What you can learn from boys

These made me smile. That’s a good thing these days. Fortunately I haven’t had many of these experiences with my boy. #15 almost, but it was animal crackers. I’m more likely to have them with my daughter! The #1 thing I learned from her was to add Poison Control to speed dial. #2, How to do the Heimlich maneuver on a toddler. She’s better now, but as a young toddler, she was a mess!

Please don’t try any of these just to see if they work!

1. A king size waterbed holds enough water to fill a 2000 sq. ft. house 4 inches deep.

2. If you spray hair spray on dust bunnies and run over them with roller blades, they can ignite.

3. A 3-year old boy’s voice is louder than 200 adults in a crowded restaurant.

4. If you hook a dog leash over a ceiling fan, the motor is not strong enough to rotate a 42 pound boy wearing Batman underwear and a Superman cape. It is strong enough, however, if tied to a paint can, to spread paint on all four walls of a 20×20 ft. room.

5. You should not throw baseballs up when the ceiling fan is on. When using a ceiling fan as a bat, you have to throw the ball up a few times before you get a hit. A ceiling fan can hit a baseball a long way.

6. The glass in windows (even double-pane) doesn’t stop a baseball hit by a ceiling fan.

7. When you hear the toilet flush and the words “uh oh”, it’s already too late.

8. Brake fluid mixed with Clorox makes smoke, and lots of it.

9. A six-year old boy can start a fire with a flint rock even though a 36-year old man says they can only do it in the movies.

10. Certain Lego’s will pass through the digestive tract of a 4-year old boy.

11. Play dough and microwave should not be used in the same sentence.

12. Super glue is forever.

13. No matter how much Jell-O you put in a swimming pool you still can’t walk on water.

14. Pool filters do not like Jell-O.

15. VCR’s do not eject “PB & J” sandwiches even though TV commercials show they do.

16. Garbage bags do not make good parachutes.

17. Marbles in gas tanks make lots of noise when driving.

18. You probably DO NOT want to know what that odor is.

19. Always look in the oven before you turn it on; plastic toys do not like ovens.

20. The fire department in Austin, TX has a 5-minute response time.

21. The spin cycle on the washing machine does not make earthworms dizzy.

22. It will, however, make cats dizzy.

23. Cats throw up twice their body weight when dizzy.

24. 80% of men who read this will try mixing the Clorox and brake fluid.

25. Women will pass this on to almost all of their friends, with or without kids.

I originally promised to keep it positive…

But it just hurts so bad. My marriage has struggled from the start, and despite best efforts (well, my best efforts at least) it doesn’t appear that there’s much of a chance for survival. I love my husband deeply, and I am praying so hard every day for a miracle of some kind. But, after 7 years of marriage (yesterday was my anniversary even), 2 kids, 3+ years of sobriety (his), a long separation and a short reunification, it appears that I’ve lost one of the most important people in my life.

If it were my choice, I would stick with it forever. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to be equally committed, and my heart is breaking. Why is this so hard?!

Goals for this year

I’m not one for setting New Year’s Resolutions, and even if I were, it would be a bit too late. I’ve sort of set some goals for myself this year (as you can see from reading my previous posts) but I have yet to write it all down. I’ve got to set these goals for myself in earnest and be inspired to complete them. If they’re just in my head, who will ever know? I also have to have these goals to counteract recent events. Something positive for me to look forward to. I’m still praying daily for strength.

So far this year I have completed:
2-25K trail runs (Bandera & Tyler; I missed Grasslands, but it’s just as well as it was thunderstorming and a real mud pit from what I hear)
1 10K
WAR Practice Race (in the cold and rain)
1 12-hour (16 to finish) Adventure Race
1 10-mile run

I have on the books:
The Texas Half-marathon (Sunday)
Lancaster Country ride (42 or 62 miles, haven’t decided yet, a week Saturday)
1 triathlon (three options are on the table at the moment) by May 14

I want to compelte:
1 more tri before River Cities
River Cities tri (August 7)
2 more half marathons (one out of state to get going on my Half2Run goal)
1 marathon
1 half Iron Man
1 18 hour Adventure Race (meaning it would probably be at least 24 hours for me to complete)

Is that a lot? The hard part is finding the training to do all these things. Weekends are doable, but those weekdays! My kids will have to get on their bikes and ride with me while I run. On the days when I have to ride, well, babysitters I guess. And swimming, they have bleachers at the pool. I can tie the kids down to them. I’m keeping a log of all my running (and riding and swimming when I start on those) and I have a race calendar (a real calendar with races and dates and all) with all my options for the above.

I also want to:
Paint my bathroom
Paint my kitchen
Put in new kitchen cabinets
Re-tile my kitchen counters
Paint my dining room
Paint my living room
Paint my den & remove ugly wood paneling
Paint my kids rooms
Put in hardwood floors
Re-tile both bathrooms
Re-landscape my front yard (beds are desperately ugly right now)

Any handy-guys out there? Good thing I love going to Home Depot. I’m quite a handy gal myself. The kid’s bathroom is already done. I did that last September. I like the way it turned out. Bright and cheerful.

Wish me luck. And hope that I win a home makeover gift certificate too! Or better yet, the lottery. Wait, you’ve got to play to win.

So Uninspired

Sorry for the lack of meaningful postings lately. I’m in a funk right now. Some not-so-good things are going on at the moment. So, I’m highly uninspired, but trying to not give up. Taking it one day at a time and praying for strength.

I missed the registration deadline for the Grasslands Trail Half-Marathon, so I won’t be running this weekend. Well, I’ll be running, but not a race. To atone, I signed up for the Texas Half, which will be run next weekend, April 3. This will be my first race that counts towards my Half2Run challenge of running a half marathon in at least 25 states. If you know of any half marathons in your state, please let me know, and if it’s not listed on the Half2Run site, I can get it listed.

I have also registered for the Lancaster Country Ride on April 9. Good Lord. What am I doing!?!? 62 miles is what all my friends are going for. I’m scared. I have a 42 mile option, but dang…go all out right?

Oh, and as a reminder, please make a donation. Robert is now at 75% of his London Flora Marathon sponsorship goal for raising money for Tommy’s Baby Charity in memory of his daughter Annabelle, who was stillborn two and a half years ago. Please help him in any way you can to reach his final goal. It’s easy to make a donation!.

Restaurant Scores

It’s one of those things…you want to know, but you don’t want to know. View at your own discretion of course…Dallas Area Restuarant Scores. They’re organized by city, and different cities have different scoring methods. Fortunately most of my faves got good reviews. Whew!

Ladies Poker Night

It’s Ladies Poker Night tonight. I had some friends over last month and “taught” them how to play Texas Hold ‘Em. We’re playing again tonight at another friend’s house. Should be good fun. ‘Course with Ladies Poker, it means the kids are coming along too, but that’s OK. There’s a few of us that have kids, so they get to play together too. And Steph’s (the hostess) husband has agreed to keep the kids occupied in their giant media room. I can’t win of course, since I won last time. But I won’t lay down too easy!

London Flora Marathon Sponsorship

We’re all here to help each other, right? Everyone doing what they can, bit by bit. So please take time to read this, and then make a donation today.

One of the ladies in AT (those crazy adventure people) has a brother, Robert, whose baby daughter was stillborn two years ago. Next month, he will be running in the London Flora Marathon to raise money for Tommy’s Baby Charity. This group funds research, education and information aimed at understanding and preventing premature birth, miscarriage and stillbirth. Although this is a UK based organization, it is funding medical research that will be of benefit to families world-wide.

He’s half-way to his sponsorhip goal! Great job! You can help him get the rest of the way! To make a donation to this cause, go to Raising Money for Tommy’s Baby Charity.

I think I’ll skip this kind of adventure

A friend of mine sent me this video clip. I’ve heard that people do this, and I’ve seen some still photos, but never video. I’ve also only ever heard it called “Noodeling” not “Grabbling”. But, whatever you call it, these chicks are crazy!

And, cynic that I am, I usually check out “unbelievable” stories on Snopes.com, and this one passed.

A New Birthday Party Theme…

EXERCISE!

April, one of my friends from AT was celebrating her 29th birthday (again…if you know what I mean) this weekend and has added a new party theme to the world of birthdays. The plan was to run 10 miles and then do some obstacles on the bike, and then add in a smidge of volleyball, with time for food and beverages squeaked in. Whatever happened to clowns and magicians?

So, Wrigley, Tori & I headed down to Dusty’s house (April’s sister) in Redduck (that’s Red Oak for those of you who aren’t from Texas) with my toy box (my box ‘o fun gear) & bike, ready to run, pedal and play the day away.

The run started at noon, which in “AT-time” meant around 12:30-ish. Foxy Roxy showed up with a variety of jello shots to get us started on our run. Dusty had planned a great 10-mile loop around town, starting from her house. Aid-stations stocked with water, gatorade, energy gels, fruit & beer would be positioned at the 2, 4, 6, & 8 mile points. AT members April, Becky, Gale, Lee, Lauren, Charles & I (with Wrigley & Tori saddled up) lined up at the end driveway and Dusty yelled “Go!”. So, down the street and around the corner we jogged, ran, and otherwise mobilized ourselves on the start of a hot, windy 10-mile run.

I quickly came to think “hmmm, maybe I should have left the dogs behind”, for various reasons. Redduck is “country”. This means people have large plots of land, and lots of room for multiple dogs of their own. My poor babies were going nuts! As we ran down the road, every dog in Redduck barked at us. Wrigley & Tori ping-ponged from one side of the street to the other, trying to be “polite” and bark back at their fellow canines. I’m sure the other dogs were barking “You go girls! Lookin’ good! Keep it up!”. Or something like that. This wasn’t going to be easy.

We crossed over one of the main roads into a quieter (fewer dogs) area. This didn’t help my dogs concentrate any better though. In addition to dogs, there are other animals (and therefore smells) in the “country”. With so many olfactory distractions, it was harder and harder to get a good pace going. We made it to the first aid-station, and they both headed for the shade under the truck, and they lapped up every drop of water they could get. I didn’t think the distance was going to be a problem for them, but I greatly discounted the heat element. It was nearing at least 80 degrees. And, not only had they not run in the heat, but I haven’t run in that kind of heat in a long, long time. Only 2 miles in, and I was starting to think they weren’t going to make it.

I decided I would take them one more leg, and then re-evaluate. They could hang out in the back of the aid-trucks if necessary, but I felt guilty about bringing them out and then having to leave them. The second leg quickly got hotter, and we felt the wind start to blow. Who ordered the wind!?!? Wrigley was angling for any bit of shade she could find, which wasn’t much. Poor thing was trying to stop, and Tori was trying to pull her along. This wasn’t working, since Wrigley weighs three times as much as Tori. So, we walked, and I gave them more water from my bottle. I knew we were getting close to the aid station, so I tried to pull them along a bit faster, even taking them off-leash since they nearly tripped me up a couple of times.

Dusty was manning the mile-4 aid station. There were only a couple of bottles of gatorade left, so we emptied out the ice chest and let the dogs drink from the melted water there. Bad idea to bring the dogs out Egg. Dusty was so sweet though and said she would keep them there until the truck came back. I was reluctant to leave them, but knew that I needed to. Who knew it was going to be so hot! I’m glad I was with “dog people” too. Otherwise I would have quit myself.

So, as Wrigley & Tori stared after me, I headed back out onto the road. My new MP3 player was filled with music to keep me going…lots of rock-n-roll! Then, the wind really kicked in. I turned the corner and I was hit head on with it, full blast like being blasted by a hair-dryer. My hat blew off, and I couldn’t get it back on. My only bit of shade temporarily gone. I had a bandana to protect my neck, and I was wishing I would have dunked it in the ice-water back at mile 4. Putting my head down against the wind, I pushed into it and down the road. I would be turning another corner soon, and hoped to be out of the worst of the wind.

Not so. Turning the corner provided no relief from the wind. I did manage to get my hat back on. Thankfully I had applied plenty of sunscreen to my face, neck and arms before I started out. Otherwise I would have turned into a Fried Egg! It was getting hard to keep going in the heat and wind. I’m a “night runner” or treadmill runner. “It’s too hot to do anything” is one of my favorite excuses! But, there’s no getting back except on my own two-feet power. So, I instead concentrated on rockin’ out to my tunes. Nothin’ like a little Skid Row “Youth Gone Wild” to put you in a great mood!

Made it to the mile 6 aid station, refilled on water & gatorade, grabbed me an orange and quickly moved on. I got down the road a piece (this is a valid measurement value in Texas) and realized I had again forgotten to wet my bandana. Doh! Nothing to be done about it now. Fortunately there was a bit of shade on this section of the course. Not enough to really make a difference though. Still a nice break. Then, I saw someone running towards me. It was Charles. Mr. Donutman himself. 10 miles wasn’t enough for him, he had to turn around and run it the other way! I only wish that I could run half as fast as him. With practice, maybe one day…

Setting goals of running from this point to the next, then walking for a bit, and then running from point-to-point got me to mile 8. Water & gatorade. Sweet! Ugh, then I tried to take an energy gel, and for the first time since I started running in November, I thought I was going to be sick. I couldn’t stomach the texture or the flavor. I handed the package back to Misty (who was one of the fabulous aid-station workers that day, in addition to Dusty & Nicole…THANKS!)Charles also had already made it back to the same station (he must have turned around shortly after he passed me). That dude is FAST! I also finally remembered to ask to wet my bandana. Doh! Not enough water in the bottom of the ice chest to do more than make it damp. Better than nothing though! So, I grabbed a few more ice cubes and stuffed them in the back of my bandana. Then, I grabbed a few more ice cubes and stuck them the only other place I knew they would stay…my jog bra. Oh yes. Wonderful, cold, refreshing ice. Hey, when you’re hot…you’ll do just about anything for relief. Poor Charles though. Sorry you had to witness that!

Almost done! Back down the long road to the house. Thank Elvis Presley for rock-n-roll! Bach & Beethoven just wouldn’t have gotten me there. I crossed the main road, and then pulled out the map Dusty had made and counted the cross streets. Just 5 more blocks…point to point. Near the final street corner, my MP3 player got to the end of the playlist. I knew I needed 2 more songs to get me to the finish. Skid Row again, and then my download of “Eye of the Tiger”. I know, I know…CHEESY! But hey, what inspires you? Then, as Sebastian Bach (the long-haired rocker, not the wig-wearing dead guy) finished his last yell, I started to fast forward to my finish-line anthem, and the darn MP3 player froze up! NOOOOOOO! Not 500 yards from the finish, and my last source of energy was gone. Crud. Oh well.

So, I put my head down and decided to finish strong. I had it in me, I just had to dig deep to get it. As I neared the corner, the rest of the group spied me and started to hoop and holler (also Texan for yelled really loud). Put it into 5th gear girl! I told myself. Sprinting it in at the end, I made it back to the driveway and the end of 10 miles. In heat and stiff wind, MP3 player crapped out in the end, and yet there I was. Happy to be done. “Did I win?” HA HA HA! Yes! I had won last place again. But, I didn’t see any other crazy people out running 10 miles in Redduck on Saturday.

The burgers were grillin’, and the dogs were runnin’, and the beer was flowin’. We had a great afternoon chillin’ in the backyard, tellin’ stories and laughin’. After we ate, a couple of the guys set up the obstacle course for the bikes, but I decided I had had enough physical activity for the day. So, I sat back and watched the pros at work. A few falls, but more successes for those who did mount the two-wheeled monsters. We decided it was too windy (or we were too lazy) to set up the volleyball net. Then, the guys broke out a couple of trick-kites. These drove the dogs crazy. They barked and barked as the kites buzzed and zoomed loudly over head. Wrigley & Tori played nicely with the other dogs at the party. Wrigley was being a bit of a slobber-bone, especially with Becky. Sorry Beckster! She loves you though, what can I say. Or maybe it was the blonde wig that attracted her to you. Great impersonantion of Napoleon Dynamite. I’ve only seen the guy on Dave Letterman, but from what I can tell, you’ve got him spot-on. I’ll have to watch that movie soon. If it’s as good as you guys say it is, I’m in for quite a few laughs.

The sun was starting to go down, and I was starting to get cold. Despite my sunscreen, I had definitely caught a few rays, and the wind on my arms was giving me goosebumps. Time to load up the pups and head home.

It was a great day. I was filthy from sweat, dirt, melted sunscreen, and dog slobber but I was surrounded by similarly smelly people. None of us cared too much (well, except Becky, but hey…she took a shower! what gives!) and we just enjoyed a relaxing day. Wait, did I just say running 10 miles is a relaxing day??? I must be getting sick.

Hope you had a happy birthday April!

Dog Run

WOW! Wrigley, Tori & I ran nearly 7.75 miles tonight! It was a great run! I know I’ve posted a pic of Wrigley before. She’s my 60+ pound lab/mix. Tori is my little sausage roll. She’s a ~23 pound Terrier/Chihuahua mix. Chihuahua head on a Jack Russel-sized body. So, you see I have a slight “sizing” issue between the two of them. So, I bought a new harness for Tori, which ended up not fitting her, so I had to use her old one, which I hate. I bought Wrigley a harness since she didn’t have one, and I bought a “coupler”. This has two claw-clasps on either end, joined by a ring, which I clamp the main lead on. I brough both their leads in case this “coupler” thing didn’t work out well…it was our first time.

I can’t remember what time I left, and I forgot to start my watch, so my best estimate is that we were out just under 2 hours. This time also includes fitting the new harnesses, coupler and leash, and then getting out the gate without having my legs taken out from under me by the coupler and a dog on either side. (They wouldn’t try to clothesline me would they?)

We walked from the house to the park trail, which is about .5 miles, and then we ran for a bit, stopped to say hi to a few other dogs, and, between me and Wrigley (Tori won’t drink from the waterbottle…she just laps the drippings off the ground) we quickly ran out of water. I had planned on refilling at the park water fountains, but the lovely park people haven’t turned the water fountains back on. We made it to the end of the trail and turned around. There are no convenience stores anywhere near the trails, and I hadn’t brought any money for that matter, so we spent about 20 minutes looking for a hose on the side of someone’s house near the trail. The first spigot I tried didn’t work, and the other one I saw was too far into the bushes for me to take the dogs and stay out of view of a window…this is Texas…we allow concealed handguns…I didn’t want to end up shot for a little bit of water! So, we ended up using a water hose attached to the side of a church. It was cool and wet…exactly what we needed to make it back home. Now I have a new shopping item…a doggie backpack so they can carry their own water!

I say we were out under two hours tonight…I don’t know for sure. We walked to/from the house/park, which is about .5 miles each way. We also had to stop and say hi to a few other dogs, or wait for other walkers/runners to pass. My Wrigley is still a puppy, and likes to jump and greet people. Tori is just a spaz and runs up to anyone who comes near. Didn’t need an incident, so whenever we passed someone (which wasn’t that often) we pulled over to the side of the trail and waited for them to pass. But man, when we were running tonight, we were running fast (for me!). I’m willing to bet that I ran under a 12 minute mile tonight…like I said, running fast for me! It was one of the best runs I’ve had in a long, long time! My gait felt really good, like I was actually “running” not my usual “shuffle trot”. I even forgot my knee & ankle braces, yet I feel great! No pain! Let’s hope I continue to get better! I’d like to be somewhere in the middle of the pack in these races rather than at the end…Doh! That means I have to run more. But, with Wrigley & Tori as my running partners, I won’t have a problem with that. And my little head-lamp too. Between the dogs and the light, I don’t mind running at night. Yay! Good night! If I can get to sleep…I’m full of energy now! Wheeee!