Christmas traditions

My family is VERY tradition oriented when it comes to Christmas. EVERYTHING has to be done "right" or my girls (and Nigel) get very upset! It gets a little hard with Kirsten being away at school. In the past couple of years she has come home the weekend before finals and we had a chance to put up our tree. Well, this year she is waiting to come home after her finals are over. That means we put up our tree "late". So, Chelsea, Nigel and I picked out the tree without Kirsten this year.... I have mixed emotions about this. My baby is growing up and maybe next year won't even be able to be with us at Christmas!!! :-( Anyway, we got the tree and put lights on it, but we are waiting until she gets home to put the ornaments on. That seemed like a good compromise - since I wanted the tree up sooner. If it was up to me, I would put it up at Thanksgiving and leave it up until after New Years Day. I've never done that before. Does a real tree last that long? Does anyone know???? Would my kids revolt/complain because "that's not how we always do it!"

Dancing in PE

What a blast! All week we have been dancing in PE. The boys and girls together - eewwww! Cooties!!!! :-)We started off with line dancing - pretty easy, not too hard, and there is no touching... :-)
Next came Cotten-eyed Joe - had to touch each other with this one!!! :-0! They did a pretty good job too. There are A LOT of kids that have no rhythm though. That is just sad.
Wednesday we learned a basic Swing Dance. I think they really liked this one - at least the girls did. The music is more upbeat, more fun.
The kids learned Tango and Waltz on Friday. Our school PR person came in and took pictures. Then the yearbook lady came in and took more pictures. So there will be a few pictures published somewhere. :-)
I think most of the kids really had a great time. Of course there are always a few that don't like it, but that happens with any activity: basketball, volleyball, weight lifting, etc...

Here is a picture of me and Coach Schenkel showing off for the kids...

Our refrigerator died...

...so last night, Nigel and I went "Fridge shopping" at Lowes! After two hours we finally decided on the best one AND decided to go ahead and buy a new dishwasher to match. Now, our dishwasher is still in working order, but the screws are starting to fall out and we thought this would be a good time to update it. We bought one that is supposed to be super quiet. We'll see what that means...
Hopefully, next year we can update our stove and microwave to match also. We keep thinking ahead to the day we will sell our house and move on to our next adventure.... :-)

ice baths - the best thing ever!

It has been one month and I am still running! Yay for me! :-) I have learned that I really like running when it is cold - well maybe I should say cool. Like 45 to 50 degrees is an awesome temperature for running. This morning it is in the 30's and I think I will wait until it warms up some before venturing out. :-)
Our workout has changed a bit. On Thursday's we are running stairs instead of hills. I had my first 'stair workout' two days ago. We 'run' (ha) up 24 stories, resting every 6th floor - or in my case - every 3 or 4 floors!!!! As I finally made it to the top floor on my 'first trip up' I was feeling pretty proud of myself and was pretty psyched to get back down so I could try it again. I got down to the 22 floor and got the biggest cramp in my right calf!!! ARG!!!! My buddy I was running with stopped and helped me stretch it out and then we started down again... I got about 3 steps and it cramped again - OW!!! So I told him to continue and I would stretch it some more. So I stretched, went down a couple more stairs - OW!!!!!!!!! What the heck??? This is really painful!!! So I kind of limped down to floor 21 and stretched some more. This thing was NOT going away! So, my pride being hurt also, I made the decision to go down on the elevator - guess what? The doors were locked on floor 21. I would have to hobble down to 20, so that is what I did. By this time my leg was really hurting. I could stretch it out, but as soon as I stepped down a stair, that was it - CRAMP! I made it to floor 20 - locked door. One more time I hobbled down the stairs to floor 19 - still locked door. ARG!! I was beginning to think I would have to ask for help pretty soon. By this time my left leg was starting to 'complain to me' also. Finally at floor 17 I found the door unlocked, found the elevator and made it down to the basement! My running buddy was a little worried about me. After reassuring him that I was OK, he started up on his second trip. Our coach, Mark, had to really stretch me out or I don't think I could have walked out to my car. After he stretched the calf I felt like I could limp out to the car. Just a little embarrassing....
Just to make sure nothing was 'really wrong' with my leg I decided to stop by my school on the way home. We were having a basketball game and I knew our athletic trainer would be there. She took a look at my leg and told me I had a small tear in the muscle, then proceded to put my leg in an ice bath! OMG!!! That was really cold. My leg went numb which is a good thing! :-) It did feel better after that. She gave me some stretching excercises to do and told me to stay on flat surfaces for a few days. Are you kidding? I don't think I could have stepped up - or down anything!!!
So, here it is two days later and my leg feels pretty good. It doesn't even hurt! I guess that ice bath really did the trick! I recommend it to everyone who has a cramp in the future!
I'm still feeling good about my decision to start running with this group. I have met some interesting people and now have people to run with and to keep me motivated. Mark is a good coach, although I don't know how he remembers everyone's name! I don't think I could do that! hahaha!
Happy running everyone!

Chelsea and Rudolph...

My family LOVES Christmas. Chelsea is especially joyful this year about the upcoming holiday. She loves the lights, the music, and the fact that everyone walks around with a smile on their face (well, most of the time). They have already started playing Christmas music on the radio - Chelsea is in Heaven! ;-)
The other day we were listening to Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.
Chelsea, "Mom the other reindeer were so mean to Rudolph."
I said, "oh?".
Chelsea, "they were just 'using' Rudolph. They are so mean!"
So I said, "yes, but when Rudolph came through for them in a tight spot they were happy and admired him."
Chelsea, "oh no, Mom, they 'used' him! It's like when there is a kid at school who is not popular, then he/she becomes a famous singer. All of a sudden the other kids want to be their friend after they treated them so badly!"
I said, "Well that's an interesting view point, but don't you think the other reindeer decided that Rudolph was probably an OK reindeer after all? Can't they change their opinion?"
Chelsea,"no Mom, they are just really mean reindeer. I don't like 'the other reindeer'."
Something for all of us to think about this holiday season.... :-)

The week in review

This has been a pretty good week.
I ran twice this week - on Monday we ran around the 'parking lot' again. This time I did 3 1/2 miles and ran about 15 mins of that. On Thursday we ran the "mother of all hills". I'm not so sure about that, but the hills were long and somewhat steep. We walked/jogged about 1 mile to the neighborhood with the hills. Then went through the "hill circuit" twice. Then another walk back to the parking lot. It was a total of 1 hour and 40 min. I was definitely tired after all that!! I have no idea where I was, I just followed everyone else. It seems like a very nice neighborhood. There were no street lights, so I couldn't really tell... I'll have to drive around and see if I can find it in the daylight! I felt pretty good running last night. I am a little sore today, but not as bad as I thought. :-) More running tomorrow! The goal is to run about 20 minutes with walking in between.

Tomorrow we have our 2nd swim meet of the season. This time it is a "B" format meet. That includes the 500 free, 100 free, 50 fly, 100 back, 100 IM, 100 breast, and the 400 free relay. More new experiences for the new swimmers. We're at the Bartlett Rec Center this time - so closer to home. Chelsea is going with me to be my 'recorder'. I really think she just wants to flirt with the cute boys on my team... :-)

What I am REALLY LOOKING FORWARD to: The Eagles Concert on Sunday night! :-)!!! Are you jealous????? :-)

Gas prices

Unreal gas prices!!! I paid $1.67 for gas (with my Schnucks card) the other day. A total of $27.75 to fill up my tank!!! That is amazing considering I paid $70.00 just a couple of months ago....

third day of running

I have followed through on my committment this week - three days of running! :-) I ran Thursday at school during my planning period. 10 bouts of 1 min running, 1 min walking with a 5 min walk at the beginning for warm up and 5 min at the end.
Today I ran 12 bouts - this time 1min 15sec run and 1 min walk. So a little more running today. I actually walked a little more than 1 min between runs just because I could. I decided I'm not going to kill myself. I have plenty of time to keep going. I don't have to be in a hurry to get to my goal.... I'm trying to be very sensible and not set myself up for failure.
I'll go run with my "group" on Monday night again and see what is next in store for me. It's supposed to rain on Monday so I'll have to be a little more motivated to run in the rain and cold.... :-(

Another exciting event this week - our first swim meet of the season! It was a good one. Both the boys and girls got second place! I had two kids qualify for STATE and we had 32 County qualifying times! The new swimmers were very nervous, but swam very well. We had been out of the water for almost two weeks due to a broken heater in the pool, so I wasn't sure what to expect. But they came through with flying colors! The "veteran swimmers" stepped up and helped out a lot!!!! Our next meet is a week from today at the Bartlett Rec Center - so close to home. :-)

It's a beautiful weekend here - lots of colors on the trees and the weather is finally turning colder! YAY!

Alone or in a group...

There have been times in my life when I have been able to set a goal and reach it - by myself, all on my own, just working at it steadily each day. I started myself on a running program 8 years ago after watching other people race in the Tulsa Run. It's a 15K race through downtown and along the river in Tulsa. I always wished I could do that too. So after years of 'wishing' I decided to make it happen. I followed a running program that I found on line - someone recommended it to me. I really liked it - and it worked! I ran my first 5K at the end of May in 2000. That was a great accomplishment. I don't think there is anything more satisfying than achieving a goal you set out to do! I really felt like I could do anything! So my next goal was to train for the Tulsa Run. I trained 4 days a week that summer and fall. On Sunday mornings before church I would run with a Tulsa Run Training Group. I remember on one of those mornings I decided to just try and keep up with all the 'fast' runners and just go as long as I could. I was amazed that I could run at a 10min mile pace!!! I went 6 miles that day (although I did slow down towards the end...). It was then that I realized I could go 9 miles (15K). It wasn't really that much further! I entered the Tulsa Zoo Run in September which was 10K. That was my first experience at running "K's" instead of "miles" so it took me awhile to figure out my splits - I was so used to using the 1/4 mile markers along the river running path. My vivid memory of that Zoo race was all the kids that were running. It was a race that benefitted Tulsa Public Schools so lots of PE kids running for their school. I ended up running with a couple of middle school kids and we were just encouraging each other to finish without walking!!! :-) I was really glad I had someone to encourage - that kept me going!!! Anyway, the big day came for the Tulsa Run. What a rush that whole thing was!! There were so many people - unbeleivable! All along the route there were people cheering, music playing, entertainment in front of peoples houses. It was kind of like running through a party!:-) The very beat part of the race was having Nigel, Kirsten and Chelsea cheer for me at the beginning, the middle and the end of the race. They drove all over the place to do that! :-) I can still recall that great feeling of finishing. I have a picture of me at the finish of my race! After that, I trained again for all three of those same races the next year. It wasn't quite as exciting as the first year, but pretty close! My sister Debi and her husband Hartley came and ran the race with me! That made it double the fun!!! :-)

There are other times in my life when I need to have help accomplishing a goal. This is one of those times.... I have joined a running class that has a coach. I went to my first session last night. It was dark (thanks to the time change), but not too cold. We train on Mondays and Thursdays at Shelby Farms in the parking lots that surround the "Agri-center" building. Our coach, Mark, has plotted out a one mile course around two of the parking lots. It was a very interesting first session. He actually "taught" us how to run - the correct form (head up, shoulders back, swing arms with elbows behind your back), "talking technique" (I have to be able to say "When I eat, I will make healthy choice, When I eat, I will make healthy choices" without gasping for breath),pacing oursleves, etc... We walked/ran a total of 3 miles, although only about a mile of that was actually running. Lots of walking breaks in between. Mark says the goal is to increase gradually to let my body adapt to what I am demading it to do. My commitment is to go to "class" two days a week and then run around my neighborhood on a third day (either Saturday or Sunday). He says there is not really any bad weather days, only bad clothing days. :-)

My personal goal is to get back into running shape and then continue to train, with the ultimate goal of losing weight! To what extent (race?) I'm not sure. I just know that training with a group will help me accomplish my goals this time around. Mark says he can get us ready for a marathon if we want. Again, I'm not sure.... My sister, Debi, is such an inspiration in this area. She has become the master at setting unbelievable goals and then reaching them (2 ironman triathlons this year!!!). So maybe by next December I will be ready to tackle the Memphis Marathon or the 1/2 marathon. They hold it every year the first Saturday in December. Who knows? If I follow through with this goal maybe Debi and Hartley will come and run with me?
I will keep you posted on my progress in this area.

Nov 1st

Today would have been my Mom's 82nd birthday. As my sister reminds me: "She has been gone a staggering 14 years (I can't believe it has been that long). Before she got sick at the young age of 45, she was athletic, a golfer, a tennis player, a leader in the Girl Scouts. She raised 5 daughters. I use to be amazed at the thought that she used a whole loaf of bread to make our lunches. My mom was one of the strongest, most persistent people I have ever met."

I was 15 when my mom was diagnosed with Rhumatoid Arthritis. She eventually passed away from complications from that disease. I was 37. I watched her struggle at times with her health, but she always seemed to have such a positive outlook that nothing would deter her from living a full life. She spent the last few years of her life in a wheel chair, but could still draw a smile from all those that knew her. Her grand kids loved to 'ride with grandma on her wheel chair'. :-) She didn't like having all the health problems, but that didn't seem to discourage her. She just kept on going.... kind of like the energizer bunny. :-) That was my mom. I hope I am 1/2 the woman she was.