Taxes

I. Hate. Taxes. Especially. When. They're. Not. My. Own.

No, I Didn't Get Lost

I haven’t gone on vacation or anything cool like that. I’ve just been totally ignoring this blog. Sorry. I know that’s a GREAT way to keep people clicking in regularly, too. Post randomly, maybe once a month or so. Pretty soon people will just say, to hell with her, and delete me from their favorites. So anyway. Here’s what we’ve been up to!

My corned beef dinner went off without a hitch. A few of my yearly “regulars” couldn’t make it this year, so we had a few new people over. The menu was the same – 12 pounds of corned beef brisket (yum!), cabbage, onions, carrots, and red potatoes slow cooked for ever in Guinness, cheddar bread (that I finally got right this year – put a glaze of butter, garlic powder, and sugar over the top), and the standard “grasshopper parfait” that I make every year. It was good and I had report that the next days gaseous emissions were indicative of – well – enough cabbage (sorry, TMI). Gee, I wonder who that came from…

We rocked out to Guitar Hero for a while, had a few beers, and enjoyed each other’s company. Speaking of Guitar Hero… I finally got the new Wii hooked up to the internet (stupid easy – I don’t know what I was waiting for) and realized that you can battle other players or play along with them “band style” via your online connection. This is a devastating discovery. Truly. It is So. Much. Fun. And remember, this is coming from someone who on a 1-10 scale of Video Game Tolerance is at a like 2 or 3. Really. Typically, I really don’t understand people who play these things addictively. Well, maybe now I do. At least if it’s Guitar Hero. Going back to the online connection… I played someone who was playing the same song I was on expert (I was on medium) and he/she totally kicked my butt at it. By like 10,000 points. I felt very puny after that – clearly I need more practice.

I’ve been running still in preparation for the Valpo Triathlon in July. What I really need to do at this point is get my bike tuned up and get on that, too. I enjoy biking so much more than I do running. I should probably find a swimmable body of water, too. Needless to say, I have a lot of training to do before July. I’ve made a commitment to riding the horses more this spring than I did (or didn’t) this winter. Show season is approaching rapidly (my first is May2nd) and I’m too fat to fit into my show clothes, and the horse is too out of sorts to even think about being competitive. So it’s crunch time.

The kids are on spring break. It was actually pretty warm here yesterday but super windy (that always ruins things). Today it’s sunny and calm but not as warm. I think the kids are spending the night at the in-laws Thursday night. It’ll be so weird to get up in the morning and get off to work without kids to feed/dress/or run somewhere… and Brian will be at work already, too, so I’ll have the whole house to myself when I get up. Weird.

We have two trips planned in June. We’re going to Brown County with the horses and the kids are going to Arizona. A few weeks later we are planning on heading out to Colorado for about a week together. It’ll be the kids’ first trip out there, so I’m excited to share something I love so much with them. We have plans to visit some old friends while we’re there, too, so it’s a bonus. It’ll be the beginning of the spring season there so it should be really pretty with all the wildflowers blooming and endless mountain sunshine and blue skies. Hmmm. Remind me again why I live here…

Well, that’s my update. Be sure to check out my photo blog if you have any interest in some other stuff I’ve been up to…

My First 5K This Year

Today was my first 5K race for the year. It's a race I ran back in '02, just after Vincent was born. It was a really cool race, called Runnin With the Irish. It had a cool St. Patty's day theme, and was definitely more healthy way to celebrate St. Pats than green beer. I ran my best 5K time yet, too; 31:twenty-something (the results aren't up yet). That's not blazing fast, actually, it's really not even kind of fast, but it's an accomplishment for me.

I ran with two great friends; Sarah and Allisa. It was the first 5K for the both of them, so that was cool too. So this is all in preparation for the sprint triathlon I am planning on running in July. It's the Valparaiso Triathlon, and I ran it in it's maiden year in 2005.

I actually feel pretty good today. It was a sunny day and the scenery was great. The couse went through the Dunes State Park, and up to the beach and around the big pavilion there. It was a little chilly at first, but once we got going, we were fine. I imagine all the cookies and brownies at the end cancelled out all the calories I burned during the run, but oh well. We had a good time and it was good to go back to the run that was the first 5K I ever completed. Hooray!

An Interview With Vincent...

I put this on my Facebook page, too. I thought it was pretty cute, and I'm not feeling very creative today...

A conversation with Vincent, age 6.5

1. What is something mom always says to you?
“Don't be wild.”

2. What makes mom happy?
“When I follow directions.”

3. What makes mom sad?
“When I say I don't love you.” (That is, when HE says I don't love you to ME...)

4. How does your mom do to make you laugh?
“Scratch my back."

5. What was your mom like as a child?
“I don't know.”

6.How old is mom?
“48." (Uhhh...)

7. How tall is your mom?
“17." (After touching random points on my body)

8. What is her favorite thing to do?
“Sit and do the computer.”

9. What does your mom do when you're not around?
“Go to the barn”

10. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
“For taking me out to dinner."

11. What is your mom really good at?
“Building things and being a police officer."

12. What is your mom not very good at?
"That one's hard. You're not good at building showers."

13. What does your mom do for her job?
“You catch bad guys”

14. What is your mom's favorite food?
“Pizza."

15. What makes you proud of your mom?
“When you help me clean my room up."

16. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
“Tom the cat."

17. What do you and your mom do together?
“We go to the park sometimes."

18. How are you and your mom the same?
“We both have the same colored hair.”

19. How are you and your mom different?
“We have different colored eyes.”

20. How do you know your mom loves you?
“Just because."

21. Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
“To Burger King." (What? I hate Burger King...)

The Coma Cometh

Despite the fact that it's beautiful outside, the fact that I've been VERY VERY good about running and eating right, the fact that I've successfully de-cluttered about 40% of my house, and the fact that I've even gotten a reasonable amount of sleep in the past few nights (all you need, ladies, is a husband that has to get up before o'dark thirty, and you get to go to bed by 9:30!!) - I feel like total dog crap.

My symptoms are mild at worst, I just have a general malaise today. And I'm SOOO not in the mood for it...

So tonight after the customary hot tub soak (yay!) I took a shot of NyQuil, a melatonin, and a Leingenkeugels Honey Weiss...

"NyQuil, NyQuil, NyQuil we love you, you giant f-ing Q..."

If you don't know what that last thing is about, you can no longer be my friend. Just kidding.

I'll see you when I come out of the coma... probably Saturday...