet to the episodes where Jesus arrives, but I am excited to see those.

:: Sitting here, sipping some Black Currant tea...yum!

:: Aspen is hanging out with Bailey and Chris/Neeley are working on the shop. They've been at it for days, getting the drywall installed. It's coming together nicely!

:: This evening is the finale of The Walking Dead...we are very excited to see how they end the season, but so sad that it will be over until October!!! Having a few people over to watch it, so that should be fun.

:: We found Aspen's prom dress! It is so pretty, and looks beautiful on her!

:: Did 11 miles with Chris on Saturday morning...he ran and I rode the bike. It was so incredibly windy, so the first 5 miles for me was super easy and I barely had to peddle. But the 6 coming back was miserable and it was a tough workout. I did get to see Elvis though :)

:: Looking forward to our Easter dinner this evening -- ham, potato salad, green bean casserole, jello salad, deviled eggs, and rolls. I also made cinnamon honey butter :) Yum!

:: Aspen and Chris had their March date night on Friday evening -- they went to dinner at Wing Stop and then went the movies and saw The Host. They did not enjoy the movie at all, but did enjoy their time together! I enjoyed my evening to myself, and had popcorn for dinner :) A favorite!

:: Tomorrow is April 1, which is Ocho's 7th birthday! Hard to believe. He is quite spunky still!

:: Fairly busy week ahead -- bunko on Tuesday, Chris having drinks with his department on Wednesday after work, dentist for me on Thursday, hopefully visiting with Kyle, Kelsey and baby Kynlee at some point, and Saturday we have a bridal shower and then the Alzheimer dinner and dance that evening. All good stuff though. Life is good!!

hola

:: Today was Zumba day! It's such a fun workout, I really enjoy it. I looked forward to it all day, and even sweated quite a bit!

:: Tried a new recipe tonight for stuffed bell peppers. It turned out pretty tasty.

:: Started my new Walking Dead book today! Unfortunately, the voice reader on the Kindle Fire is not that great. It is basically a computer recognizing the words and reading like a machine. It isn't a voice over job reading with inflection unfortunately. So Chris said no way no how on listening to that! So I will just have to read it and give him updates :)

:: Tomorrow is our Friday!! We are off on Friday for Good Friday and I am looking forward to it. We need to get both of our cars inspected, and then Aspen and I need to find her a prom dress. Friday evening, Chris and Aspen are having a date night! Not sure what they are doing yet, but I am looking forward to it too!

:: I have been sleeping soooooo good. My breathing is finally under control and my asthma is under control and I love sleeping so well. It certainly makes a big difference. Now, if that stupid time change hadn't happened, I might actually feel rested!!! I don't even want to know how my body will be affected by jet lag after our Israel trip, oi! They are 7 hours ahead!

:: I hope everyone in STL is surviving all that snow! Sounds like quite a mess to me. I can't even imagine a FOOT of snow anymore. I do know I am quite ready for SPRING!!!!!

fun evening

:: Today I had a very productive day at work and checked a lot of things off my to-do list. Gotta love that!

:: After work, Chris ran home...got in 7 miles. I did my 20 minute run and it felt pretty decent really. I like to watch Reba while I'm on the treadmill...and listen to my iPod during the commercials :)

:: As I mentioned, I finished my Walking Dead book. There is a second book, and I bought it today for my Kindle! The cool thing about the Kindle Fire is that you can choose to have the Kindle read it to you...so, since Chris is interested, I thought we could listen to in on the way to and from work. I'm excited to see what happens in this one!

:: This evening, we had a lovely girl from work over for dinner. She and I began talking when we discovered that we were both doing the Couch to 5K program...and now we have formed a friendship. She is 24 and a very sweet girl. She also loves dogs, and so we were hopeful that if we ever need a pet sitter, she could possibly be the one. She made some good progress with Poppy, I was excited. Nothing earth shattering, but Poppy played with her toy with her, let her pet her multiple times, and even got up on the couch next to her. I think, with some time and more visits, they could get along pretty well. Fingers crossed.

:: That's about all I've got...here's to a great Hump Day tomorrow!!!

not much happening

:: Monday was good! Work was steady and got out at 5:00 to go and workout. Did weights today to give my body a break from running. It felt good.

:: Made big salads for dinner, it was yummy!!!

:: We had a meeting today and received our travel packets for Israel! Chris and I need to go through everything this evening. So exciting! We were very excited to find out that both Neeley and Kim are on our tour bus!! The group of 200 is broken into groups of about 40 per bus, so there was no telling who would be on our bus. Yay!!

:: I don't know much else...hoping that Tuesday is another good day!!

our weekend

:: Howdy! Here we are again at the end of another weekend. I hope that yours was good!

:: Friday evening, we had dinner at Wing Stop with Aspen. I have not eaten there in years and oh my was it good!! Afterwards, we dropped Aspen off for an evening with her friends, and Chris and I bummed around.

:: Saturday, I went to the monthly crop held at my friend Pam's house. We had a great day, and I got 12 pages done. Not as many as normal, but I would do a few pages, then read a bit, then do a few more pages, then read a bit more. I was at the very end of my Walking Dead book and the suspense was killing me! I finished it up later that evening and was completely shocked with the very ending. Shocked. When I got home from the crop, Chris, Aspen and I had dinner at El Chico in the mall and did a little shopping.

:: Sunday, we went to church and then Aspen and I did the grocery shopping. Aspen is now spending some time with her mom and half brother, Chris is puttering in the garage, and I am doing the laundry.

:: I do have some exciting news to share!! I decided for my outdoor run today that I wanted to see if I could run the 5K race distance -- 3.1 miles. The longest distance I've run before today was 2.25, and that was a struggle. So, considering the extreme wind today and my tendency toward asthma, we had Mimi drive us out the 3.1 miles and then we ran home from there so I wouldn't have to run into the wind. I took my inhaler, just in case, and also a band to cover my nose and mouth when needed. The cold air takes my breath away. I felt pretty good on the run, breathing was fine, and Chris was beside me to support. I was able to run the whole distance, which surprised me, and I did it in 38.24. Which is very slow, but actually much faster than I anticipated! I expected it to be around 45 minutes! So I was very excited and know now that I can go and run whatever 5K race I want to sign up for. And run the entire thing without walking! Yay! I'm feeling very sleepy now though, and muscles beginning to get sore. Might need a nap! :)

:: The week ahead is pretty low key. Having lunch with Kim tomorrow...having a coworker over for dinner on Tuesday...getting all my workouts in...no school or work on Friday for Good Friday...Aspen and Chris having a date night this coming weekend...and Easter! Hope your week ahead is a great one!

a few things

:: Headache was lingering for about half the day, but finally went away. Thankfully. I applied quite a few doses of China Gel to my forehead and that seems to really help. So, thanks to mom for telling me about that! Mother knows best...

:: Work was super busy, but I was able to cross the majority of the items off my very long list. That felt good!

:: Lifted weights after work and that felt good too!

:: Ran a few errands after work with Chris, then home to have homemade burgers.

:: My book is getting good now...the suspense! Love this dang zombie series!

:: We should be getting our Israel packets soon! Maybe tomorrow! This will include our air travel/tickets, and a bunch of other information. Hopefully it will help me feel a little better prepared!!!!

:: I'm enjoying the first bottle of the pomegranate wildberry wine that Chris made, and it is so so tasty! I really like it, it has an interesting flavor that keeps you guessing as to the fruit. Mmmm mmm!

head aching

:: Tuesday is about done...which is good, since my head is throbbing! I was sitting in an hour and a half interview for an apprentice for our area, and I suddenly thought, hmmmm...I think I'm getting a headache. And then yes indeed, I did!

:: Did my run after work, and beat Chris home. He is really enjoying being able to run from work to home each evening. Gets him between 4.5 and 6.5 miles, depending on if I pick him up along the way.

:: Breakfast for dinner! Pancakes and eggs...yum!

:: Chris thinks I am in the phase where I am turning fat to muscle, so I am not seeing any weight loss quite yet. I say if that is the case, I don't like that phase. I'm ready for the next one!

:: My cousin Katie and her husband Jason had their baby Kaden today! He is a cutie pie!

:: With this head, I think I will go rest and maybe read if I can handle it. The Walking Dead book is getting good! Until tomorrow...

today

Howdy!

:: Today, I want to share three links with you. These will be the three hotels we stay in while visiting Israel next month.

Dan Panorama Hotel, Tel Aviv

Gai Beach Hotel, Tiberias

Ramada Jerusalem Hotel, Jerusalem

I was pretty impressed with these for sure! Can't wait to see them in person!!

:: Today, I did zumba and it was so fun! I am really loving it!

:: Today, I ate ok. Not where I need to be, but no extra junk.

:: Today, Chris received his next shipment of Trinchero wine from his Napa wine club!

:: Today, cooked chicken nuggets, roasted mushrooms, and mashed potatoes for dinner...yum!

:: Today, Aspen went to watch her half brother play baseball.

:: Today, I did some facebook stalking :)

:: Today, I am praying for my cousin Katie to have smooth sailing during her delivery of Kaden tomorrow!

:: Today, I am grateful for and blessed by each one of you!!!

recap

:: Right now, I am watching The Bible -- the first episode. There have been two so far, and I'm catching up. We are discussing it at church each Sunday. It is so interesting to see it all. Are you watching???

:: Aspen got home from working in Oklahoma on Friday, and we all went to dinner at Casa. We enjoyed hearing all of her stories. She had a good week and worked hard. She is now napping on the couch, and back to school tomorrow! She then went to spend the night with Bailey, and Chris and I looked around at Books a Million. I found my next book -- The Walking Dead: The Rise of the Govenor. Very excited about that!!!!

:: Saturday, as normal, Chris and Neeley worked on the shop. I did my run and then ran some errands. That evening, we had dinner at Skeets and then did the grocery shopping.

:: Sunday, we went to church, and Mimi bought us lunch at Mr. Burger. Chris and Neeley are back at it on the shop, and Aspen and I took the pups to PetSmart to have their nails done. Now they are laying in their beds next to me, sound asleep after their big adventure. I'm making beef stroganoff for dinner, and hopefully Kevin will come and join us. Then, it's The Walking Dead!!!!

:: I finished the book I was reading: Emily & Einstein. It turned out to be a very good book! I really enjoyed it. Now, like I said, I am ready for some zombies :)

:: The week ahead should b e pretty straight forward...but I do have the March crop on Saturday! Looking very forward to that!!!!

Hope you have a great week!

day before friday

:: I am becoming crazy workout girl :) Well, maybe not to that extreme, but I am doing sooo good! Monday -- zumba. Tuesady -- run. Wednesday -- weights. Thursday -- run. Taking tomorrow off and then am going to try to run outside on Saturday morning. Haven't done that in a very long time. Sadly, I'm not seeing the weight come off. Gotta get control of this eating.

:: Watching the Top 100 Hip Hot Hits on Fuse...they are playing some oldies but goodies!! Chris and I are jammin.

:: Aspen comes home tomorrow! She sent us a picture today of her and her youth pastor texturing a ceiling...yes, they were a mess!! I'm sure she has a ton of stories...praying for safe travel for them on the way home tomorrow.

:: I don't know much else...just working, and ready for the weekend! Hope you have great Friday!

hump day

:: Still struggling with time change -- boo! So tired in the morning, and throughout the day. But did feel great to work out after work, come home and walk the dogs in the beautiful 70 degree weather. Felt a little summerlike. And then I'm not tired when it's time to go to bed, so I read until it's too late for me. And thus the cycle continues! :)

:: Workout was good tonight -- I did the weight machines at the fitness center for the first time. Felt good, but I'm sure I will be sore tomorrow! Also hopped in to zumba at the end and learned a new dance to a new song. That was fun! Then picked Chris up on the way home again. He's a running machine this week!

:: Just tried to hold hands with Chris, and he gasped about how rough my hands are!!! :( I've been using Gold Bond Medicated lotion, and it has helped with the cracked fingertips. Thankfully, finally found something. But, my hands are still rough overall. Need to slather some on!

:: I was able to read quite a bit of my book last night, and am really enjoying it. Looking forward to getting some more reading time in tonight too!

:: Looking forward to Thursday!

hola

:: Hi there...did you have a good Tuesday???

:: Mine was good -- work was productive. Ran on the treadmill at work at 5:00. Chris ran home and I picked him up on my way. He's enjoying that. Then we had some leftovers for dinner, and now Chris is bottling his next batch of wine. It's a long process!

:: Yesterday, when I got home, I was all in a flurry since it was late and I had to get dinner going. I guess I failed to acknowledge Poppy, because a little later we discovered her in our bedroom sulking. As soon as I walked toward her and spoke sweet nothings to her, she flopped onto her back for a good belly rub and all was right in the world again :) That's a girl for ya...

:: We get to have casual days for the rest of the week! Sooo happy about that!

:: I finished Lone Wolf, it was really good. I enjoyed the read. Now I am reading "Emily & Einstein" by Linda Francis Lee...which, honestly, is a random book I picked up at Target the other night. Looked over them all and just couldn't decide on one, so went to grab one and saw this one. It's actually really good so far, so it was a good pick!!

:: Have I mentioned that I DO NOT like this time change??? I don't mind it staying light later, that is certainly nice. But. Getting up in the dark every morning is for the birds. The only positive I can hope for is that the pups are thrown off enough to let us sleep later than 7:00 a.m. on the weekends!!! I'm so tired already. It just takes me forever to catch up on sleep. No fun.

:: I've been called to help bottle the wine...so off I go!

quick

:: Watching The Bachelor finale! All three hours of it! Me and Chris...my vote is Katherine, Chris is going for Lindsey. And unfortunately, Ms. Aspen is away in Oklahoma and isn't able to watch it with us. Booo! :(

:: Did zumba after work today and it was lots of fun! I really enjoyed it! Kim did it with me and that made me happy :)

:: Had to run a few errands after work, and got to see two donkeys along the way! Unfortunately, the two donkeys were doing the unmentionable :) Yikes, that was a sight I've never seen!!!! No, I did not take a picture!

:: Made breakfast burritos for dinner...

:: I don't have much else...gotta go!

march date night

:: First, I want to tell you about our date night! :) Remember the Valentine's gift I gave to Chris? The Date Night box, with an envelope for each month -- and each envelope contained the activities we would do for our date night that month. Well, Chris opened his first envelope, for March. I started us off easy, with dinner at Copper Creek and a movie of HIS choice!

I made reservations at Copper Creek for 6:30, and we enjoyed a delicious dinner there. It was so nice to spend some time together, and I think he was excited for this whole Date Night idea! Here we are after our meal:

From there, we were going to see the 9:00 showing of Jack the Giant Slayer, so we had a little time to kill. Since this was a night for HIM, we went and walked around Lowes!! :)

After that, we went to the movie and it was decent. Certainly not the best movie ever, but a good story and the graphics of the giants were insane. So that was cool.

Overall, we had a lovely evening together. I love this man!!! I love that at first, he wasn't so sure about this Date Night box idea, but after giving it some thought, he seems to be a bit excited now! :) Can't wait until he opens his April envelope to see what we're doing next! I think he'll love the April date!

:: The rest of our weekend has been good. Chris and Neeley worked on wiring the shop all day Saturday, and I cleaned some of the house and also cleaned out the fridge really good. That thing was a mess! We picked Aspen up at 8:00 from her youth event, and then had dinner together at Sharon's BBQ. Did the grocery shopping and then home to relax a bit.

:: NOT a fan of this time change. I love the other one, and it doesn't ever seem to last as long as this silly one. Losing an hour of sleep is never a good thing! Especially when your husband wakes you up!! :) This morning, I was having a dream that I was having a heart transplant. They had just removed my heart, and I was laying there waiting for them to put the new one in. And then I hear Chris, asking me to wake up and what time was I getting up?? So, I have no heart anymore!!!

:: This week should be fairly quiet. Aspen leaves tomorrow morning for Oklahoma for her Spring Break. They are going to work on the camp they always go to; fixing things, painting, etc. Having some fun too! She'll be home on Friday. Not much else going on for the week...

Hope we all have a great one!!!

a few pics

Howdy!

:: Today at work, at 4:55 pm, we had a little party. They set us all up in the parking lot and we had a tailgate party, with tailgate foods. It was yummy! Kris talked about the renovation and how it is moving along. They think everything will be finished and done by the end of April. That's exciting!!! They did the ribbon cutting for the wellness center, and we enjoyed beers and wines from Texas. It was a nice get together.

:: After that, Chris and I did a quick workout in the workout center and then headed home. Made dinner and now about to relax and read my book. I'm really liking it. Not sure how it's going to end, and that is always a good thing!

:: Wanted to share this cute pic of Aspen and Kevin -- she did something silly and I was so happy that I caught his reaction :)

 

:: And this is a photo of his poster board for prom -- ignore the messy bedroom! This is what she walked in and saw last night when she got home from Youth.

:: And here is our new bedding -- it is a light gray color with a subtle design. I have a close up of the design so you can see it.

:: So happy that tomorrow is Friday! We have casual day at work, and then Aspen is going with Kevin and his dad to pick up his sister out of town. Chris and I are going to enjoy our first date night from the Date Night box I gave him for Valentine's Day!!! Should be fun. I will take photos and do a whole post about that. I plan to do a little scrapbook documenting our year of dates from the box. Fun fun!!!

aquarium pics

:: Did  my run this evening on the treadmill, and my lower legs felt like tree stumps. Blah. Wasn't a very enjoyable run, but I got it in.

:: Today was Aspen and Kevin's 6 month anniversary -- and he asked her to prom! He snuck a posterboard sign over to our house that said PROM?? in big letters across it, and stored it in the shop...then after Aspen and Mimi went to church, we pulled it out for him and put it on her bed so she would see it when she got home. She was thrilled and of course said yes. It's April 20th...

:: Wanted to share some photos from the aquarium, and one of me and Chris waiting for the concert to begin:

Such a fun place, we were able to see so many things we've never seen before! The crab above was HUGE!! Kind of insane. And I loved that polka dot sting ray!! :)

:: Had kind of a weird day -- ever have one of those where you feel like you don't fit quite right in your own skin, and everything seems to go wrong and you can't do anything right and you just feel completely OFF. Yeah, that was my day. Dropped things, forgot things (like my running socks, that makes for an unfun run), just blah. Hopefully I wake up as myself tomorrow. Not too fond of this Kelley!

fun evening

:: Bunko was a fun time tonight! Everyone was in a bit of a crazy mood, and we laughed and talked a lot. And dinner was yummy too! I took green bean casserole and it was tasty!! :) I almost came home with an iTunes gift card...but alas, it got stolen, so I took home my own -- Target!

:: Was able to get a lot of work done today! I love that feeling!

:: My book, Lone Wolf, is so good...I'm interested to see how this one is going to turn out. Another book I might buy for my kindle collection is The Descendants. Has anyone read it or seen the movie??? I hear the book is way better, even though the movie is great.

:: Our friends are thinking of having a pre-Israel party...each couple would have a topic to research, and "present" to the group. That way we can learn more about our upcoming trip in a quicker way. Of course there would be food and drink involved as well! :) I thought it sounded like a fun idea. Hope they actually put it together.

:: I've been requested to show pics of our new bedding...well, right now, it is so incredibly wrinkled, I'm embarrassed to show it! :) I thought the higher the thread count, the less wrinkled it would be. Maybe I was wrong. Need to get some fabric softener to try to make it look better. But I might be able to sneak a photo anyway, just to give you an idea! Upcoming...

:: Guess that's about all I've got...more tomorrow!

oh hi there!

:: We were up all night with a sick Ocho on Saturday night...I'm still feeling tired from that, and need to catch up on some sleep!!!

:: Had a pretty good day back at work -- not too much happened while I was out so that was nice! Makes it easier!

:: Watched the Bachelor - Women Tell All -- that's always a fun one! Excited for the finale next week!!

:: Went back after work to do my run on the treadmill, and when I started changing clothes I realized that I had forgotten my sports bra!! Oi! Running would not have been too good without that, plus I realized I didn't have my iPod or headphones either...that would have been boring! So I switched and did zumba instead and it was fun! So, three running workouts left to do this week.

:: Had my follow up appointment with our nurse practitioner this afternoon -- she is pleased with how the maintenance inhaler is helping, so we are good unless it happens to get worse. She had the results from the pulmonary test, and went over them with me. She says I have mild asthma that borders on mild/moderate asthma. She believes that it is exercise induced but also allergy induced...so a double whammy coming at me. If I happen to be exercising outside (where all my allergies are located!), it will most likely trigger something. Add in some cold weather, and it is triggered even faster. I am going to try to do runs indoor on the treadmill a week, and do one outside if the weather isn't too cold. If I am ever going to run a 5k race, it will be outdoors, so I need to be able to handle that! So, that is my health update!

:: For my grandma, who asked, this is what my inhaler looks like, vs what my nebulizer machine looks like:

The inhaler is small and can fit in my purse. I take it twice a day, one puff in the morning and one puff before bed. The nebulizer is a breathing treatment for me to use when I am having difficulty breathing or am having an attack. It is larger, and has more moving parts like a hose and a mouthpiece that smokes. I have not used this yet, and hopefully won't have to!

:: Bunko tomorrow! Looking forward to it! Taking green bean casserole for a side dish! :)


:: Time to read my book!

concert fun

We had a fabulous weekend!!!! Hope you did too!!

:: Friday, we were off work! That, alone, was priceless! Ahhh. We left Abilene around 10:00, and headed to Dallas. Along the way, we stopped at Blue Mesa for lunch, and did a little shopping at Luke's Locker (a running store) and a few others. Then we finished up the day's journey by checking into the hotel and getting ready for our fun evening!!!

:: We had 5:30 dinner reservations at the House of Blues...

This was a very cool place! We enjoyed a delicious dinner here -- I had the buttermilk fried chicken, mashed potatoes with blue cheese and bacon, and champagne slaw...Chris had the Juicy Lucy burger, which had everything HOT on it that you could imagine, and fries. Very yummy!! From there, we headed to a different area of the building (downstairs) and entered the theater.

Awesome place!! We were entertained by an amazing show by Lindsey Stirling. She was the runner up on America's Got Talent, and her show was a mixture of violin, hip hop dancing, and singing. She is tiny, like a wood nymph...and her show was so fun! Here is a link to one of her most popular videos, so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. Check it out! Also, here is a cute photo of her:

After the show, we headed back to the hotel, freshened up, and then went to Thrive, the dance club in our hotel. Friday night isn't their busy night, so it wasn't crowded at all. The dj was playing some great music, but we felt a little odd dancing when the dance floor was so sparce!!! We still really enjoyed our time together, and the two martinis I had were delish! One was blood orange and the other was mango. Mmm! Chris had a few margaritas...

:: Saturday morning, we slept until 10:00! No doggies to wake us up at 7:00, so nice!!! We had lunch at a yummy Italian place called Campisi's, and the pepperoni and mushroom thin crust pizza felt like home :) Almost. Then we walked around the Dallas Aquarium, which was an amazing place! I have tons of photos from our time there, and will post a few of my favorites later in the week. We had another meal at Ellen's Southern Cooking, and it was the most delicious mac and cheese we've ever had. Mine had bacon and mushrooms, and his had avocado and mushrooms. Soo yummy!!! Stopped at Super Target on the way home, and finally finally found new bedding for our room!! We've been looking for something gray that would go with the icy blue accents we have in there. We really like it!! Washing it all now, can't wait to see how it looks in the room!!

Now, getting ready for another week. Will make dinner soon, and Aspen's boyfriend is coming over to eat and watch The Walking Dead -- can't wait to see what happens in this week's episode!!!!!!