Nothin' but Mizuno

Not so long ago, I wasn't all that picky about what running shoe I used. I just tried on a few pairs to find something that fit my narrow heel well and didn't slip and went with it. Over the years, I have used ASICS, Sauscony, Adidas, & Nike. Gradually I have educated myself more. I have done research and I have had my stride evaluated. I learned that I have underpronation, which means my feet roll outward at the ankle. A great resource for evaluating your running shoe needs is through Shoe Dog. You answer a series of questions and get a list of shoes that are best for you. Having the right shoe reduces the risk of injury and I am all for that!

That is how I found out that Mizuno Wave Rider is the shoe for me. Once I tried them on, I knew it was a perfect match. My heel was snugged in and the toe box was wide and comfortable. They felt like air on my feet. It was TRUE LOVE, I tell you!
I replace my shoes every 400 miles or so. This is about the time that the support is wearing down and I can feel my knees and ankles protesting a bit. I just got my 4th pair of Mizuno Wave Rider's in the mail last week. LOVE the new color, which I think will hide dirt better than white.

I love my Mizuno's so much, that I can't seem to throw them away. I have become a Mizuno hoarder!

They are a work-of-art, I tell you!

Yup, I have some issues.

I have gone from Wave Rider 9 up to Wave Rider 13. Each year the model just gets better and better. The latest has a lining in the interior which is as soft as butter and makes my heart go pitter-patter. Yup, I definitely am in love with these shoes!

Bella's Make-Over

Every two months, Bella goes to her favorite place.... the groomer!!!! Actually, it is her least favorite place. She never complains and Roxanne (the groomer) says Bella is very well behaved, but Bella does tremble and get nervous every time we take her.
This morning, I decided to capture some before pictures to show what a total transformation Bella goes through when she is at the groomers. We are always amazed at how totally different Bella looks after a trip to Roxanne's.
Our furry little pooch was especially in need of a bath since she had climbed into the dishwasher and gotten some chicken curry sauce on her forehead the night before. We didn't bother to clean it up since we knew Roxanne would be giving her a cut and blow-out today.


But we were not prepared for just how DIFFERENT Miss Bella was going to look today.


You are going to be shocked.....


I'm serious....



Wait for it....



Wait....



WWWWWAAAAIIIIIITTTTTT....




Here is the after. Are you shocked?? I did a double-take on this hair-do. If it weren't for the "Bella" tag on her collar, I seriously wouldn't recognize her. Turns out, she had matted ear hair, so Roxanne had to cut her once flowing white ear hair short.
Miss Bella now has bangs. Not sure that I like them, but Roxanne said we would have to be more careful about combing the hair on her ears while we wait for it to grow back out into the cute bob again.
Her fur is incredibly soft and she smells great (for now). But boy, she looks strange, and kind of homely.

BEFORE and AFTER... one word WOW!

Look at that sad face.... I think she misses her long flowing ear hair, too. Sorry to tell you this Bella, but growing out your bangs is not a fun experience. Trust me... been there, done that.

Mardi Gras at OLV

The highlight of Catholic School's week at OLV School was the Mardi Gras carnival. Dressing-up, playing kids games, prize drawings, yummy food, and BINGO... all combine for a great day of family fun.

Kippy wore her mask for most of the day. She won two raffles and was excited about her Webkinz Hippo and LPS set.

We played several rounds of BINGO, but no winners at our table. Here is Luke concentrating on his card.
My little-almost-three-year-old friend Anna and I were dressed up as well. Check out the super cute butterfly on her cheek. It goes so well with her sparkly blond hair extensions.

I manned the "treat walk" game for 1 1/2 hours (which is why I dressed up). It is sometimes called the "cake walk", but in this case, there were lots of different kinds of treats to choose from for prizes. In fact, there were 4 tables full of goodies!!

Round and round they walked as the music played....

with a total of 12 different numbers to land on.

When the music stopped, one number was drawn and the lucky winner headed to the treat table to make their selection.
Unfortunately, Kippy & Steve came home today with TOO.MANY.TREATS including Lemon cake, Seven-Layer bars, and Triple-Chocolate Fudge bars. Needless to say, Steve is taking a bunch of them to work tomorrow because I can't have that much temptation in the house!!

Ahoy, me Matey!

Arrrgg! Thar be not enough loot in t' box!!

Hand o'er yer loot or I'll make ya walk t' plank unless ya want me ta run ya thru w' me sword!!!

On Saturday afternoon, we had perfect show for another snowman creation. I love diggin' into the dress up bin to see what we can find before heading out.

We had so much fun dressing up our fierce pirate, even though the huge snow ball head made it nearly impossible to get a bandanna to work properly. There was a lot of improvisation.

The treasure chest had a lot of detail, but it didn't show up well since it is all white. Bella also tried to come out and play with us, but she got overwhelmed quickly in the deep snow and had to be saved.

I antiqued out this photo to make it look more rugged. Not very fierce... how 'bout the next one?

Givin' our meanest "ARRRRGGGG" along with our one-eyed-missing-arm-with-a-hook look. Are ya frightened now??

Yo, ho, ho... its a pirate's life for me.

An egg by any other name?

Our family eats a lot of eggs. It is our go-to-meal when we are in a hurry (or haven't planned something). We like our eggs a lot of different ways. Everyone has their favorites... scrambled, omelets, hard-boiled, over-easy, fried, or poached. We can eat them for breakfast, lunch or supper. One of everyone's favorite ways to eat eggs is an Egg-in-a-Basket.
This is done by pressing the rim of a cup in the middle of a slice of lightly buttered bread to make a circle (a.k.a. the basket). After placing the basket in a hot skillet, then you crack an egg in the center to cook. Once browned, you flip the egg-in-a-basket over to cook the other side. Steve even toasts up the little circles to go with it. It is delicious!

It is also known by a lot of other names. Some examples are "Rocky Mountain toast","moon egg", "egg-in-the-hole", "One-eyed Jack", "Bird's nest", "Gas house eggs", "The Elephant Egg Bagel", "frog in a hole" or "camp eggs". Have you ever had eggs this way? If so, what do you call them?

All that and a bag of chips

Last week, I got a new LG high capacity, front-loading washer to replace my 7-year-old high efficiency much smaller machine.
The funny thing is that I have yet to fill it all the way up to full capacity! It has a fun feature where it weighs the load first, then tells you the size, so you can fill it with the correct amount of detergent before it runs. This morning I was determined to fill it up. I had both girls strip their beds and we put sheets from their beds, including mattress pads....and it still was only 1/2 full.
This thing is a MONSTER!
And I am lovin' that I don't have to do laundry as often. Another feature I love is that it displays the time remaining for the entire cycle, so you always know when it will be done. It works for the planner in me.It is most definitely "all that and a bag of chips," to me!!
Now if I could just convince my Hubby that I need the matching high-capacity dryer.... wish me luck!

Kippy's Creations

Steve took Kippy to a 1/2 day 4-H event this past Saturday, which was set up basically like a Make-n-Take. Kippy got to choose 4-5 projects she wanted to make and these are the results:

Goldfish in a bag, which is actually a plastic fish surrounded by clear glycerin soap. If you look really hard you can see the green "goldfish's" eye... sort of.
Snazzy, polar fleece hat... Kippy and her friend Mia made matching hats, so that makes them extra-best-friends on the school playground.
Jewelry... necklace from clay, a record necklace and a vinyl bracelet, so stylish.

Stained-glass heart cookies: The glass is made from a melted Jolly Rancher.

It looked so cute, but Kippy said it didn't taste very good.

It was a good Father/Daughter day and Kippy was quite proud of her creations.