There Could Be Aliens On Their Way Right Now

Actual conversation had by Hubs and I in the shower:

Hubs: Did you hear? Its official. There are aliens!

Me: Wait, what?

Hubs: Yeah, they found then in California at Mono Lake!

Me: Actual aliens? Like what kind of aliens?

Hubs: They found bacteria that live on arsenic.

Me: Soooo they didn’t actually find ALIENS, they found a new type of bacteria???

Hubs: Well, yeah. Buuuut it’s not organic life. It lives on arsenic and that means that other life could live on arsenic too and that totally opens up a whole new possibility for aliens.

Me: They find new elements all the time…

Hubs: Yes, but this bacteria isn’t organic (or something like that)

Me: Hmmmmm ok. If you say so. You really are a geek you know that? How do you even know this stuff?

Hubs: I read the internet.

Me: I thought you were super busy at work?

Hubs: There could be aliens on their way here RIGHT NOW...

Me: Yeah, I guess maybe

Hubs: They could be billions of light years away

Me: Yeah, but if it takes that long to get here they will probably die before they make it.

Hubs: Yeah, unless they…..(conversation trails off)

Me: Unless they what?

Hubs: I’m just saying…there could be aliens.

And that my friends, is the kind of world problems Hubs and I solve at shower time.

Reason #787890 I Love My Husband

I can't believe I forgot to log this post last week!

Last Wednesday (my birthday) after work; I worked out, came home, showered, and put on my favorite sweats---I've been wearing them since my days at good ole FAU. (Seriously, these sweats have been everywhere with me: Cabo San Lucas, Costa Rica, Hawaii, Bonaire, Jamaica, and over half the states here in the US. They've been through numerous moves, break ups, and sick/lazy days. And for the record: they are still going strong; I can even wear them to family dinner and my mother still hasn't demanded I retire them....although, I'm not sure she realizes how long these sweats have been in our lives.)

Anyway the point is this: I was wearing the sweats when Hubs came home. Our conversation went like this:

Me: You're Home!

Hubs: Happy Birthday, Birthday Girl!

Me: Yep...it feels good to be 23! Is that my present behind your back?

Hubs: Yes, here you go!

(I feverishly open the bag to find one piece long john PJs!

Me: Yay! If only they had a trap door

Hubs: They don't make trap doors for girls.

Me: Lame

Hubs: Try them on!

(Sweats come off. Long Johns go on.)

Hubs: They look good.

Me: Yay

Hubs: Are you ready to go eat Sushi?

Me: Yeah, I guess

Hubs: You don't want to go?

Me: No I do. I just don't want to get all dressed and stuff...can I wear my sweats?

Hubs: Oh course! Its your birthday!

Me: Really? I can really wear my sweats out on my birthday date and you will still give me bday action later?

Hubs: Uh Yeeeeeeah. Of course! Duh.

Me: Sweet!

And then the sweats went back on...Hubs even gave me some awesome birthday cuddles later on.

An Open Letter to Racing

Dear Racing,

I want to clear the air about my new found appreciation for you.  It's not that I love you; cause seriously, I could do without your drama. You're all hot one minute; making me feel good and then the next you make me wish I was dead.  Suuuuure the last time we hung out you were all sweet and told me I could do it.  (And I did...almost.) But normally you are a total butt kicker.

Anyway, since you were so nice last weekend my defenses were down and I agreed  (against my better judgement) to run with you again in a month or so (with more friends going a longer distance.)  Please don't make me look like a fool---AGAIN.  Cause, I had pretty much given up on you before last weeks race and then you go and be all sweet.  (You know, like a loser boyfriend that I know I SHOULD break up with but CAN'T because he sweet talks me out of it in the final moments.)

So, Racing, the point is this:  We can hang out only as a social event (meaning if I have friends running, I will run)---that is it.  And as long as my people are wanting to hang out with you---I will continue to come around but just remember I'm showing up for them...NOT for you.

Regretfully  yours,

Someone that wants to break up with you but can't....yet.

31st Birthday Weekend

My birthday week was pretty awesome! A four day weekend didn't really hurt either. It started with dinner and a movie with Hubs on Wednesday and then a wonderful day full of laughing, family, (and lets not forget AWESOME bday presents) on Thursday. We spent the day with my family and then went to Hubs' parents for the evening. It was a full day.

Friday I ended up running around with Juls and Bret and Mom most of the day. I remember why I don't shop on Black Friday but we still had a nice day. Then Friday night we went back to Hubs' parents house for leftovers and "Unstoppable." Watching "Unstoppable" with Hubs' dad is like the first time I saw "Bring it On' and I was all: "that's not real." But we still had a fun night.

Saturday was the best day yet. It was house cleaning Saturday. We basically cleaned the entire house from top to bottom and it was so nice when it was finished. At one point I came downstairs and Hubs had the refrigerator pulled out. Our conversation went like this:

Me: What are you doing?

Hubs: Thank goodness you were upstairs! You would have freaked out if you would have seen all the puppy food under there.

Me: Wait, you pulled out the fridge to vacuum?

Hubs: Yeah.

Me: Someone is totally going to get some A+ cuddles tonight.

Hubs: I pulled the drawer out of the stove and vacuumed in there too!

Me: Thank you Lord. I think I love you!

After all that work we decided to get out of the house and grab some drinks. We met up with a couple girls from my High School and we had quiet a lovely night out. Then Sunday, I spent some time with Mom and Juls wrapping presents before family dinner.

I'm not sure what we could have done to make my birthday weekend any better...maybe win the lottery?

The Big 31

Today is my birthday.  The big 31.  And while I mostly still feel like I’m in my 20’s a few things have definitely changed (in no particular order): 

• There was a time (not too long ago) when I could smell my own feet.  That’s right folks; I could get my toes to my nose with no problem at all.  A few weeks ago, I was sitting on the couch with Hubs and noticed that my feet felt a little sweaty (which sort of concerned me since I had just showered) so since they were in Hubs’ lap, I asked him if they smelled.  He made a gross face so I grabbed one of them and pulled it towards my nose only to realize I could only get it a little over half way and in the process made a sound like a 90 year old women had just stooped down and got back up.  I seriously thought my hips might have broken it was so loud!  I still don’t know if my feet smelled that night.


• My metabolism is not coming back.   Like Ever.  It’s a struggle to merely maintain my current weight.  And my love affair with food is growing stronger and stronger year to year. 


• There was a time my biggest “want” was a fun night out and a nice boyfriend.  Now my biggest wants revolve around moving into an actual house coupled with getting Hubs to load the dishwasher and pick up his clothes.


• I’m still not sure what ‘Get your Diamonds Up’ means….


• 4 inch heels are getting less and less comfortable.  And comfort wins out on fashion more times than not....nothing beats a good pair of fuzzy boots and leggings!


• Having a baby has turned into a high priority.  Cause seriously, I’m not getting any younger.  It was only a couple years ago my girlfriend and I joked around about having a 'community' baby...now I really want one of my own.

I’m sure this list will grow longer and longer the older and older I get but for right now, I’m hanging on to my youth as long as possible.  Sure I could have smelly feet while wearing fat girl pants but all in all it’s not so bad....

Gobber Grind 5k 2010

Last weekend I ran the Gobbler Grind 5k with a couple good buddies.  Laurie was super excited to run these 3.1 miles in under 30 minutes.  I thought she was crazy but we were so close!  Jacqui actually did finish in under 30 minutes---I was kind of jealous and it made we want to do one more so I can finish under 30 minutes too.  But I think instead of running another 5k we all decided to run the Groundhog Run 10k at the end of January.  So, we will see if my excitement lasts that long!

Small confession: I have to say that of all the races I have raced this year the Gobber Grind was by far the most fun.  It might have been the fact that I actually RACED Steve M's daughter Claire to the finish and it made the final moments a lot more climatic than just pacing yourself to the finish...

Pilgrim Pacer 2010

I have taken quite a little break from racing.  (Of course I use the term 'racing' loosely as I mostly just run and finish when I finish.)   But Hubs and I ran the Pilgrim Pacer on Saturday at Unity Village.  We were both suppose to run the 10k but I totally changed to the 5k at the last minute.  ( I've been running a little over 3.5 miles pretty regularly with a Jacqui and I knew I could do it...I just didn't want to.)  I completed the 3.1 miles in 34 minutes which is a little bit faster than I normally run so I felt good about my PR and I'm sure if I had ran the whole 10k I would have ran it quite a bit slower.  Overall, I had a good time and like the idea of doing just one event.

Next weekend is our last race of the year---the Gobbler Grind at Corporate Woods.  I have several friends running the 5k with me so I'm really looking forward to  a fun morning of fitness, friends and lots of laughing.  Afterwards, we are gonna have a celebratory brunch at Hamburger Marys (we are celebrating Laurie receiving her very first finishers medal.  There was an unanticipated lack of medals at her first triathlon and she felt a little cheated...so now she will totally have a medal to show off :)

Then, we done racing til the spring!  Yay!

It's Not Easy Making The Hard Decisions

I’ve never been able to understand how people could abandon their pets.  How do you drop your dog or cat or new litter of babies off on the side of the road and drive off?  I don't know how people live with themselves.  When I was growing up we found a litter of tiny kittens wondering around a car dealership way after hours. “We” convinced my dad (I wasn’t that old, maybe 8 so I’m not exactly sure who did the convincing but we ended up bringing these kittens home. And we kept one for it’s whole life (it “ran” away although now that I’m older I’m thinking she might have died and that’s just what our parents told us.) I’ve always brought home stray animals. I accidently ran over cat on my way to cheer practice once and brought her sweet kitten home (my parents weren’t quite as open to keeping that sweet baby but I still saved her from a motherless life on the streets.) And numerous dogs, I’m the first one to stop and check for a tag on a dog wondering around in a neighborhood, highway, or parking lot.

        So, I never understood how people could care so little for man’s best friend. But now I get it. Perhaps these people were just fed up. Perhaps these dogs were peeing in the house incessantly. Or pooping in the kitchen--- daily. Maybe the dog had destroyed doors, and kennels, scared every person that ever knocked on the door, and made himself bleed trying to claw his way into the house or out of a kennel. So, here it is: I’ve hit my limit with Tyson. Sure he has sweet eyes and loves cuddling but he poops in our home and is constantly breaking out of his kennel and destroying things.  I think the hardest part is knowing that it’s not really his fault. He is acting out. He just doesn’t fit into our lifestyle or townhome.  And he’s getting blamed.

       Of course, every time I bring up finding a home for Tyson, Hubs gets super upset. And I can’t blame him.  I can't imagine how I would feel if he were suggesting we get rid of Maggie. But the fact of the matter is this: Tyson just doesn’t fit. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not talking about dropping him at a local shelter. I’m talking about finding a family that has the energy and initiative to give him the time and attention he needs....

       So, when I broach this conversation, Hubs convinces me I'm being rash, I feel bad, and let it go.  And then, the morning comes when Tyson hasn't been walked and I'm greeted with a big pile of steaming crap first thing in the morning and I feel like putting him outside (in our unfenced side yard) and going to work.  

        I guess my question is this: When do you stop being the nice guy and start making the hard decisions?

North Dakota, You Can Watch Your Dog Run Away For Days

Over the weekend Hubs and I went to Fargo, North Dakota.  Yep, North Dakota.  We went with Hubs’ Mom to visit aunts and uncles and friends.   It. Was. A. Long. Way.  And it was a super quick trip.  We left Friday night after work and arrived at 3am-ish.  I was super tired so we didn’t even really say hello to Sal when we walked in.  We went straight to bed.  And then slept til 1030.  When we got up we visited with Alda’s (Hubs’ mom) sisters and then we ate breakfast (eggs and hash browns) and immediately followed it with homemade chocolate cake and ice cream!  Hello North Dakota. 

        After ice cream Hubs and I headed to Grand Forks.  It’s a smaller town about an hour away.  Grand Forks is where Hubs grew up.  When he talks about this town he acts likes it’s the tiniest township in the world; turns out it’s just a smaller city.  (They have a Cabela’s and everything.)   Anyway, I got to meet Hubs’ high school friends and see the house where he grew up.  It was an overdue history lesson.  I also got to attend my very first hockey game at UND.  The Souix are pretty fun to watch and I even got me a fancy schmancy UND Soiux hoodie (even if I did whine about going in the first place.) 

        After the game we ate with some of Hubs friends and hit the hay (that’s how they talk in small towns, I think) and in the morning we headed ack to Fargo where we had more chocolate cake and ice cream and then started the long 10 hour drive home.  Hubs slept most of the way back and I talked with Alda almost the whole way.  I don’t know if she just had that much to talk about or she was just making sure I was still awake but I really enjoyed it. 

        I don’t really feel like we had a weekend with all the driving and visiting so I’m really looking forward to THIS coming weekend.  I’m going to clean up our house and finally get some laundry done.   Laundry = Lame.

What's for Dinner?

A few weekends ago, I went to the Junior League Holiday Mart with a good buddy!  We walked, talked, laughed, and spent money---and it's turning out to be money well spent.

I bought a My Family Meal Planner thinking I would actually take the time to cook Hubs and I dinner during the week.  We are constantly waiting until 8pm an then ordering pizza because we have no other plan. So, this planner provides 4 recipes a week complete with a shopping list.  We started on Sunday and we're on day 3.  Each day makes 4-8 servings so we have leftovers; which means we really don't need more than 4 recipes a week.  And so far, they have all been delicious!

My favorite part   The meals are already planned (with healthy, close to the earth ingredients) so all I have to do is go to the store with the preprinted grocery list and make dinner..absolutely no thinking involved!  Monday, was Beef Stroganoff with tons of mushrooms (Hubs and I don't even like mushrooms) so I chopped them up super fine and we both loved it.  So, we (aka I) have resigned ourselves to trying everything in the planned order and then making decisions about what to remake the next time around.

This meal plan is changing our lives.  I love having something homemade to eat that only takes a few minutes to prepare.  It also makes me feel like I'm doing something nice for my Husband.  Hubs used to take the lead on all things cooked.  I'm hoping he likes the real food as much as I do; although I'm pretty sure he would say he loved it even if he didn't...I got lucky in the Husband department :)

Home Repair Hubby

It is no secret Hubs is slightly less than handy around the house.  Anytime he says he's going to take on any sort of home repair I usually have my dad on standby.  Dad is super handy.  So, you can imagine my concern when Hubs announced he was going to fix the bathroom sink and my dad was in Nashville.  I had a choice:  believe in Hubs or strip him of any and all faith, I decided to let him go for it.

                He goes upstairs.  I stay down to clean up the delicious breakfast I made earlier.  The last thing he needed was a lot of supervision from an overly nervous wife looking over his shoulder.  A few minutes go by and then I hear him yell, "DO NOT COME UP HERE!)  I think, "0h, great.  It's the water heater debacle all over again...."  But I stay downstairs.  There is nothing I can do if he decides to flood the entire upstairs. 

                A few seconds later, Hubs yells, "I need a grocery bag!  Bring me a sack, NOW!"  And of course I'm thinking, "a grocery bag!?!  That's definitely not going to hold a lot of water." 

                Nothing in the world could have prepared me for what I saw/smelled the moment I walked into the bathroom.  Poor Hubs had taken the pipes apart and was covered in the disgusting-ness that was in our bathroom sink: tons of black sludge and a poignant smell that could clear out a room immediately. After a few minutes of gagging and pushing stuff down into the pipe to get the clog it finally fell out and I seriously thought Hubs was going to throw up.  (I of course was sitting on the side of the tub giggling like a school girl.) 

                Moments later our sink was back together.  No leaks.  No clogs!  I guess I should give Hubs a little more credit in the home repairs department.  He did a great job and I only had two panic attacks in the process.  Oh, and did I mention that this entire project took place while he was wearing his trap door pajamas?  I really should have gotten a picture of that view!

Reason #455998 I Love My Husband

Long Johns with a Trap Door.  Yep, that's right.  A Trap Door!  No joke.  I want a pair. 

(I would post a picture but he was none too excited the day I "accidentally" posted a picture of him in his underwear from our vegas trip.)

 

545 AM Crossroads Bootcamp

I have been talking about waking up early and getting my workout on for...YEARS!  I always thought about awesome it must be to get up, get your workout done and not have to worry about it after work or later in the day?  Well, I finally did it.  I did it this morning.  And it feels great!

Usually, I SAY I'm going to get up and then when the alarm goes off I can justify snoozing for about 2 more hours but today was different.  Today, I was at risk of looking like a total flake to a new friend and so when the time came I couldn't back out.   Yesterday, said friend asked me to get  up and workout at 545 and I was all SURE! I'll be there!   But in the back of my mind I was thinking...suuuuuuuuuuure I'll be there (wink wink.)   I'm awful at saying no (Just ask the Alpha Sigma Alpha directory sales women or the young adults selling magazines door to door for inner city kids in Philadelphia even though we live in KC.  I bought both.)

So, instead of flaking out and looking like a total lazy bum I set my alarm and actually got up.  No snoozing at all.  The workout went by crazy fast. Then I had some breakfast, took a quick nap, and lounged around the house for an hour before I finally got moving for work. Which still put me ahead of schedule.

I know I've said I'm going to do morning workouts a million times but I might actually make them a regular addition to my week....well, not EVERY day, but maybe a couple days a week!  I feel greeeeat!

On My Mind This Week

These last couple weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions and craziness.  It feels like every time I get a handle on one thing...another things needs attention.  I suppose that’s just life though.   So here are a few things that have been rolling around in my head the last week or so:

• Work is still hit or miss.  I think I had a pretty decent October; however, somedays my phone barely rings.


• My love affair with Fusion Fitness has taken a little bruising since the remodel (which produced monumental amounts of dust.) I'm super excited for the remodel to be complete and we can get back to taking our shoes off.


• Which brings me to my next topic.  I cheated on Fusion with Crossroads Bootcamp and loved it.  Bootcamp is a closer drive as it’s on the way to/from work so I’m going to use the 12 session Groupon I bought and then make an informed decision as to stick with Fusion or switch to Bootcamp for a while....I can’t (aka refuse) to pay for both.


• Hubs and I had a conversation (well really I talked and Hubs listened) that might have been better had under different circumstances (someone, I'm not pointing fingers here, might have had a little too much wine before said conversation) but the jest of it went like this:  be an active part of our little family (me and our puppies), do some chores once in a while or I’m keeping my townhouse to ensure I will have a place to live when I get tired of cleaning up after him---Sooooo.  Dramatic.  Well, now he’s being super helpful and present and while I love it; I also feel like I might have been a little hard on him...after all, he is my husband and I really didn’t mean to scare him into thinking if he didn’t get over his aversion to loading the dishwasher I was going to leave him.


• (For any boys that read these posts, I apologize in advance)  Earlier this week I was on the receiving end of a Hysterosalpingogram and we found out that all my lady parts are working fine.  (You know, in the baby making department.)  The doctor assured us everything was good and that this particular test had a tendency to raise the likelihood of baby making 10-15 and in some cases 20%....so, with no blockages and a higher likelihood of the baby making stars aligning we have definitely been thinking about what life would be like with a little Bambino in our house.


• Oh, and speaking of babies, I have been hoping for Baby Heide’s delivery this week but the little guy seems to be holding strong inside momma.  So we definitely have something exciting coming up in the next few days!  I cannot wait to meet this little guy!

Only one more day til the weekend. We have a pretty fun few days planned: bday party tomorrow night, game night Saturday, and a quiet Sunday home with Hubs watching football and eating pizza which I’m really looking forward to (the spending the day with Hubs part, not the eating pizza part although pizza is pretty darn yummy and a staple in our household.)

The Carters are Moving....Soon-ish

Fall is here.  Again.  It seems like it was just fall a few weeks ago.  It feels like Hubs just got engaged last week and our wedding was yesterday.  But infact, another year has gone by and we are looking down the barrel of another winter.  (I'm hoping for tons of snow, obviously.)  But with the winter holidays rapidly approaching I can't help but think of last year.  Back when Hubs and Tyson moved into my cozy little townhome and the holidays came and went.  I was confident we would not be living in the same place this time next year.  In fact, I even packed our entire holiday decor collection in my parent’s attic because I was planning on being out of our house by now.  But here we are a year later. 

            Don’t get me wrong, we haven’t just been sitting around not doing anything.  Hubs and I have made some significant progress on our next move.  We found a neighborhood we love, a corner lot right by an elementary school and even paid a small down payment to secure the future site of Casa de Carter.  We have a floor plan and a builder however; this particular builder requires a 5% down to start building.  Which is totally fine by me; the more we put down in advance, the lower our payment!  We could have put the money down already but we've spent some time paying down debt and making sure all our ducks are in row when it comes time to apply for an actual loan.  It has been a slow and tedious transition from spending to saving but we are doing it.

            We did have a couple opportunities to move out of our townhome this past year but I was unable to pull the trigger when it came time to actually pack up our stuff and move. I hate change.  My mom refers to me as a free spirit and while that may be true in a lot of aspects of life I can struggle with change---I drove my Eclipse for an entire year after I decided to get a new car because I wanted to get a car I would love just as much as my old one and I force my family to sit in a completely different seating arrangement when I'm at dinner because I HAVE to sit next to mom.  It was no different when I backed out of an opportunity to sell the only real home I've made for myself since moving out of my parents house.  Sure I've moved a lot and gone a lot of places but something about selling the home I bought and built during my independent late 20’s was more than I was willing to give at that point in time.  So, now we can only hope for another opportunity to sell when the time is right.  



            Looking back at the last year, I think I needed this additional year to make peace with the fact that Hubs and I will actually be moving. We moved in, got engaged, and married in the matter of months so I think I might have needed a little more time to get used to the idea.  But now our home is little a cramped seeing as it's packed to the rim with everything a young couple and two dogs need to get through life and I cannot wait unitl the day I can get out of my car without running the gauntlet of bicycles and puppy kennels.  We should have the remainder of our down payment by the end of the year and we will start building in Dec/Jan. with a move in date the beginning of June-ish.  I'm comfortable with this timeline and am really looking forward to finally taking a step that we've spent so much time talking about....