i ran my butt off and then some...

i know, i know... i've been gone, gone, gone!  that big race we've been training for...well, it's finally OVER and i feel like i can get my life back a bit!  the mister and i did it!  15.5 miles and we lived to tell about it!  i have the greatest friends, cheeky green and unusual girl studios came on downtown to cheer us on... and drink beer in the party tent after the race.  cheeky green had her camera in hand and captured some pictures:

3947, that's me!  can you tell what i'm thinking?  if you guessed "where the heck is the potty?", you would be correct.  i tend to give TMI, so let's just say.... 15.5 miles can kinda shake the ___ outta ya!  but let's focus on my cute pink outfit!!

here's the mister and i after the race, let's just say he was smellin' a little RIPE, i'm sure i smelled lovely (cause i'm a girl)!

cheeky green, me, the mister, and unusual girl studios!  did i mention the MEDAL?? you know how i love my medals :)

during the race i kept thinking "i will NEVER, EVER do this again, this is the most horrible thing i've done to myself in years" after the race i started planning for next year!  you know why?  runners are insane, it's the only logical answer!  as a matter of fact, i'm already signed up for a half marathon in the fall, but after a 25k that will be a piece of cake,  it's ONLY 13.1 miles!

Oh wait, before i go i'd like to leave you with just 1 more lovely photo

the blister on my big toe!  

1 of 4 blisters (2 were UNDER my toenails...).  because i knew you needed more proof i was nuts! and for the record, that's wool fuzz, not hair on my toe!

i'm taking this week off of running, although  i am running with my darling saturday for her girls on the run 5k, but that should be an easy breezy run.  if you've never heard of girls on the run and have a 3rd-5th grader, look them up, it's an incredible group for girls!!

i'm tired of wearing this training bra...

you know..., because i've been training for this crazy 25k race (yeah, that's 15.5 miles)... i'm tired of training, i'm tired of running because i have to and i'm tired of waiting for this to start.  i'm ready to get this show on the ROAD!! i'm already dreading those pre-race nerves, the multiple bathroom breaks and the queasy tummy!  whenever i see that commercial for those new slimmer adult diapers, i wonder if i should grab one, i mean 15.5 miles of running and drinking water... can i really sweat it all out?  Lisa Rinna wears one on the red carpet (you've seen the commercial, right?), why shouldn't i wear one on the road?  I'm feeling a kindred spirit with the crazy astronaut woman, the one that put on a "depends" to drive cross country to put someone in a trunk without the hassle of screwing up her travel time with a potty break!  i won't be putting anyone in a trunk, but the hassle of screwing up MY time with a potty break, that i can relate to!

tomorrow morning is my last long run before the race; an easy 9.... i can't wait!

see my race route HERE!

it doesn't look so bad on paper does it?

let's take a peek of last years race....

after the race...AND the beer tent! 

 my foot after the wet, rainy 10k...lovely, i know! 6.1 miles in a nice drizzle plus going ankle deep in more than one puddle.  where's my toe tag?

for the record, it NO LONGER looks this way!!

have a great weekend, i'll be icing my knee and doing some pre-race freaking out!

Cruise 2012, i cruised in a double wide!

well, hello there!!  did ya miss me?  i was out on the high seas with my mister, it was time for our annual cruise, life is rough!  we sailed with royal caribbean this year, on their ship: Oasis of the Seas- the biggest ship IN THE WORLD!  this ship was big, really, really, REALLY big!!

 it had a merry-go-round, rock climbing walls, basketball courts, a mini golf course, a zip line, flow rider (on board surfing!), shopping, bars, dance clubs.... you name it, it had it!

oh yeah, and central park!

as we left for an excursion, one of our friends said "hey look, we're sailing on the double wide!"

but let's get onto the pictures you've come to know and expect from chinamommy...

 the weird little toilets on cruise ships

 the sign in the bathroom, i don't know why but it cracked me up!

 the night before we got off the boat, this is only the back end of one side of this double-wide!  wouldn't you love knowing this was your job every week?

 this is Kyle, the friendliest dunkin' donut man EVER!  he works at the airport in FL and he is SO good at his job!!  he chatted to every customer, he was super friendly, had a big smile on his face! how long has it been since you've seen someone like that working at an airport OR a dunkin' donut?

me, after our bumpy flight into Cincinnati...

have you ever been on a cruise?  do you like them?

hope you had a good week, we'll chat again soon!

That's what she said!

so last night the mister and i tune into BEST FRIENDS FOREVER, that new show on NBC. 

source

 ok, honestly, we didn't really "tune in", we more accurately stumbled in; we forget when shows are on.  i usually set the dvr because we're always like "oh, dang, did we miss MODERN FAMILY again?" and we're usually saying this on friday when everyone else knows it's on wednesday.  ok, back to my BEST FRIENDS FOREVER story - angela over at pickles on pizza blogged about this show the other day and mentioned they know Lennon (the redhead on the right and yes, that is her 1st name).  so, to make a short story longer... i just assumed she would be watching last night along with me.  whenever they said something funny, i'd txt it to her.  here's a little transcript:

me: 

• "U can't feed a man that much pulled pork and deny him his own bathroom!"
• "i also feel for my anus!"
• "i'm not goa eat loose meat from your back pocket!"

oh, we are just cracking up over this show because the good Lord knows i love me some bathroom humor!  

this is what i get back from angela:

• "Lol"

  not even an all caps LOL but i figure she is too into the show and doesn't have time to cap them all.

then i type :

• "Haha, we r loving this show!"

and she responds with:

• "Oh are you watching my friends show? We are tivo.

well, now the mister and i are in hysterics because i realize she has NO idea why i am feeling for my anus! so i type

• "OMG WE R LAUGHING SOOOOOOO HARD over the fact u hve no idea why i said wht i did!!!!!"

then i have to throw in another 

• "i feel for my anus"

 and angela types back

• "So confused.... I totally thought you ate those tiny sandwiches for dinner" 

(if you've been reading a while, you know those little "porkies" from logans can do a real # on me...enough said!).  i don't know if this is as funny to you, but it was killing us last night!  don't you just love a good belly laugh?  if you want, head over to angela's blog to get her take on the conversation!

pickles on pizza

so did you watch this show (BFF)? what did you think?

now i'm off to costco to get darlings school pictures printed, they are sooooo cute this time!  well, except for the raggity, trashy hand tattoo i sent her to school with! grrrr, i have to check that girl with a fine tooth comb before she heads out the door!  happy friday!!

Girls gone Wild

spring break edition!

yep, that's right, darling and i were on spring break last week and took a girl's only trip to the north.  the mister stayed home and worked so we can continue our faux lavish lifestyle!  we headed to one of our favorite spots (well, not really since our favorite spot is hawaii!!), our favorite spot in our home state!  we loaded the volvo and headed to traverse city, mi.,  an adorable town right on lake michigan.

see that? 216, 516 miles!!  and yes, it says "check engine" all the time.  i often open the hood and check it, yep, it's still there!  could someone please dust my car for me?

instead of killing you with a slide show of our entire trip, i'll entertain you with the highlights!

 we got to our hotel and darling "fish girl" tried out the pool...for about 4 hours!

there was a butt fan on the loose...

 we got to the cupcake shop too late (they only stay open till the last cupcake is sold), and this was around 2 in the afternoon!

 we got our butts in gear and made it before noon the next day! we tried 4 flavors of macarons (pronounced mac-a-roans, we got schooled!) & 2 cupcakes.  my teeth felt furry and i thought i was going to puke!

 i found out i look pretty darn sexy with black socks and purple shoes, or pretty darn creepy!

we had a gorgeous view of lake michigan from our room.  darling said "look the waters not even brown", SCORE!

hope you had a great week too!!

Paper clay, it's EASY (but not sleazy)

have you tried paper clay?  i did and i like it!!  

i've had some down in my stash for a long time, but haven't really done very much with it.  gee, i wonder why?  i've only started 794 projects the last 2 years-don't ask how many i've actually  finished, maybe 3?  i'm no expert on paper clay, but i did make some cute little pendants yesterday (and finished them today, 'cause i am a procrastinator extraordinaire!).  i'm just starting to realize all the FUN stuff you can do with this air drying clay.

i made an easy little tutorial to get you started too!

grab: some paper clay (duh!). i used "creative paperclay" it's an 8 oz block that i found at Michael's Arts and Crafts.  also a pasta maker (dedicated to crafts ONLY), some mini rubber stamps, mini cookie cutters, a small bowl of water, paint brush, silver paint and wax paper.  if you don't have a pasta maker for crafts, you can always make 2 equal stacks of playing cards that you can put the clay between and roll out.  stack as many as you need to get the thickness you'd like.  i put my pasta maker on the thickest setting which is kinda thick, but not really.  have i mentioned i got a D- in math every time i took it?

i suggest keeping your clay in a plastic baggie and then down inside a little tupperware thingie. 

 i rolled out my clay then made a light mark with my circle cutter before i stamped so i knew where i was going to put my design.  if you cut the circle 1st then push your stamp into it, you can distort your circle.

 push your stamp down in and gently rock it back and fourth.  if you don't like your 1st stamp, wad it up and re-flatten.

 once you get it cut out, take your finger and dip it in the water then run it around the edge of your pendant to get rid of those little edges (i know, this picture sucks!)

 go see my buddy's blog to see what this amazing girl is doing with paperclay

unusual girl studios

use a pokie thing (i'm technical too) to make a hole in the top.  be careful when you start to move that clay around, you might get some cracks, just use your finger in the water again to smooth it down.

i let mine dry overnight on the wax paper and them got out some silver acrylic paint.

 you can see below how i didn't smooth my clay out real well in the "K" pendant, i should have smoothed it out before i let it dry... easier to fix while it's still damp.  

once the paint dried, i put a little jump ring thru the hole and wrapped a swarovski crystal too, 'cause i'm fancy!

 these really are pretty quick and easy to do, something even your older kids could do (mom of 5, i'm thinking of YOUR girls:).  cute jewelry, gift tags, charms... if you try some, make sure and leave the link in the commets!

i gotta run, mad max 2: the road warrior is on!  happy thursday friends!

So, i go to Target the other day...

as i sit here, i wonder what story to share with you? maybe the story of when i stopped at the bathroom in target and almost lost my breakfast because someone has blow up from the "backside" in and on the toilet and on the floor and on the stall?  and then how i go to the front desk and tell the dude there that they need to send someone into the ladies room for a clean up (oh, that poor dear soul!!) and how he thinks he needs more info so i tell him in the nicest way possible what's going on in there.  he still has a very confused look on his face so i get down and dirty with him and now he looks at me like he's going to barf and i think "geesh fellow, i tried to go easy on you but you just wouldn't work with me!" that story is a bit gross, so, how about the story of how i decided to paint repaint my front doors, but then again, wouldn't a story like that be as bad as watching paint dry?

or a story of how i went to water the bulbs that are coming up around my porch

and i forgot i was filling my water can...

so pretty much the only things i can think to tell you about are poop, paint, and plants...

no one wants to hear about that, so i'm off to make a DIY tutorial about making paper clay pendants.

check back with me, will ya?

Vintage Owl figurines are baaack!!

i finally was able to get my hands on 2 more vintage owl figurines.  2 very ugly brown owls from the 70's that were just begging me to coat them in several layers of glossy paint!  so here, they are in all their repurposed glory

orange glossy, perfect for year round or halloweenie decor:

 glossy white, cottage style:

 they will SOON be listed in my etsy shop give grandma sugar

and for you "dog people" enjoy this lazy beast.  he is on my "list" as he just had his 2nd run in with a skunk in less than a year!  i have found the cure to the smell though:  pour 1 giant bottle of hydrogene peroxide on him, then coat him in baking soda and let him baste for 10-15 min.  i then gave him a bath with tea tree oil shampoo and he's back to his regular smelly doggy scent!   

i'm headed outside to enjoy this wonderful west michigan sun and heat.... IN MARCH!  hope it's sunny where you are.

how a GREEN lamp changed my life...

(Whewww, i wrote this post last week, but i could NOT get online, i felt like my right arm had been cut off!  so, without further ado, here is my old post where i make a short story long:)

how a green lamp changed my life, or at least my master bedroom!  let me just start by saying, i have paid my dues, so the fact that re-doing my master bedroom is high on my list of "stressers" is okay!  though i prefer to NOT go into the "ugly years", trust me, they were ugggggggleeeeeeeeeeeeeee! so now, i have a very wonderful life which means i have shallow things to stress about, which is great, but temporary, because in only 4 1/2 years, i'll have a teen age daughter and then we'll start the REAL stress...  

ok, back to my life changing lamp!  my bestest buddy, mental twin chris http://viewsbychris.blogspot.com/ just happens to be a real life interior designer.  poor her, she has me for a pal.  i paint, buy bedding and then see something that changes my whole plan.  i have a new idea faster than we can EVER finish a room, yes...yes, ADD decorating!  1st the master bedroom was light blue with black and white bedding then one day i was like "what the heck? this looks like something out of a jc penney catalog (no offense jcp!)" so i found those bird curtains, 'cause i'm all about sticking a bird on it!

well, these threw off my wall color, then my bedding and then me!

i had chris on the hunt for bedding and paint that would make these work but told her i was willing to sacrifice the curtains (and the wasted $$) if "we" found something else.  i prayed the mister wouldn't notice if they suddenly disappeared! i couldn't sleep at night, i spent hours scouring the internet for bedding, i read my benjamin moore paint color deck like it was the Bible... see?  shallow stress at it's best!

then 1 day i heard a voice from above, it was TARGET calling, so i hopped in my tank

and drove to the motherland.  there it was, the lamp that changed my world

so now.... i just have to change my wall color and my bedding, but the curtains can stay.  geesh, i guess i didn't save myself that much work (or $) after all, but... the curtains can stay!  didn't that just make your day?

tomorrow, i'll have some new items to show you, some new things for my vintage etsy shop

www.etsy.com/shop/givegrandmasugar

to say this shop looks a little sad, is an understatement... i'm sorry!!

have a great day, the sun is up and i'm headed out to put 8 miles on my new running shoes...don't be jealous!

the Lorax, the giant colon and the awesome shoes...

that would be my weekend, in a nutshell!

 (ooooo, and i finished my "twinkie chan" cupcake hat for my darling!  yes, she took her "snuggly" to the movie... the blankie.)

 yep, those ladies are in a giant inflatable colon, how much better could life possibly be?

below is actually how much better it can be!!!

let me tell you, these shoes.... i saw them in the macy's flyer and knew they just had to be mine!  we went to macy's, they had a 5 1/2 (which was a miracle in and of itself, even though i wear a 5, i buy up to a 6 and stuff them full of shoe pads.  kinda takes you back to jr. high when that "one girl" was always stuffing TP in her training bra... and no, that was not me because i didn't even wear a training bra in jr. high, i was still in an under shirt!!).  anyhoooooo, they have a 5-1/2, i have a gift card AND a coupon, so guess who pays $1.32 

for these shoes!!!?!?!?  yep, i'm pretty sure that the super coupon (not to be confused with the super colon) show is going to be calling!!  i'm off to prance around in my flannel PJ pants whilst wearing these gorgeous shoes!

have a great monday!