Home Depot Birthday Celebration

How did I celebrate my 40th? Nice dinner at an upscale restaurant without kids followed by a trip to Home Depot. Our central heat went out yesterday so we had to get space heaters to keep us from freezing at night!

It was a nice birthday though, and so far 40 is not so bad. I've copped up to the age to most everyone I know, and most people react by saying "You don't look that old"! I don't know if that is a compliment or a slap?

I got a Garmin for my birthday (I had Garmin envy reading everyone else's blogs and have been hinting pretty heavily) and I tested it out this morning, I clocked a 2 minute mile - in my car. Hoping to get a real run in tomorrow morning.

Tonight the girls want to take me to Chuck-E-Cheese to celebrate - Woohoo!

I Know, I Know

I haven't posted in almost a week....and I haven't ran since last Monday......and my diet has been horrible this week. But lets be positive, this is what has been accomplished this week:

1) Painted my new bathroom and bedroom.

2) Our bathroom has been tiled and the granite bath top installed.

3) New hardwood floors in our bedroom, and the girls rooms - which we had to move furniture for.

4) Reset up the beds in our room and our girls rooms.

5) One sixty second (not minute) plank thanks to Non-Runner Nancy's inspiration.

6) Probably some more stuff that I can't remember since I am almost 40, have two small children, etc. etc.

I can't wait to post before and after pictures of our bedroom/bathroom - not of me!

I will restart my diet tomorrow. I will run 7 miles tomorrow. Plus, we have our first renters moving into our guest house tomorrow so I will be cleaning up out there.

Diva Delaney Turns Five

So despite Delaney's objections to having a winter birthday, she turned five today. I managed to talk her into a minor celebration, with the promise that her "real" birthday will be in the summer with a pool party.

The rules (as outlined by D):

1) NO SINGING, although she did want the traditional singing balloon we get every time there is a birthday in our house.

2) We will take a shopping trip and she will pick out a five year old present, followed by us preparing her favorite dinner (homemade mac 'n cheese), and an ice cream cake.

3) At her real party (summer) she wants two pinatas, one for herself that no-one else can hit, and one for everyone else.

4) She liked the idea of wearing a birthday crown today, doesn't like that Charlotte is wearing one too. Since I told her she would just have to deal with that, she decided she is the Queen and Char is the princess.

Notice the lack of smile in her picture, that is her Queen attitude. Queens don't smile. Princesses however do, knowing that they are bugging their sister!

Luckily my other two girls aren't nearly as demanding as Delaney - she is a DIVA! I think she gets it from her father. So this is what five looks like.

5k Race Results

The great think about creating my own 5k race, I won everything! Overall, my age, any bracket you can think of. No prizes though.

I did achieve my goal, sub 30 minute 5k, 29 minutes 53 seconds to be precise. Not bad considering two months ago I was hobbling around with shin splints and could barely shuffle a 12+ minute mile. Just think how fast I will be when I lose 35 pounds! My goal now is to get to an 8 minute mile by summer.

mile 1: 9:50
mile 2: 9:40
mile 3.1: 10:23 (9:30 pace)

Random Motley Post

I have a lot on my mind, not sure what I should post - oh, heck it is "motley" I can cover whatever I want!

So my big dilemma is that it is two day (2 DAYS!) until Delaney turns five, and I haven't figured out what to get her yet. Furthermore, she wants her birthday in the summer so she can have a pool party. I told her we can have her party in the summer, but it is still her birthday so what does she want? Nothing! She doesn't want any present until her party. I CAN"T DO THAT! I would feel like the worst parent ever! So I am trying to figure out a way to give her a present, without pissing her off. If you knew Delaney, you would understand.

Next topic - I spent five hours painting MY NEW BATHROOM today. So close to being done, I am so excited! The tile guy is suppose to start on Tuesday, and I think I am just going to have to hug him! Not because I think he is hot or anything, I am just so happy to be approximately one week from having my own bedroom and bathroom again (and by "my" I mean my husband and I) - unfortunately for my tile guy, he symbolizes the finish of this project for me - so he is getting a hug.

I have been kicking butt with my running lately. I am finishing my 3rd week of an actual training schedule for the half marathon in March. I have done every scheduled run, maybe not on the prescribed day, but I get it in. The best thing is I have been getting faster, and I haven't had any major aches or pains. I was suppose to do a 5K this weekend, but since I was busy painting and there were no local 5ks, I decided I will do my own virtual 5k tomorrow morning before work. My goal is to do a sub 30 minute 5k, which will be a personal best for me. Well, I probably did better than that when I was younger, but I don't remember my youth anymore so it doesn't count.

I will post again tomorrow with my results.

Tick Tock Goes the Clock

January 11, Sarah's birthday, but I won't go there again.

o Four days until Delaney turns five. She will be in kindergarten next year - ouch! That is hard to think about.
o Nineteen days until I turn 40 – but I really haven’t been thinking about that much, nor dwelling on it.
o Supposedly a week and a half until our bedroom is livable again! Yeah!

I have been living (since just prior to Thanksgiving) without a bedroom, sleeping on a blow-up bed in my living room, sharing a bathroom with my three girls, and NO CLOSET! As a mom, I am used to not having privacy, but this is really wearing me down. Don’t even get me started on what a mess my house is too boot, no where to put anything!

Then there are the divots in our back yard that the contractors have left. For some reason they all feel the need to park on our lawn, even though we have plenty of other parking. I think it is in the Contractor Code of Conduct - "Contractors must park on lawn with a large white truck with canopy. If the homeowner asks you to not park on the lawn, drive across the edges and corners of the lawn (especially after rain days) to leave ample divots and tread marks to ensure the homeowner knows you worked. Any noncompliance will result in fines." It is like dogs marking their territory.

Calgon, take me away!