Dingos bustling through December - Our running* thread - Page 3

[JenLove]

HAPPY DECEMBER!

I'm finally jumping in here.  I started a fitness challenge with my beachbody business so I've been doing yoga, Shakeology workouts, and toning exercises usually getting in something every day.  That feels good!  I'm also taking the Shakeology shake each day and I think that's really helping me physically.

I just took on a very part-time job working from home for a friend and blogger who needed some administrative work.  It's a blessing to work for someone who is doing wonderful things, and to work from my couch during the kids' naps.

Jo- I thought of you this morning as I had to break up the layer of ice on the chicken and goat water.  Our goat is filling out, so I'm expecting a kid or two early March. 

I'm hoping to get out for a walk with the family on our property to find our charlie brown tree.  Perfect for this farmhouse.  

[Plady]

Kerc- I'd back out but cite family emergency not insane co-captaining (duh).  But you might as well put the real drama to use.  I'm sorry to hear about your mom, that sounds really difficult.

Jennie - you sound like you're really in the groove up there!  Preggo goats!  Wow!

Gaye - Good luck with the interview schedule and then the interview!  It must be exciting and scary to be so close to the end of school!

Bec - Yup.  Except that had to be the worst marathon route I've ever seen!  Yikes!  I do find inspiration in that show though. 

Yeah, skischool.  I checked out the rates.  Um, I think this time we'll just stay together.  I'm okay with spending the day on the bunny hill, especially when I'm on a board which I'm still quite the beginner on too.  And now dh won't go up the mountain unless it's sunny and clear so he can see the view so today we're going to see about doing some xc since it's cloudy and gray.  He and I have gear and we'll rent a sled for Ali G and something for C, maybe skate skis?  I don't know, I think xc might be really difficult for her too and I don't want her to have another frustrating day.

Yesterday we went skating and swimming and they had a ball.  Then we found our way to the Re-Use It store and totally scored on amazing gear.  I got a sweet Marmot jacket for $17, a brand new Columbia down vest for $6 and 5 pairs of high quality gloves and mittens for $4 a pair (one pair we'd just been laughing about in the rental shop because they were retailing for $89!).  C got a North Face down jacket free when dh pointed out a rip in the outer fabric and Ali got a pair of nearly new Kamik boots with removable liners for $3!  It was sweet.  I had been reading the magazines in the condo about "Shopping in Whistler" at all these fancy pants retail places and thought how I'd never be interested but this totally gave me that thrift storing high!

So this week we're all using lots of forgotten muscles but when we get home I've got to pull it together and set myself some serious goals.  I'm 6 months away from 40 and this week I'm feeling (and looking) old and puffy and just meh.  It doesn't feel good.  It's time to put on my big girl panties and stop finding ways to not get the work done.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Edited by Plady - 12/7/11 at 9:26am

[kerc]

good point plady. Totally backing wayyyyy out. I think it will be ok. And dang it I am sooooo ready for this organizing lady to move on to a new place. People rave about her but I do not do so in a positive manner.  I called said crazy lady to try to back out htis morning, I'm supposed to call back this afternoon.

now. on to the exciting part:  I think I'll be able to ski next week. WOOT!

[JayGee]

You know you're getting old when the nurse at your Gyn exam asks, "Do you still get your periods?" rather than, "What was the date of your last period?"  Sigh.....

PTO meeting, more baking, and a super-quick kitchen cleaning, bed-making, house-straightening on tap.  Is this week almost over???

[Shantimama]

kerc - sorry you have this situation with your mom to deal with. That is hard and complicated stuff to sort through.

Nick - I know I am late to the party but you looked great in that dress!

jaygee - too funny about the nurse's question. I am at the point where if I am a day late I wonder/hope if I am getting to that time. 

1jooj - I worked hard with my kids before dh left for his sabbatical to get behaviour, etc in place before he left for a long stretch of time. Getting there was no problem - keeping us all there was the hard part. It was great for the first few weeks but somehow by the time he came home to us I was doing more than ever before and we still haven't got back on track.

To keep the aging theme going, I just picked up my progressive lens glasses yesterday. This is going to take some getting used to.

I live in a very wealthy area and the whole house thing wears on me at times. We live in a beautiful little house. I love it and it is the nicest house I have ever lived in - but it is tiny with no basement and only a couple of bedroom closets. It works for us but I get tired of being surrounded by "cottages" that are double and triple the size of our home that sit empty most of the year. 95% of our furniture came to us as hand-me-downs and I love it that way but when I get together with other women my age most of the time I feel like a misfit. I guess I am lucky that I don't have the same storage issues they do - since we have minimal storage space, we just don't buy extra. We can't afford to buy extra which makes things even easier but it amazes me how much stuff many people have - in each of their two or three homes. I would rather have my one little house cozy and with every single thing having meaning and a story behind it than a stunning matching, co-ordinated house that is only going to look like that until the next trend takes hold. 

[LaLaLaLa]

Hello!

Kerc--Sorry this will be a short trip for you to Massachusetts; I'm pretty close to Worcester.  Let me know if you end up back in the area again!  I'm sorry about your mom, and I hope you'll be able to find a better solution than having her here and you far away.

Gaye--Good luck with the job interviews!

I ran today--seven miles in a chilly rain--so that felt good.  

Then when I got home I realized that our trip to the Boston Nutcracker on Sunday conflicts with a rehearsal for DD's pageant at church, so I'm stressing about that.  I think she can probably catch some of the rehearsal, but I hate so much introducing conflict, especially since the woman was a bit exasperated last week when DD expressed dissatisfaction with her non-speaking role.  I don't want to cause further diva-ish problems, but it looks unavoidable.

Then we went to the town hall to pick up tags for the holiday helper thing, and it made me cry.  There are so many left, and the deadline is Saturday and I just can't afford to help everyone, and it was such a hard choice.  My kids each chose two kids who were asking for stuff they found interesting, and I chose the two oldest teenagers.  Maybe tomorrow I'll go and pull more tags, but how do you choose who gets something and who doesn't?  I'm hoping the town has a way to pick up the slack and buy everything left over.  They must, right?

I don't know what's wrong with me.  I guess I'm still in a funk for this to be affecting me so much.

Tonight I'll work and make some money, so that will take some of the weight of stress off of me.  Yesterday we booked appallingly expensive flights to Florida for our February vacation, which we do every year, but I'm freaking out about the cost, even though we budgeted for it and knew it was coming.  And knowing how much we spent made me feel even more guilty about the holiday helpers, like if we have this amount of excess money to blow on a frivolous vacation, we should be able to help all of those kids.  What the heck is my problem?  

I need more deep breaths in my life.

[bec]

Plady - Yes, that looked like the most horrendous course ever.  All in circles, no shade, very windy area.  soft, dirt road.  Blech!

I did get to the gym today.  I did legs and about 20 minutes of cardio.  No running in that, though.  I need to actually start running again.  I'm planning a couple of half marathons coming soonish, so need to get on the ball for that!

[sparkletruck]

La4 - I dont know if it is a problem to be deeply empathetic? I have the same "problem" this time of year, and it makes the holidays difficult for me to enjoy. Actually, my Dad is a socialist, so I was raised in a somewhat ascetic environment, aware of my responsibility and/or indebtedness to others, but now I find that I am a bit of a scrooge/crank when it comes to buying things that we dont need (um, the entire Christmas Holiday ) You are doing your part, and it is just a very sad fact that there are SO MANY people in the world, in our neighborhoods in real need, especially these days We do what we can

Shanti and JG - From what I read about menopause when I thought I was starting, it's not so fun. I think Ill keep the PMS for as long as it wants to stay. I'll take the grouch-tastic 2 weeks a month over the fat, depressed decade I see coming And Shanti, re: the house: exactly

Plady - another one for the lessons. However, in my case Dh took charge of teaching them how to ski (bending over holding them up, run after run after run). The older two are good. This year will be DD2's (almost 4) first time on skis. I have to say, skiing with my kids [after they learn ] is one of the funnest things Ive done with them

NRR: GRE is Monday. Sick. Of. It. Dont care anymore... which Dh says means Im ready "when you just cant stand it anymore, you know you're ready". He has no sympathy for the fact that I have to answer sheit questions for 4 hours! He sort of sniggered actually ("uh, I cant really feel sorry for you, do you know how many 8 hour tests Ive taken") Anyway, it will be a huge load off. Then two essays to write and done with the app. January WILL see me at the gym! My moms cancer has not spread. She will have surgery to remove it from her intestines and have some radiation. What a weird week this has been.
Edited by sparkletruck - 12/7/11 at 3:34pm

[JenLove]

I watched some lovely little vlog about aging yesterday - if anyone is interested I will share the link here.  Lovely wisdom in it! :)

As far as the house thing goes, I live in an old farmhouse.  It's drafty as all get out.  It will forever be in a state of remodeling.  I sometimes think about the house I could have if we stayed in IL, but I'd be missing out on so much life that way.  If people don't like my home, then they probably won't enjoy time with me.  It clearly shows the focus is on my family.  My kitchen always has dirty dishes because I cook a lot, there are toys strewn about because V is learning, and there are crumbs, dirt, and dog hair around because I'm not going to sweep every 5 minutes.  Take it or leave it. :)

Bec ~ Which half marathons do you have planned?

L4 ~ ((hugs))

[Mel38]

Jen, your house and farm sounds wonderful to me.
 

Originally Posted by JenLove 
Bec ~ Which half marathons do you have planned?

I was wondering this myself

I'm kind of hoping to work up to the HM distance again.

Sparkle, Yay, sounds like there's a light at the end of the tunnel for you! Stupid question, but what do you have to take the GRE for? What are you going to be studying? And that's good news with your mom. Good luck to her for her surgery and recovery!
 

Shanti, your house, too, sounds really nice, and I like your attitude toward 'stuff'.

Originally Posted by LaLaLaLa 
What the heck is my problem?  

I need more deep breaths in my life.

You are a kind and caring person! It's probably less painful to be numb to the problems in the world, but that certainly doesn't mean that the problem lies with you. Yeah, breathe.

I came back to report a whopping 2 mile run today. But it was a start after basically 2 weeks of feeling under the weather. I feel like I am starting from zero because my HR seemed very high even with one minute walk breaks built in. I would really like to go for a swim one day, but I am not sure how long I should wait with my ears before going in the pool.

[bec]

My upcoming races! 

Indy Mini on May 5th.

And the Desert Classic Half Marathon on January 28.  I haven't signed up for this one yet, but I'm pretty certain about it.  It's only $30 for the half!!!  Cheapest half marathon I've seen.  Of course, flying out there, not so cheap, but that is what my Christmas present is going to be. 

[1jooj]

LaLaLaLa, I get that feeling too. It's hard, but I do believe there is more good than bad in it. Still, be careful and gentle with yourself; this is a tough time of year.

kerc, hugs, mama. I'd be backing out fast, and you DO have the family emergency for real. I hope it can be resolved smoothly with your mother.

JenLove, Shanti, I am right there with you. So missing my place, and still holding on to a small hope that I could have it back. And if not it specifically, something much like it where I can do all those things again and be among my people. The stuff absolutely does. Not. Matter. 

JayGee, my mom claims that menopause was "no big deal." That said, she had giant fibroids and her uterus removed at 39, and I distinctly remember a my-mom-is-totally-insane period of my adult life. My sisters corroborate that claim, so we're calling BS on mom. She didn't seem to have a ton of physical symptoms, just was a raving lunatic for a few years, driving all her daughters to paranoia. Where's that article sparkle linked here a few months back? It was a good one!

All you ladies looking at the half distance, I want to too!

But I am afraid my back condition is getting in the way. I have been able to walk/run on sand, and it's hard and good. I do about 4mi. But if I do too many days in a row, I get the terrible hip/leg pain (which originates in the L5/S1). I am totally dependent on NSAIDs, and I am still not getting relief. Thinking about taking my xray films to another doc for recommendations, but since I am definitely not interested in (or a good candidate for) surgery, all I'll get is more NSAIDs and more exercises, which I do anyway. Bah. I lost 1/3 of the weight I'd gained in the run-up to the move, and then just hit a wall. Time for phase 2.

Work on the writing has been going well again. I had to make some big changes and then there was a realization that, to do this, I essentially needed to be able to get into character, and said character is not a very pleasant person, so I really need to do the writing while dh and kids are out of the house (or, I suppose, I am out of the house). So, the result is that I can spent about 4 hours a day writing, and I do some cleaning and stuff while they are home, instead of doing all that work while they are out of the house. It is easier when they are out, but it also creates a sort of "housecleaning mystique," where the house is always magically clean(ish) for them, and I bitterly, resentfully clean it in their absence.

Again today, will hit the beach and then write as long as I can manage it. It rained (!!! a lot!!!) last night, so I am sure the sand will be kind of crusty and painful, but whatever.

[mommajb]

house cleaning mystique.
In some ways cleaning when I have space makes sense but this is what I am fighting.

[JenLove]

bec ~ I highly recommend looking into the sedona az half.  It's north of PHX a bit but the most beautiful scenery I've seen in AZ.  We ran a 5k there and stayed in our RV when we were there.  I loved the quirky, new age town and I never wanted to leave. 

[Nickarolaberry]

For my dingos:

For Good

[Plady]

Nic - But I certainly hope that isn't some sort of goodbye!

Things are going well enough here.  We skated and swam yesterday instead of introducing x-c skiing.  Today we got our snowboards and spent a lot of time on the bunny slope.  I got one nice long run from the top and it was entirely exhilarating.  I must say, I am really thinking I may never feel the need to ski again.  We went back to that thrift store after the lifts closed and nice shop girl helped set me up with a whole snowboard/binding and boots kit.  The boots are a tiny bit big (but better that than small) but the whole thing came to $48. 

C definitely did better with the snowboard and I think another day on it and she'll really start to feel like she's got a new skill.  She says she prefers it to skiiing ayway although we need to get her a new helmet because she had a huge crash and broke the one she was wearing.  I'm glad she was wearing it!

Well, Ali G, after a lot of dnacing around and denying that a bathroom break would be worth the time, peed in her pants so I'm going to go wash her gear for tomorrow. ::)

Hope my Dingos are all doing well, is it quiet today?

[Realrellim]

Plady--glad she had the helmet! Yikes.

1jooj--love the phrase "house cleaning mystique," but agree that you need to be doing something else. I struggle with that a lot, not so much because I feel obligated to have the house clean for them as because I have a hard time concentrating if the floor needs to be vacuumed or I can see layers of dust.

Sparkle--good luck on the GRE!

RR: Thinking it's gonna be a rest day.

NRR: Make that "rest" day. We had choir rehearsal at 7:30 this morning, followed by the dress rehearsal for the choir and strings at 9 (I'm playing for the apprentice choir, or I wouldn't have been there). Headed back to pick up Julia after 11; was back at school by 2:30 to pick up R. After school we ate dinner early and were at the middle school once again tuning violins at 5:30. The choir did their concert, then had their concert; we got home around 8:30. And now I have to make cupcakes for her kid birthday party, and it's 10:10 and Julia just stopped nursing and is *finally* asleep.

Some of you might be amused by my other story. R, as I've mentioned, was/is a very anxious child. When she was little, she'd barely leave my side when we went to playgroup, and even when she was 4 she'd want me to be alongside her for everything rather than running off and playing with her friends.

Naturally, that means child #2 will be a runner, right?

Mostly J is good, though she has no fear and can't be deterred if she really wants to be somewhere else. So tonight, during the parts of the concert where R wasn't singing or playing, we were letting her walk around outside the auditorium. She found a little brick edge where she could sit down and kept going back to it (along with walking on the benches, etc). So after the strings concert, my parents and DH and I had the coats on the kids and were making sure we have the violin, the music, the choir music (I accompanied the apprentice choir), the flowers (they gave me flowers for accompanying! And it was only two songs!), and I realized J was missing. No one had seen her go, but I figured she'd probably made a beeline back to the window, because she'd tried to run in that direction just before we put coats on. Happily, that's where she was (the other options being that she ran out the doors, which we were pretty close to, or that she'd decided to take her own tour of the middle school), sitting happily, surrounded by people she didn't know. And hey, there were only 115 kids who'd just performed in the concert, plus their siblings, parents, grandparents, etc, filing out of the auditorium.

I'm thinking the airport could be really fun in a couple of weeks!

[tjsmama]

real~Leash?

plady~Helmets are a beautiful thing.

This is me:

Last night on the way home from work, I noticed that the car was driving a little funky again. Not as bad as when the transmission went out, but similar. This morning, when I go to take DS to school, it's doing the EXACT same thing it was when it went kablooey just over a month ago. I immediately call the dealership and the nanny trying to come up with how to get it in to get checked (I had clinical this morning, followed by an appointment on campus at 2, and needing to pick DS up at school, and the nanny was working her other job until 3...which is when school gets out). After some juggling around and a lot of hemming and hawing on my part...I decided to take it in after DS gets off school and pray they can look at it quickly enough to figure it out and fix it without renting a car. So then, I go to start the car to head to clinical, and it drives perfectly. Ok, still needs looked at, but it can wait. So, I call back and make an appointment for Fri. am after dropping DS off at school, since my clinical partner can pick me up at the dealership to drive us to our site.

We had our presentation of our big project today to our preceptor, our clinical scholar, a few assorted people from the agency, and our classmates who were also presenting. It went really well, and then we had a lovely lunch after (pho...I'd always wanted to try it, but was always too scared to go by myself ). I go to pick DS up from school and he's complaining of a tummy ache. Ok, so let's get homework done quickly, so we can just relax. After much, much prodding, it's done...just in time for DS to :puke. Profusely. Fortunately there was a nearly empty bowl of cheerios sitting right there, and his aim was pretty good. Multiple pukings later, I'm scrambling to find someone who can potentially watch DS tomorrow if he needs to stay home from school. I put him to bed on the couch so I could hear him (and get a bucket under him) if he needed to puke and texted up a storm with anyone who might possibly be able to help. Much texting later, I have a non-ideal plan in place to drag DS with me to the dealership if necessary with a friend to pick us up and drop us at home, and another friend who is working night shift tonight taking a quick nap and then coming over to stay with DS while I go to clinical. Fun.

So, DS has been puke-free for almost 5 hours, and managed to eat a little applesauce which seems to be staying down. Here's hoping he's totally normal feeling in the morning. I NEED him to go to school. Sigh...this is the downside of living somewhere with no family around.

In the meantime, we did manage to get our poster and abstract that go with our power point presentation done tonight (yes, we did them backwards!), so once we both read/edit/approve, that will be juuuust about it, with the exception of what should be a very easy online final and a final clinical eval on Monday. So very, very close...

[Realrellim]

tjsmama--he should be feeling better in the morning. It's a quick bug, even if it's a miserable one. Dose him up with probiotics and send some extra undies with him tomorrow, though. This bug is followed by the runs (R only for about half a day; J for a little longer).

[1jooj]

Originally Posted by Realrellim 
I struggle with that a lot, not so much because I feel obligated to have the house clean for them as because I have a hard time concentrating if the floor needs to be vacuumed or I can see layers of dust.

Yeah, me too.

Is it possible that I might switch to being a barefooter for as long as I can do it? I have totally fallen for the beach. Did a short barefoot run this AM, followed by some work on the blanket, and even a headstand (dh spotted me, but with very little work I should be able to do it m'self).

Ugh, the mag I've been writing for wants to extend for another 6mos. My plan is to refuse after I deliver my final goods. As nice as it is to feel like I am earning something (however little), I am having an ethical freakout about something I can't even post here, it's so f!ing serious. (nothing to do with me, but about the role the pub played in something a couple years ago, something that came into my field of vision recently) And in fact, I want to use the "incident" as a springboard for fiction. Anyway.