Chariots of Fire

So with every season of Biggest Loser I feel this little fire ignite deep within my gut. There's a little voice that says: "You can do it!" With the season finale on the horizon I find myself here once again. That show inspires me with a slight sprinkling of ticking me off. I would like to have a Jillian or Bob in my life. I want to leave kids and "real life" behind to have nothing but "me" time for months at a time--though truth be told I would be one of those blubbering moms who just wants to go home. And I know what they do on that show is like hard-core--some would say unhealthy. I know I ain't got a chance in Hades to lose 100 pounds in a couple of months--that's totally unrealistic, but it does motivate me to do a little more--to realize that sometimes the hardest part is just getting started.

So what did we get for Christmas? A treadmill. No more lame excuses about it being too cold to go outside. And for a few days after setting it up I would just sit and stare at it. We were sizing each other up, I think and I can't decide who is more scared of who (or is it whom?). I mean, I am a sizeable contender (no pun intended)but I know this machine can sometimes be likened to an instrument of torture--lots of pain, merciless. But after the encouragement I received online I finally set foot (or feet) on that puppy today. This helped too:



Couch potato to 5k in 9 weeks?! Can it be true? We shall see! For now, I have done day 1 and I am alive to tell the tale...I don't hate the treadmill yet. My children stood by and watched me--probably stunned to see their mother exercising. But they also cheered me on and Lola even said I looked better already. Sure I felt a little light-headed, but at least for now I am on my way to being a runner...

Oh the Good ol' Days...

Obsession

I've had a lot of obsessions in my lifetime: New Kids on the block, HGTV, reality TV, In-n-Out burgers, Elvis Presley. The list goes on and on. And when I moved to Colorado I had some pretty high hopes for new obsessions--top of the list was "the outdoors." Sadly, I'm still waiting for that one to kick in...

For the last year + that we've been here though, I have learned to dislike snow and anything that comes from McDonald's. In its place I have discovered a new love for all things chicken--especially if it comes from this place:

In the words of my friend's husband: "Find me someone who doesn't like Chick-Fil-A--That person doesn't exist." I concur, Josh. I totally concur. And what's not to love? Yummy salads, sandwiches, free balloons, an indoor play area that is closed off so you don't have to feel like you are eating lunch in a zoo, they refill your drinks, and no crappy kids meal toys (They give books! Books, I say!). I kid you not when I tell you that my typical trip there is never shorter than 1 hour.


But my real love is this:

The spicy chicken sandwich--it's plump and has a spicy kick that makes you say "Ooh! Mama mia!" (kinda like me). And just a couple days ago my love surged to new heights with this:
That's right, Chick-Fil-A sauce!! The little packet is honey roasted b-b-q sauce--which is a topic for anothe time, But here's my beef with this Chick-Fil-A sauce: Every time I go, the friendly cashier asks me if I want any sauce with my order. I always have a moment of panic and promptly say "No, thank you." even though I really want to say "Sure! What do you have to offer?" This place is always super busy and I don't want to be that lady that holds up the line to listen to the list of possible dipping sauces...And once I sit to eat I kick myself for not taking them up on their offer. But, dear Chick-Fil-A, how in the the world am I supposed to know what to ask for?! There is no "sauce menu" anywhere. I have peeked over to other fellow Chick-Fil-A lover's tables and have seen a myriad of sauces. How?! How do they know what this place has to offer? Is it a secret club? Do I have to reach a certain number visits before I am privy to this information? If so, I seriously think I have more than surpassed that number! Who do I see about this? The only reason I discovered this little bit of heaven was because my (real) friend, Leigh Anna let me take one of hers.

It's life-changing. You know how people have these near-death experiences--dark tunnel, bright light and the whole shebang? And when they come back out of it cause it wasn't their time they are changed for the better? They go on to do amazing things with their lives like all Mother Theresa-like? Yeah, that's totally where I'm at. If someone would have come up to me after my first taste of Chick-Fil-A sauce and asked for a kidney or my first-born I'm pretty sure I would've said "Sure! Do you need a lung to go with that?" or "Take her! And I have a 2-year-old I'll throw in for free!" It's just that good.

Problem is, now that I have discovered this little piece of magic, how do I know they're not still holding out on me? What else has Chick-Fil-A been keeping from me? And more importantly, why have they not bottled this sauce?! I'm a girl with a mission now!

It's 11:00pm. I got back about 45 minutes ago from the Temple and I am wide awake. My kids are wide awake, and my heart is full. I was able to go to the Temple tonight with my Visiting Teachers. But these girls are not just my vt's--they are two of the closest friends I have made out here in Parker.

I have always had kind of a tough time with Visiting teaching. I am not good at making appointments. Sometimes I find it hard to make friends with the girls I have visited. But these girls have strengthened my testimony of this program of our church. They have been my good friends. They have welcomed me into this new ward with open arms and have loved me for who I am. I don't know how I got so lucky to have them assigned to me, but I am oh-so-grateful because they were exactly what I needed here.

We went to the Temple and then went out to dinner and talked for hours. Nothing about our friendship is forced--it has all come so naturally, and I seriously think that friends like these are heaven-sent. I can count on one hand the number of friends I have felt this connection with--but to me, they are all evidence of the hand of God in my life.

I spent 5 hours with them tonight, and I seriously could have gone another hour or two. Isn't it grand when you find friends like this? Isn't it even grander when you have a husband who will let you take 5 hours out of your night to go spend with these friends and not utter a single complaint about his night? All-in-all, one of my most favorite nights EVER!

And So It Begins

Lola got off the bus a few weeks ago and the first thing she said to me as we were walking home was: "I've decided I'm going to date Oliver." in a matter-of-fact kinda way. I tried so hard not to react, but to just take this info in and to let her keep talking. So this is kinda the way our conversation went:

Me: So you're dating Oliver?

Lola: Yeah. Jillian said she was going to date him but then she changed her mind. So I think I will.

Me: Does Oliver know you are going to date him?

Lola: I think so. I don't know.

Me: Is Oliver nice?

Lola: Yeah I think he is. Joshua said Oliver was a stink-butt, but I don't think he is. He helped me up when I fell, so that's nice, right?

Me: Yes. That's nice. Are you going to tell dad?

Lola: Nuh-uh.

So a few weeks went by and it wasn't really spoken of again. Mind you, I should've seen this coming cause a week or so before this conversation she had mentioned to me that Oliver had been chasing her on the playground. Turns out, this chasing has happened pretty regularly, and when I asked Lola if Oliver ever caught her she answered "Yes" in a very timid sort of way. Then when I asked her what Oliver did after he caught her she responded that she didn't know...

I often hesistate to let Curran in on all this just cause he seems to overreact to anything that might remotely point to Lola actually being a girl and the fact that she is growing up and will one day notice boys and DATE them. He's been quite vocal about his objection to Lola marrying before he's in the grave and not dating till she's 40, yaddah, yaddah, yaddah. But I tell him because I want him to know what Lola is experiencing. Except for last night...

She got off the bus after a 2 week fall break very happy. And as we were walking down the hill she says: "I need to tell you something but you might say 'eewww' when I tell you." My curiousity was piqued and I encouraged her to tell me anyway. So this is what I heard:

Lola: "I kissed Oliver twice today" (Hides face with her little hands)

Me: You did? Okay...ummm...where...did you...kiss...him?

Lola: (whispers) On the cheek and on the mouth...

At this point I don't know what to say. How do I convey to her how special her kisses are without making this huge deal about it. I know as a kindergartener it was completely innocent and that this is just how she shows affection, but I need to say something right? One of my biggest fears is that she will grow up way too soon. I want her to have an innocent childhood, and as my mind races to the future and I start to imagine her teenage years I begin to break out in a cold sweat, and try to calm myself by taking deep breaths, and making a mental note to check out boarding schools online.

We did have a little talk about it later, and I tried to keep it as casual as possible. She also did tell her dad about it even though she had earlier told me there was "no way" she would. Am I freaking out over nothing? Do I just let it go? I gotta be honest--I woke up in the middle of the night and my mind was just racing with what I should do/say. And then I would tell myself to do/say nothing for fear of making more of this than it really is. This is unchartered territory for me!

Ah...Priesthood Session...

Last night was Priesthood session and not wanting to waste a couple of good hours with no husband around I got together with two of my good friends, Jessica and Claudia (and their corresponding children). By the way, it's kinda weird to bring together two friends from two different parts of your life, isn't it? Jess is from my former, apartment living life. Claudia lives down the street from my new home. The two had never met, and I didn't know how they would jive. Am I the only one who worries about stuff like that?

The night went splendidly--minus a couple of mishaps and accidents. So here is a recap of our night...in pictures:

The kids had Red Baron. We had Carino's. Unfair? No way! When I picked up the Red Baron at Wal-mart Lola said "Pizza?! This is the best day ever!!"

That's supposed to be Noah. But he didn't take a bite out of a corn dog. He opted for Chewy's arm. And Lola got a monster splinter in her thumb--though by the sounds of her incredibly high-pitched screams you would think her whole hand had been gnawed off by a ravenous wolf. The shrieks ended thanks to Jessica's sweet skills with the tweezers.


Once the kids were fed and catastrophes taken care of we made some killer desserts: pumpkin pie milkshakes and pumpkin roll...mmm...and this is what my kitchen sink looked like at the end of the night:

But THIS is how my heart felt after spending a couple of hours with two of the bestest, strongest, most beautiful girls I know!

White Realization

So as I was leaving the library about two weeks ago with a sweet stash of books I glanced over to one of the little display tables and saw this book:

I have lived among White people all my life--I thought I knew what they liked, but also thought it would be interesting to see just how much of an expert I truly am.

As I began reading I found myself nodding my head a lot agreeing with what I was reading, and about half-way through the book I felt like I was hit in the face with a ton of bricks. "Why?" you ask? Cause I came to the stunning realization that according to this book I am a lot more White than I thought I was!!! I know my birth certificate states "Caucasian" as my race/ethnicity--a serious type-o if I ever saw one. But now that I've read this book I am beginning to seriously wonder if maybe I was adopted. According to the book, these are some of the things White people like that I do too:

• farmer's markets
• diversity
• having Black friends
• David Sedaris
• '80's night
• Arrested Development
• plays
• Whole Foods and other grocery co-ops
• vintage
• kitchen gadgets
• documentaries
• expensive sandwiches
• study abroad
• musical comedy
• multilingual children
• having gay friends
• dinner parties
• scarves
• self-deprecating humor
• integrity
• pretending to be a Canadian when traveling abroad
• high school English teachers
• subtitles
• platonic friendships
• reusable shopping bags
• acoustic covers
• The Simpsons
• avoiding confrontation
• DJs
• not having cash
• eating outside
• books
• hardwood floors
• bakeries
• cheese
• modern art museums
• public transportation that is not a bus

I just hope my Mexican friends don't shun me and that my White friends will continue to embrace me.