Fast As Christmas?

I have decided to ban the term, "Slow as Christmas".  It's silly!

Although time does fly (when you're having fun), we had an AWESOME Christmas! Ollie still doesn't totally grasp the whole "Santa" thing, but  she had a blast playing with all her new toys. John and I decided to enjoy our last Christmas of sleeping in (if 7:00 is sleeping in). We gave Ollie her breakfast before we actually got up and went to see what all Santa had left. Ollie was too cute in her little bunny slippers and pjs. When she entered the living room and saw all the new toys she froze.

She stood in amazement and just looked at everything. I had to explain to her that this would not happen often...just once a year. We had a blast! Mom and Dad came over for breakfast and played with O and her new things. This was the second year I made breakfast for the family and I am hoping it becomes a little tradition. Lesley, Mitch and Row left Christmas morning for Wetumpka to have Christmas with Mitch's family. Although the whole family didn't get together Christmas day, we did enjoy Christmas Eve with everyone. Mom made dinner and we opened gifts. This year was so much fun having two kiddos.

Jumping back to the weekend before......

We did Christmas in Elba and Enterprise.

John has a really big family and it's hard to get us all together.

The 4 brothers have a little tradition of jumping in the pool every Christmas (above photo).

Although Christmas in Elba is somewhat chaotic (with 11 adults and 7 kids) it's lots of fun!

And if you are wondering what Santa brought me......I got a watch. Not just any watch!! It's a runners watch and tells distance, speed, time, calories burned and more. I love it. According to last night's reading I ran 6.06 miles at an average speed of 5.1 mph. Yes, I ran for an hour. Whoop whoop!

Who says 31 is old??

Lynsey

My Latest Adventure

I've always been a "do it myself" type of gal and I recently tried my hand at making quilts. Because quilts take alot of planning and time, I wanted my first quilt to be for my mother. Although I am not a perfect seamstress, all I had to do was follow instructions. This includes choosing fabrics, cutting, sewing and piecing the quilt together. Because I do not own a quilting machine, I found a sweet lady in Pleasant Home to quilt my finished quilt top. It came out beautifully. I started small and made a lap quilt. My mom LOVES it and I am officially hooked on quilting. Now if I could just find the time..........

Lynsey

You Read Right....

Second place baby!

I have been training for a total of 9 weeks now and just recently ran in my first 5K.  As most of you know, I have never been a runner. I always wanted to be but couldn't even make it 2 blocks down the road. I decided I was going to give it a try, after all, I enjoy a challenge. Well, I did it. I ran in and finished my first 5K and did it in a mere 31 minutes. For those not familiar with a 5K, it's 3.1 miles. Our course was pretty tough with the last mile being mostly uphill. It also took place (like most runs) in the morning, a time in which I am not so full of energy. I have no problem running at night and ran 3 miles just last night without even becoming out of breath, but something about the sun and the cool crisp air and no coffee and I thought I was going to die. I actually ran past my house with less than a mile to go and seriously thought about running inside and quitting. I stuck with it and am oh so happy I did. It's official, I'm a runner. Yay! And to top it off, a 2nd place trophy to prove it. I guess I should add that I wasn't second place in the race, I was second place in the women's group and narrowed down even more to the 30-34 age category. Who cares! I got a trophy and it proudly sits on my mantel.

Lynsey

Housewife, Desperate to Run-Take 2

A funny thing happened on my run last night. For those not facebook stalking, I have made it up to 4.5 miles. I was very impressed with my ability to get through 3 miles on Tuesday night, only to be ecstatic to make an entire 4.5 miles last night. When I left the house to run, I only prayed I could repeat the 3 mile trek. After I made it 3 miles I began heading home.  I was running down 3rd Avenue from E3N and I just passed my house. Yep, just decided to keep going. It was at this point that my second wind kicked in. I had never really been a believer in "2nd wind", especially while running (Too bad it took 3 miles to get it). Anyway, I just thought I should run to the High School and back home (3 blocks, one way). Well, I got to the High School and made a right and kept running. It was CrAzY! It's funny cause a few posts back I talked about wanting to be like Forrest Gump and here I was, running and running and running. Every time I would get to a good point to turn and head home, I went to opposite direction. (I jus kep run-nin). After I had been gone from home for close to an hour (yes, running the whole time), I thought it would be best to go home before John sent out a search party, after all, he thought I was only running 3 miles. Turns out I ran 4.5 miles. I'm not going to lie and say it was easy. It wasn't, nor was it hard. It was more gratifying than anything.  I actually recall smiling for most of the last mile.

Just to recount, I have trained for 7 weeks. You would be surprised at how fast your body can catch up if you just keep pushing through.

Get up, get out & Run!!

Peace Out!

Lynsey (A.K.A. Forrest Gump)

My Fair Lady

There once was a child named Ollie Pearl,

 Who went to the fair as a little girl,

She thought balloons were so funny,

And loved baby bunnies,

But the best part was riding the Merry Whirl.

The end.



Happy Fall Yall!

CF Check Up

Last Thursday Ollie had her 3 month CF checkup. At this particular visit, it was scheduled that Ollie's CF Doctor do a Pulmonary Function Test (PFT). PFT is a way of measuring lung function, specifically the measurement of the amount (volume) and/or speed (flow) of air that can be inhaled and exhaled. Because O is just a toddler, the test is accomplished by gathering the info while she is asleep. He tried this before a few months ago but gave O a lil bit too much of the sleepy medicine. It not only knocked her out but gave her the hiccups as well. Having the hiccups made it absolutely impossible to get any reading of lung function. This particular day was a little better. I had a hard time getting her to drink the nasty stuff and because they gave her so little, it took a while to rock her to sleep. As I rocked her, I could tell she was getting a little "drunk". The little smile and an occasional giggle through her paci gave her away. While the test was being preformed, John and I waited in the lobby. Good thing too cause I'm not sure how well I would have held up watching them close up my child in a mini tanning booth looking thing only to force air into her tiny chest and take measurements. We all survived and the test was over before we knew it (mainly cause we both fell asleep). O's CF Doctor then preceded to tell us that little "Sassy" was a fighter even in a sedated sleep. Apparently she squeezed her vocal chords shut every time they tried to push the air into her lungs. He was, however, able to get one reading he felt was accurate (they prefer to get at least 3 good readings to get a good happy/medium but we'll take what we can get). As it turns out, Ollie's lungs are functioning in a normal range. I won't bore you with all the numbers but after doing a little research myself, it looks as though those numbers are actually on the upper end of normal. This is an awesome feeling! We can now feel sure that her lungs have not been damaged  but also know there is nothing hiding deep down in her lungs, untraceable with an everyday culture. Speaking of culture, the one they took that day came back negative. Pseudomonas free for 11 months! Yee Haw! We must be doing something right! Praise God!

On a lighter note; Ollie is now doing her own breathing treatments. When it is time for them I simply tell her to come do her treatments. She drops everything and happily runs for the recliner to get set up. She holds her own nebulizer and mask and is dang sure to put it right up to her face. Although this is a wonderful break for J and myself, it's a battle once the treatments are over (she gets furious when I shut off the machine-I'll try to get that on video for you-crazy, I know!) Lets just pray she continues to always be this happy about treatment time.

Little Man Down

I would like to kill the little man that lives inside my ipod and tells me when to "run"!

I think he lies about the time.