So yesterday I got up the nerve to ask my dentist for a donation for Team in Training/The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and was told to email him the request etc. I haven't heard anything back yet, but I am emboldened. If he says no, he says no. There are worse things than being told no. With this new boldness, I am going to ask the place I get my hair done for a donation today as well. I plan to bring in a letter with me when I go. In fact, I may get down right embarrassing for Mr. Darcy because I'm going to print a bunch of letters so that every store we shop in for the next month or so I can ask for a donation. In case there are readers out there that I haven't hit up for a donation for THe Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, here's the deal. One of my best friends died in December of sarcoma and now I am doing an international length triathlon in her memory to raise money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society for cancer research. If you'd like to donate, you may donate securely online at: http://pages.teamintraining.org/cfl/miatri09/kmartinmou You will receive an email confirmation of your donation (which is tax deductible), and I will be notified of your donation as well (thereby triggering me to write you a handwritten thank you note as I do not believe in email thank you notes).
Now back to the usual... potty training first this morning. It has been a frustrating week with the potty training. Ladybug did awesome this weekend. Saturday, no accidents. Sunday, one accident. Then a refusal all week to wear underpants or go to the bathroom in the potty at home... until this morning. She insisted on wearing blue underpants, in exchange she agreed to go pee pee in the potty... and pee she did! YAY! Let's hope that she continues to pee in the potty today. Angelfish also went pee in the potty this morning, but then refused to wear underpants. She asked me last night if I wear pullups too, and I told her no, Mommy wears underpants. Then Angelfish asked Daddy, and he said "no, I wear big boy underpants." To which she responded in a falsely low voice, "You BIG daddy!" It cracked us up. I am praying for potty training completion by the time they are 3, but I know that they will do it on their own time frame not mine (but I like mine better...)
This morning was a nice morning... the girls both woke up in good moods, which was delightful after Ladybug was a super terror yesterday morning telling both Daddy and Mommy she didn't want them and to go away while SCREAMING at the top of her lungs that she wanted to wear a dress and she didn't care if it was cold. This morning, she woke up and pretended to cook, salt and pepper her Little People Farmer. She cracked us up saying "I going to cut this little man and put salt and pepper on him." I got her to go potty by telling her that he'd be tastier if she let him marinate. : ) Then it was off to the gym (another place that I need to hit up for a donation), and a 20 minute bike followed by a 25 minute swim. 20 minute bike was just under 5 miles but I had to put the resistance level at 6 to get into zone 3 heart rate, so I probably could have gone a little bit farther. And the pool was good, I primarily worked on form while zone 3 swimming and swam 1000m, so more than 1/2 mile, but less than 3/4 of a mile. I really enjoyed the swim... it was invigorating and peaceful. I think it's something about how I breathe when I swim and the tempo of it all, not to mention the nice lapping of the water as I go... today it was a bit entrancing so that getting to the wall seemed like an interference. Whatever it was, I almost felt like the stress of the past few weeks melted away a bit... let's hope it stays that way!
Tomorrow is a tri-brick. 100 m warm up and 400 m swim, followed by a 50 minute bike, and a 10 minute run (well, walk run... I'm still babying these never ending shin splints). While these workouts like this are hard, I must say that I love them. There's something about finishing them that makes me happy... tired, but happy. And the plan is that after I get back from working out, we're going to head to Disney for the day (provided the girls keep being good listeners today and this evening), and then Mr. Darcy and I are going on a date after dinner with the girls. We're wild and crazy and plan to go bowling. Look out, Orlando! HA!
Friday, January 23, 2009
Thursday, January 22, 2009
Phone Calls to the New President and More Training
So the night of inauguration day, Mr. Darcy kept trying to show the girls "our new President, Barack Obama" every time his picture showed up on the news. And after the news was over, we went to play "in the kitchen" (which was really the girls' toy kitchen). And as we were playing, Ladybug picked up the toy phone and this was what she said...
"hello? Oh, Hi Barack Obama!"
"What? Yes. I'm making pot pie and I have 3 eggs."
"Yes, you can have some my pot pie, Barack Obama!"
"Well, I don't know. I just have this, Barack Obama!"
(Long Pause)
"Ok. That's ok with me. You go to sleep now, Barack Obama, ok?"
2 1/2 and Ladybug's already making pot pie and talking to the President of the United States! I'm somewhat surprised she didn't ask about Mickey Mouse!
As for training, yesterday I swam a glorious mile. It was awesome. I wasn't having a real "tear it up day" but I was cutting through the water really nicely and my form was good. I broke it up so it wasn't straight, but then I only rest about 1 minute between each set anyway. I did a 100 warm up, 300 drill, 400 swim, 400 swim, 300 drill and 100 cool down. I love the pool. Swimming is so tranquil... even when trying to swim fast!
Today, it was around 24 degrees when I got up, so I opted to go to the gym for my workout. I did 25 minutes on the stationary bike (please warm up so I can ride my bike! I miss my bike!) and did 8 miles, and then went to the treadmill and did 20 minutes... only 1.3 miles in that time, but I am still trying to be nice to my legs so I'll be able to run the 2 miles in the triathlon next sunday... yes, my sprint triathlon (not the Team in Training one) is next Sunday. Woo Hoo! I'm excited and nervous all at once. I think my left leg is almost over the shin splints but now my right leg is being a little funny but it's not shin splints... it's more near my achilles tendon, but not the tendon, just the muscle around it down toward my foot. I'm hoping to find time to go to the chiropractor and see if that helps it all out.
Anywho. Old lady aches and pains aside, it was a good workout and I'm looking forward to hitting the pool and the bike again tomorrow morning! Pot Pie for everyone - especially Barack Obama!
"hello? Oh, Hi Barack Obama!"
"What? Yes. I'm making pot pie and I have 3 eggs."
"Yes, you can have some my pot pie, Barack Obama!"
"Well, I don't know. I just have this, Barack Obama!"
(Long Pause)
"Ok. That's ok with me. You go to sleep now, Barack Obama, ok?"
2 1/2 and Ladybug's already making pot pie and talking to the President of the United States! I'm somewhat surprised she didn't ask about Mickey Mouse!
As for training, yesterday I swam a glorious mile. It was awesome. I wasn't having a real "tear it up day" but I was cutting through the water really nicely and my form was good. I broke it up so it wasn't straight, but then I only rest about 1 minute between each set anyway. I did a 100 warm up, 300 drill, 400 swim, 400 swim, 300 drill and 100 cool down. I love the pool. Swimming is so tranquil... even when trying to swim fast!
Today, it was around 24 degrees when I got up, so I opted to go to the gym for my workout. I did 25 minutes on the stationary bike (please warm up so I can ride my bike! I miss my bike!) and did 8 miles, and then went to the treadmill and did 20 minutes... only 1.3 miles in that time, but I am still trying to be nice to my legs so I'll be able to run the 2 miles in the triathlon next sunday... yes, my sprint triathlon (not the Team in Training one) is next Sunday. Woo Hoo! I'm excited and nervous all at once. I think my left leg is almost over the shin splints but now my right leg is being a little funny but it's not shin splints... it's more near my achilles tendon, but not the tendon, just the muscle around it down toward my foot. I'm hoping to find time to go to the chiropractor and see if that helps it all out.
Anywho. Old lady aches and pains aside, it was a good workout and I'm looking forward to hitting the pool and the bike again tomorrow morning! Pot Pie for everyone - especially Barack Obama!
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Weekend Adventures
I know this post is a bit out of order, but I realized I didn't say anything about the weekend in my last post after promising to tell of anything funny from the weekend in the previous post. So, here goes.
Saturday was a bit of a blur, really. I went to the gym and did my timed 400 m swim, 50 minute bike (11.5 miles go me!), and 20 minute run/walk, and then lots of stretching. Then I hit Target because, we needed a few items and one of those items was the birthday present for Holland's birthday party. Then lunch, an attempt at getting our children to nap that was wholly unsuccessful but that did result in them at least laying in their beds for a little bit - even if they were talking to one another most of the time and we found them hanging out in their room chatting it up when it was time to "get up." Then a wild dash at getting them dressed with Mr. Darcy and I switching roles... he was super stressed about our being late, and I thought we'd get there just fine what was a few minutes late?
The party was fun, but pretty funny too. It was a mini bowling party. There were small balls that were hard like bowling balls and then bowling pins and bumpers so the balls couldn't go in the gutters. The kids who were there were between the ages of 3 and 5. No one could bowl, and you would hear a horrible denting sort of sound everytime another child chucked the ball as hard as he or she could at the floor. Over and over and over. The older kids could knock down a pin or two somewhat consistently, the younger ones only when they got lucky. And yet, they LOVED it! They tried over and over and over to bowl. Angelfish only wanted to bowl with the turquoise ball, but would break her self imposed color selection for the pink when she really couldn't take it anymore. Ladybug on the other hand just wanted to grab the next ball that arrived and go again - even if the pins hadn't had time to reset yet. So, it was a bit of an adventure keeping control of the situation and also imposing the "you must let other children have a turn too"... but the entire thing was a hoot and we had a ton of fun with the girls and in talking to Holland's Mom and to Channing's Dad too.
Angelfish and Channing shared nuggets and fries very nicely, and now I think Angelfish has Channing's cold too. It's hard to figure out how to stop a child from sharing something when you don't want them to get sick but yet you can't quite explain to them why this is the one time they shouldn't share something with someone. Hopefully the cold will be short lived.
Mom and Dad also liked the party location... it had real bowling lanes and a pub at the back. We may just have to have one of our date nights there some time. : )
Sunday... hmm. Oh yes. I guess I had blocked it out of my mind for a minute there. We went to a church that we liked, but have reservations about merely because well, there are no other children in the congregation except for one or two that are not close in age to our girls. So, we'll try another next weekend. After church we went to Dillards so Mr. Darcy could exchange some shirts and ties he got at Christmas... the girls had been angels in church, but were hellions in the store. Time outs were given and even a spanking had to be resorted to at one point. But what can you expect from 2 1/2 year olds stuck in the men's department at a store for 3 (yes, 3 hours) while their Dad tried to figure out whether he wanted pants, a blazer, shirts, ties, or what. After finally settling on 3 pairs of dress pants, a dress shirt, 2 ties, and a thing of tie cleaner, we left the mall. I could almost hear Mendelsson's "Hallelujah Chorus" in my head as we left (or was that the sales people singing... I really can't be sure.). Then we got some ice cream because well, I needed some sort of treat after enduring all that. Once we got home, we watch some extreme sports on tv that looked like fun to try and then did some grocery shopping followed by breakfast for dinner. I also went for a drink with my friend Jen and had a wonderful time chatting.
MLK day, I drove over to Sarasota and spent it with my Dad. We hadn't had a father daughter day since I got married, so it was a nice change of pace. Mr. Darcy had to work so the girls went to school and I drove on over. It's not a bad drive and the day was beautiful. We had a nice day - we chatted with my mom on her lunch break from work, went to see my Grammy, had lunch, went to some bookstores, and chatted while sitting in the sun in the front yard of my parents house. Then I drove home and spent the evening with Mr. Darcy and the munchkins. Unfortunately, Ladybug had decided she was mad at me for some reason and told me, "I don't care about you." Yes, direct quote. It made me cry. But Angelfish at least came over and told me she loved me! Ladybug wanted nothing to do with me last night, but this morning she wanted to go to the gym and work out with me. : ) She gave me lots of kisses too. So, I guess she got over whatever it was...
And that is our weekend in a nutshell. Cliff notes style... but no quiz later!
Saturday was a bit of a blur, really. I went to the gym and did my timed 400 m swim, 50 minute bike (11.5 miles go me!), and 20 minute run/walk, and then lots of stretching. Then I hit Target because, we needed a few items and one of those items was the birthday present for Holland's birthday party. Then lunch, an attempt at getting our children to nap that was wholly unsuccessful but that did result in them at least laying in their beds for a little bit - even if they were talking to one another most of the time and we found them hanging out in their room chatting it up when it was time to "get up." Then a wild dash at getting them dressed with Mr. Darcy and I switching roles... he was super stressed about our being late, and I thought we'd get there just fine what was a few minutes late?
The party was fun, but pretty funny too. It was a mini bowling party. There were small balls that were hard like bowling balls and then bowling pins and bumpers so the balls couldn't go in the gutters. The kids who were there were between the ages of 3 and 5. No one could bowl, and you would hear a horrible denting sort of sound everytime another child chucked the ball as hard as he or she could at the floor. Over and over and over. The older kids could knock down a pin or two somewhat consistently, the younger ones only when they got lucky. And yet, they LOVED it! They tried over and over and over to bowl. Angelfish only wanted to bowl with the turquoise ball, but would break her self imposed color selection for the pink when she really couldn't take it anymore. Ladybug on the other hand just wanted to grab the next ball that arrived and go again - even if the pins hadn't had time to reset yet. So, it was a bit of an adventure keeping control of the situation and also imposing the "you must let other children have a turn too"... but the entire thing was a hoot and we had a ton of fun with the girls and in talking to Holland's Mom and to Channing's Dad too.
Angelfish and Channing shared nuggets and fries very nicely, and now I think Angelfish has Channing's cold too. It's hard to figure out how to stop a child from sharing something when you don't want them to get sick but yet you can't quite explain to them why this is the one time they shouldn't share something with someone. Hopefully the cold will be short lived.
Mom and Dad also liked the party location... it had real bowling lanes and a pub at the back. We may just have to have one of our date nights there some time. : )
Sunday... hmm. Oh yes. I guess I had blocked it out of my mind for a minute there. We went to a church that we liked, but have reservations about merely because well, there are no other children in the congregation except for one or two that are not close in age to our girls. So, we'll try another next weekend. After church we went to Dillards so Mr. Darcy could exchange some shirts and ties he got at Christmas... the girls had been angels in church, but were hellions in the store. Time outs were given and even a spanking had to be resorted to at one point. But what can you expect from 2 1/2 year olds stuck in the men's department at a store for 3 (yes, 3 hours) while their Dad tried to figure out whether he wanted pants, a blazer, shirts, ties, or what. After finally settling on 3 pairs of dress pants, a dress shirt, 2 ties, and a thing of tie cleaner, we left the mall. I could almost hear Mendelsson's "Hallelujah Chorus" in my head as we left (or was that the sales people singing... I really can't be sure.). Then we got some ice cream because well, I needed some sort of treat after enduring all that. Once we got home, we watch some extreme sports on tv that looked like fun to try and then did some grocery shopping followed by breakfast for dinner. I also went for a drink with my friend Jen and had a wonderful time chatting.
MLK day, I drove over to Sarasota and spent it with my Dad. We hadn't had a father daughter day since I got married, so it was a nice change of pace. Mr. Darcy had to work so the girls went to school and I drove on over. It's not a bad drive and the day was beautiful. We had a nice day - we chatted with my mom on her lunch break from work, went to see my Grammy, had lunch, went to some bookstores, and chatted while sitting in the sun in the front yard of my parents house. Then I drove home and spent the evening with Mr. Darcy and the munchkins. Unfortunately, Ladybug had decided she was mad at me for some reason and told me, "I don't care about you." Yes, direct quote. It made me cry. But Angelfish at least came over and told me she loved me! Ladybug wanted nothing to do with me last night, but this morning she wanted to go to the gym and work out with me. : ) She gave me lots of kisses too. So, I guess she got over whatever it was...
And that is our weekend in a nutshell. Cliff notes style... but no quiz later!
A Swim on Inauguration Day
So I started my morning with a nice 1 mile swim. I did not swim it straight today, but broke it up as a 100 m warm up, a 300 drill (50 swim, 50 kick, 100 pull, 100 swim), a 400 freestyle swim, a 400 that I swam continuously but did a 100 free, 100 breaststroke, 100 backstroke (and hit the wall with my arms on 2 of the ends of a lap... ouch! They need flags up... I think I was counting from the wrong beam on those laps...), and another 100 free. Then I did the 300 drill again, and then a 100 cool down.
Then I wandered home and as my mind wandered, I wondered if Barack Obama's parents or grandparents at any point in time when he was a child ever imagined that he would be sworn in as our nation's 44th president and the 1st African-American president at that. Was there ever a glint of something that they knew (other than that parental gushing that happens) that he would be something amazing? I catch myself wondering from time to time what my girls will "be" when they're older. Doctor? Artist? President? Author? Gypsy Queen? Amanda and Megan have so much promise and can be so much, but what lies in store? I decided that I will just have to wait and see really...
And in another sense I was waiting to see this morning too. I wanted to wait to see what the Inauguration would be like, and I was not disappointed. There was such excitement, like none I've ever known, about a President for what seems like the 1st time. I've heard that there was excitement about President Regan's first inauguration because he too was seen as a man for change. But I can't quite imagine that it was like this. I remember my parents being excited about Regan, but I don't remember much else. I was only 6 the 1st time Regan was elected after all. I have to say that the crowd brought tears to my eyes. In a country where most people "opt out" of voting, to have 1 million of us clamoring to see a President take his oath is something somewhat miraculous. Between the people flooding DC, and the people watching on TV, I wonder if we've finally eclipsed the viewers for "American Idol" with a political event. That in itself is historic. But, even more so is the idea that just yesterday was Dr. King's birthday - the man who was brave enough to dare to share his dream that all people could truly be treated equally (just as our constitution promises) - and then today the 1st African-American President took office. But I hope that President Obama will not be seen as a President just for African-Americans, but that he will be seen as a President for all Americans. His job is not one I envy at the moment. All eyes are on him to turn our country around and to continue to keep us safe, and then he has the added pressure of being the 1st of something. When you're the 1st at something, you have to do an extremely good job at it so that the naysayers have no fuel to say "you see, told you so." That's why I couldn't vote for Palin (other than the political differences she and I have), I couldn't trust her to do a good job as the 1st female Vice President. When you can't remember what newspapers you read one day, and another day come off as intelligent and then follow it up with more air headedness, I don't want you anywhere near being the 1st female Vice President. Anyway. Back to President Obama. I thought his speech was inspiring and I felt like he had a strong sense of where he wants to lead our country at a time when we need someone to lower the anchor so we, as a nation, are not adrift. For once, I felt as though it wasn't just another President taking office that was going to have his own political agenda and heck with what was the best for the country. It felt like the notion of the "old time" politicians who looked out for their constituents, not the special interests. Of course, he has the next 4 years to either prove me right or prove me wrong.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
Then I wandered home and as my mind wandered, I wondered if Barack Obama's parents or grandparents at any point in time when he was a child ever imagined that he would be sworn in as our nation's 44th president and the 1st African-American president at that. Was there ever a glint of something that they knew (other than that parental gushing that happens) that he would be something amazing? I catch myself wondering from time to time what my girls will "be" when they're older. Doctor? Artist? President? Author? Gypsy Queen? Amanda and Megan have so much promise and can be so much, but what lies in store? I decided that I will just have to wait and see really...
And in another sense I was waiting to see this morning too. I wanted to wait to see what the Inauguration would be like, and I was not disappointed. There was such excitement, like none I've ever known, about a President for what seems like the 1st time. I've heard that there was excitement about President Regan's first inauguration because he too was seen as a man for change. But I can't quite imagine that it was like this. I remember my parents being excited about Regan, but I don't remember much else. I was only 6 the 1st time Regan was elected after all. I have to say that the crowd brought tears to my eyes. In a country where most people "opt out" of voting, to have 1 million of us clamoring to see a President take his oath is something somewhat miraculous. Between the people flooding DC, and the people watching on TV, I wonder if we've finally eclipsed the viewers for "American Idol" with a political event. That in itself is historic. But, even more so is the idea that just yesterday was Dr. King's birthday - the man who was brave enough to dare to share his dream that all people could truly be treated equally (just as our constitution promises) - and then today the 1st African-American President took office. But I hope that President Obama will not be seen as a President just for African-Americans, but that he will be seen as a President for all Americans. His job is not one I envy at the moment. All eyes are on him to turn our country around and to continue to keep us safe, and then he has the added pressure of being the 1st of something. When you're the 1st at something, you have to do an extremely good job at it so that the naysayers have no fuel to say "you see, told you so." That's why I couldn't vote for Palin (other than the political differences she and I have), I couldn't trust her to do a good job as the 1st female Vice President. When you can't remember what newspapers you read one day, and another day come off as intelligent and then follow it up with more air headedness, I don't want you anywhere near being the 1st female Vice President. Anyway. Back to President Obama. I thought his speech was inspiring and I felt like he had a strong sense of where he wants to lead our country at a time when we need someone to lower the anchor so we, as a nation, are not adrift. For once, I felt as though it wasn't just another President taking office that was going to have his own political agenda and heck with what was the best for the country. It felt like the notion of the "old time" politicians who looked out for their constituents, not the special interests. Of course, he has the next 4 years to either prove me right or prove me wrong.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see...
Friday, January 16, 2009
Goodbye Dear Christmas Tree...
Ah, Friday. I hope this weekend will be less stressful than this morning. Mr. Darcy woke up early today to do some work before we got the girls up and somehow the task took longer than he thought and viola we were back to running late again. The girls were perky and cheery though when they got up because well, they got to sleep later than usual and we got them in bed on time last night too. Unfortunately, this meant they wanted to play while getting ready, and we were running so late that Mr. Darcy was coaxing them into eating their breakfast in the cafeteria at school and I had to promise them yogurt to eat when they got to school while they were eating cereal out of a bag after being put in the car. In our defense, it was Kashi Go Lean so they got plenty of protein (not to mention fiber)! I really hate these types of mornings because not only are we running behind, but Mr. Darcy is stressed (he had a meeting this morning that was already stressing him out as of last night) and thus a little short with everyone, which in turn makes me stressed, and the girls wondering why we are so stressed. The good news was though that they were in pretty good moods and were pretty accomodating (other than Angelfish wanting to be chased around the house instead of getting dressed).
So when I finally left for the gym, my stomach was tight and my neck (and emotions) were rather tense. But, I was running so late that I did not get to do all of my workout today. Only the swim... and that was shorter than I had hoped to do today. We take what we can get some days, especially with my inability not to be responsible. I cannot allow myself to be late to work, despite the fact that I worked 2.25 hours of overtime on Monday, 1.25 hours of overtime Tuesday, and 1.25 hours of overtime yesterday I can't seem to let myself be late. It's insane really... or is it just being reliable? And why do I have to be so reliable? It's like it's this thing I can't let go of. I've learned to cut myself a break with many other things in life, but with work it's something I just can't seem to do. I need to run away and join the circus or something... the girls and Mr. Darcy would have to come to though... it wouldn't be very fun without them.
Where was I? Oh yes, the gym. The pool was glorious today. I lapped the only other person swimming in the pool a couple of times. It felt great. And then I started thinking why do I care if I lap this guy who isn't even racing me? And that's when I knew it was that sneaky little competitor that loves the chase. I pretend not to want to win this sprint triathlon, but deep down I want to be that person to come in first... I'm just realistic that while I will do my best, that at this stage in my training it is less likely that I will be the winner. But I will try all the same... and if I have to settle for lapping the guy next to me in the gym pool I'll take that too. : ) I only got to do 3/4 of a mile, but I was pleased with my workout. I did some technique work as part of that otherwise I probably would have gotten in a full mile. But I like the technique work... it helps me pay attention to what I'm doing when I get tired and lets me go faster when I'm tired too. After the technique work I swam 1/2 a mile straight and then 200 m to cool down. I missed the bike portion of the morning, but it would have been on the stationary bike anyway so I might just take a bike ride for fun this weekend.
We're going to our first birthday party for a friend of the girls' from school this Saturday. It should be interesting and hopefully fun. Which reminds me, I need to get the young man a present before then! It's a bowling party (with bumpers and really small bowling balls), so this should be interesting. As it looks like from the pictures that the bowling balls are made of plastic this should be entertaining. Plus, I'm looking forward to meeting some of the other parents aside from the cursory hello or chat that you might have if you happen to pick up the kids at the same time. Of course, I've discovered that I'm referred to as "the mom with the twins" which is an accurate description... I'm just not sure how it's being used. Is it the "how does she handle twins?" or "that lady's crazy?" The truth be told, I dont' know how not to handle twins and I may be a little on the crazier side perhaps from the handling of twins! Tee hee. Anyway... if there's anything fun to report, I'll be sure to share.
Oh, and the title of my blog. I almost forgot. Mr. Darcy forgot to take the Christmas tree to the street last night (we were tired and both have been working alot - and feel blessed to have jobs to complain about working alot this week) and I saw the garbage truck drive by - they hadn't picked up our trash yet so I ran into the living room, unscrewed the tree from the stand (or so I thought) and grabbed the tree and carried it out through the garage through the street. It was surprisingly light actually... of course it's dead as can be (and now a billion pieces since the garbage men picked it up). When I got it to the street, I discovered the stand was still attached... so with 2 minutes to spare, I got the stand off and into the garage before the tree was taken by the garbage man... who made me look weak by picking the darn thing up with one hand! Good bye dear tree, you served us well and withstood the torture of small children pulling on your branches and a dog drinking your water. May you decompose fully in the landfill!
So when I finally left for the gym, my stomach was tight and my neck (and emotions) were rather tense. But, I was running so late that I did not get to do all of my workout today. Only the swim... and that was shorter than I had hoped to do today. We take what we can get some days, especially with my inability not to be responsible. I cannot allow myself to be late to work, despite the fact that I worked 2.25 hours of overtime on Monday, 1.25 hours of overtime Tuesday, and 1.25 hours of overtime yesterday I can't seem to let myself be late. It's insane really... or is it just being reliable? And why do I have to be so reliable? It's like it's this thing I can't let go of. I've learned to cut myself a break with many other things in life, but with work it's something I just can't seem to do. I need to run away and join the circus or something... the girls and Mr. Darcy would have to come to though... it wouldn't be very fun without them.
Where was I? Oh yes, the gym. The pool was glorious today. I lapped the only other person swimming in the pool a couple of times. It felt great. And then I started thinking why do I care if I lap this guy who isn't even racing me? And that's when I knew it was that sneaky little competitor that loves the chase. I pretend not to want to win this sprint triathlon, but deep down I want to be that person to come in first... I'm just realistic that while I will do my best, that at this stage in my training it is less likely that I will be the winner. But I will try all the same... and if I have to settle for lapping the guy next to me in the gym pool I'll take that too. : ) I only got to do 3/4 of a mile, but I was pleased with my workout. I did some technique work as part of that otherwise I probably would have gotten in a full mile. But I like the technique work... it helps me pay attention to what I'm doing when I get tired and lets me go faster when I'm tired too. After the technique work I swam 1/2 a mile straight and then 200 m to cool down. I missed the bike portion of the morning, but it would have been on the stationary bike anyway so I might just take a bike ride for fun this weekend.
We're going to our first birthday party for a friend of the girls' from school this Saturday. It should be interesting and hopefully fun. Which reminds me, I need to get the young man a present before then! It's a bowling party (with bumpers and really small bowling balls), so this should be interesting. As it looks like from the pictures that the bowling balls are made of plastic this should be entertaining. Plus, I'm looking forward to meeting some of the other parents aside from the cursory hello or chat that you might have if you happen to pick up the kids at the same time. Of course, I've discovered that I'm referred to as "the mom with the twins" which is an accurate description... I'm just not sure how it's being used. Is it the "how does she handle twins?" or "that lady's crazy?" The truth be told, I dont' know how not to handle twins and I may be a little on the crazier side perhaps from the handling of twins! Tee hee. Anyway... if there's anything fun to report, I'll be sure to share.
Oh, and the title of my blog. I almost forgot. Mr. Darcy forgot to take the Christmas tree to the street last night (we were tired and both have been working alot - and feel blessed to have jobs to complain about working alot this week) and I saw the garbage truck drive by - they hadn't picked up our trash yet so I ran into the living room, unscrewed the tree from the stand (or so I thought) and grabbed the tree and carried it out through the garage through the street. It was surprisingly light actually... of course it's dead as can be (and now a billion pieces since the garbage men picked it up). When I got it to the street, I discovered the stand was still attached... so with 2 minutes to spare, I got the stand off and into the garage before the tree was taken by the garbage man... who made me look weak by picking the darn thing up with one hand! Good bye dear tree, you served us well and withstood the torture of small children pulling on your branches and a dog drinking your water. May you decompose fully in the landfill!
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Run Baby Run and Swimming Blind
Alright, so I missed writing yesterday. It was a bit busy and I ran a bit late so I couldn't post before work started, worked through lunch, but left almost on time (15 minutes late) which was better than Monday and Tuesday. Monday I worked until 6:25 and Tuesday until 5:45, which is not good when you get off at 4:30 pm. But anyway.
Yesterday was a 30 minutes run that you were supposed to do your best with so you could see how far you could go in 30 minutes. But, my left leg is still giving me troubles so I did 30 minutes but I walked the 1st 5, alternated 3 min running and 1 walking, and then walked the last 5 minutes. Even doing that, I was able to do 2.68 miles in the 30 minutes. So that was encouraging!
Today was an interesting workout. It did a half hour on the stationary bike doing a hill program for 1/2 an hour and was able to bike 11.5 miles in that 1/2 hour. Whoo hoo! Right after that I went to do my swim, and here's the interesting part - I had to do it without my goggles and swim cap because I accidentally left them at home. I tried at first to swim with my eyes open under water but it hurt and my contacts didn't feel so great. So then I swam with my eyes closed and opened them at certain intervals when I breathed and discovered how hard it is to stay in a straight line while swimming with my eyes closed. I have no problems doing it when I wear my goggles, but I was bumping into lane ropes and everything! Swimmers who are blind are amazing to be able to do that. So, due to time constraints and goggle issues (not to mention the fact that my hair was making me crazy getting on my face, etc.) I only swam 1/2 a mile today. But I have big plans for tomorrow - I plan to swim at least 1 mile, possibly straight, and may even shoot for 1.5 miles in the pool and then a 15-20 minute bike ride.
It all depends on how long it takes Ladybug to get dressed in the morning. Today she was at least pleasant (for the most part), but she was a bit of a doozy. She insisted on eating her yogurt before going to the bathroom and getting dressed, and despite the fact that yesterday she did awesome with potty training (same pair of pants and underpants the entire day, including us going out to dinner at Fridays, and then playing at home before bed) at first insisted that she wanted to wear a pullup - until I guess I called her bluff and went to get one and then she decided that she would wear underpants and agreed to go potty. After she went potty, she was dancing around and I had to cajole her into getting dressed (although she was pretty cute singing and dancing around, I must say). Then when Mr. Darcy put on her jacket she insisted that he "no zip me up!" (It was 41 this morning and people are freaking out about how cold it is. The high will be 63 today, 57 tomorrow, and 61 on Saturday and tonight it will get down to around 32-34 and people are acting like it's the newest onset of the ice age around here. I'm tempted to go to Publix just to see if there's been a run on bread and milk...)
Angelfish on the other hand was Miss Happy. She wanted kisses from Mommy and then from Daddy and then came back to Mommy. She decided she didn't want to have much to do with the potty this morning and asked to wear a pullup, so that's what we did with her. Got her dressed, she picked out her yogurt, ate it, played with the toy laptop, and other than refusing to give me a kiss goodbye (but she said goodbye... she didn't want me to leave for the gym was the reason for the denial of a kiss) was in high spirits. Even when I was talking to her about using the potty, the child was watching herself make faces in the mirror as she talked to me. She was a hoot too... using this low "grumpy" voice and then this high sweet voice and then her regular nice voice with the different faces. If that child doesn't become an actress, I'll be surprised. She loves make believe, singing, dancing and wants to know why people/animals in stories do things the way they do.
Of course last night at dinner, they were talking about when they get bigger they were going to do x & y. So I asked Angelfish if she was going to be an artist when she grew up. Answer was no. "Palentologist?" "No" "Doctor?" and she said "Yes! Mommy, does your head hurt? do your shoulders hurt? Do your knees hurt? Then what's the matter!" (For those of you who do not watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, that was from the episode "Doctor Daisy" where Daisy pretends to be a doctor and asks every "patient" those questions.) Then Ladybug piped up and said she wanted to be a doctor too and then started talking about animals. So, I asked her "Do you want to be an animal doctor?" and she replied "No, Mommy. I want to be a girl doctor!" I love how kids can be so literal sometimes!!
Anywho... let's hope for shin splint relief and a quick morning routine tomorrow!
Yesterday was a 30 minutes run that you were supposed to do your best with so you could see how far you could go in 30 minutes. But, my left leg is still giving me troubles so I did 30 minutes but I walked the 1st 5, alternated 3 min running and 1 walking, and then walked the last 5 minutes. Even doing that, I was able to do 2.68 miles in the 30 minutes. So that was encouraging!
Today was an interesting workout. It did a half hour on the stationary bike doing a hill program for 1/2 an hour and was able to bike 11.5 miles in that 1/2 hour. Whoo hoo! Right after that I went to do my swim, and here's the interesting part - I had to do it without my goggles and swim cap because I accidentally left them at home. I tried at first to swim with my eyes open under water but it hurt and my contacts didn't feel so great. So then I swam with my eyes closed and opened them at certain intervals when I breathed and discovered how hard it is to stay in a straight line while swimming with my eyes closed. I have no problems doing it when I wear my goggles, but I was bumping into lane ropes and everything! Swimmers who are blind are amazing to be able to do that. So, due to time constraints and goggle issues (not to mention the fact that my hair was making me crazy getting on my face, etc.) I only swam 1/2 a mile today. But I have big plans for tomorrow - I plan to swim at least 1 mile, possibly straight, and may even shoot for 1.5 miles in the pool and then a 15-20 minute bike ride.
It all depends on how long it takes Ladybug to get dressed in the morning. Today she was at least pleasant (for the most part), but she was a bit of a doozy. She insisted on eating her yogurt before going to the bathroom and getting dressed, and despite the fact that yesterday she did awesome with potty training (same pair of pants and underpants the entire day, including us going out to dinner at Fridays, and then playing at home before bed) at first insisted that she wanted to wear a pullup - until I guess I called her bluff and went to get one and then she decided that she would wear underpants and agreed to go potty. After she went potty, she was dancing around and I had to cajole her into getting dressed (although she was pretty cute singing and dancing around, I must say). Then when Mr. Darcy put on her jacket she insisted that he "no zip me up!" (It was 41 this morning and people are freaking out about how cold it is. The high will be 63 today, 57 tomorrow, and 61 on Saturday and tonight it will get down to around 32-34 and people are acting like it's the newest onset of the ice age around here. I'm tempted to go to Publix just to see if there's been a run on bread and milk...)
Angelfish on the other hand was Miss Happy. She wanted kisses from Mommy and then from Daddy and then came back to Mommy. She decided she didn't want to have much to do with the potty this morning and asked to wear a pullup, so that's what we did with her. Got her dressed, she picked out her yogurt, ate it, played with the toy laptop, and other than refusing to give me a kiss goodbye (but she said goodbye... she didn't want me to leave for the gym was the reason for the denial of a kiss) was in high spirits. Even when I was talking to her about using the potty, the child was watching herself make faces in the mirror as she talked to me. She was a hoot too... using this low "grumpy" voice and then this high sweet voice and then her regular nice voice with the different faces. If that child doesn't become an actress, I'll be surprised. She loves make believe, singing, dancing and wants to know why people/animals in stories do things the way they do.
Of course last night at dinner, they were talking about when they get bigger they were going to do x & y. So I asked Angelfish if she was going to be an artist when she grew up. Answer was no. "Palentologist?" "No" "Doctor?" and she said "Yes! Mommy, does your head hurt? do your shoulders hurt? Do your knees hurt? Then what's the matter!" (For those of you who do not watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, that was from the episode "Doctor Daisy" where Daisy pretends to be a doctor and asks every "patient" those questions.) Then Ladybug piped up and said she wanted to be a doctor too and then started talking about animals. So, I asked her "Do you want to be an animal doctor?" and she replied "No, Mommy. I want to be a girl doctor!" I love how kids can be so literal sometimes!!
Anywho... let's hope for shin splint relief and a quick morning routine tomorrow!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
My glorious bike!
Today was a 40 minute bike ride and it was awesome! I love biking on my bike on the open road!! I think it has something to do with the need to remain vigilant at all times while riding... sneaky cars, people who don't know how to drive around bicyclists, etc. can be lurking around any corner. And this morning, they were. I stayed up late (well, for me - 10:30) waiting for Mr. Darcy to come home from his fraternity alumni meeting so I could see him for a few minutes and had a hard time getting up this morning. The girls also did not want to get out of bed this morning (and Mr. Darcy slept late too) so we were running behind. I had plenty of time before starting work after my ride, but it was a little stressful at first. (Angelfish was very sweet and told me "I no want to go to school. I want to stay home with you." Ladybug on the other hand was a banshee this morning and was angry with me because I picked her up and carried her to the car because she was stalling by playing with all of the light switches along the way to the front door and claimed that she "need to walk with Daddy" who was outside already and she had had a chance to walk with him. She was a bit rotten and smacked me in the face hard enough that it made me bump the back of my head on the inside of the car. She's a strong thing, but she also got disciplined for it. I had a message from Mr. Darcy's phone when I got back and it was Ladybug saying "I love you Mommy. I be nice and not be mean." That made me smile. Unfortunately, though, when I talked to Mr. Darcy he said that she was being terrible the entire way to school and then when he dropped her off she was still mad and gave him a hard time and spilled a cup of mile on him.)
But get on my bike and within a couple of minutes it all melts away (or perhaps it flies away on the breeze I make while biking...). Other than dodging cars, dealing with people who sit at the stop signs way to long because they're not sure what to do because I'm on a bike, and wondering if the dog the neighbor is walking likes to chase bikes, it is a peaceful co-existence between me, my bike and the road. And the other stuff makes you aware of your surroundings and lets you take the notion of being alive (and staying that way in some cases) all in. I have to say I am in love with it. I practiced my turning too, which is always fun and frightening for me. You have to lean in to the turn with your upper body and have the leg toward the inside of the turn in the up position, but you're not supposed to lean your head. Sometimes (like today) I try to take the turn quickly to practice a turn at a good speed and I lean in to the point that I am on the edge of the tire and I can feel it start to slip a little and it both thrills and chills me. But it's good for me to learn what is too far so I can attempt what I can without crashing.
And having to deal with the cars at the stop signs is good too... I've learned how slow I can go without having to dismount. I've gotten to the point that I can be at almost a complete stop, just barely moving forward without having to get off and then start up again. The one thing I need to learn how to do (and I think I probably can but I just am a little skittish about trying it) is to pedal while in a "standing" position. I am a bit resistant to the idea of not sitting on the bike seat while moving. It's fine if I have to stop at a stop light and I've unclipped my left foot to stand, but the idea of moving while my feet are clipped in and I'm pedaling is a bit unnerving. I'm hoping that we'll have a bike trainer who can teach me how to do it... the other thing I need to learn is when you use different gears for different things. I know when you come up to a hill you're supposed to down shift into an easier gear but what is appropriate staying in 3 but easier? Or switching to 2 altogether? And then when in the descent on the hill do you switch back? I have to admit that I just bike in 3rd and then 4 for the smaller gear... hills and all. And I know by the top of some of the hills why I need to downshift, but I've been telling myself that I made it to the top and it's good for training - which may be true but it's also because I know I'm not sure what to do.
Something also occurred to me on my ride this morning... I want to be a good rider and a good triathlete. There's something that gives you not only a sense of accomplishment but also a sense of something - control isn't the right word, but I'm not really sure what is the right word. It's like you have a sense of an idea (even if it isn't fully formulated) of what you want and that you have the capability of reaching out and grabbing it with both hands. For me, at least at the moment, it isn't necessarily about being better than someone else - right now it's about being better than I was before. I think that's why I like the biking so much, it's where I'm the most aware of that sense of self and taking myself from point A to point B, both literally and figuratively, and in some ways of allowing myself to leave point B behind. It's rather cathartic.
Well, enough "deep thoughts" for one day...
But get on my bike and within a couple of minutes it all melts away (or perhaps it flies away on the breeze I make while biking...). Other than dodging cars, dealing with people who sit at the stop signs way to long because they're not sure what to do because I'm on a bike, and wondering if the dog the neighbor is walking likes to chase bikes, it is a peaceful co-existence between me, my bike and the road. And the other stuff makes you aware of your surroundings and lets you take the notion of being alive (and staying that way in some cases) all in. I have to say I am in love with it. I practiced my turning too, which is always fun and frightening for me. You have to lean in to the turn with your upper body and have the leg toward the inside of the turn in the up position, but you're not supposed to lean your head. Sometimes (like today) I try to take the turn quickly to practice a turn at a good speed and I lean in to the point that I am on the edge of the tire and I can feel it start to slip a little and it both thrills and chills me. But it's good for me to learn what is too far so I can attempt what I can without crashing.
And having to deal with the cars at the stop signs is good too... I've learned how slow I can go without having to dismount. I've gotten to the point that I can be at almost a complete stop, just barely moving forward without having to get off and then start up again. The one thing I need to learn how to do (and I think I probably can but I just am a little skittish about trying it) is to pedal while in a "standing" position. I am a bit resistant to the idea of not sitting on the bike seat while moving. It's fine if I have to stop at a stop light and I've unclipped my left foot to stand, but the idea of moving while my feet are clipped in and I'm pedaling is a bit unnerving. I'm hoping that we'll have a bike trainer who can teach me how to do it... the other thing I need to learn is when you use different gears for different things. I know when you come up to a hill you're supposed to down shift into an easier gear but what is appropriate staying in 3 but easier? Or switching to 2 altogether? And then when in the descent on the hill do you switch back? I have to admit that I just bike in 3rd and then 4 for the smaller gear... hills and all. And I know by the top of some of the hills why I need to downshift, but I've been telling myself that I made it to the top and it's good for training - which may be true but it's also because I know I'm not sure what to do.
Something also occurred to me on my ride this morning... I want to be a good rider and a good triathlete. There's something that gives you not only a sense of accomplishment but also a sense of something - control isn't the right word, but I'm not really sure what is the right word. It's like you have a sense of an idea (even if it isn't fully formulated) of what you want and that you have the capability of reaching out and grabbing it with both hands. For me, at least at the moment, it isn't necessarily about being better than someone else - right now it's about being better than I was before. I think that's why I like the biking so much, it's where I'm the most aware of that sense of self and taking myself from point A to point B, both literally and figuratively, and in some ways of allowing myself to leave point B behind. It's rather cathartic.
Well, enough "deep thoughts" for one day...
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