and just for fun...

My hubby trying on the goofy helmet hat at Wally world.

Happy Monday everyone!

It's all about the journey

We had another Boot Camp Chicks challenge where we were to climb North Mountain as many times as we could in 2 hours starting at 5:30am. My goal was to not only survive but to make it up and down twice which thankfully I manged to do both. We ran into some very interesting people on our hike and most were very nice and encouraging. Of course there were some kids that would run up and down the mountain making me wish I were young again to have the stamina and energy. I'm very sore and have some lovely blisters on my feet but it felt good to accomplish this challenge. A few photos from our day. As you can see it was very beautiful out but don't let the photo fool you. It was also very hot outstide!

Adriane, Kim, me and Sarah coming down the mountain. My legs were like jello at this point!

Sarah, Kim, Me, Adriane and CC at the finish line. It was now time for some breakfast!

Is it really only Tuesday?

It's been a very weird week and it's only Tuesday. It started off with me seeing some young guys up to no good in our complex and caught the license plate # which led to a cop in our new place taking my statement because a poor fella in our complex got his tires and rims stolen. The cop proceeded to tell us the SUV the hoodlums were using was stolen from a home a few blocks away.

Today, a kamikaze bird flew into the hood of my car on the 101. I don't know what it is about the 101 and the birds but they sure fly low and it's been a fear that one would come through the windshield and cause a major accident. Lucky for us it flipped over the car and all we could do was burst out laughing.

This evening I managed to spill my ice tea on the remote to the cable box and it died for a while and then came back to life with the buttons not performing as designed. Lucky for me it's back to working condition becuase I don't know what my hubby would do without being able to channel surf.

So, as Joe put it I've killed the hopes of the hoodlums getting away with their theft, I've killed a bird (or as a friend on Facebook commented- "I flipped the bird today") and just about killed the remote...and it's only Tuesday!

Frenectomy- huh?

I had a Frenectomy on my labial frenum this afternoon which is the removal of the band connecting the lip to the gum in front of the teeth. Apparantly, this small band is causing receding of my gums so it has become a necessary procedure to undergo. It was quick and done with a laser so no bleeding. It's a bit painful tonight but luckily my dentist gave me some generic hydrocodone to ease the pain.

I'd take a picture but the gaping hole is pretty disgusting. So, I'm sitting here very relaxed with a damp cotton roll in my mouth. I'm thinking it's time to catch some ZZZ's.

Progress

Progress indeed...

The before picture of my closet.

Ahhh, it's nice to have an organized closet again.

The DVD's all over the guest bed.

Joe did a beautiful job organizing the DVD's.

Next room is the computer/scrapbooking room and the hanging of the photos and pictures.

12 of 12 IV: July 2009

I'm a little late in getting my 12 of 12 posted as we've been consumed with moving for the past four days and mixing in my birthday celebration. Today was spent getting as much put away as possible. I've got the kitchen and living room pretty settled. My clothes are still in boxes so that will be next to unpack. What an exhausting process but it sure is nice to be in a new place with hard wood floors, granite counter tops and a MUCH bigger kitchen - yay! I'm mixing a couple of photos from my birthday dinner last night because somehow I was short in my 12 shots.

Here's this months 12 of 12, click here to find out more about this fun concept created by Chad Darnell.

7/11 ~ 6:00pm - My mom made me this super cute birthday sign and gave me a gift card to Lane Bryant. Thanks mom!

7/11 ~ 6:15pm - Me and my babe at Oregano's waiting for our order to arrive. It was a very nice birthday celebration.

7/12 ~ 8:00am - My hubby at AJ's. We enjoyed a post birthday/moving survival omelette.



8:45 am - Ahhh, passion fruit iced tea. It was starting to get hot outside.

9:15am - We had to make a run to Walmart and cruised down the drink isle to see if they had stock of my hubby's new drink of choice, light Lemonade.

9:30am - New M&M's...Strawberried peanut butter. I had to buy one to try it out and they were actually pretty good but not something I would opt to buy again.

10:00 am - The before picture of our kitchen with boxes consuming it's space.

1:30pm - The after picture of our kitchen. Everything is in it's proper spot and it's look beautiful!

10:00 am - The before picture of the living room. What a mess!

4:30 pm - The after picture of the living room. There is still pictures to hang and knick knacks to arrange but progress was made today.

7:00pm - TV time. Our summer guilty pleasure, Big Brother. I'm so not happy about Jessie coming back into the house. He just irritates me to no end!

8:15pm - The birthday flowers my brother Dan and sister-in-law Keri brought over to me. It was a very pleasant surprise. I finally found the box with the vase! They are so pretty and a fitting way to end my 12 of 12. Happy July everyone and stay cool!

25lb 5K Boot Camp Challenge

A few weeks ago I participated in a Boot Camp Chicks challenge. It was a 5K carrying 25 lb of rock in your backpack. There were five stops along the way where you would drop 5 lbs. Surprisingly it was alot of fun. Thanks Kim for a fun challenge.

Fathers and Daughters

This is a picture of me and my dad. It's been a little over four years since he passed away. Father's Day made me think back on our relationship and how complex it was for the both of us. I always knew he loved me and would do anything for me but it was so difficult for him to show me any affection and tell me he loved me. In turn I had the same issues toward him. It was a circle that didn't seem to break until his last few years of living.

So, if I can give any piece of advice to father's that have daughters it's to spend some quality time with them and make sure you tell them you love them and never quit telling them so. It can make all the difference in the world.

12 of 12 IV: June 2009

It's June 12 and time for peek into my day. Click here to go to Chad Darnell's site and see the rest of the 12 of 12 posts.

5:10am - Driving to Boot Camp. I couldn't resist taking a picture of the spectacular AZ sky.

5:20am - My mat and foot before warming up for Boot Camp.

6:37am - Post Boot Camp. Like my headband? It may not be fashionable but it sure does it's job!

7:45am - My hubby ready for work.

1:30pm - My desk.

4:15pm - Running errands after work and liked this sign at an entrance to a construction site.

4:30pm - My hubby and I ran to Target.

7:00pm - Watching the Stanley Cup final.

7:30pm - Items to donate to Goodwill.

7:45pm - Boxes waiting to filled. We move in 3 1/2 weeks - yay!

7:46 pm: Our dining room is now filled with packed boxes. This weekend will be filled with more packing.

8:00pm - The new Black Eyed Peas CD. I can't wait to listen to it!

Dream home

It's hard to believe a home like this exist in the heart of Phoenix, click here to view the slideshow. I want one!

Bored, Bored, Bored...

I'm feeling a bit like my 7 year old niece tonight -- bored. It's not for lack of anything to do around the house but the fact of the matter is that none of it is appealing. I could be packing for our move next month, scrapbooking, cleaning (ugh!), watching a movie, reading, playing a computer game but no...I sit here changing channels trying to find anything exciting to watch- nada! Maybe I should try these mindless suggestions.

Where for art thou Orangeade?

This drink has gone missing from our local stores. We are not sure what's up with this lack of stocking the Tropicana OrangeAde Light drink. This is the one drink that my hubby enjoys drinking that is sugar free and non carbonated. We've called the company that makes it and they said it is in a particular grocer in our area but alas the shelves are empty...*sigh*.

Congrats to my brother and new sis-in-law Keri on their marriage. We celebrated their wedding with tons of family and friends last Friday night. It was a bit warm for an outside party but fun was had by all. Here are some shots from the evening.

The newlyweds

Joe and Piper

Caitlyn wearing a new hat.

Brycen sporting two new hats....yes, they were food covers. Suppose it wasn't too sanitary having these on their heads. Oops.

The Stehower siblings...Mom, Uncle Tom and Uncle Jeff

Me and my beautiful niece Sophia.

12 of 12 IV: May 2009

It's the 12 of May which means you get 12 shots from my day. The concept brought to you by Chad Darnell, click here to see all the posts for this month.

7:00am - We didn't have to be at work until the afternoon since we were going to the Student of the Month celebration for our Niece Piper so I ventured out on a bike ride using Joe's bike. I wanted to try his out since it had gears. It as pretty challenging but fun.

9:30am - Joe waiting for the Student of the Month festivities to begin.

9:40am - Piper and a friend dancing to the cotton-eye-joe. The school staff was getting the kids all hyped up. It was alot of fun.

9:45am - Piper doing the SOTM run. They take a run around the room giving the students and parents high fives. They really make this a fun event for the kids & it's hard not to get caught up in the excitement. Congrats Miss Piperella!!!!

9:45am - My nephew Brycen apparantly not too happy to have his ole Auntie snapping his picture in front of his friends. He's just lucky I didn't call him "pumpkin". Lol.

10:45am - At our favorite place, AJ's for some tea before heading to the office.

5:15pm - We were at Fry's grocery looking for some OrangeAde but alas they were all out. Just our luck especially when it's a good deal.

5:30pm - Watching the Neely's cook up some goodies on the Food Network.

6:00pm - A few scrapbooks that will be put in the mail this week to one lucky buyer. I've been in cleaning out mode since we are moving in two months. It's nice to make a little money with some things that have been sitting in the closet.

6:30pm - What I'm currently reading...very addicting series of books. I never thought I'd enjoy reading about vampires and werewolves.

7:15pm - The Biggest Loser finale. Three hours is a bit much. They could've had this done in an hour and I wasted three hours of my time watching my least favorite person win it all. : (

9:00 pm - Our boxes waiting to be filled with our important belongings.