Sunday, November 23, 2008

CLEANING HOUSE ROCKS!!!!!

As most people are well aware I do not like to clean. My cleaning episodes are few and far between and usually happen when the weather gets cold. Thank goodness I have a husband that adores to clean. Oh my how I prattle..well anyway I had a cleaning episode yesterday morning since it was my rest day from working out. I got up and started mopping floors, then the I decided maybe I should clean out my cabinets (as I am injured by falling greenbeans every time I open the door). My cabinets looked so good that I started looking around and what do you know there is dust...dust on my bric a brac. So I dust and what do I come across M&Ms! Happy Day Happy Day CLEANING IS AWESOME AND I HAVE BEEN GIFTED WITH A PACK OF M&MS FOR MY TROUBLES. My husband sees me with the M&Ms clutched in my greedy fat little hand and he says "Hey those are mine". Well I knew that in fact that they were originally purchased by me so Adam and I could have a little snack and Jerry had TAKEN THEM AWAY FROM US BECAUSE "NEITHER OF YOU NEED TO BE EATING CANDY" I never saw them again until Saturday morning. His declaration of ownership had absolutely no impact on me as I tilted back my head and swallowed half a bag of M&Ms at once. So today I decide to clean my closet, not because I thought there would be candy but because it really was kinda messy and guess what...I FOUND THREE WHOLE BAGS OF CANDY. CLEANING HOUSE ROCKS! I was a good girl today and dutifully turned over to the Candy Marshal so he could dispense with it.

Baby Keaton: Baby Keaton is a sweetie. However Baby Keaton played the ultimate male trick...have a hissy fit in hopes of discouraging Mommy from attending the shopping expedition with Grandma and Aunt Kendra. Keaton did not win this battle of wills...Mommy 1... Keaton probaby 200. Keaton was happy when Grandma and Aunt Kendra cuddled him close and walked him through the mall. Keaton was happy when he went to Pepes. Keaton probabaly would have been really happy if he got to eat EL POPO..but Mommy only let him have bottled breast milk. Keaton is going to have Grandma time on Wednesday. Keaton, Grandma and Grandpa...look for lots of pictures.
KEATONS FIRST VISIT TO GRANDMA AND GRANDPAS HOUSE PRE MALL

GRANDMA LOVES HER LITTLE GUY


Adam: Adam got to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa last night. After shopping Kendra and Grandma stopped by to pick him up. He was all Papaw Papaw EVEN though it was Grandma's idea to pick him up and spend time with him. Grandma rates second to Grandpa until it is time to be pulled in the wagon or brush his teeth or go to bed...THEN it is Mamaw Mamaw. Adam went shopping and was actually very good. He found a Santa hat that we had to buy and he wore it thru the Dollar Store and thru Payless and then all morning.
EVEN SANTA'S ELVES LIKE TO MAKE PANCAKES

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

UP DOWN REPEAT

So in my pursuit of fastness...Hill Repeats were ordered.
All I can say is BLECK! It was cold cold cold and DARK and did I say COLD? I was the first one at the hill so I thought what the heck I am slower then the others (okay WAY SLOWER) so I started without them. Up the hill this chubby girl went. Wow this isn't as bad as I thought it would be. Then the others arrived...OH I AM SUPPOSE TO GO UP THE HILL FASTER THEN I USUALLY PLOD? YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME! So I increased my pace and then...IT DID FEEL AS BAD AS I THOUGHT IT WOULD.
Over up the hill down the the hill 4 3/4 times. I was going to stop at 3 3/4 but as you know I am easily influenced by peer pressure (thank goodness my friends just run and don't drink at bars all night)so I finished! Thanks to Jeff and Russ for encourageing me up and over the hill!
Monday and Tuesday food has been good! I love the weekdays. I can stay on program...the weekends...well Gluttenous Kim comes out to play. Evil Starbucks lures me with Pumpkin Spice Lattes. Cookies shriek my name and my debit cards screams use me use me take me out to lunch.
Workout Schedule this Week"
Monday: 2miles slow run, Ab work
Tuesday: Hill work 45 minutes, Upper Body Lifting
Wednesday: 2 miles Walk/Run (with the elusive Tom Slick no less)
Thursday: 5 mile climate Run
Friday: Spinning/Power Hour
Saturday: Off
Sunday: 3 mile run

Newly Found Knowlege:
I love NERDS. My house has been emptied of trick or treat candy. Well it probably is still in the house but my husband hid it well enough that I could not find it. So Sunday I NEEDED CANDY BAD. I looked around nothing but crappy NERDS. In the past I have never had a desire to eat this totally kid candy but hey I was desperate, so I opened up a box and took a mouthful...YUM! Grape and Strawberry NERDS are yummy! I went to get some more and the bag of NERDS is now missing. Husband saw that I was loving the NERDS and made them go away...I was kinda glad but mostly sad....

Sunday, November 16, 2008

Being Grandparents is Great Fun

Just Like Grandma!



Eventually he did share the crackers.




Only the Coolest Grandpa's Play with Play Doh.

Pssst...my Grandpa is BOOOORRRRING

He doesn't want breast milk. He wants cookies.

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Why I do the things I Do

As I stared into the mirror, I might add with a look of disgust and horror, I asked myself "Why after 4 years of plodding and lifting do I not yet look like Shakira?" Then I asked myself,"Since I don't look like Shakira WHY AM I STILL DOING THIS?" So as I am the master list maker a list was made:

Why I Keep Plodding Despite Not Looking Anymore Like Shakira Then When I First Began:
1. I have the most awesome climate run friends in world and would miss them terribly if I stopped going.(For those of you unfamiliar with what a climate run is. It is running at an insanely early time in the morning 4:45 a.m.no matter what the weather is like.)
2. I really really really like cookies.
3. I evidently love oxygen deprivation and pain running throughout my body.
4.It is better then tequila for making you forget your problems.
5. Because all the cool kids do it.

Okay after reviewing my list I went back an gazed into the mirror of horror and guess what....I think I might have been mistaken... my right calf might have started to slightly have a Shakira like shape...so the plodding resumes. I guess I better add number 6 to my list
6. I am an eternal optimist.

Updates:

After talking to my climate run friend Jeff, it has been determined that I need speedwork. LOTS OF SPEEDWORK (as you know I am still traumatized by knowing that I run slower then an undernourished kitten) so a review follows of Tuesday's speedwork:

Speed Work a/k/a Hurt Real Bad Work

After much sloughing off due to my pre mini injury I have decided that slow plodding Kim needs to be banished forever more. So dutifully I appeared at Jeff's Tuesday morning speed workout. What I did can not truely be described as Speed Work but is more aptly described as "Less Slow Workout" What a nice surprise to see the happy smiling faces of Leo, Danna and Russ! I might add that I am the ONLY one that needs speed work so the fact that 4 of my friends were in attendance made me get kinda weepy.

Overheard at that Tuesday morning workout:
Kim "My heartrate is too high I need to walk"
Leo "Get going your heart is not going to explode" (Leo NEVER feels
sorry for me, despite my great physical discomfort and agony)

Russ: "This reminds me of phys ed class in highschool"
Jeff: "Why? Did you run with fat kids then too" (Okay this remark
made me laugh so hard I really thought my heart was going to explode!)

Kim: "I feel like the hounds of hell are behind me."
Russ: "Thats right! Get Going"

Jeff: "Come on Kimmie Push!"
Kim "GAAAAAASP OKAAAAAAY"

Kim: "Can you stop by my house on the way to take me to the hospital
so I can put my crockpot on low"

Kim: "Tell my family I always loved them"

Jeff: "Good Job Kimmie! (a comment very much appreciated by winded and tired Kim)

Danna: "I promise you that hills will make you faster"

So we finished and the next speedwork will take place on Tuesay at the Hill of Hell (which is at the opposite end of town from Puke Mountain).

Earlier I referred to my being the master list maker. This is an absolutely true fact, not like when I refer to myself as Master of All that is Around Me.
I love to make lists. I make list of the lists I need to make. I put things on my list that I do as routine just so I can cross them off ex..brush teeth. I might add that seldom are my lists ever completed but that does not stop me. Somethings I have had on my lists for years...ex clean out laundry room closet...take children's precious child hood memories in a box and drop them off on their porches. But my favorite list of all is "THE MASTER CHRISTMAS LIST" It starts off with items I have been told they want and items I think they actually need in regular font. As I purchase the items I then bold the typeface. When the items are wrapped the get changed to bold red typeface. Oh how I love love love my "THE MASTER CHRISTMAS LIST" I then try to hide my "THE MASTER CHRISTMAS LIST" but I do belive my family violates my privacy and READS my "THE MASTER CHRISTMAS LIST" This year I have outsmarted them allbecause I have a decoy "THE MASTER CHRISTMAS LIST". More fun for me because I got to make yet another list.

Well it is time to plod so off I go for yet another round of oxygen deprivation and pain runnning throughout my body!

**Due to the early time..correct grammer, puncuation and spelling is optional***

Thursday, November 06, 2008

AND THE MOMENT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR!





Keaton James Kaufman 9.8 ounce 22 inches long. Grandma has a future Purdue Boilermaker lineman!
Keaton has the softest blackest hair, rosy cheeks and looks just like his Daddy.
Tasha had to work really really hard to bring her big boy into the world!
It was a surprise that Tasha had him on Tuesday because Monday's doctor appointment she was told nothing was going on and Sunday she would go into the hospital to be induced. My heart went out to poor Tasha because she is such a little thing to be carrying such a big baby...


So I say "why don't you come over for dinner" Meatloaf, homemade mashed pototoes, greenbeans, cornbread muffins and apple crisp for dessert..ummm a meal fit for a mother to be. The next morning Tasha is in labor in the hospital...
Could: Grandma have slipped labor inducing drugs into her daughter in laws meatloaf? Could Baby Keaton have liked dinner so much that he decided not to miss another one of Grandma's home cooked meals and so worked to be born by dinner time the next day? hmmmm?

Spooktacular Evenings


Pre Halloween Fun










Trick or Treat night arrives!
Vampire, Princess and Ballerina OH MY!



Overheard on Trick or Treat Night:
"I want allore" (Adam language for candy)
"I want allore NOW" spoken by Adam even louder
"Can you pull me in the wagon?" asked by 6 year old Abby.
"Absolutely not...your legs aren't broken" spoken by Grandma Kim who refused to pull 3 children in the wagon.
"That was very stressful and I even took a Xanax" Spoken by Amanda a new mommy who has never taken mulitple children trick or treating.
"I still hate trick or treat night" spoken by Grandma Denise who has 24 years of trick or experience with mulitple children
"I think I have gummy bears stuck in my hair can somebody pick them out?" Grandma Kim after carrying Adam on her shoulders while he was eating gummybears (fyi no one offered)
"Yeah that was just as fun as I remembered" Grandma Kim who has 27 years of trick or treat experience with mulitple children.

New Information:
The rich mommies do not take their children trick or treating...their nannys take them...Rich mommies sit on the porch and sip wine while handing out candy.

Halloween Fun







October 24 was Grandma's Craft and Cookie Night!
Started out with painting...2,3, 5 and 6 and 10 yr olds with paint brushes...I am sure you can imagine the fun that was had!

Frosting Cookies: Grandma hands out plain sugar cookies...the plan was to frost and sprinkle..as soon as I put them on the plate they were having bites taken out them...we decorated them anyway cause Grandma's don't care about germs.

Games were played. 2 year olds do not know how to take turns.
5 and 6 year olds have no patience for 2 years olds that do not know how to take turns.

Monday, October 13, 2008

Empty Nest Compensation

I thought when children grew up and left home that women have empty nest syndrome and pace around sobbing and wailing for their "lost" children. I have yet to wail and the only time I sob is when I am trying to plod up 4th street hill...okay ANY hill. I also thought they had lots of free time in which they could lay around watching Oprah and Dr. Phil. Why don't I have time for Oprah and Dr. Phil? Is it because I don't use my time wisely or is it because my life actually is busy? It just seems like I have less time then ever despite having no children at home. But I have to say I am lovin' every minute of my life!
September activies: Earl Park Festival, Two Birthday Parties, Brookston Apple Popcorn Festival, One Baby Shower hosted by me and my very creative daughter, Trip to the Feast of the Hunters Moon...I guess I was kinda busy...

What the cool kids have at their birthday parties:



Gee Mom why didn't I get one of those. I don't even think I got a pony!

The birthday boy:


When asked if he had licked the cake he replied "No" but I think the proof is in the picture.

Keaton and His Mommy at Keaton's Baby Shower:



Kendra and I hosted the party:
Chicken Salad and Turkey Croissants, Chips, Fresh Strawberries, Grapes and Pineapple with Cream Cheese Fruit dip, Pasta Salad, Nuts and Mints, Punch...complete with baby ducks afloatin' and Cake..we passed on the traditional baby shower cake decorations and went for curious George as Keaton's bedroom is done in Curious George.



Adam already violating his cousin's possessions:


Who Knew a Bomb Pop could dye a child blue?


October is here! What ever do I do in the month of October?
Birthday party for my favorite son in law..yes he is my only son in law but he would be my favorite even if I had more. Annual Trek to the Covered Bridge Festival was this weekend. I was accompanied by one daughter and one very very pregnant daughter in law. BIG KUDOs to the woman who is nine months pregnant and walked the hills of Mansfield without even one complaint! We were hoping to walk Keaton out of her but he is one stubborn boy and did not even try to come out...
Upcoming Events: October 24, Halloween Craft and Cookie Night...a night of Halloween fun and games at Grandma and Grandpa's house....dinner will be served for both the young and the old...I guess they could even decorate a cookie with the kids.

October 25 65 mile bike ride with friends! Yeah I have not had a long ride since September and I am needing it...Next year I have my eye on "The Bucket Ride" 120 miles of fun!

October 31: Trick or Treat night...Pot of Chili on the Stove for those that need nourishment before doing the trick or treat trek.

Fitness Update:
I am much honored to have been picked as a "Coach" for the better weigh in contest at the Y. Who would ever think that someone would look to me as a role model?

Running: Wooooo HOOOOOOOO I plodded 5 miles without stopping to walk AND that included 4th Street hill a/k/a Puke Mountain and 9th street...which is only rated with a 25% puke factor. It's been a long time coming...my knee did not start to tug until mile 4..so that is an improvement. Usually mile 3 it starts in. The company was great so it took my mind off the fact that I CANNOT BREATHE AND AM PRETTY SURE I AM IN THE THROES OF DEATH during my plods.

Biking: So sad no biking..no time...sob sob can't wait till October 25!

Now for the more insightful part of my post. Words of Wisdom or Encourgement I have been told:

What doesn't make you stonger will just hurt you real bad

You better eat your pie now cause there won't be any left later ( I piece of advice I used often and it made me fat!)

Waa get going (spoken by Jill when I told her I was tired and could not breath)

The first mile is the hardest. ( I am pretty sure I still don't believe this)

Keep your old car cause at least you know what is wrong with it You buy another used car and you might get even worse problems. (My father's analogy on marriage and divorce)

Don't forget to go the bathroom before we leave cause it's a long ride.(Told to me by my Grandson Ty when he was 3 yrs old before we left to go to a festival)

Quit Whining (spoken to me by everybody I have ever plodded with..oh and my huband a zillion times)

Thursday, September 11, 2008

A Tail of Humiliation

Climate Run Thursday September 11, 2008
Attendees: Several really FAST people, One very PATIENT person and one REALLY slow person

4:45 a.m. and all the world sleeps except for the insane. What, you
might ask, do insane people do at 4:45 a.m? They do the CLIMATE run.

Off they go... the fast ones hurl off into the darkness, Kim reminds
Jeff that last Thursday he vowed to stay by her side as Leo cannot be at the climate run this Thursday. She also advises Jeff that due to the incredible pain in her back side that she will be going slower then her usual slow but she expects him to still be a man of his word and stay with her despite the the slow motion plod.

Why is Kim slower then slow? Because she thought it would be a really good idea on Wed. to plod for 3.5 miles and then do lunges from one end of her street to the other. Kim now cannot sit or walk without immense pain and discomfort. (It might be noted that if one does lunges in public then one will be gawked at).

Kim and Jeff plod side by side. Jeff does not complain about the
snails pace that Kim is plodding. They come to Leo's house. Jeff and Kim contemplate banging on Leo's door to give him one last chance to attend the climate run. Kim thinks it is an awesome idea because she knows he has coffee...good coffee...Their better judgment prevails (cause they wanna live) and they speed past Leo's house...okay PLOD past Leo's house. Kim is sad because she has not yet had coffee. The world is an ugly brutal cold place without coffee. Kim cannot exist in a world without coffee.

Kim tried to plod without her IT Band. Kim's knee was not in agreement with this. Kim's knee swears it hates her and will make her suffer.Kim promises her knee if it will just make it thru the route she will buy it a brand new IT Band..maybe one with sparkles and sequins....

Jeff and Kim are chased by a Wolf...okay it was a HUGE dog...okay it was a sorta of medium dog...but it had a really big bark. The owner half heartedly called his wild beast back. The wild beast totally ignored his owner and continued to chase after Kim and Jeff, probably trying to determine which one would be the meatest. The wild beast finally slinks off and Kim and Jeff are free to plod without fear.

It seems unlikely that Kim and Jeff would have yet a second encounter with a vicious animal...but yet....Kim and Jeff are chased by a Mountain Lion....okay okay it was not a mountain lion...it was HUGE FELINE...okay I cann't lie it was a kitten. A kitten that insisted on following Kim and Jeff all the way down Lafayette Drive to the Jeff Square parking lot. Kim shoo shoos the kitten. She picks it up and turns it around hoping it will go back the other direction. The kitten loves Kim and Jeff. Jeff tells Kim to take it home with her. Kim says her dog will eat the kitten (as her dog has a past history of eating cats) and besides she could not get it home as she rode her bike to the Y. Kim tells Jeff to take it home. Jeff says NO NO NO. She tells him perhaps he could take it home and give it to his brother as a present. Jeff is skeptical that giving a kitten as a present is a good idea. Kim suggest taking it back to the Y and giving it to Kris as a
token of their appreciation for all her hard work. Ultimate Kim and
Jeff decide the kitten must be left behind. They plod a little faster in hopes of losing the kitten. It was humiliating. Kim cannot outpace a kitten.

Kim has learned a few things on this climate run:
Plodding without coffee has a -1000 fun factor
Knee pain will not subside by promising her knee "knee bling"
A dog will not eat her because she is to fatty and not meaty enough.
She cannot run faster then an undernourished kitten.

Why I love my life!







Monday, September 01, 2008

I Want to Ride My Bicycle I Want to Ride My Bike

All is well on the running front..welll at least as well as can be for the Queen of the Plodders. I managed to run 5 miles with only one Leo assigned water break. No knee brace...minimal knee discomfort. It was slow it was steady but only one tiny water walk break! I do believe for the most part that I am healed. So I will be uping my running days to three days a week. THERE WAS ZERO WHINING ON THE CLIMATE RUN...well except for the plea for relief when I saw the climate runners turn toward downtown. I am not healed enough to do PUKE MOUNTAIN. Leo took pity on me and he took me on a flat five mile route...all I can say is Thank you thank you thank you Leo!

On the bike front....EVERYTHING IS EXCELLENT!
August 23 I did a 65 mile route...well actually 68 miles as I missed a turn and had to back track! 13.8 average pace..which is kinda slow but for my longest ride ever I am quite pleased. I did have an average pace of almost 15 till I hit that last 20 miles which was mostly hills...not baby hills...puke moutain hills...one hill in particular I just wanted to get off my bike and push it up the hill...but pride...pride...pride...pride...kept me on the bike and kept me pushing pushing pushing up the hill, even though I really wanted to cry like a baby and walk my bike up the hill. 68 miles is a long way to bike by yourself and I desperately missed my friends. The sag stops were set up great with lots of food and drink. However, I am not the get off my bike and chat kinda girl...I stopped...refilled my water bottle, one with gatorade, one with water and walked around for 5 minutes to stretch my legs and try to get some feeling back in my rear and then got back on the road. I did meet a really nice lady who told me I would be really fast on a road bike as I was keeping up with her on my hybrid...talk about giving a burst of confidence to a chubby middle aged weekend warrior. About 11:00 it heated up and it heated up fast. I went thru fluids like crazy (by the way orange gatorade taste like spic and span bleck..give me my powerade zero..yummy) and with 10 miles left to go I was out of fluid...... At last I saw a two mile marker. I don't know who said it was 2 because my odometer clearly showed I went almost 4 miles from that marker when I turned into the finish...and my odometer is right. The last mile I passed a biker laying flat on his back with his bike by his side. I went past him and then thought "Kim you should stop...what if he is dead...". So I turned around and went back. I asked him if he was okay. He said "Yep..its hot...discretion is the better part of valor" and then he laid back down. Then he says, "You should only have another mile left". At the finish line I was offered a sandwich...bleck...real bikers that can bike across states can eat sandwiches after riding 65 or 101 miles. Weekend warriors want to throw up at the sight of lunch meat. However, weekend warriors will eat popcicles and drink lots and lots of water. The rest of the day I could not get enough fluids. I drank and drank and drank. Surprisingly I was not in the least bit sore. I managed to go to the Jazz festival and walk around. I was advised that I was fatigued the last 20 miles and that my pace per mile went down because the only thing I ate on the ride was a small dixie cup of trail mix and nothing else. Matter of fact I was not hungry for the rest of the day but finally made myself eat at 10:00 at night....BIKING IS BETTER THEN DEXITRIM. Per my heart rate montitor I burnt an estimated 3400 calores on my bike ride! Thank you big giant hills!

I think I found my sport!

This weekend ride: Barb and I rode this Saturday. I got 26 miles in and it felt great! I am looking foward to another 65 mile ride soon!

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Camp Grandma

To get major Grandma love points I took my oldest Grandson to the local water park. Now, as you have probably heard before I am not a fan of water. I like water in my bathtub and in my waterbottle...other then that I have very little use for it. My attempts at swimming can mostly be described as a whole lot of flailing, even more splashing and getting absolutely no where. However, I love my grandson more then I dislike water and wanted him to have fun at his week of "Camp Grandma" so off we go...swimming suits on and lathered down with what I thought was an appropriate amount of sun screen for my cave white fish colored body. We get to the park and the boy is giddy with delight at the sight of the water slide. Grandma just kept thinking "Man that's a lot of steps to the top". But Grandma is a good sport if not a good athlete so she gamely steps into the lazy river...cause you gotta ride the lazy river to get to the water slide. Getting in the lazy river is not as easy as what you think cause you gotta load yourself onto a raft like doughnut or a plain old doughnut tube. My grandson just sticks it over his head and slides it down his body and then he can pull himself up and onto it. But for me that is a problem because that doughnut is not gonna fit over my somewhat generous form…the alternative is to hop on it. Now for a woman that is not graceful this is not a pretty sight. It involved a lot of hoisting, grunting and numerous slide offs before my bootie was wedged into the doughnut hole. Off I go, down the lazy river, to the off ramp to the water slide. Dismounting from the doughnut not much easier then wedging my self in, but with only the loss of my remaining dignity, I was able to pry myself out of the doughnut hole. This is the same doughnut hole that I would then have to rewedge myself back into once I climbed the bazillion steps to the top of the water slide. Water slide not so bad if you are a fan of being hurtled down a gushing tube full of water in the dark where at the end you are going to explode into yet more water, and probably be thrown from the tube. Surprise…I stayed in my tube…Not even the force of 1,000,000 gallons of water could unwedge me from my doughnut hole. So once again I had to flail, splash, grunt, hoist and wiggle to unwedge myself from the hole so that could climb out of the water slide water pit so that we could go on the water slide again. Finally Ty said he was ready to float around the river. I LOVE THE LAZY RIVER! All I needed was a good book and I could have floated for hours! But Grandsons have only so much interest in the lazy river and soon he was pulling me out of the lazy river to go explore the rest of the park. While Ty was going down the small water slide, Grandma had a chance to look around. Stay at home Mommies as far as the eye could see…all shapes and sizes…large mommies, large mommies in bikinis that should be wearing one pieces…skinny tan mommies that wore little teeny bikinis,..bikinies that were no bigger then the wet wipes they were carting in their diaper bags…medium sized mommies, tattooed mommies, bleached blond mommies that looked like they would be more at home on a stripper pole then in a baby wading pool…mommies mommies everywhere…most of them laying in the sun tanning themselves and napping while their children ran amuck. Why did not anyone tell me about the mommy hang out when I had young ones…I needed naps….I need to tell Amy and Kendra about the Mommy hang out…poor girls they actually play with and watch their children… Finally at 3:00 Ty and Grandma were done at the water park…and home they go…where Grandma spends 25 minutes trying to fit the bike tip onto the air compressor to air up Grandson’s tires so she can take him home via bike ride (which is how they got to Grandma’s) after 25 minutes and several phone calls to Grandpa and numerous not nice words flying thru Grandma‘s mind she finally figures it out. Grandma FINALLY airs up the tires and then lubes his chain and off they go to end the first day of Camp Grandma.

Please note that the amount of sunscreen slathered upon my person was insufficient resulting in one very fierce sunburn. Which conveniently was the cause of my inablity to run fast or long this morning. I think my sports bra ripped the raw burnt flesh from my body which caused a great deal of pain, which resulted in my legs refusing to move. MY INABILITY TO RUN WAS NOT CAUSED BY MY BELLY FAT OR MY LACK OF SKILL IT WAS ALL THE SUNBURN AS IT WILL BE TOMORROW.

Day Two: French toast, bacon and milk to start the camper’s day! A little computer time and off to see “The Dark Knight” which was an AWESOME MOVIE…Then home to play two games of Splat of which Grandma won a game and Tyson won a game. The championship game will be held tomorrow…stay tuned to see the exciting results of the Splat Championship Game.

Upcoming Events for Camp Grandma: Monster Golf and Chuckie Cheese.

I am taking applications for those of you that would like to attend next year’s Camp Grandma.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Flat on My Back and Looking Up at the Sky AGAIN

My husband and my children for my birthday made this little chubby girls heart beat with delight...did they gift me with a GIANT BOX O'Cookies, Did they take me to an all you can eat buffet, Did they let me eat m&m's and reece cups till I threw up. NO! Though those are some pretty fine things....they got me a DIAMOND BACK HYBRID BIKE! As my friend said, "Diamonds are a girls best friend" I LOVE MY BIKE! I got to take it out on a long ride this saturday and had an amazing time...Ride Route was 28 miles. I had to ride 4.44 miles to get to the starting point and 4.44 miles to get to the napping point..so all in all about 37 miles of outright fun. My friend Kris and her husband a/k/a the Ultimate Male hosted a preride bike clinic for those of us who can't change tires and a post breakfast ride. However once again I found myself on the ground looking up at the sky as I hit gravel and fell (according to my friend, Jill, in slooooowwww motion) I had enough sense to slow the bike down but not enough sense to take me feet out of the clips so once again I was on my back looking up at the sky with my bike on top of me. (the previous fall happened in my back yard while I was complaining, trying to adjust my bike pack and trying to stay on my bike) The first fall I just got grass stain because I wasn't moving and I landed in the west grass). This fall was complete with gravel in my legs and arms, and BLOOD....whooooo hooo I am an official biker now.

Friday, July 11, 2008

I did it I did it I did it!

I ran 5 miles with just 4 little walk breaks...no knee brace...with a sore back...and my leg does not hurt today! I am happy...oh so happpy and to top off my happy mood...I am invited to go on a 20 mile ride tomorrow and get to borrow my friends road bike so I don't give myself a heartattack riding on my 69.00 Walmart...its icing on the cake I till you...oh and I haven't eaten any cake since July 4...one week and cake free as of today! This girl is happppppy!

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

SNIPS AND SNAILS AND PUPPY DOG TAILS

That is what little boys are made of! Grandma is gonna have another little guy! James and Tasha's baby quite happily turned over and showed everyone in the family that baby Kaufman is BABY BOY KAUFMAN. Tasha, Kendra and myself are escaping town in two weeks to go hit the outlet malls so that little guy can be dressed in the finest sporting gear..PUMA. Tasha is looking quite adorable with her baby bump...but poor Tasha, unlike the rest of the woman in our family, is not use to having a stomach obstruction that blocks things like...hmmm tying one's shoes....tucking one's shirt in....buttoning pants on the first try...but hey she looks adorable even if she is a tad bit uncomfortable. I can't wait to have a whole yardful of little boys running amuck in Grandma's yard, begging for freezer pops and slamming my screen door as they run in and out to get the freezer pops...that's odd those are the very same things I use to tell my kids to STOP doing. They are still working on the name thing...which they better hurry up or I am gonna get in the habit of calling him little guy and then it will stick.

Plodding: My experience taken from a country song, sung by Rodney Atkins (slightly revised by the Queen of the Plodders): "If your going through hell, Keep on going, don't slow down,don't start walking, you might finish your route before you even know your there...Yeah, If you're going through hell, Keep on moving, face that fire, Plod right through it, you might even finish the route before your heart gives out"
Okay so I might be slightly exaggarating...slightly. I managed to plod thru 3.25 miles both last week and this week both on Monday...ask me how many times I stopped to walk. NONE I say NONE. Ask me how fast I was. NOT AT ALL NOT AT ALL. Wednesday I do walk runs and Thursdays are 2 miles with no walking. I am easing back into it because the ligament is still not healed completely. As long as I keep an IT band on while steadily plodding I feel no pain. I feel no pain without the IT band while walk running. But no IT band and steady plodding brings discomfort. Monday I forgot my band. I plodded with no walking and toward the end my knee was trying to make itself heard....I turned up my MP3 player to drown out the complaints of my knee and kept going.

Biking: I LOVE IT! I am having major bike lust and must must must have a road bike so I can keep up with my friends with real bikes. The plan is to do a 65 mile bike in August. Whooooo HOOOOOOOO!

4th of July: Picnic is at 4:00. Please come at 3:30 if you want to start playing some games...Euchre, Texas Holdem....James I aim to take a little of your money and you too Aunt Denise! I need to win some money because I need to buy more spic and span.

Housecleaning: I DID SOME! I had a bucket and some spic and span. My husband asks "What are you doing with bucket and spic and span" I answer in a some what offended voice, "I am making cleaning water". My shocked husband says, "To clean what?" I say, "Does it matter? I am cleaning something" The poor man, I think I shocked his system cause not only did I clean something but I cleaned the dirtest grossest something in our house...the laundry room...a/k/a dog area...a/k/a storage room AND we are not even having company. Well we are but the company coming is the same company that always comes and I NEVER clean house for them cause most of them are just as messy if not messier then I am. The week before when I cleaned he accused me of cleaning house because we had out of state company, but I tell you it was not true because where I cleaned they would never have even seen, unless I drug them into my bathroom and made them climb in the tub to look behind the blind at the window, that was by then cleaned.

Well must go for now time to improve my brain by reading a training manual for work.
Pictures to follow soon.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

EVERYONE DO THE BROKEN KNEE SHUFFLE

I am back on the road again. At a shuffle but I am out on the road. Last week I put in a 2 and a 2 1/2 mile walk/run. Walk a minute/Run a minute. I felt every single piece of junk food I have stuffed down my throat over the past 5 weeks (you know healing the knee comfort food...cookies, icecream, gummy bears, more cookies, more cookies...)As I ran my belly shook and shimmied all over the place. My butt cheeks were bouncing around like out of control super balls. (How in the world do things become so loose in 5 weeks?)My lungs would not inflate. My brain was screaming for coffee. My knee was aching and would only consent to partially bending and my calf was sending shooting pains up thru my skull. All in all I was miserable every minute..in a good kinda way.
Todays 3 1/2 mile was much better. I plodded more and walked much less. My lungs began to slightly remember that they are suppose to inflate. My knee was slightly more cooperative. However, my calf was not so willing to cave to my will and kept sending twinges of pain to my brain, which in turn sent my brain into a hysterical whining fit for coffee and a big apple bagle with veggie light cream cheese (okay 5 bagals)(okay okay I lie cookies it wanted cookies lots and lots of cookies...with coffee). On a scale of 1-10 the enjoyablity factor for this morning was a solid 4 unlike last week when the average enjoyablity of my two runs was a solid -100.

Wanted: Patient Person that does not care about speed or style to accompany one recovering plodder on recovery plods. Must be willing to walk when the screams of pain become loud enough to wake the dead. Will need to have cash and/or debit card for emergency coffee situations. Must have the ablity to decipher grunts, tolerate excessive amounts of whining, appear interested by random chatter, and to warn of approaching traffic. Experience in turning green traffic lights red is preferred. Please apply in person at the Y weight room ask for Teacup...Teacup is an equal opportunity employer...Paid at the end of each plod in Gratitude.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Physician Heal Thyself

Is there a Doctor in the House?
As you know, the poor little piggy that went wee wee wee all the way home was terribly wounded during my pathetic attempt to complete the Indianapolis Mini (see picture previous post). Instead of improving it became more and more hideously swollen. It eventually looked like an unborn alien encased in it's embryonic sac. I could barely walk on it. I could not even wear my office shoes. Just a light touch would send waves of pain thru my foot. Now a normal rational woman would have called her physican to make an appointment to have it checked out or at the very least gone to the Urgent Care Center to have her toe inspected and to get a qualified medical opinion and perhaps an antibiotic but not me. For I am....the QUEEN OF THE GOOGLE MEDICAL SEARCH. For years now I have self diagnosed myself and managed to avoid the doctor (in part my avoidance of the doctor use to because I did not want to get weighed...really why do you need to get weighed to have your cough checked out?) But as I stared at my hideously deformed piggy I thought why should I pay a $20 co pay when I have google and a first aid kit? So after much inner debating, I looked at my husband and said, "I think my piggy needs surgery". I then proceed to hobble around to collect my surgical tools...sewing needle..could not find one...substituted a safety pin, tweezers, liquid bandage and scissors. Unfortunatly I did not have a pair of scissors in my first aid kit. However, my husband had a nice little pair on his desk. I hobble back to the bedroom and hop on the surgical table a/k/a my bed. My husband looks horrified, no he was not horrified because I was going to do self surgery but because his desk scissors were part of my surgical equipment. He says, "You're not using my desk scissors to do that are you? Use your own scissors." I inform him that my scissors are the kitchen shears. The ones I use to cook with. He then does not say another word about me using his desk scissors. (Though I do note that he has not returned them to his desk but they continue to lay on the nightstand..I think they are my scissors now.)I will not give you all the gory details but will summarize by saying "Jab,cut, squeeze, cut, Jab, squeeze, pry off nail, and a liberal spraying of liquid bandage and multiple shrieks of pain" The next morning I could put my shoe on and walk. Total Cost $0.00. Piggy looks just fine now..just a little naked without the nail.

The Crash of 2008:
You might have noticed I have been uncharacterically quiet for the last few weeks. That is because my BABY crashed. She gave me warning but I paid her no heed. She was slow. She would freeze up. She would do take her sweet time when I clicked. She tried to tell me...she warned me...and then it happened...I clicked...she refused to answer. I begged. I pleaded. I offered her a new virus checker. I offered her a fancy new keyboard. But to no avail. She was offended, likely because I have been having laptop lust. She did take pity on me enough to let me grab my picture folders and my music folder. Thanks to Kendra, Lucas and James and Tasha I have a nice external hard drive to back up to ( a Mother's day gift). So I took the big plunge..after trying all else...I...GASP OF HORROR....reformatted my hard drive and returned my computer to factory settings...ahhh the agony... so now we are up and running... I will never take her for granted again. I will tell her I love her every day and never look at a laptop again.

The Frankenstein Shuffle:
I have been recovering from my injury and have been reduced to do a Frankenstein shuffle. It is getting better and I am finally getting some bend in my knee but I still look quite odd and am VERY VERY slow. Sunday I took my first walk/run accompanied by my husband. My knee would slightly bend. I was getting calf pain, though I do believe that to be just tight muscles. I would sort of bounce walk/run. I could feel every day of non running. My body felt like it weighed a million pounds. My legs would not cooperate. My lungs were screaming that they hated me and threatened to shut down on me. My calf, since it could not be heard over the sound of my screaming lungs, sent shooting pains up to my skull as a gentle reminder that it had told me it DID NOT WANT TO RUN. Of course my mind tells them all to shut up and that it is in control and it forced the rebelling body parts to finish the two miles. All must have been forgiven for I had no pain the following day. So now I have returned to my regular scheduled workouts with a modified running schedule meant for leg rehab.
This weeks workout: Sunday: 2 miles walk/run, 3 mile bike and 1.79 walk to church. Monday: 3 mile bike ride to Y and back and power hour, Tuesday: 3 mile bike to Y and back, 2 1/2 mile walk/run (of which I had slightly more knee bend and less calf pain) and 6.79 evening bike ride. Wed: Swimming and 1.79 walk to church. I note that I have no lifting in there because I usually lift on my lunch break but work has been very hectic and so lunch time has gone bye bye for awhile.

NO RUNNING=REALLY MISSING MY CLIMATE RUN FRIENDS

Quotes: "I thought you said he was good?" yelled by Kendra over the shrieking sounds of Adam when we were yard saling.

"Were you in my doughnuts?" Spoken by Jerry in a VERY suspicious voice while counting his doughnuts.

UPDATES: G-Ma is moving into a new apartment because she is tired of the old drunk man upstairs calling her "Momma"
Adam found falling and getting a fat lip will score a freezer pop.
G-Ma's doctor, much to her disgust, told her the weather was getting good so she could get some walks in. Soon to be Mother Tasha now has a bump! Kendra is having oral surgery on Friday and Adam will be hanging with Grandma and Grandpa.

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Adam is a well rounded man...up on current events and can cook too!

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Day of Sadness

I have not posted my woes on this blog but three weeks before the Mini I sprained my medial ligament and had some severe muscle problems with my calf and hamstring. I have had back of the knee tightness for several weeks prior to my medial ligament strain but it was nothing I could not train thru. It would hurt really bad but once I started running then it would untighten and then when I was done running it would tighten back up to the point I could not bend my knee...well after a while it would not untighten even when running and boy did it hurt! Well one morning I was doing sprints on the treadmill, well Kim sprints...which is slow running for my friends but fast running for me...and all of a sudden this pain went zipping down my leg from my thigh to my shin...ouch I let out a BIG YELP...and listed off to the side of the treadmill...my yelp was so loud that Jay on the treadmill stopped running to check on me... not much stops him when he is hitting his stride so I must have yelled pretty loud...within a 1/2 hour I could not even put weight on it..panicked I called my doctor...went to see him...he said medial ligament strain...and fyi I have found that medial ligaments are NOT fast to forgive you for injuring them. At any rate I was lucky to get to run/walk the first part of the mini and walk the last miles from around 8 1/2-9 mile to 13.1. My medial ligament started to sting badly and that is when I started only walking...I moved my band around in hopes of holding that ligment enough to continue walk/run but no go...I moved it to the lower part of my thigh...then to below the kneecap...the to the kneecap...stopped took it off...it hurt...put it back on the started the whole moving it around thing again. Considering that I was injured I was not displeased that my 5 mile time was 1.08 cause usually it takes me an hour to do 5 anyway so consider that I was doing run 50 steps walk 50 steps I figured that was okay..but the rest of the time was in the toilet...oh well. I did find that when you run with your primary weight on one leg that at least one part of your body will turn bloody red to pay you back (see photos) and walking kills your hip flexors far more then running. I had a lot of compliments on my shirt which read "Temporarily Out Of Order" and then I had a knee with a lightning bolt coming out of it. I figured I might as well have fun with my broken body. The first file miles actually felt really good and at one point I thought I was healed..but alas I was not...(considering that on Thursday morning when I tried to run and my knee would not even bend I was giddy with joy when it bent on Saturday!)at around 8 1/2 my medial ligament says to me "That's enough you stupid woman. Walk or I shall make you cry like a baby". By the time I got to mile 12...my knee was hurting enough that I has hobbling and my toe on my foot was hurting really bad and felt like it was on fire. I did not think I was going to make it...I thought I was going to quit and then I remembered all the hard work I had been doing to even be able to go to the mini at all. And then I remembered all the hard work my friends had been doing to get me ready for the mini (Thank you Bob and Jillian)and I decided I was crossing that line even if I had to hop, crawl or hobble across...and hobble I did...I fastly hobbled. As soon as I got across one of the medical guys asked if I was okay..I said yep my knee and foot just hurt. I went to the rest area where I promptly sat down on the ground and announced I needed ice for my ligament...went got ice...was icing and thought OH MY TOE IS KILLING ME...I took off my shoe expecting to see a little blister and what met my eyes was GIANT BLOODY TOE...the man sitting next to me saw it and said.."you better have the medical tent look at that"....I hobbled over to the medical tent asked him if it was the grossest blister he had seen...much to my disappointment he said "No not anywhere even close" Dang! I asked him if my toe was going to fall off...he assured me it would not...I hobbled back to my tree put the ice on my ligament again and then put an ice bag on my toe and then promptly felt dizzy and thought I was gonna die...so I laid back on the ground...see picture. I look up to see my dearly beloved husband and son hovering over the top of my near dead body with their cameras snapping pictures...I did not care because I got the cool pictures you see posted. I should have some really cool pictures from my funeral when I actually die...probably my eyes bugged out and a cookie hanging out of mouth when I cross from the land of the living... Aside from my blood filled toe and my ligament screaming that it hates my guts I had a great time. We had a fabulous dinner with good food and even better company. Karen and I met at the pool on Sunday and soaked in the whirlpool till we were wrinkled as 90 year olds. I feel pretty good today...toe looks worse then it feels and the back of my knee is no more stiff then before I did the mini and the ligament has stopped screaming at me because I have been making it happy with rest, muffins and whirlpool. Also all I have determined that all the world's problems can be solved in a whirlpool..I am going to write President Bush and tell him that all he needs to do is get all the world leaders in a whirlpool and all issues would be resolved from religous strife to gas prices..I LOVE WHIRLPOOLS.

Day 2...Poor Little Piggy

Icing Away the Pain


Ice on the medial ligament and ice on the piggy:

This Little Piggy Went Ouch Ouch Ouch all the Way Home



What Happens when you overcompensate with your good leg:

Friday, April 25, 2008

Hang on Tight cause the Merry Go Round Aint Stopping


Part I

Weekend of March 21: Road trip to Columbus/Westerville with Aunt Denise, Abby, myself and Tyson. We checked out the Giant Indoor Waterpark, where I actually went down the water slide not once but like 9 times...each time involving climbing about 6 flights of stairs..oh my aching quads. Tyson found that if he tipped sideways when coming out of the chute that he could tip Grandma out of the tube and send her underwater,much to his enjoyment. We also made a side trip to our old town Westerville where we got to see old friends though we did not get enough visit time to catch up on all the years that have passed. We also went to the COSI where Ty got to ride a unicycle while suspended several floors up. At first I refused to let him do it but he kept pleading so finally I said we have to ask your Mom...he replied, "You don't need to call her she will say it is okay" I told him if he did not think his Mom would care there should be no problem with asking her. I called her and asked if Ty could ride the unicycle on the wire. She said fine. I gave him the thumbs up...and then I thought"Gee did I mention it was like 2 floors up and across the lobby?" So I called her back to advise her of this minor detail. His Mom said if he isn't scared let him do it. So Ty got in line and by golly he did it...despite my thinking he would back out once he actually got on the unicycle. Overall fun trip despite a few bumps that you would expect when traveling with two children.

One of the Bumps as Mentioned Above: Did I mention that not only did Me, Denise, Abby and Ty go but we also traveled with Sally, Diego and Alisa? Sally, Diego and Alisa are Abby's friends...friends that ONLY Abby can see, however that did not stop Tyson from saying he was going to hit Diego in the eye. Abby's face turned bright red and she balled up her fists, screwed her eyes shut and ground out the words..."TYSON I AM GOING TO KILL YOU, DON'T HIT DIEGO" Being the good Aunt that I am I told Tyson to "LEAVE DIEGO ALONE!!" Aunt Denise glares at me and says, "Good job just encourage her with her friends" I laugh and tell Abby, "I really like Sally. She is a good travler. Next time maybe your mom and I will take a trip with just Sally" Abby replies, "Sally will like that" I LOVE MY NIECE!

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Kim's Perspectives on Saturdays

Saturday run March 15, 2008: 8.33 miles of urban funness.
Attendees: (In no particular order of running ability) Kim, Jill,
Kris, Jeff and Cory.

First off I must comment, how can a run not be good when it starts
with the following conversation:

"Did you wipe?" (only a teacher would ask this question)
"Yes I wiped. I wiped and I wiggled"

"Did you forget your sports bra?" (again a teacher question)
"No. I got two on"

And then off they go, down the road,over the bridge thru the ghetto,
side by side (for those of you who are not familar this is is in the
same writing style as the book "The Poky Litte Puppy" which is my all
time favorite children's book)

Kris said to Jeff and Kim, as she plodded beside them, her foot hurt
and she would be taking it easy....then Jeff and Kim did not hear from
her again till 3.22 mile where she was waiting at the corner for
everyone to meet up. Don't know what kinda of Coffee Kris is drinking
before the runs but please please please get some to Kim asap. The
improvement she has made is baffling..I am almost sure it is that
coffee that TUM brought back from his trip.

Discovered that we have a dog named "Dave" in this town. Who names a
dog "Dave"?

If you pray hard enough. Your prayers will be answered and traffic
will hold you up at a light long enough to catch your breath.

Bob and Jillian were probably shepards in a previous life as they were
always rounding up the lost lambs.

Jeff loves real estate with a particular interest in the roofs of real
estate.

Kris was trying to torment Kim as she took a route that included
passing by a VP that had coffee brewing, a pizza place (lucky for her
it was closed) and McDonalds. I wonder if McDonalds would care if they
had to swipe a debit card pulled out of a sweaty sports garment? Can
you put coffee in those hydration packs?

Hedgewood Hill...Kim had great trepidation turning onto Hedgewood as
last year when training she never never not once made it up Hedgewood
without stopping and in fact had to mostly walk up Hedgewood. This
year she made it! Why you ask ? Did she get beat and whipped up the
hill with Kris's belt and Bob's big stick? No! Was she lured up the
hill with the promises of baked goods? No! It was because she was
distracted by Bob with talk of fish oil and weight loss. Despite the
hill Kim was able to utter if it would help her to lose weight not
only would she eat fish oil but she would eat the head off of a fish.
Bob told her that would not be necessary but she should try the fish
oil capsules. Other topics of interest while going up the hill:
cookies..in particular girl scout cookies.

Jillian did not do her required task of keeping Bob occupied so that
Kim could walk up Hedgewood Hill instead of plod up it. Kim is glad
that Jillian did not do this, as now she can say "I made it up the
giant hill!" Okay it is not really a GIANT hill but it certainly is an
area that has an increasing elevation level.

It is funny Bob and Jillian are like a well oiled training machine.
We get to a hill, get up just a wee bit and then without a word they
both circle around at the same time to bring the back of the packers
up the hill.

Our 8.33 miles was a just a warm up for Jillian. She went out for more
when we got back. I think she is secretly the bionic woman.

Kim had a theory that if they fell back far enough. The shepards would
not come back for them and they could walk. That proved not to be
true. Evidently shepards are viligent about watching their flock and
shepards will let the lambs wander but only so far.

Jillian agains makes Jeff and Kim yell whoo hoo. She makes Kim repeat
whoo hooo three times before she is satified there was enough gusto in
it. Jeff is compliant and says whooo hooo in a voice loud enough the
first time to please Jillian.

Most uttered word by group:"CAR"

Kim's most frequent thought: "Where are all my friends I use to hang
out with"

Kim's thoughts on the thoughts of others:

Kris: "I gotta hurry and get back to the Y for my next cup of coffee
and I not giving any to Kim"

Jillian: "Yeah were almost back to the Y. I am gonna see if can make
Kim and Jeff black out by making them yell whooo hooo"

Bob: "I came back from Indy for this?"

Jeff: "Kim better not be praying"
***********************************

Saturday, March 22, 2007 9.2 miles for the faint of heart and 10 miles
for those of the hard core persuasion.

Attendees:
Hard Core Parties: Trainer Bob, Trainer Jillian, and Fleet Footed Jeff
Faint of Heart: Kim


Jeff was in fine form and must have ate his Wheaties AND had several
cups of Kris's magic coffee.


The route was to include more hills. Trainer Bob says Hedgewood twice
and 18th Street once. Kim gasps and says, "I have to cook dinner for
15 people on Saturday day AND have an Easter Egg Hunt I got to be able
to move" Trainer Jills says "That's crap you can take a nap when you
get home, Bob tell her that is crap" Kim, long trained in negotiations
from being the mother of teens, offers to do the hills the week after
she returns from her trip. Trainer Bob says "We will compromise and
do Hedgewood once and 18th Street once...this week" It was likely the
trainers day to switch Good Cop/Bad Cop profiles.


As mentioned above the agreement was to do Hedgewood once and 18th
street once. Kim was gleeful. Because you all know if you come uphill
it is very likely you will go downhill first. However, our town,
unique that it was laid out by drunkards, manages to make the downhill
of Hedgewood become a downhill, uphill, downhill, uphill and downhill.
Yes, that is correct uphills on our downhill portion. Of course
coming back up could it be uphill,downhill,uphill...absolutely
not...just uphill.


Traffic Lights: Somehow Bob and Jillian got in contact with the
Traffic department of our great city and arranged to have EVERY SINGLE
stoplight become green when we approached it.


Beating Stick: Trainer Bob finds his big stick (do Bob and Jillian
check out the route ahead of time and make sure there is a big stick
ready?). He nicely asks Kim,"Ok if you stop where do you wanna be
hit..the head, the back or the calves" Kim responds, "Probably my head
you will do the least damage"


18th Street Hill: Trainer Jillian withholds water from Kim. Trainer
Jillian says,"Give me your water bottle. You can have it back when you
get to the top of the hill. I don't want you to have any excuse to
stop." Kim makes it to the top of the hill does not need her water
and in fact does not want to be burdened with carrying the bottle of
water any more. Wonders if she does not mention it will Jillian lug it
all the way back to the Y? A ploy used by many children is to ask Mom
"to hold something for just a minute" and then they never come back to
get it because they don't want to carry it around...this is most often
seen at amusement parks and fairs. However, it will work quite nicely
for plodders and those that are trainers of plodders.


Hansel and Gretal: Was it Hansel and Gretal that left the trail of
breadcrumbs so they could find their way home? In this story a trail
of Jelly Beans was left. Kim was running and all of a sudden heard
"dink dink dink" Crap her Jelly Beans were rolling out of her pocket
and dropping on the sidewalk. If it had been been M&Ms she probably
would have stopped and picked them up off the ground but hey you can
get a bag of Jelly Beans for .25 on clearance now. Do you think that
Trainers Bob and Jillian would frown upon eating M&Ms during a run?
They have previously stated that no doughnuts are allowed during runs
but M&Ms have not been addressed yet.


Music Picks of the Week: Cher (If I could turn back time), Kid Rock
and Cheryl Crow (Picture) which Kim listened to like 25 times because
it is slow and she can plod and breath while listening to this song.
John Parr (Naughty Naughty) Def Lepard (Pour some sugar). Kim was
enjoying her music picks of the week untill her MP3 player died on
18th street. Jillian offers to sing for Kim but Kim knows what music
Jillian listens to and passes on that nice offer.


9th Street: Trainer Jillian says "Hey lets catch up with Trainer Bob
and Jeff by Logan" Kim grunts. By this time poor Kim could do nothing
more then grunt and moan. She moans and trainer Jillian must take that
for a yes because by the time they approach Logan they have caught up
with the guys but Kim is tired oh so tired and soon falls behind
again.


Oak Court: Kim is out of jelly beans. She has her water bottle back
again with its nasty 1/2 gatorade 1/2 water mixture. She takes a
drink. Has no desire or energy to lug her water bottle around. Sees a
huge open trash can. Throws it...completely misses it...does not
care...will not pick it up off the ground....their yard had trash in
it anyway...Kim is rude and litters when she is tired....


The end of the route appears. Jeff and Bob and Jillian want to finish
with an even 10. Kim does not care and would not have run an even 10
if there were 12 dozen boxes of girl scout cookies as a reward at the
end.


Jeff's Trash Talk: Jeff's feet were moving as fast as his mouth on
Saturday. He was running AND trash talking to the trainers. Boy is he
in trouble next Saturday when Kim is gone and unable to divert one
trainers attention. Rumor has it that next week he will be hit in the
head till he shuts up.....Its gonna be all about Jeff next week...poor
Jeff.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

GUESS WHO IS GONNA BE A DADDY AND MOMMY

JAMES AND TASHA! She will be going to the doctor next week so we will have a more specific due date!
This was a most HUGE surprise. James and Tasha came over, along with Kendra. They brought gifts for Jerry's birthday or so we thought. Now in the past people have bought us gifts to use with the grandkids so we thought nothing of it when Jerry opened up a package that had a sign that said "Baby on Board" we just thought it was because we have Adam in the car. Next Jerry opens up a gift and it is a book about grandparents. Again we are clueless. A picture frame comes out that says "Baby". Jerry and I are both looking around trying to decide which picture off the fridge we were gonna put in it. Yes we are still clueless. Then Jerry pulls out a little onsie. He looks confused. He says "This won't fit Adam". Tasha unzips her jacket. Jamie opens his...Tasha is wearing a tee shirt that says "Knocked Up" Jamie has a button that says "I did it". We stare at them and say nuh uh. I tell Jamie to quit messing with me and I continue munching on my dinner. This son has messed with me one to many times so now I believe NOTHING that he tells me. I stare at him. I stare at Tasha. She has tears in her eyes. I know she would not mess with me...We're gonna have another grandchild to love and adore! A little background...earlier that afternoon we had stopped by Jamie's house I went in to the kitchen and see prenatal vitamins on the counter. I call Jamie in and ask him "Is Tasha pregnant?" He grabs the vitamins and mutters "she better not be". He then looks at the label and he goes "Mom these are supplements. She is taking them because the have all the vitamins she needs in just one pill" Now this sounds plausible as I have known people that have done this. So when Tasha comes in I drag her in the kitchen and ask her about it (before she talked to Jamie). Somehow she comes up with the same story that Jamie gave me,"I am taking them because they have everything you need on one vitamin" I looked sad. I told her "too bad. I was kinda hoping. Oh well maybe later'
I am having shopping frenzy attacks. I can't wait to find out whether it is a pink or a blue. My poor visa card.

It's all fun and games till Kim Keels Over Dead

Mini Training: Going quite well. Though I had to walk for a few moments during the Saturday 7.5 mile run. The week before was a Saturday 7.2 miles

Highlights of 7.2 mile run:

Jeff and Kim feel like they are going to die.

Kris finds a broken belt on the ground during the run and uses it like a whip to propel Kim forward. Kim was like a mule and disregarded the whip and continued to plod at your usual speed

Jillian ditched her cold snowy icy run to run on the beach...what was she thinking?

Bob was on his deathbed and was unable to run but somehow managed to muster up the strength to threaten to "follow us in his car if we slacked off"

Kris has burst of energy and in the last 1/2 miles says "Hey lets add some more distance on by running to the fire station istead of cutting through the school" Kim threatens to beat Kris to death with her ipod and strangle her with her headphones...the only thing that prevented this was that Kim is not fast enough to catch Kris.

Saturday 7.564 mile Highlights

First off Kudos to Kris for our awesome urban run! Truely I mean it! I am well known for my love of running thru the ghetto part of town so this route was particulary fun as we got to run thru the ghetto part of town AND run by the dump transfer station AND an old strip club that is now a Christian Coffee shop! Love it because then we have other stuff to look at!

Kim not only felt like she was going to die during this run and had at one point thought she was having an out of body experience. She saw lights.Bright Lights. Lights that seemed to beckon her forward. Fortunately for Kim it was not the lights of the great beyond but just the headlights of the sanitation truck rumbling past her.

Jillian tries to make Kim go WHOOO HOOOO in the last 1/2 mile. Kim said whooo hooo. Jillian says NO KIM! WHOOO HOOO!!!!!. Kim finally says WHOOOO HOOOO and then prompty feels faint from lack of oxygen...swears to herself that she is going WHOOOOO HOOOOO Jillian right up side her noggin but again we have the whole "Kim can't catch em" thing going on.

1/2 way thru the run Kris says, "Hey we only have like two more major turns"...like that is gonna really trick me into thinking the last half of the run is gonna be like a walk in the park.

QUOTE OF MONTH: Scenerio: Kim plodding...Jill slowing down to plod with Kim...Jill says "You know how people are always saying its about the journey and not the destination...well they have never run 7.564 miles" That ladies and gentlemen is the most true statement I have every heard!

My activities which no one really cares about but me:

The weekend before last. I had my little guy Adam on Friday night and then my big guy Ty and Carissa overnight Saturday. Friday night Adam goes to the store with Grandma and Grandpa to grocery shop...right now he thinks it is fun...in another year or so we will have to find another activity to do with him cause I think he will figure out the grocery shopping is really not fun. Saturday morning Adam and I went to the book sale at the library. Adam will not be going to any more book sales with Grandma unless we have the stroller. I tried to look at books. Adam tried to escape. I chased him, caught him, returned to the books and then we did the whole thing over and over again. He did sit during one whole story time in the youth room and he really liked it and listened most intently. That is definetly an activity we will be doing again! Saturday night when Ty and Carissa came over we had some pizza and then played some games. Tyson learned that his Grandma is a Connect 4 Champion and is also a champion Splat player. We watched a movie and so ended another fun night at Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Last weekend: Kendra and Lucas were remodeling their bathroom so we got to hang with Adam all weekend. Again for a "fun" friday night we went to Meijer. Adam must have thought it was lots of fun because when we went to leave he threw one major fit. The poor child was sobbing as if his little heart was broken...the trauma of leaving Meijers...who knew it would hurt so bad. I think I have addicted him to shopping because he did the very same thing the next day when we went to KMART complete with rolling around and thrashing on the ground so that Grandma found it near impossible to shove him into his coat. I finally managed to stuff him in his coat (now that I think back it was funny because his coat was on all cockeyed and his hat covered one whole eye and only half his head)Once I got him in the car seat then he simmered down..probably cause he thought I was gonna take him to another store! So now I gotta wean the child off shopping.


My 18 month old Grandson is a genius: Ty and I were trying to get the play station up and running. Ty messed with it. I messed with it. I finally told Ty I will fix it later. In toddles Adam. He sees us by the Play Station he comes over and hits a button on the VCR and waa laaa the Play Station comes on! He has also moved all the icons on my desktop and plays and listens to my answering machine messages. I think he is a technological genius. Finally he said Ma Maw! He says it LOUD. When we were in Walmart he kept yelling "MA MAW" even though I was only like a foot in front of him. He says "Pa Paw" but he says that in a sweet little voice but he ROARS "MA MAW"

Health:

I am back strictly on my diabetic diet. My lunch was very sad. Egg Beater omelet with fresh spinich and mushrooms and fat free cheese (fyi fat free cheese does not melt. It retains its same form no matter how hot you get it), along with the omelet I had 1/2 cup cottage cheese and some radishs. Just looking at my lunch made me want to cry and thrash around on the floor (similar to that of my grandson at KMART). My raisens in my oatmeal have gone bye bye and have been replaced with carb control no sugar added yogurt.A word of advise do not use this food combination it looked disgusting and tasted like vomit. I ate it anyway because that was the only breakfast food I had with me. Snack in the morning was a 100 calorie bag of fat free popcorn and afternoon snack was cauliflower. This better be enough to make me loose weight because my other option is to have surgery and have them remove all optional organs from my body.

My girlscouts cookies are gone. What was not consumed by me was donated (unwillingly) for our pastor's visit to our house. Now as long as I can avoid the evil girlscouts who are laying await for me at the stores I should be okay. As I have told you before girlscout are wily when it comes to peddling their fatness in a box. They hide in stores and then they POP out of NO WHERE and say "You wanna buy some cookies?" Of course they have the sweet little voices and the big eyes and the cute little sashes with badges. Before you know it you have pulled out $$$$ and have boxes of thin mints filling your arms. I swear to you I don't even remember pulling the money out of my purse...the next thing I know I am walking away with boxes of cookies. It's like mind control. Anyway I have a plan. I will cruise slowly by the front doors of the stores waving dollars out my car window. I know this will lure them out of hiding! Once they reveal themselves I will know the store is not safe for patronage and will get the heck out of dodge.

FYI: You cannot do a long training run by eating nothing but girlscout cookies the day before.