Abstracts of Daily Life

It seems like my posts are so sporadic lately - I have a hard time keeping up with the blur of life, and no time to sort my thoughts into decent writing. I haven't a clue what I've been spending my time doing. I've been running. I'm around 40 mpw right now - it's pretty low mileage for marathon running, but that's what works for me. I still have most of my long runs ahead of me leading up to Boston. My last couple have been hilarious. The flu has been rampant here lately - in many forms and varieties. I probably shouldn't have gone for that long run a couple of weeks ago when I was sick, but I'm a runner, what can I say? When you run in the city, you usually rely on park restrooms - and I found out during that run that many of them were closed for the season. (They turn off the drinking fountains in the winter too, so the pipes don't freeze.) Nice. I ended up walking my last 2 miles that day - didn't feel so good. I got smarter last Sunday. I planned my route to go past bigger parks, where I knew the restrooms wouldn't be closed. Lo & behold, I approached one and the sign said it was closed due to vandalism. Great. But, alas, there was a port-a-potty available for use. My new words of wisdom: Don't take a hydration pack into a port-a-potty. I took such good care to hold on to the pack, but when the hose with the mouthpiece drooped and hit the floor . . . yeah, I didn't hydrate too well after that.

I ate goat meat on Wednesday. Perhaps that statement makes it obvious that I'm not a vegetarian. I'm a believer that you eat what's available. On Wednesday, it was goat meat. We went to an Indian cafe/restaurant for lunch and they had Himalayan cuisine as a portion of the menu. So I had goat. With spicy pickle. I'm still not quite sure what that was - it got lost in the translation with the person that brought it to me, but it was tasty. It was doubly cool sitting there eating with a picture of Mt. Everest on the wall nearby. Then we went to an amazing art preview for a Chinese exhibit that was to open the following day. It was interesting to go from India to the Himalayas to China all in one afternoon. It made me realize how big the world is, and how badly I'd love to wander through it and explore.

The most fascinating thing in our house this week is xmradio. We have it in the car, and that'll be most excellent on road trips, of which we are currently planning for spring and summer. Online, xmradio is a whole different ballgame. The one-hit-wonder station is hilarious. Most of all, though, I've discovered, to my children's great dismay, that I can listen to 80's music all the time! Our 6-year-old switched stations on me right in between the Pretenders and Yes the other day. I'll just have to teach the munchkins about quality music. :)

Another big event in our home. New family members. It's been a long time coming, and no I'm not pregnant and we're not adopting or hosting foster or exchange children. The child was told it would only happen if the bedroom was kept clean for an entire month. She'd been told this for a couple of years, and it finally happened. So now we have "Yazhi" - Navajo for 'little one'. And along with Yazhi came the mealworms and the crickets. The mealworms are nasty. I have issues - really big issues with wormy things. I don't allow them inside or in my refrigerator, and I think we are going to get rid of them altogether. The crickets are a whole new world. They are a pet, a food source, music, a source of entertainment and curiosity all rolled into one. Truly, I think they are like a toy for my husband. They keep him up at night, no matter where in the house we try to hide them. They escape no matter how secure we keep the cage. But it's truly amazing to put them into the big glass tank and watch the gecko hunt them down and eat them in one bite - four of them in a row. I don't know where she puts them, she's so tiny and the long-legged hopping things are as big as her head.

Yazhi


Tomorrow ends basketball season for child #2. Next week is break with no school, and then we head toward spring. Am I ready for that? Kid # 1 has chess club and girls only indoor soccer, kid #2 has co-ed indoor soccer, and kid # 3 has jumprope club. We are currently holding a limit there at that amount of activities - when you add up school and homework, the scheduling takes a toll as we head into a weekend of training for my husband and I, and getnout and having fun with the kids.



While I sort through my thoughts and find an enlightening post for next time, I'll end this one with a token of hope for most bloggers in the United States. Spring is coming. I promise. Somehow, some way, it happens every year without fail. Believe in it.