service makes me smile

remember this post about becoming a missionary for our church? well there are no shortages of service opportunities let me tell you. and i actually felt bad that i couldn't do a last minute teaching with a family last weekend. i am slowly realizing that i just simply won't be able to do everything all the time. i can and will say no sometimes. but with that said, i will also say yes to opportunities when they present themselves and i am available. and they certainly do. right now my week has filled up with teaching women/families, babysitting to help out and helping one gal practice to take her driver's test, namely parking. i've never taught this before and i sure hope i can teach her well. and i never did have to parallel park for my test 15 years ago in oregon.

i avoid this whenever possible.

i want my life to be fulfilling and happy.

i also value my time.

i value my time with my children, with my husband and my alone time.

 right now i am finding joy in my time spent helping others.

i will leave you with these wonderful quotes.

“The best antidote I know for worry is work. The best cure for weariness is the challenge of helping someone who is even more tired. One of the great ironies of life is this: He or she who serves almost always benefits more than he or she who is served.”

― Gordon B. Hinckley, Standing for Something: 10 Neglected Virtues That Will Heal Our Hearts and Homes 

 “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

 “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
― Rabindranath Tagore

 “God does watch over us and does notice us, but it usually through someone else that he meets our needs.”
― Spencer W. Kimball

 “Though my work may be menial, though my contribution may be small, I can perform it with dignity and offer it with unselfishness. My talents may not be great, but I can use them to bless the lives of others.... The goodness of the world in which we live is the accumulated goodness of many small and seemingly inconsequential acts.”
― Gordon B. Hinckley

“You are what you do, not what you say you'll do.”
― C.G. Jung

spencer w. kimball and gordon b. hinckley were presidents of my church before they passed away. 

great leaders. great men.

spencer w. kimball, 12th president of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints.

gordon b. hinckley, 15th president of the church of jesus christ of latter day saints.

i relate to the last quote because i feel like i am just another person in this huge world trying to do a few good things when i can. if i see a need somewhere i try to fill it. nothing big, nothing newsworthy. just simple acts that simply help.

when was the last time you helped someone?

when was the last time someone helped you?

can you parallel park? did you have to do it on your driver's test?

tuesday's workout:

1 hr cycle class

23 min stair climber tabata 110 "off" 155 "on"

30 min weights - back and biceps with burpees in between sets for 80 total burpees

35 min family fitness class - fun with kiddos

stretch

today's workout:

40 min insanity pure cardio

5.75 mile elliptical resistence 11-14 incline 16-20

1 hr bodypump

stretch

take good care of them

 running has been absent from my life for the longest it has ever been since i began running nearly 13 years ago. my last run was friday may 3rd

through this time and injury i have learned a few things.

1. take good care of your feet.

1/4 of all your bones are located there.

stretching is vital! i knew this but grew a little lazy with this one. i mean why stretch when you can spend that extra time getting in another mile?

down dog is my friend.

calf stretch calf stretch calf stretch!

this injury has also brought me to these.

i got these spencos on friday night at start line in minnetonka.

best investment of the month!

i have learned how bad flip flops are for your feet.

but these beauties are made for plantar fasciitis victims (yes i am a victim).

they have support in all the right places.

2. it's important to cross train.

lately i am keeping fit by 

cycling 

insanity

tabata

elliptical

bodypump

stair climber

swimming

i have been creative with getting my heart rate up.

and i might be getting it up more than running with some of these activities.

today on the elliptical (which i absolutely hate btw) my heart was pounding and i sweated just as much if not more than my equal time spent running.

but i am missing my beloved running dearly.

the fact that i had to get this injury just as outside running became available daily makes me more sad than anything.

3. patience

i am learning patience.

i will continue to stick with some "boring" to me activities because it is worth it to keep up my fitness.

cycling is heavily on my list of YES activities and possibly this injury has brought me closer to it.

road bike - yes please

mt. bike - got it and will be doing more of it this year!

 and speaking of biking,

since matt's been off school for the past week we have had some time together.

wonderful. glorious. time.

family bike rides are one of my favorite family activities.

i can't wait til these 2 are old enough to really ride with us.

but until then this will do.

and these just happen to be the cutest heads i have ever seen.

i got to stare at them for the first 1/2 of the ride.

at one point paisley had her arm around her little brother's head and he was resting on her shoulder.

little sweethearts.

when the weather gets humid her hair gets super curly.

like mother like daughter:)

and i'll leave you with this tonight.

episode 1 we were hooked.

tonight episode 2 just hooked us a little tighter.

amazing and inspirational show

on netflix.

do you bike?

favorite cross training workout?

- technically mine is boot camp but the only classes offered at my Y location begin at 6am. no thanks!

are you a huge flip flop person like me?

- maybe it's time to invest in some quality ones if you haven't already.

i was wearing $2 ones from forever 21. and impressed that they've heald up beautifully for 3 years.

ha!

friday's workout:

5.15 miles elliptical between 12-20 incline and 10-14 resistence

1 hr bodypump

stretch

saturday's workout:

40 min cycle

20 min stairclimber

30 min tabata cardio

15 min core

20 min swimming

stretch

monday's workout:

6 mi elliptical between 10-14 resistence and 16-20 incline

1 hr bodypump

40 min insanity pure cardio

5 min abs

stretch

bullseye

this specially designed plantar fasciitis heel sleeves work wonders! 

seriously!

another trip downtown for a makeup job.

this time it was for real.

there was an aveda contest for the students.

sadly shaneka didn't win it:(

but in her defense, there were quite a few really cool makeup jobs there.

this is what the top floor of the school looks like.

super fancy.

and yours truly all dolled up.

i NEVER i mean never wear this much makeup.

a little eye liner and powder on the t-zone and i'm ready to roll.

it was all pretty natural looking which i like.

but the eyes were definitely darker than i'm used to.


tonight matt was in the basement for a few hours.
 which allowed me to watch this lovely movie.
got me thinking about adoption.
that would be something!

 anyway,
he came up and showed me his masterpiece.
too bad he didn't think to take a before pic.
it was chipped gold and old looking.
a handmedown from his parents since i don't own a helmet.
what?
all my bike rides in the last 5 years have involved children, how fast could i possibly ride?

i love it!
and the kenny gump?
nice touch:)

remember this post about food storage?
he also organized this room.
our food storage room.
wow.
it also looks amazing.
all these big cans were in boxes sitting on the ground.
basements are famous for flooding so he elevated the shelf and the boxes.
what a guy!

this shelf came with the house.
but the food didn't;)

oh and he hung this dart board according to height regulations.

i was yellow.
not bad for a first try.

do you like to wear makeup? do you get fun with it?

ever play darts?

wednesday workout:

30 minutes tabata stair climber - 110 "off" 160 "on"
50 minutes fitness yoga class
45 minutes cycle
30 minutes tabata class
30 minutes core class
a little swimming with the fam. a few easy laps
stretch - a lot

thursday workout:

1 hr cycle class - new to me instructor. a new fav. kicked my booty!
20 minutes stair climber
30 minutes weights - chest, triceps, shoulders and core
stretch

little of this and my new best friends.

these are my mother's day cards from paisley.

she was adding to this stack daily and keeping them hidden in her room for the past 2 weeks.

love that girl.

she nailed the brown hair, brown eyes - red hair, blue eyes eh?

i just LOVE that we are holding hands in the sunshine with rainbows.

my hubby finally finished his bike and gave it a good ride on mother's day.

he and his dad rode out about 15-20 miles (?) to give his mom (matt's grandma) her mother's day card.

really though, these 2 just wanted to ride.

crazy guys!

matt's bike scares me. i cannot ride it.

 while they were out on sunday. julie (matt's mom) and i took the kids to a couple of parks.

this KOREA jacket was from matt's uncle (no longer with us) when he did some work there in the 80's.

the front of this sweet jacket has matt's name in cursive.

oh and here is a shot of my aveda makeup job by shaneka yesterday.

i go tomorrow morning for her competition.

i hope she wins!!!

today i headed here.

while i waited i read this.

i remember reading the "highlights" magazines at the dentist when i was a kid. i loved them then.

and still think they're fun.

i wasn't too impressed with what the dr. had to share.

he did take x-rays and the good news is i don't have a cyst or arthritis!

but i do have plantar fasciitis.

or racist feet as my husband jokes:)

lovely.

the dr. highly recommended minimal shoe running and barefoot running.

with the thought being that i am a heel striker and running minimal will over time teach me to run as a ball or forefoot striker. and then he said once i have trained my body to run that way i can go back to wearing normal running shoes.

hmmm......

not sure what to think.

while i believe there is some truth in that i may be a heel striker (although i have been paying extra attention to this since my injury) i am not sure i like the idea of no support running.

he then proceeded to tell me that he himself runs barefoot. wherever.

really???

i will be doing some experimenting and research on this per his recommendation. but i am also going with my trusty pro marathon running friend's recommendation and will be field running when i get back to it.

tonight i let go of a few of those responsibilities i talked of yesterday and  babysat for a good friend in need.

they had a great time of course:)

so today while i watched my friend's kids and toted the kids around town in the 96 degree heat, my thoughtful hubby made a special trip to a running specialty store. i am a runner and have never been to one of these. what is wrong with me?

so these are my new best friends. i spent some time with all of them tonight.

and that is time well spent.

he talked with the lady for a while and bottom line =

i need to wear shoes with support.

i need to be icing and stretching and massaging preferably multiple times a day.

my break from running so far = 10 days tomorrow!

i will listen to the dr. on that one and give it at least 3-4 weeks.

longer if needed.

but i do hope i am able to run again by the time i go home to my parents in mid june.

running is my main form of exercise there.

and it will most likely be beautiful!

the workout:

1 hour cycle class - dripping:)

20 min tabata stair climber - 110 "off" 160 "on"

30 min heavy weights with burpees in between

(back, biceps, 50 total burpees)

check in

wow. did my week just fill up fast!

today was packed full.

mother's day was amazing. special treatment for sure at church by all the men. a nice lunch with matt's parents and a few different parks.

tomorrow and wednesday are going to be so packed during the days. with workouts, appointments (yes i have a podiatrist appt. tomorrow), modeling for my friend in beauty school downtown, babysitting for another friend so she and her hubby can go to his school/work party, more modeling, more workouts, more appts. wednesday!

i am a bit overwhelmed just thinking about the to-do list.

so this is just a checkin.

i am here and doing well.

just busy up to my eyeballs.

and of course LOVING every minute with my hubby now that he has a moment to breath before summer classes begin.

more later (hopefully tomorrow) with pics :)

the workout:

5.55 miles elliptical (incline 15-20, resistance 10-14)

1 hr bodypump

 *life is not so exciting without my love, running.

**but at least i can live vicariously through joseph and matt.

they did about a 12 miler this morning on the minnesota river trail (about 2 miles south of our house)

perfect outcome

well today didn't turn out they way i had planned.

but it did turn out great!

matt went to his parent's house (35 minutes west) to work on his project (he's building a custom recumbent bike with his dad) his dad rides one and he wanted a riding buddy so he's helping matt build one. and it is way cheaper to build one (as long as you know how) than to buy a new one put together.

he wanted to stay there through the afternoon.

i had another plan for the afternoon that involved free child care while we did church service.

he was not interested.

i can see his point.

the day after an intense finals week. he needed some free time.

so the kids and i had a nice afternoon home and waited for dad who then promised a night on the town to make up for the whole day away.

5:30 hit and we were still home.

we got a random call from our friends saying they would babysit our kids so we could go out for a bit to celebrate.

what?

how sweet, and yes please!

the catch? if you could call it that.

he wanted to go mt. biking with matt afterwards.

fine and done.

they actually left at 8pm.

so happy it stays light later now.

matt said they had a really nice ride and saw some deer and birds.

happy. win-win!

totally unrelated but i realized we sure have A LOT of gum in the house right now.

i use this as incentives/rewards for the kids.

getting ready to go play with friends at the park.

so while matt and i had a few moments to ourselves we used a groupon that i bought a few months ago for a place called "chatterbox pub".

there are 3 locations in the twin cities and this one was great. 

they had tons of games to choose from to play at your table.

i saw.....

operation,

yatzee,

scrabble

and this one below to name a few.

oh and this is what a winning battleship board looks like;)

the food was not just delicious. it was all homemade.

bbq sauce

ranch

my veggie burger patty - which was SO amazing. i could tell there was a nice mix of beans and spices but that's all i could tell.

the fries were sliced round and cooked that way. they were perfect and not greasy at all.

onion rings = nailed it.

matt got the ribs (only $10.95)

fall off the bone good and lean too

you know a place is good when they make and bottle their own hot sauce.

my veggie burger up close.

ketchup mmmmm

oh and as we were leaving we noticed this by the door.

how could we pass by this without a few shots?

and a little bit of this happened.

now i consider myself a froyo expert.

there is but one place that remains my forever froyo love.

yocream by the portland, or airport.

my husband banked one of the owners and i found out the secret to their success.

it's all about the machine that they use.

the main location by the airport was set up with the most expensive yogurt machines available on the market.

thousands of dollars.

they are not all made equal.

so while the yogurt itself may taste delightful, the consistency will be totally off. i.e. too water/runny.

yocream's yogurt is thick and super creamy.

that's the difference.

i could tell right away this froyo was watery.

but what they lacked in consistency they made up for in flavors and toppings.

they had coconut, tiramisu and salted peanut flavors that we tried. they had a ton more flavors.

we just wanted a little taste.

those bumpy pink balls = yogurt covered poprocks!

pure awesomeness!

are you a gum chewer?

i'll chew it once in a while, it's mostly for the kids.

did you play any of those games as a kid?

what games did you play?

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all you female readers.

(probably everyone but my dad)

the workout:

75 minutes fitness yoga class - wonderful and i must surely do a post on yoga soon:)

3.5 miles on the elliptical 10-12 resistence

50 minutes insanity upper body weights

16 minutes insane cardio abs

stretch

 

 

brain development and a fancy park

i'm sitting here listening to my little boy in bed talk about his friend's and what kind of private parts each one has. it's funny cause i don't make up little names for their parts. i tell them what they are called and that's that. so with his 2 year old pronunciation and lisp. it's pretty cute actually. i remember learning when paisley was little that a kid who talks in bed to themselves have great imaginations and developing brains.

score.

(nevermind the content)

moving on.

it was a fantastically perfect day here in the twin cities.

i originally had planned to take the kids to the children's museum in the afternoon to give matt the house for his final few hours of studying.

but it was so beautiful that when i got out of bodypump my friend had texted me for a playdate in the park instead.

not passing up a beautiful day in the park.

especially with friends.

as you can see, minnesota doesn't mess around building parks.

they go all out.

something for every age and interest here.

well, now i am playing the waiting game.

matt should be home from his last final any time now.

and when he does, this will be waiting for him. 

what can i say? the man loves fancy pop and cheesy popcorn.

and this is hanging on the door frame for right when he walks through the door.

paisley drew a picture of him studying in his office.

it's going to be a great summer indeed.

matt will have such a low key schedule.

well deserved and earned.

on a sad note. my heel hurt the most it's hurt since the heel madness began.

and i haven't run on it in a week.

not sure what is up but i think i need to make an appt. on monday.

i've never been seen here in minnesota for anything.

should i go to a family physician first?

or do i go straight to a podiatrist?

physical therapist?

i have no clue. which is why i haven't done anything about it.

easier to ignore it but i can't ignore it anymore:(

have a great saturday!

we have a special afternoon planned.

do you have a favorite park?

or place to go outdoors for a hike, ride?

 the workout:

45 minutes bodystep - which probably contributed to the heel pain

15 minutes tabata on the stair climber 110 "off" 160 "on"

1 hour bodypump

16 minutes insanity cardio abs

stretch