I am *so* much more comfortable on my old shitty "comfort"/mountain bike than I am on my road bike. Perhaps it is because I'm not clipped in? And bent way over?
But I think I may need a new mountain bike. I can feel my knees protesting at the fit of this one. But part of that is my fault... I purposely have the seat on this low so I can touch the ground with my toes from a sitting position. I think that is what makes me so much less spazzy on this bike, but I also think it may be jacking up my knees. What to do?
Anyways, the ride went really well. I didn't brush my hair beforehand so that it would annoy me along the way and I'd have to practice riding one-handed to deal with it. Again, I just can't get over how much more comfortable I am on this bike. I actually rode, pedaling, with one hand on my thigh for a little ways. Me!! Seriously! (I know this is child's play for most people, but I didn't ride a bike as a child, so I'm working on my Kid skillz now.)
6.5 miles in 40 minutes. Sheesh. I haz a need for speed!!
(Riding outside on the mountain bike because I'm seriously entertaining the thought of signing up for XTERRA Magnolia Hill in early July.)
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Tuesday, May 29, 2012
Lungs are Back on the Run!
So I finally went to the doctor last Thursday for the cough that had been plaguing me for 10 days.
Bronchitis.
Dun dun dun....
So she put me on some uber strong antibiotics and told me no running til Sunday. I finally felt a bit better Saturday, and have seen steady improvement since then. Sunday I still didn't feel up for running, but this morning was THE morning.
I decided to do run/walk intervals so that I didn't overtax my still-raw lungs. I was running on my track-loop course, so I figured run to the end, walk the end-cap, run back, rinse, repeat. Turned out that running to the end was almost exactly 4 minutes, so I set up a 4/2 interval. I only coughed up lung-goo once, so I'm counting it as a success! 2.53 miles in 30:33 on a 4/2 interval, except the last one where I ran 6:33 to close it out.
My lungs feel.... a little scratchy and raw. I'm still definitely coughing a bit. But I don't think I messed anything up. I think I just need to continue in the relatively conservative vein at least until the end of the week.
And the best part? When I got in Edward and turned on some music and started driving to work, I felt so good. I mean SO GOOD. Happy. In the morning!
Bronchitis.
Dun dun dun....
So she put me on some uber strong antibiotics and told me no running til Sunday. I finally felt a bit better Saturday, and have seen steady improvement since then. Sunday I still didn't feel up for running, but this morning was THE morning.
I decided to do run/walk intervals so that I didn't overtax my still-raw lungs. I was running on my track-loop course, so I figured run to the end, walk the end-cap, run back, rinse, repeat. Turned out that running to the end was almost exactly 4 minutes, so I set up a 4/2 interval. I only coughed up lung-goo once, so I'm counting it as a success! 2.53 miles in 30:33 on a 4/2 interval, except the last one where I ran 6:33 to close it out.
My lungs feel.... a little scratchy and raw. I'm still definitely coughing a bit. But I don't think I messed anything up. I think I just need to continue in the relatively conservative vein at least until the end of the week.
And the best part? When I got in Edward and turned on some music and started driving to work, I felt so good. I mean SO GOOD. Happy. In the morning!
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
New Car - Named
This conversation actually happened:
Getting out of the new car, P strokes the paint and says, "Your new car is so pretty, and look at the sparkles under the paint!"
I joke, "Perhaps I should name it Edward!" (Reference to inappropriately sparkly vampires in Twilight series.)
He says, "I'll disown you if you do."
Challenge accepted.
Meet Edward. :-)
Getting out of the new car, P strokes the paint and says, "Your new car is so pretty, and look at the sparkles under the paint!"
I joke, "Perhaps I should name it Edward!" (Reference to inappropriately sparkly vampires in Twilight series.)
He says, "I'll disown you if you do."
Challenge accepted.
Meet Edward. :-)
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Ass Acclimatization
All has been quiet on the blogfront because all has not been quiet on the homefront.
Quick car recap: after the Menace broke down on Thursday the 3rd and the repair shop couldn't figure out what was wrong or re-create the frequent inexplicable dying-while-driving, I decided I needed a new car, stat. I really wanted to get the Menace to 200,000 miles. I knew it was worth practically nothing as a trade-in and I wanted to make it last as long as possible. But as I was driving it with my baby in the car and it was dying, and dying, and dying, I realized that it just wasn't cutting it any more. I need a car that I can trust with my child's life. And the Menace wasn't earning my trust any more. I test drove cars that Friday, Saturday, and the following Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and on Saturday I purchased my very first new new car: an Acura MDX. I'll get some pictures this weekend, promise!
Quick family recap: P's family was supposed to come in on Sunday to (start) clean(ing) out AD's house. His mother, JaMIL, called us on Saturday when she was about an hour away (and I was at the dealership buying my car) to inform us that she was almost in town and she was spending the night. She's just my favorite person EVAR. So anyways, when I got home she was waiting there to insult me and my choice of car and color of car and type of gas that goes in car, etc. So that was fun. She stayed with us that night, and we all went over to AD's house on Sunday. That also sucked, not because of his family, the rest of whom I really like, but because it just really sucks to clean out someone's house. P's grandmother seemed to lean on me - I don't know if it is because I'm not blood family, or because I wasn't demanding anything from her, or what - but it was really hard to see her struggling emotionally with cleaning out her sister's house. She is still mourning AD deeply, and probably will for the rest of her life. And that was painfully evident and difficult to see. We retrieved lots of P's stuff that had never left AD's, plus a few sentimental things - a quilt, a globe, a clock. I asked for AD's china since I didn't get china for my wedding and AD was like P's mom, but I think JaMIL is going to get it. Whatever. This whole process has been an exercise in letting go.
Quick Z recap: little monster wasn't going down for naps last weekend. It was hell. Sheer hell. I'll leave it at that.
Quick me recap: I LOVE MY NEW CAR!! I need a name, though. I think the stress of everything finally got to me, and I'm sick with a headache, general malaise, and a vicious cough. Lame. Maids came again on Tuesday, still love my maids. Best money I spend, no kidding. I've been back on my trainer lots, reacclimatizing my ass to the bike seat. Ouch. But I'm seeing good progress and hope to hit the actual road soon! Also remembering how to run with heavy legs. Can't say I missed that, but love feeling like a budding triathlete again. Can't wait til the pool opens at the end of this month!!!
Quick car recap: after the Menace broke down on Thursday the 3rd and the repair shop couldn't figure out what was wrong or re-create the frequent inexplicable dying-while-driving, I decided I needed a new car, stat. I really wanted to get the Menace to 200,000 miles. I knew it was worth practically nothing as a trade-in and I wanted to make it last as long as possible. But as I was driving it with my baby in the car and it was dying, and dying, and dying, I realized that it just wasn't cutting it any more. I need a car that I can trust with my child's life. And the Menace wasn't earning my trust any more. I test drove cars that Friday, Saturday, and the following Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and on Saturday I purchased my very first new new car: an Acura MDX. I'll get some pictures this weekend, promise!
Quick family recap: P's family was supposed to come in on Sunday to (start) clean(ing) out AD's house. His mother, JaMIL, called us on Saturday when she was about an hour away (and I was at the dealership buying my car) to inform us that she was almost in town and she was spending the night. She's just my favorite person EVAR. So anyways, when I got home she was waiting there to insult me and my choice of car and color of car and type of gas that goes in car, etc. So that was fun. She stayed with us that night, and we all went over to AD's house on Sunday. That also sucked, not because of his family, the rest of whom I really like, but because it just really sucks to clean out someone's house. P's grandmother seemed to lean on me - I don't know if it is because I'm not blood family, or because I wasn't demanding anything from her, or what - but it was really hard to see her struggling emotionally with cleaning out her sister's house. She is still mourning AD deeply, and probably will for the rest of her life. And that was painfully evident and difficult to see. We retrieved lots of P's stuff that had never left AD's, plus a few sentimental things - a quilt, a globe, a clock. I asked for AD's china since I didn't get china for my wedding and AD was like P's mom, but I think JaMIL is going to get it. Whatever. This whole process has been an exercise in letting go.
Quick Z recap: little monster wasn't going down for naps last weekend. It was hell. Sheer hell. I'll leave it at that.
Quick me recap: I LOVE MY NEW CAR!! I need a name, though. I think the stress of everything finally got to me, and I'm sick with a headache, general malaise, and a vicious cough. Lame. Maids came again on Tuesday, still love my maids. Best money I spend, no kidding. I've been back on my trainer lots, reacclimatizing my ass to the bike seat. Ouch. But I'm seeing good progress and hope to hit the actual road soon! Also remembering how to run with heavy legs. Can't say I missed that, but love feeling like a budding triathlete again. Can't wait til the pool opens at the end of this month!!!
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Gems from JaMIL
On my very first brand new car:
I thought about that color for my car, but decided it was too masculine.
You guys sure think a lot of your cars.
You shouldn't drive your car to AD's house: your grandmother won't approve of that as a use for AD's money. (We didn't use AD's money.)
On cleaning out AD's house:
I wish AD had left me a house.
I either want AD's china or yours, Mother.
Ahhhhh, the joys of JaMIL in the house.
I thought about that color for my car, but decided it was too masculine.
You guys sure think a lot of your cars.
You shouldn't drive your car to AD's house: your grandmother won't approve of that as a use for AD's money. (We didn't use AD's money.)
On cleaning out AD's house:
I wish AD had left me a house.
I either want AD's china or yours, Mother.
Ahhhhh, the joys of JaMIL in the house.
Friday, May 11, 2012
Mommy's Birthday by Zoë
Daddy had to work overtime all day on Mommy's birthday. I didn't even get to see him. :-( But Mommy and I did lots of fun things together!
Here I am at Gaga's house with her pretty lily.
Then Mommy made me a PBJ, my favorite! She looked away and I made a huge mess, funny!
Then we played in my room.
Then I took my nap, and after that we got Mommy a "birthday shake" and headed to Freebirds. Since Daddy wasn't with us we ate back home. I had a quesadilla. It was yummy!
But the best part was when I stole Mommy's burrito!
Happy birthday, Mommy!
Here I am at Gaga's house with her pretty lily.
Then Mommy made me a PBJ, my favorite! She looked away and I made a huge mess, funny!
Then we played in my room.
 |
| 2 bears! |
 |
| Sitting with my bears. |
 |
| Now I'm putting the bears down for a nap. Night night, bears! |
But the best part was when I stole Mommy's burrito!
Happy birthday, Mommy!
Sunday, May 6, 2012
19 months
Hm, I was all ready to brag on you and your pretend play, but then I read last month's update, and it turns out you've already been doing that. Old news, baby. But you have really taken off with it.
We weaned your morning feeding this last month, so you're down to just nights. I really thought I had blogged this, but I can't find it, so... I had been thinking about weaning your mornings for a while. It would give me extra time, and you extra sleep. But it would be a bit sad-making, not to have our time in the mornings. So I waited and I delayed... one morning, a few weeks ago, on a weekend, Daddy brought you down to our bed, as normal for a Saturday morning. You confiscated his phone and played and played and played, and after a while, I realized you should have been yelling for boobies, but you weren't. I said, "Zoë, do you want boobies... or milk?" You looked up and said, "Milk!" I was stunned. So I asked once more, to confirm. "Zoë, do you want boobies?" You said, "No." And you had milk, and have had milk every day since.
Singing: you've added several new songs to your repertoire. But what's really got me excited is that you've started to carry a bit of a tune. I mean, you still basically yell the songs at the top of your lungs, but with notes; sometimes you wander around humming, and either way, I can tell what you're singing/humming from the tune. Pretty cool, Baby Squish.
A new song-ish thing that you're doing is "Ring Around the Rosey". You love that game! You grab a blanket and hold it up and sing,
"Ring around da rosies
Pocket full da posies
ASHES, ASHES
Fa fall DOWN!!!"
And down you fall. It is super cute!
At your 18 month check-up, the doctor asked how many words you had, and I told her that I stopped counting when you went over 100 four months ago and your Daddy was telling her that you can say "refrigerator". The doctor asked us if you'd perform, and you did! And she thought it was *awesome*. Because you're awesome. You also crawled all over us yelling "I need more, please!" (referring to fiddlesticks) demonstrating both your use of pronouns and your multiple word sentences (and courtesy) in one fell swoop. Nicely done.
2 other things that have floored me this month. You've learned to play "Memory". I've got the game on the iPad and at first you were just looking at the animals and watching me play it, but you quickly caught on that you were supposed to match the animals, and what really amazes me is that you honestly remember where the animals are, even if you saw them several turns ago! Another game that you really impressed me with is one where it shows you 4 shapes and asks you to identify which one is the whatever. Like, "Show me the circle." It has easy stuff, like circle, square, and heart, but it also has harder stuff that you didn't know like oval, clover, and octagon. What amazed me is that when it would ask you for a hard one that you didn't know, I watched you look at the other 3 and rule them out and then select the correct answer. This may seem like a small thing, but it is SO SMART of you. You are demonstrating reasoning. At 19 months old. You absolutely amaze me.
I love you!
Mommy
We weaned your morning feeding this last month, so you're down to just nights. I really thought I had blogged this, but I can't find it, so... I had been thinking about weaning your mornings for a while. It would give me extra time, and you extra sleep. But it would be a bit sad-making, not to have our time in the mornings. So I waited and I delayed... one morning, a few weeks ago, on a weekend, Daddy brought you down to our bed, as normal for a Saturday morning. You confiscated his phone and played and played and played, and after a while, I realized you should have been yelling for boobies, but you weren't. I said, "Zoë, do you want boobies... or milk?" You looked up and said, "Milk!" I was stunned. So I asked once more, to confirm. "Zoë, do you want boobies?" You said, "No." And you had milk, and have had milk every day since.
 |
| Sticking a pea into your belly button. |
A new song-ish thing that you're doing is "Ring Around the Rosey". You love that game! You grab a blanket and hold it up and sing,
"Ring around da rosies
Pocket full da posies
ASHES, ASHES
Fa fall DOWN!!!"
And down you fall. It is super cute!
At your 18 month check-up, the doctor asked how many words you had, and I told her that I stopped counting when you went over 100 four months ago and your Daddy was telling her that you can say "refrigerator". The doctor asked us if you'd perform, and you did! And she thought it was *awesome*. Because you're awesome. You also crawled all over us yelling "I need more, please!" (referring to fiddlesticks) demonstrating both your use of pronouns and your multiple word sentences (and courtesy) in one fell swoop. Nicely done.
2 other things that have floored me this month. You've learned to play "Memory". I've got the game on the iPad and at first you were just looking at the animals and watching me play it, but you quickly caught on that you were supposed to match the animals, and what really amazes me is that you honestly remember where the animals are, even if you saw them several turns ago! Another game that you really impressed me with is one where it shows you 4 shapes and asks you to identify which one is the whatever. Like, "Show me the circle." It has easy stuff, like circle, square, and heart, but it also has harder stuff that you didn't know like oval, clover, and octagon. What amazed me is that when it would ask you for a hard one that you didn't know, I watched you look at the other 3 and rule them out and then select the correct answer. This may seem like a small thing, but it is SO SMART of you. You are demonstrating reasoning. At 19 months old. You absolutely amaze me.
I love you!
Mommy
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
I Love My Maid! And Races.
My house is soooooo clean, y'all!! Cleaner than it has probably ever been. Certainly cleaner than it has ever been since the day we purchased it. It is Auh-maz-ing. I loooooove it! I cannot believe I waited so long to get a maid. If you are reading this, and you are thinking about a main, DO NOT HESITATE. Seriously. Best decision I've made in a long time. Probably some of the best money I'll spend every month, too.
And on to the running. I really want to race this weekend. Preston *may* have to work. It is a source of endless irk to me that his company has been scheduling overtime and then cancelling it every week for the last 3, so I have no idea if he'll actually be around or not. Add that to the fact that most local races aren't stroller friendly, and you have me not being able to schedule a race.
So with that said, I've got 2 potentials for this weekend, and I'm pretty determined to hit one or the other.
Saturday: Sprint for Life 5K - like this idea because it is on my birthday, and they have a "Trot for Tots" dash that is so short that Z could do her first race! It is not stroller friendly, though, so if Preston works it is out.
Sunday: Go for Goal 5K - stroller friendly second choice if Saturday doesn't pan out. They both offer race day registration, so now I'll just sit back and see.
Maybe I could do both...
And then for the following weekend I'm interested in the YMCA Trail Run, which is close ish.
Or the weekend afterwards, Girls on the Run. (Tech-t and STROLLER FRIENDLY)
For future, Father's day has the Dad's Day 5K, which I think would be really nice, considering Preston's Dad has prostate cancer. (Not stroller friendly, which is insane since it is supposed to be family oriented, but whatever.)
And for July 4: Bud Heat Wave 5 Miler (not stroller friendly)
And on to the running. I really want to race this weekend. Preston *may* have to work. It is a source of endless irk to me that his company has been scheduling overtime and then cancelling it every week for the last 3, so I have no idea if he'll actually be around or not. Add that to the fact that most local races aren't stroller friendly, and you have me not being able to schedule a race.
So with that said, I've got 2 potentials for this weekend, and I'm pretty determined to hit one or the other.
Saturday: Sprint for Life 5K - like this idea because it is on my birthday, and they have a "Trot for Tots" dash that is so short that Z could do her first race! It is not stroller friendly, though, so if Preston works it is out.
Sunday: Go for Goal 5K - stroller friendly second choice if Saturday doesn't pan out. They both offer race day registration, so now I'll just sit back and see.
Maybe I could do both...
And then for the following weekend I'm interested in the YMCA Trail Run, which is close ish.
Or the weekend afterwards, Girls on the Run. (Tech-t and STROLLER FRIENDLY)
For future, Father's day has the Dad's Day 5K, which I think would be really nice, considering Preston's Dad has prostate cancer. (Not stroller friendly, which is insane since it is supposed to be family oriented, but whatever.)
And for July 4: Bud Heat Wave 5 Miler (not stroller friendly)
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Goal Review
Goals for the Year:
Lose 12 pounds in 2012. Weight on 1/1 was 138.8. Weight 4/1 was 133.8. Weight on 5/1 was 133.2. Back in the right direction, baby!
Read at least 12 books (other than to my child) in 2012. 2 books (Book 2 and 3 of Game of Thrones series) read in March, bringing the grand total to 8.
Race 12 times in 2012. None this month. Holding at 1. Need to get on this!
And I have one other secret 12 goal. 1 more to add, making it 5.
Goals for April:
Continued progress towards 2012 goals. Check.
Get the diet back under control. Period. April 1 was a bad day. April 7 will be a bad day. There is no need for any other bad days this month. Period. This was a big, resounding win for me. I didn't drop a lot of weight, but I've been eating very cleanly since Easter. I only ate out twice when work required it, and I made smart selections each time. I tracked calories for a week to get back on track. And I've been focusing on smart eating and cooking at home. Yay, me!
Get back on my bike. Outside, trainer, wherever! Mountain bike is set up and ready to go. Road bike is set up on trainer and ready to go!
Financial goals: get the moms off the accounts (both forms mailed, waiting for responses), balance/consolidate (endured painful run-around for trying to move my IRA to company account, will try again this month), get AD's POD accounts into P's name (one down, two to go), come up with a plan for AD's accounts and at least partially implement it (have a plan, but no implementation because the accounts are tied to safe-deposit boxes, so we have to keep them open for now), taxes (done, and the lovely refund is already received).
Goals for May:
Continued progress towards 2012 goals.
Food... have fun for my birthday, then go moderate for the rest of the month.
May is the month of the bike. I need to spend A LOT of time on my bike.
Also, May is the month of consistency on the run. 3x per week. Period.
Race this month. Damnit.
Financial goals: get the moms off the accounts, balance/consolidate, get AD's POD accounts into P's name, get P into direct deposit.
Lose 12 pounds in 2012. Weight on 1/1 was 138.8. Weight 4/1 was 133.8. Weight on 5/1 was 133.2. Back in the right direction, baby!
Read at least 12 books (other than to my child) in 2012. 2 books (Book 2 and 3 of Game of Thrones series) read in March, bringing the grand total to 8.
Race 12 times in 2012. None this month. Holding at 1. Need to get on this!
And I have one other secret 12 goal. 1 more to add, making it 5.
Goals for April:
Continued progress towards 2012 goals. Check.
Get the diet back under control. Period. April 1 was a bad day. April 7 will be a bad day. There is no need for any other bad days this month. Period. This was a big, resounding win for me. I didn't drop a lot of weight, but I've been eating very cleanly since Easter. I only ate out twice when work required it, and I made smart selections each time. I tracked calories for a week to get back on track. And I've been focusing on smart eating and cooking at home. Yay, me!
Get back on my bike. Outside, trainer, wherever! Mountain bike is set up and ready to go. Road bike is set up on trainer and ready to go!
Financial goals: get the moms off the accounts (both forms mailed, waiting for responses), balance/consolidate (endured painful run-around for trying to move my IRA to company account, will try again this month), get AD's POD accounts into P's name (one down, two to go), come up with a plan for AD's accounts and at least partially implement it (have a plan, but no implementation because the accounts are tied to safe-deposit boxes, so we have to keep them open for now), taxes (done, and the lovely refund is already received).
Goals for May:
Continued progress towards 2012 goals.
Food... have fun for my birthday, then go moderate for the rest of the month.
May is the month of the bike. I need to spend A LOT of time on my bike.
Also, May is the month of consistency on the run. 3x per week. Period.
Race this month. Damnit.
Financial goals: get the moms off the accounts, balance/consolidate, get AD's POD accounts into P's name, get P into direct deposit.
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