Finding Krissi

Hey everyone, If you are still thinking about joining us on the, "Little Red," registration has opened. Click on the picture below to find out all the bike info. Also, if you are like me and will be renting a bike I talked to Canyon Sports in Ogden. The cost to rent a bike is $35.oo a day. They will open their reservations in mid-march. I spoke to the manager and he was really helpful. When you look at the course info you will notice there are several length options for the ride. The minimum being 15 the maximum being 100. We would love for everyone to join us no matter how far they ride.

I fell in love for the first time in 6th grade. His name was Jeff he was tall and had the most delicious brown eyes. He was very, very cute and like every other girl in my class I developed my very first crush. I wonder if dear Jeff was aware of how much all of the girls loved him. From that point forward my heart was in a desperate race to give itself away. Tripping and tumbling through junior high my silly heart gave itself away more then once. It is almost funny how quickly I would tumble in out and out of love. High school dawned and before long my heart was once again tumbling in out of love. However, this time it was joined one or two times with another heart. There is nothing quite like the intensity that our heart feels from those first kisses and the rousing emotions of those first loves. Even as I sit here and write I can feel my heart beat faster as I think of those boys. The way my heart would beat when they entered the room the way my heart would jump with those stolen kis...

If you haven't noticed I really am not a big fan of, "WINTER." For me I just don't see the point of freezing your, well you know what, for 3-4 months out of the year. While I may have grown up in Utah, the decade I lived in California did not help endear me to cold.  Freezing cold, snow, ice, will this ever end winter! Sorry, I got a little side tracked there. It just goes to show you how my dislike of winter takes over.  However, being as I have a husband who loves the cold and short of a job falling into his lap and relocating us to a much warmer place, it looks like I am here to stay. Spring, Summer, Fall I don't mind but Winter, grrr, grump, mumble, whine. That being said, this week I went on a look out for reasons, to like, possibly even to love freezing, well we already covered this didn't we? Once I found some reasons not to detest winter I decided that they would be my blessing of the week.  Kind of  a silver lining in the cloud. Speaking of clouds her...

The other day I read a post by the Country Dr,'s Wife.  I'm still laughing.  She has a great sense of humor check it out here . Back later today with my 52 Blessings Post .

Have you ever sang, "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree?" Well I created my own version and decided to share.  Hope you enjoy.  I looked at the Calendar and what did I see? Three more days 'till January's gone! Winter last longer than I would like it too. That is why I hate January I could pretend that it wasn't so bad I could pretend that it could be worse But we all know That it isn't so Because January Blows Oh So Hard! After singing this song to Brent he said, "Traditionally February is the coldest month of the year." Which I replied, "What makes you think I wont be complaining about February?"

Right before Christmas I found my running shoes on sale for $42.00. Normally, my shoes sale for $95.00.  Needless, to say I jumped on that price and bought myself a brand new pair of shoes.  By the time I had found this killer deal, my shoes were well past the need to be replaced.  Don't believe me?  Take a look. As you can see I clearly was in need of new pair of shoes. While I thought these shoes were, "Oh so comfy," they were indeed ready to be replaced. Have you heard the saying, "Life is not a sprint but a marathon?" Replacing my shoes brought this saying to mind. Wearing my new shoes and having my knees, ankles, arches and feet say, "Geese, it is about time!" Brought to mind the mentality of living a sprint life and living a marathon life. I think I have lived my life, up to this point, with a, "Life is a sprint," mentality. I want it done now. Right now. Yesterday, would have been better. I have figured out that the first step I need t...

Any of you, even considering doing this crazy 104 mile bike ride, might be interested in a blog I stumbled on this morning.  It is called the Fat Cyclis t, and his first two post are a riot.  Especially, in light of the fact that I am just becoming aware of how expensive this sport can become. Check him out! I will be back later today with a groove post. Have a great morning.

It is early, as I write this it is 6:30 in the morning early.  Which means I have already been up for about 2 hours.  It is crazy to get up that early in the morning but you do what you have to do. Most weekdays I am and out of bed by a quarter to 5. I do this so that I can go to the gym and get a workout in before the day begins.  Raising four kids and working a very part time job does not leave a lot of time to routinely get a workout in.  That is unless I get up before 5. I think I have said that now at least 12 times.  Kind of lets you know it is not my favorite thing in the world to do, right? Well, as I was walking on the treadmill this morning I noticed the number of fellow gym rats had dropped significantly.  The first of January always brings a wave of new people into the gym.   Being as I am a person easily annoyed, this annoys me.  Mainly because I have a hard time getting on the machines I want to get on and get into the classes I want to get into. The gym has filled with p...

Today, I had to complete 30 miles on the bike.  As I was nearing the end of my ride, I couldn't help to question my sanity.  I mean, who in there right mind trains for a 100 mile bike ride? Also, isn't the fact that I am questioning my sanity, a sure sign that I am not the type of person to complete such a ride? I'm also very concerned with the fact that I am at 30 miles and questioning my sanity. What happens next week when I am required to complete 40 miles?  Is there some point in time that I will have ridden so many miles that I will cease the question why? Is there a chance, I will gain enough courage, to tell the Exercise Nazi that she is crazy and I don't do 100 mile rides? Finally, will I ever again have feeling in my rear?

The school science fair was yesterday.  The kids each had an opportunity to present their projects to two judges. Sam really enjoyed that part of the Science Fair.  She said it even made it worth while to do a project.  That is good, that something made it worth while, we wouldn't want the learning something to be worth while, would we? She must have done a pretty good job, because the judges moved her (along with a hand full of other kids) to the next level, and she will be participating in the District Science Fair. Andrew, on the other hand loved working on the Science Fair.  He loved learning about windmills, how they work, how they are built, all of that. He did not enjoy the presentation part of the project.  Andrew is not moving on to district. Which is fine with him because that would have meant another round of judging.  He is taking a pass on that. Kids are Funny! I had Andrew do a quick demo of his project for me and here it is in all of its YOUTUBE glory.  If you watch ...

Tonight I will be teaching my very first adult.  While I'm excited to teach an adult I am a little nervous.  I don't want to sound like an idiot and I want to help her achieve her goals.  I feel stress. So I spent a little time doing research and making a lesson plan.  :)   One of my favorite places to research swim strokes is YouTUBE.  I am amazed at what people post on that site.  While researching I found the below video which I found entertaining a great overview of swimming. Not to informational but fun.  If you don't like hard rock I suggest you hit mute now.  Enjoy.

Week Three, Are we having fun yet? We are three weeks into this challenge and I am going to be honest. This is hard. Everyday I am tying to think about my blessings. Everyday I have in the back of my head, "What am I going to post as a blessing this week?" I have some blessings standing in the wings for those weeks my brain isn't working. Umm. . . okay, for those weeks it is working even less than usual. However, I am trying to think out of the box. Trying to find those hidden blessings that I take for granted or those blessings I don't even think about. I think I have an illness that takes a simple task and tries to make it as hard as possible. As I stumbled out of library yesterday afternoon it dawned on me what this weeks blessings post would be. The Library! I love the library. Ever since I was a kid I have loved going to the library and coming home with big, fat, stacks of books. It is nice to know that we have all that knowledge, entertainment, and informatio...

I understand that not all people are animal lovers.  I even understand that some people have never lived in a home that animals are allowed to roam.  That has never been my case or in fact my husbands case.  We have always lived in homes with animals. Ironically, the day we were engaged one of the first questions my dad asked Brent was, "How do you feel about cats?" Later that same night Brent's dad would turn to me and ask, "How do you feel about dogs?" Which made us both laugh. Needless to say since being married we have almost always had a pet. Today, we have two pets a cat named Carmen. Who loves to play with bubbles. Especially, when the bubbles smell like catnip. Then she can spend hours chasing bubbles around the room. I enjoy watching the children play bubbles with her.  It reminds me of all the hours that I was forced to play bubbles with them.  I enjoy the revenge.  Even though they just think it is fun. Our second pet is Izzy, currently she is a 180l...

First of all let me start off by saying, "These are not good pictures." Bad time of day, bad lighting, and subjects who were not interested in having their pictures taken. The pictures aren't really the point of this post anyway.  They are only serving as an illustration to my point. All right, moving on. I have two children who are 16 months apart.  I know ridiculous close.  I figured that out soon after the second was born.  However, what is done is done and today I have a boy A. who is 10 and a girl Al. who will be 9 in April.  My only Non-December baby. This past weekend was a long weekend for my kids.  Which meant they had all of Monday to play and enjoy their day as they saw fit. My son A. was enjoying a new game his brother and him bought.  He was enjoying the game with several friends.  Most of my other children were off with friends. That is except for Al. Al. decided to spend the day with her brother. Not playing the game.  No, she doesn't really play video ...

Right now I am reading a book titled, "The Girdfriends Guide to Getting Your Groove Back, Loving your Family without Losing Your Mind." by Vicki Iovine. A title like that pretty much says it all, doesn't it? One of the big grudges that I have, with the whole mommy thing, is my life today. No one tells you about this part of being a mom. Your babies are no longer babies. Your children aren't technically teenagers. Even though you see the writing on the wall. You are in this weird limbo of learning to let your children be their own people. Almost overnight you go from being your child's everything. To the person who is suppose to let go and let your child grow up. Every day I have to take these deep breaths and let each of them go. It sucks! It sucks more than winter! You all know how I feel about winter. Anyway, I have to say, I am loving this book. Apparently, I am not the only mom holding a grudge. There are some great tips, a lot of relating, and a whole lot of ...

January is quickly becoming a month of learning for me.  First, there was the science fair projects and book reports.  Now I am taking a walk through history. Last night I attended a fireside at my church.  The topic was on our ancestors, particularly the ones, who crossed the country pushing a handcart. This summer the youth in our church will reenact 40 miles of this trip.  In three days they will walk nearly 40 miles pushing a handcart.  During this time they will learn some of the trials, some of tragedies, some of the miracles, and hopefully have their hearts turned towards the past and the ancestors who came before them. As a current leader of the youth I have the opportunity to go.  When I very first heard that I would be making this trek I was focused on the physical task.  40 miles in three days is not going to be an easy.  Especially in July and especially with over a 100 youth ages 14-19.  I have been so focused on the physical aspect I hadn't given much thought to the r...

As if January wasn't bad enough, there is one little dirty trick, that this month pulls every year. People in Utah call it the, "January Thaw." Suddenly, without warning, the sun breaks through, the temperatures rise above freezing, and the snow begins to melt. It is absolutely wonderful.  Your sun starved soul begins to sing a song.  You leave the house without 25 layers of clothes.  Your feet remain dry as you walk into buildings.  It feels like, at any moment, spring will appear. It is a happy time. But it is a trick! As if mother nature was not cruel enough, with the whole winter, snow, cold thing.  She gets in one huge, knee, slapping joke. Just when you find yourself with a huge, it is almost spring, smile on your face. She slaps you with a nasty winter storm. Then the fun is all over and it is back to weeks and weeks of endless winter. I'm sure she gets a huge chuckle at all of us, falling for her, winter is almost over joke. Year after year.  I have decided th...

On Monday, I told you that we were knee deep into end of term projects. Including, the science fair.   The science fair has been a major project.  With two kids participating, we have worked on their projects, almost every night, for the last couple of weeks.  S. is doing a project on chlorine.  She wanted to find out why public pools use chlorine. In the end she concluded, A. is doing a project on windmills.  He wanted to know, "How windmills make energy?" This is where we get to the blessings part of this post. While, it has been a major pain, completing two science fair projects, it has also, been lots of fun. Due to S.'s science fair project I have found out a lot of cool things about bleach.  Including, a whole new way of cleaning the shower, it cost pennies, and takes very little effort on my part.  Due to A.'s science fair project I now know how windmills work.  I know how the energy is stored and how the energy becomes electricity.  I have also learned some co...

Most of you that read this blog, know that one reason I am, "the SwimMom," is I teach swim lessons. I teach swim lessons in the morning to children that are either not old enough to be in school, are home schooled, or are off track. Meaning, they go to school year round and currently they are on one of their breaks. Traditionally, when children take swim lessons they take lessons from older teenagers or young college students. If you come to the pool I work at during the summer that is what you will find. However, in the mornings, during the school year, when I teach, most of those teachers are in school. Currently, when I work there are 5 of us that teach. All of them are old enough to be my grandparents. Which means I'm the young one. It has been interesting, on one hand, to have a job that most people have as a teenager. On the other hand I am a good 30 years younger than the people I work with. Which is why the story I am going to tell you is so hilarious, or at ...

George Bernard Shaw, who said: "Life isn't about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself." This morning as I was flipping through blogs, I love to read, this quote jumped out at me.  I  found it here , if your interested. It made me stop and think. It made me ponder. With my, "baby" ( not saying it to him just making a reference to my stage in life ) going to the first grade next year, I have been left with the question, "What am I going to do with myself?" Am I going back to school, am I going to find a job with more hours, am I going to sit at home and enjoy the blissful silence, am I going to join a marching band? I am for the first time in 13 years going to have entire days to myself.  What does one do, with entire days to themselves?  I keep asking friends and family, "What do you think I should do?" "Should I go back to school?" "Should I . . .?"  It is this question that hovers around me all the time. Have...

Our house is a bustle.  There are bits of cardboard, wires and wood everywhere.  There are jars, microscopes, glass slides, bits of information everywhere. My clean office is cluttered with hypothesis, procedures, and results. There are books piled by the computer and papers flying out of the printer. All because of the rapidly approaching end of term. Which means a book report for each of my older children. Visual aids to go along with the book reports. And Science Fair projects. Two of them. All I have to say to that is, "When did I get sent back to elementary school?" Humph, Grrrr and any other grumpy noise you can think up. I'm sure, in a couple days I will breathe a great big sigh of relief, as the projects reach a completed stage. However, right now all I can do is grit my teeth to the mess that surrounds me.  Also, wonder why I decided to have four children in six years?  What part of me did not foresee into days like this. Admittedly, it has me a bit freaked of th...

Do you want to know what the best part of winter is? Sunday, afternoon flannel PJ's. Hope your having a warm and cuddly Sunday evening. See you tomorrow in the real world. :(

As many of you know I have committed myself to a 100 mile bike ride in June.   I like the word committed, it sounds exactly like what should happen.  Well a very big part of participating in this ride is training. Training that requires me to increase my miles each week.  Along, with increasing my miles, I am increasing the time I spend on a bike, obviously. You may have not noticed but this has not been the, "Best Week Ever." By Friday I was not in the mood to do a 30 mile bike ride. In fact, I pretty much had decided that the whole idea of riding a bike 100 miles was, STUPID. In fact, I spent a lot of time on Friday, convincing myself of the stupidity of the whole thing.  I wasn't going to spend any more time on that stupid bike, training for a stupid bike ride, that I didn't want to do.  Because it was,  say it with me,  STUPID!! So I picked up the phone and called the Exercise Nazi, to tell her she was, STUPID, and I quit. However, she had the audacity not to be h...

I haven't decided yet what month I want it to be. I'm thinking maybe it should be May. That means the flowers are blooming the snow is gone and H. is playing T-ball. I love flowers, I love, "No Snow," and I love, love, love H. playing t-ball. Maybe I want it to be July, No school, we are starting to eat vegetables from the garden, fireworks and my birthday. mmmm ... Maybe I will take a pass on the birthday. I'm certain that I don't want it to be January. I'm pretty sure that January makes people crazy. I have proof, one of my friends, spent a day making Adult size Hula-Hoops. "Huh... why?" I asked. "Because I can." she replied It is all January's fault. It makes you loopy. In fact , I am considering writing a letter to Obama and telling him that the, "Change," I would like to see is the end of January. Really, why do we even need January? Let's just wipe it out, take 31 whole days, worth of steps, closer to spring. I...

Last year Flickr ran a group that was titled "52 Blessings." Basically, it was a collection of pictures of the blessings in your life. The challenge was to take a photo each week of something that is a blessing. I thought it was a cool idea. I went and checked it out and there are some very awesome, unique, and totally unexpected blessings out there. Like I said, "Very Cool." In fact so cool, I'm going to do it this year. I'm going to start my own, "52 Blessings Challenge." If you want to join feel free. All I ask is that you leave a comment so that I can link back to your, "52 Blessings," post. Let me know each week you update it, and I will keep a list of all the current weeks post below my, "52 Blessings Button." Technically, speaking today is the last day of the first week of the year. Which is why when I post the pic below I am still in the clear for week one. I don't require you to sign up for the long hall. Just d...

First things first, I have to say, "Thank You, for all the well wishes and that sucks."  I was rolling out of a parking space slowly because the car to my right was huge and I couldn't see anything. Which explains why I rolled right into the car driving past.  No one was hurt the cars didn't even jerk. There was no damage to my car at all.  The other car's passenger door was bent in. There wasn't even a visible scratch. Hopefully, it is an easy fix for them.  I am feeling bad that it is something that they have to deal with. Feeling like an idiot.   It was great to read everyones idiot moments.   Made me feel better.  Sometimes I think there is something wrong with the fact that other's idiot moments make me feel better. Second, thing second. There are times I like the winter and the snow. For example days like today. The sky is a beautiful blue, the snow is melting, the high is 44.  Which may sound cold but it feels blissfully warm. I could handle winter ...

I said I would post pictures of the final product today.  Then I had a stressful day at work followed by my first car accident.  Not, the first that I have been in, but the first accident that I was the cause. While leaving work, thinking about the stressful events that had just happened, I backed out of my parking spot right, into another car. A true Homer Simpson "DRRR Moment." Just thinking about it makes me want to hit myself in the head.  But I have a headache so no hitting. Anyway, after getting home I had a big project to finish up before a PTA assembly tomorrow.  Have to love that after tomorrow my duties as PTA Reflection chick are done. YAY! All of these excuses add up to a long day. I'm sure no one is going to die if I don't post the pic tonight.  However, I'm starting to figure out that I say one thing on this blog and do something totally different. I'm thinking that is not a very good trend. So as not to become a complete liar, I am posting the p...