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Thanksgiving 2012

29 Nov

Since you’ve probably read everyone else’s Thanksgiving posts by now, you’re probably wishing you had just one more to read. Right? No?

Well, even though I really dislike it when people say this, I’m going to say it – this post is mostly for me to record what we did this year for Thanksgiving so that I have it for the memory book I was supposed to make in April. (That’s a post for another time.)

I flew to Minnesota on Wednesday and Travis and my younger bro picked me up from the airport (Travis was already out there for a work trip). We went out to eat at Axel’s Bonfire in St. Paul with my parents, older brother, sister-in-law and adorable nephew. Then we all (minus my younger bro) drove an hour north to my parents’ cabin and went to bed (it was about 11 by then I think).

The next morning, we got up and had a delicious waffle breakfast with every topping you could think of before Travis and I headed up north to Nevis (where Travis’ parents live… sort of… long story). I actually thought to take a picture before we departed ways:

It was a 3.5 hour drive up to Nevis but it went by pretty fast. We amused ourselves along the way by imagining what it would be like if we lived up there. (It is the area we’re thinking about moving back to.) By the time we arrived in Nevis, it had started to snow. We ate our delicious Thanksgiving dinner and then played Catch Phrase – pretty much a holiday tradition at this point. I’m amazed we don’t have all the answers memorized.

The next day, we slept in (ahh!), ate breakfast (Monkey bread!), and then I went shopping at Walmart in the nearest town with my SIL Carolyn. She found some presents but I only bought a bottle of non-alcoholic bubbly and underwear for Travis. I know, exciting. After Walmart, we only had a few minutes before Travis and I met up with some friends for lunch. It was fun seeing them again – we only see them about once every couple of years so it’s good to catch up. The rest of the day was spent napping, crosswording and reading until we packed up and drove over to Grand Rapids (where Travis’ parents also live…).

Saturday also started out as a lazy day. We ate breakfast around 9 am, I took a shower and then did a puzzle while the guys ran some errands. I completed the puzzle in record time (though it was only 330 pieces instead of 600). That afternoon, Travis and I headed to the Verizon store to get me a new phone – I’ve had a free upgrade for almost a year and still hadn’t used it. Verizon didn’t have the free phone I wanted but we found it at Walmart. And they had a deal where if you bought a new smartphone (even one for $.97 like the one I got), you got a $100 gift card. (The deal is good until Dec 1 so if you’re looking for a new smartphone, check out Walmart – I would assume the deal isn’t just a local one but I’m not sure.) So I pretty much got paid to get a new phone. How cool is that? (I got the Samsung Galaxy Stellar if you’re wondering.)

There was a little snafu with the upgrade (long story) so Travis and I had to go back to Walmart on Sunday to get the phone then. And I discovered the downfalls of getting the free phone that no one wants anymore – cases and screen protectors are near impossible to find in a store. I was able to find a case at the Verizon store but still need to buy a screen protector.

Saturday night, we played Yahtzee and had root beer floats. Delicious. Sunday we watched more football and just hung out reading and doing Sudoku. If you can’t tell, it was a very mellow trip. I didn’t really do much of anything. And it was wonderful. Unfortunately, we had to leave Sunday afternoon for the Cities. Our flight back to Denver left at 7 am on Monday morning so we wanted to be as close to the airport as possible. It worked out nicely though because we got to see my younger brother, SIL and parents again for a few hours. We went out to Chinese at a local restaurant and then my parents drove back down to Rochester (about 1.5 hours south). They drove up just to have dinner with us! Aren’t they the greatest?

Monday morning came early but we got to the airport with plenty of time. After we landed in Denver, we got our luggage, took the shuttle to our car, and then headed off to work. Boo. This week has actually gone by really fast though. Tomorrow’s already Friday! Yay!

 

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Off to Minnesota

21 Nov

I’m currently sitting in the Denver airport waiting to board my plane. I ended up getting to my gate almost 2 hours before my plane leaves because I expected the airport to be nuts. It’s busier than normal but not crazy.

We’re spending tonight and tomorrow morning with my family (I get to see my nephew again!) and then heading up north to spend Thanksgiving and the weekend with Travis’ family. It should be a very enjoyable, relaxing time.

Hope you have a great holiday wherever you are!

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New fall boots

14 Nov

You may remember my boot dilemma – well, after many hours searching every single possible website I could think of, I finally narrowed it down to a few different pairs:

1) Material Girl Lennox Boots, $75

2) MIA Pali, $59.99

3) Madden Girl Zandora, $79

4) Madden Girl Earnie, $59.99

I had actually decided to get the Earnie boots because I liked them the best, even though I was apprehensive about the zipper only being at the bottom. But when I tried them on at Famous Footwear, they were too narrow. I tried on every other pair of boots they had in the Cognac/Camel color. No luck. None of them fit me right.

After that experience, I was pretty sure I didn’t want to buy boots online without trying them on (even though I’ve done that before). A couple of Saturdays ago, I stopped by Babies R Us and Gordman’s just happened to be next door. So I figured I’d pop in and see what they had. The only pair of tall tan boots they had were the MIA Pali boots. Famous Footwear hadn’t had those in the store when I went so I tried them on.

They fit great! They’re loose enough in the calf that I can wear skinny jeans under them and not have my circulation get cut off. They have a slight heel, which is nice and I like that the zipper runs the full length of the boot (definitely makes getting them on and off a LOT easier). They’re a nice cognac color and best of all, they’re comfortable. I even wore them taking the dogs on a walk one day. I am very pleased with these boots.

Outfit made possible by new boots!

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Up and running

6 Nov

Yesterday, I forgot that the time change meant that it would be dark when I was leaving work. So the dogs did not get a walk.

Since they have to be locked up all day (when Travis isn’t home), I feel bad when that happens and this morning, I made sure to take them on a wog before work.

Yes, a WOG.

I actually jogged a bit! My first “run” in over a month. ::hangs head in shame::

I only had time for 2 (slow) miles and my Garmin was dead so I just based my intervals on feel but I got out there and did it.

The dogs were happy.

And so was I.

 

{Pictures recycled from a run last year but this year’s dry Colorado fall looks pretty much identical}

 

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Elk Camp 2012

23 Oct

The best thing about elk camp this year was that I wasn’t miserably cold during the day OR at night like I have been in past years. That wasn’t a side effect of pregnancy though – Travis just did a better job in keeping the stove stoked.

The worst part about elk camp this year was that we didn’t get an elk. 😦 It happens. We’ve been lucky the past 3 years.

It was cold and rainy when I got up to camp Friday night – and before we went to bed, that rain turned into snow. We woke up to this on Saturday:

Beth and I spent most of Saturday in the tent. We read, played Bananagrams and talked about baby stuff. This is what the dogs do while we’re chilling in the tent:

 

They lay on my bed.

The guys came back for lunch and then it cleared up a bit so we went on a walk on the road near our campsite.

 

 

The guys came back around 7 and we ate dinner around the campfire.

Sunday, we hung out in the tent until the afternoon and then the sun came out! So we went on another hike on Ute Pass Trail. We were camping and hiking in the heart of hunting territory so we have to wear blaze orange and keep the dogs on a leash.

It’s hard to find any “easy” hikes around in the mountains so we just took a lot of breaks on the uphill parts.

When we got back to camp, I made a fire (with quite a bit of help from Beth) while Beth started on dinner. Then the guys came back, we ate and went to bed around 9:30 (while was late compared to the previous 2 nights!)

Monday was by far the nicest day we had. It was 60 and sunny. Beth and I went on another hike up Morgan Gulch. I forgot my camera so I don’t have any pictures. But it was pretty. We saw a pack of about 8 deer on the top of a ridge. After our hike, we ate lunch with the guys. They went back out and we sat in the sun for a while reading and doing a crossword. I actually got a little sunburned! Then it was time for me to head home.

Even though camping is a lot of work, it’s fun to get up into the mountains. And I got to do a lot of reading and hiking, which is what I wanted! I finished the book Unbroken – VERY good book. It’s a little intense (since it’s about POW camps during WWII) but the ending is awesome. And it gives a different perspective to WWII than I had ever read about before.

 

 

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Life lately.

12 Oct

It’s that time of year: elk hunting. Travis and his parents headed up this morning and I’ll head up right after work. Since I spent pretty much all of my PTO going to Alaska for two weeks and I can’t take unpaid time off without VP approval (stupid corporate policy), I will only be going up for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, heading down Monday night. Everyone else will come back down Wednesday. If you’re wondering, I don’t hunt. I hang out with my mother-in-law and we do fun stuff. 🙂

Read about our trip last year here.

Even though I’m going to freeze my butt off and I am really not looking forward to heading out to the lug-able loo at 2 am (thanks to pregnancy), I am looking forward to doing some hiking and lots of reading. The forecast calls for snow near us so we may or may not see any snow. Luckily, I have my warm boots this year. No more cold toes for me!

One more thing I’m excited about – driving my new car!

After 3 trips to the dealer and much hemming and hawing, we finally signed the paperwork for a 2008 Mazda Tribute. The Tribute is just the Mazda (and slightly less expensive) version of a Ford Escape.

I absolutely love it! It handles like a car and accelerates really fast (thanks to the V6 engine). And best part, I won’t have to spend 20 minutes on a Friday afternoon sitting in the parking lot at work because my car won’t start. (Yes, that happened last week.)

This past Monday night, while Travis was heckling with the dealer, I went to Starbucks (car shopping stresses me out because Travis and I have opposite buying personalities) to read my book Unbroken and have a good hour-long phone chat with my dear friend Holly who lives in Minnesota. It was so enjoyable. (Oh and Unbroken is a good book too!)

I tried the Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate. It was ok, but I wouldn’t order it again. Too rich.

Last week, we awoke one morning to a light dusting of snow. Now I know that the weather (especially that of a week ago) is not breaking news but I bring it up because I am LOVING Denver’s weather this fall. It’s been cold, dreary and rainy – reminds me so much of Minnesota.

 

This next picture is kind of dark but you can just barely make out a pile of grass sitting on the carpet in our living room. What is it doing there? Charlie puked it up. We’re convinced that she’s part cow. Who eats that much grass? No wonder it didn’t agree with her. (I promise she gets plenty of dog food to eat and is not starving to death.)

 

And lastly, a quick thought I had this past Sunday at church – I was standing in the sanctuary during worship and thinking about how amazing everything is in my life right now. It’s not perfect by any means but I can honestly say that 90% of the time I am completely content and grateful for all of the things God has blessed us with. At the same time, I recognize that my joy is partly because God has worked everything out with Travis’ school and PE, getting pregnant, finances, house stuff, a new car, etc. exactly how I wanted Him to. But He didn’t have to do that. He didn’t have to make everything happen this way. And yet, He did. He chose these circumstances for us, as much as we so do not deserve them. So I am praising and thanking Him for this season of excitement and joy, knowing that it won’t last for the rest of my life, but embracing the wonderful reality of NOW for the gift that it is.

I also recognize that this attitude of contentment in my heart is God’s doing – on my own, I am naturally bent toward discontentment and ingratitude. Like Ann Voskamp says, “Ingratitude was the fall – humanity’s discontent with all that God freely gives.” Without God, I would find something to be discontent about even in this season of abundance. So I am doubly thankful, not only for God’s blessings, but also for His allowing me to recognize them as such.

We sang this song in care group the other night and I think it sums up these ideas well:

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I’m found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be Your name
When the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s ‘all as it should be’
Blessed be Your name

Blessed be Your name
On the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering
Blessed be Your name

Every blessing You pour out
I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord
Still I will say

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

 

Have a great weekend!

 

 

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The irony of pregnancy

3 Oct

You have headaches often but can’t take aspirin.

You feel like a zombie but can only have 200 mg of caffeine. And coffee sounds disgusting anyway.

You’re overwhelmed by monthly checklists, diaper options and product reviews, but can’t have a drink.

You’re actually supposed to gain weight by eating more, but nothing sounds appealing.

You need new clothes but have no idea what size you are and 80% of stores that sell maternity clothes only have them online.

That last one is the one I’m struggling with.

Buying maternity clothes has been one of the things I’ve looked forward to most about pregnancy. A valid reason to buy more clothes? Heck yes!

But the frugal side of me wants to find good deals, make sure I love the things I buy and try my best to not duplicate things I already have (pre-pregnancy or otherwise). Needless to say, it made my head spin a bit yesterday.

So I decided that I needed to plan a wardrobe and not just buy random pieces that I happened to like (yes, I do overthink things). I pasted screenshots into a Publisher file and finally narrowed it down to the things that I want to buy (at least for now).

 

Most of the pieces are from Old Navy, some are from Target and a few from Kohl’s (but I plan on buying pants in person, with the exception of those adorable green ones!).

But since I don’t have $360 to spend all at once, I narrowed my list down to $150 (which is my Blow Money amount) for this month. Pants are my most urgently needed item so I bought the green pants from Old Navy and will look for a pair of black and tan dress pants this week or weekend (planning to spend about $35 on each). After much deliberation, I decided to also buy the black maternity tank, camel sweater, and taupe dress top from Old Navy. And that will probably be it for this month (assuming everything fits well, that is).

I’ve been hesitant to go buy pants because the used maternity store I want to go to is only open Monday – Saturday 10 am – 5:30 pm. I’d really like to see what the prices are like and if it’s even worth shopping there, but I can’t find out until Saturday. But I can probably survive until then.

In other news, our Ford Focus, which we’ve been driving “until it dies” is on its way out. I went to start it on Monday and nothing. It’s working again now but Travis is very skeptical of its reliability. We know we need a new car eventually (the Focus is a 2001 with almost 170,000 miles) and we’re thinking we might as buy it now rather than wait (since the Focus has been sketchy for several months now – it’s not the first time it hasn’t started). So this weekend will probably also involve car shopping in addition to maternity clothes shopping. We’ve pretty much decided that we want a certified pre-owned Ford Escape with a V6. It will definitely be the nicest car either of us has ever owned. I’m pretty excited!

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Pregnancy Update: 13 Weeks

1 Oct

I have officially outgrown pretty much every single pair of pants I own – they no longer button, or at least, button comfortably enough for sitting down 9 hours a day. I have 2 pairs of jeans left and one is slowly becoming borderline. Since I find the rubber band trick annoying and not really that helpful, it’s time to buy real maternity pants.

I had planned on going to a used maternity store this past weekend but I had coffee with a friend Saturday morning and then spent the rest of the day moving all of the now-too-small clothes out of my closet and organizing some other stuff. I also made an actual dinner (not from a box!) and took the dogs on a walk. Yesterday, I was beat. We went to church, ate lunch at Arby’s, then I took a long nap during the Broncos game. We had a church meeting last night, so I took the dogs on a quick walk beforehand. We didn’t get home until almost 10! Way past my bedtime.

………………

I actually did a pretty good job this week at being active. Katy decided that she had had enough with not going on walks everyday so she started chewing things – like the comforter on our bed – to let us know that she was not happy. So I took the dogs on a walk 4 days. And I realized that being active is not only good for my physical health, it’s also good for me emotionally – instead of feeling like a lazy blob, I felt happy and thankful for doing something. Hopefully this is the beginning of a trend in the right direction.

Here’s what my week looked like:

Su: 30 minutes Pilates

Th: 1.55 mile jog, 10 minutes Pilates

F: 1.15 mile walk with dogs

Sa: 1.7 mile walk with dogs

(Su: 1.55 walk with dogs)

………………..

Other than still feeling a little more tired than usual, I feel pretty much like myself these days. I’ve even been able to sleep on my stomach a little more (since my constipation/bloating has gotten better).

I had an ergonomic evaluation at work in the hope of nipping my back pain in the bud. In addition to adjusting my workstation, the lady also recommended stretching, since tight hamstrings can cause lower back pain. No surprise there, as my hamstrings are as tight as a fiddle right now. Duly noted.

Symptoms: none really

Cravings: tortilla chips with queso dip, tacos, fruit snacks, cucumbers, french fries

Weight gained: 5 pounds (which my midwife said was “textbook”)

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A genetically mutated potato.

27 Sep

This morning, nothing we had at home sounded good for lunch so I planned to make a repeat trip to Jason’s Deli for the Best Lunch Ever. I was planning to order a whole bowl of the broccoli cheddar soup, instead of just a cup like I had last time, but as I was looking at the menu, the Spud Au Broc stood out to me.

 

The combination of my two current loves – the best broccoli cheddar soup in the world and a potato. Naturally, I got the full size potato because I’m pregnant and was starving.

Well, the potato was so monstrous that I’m convinced it was genetically mutated:

No worries though. I took it down.

I’ve been paying for it a bit since lunchtime with a very uncomfortable stomach (whether from eating too much or eating cheese, I’m not sure) but it was worth it.

My only complaint? That I burnt my tongue since I couldn’t wait for it to cool off before digging in.

And bonus points: there’s my veggies for the day. 😉 Never mind the calorie count of that bad boy. Ahem, 1,510.

 

 

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Lost Motivation

10 Sep

 

So remember how after the marathon I said I was going to start working out again and stop eating crap? Yeah… that hasn’t really happened.

Instead, I’ve been eating Bagel Bites and watching copious amounts of NCIS. Which is fine… for a time. But I don’t want to become that guy on the couch.

There are a variety of reasons excuses why I’m being lazy, but it pretty much boils down to I have no motivation. Training for a race is my main motivator for being active (and eating healthy follows suit). And with no race on the horizon, my motivation has pulled the disappearing act too. Even though I really do enjoy being active, sometimes the enjoyment of laziness triumphs.

A logical solution would be to just sign up for another race. In Denver, there are races year round. Unfortunately, right now, the thought of training for a race is even less appealing than the thought of working out. Which is kind of weird (since when don’t I want to race?), but also understandable (I’m completely burnt out on racing right now).

I know that you don’t technically need motivation to work out. You don’t need to *feel* like working out to go put on your shoes and head out for a walk. You don’t need to *look forward* to it. Heck, you could even be dreading it. The important part is that you DO it. The motivation follows later (like when you get done and say “I’m so glad I did that!”).

So I’ve decided that I’m going to stop waiting to *feel like* exercising again and Just Do It. No more excuses. No more whiny cries of “But I’m Sooooo tired!” There are times when I need to be nice to myself, but this isn’t one of them – this is when I need to kick myself in the butt.

I’m still going to be realistic. A person doesn’t have unlimited willpower. So my new revised goals are to do at least 30 minutes of cardio + 15 min strength training 3 times a week as well as limit sweets to 1 per day. And if I can’t handle that, Lord help me.

What do you do when you’re feeling unmotivated?

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