Brain Dump (1st ed. 2014)

Y'all, if I had not experienced the relief myself, I wouldn't be a believer.  Because how on earth does a strip of stretchy kinesiology tape (or KT tape) make your muscles feel better?

But, one day Randy brought home a roll of KT tape to use for his plantar's fasciitis (which I also suffer from) and he swore it worked.  So, I tried it out too and it does!  I have been able to run pain free since I began using it.

So, the science fair is today and I'm sad to say that Elisan did not require any help from her mama.  What?  Last year, we worked side-by-side for many hours making sure her project board was interesting and balanced and visually appealing.  But, this year, she refused to let me help or offer my opinion.  That stinks!  I mean, that's great.  I'm glad she's taking initiative.  

Speaking of Elisan... she placed 2nd in area-wide competition for "reasoning" in Math Oympics.  She goes on to regionals next month.  (Last year, she took first place in the regional competition, so she's hoping she can hold on to her title!)

Kyla has become a rainbow loom bracelet making expert.  All weekend long she watched rainbow loom tutorials online and practiced step-by-step with the instructor on making new and fascinating bracelets.  She can now whip out an intricately detailed bracelet in no time. 

Randy told me he'd consider cutting his beard and hair on the first day of Spring.  Y'all, that's 2 months away.  What?!  I'm not sure what's gotten into him, but I'll have to post an updated picture of his bear and hair soon.  He doesn't even look like himself anymore.  It's a little disturbing.

You may have noticed my "budding photographer" button on my blog.  Well, that's because I have decided to offer my photographer services for hire.  This is a huge baby step for me, but I feel good about it.  My rates are really low right now... I already had a friend chastise me about it (hah), but I set the rates low enough so that as I hone my skill/talent, I will have room to raise my rates when the time comes.  I'm excited to see where this road takes me.  In the meantime, check out my website here.

Oh, and an update to my last post about Elisan running track this season.  Well, as it turns out, a little (positive) peer pressure has made her decide to run track this year after all.  There will of course, be soccer conflicts, and soccer is the priority right now since she is the goalie, but I think track is such a fun sport, I'm glad she signed up!

And finally, a bit about what I've been doing at the gym these days... Jumping Rope!  Love it!  I've always been good at jumping rope.  Must of been all of those "Jump Rope for Heart" fundraisers we did every year in elementary school  (Thanks Coach Hammerly).  But, nonetheless, I've really enjoyed adding another layer of cardio to my workouts.  Jumping rope is a full body workout and it takes a lot of endurance.  So what I do is jump rope for one minute and rest for one minute.  I do this for 10-15 minutes.  By the time I'm done, I'm done... literally.

Cupid's Chase 5K

All four of us are signed up for the annual Cupid's Chase 5K on February 1st.

Last time I signed up for this race back in 2011, it was canceled due to frozen conditions.  Let's hope that doesn't happen this time around.

I hope this race will spark an interest in the girls to compete in 5K's more often.  I think they will both do well.

On a different note, Elisan broke the news to me the other day that she doesn't want to sign up for Track and Field this year.  I'll have to admit... this mama's heart was broken, but I completely understand.  Middle school track takes a lot of hard work and dedication... and right now, her hard work and dedication goes to soccer.  It would be hard to excel at both.

A cuppa tea

Okay, so I'm counting calories and working out like a fiend, right?

And somewhere I read that if you consume warm liquids it takes longer to digest thereby giving your tummy the feeling that it is full.  So it's not a scientific explanation as to the why's and how's and heck, I don't know if it is even true...

But, I've begun drinking hot green tea in the evenings as my "snack" and it's really been a nice change of pace.  I have a variety of flavors and I add a packet of stevia (10 calories) to sweeten it up just a tad and it's perfect!

And since I'm having a cup of tea in the evenings, rather than a cup of ice cream... it's a win-win.

(Just of course, be aware that if you are drinking tea in the evenings, that it is of the DECAF variety.)

First Place!

Elisan's basketball team finished first place in a tournament over the weekend!

You've got to PUMP (insert clap) IT UP!

Okay, so I spent the day yesterday blogging about how I've been tracking my food, blah, blah, blah.  And how I need to get my rear in gear if I want to shed these loathsome 8-10lbs.

So, this morning, before heading off to drop the girls off at school, I grabbed a pre workout supplement packet that we got as a freebie from GNC and drank it before I hit the gym.

Oh.My.Goodness.

Y'all.  I cannot even begin to tell you what a difference it made in my workout.  Today, I ran 4 miles (45 minutes)  and cycled 20 minutes after that.

This is huge!

The day before, I couldn't crank out 2 miles without having to stop to suck wind, but today... 4 miles....no problemo.

So you're asking yourself, what is this magical potion?

4D Pump HD

Look, I'm not here to push this stuff on anyone.  I'm sure it's loaded with a bunch of crap stuff that is less than healthy.

But really.  It works.

If you are interested in trying it, I'd get a sample of it at your nearest GNC before putting down the cash for it.

Oh, and a bit of a disclaimer... I had the arctic ice flavor (as shown) and while it didn't taste bad, it was by no means GOOD.  Just fair warning.

It's all about Tracking

Well, I hate to admit it, but I'm back to tracking my food and exercise.  There's nothing that says accountability than black and white numbers on food log - calories, fat, carbs, protein, etc.

I would never characterize it as fun, but there is no doubt that it IS effective.

And so I track.

Why do I hate to admit it?  Well, because of the obvious, I suppose.  I've put on unwanted weight and I haven't been exercising as often as I should.

I've known for quite a while that I needed to get back into the groove of a healthy diet and exercise, but with the holidays... blah, blah, blah... you get the gist.

And, I can THINK about doing it all day long, but the ACTION has to come from within.

And so I track.  Everything.  Like that dark chocolate hershey's kiss I had after dinner last night... 19.8  calories.

Sigh...

I'm hoping once I get down to my "fighting weight" - about 8 lbs, I'll be able to maintain again.

Concertina Wire Anyone?

Okay, so this kinds tells off on my husband.  But, he can take it. I have no doubts about that.

Back in November, one Saturday night, Randy and I were sitting in the living room around 10:30 p.m. when all of a sudden we hear this noise coming from the backyard.  At first, we thought it was our neighbors messing around with the garbage can, but then suddenly the security lights kick on an there is a man who appeared at our BACK DOOR with this hand on the door knob trying to get in.

Randy jumped up and grabbed his .357 Magnum (yes, he keeps a weapon downstairs for such an occasion) and asked the man what he wanted.  Clearly, Randy had a gun, there was no question about that.  The man said he needed help and was still trying to use the door knob to get into the house!

Randy told the guy he'd help him, but that he was not coming into the house (while still holding his gun).  After about another 15 seconds of trying to reason with this guy about why he could not come into the house, he took off and jumped the wooden fence that encloses the front yard from the back yard and he was gone.

We called the police and they came out and determined that the man came from the back pasture behind our home.  The barbed wire fence was damaged and there were boot marks near the fence.

The back pasture?  Really?  There's no road anywhere near the back pasture.  In fact, it's downright secluded, except for the farmer who lives on the property.

What's weird is that the man was dressed nice and he wasn't carrying any weapons that we could tell. We figured he was drunk and/or high and somehow got mixed up (?) at to where he was?  Not sure...

What I am sure about is that Randy decided to go all commando and has outfitted the back pasture fence with 10 ft horse panel fencing.  He wanted to put concertina razor wire (still does, in fact) but I put my foot down on that one.  I'm sure our HOA would not look too favorable upon that.  Heck, I'm pretty sure they would approve of the 10ft horse panel fencing.

Anyway, he's still looking into ways to fortify the wooden fence that surrounds the three sides of our home that would not draw attention to the HOA and that I will approve of.  His ideas of security and MY ideas of security are not the same.

Randy does say that the number one security measure that he has in place right now is the motion detector security lights at the back door and corners of the back yard.  That helped us to see that the man was unarmed and we were able to give a good description of what he looked like to the police.

Rebel Duckies

Over the weekend, both girls played in a 3v3 Live Tournament in South Austin. We sign the girls up for 3v3 tournaments about 4-5 times a year.  They are so much fun.

Elisan's team of girls haven't quite gelled yet, so they do "okay", finishing 4th or 5th place out of 8 teams usually.

Kyla's team, the Rebel Duckies, however are the reigning champs in their division for two consecutive tournaments.  They play in the under 10 age group.

Kyla's group of girls are such little firecrackers all in their own rights and it's been fun to watch them play together.  Kyla fits in perfectly with this group and loves playing with them. 

Here they are with their latest first place medal!

(Left to Right) Kyla, Jordan, Mallory, Natalie and Sabrina

The next tournament is at the end of January.  We'll see if they can hang on to their title.

Rewind

What’s new for 2014?  Well, for me, it’s time to go back to the way things used to be.

If you are a regular reader of my blog, you probably have noticed my lackluster 2013 blogging year.  Why?

Well, because my heart is not into it anymore.  It just isn’t.  Don’t get me wrong, I love blabbering on and on about my kids.  And, they love to read about themselves on my blog.  But, about 5 years ago, I transitioned my blog from a family journal of sorts to more of a “readership” blog… catering to the blog reader by offering recipes, freebies, printables, contests, craft ideas, etc.  It was no longer a place where I felt I could brag about my family without feeling “weird” or that I was going to offend someone.  And so, the downward spiral began and so did my love for blogging. 

I’ve thought long and hard about this… At first I thought I would just shut down “Haphazard Happenstances” but I couldn’t do that—not after 8 1/2 years.  Then, I thought I’d make it private, but then I’d be emailing the password out to MY people all of the time because for sure they would not remember it.  I thought about making a new blog – for just family… but that would be ridiculous considering that was the original intent of this blog… so I just decided to rewind.

So, what does this mean?

It means that I’m going back to the way things used to be.  I’m not going to write for the “reader” but for my family and me.  It will be filled with blog entries related to the to my children, my man, my dog and of course soccer.  There will be more pictures of my people too.  My prayer is that my love for writing will come back to me, as well.

Oh, I’m sure I’ll post a recipe that was totally fabulous from time to time or some other cool stuff/projects I’m working on…  but it will be with the intention to share about my life… not share with the blog and Pinterest world.  Besides, the pay ain’t good enough anyway…  (hah!)

So, that’s it.  I quit… sort’ve.

Happy 2014!

Winter Vacation

So yeah… skiing.

My mom and dad’s neighbor has a fabulous condo in Winter Park and she quite literally begged my mom and dad to use it for a week of skiing.  So, last year, my parents set up a family ski trip after Christmas for all of us… my folks, my brother and his family and our family.

Doing a little bit of souvenir shopping in town.

They all flew, but being the road trip warriors that we are, we drove the 18 hour drive to Winter Park, Colorado.  Of course, we didn’t drive the entire 18 hours…. We stopped in New Mexico the first night then made it to Winter Park just in time to get fitted for and pick up our skis for the next day’s adventure.

The condo was beautiful.  The woman who owns it is a late-in-life-heiress, so she spent some of her inheritance in style and spared no expense.  It truly was a blessing to be able to stay in such a beautiful home and area… for FREE!

My mom had a huge meal prepared for everyone and it was so nice to be there with my entire Sullivan family – Mom & Pop, Tim, Christi, Brandon & Brady and of course, the Wagner family – all 10 of us.  That night we ate (and ate), watched football and went to bed at a reasonable hour to prepare us for our first big day on the slopes!

To give you an idea of how our first day went…. Randy is a skier.  The girls and I have never skied.  However, Randy felt we all had just enough athleticism to skip the SKI SCHOOL instructions.  I have to admit… after seeing and hearing the ski school instructors teaching the little kids, I’m glad we didn’t waste a whole day there.

Getting ready for our first day on the slopes!

Brady, Tim, Erica, Kyla Randy and Pop getting ready to head out!

BUT, that doesn’t mean that we didn’t have our first day woes.  After about 3 trips down the bunny slope, Randy declared we were ready for bigger and better.  Truth be told, I think he was ready to move on from the piles and piles of little kids on the bunny.

So, we hopped onto the lift and made our way up to the first stop.  Kyla and Randy unintentionally split off from Elisan and me, so Elisan and I were left on our own to make it down the mountain.  Of about 4-5 green trails to choose from, we unwittedly chose the hardest one.  We ended up flying down the mountain with no means to stop ourselves…other than just willing ourselves to fall.  And that’s what we did.  Both of us.  Once we made it down to a more gentle sloping area, we were able to get our butts off that mountain.  We were certainly NOT ready for bigger and better.  Same was true for Kyla.  While she was with Randy, it was reported that she fell, threw her skis and pitched a royal fit, complete with tears.  It was a good day for all.

We cordially dismissed Randy and the remainder of the day was spent going up and down the bunny slopes.  We called it a day around 2 p.m. and hung out at the condo until that evening.

That evening, we met the remaining skiers at the resort for tubing.  We booked an hour of tubing and goodness gracious… at 5 p.m. it was dark and COLD… Like 18 degrees cold.  I was only able to tube 3 times before I had to get inside and warm my feet.  After I was sufficiently thawed, I was able to go down three more times before our hour was up. 

Meems and Kyla getting ready for tubing.

Ready for tubing!

Warming my frozen toes by the fire!

The end of the first day, I was wiped out.  My knees hurt, my legs hurt and my back hurt.  We all slept like babes!

The second day of skiing was a bit more promising.  Since the girls and I “mastered” the bunny slope, we felt a bit more confident in our abilities.  Plus, when we looked at the ski map, it actually made sense and we knew what we were looking at.  So, we picked out the absolute easiest green trail and we did that all day.  It was fun and the girls and I finally got the hang of it.  I honestly believe that none of us had any real big tumbles either--just a small fall here and there.  About 3 p.m., the girls and I called it a day and we left Randy on the mountain so he could get some “real skiing” done. 

A day on the slopes with my girl!

The third day, Randy declared us “ready” for the bigger and better green trails again.  So, up and up we went a lot higher to the base of another green trail.  Only this trail was about 3 times longer than the one we did all day Monday.  In fact, this trail had a pretty significant and steep drop before you actually got to the “green” section – at least in my opinion.  The girls made it okay down the drop… a little faster than what I wanted them to go.  And as for me?  I skied down a bit, spun around out of control and landed feet first, face down in the snow.  And when I tried to get up, I couldn’t without slipping.  And then I had a FULL ON PANIC ATTACK.  Like crying and hyperventilating all at once.  Not pretty.  And in fact, not good in higher altitudes, either. The not being able to breathe thing was scary.  So scary in fact, that Randy had to climb back up the slope to come a get me.  Um, yeah, good times.

The last day of skiing!

Playing in the snow after a long hard day of skiing.

Once I made it down that forsaken mountain, I vowed that my skiing was over.  However, after a little lunch and some much needed rest, I decided to stay with it for another couple of hours.  I knew the girls would feel obligated to return to the cabin with me so I kept on skiing with them.

We skied the easiest slopes several times again and then Kyla and I called it a day.  Elisan ventured up one more time with dad and then the girls and I headed back to the cabin. 

We were so fortunate to have my dad dropping us off and picking us up at the ski resort each day.  That definitely made a huge impact on our day.

That night, we packed up as much as we could and then the family watched the Johnny Manziel’s last college football game of his career. 

The next morning, we woke up to 8 inches of snow on the ground.  We were heading out that morning and I’ll have to admit, it was a little unnerving driving DOWN a mountain when you could hardly see the road for the falling snow (and snow already covering the roads.)  It was down-right treacherous!  But we made it out without incident.  Thank the Lord!

Our drive off the mountain.  Scary, huh?

After two days on the road, we were home and glad to be there!  It was a great trip and I’m glad we were able to go.  However, the amount of laundry I had to do “almost” makes it NOT worthwhile… oh, I jest…. Kinda…

As far as skiing is concerned… I’m just glad I don’t have to think about it for a while.  It was NOT my favorite, that’s for sure.  But feeling blessed for a safe ski trip,  no broken bones and safe travels home.

Winter Park

We had a great time in Winter Park, Colorado

with my folks and brother and his family.  

I'll try to update more with pictures.  I can at least report

that the girls and I learned how to ski and

no one came home with broken bones.  

(This picture is not the greatest…. we had someone take the picture for us and

they didn't focus before they snapped… Sigh…)

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Merry Christmas Eve!

**Photos by Kristi Richards**
Thanks Kristi!  You did a great job!

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Yeah, yeah… I didn't post anything for the weekend…  We had the Wagner Family Christmas (much like the Griswold Family Christmas) and there was no time.

We had Randy's parents and his Uncle & Aunt staying with us.  Also, on Saturday, we had his brother, fiancé and 12 years old daughter here for (early) Christmas festivities.

So, needless to say, between hosting and cooking… I was pooped out!

Here's a brief highlight of my weekend.  Randy photobombing in a picture.  Hilarious!

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Elisan did not win the contest, but she sure did look cute! 

I think she could have easily won  the 

"CUTEST CHRISTMAS SWEATER CONTEST"

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Bigger project than I anticipated, but these turned out so cute!

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Elisan's Ugly Sweater for her class party on Friday.

The prize is a $10.00 gift card! 

She's IN IT to WIN IT!

Her teacher told them, "I want your shirt to look like

Christmas threw up on it!"

Done.

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Did you know that the movie "Elf " is not showing on television this Christmas season?  Some company called Sky Movies bought the television rights... So, you can watch it, IF you are a channel subscriber.

Bah humbug!

So, what did I do?  I bought a used DVD on eBay for super duper cheap!

Take that you joy stealer!

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Today was my BIG shopping day.  11 stores in 5 hours.

The girls get out of school on Friday, in laws are coming in this weekend and then next week, I'll be preparing our family for a ski trip.  So, I needed to get most of my shopping done today.

I'll finish up tomorrow and thank goodness, I'll be done!

This year has been easier for me, as far as shopping goes.  Elisan went online and picked out several things for me to buy.  Kyla wants a pair of cowboy boots, in addition to a few clothing items, so she was easy to shop for as well.  Randy also bought a few of their Christmas presents - Daddy styled gifts… Stuff I'd never in a million years get them!

Speaking of Randy, he's the hardest person to buy for because he doesn't need anything… well, he does need a haircut, but I digress...  In actuality, he needs a wardrobe makeover.  He's begun wearing his North Face convertible pants everyday. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.  The other day, he came home with three identical long sleeved shirts he bought at Sam's.  And when I say identical, I mean… same color and same style.  THREE of them.  What?  Who does that?

So, today, I bought him a few trendier items.  I hope they don't get relegated to the back of his closet in lieu of the Sam's shirts.  -sigh-

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

This post has nothing to do with Christmas, I'll admit.  It does however, have to do with the winter "mid-season" cliffhangers of some of my favorite shows!  Last night I caught up on ABC.GO.

First up… "Grey's Anatomy".  I was never a "Grey's Anatomy" fan until one morning, I woke up at 2 a.m. and couldn't go back to sleep.  So, I browsed Netflix and decided I'd watch the first few episodes of "Grey's Anatomy".  Well, three months later, I had plowed through EIGHT, count 'em EIGHT seasons of Grey's binge.  So, yeah… mid-season cliffhanger…. Oh.My.Goodness… Jackson at April's wedding professing his love for her.  Totally did not see that coming.  Really, I didn't.  And, then Alex and Jo?  Did Alex propose?  Or did he?  I'm not sure.

So, then I watched the mid-season cliffhanger of "Scandal".  LOVE this show.  If you are not watching Scandal, then…. well, watch it.  Seasons 1 & 2 are on Netflix.  So… what happens with Olivia's mom?   And then Jake is the new command?  And now David has the dirt on the Madam Vice President?  And poor Quinn.  Oooo, it's getting crazy there in D.C.

Tonight, I'm going to watch last week's "Revenge" and try to watch tonight's airing of "Revenge" tomorrow night.

For truly funny and in-depth recaps of your favorite shows… check out TELEVISION WITHOUT PITY.

Yes, I know… not the best television choices, but my family only tends to watch Duck Dynasty these days and I can only watch them one time.  They however, can watch them… 2, 3… 5x.

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

COLD, COLD day for a soccer tournament today.

Brrrr…. 43 degrees with wind gusts up to 30mph!

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Y'all.  Randy is growing his hair out.  Including facial hair. Ala Duck Dynasty.

Help me.

The more I complain, the more empowered he becomes.

I need help.  How do I conquer this?

Oh yeah… and reverse psychology doesn't work.

25 Days of Christmas Blogging Challenge

Just a wee bit of reminiscing for today.

Here's Elisan sitting in Santa's lap for the very first time.

See how much she enjoyed it?  Santa too.

Ah, I love these moments.