Happy Christmas!

I think. This fountain store (which is pretty much halfway between TODL's house and mine) has this outdoor fountain operating at all times... It was happily spewing water while our xmas snowstorm was going on and still kept sending water into the air today when it was below 20F.

We made cookies today while thinking about when the snowplow would go past on our side street. There's a lot of snow and ice there, just waiting to block the end of my driveway. The boys are going up north for 3 days of skiing and I will have to get out on the roads to get them to their bus in the morning. I will have to say that I appreciate being close enough to lots of things that I don't necessarily have to drive everywhere... Walking is good. It also makes me rather absurdly happy.

TODL has suggested a change to her internet secret identity. She proposes "TheOtherLawyer-Damnit" or TOL-D. I'm still not convinced, but it beats Hey, You. We are headed out in a bit to see "Whip It" at the cheap theater. I posted this thought on Facebook, but it bears repeating... I am a very lucky woman.
Sent via BlackBerry

Gma would be proud

My grandma was a perpetual knitter. Mittens, hats, xmas stockings, baby booties: she knit a lot. At some point during my childhood, she tried to teach me how, but I was apparently in an ungrateful brat stage and never really learned. In a semi-conscious effort to not feel as lost after she died, I took up my grandma's favorite hobby. It seemed that something from those very early lessons stuck in the back of my brain, because once my mom showed me again how to cast on, I knew instinctively that there was a right way and a wrong way to knit. I knit continental, like Gma did. The English method looks wrong and feels so wrong to me that I pretty much can't do it that way. I thought it was interesting that the continental method is also called the German method. I wonder how many generations ago this way of knitting started and then was passed down through my German (great) grandmothers...?

I started out, as many do, with scarves. I found out that I don't much like purling, so that left either a garter stitch scarf (bleah) or an excruciating stockinette, with every other row an entire row of purl! I decided to learn how to make cables. I made this scarf, one for my mom and another for my buddy M. The back and forth of scarves wore on me a little bit, so I learned to knit in the round on a circular needle and started on hats. Then I got bored with hats and decided socks were just the thing. I made a dozen or so pairs of socks after I discovered wooden needles. Gma always knit with shiny aluminum needles. I find them to be cold and hard; they don't have much "give" at all. I found myself wondering if Gma knew about wooden needles (she undoubtedly did, I guess aluminum needles would have been kind of space age, plus they don't break) and would they have made it easier for her to knit (she had arthritis in her hands).

I'm still not bored with socks, but I wanted to take on another project, so I knit a sweater for little boy. I was intimidated by most sweater patterns, but I found one that lets you knit the darn thing on circular needles and you don't have to make any seams. Although I had to remake the sleeve cuffs twice (not quite long enough for those arms of his), it looks great on him. I have a nearly-complete sweater for Big Boy (almost done with the first sleeve, then it got warm out). I guess I'm not as intimidated by sweaters any more since I rewrote the pattern to an in-between size for Big Boy. Then I scoured cable pattern books until I found a cable pattern that was pretty close to what I wanted and then rewrote that a little and finally added the whole cable panel to the front of the sweater design.

Finally, five years after I started, I hit on Gma's favorite project: mittens. How did I think that mittens would be harder than socks? These little suckers took me less than two hours and I haven't knit since last winter:



Granted, they are sized for a two-year-old, but I think I have the concept down. A few more little pairs are on my list, but then I think I'm next in line. I often feel like I'm not even using my own brain when I knit, it seems like I'm borrowing my grandma's. Ok, that sounds weird, but I get the same feeling when I'm doing plumbing projects (I'm channeling my grandpa at those times!).

Satisfaction brought her back

There are some usual suspects we deal with in my line of work. Some of them, you just ask yourself: WTH is up with that??!! The crazy, it burns.

Ok, so I haven't found a way to block all of FB. And, this time, it was coworker K who said: Hey, I wonder what you can find out about X...? Five minutes later, I'm unable to control my own amusement and am laughing out loud (on a scheduled break, of course). People, if you don't want others looking at your photos from 1971, then lock your profile. Honestly. And if you post your photos and tag all of your family members, I'm going to be able to construct a family tree in seconds.

The laughter was supremely satisfying. No animals were harmed during the surfing of the internet.

Curiosity killed the cat

Disclaimer: I am not a stalker. I have actually been stalked and it was terrifying and gave me nightmares and new, completely legitimate neuroses that only a lot of time and talk managed to alleviate.

I am, however, very good at finding just about anything I want to know from the innernets. Very, very good. I have wide-ranging, divergent interests, a restless brain that is not sufficiently challenged and a somewhat unhealthy level of curiosity. Whether it's about the law or that something that someone saw one time and wonders if it still exists or random information about random people, I can almost always find it. Something I heard... A passing whim... "Oh, I wonder if I could find out X?" Although finding things is easy for me, it's still a challenge that's enticing. One little bit of information leads to another, and that leads to yet another, and soon I know way more than I should. And when it's about people, Facebook has made it entirely too easy to indulge these whims. Between FB and Google, yikes. It can easily lead to information overload and a brain swirling with things I'm better off not knowing.

If I had more willpower when it comes to information... like I do for say, chocolate... I wouldn't get myself into trouble. I don't mean any harm (and when I can keep my mouth shut, any harm only comes to me). Cuz there are some things, curiosity or not, that are better left alone and unknown. FB has a nice blocking feature. I'm going to employ it. As for teh Google, well, I'm going to have to curb my gluttony (oy, in every respect) and practice some deep breathing and temperance.

The sun

Apparently belongs to Tonks. I love how derisively she looks at it, as if daring it to leave and deprive her of its rays.
Sent via BlackBerry

Thankful

A list might be boring, but that's what I've got.

Things for which I'm particularly thankful this year, in no particular order...

Big Boy and little boy
roasted chestnuts that actually turn out
the whole fam and my fantastic friends
Sky and the time I've had with her
serenity
TODL and all of her mad skillz
gainful employment
barefoot running
Luna and Tonks
my awesome house
the fact that I didn't succeed in cutting my finger clean off
push ups work wonders (even when you're 42)
the luxury of boredom

Maintain radio silence

Sky and Tonks

Sent via BlackBerry

2009 MN State High School CC Meet

It was a beautiful day for a cross country meet. TODL and I dropped Big Boy off at Central so he could take the party bus down to Northfield. After a brief mental hiccup during which I could not remember which highway would be the most efficient way to drive south, we headed out.

If you're going to introduce a non-parent to the awesome frenzy that is a high school cross country meet, you can't go wrong with State. There's music, lots of runners, tons of spectators, fans wearing capes, signs, banners, pizza, buses, drama, chaos... It's easy to watch from one place if that's what you like, but of course, it's much more fun to run all over and try to catch your runner at multiple points in the race.

The Central cheering section was hanging out by the soccer goals throwing around a football and a frisbee (often at the same time). We started there, but after seeing the pack run down the first hill (little boy is right in front!), we took off to see them run the loop just after the 1600m mark.

The front pack stayed together through about 4000m, no one wanted to make a move. From the loop, TODL and I ran back towards the finish.

Although he didn't stay up with the front runners, little boy kept passing people all the way through the last 1000m. TODL and I managed to wedge ourselves into the throng of finish line spectators and see little boy race towards the finish chute. I wonder how much time his feet spend in contact with the ground, because there are an awful lot of pictures where it looks like he's flying.

I counted the runners as they came in. little boy's teammate Kemal was third! My counting got a little shaky once more boys ran by, but I was pretty sure little boy was in the top 30. He finished 29th!

MSHSL Boys Class AA Championships
St. Olaf College, Northfield

Individuals:
1. Aaron Bartnik, 11, Eden Prairie, 15:55.1
2. Marty Joyce, 12, Woodbury, 15:58.0
3. Kemal J, 12, St. Paul Central, 16:02.4
4. Cole O'Brien, 10, Burnsville, 16:02.7
5. Jake Autio, 12, StMichael/Albertville, 16:04.8
6. Adam Zutz, 11, St. Francis, 16:08.5
7. Jon-Michael Brandt, 12, Winona, 16:09.9
8. Mohamed Mohamed, 11, Eden Prairie, 16:11.4
9. Blayne Dulian, 12, Coon Rapids, 16:11.6
10. Oliver Haughland, 12, Wayzata, 16:12.5
11. Josh Thorson, 10, Wayzata, 16:12.9
12. Bryant Blahnik, 11, Red Wing, 16:14.8
13. Trent Lusignan, 11, Shakopee, 16:15.3
14. Steven Dado, 10, Totino Grace, 16:15.5
15. Grady Anderson, 12, Grand Rapids, 16:18.4
16. Dan Fitzpatrick, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:26.4
17. Christopher Mueller, 12, Eden Prairie, 16:26.8
18. Ben Saxton, 10, Lakeville North, 16:27.4
19. Erick Meszaros-Jones, 12, Eden Prairie, 16:29.3
20. Jimmy Dean, 12, Brainerd, 16:30.8
21. Alex Ciesielski, 12, Minneapolis South, 16:31.0
22. Christian Skaret, 11, Minnetonka, 16:32.0
23. Brian Brochman, 12, Stillwater, 16:32.6
24. Max Flanagan, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:32.9
25. Landon Lozano, 12, Wayzata, 16:33.0
26. Ryan Ness, 12, Woodbury, 16:33.2
27. Brian Anderson, 12, Saint Thomas Academy, 16:33.4
28. Elliot Fenske, 11, Farmington, 16:36.0
29. Michael V, 12, St. Paul Central, 16:36.2

Big Boy and little boy rode the party bus back to town. TODL and I went on a rampage through Fleet Farm. Jeans! Cheap stuff! Diesel coupon!

Sections Meet

More running

I have a plan in place for some races next year and I have all my runs scheduled through May. Not that I'm obsessive about it or anything. I just like to know what's going on (not that you can ever really know anything but what's happening right now in this moment).

I want to do a credible job on the Trail Mix next year. I ran as part of a team in the 50k this year, but I was the one who was dragging. It's such a fun race, but I was too undertrained (and still moderately injured) to enjoy it as much as I should have. The Madison Half is also on the schedule. They completely changed the course and after looking at the course map, I think that the sucky parts from 2008 are no longer featured.

If all goes well, I will think about a fall marathon. I should have plenty of time to train for it, because I will no longer have little boy around to keep me busy. He is in the midst of college application season. Although he wants to run in college (and is getting some very nice recruiting calls from some cross country coaches), his focus is on academics and he's applying to some big schools. The state schools to which he's applying are all Division I schools, so the running part is somewhat more iffy. I'm confident that he'll be able to walk on to a team if he ends up going to a D-I school. But I'm optimistic like that for my boys.

Monster Dash Half Marathon

No PR for me today, but that's alright. It probably would be better if I hadn't had a party last night and hadn't then stayed up until 11:30! I suppose this is a minimalist footwear (in a caveman costume) PR, though. This is the longest I've run in the VFFs (plus I parked kind of far away, so I ran to the start. And I was running late!). I didn't wear the dread wig (that was for last night at the partay), but the leopard outfit seemed to be a hit. Lots of people, lots of running.

I started off with the 8:30 pace group (1:51 for a half marathon, my PR is 1:50:04) and stayed with them for 6 miles. I have never run with a pace group before. I found the pacer irritating, though, because his pace wasn't very even (I get that starting off when it's crowded makes your first mile a bit slower, but don't run a 9 minute mile and then try to make up time by running two consecutive 8's, ok? Just sayin). I was getting weird semi-cramps in my shoulders and my right hip felt a little wonky. The hip thing worried me because I haven't had any joint issues at all since starting with the VFFs. I decided to slow down and take in the leaves and the costumes. Not all the leaves have fallen yet (the yellow ones are spectacular this weekend) and this was a costume run (more so for the 5k than the half, but there were lots of costumes to see). I stupidly had some evil blue powerade about mile 8 and then had a mile and a half of stomach cramps. Yuck. That stuff is of the devil.

TODL was waiting for me at mile 9 with her dog (who was wearing cat ears!). She said I didn't look very happy (blue powerade), but I was happy to see her and the dog was happy to see me. Off again...it was cold and blustery (36ish and the wind off the lakes was a bit nasty) and I wanted to be done. I had some kick left and passed about eight people running the last 0.1 mile to the finish line.

1:59:58, just squeaked in under the wire.

As soon as I was done and wandered the mile back to my car and got some socks and regular shoes on and my toes thawed a bit, I realized that I'd had a good time and everything was right with the world.

I got to have coffee with the Catholic-school-girl-garbed M and TODL. All in all a good day. Plus, we get an hour extra sleep tonight. Bonus!

Going to STATE!

SECTION 4AA, at Goodrich Golf Course (5K)

Stillwater (Brian Brochman 16:28.9, Ryan Nichols 16:44.0, Tom Linner 16:47.3, Wade Hall 17:09.8, Joey Doyscher 17:35.9, Gabe Hanson 17:50.7, Nate Hanson 17:53.9) 55, White Bear Lake (Matt Meuwissen 16:44.7, Joel Reichow 16:50.2, Trevor Bartz 16:50.3, Andrew Sanville 17:18.4, Grady Bell 17:27.1, Chad Gjerde 17:39.9, Sean Scott 17:42.6) 63, Roseville 91, Central 114, Woodbury 137, Hill-Murray 153, Mahtomedi 182, Cretin-Derham Hall 201, North St. Paul 241, Highland Park 278, Tartan 332, East Ridge 344, Como Park 358, Johnson 424, Harding 473. State qualifiers: Marty Joyce, Woodbury, 16:23.0; Kemal J, Central, 16:32.1; Michael V, Central, 16:45.4; Ryan Ness, Woodbury, 16:45.9

Birthday treats!

K made some awesome looking cupcakes and pineapple (specifically requested by difficult me). I successfully made g-free vegan pumpkin bread. Work is much better with treats.
Sent via BlackBerry

Why blog?

Someone asked this question a couple weeks ago. I'm not looking to build traffic, this certainly isn't a journal because I'm not airing my dirty laundry for all the innerwebs to see, only my friends and my kids and my mother bother to read the darn thing and you can't even find it unless you know it's there (i.e. not searchable)... so why? Humans (even introverted ones) generally feel compelled to communicate (or is that pontificate?). I'm going to chalk it up to that for today.

I took Friday off because little boy had a bunch of stuff to do that required parental transportation. Plus, I wanted to get in my long run before the weekend festivities began. Great day for a run: 36F and rain-snow (snow-rain?). Not such a good combo for the VFFs. I ran 5 out in the mess, realized my toes were completely numb, picked up the boy and headed for the treadmill. I finished up watching Footloose and then started in on Set it Off. Nothing like 80s dance music followed by gunfire to get you to forget that you're just a hamster on a wheel. Total of 12 miles at who knows what pace. Little or no after effects from what was my longest run in a year.

I think I have enough decorations and food for the party on Friday. I'm still working out the drink options, but I've already got wine, beer, juice and hibiscus tea. There may be a ginger/lime/vodka something that has yet to take shape as a recipe in my head. K is bringing a cauldron and dry ice. Coworker B is bringing g-free chocolate cookies. TODL is making something yummy with pesto. Cupcakes and decorating are scheduled for Thursday after work. Oh yeah, and I turn 42 on Wednesday. Not that there's anything wrong with that.

Home again times two

I've been missing Big Boy since he's been out in Washington state working his firefighter gig. Nothing I can do about it, really, as he is 20 years old and theoretically an adult who should be out on his own living his own life and all that. He left in May and I've noticed a slight, chronic unease in the air (ok, it's only my air, I'm sure everyone else was fine with it) since he's been gone. I picked him up from the train station on Wednesday. With both boys in the house, the pieces all fit and that chronic unease went away. I get to make random comments to him in Russian and he doesn't roll his eyes at me (like his little brother does), he just answers or makes appropriately random comments in return. I'm sure it will be no time until I am complaining about him, as we are very much alike in the ways that tend to irritate each other.

And it's not like little boy and I didn't have our thing figured out. We're both introverts and like our quiet and our routines (don't get me started on our astrological charts). We manage each other's moods quite well. We frequently make each other laugh until we are crying with our dorky goofball inside jokes.

Yeah, both my kids are great and I'm crazy about them. Nothing you don't already know if you have even a passing familiarity with this blog. I am very glad to have them both together in my house.

I have also been acutely restless (sub in whatever adjective you like here, it will likely fit) for the past week because TODL has been traveling in Cali. All the mocking I received as a result of my moping, whining and complaining was well deserved. She got back home last night.

Equilibrium restored.

Tonks the kitteh

Sent via BlackBerry

Huh?

I ran a little too much this weekend. Perhaps not volume-wise (3 on Friday, 10 on Saturday, 3 on Sunday), but three consecutive days still feels hard. I took this morning off, even though I was awake at the appointed hour. That turned out to be a good thing, given today's weather (yeah, that's it in the pic there). It was still snowing when I fled the building at 1:15. Weird. It really is not supposed to snow before my birthday.

There is a lot going on this week. little boy has two races and a short week. Big Boy got on the train in Seattle this afternoon and will be home Wednesday morning. I'm supposed to babysit for the blond cherubs Wed evening. TheOtherDamnLawyer (TODL), who has already been gone far too long, is coming back on Thursday. There's a work happy hour on Thursday (which I won't hesitate to skip if TODL gets home early). We are hosting the cross country team pre-conference pasta dinner on Sunday. Finally, K, her hubby C, TODL and I are headed to a concert Sunday night.

167.4 miles to go

Until I hit 5000 lifetime running miles. Huh. Given that I ran 90 miles last month and still have two and a half months left in the year, it seems like I should be able to hit that (oh, and I just added up what I have on the schedule to get ready for the half at the end of the month and it's 110 miles).

It's been less than five years since I started running. I wonder how long it will take me to get to 10,000 miles?

Deliriously tired

I have a touch of something, NOT the virus formerly known as that barnyard animal flu (currently a hexadecimal flu, I think), but something. It's been dragging on since last Monday. Sadly, work and life have intruded enough so that I just couldn't take a week off and stay in bed (I did take off a day and a half last week, though).

I bailed on my two scheduled weekend runs, but I did bike over to the other Twin City to watch the marathon with my buddy M. Nine miles of biking as opposed to 9 miles of running: not the same. Given that my running for the past year has been nothing if not sporadic, this normally wouldn't be worrisome. However, I caved in to peer pressure and registered for a half marathon for the end of the month. I can hear myself saying, "Anyone can run a half marathon!" Let's hope I don't live to regret all those utterances. It will be my longest run hippie-style, but I should have time to work up to a 12 mile long run in the few weeks before.

Because I've been otherwise occupied for a lot of time lately, I seem to have embarked upon an exploration of the boundaries of how tired I can be and still function. The human body is an amazing machine, people. I think things would implode if I were marathon training and admittedly, I did manage to give myself a cold, but all in all I'm still performing the essential functions without accommodation. I just wish I could figure out how to fit more hours into the day.

Trail Race One Year Later: Half the Distance and Barefoot

Ok, you've got me. I wore the VFFs. I wasn't technically barefoot and real barefooters might take me to task for that.

On Sunday, I ran the Harmon Farms Trail Race. Last year I ran the 10 mile version, but this year I opted for the 5 mile. I figured my first time on trails with the VFFs shouldn't be a 10 miler. Trail runners are an odd bunch, generally more diverse and more strange (eccentric, perhaps?) than road runners. Besides me with the weird shoes, there were people of every size and shape as well as a wedding party, gowns and all. Old dudes seem to love to talk to me about my footwear. Other people just do doubletakes and then stare sideways at my feet. This is Minnesota, after all.

It has been one of the driest Septembers on record, so there was no mud at all, just lots of dry, dusty and rocky singletrack. I'd forgotten that this course has more ups than I tend to prefer. However, I've found that one of the benefits to running with crazy non-shoes is that I find it much, much easier to run uphill. No more plodding, just lots of light quick steps that seem to get me up the hills much faster than before. I can't thunder down the hills like I used to because it's too hard on the feets without all that cushioning, but that's probably for the best. You have to be completely present in the moment to run trails in VFFs. No wandering minds or eyes allowed! I had one stumble when I was paying attention to the 1 mile marker instead of the trail and then another one because I just wasn't paying enough attention at all and ended up jamming my left little toe enough to bruise it. Beyond that, other than landing badly on a rock and making my left foot cranky, I was no worse for wear after the race. I might have attended a little too closely to the guy who was on my tail for the first four miles; he was a heavy breather and I wanted to stay ahead of him so I might have been running a little faster than I wanted to. We kept passing people the entire race and I think I was only dropped once. I lost him after mile 4 or so. By then I was tired, though, and it was more difficult to pay attention and stay in the moment. Rocks, however, are an excellent reminder to watch what you're doing!

I don't believe I've run a 5 mile trail race before, so this counts as a PR for this type of race (plus, in VFFs there are a whole new set of PRs to collect!). I finished in 48:08 and was 15th overall out of 50 (and yes, that sounds much more impressive than it actually is).

Slightly unreal

I've not been sleeping well lately and by "lately" I mean for a couple of years. I was training for a marathon in 2007 when I really started to notice it. I chalked it up to working full time, having two teenagers and running 50+ mile weeks. After having been able to sleep through my ex's high decibel snoring for about five years, I didn't think it was that, although she got a lot louder at the end.

Now I'm the adult resulting from the little blond girl who resented going to kindergarten not because of having to sit still and learn how to read (I could already do that), but because she had to give up her second nap of the day. That's right, at a couple months shy of 5, I still took two naps a day. That wasn't nearly so incredible until I had Big Boy who gave up that second nap right about the time he learned to walk. Even little boy, who also loves his sleep, gave up his second nap around the age of one. College was only hard when I had to stay up all night to finish a paper (that lawyer procrastination trait is firmly ingrained!).

I would tell people that my preferred amount of sleep was 9 hours. Ten was better. I believe this is still true. In my 20s I had problems with early waking - being wide awake at 4 or 5 and not knowing what to do with myself. Part of that was having an infant and a toddler and some brain chemistry issues which have since been resolved. Now I have to get up at 5 in order to get my day on. It's the last school year that I will have to do this and I'm actually quite happy to. I like having a schedule that's predictable. But, I've been dealing with broken sleep - getting to sleep alright, but then after a bit, waking and tossing and turning in something of a daze - for over two years.

I practice good sleep hygiene. I generally go to bed at the same time every night and wake up just before the alarm, except that I've been tossing and turning for hours by that time. I experimented with getting up and reading, but then I would just stay up all night and read. I tried melatonin, but it didn't seem to make a difference. I'm afraid of Ambien. There's too much weird stuff that happens to people when they take that. Valerian root is up next. I tried it awhile back, but that stuff tastes terrible.

So I was up last night until 2:15am or so. I was awake when the alarm went off at 5. I got up after little boy got out of the shower, say 6. I still remember tossing and turning. The world has a slightly unrealistic haze to it, but honestly, I'm really not any more tired than I am every day. It feels a little like the jet lag I had when we landed in Moscow and hung out with Tara for an evening before taking the train to St. Pete. Just slightly unreal.


Sent via BlackBerry

Accidents happen

Don't let the title freak you out, nothing bad happened.

The school year is off to a great start - little boy has had two great cross country meets (he placed fifth in the second one of the year), a letter in the mail declaring him to be an AP Scholar (he scored 3 or higher on three AP exams), and he likes his two philosophy-themed classes (along with all 6 of his other classes, yeah those are good, too).

I got hideously busy at work, which tends to happen intermittently, but still takes me a bit off guard until I get used to it. As always, when it's really busy and the deadline looms, the attention to detail requirement is through the roof. Get it done NOW! But make sure it's perfect!!! I got to write a decision on an issue that hasn't yet come up (I checked the database, there wasn't anything that I could find). Love that case of first impression.

And now back to studiously avoiding talking about my job.

Running has been an adventure. One of the reasons for the lack of posting is there just wasn't much running going on because of my stupid foot. little boy thinks I shouldn't run any more marathons, but I think I want one more go at it. Next year. Because of moving, I only ran one 4 miler in my new 'hood in June. My stupid foot hurt for days afterward. Instead of buying yet another pair of shoes, I went in the opposite direction. I tried a 2 mile run on my treadmill in bare feet. My foot didn't hurt. Well, to be perfectly honest, the skin on the bottoms of my feet hurt like hell, but my cuboid problem was not an issue. Barefoot running also makes your legs work differently (some would say they way they're supposed to), because you really do have to land on your midfoot and roll forward through the toes. My calves had a lot to get used to (and then bulked up like crazy after awhile).

We have a "no shoes in the house" rule (more like a guideline than a rule, per se), so I'm going barefoot all the time at home. But obviously that doesn't work in situations outside my own back yard. I've not gone totally nuts: I'm afraid of stepping on glass, various gross things and the occasional dangerous thing. So I ordered some of these for running:

Just a couple of millimeters of vibram outsole between your feets and the ground. No arch support, no heel lift and your toes get to move independently. Your feet get a lot stronger very quickly. I'm still only running every other day, and up until last week, my long run was only 5 miles. I got to accompany two of my very cool runner buddies Melis & Jen for what I thought would be the last 6 miles of their 19 mile training run (they're both running Chicago). They sort of picked me up at mile 10 of their run and I'd already run a mile and a half to our planned meeting place. Oops.

I got through it with surprisingly little complaining. My cuboid felt a little weird in the last couple of miles, but nothing actually hurt. I paid for it later on, though. I spent the evening lurching around not being able to make my feet work and cursing the day I'd ever agreed to run with M & J (just kidding, ladies!). But the next day I was fine, even my calves. (Anyone keeping a tally, I haven't done a 10 mile run since November 1st of last year.) And, just because I'm a glutton for punishment (or just a glutton in general), I volunteered to run the last half of M's 20 miler on Saturday. It was hotter that day and I stopped sweating about mile 8 (uh oh), but the after effects were not like the week before. Of course, I sat around more, iced my feet and had a beer, so I just have to remember that recovery is important!

1st Cross Country Meet

little boy came in 6th! The course was oddly soft, bumpy, full of holes and the grass was long; no one had a particularly fast time.

Thursday's high school results, Sept. 3, 2009
Boys cross country

NOKOMIS INVITATIONAL 5K

Burnsville 63, Central 70, Osseo 78, Shakopee 126, Sibley 127, Minneapolis South 151, Richfield 180, Trinity 208, Spring Lake Park 230, South St. Paul 263, Harding 336. Medalist—Kemal Jarso, Central, 16:58.

Ode to Stumpy

It only took 5 minutes for Big Boy to get rid of the stump.

Run in Peace

Looking through the Living Room

Note the drinking monkey print on the wall. The second pic is just a little left of the first, looking into the dining room. That's my $150 craigslist cherry table. These pix look ok on my phone, we'll see how they translate to the innernets!
Sent via BlackBerry

Kitchen

The first picture is looking toward the pantry and the back door, focus being on the new Ikea table and stools. The second is the opposite view, looking toward the stove. The table in the foreground is the former owner's.
Sent via BlackBerry

My winter running set up

Treadmills are heavy. We moved this beast out of the basement of the old place and given the configuration of the two (count 'em: two) stairways to the basement of my house, getting downstairs again just wasn't going to happen.

Enter the 2+ car garage. It's not quite a 2 1/2 car space. I only have one car. The side of the garage closest to the house has a workbench and the treadmill is on the same side, but at the back of the garage. My 80s era armoire houses my old analog TV (with integrated vcr) with a digital converter and all of my vhs tapes. My garage is insulated, too. So, come the winter slip and fall season, oh wait, the ice season, I'll be slip-free and out of the wind. Yes, it could still be freaking cold in that unheated space, but it will be vastly preferable to the alternative.

Oh, and little boy wanted me to remind you all that he is awesome. And he is!! He's been the chief painter and new furniture assembler here at Le Chateau Sage. Seriously, he's gotten a TON done while I'm at work. I'm jealous, though because he's also running 60 miles a week!
Sent via BlackBerry

Shed

Done!
Sent via BlackBerry

Agriculture

The beginnings of civilization. Thanks to coworker Kate, I now have five tomato plants valiantly trying to grow in the eastern section of the garden. She gave me some sage, too, which is just to the right in the southern arm of the garden along with the tarragon and the oregano.
Sent via BlackBerry

Not a whole lot of posting going on

I've been busy, what with moving and all. Also, given the events that led up to my finding and buying a house, I haven't really been in the mood to regale the innernets with (1) whining, (2) nothing about running because I haven't been, (3) self-pitying posts, or (4) freaking out. I've done a little of that on Facebook, but more effusive writing is expected out of a blog and I just couldn't.

I will, however, tell you all that little boy improved his mile time by 20 seconds during this track season. His PR is now 4:30. And, I think he's taller. Big Boy is out in Ft. Lewis, Washington working as a civilian contractor for the Army as a forestry technician and wildland firefighter.

So, I bought a house

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Grumpy grumpy kitteh

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Anyone remember January?

This is completely ridiculous for May 19th and yes, it's a record!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

What I had for lunch today

Aloo gobi with edamame subbed in for the gobi (cauliflower), red lentil dal with tomatoes and Super Lucky Elephant rice.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Finally, veggies

Broccoli, artichoke hearts (TJ's frozen!), asparagus and cremini mushrooms, some capers, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Roast in a 425 degree oven for about 20 minutes or so while the rice and tofu are cooking. This took me about 45 minutes from start to finish, but bear in mind that I washed some dishes and blogged the experience.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Next, tofu

TJ's tofu is the best stuff I can get in Minnesota. In Wisconsin, the best stuff is Bountiful Bean Firm and we brought some back with us after our rainy walking tour of UW-Madison. Tonight's is pressed for about 20 minutes, then marinated in tamari, sesame oil, chili paste with garlic and a little lime juice, then fried.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Super Lucky Elephant!

This is dinner. First, Thai jasmine rice.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Very cool building

This was a complete contrast to the neo-Gothic buildings that we saw at the University of Chicago. The cross country coach talked to us for half an hour even though we dropped in unannounced. Other than one of the speakers, who I felt embodied the worst that a liberal arts degree can do (and I can say that because I have one), we liked it a lot. Well, the tuition is terrifying, a year costs more than I borrowed for all three years of law school.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Lunch!

We ate at Amitabul, which is a vegan Buddhist Korean restaurant. We eavesdropped on a pair of Russians sitting behind us. Our food was also fabulous!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

What we did on little boy's spring break vacation

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Minnesota State HS Nordic Ski Race

little boy looks good racing classic!

Central came in 8th, which wasn't as high as they'd hoped, but they had a great day of skiing. Big Boy went along as a wax slave and got to be on skis for the first time this winter (there wasn't much snow in Malibu). Including graduating seniors, little boy is one of the top 100 HS skiers in Minnesota. We can be optimistic about a snowy winter next year and more fast skiing for Central's Arctic Commandos.

I'm not optimistic about much, but I do try when it comes to snow. I haven't been able to use my snowshoes in three years... We had snow over the weekend and it was the second heaviest this season - 4 inches. That's completely pathetic.


This photo cuts off his awesome orange skate ski boots, but little boy looks like he's going fast in this one! Yeah, double pole!

Going to State! (this time with pictures)

Boys Nordic skiing

SECTION 3 at Battle Creek Park, St. Paul

Team (first place team to state)

St. Paul Central 373 (Kelin D. 32:32, Thomas K., 34:53, Freddy W., 35:00, Michael V., 36:26, Ben S-H, 37:32, Jon G., 41:59, Aaron D., 42:06), Minneapolis South 367, St. Paul Academy 338, St. Thomas Academy 315, Minnehaha Academy 315, Highland Park 300, Como Park 291, Sibley 277, Bloomington Kennedy 236, Richfield 226, Burnsville 165, Minneapolis Washburn 112

A few (train) minutes west of Glasgow, Montana.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Somewhere east of Havre, Montana.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

East of Glacier Nat'l Park.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

West of Glacier National Park.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sunset - north of Seattle.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Sasha and Papa Lenin in Fremont.
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T