Saturday: Halloween

So today was Ivan's second Halloween, and I woke up this morning with a plan. We had a Halloween party that began at 3:00, and Ivan had to get in the perfect nap before going to the party lest he behave horribly. The nap is integral. INTEGRAL. So my plan was for him to take one big afternoon nap starting at 12:00, but I made the mistake of taking Ivan on my run with me and he fell sound asleep in the jog stroller and he slept for about 45-ish minutes. This so had the potential to ruin the possibility of the long nap. If you take the edge off a baby's sleepiness with a brief snooze, you can RUIN the long nap. I was full of serious fear that I had ruined the long nap and Ivan would be IVAN THE TERRIBLE at the party.

It turned out fine. Ivan still took a fabulous afternoon nap, and woke up and allowed himself to be dressed in his jack-o-lantern sweatshirt. At the party, he wore his dragon costume with no complaints. He did run about with increasing hysteria, but was overall reasonably well-behaved. After the party he had a good visit with his great-grandmother and then his grandparents.

On the workout front, I ran 4.5 miles with the jog stroller and then did a Gilad workout, which I completely negated with my food intake. My friend Dru, brought some amazing homemade ginger snaps to Ivan. He managed to eat one of them and I managed to eat two, after the bowl or chili, after the brie bites which I lost count of, some sort of delicious artichoke dip and some m&m's and a couple of snickers bites. Also, Mary Helen sent home part of the brie with me. I am already thinking about scrambling it into my eggs tomorrow morning. Maybe I will do that, and then get back on my Superfoods agenda on Monday. This is what I am thinking for now.

Friday: Hop the Visiting Swimmer

Today, I made it to swim on time, for which I cannot quit patting myself on the back. I was there early today in fact, because I took Ivan in his Halloween costume. He was so irritated at me for shoving his into the dragon fat suit and asking him to wear a ridiculous dragon-head hood on top of his head. He was super adorable and I was able to get him into the nursery and me to the pool ON TIME.

Today, we had a visiting swimmer from Arizona, or maybe New Mexico, it was somewhere that is dry and hot. Anyway, he was determined to get us through the workout. We stayed on interval the whole time and I got in a 3700 meter workout with time to spare. See, our morning swim group is mostly older women that swim 2500ish meters. Jaime is always there and she is a fast swimmer, sometimes John Maple comes and Nick is there on Wednesdays. We each have our own lane, and we often talk about books and such. We sometimes miss the start of the interval and let the clock roll around again. So being on interval the whole workout happens pretty rarely.

Hop however was having none of this. He pushed the whole time and worked really hard. While Hop was rather more hard driving than I am used to in morning swim, I was just thrilled to get in as much swim as I did. This gives me mixed emotions about Hop's return. I like to get in a good hard swim, but I also like to talk about books and such. Hop will be there on Monday as well, and I will be interested to see if I can get in early and get in 4000 before the end of practice.

Today's workout as follows:

• 400 swim/200 pull
• 4 x 200 @ 4:00
• 4 x 200 @ 4:00 (50 swim/ 100 fast/ 50 recover)
• 4 x 200 @ 4:00 (100 fast/ 100 recover)
• 2 x 300 pull @ 3:30
• 200 cool down

After practice, Ivan took a nap that was way too short. When Ivan woke up, it was as if he had had a hit of speed or a triple espresso or most likely, two dum dums. Can two dum dums really make a toddler that wired? He was rushing about the house in circles like a madman. It was necessary to find an outlet for his energy, so I took him to practice his swim skills at the pool. This went reasonably well, until Ivan began hurling himself into the pool and fighting, AS IF FOR HIS LIFE, to get to the steps and sprint out of the pool so that he could run, AS IF FOR HIS LIFE, to get away from me. I felt like I grabbed his little pipe cleaner arms about 50 times to stop him from hurling himself into the pool or hurling himself down the steps. I finally gave up and strong armed him out the door. I took him to McDonald's and let him play in the germ pit.

I always feel that the McDonald's play yards are germ pits. I felt that H1N1 was lurking on every surface. It was one of those days however, and I risked certain disease infestation to let my child get his energy out. Ivan, of course, hit his head and will certainly have a black eye tomorrow from running into every piece of play yard in the germ pit. There were a few other kids there, and one mom said to everyone in the room, that she could be "truly happy here if they served wine". Except that it goes against every code of good sense in existence, it could be kind of a good idea. You just sit there, watch your child and occasionally say something like "stop that" or "play nicely". I bought Ivan a Happy Meal, which I promptly ate myself. It seems to be my way around food. I am trying to think that my Superfoods lunch and breakfast cancels out my McDonald's mistake.

Pics of Ivan in the Halloween costume we didn't choose.

Thursday: Run. Bike. Gilad and Denim Leggings

Today, I ran 3.5 miles with the jog stroller at a rather slow pace, though it was a great run. After I got back home, I put Ivan down for a nap and hopped on the trainer for a 30 minute trainer ride. I then showered and got ready to go in to work. I wore my new denim leggings. Does everyone out there have a pair of denim leggings for the fall? Maybe, should your closet still be lacking, run right out and get some. I am a member of both Gilt and Hautelook. These websites have infinitely increased my wardrobe satisfaction and reminded me yet again, that there is never a reason to pay retail. Gilt and Hautelook are great websites that host sales of high end clothing at heavily discounted prices. My first dip into the kitty was a pair of denim leggings. Now, when I pulled them out of the box, I was dubious, BUT, when I tried them on with my fabulous new boots, they were a bit life-changing. They look like the perfect pair of jeans tucked into my boots with a grey t-shirt and blazer. It is my best fall look, and I am taking it everywhere. It was great at work today and I am most definitely wearing it to trick-or-treat with Ivan and to my halloween party. I feel like the best denim leggings are the ones with the pockets and zippers!!! I am thrilled with them for fall. I will post pictures of us on Halloween!!

Home from work and I did a Gilad workout, which was really hard, but great for my abs. Swim tomorrow!!

Wednesday: Double Swim Plus Pumpkin Pie

I got to swim on time this morning, but was sabotaged as I walked in the gym by a dirty diaper. It is both rude and gross to hand over your baby to the nursery when he has a dirty diaper. So, I had to march it into the nursery and confess my dirty diaper to the nursery workers and change Ivan before going to the pool. There are women out there, I am sure, who have a child my age or even children, that handle training and such with much more aplomb than myself, but I feel like the often-times sabotage is somehow becoming my mode of operation. Anyway, I got into the pool ten minutes later than I meant to, but I still got in 3400 meters. Nick was there today, and I always swim better when he's there as I am challenged, and he doesn't slack at all, which means I don't get to either. Workout as follows:

• 400 swim/ 300 pull/ 100 drill
• 4 x 100 drill/ swim @ 2:00
• 5 x 200 free @ 3:30 (though we were making 3:15's. It was exciting.)
• 12 x 100 free descend 1-4/ 5-8/ 9-12 @ 1:45 (this was difficult, because we swam the 200s so hard)

I came home and went to the grocery and made a pumpkin pie, because it is that time of year and pumpkin is a superfood. I can tell you right now, that I will be eating the whole pie by myself. Probably, I will share with the baby, but my husband does not really eat sweets. It is a heavy burden to bear, being solely responsible for consuming all the sweets in the house.

I was able to get in a Gilad workout, before going to swim number two. Since we are in the triathlon off-season, we are working on different strokes. Last week we worked on the backstroke, which is my worst stroke. Tonight we worked on the breast stroke, which is my middling stroke. I am ardently hoping that we work on the butterfly next week, because I think it is my best stroke after the freestyle.

Anyway, tonight, we did a lot of different breast stroke drills and finished with a 600 pull. I don't think that it all added up to 3000 meters, but I love Wednesday night swim. Always great!!!

Tuesday: Back on Track

Today, it was of course monsooning outside. It is the way of a Tennessee fall. My eye seems to be healing, so I felt like I could run today, though not before Bible study, due to the monsoon. I made it to Bible study, which was great. I put Ivan down for a nap when we got home and was able to get in lunch and a Gilad workout and some yoga. When Ivan woke up, I loaded him into the jog stroller in his new snow suit and mittens. The mittens and snowsuit were a bit of an overkill on a day like today, but there is nothing like a cold baby to make you feel abject cruelty as a parent. Ivan was not exactly sweaty when we got home, but he was warmer than necessary. Great run though, and I was able to get home in time to take a quick shower and get ready for work. At work, I was a Superfoods failure, well I take that back. I did have a piece of pumpkin pie, which is just a real Superfoods luxury. Pumpkin contains alpha-carotene, beta-carotene, high fiber, low calories, Vitamins C and A, potassium, magnesium, and pantothenic acid. Carotinoids are cancer fighters, and pumpkins have the highest supply available. SO, I might have another piece tomorrow. The chocolate cake, however, WAS NOT A SUPERFOOD. Chocolate is a real problem for me, and I need to psyche myself up for avoiding temptation. The pumpkin pie was fine, why did I have to walk the diabetic coma line with chocolate cake. It is a sickness. I almost can't remember what the chocolate cake tasted like, I ate it so fast.

I arrived home and played fetch the dog with Ivan, which is a new and easy game that is becoming a nighttime ritual. I sit on the couch and throw Ivan's dog really far. He runs to get the dog and brings it back to me and the cycle continues. It is a low impact activity for me and we thoroughly enjoy it. Had delicious spaghetti for dinner and am sitting down for the season premier of The Little Couple.

Monday: Just a Run

Today, was a most disappointing day on the exercise front. My eye is still gross and infected. For this reason, I am pretty sure that getting in the pool is out of the question, and I am a huge fan of my vision, so risking further infection seems positively foolish. So, I had cereal and tea at home and played with Ivan, who has somehow collected about five balloons. All said balloons are losing helium, and I can't seem to turn around without stumbling over one when I am having to walk around with a hot compress over my eye. Poor Me!!

Also, it always seems to happen that on a day when I am looking my most heinous, I was double booked at work with un-cancellable appointments. So, in I drove for an assessment and tutoring session. I really do feel like a leper.

Anyway, I did not work out on Saturday, as it was my day off and then Sunday, the eye thing was at its worst, so there was no getting in the pool for swimming. Today, when I came home from work, I took Ivan on a run in the jog stroller, and I feel like it was not good for my eye. It was quite painful, and I feel quite certain that it looks worse. Bleh, we will see about tomorrow morning.

Watching The International. Intriguing. Kitting my cabled bolero.

Pic is Ivan at Halloween, in the most impractical pepper suit of all. His legs were just stuffed in the little pepper sack and he couldn't move. He wore it pretty much for that picture.

Book Report: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows

I finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. It is what our book club is reading this month and I whipped through it in a very few days. It is a brief epistolary novel, which means that it is a book of letters. The only book of letters I every thoroughly enjoyed was Dangerous Liasons, though it was rather disturbing. Brahm Stoker's Dracula and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein are also books of letters, and I have never finished either of them. Though this great book of letters has convinced me to give them another try.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is such an interesting book that tells the World War II story of the German occupied isle of Guernsey, a small island between the coasts of England and France. The story is a fictional account of an author (based in London) who has an idea to write the story of the inhabitants of the island and their experiences during the war. These experiences were both happy and sad: their children were evacuated to England for safety, some of their own were sent to concentration camps, they dealt with starvation and strange relationships with their German occupiers.

Anyway, in a desperate attempt to hide a smuggled pig they roasted for dinner, a group of Guernsey friends formed a literary society for reading. They all banded together and encouraged each other to read and eventually reached out across the ocean to an author whose name was randomly in a book jacket and the letter writing begins. There are both telegrams and letters, love stories and stories of friendship, deaths and new lives. The letters are well written and the characters are varied. It is a great book and an easy read. I strongly encourage it. I an now onto my next read, The Life of the Party: The Biography of Pamela Digby Hayward Harriman Churchill.

Sunday: Tentatively Like a Lover

I woke up this morning with a searingly painful eye infection. It felt like my head was going to explode. For this reason, I loaded up my car and came home from Birmingham early. Having a limp or a fever is a tolerable affliction, but as soon as my looks are marred, I am pretty much in a tailspin of wounded vanity. I made it home from Birmingham and moped around the house straightening up the mess that crops up whenever I have an extended absence from the house. I watched the last Project Runway and finished The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society, started my new book, and worked on my Bible Study for this week.

Now on the way home from Birmingham, I devoted myself to finishing up Dan Brown's Angels and Demons. I bought it for myself to listen to on my iphone for my birthday. Confession: I am not loving it. I remember my exciting introduction to Dan Brown. I was in graduate school and had not read anything fun is a while, as I was only able to read articles and books relating to my thesis. I went out of town for the weekend and decided to take a weekend off school reading. I took a copy of the Davinci Code as EVERYONE was reading it. EVERYONE. Sunday school classes were being taught about it, and I SWEAR, I could not turn on the History Channel without some sort of Knights of Templar Special or Behind the Davinci Code special. I felt like if I was going to maintain my status as a member of the human race, I had no choice but to take a weekend to read the Davinci Code. So, I read it, and it was absolutely riveting. I mean, let's all admit that the Davinci Code was a cultural phenomenon the likes of which have rarely been seen in adult literature. I downloaded Angels and Demons, the initial installment of the adventures of Robert Langdon.

So, Angels and Demons is so much the replica of The Davinci Code I am becoming more and more bored with knowing exactly what is going to happen. Robert and a lovely, yet brilliant and spunky scientist run about Europe desperately trying to find the killer or killers of her paternal figure who has died a gruesome and naked death with odd clues that only a professor of Symbology could speak to. Its the same book!! I have been frustrated with this for a few weeks, but today, Dan Brown really ruined it for me. He ruined it when he trapped Robert Langdon in a marble sarcophagus with a skeleton. Anyway, the sarcophagus gets turned over somehow, and the skeleton dangles over Robert Langon "tentatively like a lover". Really, Dan Brown? That's where you're taking it? A skeleton dangling "tentatively like a lover". I laughed out loud. I am going to continue listening to it, but, be warned, Dan Brown: I am finished with your symbology shenanigans.

Saturday: Day Off

Today, I got up and hopped in the car to drive to Birmingham for a last baby-free weekend with my sister. Lots of fun, we shopped around and had great lunch and dinner. I had a crazy delicious piece of quiche at The Broken Egg and three cookies from Savages Bakery. Savage's is the only bakery I have been to in a long time where you can obtain a reasonable size cookie; like the normal sized cookies that you would make at your home if you were following a Nestle Toll House recipe. So when I say I ate three cookies, I didn't eat THREE cookies; just three cookies: a chocolate chip, a pecan sandie, and a ghost cookie. We continued looking for baby things and such, I got Ivan's Easter smock suit and a lovely dress for me. We then hung out at home and had dinner at Chez Fonfon. I had an amazing tuna with a pot de creme' for dessert. What a lovely day. Ivan stayed with his dad, so I have taken a shower and gotten ready and had dinner without any worries or responsibilities. Good times. First time in 18 months!!!

Friday: Great Swim = Sandwich Cookie

So today, I woke up early to run before Ivan woke up, however it was of course monsooning outside. For this reason, I stayed in the kitchen with my tea and read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society. It is so gripping that I barely had time to feel guilty about not slogging it out in the miserable rain outside. I was able to have everything ready and get gas in the rainy traffic and still get to swim on time. For this accomplishment, I would like a blue ribbon or a silver cup or something equivalent to what they give jockeys for winning derbies and steeplechases. Punctuality has become something that requires heretofore unparalleled preparation coupled with rigorous training.

Swim workout was nice and I was able to get in some IM. Workout as follows:

• 200 swim/ 200 kick/ 200 drill/ 200 swim
• 4 x 200 swim @ 3:30 (odd free/ even IM)
• 8 x 100 swim @ 1:50 (kick/ swim in IM order)
• 1 x 600 pull

It was a great workout. The pool is still pretty warm and there were lots of fun swimmers in attendance today. Inexplicably the lights in the pool complex went out for about 25 minutes mid-swim just as I was kicking off the wall. I had a strange out-of-body experience momentarily that I was blacking out. I had visions of the life guards having to fish me out of the pool with the long life saving implements.

Great swim. Ivan had a nice nap at home while I did phone errands and such. When he woke up we shared lunch and went to the mall to return two impulse purchases that looked more than ridiculous on me.

I may have discovered the formula for a perfect mall trip. I immediately strapped Ivan into his stroller while in the parking lot. As soon as we got in the mall, I got him a balloon and a children's lemonade at Chick-Fil-A. I never heard another word out of him. I was able to make my return and swing a few laps around looking at shoes and clothes. The balloon (which was free - pilfered from an Ugg display in the shoe department) and the drink ($0.82) bought me 45 minutes of peace and quiet in a shopping situation. I had a sandwich cookie just to comemorate my accomplishment. I must remember this for future excursions.

Ivan then took nap number two and I am getting ready for a fun evening having dinner with friends at the Crow's Nest!! Fun times!! Birmingham tomorrow!!

Thursday: Such a Lovely Run

Ivan is sleeping like a champ at night, so I woke up a bit late. I had a fabulous Superfoods smoothie. Seriously, my smoothie has four Superfoods in it (blueberries, soy milk and powder, ground flax seed, Greek Yogurt). I also had green tea and white tea and a glass of lemon water as well. Things devolved after that, but it did not sink so low as Sunday's fast food frenzy. For lunch, I indulged in a pimento cheese sandwich on rye with chips.

I had a great run this morning with the baby in the jog stroller. I had a long visit with my parents and loaded down my car with all sorts of baby accoutrements for my sister. I am making a baby-free visit to Birmingham on Saturday morning. I am going to drive the for two and a half full hours without looking in my rearview mirror nervously wondering when the baby will melt down or praying that he will sleep the whole way.

While driving, I am going to finish listening to Angels and Demons, and I also made a CD of great driving music. The Soundtrack to the film Last Kiss is one of the best around. The movie was just ridiculous, one of the silliest I've seen. It called to mind a great quote from my favorite John Updike book In the Beauty of the Lilies, "People in movies seem to run towards what people in their everyday lives would naturally run from." Last Kiss was as much the epitome of that statement as I have ever seen on film, as well as taking itself way too seriously. I will say, that however unbelievable Zach Braff is as a leading man, he apparently chooses the soundtracks to his films. They are GREAT!!! THE GREATEST!!!! Also check out the soundtrack to Garden State, it introduced me to The Shins, check out New Slang. That song will change your life. How did I get to this soundtrack soapbox?? I will stop - Bob Dylan is the greatest, especially Modern Times!!!! I think Thunder on the Mountain is a statement about Dylan's disenfranchisement with America's response to his music over the years. Now, I will stop, but I think that this excitement about proposed soundtracks for a two and a half hour drive is indicative of how much I enjoy a solo road trip.

OK, so I got home from Mom and Dad's, and put Ivan down for a nap, traded off with Kaitlen and headed into work, which was very pleasant. Work food meltdown: Cookie (boo) and Chocolate Cake (hiss) as well as Crazy Delicious Party Turkey sandwich.

I deserve praise for my Superfood dinner of brown rice, broccoli and salmon, after which I got in some Gilad and Yoga. Swim and run tomorrow!! Watching 30 Rock!! I've laughed out loud three times.

Therapy Systems: Super Antioxidant Facial Treatment

Ok, so I am a Therapy Systems junkie. I'm loyal to Linda Roberts, and while I don't love their face washes, not one of their other products has disappointed. The face washes are not bad, I just don't find them spectacular for the price. I am loving my recent Line Tox for Eyes purchase and I am thrilled that Linda Roberts just made a special of her Super Antioxidant Facial Treatment. I bought the Line Tox on special and actually got the Super Antioxidant Facial Treatment for free, because it was on special and THEN, I had enough stickers on my Therapy Systems card to get it for free. Oh Please get yourself a Therapy Systems card. The Therapy Systems website describes it as follows:

This is the ultimate protection for your face! Formulated with a super antioxidant cocktail of green tea, mushroom, grape seed and aloe leaf extracts, this cutting edge formulation hydrates and smoothes the skin, instantly diminishing lines and wrinkles. This powerful cream provides immediate protection from the environmental hazards that promote premature aging.

I have to say, that I quite agree. The moisturizer feels heavy, yet goes on light. It works great under make-up, and if I want my make-up to have a more dewy quality, I put this on top. It isn't greasy. It does not have the thickness of a Creme de la Mer, so I could see that in the winter I might have to put something thicker on at night when I get out of the pool, but I think I have found my year round moisturizer. It is also better than the Oil of Olay Pro X line, which I used and was rather disappointed in. It does not have sunscreen, which is too bad, but I think that this is meant to use in conjunction with a suncreen by day. I do love an all-in-one. I am, however, covered up in sunscreens, so I will not go without. It has a citrus-y smell that I love.

Wednesday: Double Swim Plus Hair Care Bonanza

So today, I got to the pool at a reasonable time. The pool was much warmed since Monday. Monday the water temp was 77 degrees; today, the water temp was 83 degrees. There was much concern by the life guards and pool managers as they shot the water with the digital temp reader. It is supposedly rather dangerous to swim too much in water that is too warm, and it is a weird feeling, like your body wants to sweat, but can't. I have to say, it was heaven when I dove in this morning. Workout as follows:

• 200 swim/200 pull/ 200 kick/ 200 swim
• 2 x 400 swim @ 7:00
• 4 x 200 swim @ 3:30
• 10 x 100 swim @ 1:50

Great swim and I got in 3400 meters. I forgot all my shower stuff however, so I had to go without. I got home and had lunch with Ivan and worked around the house. I turned the house UPSIDE DOWN looking for my Retin-A. I am now paranoid that Ivan threw it in the trash and I took the trash out before I realized the grim possibility.

While Ivan napped, I was able to get the kitchen clean and take a shower. I also did Gilad!! When Ivan woke up, he accompanied me to the Cosmetic Market to aid in my pursuit of shiny hair. I had a store credit and bought 2 Fekkai products: Brilliant Glossing and Salon Glaze. I also bought a Molton Brown Defining Caju Hair Texture. I have not used styling creme in a long time, as I am always scared that the alcohol properties will further dry my pool dried hair. Please wait for reviews, I will let you know.

OK, so I then went to swim number two. Our workout involved a lot of backstroke, which is my worst stroke. I could not backstroke myself out of the bathtub, so I had to swim at the back of the pack. Workout as follows:

• 8 x 25 backstroke
• 8 x 25 backstroke
• 4 x 50 double arm backstroke
• 4 x 75 (25 back/ 25 free/ 25 back)
• 4 x 100 free
• 900 pull

Not a long workout, but it is off season, so we are working on technique. I hit Maggie Moo's on the way home. The Guernsy Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is light and gripping. I am loving it!!

Tuesday: Just the Run

So today I had ambitions of the run, Gilad, and yoga. I did get in a fourish mile run, as Ivan fell asleep in the jog stroller. I probably should have just run until he woke up. I might have gotten in 6 miles or so, but I dutifully came home after four miles, so that I could try to start the mammoth job of straightening the house. The house has been sitting in shambles since the window remodel, the adding of molding to the bathrooms and kitchen, and the changing out of my winter and summer clothes. My closet is now a moth's heaven of wools and cashmeres. All my silk and linen and voile has been moved into plastic tubs in the unreachable parts of my closet.

Ivan is in rare form these days and napping just terribly. When his eyes are open there is mass destruction in his wake. Today I am missing one bottle of Retin-A, one shoe, a hi-liter (which will do doubt resurface topless). Temporarily I was missing a blue crayon, but when I made the mistake of taking a moment to use the bathroom, I came back into the kitchen to discover our white cabinets and door scribbled with indigo. It took a solid half hour to scrub down the cabinets and door after wrestling the crayon from Ivan's king-fu grip. I have rarely seen such great determination in regards to something so small. There was much wailing, protesting, wringing of hands, and frenzied mourning. I only found half the crayon, by the way. The other half is, no doubt, ferreted away in the bowels of our home where only Ivan knows to re-emerge at an appropriate time, like as dinner guests are walking in the door or my mother-in-law visits. Oh, he has plans for that half a crayon, I assure you.

Anyway, I then attended to the house and the changing over of clothes. Everything is in its place, but Gilad and yoga were neglected. We had a great dinner of salmon burgers and brown rice with mint and pistachios. I am watching Brahm Stoker's Dracula with Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder. I really like Gary Oldman and it is a role that reminds me of his role as Sirius Black in Harry Potter.

Hopefully, tomorrow is double swim Wednesday. Bible study was great today. We are in the third chapter of Romans!!

Monday: I Got to Swim on Time

So today, I got to swim on time. I still woke up late, but I let Ivan go to the nursery in his pajamas and I neglected to brush my teeth or wipe the sleepy mascara our from under my eyes. I waltzed into the pool at 8:25 AM, got Ivan to the nursery and was standing on the edge of the pool at 8:30 AM. Oh yes, I am a champion. I had my smoothie in the car and drank my green tea as I was walking into the rec center, and I really am quite proud of myself. When I got to the edge of the pool, Dennis informed me that there had been an air conditioner malfunction and the pool temperature had been sucked down to 77 degrees. 77 degrees is cold, sports fans. When I stuck my toe in the water it felt icy, and when I got my nerve up to dive into the water, it took my breath away. Workout as follows:

• 200 swim/ 6 x 50 kick/ 200 pull/ 200 drill/ 200 swim
• 3 x 500 swim @ 8:00
• 4 x 100 swim @ 1:55
• 4 x 100 swim @ 1:50
• 2 x 100 swim @ 1:45

That came out to 3600 meters. A great workout and quick swimming the whole way so as not to get hypothermia. I came home and ironed, before having some lunch and getting ready for work. I got home a little before 6:00 PM and loaded Ivan into the jog stroller for a three mile run. Did a bit of Yoga and no Gilad. Also, four cookie meltdown at work. FOUR COOKIE MELTDOWN. No Rachel Zoe, the season finale was last week. Drinking Gnarly Head!!!

Book Report: Rebel Giants: The Revolutionary Lives of Abraham Lincoln & Charles Darwin by David R. Contosta

So, I have just finished reading Rebel Giants: The Revolutionary Lives of Abraham Lincoln and Charles Darwin. It is not the best book I have ever read, but I learned one very important piece of information that I will impart to you. When someone writes a comparison novel about your life, do not let them compare you to Abraham Lincoln. You will never measure up, friends. Abraham Lincoln eclipses us all.

Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln were born on the same day, which was the focal point of David R. Contosta's book. Abraham Lincoln was born into abject poverty, his mother died early, his father was relatively shiftless. His father hired him out to the neighbors to work. He had ONE YEAR of formal education. ONE YEAR. He went on to read for the law, become a politician, and president. Three of his four children died (one after his own death), he wrote all his own speeches, he is the only one of our presidents who was actually involved in a battle while he was president. He made hard decisions and acted on them. He grieved for the losses of our country in the Civil War and spoke openly to the country about the the hard issues. His fatal flaw seemed to be his wife. Mary Todd was bipolar as far as I can tell. She chased Lincoln into the street with a knife when they lived in Springfield. Her manic spending sprees forced Lincoln to work desperately until he became president and Mary Todd was able to hide her spending, though it never stopped until Robert Todd committed her to an asylum several years after the death of Lincoln.

So while reading Contosta's book, you are bowled over by the accomplishments of Lincoln. Then you have Darwin, who begs the title Little Lord Fauntleroy, if ever anyone did. He was raised by his very wealthy father to be a Doctor, but Darwin wasn't really interested in that. He then studied for the clergy (where, interestingly, he pronounced that "every word of the Bible was the literal truth"). He next decided to head out on a five year voyage on the HMS Beagle, where he visited the Galapagos and had his evolutionary epiphany. After he arrived home, his father bought him a place in London, which he found too noisy, so his father bought and renovated a home for him in the country. He even made the decision to move the road which traveled by his home two miles away so as not to disturb him. When asked to attend a debate, awards ceremony, anything involving public recognition of his work, Darwin stayed at home taking sunlamp treatments. He did not engage in ANY conflict. I am not knocking Darwin's wealth, the sons of many wealthy men accomplish far less. I am knocking the misfortune of comparing his life and lifestyle to Lincoln. None of us is as unfortunate as Lincoln. That breed of misfortune has become extinct, I am afraid. When Lincoln and Darwin are compared, however, Darwin comes off as severely lacking. Its not really his fault, its just that Lincoln is so much better.

Another thing that irritated me about Darwin, (who is not a man to be sneezed at, until he is compared with Lincoln) is that when he was formulating his evolutionary thesis he was so nervous that he would lay in bed for days vomiting while his wife (a winner!!!) read soothing poetry to him and had their two nannies keep their children very quiet. His wife was a winner. She was Darwin's first cousin and was a quiet refined soul. She bore ten children to Darwin, one who died of TB and another who died quite young and was thought to have Down's Syndrome. Emma Wedgewood (yes, those Wedgewoods) Darwin ran an efficient and quiet household that consisted of ten servants. Darwin's valet was his closest friend and when Darwin took breaks from writing, they played billiards together. Sometimes Darwin went to stay at a beach spa when he was particularly troubled about his work. Darwin is just such a foil to Lincoln that I feel that Contosta made a poor choice.

I have tried to think of better comparisons. Here are a few: Lincoln/ Churchill, Lincoln/ Ghandi, Lincoln/ Napoleon, Darwin/Alexander Fleming, Darwin/Galileo, Darwin/Hawking.

These are all great men in their own right, but Lincoln, LINCOLN!!!!!

Interesting facts that I learned from this book that will emerge in my small talk party conversations:

1) The Scopes trial was completely staged. Scopes didn't even teach science and never taught evolution. It was just to bring publicity to Dayton.

2) Abraham Lincoln often slept at his law office to get away from his wife

3) The Lincoln's were not into disciplining their children.

4) Darwin never said we came from apes. He only insinuated a common ancestor.

Contosta's book was interesting, but it read like a dissertation that became publishable. Exciting, I bought the book used from Amazon, and when I opened it to begin reading, 7 dollars fell out. YAY!!!! I love cash. Pictures I am posting are of Lincoln and Darwin's birth places and their wives. I am starting on The Guernsy Literary and Potato Peel Society. If you want to know more about Lincoln in a fun trivia kind of way, I recommend Assassination Vacation by Sara Vowel. It was so fun, and so positive, and I felt like I knew the characters well.

Sunday: Superfood Meltdown

Oh yes, friends, today was my fourth consecutive day without a workout and I ate at McDonald's twice today. I did have a cup of green tea today, but THAT WAS MY ONLY SUPERFOOD. I am fearful. I am sure that my body is oxididating and that tomorrow I will wake up with 5 extra pounds, diverticulitis, and congenital heart disease.

My mom and I drove down to Birmingham for my sister's baby shower and to see her

nursery. The shower was just wonderful and it was lovely to meet my sister's friends and

indulge in BABY SHOWER FOOD. Baby shower food consisted of white bread cucumber,

chicken salad and pimento cheese sandwiches, fresh berries, quiche, scones and petit fours.

I might have crossed into the double digits with my sandwich triangles. OK, the berries were

a Superfood, but they had been masticating in a sugar substance. I refuse to admit the quantity

of my quiche intake and I ate the petit fours so quickly, I can barely remember what they tasted

like. Also, there was fruit tea, and here is what I have to say about fruit tea - if an alcoholic

feels the amount of inner turmoil when confronted with unsupervised alcohol that I feel

when confronted with a pitcher of fruit tea, then their lives are bitter fruits. I was overwhelmed by

the desire to take the pitcher of fruit tea and sprint into the bathroom where I could lock the door

and dump it down my gullet. I thought longingly of a funnel or a fishbowl to slurp from.

I mean I surely have some serious food issues, but my sister had a lovely shower and

received some lovely gifts. We headed back to her house and assembled her bassinet before

Mom and I hit the road and went to McDonald's (since the egg and bacon biscuit that I had for

breakfast was just not enough fast food for one day). I had a hamburger and a milkshake.

Oh yes, sports fans, I am hitting the workout tomorrow and I am Superfood bound. Swim, run

yoga and Gilad. It is all happening.

Saturday: Belmont Tour of Homes

So, today was my third consecutive day without a workout. I am taking a four day workout hiatus in response to a fever and cold that I had on Wednesday. I am determined to encourage my cold into remission by participating in a sedentary lifestyle for exactly four days.

Honest words: It feels weird. Friday felt like it was a good three days long. I sat about and watched an old movie and The Wiggles. I had a coffee and slept late. Who does that? Who, indeed?

Anyway, on day three of my sedentary lifestyle, I awoke at 7:30 and made myself some tea and a smoothie. I then began to prepare for a walking tour of the homes on the Belmont Tour of Homes (the brochure of the tour of homes is pictured above, along with my favorite home on the tour, and he last is a picture of my Aunt's garden which was featured on the tour as well).

Preparing to take an 18 month old on a walking tour is sort of like rearranging chairs of the HMS Titanic. You can get it all together, but that ship is still sinking; and sink it did. I meant to photograph my endeavors today, but I wasn't able to take any great pictures as I wasn't able to take the pictures, hold the bottle, keep up with the balloon, change the diapers and, in general, hold down the fort and keep the natives alive and get the pictures taken. For this reason, we will all have to settle for the lamely taken photos that I took of the guidebook while it was lying in the kitchen. They were taken in the time that Ivan was having his pre-bedtime meltdown and I was promising myself that though this had been a rugged day, I would only have one glass of wine. After a long day with an 18 month old, one glass of wine is a hard bargain.

Anyway, my mother met me at 11:30ish at my Aunt's house, so that we could start the tour with her garden. Her garden is amazing and Ivan started off the day well running around in his Halloween casual wear. This consists of his squeaker boots, a pair of corduroys and a jack-o-lantern sweatshirt with a hood that looks like the stem of a pumpkin. Note: If you are taking a child somewhere where they will most likely misbehave in an epic way, it is wise to dress them in an irresistibly attractive fashion, so that when people become quite frustrated with them, they cannot find it in their hearts be truly frustrated and therefor relations with strangers are salved. REMEMBER THIS. Cuteness is your only hope.

Ivan made it through all houses with the aid of a balloon. Every home on the tour was marked by a trio of balloons. Ivan is heavily into a balloon phase. My strategy went as follows: 1) approach house, 2) see balloons, 3) thieve Ivan a balloon from the mailbox display, 4) Ivan would hold onto the balloon for the first half of the tour = reasonable behavior so I can look at fabulous remodeling, 5) Ivan would lose his balloon to the high ceilings of the house, 6) he would commence meltdown, 7) we would leave quickly and hurry to the next house, 8) I would rip a balloon off the mailbox of the next house, 9) the cycle would begin again.

We saw some homes that were so lovely that I was filled serious envy. Such lovely bathrooms and wood panelling are surely things that I deserve. However, overall the tour was a lot of fun and my mom and I had a delicious lunch afterwards and a bit of shopping. I made it home to my promised one glass of wine. Painted my nails in a lovely OPI shade "Linkin Park After Dark" in preparation for my sisters baby shower tomorrow.

Off to Birmingham tomorrow!! Will let you know how it goes!!

Friday: Aaaaahhh Nyquil

So last night, I had the sickness and decided it was Nyquil worthy.I love a Nyquil worthy sickness as it means a fabulous night's sleep. It was great, though I did wake up with a slight Nyquil hangover, which I was forced to sleep off during Ivan's naptime. When Ivan and I woke up, we watched The Wiggles. The Wiggles are completely mind numbing and typically Ivan doesn't watch television, but today, he was all about sitting and watching The Wiggles with me. The Wiggles are baffling, because they don't really endorse anything like good manners or letters or sounds or numbers. They just sing and dance and, I can only assume, drink heavily when off camera. They are four reasonable looking men, and I will be honest, Anthony(blue shirt pictured above) crosses the line into heterosexual attractiveness. He has lovely eyes and seems pretty red blooded for a Wiggle. It is surprising, yes, but if you watched, you would agree. Also, the Wiggles are Australian, which I think gives them an exotic appeal. Ivan sat through two Wiggles shows, which makes me think he is beginning to like television (which I consider a blessing and a curse) or he is ill. After Ivan bored of The Wiggles I took him to the pool to swim with Miss Kennette. He practiced his jumping, his rolling, his floating, and his getting to the stairs. He jumped and floated like a champ and got to have his reward lollipop. When we came home, he took a nap, and I finished watching Father Goose,which is a Cary Grant/ Leslie Caron classic. I watched Gigi last week and don't even get me started about my love affair with Daddy Longlegs. There is nothing better than Fred Astaire. Father Goose was reasonably good, but it was no Gigi or Daddy Longlegs. When Ivan went down to sleep for the night, I knitted to my heart's content. Sweatermoving along at a lovely pace!!!

Thursday: No Stress Fracture

So, today, I went to the orthopedic surgeon and it

was determined that I did not have a stress fracture. This

is a great relief as you can imagine. I am thrilled with the

advice to ramp up my anti-inflammatories and continue my

stretching and such. THRILLING!!!! I can now fully look

forward to running the Boston Marathon. I put my room

deposit in the mail today, and I am going to go ahead and

plan the sights I want to see in Boston.

In other news, I have some sort of sickness, so I am

sitting around tonight and I am going to sit around

tomorrow with no swimming. Also, the baby is running a

bit warm and fussy. It will do us good to lay around.

I went to Tasti D Lite to celebrate my lack of

serious orthopedic issues. I saw it on an episode of

Sex in the City and felt that I should reward myself with

90 calories of whipped deliciousness. Confession:

It was forgettable and expensive. I would compare my

Tasti D Lite confection to the mousse I put in my hair if flavored with peanut butter, topped

with exactly one teaspoon of butter finger candy crumble, and costing me $4.19 per serving.

No dice, Tasti D Lite.

Wednesday: No Double Swim

So, I woke up this morning feeling ill, and yes, I did oversleep. My temperature was normal, however, so I schlepped myself and Ivan to swim. I swam a hard 3000 meters with Nick!!!! Nick only comes to morning swim on Wednesdays, and they are my best swims because I have someone to compete a bit with and hold me accountable to my intervals. Workout as follows:

• 300 swim
• 6 x 150 (50 drill/ 100 swim) @ 2:30
• 8 x 25 kick choice @ :40 (we did it without fins and there is no chance I made the interval)
• 5 x 100 pull @ 1:45
• 8 x 25 kick @ :40 (with fins this time, so I made the interval)
• 8 x 75 (25 drill/ 50 swim) @ 1:20
• 5 x 50 swim

It was a great workout and If I had gotten to the pool on time, it would have been greater.

After swim, Ivan got a little nap, and I pulled myself together to head to the mall to get some shoes for Ivan with my mother-in-law. He behaved as per usual for Ivan in a mall setting. He refused to sit in his stroller, he ran around, vaulted out of everyone's arms, and attempted to thieve balloons from many a shop in a violent guerilla style. It is his way.

We headed home. I worked a bit, and decided I was too sick to do double swim. We had pizza from Jet's Pizza, and CONFESSION: I got lost. I got lost in the small town of Franklin where I live. CONFESSION: If I had lived 100 years ago, I would have gotten lost and perished on the way to the barn to milk the cow. I can barely find my way to the end of the driveway. I would have lead Lewis and Clark to their deaths if I had been Sacagawea. I drove around in circles for 15 minutes in a relatively small town looking balefully at the GPS wondering why it was being so cruel. I returned home from a 15 minute trip in 40 minutes. It is most unfortunate.

Tomorrow, I am visiting the orthopedic surgeon. I am feeling pretty good with minimal pain, so I am feeling a little silly going tomorrow, but feel I should go. I can't foul up my Boston trip!!!!

Picture is of me running the Huntsville Marathon last December!!!! I am the one in all black.

Tuesday: My Three Mile Run Felt Great!!!!

So today, I overslept. It is clearly the way I operate in the month of October. I vaulted out of bed and had breakfast with Ivan. Because I overslept, I had to take a shower with Ivan. If I had gotten up at the appropriate time, I could have showered blissfully alone and Ivan could have hung out with his dad. I am not a smart cookie and had to shower with my son.

I call my mode with Ivan right now "suicide watch". There is no leaving him anywhere alone. If he is left alone even briefly, there is a very real chance that he will end his life in an ill thought endeavor to french kiss a wall socket or pull an urn onto his head. Bless him, he just can't help himself.

Anyway, I took a most unfortunate shower with Ivan trying to steal my razor and drink my shampoo. He also took the opportunity to poop in the shower, which started me off on the wrongest of wrong feet. It was hard times.

I did get out the door to Bible study. We covered Romans 3, and it was a great lesson. Ivan came home and took a great nap, and I played travel agent. I planned our trip to Boston. Airfare cost me exactly $124 for two people to Boston!!!! Can you believe it??!! I am now working on hotels which may require me to hand over a kidney. It is going to be a crazy expensive trip.

Anyway, I had a great 3.5 mile run with the jog stroller and felt pretty good. I think I actually feel better than after my 1 mile run yesterday. I switched my work afternoon to tomorrow, so I was able to run to the mall and research my big October purchase. I have been having a love affair with the Coach Fayth Boot (pictured above). When I went into the mall today to check my sizing, (by the way, I had to size down a full size to a 6.5), the boot was on sale for 50% off of the regular price. So, I went ahead and got them and will be purchasing nothing else except for a crazy expensive trip to Boston this year.

I came home had dinner with the baby before bath and bedtime. I hopped on the trainer for a 30 minute ride (still no heart rate monitor) and watched Rachel Zoe. She is having troubles with her health and her assistant. Nothing compared to my shower issues this morning, but troubles all the same. Sitting down to watch The Soup and knit my fabulous sweater.

Monday: A Great Swim and a Tester Run

So today, I overslept, which is how I feel I start out every blog post. I overslept and ran about like a maniac hurling things into the car, stuffing sausage into Ivan's mouth and brewing tea. Throwing my stuff into the car and of course arriving at swim 15 minutes late. I did however, get in a good workout. My epic blisters have healed up, and I was able to use fins. I love fins!!!! Workout as follows:

• 200 swim/ 200 kick/ 200 pull/ 200 swim
• 5 x 50 drill (zipper, 6 kick switch, fist, one-arm, catch-up)
• 5 x 200 (0dds swim/ even IM)
• 12 x 100 swim most of which I kicked, because Jaime was there and we talked books while we kicked

This came out to around 3400 meters, which is a great workout. I then headed home, gave the baby a nap and caught up on my much needed phone errands. The baby and I took a walk and then I headed into work. When I came home I did my long awaited tester run.

Good News, Sports Fans, The tester run went quite well!!! No pain while running or afterwards. I ran for a bit over a mile at fast long-strided clip. I will do some more stretching and exercising before I go to bed. I will have another Aleve tomorrow morning, but I am planning on a slow three mile run tomorrow morning. I hope I am not jumping too quickly to the conclusion that I am not injured.

I do feel most certainly, that this is not a stress fracture. For this reason, I will go ahead and start planning my Boston Marathon Weekend as of tomorrow. I am full of high hopes.

Sunday: A Good Workout

So today, things were looking up. Ivan had a bit of a runny nose and a cough and sneeze and these days there are signs outside of every nursery encouraging you to stay at home if you have a hint of sickness. So we stayed home from church. I rode the trainer while Ivan was napping. Today, I watched Project Runway while I rode, and I just about melted down when Epperson got kicked off. Epperson was my pick to win Project Runway this season. I mean his outfit on this week's episode did indeed look like some kind of pirate/Oktoberfest ensemble, but his western outfit was ART. I also felt like he was a calming force on the whole group. Logan should definitely have gone home with his ridiculous wedding dress pants suit, and now Irina is my pick to win. Irina has been a serious force to be reckoned with and her wedding dress remake was lovely. It should have won. Anyway, I got in a good ride, even though my heart rate monitor petered out completely. I am a little uncertain of how to gauge myself with the heart rate monitor. It seems that there is a good chance that I am just tooling along on the bike in the slacker zone.

I made a trip to Cosco for diapers and such, before getting back home to trade off the baby with my husband so I could get to swim. Swim workout as follows:

• 300 warmup
• 4 x 50 swim
• 6 x 150 kick with fins various ways (butterfly, six-kick-switch, back, ect.)
• 1 x 400 swim
• 1 x 300 swim
• 1 x 200 swim
• 1 x 100 swim
• 4 x 200 IM
• 4 x 10 pull

This all comes out to 3400 meters. Which was a great workout. I got in some yoga and am about to get started on my knitting. Haven't finished I've Loved You So Long, but I'll let you know.