Dingos Run Walk Dance Box Pose bike and Swim into 2013 - Page 16

[sparkletruck]

How many hours can you spend shopping (online, and actual stores) for bathroom sinks? Apparently, MANY We're remodeling 2 bathrooms, and I dont like to shop, but Im not willing to just put whatever in there. I know, first word problems indeed!

Gaye - welcome back. Those are the kinds of stories Dh comes home with almost every day. Funny and sad....
Edited by sparkletruck - 2/1/13 at 10:58am

[Realrellim]

Originally Posted by JayGee 

I don't know if anyone is interested, but this article - http://www.bnd.com/2013/01/30/2477493/we-cant-cut-forever-metro-east.html clearly explains the funding issues with our local schools. And if you read the comments at the end, you can get a taste of the closed-minded, anti-education jerkishness we are battling with our upcoming tax referrendum. Sigh....

FWIW, I think those comments pop up everywhere now. Our "truth squad" would descend on articles like that so there'd be at least as many positive, supportive comments as negative ones, and ours linked to actual data and cited facts. If you can round up a few other parents who are willing, it certainly makes it look like there's a large contingent out there that supports it, aside from the usual curmudgeons. If it's any comfort, the arguments cited there are almost word for word the same ones we saw here. Some people are listening/watching a bit too much right-wing media....

Also, it will be exhausting and frustrating and you'll have the impression that everyone is against it, but really, it's a small group of people. Most people aren't bothering to comment, even if they're reading the comments. Those are your real target.

[MelW]

Fly-by posting.

Boot camp tonight, modified for my shoulder/neck.

My car is fixed from the car accident. I'm still waiting for my body to get fixed. I wake up feeling good every morning, but have a headache that sets in mid-day. It feels like a sinus headache,but only on my "bad" side. It's been five days and I'm starting to get tired of feeling worse now than I did in the week after the accident. My chiro tried a different adjustment today and I'm back to icing.

[Mel38]

Originally Posted by MelW 

Fly-by posting.

Boot camp tonight, modified for my shoulder/neck.

My car is fixed from the car accident. I'm still waiting for my body to get fixed. I wake up feeling good every morning, but have a headache that sets in mid-day. It feels like a sinus headache,but only on my "bad" side. It's been five days and I'm starting to get tired of feeling worse now than I did in the week after the accident. My chiro tried a different adjustment today and I'm back to icing.

What does the chiro say about that? Have you been back to the doctor you saw post-accident? I am just wondering whether you might have more extensive injuries from the accident than they previously thought. I hope you have some relief. I guess icing is best to keep the inflammation at bay, but when I think of an achey neck and shoulder, a nice trip to the sauna sounds heavenly.

Lisa, the "truth squad" idea is a good one, just to get both sides of an argument out in the public eye. It seems that the people willing to take the time to write (and often complain) about an issue are the ones who are heard and set the tone for what we believe the general populace thinks. It's good to keep in mind that it's just a tiny fraction of the real people out there.

Sparkle, ooh, 2 bathroom remodels at once? You are truly brave!

RR: Early up with DH to run some hill repeats on the bridge. It was cold (for us, remember ), around freezing when we got there, but no wind, so it was very nice.

I have a meeting scheduled with DS's 1st grade teacher on Wednesday. DH and I discussed him and his situation on our run, so it was good to listen to each other. He is worried that DS will feel "dumb" if he is at the bottom of his class, and those feelings of inadequacy will be bad for his self-confidence. I see that point. When I talk to DS about school, I try to remind him how hard he is working and how much he has improved, and I hope that being last will also be a motivation to work hard and to learn to appreciate what he has achieved. But we both want to also hear the teacher's point of view and not be too reactive. Anyway, more to come on this topic.

Older cat is tolerating the kitten a little bit better lately. No overt aggression, he just acts irritated and leaves the room when the kitten gets too close.

[Geofizz]

The Truth Squad sounds like a great approach, including for letters to the editor. Though exhausting.

I second the suggestion to get to the doctor, Mel! Going into the second week, it's more than muscular.

I'm glad you got a good talk with your DH on your son. To stick my neck out again, I've found it very useful to work to pinpoint what's hard and decide if it's too hard, and then break it down to figure out what pieces of the area are hardest. For instance, DS finds writing really hard. We've noticed that the more free form the assignment, the harder it is. So answering reading comprehension questions, or writing 4 sentences using the word 'next' goes ok, but the 30 minutes of journal writing produces nothing. Writing requires figuring out what to write about, how to word it, figuring out how to spell the words, figuring out how to form the letters, remembering to capitalize, etc. So looks like the composing bit is hardest, not the rest. DS has now been refered to a speech and language evaluation instead of a writing evaluation, and we have temporary accommodations in place where less structured assignments are supported by giving him more structure, with topic and length expectations spelled out.

Why does torturing the IT band with the foam roller help with inflamation? I'd think inflamation needs ice, not further aggrivation. Honest question.

[sparkletruck]

Torturing it is supposed to break up knots, which thereby lengthens the band. The temporary inflammation is counter-balanced by the ultimate outcome of some additional length/suppleness which will make the stress on it less. But from what Ive read, the knot breaking/lengthening is not a sure path to relief, where strengthening seems to be better backed up by studies....

[Shantimama]

I do believe I have done my weight training for this week. The weigh scale at the landfill registered 1500 pounds of garbage from our basement, almost all of which I bagged and carried up the stairs and outside. That doesn't include the stuff I was able to save by carrying it upstairs and then back down again  - and  that was actually the heavy stuff!

[mommajb]

Wow! that is a weight work out Shanti!

We went to a swim team birthday party in the neighborhood just the other side of the canyon last night and it would have been relatively uneventful except for the mention of coyotes in the neighborhood. A momma and 3-4 little ones have been cited and people are bringing pets in at dusk. So, I tucked this info away and checked wikipedia when I got home.

Ds runs in the canyons and I tend to run on the sidewalk along the street through the canyon (down and up and then back) or along the top in the neighborhood (much more level!). I run before the day starts or after it ends. He runs afterschool or late morning on weekends. Given that I am in Southern California along the described suburban-wildland interface I am not reassured. What do I need to worry about and when do I need to worry? This is more upsetting than the report that The Plague was found in rodents in the county. In the past I have been sent inside by opossum, raccoons, skunks, weirdo scary people in giant pickup trucks, and now this. Please tell me it is okay and not nearly as bad as the previously mentioned weirdos.

[loftmama]

Super behind. Very busy & productive week writing. Essays, Short stories & 3 Blogs not to mention the rest of my life.

RR- only ran once on Monday. No weights. No yoga. Must move my body this weekend.

Geo, good luck with strengthening the glutes and helping out the IT band. Sorry about RP's family and ALS.

MelW, I don't like Kombucha but I wonder if my kids might. I'll have to look into this.

Plady, Good luck with that decision. Her teacher sounds awesome, thank goodness. FWIW, ds1 was definitely a grade behind. As a teacher, I knew that he'd be okay but if he ever wanted to move back up, he couldn't. This is one major reason I homeschooled. He stayed a grade behind consistently through elementary school but during the middle school years has easily leaped a grade ahead. If he was to go to school now, it would be easy for him to be at the top of his grade and he wouldn't have had to experience the "not being on level" thing that I was so worried about. I don't mean to suggest you should homeschool, I just mean to point out that learning happens in starts and stops. Good luck.

Sparkleville, the LEADVILLE 100! Wth! Does he have too much time on his hands or something?! Wow! Super-impressed here.

jooj, ds1 flipped his d & b for a long time, too. Too long. And his handwriting was terrible. He can be maddeningly on the slow side which worries me no end. Anyway, they're all fine now as is his handwriting. Not saying she's just like my ds1, just wanted to say maybe there's still time for those letters to turn around. Some kids are just late bloomers. I have one late bloomer and one early bloomer, neither right in the middle. Opposites. Hope the acupuncture helped. That trip sounds nice.

Nicka, Could you get him to prescribe a "cleaning service to get the dust" out of my house? Only it would have to be once a week, because the mortar between the logs and the unfinished cement floor and the woodstove just creates ash everywhere it seems. Doesn't that sound bucolic? Yum, maple syrup. Hope it wasn't too much.

JG and Kerc, love hearing about your learning style. I fall in the note-taking category and there was much agony involved using this form of learning on ds1. Who apparently remembers every single thing he hears, not writes. Maybe that's another reason why his growth is so quick now, too. He gets a lot of opportunity to learn aurally from dvds, various programs, and lots of discussion. Of course, we just learned from his daily stumbling that he also doesn't see well. His eyesight is going downhill pretty fast, at least in my experience though the eye doc keeps assuring me this is quite normal at his age.

Mommjb, So excited you and Plady get to hang out soon.

Oh and re: Science Fair. Here's a guide by Elemental Science. I've bought their curriculum but haven't purchases this but for $5 it might be worth it. Maybe there's a sample?

[Geofizz]

Mommajb, are the mtn lions that far south? I'd figure out the best way to deal with them when in the canyon. Probably during the middle of the day, it's not that big of a deal, but I would think about it for dawn and dust. I know my mom's seen some in the canyons south of SF, and one was seen trotting across the playground of my neice's elementary school. :

Jooj, these kids aren't too old to work on handwriting, focusing on making forming the letters more automatic. Does she hold the pencil correctly? When kids take a less asymmetric grip, it makes it harder to get these asymmetric letters straight. I made DD fill in her middle school registration paperwork herself. She wrote her own last name with the 'd' backwards.

[mommajb]

The ladies said coyotes, no mention of mountain lions, but thanks for the added worry Even I am laughing at me. Honestly I would worry more about mountain lions in east county but these are urban canyons. When I do some more research it does seem like my running times are not great -I should stick to urban roads and away from canyons and the edges of them if I can pre-dawn/dawn and dusk/after dark.

I was watching a movie with ds2 and he was so excited to 'hold the remote himself.' Amusing enough until he starts fast forwarding. When questioned he says that he doesn't like the scary parts or the parts where there is nothing but talking. At least he got to bed on time last night.

[1jooj]

mommajb, mountain lions are a worry, IMO coyotes really are not unless you are with a dog or unless you are a small child. Mountain lions are another story. We had coyotes on the farm, and they were only a worry for us with regard to lambs and chickens. Mountain lions look and sounds very different from coyotes, and will stalk adult people and attack quietly from behind. Better to run the trail with a group. And also loudly.

On school and "holding back," I just wish there weren't such stigmas attached. How age-obsessed kids (and their parents) can be! Self included. Here, schools do KG1 and KG2, so it's not weird to have 2 years in before grade 1. Of course, it is also the more common thing to start earlier, not later, unless one is a super-self-assured northern European (think Scandinavian).

Shanti, you deserve Nic's rx too.  Wish you both could come relax on the beach for a couple weeks.

Yeah, Geo, you are right, and dd needs BOTH handwriting and keyboarding practice. She CAN write exquisitely, but it's when she hurries (because it's not her favorite activity or subject and she is looking to move on to something she likes more) that she makes a mess. Most of this is a battle of wills.

Speaking of which, I caught a cold this weekend, so yesterday dh stepped in and rode herd a little. Kids' room is clean, both kids got a second-parent-talking-to about most of the same issues I have been struggling with, and by dealing with the mess of the room, dh does realize, the apartment IS too small. It's been hard because he picked it all himself, and I hated the very online photos of the listing in the first place...and then he Skyped from here and tried to declare what a huge space it is while I was unconvinced...and now finally, after a few weekends actually inside the space, he realizes it is not enough space for what we are doing here. So, he will be looking for a 3BR over the summer, and we will return to a different place. I pray it is not a villa, because I don't need all the extra work of a garden here, but we shall see. We checked out an awesome duplex apt a few weeks ago, and I'd take that in two seconds.

There's more, but I am leaving for more needles in ten minutes...

[MelW]

jo, I'm glad your husband is seeing your needs for space now, too. Terrific to have him step into your shoes and see the same issues :)

loftmama, I think my kids prefer water kefir to kombucha, but I have kombucha going on. My oldest likes it with a shorter ferment/sweeter tea, and the youngest will devour it any way I ferment it.

Shanti, that is an amazing workout! I hope you get some rest and relaxation now.

Plady, I'm glad the meeting went well and hope you find solutions that work for your daughter.

Mel38, good luck with your school planning, too.

mommajb, I've had a lot of coyote encounters while running in Vancouver and they are pretty fearful and not so big that you wouldn't beat one in a fight. Now I have the black bears and mountain lions (we call them cougars) to deal with in our forests. My husband and I have an ongoing debate over whether to be more afraid of of the bears or cougars. I vote cougars, ad according to google Vancouver Island has the most cougar attacks and fatalities in North America. I see bears on a pretty regular basis, but have never seen a cougar. As a friend of mine jokes: I've never seen a cougar, but I'm sure that they have seen me... Hubby worries more about bears because he thinks he's less likely to beat one in a fight. Mostly the bears are big and dumb and not interested in humans since there are lots of berries and garbage to eat.

Thanks for the concern about the shoulder/neck. In a typical small town way, my doc was at bootcamp on Friday night, and I'll head in to the office on Monday if I don't have significant improvement. Today was headache-free, so I'm optimistic. Chiro thinks that compensation from the initial injury lead to some new muscular tension higher up and some impingement on the orbital nerve causing the headaches. It makes sense in the context of the day- increasing tension. The 40 min drive to work and 60ish minutes home are really not helpful.

RR- Tried to go climbing today but the gym was closed for a roller derby game. We did a couple of blocks around the block instead.

NRR- I forgot to mention that I have a job interview on Monday to teach prenatal classes. They're free classes offered by public health, and I would teach the L&D component. It's only 1 or 2 days per month, but I think it would be fun. My sense from the phone call is that the interview is mostly just a formality to see if I'm a good fit. Also on Monday, I have round two of the attempted IUD replacement. Fingers crossed that the GYN can get it switched out in the office (family doctor failed when she tried).

[Mel38]

Just a quick drive-by on the coyote situation. They are common here, even in these fairly urban areas. There are signs posted at the Patriots Point and near the bridge where hundreds of people run and walk, and literally right beside sports fields, playgrounds and other public areas. I haven't heard of one attacking a leashed dog or any human, but I am sure that they live off of any other small animal including unleashed pets. I don't feel afraid of them, though, just because I haven't ever heard of anyone being bitten or even approached. On an early morning run last summer, I saw a baby coyote near the fence to the shipyard in downtown Charleston! In general, I worry much less about them than about the dogs that regularly approach me and bark menacingly. I'm more afraid of a rabid animal, though, but there is not much to do about that except to avoid running anywhere outdoors.
 

Mommajb, that's one way to get through a movie - skip all the talking parts! Funny.

Loft, that does sound bucolic, but I'm with you on the cleaning service. It would need to be weekly around here, too.

Which reminds me, I have 6 hours of work today, and then cleaning before a houseful of people descends upon us for the superbowl. I better get busy!

Have a lovely Sunday everybody!

[sparkletruck]

Melw - you just reminded me, thanks....

NRR: I went for a first appt. with a gyn. just to establish myself with someone who can hopefully be a sounding board with some specialized knowledge about this hormone stuff. Short (expected) version is that she said it sounds like Im doing everything right bla bla bla, but she did mention that she puts more IUD's in women in their 40's than women in their 20's because of this very thing; that the IUD helps with the mood swings/hormone distress. So Im going to do some research. But i wondered if any of you are using one and if you noticed a difference in mood, or physiologically in any other way?

[1jooj]

I noticed mood changes in the WRONG direction when my IUD hit 3.5 years. Which is why I then went on a minipill. Which has one TMI side effect which I will call *BCM.

Lofty, my dd is definitely the hearing learner. I had her read aloud to me tonight. We need to do that more. Ds worked through more note-taking, a detailed formal outline, and 2/3 of his first draft today (in just a couple hours; he got his other work done, too). He remarked on how easy the writing part was, once the notes were taken and organized and the outline written. 

Fingers crossed for the IUD removal, MelW. It's freaking me out a little to think about it, but I am confident your obgyn will just handle it. And I hope the headaches disappear completely and immediately.

We kayaked yesterday, which was awesome but not long enough and *WIMP ALERT* kind of chilly. We were doing this found art cyanotype project. But then the sun went away and it rained (of all days and in all places) so we brought the paper and found stuff home and will do them when the wind stops screaming. Anyway, I awoke with a sore throat but soldiered on, and then fell on the couch in the afternoon and could not be bothered to get off until this morning. The good doc gave me some needles in the face today for my congestion. And I just downed 2.5 bowls of Tom Kha Gai. And next I am going out to get nasal spray. Because mouth breathing is overrated. We have another field trip this week, to Dubai, so the kids are on the hook to get the extra work done, and they are so far rising to it. We can do this.

*B is for boogery

[MelW]

My IUD is copper, not hormonal, so no impact on my mood. I am pretty happy with it as birth control (enough to have a new one put in), though I think for many people the side effects of heavier and crampier periods would be a pretty big deterrent. I had light and cramp-free periods pre-IUD and now have graduated from the "mini" tampons for one or two days and occasionally have a bit of cramping (the cramping seems quite related to my diet and exercise patterns the week before). Probably not all that helpful, but there you have it... FWIW, my removal situation is because the strings were a bit "stabby" once the IUD settled into place, so I had them cut *reeeeeeaally* short. Now they're too short to grab onto for removal. I keep reminding myself that was expected from when I had them shortened, and that it isn't because the IUD has migrated or perforated or anything else scary.

Mmmmmm, Tom Kha Gai. Now I know what I want for dinner tonight! I hope you're feeling better soon, jo.

[sparkletruck]

Well, from minimal reading (and a prejudice against it) I dont think its for me. In any case, I had a bizarrely good cycle this month. I decided to hit it with mega calcium (studies showing that it helps pms symptoms), mega fish oil, and a small dose of ssri btwn. O and AF. AF came tonight completely out of the blue; no death spiral for 4 days before-hand, minimal depression/anxiety for the two weeks preceding ... just kind of smooth; woot! And it was 4 weeks instead of 6 like the last 2 months. I'm convinced that mega-doses of fish oil are the answer to world peace

[Realrellim]

Originally Posted by 1jooj 

mommajb, mountain lions are a worry, IMO coyotes really are not unless you are with a dog or unless you are a small child.

This. We have coyotes here and for a long time they kept to themselves. There have been a few coyotes who have attacked dogs in recent years. I haven't heard of coyotes attacking a lone human. I have seen coyotes while running and they've never more than glanced my way. One time I was running with J in the jogger and one dashed across the road maybe 200 feet in front of us. I saw one last spring pretty close too on a trail, but there was a canal separating us (could it have jumped it? Yes, but it wasn't interested). There was one in our neighborhood when I was running with J last spring but some older gentlemen stopped me before I got there and I turned around. And years ago when R was small enough to be in the jogger I came out from under a bridge and there were two or three of them in open space. I stopped, but they ran off as soon as they saw me. The ones lately don't seem to run off but they're not interested in me or kid in a jogger. (Jogger parts probably taste bad.) :P

Coyotes are the reason I bought pepper spray. I didn't figure I'd really needed, but figured if they needed some extra incentive to be chased away, I'd like to have some. I've taken it with me if I'm running at dusk or in the dark just in case.

[JayGee]

I think the only time coyotes are worrisome is when they may be rabid. We had one wandering aimlessly through our neighborhood in Bloomington in broad daylight a few years ago. Animal control caught it and it was rabid. We think it might have been a coyote that almost killed one of our cats (multiple puncture wounds, broken ribs), but it could have been a raccoon too. Mountain lions sound scary though!

sparkle - yay for fish oil and easy luteal phases!

Real - I love the Truth Squad idea and will mention it to my friend who is on the referendum committee. It's so nice to be able to bounce ideas off you since I know you just passed a similar referendum in your district. Thanks!

MelW - good luck with the IUD replacement!

jooj - feel better soon. Kayaking sounds fun and your soup sounds awesome!

RR - it's my night to take DS to swim team practice, so I will use my time wisely at the YMCA to do the treadmill and my PT exercises .

NRR - I am definitely noticing improvement in my leg since the injections. All the numbness and tingling is gone. I still have pain on the lateral side of my knee, but I'm not sure that's back related anyway. Tomorrow I go back to the pain management doc for a followup and a referral back to PT.