Monday, August 21, 2006

Stranger

Hey there! Yeah, so what's up with never posting? I dunno.

School started for the little ones. Got some grief from their dad about me changing schools, but whatcha gonna do? I got them to the school near my house since I'm living in the agreed on area in the divorce decree for the kids to attend... however that trooper sitting outside the school made my stomach clench up tight for a second. I kept looking in my rear view to see if he was going to follow me. I'm not doing anything wrong, but it seems no matter what I do with the kids I end up somehow being the "bad guy"

Enough of that, hopefully it never comes up again.

I've been going to the gym with my eldest sister... yeah I'm getting buff (hahah) we've gone like 4 or 5 times, even rented out a locker for a year... only 19 bucks so yeah that was worth it!

I've been looking like a monkey hanging around on my pull up bar... not there yet, so I do them when no one is looking. I am trying to do negatives... just the down portion of a pullup. I stand on a chair and I convince myself that I can keep my biceps contracted and hang there and take 5 seconds to get to the bottom... hahaha... I get up there release my feet and vroom... I wish I could get a car to go that fast :-) My arms go straight with the weight of my body. Ah well, Feb is a ways off yet, I just gotta keep working on it... gotta stop skiping out on the tricep day at the gym :-)

I'm offically signed up for the marathon in Sept... there is a half marathon this weekend, that I may do, it is free so I'm all for that :-) I just found out about it, and I'll be happy to have other people/support for a long run, so that is great.

Other than that the last week or so has been me trying to get homework done, and get ready for my next semester, getting the kids ready for school, hair cuts, ear piercing, shopping (my favorite pasttime...eeew), and just getting them on some sembalance of a schedule.

K off to finish my lunch, then back to homework... I did finally finish lesson 2, but I haven't gotten it back from the instructor yet... so I don't know how I did.

Dorkness OUT!

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

Busy, busy, doing nuthin!

It feels like Friday as I sit here. Then again in two consecutive sentences this morning, I told my kids that it was Friday, then Wednesday, and then they looked at me very confused-like. The truth of the matter is, I obviously have no clue as to what day it is.

I have a follow up conseling appointment tomorrow, so I'll need to leave work early, then I have Thursday off to work the Fair Gate taking tickets/canned food or whatever. That means I need to crawl through my storage unit and find the box that houses my red unit shirt that I should wear to show off our unit and community service... Helps to encourage "recruiting" into the unit. Either way I'm sure I'll have fun. I wish I could have coordinated with the girl that I enlisted with, since we seem to be becoming friends of sorts and now her hubby is angry with her because she volunteered him to work with her! Hahaha that is so funny, as an active duty member, I'm sure he gets tired of the endless supply of volunteer oportunities!

So this last weekend, my neice's soccer team made it to the semi-finals and we went to watch her on Friday night. Her team won (yay her!) So we went home and ended up staying up until midnight watching "Because of Winn-Dixie". Which was a cute movie.

Of course I had a race the next morning. It started at 10 so I was up trying to get things organized and a shower and choked down some semi-raw oatmeal... eww.

The race was pretty cool. Well the weather was warm, but I had fun. I ran some of it with a guy who helped keep my pace constant during the previous 16.5 miler. I eventually left him and another female behind to try to push it. We were going a bit too slow for me. I probably could have sung a song without too much gasping!

I came across a smallish girl. We ran/walked with me a bit behind her. She kept looking over her shoulder dodgedly... like if I was going to make a break for it she was going to track me down, because she didn't want me to pass her... I think she was 9 or 10 or something like that hard to tell these days... she had all her front teeth :-) so over 7-8 age area.

I finally offered up us to run together... we ran until we got to a shady area. She looked like she was struggling. It was so cute though because we went under an overpass and when we came out the other side she says (after a bit of pratter from her) "lets just pick people off one by one, since we're so close to the end." I say good idea... inside I'm laughing, she is so tiny and that is something my coach lays out to me in my race plans... We were going pretty fast for me... little people seem to have natural sprinting abilities. I didn't realize how close we were to the finish when I let her go. I took one more walk break, then realized I was REALLY close to being done, and sprinted in for a finish of 52:26.8. It isn't a world record or anything, but since I've made it this whole season without injury, it has allowed for a 20min 6 second PR from the last time I even was healthy enough to attempt this race which was in 2003! So that was awesome!!!!!

After the race, while still in racing clothes and sweating and red faced, I went to my neice's last soccer game, who was going to take it?!?!??!?!? The suspense is killing me too, so read on!

The game stared at 11 am ( my race started at 10)

I arrived a few minutes late, and was informed that the game had started about 5 minutes early.

I looked around at the competing team... huh, I've coached that girl, and that girl...aaaaaannnnnddddd that one over there! So three out of like 8 had at one point in time been on my team :-) neat-o.

The game was fierce and both teams wanted the win. Girl play rough, I don't care what anyone says...

At half time I ran over to the field office to drop off my soccer gear that was given to me as a coach and got the end of the season stuff from the lady... she isn't very nice but we won't go into that.

From there to the port-a-potties so I can change out of my race clothes... oh forgot to lock the door, sorry for flasing you ma'am.

Pulled up my pants without untying the draw string... dangit! I broke the draw string and wouldn't you know it, there is no elastic "back up" in these pants. I unclip the safety pins from my bib and try to cinch the pants up to make it through the game.

I rush over and watch the second half...

My neice's team took second the score was 1-0.

I gave my kids hugs and kisses and raced to the nearest store to buy a new pair of pants. I had also recently lost a pair of jeans so I was running out of options at home... I don't buy new clothes very often and both pants were pants I've had for at least 3 years, maybe more.

Then headed out to Drill Weekend on the AFB.

That was a lot of nuthing... ho hum!

I worked out after that on the elliptical and some weights

Saturday Night, I played dice with the kids before dinner, and once we were done eating, I was ready for bed. They put in a movie and I just relaxed.

Sunday more of saturday, really. Sat around at drill with not much to do, because I've not been trained on anything and it will stay that way until February or so.

After drill I went back to the gym and did more ellipticalling and weights and abs.

so... just a lot time spent, doing not a whole lot!

Dorkness OUT!

Thursday, August 03, 2006

Hookey

I would love to be playing hookey today, not hockey with a puck, but hookey without work. My little D. will be going to Anchorage with her father, and I get to stay here and go to drill. I'm not disappointed I'll be busy this weekend, I wouldn't have gone with even if I didn't have anything. But it would be nice to just hang out with her for a day. Ah well. I've got to find a way to get out of here a bit early this evening, I have to register for the race I'm running this Saturday, a little 8K, before the game starts at 6, so there is a small time frame for me to make it happen... and the girl I am supposed to be training to take over for me isn't here... gotta love stupid-visors. I guess on one hand I do understand that positions need to be covered. On the other, what's the point of trying to train someone to replace you if they're never here to be trained? The biggest part of my job, and training challenge, will be the loyalty my patients have to me (my patients like I'm the doctor... sorry for my pompousness, but I can't help but take personal responsibility for their well being...). They are easily won over once they get used to the new person, but you have to convince them to let the new person try. So, how is that accompished if the new person is never here?

I'm not really irritated about it, but concerned might be a word to use. My day is going very smoothly though without a trainee.

Guard weekend is coming up. I can't help but be more focused on my weight as each month ticks by and I get theoretically closer to basic. I've still got to shed 5 pounds to be at weight, and more would be better for me especially if I think I'm going to be able to do some pull ups.

The marathon looms in the near future. I really need to change my thinking on this one. I will essentially need to use it as a training run, and have fun this weekend with my kids, go to the water park, and eat good food, gather crap for the start of the school year and just enjoy them. I cannot put pressure on myself for it, because I will never be where I think I should be. That is just the way of it. I need to be okay with that. I have a lot of room for improvement and it won't happen over night. So 26.2 miles is a training run, and should be fun! If it turnes into a walk, well then, I'm sure I'll have people around me still. I can walk a pretty good clip as I demonstrated Wednesday night on my sad attempt at a long run :-)

So have a good day all!

Dorkness OUT!

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

Odds n Ends

Good thing the military can't fire you for being annoying:

I emailed my 1st sgt. again today asking about WHEN I'll go to school...

Me to her -

Good Morning!
I was wondering if it had been confirmed that we would get to know our school dates this weekend, if not before? Thanks for any information you might have.

Thanks,

Her Reply -

Hi Amanda!
FY06 school dates have not been released yet .... sorry. I understand your sense of urgency! I'll see what I can find out ...... or at least if they have ANY idea when they'll be releasing dates .....

Thanks for you patience ... I know it's frustrating.....

BTW ..... Are you still doing the run this Saturday morning?

I wonder if I'm the only one bugging her about it. Maybe it seems the others were just going with the flow. No kids, no jobs, really, nothing else going on. One girl has a little girl, but her hubby is around, and they're going to have a grandparent up to help or something... but ya know. I'd just like to know :-)

So far today is a great day. I'm not letting little things bug me. It is surprisingly easy! I got hugs and kisses from all my kids this morning, two of them were unexpected as I wasn't sure if they'd be at my ex-husbands parent's house when I dropped my daughter's soccer gear off, but there they were, still sleeping on a pull out couch bed... oh so good! Can't pass up a child who is genuinely happy to see you, through their sleep groggy eyes, and will barely remember even seeing you, but your day is an infanite times better because of it! *sigh*

I guess that is all I have for now. I've postponed my long run for tonight. I wasn't feeling all that stellar still last night, and opted instead to clean, which, is better for everyone, I think :-)

Dorkness OUT!