Five Baht Elephant

my crafty home

My Kid is a Goofball

Goofball

(and I love it)

I carved some time, ok, truthfully I willed myself to do it – but I sat down at my computer, fired up Lightroom and got to work on sorting, editing and posting photos. I found this series of shots of Miles from January.

He’s at that age where he is pretty  much sick of ‘smiling’ for the camera – and it doesn’t matter which camera big Nikon or iPhone, he is just not interested. But he has no problem hamming it up.

He did it wearing snow boots in January.

He did it a week ago in Manhattan (Central Park).

He did it at a family wedding, even when I wanted him to NOT do it.

I know that I am biased, but seriously. I have a good looking kid.

He’s just been into being funny. And laughing this huge laugh. Other things he’s into, right now:

  • swim lessons every Thursday
  • going to Carol’s on Wednesdays
  • sleeping with a pillow on his head each night
  • begging me to sleep with him ‘this much’ and not ‘this much’ as he measures ‘much’ by spreading his hands apart
  • eggs, pancakes and spaghetti with butter (or Tobasco)
  • riding the bus and pretending to be a bus driver – he can name the streets in order from Colorado Blvd to the Capitol
  • elevators
  • maps – my car has a navigation screen that he likes to look at while we’re driving. In JJ’s car, he’ll want to look at the map on a phone. “Where the blue dot?”

 

It Was A Midnight Bike Ride After A Great Show

Paramount Theater in Denver, CO

Great night. Great show.

Not such a great bike ride.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, riding our bikes downtown to see the David Gray perform at the Paramount Theater, just off the 16th Street Mall. I live a mile or two from my sister, and she lives another mile or two from the Paramount Theater.  It was a lovely evening, and parking can be a real bitch downtown, so we decided to ride our bikes.

After the show – which was amazing. I’ve probably seen David Gray live a half dozen times, and he never disappoints – we walked outside. It was damp. It had rained. Bike seat = wet butt = uncomfortably gross ride home. And my back tire was flat. Slap Slap Slap. Its what we heard riding along 16th Street turning in to 16th Avenue.

It was a warm, damp evening.
Riding through puddles makes a pleasant sound.
Squick squick of the pedals.

The sky was a deep inky indigo color.
Huge drops of water plop on my shoulders, my arms, my thighs, my head as I ride down the street.
I give the parked cars along the (haunted) park a wide wide berth. Afraid of the nothing – no people, no light – afraid of what isn’t there, but what I think is there.

But more embarrassed of the slap slap slap of my (flat) back tire as I ride past Shells and Sauce. And again when another bike goes right past me.

I fear I ruined my wheel by riding so far on such a flat tire.

By pedaling through the streets at midnight, I saw a completely different city filled with interesting characters – the guy with the fun music coming out of his speakers on his neon light trimmed bicycle I saw riding through the park, the guy walking his dog, the girl pedaling home, the couple leaving the restaurant, the dark windows in the big and small bungalows I passed.

Even though the ride was at times uncomfortable and embarrassing, being able to ride my bike is a joy. Living where we live is a joy. There really is no better way to witness the subtleties of a city than by rolling through the streets. Day or night.

Race Report: Leadville Heavy Half 6/14/14

2014 Leadville Trail Heavy Half Marathon-3

‘Hey, I’m coming through your area in June. Available for a beer?’

The invite that led me to the top of Mosquito Pass (elevation 13,185 feet) on a Saturday morning. In a tank top and shorts. In 30-something degree weather. (See that lady behind me? She’s wearing a down parka under a blanket. I did not spend too much time at the summit.)

2014 Leadville Trail Heavy Half Marathon

My USMA and Signal Officer Basic Course classmate, Marc, sent me a message a few weeks before. He had run into a mutual friend a few weeks prior – the Army really is a small world – and my name came up. More along the lines of “Oh! You know Norine too!” Well, that lets-meet-up-for-happy-hour turned into a ok-I’ll-run-that-race-too!

Leadville, CO is the highest incorporated city in the US at an elevation of 10,152 feet. The Leadville Trail Race Series includes lung and leg busting running and mountain biking races ranging in distance from 10km to 100miles – to include the famous/infamous Leadville 100 profiled in _Born To Run_. The Leadville Marathon and Heavy Half were on June 14th this year. Marc opted for the full marathon (26.2 miles) and his friend Starr and I registered for the half.

Um….about that. A normal half marathon is just that – half of a full marathon, 13.1 miles. I didn’t realize until after I paid the $100-something race fee that it is actually 1 15-something mile course. At altitude. Uphill to the turnaround at Mosquito Pass.

Since I signed up three weeks before race day, my training consisted of my 2 usual weekday runs plus a semi-long run on the weekend. I threw a 12 miler in there about 2 weeks before the race.

Um….about that. The most miserable 12 miles in recent memory. That training run started at 10am, which was way too late because I got way too hot way to early in the run. I ran along the Cherry Creek Trail, and I stopped to dunk my visor and splash cold water on my body way too many times. At the 8 mile mark, I just wanted to stop but was still reeeely far from home.

The actual race though? Amazing. I can honestly tell you that I enjoyed every stinking second I was out there – and with a finish time of 4:10:39 that’s a lot of seconds to enjoy! It was gorgeous. I had forgotten just how much I loved being out on the trail. The weather was perfect. The course was tough, but the scenery was amazing. The volunteers were great. Aid stations fully stocked and right when you needed them.

2014 Leadville Trail Heavy Half Marathon-2

My race strategy – that just sounds so funny to me because I never really take races that seriously – was pretty simple: power walk the uphills, haul ass downhill and to just keep moving forward above treeline. And it worked! I felt so good coming back down the mountain that I had enough energy to run the last 3 or so miles to the finish. I even passed a few people (dudes too!).

This one is definitely on the list again for next year.

2014 Leadville Trail Heavy Half Marathon-4

The Ease at Which He Holds My Hand

For now at least, right? And not just when we’re crossing the street and I force him to hold on to someone.

I’ll reach my arm out to his side, touching his upper arm and shoulder. Without looking at me, Miles reaches up with his hand and hangs on. For just a little while, until something catches his attention and he runs off.

I noticed this on Sunday, while we were at the Boulder Creek Festival. There were so many people and so many things to see – I didn’t want to lose him. I am not even sure why that day I chose to pay attention to how his little hand fit in mine. Or how he seemed to reach for it instinctively. Maybe it was my hyper-awareness of keeping track of my kid and my husband as we made our way from one end of the creek to the other.

At 4-almost-but-not-quite-yet-5 I know that Miles is just going to grow. and grow and grow. And he’s going to need me less and won’t want to hold my hand. For now though, he’s still small and sweet and needs me. I’m going to remember to pay attention to little things like this, to the feeling of having my little guy around. The feeling of him wanting to be around me.

It’s a good feeling, being around these two 🙂

BCF

Weekend Celebration of Sisterhood (or Trou*)

Vegas-3

It was a crazy weekend full of laughter, remembering, lounging by the pool-ing, drinking, sharing, eating (and napping when we could).

I’d do anything for these girls. Some have been friends for 19+ years, others passing acquaintances I only just got to know over those three days. My four years as a cadet at West Point were -let’s be real here –  shitty. Uniforms, inspections, Army training, classes, little sleep, marching – all of it was hard. All four years were hard. And isolating most of the time since I was usually the only girl in my engineering classes. And the only girl in my Beast and Buckner squads. I imagine it was the same for these women as well – I know they experienced similar circumstances. Which is why our bond is so strong.

The relationships and friendships that started those four years are amongst the most special and dear to me.

And it was no surprise, really, that we pulled this informal reunion off in a few short months. What started as an innocent Facebook post by my dear friend, Heather, quickly morphed into a lets-all-meet-up-in-Vegas for a long weekend. One classmate said, “I work travel as a side job, let me look into hotels.” Another said, “I’ll talk to the box office for show tickets!” Yet another offered to coordinate a large group brunch. The private Facebook group page was filled with FUN. 30-something women (no one really had a good count!) came together for a good time in Vegas. That’s more than 1/3 of the women I graduated with back in May 1999.  And of my core group of friends, only 3 weren’t able to attend.

As photos were posted to Facebook, our male classmates commented some really amazing things about us.

I’m honored to be a part of this group. I’m proud of our shared experiences and of everyone’s successes. This post seemed most appropriate for Memorial Day, as all of us have put on the Army Uniform, some of us still do. And we’ve all lost classmates, friends and loved ones in war. These women ‘get me’ unlike anyone else. They’re my tribe – and it really doesn’t matter whether we were friends at school or not. I know that I can count on any of them for anything if I needed them. It is a privilege – being part of this amazing group of women.

The official United States Military Academy Class of 1999 15-year Reunion isn’t until October. We’re not sure if we’ll attend or not. And truthfully, Vegas wore me out. Next time I’m going to vote for something a little less intense 🙂 Until next time, ’99!

Vegas-2

*Trou –  not-so-nice cadet slang for female cadet. We’ve since embraced the term; I think older women grads take much more offense to the term. My class entered about 20 years after the first females were admitted, and even in 1995, the Corps still had a long way to go. #troupower #awesometrou 

Race Report: 2014 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

Team Cherry Trou

Another one done!

2014 Cherry Blossom 10 Miler

I soooooo needed this weekend away. The 10 Miler was just really an excuse to fly out to DC and see as many friends as I could in a few short days. Dinners, a 5k (yes, Heather and I ran a 5k with her son on Saturday AND the 10 miler on Sunday. We’re nuts.) a Nats game (fun!), meeting new babies and husbands, lunches, impromptu tour of the Pentagon and happy hour. It was a jam packed weekend, and I am so so fortunate to have friends like these in my life.

Nationals Game

The race itself was great! So so so many people. 1/3 of Team Cherry Trou (more on our team name later) is on injured reserve, and she agreed to carry our clothes and take Heather’s son over to the 1/2 mile kids race. Since we weren’t checking a bag, we allowed ourselves the absolute bare minimum of time to get to the race. We joined the start corral as the starting gun went off and were able to start with most of our wave. Not bad!

2014 Cherry Blossom Start

And it was a fun race! Well, until mile 7. That stretch along Hains Point is just NOT FUN. It wasn’t fun last year, and it wasn’t fun this year. I, again, lost any motivation to maintain my pace – looking at my mile splits, I really lost it. And I’ve been having trouble with my left hip/glute/piriformis – literally a pain in my butt – for the past few weeks and it was really giving me trouble. Still giving me trouble. Stay tuned to see how this plays out over the next few months.

All in all, I finished in 1:36:02, a whopping 30 seconds faster than last year. And I’m more than happy with that. It was fun to run fast at sea level and not feel like I’m dying. In comparison, my runs here in Denver average 10-11:30 minutes per mile, while my tempo/faster runs have been 9:15 – 9:45 minutes per mile. As I looked up my results, I saw that a total of 17,849 people finished the race – 10,590 of them women. Digressing from the overall topic of this blog post, I think it is really awesome that more women are running these races than men.

So, what’s up with our team name? This race holds a lottery for participants. When we registered for the lottery for the 2013 race, we all individually registered and were lucky enough that we all got in. To not rely on luck this time around, we registered as a team, and we needed a team name. “Cherry” for the name of the race, and “Trou” … well, if you’re a West Pointer, you already know. But fun fact for non-grads, Trou, according to UrbanDictionary.com, means “A female cadet at West Point. When women first came to the academy, the way their hips looked in the men’s uniforms was a point of ridicule, so they started to be called trousers, or trou.” And back when women were first admitted to the academy (1976), it was not a nice term. We’ve since embraced the term and use Trou often when talking about a gaggle of women grads.

Random Thoughts about the Race:

  • Peanut Butter Gu is disgusting. Take my word for it.
  • Taping both feet with KT tape was a great idea.
  • Spectators have the best signs: “Worst Parade Ever” and “Since when is Long and Hard a bad thing?”

November Review

november-review

So… November was a crazy, but fun month. I didn’t get nearly everything accomplished that I wanted to, but I’m ok with that. I’ll just move them on to December. Here’s an update:

Crafty:
* Red Sweater: complete 25% – Ha. Nope. I didn’t even pick up the knitting needles at all in November.
* Complete the November block in the Sugar Block Club   Done!
* Complete the FRMQG Adventure Block for my swap partner  Done!
* Finish the quilt for my seester! – So, I decided to scrap the scrap quilt for her and do something different. Stay tuned for a blog post highlighting this quilt for her.
* Re-do the binding on my Supernova Wall Quilt  Done!

Run:
* 10k: Not sure if this will be a race yet or not, but I want to run the distance this month. Done! Ok, so I squeaked this one in on November 30th, but I did it.
* Add speed work at least once a week  My speed work included 800m repeats (on a track no less!), a 3ish mile tempo run, quarter mile-ish pick ups during a midweek run and during a longish run, I ran the last 10 minutes at a ridiculous pace. That last one sucked, if I’m being honest.

Yoga:
* focus on hips and quads – work in progress.
* medidate (at least try to meditate) – I’ve been reading The Upanishads for a 6 week yoga workshop. I hadn’t been exposed to this before, and the reading and reflection has been good.

House:
* organize the kitchen and pantry
* create a family command center on the blank wall in the kitchen Done!

2013 Photobook Status

One of my goals this year is to get my photos off my computer, and printed into photobooks. I’ve made specific ones for certain events and as gifts for family. I’ve been working all year on a 2013 photobook (I made one last year as well), and as of this morning, I’m 42% complete.

Yes, I use a spreadsheet to keep track of my progress.

Yes, the sheet calculates how much of the year I’ve documented.

PL-Tracking-Sheet

 

What can I say? I love spreadsheets.

I use Lightroom to organize my photos, and I filter my photos by date. It makes it easier for me to focus on just that week and choose photos for the album. I build the pages in Photoshop, using templates from Becky Higgins and digital scrapbook kits from Paislee Press. Within Lightroom, I can send photos to Photoshop and back to Lightroom pretty easily.

PL-LR

I take notes each week, and record them in my notebook.

daily capture

This morning, I worked on weeks 19 and 20. You can see week 20 below.

Week 20Week 20 Left

Week 20 Right

 

I’m hoping to get the year documented by the end of the year. Meaning, in the next 4 weeks, I need to catch up.

It is a lot of work, and most of the time I enjoy the process. Some of the time it feels like a chore. After working all week, mostly in front of a computer, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of my computer here at home. There are some weekends where I don’t even turn it on.

But I love looking through my photobooks. I love when family comes to visit, and they look through the photobooks. I love doing them digitally and that the books don’t take up much space. And I can re-print them if I need to.

It took me awhile to refine my process. But now, documenting the little things is a habit. Recording the highlight of the day, or a funny thing Miles said, the songs he’s singing or the books he’s reading – all go in my notebook. I love looking back, and I know that 10 years from now, I’m going to love looking at this book.

 

Lately… October Edition

brush my teeth headed to the park tube swing

pick a pumpkin

PSL

Insisting on putting your own toothpaste on your toothbrush. While wearing your green shirt & green socks.

Pedaling to the park.

Swinging on the tube swing.

Picking a pumpkin.

Enjoying a PSL during the a.m. commute.

 

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