I have been horrible about keeping up with my blog, reading the blogs of my friends, or doing anything blog related. I am vowing to improve on that.

I am truly ready for the snow and cold to end. This picture of Ethan and Ike is one of my favorites from last week’s snow storm. I really have a ton of favorites, but this one of a boy and his Border Collie makes me smile. The two of them were walking ahead of me, and every few seconds Ike would sneak a backward glance to ensure I was right there behind the two of them.

We didn’t get much snow yesterday, and I’m thankful the storm missed us. I’m not a big football fan, but I do feel obligated to make some football food today. Hot wings and Mexican layer dip. Both are things Adam likes, and he was so good yesterday when I needed an entire day to recover from an out of control Girls’ Night on Friday.

Funny how you can wake up to a little bit of sun and smile. It might be cold, but the sun’s out. Luckily, Misty and I got to take a really nice, long walk before the clouds completely covered the sky.

The weather turned on us. It was cold and damp, and we all felt like getting out of the house. Problem was, everything we had previously planned was based on the sun being out. Adam suggested the Marine Science Museum since we haven’t been in almost a year, and also because the new sections were now open. It was kind of odd that he came up with this idea, because earlier in the day Ethan had mentioned that he really wanted to learn more about the rocks you could find in the ocean. Not sure where that came from, but it was a perfect random thought to weave into our day. We spent almost three hours wandering the museum, and it ended up being a great day.

After all the wandering, we were hungry and ended the day with Mexican food at El Tapatia. I truly think they are one of the better Mexican spots in Virginia Beach. Amazing pork carnitas, great queso dip, super chunky guacamole and freshly made tortillas. So good that it didn’t matter that it was a dinner that totally blew the calories I walked off earlier in the day. It happens, right?

Tomorrow the weatherman has predicted cloudy, but in the 60′s. I won’t hold my breath for those warm temperatures. It will probably be rainy and 40. If it is, I already have an alternate plan. A day of football for Adam. Avatar or The Tooth Fairy for me and Ethan. Oh, and a nice long walk to burn those buttered popcorn calories that I cannot do without whenever I go to a movie.

I’ve got my umbrella ready. Just in case.

First off, I started the day thinking it was Thursday. That always throws me. Once I settled into the realization that it was Wednesday, I was ready to move forward with my typical Wednesday.

Drop Ethan off at school. Check!

Stopped by the grocery store on the way home. Not at all typical, but a good idea. I was in desperate need of trash bags, laundry detergent, dish soap, napkins and paper towels. All necessities. Again, a good decision.

Next, I came home with the intention of walking my usual walk on the beach with my usual walking partner. I wanted to do an early, quick five miles and then head over to my parents. My mom sounded a little down, my dad had been stuck in the house and yesterday wasn’t a stellar day for him. There are good days and there are bad days where my dad is concerned, and sometimes just having me over helps. It turned out that Janet wasn’t able to walk this morning, so I headed straight to my mom’s, and luckily she and I were able to get a few miles in, and then we took my dad out to lunch. It ended up being a good day. My dad looked good and he was happy to go out, and to see me.

After lunch, I headed home and did a few things in the house before I needed to pick Ethan and Kaiden up from running club. Picked them up, took them to Bravo Frozen Custard and then we went to Pier One because I wanted to buy a few reed diffusers at the 75% off price. They had the apple cinnamon scent on sale, and while it’s considered a Christmas scent, I just consider it a good winter scent. The kids then wanted to go to Pet Smart to look at the dogs playing in the hotel’s area. Rathern than do that today, I promised we’d do Pet Smart and Skinny Dip Frozen Yogurt after next week’s running club.

I wasn’t in the mood to cook, so I ran out and picked up KFC’s grilled chicken. We ate dinner, did homework, Ethan read a little, I goofed a little and now I need to head to bed because I need to have Ethan and Kaiden at school by 7:15 for jump rope club.

Good night.

Finally feeling like I’m alive again.  Not like I felt bad all day, it’s just that 4:00 a.m. is way too late for me.  I spent the day falling in and out of sleep, watching snippets of movies and 48 hours, and around 5:00 I finally felt awake and energized. 

The late night was totally worth it.  We had so much fun last night, and laughed a ton.  Of course, the night was not without a few classic WTF moments.  Right, Misty?

This is a photo from the last time Misty and I were out…my b’day in early November. It’s been way too long, so hopefully we can make up for that lost time tonight.

The Scanlons came over to hang out and play some Wii tonight. We had the most fun and the most laughs playing Just Dance. Misty got some video of Ethan and Kaiden. Hopefully, she’ll share a big of it on her blog.

Ethan and Kaiden enjoyed some much needed time together today. After a few weeks of not getting some one-on-one with each other, today they finally got to hang out for a bit.

They had KIDS Club this afternoon, and I picked them both up at 4, and took them out for donuts. They were obviously starved because they both wolfed down two big donuts each.

Afterward, we came home and they played some Wii and were both quite upset when Misty arrived to pick up Kaiden.

This morning, as I do almost every weekday morning, I headed to the beach to walk my six miles. Depsite the 20something temps and a brisk wind, I bundled up and headed out the door. I took my key off my keychain and tied it to my shoe and then put my bags into the bag seat, out of eyeshot to passing pedestrians.

The sun was shining quite brightly, and it ended up being a brilliantly perfect walk. Until I got to my car, untied my key and realized that I tied my house key and NOT the truck key to my shoe.

I quickly stopped my walking partner from leaving, grabbed her cell phone and called Adam, who had in his possession the only other key. We jumped on the interstate and head to P-town, met him at a Wendy’s, got the extra key and told him we were headed to lunch. Since my purse was in my car, he slipped me a hundred and we headed out of the lot.

On the ride back to Virginia Beach we discussed dining options. Initially we had decided on Orapax, a Greek spot, but quickly changed our mind when I realized that I was about Greeked out after the holidays. Second choice was Nawab, an Indian spot, and we also threw that idea out after we both decided we didn’t want anything THAT spicy today. Finally, we both came to the brilliant decision that sushi had been lacking in our diets for the past couple of weeks.

It was a splendid decision. The sushi was delcious. Spicy crab rolls, salmon rolls, volcano rolls, spider rolls…so good and exactly what I wanted today. The hot tea was an extra treat on this cold day, but tomorrow I MUST get back to veggies and fruits only for the week.

You know that’s about as cute as it gets.

I was going through some of the Christmas photos from previous years, and found this one.  I can’t believe that four years has gone by since this photo was taken. Time is flying past us way too quickly.

And I am still recovering…

If you want to see the pics, go here.