Tri, Tri Again!

It's the Windcrest Freshman Triathlon! Again! I was ready this year, though. Last year, I threw an outfit together from the clearance rack at Ross (and the shorts threatened to fall off during the run), I rode my cruiser (everybody passed me--EVERYBODY), I swam not one yard in preparation for the race and it showed, BIG TIME. I had nightmares the night before the race and was really just glad to finish. Period.

THIS year, however... I still didn't exactly have the competition quaking in their boots, but I had trained and had all the right equipment, which made a huge difference. I even had the padded bike shorts, which I HIGHLY recommend. A friend who knows his stuff found me a road bike on Ebay--a red Specialized that I named the Firebolt. (When it arrived Ella and I were in the middle of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban".) Having been swimming 3-4 times a week for several months I knew exactly how long it would take me to do the swim, and I would have been dead accurate had there not been a pileup of slow people in front of me the last 50 meters. I passed one guy and accidentally elbowed him in the face. I am so hard core! I didn't crash spectacularly on the bike (I had only ridden it a few times by race day and was still a little nervous on it), and I ran most, but not all, of the 2 mile foot race. When I got off the bike, I had serious spaghetti legs and was amazed that I managed not to fall on my face. I had it better than some, though--as I started running, I could hear the guy behind me throwing up. I had the presence of mind to be grateful that he was behind me and not in front of me. (I am pretty sure he passed me soon after that.) I ended up coming in 4th in my age group in both the bike and the swim, but nearly last in the run. My first tri inspired me to swim, my second has got me running. I'm doing my next tri in a month--wish me luck! I'll be happy if I can run the 3 miles on my spaghetti legs and not throw up.

You can read all about my triathlete transformation at http://www.trainermomma.com/2011/05/katie-is-a-goal-getter/

Happy Easter 2011

Fiesta, Y'all!

Fiesta in San Antonio is a BIG DEAL. It is a week-long festival with various events all around the city: parades, street fairs, carnivals, what have you. The second graders at Ella's school make "floats" and the rest of the school lines the halls while the second graders parade their creations through the school. It's a pretty fun tradition and the floats were fun. Ella and I worked together to give the Barbie on her float a gown with a long, sparkly train, in the tradition of the Fiesta "royalty" who ride in the parades and wear the most amazing beaded creations. Here are Ella and Natalie with their floats:

Natalie struck a pose in front of her future elementary school, wearing a traditional Fiesta crown:

Another Fiesta tradition is that of cracking confetti-filled eggs, called cascarones, over the heads of loved ones. (Well, loved ones, strangers, anyone you can catch, really.) Ella made cascarones at school and she and Natalie went crazy with them in our yard. This is what Natalie's head looked like when they were done:

Greg, who is in charge of the care and nurture of Natalie's hair, was thrilled. But what can I say? Who can resist sisters having fun together?

Unforeseen Blessings

I think all five or so of you who follow our blog know this already, but I started teaching early morning Seminary this week. (See above photo. Don't we look bright-eyed and bushy-tailed?) Hoo-boy, when they say "Early", they are not joking. I took my first nap (first of two, and then I was in bed before 10pm--the last time I hit the sack that early I was pregnant with Ella) at 9:30 yesterday morning. I was attempting to study in my comfy chair and couldn't keep my eyes open, so I put some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse on for Nat and crashed on the couch for an hour, then woke up STARVING because my body thinks it's lunchtime at about 10am. I am suddenly remembering why I spent all of high school snacking through science and sleeping through French. early Morning Seminary.

In addition to the wacky biorhythms, the last week or two have been emotionally exhausting. Extended family turmoil, an altercation with a neighbor over our guests' right to park on the (public) street in front of her house, a baby shower at our house at which a friend missed a step coming down the stairs and broke her foot... Did I mention that said friend is 6 months pregnant? The baby is fine, thank goodness, but the foot is broke. And yesterday my dishwasher went on the fritz. Come on! This is not the time for one of my hardest-working (and newest, might I add) labor-saving devices to konk out on me. It could be worse--I heard this morning that a friend of mine had a huge tree come crashing through her bedroom window at 3am. And she still managed to get her daughter to Seminary at 5:50! She is my hero today.

I get that doing the hard thing, the right thing, comes with challenges. But here's the thing--it also comes with blessings, often unforeseen. I went to the doctor today (routine check-up, nothing wrong) and I had an experience I have never had before. I stepped on the dreaded scale and the weight landed a full 7 POUNDS LESS than I was expecting. When does that ever happen?!?! I have had it happen the opposite way a gazillion times--pretty much every time, as a matter of fact. I questioned every medical professional in the office as to the validity of the scale, and they all swore by it, saying that people constantly complained that it was too heavy, not too light. I said, "I know! I am usually one of those people!" The ridiculousness of the situation did not escape me--I have been working my tail off to lose weight and get in better shape, and when I finally see a major pay-off, I try to find someone to prove it wrong. According to the doctor's scale I have lost 19 pounds since December, and I am a pound BELOW my goal weight. Time to set a new goal, I guess. I am going to stop arguing and go try on some jeans. Ooh, and eat some chocolate chips!

They Call Me Cupcaketress

So, so many cupcakes. In November I made groom's cupcakes (Here in Texas there is always a groom's cake at weddings, and it is always chocolate. If there is anything better than wedding cake it's TWO wedding cakes!) for a friend's wedding. The cakes were all chocolate, with four different frostings: chocolate buttercream, white chocolate buttercream, chocolate cream cheese, and peanut butter.

Leisa and Erika Parsons made the wedding cake--check out the center leopard-print layer. It took Erika days to perfect, and it was a work of art. Here we are with Emmie, my right-hand helper:

For April Fools Day Ella and I made TV dinners: fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, peas and carrots, and a brownie for dessert.

A couple weeks ago the Parsons ladies and I baked for another wedding--Leisa and Erika created the amazing daisy-festooned wedding cake and I made lemon poppyseed cupcakes with lemon cream cheese frosting. Yes, I am here for all your cupcaking needs.

Far East? Far Out!

My mom went to Hong Kong to fine-tune the production of her product "An Extra Bag" (more to come when it's ready for purchase) and brought back some treats. Yes, those are wooden skewers in the girls' hair (we didn't have any chopsticks). That's Olivia, Ella, Oscar, and Natalie:

She brought back robes for herself, Lora, and me. They are silk, and quite luxurious. Here's what the tag on them had to say:

"Oriental Village" offers you a collection of delicate and high quality fashion mixed with Oriental traditional elements, vivid color and fine modern fabrics are employed giving the traditional Oriental clothing a fresh new look. With its new execution and authenticity, "Oriental Village", Oriental fashion is definitely your great choice to feel the soul of the Oriental culture.

We were totally feeling the soul of authentic Oriental culture.

A South Padre New Year

We rang in 2011 on South Padre Island. Here in Texas it is too ridiculously hot to enjoy the beach during the summer months, so we go in the winter when it feels more like the proper beaches of my youth, which is to say cold and windy. We had never been to South Padre Island because it is 5 hours away, but we decided to make a go of it. We stopped in Brownsville on the way and visited the Gladys Porter Zoo with my mission companion, Christie Jeppson Blair, and her family. It was fun to play with friends, and the zoo had many things going for it that the San Antonio Zoo is sadly lacking, including a great spray park and giraffe feeding! There is nothing I love more than poking food into the mouths of exotic animals. Show me an exotic animal and I will shell out the dough to feed it.



When we got to the beach we found it to be a tad too cold and windy for comfort, so we played in the heated hotel pool. Natalie is proving to be an aspiring aquatic Evil Knievel.

There was one good thing about the extreme windiness: it made for extreme kiting. Greg and I both flew our kite (at sunset--awwww) and were dragged down the beach several times.

Happy New Year!

So I'm a little late on the New Years salutations. I CAN report that I have stuck to one of my two resolutions faithfully--I have eaten neither chips nor fries this year. (The other resolution was to clean out all my closets. I have tackled one so far. The closet looks great, but the room I emptied it into is still a mess. Ah well--it's only May!)

Our stake was in charge of what we call the annual five-stake New Years Eve Eve dance (on the 30th, not the 31st) and the theme was Rock Around the Clock. I made poodle skirts for our stake Young Women presidency (I've been the secretary for years and years) and Greg reprized his role as UberNerd. The skirt was excellent for swing dancing--very swishy and twirly.

Memorial Day... Christmas... Whatevs

I know tomorrow is Memorial Day, but here are a few Christmas pictures for you. We've had several 100 degree days here in San Antonio, so it's kind of nice to hearken back to a cooler time.

See how bundled up we were? We went to see the lights on the Riverwalk, which are always delightful. Santa and Mrs. Claus were greeting guests on a barge on the river. The lighting was bad and Natalie was clutching me for dear life, but there you have it--the Willden Santa photo of 2010.

I saw this idea for a red and white candy tower in Marthe Stewart Living and had to try it.

At our house, making gingerbread houses is the one holiday tradition we ALWAYS make time for.

This year I also made our gingerbread family. Hee!

And here are the girls at Holiday Seaworld. Happy Holidays!