Spectacular!!!

I have been excited for this tattoo forever!  I researched for so many hours its embarrassing.  I also knew that I wanted to give the artist plenty of room to make it look good.  I have no artistic talent, I was really putting a lot of trust in Sarah.  I went to Oni Tattoo in SLC.  I had heard wonderful things about Sarah and it took YEARS for all the things fall into place that had to happen for us to be in the same room.  Thankfully that happened today!  Yeah!

After much discussion Sarah drew up a tattoo that was absolutely right.  While she put the final touches on it I noticed these tattoo drawings on the wall.

Are you kidding me?  I LOVE Bob's Burgers!

Yeah, tattoo's still hurt.

Not as bad as the foot though!

She worked on it for a little over an hour.

And it was SPECTACULAR!!  

The tattoo is comprised of the birth month flowers of my children, plus an Iris.  The Iris flower reminds me of growing up and my grandma and mom.  

Austin - July- Delphinium: means laughter/smiling eyes

Jake - December - Narcissis: stay just the way you are

Sami - February - Violet:  Faithfulness and virtue

Daniel - June - Honeysuckle: Devoted affection

Iris - A message ;)

Sarah's plan for the background and the colors are wonderful.  I'm so excited that I just want to get it all done right NOW.  But getting a tattoo is a mental and physical process.  I want to take it all in.  

I was such a good girl I bought some Baskin Robbins for my treat!

Blog on..........

Starting Strides

Tuesday I was scheduled to run 4 miles easy and then run 4-20 second strides with 2 minutes of complete recovery.  I was at the park by 7:15 AM!  

It felt great!  Keeping my HR down and my speed coming up.  Slow and steady.  

7/28

4 miles in 43 min

10:45 min/miles with average HR 131

Strides

8:52 min/miles

8:08 min/miles

8:04 min/miles

7:35 min/miles

I came home to the neighbors having a tree removed from their backyard.  They needed my driveway to do it and I knew it was going to happen, but it was pretty amazing!

Pretty epic!

Tuesday is Core day and I have to plan on getting to bed early so I can do my run in the morning before a 7:45 am shift!  GAH!  This will definitely be a test!

What's the earliest you've been up for to run?

Blog on........

Truth

Extremely difficult life changes are difficult on the ole blog.  I have had so much to write.  Unfortunately I spend too much time in my head.  It's a dark spot but it's getting so much lighter...


I decided that I'd post a few family pics for now.
Because I can.
And I love these little freaks.

Blog on friends.........blog on.

Ode to Zoe...

On Monday March 11th our sweet Zoe died.  

She was fine in the morning when I got home after a 24 hour shift.  I went to run at Liberty park that day and when I was done Daniel called and told me that something wasn't right.  She was stumbling around and really weak.  He had already called the Vet.  I was so proud of him.  He waited for me to rush home and we picked her up and drove her to our vet.  By the time we got there she was almost unconscious.  We knew we were on borrowed time already but having to make that decision was heartbreaking.  When I asked Daniel what we should do he said, "I just wish this wasn't happening".  There was nothing else to do.  I didn't want to take her home to suffer and I didn't want any tests done on her.  There was nothing I was going to do anyway.  So we had her put down.  Awful and miserable.  Lots of tears!  

Zoe was born Lady Zoee Lacee on October 11, 1999.  She was initially raised by a family with small kids.  When they had twins, one of them was allergic.  I found Zoe in the ads of KSL.  We adopted her March of 2001. Her name was Lacy and we named her Zoe before we even saw her papers.  She was a perfect fit for us!  I needed her!  With my kids going with their dad every other weekend and some summers, I needed something to keep me grounded and responsible.  

She peed on this bed.

We bought her a coat that she hated.

Cuddling with Daniel.  One of my favorite pictures.

Jake and Zoe

Sami and Zoe

2001

I couldn't find a picture of Austin or me with her when she was younger.  I'm sure they are in a box somewhere.  

It's funny because she came from a family with toddlers but she hated toddlers and jumped on them to push them over.  We kept her away from them except my nephew Charlie.  He loved Zoe and would laugh when she would try to jump on him and then chase her.

These pictures are in the last few years.  

Jake playing with her and Sami smooching her.  

Zoe owned the couches and insisted on moving the pillows where SHE wanted them and then sleeping.  

In 2008 we adopted Ted who joined her in play and shenanigans.  Notice her on the chair?  If you sat in her chair she would stare at you to try to get you out.  She was a smart dog and we were sure she was the one telling Ted to get dishes out of the sink and bread off the counter.  

She was also a scavenger.  I called her the bottom feeder.  Especially in the last few months she has been under my feet tripping me as she waits for me to drop ANY food.  She was pretty much deaf and almost blind so she couldn't dance around my feet like she use too and by the end of the day I was sure someone was going to get hurt.  

We were also pretty sure that she KNEW she was smarter and better then us.  She was kind of a bitch, but the kind you could love endlessly! 

When we discovered that she had lost control of her bladder on the couch just before she died we are positive she did that as her last "Eff you".  Because that is the way she rolled.  I guess you could say we were soul mates.

This picture was taken by my kids dad the day before she died.  Getting loves and smooches to the end.  Zoe was with the kids from the time they were little.  We were devastated.

Good bye Zoe!

Easter

It was a great Easter Sunday!  All my kids came to lunch and it was the first day off Whole30.  Although I did make a delicious, completely Whole30 meal for everyone.  

No nitrate/nitrite Ham from Trader Joes, Spicy Tuna Cakes, Deviled Eggs, Asparagus and a HUGE salad with all sorts of veggies in it.  

Part of the NOT Whole30 was the Sangria.  I just wanted some booze after 30 days!

My kids and Jake's girlfriend Emily.  

Clockwise:  Austin, Sami, Emily, Jake and Daniel

Me with my kids.  I can't believe they are adults.  It's crazy.  They can't take a serious picture either.  It's all good, I love them madly!

Later when my glass light broke I thought my son's cleaning technique was some good thinking.  While I was off looking for the proper dust pan, I came back to this:

Boom!  They are thinkers!

The Foot!

No pain at all.  Not even ibuprofen.  That is better then before the surgery.  Of course it's in a boot.  I've been diligent about wearing it and even put a shoe cover on it to work outside.  This Friday I can start small amounts of time in my shoe.  I will probably keep using the night splint until I see the podiatrist again.  

Yesterday I went to the gym and it felt fabulous!  I used the recumbent bike for 20 minutes to warm up and then just worked out on the machines.  I'm going again today to just keep my spirits up if nothing else. 

I also started reading this book:

 

Many runners have recommended it.  I figured since I was basically starting fresh then I might as well work on my form a little bit.  I bought the book from Thriftbooks (used books) so I can take it to the gym while I pedal the bike.  So far..LOVE IT.

Tomorrow I'm back to work.  Yeah!  I'm ready to get back to life!

Blog on.................. 

Jake's Birthday

Happy Birthday to my Jake!

He's 22!  Gasp! 

Candles and cake with the family

(Of course I was working on his actual birthday)

I bought him a book of farts including sounds.  

Fart sounds really make my family laugh.  Weird!  It's like we stopped mentally growing at 5

Sami was dying!  

Sami and Austin.

 Emily (Jake's girlfriend) and Daniel.

The same Fab Four pic I posted yesterday.  

I have to take it when I get it!  I have a picture with all my kids I have to post it a couple of times!

Emily and Jake.  Aren't they adorable?? 

Happy Birthday Jake!  You were worth the emergency c-section and the years of Emergency Room visits!  I love you dearly!

Blog on....................

Thankful

I was browsing through all my pictures and realized how lucky I was.  I know that I have been down and cranky lately, but at the end of the day I really am very grateful for so much.

Despite my "break" from running, life is good!

So is this coffee.  Delicious!

Although not quite as delicious as this coffee:

Sugar free Caramel whole milk latte.  

Tastes like roasted marshmallows and my favorite after workout snack.

I am also grateful for this office view:

There are a lot of challenges to flight nursing.  I've been doing it for over a year now and really starting to feel like I have made it my own.  When I started it was just about the overwhelming amount of information and trying to keep it straight.  Now I've been able to process a lot of it and pick out my strengths and weakness and use those to improve my performance. 

I am also very grateful for my home.  I bought it 9 1/2 years ago when I first graduated nursing school.  

I'm even grateful for this fake tree.  

My parents gave it to me years ago and it takes me at least an hour to straighten out the branches and tape the top on, but I really do love it and it was FREE!

FRIENDS!

This is a few of the awesome gals I work in the SICU with.  They are the reason I miss it every day.  Luckily they let me work there once in a while and I get my fix.  I've known some of these girls for the 9 years I've worked there and really feel like they are family.  This picture was taken this year at the Christmas party (I was Nicole's) date.  Tera won MVP.  She so deserved it!

Of course I have lots of other friends that I am grateful for!  I could never name them all, but know they are loved.

My health! 

Sure, I have an injury now but I will get over it and in the mean time I've been able to do lots of other fun workouts.  As a nurse I am reminded of how important it is to take care of myself all the time.  I appreciate that I have great overall health too.

I will probably post this picture a couple of times.

Aren't they the cutest dogs EVER??

Zoe is the little one.  She is 12 and the vet told us she would die 2 years ago of cancer.  We are just loving her everyday and so far she is the same old Zoe.  

We adopted Ted from the shelter when he was three.  He's 8 now and is really the best big dog ever.  Friends come to my house to visit Ted.  I can almost overlook all the dog hair that we vacuum up every day. 

They are love every day!

These guys are pretty lovable too!

My kids are the best.  I only have Sami and Daniel left living at the house.  Luckily, through all the stress of working, growing up and living we manage to have a few giggle sessions here and there.  All my kids have grown up so well.  I'm pretty proud of myself.  They are a blast to hang out with! 

Most grateful that I get them all in the same room every once in a while.  This is a good as a family picture gets.  Daniel is always making faces and the way Austin is in the back he looks like he was photo shopped.  This was just on Sunday, for Jake's birthday.

Also, for Matt.

For the last 5 years he has given unselfishly to me and my kids. He's a great man with a very kind heart.

Too sappy?  Too much?

It sure made me feel better.  Sometimes we all just need an attitude adjustment to realize that life has so much good.  Even when I'm feeling really down and feel like life is "shit wall to wall" (Louis C.K.) there is always good, somewhere.  

PULL IT TOGETHER!

Bacon and cookies help.  Not always together. 

Blog on.............