Dad's visit

Dad came into town this past weekend for a visit. Unfortuantely we were all sick and he came to the boy's doctor with me on friday and he was gracious enough to watch the boys for me on sat morning so I could run down to the dr's and get checked out. Thankfully we all checked out ok. Just your usually sinus infections but nothing serious. We did salvage the weekend and the beautiful weather by going to feed the ducks at the park and play on the monkey bars. Travis slid down the fireman pole for the very first time! We were so proud of him! Zach was his normal cute self. Dad got a really good picture of him that totally shows his personality. All in all Dad had a good time but was really tired after his weekend. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Halloween 2007! Superhero Family and Friends!

Hey all! We had a great Halloween! Yes, you guessed right! We were the family of superheros! 2 superman, 1 superbaby,(who wouldn't wear his cape), and to complete our happy family one supergirl or supermom, whichever you prefer!

I started our afternoon by putting on my Supergirl outfit and picking the boys up from school. I made them put their costumes on at school and we then went to the gym to trick or treat. The boys got lots of goodies from Ashley and Rachel. Next, we went home and got ready for the evening by setting up the bounce around and pulling out all of the candy for the trick or treaters. We had some pizza and then we went trick or treating! Our friend Heather manned the door while we were out. What a blast it was. Zachary caught on really quick. He was amazed that when you knocked on a door someone would answer and give you candy! He liked to pick out his own candy though and he had to put it in his bag himself. Travis was riding his scooter from door to door. We just couldn't keep up. He filled up his bag superfast! We only went around our neighborhood this year. Next year we will expand our trek to the neighborhood behind us, which means more candy! WHOOHOOO!

Race Day! 5k Race for the cure...

Hey All! Race day was so much fun! We started the day by meeting at the gym at 6:45am. Rachael and Ashley had breakfast for us and we all took our turns warming up. we walked over around 7:30am to get our numbers and our tags that kept our official time. We were in our bright green shirts that said save the TaTa's! I was told that we were all on the news that night because we were at the front of the starting line! Rachael won 2nd place, overall, and won a $200.00 prize! she finished in 19:34 only :14 behind the winner! Congratulations Rachael!

I finished the race in 39minutes and 35 seconds! Well under my original 45minutes goal from the last race and under my personal goal of 40 minutes. I started the race running, very slowly, and made it farther then I thought I would. It felt as though everyone was passing me but I stayed focused and just made sure I kept up with the group. I stopped in one minute intervals when I needed to and increased the interval time to 2 minutes as the race wore on. Toward the end of the course I had a little set back as the final 2 or 3 tenths of a mile was all up hill. I almost died when I turned the corner and couldn't see the finishline but I stayed focused and ran/walked the rest of the way in, making sure to run over the finish line. That is the greatest feeling in the world! Anyway, my team from Fitenss Together was there to cheer me on as I crossed the finish line!

Zachary's Birthday Party at Dad's House 10/27/07

Hi All! Well, we had party number 2 for Zachary! This one was for just the family. Mom, Dad, Travis and of course, ZACHARY! We had a blast eating the Nascar cake that Dad bought for Zachary. It was super cool with and came with a steering wheel and a speedometer too! Zachary LOVED all of his gifts, (some a little more then others), but we are certain that this boy of ours, (and he is all boy), will grow into the toys that he got. Dad bought him this supercool car that is made for 1-3 year olds. You sit in it and press the red button and it goes all of 1 mile per hour. Zachary was a little nervous about it but Travis jumped right in for a test drive. It was hilarious watching him squeeze himself into the little car and then take off. I don't think that John and I had laughed so hard together in a very long time. Zach preferred riding his 4 wheeler that mom got him. He can sit on it and move himself. He was slow getting started but when he got the hang of it he was off and rolling like it was nobody's business. His favorite gift was the Lightning Mcqueen racing tracks! Being all boy and LOVING cars, (just like his big brother), Zach played with that one for a very long time! Mom also bought him Tic-Tac-Toe Toss Across, (remember that one!) Travis is always telling me how boring it is at my house so I wanted to get a game that we can all play together. i can;t wait to put that one toghether. it's going to be fun! I believe that birthdays should be celebrated! We are only 2/3 of the way through with Zach's celebrations. His final party with his classmates will be happening on 11/10. I can't wait!

Hey All I am 2! Zachary's Party at christ Methodist Daycare!

Hey all! Look I am 2! I got to celebrate with all of my friends at Christ Methodist Daycare! Mom and Travis stayed up late and made my special cupcakes for my birthday! There were Pigs, sheep and dogs! the best was they were all made from scratch and they STILL tased good! I guess anything tastes good with marshmallows, cookies and icing on it! Then mom stayed around and read books to my class and gave us all pony rides on her lap! We had a lot of fun together! We are going to have a second birthday party at dad's house tomorrow afternoon! I can't wait to see what presents mom and dad have bought for me!

Travis's First Batch of cookies!

Well baking season has officially begun! Travis was home from school today and I decided that we would kick off the holiday season by making our first batch of cookies from scratch! Travis enjoyed using the mixer. We had a lot of fun as butter and sugar shot all over the walls! He also liked to decorate the cookies with the cool food writing pens that I bought him. if I let him he would have ate all of the cookie dough raw! He did a great job with them and we really had fun. He even spent 30 minutes after we were done just cleaning the counter and the walls, all by himself! I think we have a chef in the making!

Race for the Cure and other stuff

Hey all!



I have been incredibly busy this past week. I had a midterm on wednesday which I pulled a B+ on. Stupid mistakes kept me from and A but I will take it for now. I am doing well and will be continuing on into next semester. 6 weeks of class to go and hopefully I will be able to answer someone when they ask me what my name is and how I am doing!



I am excited for my first timed race coming up this weekend! What a great cause to! I have raised 80 so far and I am quite proud of that, (thanks stacey!) I know many people were turned off by the whole online donation thing however it was really the easiest way to do it. At this point in my life I was afraid of losing any of the checks that were sent so I only asked for donations online. Maybe next year I will be more organized and can handle the extra mail.



I am running with Fitness Together, the gym where I train 3 times per week. We are wearing green shirts that I think are going to say "Save the Ta Ta's" i will try to get soemone to take a picture of us.



this week is Zacahry's 2nd birthday! I feel like the child should be 5 for all of the crap we've been through this year! he is doing well and is really steaming straight into the terrible 2's. I have a recent picture of him that I used to submit him in a contest for the gap so if he makes the finals I will need your support! They will let us know sometime in novemeber! For now you can go online to http://www.gap.com/ and check outhis pictures! I will try to post one here but I am not sure how to do it yet.



That's all for now folks!



keep me in your prayers on saturday!

My first 5k and more...

Hey all,

I did it! I registered and ran/walked my first 5K! I was late getting to the race and had to keep up with the truck that was pulling up the cones however I caught up to the rest of the group in about 12 minutes! I was so excited about that! My goal was to finish in under 45 minutes, (which would be a 15 minute mile running and walking.) I was slowed up a bit by a young girl who was crying because she was afraid of dogs. I walked with her until we passed the dogs and then I started to run/walk again at my faster pace. I was feeling tired and dehydrated but by the time I hit the watering hole and turned the corner for the last 1/2 mile I was feeling much better. I decided to run the last 1/2 mile giving myself markers, (points at which I can stop if I feel I need to.) and I wound up running all the way to the finish line! Whooohooo! My time was 44:58, just under 45minutes. It would have been less if I didn't slow to help that frightened little girl but I felt great about doing that and finishing in under 45 minutes! The next 5k race is the "Race for the Cure" scheduled on 10/27/07. My goal for that one is to beat my current goal of 44:58 and finish in 40 minutes or less.

On the homefront John and Travis survived the trip to AL and the final move! Travis got to visit with Stacey and Connie and Joe for a few hours and Stacey was so excited that she called to say they had a great time together and that they really missed us! We miss having our closest friends right up the block from us too but I promise we will be visiting them soon!

Zachary and I stayed home together and we had a great time! He is starting to talk more and he even picked out his own outfit on friday! John has him drving the cadillac around at his house too! I haven't seen that yet but I bet it is a riot! He even comes into the bathroom and sits on his potty when I go in to use the bathroom...potty training is getting close!

I am doing well in my french class. I am pulling an A so far but I have a killer quiz coming up this monday that I need to really study for. I have been trying all week to review but I have a head cold that is kicking my butt. I am finding it hard to reatain the information that I am reviewing. I am getting over it little by little however I feel it might not be enough by the time the quiz happens on monday. I have to say though, it is really fun knowing that I can converse with someone, as basic as my vocabulary is, in French. I have even enrolled in an after school class french class to help me with becoming more confident in speaking the language. I never really get the opportunity to speak the language outside of the classroom so I am hoping the extra class will help me with that.

That's all for today folks....

We didn't make it this weekend

Hey all,

Just a quick update for the final move. John and Travis took the final move so they are in AL as we speak. I had a conflict in my schedule so I couldn't make it. This was just a tough 2 weeks for me. (Not to mention a bout with Strep throat and lot of head colds going around. ) However, the move will be over by Tuesday and it all looks good for the closing on the house on Monday. So we are progressing. By next weekend I should be able to take a breather and reevaluate my schedule.

Bye Bye Alabama! Boo Hoo!

Hey all!

Just a quick note that we finally have a buyer for my beutiful home in AL. As my friend Stacey said it is truely bittersweet. We were there for 4 years and have made a lot of memories in that house and I would have been happy being there for the rest of my life if need be. We are closing on October 1st so the boys and I will be in town for that weekend. We will definitely be wanting to see everyone so keep the dates open!

Hope to see you then!

Race Day September 16, 2007

Hey all,

John has the kids this weekend and so I got to run my 3k...well it was more of a run then walk then run. I was excited and very apprehensive at the start because I didn't want to be the only one that wasn't going to be running, even though there were parents with small children who wouldn't be running the whole time either. So my friend Rachel said that it was ok for me to start out my time running and then go to a walk. I was so excitied because I made it farther then I had expected I would in my first 5 minutes. Then when I got to the watering hole I didn't think that I had gone far enough, (I was supposed to turn around and go back), so I went farther down the trail. Needless to say I went farther then I should have and Rachel, who ran the 8k, passed me, took first place and then came back for me and made me run the remainder of the trail that I had left so that I could pass the finish line. It was a great feeling to pass the finish line, even though I screwed it up and went farther then I should have. If I would have trusted the rest of the 3k runners/walkers and turned around when I should have then I probably would have been more apt to running then walking. OH Well...still I had a great time and it was really inspiring to see rachel walk away with her first place plaque. Someday it will be me...

On My Way!

Hey All,

Just a quick note to tell you that I offically registered for my very first race. It is a 3k, (1.6 miles), that I am going to attempt to run. I am hoping to make it a mile and then maybe walk the rest...maybe run/walk the whole thing, who knows. It is at 2pm on sunday Septemeber 16.

Wish me Luck!

What a week...or 2!

Hey all! Sorry I haven't written in a while! With john out of town and me with the kids over the long weekend it was really tough to get a workout in let alone a new blog. we had fun though! We went to a local park almost everyday where there is a walking trail around a lake filled with ducks and geese. Travis rode his scooter for an hour and Zachary and I played on the monkey bars and swings and chased ducks and geese! At one point Zachary got too close to the lake and actually went thigh deep in the mud. I went calf deep trying to pull him out. We both needed a new pair of shoes after that incident. Travis is getting so good at riding his scooter. I let him go around the lake by himself and he likes to stop and talk to the other kids that are there. Zachary is a bit too small for the walk so we stay behind but always with a careful eye on travis. He is like the mayor of Germantown, always out and about meeting and greeting people, usually talking smack but always polite and friendly and with good intentions.

I have been working out at Fitness Together for about 6 weeks now and I had my fitness assement this past wednesday. I have lost a total of 8lbs of fat but gained 3lbs of muscle. I also lost a total of 6 1/2 inches spread out throughout various parts of my body. It was a good assesment however, I was disappointed with the weight loss. I was getting upset b.c the scale wasn't really moving. So I decided that my eating habits needed to change and I needed to start to bump up my workouts to the next level. I still have my goal of running a 5k by february. So, this past week I have been concentrating on making my cardio workouts as productive as possible. That meant keeping my heart rate up in the "high intensity" zone for at least 15-20 minutes, (I work out 35-45 minutes a day.) The only problem is that with the added intensity of my workouts I have been more hungry and therefore been eating more crap! It is a horrible circle but yet another obstacle i need to overcome. As I say, it is a work in progress where babysteps are needed more then huge strides at this time.

I am doing well in my French class! I had forgotten how time consuming homework can really be! I spent most of last week preparing for my quiz on friday. I think I did well. I also signed up to take a sign language class in October. I am excited about that too!

Travis is doing much better in school. He needed some time to adjust to the new routine and teachers but we are getting there. He has become quite the little artist drawing mainly very colorful roadways and backyards with pools. He is starting to draw more landscape pictures too. I signed him up for an art class that hopefully will hone in on his budding talent and really allow him to run with it. We may have another Picasso or Monet on our hands!

Zacary loves his full-time daycare class. They do all sorts of things that he just absolutely enjoys. In the morning he jumps out of my arms and runs right to the toys and just starts playing. He doesn;t even turn around to say good bye! He has learned how to jump, which is the most adorable thing I have ever seen. He is babbling so much that it won't be long before he is talking full sentences. I will miss the baby talk though. He and I get into arguements about stuff and I say no and he aruges with me in his babytalk. I can;t help but laugh. He is just a joy to have around.

I just walked with my friend Cami for an hour in the rain and I am tired. I am going to take a nap before the boys get home from their dad's.

That's it for this week!

A day in the Life...

Hey all,

This is my very first blog so bear with me. We are finally in Tn after the move from hell july 4th weekend. It was a very trying month filled with lots of adjustments both physcially and emotionally for all of us. John, I'm sure, was finally happy to have us living in the same state, let alone living within a mile from each other. The boys were happier to have him more available to him. I was not at all happy with having to leave my home of 4 years. Alabama would have been my home for the rest of my life, if I had a choice. I hope that in time this move will prove to be a good one for me too.
The boys have started at their new school. Zachary is in full time daycare now and Travis started his SRK classes just this past week and is attending after school classes as well so there is enough to keep them both busy. Zachary has adjusted very quickly but Travis had a bit more trouble. John and I had agreed to do this because eventually I will be going back to work/school full time.
I am back to working out on a regular basis and, very slowly, started to run. I am mostly running on the treadmill right now but I did my first mile, (walking & running), just today. It's tough to pace yourself when you are out on your own. My goal is to be able to run a 5k by february. keep me in your prayers.
I am meeting some wonderful new friends through the gym and just tooling around the neighborhood. I am hopeful that once I get myself back to work I will meet even more friends. I am finding that memphis is filled with some of the nicest people. A fact which I am so greatful for. I left so many wonderful people behind in AL that I was sure I would never be able to find any others. I am doing my best to keep in contact with them through email, phone, letters, ( yes I do enjoy writing snail mail ever now and then), and now this blog. My goal is to update it on a daily basis however, I think weekly is more realistic at this time in my life.
I have caught up on all of the movies that I felt I missed in these past 4 or 5 years. Yes, I have in the past month watched many movies. I felt I needed and escape and thankfully the movies I rented provided that for me. Beside, I am obsessed with Alan Rickman and Jason Isaacs right now. Both Brittish actors. Both fabulous. Once I get over this obsession I want to take one actor a month and watch all of their best movies. I enjoy the movies, always have, so why not incorporate it into my hobbies.
I have also, committed to an online book club and have not been really diligent about reading the books. So I have a lot of catching up to do before the year is out. I have about 4 books that I want to read, Harry Potter, 2 by david sadaris and the final one is called Sex with the queen, (I will let you know how that one is once I get to it.)
That's it for now. Sorry this blog is so long but I felt I had to months to catch up on....