Thursday: Day Off

So this morning went off as most mornings when I am going into work, and it is necessary to get Young Sloan off to nursery school.  I can only assume that similar behavior is observed at a stampede or what might happen if someone released all the animals at the zoo.  I overslept, we ran about willy nilly, Sloan the Younger hid under his bed, refused to eat breakfast, and poked me with a stick. I actually took a mug of coffee into the shower with me where I conditioned my hair and drank coffee as if it were water at a desert oasis.

Out of the shower, things were a little more alert, and I was able move with purpose.  Young Sloan DESTROYED his nursery bedroom while I was in the shower.  Toy boxes dumped upside down, books scattered, and train tracks on the loose.  It was a bonafide disaster.  When asked WHY WHY WHY he would do such a thing????, his response was "I look for something.". "What, pray tell, might you have been looking for??" Shrug.  I got a SHRUG in response to the type of wreckage that I associate with trailer park tornados. When asked to clean up his mess, Young Sloan responded with another shrug AND "I not clean it up".

You know, I think that the above situation is one of my hardest ever parenting situations.  We were running late; him to nursery school and me to work.  I did not really have time to do the whole "one-two-three CONSEQUENCES" deal.  I basically had to pick him up like a football and sprint for the car.  What is there to do?  He is three, he won't clean up his mess, and I have NO TIME TO MAKE HIM.  It makes me really grateful that most of the time, I can absolutely make him.  And to my credit as a parent, I was able to make him clean when we arrived home from nursery school.  THOUGH, not to my credit as a parent, he had probably forgotten all about the mess and who or what had made said mess.  (He honestly seemed genuinely surprised, complete with a "HUH??!!", when he saw his room.)

Anyway, work was rather relaxed, I was able to shop a bit with my sister in the afternoon.  My only exciting purchase was a pair of furry monster boots for my son, which are pictured above.

At home, Thursdays are becoming sushi night, and I picked up some take-out that was thoroughly enjoyable.  I then curled up on the couch and watched the conclusion of Jane Eyre, and Ooooh that tall dark Mr. Rochester is totally my thing!!!

Also,  I am making my blog private as of Sunday evening.  If you want to be included in blog posts just send me your email in the comments or to my email address.

Wednesday: Swim, Gilad and Yoga

Today, we were out the door on time for swim and there was much good behavior and happiness and general well being as I arrived at the pool deck on time and really had a lovely 3000 yard swim.  Steven had a lot of advice about my butterfly stroke.  I think that my butterfly looks a lot like a lego-man hinging back and forth, Steven says that if I will bring my shoulders up and turn my arms a bit so that my hands are angling into the water my movements will be more fluid.  Now this is easier said than done, but I will be attempting it from now on.  Forgot to photograph the workout.

At home, I got in a Gilad workout during naptime and a yoga workout after dinner.  Feeling rather bleh.

AND, have been thinking, now that Sloan the Younger is three, it seems I should quit posting his exploits for the world wide web.  Will his friends one day google him and laugh?  SO, I will take my blog private on Sunday night.  SO, if you still want to follow for pictures and updates on Sloan the Younger and my workouts and book reports please send your email in the comments and I will add it to my list of invites!!

Watching Jane Eyre.  I just love it!!

Monday and Tuesday: Swim, Speed Sessions and Yoga

So it is Tuesday, and I neglected to blog yesterday.  This is because I arrived home at 9:30 PM, and by the time I finished my evening vanity routine, it was so too late to blog. It seems that if everything is not blogged at 8ish, there is no blogging happening.  My evening routine goes: dinner, young Sloan to bed, blog, vanity routine, in bed with my book.  The excitement at Sloan Manor knows no bounds.

Anyway, I wish I had gotten to blog last night, because it was really a rather exciting day.  I had a pretty great swim, Sloan the Younger and I hit a bakery where we chose his birthday cake for his Sunday afternoon party.  There was a slight misfortune when I turned my head to interact with cake artiste, and Ivan began scaling the pastry case.  I would not really have expected anything different.

In the evening, I headed over to meet my running group for a small party before heading over to see the Hood to Coast documentary at the Belcourt Theatre.  I have run Hood to Coast twice, and it is a really cool experience.  The documentary followed four teams on their journey, and it was just a really enjoyable film. Even if you don't run, you would love it.  It was emotional, hilarious, and really thorough and well-made.  At points, I felt a bit frustrated with the way the filmmakers really pushed the emotion with one particular team, but overall, it was GREAT!!  Put it on your Netflix cue.

This morning, I hit Speed Sessions which were a JOKE for me.  I will never plug in my Garmin to even find out how fast and far I ran during our  30 minute time trial.  The best I can really say about today is that I ran 5.5 miles before 7AM.  I did become quite bored and I wished very much that I had bought my head phones and listened to a book or some such as I plodded about the track AS IF THROUGH MUD.   I was just ridiculously slow.

I would like to say that it does not bother me that I am having a time of slowness, but it does.  When the cute girls in their short shorts and compression socks were speeding around the track, I kind of wanted to yell that I was having a slow time and would be rejoining them at some point.  "Do not forget about me short shorts and compression socks", but you know they really were not speeding around the track wondering what had happened to the sad girl in her sad Boston Marathon long sleeved tee.  They were speeding away, and I, Betsy Sloan, was plodding as if through mud.

Actually, someone did ask me if I was feeling all right, and it was like a knife through my heart.

In other news, today was Sloan the Younger's third birthday, and we got a new big boy hair cut.  We had fun times with cakes and presents and the blowing out of candles.  I am posting pics!!

Saturday and Sunday: Run and Sickness

I am not sure from whence the arrogance springs that I will not catch Sloan the Younger's sicknesses.  Friday evening, I felt like I had a tetch of the allergies: a bit of sneezing, runny nose and a bad night's sleep. Now, I knew that Sloan IV had been sick AND I knew that he had kissed me, sneakily sipped from my straw, and generally pawed all over me and everything I own with the same hands that were used for nose wiping.  THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS NOT GOING TO CATCH IT, but I pretended  that I was invincible.

On Saturday morning, I popped out of bed, noting that my "allergies" felt more severe, but not bad enough to keep me from a 6:30 run.  I got in a good 9 mile run, and headed home where I popped Ivan in the car to watch some swimming lessons.

At home, the long slow decline continued, but I kept going.  I relentlessly searched for a hotel in Barcelona (which I found!!), before making some dip and heading out to a party where there was much fun visiting, eating of food, and a fabulous birthday cake!!  It was a great time, but when I finally arrived home, it occurred to me that I did not feel well, and as I crawled into bed, I was pretty sure that physically, something major was about to happen.


Indeed, I had nightmares all night (that I could not reach my chapstick), never once breathed through my nose, and my lips were all cracky and my throat sore at the various times that I woke up during the night.  At 6:00 AM, I felt a bit achy, and I was forced to give in to the sickness.  We all slept late, and I honestly have nothing to report about my day, but that I sat on the couch like a lump.

The bed was never made, the dishes were piled in the sink.  I devoted myself to recuperation, and I even watched television without needlepointing (which never happens).  I ate every meal on the couch and I LAID DOWN ON THE COUCH and watched re-runs of Rachel Zoe.  It was pathetic.

The upshot of all this is that I feel better at 8:30 PM.  I can breathe through my nose, there is some slight soreness of throat, but overall, I am on the mend.  Assuming that this continues tomorrow, I will resume normal activities.

Also, there are many things that I want to accomplish tomorrow.  Sloan IV's birthday is Tuesday and grandparent cake and ice cream celebration is on Sunday afternoon.  So, I need cookies to take to school, a Curious George cake for Sunday afternoon and a cupcake with a candle for birthday dinner on Tuesday.

By the way, if you are wondering why I am taking cookies to nursery school and not cupcakes, there is a child in Ivan's class with a grape allergy.  I HAVE NEVER HEARD OF SUCH A THING.  I am not offended and am willing to do anything in my power to protect the child (who is anonymous) from grapes. Apparently sugar cookies with chocolate or vanilla frosting are all that is safe: No colored icings, no cake products and no sprinkles or anything else brightly colored.  Chocolate chip cookies are also a threat.  I guess you never know where a dastardly grape is hiding.  It is clearly the villain of children's food.

SO, tomorrow, I have an appointment with the Puffy Muffin, and I will attain all of our birthday celebrating baked good needs.  It is pretty thrilling!!

Hitting the sack early, and keeping my fingers crossed that I am well enough to swim tomorrow.  I have not swum since last Wednesday, which seems like eons ago.

Product Review: Jimmy Dean D-light

OK, so I may have mentioned that I am having a Starbucks breakfast sandwich thing.  There was a point last week when I had to sit down with my bad self, and discuss the financial consequences of visiting Starbucks on a daily basis.

This week, however, by happy accident, I stumbled across Jimmy Dean D-Lights.  They have less calories, more variety and equivalent protein to the Starbucks breakfast sandwiches.  They are $5.99 for a box of four, as opposed to around $4 for a Starbucks breakfast sandwich with which you almost always buy coffee.

Now, I have tried two kinds of Jimmy Dean D-lights: English muffin and Bagel.  Both types of sandwich include egg whites, low-fat cheese, and turkey sausage, as well as about 260 calories and 18 grams of protein.  The english muffin sandwich only has about 2 grams  (7%) of your daily fiber, where the bagel sandwich has about 20% of your daily fiber.

The equivalent Starbucks sandwich is about 300 calories, 18 grams of protein and 16% of your daily fiber. So, I feel like Jimmy Dean is the dark horse who wins the race.  I would never have thought it.  I would have assumed that anything titled "Jimmy Dean D-light" would be a heart attack in a styrofoam bowl or would have involved an FDA mandated label that said that the contents would take five year off your life.  I have been pleasantly surprised.

Now, the Jimmy Dean D-lights are geared for a breakfast on the go, AND, per this idea, they only give microwave instructions which leave the bread a bit rubbery.  With a couple of days of experimentation, I have found that you can still have a quick breakfast with a little bit more planning.  I preheat the oven to 450 degrees and wrap one of the frozen sandwiches in tin foil, and bake it for 20 minutes.  This leaves the bread toasty and much more fresh.

So, I commend Jimmy Dean for his brilliant new product, and I encourage you to save your Starbucks money for something fabulous to reward your frugal lifestyle!!

Friday: The Ruinous Fever

So this morning, bright and earlier than I prefer, Young Sloan was wailing away.  Once extricated from the crib tent, it was evident that he was a bit too warm, a bit too runny of nose and a bit too congested of cough.  So we sat on the couch all wheezy and mucusy, before I headed out to the grocery at an hour when there was NO ONE else there.  The grocery had just opened, and I was so sleepy and foggy that I could not remember where the orange juice was located and I forgot to pick up more milk.

Back at Sloan Manor, it was evident that there was no way we were going to swim.  We were the lepers of the gym nursery; the very people to whom the all caps lettered sign that says "PLEASE REFRAIN FROM BRINGING SICK CHILDREN TO THE NURSERY" is directed. We moped about on the couch drinking orange juice, and that is really how the day went.

There was some watching of Curious George, some straitening of the house, and some attention to the laundry basket.  At nap-time, I did get in a good four mile run and a shower, but then Young Sloan woke up bright red and even more feverish, coughing up a storm, and unable to breathe through his nose.  So so sad.  I re-tylenoled Mr. I Spent the Whole Day in Footy Pajamas, and we resumed our position on the couch.

At 5:00 PM, I was overcome with the deep deep desire for sushi, and I phoned in an order AND THAT WAS WHEN MY DAY PEAKED.  I drove 5 miles to pick up sushi in white styrofoam boxes.

Supposedly, I am running early tomorrow, but just so you know, the weather looks uber dicey, and there is the possibility that we Sloans are in for a rough night of toddler illness.  So, things might not go my way.

Thursday: Day Off of Sorts

This morning, I had two appointments, lunch plans, an appointment with a needle wizard to discuss tailoring all of my jeans, and a visit with my parents.  In fact, why did I begin the previous sentence with "This morning", because "This morning" bled into 4:00 in the afternoon with a sobbing child and some serious grumpiness eminating from every pore on my body.

The most unfortunate part of a day full of errands like this is that I did not have a stay at home sitter, I did have some help at my first two appointments, but otherwise, Sloan the Younger was IN TOW.  I would love to count the number of times that I snapped and unsnapped all the car seat harnesses.  It seems like several thousand.

My appointments went well.  Lunch was great in that I had lunch with my mom, a wedge salad, and a buffalo burger that rocked my world.  Lunch was bad, because Sloan IV was having some bathroom issues that resulted in a lot of crying, trips to the bathroom to change diapers and all over grumpiness.  When I sat back down from the bathroom, after changing Young Sloan, I couldn't remember if I washed my hands, and I was so hungry and tired that I didn't care.  Is that where the long slow downward spiral starts?  Is the next stop giving up personal hygiene and living amongst garbage cans.

 The trip to see Mary Varallo (Needle Wizard extraordinaire!!!) was lovely as Young Sloan slept in the car and then sat placidly in an arm chair eating gummy bears while I discussed denim as if it were world peace.  In a week, I will be in possession of a wardrobe of denim that looks as if it were made for me personally.

The trip to see my parents (and yes, I know I just had lunch with my mom, but they live close to Mary Varallo and it was easy to pop in on the way home) was a drama, as Sloan IV was tired and irritable.  He was happy for moments and then fell apart only to cry the entire way home.  At home, we watched Toy Story 3, which I am told is really sad, but I was so glazed and miserable with Sloan IV sitting in my lap also glazed and miserable that it just looked like a cowboy and a space character and a lot of "Whoa Whoa Whoa!!!!".

Swim tomorrow and let's hope for a slower day.

Wednesday: Swim and Gilad

So last night, I was unable to blog because my friend Melissa came over, and we put the final touches on the planning of our trip to Spain!!!!!  It was really pretty thrilling, and I am pretty proud of  myself for following through with my New Year's Resolution to travel more!!  We are planning on two nights in Madrid, two nights in Barcelona, an afternoon in Bilbao at the Guggenheim AND a night or two in Pamplona!! It is pretty thrilling, and I feel like quite the jet set cosmopolitan.  Also, we are throwing in a day in New York to gad about!!! 

Now this morning, things got off to an early start when Sloan the Younger woke at an hour that I feel is for sure indecent.   I would have slept in, BUT BUT BUT someone, who will remain nameless, did not turn off their alarm before getting out of bed.  The alarm went off repeatedly, until I was forced to army crawl across the bed, dig up the iphone alarm and angrily turn the alarm off after wracking my brain for the code to unlock the phone.  

I will just be honest with you and say that it is lucky that thoughts cannot kill, and that my life is not a reality show.  It would have been come-a-part melt down time.  No wonder people on reality shows appear so insane, as they let the world inside their private come-a-parts.  How nice and healthy is a private come-a-part??  They make me a better person.  I stamped around in the bathroom for a couple of minutes this morning, said some really nasty things and scowled at myself in the mirror before dragging out my Pollyanna and starting my day.  

We were up so early that the car was loaded in PLENTY of time to get to swim, but it seemed that every time I thought we were loaded up, Sloan IV was somewhere different in the yard.  He was on his tricycle carrying a big stick as if he were about to joust, he was in the side yard chasing the cat with a stick, he was sprinting down the sidewalk after a bird, and suddenly 20 minutes had elapsed between getting out the door and getting to the car.  It is Spring Break week, so the traffic was quite low and we still arrived on time.

I again forgot to photograph our workout, but I will dredge my sleep deprived memory and see what I come up with:

• 500 swim
• 300 IM by 75s
• 2 x 300 pull
• 4 x 25 IM
• 4 x 50 IM
• 2 x 75 kick
• 4 x 50 kick
• 4 x 25 kick
• 4 x 25 IM
• 2 x 75 kick
• 4 x 50 kick
• 4 x 25 kick
• some extra kicking
• 300 swim

Good chance there were a few more swim things thrown in there, but I cannot remember anything else.

At home, I made lunch, put Sloan IV down for a nap and got in a Gilad workout.  There was much housewifery, and then I popped out the door for work.  

Busy day tomorrow!!

Monday: Swim, Gilad, and Potty Training

This morning was a remarkably easy morning, Young Sloan gleefully and of his own accord scrambled into the car to head to the gym.  We were there early, and I was on deck at 8:28 AM.  I arrived simultaneously with our coach, and I will say that he was shocked.

In the pool, we swam about 2800 meters.  It was a lighter day as I was somewhat worn out from yesterday, and just not feeling up to giving it my all two days in a row.  I forgot to photograph the workout, but I do remember some IMing and some kicking.  At home, I was completely ravenous and ate a boatload of food, before slowing down enough to realize that it was a not a Japanese eating contest, it was mere lunch.

While Sloan the Younger was napping, I got in a Gilad workout, and when he woke up, I felt that it was the perfect time to give potty training another go.  My child was dubious at best, and I will tell you in advance that the whole endeavor went at least 70 percent worse than my last attempt.  After the expected "want my diaper" tantrumming, there were multiple escapes from the bathroom, refusals to sit on the potty, accident upon accident before the final act of defiance.

The final act of defiance was a one Young Sloan racing into the bathroom at top speed and grabbing his baby potty seat off the toilet and throwing it in the bathtub, slamming down the toilet lid and kicking the stool that he is supposed to stand on to get to the potty.  "Not use 'mode!!!" was his rallying cry, and it was quite impassioned.  If Napoleon had half his fervor, it is really no wonder that he accomplished what he did.

Anyway, I am going to give it a half-hearted try tomorrow.  I will let him pick out some gummie treats at the grocery store and get a heftier rewards system going, but I do not expect much, friends.  I am beaten down and disheartened.  After the terribleness of this afternoon, when Sloan III came to take Sloan IV outside for some yard play, I laid down on the couch to clear my mind and decided that I would not call this my favorite day, NAY, my favorite week of parenting.

Track workout tomorrow!!

Sunday: Swim

I have to say that this weekend went from shrimp cocktail to quiche to queso to pizza really rapidly.  I always find myself wondering after eating like this for a few days: Is this how people that have to have a wall taken down to get them out of their houses get started?

I occasionally get sucked into these specials on The Learning Channel (TLC), The 900 Pound Woman, The Man Who Weighs a Ton, and various other specials, and I will say that their fate usually does involve a fair amount of Mexican food and queso.  It generally also involves some deep deep ignorance about food. For instance, thinking that drinking a Big Gulp Coca Cola is better for you than a milkshake, so you might call it healthy.  For instance, eating fried rice because "Japanese" food is healthier than McDonald's.

OK, by even recalling the eating horrors that transpire on those terrible shows, I have made myself feel a lot better about my weekend.  I mean, there was a lot of fruit and salad mixed in with my terrible foods.  I have not had a Coca Cola or a Dr. Pepper in 6 months.  It is all going to be OK.   The walls of my house can remain intact.  I can now move onto other things.

Sloan the Younger and I headed to church this morning, and I have to say that I know that Church is not the place to display massive amounts of pride, but my child was ridiculously cute today.  I have no choice, but to post pictures of his adorableness.  Of course, this all devolved rather quickly.

Now, today was the post church coffee.  It happens about once a month, and we Sloans are big attenders as they always have church punch, fruit and coffee.  While we were going through the paper plate buffet, Young Sloan pulled a pair of chopsticks out of my handbag.  I will say this was no surprise.  If he had pulled out a ship's anchor or the Shroud of Turin or Jimmy Hoffa, alive and well, I would not bat an eye.  There is no telling what you will find in my handbag.  I sincerely meant to clean it out thoroughly over the Spring Break week, but it just did not happen.

Anyway, I was nonplussed about the chopsticks.  They were keeping everyone quiet, and I was able to socialize.  Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw the chopsticks moving as if on their own into a bowl of mixed nuts.  When nuts began raining onto the floor like confetti, I lunged for the chopsticks.  Young Sloan, in turn, fought AS IF FOR HIS LIFE to keep the chopsticks, and when he saw that he was losing the mommy fight, he threw the chopsticks into the air with all his might where they landed in front of a stunned woman on a walker.  Now, fully in a temper, Young Sloan took the stuffed dog ("Doggie") that was in his other hand and  hurled it over his head, where it landed on the buffet table, and one of the long floppy ears landed in an older man's coffee.

IT WAS A DRAMA.  WE WERE A SPECTACLE.  Young Sloan knew immediately that he was going to be the target of some hardcore consequences, and he threw himself prone on the floor.  I was left with no choice but to muscle him out to the car, while murmuring harsh remonstrances that all seemed to start with "I never in my life....", "Young Man....", or "Just wait until we get home...." like I was Tom Sawyer's Aunt Polly.

At home, I could not get someone down for a nap fast enough.  I put him down for a nap, and then laid on my bed staving off hyperventilation.  This child rearing is stressful.

In the afternoon, I got out to swim.  Workout was not long, but I was falling apart by the end of it.  Wasn't maintaing my pace, I got passed in the lane, I got lumped with the slower group and whatever!!! I can't be beating myself up over swim.  Workout as follows:

• 400 warmup
• 800 swim @ T-30 pace
• 600 swim @ T-30 pace
• 400 swim @ T-30 pace
• 200 swim @ T-30 pace
• 100 swim @ T-30 pace
• 100 easy

Saturday: Run

Hair Treatment!!

So last night, I was home too late to blog.  By "home too late to blog", I mean 10:00 PM.  When I get home too late too late to blog, that also means I am home too late to get up early enough to meet my running group.  Now, I have to say that when I do not center my Saturday with a great run, I generally do a lot of time wasting and today was NO EXCEPTION.  It was also a long day of confusing hunger with boredom.

This morning, Sloan the Younger and I met my parents for breakfast at the Puffy Muffin, I mowed through some quiche, toasted whole wheat bread (with butter) and a bowl of fruit.  At home, I did hit the neighborhood for a 5ish mile run, but hung out on the couch for so long eating cereal, that the run now seems completely negligible.  At a point, I felt really ill, which I think makes a lot of sense with the amount of food that I ingested.

After leeching away what seems like several hours watching Scott Pilgrim, Sloan IV brought home a bunch of salad and chips and queso and the rest of the evening just devolved.  In fact, confession: I might be watching it for the second time right now, and it was a good movie, but not that good.  It is just a Saturday of laziness, of avoiding obligation, of taking a nap in the same clothes that I ran in.

I did do a deep condition treatment on Young Sloan's hair, as he has been walking around like he stuck his finger in a light socket due to some highly chlorinated swimming earlier in the week.

Now, Friday was a great day of swimming long course, doing yard work, getting ready for a great night out at a reception and a fun movie, and getting home too late to blog.

Church and Swim tomorrow!!

Thursday: Run and Gilad

So, I feel that we are almost out of the Daylight Savings Time woods.  I slept reasonably well last night, and Sloan the Younger went to sleep at 9:00 PM, so we may get back to 7:30 bedtime at some point.  Now, there were two points in the night when he woke up, and made a a bit of noise that woke us up. I have high hopes that tonight is the night that Young Sloan is asleep at 8:15 and makes it through the night.

We did make it to nursery school on time, as apparently we are learning to function without sleep.  Back at home, I got in a Gilad workout and a six mile run.  The weather was SO beautiful today that our neighborhood felt like a park.

In other news, I received a phone call from nursery school that my child had taken a flying head first leap from the jungle gym and landed on his mouth.  They told me not to worry, but his lip had exploded.  Blood everywhere, but a trip to the nurse's office and some quiet time with Boo Boo Bear had apparently made everything OK.  They put him on the phone with me, and he stated that "I hurt my wip, but I not cry".  So brave, so sad.

When I picked him up, his lip was indeed fat with two big gashes in the bottom lip.  He was chipper and happy, but had not taken much of a nap.  We headed out to swim and visit his great-grandmother (Mimi)!! It was a great trip with lots of stories about my husband's father as a child (his first concussion after being thrown from a horse) and a great swim at the heated pool in her complex.

At home, in response to the weather, it is an evening of pedicures and fake tans!!

Wednesday: Swim

So, my video from yesterday did not download onto the blog.  I will try again, but I would also like to just let you know that AGAIN, daylight savings time is ruining family life at Sloan manor.  We are sleep deprived, grumpy and unattractive.  I have spilled my gym coffee both Monday and Wednesday morning in an act of clumsy sleep deprivation, and spent longer getting to the pool deck as I was ensconced in the tiny snack room mopping up my mess with who knows how many trees worth of napkins.  Yes, I could have used my pool towel, but could I bear to emerge from the pool and wrap myself in a wet and cold coffee smelly towel?  It was too much for me.  Things are in a downward spiral as it is.

Today, all Sloans were late out of bed.  Two Sloans drank coffee while glaring into nothingness.  One Sloan left the house dressed appropriately and professionally.  One Sloan left the house dressed like Thing One.  One Sloan left the house dressed in Yoga pants, Uggs and the deep hope that she had remembered to put on her bathing suit underneath it all, because I honestly could not remember.

I was in the pool at a reasonable time today, but can I just tell you that my friend Jamie always gets to the pool 30 minutes early and swims 1500 meters before practice even starts.  Even when I get there on time, it sort of makes me feel like a loser, as she is always 4500 meters to my 3000.  However, IT IS NOT A COMPETITION and Jamie has a different schedule.  I forgot to photograph the workout today, so I know I swam 3000 meters, and there was definitely about 400 meters of IMing, I did work on my backstroke.  There was some kicking while Jamie and I talked about a movie premier that she had attended and discussed grooming.

I am battling some debilitating hunger, and I enjoyed a breakfast sandwich from Starbucks post swim.  They have been out of my favorite low-fat turkey bacon, eggs whites, flax seed english muffin with 320 calories, 18 grams of protein and 3 grams of fiber.  It is my favorite, and I had to substitute it for the regular sausage, egg and cheese sandwich with 500 calories, 19 grams of protein, and negligible fiber.  If McDonald's was still serving breakfast, the mcmuffin probably would have been just as nutritionally valuable and less expensive.  McDonald's is not still serving breakfast, however, and they are missing a large market share of my post-swim hunger.  Their loss.

In an exciting turn of events, Starbucks gave me the wrong, yet still delicious coffee, and I get to have a free one tomorrow!!!!  Yay!!!!

Tomorrow, is my next to last day of Spring Break and I am cooking!!!!

Tuesday: Run

Again, may I just tell you that day light savings time is RUINING me.  Now last night, Young Sloan was ultimately awake until 10:00 PM, just wailing away, which meant that the elder Sloans did not even attempt to sleep until al was quiet.  This put us in bed at about 10:30 PM and to get to track practice on time, I need to be up at 5:20 AM.  After tossing and turning for a bit, I turned off the alarm and gave up on track practice.

 In a weird strange conundrum of child sleep patterns, Sloan the Younger's late bedtime did not translate into a late morning.  He was up bright and early and supremely grumpy; a grumpiness that continued throughout the day, and went on until the evening and no doubt will continue all week.

I was able to get out for a run while Young Sloan was in nursery school.  It was about 5 miles of quite cold weather and lackluster athletic performance.  Bleh.  I am hoping for better tomorrow.

In other news, I bought a WEDGE OF BRIE at the grocery store today.  A WEDGE.  I am not sure what came over me or how it happened, but there is now half of a wedge of brie sitting in my refrigerator calling my name.  There is a slight chance that I will scramble it into eggs tomorrow, and then it will be gone and I can pretend it did not happen.

Aaaah, brie!!

Monday: Swim and Gilad

You know, I would love to wax poetic about my great distaste for daylight savings time.  Last night, Young Sloan was wailing until all hours as his circadian rhythms still really prefer his old bedtime.  He was wailing again at what I considered a VERY inappropriate dark-thirty this morning, and then he overslept MASSIVELY, which put him in a VERY foul mood about then leaving the house to hit the gym.   Now, because our typical alarm clock overslept, we older Sloans also overslept, so we were helter skelter willy nilly about the house.  It was all bad coffee and "For the effing love, has anyone seen Young Sloan's shoes??!!"

By the time, we made it into the car for swim, we were running a full 15 minutes late, I had not even started on my smoothie, and the both of us were pretty half dressed.  It was all pajamas and bad hair.  Anyway, OF COURSE, when we pulled into traffic, there was honestly the worst Monday morning traffic misery I have ever seen.  I was PARKED for 45 minutes. I just sat there mutely drinking coffee while Sloan IV sang along with the radio.

When I finally waltzed into swim, we were ridiculously late, though Sloan the Younger was pretty perky to be there and seemed to really enjoy the nursery.  By the time I got on the pool deck and got in, I swam as much of the workout as I could.  There were some 100's, 400's and some kicking.  No idea how much I did not swim, and I don't really even want to know.

I got in a great Gilad session in the afternoon.  Then in a very enjoyable twist of organization, I listened to The Lincoln Lawyer on my iphone while I cleaned out the pantry.  It is just amazing what piles up in an American pantry over the course of half a year, and it is so pleasant to sort through when you are listening to good crime novel.

Saturday and Sunday: Run and Swim

So, yesterday, I was up at 5:45 AM to hit the park and run.  It was a great day, but I forgot my Garmin, which always makes me feel like I am just tooling around.  We ran a three mile golf course warm-up run, before meeting back and running a 7 mile "Westside" run, which means that we run past the Westside Athletic Club before running into the park and finishing.  It ended up being about 10 or 11 miles.  It was a great run; not too hard and I enjoyed it the whole way.

Though my run was great, I was coming off a weird night's sleep.  While I did get into bed at 9:30, I was wide away at 2:00 AM.  After tossing and turning, I picked up a book and read alertly until 4:00 AM, when I put down the book and resumed sleeping until my alarm went off at 5:45 AM.  It was a bummer as I am a determined getter of 8 hours a night.  About an hour after my run, I was a zombie.  My thoughts were all jumbly, I took a porciline tea-cup into the shower, and got shower water in my coffee and did not even care.  Then, I collapsed on the couch and performed some seriously poor parenting.  I mostly interacted with Sloan IV from the couch, shouting directive and encouragements while he ran about.

When Young Sloan went down for his nap, I took all the phones off the hook, put in my swim earplugs which are pretty hysterical because they stick out of my ears with a distinctly Frankenstein look.  I also shut my bedroom door and put on my peeper sleeper.  At 2:00 PM, I emerged a new person, which is lucky because the rest of my afternoon demanded it.

After my nap, Sloan III, Sloan IV, and myself hit My Gym for a three year old friend's birthday party.  I have maybe never seen Sloan IV have a better time.  My Gym is a huge room of bouncy things, balancing bars, ball tubs, and every other amazing thing.  For an hour and a half, it was pretty much mayhem, zip lines and massive trampoline catastrophes that Sloan the Younger thoroughly enjoyed.  There was enough cake for the parents, and I have to say that that really meets my criteria for a successful children's bash.

After my gym, we had dinner at the Local Taco, a place I could eat every night, and then we headed home.  At home, I was overtaken my debilitating tiredness and 8:30 PM found both myself and Young Sloan crashed out in my bed.  The party seems to have been too much for the both of us.  Also, for the past two years, I have made the mistake of trying to keep Young Sloan up a little later the night of day light savings time.  I always do this in hopes that he will sleep a little later in the morning, and we will have an easy transition.  This has now mercilessly backfired for two years in row, and I am sure that  have not yet learned my lesson.  Young Sloan stayed up too late and was up at an hour so early that I felt as is my heart was broken.  He was then grumpy until he went down for a nap, and I told myself to remember this for next year, though I doubt that I will.

So, the next big thing was swim and our workout was as follows:

• 400 warmup
• 5 x 100 @ 2:00
• 1 x 50
• 1 x 100
• 1 x 150
• 1 x 200
• 400 pull
• 1 x 50
• 1 x 100
• 1 x 150
• 1 x 200
• 400 pull

Absolutely famished after swim.  This whole hunger business is wearing me out.

Watching Micmacs by the director of Amelie.

Friday: Swim and Run

May I just tell you that my every other Fridays are beginning to come with a built in slot of time that allows me to pop out the door and run a fast three miles at around 1:00.  It rather amazes me that it has happened, it is a lovely gift and I refuse to speak too much about it lest it be jinxed!!

Onto swim, where we had a rather grumpy morning and there was finally no choice, but to allow Sloan the Younger to bring his doll stroller to the gym nursery with him.  It actually was not as bad as I initially thought.  I envisioned myself carrying all my swim gear, the diaper bag, and my beverage with Young Sloan and his doll stroller teetering on top of the pile.  It worked out rather well however, as Sloan IV walked into swim amiably pushing his doll stroller while I followed him.

In retrospect, it seems rather silly of me to have protested the doll stroller as it actually made for a much faster entry into the gym, and everyone was happy.  Doll stroller actually saved me loads of time, and in my opinion doll stroller is now always welcome.

So, I arrived on the pool deck a full half hour late due to my doll stroller protestations.  (If only I had known how well it would work!!!!) Dennis was coaching us today as Steven was out of town, and I was half an hour late to a 4500 yard workout.  I actually ended with 2900 meters, which for an hour in the pool is not terrible.  Workout as follows:

• 500 swim choice
• 4 x 100 (50 kick/ 50 swim) @ 2:00
• 20 x 25 kick @ :35
• 12 x 100 swim @ 1:40
• 300 pull

So the swim was pretty reasonable, but I was famished when I left.  It was the sort of hungry that made me angry at anyone doing anything outside of getting me food.  I drove straight to Starbucks and ordered my favorite breakfast sandwich, and they were out of it, and I wanted to shout obscenities at the helpless Starbucks attendant who broke the news to me.  I did order another sandwich that was suitable, but it was not as filling. 

This led to a toy store candy DRAMA.  We also stopped at a toy store to pick up a birthday present for a friend, and I was still suffering from some mammoth hunger.  OF COURSE, the toy store had a display of monkey head shaped chocolate covered rice krispie treats.  Did I eat 75% of one?  Of course I did.  It happened so fast, and when I gave Young Sloan his portion of monkey head he said, "Oh Mama, you eat his eyes." Of course I ate his eyes, it is amazing I did not bite off any of my own fingers in my feeding frenzy.  

Anyway, after a full blown toy store meltdown when it was found out that we were only taking home one small thing, everything was loaded into the car and and we finally made it home.  

My parents took me out for dinner in the evening!!!  Fun times!!!

Run Tomorrow!!

Thursday: RUN

So today is usually my day off, but I sort of wanted to run anyway, AND I DID.  It was rainy and I had two new songs on my shuffle (that I will not confess to you, lest you think I have TERRIBLE taste in music; AS FAR AS YOU KNOW IT WAS BOB DYLAN).  I ran about 6 miles and I really enjoyed it.  There was no wearing of watches and it rained the whole time I ran, but still.

At home, I did a massive amount of paperwork and sent it off to be read and proofed. I cleaned, laundered and performed various other tasks of housewifery before popping out to get sushi and eat it at my leisure.

Now, I find that my sushi disease is over-ordering and my take out tally was a Philadelphia roll, an Alaska roll, a seaweed salad and some edamame.  Though I was too full for the edamame, I always feel that if I am somewhere where they are making such a healthy treat that I can never make very well on my own, I should go ahead and grab some so that it can be my dinner-time snack.  This is exactly what it was, and I felt pretty good about it as a half cup of edamame has the following properties:

• 120 calories
• 5ish grams of fiber
• 11 grams of protein

I mean, those are some great stats for a snack food.  I should really always get two orders.

In the afternoon, Sloan the Younger and I had a play-date of sorts and then hit the mall for a bit of throwing pennies in the fountain, a hot tea, and exactly 5 Whoppers which I bought individually at the candy store at the mall.  Buying individual Whoppers is the way to go for me, as I cannot control myself myself in the face of a whole box.  

Swim tomorrow!!

Book Report: Fall of Giant by Ken Follet

Fall of Giants is Ken Follet's latest novel.  It is 1000 pages long, and it reads like it is 250 pages long.  It is just GREAT!!!  How have I not read any Ken Follet before.  Now, Fall of Giants is a historical novel set before, during and slightly after World War I.  It follows five families from four different countries, there is great character development, the families often intertwine and I felt like I learned a lot about the era of World War I:  women's suffrage, the state of Russia, American's reluctance, and Germany's overconfident older men that surrounded the Kaiser and gave him bad information that led to their downfall.

The two English families are a British noble family and a coal-mining family in the town of their family seat.  These two families paint of picture of how little English nobility fathomed the lower classes until fighting together in World War I made them equals to some degree.  The Russian family shows us the corruption and lack of government that overwhelmed Russia at the turn of the century, as well as following Lenin and introducing us to Stalin.  The German family paints a picture of the older men that surrounded the Kaiser and the younger more worldly generation that understood how unprepared Germany was for all out war. Finally, an American family that works closely with Woodrow Wilson to show how reluctant he was to involve America in the war, yet how he eventually had no choice.  Russian immigrants in America are also portrayed as a member of the Russian family moves to America.

The lives of each family intertwine and their choices and determinations are just so interesting.  The characters are all well-developed, with their clothing, furnishings, and vehicles telling you just as much about who they are as their dialogue and thoughts.

I also like it that historical figures walked in and out of these families.  For instance, Winston Churchill is at a house party with Fitz, the patriarch of the house of British nobility in the book and Fitz notes with frustration that, "Sometimes Winston imagined he had devised a policy when all he had done was coin a phrase."  I felt that this was an astute and probably quite true observation about Churchill, and I loved that Follet was able to show the British nobility's initial frustration with Winston Churchill's blustery aggressive style.

Now, Fall of Giants is the first of a trilogy and the second book is not yet published, which is a bummer as the book ends and leaves you yearning to hear the end of everyone's story.  BUT, it is so worth the read and though it is a huge book, you will finish it very quickly.  My only complaint about the book, was that I did not feel Follet spoke enough about the state of the American army before World War I.  I think that the American army had low numbers, there was a nasty draft and ensuing protest, but it kicked our country into gear for being prepared in the future.  I feel that there was a great explanation of the preparedness of the German army (very prepared, but low numbers and surrounded by enemies), the British army (prepared and well-staffed, but nobility were immediately commanding officers and it sometimes seemed as if this was not enough qualification, but then THEY WERE the only soldiers that had been to military school), and the Russian army (grossly underprepared and undersupplied; it was just ridiculous, but lots of manpower).

Oooh, and my other complaint was that the book was so heavy that I got a crick in my neck in bed while I was trying to hold it up and recline on a pillow.  BUT, that is my own fault for buying shoes instead of a Kindle or some such.

Wednesday: Swim

It occurs to me that regardless of the fact that yesterday was Fat Tuesday, I was RATHER cavalier with my carbs.  The Fat Tuesday pancake dinner was one thing, but I also had a bit of a muffin meltdown in Bible study, and that much refined flour just cannot be good for my constitution.  Today, I have not really felt in my zone and you know, I cannot help but blame my Bisquick level carbohydrate consumption.  Today has been rather better, and I gotten more than my servings of fruits and vegetables and even a glass of V8.

Now, this morning, we were out the door to swim on time, we arrived on time, Sloan the Younger walked into the gym all of his own accord which is a small wonder.  Typically, I stagger into the gym carrying my swim bag, swim toys, diaper bag, some sort of beverage for swim and balanced on the tippy top of the pile is my child.  It is a Herculean effort every morning and I generally count it as one-eighth of my workout.  Today, is was an easy walk in.

At swim, I was on deck on time and got in about 2800 meters:

• 200 swim
• 200 kick
• 200 IM
• 200 pull
• 6 x 50 choice @ 1:00
• 12 x 25 alternate back/ breast @ :35
• 3 x 100 IM @ 1:45
• 8 x 75 free build 1:30
• 3 x 200 descend @ 3:30
• 300 swim cool down

At home, it seems that my mounds of paperwork have made me forget about Gilad and Yoga, which are both pretty important and needs be re-added.  

Tuesday: Speed Sessions

So maybe I am not taking my speed sessions very seriously.  There are no races on my calendar, and I have raised my interval times a bit.  It is not a big thing.

Now, today, track practice went a little longer because a Saucony rep visited us and offered up loads of new shoes to try on and use during track practice.  There were lots of lighter-weight shoes and shoes mimicking barefoot shoes.  Not being in the market for new shoes and feeling that it was too early and too much work to change shoes at track practice, I was a real stick in the mud and ran in my Mizuno classics.  This gave us a bit of a late start to the workout as follows:

• mile warmup
• 4 x 200 (fast/slow)
• 8 x 400 at fast interval (mine does not really matter as I have self altered my intervals)
• Jog a 400 between each fast 400
• mile cool down

Now, practice ran a bit late with the Saucony rep, so it put me on the road a little later.  It is amazing what 15 minutes will do to morning traffic.  It was a slow drive home.  

Now, today, I do not know if you are aware, is Fat Tuesday.  Very exciting.  Every year our church (St. Paul's) has a Fat Tuesday fundraiser where the youth group fixes breakfast for dinner.  There are pancakes, sausage, crepes, fruit, and potato casserole, various drinks and a craft table and face painting for kids.  It runs from 5:30 to 7:00, and when we were first attending St. Paul's, work kept me from attending.  Then the past couple of years, work and Young Sloan's bedtime have kept me from attending.  This year, however, I was DETERMINED to attend and the Fat Tuesday fundraiser, and it did not disappoint.  Sloan the Younger and I feasted on apple and cantaloupe and sausage and crepes with a lemon sauce and pancakes.  It was great.  We were late getting there and there was a bit of a fruit shortage, so next year, I am just going to block off Fat Tuesday and be the first one there.  There is no excuse to miss a church social, as they are dearly loved.  Feeling quite fat however.  

Swim tomorrow!!

Monday: Swim

Me at HTC, don't you love the men's team that ran in drag.  They are standing in the background!

The Sloans were on it today.  We were up, washing clothes, making well-balanced breakfasts, brewing coffee and steeping tea in the wee hours.  Sloan IV and I were out the door by 8:02 AM and arrived at swim early.  The gym nursery entrance went off without a hitch and I was on the pool deck early and I small splashed my way into the pool like a champ.  Steven set up a 4100 meter workout and I finished 4000 meters.  There would not have been a big issue with fitting in the last 100, but I reached a point of apathy today.  Workout as follows:

• 400 swim
• 200 kick
• 4 x 75 kick/ drill/ swim IM
• 4 x 50 drill/ swim IM
• 4 x 25 swim IM
• 2 x 500 pull
• 2 x 75 kick
• 4 x 25 kick
• 2 x 75 kick
• 4 x 25 kick
• 4 x 200 pull

I am leaving out something, but it all ended up being 4000.

On the way home, I fell into a bit of a sugar situation when we stopped at the grocery to pick up some pasta and I had a kiddie cookie and then Young Sloan asked for a donut and ate one bite, and I was forced to eat most of it before throwing it behind the wheel of the car in the parking lot. It is uber dangerous to hit the grocery after swim, as swim produces a ravenous hunger that is typically satiated in some terribly unhealthy way in the baked goods aisle.  

At home, I made more buttery noodles and they were amazing.  Work was cancelled and I spent an afternoon embroiled in household chores.  

Track workout tomorrow!!

Sunday: Run and Swim

Moab!!

You know, after looking over my last two blog posts, it actually rather frightens me when I think what might happen if I did not work out a bit.  I would apparently just READ ALL DAY and write book reports about what I read.  There would probably be a crossword puzzle and some knitting and needlepoint thrown in, but in the grand scheme of things it looks as if I might become some sort of bookworm hermit.  I really should learn to play bridge so that old age does not find me sequestered without human contact for months at a time.

Anyway, this morning, I popped out of bed with a tasty bowl of oatmeal and headed out to the park to run the 5.8 mile loop with friends.  It was a great laid back run that was perfect after my weekend of sickness.  It was chillier than expected and I wore the wrong shirt which kept riding up under my jacket and exposing my stomach to the cold.  Cold stomach is one of my least favorite cold sensations, right after cold fingers and toes and I made a mental note to relegate said shirt to the yoga shirt pile.  It is no longer fit for running. Post-run, it began to snow just a tiny bit and I was glad to head home. At home,  I made some more oatmeal and loaded up Sloan the Younger to head to church.

Church was great.  Our organ has just been retuned and had a few pipes added and the music was so beautiful.   Our final hymn was Brightest and Best of the Stars of the Morning.  (Lyrics)

At home, I had a bit of lunch before packing up and heading in to swim.  It was such a gray cold day outside, that the idea of getting into the pool was particularly chilling.  AND, there were many splashers at the pool today, by which I mean people that practically cannonball into the water to start their lap swimming.

Confession: I greatly dislike being splashed, which is pretty much in keeping with my deep-rooted nerdiness now that I think about it.  I have only ever been that girl sitting on the side on the pool slathering herself with an epic amount of sunscreen and giving the stink-eye to unruly splashers.  Never once, have I engaged in a game of chicken in the water.  It is just not who I am.  Who I am, is the girl who once won THE SMALLEST SPLASH award at camp.  I was remarkably proud of the negligible impact of my entrance into the water at the camp pool.  In retrospect, however, does not THE SMALLEST SPLASH award sound like something you give to the nerdy kid who sat on the side of the pool all week carefully applying sunscreen and frowning at splashers.  Oblivious to the deep schoolmarmy nature of my 11 year old self, I no doubt accepted my award with more than a modicum of pride.  Ahhh, my 11 year old self.

Anyway, after I smallest splashed myself into the pool, our workout was as follows:

• 400 warmup
• 3 x 400 swim @ 8:30
• 3 x 400 pull @ 7:30

I made butternut squash pasta for dinner and it rocked my world.  Totally easy:

• whole wheat pasta cooked and drained and still hot
• mix in 1/4 cup milk
• and 2 tablespoons of butter
• and 1/2 cup of butternut squash purree
• and a goodly bit of parmesan cheese
• serve it up!!

Book Report:The Buccaneers by Edith Wharton

Edith Wharton

OK, so I am a huge Edith Wharton fan.  I really enjoy an author who hones in on an aspect of society and puts it under a microscope.  I think that Edith Wharton and F. Scott Fitzgerald are the best Americans at it, oh and maybe Upton Sinclair, but that is debatable. Tolstoy is the best Russian for that type of writing. That is really all I can think of in the genre.  These authors really go through the paces of portraying lives that are completely ruled by their social class and show how privilege can be just crippling to a person's character.

Back to Edith Wharton, I really enjoyed The Age of Innocence and I recently read the short story Roman Fever and I once started House of Mirth, but it is so mirthless that I had to let it go.  So, by the time that Edith Wharton wrote The Buccaneers, she had already been the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize (for The Age of Innocence). This book is a much faster read and does not really have the depth of a lot of Wharton's other work, but I listened to it and found it to be a GREAT listen.  Also, Edith Wharton passed away before she finished the book, so it was finished by someone else and you can see where the writing drops off and the heroine does not behave the way a Wharton protagonist typically would.

The gist of the story is that there are four young girls of new money trying desperately to break in to New York society.  This is impossible, but when one of their friends elopes with the lesser son of British nobility, an enterprising governess sees a way to force the girls into American society.  Since their friend has married in British nobility, the upstart Americans must be received by the family of the new husband.  If one nobel house has agreed that the girls may visit, then the other royal houses must also open their doors.  Changes to British tax laws mean that the British are having great difficulty holding onto their vast estates and they need the new money from America to increase their wealth.  So many British noblemen married new American money. This is actually how Jennie Churchill ended up marrying Winston's father Randolph.  Anyway, the idea of the governess is that once the girls have been accepted by British nobility, no one in American society could turn them away.

I would recommend the book. I think it is a good quick introduction to Wharton if you are not ready to dive into The Age of Innocence.  

Saturday: Sickness and Nerd Alert

Ken Follet author of Fall of Giants

So, on Friday what started out as a woozy feeling morning ended up in a full blown terrible stomach illness that could have been caused by some rampant overeating that began at Zoe's cafe when I sat Young Sloan on the counter so that I could rifle through my handbag for my wallet (like a raccoon in a trash can, by the way). When I looked up, Ivan had taken one of the gigantic cookies by the cash register, opened it and stuck as much of it as possible into his mouth.  SO, I added that to my tab and as Sloan the Younger is completely satisfied by a cookie after one bite (why cannot I have this blessed blessed gift?), his mother was left to munch on it while we waited for our take out order, which I ate too much of and something did not sit well and Friday just devolved into calling in sick and spending pretty much the whole day in and out of a terrible stomach ache/ nausea coma.

We pretty much hung out in bed all day Friday, and I have to say that as feeling terrible goes, it was not my worst day.  This is largely because I was immersed in just about the only thing that could improve my churning stomach:  Fall of Giants.  It was so good.  I read and read and read and NEVER got tired of it.  I turned the last page today, and I was so sad to see it end.  It was the first in a trilogy, so I am now consumed by what will happen to Maud and her family.  There is no closure in a the first book of a trilogy. I mean you have to wait through three books before Frodo ever gets that blasted ring to Mordor, and I cannot imagine that the writer of a trilogy could really construct things any other possible way.

Anyway, Fall of Giants was approximately 1000 pages long, but it felt like 300 and I was sad to see it end. On to the fraught with meanness life of Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Saturday, I planned to run, but the rain was epic, and I would have had the jog stroller and it is one thing to get caught in a rainstorm when you are running on your own and a completely other thing to get caught in a rainstorm with the jog stroller.  I imagine that Hester Prynne bore less persecution than a mother who voluntarily soaks their child to the bone in a jog stroller.  I have been stopped and lectured TWO times when I inadvertently got caught in a rainstorm with the jog stroller. I mean, excuse me for living, as rainwater is so the number one killer of toddlers.

So, all this to say that I have had three days off.  It is what it is.  I am running and swimming tomorrow.

Nerd Alert PS:  I just looked up Ken Follet's (Fall of Giants) website and guess what he is reading RIGHT NOW: Wolf Hall!!!  I just ordered it from amazon last week as it is a New Yorker must read and it is sitting on my bedside table.  Ken and I have so much in common!!

Thursday: Day Off

So, I have been an avid Ebayer for years.  It is a good and bad thing.  It has ruined my ability to shop, which might not be a bad thing.  I guess more, it has ruined my ability to need a dress for an occasion and then go somewhere and pick one out and bring it home.  If I need something, it is more like I head out shopping with a little spiral notebook, lock myself in a dressing room with several articles of clothing, then mark down my size in each item and head home to peruse Ebay until I find it for much less.  Then to prolong my excruciation, I begin rounding up items from my closet that I can bear to part with and sell them on Ebay so that I can get the item that I want for an even lower price.  It is a game of strategy and chance, you do not always win, and honestly sometimes the disappointment is unbearable.  I know that local shopkeepers hate me and wonder what I am doing holed up in their dressing rooms, and I do have nice clothes, but I cannot say that I always save money, as I am still ultimately buying clothes.

I do, however, have some stunning items that I will probably have when I am 80.  The shoes and the jeans are the best bargains.  I know I am a European 38 and the European classification system is much more reliable than our American system.  For this reason, I I ere on the side of luxury shoes and have been more than successful.  They are usually available slightly used for at the most, 1/5 of the price.  Amazing right??
Jeans are always around $75 to $50 dollars cheaper and sometimes much much cheaper which is always exciting.

Other things like cashmere sweaters and lovely jackets also come down the pike, and it seems that if I have good judgement about my purchases they retain a good bit of their resale value, and if I am bored with them I can sell them and put the money towards some other Ebay item.  It is thrilling!!  I work with strategy, I dicker with vendors and complain vehemently if the items received are not as advertised, and I have always won.  SO, I encourage you to Ebay and enhance the luxury items in your closet.  If you wear a shoe size 38, however, beware, as I will be trying to outbid you.

Anyway, all that to say that this month I won my greatest Ebay triumph.  In the first SEX and the CITY movie, Carrie Bradshaw buys this beautiful pair of blue Manolo Blahnik shoes to wear for a wedding that then does not happen.  I mean, I do not really fault anyone for not marrying Carrie Bradshaw, but I was in raptures over the shoes except that they were blue satin, which is totally impractical.  Ever since, however, I have been perusing Ebay for a similar style that I could incorporate into my wardrobe, and one day I found them.  It was a very similar style, with a slightly lower heel and made with black calf's hair and a huge rhinestone pilgrim buckle.

I sold a pair of my own shoes that were totally uncomfortable and then put in a secret bid with a bidding company that I use, and the shoes were mine for 1/8 of the retail value.  It is amazing.  They are beautiful, a perfect fit, ever so comfortable and I can honestly say that they have contributed to a slight increase in the quality of my life.  I think we should none of us be intimidated by runway prices, luxury is easily ours with a bit of patience and an eye for a lasting style.

Wednesday: Swim, Gilad and Yoga

So I did not blog yesterday and I have to admit that this has been some sort of fall off the wagon downward spiral of food week.  On Monday, I was literally Girl Scout Cookie ILL.  Confession: I did not make it to speed sessions on Tuesday morning and I had to run 6 miles on my own in the afternoon.  I blame it all on my ridiculous eating.

On Tuesday, things were going reasonably well until I got to Whole Foods in the afternoon, where I ate a ginormous gluten-free chocolate chip cupcake that ROCKED MY WORLD.  It was so good while I was eating it, and then it suddenly was not good anymore.  It was way too much sugar, and I realized that I was in THE THICK of a sugar thing.  I was craving sugar and feeling run down, and that usually only really happens to me around the holidays.  So, I have had to give myself a talking to and today has been largely sugar free.  I did have a glass of chocolate milk, but no big deal.

Now today, I went to swim, and Young Sloan and I were late because I overslept.  I overslept because I stayed up too late reading Fall of Giants. Then lay awake a bit worrying about the principals in Fall of Giants.  In other literary news, I am doubling down on my bedtime reading, and going through a book called The Prodigal God, by Tim Keller.  It addresses the significance of the older brother in Jesus' prodigal son parable.  It is full of life lessons that might not be picked up if you are mostly paying attention to the prodigal son.  

Anyway, my nocturnal reading schedule put me at an oversleeping bedtime, and I had to hustle to not be later than I was.  At the pool, there were many attendees, so I 

had to share a lane with Jamie and we had much to discuss as we social kicked majority of the practice.  I did get in some IM sets, and a 500 pull, but I think I only swam about 2500 meters which is utterly abysmal, even though I am DIALING IT DOWN.  And sometimes, when I talk about my swimming schedule with Steven, I am certain that he wants to laugh when I talk about swimming hard or taking an easy week.  As a veteran of a lifestyle of 10,000 - 8,000 meter practices, when I tell Steven I am going to take it easy for a while, I am certain that he thinks my life is taking it easy.  He is totally nice about my shenanigans though, and I really appreciate it.  

At home, in a gift to his mommy, Sloan the Younger napped for almost three hours which gave me time to do Yoga, Gilad, much folding, and some pedicure work (that desperately needed attending).  It was blissful, and I wish I could talk him into doing it every day.  

Anyway, it is Wednesday night, I am shutting down the sugar thing and tomorrow is going to be a better day.  

Oooh, tomorrow is a day off, and I am going to use it to tell you about my latest ebay win.  The story of my calf-hair Manolo Blahniks is honestly my greatest triumph to date!!!!