Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Friday, April 22, 2011
have vacation, will travel
Spring Break is just around the corner. (i know, i know... some of you are on Spring Break right now. some of you have been back from Spring Break for weeks...) but around here, Spring Break is just around the corner. (it "officially starts at 12:20 this afternoon)
i usually approach school vacations with some trepidation. it is hard to fit a school break into the life of two parents who work outside of the home. yes, i have a lot of flexibility when it comes to bringing jack to work with me. heck, this child is more comfortable around this hotel than half of my team members! but i don't get *as much* work done when he is here. from time to time, i take a few days off and spend the days at home with him, where, quite frankly, we get on each others' nerves after 48 hours.
if you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know that i am a notoriously bad vacation-taker. i don't know how i got to be this way. i think part of it is that i feel extraordinarily guilty when i leave my hotel for any amount of time (which, i shouldn't! i have a great team that is perfectly adept at running the show while i'm away). i think part of it is i don't budget well for vacations, so it always seems very daunting to come up with mad money when i finally decide to take a break.
however, this year? this year will be different! next week, jack and i are climbing into the Trailblazer and making our way to Washington, D.C. for a few days! my sister has rented an apartment there for a few weeks as part of her home schooling adventures, and we are going to crash with them.
this sort of spur of the moment vacationing really appeals to me, and i wish i did it more often. i'm thrilled that we'll be in D.C. for several reasons. jack is the perfect age to really, REALLY enjoy everything that the city has to offer. i was lucky enough to go to high school just outside of the city, so i am very comfortable making my way around town. we get to spend time with my sister and her two boys - even though they live just 2 miles from us at home, there is always something fun about hanging out "out of town." and? there are dozens of opportunities to catch up with friends old and new.
so, next week, tuesday through friday... come find me on The Mall. we'll have lunch or coffee. or a beer. bring on Spring Break!!
i usually approach school vacations with some trepidation. it is hard to fit a school break into the life of two parents who work outside of the home. yes, i have a lot of flexibility when it comes to bringing jack to work with me. heck, this child is more comfortable around this hotel than half of my team members! but i don't get *as much* work done when he is here. from time to time, i take a few days off and spend the days at home with him, where, quite frankly, we get on each others' nerves after 48 hours.
if you've read this blog for any amount of time, you know that i am a notoriously bad vacation-taker. i don't know how i got to be this way. i think part of it is that i feel extraordinarily guilty when i leave my hotel for any amount of time (which, i shouldn't! i have a great team that is perfectly adept at running the show while i'm away). i think part of it is i don't budget well for vacations, so it always seems very daunting to come up with mad money when i finally decide to take a break.
however, this year? this year will be different! next week, jack and i are climbing into the Trailblazer and making our way to Washington, D.C. for a few days! my sister has rented an apartment there for a few weeks as part of her home schooling adventures, and we are going to crash with them.
this sort of spur of the moment vacationing really appeals to me, and i wish i did it more often. i'm thrilled that we'll be in D.C. for several reasons. jack is the perfect age to really, REALLY enjoy everything that the city has to offer. i was lucky enough to go to high school just outside of the city, so i am very comfortable making my way around town. we get to spend time with my sister and her two boys - even though they live just 2 miles from us at home, there is always something fun about hanging out "out of town." and? there are dozens of opportunities to catch up with friends old and new.
so, next week, tuesday through friday... come find me on The Mall. we'll have lunch or coffee. or a beer. bring on Spring Break!!
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
spt 04.19.2011
going a little non-traditional with today's self-portrait, but, really, i could not resist.
first, a back story (and i'm warning you, this is one of those "Behold, the Power of Twitter posts): last august, a local friend tweeted that she had won tickets to the Michael Franti show at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. She and her husband were unable to go to the show, and she offered up the tickets. I'd never seen Franti live, but I am a fan of his music, and was tempted to take up her offer of the tickets.
there were a million reasons to turn them down. i was in a Rotary meeting all day, mat had to work early the next morning, we needed to round up a babysitter, HOB is a good hours drive away, etc. etc. of course the big thing standing in the way was my TOTAL LACK OF SPONTANAEITY!!
ahem
guess what? we went! and had a great date night! we used to go to concerts and shows all the time, but life sort of gets in the way of that these days. we danced and jumped and sang and smiled. even a silly old speeding ticket on the way home became part of the fun.
moral of the story? if someone offers you tickets to see Michael Franti, you go! also? i *heart* Twitter.
so. time passes and one day recently, i am chatting with a Twitter friend in Australia. i mention to him that Michael Franti has just tweeted that he is doing a show in Adelaide that night (which, it turns out, is about 8 hours away from where my friend lives). more importantly, Michael Franti then tweets that he is doing a show in Melbourne the next night. and so my friend got tickets! and this morning (which is his this evening), he Skyped me into a Michael Franti show halfway around the world!!
so , here is my self-portrait. from Australia! (it totally counts!)
seriously. SERIOUSLY. this is just about the coolest thing ever!!
moral of the story? if Michael Franti is doing a show nearby, you go! and also? I *HEART* TWITTER!!
will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message and let me know!
first, a back story (and i'm warning you, this is one of those "Behold, the Power of Twitter posts): last august, a local friend tweeted that she had won tickets to the Michael Franti show at House of Blues in Myrtle Beach. She and her husband were unable to go to the show, and she offered up the tickets. I'd never seen Franti live, but I am a fan of his music, and was tempted to take up her offer of the tickets.
there were a million reasons to turn them down. i was in a Rotary meeting all day, mat had to work early the next morning, we needed to round up a babysitter, HOB is a good hours drive away, etc. etc. of course the big thing standing in the way was my TOTAL LACK OF SPONTANAEITY!!
ahem
guess what? we went! and had a great date night! we used to go to concerts and shows all the time, but life sort of gets in the way of that these days. we danced and jumped and sang and smiled. even a silly old speeding ticket on the way home became part of the fun.
moral of the story? if someone offers you tickets to see Michael Franti, you go! also? i *heart* Twitter.
so. time passes and one day recently, i am chatting with a Twitter friend in Australia. i mention to him that Michael Franti has just tweeted that he is doing a show in Adelaide that night (which, it turns out, is about 8 hours away from where my friend lives). more importantly, Michael Franti then tweets that he is doing a show in Melbourne the next night. and so my friend got tickets! and this morning (which is his this evening), he Skyped me into a Michael Franti show halfway around the world!!
so , here is my self-portrait. from Australia! (it totally counts!)
seriously. SERIOUSLY. this is just about the coolest thing ever!!
moral of the story? if Michael Franti is doing a show nearby, you go! and also? I *HEART* TWITTER!!
will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message and let me know!
Sunday, April 17, 2011
oh! hey!
i ran a 10K on Saturday!!
you might be aware that i took up that running thing again this year. i dabbled with it back in 2008. but i literally hated every step that i took. i "ran" this same 10K then (and by running, i mean i sprinted/hyperventilated/walked/considered stopping/jogged/walked/jogged/cried my way to the finish. you can read about it here
i felt good about finishing that race, i really did. and then? i promptly gave up running. all thoughts of ever one day completing a 1/2 (or, gasp, a FULL) marathon, quickly fell by the wayside. i crossed the 10K off of my bucket list and simply stopped running. a bit like Forrest Gump, i was, simply, done running.
but that was three years, and a lifetime, ago. i've been running on the weekends, amped by the new strength i have found through Jillian Michaels and her love-to-hate-em workouts. i actually find myself looking forward to that *me* time. i don't love it. but i'm not cursing every step, either. i'm getting faster. i feel good.
the race this past Saturday was amazing for me. i had a game plan, and knew that i wasn't going to blow my pace in the first mile. i created a playlist to help me keep steady. i looked around at the scenery. (it's a beautiful course, taking you over the Intracoastal Waterway, through the marshes and along the Atlantic Ocean). i ran every step at a comfortable steady, slightly-increasing-each-mile, pace.
and i smiled. a lot.
i finished, and i wasn't last (two of my personal goals.) i waved and flashed thumbs-up at every stranger who cheered for me. when an older man rolled down his window and asked, "Are you in the lead?" I simply replied, "Yes!" with a huge grin. i completed the race a full five minutes faster than i did in 2008.
in 2008, i ran a 10K as a participant.
in 2011, i ran a 10K as an athlete.
you might be aware that i took up that running thing again this year. i dabbled with it back in 2008. but i literally hated every step that i took. i "ran" this same 10K then (and by running, i mean i sprinted/hyperventilated/walked/considered stopping/jogged/walked/jogged/cried my way to the finish. you can read about it here
i felt good about finishing that race, i really did. and then? i promptly gave up running. all thoughts of ever one day completing a 1/2 (or, gasp, a FULL) marathon, quickly fell by the wayside. i crossed the 10K off of my bucket list and simply stopped running. a bit like Forrest Gump, i was, simply, done running.
but that was three years, and a lifetime, ago. i've been running on the weekends, amped by the new strength i have found through Jillian Michaels and her love-to-hate-em workouts. i actually find myself looking forward to that *me* time. i don't love it. but i'm not cursing every step, either. i'm getting faster. i feel good.
the race this past Saturday was amazing for me. i had a game plan, and knew that i wasn't going to blow my pace in the first mile. i created a playlist to help me keep steady. i looked around at the scenery. (it's a beautiful course, taking you over the Intracoastal Waterway, through the marshes and along the Atlantic Ocean). i ran every step at a comfortable steady, slightly-increasing-each-mile, pace.
and i smiled. a lot.
i finished, and i wasn't last (two of my personal goals.) i waved and flashed thumbs-up at every stranger who cheered for me. when an older man rolled down his window and asked, "Are you in the lead?" I simply replied, "Yes!" with a huge grin. i completed the race a full five minutes faster than i did in 2008.
in 2008, i ran a 10K as a participant.
in 2011, i ran a 10K as an athlete.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
spt 04.12.2011
up before, 5 (no alarm)
finished workout before 6 (because i was up)
i'm expecting GREAT things from today!!
will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message if you do!
finished workout before 6 (because i was up)
i'm expecting GREAT things from today!!
will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message if you do!
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
spt 04.05.2011
the threat of wacky weather during the morning commute meant a three hour delayed opening for area schools this morning.
a delayed opening can really throw a wrench in the day of a parent who needs to be at work. fortunately, i'm usually able to bring jack along with me until it's time to run him down to the school. (this morning he is in the company of my assistant's son). when he's not entertaining his little buddy, he's singing along to his iPod shuffle. LOUDLY.
i'll get some work done today. eventually...
(will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message and let me know!)
a delayed opening can really throw a wrench in the day of a parent who needs to be at work. fortunately, i'm usually able to bring jack along with me until it's time to run him down to the school. (this morning he is in the company of my assistant's son). when he's not entertaining his little buddy, he's singing along to his iPod shuffle. LOUDLY.
i'll get some work done today. eventually...
(will you take a self-portrait today? leave me a message and let me know!)
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