Running Skills, Treadmill Skills, Overheating Skills....

On Saturday while I was at Orange Theory, there was a man next to me on the treadmill that started the class wearing a hoodie.  Lots of people do that because they keep the studio very cold and pretty much everyone takes it off after about 5 minutes.  I was waiting to see how long he would last. Finally, he paused his treadmill and started messing with the jacket.  And then he did the most puzzling thing: he put the hood on and pulled it tight.

Ready for my 5k

(Which is weird, because he had not shaved off his hair the night before because he was really hot.) But then he kept on running and sprinting like he, in fact, did not just make a horrible mistake. Well, the joke was on him because he was gassed by the time we finished our 24 minute run and was almost dead by the time we got to the weight room. He was bending over and breathing heavy, and generally looking like all of his wildest dreams were not coming true.  I'm no fitness wizard, but seems to me that wearing a hood during an intense, sweaty workout is not the best idea. Next time, Pedro, lose the jacket.  Ventilation offers you his protection.

My, What Hilarious Eyes You Have

Usually we all go to bed at the exact same time around here, however, the other night I had to stay up a little while longer than everyone else and when I came in to say goodnight to Luke, I found this: 

STILL sleeping with his eyes open

And then I almost woke him up from laughing so hard.  And taking his picture 11 times. And then turning around and kicking a giant box of Legos.  DANG. IT.  Never underestimate my ability to find and trip over anything when it's dark or I am supposed to be very quiet.  Although, none of those things affected him one bit and I finally had to take the glasses off of him before I turned out his light. Apparently he got those in a Valentine's goodie bag that was passed out at school on Tuesday.  Let's just hope that no one ever puts a clown mask in those things.  

Look CucuFace, No Hands!

So, wait, can you also use this pouch for carrying around delicious snacks and beverages? Asking for a friend. 

The Sleep Fu Master Returns!

 Friday night Jacob and Luke spent a near sleepless night out at our church's father and son camp out. Saturday afternoon Luke's buddy, Ben, came over and played for almost 3 hours.  Saturday night our family went to an indoor soccer game at the Lakeland Center.  And later Saturday night at about 9:30pm we found this:

Sunday morning I asked Luke how this kind of thing happens.  He said, "I remember being bored and looking at something on the ground and then I was in my bed."  All I can say is unless this kid sleeps a solid 9 hours a night as he gets older, he is never getting a driver's license.

A Luke Quickie

Today my parents came over for dinner and afterwards we played a game of Apples to Apples. The last time the kids and I played that game, some friends introduced us to the tradition that any adjective cards you have at the end of the game are adjectives that describe you.  So, at the end of today's game with my folks we had a good laugh finding out everyone's true colors.


I was "short, slimy, dangerous, frightening, and scary"  (WAY off, Apples to Apples! How dare you.)

My dad was "friendly and sweet"  (you know that's right!)

Jacob was "the opposite of surprising" (no comment)

Cindy was "wonderful, famous and best"  (maybe not famous...yet!)

My mom was "cool" (bullseye!)

And finally when we all turned to Luke to ask what he was, he replied, "tiny and useful."  Heck yes you are!  Not sure how it got everyone else so right and got me so wrong...

Guess What!

Rabbit butt

Second Time Around

Wednesday night was our annual Cub Scout Pinewood Derby.  Last year Luke took 1st place overall, so I know he was feeling the pressure to compete for another win this time around.  Everything was going just fine until the day before when we weighed his car.  Sadly, it was over the weight limit by .4 ounces.  Without a lot of good options on how to trim it down, drastic measures were taken and the car that Luke had painstakingly sanded, stained, and then burned the logo from The Flash into with a soldering iron, was now Swiss cheese.  Luke shed a tear or two, but this is Derby.  Make weight or don't race.  So he re-sanded, re-stained and re-burned the designs into his car like a champ.  (Like a Luke!)  I had no idea what to expect going into the race, but two happy boys came out second place winners on the other side.  Way to go, guys!  Now I have to go to districts.  **Sigh......

                      



























And now, for your reading pleasure....


TOP TEN NAMES FOR LUKE'S PINEWOOD DERBY CAR

10. Taylor Swiss
9. (Here he comes, here comes) Cheeseracer
8. The Shredder
7. Vroom vroom de fromage
6. Holey Moley
5. Mousebait, Oooh ha ha!
4. Alexander the Grate
3. Track 'n Cheese

2. Sargento's Revenge

1. Reuben

World's Okayest Runner

My knee has finally healed to the point where I am back to my old running self! Which means I run slowly a few times a week in the early morning hours and sign up for the occasional 5k without really training for it.  Just before Christmas I was able to do the Jingle Bell Jog 5k with a group of church friends.  I ended up taking 2nd place in my age group and turning in one of my faster times.

Still not enough to beat 9 year old Jackson Brown.
I'll get you, Gadget!

And two weeks ago I ran the McKeel Legacy Scholarship 5K.  It was FUH-REEZING cold. Well, Florida cold, so like 50 degrees with crazy Lake Hollingsworth wind and I almost died. But look at me!  I'm with "co-workers"!  Socializing!  Away from the school!

Some of my South McKeel family
Yes, I beat all of them :)

Jacob's soccer team came out to volunteer at the race. They were at the finish line cheering everyone on and as I came across I screamed, "GIRL'S SOCCER!!!!!!!!" and they all looked super confused at the weirdo they didn't know giving them a shout out.  Man, I really gotta go to more games next year.

Jacob, thanks for marrying me even though I have hair
 that sometimes looks like this

Did I Ever Show You This?

Luke has really gotten into acrylic painting as of the last few months.  He has been watching oodles of episodes of Bob Ross' The Joy of Painting and about 400,000 videos of paintings on YouTube. Let me take you on a tour of the Sweeney gallery... 

 Here is the finished painting he gave my mom for Christmas:

(I can't lie- this turned out about a thousand times better than I thought.  (Sorry, Luke!)  He even painted a second version of this for a teacher at school and the whole front office lost their minds.  It was kinda fun.


A mountain scene...

It's so Bob Rossy, no?

He actually sold this painting of Ginger at our garage sale last week for $3.  He's a working artist! 

And here is this one:

I have no idea what this is

Luke used a video and whipped this one up today, in fact:

It's definitely my favorite.  Of all time. Picking out the frame right now... :)

Good Heavens, Are You Sill Trying To Blog?

Yeah, yeah.  It's been two months.  You thought I was dead.  Well, I hate to disappoint you but I'm still alive.  I obviously haven't had a ton of time to blog since I started working full time and I was pretty much going to give it up entirely.  Until Jacob said my priorities "weren't straight" and my brother-in-law Sean decided to buy the domain Sweeneyville.com (directing all traffic here), which has really make me feel like a slacker.  So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm giving this another go. I need both of my readers to pray for me.


And now I will post all 407 pictures on my phone that I took since I last blogged, showcasing each individual one and telling you everything that's happened in the past 60 days of total blogging darkness:  (please read these in the voice of Ben Stein)


1. Here is a can of crescent rolls I ate on January 10th:

2. Here is a hideous bruise I got from a plasma donation mishap:  

3.  Here is the day I went to Wawa during school:

Pay no attention to the sweater or headband

Wow, these pictures are already way too exciting for anyone to handle all at once, so I am going to have to ease us all back into this over the next few weeks.  In the meantime, I will let you be the judge of whether or not my blogging hiatus has been justified...

TOP TEN THINGS I'VE BEEN DOING INSTEAD OF BLOGGING

10. Completing a 3-day mission trip to RaceTrac gas station 

9. 7 pushups

8. Developing my own version of the Krabby Patty made entirely of Vienna sausage

7. Quitting my job as a part time wolverine tickler

6. Watching ZERO Psych reruns because Netflix is run by communists who most certainly are not fans of delicious flavor, but rather fans of ultimate suffering. 

5. Putting the finishing touches on my Grumpy Cat musical (Grumpty Dumpty)

4. Learning the lyrics to Kokomo in American Sign Language

3. Digging a secret tunnel connecting my garage to the baptismal font at the church

2. Cutting Jacob's hair approximately every 114 seconds

1. Knitting tiny cricket pants

You feel bad for judging me now, don't you?