All right

So how's your summer going? Mine is going great so far, but I can't believe...

1) Little Joe's first day of kindergarten is eight weeks (EIGHT WEEKS) from today--August 11. Between now and then, he's playing baseball this summer for the first time, and he says he likes it. He's on a coach-pitch team (the Cubs!), seems like a natural hitter, and is learning to field the ball a bit better than before. Yesterday I asked him if he liked soccer or baseball better, and this is what he said. "I like them both, but in baseball, there's too much standing around. I don't get a chance to run really fast very often, and in soccer, I could run really fast every time." That's my boy! Last week at baseball we discovered that if he fields the ball well, he can actually beat the base runners to first base and tag him or her out. Hehe. He loved that. Anyway, he's making more new friends, and therefore, is becoming less anxious about starting kindergarten in the fall.

Joey IS still a little worked up about riding the bus (which he'll only do on a limited basis) and about not knowing anyone. But heck, just about everywhere we go, he seems to say, "Hey, I know that kid from somewhere (our YMCA, church, the playground, etc.). WE know he'll do fine, but he's still nervous. He's always been the kind of kid, even baby, really, who needed predictability and routine. Our first few months with him were very challenging until we got the message, and now he does great with some preparation and discussion before we do new stuff. But kindergarten... well, it's a big step for someone like him, beyond just the regular "going off to school for the first time" stuff. I'm so excited for him. Check out these pictures of lil' Joe. Why, oh WHY can't I remember to take my camera to baseball games?!

Here's Joey on his last day of pre-k. Here's Joey with his best pal, Jack. They're actually very close to being the same boy. :)

Another thing I can't believe...
2) It's this hot already. We've had several ninety-degree days already, and it's not even July. I'm already sick of the air conditioning, but not sick enough to try to sleep in eighty degree humid weather. On this past Monday morning when I left for work at 4:30am, it was already seventy-nine degrees. 79! And so humid the windows were fogged up. Ugh. The silver lining to this heat and the tremendous amount of rain is that our strawberry patch is exploding with rosy red berries. I'm so going to miss them when the season ends.

Here's the tiny little patch, yielding about a dozen strawberries per day. And these are the beautiful first fruits of the patch, six juicy imperfect berries.

I LOVE fresh strawberries, and I recently read this article on msnbc.com about eating locally (meaning you only eat foods grown within 100 miles of your home, including meats), and it really had an impact on me. I think I'm more careful than the average person about the kind of food we eat and their origins, but I also like mangoes, for example, and they're not going to be growing on a tree (on a bush? See, I don't even know how they grow!) in my area anytime soon. A compromise usually results in my buying the fruits and vegetables we like, which are the mainstay of our diets in this house, even if they are from Peru or some other far-away place. This means I give in; it's not a compromise, really, is it?

Anyway, another thing about the weather being ridiculously hot is that I'm not racing. Just no. I don't like running in this kind of heat, so I am still training indoors on a treadmill (mostly hill work with some speedwork). Did I mention I got a great training schedule from the virtual trainer at runnersworld.com? It's provided me with some perspective, since my theory has always been that the harder and faster I train, the faster I'd run at race time. Ahh, no.

My last race was in Grand Haven, Michigan, on May 24, and when we drove the course beforehand (thank you, Laura, for getting us there early and preparing me!), I was very intimidated. Shortly before this race, I had completed another hilly 5k race, but this one, well, it was really a hard run. I actually thought during warm-ups that I'd just not do the race. I could just get back in the Jeep and drive off. After all, I hadn't run but once or twice the week before the race, and after seeing the course, I felt wholly unprepared. At the end of mile 1, there was a short and extremely steep hill, one like which I'd ever even run during training. People were walking up the crest of this hill.

It really was ideally beautiful weather, though--clear, sunny, and in the low 50's. We ran along Lake Michigan for the first mile, and it was slightly chilly in the shade of the steep rise of the trees, but it felt good. I just didn't want to look ahead to the hills. So I didn't. I focused on running down the chicks ahead of me, some of whom finished ahead of me and some of whom finished behind me. :D It was my first Rocky finish (crossing the finish, arms aloft and head back), but this was the hardest race I've run by far. I was so proud of myself because it was also my second best time, 28:40. I could have run it harder, but I didn't know that until the race was over. Laura has some pictures, but she hasn't sent them to me, so I can't share them with you.

I'll take up more racing when it cools down some, say, maybe in September or October? I do love the racing, though, and some of my running companions at the Y suggest should start training for a 10k and then a mini (13.1 miles)... Ahh, that would be a definite no to the minis; that's still a driving distance for me. Maybe the 10k. Maybe.


Yet ANOTHER thing I can't believe...
3)I've been away from blogging for almost two months. What's up with that? Well, as I mentioned in my previous post, I just haven't been feeling myself lately. I'm awfully tired and hungry most days, interested in eating and sleeping in my spare time, which isn't plenty. I thought for awhile that I might be diabetic, and that could still be true, with my problem being uncontrolled low blood sugar. I do know that I get terribly cranky and moody when I'm hungry (poor Scott).

If it is, it's a new thing, because I had my yearly last July, complete with bloodwork, and all was normal. I actually had the physical last year because my troubles were starting then, with some tiredness (nothing extreme, though), as well as other mild symptoms, easily attributed to other problems (dramatic increase in my physical activity and relational stresses). All came back normal, though, and the doctor essentially smacked me on the shoulder and said, "See ya next year."

Here it is next year, and I have those symptoms I mentioned and consistently a few more-- tiredness (is it my work schedule, increase in training and weight routine, the inability to stay asleep all night, or decrease in calories in an attempt to lose the last 15 pounds?), some disorientation, extreme hunger in the mornings, and I'm sure there are more I can't remember or put my finger on. WebMD anyone? I just can't lose the last fifteen pounds or increase the intensity of my training anymore. I'm too tired. I go to bed, usually, at a reasonable hour (usually by 11), particularly if I have to work the next morning (on those nights, usually by 9:30), wake up at least once per night, and then nap 1-2x/ week during quiet time. I'm just sick of struggling to stay awake almost every day.

Anyway, more recently, I developed some upper and lower back pain, as well as some accompanying headaches, and I decided to see the bone-jerker, a chiropractor. I have a healthy suspicion of the whole genre, but I do accept and recognize that other kinds of treatments outside the mainstream are generally considered valid, so off I went to visit the bone-jerker who is loved by several of my friends and neighbors. As I expected, I am mis-aligned; this speaks to the fact that I really am wonky and the fact that chiropractors don't have a reputation for saying "Hey, you look great. Go home." Hehe. More to the point, I got my neck and lower back cracked, and for awhile, my neck felt great. Now it hurts again, and my left lumbar actually hurts worse than before I went. Maybe tomorrow's visit will improve things?

The final thing I can't believe....
4) I never posted about the amazing Mother's Day I had. I slept in (!), had whatever I wanted to eat all day (love!), and enjoyed myself to my heart's content. One surprise I received for Mother's Day was from Michelle, my kind and loving friend in Florida. Check this out. They're cookies! Does she love me or what?


Whew. That's pretty much it--actually, there's a lot more, but this entry is already shockingly long. Hehe. As you can see, I've missed sharing stuff with you and hearing your responses, both published and unpublished. Keep 'em coming, and I'll do my best. xo