New Year's Resolution

Yes, I've gone insane again. With no real reason other than to prove that I can do it, I've decided to forego buying new clothes and shoes for the next 3 MONTHS! Well, there is a reason...Scott has lost his job and we have to cut spending.

Kidding...although that was close to reality not too long ago. To make a short story long, I found that as I was buying new clothes (insert "shoes" for "clothes" when applicable), and did not have closet space to hold them. So I had 3 options - 1) Tear down walls to make the closet bigger (it was tiny to begin with), 2) Move to a new house with a bigger closet, 3) Stop buying clothes. Some of you may think Option 4 is to throw away older clothes - I say to you..."you may stop thinking now".

Well, Scott laughed (or rather, scoffed) at Option 1 (very rude, really). Our economic state was enough to dismiss Option 2. So I was left with Option 3.

Yes, even though this may not help the economy, I feel it is my Schiegg duty to help out the household. So if you know what's good for you, you may want to stay away from me for the next 3 months...unless you're going to buy me some new clothes!

Party like it's 2009

2008 ended very loud...and tight - Stars hockey, then party and fireworks out at Victory Park, where I was squeezed in between Scott and crazy drunken strangers waiting for the countdown. The band was playing Prince's "1999". Growing up, I thought we would never reach 1999, now I'm thinking, IT'S DONE...someone write a song about year 2020.

We had fun with friends Jenny and Jeff. Since I haven't downloaded any pics, I'll "borrow" theirs off of their blog. As a matter of fact, if we do anything with the Smiths, I will just point to their site. It'll make it easier on all of us...trust me.

LAKE TAHOE

Our family trip this year - Christmas at Lake Tahoe! Skiing, snow, mountains, relaxation....eeerrr, hold it...I said, FAMILY trip, which means kids, which means no relaxation. Until you factor in the grandparents who were a big help but even they can't hold back a 2- and 3-year-old. Well, really, it's just Laina (between you and me, Wesley is an angel). Laina - when you're old enough to read this, I was just kidding!

The trip started off well enough, with plenty of time before departure, the kids were pulling their own luggage and staying busy. Laina's first plane ride, so of course we packed the Benadryl. Right before take-off, the pilot announced the hydraulic pump light just came on. Really, who needs a hydraulic pump anyway? Obviously the plane does so back we go to the gate. Three and a half hours later, after a change of plane and terminal (on the plus side, the kids got to ride the tram) and waiting for the catering cart to be loaded on the new plane, we took off to Reno and drove into Tahoe.

We met all of Scott's family in Tahoe, even the soon-to-be member Uncle Puch (you have to say this with a giggle), Heather's fiance. Puch's family has a very nice cabin that we stayed in. We had a great time in Tahoe with skiing, snowshoeing, and tubing. Kids loved the tubing and Wesley took his very first ski school class. He was the cutest thing. He enjoyed it so much, we threw him back in there a second day. Here's a video of him in ski school. He's the one NOT in pink.

Laina, while not old enough to ski, tried out the winter sport of sledding with Granny and Papa...or rather sleeping on one. See picture.

Santa stopped by on Christmas Eve and traumatized Laina. Wesley got over the hairy guy syndrome and helped Santa passed out presents.

I also need to mention that Laina is banned from planes for 1 full year. The 20 minute tantrum on the floor of the plane before, during and after landing made for an unpleasant experience, for us and for the people who gave the disapproving unsympathetic looks. Yeah, you try calming down a cranky & stubborn 2-year old with popped ears.

Here are the happier family photos:

RACE DAY

Against my better judgement, I decided to run a half marathon. Running a full marathon would be downright crazy...which is my next attempt. But I did the half and am happy to live to tell the tale.

It was Dec 14th, 2008...yeah, I'm a little late in telling this tale...and it was the Dallas White Rock. It was a great day, about 50 degrees I think (I have the memory of a goldfish) and quite windy. Luckily I was able to draft off the other runners (not sure what is really meant by this, but it sounds good) and finished with a time of 2 hours 1 minute 8 seconds...29 minutes faster than I had planned! OK, so I set my goal a little low, just so I can be impressed with myself.