i miss watching Beverly cook everything from scratch...in the heat...and with a smile.

i miss their transportation practices...if you can fit you can ride!

i miss these girls...

and Nate misses the stray dogs...we wanted to take them all home!

i miss getting to see Richard in his element and being able to see his culture first-hand.

i miss the fresh food....so delicious. Even seafood i don't like at home was good here...

i miss Richard's cousins. you miss people deeply that you know you may never see again(or for a long time)

i miss the cool malls...not that I like to shop but they were something to see!

i don't miss this...

i miss watching Fia play with her cousin Molly.

i miss the beautiful beaches...and it was so breezy there...heavenly!

When we left we hoped to come back in 3 years. Who knows...maybe we will. I sure hope so!

Imposing Adult views on children....

I like to read a fitness blog titled The Great Fitness Experiment. The author discusses lots of aspects of fitness from the latest exercises to body image.

In her most recent post she talks about a Hooters waitress who was asked to lose weight (she is 5'8 and 132lbs) or be fired. Ok...fine. I feel sorry for this girl and maybe she can get a job where her body isn't a reason she gets good tips....

Then she shared the story below which really, really bothers me.....

http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Parenting/girl-single-ladies-dance-sparks-controversy-internet/story?id=10644648

After watching the video and reading the article I was in awe. I kept dropping my jaw. Is the world really getting this bad? Did someone actually say we should not impose adult views on children? Don't we do that everyday when we guide our children to eat healthy, rest, exercise, have manners, read good books, go to school, be responsible, etc. So we should just step back and allow 8 and 9 year olds to "bump and grind" to an adult song and think nothing is wrong with it? The parents said their daughters love to dance and compete...and their daughters were phenomenal for sure...but there are other ways to showcase their talent, right?

They also mentioned this was a very popular song in Pop Culture and unless you isolate your children they will know this song. Yeah, my children know this song....but they aren't grinding. There is a lot of pop culture that I will not expose my children to. It just seems like standards are really going down the toilet. Makes me more grateful for the standards of the Church. They definitely are a guide to our lives.

I love the song "All the Single Ladies" but that kind of dancing is for Beyonce' and not children.

I'm just saying....

oh...as I remember the Chipettes were not dancing this way! maybe it is because they have short legs?

I did it!

I have been talking about doing a triathlon for about a year. It just looked like fun and was a challenge! I love a challenge. I love to workout and love to mix up my routine. Last year as I was looking for events most were held on Sunday so I was a little bummed. I don't think i looked hard enough. I would read blogs of friends who were completing 2 and 3 tri's and I was jealous! So this year I was excited to find many tris that were on Saturday and so close to home! I tried to get my running partner to do it with me but she wasn't able to make it work this year. I decided to just do it alone if I had to. I had been talking about this for over a year and I hate to "hee-haw" about something and not do anything about it! Luckily I was able to get a couple of friends from the gym to join me....it didn't take lots of persuading....and we all signed up!

here we are after the race with our medals

Susan and Jody take my 4:30 RPM class on MOndays. They are both runners. Susan has run marathons and Jody has run a 1/2 and will run a full soon( yes you will Jody!). They are strong athletes! So Susan and I signed up for the June 5th tri in Newnan. Jody couldn't make that one but had signed up for one in Peachtree City in May. I saw that one but was really worried about the tempature of the water in May. Would it be cold? I hate cold water. But it was February when I was looking at the events and it was cold outside still. But Jody convinced us to do this one which we were so glad we did. It was a shorter one and was a good trial run for the longer one in June.

this is the lake we were swimming in...see that yellow buoy? We had to go to that point, across to the next one and then back to shore. See the orange one WAY out there? That is where the international SPrinters went!

On the morning of the race we packed up and met at the Mall. I think we all were a little nervous that we would forget something. I packed and checked and rechecked my bucket numerous times. I was ready. When I left my house at 4:45am I was slightly confident I had not forgotten anything. I pull out and get about 3 miles down the road when I realize I had forgotten my bike!! It was in the van and I was in the car! So i turn around, switch cars and make it to the Mall 10 minutes late. Then when I am loading my stuff into Jody's car I realize I forgot my cooler in my car. Oh well....thank goodness for friends...they had extra water and gatorade they shared with me!

This is how we all filed down to the water. They let us go in 2 by 2 and 5 seconds apart. You lined up according to your swim time. This first group was the international distance triathletes. They had green swim caps. We had white.

So we arrive, check in and then set up our transistion areas. We each got a number(which they wrote on our arm and calf) and that is where we racked our bikes.
We also got a time chip that was strapped on our ankles. This recorded our times at each event and how long it took during our transition areas. On our other calf they wrote our age...which was cool to see when I was passing younger athletes...and then interesting when a 54 year old leaves you in her dust!

This triathlon consisted of a 300 yard swim( 6 laps in the pool) followed by a 8 mile bike ride and ending with a 2 mile run. The hardest part was the run. The easiest was the swim. The most fun was the bike. The most relaxing was the swim. The most exhilarating was crossing the finish line! Oh and then seeing that I had placed first in my division...let me explain. When I registered I noticed there was a category for the "Athena" group which is women 150+. So I knew I was around that weight so I thought I would race in that group. Why not? So at check-in they weigh every participant in that group. I took my shoes off (what woman doesn't step on the scale with shoes right?) and I weighed in at 149.0. So I put my shoes back on. 149.8. Then I held my camera. 150.2! Ha. So that is how I finished 1st out of 8.

Here are my stats: (not that many are interested but when I would read other's experiences about their triathlons I loved to see their times to help me see how they did and compare to my experiences)

Completed time : 1:06: 35

This is the overall times. Susan finished 2 seconds in front. Remember how good a runner she is? Her pace on the run was under 10 minutes. She caught up with me on the run and sailed right past! We came in 86th and 87th place out of 194. I would have placed 7th out of 16 in my age group (35-39) if I had competed in that group. There were 8 ladies in the Athena group.

Swim 11:53

T1: 2:27 (this took the longest because we had to dry off and put on shoes, etc...i was 3rd in this part)

Bike: 28:14 (i averaged 17.0 mph and placed 1st in this portion)

T2: 1:23 (to save time at this tranistion I did not wear my bike shoes...just my running shoes. I did not like that! I think i will just take the extra 10 seconds to change shoes so my ride is smoother)

Run 22:41 (my pace was 11:21 a mile....which is pretty good considering...and i was first in this portion as well)

So there you have it. My first experience with a triathlon. I am ready for my next one. I need to get back to training because it is only 2 1/2 weeks away! I want to work on my running the most to get my legs stronger. This one will be 600 meter swim (which we think is like 10-12 laps in the pool) 14 mile bike and a 3.1 run.

I am racing in my age group this time so i do not expect any prizes(didn't expect it the first time either!) but will definately be racing against myself!

Did you know.....

35 (thirty-five) is the natural number following 34 and preceding 36.

5 is the sum of the first five triangular numbers, making it a tetrahedral number.

35 is the highest number one can count to on one's fingers using base 6.

I betcha you didn't....I didnt either. Didn't know Wikipedia had entries for all the numbers. huh;)

So what is so significant about this number? This is how old I will be on the 24th! (go ahead and mark your calendars...I will wait). Yep. This spring chicken will be half-way to 70. Interesting thought. ANd what is more interesting is I have been saying "I am almost 35" for about 6 months! What? Why...i have no idea. Maybe I secretly am upset about it? Feeling old? I have never cared about birthdays but it is weird to think I am half-way to 70...so I am going to stop.

My body does feel old. I have aches but also have never felt stronger. So at least I am aging well:)

So Happy Birthday to me and take me out to lunch next Wednesday:)

Life happens...

If you ask my Dad "How are you doing?" he will respond with "what, are you writing a book?". Often I get these blog posts running through my head and they never make it here....so I decided to take advantage of the quiet house and vomit all my thoughts into one big "book" of a post.

Chapter 1: Busy life

This time last year I was enjoying my preschool children. I LOVED watching them learn and exploring new concepts. I LOVED seeing them each day. I LOVED watching them interact with each other and develop those social skills that they carry with them throughout their life. I LOVED creating lesson plans and buying toys/games/furniture for my business. I LOVED my it. I also was teaching early morning Seminary and teaching one early morning class at the gym...2 things i also loved. So I would wake up at 4:30am, be at the gym by 5:05, teach from 5:15-6:10, shower and get to the Prestridge house(where we had Seminary) by 6:35. We would have our lesson from 6:35-7:20. Then I would go home to get the kids to school. Preschool would start at 9am with some children arriving at 8:30. Preschool was over at 1pm. Then I would mentally unwind for a few minutes before prepping for the next day...preparing lessons, packing my bags for the gym(if i wasn' t teaching i would go early to exercise)..and somewhere in there I cooked. cleaned, washed, etc. I also LOVED teaching at the gym and LOVED teaching seminary....it was just hard doing all 3 at the same time. I did this for 18 months and looking back I don't know how I did it. Last summer-after taking a long break where i thought about nothing....i started to prepare for Seminary. I knew I could not spend another year as busy as I was. It was just too hard. I couldn't start any earlier because of my gym job and i couldn't start any later or I wouldn't see the kids before they went to school. (I didn't realize how important it was to Nate for him to see me in the mornings until towards the end of the year.) I loved interacting with the 7 teenagers who would get up every morning to be there. Some mornings they listened other times they slept(or tried to). we joked about their cellphone fettishes and strengthened our testimonies about Jesus Christ while studying the New Testament. I learned a whole lot not only about that the Bible but about Grace and Mercy and what it truly means to rely on the Lord. Prayer was the only way I got through that insane schedule. BUT i loved everything i was doing. I was torn. I was too busy. It was hard to give up that calling but I knew it was right. Since it is a very time-consuming job(we aren't paid) parents with small children are not recommended to have it but it is always up to the person if they can handle it or not. I felt like i could....and I did....and then it was time to let someone else have the blessings that come from teaching the youth.

2. Change is hard

So life was about the be less stressful. Then preschool ended....this was very hard to take. I had an inkling that it might close in the Spring but I just kept that thought in the back of my mind. I always like to have a "Plan B" and prepare myself for change but CHANGE is never easy. It took me about 6 months to get over the fact that I wasn't going to be teaching those cute babies anymore in my home. That my Plan B-close for another year, advertise in the Spring and then reopen...The preschool that I lived, breathed, dreamed about for 3 years was taking a leave of absence. It was very hard to enter that room. I felt guilt. I fought the feelings of failure. I knew I didn't fail. I knew I did my best. I knew there were circumstances beyond my control that caused it to close but I still second guessed my decision. So if preschool closed I would have more time to focus on Seminary, right? but it was time for me to let that calling go too. I hated to not continue with those students who I had built a relationship with but it was the best thing for me to do. Change is just hard....not matter how you live it. It takes patience and lots of emotions which I don't like to feel sometimes. but I have learned if we don't acknowledge those emotions they get stuffed down deep and will come out eventually!

2. Change is good.

So lately I have seen the benefits of loosing preschool and seminary. I don't feel guilty anymore. ALl the preschool babies are in a preschool and I don't worry about them. I have more time to spend on my job at the gym(which i really enjoy) and the best part is I have more time for my family. I didn't realize how neglected some aspects of my homelife were getting but when your daughter says "I am glad you aren't doing preschool (or Seminary) anymore....now you have more time to spend with us" that should be a red flag. Even though I was home I wasn't there most of the time. I remember being agitated a lot and had to remind myself to give them of my time. I am not as tired ...no exhausted... as I was. And the best part I can enjoy cooking again and feel fulfilled in creating healthy meals for my family(not that i am making stuff from scratch....i am just making sure our meals are balanced). I want to read to my kids or play games with them....whereas before that was just something cutting into my time getting ready for other stuff(but it was OK since I was studying my lessons for Seminary, right?). Just tonight I noticed how watching SOphia twirl around in her SUnday dress brought me joy. Reminded me what a blessing it has been for this change. Nate's confidence in life has changed as well. He is such an quirky boy with some emotional baggage that is very tricky to maneuver sometimes. I believe when he didn't see me in the mornings it caused him anxiety. He never verbalized this....but now I can see that it was. And this anxiety builds and causes other problems....but he is getting so much better now.

4. What now?

So now life is a bit slower. I have a lot more time to spend on more important matters and can become a great wife and mother. I have patience to play games with the kids and grow my relationship with Richard. I have more time to help others(which I really enjoy doing) and would love to say I am cleaning my house more....but that would be stretching it.

Another blessing is the group of friends i have acquired through volunteering with the PTO. They are so fun to be around and we just laugh about everything. If i was still so busy I would not have met them.

So that is the post that has been mulling in my head for some time now. Change is a tricky thing especially if you are like me....i want to find a solution to problems STAT. I don't want to dwell on the negatives. I want to have a plan B in case A fails. I want to be dependable and do not like to fail. But these things sometimes need to happen. Life will be stinky but change can teach us so much if we let it.

There were so many blessings that came from those busy 18 months. One was a deep relationship I built with my Heavenly Father. I also developed a stronger testimony of the restoration of the gospel and the prophet Joseph Smith. I get it now. I knew it was true before but now I feel like I can testify of it with more conviction. I am still the same person....just a little different....and a little more....what is the word....not sure....but am just better.

the end:)

(thanks Mom for reading the whole post! you are the best listener. i hope I can be as good as you one day!)