5:30 a.m.
For three days in a row this week, I have gotten up around 5:30 a.m. to go to the YMCA. Only my Mom and The Narrator will understand how big a deal this is for me. I only know one other person who is more night owl than me – my father-in-law. I’m sure that’s why he and I get along so swell. My most creative and productive times have always started at 9 p.m. Last week, after not making it to the Y at ALL, I conceded that the only regular time I will ever get to take care of myself and attempt to train for a race is early mornings. I sat down and had a long, hard think about it. Something had to give. Honestly, it can’t be sleep, because I can barely keep up with my two little ones (T-Rex has hit FULL toddler mode). That meant I had to re-arrange my evenings so I get to bed earlier so I can get up earlier. For a long, long time I have used the “I’m not a morning person” as an excuse to, well, not do mornings! I had no idea whatsoever if I could even convince my body to get out of bed, but then The Narrator gave me an ultimatum, “If you set the alarm and you’re not out of the house by 6 a.m. then I’m heading out to the Y.” He’s graciously giving me his mornings at the Y since he can still work out over lunch with the guys.
Monday morning, 5:50 a.m. I rushed out the door. Thirty seconds into my drive, I realized it could be quite dangerous to jump out of bed and start driving a car. I started smacking my face to wake up. I made it there and back safely and shocked my system for running thirty minutes straight. Not very fast, but I did run. And the kids gave me a beautiful gift that morning – they slept in until almost 8 a.m. Sweet wonder, I had a great morning – I read a little, started some laundry, straightened the house and tidied up the kitchen.
If only all days could be like Monday. Tuesday I made it out the door a little earlier. I’m slowly changing my patterns so my body will adjust. Each night I try to to go bed a little earlier and get up a little earlier. 5:40 and I was out the door. I had another nice workout, but by the time I came home, BOTH kids were up. Now this presents a problem because there is NO WAY I can skip a shower. When I exercise, I seriously sweat. My clothes are practically dripping. There is nothing ladylike about me after a workout. I once heard that ladies don’t sweat they “glisten.” Whatever. Fortunately for me, The Narrator had slept in and was still getting ready, so I quickly dashed through the shower while he shaved.
Wednesday, Wednesday. Let’s not repeat Wednesday. Ever. It started out great. I set the alarm for 5:15 and I think I left by 5:35. I’m giving myself a few minutes to wake up before driving a car!! My legs were pretty sore so the running wasn’t all that great, but it was better than sleeping in. Did I really just say that??? When I got home at 6:45, BOTH kids were up again. I was instantly grumpy. Instantly REALLY grumpy. I looked at The Narrator in desperation, “This really isn’t fair!! I’m trying to take care of myself. The least they can do is sleep until their normal time of 7:30!!!” T-Rex and Little Miss were both yawning, and then the whining and crying started. The Narrator left for work, and I was left to figure out how to get a shower. I put both kids in T-Rex’s crib with all the stuffed animals. They often will ask to play in his crib while I vacuum or just because they feel like playing in there. I thought this might work for me to get a shower. Five minutes into my shower Little Miss started crying, “T-REX BUMPED MY NOSE!!!!” Sigh. We survived, and I did finish my shower, but the rest of the day pretty much followed suit.
I shouldn’t have been surprised on day three that things would fall apart. I never should have expected that making positive changes in my life would be easy. And as I continue to learn, physical discipline is affecting every area of my life. I’ve been getting up early, listening to sermons while I run, having good quiet thoughts and prayers on the drive there and back, and structuring the rest of my day to make sure I get the most possible done in less time since I’m heading to bed two hours earlier than I used to. It’s healthy. All very healthy. Potentially life changing for me. Of course there will be resistance. And so, I press on. I asked for forgiveness for getting very grumpy. Then The Narrator had a conversation with me tonight about food, and what I should be eating before I head out the door. I think blood sugar contributed to the grumpiness this morning.
Live and learn. Press on.
But tomorrow, I’m taking a break. For two reasons – I’m not sure my legs can take any more and need a day of rest. So what better day to rest than after having stayed up late to watch Project Runway???HAHA!!
Filed under Story Girl, triathlon, trying new things in 08 | Comment (0)
The bet has been called
In November of 2006, I lost a bet with my husband. Lesson learned: never make a bet with your husband especially when you’re under the influence of post-pregnancy hormones.
The Narrator’s sister was living in town at the time and had met a wonderful man on e-harmony. We knew he was going to propose (because he had asked us to try to find out what kind of ring she would like), we just didn’t know when. He was coming to visit over Thanksgiving while the in-laws were here. The Narrator thought Future Brother-in-law would propose during that trip. I thought he’d wait until she went to visit him over Christmas. Apparently those baby hormones made me feisty, and we made a bet.
He proposed over Thanksgiving. The Narrator gloated. My price for losing? Doing a triathlon with The Narrator. Yes, a triathlon as in swimming a crazy distance, then biking an insane amount of miles, then willing your legs to run a few miles or 10 and dropping from exhaustion at the finish line. Fortunately, I had just had a baby, and so I was exempt from any physical activity for at least six weeks eighteen months.
Last weekend, the subject of the triathlon came up again. The Narrator started talking about how he had convinced most everyone at work to do one with him, and then he said, “D’s wife is going to do it too.” I narrowed my eyes, knowing exactly where this conversation was going, “Good for her” I sneered. His eyes lit up, “You know you still owe me one.” Silence from me while I racked my brain for a list of legitimate excuses. I proceeded to list the things I do not have that we would have to buy, not limited to but including: a bike, googles, swim cap, and race attire. “Oh, we can work that out. Trust me, I’ve been researching and I’ve got it covered. And look, once you have a bike, we can get one of these and have family outings on our bikes.” He then whipped open the K-Mart ad and pointed to one of those pull behinds toddlers can ride in. He’d obviously been scheming this conversation. Oh, but the icing on the cake was this: “Hey, and when you do this with me, then you’ll be making those pants a size smaller!” He was totally referring to a conversation we’d had five minutes prior to this one where I was lamenting over a pair of pants I was sewing and how I’d had to make them a size larger to fit my hips. He’s a smart one, that Narrator.
I sighed and asked the time frame. He then informed of the Publix Famliy Fun Weekends which is a series of sprint triathlons through the summer and fall. The good (?) thing about a sprint, is at least it’s only (insert sarcasm here) a 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike ride, and a 3 mile run. Ha. I’ve never run more than 2 miles in my life, let alone after doing all that other stuff first!!!!
He’s shooting for the August 2nd event. I’m stalling for mid-October. I really don’t think that 8 weeks is enough time for me to get in shape. It’s more than getting in shape for me, it’s figuring out how to fit in training with two toddlers in the picture. Good thing the Y is open 5:30 am to 10 p.m. Gulp
And so, let the training begin. (And just for the record, I wrote this while eating a triple chocolate decadence brownie as a last hurrah!)
Filed under Story Girl, The Narrator, triathlon, trying new things in 08 | Comments (8)The day he won husband of the year award
(Also known as the hottest day of my life. Ever.)
Two years ago my Very Social Friend asked me to teach her how to sew. I was delighted to pass along my love of creating with fabric, and we began her lessons with a few pairs of shorts. Then she moved away. Then she moved back and got a sewing machine for her birthday last fall. We try to get together once a month to hone our skills. During one of those gatherings not long ago, she mentioned there was going to be a craft show at the coffee shop she worked at. She asked me if I’d be interested in having a table at the show with her. Since I’m trying all kinds of new things this year, and already had a stack of baby blankets and bibs made, I agreed. While we were at the coffee shop show, a lady came around from the church we attend and invited us to have a table at their craft show Memorial Day weekend. We thought about it for a second, and since we were having such a good time, we signed up.
Little did we know that Saturday would be the hottest, most humid day ever. You would think since we live in Florida we would have expected that for the end of May. But no, that Saturday was BAD. Really BAD. We were setting up our tables at 8:30 a.m. and we were already dripping with sweat, wishing we had worn cooler clothes and that the canopy we had borrowed from her cousin would have worked on the cement.
The Narrator showed up with the kids just about then to see if we needed anything before he took the kids to a birthday party. We asked him to please take a look at the directions for the canopy to see if maybe we had misunderstood them, hoping for a miracle so we wouldn’t end up as poached eggs on the sidewalk. He looked the instructions over and gave us a sad look. “So sorry, but it’s not going to work.”
We put on our smiles, determined to make the best of it. We do know how to have a good time, even if it’s while fighting over a battery operated fan in 95 degree heat with 100% humidity! We sent The Narrator and kids on their way and then slathered on the sunscreen. About thirty minutes later, Very Social Friend says, “Hey, aren’t those your kids?”
I looked up to see Little Miss Sunshine and T-Rex running across the courtyard toward us. Not far behind them was The Narrator – with a case of bottled water in one hand and a quick shade green canopy in the other hand. Very Social Friend and I started to squeal like little girls. In about ten minutes we had shade, glorious shade!! We gave him hugs and kisses (I did the kissing, that is) and then sent him off to the birthday party.
That is the day he won husband of the year award and saved me and Very Social Friend from heat exhaustion. And since we now own a fun, quick set-up canopy, we put it up in the drive way on Memorial Day just so we could have a picnic with the kids under it. Just for fun!
Filed under The Narrator, sewing, trying new things in 08 | Comment (1)spring of fun
The dishwasher is humming, the tile is drying, the bathrooms….still need to be cleaned. In the morning right after breakfast, we are headed to the airport in Orlando to pick up Nana and Papa. I’m not sure who’s more excited – the kids or us. The kids can’t wait for TWO WEEKS of non-stop play with Nana and Papa!! And The Narrator and I can’t wait for TWO WEEKS of the kids playing with Nana and Papa non-stop!!
Since they arrive mid-morning, we’re attempting to take advantage of the Tourist City and work in some fun. I spent the afternoon whipping up a chicken salad and a potato salad and slicing veggies for a picnic. The trunk is filled with towels and swimsuits and goggles, and we’re excited to share our new favorite place with the grandparents.
Last month, we took a spontaneous adventure and ended up at a fountain of beauty. Wekiwa Springs was possibly one of the most restful places we have ever been. We couldn’t stop grinning as we ate our picnic lunch on the grassy hill overlooking a crystal clear spring surrounded by tropical beauty. It was a bit chilly, but even the 72 degree water couldn’t dampen the smiles from our faces. As we relaxed in the lush surroundings, we tried to imagine what it would have been like to be a native American and discover this place in the middle of nowhere. We certainly understand why the explorers of old were obsessed with finding the fountain of youth. Places like this spring make you want to believe.
If you’re ever in the Tourist Trap, it’s worth making a quick getaway to Wekiwa Springs. And at $5 for a carload of people, it will be a nice break for your Tourist’s Wallet too.
Filed under cheap & fun, trying new things in 08 | Comment (1)Wedding dress WOWs!
After my terrible nightmare last week, I cut out the muslin for my friend’s wedding dress and had it assembled in one evening. Then I had to wait. She was out of town and couldn’t come try it on until tonight. Fortunately, I haven’t had any more wedding dress nightmares in the mean time! And tonight, I should be able to dream happy wedding dress dreams because the dress fits her like…well a good dream!! I was amazed, absolutely amazed, and she was ecstatic. I have two very minor, minor adjustments to make to the pattern. So minor I can’t even describe it. She had so many concerns about the way she wanted to look in a dress, and this dress was the absolute perfect style for her. All her concerns vanished under the drape of the fabric. If you are ever concerned about getting a good fit in a dress (ladies that is!) pick one with princess seams.
I’ll cut out the actual dress this week and begin to construct it. Now I just need to pay close attention and say many prayers that I don’t do something silly like melt the fabric with my iron. Looow settings, looow iron settings, and a pressing cloth please!
This dress will definitely be added to my New Things in ’08 list. Let alone have I never really made a garment for anyone outside of my immediate family (toddlers and babies not included) I’ve certainly never tackled anything so important as a dress for a bride!
Filed under sewing, trying new things in 08 | Tags: bride, dreams, new things in '08, princess seams, sewing, wedding dress | Comments (2)New things in ’08: Once a month cooking
Early January my sister-in-law called me while she and her husband were cooking meals for the entire month of January. My mother-in-law had given her an old copy of the book Once A Month Cooking. I had heard of the concept before, not only from my mother-in-law, but I’m quite sure I heard the author’s interview on Focus on the Family way back when it was first published (while I was in elementary school). I never would have imagined that I could cook a month’s worth of food in one day. It sounded quite overwhelming, but my sister-in-law was excited. She said she’d send the book along after she had copied down the recipes she wanted.
When my birthday rolled around at the end of January, she sent me a new copy of the updated version of the book that she had found at a bookstore. I skimmed through the book reading the author’s process and instructions for cooking and freezing and then browsed the menu plans. I knew off the bat that the menu plans wouldn’t work for our family as-is. The toddlers still don’t like spicy, nor do they like a lot of things mixed together (like casseroles), and we aren’t meat and potatoes kind of people. But I saw a lot of recipes that looked good for our style of eating. I started bookmarking pages and then headed to the computer. I created a two-week menu for February and re-created her process of cooking (doing all like tasks at once, chopping all veggies, browning all meat, cooking all chicken, etc). In her menu plans, she has everything broken down in like tasks, and even a shopping list for the menus in the book. There are a few two-week menus as well as a good number of monthly menus. As I re-created my own menu, I worked to keep the system balanced so there were a few soups that were thrown in a pot and simmered on the stove or crockpot, a good number of items that just needed to be assembled and frozen (no cooking and my favorite!), and then a group of recipes that involved a bit of browning/sauteing then assembling. Her recipes are delicious, and if you know your way around the kitchen, this really isn’t as daunting as it may sound. Most of her recipes are very simple and she provides a list of guidelines for using your own recipes (like what can and can’t be frozen and for how long).
I had a lot of fun dancing around the kitchen, although I was ready to be done by the end. Having a freezer full of meals was so satisfying. My in-laws came to visit for a week that month and I spent almost ZERO time in the kitchen. We were able to enjoy our visit with minimal dishes and cleanup and just adding a salad to the pre-made, absolutely delicious meals. It was A.MA.ZING!!!!
For March I decided to give it a go again making even more meals. On Saturday, I cooked up 14 dishes which I figure will give us 20 meals since I doubled a couple of our favorites and some of the recipes made enough for our little family to eat over a couple days. Adding in pizza nights, the occasional salmon quesadilla, and salads and sides from our Veggie Co-op, my cooking is 90% done for the MONTH!
What I love about this process is it really helps us avoid the “I don’t feel like cooking, please pick up Chinese” tempation. Or the kids want Chick-fil-A and I’m tired and don’t feel hungry for what’s on the menu so I cave. Also, I watch a friend’s little girl 2 days a week until mid-April and on those nights, it’s tough to get dinner ready. Let’s not even mention the call to The Narrator “There’s nothing in the fridge can you please pick up something for dinner from the store on your way home?” He is….creative…and definitely a Dad!! But none of those issues matter now. Turn the oven on, pop it in. The hardest part is remembering to pull something out of the freezer the night before, or by 9 a.m. And for time management? I spent 7 hours in the kitchen instead of 1 hour every night for the next month.
Can you tell I’m in love with this? I actually enjoy cooking and meal prep again.  I have more time to play with the kiddos and no kids hanging on my legs at 4:30 while I try to rush a dinner together. I can enjoy the evenings with The Narrator instead of cleaning the kitchen!! Or maybe learn something else new in ’08! Yay for freezer meals.
Filed under Story Girl, trying new things in 08 | Tags: freezer meals, meal prep, once a month cooking, time savers | Comments (4)2008: the year for trying new things
Right before the holidays The Narrator and I ate at a Brazilian steak house for his company Christmas party. The restaurant had continuous table service. When you wanted to continue eating meat you turned your little round card to green. When you needed a break, you turned the card to red. All night long the servers came around with huge hunks of meat offering you slices of varying kinds of delicious. I admit, I ate more meat in that one meal than I will probably eat during all of 2008. But during that meal, I noticed something about myself. I wasn’t very adventurous. If I didn’t know what something was on the salad bar, I wouldn’t take it. And later I regretted not trying some new things. After all, I didn’t have anything to lose. We weren’t paying for this meal (thankfully!!!), and if I didn’t like it, I didn’t have to eat it and could get something else.
So when the new year rolled around, I made a mini-resolution of sorts that so far has been a lot of fun. I decided to try as many new things as possible this year. Whether it’s simply ordering something different from a menu, trying a new driving route, or learning a new skill, 2008 is the year for new things and stretching my brain. Too often, we think that in order to have an adventurous life we have to travel to Tahiti and have an exotic vacation. I’m out to prove to myself that I can have mini-adventures all year long.
So far, as of March 1, I think I’m doing pretty well. I started out small. When we went to Red Lobster for my birthday (as we do every year, it’s pretty much the only time of year we eat there and that I get to eat shrimp!) I went straight for the shrimp. Shrimp is my favorite meat. Is shrimp a meat? Hmmm. Instead of going for the standard scampi and popcorn shrimp, I saw that they had 3 new kinds of shrimp on the menu, and believe you me I tried and loved them all! When I was at the sewing expo I ordered a bratwurst for lunch since I don’t get to eat those very often and the guy behind the counter asked me if I wanted sauerkraut on it. I immediately responded no, but then in the light of trying new things I said, “You know, yeah go ahead!!” I apparently said it with a little too much zeal because he looked at me really funny and quickly slopped some on the brat. I never used to like sauerkraut, I think it had something to do with the sour, but this time I was pleasantly surprised and so glad I ventured out!
A couple weeks ago, a friend told me about the vegetable co-op that she joined a few months ago which had a couple openings. This is a group of 12 families who buy fruits and vegetables in bulk getting them at a really great price. Each family pays $15 every two weeks for a 10 gallon tub full of food. Everyone takes a turn going to the market to make the purchases, so about 2-3 times a year each family goes and does the buying. I was excited to give this a try and today I picked up my first bucket of food. For $15 this week we got (estimating the pounds) a couple pounds of bananas, a pint of strawberries, 2-3 pounds of peaches, 1 cantelope, 1 1/2 pineapples, 1.5 pounds of grapes, 2 heads of lettuce, 1 bag of celery, 6 green peppers, 2-3 pounds of red potatoes, 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes, and 2-3 pounds onions. I was ecstatic. The timing was perfect because today I also did my once a month cooking (another new thing I’ll talk more about soon). After I finished all my cooking I looked over the big supply of fruits and veggies left and began to scour my Betty Crocker cookbook. I had no idea there were so many fun things you could make with green peppers and sweet potatoes. We will definitely be experimenting with some great side dishes this month (another benefit of cooking the main dishes all on one day). And The Narrator is thrilled because when someone else does the shopping we get a better variety – like cantelope. I never buy cantelope because I don’t like it (even though he does! Bad wife! But I’ll be giving it a shot again!) I’ll be sure to keep you posted.
If you hear about a vegetable co-op in your area, definitely look into it. Or maybe you could start one of your own with a group of friends. You need to locate a supplier for fruits and vegetables that gives discounts for buying in bulk. I’m curious to find out where this market is they purchase from. It’s in town and it opens at midnight and closes at 8 a.m. I’m thinking they must mostly supply restaurants and smaller farmers markets. I’ll go a few times with the other buyers before it’s our turn so I get a feel for it. And now, how about some sweet potato swirls?
Filed under Story Girl, trying new things in 08 | Comments (4)