Turn that frown upside down

So I woke up this morning feeling worn out. Not sure why. I'd had weird dreams, which never helps, and somewhere between sorting laundry and listening to Atticus pout because he couldn't get his pee back from the sewer, I felt myself start to collapse inside. I'm not going to make it today.

So I got on my knees and prayed, Father, be my strength today, because I just don't have any. Then I had this conversation with myself:

So I put on my gym clothes and got Atticus and his friend to school on time, then hit the gym. I decided I'd skip the step class and just do 30 minutes on the elliptical, if that--getting there was an accomplishment, so I didn't need to go full-bore. But after I got there and on the machine, I started feeling pretty good. I pushed myself up to higher resistance on the machine, and afterward I felt good enough to do weights, squats, and abs. I felt great when I left. 

Came home, made a healthy kale-berry-whey smoothie, put in some laundry and took a shower. Complete turnaround. I wouldn't say that today was hyper productive, but I washed AND PUT AWAY four loads of laundry, had a healthy lunch, did the dishes, and paid the bills. So I also had a couple bowls of ice cream and we had pb&j for dinner, but oh well. Can't expect greatness every day...

Today could have gone a very different way, and I'm grateful to my Heavenly Father that it didn't. It's a lot easier to "just do it" with His help.

Heidi is currently...

• Listening to the fabulous Neko Case, who is coming to Salt Lake on June 16th. We already have tickets. If you don't know her, check out one of my favorite songs on Letterman or download a few from her website. Do it. Do it now.

• Crushing on Blaine Anderson from Glee. What is it about sweetly romantic boys who can sing and dance? Oh yeah. They're irresistible. And usually gay, like this character is. (Also probably the only man able to make high-water pants and sweater vests sexy.) Darn. But so much fun to watch. Don't believe me? Check out this duet with the equally beautiful Matt Bomer, who plays his brother.  Or maybe this one. 

• Excited about going to see a sneak preview of The Avengers this Thursday. 'Splosions, eye candy, witty banter, and Scarlett Johanssen kicking butt. What more could you want in a movie, really? Except for it to be free. And oh yeah, it is! James won passes. Yea!

• Looking forward to a trip to Illinois sometime this summer. (July or August maybe? How would that work for you, Suz?) I recently discovered that I have 59,000 SkyMiles just waiting to be used. Woo hoo! We're also talking about going back to Arizona to visit the Bennett clan at some point, maybe spending a night or two in Vegas on the way. Trips are always fun to think about.

• Trying to avoid cleaning and grocery shopping and planning a lesson for tomorrow. Maybe I should get back to that... Bye! :) 

Spring Break

We are on spring break this week, so of course we had to get together with the school friends. We went all out and took the Frontrunner train up to Ogden, where we played on the trains outside the station, then walked through the historic district to a local cafe with really good food. After lunch we walked another three blocks to the Treehouse Museum, which is the coolest children's museum I've seen so far. Lots of great exhibits, a major focus on literacy (books everywhere, topics corresponding to each exhibit), and an interactive play. Afterward we walked another three blocks to Farr's ice cream, a local specialty. We had to wait a half hour in line in the tiny, crowded store, so some of the moms entertained the kids outside. These pictures are from our wait. Once we finally had our ice cream, we walked 5 blocks back to the station. I was really impressed with how well the kids did with all the walking. Even Zoe, our frailest/whiniest one, refused to go on only once, not counting the time she was just pouting about not being able to hold Caleb's hand. We made it to our train on time regardless, and the kids played together the whole way home.

On the way home one of the other moms said, "I feel like the best mom ever." I don't know that this outing makes up for the extra grumpy evening we had last night, but it was a good day. I just wish I'd remembered my camera to take more pictures.