Barragan Five

short and sweet

2011-11-04T21:20:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

We are all still alive. Nursing school is crazy, difficult, and awesome. Jesse is super helpful. The girls are doing amazing! Cassie and Annaka had a successful Cross Country season. Maya is a star player on her Gator Girls soccer team. Annaka is an awesome midfielder on her soccer team. All three are doing well in school and are so helpful at home. Maybe you'll all get another update from me soon. Maybe not. =)

Oh, Hello Blog World

2011-05-19T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, 2011 hasn't gone well in terms of blogging, has it?

This year I finished my very last prerequesite class (Organic Chemistry), and I applied to 4 nursing programs. 3 of them are Associate Degree programs at the local community colleges, and if you meed a generous minimum requirement, they select based on a lottery system. The other program is a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at California State University of Sacramento, and they accept students based on GPA and an entrance exam score.

Earlier this month, I was notified that I was accepted into the program at Sac State!

With that in mind, I will try to update this blog occasionally, but realistically I have to admit that it won't be often. I hope at a minimum there will be some photos. But seeing photos and updates on Facebook is much more likely.....it's just so much easier.

School is wrapping up! Annaka has a violin recital at school today to wrap up her 2nd year of lessons. She is very excited to continue playing in Middle School next year. Yes.... Annaka in middle school. So crazy! She will have a promotion ceremony next week.....which reminds me of all the tasks I was assigned to do.

I'm signing off! I hope to post photos of end-of-the-year activities soon!!!!

February Already!

2011-02-02T16:25:00.000-08:00

2011 is creeping by stealthily, as January is already past and we are marching right through February....WOW!

We have been pleasantly busy these days. Here are some highlights if you care:

Cassie tried out and was selected for the Capitol Honor Choir. She had to try out with her Chorus teacher, and then she met at Cal State Sacramento a few times to practice with kids from all over the area. They performed on Sunday and it was Amazing! All of those voices singing together (especially my favorite alto) was a real work of art.

Let's see, Annaka just finished a season of indoor soccer. Her team was undefeated, scoring a whopping 39 points in the 6-game season (only 3 goals were allowed all season). She had a great time, played well, and learned a lot.

Maya will start her indoor season this week, and Jesse will be on the sidelines as a coach.

We traveled to Southern Cal (again....) to visit Lindsay and Ryan who were in town for a very short bit from Alaska. Of course we also took the opportunity to enjoy WARM weather, and snuggle little Thomas who gets bigger all the time. That weekend went WAY too quickly!

Jesse is very busy at work, and of course, doing a great job. He has been running and getting ready for his 2 big spring races (Way Too Cool 50k and American River 50 mile Endurance Run).

I have been running a lot lately. In a moment of weakness last summer I signed up for a LONG race in April. After having anemia issues all fall I have been scrambling to get into shape this winter. It has been going quite well.....other than the fact that my legs almost always feel heavy and tired on my runs. =) The last few weeks I have gone over 40 miles per week, and just last week I hit 50 miles! I am hoping to get a little bounce back in my step soon as my legs get stronger and more used to the pounding.

My school has started back up and I am now in Organic Chemistry. It's more interesting than I thought, so that's a surprise. Like for example, I could tell you the molecular structure of TNT now, and give a (really bad) explanation of why it is so explosive. I am also back tutoring and leading a Math workshop. My schedule is GREAT, and I am able to work and go to school 3 days a week only while my girls are at school.

Also, the beginning of February signaled the opening of all Nursing school apps. Paperwork galore!

Take care all!!!!!!

Update!

2010-12-05T15:41:00.000-08:00

A lot has been going on around here, keeping our lives full and fun.

Recently we discovered a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture....which I should expand on someday) that delivers in our area. We had been looking for a good CSA for quite a while, so we were excited to sign up. Here is a photo of our first delivery!

Let me tell you..... DELICIOUS!

The girls were so excited to get the produce. Maya even ate carrots for breakfast that day. =)

Turkey Day Dash with Family!
Family hike in our favorite trails in November.
(cutest little munchkin ever on his first hike!)

Matchy Matchy Sisters

Today Jesse ran the California International Marathon that goes from Folsom to the Capitol in Sacramento. He had been injured in the training period leading up to the race, so he was hesitant to run, and was expecting to not perform at too high of a level. We rose before the sun to get him to the starting line, and to cheer him on. Here he is at around mile 7.
And his little cheer leaders, waiting patiently around the 13 mile mark. Thanks for the Pom-Pom's, Kaiser.
There he is..... looking good so far! Can you see those blue skies??? It rained all night long, then the clouds left. The temps ranged from 51-57 degrees....PERFECT running weather.... and now it is raining again. Amazing! When I ran this race it was 30 degrees!
And again somewhere around mile 18-ish.

This is just before the finish, with maybe 1/4 to 1/2 mile to go. He was hurting, but just pushing through it.
Some good friends surprised Jesse and showed up a little before this point and really gave him a lift for the final push to the finish line!

And DONE! He finished in an amazing 3 hours, 2 minutes, and 2 seconds!!! It wasn't a "personal best" for him, but very, very close, and very impressive with the amount he was able to train for this race. I was extremely impressed!

He doesn't look like he feels very well, does he? =)
Annaka and Maya congratulating their Daddy.

Other than that, we are doing the usual, school, work routine here. My classes and work end this coming week, which is awesome.

Our Christmas decorations went up this week, making our home feel cozy and festive. I LOVE when our house is decorated for Christmas! We won't be here for Christmas day, so we just got a little, inexpensive tree that feels a little "Charlie Brown," but it works perfectly. We are excited for the round of Christmas plays, programs, parties, and gatherings that are coming up.....and the time with friends and family, as well as tasty treats and savory drinks that come with them. Yay!

We are looking forward to Sherry and Patrick visiting next weekend. We always have fun with them!

Annaka starts her indoor soccer season on Tuesday. I love to watch her play soccer. She gets so into the game!

Also..... Jesse and I were offered a random opportunity to travel to Florida in 2 weeks, so we will be doing that. I have so much to plan and figure out about this trip, and the logistics with our girls staying here. Yikes. Makes me so nervous, but I am very excited as well!

Baby Quilt for Bri

2010-11-16T07:46:00.000-08:00

This weekend I went to a baby shower, so I made a baby quilt as a gift. The baby boy will make his appearance mid-February.

Pictures!

2010-11-16T07:14:00.000-08:00

Ok.....pictures posted. =)

Quick Update

2010-11-04T12:37:00.000-07:00

Alrighty, so it's been a while, and I am short on time, so this will be a random post to update anyone interested on what is going on around here.

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Cassie was awarded the "Most Valuable 7th Grade Runner" on her middle school cross country team for placing as the highest runner for their school (each grade runs separately) every meet this season. Great Job Cass!

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Maya has been a huge asset to her team this season, and is quite the scrappy soccer player. She likes to watch youtube videos (closely monitored of course) of Lional Messi, the Argintinian midfielder (I hope I got that all right), before every game. She even tries to emulate his "moves."

Despite the team being together for 3 years (Maya is new this year), the team had yet to win a single game........ until last weekend when they played so well that the "Mercy rule" had to be used (meaning Maya's team couldn't score any more points or the coaches would get into trouble for running up the score and for bad sportsmanship). Go Wildflowers!

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Annaka has also been tearing up the soccer field. She is a very good midfielder. She has scored a goal this season, but her specialty is bringing the ball up the field and crossing it to a Forward for them to bump into the goal. Her team is undefeated in league competition, even though their team of 5th and 6th graders mostly plays against teams of 6th and 7th graders. Also, Annaka's team got to play in a special Halloween tournament where the team played amazingly and placed second. You can read about this on the front page of the Folsom Soccer Club webpage. Go Splash!!

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Jesse is working like crazy, doing all kinds of cool things at work. I am sure he'd be happy to talk about it in person. I am very proud of his work ethic and success. =)

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I am still taking speech (unenthusiastic yay). It's not a bad class, but it just feels like a waste of time. I did my informational speech this week on student sleep patterns. The overachiever that I am turned in a 9 page outline for a 5 minute speech. sigh. I am also in Pharmacology, and that class is going well. I am now overanalyzing each and every medication I or my family members take, as well as any that I hear about others taking, haha.

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I am still tutoring 10 hours a week, and I actually really enjoy it. I do a lot of Anatomy and Physiology, Nutrition, and Microbiology tutoring...... Surprisingly though, I do the most work with students in Chemistry. I actually remember a lot more than I had expected, which is good because I have to take my last nursing pre req in the spring, and it's a chem class....ugh.

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Oh, I took the TEAS.... a basic skills test that is an entrance requirement for nursing school. Glad to be done with that. I am hoping to get into nursing school to start in the fall.

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I am still a supplemental instruction leader for the Math class, but the program all together is fairly unsuccessful, so they are cutting the hours. That is perfectly fine with me.

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I did the Nike women's half marathon with my sisters last month (and 2 friends). It was a blast as usual. I hadn't been feeling well so I didn't train as well as I wanted, so I decided to run with Sherry. Great decision. I had so much fun! It was great to get away for a girls weekend and see my sisters (minus the L's....Lindsay and Loops...sad!).

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On that note, I am iron deficient. woo hoo. I am not exactly sure about everything because apparently my doctor thinks talking to me is not fun, but she said I am not anemic, but iron deficient. ?????? Okay. So now I focus on fixing that so I can feel better soon!!!!!

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The kids had a fun halloween...... Annaka was Wonder Woman, Maya was an FBI agent, and Cassie (and her 2 friends from school) were "God Girls" (they wore t-shirts with puffy paint that said "got Jesus? we do" and they made skirt-type things out of duct tape). Definitely not a costume we saw anywhere else, haha.

I had the "privilege" of designing, setting up, and running a game booth for the elementary school halloween carnival last week. I am Annaka's room mom, and that is apparently part of the gig. And let me tell you, when I say designing, I really mean it. Some of the class booths are way over the top! These people go crazy, making wooden cutouts, sewing all kinds of things, building things.....sheesh! What pressure! I am just glad to say that is was a success, and it is now done. Phew.

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I can't wait for Thanksgiving!!!!! For some reason it just sounds so great this year! =) And have you had a Pumpkin Spice Latte yet this season???? I avoid Starbucks at all costs now because I love them, and they are too darn expensive and have waaaaaay too many calories. But I have had 2. Had to get it out of my system!

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Cassie is potentially speaking to the School Board tonight. They were proposing some boundary changes that would effect our neighborhood (which caused an uprising), and would change which high school Cassie would go to. She wrote a letter to the board asking them to reconsider (we wrote one as well, and petitioned for signatures). The neighborhood has asked her to represent the students, and share her story/letter. They vote at the meeting tonight, so we will see! =)

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We are thinking of changing health care providers in this year's open season. These kinds of decisions stress me out!!! Any advice is welcome. What kind of insurance do you have? HMO? PPO? I am worried about the amount of work to switch since it would mean a complete switch from our HMO doctors to something totally new. I am also worried about a catastrophic event. Would the catastrophic cap really limit our costs? Our insurance has gotten to be so crazy expensive, so it would be nice to switch. Let me know what you think!!!!!!!!

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I think that is about all that is new around here. Next post I will have to just post a myriad of pictures to make up for the lack in this post!!!!!

Oh, Hi

2010-11-03T21:23:00.001-07:00

Yep, we are still alive.

Aren't elections so anticlimactic? Every year it's tons of work to be a responsible voter, keeping up with the policies and people running for office....... and then pretty much every year almost everything I vote for loses. sigh.

At least I know that God is sovereign. =)

Journal 15

2010-09-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

A picture of what is going on around here: Cassie has been running Cross Country for her middle school

Jesse and I got to have a fun date night out with Maya. She got to choose a place to eat; she picked the fanciest place she could think of: Hop Sing. (not fancy, but good food. =) )

Lots of soccer.....

This week we were so blessed with a visit from my Grandpa Tom, and his sweet friend Caroline. They did a whirlwind tour of California, swinging by all of the CA family. We had a fun visit, the only trouble was that it was far too short!

Today I am busy.... I will be attending church this morning with my family. I expect that we will end up making some plans with friends to meet somewhere for lunch afterwards. This afternoon Annaka's team is scheduled for soccer pictures, and then this evening we host our church College Group here for a study and to hang out.

This week I plan to.... Lots and lots of stuff going on. =)This week is full, just like every other week!

On the learning front.... My two classes are going well so far. Cassie is working on a cell-model for her class, so we are looking for interesting ways to build that. I am having fun visiting Maya's class each Tuesday morning where I help students with work, grade papers, run copies, make little books, or do whatever her teacher needs help with at that moment. I am Annaka's class room mom this year, so I am busy organizing things for class parties and such, and I also do grading for her teacher.

My running is.... It hasn't been very good, actually. =( I wasn't feeling very well, and then I went in a few weeks ago to give blood. They barely let me give blood because my hematocrit was low. I give blood about every 8 weeks, and that is abnormal for me. Anyway, that basically is a general test that shows that the formed elements of my blood are low, so probably low red blood cell count. I probably shouldn't have given blood at that point, but I was just above their lowest allowable level, and I didn't really think about it. After giving blood I felt just awful each time I went for a run. It felt like my legs were just empty. My muscles didn't hurt, it just felt like they wouldn't move. It was very strange, and really not helpful when trying to get into shape for a fast-approaching half marathon. After spending a week being frustrated about it, and not feeling better I decided to purposely eat a few things that would help. We ate way more steak than is remotely normal for us to pack in the B-vitamins, iron, and amino acids, and I stocked up on spinach, kale, and brightly colored vegetables. I made sure that I used every trick in the book. I ate foods high in calcium, but also made sure that I got vitamin D so that I could absorb it. I ate foods high in Iron, but also made sure I ate it with vitamin C in order to absorb as much iron as possible. I tried to think of every possible thing I could do to increase hematopoiesis....er... blood cell formation. So, anyway, I am slowly starting to feel a little peppier each time I head out for a run.

I hope....That a church friend feels peace as she begins the process of treating stage 3 or 4 melanoma. I pray that she is comforted physically, spiritually, and emotionally, and that she her husband and small children remain steadfast in the Lord and His Loving Will for their family.

I am loving.... Tutoring. So far I have had a lot of fun helping the students who come in for help. I am happy with the knowledge I have retained, although I am pretty shaky when people need help with Chemistry.

Something I have bought recently.... Buy one get on free at Jamba Juice! I have a coupon that lasts a few more days. I can forward it if anyone is interested. Yum

I am looking forward to.... Teaching (sort of) this week. I was asked to do a second job at the college. One day a week (for a total of 1.5 hours), I will be working with math students. My official title is Supplemental Instruction Leader, and I will be meeting with a math instructor for a half an hour per week to go over what he thinks his students need extra help with. Then I will hold an hour-long class with students who come in (voluntarily), based on that material. I will be breaking the students up into groups to work on a specific topic. I am curious to see how it will go as this is the first week I will be doing it.

I want to share.... Nothing special. Just have a great week everyone. Hug your family, smile at your neighbors, and enjoy this day that the Lord has made!

Journal 14

2010-08-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

A picture of what is going on around here:

It's SOCCER TIME! We spend 4 evenings a week (2 per child) at practice, and the games start Saturday.

Today I am busy.... well, lets see.....got Jesse and the kids out the door this morning, straightened up a bit and left for a run. Stopped by the store on the way home. Now I am baking cookies (Chocolate Chip, but with Reeses Pieces instead of Chips) for a Girl's Group Cassie is going to this afternoon. Later I will pick up kiddos, run a few errands, and prepare for a family evening! Oh boy, I keep getting distracted and overcooking the cookies. (okay, okay, Sherry.....I will set a timer!)

This week I plan to.... Get my Fall completely organized. I have all of the schedules in my hands; now I just need to figure out the best way to approach it all.

On the learning front.... Well, I am extremely happy with all of the kid's teachers this year, especially Cassie's Middle School Teachers. I started 2 classes this week: a basic speech class that meets twice a week (Bo-ring!), and Pharmacology, which will be online. Sounds like a good semester to me! I am also studying for the TEAS test-which I must pass with a good score in order to get into Nursing school. In my spare time I have been reading East of Eden by John Steinbeck. So far I really like it. It is definitely my favorite Steinbeck novel. I checked it out at the library, and already had to renew it once. Hopefully I can finish it soon!

My running is....Okay. I feel like that Little Engine That Could....I think I can, I think I can, I think I can..... It's just never fun to take that much time off, and now I have to suffer through the first phase. Why do I let myself get out of shape???? Sheesh.

I hope....My job is a fun as it sounds. What's that? The job? Have I not mentioned that yet? =) I was offered a job tutoring Biology for the local college this next school year. I haven't really counted on it happening due to the fact that California's State Budget is still not passed, and education is taking a lot of cuts. But, I do in fact have a job! Starting Monday, I will be tutoring 10 hours a week, focusing on Microbiology, Anatomy and Physiology, and Chemistry (my High School Chem teacher is surely groaning now, haha). It is an amazing opportunity for me because it is flexible, based on my schedule, and it will keep the sciences fresh for me. The paycheck will just be a bonus (actually, probably will put us in a new tax bracket and be obnoxious, but whatever).

I am loving.... My daughters. I had kids super young, and so now everyone my age is finally having babies. I keep hearing about births, and thinking "Oh! I looooved that stage!" Here are 2 of the more recent additions:
Madeleine:
And my nephew Thomas:

And when the babies start creeping and crawling, I think "That was so much fun!" And when my friends talk about their toddlers, I have been smiling and thinking about how great that stage was. And the preschool age too..... what a great stage! It dawned on me that I have thoroughly enjoyed EVERY stage my kids have gone through. Sure, there were times when I threw up my hands in exasperation, or when I wished for a little more sleep, or when I couldn't wait for my first-born to walk, but mostly, I just loved the moment. I realized that I need to be diligent to continue that. To not worry about what is coming in the next stage, and not wallow in longing for the stages past. Rather, I want to continue to enjoy my children as they are NOW. I want to find all of the benefits of having school-aged children. I want to make many memories with them, because before I know it, this stage will also be behind me, and I will be charging through into the next. To all of you newer moms, I say this: look for the joy in every single stage. Don't waste your time looking forward, thinking that surely life will be easier then. The time goes by so quickly, so enjoy the stage. And I also encourage you all to not cling to your childrens' stages, holding them back from entering into a new era of life. Let them grow up! Whatever you will miss about this last stage will certainly be replaced by something equally as lovely in the next stage. Isn't it cool that we get to have our kids go through each stage? and honestly, I can think of a very cool and fun aspect of each age-group my kids have gone through so far. Enjoy your child. AND.....please let me borrow your children so I can enjoy those stages too!

Something I have bought recently....These containers! I am developing an incentive for my kids to leave their bedrooms and bathroom clean each morning. I know they won't keep it perfect, and that's okay. I am just really looking for a way to entice them into creating good habits for when they are older. As it is their rooms are generally pretty clean, and they get a good deep cleaning each Friday. Hopefully this helps maintain in between. And yes, it involves candy. (shhhhh....don't tell the orthodontist or dentist!)

I am looking forward to.... Getting paid! It won't be much, but it is still kind of fun knowing that I am going to make a little cash. =)

I want to share.... This quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne: "Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you."

What should I blog about...how bout running!

2010-08-13T20:04:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've last blogged, mainly because nothing interesting has happened in my running life. I know I could always blog about something non-running related; but what? Let's see:

1. Family life, kids, current happenings, etc. - Tara dominates that realm of this blog, I would look pathetic in comparison. Here I'll give it a shot:

"I have kids, girl kids, three of them. Summer is hot. I like....ummmmm"

See I told you, no good.

2. My job. Well that's GS-14 level classified. In other words, I could tell you, but then I'd have to kill you.

So that leaves me with running. But I finally have something to talk about. My future goals and plans.

As of right now I'm signed up for California International Marathon (CIM) and American River 50 miler (AR50) (for my second time). Right after CIM, the lottery opens for the Way Too Cool 50K. Hopefully I'll get into that race as well. So if everything goes as planned, I'll be racing in December, March 2011 and April 2011.

I thought I wouldn't do AR50 or WTC for a while, but there so close and convenient I couldn't pass them up.

Goals: Three PR's, sub 3 hour marathon finish. Secret goals...well that's a secret.

Training is going good. The kids have soccer practice Monday-Thursday evenings, but I have found a silver lining to Annaka's practices (Tuesday and Thursday). I can leave her there and get a second run in for the day. Last Thursday I got an additional 5 miles in with three repeats up Costco hill (those living in Folsom will know what I'm talking about). What's more is I have found an awesome group of guys to train with. Deno, Ken, Scott S., Scott S. (yes, there's two Scott S's), Joe, Anthony and Eric. Usually someone from the group is available to run.

Western States 100 mile endurance run (WS100); not at this point in my life. I learned a tough lesson at Miwok 100k. I need more free time in my life to train the way I would want to for a 100 mile race. Maybe in a few more years I'll reevaluate. Until then I'll stick to 50K's and under with a fun 50 miler here and there.

Beyond WS100, I have a few things on my bucket list. I'd like to run up Mt. Whitney as fast as I can, Rim to Rim to Rim at the Grand Canyon, Hwy 50 to Hwy 80 on the Pacific Coast Trail and if I sit here long enough I'm sure I could come up with some more.

Jesse

Journal 13

2010-08-10T08:47:00.000-07:00

A picture of what is going on around here:

First Day of School!!!!

Today I am busy.... I have a lot of running around to do, as well as a lot of cleaning around the house. Plenty of time to do it. =)

This week I plan to.... Finish getting organized around the house, and observe how this week goes to see if I need to tweak any of the routines we have around here this first week back to school. We started soccer back up last week, so we have 2 practices a week times 2 kids= busy family.

On the learning front.... Kids have school this week, so it's back to traditional learning. The two oldest already started homework which I love, because it bugs me when they just go for a few days and don't get a lot done. If they are going to be at school, at least have them use the time wisely. =) I don't start class until the 23rd, so I have a little time to adjust the family to the current schedule and prep for my classes.

My running is.... Well, I had been running...very short.....on the treadmill, but I am VERY excited that I am now free to run in the great wide outdoors! Yesterday I went down to my favorite place....the lake.... and ran 3 miles. I loved every minute of it even though my body was screaming expeltives at me the whole time. It was pretty stinking painful, but it always feels so refreshing, especially being done! The countdown to the October half marathon is ON.... 9 weeks and 5 days left to get myself into a position to finish strongly. Oh, and Jesse bought me the most ridiculously savy running watch for my birthday. It has a GPS and basically does everything but move my legs for me. I LOVE IT!!! I am hoping it helps me along to a few fast times in 2011.

I hope.... I get to go see my first little nephew. He was born on Saturday, and I just want to snuggle him up! My kids are getting pretty old (8, 10, 12), but I finally just earned the title of Aunt (a really tough thing to accomplish, but phew, I did it! haha) Jesse has given me the go-ahead to drive down on my own this weekend to visit and help where needed, and I need to make a decision!

I am loving.... Well, besides my new nephew, and my new watch, I am loving my kids. I have been reflecting lately about how awesome it is to see my kids grow from little helpless infants who just cry and eat and fill diapers, into amazing kids who are capable of doing algebra, and showering on their own without being reminded, and make birthday cakes, and all kinds of other awesome things. It is very cool. I am also loving visiting with my friends' new baby Madeleine. She is 2 weeks old now, and it is just so fun to hold her. The girls have had the chance to hold her a couple of times (Thank you Anneliese), and they adore her as well.

Something I have bought recently.... Well, I have made a science out of school shopping. For the past three weeks I have been hoarding the ads and venturing to the office supply stores only when there is a killer deal. This week I am going to Staples every day to buy the 5 packages of notebook paper for 1 cent each. We have so much in storage now, but I am still going because the school desperately needs supplies, and I figure, for 5 cents, no problem! So anyway, yeah, school supplies, bargain-style. =)

I am looking forward to.... This weekend! And Labor Day weekend when we are taking the whole family down to meet our newest addition. Can't wait!!!

I want to share.... This recipe for Chicken Scampi. Jesse made it for my birthday on Sunday and it was delicious!

Art

2010-08-06T10:22:00.000-07:00

I have been rushing around the house this last week before school starts, taking advantage of the undesignated time to clean and organize. While digging out the file boxes from the garage (to file papers, since I had 4 FULL "to file" folders....oops), I came across a few boxes that were shoved on the shelf the last time we moved. Two of them had photos in frames, so I got those out and hung up a bunch. One had some of my old old art work from back in the day when I had time to draw. These things have traveled with me and been in storage all across the country and even in Germany.....so now they are showing some wear and tear. So anyway, here are a few of the things I drew 12-16 years ago, most being from my drawing/ life drawing class in high school. =)

The standard styrofoam shapes:

This one is kind of silly...... we were supposed to do an abstract piece. I decided to draw my brother (this pic was on the cover of a magazine when we were in high school), and place him in a magazine photo taken of Utah....it was going to be even more complicated than that, with it being a puzzle, but I ran out of time. And by the way, it's Prismacolor, which is probably the most fun medium to work with!

The magazine picture I copied: (I don't have a copy of the one with Kev on it......I think Mom and Dad took it.)

I drew this of Jesse running:
Aaaaaand......some random swimmer:

And Pete Sampras from his Milk ad..... minus the milk mustache.

For this assignment we had to take five items that were special to us, or told something about us at the time (Senior year of high school), and draw them as they would appear suspended in the air, or floating, with one in color.

And that's the tour around my gallery.

What Have We Been Up To?

2010-07-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

Wow! Summer is almost over already. In just over a week, our kids will be back to school, and back to routine. In the whirlwind that has been this summer, I have not had the time to blog about any of what we have done, so here is a fast forwarded version of the past few weeks:

We spent a fun 4th of July with good friends and fun fireworks.

Annaka turned 10!!!! (And received the much-coveted violin!!!)

Sherry and Patrick visited and we all enjoyed the jet skis.

The little girls went to soccer camp (in the mornings) held by our church, and Cassie was a youth leader.

We held 3 parties in one week. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday pool parties for my girls.

Maya turned 8.

Cassie turned 12.

Our good friends from Florida came to visit. Mark did a trail race in Tahoe.

Then they came to our house. Of course, we went to the lake. It was 101 degrees!

We joined them at a family cabin near the Sequoia National Forest for 5 days of relaxed fun! We hiked, chopped wood, played board games, swam, fished, cooked and ate delicious food, ran, and found very large trees! It was AMAZING!!!!!

We returned from our trip, and this week I am a leader/driver for our church's Adventure Camp, where my kids are attending. Each day we take the kids to somewhere fun in the local area. We did the zoo, bowling, movies, a massive trampoline place, and the final day is a pool party. Each day also includes lunch, so we take the entire group to McDonalds, Chick-fil-A, pizza, etc. I am completely wiped!!!!! (and I need a detox......too much fast food....blech!)

Lazy Lake Days

2010-07-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Sigh...... I love summer!

How To Earn The Title 'Worst Parent Of The Year"

2010-06-30T07:46:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of really bad parents out there. I'm sure you've seen them. They scream at their cowering children in public; They indulge in whatever they fancy at the moment while their child goes without basic necessities; They ignore their children. I have always tried to avoid being a parent in this category, and I'd like to think that I have largely succeeded. Despite my many imperfections, to this point, I have avoided being one of those parents. I once saw a woman come tearing around a street corner pushing a stroller while a little girl, probably about four years old, was skipping along ahead of her. She was the cutest little girl. The mother called out to the girl. Did she use her name? Oh, no. She used a form of the "F" word. And she continued a steady stream of f-bombs for a good minute while she screamed at this poor child who had done nothing wrong. I wanted to grab her up in my arms, and RUN. What I am about to tell you is something that might make you want to scoop my children up and run away with them. We have become bad parents.

A few weeks ago we decided to get a puppy. We have been avoiding this for the entire 13 years of our marriage. We have put up with a constant onslaught of begging since Cassie could talk, as a puppy is all she has ever wanted. We have cited many reasons for not having a puppy; moving, allergies, landlords, time, effort, money, responsibility, vacations. Some of them still existed, some are now retired. What made us finally jump into this world of pets? Well, I still don't know exactly. It has something to do with watching our kids play with my in-law's dogs. It also had something to do with wanting to give them something they really wanted. So we did it. We gave them an early birthday present.... an adorable little Lab Mix puppy.

They were thrilled! They promptly named her Chase, and we began our happy little adventure. After a few days, I headed out of town with the girls for a planned visit to family, and the puppy stayed home with Jesse. When I returned home Jesse showed me a batch of hives that had broken out on his forearms. Hmm. We couldn't figure out what could have caused it. Within a few days of returning, my minor allergy symptoms began to multiply. Even on a steady daily stream of Flonase and Zyrtec (my normal allergy cocktail), my eyes were itchy, my nose was running, and I began to cough. Each and every time the puppy would touch me, I got a hive in that area of my skin. That's pretty bad, considering the fact that as the mommy around these parts, most of the puppy-care was my responsibility. I figured there wasn't much to do, so I enforced our puppy rules like a Nazi (no puppy in the kitchen, bedrooms, living room, or dining room. Only in the Family room, hallway, and laundry room), I washed my hands hundreds of times a day, and I showered every night before sleeping. It didn't work. I began sleeping in the living room because my worsening hacking cough was keeping Jesse up, I had to take off my wedding ring because my hands swelled, and I was feeling all-around bad.

Chase, meanwhile, grew into a fun little puppy! We were able to teach her to sit, lay, and come using hand signals, and our voices. We potty trained her, and taught her to "go potty" where we wanted her to go on command. She doubled in size and weight in 3 weeks. She knew to sit to enter and exit doors after us, and she knew to go "night night," running to her crate at night.

Finally, after listening to my incessant, increasingly asthmatic, Tuberculosis-sounding cough, and witnessing the constant barrage of hives that had become normal on the landscape of my arms and legs, Jesse said what I hoped wasn't true: "We have to do something with Chase." I argued at first, because I couldn't imagine how we could actually find a new home for Chase, and how we would live through telling our girls. Jesse insisted, comparing our allergen-infested home with a prison I was stuck in. After much thought and prayer, we began to quietly seek out an option, and God provided one right away. Our good friends, who have another older dog and a large dog-heaven yard agreed that they wanted a puppy, and they took her. It was as good an option as we could have hoped for, since we visit these friends at least once a week.

It was awful telling the girls. The tears streamed for quite some time. Even though they understand that their mother needs to breathe, the girls still had a tough time with letting the puppy go. When it came down to it, they were very gracious handing their precious puppy over to their friends. I was wishing for three straight weeks that we hadn't gotten the dog, because we could have avoided hurting our kids like this; but Cassie told me that even though it turned out badly, she was glad we had her even for just a few weeks.

So, to any parents out there who may have an inkling of allergies.... do not get a pet. Ever. Even if they really beg, and even if the dog is really cute. To my children, I am ridiculously and hopelessly sorry, and I hope that you won't hold this against me until the end of time.

And now I am off for another day of attempting to sterilize my house. Yesterday I vacuumed each and every room, stripped all bedding, wiped every single surface of 5 rooms, steam vacuumed 5 rooms, changed the air filter in the HVAC, washed 8 loads of laundry and mopped 3 floors. All that in 100 degree heat to avoid re-contaminating clean rooms. Today I will steam-vac the remaining rooms, clean outdoors, re-mop every tile surface, and continue working on the mountain of contaminated laundry. And I will also feel guilty.

Baby Quilts

2010-06-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

This summer several people we know will be having babies. What that meant for me was 4 baby showers in the last three weeks. I was excited because I got to make my favorite thing: Baby quilts! I didn't really start sewing until after my babies were bigger, so I never made baby quilts for my own girls, but I just enjoy making baby quilts. They are so small that they can be put together quickly, and they give me ideas for bigger projects based on how a pattern or stitch works on a smaller scale. Here are the quilts that I gave as gifts this month:

For my friend Anneliese's baby girl:

This one was made specially for my sister-in-law Lupe's baby boy...... I too a few photos of the process of making this quilt:

The finished product:

And this one I put together for my friend Denise, whose baby girl will join them in September:

This last quilt is one I made for Maya when she was about three years old. She never really liked it, so it is usually stowed away in the linen closet.

Just One Thing.....

2010-06-18T01:12:00.001-07:00

The Grand Adventure, Part 5

2010-06-07T09:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the last installment of our vacation story!

Before I start, I wanted to add this photo of Jesse that I took on our first hike.....I forgot it! I love the picture. He hiked down and rocky path that was too dangerous for the girls, and this is where he ended up!

After our super long hike, and our ice cream on the verandah, we decided to see a little bit more of the canyon....by car. We drove to Point Imperiel, to the North West, and it was gorgeous!

This is a view to the N of the canyon.

The drive out of the National Park took about 30 minutes, and boy were our kids beat!

We took our weary, filthy selves back to the lodge for showers, and then to the Lodge Lounge. We played a few board games (where Jesse and I learned that we are failing our children miserably....they don't have the slightest clue about how to play checkers), we played cards, and we hung out.

We ate a delicious dinner at our Lodge with our new Ranger friend and her husband. We had a great time getting to know each other, and swapping stories.

By 8:30, the kids were asking to go to bed!

In the morning, we packed up the car, once again, and started the long journey home. I don't even know how to describe how strange of a drive it was. We have driven all over the country, and have never spent so many hours in the wilderness.

Here is a photo of Colorado City, AZ.....if any of you remember the major news events that occurred there.....

We entered Nevada at 10:20 in the morning, and looked at the map. We wouldn't hit a major.....or minor.....city for many many hours. We stopped at a gas station and picked up lunch. Chips, gatorade, beef jerkey. Lunch of champions!

Here is a photo Jesse took of the most desolate stretch of highway I have ever seen!

The highway was called "Extraterrestrial Highway", if you can believe that. There were advertisements for Alien Jerkey, and a big alien research facility. I wish I had pictures of that!

This is that same highway, where we had to stop for a potty break. The girls weren't happy about going in the wilderness, but there were not stops for 150 miles....no gas, no food, no nothing!

We stopped for gas in this Nevada town called Tonopah. I think I would be great friends with the owner of this building....

We headed West toward California!!! The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range was a sight for sore eyes after spending so long in the Nevada desert.

Parts of this highway were very intersting. There was a sigh that said "Dips 5 miles." We quickley found that they weren't kidding. The road had many many roller-coaster-like dips and hills. Enough for Maya to exclaim "What kind of awesome person builds a road like this????"

We met up with the 395 just South of Mono lake

At this point in the trip, we were starving, and we just wanted fast food. We hadn't had any fast food the entire trip, but now we wanted to eat something quick and easy, and get going. No such luck. There wasn't a chain resteraunt in sight (and usually that doesn't bother me!). We finally stopped in Bridgeport, CA for dinner.

This is the historic Inn....

We headed up the windy highway toward home and hit cold, rainy weather. So weird! ground in the sierras was still covered with several feet of snow, and it was very chilly. This spring is so strange.

After 14 hours, we finally made it home, safe and sound. It was a fun vacation, and one I will always cherish!

The Grand Adventure, Part 4

2010-06-07T01:07:00.000-07:00

We woke up on Wednesday after I drempt all night about falling off cliffs (seriously.), and quickly got ourselves geared up for a big hike into the Canyon. We weren't exactly sure what to expect, but our running experience helped us to prepare by bringing copious amounts of water and food for the trek.

Before we got started, we stopped by the Visitor center so that Maya and Annaka could turn in their workbooks, and have the ranger on duty swear them in as Junior Rangers!

We set out on North Kaibab Trail and the weather was gorgeous!

You can see that each of our girls was wearing a camel-back-type pack. We felt it was necessary for them to carry their own water, both to enable us to carry other items, and to give them easy accessibility to their water supply.

Again, you can see trails that are fairly wide, with ample room......making me feel much better.

Annaka was quite the hiker, leading the way down.....

Cassie did great as well....

Little Miss Maya vaccilated widely between dramatic breathing patterns suggesting exhaustion, and profuesly thanking us for bringing her to this awesome place.

This is one of our many stops we took on the way down, making sure that we drank plenty of water, and ate energy-rich snacks.

We went from hiking in white dirt to red dirt (yes, those are the technical terms.....)

We made it 2 miles down the trail to Supai Tunnel, with a drinking fountain and restrooms (thank goodness....it's tough being a girl in the wilderness). We refilled water packs, and took off through the tunnel.

We met a few creatures on the way. This one was not camera-shy

We eventually made our way down to the Redwall bridge, which we have heard/read is somewhere between 2.7 and 3.0 miles from the start of the trail.

We crossed over the bridge, and walked about a quarter mile further before deciding it was a good place to turn around for the day. We wanted to make sure we saved plenty of time and energy for the hike out. By the way, that bridge spans an active fault line. fun!

We stopped at the bridge for lunch and rest.

And we headed back up.

We stopped anytime the kids asked, seeking shade where possible. Annaka was hilarious. Anytime we stopped, she was quick to recover and ask "can we go yet?"

Every so often, we had to dive off the trail (ok, so we only stepped off the trail...) in order to let a Mule Tour group pass. We didn't mind, except for the dust......and the presents they left behind.

Here we all are at the Coconino overlook, with .75 miles to go:

We finished the hike absolutely filthy, exhausted, and happy as clams. I am convinced that we contributed to the deepening of the canyon, with all of the dirt we hauled out of there on our clothes, legs, shoes, inside our shoes, socks, and noses. =) Before we started we had read that the rule of thumb for hiking in the canyon is 1:2.....meaning, if it takes 1 hour to go down into the canyon, it will take 2 hours to hike back. We kept that in mind, and even gave some extra room since we were hiking with children. When we got to the top, we compared our data: When including all of our stops along the way, it took us 2:06 to get down. And 2:38 to climb back out. Our kids are legit!

What's better after a hike than ice cream?

That's right, nothing.

We headed to the lodge for some ice cream, and more canyon views.

Is this amazing, or what?

...Yes....there is still more to come......

The Grand Adventure, Part 3

2010-06-06T02:23:00.000-07:00

Ok, so we had given ourselves an early start to the day due to a very short stay in the Grand Canyon area, so after checking in to our cozy cabin, we headed out to the Grand Canyon!!!

We were very interested to learn that the elevation at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon is around 8800 feet!

We pulled into the Visitor Center to pick up Jr. Ranger materiels, and headed out to see if the Grand Canyon is all it is cracked up to be............and boy is it!!!

It is impossible to give a description that fully captures the grandeur, the depth, the majesty, the uniqueness of the canyon. It is truely breathtaking. We set out to hike on the Bright Angel Point Trail, a well-maintained, paved path that leads to a stunning canyon view. Sounds nice, but it was actually fairly stressful hiking with children. I was paranoid about someone not taking the edges very seriously, and falling in.

(Side note....when I was about 6 years old, my family visited the South Rim of the Grand Canyon on our way home from New Mexico. We arrived a little before sunset. I have two vivid memories of the visit. First, I remember standing in a gift shop, staring at barrels of shiny rocks, painstakingly choosing mine. My favorite one was a turquoise rock. I remember Lindsay really liking a Tiger's Eye stone. The second thing that I remember about that visit, is my sister Lindsay almost falling into the Grand Canyon at the age of three and a half. It really scared me, so much that I remember it still!)

So, back to the trail. I was wondering the entire way down the trail (about .5 miles), whether we made a mistake coming to the Grand Canyon with Maya still so young. A lot of the trail was protected by railing or fencing, but there were sections that were not, and the drop-off was extreme.

With a tight grip on Maya, and firm instructions to the other two girls to stay 5 feet from any edge ("how far is five feet? As far as if Momma laid down on the trail, from her head, to feet." ....haha), we did make it to the viewpoint, and what a beautiful reward for following this particular trail.

We turned around and headed down the Transept Trail.

This trial proved to be much more manageable, and easier on my blood pressure (phew!), but still involved unique views of the canyon.

While hiking, we were able to pick up cell service, and received a call from a Park Ranger who is a friend of one of Jesse's friends. Jesse, being the friendly guy that he is, had called her asking for advice on hikes, places to stay, and general information. She was more than helpful, and even walked down the Transept to meet us! I didn't get a photo with her, but after she left I did chuckle, wondering what she thought of my outfit choice:

Yep....white shorts......for hiking. I have no explanation. =)

Right by this tree there was an ancient indian settlement, with evidence of their structures.

After about three miles of hiking, we decided to call it a day. We were feeling a little of the altitude, though not as much as a woman we overheard....."this altitude is just killing me! Once you lose your breath, there's just nothing you can do! You can't eat, you can't drink, you can't walk. You just have to stop, and wait for your breath to come back." Anyway, we decided to save some hiking for the next day's adventure, and we headed back up to the Grand Canyon Lodge. We ran into our new Ranger friend again, and she suggested we pick up a pizza and eat it on the verandah. I am so glad she suggested that!

Eating pizza with a Grand Canyon view is just all-around delicious!

After dinner, we headed back to Kaibab Lodge, and essentially fell into bed, exhausted!

....To be continued......

The Grand Adventure, Part 2

2010-06-05T05:46:00.000-07:00

We woke up at 5:00 am on Tuesday morning to get a good start on our day.

We headed East on the 15.....stopping only for a quick photo op with some large Joshua Trees.

We continued through Nevada (the kids loved looking at all of the cool buildings in Las Vegas.....though I could have done without the racy billboards plastered all over town).

We snaked through Arizona for a few miles, then up into Utah where we stopped for lunch at the St. George Cracker Barrel. There isn't Cracker Barrel in California that I know of, but it is a very midwestern place (at least that is where I have seen them). We try to stop there anytime we see one because they are pretty fun, and always have decent food.

We continued our trip Southward through Utah

and into Arizona. We stopped here for the obligatory bathroom break, and to look at the Vermillion Cliffs in the distance.

At 2:30 (after some confusion on our parts about the time of day....Utah is an hour ahead of CA, Arizona is the same as California, but only during daylight savings....) we arrived at Kaibab Lodge where we stayed for the next 2 nights.

We stayed in the rustic Sam's Cabin

The cabin we stayed in had just the basics...... 2 double beds, a bunk bed, and a bathroom with a shower. Perfect for a get-away in the wilderness!

to be continued........

The Grand Adventure, Part 1

2010-06-04T08:21:00.000-07:00

The past week has been an adventurous one for the Barragan Family. We traveled over 1200 miles, through four states, and we had an absolute blast. I cannot even begin to describe how amazing the trip was, and how thankful I am that we were able to make it happen.

The trip began the minute our kids finished school for the summer. We loaded up in the car and headed South to the Barragan house, hoping for warmer weather than we had been having. We had a fun and relaxing time visiting with family on Saturday, and we enjoyed the sunshine.

On Sunday, we got all dressed up, and headed to Cousin Carolyn's wedding. Welcome to the family, Roger!

Here is a family picture...I have no idea why I look so awkward.....oh well

At the church:

Just about to go into the reception........ My girls with Jesse's sisters, Miranda and Natalie

And they wanted a "jump" picture. Maya is strikingly similar to Sherry.........could it be a "baby of the family" thing???

Look at these handsome men!

The Barragan Cousins were so happy to see each other!

Here you can see all the Single Ladies anticipating the bouquet throw.

Of course, it would be my 11 year-old who caught the bouquet!

After a meal consisting of about 10 courses (seriously), the dancing began!

Natalie, Cassie, and cousin/bridesmaid Nicole

Here is the lovely bride dancing away.

I caught a picture of some of the Barragan men at the reception. Can you tell they are related??

And Grandma Barragan:

It was a great day!

Monday we spent more time with extended family with a Memorial Day Barbecue, and Jesse and I prepared for the next leg of our trip............... to be continued......

A Day of Remembrance

2010-05-31T09:05:00.000-07:00

This day is usually welcomed by Americans because it's nice to have a day off, especially with summer right around the corner. It is easy from our cozy homes to not think about the true meaning of this "holiday," and it's easy to not think about the dangers faced by soldiers all over the world. It is vital that we recognize this danger though, as we have service members constantly ready to defend us.

Today, as I hang out with my family, as I lounge in the sun, as I enjoy good food, and beverages of my choice, I will do so in honor of the hundreds of thousands who have died for this country's integrity, and for the more than 5,000 who have lost their livesrecently in Iraq and Afghanistan. I will remember, and I will teach my children about the people who gave all. There are too many people we know and love who are currently serving or have served in the past to be able to list them all, but we love and appreciate you all!

To all who have given everything, I thank you for your immeasurable sacrifice. To those who stand ready, willing to give everything, my family salutes you.

Happy Memorial Day!

Last Day of School

2010-05-28T08:28:00.000-07:00

Today is the last day of the '09-'10 school year!

I just sent the girls off for their last day, and I am amazed that they are so old!

Cassie is now finished with 6th grade.

Annaka is done with 4th grade.

And Maya completed 2nd grade!

Bring on SUMMER!!!

Track Finals

2010-05-26T07:29:00.000-07:00

I am posting this a bit (3 weeks) late for no good reason at all, but here we go!

Cassie participated in her middle school track program. She was selected as one of the 4 fastest from her team in the 100m and 65m hurdles, so she was entered to run in the league prelims for those events. She did a very good job in both events. To make it to the finals you have to win your heat, or be one of the next 2 fastest times. In the hurdles she was 2nd, but her time would have won 3 of the other heats. In the 100, she was second as well, but she ended up having one of the fastest times and qualified for finals.

At finals she competed in the 100m, which was crazy! As far as I could tell she came in somewhere between 3rd and 8th. It was a tight bunch at the end. She was also on her team's 4x100 and 4x400 relays, both of which placed second.

Great Job Cassie! We are proud of your efforts, and had a lot of fun cheering you on!

Journal 12

2010-05-25T10:01:00.000-07:00

A picture of what is going on around here: Well...A mental picture at least. =) We have been having the weirdest weather. Usually in May it goes from 65 degrees straight into the 90's and 100's. Although I am glad we haven't hit triple digits (for the sake of my electric bill), I do wish it would warm up. We have even had Hail! Today's forecast calls for a high of 60 degrees and afternoon rain. Perfect weather for Annaka and Maya's field trip to the local pool, right?

Today I am busy.... I will likely finish up the marathon job of steam cleaning the carpets that I started a week ago. Just the living room left. I looooooove clean carpets! I will also finish up laundry in anticipation of an upcoming trip. And I am working on a little project in the sewing room. (no, I don't have a room just for sewing...I don't even have an entire corner of a room dedicated to sewing, but it sounded so much nicer!)

This week I plan to.... Continue to do some of the bigger cleaning projects that have snuck up on me. Also, plan out our summer. We are going to a wedding this weekend, and then we will take a quick trip to the Grand Canyon. I need to nail down the details!

On the learning front.... After 10 months, 85 classes, 29 chapters, 23 major Exams, 59 Quiz's, 2 Research Presentations, and 46 homework assignments I can finally say goodbye to Anatomy and Physiology. I absolutely loved learning about the human body, but I am so glad to be done. They really cram a lot into that class! Our teacher threw in a bonus question on our last Lab Practical Exam, asking what we would do with our time now that we wouldn't be studying for A & P. I said Run, and Sleep more than 4 hours at a time. The funny thing is that those are things that I really shouldn't stop doing no matter what happens. =) I am looking forward to a summer of reading for leisure (imagine that!), and I will likely start prepping for the Nursing school entrance exam. I signed up for 2 easy (comparatively) classes in the fall, and I am excited to be spending a lot more time at home next year!

As for the kiddos, I am ordering their summer workbooks right now! I am also trying to decide on a few other things I want to happen over the summer, like reading lists, summer reading program at the local library, field trips, scripture memory, nature hikes, and possibly math drills.

And a funny side-note; Maya was explaining division to me today. We were talking about how people gradually understand more and more as they get older, and she understands things now that as a baby she didn't. As an example of that concept, she was describing how she didn't understand the concept of a remainder at first, and then all-of-a-sudden, she got it! She then proceeded to demonstrate several problems to me. She started having trouble when she decided to divide 145 by 34. That might be a little out of reach in second grade, don't you think?

My running is.... Ugh. Do I have to answer? My legs are complaining right about now. Since I have been done with school I have been easing back into running. I am amazed at how quickly I can get out of shape! But, we got into the Nike Half Marathon again, so I had better get in shape fast. =0

I hope.... To succeed in my goal of savoring the summer. Summers usually fly by so quickly that I am shocked when school starts back up again. I am mentally trying not to schedule in too many activities and camps and things that just muck up our time. I want to intentionally leave time for nothingness, for that is when I see the most creativity and fun happening around here. I feel like I do this each year, but it still flies by....

I am loving.... Going to bed on time. Not having my nose in a giant A&P book. Not preparing for the next day's class. Not wearing lab safety glasses and a lab coat. Not getting nervous for tests. (can you tell I am glad school's out? I feel like a kid again)

Something I have bought recently.... Hmmmm..... Well, I went to Costco after neglecting to go for a ridiculously long time. I'm sure you can imagine the total at the check-stand. OUCH. Isn't it fun to spend copious amounts of money on such treats as napkins, toilet paper, frozen chicken, and granola bars?

I am looking forward to.... Summer! We are taking off right after the girls finish school at the end of the month. First we will go to a family wedding in Southern California. After that, we decided to head over to Arizona for a quick trip to the Grand Canyon (That is it's own story). We can't wait!

I want to share.... A FUN new recipe that I learned from my A&P teacher:

Kale Chips:

Wash and thoroughly dry a bundle of kale. Remove the stalk, and cut into bite-sized pieces.

Coat with 2 Tablespoons of olive oil, making sure that you cover ALL the surfaces.

Place on a baking sheet, and salt.

Place in a 375 degree oven for 10-15 minutes. The chips go from soggy to over done very quickly, so watch carefully. They are done when crisp.

You can also add garlic, or any other seasonings you think would enhance the flavor. Believe it or not, my kids (and Jesse) LOVED this! They get the nutritious benefits of eating kale, while having the fun of eating chips!

Proud Parents

2010-05-24T09:39:00.001-07:00

This morning I attended the elementary school's final awards assembly for the year, and I left beaming. Annaka received an award for making the Principal's Honor Roll, which means that she earned all A's. Now, let me be clear: what I am proud of is not the fact that she got all A's (although that is a nice little bonus). We don't care what our kids grades are, as long as they are trying their very best. Generally, A's and B's are perfectly acceptable. What I am proud of is this: Last trimester, Annaka had 4 A's and 2 B+'s. Although we congratulated her on her grades, she was devastated! We were very supportive, but on her own initiative, she went to her teacher and asked what she could do to improve her two lowest grades. He told her, and she worked very hard in those areas all trimester. I was very nervous for her today as we waited to see what her grades would be, because I know it meant so much to her. Her face when she heard her name called out was simply priceless!

We are so proud of you, Annaka, for setting a goal for yourself, and working very hard in order to accomplish that goal!

Miwok 100k Trail Race Report 2010

2010-05-08T20:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I completed the most difficult feat of my life thus far (I had no idea how to start this post, then Tara blurted out this opening sentence in jest, so there you go). No but really, Miwok was a seriously humbling experience. I still can't beleive how difficult that race was. Between the distance, hills, and terrain, Miwok truly is a worthy challenge. So this is how the race and trip played out.

Tara and I decided to head over to Marin County the Friday before, that way we could check in, chillax and get a good night sleep. We wanted to stay as close and as cheap as possible on Friday night and did we ever. Tara found a room for $40 a night, just a few miles from the race location. I should have inquired more about our accomadations, but hey for $40, how bad can it be, right?

BAD! I should have gotten suspicous when the hotel clerk asked if we wanted to pay in cash! Ha ha, nothing like a couple checking into a seedy hotel room at 3:00pm, one of which isn't wearing a wedding ring (I lost mine in 1997, long story). When we opened the door to the room, we were greeted with a strong, smoky smell. Ugh. We didn't even think about that! There are still smoking rooms? Anyway, luckly morning came quickly at 3:46am as our alarms cheerily signalled the start of a long day. The morning proceeded fairly uneventfully. I ate some oatmeal and a banana, geared up, headed to the starting area, and hung out in my car with Tara. Before I forget, my wife Tara was an awesome one person crew, support team, chearleader, etc.

I checked in without any issues and got ready to start in Rodeo Lagoon. Around 5:25am the runners headed to the starting line on the beach and precisely at 5:40am The Race Director, Tia Bodington, sent us off with the glowing moon as the only light in the sky. Someone in the crowd had mentioned the trail narrows quickly, so I got off to the good start. The first 7 miles went by quickly; there were a few hills, and some of the running was on pavement. I did a quick survey around me and realized that there were several very fast runners near me, including some elite women. Not to worry I told myself, I'm not running fast, they're just running slow. During this phase I had the pleasure of meeting John Blue and Jenny Capel; both great runners.

I blew past the first aid station at Bunker Rd. and started my first major climb of the day. I was surprised at how good I felt. I was doing a small bit of walking on some of the steeper portions, but had a good overall rhythm. At the top of the hill I caught up to a runner who I thought I recognized. The conversation went like this:

me: "hey did you run Napa this year?"

her: "no"

me: "Oh, I thought you were someone else, anyway hi I'm Jesse"

her: I'm Krissy

me: "um, what's your last name?

her: "Moehl"

me: "CRAP, as in Krissy Moehl who won Du Mont-Blanc in Europe! What I'm I doing this far up the pact! Wait did I say that out loud?"

Chrissy reassured me she was just out of a training run, so I continued to run with her for quite some time. During this portion of the race I also met ultra racing madman Jason Reed, this guy races almost every weekend. I saw Tara for the first time at the Tennesse Valley Aid Station (11.9 miles). I felt great, but needed to lube my feet with glide as I could feel a few hot spots forming. I opted to wear my Nike Air Pegasus 26's, which are not very flexible and therefore cause some friction for me. I ate some candy, chips, potatos, etc and headed off.

I took so long at the aid station that I had lost the group of folks that I was running with. I got back on the Coastal Trail and starting running well. Portions of this section were fairly technical and portions were not. I run well on the downhills and caught back up to Krissy and company. That lead us right into the Muir Beach Aid Station (16 miles). I ate some more food (again the all-nutritious chips, cookies, etc). I was quickly out of the aid station for the last time that day.

I left that aid station again with Krissy and heading to the Redwood Creek Trail. What an amazing forest that was. Creeks, redwoods, ferns, you name it. Krissy asked if she should be worried about poisen oak; I said yes (I didn't want to tell her I had just witnessed her run right through a large patch of it). All of the fun and games ended when we left the forest and started our climb up toward Pan Toll on the Deer Park Fire Road. This is the last time I saw Krissy during the race. At about mile 20, a friend of a friend Joe Van De Water caught me. Again, not a good sign; Joe has finished 11th overall at the 2009 Tahoe Rim 100 mile trail race. Joe wished me luck and was off. During this hill I started to experience some serious GI/Stomach related issues. When I got to the Pan Toll Aid Station (21.7), I found Tara, ate some more food, then found the bathroom.

After my bathroom break I was off. I ran on the Coastal Trail which was a narrow, cambered singletrack trail on the side of the cliffs, overlooking the ocean. I was one of the most beutiful views I have ever seen. Too bad I was stepping off the trail every few steps and was having an overall miserable experience. My stomach was giving me problems and my shoes were so cumbersome that I couldn't track the trail very well. I was twisting my ankles, stepping in holes and just running slow. These were the kind of views I got along that single track.

I got to Bolines Ridge Aid Station (mile 28.4) and felt horrible. No Tara to cheer me on, as I had sent her to the turn around at Randall. I figured she might have trouble getting there and I really wanted to see her further along the course. At Bolinas I ate some more food and headed toward the turn around, which was around 7 miles away. The trail was wide during this section with lots of rolling hills. I still wasn't feeling well and I was getting discouraged. The final 1-2 miles before the turn around were downhill. I was glad about that, but then realized IT WAS A TURN AROUND, I would need to climb my way out of the Aid Station. Finally I got to Randall Trail Aid Station (mile 35.6,the turn around).

I knew I needed to do something about my shoes. My Pegasus were not going to work on that narrow Coastal Trail. I had a pair of NB 840 trail shoes; nope too much traction for this course. My only choice were my Adidas AdiZero CS's, an 80z racing/performance shoe. So I changed socks and shoes, put on my iPod for some distraction, and started my way back up.

Oh wait, before I headed up I realized my hat was now too heavy for me to wear and I needed to give it to Tara.

Tara changed the crew plans, and decided to meet me at the Bolinas Aid Station and every aid station she could; that way she could talk me out of dropping out of the race. As I started my climb up, I noticed something odd: I felt AWESOME! I starting running fast. I was catching people, and over ground quickly. I got to the Bolinas Aid Station (mile 42.8) quickly, much to Tara's surprise.

Yes that's Scott Jurek in the background!

Back to the Coastal Trail, this time with racing shoes on. The trail felt a lot different this time; mainly, I could feel the trail. I continued to run well all the way back to the Pan Toll Aid Station (mile 49.5). At Pan Toll I was starting to feel like I was about to crash. Tara told me it was a little over 5 miles to the next aid station (Hwy 1) and most of it was downhill. That sounded good.

The downhill was super steep and painful on my already tired quads. I reached the Hwy 1 Aid Station (Mile 54.7) exhuasted! The volunteers there told me I had two more climbs and two more decents and I was home-free. I climbed up and over to toward the Tennesse Valley Aid Station (mile 58.4), again the downhill was painful. I had to run/walk up the road with tons to tourists and hikers to reach the aid station. At Tennesse Valley Tara was waiting for me. At this point she had no choice but to turn very stern and push me out of the aid station as I tried to stall and stay there. I had lost my fight. I was tired, I just wanted to stay and hang out.

Here I am coming into the aid station

The final uphill was tough, the final decent was tougher.

The views were amazing, but I was too busy trying not to trip to enjoy them. I finally finished in 11 hours, 32 minutes, 23 seconds and 68th overall.

Don't I look thrilled to be finished?

So to recap this very long race report: 100k equals 62 miles or in the case of Miwok. 62.4 miles. Either which way, it equals a long way to run. Tara did an amazing job as crew and support staff. She even reached out to tons of friends and family and had them make me these encouragement signs which greeted me at the various aid stations. Thanks to everyone who made one, they were awesome.

After I finished, I talked with a few folks, got a cool swag bag and a little bit of food (which I couldn't eat). Tara and I then left and went to our hotel room (and no not the seedy one, we stayed at the Embassy Suites, which was like heaven after a rough day like that).

Yay! A clean bed in a spacious suite!

Above and below are the generous contents of the race goody bag.

On the Team World Vision front, things went great; far better than I ever anticipated. A total of 28 people donated to World Vision on my behalf. A total of $1,843 were raised. Thanks to everyone who contributed and supported me on this endevor. If any of you find yourself wanting to donate to a good cause, please consider World Vision in the future, as we fully believe in the integrity of this organization. Again thanks and I'll leave you with World Vision's support video.

Intro to Team World Vision from Team World Vision on Vimeo.

What's next? Recovering from the race.

Oh, and if you are interested, later this month several famous runners (including Josh Cox and Bart Yasso) will be running the Comrades, an epic ultramarathon in Africa, and they will be doing it for World Vision. Check it out! And of course, consider sponsoring a child as part of this effort.

Observing Nature

2010-04-28T07:14:00.000-07:00

On our hike last weekend, we were all amazed at the variety of wildflowers we found growing near the trails. Here are some examples:

This is Castilleja, or Indian Paintbrush

Of course, the trails were overgrown with poison oak which we tried very hard to avoid:

We also got to see many many butterflies as we walked. I don't think I have ever seen so many!

This one was just sitting on the ground, although it is probably a moth. It was at least 5 inches wide:

We were able to capture this one fluttering around us:

Do you see him right in the middle of the frame?

We had so much fun exploring nature. Not only did we enjoy the flowers and the butterflies, but we discovered many other little creatures. Annaka and Maya especially loved finding a spider egg sac, an ant nest inside a rotting log (complete with little ant larva and protective ants), centipedes, and caterpillars.

My favorite photo from the day:

The California Poppy

Spring Hike, continued

2010-04-27T07:01:00.000-07:00

We finally reached a spot that was the perfect place to have a snack and relax:

Some of us just calmly experienced the natural environment, soaking it all in.
Others immersed themselves energetically:

Maya had a great time watching as fish literally jumped out of the water in front of us.

When we were done snacking and resting and watching fish jump, we headed back towards the car.

It was a great day!

Spring Hike

2010-04-26T06:34:00.001-07:00

On Saturday we took advantage of a clear schedule that coincided with clear blue skies, and headed out for an adventure hike. We drove about 10 minutes up the road to Falcon's Crest (I think?...*update: Jesse said it is called Sweetwater Trail) and headed out into the mid-70's weather.

The trails were gorgeous, as usual, but being springtime, the experience was amazing. The landscape was lush and green, and wildflowers scattered across the hillsides were blooming.

The trail follows along an off-shoot arm of Folsom Lake which, with the recent snow and rainstorms, is very full. As we were following the trail, it sometimes disappeared into the lake like this:

Maya had wanted to climb rocks during the hike, but this is the biggest rock we could find.....so she "climbed" it.

The girls had a great time exploring:

TO BE CONTINUED.......

More Babies!

2010-04-22T00:19:00.001-07:00

I just came across two pictures that I had previously scanned that show Cassie and Annaka at younger ages!!!

This is Cassie and I in the summer of 2000 in our house in Germany. She was 2 years old.

Here we are as a family in November, 2001. Cassie was 3, Annaka was 1.

Babies

2010-04-21T22:34:00.000-07:00

An increase in the number of pregnant friends/family members has put babies on my brain! I looked to see if I have any pictures of my babies on this computer. How sad is it that my kids are so old now that the major form of photography has changed within their lifetimes? So strange!!! Digital photography is so amazing and makes life (ahem, maybe just photography) so much easier! Anyway, I digress. I found photos going back to 2004 when we first got a top-of-the-line (3.2 mega pixels, the best you could buy for $250 at the time) digital camera.

So here is a little flashback to what my babies looked like then! =)

This picture of Maya is the earliest digital photo I could find, and was taken in June, 2004 a few weeks shy of her 2nd birthday.

This is a few months later in late 2004

Here is my Annaka, in spring of 2005.

And again on the morning of her 5th birthday party.

Here is beautiful Cassie in Maine in the spring of 2005.

And again, later in 2005 when she was 7!

I just want to squeeze them and snuggle them!

Journal 11

2010-04-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

A picture of what is going on around here:

I made this cake for a friend's birthday and just realized I have a picture.....happy birthday Anneliese!

Cassie has been keeping busy at school. She has had track practice each day, and meets each week. She really enjoys trying new races, and especially loves the shorter races. She usually does the 65 meter hurdles, and the 4x100m relay. She has also toyed with the 400m, 100m, 800m, and 4x400m.

This was the final stretch of a grueling 400 (she did pass that girl). =)

Today I am busy....Surprise! I'm not. Class was unexpectedly cancelled this morning, so I get to stay home on this gloomy, rainy day! Well, at least I can if I want to. I will likely take some time to tidy up the house and put in some study time. I may head over to the blood donation site and do that since I have a little extra time today.

This week I plan to.... Well, let's see. I started off the week on a good foot. I was able to clean out the laundry room (it seems to be the place where stuff goes when it doesn't have an obvious or convenient destination), and I tackled the spring clothing rotation. It is a job I don't particularly care for especially when I am busy, but I was able to rotate clothes and put it all away. It is so strange after going through Maya's things to be giving them away instead of saving them for another child. At the rate Maya grows, we don't give away a lot, but we are starting to. I took out countless "T" sized clothes from her drawers, and even a shirt that was 18 months. Ok, she's almost 8. We can get rid of the baby clothes, if for no other reason than for her emotional well-being (she doesn't like being small, so I figure having reminders on her tags that she wears clothing for 2 year olds is something we can eliminate). We also had a busy day yesterday as we said goodbye to Jesse for the week, made another round to the Dentist for sealants on the big girl's molar teeth, and headed to small group.

On the learning front.... The kids have been busy with standardized testing the last two weeks. They space out the tests in elementary school now to get a better idea of what the kids actually know. I think that is a much better idea, as opposed to the two full days of testing we had when we were kids. Cassie is learning all about Greece in her history class, and she even had to make a chiton to wear.

As for my school, I can't believe it....My class is winding down slowly. I have just over three weeks left in Anatomy and Physiology, so I will buckle down and learn about the final topics: Endocrinology, Reproduction, Pregnancy, Genetics. We just finished up Metabolism, Immune System and Digestive System. It was an extremely interesting block of study, but very difficult, and I am glad it's over.

My running is....meh.... We should hear about the Nike race today though. Did we get in? I hope so. Then I have a half marathon to scare me back into shape.

I hope.... that the many family's wading through tragedy and heartbreak and uncertaingy today are covered with God's grace, are comforted, and experience Peace. Quite a few things have come up this week that are truly heart-wrenching.

I am loving.... My family. They are just the greatest, and I am so lucky to have them.

Something I have bought recently....Bringing Up Girls by Dr. James Dobson. I have read about half of it so far, and I LOVE it! I tore right through that first half. I just love Dr. Dobson's writing style; he includes enough technical language to support his assertions, but not so much that I get lost in all the wording, statistics, and complicated subjects. It's a great balance. So far I am impressed with the book, and I whole-heartedly agree with the ideals of femininity (is that a word?) he believes should be taught and upheld. I can't wait to read the rest!

I am looking forward to.... A summer with my kids. I finish May 17. They get our of school May 28. I am not positive, but I don't think I will even be in an online class for the summer which means I get to spend every second of my days with my family, doing things with and for them. I can't wait! We are also trying to nail down our summer plans as far as vacations go.

I want to share.... THIS ARTICLE....I will summarize if you don't want to read it. It is lengthy, and a little technical, but the topic is cool. Basically, new research has shown that we not only have taste receptors in our mouths, we have them in our stomach as well. What that means is that our stomach samples what we have eaten, and sends signals to our brain and other hormone-producing centers to prepare for what we have taken in. So what, right? Well, what they have found is that when we trick our taste buds in our mouths with fake sugars like aspartame, we also are able to fool our stomach. Our stomach tells our brain that more sweet food is on the way, and so it determines what to do. If we have had plenty of calories (meaning our blood sugar is at a good level), it makes the decision to begin storing the sugar both as glycogen (easily accessible, stored sugar in the muscle and liver), and as FAT. It doesn't matter that what we ate can't actually be broken down into usable energy for our bodies by the intestines; our metabolism has already begun the process of storing away a little extra. Cool, huh?

The Final Stretch

2010-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Miwok is two weeks away!

I’m excited, anxious, and nervous. My training hasn’t gone as I had hoped, mainly because I got hurt. Speaking about that, I still feel some sort of issue in my lower calf, but I think it’s good to go. I’ve been running on it for a few weeks without any major issues. Today I ran 19 miles in the “canyons” that the Western States Endurance Run meanders through; from Michigan Bluff to the swinging bridge at the bottom of Devil’s Thumb. I was completely humbled at how difficult the Western States 100 trail really is. Someone said “don’t worry, this is the toughest part of the course.” Umm, well, I’m a little worried seeing as how in the real race I would get to that part of the course after running 30 miles and have like, 40 miles to go after the “tough” part is done.

So at two weeks and counting, I just need to start tapering, carb loading and hydrating. The only thing left is to do is show up and run. My weapons of choice:

Nike Pegasus 26

Nathan 20oz hand carry

I’ve recently realize that the more complicated I make things, the worse things go for me. For instance, shoes. I’ve tried changing my shoes to all sorts of different styles and models, trying to find the “perfect” shoe. I’ve tried everything from the expensive “state of the art” shoes to very minimal/light weight shoes. I think all of these changes have contributed, if not caused me to get injured. So here I am, wearing a basic, simple neutral trainer. As a matter of fact, the Nike Pegasus was the first running shoe I wore 20 years ago, when my dad bought them for me. Hydration is another area I like to over-complicate. I have more gadgets and gizmos for carrying water then I would like to admit. After all that, I’ve found the solution that works best for me is to carry a water bottle in my hand. It’s light, none constrictive and super annoying; which helps remind me there’s a bottle in my hand and I should drink it. When it came to running, I used to only have the mantra “stay light, stay fast.” I still have that mantra, but now I ALSO have the motto “keep it simple stupid!” In other words, my time spent running should be simple and uncomplicated; simpler times if you will.

In all this training drama, one thing has been amazing, YOU! What I mean are all of you amazing and generous donators. You guys have been awesome. I can’t believe the amount of support I have received from you guys in response to my request for support for World Vision. Going into this I thought if I could “inspire” or encourage a few people to donate a combined total of $500 for World Vision, I would have accomplished my mission. To date, 24 people have donated on my behalf, for a combined total of just under $1,700. One family has even decided to sponsor a child through World Vision. I know many of you guys are experiencing difficult financial times, yet you somehow still find a way to give. Again thanks. If anyone would still like to donate, it’s not too late. Please see my previous blog post here for detailed instructions on how you can donate to World Vision on my behalf. In fact, even after my race is finished, I encourage you to continue to donate to World Vision, or even sponsor a child.

I’ll post race pics (hopefully my one-man-race-crew of Tara can take a few) and a race report after it’s all said and done.

Jesse

Celebrating Easter

2010-04-07T07:20:00.000-07:00

This Easter we stayed home and had a very quiet, nice Easter as a family. We got up early to have fruit and cinnamon rolls. We talked about the reason we celebrate Easter, and why this day is every bit as important as Christmas, and potentially even more so. We then watched the video I posted on Easter, with our favorite Easter song "He's Alive." Of course we then moved on to Easter Baskets and then Church.

When we got home, we quickly hid the eggs since a storm was threatening to roll in and pour on us.

After the egg hunt, we started preparing for our Easter feast. We made a Honey-Glazed Spiral-Sliced Ham, Twice-baked potatoes, and Broccoli. We had two people from church who didn't have plans join us for dinner which was great.

Thank you Jesus, for sacrificing your life for our ugly, hateful, despicable sins!

Resurrection Run

2010-04-06T13:28:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Cassie, Annaka, and Maya participated in a local race called the Resurrection Run. A group of Christian runners hold it each year to raise money for an orphanage in Uganda.

Maya participated in the half-mile kids fun run. She did so great. It was so very cute to see her racing up a storm.

She ended up being the first girl to cross the line, and was very surprised to receive a special medal and a Chocolate cross during a quick awards ceremony.

Cassie and Annaka decided to do the 5k run. They ran most of it together in about 28 minutes, and it sounds like they enjoyed it very much.

They were also surprised to receive awards for their efforts. Cassie won the Under 12 age group for girls, and Annaka was second.

Afterwards, there was a raffle (where Annie won free ice cream sundaes), and a fun Easter egg hunt. It was a fun morning!

Happy Resurrection Day!

2010-04-04T08:36:00.000-07:00

We Didn't End Up Where We Expected, But It Was Still Fun

2010-04-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Thursday we had planned a trip to a children's museum. Originally I had planned on taking the girls to Explorit in Davis. When checking for hours and admission, I found that they are only open on Tuesdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. Jesse said that I already knew that. That isn't possible, because I surely remember EVERYTHING, and don't have the brain of The Absentminded Professor these days. (wink) Ok, so we needed another destination. Instead, we headed to the Discovery Museum in Sacramento. I searched the map on my fancy phone, and followed the directions to a "T." And ended up nowhere near the Discovery Museum. Instead, we were near many other museums, and Old Town Sacramento. We decided to make the best of where we were.

First we visited the Sacramento History Museum. We read about, and saw artifacts from the Gold Rush, World Wars I and II, the history of agriculture in the Sacramento Valley, and much much more.

Afterwards, we strolled down the quaint streets of Old Town, taking pictures, and looking at the sights. Here are some of our photos (many of which are super silly):

The view down one of the streets in Old Town

They thought this was a funny sign...

Strong Girls!

Aren't they just the cutest????

I'm not sure what was going on here......but I think it had something to do with the idea that homeless people potentially sleep there.

The girls decided to pose like an OCTOPUS (if only we had one more kid for the last set of arms):

My favorite pic of Maya:

And my favorite picture of Annaka:

And my favorite pic of my sweet Cassie:

Sherry Berry and Jelly Belly Fun

2010-04-02T09:54:00.000-07:00

This week has been very fun so far, starting with Sherry visiting for the weekend for a wedding.

On Wednesday, the girls and I spent the day out. We first drove to Davis to visit Jesse, and have lunch. The girls loved being able to see him during the day, so that was a special treat.

After lunch, we headed over to Fairfield to visit the Jelly Belly Factory.

We found out the hard way that Spring Break isn't the best time to visit. The lines were incredible!

We did have fun while waiting, though, and after 45 minutes, they handed us our prized Jelly Belly hats: mandatory for the tour.

Cameras were not allowed during the tour, so I don't have pictures of the actual making of Jelly Bellys, but the process is pretty cool. I think Annaka paid the most attention to the details. She even made a book about it when she got home. I think the best part of the tour was the smell! Yum.

Here are the girls emerging from the tour after being offered a really cute picture of all of us by the Jelly Belly folks. For 22 dollars. No photo is so special that I would pay 22 dollars for it. Ok, so that is not true, but not a theme-park-type photo at least.

It was a very fun trip, and a great way to spend time with my three favorite not-so-little girls.

Spring Projects

2010-03-31T07:49:00.000-07:00

One of the reasons I love breaks from school (both mine and the kids) is because I have time to quench my crafting thirst. I love to involve the girls in more extensive arts and crafts, as well as get a few projects done myself.

We took a trip to Joann Fabric's and I had the girls choose a project that they could do, and I also had them choose fabric for a project I had this week.

Here is what Cassie chose: (It's a latch-hook project....already done!)

Jesse and I gave each of our daughters brand new Bibles this week, so my goal was to create something to help them carry them and protect them.

Now that I think of it, I wish I had taken step-by-step pictures of the process of making these, but I am very fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants when it comes to sewing. I just have a rough idea of what I want, and then I start, which doesn't make for a very good tutorial. Here is what I made. I am pretty happy with the results!

Here is the Bible cover/case I made for Annaka.

I made Maya a bag since her Bible has a soft cover, although I may need to make her a case like the other girls because I think she really wants one.

The inside of the bag:

And here is the case/cover I made for Cassie.

Track!

2010-03-31T07:16:00.000-07:00

Cassie is once again participating in a sport through her middle school. She, and 200 other kids, are enjoying Track and Field. They practice right after school four days each week, and last Thursday was the first track meet of the season. We had been having unseasonably warm weather in March, with some days reaching high seventies, but many days were very comfortable around seventy. We all headed over to the Middle School, and of course, this turns out to be the one day that the weather decides to change. The temps dropped into the 50's, which isn't that cold if you are prepared. But we were all wearing basic sweaters, which the wind tore right through. Note to self: In Northern California, be more prepared for unexpected weather in March.

Annaka, happily spectating........

Cassie opted to run the 65 meter hurdles, the 4x100 meter relay, and the 800 meters.

She cracked us up as she ran the hurdles; and before she was even done she was yelling to Jesse that she had messed up. Cassie said she started the first hurdle on the wrong foot, so it messed up her whole cadence. She did really well, though, and it was fun to see her do something new like that.

Here is a video Jesse took.

Her second event was the relay, for which she was chosen to be the anchor (final runner) after a run-off in practice.

Her final event was the 800. Just as she toed the line, the skies opened up and the wind blew more fiercely. The resulting driving rain was chilling, but an exciting way to run. She did a great job, coming in 2nd for the 6th graders, and running about 3:00.

I can't wait to see what she chooses to run at the next track meet!

A little bit concerned

2010-03-28T17:20:00.000-07:00

So my train up between the Napa Marathon and Miwok has been none existent. The problem is I've been battling some sort of injury to my right calf. It's this crazy tightness/soreness that after about 2 miles of running seems to effect my upper achilles area. Because of this, I've had to reevaluate my goals for Miwok; right now it's simply not to have a DNS by my name in the results (Did Not Start in case you were wondering. Also I'm not even sure the results list DNSers). My second goal is to not end up with a DNF (Did Not Finish). If I can start training soon, I'll get to the starting line and we will see what happens from there.

A couple of other sources of concern:

The Course

And the Altitude Profile

These images are from the Miwok race website, which I try to avoid. I figure the less I know about the race, the less I have to worry about.

Oh and good news; so far I have raised over $1,250 dollars for World Vision! So thanks to all who have supported me so far and there is still time for those who are still considering it.

Wish me luck!

Jesse

Napa Marathon Race Report

2010-03-14T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hey! I want to give an update on my results from the Napa Marathon, my training for Miwok, and my fundraising efforts.

Last week, I traveled with my family and our good friends the Jordans to Napa (about two hours away) for the Napa Marathon. It was kind of odd that this whole group of people were spending their whole weekend to cheer me on. The Saturday before the race we picked up my race packet (and the cool gear bag they gave us!) and chilled out the rest of the day.

Sunday morning started at 4:00 am. Jeremy was awesome enough to drive me all the way out to the starting line in Calistoga, while the rest of the runners had to meet in Napa and take a bus out to the starting line. Race conditions were perfect, 45 degree starting temperature, sunny with no wind. At the start of the race I was able to find my friend Molly Friel, who was aiming for a 3 hour finish.

The race started on time. I tagged along with Molly, figuring her PR was faster than mine and she was far more experienced at running the marathon. She got into a group that was holding 6:35 mile pace; too fast for me. So I backed off and settled into a 6:45-6:51 mile pace. I was getting passed left and right by all sorts of runners. I wasn't worried; I felt fine and I knew I had plenty of time to do some passing. For the first 8 miles I focused on holding back and not pushing my pace too early. My two previous marathon attempts were complete disasters, both of which I ran poorly and hated the experiences. At mile 7 I had too take a quick bathroom break, 43 seconds lost. I drank too much coffee, too close to the start of the race.

I saw my family for the first time at about mile 7.5. I took off my hat, gloves, and arm warmers and started to slowly lower the pace. I later found out the Annaka was counting runners and I was in 89th place at that point. At mile 10 I decided that the getting-passed phase of the race was over. I started running between 6:35 and 6:45 mile pace and I started passing lots of runners. Things were going smoothly until mile 15; another bathroom break and another 30 seconds lost. After that I continued to push; I kept telling myself to run hard until mile 20. Mile 20 was in the middle of a long climb. I was happy to be there, but I was also pretty tired. My lack of tempo runs really hit me at miles 24 and 25. Those were the only two miles that were over 7 minutes (excluding my bathroom break miles). I saw my family at various spots throughout the race (miles 11.5, 15, 18.5 24, and the finish), as usual they were great cheerleaders. They always do such great job at cheering me up!

My goal going into the race was a Boston Marathon Qualifier (anything under 3:10:59) and my "secret" goal was a sub 3 hour finish. I ended up with a finishing time of 3 hours, 36 seconds; a 43 minute personal record. I missed my secret goal by 37 seconds, the bathroom breaks got me in the end. I am pleased with my finish time and now I have a decent time that I can work from to improve.

I took this past week off of running and I will started back up today. This upcoming weekend I plan on getting in a 31 mile long run. My plan is to get in 4 more long runs, mixed with speed work and then start a slow taper. I'm 7 weeks out from Miwok, and things seem to be right on schedule.

On the Team World Vision front, things are bitter sweet. The Sweet: fund raising is going great! To date I have raised $1123 and I believe that number will increase. (This number combines the value of monetary gifts and other items like chickens). Thanks to all of you who have supported me in this endeavor. You can continue to follow the progress of this fundraising on my site listed below. The bitter news is that on March 10, 2010, the World Vision office in Pakistan was attacked and six of their workers were killed. Here is the article. I ask for your prayers in two ways, 1. for protection for the numerous World Vision workers, working in dangerous countries 2. that I would be able to continue to raise funds for their mission, so that these people can receive much-needed resources. For those of you who would like to donate, please see my blog post here, or go directly to my World Vision page here.

Thanks for all your support! I'm off to train for Miwok!

Jesse

Good Luck, Jesse!

2010-03-06T00:22:00.000-08:00

Tomorrow we are heading out of town for a quick trip to Napa Valley. We are going to skip the wine tours to watch Jesse run the Napa Valley Marathon.

Before I sign off I will share some silly happenings from around our house.

Annaka and Maya have decided to become famous. To achieve this they have written a script for a video, which must wait until summer for filming since it takes place in water. They plan to either put the video on the internet, or sell it to Disney. They haven't decided yet. They are currently saving up money for a video camera. We remembered that we own an old one, so we got it out to charge. If we can find a place that sells the tapes for the kids to record on, they are in luck. One of the ways Maya is planning on raising money is providing items to sell. Cookies, Art, Chores.....all these have been mentioned. The one that got my attention was furniture. When I asked, Maya said "You know, I will build chairs. Like for a dining room set. I'll need some wood."

Today Annaka was awarded at school. I loved watching her smile while her teacher said nice things about her work ethic and attitude in class. Speaking of Annaka, she was one of 3 kids from her class who were chosen to be invited to this Leadership Summit in Washington DC this summer. They sent a fancy-schmancy invitation with lots of fun details, and the very last page explains the "tuition." This privilege costs $3,000. Yep. three thousand dollars to send my little one across the country all alone, to attend a really expensive camp disguised as a Leadership Summit. (sarcasm aside, it did look very cool. the kids get to learn about our gov't, and meet congressmen, etc). This invitation and amazing "opportunity" created a little sadness around our house this week. She handled it well, but I could have done without the invite.

Cassie is way too old. I'm just sayin'. I am still not used to the idea that she's in Middle School. Does it ever get easier letting go of the reins a little?

I am in an anthropology class that is driving me nuts. We have to post on discussion boards about topics the teacher chooses. I have to hold my tongue often, and delete liberally. I disagree with basically everyone in my class. Did you know that there is no such thing as Middle Class in America anymore? Really. According to the majority of my classmates, there is just the poor who are getting poorer, and the rich who are greedily getting richer. I'll have to spend some time figuring out what category I fit into, because I thought we were middle class. In realty though, the vast majority of Americans can't even comprehend poverty. We are all rich. Check out this website. You can put in your annual income and see how you stack up against the world. I guarantee you'll be surprised at where you fall. I won't get into it...... but my blood pressure starts to rise when I read this stuff..... =)

GOOD LUCK JESSE!!!!

Running for something more than myself

2010-02-27T18:05:00.000-08:00

Hey all,

Some of you received letters about me running and raising money for Team World Vision. For those of you who did not, it's probably due to us losing most of our friends and families email addresses when we switched over to our Mac. Either way, please read my letter below:

As some of you know, in the past year I have really tried to challenge myself in new ways, including my running. I decided to become an Ultra Marathoner, which simply means to run races greater in length than a marathon (26.2 miles). These races usually take place on trails and mountains, meaning difficult terrain and lots of hills. Last year I completed my first two ultra marathons: the Way Too Cool 50 kilometer race and the American River 50 mile race. This year I decided to up the ante by signing up for the Miwok 100 Kilometer Trail Race. Miwok is run in the Marin Headlands (near San Francisco) on trails, with the 62 miles of running including ascending over 10,000 ft in elevation. The event will take place on Saturday, May 1, 2010, and my training is already in progress and going well.

Over the last year I have also been contemplating using my running to benefit something other than myself. I debated raising money for one of the large charity groups often seen at large races, but decided against it. I searched for a charity whose mission is interesting to me, and also one that I feel spends money responsibly. With that in mind, I’ve decided to join Team World Vision. Team World Vision is a division of World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization. World Vision is present in nearly 100 countries including the United States, and is dedicated to working with communities to help provide things like clean water, nutritious food, education, medical care, and economic opportunity. Team World Vision athletes raise funds for World Vision projects like these, and has support from Olympic Marathoner Ryan Hall. Unlike many charity running-groups, I will pay my own race entry fees, travel expenses, and purchase my own racing shirt. This is all done in order to allow the maximum amount of funds raised to go toward helping needy people.

You might be wondering what this has to do with you. Will you to consider joining me by making a donation to World Vision? My goal is to recruit 62 individuals to make a donation to World Vision; that is one donation for each mile I’ll be running at Miwok. Since I am paying my own way, there is no minimum amount of money I have to raise. So any amount you could give goes toward helping people; no amount is too small.

There are many ways to donate to World Vision; I have opted to suggest two possibilities.

The first option is the manner in which Team World Vision typically operates. Donations are made via my website (listed below), and funds given are designated to support clean water projects in Africa. This means you would be funding the drilling for clean water wells, education on sanitation and how to take care of water wells. When a community gains access to clean water, here's an example of what happens:

The infant mortality rate is cut in half. Children can attend school instead of walking up to 6 miles for water each day. Women can spend time learning a trade to support their family instead of collecting water. Overall health is improved with clean water and sanitation. Crops and livestock thrive with clean water and proper irrigation. If this sounds like something you would like get behind, please visit the below link and you can make a donation of any amount you wish on my Team World Vision personal page. If you prefer, you can also mail a check to my address and we can take care of the process for you.

My Team World Vision Home Page

The second way is something that I came up with myself. World Vision has a very interesting opportunity for all of us to make a donation toward the purchase of an animal or other functional item for a needy family worldwide. An animal in the third world provides a family an asset, which can increase their quality of life not just momentarily, but for an extended period of time. They can produce food, items to trade such as offspring and food products, and increase the efficiency of labor. I thought that it would be fun to give people the opportunity to purchase something tangible for others, like a rabbit (just $16), a mosquito net for a family ($18), a dairy cow ($500) or two chickens ($25). This way you can be in control of where your money is going. If this sounds like something you might consider, please visit the below website for details and instructions on how to donate. There are many different options within the site, and a wide range of prices on items to accommodate any budget. Note that this option does not sync with my personal tracking site (listed above), so if you do decide to help in this way, please let me know so I can keep track of my progress.

World Vision Item Donation Site

Again, my goal is to have at least one donation for each mile I am running. I plan on assigning each donation to a specific mile, and keeping the list with me for my race. It will be really awesome to be reminded at mile 56 that I am running so that a family in an impoverished country can receive a goat. Please know that if you choose not to donate at this time, a high-five is always appreciated.

Thanks for your support and consideration.

P.S. As Team World Vision is part of World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization. Your donation is tax-deductible, and you can learn more about the organization on their website: http://www.teamworldvision.org. I also just wanted to quickly note that World Vision does great things, and one of their main missions involves people “adopting” a child. Please consider sponsoring a child through World Vision. For only 35 dollars a month, you can ensure that a child has education, clean water, and nutritious foods. It is a long-term commitment to invest in the life of someone less fortunate than us.

Well there it is! If you have any additional questions please feel free to email me or contact me on Facebook.

Jesse

World Vision

2010-02-27T16:13:00.001-08:00

Details to come later, but here are World Vision Links:

Jesse's Homepage/donation for clean water project

Animals and other items of long-terms subsistence

Did You Know.......

2010-02-03T10:25:00.000-08:00

....... that for each and every pound of adipose (aka that repulsive fatty tissue) your body has to build a minimum 1 MILE of vessels to support it?

Ew.

How to tell if you have S.A.D.

2010-01-26T13:22:00.000-08:00

Due to the fact that the sun hasn't peeked through the dense, gloomy clouds hovering over Northern California in weeks (or has it been months....), I have had first-hand experience and observation of Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.). S.A.D. manifests itself in many different, and curious ways, depending on a few variables. Let's define the circumstances that indicate risk factors, and could potentially cause variations in the severity of the disorder.

1. The length of time since the last sunny day. The greater the number of days without sun, the more likely a person is to have the disorder, and the more severe the disorder becomes. This is especially problematic in locations closer to the hemispheric poles. With the tilt of the Earth, daylight is already exasperatingly minimal. Further limiting of the Sun is very difficult to sufferers of S.A.D.

2. The relative wetness of the outside environment. If there has been constant thick fog, rain, sleet, snow, or flooding, S.A.D. is typically more common. These conditions are particularly difficult for those individuals who have to function outside the home, whether the weather cooperates or not.

3. The number of children under the age of 14 that live in your home. Children have an innate need to spend copious amounts of time exploring their macrocosm. Interruptions to this primitive relating to nature, and subsequent burning of tens of thousands of calories contributes to S.A.D.

4. The temperature. This one is easy. The colder it is, the more likely and more severe S.A.D. is.

5. Stress. People who have important things going on in their lives (things like finding the perfect parking spot, running routine errands, a daily commute to work, or other such trying events) are more likely to suffer from S.A.D.

Now, it should be pointed out that if a person experiences any combination of these life circumstances, their likelihood of suffering from S.A.D. is exponentially greater. In one study done at the Center for Sunless Research, professional, and experienced former S.A.D. sufferer, Prof. Claus found that having 2 or more risk factors increases your risk of S.A.D. by 4,000%.

So now that we have spelled out the risk factors, let's go over some of the symptoms. Let me be clear that S.A.D. manifests itself in many different sneaky ways, so we can't possibly cover all of them. Here are some of the most common symptoms.

1. Depression

2. Anger

3. staring listlessly at rain from a foggy window

4. exhaustion

5. difficulty waking up in the morning

6. Extreme hunger, but only for foods high in calories.

I highly recommend going through this questionnaire to help you determine if you have S.A.D.

1. In the past week, I have gone to the store and picked up a bunch of items I did not need, only to have to walk around the store returning said items. The reason for picking them up in the first place is still baffling.

Yes / No

2. In the past month I have become irritated at other drivers, and had unkind thoughts about what I would like to do to said drivers. I also questioned the competency of said driver's parents.

Yes / No

3. I am under the age of 14.

If yes, continue to the next question

If No, please skip down to question 7.

4. On more than one occasion I have run more than 30 laps around the living room (this could include chasing other youth). This always involves making some cacophonous sound while running.

Yes / No

5. I find myself telling anyone who will listen that I am bored, and repeat it at least 19 times.

Yes / No

6. I have done every craft and indoor activity known to modern man in the past 2 months, to include painting, coloring, sewing, cooking, puzzles, board games, card games, TV, videos, legos, fort construction, science experiments, building a 6 foot tall doll house out of boxes, and using Bendaroos to spell very large words on the living room wall.

Yes / No

7. I have foregone waiting patiently, and now cut in front of people to get things I want. This includes jumping in front of lines in stores, or restrooms, selfishly taking food or art items at home, or even weaseling my way into parking spaces that others are clearly waiting for in crowded college parking lots.

Yes / No

8. I often (more than twice per week) refuse to get out of bed in the mornings on the grounds that it isn't morning unless it is at least slightly light out.

Yes / No

9. I have irrational thoughts concerning the passage of time. (This could include thoughts like "This semester will never end. I will be taking Anatomy and Physiology for the rest of my life" and "It will be warm before you know it.")

Yes / No

10. There have been times where I can't tell if my cheeks are wet due to the rain, or my own tears......so I taste a droplet to see if it's salty.

Yes / No

11. I have someone take hundreds of flash-photos of me, because I heard that phototherapy helps S.A.D.

Yes / No

12. I insist on going running outside in the dark, pouring, 40 degree rain even though there is a perfectly functional treadmill at home.

Yes / No

13. At least 2 times in the last week I have donned clothing that is inadequate for the weather. Flip flops in the rain, heels in the snow, lack of a coat, umbrella, or hat and gloves, leg-baring skirts or shorts in the cold.....

Yes / No

14. I figure I don't need to do laundry. Since I walked in the blowing rain, all I need is a good hang-dry.

Yes / No

15. The number of hours and times of day I feel pajamas are appropriate have grown. I may be seen in pajamas while driving my kids to school, in the early afternoon, or while making dinner, and there is a possibility that I might not even put on real clothes all day.

Yes / No

If you answered yes to any 2 of these questions, you probably have S.A.D. To treat S.A.D., it will take a multifaceted approach. Try the following:

1. When feeling anger towards others at home, school, the grocery store, etc., stop. Put on your biggest smile.....and tickle them.

2. If in an automobile during this anger, turn the radio up really loud, sing along to the song. Try for "the top of your lungs" type of singing.

3. Find a bright light with a nearby outlet. Get a hair dryer and set it on HIGH HEAT. Aim at your face while looking at the lamp to replicate sunshine.

4. Allow your children to use aforementioned treadmill to burn off excess calories.

5. Hire a clown to entertain your children through the cold, dark months.

6. Move to Hawaii.

7. Talk about your S.A.D. with your friends. Try to find friends who also suffer from S.A.D., and try to one-up each other with your melancholy stories.

8. If it's rainy, take advantage of the opportunity to vary your wardrobe. Pull out the waterproof clothing you surely have tucked away in your closet. No more wet clothes!

9. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh. Laugh.

Do you have any odd S.A.D. symptoms? How about remedies? I'd love to hear them!!!

******The stories presented in this post may or may not have occurred. Try remedies at your own risk.

Reams and Reams, Bursting Out of the Seams......

2010-01-19T19:30:00.000-08:00

Do you ever wonder how many trees have been cut down for your needs?

I'm not a real "green" fanatic (I like BLUE, thank you very much), but I do think we should be good stewards of pretty much everything, including the Earth's resources.

I am in the middle of doing taxes, paying bills, checking homework, tossing junk mail, and going through all of my own course literature. I have piles everywhere. Papers that need signatures. Papers with dates that need to be added to the family calendar. Papers that are filling up with anatomical terminology. Papers that need to be filed away. Papers that need to be checked. Papers that spell out what needs to be paid. . . . . . Papers that remind me to do things on other papers. And of course there are always books.

I am surrounded by little leaflets of past trees, and I feel a little bit bad about it.

Or maybe I just don't want to deal with the papers?

Journal 10

2010-01-14T06:15:00.000-08:00

A picture of what is going on around here:Okay, so this isn't what is going on around here at all, but I haven't taken any pictures (but it had been gloomy and grey endlessly here), and this week Christine sent me this one from her wedding. I love it.

Today I am busy....Well, the best part is I am NOT busy! Oh, I have plenty to do, but all of it is stuff that I CAN do.....not stuff that I HAVE to do. My day will be filled with loads of laundry, scrubbing floors, and steaming carpets......but there is freedom in having the time to do it, and nothing else pressing me to finish or move on. =)

This week I plan to.... Well, it's Thursday already, but my goal all week was to enjoy the time I have before school starts (Tuesday)......and also get a few projects done around the house. I have already used my free time (since school has been out, and my time is much less dictated) to organize the "school drawers" (which get ridiculously overrun by loose papers, art supplies, and miscellaneous odds and ends), my sewing area has been cleaned out and set up, the hall closet is organized, of course there was a lot pf present-wrapping, card-sending, shopping, and general Christmassy stuff, the kids clothing has been gone through, my bedroom reorganized and cleaned, new homes found for new Christmas gifts, a chair is now repaired, the house is back to normal after Christmas decor, I started doing our taxes (still waiting for w-2's), and I hung several pictures around the house that were stowed away.

What is left for the rest of the week? Carpets, laundry (which is always present), and I want to bake some fresh bread!

On the learning front.... Nothing formal for me.....but I have been learning how to make a different kind of frosting, how to steam clean carpets without cleaning solution, how dark it really is when the neighborhood power goes out at night when my husband is away.

My running is.... It just hasn't been happening. Last week kind of just slipped away from me and I forgot to do it, and this week started off with a terrible migraine. I have been fighting it off all week. Sunday morning was bad, and it went away for a while, but it came back with a vengeance on Monday afternoon. I was in bed at 4:00 pm. =( Since then my head doesn't hurt, but my ears have been ringing, and I have this weird feeling in my head that I can't really explain, but it feels like something is there. I don't know if maybe there is extra fluid after migraines, or swelling or something....but it doesn't feel quite right. It makes me worried that my headache will come back. I have been avoiding certain things like the plague .....no corn syrup, no perfume or smelly things, no loud noises (what? I can't vaccuum? Bummer.), no harsh chemicals, no extreme physical activity (especially bouncy things....^^cringe^^) etc. I also called the doctor and had her prescribe a migraine medication just in case.......(I went to pick it up yesterday and the pharmacy said...."Oh, we are out of that, but we should get it tomorrow." How convenient for migraine sufferers, huh?). I am wondering if my incessant teeth-clenching is the cause..............

but PLEASE, Migraine......go away.......for good......I am begging you.

I hope.... My husband (who left for a work trip this morning) is safe, learns a lot, and has fun. I also hope that his achilles pain goes away. He has been training for a March marathon, and I really hope that this doesn't get in the way.

I am loving.... Sewing! I forgot how much I have missed it! I was taking advantage of my free time to get ahead on a few projects, and finish up a few that have been sitting around in bins waiting for me. I love the process, and I L-O-V-E the finished results. Nothing feels better to me than to finish a quilting project, lay it out, and just look at it. I think it has something to do with a tangible, visible end-product. I do things all day long, every day that don't really have a noticeable result. I clean the bathrooms, and they generally look the same. I do all the laundry, and then we all get in jammies and create more laundry in the hampers. I do the dishes, and then get another one dirty. Household chores are so continual. But when I quilt......there is no step backwards. The end product is something I can look at. Something I created, that gives me a fun sense of accomplishment. I wish I had more time.....I was looking around our house, imagining a new quilt on Maya's bed, and Oh, our bed could use a new one (the one on my bed was the first quilt I made about 9 years ago, and my inexperience at the time is obvious).

I wasn't able to get quite as much done as I had hoped, but I am very happy with the results of what I did make. =)

Oh, and I have also REALLY enjoyed playing Mario Kart (a gift from Lupe and Kev to the kids) online with Kevin and Lupe, and Linds and Ry. Even though we are far, it is so fun to play together! What a great invention!

Something I have bought recently.... Well, besides groceries and basic household items, NOTHING. Which is good because one of our family goals is to spend less and enjoy more this year.

I am looking forward to.... FEBRUARY! My favorite Alaskans will be visiting so we will head to Southern California to see them. I cannot wait! I miss them so much!

I want to share.... This poem by Edgar Albert Guest has been one of my favorites for years. In high school I used to read it, so much so that I memorized the last stanza. Here it is....

Can't is the word that is foe to ambition,
An enemy ambushed to shatter your will;
Its prey is forever the man with a mission
And bows but to courage and patience and skill.
Hate it, with hatred that's deep and undying,
For once it is welcomed 'twill break any man;
Whatever the goal you are seeking, keep trying
And answer this demon by saying: "I can."

Good luck with all of your goals, resolutions, and endeavors in 2010. Whether proclaimed or not, we all have things we want to accomplish this year. Don't let anything get in your way. =)

Speechless........

2010-01-05T12:23:00.000-08:00

Love This

2010-01-05T07:59:00.001-08:00

My plan for 2010

2010-01-04T15:50:00.000-08:00

Seeing as how I'm a contributor to this blog, I figured I should...well... contribute something. So here is what I have on tap for 2010 (as far as running goes).

First up for me will be the Napa Valley Marathon on March 7th. 26.2 miles of road racing through beautiful vineyards and rolling hills. The plan for me is to PR with a Boston qualifier (which shouldn't be too hard seeing as how slow my current PR is). My secret goal is, well a secret.

After that I will be running my first 100k. I was lucky enough to have been selected in a lottery to run the Miwok 100k trail race on May 1st. Miwok is a very hilly course with approximately 10,000 ft of cumulative elevation gain and is held in the hills north of the Golden Gate Bridge.

In July our good friends the Jackson's will be in town and my friend Mark will be making his second attempt at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 miler. Last year he DNF'd due to the race not ending at 50 miles as opposed to 100. This year I know he will finish. Tara and the girls will be crewing for Mark and I will be pacing him.

After that it's between two races; Bulldog 50k and the Run the Sly 50K; although I might just run the Bulldog 25K and also run the Run the Sly 50K. It depends on what my brother in-laws Kevin and Richard end up doing. I'm not sure what I will do after that; maybe a PCTR run in November or something.

That's all for now

Jesse (sorry, no cute "Tara" signature)

Happy Birthday Jesus!

2009-12-25T12:08:00.000-08:00

Christmas at the Barragans:

Preparing......It isn't Christmas without rolling dough and cutting out hundreds of cookies.

Christmas Eve....On our way to church after a traditional Mexican meal: Tamales and Posole

Christmas Morning....complete with Advent, Birthday Cake for Jesus, and presents!

Merry Christmas, From Our Family To YOURS!

Annaka's Interpretation of SANTA

2009-12-22T09:38:00.000-08:00

She brought this home from school last week.

Interview with Maya

2009-12-21T08:06:00.000-08:00

If you could pick what to do today, what would you do?

I would go to Disneyland.

Why do we celebrate Christmas?

Because Jesus was born then.

Why is that important?

Because He is God.

Why is it important that He was born here on Earth?

Because then He could save us all.

What is your favorite part about Christmas?

In the morning we get to open presents, and we get to worship God.

What is your favorite Christmas song?

A Mad Russian's Christmas (played by the Trans-Siberian Orchestra)

If you could have anything you want for Christmas, what would you ask for?

A Whoopsie Doo Doll.

If you could visit any place, where would you go?

I would go to New York.

Why?

Because you could see a bunch of big buildings, and it's really fun staying in hotels, and the Statue of Liberty is there.

What is your favorite part of December?

I get to do a lot of crafts.

Journal 9

2009-12-14T08:22:00.000-08:00

A picture of what is going on around here:

Okay, so we have had the tree up for about 2 weeks now, but I finally just posted the pictures. We were hoping to get a pass to cut one down in the national forests, but we ran out of time, and bought one at Lowes. Maybe next year.....

Today I am busy....I am going to be studying for Thursday's final exam, as well as doing the normal mom-type things like cooking, cleaning, cuddling......

This week I plan to....Get the Final over with, and then really focus on getting Christmas under control. =) Cards need to be sent, a few more presents bought, and a ton of stuff wrapped. I also have plans to make........ like what we are doing on the days surrounding the Holidays.....and I am planning our church's college group Christmas party......

On the learning front....Well, lets see.....Everything? Time to cram for the final. But..... In class we went over special senses a few weeks ago, and our instructor gave us a few websites with some fun vision tests to do at home. I finally looked at them this weekend, and it was pretty fun! The girls liked them as well. Here are links to a few....

Blind Spot Test: We have a blind spot on our retina called the optic disc, where the optic nerve enters the back of the eye. There are no rods or cones there, so no vision. Our brain is so amazing that it basically makes up what it can't see, and creates a complete image for us. Amazing!

After Image Test: Our senses (other than nociceptors-pain and proprioceptors-body awareness) experience adaptation, and eventually stop sending signals to our brains about stimulus that is continuous. That is why we don't notice the hum of the furnace, or the feel of our jeans on our hips. This is true in the eyes as well. This test demonstrates that the receptors in the eyes for certain colors get "tired" and will stop sending the signal for that color.

Color Vision Test: Some people inherit an X-linked disorder in which they lack one or more type of cones (there are different types of cones that see different colors), so they are unable to see specific colors....usually red and green.

Dominant Eye Test: This is a test that demonstrates whether your eyes share the work equally or not. Mine don't =(. I don't fully understand this one, but it usually has to do with the strength of the extraocular muscles surrounding, supporting, and moving the eyes.

My running is.... ha ha ha ha

I hope.... to really savor the next few weeks, and create great new memories with my children and extended family. I hope that many of these memories include our celebration of Jesus's birth, and the acknowledgement and wonder of a loving God who would send His Son to Earth for us.

I am loving.... Christmas! The smells, the decorations, the children's excitement, the baking....all of it!

Something I have bought recently.... I was in Trader Joes yesterday, and I picked up a bag of brussel sprouts to buy. I carried them around the corner, and saw this for $2.99:

I had no idea that this is how they grow! How cool is that???? And for 3 dollars, I couldn't resist.

I am looking forward to.... This evening. Our bible study group is having a Christmas party, with Italian-themed food and a white elephant gift exchange. Whenever we do themed nights, people pull out all the stops and we have delicious foods, as well as great fellowship with friends! I am making Chicken Parmesan, and THESE ITALIAN COOKIES. I made them last night, and they are tasty!

I want to share.... Some pictures of what has happened lately that I haven't had time to get on here: (if you can't see the pictures, you can click on them to make them bigger)

Here are a few pictures of our trip to Reno. We had such a great time! The kids enjoyed driving through the snowy pass, and visiting the enormous Cabelas, and Sheels, the worlds largest sports store......complete with a ferris wheel. They especially loved the hotel! Maya spent a lot of time "fluffing" her hair with the built-in hair dryer, and they thought the 3 flat screen TV's were great. (a little excessive, right? ha ha)

From Collages

And here are a few race photos from the Regional race in Reno. It was really cold, and a difficult course in the altitude. The kids had to be in the top 20 to make it to Nationals. Annaka finished 22, Maya 23, and Cassie 32. They did so great!

From Collages

****At school the Monday after the race Annaka was asked what she had learned that week and she wrote: "I learned that when you run in Reno, you feel the altitude in your throat." Love it!

Annaka and Maya were in the school's chorus performance at Saturday's Santa's Breakfast.

From Collages

This weekend the girls did a lot of crafts due to the rainy weather. Annaka documented their creation of snow globes. (I don't know why, but Maya chose to make a snow globe with a figurine of the Step Mother in Cinderella...he he he)

From Collages

Have a great week!!!

Fun Contest

2009-12-11T09:58:00.000-08:00

Hey There.....I am alive! I was just busy preparing for a crazy-hard midterm on the Nervous system. I am amazed at how intricate it is....only an amazing God could have created something so miraculous!

Anyway, just wanted to do a quick post to tell you all about a fun contest! A blogger who calls herself MckMama is having a giveaway. You can enter to win an HP TouchSmart if you enter between now and Christmas Eve.

I totally want one of those. =) CLICK HERE to visit the site and enter! (And Aunt Rosanna.....if you are reading......this could be one of your 50)

Rare Occurrence

2009-12-07T09:19:00.000-08:00

Last night it was wet and cold, and the combination brought snow for a few hours in the wee hours of the morning. Most of it is a slushy mess by now, but it was a fun sight for all of us. I am a little jealous because the town just next door to us got at least a few inches, and it is sticking around longer. The hillsides are all a crisp white. I love it!

See our sad little snow leftovers? Not a lot left, but enough to make the kiddos smile from ear to ear.
By the way, I had to intervene before Maya ate the snow she scraped off the van.

Annaka's Turn

2009-12-04T07:36:00.000-08:00

Last night it was Annaka's turn to make dinner. She wanted to make her all-time favorite food (besides sugar, that is): Tortellini. We had Italian-style pasta dishes 2 nights in a row......I guess we like italian. =)

She did a great job, and paired it with yummy zucchini!

Quick Post

2009-12-02T18:41:00.000-08:00

I am getting toward the end of my semester which means quiz, midterm, lab exam, final.....all within 2 weeks. So instead of posting about the weekend.....(tomorrow, I hope), here is a quick little post.

Maya helped me make dinner tonight. She chose to make Spaghetti with meatballs.

I chose the vegetable: brussel sprouts. I like them, and they are jam-packed with nutrients. Jesse doesn't like them, so I usually just serve other healthy veggies instead. Since he is traveling this week (boo) I took advantage of the opportunity!

Here is what we all thought about the brussel sprouts:

Thanks for the yummy dinner Maya.....it was great! Look at my little Maya.....she is missing a front tooth, and the other one is sticking straight out, READY to come out at any second!

Time keeps on slippin......

2009-12-01T00:09:00.000-08:00

I don't have time to post about our FULL weekend right now, but I do want to let you all know about a new blog I have been reading. It is written by my favorite Alaskan, and is witty and fun. Enjoy: To An Isle in the Water