Ramblings

It is official ... I registered for the triathon yesterday. I filled out the registration form and handed over my check which made me think - I'm PAYING to do this to myself?! What person in their right mind pays for torture?! Clearly I am NOT in my right mind (like that's news to anyone)!! I made Steve go biking with me on Friday during our date night because I didn't have any other time that day to get my training in. I took the weekend off and ate more than I should have. What?! It was Easter!! I wasn't going to cook all day and not enjoy it!! I went swimming yesterday and biked 8.4 miles today. I have to run tomorrow which I am already dreading. I really enjoy the swimming and biking but would gladly pay someone to do the running portion for me ... any takers? I am also headed back to the pool tomorrow night to get in some more laps - gotta increase my water endurance :)

I started back on Weight Watchers yesterday, too. It is a plan that works for me when I stick to it and with Cougar's first birthday being just a few weeks away and painfully realizing I still need to get back in shape I knew drastic measures were the only solution. Such a bummer when I worked out so hard my entire pregnancy, but life with a new baby has a way of throwing off your schedule! I am also giving up soda and trying to stop eating at 8 PM ... guess that will have to be my new bedtime!! Now you can all hold me accountable ;)

We've been on the verge of 90 degrees for the past 2 days and I'm starting to think it may be time to turn the air conditioning on. I know a lot of you would love to dream of 90 degrees and A/C right now, but coming home to find my downstairs 81 degrees tonight and my upstairs 83 degrees was really not as pleasant as it sounds. Funny when I think we actually SET our thermostat to 80 degrees during the summer!!! Amazing how great it feels when coming in from 112 degrees!

Just one quick picture from Easter ... one of my favorites of Cougar checking out the goods!

Easter Pics

Just had to share a few pictures from our Easter ... had to catch the kiddos after church before they changed their clothes :) I'll post some pictures of the hunt and the baskets tomorrow!Credits:
All pages from Bohemian Brag Book by Shabby Miss Jenn

And the Winners are ....

After seeing their cousin Kalli announce the winner of Anna Marie's giveaway my girls simply could not be left out of the process :) Here are their big announcements!!

Congratulations to you both!! E-mail me at karistamps at msn dot com with your mailing info and I'll get your gift cards right out to you! Thanks for all of your fun comments - I *love* that you leave me some love on my blog! If you didn't win this time don't worry ... I promise to have many more giveaways in the future - I just LOVE them!!!

How the Date for Easter is Decided

At my stampers group meeting this month we were talking about how early Easter falls this year!! We discussed how the date for Easter is determined (to the extent of our knowledge). My friend Debbie went home and did some research and sent the following info to me:

Easter is always the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox (which is March 20th). This dating of Easter is based on the lunar calendar that Hebrew people used to identify passover, which is why it moves around on our Roman calendar. Based on the above, Easter can actually be one day earlier (March 22nd) but that is pretty rare.

This year is the earliest Easter any of us will ever see the rest of our lives! Only the most elderly of our population have ever seen it this early (95 years and older), and none of us have ever, or will ever, see it a day earlier! Here are the facts:
* The next time Easter will be this early (March 23rd) will be the year 2228 (220 years from now). The last time it was this early was 1913.
* The next time it will be a day earlier (March 22nd) will be the year 2285 (277 years from now). The last time it was on March 22nd was 1818, so no one alive today has or will ever see it any earlier than this year!

I thought that was pretty interesting information ... random, but interesting!! Now enjoy your Easter weekend knowing you will never have to plan for the Easter Bunny to arrive this early ever again :)

Training Update & a Family Favorite

Just a quick update on my triathlon training ... really for my own record ;) Monday I ran 2.75 miles. Tuesday I biked 8 miles. Wednesday I ran 3 miles. Tonight I FORCED myself onto the treadmill for 2 miles ... made myself go 2.1 for good measure. I honestly believe it was the hardest 2 miles I have ever run! Could be because I normally get it out of the way in the morning and I was doing it at night after a full day ... could be the HUGE lunch we ate at Chili's this afternoon after going to the temple ... could be the TOTAL lack of motivation I was feeling tonight .... whatever it was I am glad I did SOMETHING today - even if I thought it might kill me! I really need to get to the pool but I am planning to start training at the pool with a group of people who train regularly for triathlons. There is a professional triathlete who trains them so I know it will help to get me far better prepared in the pool. I met him yesterday and he is really nice ... and totally out there to help those who want it (without being critical - just what I need)!! He trains these people for FREE so it will be great to pick his brain and ask all of the questions that I have. He's trying to convince me I should buy a triathlon one piece suit but I'm pretty sure I should spare the world from having to see me in that much spandex!!!

Now to the favorite ... we love to make smoothies in our house. Only one, really, but it's a favorite! The Caribbean Passion smoothie from Jamba Juice is my all time fave. I have a girlfriend who used to work there and shared the recipe!! Now we make them all the time and the kids feel extra special when they get one :) I must add here that I use a Magic Bullet for making mine. I honestly don't use it for anything else (unlike the infomercial that shows you can make ANYTHING with it) but I adore it for smoothies!!

12 oz. Passionfruit Juice

2 scoops orange sherbet
1 cup peaches
1 cup strawberries

I've gotten to the point where I can eyeball it and know exactly how much to use in the Bullet, but the measurements give you a good ratio to start with. I've done a blender full just keeping the proportions the same. I used to add ice but it doesn't fit as well in the Bullet and tastes just as good without it so now I don't even bother! Let me know what you think if you try it ... perfect for those upcoming summer days :)

P.S. Please note that is 4 posts in 4 days!!! And Friday is the last day to leave your comments for the 2 giveaways I've got going on ... loving your answers on the ice cream quiz!!

Baby Steps

Just had to post a little Cougar footage ... don't know that I really classify these as "first steps" because the boy is actually really lazy with the whole standing/walking thing (my girls all walked around 10 months) but I love to see him glide between pieces of furniture without skipping a beat! He loves to walk and push his Tonka truck and anything else with wheels. He is just too cute for words and I am having a hard time believing that in less than 4 weeks he will be turning one. A crime, really, in my eyes ... I never said he could grow up! Only up side is he gets more fun by the day :)

What flavor are you?

Found this fun quiz and, since I love ice cream, I had to take it!! Turns out I'm Strawberry!!

Your personality is as friendly and appealing as strawberry ice cream (especially the kind with chunky bits of real fruit). You've got a slightly sarcastic sense of humor, and you rarely stress out or take things too seriously. You are cute and sweet, but with a mischievous side. You are a bit of a troublemaker, but only because you're determined to avoid a plain vanilla life.

What flavor are you? Click on the link, take the quiz, and post in the comments ... there is a Coldstone gift card in it for you if you're chosen the winner!! Post by Friday for a chance :)

Yes, people ... that's TWO giveaways going on right now!!! I take some time off from blogging and come back in a very giving mood!! Must be our recently deposited tax returns ;) If you leave an Anonymous comment make sure to leave your name so I know how to find you!!

Coming Up for Air

I give fair warning that this post will include no pictures or anything terribly exciting ... just an entry for no other purpose than journaling what I have been up to so I don't forget (which could be very easy considering the week I've had). Sorry for the lack of "fun." Hopefully you had some fun last week looking at AnnaMarie's blog and participating in her giveaway ... which my good friend Chrystal won!! I'm sad that those gorgeous earrings won't be mine but perhaps Chrystal will loan them to me ;)

I guess I should start by announcing that I am training for a triathlon. The race in on April 19th and although I don't see myself as any form of competition I am enjoying (if you can call it that) having a goal to get me back to exercising on a regular basis. It will be a 300 yd. swim, 8 mile bike, and 3.2 mile run. Let us all pray I make it :) Thanks to Tori for giving me the push I needed to try something I would NEVER have considered before!!

In other news, I don't believe I have mentioned that I got a new calling at church about a month ago. For those of you who aren't of my faith that will probably not make a lot of sense ... if you would like a better explanation let me know ;) Our stake was split in December and I have been called to be the Stake Young Women's Secretary. With Girls Camp and a Pioneer Trek coming up in the next few months we have been busy meeting, trying to figure out what we are doing, and making plans. I am lucky to work with great women and love the chance I have to work with the youth. I have been at church and in meetings for 6+ hours the past 2 Sundays (since we had ward conference visits on top of our regular church meetings and presidency/stake meetings, too)!!! Steve is glad when I can make it home!

This past week I had stampers group on Monday morning at my house which involved designing and prepping projects (until 3 AM) and getting the house together. Tori and I swam that night to get some training in. I then made sugar cookie dough in preparation for the bakefest I had on Tuesday. I also cut and prepared 150 invitations for the General YW Broadcast on March 29th so we could hand them out on Wednesday night. After biking 3.5 miles and then running 1.5 miles Tuesday morning I rolled out and cut over 12 dozen star shaped sugar cookies for our Girls Camp "Psych Night" on Wednesday night. The Stake YW President came over Tuesday night to frost cookies and assemble the invites. Wednesday brought 1.75 miles on the treadmill (have I mentioned that I DETEST running? It is definitely the hardest part of training for me) followed by me and Kendyl going for haircuts. From haircuts we went to the girls' school to see Brinley play the narrator in her 3rd grade music program. After school it was haircuts for Brinley and Ashton before heading home to load up the car for Psych Night (the activity where we "unveil" the Girls Camp theme for the year, staff, etc). Steve took the crew to the evening performance of the 3rd grade music program and had everyone in bed before I got home ... which was a good thing since I didn't get home until after 9:30. Thursday I had my friend Beth's kiddos while she helped her sister with her new baby in Utah. Alex came in the morning and then Amanda and Kayla came in various methods after school. They are such great kids and always easy to have around!! I had fun taking pictures of Alex to send to his mom via text message ;) I left the kids with Steve just after lunch so I could bike 6 miles before the entire crew came home from school. After Beth's kids left it was time to get the house ready for my evening stampers group meeting. It was a small group with sickness and other things keeping people away but was fun none the less! Friday was a "lazy" day of hanging out with Alex, Cougar, and Kendyl, running 2 miles, picking up kids from school, letting them all play outside in the glorious weather, and dropping my kiddos at babysitters group so we could have some time off ... to head to Costco and get the house ready for the baby shower I hosted on Saturday morning!!!! No time for training on Saturday while I cleaned the house, got food ready, hosted the shower, cleaned up after the shower, picked up the babysitter, and headed to the theater to see Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy. It was such a fun time to go downtown and see a show ... something we don't get to do often enough!! Sunday brought church, my last ward conference visit (for 6 months), friends coming over for dinner to help eat the leftovers from the baby shower, and a 2+ hour stake meeting. Makes me tired just thinking about it!!

Today was the first day of Spring Break - we don't have anything planned which is a problem!!! The girls spent the entire day arguing about what channel to watch, which Wii game to play, who's turn it was on the computer, etc. The added bummer was that it cooled off significantly today - mid 60's vs. the 80's we've been basking in for weeks now - so they weren't near as interested to play outside!! We'll be back up in the 80's by Wednesday and we do have plans to buy Enchanted on DVD tomorrow, go see a movie, hit BounceU or the bowling Alley, and will probably head to the park at least once. I ran 2.75 miles today which was big for me (don't laugh Carolyn)!! I wanted to run 2.5 but made myself keep going once I got to that point. I was actually going to push for 3 miles but I've been pretty congested the past few days and breathing was getting more difficult so I decided to walk an extra .5 mile instead ... at a fast pace ;)

Now I did warn you, didn't I?! Is anyone actually still reading this?! Probably not ... I don't blame you! But if you are and would like a chance to win an iTunes gift card, leave me a comment by Friday, 3/21! We finally got Steve's iPod Touch that I bought him for Christmas up and running so we are having fun picking out some new (and not so new) music and downloading ... right from his iPod!! Seriously the coolest thing ever!

Lots of pictures, hopefully some layouts, and more specifics on some of the "other" events that have occurred in our lives the past few weeks to come ... catching up on my blog surfing, too. I really need to carve out some time for me that doesn't involve doing things for other people. Does that sound selfish or what?! Hope I'm not the only one that feels that way sometimes ....

One final note: I get to register for my 3rd online digital scrapbooking class - Digi: In Deep - with Jessica Sprague next Monday night!!! I've been waiting since November for this class and can hardly wait! THAT should give me some of that "me" time I'm looking for ;)

Blog Giveaway

Want a chance to win some GORGEOUS earrings? My sister-in-law, AnnaMarie, has a great giveaway on her blog right now and I just had to let you know!! She started blogging in January and just reached her 100th post!!!! I've been blogging for 6 months now and am still about 25 posts away ... guess I'd better get busy ;) She has posted every day since she started - amazing. She is always sharing her amazing finds in all areas - clothes, jewelry, home decor, etc., wonderful recipes, gorgeous photos, great music, entertaining ideas, and fun stories from their life with 4 kids (who are some of the cutest around) ... you name it, you'll find it on her blog :) Her taste is impeccable and her style amazing. So click over to her blog (this is a direct link to the giveaway post) and leave a comment by Saturday for a chance to win the beautiful earrings that she made and make sure to bookmark it so you can return often for some serious eye candy!!!

P.S. I'm up to my eyeballs in stuff right now but hope to post on Thursday or Friday with some pictures of stamp projects and info on our happenings!!

Beansy Can See!!

We were also lucky to be paid a visit a few weeks ago from Steve's sister Jill ... aka "Aunt Beansy." Actually, she is the lucky one - she wanted to have lasik eye surgery done and Steve used his "connections" to hook her up with a deal that was beyond amazing!! She flew in and we got to spend a few days taking her to and from appointments and enjoying her company. She also got a "hands on" look at how crazy things can get around here sometimes ;) John didn't trust that we'd take good enough care of her :) so he flew down the day of her surgery to offer his support (or give her a break from us - not sure). Steve also got to go with them to see the surgery performed. It was quick and painless (except for her vision going completely black for a moment - completely normal yet still unnerving) according to Jill. I think the hardest part for her was having to wear the shields over her eyes until the next morning. We went out to a fabulous dinner that night and Steve made a great point of making sure everyone noticed her stylish eyewear ... that's what big brothers are for, right?! It was such a treat to have them here and hope they might find another excuse to come see us again!

(click to enlarge)
Credits:
Wonderful Piece-a-Cake Album by Shabby Princess

Happy Anniversary to Us!!

It was 11 years ago today that Steve and I were sealed in the Salt Lake Temple. We had a fast and furious courtship - 5 months from the time we met to the time we were married! He continues to make me smile every day, loves me unconditionally, supports me in all of my endeavors, encourages me when I need it, tolerates my obsessive tendencies, and always holds us together (when I feel like I'm falling apart)! He is a wonderful husband and father - exactly what I expected of him 11 years ago. He is the most amazing example I could ask for. I still feel like the luckiest girl in the world to have him for my own :)

A Visit with Kasey

Well, it finally happened ... Kasey got to come for a visit!! The last time I saw her was well over 3 years ago (Kendyl was a baby). The years and distance have kept us apart and although we talk on the phone much less than I would like to we are always able to pick up right where we left off and laugh about the fun times we had back in college :) I treasure our friendship more than she probably realizes.

We spent the weekend eating and watching movies!! I actually saw more movies in one weekend than I would normally see in almost a year! First thing was a trip across town to Cafe Rio for lunch - a favorite!! Steve came home Friday and told us to head out, so it was a complete Girls Night!! We had a great time catching a "double feature" with just enough time in between movies to hit the Cheesecake Factory for appetizers (and cheesecake for later). We saw 27 Dresses first and then came back to see The Other Boleyn Girl. Both were great in very different ways. We were so stuffed that we didn't even take a single bite of our refilled bag of popcorn during the second movie! Saturday we had lunch at Paradise Bakery - YUM!! That night we took the kiddos to babysitters group and headed back to the movie theater to see Vantage Point. It was also enjoyable - except for the really annoying guy sitting a few seats down who said "AGAIN?" (getting louder each time) every time the plot would rewind to see another perspective of the crime ... did he NOT read the story line before coming? Then it was off to Claim Jumper for more appetizers. Please note there were popcorn and big drinks at all movies as well ... total overload!!! It was so relaxing and fun to just sit, visit, and be together again - a nice break from what seems like a normally crazy life!!

The kids loved spending time with her, too. They got to show her all of their tricks, play the Wii with her, and smother her (which is something they like to do to anyone who visits). I wish they could see her more often but we will definitely take what we can get and be grateful for it ;) I made a layout with a few pictures of the kids with her. I've been dying to get some scrapping in and I finally did! Thanks again, K, for taking time out of your busy life to spend a few days with us - it means the world to me!

(click to enlarge)
Credits:
Word Art: Wild Sorbet Kit by Michelle Coleman (freebie)
Papers, flower, & rhinestone: Friends Forever Kit by Heather Ann Melzer
Template: 3x3 Basic Grid Template by LivE Designs