It's Saturday....

I am rounding out my 60 hour work week today with my last 10 hour shift.

This morning we had our running club from church, and I did 2.5 miles. When we all got there, Kyle our coach was there. He looked like he was all warmed up, so I asked him how much had he ran this morning and he said "only 4 miles so far"..... amazing!

Well, we've had alot of activity at our house lately in terms of realtors coming thru. We had 2 at the beginning of the month, we had one this past Thursday, one Friday and 2 today!!! Some body's got to buy this house!

Well, gotta go get ready. Have a great soggy wet day!

Keep running

Still working tens at work... hard to get a solid night sleep.

Oh well, I did manage to run 2.5 miles today at my 5.5mph rate. Here's a picture from last years Valentine's day run in February. I won't be able to do that run this year, cause our church is having a couple's retreat that day, and Jeromy wants to go, how can I refuse him when he wants to spend the whole day with me talking about LOVE and stuff??? Still want to run tho... LOL. This run was great cause it was the first one where all 5 of us ran as a family- it was awesome!Other than that, everything else is going good.

Kent got the results from his final in AAF math (advanced algebra functions), he tied with another student for 3rd highest test score. And he's in second place for highest grade for the overall class... not that any one's keeping score... Kent's just amazing! And in his own words "I am quite pleased". He cracks me up. He had his AP chemistry final today, he said his brain hurts! And then tomorrow he has his Japanese 3 final.

Since Jade's at the college, she's right in the middle of winter quarter, so she doesn't have finals for a few more weeks.

Speaking of Jade, I got to go pick her up from school right now... then go to the bank... get gas in the car.... run to Costco... then go put in a 10 hours shift.... hey, homebody's got to do it!

Hey out there....

Not much going on, other than work. I am working 10 hour shifts right now.

Kids have there school time as usual, Jade had to go to off-campus to take her math test. I also had to make an "unscheduled" appointment for Kent to have his braces looked at. That kid NEVER complains about pain, he finally told me the other day that one of his teeth has been sore for 2 weeks. Wow! I would have been in to see the orthodontist the next day! No point in suffering right??

Well, I brought him in, and they said they didn't see anything weird, but the gums did look inflamed. So they took off that one bracket, it was a circle of metal that went around the entire tooth in the back. Anyway, he's got to use a different technique when flossing now, and he should be fine. I just hate thinking of him in pain, cause he doesn't tell me.

Ok, enough with the teeth talk, and how much I worry about my baby!

We had Tessa over last night. We did our nails yesterday...

Here's me getting ready to leave for work, and getting attacked with hugs asking me to stay home from work... you don't know how bad I wanted to stay home!!!After I left, Tessa and Jade did some drawing and made a cake. Tessa took some pictures but I can't find them Tessa! Oh well, I'm eating a piece right now, and it tastes great!

Getting ready to drop Jade off to her sculpting class. Have a great day!

Y U P....

I can officially check the 35-40 box on forms that I fill out now.

Thirty-five years ago, today, my mom was happy to not be 9 months pregnant any more!

It's been a pretty busy weekend, but that's the only way we know how to do it!!!

We had Aurora with us this weekend which was great cause my mom wanted to take all the girls out for Misty and my joint birthday lunch. Misty just turned 34, and I just turned 25- woops I mean 35, hey where did the last decade go????

Well, grandma took us out to lunch at a nice little place in down town Poulsbo. Here we were all out side the restaurant. It was really good- I had whole wheat ravioli filled with artichoke and cheese, covered in a cream sauce with more cheese and some kind of seeds on it- come on it was my birthday!

Kelsey, Misty, Katie, Aurora and Jade....

After lunch we headed back to my mom's house for cake... looks yummy! And it was...

Here are those birthday girls! Katie and Misty!!! I still think we look 25 and 24 Misty, not 35 and 34. Not that I'm not happy to be the age I am, just not diggin' the lines in my forehead, or the new aches and pains that pop up out of no where.... but my mom says just wait, it gets better!Here's the group of girls again, Aurora, Katie, Kelsey, Misty and Jade....Wow, the group pic just keeps getting bigger! Here we added the boys that hung out with grandpa while the girls were out.... Denny, Mason and Kent. I agree with you mom- Kent is getting TALL!!!We weren't able to make it to Denny's skate party last night, so we got him a little present today... here's his cute 12 year old face....This picture was kinda funny, Aurora was eating all the cake around the frosting... some other news, Aurora's mom is having a baby in May. Aurora already has a little sister that is 8 or 9, and now she's going to have a little brother in May!This picture is kinda blurry, but here is Jade and grandma- the woman who made it all possible, thanks mom!Then after all our fun, I had to rush off to... can you guess? Another party you say? To a massage? Another fun thing? Sadly, you'd be wrong. I was forced into work saturday, working a 10 hour shift from 3pm to 1am sunday, which technically means I was working ON my birthday- only an hour but STILL!!! Well, it wasn't that bad, and the extra money will be nice on the next paycheck.

And when I came home, I got a card from the kids and Jeromy had a card for me and some flowers- so sweet. And Jade and Aurora must have had a good time cause they left me a note saying they made some videos with the toys they were playing with... they are so cute....

If that didn't do it for you how about this one....

So now we are to today, my official B-day. We went to church this morning, I was a little tired but the sermon Pastor Kevin gave today was awesome! I'm so glad I'm saved- can't even put it into words how grateful I am!

While at church in the kitchen area before it started, I was ambushed by Trig and Smith kids, and one Crawford with balloons, wonderful homemade cards and presents! Then Laura got everyone to sing happy birthday, it was awesome- thanks you all!

My counter is looking pretty nice...So since we had Aurora with us, she wanted some Trig kiddos to come hang out for a while. It's great cause Nadia and Tae' are 11, Aurora is 10 and Beriah is 9. They are all about the same age. So they like to look at funny videos on the computer with Jade. Here is one they think is funny....

They've been copying it and saying it all day and laughing, so I told them they should practice it and then I could video it so you all could see what 9-11 year olds think is funny... well, and one 17 year old, too, Jade is just a big kid at heart. I love that about her.

Now, I am really tired. I had a great birthday, thanks everyone. I even got a special call from my grandma Shield this morning. Love you grandma!!!

So as you've probably figured, I've eaten alot of junk today, so I definitely need to run tomorrow. That is the plan.

Have a great week!

R U N N I N G

I jogged 2.25 miles today @ 5.5 mph.

I need to get back up to my 3 mile base.... but I am happy to be running steady at 5.5 mph!

WOO- HOO!!!!

Another great sunrise...

This was actually taken yesterday morning on the way taking Kent to school...

Here's a little closer... isn't it beautiful??

Jade had taken a couple more pictures of her sculpture... here's the last picture she took for me, you may remember...She said it is supposed to me a woman, so she did some more "tweaking" as she put it, on the face...She added some ears...She added hair...And auntie Mary, this is for you.... (read her blog if it doesn't make any sense!) HAHAHAHAHAHAI ran 2 miles today also, had to test out those new running pants J3 got me!

Have a great sunshiny (while it lasts!) day today!

Great 3 day weekend!!!!

First, here are those amazing pictures of Jade's sculpture she's working on in her college class. Here's where her teacher had everyone start out with a ball of clay, and they had to shape the skull first... then add the "flesh". It's interesting cause I would have thought you'd start with a big ball of clay and kinda work your way down. But they start with the skull shape then add more clay and work their way out...

Here's where she added the "flesh" for her first project I think she's doing absolutely AMAZING!!!!

Here's the profile shot...

Jade also made dinner one night last week, and I told her to be creative. So she did! I also told her she had to name her creation... she named the dinner "Jade made this up!". She's so original!!

Ok, here come the party people! There are alot of birthdays in January! First, it is my nephew Denny's birthday, and he is 12, on Saturday, January 16th to be exact! I got this off my sister's blog, and Misty- I had to ask my kids what a psp was, cause I can't keep up with all the computer stuff LOL! Here's Denny, almost a teenager!!!Then it was my sweet grandma Shield's birthday on Sunday, January 17th! I forgot my camera, but my mom sent me her pictures.... still waiting for the pictures Kimmy said she'd send me :o) but when I put them in my blog they came in super tiny- LAME!!! They were great pictures, too, so get your magnifying glass out... here's my grandma- Happy 92nd birthday, and remember... only 8 more to go till your reach 100, but why stop there?? Here's Linda and I, looking kinda similar here... maybe it's the straight dark hair :o) and gorgeous faces... LOLHere's Kimmy, Linda F., Linda J. and ME!!Here's my son Kenton, who is no doubt taller than me... he's a sophomore ya know! Here's the Forsmann family!Some party crashers...There were alot of 4 generations there, here's ours: Lorraine, Cindy, Katie and Jade....Here's another one: Lorraine, Mary, Laura and Hannah...Ok, I know it's not quite my birthday yet, but my mom always taught me that it's really your birthday MONTH! So some of you lucky people (or not so lucky) have seen my in my favorite pair of sweats, that are covered with several splatters of different color paints... and yes- a couple of holes- but they are so comfortable! So anyway, Jeromy got me a new pair of sweat pants and a pair of cool running pants!We also finally got a new phone for the house, so if you've been trying to get thru on our house line, you should be able to get thru now LOL....Hey- how'd those cute Trigs get in there??? Tessa and Beriah...Since my actual birthday I want to spend with my whole family, Jeromy wanted to take me out to dinner tonight just the 2 of us... to the Olive Garden, one of my favorites... waiting with the pager for them to call us to our table...Yummy dinner..... happy couple... shiny forhead.... ggrrrrrYEEESSSSSS- chocolate cheese cake... yes- I'll be running tomorrow...Did some more organizing/packing/de-cluttering... we're still hoping to move, but if nothing happens in the next couple of months than we'll just have to refinance and stay here, which also has some benefits, too, it's all on God's timing.... can't stress about it...The girls wanted to help...We also found time to go look at a house that we are interested in. It's kinda far out tho... it's in Vaughn (sp?) which is in Pierce county. So I don't know about that. But it's a brand new home 2008, over 2100 sq. ft., one story, and almost 6 acres- I love that!!! This picture is kinda dark....And finally, my pal Tessa, showed me some of the pictures she had taken. Cousin Laura had taken a bunch of the kids on a homeschooling field trip to the underwater museum. I really really really wanted to put the video of Laura singing/dancing to the rap song while driving, but Tessa said Laura said she better not blog it, so I guess I won't either, but trust me it was hilarious "put your hands in the air- put 'em down low" LOL! Anyway, here's a couple of the museum, this is a great place to take kids to explore....Well, that's the end of our weekend fun. 3 day weekends are pretty fun, I actually feel well rested. It's like those first 2 days you're just trying to get caught up on all the stuff that you couldn't get done during the week day, so you never really get to relax it seems, so having that 3rd day is really nice.

Hope you all had a great one!

And Michelle- I noticed you blogged, love it, your kids are so adorable, love you guys!

Sculpting class...

I asked Jade to take some picture of her sculpting project she's working on. She's taken a few- and of course I think she's amazingly artistic. But when I sat down to blog it, I noticed her camera isn't here, it must still be with her and she's in class right now!

Bummer, I will post them soon tho, or you can go to Jade's blog she's already posted them. You can get to her blog by going to Laura's blog, she has hers on the right side of the screen.

Have a great friday and stay dry out there.

Please pray for the Haitians....

Wednesday...

Yup, it's Wednesday.

Wish I could have more exciting news than that, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. Staying busy with the kids and their schedules.

More fun info to come soon I'm sure. But until then, here's a cute picture of Jade and Kent taken 10 years ago, right after their first ever (mine, too) one mile fun run. Look at those rosy little cheeks!

Have a great day!

The 4 letter word... M...A...T...H

From this day forward, Jade is going to live, eat, breath and sleep math for the next 5-6 months. She has always struggled in math, but I have found that she is also somewhat lazy- I'm putting that very nicely- about math, and those are two combinations that will not help her.

She has less than 6 months to graduate, which makes less than 6 months in which she needs to understand and pass math. We had a real tough time this morning coming to this realization.... with some major frustration and tears on both our parts- Jade and I that is.

Not sure why I'm writing about this, mostly just venting I guess. Jeromy is on board with helping with the whole "living, breathing eating math" thing, I also called her dad in California so he could impress upon her the severity and importance of the situation.

Ahhhh, OK, there.... I vented... it was alot worse this morning, but we are managing.

Help us in praying for Jade to find her self-motivational skills and self-discipline for math, to know when to ask for help, and not "fudge" information and pass if off like it's ok.

Oh yeah, I was done venting. She's a great kid, we all know that. But she's almost 18 and she needs to hone in on that self-discipline.

WOW...

All I can say is just look at that sunrise above, every time I look at it I just stare, it's NOT a painting, it's our sky- BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

more to come later....

Wonderfully relaxing day!

I spent most of the day in the kitchen. I was going to be working over time today, but it was cancelled as of 11am this morning. Could of used the money but being home is even better!

So, I just felt like working with food today! I made french toast this morning- yum! This blog is full of food pictures, but can you believe I forgot to get a picture of that??

But I got a picture of this fruit and vegetable parfait, and guess who it's for... the chickens! I'm not kidding!

So after breakfast- for us and the chickens, Jeromy and I went to go pick up his truck he got- it's a '95, he brought it to get it looked over by a mechanic. And let's just say Jeromy's not happy with how much "stuff" was wrong with it. The repairs cost double what he bought the truck for... he wants to drive it over a cliff now. But at least it will run for him for a while. I forgot to get a picture of that, too, next time tho...

Ok now back to the kitchen... I wanted to try to use my new food saver for packaging cut up apples. We usually get thru all our apples, but some times a couple of them go bad, and I thought this would save me even more time with getting my lunch ready for work...

This is sooooo cooool.....

Took a little break for lunch time... I made chicken sandwiches with alot of other yummy stuff added...

A little intermission from food... here's Jade drawing....

Kent just being plain cute... playing on the computer....

Ok back to the food... I still had a ton of salad stuff so I wanted to make more salads for work...

Letting the salad dry really good after washing it, I think these salads will be even better with with less moisture trapped inside....

Labeling the bags, I want to get 2 (maybe 3) uses out of the bags, cause they are reusable, but I don't want to have a salad in a fruit bag just in case there's any lingering smells, don't want to cross-contaminate ya know.... ya I got issues.... but I'm ok with that!

Washing the cherry tomatoes- I just started liking tomatoes, and rinsing the kidney beans and black beans.... they taste really good on a salad and so much fiber to make you feel like that salad is really filling you up!

I made 10 more salads, now I have 4 weeks of individual salads to take to work, and there's still left over lettuce, spinach and broccoli for the rest of the family to have with their dinners- tons!!!

I did a few more peppers, now I have salads, strawberries and blueberries, peppers and apples that I can just grab and go... woo-hoo!!!

So sweet!

Just in case you weren't sure how much I love this machine, I took a video!

The kids worked on some homework this afternoon, too. They are getting near to the end of the semester with their off-campus work. We also got Jade's grades back from her first quarter of college... do they still call them a report card when it's college? Well her GPA for her 4 classes was a 2.8. She did really well in 3 of her classes, but she really struggles in the sociology class, that grade (which I'll leave out for Jade's privacy) brought her average down, but I am still so proud of her. And she loves going to college!

We have alot of eggs to eat up cause those chickens are on laying overdrive or something. So I wanted to make my own version of Hobo hash- as Jeromy calls it! I've been trying to think of a way to use these potatoes.... and here it is... added some yummy Lipton seasoning, a little bit of virgin olive oil. It called for alot of it, but we all get upset stomachs with too much oil, so I use a little and substitute the rest with water and flax seed powder....

While that was baking, I chopped up some turkey sausage and mixed it with some scrambles eggs....

Then mixed it all together- it smelled so good.... I love breakfast dinners...

Jade and I ate it just like this, but Jeromy and Kent wrapped it up in a tortilla shell...

I guess this blog really is all about food today. I thought I was done, but Jade wanted to make a cake for dessert! Here she is getting the cakes ready to frost....Yum, sweet cake and SUPER SWEET GIRL!Before we indulge with the cake, we're all running out to Barnes and Noble, one of our favorite places to go as a family. Jade had ordered a couple of books that came in. Then J3 wanted to go rent a movie- hopefully we can find something good.

What a great day, I'm so glad I didn't have to go into work.

Happy weekend!