Running through the May Flowers - Page 8

[Plady]

Nic - Congrats!  That's the way to do it!
 

Geo - Argh!  I'm hating your school for you right now.  You all must be so exhausted from all the runaround and stupidity and general uselessness.

Sparkle - I love the dr/dh high tech method for wound care! 

Autumn - Congrats on the new pregnancy!  I'd probably plan to walk it too and only break into a slow jog if it turns out to be cooler than expected. 

Bec - 10 miles is still TEN miles.  10 mojo-less miles are especially long.

Real - "RR: 6 miles. Ratio of miles run to hours of sleep: 2/1. (Or should that be miles ran? It always trips me up.)"

RR: Nope, but doing all of the farm chores plus as many house chores as I could fit in the day certainly wasn't sitting around time so I'm counting it as better than nothing.

NRR: Saw the dr. Was hoping she'd take a feel and say, "Oh that? (laughs) that's nothing to worry about you just wasted your copay $!"  But instead she set me up for an ultrasound on Wed.  But I actually think the node is smaller today than it was yesterday so that has to be good.  But, continuing to cross my fingers for nothing to worry about.

[1jooj]

And fingers definitely still crossed, Plady. And toes and legs and eyes. 

Geo, I can't believe the fight you are having to put up on dd's behalf. This is truly ridiculous. You're amazing. I'd have turned my back on the situation and shut down, I believe.

bec, agreed with P. Mojo or no, 10 is a long run. No mojo, even longer. Well done.

I am losing my mind and trying really hard not to crumple. I think I now have the cat thing in hand, but am really disappointed that dh's plans got changed and he won't be coming--and may not be able to make it to US all summer, due to demands here. His "schedule" keeps changing, but now he may not even be here for the full day we leave, which is also the day the movers are scheduled to come. So, we will try to pack all we can and have it ready to roll for movers to just load and leave, so maybe he can make it to the place 400km away where he is supposed to be that day. If not, he may oversee what he can, vaguely threaten, and disappear. He will be in the desert all summer, it looks like. I don't think we told the kids yet, because it can all change, I don't want to tell them anything until we know.

Tomorrow is ds's bday, so in the spirit of doing things I hate for other people's enjoyment, we are going to Atlantis the Palm today to their waterpark--which I have to admit, looks pretty cool, and we can almost afford, considering they have a special deal for residents. Slides that go through transparent tunnels through shark tanks. OK. Dd bought him a new Lego set and I think I will send candy bars for a treat. This is called total capitulation, I think. Oh, and AF just showed up. Wants in on all the fun, looks like. Whoopee.

Therefore, no RR planned for today. Instead, I will try to preserve my back on the whitewater slide.

[1jooj]

Nic, I totally meant to post that I probably would have made the same choice as you, for much the same reasons. First, take a long(ish) view, because that is the best course. Second, you know best how you would be affected by politics and all that, and you know which environment (littles or older kids) you prefer. It really can't always be purely about the money, because if the details of the job wear you down enough that you can't go on, well, then there's no money at all. Well done, mama.

Yep, spent a few hours at Atlantis. Cross that off the list.

[JayGee]

Nic - congratulations on the job! The successful talk with DH! And the nice run! You deserve it, big time.

Plady - Hoping that it is all nothing...

Jooj - I am so sorry your DH won't be there to help out with the move. It will happen though, and be fine, and in a few weeks you will be relaxing in the cool summer breezes of WI!

RR - must run today, for no other reason than to restore sanity.

NRR - yesterday morning was the Geography Bee (DD was in it, and did well), then library stuff to prep for next year, then two awards assemblies, followed by DS's final soccer game last night. Tonight we are hosting a party for 40+, and tomorrow I can rest. Until Wednesday, when my parents arrive for a 2 week visit. Oh, and there is no way DS and I will be running that 5K tomorrow, so take us off the race list, please. We will find a new race when I am less overwhelmed.

[Geofizz]

Yay Nic! I agree with you and the others that you made the right choice. I've fallen in love with listening to books on tape while driving. Our library has a huge collection. Each step towards independence shoukld give you confidence and make those discussions easier.

5 miles this morning, strength training at the track, then soccer practice (i ran hard for 40 min of a scrimmage), then weeded. I'm toast.

[tjsmama]

nic~That absolutely sounds like the right choice for you! And hooray for some (very minor) progress with your H.

geo~How frustrating. Your DD is so lucky to have such a determined advocate in her corner. There are so many parents who would have given up fighting a long time ago.

jo~ That just sucks about your DH.

As for me, I'm better, but not well. No word back from the dr on my throat culture, so I'm assuming it didn't show anything. I do still have the blisters in my throat, but at least they're less painful. And I still have crazy drainage down the back of my throat. I have no idea what kind of nasty bug I have, but it is not fun at all. I'm over it. I went to the Rockies game with friends last night, and was so exhausted from it that I came home right after the game instead of heading out to the bars. Oh well, that was a good thing for my wallet, I guess.

I got my run in on Thursday, and it felt shockingly good. So good that instead of turning around to go 3 miles, I ended up doing my full 4.5 mile neighborhood run. I was all set to go dash and dine this morning, but it's stormy and I woke up feeling cruddy again and figured that running in the rain was probably not the best choice, so I think we'll stay home and have a lazy day. Especially since I work tonight and tomorrow night. Who needs exercise anyway, right?

I did get motivated enough to get my balcony garden planted last week. We've got peppers (sweet and hot), peas, zucchini, cucumbers, tomatoes, salad mix, strawberries, and a whole bunch of herbs and flowers.

[MelW]

Congrats, Nic!!!!!

Posting from my phone on the ferry home from a visit with my sister in Vancouver. We went to a CD launch, got up on stage and sang with the band, and today had brunch and a trip to the Museum of Anthropology. More later or tomorrow, I hope....

[autumngrey]

Thanks for the advice ladies. It was as hot as expected on Friday, so we took a slow pace for the 5k--46:33. There were 9500 runners so it was fun to just participate. Today was much more pleasant, about 60 degrees. I ended up running the half with a friend of a friend who was doing his first half marathon, so I had company and someone to keep me from going too gung ho--2:45:06. Overall a fun race weekend, I'm glad I didn't bow out altogether.

[1jooj]

Glad you had a couple of great events, autumngrey! 

My ds is 11 today. We're not having the very best birthday. Somehow, his homework from over the weekend, which I watched him complete, disappeared. Just *poof* gone. I don't know who threw it out, but for once it absolutely WAS NOT me. Teacher is cutting him a break and letting him re-do with only one point off, instead of the 5 he would otherwise suffer. Also, last week he somehow had to take an open-book test without a book, because he had to return all his materials early. The result was a disaster, and ds is re-taking the test this week. Apparently, teacher forgot he had no book and he was afraid to ask for one.  His class has a musical this week, too. Two performances, one on his final day at school. Poor kid. I'm really feeling for him.

And I don't know when we'll make it clear to the kids that dh is not coming home with us. Of course I won't let on yet that we probably won't see him until autumn. Because who knows, right? There's a chance he could make it to US. Ugh. I really am thankful, though, so incredibly, incredibly grateful, that I will have this summer surrounded by loving friends and family for my single-parenting stint, unlike last summer's fiasco in Dubai. I almost cry thinking about it. And I hope he gets a chance to come in August. We'll see.

My very first totally spontaneous interaction with a local happened today. Yes, today, 370 days after arriving in the country. This points to a couple of things:

1. Locals are a very, very small minority. You have a 9 to 1 chance of interacting with an expat over a local.

2. With the exception of locals employed in bureaucratic positions, and traffic, there is very little actual social interaction between local and non-local populations.

3. This is not an overtly friendly kind of place, so an offhand "hello" almost knocks you over.

That said, there is a gentleman who runs on the beach in the AMs when I am out there, and we always make a point of saying good morning. Today, he stopped me to comment on my weight.  In a nice way, I mean. He'd noticed that I'd lost weight since he'd seen me out there, so we discussed fitness and weight loss a little and I was on my way with a "see you tomorrow." Of course it was nice to have a stranger start a conversation with, "Have you lost weight?" But it was also nice to just have a local say hi. He had assumed I was British and wanted to ask about my skin color, too. As in, I am too tan to be British. (Obviously, Brits of South Asian, African and other descents were not taken into consideration.) Anyway. A local talked to me today. That was nice.

And I walked 5 miles, did my strength exercises and cleaned the house. This week's focus is on getting the kids through each school day and its demands, one by one. Also, a vet visit for the cat, a haircut for me tomorrow, and the rest of the packing. I can do this.

[sparkletruck]

I am possessed with the color blue/green in all its iterations. I have pored over the internet for a week, studying pictures and reading blogs (of which there are a shocking ton, all about the search for a particular color paint, but now that Im trying to achieve it, I understand), and have a counter-top full of samples ranging from mint to a dark almost fern. I have containers labeled #1, #2, etc. of combinations that I have concocted with the samples. I'm pretty sure I will end up spending more on samples than the paint itself. I have two more samples to get, and I swear if neither of those works, I will just paint it white and maybe try again next summer If you google Rainwashed by Sherwin Williams or Palladian Blue by Ben Moore, you will see what I mean about the search... I'm getting rainwashed today (yes Sherwin Williams is open on Sunday, for the possessed like me).

We spent a few hours at the new house yesterday, trying to move an enormous fridge out from where it is set in the cabinetry, so the floor guys can lay the floor under it. Its a "sub-zero" fridge, and whoa nelly, it is big and heavy.

But the reason I bring up the new house yesterday is to say that the kids spent most of the time running around with the neighbor kids, and it reminded me, in a bad way, of that year in DE where I was always out front monitoring play, or keeping track of kids. I dont want to be patrolling the neighborhood all. the. time. Then last night we went to a party at a friends who lives in the valley (i.e along the river, where they have water rights = lush yard) - and their yard had a zip line, chickens, goats, swings... So, I realized from this that we need lots of kid-friendly acoutrement to attract the kids to play in our yard, where I can sit (with my mojito) on the back porch and supervise

All this to say, I have not even gone on a walk in over a month. I need to find this paint color yesterday!

[1jooj]

Sparkle, I googled them. I get it. I was expecting bluer. Could be my monitor. 

And re: backyard, climbing wall.

[sparkletruck]

That's the thing! I have been in the bluer/turqoise realm, and on the wall it ends up looking like mint gum. So Im realizing that I need more gray in the mix, which is somehting i was initially avoiding b/c I wanted more pop from the color, but now I see that pop = candy colored

Oh, and believe me, I have considered a Boulder. One of the uber-wealthy families on the team built a boulder for their son in their yard, and I am covetous. But hello $$$

[JayGee]

I would say trampoline, but I am pretty sure your ER doc husband would not approve!

[sparkletruck]

I'm going to San Diego in 3 weeks for a climbing comp. (hello Mamajb!) Do I stay for another day to do some activity like the reputedly phenomenal zoo? Has anyone been? It will be just me and DD1, which is always a little anti-climactic (I always miss the family when she and I travel alone, thinking about how much my other two would enjoy whatever we are doing - and no they cant all go, to much $)

[Dmitrizmom]

Originally Posted by sparkletruck 

I'm going to San Diego in 3 weeks for a climbing comp. (hello Mamajb!) Do I stay for another day to do some activity like the reputedly phenomenal zoo? Has anyone been? It will be just me and DD1, which is always a little anti-climactic (I always miss the family when she and I travel alone, thinking about how much my other two would enjoy whatever we are doing - and no they cant all go, to much $)

Zoo. Lego Land, Sea World... So much to see and do in/around San Diego!  (I've got a friend there that I've been wanting to visit for ages - just don't have the $$ to go with the fam.)

      Climbing wall in the back yard sounds like fun!  Never been climbing, but would love to.

Jo - hope his birthday gets better. Sounds like the weekend ended up completely packed.

    And love the positive comments from strangers.

Autumngrey - sounds like fun.

[Dmitrizmom]

Nic - congrats on the job!  Glad that you had a choice and that one is a better fit for you. 

Plady - hope the lymph node continues to shrink and that the U/S shows that it is nothing to be concerned about.

Real - congrats on getting the garden in AND the article submitted.

Hope everyone else that is under the weather is feeling better soon. That those doing house projects get them completed with a minimum of stress and drama. Wishing luck and good running to everyone with events.

RR: Haven't been out for a run in 2 days. I fell last Monday on a trail run and got a mild concussion and some nice bruises.   Planning on going out today for a bike/run brick.  I'm still slow, but it is getting easier.

NRR: Summer classes start on Tuesday. I'm teaching 3 (8 week) classes.  Excited about the material, excited about the paycheck, not excited about the time away from my kids.  Still looking for a full time job teaching (my school isn't hiring FT, even though they really need the faculty). Getting to the point that I'll take any FT job that is 40 hr/wk and decent income.  Still doing the Weight Watchers thing - may hit 50 lbs off this week or next. Only another 35-40 to go. I posted before and after pictures over on the WW thread.  Kids get out of school for the summer on Wednesday and summer camp doesn't start until Mid-June.  sigh. 

[Plady]

Autumn - Glad you had a good run! 

Dmzmom - Wow!  You're looking great! 

Sparkle - I think a trip with just dd sounds like it could be really nice.  I'll admit that when I was 13 I went to Sea World and thought it was the coolest thing ever.  However, now that I live up where the Orcas roam free and have learned so much more about them, I would urge you not to spend your money at Sea World.  They may be helping sea life in some ways by educating people, yet they have essentially enslaved some incredibly intelligent and emotionally aware animals for our entertainment and it's pretty awful.  </soapbox>  I feel your pain on paint colors.  It could definitely drive a person insane.

Jo - I woke up yesterday feeling mad at The Company for keeping your dh for the move.  Wasn't there some suggestion that They were trying to be family-friendly somehow?  Anyway, I think it totally stinks and it's just not fair.  But I'm glad you're coming home anyway.

Gaye - Glad you managed a good run, hope that you're still feeling better. 

MelW - That sounds like a great evening out!

RR: - Nope.

NRR: Just a busy weekend.  Yesterday the kids and I hit garage sales, an estate auction, farmer's market (I"m sorry but they are selling eggs for $7/doz.  That is effing ridiculous), Teddy Bear Picnic at the Community Theatre, Open House at the Friday Harbor Labs (UW Oceanography program has big deal stuff happening here and they open it for kids once a year), weeding, watering, dd had her friend sleep over.  Whew!  Today was a little easier, I had to teach the sunday school lesson and did a bunch of weeding but that's about it.  I'm a little sad that today we've got the first cloudy day in weeks and it's the day of the solar eclipse. :(
 

[Plady]

Sparkle - Have you seen http://www.houzz.com/ ?  It can also be overwhelming but I've seen a lot of things I really like there.

[Geofizz]

Soccer is done! We had a little party afterwards. I gave the girls little certificates. The team got me a fairly sizable gift cert to the local running store. Any ideas for favorite running extras?

And phew. We won. After 3 losses, they needed it. Every girl showed up on time and we needed it. 87F and sunny at game time.

Now off to burn off IEP anxiety on the road...

[sparkletruck]

Originally Posted by Plady 

Sparkle - Have you seen http://www.houzz.com/ ?  It can also be overwhelming but I've seen a lot of things I really like there.

What? Houzz? Never heard of it
Edited by sparkletruck - 5/20/12 at 7:45pm