Monday: Swim and Puffy Muffin and the Dissatisfying Conclusion of Downton Abbey

So, as is par for Young Sloan's course, there was a monstrous meltdown when the idea of leaving the house was addressed.  No two ways about it, while this tantruming phase is upon us, I need to get up at 5:30 AM to begin car and food prep, so that I can wrestle and cope from 6:15 AM until our departure time at 8:00 AM.  There is just no way to get anywhere on time. The fighting as if for his life, the crying as if his heart was broken, the all of it is just so time consuming that timeliness is almost not an option right now.  It is so taxing.  Motherhood has had its bumps along the way, the sleeplessness and many many ruined things that trail in the wake of children, but none has so bothered me as this tantruming business.

Anyway, by the time I arrived on the pool deck, it seemed that I had run a marathon and not slept for a million years.  My thoughts were all a jumble, and it was so nice to stick my head underwater and review my parenting strategies.  Except, confession: I did not really review my parenting strategies. I fantasized about living in Europe and wearing pretty clothes that did not get stained with various child wear and tear and maybe traveling first class and sitting in the sun without being on 24 hour suicide watch.

My swim was great!!  Steven is just writing up some great workouts that are improving my swim techniques.  Also, he noted today that when I rotate through my stroke, I am gaping my legs as I kick which is causing drag on my stroke.  Another thing to work on!! Our workout was as follows:

• 6 x 100
• 8 x 25 fast
• 6 x 50 drill swim
• 8 x 75 back stroke/ back drill/ back stroke
• 3 x 200 IM
• 8 x 25 fast
• 300 pull
• 6 x 50 swim
• 300 kick

This was a great workout, I could only do the backstroke on one 25 out of each 75 that called for backstroke, because my backstroke is SO SLOW that I got too far behind and had to swim freestyle to catch up and make the interval.

After swim class today, we all went to the Puffy Muffin for lunch and I had a monster grilled chicken and spinach salad, before eating almost four pieces of cake and yes, I then ate some of Steven's cake, because he did not finish his, and he pushed his plate within reach of my fork.  Can you BELIEVE that I ate that many pieces of cake.  It happened so fast, and it was so sugary and delicious.  I am in awe of my ability to ingest.  Let us just move ahead and forget that I managed to scarf down that much refined sugar and white flour.  If I had celiac, I would be DEAD right now.

Now, last night was the dissatisfying end of Downton Abbey.  This four episode Masterpiece series was the best of all I have watched.  It was, hands down, better than Emma or the Cranford series, though they were good.  Last night, I expected Downton Abbey to tidy up all its loose ends and marry everyone off happily ever after.  Alas I was disappointed, and they ended the series on a cliff hanger and they have not even finished filming the sequel.  I may have to wait forever, and I am literally wringing my hands when I think of the unsettled futures of the Crawley girls.  The internet has been ABLAZE with predictions for the sequel series.   I can hardly wait!!

Saturday and Sunday: Run, Bike and Pure Barre

So Saturday morning, I rolled out of bed at 6:00 AM just to show that I still could.  I was actually a little late to running group and was in no position to head out with the long run marathon trainers so loped off for what turned out to be a really aimless sort of run.  It seemed like I just ran back and forth, up down side streets and through a golf course before feeling rather frustrated and giving up after 7.5 miles.  I think, though, that that was the furthest I have run since my marathon on December 11th.  So, good for me, I guess.  It is a season of training without a race.

Next week, however, I need to address my run with purpose.  I think I will go ahead and start running with the long group runners.  This means that I will spend a good bit of a long run by myself, as I will only be able to keep up for a little while, and then have to drag along on my own.  I will be starting speed sessions soon, and the combination of longer runs and speed work, should improve my distance speed.  We shall see.

The rest of my Saturday was spent needlepointing, needlepointing, needlepointing.  I needlepointed until my eyes crossed, and my fingers were raw.  The great project is almost finished, and then I will be able to move on to the next great needlework.

Now, after my abysmal aerobic showing yesterday, it seemed that I needed to accomplish a few things today.  Young Sloan had a fever last night, so we could not head into church this morning.  This meant for a long morning of coffee drinking and slinking around the house in my PJ's.  BUT, in a great show of effort, I hauled myself onto the trainer for a reasonable half-hour and then drove in to the Pure Barre studio.

Now, normally, a Pure Barre workout in the studio is much more intense than being at home.  Today's extra difficulty was negligible.  There were 27 people there, and the instructor was really too beleaguered  to give anyone individual attention for long.  Normally, when I go the the Pure Barre studio, I go at 6:00 AM, there are only a few other people there and you get lots of individual attention.

So, a quiet weekend and lots of needlework.  In an act of wild abandon, I stayed up until 11:30 PM working a crossword puzzle!!

Friday: Swim, Run, Gilad

My game plan was to ride the trainer early this morning, but like most of my plans to ride the trainer (or get up early, for that matter), it did not happen.  I made it to swim on time, but Young Sloan was determined not to go to the gym nursery, so we had an INCIDENT.  Today's INCIDENT was that I was kicked and Ms. Pat, the wrangler of the gym nursery, was also kicked.  There was yelling and tantruming and the deliberate throwing of the juice cup.  Aahhh, the mess and the noise and my blood pressure, all ramping up at the same time.  It was a cacophony of misery. It was one of those mornings where when I was able to leave the nursery, a full ten minutes after I entered it, I felt like driving straight to the nearest liquor store and slugging whiskey like a cowhand just off a cattle drive at an old west saloon.

Christie Mellor of The Three Martini Play Date suggests that when your child tantrums you should: "Explain that vocalizing at such a high decibel level is not an entertainment option. If your child feels the need to scream out loud, then he must find a secluded closet, or a distant, uninhabited corner of the house, and there he may scream to his little heart's content.  Explain that when he is older, he may go to the train yard, or down to a freeway overpass, or a psychiatrist's office, and scream at passing trains, vehicles or psychiatrist: but until that glorious day has arrived, screaming must be a private pursuit."

I think that Christie Mellor has so much common sense wisdom, and this morning I understood her desire for three martinis at a time.  I went to that place this morning.  Anyway, no one ever tells you how to address the tantrum when you are away from home and late for class.  I would have dearly loved to hide my child in a closet and let him scream the house down, but alas that is not acceptable parenting.

I finally left class and got to the pool deck in my new competition bikini, where I found we had no coach.  So we all made up a workout and got down to business.  I swam 3000 meters, and climbed out of the pool and showered and such.  When I returned to the nursery, Young Sloan was happily playing on the floor with a wide array of toys as if there had been no horrible tantrum.

After swim, I headed home and spent the afternoon cleaning the house and going for a run.  I must say that I felt better about my whole morning once I had had a solitary run.  I got in a Gilad workout in the afternoon.  Rejoining my running group tomorrow!!



  

Thursday: Run, Pure Barre and Couch Sadness

So all year, I have been stowing away money for a new couch.  Ever since I saw this picture in Architectural Digest however many years ago, I have wanted a tufted leather couch and ideally bookcases out the wazoo.  So, I found my couch, and I have been more than excited about the impending purchase.  It seemed imminent that my home was going to turn into a great showplace, and I would host parties where everyone commented on the English country home lovliness of my abode.

Last week, there appeared a blip on my radar.  Someone who shall remain nameless left an unsheathed hunting knife on their desk which Sloan the Younger wrangled hold of and committed a furniture massacre.  Luckily it was in my husband's office and it was only junk room furniture, but there were forty knife slashes in the leather piano bench alone.  While I have not purchased my couch, it gave me pause.  Are we too young a family to possess an item of such tufted greatness?

We do use our couch on a daily basis.  There is currently a smoothie crust on the arm, and you do not even want to see the underside of the couch cushions.  If there is any chance of a terrible puncture wound in such a beautiful piece of furniture, it seems like the couch should wait.  I realize that I am not living in Darfoure.  I have indoor plumbing and a closet full of pretty dresses and high heel shoes and the fact that my tufted leather dream couch might be outside the realm of my current lifestyle is not life-threatening or even happiness-threatening.  It is just a couch.

In other news that does not relate to my minor dissatisfaction, I had a busy day of appointments and lock box visiting where I rifled through interesting and important documents that I had forgotten I possessed.  At home, I was able to run 3.5 miles IN SHORTS, because we had such a lovely afternoon.  I am looking forward to rejoining my running group on Saturday morning at 6:30 AM.  I also got in a great Pure Barre workout.  Yay!!

Wednesday: Swim and Gilad

Honestly, this weather is KILLING me with a capital K.  On this snowy morning, I had to wait until 8:03 AM, when the pool opened (three hours late due to the frozen road conditions), to call and find out if any of the childcare workers had come in.  After I called and discovered that there was indeed a childcare worker in attendance, Young Sloan and I had to load up snow style.  This involves fleece footy pajamas, coats, hats, boots and chasing someone who runs away in the snow as you are trying to load all your swim equipment into the car.

At the gym, someone also ran away into the snow and dropped "wanket, other wanket, and dog" into a slush puddle so that they were a soggy mess by the time we tracked into the gym.  And by the time I got my 12 layers of warm clothes stripped off and my swim cap on, it was 9:00 AM.  Yes, it was 9:00 AM.  I think that this was the latest I have EVER arrived at the pool deck.  And of course on the day that I am late to the point of absent, everyone else is on time, just swimming like champions as if they have been there all their lives.

I, however, refused to take everyone else's punctuality lying down, so I got in and swam hard and then when practice was over, I moved down to the public lanes and I swam 1000 meters to make sure that I got in the whole 3300 meters.  Workout as follows:

• 400 swim
• 200 kick
• 8 x 25 fast
• 4 x 50 drill
• 4 x 75 kick/ drill/ swim
• 800 pull
• 6 x 25 fat
• 4 x 50 swim
• 6 x 75 swim
• 5 x 100
• 500 swim

It really was a great swim, and it was pretty solitary, because most of my usual crew was not in attendance.  I even went hardcore and did my kicking without fins.  It seems to me that if Steven (our swim coach) would give gold stars or maybe mini-Snickers or fun-time Twix for great accomplishments in swim class, I would be more enthused and behave like I did today with more frequency.  I really like rewards and have long enjoyed a dysfunctional food reward relationship with myself. It seems that if I could convince Steven to enter that journey with me, it could be perfect and my swim times and dedication could really improve.

In fact, if everyone in my life could enter than relationship with me.  Everything could be better. 

Tuesday: Run and Dullness

So last night, my sleep was a bit dicey.  12:30 AM found me noodling around on my laptop and though I had laid out my running clothes the night before, I did not run before shuffling Young Sloan off to nursery school.  I always feel rather disappointed in myself when I sleep in and it seems like I nearly always sleep in, so I am in a chronic cycle of disappointment with myself.  I am sort of telling myself that I will be up early to ride the trainer tomorrow morning, but I am already thinking of putting it off until Friday.

 Here is my logic (outside of deep deep laziness): I am planning on enrolling in Winter Track Speed Sessions with Fleet Feet.  These start on February 15th and will involve me hitting the track by 6:00 AM on Tuesday mornings until April.  For this reason, I think that I will try to make Friday my bike trainer mornings, so that I will not be up so early that many mornings in a row.  Again, however, I wish that 6:00 AM could be my permanent wake-up time, as I feel I would accomplish a lot more with my workouts.

Today, I dropped Young Sloan at nursery school and rushed into work, rushed back home, went for a run, and rushed back to nursery school.  It was a zoo.

Book Report: Cutting for Stone, by Abraham Verghese

So a friend sent Cutting for Stone home with me several months ago, and it has been languishing on my bedside while I finished with Team of Rivals and various other book club obligations.  I actually was not all that excited about it, but IT WAS A STUNNER.  It was 658 pages that felt like a couple of chapters.  The author is actually a native of Tennessee by way of Addis Ababa, and writes a really beautiful story that draws from his own experiences in Africa and New York.

I felt like Abraham Verghese was able to write about horrendous circumstances with a grace and innocence that gave the people involved dignity.  The brutality of life in Africa amidst the tribes and stigmas of local diseases and abysmal pre-natal care are told with great compassion, and maybe in a way that only a native could tell, which was with the understanding that this was a way of life that was sometimes unpreventable.

The story centers around identical twins who are surprisingly born to a nun at Missing Hospital in Addis Ababa.  The mysterious parentage of the children ends with their being orphaned and adopted into the Missing family.  While raised by educated physicians, their caretakers are locals who are inundated with the ways of Africa and the twins must navigate their dual life using the best of advice and influence from both quarters.

Both boys are led to a life in medicine, and they work and attend school in an Africa that is always changing to and away from their favor.  There is a great love story and the boys are led, each in their own way, from Africa to America and back.  Their search brings them to their biological parents and the resolution of their love story.

It was a great read, beautifully written and really just one of the best novels I have read in a long time.  I was very sad to see the last page.  You must read it!!

Monday: Swim, Shelia Taormina and Gilad

This morning, we realized that the car seat was in the wrong car, and that Sloan the Younger had dropped two eggs (raw!!) on the floor.  This immediately became cause for much running about like we were in a Charlie Chaplin or  Three Stooges film, a genre I have never enjoyed by the way.  Such films have always made me nervous.  My blood pressure creeps up when one of the Stooges knocks over a wedding cake or that house falls on The Little Tramp.  It stresses me out, and I have to say that the realization that I was living one of those films was not much comfort this morning.  It was certainly not humorous.

Anyway, we were late to swim, and I have to say that on any morning when anyone drops anything raw and messy on the floor, I say "so be it".  I actually swam 2900 meters despite my glaring lateness.  I swam in my new Splish suit, and it was so tight that it gouged my shoulders, and I was afraid that I was never going to get it off in the locker room.  It seemed that my new gingerbread man suit might be a tatoo that I was going to have to live with permanently, which would be a minor inconvenience in light of the fact that there was now no swimsuit gapping as I streamlined off the wall.

Workout as follows:

• 600 warmup
• 8 x 25 half fast/ half easy
• 4 x 50 swim/ drill
• 4 x 75 kick/ drill/ swim
• 800 pull
• 4 x 100 kick 
• 400 swim

Yesterday, I mentioned that I would explain more about our out of the pool techniques.  Shelia Taormina came and spoke to our swim class earlier this year.  I was absent from this informative talk, but it colored the way our triathlete swim class has been taught ever since, so I wish I had been there in retrospect.  Luckily, Marshall Albritton (The Great!!!) let me borrow Shelia's book (which is autographed!!!), and I have been slowly making my way through her tutlidge. It is always VERY hard for me to wrap my head around changing my swim stroke, but the crux of Shelia's message is that we need to get our elbows up higher and pull sooner and faster so that we have pressure on our forearms, wrists and palms sooner and longer for a more powerful stroke.  She also kind of thinks that I need to stop worrying about my glide (which I have worked hard on since I started swimming, so that is a bummer).  Finally, she mentions a little bit about kicking, and I have no idea whether I have a two-beat or six-beat kick or how to find out that information.  For this reason, I would like to look for some sort of kick clinic.

SO, Shelia recommends out of the pool work that involves these long rubber bands that a partner holds.  You lean over with a band handle in each hand and pull like you would through Shelia's perfect swim stroke.  I am typically a disaster at this, because I cannot really get my head around it as I said earlier.  HOWEVER, yesterday, Richard Baker (Triswami), who is incredibly gifted at explaining things, was my partner.  He said that I needed to think of my high elbow as a pivot and my arm as a fulcrum.  This meant keeping my elbow at the same spot and pulling my arm through from the shoulder with my thumb brushing my thigh on the way back.  It really helped, and it seemed like that explanation assisted me in getting what Shelia meant.

The crux of the matter is this: Do I want to change my swim stroke?  I do not know that I do.  I am comfortable swimming the way I swim, and it always slows me up a bit to change my stroke.  I would like to improve my kick and maybe work on my body position in the water, but I just do not know how I feel about changing my stroke.

At home, after swim today, I got in a Gilad workout and began the great childcare scramble for my work week.  Our regular sitter is benched with a family illness.  It all worked out!!

Sunday: Morning at the Museum and Afternoon Swim

When one day I write a book about all the places that you cannot take two year olds, I will put the chapter entitled "Museums" in between the chapters entitled "Every Place" and "Anywhere".  It was the last day of the Frist Masters exhibit that has only made two other stops which were San Francisco and maybe Barcelona.  There are several pieces on display from the Louvre, including Whistler's Mother; Several Monets and Manets.  We have made the mistake before of taking Young Sloan to the museum, and it just is not a suitable venue for a two year old.  I know this, but I somehow forgot since our last museum trip.  If I had one nickel for every time that the security lines were stepped over or that the guards lunged at us, I would be a millionaire.  I did see some of the paintings, and I was able to see see how Monet's work had changed over the years with the introduction of modern paints.

The bulk of my time, however, was spent chasing Young Sloan and eventually departing early under a heavy cloud of dismay.  Most unfortunate.

At home, I was glad to dig into lunch and ready myself for swim.  Now, this week it was necessary to acquire new bathing suits.  I had worn mine until they were too loose, and competition bathing suits must be worn super tight or they gap and create drag.  In fact, competition bathing suits are the last bastion of clothing about which I can say, if I can get it on, it isn't too tight.

At swim, we did lost of technique work outside of the pool before getting in and swimming.  Workout as follows:

• 5 x 1:00 Bands
• 1 x 1:30 streamline
• 1 x 1:00 EVF
• 30 arm swings

• 400 Warmup

• 8 x 50 swimming 4 deep in a lane. 

practice deep water starts. when last group gets to the end of the pool, they go again. 
practice also swimming in a pack setting

• 6 x 100 first person goes when last person touches the wall

press out after each 100 so you are standing on the pool deck
100's are moderate to fast effort
practice jumping into pool

• 3 x 400 pull 6:40, 7:20, 8:00 descend 1-3

It was a great workout, and I need to talk more about our pre-pool workout.  I will put that on the agenda for tomorrow.  

Saturday: Run, Gilad, The King's Speech, and Tiramisu

So I have not rejoined my running group since New Year's Day.  I am planning on it, it is just that I have had several things going on, and after my terrible sickness, it just seemed that I should get my rest and allow my body to heal.  So, I slept relatively late, made a hearty breakfast, worked on renewing my passport and shuffled around the house attempting to ignore the fact that I have not showered in two days.

In the afternoon, I managed to pull myself together and went for a nice run.  After enduring my terrible sickness, I was glad to be able to go for an easy run.  It made me think that one day in the future, I might actually get up early again and run a long distance with my running group, as opposed to hoofing it around the neighborhood at lazyman hours.

Anyway, back at home, I got in a Gilad workout, before hopping in the shower to get ready for dinner and a movie.  We headed out to see The King's Speech.  Now, I personally was going to be a fan of any film exploring the personal life of the English royal family in the face of the approach of World War II.  Throw in the triple-threat combination of Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth, and I was just beyond myself excited.  There was a Winston Churchill character in the film and Guy Pearce played Edward VIII.  Even Wallis Simpson was in play.  I could literally not have asked for anything more.  NOTHING.  It was like a symposium of all my favorite British people talking about all my favorite British things: Standing firm against the Nazis, family turmoil, true love, doing one's duty and drinking tea.  It was fabulous.  I could have watched it seven to ten more times and been more excited each time.

I recommend that you see the film, and I feel that I am about to lose myself in Amazon.com and search for a book on George VI's relationship with the Queen Mother.  There was a great article published in Vogue last year by William Shawcross, and it was actually a chapter and synopsis of his book The Queen Mother: The Official Biography.  It was a great article, and I may go ahead and order the book so as to stack it beside my bed where books are accumulating at warp speed, and I am in such desperate need of bookshelves that maybe I should rethink my library membership.  Hmmm

My tiramisu was fabulous, by the way, but I missed the savory flavor of Kahlua, so I may rework it a bit next time.  Will include my souped up version in the blog when I work it out!!

Friday: Day Off and SO Much Cooking

Snow Play

This morning, I felt well enough, but thought that that after the extreme misery of my recent illness, it would be best to stay at home.  This actually turned out to by my only option as it snowed last night and there was no childcare at the gym and it was icy in our neighborhood and way too cold to put Ivan in the jog stroller anyway.

For this reason, I devoted myself to various and sundry household chores.  Normally, I would not bore you with my housekeeping, BUT I did a good deal of cooking today.  I made several things to freeze and put away for the week.  It was pretty thrilling.  It involved two trips to the grocery store, and I STILL did not have enough ricotta cheese.  

Anyway, I have been having grave concerns that Young Sloan is not eating enough vegetables.  I feel that his diet is often milk, juice and Goldfish.  I also think that when the best you can say is that the Goldfish are the whole grain kind, it is not saying much.  So, I have embarked on the Jessica Seinfeld journey of Double Delicious and Deceptively Delicious.  While it was a good bit of work, my son ate mashed potatoes with cauliflower puree and two servings of beet pancakes.  For this reason, I am now a devout follower of Jessica Seinfeld, and her tribe of kooks that would put a vegetable puree' in your morning coffee if you let them.  

The beet pancakes were indeed pretty spectacular and I am including the recipe because I am so thrilled about the whole experience.

Beet Pancakes

• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup beet puree
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup pancake mix
• 1/4 cup grated apple

Put everything but the pancake mix and the apple into the blender and blend.

Place the apple and the pancake mix into the bowl and then pour the contents of the blender on top and mix.  Allow batter to stay slightly lumpy.  

Oil the skillet with canola oil and cook in a hot skillet as you would regular pancakes.

These were truly fabulous.  I am sitting down to a big bowl of carrot puree' tiramisu, and if it is anywhere as fabulous as my pancakes, I will be sure to let you know!!

Thursday: Illness

So last evening, I was overtaken by a horrible sickness that left me to spend most of my night in the bathroom, fully awake until four in the morning, and it was just three kinds of miserable.  I can't even tell you.  I did finish Cutting for Stone, for which I will later write a book report (it was fabulous), and I started Cleopatra: A Life (which seems rather dull coming on the heels such a great read, though it did win the Pulitzer).   


This morning was one of those mornings that would have gone VERY differently if I did not have a child. If I did not have a child, I would have called in sick to work, gotten back in bed and slept the day away.  As it was, I plodded about in a veil of misery until I had shuffled Young Sloan off to nursery school, at which point I came home, got in bed and slept the day away until I retrieved Young Sloan from nursery school.  At home, we sat in bed and watched cartoons until I fell asleep to be woken by my child shaking orange juice onto the bed and then delivering up the half gallon of orange juice that he had lugged with great effort from the refrigerator.  I reacted as you would expect when being woken from a deep sleep with a half-gallon of orange juice and a leaky sippie cup.

When his father came home, the first thing that he said was "Mommy squeamed!!".

Wednesday: Swim and Pure Barre and Crossword Cruelty

Doesn't my food look great!! Parsips!!

Before I discuss my swim workout today (which I forgot to photograph, so really do not remember much of; for this reason, do not get too excited) I would like to address my blog post for a moment to the person, who I can only heretofore refer to as the Crossword Devil who Ruined (with a capital R) my evening.

On Wednesdays I look forward to picking up the latest copy of the City Paper. I look through the City Paper for cultural events, interesting articles and I save the crossword puzzle to work on the couch in front of the television after I put Young Sloan to bed.  The crossword puzzle is not too hard, but challenging enough to make me feel that I have really accomplished something when I put it down before I go to bed.

WELL, today I picked up my usual copy of the City Paper from the top of the pile as I was leaving the gym.  I flipped through it a bit before setting it aside.  When night fell, I turned to the crossword puzzle and creased the page just so to begin work, AND WHAT DID I FIND????  Someone had already completed the crossword puzzle in its entirety and set it back on the top of the pile of papers.  WHO DOES THAT??

Does this person also put used napkins back into the dispenser at fast food establishments?? Does this person also put used toilet paper back on the roll so as not to waste a bit??  Might this person put a bitten apple back in a fruit bowl as if nothing were amiss??  I am all for conserving our resources, and I made certain to tell the other City Paper reader in our household not to pick up another lest we unnecessarily have two.  But honestly, working the crossword puzzle and putting it back in the stack. Honestly.

Anyway, in other news, I had a lovely swim.  I swam about 3000 yards and devoted some of my time to kicking without fins in an effort to improve my weak kick.  I got in a Pure Barre workout at home and outside of the crossword drama, it was a nice day!!

Tuesday: Run and Gilad

Again, it is rather difficult to get rolling after a weekend like this past one.  Though the weekend is behind me, I anticipate a couple of days more of hard wake-ups before I can call myself well-rested.  For this reason, I made no effort to run before toting Young Sloan off to nursery school.  I had two cups of coffee, which is two cups less than yesterday and hustled us off to school and I made my way to Bible study in the rain.  It was my first day back to Bible study, and I really enjoyed our reading in James.

Afterwards, I was able to hurry home and clean out drawers which is honestly the dullest occupation and produces so much ironing that I almost wish I had neglected it all together.  After accomplishing all my household tasks, I popped out for a run at top speed so that I could get home in time to hustle back to nursery school.  It was a fast run in wet conditions, but it made me feel a bit back in my routine.  I was able to get in a Gilad workout at home before getting dinner together and sitting to needlepoint and Downton Abbey.  It is the second installment and so full of upstairs/downstairs intrigue!!!

Monday: Long Weekend and I Rode the Trainer

I cannot even explain the peripheral madness of the formal family wedding.  It is amazing to me that on Saturday I arrived at an event at 3:30 in the afternoon and climbed into my bed at 1:30 AM.  How I am still standing??  I actually was not still standing by 11:30 AM.  I was curled up on a couch with my shoes off, taking off my lipstick, slathering on Dr. Pepper Chapstick, and wiggling my toes back to life.  

I fully enjoy being dressed to the nines for two full hours, at which point my resolve, posture, and dashing social skills fail me.  My small talk fails me, and I shut down.  I vaguely remember it being around 11:15 PM and shooting daggers with my eyes at someone telling me about his haunted house charity work.  

 In retrospect, however, how interesting is that??  How interesting is the idea that you would do haunted house charity work?  He had these fabulous stories about how after the haunted house closed, everybody would head out to the local bars dressed like zombies and corpses.  If my heels had not been four inches high, I would have asked what exactly that raised money for and who it could possibly benefit?  It is my own fault, and not the first time that my personal vanity has caused me enough physical discomfort that I was forced to end a conversation that was obscurely interesting.  

Anyway, at home I managed a quick few hours of sleep, before popping out of bed for a brunch ending with another late night after a fun dinner at Miel.   This morning, I have to say that I could barely drag myself from the bed, and I drank black coffee with an intense and all consuming focus that I can only compare to a drowning man's gasp for air.  The aftermath of the long weekend combined with the responsibilities of child care just has not been the easiest task of my life.

Anyway, after recovering from a rather nasty morning, I was able to hop on the trainer for half an hour in the afternoon, before heading off to dinner with friends.  Tomorrow, the I have no choice but to immerse myself fully in the real world.  

Bleh

 

Friday: Day Off and the Road was Hot

So today was family wedding day, and there was no time for exercising anything but the wheels on my car. I dropped my husband at work, picked up my husband's grandmother, drove us to a bridesmaid's luncheon,  dropped off my husband's grandmother back at her home, THEN went back to pick up my husband at work and sped away to the airport to pick up my brother-in-law and nephew.  From the the airport, I drove my husband to the church for rehearsal and then dropped my brother-in-law and nephew at their hotel.  Then, it was off to change clothes for the rehearsal dinner before picking up my husband's grandmother so that I could give her a ride to the rehearsal dinner.  At the rehearsal dinner, I was able to sit down to a quiet meal, listen to a few toasts and then fire it up to transport my husband and his grandmother back home.  It was quite the day.

I rewarded myself with a Yogurt World on the way home.  I deserved it.

Thursday: Run and Swim

Snow Play

Just a personal thought that I had today when the internet was not working:   "The internet is not working” is fast becoming akin to “we don’t have indoor plumbing” in my book, and maybe worse.  MAYBE WORSE.  I could at least use the bathroom in the yard if we didn’t have indoor plumbing, but without the internet how can I find out how long my jeggings will be in style. What am I supposed to do? Think my own thoughts as if I were Thomas Jefferson.  

Anyway, luckily there was not that much time to be spent at home as we were quite busy.  This morning, I popped up and drank coffee while preparing my delicious egg puffs from my new Deceptively Delicious cookbook.  In my dream life, my son woke up and was so excited about the egg puffs that he ate them all and even loved the chick peas that were minced inside for extra fiber.  In my real life, I ate all the egg puffs because my child sat with both hands over his mouth for a solid half hour.  It was disappointing.  I cannot wait to see how putting carrots in his tiramisu is going to go over.  

Now of course, nursery school was closed AGAIN today.  It was a deep disappointment to both of us, and we were left with really no choice for an outing but to head to the gym yet again. I ran on the treadmill at a faster pace than Tuesday: two miles at 7:25, last mile at 6:30 and the last lap at a 6:00 minute pace.  I then hopped in the pool and swam a mile.  Now, I find that I love to get in the pool after a run, but my extreme sweatiness keeps my goggles from adhering to my face, so I have several leaky goggle laps.  Once I stop sweating, I get out, scrub down my face with my towel and swipe off my goggles before affixing them correctly and swimming as if I had never sweated a drop.  

At home, we ate lunch and during naptime, I got in a quick Pure Barre workout, mended some hats and shortalls, addressed the laundry basket and washed and pressed three cashmere sweaters.  I am fast becoming a champion in the land of cashmere care.  

Tomorrow is a leisurely morning, and I have made no plans!!

 

Wednesday: Swim, Gilad and Food Fest

I am on the Far Left

My running group on New Year's day!!

This morning, Ivan and I were out the door and on time to swim.  It was pretty impressive, but as far as I could tell, the rest of the world was also up and ready to be on time to something, because the roadways seemed more than clogged.  Remarkably, we were able to skid our way through the icy parking lot, and I was poolside at 8:30 AM-ish.

In the water, I made a decision to follow Steven's instructions and follow the workout, intervals and all.  Workout as follows:

• 600 warmup
• 8 x 50 drill swim @ 1:00
• 8 x 25 half fast/ half easy @ :30
• 50 swim @ 1:00
• 75 swim @ 1:20
• 3 x 25 sprint @ :25
• 200 swim
• 50 swim @ 1:00
• 75 swim @ 1:20
• 3 x 25 @ :25
• 200 swim
• 4 x 200 pull @ 3:30
• 400 IM
• 400 kick

This was 3600 meters all together, I was heaving by the end of the 400 IM, and I felt like I worked very hard.  After my swim, I felt like I needed to let Ivan swim a bit, so I went and picked him up from the nursery and  stuffed him into his swimsuit and let him hop into the water.  The water was competition-cold and Ivan's little lips were blue, but he swam for a good 45 minutes, kicking and swimming and treading water and kicking with the kick board.  It was impressive.

At home, Ivan took a nap and I got in a Gilad workout and began reading my two newest cookbooks: Deceptively Delicious and Double Delicious.  These are Jessica's Seinfeld's desperate grab at getting her kids to eat vegetables.  I had a never-you-mind sort of weekend with Young Sloan, and realized that he must eat more vegetables.  MUST.  

The basis of her cookbooks is puree's hidden in foods so that your kids are getting great nutrition.  For instance, tonight I came home and made a meatloaf in which I hid a carrot puree.  I am making garbonzo bean egg cups tomorrow, and I also whipped up some sweet potatoes in a hash form to use for sweet potato hash browns.  I am not including the recipes yet, as we have not eaten anything.  I am determined, however to have Ivan eat more fiber rich foods.  If they are amazing, I will begin posting the recipes.  

I am most excited about the carrot puree' Tiramisu!!!

Ivan's nursery school is closed again tomorrow, and we will be hitting the pool!!

Tuesday: Run and Swim

This morning the rec center opened at 10:00 and the nursery was fully staffed.  It was like music to my ears.  All the dark hours of being trapped in the house yesterday with my child, the trainer and Coach Troy,  drifted away like so much dandelion fluff in the wind.  Ivan and I were both pretty thrilled to go somewhere today, and we piled merrily into the car and tooled away to the rec center to wile away two solid hours without the pleasure of each other's company.

I ran on the treadmill, and I rarely run on a treadmill anymore, so I was surprised at how much I really enjoyed it.  I ran my first two miles at a 7:30 pace and my last mile at a 6:45 pace before dropping down for a 6:30 pace for the last 400 yards.  I was pretty proud of myself and it made me think that I need to make more of an effort to hit a treadmill every once in a while.  It pushes my speed and forces me to really take note of my speed.

Now, after I hopped off the treadmill, I went straight to the pool and got in immediately.  It strains the limits of my nursery time allotment to run AND swim.  I was really hoping for a three mile run and a 3200 meter swim, but I was only able to get in 2600 meters before having to race to get Ivan at the appropriate time.  My swim was pretty dull, as I was just grimly windmilling through a workout as quickly as I could so that I could race to the nursery to claim my young son.

Even though I was windmilling through a workout largely alone, it was a sheer joy to be in the pool.  I was so hot and sweaty when I got over to the pool, and the water felt nice: not too warm, not too cold.  I enjoyed every minute that I was in the water.  I showered at warp speed and collected Ivan with wet hair.

I stopped by Starbucks on the way home. For Christmas, I received two Starbucks gift cards, and I just want you to know that I have been using them frivolously.  I am eating breakfast sandwiches and drinking soy lattes as if America were not suffering through an economic crisis.  Today, in an act of ultimate frivolity, I bought Ivan a Hot Chocolate.  I think that I thought in a far corner of my mind, that Ivan and I would sit around and drink our delicious Starbucks together.  We would commune over the snow and the hot drinks, and it would be a moment:  A special moment together. 


What really happened is that Ivan dropped his Starbucks Hot Chocolate on the floor as soon as I handed it to him like so much merde hitting the fan.  Ivan was so amazed by the huge mess, that he was not at all upset about the loss of such a delicious and rare treat.  When you have white cabinets, it is stunning just how much of a hot chocolate explosion you can see in your kitchen.  As always, I was surprised at the string of profanity I am able to utter in the face of a such minor disaster.

Once the kitchen was clean and Ivan had had a hypothermic amount of snow playing, I settled him down for a nap, straightened the house, and made ready for an evening with Ulysses S. Grant.  Having just finished Team of Rivals.  I was so excited to get to know Grant better.  In Team of Rivals, I came to respect Grant's humility and determination, his straightforward commuinicaes, and his refusal to accept anything but surrender.  Tonight, PBS aired American Experience: Ulysses S. Grant.  It is so good.  It is so good.  It has only made me love both Grant and his frailties more.  Each of his biographers speak of him with affection.  So proud of him.

Trainer Ride

So today, since it snowed like MAD last night, I felt I had no choice but to ride the trainer.  There was no pool open and let me just tell you that on a day like today, I would give my left pinky finger for a treadmill as it would really be helpful to just hop on for around 45 minutes while Ivan is napping or what not.

In my old age, I am not one to run in snow and ice.  Even the fraction of a chance that I could slip and fall and have to go even one time to a physical therapy session is not worth running in anything that could involve slippage.  Does that make me sound like I am 97?  I am not, I just never want to go back to physical therapy or have to alter my schedule based on a silly and avoidable mishap.

SO, there was no running and the gym was closed based on the weather, I just took a day off on Saturday. My only option was to drag out the trainer.  I was not really planning on starting this trainer business until next week, but the weather sort of forced me into it.

Though I did not really mean to, I dragged my feet about it, and even after putting young Sloan down to nap, I found several things that were ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY to accomplish before getting on the trainer.  After twice deflating both of my bike tires while trying to pump them up, and fighting with my heart rate monitor, I hoisted myself onto the trainer and pushed play.

Now, I think that the Spinervals program and the methods of Coach Troy are top notch, but it was simply the worst.  I put in a DVD that was 1:45 hours long, and I was only able to stay on the bike for 45 minutes and in a turn for the even worse, I found that sometimes my cadence was a full 10 RPM's behind Coach Troy's recommendation.

The workout was so difficult and I found it to be quite evident that I had not been on the trainer in several months.  It felt like a death march, and the intervals of 15 minutes were interminable.

Also, when coach Troy would ask questions, like "How're ya feelin'?" or "Are ya workin' up a sweat?", I found myself responding audibly with "I don't know Coach Troy, but I dislike you personally."  "I am sweating Coach Troy, and I find your basketball shorts and gold shirt very unflattering".  "I wish I had never heard of you, Coach Troy."

After slinking off the bike, I felt rather depressed about my level or fitness and realized that though I hate the trainer, it seems necessary that I devote myself to improvement in this area.  So, I will be back on the trainer next week.  Bleh.

Monday: Saints Preserve Us

Honestly, Saints Preserve Us from a day like today, it snowed last night and it really pretty much shut down my life.  Ivan and I really could not go outside, we were all at home all day, and I feel that it was a day of avarice and mendacity for all concerned.  Ivan somehow poured honey in my pressurized wine bottle opener, and he stuck my citrus juicer into a candle.  He was walking around with a bulge around his ankles, and when I asked him about it,  he looked at me as if to say "For serious? You would rather start a street fight in a Mexican ghetto than try to get to the bottom of what is in my pajamas", before taking off running and having to be tackled.  It was only a few toys shoved down his pajama leg, but how is that comfortable and why must you fight, as if for your life,  when I check it out.

I mean honestly, sometimes when I change my son's diaper, I am amazed by the fight he puts up.  When I see the effort, I cannot help but realize that he puts in the same amount of effort into not having his diaper changed that I would put into saving my own life if someone was trying to stab me with a knife.  It is an epic struggle.

Anyway, the rest of my day was just one of milling about the house and aimlessly answering emails, needlepointing, drinking coffee, thinking it was 5:00 in the evening when really it was only 2:00 in the afternoon, and wondering why the clock would not budge.  I huddled in front of the space heater while I watched the conclusion of Masterpiece Theatre's newest mini-series, Downton Abbey.

As far as I can tell, Downtown Abbey is going to be a four part series, and I am just about beside myself. There is nothing that I love more than a British tale about the difficulties of entail and decline in the time period of the vanishing manor house lifestyle pre-World War I. This mini-series is going to be extra fabulous in that it covers the lives of the nobility and the lives of household staff at Downton Abbey.  Last night was just enthralling, and I am so thrilled to have three more episodes.

Now, the problem with too much Masterpiece Theatre, is that I am overwhelmed with the desire to increase my usage of words like rather, and queue, and pudding.  I also start to get in the habit of calling men by their title and last name as if there were my 6th grade teacher.  It is ridiculous, and I have to physically stop myself.

Anyway, I did ride the trainer today, but I am writing a whole separate post about that because I have a whole lot to say.




                  

Sunday: Swim and a Most Unfortunate Development

Just so you know, it is freezing here.  So, I slept a bit late and then pulled it together and hustled Ivan and I off to church where we were  on time, I got my casseroles into the church kitchen refrigerator and was pretty excited about sort of having it together on a Sunday morning.

After church, Ivan and I skipped over to Starbucks and then drove home where I got Ivan down for a nap and got ready to head in for the first triathlon swim class of the season.  I just love the first triathlon swim class of the year.  It is crazy crowded with people you haven't seen in months.  There is much hugging and catching up and the swim lanes are just ridiculously crowded.

My favorite thing today was watching John Maple use his prescription goggles to read the swim workout from the dry erase board.  Also, Jerry Breeden's holiday travel tan was just a marvel and inspired me to travel more.  There was all sorts of holiday news in the locker room, and much complaining about the crowded practice.  This is typical New Year's at a gym, and the crowding will level out in six weeks.

In other news, I lost one of my dazzle toes in the pool, so that was a bummer, and it necessitates a full self-pedicure before I hit the sack tonight.

Finally, in a note of great tragedy, someone (who is clearly my nemesis) gave my son a HARMONICA today.  Ivan calls it a "too-monica" and he has played it incessantly all night.  I feel that there are about 48 hours left before I confiscate the "too-monica" and forget where I put it.  OR maybe, just maybe, I should send he and the "too-monica" for an extended stay with the "too-monica" gifters.  As I type. young Sloan is sound asleep clutching his "too-monica".

New Year's Resolutions: 2011

Ahhh, I have been mulling over my New Year's resolutions for a few weeks now, and I am pretty excited about them.  I think that three or four New Year's Resolutions are very manageable.  I was reasonably successful with last year's resolutions, and I feel that I have it in me to have continued success with a few resolutions of self improvement to kick off my year.

SO, without further ado, my resolutions are as follows:

1) Travel more.  I would like to travel more, and I think I can accomplish it with a little more planning and shopping about for airfare and hotel deals.  I will have to get really comfortable with dragging Ivan along on airplanes and in the car, but I think I can do it.

2) Attend more local cultural events.  I went to the Frist for the Couture Exhibit this year and to see Ben Folds with the symphony, and it occurred to me that there are many cultural happenings going on about town, and I should avail myself of more of them.

3) Get on my trainer once a week and ride.  I must improve on the bike.  It did not work out to enroll in any of Tod's classes this year, and it should be a reasonable expectation that I have the self-discipline to ride on my own.  I will preferably accomplish this in the morning before my husband or child are awake.  Now, I am not going to start that this week, but I think that next week, maybe on Wednesday, I will start up in the early morning.

4) Take more pictures to put on my blog.  I need to make more effort to document my life and that of my child as it is.

Pic is of my sister and Ivan using the photobooth application on my laptop.  I am going to figure out how to use it right now!!

Nerd Alert: CBS Sunday Morning

So for many years, CBS Sunday morning was unknown to me.  While I was aware of its existence, I assumed that the only people who watched it were shut ins and agoraphobics and people to large to leave their homes without taking down a wall.  I just assumed it was how that sector of our population found out about the news on Sunday in a positive and judgement free environment.  Anyway, when I was in the hospital earlier this year on a Sunday morning with nothing to do but watch CBS Sunday morning, I discovered that it was the best show EVER.

It is riveting from beginning to end.  They always focus on a bit of news, an interview with an actor, some crazy weird trivia (like what goes into a Christmas pudding or where does "punch" come from or who is responsible for all the Christmas shop windows in New York) and t they end it with a moment of silence while showing you some amazing nature scene.

It is fast becoming my thing.  It is rare that I get to watch as church is my usual Sunday morning thing, so I DVR it.  I watch it every week, and I cannot even tell you the cultural knowledge about which I am becoming an expert.  AN EXPERT.  Would you like to know about the volital couple that supplied some of the story for The Black Swan movie, would you like to know all about the Chateau Marmont, are you interested in James Franco's new novel?  I have learned so many interesting trivialities.

Also, I LOVE IT that Mo Rocca is one their correspondents.  His diction is great, he is both polite and sarcastic, and he always wears such a look of humorous concern.

In the beginning of the show, the host, Charles Osgood, puts up a list of every segment they will cover in the show.  Then the various correspondents take their segment and proceed until they get to the end of the list.  It is very methodical, and this is a format with which I am most comfortable.  I do not like anyone springing a news story without forewarning me in the pleasant and reassuring tones of the unflappable Charles Osgood.

All in all, you must start DVRing CBS Sunday morning so that you can see where the 92 year olds are getting their cultural information.

PS- Punch was developed by British Sailors to make their hard liquor go farther when they were running low before the end of a voyage. They added whatever sugars and such to the mix, and then shared it amongst themselves.  So fun!!

Saturday: Day Off

So I cannot say that today was an intentional day off.  I decided to sleep late and sort of decided that I would go for a run in the afternoon, but I didn't, and then I thought about getting out the trainer, but I didn't  and then I thought I would at least get in a Gilad workout and I wimped out on that as well.  I have really devoted my ENTIRE day to needlepointing and watching Joan Rivers : A Piece of Work.  It isn't terrible to have a day like this, and it is freezing outside.

Now, Joan Rivers on the other hand, is INSANE.  The way she lives, how hard she works; all of it.  She works harder than anyone I have ever seen.  She has NEVER had a day like I had today.  She was working.  She was hocking jewelry on QVC, before hopping on a plane to do a show in Wisconsin, before  working until 2AM writing monologues in magic marker on her bathroom floor.

Her jokes are so dirty and so below the belt that she makes me super nervous.  Also, underneath it all, she is really rather grumpy and bitter.  She has, however, a lot to be both bitter and grumpy about.  She really sort of clawed her way to a spot on the Tonight Show, where she worked until Johnny Carson stopped speaking to her.  Her husband committed suicide and left her with a lot of debt, and she dug her heels in and pulled herself up by her bootstraps, and it is pretty impressive.

I would say that it was not all worth it, but her apartment in New York is STUNNING.  It is just beautiful, and it would kind of be worth the lifestyle.

Friday: Swim and Church Casseroles

This morning Ivan and I were at swim reasonably on time only to find the absence of our regular swim coach.  Now, I cannot help but realize that we have beaten our regular swim coaches (Dennis and Steven) down.  They have given up on trying to make us work hard.  They know that we will come to swim practice and refuse to do any fast intervals and probably kick a lot with our kick-boards so that we can talk about books and kids and such.  I can understand that we would be frustrating to our swim coaches and they would for sure give up.  

Today, however, Gretchen was our swim coach and Gretchen REFUSES to be beaten down.  If we try to shirk doing something, Gretchen refuses us.  She rarely lets us kick, and it is just her way.  Gretchen does not coach us very often, however.  If she did,  she might also get beaten down by our insistence on kicking and our refusal to do hard intervals or even attempt the butterfly or any sort of kicking without fins.  

Anyway, today Gretchen made us take off our fins and kick 20 x 25 with the kick board.  It was excruciating and my inner thighs were aching.  We also did 5 x 200 at a 1:20 pace, which I wasn't even making at the end.  It was a hard workout, and I need to do more hard swim workouts. I don't know if I should talk to Steven and just tell him to yell at us when we refuse to do something or tell us that we have to do it or what.  I think it would be hard to coach adults, as you can make kids follow orders but adulthood is a little more slack on the authority front.  SO, I guess it really comes  back to me needing to have the self discipline to follow a workout and not deviate from the workout based on personal laziness and my preference for kicking.

We got in about 3300 meters, and it was pretty great. 

At home, I spent my afternoon making three casseroles for the church freezer, so that they can take them to shut-ins and people who have had illnesses in their family.  I made a wild rice and chicken casserole, and when I finished it, I felt that the badness in these casseroles was more than any human system could tolerate.  I just do not feel that you can put mayonnaise, cream of celery soup, cheddar cheese together in any combination and think that things are going to turn out well for you.  

Albeit, I tasted one of the casseroles, and it was delicious in that scary way that means you might sit down and eat the whole thing without knowing what happened.  It was creamy and ambiguous when you tasted it, like you could not tell why exactly it was creamy.  Was it heavy cream, whipping cream, mayo, some strange cheese, or milk or what?  It tasted like the kind of thing that might be delicious after a long illness and your final arrival at home.  

Run and Gilad tomorrow!!

Wednesday and Thursday: Swim, Gilad, Run and Pure Barre

So on Tuesday, I was engrossed in Christmas thank you notes and neglected to tell you that I tripped over a space heater at my house, and it was more than painful and it has felt like an ankle sprain ever since.  It is my fault that in this age of central heat and air, I have a love affair with a space heater.   With all the things that sit on my floor and make sounds and emit light that belong to my child, it goes without saying that I did not need anything else on the floor.  In a stroke of true wisdom, I thought that adding another thing on the floor that involved an extension cord so that I could clothesline myself is exactly what I needed.

I did indeed clothesline myself and then tripped into the space heater itself and while I did not sprain my ankle, I fell against the space heater with the full force of my ankle.  It has been bruisy and sad ever since.  Anyway, I will recover from this.

Now, my plan was to pour my heart out about my miserable ankle experience last night on my blog, BUT the blogspot was down and there was not telling you all about it.  In the absence of my blog, I watched My Boy Jack, a new Masterpiece Theatre film which was just the saddest and most frustrating thing of all time, while I needlepointed.  (Masterpiece Theatre has a GREAT schedule this year, by the way)

Now, swim was great on Wednesday. I got in about 3300 meters and it was yesterday, so I cannot really remember what all went on.  I did enjoy it though and Jaime and I had a great conversation about Jonathan Franzen.   At home I got in a Gilad workout.

So that was yesterday.  Also, I gimped around on my sad ankle, and it is only just now starting to feel better.

Now, today was a busy day full of excitement.  It was my mom's birthday, so I dropped Ivan off at nursery school and then headed off to run some errands before meeting my mom at the mall to eat at the Cheesecake factory.  I find the Cheesecake Factory to be the best and worst place ever.  They have a menu full of  terrible and wonderful things.  It is sort of like Graceland, and just remarkable in its excess. You can get an alfredo pasta with all sorts of scary things and you can get an ahi tuna salad, loaded with delicious greens and a starter of edamame. We seem to always eat there on birthdays, and I enjoy it very much.

At home, I got Ivan into the jog stroller for a run and then hustled in a Pure Barre workout before calling it a day.  Am wiped.

Tuesday: Run and Pure Barre

Today, in an effort of Herculean self discipline, I ran at 6:30 in the morning.  It was warmer than I thought, so I was totally overdressed.  I felt like Rocky Balboa when you see him running all over the place in a full sweatsuit.  Other than being way too hot, it was a nice run.  It is so nice to get the run out of the way early and not have to fret all day about when you can get someone in to the jog stroller so that you can push his 30 pound self, plus all his blankets, his dog, his DVD player and a drink.

Now, when I run at home in the morning, it means that I then have to race back inside and hurtle around the house getting showered and prepared to take Ivan to school.  It was a race that I only barely won today, but we made it.  I then ran a myriad of errands before picking Ivan up, putting him down to nap and getting in a Pure Barre workout and working away all afternoon.  Tomorrow, I am officially off my Christmas schedule and returning to the real world.  Bleh!!

On a detox note, I am fully off the cookies and getting through the day powered by only a few dark chocolate m&m's and my regularly scheduled healthy meals.  Yay!!

Monday: Swim, Gilad, and New Year's Resolutions

So this morning, everyone overslept as our iphone alarms had some sort of New Year's glitch.  Even Ivan slept late. I had to make the coffee myself and for once in my entire life, I made a superb pot of coffee.  We made it to swim on time, but AS USUAL, I forgot that on the first gym day after New Year's everyone has to renew their emergency information in the nursery.  SO, I had to park myself in the nursery with a pen and paper and write down all possible phone numbers and contact persons, while my swim minutes ticked away.  However, all things considered, it seems best that the gym nursery have updated information so that I can ensure the safety of young Sloan, who has proved to be somewhat reckless with dare devil tendencies.  Accidents happen.

Anyway, I was on the pool deck, all systems go, at 8:50.  I got in and just swam the workout.  There were other swimmers, but I engaged in no chatting or whiling away valuable swim time.  In my hour and 10 minutes in the water, I got in 3300 meters, which was great under the circumstances.  I even did a bit of butterflying, and I kept my kicking to a minimum.  Workout as follows:

• 500 free
• 300 kick
• 300 swim
• 300 swim
• 300 pull
• 2 x 200 IM
• 300 pull
• 6 x 100 @ 1:45
• 300 pull

So, it was a lot of long yard sets, which helps when you are trying to get in yardage in a timely fashion.  

After swim, Young Sloan and I headed off to a fabric store to grab a couple of necessities. It all turned into a disaster of EPIC proportions when Ivan laid eyes on the button display and wrestled away from me to rip the top off a tube of pearl buttons which rolled ALL OVER THE FLOOR like a cartoon.  Everyone had to stand aside so that the slipping hazard could be cleaned and put back in the tube.  They were pale lime green pearl buttons, by the way.  Who would buy those??  Benny Hill for his crossdressing cardigan?? That is really all I can understand.  

Anyway, ugly buttons or no, it was a bad situation, because Ivan was like an overstimulated bull in a china shop.  He knocked over SEVERAL bolts of fabric, and at one point I had to sprint away from a conversation with a sales associate to retrieve him from the stockroom in the back.  It was a nightmare, Ivan and I both cried, consequences were delivered, and there was much screaming.  

At home, I felt it was a great relief to just sit on the couch and recover a modicum of my personal sanity and remind myself that I had, just two nights ago, worn a sequined mini-skirt.  Now, I am sitting here with a hole in my Uggs and a yet another deep gash in my self perception. To add insult to injury we were then forced to take a trip to Walmart, which was just so painful and crowded and full of hatefulness.  

Anyway, I did get a Gilad workout in, and I did make a really healthy dinner before parking myself back on the couch in my Uggs with a hole to think about my New Year's resolutions.  Last year, my New Year's Resolutions were pretty basic, get up earlier and read my one year Bible. I did a reasonable job of this.  I am not quite finished with my one year Bible, but I am very close and have read it all but for a two weekish span in the Old Testament somewhere.  I did get up a bit earlier for the most part, and was better about getting to swim on time overall.  

This year, I feel that my New Year's resolutions should be directed in the development of my character and culture, so that is where I am leaning.  I have not completely decided on my resolutions, but I am getting there.  

Sunday: New Year's Eve, New Year's Day and a Lovely Book Club Dinner

New Year' Eve:  So, for New Year's Eve we headed out to dinner with friends, but it turned in to some relative sadness.  It was one of those nights when I wanted to be glamorous and cool in my sequin mini-skirt, but I had to run screaming from the table to get home to the babysitter who was not allowed to be out past 11:00ish.  It made me feel less than cool, but then maybe that is what I need to accept about my current life: it is less than cool.  I can read all the great books and wear all the sequined mini-skirts that I want to, but I still have to drive the babysitter home while wearing my yoga pants.  I did get in a run and a Pure Barre workout on New Year's Eve, so at least I can keep wearing the sequined mini-skirt.

New Year's Day: Now, New Year's day went a little more smoothly.  I was up at 7:00 to meet up with my running group for a nice 7 mile run.  We chatted about books and Christmas presents and New Year's resolutions, and it was like a very pleasant cocktail party at 8:00 in the morning.  Post-run, we set up a picnic table and drank champagne, and snacked on bagels.  I brought bite sized whiskey puddings, and I will admit to you that they were a hit.

Isn't it fun that I could go to an early morning cocktail party and get in a good run.  It seems like the best way to live.

After my run, I rushed home and changed into some dry clothes to meet a friend for coffee.  So much fun!!!  Why don't I meet friends for coffee more often.  It was with my friend Melissa, and our parents knew each other before we were born.

Today!!: This evening, I hosted book club.  I ironed a tablecloth and mixed a special butter.  What a fun night, we talked about books around the table and read aloud passages from my most recent read The Times We Had.  It made for some dinnertime hilarity, and I feel a bit bad for disparaging poor old Marion Davies.  Marti made a rice-krispie treat disco ball!!! It was a party!!

After dinner, we retired to the drawing room for a discussion of what book to read next.  We chose Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by Barbara Kingsolver.  I am kind of thrilled, because I will learn a lot about in season vegetables.

Swim tomorrow and I am contemplating my New Year's resolutions.  I will keep you posted.