Monday, June 29, 2009

Shot Through The Heart!

Sheila and I are training for a half-iron distance triathlon and also Twin Cities Marathon. To that end, she found out this awesome track workout we could do with a group of other women on Monday mornings.

I love it! It's super fun and challenging, and when I'm done, I'm on a high for the rest of the day.

I missed last week, though, and it turns out that last week everyone did a time trial mile to get a baseline for their paces.

I didn't think it was such a big deal that I missed the time trial because I've been running for twenty years (20!), and I generally have a pretty good idea of how in-shape I am at any given time.

So, when the leader, an elite triathlete, called me out on not having done my mile at the beginning of the workout, I said I was willing to forgo it. I really just wanted to do the workout with the group.

"I'll just say my mile is a 6:20," I said.

"What do you mean you'll just SAY that?" she said.

"Well, I think that's what I would run," I said, shrugging.

"Oh!" said another woman. "Okay, I'll just SAY mine is a 4:50!"

"Yeah!" said another. "And I'll just SAY mine is a 5:30! That would be great!"

Hahahahaha. Humph.

So, obviously, I ran the stupid mile. A begrudging 6:17.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

No Sleep Till!

I'm on a Ride or Pay plan this summer. I either have to ride my bike three times per week, or pay my alma mater ten dollars.

Ten dollars for every week I don't ride three times!

That's pretty motivating, especially since I haven't given any money to my Catholic high school since they violated the conditions of their 501c3 status by distributing anti-abortion propaganda via the cover of their alumnae magazine and funding a trip to Washington D.C. for several students and their dads to march in an anti-abortion rally in 2004.

That really pissed me off.

Recently, though, a nice gal in the class ahead of me sent a handwritten note asking that I please give a little at the end of the school's fiscal year to help them surpass their fundraising goal. I decided to send in what I owed for not riding, which was twenty dollars.

Today, I got a thank-you note with some holy cards inside: Jesus, Mary, and Michael the Archangel. Michael's prayer is a little intense, asking that God cast into hell all the evil spirits who roam the world seeking the ruin of souls.

I'll remember that next time I don't want to ride.

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Shock! I Got a New Life

I have a brilliant plan to make 2009-10 the best school year EVER.

Here it is: I'm going to figure out how to make it the best school year EVER.

It needs a little flushing out, but that's it in a nutshell.

Friday, June 19, 2009

Gotta Get-Get



Well, I think this is the last of the Ugly photos. I realize that at some point, I'll probably have to cut Mac's hair, but I'm not likely to do it that soon.

This morning when I was feeding him breakfast, he refused to eat the little bite sized pieces of things I gave him. He wanted to hold the whole banana and the whole cereal bar.

I think it's yet another sign that toddlerhood is here.

Sunday, June 14, 2009

All You Beyonces and Lucy Lius: Get on the Floor

On Sunday morning, Lee told me that she'd been forced to google "hip injury sustained while dancing" at 1:00am after we got home from Jessie's spectacular wedding.

It made me think of all the things I've googled at 1:00am, or 3:00, or 5:15 in the last year. I typed "my" into the little google search field on my browser, so I could report the list to Lee. I think I sometimes start with "my" because in those early-morning hours, it seems like I'm the only person in the world with whatever particular problem I'm experiencing.

Anyway, I got this list of desperate queries:

my baby has no schedule
my baby is the worst sleeper in the world
my eleven-month-old will not sleep
my preschooler is exhausted
my preschooler is exhaustion

Then, today I checked just "baby," and sure enough, there were a few more:

baby blood in stool
baby got back lyrics
baby nurses all night
baby proofing cords

and

baby wakes every 45 minutes

That last one really says it all, I think.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

This is My Stank Face



Mac turned one today! We were all excited, and Shef greeted guests at the door saying, "This is a really great party!"

I completely agreed.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Always. I Know. You'll Be. At My Show.

This weekend, my good pals Rachel and Jim got married. It was lovely, and I was the personal attendant to the bride, which gave me a backstage look into the whole thing.

Usually when you're P.A., you are the last person the bride sees before she walks down the aisle. It's quite a privilege, and I like to be the person who fluffs the dress and drapes the veil.

All the wedding events were enjoyable, but it also made for a busy weekend. Dan flew to Colorado today (this time, I'm certain of his destination), which compounds things a little bit.

A couple of weeks ago, when we were driving somewhere, Dan and I started talking about how you think you're busy at various times in your life. Like, when I was in high school, I thought I was really busy with homework and activities. In college, too, I felt really busy. When I started my first teaching job, I was busier than ever. Ditto that when Shef was born and My Stupid Master's Degree was in full swing. But now, with Mac here and my business going a bit and both of us trying to exercise moderately, things seem on the verge of out of control most of the time.

"I mean," I said to Dan, "I HOPE that now we're really busy, because.. well, it just can't get much busier than this."

"Oh yeah," Dan said, reassuringly, "I'm pretty sure this is it."

Knock on wood, will you? I'm doing it right now.