Dingos bustling through December - Our running* thread - Page 10

[sparkletruck]

La4 - "I dont do drama". I love that. I love that you were ready to stand your ground and lose your job with a shrug. And Im glad, and not surprised, that he is acting like nothing happened. Its the force of your drama-less countenance

JG - how fun! We are doing that today, although its called "DS's birthday party" (13 kids, movie, pizza...), and I feel much less composed about it than you sound! Glad it went off so well.

Real - I wasnt thinking weaning! I was under the [wrong] impression that she was nursing a LOT as a norm, and I was just thinking of trying to change that. It sounds to me like you have a very good grasp of all the threads in your life and are just trying to weave them together without much help..

Gaye - You look so beautiful! We are so proud!!

NRR; 'cause I havent done anything RR since Sept. people!! Ok, today is DS's birthday: 7. Bowling, then back to our house for pizza, cake, and movie, with 13 kids. One will sleep-over (a friend of DD1). I'm putting together a 7-layer strawberry cake w/ chocolate frosting right now. The layers are cooling, the chocolate is melting. I feel like this pretty much all the time lately. Cant wait until Jan. 23: post application, post holidays, post DS birthday, DD2 birthday (Jan. 3rd), and Climbing Divisionals. Meanwhile, trying to knit a lace scarf for DD1 for Christmas, in hiding (i.e. she doesnt know) which I just started 2 days ago due to everything else going on. Um, yeah, PTA minutes (5 pages!) were a week late this month. Blork

[sparkletruck]

OMG

And the continues. Whose idea was it to have 13 kids in my 1100sq. ft. house?! In all seriousness I think the party went well, but then again I drank to get through it so who knows (kidding).

Now to try to get this done in a week only at night

[1jooj]

 indeed. I don't handle kid parties well at all. 

Congrats, Gaye! Here's to interviews!

La, go you! Of course I want to hear all the details, in part because I imagine your telling would be insightful and delicious. But I'm glad it's going to be over fast.

sparkle, a good friend of mine is in Santa Fe this weekend. I am really, really jealous of her right now.

Yesterday ended up being quite an active day. AM beach walk/run followed by a quiet midday and then walk to the big park where we rented one of those stupid electric boats and let the kids motor in circles through a flock of gulls. Weee. But it was a nice day. Dd is still sleeping and it's going on 9AM. We'll walk down to the beach later, when she's up, and I guess I can do back-and-forth laps on the stretch right close to home. Grump grump grump...

And dh got a hankering for clam chowder. I found clams, but it's really hard to justify paying about $5 a pound for celery.  And you can only buy it in big packages. For a soup I really have no business eating. (I'm the only one who prefers the red kind.)

[Shantimama]

Jo - I am n my mid 40's and the grey is very visible! I kind of like it. My hair is still pretty long and the only challenge is when I want to put it up - The hair near my scalp is mostly silver and  the ends are still dark brown. I don't want to cut it short but I wish it would hurry up and get to the point where it is all the same colour again, whatever colour that might be!

real - I am sorry you had to deal with that nonsense on a little one's birthday. That just isn't fair.

Having dh troubles here too. Came home to a messy house full of miserable kids, with dh in his (our) room because he was "done." I am so frustrated. I expect teens to have teen-tantrums from time to time but I also expect parents to act like parents when they happen, just like we did when they were 3 year olds. That is how big and little kids learn how to cope with their feelings so they don't need to have tantrums any more. I didn't plan and prepare the meals for my family before I left for 48 hours and it sounds like they ate nothing but canned soup and sandwiches while I was gone and dh went out and bought a sandwich for himself for supper tonight because "there was nothing for him to eat." A freezer with several containers of leftovers, pasta in the cupboard (is it really such an imposition to have to go buy a jar of pasta sauce? Even if you prefer to have homemade prepared for you?), plenty of things that could have been thawed last night or even early this morning - but that would involve cooking and he doesn't do that. He was angry that ds didn't thaw some chicken and make it for supper. Who is the responsible adult here? I hate this passive aggressive stuff that goes on when I am not here. And I worry. Teens yell back. They don't hold back their opinions and judgements. I don't like what is happening between dh and our kids and I don't know what to do. He doesn't want me to "interfere" but so much of what I see and hear is not okay in my books 

I am working hard at using my asthma meds properly so I can run again. I think I am going to need the stress relief to figure all of this out.

[Motivated Mama]

sparkle - congrats on the GRE scores. What are you applying for? Sorry about the bad news for your SIL. How's the scarf coming along?

real - Definitely sounds like your husband is depressed. Is he getting therapy? He obviously needs to figure out other ways of coping than blowing up in front of his family and on his daughter's birthday no less. I speak from a BTDT viewpoint having suffered from major depression between DD2 and my most recent pregnancy.

Gaye - Congratulations on graduating! Cute picture! I hope that you get a position right off!

Jo - I think I'm going to totally rock the gray hair as well. 30 is just around the bend for me, but I started noticing gray at 18! I contribute it to my maturity.

JG - Glad the kid party went well and good to know they can. Keep posting good things like that because as a mother of 4, I can only imagine how many kid parties we're gonna have in the future. My oldest is 5 so they should be starting very soon...

La4 - Not sure what the whole letter was about, but way to stick up for yourself! Nice that your manager is just choosing to ignore the whole situation

nic - I've been thinking about the IBCLC thing you posted too. I dabbled in the doula world, both birth and postpartum, and am a CLC. I agree with everyone else though that an IBCLC without being an RN would be tough. Have you considered an accelerated BSN program. We have one here in our state that takes you from an already achieved B.S. (or B.A.) to a BSN in 9 months. Then you would have a TON of opportunities. IBCLC, CNM, L&D, etc. Just a thought. As far as the other opportunities you mentioned, I would just do them all.

RR - I completed the first week of C25K and plan to start week 2 tomorrow. Still on my M-W-F schedule. Only 3w3d postpartum and feeling pretty good. I think the holiday bustling and eating have me down (exhausted) physically more than the jogging.

NRR - I'm anxious this week for a sweat test we have to have done on Katherine (Tue morning) to find out if she has cystic fibrosis. The metabolic screen detected one mutated gene and there is a 3% chance that she has a second mutation not detected by the test and would then have the disease. Otherwise, she is just a carrier as is either DH or I.

[Nickarolaberry]

More personals later, mamas.

I just did a 10 mile run in the brutal, freezing cold. Seriously I am not prepared for this. It was 19* with a 6* wind chill factor. The wind was killer. I need one of those ninja hats that covers everything but the circle of your eyes basically. What are those called? I will look ridiculous but I. Don't. Care. The snot was freezing on my face, and I felt like a orange-fleece covered popsicle running down the street.

There may not be enough hot drinks in the world to keep me warm today. On the up side, I got one of those refillable k-cups for my Keurig and now feel significantly less guilty about the waste from that machine (not to mention the expense of the little cups). 

Family reunion day...well, mini-reunion. We are going out to the Boston area to dh's cousin's house, to hang with his family, dh's two cousins whom he hasn't seen in nearly 30 years because their dad (dh's uncle) passed away very young and their mom broke off contact. Should be interesting...and I hope fun. I did the food ordering (can you say yummy kosher DELI FOOD?!). 

Shanti, Lala, Real,   sending Dingo love your way. MM, you're probably right but I don't see myself doing the nursing school thing...too squeamish. Will have to consider. Gaye, you look beautiful, congratulations! Sparkle,  on the kids' party in the house thing. I think that despite my aversion to hoopla kids parties, if I can afford it I'm giving someone else the privilege of making my kids' birthday parties from now on (like the gymnastics place or something).   It's very stressful for me. 

Interesting job opportunity just crossed my path, but it involves working in an office setting and actually getting along with people. Not sure if that's a good way to go for me. Hmm.

[Mel38]

Just popping in to say hello and good-bye for the holidays. We are just sitting here on packed bags, waiting for our neighbor who will be dropping us at the airport.

Have a great holiday, everyone, and see you in 2012!

[tjsmama]

Safe travels, Mel38!

MM~I just completed an 18 month accelerated BSN program and there is NO WAY IN HELL that I would EVER consider a 9 month program. I don't even know how that's possible! A rival local school has a 12 month program, and even that boggles my mind. If you're young, single, and otherwise have zero life, sure, but otherwise...no. Especially not with kids! Just my .02!

I am ever-so-slightly freaking out about the interviews. My portfolios are finished, my suit is ironed, I've thought about my answers to every interview question I can think of or someone has told me, and I've written down questions to ask the nurse managers. Yet, I still feel like I'm not prepared! I want this SOOOO bad.

Also, slightly freaked at the thought that my house is a disaster, I haven't even started packing, and I have a flight out tomorrow night. Oh well, interview first. And if the house is a mess for the nanny (who is dogsitting), so be it!

rr~Still feeling a major lack of love for the running, but I hit the Y for spin class this morning. Haven't been to the Sunday morning class for awhile and I had forgotten how tough the instructor is...an hour of intervals, not including warm-up and cool-down. Ouch!

[Realrellim]

bec--I thought for sure that you were going to tell me to order another stuffed dog on Ebay! Have tried the prayer. Maybe the lost first page of my knitting pattern will show up too. I'm convinced the stuffed dog ran off with it.

JayGee--that sounds like a very fun party.

Mel38--eh, it's all forward motion, right? I need to do some upper arm strength stuff too in January. Safe travels!

tjsmama--nice picture, and so glad for you that it's all behind you now. Good luck with the interviews!

La4--so sorry about the work drama. I hate that kind of stuff too.

sparkle--I hear you, completely. It's something I'm struggling with too because I can usually substitute reading a book to her for nursing when she's asking that often, but the problem is that I need to be doing something else with that time (like laundry). And sometimes I'm feeling so overwhelmed by it all that I'm like "whatever, at least I can sit and read." Either way, I haven't found the happy medium. Good luck with the scarf!

1jooj-- I too would not be pleased at $5/pound for celery. Though clam chowder sounds really good right now.... Have a nice run on the beach today.

Shanti--that sounds miserable and not what you need on top of the asthma trouble. Ugh.

MM--sending that the test shows her to just be a carrier.

Nic-- for your run in that weather.

RR: Hit the 1000-mile mark for the year with yesterday's 7-miler. R was going to a birthday at a martial arts place conveniently located a quarter-mile away from the Clear Creek Trail. I called dibs on taking her to the party and ran from the parking lot. She wasn't thrilled about the fact that I wasn't staying, so I pushed through the 7 nice and fast. It was gorgeous out there--sunny and warming up from around 35 to around 42 or so when I was out. Beautiful. I couldn't have picked a better day to hit 1000, or to just blow out all the stresses of life.

NRR: Had hoped to run 4 miles to complete 20 for the week, but oh well. There was the Christmas pageant this morning, then my family came over for a big lunch and R opened her birthday gifts and then we went to Zoo Lights in the evening. In the spirit of true Christmas cards, I'll note that narrative leaves out the fact that my 7yo behaved so badly up until Zoo Lights that she spent all but the actual party in her room, and the fact that I forgot the two free Zoo Lights tickets we'd gotten at home. I think we had a nice time anyhow. R was at least back to normal; DH and I were not on good terms but that's the usual fallout from a day where R is completely out of control.

[sparkletruck]

Freak out last night. Dh took the kids skiing in the afternoon (left home at 11a). The ski area is at most 45 minutes away, and closes at 4, and he knew he better get his arse straight home as I was [as ever] hanging out with dd2 so the other two can do their sporting adventures with Dad. He easily should have been home by 5. Long story short, he was not home at 7:30 and his cell was not taking calls (straight to voice mail). The road to the ski area is two lanes and winding. I was sh***ing my pants, crying, about to start calling emergency depts., police, etc,

Needless to say, we didnt speak for a few hours - after he got back at nearly 8 - while I cooled off. Not his fault; tow-truck blocked the road for 2 hours while it cleared a crash, and his cell died, but hello, could you please stop at a gas station, even if you are 20 minutes from home?

All's well that Ends well...

Good luck Gaye!!

[JayGee]

sparkle ~ have you recovered from the party?! 

Mel ~ have a great trip!

Real ~ great job on the 1000 miles this year!  That trail sounds lovely.

Gaye ~ thinking of you this morning as you interview for the nursing positions!  A job offer would be quite the Christmas gift, eh?!  Have a safe trip.

Nic ~ what kind of job offer?  Office?  Getting along with people?  Had better be a sweet position to put up with that $hit !

MM ~ praying your DD does not have CF

Shanti ~ that situation sounds so frustrating

jooj ~ clam chowder ! YUM!

RR ~ I walked for about 30 minutes yesterday, more to just get out of the house by myself for a little than for any exercise benefit.

NRR ~ DH is in the middle of making his "goal list" for 2012.  Every year he sets very specific goals in different categories of life (work, family, hobby, spiritual, exercise, house, etc.)  Sounds great, right?  The level of OCD he exhibits with this is ridiculous.  I just can't be that detail oriented.  For example, under his "exercise" heading he's got cardio 3x a week, lift 30 sets or more 4x a week.  He's got a chart where he logs all of his cardio minutes and his weight lifting sets.  My "exercise" header just says, "exercise" .  He's a "tree" person, and I'm much more of a "forest".  I'd love to be that organized, but it's just not in my personality.  It drives him bonkers!  So last night we went round and round about what my "goals" were for 2012.  I need to think of something more specific than "have fun" apparently!

Speaking of DH, he's having a knee scope on Thursday, so I get to spend the afternoon at the hospital waiting for him to come out of the anesthesia so I can take him home.  Really, three days before Christmas? Not like I don't have anything else to do!

[LaLaLaLa]

Sparkle--I'm glad you survived the party!  That's a lot of kids in the house!

Shanti--My DH pulls the same sort of nonsense with food.  I work two nights a week.  One of those nights he takes the kids out for junky food.  The other night, he prefers I leave something for them to eat, because "it's so hard to try to cook something with the kids underfoot."  A pause as I wait for him to think through.  Nothing.  Until I say "so you think it's easier for ME to make something with the kids underfoot?"  DH: "Oh, yeah, I guess that would be the same thing."  I often leave ingredients and he figures it out.  It's still a bit frustrating, but I don't think our kids need McDonald's twice a week so I do it.

Gaye--Can't wait to hear about the interviews!  I'm sure they loved you!

MM--I hope the sweat test has reassuring results.  I'll be thinking of you tomorrow.

Real--A thousand miles?!  Go, go, go!  Nice job.  I'm sorry things are rocky at home.  I hope they smooth out after the holidays.

Originally Posted by 1jooj 

La, go you! Of course I want to hear all the details,

Feel free to skip; this is me venting about my work and has nothing to do with running.  
 

It's ridiculous, really.  I work at a chain restaurant.  I've worked there since I was a tiny bit pregnant with DD, eight years ago.  It's a nice no-pressure part-time gig and I've generally been happy waiting tables there.  Over the years I have sometimes been asked if I wanted to be a trainer, which is supposed to be a great honor.  In truth, it's a huge pain.  I don't want to train any new people how to wait tables.  I don't want to have to remember the right way to do things that I do automatically.  And since I don't like people, I especially don't want to commit myself to several multi-hour shifts of making excruciating small talk with some new guy who follows me around every moment.  I'm a bad team player.  

Last week when I arrived, my two lower-level managers asked me to train some guy.  They asked me in such a way that made me think they already knew I would say no.  Something along the lines of "heyyy.... so, how would you feel, maybe, about possibly training?"  I had no idea that I was the fourth person they'd asked, and they gave no indication that it was an urgent situation.  I said no, that I get all flustered when someone is following me around and asking me questions, and I never train.  And I went on with my night.

The next day I got the nasty email from my big boss--the guy whose name is on the door of the restaurant--who wasn't there for this interaction at all.  Apparently the two managers had left some sort of petulant message naming the four of us who had declined the marvelous opportunity to train.  We are prima donnas and headaches who deserve to have our schedule cut, since the restaurant has done SO MUCH for us and we need to give back.    I guess my restaurant is actually a philanthropic organization, not a business that gives me the hours I want because I'm reliable and dedicated.

Cue nasty response from me, including a scathing attack on my two bozo managers who asked a question but then cried when they didn't get the answer they wanted.  But pretended that it didn't matter until later when they decided to tattletale to their boss.  I said this much more eloquently, but I think my derision came through pretty clearly.  I was happy to have the opportunity to put my master's degree in English to work.  The big boss is the one who ignored me on Friday.  We'll see how the bozo managers act on Wednesday, my second punishment shift.  I actually think they might be a bit horrified at how far our hothead boss took it.  Actions have consequences, guys.  Everyone else in the restaurant knows what happened, of course, because servers and bartenders live on gossip, and everyone else thinks you're huge jerks, too.  It's all anyone wanted to talk about on Friday night.

ANYWAY.... it was too cold to run this morning (twenty degrees when I put the kids on the bus) so I came home and made caramel that I hope will turn out well.  Now it's about 35 degrees, so I think I will run after all, then plan out the other treats I need to make.  Two ballet teachers, three bus drivers, piano teacher, school folks.....  I've got lots of baking to do.  Eek.  

Nic--Our piano teacher is Jewish, although I don't know how observant.  She doesn't cover her hair and when I met her husband he wasn't wearing a yarmulke so I don't think they are Orthodox, but do you know if there's any reason she wouldn't be able to eat caramels?  Or chocolate cookies?  Or fudge?  I would like to give her something when we see her on Wednesday, but don't want to give her something she won't be able to eat.  Thanks; I appreciate the help.

Okay; I'd better get moving or I'll find an excuse to skip altogether. 

[Geofizz]

Interesting Lala, I'd think in most businesses being put in the position of a trainer indicates a higher level of responsibility often marked with a higher rate of pay... Lemmie guess, you don't get paid extra for these hours where you are doing more than your regular job?

A smattering of running is happening here and there while my RP drowns in end-of-year work (her busy season) and I wade through the continued busy nights out.  4 more days.  I only have to be polite and look like I'm having fun for one of them.S

Sparkle, anytime DH is late I start having horrific thoughts as well.  DH often uses the logic that stopping to call would just make him later so he doesn't bother.  Worse, if he's within a few minutes of home and he sees it's me calling him, he doesn't bother to answer it. 

OK, coffee, then try to concentrate at work...

[kerc]

Originally Posted by Geofizz 

Sparkle, anytime DH is late I start having horrific thoughts as well.  DH often uses the logic that stopping to call would just make him later so he doesn't bother.  Worse, if he's within a few minutes of home and he sees it's me calling him, he doesn't bother to answer it. 

My old phone used to have a feature when I ignored the ring to send a txt and I could choose to send "everything ok, driving." as autotext (I typed it in when I was not driving, but if I hit ignore and 1 it would go right to him.  My new, expensive "smart" iphone? Yeah, i can't make it to that. Maybe there's an ap for that, but I don't have time to find it.
 

On food and partners: In our house we have "dad dinner" -- which is noddles, +/- beans or sausage, frozen veggies (thrown in the water) and oil/vinegar/parmesean. "Alternate dad dinner" is quesadillas. Both of these meals are well loved by my kids and both mean I can have ingredients on hand. My husband is very good at cooking, but in a rush he needs to feed the kids 3 minutes ago (because on dad nights he doesn't plan ahead - I'm the logistics person).  My kids know if I'm gone for 2 days that they can ask for either dad dinner or alternate dad dinner.  I trained my kids to do this. Otherwise they will wait for 35 minutes for him to decide what to take out of the freezer. This was so successful when i was working nights in graduate school that my kids now expect it. Also they are happy with chick peas from a can and frankly I keep in the basement a handful of canned things like that for them to ask for in a pinch. They will tell their dad to go down and check the cabinet. This is the guy who is a rockstar cook, but a crappy planner. He gets home from work and goes for a bike ride and then considers dinner. I have to consider dinner before I leave or I'll worry about it for the entire bikeride. I would get home, spend 10 minutes prepping dinner and then go.... (which is why he is fitter than I).

My kids also know if dh is gone for more than one night we'll go out to eat at least once because I'm worn out from logistics.

Ok back to work. I see my run this afternoon disintegrating away......

[Geofizz]

I just started to abbreviate Dad Dinner and Alternate Dad Dinner as acronyms, but it was too telling...

Anyways, GOLD.

My kids get pizza out once when I'm out of town.  Otherwise DH preps something before I leave that will go a few days, and then does a combo of pasta, pancakes, and quesadillas.  Veggies are carrot sticks.  His ability to plan isn't so much the problem, but instead it's his inability to deal with kid logistics at the same time as cooking.  So, the fact that he might have to check DD's homework and sign permission slips may totally derail things.  Instead, he keeps the sitter there while he cooks, and much of the kid school stuff gets forgotten.  My own separate rant on those details:  he has so totally removed himself from keeping track of DS' school stuff, that despite the fact that I wrote down that DS needed to read to DH every single day and that how long he read and what he'd read needed to be recorded, he decided that meant that he should just read to DS because he hates helping DS with reading.   For 10 whopping minutes a day of reading.  He did write that down, though.  I have not been admitting to the teacher the math enrichment.  Thank goodness that the teacher probably couldn't read his handwriting which said we'd been reading the Number Devil. 

[sparkletruck]

Yeah, he said he was so pissed after sitting in the car for 2 hours that he just wanted to get home, especially as he was just 20 minutes away. I was literally within 5 minutes of leaving the house to do the drive to try to find them when he got home. A call would have been good.

JG - ooh, ooh, I was just starting to think about my treasure map these past few days; i.e. what my goals are for the coming "year (April-April). I love the time of renewal it ushers, like pressing a reset button, and I get to CHOOSE what I want to happen. Do a treausre map instead and then you can put off formulating goals for two more months, at least

La4 - "...I dont like people"

MM -

Gaye -

[JayGee]

sparkle ~ can you explain Treasure Mapping to me?  I've always looked at Jennie's, but am not sure where I'd start.

DD/ADD (there Geo, I did it for you ) ~ your DH's are way better than mine.  Last time I wasn't at home to cook dinner, DH took the kids to Taco Bell.  Thank goodness I don't travel by myself.

Christmas shopping officially done!  Now, to wrap.

[kerc]

Originally Posted by JayGee 
DD/ADD (there Geo, I did it for you ) ~ your DH's are way better than mine.  Last time I wasn't at home to cook dinner, DH took the kids to Taco Bell.  Thank goodness I don't travel by myself.

If you did travel more often, I suspect your dh would do better. Geo travels more often than I do, but when i was working nights 2 x a week I bet take out would get old after about 2 weeks. Even if I do occasionally like Taco Bell.

[sparkletruck]

JG - It's a vision map, meaning, it's a visual representation of what your goals are for the coming year. You choose subject areas, like you Dh does, and then beginning on a particular date (corresponding to some astrological timeline, which makes your visualization/intentions especially potent), you assemble images and words to put on a poster. This is a very basic description. You are supposed to not look at images before the time of the Treasure Map begins, and then you collect magazines, pictures, drawings, make drawings, take pictures, etc. (the sources of the pictures, in the case of a magazine for example, should be new - has to do with the energy it carries). The most potent time to make the map typically lasts for 3 days, so you have a few days to do all this. Then you glue it onto paper, write some words or if you choose, or cut some out.

I've done it for *only* two years, but both times, much of the stuff on the map comes to be. I think part of it is that you are seeing it all the time (you are supposed to put it somewhere you will see it often) so are reminded to work on the things on it, and some of it is that it puts those ideas at the front of your mind on a regular basis, with the idea being that ideas at the front of your mind will become manifest. It's metaphysical hooey maybe, but I like the process of making the map - I find the artistic outlet very satisfying, and I find it a nice ritual to begin a new year of new, or continued goals. The first one I did, I put pictures from magazines and phrases that I wrote, all over it in a particular order (I made it in the formation of a Feng Shui bagua) related to health, family, spirituality, etc. and then painted it with water color. The painting part was so much fun. I hadnt realized how long its been since I worked on a piece of art of any kind

bla bla bla. The start date is sometime toward the end of March/beginning of April. I'll post here when I find out...

[tjsmama]

Reporting in...

Interviews went well, I thought. The birth center interview was ok, not great. I was nervous and had a hard time formulating my answers, even though I knew what I wanted to say. The second interview, with my manager, went great (I thought). I was able to take what didn't come out as well as I hoped during the first interview and make it sound much better. The bummer is that my manager knows that her unit is my second choice, but I just have to hope that she thinks enough of me to possibly make me an offer anyway. I'm hopeful, but NOT confident! They are making decisions by the end of next week. Tick tock, tick tock...

Meanwhile, I'm just waiting to head to the airport and hoping that the snow we're getting doesn't mess up my flight out (it's pretty light, so mostly just annoying)...