Madison completed her first science fair project about the pecking order of goldfish called "Who's the Boss?" I (I mean she) won best in her class and she came in third place for the school (there were 24 in total and 8 came in first and 8 came in second so you figure out the math.) Regardless - we are so proud of her! Great job Maddy!
Last weekend we went to the Strawberry Festival with the Lincks. I can't beleive it was our first time! We didn't get to see the mighty Tom Jones but we did arrive early enough to sample the fantastic strawberries. It was a perfect day and we managed to get out of there without winning a ginormous soft toy for a change.
Nana won a trophy again at the famous annual Chili Cook Off at the Villages. And for once Michael and Rich were on the same side for the Superbowl. Go Giants!
One of my major goals this year is to build exercise into my life. I also need to prepare for my flamenco dance performance in June!! I have signed up for a program at work where you get "miles" for completing health tasks like weighing in, increasing your steps on a pedometer, taking regular health assessments etc. 'Miles' equate to cash which can be spent with a bunch of retailers like Target and Circuit City. You can earn up to $400 for completing all of your goals! It's a very cool program that the company has adopted this year and over 100 of us at work are in it already. It funny seeing everyone taking the stairs to meetings and we have bought desk bikes so that we can cycle while working in our offices! At the moment I need to do 7,000 steps per day as my first goal. Mum and I went shopping and bought workout gear (accessorizing is the first step to any hobby - if I don't have the shoes, I'm not doing it) and started walking each night. We really enjoyed it and saw a huge barred owl one night from about 10 feet away which was amazing! I'm determined to keep it up now that my walking buddy has gone home :( so mum treated me to an ipod holder for my arm and I've downloaded a book to listen to if I need to walk alone. I'm 2 weeks in and apparently it takes 21 days to build a habit so I'm sticking at it! Today, we all went for a family hike at Trout Creek Park which was really amazing. During our walks we are taking pictures for a wildlife book that Maddie is making - we saw a hog today but didn't grab the camera in time! After the walk we went to a gorgeous tea house (Miracles) run by an English lady and had Earl Grey and High Tea. I think I could do this every Sunday!