P.R.

Could I seriously have gotten even flatter over the last couple months?!! I P.R.'d again.  Rhody Run  5K 2012:  22:59.  :)

Oh, man, my blog.  Neglected.  Forgotten.   It's amazing how life fills up my minutes and I no longer have any emotional energy (not to mention time) to write on my blog.    As I've told you before, I love writing on my blog, and I love reading my own blog.  It's weird, I know, but reading my old blog posts comforts me.  I know that girl, and she understands me.  You know what I mean?  She's always on my side.

Anyway....I still haven't shown you the before and after of my armoire, and I'm still not ready to do so.  You know why?  Because right now, it has a filing cabinet shoved up against it, which makes it impossible to get a good picture of it.  And like I've already said, I've become insecure and intimidated by all the professional photography on other blogs.  I can't hang.    So anyway...some day.   I DID (well, Brian, mostly--per my request) however, paint my front door last weekend, and it doesn't have a filing cabinet shoved up against it--so maybe I'll just post pictures of it instead.  We painted it red.  I think I like it.  My house just needed a little lipstick, you know what I mean?  A little color to liven things up during the months of the year when all the flowers are dead.  (Not that all the flowers are dead right now--they're just starting to sprout up again, and I love it.  I love this time of year when my yard becomes pretty again.)

I've discovered a couple of things about myself over the last couple of months.  First, I've discovered that if there is such a thing as being an over-communicator,  I certainly am one.  You know you've got a problem when even your sub-conscience is frequently yelling at you to shut up.  And this has proven to be quite a large problem because as luck would have it, Brian and Camp HATE to communicate anything that isn't absolutely necessary.  No feelings.  No details.  No explanations.  No confiding.  So as you can imagine (if you know me), I have a hard time getting along with them at times.  But after all these years of constantly wanting to "talk it out,"  I'm finally realizing (because Sarah finally set it to me straight) that I just need to stop talking.  Be quiet.  Let it go.  Leave it alone.  Leave them alone, for heaven's sake.  But oh, man.  It's hard for me...    And second, I've realized that it is really difficult for me to ever really set aside the challenging parts of my life in order to just kinda relax and have fun.    I know others who are able to do that quite easily and I admire it.  Those people are always fun, it seems.  Me?  I'm only fun if everything in my life is going super well.  I'm hoping to be fun next year.  :)

So how was everyone's Mother's Day?  I got the nap that I ask for every year.  I didn't, however, get the no-fighting I asked for.  Hmmm...  I'm pretty sure my mom asked for no-fighting every year of my eighteen years under her roof, and I'm pretty sure she never got it either.  Man, I'm so sorry, Mom!  I wish I had done more to show you how lucky I was to have you as my mom...

Oh, and when Brian asked me this year what I wanted for Mother's day, I had told him that I wanted the little trip to Portland that Angie and Erin and I had planned, and that's what I got.  Brian, of course, never hesitates to let me get away when I need it--Mother's Day or not--and I sure love him for that.    And the trip was sooo fun!  We joined Allison on her date (what a sport Elliot was!), spent the night at Angie's mom's house, and then spent Saturday shopping and eating out.  But you know what my favorite part was?  Yep, you guessed it--the talking.  Gulp.

Anyway...

Something that happened with Camp recently reminded me of my brother, Scotty.   My family loves the story of when Scotty was in second grade or so and was scolded in class for talking and not paying attention.  The teacher had demanded that Scotty go to the front of the classroom to share with the class whatever was so important that he had to talk about it.  He obeyed and began reciting the Ten Commandments.  (How many kids do you know that recite the Ten Commandments out loud to themselves during school?  Not Camp, that's for dang sure.  That's not where his story is similar. :) )  This story reminded me of Camp's story because it illustrates a misunderstanding of a student by a teacher.  A couple of weeks ago, Camp came home from school very upset.   I did my best to piece together what had happened with the fragments Camp offered--he detests talking about this kind of stuff, remember.  Apparently, while Camp was in music class, his music teacher had said that if anyone did not want to participate in the music program they were practicing for, they would just do a work packet instead.  She asked if anyone wanted to do a work packet instead.  Camp raised his hand--immediately noticing there were no other hands in the air.  The teacher was disappointed.  She told Camp's regular teacher of his preference to not participate with the rest of the class.  His regular teacher told him he was not acting like a "self-manager."  Camp was mystified, frustrated, and embarrassed.    Lucky for both of us, I finally realized what had happened.  Obviously, the work packet option was not the option Camp's music teacher was expecting anyone to choose.  She had thrown it out more as a threat--kind of like when I say, "You better get in the car right now, or I'm going to leave you, " and my kids just wave goodbye at me.  She did not expect that any kid might actually prefer work packets to performing musical numbers.    Turns out one kid does (and it's the same kid--the only kid--who refused to go up to the stand last Sunday on Mother's Day to sing I Often Go Walking with the rest of the primary kids).  So I called Camp's teacher and explained Camp's point of view and she said she understood and had realized it later as well.  Poor camp--unfairly persecuted for being a worker and not a singer.  I'm kidding.  Looking back, I'll love this story.  But I fear these kinds of misunderstandings happen all the time with me and my kids ...So sad...

Janey will be starting Speech class next year which means that our days of enjoying her adorable lisp are numbered.  Just ask her to give you a cha-cha-cha and you'll know what I mean.  So bittersweet.

Lately, I've felt sad that most of my time with Danin and Skip (while Jane and Camp are at school) has not really been spent with Danin and Skip.  Those same few hours are too often the same ones during which I am cleaning, at the gym, showering, or doing my hair and make-up.  I've felt panicky lately that I cannot remember as much as I want to about when my Sugar was younger and I seem to not have as much of her baby and toddler years on video.  It makes me so sad.  I can't let any more time go by where I am not taking full advantage of my time with her.  I've been trying to do better.  She needs that time.  (I'm not so worried about Skip at this point.  He get's plenty of my attention, but I'll have to be careful to get him on video and stuff, too.)


Guess what?!!  I have a long eyelash!   A real one!  For a while, I just kept thinking how interesting it was that I kept getting a little extra glob of mascara on the same eyelash on my right eye--but nope!  It really is longer than all the other ones.  Sure,  it's only here seasonally since eyelashes are constantly falling out, but it comes back faithfully every go-round, and makes me temporarily one-hundreth of an eyelash prettier.   I need to start planning pictures and special occasions around my long eyelash cycle....

Oh, and I P.R.'d in the Shamrock 5K Run a little while back.  I want to make certain that my posterity knows that at age 33, I ran the Shamrock run in 23:03.  ( Janey completed the entire 5K, too! and after convincing Danin to run in the little kids' race (and then cheering her along the whole length of the race) she was the first to cross the finish line),  I was pretty happy.  Interestingly, I have gotten quicker with time.   While this may be just due to the added experience over time, I think there are a number of other factors at play as well--not the least of which being better running music.  Like I've mentioned before, the music I listen to totally affects my running speed.  And would you know?  Laura and John's Good at Being Bad makes for a pretty decent pace.   Aaaaannnddd....you know what else makes me faster?  The fact that a 36 A flattened further by a sports bra makes for virtually no bobbing and very little wind resistance.   So there you have it--yet another reason to breast-feed.  Brian and I and Camp will all be running in the Rhody Run 5K this Saturday, so wish us luck.  I can't wait to cheer for Camp.


Well, that's about all I can write tonight.  I'll post more pictures soon.

Eleven Years

Well, I wasn't able to finish my armoire doors, so I'm just going to have to share the reveal a little later.  I know--you're on the edge of your seats.  (Humor me, alright?)

And I never got a chance to tell you that my parents and youngest brother, Seth came to visit at the beginning of February.  It was so wonderful!  I hadn't spent time with Seth in like a year and a half, so that was really a treat.  My kids about ran him ragged, but I'm so grateful for his being such a good sport.  What a good kid man he is.  My dad is always really fun company, and I don't have to tell you how much I love my mamacita.  I am so grateful to have had all of them.

Look at THESE beauties!  My kids did our hair like this and then my mom paid me 20 bucks to go grocery shopping like this.  A little uncomfortable, but not too bad :)

Oh, and my boy Skip turned 1!  He is so stinkin' darling.  We all seriously love that boy.   At now 13 months, he has finally started walking and we are all very proud and delighted.

And after about two minutes of trying, Danin started riding a bike without training wheels.  Her little training-wheeled bike had gotten a busted tire, so I picked up another bigger one at Good Will just to give it a whirl.  That is one tough, capable girl, I tell you.  She even learned to get on and get started on her own that very same day and is now riding all over the place everyday.

Aaaannnnd, Brian and I celebrated our 11th anniversary.  Let me tell you about my anniversary.  I had been looking forward to our 10-year wedding anniversary for some time.  I don't really know why...maybe because ten years is a significant milestone, or maybe because 10 years justifies my celebrating by treating myself to some shopping...But whatever the reason, I'd been excited for that 10 year anniversary.  And I know this is super lame, but one of my wishes for my tenth anniversary was to really look good for Brian and to feel like he was still attracted to me and happy with the decision he had made to choose me to be his wife--not that he chose me for my looks; I'm confident he didn't--and not that attraction is what will make a marriage last--we all know it isn't.  But you know what I mean, right?

Well, as fate would have it,  last year was our tenth wedding anniversary and I was not looking my best.  I had just had Skip---enough said;  aaannddd, we were in a fight.  Nice, I know.    So that left this year--our 11th anniversary--to be the year of redemption.    I needed it to be great.

Engagement picture

At some point in January, I was thinking about our upcoming anniversary and decided to get on Allegiant Air to see if there were any screaming deals on flights out of Eugene.  When I saw $29.99 one way tickets to Oakland/San Fransisco, I knew I needed to jump on them.  I'm not a super spontaneous kind of person--so this was a little out of my comfort zone-- but I felt like planning a trip would be a way to show Brian love.   I fear he sometimes laments the fact that he did not choose a funner wife, so this was my way of really doing something crazy and exciting :)  I decided that the only thing that would make an anniversary trip more exciting would be to have Jen and Tim with us, so I called them and asked them if they wanted to go with us.  They are super fun people, so they only had to think for a second before jumping on board.

This was taken right as we were boarding our ship on our Honeymoon

And let me tell you---we...had...so...much....fun.  Oh, my heavens.  It was so wonderful.  We walked around and ate down at Fisherman's Warf; we went to an old penny arcade; we rented bikes and rode all over the presidio and over the Golden Gate Bridge and down into Saucilito; we went to a movie; we went swimming; we took pictures in the same location at which they filmed the opening to Full House; we drove down Lombard Street; we visited a science museum and the Japanese Tea Gardens near Golden Gate Park; we ate at a fantastic taco shop down in the Mission District and at In'n'Out Burger at least  a hundred times (or maybe 3 or 4).....we talked and laughed and just enjoyed every minute together.  Man, it is so fun to have friends--another couple--with whom you can feel so comfortable and so relaxed.   Not counting a little freaking out on my part RIGHT at the end of the trip  (after being so good about not worrying so much about money the whole weekend, I totally lost it when I realized how much our rental-car upgrade cost...sigh....sorry, Jen and Tim), the trip really was perfect.   And you know what one of the best parts of it was for me?  I felt pretty!  I felt pretty...  Man, what a treat.    I got up for 4 mornings straight and showered, and did my hair and make-up, and put some real clothes on--and it felt great.  I looked pretty for Brian--or I felt pretty for Brian, rather.  But I'll take it.  I got my silly wish after all.  It was just a year late. :)

These are from a photo booth at the Penny Arcade.  They did not cost just a penny.

Did you know giraffes are my favorite animal?

February Drawing Winner!

I put all of the February dinner suggestions into a hat and had my Sugar Plum draw one out...  And the winner of the Airwick Scented Oil warmers is......KATIE!!  Katie, email me at lac1107@aol.com with your address and I will send the oil warmers on their way :)

Thank you again to all of you who have contributed to my sanity and my family's wellness.  I really do appreciate it!

I'm going out to the garage to finish painting the bottom cabinet doors of the armoire in my room, so later I'll show you the before and afters of that and also tell you about my wonderful anniversary trip!

Let Me Tell You A Story

First,   thank you once again for your dinner suggestions.  I apologize for being a little late with this, but this week I have chosen to make the General Tsos Chicken suggested last week.  So, Melissa, you will be entered into the drawing for the oil warmers.

I have realized that I'm really crappy at blog giveaways and that I cannot commit myself to being consistent with my blog in any way.  I've also realized that it's kinda ridiculous of me to expect any of you to think of dinner suggestions FOR ME when it is so hard for me to even do it for myself.  SO---i'm not going to bug you about helping me any more.  I will, of course, still have the February drawing, and the one in December for the shelf, and if you happen to give me any additional dinner suggestions between now and then, I will love you forever, for sure.

Now--I want to tell you a story.

There once was a beautiful girl who had recently married.  She loved her husband dearly and was excited to love and support him.  One of her opportunities to do so came in the form of attending his hockey games.  The girl did not love hockey.  She did not particularly care for the environment and people that accompanied it and most importantly,  she did not love the fighting that inevitably erupted during the games.  Her husband was not a docile, reserved, peace maker-type guy, so she was terrified of her husband being in one of those fights.  So, while trying to be as supportive as possible, she also made clear to her husband that if ever he was involved in one of these fights, she would leave the game and never return for another.  
Well, the time came for the  girl to attend her husband's hockey game.  She sat up in the stands by a friend.  She was nervous, but enjoyed watching her husband enjoy himself.  He was a good player,  but and very aggressive.   This made her more nervous because a certain player on the opposing team did not appreciate this aggression.  At last,  this other player had had enough.  He was very angry with the  girl's husband.  He did not like being challenged.  He started to fight.  He started to punch and beat on the girl's husband.  He was really big and tall and he really scared the girl.  What would her husband do?  Would he ignore her warnings and give in to the fight?  Would he lose his temper?  She watched to find out.  She was afraid, and while she did not want her husband to fight, she also did not want him to be hurt.  She wanted to yell something really mean and intimidating at the offender.  She did her best--"Don't--hurt--my--husband!" (That was all she could come up with?)  Her husband just stood there, still.  He didn't cower.  He didn't turn away.  He did not look afraid.  And he did not look like a five-year-old throwing a temper tantrum.  He just stood there, blocking his face, until the referee pulled the offender away.   What control!  What dignity!

Oh, man!  The girl had never been so proud....until about 11 years later.

The girl's husband was under a great amount of stress.  He was overworked, sleep deprived and struggling to meet life's countless demands.  He was involved in a disagreement/misunderstanding with an associate/customer and was unsure about how to proceed.  His  wife was worried for him and had been praying and thinking about how she might help him.  One evening the phone rang.  Her husband answered it.  The frustrated customer was on the line, struggling to maintain his composure.  "This could get really ugly," the girl thought.  She listened in, worried and apprehensive about how her husband would react.  What would he choose to say?  How would he communicate his feelings?  Would he be able to maintain professionalism and still defend himself?  He remained silent for a long time.   Then he took a deep breath, gathered his thoughts, and began explaining himself--calmly and confidently.   The girl thought back to the hockey game.... Her heart swelled with pride.  She smiled at her husband and her eyes encouraged him.  She gave him a thumb's up and motioned (and commotioned) silently in whatever way she could to communicate her approval and pride.  He understood.  When he hung up the phone, he sat on the ground with his back against the wall.  He did not look up for a moment.  His wife watched him, waiting.  She knew he would not be able to look at her without smiling.  He knew he had done well by maintaining his control.  He knew his wife was proud.  Oh, man, she was!  She was proud, and impressed, and so, so grateful.

Happy Valentine's Day, Charlie Brown

Do you remember this?


And I'm so sorry to bring it up again, but I just can't get through a Valentine's Day without thinking about Charlie Brown's experience. I mean--it's a holiday special. So anyway, I've come up with an idea, and I'm calling it the Charlie Brown Project. Here's how it works: All of us decide on one person who is likely to have a crappy Valentine's Day and we do something special for them that day. Can you imagine how we could change the world together?! Just one person. Just one special something. Are you in?

I'm a little late with this, but I just wanted to remind anyone interested about the Charley Brown Project I do every year.    Nobody should feel like Charley Brown on Valentine's Day.  So don't forget to spread the love this year.  We can really make a difference.

Thank you, girls, SO much for your dinner ideas.   This week I have chosen the creamy lemon chicken recipe and the chicken quinoa stew recipe, so those who suggested those meals will be entered to win the Airwick Oil warmers this month. THANK YOU!

 I promise to write something interesting soon.

WHAT'S FOR DINNER?