Anxiety!

WARNING!!! THIS POST WILL PROBABLY STRESS YOU OUT! IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO ADD TO YOUR STRESS LEVEL TODAY, I WOULD PASS ON READING HERE TODAY. I'LL PUT SOMETHING ELSE UP THATS MORE FUN TOMORROW!

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Anyone else feeling anxious these days?? Seriously. I usually like to keep my blog silly and fun and kind of....lalala but honestly, I am somewheat freaked out about the economy. I just heard that the congress didn't pass the bailout. Which is so funny that hearing that made my stomach sink, because I really didn't want them to pass it. Just the other day, I had listened to Ron Paul (who I trust as a businessman at least,) on Glenn Beck (who I normally do not listen to, although I probably should)and I was all gung ho not to bail out Wall street. If their main argument is that the banks won't lend any more credit for houses and cars, credit cards, etc, I'm thinking, GREAT! I think America could use a good dose of reality and everyone can make do with our 3 year old cars and be happy where we are in our living situations. And we CERTAINLY don't need to be handing out any more credit cards to ANY one, I don't care who you are. I agree with him that it will make it a really rough year or so, but in the long run we will be better off. So yes, I was (am) still against the bailout. I also felt like it was one of those old boys clubs, just like in the Iraq war. "Lets get this project passed through based on what MIGHT happen, because everyone is so freaked out they will go along with anything. Then we can make some serious money in the process".

On the flip side, we have a friend in Argentina who has seen the money there devalue so bad its just unreal. Something like the import taxes were so jacked up the farmers couldn't import anything into the city, so produce, chicken, milk, etc were just getting literally dumped on the side of the road and not even getting to the people. If we think something like that can't happen here, we are crazy. Mabye not to that extreme, but I don't think we will be too thrilled to pay 20 bucks for a gallon of milk or whatever. I'm truly hoping that when gov't officials say things will get "really really bad" if we don't pass the bailout, they are just exaggerating because it's part of their agenda. Yikes.

And on another hand, I feel slightly hypocritical because I just took advantage of the fallout that caused all of this, the housing market. We just paid less than half of what this house was worth at one point. So really, we were helping the situation, right??

So what is the bottom line?? Can I do anything about this situation?? Yes and no. I'm trying to look at what we as a family have working for us. A recession proof job, firstly. And life insurance. OK. We have worked hard to stay away from debt, although we do have a little, and we live below our means. I think my focus over the next couple weeks is going to be getting our 3 month supply of food and stuff. I already had been doing it, but I mean, like, be done getting it. Right now, my stomach is in a big clump and I'm thinking mabye not turn on the news today. As soon as Mark gets up I think its time for a family strategy session. Hope I didn't freak anyone out. I warned ya! And if you think I am totally out to lunch or a totally idiot, you could be right. It dosent' help that I watched the movie the Day After Tomorrow and Chicken Little all within 2 days of each other. :D

So anyway....

Nothing going on, yet I'm pretty busy. Pretty typical for a mom I guess. Heres a recap:

Running is going well. I'm not losing weight or anything, but I'm running farther easier and I think I'm picking up the pace a little. It's time to step it up a bunch with the eating and cross training though.

Anniversary was good. Ya know, 14 years. kind of a lame number. Mark worked overtime all day and I went to a funeral. I know, super exciting. Like I said, 14 years :D We did go out to dinner for almost an hour though. On the upside, I LOVE this guy more and more all the time if thats possible. Good times. In honor of our big day, I'm putting up my favorite picture of us.




Speaking of the funeral, we had a lovely time celebrating the life of Marks grandpa's 2nd wife, Connie. She was such a sweet little lady and very simple and good hearted. She will be missed by so many people. It was fun to catch up with extended family. The kids knew her well and will miss her, so they got to miss school and go to her funeral. Kids and funerals certainly bring up some interesting conversations, especially so close to Halloween....:D If you get a chance check out my kids blog, I have a few to add to it. LOL

Thats all I have for now.

Its the MOST wonderful time of the year!!!

Usually Christmas is that time. But I actually like fall better because it is all about the anticipation, and the dreamy ideal of how AWESOME I will make the upcoming favorite season, without actually have to DO anything yet- or screw anything up yet. Its all about the fantasy.....

And it starts every year with my birthday! Its the date that kicks off the holidays for me. (the "holidays" include halloween around here:)

BIRTHDAY RECAP:

Awesome awesome birthday this year. WOOT! I got money in the mail, a pedicure, a Target card, a new MP3 that totally rocks, I love it. Mark always makes an effort for me, which I really appreciate. Thanks, baby!! :D Today I got up ...and a mystery friend had put up tons of streamers and balloons outside my house and garage. I was SO surprised and I loved it!! I don't know who it was, although I have an idea....:D I did my run, then we went to a movie (Dayton went to a friends house before school, fun!) and had a yummy club wrap for lunch. After the kids got home I went and got a massage at the Chiropracter and while I was gone Mark and Sadie went and got me a birthday cake. I made an easy dinner, Then the kids and Mark sang to me and we ate cake. It was such a great birthday, and thank you SO much to everyone who called me today (and yesterday!!) and sent me birthday posts, I feel so loved. MWAH!

Other reasons why its the most wonderful time......

*Our anniversary is next week
*School is in and I have a little me time and a SCHEDULE
*It is FINALLY cooling off and my electric bill is getting smaller for a change
*The fall TV season is starting!
*I can start my fall cleaning and preparing schedule. Why I enjoy this, I have no clue, but I do

Im feeling like I will be incorporating the painting of upstairs walls into my fall cleaning schedule. The paint is just sitting there, waiting for me to get serious. FUN!

Dogsitters Inc.

Tonight for FHE we went out to the park to play some wiffle ball and there was this little white poodl-ey dog, lost, tail so far between her legs she was scraping the ground with her butt. She was just running around, sniffing anybody and scared to death. She let me pick her up and we walked around the neighborhood to try to find her owner (no collar). It was getting dark and after an hour no one was claiming her so we took her home. Now, if you know me at ALL you know that I am a non pet person. Sorry to all the PETA people, I believe animals are great and have spirits and personalities and deserve respect, but they are animals and therefore a step below people. Just a small step. ANYWAY I could no way leave this little dog out in the park in the dark, so we took her home. All the while I'm telling the kids, just till we find the owners, don't get too attatched, blah blah blah. So we carry this dog home (SO cute, let me hold her like a baby over mmy shoulder, perfectly happy) and we gave her some water and some chicken and she chilled at the house with us for about an hour. The kids were having so much fun with her. We even gave her a temporary name, "Scuffy". So the owner calls, they'd been out knocking doors looking for her, and one of the houses we had been by to search out the owner was one of Sadies friends so they gave them our number. Sad. They came over and picked her up. It was their moms dog, so they were worried about her. Oh well, it looks like she has a good home and is very well spoiled. The kids handled it well, they understood that is was a grandma's dog and she would miss it. The saddest one was Wyatt, before bed tonight he has been a little upset, he misses the dog. When we had her he kept saying "oh, I just love this cute dog. She's so cute!! I LOVE her!" So, yeah, sad. Tonight when we said prayers they all said thank you that "baby" (that was her name) had a good home with a grandma and that she would be safe. Awwwww. Sadie had the cute idea to take a picture with her so that we'd always remember her. Awwwwwww!!!!





I had been calling Mark at work all night giving him the play by play and now even he's dissapointed that he won't get to see "Scuffy" tonight when he gets home.

And no, we won't be going to the local shelter to find a replacement. Sorry! But I'll miss little Scuffy.

Plans for this week

Alrighty, I am planning a fun and productive week starting today.

Weekend recap: We got to go to Sunsplash on Saturday, it was really fun. It was through Marks work, for Employee Appreciation. Full use of the waterpark, golfing (which we didn't do...too crowded) and BBQ dinner. FREE! We had a blast. Even little Dayton was going on all the big slides. We all went on the big one that looks like a taco shell with the red trim....HOLY COW it was SO scary! I definetly got my workout lugging those stupid double tubes 4 flights to the top....TWICE. They must weigh 50 pounds each! Golfland brings back so many memories of back in the day. I love it that all my kids like to be daring and have fun at that kind of stuff.

Sadie did so good singing for the Primary Program. I am SO SO proud of her for being brave and doing such a good job. I know it was way out of her comfort zone, and she is really getting up some nerves lately to try new things. YAY for Sadie!!


On to this week......

Today was the official start of training for the Irongirl. Woo hoo! L and I ran 2 miles, and way easier than last week. Go us!! We should be right on target to get to 10 miles by December 6.

TRAINING SCHEDULE...Week 1
Mon: 2 miles
Tuesday: Xtrain(for me will be lunges and core work)
Wednsday: 2 miles
Thursday: Xtrain (upper body and stretch)
Friday: rest
Saturday: 3 miles
Sunday: rest

Anyone who wants to join in, call me! :D

On the calendar this week:

Monday (today): clean house, finish laundry
Tuesday: Mani-pedi (thanks, grandma!) and Massage at Chiropracter
Wednsday: MY BIRTHDAY-early movie, lunch w/my lover, and chillin with the kiddos :D
Thursday: well I haven't actually planned this far ahead. Just get me to wednsday :D

Update--Its FALL!

Well at least at my house it is. Yes, it is still really hot outside but I saw pumpkins for sale at Walmart, so guess what....It's FALL to me. I went ahead and decorated anyway. I'm not as bad as my neighbor, they put out full-on Halloween decor last weeknd. Thats even too much for me. But don't hink I wasn't tempted!! :D

For anyone who missed our Housewarming.....it was great. I was so touched that so many people made the journey out. The kids had fun, and so did we. How could we not?? :D

My other big project besides decorating was puting my hair salon together. I'm still mssing a shampoo bowl, but I'm hoping to have it really soon. I am So lucky to have a bedroom downstairs that was perfect to convert. Of course I was doing a TON of hair in my kitchen, and now that I have the space I haven't really been that busy, but I go in cycles, so it will come back around in a couple weeks. Heres the before and after:

Mark stained the concrete and sealed it, it looks really cool. Then I just painted and put everythig in there the next day. I LOVE it. I have been doing hair in my kitchen for 12 years, and I am so thrilled to have a place to work finally. YAY!!!!!

My training update: I have finally gotten up to running almost 2 miles straight. I will be starting my official training on Monday. I had to build up to that first. Mabye i'll start posting my weekly training schedule here so everyone can keep tabs on me. I HAVE to start eating better as well, mbye if I fueled up properly, I'd perform a little better. And by that I mean, not totally SUCK.

OK time to run kids around, I better scoot.

Calling all Runners (or wannabe runners!) EDITED!

I just posted this on our Relief society blog....Yeah I'm totally crazy!!

In an effort to peel off the 30+ pounds I have found over the last year or so, I am starting a new project and wanted to see if anyone wanted to join me. Strength in numbers, right? :D


I will be training for the "Irongirl" at Tempe Town Lake on Saturday, December 6th. That is 14 weeks away. There is a 5K and a 10 miler. I will be training for the 10 miler. It will be a great way to work toward a goal and get in shape at the same time. If you have ever run in an organized event such as the Turkey Trot, Tillmans race or the Turkey Waddle you know that it can be very exciting and a rewarding experience. It is not a competition of any sort! Just something big to work towards. And the weather is getting nice, we should be outside more anyway, right?


http://www.irongirl.com/Events/Tempe.htm

TRAINING: Edited!!!! I found an awesome online training guide, that takes you from basicaly square 1 (that would be ME!!) to running 10 miles in 12 weeks. It tells you how much to run every day, and when to rest, and how to train so that you will be ready, but not overdo it. My bud Courtney (who is also in..WOOHOO!) Reminded me about runners world.com, which has FREE online training plans to get you ready. I was all over it reading this morning and I was encouraged by this article:

The training plan that follows is designed to get you to the point where you can run 30 minutes (about 2 miles) at a slow, relaxed pace. It's a simple, progressive program that begins with more walking than running, and gradually evolves into more running than walking. Each week's plan also includes a motivational quote and a training tip. Once you are able to run 2 miles nonstop, you can decide on your next goal. You might simply want to continue running 2 miles at a time, three or four days per week. Research has shown that this is enough to help you lose or maintain weight, and improve many other important health markers, ie, your cholesterol, blood pressure, and insulin response. Or you might decide that you want to do more, in which case you can consult the many training programs offered by the Runner's World SmartCoach. Don't be intimidated by these programs. The first 2 miles is the hardest 2 miles you will ever run. Once you have reached this level of fitness, it's relatively easy to do more. You simply have to budget the time, and be patient and disciplined in your training.

There is so much great info on this site, including what to eat and when, form, everything.

I think I am going to do the Asics training schedule, it seemed to fit most with where I am now. Its longer, I will have to cut out 2 weeks of it, but thats OK. So go to Runnersworld.com and lets get excited!! I can't even tell you how thrilled I am that people want to do this. YAY!!

FYI: I ran this morning, new shoes and all. I made it exactly 1 mile, and I was PUKING my guts out. Literally. Probably got some on my new shoes. So if I can do it, you can do it!!!!

If it sounds like something you like to do, let me know!! And now you know what I'll be up to!!

Great reasons to run the Irongirl:
*Lose the pounds!!
*acheive a goal
*time for myself
*get to know new people in my ward
*did I mention lose some pounds?? :D
*have a focus to get me through the fall eating holiday without gaining another 30 pounds
*feel better, not sick and tired every day!!


Who else is IN????