Tinkerbell Half Marathon 2013

"They" say people who run half marathons are only half crazy. I guess because I agreed to do this rodeo again, I must be twice as crazy. But it's just so hard to pass up for a few reasons...
1. It gives me something to work towards and my body may not always be able to do this. 
2. It's fun to do something with "the girls."
3. It includes a 24 hour getaway (with Luke) away from the kids. I thought about bringing them with us this year, but changed my mind a few weeks ago.

This year Julie wasn't running it because of the foot problems she had after last year's race. Luckily, Cassie recruited Kelly and Leisa. It wasn't the same without Julie....but Cassie is as close to Julie as I am gonna get.....and I have known Cassie pretty much her entire life. It's fun to spend time with "old" friends who are more like sisters from another mister. :)

A run in January is a difficult time of year to stay healthy. I was trying really hard to keep everything in the house/work clean and sanitized so I wouldn't pick up that nasty flu bug...or dreaded cold. I was drinking Emergen-C everyday and popping vitamins. Thankfully, all the effort I put in was worth it. A few days before the race Bubba and Luke both were coughing up a storm....and I managed to come out unscathed! A small miracle.
This year I wasn't able to run as much leading up to the race. Partly, it was lack of time during the week, but also because I was nursing so many injuries this year. I think because I knew what to expect from last year's run, I was OK with what I was able to do. I did fit in a 8.5 mile run two weeks before the race and an 11 mile run the weekend before.
I had one tiny hitch in my plan, that I still have no idea how it happened. Wednesday evening I was in Target when my left calf started aching. Very strange because I have never had any pain in my left leg....much less the calf. I thought it might go away within a day or two, but by Friday morning I was very nervous. It hurt to walk so I called the orthopedist and he squeezed me in that afternoon. After an x-ray and exam he diagnosed it as a calf muscle strain, possible tear. He prescribed me some steroids and physical therapy. I sent a message to my physical therapist and he amazingly squeezed me in on Friday afternoon for an ultrasound and therapy. i was so grateful. Seriously. I really didn't want to have to drop out of the race or walk it. Who pays $160 to walk 13.1 miles. Besides, at the rate I was going, walking the half marathon would probably get me picked up by the "sweeper." So Friday evening was spent putting ice on my calf and waiting patiently for my drugs to kick in.

Luke's parents came down Saturday morning to stay the night with the kiddies again. So thankful for them! We headed down into LA earlier this year so I could have some time to walk around the expo at the Disneyland hotel. This was my leg posted up on the dash with an ice pack on my calf. I was desperate.

We got to the expo before 3pm and the weather was absolutely perfect. It was nice to take off the sweatshirt and enjoy some warm sun. I picked up my race packet/bib and walked around the Expo for an hour.

After the Expo we checked into the Marriott hotel. The only rooms they had available had two double beds in them. I thought it was pretty funny we each got our own bed because there was no way we were going to share a double! :)

Dinner was at the Cheesecake Factory, of course! :) Luke and I tried to eat much healthier than we normally do. No appetizer, raspberry lemonade, or dessert! GASP! I had some chicken stuffed tortilla and a small side of spaghetti noodles with Parmesan cheese/butter.  It was goooooood.

We got back to the hotel before 8pm and I got my stuff together for the next morning. I had to take this picture of all the stuff I bought to put on my body so I could run this race. It made me feel so old. I did find the most amazing product at the Expo....KT TAPE. It's my new best friend. I watched some YouTube videos on my phone on how to use it on a calf muscle strain so I decided to give it a go. So Saturday evening I showered and then I had Luke tape up not only my calf, but my SI joint. 

The steroid the ortho put me on has all sorts of side effects. Crazy side effects...at least in my opinion. When I picked up the prescription Friday night, the pharmacist was reading off the dosage for the 7 days I need to take it. Since it was the end of the day, I asked her if I could take all 3 pills that night. She looked at me like I had two heads....and I'm glad I asked. The first side effect is insomnia. Holy crud does it cause insomnia. Saturday night I was all taped up and trying to fall asleep. I think it was around 10pm when I dozed off. I woke up at 1:30pm....and couldn't fall back to sleep. After flopping around the bed for 30 minutes and starting to fret about my calf again, I got out my Nook and read. I ended up reading magazines on the Nook until my wake up call came in at 3:45am. I really couldn't believe I was going to run on 3 hours of sleep, but I got myself ready to go and said goodbye to Luke around 4:15. I headed to the lobby to find the hotel shuttle. I stopped in the hallway and said a prayer. I really thought it was the least I could do for myself...was to ask for some help. I had no appetite, so I nibbled on my banana on the brief shuttle ride to the park. There I met up with these three fabulous ladies for 13.1 miles of fun! :) We all started in the last corral so we could start the race together. The first corral crossed the starting line at 5am, the last corral crossed the starting line at 5:30am. There were 15,000 people out there....and it was a party.

 Showing off the back of our shirts Cassie/Kelly designed for us!

I had no idea if I was going to be able to run or not, but I went for it. As soon as I started to run I didn't want to stop. I was feeling so blessed to be able to go the speed I needed to help me make my goal. Last year I ran it this race at around 2:31. Before I hurt my calf I was thinking I could easily shave off 10 minutes. However, hours before the race I thought I was going to end up walking most of the race, trying to keep up with the 16 minute pace requirement. During the race, around mile 8-9 I started to get a little choked up because I realized my calf was going to hold up and I was on pace to beat my time from last year. I was trying not to get too sentimental...and who cries in the middle of Disneyland?! :) I had my phone with me in my pouch pocket, so I checked it every other mile to see where Luke was (and let him know where I was). Luke ended up waiting for me at the finish line instead of trying to locate me at various locations like last year. This year I ended up beating my time by 2 minutes. Thank you! That was a miracle after the stress and pressure I put on myself the last few days before the race. 

After the race we met up with each other for more photos. We were exhausted and not as smiley as 5am. Shocker. My legs were really tired. I could hardly even squat down to rest/pick up my snack bag. After standing around with the ladies for an hour and sharing details of the race we parted ways. Luke and I walked back to our hotel, which was about 1/4 mile away.

After I showered and cleaned up, we checked out of the hotel and in search of a hearty breakfast. El Torito has an awesome Sunday brunch.... Who knew?! Not me since I guess we are normally at church on Sunday morning. :)

We ate as healthy as we could, but we were in heaven, I had to take a photo of these banana fosters waffles they made. I think my kids would have died and went to heaven if they could eat this for breakfast....complete with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 On the drive home we made our usual stop at Sprinkles Cupcakes. For the first time EVER I purchased only 2 cupcakes for myself. I was quite proud of Katie. (Not to say I didn't earn more, since my Garmin says I burned around 3500 calories from the run.) :) I waited until the kids went to bed Sunday night before I ate my first PB Chip cupcake and I am pretty sure my eyes rolled back into my head. Great way to end the day and celebrate completing my second half marathon.

Love Technology

Wednesday morning when the adjuster came to the house to look at the damage from the ice maker water debacle, Luke went to get some information from the computer. Nothing but a black screen. Sweet...perfect timing. Luke sends me a text at work and asks me if i know what is wrong with the PC and how long it's been like that. Apparently the PC decided it had enough...and it was it's day. It had a good run. We bought it in July 2009 right before Wiggy was born... when our last PC crashed. 
After I got home from work Wednesday I did a few things and after running diagnostics, it gave me an error code. The error code on HP's website said that the hard drive was basically on the verge of going bye-bye and I needed to back everything up. We do not have an external hard drive and have never backed anything up. I do save my pictures to discs/thumb drives, but that's about it.
Anyways, the last time we bought a PC Luke said the NEXT time we need to buy a computer we are getting a Mac. We went to Best Buy to look at all of the PC's, including the Macs. We have plenty of Apple products in our house, but I wasn't too sure about a Mac computer. On my Friday off I went into the Apple store and spoke to a dude about the new iMacs. I got sucked in. There are two sizes...27 inch and 21.5 inch. Right off the bat I knew the 27 inch was too big...but bigger is better, right?!
I bought the 27 inch and the dude walked Wiggy and I out to the car. Later that night we set it up.
Too big. Luke agreed. But bigger is better, right!? Not this time.
Saturday morning we headed back to the Apple store and Luke examined the other options in the store. After about 20 minutes of going back and forth we decided to save $450 and get the 21.5 inch. We got it set up yesterday and finally I am able to use it today. It has a different Internet browser that is allowing me to blog since Internet Explorer is experiencing some technical issues. So.....here I am...blogging away. Blah, blah, blah. I still don't really know how to do much on the computer so I probably need to take one of Apple's free classes....which is pretty neat. 
We have figured out how to take some photos using "Photo Booth." If nothing else, we can take silly pics on this contraption.

What a Mess.....

We were out of town for 5 days and spent New Year's in Roseville with our family. The day we left town (Saturday), I noticed some water under the refrigerator and pulled it out to inspect. The hose attached to the back of the refrigerator, for the water/ice maker came out. We stuck it back in, wiped up the mess and went on our merry way. 
Fast forward to Thursday, January 3rd. Luke had left earlier in the morning to run some errands. I was making breakfast for the kids when I noticed some water coming out from underneath the refrigerator. I pulled the refrigerator out again to inspect. 
The wood was all peeling up and there was quite a bit of water. Obviously we didn't fix anything 6 days ago before we left out of town.
I wiped up the water again with a towel and pushed the refrigerator back in. The water proceeded to run down the back of the fridge at least twice an hour, trying to fill ice trays. I waited for Luke to get home so he could turn off the water and figure out what we needed to do to fix the hose problem. After breakfast I notice the living room carpet was wet in the corner that is up against the refrigerator. I call Luke and ask him if he spilled something in the living room, since the carpet looked soaked. The answer was no. I asked my dear children (several times) if they had spilled something and it would be amusing, if it wasn't so frustrating....they honestly couldn't remember. In fact, I think Bubba said it could have been him since he didn't dry off very good when he got out of the shower. Huh?! Seriously?? 
Sooooo, we put some towels over the wet spots and let it be. Hours later it was still soaked. 
Hmmmmm........
Maybe? Noooooooooooo.
Yes....yes.....it was from the water line that came unattached from the refrigerator. Luke called our Homeowner's insurance and they send out Service Master the next morning. It only took us 24 hours to figure out we had a little problem. I think we were pretty brain dead from being on vacay.....or maybe just in denial that something like this could happen.
So....Service Master shows up bright and early Friday morning. They take up the carpet and remove the wet padding in the corner, remove the baseboards in the hallway, and tell us the hardwood floors are damaged.... not only under the refrigerator, but in the hallway. Well crud.
They leave 5 fans going in the house that need to be left on for the next 24 hours and they will be be back. Saturday morning they show up to take more moisture readings and said they need another 24 hours. (The good news is the white noise allowed me to sleep FANTASTIC...at least for 2 nights) :)

Luke calls the company that installed our hardwood floors in 1995 and the owner comes out to the house. The wood we had installed is no longer sold by the manufacturer. What does that mean? I was starting to stress. I could see a "project" coming on. I don't like projects. I know...no one does. Let's just say, I am in no mood for home improvement projects....no matter how necessary.
A few days later the adjuster comes out to inspect the damage. We are still waiting to see what the final outcome is, but it looks like all of the wood flooring in the house will have to be replaced. I guess since we live in California we are "lucky" because they don't just have to fix the damaged floors, but everything in the "line of sight." Since we have a particular "flow" in the house, with certain angles and what not, the adjuster agreed there was only one room in the house that might not be included. Considering, 80% of the house are hardwood floors, I can live with just one room....but HOPING they replace 100% of it. More to come on that.
The owner of the hardwood floor company said they factor many details in the reimbursement for the repairs. They figure we need to be out of our house 1-2 weeks while they rip out the wood that is glued in and put in the new stuff. I told Luke that if we have to stay in a hotel, I am going on vacation! Why should I live in a motel/hotel room with three kids, shuffling everyone to work and school, living out of suitcases.....when I can go somewhere nice?! So, that's how I foresee my little project going...with me...on vacation...somewhere out of town. :)

Bye Bye Jeep

Selling "the rig."
It wasn't an easy decision and it took Luke years to finally make it.
Every year after summer is over and the camping/Jeep trips have come to a close, Luke laments the poor gas mileage, expensive tires/wear and tear of the Jeep. He bought the Jeep five years ago and we were still making payments. As a second vehicle and Luke's primary driver, it seemed like it might be time to part ways. Every year I would try to talk Luke out of selling it and tell him to be patient. Meanwhile, gas prices continue to skyrocket....along with everything else. It finally felt like the time might be right to just go for it. Luke put the rig on eBay and Craigslist to see what he could get for it. We looked at sedans (new and used) trying to see what we could find that was affordable, got GREAT gas mileage and was comfortable with five passengers. 
After looking high and low online and at various dealerships for almost 2 months, we ended up going with a used 2012 VW Passat. We purchased it 2 days before our trip to Roseville and we were like kids in a candy store watching the consumption numbers on the 300 mile trek north. We were getting 36 miles per gallon! Wooooooooow! Hahaha.
The Sequoia gets an average of 15-16 mpg on the freeway, so we are pretty happy. We also think we got a pretty darn good price on the Passat since we purchased at the end of the month/year and it has been on their lot for over 60 days. We also got it for below Kelly Blue Book. (I guess it pays to be patient. I think this is the longest we have ever taken to purchase a vehicle...or most anything else.)

Ok...I guess I better move on from the new family grocery getter and get back to the rig.

Luke had a buyer in Colorado contact him in early December. After many texts, e-mails and conversations the guy committed to the purchase. He sent a deposit, but said he couldn't pay the full amount until the first part of January. We hoped and prayed everything would not fall apart since we ended up buying the Passat 10 days before the buyer was going to be out here. Thankfully, it all worked out....but it was a little stressful. 

Luke is a wonderful seller. The guy who bought the Jeep is really fortunate to be buying from Luke. Luke was doing all of these things over the past month to make sure his rig was in prefect condition and the buyer would be very happy. I was really impressed, as his wife. He told me it was a "Jeep thing" and Jeep guys take care of each other. Luke even took the Jeep into some shop to get a small rip repaired in the fabric of one of the front seats. He also took it in twice to get it detailed/shampooed as well......Tires rotated and balanced. Too bad the guy is going to take it out rock crawling and screw it all up within a few hours. :) HAHAHA!
The buyer arrived at our house on Tuesday evening and stayed for about an hour. Luke went through everything with him and we signed different forms. The guy was really nice and has three young kids of his own. He was going to be driving straight back home that night, with a rock-crawling stop the next day in Arizona with his brother.
Luke walked the buyer out and we all stayed in the house. I heard the rig pull out and the garage door shut. When Luke walked back in...I cried. I did. We all have a lot of great Jeep memories and the four-wheeling is part of who Luke is. This is our third Jeep, but Luke has owned a Jeep since before we were dating. This is the first time he has sold a rig without the intent of buying another one. "One day" is what we have been told. So...stay tuned for that. Meanwhile, I guess Luke will ride shotgun with Grandpa on their summer wheelin' trips.

Brotherly Love

My boys like to fight. They like it a lot. I think it brings them a lot of joy because they do it so often. They can't stand to be apart and when they get together, they like to make each other miserable.
By the last few days of Christmas break, I had enough of listening to them. They would go into the den to play the Wii U or their Nintendo DS's and trash talk and trash talk...which lead to manhandling each other. Tonight their father wasn't home....so I had a smaller audience when I finally reached by breaking point. That also means I had no one to intervene and calm me down. I am pretty sure my kids were waiting for horns to grow out of my head. I put them in their rooms...screamed at them...and I might've mentioned something about selling the Wii U on eBay....
Anyways....Wiggy had fallen asleep on the couch, minutes after I put the boys in their room....which meant I had quiet time..... to myself. I didn't want Wiggy to nap at 5pm, but if it meant I could have a few moments of serenity, I was game. 
After about an hour, I went to get the boys in their room. A little calmer....and loving.
I brought them out of their rooms and gave them their assignment. They each had to write a letter to each other and I outlined the criteria. They also had to list five things they would do for each other.

 The last item of business was they both had to hug each other and sing the good ol "I love my brother" songs for 2 minutes. Bubba who sings NOTHING, was more than happy to do this if it meant I wouldn't sell the Wii U...and he would live another day.

(video)

New Year's Fun 2013

We like to visit my family in northern California over Christmas break every year and this year the timing meant we were able to be together for New Year's Eve. We drove up Saturday morning and arrived shortly before dinner.
Sunday we all headed to church at 9am, which was a big change for us since our ward didn't start until 1pm in 2012. Somehow I managed to get everyone up, showered and fed by 8:45am. Hard to pry these little bodies out of bed on "vacation."

Sunday afternoon after church. Grandpa had a roaring fire going and the ladies were busy cooking in the kitchen.

Sunday evening was the annual Baer family Christmas party. Everyone brought something to share so there was LOTS and LOTS of food. It's always good to see my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

Grandpa Baer has a gym membership, so I got up bright and early to run on the treadmill while Grandpa did an hour of cardio. It was nice to get a little exercise in after devouring way too many cake balls the night before. Also nice to spend some time with dad.
After the gym Grandpa suggested we head to Mel's Diner for breakfast. Perfect! The boys stayed the night with Uncle Bobby and Aunt Lindsay, so with two less kids, it was a fabulous idea! :)

After breakfast, Mom and I did some shopping at the Rack and the Galleria mall.... but it was slim pickings. Didn't find much. Wiggy and Holden were home with cousin Bekky, while Luke and Grandpa took everyone else to see a movie. 
For New Year's dinner we picked up pizza from papa Murphy's and I cooked up some blond brownies that we found at Williams and Sonoma earlier in the day. They are the infamous $16.95 brownies.....that are pretty darn scrumptious. Probably the 1.75 sticks of butter. 

Cooper challenged Luke to a game of "Risk." I have honestly never played the board game, but playing any game with Luke, is not something I recommend. He is out for blood. Too bad he is also a longtime Risk lover, because that's also not a good sign.

(Bekky and Lindsay after losing their land in RISK)

We were all in bed by 10:30....because I care much more about sleep then staying up to usher in a new year. More sleep is one of my resolutions for 2013!! 
Tuesday morning Wiggy and cousin Natty played American Girls paper dolls together. It was the cutest thing because I didn't even know they still made paper dolls. I can remember playing with them for hours on end as a kid. (Maybe I'm not that old after all)

After cleaning ourselves up for the day, I headed out shopping with Wiggy, Bekky and my mom. I paid $5 for Wiggy to do this jumping contraption for 3-4 minutes. She LOVED it! 

Later in the afternoon we all met up at Splashland to race cars a few times and play some arcade games. It was a lot of fun. (Lots of crashes.) I wish we could see the smiles on our faces as we ripped around the track, with 10 Baer race cars out there. Priceless. It was so cold out there, it probably looked like that scene from the movie "Dumb and Dumber" where Jim Carrey has frozen snot under his nose from riding his scooter in the cold. Haha.

After playing lots of different games in the huge arcade we were starving and headed to Chick-Fil-A. Little did we know it was family night too, so the kids each received balloon animals. The kids were happy and the food was tasty. I was a little sad because the seasonal chocolate peppermint shake was removed from the menu the day before. :(

Cozy fire to warm up after a fun night out!!

We left early Wednesday morning before breakfast and we had a little girl in the car who was absolutely fed up with being so close to her brothers. To her credit, she was riding in a booster seat, so it wasn't as comfy for long drives as the carseat she normally cruises in. BUT...we made great time getting home, just in time to get Bubba to a doctor appt. Turns out he has an ear infection. Another barrel of fun.

Nevertheless, another fun family adventure on the books! I love my family!