Today we had Callie's 15 month doctor appointment, even though she is practically 16 months old. But we are off a month, because we came in late for our 12 month appointment.
Anyway, we go in and this appointment is with a nurse practitioner. Who was TOTALLY amazed by Callie. On so many levels! She first of all, couldn't believe that she was so active. I almost laughed when she asked if she had tried running yet. Tried? Are you kidding me? This kid could probably join a peewee track team! Not to mention jumping...
She asked how many words she says, so we ran through the list. Mama, Dada, Amma (Grandma), bubble, nose, bath, dog, more (her personal favorite, of course), duck. I"m sure there are more, but those are the most common ones she says. The nurse said it is normal for them to have 3-6 words, so we are fine there.
She did find a little bit of a clogged ear, so we may be heading towards our first ear infection, but we are going to watch it and see. She was shocked that Callie had never been on any medication or antibiotics.
Her growth and length all checked out about the same. 40-50% in length and weight and 80% in head size. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Damn that girl has a huge head!! And I would know! Anyway, the nurse left and our usual vaccination nurse came in. I expected Callie to recognize her and start crying but she didn't. That came later! She stuck Callie with the two needles and of course started to wail. All of a sudden she looked up at the nurse and started SCREAMING full on "BYE BYE BYE BYE!" Then she said her word for door which basically sounds like "doh". So I think in her own way, Callie was saying, "Hey biotch! There's the door! Get out!" I have no doubt that if I hadn't been holding her in my lap she would have ran to the door and shut it in her face!
We walked out and she cheerfully said "bye bye" to everyone as we left and promptly passed out in the backseat of the car.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Tuesday, August 16, 2011
Names are So Important!
So yesterday I was at Babies R Us. I know...Again?! Yes, again. But this time I got to go without the toddler, which is a totally different experience. And when it was all over I was quite glad that she was playing with grandma. So there I was walking around BRU and all of a sudden out of nowhere a boy that I would guess was around 6 or 7 with a killer spiked mohawk came careening around the corner (in the store, mind you) on a bicycle! Said bicycle had Toys R Us tags on it, so he was apparently taking it for an extended test drive. I was glad Callie wasn't with me, because we probably would have been run over! It got so bad an employee had to track down the mom (who was pregnant with baby #2) and tell her to control her kid because it was dangerous. Duh. I was pretty close in proximity to her, so I watched to see what she did. When she all of a sudden BELLOWS, and I mean really yells her son's name. And it was just one of those a-ha moments when I thought to myself, "Wow. Names really are very telling." Ok. Enough with the suspense. She yelled at the top of her lungs : "DAMIEN! STOP THAT RIGHT NOW!" Awesome. I almost fell over it was so perfect.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Callie's 1st Trip To Disneyland!
A few weeks ago, we made a trip down to disneyland and san diego to visit with Bill's parents. We made the drive down to Anaheim, albeit slowly. She was great the first three hours to our normal stop, Kettleman City. She was fussing just as we approached. So we stopped, ate and let her run around for about an hour. She was very excited at all the dogs to see!
A few miles later, an alert came on the car that our tire pressure was "deflated." Ugh. As Callie would say "UH-OH! UH-OH!" And of course as luck would have it we were right smack in the middle of nowhere. No gas stations for 13 miles. We hoped that it was just the Audi people being ultra conservative and that we weren't going to have a blowout at any second. We drove nice and slow, with Callie fussing in the back. And finally made it to a rest stop. When Bill checked the pressure, one tire was something like 2 psi lower than the rest. Good lord. So we filled it up and reset it on the audi controls and we were on our way. Callie was pretty much a mess the rest of the drive, so Bill sat in the back with her and I drove to LA. We even had to bring out the big guns.
I was so happy when we arrived at our hotel!! Of course at midnight there is a huge line to check in, but after a while we got our keys and we were off for our "real" adventure since Callie has NEVER done well sleeping away from home. But we were trying something new this time. We made our bed bug check after our last adventure in Alameda and happily we found no tenants. The room I had found had a small room off to the side, so that was our something new! I had hypothesized that if we had a space where she couldn't see us (like at home) she would go to sleep and stay asleep. And it worked like a charm! Thank god! She slept 7 hours straight. I couldn't believe it! In the morning, Bill's parents met us at the hotel and we headed over to Disneyland.
We stopped for some food at La Brea Bakery. Some fruit for Callie and a couple of sandwiches for us. Then we went in!
We walked around for a bit to get our bearings. The minute we walked under Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Callie was making all kind of noises in the stroller.
Oohing and Ahhing all over the place! She was so excited! I'm surprised we were able to keep her in the stroller at all!
The lines were pretty long in Fantasy Land so we opted for Its A Small World. The line was short and we knew we would be on a nice long ride in the shade!
She loved it! There was so much to look at.
So much in fact, that after the ride she promptly passed out. I was relieved! I was worried that she would be so overstimulated that she wouldn't nap all day and be a big mess.
We took the opportunity to go to The Mad Hatter to get her her 1st mouse ears.
I knew she would never wear them, while conscious, anyway. I bought them more as a souvenir to put in her room.
We walked around a bit more and ended up in line for Pirates. Callie was still asleep at this point. I was praying that she would wake up before the ride actually started. Waking up on that first little drop on the ride might be a little jarring! Luckily she woke up just as we sat down in the boat. She loved the ride! She grabbed on to me a little tighter than normal on the first drop, but beyond that, she had no trouble at all. After the ride, we had lunch reservations at The Blue Bayou, the restaurant that overlooks the ride. For years and years, Bill and I have tried to get reservations. This time around I called a week ahead of time!
After lunch we walked over to The Haunted Mansion, but Callie wasn't really a fan. She gripped onto me like a barnacle! I think it was the voice in the doom buggy that freaked her out, since she couldn't see who was talking. Oh well. Maybe in a few years.
But then we hit her absolute favorite ride of the whole day. Well, ride is a bit much. It was the Enchanted Tiki Room. She went bananas! She was so excited when the birds started. She was squirming all over the place, so I put her down and kept my arms around her waist so she wouldn't take off. And what did she do? She started clapping and wooping louder than I had ever seen her! It was like she had just heard THE most amazing song in the world and just had to show everyone. It was hilarious.
After that, we went back over to Fantasyland to hit a couple of rides there before we had dinner reservations with some friends in Downtown Disney.
It is funny going on those rides as an adult because they are so abbreviated! If you had never seen the disney movies they were based on you would have no idea what was going on!
We hit up Daddy's favorite, Peter Pan's Flight in addition to Snow White and Alice in Wonderland. We had planned to come back after dinner, but Daddy and Callie were toast by then, so we started our drive back to San Diego to stay with Bill's parents for a few days. But that will be another post:)
A few miles later, an alert came on the car that our tire pressure was "deflated." Ugh. As Callie would say "UH-OH! UH-OH!" And of course as luck would have it we were right smack in the middle of nowhere. No gas stations for 13 miles. We hoped that it was just the Audi people being ultra conservative and that we weren't going to have a blowout at any second. We drove nice and slow, with Callie fussing in the back. And finally made it to a rest stop. When Bill checked the pressure, one tire was something like 2 psi lower than the rest. Good lord. So we filled it up and reset it on the audi controls and we were on our way. Callie was pretty much a mess the rest of the drive, so Bill sat in the back with her and I drove to LA. We even had to bring out the big guns.
 |
| Callie playing Baby Piano |
I was so happy when we arrived at our hotel!! Of course at midnight there is a huge line to check in, but after a while we got our keys and we were off for our "real" adventure since Callie has NEVER done well sleeping away from home. But we were trying something new this time. We made our bed bug check after our last adventure in Alameda and happily we found no tenants. The room I had found had a small room off to the side, so that was our something new! I had hypothesized that if we had a space where she couldn't see us (like at home) she would go to sleep and stay asleep. And it worked like a charm! Thank god! She slept 7 hours straight. I couldn't believe it! In the morning, Bill's parents met us at the hotel and we headed over to Disneyland.
We stopped for some food at La Brea Bakery. Some fruit for Callie and a couple of sandwiches for us. Then we went in!
We walked around for a bit to get our bearings. The minute we walked under Sleeping Beauty's Castle, Callie was making all kind of noises in the stroller.
 |
| You can already see how excited she is in the stroller! |
Oohing and Ahhing all over the place! She was so excited! I'm surprised we were able to keep her in the stroller at all!
 |
| I am way too cool for the likes of you |
 | |||
| Going on our first ride! |
She loved it! There was so much to look at.
 |
| Mom! Are you seeing this? This is amazing!! |
 |
| It was all too much! |
So much in fact, that after the ride she promptly passed out. I was relieved! I was worried that she would be so overstimulated that she wouldn't nap all day and be a big mess.
We took the opportunity to go to The Mad Hatter to get her her 1st mouse ears.
 |
| At least I looked cute in her ears! |
I knew she would never wear them, while conscious, anyway. I bought them more as a souvenir to put in her room.
We walked around a bit more and ended up in line for Pirates. Callie was still asleep at this point. I was praying that she would wake up before the ride actually started. Waking up on that first little drop on the ride might be a little jarring! Luckily she woke up just as we sat down in the boat. She loved the ride! She grabbed on to me a little tighter than normal on the first drop, but beyond that, she had no trouble at all. After the ride, we had lunch reservations at The Blue Bayou, the restaurant that overlooks the ride. For years and years, Bill and I have tried to get reservations. This time around I called a week ahead of time!
 | ||
| Callie enjoying her Mac and Cheese at The Blue Bayou |
 |
| A hat?! You know how I feel about hats, woman! |
After lunch we walked over to The Haunted Mansion, but Callie wasn't really a fan. She gripped onto me like a barnacle! I think it was the voice in the doom buggy that freaked her out, since she couldn't see who was talking. Oh well. Maybe in a few years.
But then we hit her absolute favorite ride of the whole day. Well, ride is a bit much. It was the Enchanted Tiki Room. She went bananas! She was so excited when the birds started. She was squirming all over the place, so I put her down and kept my arms around her waist so she wouldn't take off. And what did she do? She started clapping and wooping louder than I had ever seen her! It was like she had just heard THE most amazing song in the world and just had to show everyone. It was hilarious.
After that, we went back over to Fantasyland to hit a couple of rides there before we had dinner reservations with some friends in Downtown Disney.
 |
| In line in Fantasy Land with the Grand Dude |
It is funny going on those rides as an adult because they are so abbreviated! If you had never seen the disney movies they were based on you would have no idea what was going on!
We hit up Daddy's favorite, Peter Pan's Flight in addition to Snow White and Alice in Wonderland. We had planned to come back after dinner, but Daddy and Callie were toast by then, so we started our drive back to San Diego to stay with Bill's parents for a few days. But that will be another post:)
Callie's 1st Trip To The County Faire
I took Callie to the County Faire this week with some other moms and babies. I hadn't been to the faire in YEARS! Friday was "kids day" apparently so we went on friday. Admission was free, luckily. When we walked in we were greeted with this sight, a monster school bus that you could take rides in for $5.
The guy running it tried to get us to go on, but we said no thank you. And once we saw him drive it, I was very glad we said no! He was driving crazy and fishtailing all over the place!
Once all the moms and babies were together and ready to go we started exploring. We went to see the big animals (after one of the moms got a temporary glitter tattoo. And no. That mom was not me.). Callie was sooo excited! She really hadn't seen these types of animals up close before. She saw some cows. When we walked up and saw a sheep she all of a sudden yelps "Baa!" I couldn't believe it! We had been working on animal sounds, but I hadn't even told her what type of animal it was.
As we walked around the rest of the hall looking at goats she was walking up to all of them and yelling "Baa! Baa! Baa!"
It was pretty darn adorable. She certainly wasn't shy about walking up to the animals and try to pet them. Shocking that she would be so forward, I know. Where is that sarcasm font ?
Afterwards we walked around some more and saw bunnies, chickens, roosters, turkeys and everything in between.
We walked over to the rides to see if there was anything for the little ones but there wasn't really anything. There was however a big sign that read: "NO PREGNANT OR INTOXICATED PEOPLE!" That made me laugh a little, since those two groups normally don't really go together. There were probably 6 or 8 rides, if that and 4 or 5 carnival games.
And that ladies and gentlemen was the extent of the Santa Clara County Faire.
I stopped to get a frozen watermelon drink that Callie and I could share and overheard one of the 4 vendors at the whole faire saying that the faire didn't want to have to pay for the police presence anymore at the faire (there were always gang problems on the weekends) so they are keeping it small. Kinda sad.
As we walked around some more we headed back to the entrance where the pony rides were. I thought, that would be fun for Callie since she is starting to get a little crazy about horses. I was all set when I saw the price. $6! For a pony ride? That probably lasts all of 30 seconds? They also had a tiny petting zoo that they were charging $8 for. So no pony ride.
After that we headed towards the car. It was at this point that I took a look in the stroller.
Clearly I had found the faire underwhelming but not Callie! She was out! Some of the moms are talking about hitting up the Sonoma Faire, which apparently is still a good size. So we will see! But all in all, Callie had an amazing time, and that's whats important, after all. Will we go next year? Uhh...probably not. But I will most likely leave that up to the girl who clearly had the most fun:)
 |
| Monster School Bus |
Once all the moms and babies were together and ready to go we started exploring. We went to see the big animals (after one of the moms got a temporary glitter tattoo. And no. That mom was not me.). Callie was sooo excited! She really hadn't seen these types of animals up close before. She saw some cows. When we walked up and saw a sheep she all of a sudden yelps "Baa!" I couldn't believe it! We had been working on animal sounds, but I hadn't even told her what type of animal it was.
 |
| Baa! |
As we walked around the rest of the hall looking at goats she was walking up to all of them and yelling "Baa! Baa! Baa!"
 |
| Baa!Baa!Baa! |
It was pretty darn adorable. She certainly wasn't shy about walking up to the animals and try to pet them. Shocking that she would be so forward, I know. Where is that sarcasm font ?
Afterwards we walked around some more and saw bunnies, chickens, roosters, turkeys and everything in between.
We walked over to the rides to see if there was anything for the little ones but there wasn't really anything. There was however a big sign that read: "NO PREGNANT OR INTOXICATED PEOPLE!" That made me laugh a little, since those two groups normally don't really go together. There were probably 6 or 8 rides, if that and 4 or 5 carnival games.
And that ladies and gentlemen was the extent of the Santa Clara County Faire.
I stopped to get a frozen watermelon drink that Callie and I could share and overheard one of the 4 vendors at the whole faire saying that the faire didn't want to have to pay for the police presence anymore at the faire (there were always gang problems on the weekends) so they are keeping it small. Kinda sad.
As we walked around some more we headed back to the entrance where the pony rides were. I thought, that would be fun for Callie since she is starting to get a little crazy about horses. I was all set when I saw the price. $6! For a pony ride? That probably lasts all of 30 seconds? They also had a tiny petting zoo that they were charging $8 for. So no pony ride.
After that we headed towards the car. It was at this point that I took a look in the stroller.
 |
| And...done! |
Clearly I had found the faire underwhelming but not Callie! She was out! Some of the moms are talking about hitting up the Sonoma Faire, which apparently is still a good size. So we will see! But all in all, Callie had an amazing time, and that's whats important, after all. Will we go next year? Uhh...probably not. But I will most likely leave that up to the girl who clearly had the most fun:)
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Butternut Squash Soup
I know, I know. Its another recipe. Someday I will have another type of entry, but today is not that day!
Tonight's experiment turned out very nicely.
Here is what you need:
Container of already cut up butternut squash
2 fuji apples, peeled and cubed
ginger
celery
italian seasoning
garlic
salt, pepper
butter
chicken broth
cream cheese
pinch of cayenne pepper
Started out by roasting the squash at 400 for half an hour with a little butter, pepper, salt, garlic turning once. After that's done, take a saucepan and put squash, apples, celery, ginger, italian seasoning and a pinch of cayenne pepper in it. Cook for a few minutes until it gets nice and hot. Pour in enough chicken broth to just cover it. Bring to a boil, let it simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 6-8 ounces of cream cheese and puree with a stick blender. We ate this all up with some garlic bread and it was delicious!! It would be really good with some kind of crostini on top, but I just topped it with a bit of shredded parmesan.
Tonight's experiment turned out very nicely.
Here is what you need:
Container of already cut up butternut squash
2 fuji apples, peeled and cubed
ginger
celery
italian seasoning
garlic
salt, pepper
butter
chicken broth
cream cheese
pinch of cayenne pepper
Started out by roasting the squash at 400 for half an hour with a little butter, pepper, salt, garlic turning once. After that's done, take a saucepan and put squash, apples, celery, ginger, italian seasoning and a pinch of cayenne pepper in it. Cook for a few minutes until it gets nice and hot. Pour in enough chicken broth to just cover it. Bring to a boil, let it simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 6-8 ounces of cream cheese and puree with a stick blender. We ate this all up with some garlic bread and it was delicious!! It would be really good with some kind of crostini on top, but I just topped it with a bit of shredded parmesan.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
See Jane Run Half Marathon
Here it is by the numbers:
Distance? 13.1 miles
Time? 3 hours 53 minutes
Packets of Gu? 2
Shot Bloks? 6
Water: not enough
Blisters? NONE! Thank you Road Runner!
It was an awesome weekend all in all. Bill and I headed up to Oakland on Saturday because the Marriot had a deal on hotel rooms and a shuttle to the race. So we took the deal, although it ended up not being such a deal. We hung out in Rockridge for the day. Hit up our favorite spots: Zachary's Pizza, Bittersweet. Also hit up the race "expo". So did not deserve the term expo. 3 booths does not an expo make. After all that we went to our hotel. It was a nice room, or so we thought. Cue the threatening music.
We hung out while Callie was hopefully burning off some energy and getting used to the room. Wrongo. We set up her peapod tent and started the bedtime ritual. But it was not to be. She screamed bloody murder the second the lights went out. And of course she used this as the first opporunity to work in MAMA MAMA MAMA into her screams. I was toast. So we brought her into the bed and she slept a little but we did not us because she spent her "sleep" grabbing (I'm sure she would say massaging) my throat and kicking Bill in the face. At one point I grabbed a top sheet and tried to sleep on the couch. That lasted about 5 minutes if that, because she started screaming immediately. A restful night to be sure. All in all I would venture to say that we got about 4 hours of sleep. When the clock said 5, I decided to say fuck it, lets just get up. I took a bath to try to relax my muscles since I was already tired and I hadn't even started the race yet. Got dressed and packed up. Bill was in the shower when I saw it.
A red bug crawling on the top sheet of the bed. Shit. Bedbug. I trapped it under a waterglass to make sure. We checked some pictures and info online to be sure. We frantically started checking everything! This was soooo what we needed. I couldn't find anymore in the bed and there were no blood spots or bites on us that we could find. We suspect that the culprit was the couch. It was a red couch so it was tough to see if there were bedbugs there but I did find a dead one sitting on the top of the couch.
Bill went downstairs to tell the employee and to ask for big plastic bags to seal all of our stuff in. When he told the guy working there all he volunteered was to switch our room. When Bill came back up I was livid! When I was traveling abroad and we found bedbugs, they immediately comped our rooms and got to work helping us. So I was pissed. That's when I decided to take a picture of our little friend for proof when I sent them a nasty email and a negative review on tripadvisor. We finished packing up and headed downstairs. A different employee was there this time and she obviously was more in charge:) She immediately comped our room and gave us the line that they had never had this happen before. Ya, ok, big giant hotel chain, we totally believe that one. Buh Bye.
I was ecstatic at getting in the car and putting a few miles between us and the hotel. We parked and hit up a cafe because I wasn't about to walk up to the race and find that they were out of food. Callie and I had some yogurt and some banana bread and I had a soy latte. We met up with our peeps and relayed our adventures. Then we started stretching and getting ready! I will be honest, I was really looking forward to being away from the screaming babe for a while! Freedom! :)
We had been looking at weather reports for the day for a while. The day before they had been predicting hail! Sure wasn't looking forward to that. It would be highly motivating however. Luckily the weather totally worked out. There was a nice cool marine layer and some sunshine as well. The course was a nice view, but not a nice smell! We were walking by salt marshes and bird sanctuaries. But it was mostly flat which was a plus. We did really well for the first few miles.
At some of the stops they had gu for us. I had never tried it before, but I know its really popular with runners and bikers so I gave it a shot. The first I tried was blackberry. And in a word: YUCK! It was a bit like eating some of those jam or jelly packages they have at diners after its been heated in the microwave for a while. Gross. At a later stop I tried the chocolate one and it was much better. I also had some Cliff Shot Bloks with me which I prefer. What's not to like about margarita flavored energy chews?
I did struggle with my camel bak. I bought a smaller one this time around because I ended up getting burns under my arms from the last one that was too wide. So this time I bought one designed for running and for women. Only problem? It only holds 50 ounces of water, which is not enough, I learned. So add a new camelbak to my list for my next race. I am also thinking about packing some "real" food in my pack. I could have definitely used part of a bagel or a banana or something.
We stopped a couple of times to stretch and get shoes straightened out and the like. It was right around mile 10 when it got really tough. We were definitely tired. I tried to minimize the amount of gu and shot bloks I was taking since I was out of water and they can dehydrate you. My hip was started to throb as were my knees. It was at that point that all we do is fantasize about our after race meal, plopping down in the grass at the finish line and getting our glass of champagne. At about mile 11 we weren't talking much anymore. All of our energy had to be focused on putting one foot in front of the other. At about 12.5 we could see the tents! Paradise in sight!
Just before the finish line we saw our families. We were so happy to see them! Callie was waving and Bill was beaming. They all were encouraging us in their own way.
And then we crossed it! Felt so good!! We got our finishing medal and collapsed on the grass. We had made it just under our goal. Our goal was to finish in 4 hours and we beat it by 7 minutes!
We went to get our champagne glass only to discover they stopped pouring at noon. What time was it? 12:05. So pissed. Jane's whole selling point is the chocolate and champagne at the finish line. Melted chocolate and an empty glass. So we took off, slowly, to go get some food. Joints were definitely starting to tighten up, especially the back of my knees and my hips. My post race meal didn't really do enough for me. By the time we got home I was still feeling pretty weak and needed more protein. So we went to Tlaquepaque and that really hit the spot. The beans and cheese and carbs were what I needed. And a few sips of Bill's chavela definitely sealed the deal. So now I know what my post race dream meal is: al pasto super taco. Delicious!
I feel really good about what we accomplished. We have 3 more half marathons on the docket. But I am very glad that the next one isn't until the end of August!
I expected that my body would be pretty wreaked after doing 13 miles but I bounced back surprisingly well. Much better than after the Avon Walk a few years ago. I was a mess for weeks! It was really just the next day that I was wiped out. So I think I am training much better this time around! Maybe Callie is my good luck charm:)
Distance? 13.1 miles
Time? 3 hours 53 minutes
Packets of Gu? 2
Shot Bloks? 6
Water: not enough
Blisters? NONE! Thank you Road Runner!
It was an awesome weekend all in all. Bill and I headed up to Oakland on Saturday because the Marriot had a deal on hotel rooms and a shuttle to the race. So we took the deal, although it ended up not being such a deal. We hung out in Rockridge for the day. Hit up our favorite spots: Zachary's Pizza, Bittersweet. Also hit up the race "expo". So did not deserve the term expo. 3 booths does not an expo make. After all that we went to our hotel. It was a nice room, or so we thought. Cue the threatening music.
We hung out while Callie was hopefully burning off some energy and getting used to the room. Wrongo. We set up her peapod tent and started the bedtime ritual. But it was not to be. She screamed bloody murder the second the lights went out. And of course she used this as the first opporunity to work in MAMA MAMA MAMA into her screams. I was toast. So we brought her into the bed and she slept a little but we did not us because she spent her "sleep" grabbing (I'm sure she would say massaging) my throat and kicking Bill in the face. At one point I grabbed a top sheet and tried to sleep on the couch. That lasted about 5 minutes if that, because she started screaming immediately. A restful night to be sure. All in all I would venture to say that we got about 4 hours of sleep. When the clock said 5, I decided to say fuck it, lets just get up. I took a bath to try to relax my muscles since I was already tired and I hadn't even started the race yet. Got dressed and packed up. Bill was in the shower when I saw it.
A red bug crawling on the top sheet of the bed. Shit. Bedbug. I trapped it under a waterglass to make sure. We checked some pictures and info online to be sure. We frantically started checking everything! This was soooo what we needed. I couldn't find anymore in the bed and there were no blood spots or bites on us that we could find. We suspect that the culprit was the couch. It was a red couch so it was tough to see if there were bedbugs there but I did find a dead one sitting on the top of the couch.
Bill went downstairs to tell the employee and to ask for big plastic bags to seal all of our stuff in. When he told the guy working there all he volunteered was to switch our room. When Bill came back up I was livid! When I was traveling abroad and we found bedbugs, they immediately comped our rooms and got to work helping us. So I was pissed. That's when I decided to take a picture of our little friend for proof when I sent them a nasty email and a negative review on tripadvisor. We finished packing up and headed downstairs. A different employee was there this time and she obviously was more in charge:) She immediately comped our room and gave us the line that they had never had this happen before. Ya, ok, big giant hotel chain, we totally believe that one. Buh Bye.
I was ecstatic at getting in the car and putting a few miles between us and the hotel. We parked and hit up a cafe because I wasn't about to walk up to the race and find that they were out of food. Callie and I had some yogurt and some banana bread and I had a soy latte. We met up with our peeps and relayed our adventures. Then we started stretching and getting ready! I will be honest, I was really looking forward to being away from the screaming babe for a while! Freedom! :)
We had been looking at weather reports for the day for a while. The day before they had been predicting hail! Sure wasn't looking forward to that. It would be highly motivating however. Luckily the weather totally worked out. There was a nice cool marine layer and some sunshine as well. The course was a nice view, but not a nice smell! We were walking by salt marshes and bird sanctuaries. But it was mostly flat which was a plus. We did really well for the first few miles.
At some of the stops they had gu for us. I had never tried it before, but I know its really popular with runners and bikers so I gave it a shot. The first I tried was blackberry. And in a word: YUCK! It was a bit like eating some of those jam or jelly packages they have at diners after its been heated in the microwave for a while. Gross. At a later stop I tried the chocolate one and it was much better. I also had some Cliff Shot Bloks with me which I prefer. What's not to like about margarita flavored energy chews?
I did struggle with my camel bak. I bought a smaller one this time around because I ended up getting burns under my arms from the last one that was too wide. So this time I bought one designed for running and for women. Only problem? It only holds 50 ounces of water, which is not enough, I learned. So add a new camelbak to my list for my next race. I am also thinking about packing some "real" food in my pack. I could have definitely used part of a bagel or a banana or something.
We stopped a couple of times to stretch and get shoes straightened out and the like. It was right around mile 10 when it got really tough. We were definitely tired. I tried to minimize the amount of gu and shot bloks I was taking since I was out of water and they can dehydrate you. My hip was started to throb as were my knees. It was at that point that all we do is fantasize about our after race meal, plopping down in the grass at the finish line and getting our glass of champagne. At about mile 11 we weren't talking much anymore. All of our energy had to be focused on putting one foot in front of the other. At about 12.5 we could see the tents! Paradise in sight!
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| Are we there yet? |
Just before the finish line we saw our families. We were so happy to see them! Callie was waving and Bill was beaming. They all were encouraging us in their own way.
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| Almost There! |
And then we crossed it! Felt so good!! We got our finishing medal and collapsed on the grass. We had made it just under our goal. Our goal was to finish in 4 hours and we beat it by 7 minutes!
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| Finish Line! |
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| We made it! |
We went to get our champagne glass only to discover they stopped pouring at noon. What time was it? 12:05. So pissed. Jane's whole selling point is the chocolate and champagne at the finish line. Melted chocolate and an empty glass. So we took off, slowly, to go get some food. Joints were definitely starting to tighten up, especially the back of my knees and my hips. My post race meal didn't really do enough for me. By the time we got home I was still feeling pretty weak and needed more protein. So we went to Tlaquepaque and that really hit the spot. The beans and cheese and carbs were what I needed. And a few sips of Bill's chavela definitely sealed the deal. So now I know what my post race dream meal is: al pasto super taco. Delicious!
I feel really good about what we accomplished. We have 3 more half marathons on the docket. But I am very glad that the next one isn't until the end of August!
I expected that my body would be pretty wreaked after doing 13 miles but I bounced back surprisingly well. Much better than after the Avon Walk a few years ago. I was a mess for weeks! It was really just the next day that I was wiped out. So I think I am training much better this time around! Maybe Callie is my good luck charm:)
Friday, May 27, 2011
Going back
I found out last week that I got my 1 section of US History for next year. I am beyond excited! I think it will be the perfect balance. I will still get to be with Callie for most of the day and then teach 1 class during 6th period (1-2pm on most days), stay during 7th to grade papers and meet with kids and then go home. I won't have to work at all on Tuesdays. I think it will be a nice break without being too overwhelming. I talked to my principal about the specifics the other day and found out I wouldn't have to be there for early wednesday morning collaborations and I would be sharing a classroom with my previous (and brief) student teacher and friend who usually coaches 6th and 7th period anyway. It was perfect! I know that it won't be perfect all the time, but I am excited to have something else in my day. I will get to reconnect to my love of history and teaching. I have definitely missed connecting to my students and my friends at work.
I only told work that I was interested after my mom decided to open an at home day care business. It was a total game changer for me. Here is someone that I trust COMPLETELY and without reservation with my daughter. I don't have to worry that she will be in unfamiliar surroundings or with strangers.
Here is her website if you are interested or if you have friends or family that are looking for childcare or tutoring services.
I only told work that I was interested after my mom decided to open an at home day care business. It was a total game changer for me. Here is someone that I trust COMPLETELY and without reservation with my daughter. I don't have to worry that she will be in unfamiliar surroundings or with strangers.
Here is her website if you are interested or if you have friends or family that are looking for childcare or tutoring services.
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