♫♫♫ These are a Few of my FAVORITE Things ♫♫♫

Over the past several months I have found some NEW Loves; must have items and I thought I'd share them so here goes.....

#1

I was searching for a spray n wash type of pre-treatment that I can use on my laundry that is also not too expensive. Since my kids somehow manage to get their WHOLE shirt dirty I could be going through bottles of spray n wash like crazy. So I searching the Internet in hopes of a good home made solution. And wa-la! I found one. It is really pretty simple and does great for food stains.  Basically you take a spray bottle and fill it with HOT tap water and then add some dish soap. (I've been using Gain because that's what I had and I think any brand would work.) It has been great, it gets all those yucky greasy food stains out. And if the stain is really bad just let it sit for a day or so. No messy build-up or residue. It is AWESOME and totally cheap!!!! And I have not had any problems with it fading clothes or damaging the color where it has been sprayed or left on for days.

On to my 2nd new love....

I combine my NEW pre-treating stain remover with this wonderful laundry soap and have been getting our clothes wonderfully clean!!!!

This stuff is AMAZING!!!! It really does help get stains out of my kids clothes. 

And now for my 3rd new LOVE....

Fabric Softener! We have REALLY Hard water here and this stuff has been FABULOUS!!! I don't know why it took me so long to break down and buy this stuff. It makes EVERYTHING feel so much better. My clothes feel as smooth as butter. I love it!  All I can say is WOW!!!!

Could you tell I had some issues with LAUNDRY. One of my least favorite chores but it never seems to be done or go away! (Hmm living in a nudest colony sounds pretty good right about now, NO Laundry...........

yeah right! Never would that be an option!!! Not for this chicka!)

#4  I found my NEW all time FAVORITE cleaning tool....

   

This is the Eureka 313A Enviro Hard-Surface Floor Steamer. It's FABULOUS!!!! I no longer have to mop with a dirty mop and bucket that just keeps rubbing the dirt around the floor or scrub the nasty sticky spots on my hands and knees. This amazing little machine does it all. It makes my floors sparkle and best of all it uses NO chemicals so once again cheap!!!! And no funny cleanser smell when you are done!

#5 This one is not a house hold item but it was my lifesaver in preparing for my race and I mentioned it in my previous post. 

KT Tape

I Love love love this stuff!!!!!  (Thanks Kenna for introducing me to it!)

Half Marathon....Completed!!!!

On Saturday June 4th I ran my first HALF MARATHON!!!! 
 It was so AWESOME!!!!!

I have been training with my friend Sarah for a few months now and could not believe that the day had finally arrived for the BIG RACE!!!

 I irritated my IT band a few months back and was worried that I would have to do the 5K instead of the half. When I went to see the Orthopedic specialist about my knee and told him I was training he didn't give me a ton of encouragement. He said "Well I'm not going to tell you that you will be able to run the race but I can't tell you that you won't be able to do it either." After I did as the Doctor ordered (rest, ice, Motrin) Sarah and I started doing interval training on our long runs instead of running straight through. It helped a ton. Especially since most of our runs consisted of pushing our kids in jogging strollers. (Yup that is us; the crazy mom's not only running 5-10 miles but pushing 1-2 kids in a stroller.) Also my sister-n-law Kenna recommended I used KT Tape for my knee. This is a lifesaver. I don't know how this stuff works but it is AMAZING! If you have an injury try it, you will LOVE IT!

My sister-n-law Kenna who is also a runner has been my inspiration for running. She did her first Full Marathon several years ago with no athletic background. I decided 4 years ago that if she could be a runner than so could I. And that is where it all started. Now I LOVE IT!!!! It is my outlet and my love. Plus it allows me to eat cake and not feel too guilty.

Ok, so back to race day!!!!!

The race started at 7:30 in the morning near Lytle Creek Campground. Sarah and Shonda picked me up around 5:30 AM and we headed to Fontana for the race. We had to be bused up to the starting line and then wait for the race to start. It was FREEZING at the start line.We waited for about 30 minutes for the race to start. Luckily I brought a sweater I could ditch once we started and Sarah had a blanket.
We decided since the majority of the course is down hill that we would try to run it with out the intervals for as long as we could. And add the walk breaks if we needed to. Our goal was to complete it in under 2 hours. (Who runs for two hours, doesn't that sound so totally crazy!) I was really nervous about running without the intervals because we had not done any really long runs without them and I was worried my knee would start bothering me again. But I really wanted to reach our goal.
The race was AMAZING!
Really cold for the first few miles but absolutely perfect. The weather never got too hot and I never got too tired our felt like I had to take a break. We ran the entire 13.1 miles and even sprinted to the finish line. It felt so GOOD!!! And it was so Great to see John and the kids cheering me on as I ran into the Finish. John's sister Jennie and Mom where also there. That was a great surprise, I did not know they would be there too! It was a good feeling to see them all.

Sarah and I sprinting to the finish line

My official time was 1:56:14.8. With a pace of 8:51.
I came in 29th for my age group.
I will definitely do this race again. I hope to one day run a Full Marathon also.
Anyone want to run it with me???

(Camera phone picture, excuse the quality. I forgot to have John bring my camera.)