Not from work, but from exercise or doing anything scheduled. It was a nice night. I was to donate blood, but thought my nose was a little too stuffy today, and then realized that with all the runs coming up, I should hold on to my precious oxygen carrying red blood cells until after Toronto and rescheduled till the end of October.
Just when I was wondering what to do, H-woman called needing noodles. Decision made! Off to Vietnam Fortune for noodles and salad rolls, and enjoyable conversation. After dinner, I dropped in on Mom to see how she was doing (and what she was doing). She is doing just fine. She is a tough old bird!
Have some legal documents to send in for Dad's estate, but everything seems to be going smoothly. I drop off what I can at lunch (the investment people are really close to work) and then boot camp after work. I am looking forward to getting my sweat on, even though it may be in the...wait for it...it's coming...hard to type here...snow. Oh, so not ready for that yet. But I do need to sweat, as weigh-in today, while expected was still just gross. Gross, gross, gross...
I "found" 5 whole pounds!! In one week...holy crap! Okay, so the pan of Nanaimo squares "may" have had something to do with it. Big sigh...
So that's if for me. One more day of work and then the weekend. Hopefully the weather holds out on Saturday, as running 32km on your own is bad enough...on your own in the rain/snow. Sucks. But then it's Kooza on Sunday, which should be awesome. They brought back the Wheel of Death for this show. Cool!!
Hope everyone had a great Thursday and an even better Friday.
Later,
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Whoa, where'd the night go?
Would you look at the time?! Okay, despite my usual claims, this will be a short post.
Tuesday: Another day back at work, all goes well. Return to running clinic, where we had most excellent nutrition talk, except she bad-mouthed chocolate milk and I know think she has to die. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but come on...it's chocolate milk! What can be wrong with that after a 4+ hour run?! Because the talk ran late and we were scheduled for speed work on Wednesday, Sir Garrath let us run a nice, slower steady. It was awesome...7:33 average pace, which is faster than our predicted 7:52 but still felt slow and even. We are a machine!
Wednesday: Feeling sluggish, but I'm sure that has to do with the pan of Nanaimo squares that mysteriously entered my house and therefore had to be destroyed. Guessing I'm more stressed out then I let on. But they are gone now, and this too shall pass. Weigh-in tomorrow could be brutal, but I'm ready for it. Bring it!
Speed work: what can I say, other than I LOVE speed work. Even more then I love hills...and why, you ask?! Because it's honestly the only time running where I actually feel comfortable and like I was built to do this. You see, I have long legs and big feet and they get all tangled up when we do the short turn-over to increase pace. When I can stretch these bad-boys out and hit my stride...oh boy! Our speed pace to hit was 6:14. I had to pull us back a couple of times because we were up around 5:45 at a few points!!! Overall pace, including the 2km warm up worked out to 6:46, but I did check at the end of each km (we do repeats, similar to the hills training) and we averaged 6:12 for all 4 repeats. Yay us! Afterwards enjoyed a pint (okay, two) and some Guinness Crab Asparagus soup (it was good, but not stellar) and some major laughs with the group that showed up tonight. My stomach hurts from all the laughing...it's a good pain. Oh, and I now have a race scheduled for September 25th (22km), October 3rd (5km), October 10th (10km) and then the 17th (42.2km)...it's all training, right???
On that note, good night and happy thoughts. To quote my friend H-woman's recent Facebook post:
I like that...a lot. Thank you , H-woman.
Later,
Tuesday: Another day back at work, all goes well. Return to running clinic, where we had most excellent nutrition talk, except she bad-mouthed chocolate milk and I know think she has to die. Okay, maybe that's a little harsh, but come on...it's chocolate milk! What can be wrong with that after a 4+ hour run?! Because the talk ran late and we were scheduled for speed work on Wednesday, Sir Garrath let us run a nice, slower steady. It was awesome...7:33 average pace, which is faster than our predicted 7:52 but still felt slow and even. We are a machine!
Wednesday: Feeling sluggish, but I'm sure that has to do with the pan of Nanaimo squares that mysteriously entered my house and therefore had to be destroyed. Guessing I'm more stressed out then I let on. But they are gone now, and this too shall pass. Weigh-in tomorrow could be brutal, but I'm ready for it. Bring it!
Speed work: what can I say, other than I LOVE speed work. Even more then I love hills...and why, you ask?! Because it's honestly the only time running where I actually feel comfortable and like I was built to do this. You see, I have long legs and big feet and they get all tangled up when we do the short turn-over to increase pace. When I can stretch these bad-boys out and hit my stride...oh boy! Our speed pace to hit was 6:14. I had to pull us back a couple of times because we were up around 5:45 at a few points!!! Overall pace, including the 2km warm up worked out to 6:46, but I did check at the end of each km (we do repeats, similar to the hills training) and we averaged 6:12 for all 4 repeats. Yay us! Afterwards enjoyed a pint (okay, two) and some Guinness Crab Asparagus soup (it was good, but not stellar) and some major laughs with the group that showed up tonight. My stomach hurts from all the laughing...it's a good pain. Oh, and I now have a race scheduled for September 25th (22km), October 3rd (5km), October 10th (10km) and then the 17th (42.2km)...it's all training, right???
On that note, good night and happy thoughts. To quote my friend H-woman's recent Facebook post:
"There are days that I don't know if I can do a marathon. There will be a lifetime knowing that I have."
I like that...a lot. Thank you , H-woman.
Later,
Monday, September 13, 2010
Starting back is hard
I know it was only a week off, but you'd think it had been 10 years since I last exercised! Granted, I probably pushed a little harder than I should have yesterday - maybe I shouldn't have run all 29 or kept the pace I did, but I did. So deal with it hips and calves!!!
Returned to work today as well, which was good. I needed other things to keep my mind and hands busy, and nothing like a whole bunch of year-end priority reports and spreadsheets to keep me occupied! The day literally flew by. Helped along with my merit increase (maximum allowed) and a bonus cheque! Think I'm going to tuck that away and price out some cameras...something a little fancier than my point 'n shoot! I was thinking that would be my "I ran another marathon" gift to myself this time, so we'll see what happens.
Woke up to rain...such a surprise for Calgary these days. Seriously, I don't recall moving to Vancouver this year, and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of it! But it was also the first day of a new Boot Camp session, so dressed appropriately, off I went. There were quite a few of us hardy souls, at least 15 of us showed up, rain and all. During the class the rain slowed to a drizzle, which made the workout bearable. We started with a run (some newbies had to go through their fit tests) and then did a killer circuit, as Trainer Josh wanted us to keep moving and keep warm.
We started (reps of 10) with squat presses, moving on to leg drives, dips, seated rows, bicep curls, sprint to far benches, step-ups, return to start. We then moved on to reps of 15 of everything, added jumping jacks on the return from the step-ups. After a quick drink, we moved everything up to 20 reps, except the legs, leaving at 15. He didn't stop the clock till we all finished, and then challenged us to do 25 reps of everything (20 reps for the legs) and beat the clock back, or we do it again. Holy-flash-back-to-High-School, Batgirl!!! He even gave us an additional 30 seconds, so we were aiming for everyone to finish everything in 6:07. We managed to do it all in 5:32!!! Think several of us were close to hurling at the end, but dang it, we did it!!! Finished up with some core work, and then a little bit of stretching for me before home to dinner.
Dinner became a red pepper night...I had purchased a stuffed pepper at Co-op the other day, and only ate half (it was HUGE!), so I topped it with a little more tomato sauce with Epicure's Roasted Red Pepper dip stirred in and set it in the oven to reheat. Then I made crab cakes, complete with red pepper diced in, and served with Epicure Red Pepper Jelly. Round out the meal with a sliced mini-cucumber and tomato and I am full.
Freezing though, so now I'm enjoying a cup of Vanilla coffee and huddling in two shirts and long pants. Starting to feel warmer, but it may take another mug!
That's it for me. Clinic and run tomorrow night, group run on Wednesday (speed training! Yay!!!), boot camp on Friday and 32km solo run on Saturday. Oh well, I figure that's how you end up running most races, so it helps to train that way too.
:)
Later,
Returned to work today as well, which was good. I needed other things to keep my mind and hands busy, and nothing like a whole bunch of year-end priority reports and spreadsheets to keep me occupied! The day literally flew by. Helped along with my merit increase (maximum allowed) and a bonus cheque! Think I'm going to tuck that away and price out some cameras...something a little fancier than my point 'n shoot! I was thinking that would be my "I ran another marathon" gift to myself this time, so we'll see what happens.
Woke up to rain...such a surprise for Calgary these days. Seriously, I don't recall moving to Vancouver this year, and quite frankly, I'm getting tired of it! But it was also the first day of a new Boot Camp session, so dressed appropriately, off I went. There were quite a few of us hardy souls, at least 15 of us showed up, rain and all. During the class the rain slowed to a drizzle, which made the workout bearable. We started with a run (some newbies had to go through their fit tests) and then did a killer circuit, as Trainer Josh wanted us to keep moving and keep warm.
We started (reps of 10) with squat presses, moving on to leg drives, dips, seated rows, bicep curls, sprint to far benches, step-ups, return to start. We then moved on to reps of 15 of everything, added jumping jacks on the return from the step-ups. After a quick drink, we moved everything up to 20 reps, except the legs, leaving at 15. He didn't stop the clock till we all finished, and then challenged us to do 25 reps of everything (20 reps for the legs) and beat the clock back, or we do it again. Holy-flash-back-to-High-School, Batgirl!!! He even gave us an additional 30 seconds, so we were aiming for everyone to finish everything in 6:07. We managed to do it all in 5:32!!! Think several of us were close to hurling at the end, but dang it, we did it!!! Finished up with some core work, and then a little bit of stretching for me before home to dinner.
Dinner became a red pepper night...I had purchased a stuffed pepper at Co-op the other day, and only ate half (it was HUGE!), so I topped it with a little more tomato sauce with Epicure's Roasted Red Pepper dip stirred in and set it in the oven to reheat. Then I made crab cakes, complete with red pepper diced in, and served with Epicure Red Pepper Jelly. Round out the meal with a sliced mini-cucumber and tomato and I am full.
Freezing though, so now I'm enjoying a cup of Vanilla coffee and huddling in two shirts and long pants. Starting to feel warmer, but it may take another mug!
That's it for me. Clinic and run tomorrow night, group run on Wednesday (speed training! Yay!!!), boot camp on Friday and 32km solo run on Saturday. Oh well, I figure that's how you end up running most races, so it helps to train that way too.
:)
Later,
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Blowin' some stink off...
For very obvious reasons, I've been a slug all week. No runs, no boot camp, heck, I've barely even walked. So today, I really did jump out of bed when the alarm went off at 7am, looking forward (seriously...who the heck have I become?!) today's 29km LSD run. Toronto is in 5 short weeks, and I want to be in the best form I can be in for it. I WILL see a finish number that starts with a 4.
Breakfast was my good old standby for quick, easy and filling before a long run: multigrain bagel, toasted, PB and a banana. 1 glass of milk with chocolate syrup (caffeine substitute) and mixed up my run fuel of water (3.5c), OJ (2.5c) and sea salt (about a tsp). Checked the weather on TV to see how to dress...we had a frost warning here in Calgary last night, and the temperature this morning verified that. It was +2C at 8am...that is a mere 36F (I rounded up). However, as a very warm runner who sweats watching others run, I have to be careful as to what I choose, lest I overheat. Heatstroke and running do not mix...trust me, I have tried. I failed. Lesson learned. I settled on a pair of capris, a long-sleeved technical t, with a short-sleeved technical T over top. That worked just fine...it did surprise me to see all the people out running today with their ear muffs, toques, mitts, gloves, scarves and coats. Full on pants, double socks...honestly, it wasn't THAT cold!
Our loop today had us going the same route as a few weeks back, only this time in reverse. So, instead of running west into the neighbourhood of Bowness, and the up Blood & Guts hill, into Bowfort Park and back east to Eau Claire, we went up 53rd Ave (or was that Street?), through the park, down Blood & Guts and back through Bowness to Eau Claire. I have to say, I prefer coming at B&G (let's shorten it, shall we?) from the west. Yes, it is a big, steep, long hill, but once you are at the top, you are basically done hills, with just a few rolling to follow to 53rd. And the good news about them, is that while they are rolling, they are generally in a downward direction. However, come at them from the east, and you are faced with a long series of rolling hills that continue to climb until you think your heart is going to burst out of your chest. You reach a crest, and oh, look, there's another hill!! It's rather maddening, actually. But for those that dread running downhill (which I love, love, love), B&G can be hard on the knees. After all, it's just as steep going down as it is going up.
I basically ran alone today, as the faster of my group was away. One is having IT issues, and since her race is only 4 weeks away, she thought she should rest and deal with it. The other two, also running Chicago, decided they wanted to switch from 10:1's to distance and walking, to get used to running the marathon and only walking at water stations. I left them to it, and just went out, aiming for my usual 8/km Sunday pace.
I started nice and strong, and even managed to keep the 4:20 and 4:40 groups in my sight for most of the run, until a) one group took a different route (why, I don't know) and the other stopped for pee breaks. I am a camel on Sundays and literally do not stop unless someone I'm running with begs me to. So, plow ahead I go. The first 10km go very smoothly, and I'm actually clipping along at a rather decent pace, considering I haven't been moving for a week now. Then I reach the first hill, which I proudly run the entire way up! Yay me!! I did have a brief issue with hyper-ventilating at the top, so I walked a bit to get the breathing back under control and into a good rhythm. At this point, you get to run down a bit and into a valley of sorts, which is a lovely area to run through. Although, man, fall is here...there were leaves all over the path and yellow trees...kind of sad, considering Calgary really didn't get a summer this year. But I also prefer Fall (everything I'm allergic to is dying, hibernating or flying south!) over summer, and am looking forward to winter's chill. Okay...I really am Canadian! I decided to tackle the hills as best I could, and not get upset if I had to walk a few. I will say I managed to run probably 85% of them, and when I did walk, it was for no more than 30 seconds or a few meters, as I gave myself markers to reach. B&G down was a breeze, and I managed to resume a good, steady pace on the return.
Overall, it took me 3:54:41 to run 29.03km, at an average pace of 8:05/km and 2307 calories eliminated. That includes walk breaks and all those hills, so I am pleased with the end result. Got back to Eau Claire (it's Calgary's Aids Walk today, so it was busy and crowded and chaotic), did some stretching, got some hugs (a few of the runners know about Dad) and then time for lunch. The name of the game after a good long run like that is protein, so I went for my usual breakfast wrap. Two eggs, some bacon, cheese and green peppers (although today I think it was tomatoes instead) cooked and rolled in a wrap. Outstanding! Add a small chocolate milk, a much needed cup of coffee and some fruit salad, and my tummy is happy and full.
We were sitting around visiting, before someone mentioned it was 2pm already! Wow, the day flies when you do long runs. So now I am home and trying to get ready to return to work tomorrow. Sorry for rambling on, but it really was a good run, and I just feel better for having gone out there and getting 'er done.
Later,
Breakfast was my good old standby for quick, easy and filling before a long run: multigrain bagel, toasted, PB and a banana. 1 glass of milk with chocolate syrup (caffeine substitute) and mixed up my run fuel of water (3.5c), OJ (2.5c) and sea salt (about a tsp). Checked the weather on TV to see how to dress...we had a frost warning here in Calgary last night, and the temperature this morning verified that. It was +2C at 8am...that is a mere 36F (I rounded up). However, as a very warm runner who sweats watching others run, I have to be careful as to what I choose, lest I overheat. Heatstroke and running do not mix...trust me, I have tried. I failed. Lesson learned. I settled on a pair of capris, a long-sleeved technical t, with a short-sleeved technical T over top. That worked just fine...it did surprise me to see all the people out running today with their ear muffs, toques, mitts, gloves, scarves and coats. Full on pants, double socks...honestly, it wasn't THAT cold!
Our loop today had us going the same route as a few weeks back, only this time in reverse. So, instead of running west into the neighbourhood of Bowness, and the up Blood & Guts hill, into Bowfort Park and back east to Eau Claire, we went up 53rd Ave (or was that Street?), through the park, down Blood & Guts and back through Bowness to Eau Claire. I have to say, I prefer coming at B&G (let's shorten it, shall we?) from the west. Yes, it is a big, steep, long hill, but once you are at the top, you are basically done hills, with just a few rolling to follow to 53rd. And the good news about them, is that while they are rolling, they are generally in a downward direction. However, come at them from the east, and you are faced with a long series of rolling hills that continue to climb until you think your heart is going to burst out of your chest. You reach a crest, and oh, look, there's another hill!! It's rather maddening, actually. But for those that dread running downhill (which I love, love, love), B&G can be hard on the knees. After all, it's just as steep going down as it is going up.
I basically ran alone today, as the faster of my group was away. One is having IT issues, and since her race is only 4 weeks away, she thought she should rest and deal with it. The other two, also running Chicago, decided they wanted to switch from 10:1's to distance and walking, to get used to running the marathon and only walking at water stations. I left them to it, and just went out, aiming for my usual 8/km Sunday pace.
I started nice and strong, and even managed to keep the 4:20 and 4:40 groups in my sight for most of the run, until a) one group took a different route (why, I don't know) and the other stopped for pee breaks. I am a camel on Sundays and literally do not stop unless someone I'm running with begs me to. So, plow ahead I go. The first 10km go very smoothly, and I'm actually clipping along at a rather decent pace, considering I haven't been moving for a week now. Then I reach the first hill, which I proudly run the entire way up! Yay me!! I did have a brief issue with hyper-ventilating at the top, so I walked a bit to get the breathing back under control and into a good rhythm. At this point, you get to run down a bit and into a valley of sorts, which is a lovely area to run through. Although, man, fall is here...there were leaves all over the path and yellow trees...kind of sad, considering Calgary really didn't get a summer this year. But I also prefer Fall (everything I'm allergic to is dying, hibernating or flying south!) over summer, and am looking forward to winter's chill. Okay...I really am Canadian! I decided to tackle the hills as best I could, and not get upset if I had to walk a few. I will say I managed to run probably 85% of them, and when I did walk, it was for no more than 30 seconds or a few meters, as I gave myself markers to reach. B&G down was a breeze, and I managed to resume a good, steady pace on the return.
Overall, it took me 3:54:41 to run 29.03km, at an average pace of 8:05/km and 2307 calories eliminated. That includes walk breaks and all those hills, so I am pleased with the end result. Got back to Eau Claire (it's Calgary's Aids Walk today, so it was busy and crowded and chaotic), did some stretching, got some hugs (a few of the runners know about Dad) and then time for lunch. The name of the game after a good long run like that is protein, so I went for my usual breakfast wrap. Two eggs, some bacon, cheese and green peppers (although today I think it was tomatoes instead) cooked and rolled in a wrap. Outstanding! Add a small chocolate milk, a much needed cup of coffee and some fruit salad, and my tummy is happy and full.
We were sitting around visiting, before someone mentioned it was 2pm already! Wow, the day flies when you do long runs. So now I am home and trying to get ready to return to work tomorrow. Sorry for rambling on, but it really was a good run, and I just feel better for having gone out there and getting 'er done.
Later,
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Friday follies
Not sure if it was the burger at A&W, or the dips at home or the crap I ended up buying for supper last night (the experts are right. Don't go to the store hungry!) but something is not sitting right today. So, bad news is I overindulged in salt again yesterday (Pringle potato chips) and junk for supper (sausage rolls and the worst chicken wings, ever!) but the good news is my body is doing everything it can to GET IT OUT!! Get out NOW!
Did manage to have some brunch with H-woman (great restaurant called Overeasy Breakfast, right up the street from Diner Deluxe, where we first tried to eat - owned and run by the same people). Both of these places are a "first-come, first-seated" kind of joint and are always lined up. At least Diner Deluxe is, so we quickly hoofed it up the block to check out Overeasy. It isn't as big as Diner, but they've made up for that with a long, community table running down the centre. We didn't have to wait very long for a spot to open up. While Diner is very 50's chic, this place is a little more modern, and is bright and airy. And good quality food for low prices...that is the mantra of these restaurants. I had the Open Ocean Benny, eggs benny (eggs to order - love that) with homemade hollendaise, smoked salmon and spinach. What they call hash browns were actually deep-fried potato wedges, but I inhaled mine all the same. And a huge wedge of watermelon, slice of cantaloupe and an orange slice to round out the meal. Service was fast, and we were in, fed and out in no time.
Decided I wanted to bolster the Canadian economy a little, and went to Reitman's to see what they had for fall. Honestly...not much. Kind of disappointed actually. I did come home with a new pair of jeans, a brown pair of slacks (nice to see brown again) and some long-sleeved shirts. I have always liked their long-sleeved t's, so bought a rainbow of colours to hold me through the fall and winter. Wandered the rest of the mall, but nothing leaped out screaming "buy me", so I came home.
Just had a visit with the younger bro and SIL, as they deliver another bit of furniture to their daughter, who moved into my building last week. Now to decide what to do with the rest of my day. I really should do some vacuuming in the hallways, and haul some recyclables to the dumpsters. Okay...decision made! That's what I'm doing.
Later,
Did manage to have some brunch with H-woman (great restaurant called Overeasy Breakfast, right up the street from Diner Deluxe, where we first tried to eat - owned and run by the same people). Both of these places are a "first-come, first-seated" kind of joint and are always lined up. At least Diner Deluxe is, so we quickly hoofed it up the block to check out Overeasy. It isn't as big as Diner, but they've made up for that with a long, community table running down the centre. We didn't have to wait very long for a spot to open up. While Diner is very 50's chic, this place is a little more modern, and is bright and airy. And good quality food for low prices...that is the mantra of these restaurants. I had the Open Ocean Benny, eggs benny (eggs to order - love that) with homemade hollendaise, smoked salmon and spinach. What they call hash browns were actually deep-fried potato wedges, but I inhaled mine all the same. And a huge wedge of watermelon, slice of cantaloupe and an orange slice to round out the meal. Service was fast, and we were in, fed and out in no time.
Decided I wanted to bolster the Canadian economy a little, and went to Reitman's to see what they had for fall. Honestly...not much. Kind of disappointed actually. I did come home with a new pair of jeans, a brown pair of slacks (nice to see brown again) and some long-sleeved shirts. I have always liked their long-sleeved t's, so bought a rainbow of colours to hold me through the fall and winter. Wandered the rest of the mall, but nothing leaped out screaming "buy me", so I came home.
Just had a visit with the younger bro and SIL, as they deliver another bit of furniture to their daughter, who moved into my building last week. Now to decide what to do with the rest of my day. I really should do some vacuuming in the hallways, and haul some recyclables to the dumpsters. Okay...decision made! That's what I'm doing.
Later,
Friday, September 10, 2010
Friday
I now know why I cannot get my mother's wedding dress waist around my thigh. After spending about 3 hours between 2 banks (banking all organized and ready to roll) and getting some groceries, I sat and listened to Mom's stomach protesting it's lack of lunch quite loudly. So off to A&W (it was right across from the last bank) we went, where Mom had TWO bites of her Mama burger and 4 french fries, declared herself "totally stuffed" and watched as she packaged everything up to take it home for "supper". Didn't know how to tell her I was still hungry and she stole all the fries!! I did make her take two more bites! Really!!
I came home and ate some dip and whole wheat mini pitas and am now sitting here wondering what on earth to have to for supper. It may involve getting back in my car.
Really not much going on, except H-woman and I went for noodles last night. Turns out they were in Vietnam again, but have since reopened and it was the BEST noodle soup EVER! OMG, how I love, love, love them. The scale this morning was not kind (tad bit of salt intake) but that's okay. I still love them!
Other than the running around today (vet, bank, bank, groceries, lunch, home), I haven't done much of anything. I did sign up for the next 6 weeks of Boot Camp, which starts on Monday, and I am looking forward (egad, did I just say that?!) to the 29km run on Sunday. I feel like a slug and need to get moving again.
It's a chilly Friday night, so I'm thinking of something warm and comforting for supper tonight. Just not sure what that is yet. I'm off to be inspired.
Later,
I came home and ate some dip and whole wheat mini pitas and am now sitting here wondering what on earth to have to for supper. It may involve getting back in my car.
Really not much going on, except H-woman and I went for noodles last night. Turns out they were in Vietnam again, but have since reopened and it was the BEST noodle soup EVER! OMG, how I love, love, love them. The scale this morning was not kind (tad bit of salt intake) but that's okay. I still love them!
Other than the running around today (vet, bank, bank, groceries, lunch, home), I haven't done much of anything. I did sign up for the next 6 weeks of Boot Camp, which starts on Monday, and I am looking forward (egad, did I just say that?!) to the 29km run on Sunday. I feel like a slug and need to get moving again.
It's a chilly Friday night, so I'm thinking of something warm and comforting for supper tonight. Just not sure what that is yet. I'm off to be inspired.
Later,
Thursday, September 9, 2010
My parents were CUTE!
June 8, 1957
O.M.Gee...aren't they cute?!?! Their marriage lasted 53 years and in that time they raised three children (both of my brothers were natural, I was adopted at birth - they were foster parents and Mom said it was too hard to give the babies back...I assume my adoption was all legal like and everything!), who went on to raise their own babies. Well, except for me, but furbabies count too!
Mom still has the dress, and I remember looking at it years ago (it's a Ballerina cut, mid-calf length and still gorgeous) and cursing how tiny my Mom was. I could not get the waist around one of my thighs!!!! Probably still can't.
I cannot pull off hats...I would not have done well in the 50's it seems. Getting ready to head out for the honeymoon. I think they drove to Vancouver, but I also seem to remember Dad saying the car broke down, it was pouring rain and basically the trip was a comedy of errors. Still managed to hold on to each other all those years, through thick and thin and sickness and health.
Who knew my parents were "hip"?? And again...could my mother be thinner?!? Wowsers!
I was searching for some documents for the funeral home and came across the big suitcase of photos and such. I will have to go back, with Rubbermaid totes in hand, and sort through the stuff and make certain it is all packaged with care. And I will try to get Mom to remember at least some of the faces in the photos, before it's too late. As an adopted person, I admit that I don't feel the "hole in the heart", "who's my family?", blah, blah rhetoric that many aspire to. I know who my family is, and that is that. But as a member of a very small, rather disjointed clan, I would love to be able to trace a tree or at least know who some of the people of my youth were. For example, I always thought Mom's father passed from tuberculosis in the war, but some paperwork I came across today seemed to indicate it was mustard gas poisoning. This kind of history intrigues me and now I want to know more. It will definitely be a weekend(s) project - probably wait till after Toronto, so that I can head down and settle in for the day(s) without worrying about a run or training.
Didn't do much today, but did decide that I will return to work on Monday. Have some bank appointments tomorrow and am starting to get all the paperwork flowing in from everywhere. But this is right up my alley...reminiscent of my banking days, although things have changed (for the better). I did walk down for Weight Watchers, and it felt good just to go outside and move the legs, even if it was all of 8C out there. At least the rain had stopped by this time. The meeting was about getting back on track, and that's what I'm feeling right now. Get back on track. See the light at the end of the tunnel, and pray that it's not another train! I didn't gain or lose this week, which is a bit of a pleasant surprise, given the week I've had. After all, until H-woman took me for dinner Monday, I had forgotten to eat. That does not make for a healthy Carol.
Mom has received some of the most beautiful floral arrangements this week, including one from their financial advisor that had lilies in it the size of dinner plates. Ironic that such beauty has to come at such a sad time, and just reminded me that I want to start "gifting" myself flowers, at least once a month. Nothing big, maybe even just a single bloom, but why wait for something bad to happen before enjoying something so lovely? I do have to keep a close eye on the arrangement that I received, as it has some grasses and such that both children were eye-balling quite closely. I do put the vase back into the box every night, to aid in keeping it "pull down free", but so far we've survived okay. It's a horrible sound to wake up to (trust me...I've heard it before!) and you're stuck cleaning up water, broken glass and flowers at 3am, with an innocent faced cat looking at you with the expression of "What?? I was just smelling them..." It's a good thing they're cute!
Think that's it for me.
Later,
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