March is a wrap

It hit 69 degrees today!
Out like a lamb indeed.

Time for some spring cleaning.
Using this

and this

I had our rock beds power washed and re-laid
along with having our sidewalks and driveway power washed.
After school I ran to the store to get the workers some chocolate milk
and they had the above pansies.
Who can resist cheerful, orange pansies?

crutches

Three and a half weeks after running the New Orleans marathon
and reigning as this years King,
My dear Mr R had surgery last week to remove a bone spur
and shave off part of the bone of his right toe.
I had no idea he had even been in pain!
It was a long weekend but he is doing much better now.

During his surgery, while he was under general anesthesia,
I was taste tasting the varieties of hot chocolate.
Tip # 1
For delicious, creamy, hot chocolate add
two creamers.
{Of course I was thinking of my Mister the entire time.}Tip # 2
This was the nurses experience all the way...
for children or one just out of surgery,
put the straw through the pull tab;
it doesn't swirl around.
Happy healing, my love.
I know you'll be out running and golfing before the
birds hatch their offspring!
{image one google photo}

celebrate!

It's J's birthday week~
hope it is super fun!

a 180

How can we go from this

to this
{outside our front door at 1:20 am}
in less than 12 hours at the end of March?
24 degrees tonight--
nuts!

mmmmm

I shelled some pistachio's and then spied this
gorgeous avocado Mr R had purchased.

As it was lunchtime, I sliced the avocado

toasted half a slice of whole wheat bread,

placed the sliced avocado's on the peanut butter, on the toast

then toasted the addition of the pistachio's with a bottle
of berry pomegranate Italian soda.
Yes, it was waaay good!

10 giant panda cubs, too

Planning a get-away between May 1 and October 31?
Consider visiting Shanghai's World's Fair.

"What you will find: A giant octopus, an alpine meadow
and an apple-shaped "green city," among dozens of pavilions
in all shapes, colors and sizes featuring a
kaleidoscope of visions for the Expo's theme:
"Better City, Better Life."

You will garner ideas for sustainable urban living as
"giant white funnels will provide shade,
channel sunlight to underground walkways
and collect rainwater for recycling."
All for only $23 (160 yuan) on a non-peak day--
plus airfare to China.
{chinafotopress}

planning for who knows what, but doing!

We now have a three month supply of:
oatmeal, black beans, rice, dried onions,
carrots, powdered milk {yuck, hope we never need it},
potato flakes, refried beans, flour, sugar, tang-like drink
and...apple slices--yum!
One never knows when one might need these;
I have always thought if the truckers in this country go
on strike we would be Sorry Out of Luck
and Sorry Out of Food.
Who knows why we are counseled to have a supply of food?
I have never earnestly acted upon the counsel;
a little food storage here and there but not a solid,
all around food storage for our family for an extended period of time.
I really couldn't tell you why--lazy? not going to happen to us?
I don't know.
Last week I received a group email to our congregation from one of
our food storage specialists that said, in part:"We are so blessed to have Prophets and inspired Church leaders that have been urging us for over 60 years, to be prepared, to set aside a year's supply of food and to have water. So many struggle to heed this wise council, and so they are encouraging us in an all out effort to do all in our power, without going into debt, to secure a 3 month supply of foods we regularly eat, and some water, in case of natural or other personal disasters.
Consider a trip to the storehouse, to acquire rice, or oats,or refried beans at a very inexpensive price..and incorporate them into your diet. If not that, try buying one extra can of food and put it in a box that you will eventually fill with a month's supply of food that you eat all the time. How exciting it will be as you see your preparations grow, and your peace of mind along with it!"
Something about this just clicked in me!
I had already signed up to volunteer to work at
"The Bishop's Storehouse" yesterday
so I took some money and purchased the cans pictured above
which were left from our congregations cannery assignment this past Saturday.
I am soooooooo happy to have this food storage!
I am now on the band wagon and will share with you as we round out our storage--
**I too want you to be prepared!!!
As I was readying to push the
cart of cans to my car, a group of suited businessmen
were having a tour of the facility.
I asked the man in charge if anyone is allowed
to use the cannery.
He said, "Absolutely! We want all to be prepared!"
I think he said community members can spend up to $1,000
a year and do need to be with a church member.
I spent not even two tenths of that amount yesterday.
**If any of you who read this would like to plan a time
to figure out a food storage plan for yourself and family
I would be thrilled to help you and then schedule
a time to go to our local cannery where we will actually can the items into cans.
As Lori wrote in her e-mail, "We will have a peace of mind!"

spring has sprung!

I have always said I thoroughly enjoy four distinct seasons--
I so appreciate what they each offer us to reflect upon
and I especially love this season of birth and renewal.
All that growth that was taking place during the winter months
that we couldn't see; but now, the courage and vigor of
the bulbs as they push their shoots through the earth
to see the sunshine and share their beauty with us.
Welcome Spring!
{flickr by The Colourguru}

the Jig's up

May those that love us, love us.

And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.
~Irish Blessing

Love that Irish sense o' humor!
Have a happy green day and may you find
a pot of gold!
{flickr photo by j_jyarbrough}

a tad nippy

It's freezing here today....brrrr.
Look at this snuggle bunny--warm and cozy!
{flickr photo by Lily Zhu}

spring time tunes

Birds singing--
melodious!
{flickr photo Mieke VOS Photographics}

warning: *very useful instruction

I have come across a lot of interesting information on YouTube but this is amongst the best in its practicality. Learn together with your spouse and kids--you will forever be grateful!

Today was so gorgeous {in the 50's!}
with the sun shining in its glory that
Mr R and I spent an hour this evening working
in a small portion of the yard,
a section where the snow has melted.
The funniest part...washing our hands off in the banks of snow!
The river and all the ponds are still completely frozen.
[flickr photo by Pete O]

the king reigneth

Marathon day dawns early in the Big Easy...
royalty or not...
7:00 a.m. is the start of the 26.2 mile race.
But the day begins waaay before that!
The King, Mr R this year,
the Queen and their runners,
meaning my hubbie and youngest daughter,
rode upon a rented Mardi Gras float
to the start of the race.
What a cool way to reign!!!
King R then welcomed all the participants to
the Mardi Gras Marathon start line.
But guess what?
Sadly, no photos of it. None of it. I could weep.
The very early pre-dawn hours included a ride
in the back of a police car for Emily and me
but that story will remain unposted.
But we have plenty of other pictures!
So much easier to spot them amongst the days
19,000 runners versus
in New York mingled with 43,000 entrants
or Boston's 38,000 runners.
As a spectator, I loved this race!

Yea!
Our first spotting!
Mile 4
Whoo hoo!

Again, we cheer them on...Mile 17-
sans the neon gloves.
Woot woot!
What was super fun about this marathon were the bands
playing every two miles, enlivening the day
and the runners way.

It was such a beautiful day, 65 degrees Fahrenheit.
Not too many spectators were at the six mile loop around
City Park so we had our choice of huge trees to sit under.
Emily and I loved cheering and clapping for all the runners!
You may laugh but it is hard work being a spectator;
walking two miles to the car, rushing to get to the next spot
which is tricky as so many streets are closed and blocked due to the race course,
walking two miles into the park then back out,
moving the car again, etc.
With my knees I felt I had my own mini marathon.
But I know it is nothing compared to the real runners!

Our runners at Mile 23, after the loop in the park-
who dat?!
It had rained very hard for days prior to the race;
therefore, there was a lot of standing water.
Another great thing New Orleans did for the race?
Filled many (most) of the pot holes in their streets.
This city has crazy uneven roads!
Ask J about them at Mile 13.
{an injury at mile 13 and then to continue running
while enduring so. much. pain. for 13.2 more miles
shows stick-to-it-ness!}

Finished and refueling.
What is so funny about this is we didn't realize
there would be table upon table of catered food in the VIP tent,
including king cake.

Floral arrangements on each table; again, Royal treatment!

But the best perk of the entire Royal weekend
with these VIP passes?
Not the gorgeous hotel room they provided us for the weekend,
nor the dinner in a mansion; no, not the
exclusive super swag Mr R received, which is outstanding,
not even the ride upon the float;
no, according to the runners, it was...

the VIP port-a-pots!
No lines--very important;
fully stocked {toilet paper, wipes, powder,
hand sanitizer, really anything a runner would need,
including a sink to wash ones hands!}--all very appreciated.
If you are a marathoner you know many of these facilities
can be filthy and out of TP,
so this was a luxury indeed!

Our Runners with their medals!
Congratulations!!!

After, we feted our King with his own king cake from Sucre!
{Girls, you are sooo fabulous!}

And then we had to say a loving au revoir to our daughters
and this Muffaletta.
What a wonderful, whirlwind of a weekend!
Congratulations to Jessica for running her first marathon!
Mr R, you reigned wonderfully over the
2010 Mardi Gras Marathon.
You will always be my King!

marathon weekend

We barely made our flight to New Orleans.
We had had a winter storm here last Friday
and the one interchange that kept being announced on the radio
as being totally iced over
with cars in the ditches and blocked by tow trucks hauling them out
was ours. What usually is a thirty minute drive took us 2 1/2 hours.
Thank goodness Mr R knows the back roads
and we had allowed ourselves what we thought was ample time.
As it was, we had to park in ultra short term lot, $2.00 an hour,
in addition to the regular fee. Well worth the price at that point!
We parked next to the building, ran into the airport
and were able to go to the front of the security line
(oh, how nice to travel with an elite status partner)
then walked directly onto the plane and
breathed a very grateful sigh of relief.
The photo above is one of which I am thrilled.
The plane next to us was being de-iced.
{I think that is such a cool chemical process.}
Outside, it was pitch black.
I put my camera in "manual"mode,
adjusted for aperture and F-stops, clicked and viola!
You can actually see the mist from the de-icer hose--
this is not edited; I am learning how to use my camera
and that makes me happy.

Doesn't this look like going through a car wash?
This is when our plane was being de-iced.
That must be a tough job, plane de-icer;
it is freezing outdoors, well below 32 degrees,
and to hold a high pressure hose spraying full force
through a hand held nozzle...
thank you plane de-icers the world over
for your laborious work for our safety.

When we landed in the Louis Armstrong airport,

all the terminals not in use had this photo on the monitor--
so cool!

On Saturday, while our runners were checking in at the
Convention Center, another daughter was studying
and I went shopping on Magazine Street.
Clothes for the "Wee Dat's"

and for the adult "Who Dats" were everywhere--
so awesome!

Spring has definitely sprung in the Crescent City!

What a transition from the two feet of snow in our backyard
to the pink and white flowers in bloom upon the trees--
winter to spring, indeed!
And the blue sky--wowzers.

"Who Dat's" house?
Drew Dat's home!

Any guesses on this one?
It is the new "Real World" house.

And behind this fleur-de-lis fence all decorated for Mardi Gras
and left for marathon enjoyment?

Of course, our favorite place of all...
where our girls and their puppy live!

Hello 03

March is a tomboy with tousled hair,
a mischievous smile,
mud on her shoes
and a laugh in her voice.
~Hal Borland