Runniversary

I've been running for a year. March 16th was officially my first "runniversary". Wow!

Guess what? I still don't like to run, but I don't hate it any more. It's wiggled into my life and become part of my routine. If I skip a workout on a "running day" my body knows it. If the weather is bad, I find a way to do it anyways. Even if it means running in the snow.

2009

“For an athlete to function properly, he must be intent. There has to be a definite purpose and goal if you are to progress. If you are not intent about what you are doing, you aren't able to resist the temptation to do something else that might be more fun at the moment.” ~John Wooden

In 2009 I accomplished a lot, and lived with as much intention as one can muster.

Possibly my biggest accomplishment? I'm not sure if I'm an athlete yet, but I'm definitely more athletic and healthier than I was at the beginning of 2009. I've continued running (even though I'm still not fond of it), have been going to spin and core conditioning classes lately, and recently started cross-country skiing. The kids got me a set of touring skis for Christmas, so I am looking forward to spending more time on the snow, making my way to the many warming shelters in the area.

Peachy

The continuing saga of a mother attempting to entertain her teenage son... while still managing to do things that she finds fun!

I'm not the best match for a teenage boy. Video games aren't my thing. (Especially games like HALO... they make me feel motion sick.) I'm not into robots or gizmos or wacky inventions. Manga? Also not my thing. Overall, you'd think that I couldn't manage to find activities that we would both enjoy.

But we're two-for-two lately.

Dinner

It's getting dark early, and that winter chill has hit with full force. Evenings at our house are full of activity - kids heading to this or that, homework that needs checking, and all the other day to day stuff that I fall behind on far too easily.

As a result I am ashamed that lately our family dinners have been an afterthought. It's one of my goals to build up a good variety of recipes that are enjoyable and require very little prep and planning. Tonight's dinner definitely fell into that category! Maybe it took 15 minutes to prep, and then it went into the oven and I was able to attend to other business. It's a combination of several other recipes, and of course I added my own personal touches too.

MAX

I am down in San Francisco for the Adobe MAX conference this week. The trip down here was very uneventful - just the way I like it. I arrived yesterday morning and have already seen a few old friends and met some cool new people. The folks who can't make it? I'm sorry... and I miss ya already.

Looking forward to a week of learning, networking, and lots of fun. And general "getting my geek on". I'll post some photos and stories from around the conference soon.

RHPB and the kids are holding down the fort at home. Divot is in charge. :)

Punkins

Just in case you were wondering, this is what 42 bucks will get you at the Central Oregon Pumpkin Company. But that's not including admission to the corn "Maize"!

It was a good day - though a little hazy. We could just make out the silhouette of the Cascade Mountains to the west. The peaks of Smith Rock State Park loomed over us from the North. We left home early and arrived at the pumpkin patch pretty close to opening time on Sunday morning. This was a good thing, since as we headed home it threatened to surpass my threshold for crowds. We bought our tickets and made our way into the "Maize". Did we get lost? Of course! Scott had picked up a bag of Kettle Corn as well, which sustained us during our adventure of wandering through loops and dead ends made up by the rows on rows of corn.

Eventually the kids made sure that we found our way out safely. After playing on the pirate ship (built from hay bales) it was time to find that perfect pumpkin. At first I told them all they could pick whatever they wanted - so long as they could carry it back to the car. That lasted until Stinky found a ginormous pumpkin that was "way cool"! Scott sent him for a wheelbarrow, and soon QP also had a ginormous pumpkin to add to the collection. Boo's little baby pumpkin (that she could carry without assistance) looked puny in comparison. But when it came time to scoop and carve, I think she was glad to have a smaller gourd.

It definitely took a LONG time for QP and Stinky to scoop their pumpkins. I was wondering if they would finish before dark. They did... but barely! Can you guess who carved each Jack-O-Lantern? (And if you guess me you're partly right. Because yes, I got to help a little with each!)

More pictures? Of course! You can check them out here...

Elevensies

You know, kinda like lunch? Hot lunch, that is. Remember school food?

It's hard to remember all of those details on the first day of school. There are supplies to gather, forms to fill out, physicals to schedule, and lunch money to send.

That's right, my kids are school lunch junkies. We tried the healthy, home-packed lunch thing in the past and it just doesn't "happen". Either I have to pack it (and then deliver it to school when they forget it) or we have shelves and shelves of spoiled lunch goodies in the pantry and the fridge. So this year I threw my hands in the air at the start of the year. I am not even going to try. Back to school is stressful enough, right?

Anyways when I looked up lunch prices I found out something that put the final nail in the coffin of my healthy, home-packed lunch pipe dream. If your kid goes to a Bend-LaPine school then you can pay for meals online. Hooray!

Why? Because it always seems like in addition to forgetting that healthy, home-packed lunch the kids are always forgetting their lunch money too. Also, I can check their balances to see when they are running low and "guesstimate" how many times they have sneaked into school breakfast. (I say "guesstimate" because you can't see details yet, just the balance. But apparently this feature is "coming soon".) When they do remember that they are out of money in their little lunch accounts, I usually get around to dealing with it after they have gone to bed for the night. Which means I forget about it, too. In short, lunch money is one of those things that should be really easy, but for some reason it's not.

Now, don't get me wrong. I am still all about kids being independent and learning to take care of themselves. But in this case I'll grant the bye.

Two thumbs up to the BLP School District for this new service. And a big thanks from this busy, busy mom!

Splash

I didn't go wakeboarding this weekend. Don't get me wrong... I tried. But through a nasty combination of age and total lack of athleticism I never quite made it fully out of the water and vertical.

Anyways... it was fun to try something new. And it was a blast to hang out at the lake, ride on the new boat, and soak up some sun. Our kids were elsewhere so we got to play with the nephews for a change. They showed me their tree fort, helped me with word search puzzles, took me on walks, and taught me how to play "Aggravation". They loved playing with Divot, taking her out to swim, and throwing a football for her to chase into the water. On the lake we watched them wakeboard, while others waterskiied and wake surfed. Scott tried the wake surfing too, and was up on his first try. It looked like fun but I was worn out from all my previous efforts with the wakeboard. (Not really, but it sounds good right?)

Meant

I've meant to blog about several things lately, but I haven't. If I had found the time to post you might have enjoyed reading about...

...My trip to Ignite Portland 3. Kate and I had a fun time. Afterwards we went to dessert at Rimsky's with Ana's mommy and daddy. But hey, at least you can look at my photos from the event.

...Eating dinner at the new Flatbread Community Oven in the Old Mill District. While the gelato was worth going back for, the pizza was a little "meh!" Oh well...

...Boo's ballet recital. The one that lasted three hours, in a non-air conditioned auditorium. That also featured tap dancers. Which proves that I love Boo. A LOT!

...Hiking the McKenzie Trail to Tamolitch Pool. With Divot and a friend. To see a waterfall that happens once in a lifetime. It was worth the drive.

...Eating Chicken & Waffles in Downtown Bend. But they were a little too classy for my taste. I bet I know who can do better. (And I'll let you know as soon I hear whether they give it a twirl!)

...Going to a Bend Elks baseball game with Occidental Girl and her family. RHPB bought OC a sno-cone which quite possibly made him a new best friend, but might also have made her head spin around from the sugar rush. Oops!

...Our family trip to da beach. It was windy but still fun. We hiked, played in the sand, and found geocaches. Oh yeah, and I got older while we were there too.

...How sore I was after walking (at 6:30 in the morning) with Chubby Mommy and Speedy Kate.

Sorry folks, I meant to do better. Where the heck is this summer going, and would someone please hit the pause button?!