Dingos bustling through December - Our running* thread - Page 16

[Plady]

Geo, Real, Nic - and a little only because it is all SO FAMILIAR!  Geo - I didn't know I had another brother but you must have been describing my mom!  Nic, I've used that slim chance of snow in the past to excuse myself from relatives houses too.  Real, before my MIL moved to a nursing home (a couple steps prior) she lived in a huge three story house in St. Louis which had tons of furniture and not a millimeter of surface space that was not covered in clutter.  And the mattresses from when the kids were kids and they'd bought them second hand even then.  Well, when it finally came time to move her out dh and I of course were the only people with the practical skills to handle it () by the time we got to the third floor bedrooms (me so drugged up against allergies I could barely see or breathe) we decided to just shove the mattresses out the window out onto the lawn to put in the dumpster.  We pushed and shoved and pushed and shoved and finally the mattress popped through and hit the ground below.  It left an enormous cloud of ick and oh-my-God-that's-disgusting in the air but what was even grosser was the thick scraped off sludge that was left on the window frame!!! 

Gaye!!!!  Yeah you!  And yay for us!  We get baby stories again!!!  Congratulations!  You totally earned it!

Mommajb - Hmm, coconut milk hmm?  I could go for that.  You mean the kind in the can right?  Not the nasty new workout 'water'?  I'll try that tonight, our meals have been far too boring lately (all my fault, dh is a good cook even if I resent his haphazard method).

Jo - Yikes, it is easy to forget how much smoking still goes on in the world.  I'm so sorry about your eye!  I hope the Dead Sea can heal it up.  And I am so with you on the 'whoa I'm far from where I want to be!' thing.  We can climb out.  We WILL climb out! 

JayGee - I have to admit, I still don't really understand what ART is.  The thing that seems to be the issue is the psoas, I just don't think I've been disciplined enough in working on stretching it.  I do finally get that heat really helps so that's something to hold on to. 

RR: I zumba'd again yesterday!  I'm just hoping that if I can get a handle on the moves that I'll be more willing to make room in the schedule for it when normal life scheduling resumes.  I'm still not sure I'm in love with it but at least my back didn't wig out on me and I can definitely tell that it's a good way to use all those muscles. 

[bec]

Originally Posted by 1jooj 

It's hard not to respond to this whole post. 

I think you have to bury a statue of St. Dingo upside-down in the snow before the ILs (or parents) begin to behave.

I almost spat coffee on my keyboard! 

Gaye - CONGRATULATIONS!!!!  Of course, I kinda felt it was in the bag once you interviewed for it!

Real - Seriously big kudos for you for surviving the trip, and not throwing a tantrum over it! 

JayGee - I totally get the tantrum!  I usually feel much better after getting it all out! 

Speaking of screen time and tantrums, my kids are all having a tv free day after some pre-dawn drama. 

Does anyone else have an incredibly controlling and bossy 10 year old?  Mine has gone to some astounding lengths with it!  She's even bossing the dogs around!!!  It's ridiculous.  And her sisters are, understandably not taking it well.  Yes, chores being handed out like candy!

[sparkletruck]

Tantruming. Right. Now.

Kid overload (JG, Bless you for loving winter break but I do NOT). DD1 had a huge fit this morning. Kids fighting non-stop, or whining, or bitching at me (sorry, to mad to even bleep my language). Just overload. Must get them out hiking.

Plady - ART is a kind of very intense muscle work, where they grind on a muscle in the opposite direction as you put it through its range of motion. It hurts SO GOOD, and has really helped with my various ailments. Stretching can actually make things worse, I find. Im all about muscle grinding, and NO stretching

Gaye - Perfect end to all your hard work

Geo, Real, Kerc - and and and

NRR: Must work on my letter of intent - two of them, one for program, one for T.A.-ship - and I could care less right now. I dont have a specific area of interest to advertise, and after reading the CV and research of the one faculty member Im most interested in working with (2 years younger than me) I feel like I have nothing to say for myself: "umm, I just want to talk about writing and teach it while I study it" Dum, de dum dum DUMMM!

[Realrellim]

Quick check in while nursing J: does anyone have an iPod Touch? Do you like it? Can it replace my PDA: calendar, address book, notes, and most important, shopping list?

I'm still using an ancient Palm Pilot and use the shopping list function most. I'm hoping there's a similar app.

OK, off to the airport!

[JayGee]

Originally Posted by sparkletruck 
 
Kid overload (JG, Bless you for loving winter break but I do NOT). DD1 had a huge fit this morning. Kids fighting non-stop, or whining, or bitching at me (sorry, to mad to even bleep my language). Just overload. Must get them out hiking.
Plady - ART is a kind of very intense muscle work, where they grind on a muscle in the opposite direction as you put it through its range of motion. It hurts SO GOOD, and has really helped with my various ailments. Stretching can actually make things worse, I find. Im all about muscle grinding, and NO stretching
 

sparkle ~ trust me, the love for winter break has really waned .  All three kids are currently watching Dolphin Tale because I just. Couldn't. Take it.  I put on my headphones, listened to podcasts and ignored them for the last hour while cleaning up from last night's dinner party.  Yeah, I'm not proud.

Plady ~ sparkle explained ART very well.  It stands for Active Release Technique and if you go to their website, you can find a chiropractor who is certified in ART.  It's very different from traditional chiropractic.  And yeah, it hurts so good!

Mission no sugar: FAIL.  Damn leftover brownies stuck to the pan.

[bec]

iPod - I have an iPhone, which is kind of like an iPod Touch but with a phone in it.  I love it.  And, yes, there are a ton of list type aps around.  If you are used to an ancient Palm, you would probably be amazed with an iPod!

Winter break.  Yes!!!  Yes!!!!  It NEEDS to end!

[Plady]

JG - Thanks for the link.  Alas the closest one is a ferry ride away in Victoria. :(

Bec - Oh yes, ready to go back to school. 

Inspired by y'all we're about to dig into a coconut curry with garbanzos, carrots, onions and tomatoes.  It smells delish!

[kerc]

While technically there's snow on the ground here in the Great White North, there's not enough to xc ski here in Duluth. So....packed up the kids and drove 2 hrs north and skied with them, then skied alone while they stayed behind at the car with dh. It was nice, but I am so.out.of shape.  So I'm hoping to get to a cycling class tomorrow and to try to keep this streak going.....my kiddos are not thrilled they will be hitting the kids club, but tough s**t. They are 6 and 9 and can deal with sub-perfect childcare for a 50 minute class.

The trail 1/2 marathon day coincides with spring graduation at my place of employment. Debating the prospect of taking a personal day (they take attendance and its mandatory) vs. finding a different race to shoot for.

I also have my grades due tomorrow. Speaking of which, I'm short on personals for now. But two days of >60 minutes of aerobic activity. and I didn't die. WOOT!

[tjsmama]

real~Yes! I think an ipod touch would be perfect for you! I my iphone and can't imagine how I functioned before it.

I would be joining you all on the "when does break end" chorus if I had not shipped my child off to his father on Monday! He was driving me absolutely batty.

I am still smiling. I can't stop! I can't believe it! I would have been thrilled to have a job regardless, but to get my top choice? Amazing! I can't remember how much I posted about what I learned about the position, but it probably wasn't much since I didn't really think I would get the birth center. Basically how it works is that new grads do postpartum and newborn admissions for the first year. After you come off of new grad status, you get trained to float to antepartum and NICU, and you can get on the waitlist to train for L&D. The waitlist fluctuates in length, depending on who wants what shift and stuff, but is currently about 18 months. So, we're looking at about 2 1/2 years until I can train for L&D, but that will give me a good background in general OB nursing in the meantime. They also have GYN surgeries on the unit, so that will be interesting. I am SOOOOOO excited, you guys! I'll be even more excited when I get the official offer that is supposed to be emailed on Monday...

I am currently down in Cincinnati, visiting my in-laws. MIL picked me up from my mom yesterday and we spent some time together since my SIL and her DH and BIL were having Christmas with FIL/SMIL (and XH and new wife and the kids) last night. FIL/SMIL invited us all (me, SIL/DH, BIL) out to dinner at the Melting Pot tonight. I figured they would have some sort of gift for me, but they totally surprised me by getting me a Kindle as a Christmas/graduation gift, along with an Amazon gift card to stock it up with. SIL also got me an Amazon GC and a super cute nurse Christmas tree ornament (she's a nurse). I swear, my (X)ILs treat me better than my own family sometimes (MIL also gave me a sizeable cash gift)!

Tomorrow morning, weather permitting, I WILL get a run in. I need to burn off the Melting Pot dinner!

Oh, my friend talked me into signing up for a 5k on NYE, so drjen, can you add the Resolution Run 5k to the racelist for me? We're going to hang out at her house and drink and play cards and video games for NYE, so she thought we should burn off a few calories before replacing them with alcohol.

[Nickarolaberry]

So, time for the year-end wrap up. Running wise anyway. 

2011: Five 5K races (PR 26:25); Three 10K races (PR 58:02); Two half marathons (PR 1:03); Two full marathons (PR: 4:59); 4 pairs of running shoes; countless bottles of Gatorade/tubes of Gu/bananas/tunes played streaming on Pandora. New loves - trail running and training/coaching new middle school runners. Observations: a massage a few days after a marathon is a fabulous thing; toenails are not really necessary; I miss running by the ocean and the balmy warm winter weather of Florida but my body runs better in the cooler/cold weather; and eventually one has to toss out old running clothes. New/old discovery: running can literally save your sanity through life trials and cross country moves. 

Total miles run: 1320 (up 50 miles from 2010). 

Goals for 2012: more miles than 2011; sub-2 hour half marathon; speed, strength, endurance, courage, persistence, and heart.

I'd also love to run NYC, a sub 4:50 full marathon, get stronger in my core and arms, and maybe some zen style balance in my emotions and life.

Sappy alert: thank you Dingo mamas for being my friends, supporting me through thick and thin and everything related and unrelated to running. I would be a very lonely and lost and sad person without you all in my life.

Happy 2012! 

[Plady]

Morning Dingos!

I have a goal!  Last night I was at the pool to lifeguard and saw a notice for Women's Boxing!  A 6 week, Tu-Th class at the perfect time slot for me to make without needing childcare!  I'm so excited!  I've actually dreamed about boxing.  I hope my back can handle it because I'm going for it! I was so excited I had trouble falling asleep last night. And I have another related goal.  I'm a good 15 lbs overweight now, although I could easily be comfy about 10 lbs down.  However, I have a wedding to attend on the beach in FL in March and I have a dress that would be lovely, if it actually fit me!  I'm about 2 inches too big in the bust to zip it.  I think that if I can stay disciplined about getting real exercise including serious strength training  and keep away from the sugar and refined carbs I can get there in time.  So, the dress is my goal.  At least it is a solid tool that I can gauge progress with and having the deadline helps.  Well, I guess really, getting truly fit again and being slim and comfortable in my clothes and my body is the real goal.  And I know that it will help to have y'all keeping me accountable.  (hmm, strange italicization there - can't get rid of it.)

Nic - That summary is impressive!  You really kept at it, congratulations!

Gaye - Wow!  Your XILs sound dreamy! I've never heard of anything like it. 

Okay, I'm going to start getting my workouts planned for the next month. 

[JayGee]

Yay Plady!  Awesome goals .  Boxing ~ wow!

Gaye ~ ditto on the amazing XILs.  They sound fantastic.

Nic ~ what a great year for running you've had.  I know that sub 2:00 half is very, very reachable for you.  And definitely a sub 4:50 full .

Well, I did some research this morning and apparently I'm in the worst part of Cymbalta withdrawl.  Brain fog, extreme rage (see Mama tantrum), splitting headache, massive carb cravings, and really low blood pressure that keeps causing me to black out when I stand up.  Yeah, all normal for 3-4 weeks out when you wean off Cymbalta.  Glad someone told me .  We had planned to go to the Science Center today, but given the blacking out thing, I think we'll stay home.  So much for my fun and productive winter break plans.  If anyone ever wants to try Cymbalta as an anti-depressant or for chronic pain ~ don't. /PSA.

[MelW]

JayGee, I hope the withdrawl settles down soon. And that maybe someone can give you a kid break in the short term (wouldn't it be great to send them off to the science center and spend a day on the couch?)

real, I have an iphone and the one thing that I thought I would use it for but don't is grocery lists. I do other lists, but have yet to find a really user-Mel-friendly app for groceries (I'm pretty set on the idea that I should have tick boxes for my regular items and not need to type them in). That said, I love a lot of the other apps and get a ton of use from them.

Gaye, congrats again on the job. It sounds like a terrific progression and support/education to go along with it!

Plady, the really tangible goal is the way to go. And boxing- fun!!

Nic, you're amazing! What a terrific year of PRs!

kerc, good luck with the final stretch of grading.

sparkle, I'm writing intent letters right (virtually) alongside you. The "personal statement" version was much easier than the research interest statement, which I'm trying not to box myself to something too limited because I really hope to have my interests shaken up just a bit.

I hit the pool with the kids again through yesterday's rain, and today a quick bike ride during a brief appearance of the sun this morning. We seem to have gotten over the post-Christmas slump with a regular dose of exercise for me and the kids, and I'm actually enjoying the last few days at home with them. This is the first week I've had off work since November of 2010, so it's nice to be more relaxed. Of course, "off work" hasn't been entirely true, since I had a student injure herself badly in a snowboarding accident, so spent some time on the phone with her and subsequently making arrangements for her to withdraw and re-apply to the program, etc. etc.

And some good news- I got 100% on my stats final and an A+ in the course overall

[Plady]

Mel - Congrats!  A+!  Nicely done!

JG - I'm sorry the wd is so awful!  I love how they don't seem to go into that much when starting you out on something do they?  A friend of mine has been talking on FB about how Cymbalta is linked to liver problems and I was glad that you were off.

RR: Well, I did a yoga class today.  It was nice long slow moves and holds, I don't know what kind that is.  But about 45 minutes in I started feeling like I might puke and then felt totally dizzy and weird for the next 4 hours.  I'm hoping it was yoga flu.  Has anyone else had that reaction?  I'm trying to drink lots of water and skip my nightly vacation beer.  But whew.  And I just found out that the kids don't have school on Monday!!!!!

NRR:  I might get to direct the Middle school play too now!  It's not exactly the best timing for me but I do want to become Ms. Children's Theatre SJI so this is an opportunity I need to pursue.  And it should be a tiny bit more $ than the little kids play while also being A LOT less work.

[Realrellim]

Nick--loved your 2011 summary and on your total miles.

Plady--have fun boxing!

JayGee--boo for withdrawl.

MelW--hmm on the shopping list. My PDA program is the tick boxes so I just check them and uncheck them as need be. I really don't want to have to write it all every week. Which apps do you use? And yay for the stats final A!

kerc--yay for two days of activity, including skiing.

sparkle-- for getting through the last few days of winter break, plus the letter of intent.

RR: debating whether to run on the treadmill or be a dongo. Dongo may win out.

NRR: I signed up for a 2011 reading challenge to read 111 books and have two books to go. I'm debating whether to read like a maniac or cheat and use a knitting book as one of the two. File under "things I'm never doing again." The idea is nice, especially for people who aren't avid readers. I love to read, but I've been forced to read mass market mysteries in order to plow through the last few. This year my goal is to read all of the interesting stuff on my reading list.

Obviously, we made it home. The plane got in ok and the bags were late (baggage door was stuck) but we made it home around 2 am, only to find a strange package on our counter from Neutrogena's "Skin ID" line, addressed to DH. He opened it up and found a personalized acne care regiment, which would be except that it said it would charge our credit card automatically for regular refills, and (1) he's almost 40 and has no skin problems and (2) we didn't order it. So I pulled up our account and found some other unauthorized charges and we spent some time on the phone with the credit card people. Apparently ours was in a batch of numbers that had been compromised so they'd already changed the card number and sent out new cards. They didn't close that account because it was the holidays, but it's closed now, and the cards they sent arrived when they brought all of the held mail today. Nothing like a little excitement at the end of a trip. And I'm seriously hoping they catch the little twerp who acne problems who was buying cell phone cases and spending $150 at some stupid avatar site and whatnot, especially because there are some clues that the twerp may live on Long Island and have plenty of money without needing to steal my credit card number. Other than that, it's been nice to be at home. Mostly, I'm restraining the urge to rip down all the Christmas decorations, do a serious toy purge, and live in modernist simplicity with no knickknacks anywhere.

[tjsmama]

Ugh, real. Sorry about the credit card headaches. Glad you made it home safely!

I tried to miss my flight this morning by oversleeping, but fortunately was able to throw everything in the suitcases and get out the door in 12 minutes, just 7 minutes after planned departure! So I am also now home safely.

Resolution Run 5k was fun. Painful, but fun. I was poorly trained (duh), poorly fueled (a bagel and a frozen mac and cheese dinner today), and forgot my inhaler. Somehow, I still managed to pull off a sub-30 5k, so I'll take it! Garmin time (only the first 100 were timed, weird, no?) was 29:54. Works for me! Last run of 2011.

It's been a good year, but I can't wait to see what 2012 holds in store. Happy New Year to all the dingo(e)s, wherever you may be, and much love to all. I couldn't get by without you!

See ya in 2012!

[JayGee]

Happy New Year!!!!  well, I didn't't make to midnight and DH ended up playing the old "turn the clock ahead" trick on the kids. Both DS and DD2 had friends sleep over the night before, so they were wiped out.

Real -boo on the credit card theft! Acne treatment?Really???? 

Gaye - glad you are back home and good job on the 5K.

Plady- that yoga class sounds good.  And you go,Ms. children's Theatre!!

I'm feeling a whole lot better than I was a few days ago. thank Goodness.  I am going to start 2012 off right with a run.

[Nickarolaberry]

Good morning Dingos and Happy New Year!  

Had a nice 10 miler this morning. Felt great, the only problem was the thin layer of black ice on the roads. Yikes. Kind of scary at moments but I stuck to the middle of the road for the most part and was fine. It was early enough that not too many cars were out. Great way to start the new year!

Off to get some food, the paper, a coffee, and enjoy the peace and quiet since dh took the kids snowtubing. 

[JenLove]

Happy New Year Dingos!

[Nickarolaberry]

http://www.mothering.com/community/t/1340550/dingos-jogging-into-january-2012#post_16809474

New thread!

Edited by Nickarolaberry - 1/1/12 at 4:44pm