I stumbled upon a new group this week while perusing around YouTube and have become completely absorbed by them. I’ve got some sort of compulsion issue this week because I’m like an insta-groupie and can’t get enough of their music. The Script is an Irish band that formed around April 2008 and has been taking off internationally over the past year. My favorite song is a sweet ballad called I’m Yours, then there’s Before the Worst, Fall for Anything, We Cry, Breakeven…too many brilliant songs to choose just one really. They drop an undesirable word in a couple of their songs that I could really do without but despite that, they have a really cool sound and beautiful vocals. I created a playlist of a dozen or so of their songs just so I can jam to them while at work. Love You Tube.
So I passed a major mental and physical hurdle last weekend. I’m training for a 25K (that’s 15.53 blissful miles of pavement) coming up locally on 9/26. I’ve run the Great Aloha Run every February since 2000 and have pretty much established my ‘long distance’ run cap at the 8.15 miles that course covers. So I started training for this new goal on July 1 and have been steadily increasing my long runs every Saturday. Last Saturday I skipped over the 9-mile goal and ran a solid 10 miles. The amazing thing is despite my entire posterior from my waist down being as tense and hard as basalt for most of the run, I felt totally awesome and was able to almost sprint the last half mile.
I love the feeling of being in great shape. That said, the 6-day a week workouts compounding with my recent late night reading habits have been wearing me down and I’m having a hard time ignoring my heavy congestion and fatigue today. I’m kinda nervous about my 11 mile run tomorrow which I’ll be going alone since my running partner KP is off-island celebrating her anniversary this weekend (Happy #10 KP & MP!) and with no music as my iPod recently gave up the ghost. My birthday is next week so I’ve been dropping Ram hints that I’d like a new MP3 player to replace it. Naturally I’ll be loading a bunch of The Script music on whatever little music gadget I get to keep me stepping along.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
Madeover
It was way past the acceptable stage and too much time had passed to be excusable anymore so this past Monday when my day was just not going the way I felt like it should be at work, I decided to take half the day off and go be more productive at home. The kids room had gotten out of control and drastic measures were in order so I finally dismantled the crib Zeth hasn't slept in in probably a year and pulled out a bunch of unnecessary stuff to give to charity. It took me several hours of dedicated work but I was able to take this 
...and turn it into this.
The kids were thrilled when they got home and saw the transformation. There was squeeling and giggling.
It only took Zeth a minute to find his newly repositioned basketball hoop and start working on the new higher angle.
Still a ton of stuff to go through and dejunk (I'm afraid to open the closet) but it was a refreshing change.
...and turn it into this.
The kids were thrilled when they got home and saw the transformation. There was squeeling and giggling.
It only took Zeth a minute to find his newly repositioned basketball hoop and start working on the new higher angle.
Still a ton of stuff to go through and dejunk (I'm afraid to open the closet) but it was a refreshing change.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Angels Among Us
In church last Sunday, I was asked to share an experience I have had on the topic of charity. The first memory that popped into my mind was from about 12 years ago when I was in the hospital recovering from the loss of our 3rd unborn child which left me unable to move for a few days. Ram had an obligation and couldn’t be there with me one day leaving me alone with my pain and sadness.
In walked an angel, my new friend Davina, the young Relief Society president from the singles ward we were serving callings in at the time. She had caught the city bus and took the 1.5 hour trip to the hospital to spend her Saturday with me. She had brought with her, among other things, a hair brush and an assortment of magazines. This was not a drop & go kind of gesture. In a time where no words could be spoken to possibly help soothe the pain of loss, it touched my heart so deeply that she would sacrifice her Saturday & travel all that way to come brush my greasy hair and read stupid articles to keep me company and help ease my burden.
She seemed to sense that I didn’t need to hear another reassuring story of someone she knew who had lost a child then ended up having all sorts of success bearing children later on. I’m truly happy for the countless others who have had those kinds of miracles and still pray someday that would happen for us too; but at times such as this, when there can be no promise of that for us, it really doesn’t help me to hear about other people’s joy. She didn’t try to reassure me with false hopes but rather helped me refocus on the love already around me by her amazing charitable act of service. Davina Niewenhauzen will always be on my list of personal angels.
In walked an angel, my new friend Davina, the young Relief Society president from the singles ward we were serving callings in at the time. She had caught the city bus and took the 1.5 hour trip to the hospital to spend her Saturday with me. She had brought with her, among other things, a hair brush and an assortment of magazines. This was not a drop & go kind of gesture. In a time where no words could be spoken to possibly help soothe the pain of loss, it touched my heart so deeply that she would sacrifice her Saturday & travel all that way to come brush my greasy hair and read stupid articles to keep me company and help ease my burden.
She seemed to sense that I didn’t need to hear another reassuring story of someone she knew who had lost a child then ended up having all sorts of success bearing children later on. I’m truly happy for the countless others who have had those kinds of miracles and still pray someday that would happen for us too; but at times such as this, when there can be no promise of that for us, it really doesn’t help me to hear about other people’s joy. She didn’t try to reassure me with false hopes but rather helped me refocus on the love already around me by her amazing charitable act of service. Davina Niewenhauzen will always be on my list of personal angels.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Back to School
It's still the middle of the blazing hot summer but our public school system started the fall term this morning. So my darling Zana is a second grader now. She's got a great teacher, great attitude and I'm sure it's going to be a great year for her. 
Zeth was very supportive as she left with her new heavily supply-laden backpack and high expectations for the new year.
Her face fell when I visited her new classroom an hour later and told her she's now enrolled in the after-school program and to go there starting today. Her greatest desire would be to just go home after school but that's just not possible for a six-year-old with two working parents. Soon enough she'll discover new friends in the program and realize how quickly her time there goes especially since she'll soon be starting another round of late afternoon swim-lessons, piano, Tahitian dance, gymnastics &/or ballet and AYSO soccer during the next month. Busy kid.
Zeth was very supportive as she left with her new heavily supply-laden backpack and high expectations for the new year.
Her face fell when I visited her new classroom an hour later and told her she's now enrolled in the after-school program and to go there starting today. Her greatest desire would be to just go home after school but that's just not possible for a six-year-old with two working parents. Soon enough she'll discover new friends in the program and realize how quickly her time there goes especially since she'll soon be starting another round of late afternoon swim-lessons, piano, Tahitian dance, gymnastics &/or ballet and AYSO soccer during the next month. Busy kid.
Vampires - ooh la la
Very few times in my relatively short casual reading career has a book gotten under my skin and into my heart like Twilight by Stephanie Myers. I am a Harry Potter fan and thoroughly enjoyed spending several months absorbed in his 7-years at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry but I really couldn’t imagine myself enjoying a book about vampires. Oh was I wrong about that.
I really don’t have the patience for the suspense involved in reading a series as it’s just coming out one book at a time anyway so it’s a good thing that now with four volumes in print I finally decided to give it a try. Actually, my decision to not bother with the books reversed when we rented the Twilight video a few weeks ago. The story was not at all what I expected, it was much better actually. The movie’s musical score was beautiful & compelling. It was such a good movie we decided to watch the video two nights in a row. A few days later I was eagerly borrowing a tattered copy from my friend’s 12-year-old son.
Unbeknownst to me, I must have just been ripe for a juicy romance and despite the author’s terribly irregular amateur writing style; she has a wicked way with building romantic tension and making you fall in love with these tragic characters and in love with romance in general. She awoke my overly-dormant romantic impulses. My DH is thrilled with the effect it has had on me and suggested I should read Twilight as often as I want. Nothing like a teenage romance to bring an old married couple closer. The buzz is definitely up on this series. At Costco this weekend I picked up book two and ended up having two separate conversations about the series with random strangers who were also buzzing about it.
The author’s notes say her primary influence on the storyline was Pride and Prejudice. No wonder. I’ve watched so many adaptations of P&P to know it’s a favorite. Maybe I’ll actually read that book someday eventually when I grow up. In the snack bar today my heart skipped a beat & fluttered wildly when I saw the label ‘FORKS’ stuck on the utensil cart. This story is seriously under my skin.
I am a ridiculously slow reader normally but I managed to finish the entire first volume easily in 7-days. I went a little sleep-deprived in so doing but it was so worth it. Can’t wait to get the kids to bed tonight so I can start on the second book.
I really don’t have the patience for the suspense involved in reading a series as it’s just coming out one book at a time anyway so it’s a good thing that now with four volumes in print I finally decided to give it a try. Actually, my decision to not bother with the books reversed when we rented the Twilight video a few weeks ago. The story was not at all what I expected, it was much better actually. The movie’s musical score was beautiful & compelling. It was such a good movie we decided to watch the video two nights in a row. A few days later I was eagerly borrowing a tattered copy from my friend’s 12-year-old son.
Unbeknownst to me, I must have just been ripe for a juicy romance and despite the author’s terribly irregular amateur writing style; she has a wicked way with building romantic tension and making you fall in love with these tragic characters and in love with romance in general. She awoke my overly-dormant romantic impulses. My DH is thrilled with the effect it has had on me and suggested I should read Twilight as often as I want. Nothing like a teenage romance to bring an old married couple closer. The buzz is definitely up on this series. At Costco this weekend I picked up book two and ended up having two separate conversations about the series with random strangers who were also buzzing about it.
The author’s notes say her primary influence on the storyline was Pride and Prejudice. No wonder. I’ve watched so many adaptations of P&P to know it’s a favorite. Maybe I’ll actually read that book someday eventually when I grow up. In the snack bar today my heart skipped a beat & fluttered wildly when I saw the label ‘FORKS’ stuck on the utensil cart. This story is seriously under my skin.
I am a ridiculously slow reader normally but I managed to finish the entire first volume easily in 7-days. I went a little sleep-deprived in so doing but it was so worth it. Can’t wait to get the kids to bed tonight so I can start on the second book.
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