Eating, Running and Loving life in CBus

I did it!

2010-10-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

> So I did it....I have not nursed my daughter since Thursday morning. Two Fridays ago (i think although the days are fuzzy) I stopped nursing Her during the day. As you know we were very routine based so it was before her nap. I offered her milk in a sippy cup and she took a few sips but then realized it was a substitute and not happy. I will have to admit, tho first two days were tough. I had to put her to sleep by letting her cry it out. Not fun! By the third day my mom was able to put her down without any crying and the rest of the week went well. We read a book and snuggle with her blanket and I can now put her down awake and I don't hear a peep.
>
> I was going to start evening weaning earlier this week but she was sick and not herself so I decided to hold off. She was feeling great on Wednesday afternoon so Joe and I decided that we should start Thursday night. We chose Thursday specifically so that we had the weekend to work together and in hopes that by Sunday when Joe wouldn't be here for bedtime that I could put her down without nursing. Thursday night was ok, she cried for a few minutes. Friday she went to bed ok, but she woke up around midnight and had a hard time going back to bed without nursing. It took until about 1:30. Saturday was HELL. She was so needy and was so grumpy all day. We did learn some things. She woke up upset and we fed her immediately. This helped. This morning we fed her as soon as she woke up and it helped with her mood. We also learned that not nursing has increased her already large appetite. Tonight, I put her to bed and all went well. She didn't even root. In place of nursing I sing her a song.
>
> So it's been since Thursday morning, so I would say I'm done. No, I'm not sad. In fact I'm happy and relieved that I made it this long. It was good while it lasted and I'm glad I did it, but I'm also thrilled to be done!

First day of preschool!

2010-10-05T06:01:00.001-07:00

The move is done

2010-10-02T15:49:00.001-07:00

Blogging will begin again as soon as I have internet but for now... The move is done, boxes still need to be unpacked and rooms still need to be painted. We are all getting used to life in the south.

fake tressel

2010-09-25T09:09:00.001-07:00

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Eggplant Meatballs

2010-08-28T18:07:00.000-07:00

3 medium eggplants
3/4 Cup parsley (more if needed depending on taste), leaves removed from stems
3 large garlic cloves, cut into thirds
2 to 3 C Italian breadcrumbs depending on consistency
1 1/2 C grated Romano cheese (from Arthur Ave if possible)
olive oil if necessary to add moisture to balls

1. Roast eggplants at 350 degrees for1 hour. To roast, cut in half, score and put a little salt on top.
2. Clean eggplant out from skin and put into large mixing bowl. Add parsley and garlic and process until smooth. Scrape sides down as needed. Process until consistency of hummus - chunky and wet!
3. Remove mixture and return to mixing bowl. Add breadcrumbs and cheese and mix well. Should be the consistency of meatloaf.
4. Roll into balls approx. 1 inch each - ping pong ball size. Place on sprayed cookie sheet
5. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes

Playing at the pool with grandpa

2010-08-20T10:28:00.000-07:00

Pants on her head

2010-06-27T09:05:00.000-07:00

Joe out her pants on her head this morning and she let him and then continued to let them stay on her head.

Playing in the pool

2010-06-26T17:08:00.001-07:00

Today we went to a friend's house for a BBQ and had fun playing in the baby pool.

Nine Months Old

2010-06-25T11:53:00.000-07:00

Here she is 3/4 of a year already! Wow - it really does go fast. She is army crawling around our house like a storm. Clapping is a regular habit and gets especially excited when we cheer and clap with her. She loves to open and close books, hold little balls, pull up on things and can easily go from laying on her tummy to sitting up. We often find her sitting in her crib playing after a nap. Speaking of which. She takes pretty good naps. A long morning one - around 9 or 9:30 that lasts for an hour and a half to two hours and then an afternoon one. Usually around 2 or 2:30, but this morning her morning nap started late and went long so who knows when her afternoon nap will start. Its almost 3 and she is still crawling around playing with her books.

She loves the dog although if he is in her way she will yell at him. He doesn't take her toys but is not happy when she takes his - which she loves. She enjoys splashing her hand in his water dish, even when he's drinking from it. She feeds the dog from her highchair and he occasionally lets a low growl out when she gets a bit too close to his breakfast and dinner. We have been trying to separate them during his mealtimes so as to discourage this behavior.

She sleeps well from 7:30/8pm to about 5/5:15am and if we are lucky for an hour to an hour and a half, she will go back to sleep after her morning feed. She only nurses three other times a day - before both naps and before bed. She is now up to three meals a day - yogurt for breakfast, fruit and oatmeal/cereal for lunch and veggies and cereal for dinner. I need to add in more meat but I will talk to the doctor about that at her next appointment.

Sorry if all this information is boring - I'm not good at keeping a baby book so I figure this is the only way to record all this information and not loose it before it all gets forgotten again.

Oh yea - and still only the two bottom teeth - one she got over mother's day weekend and one over memorial day weekend.

She got her Boobies painted....

2010-06-25T11:43:00.000-07:00

Its a ComFest thing. All the ute girls and many of the not so cute girls will walk around the park tomorrow getting their boobies painted so I thought it would be cute if Kirsten did too. She is nine months old today after all! She also tried some of my corn dog (the corn part) and ate some grass. All ComFest staples for all that attend!

Berries

2010-06-20T10:25:00.001-07:00

Look at all those yummy berries from breakfast today! Yup - all over her face!!!

Quilting Weekend

2010-06-20T10:15:00.000-07:00

So while I was at the fabric store buying my binding, borders and backing for my i-spy quilt, I ran into a woman who told me about the National Quilter's Association show. It was this weekend and happened to be at the convention center. Since that is so close to my house I thought I would go over and check it out for an hour or two. You should have seen the quilts and the vendors. I didn't take pictures of the vendor booths because many had "no photos without permission" signs but I did photograph some of the quilts. Wow - those women have some time on their hands!

i-Spy Quilt!

2010-06-20T09:38:00.000-07:00

So I have been obsessed with i-spy quilts for awhile.. After I saw this and this I just wanted one for my little one. I even considered paying $75 and buying one off of Etsy here. But I didn't. I was lucky enough to be able to sign up for one of Care's I-spy swaps over at Obsessively Stitching and got to make my own.

Now I have never really made a quilt before. I made a t-shirt quilt. But beccuase I so poorly put the binding on and didn't machine quilt it altogether (just hand tied it in a few places) I don't consider it to be a REAL quilt. This one though is legit. The only thing I didn't do was free motion quilting. I just quilted in diagonals and really liked how it turned out. Many quilting in my little basic singer is a chose. Quilts are heavy. I am glad I did it this way. I don't know if I could do a quilt any other way in my machine.

My in laws were/are here for Father's Day and they watching my little one while I spent hours - it wasn't as hard as I thought - to make this quilt. Here is the process and the finished results:

First I laid out all my i spy blocks to put them in some kind of order and to make sure I didn't have too many with the same color background next to each other.

Then I sewed pairs of fabrics together and then pair os pairs together to make rows of four. Note how in the above picture I used post it notes to mark my 1/4 inch seam. I don't think I sew very straight so this kept me in line - it totally helped! I read about how to do this on some blog but not sue which one. I consider myself not a self taught quilter, but a blog taught quilter!

I sewed the three rows of four together to make my 15 total rows. Then I sewed all my rows together to make my top

I didn't photograph the nex steps but I then added my green border, and quilted the three layers (the back, the batting and the top together) and sewed on my binding, first the back side with the machine and then the front by hand. It was a long weekend and I am glad myin laws were here to help because I hate having projects left unfinished because I do all my work in my kitchen since we live in such a tiny house. Here is the completed quilt.

Standing

2010-06-16T18:14:00.000-07:00

My little girl is growing up too fast. This evening she was sick of crawling around the living room, but loved standing. I helped her get into a stand - she is not yet pulling herself up. She also needed my help to get back to a sit.

Crawling

2010-06-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

So this past week my little one started crawling. She does an army crawl where she doesn't lift her tummy off the ground an uses her elbows and forearms to pull her around. She is pretty efficent with this and can really move!

Yes, that is a towel I had attached to her tummy - it helped to pick up some of the dog hair - you should see how much her belly picks up as she crawls around our house.

She loves to crawl into the dog's crate.

And is starting to show interest in climbing the stairs, although she has no idea what to do with her legs or how to get them up the stairs. It will be trouble once she does...

As excited as I am that she has reached this milestone, I don't think I was ready for it. It really does change your world with a baby and how they spend their time.

Mohawk

2010-05-28T08:00:00.000-07:00

So the boy cousins in my family love mohawks...I thought that my daughter should enjoy them as well!

And in true rocker fashion, she is playing a musical instrument that needs a lot of banging.
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Also, after looking at it, I don't know that polka dots and mohawks really go together :)

I-Spy Swap

2010-05-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Care over at Obsessively Stitching posted the first 5 i-spy swapers. This gives me a look at the first 50 of my future squares. I can't wait for the rest of the fabrics to arrive in my mailbox and I can begin my first quilt. If you want to check out the fabrics she has posted thusfar, check them out and let me know what you think!

Breakfast of Champions

2010-05-26T07:03:00.000-07:00

She ate some pancakes & blueberries for breakfast the other day. She enjoyed playing as much as she did eating...

Eight Months Old

2010-05-25T18:52:00.001-07:00

(She puts everything in her mouth)

(she loves to eat the sign)

Today my little one turned eight months old. She has been sleeping better than at 7 months and is eating like a champ. She finished her last week of swimming with her Daddy on Tuesday nights this evening. I know that I will miss this time. She is currently struggling because she has an opinion about what she wants and doesn't want but only knows how to express her opinion in whines an cries. This gets tiring on mommy by the time daddy comes home.

She is still not crawling, but rolling well and getting on all fours, rocking back & forth. It's fun and exhausting to spend every day with her.

Welcome summer

2010-05-24T10:32:00.000-07:00

So today after our daily trip to the grocery store for dinner stuff (I chose corn, ceaser salad and copper river salmon) we made a detour to the park. The swings are something we've only tried once before in January. It sure brought on some smiles!

Weed prevention

2010-05-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

So this year my mother in law let me in on a little secret...how I can prevent weeds in my little city garden. We use this little space to grow herbs, tomatoes and something else. Last year it was lettuce. This year it is peppers.

So here is the secret....newspaper and mulch. The pathway between the herbs and the tomatoes is small but a lot of weeds grow in that small space! So what I did was lay down multiple layers of newspaper underneath my stepping stones, hose those down, and then layer it with mulch. It was pretty easy. I just hope it works. Joe says it looks pretty professional. What do you think?

Hopefully if and when we get to sell this house this will help. A few other outdoor projects left ahead of us. I also put sand in the cracks in the patio to prevent weeds there. But that photo isn't as pretty :)

Some of the other outdoor projects include:
- powerwashing the outdoor kitchen and deck
- cleaning the grill
- cleaning out the outdoor fridge
- replacing the canopy
- replacing the hot tub cover
- replace the lattice that the dog and Joe destroyed playing hockey
- and a really ambitious one: painting the deck and the front deck

Ok, that has nothing to do with weeds. Just wanted to put it in print so we don't forget

Jarred baby food

2010-05-22T18:33:00.000-07:00

So I have been making all my own baby food, but I had purchased some fruits because frankly I think that fruits are harder to make then veggies. So this morning my little one tried peaches for the first time. She seemed to enjoy them and ate well. They did not sit well with her though. She was spitting up to the point that it was almost throwing up then all afternoon. Joe and I both felt so bad for her. She ate her dinner of oatmeal and sweet potatoes like a champ...in fact she ate way better than normal. So I learned my lesson -make my own food and donate the jarred stuff!

Be the match

2010-05-19T14:53:00.000-07:00

So for a long time I have wanted to register as a bone marrow donor. I ran the marathon for the LLS and thought that this would be my next step in my dedication to this cause and this horrible cancer that surrounds me. I feel like I know so many people. So after reading this blog post today, it reminded me that I needed to register. I just did! It took about 10 minutes and I feel like by registering myself I will be doing my part. If you want to register you can too at http://www.marrow.org/JOIN/FAQs_about_Joining_the_Registry/index.html

What a wonderful weekend

2010-05-18T07:35:00.000-07:00

So this weekend started off a bit rocky. My in laws were in town and our little one started off not her normal happy self. This put me on edge and I decided that Joe and I needed to take our sleep deprived selves on a break from our little one. So we went out for a very nice dinner and reenacted what life was like before she was born. Again, she didn't sleep well on Friday night but we had some help on Saturday morning so we both got to sleep in.

Saturday started with a good morning nap and then we were off to the zoo. We weren't the only ones as I heard the attendance was over 15,000 and the traffic reflected this. Munchers (Joe's nickname for her) was great as we took a long detour to avoid the traffic. Once in the zoo she hung out for a bit in the stroller and then enjoyed the rest of the day in the carrier.

Saturday night was a bit tense. Joe and I decided that since we had help, it was time to work on sleep training. She spent a lot of diner crying in her crib as she was going down to sleep as well as normal. Then she was up every hour or so from 9 to midnight. Then around 2:30 she was up again. And we again tried the Ferber method. Joe and I each only needed to go in once until she was able to fall back asleep. She didn't wake up again until 6. This made me happy.

Sunday I got enjoy some solo errand running - target, Joann's, game stop for Joe....so nothing crazy, but so nice to go by myself! And then yesterday we got the garden all planted - this year I planted corn, carrots, Brussel sprouts, red peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes, beans, peas, and my normal herbs (the strawberries are already growing). Needless to say...it was a busy few productive days, but nice all the same.

Long time no blogging

2010-05-17T18:12:00.000-07:00

So I feel like its been forever since I've blogged about anything. For awhile I was blogging on a daily basis via my cell phone and mobile blogging. Then I stopped because I felt like I had nothing to say, then I had too much to say. I sat there and lay awake in bed and composed blog posts but didn't. So here are is a brief summary of some of the blog posts I thought about writing:

- Our little one is eating - some nights better than others. She loves to feed herself. She only sometimes like eating from a spoon while I feed her. She got pork for the first time tonight. My mother in law made a pork roast in the crock pot and we broke it up into little pieces and let her feed herself. In summary - some of the food she eats nowadays (or at least has tried):apples, pears, bananas, avocados, sweet potatoes (her favorite), acorn squash, butternut squash, yellow squash, zucchini, peas, green beans, yogurt (yo baby brand), rice, oatmeal, puffs - most flavors, and new this week yogurt melts and pork. Soon to try chicken and turkey also.

- Little one is seven months old and rolling like crazy! She is starting to rock on all fours, but no crawling yet

- Happy Mother's Day to my mother and I enjoyed my first mother's day. I got to spend the weekend with my mom and and my came back home to my husband having made me a fabulous dinner!

- I went home to NY/CT for mother's day weekend. We went to the zoo for the first time and I got my fill of some of those foods that I love from home - Dominic's, Pepe's & Colony pizza,and lobster - it was only $4.99/pound in CT so we went a little overboard - I wish I had photographed that!

(at the zoo with cousins)

- We bought a "swagger wagon" (aka - a Toyota Sienna & I love it!)

- Little one slept through the night for the first time in a long time last night after some long horrible sleep nights after she got her first tooth last week. CIO and sleep training do work. Let's just home it wasn't a fluke and tonight is just as good!

-I got the opportunity to participate in a i-spy swap. I can't wait to get the fabrics and begin an i-spy quilt for my little one's first birthday

-I was featured as a guest blogger again on Baby-to-Go. This time to talk about strollers. Harm said she thinks I like my stroller more than my husband. Some weeks I get to spend more time with it than with him so it depends when you talk to me and what his work schedule is like :)

All of these could have been expanded into long posts, but for now...and until later. Goodnight :)

Sleep in Sundays

2010-05-02T18:17:00.000-07:00

So Joe and I a few weeks ago decided that Sundays would be the day that one of us would get to sleep in. We trade off Sundays and today was my Sunday. Poor hubby! My little one did not want to spend a morning away from mommy and with daddy only. He tried doing everything in his bag of tricks but she wanted none of it. By the time he brought her in to me, she was exhausted and so was he....both ready for a morning nap. Even though next Sunday is mother's day, he will get to sleep in again since I will be traveling home from my visit home to Connecticut. The following week my in laws will be here so we will both get to sleep in on Sunday. Who knows where we will be the Sunday after that. I may cash in and take my Sunday again...we will see where we are sleeping wise with the little one.

On a separate note, we went mini van shopping today. I can't decide between the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey. Anyone havoc any advice for me based on their experiences?

I love spring

2010-04-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

Spring brings green grass, baseball, warmer weather, and my favorite outfit-jeans and t shirts. Its just a happy time of year. I hope you can get out and enjoy the springtime too!

I got a blog award! Yipee!

2010-04-24T18:48:00.000-07:00

I got my first blog award! Harm over at Baby-to-go awarded me the... the Happy 101 award! So here goes....

So here are the rules of the Happy 101 Award:
1. Copy and paste the award on your blog.
2. List who gave the award to you and use a link to her blog (or hyperlink)
3. List 10 things that make you happy.
4. Pass the award on to other bloggers and visit their blog to let them know about the award.

Ten things that make me happy (in no particular order):
1. Sleeping - as a mom of a seven month old sleep is something that I never get enough of and never take for granted anymore. I also have a wonderful bed!
2. The Shower - The shower is just a great relaxer for me and its one of the few times that I get to be alone!
3. My family back east - My husband and I will have been married 5 years this July and we have owned four homes already. Our move here to Ohio was the farthest from home and its so hard to be away from them!
4. My playgroup - these women have been with me and by my side every week since baby K was just a few weeks old. We've watched our children get their first teeth, roll over for the first time, taste their first solid meals, sleep through the night the first time, etc, etc, etc. I don't know what I would do without these ladies.
5. Pizza from Connecticut - particularly Colony or Pepe's. Unless you've had them you just wouldn't understand
6. A good steak & a big glass of a rich red wine - need I say more!
7. A clean house - I'm a horrible housekeeper and thus I never have a clean house. The twice a month that the cleaning lady comes are just wonderful days to come home to!
8. Travelling - I love flying (even with a baby - she is really good on planes) and I love to go to new places or places that I don't get to get to enough
9. My baby - She is so smiley, even when tired you can get her to smile or giggle. She just lights up my world. I love being a mom, even more than I thought I would.
10. My husband - how could he not make this list. No one else in the world knows how to make me happy the way he does. He is my support, my sounding board, my teammate, my partner, and to sound extra cheesy - my everything. I love him more everyday.

Other blogs that make me Happy & deserve this award:
This Adventure, Our Life - this mom has great photos of her little one, her daughter is almost exactly the same age as our daughter and we recently decided that is our second child is a girl, we too will name her Bailey
All & Sundry - I've been reading/lurking around this blog for a few years now and I love how she keeps it real about motherhood and the craziness of kids
Pics & Kicks - I started reading this blog because I loved her photography and then she lost Gavin earlier in the year and I can't tear myself away from her words
and a new recent favorite - Home Sweet Home - food, kids, crafts, sewing....this is all up my alley!

Becoming a dad

2010-04-20T06:52:00.001-07:00

So for years my husband has been far from a morning person and a nigh owl to to the Nth degree. Well babies don't follow that same schedule. We start bedtime with a shower, a book, and 40 minutes of nursing usually around 7:15pm so bedtime is about 8 or 8:15. This means that she wakes up for feeding at about 5AM. Now my husband is wonderful and he gets up and gets her for these 5AM wake ups and brings her to me. Lately she hasn't been as quick to go back to sleep so has taken to singing in our bed after eating. This is where I say Joe is becoming a dad.

Instead of laying in bed and sleeping through her singing he has just decided that it's easier to get up to start his day. That means that today he called his boss at 6AM! I don't think he has ever done work at 6AM in his life. He admitted that he would rather do work now a days at 6AM then 6PM. We discussed this change last night and he said, "but I have never worked this way before." I responded with, " well you've never had a baby before. These are dad hours and you are becoming a dad in work as well. What a transformation!

Hand Me Downs

2010-04-18T13:45:00.000-07:00

So this morning after little baby K woke from her morning nap I noticed that after Joe had pulled up her drop rail, that one side had fallen down. Yes, we still had a drop rail crib. It was a hand me down from my sister. Both her kids had used it and two kids previous to them had used it so we used it. Well, back to the drop rail, when I went to pull the side that was fallen up, the rails separated from the top. Essentially the crib fell apart! Not a happy me. We tried to put it back together, it only did more damage and we realized that she would need a new crib because this one was not safe!

We had never even looked into buying cribs because we knew that my sister had been saving her crib for us for years so we had no idea how much cribs cost. A quick email to my trusty playgroup moms for advice led me to look at the Babies R Us, Buy Buy Baby and WalMart websites. One fried has an Amish made crib that I love, but when I talked to her, she said that it took 12 weeks for her crib to be made. I didn't have that kind of time. I needed one soon. I didn't need anything else to make sleep not good in our world.

Joe wasn't feeling well so I thought that he needed a nap and some time alone so off baby K and I went to Babies R Us. They had two different cribs in natural wood color well under my budget. I picked out the Graco Lauren convertible crib: took it home, disassembled the broken one and reassembled the one one just in time for her afternoon nap. Thank goodness it was a Sunday so Joe could entertain her while I worked with tools. I think all assembly required furniture people have learned from Ikea. Easy instructions and only an Alan wrench needed for assembly. That is my kind of furniture. Crisis averted!

Grandma taught her to use a spoon

2010-04-11T17:42:00.001-07:00

Message from emilykolson@aim.com:

So today Grandma taught my little one to use a spoon. This was her first time and she loved it!

Click on a video below to watch it:

Feeding herself

Length: 06:38

To learn more about the Flip Video, click here

Pure Digital Technologies, Inc., 30 Maiden Lane, 6th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94108

3.0.0.63575

Don't like the weather, wait until tomorrow

2010-04-09T07:06:00.000-07:00

That is the joke about Springtime here in Central Ohio. You never know what you are going to get. On Wednesday it was 82. Today it is 49 and we had to bundle up to take the dog out for his morning walk. I would say its annoying but this is my third Spring here and I guess I'm just used to it. It is tough on your wardrobe though. You have t take out your summer stuff but keep you winter stuff still close at hand. We'll live, that we are all glad that Joe will be home for the afternoon walk!

Guest Post - Baby-to-Go

2010-04-08T09:16:00.000-07:00

I was a featured guest blogger over at Baby-to-Go. Go over there, check out her blog and check out my post all about our trip to Hawaii and the gear we needed for that trip.

Goodnight Daddy

2010-04-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

So when Joe is away I used to take advantage and get take out, go to had early and watch all of my shows on Tivo. Not much is different now that I have a baby, I just have to find time for her bedtime and dinner. I'm glad playgroup will be at my house tomorrow and everything is all set except icong the cupcakes. Looking forward to a relaxing morning-just wish I didn't have to wait for the appliance repairman in the morning.

Loving life

2010-04-06T15:55:00.000-07:00

So Joe is not as worried as I am about keeping our daughter as clean as I do during meals. If it falls out f her mouth that is what the bib is for. Tonight I cooked and Joe fed....good thing a bath came shortly after. We did give her the spoon to play with and that brought some entertainment. She was good at dropping it and trying to figure out how to get t herself. It is fun to watch her problem solve such a task.
We are loving this weather. Eating outside. Sitting in short sleeves and no socks. Can't wait for summer to really be here!

My Awesome Present

2010-04-05T07:04:00.001-07:00

Let me take a minute from my normal baby blog posting to tell you about this awesome Easter present that Joe got me, actually he got himself one also so it should be he got us. He bought us both iPads! How cool is that?

I had mentioned after our trip to Hawaii that I might want a Kindle or a Nook at some point. He then said I'm surprised you don't want an iPad. Well it wasn't even on my radar. After watching the episode of Modern Family where he blows out his iPad birthday cake it intrigued me. We can't/don't have iPhones because we have Verizon and can't switch (long story, not worth posting about ever).

Saturday we watched the Today Show segment on the iPad and it got me even more interested. While out on Saturday we went to Easton where the Apple store is, not to get the iPad, mainly to do other stuff. I suggested we go to the Apple store and check them out, reluctantly Joe went with me. After waiting for a few 8 year old to stop playing games on them, we took our turn. We were both instantly in love. I knew Joe wanted to get one for himself and since he just got his bonus and had done well this year I convinced him to get himself one. Never did I thunk he would buy two!

So since Saturday we have been playing and downloading and transferring as much as we can. It certainly is fun. It won't replace my laptop because it can't do everything (like right now it won't send email) but it is a super fun toy for me! Thanks again Joe. I love it!

Here comes Peter Cottontail

2010-04-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

So we just went to the Easter Bunny. Happy Easter!

It's a sunshine day

2010-04-01T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yes we did go for a walk outside now. It isn't quite summer sun but it was calling our name. We just couldn't stay inside at all today. We got out and got some of those rays.
Happy spring

Happy St. Patrick's day

2010-03-31T19:22:00.000-07:00

A little late (mainly because I didn't love this photo) but it will do....

Thanks Lynn!

2010-03-31T19:12:00.000-07:00

Last night I went out for a girls night dinner with two girls I trained for the marathon with. It was great to be able to go out and leave munchers home with Joe and not have to worry about how she did. I know she did fine. It was also nice to hang out with my non mommy friends, although I do love them so! It was fun hearing about dating adventures and all that stuff I am so far removed from.

Lynn also gave baby girl a baby doll to play with...which she loved. Thanks Lynn!

Sitting on the front porch swing

2010-03-31T14:02:00.000-07:00

This afternoon we dropped the dog off to be bathed and groomed and we are enjoying the the sun and beautiful afternoon on the front porch swing!

Homemade baby food

2010-03-28T09:56:00.000-07:00

So last night I whipped up a bunch of food for munchers (that is the nickname that Joe has given her). It really wasn't that hard. I made sweet potatoes, butternut squash, and acorn squash. They all needed to be baked in the oven for an hour @ 350 so I just baked them all at once. I then pureed them individually and froze them in ice cube trays. This morning I dumped them into freezer bags and we are good to go on food for awhile.

She doesn't always love eating real food though. Yesterday she ate squash with her daddy and gave him a lip about it... But we carry on!

Six Months Old

2010-03-27T10:00:00.001-07:00

I can't believe that my little one is six months old already. She has had a lot of firsts already. She has had her first plane ride, plus two others. She has had her first solid foods - rice cereal, oatmeal, avocado and acorn squash. She has had her first night with someone besides mommy putting her to sleep - thanks Nana Hooke! She has rolled over many times - in fact, its like she won't stay on her back anymore. She has had her first visit to urgent care. I was worried she had an ear infection - but really she was cranky from poor sleeping and a slight cold.

There are many other things she has not done yet. She still can't really sit all by herself. She still has no teeth. She still is not crawling, cruising or any forward or backward movement of any kind yet - just rolling. She is still not sleeping through the night, although she is only eating once which is a big improvement.

She has met most of her cousins, my cousins and her daddy's cousins. She is keeping quite busy. We have started music classes weekly, signed up for weekly swimming classes, we have a weekly playgroup, a weekly stroller aerobics class and usually thrown in there is some meet up with either Ally & Hud or Sara & Jack or one of her other many friends.

She is loving her daddy and all the ways he makes her giggle - he is the best at it. All in all, six months is a good time. She is fun to be around, fairly independent and incredibly happy. All she does is smile - especially at new people and her smile is from ear to ear and warms my heart. Here is to another great second half of the year!

playgroup

2010-02-28T16:03:00.000-08:00

So today all the mommies, daddies, and babies of our playgroup got together. Here they are setted oldest to youngest. The oldest is 7 months and the youngest is 4.5 months. It was a fun afternoon.

Happy Valentine's Day with the ones I love

2010-02-14T21:36:00.000-08:00

Although my family is getting to Hawaii 48 hours later than planned, hubby and I made the most of our day alone with our little one.
We played in the grass, enjoyed a nice long afternoon nap, went for a walk, played in the pool and had a nice dinner of fresh fish and local beer. Hopefully the evening will be rounded off with a good nights sleep and a snuggle in the hot tub.
Now to enjoy the Olympics and snuggle on the couch.

Seven Weeks Old

2009-11-16T11:33:00.000-08:00

So this week was a very good week. I started with a few other women a new moms walking group. On Wed. we walked 6 and a half miles and on Friday we walked about 3 miles.

Friday night was a tough night for my husband. Kirsten just did not want anything to do with him. This was tough for him. Sunday though, the two of them danced and laughed all afternoon. He said it was one of the best days he's spent with her since she was born. This made me really happy and it made him even more happy.

Now for the fun part...some photos of her :)

Dancing with Daddy

Deep in thought...
Chilling in the rocker

Happy at seven weeks

Relaxing/almost sleeping in the jumper. Notice where her arm is....

....in the leg hole.

What a week

2009-11-07T11:19:00.000-08:00

So after our ordeal in the hospital this week, Joe then had a huge work visit (which went very well). This visit though left me home alone with the dog and the baby from Wednesday right after we got home from the hospital until Friday afternoon. This was tough for me because I felt like I have been holding my daughter (as much as I love to) nonstop from Sunday night until Friday afternoon. I really needed to have someone else hold her. Of course, since Joe has been home she has been great. She has smiled tons (see below pictures) and allowed someone else to hold her and allow both of us to put her down. She's had a great routine of eating, playing/awake time, and sleeping. Needless to say our week is ending much better than it started. Today we are getting ready for the 3:30 OSU v. PSU game (so much has changed since last year's game when Meg and Scott were here and we were a pitcher or two of Bloody Marys in at this time of the day). Its also much warmer this year than last. We took advantage of the pretty day by taking some family pictures. Enjoy:Six weeks has really gone by quick!

Bear hasn't thought its gone quick...here he is eating the six week sign
She is really starting to look like a real person And smiling!

I made her a hat for the cold days that we go for a walk outside in the baby wrap. She seemed to like it!

And now the family just watches the game.

On another note....I started gentian violet this week for my thrush....what an improvement. Now I realize nursing isn't supposed to hurt!

Our Hospital Stay

2009-11-04T17:37:00.000-08:00

So here is the whole story about what happened this week with us.

On Monday Kirsten was very fussy. She just was very irritable and not herself. I'd been worried about her stool for awhile and so I decided to take her temperature. I took her temp twice under her armpit and the temps were 99.7 and 99.9. I had Joe reading the directions for the thermometer and he said that it recommended a rectal temp so we did that and it read 102.2. I immediately freaked out and called our pediatrician who told us to go immediately to the Children's Hospital ER.

Just where you want to be - an ER during Flu season. So within 15-20 of our arrival they took us into Triage and took her temp and it was 99.7 - much better but because of our temp at home, they were still worried. The nurse explained to us that we were in for a long night. They would probably have to do a catheter so they could take a urine sample, a blood sample and spinal tap to check for meningitis. She said we might also be admitted for observation for a few days. They then put us into a private waiting room and told us to wait for a room to be available in the ER. This took at least 2 hours and seemed like forever. She was a trooper for the whole thing. Mind you I left the house with nothing - I left her diaper bag at home as well as her pacifier. Things I never normally leave without. What a mistake!

Once in the ER room, we waited for another 45 min at least to meet with the doctor. He again told us about the three procedures that they would do and what they would be testing for. The nurse first inserted the catheter and that was no problem. Then they called in a tech. and the nurse and the tech looked for good veins to run the IV with. They looked in each foot and each hand and found what appeared to be a good vein. The nurse poked and couldn't get the vein and tried some more. Then the tech tried another vein in that same hand and got enough blood for the tests but couldn't get a line in the for the IV. Then the doctors came in for the lumbar puncture.

The doctor started by saying that he gives parents a choice to be in the room or not. Well, for the other two procedures I got to be right there with my baby and soothe her cries. So of course I thought this would be the same. Well when I said I was staying, he said then you need to sit down. This is when I really started sobbing because it sounded like they were torturing her. She did not like the crouch position they were putting and holding her in. They did the first attempt - nothing, then the other doctor tried - nothing. At this point they told me, through my sobs that they would try one more time and then that would be it. I couldn't sit in the room and watch anymore. I needed to get out of that room. I was too worried that it was her spine we were dealing with! You mess up you can do permanent damage. I just couldn't watch anymore. So I paced the ER hall until the doctor told me that they were successfully able to do the puncture.

They then let me hold her again told me that they were indeed going to admit her. She had more abnormalities in her urine that may indicate a urinary tract infection. Once in our room in the infectious disease ward of the hospital the doctor told us that there was protein in the spinal fluid as well, but this may be because of the "traumatic puncture."

By the time they left us to go to sleep it was 2 or 3 in the morning. Around 9AM the doctors came to do rounds. They proceeded to talk in doctor speak to one another about what tests they were running and what they were testing for. I didn't really understand it all, but what I was hearing that all preliminary tests were negative....they just wanted to rule everything out.

They day was pretty uneventful. I wanted nursing students fumble over everything from blood pressure to heart rates. I was told she had a heart murmur that today I was told can no longer be heard. I saw many different nurses...all of which were extremely nice. The only thing that we were waiting on was for a stool - they needed to do a test. This didn't come until 1 AM. Ugh! Its like she knew we were waiting for it!

So this morning during rounds I yet again heard them say that all tests were negative and they thought we would be able to go home today and follow up with my pediatrician tomorrow. And that is exactly what happened. Now she lays upstairs, sleeping in her swing and Joe is off at a work event. All is back to normal and its like none of this happened. Except that it did and I will never forget it! I am just glad my little girl is OK. Thanks to everyone for their prayers and love.

Our little one sleeping in mommy's lap at the hospital with the IV in her right arm.

Trick or Treat

2009-10-31T19:37:00.000-07:00

Halloween in photos - and a few words!

It wasn't Halloween yet...we were just getting ready :)

Five weeks old and ready for bed

On our way out into the neighborhood to go Trick or treating

Mommy's little pea pod

Trick or Treat!

No body's home at our first house.

Oh good, Maria's home!

We borrowed the Thompson's pumpkin as a photo prop.

Daddy dressed as a football player

Our family self portrait

Time for a story before bed :) Thanks for the book Nana and grandpa Hooke

Back to Running

2009-10-30T12:02:00.000-07:00

So today I did something I haven't done in 10 or 11 months. I RAN...well actually it was more like a jog, but I got on the treadmill for 30 min. I was slow and only ran 2 miles but I did it and it was good. Now to just find the time to do this 3 times a week with a newborn. That will be tough :)

A mom date?

2009-10-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

So a mom from one of the groups I am in exchanged numbers with me today so we could get together to walk or something. Its kinda like mommy dating. I haven't dated in 8 years. Do I wait 3 days to call? Do I send a text? Not quite sure what the etiquette is on this one....

Its been a while

2009-10-28T19:01:00.000-07:00

So since my mom left a few weeks ago I was diagnosed with Thrush - which I still have three weeks later. Its like fire runs through my boobs and makes my nipples fairly tender. I feel like they will never heal. I hope this isn't my daughter and I passing it back and forth to one another. I think I might try this Gentian Violet stuff next week if my OB and her Ped. have nothing to say.

The Hooke's also came to visit for a week. Joe Sr. was great about taking care of Bear as he always is whenever he comes to visit. I wished he had felt more comfortable holding Kirsten. I know he wanted to based on his love for her, but he expressed to my husband that he was a bit afraid. I wish guys weren't so afraid. They aren't really that fragile as long as you you don't drop them :) Mary helped me with the household chores as well as cleaning up my garden. This was a huge favor. I hate the part of gardening that requires hard labor and she does such a great job of it. I really can't thank her enough for getting all that cleaned up and thrown out.

We've gone to Rudner's wedding and Kirsten got to meet her cousin's for the first time. They were beyond loving to her and it warmed my heart to see them with her. They couldn't stop touching her and loving her. It was so nice to see - especially Thomas. Boys always seem so afraid of babies and it was nice to see him not afraid what so ever.

Kirsten seems to be developing OK. She holds her head up great and this allows her to sit up a bit. She had some crazy poop today that was foamy. I don't just mean a little foamy - it was like it had been made in a restaurant by a designer chef foamy. Both her Ped. and the LC think it had to do with the fact that I ate broccoli with dinner last night. There goes that vegetable for a bit :)

Mentally I'm doing pretty good. I am amazed at how much we sleep and how well she is doing. We tried something new tonight which is at her typical 7pm fussy time - put her to bed (which I must note is still in her swing - but exclusively her swing). Which worked. We then had a peaceful dinner and after she woke up at 9:15 for her next feeding, she went right back to sleep and we are watching the game. If this can be a routine - that will make me very happy. Now to just transfer her from the swing to the crib - I think I might wait until after Thanksgiving or even Christmas. Swaddling though works like a charm.

On a totally different note - I have a new dessert love - Pumpkin pudding - YUMM-O! Getting ready for Halloween!

Thank You for Everything MOM!

2009-10-07T18:50:00.001-07:00

This afternoon I drove my mom to the airport and as I watched her walk into the terminal with tears in her eyes, I wished there was more that I could do or say to tell her how incredibly grateful I was for all that she did for me. On a hurt ankle she went up and down the stairs, carrying laundry, the baby, everything. She made my bed, changed my sheets, cooked me meals, did the dishes. Everything.

Not only did she work like crazy while she was here, she was also my emotional rock at all times. She held my hand, rubbed my back, gave me hugs, wiped my tears and supported me throughout all the struggles a new mom faces. I have now become a mom and I hope that over the next 30 years I can grow to become half the woman and the supportive mother that she is to me and my sister.

Mom, I can't tell you how much I love you and thank you for being here. I know I told you over and over, but it was so incredibly special to me that you were here. I can't express how grateful I am for all you did. I just hope for the birth of my next baby, that we won't have to worry about flights home and that you can just drive home :) Cross your fingers.

Love you, Em

Reflections on week one - warning - lots of info...more a spot for me to reflect than to share

2009-10-04T15:14:00.000-07:00

So we have had the baby home for exactly a week today. It was a really tough week for me but in the end, I think I am in a much better place because of the events. When I came home from the hospital my nipple were incredibly cracked and very sore. I felt like watching my daughter latch on, I was trying too hard and in the end I think I was passing on my stress. It hurt - EVERY time. I was told it shouldn't hurt, but it did. So I just let it hurt and figured that this too shall pass.

By Tuesday, I could tell my nipples were in worse shape. I had tried to call a LC, but their return calls were while I was at the pediatrician. I went to do an afternoon feeding and my nipple started bleeding into my daughters mouth. Watching my daughter have blood coming out of her mouth caused me to break down incredibly. I had to feed her so I switched her to the other side, but I was a mess. I tried to return the LC's phone calls in whatever way I could. I was finally instructed to pump for the night and come in to the office in the morning to figure out what my next steps were.

I was told I had the Grand Canyon of cracked and bleeding nipples. I was put on a hospital grade pump, told to feed my daughter using a paced feeding method using bottles and apply Jack Newman's nipple ointment after every pumping. I was also told to let my boob get some air drying and sun whenever possible.

Here I sit, Sunday evening and my nipples are as good as new. I am producing anywhere from 2-3 oz. at each pumping. My daughter is sleeping great and gaining weight. My husband seems to enjoy the fact that he can bond with her. I have 4 bottles stored in the freezer and three in the fridge and I am able to leave her at home and go run errands. Overall, things are going REALLY well! I certainly had the baby blues for a few days this week, but if anything this has been very helpful to that recovery. I think when I go back to nursing - hopefully gradually tomorrow - I will be more calm and relaxed, knowing I have alternatives.

I would love to be an exclusively breast feeding mommy, but if I have to be a pumping mommy that is OK too. I just want what is best for her and I know that the milk she receives from me is exactly what she needs. I can't wait to go back to that mommy, baby bonding time that comes with nursing, but then again, I get lots of that at night and during the day - like right now :)

... A funny side note story from this week, on Wednesday night, I pumped 2 full oz. and was incredibly proud. We read we could leave the bottle out for 4 hours and after around 3 I got nervous so I had my husband put it in the bag of ice next to me. In both of our extreme exhaustion, the bottle tipped over, losing over an ounce of milk. Once J noticed this he went into panic mode, thinking how am I going to tell her about this. He thought of a way to separate the milk from the water - to no avail. So he told me...instead of breaking down, I just said, OK...I gotta pump! While pumping he realized that the bottle was leaking and so I didn't have to make up for the 1 ounce that was lost but the entire 2 ounces since she really got only about a 1/4 of an ounce. I was glad I held it together and this probably was the turning point.

I am proud that I can type about the challenges of this week and not cry. That's a first. I guess I really just realized that as my parents always say - God only gives you what you can handle - obviously he believes in me quite a bit, because I think he gave me a lot this week. Most of all - he gave me someone I love so much and I treasure every second with her. I can't wait to watch her everyday as she continues to grow and change!

My attempt to make Christmas more green

2009-09-21T18:20:00.000-07:00

So after making the kids PJs last week, I had fabric left over and thought it would be cute to wrap the presents in the fabric. I thought that the wrapping needed to be useful, so I made them each a cinch sack backpack and put the PJs in those. I put a few other surprises in each bag. Christmas is awhile away...

PS - I don't make a good model for this, but you should have seen this little backpack try to fit on J's big shoulders. It was not good!

I can't make it for someone else...

2009-09-21T18:11:00.001-07:00

...and not make it for my little one. So here are some things that I have made her.

A taggie blanket:

A diaper/wipes case:

Some barrettes:

J likes the football one the best. I thought the colors were good. She can wear it with her OSU gear or her Giants gear. I have to make a green one also for her Jets gear!

Baby gifts

2009-09-21T18:04:00.000-07:00

For an upcoming baby shower, I made a series of gifts all with a cute non gender specific monkey fabric that I purchased early on in my preganancy. I love this little set. It includes a taggie blanket, a burp cloth, a diaper/wipes case, a pair of booties and a bib. Hopefully the new mommy will like it. Want me to make one for a little one that you know...just let me know. It was a fun set to make!

T-Shirt Quilt

2009-09-21T17:57:00.000-07:00

Here is the T-shirt quilt I made with my shirts from training/running for the marathon last year. I had been saving them in hopes that Ammi would make me a quilt, but in the end, I thought I could do one myself and I did. Hers would have looked a lot better, but I am proud of my first try at something this big!

The kids PJs for Christmas

2009-09-16T17:39:00.001-07:00

Another sewing project complete :)

Video tour of Nursery

2009-09-14T18:14:00.000-07:00

Here is a tour of the nursery...

Photo Tour of the Nursery

2009-09-14T17:41:00.000-07:00

Walking into the nursery. The tall dresser is on the left and my rocking chair that I got from my birthday... The crib with the monkey hooks hung from the tall dresser.

The crib and the small dresser. The afghan that Debbie, Mary and Beth made for me hung over the side.

The view of the entire room...

Its small space but we have everything we need in this small space. Now we just need our baby to live in this space. One more week until my due date :)

Keeping Busy

2009-09-14T17:20:00.000-07:00

So I found this tutorial about changing T-shirts to Newborn gowns and thought...we don't have any t-shirts left that we could do this with, but I thought they were incredibly cute. Then I thought about how we have no OSU gear for this baby and thought that the local Goodwill would have plenty of OSU shirts that would be perfect for this. So that is exactly what I did. I bought three OSU shirts and a Yankee shirt (because although we have some of those already, you can never have enough Yankee gear). After making the first four gowns, J thought they were so cute that he felt he had to give a shirt to my craft and thus the Goonies gown was made. Enjoy the pics and let me know if you want me to make one for a baby near you...just send me a shirt :)

Oh yea, and I made our little one her Christmas PJ pants. I don't know why the pattern made the pant legs so wide...They will look like a cute skort :)

Best of Columbus as decided by my husband

2009-08-23T20:34:00.000-07:00

So after reading This Week Community Newspapers annual top picks for Columbus here, J was very upset. He felt that these choice did not really reflect the best that Columbus had to offer so he decided that he wanted his voice to be heard. Here is what he thought were the best of Columbus' resturants by category (if no runner up is listed, its because J couldn't think of one):

BEST SUSHI: Akai Hana
Runner up: Haiku

BEST BARBECUE: City Barbeque
Runner up:

BEST FINE DINING: it was Roasendales/now G. Michael's
Runner up: Alana's/Deepwood

BEST CASUAL DINING: Press Grill
Runner up: The Rossi

BEST BREAKFAST: Cafe Corner
Runner up: DK Diner

BEST LUNCH: North Market
Runner up: King Ave. Five

BEST STEAK HOUSE: Hyde Park
Runner up: Mitchell's

BEST SEAFOOD: Ocean Club
Runner up: The Fish Guys

BEST NEW RESTAURANT: Dirty Franks
Runner up: Sage Bistro

BEST VEGETARIAN OFFERINGS: Northstar Cafe
Runner up:

BEST TAVERN: Bar Louie in Arena District
Runner up: Grandview Cafe

BEST PIZZA: Adriaticos
Runner up: Marcella's

BEST ITALIAN: Basi Italia
Runner up: Martini

BEST CHINESE: Happy Dragon
Runner up: Hunan Lion

BEST INDIAN: "The Indian Place in the North Market" AKA the only Indian J has had in Columbus
Runner up:

BEST MEXICAN: Cuco's
Runner up: La Michocana

BEST GREEK: Happy Greek
Runner up: Easy Street Cafe

BEST DINER: Starliner Diner
Runner up: Cap City/Tommy's

BEST BAGELS: Block's
Runner up: Tasi when they order from H & H bagel in NY

BEST SALADS: Betty's
Runner up: Northstar

BEST SUBS (SANDWICHES): Barry's in the North Market
Runner up: Katzingers

BEST DESSERTS: Cuco's

runner up: Cafe Corner's breakfast burrito

BEST SOUPS: Old Mohawk
Runner up: Claddah

BEST BURGERS: Thurman Cafe
Runner up: Gahanna Grill

BEST ICE CREAM PARLOR: Jeni's
Runner up: Handels

BEST COFFEE HOUSE: Stauf's
Runner up: Cup o Joe

BEST PATIO: Park Street Patio
Runner up: Basi Italia

BEST HOT DOGS: Dirty Franks
Runner up: Wholly Joe's

BEST WINGS: Rooster's

Runner up: Mac's

Finally what we were looking for

2009-07-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

After a drive that took quite awhile, we made it to Oia and had a chance to stroll the streets and shops and we are now sitting and watching the sunset. This is the town we were expecting in greece.

By the pool

2009-07-23T03:48:00.000-07:00

I took some time to run back to our hotel to cool off by the pool. The pool was cold but it felt really nice!

Perissa beach

2009-07-23T02:21:00.000-07:00

Here I am sitting on the black sand beaches of Perissa Beach, Santorini, Greece. Not a bad way to start the day and week 31 of pregnancy. Today we will tool around the island and take more photos...

Athens in a day...check

2009-07-21T22:02:00.000-07:00

Right now we are on a ferry to Santorini but yesterday we used our time to see Athens.
We hit the ground running by going straight to the Acropolis. Its up on a hill and there is no easy way up but your two feet. The joke was that I found every water fountain along the path and didn't miss any toilets either. Despite some of the scaffolding it was beautiful. We took tons of pictures and were true tourists.
From there we went to the new Acropolis museum which is built above an excavation site and has plexiglass floors so you can see below you. It was quite interesting to see the plans for the reconstruction of the parathonon (I apologize if I spelled that wrong).
We then went to the Temple of Zeus which has only a few columns remaining and then through the Plaka neighborhood - the oldest neighborhood in Athens.
Our plan was to go around the backside of the Acropolis to the Agora. Much of this area is in runs but there were few buildings that have either been reconstructed or preserved in a way. We got to Agora at 730 and reminded repeatedly that it closed at 8. It was some fast sightseeing since it was a large area.
We finished off the evening by a walk along the Grand Promenade and watched the Acropolis change many colors as the sun set. As darkness set in we traveled the two metro stops back to our hotel.
For me it was a night of sleep that was much like many I think Ill experience once the baby comes. I was able to fall asleep but for some reason I woke up and spent the next few hours lying there awake. I finally fell asleep again at about 4 only to have our 5AM wake up call remind me it was time to get ready for our next adventure. Santorini hopes to be more low key and more enjoying the environment...not trying to get everything in like we did Athens.
Based on our tour books the only thing we didn't see that I wanted to was the changing of the guard. We kept missing it by 10 min. There were a lot of streets known for shopping and same markets we didn't go to but neither of us came to Greece to shop.
Because we got all of Athens done in a day we will be trying foe the Saturday flight home not Sunday since that one looks like we both have a better shot of making it. Pictures of Athens to be added later. Now a 5 hour boat ride and hopes of a nap.
Love and kisses to all we miss....E

We made it

2009-07-21T04:50:00.000-07:00

After a three hour delay...me forgetting my phoneon the plane they deboarded us from, neither of us sleeping great although we both liked the movies we saw (Cristina watched He's just not that into you and I saw Grand tourino), then Cristina forgetting her GRE book on the plane, an hour long bus ride from the airport, and then she almost left her purse on the bus...we finally made it to our hotel. Its European nice, not great. The AC only has an on/off switch, no temp adjustment and Athens is HOT. Good thing we bought our ferry tickets. We leave at 715 AM for Santorini so today we need to get into the city and get some sightseeing done!

On the plane :)

2009-07-20T12:36:00.000-07:00

We are on the plane and flying the only way Cristina will travel to Europe...Business Class. I could get used to this. Blackie will be more comfortable this way too!

Off to Greece

2009-07-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

30 weeks and 6 days pregnant and today I leave for Greece with my friend Cristina. Can't wait to share pictures and daily events.

Adrian's future wife will be born in September

2009-05-07T17:45:00.001-07:00

So today we learned we are having a girl. There are pictures and information about those pictures over at the blog dedicated to this baby. Overall today was a great day. I just want to enjoy this a little bit longer today :) Work tomorrow...ugh!

Busy Nesting

2009-05-04T19:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend I bought a sewing machine and was busy with these beauties:

Is this what they call nesting?

$161 Million

2009-04-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

Ok, so I know that I haven't posted in forever. I didn't have much to write about and when I did have something to write I didn't have the time. So here is my return post...

Today is opening day for the Yankees. They are playing against the not so great Orioles. They have a lot to live up to the cross-town rivals - the Mets having won their first game already. So how does the game start...So far the Yankees are down 6-1. How did the Orioles get 6 runs already? I was asking myself that same question considering that on the mound is our newest ace - CC Sabathia. This is a man that the Yankees have signed a $161 million contract.

I am not going to explain how each run scored, just that the sixth run was walked in to a left hand hitter. This is not July when Sabathia is tired and overworked, or the ninth when he has been in forever. It is the fifth inning. He should be fresh and on top of things. Not walking in runs on the first game of the year.

Needless to say, Joe Girardi finally pulled him and on the very next batter the Yankees got a double play to end the inning. That is the Yankees I know.

Then, the Yankees I know are starting to show who they really are - Posada leads off the top of the sixth with a home run and the next batter walks and the third batter of the inning hits an RBI double.

I am excited that baseball has started and am looking forward to see the Yankees living up to what they can be. Sabathia especially needs to come out a bit stronger and they need to come together like the teams of the late 90s. The season will carry me through my pregnancy and that will be exciting for me to experience.

Sad News in the Short North

2009-03-10T12:32:00.000-07:00

So a friend just emailed me this article. It means an end of one of my favorite smells while walking the dog in the afternoon...the smell of the Wonder Bread factory baking. This is a smell I have loved since the first day I moved to C-Bus and I especially love it at this time of year as the weather gets nicer and we spend more time outside. I am glad that it will be around through April so that my mom & sister might be able to enjoy it as well.

So long bread factory. You will be missed :(

Bear seems to like lollipops

2008-12-07T10:03:00.000-08:00

So for one of our Christmas cookies we are making involves melting hard candy into stained glass window. The only way to get these candies in the right colors was to buy a bag of holiday lollipops. Well J decided he wanted a lollipop, apparently so did Bear:

What makes a Christmas cookie a Christmas cookie?

2008-12-05T19:08:00.000-08:00

So J and I have been together 7 years this weekend. The actual date was Dec. 7th, but we met on a Friday so we started to reminisce tonight. One of the things that we brought up about that first night was that I invited J back to my parents and one of the things we had there was Christmas cookies. Once at my house, J was disappointed because he saw that the majority of the cookies in the box were the peanut butter cookies with the Hershey kiss.

I did not know until tonight that he does not consider these cookies. I guess there was a friend of his growing up whose mom made these cookies all the time and thus he does not associate them with Christmas cookies.

So we got into the discussion of what then constitutes a Christmas cookie. He says that any butter cookie cut out or shaped like something Christmasy is a Christmas cookie. He also says that something labor intensive that is only found at Christmas time like my mom's sandbakles are Christmas cookies, but not things like the peanut butter cookies with the Hershey kiss, or his mom's pignoli cookies or rainbow cookies. His argument is that it doesn't matter if they are made at Christmas, or the majority of the time that you see them, it is the Christmas season, they have to be "Christmas Cookies" to be a Christmas cookie - weak argument in my opinion.

So what do you think signifies a cookie as a Christmas cookie? What cookies are there that if you saw them at another time of year would you feel was out of place? Do you think the peanut butter cookie with the Hershey kiss is a Christmas cookie by your definition? Our waitress at the bar tonight couldn't make a clear definition of what she felt a Christmas cookie was, but she did feel that the peanut butter cookie was a Christmas cookie. The chocolate chip cookie and the oatmeal cookie - definitely not! What do you think?

Question: Where do you get a Christmas Tree in the Middle of the City?

2008-12-02T16:55:00.000-08:00

Answer: The back patio of one of your local restaurants

I know, it was bizarre to me as well. J and I went to dinner tonight (Basi Italia) since I wasn't in the mood to cook, we hadn't eat out in awhile, and J's mom gave us a gift certificate back in July that we had been saving until Basi was serving their winter menu because we both agree it is much better. As we were about to go in I saw a sign about Christmas trees and smelled a fire burning. I walked toward their back patio, a place that in the summer is great for drinks and makes you feel like you are in your friend's back yard and their were Christmas trees, just like you'd see at the hardware store parking lot. I had just been telling my dad that I wasn't sure where we were going to get our Christmas tree this year and if we were going to cut one down. I stated that I hadn't seen any for sale and didn't even know the alternative to not cutting one down. Then there was the alternative - your one stop shop, dinner and a tree. Needless to say, we didn't buy a tree.

We aren't even sure if we are getting a tree this year. There are only 2 weekends before we go home for Christmas - this weekend in which we buy/decorate the tree and the week after to enjoy the tree. Part of me feels very attached to getting a tree. Since we have been together we only didn't get a tree once (that was the year we got engaged) and it was harder to get into the Christmas spirit. Another year we go it, put lights on it and never decorated it. Another letdown. It would be different if all our Christmas stuff wasn't over in storage and it didn't recall having to go through a process to get it or if we weren't going home for over 2 weeks and we could enjoy it. Part of me wants to save the hassle/money/time etc, but I hate the lack of Christmas. Plus, I love hanging stockings by the fireplace. I even bought special hooks this year. Maybe I will take the time to do Christmas cards instead - or maybe not?

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J wore one of his new blazers tonight. He actually wore it out of laziness. He was just wearing jeans and a sweater but thought he should dress up more for dinner. He added a blazer a walla - more dressed up. Actually he looked very cute and dressed up. I was impressed. He looked like a grown up!

Hocking Hills revisited

2008-11-16T12:05:00.000-08:00

So this weekend J and I returned to the Hocking Hills area of Ohio. This trip, the weather was much colder and we went for the weekend and not just the day. We also left the dog at home. Good idea! We stayed in the MacBeth croft at Glenlaurel. It was a beautiful place to stay with great food and welcoming staff. We would recommend it to anyone looking for a romantic weekend away. It was nice that we were able to get it all there - dinner, breakfast, massages, etc. It was nice not to have to worry about finding dinner or anything like that. Very nice.

Another great part of our weekend, and the primary reason we wanted to go back to Hocking Hills was the Hocking Hills Canopy ToursThey were more fun than we expected. Our guides Ben and Troy were fun. I even temped to go without hands, eyes closed and spinning around. This is all big for me who can sometimes be a bit of a "fraidy" as J likes to call me. Needless to say, we will be making another trip back in the spring when they reopen for next season. Its only an hour from our house, so yet another excuse for anyone who wants to visit us in sunny, funny Ohio! Enjoy for pictures from our fun:

The Benefits of TNT

2008-11-06T09:17:00.000-08:00

So when I joined Team in Training, I joined because of a person and a cause. I felt it was my way of doing something. I also thought, hey this is the only way I will ever get through a marathon and I'd really like to be able to do it sometime. What I never thought I'd get out of those four months is people. I guess I never went to the info. sessions and heard the stories. I saw pictures on the website, but I figured those were people who went into it together and were celebrating where they were on the other end. I never thought that they might not have been together from the beginning.

I remember my first run, that first Sunday morning at the McConnell Heart Health Center (MHHC), standing near a few people who appeared to be near my age as they talked about how in a few months these practices will take us all day and how they (like me) have no idea how they will be able to run 8 miles, let alone 26.2. They also said they weren't sure if they would run the full or the half (they ran the full). I thought, OK, I've got a lot in common with these people.

Then they ran. I was no where near their league. I found myself closer in speed to the fat old men or the little old ladies or the walkers for that matter. By the time I got back to the MHHC those people who in the beginning of the morning I thought I might have something in common with had already gotten in their cars and headed home. When was I supposed to bond with them?

Honestly, I have no idea when I did. Kevin and I started to talk at a golf outing. We had breakfast together another time with Brittini and J. We met up at a bar during an OSU game. We talked before practice. But I can't really tell you that there was anything significant or any one time that made it so these people are ones that I care about and treasure.

All I know was that sitting there, drinking a beer or two on Tuesday night with Brittini, Lynn and Kevin (those same people that I stood near that first day at MHHC)...I realized that TNT gives you more than the confidence to finish a marathon. It gives you what you put into it. It gave me people who I care about, people who I think about, people who I pray for, people who I can call and have a beer with, cry with, or hang out with.

I wouldn't have finished a marathon without Team in Training, heck I probably wouldn't have even started one, but I also wouldn't have some special people in my life that mean more to me than the 26.2 miles that I ran.

Halloween - or lack thereof

2008-11-03T06:28:00.000-08:00

I love Halloween. We've had some great parties (now is normally when I would insert some pictures, but my computer is still in limbo) and I love to see all the creative costumes of kids and adults. This year though was such a letdown. Halloween was on a Friday. You'd expect we would have done something. Instead I ran a 5k (finished in 30:17 - very proud of myself) and we had burgers at a very crowded bar. No trick-or-treaters. No candy. No costumes. No pictures. No parties. Nothing. We saw some costumes while walking around in the hood and I've looked through plenty of Facebook albums, but its just not the same.

Maybe next year we will have a reason to dress up...maybe!

Back in the sadle...

2008-10-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

So I am running my first post marathon race tomorrow night. I hadn't signed up for it but I asked a few TNT running friends if they were interested and since they agreed I will be running the Fright Nite 5k in Gahanna tomorrow night. It will be good for me to keep up my running. I would like to do it in under 35 min. I think I can increase my speed knowing that I am only running 3 miles. I know, kinda sick that I am saying only 3 miles.

J is on the phone right now with a friend talking about our plans for tomorrow and how I will be running a 5K and then we will be going out. After my first 5K I thought I needed a big carb loading breakfast and that I'd just completed the race to end all races. Here I am about to do another one and thinking to myself - this is nothing. I will barely break a sweat. It will be fun to reminisce with Brian, Kevin and Nikki about our first 5K together. I had no idea who Kevin was, Nikki flew past us, Brian couldn't run more than 2 miles and I had to go back and walk him in after I finished. In the end Brian beat both Nikki and myself in the marathon. Its amazing how far we've all come as runners.

My mom even pulled the I told you so with me tonight. I told her that I ran yesterday and that I would run in a race tomorrow and the first thing she said was "I knew it. I knew you weren't done with running." I never said I was going to be done with running. It was just marathons that I feel that I am done with. I can't imagine running another one of those. But after a baby, I may have new goals for myself. I keep thinking triathlon.... That is post baby though (knock on wood).
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Tomorrow we have a department meeting. Our first since I've been there. I have become the go to person to help people with many things. I even designed what I think will be the LOGO for the new cafe that opens next month. Me - designing a logo for an actual establishment? You've got to be kidding me! It only took like 5 minutes. No big deal. I will send pictures when It gets made and actually used :)

Getting back into things

2008-10-29T17:04:00.000-07:00

So I ran on the treadmill (it was too cold to run outside) for the first time since the marathon. I actually used an incline (which I never did while training). It was only a 1, but at least it was something and I kept my pace at a 5.5 (which is a 10:54 mile). I only ran for 3.2 miles (to ensure that I could do a 5K if I wanted since that is what started this whole crazy running idea). It felt good. I am still amazed at myself that I am that person who runs on a treadmill for a workout. I just have to get back into something. I am thinking about doing a 5K on Friday night. I'd really like J to do it with me, and we could just walk it. We could bring the dog, it would be a fun, different thing to do on Halloween. I just don't want to loose this stamina and ability to run 3 miles without feeling like it was torture. I have come so far since March and I'd like to keep it up.

BTW - is anyone else shocked that its Nov. on Saturday?

Looking for some time off

2008-10-28T06:11:00.000-07:00

So since the marathon, all I've wanted is some time to relax. Obviously, a week and a half later I am still looking for that time. After my family left on Monday, we had 2 days to turn the house around and guests returned on Thursday. We had people in town for an awesome weekend (another post later) until I dropped them off at the airport at 5AM yesterday. Then last night I had to run to Target, then to a fundraiser and home around 8. Tonight I just want to do nothing at home. Make a simple, yummy dinner, and just hang out. I guess we will watch baseball since the game was delayed from last night, but at least I can relax. Now just trying to get out of a fundraiser I am supposed to go to tomorrow.

BTW - still no laptop (you get what you pay for in terms of service) so that is why there are still no photos.

Post Marathon News

2008-10-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

So I finished! My actual chip time was 5:43 (very proud of myself for my first marathon). I was hoping for 5:30, but in all actuality, based on my half marathon and 20 mile results, that was right on target. I was doing great (under a 12:00 pace) for the first 13 miles, but it was just a long hard road up past campus and I lost a lot of time in the second half. All of my body parts are intact. No need to go to an orthopedist or a chiropractor (I think). So those are things I can be proud of.

Another other goal of mine that were met was that I beat Heidi at Life in Pink (I did not post a link to her blog b/c I don't really want her to know that was one of my goals). I read her blog and usually enjoy it, but one time when relating some info. to her about running in Connecticut she was snotty with me about my advice so it became a secret goal of mine to beat her and I did by ten minutes so that was a little inner battle that I won. I never posted that goal, in case I didn't beat her-no one would know I had failed, but I had told a few friends.

As for running another marathon - no, I don't think I am doing another one. Its not that fun to have your body ache in those ways. I am glad to say I've done it and I will miss the schedule and the camaraderie that comes with the training group, but I really think I am just done. I would like to run 5Ks and such and maybe work to improve those times, but I will let that be a spring/summer thing. Its just to cold and it gets dark to early to continue this schedule and training. I will consider a sprint distance triathlon though. Now I just need to get in a pool and start swimming again.

On another note about the weekend, the night before the event I went to a Team in Training pasta party that helped to put things into perspective. Life isn't about things, its better to give than receive and its so important to share what you have with others. My family surprised me by coming to the event. They all put up a fight in different ways to make the weekend special for us as a family and to ensure that they were there for me. It made such a difference and I am so thankful for every mile that my mom and sister were there screaming their heads off for me. Their voices gave me the extra strength to get me to the finish.

Again, thank you to all those that supported me. I love you all! Pictures will follow in a few days - FYI my laptop is in the process of being fixed so I that is why my posts are infrequent.

Tomorrow I Run

2008-10-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the actual marathon. All my training is over. Tomorrow my body just takes over and does what it is supposed to do. Last night I put the names of those I am celebrating and remembering on my jersey. I celebrate - DANA MAZZARELLA, TYLER ALFRIEND and TALAT BUKARI that they are fighting to win everyday and that their win continues each day. I have more that I am remembering though. I will run in honor of their fight and their stuggle and most of all their memory to me and those that love and miss them each day - CATHY GREY, TOM KERLEY, JON WARDRIP, LOLA, AARON & LYNN GIOACCINNI.

While I am running I will be reminded that this isn't hard - fighting cancer - thats hard!

One week away

2008-10-12T11:22:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that one week from today I will have (should have) completed my first marathon. Thats only seven days away. So one of the more important things to a runner, the thing that they have no control over is the weather. According to weather.com, Sunday's weather here is Columbus is supposed to be:

Sunny
High65°F
Precip0%
Wind:
NE 7 mph
Max. Humidity:
60%
Sunrise:
7:47 AM ET

I can live with that! I will be starting to run before sunrise - the race starts at 7:30 AM.

Now I just need to get to bed early this week, drink lots of water and be sure not to hurt myself!

Oh, how I love to see those signs

2008-10-10T05:37:00.000-07:00

Not one, but two different gas stations that I have driven by in the last 24 hours have gas prices at $2.99/gallon. Do you realize how happy this makes me? I am not totally sure why as I don't have to buy gas all that often and J's company pays for his gas. Its just that $4.00/gallon hurt and $2.99 feels better. I'll try to take a picture of it for you in NY because I am sure you don't believe it.

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BTW - I got my TNT jersey last night for the big race. I ca't believe its almost a week away! Let me know if you want me to add a heros name onto the back.

Happy Birthday To YOU!

2008-10-08T18:44:00.000-07:00

I just want to wish a very happy birthday to my husband. I love you hun!

Things you only see on a college campus and the weird thing about Yoga

2008-10-08T06:30:00.000-07:00

Things you only see on a college campus: While running through the OSU campus yesterday (the first time since the students came back) I got to see some people do things that you only see on campus...a group of guys all running together, with their backpacks, clearing pledging a fraternity, with their token foreign exchange student in the back of the pack...and a group of people have leap frog races up the sidewalk while someone video tapes the fun. It makes me smile while I run.

The weird thing about Yoga: Downward dog is a resting pose - WTF. There is nothing relaxing or resting in that pose. It is hard work! More about Yoga later...

Its Been Awhile

2008-10-07T06:46:00.000-07:00

So I'd like to say that I have a good reason for not posting in over a week. I could come up with a few:

work got busy
in-laws came to town
had to clean house (see excuse above)
running 20 & 14 mile weekends and 8 mile weekdays
volunteering with JL
starting Yoga class
new season of TV

But really I was just lazy. I kind of forgot. While I run I come up with some great posts. They just don't usually translate into much once I am back at home. I am in a weird state right now though. I am trying to figure out what to do with myself fitness-wise once the marathon is over (only 11 days!). I even found myself looking up beginner sprint distance triathlon training programs this morning. It would be a good thing to do in the winter - an excuse to join the gym even. The training plan called for 5 days a week. I don't know if I am that dedicated. If we had a stationary bike, then I could do the run/cycle portion at home in front of the TV and only have to go to the gym for the swim part. That could work for me this winter. Now I have to see if there are any sprint triathlons in the area? Any at home so my family can actually see me race for once? Are triathlons as forgiving to slowpokes like myself as marathons are? hmmmm

This is why I haven't written in awhile. Thoughts just come out and are a messy flood. Too many questions, not enough time to sort out all the answers. What I need is just some time off to recoup, and then I will sign up for my next race.....:)

I Keep Telling You I Need to Move Home

2008-09-25T18:25:00.000-07:00

The result of my blogthings quiz asking what state I should live in:

You Should Live in Connecticut

If you don't want to live in Connecticut, you might also consider:

New York

North Carolina

California

Delaware

Maryland

What State Should You Live In?

The Autumn Test - The Results Were Pretty Acurate

2008-09-21T15:03:00.000-07:00

Your Autumn Test Results

You are a dynamic, vibrant person. You aren't afraid to pursue your passions.

When you are happiest, you are calm. You appreciate tradition and family. You enjoy feeling cozy.

You tend to be afraid of change. You are never ready for things to be different.

You find hard work to be the most comforting thing in the world. You like the feeling of accomplishing something.

Your ideal day is active and full. You like to keep busy with your favorite things, and you appreciate a routine.

You tend to live in the moment. You enjoy whatever is going on, and you don't obsess over the past or future.

The Autumn Test

The Pros and Cons of a Running Partner

2008-09-21T13:08:00.000-07:00

So I have been running three times a week for 4 months now and so days I run by myself and some days I run along side some one else. For me, my personal preference is to run as part of a group but alone. Here are the pros and cons of this relationship for me:

Pros:

Someone to talk to
Someone to pace yourself with
Someone to complain about "why are you running, how much running sucks and how damn hot it is" (sorry for the language, but those are the things we say)
A great way to learn about someone (for some reason you share a lot intimate info while running)
A feeling of safety (you don't worry about that noise in the woods or the creepy guy walking the other direction when someone else is with you)

Cons:

You feel obligated to keep pace (no matter what your strength, pain, comfort level is that day, you feel obligated to keep up)
You feel obligated to slow down (our partner needs to walk, stop for water, use the port-a-potty, etc you feel like you should wait for them

Now although the pros far outweigh the cons, the two cons are so big. For example, last weekend (and I know it was really hot) I ran with a partner. Some who I've run with before and always enjoy running with. Well, last week neither of us were motivated to run, so we both walked more than we should and finished 18 miles in 4 hours (today I did 16 in 3:17 - much more realistic). Today though, he decided to run solo (fine with me). He started out way faster than I feel comfortable with (I usually start out very slow as to sustain my energy) an of course by mile 12 or 13 he was walking. He finished at least 15-20 min after me (I had already completed my stretches).

But there were many times today that if someone had said to me, lets walk I would have. Instead I ran all 16 miles without stopping for water, the bathroom, the water stops (I bring it with me) or the need to walk. I sure had a desire, but I knew that I could make it all 16 miles and that it was all in my head to get over the mental hurdle and run the whole thing. In the end, I am very glad that I did and proud of yet another run under my belt! Next Sunday is the long 20 mile race - the peak of my training schedule. I'll have to admit, I am a bit scared and nervous for next week. Lets just hope for cool temps and cloudy skies!

Returns

2008-09-19T13:18:00.000-07:00

There have been many great things that have returned or will return in the past/future 24 hours. My power returned, my good mood returned, Bear's energy (not always such a good thing) returned, my husband will return home from his business trip in less and 45 min and my bff will again make a trip from CT, via Cleveland to spend just a few short hours with me.

This time we will not just be having lunch, going to target and watching the boys play video games. We will be heading up to the OSU v. Troy football game. This is not really a return though, since neither J or I have ever actually been to an OSU football game in the year we've lived here in CBUS.

I hope that there will be a return of a clean house, a day where I can sleep in and cool weather all also in my near future - some things in life I have more control of than others.

Enough Already

2008-09-17T06:03:00.000-07:00

So today was the day that I got fed up. I am tired of doing this alone. I am tired of hauling my stuff back and forth and being in someone's way. I am tired of walking around in the morning with a flashlight, picking out my clothes, feeding the dog, finding shoes. I am tired of buying my coffee and my breakfast. I am tired of not being able to just relax about it. I just want to come home, sit on the couch and not do anything but watch tv or play on the computer or put a DVD in. I am just plain sick of this power outage.

I am sure my frustration is also because for the third week in a row, J is on a business trip. He was absolutely miserable while he was home for the past three weeks, because he didn't want to leave and I used all my will power to keep him happy and amused. Thus he drained a lot of the energy from me. Now that he is away he is having a great time, fully scheduled and not able to talk except for the few minutes before dinner, or while getting dressed or while I am tired to say goodnight. That leaves me to do everything from taking care of the dog, to cleaning the house to rescheduling my life. Today I just broke down about it. I cried. I got it out! I could never make it as a single mom, even to just my dog. I give credit out there to all those who do it. I just am not that tough.

And I just found out that I will not have power until Saturday! UGH!! I hate AEP Ohio! They originally tell me Wed. by 8 pm, now its sometime on Saturday! I have most certainly had enough already.

Still Without Power

2008-09-16T13:59:00.001-07:00

So there is still no power at my house - 48 hours after the storm blew through. I should not complain as there are 400,000+ other central Ohioans also without power. I am also very grateful that I have an incredibly generous network of friends here in Ohio that have offered use of their freezers, bed, showers, laundry machines, etc for me to share. I couldn't be more thankful of this extended family that I have formed here in the last year. It is during times like this that you learn who these people are and how special they are in your lives.

Tonight I will be sleeping at home but eating some things from the freezer and cooking at a friend's house. Hopefully tomorrow I will be fully functioning back in my own home. My husband though will not be happy with the fact that my house is still a mess - sorry no lights to see what I am cleaning and no power to work the vacuum!

So much to blog about - so little power

2008-09-15T06:12:00.000-07:00

This blog was previously titled - Ohio Fall = Horrible humidity

So let me wrap up a few things. We have no power. M phone (at my house doesn't work), my Internet is obviously down and J is of course AWAY! I also have a new found day off because my office has no power either and thus I get to spend the morning here at Panera, drinking loads of coffee, charging my phone and my laptop and checking my email till my heart's content. All this extra makes for a very happy me!

A very unhappy me this weekend was the me that ran 18 miles on Saturday. The humidity was so gross and the temperature so hot that I was miserable. I wasn't able to run as I had hoped to. I had to walk more than I wanted to and my time (all four hours of it) was more than I wanted it to be. Saturday was far from ideal running conditions. To make matters worse, I tried to run in at 6:30 but had to wait until 8 because of the thunderstorms.

Saturday evening was entertaining but not surprising in that the OSU Buckeyes got clobbered by the USC Trojans. Only true die-hard Buckeye fans did not except this to come. Those without Buckeye blinders on knew that we were going to lose and lose big.

I just look forward to this coming weekend when Marci comes back to visit and this time we get to go into the shoe and see an actual game inside the stadium. She is the only one of the three of us who won't be wearing an OSU shirt, but she said she will search around this week for some scarlet and grey to wear. I BTW picked up a Pryor jersey this weekend and will be excited to support the future of the Buckeyes.

So, for the rest of the day, I will be sitting at home, enjoying my book and maybe picking up some extra D cell batteries for the other flashlight in my house. Hopefully AEP will repair the wire that is hanging down across our street and I won't have to throw out the contents of my refrigerator. Cross your fingers with me!

You gotta love an ice bath

2008-09-07T12:45:00.001-07:00

So first off, I apologize that I haven't updated all week. I started a new job and don't know what to write about. I don't want to write about all the funny personalities at work and thus I really had nothing to blog about, especially since J was away and I didn't cook.

So today I ran 16 miles. Yes, I ran all 16 miles, including the footbridge that I hate. I made a brief stop around mile 12 to refill my water, but in all, I ran for just over 3 hours and covered 16 miles of ground. Only 10 more to complete the marathon. Good thing its over a month away. Next week I run 18 miles - ugh! The ease of my running was aided by the beautiful, cool morning with little sun, and even a bit of rain. The last four miles were aided by the thoughts of an ice bath.

I came home (after breakfast) filled the tub and dumped in the ice from our ice maker and then J brought home a bag of ice from the grocery store. It was painfully cold, but oh so nice. It kept me pain free, until about now, when I am starting the feel the pain after sitting for awhile and then getting up to climb the stairs.

On a more personal note, the laundry is happily running in the next room, the recycling has been taken to the park, dinner is complete and ready to eat whenever we want and I can happily enjoy my beer and my sports on TV - too bad Time Warner Central Ohio is not showing Bret Farve in his new uniform and the rest of the Jets. I can just watch it online.

My GRAS comes to an end...

2008-09-01T16:51:00.000-07:00

So Labor day always ends my ...gras. It's a family thing. J definitely tried to make up for forgetting my birthday last year. Friday nigh we had my favorite dinner - steak, baked potato, and creamed spinach (although I made the spinach) and of course - birthday cake! Which J made by himself! Very impressed. His first time since we've been together. I was very proud of him.

Saturday I ran 8 miles and then we drank with our neighbors and went to Little Bar with them. Where I saw some running friends and had fun. We then went to Bodega with other friends and home to nap. J left to "walk the dog" but I found him asleep on the couch when I got home 15 minutes later, dog not walked. We stayed in the rest of the night - a good call.

Sunday we had a great brunch at Sage and then did some shopping for our dinner at Weilands. Dinner was cheese and wine at Schiller Park for a play in the park. We saw Cyrano and J said, "I am surprised by how many people are here. I thought it would be us and like 7 other people." Clearly he didn't think other people liked culture or that the plays in the park have been going on for 27 years and thus it must be well attended. He also commented on how the average age of the audience was close to our age and not our parents and that led to the comment - "We must be getting old." You man are old, me I am still in my 20's! Young and youthful.

Finally, today we went to the annual Greek Fest - very uneventful and disappointing. I'm glad we didn't pay to get in. Then we relaxed at home while I read my book, sat n the sun while I could still take the heat and then went to a simple dinner at The Rossi. Now we are getting ready to watch 21, Tivo the Prison Break primere and get to bed around 11. It is my first day at my new job tomorrow and I need to be up at 6:30 to walk the dog.

All in all, a nice last weekend of summer!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2008-08-29T07:12:00.000-07:00

So here I am - 29. Its going to be my last year in my 20s and I hope to accomplish a lot this year. I am working on many of those things but here are just a few. Kind of like a New Years resolution, because after all it is a new year of ME. I know I am a bit obsessed with me right now, but today is the only day I get to be. Birthdays are always a day to be selfish and self absorbed. Its the fun of it! OK, so back to my list of things I hope to accomplish this year before I turn the dreaded 30 - I know oh so old (J/K)!

Run a marathon - I am well on my way with my training and am scheduled in just over a month, but its still a goal
Continue some sort of regular running schedule after the marathon is over. I have never been this dedicated to exercising in my entire life. I have worked out now 3 days a week for 4-5 months and am proud of myself for it. I just don't want to loose my good habits when I don't have a schedule or a reason. Maybe I'll train for another one - haha!
Enjoy change - I am starting a new job on Tuesday and its a totally new thing. I am working as a grants coordinator and it is a bit frightening to me. I have no experience, no knowledge and I am afraid of failure. Its a change and I just want to embrace it and enjoy it.
Go to an OSU football game - this might be crossed off this weekend (cross your fingers)
Get pregnant - I know this is easier said than done and its more in the fate of biology than anything, but I will cross my fingers and hope that by this time next year my belly is bigger and not because I am not training for a marathon.
Decluter - We have so much junk and I want to get rid of some of it, I am just so lazy about this task. I would love to be more on top of it.
Travel to someplace new - we are going to CA for a wedding but I also want to go someplace else. It doesn't have to be exotic, just someplace I've never been before. Like this year it was Nashville. Next year hopefully - Texas....

Ok, that's enough goals for now...reasonable, not totally measurable, but I will give myself time to plan, do, and reflect - oh teaching has taught me so much about goal setting. Now back to that teaching thing. Today is the last day for awhile - so sad!