Ditto

Ditto to this.

This is why I am making an emergency trip to the land of fun in the sun for New Years!........I just can't take it any more.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Body by Cam

Just in time for your New Year's Resolution to get in shape, I found out that my son and daughter have teamed up for a winning combination. Repeat the following daily and then flex for your mom.

#1 Bench Press

#2 Push Up

# Arm Curls

Best of luck in 2010!

We hope you all had a very wonderful Christmas Holiday - We sure did! Here are some highlights of our celebrations and traditions.

CHRISTMAS EVE - NATIVITY

CHRISTMAS EVE - MARSHMALLOW WAR

Our family has a tradition of having a marshmallow war on Christmas Eve. It started out all in fun and now has gotten very serious, so serious in fact that next year safety glasses will be required.

CHRISTMAS MORNING

CHRISTMAS DAY

Hope your holidays were as great as ours!

PS - I got another pair of running shoes!
PSS - I got the best gift ever - an electric blanket! I am never leaving my bed again...ever!

A Meat Feast

Today this came in the mail



There was a lot of excitement for this


Going in the oven............................................... 35 min later



Bibs were adorned



Yummy!



A very happy Jay!


Thank you JR! You made our day, quite possibly the month!

Jake is missing from all the photos, yes he ate - at 15 it is just too much to have your picture taken

House of Fashion

Having 3 daughters, there is a lot of talk about fashion. Fashion for 12 yr olds, fashion for 8 yr olds and fashion for 5 yr olds. Unfortunately there is not talk about fashion for 36 yr olds.

So here is the best fashion ideals according to my young daughters, Izzie's 12 yr old rules would take up too much space:

1. You can mix patterns, the more the better
2. Any shade of the same color can go together - love the monochromatic look
3. All clothes look better with leggings
4. Mix styles - church shoes with basketball shorts, quite the look
5. All colors can go together

The best comment came yesterday when Izzie was babysitting and told me she was not going to let Camdyn out of the house wearing this outfit........This from the child who's sense of fashion 7 years ago, made me not really care what my kids wore because it wasn't worth the fight. Can't wait until she has kids of her own.

Even if it Kills Me

Tonight I will get these in the mail even if it KILLS me! I have procrastinated long enough and if I want people to get them somewhere near Christmas, it must be done. Merry Christmas!

Update: Cards are in envelopes with the newsletter. I have addressed all mine and some of my husbands - not sure who he wants to send them to and they have a game tonight. He gets to be the lucky one and put them in the mail tomorrow.

A Year Full of Gratitude

As I headed out today to finish the rest of my Christmas shopping, I realized that today is December 19th. Not a big deal to most the world, but to the Hinton household, it is the day our lives changed dramatically. Exactly one year ago today, Jay lost his job as Director of Media Relations for the Utah Blaze - the Utah Arena Football team. He was laid off when the league folded and due to the state of the economy at that time could not be absorbed into Garff Enterprises. This was a complete shock. I still remember my conversation with Jay as he explained to me what happened and I just kept asking him if he was joking.

One year later, I can look back on this experience with a heart full of gratitude for our Savior, faith in his plan for us and my husband and all of his hard work. We were able to realize that we can live on a lot less than we had been previously and so grateful for a savings account that had enough money to help us stay afloat. The Lord has watched over us and cared for us by providing Jay with three part time jobs until he was able to obtain full time employment. He has taught our children that we don't always get what we want and to truly value and care for what you have.

Our lives are not the same as they were previous to December 19, 2008. We are still adjusting to life on a lot less money, but enjoying the benefits of health insurance, 401K and an increased testimony in the knowledge that we are truly children of our Father in Heaven and he is mindful of us and all times.

I remember a conversation last winter as Jay was job hunting and we were talking about what kind of job he would get and we both knew that it might not be what we were used to, but it would be the best job for our family - and that it is!

As I reflect on the past year and look forward to 2010 and the challenges we face now and will continue to face, I am so grateful for the increase in my faith and trust in my Savior and his plan and that one year from now I will be grateful for the challenges I am facing now and the growth that will come from them .

I collect........

Most girls collect shoes. They collect high heels, boots, flip-flops, ballet flats and many other varieties of shoes. I have a very small collection of regular shoes, but a very LARGE collection of running shoes. I knew it was becoming a problem when I had to dig through all the running shoes to find grey heels for work or ballet flats to wear with my favorite jeans. Unfortunately part of my new/old self, I felt the need to clean out my closet. The tally of running shoes came to 11 - these all purchased within the last 9 months. So I lined them all up and decided that I would purge some of the shoes. All have logged well over the 300 miles of running - in the running world this means retirement for the shoe. Good bye to:

Boston Marathon Shoes - well over the 300 mile mark





SGM #1 shoe - hard to part with, but never wear






Another pair of Pink Mizuno's or as I call them #2




and three other shoes that look just like those above but just were training shoes.


I did keep 5 pairs. And even better, it is time for a new pair. I switched brands in November to Nike Pegasus and my first pair have about 150 miles so it is time for a new pair - Sooo excited!!!! Is this an illness?

Being Invisable

My husband sent me this video earlier today. It really made me stop and ponder many of my frustrations as a mother. Hope you enjoy!

Sweetest Holiday Wishes

Tonight was our night to put together and give our neighbor gifts. We have a tradition of giving a fresh pineapple with a red ribbon. It is such an easy and yummy gift. The only trouble is that when Jay goes and purchases 100 pineapples from the produce wholesalers, we have to get them out - NOW! So begins, the tying of bows, adding tags and visiting with the neighbors.....but it is done in a couple of hours and I get to sit back and be so HAPPY that one thing on my Christmas list is complete.

DO'er Update

I figured it was about time for a DO'er update. I have put off this post for about a week because writing the reality of it is not very fun. Bottom line is I need and can be doing better than I am, however I am doing better than I was previously. I am only average about 6 points a day, which is not very good, BUT stuff is getting done.

I have many projects, as do most of you this time of year, and most cannot be shared yet because my lovely children check out the blog occasionally. However here is one I can share.....


I have wanted to hang pictures above my bed for the almost 3 years we have lived in this house. I finally got it done despite many, many road blocks.......couldn't find my favorite picture of the Eiffel Tower ( dang! have to go back to Paris in 2010 ).....couldn't find any tools - no hammer, no tape measure, not level. Despite the lack of tools we got it done and surprised Jay when he returned from a trip at Thanksgiving.

More projects to share after Santa comes!

The Blind Side

I have been wanting to seen this movie since it came out and last night we were finally able to go. We took all the kids and they all LOVED it except for Camdyn, which was expected.

This move is absolutely fantastic! The message of how to treat others and standing up for what you believe in is something everyone can benefit from. The Touhy's are an example of how to reach out when you see someone in need.

Go see it!

The Annual Battle

Every year Jay and I have the same argument. It involves Christmas lights - my desire to have them and his intense hatred for putting them up. I usually (all but maybe 2 years) lose. Jay hates to lose so that means for the sake of my marriage, happiness of my children and peace on earth, I give in and have a lightless house. It has become a tradition and we have already had it this year. So I had to laugh, I mean really laugh when my cute sister in law Marcie posted this picture on her blog the other day.




Jay laughed too....So at least we agree that this is fantastic!

Dear Santa.....LOL

Yesterday Camdyn told me she wanted to write a letter to Santa. She came prepared with her paper and pencil. Her only issue is that she would not write a sentence, only one word per thought......

Santa
Good
Bitty Baby
Princesses
Barbie
LOL
Camdyn

I had told her she needed to write "Love, Camdyn" but she said no she was going to write "LOL, Camdyn." I asked her if she knew what LOL meant and she answered "Yes, it means Laugh Out Loud."

I was laughing out loud, hopefully Santa has a sense of humor and will LOL!

Snow, Snow GO AWAY!

I hate snow, I really hate snow. Yes, I live in an area known for it's snow but I do not have to like it. We have talked about moving over the years but our kids are settled and at the age that we do not want to disrupt their lives, which means that as the mom I have to be stuck with snow. So when we get enough snow to interfere with my daily life it makes me extremely grumpy.

I went go to running group this morning but the highway was not plowed so I turned around and reacquainted myself with my treadmill. This pretty much changed all my plans for the rest of the day and makes me really, really grumpy.

I have to go out and drive in it when I head into the office, driving in snow makes crazy and grumpy.

Pretty much I wish I was a bear could go back to bed and wake up when the snow is gone.

So for all of you out there who love snow, I hope you are smiling! For me, I am going to try to find something positive about snow, I just do not think there really is anything because it is snow and it is cold and it makes me grumpy.

It Rains Slurpee's

Last week I had a bad, bad day. It started with a very good run with the BBK's and then was pretty much downhill from there.

I stopped at the 7-11 for a little bribery for Cam in the form of a Slurpee so that I could get some work done and the dang Slurpee machine exploded all over my white shirt, the walls and Camdyn - NICE!

This picture does not due justice to the amount of Slurpee covering me, I was covered

Back home, in my pajamas, I set down to work. I heard a strange noise and looked out my kitchen window to see the grounds crew at the church mowing the snow - that make sense. They were just finishing up and once they were done I realized most the of the strange noise was coming from my house. I thought at first it might be the water softener, but no, it was the expansion tank. It had rusted and created a small opening and water was spraying all over my furnace room. On the furnance, on the water softener on electrical panel and most important, on our new pre-lit Christmast tree. The box was wet and I was not sure it would light up this year.

The hole is pretty small for the amount of water everywhere but in all that rust, it is there. Should have taken a picture of all the water, but didn't think about getting the camera out until after I had cleaned up all the mess

Jay was at work, so I turned off the water to the house and it finally stopped spraying everywhere, shop vac'd all the water and waited for him to get home to determine if we needed to call a plumber. We ended up calling plumber Keith ( we bought the house from him ) and he said we could exchange the tank ourselves. This was a huge vote of confidence because he knows our abilities (not much) and if he thinks we can do it, then we can do it. A trip to Standard plumbing, a little elbow grease and about 10 min and we were back in business. A very good thing because I had rationed the flushed in the toilets and we were down to 2 and I wasn't sure how long Cam and I would make it.

Pretty new expansion tank - and no leaks!

Even better, the Christmas Tree still works - WAHOO!

The Isom Family

The Isoms are some very dear friends of ours. They are there whenever we are in need - which is often because lately we are very needy friends. So when Suzanne asked if I would take family pictures on Thanksgiving morning I didn't hesitate in saying YES! I had a great time and laughed way too much, which made for many blurry pictures. We did, however, get some great ones and here is a sneak peek of a few.



They are just as big of baseball fans as we are so I suggested they wear their teams gear. They have 2 Angels fans and unfortunately 3 Cardinal fans. If only we could get the to become Cubs fans........




This was just a quick picture of when I got stuck on the other side of the street. I stopped to answer a question of someone and they all crossed and I was stuck - still a cute quick picture.

Wish I was there........

Tonight is the Utah State vs BYU basket ball game. I am not a huge basketball fan, but I am an Aggie fan - Jay's 5 years of covering them for the Deseret News made me one. There is no place better to watch a basketball game then the Spectrum at USU - Aggie fans are the best and I am proud to be one. So while I am wishing I was there and part of the best basketball crowd anywhere. I am home watching it on TV and starting to take care of this.





Disclaimer #1: I am a Dave Rose fan. I grew up with the Roses as family friends and always want them to do well.

Disclaimer #2: Stew Morrill is my husbands cousin

Tuesday / Thursday Kind of People

Every Tuesday and Thursday and some Saturdays, I get to run with the greatest group of people - The Bingham Butt Kickers or BBK's. I started running with them a year and a half ago when I was training for my first marathon. We all trained for the Boston Marathon together and then again for the St. George Marathon in October.

I have not been able to run with them since mid September due to injury and travel and was so, so happy to see my Tuesday / Thursday friends today. I had not seen most of them since the St. George marathon and it was so crazy afterwards we only saw each other for a few minutes.

There are not a better group of people to meet at 5:o0 am in 20 degree weather to run miles and miles. So here is to Thursday morning and another great run.

2009 Boston Marathon Celebration Dinner
Cheris, Julie, Kris, Dean, Michelle N, me, Michelle M.