Book Report: Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Paul Farmer, A Man Who Would Cure the World by Tracy Kidder

 Mountains Beyond Mountains, by Tracy Kidder is a must read, I am afraid to tell you.  Now, I listened to it on my ipod, and it was very well narrated by Paul Michael, with whom I am unfamiliar, but he is apparently the same person who read The DaVinci Code, and made quite a success of it.

The book is the life story of Paul Farmer and his quest for providing health care to impoverished nations around the world.  He is the product of an odd childhood, raised on a houseboat and a bus and educated where ever his parents were currently living.  His younger brother is now a professional wrestler. After attending Duke University on scholarship, then Harvard Medical school, Farmer spent a summer in Haiti, and then gave his life to Haiti.

He honestly gave his life to Haiti.  He has no salary, it all goes to Haiti except for the the payment on his mother's mortgage.  He works incessantly and gives as much medical care as he can personally provide.  He began Partners in Health (PIH) which offers free medical care to Haitians.  He has devoted himself to the proper care of and stopping the spread of AIDS and Tuberculosis in third world countries.  His life of altruism has attracted the attention of great financiers like George Soros and Bill Gates, and the money that is pouring into his foundations is honestly halting the spread of AIDS and TB.  While these are things that don't necessarily kill us in America, they are wiping out families in droves in the third world.

One interesting conundrum that Paul Farmer has had to solve was how to stop the spread of AIDS through breast milk.  He first had to educate women that their breast milk could transmit a deadly virus to their babies.  So this education seemed like a great thing, but then there was nothing to feed newborn infants.  So, Farmer and his crew were able to get formula donations.  So this was a great thing, the problem seemed solved, but there is no clean water that his newly educated women could use to mix formula.  SO, he and his crew had to teach water purification and import clean water to finally make sure that the spread of AIDS was stopped in a particular population.

The book is amazing.  It was a great listen and a call to arms.  Must Read!!!

Sunday: Swim and Halloween

I must say that my Halloween started off rather sickly.  Most of my morning was spent lounging around and feeling faint and nauseous, which is a bummer over and over.  By noon, I had rallied and I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show which is playing in a continuous loop on TCM today.  I have never actually seen it before, and I have actually watched the time warp dance scene about 10 times today, and I almost considered learning the dance.  It seems like it might be a fun party trick.  Ivan and I watched the time warp dance several times, and he asked me to watch it one more time before he went to bed.  Maybe it is our new thing.  

In the afternoon, I went swimming and then Ivan and I headed off to visit his great grandmother and then to a friend's house for a Halloween party and trick or treating.  This was actually the first year that Ivan could really understand trick or treating, and he really enjoyed it once he understood how it all worked.  Initially he felt that when someone opened a door, he was being welcomed into the house, and he tried to roam right in.  Then we had a slight struggle with only taking one piece of candy.  BUT, overall I think trick or treating was very successful, and I expect even greater things for next year.  

Swim tomorrow!!

Saturday: Abysmal Training and Much Regret

So last night was troublesome sleeping, and I ended up staying up late immersed in Team of Rivals.  Team of Rivals by the way, is just amazing.  It is such a long book, but every page just lends more to how amazing Abraham Lincoln really was.  When I finally settled into sleep, it was just too lat to then get up at 5:00 AM to run.  I always feel rather guilty when this happens, but it happens sometimes and I just can't berate myself for flaking on the run.  I ran six miles on my own in the afternoon and it was a nice run.  I am just past the point where I can run too much over six miles alone.  So dull.

I slept until 7:30 AM, and it was really nice.  I needlepointed a bit and played with Ivan.

Now, the source of my deep regret today was Ivan's eating choice last night.  Ivan, as a general rule, eats nothing.  I am consistently surprised that he does not collapse from malnourishment.  Whereas I sometimes have to take things outside and throw them across the fence to keep myself from eating them, Ivan will sit beside any variety of foodstuffs and never express interest.  It is a big accomplishment if I can get him to drink some milk or eat a bite of toast.  Anyway, we have a ton of Activia yogurt at the house for reasons of never you mind, and Ivan is having a love affair with it.  Last night, he ate four cups.  After we finished dinner, of which Ivan ate little to none, he became very interested in yogurt.  He could open it by himself, eat it by himself with a little spoon, and he was VERY pleased.  So it seemed like a great idea last night that he was eating such a healthy snack.

Anyway, today has been quite regrettable as there has been much time spent in changing very unfortunate diapers.  It was even necessary to run screaming from the dinner table at the Local Taco tonight to manage a bit of diaper drama.  So, in retrospect, it seems quite unwise to have allowed so much of that particular healthy snack.  Lesson Learned.

Now, we had dinner at the Local Taco and let me tell you it was delicious.  I had a beet salad that had big fat roasted beets sliced thickly and covered with crushed pumpkin seeds and spread in between with goat cheese. AMAZING and beyond good for me.

Friday: Swim and Zoo and Ivan Swim

Oh, today was one of those days that Ivan's social schedule kept the wheels hot on the car.  We did manage to get out the door to swim on time, though my smoothie was banana-less as I forgot to restock.  Let me be honest and tell you that a smoothie without bananas is pretty worthless.  Also, I put Ivan's jam toast breakfast on the roof of the car while I was settling him in his seat, forgot about it and then it flew off the roof of the car onto the car behind us as we were driving.  The driver was quite surprised.  I, however, was not surprised in the least as it seems the least of the things that can go wrong on a daily basis in my household.

Swim workout was great.  Dennis coached us today and kept us on interval.  Workout as follows:

• 6 x 50 kick
• 6 x 50 drill
• 6 x 100 swim @ 2:00
• 6 x 50 kick
• 6 x 50 drill
• 6 x 100 swim @ 2:00
• 3 x 300 pull @ 4:50
• 100 cooldown

So this was 3400 hundred meters, and it was a hard swim.  I felt like I was pushing the whole time.

After swim, I loaded up Ivan into the car and we headed off to pick up some lunch and then headed to the zoo where we met friends and visited two exhibits that I had not seen yet: the flamingos and the lorakeets.  It was pretty thrilling.  The flamingos were just gorgeous and they stood around on one leg hiding their heads under the wings.  The lorakeets were aggressive and one actually sat on my head, which made me very uncomfortable and will until someone learns how to potty train birds.  The lorakeets were very interesting in that you could feed them special nectar, and Ivan got a real kick out of feeding them.  

Ivan missed his nap, and we had a bit of meltdown at the alligator house, but he marched through it with considerable aplomb for a two year old and had a nice nap in the car on the way home.  At home, OF COURSE, we realized that we had left both "dog" and "wanket" at the pool this morning.  I was going to leave them there, but Ivan's persistent worry, drove us all the way back to the pool to get his security standards.  He was so. so happy, and it eradicated my mom guilt for the afternoon.  

Then, we went to practice Ivan's swimming and I was wildly impressed that he could swim the across the pool short-ways.  It is pretty impressive.  He jumps in on one side, and swims all the way to the steps and climbs out and does it again.  I know it probably isn't that big of a deal, but I feel like he is a small superhero, the next president, or an olympic athlete.  Most likely all three!!!

Thursday: Great Run and New Juicer Acquisition

So while I am pregnant and marathon training, I feel like I am just pregnant and still working out a bit.  Sleep is taking huge morning precedence, and I am just going with it.  My thought is just to get the run in, it may not happen at 6:00 AM in the morning, it may have to happen before dinner with Ivan in the jog stroller watching The Wizard Of Oz on the portable DVD player.  That is what happened today, and I got in a longer run and I actually felt pretty fast as I was sprinting against nightfall in a reflective vest and I actually need to be wearing blinky lights if I am going to do this on a regular basis, which I probably am.

Anyway, my morning was hectic as it is no easy task getting yourself ready for work and then trying to hustle a two-year-old into overalls so he can be a farmer at nursery school.  I was able to get Ivan dressed, I feel like he maybe had some breakfast, but I am not completely certain.  Surely, he was fed at some point.

Ivan and I made it to nursery school reasonably on time, before I sprinted into my office to do some testing.  After testing, I grabbed a sandwich for lunch before tearing over to Bed, Bath, and Beyond to get the Jack Lelanne juicer that I determined to be the best bang for my buck.  I was able to walk in and walk out with my juicer in about 5 minutes.  It was the last one in stock, and I was really pleased that I did not have to let all my juicing vegetables go to waste.

So, at home we had visitors and then I settled into juicing with the new juicer.  I have to say, my 35 year old juicer, whom I laid to rest last night, was a great juicer. I am not completely sure that this Jack Lelanne business is getting the most juice out of my vegetables.  It is easier to clean, which means a lot.  So, I will work with ole Jack Lelanne a bit longer.

Hit a book club in the evening and hitting swim in the AM!!!

Wednesday: Swim and Juicer Drama

This morning, I was not out the door to run, as I am managing my nausea and my mornings are just struggling.  My marathon training is abysmal and it occurs to me that I am not sure about speed work, either.  I did make it to swim, where I arrived late due to the fact that my tailgate was open and the alarm starting going off half way to swim and I had to pull over and secure the perimeter.  Then, there was a terrible wreck and then, there was a another terrible wreck, all of which put me on the pool deck at two minutes after 9:00.  So Late!!

Now the workout was great, so it was too bad that I was late.  In fact, I had enough time that I could move down to the public lanes after practice and get in a bit more yardage.  Now, something that I am having trouble with is mid-workout hunger, and by the time I got out to the car I was starving and starving leads to nauseous and it resulted in my eating eight baby quiche.  I am having a baby quiche love affair.   Anyway, I had an entire smoothie before and during the first part of practice and then became ravenous towards the end of practice.  I guess I will have to pack more food.  Is it appropriate to eat a baby quiche poolside?

Workout as follows:

• 400 free
• 200 kick
• 4 x 75 kick/drill/swim
• 4 x 50 drill/swim
• 300 pull
• 3 x 200 IM
• 300 pull
• 3 x 100 dec 1:50
• 300 pull
• 100 swim

So this was 3000 meters.  It was a great workout.  I came home and engaged in a baby quiche extravaganza.  I never got out to run and Gilad fell completely off my radar.  I am just hoping for the best for tomorrow's run.  

Now, in the evening, I was all set and prepared to make a big glass of my beet/carrot/apple/lemon/ginger juice when my juicer imploded and the motor completely stalled out.  My juicer was approximately 35 years old, and I guess I should just count myself lucky that is has still been going.  Hopefully, I can get to Bed, Bath and Beyond tomorrow and juice myself into the 21st century.  

Tuesday: Run, Yoga, and A GRAVE CONCERN

Today was one of those violently rainy days that left me looking for tiny opportunities to pop out and run.  I got Ivan off to nursery school in the rain, I got to Bible study in the rain, I picked up Ivan in the rain, and we came home in the pounding rain.  When we finally had a bit of respite, I was able to encourage Ivan into the jog stroller and get in a good run while Ivan watched The Wizard of Oz on a portable DVD player in the jog stroller.  I think that the portable DVD player has changed my life and made both long car trips and jog stroller outings endurable.  I ran my full 3.4 mile course today without any opposition or complaint.

Now, I am not a proponent of allowing children to languish in front of portable viewing devices all day long, but Ivan's movie time today allowed me to get in a good run on a rainy day, and I can really only congratulate myself.

Anyway, after our run, Ivan hit the largest mud puddle outside of our fencerow, and engaged in a significant amount of splashing until it got too cold for anyone to be outside.  Inside, Ivan and I got in a Yoga session and dinner before settling Ivan in for a nice early bedtime.

Onto my grave concern which is that having had a sicky stomach, I have LOST ALL DESIRE FOR YOGURT WORLD.  I am greatly concerned about this.  For one, could the loss of revenue from me cause what looks to be a business that is not doing all that well to flounder.  Should I contact Yogurt World and explain to them my dilemma?  Tell them to just hang on for 5 more weeks until supposedly my sicky stomach will disappear; ask if I may make a small donation to keep the doors open until my triumphant return to high caloric intake; with missionary zeal, encourage others to frequent Yogurt World to make up for my absence.  I am not sure how best to address the situation.  I tried Sweet Cece's a couple of weeks, and I will just be honest when I tell you that the texture of their sprinkles is not to my taste.  I need Yogurt World to thrive.

Also, on the front of finding things that I have lost: I located my What to Expect When You Are Expecting book.  It was in my husband's bedside table for reasons that I cannot fathom, and I am please to have it located.

Finally, am watching The Remains of the Day, which is after the book of the same name by Kazuro Ishiguro, which our book club is reading this month.  I have not started the book, but the movie is so so good!!!

Swim tomorrow!!

Monday: Swim and Gilad

This morning, Ivan and I got out the door to swim on time, but I didn't get in my anticipated run.  I am having to get out of bed and drink a bit of milk and a Grab the Gold Bar to settle my stomach, and by the time I do that Ivan is up and the root of the matter is that I need to get up earlier.  That is always the issue.

Anyway, we did get to swim on time and I did not photograph the workout, so I can only remember a bit of it.  I think I did the following:

• 200 warmup
• 8 x 50 swim/drill
• 6 x 25 half fast/half easy
• 6 x 25 half easy/half fast
• 8 x 50 IM
• 4 x 25 IM
• 200 IM
• 4 x 200 swim
• 100 swim

I think we swam 3000, so I am leaving something out, but I am not sure what.  

After swim, I got to the nursery where I discovered that Ivan had had an accident and had had to change into the only extra clothes I had packed for him - a pair of camo pants.  So I took a topless baby in camo pants to Walmart, where we fit right in.  I bought some pre-natal vitamins and a bunch of things that I thought might be appetizing if I didn't feel so nauseous.  I bought some baby quiche, a burrito, a mayan bake ( I mean, I don't even know what that is) and some hummus and chips, a bunch of apples and some eggs and sausage.  Anyway, none of it is very appetizing and I have been nibbling at corn chips and drinking milk.  

This afternoon,  I got in a Gilad workout, and hopefully will be up to run tomorrow.

My current marathon plan is this.  18 milers on Saturdays, 6 mile tempo runs on Thursdays, a few runs in between and hope for the best on December 11th.  

Sunday: Swim and Vic's Vapo Rub

So I have to say that the whole sicky tired feeling of being pregnant is wearing me out.  At seven weeks, I am ready for all this to stop.  My favorite food to eat when my stomach is funny is a Grab the Gold Bar, and I think I have eaten three today.  I really need to keep track as it is clearly going to be something that I am going to have to budget for for however many weeks my first trimester lasts.  Also, when the doctor/scientists have me in the lab asking exactly how I turned into a Grab the Gold bar, I need to be able to tell them exactly how many I ate.  I have lost my What to Expect When You Are Expecting book, so I can't really remember how long this lasts.  It seems like sickness lasts for 16 weeks or some such, but I am not completely sure.

The weird sicky feeling feels like (no judgment please) an all day hangover.  You are hungry, but nothing sounds good and you have a thick feeling in the back of your throat like you might vomit and your head hurts.  I also find myself to be extremely irritable and intolerant, but maybe I am always irritable and intolerant, and I use pregnancy as I crutch to let it manifest itself outwardly.  Interesting theory, but let's not concern ourselves with the psychosis of my pregnancy.

So this morning, I slept quite late and made it to church late, attended Sunday school and headed home where Elliott pumped up the wheels on the jog stroller so that I could go for a run while he went biking.  Now, the jog stroller running has to be timed PERFECTLY.  I arrived home from church at about 11:20 AM and this is way too late to get Ivan in the jog stroller, because he might fall asleep in the jog stroller and ruin his nap.  So, I fed Ivan lunch, THEN WHILE I WAS CLEANING UP LUNCH DISASTER STRUCK.

Ivan went to "play with his trains", but this was apparently code for "I am going to go into your room and get the tub of Vic's VapoRub from beside your bed and open it and smear the entire contents on my entire body, that of my stuffed dog, all over your headboard and a bit for the wall and floors".  I went back to check on Ivan and the whole back side of our house smelled like the one time in high school when some one's tube of Bengay exploded in the cross country van.   It was so strong, it felt like I had 1000 halls in my mouth.  I had to breath through a hand towel while I cleaned.  Vic's VapoRub is surprisingly greasy and it was quite difficult to clean.  It took about 30 minutes of alternately soaking and scrubbing Ivan to get the Vic's mostly off.  I washed Ivan's dog on the water/energy wasting cycle of HOT in the washing machine, AND IT STILL REEKS OF VIC'S.

I would like for the above paragraph to be used in prophylactic literature for sexual abstinence in students, by the way, because if I were not already pregnant, it would have set me back.

After the massive cleaning, I put Ivan down for a nap and he did not wake up until it was time for me to leave for swim, so I didn't get to run.  This is a bummer, but I should be able to get to it tomorrow morning.  The observance of my child's nap schedule really cuts into my running, AND after I finish my blog tonight I am going to research what my plan should be to get ready for a marathon in 6-ish weeks.  I am going to bet that the preparation will involve me getting up before Ivan wakes up in the mornings.

I did manage to get to swim tonight.  Workout as follows:

• out of the water pull sets (which I will try to explain at some point)
• 400 warmup
• 20 x 50 (25 fly kick/ 25 back kick/ 25 swim/ 25 scull)
• 1 x 400 swim
• 4 x 200 pull
• 4 x 100 swim
• 3 x 10 push-outs on side of pool (so you pull yourself out of the pool 3 sets of 10)

This was a pretty good workout, and I was in a competitive lane.  I felt like we all swam really hard.  So, now I am off to research some marathon training, and I will be hitting swim again tomorrow and hopefully a run!!

Saturday: Run

Now this morning was just lovely, as my running group decided to run at 7:00 AM.  It was not too cold and I was able to sleep quite late for me on a Saturday morning.  I had a nice bowl of oatmeal and a big cup of tea and made my way to the park.  We ran to Radnor Lake and, which is around a 13 mile run.  I actually had some trouble hanging with the group as I am in the early stages of pregnancy and had to stop and use the restroom umpteen times as will happen.

I have to say that the bathroom thing is one of the most frustrating things about the early stages of pregnancy as anytime you get in a good groove, whether is be sleeping, running, reading or needlepointing or working.  There is nothing you can make it all the way through.  There is just so much slinking off to the bathroom.  This is why swimming is really the best workout while pregnant, for reasons that you don't even want to think about, but probably make you really glad for chlorine.

There is some sort of Garmin website meltdown today, so I am not able to post my mile splits and what not.  I am officially in the Huntsville Rocket City Marathon, so I am hoping to run 3:30ish and maintain my Boston Qualifying time.  Now the thing with Boston is that it has gotten quite choosy and they are not allowing for medical deferments and you have to run Boston within 18 months of qualifying for it.  So, it would be good to go ahead and qualify for Boston so that I could plan a fun trip post-baby to go back to Boston.  I only have to maintain 8 minute miles to run a 3:30 marathon, so that should be doable 6 weeks from now on December 11th.

Run was great and I came home and took a monster nap. before heading in for a brief wedding party and then settling in for the night!!!

Friday: Swim, Couch Hunt, Doctor, Chihuly at Cheekwood and Sonic

Another quandry that I have on a regular basis is whether or not I should wake Ivan up when I am planning to go somewhere.  Now normally when I am taking him to do something that is for me, I let him sleep.  If it is to get him to nursery school or to the doctor or some such, I wake him up.  So this morning, I got myself ready, made my smoothie, and my tea and packed up the car and waited until about 8:20 AM before Ivan ever stirred.  This meant that by the time Ivan and I got to the pool, Ivan went to the nursery and I got to the pool deck it was 9:00 AM.  Now while I am often late to swim, I am rarely this late.  Fifteen minutes is my max lateness.  So today was LATE. The few times that I have been that late, I have just stayed later and finished the workout.

Today, of course, I had a doctors appointment that we had to make, so I had to hop out of the pool at 10:00 AM to get there on time.  I did, however, enjoy my brief time in the pool and the workout was as follows:

• 600 warmup
• 6 x 25 swim
• 6 x 50 drill
• 6 x 75 swim
• 600 pull
• 200 swim

It was a reasonable workout, and I got to the doctor's office on time, and even a bit early, so that I had plenty of time to peruse their Town & Country collection.  Ivan did knock over a wheelchair, but other than that, it was pleasant wait.  Ivan also accompanied me to the examining room where he sat patiently in a chair for the most part.  

Upon leaving, Ivan and I hit Restoration Hardware for some couch perusing, because I am on a new couch rampage.  Ivan and I sat on several couches and definitely made a final decision on the Kensington, because I have a thing for tufted leather and it will not be satiated until I own a tufted leather couch and I can sit on it and think of my dream life where I own a British country home.  

Once we arrived home and Ivan had a nap, he and I pulled it together to get to Chihuly at Cheekwood.  It was pretty amazing and Ivan was reasonably well-behaved, only attracting the the attention of two security guards.  This was only for minor transgressions of breaching the security walls and ropes.  It was a nice night, very crowded and not very well lit actually.  I wore a great cashmere t-shirt that I have recently unpacked from winter storage and found that it had TWO moth holes.  SO SAD.  I am going to go through all my cashmeres and wools tomorrow and check for damage and then invest in some cedar. 

Now, also very exciting, there was a tiny Faberge exhibit, and in it was an egg and a fan that had belonged to Nicholas II's sister!!!!  I was so excited.  I have a Romanov thing that I will not even get into now, but I was just thrilled.  

Now, on the way home, I was overwhelmed by hunger and had no choice but to head to Sonic where I ate really terrible food: a cheese burger and mozzerella sticks.  It was crazy delicious.  

Run tomorrow!!!  Should get confirmation about my entry in the Rocket City Marathon on Monday, have already booked a hotel room!!

Thursday: Day Off

Sheep Coat Love Affair!!!

So today was my day off, and as is coming to to be the hallmark of my days off, I ran at a dead sprint and drove like an indy car racer to get everything accomplished.  I somehow missed a dental appointment, and I still seem to have a cold and a stack of things to attend to tomorrow.  How does that kind of busy happen.

I blame traffic for my missed dental appointment and a lab technician that wanted to take an early lunch for casting a pall over the type of day that could have had every minute used to its fullest potential.  Now the most exciting thing that happened today was that we had Matt come out and look at our stonework problem in the front yard.  We have a long unfinished patio project that we are calling in professionals to help us fix.  Matt came from Natchez Stone Company and walked about diagnosing the situation like a physician while I hung on his every word.  In the end, Matt said that the stone situation could be remedied in about half a day and he was going to send us and estimate.

Matt is the only person who has looked at the stone drama and said this.  Every other observer and studier of the stonework situation has turned away in fear and loathing at our incompetence, so Matt was a huge relief.  I kind of wanted to give him some sort of present or gift or dance a jig in appreciation of his promise to sort this business of rocks and gravel and huge stone and little stones and metal framing and mud out into a yard that would look "finished" as he said.  This did make me feel that quite possibly Matt thinks that we are squatting in some half accomplished pipe dream.  Under the circumstances, however, Matt can feel free to think whatever he wants so long as we can fix this situation.

I will not post any before pics of the stone train wreck as it is not a bane of my existence that I want to visually memorialize, BUT just you wait until it is finished!!!

Swim tomorrow!!  Oh, and I am freed from book adultery and reunited with Abraham Lincoln and Team of Rivals

Book Report: Rebecca, by Daphne de Maurier

Daphne de Maurier

So I had always heard about Rebecca and I saw the movie when I was 12ish, and my Grandma had a copy at her house that was hardback and had a silver engraved picture of Manderley on the cover. Manderley is the name of the home in the book and the book begins with the great line "Last Night I dreamt I went to Manderley again".   As the book unfolds about the relationship between a landed gentry widower (Max de Winter) and his much younger new wife (Mrs. de Winter), we learn more and more about the sinister nature of the home, its staff and the pain of being the new wife under the shadow of the deceased more amazing more glamorous wife.

Throughout the book, the new Mrs. De Winter struggles to become her own individual at the vast estate of Manderley.  Her husband is different, the staff makes her feel ungainly and inexperienced.  The housekeeper makes a point of publicly acknowledging her mistakes, and so it seems it will go into the end of their lives until a shipwreck on the beach at Manderley exposes new evidence in the death of the first wife.

The lower social position of the new Mrs. de Winter as compared to her husband, her youth and inexperience in living on a large English country estate have caused many to compare this book to Jane Eyre.  However, I would say it is the checker version of Jane Eyre.  The story is not quite so complicated, the language is not quite so elaborate, and really Jane Eyre is less film noire.  Rebecca is perfect for the Alfred Hitchcock movie that it became.

Overall, this book was gripping and took me only three days to read.  Also, I can tell you no other information about the book, lest I spoil it.  It is SO SO good.

Wednesday: Swim and a Cold

New Needlepoint project

I don't know how often you walk the "should I workout when I am sick?" line, but it is the way that I always walk sickness.  For instance, this morning, I woke up with a sore throat and tonsils, but I didn't feel terribly ill otherwise, so do I swim or no?  I gargled with hot salt water and moped around making my decision.  I finally decided that it was better to go to swim that mope around the house drinking tea and sucking on cough drops, and Ivan usually needs an outing.  So, off we went to swim with my throat feeling much better, and I was quite glad that I had gone to swim after it was all over.  Swim generally always makes me feel better.  The workout was sort of a killer though:

Current Needlepoint Project

• 600 swim
• 3 x 100 @ 1:45
• 4 x 50 @ :40
• 6 x 25 @ :30
• 3 x 100 @ 1:45
• 4 x 50 @ :40
• 6 x 25 @ :30
• 300 swim
• 300 kick

This is really only 2500 meters and I did get there late and I was sort of sicky and  I just am not judging myself on this particular thing today.  Now on the way home, I had to run by the needlepoint shop (Nashville Needleworks), to pick up the new beautiful needlepoint that I am going to begin working on after I finish the egg basket needlepoint that used to belong to my grandma.  It was very exciting until I had to run out of there like the place was on fire when Ivan started unraveling spools of yarn.  

It is the current story of my life, and instead of spending time on needlepoint, I should be spending time reading books about strong willed children and how to dole out consequences in a society where it is inappropriate to wale on your child in public.  

Anyway, in light of my sickness, I spent the rest of the day involved in household tasks and a little hardcore egg basket needlepointing. For dinner, I fell off the wagon of health and had two slices of cheddar cheese and some sesame corn chips.  No Yogurt World all week.  

Tuesday: Run and Gilad

Ivan in the sheep suit I was made to buy .

Side of the Junior League Disaster

This morning, Ivan was on fall break and I stayed up quite late the night before reading a great article about Mark Zuckerberg in The New Yorker.  It was very good and gave succinct information about the genius behind Facebook.  Now, it also sort of gave me the creeps, and I am more than sort of thinking about shutting down my Facebook page.  You should most certainly read the article and think seriously about it.

Now, because Ivan was on fall break, he and I were at the house together all day, and we had an entire regimen of things to accomplish.  We needed to touch up the paint on the ceiling, get in a run, address the laundry, iron all of Ivan's preschool clothes, water plants, make dinner, proof essays, hang pictures, complain on the phone to both my mom and my sister about all the things that I had to accomplish.  It was all quite overwhelming.

Now, Ivan was pretty game all day, he followed me around with a tiny vanity stool that used to stand in my Grandmas closet.  It is the perfect size, and Ivan would set his stool beside whatever I was doing and then climb up and stand beside me to "help".  It did not always go well (though sometimes it did) and at one point our paths diverged and Ivan betook his stool off to the kitchen and about four hours later, I realized that I could not find my keys.  Nor could I find them when I needed to leave the house and was late.  I ended up having to drive my husband's car and did not find the keys until I arrived home to find that Ivan had climbed on his stool, removed them from the hook AND taken them into the office and shoved them into the office lock.  It was most frustrating.

Anyway, got in a Gilad workout and a jog stroller run.  Swim tomorrow!!

Monday: Swim

So this morning, I was not quite on time for swim, but I arrived not too long after class started.  It was a pretty sparse crowd because it is fall break and everyone is out of town.  My only swim partner was John Maple and he has been out of the pool for a good bit.  I really only swam about 3000 meters which was one part lateness, one part short interval workout and one part I got out early.  Also, Stephen spent a bit of time with me working on my abysmal back stroke.  I think my backstroke got a little better, but it is so hard to remember the whole bent arm in the water/ straight arm out of the water business.

Workout as follows:

• 400 free
• 300 kick
• 8 x 25 fast @ :40
• 6 x 50 fast @ 1:10
• 6 x 75 kick/ drill/ swim
• 2 x 300 pull with 30 seconds rest
• 6 x 25 fly kick/ drill/swim
• 6 x 25 back @ :40
• 200 kick

So, this was 3000ish meters and that is a reasonable workout, and a little backstroke work is always good for me.  

When I went to the nursery, Ivan had had a wardrobe malfunction and was walking about in a pair of rubber boots and his diaper.  We had to make a grocery stop, so we had a real red-neck baby vibe while shopping, but we pulled through.

Forgot to take pic of sheep suit.  Will be there tomorrow!!

Saturday/ Sunday: Home Again

So yesterday, Ivan and I loaded up the portable DVD player with a Calliou video and his Halloween costume and headed off the Birmingham to visit my sister, attend "Boo at the Zoo" and the Junior League market.  Now, "Boo at the Zoo" went really well and my only complaint about Birmingham's "Boo at the Zoo" was that there were no animals to speak of.  We did see some sheep, goats and some rather lively chickens.  I guess, however, I can see how you might keep the wilder animals in on an evening when the zoo will be overcrowded during nighttime hours with rambunctious children.  Even if they are caged, there no seems to reason to incite jungle beasts.

Now, behavior-wise, "Boo at the Zoo" was a real triumph.  Ivan genially wore his giraffe suit and was entranced by the carousel and some of the carnival games that "Boo at the Zoo" had set up to amuse in the light of the absence of the animals.  Caroline, Jeanna, and I had a great time.  We took Ivan and Rye on a train ride and then left to have dinner and of course I ferreted out a self-serve frozen place (32 Degrees) to get a fix before we headed home to put everyone to bed.

After the success of "Boo at the Zoo", I had really high hopes about lunch and our attendance at the Junior League market in Birmingham.  It was all most unfortunate, however.  During lunch, Ivan roamed the restaurant like an untrained dog.  All attempts to have him sit down were met with violent disagreement, and he was eventually toted off to the restroom to receive "consequences".  He howled on and off until he was offered a piece of chocolate cake which he pulverized with a fork before eating as quickly as he could.  We asked for checks quickly and bailed.

We rode Ivan's sugar rush all the way to the Junior League market where things went south pretty quickly.  Ivan allowed himself to be strapped unhappily into his stroller where he rode the elevator and was wheeled about unhappily (but contained) in his stroller.  While he did grab every Christmas ornament that we passed, and while I did feel that I all I said to anyone in the Junior League Market for the next 15 minutes was "I'm so sorry" as Ivan grabbed at things from his stroller, things seemed to be under control.  I eventually found a lollypop and gave it to him, and felt that things were going well, even.

Everything spun out of control when I FOOLISHLY made the decision to release Ivan from his stroller so that I could have him try on a furry little coat with sheep ears and a sheep tail.  It was cute, but most likely age inappropriate as it made him look like a great big infant in a little cream colored furry suit.  (I will make some pictures of this tomorrow.)

Anyway, as I was deciding that the furry sheep coat was age inappropriate, a look of frenzied determination came over Ivan's face, and like a flash of lightning he pulled the lollypop from his mouth and stuck it into the furry pile of the coat with all his strength.  It all seemed to happen in slow motion that Ivan stuck his lollypop to the coat, I saw the sign that said "you must purchase goods that you damage", the booth owner said "well, you were going to buy it anyway", and Ivan reached down and grabbed his little snap up pants by the cuffs and unsnapped them in one motion, before he took off running.

I managed to chase Ivan down (while wearing my leopard wedges AND my skinny jeans) and tackle him like a linebacker in the middle of the Junior League market aisle, where I got him strapped into his little monkey leash and back to the booth to pay for my damaged merchandise.  It was so unpleasant, I can't even tell you; the open laughter from spectators, the disdain from the many smart mothers who had hired sitters for this occasion.  On my current list of hatables is the one woman who said to me, as I was wrestling on the floor with my child, "I bet you wish you had gotten a sitter".  Really, terrible person, you think I wish I had a sitter?  Possible replies that I could not think of fast enough: "Not as much as I wish you would be struck by lighting right now", "You are the devil", "Your hair is ugly".  I never have the guts to be rude.

Anyway, Ivan left the facility with unsnapped pants, an exposed diaper, and sobbing while I carried him and pushed his stroller and toted along the big bag with his new big fluffy sheep coat.  When we got in the car, I looked at my sister and called a spade a spade and said that we should just probably go home.  Which we did.  I drove home while Ivan took a nap and watched Calliou.

My husband picked up takeout and I took a shower and ruminated bitterly about the events of the day.

Sunday turned out better as I went for a nice swim, did a bit of needlepoint and went to book club to discuss Rebecca.  Emily made soup for us and we had a lovely night!!

Thursday:Run, Gilad, and I Have a Red Ceiling

You know, how when you start house projects you mention to people, "Oh, I will knock it out in a day".  It's a small bathroom, it will only take a couple of hours.  THEN, you drop a can of paint on the floor, THEN the ceiling color is ACTUALLY really ugly and has to be repainted.  THEN, you can't freehand the trim as well as you thought, even though the Benjamin Moore paint salesman said it was very easy.  Then, you actually have to prime the trim, because of the type of paint.  THEN, you run out of paint and suddenly you have had a paint project going for two weeks and no one can use the bathroom because you can't put the shower curtain up because of wet paint.  Your husband is slightly frustrated with you and your hand really hurts because of the odd angle that you have to hold it while painting the ceiling.

Today, the whole thing is mostly accomplished and I even reattached the shower curtain.  I have a few touch up issues to accomplish, but it has really taken me two weeks to paint a bathroom that is literally four feet by four feet.  The important thing is that I am finished and I can start the rest of the bathroom redecoration in the next few weeks.

Anyway, on the workout front, I ran four miles, and got in a great Gilad workout.  In other news, I am considering the Rocket City marathon in December and I need to make my decision by the weekend!!

Also, Ivan stuck an entire Doctor Pepper chapstick in his ear and then smeared everything that did not fit into his ear into his hair.  I have given his hair two lathers and it still won't come out.  I am supposed to try peanut butter tomorrow.

Wednesday: Run and Swim

Today in a move of brilliant punctuality, I got up and ran before swim AND parked in the gym parking lot at 8:14 AM.  This, despite the fact that I spilled my tea in the car seat without noticing and then sat in it, so that my rear end was all wet. I feel like I have really turned over a new leaf, and it is pretty thrilling.  I got in 3700 meters and worked on all my strokes.  Now my run was pretty pitiful.  I don't even think it was three miles, and I was miserably overdressed because it just a lot warmer than I thought.  The point of the run, however, is not the length or the temperature, but that I dragged myself out of the bed and hit the road before swim.  The mere fact that I have done it once means that there is a long road of getting up early to run before swim ahead of me.

Swim Workout as follows:

• 400 free
• 400 kick
• 6 x 50 double arm backstroke drill
• 4 x 75 IM order
• 8 x 25 IM order
• 2 x 100 IM
• 400 pull
• 300 pull
• 200 pull
• 100 pull
• 8 x 25 half fast/ half easy
• 4 x 25 fast
• 600 pull

Such a great swim and it was all finished when I rolled back into the house mid-morning.  Now, if I could get it together to do a Gilad workout after my run, but before I left for swim, I would be golden.  That has happened for me once, and it is a brief shining moment in the history of my workouts.  It has never happened again.  

Tomorrow is Thursday and at the end of the day I plan to be finished painting.  Just a couple of ceilings tomorrow and some trim touch ups.  THEN, I can start the bathroom shower curtain sewing projects.

Tuesday: Day Off

Tuesday is becoming my pretty consistent off day, and I will have to say that today was pretty rugged.  I have watched both Clash of the Titans and Percy Jackson and the Olympians recently, and I was beginning to think that someone thought I had stolen the lightening, and I will admit that one particular trial did elicit a response in me that was, I fear, akin to the release of the Kraken.

Here were my trials:

1. While painting Ivan's bathroom (Benjamin Moore - Acorn), I was lifting the full paint can and it somehow leapt from my hand and exploded all over the bathroom (mostly in the bathtub, luckily).  SO, instead of painting the ceiling a lovely shade of blue, I spent one hour cleaning up the horrendous mess and I hope that the grout in my bathrooms will one day recover. This was the trial that elicited the release of the Kraken response.  
2. I picked Ivan up after nursery school to run errands and when we parked the car at the first errand, my release latch would not work.  I could not exit the car, and it finally came down to a Dukes of Hazzard style escape or crawling over the console to get out on the passenger side.  I chose the latter, and I really had only very nasty things to think about my car as I was crawling out of the passenger side. It is not even remotely easy to crawl out of a car through the passenger side, I had to do a veritable chin up on the steering wheel just to hoist myself to the passenger side.  Then, after I let myself out of the passenger side door, I had to walk ALL THE WAY around the car with the key (because my clicker battery has died and I am having to lock the doors manually LIKE A CAVEMAN).  It was just the most frustrating thing that has happened to me in years, and it has sort of ruined me in that I now cannot take my throne chairs to be recovered as they won't fit in the spare car that I am driving while my car is in the shop.  
3. The third trial actually made my heart palpitate.  I pulled in to Yogurt World for usual Tuesday night double punch and THEY WERE CLOSED.  They have changed the hours without calling me personally, and I am bitter like someone living on the other side of the Berlin wall.  Now, in their defense, I did bang on the door and the machines were still on and they let me come in and get my usual birthday cake yogurt mixed with cookies n'cream yogurt with an inordinate amount of sprinkles.  I forgive them, but they have put a kink in my schedule, and it just wasn't the day for it.  

Monday: Swim and Gilad

So, no, I did not make it out of bed in time to run this morning.  There is a reason for this, and it is a great one.  I was so absorbed in Rebecca, that I stayed up too late and woke up this morning curled up with the book.  It was so good that I fell asleep reading it, and that has not happened to me since the first time I read Gone With The Wind when I was in the fourth grade.  Last night, I thought I would read my usual chapter before bed and things got out of hand.  There was intrigue, an evil housekeeper and a British estate, which combine are a  recipe for greatness in my opinion.  Now the book, actually had some similarities to Jane Eyre, but I will save all my literary enthusiasm for my book report.  Suffice it to say that I read until I fell asleep last night and as soon as I got Ivan to bed, I curled up on the couch and read until I finished.  I did not take phone calls, I did not acknowledge the television or the laundry (which has been eyeing me with judgement), and when my husband said that he was going into his office (lair), I looked at him briefly with uncomprehending "don't bother me" eyes.

So, enough of Rebecca (except that I can never get enough of Rebecca, and I am SO SO sad that it is finished). Ivan and I made it out the door and were even a bit early to swim.  It was pretty exciting, and good since the workout was a slower one, full of short intervals and other things besides freestyle.  Whenever you start adding other strokes into the mix, especially breaststroke, things slow down considerably and you just don't get in as much yardage.  Workout as follows:

• 200 swim
• 200 kick
• 200 IM
• 200 pull
• 6 x 50 breast stroke drill
• 8 x 25 half fast/ half easy
• 3 x 200 descend on 3:30
• 8 x 50 build
• 4 x 75 IM
• 4 x 50 IM
• 4 x 25 IM
• 600 kick
• 100 pull

This amounted to 3700 meters, and I was able to get showered and decent before picking up Ivan and grazing around aimlessly at Whole Foods.  I eventually ended up with a beet salad and some chocolate covered cherries, and I stood around and drank sample after sample of some sort of chocolate vitamin drink until I drew a few looks from the staff that clearly said "get from here!!!".  I bought my paltry foodstuffs, and Ivan wedged himself into the wind chimes creating a cacophony of sound for which I am sure that the Whole Foods staff will never forgive me.  

At home, I got in a Gilad workout and cleaned out my entire closet, which makes me feel like a new person.  Tomorrow, it is Bible study and re-immersion into the painting of Ivan's bathroom, with the possibly dreadful color on the ceiling.  Hmmm.

Pic is one that Ivan took of me this afternoon.  He is becoming quite a frustrating member of our household paparazzi.  If ever I am not looking, he grabs the camera and sprints away snapping pics as fast as his little fingers can press.  Usually the pictures are of me with various levels of fury on my face shot from the most unflattering angles possible.  Most of them are of me reaching out my arms for the camera, and many of them are of the rugs, Ivan's pants legs and any other random pictures as he runs around snapping shots haphazardly.  Today was the lone interesting one.  Voila!!  A budding photographer!! He was quite proud.

Sunday: Swim

Now of course leave it to the very last lake swim of the season to finally not destroy my nasal passages.  This morning, I popped up before 6:00 made my oatmeal and hopped into the car to head out to the lake where I again chose not to wear a wetsuit for many reasons.  My wetsuit is just terrible, it is a huge effort to put it on, the water wasn't that cold last week and it has been so warm this week that I assumed that the water would be even warmer than last week.

While it has been warmer this week than last, the evenings are still quite cool, so if I had really thought about it, I would have realized that the water would probably be as cold or colder.  However, I am notorious for underestimating or more like ignoring the conditions.  The water was very cold, to me.  I had no thermometer, but I just felt chilled and I never warmed up.

Once I got my toes in, I realized that I would definitely have to hit the water fast and swim like mad to warm up, which is what I did.  Though I never got warm and I eventually could not feel my feet or move my toes, my hands and body and head were generally fine.

I will say that regardless of the cold that took my breath away when I hit the water, the lake was beautiful today.  It was flat like glass with just a bit of fog and the sun rose as we were swimming, so it was quite glorious.  Now, this was the first time that my Garmin seemed to gauge the swim reasonably.  I started it a little late, maybe half a mile in, and it seemed weird to me that the watch kept buzzing about having on satellite.

It was a great swim overall, and once I hopped in the hot lake shower, I felt a lot better.  I hit starbucks on the way home and made it to church before hanging out with my family and taking a KILLA nap!!

Saturday: Great Run and a Lovely Day

This morning my running group ran at 6:30 AM which is so lovely.  We often run at 6:00 AM, and 6:30 feels like such a luxury.  I wake up at 6:00, make my oatmeal and tea and motor over to the park feeling the world is a pleasant place. I had a great run.  We had a slow first mile, but everything else was quite fast.  We took a break at mile three and I did not stop my watch so that mile looks about 10 minutes long.  Same with the last mile.  Other than that we held sub-eights, with which I am very pleased.  NOW, the downside to running at 6:30 AM is the same as the downside to being late to swim: you don't get in as much distance.  I like to come out of my Saturday long run with a half-marathon under my belt, and that just doesn't happen when you start at 6:30.

Sometimes I think that I will get up early and arrive at the park at 6:00 AM so that I can get in an extra three miles to ensure my target mileage, OR I could just relish in my extra 30 minutes of sleep and a lovely run.  This is generally my choice, because honestly, who wants to be that anal retentive person who arrives early to run in the dark.  Its just not me.

At home, we loaded up and headed to the farmer's market for Scarecrow Saturday.  Ivan painted a pumpkin and ran about, and it was very hot and it seemed like we all became quite grumpy quite early and had to betake ourselves home in an effort to keep our grumpiness to our selves.

After ironing through a mammoth stack of Ivan's fall clothes, I have installed myself on the couch to relish in a National Trust/ National Treasure marathon.  It is one of my favorite shows; an HD tour of England's historic homes.

Lake tomorrow!!!

Friday: Swim!!!!

Ivan in his fancy spa bathrobe in route to swim

Pic that Ivan took of me before we left for swim as

I was demanding my camera back

Oh yes friends, last night I had too much fun to blog.  I had a friends get together, and was so sad and bummed to have to leave.  It is a frustrating thing to be expected at home.  The next time I have a friends get together, I may just inform everyone that I am spending the night so that I can stay until the final cup has been put into the dishwasher.  Or, I may just pack Ivan into the car, load up the pack'n'play, the baby monitor and his myriad of stuffed animals and camp out.  Gatherings are not to be missed!!!!

Anyway, I arrived home too late to blog, and yesterday I just ran and painted like a mad man.  I am painting Ivan's bathroom and am finding out the hard way that darker colors sometimes take three coats.  While I would rather be sucked out of an airplane window than paint three coats onto the ceiling, wall and trim, I am getting through my ipod book, Mountains Beyond Mountains.   Paul Farmer is my new hero, and George Soros has risen in my estimation.  Say what you will about "the man who broke the bank of England", he is throwing money at tuberculosis and making a difference.

Also, I am in the midst of book adultery.  When Ivan, my husband and I were in the midst of the terrible pink eye saga, I started Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln.  I was plowing through Team of Rivals, and then we went to California and the book was really too large to tote on the plane.

SO, I switched to a paperback book called Mating.  Mating won the National Book Award in 1996, and is masterfully written and a bit odd if I am honest.  It is about a woman in Africa who is finishing her anthropological dissertation and embarks into several odd relationships before traveling across the desert alone with two oxen to get to a man that she is fixated upon.  I must say, the man is not my idea of a catch, but our heroine (who does not have a name, now that I think about it) is consumed.  So, I have been hauling through Mating, with the intent of re-immersing myself in Team of Rivals.


HOWEVER, two days ago, I realized that I had book club in two weeks and had not read the book  It is Rebecca, by Daphne de Maurier. Now let me just tell you, Rebecca is a PAGE TURNER.  I woke up early this morning and decided not to run, but to wallow in bed until 6:30 AM reading Rebecca.  No Joke.  It is totally melodramatic, written in 1938 and about the a young woman, her older husband and the long dark shadow that his first wife casts over them.  They live at a house called Manderlay.  All day long, I have been saying "Maaaannnderrrlaaaay" in sort of the same dramatic way that Dracula would say "I vant to suck your blood".  It is like I can't stop.  When we were swimming today, my friend Jamie caught me saying Manderlay to myself, and I am 99% sure that she thinks I am nuts.  It is great, and I predict that I will finish it, and go back to my dalliance with Mating before returning to my true love Abraham Lincoln.  Book adultery is a seedy life to live, wrought with guilt and shame.  Will some one think I am one of those people who does not finish books?

This morning, after my Rebecca reading in bed, I popped up AND for the second time this week, I got to swim on time.  I was one of the first ones in the water.  Carl, the life guard, clapped for me as I walked in and I swam 4500 meters like a pro.  For my next feat, I am planning to get up early and run on Monday morning, before going to the pool.  Workout as follows:

• 300 swim
• 100 kick/ 100 drill/ 200 swim
• 100 kick/ 100 drill/ 200 swim
• 8 x 50 kick @ 1:05
• 9 x 100 swim @ 2:00
• 8 x 50 kick @ 1:05
• 8 x 100 @ 1:45
• 8 x 50 kick
• 500 cool down kick (where I was able to explain why I was saying "Maaanndeerrrrlaaaay" dramatically to myself)

4500 meters is a huge amount of yardage, and I am a monument of punctuality.  

At home, I dove back into my painting project, which is going badly by the way and then toted Ivan off to practice his swimming.  I ended my day at Yogurt World, which is the best way to end every day.  Running tomorrow!!!

Wednesday: Swim, Run and Gilad

This morning, in a miraculous feat of punctuality, Ivan and I arrived at the pool on time.  It took getting up 20 minutes earlier and filling up Ivan's drinks and behaving purposefully as opposed to meandering around the house in my Uggs and sipping tea, like I do.  I was a new woman today though, I strode from bed with a purpose and I accomplished things.  While I thoroughly enjoy wasting a copious amount of time in the morning, it inevitably leads to needless swim lateness.  I have to acknowledge it and move forward.

So, my promptness was greeted with shock and awe at the pool, and then I dropped 4000 meters of good swimming before hitting the showers.  Workout as follows:

• 400 swim
• 200 kick
• 4 x 50 breast drill
• 4 x 25 breast
• 4 x 50 fly drill
• 4 x 50 fly swim
• 3 x 100 descend @ 1:45
• 1 x 200 build and minute rest
• 3 x 100 swim @ 1:45
• 1 x 200 build and one minute rest
• 600 pull
• 8 x 50 IM
• 8 x 25 
• 600 kick

That is the whole workout, friends.  All of it.  

At home, I got in a Gilad workout and set myself up for a day of house renovation tomorrow.   I plan to engage in a marathon paint endeavor that will be finished in 6 hours while I listen to Mountains Beyond Mountains: Healing the World: The Quest of Paul Farmer, by Tracy Kidder.  It is pretty fascinating and a whole new level of thoughtless altruism and selflessness that I has made quite an impression on me.  

Anyway, after Ivan woke up from his nap, I loaded him into the jog stroller and got in a quick three mile run.  NOW, I have not run with Ivan in the jog stroller in a good while, and he is becoming jog stroller inappropriate.  He griped the majority of the way about wanting to go home, get out, stop, ect, ect, ect. He finally stuck his little sock feet out and tried to stop the jog stroller wheel.  

I was always afraid it would come to this, but I am truly concerned that I will have no choice but to run in the wee hours of the morning while the iron willed toddler is sleeping.  

Cheers to my painting project!!

Tuesday: Day Off

Today was my day off, and I had lunch at Zumi Sushi.   I have eaten out at two new hotspots in the last four days, and I am feeling pretty fancy.   Burger Up  on Saturday night was a culinary delight and Zumi Sushi was maybe my favorite sushi in the Nashville area.  I ordered a Great Flood roll and it was avocado, salmon and asparagus, which is pretty mainstream for sushi BUT it came with a lemon sauce that was crazy delicious.  In fact, now that I think about it, it was a little like an extra lemony hollandaise sauce.  Who would have thought it?  And maybe Hollandaise is one of those things that is good on everything, sort of how "cheese is good on everything" and "anything you fry tastes good", but it was my first experience with hollandaise as universal solvent to the taste of food and I am a believer.

In other news, I am planning to be on time to swim this morning.  I have pre-packed all of Ivan's drinks and snacks, and I find preparation to be my best defense against tardiness.  Will let you know how it goes.

Monday: Aaahh Mondays

Every once in a while, my personal life stops me in my tracks and this morning was one of those mornings.  I had my bags packed, and it was going to be the day that I made it to swim on time.  Anyway, when you personal life holds you up, you just have to go with it, and then of course Ivan dumped his smoothie upside down in the car, and it was Monday as usual.  

I managed to clean the car up with a couple of wet wipes and a hoard of dirty fast food napkins got to the pool late and just had to accept the situation.  I was finally on the pool deck at 9:00 AM, A FULL 30 MINUTES LATE.  If swimming were my job, I would have been fired two years ago, just so you know.

I was pretty slow in the water today and there was lots of IMing and fast swimming, so it wasn't my greatest practice.  Workout as follows:

• 100 warmup
• 3 x 50 swim @ 500 pace
• 500 swim
• 50 easy
• 3 x 50 swim @ 500 pace
• 500 swim
• 50 easy
• 8 x 75 IM
• 12 x 25 IM
• 200 swim

So it was a 2700 meter swim, which is actually a lot more swim that I thought I got in.  So good for me and here's to hoping for punctuality on Wednesday.

At home, I had a friend come over and help me with bathroom makeovers, and I am pretty excited about it.  Floor to ceiling shower curtains and tiny chandeliers, and some lovely Benjamin Moore Colors, acorn walls and a saddle tan ceiling.  Thrilling!!  Sometimes I wonder if Benjamin Moore is a real person, and if so, I think he and I could spend lovely evenings discussing color palettes like baked pretzel and havana tan while we played lively games of chess in my dream life.  In my real life, however, I don't play chess and I don't really like games.  

Watching A Single Man, Tom Ford's directorial debut and let me tell you, it is a visual FEAST!!!!  

Sunday: Chilly Swim

This morning, I woke up before my alarm went off at 5:40 AM.  This waking up early is so easy for me on the weekends and so hard on the weekdays.  It defies reason.  Anyway, it was in the forties outside, but I was undaunted about going to the lake for morning swim.  After swimming in the San Francisco Bay and Lake Michigan, I feel pretty certain that nothing Tennessee has to offer me in early October is going to stand in my way.

So, I put on my Uggs and a fleece pull-over and made a big bowl of oatmeal and cup of tea and headed out to the lake.  When I got to the lake and got down to my suit, the wind was whipping and it was unpleasantly chilly.  I think that there were only three of us not wearing wetsuits, but I really didn't even think about wearing one.  Wetsuits are deceptively warm in my experience.  I have crawled out of the water feeling completely dehydrated and miserable.  In a race, you always wear them if you can, but just to practice, I usually don't.

Now, the main reason for this is that the wetsuit I own is an ebay deal that I ended up getting for free as it was ripped when it came in the mail and the seller refunded my money.  It was pretty exciting at the time, but as wetsuits go, it is pretty terrible.  It is very stiff around the shoulders and the neck is very uncomfortable and chaffs something fierce, and the upshot of that story is that I got what I paid for.  Anyway, if I need a wetsuit now, I rent a Zoot from Endurance.

So this morning, I was without a wetsuit.  And stood in the water for a second before doing a quick immersion and swimming like mad to warm up.  I did warm up pretty quickly, but with every stroke that I put my arm out of the water, I could feel the wind blowing on my wet arms.  So my arms were cold, which I did not experience in the Bay or in Lake Michigan.

Anyway, it was overall a really nice swim until I got out of the water.  I became quite cold immediately and I really haven't stopped shivering since.  I've been wearing my Uggs all day, and I am really excited about the prospect of my electric blanket.

We swam about two miles.  My Garmin satellite is not picking up in the water AND my heart rate monitor is not working, so I am clearly going to have to duke it out with Garmin AGAIN tomorrow.

Also, I am again suffering from the lake induced allergy drama, and completely miserable.  I have been telling myself all week that the ragweed is off the water, but methinks I am wrong.  I am one big mess of Kleenex, Affrin, and Zyrtec.

Saturday: Run, Farmer's Market, Party and Burger UP

This morning, we started our run at 6:30, which I love.  6:30 AM is such a nice time.  I was able to get up around 6:00 AM, and have some oatmeal and brew tea and feel quite well-rested, not a bit like the haggard life I lead when I was training for Boston and waking up at the mean and nasty time of 5:20 AM.  It was nice.

Now, I go back and forth on my training, as it is rather nice to have some easy run mornings, where you don't have to feel guilty for not drilling out the miles at an Olympic pace.  So, I guess my workouts are uninspired without a race looming on the horizon, but it is kind of nice not to have a race looming on the horizon. I ran ten miles, had great swim conversation with Marshall and overall, felt pretty nice about my whole morning.  It was a joy!!

At home, we packed up and headed to the Franklin Farmer's Market so that I could research and assess the local produce situation.  Since I watched Food, Inc, I have been consumed with the origins of my food.  It is pretty certain that the only way to do it right is to buy a cow and a chicken that we treat as members of our family.  They can sleep in bed with us and I will braid their hair and stroke their feathers, until such a time as we murder them for their delicious and well-kept foodstuffs.

In terms of produce, I think I probably need to brings 1000 large pots into a homemade greenhouse.  We should plant each type of vegetable in its own pot, and just feed them caviar and champagne.  Anyway, my preliminary research went pretty well, and we are definitely going to visit some organic farms, and I am reading up on in-season vegetables.  This won't be solved overnight.

After the farmers market, Ivan and I hung out at home until I became completely sure that he was not going to take a nap, and I was about to have the privilege of taking an un-napped child to a children's birthday party.  Un-napped Ivan generally translates into a combination of irritable and manic, and today he did not disappoint.

Never have I seen a child run wind sprints for 2 solid hours while demanding his dog and saying "NO" just to say no.  It was a nice afternoon, but I honestly spent an inordinate amount of time tearing around the playground attempting to keep tabs on my child.  We sang happy birthday to Maya before speeding away to the swings, the slides and a couple of laps around the parking lot.

After the party, we decided to hit Burger Up for dinner.  I was wildly impressed.  Part of the reason we made a Burger Up decision for dinner was that we had seen that Burger Up used one of the farmer's market beef sellers exclusively.  The fries were fabulous, the burgers were amazing and I had a beet salad with a black bean quinoa burger that rocked my world.  Had Ivan been less manic and irritable, we might have stayed for dessert, but as it was, we had no choice but to depart sans dessert.

Burger Up is quite popular.  The wait was at 30 minutes when we arrived at 5:00ish.  Tonight, our service was not great.  Our order took half an hour to arrive and THEN the credit card machine broke and that put a real kink in getting our checks.  My husband mentioned on the way out the door that we could never bring Ivan to Burger Up again.  BUT, we pretty much say that anytime we take Ivan anywhere.  He just isn't at a good age for sit down dinners, and we learn the hard way EVERY WEEKEND.