Dingoes Running in Search of Light and Warmth in December! - Page 12

[JenLove]

Jo ~ Happy 15th anniversary!! :)

BTW: I also worry about Reb... do you think there is anything I can do from close'ish?  I could contact her when we head to GB next....

Geo ~ I hope your foot heals fast!  That gives me the heebie jeebies to think about. :P

JG~ ::hugs:: Thinking about you and your Dad too!  Keep us posted.

My goal list is inspired by 13 skills in 2013 by a podcast we listen to called The Survival Podcast.  We aren't extreme preppers or anything, but want to be sufficient out on the homestead (as much as we can at least and that changes each year).  Here are my 13 -

1. Target shoot all of our guns
2. Make beer
3. Grow, harvest, and mill grain
4. Consistently prepare sprouts
5. Make cheese from our goat milk
6. Make yogurt from our goat milk
7. Make really good bread
8. Pressure can meat (like venison)
9. Store 3-6 months of non-perishable food
10. Create one salve, one tincture, and one tea from our herbs
11. Make and store apple cider
12. Make and store applesauce
13. Learn to mend clothes

Beyond these I would like to attend yoga classes a few times a month and run a 5K.  I am SO out of shape!

[1jooj]

JayGee, I hope your dad is feeling all right. Hope it was just a virus or something and that he'll be right again in no time.

Jennie, I like your goals. I'd heartily recommend nettle for the tea (wear gloves!) and maybe catnip too. For tummies and sleeping. You'll be surprised how easy yogurt is, and you should be able to "keep it going" once you get started. Love the ideas, though. I think we're just going to stalk our old place in hopes that its new owners wear out around the time we're ready to come back.  You just never know what's next.

My goals are the same as always: eat well, move, be outdoors, write, pay attention to my relationship with that which made me. Also, more headstands. I think I am making the switch to walking, cycling and yoga for the current term. It just doesn't feel like my time to run.

RM, funny, so we started talking again about vacations and dh rightly reminded me that, as long as we are here, we really need to take advantage of our location and see Mecca and Medina as pilgrims. So we're going to research and plan a short pilgrimage, and if all goes well, maybe we'll get lucky and do Hajj next fall as well. I feel like our life is ready for those steps. The kids are in the right ages/developmental stages, we're in a geographically close position, we have the funds. No more excuses.

Re: reb, yes, worried. But I believe she is in good hands and well-protected in the most basic ways for now. 2013 will be a major re-set for her, so we will see how that looks. I am anxious to get back for the summer and be close by. For now, she has a lot of getting better to do, and she is doing that.

Just one day into cleaning up my food choices, and I had one of those nights of diuresis and woke up 3 pounds down. Inflammation. Wow. And getting out of bed without pain is a major plus.

[loftmama]

Wow, jo. Hope it's not painful. Those goals sound smart and reasonable.

Jennie, those particular goals sound overwhelming to me! I'm very impressed with your ambition. I think I must keep my bar pretty low.

RR: Had a fabulous and long run/walk with my sil around a portion of Lake Washington in Seattle. Intended to do only my usual ("low-bar") 30 minute run/walk but with the company it went an hour with lots of intense hills. It was fun, difficult and felt great even though my toes (in Vibrams) were completely numb by the time I got back. Off to Christmas Eve service...

[Plady]

Happy Christmas Dingos!

Thinking of you all.  I've been skimming and clicking 'multi-quote' but never getting to the reply part.  I'm heading into Christmas with a familiar mix of hope and dread.  Sad to say that dread is having the upper hand right now.  But I'll count my blessings before I sleep and I'm sure that will knock things back the right way.

Hope that you are each feeling well and loved whether today has special meaning or not.

Shanti - Health before wealth.  Doesn't every preacher know that?

[tjsmama]

Merry Christmas, friends!

We're having a pretty slow night at work, as was last night. With any luck, tomorrow will be, too, and maybe I'll get to go home early tomorrow and get a little sleep before I have to head to the airport. I won't lie, it's been a rough day for me, not so much not having DS with me since I've done that before, but not having him AND not being with my family. I'm glad to have the distraction of work, but I pretty much bawled like a baby on the way in. Holiday pay. I just need to think about the holiday pay.

I hope all of you have wonderful days with your families.

[Nickarolaberry]

Merry Christmas to all my Dingo friends!

Wishing you a blessed holiday season and a new year of prosperity, happiness, and all the bounty of love and spirit that should come your way.

I have been having a super rough time here with a cold that morphed into a mega-asthma event. Finally I am on steroids but I am going to have to get in to see a specialist and have my meds adjusted. They won't see me until I go through the primary care gate, but I can't get through that gate until I have a doctor, which I haven't had yet (since we moved here).  So in the meantime I've been having to go to the urgent care center which is only marginally less aggravating than the ER. Have not run in a week and am really feeling it in body and spirit.

On the up side, it is vacation this week. Dd2 is going to her winter camp tomorrow, and the rest of us are off to NJ on Thurs. for some time with family. Hoping that goes well...but looking forward to some down time.

I am blessed to have you all in my life. 

[MelW]

Merry Christmas to all the dingoes who celebrate, and I hope everyone else is having a good day.

Safe travels to those traveling.
Jo, I'm impressed by how "embodied" you seem right now- aware of how foods fuel you (or not) and connected to what exercise feels right for you now.

Nic, I hope you feel better soon!!

I spent the 23rd dealing with the walk in clinic and several pharmacies trying to find a solution for my youngest daughter's sinus infection that didn't have corn in it. There was no compounding pharmacist available, but we found a corn-free antibiotic and taught her to swallow a pill.

RR- Tried to go rock climbing on Sunday afternoon, but the gym was closed. The family bought me a harness for Christmas, and we got one for the youngest, too. I'm hoping for a lot more climbing in the New Year, especially for my month alone with the kids (did I mention my husband is going to Ireland for a writing retreat Jan-Feb?)

We're doing family Christmas stuff- tea with my sister and dinner at MIL's yesterday, morning and breakfast at home, dinner at BIL and SIL's new house today. Some more family visits over the next few days plus three night shifts, including New Year's Eve. Maybe we'll get a New Year's baby!

[Runningmommy]

Merry Christmas dingos ! Hope you are in a good place today! I ran 5 miles today to work out all the sugar I crammed in my mouth yesterday.

So what's been going on with Reb? It doesn't say too much on FB.

[JayGee]

Merry Christmas! We had a lovely, relaxing day yesterday. Unfortunately, my new running shoes did not arrive in time for Christmas Day, but I should be getting them soon (per DH). I dragged my children to the YNCA this morning and ran for 30 minutes and did the elliptical for another 15. The last injection left me with a lot of residual numbness that should theoretically be gone by now. Next week I am going back to PT and the pain management doc for an ultrasound of my piriformis to see if the sciatic nerve is getting hung up in there somehow. We'll see.

Hope everyone is having a good week!

[MelW]

JayGee, I hope the numbness resolves soon (and the new shoes arrive!)

RR- More snow shovelling/slush shovelling, plus a walk through the slush to my step-sister's house. I put the jogging wheel on the chariot to push my youngest, and it was a decent push to get it through some parts.

NRR- my kids are mostly happily occupied with various new books and toys. My best Christmas gift for them were a ton of wooden marble tracks I bought months ago on Craigslist. They will happily create together for a long time.

[Nickarolaberry]

Yoga tonight.   I really like it. It's hard for me -- I'm not flexible and I have terrible proprioception. Not to mention my core and arm strength are woeful. All things yoga should help improve. As far as yoga vs. weights, yoga wins hands down (pardon the pun). I think I will buy a 10-class pass so I can choose which classes I want and when I want to go rather than a monthly membership which is pricey. I talked to the owner and she said I could handle the hot Power Yoga class fine, even as a rank beginner, especially as a runner. I might alternate it with the other kinds they offer (hatha and kripalu).

(If I sound like I know what the heck I'm talking about, don't worry, it's a total facade. )

I got myself also a new headlamp for early morning running. It came just in time for this asthma bout so it's shiny and new still. My lungs are not ready to go back to anything aerobic much less running yet. Getting very frustrated but determined this time NOT to jump the gun as I did in May and set myself back months.

Dd2 went off to winter camp/retreat today. I took her to drop her at the bus, and she met up with her BFF from last summer's camp. There was a new girl, their age, and dd2 turned to her and said, "We're so glad you're here. Do you want to sit with us on the bus?" Can I tell you my heart just about exploded?  DD2 has a singular kind of compassion and empathy. She is just such a gorgeous soul.

Next few days, if the weather cooperates, the rest of us are off to NJ to see family. My mom already called with the weather/snow/road report (she's terrified of snow. It turns into major anxiety and obsessiveness over what time we're leaving, how fast we plan to drive, how heavy the car might be. Sigh.).

Hope all the Dingoes are doing well. 

[1jooj]

I hope all your Christmas-celebrating Dingoes had a merry one. 

Nic, I love yoga. I didn't get it at first and for a while, but I finally do. My yoga-instructor friend actually calls one of her classes "yoga for runners." It's more of a mindset, she says, than a physical thing, but she knows it needs to be challenging to keep them (us?) coming. I sure hope your breathing improves quickly. It would figure you'd be hit by the need for a PCP over holidays. And yes, what a lovely thing to hear from your daughter. Love it. I'm sure it made that little girl's day as much as yours. I saw chocolate coins at the grocery store and thought of you.

RM, I have been meaning to update on the deal on the yahoo group. It's complicated, but she is in a safe place and working on her health, and i hope 2013 holds better for her and her family.

MelW, I love that marble tracks are the big hit. That would be the case in a house full of my kids and their cousins, too. I love watching kids interact over "low-tech" toys. Enjoy!

We've been taking the winter break time to catch up/get ahead on school (esp ds, as dd is already ahead). He's almost there, except for art classes. I've read a lot of parents' comments that k12 is...a lot...and, esp for my middle schooler, it is. Of course, regular B&M school would have him on the books from 5-9 every night, and we are not doing those kinds of days, but for the intensity of one-on-one schooling, a 6- to 7-hour day is a lot. We usually take a long midday break for "PE," which is walking, heely-ing, yoga, or swimming. The good news is, we're taking more leisurely days over the break, and still getting ahead. This weekend, I guess we're going on a morning sea fishing trip. I just want to see dolphins.

I took a 20km bike ride on the Corniche on Christmas Day, and finished at the health club, where I did yoga. Yesterday, long walk with the kids, punctuated by some headstand work on the garden lawns. Today, a solo walk yet this morning, and probably take the kids out on Heely shoes later. Depends on temps. The forecast keeps saying mid-70s and then the temps are hitting mid-80s. 

Also writing, and making headway on my draft. And that is all I will say because anytime I say more than that, everything stops. Bought The 90-Day Novel, and trying to work within that paradigm. It's hard to let go of perfectionism. I feel like this past year was my deprogramming year. It had to be unproductive, after cranking the way I did as a copywriter. Anyway, the kids are watching me write, dh is watching me write, and I am writing. That has to be a good example. A new pair of glasses definitely makes it easier to stick with the work longer. My headaches are just about gone. Also taking magnesium before bed. Wow, my sleep is gooooood.

Plady and Lofty, I am jealous, jealous, jealous. And P, those girls are adorable.

[loftmama]

Jooj, I loved hearing about all your writing endeavors and how the kids get to see you write and dh sees you write and just where you are, etc. I am not where you are now but I can see myself in that spot down the road. And that description of 6-7 hours of intensity + long, mid-day break + "PE" is my day all the way to the "heely-ing" - love it. I so relate. Glad it's good.

Nicka, you got the yoga talk down! Hope it's going well. What a sweet dd. Have a safe trip.

Mel, Love that marble run. Makes me want to hide all the tech toys and pull out the old wooden marble run myself.. Of course I 'd have to find it first...

JG, ugh, I hope those shoes get in soon for you.

RM, nice run!

RR: no run again today. Spent the day with all 12 of us at the chocolate factory, then various shops, touring parts of Seattle and then big Italian dinner. Must run it off tomorrow! And what a wimp I am. These few hills are making my legs burn and I really do run and lift weights at home.

Tomorrow the guys go ski and I get to be a girl. Normally I'd choose the skiing but I'm eager for dh to have the fun day with the boys just so he has that experience and eager to have a girl day since my girlfriends have all moved. Though I am still not spending money... The no-Christmas presents went over pretty well. The boys handled it pretty well. Twice I almost cried bc I felt so bad not buying my kids presents but they have not cared at all and it's showing me how very unnecessary all the gifts have really been. We've played lots of gifts, done lots of fun things together and they still got gifts from cousins, so it's not like it's terrible or anything. Just interesting. Different. Hard. And eye-opening.

[Shantimama]

I love all the yoga talk. I used to love doing some yoga before my run, running and then cooling down with some more yoga. That was perfect for me. I think my hands have healed enough from the summer for me to test out doing some yoga again. I am craving physical activity beyond walking like crazy. My lungs cannot handle running and for months my hands have not been able to bear any weight which really limits things. Swimming is not an option as the only pool here has such bad air quality that I can't even get changed before the asthma attack begins. Snowshoeing is my idea form of exercise. I am still holding out for a real winter - it looks like it is going to stay below freezing for at least the next two weeks. I don't know how much snow we'll get but I can hope!

My kids have been amazing. Their love for each other and their generous spirits are carrying them through this holiday. The stress gets the best of them occasionally but we are getting through. There have been some really fun and beautiful moments this week. Some really awful ones too but that isn't for here. We all went to see Les Miserables last night and that was great. At first the girls were embarrassed by the fact that we took them to a movie that was all in song - yes, they are 13 and 14 years old   but they loved it. I love the story and saw it on stage in both French and English a number of times way back before I met h. I told the girls they could thank me for not embarrassing them more by singing along since I knew every word of the original - the look on their faces was priceless 

I made my first smoothie in weeks yesterday. I need to get back on that as it really helps - I think yesterday's included almonds, pumpkin butter, cranberries, an apple, maple syrup, chia and flax seeds and coconut water. It was delicious but sadly that was the last of the pumpkin butter. Today I have turkey soup to make and I think I will make some dahl too as that is my current go to comfort food. I find it fascinating how we all thrive on different diets. I have been trying to sort through what will be the best for me right now and I think of 1jooj thriving on a paleo diet and nic on a vegan diet and I think I just have to test it out. I am ready to ditch the sugar again and the very few gluten bits I have eaten this month have not been at all worth it. I just need to keep soup on the fridge to grab when I am hungry instead of having to choose between rummaging through the cupboard of grain based things or full on cooking.

[sparkletruck]

Holiday Blessings Everyone

We are in the tundra, also called S. Dakota It's been in the single digits, but today will be 18 Woot! I enjoy the family very much but there is Nothing to do but sit around the house (or mall walk ) So I have been sitting, a lot. There's also Nothing to eat here, as 90% of their diet is white flour, white sugar, and conventional meat/eggs/dairy, so I might actually have lost a few, although that's not a goal. Anyway, it's an odd fit, but they are dear folk, and it was a very sweet Christmas (celebrated Christmas Eve). The kids and cousins all had dreams come true

Also, my dear friend (witness at my wedding/elopement) gave birth to her third on Dec. 24. The thing about it is that she named her the same name as my third; the colored part of your eye. In addition to both being the third child/DD's, they are both Capricorns (mine turns five in a week), both the only ones of our three to be conceived w/out fertility meds and as a total shock/thrilling surprise, and both following a really difficult experience in the moms' lives. It so happens (I learned this when my DD2 was 6 mos.) that Goddess I**s was the messenger of the Gods in Greek mythology. When she delivered a message, a rainbow appeared in the sky (which is why some people say her name means rainbow). I like to think of mine as my messenger, and I think my friend's is a messenger too. So that was awesome to hear.

Jo - well done on the eating and writing and exercise. You seem to be in a balanced pace right now, reaping the fruits of that balance.

Shanti - glad your kids are bringing you so much sanctuary

Lofty - I would opt for the girls day too

To everyone else

[Plady]

Good morning mamas!

Lofty - So excited for your arrival!!!  I love the no presents (but a trip and fun adventuring) type of Christmas.  I feel like as long as Alison believes in Santa we should keep up the presents under the tree, but once she's old enough to know what's going on I'd love to transition to doing what you guys are doing.  My favorite presents are always things to do and remember.  That said the run away hit this year was Just Dance for our PS3.  Dd1 has been dancing almost non-stop since we hooked it all up on Christmas.  I've been enjoying it a lot too and last night we had our annual Boxing Day potluck and at one point we had 10 people jammed into our tv room grooving out to They Might Be Giants.  And only some of them were kids.   That said, get ready to shake it!  And, think about catching the 9:30 ferry, otherwise I'll have to wait until 3:45 for you guys to get here!

Shanti -   I just want to wrap you and your kids in a big healing hug.  Your spirit is so strong and beautiful.

JG - Here's hoping your shoes have come and off and away in them!

Jo - It is such a joy to read your posts and imagine the scenes you describe this year.  Whereas everything last year seemed all too bright and shiny and harsh, this year feels balmy and breezy and warm.  I'm so so happy for all of you.

Nic - Aww sweet girl!  Obviously well-raised!  And I think it's great that you have found another (as in additional, not replacement) love!  I wish I had that relationship with yoga, I really do and I envy you for catching the wave.

MelW - Wow!  Dh off to Ireland for a month?  Nice for him.  You know what that says to me?  Mel gets a girls weekend in America once the ferry starts running again in the spring!   

Time to head to boxing, for you my dingos!

[JayGee]

Plady - I am so excited for you and lofty to spend some time together! Enjoy!

sparkle - congratulations to your dear friend on the birth of her child. What a connection between your two families.

Shanti - I hope you get some real winter too and a big :group for you and your children.

lofty - so glad your family did well with the no-gifts Christmas. It's different, to be sure, but seems to get to the essence of the holiday more than the traditional "tons-o-stuff" celebrations. Have a lovely time with Plady!

Nic - I'm glad you've found yoga in the absence of running and I hope you're feeling better soon.

Jooj - you sound so wonderfully balanced right now

RR - I finally set up my road bike on the trainer and rode for 40 minutes this morning while watching House Hunters.

NRR - we're having a home-day today. I don't want to spend a dime, it's brutally cold and windy, and well, I just don't want to leave the house. The kids invited friends over, but no one could come so it's just me and them today. I think we'll bake some cookies, watch a movie together and just hang out. DS has swim practice tonight and both girls have Irish dance so we'll be out all evening anyway.

[tjsmama]

I love reading about everyone's holiday celebrations (and non-celebrations)!

I won't lie, it was a pretty rough holiday for me. It was the first time ever to not spend Christmas with family in some way, shape, or form. I was actually offered release from work (getting to stay home if we're slow) on Christmas, but I declined. If I couldn't be with my family, at least I could be with people and making time and a half, ya know? And I do love my job, so that helped. I still cried, a lot, even at work a few times. Not helped by watching the weather forecast and seeing that the airport I was flying into was right at the epicenter of the blizzard. That caused a lot of stress, let me tell you. I really didn't think I was going to make it into Ohio, let alone then have to drive the three hours north to my parents. Miraculously (and I do kind of believe that it was a Christmas miracle), my flight made it in, and the roads were bad, but open. Oh, and did I mention that I got a whopping hour of sleep on the flight? Nothing like driving on horrible road conditions on an hour of sleep! It was slow, but we made it here last night, and I am SO happy right now to be hanging with my little man and just relaxing. My good friend (who lives in Paris!) is at her mom's until tomorrow, so we are going to go over there for dinner. We did Santa presents last night and mommy presents this morning, and DS has had his nose buried in his set of Captain Underpants books all day.

rr~Ha. Maybe tomorrow? Although I didn't bring my yaktrax, and clearly, I should have....

[MelW]

Lofty and Plady, have a terrific dance and laugh-filled visit. I do think a month in Ireland means I am owed some serious adventure time in the Spring!

Jo, your post are filled with a wonderful peace and rhythm right now. Enjoy the school and PE and writing.

sparkle, I love the story of your youngest daughter and friend's youngest. My husband and I both come from families of 3 where two were planned and the third was not. I am so happy and so done with two, so the family history haunts me a little. Not enough to have a tubal, but to pray to the IUD gods monthly. I love the name, btw. It was on our list with both.

Tjsmama, I'm glad you made it safely. Enjoy your time off!

Shanti, the smoothie sounds delicious. It must be terrific to have your kids keeping things together so beautifully. It's a testament to the mothering you have done.

RR- I ran today. For real! It was short and snowy, but it was something other than my daily shoveling.

NRR- Night shift tonight, and my husband's family will all come for the afternoon and dinner tomorrow. I need to catch up on laundry and clean toilets before work.

Oh, and a funny follow up to the story about hubby offering to put dishes in the dishwasher in exchange for me knotting the blind cords his way: I learned and started doing it, and the next morning he put dirty dishes into the clean dishwasher. We've been on track since then.

[Realrellim]

tjsmama--glad you made it. I also forgot to pack yaktrax. Grrr.

lofty--glad it went well.

JayGee--hope you were able to have a nice trip.

Nic--hope the weather was fine. We've been hanging out at the Philly airport since noon and it's been dry and partly sunny (now dark), so hopefully that meant good weather for you too.

Hi to everyone else.

RR: should have been a swim tonight but no. See saga below.

NRR saga, as promised. The plan: 7 am flight to Philly, 2 pm flight to Albany, get dinner and swim/relax at hotel. Reality: 7 am flight (getting up at 3 am, except that I didn't go to bed until 12:30 and then R couldn't sleep and climbed into bed with me and spent all 2-1/2 hours fidgeting and waking me up every 30 minutes or so). The 2-1/2yo screamed for an hour on the flight because US Airways apparently doesn't do things like turn off the seat belt sign (no turbulence, no reason not to, nothing said about leaving it on indefinitely). So after an hour of her screaming that she wanted to go to daddy or that she wanted to nurse she finally fell asleep. When she woke up again I unbuckled her. By then we were at least halfway through the flight. It was just stupid.

Then there was the descent, and it was 10-15 minutes of horrible roller-coaster-ish stuff. I pulled out my sick bag. R, sitting with DH, wasn't able to convey that she was going to be sick and didn't realize there was a paper bag for that purpose. By the time DH figured out what was going on he was 3 seconds too late and she pretty much spewed everywhere. And then screamed at the top of her lungs 'cause that's what she does after she throws up. So once we were (ever so thankfully) on the ground, we took our queasy selves to the bathroom to change R and wash all her clothes as best we could with hand soap.

Then they canceled our flight to Albany. They rebooked us for a 9:30 one, but that was 8ish hours away and we could drive there in about half that time. However, after it turned out the car rental place would charge us another $600 to pick up the car in Philly, we scrapped that idea and spent the next 8 hours hanging out in the airport. (Maybe it was weather related, but we called our hotel and they said the storm was basically done and roads were good; it was dry in Philly.)

The worst part was the end. We're sitting in this cramped gate area trying to eat dinner, and every time an employee came in through the door across from us, we'd be blasted by this cold wind that sent everything flying. Then when they boarded the flight before us, the temperature in the gate area must have dropped 20 degrees because the wind was coming straight down the jetway. I joked to DH that it was surprising they didn't have people stationed every so often along the concourses to blow air horns at us. But then there were not one but two deafening alarms (fire alarm? door alarm? I have no idea, but they included flashing lights and all) that were each about 15 seconds long before we left. They were also moving gates all around and I also joked to DH that I was beginning to take the gate changes personally. So sure enough, they moved our gate and told us we had 5 minutes to get there because they would start boarding. (Yes, I took it personally. :P) So we hustle to the new gate and they don't start boarding for 15 minutes.



But we're in Albany (18 hours later) so that's something.