EPIC continued....

Sooo, I have been up & awake for about 20 hours now.  I don't even feel tired.  Ok, well, maybe a little.  Normally when 8 - 9 p.m. rolls around I need toothpicks to hold my eyes open.  That was so not the case today, not once have I felt tired.

I did make one last trip to the stores and then took the kids to the Y to run off some energy.  It helps that a few other friends were doing the same so we all met up.  We let the big kids do their thing & us moms camped out in the jungle gym and let the younger ones run around & play.

When we left for the Y it had just started to snow & get windy.  By time we left the Y it was picking up considerably.  My first picture I shot while driving home.  (Yes, I was driving and operating my camera at the same time.  As you can see I at least waited until no cars were coming at me to be safe.)

When Jim got home from work he started to shovel.  He's such a trooper during these times.  Lately work has been crazy, beyond crazy and he has been given no choice but to pick up all the slack.  As a result he's been delivering mail in addition to completing his postmaster duties.  Some days (like today) he's been out delivering 1 1/2 routes.  That's a lot of mail to carry and for quite a distance too.

Shortly after 5 I took this picture.  I wanted one last good shot before it got too dark. This is looking out my kitchen windows.  First let me clarify that the snow in this picture is not piled up from the ground.  There is a metal awning that covers a portion of the patio directly behind the house.  So the snow is resting on top of that, which is about 6 feet tall.  Even so I can usually easily see the top third of my van or so.  Now I can't see my van back there at all.

Since there is no school tomorrow I did some kid swapping.  Nina went & spent the night with one of her friends and I in turn got 2 other girls.  It's been a win-win situation for everyone.  It's nice for the kids to have their friends to hang out with to help pass the time.  In turn, the 4 older girls made up several batches of chocolate chip cookies for me.  Tomorrow I plan to get even more busy with the cooking and with many helping hands it should go much quicker.

Once it got later in the evening, the younger kids had played plenty of xbox & computer games and watched a few too many movies.  So I pulled out some puzzles to do with them.  At first I got some grumbles about my requests for them to join me.  Once we got going though, we really had some fun.

Next, I moved onto this puzzle.  It's Neuschwanstein, a castle in Germany.  Jim & I have been to that castle before so it has special meaning to us (ok, mainly me cause I'm the sappy, sentimental one).  I have the border done.  I could go work on it now, but I REALLY need to go to bed.

Tomorrow I will bring you more updates from our epic snowstorm.  I hope to get up with the first light of the day to get some pictures before the city comes & plows through the street.  At one point it looked like we didnt' have a street at all.  Just a field of snow between the houses.  The house next door has a drift about as tall as me.  Which, ha-ha, yeah I know that doesn't mean it's THAT tall, but it's still an impressive looking drift.  As of now it's been reported that a full 12 inches of snow has fallen in our city and more is yet to come!!!!!

EPIC

Surpassing the usual or ordinary, particularly in scope or size or heroic and impressive in quality.

Right now that is what we are sitting around & waiting for.  In case you are living under a rock or have no connection to this portion of our world.  I'm talking about the big winter storm of 2011. Said storm is being compared to the storm in 1979.  I was only 3.  I honestly don't remember that storm.  But don't you laugh, cause I know MANY people that were not even alive at that time.  It's all a matter of perspective.  So while I don't remember, at least I was alive : )  I remember a lot of other big snow storms, but yeah, this one is sounding pretty epic.

It has me in a little crazy tingly giggling like a little girl in anticipation frenzy.  It's been crazy around here for the last few days.  Stores have been bombarded with business.  Everyone rushing around trying to get everything done.  And what else can we talk about????  The impending storm!!!!!

We are ready.  Even if I had not gone to the store we would have been ready to stay in for a few days.  I went to the store anyway and stocked up even more.  My plan is to cook/bake like crazy.  Fill my freezer full of goodies.  Even then there should still be plenty of time for blogging, wasting time of facebook, watching endless movies with the kids, etc, etc.  Of course, assuming we don't lose power.  That could prove interesting.  Backup plan would be playing lots of board games, coloring, doing jigsaw puzzles and *gasp* bonding as a family ; ).  I have enough candles to last us at least a good month.  Either way, we'll be ok.

I am excited...beyond excited to see history unfold.  I promise a lot of pictures will be taken (not that that is anything unusual for me) and memories will be made.  I want my kids to grow up & not only remember the "storm of the century", but how we "survived" such an epic event.

I got nothin.....

I'm sitting here trying to come up with some great excuses reasons as to why I haven't been bloggin.  And, yeah....I got nothin'.  What I do have is several things to post about so we'll just start there and just focus on putting one foot in front of another. 

This is going to be a collection of pictures & things for me to tell/show you.  Sit back, maybe grab a bite to eat & enjoy : )

Carmen started swimming lessons.  It is tradition that when a Peterson turns 3 they start the swim program at  our local Y.  I keep them in lessons until they start kindergarten.  By that time said child is able to swim on their own and enjoy the recreational side of the sport.  So here we are at the start:

 



Believe it or not, I have not gone sledding since I was a kid.  I have played out in the snow plenty of times, made several snowmen.  But no sledding since I was 10 (?) or close to that age.  I can distinctly remember that time of sledding.  My sisters & I walked down to Eversmeyer Park on Orange St. and we spent hours sliding down the big hill.  Quite honestly since then I've just been too lazy to bundle up, drag the stuff out to the park and sled.  Yep, 25+ years of laziness right here.  And it's not that I don't WANT to or haven't THOUGHT about it.  I have.  Plenty of times.  Most of my kids have done it, it's just with other people...while their mom sat at home sipping hot cocoa or something.  Ok, in my defense I'm sure some times I had a good excuse.  Like having a large soon to deliver a baby body or a newborn who couldn't possibility be out in the cold weather.  Yeah, those two excuses alone covers a good portion of my adult life.

So I finally did it.  Bundled us all up, dragged the stuff out to the park & we had a BLAST!!!!  It helped that I met up with a friend.  I had also bought John a snowboard for Christmas and wanted to give him the chance to use it.  It was good snow.  It was also VERY windy which made it less than "perfect" conditions.  But we braved the elements for an hour or so and made some good memories.

I called this my redneck sled.  It didn't work quite like I  imagined, but we had fun trying.



I joined in on the fun too.


John was a good big brother & showed Andrew how to handle the board.


John participated in a ice fishing derby.  It was held on a busy day for our family so Jim & I were not able to take him our self.  A wonderful man from our church was willing to take kids out even if the parents couldn't.  John had a great time.  He caught 3 fish and won the award for catching the longest fish.  Not bad for a first time ice fisher (or really much fishing at all.  he's gone a few times, but not really a lot).
My best friend Mandy had her second baby.  She wasn't scheduled for her c-section until Jan. 31.  Due to some complications she delivered 2 weeks earlier than that.  Mom & baby are fine.  I was able to go over that day and spend some time at the hospital and see this precious baby girl.  Can I just say....how nice it is to be on this end of the spectrum.  I've gone through this with my sisters, but as far a friends, she is the only one that I ever have and likely ever will be close enough to share in the deep intimacy of this special part of life.  This means even more since she struggled through over 10 years of infertility and in the mean time fertile myrtle here popped out 6 kids.  So yeah...how nice to be on this end of the situation.


The same day I went to go over for the birth of Lexie (pictured above) my parents watched Carmen for me.  Due to school the other kids were left behind and many of my friends pitched in to cover for me while I was gone.  It was nice for Carmen, the youngest of 12 grandchildren, to get some 1 on 1 time with the grandparents.  She is particularly fond of her paw-paw as you can see here.


Super Bowl?  Eh, who cares?  For any Bears fan the game that mattered more was the big play off game between the Bears & the Packers.  Yeah, yeah, we know.....the Bears lost.  Go ahead Packer fans, rub it in.  Well, someone had to lose and we will still hold our heads high as Bears fans.  We had a great time by having some friends over for that big game. 




I think I could start a whole new blog on the antics of Carmen alone.  She is somethin' else!  Can't help but love her even more.  So here are a few Carmen moments:

Taking Barney potty.  Aka:stalling on going to bed.  She is a master at this (stalling).  This was a moment of pick and chose your battles.  So Barney going potty was not worth the fight.  Carmen happily crawled into bed once Barney had performed his big boy duties.

This was one of the few spots that I thought Carmen could not reach/crawl/climb up to.  Well, I guess not anymore.  She busted herself though cause while most of the time she can climb back down, in this spot she is stuck.  So she had to call me for help.  I know I should have scolded her, perhaps lectured on how that is not a good idea & very unsafe.  But she does these things and when I find her she is so stinkin' cute.  Look at that smile.

Ok, big pat on my back for getting this done.  It only took me 3 days to finish it all.  Take what you can get people and come back for some more.

One of "those people"

Normally I am not one to spend extra money on our pets. They get their annual shots, food, water, etc. Basic essentials. We spoil them like crazy. Let them sleep in our bed, snuggle on our laps, get carried around like a baby. Those things don't cost money, so we dish them out in excess.

I've seen dog outfits before. Yes, we oooh and aaah over them, but then I look at the price tag and say "NO WAY!" Pricing can be very subjective and in the eye of the beholder. I'm the first to admit that I am way cheap-o when it comes to these things. But honestly if I won't spend $15 on a pair of jeans for myself I sure won't pay that for a cute pink puffy coat for my dog.

I came across these outfits in the bargain bin at Target. The first one I bought (not shown below) I thought was $1 which is why snatched it up really quick. I later realized it was actually $2.50, but I still liked the price and bought a few more then next time I was in the store.

So I never thought I'd be one of those people who dress their dogs in outfits, but for the right price I guess I am : ) Come on, admit it....these outfits are cute!!

Yo dude....wassup? Just chillin with my hoodie on.

One last race for '10

Jim & I participated in a 5k on New Years Eve. I also did this race last year. The two experiences were quite different. Starting with the obvious of the weather. Last year it was 13 degrees out, it was windy & snow covered the ground. I literally sweated blood during last years race. If you want to full story, ask me some time. It's very funny in a racing/running kind of way.

This year it was a balmy 53 degrees out with very little to no wind and not a flake of snow in sight. I was a little concerned because when we left the house it was POURING down rain. I would have ran in it, but it's not my ideal racing condition. Luckily, before the start of the race all the rain cleared out & it was actually on the sunny side. While the warmer temps were nice it was almost a little too warm for what we were used to. Just a few weeks ago I was running in single digit temps and then a sudden jump to this. I didn't wear any layers just long sleeves & pants and that was a tad too much. Better to be over dressed than under dressed in my opinion.

Going into this race I wasn't sure what to expect. I haven't ran a 5k since August. If you remember that is when I was battling an injury and then had to take a 6 week break from running all together. In the mean time I underwent some physical therapy and found out that my injury was brought on by my bad running form. I know I've lost some speed, I'm ok with that. But I've always had the ability to race much faster than I train.

Anyway I'm ok with a slower pace cause in a nut shell I've completely revamped my form and had to start from scratch in this area. I've also shifted my focus to longer (much longer) distances & that is different than only focusing on 5k pace all the time. I don't really train for 5ks any more, I'm more of the mindset to train for 1/2 & full marathons & ultra races (anything longer than a marathon). I just go out a run 5ks from time to time.

I was hoping to at least run a 8 minute pace. I'm horrible at guessing what pace I'm at & in a race atmosphere I don't want to look at my ipod which tracks that stuff for me. So I just ran, trying to not go out too terribly fast, but wanting to push myself and uh, race : )

They provide mile splits so at least at those points I knew my pace. But between mile to mile am I maintaining that pace? I'm horrible at guessing and I know from my past race results that I'm notorious for slowing down each mile. I was surprised to hear my first mile split was 7:30. Then my second mile was 15 so I kept right on pace (good for me!) I finished at 22:58 You gotta factor in that extra .10 of a mile and that put me at a 7:31 pace.

As far as Jim's racing experience I can't really speak for him. I can tell you that he finished in 25:58. He told me that he was going to try & keep up with my pace. Before the race I said I hoped to at least run an 8 minute pace. Jim has been able to run at the pace in his daily workouts so that sounded attainable to him. Well, I didn't keep to that pace, mine ended up being faster. Jim kept up with me as long as he could (which was longer than I expected) but eventually cut back to what he was comfortable with. His finish time was right around the 8 minute pace so he still met his goals and that is great!

Beyond all that Jim doesn't process & discet his racing/running like I do. We are just wired differently when it comes all of this. We train differently. We are motivated differently. We take different approaches to racing. We are just different. But, it's great that we are out there doing it "together".

Anyway, I got carried away. I try not to carry on with all my running & racing lingo. But, ya know, sometimes I can't help it it just flows out of me. So here are some pictures:

Jim & I before the race:


Me, right after I finished. The kids never seem to get a good finish line picture, but are always right up on me when I am done.


Here I am with my award. Andrew (5) took the picture. I kept sitting there smiling and when I finally said "take the picture" he took the picture. Go figure : )



This girl I'm standing next to is in Mandy's class. So that means that I am easily old enough to be her mother, although her dad was quick to note that she was as tall as me : ). This girl is quite a gifted runner, she is amazing and top notch for the jr. high field. We both finished 1st in our age group and I finished a few seconds behind her. She was actually a good motivational marker for me during the race. I saw her ahead of me & used that visual to push myself to keep on running hard. I didn't quite catch her, but was happy to finish right behind her.

Christmas recap

I was a little sick last week. It was actually just your basic cold. I tried to ignore it & "do it all" and I eventually crashed & burned. I finally just got the Christmas letter & picture finished & mailed YESTERDAY! Note to self: you are not the young spring chicken that you used to be!

Plenty of good Christmas memories were still made. I managed to get the traditional picture of the kids under the tree. This was an especially amazing feat as I got the cat (Bella) & dog (Martina) in the picture too. It took SEVERAL tries and a lot of patience, but it happened.


Another favorite memory made was getting the Luna sister picture taken. I always try & get this taken when all of us Luna girls are in the same place at the same time. We haven't had one taken since May 2009. I know that doesn't sound like too long ago. We are all together once every year or two. I still like to capture that moment and the family that GOD chose us to be. Unlike our friends, spouses, in laws, etc. we literally have no choice over who is birthed into our families. I personally don't like to argue with God & his master plan. So even though I may have a different personality than my sisters & we don't see things eye to eye & I at times wonder how we are possibly related & honestly they at times drive me completely crazy...I LOVE them because they are my sisters!!


My last great memory of this year (there are many more, I just picked a few highlights) was getting this Barbie doll. Let me go back & fill in some of the details. For the first time in I don't know how many years Jim wanted us to buy each other Christmas presents. We had gotten into the habit of just making it about that kids that we stopped buying each other gifts. This was hard for me cause gifts is one of my main love languages (more of me giving, but I have no problem receiving either), but I managed. I gave Jim a list of gift ideas for me. That list did not include any Barbie dolls. He got my a very nice soft plush bathrobe, a new pot less coffee maker & other things. But he also got me this Barbie doll. When I first opened it I was confused. Since it was a bride barbie I wasn't sure if it was to somehow symbolize our wedding from this year or what. I just sat there confused and like "okkkaayyy????". So Jim explained. The week earlier when we had our Luna family Christmas I had told my niece that I had NEVER received a Barbie doll while growing up. I have no idea why I brought that memory up, something spurred the conversation and I mentioned it out TO MY NIECE, not Jim. To clarify, we were not really poor while growing up, but we didn't have much either. My oldest sister once got a Barbie, I think for her birthday. In the big 80's boom of barbie dolls when every little girl seemingly had one or several it was something that we never really had in our home. Just the one and it was my sisters. I remember being very aware of my friends having them & wanting one too. I obviously grew up & turned out to be a fine woman of society despite that lack of plastic doll influence in my life, but I tease that I never had such an iconic item in my life. Jim, over heard all of this and then went out & bought me my first Barbie to be received as a gift. He told me "you said you never got a Barbie & I wanted to be the person to make that childhood dream come true." At this point I'm choking back the tears. Wow! This gift meant more than anything cause it truly came from the heart and I love it!!!!

Christmas greetings to you & yours....

I've been sick and still trying to function amidst this holiday hustle & bustle. The Christmas letter & pictures are still sitting on the dining room table, gifts are still unfinished for friends & extended family members, so much blogging has been left undone!!!! I've turned on survival mode, which meant a lot of sleeping took place and barely anything got done. I am physically feeling much better (but not nearly close to being 100%) and I'm just going to let everything else wait to be dealt with in a few days. It will still be there, right, and you all won't mind some extra holiday cheer after the actual holiday. Afterall, we all know that is not what the holiday is all about anyway. Time to check out of all the hustle & bustle & spend time with the family & focus on the real reason for the season, the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.