Saturday, January 31, 2009

Pre Superbowl Run Notes

Happy Super Bowl Eve everyone!

One of the benefits of having lived in four different states (it's actually 5 if you count the one before I have any memories) is that I have developed opinions of the sports teams in each of those states, and in some cases, outright fan-dom.

So, while my #1 team is not in this year's superbowl, BOTH of the other teams I feel a certain amount of loyalty to are. I win either way.

But, since watching a Super Bowl (or any sporting contest, for that matter) and not caring who wins actually detracts from the game. So I have chosen to root for the Cards in this one because

A) You cannot fail to catch the fever here in AZ.
B) They have never won a Superbowl in franchise history.
and most importantly
C) I like to root for the underdog, and I honestly think that the Stillers have a better chance at this.

In fact, Cardinals fever is so great around here that all of the workers at Russell's day care were in Cards jerseys yesterday, and then I went to a doctor's appointment and the entire staff there were also in jerseys. Including my doctor. No whitecoat for him...nope, just a Warner jersey.

So Go Cards! (No offense to my beloved Steelers.)

Now - today's run.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 4 day 1.
Start time: 9:00 AM MST
Run time: 36 minutes
Distance: 2.59 miles
Pace: 14 minute mile

Notes: Week four is HARD. I know in a few weeks I won't necessarily feel the same way, but that was the toughest one yet. BUT, having said that, I did it. I can now say I can run for 5 straight minutes at a time...more than once in half an hour. I will sally forth and do week 4 day 2 on Monday.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

New Years Fondue (sort of).

Part six in my holiday wrap up series.

While we were on the east coast for the holiday, we drove down to Long Island so that I could meet with my advisor about this little thing called a dissertation. We timed it so that we could spend the New Year with our friends there.

Joe and Jesse graciously let us stay at their place for three days with a baby. Their generosity knows NO bounds. We cannot thank them enough.

Russell had a great time. They had three kittens, this is one of them. Which one, I still don't know, two of them were identical as far as I was concerned.



and a big mirror to play with.



For New Years, the gang had a fondue party! However, without Auntie Sarah in the kitchen, these things just don't go as smoothly (pun intended) as one might like. The first batch of fondue was perhaps...I'll let the pictures speak for themselves:

first batch, yes folks, that lump of cheese mush on a plate was in fact, supposed to be fondue.



Decided to 'rescue it' by broiling it in the oven and making it a warm-cheese-logish-type- thing.



final presentation.



At least it was yummy; The second batch was much more successful.



Other odds and ends from the evening.

Jesse hanging out with Gina's new room mate.



Russell and his 'big red cup'.



Happy New Year!



No, it wasn't really that kind of party, those girls just like to pose for the camera. But we did have a great time!

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Has it been a year already?

Amazing what a difference a year can make. A year ago, I was pregnant, Justin was still in grad school, and we lived on Long Island.

Now, we live in Phoenix, Justin has a real professorial job, and most of all we have this cutie who at this point, is nearly a little person and everything!



This was taken January 9th, surrounded by his Christmas spoils. Note the teething ring up around his left shoulder. Too funny.

Also, A year ago today, I started this blog. It may have been fits and starts for a while, but I appear to have the hang of this down.

I also managed my initial goal of an average of better than one post a week. It may have been sporadic, but hey, it worked!

Now, in the throes of trying to write a dissertation, there may be some slow periods again, but I promise I am trying. It's an awful lot of fun.

So, thank you to those who visit and read my blog. I really appreciate it. Let's see what the next year brings!

Run notes for Wednesday.

And I thought I was tired on Monday. Good gravy! Russell is teething (2nd tooth coming in)and I got about four hours of sleep last night. Broken up. I am so very very very tired. Funny thing is, my run felt better than Monday. Can't explain that.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 3 day 3.
Start time: 9:00 AM MST
Run time: 35 minutes
Distance: 2.29 miles
Pace: 15.02 minute mile

Notes: Chilly morning. The unseasonable heat wave has passed. Even at 9am, it was in the high 40's. Which means starting out is cold, but by the end I am REALLY comfortable. It won't last long, but these conditions are wonderful for running.

I am debating rerunning week three next week. If it think I am going to push myself forward. If it turns out that Saturday's run is hard enough that it isn't fun, I will rerun week three Wednesday and Friday.

Now, off to work...

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Random holiday tidbits and pics.

Part five in my holiday wrap-up series.

As with any good vacation, there were a lot of moments throughout the vacation that merit a special place in the memory. Here are a few from the days just after Christmas.

Helping dad play bridge:



And now for my famous card trick.








Saying hi to Rosie.



And finally, Russell's opinion of Physics:



Which brings us right to the end of the 2008. Next* in the holiday wrap up series will be our trip to Long Island for the New Year.

*Whenever I get to it.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Running out of time.

My runs are becoming more important than ever. I NEED them for two reasons,

1) Stress relief: I don't talk about it much here on the blog, but my dissertation is starting to kill me with the stress load. It really should be done by mid April, at the latest, if I want to graduate in May and EVERY piece of it is taking 10 times longer than I want it to. I don't know if I will ultimately be successful or not, and if I am not, it will feel like the BIGGEST failure. I don't deal well with failure.

and 2) because of the constant feeling of failure here, my runs have become my only source of success. Each time I finish a run or a week, I feel so much better for a while. SOMETHING that goes right every time. Which is good.

So, I got out for my run again today, and it felt good. To be fair though, the stress from everything else is making them harder (not to mention a certain lack of sleep last night due to a very cute baby). I may choose to repeat a week or two here or there just to make sure I don't rack up a fail in the run department too. I don't know if I can handle that right now.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 3 day 2.
Start time: 10:00 AM MST
Run time: 35 minutes
Distance: 2.29 miles
Pace: 15.02 minute mile

Notes: I am tired. I felt it today in every part of my body as I ran. At least the weather has cooled back down to seasonable temps though, so it was the perfect temperature for a run.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Week three of nine.

Yay Running! Starting week three, so far, so good.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 3 day 1.
Start time: 11:00 AM MST
Run time: 35 minutes
Distance: 2.29 miles
Pace: 15.02 minute mile

Notes: It was uber fantastic out there today. Beautiful, sunny, not a recycling or garbage day so I didn't have to dodge cans. My pace seems to be slowing a little, but the running intervals are longer, so I think I am walking more slowly between them. I'm just happy to be out and in the sunshine for half an hour every other day.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Santa!

Part four in my Holiday Vacation 08 series.

Russell got to meet the jolly old man himself. He thought he was pretty cool.




Next year he might have a better idea what's going on, but this is still one of those moments that melts a mommy's heart.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Making a habit.

Good news, no sunburn from Monday! I have successfully gotten out for a run again today. They say it takes 21 repetitions to form a habit, I am up to 6. I shall continue.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 2 day 3. FINISHED WEEK 2!!
Start time: 9:15 AM MST
Run time: 34 minutes
Distance: 2.33 miles
Pace: 14.59 minute mile

Notes: We are supposed to have record highs today for January here in Phoenix, so I tried to do my run as soon as possible. Thankfully it is overcast today, so it was only 65 when I got out. Week 2 of the C25K training schedule is over, I start week three on Saturday. I dunno if I'm up for it, but we'll see.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A moment of hope.

I just watched Obama's inaugural address, cross-legged on my living room floor with Russell in my lap.

I don't really know how to say how much that moment moved me. It defies words.

Somehow the gravity of the moment was greater now that I have a child.

Good Luck President Obama.

Milestone Tracker: First Tooth!

On Wednesday last week, Russell's first tooth broke the surface. I found it when he chomped down on my finger!

As of yet, however, we still can't see it well enough to get a picture, but I didn't want to put off posting it any longer. It's just too exciting.

Besides, for someone with a memory as bad as mine, if I don't record it somewhere, I will never remember when it happened.

Happy Inauguration Day!

Monday, January 19, 2009

This time with H20!

I think this could easily become a habit. Which is sorta the point, no?

After 2 fails, I finally found a running store here in Phoenix that carries hydration belts (a belt that has water bottles attached to it) for runners. You'd think that water consumption here in Phoenix would be a high priority for runners and the darned things would be easier to find.

So I bought one I really like, and took it on my run today.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 2 day 2.
Start time: 11:30 AM MST
Run time: 34 minutes
Distance: 2.35 miles
Pace: 14.47 minute mile

Notes: Perhaps noon in AZ is not the smartest time to go running any time of year. It was 78 and SUNNY when I went, and I was afraid I'd regret not a) wearing sunscreen and b) bringing all 4 bottles that attach to my belt. But, all's well that ends well and the two bottles were sufficient...and so far, no burn. Of course, with this fair skin, sometimes they develop over the course of the day. We'll see what the next few hours bring.

So far, the running is good, though tougher than I remember it being. I guess I just need to keep it up.

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Running away.

Quick notes on today's run.

(Russell's first Christmas post is below...somehow I managed to publish these posts in the wrong order)

Walk/Jog C25K Week 2 day 1.
Start time: 10:30 AM MST
Run time: 34 minutes
Distance: 2.35 miles
Pace: 14.47 minute mile

Notes: Another pretty day, and fantastically sunny. 63 degrees when I left the house. The second week starts making the running harder, and I could certainly tell. I now have no choice but to find a way to carry water, running in the desert without it is a quick way to kill yourself.

Friday, January 16, 2009

Russell's first Christmas Marathon.

Part three in my holiday vacation '08 series.

We have always considered ourselves lucky that our parents live close together. That way, we never need to choose which parents to spend any visits with, we can see them all.

It does however, backfire on single-day holidays. On Christmas we go from house, to house, to house no fewer than four times, and have for several years. (In fact, a few years ago it was up around six, but we have cut back). This year we did it with a 6 month old! He was, in point of fact, the best. baby. ever. and handled it without the slightest fuss. His day (and ours) looked like this:

Stop 1:
Christmas Eve is always at the Georgi's, so on Christmas morning we wake up early and open stockings.


The Christmas elf made it seem not-so-early this year.

Then, we bundle everyone up into the car, and drive off to...

Stop 2: My mom's house for breakfast at 9am and gifts with that whole side of the family. Here is Russell being loved by Auntie Kim.



Russell got a wee bit overloaded with the huge group and all the noise, so he snuggled up with his new tiger and fell asleep in daddy's arms.



Then, the chaos subsides briefly, we jump back in the car and head a mile down the road to...

Stop 3: My dad's parents' house. My dad has graciously given up the trip to his house on Christmas and now meets us at Nana and Grandpa's for the holiday cheer and gift exchange.

Russell took his afternoon nap in Nana's arms. This pleased his great grammie no end.



Then, we pack it up again folks, we head to:

Stop 4: Back to the Georgi's.

Since the Georgi's are the only family without small children, they have allowed us to wait until 3 or so to come back and open gifts. Again, a really sweet gesture to accommodate our crazy schedules.

Russell really had a blast here, playing with all his Christmas wrapping paper



and boxes



that I don't know why anyone wrapped anything but empty cardboard for him.

Russell finally fell asleep in Grammie Ann's arms here. We put him to bed shortly thereafter.



He was such a good kid considering how long the day was. And whenever he was awake, he LOVED opening presents.

Merry first Christmas kiddo.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Another running post.

I promise that one of these days I will get to more cute baby pics. But while I am trying to build this running habit, I refuse to skip a post.

Got out today after dropping Russell and Justin off. I don't usually like to take time away from working on my dissertation, but Russell had a really bad stomachache last night, and kept us up until 11pm, so getting up early to go run was not an option.

Walk/Jog C25K Week 1 day 3.
Start time: 9:30 AM MST
Run time: 40 minutes
Distance: 2.57 miles It should have been a 34 minute run, but I ended the proscribed intervals further from home than usual and it took an extra 5+ minutes to walk my butt home.

Notes: BEAUTIFUL day. 50 degrees, sunny, still and gorgeous. I am not missing New England January right now. Actually, although I lose a little work time, I should definitely do these during daylight once a week right now, just to get out and enjoy the sunshine. Pretty soon it will start to get ridiculously hot midday and I will be glad for my dawn runs.

I am now done with Week 1. Starting Saturday, I will start week 2. So far, infinitely doable.

Monday, January 12, 2009

I went running!

This morning was week 1 day 2 of my running program, and I got out and did it!

Start time: 6:45 AM MST (I kid you not)
Run time: 30 minutes
Distance: 2.01 miles or so, I didn't pay very close attention, but it was mostly the same route as last time.

Notes: Cold desert predawn morning, I have NO idea what the temp was, but it was uncomfortable at first, probably about 45. I upped the challenge rating today though, and took the dog on my run. I took Sandy largely because it was dark when I started and I wanted the security of a furry friend. Turns out, she's in worse shape than I am, and has the attention span of a goldfish. I had to drag her butt the last few intervals. She's also a chicken, and when the recycling truck came by, she spooked.

I love my dog.

But the run felt good, and went quickly, largely because of the distraction.

Next run: Wednesday or Thursday, not sure which.

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Tacky Gift Swap!

I am blessed with dear friends from high school who are still friends after all these years. Every year, the gang gets together for our annual tacky gift swap. This annual affair is, if I remember correctly, 5 years old (correct me if I am wrong Kyle).


It seems that every year it gets harder and harder to schedule the whole gang together, and this year proved no exception. As a result we got together at 1:00 on Xmas Eve, sandwiching it between all of our family get togethers and celebrations. I was so busy having a darned good time that I forgot to take much in the way of pictures, only a few are worth sharing. (Ladies, if anyone has any to add, please send them my way!)

Kyle with Russell.



One of the 'classic' tacky gifts, I believe this gem of a tissue box cover is from a gift swap several years ago.



Elena, our 'little hostess' eschewing pants and opening gifts. Yeah, it was that kind of party!



Thanks Becky for hosting this year. See you ladies next year.

Saturday, January 10, 2009

Attempt #40 at running again.

So when I started running a few years ago, I used the "Couch to 5K program" from Coolrunning.com. It was great. It started me off running without burning out. It gave me an idea of what I "should" be able to do, and most of all, it gave me a forum for discussing failures and triumphs with others doing the same thing. By the end I was running over 5K at a time, and even entered and ran a few 5K races. I was in the best shape of my life.

Then I got pregnant. hee hee.

Now it's time to get back into shape. So I start again. Only this time, I have a few added advantages (and one major disadvantage).

Advantage 1: I've done this before and know I can.
Advantage 2: I know how GOOD it feels to be in shape, so motivation is less of an issue.
Advantage 3: I have found a series of podcasts (here) that have worked out all the timing and intervals and set them to music, so I don't have to go through the obnoxious process of timing them all out myself.

Disadvantage: I would rather be spending my time with this cutie:

But this morning I got up and went to do it.

Start time: 8:20 AM MST
Run time: 30 minutes
Distance: 2.01 miles
Notes: Chilly desert morning, 51 degrees and sunny (I know, those of you in the north only wish it were 51 in January). It felt good to get out. I WILL do this.

Friday, January 9, 2009

Happy Birthday to ME!

I am 31 years old today. It sounds older than it feels.

As of this writing, we plan on going to Zoolights tonight at the Pheonix Zoo, and having a yummy dinner. But plans might change, just so long as I get to spend time with my family, I'm a happy girl.

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

The start of our holidays.

We traveled back to Mass for the holidays for almost 2 full weeks, and as with any 'baby's first', Russell's first Christmas included literally hundreds of photos. I have sooooo much material, now I just have to find the time to post it all. It'll all be spread out over the next few weeks.

***
We traveled out to Mass on the 23rd. The 23rd is a day of maximum airport traffic, maximum crowds, maximum chance for disaster. Nope. We got to the airport early, got through security with minimal fuss, and got to the gate early enough that the flight before ours hadn't left yet.

I have almost perfected the security gauntlet with an infant. This time I didn't even forget that there were liquids in the diaper bag.

We settled in and entertained the little one. (Note his Christmas blanket; if you wait until the 20th to buy xmas stuff for your little one, things like this cost you only 98 cents.)



The flight from Phoenix to Manchester arrived early, Russell was a dream, our rental car was there waiting for us, and we got to my mom's house early enough so that Russell could play with his cousin and aunt (and a mechanical Reindeer that plays "Grandma got run over...").



It may not be home anymore, but it still is 'home for the holidays', and it was nice to know we'd be around family for a while.

Monday, January 5, 2009

But without the porridge.

I have a pet peeve. (Ok, I have several, but that's neither here nor there.) I hate it when the blankets on the bed get turned around so that the tag sticks into my face at night. It annoys me.

So the other night, I climb into bed, and lo and behold there is a tag in my face. Erk. I make Justin (and the dog) get off the bed so we can rearrange the blankets so that the tag is not in my face. We climb back into bed.

As we are settling back in, Justin discovers that he has the tag for the other blanket in his face. The following exchange happens:

Me: (starting to get up) We can rearrange the blankets.
Him: Don't need to, I don't care.
(pause)
Him: We're like the three bears that way.
Me: (confused) Huh?
Him: You hate tags, Russell loves them, and I don't care either way.

Jus always makes me smile.

Russell playing with a tag on his jungle mat. He does indeed love them. He finds the on everything and then plays with them preferentially over the 'rest' of the toy. It's really cute.

Thursday, January 1, 2009

A Happy New Year to You All!

May it be filled with peace, joy, and prosperity.

For me, the new year is always a time of looking forward. (I will let the 'year in review' shows on every channel do the looking back for me. GO for it VH1!)

I decided to set a couple of goals for 2009. Some big, some tiny, all things I want to achieve in the coming year.

My goals for 2009:

*Finish my dissertation and Graduate. (First stage: do a minimum of 3 hours of work on it, every day, without fail.)
*Get a job.
*Knit myself a sweater or sweater vest - I haven't decided yet.
*Make a dent in my student loans.
*Something about running...I haven't formulated this one well yet. I want to get back out there, but I don't really have a concrete goal yet. Maybe something as simple as get out for a run at least once a week.

and, most important of all (wink)

*post at least one blog post a week for the whole year!

Has anyone else thought about what they want to do in the coming year?