Yes, Me Too! I'm Thankful Too! No, Really I Am...

Much like the rest of the planet, I am going to go on, and on, AND ON about what I am Thankful for, everyone else is doing it...it's my duty...right?! So in the appropriate Kindergarten style.

I Am Thankful For...

• The Hubby and Kids - although they drive me to drink, cry at times, and even, dare I say it, look for sharp objects...I couldn't imagine life without them, well, maybe I can imagine like 5 minutes of sitting in a hot tub with a margarita, and some chips but not my entire life.
  
  
• My Parents - ALL of them, boy do I love 'em, from the heads to their crinkled old distorted toes. They do drive me crazy but that's their/our job as parents, right? I know when I am 60+ I will most certainly be driving my kids, bat-shit-crazy and on purpose! They love and spoil the crap out of my kids too, can't beat that with a bat.
  
  
• My Sisters - ALL of them, I love these bitches to pieces, sometimes I don't understand them, but I don't always need to as long as I can hold their hand, offer a shoulder when needed, support their dreams, spoil their children, and perhaps moon them to make them laugh, than my job is done.
  
  
• Family, Cousins and Friends - Lumping them together because I consider my family/cousins friends, and my friends family. Enough said.
  
  And now, let the fun begin...
  
  
• Beer, a good wheat beer.
  
  
• A good, no a GREAT hair day!
  
  
• My legs for allowing me to stroll around this great planet and discover the world...did you buy that one? HA! Actually, because they help me run and hide from the kids, oh, and actually run races (hats off to the Turkey Trot tomorrow!), plus they look damn good, yes you read that I am tooting my own horn. Toot! Toot!
  
  
• Pie, Apple Crumb, to be exact.
  
  
• Starbucks Caramel Apple Spice. I am usually a 7-11 chick, but this is heaven
  
  
• That there are no creepy Uncles in my or my husbands family, no one to "avoid"
  in fear that your ass may be grabbed.
  
  
• Ferris Buellers Day Off
  
  
• Sweatpants, need I say more?
  
  
• Texting, yes, m'am! when social anxiety kicks in and you don't want to pick up the phone...text!
  
  
• A fast cashier, fast as in a speedy ringer-upper, not a Ho! Ho! Ho!
  
  
• TV
  
  
• Reality Trash TV, I had to separate them, there is a distinct difference.
  
  
• Seltzer water, excellent replacement for my diet coke addiction
  
  
• The sound of silence. Once a week I shower in complete silence. I lock the door so no little toes come barging in telling me that their brother kicked them, or is getting a knife, or is...basically doing whatever they want because they rule the house.
  
  
• Tim Gunn
  
  
• That fact that I am 40, have absolutely no pressure to tear it up, go out and get silly on "The Night Before Thanksgiving". I get to eat without a hangover, WHEW!
  
  

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Best Running Song E.V.E.R !!

In my humble opinion I think Van Halen's Right Now is The BEST running song ever. Doesn't matter what distance, how good the run is, and even more so if it's one of those runs that just stinks from the get-go, or takes a horrible turn (slip and fall, or you forget that you have to take your son to a birthday party and have to high tail it back to your house - trying to run five miles in 10 minutes (not that happened to me or anything)) this song pushes you to get it done. Check out the lyrics, and the click the link to see the video, I just had to share it! Is there one song that motivates you?

Van Halen - Right Now

Don't wanna wait 'til tomorrow
Why put it off another day?
One by one, little problems
Build up, and stand in our way. Oh

One step ahead, one step behind it
Now ya gotta run to get even
Make future plans I'll dream about yesterday, hey!
Come on turn, turn this thing around

(Right now) Hey! It's your tomorrow
(Right now) Come on, it's everything
(Right now) Catch your magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything

Miss a beat, you lose a rhythm
An nothin' falls into place. No!
Only missed by a fraction
Slipped a little off your pace. Oh!

The more things you get, the more you want
Just trade in one for another
Workin' so hard to make it easy
Whoa, got to turn. Come on, turn this thing around

(Right now) Hey, it's your tomorrow
(Right now) Come on, it's everything
(Right now) catch that magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything

Said a lie to me
Right now
What are ya waitin' for? Oh! Yeah!
Right now

(Right now) Hey! It's your tomorrow
(Right now) Come on, it's everything
(Right now) Catch that magic moment
And do it right, right now (Right now)
Oh, right now!

It's what's happening
Right here and now
Right now, it's right now
Oh!
Tell me, what are ya waitin' for?
Turn this thing around

Not MY son!

I picked up the phone and all I heard my husband say was “The teacher said Matthew beat someone up at school today.” Ummm Hello? Matthew is 3, what happened, someone stole his goldfish and he threw down like Rocky going after that huge blonde Russian? After a few seconds of silence of course I asked my husband to elaborate, perhaps a explanation, a story on what happened, I mean you don’t use the word beat-up and not have a tiny morsel of information to share, to shed some light, to calm me down, so I, like the cartoon, can literally grab my heart from the air and put it back in my body. Nope not my husband, He had nothing. He couldn’t provide one, not one reason, not one clue on why this occurred. Why? Because he NEVER asked, yes, you read that correctly. He NEVER asked. When my husband went to the pick-up my son, the teacher said to him “Matthew beat another boy up today” with that my husband blankly stared at the teacher, zipped up Matthew’s coat and walked out - without even mumbling a “Whhhhaaaattt?” The teacher just said your son beat someone up and you don’t ask any questions? Is it a female thing? I had so many questions I couldn’t stop my brain from rolling through them if I tried. What happened? Why? Is the other boy okay? Did he provoke Matthew? Is Matthew ok? What happened? What happened? What happened? What happened? And… What happened!?

My hubby said he was in shock when heard the statement. In shock? This is a boy who chases his brother with a butter knife, who has jumped out of our house windows, who took his diaper and tried to create “A Starr-Starry Night” on our living rooms walls. Perhaps the term beat-up took him off guard that word is shocking- it’s a strong word to use for a three-year old that had an altercation but really Hun, nothing? Lack of response, explanation or inquiry from my husband was even more shocking than my little bugger throwing down in the middle of recess.

I spent the entire weekend interrogating my husband and three year old, they gave me the same answer: a giggle, a fart and a shrug of the shoulders. I couldn’t wait till Monday to storm into that school to find out what happened, I was living in limbo. Not knowing was as bad as staring at the TV waiting for Yolanda Vega to call out the winning lottery numbers. When Monday finally rolled around I put on my Harriet The Spy outfit and set out to investigate. As soon as I approached the teacher she had that look on her face, she knew what was coming, I knew what was coming, and it wasn’t going to be good. My son was mean, very mean, brut force mean to another boy. An older boy! Was I surprised? Not really, was I disappointed that my son who regularly sneak attacks his older brother, turned his sumo wrestling skills on another child, definitely. But what set him off? Unfortunately, the teacher had no clue what went down before the throw down. All she saw was my son dragging a 4-year-old across the gym floor. Who knows how it started, but I know how it ended, with me apologizing for my son’s behavior and ensuring the teacher that I was 100% on board with providing solid behavior management training and instilling good manners, at whatever cost. Ugh! Not a good way to start a Monday. With the confirmation that the little bugger was a bully and that I was on board with their “bully behavior extraction methods” my son’s teacher had one more question for me. Why didn’t my husband ask any questions? She actually said, “I thought he was angry with us for telling him that Matthew got in trouble.” I bit my bottom lip, saying “My husband is a moron” would probably not do the trick and really, my son’s a bully, my husband’s an idiot, they’d kick us out there faster than you can say bloody lip. So I took a deep breath, explained that my husband was in shock, he’d never seen his son intentionally hurt anyone before. He was so caught off guard that he didn’t know how to react. She smiled, you know that “Men, sometimes they’re idiots” smile, and before she could ask any more questions I ran to my car, and made a mental note to go to confession this weekend, oh, and to also check into behavior modification methods, maybe a coffee can with pennies in it would work? It helped us train our family dog from running into the street or jumping on the couch.

Run, Mommy RUN!!

The mommy running community is just an amazing community. Seriously, I liken it to a Girls Night Out - so much fun and always supportive! It probably has something to do with a few common denominators: 1) We had to carry, and deliver one, two, maybe even four, five, six bowling bowls for 9 months -a true test of endurance, being uncomfortable and having to wear elastic waistband pants for 5++ months. 2)We truly, and completely understand sleep deprivation 3) And the pressure and demands of raising a family in today's world can be so darn overwhelming, that running for a half hour to three hours is certainly a better option than having to calm down a three-year old throwing the tantrum of all tantrums because you forgot that he likes blue straws in his apple juice, that the orange straws are only for orange juice - or whatever you can decipher between the gasps, tears and boogers streaming down his face.

The blogs, Facebook pages, the websites that support, answer questions and give advice are just plain fabulous. Because as a newbie runner (2+ years), I have a lot of questions, my brain is spaghetti between 2 very active boys, and work. The community like Run Like a Mother , and their Facebook page is just AWESOME - not only because when you ask a question it gets answered by a trillion supportive moms, but the fabulous authors, runners, mommy's Sarah and Dimity actually answer your questions too! Who does that? Think Dean Karanazes is firing back emails, probably not, well not to everyone, he's probably too busy running around the world. Because of the support from the mommy running world, their website, and Facebooks pages I no longer have to wonder what a tempo run, fartlek (always makes me giggle), or interval runs are, I ask the question, and get the answer in 2 minutes!! Love it!

Another fine example of this lovely supportive community is Kelly at Secrets of a Running Mom, visit her blog, it’s fun, honest, real, and just plain awesome!, I contacted Kelly because she posted something about This Mother Can Run, I wanted to thank her for sharing the information and not only did I get support, but just a warm receptive response, that just makes your heart glow. It was something I never expected, did not solicit but there she was with open arms ready to give, share and support. Ummmmm...Awesome!

I love being part of this community, cause it's nice to know that you have the support when sometimes you feel like the World is against you, okay, maybe not the World but definitely a 3 and 6 year old that can outwit, outplay and outrun you!

I Know This Much Is True

1) That teaching anyone over 65 to use a computer is harder than teaching a three year old.

2) Rock of Ages, great play, pure fun. I want to run out get a can of aquanet, spray my hair 10 feet tall and listen to Journey for days on end - in my buick regal, cruising the pike of course!

3) A few good hearty laughs can cure you from the blues.

4) If I don't get to the bathroom the minute my brain tells me that I have to go, I am in deep trouble.

5) I have the most fantastic inlaws, including sister-in-law, cousins, Aunts & Uncles (Hi All, Love You, Mean it!). In addition, my entire family is just plain awesome (all the crazy included), whether or not I've seen my "blood" cousins in decades, I couldn't imagine not having them in my life. I am blessed to have a fabulous family, and I can't imagine the alternative.

"Twas The Month Of November

Oh yes I am, I’m doing it I’m talking about Christmas before Thanksgiving hits. Sacrilege, ridiculous, preposterous! I am such a proponent of the holidays being advertised not a minute before the month they are celebrated, however, I can’t be stopped. Christmas is 52 days away and it’s staring at me in the face. Now that being said, the reason I’m a proponent of that sentiment is because I can never get my ass in gear. And then the other day I got a nifty little email from Shutterfly, it said: if you blog about why you like our products, we’ll give you 50 free cards. Well much as I love to procrastinate, and man do I love it, I also love a BARGAIN! Free is quite the bargain in my book. Call me a sell-out, call me a freebie whore, call me anything you want, but while you’re doing this call me up and tell me how the hell I’m supposed to pull off this herculean feat of getting my crazy sons to actually pose for a photo now? Oh and if you do come up with the solution, I’ll send you one of my free Christmas cards, cause I’m only mailing 50 this year!

To make my life easier I decided to work backwards, I am going to choose my card first, using Shutterfly, cause they rock. And to give you full disclosure I’ve used them in the past for my kids birth announcements, etc. I’ve narrowed my cards down to three choices, Cinnamon Candy Lace, Good Blessings or With Love Chartreuse because I love the designs, the colors, they are so much fun! And whether you want to believe me or not these cards are just what I’ve been looking for, pretty to look at and cheap, and the site is easy to use! So now that I’ve made this huge non-procrastination decision, the fun really starts, and by fun, I mean, torture, in case you were wondering.

What’s so hard about a Christmas card photo shoot you ask? Surely you jest or you’re single or some perfect freak of nature that always takes a perfect picture! Let me break if down for you Christmas Style:

'Twas the month of November, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even the computer mouse;
I did the laundry, which I folded with care,
In hopes that I’d be done, and the couch would be near;
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of Modern Family danced in my head;
And I in my 'kerchief, and a baseball cap,
I just settled on the couch and hoped not to nap,

When down in the basement there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the couch to see what was the matter.
Away to the door I flew out of sight,
Tore down the stairs and turned on the lights
The glow of the computer was calling my name
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a email from Shutterfly and a deal that was so dear,
With a click of the mouse I read so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment that this was it, 50 free holiday cards
For me and my crew, and the selection they had just was
Too good to be true!
I hooted and hollered, and developed my plan;
I gotta get a picture of my entire clan.
I feel asleep that night with a grin on my face;
I knew that this deal could not be replaced.

When the boys arose the next day from a very deep sleep,
I was bursting with excitement to tell them my scheme,
"Now, Richie! Now, Matty! This is my dream,
We’re going to take a Christmas photo and
I don’t want any frowns or clowns,
there’s some thing in this for us all
and if we take a good photo we’ll go straight to the mall!

As I searched the house to create a Christmas scene,
a tear came to my eye, as I had visions of
photo shoots past, and just started to cry.
And I thought to myself, why take this on,
should I even try?
With these crazy memories rattling around,
it can’t be any worse than the
Year the Christmas Tree fell down.

As I began to shutter and shake,
I said to myself perhaps I should wait?
I shrugged it off, and said the boys are now grown,
All I’ll have to do is put up with their moans.

And as quick as I thought that,
I remembered back to 2006
when a ball whizzed by on a stick,
my antique manger fell down to
the ground. I let out a sigh,
stopped in my tracks, and
said maybe I should
wait for Dad to get back.

And then Richie’s eyes twinkled,
he danced and pranced
as cute as can be, and
said, nah’ this is the day that it has to be.

As I searched for the camera and set-up the scene,
I thought to myself this has to be a dream,
The boys are behaving better than ever,
and haven’t even complained
about those damn Christmas sweaters.

Up to the attic, I went with a bound; searching high and low,
and look what I found, the Christmas card from 2007,
the year should be so dear, as it was Matthews first,
but to us we’ll always remember it as the day that we curse.
As his older brother thought that he was a Tree,
and hung the lights on his nose,
and our dear little baby literally glowed
right from his head
and down to his toes.

And as I continue to set up my holiday scene,
I peeked around, and couldn’t believe what
I’ve seen. The boys were still sitting all
quiet and dear, dressed nicely in their holiday wear.
The TV was on, they had glassy stares,
which brought me back to that time in 2008
when I found the boys with a can of green paint.
I can almost faint when I think of that paint,
cause If I tell you what happened you’d
think I was a saint, let’s just keep it at this,
my bedspread is now green,
and everything else is remained to be seen!

I fiddled and fuddled, finishing the scene
when I heard in the distance,
a stumble, a rattle, a clatter,
I ran out to the hall, tripped on ball,
and fell on my ass, and what did my wondering
eyes see Matty covered in sugar,
cracked eggs on the floor,
with a knife in one hand,
he screamed at Richie
”You better give me that pan!”

My eyes filled up with tears and the smile
drained from my face, and I knew this picture
I could not take.
Even if the boys gave me a glamour shot smile,
I knew the photo’s for 2010 would have
to wait while.


So after this fiasco I sat and stared at the computer, I poured myself a big glass of wine, listened to my kids pummel each other in the next room, heard my husband try break it up. I clicked on my computer, put the finishing touches on my blog when my little you’ve got mail bell gave me a little ding! There is was an offer from Purdue, if I blogged about how easy it was to deep fry a turkey and showed step-by step instructions, I would get free turkeys for the next ten years.

I look at my blog, took a big sip of wine and contemplated how one would actually go about deep frying a 20 pound bird. It couldn’t be that hard, could it?



Shutterfly Is Offering 20% Off All Holiday Cards!!!

I have not been paid anything to express my opinions regarding Shutterfly.com. I will receive a code for 50 free holiday cards. The opinions expressed here are completely my own. I'm a fan of Shutterfly.com and have been for some time.

Lesson Learned

I had a 5k yesterday. I trained hard, as I wanted to break my PR and redeem myself after my last 5k - which was a disaster. I did interval training like a beast, I crossed trained, did core and I did strength training. I wanted to run my heart out, I wanted to finally push myself, because I continuously pull back in every race. I wanted to finally break a 10 minute mile, something that I have been working on, for what seems like a decade. I trained to run a 9 1/2 minute, I so wanted to pull this off, and the best part I knew I could do it.

I was suppose to run this race with 5 other women; the phone calls started a few days before the race, one-by-one to drop out. The group was now down to two, myself and my neighbor. My neighbor didn't train at all, and never did a race in her life. She kindly gave me the out to run my own race because she knows how much I love to run, but I opted to stay with her. I remember my first race and how nervous I was to run (I came in DEAD last, a grammy in a wheelchair beat me, NO LIE!) and how I so wanted someone there with me.

I'd be lying if I said there weren't times during the race that I just wanted to hightail it out there and RUN! We did a run/walk, so in my mind I turned it into a training run, and had fun with it but I learned this weekend that running is not only about PRing, that it's more important to have other positive running experiences, that sometimes you have to give to receive, and winning is certainly not everything. By staying with my friend, I may have turned one more person onto to running, as I was turned on by my husband, sister and best friend, and wouldn't that be great?!