The Next Nastia

Carlie had her trial gymnastics class over the weekend. She loved it! The instructor said she is very good for her first time, and she should be ready to move up to the next level by the end of the summer session. Here are some highlights.

Beautiful Day

Noah and I headed to Main Street St. Charles today just to get out of the house since it has been raining pretty much nonstop the past week and a half. The Missouri River is really high right now. I didn't get any pictures, but it will be taking over Frontier Park in the near future.




No visit is complete without checking out Riverside Sweets. I don't get the fascination with flavored taffy. Out of all those choices I would have just gone with the Vanilla, but I know I am in the minority.


I'll take that one, please...



After walking around and not buying anything (although a few things caught my eye), we headed to Mikkie D's for lunch. The one on 5th is a tad dirty, and the fries were not hot, but Noah still enjoyed it. We just share the 2 cheeseburger combo meal, a much more cost efficient option than a happy meal and fish combo.



It was just nice to get outside and enjoy the beautiful day. Tomorrow is to be much of the same, but the rains come again on Thursday. Ugh!

Take The Challenge

I am really getting tired of my legs not really having much shape or muscle definition. Although I continue to do Zumba twice a week (I may up that to thrice) and run/walk 3 miles twice a week, nothing seems to be changing in the appearance of my legs. (This could be do to the massive quantity of M&M's I consume on a daily basis.) So, I am challenging myself to complete the Two Hundred Squats Challenge.

Basically, you spend 30 minutes per week for approximately 8 weeks to build up to Two Hundred Consecutive Squats! Awesome! I took the initial test and did 36 squats, not too bad for someone on the higher end of the 30-39 age category. Hopefully I will start to see a difference over the next 3-4 weeks.

Mike has been doing the Hundred Push-ups Challenge (same website) and is up to 45 consecutive, but it may be a little more.

Let me know if you decide to "Take the Challenge". Just click on the above link and take the initial test. Once completed I plan to move on to either the push-ups or sit-ups. But one goal at a time, don't want to get ahead of myself. I'll keep you posted on my progress.

Favorite Books/Children's Books

This week's Show Us Your Life at Kelly's Korner blog is on our Favorite Books and Children's Books. Growing up I think I read every Nancy Drew book on the bookmobile. I also read those books where you could choose your own mystery, but I don't remember what they were called. Remember? The ones where if you thought one thing, you turned to a certain page, and if you thought something else, you went to a different page.



In High School I really didn't like things that were required reading. However, the one book I really did like was A Tale of Two Cities. The best part was trying to figure out what in the world that old lady was knitting!



I don't read a ton of fiction books now, which probably explains my ho-hum writing ability. Usually I read books on personal finance/investing, growing in my faith, or autobiographies of sports figures.

My "favorite books" (in the fiction category) would be James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series. These are must reads for any mystery buff. Murder, Mystery, Suspense, and Lindsay Boxer rocks. There is a new one that recently came out, but I am #237 on the library hold list, so it could be awhile before I get my hands on it...



Another fiction book I love is Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella. This book made me laugh out loud. Probably because it reminds me of several people I know. And, of course, it has the personal finance angle-- go figure. The movie was absolutely horrible though. Didn't parallel the book much at all. I tried to read some of the other books in the series but didn't finish any of them.



Here are a few on the non-fiction side I recommend...





And, as far as Children's books go... our kids love the Wemmicks series by Max Lucado (and Nancy Drew Clue Crew- gee, I wonder where they got that from?)

I Haven't Been There in Years... Clearly No One Else Has Either

Last night we went down to Union Station to meet up with Aunt Michelle and Cousin Meredith who were in town from Indiana for a class field trip. (I don't think the school realized it's not quite the tourist attraction it once was.) There is even less open now than the last time I was there roughly 5 years ago. They have 3 Cardinals stores, a Bud Shop, the Fudgery, the Food Court and a Houlihan's. Oh, and they have a Bungee Jumping attraction. Pretty much everything else is gone. Outside, the Hard Rock and Landry's Seafood are still open, neither of which I have ever been to. Pretty sad because the building itself is not run down.

Anyway, it was nice to catch up. Hopefully next time they come it will be for a bit longer.

Oops

I meant to post these last month and forgot about it. We've been going to the zoo for the past two years around Carlie's birthday. It's amazing how they have grown this year. Especially Noah, he will probably pass Carlie up next year.

2009

2010

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to our wonderful mothers and all the other moms out there.

We celebrated by going to O'Charley's. We seem to eat there a lot, but with kids eat free and those yummy rolls, I can't complain. I was then showered with love and presents when we came home.

These bad boys will be gone by the end of the week...

Carlie wrote this for a Dierberg's contest that I guess the school entered. She said she won the prize because she was the only one who got the note framed. Maybe Dierberg's will be sending something in the near future.

I also received a gift card to my salon/spa. Then, I was surprised to find out that Carlie entered a contest the spa was having, and she won me a $25 gift card on top of the one I already got. Wow! This is what she wrote:

I love my mom so much. She loves me when I cry. She loves me when I'm kind. She loves me when I'm sick, but most of all, Jesus loves her.

Doesn't that just bring tears to your eyes? So sweet. Will be using that $25 toward my summer pedicure.

Sporting the gift bag earring

Friday Recap

Just a few tidbits to post from this past week that I didn't get to earlier.

Noah was sitting at the dining room table for over an hour working with Carlie's beads she had left out. When he was finished, this was what he created...

I told him how beautiful it was, and he quickly proclaimed, "It is not for you, it is for Daddy!" (I'll make sure Daddy wears it to work.)

Carlie gave me this lovely piece of writing. Definitely going to frame it.

Another week, another dead fish...

Got My Tickets

Very excited to be going to see this June 18th. Definitely "blow $$" well spent.

TobyMac rocks, and Chris Tomlin is just awesome.

I Told a Lie Yesterday

I'm really posting this to see if I have justification for lying, or if there is a better way to handle situations like this without "lying". Noah and I were coming out of PetSmart yesterday (more fish supplies), when this man (roughly 30) approached us holding a gas can. "Excuse me, Miss, do you have a few dollars I can have to buy gas for my car? It is the White Dodge Stratus parked over there." He pointed across the parking lot, but I saw no Dodge Stratus, let alone any white cars (but I could have missed it.) I said, "Sorry, I don't have any more cash." Obviously a lie since I was on my way to Aldi. He said, "Okay, thanks" and walked back up to the door of the pet store.

As I was on my way to Aldi, less than one mile away, I passed two gas stations. I thought, "Why would someone stand outside of a pet store asking for money, rather than walk the not-even-half-mile to the gas station and ask people there?" I feel bad for lying, but I find people's logic in stuff like that a little odd. The weird thing was, this happened to me around the same time of day about two weeks prior in the Aldi/Bread Store parking lot.

Noah and I were leaving the bread store when a man and "his daughter" approached us asking for money. They said they hadn't eaten in two days. Hmmmm... appearance wise they certainly did not appear to have missed any meals. Not to be mean, but they were both quite hefty. I told them they should go into the bread store and see if they had any leftover bread. (The bread store I shop at is an Entenmann/Arnold/Thomas outlet. The bread is $1.00/loaf, and I am sure they toss or take what doesn't sell to a food pantry.) Anyway, they ignored me, and just kept walking up to people asking for money.

So, that is my story for the day. Was it okay to lie to that guy with the gas can? Is there a better way to handle it? I didn't want to do anything to jeopardize my or our kids' safety. I didn't feel "threatened", but you just never know... I guess should start carrying my Taser more often.

Sad Day

Last Saturday Carlie won a fish at her school carnival. After the carnival we went to PetSmart to buy a few other fish to keep "Goldie" company. We don't have room or the money for an aquarium so they have been living in the lid of my cake plate. Obviously not the best living conditions because Goldie died today. Carlie was very sad, and she and Daddy buried her in the backyard. She didn't want to flush her down the toilet. Luckily, I got a photo of Goldie before her passing...



She is the tiny one on the upper left. The others are Cutie Patootie, McQueen, and Jaq. Don't know how much longer they will be around. If they survive at least one month, we may get an aquarium unless someone out there has one they aren't using.

Crazy 8

In sticking with the "Crazy" theme from yesterday, have you been to this new store? It's called Crazy 8, and I love it. It's owned by Gymboree. I think they are following the Gap business model, high end (Banana, Janie & Jack), middle (Gap, Gymboree), and low end. So Crazy 8 would be comparable to Gap's Old Navy, or the cheapest store. No matter. The clothes are super cute, and we are fortunate enough (or not so fortunate if I spend too much time there) to now have one at Chesterfield Mall. They also do the Gymbucks thing but call it something else. Anyway, here's a little taste of what you can find...

Can I get this in my size?? Love It!!

Mad for Plaid

I'm a sucker for anything Argyle

Lovin' the Flips

Crazy Noah

I told Noah to go to his room and get dressed the other day, and he came out like this. Sometimes I can't help laughing at him.

Netflix Pix

Just saw a fabulous movie last week. Probably one of only a few who hadn't seen it. And, I have told my Zumba instructor to add "Jai Ho" to the playlist.



Yes, it is a very dark movie. There is violence (not that I am condoning violence, but it fits with the storyline) as well as some very disturbing "implied" scenes. If the language is bad, it is difficult to catch because of the heavy Indian accents. Anyway, if you haven't seen it, it is worth the rental.

Sniff Sniff

Now, I have to come up with another reason to go to Blues games. Keith Tkachuk has officially retired. The sadness is great. I have nothing more to say.

At Least Castro Can Throw A Baseball

If the halftime show during tonight's NCAA final is anything like the Butler/Michigan State propaganda nonsense on Saturday, this is one gal who will be changing the channel.

Easter Bunny

Last Saturday we went to an egg hunt at our church, and the kids were able to have their picture taken with the Easter Bunny (for free with my camera.) Noah wasn't too sure if we wanted to take part or not. Do people still do Easter Bunny pix? I ask because I have been to Chesterfield and The Mills in the past few weeks, and both places the Easter Bunny was looking very lonely.