“…It’s Ice Cream Cake Night”

February 5th, 2010

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My birthday was last week and Maz surprised me with a Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cake, Wii Fit, and a 40th Bday card (even though I turned 30).  Some may think he was giving mixed messages, but I took it as Maz being Maz, and giving me what I like…

The ice cream cakes at DQ are a bit big…no they are huge.  We have been eating this strawberry cheesecake blizzard cake every single day since Saturday! No joke, and we still have some left.  I do love ice cream and I love blizzards even more, but I honestly can’t wait for the cake to be gone.  Every single day, Maz comes home with a grin as he says “do you know what tonight is? It’s ice cream cake night.” Every. Single. Day.

I know what he is getting for his birthday… all to himself :)

Livy’s ‘Lympics

February 3rd, 2010

Okay, I confess. I am very easily influenced. I’d been meaning to include the kids in my regular running schedule for a while, but it took reading Christopher McDougall’s Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen to motivate me sufficiently to get them out of bed, off the couch, and out the door first thing in the morning. If McDougall is right, my progeny will not only be more fit, but will also be better people – more mentally and physically capable of accomplishing their goals, as well as more likely to do so cooperatively and with due consideration to those who support them.

According to my five-year-old, Olivia, they are also destined to be future Olympians.

Unlike her older siblings, Olivia has yet to participate in an organized race; however, she does race me to every other light post along the .8-mile route around our neighborhood park that makes up the first segment of my warm-up. Yesterday, as we finished our final race and passed the last light post before the playground (where I leave the the “little kids” to wait for their older siblings to walk them home after finishing their run), Olivia got my attention by turning to stop right in front of me…and nearly tripping me.

She paused a moment to catch her breath and then said, “Mommy, when I go to the ‘lympics, I don’t think I’ll be a runner; I think I’ll ride my bike…it will be pink and have ‘ribbons’ on the handles…and I will be SO fast!”

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What could I say but “Of course you will, Livy”?

Six More Weeks!

February 2nd, 2010

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For those of us who battle the winter months, we have to hold on for another six weeks.  For some reason, I am okay with it.  I think maybe because this winter has not been as bad to us in Colorado Springs as in other parts of the country.  I mean, today I got to enjoy a 45 degree day with the sun!  I do think we got our “real” winter in November and December when we hit a solid week without getting out of the teens…that was brutal.  With my luck, since I just aknowledged the mild winter, we will get a huge snow storm tomorrow…Man, I hope not.

So if the last six weeks of winter is anything like the first six weeks of winter then I am good to go…Thanks Punxsutawney Phil for the 124 years of service :)

It’s Good to be Queen

February 1st, 2010

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One of the most difficult parts about being first born is “letting go” of being the tallest, the smartest, the fastest, the most clever, and all the other ways in which we compete with those we love most to be the very best. I’m beginning to think that realizing your children are “better” at some things than you ever will be is even more challenging. Although I expect to outsmart all of my children for a long while, my eldest son, Quentin, has quickly become a much better rock-climber than I am, and my older daughter, Reiley, can already run faster than I think I ever could…but today, I bought myself some lead time with – of all things – my awesome snowboarding skills!

Note: I’m pausing so that those of you who know me can get up off the floor where you’ve been holding your gut to keep it from busting open because what I’ve just said is so funny!

My three older children are “taking snowboarding” for PE this term, and they’re all improving quickly. Yet just for today, I was more graceful than any one of them, managed to remain on my “feet” longer than they did, and spent more time on the more difficult slopes than Quentin – my biggest risk-taker. And it felt really, really good.

Granted I have more experience than even my eldest son does, follow the “easiest way down” signs religiously, and maintain reasonable speeds while carefully carving my way as much back and forth across the mountain as down it. Still…I can’t help gloating just a bit when my 12-year-old daughter tells me, “Mom, you looked really good!”

A new friend to run with…

January 29th, 2010

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Juliann and I have been eyeing this gadget for about two years now. We have tested out all that goes along with Nike+ and have been semi-satisfied, but the Garmin Forerunner 305 seems to have it all, or at least all of what we need.

I can now have more accurate readings of my mileage, get a better idea of pace, know how many vertical feet I am actually running, and I am able to start running/training based on my heart rate.  I love the graphing capabilities of it; all I do is plug the watch into the computer and BAM all the information is now in an easy to read graph.  It is GREAT! I have used it once and love it already. I can’t wait to see what else this thing can do. I have the basics down but there is so much more to it.

The New World of Snowboarding

January 28th, 2010

Yesterday I had a fantastic time snowboarding at Monarch Mountain, CO.  It is  a great mountain to ski or snowboard on, especially since it’s the most ffordable lift ticket in CO.  Some resorts are reaching the $100 mark for one all day lift ticket in CO…I just can’t imagine or justify paying that price for a few hours on the slopes, not to mention the crowds. One of the perks for working at REI this winter is that I get free lift tickets to Monarch Mountain and yesterday was the first day I took advantage of the deal.

Okay, I realized yesterday (thanks to the 21 year old fellow snowboarder) that I am a little dated in the sport.  I didn’t know the key word for a snowboard, boots, and bindings is “deck”. Umm, there is a “lift” I can get to extend my board to accommodate my new boots. I guess the boots have gotten bigger, and since I have an older, “vintage” board, the new boots and older board don’t match.

And this is just the equipment, don’t let me get started on the new lingo…Pow-Pow (powder), shredding the Gnar, and my favorite of the day. “word.” Seriously, every time someone said something/anything, this “kid” would respond with “word.” I guess it’s a gesture of acknowledgement and agreement.  And then there are the infamous “pot shacks.” I had such a blank stare when I first heard that word: “pot shack” To my knowledge, these “riders” find abandoned cabins on the slopes and smoke pot, and they are on almost every mountain.  That doesn’t even cross my mind, I mean it’s all I can do to get off the chair lift in one piece, let alone put any type of substance in my body.

Check this website out http://www.abc-of-snowboarding.com/snowboarddictionary.asp so the next time you grab your deck to shred the gnar you will fit in like a wallflower…word.

Side-note: I did push myself yesterday. I hiked with board in hand for about 20 minutes up a mountain, only to ride down a huge drop…it was close to a 90 degree angle and all powder…it was great!

Word Problems

January 27th, 2010

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Just seconds after I sent five-year-old Olivia’s Learning Plan (a subject-by-subject lesson plan for the next four weeks) to our ES (Educational Specialist, a credentialed teacher who oversees our resident home-schoolers), I realized that I may have been overly optimistic. I’d established a new goal of learning addition/subtraction facts to 20, without quizzing Olivia to find out if she’d actually accomplished last term’s goal: learning addition/subtraction facts to 10. She can figure them out, no problem. But does she know them?

With this thought in mind, I ushered the kids into the car so that we could get Reiley to basketball practice on time. Just before setting the alarm, though, I turned and headed back into the kitchen “nook,” where the kids’ curriculum boxes are kept. I dug around in Olivia’s box and found her Disney Princess addition/subtraction flashcards. Yep, I was going to find out just what she knew.

We were quizzing Olivia before we left our block. (Parker repeated the equations I read off the cards, while Reiley supplied quick modifications in the form of engaging word problems to hasten Olivia’s responses.) We were doing really well until I decided to push the issue of what happens when you take away a number from itself.

“One take away one,” I asked.

“Zero!” she said.

“Ten take away ten,” I asked.

“Zero!” she said.

“Six take away six,” I asked.

No response.

“Put up six fingers…now take away all six fingers…” I said. Reiley dutifully watched to make sure that Olivia was holding up six fingers.

“One,” she said.

“No, Olivia,” I said, “Hold up six fingers.”

“Okay,” she said.

“What if you have six cupcakes,” Reiley started to say.

“Yeah,” I said, “What if you have six cupcakes, and Reiley eats all of them. How many cupcakes do you have?”

Silence. And then she started to cry, and scream. “Reiley ate all of my cupcakes…they were my special, birthday cupcakes…”

“No,” I said. “Olivia, it’s just pretend. Reiley didn’t eat any cupcakes.”

“Yes. She. Did.” Olivia said. “She ate all of my cupcakes!”

“Great, Mom,” Reiley said.

“Yeah,” Parker said.

Both of them were laughing.

“It’s not funny!” Olivia said. “Reiley…ate…ALL of my cupcakes.”

Uh, huh. So much for word problems.

“Here, Parker,” I said, and handed the flashcards to him.

I’m still not sure what Olivia knows; however I now know better than to add cupcakes to mathematics and stir.

Cross Country Skiing Take 1

January 26th, 2010

I guess this year – or should I say, season – I am trying new winter sports.  I have been snowboarding for over 10 years and that, until now, has been the extent of my winter sporting. This season, I  tried snowshoeing, and last week was my first “go” at cross country skiing.

Okay, the last time I put skis on my feet, I think I was about twelve years old and hated every minute of it.  I lasted the day, and the whole time, I couldn’t understand the “fun” in the sport. All I wanted to do was strap my feet into a snowboard…six years later I finally got the snowboard.

Anyway, back to cross country skiing.  It was harder than I expected, but it wasn’t too difficult.  It was another version of snowshoeing and hiking with some hills. I did fall a lot, and I did do a lot of snow plowing, which worked some of the time; when the poles or the skis didn’t stop me, I just went for the ground.

I kept trying to use the same motion as running…move arms and legs in unison and BAM I should be good.  Nope, there is much more to it.  First of all, my feet were on skis the width of an Oreo and I had to use poles while coordinating my feet/skis.  Second, going up hill was ridiculous. I ended up making a “V”  and virtually walking up the hills hoping to not slide back down.  As soon as I got off the hills, and the up/down rotation, I was good to go. I actually enjoyed skiing on the flat surface and taking in the scenery that Breckenridge has to offer.  The best part of the day was that I kept moving enough that I didn’t get cold :)

So, yes this sport is something I would probably do again, and it’s a great cross training sport…I was tight the next day, that’s for sure. Tomorrow: Snowboarding at Monarch.

Without a Book

January 25th, 2010

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Until yesterday, I could honestly say that I NEVER go anywhere without a book. Then Sunday, I flew a full four hours home from Nashville without cracking a book, though I couldn’t help myself from browsing the SkyMall catalogue tucked in seat pocket in front of me. Does that count?

I’d finished my last “real” book during the trip out on Thursday, and read a friend’s book, and my roommate’s magazines during my stay in Nashville. I just couldn’t bring myself to purchase an actual book for the ride home. You see, my loving spouse gave me a Kindle for Christmas, and I’d vowed not to purchase anything but ebooks for the foreseeable future. Between my sister’s library and my own, I wouldn’t have had a problem if sometime between Christmas and the start of this trip, I’d managed to choose a cover to protect my sacred Kindle. Ugh!

As someone who spends practically every otherwise free moment with my “nose in a book,” I was at a loss for how to occupy myself for the full duration of a four-hour flight home. A prolonged internal discussion of my options resulted in my decision to sleep. I indulged in an over-size beer at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge before boarding the plane, and settled in between two tall, quiet-looking men seated near an exit to ensure ample leg room. Thankfully, I was “out” not too long after take-off. If I hadn’t woken up with an insurmountable need to pee when we hit turbulence, I may  have slept until we reached Ontario.

Once we were again free to “move about the cabin,” I headed for the bathroom. Back in my seat, I couldn’t get back to sleep. I looked at the aforementioned SkyMall, and shifted so violently in my seat that I’m surprised that neither of my companions stirred from their naps.

I’ve never used my iPod on a plane – I’m always reading, remember? (And I don’t require music in the background to do so.) That changed on Sunday. I listened to the final two chapters of Barbara Kinslover’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, which was almost unbearable – not because of Barbara, but because I was so uncomfortable just listening to a book read aloud. I’m used to driving or running or…something…while I’m listening. Likewise with my music playlist.

I finally gave up. I turned my iPod off, pulled my earbuds out, and returned the tiny device to a pocket in my purse.

Thank Buddha, one of neighbors was alert by then. We exchanged itineraries, and talked about the snow-covered mountains  below. Our plane was continuing on from Ontario to Sacramento, which was the starting point for his trek into the Northern California wilderness in search of somewhere he could “live off the land” fairly easily. He told me that he could see himself sitting on his porch at the end of a long day hunting and foraging, reading while his dinner cooked on the stove inside, or over an open fire.

Matching Socks without Holes? Check

January 21st, 2010

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Thank goodness I’ve developed a habit of throwing out my holy socks and tossing mismatched socks in the trash. On a recent trip through airport security, I pulled off my boots to reveal matching brown socks. The woman ahead of me was not so fortunate. Attired from head to the top of her boots ready to march straight from the plane to the boardroom, I heard her wince when she pulled off her second boot to reveal NOT another black sock, but a striped one with a hole in the toe that fell loosely around her ankle.

From the pictures available online, she’s far from the only one who could really use sock-shoes, at least.