Brand New Year (My Revolution)

This is it! The end of 2008. YEE HA!

You all know what a crappy year it's been for the Gills. Yes, for the most part, we're all intact, but we definitely have some scars to show for ourselves.

Normally at this time of year, I have all these goals and resolutions mapped out, but I honestly don't know what 2009 will bring us. Some things are so up in the air, it's hard to plan. But I do know that we will be working hard to have a good year. I have come to the conclusion that you just can't plan for everything. Things happen that sideline you, sometimes you're down for a little while, and sometimes you're hit so hard, you can't get up for a while. Really, what is the point of having all these goals for a new year? Why can't we make these resolutions on a random Tuesday in April or something? It's what I plan on doing. I think January is going to bring a lot of changes for us and I will just have to see what happens.

On another note, Keller came to work with me yesterday. That was interesting. He was good for the most part because I could close the door to my office and let him watch Word World on the portable DVD player. But he was still kind of unruly, especially as the morning wore on. Every time I had to go speak with someone, I had to bring him with me (obviously) and he would stop along the way in various people's offices. Then when we got to our destination, he would leave and run down the hall, drop and roll (he likes to slide into the floor and roll for some reason). Thankfully, he didn't break anything which I can't say about the last time I brought him to work with me. He was spent when we left. He was out cold less than 5 minutes after we got in the car and managed a nice 3.5 hour nap. And I'm not embarrassed to say I took a nap too. I was just as tired!

Then, last night, I ran with my Marathon/Half Marathon group for the first time in 5 weeks. It was so awesome to be out there with my people again. They are doing so well and to be with them makes me feel whole. I didn't do their whole run, but I did 3 miles and didn't have any pain! It hurts a little this morning, but I think it's just a little stiff or something. So, healing is good stuff!

Well, I hope everyone has a wonderful New Year's Eve. Be safe and have fun. See you next year (groan...I hate it when people say that).

All These Things I've Done (I've got soul but I'm not a soldier)

Girls on the Run International, the parent to Girls on the Run of Montgomery County, sends out a weekly email to its councils with updates and various musings. In each email there is a "Word up" from Molly Barker, who is the founder of the organization. Molly is a great woman and is probably the goofiest person I've ever met. The weekly email arrived in my Inbox about an hour ago and Molly's "Word up" is as goofy as ever. She discusses 'soul laughing,' which is when you are completely present in the moment and absolutely love the moment you're in. You basically smile on the inside and out. Goofy concept, I know, but I completely relate. Anyone that knows me well knows I'm 100% goofball.

Anyway, Molly listed 15 things that give her that soul-laughing feeling. In the spirit of the holidays, I wanted to play along. I don't know if I can think of 15, but I'll try. And I definitely pilfered one from Molly because I feel the same way. Here's my take on soul laughing, in no particular order:

1. Keller's belly laugh. Gets me every time.
2. When we dance to "Birthday" for someone's birthday. Everyone is involved, even Lola the dog.
3. Someone in the car next to me is singing at the top of their lungs, especially when hands are in motion and head movements are included.
4. Anything that Keller says, really. Especially when he tells me I'm his best friend. :)
5. Spending time with my girls. Cheapest, yet most effective, therapy around.
6. Watching the Kona Ironman Championships.
7. Listening to John talk and play with Keller when he doesn't know I'm listening.
8. Watching anyone I've coached cross a finish line. Or hear about a wonderful workout they've had. Really, just seeing anyone I've ever coached have a proud moment in running shoes or not.
9. Spending time with my parents.
10. Watching Keller in school, interacting with his friends and teachers, when he doesn't know I'm there.
11. Seeing people do nice things for others just for the heck of it. Simple things, like holding the elevator or saying "hello."
12. Getting Christmas cards.
13. Getting hugged. I really like hugs.
14. Dancing like a lunatic. And seeing people laugh because of it.
15. Running.

There are my 15.
Speaking of running, I ran for the first time yesterday. I did 2 miles of running and walking and felt really good. I didn't have any pain while I was running and I haven't had an residual pain. Yippy! I'm back, baby!
I hope all of you have a wonderful, JOYOUS holiday! Be safe and merry!

Splish Splash

There was a massive water main break this morning in Bethesda, not too far away from my office. How does this affect me? The bathrooms aren't working. You know, not flushing... It's disgusting and I'm disgruntled that they're actually making us stay here without proper functioning toilets. For someone that drinks a lot of water, such as myself, it is not fun. NOT FUN, people.

So...onto other topics. I saw my podiatrist yesterday. He's not really my podiatrist, but the one that saw me when I broke my toe and he's been the one following up with me. On a side note, his name is Dr. Footer. Isn't that funny? And appropriate? I wonder if he went into podiatry because of his name. Anyway, he's very nice and I like him a lot. Any doctor that tells me straight up that I'm clumsy is OK in my book. And, he also said....drumroll....I can start moving my behind! I can start "fast walking" with running mixed in. There really isn't a chance I will dislocate it again, unless my clumsy self does something to it, as he politely mentioned.

I am going to try running today! On the treadmill, it should be all right. I'll be sure to give you an update!

Going Under

Why do people feel the need to tell you that you look tired? Really? I hadn't noticed. But THANKS.

Seriously. Don't you think I already know I look tired? It's not like I don't see myself in the mirror.

Anyway, that's what's going on here. Apparently I look very tired and people feel the need to tell me. It's not like there isn't anything going on. It is the holiday season, after all. So the usual ugly stresses of life are multiplied by 800 due to the holiday stress. And I'm still inactive, so I'm not sleeping well. I haven't been able to swim because it's been busy. But I was also having some pain in my shoulders. I couldn't lift my arms up over my head!

I go back to the doctor on Monday. That is the 4-week mark of breaking my toe. I really hope he tells me I can run. I am going out of my mind here. But even if I can't run, I wore running shoes for the first time yesterday. It felt all right. So, I can at least take a spinning class now. I can't very well take a spinning class in Crocs, you know.

I'm currently watching my little 3-year old son spelling and writing. He just wrote 'slide.' He is a spelling guru and we think he'll be reading pretty early. It's kind of freaky how good he is with spelling and letters. He'll ask me to spell something for him and he remembers it from only hearing it once. He's going to be too smart for us before too long.

We're heading down to Williamsburg tomorrow for early Christmas with the Gills. We haven't seen them since John's race in September, so it should be nice. Then next week is a short week and Christmas, so perhaps I'll have a chance to sleep. You know, so I won't look so tired.

Happy Friday, people.

Bust a Move

I am currently sitting in the Van Ness Metro station. They are doing track work so I have a 20 minute delay here. Yay me.

This weekend was super busy. I went out with the girls Friday night for Allison's birthday. That was fun. Then I coached Saturday morning. That was good too. We then headed down to Richmond to Mendy's. She was having Cameron's birthday party. He actually turns three on the 22nd but had his party early. That was a lot of fun.

You know, whenever we go down there I always want to live there. Just because things seem so much more relaxed and life just isn't a big deal. I don't understand why it's that way here. I guess because it's the nation's capital or something. But I would much rather live in a more low key environment. Too bad we couldn't find jobs for ourselves in Montana.

Anyway, this morning my 8K group had their race. It went very well for them. I was the proud mama at the finish line again. All my runners always make me feel proud no matter what they do. They're out there working and that is more than what most people do. They are all rock stars in my book.

After the race I had my bookclub holiday lunch at Black Market Bistro. That was yummy. Even though it's "bookclub" it's really just my girls getting together. And it was as fun as usual.

Then it was off to a client meeting in DC. Which is how I ended up in my current situation. I really love going into DC and all but it is such a pain in the butt to get in and out of the city.

Well, that's that. Tomorrow is another Monday that I'm not looking forward to. But it will be Christmas soon enough and time off will be here.

Happy day to all of you. Hopefully I'll be out of this stupid Metro station soon.

Weird Science

According to accuweather.com, it's currently 68 degrees here in Bethesda, MD. WTF? It's December.

I have been having a weird day. Nothing happened at all. Same old stuff. But for some reason, I just feel weird. Well, more weird than usual. I'm having strange thoughts and weird moments. I think it's the weather and there's an apocalypse coming. Or something. I just feel like I'm just sort of observing the day, but not really participating. I'm a quiet observer today.

The week has been fairly normal so far. I actually started swimming again and it's felt really great to be active again. It's been a long 2 weeks of inactivity.

Tonight is the first night of no coaching on Wednesdays. Maybe that's what is making me feel weird. I have plans for me and Keller to go visit friends, so it's not like I don't know what to do with myself.

So, I neglected to mention in my last blog post the haircut we gave Keller Sunday night. I don't usually like to mention things that kind of portray me as an idiot. Well, that's not true. It's more of me being an idiot and my child is involved. See, John and I got the crazy idea that we would give Keller a haircut using the clipper things John uses. I normally cut Keller's hair because he HATES getting his hair cut. This wasn't always the case but it is now, so whatever. John wanted to try these clipper things because he thought it would be easier. So, we go along clipping Keller's hair and all is fine but I was having a hard time getting the back clipped. I don't know if it was the way Keller was sitting or what, but I couldn't get any hair off the back. John suggested I take the safety thing off the clippers and cut it that way. So, I did. And now my poor child has a bald spot on the back of his head!!! I totally scalped him. I repeat, John told me to do it. I defer all balme to him. At least it's on the back of his head and not the front, but it is noticable. And he was so cute sitting there, all unknowing, watching his Word World. While we scalped him.

Don't get me wrong, the rest of the haircut is fine. He looks as adorable as ever. But that poor little bald spot makes me feel bad every time I look at it. My poor child.

So, I guess the weather, my strange paranoid thoughts, and my scalped child are lending to the weirdness of the day. Hopefully it will pass. It's making me sleepy.

I'm So Excited (And I Just Can't Hide It!)

Today is an important Monday for many reasons.

The January 2009 issue of Runner's World hit the shelf over the weekend and guess who happens to be in it? That's right, me! I have known about this for some time and it's been killing me not to say anything (unless it didn't happen) and to wait to see if it did.

There is a section of the magazine that's a Q & A with experts. And I'm one of the experts this month. It's pretty cool and something on my life list that I can cross off (being in Runner's World). In case you happen to pick up the issue, it's page 38. :)

Also exciting news is that this past Saturday morning was the goal race for my Beginning 5K group. They were all there with bells on (it was the Jingle Bell 5K after all). It was so cold (20 degrees). But everyone finished in great time and I couldn't be more proud.

Today also happens to be the 28th anniversary of the death of John Lennon. While this isn't really a very happy thing, it is something that should be acknowledged (in my opinion). John Lennon was such a visionary and so ahead of his time. His unfortunate and tragic death really robbed the world of true greatness. There are times when I have gotten upset that the coming generations of people will never know music genius like Lennon and the Beatles. I know, I'm getting crazy, but the Beatles were more than just a band and it's important that their influence is still felt.

Anyhoo, the last item of interest today is that I am wearing a real shoe on my left foot. Yay! I am not wearing that hideous shoe anymore. Well, I'm not wearing it right now, anyway. My toe/foot has been feeling better, so I thought I'd give a real shoe a try. It seems to be all right at the moment but I did bring my ugly shoe with me today in case my foot starts hurting badly.

So, that's the news this fine, yet extremely cold, Monday morning. Have a good one!

Bad Mood Mom

I am currently home with a pink eyed kid. Again.

I had a feeling when I picked up Keller from school yesterday that he'd be home with me today. There are several things that are annoying about pink eye. Let's go over them:

1. It's highly contagious so I'm washing everything he touches, all day long.
2. It's insidious. Keller had pink eye last week. We got the drops, it went away, and now it's back.
   
3. Pink eye doesn't make you feel bad, so my normally crazy active child is still crazy active and I can't bring him anywhere to to release his energy.
   
4. Giving eye drops to a 3-year old is not my idea of a fun thing.
   

So, there are my preliminary thoughts on pink eye. It's awful and I hate it!

Now my previously annoyed state is just agitated by the pink eye. Why am I annoyed? Well, I've been on my own this week because John is out of town. I'm exhausted. My broken foot is killing me from running around all over the place. And I miss being able to run for real. I met with a friend yesterday for lunch and she asked me what races I have lined up. Um, none. I just don't know what's happening between my current broken state and then if and when I'm having surgery on my other foot. I can't commit to anything and I feel completely aimless.

On a more uplifting note, my Beginning 5K group has their race tomorrow. I know it will be cold, but I can't wait to see them. This group has been outstanding and fun. They are incredibly motivated and it has been a lot of fun to coach them. They just want to know everything about running and are excited to learn. I will miss them and I hope they all come back for the 10K program I'll be coaching beginning in February.

Anyway, that's my rant for the day. Happy Friday!

One Week

It was one week ago today that I broke my toe. It feels like a lifetime ago.

I went back to the doctor today. He said my toe is still in place and things seem to be healing nicely. I still can't put a lot of weight on it, and certainly can't run on it. But I can start to swim. My toes are still wrapped so I'd have to either swim with the wrap and look like an idiot, or take it off and be really careful. I think I'll just wait until next week and give it a try.

Keller's pink eye has cleared up nicely. It actually cleared up after the first day of giving him the eye drops. He was weird about the drops. Sometimes he'd hate them and cry. Then other times he would be fine. It was weird. But the pink eye is gone and that's really all that matters. He went back to school this morning. John took him in, and while Keller didn't really want to go in, he ultimately had a good day. I'm so glad things are going well for him at school!

I guess that's all from this front. John is going out of town on Wednesday and will be gone until Saturday. It will be a long week, but I'm sure everything will be fine. My beginning 5K group's 5K is Saturday morning and that is very exciting. Keller and I will be there cheering them on!