Mondays in Love: Random

I'm a little shy on content today, so you get a list of random things I was thankful for today.

• Sunshine!!
• My ability to work from home sometimes
• New blog followers and connecting with more of your blogs
• Neighbors we are blessed to call friends, who helped out today in a pinch
• Some co-workers who have been incredibly thoughtful toward me lately
• Seeing my belly move when baby kicks and squirms
• My faith
• Baking. Our neighbors helping us out gave me a great excuse to make chocolate chip cookies :)
• Walking into the nursery and just looking around and daydreaming
• Weighing myself this morning and feeling really good about how its going
• Coupons. Go ahead, say it. I'm cheap. 
• Salad and fruit. Constantly. 

That's all I've got, peeps. Run strong and carry on! 

Apparently I cannot contain my runner enthusiasm

Instead of a weekly wrap-up this week I'm going to give you some of the highlights of my very stellar week.

Highlight #1: Friends rock. On Tuesday I had dinner with a bunch of other newish faculty that I've gotten to know. Good times. On Wednesday we hosted one of my college friends (Frank, who I ran the US Half with) and her family as they trek from DC to California for military relocation. On Thursday I had a fabulous girls' night with my neighbor and friend Kayla, which brings me to...

Highlight #2: Taking Kayla to buy her first pair of grown-up running shoes. Earlier in the week she texted me from a Sports Authority asking for input. I told her to leave and that we would go to a real running store together so she could get properly fitted. I had a *really* hard time containing my enthusiasm about bringing her into the fold. She intended to just buy shoes, but ended up leaving with shoes, body glide, socks, and some runner food. And then we had dinner at a chocolate bar. Because we can. Here we are afterward with our plunder. My plunder included new shoes, which brings me to...

Highlight #3: I have narrow feet. This means I wear a weirdo size of running shoe: 10-2A. After all your wonderful input about extra-cushion shoes (huge shout out here to Sarah--thank you so much!), I'd decided that it was a smart thing for me to experiment with. So when I got to Big River Running (LOVE that place) I asked for the Brooks Trance in 10-2A. Not manufactured in that size. Damn! So let the record show that I came home with my 400th pair of Brooks Adrenalines (8/26).

To sort of compensate, I decided to try some extra cushion socks. At $11/pair, I just bought one to try them out, and I'm officially a fan. I will be going back to get more. How have I not discovered them already? I'm hopeful that I have a good combo of stuff on the feet now.

Highlight #4: As if life could get any better, this weekend is one of my absolute faves in StL--the Festival of Nations. A little less than half of my neighborhood park is taken over by 42 booths selling foods from 34 nationalities (we got a list), plus a world bazaar where mostly the same set of nationalities sells goods, and live music plays basically all weekend. After my run I met my boys there so we could chow down. I'm not even going to tell you what I ate. You'd just hate me for it. Nom nom nom.

What did you have going on this week? Are you any more successful than I was at containing runner enthusiasm with newer runners? Yeah, I didn't think so. :)

Some random thoughts

1. Don't forget my giveaway. Free technical shirt, people.
   
2. I got an email from Barnes & Noble earlier this week. The subject line was "Nothing says LOVE Like 10% Off!" Does anyone else find this deeply disturbing??
   
3. What Would Kara Goucher Do? Being a mommy is pretty awesome, but one of the downsides is picking up colds from the kiddo. He seems to have given me a nasty cold while we were hanging out earlier this week during our snow days. I've been running anyway (no asterisks or footnotes to the training schedule!) and have been crazy run-down. That made me think twice about this morning's 9-miler. So when I finally dragged my congested, haven't-slept-well-in-days self out of bed this morning, I decided to get some Coach Mike (RunningFirst) input. We had a longish text conversation that went something like this:
   Me: Nasty cold. Should I run?
   Coach: If you have the cold, probably not. Running will wear you down and you won't get better. If the nasty cold is outside, run inside. And then cheer for the Steelers tomorrow. That will help. 
   Me: It's me that has the cold. I've been running anyway and am really worn-down. I just hate to miss a run. Two weeks of perfect training, you know?
   Coach: Rest. You'll feel better in the morning. 
   Me: Ok, I'll stay in today and reassess tomorrow. 
   Coach: And?
   Me: Root for the Steelers.
   Coach: There ya' go. That will help, too. 
   
4. I'm going to start my full monthly recaps at the end of February. But I can tell you that I ran 47.4 miles in January, compared to just 29 in January of 2010.
   
5. Training is going really well so far! I've hit all of my workouts and felt great about them. Eight weeks until the Martian Half and 14 weeks until Cleveland!! I cannot tell you how excited I am about this pair of races. I will get to meet lots of runner bloggers at both and I hope to PR both. SO freakin' excited!!
   
6. Last but definitely not least, I need some input. I'm considering renaming my blog. I know, I know, this is generally frowned on once your blog has been established for a while, but here's the thing. When I started this blog I had no idea it would live for so long! I started it for the singular purpose of fundraising for the 2007 Chicago Distance Classic. I put zero thought into the name. So I need some input here. 
1. Should I rename the blog at all?
2. If so, what should I rename it? I'm leaning toward MoJo[anna] Running, or perhaps Running from the Crazy. I need your input!!

730.1 AND DONE

Guess what? I DID IT! Today's 6-miler put me one little tiny tenth of a mile over my yearly goal. After all the confusion and re-planning, I can officially say that this year is in the books. DONE. And as proof of this (and proof that I don't post only the nice pictures), here I am the minute that treadmill stopped. And btw, and you can quote me on this, you know you're a runner mom when you wipe sweat off your brow at 4.3 miles and realize that your hands smell like Play-Doh. 

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all of your support and encouragement, not just here at the end, but throughout the year. It's been a totally crazy year. I liked the list approach RunningFirst took, so I'll do the same. Here's a good/bad recap of the year in roughly chronological order.

1. I got to run a half-marathon with my much-missed Meg
2. I PhinisheD my PhD! And had a great big party. My West Virginians came and everything. 
3. With the Team, I ran my first trail race the morning of my son's second birthday....and had an emergency appendectomy that night. And an open house the next day. 
4. We sold said house. (well, sort of. It's complicated, but is occupied by people other than us)
5. My parents came to help finish packing, moving, and painting the new place. I drove over our mailbox with a 24' Uhaul truck. We had movers pack the truck, but still needed help at the end. Some of our good friends came to our rescue and helped us get the job done. Then I drove all our worldly belongings to our new house in a new city and state. 
6. The Beastie and her husband came to visit. Saying goodbye was really hard, knowing that they were moving many states away. We'd lived nine of the last eleven years within a few miles of each other. Thank goodness for Skype.  
7. Mr. Joanna and I started new jobs, the kiddo started a new daycare.
8. I endured the hottest long run in history (let's assume no one's ever actually run Badwater). 
9. I tripped and ate massive quantities of asphalt while running...twice. Consequently gave up wearing statement tees, such as one that might have said "Kick Asphalt" that I might have been wearing the second time I fell. 
10. RunningFirst came down to run L&C with me, my second marathon. I set a new PR by 27 minutes, which I'm still pretty proud of. 
11. I got to see some of my college girls, meet some of their other friends, tour San Francisco and run a half-marathon there, including going over the Golden Gate bridge! Not my fastest race, but fun. And I got to run it with Frank (and her "passenger"!).
12. Two trips to Detroit, one for the baptism of my newborn niece and the other for Christmas. 
13. After months of repairs and breakdowns, Mr. Joanna finally got a new car that includes such luxuries as a radio and working windows. Then wrecked mine. (I got glared at for that last part, but it's true. Although it was a minor fender bender and it's been fixed). 
14. I met my running goals for the year and did it injury free!!

I hope I'm not forgetting anything. I probably am. There were so many big moments, not just in our lives but in the lives of our friends.  

In conclusion for 2010, here is the monthly mileage report from runningahead. I'm really grateful that RunningFirst introduced me to this site this year. It's been great for helping me track everything. It's no surprise that June was my lowest mileage month, given the appy and the move. What this graph also tells me is that I clearly need to be doing more tempo and interval work. I also know from my incredible (and historically unprecedented) inflexibility that I have to do more cross-training (read: I need to do some, any cross training).  I'm on it. In the next few days I'm going to start putting together, with help from RunningFirst (aka, Coach Mike) my training plan for spring. Here's to high hopes for my spring races!!

Uh, oops. I'm supposed to be good with numbers.

A Beautiful Bah-Humbug

Don't get me wrong--I love Christmas. Really, I do. I have great memories of sitting around the dining room table as a child, eating dinner on Christmas Eve, looking into the living room at the softly glowing tree, with all its ornaments and the gifts beneath it. All the childish anticipation of Christmas morning. Then the late night Christmas Eve service, which was always beautiful. We lit candles in church and turned off the lights, some years we processed outside onto the sidewalk, singing Silent Night with our candles, sometimes in the snow. It was all lovely.

And then yesterday on the phone with my brother I heard myself saying, "We're all excited, but I don't have time for this *%!$!"

And sadly, it's all beautiful and true. Beautiful--the stocking I finally finished knitting for my niece. My son who keeps talking about Jesus's birthday. The wrapping of gifts so lovingly picked out. True--that I don't have time to do things like clean my house and buy groceries while knitting said stocking, working, running, and continuing to settle into our house. The buying holiday cards, sending them out, buying gifts, shipping gifts, decorating, all of it. It's not that it's no longer fun--it's still beautiful--but for the first time in my life I'm finding all of this stressful.

The Dreadmill

After last Sunday's failed attempt to run, it got icy out. That's where I draw the line. Ice. So after a few busy days at work, I made it over to the rec center and signed up for a month's membership. I got two runs in, a 4-miler yesterday and 7 miles this morning. I'm really thankful for a safe place to run, but why does it have to be SO boring?!? I know we're all suffering the dreadmill right now. It gives me solace to know you're all doing the same thing with me. Time to recharge the mp3 player.

Oops

First, the good news--I hit 700 miles today! I know a lot of you passed that milestone back in August (or earlier), but this is a big hairy deal for me! It's a first!!

The bad news--I went back to my January blog post this morning just to double check my 720 goals and discovered, much to my dismay, that I actually said 730. Crap!! I sort of feel attached to the 720 goal. I can reach it at this point, and it's what I've been planning for. But it's not what I said a year ago! I feel conflicted. Time to write down a new plan for the next 13 days and see what is realistic.

Inexplicable popping of the deuces

Sometimes you run and you're focused on the run. Sometimes you look at the scenery. Sometimes you don't look at anything or focus on anything. Your mind just wanders. And then you snap out of it and realize several miles have passed. Today was one of those runs. My mind just wandered and processed my work week and things to do before Thanksgiving and a hundred other things. Like my header says, this is my me time.

My 4-miler yesterday and my 5.8 today reminded me that I need to pull it together and get back to the consistent running I was doing all fall. For one thing, my 4-miler left me a little sore, which is unacceptable. It reminded me how quickly endurance drops off. And, it reminded me how much more enjoyable running is when you're running consistently and it feels easy. And then there are those upcoming races. That's right.

I signed up for my first ever Turkey Trot! It's a 5k on Thanksgiving (this coming Thursday).

I am super excited about this. I haven't run a 5k since high school cross country. I'm not only pretty sure I can beat my fastest time (I remember approximately what it was), but I know I'm going to have a great time doing it. Pictures and race recap will follow!

Finally, Running Diva Mom's post about hitting her goal for the year reminded me that I haven't posted miles recently. I'm at 659 for the year. I realize this is really low for a lot of you and high for others. Back in January, I set a goal for 720 miles for the year. Just 60 to go! With just about 6 weeks left to go in the year, that means about 10 miles per week. I've got this!! How are you doing with your goals this year?? Do you already know your goals for 2011?

632.6 + 13.1 + 3.9 + 4 + 5.8 = 659.3

In non-running news, Mr. Joanna and I went out without the kiddo last night. Once a month the kiddo's school hosts a parents' night out, where the kids stay and eat dinner, watch movies, hang out in jammies, all that. They have a blast and we get a night out. We had SUCH a good time. We went out to a low-key dinner, went to a Blues game (hockey, my first NHL game!), and got ice cream afterwards (growing up, my family always went out for dessert after outings--it's a nice tradition). I think more Blues games are in our future! We only took 2 pictures at the game. I had a hard time choosing between this goofy pic or the one where Mr. Joanna was inexplicably popping the deuces.

You know you're a runner when...

As you leave for work on Monday morning and realize your house key isn't on your keychain, the first and second places you check are the washer and dryer.

Weekend Update

Oh, I miss Norm MacDonald.

I have a heapin' handful of updates for y'all. So, per the unpredictable nature of SNL, here there are in no particular order.

1. More Taper Freak Outs

Taper Freak Out #4: That I'll eat so much between now and the race that my shorts won't fit.

Taper Freak Out #5: That I'll get to the start line and realize that I forgot to Body Glide.

2. Cutting down on miles

Yesterday over lunch I crammed (and I mean *crammed*) in a 3-miler. It felt unnatural. I honestly can't even remember the last time I stopped after 3 miles. Probably right after my appy. This cutting back on miles thing kinda weirds me out. Is that just me? Thought so.

3. I love Dove chocolates just as much as the next girl

...but this is bullshit

4. The collective need to harass RunningFirst

One of my old TNT teammates/coaches has filed two DNS's this year and has registered to run L&C with me in 15 days. To date, his long runs have peaked at something like 15 miles (which he ran-walked once). Injured? Nope. Without running buddies? Not a chance. So what's the deal? I have no idea. I dialed down the harassment for a while. Maybe I shouldn't have.

5. Spring Races

So, a while ago I asked you to stay tuned for a spring race announcement. Well, the decision I thought I'd made got un-made. Hence no update yet. I haven't forgotten. Far from it. I'm just trying to figure out what the crap I'm going to do. I like the pattern I did this year: spring half, fall full, possible second half before or after the full. Smaller races as the desire strikes me.

So here it is: I'm asking you to nominate spring races. I'm generally open to anything in the Midwest, particularly Michigan, Illinois, or Missouri. I need a plan.

6. My totally Type-A son

Is still totally Type A. This CRACKS ME UP. I make a point of not going on ad naseum about my kid, because I get that it's not interesting to most of you. But this cracks me up. This is all him. Oh, and the other day he got a napkin to wipe the liquid off the kitchen floor when he dropped an ice cube. Did I mention he's 2?!?

7. Pain in my rear end

After my fall races are over, I'm going to a sports medicine person. My left hip/butt bone has hurt almost constantly since spring. It is definitely related to running, but doesn't hurt when I actually run (except when I'm starting out it's crazy stiff). But basically every other moment, it hurts. It's like my hammy is ridiculously tight where it inserts at my butt bone. What in the world is going on?? Anyone ever had this happen before? It's getting old.

Mileage: 509.7 + 4.8 + 3.0 + 12.2 = 529.6 miles

Moving edition part 3: Settling in

I cannot BELIEVE I haven't blogged in over two weeks. I don't really know what to say about the last few weeks. Let me see if I can sum it up quickly: I was so completely over moving, I actually got sick. I even missed a long run. It was super helpful to have my dad here, but by the time he headed out last weekend, I think even he was sick of talking about window treatments. We still have the daily freak-out because we can't find something, but we are gradually starting to feel like we actually live here.

While the boxes got unpacked, daycares interviewed, job-things set up, and window treatments found, I explored running paths near the house. One of my favorites is the HUGE park right down the street from my house. This is a picture of the entrance taken by The Beastie during their 4th of July visit. The park is 289 acres, with many paths through it, the longest being the ~3.5 mile path near the perimeter.

* As a sidenote (I tried to post this last time but for some reason it didn't appear in the post): Some of you have asked why I keep some information out of my blog. Basically, it's just an effort to keep my professional and personal lives separate. I don't actually care if you know what city I live in, as long as you can't Google me and find this blog. So, a big clue: I see a great big arch multiple times every day. Oh, and the Clydesdales are here, which is just friggin' cool.

This morning I dragged myself out of bed for a pre-work run. It was one of the best runs I've had since moving here. It felt easy, the weather wasn't blistering, and I got to explore a GORGEOUS neighborhood. Seriously. I will run it again tomorrow or Friday and take a few pictures. Another plus is that my new neighborhood is all hills, so I am NOT hard-pressed to get hills in. Hills and long runs I should be good for. Speed work I am still working on figuring out. I think I'm close to a solution on that.

In general, I'm feeling a little behind in my training plan. I shouldn't be surprised. It's been a chaotic at best summer. But things are starting to settle down, so my mileage should get more consistent for a while. Keep me in check, guys. 73 days until L&C!! On deck this weekend--10 miler!

mileage: 306.1 + a bunch of stuff = 335.2 miles

Moving edition part 2: the importance of moving truck insurance

Ok, ok. It's been a while. I know. But, I have good news! I've found at least one AWESOME running route here in my new city! But before I get to that, I'm going to give you the blink-and-you'll-miss-it version of our move.

On the 22nd, I drove down with my Dad for the closing. All went smoothly and by evening we were unloading the cars into the new place. Over the next 4ish days we painted 5 rooms. I had to laugh at us when, well after dark, we were both crammed in this little half bath with a ladder trying to paint. The room is so small, it was comically stupid to move either of us or the ladder. And without sunlight, we couldn't reasonably tell if we'd painted well or not. All said, I think the painting projects turned out well. Even if the guy at the paint counter at Home Depot was on a first name basis with us by the end.

Living for 5 days on just the stuff we could fit in our cars (which were mostly full of the things we didn't want to put in the moving truck, like crystal) meant vaguely camping in a house. For instance, this is the extent of our available dishware.

While it was just Dad and me here, I took him to the Botanical Garden and to lunch at my new favorite lunch place, as a belated birthday present (he knew I had something planned, he just didn't know what). We had a nice time, and it was nice to learn a bit of the history of this town when we toured the "country house" at the botanical garden.

Jump to Sunday (6/27). We headed back to the old place to help round up the last of the packing, then pick up the truck on Monday. We had moving helpers come to load the truck. When they were finished I moved the truck out of our driveway and to the curb for the night. In the process of doing this I....

(Photo courtesy of one of The Minnesotans, who outed my driving skillz on Facebook)

Yep. Drove over our mailbox with a 26' moving truck. Tire tracks and everything. *$!@!!

(And a HUGE thank you to our wonderful, wonderful friends for helping us finish up the loading that night!)

The actual drive to the new town was pretty easy. A little slow, but not bad. The guys we hired to unload did a great job. And thus we commenced living in a box village.

With Pepper, my Dad, Mr. Joanna, me, and the babe (who is adorable but the opposite of helpful), we commenced unpacking. And unpacking. And unpacking. And figuring out that the guy who lives behind us can open our garage door with his garage door opener, which is sort of another comical story. All told, we're getting there. One day hopefully soonish, we'll live in something that looks like a home. I'm smiling thinking of how close we really are!

On the training front, I went WAAAAAAY too many days without a run (11 to be exact) during this epic transition. BUT, I got back to training on Friday and found an awesome path. I will post pics soon!! There is a park near my house that is almost 4 miles around, tons of trees, water fountains, non-car paths. Basically the perfect running route. I am one happy Joanna Running. So, re-commence training for Lewis & Clark! The Friday run was a little rough. I mean, 11 days off. It was a little rough. My lungs wanted to know who I thought I was kidding. But the longer run on Saturday was awesome. It felt so good to be back at it. Time to rack up some miles.

mileage: 293.3 + 3.9 + 3.6 + 5.1 = 306.1 miles (I know that doesn't add up...I've given up on reconciling and am just relying on runningahead to keep it right)

And to be clear, even though I haven't elaborated on all my goodbyes, that is not an indication that they were easy. We only moved about 3 hours away, so I'm very hopeful that we will be able to see our friends who are still there from time to time. Today was great but really hard. The Beastie and her husband came to visit for the 4th, and when they left, they left to go home and pack for their huge move back east. I wasn't ready for that.

Buffalo Trace and.....EPIC FAIL

Buffalo Trace Trail Run (5 mi.)

Yesterday morning was my first ever trail race! If you'd put me in a black & gold uniform, I could have easily been convinced I was reliving a high school cross country meet. It felt just like it. Running on a hilly path on mowed grass trails. This one was a bit muddy, but that was half of its charm. The course was five miles long, through the same park we run every Saturday. We always run the bike path and I'd actually never been on the trails, so it was a fun switch up.

It was crazy foggy when I left my house. At the parking area I saw RunningFirst and The Gangsta (Music Says it Best). You can see behind us how foggy it was. We walked over the start area and got settled in.

RunningFirst, Damaris (The Gangsta), me, pre-race

I'd never run a truly local race. The feel of it is so different! It was much smaller (188 finishers), no timing chips, very relaxed. I really enjoyed it. RunningFirst took off way fast, but I suspected I would eventually catch him, which I did around mile 3.75. We chatted for a while before he sent me on ahead to the finish. Allison TORE IT UP, winning third place in her age/gender division with a time of 42 minutes and some change.

Allison with her Buffalo Trace trophy

The Lifesavers came to cheer for us, and on man did they ever! We must have seen them 3 or 4 times throughout the course, including the finish. It felt really weird to be out running on a Saturday at the park without Meg. WEIRD. We all missed her. My finishing time was 46:48. Not as fast as I think I should be doing; I've seen slacking since the Illinois half and was just out for fun. Or that's what I'll tell myself, anyway. :)

Our group post-race: me, Lifesaver, Allison, The Gangsta, Mrs. Lifesaver, RunningFirst

After the race we went out to breakfast and basked in the sun. It was such a beautiful day. We came home, disassembled a futon to give to The Gangsta, and then.....

The EPIC FAIL began

When Mr. Joanna, the babe and I got home from breakfast, I said I wasn't feeling so hot. I didn't think much of it. One of The Minnesotans had a cold and I thought I picked it up from her. By 3pm I suspected I was coming down with something more flu-like. By 5pm I'd confined myself to the bedroom/bathroom, engrossed in my misery. By 6:40 I was on the phone with the patient advisory nurse at the hospital, who told me that since the pain started before (and likely therein caused) the nausea, I should go to the ER immediately.

By the time we were halfway across town I was more or less in tears from the pain. The babe kept saying "Momma hurt? Sowwy. Sowwy." I told him it wasn't his fault. I think he associates apologizing with painful situations rather than with blame. It was adorable, although I really didn't want for him to feel responsible. Mr. Joanna dropped me off at the ER so he could go home and get the babe to bed. I was in all-out crying mode at this point, and just cried through registration and triage, even accepting the wheelchair to go the 10 feet between the two. They immediately took me to a room, where I practically begged for anyone to do anything to make the pain go away. The nurse put an IV in me and went to get a doctor to prescribe Demerol for the pain. It was probably less than 10 minutes, but it felt like an eternity. Once the nurse injected it into the IV, it was probably less than 6 seconds before my hands were tingling and the pain was completely gone. It was incredible. I felt loopy and fine.

While hanging out, pain-free, I called Ears to ask if she could take me home when all was said and done. She said she could, but that she would also come and sit with me in the ER so I wouldn't be alone. Around the time she got there, the doctor asked if I would consent to a CT scan. Long story short, I did, I drank the radioactive Gatorade, and they put me in the giant donut-esque machine.

About 30 minutes later, back with Ears in the ER room, the doctor came to tell me I had appendicitis and they were prepping the OR for me. That a surgeon would be down shortly to go over the procedure with me, and it would be removed that night. I'll be honest, I was a little scared. I got changed into my super-fashionable hospital gowns, hugged Ears, got back on the bed, and was rolled down the hall to the OR.

In the OR, I didn't really think about why there was a mask on my face. I thought we were chatting and setting things up and it would be a few minutes. Wrong. The next thing I knew I was waking up the recovery room with Mr. Joanna next to me (Ears had gone to stay the night at our house with the babe, because she's amazing like that). I'm told my speech wasn't too coherent for a few minutes, though I was trying really hard to keep it together. One of the first things I asked was how soon I could run. I was heartbroken when they said two weeks. Two weeks?!? Are you flipping kidding me?!? But to be fair, I couldn't run right now if I had to, so I guess it's a good estimate. I have three small sets of stitches and some other gory details I'll spare you of.

After I could talk reasonably and could get up to walk around a little bit, they discharged me and we came home. I slept until 11ish this morning, then got up to, of all things, help Mr. Joanna get ready for our open house. He was amazing. He simultaneously prepped the house, watched the babe, and took care of me. He's amazing. We got the house ready and left to hang with some friends. I can't believe we still held an open house. Ridiculous, but it needed to happen.

So, I'm on a lot of drugs for the next day or so, can't bathe or drive until Wednesday morning, and can't run or lift heavy objects (including my son-sad!) for two weeks. Looks like I'll have plenty of time to make headway on the babe's Christmas stocking, which I finally started (with some help from Dorie) on Friday.

Last thing--mileage update. I realize I'm a bit behind on this:

258.5 + 4.2 + 2.0 + 5.0 = 269.6 miles (how do I keep getting screwed up by a tenth?!)

Graduation Edition

I apologize for leaving you hanging for so long. Believe me when I say it's been a whirlwind. A mostly good one, but a whirlwind. My last week of work (last week) was hectic, then the glorious insanity of graduation weekend started. Welcome to JoannaRuns: Graduation Edition.

Friday evening

Family arrived into town on Friday, bringing our household to seven adults and two toddlers. With Kdot's help, I had planned out meals for the entire weekend and everything ran smoothly, thankfully. A bit of a circus, but a smoothly run one. With a very generous and sentimental gesture from Pepper.

Saturday morning

A comedy and a tragedy. The comedy: Meg and I ran in our "look at us we're doctors" hoods (for about a tenth of a mile) just because we could. The tragedy: it was Meg's last long run before her move.

With RunningFirst, we tore through the first 2.4 miles. I'm guessing it was about an 8:45 pace. Meg's knee started bothering her, so she walked for a while and RunningFirst and I ran another two miles or so. It was a good two miles. Plotting about our fall marathon. Running to keep from freaking out about moving a toddler to a new town. And gorgeous weather. But that was all there was time for, at least for Meg and me. We had places to go...

Saturday lunch

For me, I had my little boy's birthday party to come home and help get ready for. I carried the cake in, so I don't have pictures, but Salt & Pepper (my mother and MIL) and Kdot have promised to share theirs. So check back for that. It was fun. Kdot made some awesome food. The babe looked so surprised when we started singing to him. And gift bags and tissue paper and Thomas are awesome. Naturally. I learned the meaning of the word "obsession" when he opened his new Thomas train set from Pepper. I can't believe he's 2.

Saturday afternoon

When we moved here from the east coast, I brought a bottle of my favorite wine, always with the idea of drinking it with my brother upon my graduation. After I moved here, I amended that idea to say "drink it in a cornfield with my brother." Why? Because I'm surrounded by corn and it sounded like fun. So that's what we did. O.D.P. and I walked to the nearest cornfield (2 whole blocks), stood between rows of sprouting corn, and drank a bottle of wine. Until it started raining anyway, at which point we retreated to my front porch.

Saturday evening

My White Sock (graduation) Party!! I've been looking forward to this party literally since I started my PhD program. And it was everything I wanted it to be. My family, my West Virginians, my runners, my church family, my co-workers and friends all got together to eat cake and celebrate. And my Dad told the story that inspired the party's name. Again, back away slowly if you can't roll JoannaRuns-style, because this is about to get eccentric in the way only academics can pull off. Here's the story, paraphrased, told from my father's point of view:

When I was in graduate school, I would go sometimes with a friend of mine over to the student union for lunch. This was in the era where wigs were all the rage in women's fashion. There was a not very bright woman who worked at the union who we called the Wig Lady for all her hairdos. Well, the Wig Lady had a crush on my friend. She would get nervous and flirt with him. One day she was rearranging plates on one of the cafeteria carts and in doing so accidentally spilled cold coffee and cigarette butts on the man at the neighboring table. Flustered and embarrassed, and thinking she'd burned this man with the coffee, she turned to my friend and said, "Can you help us?! We need a doctor, I've burned this man!" My friend turned to her and asked why she thought he was a doctor. "You're wearing white socks," she replied.

O.D.P. and I were 6 and 5, respectively, when we first heard this story, and we didn't get it. We thought it meant that only doctors wore white socks. And so for the rest of our youths, we both avoided wearing white socks. Sometime around my 19th birthday, The Beastie (aka The Bestie--she's requested a blog name change, and this is me granting it) escorted me to the athletic sock aisle of our local Wal-Mart and strongly suggested that I invest. Apparently, I looked ridiculous running around campus in black cotton socks with my running shoes. I called O.D.P.; he'd only been brought up to speed on the sock issue a week before.

But now, since I am finally a doctor (albeit PhD rather than medical), I can wear white socks with a clear conscience. And so I threw myself a White Sock Party.

As I said, a beloved few of my West Virginians made the long trip for the party. Sadly, I don't have a great picture of The Original Bestie (I have two best friends, which is sometimes confusing. There's The Original, who I grew up with, and there's The Beastie, who I met in college) or Will. But I do have a good picture of Sherwood, who has never appeared on this blog but has played a big role in my life as a runner. We ran cross country together in high school. She motivated me. She inspired me. She also generally kicked my a$$.

Sunday morning

My hooding ceremony! I was hooded by my advisor with my father (because he's also a PhD) attending. It meant so much to me to have my Dad by my side at this huge moment in my life. I sincerely doubt I would have become an academic without him. That's my advisor in red, me in the middle, and my Dad on the right.

Mr. Joanna, the babe, O.D.P. (brother), Kdot (SIL), The Princess of Detroit (niece), Salt (MIL) and Pepper (Mom) were all there as well. And I could not have been happier.

Well, until I was made even happier.....by several lovely graduation gifts, including a Garmin (!!) from Mr. Joanna and Salt.

Sunday afternoon

More graduating, this time at the University-wide ceremony. Most PhDs in my field don't attend this ceremony. But I did because I've been in college for over a decade and would walk all day if they'd let me. Also because I wanted to walk with The Beastie and her husband, who were also participating in this ceremony. (Admittedly not the best picture, but I'm having internet connection issues preventing me from downloading the other renditions of this picture)

It's hard to explain what it meant to walk with The Beastie, but I really want to try to explain.

In May of 2003, we posed for the picture below as we graduated with our undergraduate degrees. L-R: Ellyn, me, The Roomie (my college roommate), and The Beastie. We'd all lived in the same hall of a dorm during our freshman and sophomore years. When this picture was taken, I knew that I was moving South and The Beastie was moving to the Midwest. We'd planned to talk on the phone one night a week to stay in touch. We both thought then that we would be lucky to see each other a few times a year. There was no way of knowing that after I finished my Masters degree, I would matriculate to the university where she was studying. There was no way to know, in 2003, that we'd spend five of the next seven years living about 4 miles from each other. There was no way to know that we'd seen only the beginning.

We've been through a lot together, personally and academically. And so it was a blessing that I could share the stage with her at our graduation this weekend.

Monday morning

Was insane.

7:45am: drop off the babe at daycare.

8:10am: return regalia to campus

8:30am: pick up rental truck from Home Depot

8:50am: arrive at White Sock party venue to pick up rented tables

9:15am: return rented tables to vendor

9:45am: return truck to Home Depot, incurring a nasty blood blister in the process

10:05am: return home to say goodbye to O.D.P., Kdot, and The Princess of Detroit

10:30am: get on the road to return my parents to the airport

3:30pm: return and drop off thank you gift to our Sunday afternoon babysitter

4:15ish: return home, pick up Salt, and pick up the babe from daycare

5:30pm: go out to dinner to relax

Tuesday

8 loads of laundry, taking out the overflowing recycling, etc.

Wednesday

Helped Meg move out. And that deserves its own post.

...I think I'm angry still

Name that tune! Anyone?

Hint: it's from the late 90's. Anyone?

Why the post title? Simply put, we're undergoing enormous life changes and have a lot going on. Some elements of this craziness are irritating, and the stress of it all makes me a little less resilient than normal to the things I would normally see coming and brace myself for. Such is life. While stress is detrimental in most ways, it's often actually a good thing for running. Take today. I had an awesome 4 mile run. I felt like I could have run forever. It was fast and glorious.

Except for the brief on-course entertainment by the I.T. Band about halfway through.

(Sorry, that's a terrible joke. And not even original. And those of you who don't run probably don't get it.)

Anyway, twas an awesome day for running. On deck:

1. all-out mile scheduled for Wednesday. Never done one before--wish me luck! Shooting for a 6:59. Can I do it?!?

2. long-run next Saturday early morning, probably 6 miles

3. Trail race the 22nd

mileage: 254.5 + 4.0 = 258.5 miles

Warning: this is about to get super eccentric. Back away slowly if you can't roll JoannaRuns-style.

I spent all day yesterday at a crop (scrapbooking get-together). I wanted to share one of the layouts I made because it involves two of my friends (the Minnesotans). In September of 2007, Mr. Joanna, the Minnesotans and I went to an ornamental grass festival. You heard me right. An ornamental grass festival. Why? Because it was something to go do. Because it was outdoors on a gorgeous day. Because it was in a small town none of us had been to. So we went. I just got around to scrapping this yesterday, and in honor of the fact that it was a completely ludicrous thing to attend in the first place, I made a completely absurd page for it. This is not, by any technical or artistic standard, a stand-out piece. But it is ridiculous, and that was the point. Can you say bedazzled Gothic lettering? Yeah. That just happened. See below or check it here. I should probably have added ribbon to the bottom, but was running out of time and didn't think of it.

Obligatory note on Mother's Day

I had a lovely Mother's Day! Mr. Joanna and the babe bought me a blue glass vase and....wait for it...Kill Bill Volumes 1 and 2. "Volume 2 focuses on a mother-child relationship. What?" Riiiiight. Remember when I told you we watched Inglourious Basterds on Valentine's Day and The Hangover on our last anniversary? I think I'm sensing a trend here. Totally inappropriate movie viewing (not like that! jeez!!) in lieu of sappiness. I know. I just lost a Chick Point.

Race recap

I just got home and got cleaned up from the Illinois Half-Marathon. What a morning. I'm going to try to get this recap down before I forget any of it.

About 6:45am Meg and I parked and walked toward the start area. We ran into Mr. Lifesaver and The Gangsta and chatted with them for a few. Everyone was feeling pretty good. All pre-race rituals had gone as planned. But after a few minutes the inevitable pre-race nerves sent us to the porta-potty line. Then as soon as we were finished it was time to line up.

We had the sweet irony of lining up right in front of a very loud woman talking about how her running partner likes to talk a lot while running and she doesn't, and eventually tunes the partner out. We might have moved away from her, but the starting corrals were packed to overflowing. Finally the one and only Katherine Switzer told us to get on our marks, get set, and go (Katherine Switzer!). And we were off.

We decided to run with the 2 hour pace team. We actually started a little ahead of them and, I thought, would stay ahead of them for a while. Maybe half a mile in they passed us and I realized we were off to a slower start than intended. It didn't help that my right shin was mostly numb for about two miles. But, by the end of two miles the shin was loosened up and we'd settled into the pace. Us and a street crammed full of other 2 hour (4 hour full) hopefuls. There was a lot of elbow bumping and accidental kicking. At the 2 mile mark we were at 18:22, right on pace. And bonus--I thought we'd only gone 1 mile. That second one just happened. Woot!

We saw our awesome cheering team (Ears and Mr. Ears, Mr. Joanna and the babe) between miles 3 and 4. We were sweating like insane people in the humidity (thank you, huge storm last night) but keeping the pace pretty well. Between miles 4 and 5 we started letting the pace team slip away and frankly, we were both pretty miserable. By mile 5 I wanted to quit and walk the rest of the race (but did not say this out loud). Miserable. Then around mile 5 our cheering section came through for us again and we kept going.

Around mile 6.5 we came through a big water/Gatorade stop that we'd planned to hydrate at. By this point I had taken to dumping water over my head to keep from overheating. We got through the water stop, saw our cheering section again, and started the 1 mile trek toward the Meadowbrook Park loop of the race (miles 8-9.75). Coming up a hill around mile marker 9 I just stared at the shirt of the woman in front of me, and mentally just let her pull me up the hill. Once I got through that the race got a lot easier for me. The humidity had partially burned off and we enjoyed considerable shade through this section. At mile 9.75 we came through another big water stop, where I drank Gatorade and poured more water over my head (which a lot of people were doing at this point), and we turned up Race Street.

Around mile 10 we saw our cheerleaders for the last time. They are amazing. Driving all over to keep cheering us on. Amazing. I have the best friends anyone could ask for. I kept telling Meg, "let's get up Race, just get up Race." We finally got to Pennsylvania and were barely around the corner before we saw Coach Harley (who ran a 2:37 at Boston--I think he might secretly be a gazelle) wearing sparkly green shamrock antennas and cheering us all on. Incidentally, his sister was the speaker at last night's Team dinner. Pretty amazing people.

At mile 11.5 we split from the marathoners and turned toward finishing the race. We ran west toward the stadium for what seemed like forever, and then we could see it: the last turn before the stadium. We skipped the last water stop and just pushed forward. Into the stadium, onto the field, under the clock, and finished.

Official time: 2:07:30. We got a new PR for Meg, and one that I'm insanely proud of her for toughing it out to attain. There may or may not have been a few tears shed at the finish line, for a lot of reasons. Exhaustion, for one. But more importantly, because this was not just about running. This was about the fact that we've used running as a survival mechanism while she went through Vet school and I got a PhD. This was about a friendship that started through running and has grown so far beyond it. I am not ready for her to be 1800 miles away.

We wandered through the finishers' area for a while and stretched, then walked past the food stations as quickly as possible and exited the stadium. It took us a while to find people, but we did finally find out how everyone did.

Mr. Lifesaver turned in an absolutely incredible, record-shattering 2:17:15 with Meredith.

The Gangsta set a new PR--but wait for her race recap for details and time. I'm not going to spoil it for her.

Coach Paula ran a 2:26:41. I don't think it's a PR for her, but a good time nonetheless.

AM also met her sub-2 goal squeaking in with a 1:59:56.

RunningFirst made the hard but wise decision not to run this morning. I'm counting on this to motivate him to run his heart out at Lewis & Clark this fall.

Before heading out, Meg and I got a post-race picture. This might be my favorite of us! I need to get the Expo and pre-race pics from The Gangsta, so hold tight for those and for a product review of the Bondi Band (as seen below)!

mileage: 238.8 + 13.1 = 251.9 miles

Not just another Monday!

Today was not just another Monday in my life. Today was a day I've worked toward for a very, very long time. It was one marker of the achievement of my biggest life goal. It was a day that, at times, I had to have faith that it would eventually come.

Today I successfully defended my dissertation.

Today I was addressed for the first time as "Doctor" (though in its strictest sense won't be technically accurate until I deposit, at a minimum, perhaps until my degree is conferred in May).

Today it felt like the weight of the world was lifted from my shoulders. It felt like this:

The best part is that it looks like revisions will be minor, and that I should be able to deposit in fairly short order. The end is really in sight! This is real! Plus, Mr. Joanna got to attend the defense (and take the picture), and that meant a lot to me. To those of you who prayed for me, I cannot thank you enough. God gave me peace. God reminded me that HE called me to this place. That this was His work.

I almost hate to mix topics in this post, because it means SO much to me. However, I reached another (smaller) milestone today that deserves to be noted: I surpassed the 100-mile mark for the year.

Last Friday I did an easy 3.9 miles, mostly to try to loosen up after the track workout last Wednesday. Then on Saturday Meg and I did an 8-miler, though a bit slower than our last long run. We were both still sore from our first track practice and decided that combined with our mileage hike, it wasn't the week to be heroes. It was a great run and we had a great time. Then this morning (in all my anxiety), I did another 3.9 miles. I ran hard and enjoyed every second of it. It was nothing short of perfect, with foggy, cool weather.

84.7 + 3.9 + 7.9 + 3.9 = 100.4 miles

Pushing the pace

Today is President's Day, a day that has always struck me as an obscure reason to shut down the Federal government. It also means my kiddo's daycare is closed, so I'm home enjoying a snowy day with my little boy. I got him all bundled up this morning to go outside so I could shovel the path to our front porch. I shoveled out a little square area for him to stand in, since he seemed hesitant, and put him down in the middle of it. True to form, he refused to move. He wouldn't even move within the square area I'd shoveled out. I tried to get him to throw a snowball but he wouldn't touch it. It's one of his lovable quirks. Last summer he wouldn't walk on grass and absolutely loathed sprinklers and other water-based amusements. This winter he won't walk on snow or salt. Otherwise, we ran errands, had lunch with Mr. Joanna (his new blog name), and played and played and played. And now the babe naps, giving me time to tell you about my weekend.

On Saturday The Bestie and I went to a crop (12-hour scrapbooking get-together at a crafts store) with The Gangsta. We always have a good time at these. It's good time to hang out and be super girly and tease each other a little bit and spend some money on crafty goodness. When I left my house to go pick up The Bestie my jaw dropped a little bit. We had hoarfrost unlike anything I've ever seen. The frost was so thick on the trees, weeds, everything, that it looked like thick snow and ice. It was drop dead gorgeous. We got to the crop a little after 9. I spent the day making Mr. Joanna a Valentine's card and completing 3 honeymoon pages (might have a picture of two of them later). It was a slow, fun day.

Sunday was possibly the best Valentine's Day ever. We were just us and it was fabulous. We went to church in the morning, then the boys headed home and I headed to the gym for my long run (more on that below). I got home and got cleaned up just about the time the babe was waking up from his nap. We played and all ate dinner together, then went out to get an ice cream cone from McDonald's (49 cents of terrible wonderful) and rent Inglourious Basterds (to watch after the babe was asleep, of course). That's who we are--a couple that goes to see The Hangover on our anniversary and rents Inglourious Basterds on Valentine's Day and plays with our little boy in between. I think that about hits the nail on the head.

So the long run, on the 'mill again. It was great! It took me longer than usual to settle into. I didn't feel like I hit that groove until maybe mile 2.5 or so, partially because I forgot to change the incline on the 'mill until some point after 1.0. With the 'mill at a 0.5% incline, I got through 6 miles at an average pace of 9:28! I'm definitely happy with that. I'm on course to get that average pace DOWN before training gets very serious.

Mileage: 45.9 + 6.0 = 51.9

New Year

I've been thinking all day about what to write in observation of the new year. I don't have a very coherent set of ideas. Here's what I have.

It's been a year of huge things, preceding another year of huge, life-changing things. This year I accomplished one of my life goals--I finished a marathon. I also got my first post-PhD job, which starts in August and will require relocation to another Midwestern city. It also requires that I defend my dissertation and graduate for the LAST time this coming May. I've continued figuring out this motherhood bit, with incredible and growing joy and love for my little boy. In all of this I've learned that I can do incredible things, just not all at once. That might be the one thing I'll always remember about this year.

In the past year I have committed myself more fully to running. I tracked my mileage for the first time. I ran my third half-marathon and my first full marathon. I bought nice winter running gear. It was news to me when a coach observed that I'm slightly faster than average for my age and gender division in the half-marathon. Strangely, that small statistic gave me a little more confidence that I can do this, and I can keep improving. It's hard to describe to the non-runner (believe me, I've tried repeatedly with my brother), but running makes me really happy. I love knowing what I'm capable of, and knowing that I'm doing something good for myself and for others through the Team. Last year's final mileage tally came to 463.3 miles. It sounds like a lot until you break it down. It's actually less than 10 miles per week. Here and now, I'm committing to surpassing that in 2010. It isn't something I'm willing to give up when motherhood, work and life take over.

I've learned that even though you cross the finish line by yourself, your Team gets you there. My Team gave me a home away from home (so to speak) this year, coached me through injury and frustration, and celebrated with me when I finished the marathon. On the surface, we're sort of an odd collection of people. You wouldn't, for the most part, pick us out of a crowd to be friends with each other. But I don't know what I would have done without this group of people, especially our coaches and our resident Gangsta. Actually, I do. I would have slept in rather than toe the line that October morning in Detroit. You might argue that I could have said this at year end in 2007 or 2008, when I ran my first half and a postpartum half. But this is different. There is something about finishing that first marathon. It's our big fat secret, but almost everyone cries at that moment. This year with my Team was something different for me. I more fully appreciate my little group.

When I say I'm unwilling to give up running when motherhood, work, and life happen, I must admit it's largely a luxury my husband affords me. My bigger point here is that 2009 taught me, in spades, the fullness of my husband's heart. People often ask me how I combine being a mom and a student. The truth is, I couldn't do any of it without my husband. We work together to cram all the pieces of our lives into the under-sized jar it often seems like we are given, and I appreciate him so much for that.

On a related topic, I've continued to learn the complexities of motherhood, and I've thought a lot about what it means for me and for my son. I've talked about it at length with my husband. It's a matter of the heart that doesn't have an appropriate home here, so I'm not really going to discuss it in detail, except to say that I'm in a good place. One less personal but related observation from the year: paternalism is alive and well! I never have and I still will not have any part of it. Criticisms of me and my family on this topic are senseless and categorically unwelcome.

I feel like I should say something about scrapbooking, but I don't really know what. More than anything, I feel like I've become much more focused in my hobbies, in the sense that I now have fewer and spend much more time (relatively speaking) on the few that I've kept. I think I've grown as a scrapper, largely as a result of better tools (yeah Slice!) and countless hours of conversation on the topic with N. I'm really looking forward to finishing the album I'm working on now...uh-huh, of 2005. Ha! It's coming along.

In closing, this is where I am right now. I'm looking forward to our life in a new city. How long until we know where things are? Until we have friends there? Until our lives feel rooted there? I remember feeling like this when I moved to Illinois. It seems a lifetime ago. I'm afraid that moving will scar my little boy. He's so small. So routinized. So in love with his daycare. How will he be able to understand? Will we find another church we love? What kind of house will we buy? In short, what will life be like in a year? I don't know, but for now I am in a pretty good spot--surrounded by awesome friends and anticipating a future we've awaited for so long.

This has gotten long and perhaps too personal, so I'm gonna wrap things up with, oh yeah, you guessed it, a NEW mileage count, from a run that got cut short by impassable sidewalks:

2.2 miles

just busy

mileage update:
125.5 + 8.3 + 4.1 + 4.0 + 5.9 + 3.75 + 3.0 = 154.6

The all-team training was great, both because I got to see some new faces and because I got to run a different course once mid-season. A new course is great for two reasons. The first reason is obvious--just simple variety. The second is less obvious. On race day, you're (usually) on a course you don't know by heart. You don't know, for instance, that there's a 0.2% grade from mile 2 to 5, which is virtually invisible to the naked eye but painfully obvious to your legs. You don't immediately know what is causing the drag or when it will end. Exposing yourself to that kind of uncertainty during training only prepares you better for the big day.

Speaking of the big day--it's only three weeks until Rock & Roll Chicago! I'm not sure I'm feeling as prepared as I would like, but even so I'm really looking forward to race day. The course looks good, and all the bands will be great to have on the course. AND, today I reserved a hotel room for the Detroit Free Press Marathon. I registered for it a while ago and have been training with it in mind all spring and summer. It's really happening. It's going to be a great weekend.

Training news: tomorrow is our first 10-miler for the season.

Aside from running, life has been crazy busy recently! I've been working overtime on my dissertation, which is going well. A few job postings are surfacing with January start dates, so I'm starting to consider those. I have two conferences coming up, other professional commitments, and one very active one year old. Our dear friends and Elliot's God parents, MJ and JT, are moving to Iowa this weekend. We're happy to see them moving into a great opportunity, but are really sad to see them, their son, and their bun in the oven moving a few hours away.

There's been so much going on that, despite my best intentions, I feel overwhelmed by the thought of really outlining it all right now. I'm gonna turn in for the night, and maybe get into more detail here later.

waiting for data

Yes, I'm doing the unthinkable and posting to my blog while at work. I'm waiting for data and really have nothing else to do, so I decided it was a good time to update the blog. It's just been an insanely hectic spring. I'll try to pick out some highlights to catch up on the month of April, in roughly chronological order.

I got the month started on a good note, by passing my prelim on April 1. For those of you who are not insane and consequently pursuing a PhD, the prelim is the second of the three big hurdles of a PhD program. The first is the qualifying exam, which is usually an exam covering coursework. The second is the prelim, which is a defense of a dissertation proposal. I've learned that this means different things for different programs. Sometimes passing it is permission to start research. In my case, I had already done a significant portion of the research. It was a mid-process check with my committee and a time for their input on my ideas to move forward. I was pretty anxious going in, but it turned out to be a really constructive exam.

Easter weekend I went to Chicago just to get away for a weekend. It was long overdue and much needed! I went on Saturday morning and came back on Sunday evening. On Saturday I ran around with my friend Lynn. That evening we had dinner with her husband and a good friend of theirs from college. On Sunday I slept in (which was half of the point of going) then went to the Art Institute for a few hours, then headed back to the hotel to get my things and head to the train station. It was my first night away from Elliot since he was born. This trip has made it clear to me that the occasional weekend getaway is a great thing. Everyone needs a break every now and then!

This past weekend I bought a new car. This had been a long time in the coming. Two weeks prior Brendan and I spent a lot of time talking about whether it was worth it to keep up the maintenance and repairs on my Sable or replace it, and we decided it was much more practical to replace it. I loved my Sable. I'd had it for over 7 years and put over 70,000 miles on it. It was 13 years old with 129,000 miles. I loved that car. It had been my Grampa's and felt in some way like an extension of him. But, it was time to move on. So after a lot of tears I forced myself to go look at cars. After much test driving and hours spent on Edmunds, I decided on a 2009 Toyota Prius. I will post pictures of both the Sable and Prius when I get home. I'm still taking nominations for names for the new car. Please make suggestions!

Throughout all of this I've also been working on a scrapbook for my niece, Nadia. It's coming along. I just finished a spread for February that I'm particularly happy with. I'm currently on the Christmas pages (I'm doing them very much out of order). I'll post some pictures when the whole album is finished and given to the proud parents. In the meantime, suffice to say I'm really enjoying working on it. As N says, hobbies keep us sane.

Saturday night we went to card club, a monthly get-together of us and five other couples we're friends with. It's always a good time. We found out that one of the couples is expecting their third child. We're really happy for them!

Monday (two days ago), Elliot took his first unassisted step! I didn't even see it. Brendan was playing with him in the living room while I was working in the kitchen. Brendan said he took one step then fell over. I haven't seen him try again since then. He's happy cruising and using his new walker toy (thank you, Lisa!). We'll get pictures/video as soon as we can. I think he'll start walking more regularly in no time, but we'll see. I just love to watch him figure things out. His other new trick is turning on the water in the bathtub while I'm getting ready for work in the mornings. I think he's pretty much the greatest kid ever.

from the edge

The other night I was so tired by the end of the day that I was not really coherent any longer. I have no idea what prompted this conversation, but I thought it was worth sharing.

Me: What's his name, Mayor McFry?
Brendan: Do you mean Mayor McCheese?
Me: Was he purple?
Brendan: No, that was Grimace.
Me: Was he some sort of bandit?
Brendan: No, that was the Hamburglar.
Me: Well, fine. Apparently I can get cheesy fries, just not in the mayoral format.