Back on...I hope:)

Well, it's been a while since I've posted anything and I can say that I don't necessarily have anything life-altering to say, except that...people are funny...at the gym, people are funny. They wear stuff they shouldn't, they look at people who are really really in great shape, they look at people who are in really really awful shape...honestly, I'm kinda stuck in the middle...I'm working on being the one who is in fantastic shape, but I'm not there yet. Here are some of my favorite/most hated moments at the gym lately:
1.speedo guy coming out of the steam room...yikes
2.giggling girls "trying" to lift weights (these girls deserved a punch in the face)
3.super slow movers on the stairclimber...does this really do any good at all?
4.loud talker by the weights (this is the guy who wants to be everyone's friend and make sure we all know how much he knows about lifting...awesome)
5.rocker (this is the dude who has such GREAT music on his ipod that he has to stop lifting to bang his head a little)
6.super extremely in shape girl who is so cute that everyone LITERALLY everyone watches her work and walk (she's so in shape it hurts my feelings...but I know she's probably at the gym like 3 hours a day and I just can't do that)

So there you are, my "not quite top 10"

Tourist Season

So, for the large part of this month, my gym has been BUSY...and by busy I mean the kidzone (where the kids can play and "workout" as Gwen calls it while mommy and daddy can hit the gym) has a line a mile long...you waste MOST of your workout time just waiting in that ridiculous line!! The cardio machines (treadmills, ellipticals, stairmasters) are full, and many of the weights and especially the weight machines are VERY full...why you may ask? Is it because no one wants to run outside in the cold of January? Is it because my gym is shiny and new and everyone wants to try it out? Maybe it's because there's a hot new personal trainer that all the ladies wanna take a look at...all of those theories are fantastic possibilities but the truth is, it's tourist season at all gyms, everywhere, around the world...around the universe, perhaps. You see, many people have made New Year's Resolutions...resolutions to lose weight, get back in shape, feel better, etc...and the brand new shiny gym membership is the way to do that...the only resolution I've made is, quite frankly, to drink more margaritas...but that's not the point...the point is...these tourists are in my way...they are in my way of something I've been solidly working on for several months now...at almost 34 years of age, I'm finally figuring out what it means to eat healthy and get in shape...I've always been a fairly athletic person but once you have kids, things change...and by change I mean expand and soften up...so I've made it my personal goal to shrink and harden up...and I'd appreciate it if you tourists would go back to the State of Couch Potato so the rest of us who actually get our money's worth in a gym could get our space back...

Recipes

So, we're cutting calories around our house and working hard to feel better and get in shape...I found several recipes that are low cal and so far, have tasted EXCELLENT! I'm posting 2 that I've tried...I'll post more later when I try the rest...I tweeked a few and have made notes accordingly:) I hope you enjoy!

Soft Chicken Tacos: (I put all the ingredients together and then "grilled" them in a pan...warming up all the ingredients and making the corn tortilla slightly crispy...yum! I also did NOT put sour cream on mine but I don't like sour cream...we used homemade guacamole:)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1227897

Mozerella Chicken Sandwiches: (I didn't put the tomatoes on the sandwich...but they would have been good I'm sure...this is Seth's new favorite sandwich he says!)

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1185367

Those are the only ones I've tried so far...I'll post more as I make more!

Fedex taking a break...

So Roger Federer is taking a break from several tournaments this year...the Asian tournaments will be without Fedex...too bad, because, its always nice to see him on TV...I mean, can you blame me?

Church on a Tuesday

Yeah, yeah, it's Tuesday but hey, I'm Presbyterian, that's how I roll...anyway, take a read...as I was prepping for my 5K this past weekend (and I suspect will continue to listen to as I prep for my 10K)...I found myself having church at 5am with an 11lb. weenie dog...this was the best church I've had in a long time. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my church, I love our pastor, Pastor Frank (he's from Alabama and came over for the 1st Bama game...the man might as well be family to Seth and I!!!) but I rarely sit still the entire service. With a 2 year old and a 4 1/2 year old...entertainment and "shhing" is my not so favorite passtime on Sunday mornings. I digress...take a read:
I tied myself with wire
To let the horses run free
Playing with the fire
Until the fire played with me

The stone was semi-precious
We were barely conscious
Two souls too cool to be
In the realm of certainty
Even on our wedding day

We set ourselves on fire
Oh God, do not deny her
It's not if I believe in love
But if love believes in me
Oh, believe in me

At the moment of surrender
I folded to my knees
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

I've been in every black hole
At the altar of the dark star
My body's now a begging bowl
That's begging to get back, begging to get back
To my heart
To the rhythm of my soul
To the rhythm of my unconsciousness
To the rhythm that yearns
To be released from control

I was punching in the numbers at the ATM
I could see in the reflection
A face staring back at me
At the moment of surrender
Of vision over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

I was speeding on the subway
Through the stations of the cross
Every eye looking every other way
Counting down 'till the pentecost

At the moment of surrender
Of vision of over visibility
I did not notice the passers-by
And they did not notice me

Good stuff...I think I have many moments of surrender...I'm a bit of a control freak and God knows it...I'm constantly surrendering...at least he believes in me to continually accept my surrender.

Just a celebrity fix here...

OK, I admit, I should be typing something more meaningful...like, how my 5K run went this weekend or how, as I was listening to U2's new CD while running the other morning I had church, serious, meaningful church, but I'm not going to do that...I'll save that for later or just save if for my friends below BFF Chris or Kairo's Corner...they're really good at it anyway so I'll just leave it to them perhaps:) Anyway, here's what I found and what I think...enjoy my 3 faithful readers!!!

Someone PLEASE give Suri a clip or SOMETHING to hold her hair back out of her freakin' face! That's all I see...her hair in her face...ugh, seriously people...they have more money than Jesus and yet, there she is, barefoot and straggly hair...I can live with the barefeet because my girls are more often than not too...I'm ok with that...but NOT NOT NOT the hair in the face!!!!

I just love Kate...she's so beautiful...if I weren't married, maybe I'd date her...but she's married too and I actually like Seth...I'll stay put...for now:)

Don't you just love this family? I really want to be their friend...and I think we'd be really good friends too...her girls are super fun and so are mine...why couldn't we be friends? I'm not creepy, I promise! Just sayin'

I think we clone people around here...

Here is a picture my mom sent of our trip to San Antonio this summer...we had stopped for a picnic lunch and consequently were attached by geese! No lie! Geese...they wanted our food...as a result, here is a picture of the girls with their "Manny." PRECIOUS! But look at Gwen and my mom...my mom looks like she could be her MOTHER!!!