a confidence boost

I had a nice conversation with an old friend a few nights ago. I confided in him my hopes (and fears) of doing an Olympic distance triathlon this summer. He was very supportive and encouraging.

I also had my first long swim of training this morning before work. The kids were already at daycare, so I wasn't as conscious of my surroundings as I usually am when I swim half expecting an interruption from the gym's kids club. I was totally focused on my swim and it was awesome! My training called for swimming for 40 minutes to build endurance, but didn't provide any additional guidance, so I took it one lap at a time. I felt good enough to swim free style without any breaks the entire 40 minutes. I really pushed myself the last 8 or 10 laps so that I could swim an even mile (32 laps). I'm really impressed with myself and feeling much more confident about an Oly Tri.

Happy 2015!

I'm not going to get all sentimental about the new year, but 2014 was so full of changes for me that it is worth a recap and the opportunity to put some of my goals in writing.

Fitness. 12 months ago, I would have never believed that 2014 would be the year of fitness for me. I discovered my inner athlete and haven't looked back. Even though it scared the pants off of me, I am so glad that I put myself out there and signed up for that triathlon. Since I started keeping track in September, I have run 113 miles, biked 89 miles, swam 6 miles, completed a triathlon and 2 5ks. I probably did 50 hours of yoga this year, too, including learning to do headstands, side crow and bird of paradise.

I've come a long way with learning to play the piano this year, too. I am still not good enough to share on the interwebs, but I'm getting there. Maybe this year.

Work was another surprising addition in 2015. It was one of those things that just happened so unexpectedly and with miraculous timing. I'm so grateful for my job and the wonderful people with whom I work. Ask me how I feel after tax season though. :)

Goals for 2015

Play the piano 15 minutes per day. (I'll give myself a little bit of leeway during tax season though.) I'd really like to learn "Do You Want to Build a Snowman" and a nice version of "Come Thou Fount."

Scripture study or similar every day with no exceptions. I started listening to readings on my phone while I would get ready for bed. That really helped me. I could also start listening in the car on the way to or from work.

I feel kind of sick to my stomach to write out my fitness goals. They become official when I put them in writing. My big goal is to do an Olympic distance triathlon. (Eeek!) 0.93 mile OPEN WATER swim, 25 mile bike, 10k run. I've only found one race that works for me. The Clackamas Cove Triathlon is June 21st. Tax season is going to be hard on my training, so I'm starting tomorrow.

I would also like to do 2 more sprint triathlons, the annual RS tri at the end of September and the Wahine Women's Tri (also an open water swim) at the beginning of August. The Wahine Tri also has an option for a kid's triathlon. That's going to be amazing for Liam. He will be so excited.

I may run the Lake Run 10k in May if I feel up to it. I don't know yet. It's not a priority, but would fit with my training. I'd mostly do it so that Liam could do the kid's run. If we go to Florida for Thanksgiving, I would LOVE to do the Space Coast Half Marathon. Mostly for the bling.



I don't know if I can make that happen this year. We'll see.

October Round Up/ November Goals

I'll get to our Halloween pictures soon, but it's the first of the month and I really don't want to neglect my Happiness Project for even a day. October was pretty successful. I took Liam somewhere or did something new or especially fun with him almost everyday. I still have to caulk and paint his bookshelves, but his room is mostly in order. I'll post a picture soon of the awesome reading pillow I made for him. I didn't end up buying a dresser, but I cleaned all of the baby things out of his closet, so  his closet is mostly in order. I didn't get around to the top shelf though. I need to do that still. I sorted through his baby clothes and got a little money for some of them at a consignment shop. Dan thinks one of his coworkers may want the rest. His 2 year old photo shoot took about 15 minutes in our backyard on an overcast day, but I loved the results.

I think the fall weather has helped me to slow down and appreciate my time with Liam a little bit more. He loves to be outside so I tried to spend more time outdoors with him. We spent about half an hour a few days ago watching a caterpillar climb my tangerine tree. Liam loved it and asks to see the caterpillar almost every time we go out the front door now.

One thing that I realized during the last month is all of the little things that I don't know how to document yet am afraid I will forget. How am I going to remember the way that Liam drums his little fingers on my arm when we read books? Or the way he bobs his head and bounces his feet in the car along to the music? His hilarious use of the word "sometimes?" Two nights ago, he was up in the middle of the night and wanted desperately to sleep in the bed with me since Dan was in the other room. Liam usually comes to my side of the bed, talking the whole way up about "want to sleep in Momma's big boy bed." By 5 am, he realized this wasn't working, so he crept into my room very quietly, went over to the other side of the bed and tried to sneak up so that I wouldn't notice him. It was so funny and so cute, even at 5 am. Before I know it, he isn't going to want to give me kisses anymore or "hold you" or sing with me and I will miss these days.

Part of the Happiness Project is to build upon your resolutions, not just keep them for one month and forget about them. As October ends and November begins, I still need to do fun things with Liam everyday and keep his belonging in order, but it's time to start on other things as well. I thought that November would be a good time to focus on our Home. The challenge with that is that I need Dan's muscle and input and we have exactly zero empty weekends on our calendar for November. Mind you, I have no problem operating power tools or painting an entire room by myself, but the biggest thing we need to do around here is get the spare bedroom/craft room/junk room cleaned out for Baby Girl. That means I am going to have to clean out and reorganize Dan's office to make room for my stuff and I can't do that without him.

Here's what I can do:

• Leave no dirty dishes on the counter overnight 
• Leave no clothes on top of the dresser overnight
• Steam clean the carpets in at least the common areas 
• Buy flowers and light candles
• Sew the curtains for Baby Girl's room 
• Take a Christmas card photo 
• Always give big, happy greetings 

I took that last one directly from Gretchen Rubin's book. Her daughter came up with the rule that the family always had to give affectionate, attentive greetings and farewells. Dan usually leaves before I wake up, so we'll just stick with greetings. It should be a simple way to welcome each other and make our house feel more like a home. Wish me luck! 

October Week 1

I started October, my month of focusing on Liam, with a trip to the zoo. We go pretty often, but hadn't been in a while. The weather cooled down just enough that it was tolerable in the early morning. 

so cute in Momma's hat

Liam is starting to get to the age where he has strong opinions. These opinions are not always convenient for me, but I try to let him have his way when it's not a big deal. He insisted on pushing the stroller without any assistance from me. "I do it! Let go!"

A litter of capybaras was born since our last visit to the zoo. They are pretty cute.

Me and Liam's favorite part of the zoo is the kids' discovery area. Liam likes to dig in the sandbox, play with the toys and see all of the little critters in their cages. I like that it is inside in the air conditioning.

It's nice to finish our visits to the zoo with some time at the splash pad. Liam is tall enough that he can wander the whole area, with my close supervision of course. I'm the mom sitting on the rock in the middle of the splash park with my pants rolled up and my feet in the water. There weren't a lot of kids out, so Liam had the boat to himself.

clean, dry & ready to go home

 Our play group has started weekly trips to playgrounds for the "fall." It's is still way too hot to be outside for very long, especially since my kid wants to be pushed in the swing in the full sun instead of playing independently while I sit under the shade. He actually did do very well this week. We hadn't been to this park in a while, so I was surprised at all the new things he could do.

As part of my goal to get Liam's room organized, Dan and I put up bookshelves in an odd corner in Liam's room. I still need to caulk them and touch up the paint, but they are functional for now.

On Friday, I had the opportunity to go to a painting class. My sister came over and stayed with Liam while I was gone. When Dan and I went to this class a few months ago, it took me weeks to finish my first painting. I was shocked that I did my second painting all in one class and I love the way it turned out!

When I got home, me and my sister made a cape for her Halloween costume. She said I could post these pictures as long as I didn't say her name or put them on facebook.

In other news, Liam is doing pretty well transitioning to his big boy bed. There are still nights when it's an hour and a half past his bedtime and he's still getting up that I put him in the crib and call it a night. Last night was kind of rough. He got up several times during the night. It wouldn't have been so bad, but I stayed up late watching football. Eventually, I let him sleep in the bed with me.

I do love that I wake up to him and his frog over the side of my bed and we have a big cuddle-fest every morning. I know these days are limited, so I'm trying to enjoy these precious moments.

I love this so much. 

Bathroom Makeover

As part of my 2012 goal to get my house painted, I spent a couple weekend in January redecorating the hall bathroom. It's one of those rooms that had never been painted and was looking builder-basic-blah when I started. 

I have a toddler that likes to unroll toilet paper, hence the toilet paper on the counter.

I am really proud of this room. I did about 95% of the work by myself, including taking the tank off of the toilet and putting it back on. The only thing that Dan did was cutting the beadboard and trim with his table saw.

I love it. I thought that the aqua might be too bold, but the beadboard helps to tone it down enough. I still need to figure out storage over the toilet. I've got a few ideas in mind, but I haven't decided yet. I'm also planning on adding an orange chevron pattern to the bottom of the shower curtain. I've got the materials, I just need the time and will power to do it. I also might frame the mirror and refinish the light fixture in the future, but those are pretty low on my to do list.

Liam was a big help with this project. He has his own mini paint roller. He watched me nail the beadboard to the wall and now thinks he has to hit the wall with whatever he has in his hand when he goes into the bathroom. Monkey see, monkey do.

2012 Goals

I really sucked on my 2011 goals. Big time! Postpartum depression and the reality of having a baby really blindsided me.

2012 will be another big year for Liam. I hope that the "terrible twos" don't hit him too hard. In April, he will start going to the nursery at church. Dan wrangles him while I teach the 4 year old class, so it won't make much of a difference to me. Dan will lose his reason to wander the halls and eat Goldfish instead of going to Sunday school though. I hope that he will find his voice this coming year. He is just starting to mimic sounds so I think he is on his way. I also can't wait to start coloring and painting with him. I hope that we can use the stroller a lot less as well.

Dan is doing really well with his job. He is expecting a nice raise and perhaps a promotion with his review this year since he finished his master's degree last April. I hope that Dan and I establish regular date nights in 2012 and get our relationship back on track.

I want to be a bit more realistic about the goals that I set for myself this year. I really need to lose some fat and gain some muscle. I started a very simple fitness program and have kept it up for 2 whole days! It really isn't enough though. I have to eat better, drink more water and end my addiction to sweets. Maybe this will be the year. I feel like grocery shopping will be the key to healthy eating for me. I am not exactly sure how to turn all of these hopes into a specific and time-based goal though. I'm going to continue to think about it.

Something I know I can do is turn our house into a home. I will give myself until the end of the year to have all of the house painted. It is totally ridiculous for us to have owned this house for 5 years and still have builders' white rooms. Dan was off of work today and we cleaned house. I was in the mood to organize and throw things away. We'll see how long that lasts. I also want to get hardware for the cabinets and put in wood floors in the dining room this year. We have also discussed new carpet in the living room but we haven't decided for sure. (The renters had large dogs, enough said.)

I also would like to get our paperwork in order and a will put together by the end of the year. It should have been taken care of before Liam was born. Maybe we'll do that for one of our dates. Romantic, right? Isn't it so nice to be an old married couple?

Another goal that I have for myself is to spend less time on the internet and watching tv. Dan and I are already discussing options for a DVR without satellite service. I think we will cut DirecTV soon. Most of the shows I watch are on local channels anyway and we can get them in HD if we buy the right antenna. I have cancelled several automated recordings and will let another few go after their finales this season. Goodbye, Top Chef!

Let's see how I do this year. Happy New Year!

Crib Skirt

This week I finally got around to sewing the skirt for Liam's crib. I'm not a great seamstress, but this project was fairly simple and straight forward.

1. Wash and dry fabric. Iron out the wrinkles. I bought some really cute Amy Butler fabric for the panels that show and some plain, cream colored cotton for the panel that goes under the mattress. Washing and drying will shrink the fabric so that you finished product will fit no matter how many times you have to wash it in the future.

2. Measure your crib for the dimensions of the skirt. The crib that I have is a little oddly shaped. The slat in the front is a few inches higher than the slats on the sides. I didn't bother to add a panel to the back of the crib.

3. Cut fabric. Make sure that you leave room for the seam. Being a sewing newbie, I left 1/2 on each side to give myself plenty of room.

4. Hem edges. The sides and bottom of the patterned fabric and the back of the plain fabric need hems since they do not attach to other pieces. I measured 1/2 inch and pinned the hem down. Then I ironed the hem to make sewing it down easier. Then I sewed it.

5. Attach panels. I pinned the fabrics together with the "right" sides facing each other and the "wrong" side of the patterned fabric up. I used a pen to mark 1/2 inch intervals along the edges. Using a fabric with a small pattern made it easy to keep the seem straight and even.

Finished! That was easy, right? The only difficulty is finding the time with a baby around. I wish I would have had the crib set up before he was born so I could make the skirt then. Oh well.

2011: A look ahead and some resolutions

2009 was a difficult year for our family. 2010 was a year of great and wonderful changes. 2011 looks to be the year of establishing the "new normal" for our family.

Dan will finish his masters degree in the spring. That will be a huge relief for both of us and enable him to spend more time with me and Liam. It would be nice if it came with a raise, but I'm not going to hold my breath on that part. He is expecting a very good review at his job in the spring and hopes to be able to negotiate working from home more often.

Liam will probably go through the biggest changes in 2011. He'll roll over, crawl, sit up, walk, eat solid foods, say his first words, get his first teeth and so on and so on. I can hardly imagine the 14 month old toddler he will be this time next year.

I feel like I will have to be diligent this year in order not to stagnate. This will be the first year in a long time without major changes in my social life, education or career. Being so new to my role as a mother, I should hope to be a better mother by this time next year, but that goal is difficult to measure.

One of my main goals for 2011 is to get back in shape. Pregnancy was rough on my body. I am only one pound away from my "happy weight" that I was pre-pregnancy, but my stomach is really flabby and I lost a lot of muscle in my arms and legs. I need to improve my diet and start exercising again. I have tried to do the couch to 5k program a couple of times and never finished. I think I can do it this year if I cross-train to strengthen my knees and back. I should blog my progress with the C25K.

Personally, I want to improve my cooking, photography and piano skills. I talked to Dan about taking piano lessons. He doesn't think lessons would do me any good and that I should just commit to practicing. I should set up the keyboard in the dining room or living room to remind me to practice. I think blogging will keep me accountable in working on my cooking and photography.

So here are the goals and my plan to do them:

Complete the Couch to 5k 

• Stretch before running to avoid injury
• Cross train (cycling and swimming) on at least 2 of the off days per week
• Begin by May 1st
• Complete by August 31st
• Blog progress weekly once I begin

Improve Diet

• Limit myself to 1 soda per day (no refills at restaurants!)
• Limit myself to 1 sweet treat per day (no exceptions for special occasions)
• Eat a real vegetable with every dinner (potatoes & corn do not count)
• Drink at least 64 ounces of water every day

Improve Photography Skills

• Record Liam's growth with a similar photo each month
• Blog about a photograph each week 

Improve Cooking Skills

• Try at least 2 new recipes every month
• Blog about a recipe every week

Improve Piano Skills

• Learn a new song every month beginning in February 
• Learn the keyboard well enough to play 2 song I already know in January
• Blog a video of myself playing the new song at the end of the month

Get Household Back in Order

• Stick to the envelope system for our budget at least 10 out of 12 months
• Sew Liam's crib skirt and curtains by January 31st
• Put up a photo wall in the foyer
• Baby-proof the house within 30 days of Liam beginning to crawl
• Finish unpacking boxes by February 28th