Quick Update and a PR

Because I have a lot of work that I need to do today, I just wanted to quickly update my blog and then get to the business of grant writing.

1. Piper is feeling 95% better and has slept through the night (or most of it anyway!) for two days now. Woot!
2. I totally blew my 2:45 half marathon goal out of the water. Well, maybe not TOTALLY, but I did a lot better than I anticipated: 2:38:45 (official time I got today - my Garmin said 2:38:55 though...but maybe I forgot to pause right away??). Woo-hoo! So proud of myself and I killed those hills. They respectively killed my glutes though, and my booty is hurting today.
3. Surprisingly, I'm not incredibly sore from my half yesterday. Last time, I could barely move afterwards. Must be getting stronger! My glutes are pretty sore, but other than that, I'm feeling fairly decent. I can even sit down and stand up without feeling like I might cry. That's a good sign, right?
4. I think I found a good realtor to help us house-hunt. I had asked our current property manager if they could help us, and the guy hasn't been responding to emails and calls - either ignoring them entirely or just waiting 24-48 hours to get back to me. Frustrating! So, I emailed another realtor and am meeting with her tomorrow. Fingers crossed we can find something.
5. I think I am getting a cold. Or maybe it's the weather changing. I don't know. Yesterday, I was wheezing pretty hard core by the evening and then today my head is killing me : (
6. I have a lot of work to do but am kind of overwhelmed by life right now and it's making it hard to work. I really need to focus on my work.
7. I had to cancel my hair appointment that was for tomorrow. I am starting to think I will have two toned hair for a long, long time.

Still Sick and Back to Square One

Little Piper seems to be worse than before. She's now coughing so much that she is throwing up pretty regularly :( I was cuddling her on my lap about an hour ago reading her a book when she coughed and then threw up. EVERYWHERE! All over me, herself, her brother, the floor, her blankie, toys, books, etc. It was a mess. I felt so bad for her! I put both kids in the tub, cleaned up the mess, and then took a shower myself. This was everyone's second shower in the last 15 hours. I hope the little miss starts feeling better soon! And I really, really hope I don't catch it! I can only imagine how crummy it would be to run while feeling like kaka. And yes, I'm silly, and would still try to run the half if I felt bad. That's just how I am. I *did* pay $60 for it!

The motorcycle that Derek was looking at on Craigslist ended up being a scam with a guy selling sub-par motorcycles. So we are back to square one on getting him some sort of vehicle. I am going to look at a house that I don't really like on Tuesday morning (if it's still available) just so that I can look at something. I'm anxious still, but resigned that nothing is going to happen over a holiday weekend, so I better just get over it. I'm really hoping that I can put my anxiety, fear, and strength (seriously, I haven't ran - or been to the gym for that matter- since MONDAY and my legs are ITCHING to run!!) into my half marathon and leave it all on the racecourse.

Derek is just as stressed out as I am. We're a pair I tell ya. I'm just glad I have a fantastic husband and partner to share my troubles with. And children that are so incredibly sweet and beautiful that it makes my head spin sometimes. And I have a mother, father, sister, brother, and in-laws that love me and make me laugh and remember that this is just a small blip in the course of my life. As stressed as I am, I know I have a wonderful family and that all of this will be over soon.

Sick

I'm feeling really, really anxious and sick to my stomach because we don't have a place to move into yet (really, though, we don't have to be out of our current house until 6/30/12). And that Derek is trying to get a new car in the midst of us trying to find a new place to live. It's just so stressful! When we moved to Dallas, we did a short-sale on our house, and now that should be showing up on our credit report. Which makes even more wary because what if we don't pass a credit check? I don't know what rental agencies really think about short-sales. Or what they'll think if we take out a loan for a new car with an already bad credit score. *hyperventilating*

I am seriously hoping that we can find something nice, but right now there just aren't any rental properties available. Shouldn't they be starting to advertise some that are coming available? Derek found a guy on craigslist that was interested in trading his custom-painted motorcycle (custom paint job was neon blue with skulls on it. Freaking. Awesome.) for Derek's volvo. He's going to look at it today and see what happens. So maybe we won't even have to get a loan?? But then I guess I can worry about Derek being on a motorcycle and getting into an accident. haha There's no end to my anxiety!

Piper, meanwhile, is actually sick. She has a cold and has thrown up twice; the throwing up I think is just due to her cold, but I'm not positive. Either way, we are just taking it easy today and I am letting her rest. I'm planning on focusing my energy on working to make some extra money and just trying to get as many hours in as I can without completely ignoring my kiddos. I've got to think of something fun for them to do today while I work that won't make a huge mess. I'm thinking about busting out their giant coloring pages and letting them go crazy. They like that. Right now, though, I'm going to go make another cup of coffee, and settle into a work groove.

If you are the praying type, please say a prayer that Piper starts feeling better, we get some extra money to make the burden of finding both a house and car a little more bearable, and that a nice, 4 bedroom, 2 bath house comes available in Allen in our price range and that they accept our 3 ten year old cats as well.

Jumping and Napping

Today I met up with my meetup group of mommas and kids and went to Jump Mania out in Plano. The last time we went (which was our first time), the kids kind of stuck near me and didn't really venture out to the bounce-houses very much. This time, though, they were everywhere! Piper mostly played with the cute play kitchen/house/BBQ stuff that they have there, but Danny bounced through every play structure that they had. Twice. He loved it. And I was able to actually talk to the moms (and one dad!) which was nice too. I love my moms group, but I sometimes wish that we had like weekly moms only activities to really get to know the moms a little better. It's hard to interact when one of us is constantly chasing a kid!

The kids both came home tired though, and for 20 minutes, they both napped. It was glorious! I was working while they rested/napped, so it wasn't like I really had genuine time to myself, but I enjoyed it nevertheless. I'm trying to work extra this week since I'm not focusing on working out, but that is SO hard to do when there are so many other things I would like to be doing. Namely, not working haha I'm reading the second book in the Outlander series - Dragonfly in Amber. I think technically it's supposed to be a period romance novel, but I think it is so much better than a romance novel! Not that I've really read many romance novels, but I have a ton of preconceived ideas about them ; ) and this book is better than those preconceptions, so clearly, it can't be a romance novel. It has a lot of Scottish history in it too, and I am really liking that. The point is, though, that I am enjoying reading this book and don't really want to put it down. Especially when my choice is reading or working. But reading books doesn't bring in extra money, and working does. I'm a slave to my part-time paycheck. What can I say?

I have been tapering very nicely. And by tapering I mean not exercising at all. Tomorrow morning I'm going in for a one - two hour workout, but tonight, I'm just icing and resting and preparing mentally for my race. Hungry Runner Girl had a great post today about mental toughness and I really thought this was timely for me. I think running half marathons (and I'm sure further distances) requires a certain amount of mental preparation and "toughness" to finish the race. I think that's why I love distance running because it is a mental sport. And I love it.

30 Day Shred Results

So I've decided that I kind of suck at doing something EVERY DAY for 30 days. I ended up doing about 12 days out of the 30. But, hey, it's something, and I have results that I am proud of, so I'll take it. My results did make me want to do the challenge again, but I'm for sure going to wait until after my half on Monday to start. Maybe like a week after so my muscles have had time to heal and recuperate. Anyway, here are the results.

Starting Stats:               Ending Stats:

Arm: 12. 25                  Arm: 12.25

Chest: 38.25                 Chest: 37

Waist: 41.5                   Waist: 40

Thigh: 23.5                    Thigh: 22

Hips: 44                        Hips: 41.25

Calf: 16                         Calf: 15.25

Weight: 174.8                Weight: 169.0 

Like I said, overall, very happy with the results. A total of 7.75 inches gone and 5.8 pounds. I did keep up with my running - even if I didn't keep up with all the weight lifting. I've always loved running, but lifting weights is something I have to force myself to do. Anyway, here are the before and after pictures. I can't really tell a huge difference in the pictures, but my shirts feel much looser than they were before. I haven't really noticed much change in my pants (even though I lost a crazy amount of inches in my hips??), but can't wait to fit back into my GAP size 12's. They are hanging patiently in my closet. 

Before Front

Before Side

Before Back

After Side

After Back

After Front

Tapering starts NOW!

Today has been a great day so far. I finally was able to sleep through the night and felt fantastic this morning. I got up and did 9 miles in 1:49. I felt like I could have done 10 in 2 hours, but I had gotten to the gym late and the child care area was closing. 
Today's run was my last long run before my half marathon next Monday. I'm feeling really good about the half and can't wait to see how it turns out time-wise. Still hoping for a 2:45 half. But now its taper time :) welcome to my favorite part of racing: easy runs and cross training and not feeling the pressure to make a certain time. 
This morning I was still in the 160's too. See? Good day!  Now if only the air would clear up so I can breathe....

The good and the Bad

This week has just been so incredibly trying. Danny has been off of his normal sleep schedule and Derek has been working 10 - 13 hour days (and he had to work all weekend too). I am just exhausted and frustrated and ready for a break. And if it could go wrong this week, it did.

Before I vent about the "bad" things, let me get to the good things that happened this week: I freaking made it to the 160's!! Yesterday I weighed in at 169.2. Holy crap it took a whole heck of a lot of work (especially this crappy week), but I made it. Now my goal is to make it to 165 by the end of June. I seriously have just gotten so fed up with being heavy and with my million and one excuses as to why I didn't lose. I will admit, there were nights when I went to bed a little hungry - not starving mind you, just a little hungry. Normally, I would've just caved and eaten something, but I really, really wanted this to happen, so I made it happen.

The other good thing is that my little Miss Piper has decided she is interested in using the potty. Over the past two days, I've gotten her to go on the potty 3 times (all of which were successes). She is 22 months now and I had previously decided to wait until she was officially 2 before I started potty training her, but I figure a little practice now can't hurt, right? Plus, how nice will it be to not have to change any more diapers??? Oh, I can't wait! But at the same time, I get a little sad because my baby is growing up. I had always wanted three kids, but lately I've been feeling pretty content with the two that I have. And that just makes her growing up that much harder.

And in good/bad news, all the houses that we had planned to look at next week are now rented out. The rental market here in Dallas seems to be a fast-paced turnaround and I guess we waited too long. Hopefully there will be some more houses for us to look at next week, but we'll see. We are also scraping together all the money to put down for the first month's rent, deposit, pet deposits, etc for the move. I hate that moving is so expensive! I just feel like we are just barely going to be able to move, and that is scary and frustrating. Thank goodness we have awesome family who are willing to assist us if needed.

All the stress of Derek's car about to die, us having to move, trying desperately to lose weight, and a general lack of sleep have really taken a toll on me. I feel bitter and angry and a little depressed. It's so hard being a stay at home mom when your spouse has to work over time. I just need a few hours to myself to relax and not be around the kids. And nap. I seriously need a nap! And Derek working overtime has just made me feel like I don't matter. It's hard to explain, but he has had to go into work early, so I couldn't go on my 11 mile run and (maybe because I'm so tired) I took it personally. And I had a hair appointment yesterday (debacle that it was! Got stuck in traffic on I-30 because they are doing construction so I was 30 minutes late to my appointment; they cut my hair and then made me reschedule for my color appointment. So embarrassing and did not raise my morale at ALL) and my sister had to come babysit because Derek couldn't work from home  for the hours that I would be gone. Just inconvenient for everyone.

Anyway, I'm trying today to not be a crabby mommy and to engage the kids so that they are not under-stimulated which results in them acting out. I'm hoping it works because I am DONE with whiny, unhappy children who fight with each other. I'm hoping that a good night's sleep and a 9 mile run tomorrow will help my mood considerably.

Perfect Day and an Early Morning

Yesterday was just one of those perfect days. I got up, went to the gym and ran 6.5 miles on the treadmill. The run felt awesome - I was just in the zone. Then the childcare area at the gym closed so I had to pick up Thing 1 and Thing 2 and head home. I felt like I could've done 4 or 5 more miles, so was a little bummed but got over it quickly because I discovered my new favorite meal: a salad with two slices of crumbled bacon, sliced grapes, tomato, onion, green bell pepper and the most amazing ingredient of all - Feta Cheese. Holy Cow! Feta cheese rocks!! It totally made my salad super delicious. I actually bought Feta by accident when I was trying to buy blue cheese. It turned out to be a very happy accident :)

After lunch, I put the P down for a nap (after she fell asleep on the couch) and did 3 hours of work. I'm working on some grants for work, and I made some good progress, which felt really nice. As soon as P woke up from her nap (she seriously napped for 3 hours!), I packed up the kids and we headed to Springfield Park. This is by far one of my new favorite spots in Rowlett. There is a walking/jogging trail around a little lake with ducks, various bugs, and lots of fish I'm guessing by the number of fishermen/women who were out yesterday. There is also a playground that the kids seem to really like. We walked two miles and then hit up the playground. It was warm outside but not ridiculously hot. Oh, and as an added bonus, just as I was getting the kids in the stroller for our walk, and ice cream truck rolled into the park and I picked up to popscicles for the kids to eat as I walked. They were coated in sticky red melted popsicle, but they really enjoyed their treat and I enjoyed being able to walk in peace.

My sweet girl was so tired!

Post walk and playground running around, we made a pit stop at Wal-Mart for milk and bread and then headed home. Danny fell asleep literally as I was pulling into the driveway. I pulled him out of the carseat and he mumbled something about going to play in the backyard and fell back asleep. I put him to bed then - at 6:45 pm - knowing the I would regret that later. I made some yummy grilled chicken and had a nice night hanging out with my little girl. We ate supper, read some books, played in her toy kitchen, and then watched an episode of Bubble Guppies. I love spending one on one time with her! She went to bed and I caught up on Grey's Anatomy and Once Upon a Time episodes after cleaning up the kitchen. Just a really good day :)

As I predicted, Danny woke up this morning at 3am. So, I'm a little tired - and I'm sure he is too. I weighed in at 171.6 this morning (so freaking close to those 160's!!). I am planning on going to the gym for some cross  training today and then I'm meeting my running group for the first time tonight for a 4 mile run/walk. I'm taking the kids in the stroller (and praying that they last 4 miles!) and planning on walking. My sister is coming too, so I'll have someone to walk with if everyone else runs.

Oh, and we are officially looking for a new rental house! Our realtor has sent us a few different listings and we are going to look at them next Thursday. We are planning to move to Allen or Plano and I just can't wait to be closer to the cities where we do most of our living/shopping. Being out here in the 'country' in Rowlett has been nice, but I'm ready to not have to drive 25 - 35 minutes every time we plan to do something or want to see my sister. The only downside is that I have to switch gyms. I go to a women's only gym in Rockwall, and have an 18 month contract (with about 12 months left on it). According to their policy, I have to continue going to one of their gyms when I move - even though the closest one will be about 15 miles away. Kind of bummed about that, but I'm sure it'll turn out good! I just wish there was one closer so that I wouldn't have to drive so far to work out.

Wake Up

Woke up this morning to a sweet little voice saying, "Wake Up Mommy!" - with clapping for emphasis. I love my little Piper girl and her wake up calls. I guess I didn't wake up fast enough though because by the time I made it to the living room, Danny was up and playing with the Ipad and Piper had totally wreaked havoc on our TV/Receiver. Currently, the only channel I'm getting is PBS (wonder how she managed THAT one??). Hoping the hubs wakes up soon to fix the problem, or else I'm stuck watching Curious George all day haha

I also woke up to 171.4 on the scale - woo-hoo! Under two pounds to go until I'm in the 160's. I can do this! Last night I spent a considerable amount of time on weight watchers' website looking up recipes and tips. Right now, I'm not 'officially' doing weight watchers (read: I don't pay or go to meetings), but as soon as I'm back to 161, I'll be back to my lifetime weight watchers weight and will be able to attend for free again. So only ten pounds to go until I can go back to meetings! I reached lifetime status back in 2004 when I lost 60 pounds. I kept the weight off for about 2 years, then I started grad school and the weight started creeping back on. Two babies, a big cross-country move, and too many cheeseburgers later, I am now in the 'overweight' category. I can't wait to be in a healthy weight range again and to fit back into my clothes. I had gotten down to the 150's last May and bought new clothes - which now just don't fit quite right. Can't wait to get back into them (especially since a lot of them are summery clothes!).

Today, I'm hoping to do an 8 mile run and then I have to come home and do some work. Today is almost my last "free" day to put in a lot of hours at my work-from-home job. Tomorrow I start a whirlwind meetup extravaganza. Wednesday - Saturday, I'll be driving into "town" for meetups with different groups - two of those meetups will be with my running group, which I can't wait to try out. Hopefully it won't be too hot; it's supposed to be in the high 80's. Can't wait to tell you all about it!

Cookies

Cookie attack! After begging me all morning, I caved to my son wanting to make cookies. So we busted out the mixing bowls, butter, chocolate chips, and sugar and got to baking. We made 30 chocolate chip cookies. I ate four, but am trying not to beat myself up about it because they were REALLY, REALLY good and hit the spot. I'd been hungry since lunch and had tried to make a healthy snack of lunch meat and reduced fat cheese, but it just wasn't filling me up and wasn't filling the 'void' in my stomach/heart/brain that I needed it to fill. The cookies were just the right mix of yummy deliciousness to make me un-hungry. Sometimes you have to give in to a craving in order to not eat a whole bunch of crap that you don't really want but is "healthy." In other words, a bunch of healthy stuff can have just as many calories as a little bit of unhealthy stuff. I'm glad I ate them - even if that means that I am going to have a big plain salad tonight instead of the taco salad I had planned.

Update on the Reset

I am so proud of myself! While I haven't hit the 160's yet, they are RIGHT around the corner. This morning I weighed in at 172.0 - which is huge because it was the Monday after a holiday weekend and a Mom visit. Family visits (which we have a lot of here recently) and holidays are super hard for me to lose/maintain weight. There are just so many treats around and so much going out to eat. But all this weekend, I just told myself that if I really want to see the 160's then I have to realize that family visits and holidays are going to happen and that I can't let them stand in my way. So I didn't. We even ate out and I stayed right on track. Go me!

I've also been drinking water like crazy. Like 90 - 120 ounces a day. I had been drinking about 40 ounces of water a day and about 48 - 60 ounces a day of pop. It was diet pop, but still, not all that great for you. I'm hoping the increase in water is helping me flush all the junk out of my body and filling me up so I'm not just mindlessly snacking.

I kept pretty busy this weekend too. I ran 10 miles on Saturday (in 2hours, 10 minutes!) and then did the Run Like a Mother 5k on Sunday with my Mom (race recap coming soon). It felt good to run so much and keep my legs moving. Today, I'm taking a rest day - which is good because I have a major headache. These weather changes we are having here in Texas are killing my sinuses!

I joined a running group this weekend too. It's a meetup group that meets on Saturday mornings in Plano and does their long runs together. I'm going to my first one this Saturday and I'm hoping that they can help motivate me to run a faster pace. I really want to run my marathon in 5 hours or less. That just means I have a lot of work to do between now and December. My last half marathon was done in 2:53 minutes - and my half in two weeks (from today - eek!) I'm hoping to do closer to 2:45. I'm contemplating signing up for the Hottest Half in August - but I'll probably take that one slow because of the heat. It will definitely be a challenging run!

Resetting Your Brain

The past two weeks, I've been having some 'woe is me' days and just feeling lonely and sorry for myself. I saw some pictures from our trip to the Fort Worth Zoo, and was just ashamed. I looked really heavy. And the truth of the matter is, I haven't been working as hard as I could be. I've been cheating on eating healthy and it shows. The scale has gone up. I feel bloated and unhealthy.

So I decided I would reset my brain. Yes, I'm not where I want to be, but I'm not going to get there if I keep just putting food into my mouth without thought. Losing weight is hard, but I've done it before and I can do it again. I don't think there is a person out there that will tell you they lost weight and it was super easy. Because it's just not. Whether you are trying to lose five pounds or fifty, losing weight is a challenge. It takes a lot of will power, sweat, and tears to get to where you want to be. And I need to work on my will power. Something might look delicious, but if it makes you feel like crap after you've eaten it, then it is totally NOT worth it.

I also keep comparing myself to other people. I just need to remember that I am the only one responsible for what goes into my mouth. If other people can eat tacos, brownies, cupcakes, and drink beer and still lose weight - good for them. But I am not that person. I can't tell myself that if they do it, then I can too. Because it doesn't work like that. Not for me anyway.

I hope this motivation holds and I can keep it going. I need to hold on to my motivation. I really, really want to bust out of these 170's. I know it's just a number on a scale, but right now, every time I see a 170's (which is always), I just get so disappointed in myself. Mainly because I've been in the 170's for about 6-8 months now. I've been close to the 160's but haven't made it there before I overeat and shoot back up to the high 170's. But now, I'm changing that. I can do this. I can do this. I can do this. I just need to repeat that a few times to myself and maybe it'll stick :)

Picture Time

Danny and The P playing at the park

Piper giving Danny a ride in the truck. She loves to drive. 

Piper making muffins.

Danny getting salmonella...I mean eating muffin batter. 

My Mom, step-dad, Danny, and Piper.

My brother in law KC playing with Danny and his new fave toy: a squirt bottle.

Piper wearing a dress up ear ring and trying to figure out the squirt bottle. 

Busy Days

Oh busy, busy May days! It never ceases to amaze me how busy May always becomes. My work always increases in May just because May is finally warm enough in Washington State to get out and do things, and it's beautiful here so the kids and I are spending lots of time outside. Plus, we had my Mom and step-dad here for the weekend, and then my brother in law is here this week from Alaska. Seriously - it has been a mad-house here!

On Saturday (which was like a bajillion degrees with 105% humidity), we took the fam-bam to the Fort Worth Zoo. Loads of fun and pictures to come (my mom played photographer). This was our first trip to the Fort Worth Zoo and it was amazing. I think the meerkats and the Asian Rhinoceros' were my favorite. If it hadn't been so hot, we would have walked around more, but after two hours in the steamy outdoors, we called it a day. Danny ended up with a minor sunburn on one cheek and the top of his lip. Next time we will make him wear a hat in addition to the sunscreen - that boy is so fair skinned! Piper didn't burn but missed her nap so she was a hot mess. We got snow cones to cool off and I was super excited to find out that they have a wedding cake snow cone flavor. How cool is that? After that, we went out to Fuzzy's Taco for a beer and tacos for Cinco De Mayo. It was super yummy as always and the kids even behaved themselves (even though they didn't really eat) so we all had a good time.

Sunday morning, my Mom and Step-dad left and my brother in law came in a few hours later. We hadn't seen him for a long, long time, so we were really excited to see him. Piper kept calling him Papa. I guess she thinks anyone that is not Derek is a 'papa.' Yesterday, we took his brother KC to McKinney to go to their downtown area. We went to Loco Cowpoke (which has phenomenal salsa and BBQ marinades/rubs - great place to go for Father's Day presents) and the Mom and Pops popcorn/candy store across the street. I got a jar of salsa and Danny and Piper got a few handfuls of candy. After that, we went to Derek's work to show KC around, went to Celebration Park for some let the kids run wild time, and then toured Allen looking at some of the houses our realtor sent us as our next possible rental house. Busy day! We then went over to my sister's house and watched the Capitols game (boo they lost!) and got Torchy's tacos (an Austin based company that just started a new location in Allen). I also got Orange Creme Ale - which was delicious!

With all that food, I'm sure you can guess that I have not been losing weight. I've come to terms with this even if it does make me a little sad that I gained 4 pounds from the time I weighed in on Friday morning until I weighed myself today (*sigh*). I did my 30 Day Shred every day last week, but haven't done it since Friday. I did my measurements on Friday and I had lost a total of 6.5 inches, so I'm hoping that I continue to lose after I start back up on my shredding tomorrow.

I have my Run Like a Mother race on Sunday with my Mom (yes, she's coming back into town on Friday). Can't wait for the 5k race, but really can't wait for the t-shirt haha I just think it's going to be cute. Anyway, gotta get back to family time.

Miss You

The past couple of days have been a struggle for me. My heart is just not in anything. I think I've just been missing my people back in Spokane. I was talking to a friend from back home and some things happened in her life about a month ago. And it just broke my heart. First, my heart broke for my friend and then after a day or two, my heart broke again. Because our friendship had become so distant that she didn't call to tell me her news right away. I know. I'm the one that moved. But it still hurts that my friends and I have become distant.

I just miss having good friends and I feel like I'm in a sort of friendship limbo. I just have to repeat to myself that I will have friends here in Texas. I will have friends here in Texas. It just takes time.

Being kind of bummed out, I haven't really felt like doing anything other than lying on the couch and reading a book. I didn't do my 30 Day Shred Saturday, Sunday, or Monday (I did my race Saturday, and then no other exercise at all for the last couple of days). Today I got up and went to the gym and did some bike workouts. I tried running, but I just couldn't get into it. So, I left the gym. I am going to do my 30 Day Shred today. And I'm cleaning up the house. I started that yesterday. I am a firm believer that if you want to feel better about life, start by cleaning your house. Not that I'm an impeccable house keeper (actually, far from the truth), but if your house is clean, you will feel better about life.

Plus, I get to spend time with these lovelies. Life is good. Really.