EXERCISE: You Don't Have Time NOT To!

For the most part I've always been pretty active and healthy. Though I haven't always been a gym rat, or the queen of the treadmill, I've always enjoyed at least getting out and going for a nice walk or a bike ride.

During the winter months it's so hard for me to be motivated to do much of anything.  It's too cold to venture outdoors for exercise and I won't drive if I think that there is any chance that the roads could be rough.  I have a treadmill, an elliptical machine and a big ol' library of workout dvd's but those grow wearisome after a while.  Motivation is hard for me to find when it's cold and dark out.

Spring and Summer's though, now that's a different story.  Tanner and I have been getting out and walking 3-5 miles daily. Usually on the weekends we fall behind on our long walks and resort to little walks with Brandon and the dogs.  Lately I've been venturing to the gym to take hour long spin classes.

For those of you who don't know what spin class is it's a low impact cardio endurance class using a stationary bike and routines that are designed to simulate terrain and situations similar to riding a bike outdoors.  Some of the movents and positions include warm-ups, hill climbs, sprints and interval training, cool-downs.  Motivating music plays and an instructor guides you through the class with visualizations like "You're going up a long hill now, you can't see the top!" or" "More tension! Stand up! Down! Up! Hold it, hold IT!" Spinning is a major calorie torcher and leaves me feeling totally energized.  I love it!

:: This past Saturday my friend Verna and I did a 2 hour Cinco de Mayo spin class!  Two hours on a bike was INTENSE but fun!  Verna happened to have her iPhone handy so I had her snap a few pics!  Good times!

Before class started

The instructors

Verna still going strong at the halfway point.

I have dreams of being a runner.  I can get on my treadmill and run a few miles, but I want to just be able to lace up my shoes, head out the door and run for miles and miles.  I'll get there!

Happy Mother's Day

We started off the day with latte's and breakfast made by Brandon.  Brandon set my plate of food on the table and told me to come eat. I looked over and Tanner had climbed up onto my chair and had his hands in my food! It was his first time climbing on the kitchen chair. I think even he was surprised.

We went to church this morning and the pastor started off with this little poem that I thought was great;

Why Women Cry

Author: Unknown

A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.

"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."

Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"

"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.

The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.

Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"

God said, "When I made the woman she had to be special.

I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world,

yet gentle enough to give comfort.

I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.

I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.

I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.

I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.

I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.

And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."

"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

After church we headed south to Delta Junction, which is about 75 miles away.  We went to the grocery store and picked up a few lunch items there and then found a park to eat and play at.  With the sun shining and it being in the 50's, we really couldn't have asked for a better day!  

We saw a total of 6 moose and 1 caribou on our little road trip.

We spent the rest of the day enjoying each other's company in the backyard.  We had a great dinner of grilled steak and veggies then walked and got an ice cream cone to share.  I had a few bites and my boys ate the rest.  

Mowing the lawn

Mowing is hard work!!!

My boys made me feel special and loved. I truly couldn't have asked for a better day!

A Poem on Mother's Day

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking

by Mary Rita Schilke Korzan

When you thought I wasn’t looking
You hung my first painting on the refrigerator
And I wanted to paint another.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
You fed a stray cat
And I thought it was good to be kind to animals.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
You baked a birthday cake just for me
And I knew that little things were special things.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
You said a prayer
And I believed there was a God that I could always talk to.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
You kissed me good-night
And I felt loved.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
I saw tears come from your eyes
And I learned that sometimes things hurt—
But that it’s alright to cry.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
You smiled
And it made me want to look that pretty too.

When you thought I wasn’t looking
You cared
And I wanted to be everything I could be.

When you thought I wasn’t looking—
I looked . . .
And wanted to say thanks
For all those things you did
When you thought I wasn’t looking.

Happy Mother's Day mom.  I love you! 

My Handsome Little Man

Tanner's grandma Florence (my mom) brought to my attention that when we all get dressed up we never get a picture of just Tanner. Today we remedied that little situation. We got Tanner all dolled up in his Easter outfit, that his grandma Minty (Brandon's mom) bought him, and took him outside. He isn't a poser by any means. My little guy likes to be on the GO! GO! GO! I hope the fact that we got a few pictures of him, in his Sunday's-best, without anyone else in them, pleases my mom! ;)

"I think this club is the right one for this ball."

"What?!?"

AIRPLANE!!!

Dada, do you see that Airplane?

Finally got him to look at the camera and smile.

I am so in LOVE with his face!

Pioneer Park

Tanner and I were Fairbanks bound, to find a park to play at, when I decided to give my friend Liz a call to see if she happened to be in Fairbanks. She was, so her and her kids, Brody and Bailey, met us at Pioneer Park. It was our first time being there this summer and we had a great time. We walked around and played at the park. Tanner was very timid at first and just wanted to watch the other kids. He soon warmed up and was running and playing too. He even scared me a bit when he made it up the big slide, with a bit of assistance from Liz, to ride down a big slide parent-free for the first time.

Hey kids!  Over here!!!

Had to stop playing to stare at an airplane fly over.

A race to get down the slide first.

After Tanner saw that Brody went down on his belly Tanner was sliding down the slides on his belly for the rest of the day.

Good Buddies Tanner and Brody.  

Kinda smiling.

Bailey wanted to help put Tanner in a swing.  Tanner was having none of that!

First time going down the slide with out a parent... it was a kid train!

Can you believe they were told no more big slide?!? haha

Putting small rocks on the big rock.

Tanner tried to get off of the bench after this picture and landed on his face. :(

A fun afternoon at the park with the Boscherts! 

Monster. Rabbits. Baked Sourdough Bread.

A drooling, screaming, scratching, biting, pinching, crying monster has taken the place of my once smily, happy son. He has been busy getting his second year molars in. It's been wearing on me more than I care to admit.  I feel like I'm in a constant state of prayer for patience.  I took two very nice breaks from him last week.  I took a 5.2 mile walk with a friend one day and then went to the salon and got my hair "spring-cleaned" with a Malibu treatment, a Deep Conditioning treatment and a trim.  I felt refreshed after both breaks!  The funny thing about Tanner's fits is that they are mostly directed at me... I hope that these teeth come through in a hurry!

With the snow finally melting out of our yards we've got to play outside just that much more.  There have been two rabbits visiting our back yard. Over the last few weeks I've got to watch them turn from snow-white to brown.

I've decided that I'm going to forego buying store bought and stick with homemade breads.  Good goal, huh? My friend Emily gave me a sourdough starter and sourdough bread recipe and my friend Debbie gave me lots of great tips to try when making breads.  I got my sourdough starter going last Sunday and watched and smelled it all week. Yesterday I thought the starter was ready to be put into a sourdough bread.  Once beginning the task of making bread I soon realized just how easy it is!  The end result was so worth it too.  I'm going to be making some whole wheat bread this week to add to my freezer.

The Starter