Alone (Temporarily)

KC is ice fishing.

Boys were at home with my mom.

Girls were performing in their band concerts.

Zoe on flute.

Audrey on clarinet.

And I was sitting alone in the bleachers.

Not having to ..... tell anyone to sit still, please stop trying to sing along, having boys standing on my lap to get a visual of their sisters, apologizing to the parents around me trying to record their children, praying for this to be the last song before I lose it, digging in my purse for candy to persuade good behavior, apologizing to the people in front of us because they are getting kicked in the back, trying to explain that 'Bravo' doesn't need to be yelled after every song.

I just got to sit and enjoy.

That doesn't happen very often anymore :)

I enjoyed my two hours tonight. The girls sounded great. And I sat back and just watched.

Disappointed

My husband has worked in the bicycle industry since his very first job.

Just after we got married he started a job at Trek bicycles.

Our whole life and livelihood has evolved around bicycles.

We have watched years and years of the Tour de France, cheering on the Americans. And above all . . . Lance.

For years KC has defended Lance Armstrong by asking why there hadn't been any positive results to the countless drug tests. We figured that something would have been found if he was guilty.

We did not idolize him. He was the biggest name in cycing. And since KC's job was to sell bicycles, a win for Lance was more sales for him. I'm sure a couple of our bonus company vacations were made easier by those wins.

 Lance was an inspirational story. He fought through so much just to survive. He started an amazing organization helping countless people through some of the hardest moments of their lives.

And instead of staying inspirational . . . he became a cheater, a liar and a bully.

One of the last things KC asked me to do this morning was to take the life-size poster off Cameron's bedroom wall.

We thought Lance would be an inspiration. Someone that KC could tell him about. Tell Cameron all the amazing things he is capable of doing with his life if he is willing to work hard for it.

And we will still tell him all of those things, but Lance will be taken out of it completely. And he's been taken off his bedroom wall.

He is now an example of what not to do with your life. Cheaters never win in the end.

And this . . . is the end.

Shoot!!! And I have a few bins of worthless Lance stuff in my basement . . . wonder if I can still get anything for it on eBay?

It Always Feels Good To Get Started

Day 1 of my RunKeeper program. It's a free app if you are interested in checking it out.

I've started with preparing myself for a 5K. It's a 28 step program that started with an easy 1.5 mile run/walk workout. It tracks your distance, pace, calories burned, elevation and time. Probably not completely accurate, but good enough for someone who doesn't want to spend extra money on a fancy system.

Even though it's 20 degrees outside, I did it :) I suited up and walk/ran around our big block 4 times for a distance of 1.6 miles.

This program will take me to March 8th and then I'll step it up to prepare for the 5 mile Walleye Run.

I love making plans . . . but it always feels great to get something started!!!

Welcome 2013

So, I got off to a rough start this year.

This was the last photo I took in 2012 :)

Consistent sickness in our house since Christmas. Nothing major, thankfully . . . just A LOT of coughing. And I think it all just wore me down until I didn't feel well. It's exhausting taking care of everyone and being 'trapped' in the house for weeks.

So, Friday was the first day without a cough and I'm hoping it stays that way for a bit.

Now I feel like I'm starting my 2013 a couple weeks late. I'm still packing away Christmas decorations, finding places to put all our new presents, and generally just trying to get the house cleaned up.

•   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •   •

I thought about my New Year's Resolution a lot.

I always make my resolution too hard to accomplish. I set myself up for failure. And I usually know it when I make it . . . why do I do that to myself?

So this year I made three small resolutions. Resolutions that I know I can accomplish. I am not setting myself up for failure this year.

First, I am going to simplify my life. By that, I mean de-clutter. I envy the women who have everything in there homes 'just so', and I believe that my problem is that I have too much stuff. I've already taken 2 huge bags to Goodwill last week, and plan to continue doing so all year. eBay is still one of my good friends and I continually list and sell things for a little more income. I have no grand illusions of a perfect home, just better.

Second, I am going to put my family on a budget. I have started using Mint.com (thanks for the suggestion Mike). I looked at it last year and was scared off by all the account numbers and passwords that you have to give the site. But, after a lot of research I took the plunge. I have a budget made (and I plan to tweak it as needed - I have to find out what works for us) and goals set up (it states that we should be contributing over $3,000 a month for college costs, which is impossible - but we can do what we can and hope for some good scholarships). It was a lot of work setting it up, but I think now it will be easy to maintain.

Third, I am going to run in the 5-mile Walleye Run. I believe Walleye Weekend is June 7-9 this year. I have always wanted to be a runner and have never done it. (Consistent pregnancy and toddlers will do that to you.) I was going to start training this morning, but a nice layer of sleet fell last night, so I will attempt it tomorrow. I am going to be using RunKeeper so I can track my progress and be ready. Anyone who wants to join us is more than welcome . . . KC is going to run it too :)

So back to packing up Christmas, and finally clean up my 2012  :)

I will try to do a little better with my blogging, but I cannot make any promises . . .

First Shutterfly Book

I just completed this book for a couple of family members that we don't get to see enough.

And then I realized that I don't see a lot of our family nearly enough, so I thought I'd share with everyone.

I realize there is a big blank space below, I included the photo that I used for the cover.

If you are interested, click on the link below, it does work :)

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a wide range of artful designs and embellishments to choose from.

Thank you Shutterfly for allowing me to share my book. It was a lot easier to put together then I thought it would be. It's a project that I've been putting off.

Feels good to have it done.