Lucky Girls

We have gymnastics every Monday night.  I try to sneak out of work a couple of minutes early so that I can pick up the girl and get her to class on time.  Last night was no exception.  I ran out the door at 4:55 and got to the sitter's by 5:30.  Ran in, got her changed into her leotard (she likes to call it a tutu) and headed back out to the car.  We were making great time and exited the highway with about 15 minutes to spare - just enough time to use the restroom and put her hair in the braid she asked for.

While we were waiting for the light to turn green, I was telling her that yesterday was a special day (Mommy and Daddy's 7th Anniversary).  All of a sudden, there was a little crash sound and we were jolted forward...yep, we got rear ended.  I got out of the car to assess the damage...the offender stayed in her car.  I was thrown off a little by this, 'cause doesn't everyone get OUT of the car when an accident occurs?  Anyway, I checked the damage and went to her window.  She asked if she'd done any damage and I said my tire cover was cracked and that my bumper was missing some paint.  She still didn't get out of the car, so I repeated everything I just told you I did.  Don't ask me why...I already said I was out of sync.  The 2nd time I went to her window, she asked if we should pull over in the QT parking lot.  There really wasn't much damage to my car, so I just decided I'd get her name and number so I could call her later if T decided I hadn't done the right thing.

I went to my car to get a pen.  Little Reese had rolled down her window and was watching/listening to everything going on.  When I leaned in to get a pen, she asked if I was hurt. 

Thank you little one - that one little question put this whole episode in perspective for me.  No, I wasn't hurt and neither was she.  How lucky!  I went through the motions of getting the offender's information knowing full well that it would never be looked at again.

I got back in the car and said the following to my little observant passenger:
"I'm ok and you're ok - let's high five!  If that's the worst wreck we get in, we're very lucky girls indeed.  Let's knock on wood and get to gymnastics before we're late."

Running Recap

Last November, I ran a half marathon.  I signed up and paid for another half marathon for April 2010.  I never ran the 2nd half.  After November, my running abruptly stopped and I sat on the couch gaining weight by eating bon bons all winter long.  My laziness extended through the summer and I found myself on August 1st weighing 20 pounds more than I did last November. 

The really crappy part is that I had worked super hard to get rid of those 20 pounds in the first place.  I ate sensibly and ran like a wild woman in order to get rid of the excess weight.  Since my daughter had recently turned 2, I found myself unable to say I was heavy because I'd just given birth.  So I literally worked my butt off to look and feel better...and I did.

So, why did I stop?  I kick myself every time I do this.  Work my way up to running really great distances only to let myself stop and then have to start from scratch.  It has to do with trying to achieve a goal, I think.  But then, why didn't I keep up with my running in order to run the half in April?  I don't know.

Anyway, this is a really long story just to say that I'm going to start putting my running recap on my blog as a means to keep myself accountable.

So, here's this week's recap:
Ran 2 miles Monday
Ran 2 miles Tuesday
Ran 1 mile Thursday
Ran 2 miles Friday
Weekly total    7 miles

I (re)started running 4 weeks ago, so I don't think my numbers are too bad.  Sad to actually write down that I ran a whole 2 miles today when I've done much better in the past, but I have to start somewhere, right?

The Cooky Book

Who spells cookie with a "y" - Betty Crocker, that's who!

My Mom had this Cooky Book when I was growing up.  It's circa 1964, which is NOT when I was born, but close enough.  I cannot say how many hours I spent looking through that book dreaming of making every cookie pictured.  Sadly, I cannot remember making even one.  But that book reminds me of good times I had when I was little.  I loved that book so much that when my daughter was born, I ordered my own copy in hopes that one day she would love it as much as me.  Well, that day has arrived!

We've been looking through that Cooky Book for several weeks now...picking out our favorites (there are color illustrations on almost every page!).  We decided this weekend that we would make our first recipe - which I'm hoping will turn into a tradition for us.  There are 450 recipes, 52 weekends a year - that would give us 9 years of cookie making fun.  Reese had picked out her favorite cookie weeks ago, so we got started.

  

Half 'n Half cookie - the first of many we'll be making

Cinderella mixing up the dough - work harder girl!

We halfed the dough and then mixed chocolate in one half and left the other plain (hence the half 'n half) and then chilled the dough just like we were instructed.  We took the dough out of the refrigerator and baked our first batch.  Here's what we got...

Doesn't look quite like the picture, huh?  The recipe also said to bake them for 8-10 minutes which made the bottoms REALLY brown.  Let's not talk about how I could have used them as skipping stones once they cooled - they were hard as rocks!

Ok, so I couldn't figure out how to bake them into circles, so I got creative and ended up with these:

Cute cookies being held by cute girl.  She ate all 3, but I don't know how.  One bite was enough for me!  Overall, our first try was a huge success.  She was thrilled that we were sort of making the cookies she chose, and I got to start the tradition I wish I'd had growing up...even though I still feel funny spelling cookie with a "y".

Where do I go from here?

Ok, so now that my first post is complete, I wonder where to go from here.  Do I just pick up and start talking about what we did last weekend or do I need to start filling in the blanks of how we got to this point?  I don't know the answer, so I'm just going to act like this blog is old hat and that everyone knows what I did Friday, so I must fill you in on the weekend.

We are in process of sprucing up the house so we can put it on the market to sell after our new house is built.  Our new house is not under construction nor is it close to being under construction.  We have a "plan" and are well on the road to getting there.  What's currently on our "to do" list is sprucing up the existing place, so that's what we're doing.

I am willing to devote one day to home projects, but feel that there needs to be some time for the little one too, so I reserve Sunday as our mommy/daughter day.  So, I spent Saturday painting (she helped) and we spent yesterday doing whatever she wanted.  Whatever she wanted consisted of playing princess over and over and over again.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love drinking poison and then being awakened by the kiss of my Prince Charming, but I do have a poison threshold and I had reached it by early afternoon.

I was able to get her to break away from the game long enough to go to WalMart to spend the giftcard she received from her (self proclaimed) favorite Aunt on Friday.  What did she buy?  A princess, of course!

The Beginning

I've been reading blogs for quite some time and have been toying with the idea of starting one of my own.  Problem is, how on earth do you come up with a name?  Something catchy?  Something easy to remember?  Something with meaning to your life?  I wanted something that had some meaning in my own life, so here are 2 of the reasons I named this blog One White Horse.

When I was 10, our family was moving from California to Oklahoma.  I was bummed because I was getting ready to be in 4th grade...and in 4th grade in California, you got to take swimming lessons - during school!  How cool was that?  So, my parents come up with this genius idea to move back to the state they both grew up in - Oklahoma?  Not good for the girl who was looking forward to some serious pool time.  So, how did my Dad entice me to change my mind about the move?  With a horse, of course!  "Oklahoma", he said, "has all kinds of trees and land and we'll be able to get a horse".  He didn't have to say it twice - I was sold and my dreams of "Winnie" began.  I'll tell the rest of the story later, but suffice it to say, I never got the horse.  So naming my blog One White Horse is a tribute to the Winnie I never got.

Secondly, on the morning's that I take my daughter to daycare, we pass a big horse pasture.  If it's too early, the horses won't be up yet.  But, if they are grazing in the field, I always point them out to her (or she does to me).  There are numerous horses in that field, but only one white horse.  She's so beautiful she stands out amongst the others and I notice her every time.  She doesn't command attention, but certainly stands out because she's different than the others.  I strive to be that one white horse, making a difference in the lives of those I love and someone my husband and daughter will always think stands out in a crowd, even if I'm not commanding attention.

So there you have it, corny as it may be.  My first post is now officially complete.