Tag: rain

When It Rains….

The house we are renting needed to be treated for termites. As in whole house wrapped up in in gift wrap tent fumigated treatment.

Obviously we could not stay in said gift-wrapped house while the treatment was performed so we arranged to go “camping” for the few days that the home would be uninhabitable. We love camping. We enjoy the outdoors. There’s nothing quite as yummy as percolator coffee first thing in the morning, enjoying the sunrise. No where we have to be, and all day to do it. Four humans, two dogs, all of our pantry/fridge food in a camper – what could go wrong?

The first day felt like camping fun! Kids got to dip in the pool at the campground after they ran a mile to test their times and continue to improve for PE where they test the students periodically. (Love this so much – start them early! And they are faster than I ever was!)

Hannah beat her fastest time!

The kids were troopers commuting to school from camp, complete with doggos on board.

Buck’s balance needs a little work!

Camping while doing regular life like work, school drop off and pick up and errands takes on a whole different meaning, especially when done a mountain pass + 40 min commute over 3 freeways away. Yes, traffic is exactly how it’s depicted on Saturday Night Live’s sketch The Californians.

Day 2 brought with it a little of the drudgery as the latest atmospheric river flowed in. Perhaps you’ve heard that SoCal has unprecedented rainfall totals this year. I heard a news anchor recently ask rhetorically if San Diego was becoming the new Seattle and I had to laugh. It feels like we never left the Pacific Northwest! The campground became deluged in rain, mud and puddles everywhere. We got lucky with our campsite and it was only a little mucky, but it was next to impossible to keep the mud off our shoes, the cars and the camper. We played a bit of cards to pass the time sitting in a box with wheels in a mud pit with rain pelting overhead.

With at least 2 people in need of morning showers to start the day, and only one camper shower, I took dear daughter to the campground shower so we could get ready. We jumped through puddles, and dodged the rain down to the little building. All of this rainfall brings bugs and spiders. Lot’s of worms were “hanging out”. We go in, take our showers and then come out and see that the drains are backing up ,…and we have visitors.

Yes, this picture is extremely zoomed in, because in my vulnerable just-showered state, I didn’t want to get too close. But you tell me – that spider body looks disproportionate to its legs. It definitely looked like it just ate a huge meal or it’s waiting to explode with baby spiders everywhere. (HOW do they always find me?!) Envisioning a scene from Arachnophobia, I urge Hannah to kick it in to high gear and get done so we can get out of this spider’s home.

Not only did the kids have their regular school schedules, there was also a Family night for incoming freshmen at the high school…golf lessons…a trip to the Walmart for camping supplies that we forgot….I’ve feel like I’ve spent this whole week commuting. A total of 22 trips back and forth have been logged, and I’m officially ready to be out. of. the. car. Don’t even get me started on gas prices. When it rains, it pours.

After so many rainy trips back and forth, we are now back home and our food returned safely to pantry and fridge. I’ve washed all the things, mopped all the things and sanitized all the things. The sun is now shining and we return to regular life…

Just in time for next week’s atmospheric river.

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V-8 Running

With a 5 mile training run to do today, I had to make the decision to either trudge along on the treadmill again (I’ve been doing that all week and I really don’t like it, but it’s a necessary evil at times) or brave the weather and do an outside run.

Let’s just say that this old 80’s commercial of the sideways walking dude was EXACTLY what I looked like trying to run in the 20+ mph wind today. Running along the sea wall, the ocean was literally slamming the rocks and splashing up over the sidewalk! It was funny, and I actually laughed and giggled at what a ridiculous sight I must’ve been. As I type this a few hours later, it’s still windy but the rain has stopped and the sun has decided to finally appear, if only for a moment. Go figure.

While running, leaping over puddles, and trying to breathe as the wind gusts literally made it difficult to get air into my lungs, I kept thinking about how this pursuit of fitness, and even a single run can be such a metaphor for life.

Everyone has hardships, life throws curveballs and unexpected events happen. It’s part of life. In a military family, we deal with all the same stuff as our civilian counterparts, but often it’s while our spouse is away. We have to say goodbye (again) to dear friends, and teach our children, as well as ourselves, to continue to keep an open heart even at the risk of it breaking.

We all have a backstory and hardships to bear, and it’s important to not compare life’s hurts. There is no “I have it so bad” because really, do we ever really know what someone else is walking through? Or if they have the skills to deal with what life can throw?

While running sideways, V-8 style, rain pelting me in the face and trying to keep my feet underneath me, it occurred to me that life is the same way. I can either choose to sit on the sidewalk, bury my head in my lap and get rained on, or I can do the best I can – put my head forward and run into the wind with the best of my abilities. I can’t control the weather or life, but I can control how I react to it. It always boils down to a choice.

Today I chose to run into the wind. It was a great run, I felt good and what started as a 5 mile training run that I wasn’t looking forward to, turned into a fun and windy 10k.

It was a good day to run outside. Even if it was a little stormy!

Do you prefer treadmills to cold weather conditions?

A Little Fall…A Little Gratitude….

After a couple of days of grey, wet, and typical Pacific Northwest weather, I am trying to not be such a Wendy Whiner and instead embrace the things I am grateful for.
Not having had actual seasons for a few years, it’s actually kind of fun to teach my kids and have them notice all the beautiful colors that are EVERYWHERE right now! Even in our own front yard!

 

 

Jake would barely let me rake this mini pile before diving in to kick them all around! He had such fun!

 

Hannah on the other hand was content to play in the “river” as both her and Jake refer to it….it’s the side of the curb. It was a “rushing river” that they felt compelled to toss leaves into and watch them float away.

 

 

These are a couple of the trees that have changed colors in the past couple of weeks.

 

And in one of our “inside recess” kind of days, we made beaded necklaces! Jake was loving them. Cracked me up! They love to wear the pjs EVERYWHERE. I can barely get Jacob out of them!

 

Does this girl know how to rock her accessories, or what?!
I am thankful for this fun little girl and boy and all their silliness, playfulness and boundless energy! They definitely keep me on my toes and keep me moving!
I am so very grateful for Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte. Oh how I heart thee! If you have never tried one…seriously – it’s like drinking pumpkin pie. If it wasn’t 11pm right now I would be going to get one for myself!
I have been moved from the responses from my last couple of posts. I am in awe of some of the responses and humbled by the kind thoughts expressed. We are all connected and I am feeling the love!
I am grateful for the ability to run. While I don’t get to do it as often or whenever I would like, I do have my health and the physical ability to do it. I signed up for 5 races (2 5ks and 2 1/2 marathons) between November and April of next year. I am so excited and have to remember to keep goals to shoot for. It keeps me motivated. I am grateful for motivation.
I am so thankful that a friend turned me on to the show “Downton Abbey”. Its a PBS drama (I’ve been watching on DVDs from the library) It is such a fun ‘brain-candy’ escape!! Love it and can’t wait for season 3 to start!
The kiddos need some pretty extensive dental work done probably by the end of the year. Because of Jake’s inability to be a rational person where doctors and dentists are concerned, and Hannah’s age, they both will be put under anesthesia for the processes. While I am sad that they have to go through the ordeal, and frustrated that it costs so stinkin’ much, I am so VERY grateful that we have the ability to pay for it.
I am thankful for my nieces. We had such fun making homemade milkshakes and watching movies. I love that the cousins can be close and see each other often!
I have much to be thankful for. For that I am grateful.

Preparation

Today was the last race before Eric’s departure. Kind of bittersweet, but I really didn’t have time to dwell too much on it because I was SO completely unprepared for today in every way that I just had to muddle through.

Flying by the seat of my pants, I snoozed longer than I should have (after staying up the night before longer than I should have), tried to get some breakfast and get dressed before Hannah woke up…no luck. She woke up so I was stuck nursing while watching the clock tick down the minutes before we needed to leave! Ugh. Normally, I am a person that plans and prepares and sets out the race gear/number/water bottles/breakfast the night before so I don’t have to think too much! Not so much this morning….

Then it dawns on me – hmmmm…. there was no race packet pick up. I don’t have a race number. I never got an email about one. Crap! But then Eric wondered aloud if I’d registered for this race way before I’d gotten hacked and changed it….Crap! Crap!  I quickly got online and found there wasn’t a packet pickup – just a number pick up at the start line. Okay cool. Now – where the heck did I put my armband for the gps/iphone for my tunes?? Crap! Crap! Crap! (Perhaps the title should be renamed CRAP!) Ha!

And of course by this time, Jacob is throwing a fit about something or other (there has been a few lately so it’s hard to keep track of them!) I then look outside to see it POURING buckets. Permeating, drenching, soaking wet rain. By the way – I got a sunburn yesterday from sitting in my yard. What?! I think I could deal with the weather better if there was some kind of consistency, but man! Is there something wrong with 2 days of sun in a row?! But, I digress……

Finally we make it – I have all my gear and I’m ready to go. Kiss Eric and the kids goodbye and I’m off. There is no chip timer. No gun start. Just a loud “3….2…..1….GO!” And there were maybe 75-100 people. TOTAL. Talk about a small race. And many runners seemed to be on the elite side because about 5-10 of us were bringing up the rear of the pack and I was running a 9-10 minute mile. Usually that pace puts me in the middle of the pack. Not a ton of beginners in this neck of the woods! Part of going from a city to a small town I guess….maybe that will help me get faster! Ha!

I did pretty good coming in at 2:21. The EXACT same time as the last half I did a few months ago. There was a definite difference this time in that with the lack of preparation – it just seemed to make the whole race that much harder because I felt like I was 3 steps behind before I’d even started! Mentally I kept hearing Christina (my Hawaii trainer) SCREAM at me…..”What?! You are stopping to walk?!!! You aren’t even breathing hard! GOOOO!!!!!!”

It’s a miracle we made it out the door! And I was totally sporting my Dumbell-Fit shirt! Gotta represent yo! 808 Baby!

Then there was the rain. Whoa. You know you are a “real runner” when even this soggy mess of a day doesn’t deter you! Whew. Even with a hat on, the water poured through the bill and my face was SOAKED. Afterwards I was getting the chills (Yeah, in June-uary!) So when we made it home I took a HOT bath! Felt great!

So moral of the story…..(or rather note to self) – PREPARATION IS KEY. Diet, sleep, rest, recover, run, cross train, hydrate – it’s all preparation. It’s all needed. And I will never again schedule a race in the last two weeks before a deployment!! Silly me!

Speaking of races…I better start looking for some to fill up the summer!!

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