Dingoes Give Thanks for Running in November! - Page 11

[Plady]

Lofty - The job is doing what I went to college for (of all things) at the theatre 3.5 miles from the house.  How crazy is that?  It's not lots of money but it's a fine hourly wage for doing what I'd do for free anyway and it will bring in some design opportunities (starting with the set for Into the Woods this spring I think).  Eventually I think I'll be helping to create a children's theatre arm of the community theatre with ongoing workshops and productions and whatnot.  I'm pretty psyched.

Sparkle - Good luck with the dog!  I hope her ticks remain parasitic only and few and far between.

Gaye -Great report as usual!  Hope you're getting some down time on your 'vacation'!

RR: Nope

NRR: Finally got our donkey into a new fresh area where she will hopefully be content.  She's been breaking out of her pen a lot recently and being brought home in shame before 6 am the past couple of days. 
 

[sparkletruck]

Aah, the walk of shame. So the donkey has some spunk in her yet ...

[JayGee]

Plady ~ hope Ms. Donkey stays put!  Congratulations on the job.  And in your field, no less!!!

sparkle ~ doggy picture please!  She sounds adorable.  I have been slowly working on DH for a dog for um, about 12 years.  Not sure I'm making much progress there .  Someday.  Maybe.

lofty ~ fun run with DS.  Your DH is fast, especially for someone who hasn't been running much.

tjsmama ~ nice race and great report!  Sounds like fun, but you need some sleep now, woman!

RR ~ not so much...

NRR ~ we had the greatest Day after Thanksgiving!  In spite of DD1 giving us a hard time about going hiking , we drove up to Pere Marquette State Park and all of us (including DD1) had a fantastic 3 mile hike up the bluff to a gorgeous view of the Mississipi river.  Tons of rock formations, lots of leaves to crunch through, and cool, crisp air made it a perfect day.  Afterwards we took the ferry into Missouri and had dinner in St. Charles where they were having their annual Christmas event downtown.  Lots of actors dressed up as Father Christmas, Jack Frost, Mrs. Claus, old-fashioned carollers, etc.  It was a great surprise, since we had no idea what St. Charles was like when we picked the restaurant.

Here is a cool picture from our hike.

[mommajb]

plady, I hope you had a great day at work and that the girls made it through happily enough.
for a PR kerc and nic
real, what a baby! I am so glad you got to see him with your own two eyes. Perhaps when people are healthier you will get to hold him and breath in that lovely scent of baby?
Sparkle, what a dinner you pulled off! It sounds like you have enough food to do it again. A dog?! I hope he is easy! Photos?
Shanti, Hang in there!
Jaygee, what a bummer the race didn't happen for you. The photos from your hike on fb are Christmas card worthy.
Gaye, what a great trip. I must need so much more sleep than you just to function at minimal levels!
Lofty, enjoy those races with your son! I am glad Thanksgiving had its high points and some relaxation for you. You have really handled your disappointment gracefully.

NRR: I am so susceptible to your suggestions! I did get skates that fit and it is so much better. They are just right for me at this point in my life. They are not competition skates but they fit and I can get comfortable with the blade. I set a budget and went looking. The first pair was within the money range and I was sold. After getting the skates I just had to check out Todai. I've finally had my sushi fix and can stop getting it for snacks at Trader Joe’s. Then I went home to gather the family to head for the ice. It is a temporary rink at Horton Center that I bought passes for but there are other closer rinks we can skate at when you are here (if you can stand entering via the mall food court). Along the lines of getting my own presents, I plan to do just that and I may end up with double at Christmas.

RR update: Ds1 is home from XC state championships and happy with team results. I admit I am not sure what place they took, 6th? It was only part of his report last night. Dh thankfully woke me up so I could hear what ds was saying when he was hyped up. I am sure he will be back to asking for rides and telling me he has outgrown his shoes and pants when he wakes this morning. Also, I slept while he was gone. Usually I cannot sleep well unless everyone is home but while he was gone I let one of the girls go to a sleepover and I slept! With both of them gone! This is big. Back to running, I did a crazy weight work out Friday morning and I was toilet sore yesterday (too sore to sit w/o clinging onto supports) but I think I should be able to run today when the fog clears.

ETA: Jo, is Reb okay?

[1jooj]

mommajb, reb's as OK as she can be at the moment. I'm worried but I actually texted with her middle of the night (her time). She needs a support system, and if I were there I could help her in so many small ways right now. She needs rides, restraining orders, and moral support. But I do believe she will come out all right.

Plady, I hope the job is pure joy, truly!

real, that is one cute little baby. I hope you get to hold him very soon. I think it would make many things OK.

JayGee, I love that cornflower-blue autumn sky. Looks brisk!

sparkle, you sound SO much better. But I swear, woman, I am marking my calendar. A dog! (I met a really sweet Saluki mix at a friend's and I want a dog now too.)

Another long school day in the books, and we broke midday for recess/PE at the beach club, where our fancy-pants membership will keep us in heated pools through winter (and no washing beach towels!), even after the ocean is too cold for swimming (which for me is like, now, I am so wimpy). We walked there and back and I did a few lengths of breaststroke, nothing hardcore and I didn't have goggles so I was done pretty quick. But we moved, and we are making our progress. We did two science labs (one for each grade level), an art class for dd, and lots of other learning. And I went "book shopping" at the online library and have some DF Wallace waiting on my Galaxy Note.

I threw out mashed potatoes, supersweet sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and stuffing that had been sent home with us. We ate the turkey, but I would have been the one to eat the rest. The pumpkin cake went to the security guard. Kids and I had salad for lunch, and for dinner it was meat and veg stew. 

Getting up early tomorrow for a run/walk before school, and after school kids and I will bike to park day. 

[sparkletruck]

She is to-die-for adorable so far. I need dh to help me get a picture up But a literal combo of this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Border_Collie and this: http://www.akc.org/breeds/great_pyrenees/index.cfm She has the face shape of the pyrenees but smaller body, and coloring (black around the eyes with white stripe down the middle) of the collie

Jo - what Mumford album do you recommend? I know; SO much better (and you! ). I'm off the 5-htp, so this month my plan is to try the ssri again when the progesterone drops pre-AF and see if it does in fact make a difference in those worst of days... ah, self-experimentation

RR: bike/run intervals for 80 minutes... Surprisingly good

NRR: hope to rake some leaves (easier to see the dog poop that way ) and take the dogs for a walk and/or to the dog park

[Mel38]

Happy Thanksgiving to my Dingo friends!

Sorry no personals, but I wanted to pop in and let you know that I will get those races down in the results kerc and Nic!

Also, congrats on your new doggie, sparkle!!

Thanksgiving at my sister's house was uneventful and nice. We *mostly* refrained from any touchy topics, except once or twice almost by accident, but no harm done.

I am catching up on work now and have a full week ahead. The year is really ticking down fast, isn't it?

No RR to report, but I hope to get out there this afternoon.

[MelW]

Hi all!

Checking in from work on my phone. My week so far:
12 h nights Mon & Tues
Trip to Vancouver Wed for conference Thu& Fri
Cuddling my kids and pruning all my trees on Sat
12 h day shift today (a short-call decision, but one that gives me the peace to take a couple days off now...)

The conference was great and made me feel all grown up to be able to go away on my own for a couple of days. It was good networking and career planning and kind of general life path planning/affirming.

Love to all!

[sparkletruck]

[JayGee]

Sparkle - she is adorable!

[Plady]

Awww!  She's beautiful! 

JayGee - Somewhere in deep storage I have a picture of dh and I at Pere Marquette in that exact same spot on a cold clear winter day too!  So funny.   

Mommajb - for skates!

Mel38 - Glad T-day was kind, although I guess less opportunity to use Real's game idea?

Just futzing around today.  I'm feeling particularly nesty.  Partly because I'm on to host my Bunco group in two weeks and I want the house to be farther down the road of completion (although the last time they were here was 18 months ago so a lot has been done) and partly because I'm losing patience with lack of organizational furnishings and crap everywhere.

This morning I had a wry laugh at a Dingo's FB post about her Elf on the Shelf adventures.  Dh and I couldn't even remember to take the letters to Santa out of the oven after the girls tried it for two nights in a row.   Dd1, who is in on Santa, gave us a particularly withering look so I told her that if she and her sister wanted to exchange us for old fashioned parents who just kissed their children goodnight and sent them up to bed alone with no snuggles or stories we could probably handle complicated tasks like Santa letters and tooth fairy money but that if they'd rather continue to have our company until their lids clang shut every night they'd have to be satisfied with what they've got.  She sighed but agreed she prefers the current arrangement.

[loftmama]

Plady, C is adorable. Can hardly wait to see her again. That job sounds awesome - fun and just right. No Elf on the Shelf here. I'm not even sure what that is; that's how unconnected I am.

Mommajb, YOU ROCK YOU SOME ICE SKATES! You SO deserve that! I'm so happy to imagine that wonderful outlet for you.

Sparkle, she's adorable! I'm so glad you posted a picture. I can def see the Pyrenees in her. Her nature sounds a lot like my dog who is FABULOUSLY well-behaved. He's a Collie/Bernese Mountain mix. His size is in between - big for a collie and just a tiny bit small for a Bernese. He has gorgeous coloring but the best part is his gentle Bernese personality. He adores people, is so loyal, and looks for permission for just about everything - including signs for starting his meal once I've placed it there. A Pyrenees is on my list of dogs I want and may be the next puppy I get. I've come across several people out here who raise their Pyrenees in the chicken coop and they are as protective of the chickens as they are of children so nothing gets them. If we get chickens again, I may lobby for a Pyrenees pup though I'd have a hard time leaving him there every night.

Jooj, oh no, I'm not sure what's going on with Reb. I hope she's okay. Your school schedule sounds great!

JG, love the hike picture!

RR: just finished a beautiful family run. Went on a hike yesterday with my family in the woods. My dog can't not herd and we have to be careful when we run to move slowly around him and I got a big "block" when I was away from the group and took a hard fall. I'm okay and that rarely happens anymore. But it was a big owie.

NRR: We agreed to a Monopoly game with my son last night after agreeing on a 1 hour time limit beginning at 5:30. I'm not sure what happened but it turned into a 4-hour marathon and was full of wild laughter and swaps and sales. It was outrageous how much fun we had. Dh & I agreed we'd never had that much fun playing Monopoly and both boys are still talking about it today. The wine and casual dinner was definitley key. Dh & I drank 1.5 bottles. That's a lot for me. But where it went crazy was when ds2 (the one who can't stand for someone to lose) kept pushing money into my pile surreptitiously to keep me in the game and then dh caught on and bought my last glass of wine for $700. Then ds1 was into it and, desperately trying to stay in the game, I sold him my piece of pumpkin pie I was saving for breakfast for $1000. (I landed on something with a hotel.) Anyway, we definitely added a fun twist to a boring-ish game. We hope it's a weekly ritual - and hope we can keep affording the wine!
Edited by loftmama - 11/27/12 at 5:45am

[Mel38]

Originally Posted by sparkletruck 

He's beautiful!!

Plady - your house sounds really nice with all the improvements you all have made over the past months. I do hear you on the clutter factor. I tend to overlook those kinds of things until I am expecting company.

[tjsmama]

sparkle~Awwww, so cute!

melw~Your week makes my head spin.

lofty~That sounds like an awesome monopoly game!

Hmm...elf on the shelf. I should probably figure out where I put him...

We are back home again. It was a pretty uneventful trip home, beyond the two thanksgiving dinners and the 8 mile race. There was a lot of sleep on my part, including a 2+ hour nap yesterday. Here's hoping that actually getting a full night's sleep my first night will make Christmas a little less sleepy.

We got home in time to throw up the Christmas tree and stockings, but nothing else yet. Not helped by the fact that I remembered AFTER searching through every box of Christmas stuff plus who knows how many others in the garage that I threw out the outdoor Christmas lights last year. Yeah, that would have been helpful to remember a little earlier. I guess we'll be making a trip to Target tomorrow...

[Realrellim]

sparkle--cute dog!

Plady--congrats on the job!

Sorry, that's all I can remember.

RR: 10, which was surprisingly easy considering that I spent the morning substituting for our organist and wondering how in the world I was going to have the energy to run 10.

NRR: DH and I talked some and have made some progress. Unrelated: I'm pretty sure I passed Jessica Ridgeway's mother on the trail today. She her eyes closed and face tilted into the sun, soaking up the warm afternoon rays. I also suspect they found some of her stuff in that area from what I heard on the scanners on day, so there's that.

[Nickarolaberry]

Sparkle, the doggie is adorable! Glad to hear things are evening out for you. That was a rough go. I hope it gets easier.

Plady, I love your comeback to dd1!  And congrats on the job, that's terrific.

Jo, sounds like you are settling in and thriving in inimitable Jo fashion. I so admire your ability to find your center and balance wherever you land. I need some of that quality, ok? And what's up with Reb? Maybe take it to the yahoo list? I am worried now... 

Mommajb, yay on the skates! I'm sorry that your family has been not so with the program. That is hard, and believe me, I know how it feels.

JayGee that hike looks great.

That's all I remember mamas. I am thinking of all of you and trying to hang in there. The ups and downs and constant push pull of 'can I make it work, can't I make it work' coupled with the hope that inevitably gets smashed when things are good...these are taking a toll. At this point it's not even verbal meanness really or stuff like that -- just disconnection that veers sharply into disdain and is somehow even more painful. Sigh. Sorry to whine.

I need to ramp up my mileage to both try and head off this depression (cold weather, winter dark, and life related) and get into shape again. Also I think I'm going to try yoga again, this time maybe at a real yoga place which combines the physical with the inner side. I suspect that once I get past the "I hate this" part (which I had when I started running also) it might be very good for me, both core-strength wise and inner balance-wise. Any advice on styles, etc.?

[KnitterMama]

Hello, all!  Might I join in this lovely group?  I'm a distance runner...just getting back on the wagon after I burned-out following my 2nd marathon Sept 30.  I've had a lot of issues with depression and so forth since the weather changed and just this AM had the realization that having a race to aim myself at will help me be motivated and stay fit and happy this winter.  So, this AM I registered for the Lake Effect Half Marathon and am really excited to start training again!  

[Plady]

Originally Posted by Nickarolaberry That's all I remember mamas. I am thinking of all of you and trying to hang in there. The ups and downs and constant push pull of 'can I make it work, can't I make it work' coupled with the hope that inevitably gets smashed when things are good...these are taking a toll. At this point it's not even verbal meanness really or stuff like that -- just disconnection that veers sharply into disdain and is somehow even more painful. Sigh. Sorry to whine.

I need to ramp up my mileage to both try and head off this depression (cold weather, winter dark, and life related) and get into shape again. Also I think I'm going to try yoga again, this time maybe at a real yoga place which combines the physical with the inner side. I suspect that once I get past the "I hate this" part (which I had when I started running also) it might be very good for me, both core-strength wise and inner balance-wise. Any advice on styles, etc.?

Nic - You weren't whining, I think that a hope roller-coaster is just entirely draining.  Keep us posted on the yoga, I have that exact thought now and then but have never managed to get past the hating it part to experience the ahhh part.

Originally Posted by KnitterMama 

Hello, all!  Might I join in this lovely group? 

Welcome KM! 

Real - Wow, details just change everything don't they? 

Lofty - That game sounds great!  I love board games but dh is either totally not into them or plays to win in a kind of not fun way and I'm not always into being the only adult.  But the one you describe sounds perfect.

[sparkletruck]

Shanti, Mel38, and Bec - I am very sorry if, in my self-absorbed excitement, I didnt think about your doggies and that the topic might be sensitive. Im sorry if I scratched a tender spot

Nic - Not whining. Releasing tension, I hope! It sounds rather miserable actually, and it makes me wonder: where are you in your goals? You started some steps several months ago to get yourself feeling more independent and clear sighted, and you've accomplished so much. What is the next bench-mark? How long, or what signs are you looking to see in couples therapy that things are either going one way or another in the big picture? It sounds like you are hunkered down a little, as winter does to us, and I just dont want you to hunker down as a way to endure the disdain. Did you hear about Mayim Bialik? I thought maybe the news would make you feel less hard on yourself. I would try Bikram (nice to get hot when its so cold out, plus the routine is very routine, so you could learn the steps easily and get to the work-out challenge faster, plus the heat and sweating can be purifying in all ways)

RR: weight circuit. Whoa, so apparently I just took a month off

NRR: Got my 4th paper (of the midterm) back last night. He said it is the best midterm he's had in his 20 years of teaching the class and that we "should talk soon about your future in the program". Ive already had one prof./advisor ask "are you committed to topping at the M.A.?" Not that I'm all excited to pursue a PhD, but that sure felt good to my ego

[Mel38]

Hi KnitterMama! Welcome, and I will add you to the race list (... soon, I promise!)

Sparkle, jeez, that's the best compliment from a prof that I've ever heard!! Congrats!

Originally Posted by sparkletruck 

Shanti, Mel38, and Bec - I am very sorry if, in my self-absorbed excitement, I didnt think about your doggies and that the topic might be sensitive. Im sorry if I scratched a tender spot

Not at all, really! Your pup is lovely, and I have really come to totally love my own new doggie. There's just not ever a comparison between the two, once you get to know them. If anything, it helped me to not think so much about my dog who passed away.

Shanti, I meant to say Any update?

Nic, no whines, I feel you. FWIW, I think that the disconnect and blah-ness can be worse sometimes than the fighting - well, not more wrenching, but feels more hopeless. I hope that this stage passes and a better one is right around the corner for you. Yoga sounds good, as does increased mileage.

I am working like crazy today, and in the hopes that I can finish by the time the kids are home from school. I have great plans to start sewing some Christmas gifts and also to do some de-clutter, reorganization projects, but for those things to happen, I have to stop working all these crazy hours. Honestly, it would also be better for me and for the whole family if I didn't spend so much time at my computer. It's hard, though, as every job = $, and I feel like a slacker when I turn things down.

Jo, mommajb, kerc, geo, bec, Mel, Gaye, Lisa, Plady, Lofty, and all my Dingo friends