Penny

The only thing Penny loves more than curling up on a pile of clothes is laying all over Nate's laptop case.

Happy Valentines Day

It snowed last night so Nate cleaned off my car. What a sweetie : )

Birthday Celebration

My grandpa turns 75 this month so we surprised him by meeting up for lunch in Champaign yesterday. We also celebrated Mimi's birthday and their 54th wedding anniversary.

The birthday boy and girl

Uncle Dean and Aunt Martha were crucial in getting Mimi and Grandpa to Champaign

Nate and my dad hanging out at the end of the table

Sisters

All four of us

Love your heart

February is American Heart Month and tomorrow is Go Red for Women. I listened online yesterday to the 2nd Annual State of Women's Heart Health and I learned some scary statistics.

• Every 90 seconds in United States a woman suffers a heart attack
• Every minute a woman dies of cardiovascular disease in the US
• Experts estimate that 1 out of 2 American women will die of heart disease or stroke

But so many cases of heart disease are preventable! So remember stay away from salt, extra fat, and refined sugars. Choose instead lean meats, whole grains, and lots of fresh or frozen fruits and vegetables. Try to exercise for at least 30 minutes 3-5 days per week. And know your numbers!

• Blood pressure < 120/80
• LDL (bad) cholesterol < 100; HDL (good) cholesterol > 40 (for men) > 50 (for women); Triglycerides <150
• Fasting blood glucose between 80-100
• Body Mass Index <25

Don't forget to wear red tomorrow and show your support for the fight against heart disease!

Grass

Penny loves her Christmas present from Flurry (and Ben and Amanda). Apparently grass is good for cats even though they can't digest it. We googled it and the grass has fiber and nutrients that are extracted and then she throws up the grass when she's done.

Happy not colonoscopy day!

I was supposed to get a colonoscopy today, but after becoming frustrated with my insurance and my doctor's office, I cancelled. So instead, I got to do a bunch of other fun stuff:

1. Craft night yesterday with girls from small group.

2. Not having to work since I already had the day off.

3. Getting my run in before the snow started.

4. Lunch out with my sister for sushi.

5. Baking a pie for when Nate gets home.

Mission Possible: Date Night

Friday night = date night. Nate and I went out to dinner to Puccini's and shared a veg-head pizza and then saw the new Mission Impossible movie. Which, despite our expectations, actually was a pretty good movie.

And this caused us to reflect on the previous 3 Mission Impossible movies. #1 is definitely the best. I watched it a lot as a kid. #2 is probably the worst. I can say this because although I never saw #3 in it's entirety, I did see the second movie three times in the theater (don't ask). So, as Nate put it, if you want to see a movie that doesn't make you think too hard, go see Ghost Protocol.