Dingoes Running in Search of Light and Warmth in December! - Page 3

[1jooj]

Originally Posted by Plady 

I love how out of touch we all are.
 

Yup!

I didn't run this morning. Instead, I dressed for a run, walked down to Starbucks, got a black coffee and listened to news podcasts while watching people get their morning coffee. I spent an hour doing this. I'll hit the gym tomorrow morning, I think.

Real, that is one sweet-looking baby. I sure hope his sister is doing well.

Kids are starting with our new Arabic tutor at this moment. We have an art workshop tonight. Tomorrow is weekend, and I think dh is going to Turkey next week. He invited us, but I don't know about taking the kids to Turkey without being able to see either Istanbul or Konya, and staying in what looks to be the one crummy hotel in the whole town...just probably not worth the big spend of tickets. Not this time.

[mommajb]

I'll admit to needing to google many things that come up here including almost all pop culture references.

I will probably send out a few of the cards with notes and skip others. Just a bummer and an indicator of how things are going to go for a bit. The tree is up and I have set a deadline of mailing out gifts on Monday that need to be mailed. Now to make a list of who/what and to get shopping. I hate that part. I care about my friends and family but gift selection stresses me out.

jo, I think I could handle your starbucks workout.
real, that little boy is adorable.
RM, you posted a link to crossfit mamas and it has been super helpful on non running days and unlike bodyrock I can look at it with kids in the room. Thank you!
geo, I've had partners I've run with for entertainment value when their lives are so different when compared to mine. It can be entertaining until you can take no more. you find/develop a lasting friendship.
knittermama, I bet the snowy track workout was a shock after 70s!
loftmama, I hope your energy/recovery is good today.
melw, perhaps you would like to bring your hs drinking game to park day today? You would be a hit!

[kerc]

my dingo email is sent to an older email address that I don't read very often. well right now I don't read it often because all the darn shopping related email goes there.

Anyhow, if you are like me and don't read very often, go there and read that email.

Holding my dingo friends tightly right now.

[Geofizz]

Thanks for the heads up, kerc. 

Originally Posted by mommajb 

geo, I've had partners I've run with for entertainment value when their lives are so different when compared to mine. It can be entertaining until you can take no more. you find/develop a lasting friendship.

To be clear, my RP is coming back, but it's just going to be a while.  Today I packed my clothes with the intent to run home.  Hopefully I can make that happen.  Yes, running with Size 4 gave me a lot of insight into this crazy community.  Sadly, it mostly reinforced the negative things I was already thinking about many parents in this area.

Real, that's a super-cute picture. 

Where in Turkey, jooj?  There's lots of places I would love to go.  I think I would skip Konya in December, though!

[1jooj]

Geo, kirklareli? There's just some stuff in Istanbul I'd really like to see. Artifacts.

Sending Dingo love. And strength and will and perseverance. And fierceness and courage and power.

[Geofizz]

Woah, that's practically Bulgaria.  Yeah, I'd pass, too.  ;)

Writing letters of recommendation today.  I block out huge swaths of time to get these done.  I've gotten really strict with students on how they ask me for letters, which appears to have cut down on the number of requests, leaving me with just highly organized and focused students.  I'm surprised how much easier this task is now.  Still, it's a huge job every December.

[mommajb]

I didn't mean to imply that it was a negative or one way relationship with various running partners. But like you said, sometimes we can be so far apart philosophically speaking that it is interesting and informative if not who we thought we would spend so much time with. I rarely speak clearly anymore, please assume positive intentions.

dingo love and rays of light going out...

Homeschool frustration is setting in.

[Geofizz]

Originally Posted by mommajb 

I didn't mean to imply that it was a negative or one way relationship with various running partners. But like you said, sometimes we can be so far apart philosophically speaking that it is interesting and informative if not who we thought we would spend so much time with. I rarely speak clearly anymore, please assume positive intentions.

Oh, I totally got that.   I just wasn't sure if it was clear that my regular RP is coming back (she'd better if she knows what's good for her) once she's healed.  Probably January. 

Remind me who's schooling at home with you?

[sparkletruck]

So head-cold tired, stuffed, and bleh. Thought last night that I was getting strep b/c my throat hurt so badly I couldnt sleep until I took some ibuprofen at midnight and finally went down at 1a. Woke at 6 I have a presentation of my final "semester project" today, and I know for many of you this is nothing, for me it is hugely stressful I have bad stage fright. I'm pretty well prepared - i.e. my power point maps what I want to say hopefully well enough that I dont actually need my brain to work. Good thing b/c see above. Need sleep.

Heading to UT in the morning for climbing. This is the beginning of the "big" comps: regionals, then divisionals, then nationals (all depending how she does on the preceding comp.) this weekend is regionals.

Geo - I would find it hard to run with someone I couldnt let fly with.

[Shantimama]

I    Dingoes. 

[Plady]

And Dingoes you.  And dingoes are fierce, like you.  Courage mama, we're all right there with you.

[tjsmama]

Dingo(e)s are the best.

Halfway through my stretch of horrible schedule (two on, one off, one on, two off, two on, two off, two on, one off, two on ). Yeesh. On the bright side, once I get through this, I have two weeks of normal schedule and then two weeks off!

I started the next phase of invisalign today and holy crow, it hurts. I basically have some brackets (they call them buttons, but same thing, more or less) glued on my teeth that fit into recessed spots on my trays. It's not so bad when the trays are in, but taking them off to eat and then putting them back on afterwards was awful. They don't pop in and out quite so easily anymore. On the plus side, I guess that will cut down my snacking even more than I already had.

I skipped my run on Tuesday between waiting for the satellite dish guy (who can't move my dish to where the HOA wants it to be and still get a signal...HOA battle brewing, sigh) and needing to nap before work. And then I found out that DS's class field trip is tomorrow from 9-2, and he wants me to go, so I guess I won't be getting a workout in tomorrow either. Blah. Must run on Saturday...but then again, it's supposed to be in the 40's with a rain/snow mix, so that sounds like fun.

[JayGee]

 for Dingos . We love you Shanti.

I need a running partner.  I had a fabulous group in Bloomington that ran every Saturday morning together, and a couple of other women I would meet with during the week for runs.  The accountability makes a difference.  I belong to a HUGE running group here, but have only done one trail run with them so far.

RR ~ still coughing like a madman, so no.

NRR ~ I guess I am feeling better, but the cough gets me still. DH is being rather crabby about me being sick. DD1 keeps saying her stomach hurts and her legs feel weak, but she doesn't have a fever.  I hope she's not coming down with anything.  Santa's Kottage (seriously, who spells it with a K anyway???) is done.  I am over selling little kids $2.00 tchotchkes that will only collect dust and end up in a drawer.  If we actually had an art teacher and a dedicated art program in our school, the kids could MAKE nice gifts for their parents/grandparents instead of wasting money.  Seriously, I have never seen so much MIC crap in my life.  Or maybe I should spell it Krap.....

[Runningmommy]

Jaygee- lol Krap

RR: ran 7 today and it was great although after my foot is really hurting me. Orthotics are in but only able to schedule an appointment for the following Monday so just icing for now.
Oh, breaking bad?? Crazy show! Watched while running either first or second episode and ewwww gross. Lol
NRR: going to work tonight, just for about an hour and a half but on our family Friday night just stinks. Would rather stay home in my comfy clothes.

[Runningmommy]

Ps hubby bought me an iPad for my 40th which is in January but he let me have it now. So now I have the MDC on one of my pages to remind me to check in more often and it is much easier to see and type etc, yay! Hubby would shoot my dirty looks if I typed on my laptop.

[MelW]

Stay strong, Shanti. Sending lots of love your way.

Tjsmama, good luck with the satellite dish battle. I hope the Invisalign gets more comfortable soon, too.

RM, enjoy the iPad. I hope your foot feels better soon.

JayGee, sorry about the krap at the kottage.

RR- Bootcamp night. It was a tough one. I still suck at chin ups.

NRR- I think we've successfully filled in almost every square on the calendar until Christmas Eve with one thing or another. Lots of celebrations. This weekend we need to make the Christmas books- it's our tradition for the past 9-10 years to make handsewn books with a poem or short story for family and close friends. Last year was the first time we didn't do it, and this year we're back on the wagon.

[Shantimama]

dd2 is having her 13th birthday party tomorrow as she was down with the flu when it was originally supposed to happen. This means that we will have ten 12/13 year old girls over from 4-9 and two of them will be sleeping over after. I have no words for how completely unprepared I feel for this right now. Here is what I am thinking - homemade pizza, hummus with pita and carrots, chips and dip and lots of movies. Does that sound good? The original plan was to decorate t-shirts together but I didn't buy the stuff and now I am too broke and I just don't know that I can deal with pulling it together. dd wants goody bags but is it fair to say we don't do those for teenage birthday parties? I want her party to be fun and not overshadowed by my fatigue and everything else going on but my energy is so limited right now.

ds won a 22" tv and a dvd player at work tonight. I didn't see that coming! He was pretty disappointed when I said he doesn't get to set up a tv in his room. He is in grade 11 and I suggested that it might be a great thing to keep packed away in his closet for when he heads off to school the year after next. Does that sound fair? 

RM - the iPad sounds fun. I hope you enjoy it!

JayGee - I hope the germs leave your house soon. I just want the weather to get good and cold and stay that way - this weather is the worst for illness, I find.

tjsmama - both my dd's have braces and the pain seems awful at times. 

[1jooj]

Shanti, I think your bday plan sounds cozy and fun...which is not to say someone might not be disappointed. But broke is broke.  I'd expect disappointment about the TV, too, and I am pretty sure a small family feud would happen in this house, but I think he'll be pretty happy to have a nice TV when he's off to school. Hugs, mama.

JayGee, totally understand feeling krappy about the thing. We've been having incremental eye-opening with regard to generosity and goodwill around here. That is to say, just how easy it is to infuse another's day with them. Takes so little effort.

RM, have fun with the iPad. I almost never use ours, but the kids do, and sometimes they even do educational apps on their own. 

sparkle, how'd it go? I'm sure it went great, but how'd you do? 

Geo, on Turkey, I guess dh would have to fly into Istanbul anyway...so now I'm thinking we could fly together and split up for a couple days, and he could meet us back for like the last day and then back to UAE. Don't know.

And now we're waiting on the release of yet another anti-Islam film, so I am thinking it might be better to hunker down and watch from here for a while. One just never knows where there would be rioting. Except most likely not here.

MelW, I don't envy the full calendar. I hope it goes swimmingly for you, though. It's kind of funny; a lot of people here, expats of all stripes, celebrate Christmas. I know it's hard for people to believe that (for me) one of the things I most appreciated about converting was being off the hook for Christmas. Of course, I was never really off the hook until I moved here, but still...don't miss it. I hope your days are joy-filled and peaceful.

Mommajb, which frustration? I had it baaaad a few days ago. I think I would do better with fewer workdays in a row and a split "weekend." And we sort of do that now. I have the kids work on weekends a little, but usually keep one day totally school-free. How many HSers? I don't know how you real HSers do it, and with multiple kids. Blows my mind. Me? I check in on a dashboard and instruct as needed. 

Nic, you've been on my mind. 

Today was about the best possible day it could be. I don't know; we had a totally low-key, no-plans weekend and it was just nice. Yesterday, I cooked couscous for the family, a rarity now that I avoid grain. We had a nice, late lunch after Friday prayers, and then went out shopping at a local mall--and by that, I mean a mall for the locals. I got a new ayaba and it is incredibly stylish and also about 6 pounds.  Everyone got something we needed (ftr, I did need a new abaya), and then we stopped at a sweet shop, and then the kids watched a movie and I read. This morning, we wandered out for breakfast, and then I cleaned the apartment while dh took the kids fishing. I rode to the gym after cleaning, worked out, steamed, and then dh and kids met me in back at the beach club for some sun and swimming. I rode home, then wandered down to the grocery, and finally just made myself a giant salad for breakfast-lunch-dinner. (My guts were not happy after couscous yesterday; they needed the break.)

I know you all are getting your day underway. I hope it's really, really good, and that you're now on your way to relaxing, comforting holidays ahead.

[loftmama]

Hey Jo, I just love the details about your day. I hunger to know more. So glad it's going well.

Shanti, good luck with the birthday party. What's important? They get to be together on her special day. They will make memories regardless of what they eat and what they do and will laugh and talk about it for years to come.

Nic, thinking of you. Started any yoga yet?

RM, I have serious iPad envy. I totally relate to the MDC tab and the "look" etc. Something about looking at a laptop with a screen up that looks less inclusive than a tablet.

I feel so behind. I know it's from our trip to Austin and I wouldn't change a thing but my frustration is starting to get the better of me. Caught up on school completely. Got house clean and ready for birthday party tonight. Bought lots of food. My head is swimming with words from a lack of writing and it's like I can't think if I can't write. Everything feels so bottle-necked. Anyway, I really need a day. So tomorrow is my day. I'm going to cook nothing and clean nothing.

RR: Just finished a quick run/walk before heading out to ds1's Christmas concert an hour and 15 minutes away. It's really waaaay too far but the owner of the Herb Farm where the concert is being held has called me in the past about sourcing local food and I feel compelled to make the trip to meet her and see what yummy concoctions she has created locally.

Quick window into my week: fave printer died. I put in new ink ($$) took it apart and worked on it over and over and over. Spent boucoup hours researching fixing it online. It was given to us several years ago and is a fine office-type super fast laser printer. I print all my school stuff almost daily b/c I buy a lot of PDF versions of material. So this has left me frantic. So I pulled out the old backup printer. Had to put new ink in it ($) and it printed one sheet and died. Stressed to the max I spent my one city-day driving around looking at printers. In a moment of too-stressed-to-buy I settled on one I only marginally like but was cheap cheap. Brought it back. Tried working on the backup printer again and it worked! So yay! I get to return that cheap cheap one.

So ds2's birthday party is tonight. This is what I've done for it: 0. Well, I bought food and I made a cake and 2 dozen cupcakes last night. Close friends who moved away came into town last night and my boys were so excited they invited them over. I already had a kids that I babysit here. So thought it was super crazy trying to get ready for a birthday party, I was at least able to put the kids in charge. So they cleaned up and downstairs and bathrooms, and even did all the decorations. All I had to do was make the cake. Tonight we'll grill sausage outside, cook smores on the fire pit and hang the pinata. I'm going to put out decks of cards and dominoes around the house b/c I've really not planned anything else and can't. Okay, off to concert.

Really it's all good. But too darn hot to get in the Christmas spirit. High of 79. Muggy. Blegh.

[MelW]

Shanti and lofty, good luck to both of you with the birthday parties. My littles are younger, but we have so much fun with less structured parties. Friends who organize games just seem so stressed trying to keep kids flowing properly. Simple sounds perfect. Happy birthday to you!

Jo, thanks for sharing your day. May you have many more like it!

Today is a quiet Saturday for us. The only event on the calendar is a haircut, which we can bike to. Also on tap: a visit to a craft fair, work on the Christmas books, knitting, and maybe a math lesson- both kids have a current rush of excitement for math workbooks, and I'm riding that wave.