I have had the most wonderful holiday season....and its because of the little things. My holiday season started off with a down-home wreath making party held the Sunday after Thanksgiving. My middle son, Nick, and I went to one of my best friend's (and most avid reader ;) to her relaxed, welcoming, pot luck wreath party. We both were wreath making virgins and neglected to bring a wreath ring, so we borrowed one and Nick made a beautiful wreath that is now hanging on our front door.
Actually back up a second, my holiday season started on Black Friday. My youngest, Travis and I went shopping from 7am to 1pm and pretty much did 90% of my shopping. On top of that, he wrapped most of it when we got home! I have great boys.
Fast forward a little to Christmas eve, I started my morning with a pre-dawn run with my chicas. I have been staying off the roads and running at the gym, so it was great to see my girls. I miss them, but my body needs a break from the pounding on the roads.
After the run, I hung out with my sweetie, Stan and Travis most of the day. We ran around doing the bulk of Stan's shopping ! and the last minute details of mine. Then we went to Friendly's for our Christmas eve dinner! It was easy and stress-free and I loved it. After our dinner, we went our separate ways for a while to wrap and organize for the next day.
I brought my youngest to his dad's house at about 8. It's always hard to share my kid on the holidays but it's is also nice to know how many people love him. My two older boys' dad died ten years ago, so there's no sharing, I get them all to myself. They see his family sometime after Christmas. These two aspects can be hard on the holidays, but this year it was fine.
Since their little brother went to his dad's, my older boys were able to ask for some more grown up type of celebrating. Stan, Nick and I went to my childhood church's midnight mass. It was absolutely beautiful, those Catholics really know how to create a beautiful service. The decorations, music, the lighting were magical. The priest is from Poland and sang a traditional Polish hymn that was just amazing, he was so vulnerable and humble up there in front of a packed house. I was so glad I went. I am not a practicing Catholic anymore, I can't wrap my head around pro-life beliefs or that women aren't allowed roles of leadership. I joined the United Church of Christ about 16 years ago and I love my church, but the Catholic church really has the ritual and symbolizim thing down. I miss the rituals sometime.
After the mass, we came home. I immediately crashed while Stan and Nick stayed up doing whatever people who don't need sleep do! I don't know what they do, I am always asleep. I know there's lots of eating and card-playing going on. I think they made a fire too. Poor Santa :)
We woke up late, around 8. Tommy, the oldest and the one that needs sleep like his mom, got up and cuddled with us for about an hour. I love that my 16 year old, 6 foot son cuddles with me, we gabbed and joke until I feel like being vertical. We woke up Nick at 9 and started the present portion of the day. We were done by about 9:15!!! We even did it civilized too, one present at a time but when there's only two kids opening it just doesn't take that long. We made a big breakfast of eggs, sausage, bacon and bagels and fruit. It was awesome. Then I cleaned up and started on the dishes I was bringing to share later on that day.
One of my favorite parts of having a low stress holiday was after I finished my dishes, Tommy and I went for a snowy hike at one of our favorite spots. It was totally great. We hiked and talked about Emerson and Thoreau or rather I received a lecture comparing and contrasting both authors. I learn something everyday from my kiddos.
We headed home for showers after trying to find a Dunkin Donuts open to no avail. I was craving a Peppermint Mocha Latte BAD, but oh well I will have to indulge today. Dunkin Donuts employees were off on Christmas. Good for them, bad for addicts like me.
For dinner, Tom, Nick and I went to Stan's mom's house. We had cornish game hen, potatoes, collard greens, cabbage and a bunch of other stuff and man it was good. His family is very welcoming and fun. After that we went to my mother's for dessert and the all-too-much-fun Yankee Swap and I picked number ONE! Yeah for me! I chose an interesting bag of loot...corndog breath mints, grow your own jesus and be saved toy, and a james dean puzzle. If that was the number one present, you can imagine what the others were. The Yankee Swap always brings some fun to end the holidays.
I think my holidays were awesome because I did things that mattered to me. I loved the midnight mass and the Christmas eve run with my girls and Christmas hike with my son. It helped that Travis and I shopped and wrapped early as well. It opened up time to do the stuff I love with the people I love. Hope your holidays were also as enjoyable. Happy New Year!
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Busy but Happy
I am half way through with my literacy specialist certification program and wow it is a lot of work! I enjoy the type of work though. I have to tutor children and I have chosen to tutor a group of nine-year-old English language learners. I love working with that age. I have been working with preschoolers for the past 12 years and it can get a little tedious sometimes. As a preschool teacher, I work so hard and don't often get to see the fruits of my labor. Often times, the kindergarten or first grade teacher reaps the rewards of all the singing, dancing, tracing, problem solving and conflict resolving!!!! I am in an interesting time of my career, well I guess in my life really. I definitely feel like I am in a transition period, carving out my next steps. It is exciting as well as terrifying!
I have been working out at the gym. I run outside about twice per week as well. But every winter I head inside and work on other things. I enjoy weightlifting a lot. Lots of eye candy at the gym as well but that's all it is for me since I am madly in love with my sweetheart. Check him out, mmm, mmm, mmm! I am a lucky woman!
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Stationery
I was fooling around on the world wide web and typed in one of my favorite blogs Runner Susan and it said aka Stationery Susan and I truly laughed out loud. That would describe me lately. I have no umph. I feel like Eyeore!
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Recovery
I have not been feeling like running much since Chicago. It is always so hard to get your legs back. I took ten days off and that felt great. Since then my longest run has been 3 miles! Feels funny!
I had a lot of fun on Halloween. One son was a lumberjack, one was a brick wall, one just caused mayhem somewhere!
November will be an easy month. We don't work a full week! We have election day off since the town uses the school buildings, Veteran's Day off the week later, Parent Conferences the week after that and then Thanksgiving. WOO WOO, yeah baby. I love being a teacher. Aren't my little kids adorable. I have 16 just like them!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Pics from Chicago!
On www.marathonfoto.com you can see some race pics. My last name is Martin and my bib was 40686. I look tired...
Here are a few pics of our Chicago Fun! One is of Travis and I on the SkyDeck of the Sear's Tower. So cool.
The other is of the boys posing at the Bean, a totally cool sculpture at Millenium Park.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Chicago Marathon Race Report 2009
First off, let's say that Chicago is an awesome city. Go there, sight see, eat and enjoy the night life. It is awesome. Who cares about the marathon? Marathon, smarthon!!!
But really now this is a blog about running, right! So anyway we headed to Bradley International Airport to discover our flight was delayed a few hours. I was travelling with my three boys and my love. We played cards and walked up and down the puny terminal about 218 times and finally it was time to board. We arrived to a totally nutsy Ohare Airport and discovered we had to pay another 120 buck-a-roos to get to and from our hotel. That is one thing about traveling, its expensive for sure. There was so much traffic coming into the city for the marathon it took us about an hour and half to get to our hotel from the airport. Finally we arrived to our room and sandwiches ordered by my family for us at about 9:30pm. We chowed and promptly fell fast asleep.
The next morning my honey, Stan, and my step-dad, Rich, my oldest son, Tommy and I first ate the most banging breakfast at a restaurant named Yolk on Michigan Ave. DELICIOUS!!!! I had the vegetable skillet with scrambled eggs while Tommy had banana nut bread french toast. I can't remember what the others had but wow, it was beyond delicious.
Then Tommy and Stan went exploring along the North Shore of Lake Michigan and had themselves a fun adventure. Meanwhile, Rich and I went to the Expo. We arrived promptly at 9am so we did not have to fight any crowds. Lots of freebies were given out and after trying every type of sport bean or power bar or miracle sports drink, we rolled out of there and walked along the Lakeshore path back to our hotel.
We were traveling with ten people so it was tricky to all catch up with each other. But we finally did just that at Millenium Park in downtown Chicago. Millenium Park is this coolest park with very cool art. There is the extremely fascinating "Bean" which is bean-shaped mirror that is a giant optical illusion. I have some great pics from there. Will try to get those up. There are sculptures all over the park as well. There is this wild sculpture that we call "Spitting Faces", these two huge blocks made of people's faces were on the blocks and every ten minutes are so the faces spit at each other!!!
A little farther away was another beautiful city sight, Buckingham Fountain. Wow that was magnificent.
The last sight seeing thing we did on Sat. was go to the Sky Deck on the Sear's Building. The sky deck is three glass boxes that are built of the edge of the Sear's building. It was incredible. You could see so much of the city.
After that we traveled to a nice Irish pub for dinner. They must not heard about the Chicago Marathon being in town because the only pasta they offered was macaroni and cheese! Too much cheese would not be a good thing for my belly so I opted for baked chicken and mashed potatoes and spinach. YUMMY! We headed to bed and I actually slept pretty well.
Woke up on Sunday at 6am totally pumped! My first mistake was I only ate half my banana and like two bites of my bagel. I was just so anxious to get out there and run! So Stan and I met Rich at 6:30 and we made our way to the start. Second mistake occurred at this point, I usually take two or three ibuprofen before the run and then during the run at like mile 20 and I couldn't find my stash!!!!
Third mistake happened at the start line. I started with my faster father with the 3:40 pace group. That sucked because I was passed the whole freakin race. Bad for morale. On top of that my garmin did not find any satelites in the middle of downtown, so I did not know my splits. oh well. Live and learn.
It was cold at the start about 32'. It looked like the sun might peek out but it never really did and the temp barely moved up much. It was cold the entire race. I found the beginning of the race uncomfortable due to the cold, my legs were stiff and slow. I soldiered on and found that by mile 9 I had warmed up the miles were just floating by. Since I hadn't eaten like I should have, I ate my first gu early at mile 5. That little mistake would take it toll later on.
At mile 8, we must have been running through the gay and lesbian area of Chicago because there were two groups of flamboyant male cheerleading squads performing adorable cheers for us and a stage of drag queens cheering us on as well. They were great.
I saw my little son and Stan at mile two and loved getting their love on the course. It really jazzed me up to keep going strong. I saw Tommy and Stan standing on top of newspaper boxes at mile 13 screaming their bloody heads off for me! I loved that too. So Cool. After the half marathon mark, I relaxed and felt confident about the race. All the while I was keeping a 8:50ish pace, I think! Not sure since my watch wasn't able to turn on until about mile 8 when we were running on the outter parts of Chicago.
I ate my second gu at mile 14 and was still running strong. I saw Stan and Travis again at mile 17 and they were so great for me. I started to get tired around 18 but decided to dig and say mind over matter and I have to get my legs moving! So I did! But at 18 the race volunteers were handing out power gel. I took one since I was hungry. YUCK, I am used to vanilla gu and my stomach did not like the power gel. I was able to push that aside and keep running hard.
UNTIL ...mile 22. Mile 22 was when my legs were starting to cramp up. I don't think I cramped due to dehydration. I think it was due to the cold and very flat course. Flat courses are great, of course! But my calves were screaming at me by mile 22 and it got a little dicey. I think the flatness of the course kept my legs getting the same type of movement. I was afraid my calves were going to just seize up. I did stop to stretch them and I think that helped me to suffer thruough the rest of the marathon. I was not happy, those last four miles hurt A LOT!
I saw my family at mile 25 and that helped to get to mile 26. I cried when I saw that mile 26 marker so happy to be done. I finished at 4:12. I was happy with that time, it reflected my training and how I felt that day.
Chicago was fabulous and all of you should just run right out and sign up for Chicago 2010!!!!!!
But really now this is a blog about running, right! So anyway we headed to Bradley International Airport to discover our flight was delayed a few hours. I was travelling with my three boys and my love. We played cards and walked up and down the puny terminal about 218 times and finally it was time to board. We arrived to a totally nutsy Ohare Airport and discovered we had to pay another 120 buck-a-roos to get to and from our hotel. That is one thing about traveling, its expensive for sure. There was so much traffic coming into the city for the marathon it took us about an hour and half to get to our hotel from the airport. Finally we arrived to our room and sandwiches ordered by my family for us at about 9:30pm. We chowed and promptly fell fast asleep.
The next morning my honey, Stan, and my step-dad, Rich, my oldest son, Tommy and I first ate the most banging breakfast at a restaurant named Yolk on Michigan Ave. DELICIOUS!!!! I had the vegetable skillet with scrambled eggs while Tommy had banana nut bread french toast. I can't remember what the others had but wow, it was beyond delicious.
Then Tommy and Stan went exploring along the North Shore of Lake Michigan and had themselves a fun adventure. Meanwhile, Rich and I went to the Expo. We arrived promptly at 9am so we did not have to fight any crowds. Lots of freebies were given out and after trying every type of sport bean or power bar or miracle sports drink, we rolled out of there and walked along the Lakeshore path back to our hotel.
We were traveling with ten people so it was tricky to all catch up with each other. But we finally did just that at Millenium Park in downtown Chicago. Millenium Park is this coolest park with very cool art. There is the extremely fascinating "Bean" which is bean-shaped mirror that is a giant optical illusion. I have some great pics from there. Will try to get those up. There are sculptures all over the park as well. There is this wild sculpture that we call "Spitting Faces", these two huge blocks made of people's faces were on the blocks and every ten minutes are so the faces spit at each other!!!
A little farther away was another beautiful city sight, Buckingham Fountain. Wow that was magnificent.
The last sight seeing thing we did on Sat. was go to the Sky Deck on the Sear's Building. The sky deck is three glass boxes that are built of the edge of the Sear's building. It was incredible. You could see so much of the city.
After that we traveled to a nice Irish pub for dinner. They must not heard about the Chicago Marathon being in town because the only pasta they offered was macaroni and cheese! Too much cheese would not be a good thing for my belly so I opted for baked chicken and mashed potatoes and spinach. YUMMY! We headed to bed and I actually slept pretty well.
Woke up on Sunday at 6am totally pumped! My first mistake was I only ate half my banana and like two bites of my bagel. I was just so anxious to get out there and run! So Stan and I met Rich at 6:30 and we made our way to the start. Second mistake occurred at this point, I usually take two or three ibuprofen before the run and then during the run at like mile 20 and I couldn't find my stash!!!!
Third mistake happened at the start line. I started with my faster father with the 3:40 pace group. That sucked because I was passed the whole freakin race. Bad for morale. On top of that my garmin did not find any satelites in the middle of downtown, so I did not know my splits. oh well. Live and learn.
It was cold at the start about 32'. It looked like the sun might peek out but it never really did and the temp barely moved up much. It was cold the entire race. I found the beginning of the race uncomfortable due to the cold, my legs were stiff and slow. I soldiered on and found that by mile 9 I had warmed up the miles were just floating by. Since I hadn't eaten like I should have, I ate my first gu early at mile 5. That little mistake would take it toll later on.
At mile 8, we must have been running through the gay and lesbian area of Chicago because there were two groups of flamboyant male cheerleading squads performing adorable cheers for us and a stage of drag queens cheering us on as well. They were great.
I saw my little son and Stan at mile two and loved getting their love on the course. It really jazzed me up to keep going strong. I saw Tommy and Stan standing on top of newspaper boxes at mile 13 screaming their bloody heads off for me! I loved that too. So Cool. After the half marathon mark, I relaxed and felt confident about the race. All the while I was keeping a 8:50ish pace, I think! Not sure since my watch wasn't able to turn on until about mile 8 when we were running on the outter parts of Chicago.
I ate my second gu at mile 14 and was still running strong. I saw Stan and Travis again at mile 17 and they were so great for me. I started to get tired around 18 but decided to dig and say mind over matter and I have to get my legs moving! So I did! But at 18 the race volunteers were handing out power gel. I took one since I was hungry. YUCK, I am used to vanilla gu and my stomach did not like the power gel. I was able to push that aside and keep running hard.
UNTIL ...mile 22. Mile 22 was when my legs were starting to cramp up. I don't think I cramped due to dehydration. I think it was due to the cold and very flat course. Flat courses are great, of course! But my calves were screaming at me by mile 22 and it got a little dicey. I think the flatness of the course kept my legs getting the same type of movement. I was afraid my calves were going to just seize up. I did stop to stretch them and I think that helped me to suffer thruough the rest of the marathon. I was not happy, those last four miles hurt A LOT!
I saw my family at mile 25 and that helped to get to mile 26. I cried when I saw that mile 26 marker so happy to be done. I finished at 4:12. I was happy with that time, it reflected my training and how I felt that day.
Chicago was fabulous and all of you should just run right out and sign up for Chicago 2010!!!!!!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Taper-ahhhhh
Well the work is done. I am as ready as I will ever be for Chicago. I feel confident but not overly confident. I am confident I will have fun and enjoy the race, but I am not sure I will finish in my goal time of sub 4 hours. I will start with that pace group and see what happens. I am very good at readjusting my goals mid-race if need be. I am excited to be visiting the windy city. I have only been once and that was for a short visit when I was 12 years old!
Hope everyone is having a nice beginning of Fall!
Hope everyone is having a nice beginning of Fall!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
20 Miles ...Done
Last night after working with three and four year olds all day, I ventured out along a beautiful slightly hilly long run in the drizzling rain.
It was awesome.
I felt great the entire run. It was not real speedy but I am not worried. My sweet sweet friend, Deb, met me at mile ten at the top of this freakin bear of a hill to support me for the last ten miles. It was great and I am so psyched for Chicago. I have another longish run next week and then taper baby!!!
The marathon is less than 30 days away! Woo Hoo!
It was awesome.
I felt great the entire run. It was not real speedy but I am not worried. My sweet sweet friend, Deb, met me at mile ten at the top of this freakin bear of a hill to support me for the last ten miles. It was great and I am so psyched for Chicago. I have another longish run next week and then taper baby!!!
The marathon is less than 30 days away! Woo Hoo!
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Speed work and its hot :(
I am procrastinating right now. I have four 1000m repeats I have to get down and its 88 degrees and humid. Yuck.
Don't worry I will go just a little later than I thought.
Chicago training going very well. Going for massage tomorrow. Long run on Friday am. WooHoo!
School starts on Monday. Back to reality. Back to some money, money, money!
Miss reading posts will try to catch up.
Don't worry I will go just a little later than I thought.
Chicago training going very well. Going for massage tomorrow. Long run on Friday am. WooHoo!
School starts on Monday. Back to reality. Back to some money, money, money!
Miss reading posts will try to catch up.
Saturday, August 08, 2009
Loving Life!
I have been having the time of my life! Maybe life really does begin at 40. Well almost 41!
Since June, I have taken in my first Red Sox game at Fenway (it poured in the fourth inning but it was still a blast anyway).
I saw The Color Purple in the theatre, it was amazing.
I completed my first third of an intensive course to become a literacy specialist in July. I loved my class and can't wait for the second third to start in Sept.
I sold my sexy Jeep for another sexy car that is waaaayyyyyy better on gas, a 2006 Honda Civic. Black with a nice moon roof.
All the while I have tried to train for the Chicago Marathon. I had a fabulous long run on Friday morning at 5am. The moon was bright and we tackled our run with gusto. We had energy the entire run. It is amazing because I had sucked eggs on the previous long run!
I have started speed work, it hurts but will be worth it come race day.
No tris for me this year but I have continued to swim and bike to keep healthy. I am going to hike Mount Washington instead with my girls. Can't wait.
Happy Running!
Since June, I have taken in my first Red Sox game at Fenway (it poured in the fourth inning but it was still a blast anyway).
I saw The Color Purple in the theatre, it was amazing.
I completed my first third of an intensive course to become a literacy specialist in July. I loved my class and can't wait for the second third to start in Sept.
I sold my sexy Jeep for another sexy car that is waaaayyyyyy better on gas, a 2006 Honda Civic. Black with a nice moon roof.
All the while I have tried to train for the Chicago Marathon. I had a fabulous long run on Friday morning at 5am. The moon was bright and we tackled our run with gusto. We had energy the entire run. It is amazing because I had sucked eggs on the previous long run!
I have started speed work, it hurts but will be worth it come race day.
No tris for me this year but I have continued to swim and bike to keep healthy. I am going to hike Mount Washington instead with my girls. Can't wait.
Happy Running!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Shhh, dont tell my teacher...
I am writing to you while I am pretending to take notes in my theory of reading class. This summer I am studying to become a literacy specialist at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT. It is cool being New Haven yet I am imprisoned in the same blah blah classroom for the month of July. Right now I better go listen to my professor talk about morphology. There is a lot to think about when you are teaching reading...
I have hardly been working out. Bad for me. But I have managed to do my long runs since I will be dazzling the city of Chicago this Oct. !!!
Miss everyone!
I have hardly been working out. Bad for me. But I have managed to do my long runs since I will be dazzling the city of Chicago this Oct. !!!
Miss everyone!
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Hello out there!
Hi everyone,
Been busy with school since July 6th. Been running a little bit and biking too. Need to swim more. Miss reading about everyone!
Been busy with school since July 6th. Been running a little bit and biking too. Need to swim more. Miss reading about everyone!
Wednesday, July 01, 2009
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Beep
Yesterday I met the running Chick with the orange hat for a run, but actually her hat was white. We were joined by another attractive running chick also wearing a hat, can't remember the color of her hat though.
We were running on the wrong side of road for a short spell and received many beeps and thought wow we are doing pretty well this morning! Must be our new shorts!
Then we said farewell to Dianna since she was running 13 and we had to get back to our kids and were cutting the run by half. Sadly enough when we were running without Dianna we received no beeps.
So what can be deduced?...
1. Dianna is totally hot and was reason for all the beeps. Could be. She is smoking.
2. The cars were beeping at us because we were running on the wrong side of the road. Maybe but this is New England nobody really cares for anyone else's safety that much.
3. On our way back to the car, we were really sweaty and our hair was matted to our heads and we just didn't look as good as when we started. Plausible.
Glad these are the extent of my problems.
We were running on the wrong side of road for a short spell and received many beeps and thought wow we are doing pretty well this morning! Must be our new shorts!
Then we said farewell to Dianna since she was running 13 and we had to get back to our kids and were cutting the run by half. Sadly enough when we were running without Dianna we received no beeps.
So what can be deduced?...
1. Dianna is totally hot and was reason for all the beeps. Could be. She is smoking.
2. The cars were beeping at us because we were running on the wrong side of the road. Maybe but this is New England nobody really cares for anyone else's safety that much.
3. On our way back to the car, we were really sweaty and our hair was matted to our heads and we just didn't look as good as when we started. Plausible.
Glad these are the extent of my problems.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Ugh Goggles
Do any of you wise worker outters have any suggestions for appropriate goggles? I have raccoon eyes for hours after swimming and if I want to get better I need to figure this out, I am vain you know?!
Sunday, May 31, 2009
Urban Adventure - Boston 2009
Oh my goodness What A Blast!!!!
Travis, Jabez and I started our adventure with a 8am departure, stopping first for bagels of course! We made it to Boston in about an hour and half and got to the packet pickup at 11 almost the first ones there. What fun, we perched ourselves close to the entrance and watched all the crazy costumes! There were two teams of bees, a team of ducks, Dr Spock and that other guy from Star Trek oh yeah Captain Kirk, sharks, angels and demons, just plain angels, and on and on.
At noon, the race organizers handed out our 12 clues. We had to wait till everyone got an envelope before we could open them. Holy toledo, the questions/tasks were so hard. Luckily my oldest son was home and googled us the answers to most of the problems but some were tasks we had to do like find people with red socks and a Red Sox jersey on or shake hands with a dog. It was legal to have a phone a friend and to ride the T or public buses. You couldn't ride a bike or hire a taxi.
Some of the tasks were so obscure, I just don't understand them. Like one was to find something that holds 230 gallons, 2 quarts, 1 pint and three gills. It was this random huge teapot at Starbucks and we only got it because we saw other teams there and Travis spotted the words on the kettle.
But some tasks were really fun. At KO Prime, this fancy restaurant they set up a "Who dunnit?" type problem with 15 clues all over the restaurant. It was really funny, all these people running around looking for clues.
The race has a 5 hour limit and I thought oh no problem we will make it in about 3 hours. Well we had to book to the finish line for the last few miles to make it in at 4 hours 55 minutes!!! I was so happy we made it in the 5 hours.
We probably ran about 8 to 10 miles over the 5 hours and we were soooooo pooped! I would recommend the Great Urban Race to anyone looking to see a city and have lots of fun. I would definitely do this again. Maybe we will go to NYC or Philadelphia for the next time we give it a go.
Oh my goodness pics will have to follow I can't find my stupid usb cord AGAIN!
Travis, Jabez and I started our adventure with a 8am departure, stopping first for bagels of course! We made it to Boston in about an hour and half and got to the packet pickup at 11 almost the first ones there. What fun, we perched ourselves close to the entrance and watched all the crazy costumes! There were two teams of bees, a team of ducks, Dr Spock and that other guy from Star Trek oh yeah Captain Kirk, sharks, angels and demons, just plain angels, and on and on.
At noon, the race organizers handed out our 12 clues. We had to wait till everyone got an envelope before we could open them. Holy toledo, the questions/tasks were so hard. Luckily my oldest son was home and googled us the answers to most of the problems but some were tasks we had to do like find people with red socks and a Red Sox jersey on or shake hands with a dog. It was legal to have a phone a friend and to ride the T or public buses. You couldn't ride a bike or hire a taxi.
Some of the tasks were so obscure, I just don't understand them. Like one was to find something that holds 230 gallons, 2 quarts, 1 pint and three gills. It was this random huge teapot at Starbucks and we only got it because we saw other teams there and Travis spotted the words on the kettle.
But some tasks were really fun. At KO Prime, this fancy restaurant they set up a "Who dunnit?" type problem with 15 clues all over the restaurant. It was really funny, all these people running around looking for clues.
The race has a 5 hour limit and I thought oh no problem we will make it in about 3 hours. Well we had to book to the finish line for the last few miles to make it in at 4 hours 55 minutes!!! I was so happy we made it in the 5 hours.
We probably ran about 8 to 10 miles over the 5 hours and we were soooooo pooped! I would recommend the Great Urban Race to anyone looking to see a city and have lots of fun. I would definitely do this again. Maybe we will go to NYC or Philadelphia for the next time we give it a go.
Oh my goodness pics will have to follow I can't find my stupid usb cord AGAIN!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Crazy Crazy Day
Today I woke to a nice trail run with two really awesome friends. That's where the fun stopped.
I came home to help my son do his paper route at about 8. At one house, a kinda weird house, there was a man waiting at the door, sorta weird a 8 am on Sat. When I gave him his paper, I heard a woman yell, "Help, his just threw me!"
It didn't register in my head. I even picked up his other morning paper and gave it to him. She yelled for help again when he opened the door the second time.
That time it registered. I became alarmed and hurried back into my car. I quickly called 911 and gave them my complaint. The dispatcher asked that I wait in my car outside the home until the police arrived. I did what she requested but wow it freaked me out. What was I supposed to do, bear witness to whatever violence might happen next?
The police came within a few minutes and we finished the route, both shaky and freaked out.
Then I had to go about my day wondering what happened to this couple. I am concerned also for my son when he has to deliver the paper on Monday. Ugh.
But that is not where the craziness ends...
After a baseball game and work commitment, I ran home to clean my house before another baseball game at 3. I just started cleaning when my middle son went outside in his barefeet and stepped on a dang roofing nail. Now I have fixed two flat tires from those damn roofing nails and now my son gets punctured as well!
My oldest son and his friend carry him to the car where he proceeds to throw up. It was a pretty gross injury to look at and as long as he kept it covered he was ok.
But guess what? I got pulled over by a friggin cop on the way to the hospital. He saw me talking on my cell phone. Of course he was taking his sweet time getting out of the cruiser and I was beeping my horn and yelling out my window to no avail! So I called 911 for the second time that day! When I finally got my hysterical story out, he managed to get out of his cruiser and I frantically told him what was going on, he took one look at my kids foot and said, "Ok, that works, see ya" I was about half a mile from the hospital. The hospital staff was fabulous and luck for Nick, it was an old roofing nail and about half the size of the nails that punctured my car tires.
What a day.
I came home to help my son do his paper route at about 8. At one house, a kinda weird house, there was a man waiting at the door, sorta weird a 8 am on Sat. When I gave him his paper, I heard a woman yell, "Help, his just threw me!"
It didn't register in my head. I even picked up his other morning paper and gave it to him. She yelled for help again when he opened the door the second time.
That time it registered. I became alarmed and hurried back into my car. I quickly called 911 and gave them my complaint. The dispatcher asked that I wait in my car outside the home until the police arrived. I did what she requested but wow it freaked me out. What was I supposed to do, bear witness to whatever violence might happen next?
The police came within a few minutes and we finished the route, both shaky and freaked out.
Then I had to go about my day wondering what happened to this couple. I am concerned also for my son when he has to deliver the paper on Monday. Ugh.
But that is not where the craziness ends...
After a baseball game and work commitment, I ran home to clean my house before another baseball game at 3. I just started cleaning when my middle son went outside in his barefeet and stepped on a dang roofing nail. Now I have fixed two flat tires from those damn roofing nails and now my son gets punctured as well!
My oldest son and his friend carry him to the car where he proceeds to throw up. It was a pretty gross injury to look at and as long as he kept it covered he was ok.
But guess what? I got pulled over by a friggin cop on the way to the hospital. He saw me talking on my cell phone. Of course he was taking his sweet time getting out of the cruiser and I was beeping my horn and yelling out my window to no avail! So I called 911 for the second time that day! When I finally got my hysterical story out, he managed to get out of his cruiser and I frantically told him what was going on, he took one look at my kids foot and said, "Ok, that works, see ya" I was about half a mile from the hospital. The hospital staff was fabulous and luck for Nick, it was an old roofing nail and about half the size of the nails that punctured my car tires.
What a day.
Holy Recovery Baby
Wow it took three days to be able to walk normally after Soapstone. There were tons of hills and even by mile 11 I was tensing going down hill. I took a couple days off, went swimming and finally ran this morning almost a week later! My legs felt great and the new trail I ran was very fun!
Tomorrow: Bike Ride!
Tomorrow: Bike Ride!
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Soapstone Mountain Trail 24K
Well my day started with a big brown doggie nose in my face at 5:15! I went to pee the same time as he did and what do I discover? Well lets just say that if I was living during bible times I would be sitting in a red tent with other women drinking wine and gossiping celebrating my women-ness but no such luck...time to grab supplies and fuel up with a bagel and banana.
My brother, girlfriend, Cindy, and eldest son left at 7:30 with no problem finding the race start- a horseback riding camp in Stafford, CT. Check in was easy and well organized. The Bare Naked granola guys were handing out samples. Yum I had fruit and nut granola, yogurt with blackberries. Delish.
The race started at 9am about a half mile from registration site and continued on a dirt road for about a mile. I was exhausted right from the start! I knew that with all the pms bitching I did over the past three days, I would have little fire left once my period started and boy was I pooped right from the beginning.
We reached the four mile mark at exactly 1 hour. The most impressive climb of the race was so cool. I will try to get you pics from my friend's camera phone. It was straight up, no lie. I think that was at mile 3 or so. At the top was a fire stand, I think.
I basically just trudged along for the next ten miles, my two friends encouraging me all the way. I have great friends. We finished at 3:35. The race volunteers had burgers, three bean salad and soda left for us and made us feel as special as those finishing in an hour and half. This was a great race. Very technical trails, lots of mud, wet rocks and leaves, and interesting terrain to keep you entertained. Oh yeah the t-shirt was cute too.
After we gobbled up our burgers, we had to get home to other children but not before we grabbed some hot cocoa and toasted bagels. Its amazing how cold you get after running long.
After a long hot shower, I zipped over to celebrate my little sister's 20th birthday! More burgers, ice cream cake and mojitos!
I need a weekend from my weekend! How am I going to get up and go to work tomorrow?
My brother, girlfriend, Cindy, and eldest son left at 7:30 with no problem finding the race start- a horseback riding camp in Stafford, CT. Check in was easy and well organized. The Bare Naked granola guys were handing out samples. Yum I had fruit and nut granola, yogurt with blackberries. Delish.
The race started at 9am about a half mile from registration site and continued on a dirt road for about a mile. I was exhausted right from the start! I knew that with all the pms bitching I did over the past three days, I would have little fire left once my period started and boy was I pooped right from the beginning.
We reached the four mile mark at exactly 1 hour. The most impressive climb of the race was so cool. I will try to get you pics from my friend's camera phone. It was straight up, no lie. I think that was at mile 3 or so. At the top was a fire stand, I think.
I basically just trudged along for the next ten miles, my two friends encouraging me all the way. I have great friends. We finished at 3:35. The race volunteers had burgers, three bean salad and soda left for us and made us feel as special as those finishing in an hour and half. This was a great race. Very technical trails, lots of mud, wet rocks and leaves, and interesting terrain to keep you entertained. Oh yeah the t-shirt was cute too.
After we gobbled up our burgers, we had to get home to other children but not before we grabbed some hot cocoa and toasted bagels. Its amazing how cold you get after running long.
After a long hot shower, I zipped over to celebrate my little sister's 20th birthday! More burgers, ice cream cake and mojitos!
I need a weekend from my weekend! How am I going to get up and go to work tomorrow?
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Excited!
Tomorrow my brother, son and a few friends are heading north about 25 miles to run a trail half marathon. I am so psyched! Got an email about the race yesterday that asked we bring our own plate and fork for the post race party...gotta love those trail runners.
Will let you know how it all went down. My only goal is to finish I have no clue about time since I hear it is a challenging course. Would love to finish around three hours though but no biggie if I don't.
I finally found the usb cord for my camera. This pic is from Christmas but I like it. So share...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Happy Mother's Day
Yesterday I successfully and painlessly ran ten miles in preparation for Soapstone Trail half marathon! I am so psyched. I didn't think I would be able to run Soapstone after aggrevating my hip/inner thigh a couple of weeks ago but cross training and stretching and resting have all really helped.
We are getting ready to head out for breakfast!
We are getting ready to head out for breakfast!
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Is anyone else tired?
I have been so pooped lately. I am able to work out well in the am but by dinner I just want to go to bed and I can't because we have baseball for three hours...in the cold and rain!
Running, swimming and biking now. I love the warm weather.
Running, swimming and biking now. I love the warm weather.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Rail Trails
Today was the first day I ran since last Sunday since I am nursing my sore psoas. We ran on the rail trail, it was so nice. The trails are wide and cushy and very easy to manage. But best of all they are flat! I read that hills are hard on your psoas so I choose to keep it simple today. My hip was sore but I was able to stretch out the soreness. I think I might stick with rail trails for my long runs for Chicago.
Happy Running!
Happy Running!
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Healing Power of Laughter
A group of us went out for a half trail/half road 8 miler this morning. It was great, but at about mile 5 the same sore muscle in my right hip started to rear its ugly head. I struggled on and the most amazing thing happened....
My friend Warren told us about his tall friend named Rich. Rich decided he wanted to get lots of encouragement during a marathon and wore a shirt with his name on the back but instead of Rich he wrote BIG DICK!!! The other runners and I this morning had so much fun coming up with funny things we would yell out to him:
FINISH STRONG, BIG DICK!!
LOOKING GOOD, BIG DICK!!
YOU'RE ALMOST THERE, BIG DICK!!
I was laughing so hard the pain in my hip went away...temporarily. It is killing me right now. I have to discipline myself enough to stretch 3x a day while I increase my mileage for Chicago.
Good luck in Boston all you fast marathoners!!
My friend Warren told us about his tall friend named Rich. Rich decided he wanted to get lots of encouragement during a marathon and wore a shirt with his name on the back but instead of Rich he wrote BIG DICK!!! The other runners and I this morning had so much fun coming up with funny things we would yell out to him:
FINISH STRONG, BIG DICK!!
LOOKING GOOD, BIG DICK!!
YOU'RE ALMOST THERE, BIG DICK!!
I was laughing so hard the pain in my hip went away...temporarily. It is killing me right now. I have to discipline myself enough to stretch 3x a day while I increase my mileage for Chicago.
Good luck in Boston all you fast marathoners!!
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I love April vacation!
Today I woke up later and met a friend at 6am rather than the typical 5:15 to run on trails. It was great. Yesterday I received a hour and half long massage, she killed my hips. It was a hurt so good kinda pain, knowing that it was going to help in the long run. My hips are still sore this morning.
While running today I was trying to convince my friend to sign up for the Chicago Marathon. She pointed out that we would need to start training in June! That's only a few months away! The last marathons I did were late Fall. I am sorta psyched about the timing of Chicago, since the training will be winding down by the time school starts in Sept.
Now I have to remember to stretch those darn hips...
While running today I was trying to convince my friend to sign up for the Chicago Marathon. She pointed out that we would need to start training in June! That's only a few months away! The last marathons I did were late Fall. I am sorta psyched about the timing of Chicago, since the training will be winding down by the time school starts in Sept.
Now I have to remember to stretch those darn hips...
Monday, April 13, 2009
Our new doggie!
My boys and I were waiting till spring vacation to adopt a dog and this huge guy fell into our laps after one day of phone calls to different rescue shelters. His name is Hunter and he is a very loving happy 5 year old chocolate lab, how appropriate!!! His previous owner was having some chronic back pain and couldn't keep up with his needs. He only lives about a mile away so he can visit anytime.
Dogs are the best. They are the sweetest companions.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Finding your own way...
I have been running the trails a lot more lately. It feels good and cushiony on my joints and it is great being in the woods. One thing I notice that I like to be the follower and its because I like to see where my running friends are stepping and I usually copy, but I have been running with a friend that takes longer strides than I do and I always get tripped up in the water jumps. Its a reminder that we all need to carve our own path...
Running is so cool.
Running is so cool.
Sunday, April 05, 2009
Scary
Today my friend and I went running on trails mostly, but we decided to take roads back to our starting point because we were both late for our babysitters. We were running on a pretty busy road but not like an interstate or anything but cars go about 45 or so. We had been running single file for about 3/4 of a mile with me in the lead. And my friend was teasing me because I had dirt all on the back of my pants from the trails and that's when it happened...
This freakin' volvo heads right for us!!! I only had time and flexibility enough to scream and squish up against the guardrails while my friend hopped the rails after he heard me scream. I have had run ins with asshole runner haters before but this guy kept the game of chicken going a little too long for my comfort.
The adrenaline was good for getting us back to our cars at least. But whoa, I think about it every time I feel the scrap from the guardrails on my shin.
I wonder what goes through these nutjobs minds...
This freakin' volvo heads right for us!!! I only had time and flexibility enough to scream and squish up against the guardrails while my friend hopped the rails after he heard me scream. I have had run ins with asshole runner haters before but this guy kept the game of chicken going a little too long for my comfort.
The adrenaline was good for getting us back to our cars at least. But whoa, I think about it every time I feel the scrap from the guardrails on my shin.
I wonder what goes through these nutjobs minds...
First Race of 09
Well for the last three years, I tried to race once per month, but after the Philadelphia Marathon I felt really over cooked! Totally burnt.
I took a nice break this winter, not running any distances longer than 6 miles. I worked out in the gym a lot more.
There is a nice local 5k race to celebrate Easter in our town. There is a egg hunt and kids race before the big race. It is a very nice community event.
It is a hard race with a big hill on mile one. I decided to push myself but to have realistic expectations since I haven't run very much and am still nursing my sore hip. At mile one, I came upon my son's best friend, Will, a totally phenomenal athlete. I pulled a head of him just a little and I knew his competitive spirit would win and he would stay with me. We continued to run sub 8s for the next mile. At mile two, I told him we have one more to go and he just kicked it in and by 2.75 miles into the race, he was completely in the zone and blew me away!!! He is only 8 years old by the way!
He finished third in his age group with a time of 24:20 and I finished second in my age group with a time of 25:15. That time is a little slower than I like but I will be back in race form before I know it!!!
There were four massage therapists donating their services for only about 150 runners. I got stretched and massaged for about 20 minutes for free. It was awesome.
I took a nice break this winter, not running any distances longer than 6 miles. I worked out in the gym a lot more.
There is a nice local 5k race to celebrate Easter in our town. There is a egg hunt and kids race before the big race. It is a very nice community event.
It is a hard race with a big hill on mile one. I decided to push myself but to have realistic expectations since I haven't run very much and am still nursing my sore hip. At mile one, I came upon my son's best friend, Will, a totally phenomenal athlete. I pulled a head of him just a little and I knew his competitive spirit would win and he would stay with me. We continued to run sub 8s for the next mile. At mile two, I told him we have one more to go and he just kicked it in and by 2.75 miles into the race, he was completely in the zone and blew me away!!! He is only 8 years old by the way!
He finished third in his age group with a time of 24:20 and I finished second in my age group with a time of 25:15. That time is a little slower than I like but I will be back in race form before I know it!!!
There were four massage therapists donating their services for only about 150 runners. I got stretched and massaged for about 20 minutes for free. It was awesome.
Thursday, April 02, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Cold=Bad, Warm=Good
Today I planned a 9 mile "long" run. I have struggled to run more than 6 miles pain free all winter. Well yippee for me, today was about 48' balmy and no wind and I ran pain free for 12 miles !!!!!!
I felt so good I could have kept going! I am so thrilled and relieved. I will continue to stretch and I plan to hit some yoga classes too. I am just so happy to realize that it was the cold that brought on so much discomfort.
Well gotta run to church, bye !!!
I felt so good I could have kept going! I am so thrilled and relieved. I will continue to stretch and I plan to hit some yoga classes too. I am just so happy to realize that it was the cold that brought on so much discomfort.
Well gotta run to church, bye !!!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
New Goal
Well these darn kids of mine are always getting in the way of my fun! I have to set my sights on the Soapstone Mountain 24k this spring rather than Seven Sisters. My middle son (of course I didn't know the date of his confirmation, it's true what they say about middles!!) has his confirmation ceremony the same day at seven sisters race. But that's okay now I have two more weeks to get ready for Soapstone...
I have been religious about stretching and only running 5 days. I felt a difference in this morning's ten mile run. My hip hurt but not as much as before. I feel pretty confident that if I am smart and follow directions, I will be ready for Chicago in the fall.
Happy Trails!
I have been religious about stretching and only running 5 days. I felt a difference in this morning's ten mile run. My hip hurt but not as much as before. I feel pretty confident that if I am smart and follow directions, I will be ready for Chicago in the fall.
Happy Trails!
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Instincts Correct
So I have been having this tightening pain in my hips when I run further than 6 miles in the cold. So my doctor sent me to a "sports" doctor. They took an x ray, x ray showed no bone problems, so the doctor sent me to physical therapy. The physical therapist was kinda pissy to me. When I told her I have no daily pain, just when I run further than 6 miles, she rolled her eyes and said, "Ugh. One of those."
I always felt like I never wanted to get any help with my running aches and pains because I have always been able to run about 4 miles pain free. I was embarrassed and felt like I was definitely wasting her time.
BUT I want to run pain free for longer distances than 6 miles!!!!
She gave me some stretches to try while running and then some I am to do three times of day. I have been doing them probably twice a day. I don't run more than four a day usually so I wont know whether they make a difference till the weekend.
Oh yeah, she said I also have to take two rest days instead of one. Yeah right.
I always felt like I never wanted to get any help with my running aches and pains because I have always been able to run about 4 miles pain free. I was embarrassed and felt like I was definitely wasting her time.
BUT I want to run pain free for longer distances than 6 miles!!!!
She gave me some stretches to try while running and then some I am to do three times of day. I have been doing them probably twice a day. I don't run more than four a day usually so I wont know whether they make a difference till the weekend.
Oh yeah, she said I also have to take two rest days instead of one. Yeah right.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Nine miles!
Today I hit nine miles! It was tough but I stretched my hips every time I felt them tightening up and it helped me to stay loose.
The weather is starting to become nicer and today it was sunny and 55'. Almost all of the 12 inches of snow we got this past Monday melted! Tomorrow I am running in the woods to practice trails for the 7 sisters. I think I convinced my 16 year old son to run the race too! I hope so, its more fun when there are other people you know out there too.
Well have to get back to report cards...enough procrastinating!
The weather is starting to become nicer and today it was sunny and 55'. Almost all of the 12 inches of snow we got this past Monday melted! Tomorrow I am running in the woods to practice trails for the 7 sisters. I think I convinced my 16 year old son to run the race too! I hope so, its more fun when there are other people you know out there too.
Well have to get back to report cards...enough procrastinating!
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Visit to the doctor
After the Philadelphia Marathon, my hip was sore so I decided to take a nice break from a distances longer than 5 miles to help rest my aching body. My hip felt much better. I was very psyched. Well about three weeks ago I decided to run 6.5 miles and the same awful pain showed up in the hip area. I really want to run the Chicago Marathon so I decided I to visit the doctor. Good news: no arthritis just need to strengthen and stretch my hip area! WooHoo!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Passwords Please
Okay, I feel like the nerdy girl in high school. Left out. I miss my mia goddess mini-series and for the life of me I can't find Juls new blog address. If you are out there, ladies, can I have your passwords please, I miss you. I promise I will be better and get back to reading blogs and responding. I promise I will wear my hair in the coolest style and wear only the right jeans so you won't be embarrassed to be seen in the hallway with me!!!
Oh my goodness, I would never go back to high school. Not even for a daily...salon wash, dry and style. Well maybe for all that...
Oh my goodness, I would never go back to high school. Not even for a daily...salon wash, dry and style. Well maybe for all that...
Monday, February 23, 2009
A new goal
I have been hiking a lot this winter. Being on the trails is reminding me of my trail marathon training last spring. I had so much fun with my running partners. It's really easy to get crazy in the middle of the woods! On our longer runs we would get so punchy and start belting out very silly songs!
I am not ready for another trail marathon but I am setting a goal of training and running a very challengeing trail race. Check it out at www.7sisterstrailrace.com Come and join me!
I am not ready for another trail marathon but I am setting a goal of training and running a very challengeing trail race. Check it out at www.7sisterstrailrace.com Come and join me!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
What a tease
We had 50' temps for about two days last week and it felt so great. Now we are back to 30s and tomorrow we should expect more snow. This winter has kicked my ass, I really feel sorry for those that are training for Boston or other spring marathons. No way.
One bright spot in my life was our town had a chocolate festival and I entered a cake into the cake contest. I will try to get you a photo. We have this crazy bridge in our town called thread city crossing. On this bridge rests gigantic spools to represent our thread mill that attracted many people to our town back in late 1800s and on four of the spools are these gigantic frogs. There is this very silly war story about the frogs of windham. But anyway, I made the frog bridge with chocolate bars and crafts and put a runner girl doll on top with a banner that read "Run 4 Chocolate" It won first place for the theme division of the competition. We don't have to tell anyone that my cake was the only theme cake in the contest!!! A win is still a WIN!
Gotta go try to download the photo off my phone. It might take me a while!
One bright spot in my life was our town had a chocolate festival and I entered a cake into the cake contest. I will try to get you a photo. We have this crazy bridge in our town called thread city crossing. On this bridge rests gigantic spools to represent our thread mill that attracted many people to our town back in late 1800s and on four of the spools are these gigantic frogs. There is this very silly war story about the frogs of windham. But anyway, I made the frog bridge with chocolate bars and crafts and put a runner girl doll on top with a banner that read "Run 4 Chocolate" It won first place for the theme division of the competition. We don't have to tell anyone that my cake was the only theme cake in the contest!!! A win is still a WIN!
Gotta go try to download the photo off my phone. It might take me a while!
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Oh the joy of running...
Today was the first day since probably Christmas that I ran outside and it didn't hurt! It was a balmy 35' and the roads were only a little slippery. It felt so great to be running outside. I have been working out at the gym and it is soooooo boring. The tread mill is so awful but not as awful as trudgeing through below 0 temps and slush.
I hope the groundhog was run and we are due for an early spring.
I hope the groundhog was run and we are due for an early spring.
Sunday, February 08, 2009
Peace Reigns
Well peace reigns currently in chocolate lady runner heaven. Listen to the week I had: On Tuesday my oldest son had a huge huge tantrum. Had to deal with that. Too personal to tell all the gory details. On Friday night, my middle son was jumped by two little shitheads that stole his money while he walked home from the skateshop. Of course he didn't know them so calling the police was just for kicks. I feel like waiting under the bridge they jumped him on and kicking their little punk asses.
But that is not where the fun ends...
A few days later I was driving home from blockbuster and it was snowing and this little young driver hit my car smooshing my back drivers side door in. The cops helped me out on that one, she got a warning for not giving me the right of way.
Then two days later I was pulled over and given a warning myself because my brake light was out on one side.
I have had waaaaayyyyyy too much interaction with the police. They are so weird. Now firefighters, that's another story. Interacting with firefighters is very pleasant, mhm!
But that is not where the fun ends...
A few days later I was driving home from blockbuster and it was snowing and this little young driver hit my car smooshing my back drivers side door in. The cops helped me out on that one, she got a warning for not giving me the right of way.
Then two days later I was pulled over and given a warning myself because my brake light was out on one side.
I have had waaaaayyyyyy too much interaction with the police. They are so weird. Now firefighters, that's another story. Interacting with firefighters is very pleasant, mhm!
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Too Busy To Breathe
HI everyone. I have been so busy I haven't been able to keep up with reading or writing. I am applying to go to a special program to get my reading specialist certification. The application process was time consuming but its in and now I have a minute to breathe.
I am struggling to parent my teenagers all by myself. No matter how much of myself I give to them, it never seems to be enough. And no one really has any answers except to buckle your seatbelt and hold on tight. What a freakin ride. It is scary actually. Enjoy your little kids cuz once they hit about 13 it is a slow decent to hell. I know it will get better but I am in the middle of it right now and it sucks.
I have been running at the gym and I can feel my body enjoying it again. I took a nice long break and my body needed it. I am signing up for the Chicago Marathon on Feb 1st. I am so psyched to run Chicago. I haven't been back there since I was 12. Running a marathon is such a great way to see a city!
I am struggling to parent my teenagers all by myself. No matter how much of myself I give to them, it never seems to be enough. And no one really has any answers except to buckle your seatbelt and hold on tight. What a freakin ride. It is scary actually. Enjoy your little kids cuz once they hit about 13 it is a slow decent to hell. I know it will get better but I am in the middle of it right now and it sucks.
I have been running at the gym and I can feel my body enjoying it again. I took a nice long break and my body needed it. I am signing up for the Chicago Marathon on Feb 1st. I am so psyched to run Chicago. I haven't been back there since I was 12. Running a marathon is such a great way to see a city!
Friday, January 09, 2009
England!
I have been too busy to blog because my boys and I holiday-ed in England for the Christmas school break! It was terrific!
More later!
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