May 17

Don't knock the weather: nine-tenths of people couldn't start a conversation if it didn't change once in a while.
         kin hubbard

It's snowing outside, and it makes me forget that it's the middle of May. It feels instead like it's the first snow in the fall, and I can't help but feel an oddly misplaced hint of excitement. It's very lovely, the big flakes drifting down and wetly covering the newly green grass and nearly realized buds on the trees.

It's very unusual for snow to fall now, even in Alaska. And because of that it really doesn't bother me. I know it will be gone soon, probably by tomorrow evening, and so I'm going to try and enjoy the strange beauty of it all.

life lately

I always seem to accumulate so many pictures that I forget to post here or on FB. I having this blog as a space to keep a sort of record of our daily lives, it helps me remember things later when I'm going through my old blog posts and I have fun reading about what life was like 'then' and looking at pictures. I also plan on printing some blog books when I find a good coupon as sort of a family journal, which I know will be a special treasure to me. I love reading old diaries and looking at old pictures, and things I think I'll remember always seem to fade away until I look at and old picture or read some words I quickly recorded on my iPhone or here on my blog.

So anyway, I apologize if these photo-heavy blog posts annoy anyone, but ultimately my blog is for me - I guess what I'm saying is "sorry, not sorry" haha.

Mother's Day

We had such a fun day on mother's day, except for one thing...I didn't get any pictures with my 'real' camera! So dumb haha. But we did get a few fun (and blurry :P) pictures on my iPhone.

I was so thrilled to spend the day just hanging out with both my guys. Riggs was extra cuddly and I was so happy to get his kisses (or licks in some cases) and hugs. 

 We went down to the river in the rain and had fun throwing the ball for Tutka

and watching the four-wheelers and side-by-sides racing around.

Riggs looks somewhat sad in the pics but he was having fun! promise! ha

When we got home from the beach/river, my mom texted and said she and Beka were going to come out for an evening visit. I was so happy that I got to see my own mama on Mother's day!

Monday
My sis and Noah came out for a visit. It was so fun to see them and for us to just be able to hang around the house. We went outside and blew bubbles and pretended it was warmer and sunnier than it really was ;)

Tuesday
Sarah came and picked me and Riggs up (thank you Sarah!) for a trip into Anchorage after both our babies had their naps. We ran errands and had lots of laughs together, it was such a fun day!

Riggs got a little cheeky with Lyla - so cute! 

Wednesday
It was one of those days were we just hung around the house with no plans and nothing we had to do. And it was one of those days that I thought over and over about how much I love our house and where we live.

We went out into the yard to get some fresh air, and Riggs started walking down the driveway with his turtle-walker-thing. And he didn't stop, so me and Tutka just followed him down the road and around the corner until we got to the paved loop, where we turned around and headed back to the house. One car passed us the entire time we were slowly walking down the road, and they stopped to wave and smile at Riggs.

we had a bunny sighting when we got back to the house, which Riggs was very excited about.

we love our little bunny neighbors! 

we also got the bubbles out

bubbles are so fun

I think Riggs could watch them float by all day long

I also sucked it up and went out for a long run in the afternoon (despite the wind and how cozy it was inside my house ha). But I'll cover that in my weekly running 'update'.

Thursday (today)
We woke up early, and both me and Riggs got to see Steve before he left for work, which was really nice. But when Riggs gets up early (today it was 6am instead of the usual 7:15-7:30) he needs an extra nap, usually by 8:30 or else he will be in total meltdown mode all morning.

I put him in his crib at 7:50 and he literally laid down and went right to sleep. I decided that my own bed sounded pretty nice, so I snuggled in and attempted to look at Pinterest for a few minutes before I fell asleep myself. Neither of us woke up until about 9:45. It felt sooo good!

When we woke up we were both in much better moods. We played around the house a bit before getting dressed and setting out for Palmer via bike and buggy. I listened to Dead Ever After on Audible while I rode, so the 35 minute trip flew by. We saw a moose on the way, which was literally one of the first moose I've seen in our neck-of-the-woods since last year, other than the one that got his by the fuel truck near Maud Road earlier this year. I think they're a little scarce in the neighborhoods because there are so many off-leash dogs wandering around.

we stopped on the way into town to look at the cows

since Riggs is actually old enough to be able to notice them now

the little calves were so cute!

we went to Fred Meyer to pick up some groceries

our little bike buggy can hold a lot of stuff!

Only the spinach and spring greens had to go up in front with Riggy

there was a really strong headwind on the way back 

so it was slow and hard going

also pretty cold, my hands were freezing!

I kept them balled up in a fist to keep my fingers warm

I will definitely bring little gloves next time

these were the stats from the trip back to the house

my battery had died over the winter in my bike computer

and I didn't remember to get another battery until today

the trip to Palmer only took 35 minutes

the trip back took about 50 as you can see - dang wind!

overall the trip was about 16.8 miles

When I got home I made these amazing brownies and now that I'm finally done with this post I really need to go start dinner! I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday, I can't wait for the weekend with Steve home. I'm really dreading the week that he starts working Saturdays too, we miss him so much when he's only home one day a week :( But I am very thankful he has such a great job with the opportunity to work so much overtime.

people who like books: read this

I am a reader. I love books and I always have. Growing up I was always and I mean always in the middle of the book. I remember staying up late in high school, not to do homework, but to finish a book I had started earlier that day during class or at lunch. Seriously, I love to read. 

Since I had Riggs, I admit I haven't read much other than magazines and a few fast reads (like the Southern Vampire Mysteries written by Charlaine Harris). Also at least a hundred different books about pregnancy, childbirth, and parenting including at least ten alone on just the topic of sleep. But those don't really count. 

The best thing I've discovered since having Riggs has been audio books, but even that just doesn't satisfy my urge for holding a good paperback book in my hands and getting lost in the word within. I've noticed lately that with Riggs getting older and summer coming up I can actually read real books again, and I'm making a list of books I need to either borrow, get from the library or (if they're good enough) to buy.

Here's what I've come up with so far:

Hunger Games Trilogy

by Suzanne Collins

Yes I realize I'm crazy for not having read these yet, but when I know a series is going to be good I really really try to wait until they're all out so I can just gobble them up and not have to go through the pure agony of waiting and waiting (and waiting George R.R. Martin!!!!!!) for the next (or last...MARTIN!) book to come out.

Dead Ever After

by Charlain Harris

This is the last book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series, better known as the Sookie Stackhouse books or the books they based the True Blood TV show on. I hate vampire stuff so I'm really really surprised that I like these but they really suck you in. I have to say the writing is purely terrible in some parts but the story is pretty good. So I get entertainment in two ways, from the actual story line and from the bad writing. Win and win.

      

The Bungalow, The Violets of March, and Blackberry Winter

by Sarah Jio

These books were recommended by another blogger and when I went and read a] the authors bio and b] the descriptions for the books I knew I had to read them. They aren't a series but I guess the characters from one of the books are in another of the books or something confusing like that. I'll know more once I actually read them I guess.

Summer Sisters

by Judy Blume

This was also recommended by another blogger and it sounds like the perfect summer read. I think I'll just check this one out from the library as I'm sure they'll have it.

Now it's time for you to tell me any other books that I just have to read this summer. Pretty please?! I need your help! :)

running: second week of may

I'm really happy with how last week went as far as 'training' and working-out goes. I accomplished my goal of running four times and I managed to squeeze in cross-training on the other days. There were actually a lot of really nice days too so it was a real pleasure to spend lots of time outside.

Sunday

:: no running or cross-training workout. we did walk to church if that counts for anything haha lol, it's about a 15 minute walk one way. 

Monday

:: 2.04 miles

:: 19:59 minutes

:: this ended up being a really stressful run. I tried to bring to Tutka off-leash on the run with me on the bike-path next to the Old Glenn closer to the Palmer end. He did good the first mile and then started to get a little too close to the road for my peace-of-mind. Usually he stays right with me when he's off the leash so I hadn't thought it would be a problem. But I couldn't focus on my run at all while trying to keep an eye Tutka. Then he actually did go up onto the shoulder of the road, and I just couldn't handle it anymore and I booked it back to the truck. So it was basically a run-fail.  

I need to get a waist halter for myself to attach Tutka's leash to so I can still push the stroller and bring along the dog once in a while. 

Tuesday

:: 3.05 miles

:: 26.33 minutes

:: This was a great run. Steve was home sick from work so I was able to go out stroller-free during Riggs' nap. It was a really good opportunity to focus on running and do a few intervals towards the end of the run. 

I walked about a half mile before I started running, and then ran about a mile and a half to warm up before I started intervals. For each interval, I just chose a starting point and a point that I would run to and I ran at a hard pace, about an 8.5 on a scale of 1-10. Then for the last interval, right at the end of the run, I ran as hard as I could as if I were finishing a race. I really like to do that on all my runs, it just feels good to stretch my legs and end on a fast note. When I finished the run, I walked about half a mile to 'cool down'.

walking back down the road to my house after my run :)

Wednesday

:: no run on Wednesday, I was busy with yard clean up. It was a completely gorgeous day, full sunshine and about 62 degrees the entire afternoon. I raked the whole yard and cleaned up all the little bits of trash that somehow manage to get scattered around the property during the winter. I also collected the cardboard from our storage area and took it down to the burn pit for having a fire later this month. It was a really productive day and it was so nice to get the yard cleaned up so Riggs can crawl around and explore.

Thursday

:: 4.09 miles

:: 41:53 minutes

:: I went on a long easy run with my little sister - it is so much easier to run for a longer distance when you have someone to run with! We weren't running very fast because we were talking (I can't run faster than 9.5 minute miles and talk at the same time ha) but we did buckle down and do three or four short intervals at the end of the run. 

Friday

:: 6 mile bike ride

:: 25 minutes (with stops to check Riggs and to get a drink at the Green Store)

:: I skipped a run today and went on a bike ride instead. It was overcast when I started but really bright and I could see the sun starting to shine through the clouds. And it was warm (comparatively, about 60 degrees) and towards the end of my ride I had to take off my hoodie and finish in just a tank-top. I've been waiting so long to wear just a tank top outside and it was marvelous!

thought I'd take a picture of the Green Store since I talk about it so much ha

fancy, eh? 

I biked a loop out that's really close to my house and pretty quiet with barely any traffic. It goes right by the Jim Creek parking lot for those of you who know where that is. I also like to bike the Bodenburg Loop which is about 5 miles and has lots of cute little farms and horses to look as you bike by. Lots of good places to bike out in the Butte!

Riggy loved biking but wasn't so sure about the kisses ;)

so happy about tank-top weather! 

Saturday
:: 2.3 miles
:: 22:02 minutes
:: 1 hour cardio class
:: Saturday was a great day for working-out. I got up early for cardio class at Edge Fitness - I even brought Riggs this time and let Steve sleep in - so nice ha. It was a really hard class too!

My legs and the sides of my butt were so sore, I decided to go for a walk later in the morning to sort of stretch them out. I walked for about a mile and then decided to just go for a run. I went pretty easy, stopping a few times to stretch, and it made my muscles a lot less sore and achey.

another sunny, 'warm' day - definitely sunscreen and tank-top weather for me!

total mileage for the week: 11.5 miles

Overall it was a great week for me and I was happy that I achieved my goal of running four times. This week I'd like to run four times again and up my mileage a bit to do at least two four mile runs. I'd also like to do two runs without the stroller if I can manage it. I really prefer to run first thing in the morning before I eat breakfast because it gives me great energy throughout the day and it just feels better on my stomach. But I think I might try running at night once a week after Riggs has gone to bed once Steve gets home from work. Then I can do one run on the weekend when Steve is home to leave Riggs with in the morning. I don't think that will be an option for much longer however since Steve is going to start working six days a week again really soon.

If you're a mom who runs, how do you fit in more 'serious' runs where you can really focus? I have such a hard time really getting the best workout possible when I have to hold onto the stroller with one hand. I mean I still get a pretty good workout but I'm just not able to run as well as I would by myself. Any input or advice would be really appreciated! :)