So there I was having a somewhat ok day given the fact that my hay fever has reached an all-time high and I had very little sleep last night when I get the page at the gym from daycare to come upstairs. Lucky me, I had just finished swimming, I had showered and gotten dressed.
I could hear Mr. Na's screams from the stairwell. And when I came in to the daycare area, he was standing on a chair, at the sink, blood gushing out of his mouth and when he saw me, howled with his sanguine-stained mouth: "MAAAAAAAAAAAA-MAAAAAAAA!"
I saw it right away--his front two teeth had been pushed back further than the other eight who--up until five minutes prior--stood perfectly aligned. My first thought was, "Jesus, I just took him to the dentist YESTERDAY!" and then I saw that massive amounts of blood pooled from the gumline and boy, oh, boy it's true what people tell you--that headwounds are the bloodiest.
It took a long time to calm him down and I asked the women at the daycare for an icepack, which seemed to help stanch the blood--and even then I wasn't too sure I wanted to see the damage. I gave him a play-by-play of everything we'd be doing to get into the car and leave and even told him we'd be seeing his favorite dentist lady again (he gives anyone rave reviews who gives him a fire truck toothbrush) and still, despite his incessant screaming in the women's lockeroom (where I still had my gym bag and purse) and in the parking garage (where I had to phone my husband then the dentist) I knew if one of us, namely me, wasn't able to pull it together, we'd be hitching a ride back home from West Seattle.
The dentist assured me he would be ok. And while he might lose his left tooth from his fall down the slide--teeth first--there won't be any damage to his permanent teeth. He's sporting a David Bowie smile right now, but hey--it's better than having completely broken teeth.
Meanwhile, I'm on the hunt now for all things Herbie for his 4th birthday party--which is rapidly approaching. I ordered a Herbie cake pan, personalized Herbie invitations, a Herbie mylar balloon, a Herbie pinata, Herbie stickers--everything short of a frickin' VW Beetle. I'm glad this little mishap happened this week and not next because it might have put a damper on the festivities.
And speaking of major bummers, we were set to see Stewart Copeland this evening at the Egyptian (a SIFF treat) but sadly, his older brother Ian has recently died of cancer and he canceled his appearance. The documentary he's created chronicles the early beginnings of the Police which Copeland shot with a Super 8. I dunno--given that Mr. Na can't have any solids these next few days, we may just have to lie low. So it's back to the garden where I'm still wrestling with my beloved Osmanthus Burkwoodii bushes. At least for tonight!
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Saturday, May 27, 2006
SIFF'in It
Pa and I caught two films at SIFF on Friday night: Conversations with Other Women and Nick Cave's highly-anticipated, The Proposition. I thought Aaron Eckhart and Helena Bonham Carter were wonderful together in Conversations as the divorced couple who ran into each other after 9 years (sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it???? except !!!SPOILER ALERT!!! that couple does the unthinkable and they actually sleep together...thereby making them both feel sad, lonely and depressed afterwards. Well, DUH!) At first, the split screen was a tad distracting, but then it was actually very playful in that it depicted a lot of what each character was thinking. Very nicely done!
The Proposition was pretty damn heavy and filled with gore but beautifully shot. Guy Pearce and John Hurt--two favorites of mine were pretty good, especially Hurt who does every role over-the-top. I'm not really big on westerns--and have little to NO knowledge of life in the Australian Outback when the British were trying to "civilize" the land; but it's definintely something I'd like to learn.
So what's next--who knows. Pa and I are still SIFFting through the schedule, and as a break from all that heady stuff, we took Mr. Na to the NW Folklife Festival to see some Ukrainian dancers and musicians and chow down the usual "festival food"--not to mention perusing through the usual vendors who sell boxes in which to put your weed. And after attending a birthday party in the afternoon, we saw Over the Hedge which was, ya know, not SIFF material but cute and heavy on the adult references (Mama, why are you laughing? What's so funny?) Besides, how could you go wrong with a soundtrack from Ben Folds? Much better than that syrupy Jack Johnson who RUINED the Curious George movie.
The Proposition was pretty damn heavy and filled with gore but beautifully shot. Guy Pearce and John Hurt--two favorites of mine were pretty good, especially Hurt who does every role over-the-top. I'm not really big on westerns--and have little to NO knowledge of life in the Australian Outback when the British were trying to "civilize" the land; but it's definintely something I'd like to learn.
So what's next--who knows. Pa and I are still SIFFting through the schedule, and as a break from all that heady stuff, we took Mr. Na to the NW Folklife Festival to see some Ukrainian dancers and musicians and chow down the usual "festival food"--not to mention perusing through the usual vendors who sell boxes in which to put your weed. And after attending a birthday party in the afternoon, we saw Over the Hedge which was, ya know, not SIFF material but cute and heavy on the adult references (Mama, why are you laughing? What's so funny?) Besides, how could you go wrong with a soundtrack from Ben Folds? Much better than that syrupy Jack Johnson who RUINED the Curious George movie.
Monday, May 22, 2006
Ouch!
Today was definitely a recovery day for me. I am very sore, but not so much from the race yesterday--even after having twisted my ankle. Last night I stepped on something really sharp in my office and while it feels as if I have a giant splinter under the skin of my heel, there isn't anything there.
My office is the only place where we haven't replaced the old fur floor. We never really intended it to be an office until after Mr. Na moved in. It's actually the walk-in closet adjacent to Mr. Na's room, though it's spacious like ours at a whopping 8'x12' and has it's own cute little window for peering out onto the street. We want to finish off our basement so that Pa and I can move our offices down there as soon as Mr. Na is old enough to move to the first floor, to Pa's office and number two has moved in to Mr. Na's current room.
In the future, my office will be the master bathroom, so we can have two upstairs--one for the children and one for us--but that's a long way off from now. Pa's gotta finish the kids' bathroom first...
Usually when I do a brick at the gym, I set the bike to the "Hill" setting on Level 12 and I wear a heart rate monitor so I can keep my pulse up between 150-160 bpm for 20 minutes. Then I hop off and run on the treadmill with the incline set at 2.0 and the speed between 6.0-7.0 for 20 minutes. It's been hard, though, because while my heart rate has stayed up with the cycling, it goes even higher when I try and run a 9 minute mile immediately afterwards. I need to work on that for the race. I think the best approach is to start out running slower and then increase as my exertion diminishes. Otherwise I'll be huffing and puffing the minute I get off my bike.
Today I rode for 20 and then did a recovery run (much slower pace) for 20. I then swam for only 15 minutes, doing drills. By the time I was done I was ready for a nap!
I finally broke down and invested in a really nice pair of swim goggles. They're anti-fogging which was the worst gripe I had about my former pair. Now I can see everything under the water--it's awesome!
Speaking of gripes, I have one major complaint about swimming as much as I do: I can't seem to keep my fingernails!! I've tried everything but they continue to peel and crack and they look just plain awful--so now I have to keep them "jock-short" LOL! I just thank God for this product, otherwise, my hair would be dead and I'd have to cut it short. That'll never happen! I also have to thank my awesome hairdresser of 9 years who told me to put conditioner in my hair after I've showered and conditioned it there--and then leave in the second application.
Pa is in SF until tonight. Thank goodness he won't travel for another month or so because I need to have my mornings back to work on my manuscript!
My office is the only place where we haven't replaced the old fur floor. We never really intended it to be an office until after Mr. Na moved in. It's actually the walk-in closet adjacent to Mr. Na's room, though it's spacious like ours at a whopping 8'x12' and has it's own cute little window for peering out onto the street. We want to finish off our basement so that Pa and I can move our offices down there as soon as Mr. Na is old enough to move to the first floor, to Pa's office and number two has moved in to Mr. Na's current room.
In the future, my office will be the master bathroom, so we can have two upstairs--one for the children and one for us--but that's a long way off from now. Pa's gotta finish the kids' bathroom first...
Usually when I do a brick at the gym, I set the bike to the "Hill" setting on Level 12 and I wear a heart rate monitor so I can keep my pulse up between 150-160 bpm for 20 minutes. Then I hop off and run on the treadmill with the incline set at 2.0 and the speed between 6.0-7.0 for 20 minutes. It's been hard, though, because while my heart rate has stayed up with the cycling, it goes even higher when I try and run a 9 minute mile immediately afterwards. I need to work on that for the race. I think the best approach is to start out running slower and then increase as my exertion diminishes. Otherwise I'll be huffing and puffing the minute I get off my bike.
Today I rode for 20 and then did a recovery run (much slower pace) for 20. I then swam for only 15 minutes, doing drills. By the time I was done I was ready for a nap!
I finally broke down and invested in a really nice pair of swim goggles. They're anti-fogging which was the worst gripe I had about my former pair. Now I can see everything under the water--it's awesome!
Speaking of gripes, I have one major complaint about swimming as much as I do: I can't seem to keep my fingernails!! I've tried everything but they continue to peel and crack and they look just plain awful--so now I have to keep them "jock-short" LOL! I just thank God for this product, otherwise, my hair would be dead and I'd have to cut it short. That'll never happen! I also have to thank my awesome hairdresser of 9 years who told me to put conditioner in my hair after I've showered and conditioned it there--and then leave in the second application.
Pa is in SF until tonight. Thank goodness he won't travel for another month or so because I need to have my mornings back to work on my manuscript!
Interesting Readers
I've been getting hits on my blog from people all around the world, including readers from the Netherlands, France, Spain and Japan. Here in the States, I have quite a few people who read me on a fairly regular basis, including someone from the University of Georgia and someone in South Dakota. Just thought I'd say "hi" and it'd be really nice if you could come out an introduce yourselves!
Oddly enough, the number one search people do to get to my site is "Sporticus". That just goes to show you how many of us have the hots for that guy!!
Oddly enough, the number one search people do to get to my site is "Sporticus". That just goes to show you how many of us have the hots for that guy!!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
I Beat The Bridge!
Not only did I beat the stupid, ol' bridge today, but I PR'd on my 8k time. Not bad for someone who woke up at 4 a.m. and had a hard time falling back to sleep because she was bathed in sweat. I HATE that!
The morning was beautiful--such a huge difference from last year's torrential downpour. The sky was Bomb Pop blue and it was just that perfect kind of temperature where it was slightly brisk to stand still and perfect for running hard.
The only bummer was when I twisted my ankle stepping off the curb after mile 4--but it only slowed me down about a 1/4-1/2 mile.
Yesterday I got to try out my new cycle computer and I rode 15.6 miles in 77 minutes. I hit mile 12 in just under 53 minutes, so I want to bring that time down to 45 minutes or so prior to the tri. I'd love to finish in 90 minutes, but we'll see. I learned a new tip yesterday: if you wear a wetsuit for a tri, spray yourself down with Pam first so you don't chaffe. Ew! But whatever works!
Now it's back to butchering--er, uh cleaning up my garden beds. I hacked my burning bushes to pieces yesterday and now they look like shit. I hope they forgive me.
I picked Pa up at the airport on Friday after a week of being in Dallas and now he's en-route to San Francisco. Man, oh man I hardly remember what the guy looks like anymore!
The morning was beautiful--such a huge difference from last year's torrential downpour. The sky was Bomb Pop blue and it was just that perfect kind of temperature where it was slightly brisk to stand still and perfect for running hard.
The only bummer was when I twisted my ankle stepping off the curb after mile 4--but it only slowed me down about a 1/4-1/2 mile.
Yesterday I got to try out my new cycle computer and I rode 15.6 miles in 77 minutes. I hit mile 12 in just under 53 minutes, so I want to bring that time down to 45 minutes or so prior to the tri. I'd love to finish in 90 minutes, but we'll see. I learned a new tip yesterday: if you wear a wetsuit for a tri, spray yourself down with Pam first so you don't chaffe. Ew! But whatever works!
Now it's back to butchering--er, uh cleaning up my garden beds. I hacked my burning bushes to pieces yesterday and now they look like shit. I hope they forgive me.
I picked Pa up at the airport on Friday after a week of being in Dallas and now he's en-route to San Francisco. Man, oh man I hardly remember what the guy looks like anymore!
Thursday, May 18, 2006
Mr. Na and the City of Love
Paris was--how shall I say--tres magnifique. What's not to love? It'll be pretty hard to top this birthday.
We strolled, we shopped, we supped, we saw the sights, and suprisingly Mr. Na got a lot out of it. Of course, if you ask him what his favorite thing about the trip was, he'd reply "playing cars in the hotel room!" but he enjoyed riding the Metro and climbing the Eiffel Tower and the boat ride on the Seine.
It's impossible to do everything you want to do in Paris in only a week's time. Even having been before, I needed at least two more weeks to soak in everything. I missed a Los Angeles photography exhibit at the Pompidou Center, which I thought looked very interesting and the L'Orangerie re-opened on the day we left. But we ate to our heart's content and Mr. Na managed to get some premium playground time in-between sightseeing, thanks to this book that highlighted all of the kid-friendly spots.
I'm happy to report that we stayed far, far away from Disneyland Paris and instead went to the most amazing children's museum I'd ever seen: Les Cite des enfants, which is part of Paris' Museum of Science and Industry. Mr. Na got to fix a car, build a house, ship cargo, play with pneumatics, water, grain--you name it, this place had everything suitable for a 3 year-old to get into.
More to come, but for now, please enjoy our pictures!
We strolled, we shopped, we supped, we saw the sights, and suprisingly Mr. Na got a lot out of it. Of course, if you ask him what his favorite thing about the trip was, he'd reply "playing cars in the hotel room!" but he enjoyed riding the Metro and climbing the Eiffel Tower and the boat ride on the Seine.
It's impossible to do everything you want to do in Paris in only a week's time. Even having been before, I needed at least two more weeks to soak in everything. I missed a Los Angeles photography exhibit at the Pompidou Center, which I thought looked very interesting and the L'Orangerie re-opened on the day we left. But we ate to our heart's content and Mr. Na managed to get some premium playground time in-between sightseeing, thanks to this book that highlighted all of the kid-friendly spots.
I'm happy to report that we stayed far, far away from Disneyland Paris and instead went to the most amazing children's museum I'd ever seen: Les Cite des enfants, which is part of Paris' Museum of Science and Industry. Mr. Na got to fix a car, build a house, ship cargo, play with pneumatics, water, grain--you name it, this place had everything suitable for a 3 year-old to get into.
More to come, but for now, please enjoy our pictures!
Friday, May 05, 2006
Tellement longtemps pour maintenant, mes lecteurs fidèles et fidèles!
(Translation: So long for now, my loyal and faithful readers!) Ok, all two of you!
Team PaNaMa are off to Paris for a fun-filled week. Yep, this time we're really going. I mean it. No more cancelling at the last minute, like we did in September.
Au Revoir!
Team PaNaMa are off to Paris for a fun-filled week. Yep, this time we're really going. I mean it. No more cancelling at the last minute, like we did in September.
Au Revoir!
Monday, May 01, 2006
The Point in Which I Cram Way Too Much Crap into One Day
I may very well be the only person on this planet who gets stressed out over lists--any kind of list, not just the straightforward "to do" versions but anything that requires any kind of action on my part.
I have lists of library books on hold for me that if I don't check out, they will go to the next person in the queue; I have a giant list on my TiVo of things that, if I don't watch soon, will be deleted; I have a list of things to do freelance-wise; a list of things that need to be done in the garden, before spring turns into summer; a list of people waiting for me to finish this draft of my novel so they can read it; a packing list of items we will need for our trip to Paris next week; a list of things to do to prep the house for our housesitters. The list goes on! All this, on top of my usual weekly "To Do" list.
I'm becoming manic the older I get. My days are spent in hourly, half-hourly or quarter-hourly increments as I try and cram as much shit as I possibly can into one day which results in reading books while brushing and flossing my teeth and scanning media headlines on my laptop while clearing off shows on the TiVo or writing scenes in my head while playing "Candyland" with Mr. Na.
And yet, the funny thing is, if you asked me, "What've you been up to lately?" I'll reply my usual "Not much" because really, all of this stuff just gets absorbed somewhere in the recesses of my brain and goes dormant. I retain nothing! I get characters and real people confused and the lines between fact and fiction become blurred.
This is probably why I enjoy running so much. It's the only time I get to clear my head and oddly enough, while my body moves rapidly, my mind slows down. Strange, too because the time in-between runs, when I move at warp speed, I'm forgetful. Take, for instance, yesterday: I took Moofie with us to the lake to run but I forgot her leash, so the poor dog had to sit in the car and wait until I was done; I forgot my shopping list (thankful that Pa was working home so he could e-mail it to me); forgot my purse at Mr. Na's preschool; and I forgot my sunglasses in my friend's babyjogger.
Running clears all of the clutter and noise out of my head and I'm able to focus on a few things (i.e, my breathing and stride) rather than a few thousand. It's actually easier for me to relax during my runs than it is to lie in "Savasana" ("corpse pose") when I practice yoga.
Over the last five weeks, I've shifted my training from simply running to include biking and swimming in preparation for the triathlon in July. And while the crosstraining, overall, has been fabulous, I really miss the long runs I was doing before the marathon. Long bike rides, for me, doesn't give me the same mental space for some reason and so it doesn't give me the same satisfaction.
I guess I'm weird like that! As if you didn't know!
I have lists of library books on hold for me that if I don't check out, they will go to the next person in the queue; I have a giant list on my TiVo of things that, if I don't watch soon, will be deleted; I have a list of things to do freelance-wise; a list of things that need to be done in the garden, before spring turns into summer; a list of people waiting for me to finish this draft of my novel so they can read it; a packing list of items we will need for our trip to Paris next week; a list of things to do to prep the house for our housesitters. The list goes on! All this, on top of my usual weekly "To Do" list.
I'm becoming manic the older I get. My days are spent in hourly, half-hourly or quarter-hourly increments as I try and cram as much shit as I possibly can into one day which results in reading books while brushing and flossing my teeth and scanning media headlines on my laptop while clearing off shows on the TiVo or writing scenes in my head while playing "Candyland" with Mr. Na.
And yet, the funny thing is, if you asked me, "What've you been up to lately?" I'll reply my usual "Not much" because really, all of this stuff just gets absorbed somewhere in the recesses of my brain and goes dormant. I retain nothing! I get characters and real people confused and the lines between fact and fiction become blurred.
This is probably why I enjoy running so much. It's the only time I get to clear my head and oddly enough, while my body moves rapidly, my mind slows down. Strange, too because the time in-between runs, when I move at warp speed, I'm forgetful. Take, for instance, yesterday: I took Moofie with us to the lake to run but I forgot her leash, so the poor dog had to sit in the car and wait until I was done; I forgot my shopping list (thankful that Pa was working home so he could e-mail it to me); forgot my purse at Mr. Na's preschool; and I forgot my sunglasses in my friend's babyjogger.
Running clears all of the clutter and noise out of my head and I'm able to focus on a few things (i.e, my breathing and stride) rather than a few thousand. It's actually easier for me to relax during my runs than it is to lie in "Savasana" ("corpse pose") when I practice yoga.
Over the last five weeks, I've shifted my training from simply running to include biking and swimming in preparation for the triathlon in July. And while the crosstraining, overall, has been fabulous, I really miss the long runs I was doing before the marathon. Long bike rides, for me, doesn't give me the same mental space for some reason and so it doesn't give me the same satisfaction.
I guess I'm weird like that! As if you didn't know!
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