Spring into SNOW!

 

Sometimes you have to make lemonade out of lemons!

 

Yes, yes, it is true the following photos are actual footage of our

Spring Break 2013

or was that Winter Break Act 2

 

If it wasn't so beautiful, I would have been depressed and crying.

 

Nike Girl was happy to just be out of school. 

Weebok was confused as she looked at her 4 Seasons book. 

Converse was excited the neighbor offered him to use his snow blower!

I was glad for the invention of fleece.

 

 

I took the Spring has Sprung flag picture normally, I think the camera was cold and rotated all the pictures I took of the flag. It won't let me rotate it now...hmm...

 

We only lost a few branches.

It was a heavy snow.

Great for snowballs!

 

 

 

 

Great for eating snow cones!

Weebok has a problem, she does!

That is all she wanted to do.

Nike Girl gave her a quick lesson on color of snow.

 

               

                  Nike Girl just laughed and jumped and laughed some more.

          

 

 

And at the end of the day....

We found ourselves on the beach!

 

 

Here is to sunshine, sand in our toes and blooming flowers!

 

Peace.

The New Balance Girl

 

We are Never Ever....Ever

 

 

I ♥ Easter Candy!

 

Specificially these little eggs of pure satisfaction and taste bud joy.

 

 

It's true.

I have a problem.

It sabotages my New's Year's resolutions every year.

I remember when I first found Cadbury Mini Eggs.

They had me at hello!

Thank You Hershey Company!(www.hersheycompany.com)

 

After eating almost an entire bag by myself

I knew we were MFEO...you know made for each other.

It was a relationship that made me happy, happy, happy.

That was until I realized that THIS is lurking in two short months!

 

 

 

Actually THIS is what delights me and scares me at the same moment! 

Awesome Title Nine swimsuits! (www.titlenine.com)

 

 

 

You see the problem  is all mine.

I own it, I accept it.

It first started

when I realized that despite the snow and ice and lack of temperature above 32 degrees in the middle of March (insert slight bitterness)

that I would no longer be able to hide behind black yoga pants and hoodies.

 

I had to break up with the eggs. 

Break ups are hard.

They are messy.

Just like Nike Girl and Weebok's favorite singing sensation

Taylor Swift belts out in her fun and sassy song

 "We are Never Ever Getting Back Together!"

 

It was on the treadmill one morning listening to some awesome tuneage, when I realized, her song so applied to  my breakup. 

The words could easily apply to the on again and off again relationship I was having with the eggs!

 

Thank You Taylor Swift for helping me through the egg breakup!

"We are never ever ever getting back together,
We are never ever ever getting back together,
You go talk to your friends, talk to my friends, talk to me
But we are never ever ever ever getting back together

Like, ever..." (Taylor Swift Lyrics)

 

Well until next Easter....dang that is a long time away....maybe until tomorrow!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Summer's End.....

It finally rained. To top it off there was a double rainbow. Awesome.

It was a summer worth smiling about.

It was a summer worth remembering.

It was a lazy summer full of play.

Peace.
The New Balance Girl

And Summer Continued.....

USA Swim Team Rocked!
Trials 2012



Once in a lifetime experience.
Where dreams start.

Blackberry Pie Eating Contest Midwest Style.

 

 

We've got cows.

Nile Girl was able to swim with two USA Olympians.
Very inspirational and a dream come true for my little swimmer girl.

2 months of 100 degree temperatures and no rain all we did was swim. So the girls needed some spa time for all their chlorine dry skin.
Summer is Fun!

And Summer Began.....

School ended, we were packed and headed to the Emerald Coast! Happy Summer!

Love is.....



Listening to belly laughs while sledding in our front yard.



Watching Weebok put together her first valentine box.

Standing back as Nike Girl created her own valentine goodies to give her classmates.  

Love is all around us if we just pause for a moment.

It is so difficult during our busy days to just stop and take it all in. 

May you take the time today to pause and and feel His love in all situations.

Peace.

The New Balance Girl

Bye Bye Nap

Today was the day! I filed my plan of action last night with Converse. Today Weebok would only have rest time and not have to take her nap. The nap had become a source of struggle. She would squirm, leave her room belly crawling down the hall, have to go to the bathroom twelve times, one time she even said there was a "pider" crawling in her bed. It was time to rethink that glorious hour to two hours I had all to myself. Weebok has been going to bed at 10 pm after an hour or some nights even longer full of coaxing her to get back to her room. The nap is the culprit. I was convinced! She is trying to give it up and I am not letting her.Well now I am going to let her give it up!
So today was the day the troops declared peace during rest time. Around 1:30 she came inside from playing without coaxing or bribing, she curled up with her blanket and Polly her pony and within 3 minutes she was sound ASLEEP. She was taking a nap on her own. I will have to file an amendment to my original plan of action stating....I have not a clue how to parent!

Peace.
The "New Balance" Girl

Running Report: Gorgeous outdoor running!!! What is up with that? No complaints. Plugging away to meet my race goals. Maybe all the beautiful outdoor air and sunshine is making her hold onto the nap? I need a nap after all this stewing about what I should do to nap or not to nap.  Happy Day!

Fancy Nancy's Day at the Park

Since Nike Girl was at a softball pitching clinic with Converse, Weebok and I decided to go for a walk at the park. Felt more like an early spring day than a January morning.

Fancy Nancy enjoyed the sunshine.

Enjoy your day!

Peace.

The "NewBalance" Girl

Culinary Skills 101

My freshman year in college, I found myself the proud holder of a meal ticket to the local cafeteria where a trans fat ban was unthinkable. A place that specialized in fried everything placed on styrofoam with dirty utensils. Fresh fruit meant another day with fruit cocktail in heavy corn syrup. It served its purpose of allowing me to put on the freshman 15 without the headache of wondering where my next meal was going to come from.
The following year, I found myself standing in the kitchen of a run down college house with 4 other girls. We each had seperated out the cabinet space and labeled a space in the refrigerator. I was on my own with cooking. Honestly, I vividly remember having a moment of panic one day when I was opening another can of spaghettios with meatballs.I realized this was the beginning of a long road of new responsibility. I wanted to call my mommy and have her bring in some homemade country meals but I knew I had to do this on my own. I had the responsibility of trying to stay in the boundaries of the food triangle. At that aha moment, I was way left of center. Are spaghettios and meatballs even on the triangle?
So I began looking for recipes. I really haven't stopped. I love finding new meals to try. Each month I thumb through the magazines I subscribe to and search for a new meal to try. Yes, I know there is internet, too,but I am old school that way. Ideally, I would love to try to include a new recipe each week. That, however, is a little too ambitious. So if I try 2 a month I have done something. My family seems to like what I try most of the time. I definitely know if they don't like it.
So cooking meals is fun. Baking, on the other hand, I stink at it! I do make the girls cakes each year for their birthdays, but that is about it. If you only knew how many times I have had to rebake their cakes. When I have to sign up for baked goods at church or school, I cringe. I am the first to sign up for fruit or the napkins or plates. This is a prime example of how bad I stink at baking.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I followed the recipe! I have no idea what happened. All I know is the 2 dozen cookies due ended up being store bought. These carmelized chocolate chip hockey pucks were salvaged and found a home in vanilla ice cream during Weebok's nap while Nike Girl was at school.  I couldn't let them eat half baked cookies, they had eggs for crying out loud. These cookies are the norm for me. I seriously do not know why I can not bake. I need a culinary skills 101 class. I think the only thing that makes me feel better is knowing my sister has actually caught her kitchen curtains on fire during one of her cooking adventures. I was there, the whole family was....the event is known for the origin of our family recipe Burn the House Down Enchiladas. Too funny! We must take after our dad.

If you have a fool proof cookie recipe. I would love to try it out!

Peace.
The "New Balance" Girl

Running Report: Training officially for a couple spring 13.1 milers. Personal goal: 1:59. My PR is 2:05. In order to do this, I need to stay away from carmelized hockey pucks in vanilla ice cream. I am beginning to think I really do only run to eat. Runnin' for Gouda :)

The Christmas Card

One of my favorite things to do that jump starts the holiday season is to take the girls Christmas pictures by the little group of evergreen trees in our backyard. The trees are Austrlian Pines with soft needles that are photo ready this time of year. So this November, I began planning out the photo shoot. I always feel so rushed to get the cards out on time. This year was going to be punctual with a creative flair  that was a little off the beaten path.
So the weekend after Thanksgiving, they combed their hair and put on some comfortable holiday wear and headed outside. There awaited the much anticipated prop. A gigantic cardboard box wrapped with polka dot paper with a hole in the top. The plan was to stand inside the box, peek their little heads out, then slap a bow on their heads and make it look like they were Christmas presents. The end result was to be a colored coordinated Christmas photo that would be framed and displayed on our mantle during the holiday season for many years to come.
Here is a snapshot journey of another "bright idea" gone wrong.   

Trying to get the light and angle correct. They look confused.



Why did you put this ridiculous thing in my hair?

Oh dear! Weebok!

She's ok! The shoot continues.



The wind picks up to gale force speed.



The paper rips.The bows fly off. The box .....

Tumbles

The plan changed.
Photo shoot over.

So this year the cards were a vision, alright, of something completely different than I had expected. I ended up using three photos that were taken from this autumn and sticking them on a pre-customized card that turned out dark with a yellow tint. Not the creative flair I was going for but still I made the deadline, barely.
All this so friends and family can take a quick look then store them away in a photo album or toss them in the recycling bin.

Here is hoping your Christmas photos were more of a success!

Peace.
The "New Balance" Girl

Running Report:
Still running outside! I can not believe the mild weather. I know it will soon come to an end but I am thankful for the extra days of sunshine as it makes keeping the new year resolutions easier. Go day 2 of healthier food choices and harder workouts!