A beet

This is what I look like after running these days. I nice red beet. Not sure if it is associated with overheating or lack of oxygen, all I know is the folks at the gym at work today were probably worried I was going to keel over.

I joined the gym at work on Friday (a mere $18/mos). I blocked out my lunch for the remainder of the year and have a plan to run at least 2 days a week and either lift or take a class the other 3 days. They did a 'fitness assessment' (blood pressure: high, weight: high, pulse: normal) before I could begin working out for obvious insurance reasons. I about fell over when I saw the number for my weight. Urgh. Damn complacency and slowing metabolism.

Today was my first official day back on the wagon. I thought I would run outside but it's a bit on the chilly side so I opted to hit the treadmill. I don't think I have run inside in over a year. It was a bit of a trip and I instantly remembered why I prefer to run outside. The damn displays. How long do I have left? What's my pace? How many calories have I burned? It's like an obsession. I am out of practice and forgot to grab a towel to hide the numbers.

Nevertheless, I did end up running 3 miles. It is damn hot in this tiny gym and coupled with the extra 15lbs I am carrying, I look like a new kid on the block. I swear, looking at me after (and during, I presume) a run you'd be surprised I have run a marathon, numerous halves and countless 5ks. It's going to be an uphill battle.

And I have to get in the habit of packing stuff for 'after' the workout. While the gym has showers and hair/body shampoo they do not provide you with deodorant and brushes! Luckily, I keep spares at my desk and was able to finish getting ready back in my cube.

This evening, I bike home and can call it good. No pressure to feel like I need to squeeze in a workout after Claire goes to bed. This doesn't mean I won't be using the BOB. Oh no. This is what I need to do to get my ass in gear to push the BOB. I did that on Saturday for 33 minutes and looked like a beet that had been pulverized.

Memorial Memorial Weekend

We had a bit of a scare this weekend with Claire. You can read about it here. Needless to say, she didn't leave the house yesterday.

I learned about a possible new photography opportunity that might fall into my lap. My friend's grandmother passed away and the service is happening this weekend and she is scheduled for a wedding. She works as an independent contractor with a studio out of Stillwater. She offered up my name as a backup and I went over to a meeting with the team and presented my portfolio. I hate doing that. I feel like such a failure. Urgh. I always walk away ready to sell my equipment and just give up the dream.

Manual labor

Ay yi yi. I am sore today from my weekend warrior attempts this past weekend. In between birthday parties for family members I was able to turn over the veggie garden and get some plants in the ground. Here's a before picture of the veggie garden. I'll post an after when I get the rest of the plants in the ground. 

I'm trying the trick of planting marigolds around the veggie garden to help keep the deer and rabbits out. Pete thought he heard that they will make the veggies taste weird. Anyone had this issue before? 

My MIL gave me some hens and chicks and I planted those in some bare, dry spots. I hear they don't need a lot of care and I fear with the peanut around this year I will not be spending a whole lot of time tending to the gardens. The weeds will go wild this year. I'm also trying some new stuff this year, cosmos in the sunny spots and snapdragons in the smallest of small pots. I tend to get into ruts and plant the same stuff every year. This year I put more in the ground and used less of the pots. Maybe it was the weird spring weather ~ I just felt like doing something different.

Victory is Ours!

My softball team finally won a game last night. This is the first time in recent memory that Teal has one, without it being b/c the other team had to forfeit.

And we won with cushion. 18-6 or something like that... We had two grand slams and two more home runs. Yippee!

Personally, I had an OK game. Ms. C was with me so I was only able to play 2 innings in the field before she decided she would not be happy unless mom was holding her. She's been going through some separation anxiety stuff lately. Oh well. That's the way it goes.

Next week we play our 'sister' team. There is an intense rivalry and in years past we have gotten spanked by them. This year may be a bit different. We have some solid players and we're hoping that, at the very least, we can hold our own and not end up with a bagel.

My first official mom's day

I spent most of the weekend with my mom. Sans baby. This was the first night I have been away from her since she came home from the NICU. It was quite strange. While I was very relaxed at my parent's house, by noon on Sunday I was itching to get home. Being a working mom, I value my time with my little peanut.

And you should see what she is up to these days, tearing around the living room like a champ. She and I went for a visit at Ms. J's house last night as my friend, Ms. H, was in from LA. She was walking all around the living room, from one chair to the other with nary a hand on a couch/chair. So far she her longest walk has been roughly 7 feet. Holy cow. It is really happening. She is mobile, mobile, mobile. The best part is she doesn't get too fed up when she falls on her bottom. She just crawls over to the nearest table/chair and pulls herself up again. The only time we have an issue is when she bonks her head. And she bonked it good yesterday on the darn coffee table. Urgh. No matter how hard you try...

The best part of the day. She was walking around saying, mama, mmmmaaa, mama. Sure. It was probably a coincidence but I'm taking it :)

My 200th Post!!!

Holy cow. I was actually going to post about my first 30 minute run in nearly 2 years but I just realized this is my 200th post. Doing a little dance in my cube.

So, as I was going to say. I had one of those runs this weekend where I felt like I could go forever. Well, not forever, really, but I wasn't dying when I got back home. I almost called my dad and told him we should rethink the 'quitting while we are ahead to train for a marathon' thing. I know I didn't do my full 3 miles but for not having run for many moons, I felt pretty darn good. I now have a new technique. Run with the jogging stroller 3 days a week and then doing a long run without the jogger. Man, I can run a lot faster and longer when I am not pushing a 20 lb kid in a 20 lb stroller.

Now, if I could just drop the extra 10 lbs I am carrying I'll be FLYING!

Ray of Light

This has been a crazy week. I am either WAY out of practice or jinxed. It didn't help that I've been feeling the 'itch'. Not that itch, kids. The itch to find another gig. This is the longest I've lasted at a position for quite some time, which I attribute to having 3 months off last year to have a baby, but it's back. The burnout feeling has returned. But I just got some good news so I can hang in there a bit longer.

My session Monday morning in front of 70 people went flat after my laptop wouldn't boot up. Yes, I know, this is what you get when you whip your laptop off the docking station without putting it in standby too many times. Still... So I presented without visual aids. It actually went fine. For those who know me and my presentation style I do tend to be a walker and a gesture-fanatic so at least they were visually connected in some fashion. And the group was running behind so my 20 minutes was shaved to 15. Good thing I'm a fast talker. Hopefully they were able to keep up.

Today, I was seriously ready to quit. My afternoon session, which included dual delivery to folks in the room and several via web confo went haywire. Imagine yourself walking into a confo room with several people in attendance only to learn that the phones don't work. Now, how do the phones not work at a Fortune 100 company. Really? Really? You have to be kidding me. And the damn web confo was whacking out on me. In truth, I was frantic to find another confo room, which is nearly impossible on the fly, and couldn't think straight. So, thank the heavens I had sent out the deck before the meeting and folks were able to follow along, for the first 20 minutes. We were kicked out of the meeting room with the working phones....

Now for the good news. I met with my boss this afternoon and he has approved my involvement in an upcoming coaching program being developed out of the OD group. He knows that my career in his dept will not last forever and rather than holding me down, he supports my future growth. He also knows that it won't happen tomorrow so he is willing to appease me by letting me lay the ground work for potential positions in the company. Thank goodness I work for someone with this perspective. We'll see how long this holds me over. Right now I am seriously considering why I work for a company that doesn't appear to be in line with many of the things I value (I refuse to admit my company is involved in hazardous chemicals - best to remain naive). But, I have to pay the bills and the market isn't looking too good at the moment. Oh well. At least I feel like there is something fun and good waiting for me in the fall.

Now I am off to go see my little peanut!