Sunday, September 29, 2013

Weekend Ramblings

In theory, mine was a long weekend.  In practice, it feels way too short.  I took Friday off to tend to some stuff at the house.  We're starting to line up different contractors and services to prepare the house for going on the market in the spring.

I did at least manage to decorate for fall.  See?

(PS: This photo makes me not want to list our house.  I love our house.  I hate our city.  We are conflicted.)


Friday was the annual ice cream social at Arden's school.  And because she is awesome she surprised me with a cup to share.  And she got me two cherries since they are my favorite part of a sundae. 


Post social we made a beeline for soccer practice, then a mad dash for home so I could drop her with Dora and head off to an event for work.

Floating Hospital for Children has an amazing partnership with WKLB Country 102.5.  They raise money for us in a number of ways, one of those is through a concert series.  One of the concerts was Friday night.  Cole Swindell put on a terrific show.  And we had front row seats.  Well, front row standing room.  You should buy his CD when it comes out.  Or download it, because it's 2013 and who buys CDs anymore.  (Ahem, I do.)  

Also, how cool would it be to be a musician?  I think people who pursue their dreams to become musicians (or actors or artists or..or...or...) are outstanding, and I envy their bravery.  There's no safety net for these people, but they do it because they love it.


Saturday morning we headed out bright and early for soccer.   I am way too invested in my 8 year old's soccer games.  Like, I belong on Soccer Moms a la Dance Moms.  I may start bringing Mimosas instead of coffee to the games.  You know, just to take the edge off.  


Next up (I know, isn't this exciting?!) we had hair appointments.  They were desperately needed and my hair looked awesome for the 11 seconds post appointment that I didn't have it pulled back in a soccer mom ponytail.  See?  (This picture will disappear in 3, 2...)


He trimmed A's hair and put it in a fancy ponytail.  Something so perfect about this photo.  Fancy hair and a soccer uniform.  (Also, how gorgeous is our kid's chameleon hair?  Red for fall.)


We got home and I hit the market, then took one of our newfangled family walks.  Nothing extraordinary, just a mile to take the edge off the dogs and ourselves. 

I ended the evening making a great steak dinner.  It was so great that I had no desire to eat it once I finished cooking.  Why does that happen? 

I also made Giada's California Turkey Chili last night so that it could sit overnight (allowing the flavors to marry...see, I should have my own Food Network show).  We'll have that for dinner tonight and it will work as lunches for a couple of days too.  

This morning has been quiet.  Dora took off to the barn first thing to see some of her friends ride in a horse show the barn is hosting.  I made the kid breakfast and got her lunches for the week set and now we are doing this:


I have 11,000 things I have to do and somewhere in there I have to drive her to her soccer training academy.  It's a really lovely day outside, the Vitamin D will do us both good.  (Did that sound convincing?  What I wouldn't give for a full day at home.)

Next weekend the Topsfield Fair starts and I'm basically out of my skin excited.  It is my favorite fall tradition. 

Did you stay awake for this whole entry?  If so, watch your mailbox for a surprise. 

So as you can see, The Gay Agenda is in full swing here.



Thursday, September 26, 2013

Buh-Bye, Barilla

So, this happened today:

From the president of Barilla pasta:

"I would never do [a commercial] with a homosexual couple, not for lack of respect but because we don't agree with them," said Guido Barilla, according to a Reuters translation. "Ours is a classic family where the woman plays a fundamental role. … If [gays] don't like it, they can go eat another brand."

Discriminatory Pasta!

Also, women play a pretty fundamental role in our gay family.  Just sayin'....

And so with that, I offer to you the following pastas that do not carry hate along with their carb-filled goodness.  Make a statement with your wallet, dear readers!

(Credit to www.hrc.org)


Market Pantry from Target Corp, 100 CEI score
Target scored a 100 percent on HRC’s Corporate Equality Index in 2012. Go ahead and serve yourself a heaping spoonful of their store-brand pasta, Market Pantry, without the guilt of supporting LGBT inequality.
Chef Boyardee from ConAgra Foods, 95 CEI score
Relive your childhood with a bowlful of Chef Boyardee from ConAgra Food, a 95 percenter on the CEI, and tell yourself, “Thank goodness for Chef Boyardee."
DeBoles and Rosetta pastas from Hain Celestial Group, 90 CEI score
Hain Celestial Group, the parent company that owns both Rosetto and DeBoles, scored a 90 percent on the CEI.  Hain Celebrial Group focuses on natural and organic foods, so it’s good for your health, too.
Macaroni Grill from General Mills, 100 CEI score
And if you find yourself in the mood for carbs on-the-go, why not opt for Macaroni Grill? This 100 percenter is owned by General Mills, a long time supporter of LGBT equality.  


Tuesday, September 24, 2013

I started three posts this weekend and finished a whopping zero.  One I fell asleep writing.  Figured if I fell asleep writing it it probably wasn't that prophetic.

We are a few weeks into this healthier living commitment.  We are, if I do say so myself, doing pretty great.  I am really good at not being a hero when it comes to this stuff.  We are exercising daily - with the exception of yesterday I've gone for at least a walk every day for the last couple of weeks.  Every other day has been a Zombies Run.  Arden and I finished Week 2 Day 3 this evening.  It was arse kicking tonight.  Arden suggested we run up and down the stairs and the hills at the Reservoir.  Watch out, Jillian Michaels.  This is from the bottom of the hill looking up.  What'd I ever do to her?




This is all working quite well but I do fear the impending winter.  Running outside in 15 degree weather is about as likely as me voting for Mitt Romney.  We are looking at gyms that have indoor tracks so Arden can join -- that's key.  We've only found one option at this point, and it's not terribly convenient nor is it cheap.  And the only thing she could use is the indoor track.  All other areas are limited to 14+.   Family fitness in the winter seems to be hard to come by.  This is New England, people, that should not be!

So, this all seems to be working.  Arden is getting fit.  I envy how fast it has happened for her.  She's not even winded when she finishes running.  

Anyhoo.  Next up is making winter exercise plans and diversifying my workouts to some extent on off days.  It may be time to brush off the Yoga Booty Ballet DVDs.


Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Don't Tell Dora But...

Arden picked this book out of the school library today:




She proceeded to read the entire book to me on the way home.  She also believes the Danish Warmblood to be the perfect horse for her.  Of note, the internet tells me that those are $18,000+.  Awesome.  Also of note, Dora said she's right.

Her reasoning is sound.  They are known for both dressage (which she's learning) and jumping (which she will move onto once she has a solid background in dressage).  See, Dora, I listen.  Sometimes.

So I'm driving home and have this vision of me at a horse show.  Actually being helpful and not complaining about 1) my itchy eyes (y'all, I'm allergic to these creatures) and 2) the obscene expense (i mean really, really obscene).

If you think about it, at some point should one just embrace their destiny. 


 Apparently the fancy horse shows involve tailgating and wine.  It can't all be bad then, right?

Monday, September 16, 2013

Back to Life, Back to Reality; Reality Bites; Etcetera Etcetera

Well, dear readers (all 9 of you!), we've returned to reality.  We moved back home this weekend and are getting settled back in.

Of note:



  • We still love (love) our house.  It is full of 1910 awesome.
  • Builders are better at insulating now.  We're feeling the shift back to the old house.
  • Arden is utterly delighted to be home.  We would not have seen her Sunday if it hadn't been for soccer.
  • I spent Sunday in the kitchen.  I roasted chicken and made ham salad and baked pumpkin bread and truly embraced the charm (realtor word!) of our old kitchen.
  • We took our first family walk through the 'hood in several years.  It reinforced Dora's desire to move, despite bullet #1.  Cities are not her friend.
  • She realized just how damn hilly it is around here.
  • We both survived our first days back at work.
  • Feeling all gung-ho I hit the road with Shelby after work.  We did 4.27 miles and well, ouch.
  • It's going to take some magic to make this whole work-life balance thing work out in the way we were hoping.  It's a lot easier to exercise as a family when neither of us has to go to the office.
  • The lottery is $400M tomorrow.  We're playing.  See above bullet.
  • I spent most of today's walk on relatively high traveled roads.  Shelby maintains her fear of cars.  She and Dora need to live on a ranch in the midst of 100 acres.  Which leads me back to my obsession: The Pioneer Woman.  Can't you see me living on a ranch, rounding up cattle and working from dawn till dusk and homeschooling the child?  I thought so.
Man, I'm interesting.  Amazing this blog hasn't gone viral, isn't it?

Friday, September 13, 2013

This That and the Other

Join me for a relatively schizophrenic post, will you?


  • Arden and I moved on to Week 1 Day 2 Zombies, Run 5K Training today.  2.1 miles this morning.  She makes a good coach.  




















  • This evening Dora wanted to tackle all of Summer Village, so we did that as a family.  It's 2.5 miles of hills, basically.  So, Arden, Shelby and I did a total of 4.6 miles today.  She fell asleep quickly.
  • Soccer practice was canceled today due to rain.  Turns out there isn't a game tomorrow either out of respect for Yom Kippur.  Soccer games are pretty much my favorite thing these days, but I'm not sad about not having to get up and out of here in the morning.
  • We are, in theory, moving home this weekend.  But Summer Village is awesome so we lack total motivation.  But man the commute to Boston leaves much to be desired.
  • In prep for the aforementioned move home, we've been sparse on filling the fridge.  Tonight's dinner was quite the smorgasbord.  But I refuse to throw away food.  
  • I go back to work on Monday.  A month of leave seemed like such a long time.  Newsflash, it's not.
  • We're watching The Campaign on HBO.  Mindlessly hilarious.
And there we have it.  The excitement of our life.  You can see why the Christian Right hates us, can't you?  

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Dear Summer ... GO AWAY

Lucy is channeling me tonight:


This is after our 40 minute walk, which I took because I needed to walk the other dog or she would drive us all nuts tonight.  Instead, she looked like this (yes, we still have the gorgeous hospital bed.  They're all the rage these days.)


Family fitness activity of the night was this:


They just put a heater in the family pool, and it was EMPTY.  Which means it was awesome.  Dora was cleared to swim yesterday, so after the kiddo got home from the school we hit the pool for an hour.  It was glorious.  How many calories does one burn when running back and forth (length wise) across a pool for an hour with a kid on your back?  I'm going to go with 11,000.

Anyhoo, I had planned to skip the walk tonight due to the insane humidity, but after I emerged from the pool it felt chilly, so I came back to the house and changed and hit the road with both dogs.

Let's talk about how it being chilly was an illusion.  The humidity was still killer.  But I did 2.1 miles with two naughty, misbehaved dogs and didn't drop dead or decide to let the dogs run free into the woods.  I get 2 stars for that.  Trust me.  

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Lesson One: Don't Be a Hero

Healthy Musings
Day 2

So here we are, day two of blogging about healthier living.

Yesterday after school, Arden and I hit the ground in Zombies, Run -- Intro to 5K.  Day 1 was the introduction of the story and Arden and I just sorta walked and ran, unsure of what we were supposed to do.  But apparently OFFICIAL Day 1 started yesterday, with Week 1, Day 1.  You walk 10 minutes, then do 10 intervals of walk 1 minute, run 15 seconds.  Then you 'free run' for 10 minutes.  Run, walk, do whatever.  We spent a lot of time laughing.  That's what I love about the Zombies program.  It's fun.  You want to make it to the end of that workout to hear what's next.  10 points, Zombies, Run developers!

The app said to rest today.  I hit the road with Shelby just for a walk after I took Arden to school.  First, it is 11,000 degrees and 14 million % humidity.  It was hard.  I tracked with my Runkeeper app and didn't even crack an 18 minute mile.  Mid walk I was pretty pissed I couldn't seem to crack 18 minutes.  I contemplated not even saving the workout to my Runkeeper.  

But then the good, don't be crazy voice said hey, you're not on your arse at home.  



I promised myself I wouldn't be crazy this time. I wouldn't start this journey to health the way I normally do.  The unsustainable "I'm going to be at the gym for 90 minutes twice a day every day!  Starting Monday."

Dora kindly reminded me of the fact that the crazy was starting to sneak in already when I said I was going to hit the gym for weights.  I got a lecture gentle reminder about being sensible.  About doing weights on my rest days, but skipping doing the walk I just did on those days.  That these programs are built this way for a reason.  

I don't like it when she's right.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Healthy Muses

Grab a cup of coffee, a glass of wine, a shot of whiskey...this is a long one!

Inspired by this muse...


...I've been musing a lot about health in the last week.

I'm always relatively obsessive about weight, without much thought to health.  I spend a lot of time focused on the size of my clothes, the glowing number of the weighing machine, the reflection in the glass.  Naturally, none of these are met with positive feelings.  Still doesn't stop me from answering every feeling (happy, sad, stressed, anxious, mad, elated, frustrated, bored) with food.  

Sometimes I get annoyed enough at one of the aforementioned issues that I commit to a Monday start of eating better, eating less.  The proverbial Monday reunion with the gym.  You know the drill.  (You do, don't you...)

Sometimes there is an event with a concrete date on the calendar that inspires the same commitment.  Most recently for me it was my brother-in-law's wedding.  For a year six months I (mostly) thought about what I ate and went to the gym on the regular.  Almost every night at 10PM.  And it worked (sorta).  At least I fit into the strapless dress I'd ordered a couple of sizes down and didn't feel wholly awful about myself (success!).  

And then they got hitched (a year ago, ahem) and all bets were off.  I stopped finding time and motivation to hit the gym, or do anything active, really.  I drank more wine (liquid calories FTW).  I ate lots of carbs (bagels are so delicious, aren't they?).  This did not result in a svelter figure.

This summer we bought a little house in a summer community.  Cute, isn't it?



I went in to this summer swearing it would be the summer of fitness.  On property gym!  180 acres of walking trails!  Pools!  Pond!  Yeah.  No.  I can count on one hand the number of times I have hit the gym that is 100 yards from our house.  I tried the trails once and they weren't cleared so I turned around.

Dora had major surgery and that was a super terrific excuse to stress eat (and not celery) and not exercise. By the beginning of August I was feeling more miserable than I had in a long time. I begrudgingly took this creature for a slow walk every other day, if that.



She needs fast walks sprints daily.

By mid-August Dora was ready to start longer walks on her new titanium spine.  We started making them family walks.  Two moms, two dogs, one kid.  Shelby (pictured above) started to calm down.  In the beginning the walks were a mile, then 1.3.  Now these family walks are nearing the 2 mile mark, depending on how Dora is feeling each day.  These walks, slow as they can be with someone 6 weeks post major surgery, started making a difference for me.  I started feeling better and stronger, ready to tackle more hills, and a quicker pace.  

I started taking Shelby on my own early in the day, family walks still at night.  Last week, according to Runkeeper, I started breaking the 15 minute/mile mark on my walks.  Given I was having a hard time 19 or 20 minute miles just a couple of months ago, I'm pretty impressed with myself.

Back to the original muse -- the kid.  Our kid is a jock.  She excels at any sport she tries.  This is not typical parental bias, it's just true.  Her current passion is soccer.  Soccer requires running endurance.  She does not have this endurance, and I 100% blame myself.

Arden loves organized sports.  And then she likes to come back to the house and hang out with her best friend, the iPad.  I'm a terrible role model for my kid when it comes to making health a priority.  We feed her (and ourselves) pretty well most days.  But we're not active.  Dora had an excuse, she physically could not be active.  With the replacement of her spine, she can (yay!).  

And honestly, it's hard.  Right now, Dora is out on leave to recover, and I am out on leave to take care of her.  Time is on our side.  We can hit the road as a family as soon as the kiddo gets home from school.  There is no rushing to and from the city for work, no getting home at 7PM or 9PM with a list of 75 million things to do before the sun rises on the next day.  Healthy activities do not have to be squeezed in, time doesn't have to be negotiated.  

This has to continue once the normal insanity of life resumes.  We have to help Arden make good habits.  Sports are her thing.  If her thing was music or art, maybe we'd put less emphasis on this, but she's an athlete. 

This weekend, she and I started Zombies, RUN.  We're doing the Introductory program - an app getting us in shape to run a 5K with the help of zombies chasing us.  It's fun and different and perfect for an 8 year old.  Lots of walking with bits of running.  Plus we still have to walk Dora!  

This is a long (long) winded way to say we're finally making our family a priority.  I want to be the model for Arden that my parents are for me.  They have both worked out regularly since I was a kid.  They both look years younger than they are.  They are (knock wood) healthy and physically fit in their 60s.

We're not going on any crazy diet.  We're going to eat lots of healthy foods, limit things that impact our family negatively (lots of simple, overly processed carbs), and be active.  We will still have treats.  If we eliminate things entirely, we will fail.  It's not real life to eliminate this or that, at least for us.  It is certain failure, for me in particular.

The goal of all of this is just a healthier, longer life.  I feel better already.  Stronger and fitter.  Happier (endorphins rule).

If I had to pick a small, concrete goal?  The January 2015 Disney trip.  We're hoping schedules allow us to go during their Marathon weekend.  We want to do the 5K as a family, but beyond that, I just want to feel great walking around.  A nice side effect will be (hopefully) not loathing every photo of me.  

If you made it this far, you get a reward.  I didn't mean to be so long-winded, but this post has been bouncing around my head for a bit and every piece of it is important to my/our story.  



Wednesday, September 4, 2013

The Mouse

Someone posted this on Facebook and it is genius.  And so, freakin', accurate.


We are all jonesing for a trip to Disney World.  We have had to skip this year (and probably next) since we bought this little summer place.  It's not that I regret the buying of this place, but I sure do miss our annual escape to the Mouse's House.

I still have a hard time believing I've become one of those Disney people.  As a native Californian I grew up going to Disneyland.  I was a dancer on the Central Coast and we used to perform on the Carnation Plaza Stage every summer.  My sweet father has hated Disney since the year they made us PAY to get into the park to perform.  He remains bitter to this day a couple decades  years later, and refuses to set foot on Disney property.

Then I married into a family that used to take (at least) annual trips to Disney.  And I spent a lot of time saying no, not interested in going and arguing that Disneyland and Disney World are one in the same.

I will say this just this once ....... I was wrong.  Disney World is the greatest place on earth.  Truly.  If I could go every 6 months I'd be a happy camper.  I love the escape of it all.  Almost nothing fills me with more joy than seeing this (live, obviously).


We are starting to dream up our next trip, squirreling away extra money where we can, can't wait to again enter the People Trap.

(16 months is really not that far away.  Right?  Right?)

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Day 1 - Check Check

We survived day one.  She had a good day.  "It was good. It was all good, Mom." (insert eye roll here. take a hint, stop asking how everything was.)

I love her school. It's like coming home. I love that there are only 13 kids (and two teachers!) in her class. Pretty good student/teacher ratio these days considering public school ratios are easily double that.  We talk a lot about moving, dreaming about the day we won't have to write the private school check.  Days like today that's almost unimaginable. Into the land of standardized testing.  I suppose the reality is that she will adapt to any situation, but Maria Montessori sure is charming.  And no, it's not all sunshine and roses, but that's another story for another day when I'm not falling asleep on the laptop.  For your viewing pleasure I have documented the day in pictures.  You're welcome.

It started with prying the kid out of bed.

Exhibit A:




An hour later we were on our way.  Third graders do not look at the camera and smile.

Exhibit B:


Third graders also do not pose for the obligatory locker photo.  Or look at you when they say goodbye.

Exhibit C:



Regardless of her non-photo compliance, we celebrated the first day with a trip to Orange Leaf (which should be renamed GOLD MINE, good grief!).  (Shout out to her spring soccer coach for the gift card which treated us!)

Exhibit D (still not smiling like a normal human):



Tomorrow we get to do it all over again.  She told me to wake her up at 5:59AM.  Maybe I should videotape that.

Monday, September 2, 2013

Twas the Night Before Third Grade

The sun is setting on Summer 2013.  Sure, technically there are 20 days before it's officially fall, but let's be honest, it's fall.

School starts tomorrow.  The backpack is packed (and organized!).  That's sure to last until at least tomorrow.  Lunch is made, ready to be packed into the new 'must have' Arctic Zone lunch tote. The creature is showered and reveling in her last hour of freedom (read: she's on her iPad) before the lights go out.

It's been a good, if busy, 10 weeks.  The first summer in our new summer community.  Arden got to build great memories with her grandparents.  She spent day after day in the pool.  She spent two weeks at horseback riding camp. She demonstrated her athletic prowess in every new thing she tried, kayaking, sailing, tennis.  She experienced the freedom of a community where she could hop on her bike and ride aimlessly.  She got to be a kid.

Dora had her back rebuilt and is now the bionic woman.  Our issues with the hospital have not ended, their post-operative 'care' leaves much to be desired, but the core surgery seems to have worked.  Each day features a family walk - moms, dogs and kid - something her back hadn't allowed for years.  We are planning a triumphant return to WDW once she is fully healed - a pain-free week (or two) with the Mouse is the best celebration in our eyes.

Soon we will tuck ourselves back into house #1.  I don't yet know how I feel about this.  I've learned to love living in 800 square feet (10 minutes to vacuum the entire house, folks).  I've learned to stay organized because 800 square feet is really, really small.  I've fallen in love with having the laundry on the main floor, a community of friendly folks waving to each other from their golf carts, the full restaurant (and bar!) just steps away.

But in some ways I'm excited to go back home.  We love our house in the fall and winter.  It's nearly time to pull out the Halloween decorations, Thanksgiving and Christmas not far behind.  It's nearly time to flip on the heat and breathe in the glorious 'first heat of the fall' smell.  (Shhh....what oil bill?)  It's nearly time for our favorite fall adventures - Topsfield Fair, apple picking and maybe this year we'll actually make it to King Richard's Fair.

Farewell, summer.  It's been glorious.