Another Race Done

I have been extremely negligent in my posting lately.  I just don't know where all my time goes.  Anyway, on Saturday, I completed the Salt Lake half marathon with Shawn and my friends Becky and Charisse.  So that's two down and two to go - at least of races I am committed to at this point.  The race went pretty well - with Shawn dragging me along.  Without his help, I would not have been able to go as fast.  (Fast, of course, being a relative term here.)  My time was about 8 minutes faster than Moab and about 11 minutes faster than last year's Salt Lake half, so it's good to know I am still improving.  But that downhill course made me so sore.  

I am blaming the race on my forgetting to call my brother Dan on his birthday.  It's not really a good excuse, but after getting up really early and running and then being wiped out for the rest of the day, it just got away from me.  So Happy Birthday Dan (and Lisa, since I clearly am in a trend of forgetting to call on birthdays.)  And also Happy Birthday to Matej yesterday.  (I think I'm all caught up now.) 

Well, since there is no rest for the weary, there is no time to sit around, I have to get on my bike since the St. George triathlon is only 31/2 weeks away!  (Oh, man!  I thought I had at least one more week!)  Cross your fingers for me that the weather will warm up enough for me to ride outside. 

At some point, I will have to pull out the camera and catch you up on the rest of our doings.  No telling when I'll get around to that though, so don't hold your breath.

My ABC's

My friend Rachel tagged me with this ABC list so here it goes...

A-attached or single:

I am definitely attached.

B-best friend:

Fortunately, I am married to him.

C-cake or pie:

This is a tough one, however, if brownies were an option there would be no question, so I guess if the cake is somewhat brownie-like, then cake.

D-day of choice:

Anyday that isn't packed full of carpooling, cleaning, grocery shopping, etc.. or a day that has some freetime or a day when I don't have to go anywhere.  (I can't remember the last time that happened.)

E-essential items:

Food, water and a little sleep.  Plus sunglasses and a little chocolate.

F-favorite color:

I love so many colors that it's hard to choose, but probably something in the green family, although yellow makes me happy, too.

G-gummy bears or worms

Bears - especially if they've been dipped in chocolate.

H-hometown:

Salt Lake City, UT

I-indulgences:

Probably books and an occasional treat from the bakery.

J-January or July:

Absolutely July!

K-kids:

So far, I have four: 1 boy and 3 girls

L-life would be incomplete without:

family, friends, sunshine and books

M-Marriage date:

September 1, 1994 (Wow! going on 14 years!)

N-number of siblings:

I have 6 brothers; 3 older and 3 younger

O-oranges or apples:

I like them both but it depends on the time of year.  I love those little clementines at the beginning of the winter, and I love apples in the fall, but will eat either anytime of year if they're good.

P-phobia or fears:

Rodents! and failure

Q-quotes:

I love so many quotes, but this is a current favorite: "If you think you're too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito in the room."

R- reason to smile:

warm, sunny days, my kids, good music, good books, good conversation, etc.

S-season:

Summer (there's a reason we have a big party for summer solstice.)

T-tag 6: 

Shawn, Katie, Becky, Charisse, Matt and Anne (and Rob if you feel so obliged)

U-unknown fact about me:

I wish I were 3 inches taller (although many of you may know that so, how about that I am certified to sail a 48 foot boat on the ocean.  Sailing, anyone?)

V-vegetarian or oppressor of animals:

I'm about as close to vegetarian as you can get without actually being vegetarian.  I could easily go through the rest of my life without another bite of meat, but I will occasionally partake.

W-white or wheat:

Definitely wheat.

X-x-ray vision, invisiblity or flying as a super power:

I can see the value of all 3, but how much would I really use x-ray vision, and I might learn more than I want to with invisiblity although I find that highly tempting, but I really have always wanted to be able to fly,so flying it is. 

Y-Your favorite food: 

I don't know for sure, but I am definitely a fan of pastas.

Z-zodiac sign:

I am an Aries.

How I Spend My Time

My sister-in-law Michelle keeps a running tally of laundry loads on her blog.  I thought it might be interesting to keep track of a few of the things that make up a very large part of my daily life (and thus prevent me from spending much time doing the things I really want to do such as reading.) Anyhow, this is how things turned out for the entire month of March.

Loads of laundry:  65

Dishwasher loads:  29

Diaper changes:  91

Sixty-five loads of laundry in 31 days including all of the sorting, folding and putting away that goes along with it!  (No wonder I'm tired.)  I think I saved myself a couple of dish loads by traveling and having a Sunday dinner at my Mom's, because in general the dishwasher has to be run everyday.  I'm not entirely sure if the diaper count is accurate.  That was the hardest thing for me to keep track of because I just didn't remember to mark it down everytime I changed a diaper.  Now I just need to figure out a way to cut back on all that laundry...

Conference Sunday Beignets

Along with being able to stay home and watch church on t.v., one of our favorite parts of conference Sunday is our breakfast of beignets.  For those of you unfamiliar with these tasty little treats, they are french doughnuts.  Little bits of dough fried in oil and covered with powdered sugar.  (There's a reason we only eat these 3 times a year - Christmas being the only other time that we indulge.)  In New Orleans you would find these to be square shaped, but in the Stringham home, they are shaped to fit the occasion.  On Christmas, they are shaped as trees, Santas, stars, reindeer, etc., and at conference time they are shaped as beehives, covered wagons, temples and angels, with some hearts and stars thrown in for fun.  As you can see, the whole family pitches in to help.   We have finally learned to not bother with Saturday night baths and instead give post beignet baths - for obvious reasons.  Despite all of our best efforts, everything and everyone gets covered with flour and/or powdered sugar, but it's fun for everyone, and no one complains about the post breakfast "sugar lips".