Resolutions

I know, I know...it's April and I'm finally getting around to some yearly resolutions. In all fairness, the beginning of this year was CrAzY and much of it is a blur. So since I'm in a new place and starting fresh, why not start with the yearly resolutions?

One of my resolutions this year was to run a half-marathon. I didn't want to be too overly ambitious and go for the full marathon, but I also didn't want to have the token goal of "I'm going to lose weight this year". Instead I wanted a goal that would take work and dedication, that was totally doable, and didn't require me to look at the scale each week & be disappointed when nothing happened. It was a goal that I could set a specific date to accomplish...I just had to pick that date.

Well, the date and location have been picked. Thanks to my big sister Kimber Jo, I have been informed of a half-marathon by my home-town in Idaho. It is the "Running The Gap" - Pocatello Marathon. It isn't until September 4th, so gives me plenty of time to train - and plenty of time for any of you that would like to join me, to train too. :D

Now that I am all settled in our home and with life in general, I have started my training schedule and am looking forward to checking one of my resolutions off the list.
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Resolution #2 this year was to start piano lessons, or just practice the piano in general. I took piano lessons until I was 12 years old, so have a basic knowledge of the keys, but I have not played in years, and am definitely not where I would like to be.

I had the great fortune to marry into a family full of proficient piano players. For the first few years of marriage this was very intimidating to me and I opted to not play the piano at all, rather than embarrass myself in front of great players like my hubby. This silly pride of mine kept me from taking advantage of a great opportunity to take piano lessons from my Mother-in-law before the days of having children and living far away from her.

After doing some growing up and humbling myself, I swore that if we ever moved back to Utah, I would take piano lessons from Mike's mom. I didn't really expect to move back to Utah anytime soon, but miraculously, here we are. So this Wednesday, at the age of 25, I am starting piano lessons again. I'm a little nervous and still a little intimidated, but I am pretty sure Mom will love me even if I stink at the piano, so here goes...

I'll update as things progress in both areas. :D

A Return to Blogging

After many moons of not having internet (or a home for that matter) I have decided to do a quick sum up of our lives since January, and then get back into this whole blogging thing.

First things first - Long ago, before the days of changing jobs and moving, we got a pet fish. He was a Tiger Oscar Fish...nearly 10 inches long, and we named him Wiggles (courtesy of Korben). He was such a delight for the short amount of time that we had him - I think only 4 weeks total.

The story: Our friends wanted to get Piranhas, so needed to get rid of their Oscar fish. And of course the plants and rocks and decorations were all wrong for Piranhas, so they were giving those away too. Woot for us...a "cheap" and " easy" pet. It did end up being pretty cheap, well, to get the 55 gallon tank anyway. Then we had to make a stand (check out Mike's handiwork), purchase hoods, a heater and a backing for the tank...which all added up and taught us the lesson to just buy the sets in the pet store rather than trying to piece your own together. Another lesson - when your friend tells you "everything is free except the tank", take some time to add up costs before you tell her you will take her pet. :D

From January 2010

The Pet: Regardless of the start-up cost, Wiggles was super fun and worth it in the end. If you don't know about Oscar Fish, they aren't very tolerant of others in their tank and will eat anything smaller (and sometimes bigger) than them. They also are very picky about their living quarters and it doesn't matter how many times you bury the plants in their tank, if they don't like where they are, they will pull them up and move them (note the floating plant in the above pic) and I assure you, you will give up much earlier than they will. Wiggles loved to play with Logan - Logan would run to one side of the tank and Wiggles would "attack" the tank where Logan had his face up against the glass. Logan would run to the other side of the tank and Wiggles would in turn attack back and forth until Logan tired of the game. Oscar fish have a tendency to beg for food - and ours was no exception. He would wiggle back and forth (hence the name) and follow you with the cutest look on his face until you caved and gave him some goodness. Wiggles loved to eat goldfish - and we loved to watch. :D

From January 2010

A Sad Farewell: When we found out we were moving, we knew that we would have to part with our new pet. It was amazing how fast Wiggles had become a part of the family and how sad it was to see him go. We found a good family for him to go to on craigslist, but the blow of letting our fun pet go was almost as hard as leaving the house.

From January 2010

We love you Wiggles and hope you like your new home!