Had a great 1 hour swim with great pointers from the coaches... so refreshing! and I worked hard....on the way out.. doc called and he will get me some PT , told me to go off prednisone and that thyroid is good but iron can still be improved .....
linda and Calli: great job and to add to the dog news in EN:
the untrained GrandDog! Rudy...home for Christmas Break from college
m--so funny! Take heart. Cali is like that with a tennis ball! While she'll now drop it, but about 20 feet away, if we don't throw a second one, and try to get the one she dropped--she runs back like a demon possessed to get it before we do. Then she never gives it up! Cracks me up--when it's not annoying. She goes into a trance with the tennis balls. That Rudy is SO cute! Part-time doggie might be the perfect solution!
Re swimming--Taylor told me yesterday that his goal for this season is to win the MA State Championship in the 200 free. He needs a ~1:44 to win; his personal goal is to go 1:43. His current best time is 1:46. He was 4th overall last year as a junior. It will be fun to see the progress toward that goal!
Linda, so fun to hear you have swimmers also! I told my 14 year old, who is swimming is first year of HS in ninth grade, what Taylor can swim the 200 free in and his response was, "wow, that is really fast!" Thinking out loud, he added, "I wonder what his 50 is??" So, now he is calculating what it would take him to swim 200 free in that time! So, thank Taylor for inspiring Josh to swimmer harder and faster Oh and a shout out good luck of hard swimming and much discipline to Taylor on working toward his goal this season......let us know how he does!
Time for supper....let's see linguine with white and red sauce and french bread....then off to another band, choir and handbell concert featuring my 16 year old son, Jon.
Hey Kathy--another swim mom!!!! Hey, sistah! Now we have the bond between swim parents--endless season and endless hours at meets! 3 of 4 of my boys swim/swam competitively. Ryan swam through college, and has an interesting tri career story too. Karate, however, is what stuck with all 4 of them--all have black belts. My 2nd son is my writer/musician. He has no interest in swimming whatsoever! You can tell Josh that Taylor has a :21:xx 50 free, a :48:xx 100 free, a 4:53 500 free; and 17:21:xx 1650. HS team will definitely inspire Josh. It's so much fun, and the payoff for all the hard work of club swimming. What else are your boys into?
Nemo- If your gut says not this year, then follow that instinct. I was looking to get more involved professionally. On the surface they said 5-8 hrs/ month. Fine print said a lot more about meetings and travel (on my dime). With IMMoo, I had to put that professional goal aside for this year. Maybe 2011.
Linda- Great for Taylor! Would love to hear about his progress.
I was very confused and thought Christmas was on a Sunday. As I was scheduling patient's last week, I realized I was way off. I also still have to work Christmas eve. So I made a video like Gina and Sue's to tell my family that I would not be coming to visit. Yes it was my way of avoiding a huge argument. Luckily 3 of 4 see the humor. Also, Max is trying to make a video sort of explaining what it is like to be a non triathlete stuck with a triathlete. Will post when he is ready.
Interesting info on the Predisone. I got off a course of it right before the marathon. Am having allergic reaction to something- runny, itchy eyes, lovely itchy rash on the torso and no new products I'm using so doc hit with a round of steriods. Unfortunately, it's back and I won't do another round so.... mild allergy to cat so thinking maybe something else is stirring things up and now I'm just not able to tolerate being around the cat. So trying to find a good home to adopt Darby. So far... no takers Hoping to find someone with other cat (s) as I think she would do even better if she had playmates.
Did first spin class in a loooonnnggg time... boy am I whooped!
Michele- I LOVE your conflict avoidance technique!!! I gotta remember that one! And I can't wait to see what Max puts together. If he needs any ideas- tell him to get in touch with Joe. The two of them could probably spend hours comparing notes!
Kris- Oh My, Poor you, Poor Darby!!!! She's such a sweet little thing too! I hope you find a home for her. Remind me- is she declawed?
25 degrees here this morning and I head out with Rudy all bundled up with new dog toy and throwing it back and forth and whoops, ends up in river!!! now the toy is $10 so then me and him scoured the ground for long sticks and after the 5th stick, with him very interested and me afraid that we would both end up in water, he got in the cold water and got the toy while I moved the toy towards me with a stick!! didn't run or anything just trotted back and forth so he could work up a run! m
Linda, I will tell Josh about Taylor's times....crazy fast!! The two oldest, Joel (20) and Jonah (19) played soccer and baseball while in high school. Now it is college, jobs, girlfriends and not a lot of time for team sports anymore. JOn (16), is a junior in hs and still participates in soccer, basketball and baseball come spring. Josh (14) and Joseph (11) are the only swimmers! Being involved with sports has been such a great outlet for my boys! I have loved going to all the games and now the meets. I do however, feel like I should be charging taxi fees, I'd be rich How bout u????? Oh and tell me more about Ryan's ( I think you said Ryan, forgive me if I got that wrong) tri career? Still waiting for any one of my boys to get interested in tris, so far no interest. maybe with Josh, I know the swimming part kind of freaks out the older ones.
I have signed up for holiday challenge and noted that as of today only one other female has signed up!! so go on over to Challenge forum and look at thread to see google spreadsheet... all you do is run the day after Christmas thru the day after New Year's..... and no minimum mileage is required and in fact you can get points for it being cold outside!!! I can run 1.5 miles so I am IN!!! run 1 mile x 8 = is enough for a challenge in my book plus it sounds fun to post pics so a little holiday fun, love it if you can join in on the challenge!!
I have also signed up for 100 pushups and right now have not done my initial test of how many I can do consecutively! now if I can do both together then it would be ultra efficient, just run and then do some pushups!! will take a look more carefully at the pushup plan after I test!
I took a rest day today and feel tired from sleepless nights....
and haven't weighed in yet either!! will do tomorrow! so several ways to stay fit over the holidays!! while not having high volume!
my oldest did swimming, soccer, and football in high school, next two down did soccer and football but swimming and bball in jrhigh and 4th one has done swimming, soccer and now bball and youngest has also done swimming, soccer and now gymnastics. we haven't done baseball or karate basically! done shooting sports, oldest too! water skiiing, etc.... but football has been King for us 7 - 12th grade for all three boys and soccer since they were very young for all 5 kids... I also believe sports and boys are a good match, don't have daughter old enough to know but the testerone that courses through their body?? sports is a great venue to channel it. Love the teamwork and friends but yes on the time, money and drive time!! we have dry fit clothing everywhere and balls, and all sorts of gear, shoes, bags and water bottles. we do not play any musical intruments however! yep and they are not straight A students although could be...
I was a straight A student with no sports in school, was in the drama club!! and hated PE! got picked last at Dodge ball! made my only C in college in Tennis cuz I couldn't play although aced the written part of the test! I didn't own a car so cycled around campus to include down the hill to tennis!! little did I know that years later, I would still be cycling on hills and still not know how to play tennis!! it is on the bucket list though! as redemption. I was on the dean's list at college and I guess my competition was grades....was going to be a hard nosed lawyer but then something happened!! I got married and went soft and fell in love with motherhood!!! had five of them, and made sure they knew how to play sports!!! and there you have it....
now why did I tell you all of that!! not sure but tell me your story too! m
Marianne-Thanks for sharing about your children....sounds like a fun bunch! You got a girl, that is sweet My two oldest tried football in elementary school and it didn't really stick. My boys are on the smaller side, well at least they were then, and football seemed to knock them around! I am actually glad they opted for the other maybe less pounding sports. Im sure that if my third born had played football, we would have been to the er with broken bones and other injuries! He has a genius for giving his body for the game and getting hurt in the process! I'm sure you have experienced lots of injuries with football over the years. All my boys have played and or currently play musical instruments....when they were younger, they would play Christmas music for us during the holidays. The older ones are not as interested in that anymore....ah yes, family life is always changing. Sometimes I miss those younger days when life wasn't so complicated with all its distractions!~
3-6 inches of snow here in upstate NY tonight! Might have to break out the snowshoes soon...
DH surprised me with tickets to San Fran last night for my February break. (I'm a teacher!) Totally floored. Great friends moved out there last summer, so we're going to visit. They are also triathletes, but don't know if we can pack the bikes!It's almost more expensive to fly the bikes than to fly ourselves!
Woooohooo Dana! I love San Fransisco!!! You might want to think about shipping the bikes out via UPS or FedEx. Usually cheaper than flying them and safer too imho. You gotta ride out there! Oh, and such a great NorCal EN crew there too- you should try to hook up for an evening!
snow, wow and that is a lot!! great! I just did the pushups (8) and then 2' of situps (50) and son and daughter counted! hilarious and now my head is raging!! from the exertion I bet. but overall not too much time to knock out pushups/situps. so going back to them right after my swimming and right after my running.... even if it is cold outside! or cold in the pool... okay I am going to bed early these sleepless nights have been the pits!! but yes my overall stretching and etc has been down with cold weather... so I am gonna get quick and efficient and just go for the hard ones while laying down outside in the cold!! boom, boom boom! m
I was walking through the train station this morning and there was a choir of small children, singing "The Twelves Day of Christmas" with the adorable, sharp diction of elementary schoolers. My heart totally melted into Christmas spirit.
How's holiday prep going for everyone? I adore Christmas shopping and am quite pleased my only errands left involve the toy store and tracking down copies of Gardening Mama and Cooking Mama games (which are supposed to be cool. Anyone have eight y.o. girl knowledge?)
Sorry Beth no 8 YO girl knowledge, lots of 8 YO boy knowledge. I wish I still shared your enthusiasm for the shopping and prepping, but all I really want to do is go to an island and sit under a palm tree lit up with Christmas lights and sip a cold beer . It has just gotten so stressful! Not what it is supposed to be about at all .
I did get the final shopping knocked out today and started baking last night - now if I could just get committmenst from family members so I know whether to buy a roast for 8 or 14?!!! Sent DH to take the boys out to dinner and the scout meeting the other night and wrapped a bunch of presents while they were out - so good to have that behind me.
Work is getting busy too - 35 dogs here for x-mas - kids have to wait for me to get home from work to open presents - real Character Building experience for them!!!
Hope everyone else is getting it done and enjoying it!
Oh yeah - My friend Jenny joined EN!!!! Yay and is in the Jan OS too. It will be so fun to have someone to train with that is doing the same stuff . Well she'll be doing the harder stuff, because she is FAST! Hopefully she's get in here to say hi soon. She joined the Jan OS group today and is starting to get familiar with the website, etc.
yes Grace is eight and she loves everything! she still plays with Barbies', "American Girl" doll style dolls, generic is okay!, craft stuff, diaries, and other writing stuff, stuffed animals like the Doodle Dog, Build A bear, Justice Clothing and other bling bling like jewelry and glittery lip gloss, furry boots, scarves and warm mittens with little jewels on them, organizer stuff for all the little things like jewelry boxes and plastic containers to neatly organize pencils and crayons and etc, books yes chapter books they can read pretty well at that age, music, they love Karoeke music and Disney is good but High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Witches of Waverly Place and I Carly are favorte shows as well as Jonas Brothers! what else?? well really anything!
Today I let loose the dog and he went galloping in the muddy murky puddles and then jumped up on me so then I stunk too! it is cold and overcast today and perfect for drinking coffee but not for riding!!
went to diff PT guy today and was hopeful that he can fix and then help me incorporate some more "strength" exercises for piriformis prevention!! he is a runner himself and used to play soccer so knows about the mental drain of lack of training!! and also the overuse injuries! I go 2x next week and have at home exercises to do.. like leg lifts on my side with an ankle weight! and wall squats with rubber band at my knees, and clam shell leg one with band at knees.. basically my butt is burning now!! cuz he took something that looked like a silver spatula and tortured me! bridge and the Plank! ouchee. cuz when he prodded and poked, YOWZA, "does this hurt?" I think what we discovered is that "at my age" I will always have to do these exercises for glute and hip and that flexibility is important but so is strength. and oh my goodness on the way home a most remarkable bakery!!! so I got an almond filled croissant! this PT might make me gain weight.
Swimming? they put a band around my ankles to eliminate or decrease my kick so between that and the pushups challenge last night, my arms were getting tired. I take way too many strokes but was able to cut out four of them in today's session (got down to 21)! I feel energized about gaining some useful knowledge while i have plenty of time before IMMOO! Like I said I could only do 8 consecuvtive push ups so I have relied on my kick "way too much" for propulsion and not my stroke so all good learning for me! and once again, I felt so refreshed coming out of the pool!
on to kids' Christmas parties and very sweet to be in the classrooms!! one more day of class and everybody home and I have cookies ready for baking!!
Hope everybody else is doing well and congrats to Linda et. al who have done so many successful workouts and a shout out to others still in recovery! m
Some of you saw on FB that Taylor got into Boston College! Thank. Gawd. That's. Over!!!! Heavens, the college process is so stressful. Even though he was a recruited swimmer, they still drill into your head, "you never know with admissions." Ugh. Anyway, it's his first choice because they have a cooperative program with Tufts Med School. If he keeps up a 3.5 GPA, admission is automatic, and no MCATs. So that's his ultimate goal--to be some kind of doc in neurology. Probably will come out a sociology major! Swim coach has already emailed about all the NCAA Div I paperwork we have to do. Ryan swam DIII, so this is all knew to us. VERY exciting. Great relief on mom and dad's end that the app process is over! One more to go!
m--you keep on getting better, k??? We need you in WI, fast, and focused, and all game faced to rock it!
Dana--SF is my dream city. Make sure you go tot hte Japanese garden if you haven't been there. Peace on earth it is.
Whoops, gotta scoot. Keith's home...off to swim meet!
Love to all of you!
PS--HATE Xmas shopping and most of everything about the holiday. Bah Humbug.
Great news on college LInda. I agree...college stuff is stressful. We are waiting for our oldest's 1st semester grades. I almost think she is going to be .06 pts from dean's list. She was pretty disappointed but we don't have all the grades yet. The day of her baking practical final gave me a stomach ache. She did great on the execution but the exec chef thought her written plan needed more structure and organization so he took off points. She called very upset. It's good that it's difficult though, it will serve her well later.
SF is so wonderful Dana! Have fun! I went in January once and everyone there was walking around all bundled up because it was 58 degrees.
Got my mojo back this afternoon. I was avoiding doing my bike/run at the fitness club but gave in and did it. No PT but no running outside in the cold or bundling up all sweaty to head over to the treadmill. It was nice.
I'm with you Linda...I'm kinda tired of shopping. I just get home and see that I missed someone on the list. I still need to get youngest daughter's gift. I'm just not sure about the IBike...does it work on the trainer? It looks like it goes on the front fork. Otherwise, she needs a snowboard bag and a helmet. She wouldn't wear one last year when I ragged at her about it but now that boyfriend wears one...she wants one.....the magic of pooled ignorance and peer pressure! Gotta love it.
I'm so excited about the Holiday Run challenge....
yep I loved San Fran too and went in August and it was cool!! and in fact I got to see where the "summer layered" people live!! you know layered clothing that looks so cute in the catalog but us southerners wonder where they live?? smile... they sat outside and drank coffee in August no less! and wore black, lots of neutral colors.... that was several years ago though so maybe some color now? very pretty though and interesting stuff to see and do. college son is driving home now! yeah. need to go make him a bed. good job on college admissions.... a relief to be sure.
I would just like to say that.... I am relieved to know that I am not the only person that dislikes the holiday season. Don't get me wrong. If this really could bring peace on earth, I'd be all in. But watching folks fight to get into the mall lot and fight for parking. Pushing through the crowds. The honking horns, the swearing because they are tired/ can't find/ whatever, it's AWFUL!
I just refuse to participate. Last year EVERYONE received a dishtowel with a letter explaining that it was to support a charity that pays for children to have heart surgery. (Charity was started by my friends kids.) No one dared complain although I don't think they appreciated the concept. For years I have literally begged my entire family to NOT purchase gifts. That I have everything I need and can buy what I want (and if I can't then it's something they can't afford either). It is to no avail, I continue to receive junk because someone else felt they HAD to buy me a gift. REALLY- It won't hurt my feelings if you don't!
So once again I am choosing a charity for donation. I purchase gifts for the kids in college and under. Adults get a note about the charity. (Max would like me to donate to the "Human Fund" for those of you that remember that Seinfeld episode.)
And my family wonders why I prefer to celebrate Hannukah. I'm not Jewish, but Max is. I still put my foot down about gifts, but he understands (not agree). We do nice things and buy things for each other all year. Why do we HAVE to do it NOW?!?!
You are not alone. I'm going to come out and reveal our truth about the holidays. A number a years ago now we decided to "redefine Christmas." Then we found out there's an acutal organization by the same name! http://www.redefine-christmas.org/ Anyway, we have no tree, no lights, and we do a family outing instead of any presents. We do share a holiday meal. We add up the pot of money that we would have spent on presents, tree, and decorations, and decide together where to donate. This year it's the Fistula Foundation. Last year it was FINCA International. We always drop off presents to Christmas in the City.
I am always reluctant to reveal that, because some people think we're weird. Maybe so. But my boys are no longer children, and this just fits so well with all of us. The stress level is zero, and it's all about coming together, going into a family cocoon and enjoying the season with each other.
Linda, this is why I love Thanksgiving more than Christmas. Getting together for food and family time! I love it! I keep telling my husband it would be nice if the whole family could go on a Habitat build mission trip every year instead of doing the gift thing.
My husband's family would be completely pleased with a dishtowel from a charity. I got their gifts at a store that supports several charities with gifts made by each one to raise funding.
Michelle and Linda - What lovely, awesome things to do to celebrate Christmas.
I think my Christmas shopping zen has come from a few places: 1) The list of people who get gifts is small and I like them all. 2) I have the luxury of being able to completely avoid the mall and all big box retail and buy a lot from independent artists 3)We are having pizza for Christmas dinner, so no worries about prepping the feast.
Mostly, though, I'm a big sucker for midnight mass and all the holiday singing. That's my favorite part. I dig the story. I think the way to winning at holidays is doing the parts you want and not getting so wrapped up into the Giant Christmas of Holiday Garantuanness.
Linda & Michele: Thanks for sharing your holiday stories. I have a similiar one too: Though my parents are Buddhists, they "celebrated" Christmas by having a tree, presents from Santa, decorating the house with lights so that I could fit into American culture when I was a kid. At 7 years old, I figured out that Santa's handwriting was identical to my mom's and that Christmas mystery was revealed. Being very pragmatic, Mom said,"Why get presents before Christmas when we can buy them on sale after Christmas?" So from that Christmas on, we stopped with Christmas presents. Instead, we'd have a lovely dinner together then go shopping as a family on Dec 26 and get what we wanted on sale. Eventually, we stopped putting up a tree (too much work and the cats would chew up the ornaments) and having ham for dinner (we liked the taste of Peking duck better than the tradition of having a Christmas ham). My parents still hang lights (Dad LOVES wildly blinking, seizure-inducing, multi-color lights) and now they have a herd of those light-up reindeer in the yard (another Dad Christmas fetish).
Linda: I didn't know that Taylor's BC program was the undergrad/med school combo. That's awesome! How nice to not have to take the MCAT's.
Dana: SF! I LURVE that city and know my way around pretty well. Let me know if you want reco's...
Well, I think I dug myself into a hole/trained right into a brick wall by doing the OS stuff AND riding my mtb. I figured since I wasn't running on land (or more like: This stupid pool running doesn't feel that hard!), I'd "make up" those rTSS by riding my mtb and doing those FTP intervals at 104-105%. Since Tues, I've been completely, utterly unmotivated to train---and not just the garden variety whining of "Wah! I don't wanna ride the trainer tonight.". I'm talking NOPE, I'm not doing this. OS be damned! So instead of forcing myself and doing one workout then missing one week after week, I just went with it and skipped 3 workouts in a row. I made sure I adjusted my food intake accordingly, continued to stretch and roll...then laid around and watched alot of Ninja Warrior for 3 nights. Now I feel great! My sleep is alot more fitful. I'm not wanting to inhale Christmas cookies all the time. So I'm finally going to do that Power Hack test tonight. Woot!
My take on the Christmas season.I (we) love it and have since I was a little girl. The change in the air, reflection on the year, the lights, smells, and music. Oh, how I LOVE the music!!
I send my family greenery and that is it. Must admit I LIKE the idea of gifting to charity. I avoid the mall like the plague.
Su and I always go for a long run on Christmas Eve and then have grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and champagne. The last 2 years we have gone for a Christmas Day ride with our neighbors.
Favorite Christmas stories:
Gift of the Magi- What could be better than the gift of self?
A Christmas Carol- Always, there is hope for a changed heart
Certain Poor Shepherds- A different take on the nativity story and must read for animal lovers.
This year is tough with the loss of my Dad in Feb. He loved the holidays and always left one small Christmas ornament up after Christmas, saying the spirit needed to last year round. He called it his "poor Christmas".
Su and I will head down to Birmingham Sunday and celebrate "Chris-makkuh" between our two families. My mom thinks she will be alone this year and that I will just be cooking Christmas Eve-eve dinner for us. But, unbeknownst to her, all of my sisters, spouses, and grandkids are going to sneak into town and show up for dinner.
Before my Dad passed away, we were all with him and he said, "Everything I have ever needed, is right here in this room".That, for me, speaks the essence of this season.
The one thing I didn't mention that makes a doing the Xmas thing the way we want to is made MUCH easier by the fact that I have virtually no extended family. I am on only child, my parents are gone, and Keith's two sibs never married or had children. (The only smart decision the two of them ever made in their lives, IMO. ) My FIL is gone, and my MIL is fairly infirm in SD. I have one cousin and her family that we celebrate the New Year with, but that it. There is no one else. So for now--until the DILs start arriving--we can do what we want. When family ties get more complicated, I'll go with the flow. It's all about peace and harmony, IMO.
Kit--thank you SO much for sharing that. Hearing that is just as important as hearing about working it hard. Smart, smart thing that you did. Since being with EN, I have gotten much smarter about doing the same when needed. It's a paradox...EN taught me to work harder than ever, but also made me see that I need to rest hard too. I was really bad at that in years past. I have to laugh with the "tell" thread about folks who never, ever seem to need rest. Good for them.
Christmas. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I love the reason for the season, church service, the music, traditions, the pagents, seeing holiday decorations on peoples houses. But the gift thing is just a bit too much. I've been on a mission to get Joe's family to stop exchanging gifts between the adults for years- but they have to do at least a "secret santa" sorta deal each year. This year, with my BIL in a 28 day rehab facility, the family has decided to wait until he gets out to celebrate Christmas as a family together (i.e.- exchange gifts and such). Instead, we're heading up to MD to visit the BIL and then will join the rest of the family in the evening to play games, chat, have some dinner, etc- (frankly- this would be my idea of Christmas in the first place!)
Joe and I exchange stockings (and yes, Otto and Lilly get stockings too). Nothing big here- little stuff like socks, gloves, magazines, etc and then perhaps a few special trickets like swim paddles for me and a piece of windsufing equipment for Joe). It's kinda a tradition to be sure there is something silly like toothpaste or deoderant in there as well as an orange in the toe.
Mom & Dad still send us a box with presents each year- again small stuff. This year I sent them RoadIDs! They walk every day and it occured to me that they didn't carry any ID with them. Perfect! I was also going to get Dad a Goat (his favorite animal/pet) from one of those charities where you buy a goat for a village and it helps feed a family as well as creates an income (from the goat milk). But when checking into the charity further I found the admin/fundraising costs were super high and only something like 20% of your donation actually goes to the delivery of the charity. If anyone has a good idea on this- I'd love to hear it!
Oh- and as many of you know, we do sorta decorate our house- but in a very small way. The Christmas Tree is a little 1 foot tall fake tree decorated with tiny ornaments and this year even got some blinking battery operated lights. Much easier to keep away from the cats! I'll have to post a pic of it at some point- it's sorta cute!
Ladies- Thank you so very much for not "voting me off the island" after my ranting post about christmas. And thank you for sharing your stories.
Linda- I am VERY headed in that direction. You are NOT weird. Go with the flow in the future, but you might be able to teach a thing or two as well.
Kitima- Amazing that as a child you had no problems with buying stuff after christmas. Post college I did that, and they almost killed me. I was called "cheap" and "didn't care enough to shop ahead of time". I lived across the country. My response: "Why should I schlep anything to you when I can take you shopping and get you exactly what your heart desires? Besides, I'm here aren't I? Isn't that more important?" It made no difference, they were angry. P.S. I figured out that Santa and mom had the same handwriting too!
I guess this is also where I should reveal that my mom is a classic hoarder, which is why she insists upon buying useless junk that might someday be valuable or useful.
I do love to look at everyone else's lights. I think they are beautiful and when it snows, I ski around the neighborhood enjoying the lights in pure peace and quiet.
On Christmas Day, Max and I will have chinese food with Jewish friends and go to the movies. I will get to work out without being made to feel guiilty. It is a wonderful and relaxing day.
Comments
Had a great 1 hour swim with great pointers from the coaches... so refreshing! and I worked hard....on the way out.. doc called and he will get me some PT
, told me to go off prednisone 
and that thyroid is good 
but iron can still be improved 
.....
linda and Calli: great job and to add to the dog news in EN:
the untrained GrandDog! Rudy...home for Christmas Break from college
and here we are and he wants to chew up the Santa Hat!!
m--so funny! Take heart. Cali is like that with a tennis ball! While she'll now drop it, but about 20 feet away, if we don't throw a second one, and try to get the one she dropped--she runs back like a demon possessed to get it before we do. Then she never gives it up! Cracks me up--when it's not annoying. She goes into a trance with the tennis balls. That Rudy is SO cute! Part-time doggie might be the perfect solution!
Re swimming--Taylor told me yesterday that his goal for this season is to win the MA State Championship in the 200 free. He needs a ~1:44 to win; his personal goal is to go 1:43. His current best time is 1:46. He was 4th overall last year as a junior. It will be fun to see the progress toward that goal!
Linda, so fun to hear you have swimmers also! I told my 14 year old, who is swimming is first year of HS in ninth grade, what Taylor can swim the 200 free in and his response was, "wow, that is really fast!" Thinking out loud, he added, "I wonder what his 50 is??" So, now he is calculating what it would take him to swim 200 free in that time! So, thank Taylor for inspiring Josh to swimmer harder and faster
Oh and a shout out good luck of hard swimming and much discipline to Taylor on working toward his goal this season......let us know how he does!
Time for supper....let's see linguine with white and red sauce and french bread....then off to another band, choir and handbell concert featuring my 16 year old son, Jon.
Take care all
Hey Kathy--another swim mom!!!! Hey, sistah! Now we have the bond between swim parents--endless season and endless hours at meets! 3 of 4 of my boys swim/swam competitively. Ryan swam through college, and has an interesting tri career story too. Karate, however, is what stuck with all 4 of them--all have black belts. My 2nd son is my writer/musician. He has no interest in swimming whatsoever! You can tell Josh that Taylor has a :21:xx 50 free, a :48:xx 100 free, a 4:53 500 free; and 17:21:xx 1650. HS team will definitely inspire Josh. It's so much fun, and the payoff for all the hard work of club swimming. What else are your boys into?
Olivia- Welcome back!
Nemo- If your gut says not this year, then follow that instinct. I was looking to get more involved professionally. On the surface they said 5-8 hrs/ month. Fine print said a lot more about meetings and travel (on my dime). With IMMoo, I had to put that professional goal aside for this year. Maybe 2011.
Linda- Great for Taylor! Would love to hear about his progress.
I was very confused and thought Christmas was on a Sunday. As I was scheduling patient's last week, I realized I was way off. I also still have to work Christmas eve. So I made a video like Gina and Sue's to tell my family that I would not be coming to visit. Yes it was my way of avoiding a huge argument. Luckily 3 of 4 see the humor. Also, Max is trying to make a video sort of explaining what it is like to be a non triathlete stuck with a triathlete. Will post when he is ready.
Interesting info on the Predisone. I got off a course of it right before the marathon. Am having allergic reaction to something- runny, itchy eyes, lovely itchy rash on the torso and no new products I'm using so doc hit with a round of steriods. Unfortunately, it's back and I won't do another round so.... mild allergy to cat so thinking maybe something else is stirring things up and now I'm just not able to tolerate being around the cat. So trying to find a good home to adopt Darby. So far... no takers
Hoping to find someone with other cat (s) as I think she would do even better if she had playmates.
Did first spin class in a loooonnnggg time... boy am I whooped!
Michele- I LOVE your conflict avoidance technique!!! I gotta remember that one! And I can't wait to see what Max puts together. If he needs any ideas- tell him to get in touch with Joe. The two of them could probably spend hours comparing notes!
Kris- Oh My, Poor you, Poor Darby!!!! She's such a sweet little thing too! I hope you find a home for her. Remind me- is she declawed?
She's front declawed- kept the back ones on so she can climb is something big enough is chasing.
poor kitty and poor you to be so itchy!! yuck.
*
25 degrees here this morning and I head out with Rudy all bundled up with new dog toy and throwing it back and forth and whoops, ends up in river!!! now the toy is $10 so then me and him scoured the ground for long sticks and after the 5th stick, with him very interested and me afraid that we would both end up in water, he got in the cold water and got the toy while I moved the toy towards me with a stick!! didn't run or anything just trotted back and forth so he could work up a run! m
What else are your boys into?
Linda, I will tell Josh about Taylor's times....crazy fast!! The two oldest, Joel (20) and Jonah (19) played soccer and baseball while in high school. Now it is college, jobs, girlfriends and not a lot of time for team sports anymore. JOn (16), is a junior in hs and still participates in soccer, basketball and baseball come spring. Josh (14) and Joseph (11) are the only swimmers! Being involved with sports has been such a great outlet for my boys! I have loved going to all the games and now the meets. I do however, feel like I should be charging taxi fees, I'd be rich
How bout u????? Oh and tell me more about Ryan's ( I think you said Ryan, forgive me if I got that wrong) tri career? Still waiting for any one of my boys to get interested in tris, so far no interest. maybe with Josh, I know the swimming part kind of freaks out the older ones.
I have signed up for holiday challenge and noted that as of today only one other female has signed up!! so go on over to Challenge forum and look at thread to see google spreadsheet... all you do is run the day after Christmas thru the day after New Year's..... and no minimum mileage is required and in fact you can get points for it being cold outside!!! I can run 1.5 miles so I am IN!!! run 1 mile x 8 = is enough for a challenge in my book plus it sounds fun to post pics so a little holiday fun, love it if you can join in on the challenge!!
I have also signed up for 100 pushups and right now have not done my initial test of how many I can do consecutively! now if I can do both together then it would be ultra efficient, just run and then do some pushups!! will take a look more carefully at the pushup plan after I test!
I took a rest day today and feel tired from sleepless nights....
and haven't weighed in yet either!!
will do tomorrow! so several ways to stay fit over the holidays!! while not having high volume!
my oldest did swimming, soccer, and football in high school, next two down did soccer and football but swimming and bball in jrhigh and 4th one has done swimming, soccer and now bball and youngest has also done swimming, soccer and now gymnastics. we haven't done baseball or karate basically! done shooting sports, oldest too! water skiiing, etc.... but football has been King for us 7 - 12th grade for all three boys and soccer since they were very young for all 5 kids... I also believe sports and boys are a good match, don't have daughter old enough to know but the testerone that courses through their body?? sports is a great venue to channel it. Love the teamwork and friends but yes on the time, money and drive time!!
we have dry fit clothing everywhere and balls, and all sorts of gear, shoes, bags and water bottles. we do not play any musical intruments however! yep and they are not straight A students although could be...
I was a straight A student with no sports in school, was in the drama club!! and hated PE! got picked last at Dodge ball! made my only C in college in Tennis cuz I couldn't play although aced the written part of the test! I didn't own a car so cycled around campus to include down the hill to tennis!! little did I know that years later, I would still be cycling on hills and still not know how to play tennis!!
it is on the bucket list though! as redemption. I was on the dean's list at college and I guess my competition was grades....was going to be a hard nosed lawyer but then something happened!! I got married and went soft and fell in love with motherhood!!! had five of them, and made sure they knew how to play sports!!! and there you have it....
now why did I tell you all of that!! not sure but tell me your story too! m
Marianne-Thanks for sharing about your children....sounds like a fun bunch! You got a girl, that is sweet
My two oldest tried football in elementary school and it didn't really stick. My boys are on the smaller side, well at least they were then, and football seemed to knock them around! I am actually glad they opted for the other maybe less pounding sports. Im sure that if my third born had played football, we would have been to the er with broken bones and other injuries! He has a genius for giving his body for the game and getting hurt in the process! I'm sure you have experienced lots of injuries with football over the years. All my boys have played and or currently play musical instruments....when they were younger, they would play Christmas music for us during the holidays. The older ones are not as interested in that anymore....ah yes, family life is always changing. Sometimes I miss those younger days when life wasn't so complicated with all its distractions!~
Merry Christmas everyone!
3-6 inches of snow here in upstate NY tonight! Might have to break out the snowshoes soon...
DH surprised me with tickets to San Fran last night for my February break. (I'm a teacher!) Totally floored. Great friends moved out there last summer, so we're going to visit. They are also triathletes, but don't know if we can pack the bikes! It's almost more expensive to fly the bikes than to fly ourselves!
Morning, Ladies!
Dana - -awesome about San Francisco.
I was walking through the train station this morning and there was a choir of small children, singing "The Twelves Day of Christmas" with the adorable, sharp diction of elementary schoolers. My heart totally melted into Christmas spirit.
How's holiday prep going for everyone? I adore Christmas shopping and am quite pleased my only errands left involve the toy store and tracking down copies of Gardening Mama and Cooking Mama games (which are supposed to be cool. Anyone have eight y.o. girl knowledge?)
Sorry Beth no 8 YO girl knowledge, lots of 8 YO boy knowledge. I wish I still shared your enthusiasm for the shopping and prepping, but all I really want to do is go to an island and sit under a palm tree lit up with Christmas lights and sip a cold beer
. It has just gotten so stressful! Not what it is supposed to be about at all 
.
I did get the final shopping knocked out today and started baking last night - now if I could just get committmenst from family members so I know whether to buy a roast for 8 or 14?!!!
Sent DH to take the boys out to dinner and the scout meeting the other night and wrapped a bunch of presents while they were out - so good to have that behind me.
Work is getting busy too - 35 dogs here for x-mas - kids have to wait for me to get home from work to open presents - real Character Building experience for them!!!
Hope everyone else is getting it done and enjoying it!
Oh yeah - My friend Jenny joined EN!!!! Yay and is in the Jan OS too. It will be so fun to have someone to train with that is doing the same stuff
. Well she'll be doing the harder stuff, because she is FAST! Hopefully she's get in here to say hi soon. She joined the Jan OS group today and is starting to get familiar with the website, etc.
yes Grace is eight and she loves everything! she still plays with Barbies', "American Girl" doll style dolls, generic is okay!, craft stuff, diaries, and other writing stuff, stuffed animals like the Doodle Dog, Build A bear, Justice Clothing and other bling bling like jewelry and glittery lip gloss, furry boots, scarves and warm mittens with little jewels on them, organizer stuff for all the little things like jewelry boxes and plastic containers to neatly organize pencils and crayons and etc, books yes chapter books they can read pretty well at that age, music, they love Karoeke music and Disney is good but High School Musical, Hannah Montana, Witches of Waverly Place and I Carly are favorte shows as well as Jonas Brothers! what else?? well really anything!
Today I let loose the dog and he went galloping in the muddy murky puddles and then jumped up on me so then I stunk too! it is cold and overcast today and perfect for drinking coffee but not for riding!!
went to diff PT guy today and was hopeful that he can fix and then help me incorporate some more "strength" exercises for piriformis prevention!! he is a runner himself and used to play soccer so knows about the mental drain of lack of training!! and also the overuse injuries! I go 2x next week and have at home exercises to do.. like leg lifts on my side with an ankle weight! and wall squats with rubber band at my knees, and clam shell leg one with band at knees.. basically my butt is burning now!! cuz he took something that looked like a silver spatula and tortured me! bridge and the Plank! ouchee. cuz when he prodded and poked, YOWZA, "does this hurt?" I think what we discovered is that "at my age"
I will always have to do these exercises for glute and hip and that flexibility is important but so is strength. and oh my goodness on the way home a most remarkable bakery!!! 
so I got an almond filled croissant! this PT might make me gain weight. 
Swimming?
they put a band around my ankles to eliminate or decrease my kick so between that and the pushups challenge last night, my arms were getting tired. I take way too many strokes but was able to cut out four of them in today's session (got down to 21)! I feel energized about gaining some useful knowledge while i have plenty of time before IMMOO! Like I said I could only do 8 consecuvtive push ups so I have relied on my kick "way too much" for propulsion and not my stroke so all good learning for me! and once again, I felt so refreshed coming out of the pool!
on to kids' Christmas parties and very sweet to be in the classrooms!! one more day of class and everybody home and I have cookies ready for baking!!
Hope everybody else is doing well and congrats to Linda et. al who have done so many successful workouts and a shout out to others still in recovery! m
Head spinning! But in a good way.
Some of you saw on FB that Taylor got into Boston College! Thank. Gawd. That's. Over!!!! Heavens, the college process is so stressful. Even though he was a recruited swimmer, they still drill into your head, "you never know with admissions." Ugh. Anyway, it's his first choice because they have a cooperative program with Tufts Med School. If he keeps up a 3.5 GPA, admission is automatic, and no MCATs. So that's his ultimate goal--to be some kind of doc in neurology. Probably will come out a sociology major!
Swim coach has already emailed about all the NCAA Div I paperwork we have to do. Ryan swam DIII, so this is all knew to us. VERY exciting. Great relief on mom and dad's end that the app process is over! One more to go!
m--you keep on getting better, k??? We need you in WI, fast, and focused, and all game faced to rock it!
Dana--SF is my dream city. Make sure you go tot hte Japanese garden if you haven't been there. Peace on earth it is.
Whoops, gotta scoot. Keith's home...off to swim meet!
Love to all of you!
PS--HATE Xmas shopping and most of everything about the holiday. Bah Humbug.
Great news on college LInda. I agree...college stuff is stressful. We are waiting for our oldest's 1st semester grades. I almost think she is going to be .06 pts from dean's list. She was pretty disappointed but we don't have all the grades yet. The day of her baking practical final gave me a stomach ache. She did great on the execution but the exec chef thought her written plan needed more structure and organization so he took off points. She called very upset. It's good that it's difficult though, it will serve her well later.
SF is so wonderful Dana! Have fun! I went in January once and everyone there was walking around all bundled up because it was 58 degrees.
Got my mojo back this afternoon. I was avoiding doing my bike/run at the fitness club but gave in and did it. No PT but no running outside in the cold or bundling up all sweaty to head over to the treadmill. It was nice.
I'm with you Linda...I'm kinda tired of shopping. I just get home and see that I missed someone on the list. I still need to get youngest daughter's gift. I'm just not sure about the IBike...does it work on the trainer? It looks like it goes on the front fork. Otherwise, she needs a snowboard bag and a helmet. She wouldn't wear one last year when I ragged at her about it but now that boyfriend wears one...she wants one.....the magic of pooled ignorance and peer pressure! Gotta love it.
I'm so excited about the Holiday Run challenge....
college son is driving home now! yeah. need to go make him a bed. good job on college admissions.... a relief to be sure.
I would just like to say that.... I am relieved to know that I am not the only person that dislikes the holiday season. Don't get me wrong. If this really could bring peace on earth, I'd be all in. But watching folks fight to get into the mall lot and fight for parking. Pushing through the crowds. The honking horns, the swearing because they are tired/ can't find/ whatever, it's AWFUL!
I just refuse to participate. Last year EVERYONE received a dishtowel with a letter explaining that it was to support a charity that pays for children to have heart surgery. (Charity was started by my friends kids.) No one dared complain although I don't think they appreciated the concept. For years I have literally begged my entire family to NOT purchase gifts. That I have everything I need and can buy what I want (and if I can't then it's something they can't afford either). It is to no avail, I continue to receive junk because someone else felt they HAD to buy me a gift. REALLY- It won't hurt my feelings if you don't!
So once again I am choosing a charity for donation. I purchase gifts for the kids in college and under. Adults get a note about the charity. (Max would like me to donate to the "Human Fund" for those of you that remember that Seinfeld episode.)
And my family wonders why I prefer to celebrate Hannukah. I'm not Jewish, but Max is. I still put my foot down about gifts, but he understands (not agree). We do nice things and buy things for each other all year. Why do we HAVE to do it NOW?!?!
RANT OVER
Michele,
You are not alone. I'm going to come out and reveal our truth about the holidays. A number a years ago now we decided to "redefine Christmas." Then we found out there's an acutal organization by the same name! http://www.redefine-christmas.org/ Anyway, we have no tree, no lights, and we do a family outing instead of any presents. We do share a holiday meal. We add up the pot of money that we would have spent on presents, tree, and decorations, and decide together where to donate. This year it's the Fistula Foundation. Last year it was FINCA International. We always drop off presents to Christmas in the City.
I am always reluctant to reveal that, because some people think we're weird.
Maybe so. But my boys are no longer children, and this just fits so well with all of us. The stress level is zero, and it's all about coming together, going into a family cocoon and enjoying the season with each other.
Linda, this is why I love Thanksgiving more than Christmas. Getting together for food and family time! I love it! I keep telling my husband it would be nice if the whole family could go on a Habitat build mission trip every year instead of doing the gift thing.
My husband's family would be completely pleased with a dishtowel from a charity. I got their gifts at a store that supports several charities with gifts made by each one to raise funding.
Michelle and Linda - What lovely, awesome things to do to celebrate Christmas.
I think my Christmas shopping zen has come from a few places: 1) The list of people who get gifts is small and I like them all. 2) I have the luxury of being able to completely avoid the mall and all big box retail and buy a lot from independent artists 3)We are having pizza for Christmas dinner, so no worries about prepping the feast.
Mostly, though, I'm a big sucker for midnight mass and all the holiday singing. That's my favorite part. I dig the story. I think the way to winning at holidays is doing the parts you want and not getting so wrapped up into the Giant Christmas of Holiday Garantuanness.
Linda & Michele: Thanks for sharing your holiday stories. I have a similiar one too: Though my parents are Buddhists, they "celebrated" Christmas by having a tree, presents from Santa, decorating the house with lights so that I could fit into American culture when I was a kid. At 7 years old, I figured out that Santa's handwriting was identical to my mom's and that Christmas mystery was revealed. Being very pragmatic, Mom said,"Why get presents before Christmas when we can buy them on sale after Christmas?" So from that Christmas on, we stopped with Christmas presents. Instead, we'd have a lovely dinner together then go shopping as a family on Dec 26 and get what we wanted on sale. Eventually, we stopped putting up a tree (too much work and the cats would chew up the ornaments) and having ham for dinner (we liked the taste of Peking duck better than the tradition of having a Christmas ham). My parents still hang lights (Dad LOVES wildly blinking, seizure-inducing, multi-color lights) and now they have a herd of those light-up reindeer in the yard (another Dad Christmas fetish).
Linda: I didn't know that Taylor's BC program was the undergrad/med school combo. That's awesome! How nice to not have to take the MCAT's.
Dana: SF! I LURVE that city and know my way around pretty well. Let me know if you want reco's...
Well, I think I dug myself into a hole/trained right into a brick wall by doing the OS stuff AND riding my mtb. I figured since I wasn't running on land (or more like: This stupid pool running doesn't feel that hard!), I'd "make up" those rTSS by riding my mtb and doing those FTP intervals at 104-105%. Since Tues, I've been completely, utterly unmotivated to train---and not just the garden variety whining of "Wah! I don't wanna ride the trainer tonight.". I'm talking NOPE, I'm not doing this. OS be damned! So instead of forcing myself and doing one workout then missing one week after week, I just went with it and skipped 3 workouts in a row. I made sure I adjusted my food intake accordingly, continued to stretch and roll...then laid around and watched alot of Ninja Warrior for 3 nights.
Now I feel great! My sleep is alot more fitful. I'm not wanting to inhale Christmas cookies all the time. So I'm finally going to do that Power Hack test tonight. Woot!
My take on the Christmas season. I (we) love it and have since I was a little girl. The change in the air, reflection on the year, the lights, smells, and music. Oh, how I LOVE the music!!
I send my family greenery and that is it. Must admit I LIKE the idea of gifting to charity. I avoid the mall like the plague.
Su and I always go for a long run on Christmas Eve and then have grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup, and champagne. The last 2 years we have gone for a Christmas Day ride with our neighbors.
Favorite Christmas stories:
Gift of the Magi- What could be better than the gift of self?
A Christmas Carol- Always, there is hope for a changed heart
Certain Poor Shepherds- A different take on the nativity story and must read for animal lovers.
This year is tough with the loss of my Dad in Feb. He loved the holidays and always left one small Christmas ornament up after Christmas, saying the spirit needed to last year round. He called it his "poor Christmas".
Su and I will head down to Birmingham Sunday and celebrate "Chris-makkuh" between our two families. My mom thinks she will be alone this year and that I will just be cooking Christmas Eve-eve dinner for us. But, unbeknownst to her, all of my sisters, spouses, and grandkids are going to sneak into town and show up for dinner.
Before my Dad passed away, we were all with him and he said, "Everything I have ever needed, is right here in this room". That, for me, speaks the essence of this season.
Ramble over
The one thing I didn't mention that makes a doing the Xmas thing the way we want to is made MUCH easier by the fact that I have virtually no extended family. I am on only child, my parents are gone, and Keith's two sibs never married or had children. (The only smart decision the two of them ever made in their lives, IMO.
) My FIL is gone, and my MIL is fairly infirm in SD. I have one cousin and her family that we celebrate the New Year with, but that it. There is no one else. So for now--until the DILs start arriving--we can do what we want. When family ties get more complicated, I'll go with the flow. It's all about peace and harmony, IMO. 
Kit--thank you SO much for sharing that. Hearing that is just as important as hearing about working it hard. Smart, smart thing that you did. Since being with EN, I have gotten much smarter about doing the same when needed. It's a paradox...EN taught me to work harder than ever, but also made me see that I need to rest hard too. I was really bad at that in years past. I have to laugh with the "tell" thread about folks who never, ever seem to need rest. Good for them.
Christmas. I guess I'm somewhere in the middle. I love the reason for the season, church service, the music, traditions, the pagents, seeing holiday decorations on peoples houses. But the gift thing is just a bit too much. I've been on a mission to get Joe's family to stop exchanging gifts between the adults for years- but they have to do at least a "secret santa" sorta deal each year. This year, with my BIL in a 28 day rehab facility, the family has decided to wait until he gets out to celebrate Christmas as a family together (i.e.- exchange gifts and such). Instead, we're heading up to MD to visit the BIL and then will join the rest of the family in the evening to play games, chat, have some dinner, etc- (frankly- this would be my idea of Christmas in the first place!)
Joe and I exchange stockings (and yes, Otto and Lilly get stockings too). Nothing big here- little stuff like socks, gloves, magazines, etc and then perhaps a few special trickets like swim paddles for me and a piece of windsufing equipment for Joe). It's kinda a tradition to be sure there is something silly like toothpaste or deoderant in there as well as an orange in the toe.
Mom & Dad still send us a box with presents each year- again small stuff. This year I sent them RoadIDs! They walk every day and it occured to me that they didn't carry any ID with them. Perfect! I was also going to get Dad a Goat (his favorite animal/pet) from one of those charities where you buy a goat for a village and it helps feed a family as well as creates an income (from the goat milk). But when checking into the charity further I found the admin/fundraising costs were super high and only something like 20% of your donation actually goes to the delivery of the charity. If anyone has a good idea on this- I'd love to hear it!
Oh- and as many of you know, we do sorta decorate our house- but in a very small way. The Christmas Tree is a little 1 foot tall fake tree decorated with tiny ornaments and this year even got some blinking battery operated lights. Much easier to keep away from the cats! I'll have to post a pic of it at some point- it's sorta cute!
Ladies- Thank you so very much for not "voting me off the island" after my ranting post about christmas. And thank you for sharing your stories.
Linda- I am VERY headed in that direction. You are NOT weird. Go with the flow in the future, but you might be able to teach a thing or two as well.
Kitima- Amazing that as a child you had no problems with buying stuff after christmas. Post college I did that, and they almost killed me. I was called "cheap" and "didn't care enough to shop ahead of time". I lived across the country. My response: "Why should I schlep anything to you when I can take you shopping and get you exactly what your heart desires? Besides, I'm here aren't I? Isn't that more important?" It made no difference, they were angry. P.S. I figured out that Santa and mom had the same handwriting too!
I guess this is also where I should reveal that my mom is a classic hoarder, which is why she insists upon buying useless junk that might someday be valuable or useful.
I do love to look at everyone else's lights. I think they are beautiful and when it snows, I ski around the neighborhood enjoying the lights in pure peace and quiet.
On Christmas Day, Max and I will have chinese food with Jewish friends and go to the movies. I will get to work out without being made to feel guiilty. It is a wonderful and relaxing day.