Virtual Coffee

Good morning! It's Virtual Coffee time.

So, tell me what you've been up to lately, because I am super boring today. No big news, no big plans. Just a whole bunch of the same-o, same-o.

Anything new? Exciting? Going anywhere? Reading anything good?

Next week is Elisabeth's last week of school before her 2 week spring break. I'm trying to think of things to do for that first week of break (library? playdates? museum?). The second week Evan's parents are coming to visit for a week, so we'll be pretty busy. The girls are most excited to see their Nina and Papa.

Julia and I are both still suffering stuffy noses and slight coughs from that stupid cold we had a couple weeks ago. It just won't go away. Poor Julia's been napping way more than she normally does. :(

I've been going to the Y pretty religiously for a month now. Walking 2-3 miles on the treadmill and trying out new classes. If you've been reading my posts the last couple of weeks, you'll have noticed that I've taken to yoga with a passion. One of my goals for 2011 was to make exercising and being active a habit, and I kind of think I'm getting there. I definitely feel like something's missing if I'm not making a trip to the Y or getting a long walk outside in. I've deemed Sundays my day of rest (and pajama day as well) and if the weather had been nicer, I totally would have gone for a walk. See? It's totally becoming a habit. I did the math and I've walked a total of 42 miles this year as of yesterday. Not too shabby. I have a goal for 2011 of walking 450 miles by the end of the year. I'd say I'm doing pretty good.

I don't remember where I read or heard it (and I know I've said it on here before), but someone said something about their 80 year old self will thank their 30 year old self for taking the time to exercise and be healthy. I would like my 80 year old self to be physically able to keep up with my grand kids and great grand kids and not be that old, large woman in the chair that can't get up trying to swipe small children who run past into her lap for hugs and smooches because she can't get up and physically chase them. You know?

Well, I guess I'll go ahead and head on out. We're headed to the Y (it's yoga day!!!) and then a trip to the bookstore is in order. Julia is most excited about the bookstore. She likes to sit on the ancient couch in the kid area and "read".

Thanks for stopping by. Maybe next week I'll be more exciting.

Hot Yoga

So, I know I've talked to you about yoga and how much I'm loving it.

Well, that's still true. In fact, I've committed to my relationship with yoga and bought a mat of my own. It's orange like the one pictured above. I heart it.

On Saturday, my friend Paige invited me to go to a hot yoga class with her and our friend Melinda at CorePower Yoga (a yoga specific studio). As a first timer to the studio, my class would be free. I was kind of nervous about making it through the entire hot yoga class, but decided to give it a shot. My friend Melissa did a bikram yoga (which is very similar to hot yoga but with a different name) and she has ranted and raved about how much she loved it. When I said I was going to hot yoga, she was most excited for me.

Hot yoga is basically yoga done in a sauna. The temperature in the room hovers around 100 degrees. It's hot. And sweaty. A gross sweaty.

Here's the thing--it was hard. This class had some yoga poses I hadn't done before. The instructor was a bit...intense. There was a man who was wearing the smallest pair of bike shorts possible and it was not pretty (especially with some of those yoga poses...*shudder*). But, I liked it. I did way better than I thought I would. I was so sore the next day, but it was that good sore of actually accomplishing something in a workout.

Part of becoming a new member is that you not only get one day free, you have a whole week to try out as many yoga classes as you wish! So, this Wednesday, I'm going to another hot yoga class. Yep, I liked it so much, I'm going back. And, I think I might even actually pay for a class once or twice a month. (Corepower is kind of like a pre-pay cell phone. You can pay or a whole month of classes or you can pay for classes one at a time. Some of them are kind of pricey, but for once or twice a month, it's doable.)

Oh, and I totally forgot to tell you...

I took my socks off.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

It's that time again! Here are my finds for this week.

1. DIPTYCH

(First off, I had to look up what that word even meant. Then, I had to figure out how to represent the word. So, I used a picture from my archives of the girls both at one month old that I'd used to show how much they looked alike.)

2. BOOK
3. WHEN I THINK ABOUT HOW the cat IS ON THE blanket I just made, I JUST HAVE TO give up, wash it and hurry up and wrap it to be sent to the baby I made it for before my cats find it to sleep on again.

4. A TASTE OF ITALY

5. REMINDERS
Check out Ashley over at Ramblings and Photos for more Scavenger Hunt Sunday fun!

Welcome Home!

Julia asks where Evan is as soon as she wakes up in the morning. She talks about him coming home for supper all day long. She pretends to talk to him on the phone and tells the pretend Daddy on the end of the line that she loves him, misses him, and what we're having for dinner. She waits for me to tell her he's driving home so she can wait for him.

When Evan works later than normal, both girls start asking for him. If Evan won't be home till they are in bed, both girls are very sad. They like Evan. They find him amusing.

I read recently in a magazine (which one? I have no idea because I read it at the gym and then threw it away) that how a parent is greeted after being gone all day can make or break their mood for the rest of the day or even their mood on coming home in general.
It said how spouses who aren't even acknowledged when they walk in the door or are bombarded with negative remarks or tasks end up in a bad/angry/depressed mood. Spouses who are greeted with smiles and enthusiasm and excitement to see them tend to be happier to be coming home and in a better mood.
I realize that the above statements seem to be common sense. I also know that I either read this article in Redbook or Real Simple or Good Housekeeping (not necessarily medical journals), but that part of the article stuck with me.
We've always cheered the fact that Evan's coming home from work. It's something my mom used to do with us when my sister and I were little. She'd make a big deal about my dad coming home. We'd wait by the window and watch him pull up and greet him with ear-drum-burstings of "DADDY'S HOOOOOOOME!" that would make the dog bark with nervousness. My dad also would have us greet our mom the same way after she'd come home from running errands. It was fun (and loud). It's hard not to smile when you can hear your children's excitement at your arrival through the windows as you walk to the front door.
Granted, sometimes, when Julia was younger and my day had been terrible, Evan was greeted with tears more than smiles. I was so excited he was home (therefore giving me reinforcements against Julia the Terrible) that I just wept with joy and relief. I'm not too sure if that's a positive way to come home...probably not. I don't know because I was too busy blubbering to actually see Evan's reaction to this particular welcome. I shall try to smile through my tears in the future...
I know I like hearing happy voices greeting me after I've been gone.

Plus, how cute is it to see little faces looking for your car?

Painting

Julia loves to paint.

She is currently into rock painting.

And, as she is a rather messy painter, all of the painting has to be done with water colors at the kitchen table under supervision.

I mean, she is only 2.5 years old.

Yesterday, Julia asked me to paint her fingernails. This is yet another type of painting that she loves. I was in the middle of cooking about 3 things at once and told her she'd need to wait until I was done cooking. Besides, I reminded her, her nails were already painted. She pointed to some spots that had chipped away. I told her I'd fix them after I finished up in the kitchen. She said ok and wandered away.

She came up to me a few minutes later to tell me she had a surprise for me. With a huge grin on her little chubby face, she held up her hands and showed me this...

I screamed. Loudly. I ran to my bathroom, where all fingernail polish is kept, but didn't see a mess. I could definitely smell that polish had been used, but couldn't see it. I asked Julia to come here to show me where she'd painted her nails.

She said no.

I said to get her little toddler self over to me pronto.

She meandered in very s l o w l y.

I asked her where she'd painted her nails. She pointed to my closet.

I opened the door and saw a spill spot on the carpet. Not as big of one as I was anticipating, but purple is not a forgiving color on tan carpet.

After explaining why she can't paint her own nails by herself in my closet, I had her help me clean it up.

She's going to be the end of me, people.

Zumba

I took a Zumba class for the first time today.

I was nervous. I'm always nervous walking into a room of people I don't know, especially when that room is an exercise room and I'm expected to exercise in front of everyone.

The teacher walked in and I felt a bit more comfortable because the teacher was a Colorado version of my cousin Jamie. For those of you who do not know my cousin Jamie, she is a 4'11" tiny blonde who could be Reese Witherspoon's sister. Jamie's been dancing since she was teeny and tiny and is very confident in a dancing realm. This teacher had that same confidence. And was also the same height.

I kind of knew what Zumba was, but if you do not know, it's a dance-fitness program. It's a lot of Latin music and dance moves. It makes you sweat and shimmy and feel inadequate at times.

I loved it.

Now, I love to dance anyway, which I why I thought Zumba would be kind of interesting. Am I a good dancer? Ha! No. No I am not. But, I love it anyway.

The zumba class I took at the Y was an hour long and I was ready to be done after 30 minutes. It's also done in an aerobic room, so there are mirrors on 2 out of 4 walls and I find that so annoying. The last thing I want to do is watch myself turn red as a tomato and sweat like a pig. I like to believe that I don't look like a red hot mess while exercising and those damn mirrors kept showing me otherwise.

It was such a workout, though. Lots of moving and jumping. I had walked 2 miles before the class, so my calves hated me a little. But, overall, it was fun! I liked it. I'm definitely going to go back next week.

I'm just going to ignore the mirrors. They're just bullies.

Virtual Coffee

Good morning! Want some coffee? Some virtual coffee? Great! Then grab a mug and let's chit chat at my kitchen table where the sun is pouring in.

The illness that shook this house last week is finally over. Julia still has a lingering cough and has been car napping a lot lately, but the doctor said the cough could last 2-3 weeks. Awesome.

I need to show you some of the things I found when I went antique browsing over the weekend with a couple of friends. I am such a sucker for an antique/vintage store. They call to me.

This I loved instantly because Evan's grandpa was a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer fan, but this is a Pabst cheese box because they apparently made cheese too.
Ah...this is my new love.
The sticker just cemented my adoration.
Not a rip, not a tear, not a thing wrong with the inside. And it cost me $6. :)
I have this Rice Krispies magazine ad framed in my kitchen. I've been hunting for more vintage ads to frame and hang next to it.
Which made me super excited to find this one!!
I had to buy this one. I heart him.
And, seriously? It says Virginia House! It needed to be in my house!!
It was a fabulous day for finding things.

Yesterday, my friend Rachel came over to clean my house (and bleach away any stray germs) and she totally helped me rearrange and reorganize the upstairs loft. The loft is the girls' play area and it was just a dump. A hopeless dump. So, we moved furniture, threw out garbage, threw together a donation bag and now the whole upstairs is fabulous! Elisabeth saw it when she came home from school and declared it "Beautiful!". Sometimes you just need an outsider to help you see what changes need to be made to be more efficient. Thank heavens for Rachel!

So, do you have any plans for today? It's just errand running for us. We're headed to the Y for a little yoga and some treadmill walking and then to a couple of stores. I find it much easier to run errands when the weather is lovely. When it's cloudy and cold and windy, I'd rather hole up in my house.

Before you leave, I need to tell you how much crocheting I have been doing lately. There are a bajillion babies being born this year and I have been working on small blankets as gifts for them all. I'm really excited a bout a new, simple pattern I've learned from a crocheting book my friend Danielle bought me years ago. I'll post pictures soon to show you, because if you're looking for a simple blanket to make that is also lovely, this pattern is for you!

Thanks for stopping by. I'm so glad to have found Amy at Lucky Number 13 because virtual coffee is one of my favorite days. See you all next week!