Miscellaneous Musings...

I'll join in with a little miscellany today since I have a few random things to share...

one

breaking records

Ok, it was only a personal record, but since that is probably the only kind I'll ever beat - I'll take it!

Remember way, way back in January when I had to run a mile for time? And I ran it in 8:28? And I was so super excited because I never thought in all of my years on this earth that I would be able to run a mile that fast?

Well, this morning, I beat it! By 35 seconds!

That's right folks - I busted out a one mile run in 7 minutes and 53 seconds and it was the most glorious moment of my life! Which was quickly ruined by the second mile we had to run that was a little slower...

two

youtube

On Friday, I had some errands to run and then I headed out to Sissy's house to hang with the Smalls Family and "sleep the night."

Tiny started preschool this year and they have been learning the Pledge of Allegiance. He and I had worked on it the day before while Sissy and Biggie were in the dentist chair, so I asked him to recite to me what he remembered of it.

He completed the whole thing!

I asked him if he would like to record it to send to Match and Papa and he replied, "Yes. And YouTube."

I had to oblige.

Now head on over to Carissa's blog and read a few blogs you haven't read before.

On the Plains of North Dakota...

 A couple of weeks ago Match, Papa, SuperFan, Sissy, BIL, Biggie, Tiny, and SisterSmalls headed to North Dakota. BIL grew up in North Dakota and his parents have a house on Lake Audubon, so Sissy decided that we would baptize SisterSmalls there and make it into a little mini vacation.

That is if you consider staying in a house with 12 adults and 12 children a vacation...

For the sake of this post, let's say I do.

So at the crack of dawn, we set out...

Match, Papa, SuperFan, and I arrived to the airport to find that Sissy had backed up the entire lives of the Smalls family. (To be fair, they were staying for 10 days...)

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I did have some concerns about flying with three children, but lucky for me, I got the seat next to SisterSmalls and she was easy-peasy!

Match was lucky enough to get both boys in her row. Luckily, Aunt Airplane had Goonies downloaded on the iPad and Biggie kept busy hunting treasure for the two hour flight.

Tiny required a few seat changes, a lot of tractors, a Nintendo DS, and an iPad.

But, kudos to those babies, because they were very well behaved for the entire flight and people even complimented us. 

Sissy and SuperFan enjoyed their childless row.

Biggie's future is so bright he has to wear shades on the plane.

We finally made it and as I posted on instagram - if I pretend like there aren't twelve children running around the part of the yard you can't see, this is a very peaceful view.

That pretty much sums up our first day in North Dakota, and on our second day, when we were supposed to do all of the fun things like ride jet skis and tubes, the skies opened up and the angels cried.

It literally rained all.day.long.

Around 2:00 or so, SisterSmalls started crying and Sissy thought she might be ready for her afternoon bottle.

What a coincidence, I was also ready for mine...

The most important thing was that the sun came out on Sunday. The day that SisterSmalls and her cousin were to be baptized. Followed by a massive party at the lake house.

The food was delicious, the company was great, and I got to ride on a helicopter!

Yes, you read that right. BIL's cousin has a helicopter and he flew it over to the house and gave some rides to the partygoers. 

So fun!

Then we went on a boat ride and Match turned into MamaKennedy.

This is the view of the house and helicopter as we were floating back to the boat dock.

 All in all it was a great trip. Shorter than I would have liked, but we had a lot of fun and I would certainly go back. But only in the summer.

Here is a random picture of Tiny on the Gator. This kid loves him some John Deere products!

Let's Talk

So here's the thing, I probably at least have some pictures from North Dakota to share, but I've kind of been in a funk lately so I haven't really gotten around to blogging.

Or even really reading blogs.

We are less than a month away from IT's wedding. 

IT was my college roommate. She's one of my best friends. We have spent the past 13 years lamenting the ridiculous boys in our life. Joining match.com together, spending lots of New Years' Eves together, joining eHarmony around the same time, complaining about eHarmony, decoding dates, and generally being single together.

And she is getting married in less than a month.

That hit me where it hurts.

Not one other friend's wedding or child birth has affected me the way this one has.

I'm floundering.

There was a conversation taking place about yours truly recently and one person in the conversation said something to the effect of, she is who she is, she's never going to change.

And you know what I say to that?

YOU'RE DAMN RIGHT I'M NOT!!!

I know that I'm not perfect, but you know what?

You're not either.

And that's ok!

I know that there are things about myself that I would like to change and things that I can work on.

And most days, I try to work on those things. I'm not always successful. And that's ok too!

As long as each day we are making some kind of progress, somewhere in our lives, I think we are winning.

With that said, I may have agreed to run a 1/2 marathon with Sissy.

Have I completely lost my mind?

She Knows How to Party

On Friday I had lunch with Granny B.

In an ideal world, this would happen more frequently than it does, but right now I try to get together with her once a month.

I always know that she will probably need to run errands after lunch so I set aside a majority of the afternoon to hang with her and get things done.

On Friday, she told me that she just needed to drop some extra hangers off at the alterations place and run to Bashas'.

Easy peasy.

While we were eating our soup and salad at Olive Garden I asked her what she needed at Bashas'. She said that she needed an ingredient for a cake she was going to make.

We get to the store and she tells me that she needs Calvados, which Match has told her, is a liqueur. So we head to the liquor section and search high and low. I finally google it on my phone and discover that it is a brandy and they do not carry it at this store.

So we decide to head across the street to BevMo!

But, first... Granny B asks me to see if they have the gallon of wine that she likes.

Ummm, excuse me?

Yes, do they have that gallon of Italian wine that she likes? 

So I find the large jugs of wine and ask her if she is looking for a Chianti. She says no.

I read another bottle to her and she says, "That's it!"

I double check to make sure she wants this gigantic jug of wine that I'm certain she couldn't even lift to pour and she says, "Yeah. It will last a while. I just like to have a glass before I go to bed, it helps me sleep."

Clearly I get my very expensive wine taste from her!

Filling In...

1.  I am proud of   who I am. I've certainly had my challenges and probably made some decisions that in hindsight weren't the greatest. But they have all brought me to where I am and I am proud of that   .

2.   This weekend I will   hanging with the ladies. Vegas is in town visiting Glinda so I will be enjoying lunch and shenanigans with them tomorrow during the day. Then it is off to celebrate IT's coming nuptials with a girls' night out and then a bridal shower on Sunday    .

3.  A secret dream I have is    to be an Olympian and an author  .

4. I can't handle    when  plans fall apart. Though I must say that I am getting better. I think it is a sign of maturity.

5. The most annoying thing in the entire world is   tardiness .

6. The most relaxing thing in the entire world is   a good book. Sitting in my living room or laying by the pool, there is nothing like getting lost in a good book and forgetting about everything else .

7.  I think everyone should   make more educated choices concerning their health. (I have to keep Lauren's general answer here.) I have talked a lot about nutrition recently, but it is more than that. I just would like it if everyone would be aware of how their bodies respond to the environment around them   .

Now head on over to Lauren's blog and fill in some blanks of your own!

*Spoiler Alert*

If you have not yet watched today's swimming finals of the Olympics, you may want to stop reading right now.

I'm serious - I'm about to tell you who won.

As I sit here watching the live feed of the Olympics on my iPad, I am getting emotional.

I think that I may have shared with you before that I have a not so secret desire to be an Olympian.


I do realize that I have probably missed the boat on that, but it doesn't make me want it any less.


I also believe that I have shared with you my love for Michael Phelps.


I mean, those abs... OMG, Mommy!


But not just that, when he is in the water, there is something that just makes my heart happy.


Today he won the 200m Individual Medley. Making him the first person in history to win the gold in the same event three years in a row.


What an amazing feat!


As I watched him wait for his name to be called, and subsequently stand on the podium to receive his medal, I teared up.


As he stood there listening to the National Anthem play you could see the emotion on his face.


He stood there, knowing that this would likely be his last Olympic Games. Knowing that he worked a majority of his life and gave up so much for a dream that came true. Knowing that the national anthem was playing for him. Because of him. Because he believed that if you want something and you work for it, you can achieve it.


What an amazing feeling that must be!