Spring has Sprung - Pictures

I feel like I can say Spring is finally here with the sun out for two days straight... I managed to get out and take some pictures - mainly at IMA, some at the house - on a couple of the sunny days this month, and thought I'd share a few.

This little guy was posing for me, I swear!! He kept coming back to me and looking at me and my camera... maybe I was just too close to his stash of nuts.

So. Much. Rain.

This has been the wettest April I can ever remember!! We've only seen 9 days of sun (if that, I wonder, honestly) this month... and there's only 2 days left!! Granted, it hasn't rained EVERY other day... but it's been overcast, dreary, and FORECASTED to rain. Thankfully, the weatherman was wrong some days. But we're still looking at breaking some records for the month.

I'm not talking about day after day of just drizzles, either. I'm talking about 1/3 of these dreary, rainy days were actually severe weather watches/warnings, which means winds, heavy rains, and even tornado chances! I have a rain gauge in my backyard, and in a 24 hour span last week, we had over 5" of rain. This week was even more rain, winds, and warnings, but I dumped out the rain gauge a few times... didn't really want to see how much more rain we got! I'm just SO SICK OF THE RAIN!!

Of course, when it rains this much, you have consequences. I'm not just talking about the obvious flash flooding or true flooding... but everything that lives, even if it needs water... it can get TOO MUCH water! This rain has definitely stunted the growth of anything and everything we have in the garden (both flowers and vegetables). I just hope the sun comes out and can get things going again... the ground is just so saturated, though... guess we'll really learn how good our soil is this year.

I just want the sun to come out and STAY out. I know the saying... "April showers bring May flowers," but this April was ridiculous!! It's supposed to be April SHOWERS, not torrential downpours!

Health Kick

So with a few things out there urging me on and/or inspiring me, I've decided to go on a bit of a health kick... a long overdue health kick!

It started as I watched a friend (via Facebook) essentially transform herself after her last pregnancy... she raved about the Turbo Fire workout and it totally intrigued me. I went back and forth for awhile if it was worth putting out the money and decided that yes, by the time you put the time into it, it pays for itself verses a gym membership. The key was just to commit to it! Which it easier said than done when you do it on your own at your own home - no trainer making sure you show up, no one next to you in an actual class that you feel competitive with - it's just you and your own mindset. I knew this would be the hard part for me. But so far, I'm loving it and looking forward to the workouts!

With a new workout regimen comes the need to properly fuel yourself with 'good for you' foods... and despite what so many people out there think, it doesn't mean a diet or giving up everything you love. It's all about portion control. Seriously. And knowing that if you do have that dessert after dinner, you better know that you have to keep it small and you may have to compensate elsewhere to make up for that. So with that in mind, I restocked our fridge and pantry with options that were just overall better. Eric and I don't eat bad - we're actually pretty good with what we eat. We don't eat anything fried up, we don't do a lot of starchy foods, we don't eat a lot of fatty meats and focus more on the veggies for meals... but the hard part is portions. I'm trying to get him used to the smaller plates for that reason - it really is an easy way to control portions. For some reason, we, as Americans, feel like that plate has to be full!! Wrong!

Back when I was with a trainer for my wedding, I learned a lot. I'm taking as much as that to heart, without having to change my eating habits 100% like she had me do. Things can be changed in moderation. But even she said you could have 'cheat meals' - you just have to recognize them as just that and not do it every day. Otherwise, just make some common sense smart decisions when eating... for example, NO seconds! You don't need it! Save it for lunch/dinner the next day.

So we'll see how this goes. I'm not sure if I'll say much more on this subject during this blog, but then I may blog some more about it to keep me more accountable. Time will tell.

Easter

Another Easter has come and gone... and again I must say, where is this year going???

Eric and I are getting better at hosting every time we do things at our house - almost to the point where very little planning is involved. This past go around we didn't even finalize the menu until late last week! But we knew our main dish was to be Lamb, and that was the key, I guess. With it, we ended up with roasted potatoes, corn, and Eric's brussel sprouts, which see to becoming popular at our family meals.

We had his parents over, as well as his sister and nephews. One of our smaller gathering, but none the less important! The boys were quick to spot their easter baskets and hunt for eggs - don't thing we had a chance to even stop them! But it worked out well and kept them entertained until dinner. Well, for the most part. Nolan, in fact, couldn't stop inhaling the chocolate in his basket! We finally had to hide it from him! But AJ played the good big brother and kept his mind off it with his cars.

All in all, another successful holiday has past. Kind of hard to believe the end of April is already so near! Though May brings wedding season for us this year - among all the other events inMay that happen annually (hopefully, I don't need to spell that one out).

Race for the Cure 2011

Today was one of my favorite events every year - Race for the Cure!

First off, I want to thank everyone who donated, whether it was to me or someone else. Your donation means a lot!

The weather cooperated only in the fact that it didn't rain on us. Otherwise, it was a bit chilly and pretty windy. But once you were walking, you were plenty warm. And though there was a slight mist near the end of the route, the rain stayed away this year - yay!

As usual, it was an amazing turnout! They say they didn't get as many on site registrations as they had hoped due to the weather, but the numbers still hovered around 40,000 participants. It never gets old looking around at all the people during the Race... it always seems like an endless sea of people which equals a lot of money raised!

So thanks again to everyone for the support! I hope I can count on you again next year!

Fate? Karma? Angels?

Today I witnessed an accident. And this was not the first time... I've seen quite a few happen near me, in front of my, behind me... but I'm never in a position to stop and check on things. All I can do is be amazed it was so close to me.

Today's happened about 200' behind me, so I saw it unfold in my rearview mirror. And ambulance was going the opposite direction, so everyone on both side of the road were slowing up and pulling over. it was raining. Apparently the little car behind the Grand Cherokee wasn't paying attention... AT ALL!! I didn't know it was back there until I saw it dart around the Jeep - I thought it was just an idiot aggressive driver... but then he went into a spin, came back and broadsided the Jeep, bouncing back around the front of him and ended up on the curb in front of the Jeep.

If I had left 30 seconds later, I could've been the Jeep.

The craziest accident I witnessed was when I was co-oping in Atlanta, living on the southside and commuting down I-75. It was rush hour, so it was busy. We came to a busy interchange where I think a car/truck factory used to be as well as other industrial type facilities, so it was a well used on ramp. I'm driving somewhere in the middle of the 6 lane or whatever is is at that point, and the on ramp was a multi-lane on-ramp, as well. Someone who was just getting onto the interstate decided they wanted over RIGHT NOW and merged before they were up to speed and the slammed into by the car that came up behind it with no other place to go... because I was right next to him! I literally watched the metal crumple with my peripheral vision! It was surreal!

Again, I could've easily been cruising in that lane on that particular day, but I wasn't.

So what does this mean? Well, for starters, my mind starts racing. But it always comes back to angels. Yes, angels. I'm not a religious person, by all means... but I've never doubted there's something bigger than us out there that controls our fate - things happen for a reason - and I believe in karma, too... and angels. At least guardian angels. It's times like that, when I witness something crazy that is so close to me, that I can't help but feel like someone was watching over me to make sure I didn't drive that direction, or leave on time (or leave late!). Someone made sure my last job didn't land me overseas for a stint that would've overlapped the civil wars breaking out there.

A little fate, a little karma, but there's just gotta be an angel watching over me. My karma can't be that good.

Closing Day

Today was the closing of the sale of my house. Long time coming, but bittersweet, none the less.

Before the closing, I went to my house one last time to have a look around, make sure nothing was forgotten, and say goodbye. It was harder than I thought... I teared up a little, but managed to keep my composure. It's so big and empty... I guess it hasn't been my 'home' for some time now, so that helped a little. I never thought this would be a long term home - I knew it was a starter home for me. I guess I just never thought about how I'd finally let it go.

So many memories were made in this house, from my first Halloween party, where lots of friends mingled from different groups (even had a marriage start there), to making margaritas before Jimmy Buffett. And so much in between! But more importantly, it was a place I was able to call "Mine" for nine years.

I went into closing with mixed emotions galore. This would be a huge stress off Eric and I, that was one thing for sure. But it was still my first home on my own... and my last piece of independence. But as I met the couple moving into the house, I felt a little better. I knew it would be continued to be well cared for.

After signing all the pieces of paperwork (legalities, legalities), I passed my keys and garage door openers across the table. No more would I be needing them. The house officially became someone else's home today. I can only hope that they have as many great memories as I do in it.

Florida Sunshine

I love my Florida roots. Even though I rarely get a chance to go back to my actual hometown of Palm Bay, just getting back to FL always gives me warm fuzzies inside.

Last Wednesday I flew down to Jacksonville for a long weekend. It was a surprise to my niece and nephew and the looks on their faces were priceless!! I wish someone could've gotten a picture of it! They were the main point of the trip - visiting with the rest of the family was an added bonus. When I originally made the plans, though, it was to see them play soccer and take them to the beach. Well, I got to do half of that.

We spent Thursday preparing for the beach on Friday. It was a little drizzly on Thursday morning, so the option of going to the beach was out that day. So instead, we went out and bought beach gear and found new suits for the kids. I grabbed the sunscreen and a beach blanket, as well. So Thursday turned out to be a pretty lax day of just hanging around the house besides that trip out. I still have fun taking them shopping.

Friday was beach day, though! We tried to get out as early as possible, even though it was slightly chilly for FL standards. By the time we actually hit the sand, though, it was perfect! The only downside to the day was the extremely cold water temperature. No one was in the water when we got there, and we quickly learned why! It had to be in the low 60's, maybe even upper 50's! We still enjoyed what we could, though - the water temp just kept us high and dry. Still had fun, still got some sun!

Saturday was supposed to be the day of soccer games. Darian's game was cancelled early on in the week, and Kristopher's game kept wavering, to the point that they decided not to go home and risk not having it. More so to keep my mom and I from driving down unnecessarily. So we had Saturday to spend together yet, which was nice. I took the kids to see Hop, which they were really wanting to see. Cute movie for kids. When we got home, we grilled out some awesome burgers on the grill and then they finally had to go. Kristin wanted to have one full day at home before the kids went back to school after spring break.

So that left me with my parents for a quiet Sunday, which was just perfect. We went out to breakfast and then took an early afternoon walk around the neighborhood before I had to head out, myself, to go to Orlando - my flight left early this morning, so I was staying at a nearby hotel. Didn't want to wake up earlier than that and have to drive!

All in all, it was a great, low key vacation for me. I just needed a little time away from the cold weather of Indiana, really, so it wasn't going to take much to make me happy, there! But it's always good to come back home to your own bed, which I'm going to thoroughly enjoy sleeping in tonight.