New Tennies!

I've been wearing Sauconys since I ran track in high school.  I started with Nikes, but there was something about the arch and the toe box that just didn't work for me.  When we went to Lady Footlocker, they worked with me and fitted me with Sauconys, and things improved greatly. 

So, whenever I needed new tennis shoes (not that often when you don't do much in the way of exercise), I would hit the outlets and pick up a pair of Saucnonys.  I wasn't that worried about much more than comfort when walking and support.  I could get them at less than half the cost at a sporting goods store and they were stylish and comfortable.

Then, I decided it was time to get moving and get healthy.  The tennies I was using were falling apart and had over 400 miles on them.  They were done.  I asked around and was told if I wanted to get shoes I should hit a locally owned sporting goods store. 

I walked in and told the lady there I was told their store was where I needed to go to get fitted for shoes.  She looked at the wear pattern on my shoes, flexed and bent the shoe, looked at my gait, felt my (nonexistent) arch and more.  She told me she had something for me and came back with these.

She told me because my arch is so "long" (hah!  Again, read nonexistent), I need more support there and therefore need a shoe that does NOT bend in the middle like my old shoes did.  These bend at the toe box.  They are cushy in the heel.  She had me stand up and walk around so she could observe.  I took them out and ran up and down the sidewalk.  These are gooooood.  :o)

She also said she could see that I did indeed strike my heel on the outside but that I then land fairly centered on the flat of my foot, and that, although I really could use some support for the arch, she was afraid to give me any because it would lift my foot and cause me to roll to the outside even more.  Doh!

So, I've been wearing these babies all day to help break them in.  They'll get their first big workout tomorrow.  :o)

We had a package arrive today.  As I picked up the box I heard it rattling and clinking and I got worried when I saw it was a package from Germany.  I tentatively opened the box expecting to see the worst and lo and behold, everything inside was intact! :o)

My darling, darling Dani sent a gorgeous Polish pottery tea set which we promptly broke out for a tea party! :o) (Please note the pinkies are out!)

Water was used in the place of tea and cream and sugar.  I provided crackers and cheese for a snack. Fun was had by all. :o)

Isn't it loverly?

Do my children not have the best fairy godmother in the entire world? :o) I'm sure Lil is busily planning her next party. ;o)

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Sparklies:

1. New shoes--even if they are tennies.
2. One of the golden candy plants has a bloom:

So it didn't want to focus on the bloom.  But, it's there, you see it, right?  Sungold heaven here we come!
3. 

 The sleep of the really bad is actually quite peaceful.

Look at that face!  He and his bad brother staged an escape this evening and I found them in the alley.  ACK!  Fred was traumatized and desperately trying to find a way back into the yard.  I squatted down and buddy boy came RUNNING at me, grateful to be able to get back in where he belonged.  Georgie, however, RAN from me the little stinker!  Then, he collapsed in a heap and decided to let me scoop him up and bring him in as well.
4.  For Lissie, all the recent daylilies that have bloomed:

Siloam Nugget

The color is actually much closer to that at the link.  It's a short, sweet little daylily that packs a LOT of bang without much buck spent.

Lil's Frankly Scarlet's are beginning to bloom. These guys are tallish and have a lovely 4" or so bloom.

And, finally, the Little Strawberry Shortcakes are packing a big punch.  They are short, but boy howdy are they lovely.  Mine are a bit more coral-y than the ones at the Oakes site.

5.  It was breakfast for dinner night.  We had homemade bickies (biscuits), scrambled eggs (I had some shredded cheddar on mine), and sausage (Morning Star patties).  It was easy and delicious.  B is out until who knows when, so it was just the girls and me. 
6.  I cleaned and organized the playroom and the school room. Hurricane Bean had been through both and dumped and destroyed pretty much everything in the school room.  It was awful.  Now it's not.  It was one of those tasks that was so big that kept putting it off because I just had no idea where to start.  It took close to three hours, but it's DONE.  Whew!

No milestones.

Lifestyle Changes

This photo really has nothing to do with my post other than I was cruising through to see if there were any unposted pictures on my drive and I saw this one and melted.  August 7, 2010.  Not quite four months old.  I was talking yesterday about how much my girls have grown and gasping over the rapid pace of it, and then I saw this.  :sigh:  It really makes me want another, you know?  Sleep?  Who needs sleep?!?  ;o)

Me!  I need sleep!!  I haven't talked about it much, but in my quest to be healthier, I've also been shedding some weight.  I've lost quite a bit and have quite a bit more to go.  I've recently stalled and have found it utterly agonizing.  ACK!!!  I have identified a number of possible contributors, the biggest of which is less than 8 hours sleep per night.  I thrive on 8 hours, and found my weight dropped more easily and more readily when I was getting that full 8 hours.  I haven't been consistently getting 8 hours for the past month and it shows.

I have a couple of accountability buddies, and am adding to my collection--the more the merrier, I say.  We all recognize that it's a matter of lifestyle change, not just a "diet".  We all recognize it's a slow-going (if not utterly frustrating at times) process.  We know we must eat well, not drink our calories (water and unsweetened iced tea for me, thanks), and move more.  Small changes in our lives and our daily routines that add up to pounds dropped. 

Once again I remind myself (and all my buddies) that it took my almost 13 years to get to this point, so it's going to take a while to come off.  I've become such an instant gratification girl that I want it NOW.  NOW NOW NOW and it's not working that way.  I also tell myself (and I know it to be true) that the slower it comes off, the more likely it is to remain off.

So, I eat fairly well (I leave an allotment for a 1/2 cup of ice cream in the evenings), I move and I have a support group.  These are all good things.  I maintain a food log and try to be excruciatingly honest with myself.  It's going to happen, I just need to remind myself of that once more.

So, this morning, as I was stepping into the garage, my left foot turned sideways and I put all my weight on it.  It's a lovely sprain and it feels fantastic. :oS  Do you know I still went out to meet C this morning?  We hadn't done any running in close to two weeks so knew we needed to today.  I've got the bum ankle and my lungs are still crubby from the ick I've been fighting.  I still managed to get some running in.  I'm so proud of myself (oh, and the ankle is no worse for the wear, btw--in fact, it's just a little tender and there's no swelling) and yet, wish I could do more.  Baby steps baby steps baby steps.

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Sparklies:

1.  Running again.  I knew I hadn't gone as hard as I could last week since I just didn't feel it.  Today I emptied the tank.  Whew!
2.  I finally ordered this and it arrived today!  It's been sitting in my cart forever and I decided I just needed it.  I also preordered this at the same time.  I'm such a P. Allen Smith junkie. ;o)  Oh, and Deb.  LOVE LOVE LOVE her blog.
3.  Being able to run again--just a bit.  I've got to train for that 5k, huh? ;o)
4.  The girls all playing together so beautifully after school.  They are now big fans of toilet freeze tag (thank you, Aunt Kelly!).
5.  My husband is a good man and a hard worker and I'm so proud of him for doing what is right even when it is hard and unpopular.  I truly admire that as I don't know that I have that in me.  :sigh:

No milestones.

Tidbits

Thank goodness I awoke feeling 10,000 percent better.  Of course, I still feel lousy, so that tells you how I was feeling yesterday when I was feeling so sorry for myself. ;o)

I found a bunch of photos on my phone I hadn't posted and wanted to get them up.  I took this one Sunday morning.  I loved that Lil was in the chair reading her book and Bean climbed right up with her to hear the story. :o)

Ellie has had that language explosion that seems to occur around age two.  She's speaking in sentences and is so stinkin' funny I can hardly stand it.  Today in the grocery store she was sitting in the cart trying to grab something in the basket, "I think I can reach it. I can reach it.  Wait a minnit, I can reach it.  Oh no, I can't reach it."  I get the running commentary of all that is happening.  This can be annoying, or helpful if I'm trying to do something in the house and she's off by herself--this way I know what's going on. :oP

Miss Bean has also decided, "Ellie, STOP!" or "Ellie, NO!" means, "hurry up and do it faster before they grab me to stop me, and oh, I should laugh maniacally whist doing so." GAH!!

Lil, meanwhile, is such a big kid.  She's so mature and fun.  I can't stand it.  I can't believe kindergarten is almost over.  Man. She's reading, writing, adding and subtracting, graphing, and counting money like nobody's business.  My mind boggles!  I LOVE LOVE LOVE that Ms. W taught first grade for a number of years before moving to K this year.  It means she knows exactly what the kids need in order to be prepared for first grade.  Lil has had the most amazing school year, due in HUGE part to her teachers.  :o)

These next few photos were taken in the 'burg a couple of weeks ago.  Aren't Liss's bleeding hearts stunning?

How about this wonderful red barn?

I found these beautiful white columbine at the backside of Mom's property--she didn't know she had them.  Aren't they lovely and elegant?  If they spread, I want some!

And, moving on, see that black thing on the railing up there?

That would be George.  Trying to swipe at a bug.  He was perched like that and jumping!  He pert near gave B and me heart attacks! (Like how I slipped in that Appalachia-ism there? ;oP)

And here we have an unny in an unny hutch.  B had finished putting the new hutch together and left for a moment.

He returned to find this.  Oh my.  We hadn't moved the buns in yet, so I guess Bean felt her bun needed to be in there.  We put an extra latch on the hutch waaaaay up where Beanie can't reach because we knew this would continue to be a problem.

My friend the fat squirrel came for a visit the other morning.

Sugar snaps, anyone?  The girls can't get enough.  Lil stands there and picks and hands one to her sister and eats one.  Just what I planted them for. :o)

Ahh, the joys of being owned by cats...

Beanie and I ran into this last Thursday.

We were hoofing it pretty hard and got stuck in the crowds around the cars so I decided to stop and enjoy and snap a couple of pics.  It was too fun

And, finally, my Little Strawberry Shortcake bloomed the other day.  It's short, but packs quite a punch. :o)

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Today's Sparklies:

1.  I have a new Tuesday/Thursday walking buddy.  My friend Michelle is committed to getting healthy and in shape and losing weight.  My T/Th schedule is light--walking only and then coming home to lift--and she needed a buddy and a cheerleader and I'm gung ho about anyone trying to get moving.  Gaining weight is so easy, but losing it is soooo hard.  Having a buddy makes such a huge difference.  I'm proud of her and it was lovely to have company today. :o)
2.  I found a race I think looks like fun and I want to try to get a team together to run my first 5K.  Check it out! I found a video online somewhere else and thought it looked like a blast.  I checked it out and found a race in Richmond in September and have decided to really give it some thought.  Dani, wanna come to the States in Sept and run with me? :o)  Jess?  Wanna do it with me?  This would certainly get me more serious about running, huh? ;o) It seems to be a race that doesn't take itself seriously and I can totally get behind that!
3.  Feeling better.  Thank goodness.
4.  B cleaning the kitchen even as I type.  What a guy! :o)

No milestones.

My Head is a Cannonball

See that photo up there?  Isn't it lovely?  Isn't it wonderful my mom has such an unbelievable view from her back deck?  I'm insanely jealous. Are you distracted from the title by the image?  No?  Oh well.  I tried.

I'm dying.  OMG.  DYYYYYYING.  It's why I've not posted and have played no games of Draw Something, Words with Friends or Scramble with Friends.  So, if I owe you some games, please bear with me (Jori, no worries about that last drawing.  My choices were awful.).  I began feeling ill-ish, what, last Wednesday?  I woke up Friday feeling worse, and then even worse Saturday and yesterday.  Today?  Uuuuuuugh.  My head is stuffy.  My sinuses hurt, my ears hurt, my froat hurts (anyone remember that commercial with the little guy saying, "I've got a porcupine in my froat."?), my nose...we don't even want to talk about that.

Suffice it to say I'm miserable and have been trying to be low-key and take it as easy as possible.  I have no fever.  I have no symptoms other than these yucky cold symptoms.  There's no point in going to the doctor since it's just a virus.  But, gah, am I  miserable.  I really hate spring and summer colds. :o(

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Sparklies:

1.  Modern cold and pain medicines.  They may not have a cure for the common cold, but they can make it a bit more bearable. 
2.  My little Beanie will now come up to us and say, "I wuv you, _____________."  It's so sweet I can hardly stand it and it almost makes me forget the giant messes she makes. ;o)
3.  Beanie is also starting to use personal pronouns, "Dis is mine." 
4.  I still made it out to CW in spite of the crub. 
5.  Lissie is on the road once more.  This time to Detroit, Chi town and St. Louis.  Be sure to pop along and check out her travels.
6.  Lil's summer Naartjie duds arrived today.  Yay! :o)

Milestones:
Let me explain about the clothes.  She is still only in a size five.  The last bin of clothes we have are size fives--from Hannah.  The last clothes she wore.  I canNOT put my Lil in those clothes as they are all associated with Hannah in my head.  There were some fives from Jess and Sarah but I needed to fill in a bit here and there.  I'm not sure what to do with those clothes at this point.  I know I won't be putting Bean in them either.  I can see other girlies in them with no problem, but not my girlies. 

Blackberry Cobbler

I am a cobbler lover.  I simply adore the stuff.  However, as much as I love it, I've only ever made peach cobbler.  How remiss of me.

What do you think?  Does this look good to you?

How about this?

No? Doesn't do it for you?  It must be missing something.  Oh, wait, I know!!

It needed some of this!

Ahhh, there ya go.  That hits the spot.  :o)

There are a couple of schools of cobbler making. One subscribes to the cake-y topping.  Another a more biscuit-y topping.  With the cake-y topping, you make the batter and drop the berries on top.  With the biscuit-y one, you put the dough on top of the berries. 

I hemmed and hawed and looked at numerous recipes, and decided I was going to have to cobble (pardon the unintentional--and very bad--pun) together one on my own.  I knew I wanted a sort of berry compote on the bottom but a sweet, if biscuit-like crust on top. 

I began with the berries, knowing I need to macerate them to have them release their juice.  I added a 1/2 cup sugar, the zest of one lemon, and 1 T lemon juice to the berries and mixed.  Thinking about it, I decided I would need to thicken the juice somewhat and saw a recipe that called for 1 1/2 T cornstarch.  That made sense to me so I added that to my mix, tossed it all together and set it aside to let the sugar do its thing.

For the topping, I began with a biscuit-like recipe and added sugar to sweeten the dough.  You see, I wanted the sweetness of the cake-y topping but the crumbly biscuit topping to sop up all the juice. 

I started with 1 cup AP flour, 1/3 cup sugar (you can use less if you prefer less sweet crust), 1 1/2 t baking soda and 1/2 t salt.  I cut in 4 T butter, and then added 1 lightly beaten egg and 1/4 cup milk.  From there, I crumbled the topping over the berries I had poured in my pan (a 9"x9" will work well--I used an 8"x11"), and baked at 350 for about 25 minutes (bubbly juice and golden brown top).

We allowed it to cool for a bit and then topped it with a scoop of ice cream.  You have to have the ice cream. :o)

So, yes, I would say the cobbler came out well. ;o)

Garden Time!

 It's garden update time! :o)  I know you are all SO excited. ;oP

Ellie and I got home from our walk this morning and the weather was so lovely I just had to take the time to get out in the yard and work.

The beautiful blooms of spring are fading and making way for the daylilies and lilies.

The coreopsis around the mailbox has spread like gangbusters and I love driving home and seeing their sunny faces awaiting me. :o)

I'm in love with these million bells.  IN LOVE.  They are such a gorgeous color--I love variegated flowers and leaves and these fit the bill.

Then, there's this fun bucket. I'm still so chuffed these guys not only wintered over, but are blooming too!

My morning glories.  I'm babying them.  I LOVE them, weed and pest that they are.  Lil asked the the other day how can I tell if something's a weed and I told her it was a weed if it was a plant that was growing where you didn't want it.  Since I want these, these don't count as weeds. ;o)

I needed something for them to climb since the boards on the fence are simply to big for them to wrap around.  I stopped by our Ace and picked up six 1/4" dowel rods and made two little tepee-type structures.

This garden is all volunteers this year.  Those are sunflowers there on the left, and check out my sungold plants!!  I'm going to do the same thing next year as they sprout when they are ready and don't need to be coddled and transplanted.  The hard part is thinning as I become a bit nauseated every time I have to pull out a plant.  :oS It's hard for me, what can I say?  The only other problem with this method is leaving the plants to grow where they are, and some of them are close to the edge.  I suppose I ought to give it a year and see how it turns out.

At the other end of the bed, I have more morning glories (think I'll loathe them by the end of the year?) I had a baby cottontail hiding in there yesterday. :o)

See how pretty they are?

See????

How can you not love all that green and purple together?  How can you not love the striations on the flowers and those tightly wound buds?

I have a weakness for climbing plants (minus kudzu). Flowering, large leafed climbing plants? Ah yes, color me a sucker.  My yard will be nothing but morning glories by 2014 with the way these guys have come back this year. ;o)

Now these I did plant.  The peas are coming in and the girls couldn't be more excited. :o)

And, speaking of the girls, everyone is starting to feel better.  Okay, so Lil never actually felt sick minus those allergy symptoms, but still.  Ellie was still rough yesterday but is finally on the upswing today. She and I made our trek to CW and did our walk which made both of us happy. 

Brien is feeling better so the nexium is doing its thing.  Yay!  Me?  I'm feeling rundown.  I'm fairly certain I have the virus the girls had on top of their strep.  I have a headache, runny nose with post nasal drip and some soreness and swelling of the throat.  No fever and no gunky looking tonsils so I'm fairly certain it's NOT strep.  But, I'm tired.  I couldn't run for more than two blocks today so I just stopped.  There's no point in pushing it if I don't feel 100%.  I think the virus combined with not having a full night's sleep in close to a week has done it too.  I've been up with either one or the other of the girls every night since last Thursday.  I'm beat.

Here's to a good night's sleep tonight!
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Sparklies:

1.  Out enjoying my yard and gardens.
2.  I made the most amazing smelling and looking blackberry cobbler today.  We'll do the taste-test after dinner tonight and if it's as divine as I think it's going to be, I'll post tomorrow.
3.  George:

I've still not turned on the a/c and it's gotten a bit, erm, stuffy and humid in the house the past few afternoons and evenings.  George has taken to snoozing in front of either the front or back doors. (At the front door he actually rested his head on the door tensioner-thingy.)
4.  Everyone feeling better.  Whew!
5.  The sounds of the girls all playing outside and laughing and having fun.  I love that!

No milestones.

And it Continues

Lily the "bear rug"

I took Lil to see Dr. Jen today because it was the prudent thing to do, not because I was truly worried she had strep.  Ha ha!  The joke's on me!

The child never had a fever.  She barely complained about a sore throat, had no vomiting (minus that one incident in the car on the way to the 'burg), and seemed to be in the pink of health other than some allergy issues.  I assumed her symptoms were allergy related since I hadn't refilled her Nasonex prescription.

Once again, "assumed" being the operative word.  :sigh:

They swabbed her and Jen came in and said, it's so faint it almost shouldn't count, but it's there.  She gave Lil a thorough once over and said since she technically has strep she needed something so prescribed a z-pack. 

Lil wasn't allowed to return to school (and I'm feeling insanely guilty for having exposed Lil's classmates for however many days she's had this) for the rest of the day but will return tomorrow. 

Meanwhile, Beanie slept the night through but awoke one feverishly sick puppy.  She was over 102 this morning and was dosed with ibuprofen.  Within an hour she was running around like the little tornado she is. ;o)  B offered to stay home to help with her today so I could take Lil to the doctor and not have to take Beanie too.  That was quite sweet of him, as I was able to get the grocery shopping done as well. 

Right now I'm worried about Ella, Gabriel and Gracie.  :oS Oh, and Lil's classmates.  Oy.

These two were as thick as thieves from the moment the G-clan arrived Saturday afternoon.  Well, spoot.  I'm SO sorry, Jess!!

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Sparklies:

1. Everyone has been checked out now--except me.  I'm sure I'm fine.
2.  Brien staying home to help out today was wonderful.
3.  The buns have a new home B's been working on. 
4.  Thunder storms.  I used to loathe them, now they remind me of my Monkey-girl.
5.  I got the BEST blackberries from TJ's today.  I want to make a cobbler.  Now to find a recipe.  Can you believe I don't have a blackberry cobbler recipe?!?

No milestones.