Tuesdays

This weeks random facts:

1. I hate the feeling of sweat dripping down my back / stomach. It totally grosses me out.
2. Until my parents signed me up as part of a family relay team in 2007, I hadn't run .... almost ever.
3. I'm afraid to set big goals for myself, and give them 100%, because I'm afraid to fail.

Pictures

On Saturday (yesterday) we went to L & G's for a get together since R & B were home for the first time since our wedding in June. They got to meet little P for the first time too! Here are some pictures (all taken from G at Life on the Terrace)



Traveling

ON THE ROAD AGAIN # 30 – Go to Arizona.

My parents, niece S and I spent a week visiting my grandparents in Arizona. We flew of out cold, snowy Manchester, NH on Tuesday February 22nd and landed in warm, sunny Arizona later that day.
Wednesday, our first full day there, my mom and I went for a run in the morning and we all sat around my grandparents pool (which is not heated and way to cold to get in) talking, catching up and enjoying the sun. Which was apparently warmer then I thought and without sunscreen on, I proceeded to get burnt!
After we got up on Thursday, my mom, dad, niece, nana and I drove to Tucson to visit my Aunt K (mom’s sister), her daughter (my cousin) LA and LA’s two kids. LA and I went shopping then out to dinner and ‘bar hopping’ with some of her friends.
Friday morning, LA and I took S and her two kids to a near by park and then to BTO Yogurt (AMAZING!). Then we were off to meet my grandparents and dad in a strip mall (with a Gap outlet – score) to head back to Queen Creek (about 45 minutes outside Phoenix).  My mom, dad, nana and I made sure to keep my Gramps up so he could get his birthday surprise. Around 10:30pm the doorbell rings and after a few minutes of trying to figure out who was at the door before he opened it, and found my Uncle T, Aunt S and brother on the other side. They had flown in from South Carolina and Colorado, respectively to surprise him for the weekend as an early birthday present. After everyone said hello and Gramps got all caught up on the surprise and how we made it happen, everyone went to bed.
Saturday morning my mom and I went for another run, then the guys (my dad, Uncle T, brother and Gramps) went to a spring training game and the ladies (Nana, Aunt S, mom, S and I went to the Phoenix Zoo and then to the airport for dinner and drinks while we waited for my Uncle S’s plane to arrive. (He was also supposed to fly in on Friday night with everyone else, but due to nasty weather in VT, he had to drive to Manchester on Saturday in order to get a flight out.) After he landed we headed back to Queen Creek and spent the rest of the night hanging out and catching up.
On Sunday the boys spent the day helping my grandparents with things around the house while the ladies took S to an indoor amusement play place. There was an Arby’s in the same plaza as this play place and because I love my husband so much, I went over and asked if I could get some of their bbq sauce to take home to him. The store manager gave me enough packets of sauce to fill two medium Ziploc freezer bags. I have one very happy husband!! After S had her fill of the play place, we went in search of an ice cream treat and ended up having some gelato (a first for all of us) and it was quite tasty! My brother, who’s in culinary school, made dinner for everyone, chicken cordon blue, twice baked potatoes and broccoli and it was sooooo good!
Monday my brother and I went for a run in the morning, and then he and my Aunt S had to head back to Colorado so we said our good byes. After that, with it being out last full day, we spent it lying out by the pool, soaking up the sun and relaxing. Later on in the afternoon my mom, dad and I took S to the heated pool so she could go swimming. She was freezing cold, but wouldn’t get out of the water! She had so much fun jumping and swimming. We said our goodbyes to Uncle S as he had a very early morning flight the next day.
Tuesday morning we finished packing up and my grandparents drove Uncle T, mom, dad, S and I to the airport. We had a pretty easy flight, S slept for most of it, and the 3 hour drive from Manchester to Derby was good. I crashed as soon as we got to my parents and slept so good!
Wednesday morning I got up and drove back to Burlington and spent the day hanging out with D, unpacking, doing laundry and getting caught up on everything. We had such an amazing vacation. The weather was great, we got to spend time with so much family and it was good to get out of dodge, unwind and recharge. 

Here are a few pictures from the trip:

S at the park

S, Great Gramps & the peanuts

Birthday Boys 

Nana, Mom & S 

The 6 that started it all

(Uncle T, Dad, Uncle S, Aunt S, Gramps & Nana)

The most amazing grandparents in the world

I love you both!

M's chicken cordon blue (SO GOOD)

Dad & I (photo courtesy of S)

P, S & I at the park

LA & I

LA, her friends & I at the bar



All Things Loved - February

Here's a lits of the things I loved this month:

Jackie Warner workout video
I purchased a few of her video's a while back on Amazon to work on strength training. After doing her 'Xtreme Time Saver Training' video in January I started her 'Power Circut Training' video this month. Let me tell you, its a tough workout and you will work up a good sweat. Even though you only do each sequence for one minute it's a long minute and the power burn  (20 seconds of each sequence one after the other) will have you ready to quit! Despite all that, the 40 minutes goes by so fast.

"Jackie maximizes results by working every muscle to its absolute limit (“eventually the muscle will go numb, keep working!”). Each body-part-specific segment features three exercises that are repeated three times. The three exercises work the muscles in different ways; the three sets of repetitions let you progressively increase the intensity. The sequence always ends with a “power circuit” — a faster-paced, linked-together set of the earlier moves."

Food (Molton Hot Wing potato chips / 'Mini Mini Reces' / Carmel Cadbury Eggs)
The chips and mini reces are two things I just recently discovered and it has been love at first bite. I haven't been able to get enough of either and anytime I have a bag of them, it hasn't lasted more then a few days! The carmel Cadbuy Eggs aren't something new, just not something I had been able to find and have been hunting for. My friend K found them and bought them for me last Friday. I won't even tell you how many of the 12 (mini) eggs I ate on Friday!

   

Warm & Sunny Weather

It was so nice to get away from the cold and snow and spend a week in warm sunny Arizona.  It’s amazing what a few days of nice weather can do to recharge your batteries. Even though it was really hard to come back to the less than desirable Vermont weather, I know the end is in sight and the nicer weather is just around the corner.

Family

Or more specifically, time with my family. I am so happy my parents let me tag along on the vacation they planned and be part of the surprise for my grandparents. I didn’t realize how much I needed quality time with my family. Especially with the ones I don’t get to see very often. Without knowing it, this trip and time with family, was just what the doctor ordred!

Thursday

This week I’m thankful for –

1. Our safe travel back.
2. That my SIL and BIL are coming to VT tomorrow!
3. New responsibilities at work (that will hopefully keep me busier).

Wednesdays

What I love this week -

1. I got to see D for the first time in 9 days!
2. My sun burn has sort of turned into a tan.
3. I got to spend so much time with family over the last 9 days.

Triple Tangent

1. I am not a morning person. It takes me a while to ‘wake up’ and become a ‘functioning person’.
2. I can’t get up the first time the alarm goes off. Which it’s set about 20 minutes earlier then necessary and on the other side of the room.
3. I don’t drink coffee. It’s a taste I haven’t acquired yet I guess.