Let Christmas Begin

The Turkey and Dressing has been thoroughly consumed and the Christmas lights can go up.  We are planning on getting a tree this weekend.  My four year old can’t wait to get it up.  She’s already making her list for Santa and gives me updates every morning on what new items might be included.  Currently, a Princess Throne from the Disney store has caught her eye.  It announces your name when you sit on it which is all my little girl needs to boost her low self-esteem (with slight tone of sarcasm).   For some reason, she is also interested in a pair of binoculars.  This seems like an odd request for a four-year-old, but what do I know?

For the record, I have continued my exercise regimen.  I even “hard-cored” it on Thanksgiving morning by running in 30 degree weather.  There were probably ice crystals in my lungs, but all you nay-sayers can suck it.

I’ve Survived

They should make a reality show about summer band and a week of teacher inservice. It would be pure entertainment. The good news is, I’ve survived one of the busiest weeks of the year…with some speed bumps along the way.

What’s been going on with me, you ask? Well, about 15 hour work days for the last week and a half is all I’ve been doing. I’m exhausted, I miss my family, and I still have work to do this weekend to be ready for school. ARRGHHHH!

I have about 30 hours of shows to watch on my TIVO. I have a lawn that is about two feet tall. My car is a biohazard. One of the TV’s in the house needs new cable. I haven’t run in a week. My oldest daughter wants to play and go swimming with me. My youngest daughter probably doesn’t even know who I am. But, I’m not complaining.

So, here’s to the first day of school, and all the joys that accompany it. How many days ’til summer ’08?

Running on the 4th

Happy Independence Day!  I hope you all got to see some cool fireworks somewhere.  We had some friends over here and ignited some kid-friendly fireworks.  We had a few bottle rockets, but every time one screeched into the air, the girls started screaming.  My daughter was o.k. as long as she was sitting in my lap with my hands over her ears.  She really enjoyed colored smoke bombs.  No noise-just pretty smoke.

I think the 4th of July is my dog’s least favorite day of the year.  She could not find a place to hide far enough away from all the explosions.  It doesn’t help that our home is planted between two fairly large public fireworks displays.

My day started with a run.  Yes, I ran.  A couple of weeks ago, I decided to sink some money into one of those Nike+ doohickeys that attach to the bottom of the Ipod Nano.  While you are running, it keeps track of your distance, time, pace, and calories burned.  You listen to whatever playlist you have set up, and every so often a soothing female voice comes on and tells you how you are doing.  If you are doing especially well, she even congratulates you on a personal best.  (For those ladies reading out there, you can change the voice to a male one.)  The Ipod keeps a tally of your runs and then Nike.com makes all kinds of charts and graphs so that you can see how you are doing.  I must admit, it is very motivating.  I would recommend it to anyone who is running or thinking about running.  It’s cool to see a graphic representation of how you did; it makes me work harder the next time I go out so that I can get a better looking chart.

So here’s to independence and exercise.  May we enjoy the benefits of them both.