No promises.

I'm back...  I have every intention of getting back on the blogging bandwagon, but I can promise you nothing.  I will try to have a topic for each post.   I have a good friend who does this and she is a daily blogger with conviction.  She's amazing and I will add her to my blog roll.  She's been an inspiration in loads of ways ever since the first time I met her.  We all have people like that... 

Anyway, today's topic is just that, starting over.  I'm starting a few things over this week. 
1.  blogging-  Writing is a strong outlet for me.  It always has been.  I enjoy putting my thoughts into prose and I am far more relaxed after I write.  Blogging is a risk, which is a bit out of my zone.  I think one reason I stopped for a while is because someone that I actually know (that I didn't know was reading my posts) mentioned that she saw one.  I nearly fainted.  It's much easier to write anonymously!  I'm manning up, though.  I can do it, even if you know me!  :)

2.  Exercise- I am not good at this (see previous posts).  I'm lazy (there, I said it).  I want to be healthy.  I want to be fit.  So, even if it's a walk, I'm going to do it this week TWO TIMES.

3.  Being patient- I'm not good at this either, but I am going to try to be more patient with Molly Kate as we go through this murky water of potty training (pun intended).

I will keep you posted.  That's three topics.  I will try to write at least three times and let you know how it's going.  Wish me luck.  And whatever your goals are for the week, good luck to you, too!

Workout, schmerkout!

This is clearly not going to work... I cannot blog about working out, unless I actually work out. And seeing as that only happens about once a month, what good is it...? NONE! So, I quit! I will work out at some point, but I can't feel guilty about it anymore, so I'm just going to love my squishy belly and get over it... (I am pretty sure I will have to be reminded of that at a later date).

So, what can I blog about? Well, I'm just going to stick with my lame-o life for now. We got a new dog, and I'm blissfully in love with her, but am reminded of how very much I miss my sweet labby! That ought to give me a few days' posts. And there are the ins and outs of being a mom which are usually funny, so I think I'm good. Just need to make time.

So, I'll start now with a conversation that Mags and I had yesterday.
Mags was telling me the many things she wants to be when she grows up. They ranged from artist, to firefighter, to musician, and lastly- nail painter. With the final profession she paused, looked at me quizzically and said, "oh wait. Do I have to be Chinese to do that?" And yes, I looked at her as seriously as I could and said, "Only if you work in a strip mall." She nodded in certain understanding and that is why I love my kid!

Week 2- or is it Weak 2???

Yes, I am officially into my second week of the running plan (check the dates, shouldn't that read week 6?)! I finished day two of week two today, and it was my SECOND time running this week! That's a huge improvement to my once weekly agenda I've been keeping! It's been so pretty here that I ran outside, which, I'm not going to lie, is a lot harder than running indoors! I was panting like a dog out there! I did it though, and boy am I glad!

On a side note, I may actually be further ahead in the actual program, but I couldn't figure out how to work the app (there's a slider for the day you're on, so you move it ahead when you are ready), so I did week one day 3 three times... go ahead, shake your head and laugh at me mockingly- I deserve it! :) Mind you, I did have bronchitis last week, too, so I took five days off. I was hacking up a lung, and felt that running was not my best bet! That is still no excuse for not knowing about the slider, though, I know...

Seeing how drama seems to be my middle name, I didn't just come home tonight and celebrate my run with a frosty beverage (because who doesn't drink a good beer after a run???). No, I came home and my husband informed me that our basement FLOODED! No lie. What the hell? We are basement illiterate, so we don't know about sump-pumps and whatnots. The guys who lived here before us never had a leak, so we felt insured! Guess not. Luckily our basement is not finished, but it does house a nation of Barbies and a neighborhood of Groovy Girls that are all soggy and quite upset, I'm sure. So- tomorrow I take a day off with my hubby and we clean our asses off. Maybe if I cleaned more I wouldn't have to run... something to think about!

Week one in three weeks...

That's sad, huh? I just finished "Day 3" of week one in the couch to 5K program, which is wonderful and I should feel really accomplished. The thing is, those three days (four really- I didn't have the app for one day) took me almost three weeks to complete! LAME!
I was thinking while I was running today that perhaps one day, in a few months, I will write a post and link back to these loser posts boasting about my progress and talking about the races I'm running. I'll post some pictures of me all sweaty, smiling proudly and holding up some medal to prove my triumph! I'm hopeful.

You have to understand, I'm lazy. I don't mean lazy in the "never does anything, sits around the house watching TV" lazy. I am a really hard worker, especially when it comes to doing things for my family and keeping them in line. I take a lot of pride in my profession and the work I do for my students. I'm just super lazy when it comes to doing things for me. I find excuses to not do anything. Running falls into that category. Writing falls into that category.
Today, while I was running around the track, I saw something that made me realize that my excuses are no good. That if I want to succeed it's really going to take effort, but I can do that.

Let's backstep for a moment. My dearest friend and I have three children each and they are very close in age. In fact, our first two are the same ages. Our oldest daughters are six weeks apart. Maggie visited her daughter in the hospital at six weeks old. We were so thrilled to be pregnant together again for our second round! I was due about four weeks before her. Instead, her little man came into the world two days after Mairin! He was beautiful, healthy and has Down Syndrome. We didn't get to visit him in the hospital, but we have watched him grow these last six years and we love him dearly. I've always had a very large spot in my heart for children with disabilities. Having Michael in our lives has widened that spot immensely.

The track at the gym goes around three sets of basketball courts. There is always something to watch while I run. Tonight there was a group of teenagers practicing their shots with two twenty-somethings guiding them along. There were about seven of them. Three of them had Down Syndrome. I watched them shoot shot after shot as I circled the courts. There was one boy who was hitting everything! He was working hard, and beamed after he hit three in a row! When I think about all of the things that are hard for him, my complaints seem to diminish. When I think about the possible health problems that plague children with Down Syndrome, my lazy ass just seems whiny... Seeing those boys working so hard really made my heart swell and pushed me a little harder today.

So what if it takes me two weeks longer than it's supposed to. At least I made it through the first week. I hope to get through this second week in half that time. That's not a lofty goal... it's still too long, but who cares- I'm working and no more complaints (you may need to remind me of that)!

Tomorrow's the day...

cause today is not... I didn't make it to the gym again today. Tomorrow, I WILL be there. Wish me luck.

Instead of going to the gym today, I took Molly Kate on a date to the public library. We had a blast. She read about four books to me, telling me stories about the pictures on the pages. She's so cute I can't stand it sometimes! She said, "Oh, dat's Cookie Monster, Mama!" She read all about the letter C, Aurthur (whom she referred to as, "Arfer"), boats and five ducks who ran away from their mother! We played Legos and then she watched the fish. By the time we left we had been there for over an hour. Seemed like a few minutes... kinda like the years with my girls. Every time I turn around they are older, and so am I. I love watching them grow, but sure wish it wouldn't happen so fast!

And the winner is..... couch!

I did begin the Couch25K regimen last week. I began on the 17th and, well, have only had time to do it two times since. Seriously, I don' t know how people do it. Unless I cut sleeping from my list of things to do, I don't really see how I will be able to work out REGULARLY three times a week... here's why:

Monday we went to the gym. It was less than perfect timing, as we both had meetings after school. Working out is now a "priority" though, so we sucked it up, schleped all three kids to the gym and worked out for a whopping 32 minutes (I know this because that app I told you about has a timer). Regardless, at least we did it. We had to hustle out of there because Mairin had basketball practice. We made plans to forgo our anniversary dinner on Wednesday night and workout instead (does that sound as crazy as it feels to write it???)!

Wednesday came with its own set of issues. We woke and started the usual whirlwind that is our mornings. I got up, got ready, woke the house and went downstairs to feed the dog and make the coffee. This morning something was not right. Casey, my sweet lab, was not herself. Instead of bounding down the steps to be fed, she was yelping for no apparent reason, crying out in pain. Now those of you that know me know that I love my dog. I've written of her in the past. Her yelping continued and was joined by dazed staring and trembling all over her body. I'm not going to lie, I thought we were heading for the end. I was a mess. Even Pat couldn't hide his concern.

We left for work and I made it through the morning. I quickly returned home during my break to see how she was doing- more of the same. I immediately called the vet and BAWLED like a baby while I told the receptionist what was going on (I'm not kidding, I was a freak). You have to understand. Our life with Casey has been quite parallel to the movie Marley and Me. She was so much like Marley (minus the incessant barking) that it's not even funny. Seeing that movie has scarred me deeply. That movie touched everyone, unless you're made of stone, but it hit awfully close to home for us... That is all I could think of on Wednesday.

We got to the vet around 3:00. Having a car ride really perked Casey up. We walked in and she promptly pooped all over the scale... oops! The doctor saw us and she was fabulous. She informed us that Casey has a cervical disc something or other (basically she has an inflamed disc in her neck- common for dogs who have spent much of their lives fetching and catching Frisbees). She's on some major steroids and doggy morphine. My life though, is never that simple and we then found out that the big knot on Casey's leg, well, it's not a knot. It's a tumor. A cancerous tumor. UGH! We'll have it removed after we get over the disc business... The doctor assured me that she didn't feel it was the "bad kind" though... I'm going with that.

After a day like that, who can work out? I needed a beer (classy, I know). We went to BW3s and had wings and beer (Happy Anniversary). Not to mention that Molly came home and promptly puked all over the bathroom... So nope, didn't get to workout on Thursday either! On a side note, it was pretty cute. Molly said, "I feel sick, I feel sick!" right before she vomited. When she finished she said, "I all better. I spit my sick out." :)

Today is Friday. I'm exhausted from the week. I took the girls to piano after school, delivered a meal to a friend who just had a beautiful baby girl, and ate pizza with neighbors. Tomorrow brings basketball and housework. I may try to squeeze in a run at the gym, but you know what? I may just keep working out everything else that life throws at me. There's always tomorrow, right?

Newfound resolve?

Ok, so I know I've sucked at blogging lately. Quite honestly, I've sucked at reading blogs, blogging, writing, grading papers, cleaning house, and so on lately. I have been really good at reading, working on my online classroom, and eating. Hope that counts for something!

So, here's a quick rundown of what's been up here! We had a great Christmas. My mom was here, which was interesting, but it was good to have her for the holidays. We enjoyed the time off work and just with family.

The Colts lost the Super Bowl, but we had fun with our good friends.

It's done nothing but snow here and it's on my nerves.

My two oldest girls are playing basketball for the first time. They seem to be enjoying it. I know their daddy likes seeing his girls out there!

Last week we joined a new gym/workout facility/pool. We went yesterday for the first time. Mind you, I used to be a workout junkie. When Pat and I started dating I worked out five to six days a week. It was nothing to go 45 minutes on the Eliptical, do weights and then go out. If I tried that now, I'd be in bed for a solid two days! I was so fit (and stupid) that I would wear a jog bra and biker shorts BY THEMSELVES! Who does that? That's crazy! It probably helped that I worked out at a place called Ladie's Only! Either way, I was way hotter than I am now... :) I say this jokingly, but it's a horrible slap in the face to see myself in the mirror and know that I've allowed this to happen. I'm not huge or anything. Some wouldn't even call me fat, but I'm not thin. I'm out of shape and I have a jello gut! Three kids, yo-yo dieting and too much couch time have caught up with me. Don't even mention the fact that I'm a hell of a lot closer to 40 than I am to 30...

Regardless, I'm starting anew (for about the bazillionth time). I downloaded an app for my iPod, called couch25K, which is basically a beginner's guide to getting into running (mind you there was a time in my life when I'd run around 4 miles a few times a week). This will be a process that I hope rebirths the runner that I used to be. I need it to do that... I will start this new journey tomorrow. I will let you know how it goes... Wish me luck- one day at a time!