33. Plant a Vegetable Garden

Don't know how I missed this but I have another thing to cross off my list - can I get a Woot Woot! I did plant a vegetable garden - a nice big one! Unfortunately between Jay's ACL surgery, me going back to work and this record rainfall, it hasn't been a huge success with one small exception. My tomatoes are awesome!! I have always viewed tomato growing as something of an artform. Probably because my dad is the Picasso of tomatoes. Seriously, the man could write a book. Well, he has, just not about tomatoes. Sorry. Small tangent. Anyway, my tomatoes are doing awesome. I have picked enough to share and each one is picture perfect!

See...


Feels good to be blogging again - looks like I will "ketchup" soon! HAHAHA green thumb and funny too! I AM almost 40 and fabulous!

19. Kiss in the rain

Another one bites the dust! Our family celebrated our Country's independence in grand style at Bethany, Oklahoma's Freedom Festival. What a great night. It had rained off and on most of the day but it really just made for a nice cool evening. By nightfall, we found a perfect spot in the grass to lay out our blanket - perfect viewing for fireworks! And then it started to rain. It was the perfect (and romantic) moment to cross another thing off my 40x40 - so i grabbed my husband of 12 years and kissed him in the rain. Mission accomplished!

A little known fact...

I was the roller disco queen of Wheatland Ave circa 1980. There was an "Official" contest with all the kids on the block. While i was far from the only entrant into the contest as the oldest participant, I was the natural choice for the sole (and soul) judge. I won the contest hands down in a unanimous decision. I am pretty sure I also fabricated a sash out of a pillowcase to crown my achievement. If only my mother would have been as present with the camera as I am with my own children. Although perhaps it's best that the 10 yr old version of me with tight pants, halter top and a pillowcase draped over me is one image that is better left to the imagination! Fast forward 30 years (wow - how is that possible) to the current version of me. We were invited to a birthday party for the son of one of our nearest and dearest. The party was held at the local roller rink!! I was a little nervous but excited to showcase my roller disco skills. Yeah, not so much. Apparently if you hang up your skates for 30 years, it's nothing like riding a bike, you just can't get back on and go! And - imagine my surprise (and disgust) when they didn't play Funky Town one time!!! Seriously, that's just wrong. How am I supposed to skate to Eminem's Shake that A$$? That was probably my problem, the music. Yea, it was the music. There were no crowns to be handed out last night and no pillow case sashes but I did put on my skates and make a valliant attempt and for that, I consider myself the reigning roller disco queen of Roff Ave. Officially.

Man, it's not easy being this goal-oriented

So just knowing that I made these goals for myself and I have not achieved them is killing me. I don't know if I will get to every one but I don't know that I won't. So every once in a while, you might check in and see some progress. Maybe.

10. Take my family to my grandmother's grave.
I did this on Memorial Day and it was so special. I shared so many stories and memories of my grandmother. I thought I might make me sad at the thought of missing so many things with my grandmother, mostly sad at the thought that she never got to meet my husband or my children. But instead, I found myself filled with joy! Standing there, sharing stories of her and laughing with my children was something I won't soon forget. I don't know if I will go back again, I know in my heart, she isn't there. She is definitely smiling down at us and probably always has been.

For whatever reason...

I have decided to discontinue my 40x40 quest. Whereas there are lots of excuses errr i mean reasons, here is my official response. Part of turning 40 means I need to prove nothing to anyone including myself. I am a strong, beautiful, intelligent woman and each day I live my life trying to be the best mom, wife, sister, friend, and daughter I can be. I challenge myself on a daily basis. Always have - always will. If you choose to follow something really worthwhile, i encourage you to check out my family blog. It will be updated, soon. It can be found by visting, http://littlebabylacy.blogspot.com

Bad Blogger, forgive me Oprah...

Sorry I have been such a bad blogger, I promise to have a full update soon. I have been busy helping my sister organize a walk team for March for Babies. If you would like to learn more about why we are doing this or even sponsor us in our efforts, please visit my family blog by clicking here.

Challenging myself

I think i mentioned in my first post that I am not Catholic. I was raised Lutheran, Catholic Lite. We are now happy Methodists. So while I am not sure that Methodists as a rule give up something for lent but I've done it for so many years, I can't imagine not. Of course, I DO eat meat, even on Fridays, so I'm not exactly "hard core." It seems the last several years I have given up something like ice cream or soda or chocolate. For 40 days and 40 nights it's not exactly easy but it is definitely not a sacrifice either. The last church we went to in Wichita subscribed to the belief that instead of giving something up you should do something to better yourself. In keeping with my 40x40 I decided to give it a try. I decided to spend time everyday walking and/or running. This would go towards (hopefully) accomplishing two of my goals, losing 40 lbs and walking/running my first 5k. I purposely sat out to run everyday. I know myself better than anybody and if i would have challenged myself to 2-3 days a week it would be easy to put off today's run hoping for a better tomorrow so I challenged myself to do it everday. I have to admit, I haven't done it. But, i think i have done better than I expected. I am out atleast 5 days per week. I have been out in rain and cold and very windy conditions. I have had to walk around hospitals, my sister's neighborhood and out at a soccer complex - believe me it would have been easy to skip but I didn't. So today after the rain cleared, I decided to hit it again. My body is starting to crave it, how awesome is that? It's not my mind reminding me to get out and hit the streets it's my body asking me to! I was feeling confident tonight and asked my husband to join me. Big mistake. I sat out to prove something to him but really to myself. I failed. I took a longer path than normal and had a great walking pace. I decided to run. Why not? My heart is pumping to the music and I feel great! I pat my husband on the back, give him a flirty smile and say, "let's run." He took off and ran right past me. I tried to keep up but I couldn't. I wish I wasn't so damn competitive. I wish I wasn't so damned out of shape. I wish I wasn't so damn old. I am so so angry with myself, I can hardly see through my tears. But I'm not giving up. I am going to run that 5k and then I am going to run another one and another one. I am craving the freedom and the rush I am just beginning to feel. Today was rough but tomorrow is another day. And just for the record, after my husband came in, I went around the block one more time. BECAUSE I CAN!