On the threshold of the Holidays…

My favorite time of the year! I can’t wait for the kiddos’ birthdays, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. Yes, we are always busy, busy, but it’s still the most magical and wonderful time of the year. Lots of family togetherness, family traditions, and lots of yummy food (yeah, I know – counterproductive to the diet, but yummy nonetheless).

Yes, I have started a new job. My previous employer made some choices that made it impossible to be successful in the current market conditions. As a result, I moved to a smaller community bank with the loan officer who I assist. It has been a learning curve, but I think in the long run, we made the best choice.

Health – Like I said before, the Holidays are the enemy of the diet, but I keep telling myself: be active, and all in moderation. (Easier said than done, yes). I am up to my brown belt in Taekwondo, and I am constantly challenging myself in ways I never thought possible. I am also going to squeeze in a 5K in December to support a local women’s shelter. So, if you could all cut down on your baking some and quit sending goodies to my office, maybe that will help?... LOL! :)

Family – The kids got their first report cards. They both did great – A honor roll for Grant & A/B honor roll for Anna. I guess I worried over Grant’s grades for no reason, huh? He continues to love music/band & finished up his first cross-country season. He can run an 8 minute mile now – wow! That leaves my 13 minute mile way in the dust!

Anna successfully earned her 1st Degree Black Belt! I was one proud mama. What an awesome feeling that was!!! As soon as we heard the 2nd board crack, we all jumped for joy. It was definitely a learning experience for her not to achieve this the first time around, but it made the victory that much sweeter this time. Eight years old and out-ranks her mom. :)  We also took our annual trip to Topsail for a campout with the Girl Scouts. We had “Survivor” teams, and the girls had a blast competing against each other in mental challenges, physical challenge, and of course the most fun: eating challenges (gummy worms mixed into all sort of concoctions, all ready to be eaten by not so “hungry” little girls). :)

Thomas finished his applications for internship. He has applied all over the country: Tallahassee, FL; Lexington, KY; Butner, NC; Carswell, TX; Devens, Massachusetts (near Boston); Fort Worth, TX; Morgantown, WV; Los Angeles, CA; Rochester, Minnesota; Springfield, Missouri; Terre Haute, Indiana; & Terminal Island, CA. We are praying that God puts him exactly where he needs to be, but we are also keeping our fingers crossed that it won’t be so far away that we will only see him a couple times in the year that he has to be gone. He has also started his dissertation. So, these are all really big steps. Interviews coming up in the first part of 2012….

Crafts – I’m still sort of neglecting this. Too many things to do, not enough hours in the day. I do have plans for a few Christmas crafts, and of course Christmas cards are coming up too, but other than that, scrapbooking is pretty rare these days. As I always say, “I guess I’ll scrapbook when the kids go off to college”. LOL! :)
It is blowing my mind that I am about to have a 12 year old and a 9 year old. Where did my babies go? It is really cool to see their personalities grow and change and also to see what great kiddos they are, but I do miss my babies…

Oh, Halloween was fun – Grant was Albert Einstein, and Anna was a “pretty” witch. I say, “pretty” because she wanted to make sure I understood that she didn’t want to be an old, ugly witch with warts and a green face & stringy hair. I have pictures, but wouldn’t you know, they are on my other computer. I’ll upload next time.

I hope everyone enjoys the Holidays with your families. God Bless, and I’ll be back soon (in a couple months, lol.) :)

-Michelle

And the school bells are all a-ringin'...

It's been a busy few months since my last post, but what else is new?

Work - Big changes are coming, but I won't elaborate just yet...
Health - I'm trying, but gosh it's so hard to find a balance when you are as busy as I am.  I try to cook, but it's so much easier to grab something quick (even if it isn't that great for me).  I am still doing Taekwondo at least twice a week, and I'm up to my blue belt (halfway to black).  That's something good, right?
Family - Yep - they're back in school.  Grant has started 6th grade, his first year of middle school.  His math teacher once taught Thomas & I in 6th grade English.  He is a busy, busy boy:  saxophone in school band, guitar lessons, church, Boy Scouts, cross-country team, and Lego League.  It's all a bit of a whirlwind.  I told him he may have to cut back on the extras if his grades to don't stay up, but so far, so good.  Anna started 3rd grade.  She has the same teacher that Thomas had for 5th grade.  Pretty cool.  She loves her.  She is still my baby ninja.  She missed getting her black belt in August, just by the board breaks, but she is confident that she will do it next time.  She is also still doing Girl Scouts.

Thomas passed his comps for school.  He is currently working on research hours, preparing for application to internship, and planning his dissertation.  Still seems a little far away, but he's working. :)

Crafts - I have been quite obsessed with Pinterest lately.  So much awesome inspiration.  I have made a few fun crafty-type recipes, and I am planning on getting in a scrap day w/ one of my best girl friends next month.  I am starting to think about handmade things I can work on for the Holidays.  Fall is coming, and I always get inspired by the cooler weather and fun season.

Sugar Cookie White Chocolate Truffles

Travel - Thomas & I went to Colorado for a long anniversary weekend at the end of July.  It was absolutely beautiful!  We were able to explore the Rocky Mountain National Park, take our first white water rafting trip (in 38 degree water), and even visit Archiver's (huge scrapbook/craft store).  We got to see some snow, and my favorite, the chipmunks who would eat our of your hands!  It was a great trip.  We would love to go back again one day.  The kids would love it too.

Thomas' Mom & Step dad came for a visit the last week of the summer.  We had a great time visiting, and the highlight of the week was when we went out charter boat fishing.  The fish were biting, and we caught some big ones!

Well, I guess that's my update for now.  Time to go back in and add some pics for your visual entertainment now. :)

-Michelle

MIA again - I know, I know...

Okay.  So, I realize that I am not very good at this blogging thing.  I love reading blogs and stay pretty current on what's happening in everyone's blog, but as far as mine goes, I stink.  There, I said it. :)

I admire those of you who have time to keep everyone up to date via the blog world.  To quote my dear husband, I feel like I am juggling cats most days.

Work - I've changed locations.  Same job, different bldg.  It will mean lots less driving for me this summer.  So, yay for that.

Health - Other than a few sniffles from allergies and some sinus headaches, we've all been good.  I bought myself a bike for my birthday and have started riding a little.  I don't remember the seat causing such pain as a child, but it's still fun. I hope it will help me drop a few pounds. :) 
        
Family - Grant is graduating from elementary school next week.  How did that happen?  Wasn't it just yesterday that he was going off for his first day of school?  He is going to be playing saxophone in the band in the fall, and he is also considering running cross country.  Where did my baby go?
              Anna is finishing up 2nd grade and is more than ready for 3rd.  She is up to a red belt in Taekwondo now, and finished her first year of Brownies.  Quite the fiesty young lady, she is...
              Thomas is still plugging away at his PhD - comps, research, internship, and dissertation away from claiming to be "doctor".  I can't wait - lol!

Crafts - I have been slipping on this front (along w/ my blogs obviously).  I do get to do a few crafty things here and there for baby showers, holidays, gifts, etc, but not near as much as I'd like.  Life gets in the way of documenting life, I guess.  I am shooting to scrap some next weekend while the fam is in Orlando for a quick trip.  That is if purging the house doesn't take priority.  (Trust me, it NEEDS it - especially the kids' rooms.)

I just celebrated my 33rd birthday (on Mother's Day).  It was a beautiful day.  Thomas & the kids spoiled me, and treated me like a Queen.  Highlight of the day:  cards, hugs, and kisses in bed.  A close second:  Melting Pot - yes, chocolate fondue is the best!!!

Well, I guess that's my update for now - see you in a few...  (OK - it may be August - lol!). :)

-Michelle

Happy "Deanstein's" Day!

That's what my son used to call Valentine's Day...

In tribute to the Holiday for Love, here are a few things that I love:

1. God & my church family

2. My family & friends

3. My husband, my best friend

4. My kids

5. That my son gets excited about his projects for school. He just finished a model of Neptune.

6. That my daughter wants to be a Girl Scout mostly because Mom is her leader and she loves the “girl time”.  (I should mention that I am up to my eyeballs in cookies right now.)

7. My hometown

8. Crafts/Photography/Scrapbooking/Art9. Reading a good book

10. Music

11. Taekwondo / The feeling after working out

12. Baking/cooking creatively

13. Movie Nights

14. Blogs

15. “Me” Time

Don't forget to tell someone that you love how important they are in your life!!!  Happy Heart's Day! <3 <3

Run, Walk, Crawl; Finish!

Disney Marathon Weekend - we were there. 

What an adventure! 

Some of the things that we learned while there:

1.)  You have to get up VERY early to make it to the race in time.  We were up at 2:45 AM to take a shuttle to Epcot.

2.)  Walking from the drop-off location to your starting corral is a lot like herding cattle.  There were 27,000 people there, and the conversations we heard during this walk were priceless.
(E.G:  "It's sort of like the death march.", "And what are you going to do after you finish the half marathon?  I'm going to Disney World! - Crap, I'm already here.", "After this, I want meat, Shepherd's pie, and bourbon".)

3.)  If you don't like port-o-potties, there's always the option of peeing in the woods along the side of the road - even ladies!  (Not me, though.)

4.)  The opening/starting line experience was really cool:  fireworks, music, Disney characters, Meredith Vieira, Al Roker (yes, he ran it too), and fiery torches. 

5.)  For the first 2-3 miles, whatever strategy you had for a quick start, just forget about it.  There are too many people to do whatever you were planning:  clothes being discarded everywhere, elbows being jabbed your way, lots of different paces, etc.

6.)  Disney provides lots for you to see during the race:  Characters, hot air balloons, bands, entertainers, and of course the theme parks.  We saw characters that we haven't ever really seen in the parks.  There were a lot of behind the scenes moments during the run (on roads that say "Cast only").  Running through Cinderella's castle was the highlight for me.  We weren't quite sure how people had time to stop and take pictures though, our paces were slow enough as it was - lol!

7.)  The first half wasn't bad.  We had moments when we were tired, but we didn't complain too much.  The second half was really, really tough.  By the time we got to mile-marker 10, we really understood why people were wearing certain funny shirts that said things like, "I thought this would be fun", "Run, Walk, Crawl, Finish", and my favorite:  "The Happiest Place on Earth, really?"  The other funny sign we saw was "You were just passed by a 79 year old woman."  And no, we couldn't pass her, or the fat Mr. Incredible either (lots of people wore costumes).

8.)  There is so much trash on the road during mega-races like this.  Imagine running through tons of energy gel.  It's sticky, slippery, and not very good-tasting either.  Pair that with all of the random clothes thrown everywhere, the energy bar wrappers, and the empty drinking cups, and it's sort of crazy-looking.

9.)  You would be amazed by how many different fitness levels you will see out there. 

10.)  No one ever told us the toll that a long-distance run like this can take on your body.  Every time we saw a fellow half marathoner yesterday in the airport, they were limping or walking really slowly (just like us).  Thomas has purple toenails today, I feel like an 80 year old, we are both ravenous and exhausted, and the feeling of satisfaction as we were able to show off our Donald Duck medals is just awesome.

Was it worth it?  Yes
Would we do it again?  Maybe (Ask us again when all of the muscle soreness is a vague memory.)
Would we train more next time?  Definitely

Official times:
3:36:26 (Running Chip Times) - Yes, we tied (holding hands as we crossed the finish line).
4:15:29  (Clock time for me)
4:15:30 (Clock time for Thomas) - I think this means I beat him by a second? :)

Places:
Me - 21,187
Thomas - 21,188

Signed, 
Tired, Hungry, Sore, & Happy 1/2 Marathoner!!! :)