Summer in pictures

Now I know it's summer....

Where the hell am I living?  Seriously....and the humidity...don't even...

Three new summer beverages to try...  white and red sangria, just add fruit.  And Sweet Tea Vodka mixed with lemonade, an alcoholic Arnold Palmer!!

Back to fabulous salads... this is fresh Hyzy caught Alaskan Salmon 

Fruit, fruit and more fruit.  Unlimited fruit... next up, breaking out the Ninja Smoothie maker!

While I don't welcome the heat and the humidity this early in the summer, everything else is more than welcome.  Zoey and I are on Operation Slim Down and the fruit and salads will go a long way toward that goal.  The beverages... probably not so much... but everything in moderation!  

Schools Out for Summer!

I can't believe school is actually out.  More importantly I can't believe Zack has finished his Junior Year.  He's basically a Senior now.  I just don't know how that freaking happens.  I'm taking today, and the weekend off, just relaxing and not doing anything and then Monday, I'll start getting stuff taken care of.
My To Do list seems to be growing on a daily basis,  if I don't start working on it pretty soon, it may become insurmountable!  But even the threat of that is not going to make me get started today! :o)   I need to gather my strength!

Summer Week Two and Three - I lose track

Summer is just plugging along... VERY quiet and LOW KEY!  Really just the way I like it.  Let's recap the last week or two:

1.  I'm continuing to run almost every day.  We're on day 16 of July and I think I've run 13 days!  Yeah for me... It's weird, if I don't run, I feel yucky.  I've got a good routine going.  I get up at 600am everyday, I'm out running by 7am - that way I miss the worst of the heat.  If it's not too bad, I come home walk the dogs, then shower and I'm done with it all by 1000am!  Plenty of time to get anything else I need to done.  I've discovered that I don't mind getting up at 600am in the summer if I know that I can take a nap in the afternoon.  I love me some naps - probably in my top 5 favorite things!  I'll get up as early as I need, if there is always a promise of an afternoon nap!

2.  Another running note, I don't seem to be getting much faster.  I'm not sure if that should bother me or not, I'd like to get faster, but I'd also like to get faster without having to work real hard at it.  I tried doing some speed drills the other day, but I didn't like them very much.  I'd like to be fast enough that when the boys run down to the boathouses at Stotesbury to get tours I could go with them.  But.... I don't think there's any way I can keep up with 15 year old boys!  So, the $50,000 question is... Do I really want to be faster?  I mean I'm 46 years old, shouldn't I just be happy with any pace I can keep up that makes me sweat and keeps the weight off.  Hmmm.... a question to ponder....

3.  We had our annual cul-de-sac 4th of July BBQ.  Once again, the cul-de-sac comes through.  We have the best neighborhood.  I didn't take even one picture!  I know, right?  What is happening to me?  The other thing... somehow the fireworks celebration was taken over by the teenage boys.  A little disturbing that the parents just sat around and watched the boys set off all the fireworks, run around, laughing and plotting nefarious plans.  We only had to step in one time when a "plan" turned out not to be the best! :o)  Burning fireworks in a rolling glass bottle or some such plan.

4.  Finished my 7th 5K.  Still on track.  Zack and I ran The Biggest Loser 5K in DC.  It was blazingly hot.  I had to stop and walk quite a few times, but my time was 31:58.  Pretty good considering how much I walked.  If I could just stop myself from walking, my times would be awesome.  Even so, when I checked the official results - Zack actually came in 3rd out of 14 in his age category and I came in 5th out of 61 in my category!  I'm actually really, really, excited about that!!  Very happy and proud of myself.  If I can just balance my pace out so that I don't stop and walk, I'll be doing pretty good!

5.  5 days until John and the kids leave for Alaska and I start my 8 day Staycation!!  I think I'm as excited about staying home as they are about going to Alaska.  I know they are going to have a great time, but so am I.  I plan on doing a whole lot of nothing and not feel guilty about it.  I'm sure I'll run, run, run.  I'm also going to try and catch up on my scrapbooking, have a zombie-a-thon.  I have 8 episodes of the last season of The Walking Dead to catch up on.  I only hope I don't get totally freaked out!  I'm also going to eat what I want, when I want, nap, stay up late... whatever I can think of!  Yeah for family vacations that leave mom at home!  I'm sure I'll miss my family, but they'll be having fun and I'll be enjoying myself so it's a WIN all the way around!

Summer Week One

I don't know why I even pretend to try and blog in a timely manner.  Time just keeps slip, slip, slipping away.  We've completed out first week of summer, but frankly I've been busier than ever.  It seems like something every night and during the day.

1.  I've been running like crazy, almost every day, especially with school being out.  I've found my rhythm.  I still get up at 6am, have my tea, do my computer and then get out and run by 7am.  Beat the heat and for some reason it starts my day off right.  Then I come home and walk the dogs.  I have it all done by 930am and I have the whole rest of the day ahead of me. It actually makes me feel a little smug. :o)   I've run 20 out of 28 days and erged 2 of the other days.  Yeah for me.  I still can't seem to get any faster, but I figure as long as I'm running, my heart is beating and the sweat is pouring - then I'm doing okay.

2.  Coach Cox has started Crew Group Fun Runs every Weds night at 7pm.  It's been awesome - they are open to everyone and I think it's a great idea, a great way for the team to stay in touch and to encourage the kids to stay in shape.  The first week we had 9 people, 2nd week we had 28 and last week we had 34.  Our goal for next week is 50!  It's really awesome.  We have parents come and join us, we encourage the kids to bring friends. We all run at our own pace, but it's good competition for the kids.  Mostly freshman are turning out, but that bodes well for the team next year.  A little disappointing that more Varsity kids are showing up, but what are you gonna do.  We are having so much fun... seriously we are... that we're going to add another night.  We'll start meeting on Sat nights at 6pm and we'll do circuits, intervals and other stuff.  I'm really excited about all the ideas and the enthusiasm that Coach Cox has.  It's going to be a great season.

3.  As of today I have officially given up all my Viking Athletic Booster Club responsibilities!!  After doing Spiritwear and everything else for the last 5 years, I guess it's time for me to move on.  It's a little difficult to give up the Spiritwear store, I really think of it as my baby.  I will continue to work in there on Fridays, but I won't be in charge of anything.  I've just decided that if I'm going to spend so much of my time doing something, I would like to be at least a little bit appreciated and that is definitely not the case with VABC.  Crew takes up so much of my time that I certainly won't be bored.  And, I love Crew, I love the kids, I love the team, I love the sport and I love the parents.  So, if I'm going to be crazy busy, I'd rather be busy doing something I really enjoy with people who appreciate me and are fun to be around.

4.  Brenna is doing great this summer.  She's in and out.  Doing lots of Bat research, small mammal trapping (Smammaling) and even getting paid for it.  She's been running with me, which is nice because she and I run at about the same pace.

5.  The other exciting thing is Zack.  He's also working out this summer, running and erging.  He's also started eating better.  He's actually eaten dinner with us a couple of times.  He's been making eggs, discovered he loves salmon burgers and actually ate some chicken the other night!  He's also been chowing down on bananas, protein bars and fruti.  I'm just thrilled when he'll eat anything besides Eggo Waffles or Fruit Loops.  He's doing a sculling camp for the next 3 weeks and then a rowing camp all of August.

6.  Been to the pool once and gotten my first official burn of the summer.  Doesn't seem like it's summer until I get my initial burn on.

All in all, it's been a successful first week of summer.  Here's hoping that things slow down a little bit and I can get a start on my To Do list.  Of course, it's the same To Do list from last year because I got absolutely NOTHING done last summer.

First Sign of the End Times

It's the first official day of summer and both my children got up at 6:00am to go RUNNING.TOGETHER!

I feel like I should be in the basement prepping the fallout shelter!

End of Summer Wrap-Up #2

But there's more....August wasn't just concussions and college -  lots of other exciting things happened in August... for instance...

#1 - I cleaned out my Linen Closet... this was a bonus added onto the Summer To Do List so I got an extra crossed off item.  Not only did I clean out my linen closet, but now I have AN EMPTY SHELF in my linen closet!  Did you hear that people??? AN EMPTY SHELF in my linen closet.  Sometimes I like to just  open the door and look at it.  But that also brings me to my biggest pet peeve of the summer.  Why can't sheet manufacturers put the freaking SIZE of the sheets ON the sheets.  Because unless you live in a house where everyone sleeps in the same bed or in the same size bed, when you try to sort the sheets, there is no way to tell WHAT SIZE they are!  In our house we have every size of bed from twin to king.  Now obviously I can tell the difference between a twin and a king, but doubles, queens and kings are all very similar and it pisses me off!  Because when you haven't cleaned your linen closet out in....years... there are all sorts of unidentifiable sheets in there...stuffed in the back under Aunt Hilda's hand crocheted "heirloom" afghans.  Sheets I don't ever remember buying, let alone using... so when in doubt... throw it out!!!!  Then you get an empty shelf.  I bet it's those damn sheet manufacturers plan, no sizes means I throw my sheets out, which means eventually I'll have to buy new sheets.  Damn those sheet people!

But wait more excitement ahead....
#2 - I've given up caffeine and I'm working on soda.  I tried this once before and gave up after about 3 days, but so far I'm going on 2 weeks and its all good.  Our coffee maker broke about 3 weeks ago and it took me 3 days to get it replaced.  That meant 3 days of no coffee and once I gave that up it seemed I should just keep going.  I haven't had any caffeine in 2 weeks and I'm down to one soda per day.  I'm pretty proud of myself, but I am NOT ENJOYING it.  I have 6 bottles of Diet Mountain Dew (my own personal crack) sitting in the garage taunting me.  I can't stand to throw them in the garbage, but I'm not letting myself drink them, so I need to find a new home for them, before  I succumb to their siren song!
I also got a juicer - since I guess I'm getting all healthy now.  Sadly it's been in the box for the last week. I guess it's much better for you if you actually open the juicer and use it! :o)

Summer excitement is almost overwhelming me, it's time for school to start!

Summer Update #2

I don't know why it's so hard to write.  It's not like my days are jam packed, but everyday I look at the blog and instead I choose to nap, read or do nothing.  This really has been the summer of a whole lot of nothing.  I'm not saying that's bad, it just doesn't give me much food for the blog fodder.
So, summer update #2 -

#1 - We have almost completed our Dorm room shopping.  Personally I believe that they should give out medals for this event and I totally earned a GOLD medal.  We got 90% of everything on her list....in one day... and no one died!!!  Not only that, but no one got cranky, no one cried and no one yelled.  This is even more amazing if you consider the fact that we stood in front of the Target towel display for I KID YOU NOT... for over an hour!  Who knew that the choice of towel color was so CRITICAL to college success.  But I was patient, I was tolerant, I was even helpful. And eventually the choice (hallelujah!) was made and we checked out.  But it didn't end there, no the amazing shopping performance of me continued because we moved on to IKEA and comforters.  I know you know how this story goes... the only difference is that I actually picked out a pillow and lay down on the floor while the great comforter debate raged.  But again, no one cried, no one sulked and no one died and we left with a comforter.  All that's left is the easy stuff, cleaning supplies, school supplies etc...  She got her dorm room assignment and roommate.  Muse Dorm, room 124B and Samantha Wooldridge.  They actually met on Facebook and have been messaging back and forth over the summer.  Hopefully that will give them a leg up over doing just random selection.  3 more weeks and we head down to check her in.

#2 - For the first time in probably 17years, we no longer have a room devoted to toys.  The Toy Room is no longer.  John has a very cool Man Cave/Home office.  He's got the computer, a TV and a lazy boy.  It's a nice little retreat for him.  It's weird not to have a toy room.  Zack has taken over the basement and Brenna is in limbo until she leaves.

#3 - The heat has been atrocious!  Almost too hot to do anything except hide in the house.  We've done plenty of swimming and movies.  Added Xmen First Class (awesome) and the last Harry Potter (sad, but good). Captian America and Cowboys and Aliens on the To Do list.  We (really Brenna) spent a couple of weeks mourning the last Harry Potter.  They were there for the midnight showing - actually about 3 hours early.  Zack and I saw it a bit later.

#4 - Visited Buffalo for a couple days.  It's always a nice trip, but tiring.  We flew Brenna and Melanie there about 4 days early and then we drove up and met them.  It made for a very interesting car ride up with only Zack in the car.  The boy can sleep!  We finished up breakfast at 630am and that boy slept until Erie, PA!  That's about 8 hours in my estimation.  Made for a very quiet trip.  So, we were worried about the ride home with all 3 kids.  Love me some teenagers!  Melanie slept the entire trip and B and Z slept all but 90 minutes of it.  YEAH!!!  Sure beats the days of "she's looking out my window!"  "He's chewing too loud!"  Oh yeah it does!

#5 - Zack is still sleeping like a champ... record so far this summer... 4pm!

Waiting for the heat to clear and starting to get geared up for the new school year.

Summer Update #1

We are 2 weeks into summer vacation and it's been both busy, busy, busy and very quiet at the same time. So... what have we done?

#1 - I've heard "I'm bored" twice.  Maybe that's not so bad except that the first time it was uttered was on DAY ONE of vacation... Zack was the culprit.  And the 2nd time I heard it was on on DAY TWO and this time it was Brenna.  So I said to myself..."Self we need to nip this shit in the bud!"  I immediately whipped out my Summer To Do List which has delicious nuggets like wash baseboards, clean windows,  or steam clean carpet.  Surprise, surprise when given these options the boredom magically disappeared and I haven't heard a peep since then.

#2 - We made another road trip to Radford and got our girl registered for classes.  We were very excited to discover that for a Biology major she only has to take Statistics and one Math class.  That is very exciting for us - since math is definitely not her forte.  She'll skip math this year, take a refresher at NOVA next summer and hopefully zip right through College Algebra.  Stats... we'll just have to see.  She's also taking Freshman English, Biology Seminar, Bio and Lab, Chemistry and Lab, History and University 100 which is a intro to college class they ask all freshman to take.  It's a pretty jam-packed schedule but she can handle it. She has her actual schedule set up pretty sweetly for a freshman.  She only has 2 classes on Mon and the first one is at 11am.  She only has one class on Friday at 11am.  Her heavy days are Tues and Thurs with Weds being a middle day.  So it's definitely workable for her.  She also got to actually meet her roommate.  They found each other on Facebook and have been messaging back and forth - so it was good for them to actually meet and discover that they do like each other.  She is so excited and now is ready for summer to be over so she can head off to college!

#3 Zack got his traditional "cut it all off" summer "Do."

Before

After

#4 - We've hit the pool a number of times, the weather has been horribly hot and humid.

#5 - We've seen Green Lantern (heart you Ryan Reynolds), Transformers 3 (better than the 2nd one), Super 8 (super awesome) and have many more on the "want to see" movie list.

#6 - We completely cleaned out the toy room.  Since Brenna will be away at college we are going to move all Zack's game systems and "toys" down to the basement and turn the toy room into a home office for John.  We cleaned and boxed and sorted and purged our guts out!  Goodwill came and we had so much packed up and boxed around that when John came home from work he said, "Are we moving again?  I don't want to move!"   Now the toy room is empty and awaiting the installation of home office stuff.

#7 - The kids have slept in till all hours of the afternoon.  Zack got up at 230p today.  I feel weird making them wake up just because I don't think they should still be sleeping, so I let them sleep.

All in all, a successful first two weeks....