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.
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.
Today I go and maybe get a giant needle stuck into my hip and have stuff injected in there. But I might not. It depends on what the doctor says. I hope he says,
LET'S DO IT!!!!
because I am eager to get the show on the road even though it's needles and needles freak the crap out of me. If it works, if it doesn't work...at least it's a starting point. So I'm smiling even though I haven't run since I can't even remember.
Thanks, everyone, for your shared excitement about the rowing. It was really fun. I did it twice last week, and that will be all...for now. Deciding to proceed with the prolotherapy course of treatment (which is not covered by insurance) will be a financial commitment that will already stretch us. Rowing is way more expensive than I had imagined. I had a hard time keeping a straight face when I was given the cost breakdown. What the WHAT? LOL! And, dude, 4:40 a.m. is sooooooo f*cking early!!!
For now the energy will be focused on healing or treating or whatevering my sweet little hurting hip :) I will not curse it. I will be loving it and nurturing it and promising to do right by it.
As I ponder what lies ahead, I've been spending time hanging with one of my favorite girls...
Can't catch me!
Yeah, right now I can't...but wait until I get this hip sorted ;-)
I'll be sure to report back about how the doctor appointment goes!
What would you want to do if you were a kid on vacation? Don't say Disneyland...think local :) Ever tried a course of treatment that seemed experimental? How'd it go? p.s. Jingle Bell Hellers...i have NOT forgotten about you!
I sincerely apologize for leaving you hanging on Monday without a gadget to ponder. Preparations for our return home from our awesome vacation were ... ummmm... overwhelming. Time got away from me and I was just too wiped out to make it happen. It was a bummer especially because there were a couple of other really weird-looking things in those drawers in France! I so badly wanted to share them with you all :)
Anyway...
Back in America...
Yes, we are home... rolled in at just before 10 pm and crawled into our beds. That last leg of the journey was exciting! All the missing of connections, stand-by and separation and reunification, mechanical problems... then finally on the "spare" plane! Which only had one bathroom! It was so funny when they announced over the PA system that everyone on the flight should go use the bathroom before getting on the plane... reminded me of me :) "Okay, mom."
Our flight attendants were "Ken" (Barbie's boyfriend) and Luis Guzman's cranky twin brother. Because there were so many problems and inconveniences, "Ken" told some of us that we'd get comped movies. And the pilot even said to all of us, "If there is anything we can do up here on the flight deck to make your trip more enjoyable, just let us know." But LG's cranky bro kept saying they needed to "evaluate the criteria" regarding free movies. Dude! Just tell the captain to flip the switch or there'll be rioting in the aisles! About an hour into the flight, that's just what they did... whew. Those free previews were getting really repetitive :P
On to today's Main Event...
This gadget harkens back to the days of my youth... Some of you might recall the days of manually-operated things such as this... Others of you are such spring chickens that you may never have seen one of these babies in action... well, here it is:
It really is over 60 years old... my mother-in-law verified that fact a couple of months ago. She received it for a wedding present in 1950. Honestly, this gadget sticks so annoyingly (might be those twist-ties) that I rarely use it anymore. I have hunted for a new one to no avail. I usually use my hand-held electric model nowadays.
Incidentally, if you listen closely, you might be able to hear Miss C listening to Blue's Clues in the background. Did you know that Mr. Salt and Mrs. Pepper are from France? What a coincidence that we were just there! LOL
