If you want to see me run for the first time in 2 years... (plugging my JINGLE BELL HELL shenanigans)

...this Saturday (12/20/14) at 8 am, Inspiration Point in Berkeley's Tilden Park is the place to be.

(Notice I didn't put any minutes after that "8"? That's because we don't run a very tight ship at #JBH...yet. We're just glad when people intentionally show up...even if it's just because of the FREE DONUTS!)

Jingle Bell Hell 2014 (click that to see the informational post) will be my post-surgical debut run. It'll be short (like, a quarter of a mile) and hopefully sweet. But it might suck. Be there to find out!

There will be donuts.

There will be chip-timing again.

There will be cookies.

There will be water.

If I knew people were going to actually show up I'd get some shirts made and some bling. There will be prizes. And remember...the winner gets his or her name inscribed on the awesome trophy IN INK! And that means FOREVER.

I'm hoping we double the real-life participant numbers this year and hit The Big 5. It's way more fun than it sounds like. Really.

Come!

Jingle Bell Hell...not just another virtual race...

...but one with a sketchy prize history yet an amazing assortment of donuts at the LIVE event.

COME ONE...COME ALL...

You may or may not remember that I've been race director (using that term verrrrrry loosely) for an awesome holiday race for the last three years. (That takes you to the first running...click here to see the second year's recap and here to see last year's). Remember how no one attended the 2011 event knowingly and the winner of the real life race was a random guy who had no idea he was a part of the resurrection of Jingle Bell Hell. 

Runner Chris...random guy who won last year's race!

And then the next year the indomitable RoseRunner was crushed by SFRoadWarrior in a surprise upset. Of course she did have a 2-mile handicap! I was able to lure flesh-and-blood, intentional participants with DONUTS!!! Donuts have now become a signature drawing point for this event.

And there were all of the virtual participants who never received their prizes and probably hate me now :( If y'all knew what my last year has been like, y'all'd forgive me in a heartbeat...I promise. Note: lack of blogging was due to IRL insane turmoil and putting-back-together-of-life-pieces.

Anyway...

Three was not exactly an attendance charm. Only two participants again, but this time Jen didn't get sick...and she WON! 

We're giving it another go! It's time to begin thinking about running in this fabulous event!

Below is information on the race...past and present...a little history...some details...hope to see you there, either in the flesh or in spirit!

source

The 6th running of 

Jingle Bell Hell

1/3-marathon and fun run 

Saturday, December 20, 2014 at 8:00 a.m.

Inspiration Point, Tilden Park, Berkeley, California

Rain or Shine

or wherever in the world you might be :)

The starting point of the real-life event is Inspiration Point in Berkeley, California and the course map is...

View Larger Map

and the elevation profile is...

as determined by my Garmin.

The History

My best friends from high school used to put on a race in December. It was small in terms of the number of participants but huge in terms of fun and adventure. Initially, it was a half-marathon, but they found that very few of their friends were at all interested in or capable of running that far. Additionally, the course involved some running on a twisty, narrow road with minimal shoulder that did see its fair share of traffic...especially on weekends. So they abbreviated it to a 1/3-marathon (more or less...a bit over 8 miles) and were able to run it entirely on a paved, car-less road.

My husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) and I ran in their 3rd Annual Jingle Bell Hell in December of 1995 (see picture above...I am front and center with the socks on my hands, he is in the back in the light shirt). It was freezing by Bay Area standards...but not wet. Not everyone went all the way out to the turnaround...and that was just fine.

I won the trophy that year... the "Actually Trained for This Race" Award...

Each year, the winner gets to have their picture taken with this perpetual trophy and have their name added to the illustrious list on the bottom... ballpoint pen inscribed on masking tape, 'cuz we're classy like that. And there will be some prizes that can be taken home as well :)

****

I am really hoping to see some local runners in attendance! It's not far from San Francisco, San Jose or even Santa Cruz... looking west or south. Concord is super close to the east, and Sacramento is just 90 minutes away to the north. It's a great follow-up to the early December races, like CIM.

If you're coming in from out of town and need a super cheap place to crash...with an SF Bay view, in a solid structure, and don't mind driving about five miles...

source

The Albany Bulb Waterfront has some very artistic structures that may or may not be inhabited by squatters.

If you want to do virtual version of Jingle Bell Hell, here are the parameters...

• Must be at least 5K in total length...no maximum.
• Must be done on a challenging course (and if you hate treadmills, that means it could be on a treadmill) because the idea is "Hell" ... that is the important part.
• Must be done between December 13 and 21, 2014... any time of day or night. This gives you two entire weekends to choose from.
• You must laugh at least once... can be an evil laugh, a laugh of futility, any kind of laugh but laughter is a MUST.
• Email me a link to your Jingle Bell Hell recap so I can post it and we may all share in the fun... please include something about when, where, why regarding the laughing part and what made the run your special brand of Hell :)

Participants in the virtual race will be entered in a prize drawing. Things like fueling products, Nuun hydration products, winter running gear, running safety items, some random stuff. Receiving these prizes is always iffy, as previous participants will tell you, because I really really really hate going to the post office. But honestly, folks...ARE WE REALLY RUNNING FOR PRIZES?????

Leave a comment if you want to participate!

A lot happens in 6 months...

I'm going to row again. All because of this. I got inspired.

That's the latest, anyway.

Filling you in, in reverse order, on my life over the past six months...and trying to keep it brief...here's what's been going on...

Halloween happened.

Miss C kept changing her mind on what to be. I don't even know what she ended up trick-or-treating as, but she got this great big sucker that made her very happy. X was a faceless, voiceless shadow, AKA Chromeface. G was Fizz the Tidal Trickster and Q-Man was a ninja...like many other fourth graders at his school.

We hit up the very expensive, local pumpkin patch. Lots of bouncy castles and slides for the low, low price of $10/30 minutes per kid. And pumpkins were NOT included. It's such a racket. But the kids had a BLAST!

A few days before Halloween, she got an Elsa dress that, while delightful to twirl in, did not make the trick-or-treating cut.

That crazy, 10-day Fall break at my kids' school happened...

We played CandyLand and got an Anna costume...that also did not make the Halloween cut.

We went to the beach to see the sun set, ran races at the San Francisco Zoo, and did speed work at the local track.

We also did some hiking in a princess nightgown that was worn for 5 (not kidding) consecutive days.

Ragnar Napa Valley happened...

I was invited to drive for Team You're the Wine that I Want. It was so much fun. Kind of more fun that running it probably would have been...at least for me! Cathryn, Jen, Jess, Sabrina, Amanda, Janet, Jim, Matt, Rich, BT, and another Jen (?) took me on a fun trip that involved too many inside jokes and a triple espresso. I can't wait to do it again :)

Summer vacation happened...

Lots of camping in the redwoods and hiking in the East Bay hills. My hip is officially GOOD. Actually GREAT!!!! My oldest son and I got up to over 13 miles of hiking...pain-free...except for the pain in my ears from his whining...actually he wasn't really THAT bad :) And I'm feeling awesome enough to have entered to walk a marathon. I fell in love with the Humboldt redwoods and so decided to walk in the Avenue of the Giants Marathon next May.

And that's my life in a nutshell since May 12th.

What's the best thing that's happened to you in the last 6 months?

Random picture of yummy grape sorbet from a fancy Napa restaurant.

Update: Six weeks after hip replacement *graphic photo warning*

...and all's well :)

If you missed my initial post-op post, click here.

The walker has been retired.

I frequently wonder where in the hell I've left my cane.

The pain is minimal, and none of it is in the joint. What a beautiful thing!

I have a set of 10+ exercises that I am to do 2-3x/day. They are so basic. I started getting agitated because the rehab seemed lame. Then I realized that I'm not rehabbing from a sports injury and trying to get back into competitive form...I'm helping my body recover from a MAJOR trauma. Seven layers of tissue were sliced open and then stitched/glued back together. Nerves and muscles were retracted. A bone was sawed in two pieces. And then a metal rod was hammered down the center of my femur.

Exercises:

• Calf raises and some anterior tibialis thing. 
• High knee "marches" (quad and hip flexor, challenges balance).
• A thing like butt kicks (works hamstrings, stretches quad, challenges balance).
• Rear leg extensions, standing with minimal movement...just enough to activate the glutes.
• Side leg lift, standing with minimal movement...just enough to activate the glute medius.
• Sidestepping.
• Walking up and down stairs, alternating feet.
• Seated leg extension.
• Seated leg extension with quad lift.
• Seated leg extension with slight abduction.
• Bridges.
• Clams.
• I walk a lot.

I have my 6-week post-operative check-up with my surgeon this coming Thursday. There, he will determine which restrictions to continue or impose or remove. I started driving last week...that was a big change! I was cleared for "a little" driving which turned into a lot...as in my normal amount. My leg isn't happy with that :( I need to pull back, but my husband was nearing a breaking point with driving duty. Hopefully, this week will be a lighter load for me.

I'm so very lucky and deeply appreciative to have such a supportive group of online and RL friends. Many thanks to all of you for your well-wishes and advice :)

A runner with a walker...the road after hip replacement.

I'm now the proud possessor of an artificial hip. And a walker.

And, let me tell you, recovery is a bitch.

My surgery happened on April Fools Day. It started at 5 pm and was a wrap by 6:15. It went seamlessly and flawlessly, and the surgical team was very happy. Yay! I walked the next day with my walker, and I went home three days later.

The time leading up to the event was NOT spent getting in great shape as I had hoped and mentioned in my last post a million years ago. Turned out that working out in pretty much any way caused me great pain...and I was just soooooo sick of being in pain. So I bagged it. I went into surgery out of shape and overweight. #winning

The best part of having surgery late in the day? You basically fast for 24 hours! Starting off my weight-loss journey ;-)

So the surgery happened. The pain came. It was horrible, but not as horrible as being massively and concretely constipated. Turns out pain killers do that, and the only way to get unconstipated is to stop the pain killers. So guess what? I'm not taking pain killers! Wheeeeeeee! Sometimes I almost get high from the pain. Sort of. I'm lying. It really hurts and there is no euphoria attached to it.

The pain is in my right thigh.

The joint feels fine.

Apparently, during the surgery they slice into your TFL and then split the muscle fibers and then retract the split muscle with metal retractors. And then they retract your quads with metal retractors. All so they can see the joint capsule, which they then slice open. Once they've sawed the femoral head off, they drop the leg down perpendicular to the rest of the body using a special table. This pops the femur up and out a little so they can drill down into in more efficiently and with greater visibility.

Are you cringing yet? I'll stop. But if you click the first link in this post it leads you to a post that has a link (you following me?) to an actual video of a hip replacement surgery...should you wish to make yourself totally skeeved out. Or educated. For me, it was both.

What this means is that my quad is ON FIRE. And weak.

Physical therapy is so humbling.

Every simple exercise causes leg shake. I have 10 exercises and a couple of "practical" things that I do at least three times a day. My PT says that I would progress faster if I were taking pain meds :( I'm going to test the waters with acetaminophen and ibuprofen, and I'll be icing after every session. Yesterday she had me go up and down our big flight of stairs (now one of my "practical" things to practice) and our goal is to have me off the walker and using the cane by the middle of next week. Graduating up to my friend, the cane :)

Most of the time I'm in good spirits. It's been challenging sometimes because I really just want to be alone. Or have people baby me. But my kids are on Spring Break (I know, I know! They are NEVER in school!) and they are still perfecting their "helpful" skills and because I can't drive them anywhere, they are ALWAYS here. (Go ahead...ask me how many times I've seen Frozen since my surgery. Go ahead...ask.)

People who've been down this road tell me that by six weeks out, you hardly even know you had the surgery...other than the fact that you don't hurt anymore :)

Others say that you shouldn't really plan on being "normal" for at least six months.

And then there's the guy who just ran a 100-mile ultra just shy of 11 months post-surgery. He finished in about 28 hours. That won't be me. Sorry not sorry. 

Will I ever run again? I don't know. I know that I want to. At least a little bit. But I have a lot of work to do before I'll feel comfortable tackling that. For now I'll be working on getting out of bed without using my hands to lift my leg up and over ...and graduating from the walker ;-)

Happy spring, people! Never ever ever take your mobility for granted :) Ever.

I've been posting a lot of this....ummmm....journey on Instagram. Feel free to click on over and follow me there.

A first time for everything.

My first post here in 2014..

My presence here at Taking It On has been sparse, I know. I was here a lot for a couple of years, and then things slowed waaaayyyyy down. Some very difficult things happened in my personal life...some of which I feel comfortable sharing and others, not yet. I doubt I'll ever return to blogging here every day, but I do have a real fondness for you, my Taking It On readers, and for blabbing sharing about myself and life's trials and tribulations and so am still drawn to indulge in this narcissistic outlet from time to time. Here's the latest...

In my last post, which was posted on the last day of last year (lots of lasts), I shared an image of a very diseased hip joint. It was an x-ray taken a year ago, and it was gnarly...in a not good way. For a reminder about what went down, click here to be transported to February of last year. That day I had gone in for a second opinion and I saw that x-ray for the first time. And it stunned me into reality. At that appointment I made the decision that I will get a full hip replacement.

Two weeks ago I had a new image taken. I was x-rayed this time in preparation for meeting with an orthopedic surgeon. It looked even worse...bigger bone spurs, more of that white stuff indicating increased bone due to stress, and weird cysts in the femoral head. Looking at the picture made me cringe. The surgeon said, "Sooooooo...you've got a really messed up hip!"

And while he didn't sing to me, he did spend an hour talking with me about life and surgery and family and joints and "big picture" and zombie apocalypses. He's my surgeon-of-choice and I am excited to get this done.

After a year of basically doing NOTHING in terms of fitness, I'm now cross-training like it's my job. The plan is to be in the best shape time (and pain levels) will allow going into surgery. I need to get stronger and more fit...and I need to lose about 15 lbs. That last part is so humbling. I can't say I've ever been in that place before. But I'm ready to... what am I ready to do????

That's right... TAKE IT ON.

'Cuz that's what I do.

Will I ever run again? That remains to be seen. It is on the "NOT recommended" list for artificial hip recipients, but people do it anyway. My surgeon said, "I can sell you the car, but what you do with it once you drive it off the lot is up to you." 

But enough of that hard stuff...

Everything else in life is going nicely...my kids are happy, my husband is happy, I'm happy. We just moved to a house that suits us really well, and the kids are all still going to their same schools. Big G is loving his high school (and how many people can say that they LOVED high school?). And, if you clicked the right link above, you now know my dirty little, two-timing secret. Please understand that I needed an outlet and I know that some of you have a hard time with "language." We are all multi-faceted...now you have a glimpse of more of my facets :)

Me with wet hair and a beautiful 4-year old.

So, HI, EVERYONE!!!! Have you missed me as much as I've missed you??? And running....I really miss running...

How to define 2013?

The year can be boiled down to three pictures and three words...

 

PAINFUL

yes, this is my x-ray...which I saw for the first time today

 

REAFFIRMING

yes, this is my husband...who'd kill me if he knew I posted this

 FAMILY

yes, these are my kids...who inspire me every single day

2013 was the hardest year of my life...but it finished up well, creating a nice segue into the New Year. I'm ready for 2014. 

May it grace us all with an abundance of joy and good health.

Cheers!

Jingle Bell Hell 2013 Recap

It's hard to begin.

I didn't run this year. I sat in the back of my car and passed out donuts. I handled the state-of-the-art video for the finish line and monitored the new chip-timing.

It was fun, but I have to admit it was kind of sad to not get to run.

It was a glorious morning...

On the cold side, but not as frigid as last year.

I arrived early like a good race director should...armed with donuts and prizes and the trophy...

I had a hunch there would be very few runners so I offered donuts to hikers. Again, some looked at the smiling, donut-offering weirdo with suspicion while others gleefully accepted. Lesson for all of you: gleeful is way better than suspicious...it's a much more enjoyable way to go through life.

Jen showed up first...rarin' to go. Since RoseRunner had failed to respond to my wake-up text, we assumed she would be a no-show and Jen went on her merry way.

Forty-five minutes later, RoseRunner and her husband whipped into the parking lot and sauntered over to the start line, thinking that this year's chip-timing would be working in their favor. It wasn't. Lesson for all of you: prompt arrival at that start of a race can be the difference between #winning and losing.

Here comes Jen, sprinting to the chips!

*VIDEO ISSUES. WORKING ON IT*

but you may never get to see it :(

And with a good STOMP!

#JBH2013 was over and the victor was ... ummm... donut-ed.

I always like to use super flattering photos of my friends.

And scenic backdrops.

Many thanks to the three runners who showed and many thanks to the several virtual participants!



I aim to put together a round-up of the virtual recaps, so please email or tweet me your link AGAIN...I just moved and things have been pretty chaotic and I don't want to miss anyone!

 

Thus, Jen joins the winners who came before her...

inscribed in ballpoint pen on masking tape...

FOR TIME IMMEMORIAL!

What could be more fun than moving?

Moving during the holidays!

While trying to resuscitate a dying blog and host a virtual-and-IRL holiday race.

And coping with a crabby, stiff, painful arthritic hip.

I could go on but I'll spare you.

This is just a reminder that Jingle Bell Hell 2013 Week started today. Yay!!! If you missed the original post it's HERE.

I really hope some people come to the IRL version next Saturday. Yes, of COURSE there will be donuts. If people actually promised to show up, I'd get a box of Peet's coffee but y'all are a flaky bunch ;-) I won't be running this year but am hoping to get PT-clearance to ride my bike along the course to make sure no one CHEATS this year. Last year there was some discussion about length of course and who won and if everyone ran the same distance (they didn't) and if that was legit (it was).

So this is a rambling, nonsensical post by a frazzled, moving, achy momma who still hasn't gotten a tree or presents for her kids...or husband...letting you know #JBH2013 is ON and to share two priceless bits of YouTube garbage that made my older kids laugh so hard they cried...








Because laughter is what makes the world go round...right?

Happy Weekend to everyone! May your running feel effortless and your spleen do it's thing and your yoga ball stay where it's supposed to ;-)

Lots o' love...

XL

JINGLE BELL HELL 2013 is a-comin'!!!!

Many many thanks to Run with Jess for giving me a swift kick in the butt on this...

She is the MOST AWESOME Race Ambassador EVER!!!!

I've become such an absentee blogger of late (try the whole last YEAR) 

so I'm wondering how many people will see this! 

I hope you all will share it with EVERYone you know or don't know because...

The more the merrier!!!

You may or may not remember that I've been race director for an awesome holiday race for the last two years. (That takes you to the first running...click here to see the most recent recap). Remember how no one attended the 2011 event knowingly and the winner of the real life race was a random guy who had no idea he was a part of the resurrection of Jingle Bell Hell. 

Runner Chris...random guy who won last year's race!

And then last year, the indomitable RoseRunner was crushed by SFRoadWarrior in a surprise upset. Of course she did have a 2-mile handicap! I was able to lure flesh-and-blood, intentional participants with DONUTS!!! There will be donuts again this year.

And there were all of the virtual participants who never received their prizes and probably hate me now :( If y'all knew what my last year has been like, y'all'd forgive me in a heartbeat...I promise. Note: lack of blogging was due to IRL insane turmoil and putting-back-together-of-life-pieces.

Anyway...

We're giving it another go! It's time to sign up for this fabulous event!

Below is information on the race...past and present...a little history...some details...hope to see you there, either in the flesh or in spirit!

source

The 6th running of 

Jingle Bell Hell

1/3-marathon and fun run 

Saturday, December 21, 2013 at 8:00 a.m.

Inspiration Point, Tilden Park, Berkeley, California

Rain or Shine

or wherever in the world you might be :)

The starting point of the real-life event is Inspiration Point in Berkeley, California and the course map is...

View Larger Map

and the elevation profile is...

as determined by my Garmin.

The History

My best friends from high school used to put on a race in December. It was small in terms of the number of participants but huge in terms of fun and adventure. Initially, it was a half-marathon, but they found that very few of their friends were at all interested in or capable of running that far. Additionally, the course involved some running on a twisty, narrow road with minimal shoulder that did see its fair share of traffic...especially on weekends. So they abbreviated it to a 1/3-marathon (more or less...a bit over 8 miles) and were able to run it entirely on a paved, car-less road.

My husband (who was my boyfriend at the time) and I ran in their 3rd Annual Jingle Bell Hell in December of 1995 (see picture above...I am front and center with the socks on my hands, he is in the back in the light shirt). It was freezing by Bay Area standards...but not wet. Not everyone went all the way out to the turnaround...and that was just fine.

I won the trophy that year... the "Actually Trained for This Race" Award...

Each year, the winner gets to have their picture taken with this perpetual trophy and have their name added to the illustrious list on the bottom... ballpoint pen inscribed on masking tape, 'cuz we're classy like that. And there will be some prizes that can be taken home as well :)

****

I am really hoping to see some local runners in attendance! It's not far from San Francisco, San Jose or even Santa Cruz... looking west or south. Concord is super close to the east, and Sacramento is just 90 minutes away to the north. It's a great follow-up to the early December races, like CIM and Rock 'n' Roll Las Vegas. 

If you're coming in from out of town and need a super cheap place to crash...with an SF Bay view, in a solid structure, and don't mind driving about five miles...

source

The Albany Bulb Waterfront has some very artistic structures that may or may not be inhabited by squatters.

If you want to do virtual version of Jingle Bell Hell, here are the parameters...

• Must be at least 5K in total length...no maximum.
• Must be done on a challenging course (and if you hate treadmills, that means it could be on a treadmill) because the idea is "Hell" ... that is the important part.
• Must be done between Dec. 14-22, 2013... any time of day or night. This gives you two entire weekends to choose from.
• You must laugh at least once... can be an evil laugh, a laugh of futility, any kind of laugh but laughter is a MUST.
• Email me a link to your Jingle Bell Hell recap so I can post it and we may all share in the fun... please include something about when, where, why regarding the laughing part and what made the run your special brand of Hell :)

Participants in the virtual race will be entered in a prize drawing. Things like fueling products, Nuun hydration products, winter running gear, running safety items, some random stuff... I want to try to have something for everyone... depending on how many or how few participate. Going with that whole "Everyone's a Winner" thing :) Don't want anyone's self-esteem damaged by a silly sporting event.

And I WILL send out the prizes this year!!!! FOR REAL!

Leave a comment if you want to participate!

The Moving Fiasco

We are renters. I've blogged about that. With renting comes the possibility that you could find yourself in a house that's for sale and you aren't buying it...which means you need to move. That's the place we currently find ourselves. No biggie. Go on Craig'sList and find a new place, right? Unfortunately, it isn't always that easy. Combine our family size (which, yes, we CHOSE) with the tight and expensive rental market in the Bay Area (and yes, we choose to live here) and you find affordable pickings rather slim.

We found a place back in early July. We were stoked. It was in our neighborhood and a nicer house than the one we currently live in though almost identical. It had a little more square footage and NO PINK CARPET. After some negotiation, we agreed on a tenancy start date of mid-August. We gave notice on our current place and go about the prep for moving in, offer to take care of some stuff at the new place to ease the stress of the owners, get their approval and appreciation...looking like a dream landlord/tenant match. Then one day...

For nearly a month, the house had been vacant except for our casual comings and goings to plan what would go where, the painter taking care of some stuff, a flooring guy repairing a problem, cleaners cleaning. Once all this was done, my husband started loading a few things into the place assisted by X.

X: Daddy, what is THIS????? (she points to her feet and lower legs)

Daddy (looking closely): Ummmmm... (examining his own feet and lower legs now, too)

X: How is dirt moving?

Daddy (looking skyward with a very pained expression, heaving a huge exhale): It isn't dirt. It's fleas.

The place was infested.

Some people are completely nonplussed by fleas, but neither of us were interested in taking on the beastly task of eradicating them or holding the population at bay or ANYTHING to do with living amongst fleas.

We did a lot of research on fleas and how to eliminate them from a house. We learned so much...life cycles, resistances, etc. What we determined is that the previous tenants had a cat (we saw the cat). The cat had fleas. When they moved out, they flea-bombed and vacuumed and shampooed the carpet. This got rid of the adult fleas, but the eggs hatched and the larvae pupated and the pupae were taking their sweet little 4 weeks to mature. They then felt the vibrations and heat of potential hosts when we started moving around in there. This triggered their emergence as adults, wherein we discovered them. Yay.

Getting rid of the adults isn't that difficult. There are ways to render the eggs no longer viable that aren't too invasive or time-consuming. But the pupae. Their little cases are like concrete. Eliminating these is next to impossible. You pretty much have to wait their 4-6 week maturation and then provide them with a host or they'll just hang out in a dormant, suspended state waiting for just that. Ugh.

And so began the communications that ultimately led to our legally terminating the lease, getting all of our money back and not moving in there. It wasn't fun, but we're counting our lucky stars that it went fairly easily.

However...

We had given notice on our current place. We have negotiated an additional 2 weeks. What that means is: We now have one month from Sunday to find a place and move into it and completely vacate our current home. Just a leeetle bit stressful. Yes, the home ownership conversation has been opened. I'm not sure if we could make that happen by October 15th...and still not sure if we want to take on those different sorts of headaches. I guess, wish me some luck!

Hope all of you are enjoying peace and sanctuary in your homes! And no pests!

Recommencing...

A lot has transpired since my last post way back in mid July...enough to overwhelm me to the point of saying let's leave it at that and start from here.

It was a super busy summer. Yes, we went to the zoo. Come on...it was vacation. Of course we went to the zoo! No elephant penis this time, but.... the alpha male baboon was extremely happy to be alive. The kids giggled but it wasn't particularly noteworthy. The baby baboon, on the other hand, was adorable.

Family-friendly photo.

My kids are still super amazing and beautiful. Yes, they FINALLY all started school this week. I now have a kid in high school, one in middle school, one in elementary school and one in preschool.

Lest you think I now have tons of time to live a life of leisurely manicures and pedicures (which I've never been inclined to get anyway) or fun shopping excursions to places other than the grocery store or daily yoga/pilates/whatever classes now that everyone is out of the house for the better part of the day, think again. We are in the midst of a moving fiasco. Most of you know that moving in and of itself is a pain in the ass, right? Okay, now throw the word "fiasco" in there. It super sucks. I'll explain more later. Maybe. If I remember.

Bottom line on family life: All's well. Yay.

Today I met with awesome singing injection doctor for the seventh time since February. There have been some ups and downs regarding my overall health and my hip, but things seem to return to a level place eventually. I've done precious little in the way of exercise, and that's still been okay with me. But...

After conferring with my physical therapist, my chiropractor, my massage therapist, my awesome singing injection doctor and MYSELF, it has been determined that it is not unrealistic to start a little running again at the end of the month and additionally not unrealistic to possibly run 5K on Thanksgiving (yay, Sonoma Turkey Trot...of course it won't be to defend my title...lol).

I'm hoping to post more frequently now that the kids are back in school, but that most likely won't really happen until the moving situation is sorted out.

Nonetheless, here I am :)

Hi!  *smiles and waves*

Hope you all are doing well and hope we can get reacquainted.




If you want to see some photos from our summer adventures, I've been posting on Instagram...xlmic.

So many things...

Yep, it's been a long time again.

On Tuesday, my sixth injection is scheduled. So far, so good. Nothing earth-shattering, but I do feel positive changes. Even if I'm unable to comfortably run ever, I will NOT write this off as a waste. What that means is: I'm still not running. And what that means is: I will simply regale you with photos of my awesome children. Click out if you must :)

Here's what's been going on since we last spoke blogged...

MAY

 

X returned from her field trip to France 

(because the zoo wasn't enough for her class).

 Poor girl NEVER got her luggage. EVER.

It's still missing.

And her host family was pretty bunk...

lots of familial "issues," shall we say?

But she got the most amazing reception from

her adoring siblings at the airport!

JUNE

Clockwise from top left: 

X moved up from fifth to sixth grade in a little ceremony, 

G was in a play (he's the lump on the floor...more on that in a minute),

G graduated from middle school 

(he's the really short one between the girls, also more to follow),

and Q was a little too laid back during his end-of-the-year musicale.

So yeah, G was in a play. I knew he was taking Drama for his elective. I had some chickenscratch on my hardcopy calendar about Drama Night one Monday in early June. No one ever talked about. No school emails about it. So...on the day of, I decided to call the school and find out if my chickenscratch was bullshit. It wasn't. 

I picked G up from school and asked about it. "Oh, yeah!" he said. "Do we have a French hat and a coat a farmer would wear?" 

WTF, amiright? Show's in two hours and he's asking about costuming. 

As luck would have it, I DID have a "French hat" and the perfect coat. He was so excited.

Evidently, several families also missed the nonexistent memo and there were numerous late arrivals. And then the show happened. In past shows, G has portrayed "characters" like a silent bush or a mute policeman who points once or twice. My husband opted to skip the show and take a "personal night," thinking this would again be the case. However... This time G was onstage a LOT. And he talked a LOT. I remarked on this after the show. He was super exasperated with me.

"Mom..." he said. " I was the lead."

So yeah, G is kind of shrimpy. I know this. But when the graduating eighth graders were all standing on the stage, I seriously thought he was sitting down! Then I realized that all the girls were sporting hooker shoes...seriously. And the outfits. Total hootchie-mama city. I think I'll be an active parent and engage in a conversation about appropriate attire when my girls graduate!

 

 For Father's Day, we went to a Japanese restaurant.

While the sushi was totally unappealing to the kids,

the chopsticks provided a lot of entertainment :)

 That noodle DID end up on the floor.

 

The kids started their summer swimming lessons,

and the same week it rained a lot and was freezing cold.

Awesome SF Bay Area summer :)

 

These June pictures were just too cute to not include.

 JULY

 

I will sincerely miss our playground visits 

when C starts daily all-day preschool in September.

 

At what age do kids figure out appropriate restaurant behavior?

You think I'd know this, but I must have amnesia.

 Did anyone NOT see fireworks this summer?

Our city is going broke and the show was only 15 minutes...

but it was AMAZING!!!!

That's all!