Monday, January 10, 2011

Backgrounds, Frostbite, and Unicycles

Hello faithful reader (s?)!

Well,well,well... Lookie here.

A new background! I spent the weekend with a hunky tech support extraordinaire learning the foreign language of blogger command script. It was no small undertaking! Who knew there were so many little details to perfectly line up?! There are still a few things that aren't mastered in the new layout... but its a welcome change for now. Thanks, Tyson! I just might be ready to mess it up... I mean... try doing it myself next time!

Getting excited (and by excited I mean sweaty palms, pit in my stomach, would rather eat a handful of live bait lets get this over with) about learning to swim soon. Step one in operation amphibeth: stop whining and sign up for a tri already (I still havnt committed to which one Im doing). Just as soon as it warms up a smidgen... I'll be hitting the lanes, and deciding how long I need to prepare. Its been fffffreezing cold around here lately!

On Saturday, Bethany and I started off early for a rather ambitious bike ride/run route we had all mapped out. We got about 4 miles down the road and just about drove head first into on coming traffic to end the icy misery it was so cold. That is the closest I've ever come to frostbite/hypothermia, there were nasty visions of trips to urgent care and amputated body limbs flashing in my brain. 2 days later I am finally feeling (almost) warm again, and have regained feeling in my toes and fingertips- which I wont be taking for granted anytime soon! Note to self: invest in windproof gloves, pronto! Do not pass go or collect $200 until obtained.

Speaking of $200...

I had a sweet lead on a guitar from a craigslister. I got real excited about it... and in typical craigslist fashion, he didn't get back to me like he promised and fell off the radar. The search continues to find the right beginner for me to learn on... I'm trying hard to be patient and not buy a piece of junk, but not get more than I need or will use either. I did find a great teacher... and I have a hunch we'll really hit it off. She was really hard to get in to... she has a tight schedule with her demanding friends, work schedule, family life, and all the athletic ambitions she is continually aspiring toward... Bethany Sobraske, you've got your work cut out for you, but I can't wait to get started! ;)

The kids are back in school and I think its been a welcome event for all of us. Dawson got to be the "sea star" of the week the first 2 weeks back from Christmas vacation so he had that to look forward to. His pals Sarah and Connor are sharing the honor with him, they have a special wall dedicated to them for the duration of their shining moment, and Dawson filled out the cutest survey I have to share. I could kick myself for not taking a picture of the finished product but here are a few highlights from what I can remember:

Q: What is your favorite food?
A: Artichokes.

Q: What do you want to be when you grow up?
A: A daddy.

Q: What is something you are really good at?
A: Playing video games with my dad.

Q: What is something you need to improve on?
A: Unicycle riding.

Imagine a world where every adult thought being a dad was a dream career, and the thing they fell most short of was riding a unicycle.

Kids are so stinking precious. I hope mine never grow up.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

Bucket List

I don't know about resolutions. I think its good to have a business plan for your life... and keep it updated regularly. Its strange to me that theres all this pressure to, like, make a list of all your shortcomings that you intend to improve on just because its January 1 and you're supposed to.

I do, however, think self improvement is ALWAYS a good thing! Its hard to make a list of things you want. Theres that weird pressure when its in writing... like you're on the hook to follow thru! Its kind of scary and dangerous... at least that's what I'm telling myself. So here are a few new items for my list of life goals this year.

I want to do a triathlon. I will probably hate it and do only one, ever. I don't swim. I don't like it at all, its icky and creepy and cold. But I will follow the girls I roll with right off a cliff... and they tend to jump off some pretty steep ones. The crazy thing is, I find myself enjoying the fall right along with them! I would never have dreamed this would be any ambition of mine, but thanks to Bethany and Kari... I can honestly say I want it. Even if it means I have to swim (gulp!). I am going to start with a sprint distance and go from there. I haven't officially signed up yet for any yet... stay tuned~!

I want to learn to play the guitar. Before Im 30. I have awhile to go... but I have a pretty full plate. Its going to take me some time. Its just something I've always felt like I needed to be able to do, but never got around to making it a priority. Funny thing how nobody just hands you time and money and materials and says "OH, did you want to do this?! Here you go!" So ya. I want to do that. Part of it is for me, but the bigger reason is my kids. I want them to see that its never too late to try something new. I want them to not be intimidated by new experiences, but be interested and challenged. Even if its not the guitar. I just want them to know that if you want something bad enough, make it happen. And I want to know that myself too. Its a small thing, but I think it will be a good thing.

I really really need to get better at technology. Am I the only 27yr old woman on the planet who doesn't know how to load her own Ipod or burn a CD? As you can see... I changed my blog background. It was an accident. I can't fix it. The tech department is a little backed up around here and... ya, basically its just ridiculous. I need to learn to do these things. I don't want to, I have no interest in it... but I think my kids will laugh at me, and I may become socially obsolete before my time if I don't join the rest of my peers in the 21st century. Dang it.

So yah. Those are a few things Im thinking about in terms of self improvement this year. We have a wild agenda in 2011... looking ahead we have a family trip to Disneyland planned in February, A wedding in the Springtime (Carly's gettin hitched!!), A class reunion this summer, our baby girl going to kindergarten in the Fall... Tyson is turning THIRTY!!!!, and by golly... WE ARE going on some kind of honeymoon for our 10 year Anniversary in September. Yep, thats right. I said 10 years. I can't believe it either. And I can't wait.