the family that runs together

so i may have only gotten about four rough tossy-turny hours of sleep on a hard floor surrounded by ten giggly girl scouts, but the bean and i got up for a 5K the next morning.  and not just any 5K - the 5th annual fit4fall 5K, my very first one.  and lucky for us, the start line was just around the corner from where we'd spent the night.

after a quick breakfast lesson by two of our parents, we got ourselves dressed and ready.

right around the time the hub was supposed to meet us to walk over to the start, i got a text:  "oh shit, i just woke up.  leaving now!" oy vey.  we decided to go ahead and head over, since the gun was set to go off in about 15 minutes.  took us all of about 3 to get there.

oh, yeah - getting to do the 3 miles on her scooter was the only way i was able to bribe her into doing this race.  she loves being on that thing, so it wasn't actually that hard to talk her into registering.  

hey, chick-fil-A!  the local franchise is owned by the parents of one of the bean's classmates.  they're always at local events like this.

there was quite a large turnout this time around.  seems like it's getting bigger and bigger every year.

we found some other friends too.  i was surprised not to see way more of the bean's classmates and fellow students.  they're usually out here in droves.

quick pre-race family shot:

bryan came out to greet everyone and let us know that we'd be starting soon.

everyone was ready, even the doggies.

and then we were off!

they switched up the course a little bit, but i know this first stretch well.  it's on a residential street that's on a gradual incline, and the bean wasn't thrilled about the extra effort she had to put in.

she was a trooper though, and just kept going.  mile 1, check:

when we finally turned the corner, i heard her groan as she saw even more uphill ahead of her.  the words "i'll take you for ice cream later" may have left my mouth at this point.

but there were encouraging signs:

and a water stop.

and then right around this point:

the course changed a little bit.  well, a lot.  we finally found ourselves heading downhill at last, and fueled by adrenaline and the promise of some ice cream, she took off and left me behind.

i texted the hub to let him know she'd ditched me, and then i focused on getting myself to the finish.  

i found them both waiting for me, and we perused a couple of the vendor booths as i cooled down and caught my breath.  she got to spin a wheel, but i don't think she won anything.

and although a massage sounded lovely, there's no way i would have subjected anyone to my icky sweatiness.

family 5K, done!

gooooooooooaaaaaaaallllllllll!

amazingly enough, the bean's third soccer season has come to an end.  my little delicate flower, who's really not aggressive at all and will go out of her way to give you the shirt off her back, has turned into quite the little defender who loves to get after it out on the field.

the last game for the peppermint pink piranhas fell on a gorgeous day.  they did a little warm-up and practice like usual, and then huddled pre-game one final time.

surprisingly enough, she'd volunteered to play goalie for the first quarter.  she really loves being on defense, i suppose this was a good spot for her to be in.

she managed to get a couple of good saves in there.

after she took off that goalie uniform, she slid right back into defense mode and found herself playing alongside (and against) one of her oldest friends from dance class.

as usual, she kicked ass.

and then she found herself mixing it up a little with her friend.  when she's playing opposite one of her friends, the hub and i both find ourselves cheering for both teams at some point during the game.

for the final quarter, she put that goalie uniform back on and did some work to close out the game.

group picture!

and then she happily accepted her participation trophy at the team party the next evening.  i know, i know, trophies belong to first place winners, blah blah blah.  but you know what?  these girls busted their asses and played their hearts out all season long - through the heat of the summer and then towards the end, practiced weekly in the dark.  they deserve these trophies and i don't care what anyone else says.

next year, she's going to move up a level to U10 - and i hear it's a whole different ballgame then.  more competitive, scores are kept track of, it's more serious.  i'm curious as to how this will go.

we've got a whole year to wait.  we'll just have to see what happens...

another year, another annual fund dinner

it's hard to believe that i've been attending the annual fund dinner at the bean's school for four years now.  from that first time in that stupid pan am stewardess getup to the extravaganza the following year and then last year, when the bean was in the show choir...well, i'm getting to be quite the regular at these galas now.  i was actually going to attempt to beg off this year because it conflicted with our weekly girl scouts meeting, but considering the fact that i'm the sole room mom in the bean's classroom this time around...well, i didn't feel right skipping it.

lucky for me, the old lady found herself with that night off from work.  i'd have had to go stag otherwise, with the hub still out of town on one of his old man cigar trips and MIL all set to step in for me at the brownies meeting.  it was nice to have some one-on-one time with her, and we had fun looking for outfits to wear and getting ready for a nice evening out.

the school's gym had been transformed with a lot of pixie dust and a ton of work by the school's marketing director.  she always outdoes herself with these things, and i'm always wondering how she's going to top herself with the next one.  amazingly enough, she manages to do just that.  the theme for this year's gala was "chasing truth," and i remembered her saying that she was going for a rustic, countryside look.  one step into the lobby showed that she'd definitely achieved her objective.  there were real trees lit by decorative lanterns and even sound effects to make it seem like you were walking through the forest.

and inside the gym, there was astroturf on the floor with more lanterns hanging from the ceiling, green walls and pretty backdrops on the stage.

the tables were beautifully set.

i managed to get one good picture with my date.

dinner started with salad:

moved on to a family-style main entree and sides:

and after some really entertaining and impressive student performances, promotional videos and a keynote speaker, we stepped outside for a dessert bar catered by the school's chef.  this is the creme brûlée cheesecake that the old lady picked up:

and my mini lemon meringue pie.

both desserts were really delicious, and the perfect way to end a lovely evening.

i can hardly wait to see what they come up with for next year.  i'm really kind of hoping that the bean can take part in a performance again.  having my kid up on stage is a really great way to get me motivated to attend these things.  because, duh.

they're coming. the holidays, that is

you know, i'm usually on the "it's too early to start celebrating the holidays!" train.  like, when those starbucks red cups come out and it's barely halloween.  or the christmas decorations start popping up in the aisles at target and we haven't even carved the thanksgiving turkey yet.  most years, i find myself keeping the holidays at arm's length, and i don't even know why.  i mean, i adore the holidays.  it really is the best time of the year.  maybe it's because they just keep coming faster and faster, which also means i'm just getting older and older that much quicker.

but for some reason, this year the hub decided a solid two weeks ago that the house of wan was going to be touched by holiday magic as early as possible for 2015.  homeboy was in the holiday spirit in a big way.  the moment he took down the halloween decorations outside, he trucked his happy ass right up into the attic and started busting out the boxes of christmas decorations.  the one sad little box of thanksgiving gear never even made it out this time around.

we do have at least one thing out for thanksgiving though, thanks to MIL.  she'd gone to trader joe's and picked up this cute little set for the girls to work on over the weekend:

here's what was inside the box - just about everything needed to make that gingerbread turkey come to life.

while i was having my sewing extravaganza, they huddled in the kitchen and mixed up a batch of royal icing.  the kit included a recipe that incorporated vinegar and lemon juice, which sounded a little weird to me.  so instead, i gave them instructions on how to make a basic royal icing the way i do it, and it turned out just fine.

apparently someone got hungry and the poor turkey lost its head and feet.  instead, it ended up looking more like a thanksgiving peacock:

MIL and the bean then headed to michael's and stocked up on crafting supplies and created a "decorate your door" contest.  it was fun to watch them scurry around creating their masterpieces and working on holiday-izing their bedroom doors, with christmas music in the background courtesy of a local radio station that kicked off their all-christmas-all-the-time gig.  yup, a full three weeks before thanksgiving.  perfect.

since MIL has been here with us so much over the last couple of months, we won't be seeing her again until 2016.  she and FIL decided last year that for the first time since moving to texas, they'd be staying home for christmas.  they'd never seen what the holidays are like in their new hometown, and with brother wan and his fiancee also staying put in kentucky for work reasons, it looks like the only way we'll be spending any part of the holidays together for 2015 will be via facetime.

and so on the day before she flew back home, i thought it'd be kind of nice to celebrate an early thanksgiving with her.  while she was out at the gym with her morning routine, i scurried around between several grocery outlets and picked up the makings for a turkey dinner.  since it was just going to be the five of us, i opted for turkey breast instead of a whole bird.  i didn't have the 8-12 hours you usually want to brine the turkey before baking, but i figured that since it was a smaller portion anyway, 5 or 6 would have to do.

as soon as i had that turkey in the brine, i did my usual housecleaning routine and then went into the buffet and took out the china.  our poor wedding china has probably only been used a small handful of times in the nearly ten years we've had it.  and since we were making this a special occasion, it was coming out to play.

MIL was pretty surprised when she got home and found the table all set, and when i told her what we were up to, the look on her face was worth all of the effort.

by the time everyone all got home from work and school and such, i had it all done.  yeah, it's not a very thanksgiving-y tablecloth, but the colors worked.  and our thanksgiving peacock added a fun little decorative touch down at the end.

selfie stick FTW!

i was pleased to see that everything i'd slaved over in the kitchen turned out so nicely.  the turkey was really good, the bean was over the moon to see that there was sweet potato casserole, and the old lady was excited for her beloved green bean casserole.  all in all, everyone's favorites were covered:

looks like i'm embracing the holidays too.  bring it on, santa.

i am a sewing FOOL

so after a month-long drought (maybe even more, i can't even remember), i finally got to sit down at my sewing machine and crank out some fun stuff over the last week.  i've got a crazy pile of fabric that's just been taunting me as it sits and watches me walk around the house getting all sorts of other things done, and i really wanted to get through some of it and sew up some new pieces that the girls and i could start wearing ASAP.

when the bean had a day off right in the middle of the week for veteran's day, we decided to head out to see "the peanuts movie."  you know how much we love snoopy, and i'd been excited to see it since we first saw the preview almost a whole year ago.  with the most perfect cut of fabric in my stash just waiting for its time to shine, i got my pattern printed and cut out the pieces to make a fun hoodie to wear to the theater.  this took me maybe 30-45 minutes to complete:

it was my first attempt at making something with a hood, a front pocket and thumbhole cuffs, and i was pretty stinking proud of myself for getting it done.

and then we found ourselves with zero plans for most of our sunday.  while the girls worked on a fun thanksgiving cookie project, i finally got to make something for the old lady using a length of crushed velvet she'd picked out during a fabric shopping trip in downtown l.a.:

it's basically just a t-shirt dress, but it looks a little dressed up when done in a more luxurious fabric.  it fit her perfectly and she loved it, so i moved on to something for her sister.  with some of the leftover fabric from my snoopy hoodie, i managed to eke out this pair of leggings with an attached circle skirt.  i'd really wanted the whole skirt to be made out of the snoopy fabric, but since i didn't have enough i ended up doing the back half in solid black.

i've had the pattern for this kids' hoodie cut out for the last couple of weeks, and i was excited to finally be able to give it a shot.  it was a little challenging, and it took me a little longer than i'd expected to piece it all together, but in the end, the bean was one happy camper.

she got a second hooded top out of this whole sewing spree, and i decided to add the thumbhole cuffs in this one.  suffice it to say that she's a fan.

i wanted to try a different neckline option with that hoodie pattern i'd made for myself, and so i finally cut into some fabulously soft and squishy french terry fabric i'd been saving for just the right project.  i kept the kangaroo front pocket and thumbhole cuffs, but ditched the hood in favor of a cowl neck.  and like the bean's leggings, i found myself just a little short of fabric to get it all done.  i was so annoyed, but i decided to use a bit of charcoal gray french terry for the back of the cowl neck. it looks fine, and as long as i leave my hair down you can't even see it:

there's a couple more patterns i want to try, and a whole lot more fabric to go through.  at least i'm having fun, and the pieces are actually wearable!  and it's nice to be able to wear stuff with sleeves.  sewing for cold weather is super fun.  we'll just have to wait and see what else i come up with.