Tuesday Ten

1. I sat here thinking of a number that would work well with Monday, but whoohoo, yesterday was Memorial Day, which means it's Tuesday. Which is a four day week.  Well, technically now three. Thus Ten For Tuesday.

2. Ankle Update: the swelling is way down, and the bruising is almost gone, although there is a layer of purple along the bottom edge of my foot.  I propped it up in Mike's face to get a proper assessment, and he saw right through my motives, I wanted him to say it looked 100% better so that I could go for a run. I agreed to wait one more week to hit the pavement, why undo any healing that I've done.

5. Have you seen this book?

It features the stories of some fabulous runners, and how they conquered their first marathon.  The story of my Rochester Marathon (including my stomach distress) is in there as well. If you're in the middle of training for something big and need a boost of inspiration, you can find it on Amazon or Barnes & Noble.

3. Luke is driving me crazy because he can't seem to memorize his times tables.  I'll admit, I'm not a math person and there are times where I have to think back to songs that I learned in school to master those tables. I've resorted to showing him videos on YouTube to help learn 9 x 9 = 81.

4. Stupid me showed him this one because I think it's hilarious, and now I'm regretting it.



Now I hear "Mum" "Ma" "Mom" more than ever.

6. I think I'm turning into a morning person.  After decades of being a night owl, I'm not sure how I feel about it.  I'm not particularly happy about having to do this, but once I get outside with Frank and hear the birds, smell the air, and see the sun come up, it's really not so bad.

7. Did you see my Reebok Spartan Race giveaway? Free entry for the race of your choice is going to someone, check it out right here!

8. Did you enter my Metromint giveaway?  Well, I chose a winner, Congrats to Penny at Pink Hat Runner! Send me an email and I'll get you set up!

9. Did  you know that this is blog post number 599?

10. What should I write about for my 600th?

Reebok SPARTAN RACE....Giveaway!

So you might be a runner, or a triathlete. You might be into fun runs, or you might have conquered longer distances.

You might be looking for something different. 

A little more challenging.

Have you thought of this?

Spartan Race has been voted the #1 obstacle race by Outside Magazine and they've been the global leader in obstacle racing since 2005. This race gives you a chance to go back to your ancient roots where running through woods, getting dirty, and facing adversity was part of everyday life.

If you've been holding yourself back from doing an obstacle race, Spartan Race now introduces a level for everyone!  The first is an entry level "Spartan Sprint", the next is an intermediate level Super Spartan.  The advanced race is "Spartan Beast", and the "99.9% need not apply" extreme level Death Race.

So what do you think?

Ready to sign up right now? If so, click on this link 

which will generate a code for 15% off any Spartan Race.

Ready for a giveaway?  

For a FREE RACE ENTRY 

for any open race in the continental US????

Then leave me a comment below, 

telling me what you do to 

push yourself out of your comfort zone.  

I will choose a random winner on Friday May 31st.

AROO!

Wordless Wednesday: Day Two of Training, I Fall, Now I Have This

I guess I'd call it a hiatus.

Today is extra special to me, because my very first Mother's Day was spent bringing Luke home from the hospital two days after he was born.

Right now it's very chilly and grey outside, but it's the perfect chance to snuggle with my monkeys. I took all these photos with my new Samsung Galaxy phone, but they're pretty lousy looking.

Luke made me a bracelet.

Apparently I have a hairy hand.

I think about blogging every day. Tomorrow it will be six weeks since I started my new job, and I finally feel like I've adjusted to our new life. I've figured out how to get everything done in a day, and now it's time to get back into my blogging groove, as I've sorely missed it.  I read blogs on my phone when I have a minute here and there, but I miss the daily interaction that I had with my blog friends.  So I declare this blogging hiatus of mine officially o-ver.....

Luke turned nine this past week.  Four years ago I wrote a post called "I now have a five year old." Five felt like such a big boy age, but I obviously didn't know what I was talking about.  When we first moved into our home, our neighbor's son was nine.  He just finished up his freshman year of college.  So when you hear people say how quickly children grow, believe it.

I had a hard time figuring out what to buy Luke for his birthday, because he's in that in-between age where toys don't hold the appeal that they used to, and technology is at the forefront of his interests.  He wanted an iPod touch, but I told him Mommy just got one for Christmas, so he's got to wait a while for one of his own.

I saw this, but didn't think it was appropriate:

So we settled on a remote control helicopter.



Have you heard of Bulu Box?

Bulu Box is a vitamin, supplement and general health subscription sample box.  They send you a box each month, full of samples of various products that complement a healthy life style:

As a Bulu Ambassador, I get the opportunity to share my opinion on products that I might not have seen otherwise, like this Vitamin C spray:

I'm not the most dexterous person, so the first time I tried the spray, I managed to spray the side of my face, instead of my mouth.  It is a very sweet, intense orange flavor. I was thinking of putting it in the fridge, so that it would taste more like chilled orange juice.  Mike thought it was a great idea, and thinks there should be one for calcium (he's a bit lactose intolerant).

If you want to check out a Bulu Box of your own, click on the badge above, or on my sidebar, and you can check out their offerings, there are two options, a regular box, and a weight loss box.

To get your first Bulu Box free OR $10 off any subscription (month-to-month, 3, 6, or 12-month subscriptions), use this code: BULUGAN666


Okay, almost time for the Survivor finale......any guesses on the winner?  I'm thinking it might be Erik.  After Dawn gave such a back stabbing to poor Brenda, she better be going next!

In my thoughts and prayers.....

I appreciate every moment, but every now and then you get a reminder.

Our holiday weekend started off on a good note.  Mike came home a a little early, and we went to pick up our "new to us" car:

It had very low mileage, and it was in great condition.  I decided to make a trip to B.J.'s (on a Friday night) in order to take it for a test drive.

Saturday was sunny, and relatively warm.  Frank and I went for a run, and I felt a taste of spring in the air.  I was feeling happy and optimistic about the direction our lives seemed to be going in.  With Easter coming I truly felt a sense of new beginnings and hope.

We colored Easter Eggs, Mike and the kids made their entries for the family "ugly egg contest", and made plans to go out to a local pub to watch the S.U. game with my brothers and sisters in law.  We headed to the outside bar, along with four flat screens, we got there early enough to stake out a spot in the sunshine.  It was sooooo nice to be outside, in March, in Syracuse!  The game was great, and S.U. is in the Final Four Baby!

Easter morning the kiddo's got up extra early, which as every parent knows, should be expected on a holiday/weekend and not on a school day.

They were happy with what the Easter Bunny left: chocolate, a Skylander for Luke, and lip gloss for Miss E.

Monday the kiddo's had play dates they hung out with their friends, Luke then went on a sleepover, Miss E had her BFF over to our house to sleep.  Tuesday I did a double take when I woke up, to see six inches of new snow, although it is technically spring.

We felt a movie day was in order so we headed to the mall to see The Croods (two thumbs up), hit the arcade, then headed home.

Mike came home from work, and realized he forgot to get gas on his way home.  Instead of rushing around in the morning, he decided to go back out with Luke to fill up the tank.

Then, I got a phone call from an unknown cell number, which was a flashback to the call I got when my sister Ali was in a car accident.   Looking back, it was the same exact day, exactly two years ago.

It was from Mike, he and Lukie were involved in an accident, but God was watching over them.

They walked away from the car.

They are both banged up, but nothing too serious.


We always hear, or read the sayings that people post on facebook, how to appreciate each moment and seize the day when it takes hold of you.

I thought that I did, and I realized I still do.

You never know what can happen in an instant.

So appreciate and love every second you have of this thing that we call life.*

I do.


*didn't mean to quote Prince, but I kind of did.

Wordless Wednesday: I was going to bake bread, but someone beat me to the flour