Weekend update

The "Hope for Hannah" black tie affair that I attended with Kevin the other night was fantastic. This was a fund raising event to support research looking for a cure for GAN. Which is a rare genetic neurological disorder. Almost nothing is known about this disease. Hannah's parents started this organization to fund research looking for treatment. We took separate cars, because he had a second gig later in the night, which I chose not to go to.
The preparations for the evening were almost as much fun as the event itself. Shayna came home for the weekend to help me get ready, and to babysit. We went dress shopping, and I had great luck finding this little black dress and the shoes to go with it:


On Saturday, I spent much time pulling all the little details of the outfit together. Shayna did my hair for me. It was much more refined than I generally wear it.
This was Kevin's second official gig with the Refrigerators. All I can say, is what an awesome band! They sound great and have fantastic attitudes. I met several of the wives, and they were all very welcoming to me.

And, at the end of the night, Dexter joined in the fun. He looked quite handsome wearing my bracelet as a crown.

A Conversation at Work

Sitting in our freezing office, I had this exchange with my coworker:
Me: "If you really want to get warm, go use the ladies room on the next floor. It's like 85 degrees in there."
"How do you know that?"
"Sometimes I use that bathroom so that I can run up a flight of stairs to get my heart rate going."

"You need help." With a look of total disbelief on her face.

Getting up to Speed

Update time:
After three auditions, Kevin was offered the job I mentioned a couple of weeks ago. Now that he is officially in, i can tell you that he'll be playing with The Refrigerators! These guys are awesome! And it will be a fun opportunity for him. This Saturday I am going with him to the black tie fundraiser that is on their home page. I'm not gonna lie, I'm a little nervous about going to a black tie event. I mean really, what the heck am I supposed to wear?

Shay is back at school, safe and having fun. The kids miss her. Especially Jack, and in the past he hasn't missed her very much. But, every day he tells me the story of when he was "Borning" and he was crying and cold and the only person at the hospital with him was Shayna, and she held him and kissed him and he stopped crying. Because she loves him the best. That's his story, and he's sticking to it.

Mack just received 2 "Student of Character" awards at school. The assembly was today, and my mom was able to go.

My trip to Tampa was fun. I learned quite a bit about the company: it's history and the vision of our new management team. Plus, I got to play beach volleyball for an afternoon!

Although I haven't chosen a half marathon yet, I've started the training this week. Hopefully I'll find something nearby.

That's it for now. More to tell, but I'm tired. So, it'll wait for another day.
Peace.
~Heidi

Swimming Progress

Back in November I received a copy of "The Essential Triathlon Swimming" DVD from Tri swim coach Kevin Koskella.
I've finally had time to really watch the video a couple of times, and get in the pool to try out the drills.

Last night I went to the Y with the kids. It was the perfect time to try a few things out. I'm here to tell ya- I expect to see some serious improvement in my swim, if I work my way through the video. Thanks Kevin!
Stay tuned for an update in a couple of weeks.

Movin and Shakin

A few big things have been happening around here. Let me see if I can bring y'all up to speed.
First, Kevin has been asked to audition with a premiere funk band in the area. His audition is this Wednesday, so he's been crankin on the tunes- getting ready. Not to mention, he's spent some time improving his stage image. Shhhh...don't tell him I told you, but he even got his eyebrows waxed! He looks Fantastic! Stay tuned for the results of the audition.

Shay has been getting ready to head back to school this weekend. So, she and the kids have been spending every possible minute together. She's pretty psyched to be going back.

Plus, I have a conference in Tampa that I have to go to from this Thursday through Sunday. It's amazing how much effort it takes to go out of town. We had a conference call today, during which we were told to dress Business casual for the whole weekend. Well, that's a problem for me. I'm supposed to dress that way all the time, but I definately push the envelope into "casual" often. I mean, I'm doing home visits all week long. Sometimes in not so great neighborhoods. So, I'm not kidding when I say that I have to wear shoes and clothes that I can run in if I need to. It's only happened twice in the past 10 years, I promise Mom! Anyway, this meant that I had to go buy some new clothes. I'm never great at buying new clothes, especially when it's under pressure. But, I had great luck today! I found the best dress! And some awesome black boots! I love black boots. I'd have 5 pairs if it wouldn't give poor Kev a heart attack.

Finally: training. I got in the pool last week for the first time since October. I'm hoping I'll be able to swim while in Florida. The hotel web site says their outdoor pool is heated-so we'll see. I've been running 3 times a week pretty consistently. And..And this is exciting...I'm seriously considering running a 1/2 marathon in April! I'm spending some time looking at some training plans and seeing if I can make the time commitment, and make them work with my tri training. The general opinion of the people in my BT mentoring group, is that it is doable. If you have any thoughts or opinions about this, I'd love to hear them!
Okey Dokey- That's it for tonight.
Peace.

"You're Fat!"

"you're fat!"

That is what one of the boys in Mack's class told her on friday. I found out this morning, because she didn't want to go to school today.

All children are teased at some point, so I've been preparing myself for the day that I would have to console her and help her through something hurtful that some one has said. To be honest, I expected her to be teased about the way she dresses, or her hair. That would make sense. I mean, she wears boys underwear, for goodness sake!
Yet, she has never been teased about her clothes. In fact, the whole class came to her defense earlier this year when a substitute teacher was unkind to her.

How do 6 and 7 year old boys get so mean about weight? How do they know that it is one of the surest ways to cut someone down? So, here is my skinny (and I mean I can count her ribs through her shirt skinny), little 7 year old standing in front of a mirror, questioning her body image.

Ultimately, I guess I'm glad it happened at such a young age, when what her family thinks and says is still more important than what that boy thinks. Now, I know the reality of what girls are up against. Somehow, I was hoping it had changed in the past 10 years. But it hasn't.
Now, we can tackle this head on, and we will. The first thing I did, was send an email to her teacher. He is fantastic, and I'm sure that he will address the issue with the class in a gentle and nonjudgmental way. At home, we will continue to talk about healthy choices, and how to deal with meanness in general.

Etiquette for New Gym Members

The alternate title for this post is:
"Hey, All you Clueless New Years Resolutionists: Learn some Gym Etiquette!"
Let me start by saying, I understand and accept that the gym is going to be extremely busy in January. I try to be patient with all the new people. After all, at some point in the past most of us started working out because of a resolution we made to ourselves. I joined the gym several years ago to use the pool. My foot had a chronic injury and I needed to find a new type of exercise that I could do. I am very aware that I was clueless about pool etiquette at that time. But, I asked questions. OF every one! I asked lifeguards, and other swimmers, and general staff. You get the point.

I wish my gym would have a letter or post basic etiquette up for beginners to read.This is where I would start:

In the Locker room:
1. There is one bench for 20 lockers. Therefore, it would stand to reason, that said bench is not there for your use exclusively. Please share.
2. If you drag hair on the shower walls, clean it up when you leave the shower.
3. Put some clothes on! There is really no need to blow dry your hair completely naked.
4. If you track mud into the locker room, grab a paper towel and clean it up.
5. The sign that says, "Children are not allowed in the Woman's changing room." Is referring to all children. Your "adorable" 7 year old son does not belong in the woman's locker room.

The Pool:
1. Children do not belong in the lap lanes. I don't care how adorable you think they are.
2. Look at yourself in the mirror before you leave the locker room. If your bathing suit is see through- we don't want to see you!
3. Please don't dive into my lap lane from the deep end. There's no guarantee that I saw you enter my lane.
4. That sign that says "Please shower before entering the pool" Means YOU!

The Fitness Center:
1. Cell phones don't belong in the gym.
2. If you are standing on a treadmill, Use the treadmill.
3. This one is for your own safety: If you are so out of breath that you have to jump onto the side bars of the treadmill, while it keeps going, you're going too fast.
4. It's not cool to drop the free weights, so hard that it gives me a heart attack on the treadmill.

That's it for now. If you are a gym member, I'm sure you have your own list.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It has been an incredibly busy few weeks for me. Getting ready for, and celebrating Christmas is a whirlwind of activity. I love it, but it has kept me away from blogging; both writing one and reading others.
Now that it's January 2nd, things should begin to quiet down.
Christmas was fantastic! Santa brought the family a great gift. Well, it's really for Kevin, Mack and Jack. I have fun watching and listening to them!



We also have a new firefighter in the house!


And of course, while the drums were being put together, Mack and Jack played with the box the set came in; despite having many new toys unwrapped and waiting for them.

As for me, the kids and Kevin gave me a beautiful silver bracelet, a gift certificate for a massage, and swim lessons at my "Y"! I also got new slippers from Shayna- I love new slippers!

Now, it's time to think about 2010 and perhaps setting a few goals for the new year!
~Peace.
Heidi

It's Good to See you, Old Friend

My computer's still broke. But luckily, Shay's home for winter break, so I can use hers.

Much has been happening around here. We are getting ready for Christmas! The tree is up! Some shopping is complete, but there's more to do. Kevin came up with an awesome idea for the kids! So, I put him in charge of shopping for it!

It's one of those years where I have a hundred ideas for Shayna, about 20 for Kenz, and I'm struggling to think of things for Jack. The things he shows me in the stores are all incredibly obnoxious talking things. Like the ride-on Lightning McQueen trike that says, "Get outta my way!" When you start to roll forward. It's rude and bossy, and I don't like it.
I tried to convince Kevin that what Jack really needs, is a dog of his own. Kev disagreed. Here's a picture of Jack and Cam to make my case!


Kenzie had a birthday! She's 7 now! It amazes me how much she's grown in the past 7 years. I'm so proud of my smart, strong, beautiful (don't tell her I said that.)little girl.


Training: It hasn't been happening much in the past couple of weeks. I caught a nasty cold. It's not a big deal, except that by 8PM I'm ready for bed, and can't imagine hopping on the bike or heading to the Y for a run. I did join a new mentor group on BT, and I'm hoping that gets me moving once I start to feel bettter.

That's a brief summary. I'll try to be a better blogger than I have been for the past month.