Where Were You...

Where were you on September 11, 2001?
What about when JFK was shot?
Or when Elvis Presley died?

There are certain events that will be forever etched in our memories...

April 19, 1995

I have lived in Oklahoma off and on most of my life. April 1995 was an "off". We we living in Aurora, CO, and my parents were managing a mobile home park. It was "Take Your Daughter To Work Day" so I was helping out in my mom's office. Vacuuming actually... She received a phone call from my grandfather. He wanted us to know that there had been an explosion in downtown Oklahoma City. We had family members who worked in that area or had regular business there and he hadn't heard from them yet but he would let us know when he did.

That explosion was actually a bombing - The Oklahoma City Bombing - and until September 11, 2001, it was the deadliest act of terrorism on American soil.

If you've never been to The Oklahoma City National Memorial, I highly encourage it.

Today marks the 15th Anniversary of that tragic event. 168 men, women, and children lost their lives because of this senseless act.

Honor them.

Remember them.


Where were you on April 19, 1995?

So, I Finally Did It...

That's right... IT... the big one...

I got out of my house and met my running group for... well... a run. What else does a running group meet for?!?! Okay, well mine also tends to meet for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks in between, and any other excuse they can think of - but generally speaking those also revolve around the running.

Friday night, I laid out my attire, and hoped that Nathan would sleep all night. And Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early, silently cursing that he had, in fact, slept all night. No excuse to stay in bed... Damn.

After getting dressed and ready to go, I went and woke him up, fed him, and got him dressed and ready to go out to breakfast with his Daddy. Then I was out the door.

When I showed up to the meeting place, it was a little colder and drizzlier (more drizzly?) than I was expecting. I had a few minutes to chat with some of my most favorite people in the whole world, and then once we got going, it turned out to be perfect! Except for the running part...

What is that I like about this stupid sport?!?!? I couldn't breathe, and today was the first day that my whole body didn't ache... and I only ran 4 miles!

Seriously though, it felt good (mentally) to get back out there. I've been needing that. Now I just need to keep doing it... No excuses.

Heavy

My heart has been heavy with sadness for the situation in Haiti, and the dense fog this morning has done nothing to lift my mood...

It seems every news report brings more sadness, anger, depression... not just for Haiti, but also for hundreds of police and firemen/women who are facing potential layoffs, and in general just stupid people doing stupid things... I can't remember the last time I saw something on the news that I felt was a "positive" report.

I wish I could have stayed home, snuggled in bed, watching silly children's shows, and playing with Nathan...

How desperately I need to get out and run and get out of this funk... I have no reason not to - Nathan is sleeping well and his daddy can handle it. But I feel like I need a push - someone to show up at my door and drag me out. I just cannot find the motivation that I need right now...

Ugh... when will it be summer time again?!?!?!

Big Bird Learns about Breastfeeding <3

I know I already posted this on my facebook, but I like it, so I'm posting it here too. Too bad that it had to be from the '70's and not something more recent...

How To Live The Good Life

A friend emailed this to me this morning and I liked it - so I'm sharing!



Handbook 2010

Health:
1. Drink plenty of water.
2. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a beggar.
3. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.
4. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
5. Make time to practice meditation, yoga, and prayer.
6. Play more games.
7. Read more books than you did in 2009.
8. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.
9. Sleep for 7 hours.
10. Take a 10-30 minutes walk every day. And while you walk, smile.

Personality :
11. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
12. Don't have negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.
13. Don't over do. Keep your limits.
14. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
15. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip.
16. Dream more while you are awake.
17. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
18. Forget issues of the past. Don't remind your partner with his/her mistakes of the past. That will ruin your present happiness.
19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. Don't hate others.
20. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.
21. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.
22. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum that appear and fade away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
23. Smile and laugh more.
24. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

Society :
25. Call your family often.
26. Each day give something good to others.
27. Forgive everyone for everything.
28. Spend time with people over the age of 70 & under the age of 6.
29. Try to make at least three people smile each day.
30. What other people think of you is none of your business.
31. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch.

Life :
32. Do the right thing!
33. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
34. GOD heals everything.
35. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
36. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
37. The best is yet to come.
38. When you awake alive in the morning, thank GOD for it.
39. Your Inner most is always happy. So, be happy.

New Year's Resolution

In no particular order...

1. Start running again. I miss so much about it... my peeps, the feel of chat under my shoes, the clarity of mind.

2. Let go of my guilt. Wanting some time away from Nathan does NOT make me a bad mother. This is a huge part of why my running has suffered. I feel like running is a selfish thing, and I feel a ton of guilt when I try to do it. I also have a ton of guilt from Nathan's early months when I had PPD, and I feel like I somehow need to make up for it.

3. Be a better blogger. Ideally, I would post every day - but a minimum of once a week. I have so many pictures on my awesome new camera, but haven't done anything with them! And I must try to remember that this used to be MY blog... before Nathan was even being thought of. Therefore, it does not have to revolve around him! (yeah, right....)

4. Get our stupid office/junk room/spare bedroom cleaned out. Ugh... the crap has now taken over our dining room, and it must stop!

5. Ditto for the garage. It hasn't invaded the house, but it's a mess and my car used to like living in there!

6. Work on getting rid of our debt. Won't be fun (or easy) on my part-time salary, but getting rid of some is better than adding more!


I think that's it for now... I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas, and I wish for you all to have a blessed 2010!!

Fun With Food!

I know... you're so excited to finally see pictures of Nathan eating!!

For the record, yes, he is eating "real" food. We skipped the baby food/purees/etc, and went straight to table food. And everything he does is self-fed. We don't actually feed him anything - we offer him food, and he decides what to eat and how much. Also known as Baby-led solids or Baby-led weaning! So far, he has had:

Banana - loved it!
Avocado - need to try again now that he has better control
Oatmeal - mostly plays with it
Steamed carrots - loves these!
Artichoke leaves - yum-yum!
Steamed sweet potato and white potato - need to try again
Shredded chicken - yummy!
Peas - we'll keep working on those... his daddy doesn't like them though, so we'll see!
Apple - yum!
applesauce - even better!
Kix and Cheerios - He likes the Kix better, but both are fun for him to eat
Steamed broccoli - need to try again - practice makes perfect!
Pasta - yummy!
Peaches - mmm...
Mango - I'm not sure he ever actually ate the mango, but he was licking the juice off his hands!

He has also tasted lemons and pickles, and gnawed on some celery. It's a fun process watching him learn and practice! And it makes me more conscious about what I prepare for dinner! It also makes me more conscious about what I order when we're eating out, since he loves to help himself to my plate... No more pad thai for mommy :-(


These are pictures from a couple nights ago.

Chicken and Peas

He loved the chicken! The peas... not so much!

Aaahhh....

Perfecting the Pincer grasp

Sleepy boy!

You have no idea how glad I am to finally have a camera!! Still trying to figure out all the settings and such, but loving it!