Introduction

I am not ready to put my face out there or my families so after a lot of searching in many stores I would like to introduce you to Sophie:

She is going to be traveling with me and will take my place in the photos.  I thought an introduction would be good prior to her just showing up in a few of my vacation pictures :)

I DID IT

Just a quick post. I DID IT!!! I finished the Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon.  It was awesome.  The course was amazing, the expo was good, and just the general feel was fantastic.  The kiddo did the kids race, and the hubby did the Rebel Challenge.  I am not sure what my official time is, but according to my tomtom it was somewhere between 2:57 - 3:05.  So I didn't PR but it also wasn't my worst time either.  I still have some lingering issues from my virus I had a few weeks ago which made it a bit tougher but it was all worth it.
I will post recaps soon but for now here is a picture of all of our medals:

What's in my Carry-on

Here is what I pack in my carry-on.  I am slowly learning to pack less each time I travel :)  I am always fearful that I won't have enough stuff to do on the plane and will be bored out of my mind.

This is my backpack.  It's a Swiss Army one that I got at target a few years back.  It's nice and comy and hold a lot of stuff

This is the main pouch that holds magazines, confirmations, notebooks, magazines, and tablet, etc

The middle pouch which is my snack pouch

The small front pouch that holds all the misc little stuff

This is everything I have in the main pouch.  I usually bring two magazines to flip through while the plane is taking off and landing, a notebook to jot stuff down in, a mini notebook to keep track of all our expenses, my Ipad, my tablet, and a book

I bought a set of three makeup cases in Disneyland last year because I fell in love with them but they aren't the best for me and my make up so I was trying to figure out the best way to use them then it dawned on me.....

A charger and micro SD holder!!  This holds the charger for my tablets and my phone and all the movies & TV shows I put on the micro SD cards for my Samsung tablet.  It works really well.

Games on my Ipod.  All for the kiddo.

The TV episodes I have on there right now are all season 4 from Once Upon a Time (one of my all time favorites)  Most of the other shows (i.e Guilty Pleasures) that I watch don't come back with new episodes till this Friday or next Monday :(  But that's ok I can re-watch Once 300 times and still be happy.)

For my Samsung I currently have three digital magazines, and Season 1 and 2 of Once Upon a Time on there.  My  extra micro SD cards have Hart of Dixie seasons 1 & 2, The Office season 2, 27 Dresses, Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy, Avengers,, Frozen, Tangled, and Aladdin.  A nice selection for whatever I am in the mood for. 

I pretty much keep all my games on my phones.  Some of these I only play when I travel so I am not very good at them :)

Here are my snacks, some jerky, pretzel chips, macadamia nuts, kisses, nerds and gum.  I will pick up some water and all natural lemonade at the airport along with some apples and a bananna.  Those are just to hard to pre-pack

The odds and ends in my front pouch, cards, mini battery, pens, chapstick, pain killer & DayQuil because you never know, Kleenex, SD card, and clorox wipes.  

What are your must haves when you fly?

Carry-on for a kid

I figured with my trip coming up I would do a couple of posts about how we travel.  This first one is what we pack in our sons carry on.  After many trials and error we have pretty much figured out exactly what to pack for a carry-on for the kiddo.

We got him an REI backpack a few years ago and it has been AMAZING.  The best $40 ever spent.  They don't have the same one available anymore but they do have one similar. 

Current REI backpack

  It's totally adjustable and has the really nice straps that make it easy for him to carry around the airport.

This is the main part which holds his stickers, study books, Nintendo DS, snacks, earphones etc.

These are the workbooks we will bring for him.  We are going to take him out of school for a day so I want him to do some work while we are gone.  And the comp book is his travel journal.  Each day he writes about what he did and draws a picture of it.

These are his books and stickers.  He is OBSESSED with stickers.  I picked up the grab & go ones when they were on sale at Toys R Us a few months back and the planes stickers are from the $1 bin at Target.  I let him pick out two new books each time we go on vacation because he loves to read.  We will probably pick up at least two more on vacation for him to read on the way back.

You can't forget snacks.  They always make the flight more enjoyable for all.  I will take the goldfish and put them in a separate container when we actually go but that doesn't make as good of a visual.   He really likes to GoGo Squeez in Apple Strawberry and they are really easy to throw in the pack.  We will bring two of the chocolate snacks down there and then two on the way back.  He will get a water and an apple juice at the airport.

The electronics that we bring are his Nintendo DS, his Ipod, and of course headphones.  We don't want to irritate everyone around us while he listens to Let It Go over and over again.

He has 4 games for the DS because his case holds 3 and you can put one in the DS :)   Angry Birds Trilogy, Mario Kart 7, Planes, & Disney Magical World

He picked the planes earphones out a while ago and they still work and fit his head so he will have these for a bit longer.

These are the games that he has on his Ipod.  

These are the TV shows he has.  I buy him a few episodes of the show he is really into right before vacation.  These are the ones that he still watches.  As you can see his interests vary.

This is the small top pouch which holds his little odds and ends.

He is really into football so I got him some more football cards and the TeenyMates to open on the plane.  He has no idea so he is going to be really happy.  Then I have a set of crayons, markers, and pencils.

I also always get him a lego to build and play with on the plane.  The first time I did this I thought for sure it might be a mistake but he really enjoys doing it and he hasn't lost any pieces yet.

This is the front pouch that just holds a travel Battleship game as well as Hearts.  

That is pretty much it.  When I typed it all up it kind of seemed like a lot, but I know that he will use all of this stuff between the trip down there and the trip back.  What are you go to things that you pack for your kids on the plane?

Training (Or lack there of)

Ugh!!  I have been sick all week so I haven't had a chance to do any training and it sucks.  I was starting to feel better and then today I felt super crappy again :(  I have got to get my long run in.  I am really starting to get worried that I won't be able to complete the race.  It's only two weeks away.  Heck, will I even be better for the race?

Ok enough moaning.  I found this 30 day squat challenge on pinterest and I started it on the 1st and have been able to it so I am going to take that as sign that I am getting better.  Tomorrow I will get my 12 miles in no matter what.  I think I'm going to hit up the gym cause I don't think my lunges can take the cold air.  I just have to be able to do 16 minute miles, so I am going to shoot for 15 minute miles and hopefully I don't fall off the treadmill in a coughing fit.

Resolutions

I am usually not to big on making resolutions, but I figured why not this year.  There are a lot of things I was to accomplish so here we go in no particular order:

*Run at least one race a month (5K, 10K or 1/2 marathon)  I would love to do a 5k with the kiddo each month, but I don't want to put that pressure on him so I am just focusing on myself.

*Get healthy.  I have a really hard time eating right I love chocolate & cheese and anything I don't have to cook.  So now is the time for me to learn some new healthy recipes that will keep my body and mind healthy.  Really make a lifestyle change.

*Spend more quality time with my family.  The three of us spend a lot of time together, but it will be nice to do some new stuff together.  The kiddo has been asking to do a movie night every week and a game night so I think we can make those work.  I am thinking of finding one new thing a month.  It would also be nice to spend some more quality time with extended family as well.

*Get my life re-organized.  I have a terrible time keeping my house and life organized.  With the kiddo being more involved in stuff and having a smaller house now is the time for me to purge and organize.  I used to be really good at that but have lost it since I became a mom.  Time to get it back.

*Finally re-do my bathroom & garage.  Our bathroom needs SERIOUS help.  We have been talking for years about re-doing it but I can't wait anymore.  Our garage also needs help.  I have pretty much kept everything from my son from birth to now, plus all our holiday decorations.  Its a disaster and a huge embarrassment.

*Learn Yoga.  I have done a few DVD's here and there but I have been to scared to actually go to a class.  I kind of have social anxiety with situations where I don't know anybody or what I am doing and I am super worried I am going to make a fool of myself and everyone will laugh at me.

*Really learn make-up.  This one sounds super lame but as I have gotten older the no makeup look doesn't fly anymore.  I don't want to cake it on or anything I just want to learn the basics and how to put on eye liner!

*PR on a half this year.  My best record is 2:55:20.  I would really like to get that down to 2:41:00.

*Let go of anger and jut be happy.  I have become jaded over the years and I am not sure why.  Yeah I have had some not so great things happen to me over the years but I have also had some AMAZING stuff happen.  I need to learn to focus on that.

Wow, for someone who said they really aren't int resolutions those are a lot :)

Here's to a fantastic 2015!!!!!!!!!!!!!