So.. it's here.

Ok... deep breath...I can do this..

The big
3-0.

Midnight came while driving back from LA. I put on Black Eyed Peas "Let's Get It Started" because well.. it gets me kind of pumped up when I'm starting out a long run, so why not use it to get pumped up for a long decade.

I couldn't help but be a bit nostalgic on my drive home tonight. I have grown up A LOT in the last ten years. Ross.. has been there for all of it. He has made me want to be a better person, and encouraged me to follow my dreams. He has also given me space when I needed to try things out on my own.... even if it means trying.. and failing at things. Remember.. when I was 23? and thought I was oh so wise... Remember how I was oh sooo foolish?

Ok.. I'm ready..
This decade:
I'm going to be fit & fabulous.
I'm going to be a great mom.
I'm going to be a marvelous wife.
I'm going to figure out life/work balance.
I'm going to be a better friend.
I'm going to kiss someone underneath the Eiffel Tower. (Ross.. you game for that?)
I'm going to own a bed with a headboard that is not propped up on cinderblocks.
I'm going to be wiser than I was at 20.

Ok... deep breath... Let's get this party started.

5 days.. and then I'll be Ancient!

In less than 5 days I'll be 30. Each morning I wake up and look in the mirror and say.... "Really... do I look 30?"

Anyway.. Blogger refused to post these pics yesterday, but I logged in and found them uploaded. So here we are at Prehistoric Pets. It's an amazing pet store specializing in reptiles. They have a giant turtle pond, with Catfish bigger than Amanda. Ross was holding Nathan up to look at a Green Iguana, and it JUMPED at the window, startling everyone! It was hilarious to watch. The turtles cracked me up, and this little guy next to Nathan kept trying to make a break for it, while he thought everyone was distracted with getting worms from Nathan.
http://www.prehistoricpets.com
This is an old pic, but it caught my eye the other day. Here's Ross... but where are the kids. I swear Thomas the Train ropes in the dads more than the kids.
Ross was home for over 3 weeks on hiatus. We were all really bummed when he left for work last week. Here are the kids watching him leave.
Nathan is a freaking genius. No surprise to us. While Ross was home, we all read the newspaper every morning during breakfast. I can't tell you how much it warms my heart to see him reading my favorite publication "The Wall Street Journal"
And on a Final Note... A message to Al Gore:
Look, I've been called a granola girl many times. We eat mostly organic foods, we recycle, I bring my own cloth bags to the store instead of using grocery bags, I'm eagerly waiting for the Honda Pilot Hybrid. But Al, it hasn't hit 60 during the last 3 weeks, and at night it's been in the 30's. This is Southern California. I'm just having a really hard time buying into global warming when my fleecey organic cotton pullover just isn't cutting it for warmth.
P.S. Al, check out how cute my kid looks in her winter gear. Hat compliments of Linda (thank you!) and don't you love the cute Pom Pom on top!

Just a thought...

I stumbled across this postcard that I saved from http://www.postsecret.com

I love that website and have laughed, cried, and sympathized with the senders of the anonymous postcards.

This postcard was a great reminder to let my friends know I love them and they make my life much better. So, thank you for being my friend!

I feel like a Million BUCKS!!

I, Wendy-who-never-has-done-anything-remotely-athletic, completed a half MARATHON TODAY!!! 13.1 miles ran by my little legs!! Not only that I exceeded my goal of completing in under 3 hours. And honestly... I was not very optimistic of completing under 3 hours. But I did it! I don't have my finish line shot yet, so for now... this is what I look like after running 13.1 miles.
My legs ache a bit, but other than that, I feel GREAT! This was such a confidence booster. I am ready to tackle my thirties now.

Some random pictures...

I've been challenged to post a photo a day to my blog by a friend. Sounds fun... and I'm determined to update more often.

More pics of fun ways to cover Amanda's head. Her hair is starting to grow back, and she is doing great! No more treatment!!

Here is Ross and I all dressed up for his company's holiday gathering. It was at Dolce on Melrose in Hollywood. I always enjoy hearing his colleagues talk about working with Ross.

Amanda was not feeling so great on the day this picture was taken. She crawled around the house whining, didn't want to be held, couldn't keep anything down, and just crawled around for a half hour. Finally, she stopped, and this was where I found her!

And here is Amanda with Santa Claus at our Church's Christmas Party. What you don't know from seeing this pic is that I'm in the Foyer holding Nathan on my lap who split his head open... in an unfortunate "just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time" type accident. We are trying decide whether or not to take Nathan to the hospital, and Ross went to grab Amanda who was with our friends and our gear. Ross felt bad that Amanda would have to miss her chance to have her pic with Santa... so he threw Amanda on his lap, snapped the pic, and away we went.

What was I thinking!!?!!!

Tommorrow

is the Big Run!! 13.1 miles. A half marathon.

On Tuesday, I went for my last long run. Add at least 1.75 miles to the pedometer, because I dropped it and it reset itself. So.. I figured almost 11 miles. I stopped because I ran out of time to run, not because I couldn't go any farther. My legs ached that night, and the knees hurt for part of the morning, but other than that, I feel like I'm in the best shape of my life!

This was all part of my plan to feel better about turning the Big 3-0 in a couple weeks. I wanted to be fit and fabulous for my 30's. So... I signed up for the half marathon as a goal, and started officially training last August. I've never been athletic... ever... but this is a new start. Now, I have my eyes set on a Triathlon in December. But training for a tri with two little ones, might be super tough. We will have to see.