My Aching Back!

 

A few months ago I started working out with a personal trainer, eating much healthier, and losing weight. MFT (my favorite trainer) prescribed four days of cardio with my heart rate in the 140’s for 55 minutes plus strength training (mostly weights) on two days in the week. OK. I started going to classes, eating clean, going to more classes, & even running. My speed was getting faster. My endurance was getting better. I could even go to the hard classes at the gym & mostly kinda keep up. I loved spinning! And the best part of all was that I had lost over 15 pounds in two months.

Last last Monday while doing an Intense Body class, I bent over to do frogs (sort of a leap frog in place) & my back started hurting A LOT. When I got home, I limped to the computer and emailed MFPT (my favorite physical therapist) & he quickly emailed me back to let me know that I had probably tweaked my sacroiliac joint. I earned a referral & have been going to physical therapy since. And I have been feeling much better.

But I am on restriction. I feel like a kid who has been grounded from recess – exercise was really my best stress reliever. My workouts went from daily intense pushes (running, intense body, spinning, the reformer) to two yoga classes & a 20” walk in the park (literally) last week & yoga once this week. I am grouchy grouchy grouchy. So if I snap & bark when you walk by, please know that I am on the road to recovery. My back is mostly better & my right hip is trying to conform to MFPT’s regimen of stretching & stuff. I even get to go try Spinning tomorrow – cross your fingers!

A kind older gentleman (much older!) told me yesterday that I should stick to swimming & yoga. I just can’t do it. I like the wind in my face, plus I really, really, really like to eat my exercise calories & the 127 calories that I earn in one hour of yoga just don’t quite take the cake. Maybe yoga takes the omelet.

OMELET – pour 1/2-3/4 cups egg beaters into hot omelet pan, move stuff over to allow uncooked parts to get to the hot pan, allow to set a little, top with the good stuff.

Toppings: sautéed mushrooms & onions, tomatoes, spinach & probably artichoke hearts.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE my omelet pan. It was a special purchase deal @ Bed Bath & Beyond & has the perfect finish & shape for making awesome omelets every time.

Time for School! Time for School! Time for School!

Last Monday Chris started school but this morning was the first day of seminary. This picture is from some time before 6 a.m. He really wasn’t as unpleasant as the picture might suggest. He has a busy schedule that will hopefully change just a little bit today – he will have college world history, math 110 (college algebra), English, chemistry, … and some other stuff. They have eight classes per week – MW, TTh, & then an alternating Friday schedule. We are happy that he is able to attend a charter school & take college classes while in high school. After school he is running cross-country & runs some super killer workouts every day. We can’t wait for the meets to start.

Today was the first day of school for Ryan & Jared. Ryan is in 7th grade & Jared is in 3rd grade. They are both most excited to see their friends.

So now the craziness will begin. Three kids, four schools. Two kids playing baseball. One kid running cross country. Plus piano and scouts and cub scouts.

Only 179 school days until summer vacation.

Eight is GREAT!

 

Yeah! Hooray! Jared’s eight.

He had a super fun day. He proclaimed several times, “This is the best birthday ever!” His cousins gave him a frog. This is not just any frog though, it is a Pacman frog a.k.a. an ornate horned frog. The crazy frog will even eat MICE! The kids spend time every day catching grasshoppers & crickets & putting them in his cage. He was baptized (related post below). He went to lunch at Moe’s & dinner at Lieu’s. And he had a friend party. Jared invited several friends over to come swim in our neighborhood pool. As luck would have it, it was cloudy & overcast so we had the pool to ourselves!!! Perfect.

 

 

Jared’s Baptism

On Monday, Jared turned eight! He was excited for lots of reasons – one of them being that he was able to get baptized into our church. Before he was baptized, he had to talk to the bishop. Jared was so excited! Scott’s brother & family came up from Florida to help share in this special day with us. 

We had lots of friends who came, too. At one point, I wanted to turn around & take a picture of everyone who came. I hemmed & hawed & then didn’t. Now, I wish that I had pictures of everyone – I was so touched that people took the time to support our family on this very special day that I had many, many tears streaming down my face for much of the day.

Chris gave the talk on baptism. Mikan gave the talk on the Holy Ghost. Brother Waddell talked to Jared specifically about what a special day this was & how to always remember it.

We had fruit in the gym for a snack after.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the baptism, we went to Moe’s as a big family to eat lunch & to celebrate Jared’s birthday. Uncle Bret & Aunt JeaNette gave Jared a fun baptism-related present with a backpack, a light, and a cuddly blanket.

The food was yummy! Moe’s is always good. And Jared’s cake was also WONDERFUL – I don’t think I could even accurately write down how I made it, but it was very chocolaty & decadent. Basically, I followed the Perfect Birthday Cake recipe in the Chocolate Cake Mix Doctor with a vanilla cake mix but added 1 square of melted bitter chocolate and some Ghiradelli ground sweet chocolate (1/4 cup?). For the frosting, we used 1/2 cup butter, 3.5 ounces of Ghiradelli melting chocolate, 1.5 ounces of milk chocolate chips, 1/2 cup milk, & 2.5 cups powdered sugar – melted together & then whipped. … I made Scott take it to work the next day because I would have eaten every single leftover piece (before breakfast).