Mothering Forum banner

Running toward an early spring (we hope)! The February 2014 Dingo thread

Tags
fitness
6K views 144 replies 18 participants last post by  Realrellim 
#1 ·
New visitors to the Dingo Thread may ask, "but, what is a Dingo?"

Dingoes are mamas (defined loosely, when needed) who run, walk, cycle, tri, and participate in whatever sport they need to sustain their awesome mama selves in lives that are definitely dynamic. Sometimes, a Dingo is injured, or life takes a turn, and she has to take a break from her chosen sport. Whether active or aspiring, Dingoes support one another in spirit. When two Dingoes are in the same place at the same time, something incredibly special happens. This is called a Dingo Meetup. They are relatively rare, and so we try to record them with photographic evidence.

Are you a Dingo? You just might be, if:

You sometimes perform acts of brilliance in order to squeeze a workout into a busy week.

You're never ashamed of coming in at the back of the pack, even if you're used to coming in faster.

You have found yourself sincerely respecting and admiring moms in all forms, observing how they're doing it for love, and growing from their experiences as well as your own

You won't know until you try, and all comers are welcome.
 
See less See more
#103 ·
Nic - to address you question fo' real, I usually say something about swearing like, they are hurtful and nasty words that people use when they dont take the time to explain how they feel. They are lazy and ignorant (because you are not mindful enough to figure out the actual problem making you so mad/frustrated/etc, and you dont take the time to problem-solve, but just rely on the curse word for a lot of feelings you are too lazy or ignorant - I try to avoid stupid but I have gone there in anger - to work out). I do allow that sometimes it just feels good to vent feelings with a word like that, but never to use it toward someone else (i.e. that using that symbol word can be effective in the right context, but is never right toward or about someone, see former reasons). They know all the words. They respect my reasoning...
 
#104 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by sparkletruck View Post

Nic - to address you question fo' real, I usually say something about swearing like, they are hurtful and nasty words that people use when they dont take the time to explain how they feel. They are lazy and ignorant (because you are not mindful enough to figure out the actual problem making you so mad/frustrated/etc, and you dont take the time to problem-solve, but just rely on the curse word for a lot of feelings you are too lazy or ignorant - I try to avoid stupid but I have gone there in anger - to work out). I do allow that sometimes it just feels good to vent feelings with a word like that, but never to use it toward someone else (i.e. that using that symbol word can be effective in the right context, but is never right toward or about someone, see former reasons). They know all the words. They respect my reasoning...
To frame the discussion, I'd suggest also thinking (yourself) about how the f-word is used: noun, verb, expletive, etc. If we really consider it, we have more precise words to describe most of the time that one might use that word.

on a whole 'nother topic. But
:rotflmao
related: I feel like a 12 year old middle schooler every time I get an email that includes the phrase "cross training" to refer to an exercise event -- like I just got one that said, "all men's cross training gear on sale."
 
#105 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by kerc View Post

on a whole 'nother topic. But
:rotflmao
related: I feel like a 12 year old middle schooler every time I get an email that includes the phrase "cross training" to refer to an exercise event -- like I just got one that said, "all men's cross training gear on sale."
You win the internet today.
:twins
 
#106 ·
Morning mamas,

Jo - I'm so sorry about your cousin. Was it your family or dh's? And I'm sorry to hear about the change to "indefinite." That's not a happy word. Good luck with the applications, school and job.

Shanti - That snow is pretty unreal. How is everyone handling things like frozen pipes and groceries?

Geo - Oh no! And the puking is not a bug I'm guessing?

BBM -I'm glad dd recovered, that must have been scary.

Gaye - Sending safe travel vibes. I hope that everything goes smoothly from here on out.

Nic - Re: swearing - Sparkle's got a good approach. I've got potty mouth tendencies and I've told my two, like Sparkle, that they are not words that should ever be directed at or toward or about another person but that sometimes when something falls on your little toe and a curse flies out the world will not end and nobody's soul will be permanently doomed.

JG - Thinking of you. I totally would expect that years of chronic pain will make sunny thoughts and optimistic outlooks a lot harder to maintain. I'm glad that at least you know that diet is one way to improve things, even though we all know that that isn't exactly an easy peasy fix.

RR: Hey! I ran! Only a mile, but still. I met my friend and old spanish teacher out at the old track where I used to run and we did a few laps. I was running in my vibrams so I was a little relieved that she hasn't been running much because it was easier to keep her at a slower pace. That and she wanted to practice her english so she got a much better workout than I did, but it was cool to be back there. I saw a ton of familiar faces.

NRR: Dh and I are considering putting our house here on the market. My first thought was, "no way - C was born in the house, it's a unique property not just to us but in the town, we'll never be able to afford anything remotely like it ever again." But as the idea settles in I think maybe it is time to close this chapter. The house is like a costume, it's so much more grand and ostentatious than I have ever felt comfortable in. The only way I ever felt like it was okay to consider it home was when 90% of it was a business. The likelihood that we'll ever decide to move back down and reopen the business is next to zero so we're just sitting on all this potential capital that could be used for things like the private school both girls really want to attend on the island. And, it's 50% dh's sister's and she's been really patient about not getting any significant benefit out of it since they jointly inherited it in 1993.

Anyway, who knows what will happen if we do list it, real estate here is bizarre under any circumstances. But it does stir up all sorts of tangled emotions for me and dh and I can only anticipate that for C they will be all the more intense. In the meantime I'll be trying to gently help C understand how life might just be okay, possibly even nicer, without this lovely but heavy responsibility here.
 
#107 ·
NIC - Not sure how serious you were when you asked about prospects here, but Dh went for a tour this morning (after blowing it off earlier i the application "season" and now regretting it), felt the same attraction/fit, thinks I should work there, and found this. Note the "middle school english" and "middle school head of school". I know its crazy unlikely, but hey, the new climbing gym is opening in March (we went to see it last week and it is amazing)
loveeyes.gif
You could come for a visit this spring
whistling.gif

and as a p.s. apparently the school is very into running (dh learned). The cc team won state, and all the teachers run together (the school is located on the river/river wetlands (aka the bosque) which is full of trails, and a 70 yr. old teacher recently celebrated his bday by running 70 miles ...

Plady - my therapist framed the bittersweet experience of mid-life in terms of life being a series of hellos and goodbyes. Its helping me think about the grief I am experiencing on several fronts, most recently about the dog. But C saying good-bye to the house could mean, as you say, saying hello to private school, and that both have/will enrich her in the way that is needed at that particular time in her life. Maybe the house really nourished her then but no longer, and now it can open a door to nourish her in a new way?...
 
#108 ·
geo, I hope you can figure out the puking. He must be uncomfortable and what a mess to have to deal with so frequently.

gaye, enjoy your vacation. I am sure you will have enough for fun for all of us!

jo, I am sorry for your loss. The flu does seem to be leading to more complications than I remember from other years. Indefinite is hard to hear; I hope one of the balls you have tossed in the air lands just right and soon.

Shanti, I am now a winter wimp. I think I will have to hibernate if I ever move back to winter.

Nic, I like sparkle's ideas on swearing but like plady, I do tend to have an outburst here and there...

JG, thinking of you
hug.gif


plady,
joy.gif
for the run. Does C know that you are thinking about selling? Sometimes I don't share the thinking about it stage when I am concerned emotions will run high and perhaps for no reason in the end but this also removes a chunk of time she could use to make peace with the idea and before it is a done deal. I am just thinking out loud.

I must go advise on school work here. They are trying to take tomorrow off for the middle child's 11th birthday. They have dreams of visiting the trampoline gym.
 
#109 ·
Checking in from warm and sunny...Detroit.
rolleyes.gif
Where I am actually very grateful to be, all things considered. Our flight to NYC (the third rerouting of the trip) was cancelled as we were standing in line to check in. The earliest they said they could get us to Miami was Friday. Which doesn't work when our cruise leaves Thursday afternoon. After checking every other airline and coming up short, C's frequent flier status saved the day...an hour on the phone with the diamond desk and we were miraculously rerouted through Detroit and into ft lauderdale in the morning. Landing with just enough time to get to the port. So please keep those good travel vibes going, please! We should be ok, weather in both Detroit and s Florida looks decent, but after all the mess so far, I won't feel good until we're walking onto the ship...
 
#110 ·
Last call for secret sprinter! If you want in and haven't sent me your email address, do it now! Matching happens tomorrow.
 
#111 ·
I am so excited. it looks like over the next few days the temperature is going to warm up into the single negative digits. Lots of snowshoeing ahead! This is my favourite kind of winter weather. I am also getting really excited about spring and summer in our new place. I think there will be enough sun here to do some vegetable gardening again. I tried everything in our old place and in 8 years I may have produced a small basket of tomatoes and nothing more - not enough sun anywhere on the property. The place we lived before that had a huge and wonderfully productive and beautiful veggie garden so I have been missing it! Because I am renting and the landscaping is set I will need to stick to container gardening but I have a nice sized deck and lots of sun. I can probably tuck some large pots into the existing landscaping and get a lot growing in there. It's not like I will be going away anywhere any time in the foreseeable future so I will always be home to take care of it. Any one here have experience with container gardening or have links to some good websites or idea sources?
 
#112 ·
Ha! "Single negative digits" as warm. Oh, how our standards have changed.

I'm also trying to puzzle out how to manage the back yard. It's been worse and worse with mosquitos, making it less appealing to spend any time to tend a garden. The addition cut into the sunny part of the back yard (but BONUS, the east side of the house will now be better shaded, so together with *insulation* will won't be so miserable). I'm thinking big planter barrels. We need to figure out where to put the paths before we seed the yard, too. Decisions.

Puking: DS pukes non-stop for 20-30 minutes every 10-16 days since mid-October. He's green for an hour on either side of the puking, then tends to nap for 20-30 minutes when it's all over, then he's back to bouncing off the walls. It only happens first thing in the morning (as early as 5:30 am, as late at 7:30) Not: GERD or anything obvious in his diet. Not likely to be anything emotional/stress-wise at school.
 
#113 ·
Geo, ugh! Poor ds and you. Do you think it's low blood sugar if it's first thing in the morning? Maybe have his sugar, and endocrine stuff checked? Also perhaps a food diary for a while? It could be something not as obvious (like eaten any time the previous day, or alternatively a build-up from one particular kind of food that only triggers a response after a certain threshold?).

RR: 5.7 snowy, slippery miles this morning. Pretty at the time, annoying now. Another snow day. At this rate we'll be in school until July.
:irked
Done. DONE DONE DONE.
 
#115 ·
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geofizz View Post

Ha! "Single negative digits" as warm. Oh, how our standards have changed.
but remember, she is canadian...I'm guessing she's talking C.

Today's commute = pain in the rear. Warmer weather = snow. And we got 2 x as much as they were predicting which meant driving was more like Cleveland or Chicago (snowy, slippery, etc.).

Sorry to hear about the repetitive puking. I sure hope you can figure it out. I guess the bright side is it's not happening at school. I can only imagine how horrible he feels.

Plady: I can understand how C feels about the house. When I moved the last time I'd lived in that house longer than I had ever lived anyplace. Although I initiated the move, it was super hard for me. And I still miss the old house (but have now lived in the new place). I'm sure she feels a special connection.

Must have a super productive day here. So I'm
Bolt.gif
 
#116 ·
Gah, sick here too. We ate at our all-time favorite sandwich shop yesterday and within a few hours the girls and I were all puking our guts out. It was one long night. I think we may be on the mend now, fingers crossed. C was invited to a V Day dance with some old friends and I hope she'll be well enough to go.

Mommajb - She's heard that we're investigating things. I was toying with whether to let her have a hint or not but decided to go with the gradual development. And I like the approach Sparkle suggests that the house could nurture her in a new way.

Of course, who knows. It's been on the market many times before to no avail so we don't need to count any chickens yet.
 
#118 ·
Oh yeah, got the time window wrong - latest was 8:35 am. School starts at 8:15. I'm still apologizing to the math teacher over that one.

We're looking in the food diary back 3 days for each event. No commonalities. It's 50% before breakfast, 50% after.

Good point, kerc, about C. Of course, I'm happy to be out of negative F territory as well.

DINGOS not on yahoo of fb group - PM me for important update.
 
#120 ·
Yay Gaye - have a fun, safe trip

Geo - I know when I was younger I got really nauseated when I didn't eat. And vitamins on an empty stomach make me yak.

I am so incredibly grumpy and I don't have a good reason why. We were at homeschool gym. The families are nice enough...one mom bugs me, but that's because she thinks she's so laid back...I've never met someone so uptight. She got annoyed when the kids were drawing...this is a gym, you know. People shouldn't bring art supplies. Really? I just said, no way am I taking away dd's drawing pad. It is a major coping mechanism right now. Then I went a little psychological, blah, blah, blah about the importance of allowing children to form relationships in their own time and way, blah, blah, blah. She's an unschooler, how can you theoretically be so child-led about education and yet so controlling of the minutiae. She tried to say just like I control the curriculum… I blasted that one too. I admit it gave me pleasure when exactly what I predicted happened, after about 20 minutes of drawing, the kids were back out in the gym running around. But although that grumps me out, it's pretty small in the grand scheme. I just find I can't wait to get out of there each week. Maybe we will take a week off next week.
 
#121 ·
Definitely measuring temperature in C around here. My dd walked the dog in her t-shirt after school because it was a balmy -2 degrees. I think that is around 30F. I would love to have even a couple of days above freezing for the snow banks to melt down a few inches.

bbm - I remember a mom like that when we were homeschooling. A week off every now and then can be a good thing
;)
 
#122 ·
Bbm, agreed with Shanti on the time off. Werk, month, either works.
wink1.gif
Could definitely swap stories on differences and moms who always know best. Yikes.

Getting sicker before better, and had a minor breakdown last night over what I guess amounts to missing my family. All the cousins are going to be at the funeral tomorrow--well, probably at least 30 to 40 of them--plus the aunties, and I am just missing them all sorely. Dh has been busy/inattentive and from time to time I have to point out he is all I have. He spends hours each week on the phone with his family, and I spend maybe an hour a month. In theory the fix is to call home, but $$$. Skype just isn't the solution.

Happy Valentines Day, Dingoes.
 
#123 ·
Geo--hope you can find a solution. That's awful. FWIW, I've done it, but if it's before breakfast it's a combo of not sleeping enough + sinus drainage (and/or at least one side of my nose being stuffed up) + a little bit of gas. Crystalized ginger helps some, as do sinus rinses and anything else I need to do to open up those sinus passages. If after breakfast, it was because I was drinking orange juice and suddenly, my body decided it wasn't friends with orange juice. That went on for probably 6 weeks before I figured it out, and it wasn't an every time thing for a while. The most recent time was last month when it because abundantly clear that whatever my new issue with dairy is, it isn't (or isn't only) lactose intolerance.

Shanti--I like that kind of weather too, though usually just over the edge of freezing rather than just below it. Hope you have time to snowshoe.

BBM--having to talk to someone who's so critical of every last thing would make me crazy too. We had a local board AP/natural board that saw many, many blow-ups over that kind of stuff. On the plus side, every last one of the "un" people huffed off about a year ago (not sure why other than it was something about perceived intolerance and people chose to be mad at people who had wisely chosen to not even open the controversial thread in question because that was "proof" of our biases or some such nonsense). The board has been peaceful, if quiet since. Maybe she'll move?

1jooj -
goodvibes.gif
and
grouphug.gif
That's really hard.

RR: speedwork outside. It was hard, or at least coming up the hill was. On the other hand, if I manage to run from J's preschool twice a week as the weather warms up, it should be good marathon prep, as her preschool is located on one of the largest hills in the area. In the pioneer days, there was a hackberry tree on top--the only one in the area--and it could be seen for miles so everyone used it as a landmark. It's also kind of fun to be back running in this spot, because we used to live in the apartment buildings at the top of the hill. This is where I started running 13 years ago (this month, I think).

NRR: I got a haircut! No, only about 4 inches so it's not obvious to most people.
 
#124 ·
Thanks all. It's not really that bad, usually I can ignore her and just blow it off. I think the ridiculousness of it took me off guard. I think I trigger something in her making it worse, even though I'm usually pretty quiet. When I observe her she's doing something similar, not as intense, but no one else seems annoyed. So I figure it's all good, I can just sit here quiet while the kids have a good time. But, unless this one mom that I like a lot is there, because she can only come sometimes, I think we'll take a week. We're running too much anyway.
 
#125 ·
There are a few environments where I bring my laptop because so I can work and make everyone leave me alone. I've also been known to whistle Billy Joel's "Shade of Gray" when I'm forced to overhear these discussions. Me? Passive-aggressive? Never.

Do your kids like gym class? Often, I've found that when I note that the parents set my teeth on edge, my kids also don't click with the other kids.
 
#126 ·
Geo - my DS went through a similar barfing-in-the-morning thing from about age 9-10. Doctor couldn't find a thing wrong. DH and I surmised that it was a blood sugar thing brought about by exercising (running around/jumping on the trampoline/etc.) just before bed. If we made him have a glass of juice before he went to sleep, it didn't happen. His were always preceded by bad headaches that would wake him up. Don't know if that's at all similar to what is going on with your DS, but I thought I'd throw it out there.

jooj -
grouphug.gif
that just sounds SO hard.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top