In 2015 I Resolve To:

If you have been around a while you know I'm usually pretty apposed to New Year Resolutions. I feel like personal improvement should be perpetual and ever changing. If something needs to be changed or life needs a new direction is should happen no matter what time of year it is. It seems like NY resolutions almost become a joke. Everyone makes them with the knowledge they won't stick to them. Because of that I have not participated in the making of NY resolutions.  

However, there are a few things I want to focus on and improve on, and it just so happens that finalizing my goals coincides with the New Year. Rather than be stubborn and refuse to get started on my goals based on principle I'm embracing NY Resolutions making this year!

It's a longer list for sure, and I know too many changes at once make them hard to stick to, but some of these are every day life things that will fall into place pretty easy, and will give me a bit of focus when completing daily tasks and schedules. Others are ongoing battles that I need to redouble my effort on, and a few are bigger life plan/concept related that will be the ones I really have to work on and be diligent. 

Lets start with running. I always set a running goal for each year and this year is no different, except it is different. 

-I am not setting a running goal this year. Whatever happens happens, and whatever running my body will allow me to accomplish will be good enough. So I guess my goal is to go with the flow. My #1 priority is to continue with car accident recovery, and while I do have a few races on the schedule (and training plans to go with them) whatever I can do on each day is going to be what I can do. This year is about being thankful I can run period, and not about pace, PR's, or anything else. Pushing when I can, and taking it easy when I can't, and being smart enough to listen to my body so I know what each day is going to bring. 

-Adding Yoga or Pilates to the daily routine (non running days). I've been trying to cross train and do all sorts of 30 day challenges to keep things interesting. But, I have come to realize that squat, (and really any other leg specific challenge) are really hard on my knees. Especially the one I had surgery on. But, the challenge I stick time and time again is the pilates challenge. Every time The Balanced Life does a pilates challenge Sky and I both stick to it no problem. The key being Sky likes doing it with me and we get through a whole workout. The Balanced Life is launching a monthly subscription staring in January, and as long as the price is doable I plan on joining and getting back on the Pilates bandwagon! (I went to class 2 to 3 times a week pre Sky and loved what it did for my body!). 

The Yoga mat doing me no good hanging in the utility closet! Time to change that!

-Changing my idea of what breakfast food has to be. I like how I feel when I stick to Paleo eating (not promoting any sort of diet or going 100% paleo by any means). But, that makes breakfast a bit challenging when sticking to traditional breakfast food. So, my new approach is to take the advice in Well Fed 2 and eat all sorts of food for breakfast. Today I had a fried egg on top of a pile of quinoa, with crispy prosciutto crumbled on top. Some mornings I'll be eating left over dinner for breakfast. I've always been more of a savory person and function better when I'm running on protein and very few carbs. Pancakes, muffins, bagels...leave me feeling tired and hungry a hour later. I would much rather have savory, filling breakfast that will fuel me for a morning of activity. 

-Sticking with the food theme...admitting and sticking to the fact that cheese and crackers are not an acceptable lunch. Nor is it a healthy snack that is going to fuel my body the way it needs. I refuse to cut out any food entirely (unless there is a medical need like an allergy) because that is a sure set up for failure. So if a recipe calls for cheese I'll have cheese, but it's not a snack or meal replacement. Totally going to be the hardest resolution of all to stick to cheese is my chocolate!

 My go to snack and easy lunch. That is a really good specialty hunk of cheese so I won't be tossing it, but once it's gone, it's gone!

-Adding more color to our life! Everything from clothing, to food, to home decor. It's so easy to fall into the easy black top that goes with anything, or the bland beige room and pillows so everything matches. Eating the same foods over and over. I just need more color, spice, variety! I've been working on the wardrobe piece and adding quality pieces in bright colors here and there. Slowly I'm building a small wardrobe that is making it fun to get dressed every day. We have a plan for the house as well. To add an accent wall or two, some DIY projects that will spice things up, and thanks to Silas we need new window treatments (he shredded our curtains) and we are going bold and bright. I don't even care if things match, I'm going for eclectic, inspiring, bright, fun, creating a space that we enjoy and want to be in. Food is the easy part. I love to cook and try new things, just need to remember to add in orange, red, yellow veggies to go with all the greens!

Ordering this book (it's on sale at Amazon right now!) and taking on some of the DIY projects from their blog to help create some color in our home! Bonus, I love their blog and read it every day anyway, just need to start implementing & working with Mark on projects I need help with. P.S. I want couches like that...bright, fun, colorful!

-Making a plan for how FB fits in my life. More and more I find it irritating, and find myself being irritated by posts. Yet, I like being able to keep up with others far and wide, and I'll be honest most breaking news I find out about on FB. I'm not willing to turn it off, but I need to do something. Maybe I limit myself to one post a day, or 30 minutes of FB time a day. Irritation aside, I have better things to spend my time on. And, while I want to know what is going on in others lives I don't need to know every little thing that's going on. It holds more value for me than not, especially since a lot of my Jamberry business is via FB, but I need to find some doable limits that don't alienate me from friends, and keep me from seeing what I do want to see.

-Jamberry - This year is the year I make it happen. My goal by the end of 2015 is to have a thriving Jamberry business that is making significant monthly contributions to the family budget. This is my time to figure out if it's a viable job option for me, and our family. Once Sky's in kindergarten full time it's always been the plan for me to earn a paycheck again, and I would really like Jamberry to be the way I do that. It's a unique opportunity to try out a job for a significant amount of time and see what happens. I love the flexibility of it, and the idea of not clocking in at a traditional 9-5, so I'm giving it my all in 2015! 

-Lastly, and this is the biggest one, Adventure! Let's be honest here we can't afford to travel and take on some of the adventures we would like, for now...will be nice to have a second income again! But, that doesn't mean there isn't adventure to be had in our own back yard. Little things like exploring the international district in Seattle, visiting the Asian markets and international dining options that are within minutes of our home. Picking out a new food item that we have no idea what it is, and then figuring out what to do with it...this is how I learned about Dragon Fruit!

Sky is fascinated by maps and knows a good number of the countries on her globe. We may pick a country a month to learn about traditions, cook the foods, watch movies or specials about. Or do a qoogle search and find out what festivals/holidays are happening every month around the world and pick one a month to learn about. It's not a solid plan, but it's something that is important to our family. We want the world to be Sky's home, and just because we can't afford to travel the world right now doesn't mean we can't bring the world into our home. The habits and values we establish now will shape her as an adult...it's not to early or late to start! 

On a smaller easy, every day scale. Finding adventure in the seemingly mundane. Going to the park and pretending to be a mountain climber, or pretending to be an explorer and finding "treasure" on the trails we walk. Letting Sky pick something out at the grocery store, or out of one of her cookbooks. Life is the grandest adventure of all and we have got to make the most of it no matter the scale!

"I'm a rock climber mommy"!

So there you have it. Those are my resolutions. More importantly they are our goals for the year...I talked through all of these with Mark and we are totally on the same page. It seems like a lot, but it's really not, and it's all stuff I've been thinking about for months and am ready to take on. 

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What is your #1 resolution for the year?

   

I'm Going to Miss Our Tree!

It's always a little sad when Christmas is over because I love the reason for the season. The kindness and goodwill, time with family and friends, and even though it's a busy time it's also time to slow down and focus on things other than the daily grind. It's a nice break from "real" life. 

It also goes along with the end of the NFL regular season, which is sad. I love playoffs and the SB and all that, but the end of regular season means I'm at loose ends Sunday and Monday nights, and once playoffs are over I'll have to be productive on Sunday's again as well. :-/ 

Even though I love Christmas once it's done, it's done. Dec 26th all the decoration came down, the house got put back to normal, and the tree came down between games on Sunday. Technically the tree is still up, but it's naked, and sad, and I want it to go completely away now. I'm that way with life in general, once something is done, I'm over it and moving on. No looking back, bring on whatever is next.

We enjoyed the outdoor tree more than I thought we would. I was a little sad about not having our inside one this year, but once the courtyard tree went up it was the best thing ever!

 Enjoying the last Egg Nog latte of the year.

 Spiked Hot Chocolate!

 The thing I'll miss the most is snuggling with Sky looking at the lights. Silas enjoyed it as well.

Now it's time to look to New Years Eve and the New Year. I actually have no idea what we are doing this year for NYE, if anything. In years past we hosted a PJ NYE Party. But, now that we host Christmas dinner/gift exchange that's too much large party planning too close together, so we haven't been doing the NYE party. Last year we stayed home just the 3 of us, and were in bed long before midnight. May sound lame, but it's actually really nice not to be overly tired/hung over when the tot gets up at the the same early hour no matter what. 

I suppose I had better nail down my resolutions. I don't usually make NY Resolutions, but this year there are a few changes/things I want to work on that are ready to happen now, so this year there are resolutions. Just general ideas right now, but I'm listing them out and making them specific to ensure success! 

Resolution #1 is to find a new background for photos...the tree was pretty perfect!

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A few random pics from the last several days...............

Sunday morning run. The good news is that while I have constant accident related pain, the last few runs have not made it worse, and things seem to be holding steady. I'm slowly upping the number of runs per week and will start adding a mile or two every other run to see what happens. Keeping an easy pace seems to be helping.

Sadly Sky ended up with a pretty nasty little cold. We made it through Christmas day, but she was overdone by the time we left the parents house. We had an opportunity to have some family photos done a few days later and were keeping our fingers crossed Sky would feel up to it. Thankfully she held it together through the morning photo session and lunch after (yes we bribed her with lunch out and cake if she listened and cooperated for the photos). Judge if you must, but it worked and we got some great photos! She was done though, crashed on the way home, slept for hours and was cranky as all get out the rest of the day. It was totally worth it...can't wait to see the proofs!

If you like Chipotle flavor you need to try this sauce! Super easy...I sauteed up a batch of fajita veggies and steak using only salt and pepper then added this sauce to let is simmer a bit, heated up some corn tortillas and added guacamole and it was really good! It has now become a pantry staple for us!

Sky is all about tea parties, so this tea set has proven to be one of her favorite gifts of the season! It's tea party time all the time around here! :)

My favorite kind of Christmas morning sparkle!

We may have added another tradition to our Christmas...Sushi for Christmas Eve dinner! It was totally spur of the moment, totally yummy, and totally a nice treat to not have to cook dinner that evening. It was also the perfect break from the "normal" food of the season. After that we found pretty lights to look at, and even found a house that does a free display set to music. We tuned in and listened for a bit and then headed home to watch Christmas Movies.

They ran and played in the yard and tired each other out...my idea of a perfect afternoon at home = all three of them tired and resting in peace. 

Mommy, mommy, Silas is sitting with me...hurry take our picture! They have been cuddling watching cartoons together all morning. 

Life After Heels

A few months back we went out with friends and I went ahead and wore the cute heels that I love to pieces. I figured since we'd be sitting at dinner and not walking around much I could get away with it.

Several hours of sitting later oh how wrong my thinking had been. My hips, knees, and back just will not tolerate heels any more. Since I'd rather be able to run pain free (and live life in general as pain free as possible) I gave all but one pair of heels away.

I  just had to keep these! I may only wear them once a year and may have to pack flats to change into, but I love these shoes, and they were a gift so I just have to keep them.  

After that night out I vowed to only wear flats/shoes that don't hurt my body. Which left me with only a few choices for several months. I'm sad to admit that I wore running shoes almost all the time while searching for cute flats that would work and be fashionable. I've slowly been adding shoes that work for me here and there, and have been focusing on options that have a cool or unexpected color or detail to add visual interest.

It may come as a surprise to those that know me that I turned to cowboy boots to add an interesting look to my shoe wardrobe. While I grew up very much a country girl in boots I have not lived that lifestyle in a very long time. The city got into the girl for sure and I honestly don't remember the last time I had boots on. I had to laugh when Dad was looking at my wish list and had to call and verify that boots were really what I meant to put on there.

Boots, specifically cowgirl boots, have so many color and design options, and stitching that add visual interest, and I remember that they were comfortable and long lasting. If you take care of them and treat the leather they will last forever! You may need to have them re-soled, but they won't fall apart on you and become even more comfortable the more you wear them.

So I added a few pairs to my wish list to contemplate, and ended up with a beautiful pair for Christmas! Thank you Dad!

I love my Eight Second Angel boots (they are on sale right now)! They are the perfect color to wear with a ton of stuff in my closet, and are so comfortable! It was dry out yesterday so I ventured out in them, and felt so sassy! I'm picking up the boot care products I need today so I can get them ready for rain, because I plan on wearing them all the time! Especially now that Sky and I both have boots!

She was all about our boots and matching mommy yesterday! Honestly the best shoe option for a tot is leather boots. They are beyond cute and indestructible. Those purple boots have been in the rain, mud, snow, and been peed on several times (accidents happen) but they are holding up and still look great.

I'm just really thankful to have boots that have cool detailing and punch up my footwear options. I'm not going to lie, heels can put the perfect finishing touch on an awesome outfit, and I was sad about being limited to flats. But, these boots make it all better, and I'm building outfits around them so I can wear them all the time!

Call me a poser if you want, I won't be roping cattle or busting broncos in them, but I am going to grocery shop, and take Sky to classes & lessons like I mean it! :)

A few other options I've added to my shoe wardrobe since getting rid of the heels...

P.S. Going totally flat can be bad as well, so I use inserts as needed/appropriate. All of these were sourced at outlets/discount stores except the green ones, those are from Target. 

There is a sexy, exciting shoe life after heels! My back, knees, and hips thank me for changing my ways.

Happy Mail!

I have always loved getting mail. Even though most of the time it's bills and nothing super exciting I still go to the mail box every day with the anticipation that there is going to be something simply amazing waiting for me.

It's a bit sad really that we are in an age of sending emails or posting messages on FB rather than mailing cards and letters. I'm guilty of it as well, so that's not criticism at all.

It really struck me though when I helped go through my grandparents stuff. Both Grandma's kept every single card, letter, picture, and note that any of the grand kid's gave them. It was cool, odd, a little sad, and yet made me smile to see those letters and pictures from my 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 year old self. It also made me realize how meaningful these "silly little" things are, and it made me want to do something to reach out in a non-technology way.

Let's be honest though, life is busy, for everyone. It is so much easier to post an update on FB to keep the masses up to date on life, or to post a public "get well", "I love you", "I'm thinking of you" than it is to write a note, find a stamp, and then mail it. Especially when your mail carrier has asked you not to put outgoing mail in you mail box because it falls onto the ground every time they open the mail box (we have a special locking box so the lid has a clip that is too big to hold single outgoing letters). Which means having to drive to the closest mail drop box or the post office. Grrr.

It was an idea that got filed away as something I wanted to do, but just didn't have time for. I decided to be ok with just sending text photos, and posting on IG and FB for everyone to see.

But, finally there is a "real" mail option available that I've fallen in love with! The ladies over at A Beautiful Mess partnered with Studio Calico to offer several A Beautiful Mess products to the masses. One of the items is a monthly subscription to Happy Mail!

For $15 a month you can subscribe and receive $50 worth of carefully curated and designed stationary that you can then turn around and send out into the world! I had so much fun with my first shipment. As I looked at each card, postcard, and fun art/crafty items if someone popped into my head I instantly addressed it and put a stamp on it. I'm sure a few people were thinking what the heck this is strange when they opened their mail last week, but it made my heart happy to send off some fun Happy Mail to friends and family.

I didn't get to send stuff to everyone so no one get's to have hurt feelings. Over the months when the perfect thing comes along for the perfect person they will get theirs! :) Plus, some of it is so cute that it deserves to be placed in a frame and hung as art, so some I will be keeping for myself. Selfish I know.

I also love that it's not "just" cards or postcards. The December shipment had stickers, "made by" tags, and a Places We've Been map that we are using to track our adventures as a family of 3.

As you can see we have a lot of ground to cover, and that's just in the US. Again, we are only tracking places the 3 of us have been together (Mark & I individually and together have been way more places than this map indicates). Driving through does not count either, we are only putting a location on the map if we actually spent time there. And, I accidentally put FL on there...Sky and I went without Mark, although all 3 of us have been there, just not together.

This map is actually meant to be cross stitched, even though it's paper, but I ain't got time for that! I'd rather take the time to mail out Happy Mail than cross stitch my paper map. So pinpoints it is, but you can check out the cross stitch idea Here. It's a cute idea, but the other issue I have with it is just because you visit one part of a state does not mean you know all that state has to offer. WA is vastly different from one side to the other, so I wanted to be able to pinpoint a bit more accurately the places in each state we've been.

I think the perfect spot for it is the refrigerator because travel, adventure, exploring are important to Mark and I, and are part of our family values. I want to see it every day to remind us to keep exploring, and remember the adventures we've already had!

P.S. If I send you Happy Mail I don't expect you to keep if for 80 years! :)

P.P.S This post is all my idea, I was not asked to post about it, or share the links. I just think it's a really great idea so had to share, and the quality of the products is really the best!

Weekend Fun/Christmas With Friends

It finally feels like Christmas! It all started when my Dad arrived on Friday, and we did Christmas with him that evening. Leaving the pics small...it was dark and they are from my phone so the quality isn't great.

 New Zip Up for Dad.

 A recovery thingy for Mark's truck, for next time it gets stuck. 

 Sky picked out Grandpa's hat, gloves and scarf  and they were supposed to be showing off their matching items, but Sky wasn't having it. 

Really I think if you gave her empty boxes to unwrap that's all she really wants. 

After Christmas with Grandpa it was time to get ready for Christmas with friends...which I didn't take a single pic of. I'm lame like that. Or, maybe it was because I was enjoying the flowing champagne and having fun and just didn't think about it. 

I did get pictures of the prep though. I have to say I had a few rather brilliant ideas! 

If you're going to have a house full of people take advantage of an Amazon Local coupon, or other discount site, and get housecleaning! We booked a cleaner through Homejoy and in 3 hours she cleaned all the baseboards, window seals and tracks, dusted the entire house top to bottom and cleaned both bathrooms. The only thing I did was vacuum and sweep! She even put a sticker on the folded TP! It only would have been better if I had scheduled one to do the cleanup after as well. Mostly it's a bunch of wine & champagne glasses, so it's not too bad. 

The other brilliant idea...make dinner the night before and just re-heat! This is a bacon, beef, mushroom rague that I made Friday, and was able to re-heat in batches for everyone on Sat! The stove was clean, and not hot so served as extra counter space, there were no huge pots and pans taking up room in the kitchen, and while I love cooking it was nice not to be stuck in the kitchen! This is the way to go for all future large gatherings that I'm cooking a main meal for! It only take a bit of planning to make sure the meal you make is good the next day, thankfully this one gets better as the days go by and the flavors meld. 

Since I didn't have to clean, or cook this is what I was doing up until an hour before the party! All I had to do was toss on a go too party outfit and wait for people to show up! 

We ended the evening watching White Christmas, and now I finally feel like it's officially Christmas time!  

Tree Gazing & Christmas Program

Sometimes you have to stop in the midst of this busy season and just be, even if only for a few minutes.

When I take the time to slow down she actually has some pretty deep little thoughts to share. I'm really going to miss the tree, and starting our day with Christmas music & talking about what's on her mind.

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Last night was Sky's preschool Christmas program. All the kiddos were so darn cute I could hardly stand it. And, funny...really, really funny.

Sorry for the not so great pics...they are from my phone. We had the camera but the battery failed, so we were stuck with lame phone photo's.

Anyway, this went much better than the Thanksgiving Day program. Sky was so into it and was singing and dancing in place. I think the fancy dress and shoes made all the difference! Maybe the promise of cookies after helped a bit as well.

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Yesterday was the last day of school until next year. Crazy to say that! I've sort of been not looking forward to filling 3 weeks worth of full on Sky time. I got used to having 5 hours a week of preschool. I decided to flip my thinking around though and make it a celebration. I don't know what all we will do during the 3 weeks, but I know I'm letting go of much of my "to get done" stuff and going to try really hard to make sure she gets the exercise and activity she needs rather than dragging her around doing what I need to do. That's no fun for anyone!

We kicked things off with a lunch date to celebrate Winter Break. We went to my fave chips & salsa place and had a yummy lunch and then came home and played all afternoon with the dogs. Kind of the perfect afternoon for everyone. Tired kiddo and tired dogs = happy house!

So excited for next week when Mark has some time off for Winter Break fun as well!

Race Day Volunteering

I had so much fun over the weekend volunteering at the finish line of the Santa Runs Tacoma 5k, 10k, and 1/2!

It's been a long time since I volunteered at a race and I totally forgot how rewarding it is. And, a good reminder what it's like being on the other side of race day. It takes a lot of people getting up early and working hard for hours on end without a break to make sure it's seamless for all the runners.

The finish line was on Dock St, near the water and it was the perfect Dec morning for a run! No rain, very little wind, and temps in the 60's. Can't ask for more than that in Dec in the PNW!

After setting up the finish line water and food table it was time to get ready to remove chips from shoes. I was there for every single runner, from the very first, to the very, very last one. So rewarding to see the pain, triumph, and joy that happens at the finish line. If I can't run, volunteering is a great way to still feel a part of it. Plus, the race entree discount for next year is nice to have as well.

After all the lifting, moving boxes, and hunching over cutting chips off I've been really sore though.
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The rest of the weekend was spent painting Sky's room purple, her color of choice, and setting up her new bedroom set.

We went from pale yellow (very pretty color but terrible in that room and with Sky's skin tone) to a very light violet color. Sky painted one wall herself, the part of it she could reach anyway. I figure no clothes was the way to go for her, easier to clean off the paint that way.

Learning the hard way this isn't a bed she can jump on. 

Along with new paint she has a new to us loft bed, and she's in love! She's actually in there right now just sitting. Seriously she has hardly come out of her room since we set the bed up! Thankfully with all the shelving under the bed we now have space for all her books and arts and crafts. We need to get lighting under there for the desk to be functional, and a desk chair, but Sky's loving it as is for now.

The best way to deal with a threenager is create a space they love so much they don't every want to leave their room! Only sort of kidding. I love that she loves her room as much as she does. We all need our own little space to go to now and then.

Thank you to Grandpa for the early Christmas gift...she LOVES it!

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 Some weekend randomness for you...

 "I'm not tired mommy"...yeah right.

 What life in our living room looks like most nights. Sky goes back and forth between Bishop and Silas.

Most exciting/girly mail day ever! Two shipments from Birchbox and one from Bareminerals. Even though it was a sick day spent taking care of Sky I found time to play with my new skincare and makeup. I looked pretty fancy for someone in sweats cleaning up vomit! :)

I hope everyone had a lovely weekend!

Thankful Thursday

Things I'm Thankful for today:

-That even though it's making getting around difficult, the city is cutting back all the trees and branches that could compromise power lines in the next windstorm...which is supposed to be this afternoon through tomorrow.

-Sky can sit with her nabi for close to 2 hours in the tire store and never complain once. She was rather taken with the massive garage and had fun watching them roll tires around.

  

-That I took a picture of this preschool creation, because she tore it to pieces once we got home.

 Full on Christmas prep at school...she's walking around the house singing Christmas songs. 

-Christmas music!

-She still needs/wants cuddles with mommy. I will never get tired of this. Happy to put the to do list aside and cuddle.

-This hair cut is so awesome that if I wash it, and take the time to do a good blow out I can go 5 days without getting it wet or washing it again. Makes getting ready in the morning so much faster!

-While I absolutely love my Jamberry business and going to parties to share the love, I had my last party of the month last night. I did a months worth of business in the first two weeks, and now I get to sit back and fully enjoy the Holiday's! Still some customer care/service things to take care of, but it's all stuff I can do from home!

-I get a little time off before a busy Jan/Feb take off. I'm booked, booked, booked! 

-Two sleeping dogs and a kiddo watching a movie (don't judge, sometimes it just needs to happen) so I can get a few things done. 

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Christmas music Yes or No?

Big fat YES!

What are you thankful for today?

Special Date Day

Sky and I had a special date day, and it was so much fun. Another reminder that while I'm with her all day every day it's still important to schedule special time together now and then.

Sadly this date day was a result of an open wound (she's fine) that is preventing her from being able to swim, and she loves swimming so much, and knows the days of the week. I knew she would know something was up, so I planned a special day (different things that she loves but we don't do every day, or even every week) that lasted all morning, and capped it off with a movie after lunch.

How she usually rides to swim class. She's always cold, yet never covers her exposed legs.

Our first stop was Starbucks for a cake pop and chocolate milk for her and coffee for me. We never go into Starbucks, why mess with getting her in and out of the car seat if I don't have to, but Sky likes going in so we went in, sat down and took our time. 

 I think she's in shock I let her get a cake pop.

Cheering our coffee and chocolate milk. She's all about the cheers!

Ever since the weather turned chilly I've been wearing scarfs. I love having a warm fluffy scarf wrapped around my neck. Apparently Sky likes them as well, and has been wearing a few of my shorter ones out and about herself. She keeps asking for one of her own, so we hit up Ross to see if we could score a kiddo scarf deal. 

 "BAM" I love it! She picked out the sassiest one possible of course. Best part is it was only $2 at Ross. Sky knows the Old Navy dog is right next door to Ross and wanted to pop in and say hi. Notice how fingers are in the dogs mouth...that's what she does with real dogs as well. She's lucky she still has all her fingers!

I saved the best stop for last. The Fairy Store! It was a bit too much I think. Sky's eyes were huge and she kept going from item to item falling in love with each thing. These music boxes really fascinated her...I see one of these in her future. I have learned to take her places like this right before snack or lunch time. Once she says she hungry I let her know it's time to go so we can get some food, and we avoid fits that way. She's always happy to leave...works at the park too!

I knew we were not getting out of there without taking something home with us and Sky finally settled on a pair of purple fairy wings. It would seem that fairy wings fix everything, and make for one happy little girl!

I have to say it was really fun to be out and about with her, having fun and not worrying about laundry, or the to do list at home. Best part is she never mentioned swimming once. Score 1 for mommy!

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In running news, I've been running. It's going pretty good. It hurts more than it should and I can feel it more than I'd like in my back and shoulders, but at least I'm running. No pics which = no posts since I don't like picture less posts. I've mostly been running in the dark and phones don't take great dark pictures.

I am planning an end of year New Years Toast run for the run group though so will have pictures of that towards the end of the month.