Big Pencil Blog

2011 Healing and Mileage Stats

2012-01-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

For 2011 my new year's resolution was to do whatever it took to heal my back, including taking time off from running, going to physical therapy, change how I exercise- anything! And I stuck to that. At the beginning of the year the pain from the muscle spasms in my back forced me to spend an entire week on the floor, missing work and zero appetite. For weeks I dropped weight at an alarming rate. Finally I went in to see a back specialist and he ordered an X-ray which showed some arthritis, but not much else, and then an MRI. THAT showed why I was in so much pain! I wrote a blog with the gruesome picture showing the herniated and bulging discs at the bottom of my spine, and with this info, the good doctor prescribed a cortisone shot. Miracle of Miracles, it WORKED! And I stuck to my resolution with faithful determination- I changed how I stretched (so I don't put unnecessary pressure on those injured discs, because that's never going away!) and make sure I'm good and warmed up before I even think about running (YES! I get to run again!), plus I have been swimming 3-5 days a week and spinning on my off-running days. I exercise more often, but much shorter distances and really pay careful attention to my body and what it's telling me- if there is too much ache, no problem, I walk instead and am happy to do so, knowing that I won't end up on the floor from pushing too hard. I am exercising smarter. :) I feel great and haven't had any relapses, plus I've really enjoyed getting back into swimming! Now I will admit, I haven't held back in the pool and have dropped all my times significantly- I used to swim a 1000 yard freestyle in 17 minutes, and now I'm consistently swimming them around 14:30. Two and a half minutes is a LOT!

Okay, on to the part you've all been waiting for- how many miles have I put in this year? I don't have any elliptical miles to report, but spinning and swimming miles instead. Here's the run down:

Running miles: 425.5
Walking miles: 382.9
Spinning miles: 535.7
Swimming miles: 190.8 (That's 176 swims this year! UP from last year's 13!)

Grand total: 1534.9, so let's round that to an even 1535 miles in 2011!

Compared to 2010:

Running: 470
Walking: 55
Elliptical: 59 miles

Grand total: 584

And 2009:

Running: 552.2 miles
Walking: 66 miles

Grand total: 618.2 miles

And an even 600 running miles in 2008!

Look at that resolution: HEAL. Did it make a difference? Well lesee, 1535-600= 935. Is that a big enough difference? :) I'd say so.

I Shall Wear Midnight

2011-09-07T12:00:00.000-07:00

I Shall Wear Midnight by Terry Pratchett

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This book was ha-LARious! I enjoyed it as much as the previous 3 in this series. I highly recommend this to anyone needing a good hearty laugh~ :) And now I want to read the rest of the Discworld books...

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The boys started 4th grade today!

2011-08-29T10:51:00.000-07:00

Yes, today is the first day of school for S&A, and I have pictures to share! I walked to the bus with them this morning, and Sean asked Ashe on the way if he could sit next to him on the bus. As they waved to me and blew me kisses through the window, I got misty eyed when the bus pulled away, even though we have made this first school day parting 5 previous years (oh man, preschool was the WORST! Sean and I cried and cried and cried! Awful awful day.) Ashton has been beside himself with excitement for school to start for the past week, whereas Sean has been more apprehensive. We split them into separate bedrooms this summer and Sean misses sharing. Ashton loves his own new big bed. I wish their classrooms were in the same hall this year, but it was not meant to be. He'll settle in soon though. I hope. It's been over a month and I still find Sean in Ashe's bed most mornings... Sorry, getting all nostalgic again, and I promised pictures! Let's watch them grow together. :) Here they are, their first morning of kindergarten:
And first grade:
Second:
Third:
And today.
They have gotten so tall! They're up to my shoulder already, and soon they will be taller than their mama... This summer disappeared too quickly- it was especially busy for Kevin and me with work, and the boys got to spend some necessary quality time with both sets of grandparents- I'm not sure who enjoyed that more! Plus the boys got to spend most of last week with Aunty Alice, who is home from college. :) My best wishes and prayers for S&A this school year, as well as all the other students and teachers heading back to school!

Children's Museum Lego Exhibit

2011-07-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

Sean, Ashton and I stopped by the Children's Museum in Carson City on the way home from Lake Tahoe today to see the Lego exhibit. There are some pretty neat pieces!
Here is my favorite. (Hm. Wonder why? ;)

Super strong Sean!

The boys are also having a grand time playing with everything else here too~ they are great climbers! (As long as they don't have to be tied in...)

I have more pictures of the Legos if anyone is interested~

Swimming with a wetsuit?

2011-07-11T19:10:00.001-07:00

Yes, I know it's a little unbelievable. I've been a swimmer for 20 years and I've never even tried on a wetsuit, let alone swim with one! However, I've been thinking about trying one out for several months now, since I've started swimming 4-5 days a week again and really working on increasing my endurance for long distances. And since that's been going so well, I've been thinking about doing a long distance open water race. And there's one coming up! At Lake Tahoe Open Water Swim. Hence the need for a wetsuit, because that lake is frikkin freezing! They're offering a 1/2 mile, 1 and 2 mile distance swim on Aug. 13th and I was leaning toward the one-miler. I didn't think it would be such a good idea to try out a new race AND a wetsuit on the same day, so I went with the fam up to Stampede to try one out. This one is Kevin's and it seemed to fit okay, although I felt a little claustrophobic once I was all zipped in. And hot! And then I couldn't stop laughing once I got in- because of the bouncy of the suit I felt like a one-man life raft! I kept forgetting I didn't need to kick to stay afloat.

Anyway, to the swim. How was it? Well... Interesting. Because I couldn't feel the pull of the water against my skin as I swam, I didn't feel like I was actually going anywhere. Kevin assured me I was moving pretty fast, but I sure didn't feel it. It also didn't help that I could barely see the tips if my fingers through the silt in the water and had a difficult time swimming in a straight line. Maybe my body was tired after running around Donner Lake yesterday, or maybe it was the wetsuit- or maybe I'm being a wus and just making up excuses- but it wore me out! I only swam for 5 or 6 minutes before I needed to stop and get my bearings, and access how I felt about swimming in a wetsuit. My conclusion? I didn't like it. Told myself to suck it up and keep going, but I had to stop every 5 minutes- my stroke felt funny because I was sitting so high up in the water, and I just didn't feel efficient. I got out after about 12 minutes and took the wetsuit off- I was hot and clammy and really uncomfortable, and frustrated at myself for being such a wimp about the whole thing. Then I got back in and swam with my regular swimsuit on, and instantly felt SO much better! Kevin said I wasn't going any faster than I was with the wetsuit on, but I sure felt like I had a lot more control over my arms and kick and even my breathing pattern.

So. Conclusions. At this point I don't want to swim in Tahoe because it's too cold to swim without a wetsuit, but sucks to swim with one. I should practice more with one on, I know, and not give up after one try. Has anyone swam this race before? Have words of wisdom about getting used to swimming in wetsuits? Wanna swim in Tahoe with me and MAKE me do this race?

Trifecta!

2011-07-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

Yup, For the first time ever, I had a triple race weekend! I've never even done two in a row. On Saturday, I headed to Carson City super early to run the Firecracker 10k, hosted by the Tahoe Mountain Milers Running Club before work. It was a small race on a trail familiar to me, and I was happy to see so many people I knew out there (sorry you didn't get to run Abbey and Steve)! I'm really getting to know the Carson community, and that makes me feel like I'm doing my job well. :) I didn't plan on running fast since it was the first race I'd planned for the weekend. However, my competitive side got the better of me, and after running the first mile, I left Ali and Anne behind. However, my prowess to chase the leaders early had me following them at a wrong turn when the arrow in the dirt had been scrubbed out. Added an extra .8 loop to the course, but I did catch up and pass quite a few of the runners. It was a beautiful cool summer morning, and I didn't mind the extra mileage though, especially since the super cool RD let me keep my "official" 10k from my Garmin. The race for me was exactly 7 miles, which I finished in 1:01.09, but my 10k time was 54:35- which put me at 5th overall winner, and first woman in! Whoo-hoo! I've never been first in my age group, let alone first woman! I love small races. :) Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures from this race. Had the best warm down ever, swimming 2000 yards, and pushing myself just enough to kick some of the soreness out. Wish I could do that after every race.

July 3rd was my 12th anniversary. But for the first time, Kevin and I spent it in different states, as he was representing the state of Nevada with the Galena High School band marching in the 4th of July parade in our nation's capital! This is a trip he'd spent the last year planning, and I am happy to report the band performed very well, and most importantly, no one passed out in the heat! Go Grizzlies! So what else would I choose to do with my family gone? Another race of course! This second race I was invited to do by my neighbors, Richard and his wife Emma. She'd injured herself during the Reno Tahoe Odyssey race, but they'd already signed up and registered for the Reno 5000 Firecracker Duathlon, which is a 5k run, 30k bike, and a second 5k run (same loop twice). So they asked me to take Emma's place on the run while Richard biked, and I happily agreed! Here's a pre-race pic of Richard and I: I've done lots of triathlons, but this was my first duathlon I've participated in, and actually the first time I've done this (meaning triathlons) as a relay. I've run 2 runs as relays so far though- RTO and the Tahoe Decelle. They managed to switch Emma's entry over to my name, and I arrived early to get set up. Turi decided to pace me, never having participated in a duathlon either, and took a lot of great pictures of the trail. This a picture of the beginning of the start of the run on the dirt: Here I am at the first mile marker: This trail was steep, and super technical- there were big rocks baked into the trail just waiting for someone to jam their toe into and take a digger. I somehow managed to avoid doing either of these things, but my pace was quite a bit slower as I had to carefully watch each foot placement in my Vibrams (this is when they were still brand about a year ago when I first got them- and I've walked or run in them almost every day since mid-February, so they are considerably more worn out now). I got lots of questions and comments from other runners this weekend who are interested in them, and I was happy to share! Amazed with how many runners are thinking about trying them out! I finished the first leg (which was closer to 3 miles than a 5k, according to my Garmin, although I forgot to push the stop button after both legs for several minutes). Came in 29:21ish for the first leg, and then Richard was off! He finished the 30k bike in just under an hour, and I started out for the second lap. I felt surprisingly better on the second lap- I guess the first was a better warm up- I was pretty tight/sore from the previous day's race, as I'd gone out harder than I meant to. I had a pretty decent side cramp that developed on the downhill of the first lap, but a banana and some electrolite water cured that while I was waiting during Richard's bike portion, and my calves had loosened up from the first run. I must have gone slower up the hill the second time because I had a good kick at the end and pushed to the finish- my time was a few seconds slower for the second lap: 29:35. We waited quite a while in the hot sun for awards, but it was worth it because Richard won a new bike jersey from the raffle, and then we placed 3rd out of 6 in the coed relay division! Here we are crammed up on the podium- you can kind of see me, the shortest one hiding in the back. We received some really nice cut glass trophies. :) Thank you Emma and Richard for letting me race with you today! I had a blast!

And finally, race #3 on the 4th of July! Ironically, the two previous races had "Firecracker" in the title, but I chose not to run the Firecracker Mile in Truckee with Chris, and did the Run to the Beach with the other 2 TLD members, Dave and Turi. This race started in N. Tahoe finished at Kings Beach, and according to my Garmin, was almost a perfect 5k distance! The race started 15 minutes late, and here is Dave and I milling around waiting for it to start: There were a couple uphills, which I plowed steadily up, but was passed by a lot of people on the downhill because once again I had to watch my footfalls. Plus I just can't run fast downhill in Vibrams. But I don't mind- I wear them for the balance it gives me on my runs, for my knee and my back, and health is more important to me than speed. I finished in 28:35 with Dave just a couple minutes behind me, and the Turi pretty soon after that with his 10k, and we hurried over to Truckee to try and catch Chris finish his mile. Didn't quite make it in time to see him cross the finish line, but we did find Gretchen who took 3rd female! And this after a smashing successful 100 miles at Western States last weekend! That girl is amazing. Took a quick pic together and then went in search of Chris:
Turns out, Chris won the Firecracker Mile in 4:25, and that in front of a gajillion people!!! Good Lord, that man is fast! Here is TLD, united even though we didn't all do the same race that day.

Amazingly I feel really good for putting in just over 16 miles in 3 days, and those at race pace. I'm already having race-withdrawl. Although I'm sure I'll change my mind tomorrow morning when I can't get out of bed... :) My great thanks to everyone who put on these races, and to those of you who I had the wonderful opportunity to run with! I am so happy to be healthy enough to run 3 races in 3 days- I didn't imagine I would ever be here again, and if you'd told me that I'd be running this much today back in January when my back was one big debilitating spasm taking up every spare thought, I would have rewarded you with a big fat kiss and tears of happiness!

Lord Sunday, book 7 of the Keys to the Kingdom series

2011-06-29T22:47:00.001-07:00

Lord Sunday by Garth Nix

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This series was fantastic! Phillip Pullman has his controversial series on God and the angels, and Garth Nix brushes through creation in this one. I loved the depth of character development- watching Arthur's inner strength as he grew as a person, and was surprised at his part of ending. This is definitely a series I'll reread~

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Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe

2011-06-24T09:46:00.001-07:00

Compulsion by Heidi Ayarbe

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

While I don't have OCD, I identified with this book on way too many levels. I think on some level, we all have things we obsess about, and while maybe we they don't control our lives like they do for Jake, they are still there and still influence the decisions we make. I like order. I love for numbers to match up. Maybe that's part of why being a librarian clicked so nicely for me... And now I'm going to have Bolero stuck in my head for the rest of the day.

And as a side note, it was my great honor and pleasure to meet and get to know the author while she was in Carson City for her book launch. She is amazingly intelligent and a super sweet person! She even brought me chocolate covered coffee beans from Columbia! :) Love. Her.

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Reno Rock -- River 5K

2011-05-02T20:37:00.000-07:00

After many long months of recuperating from lower back issues, I've finally started to gingerly run again. And when I say gingerly, I mean lots of walking and some jogging. I'm trying not to push too hard or too soon, and have been swimming 4 to 5 days a week to balance these easier workouts. I've noticed a big difference in muscle tone since I've been cross-training with treadmill, swimming and dry-land exercises. And to show for this new dedication to my back health, I was finally able to register for a race this weekend! The Reno Rock-N-River races has become a pretty huge event for Reno, drawing hundreds of runners for each of the 4 distances offered. I chose the shortest, and was lucky enough to talk two Carson City runners into running this event with me. Anne stuck by my side through the whole race, with Traci only about a minute behind. I could have run quite a bit faster, but I still don't want to pull all the stops out- I'm saving up for the Reno Tahoe Odyssey relay race which is just a month away! Although I did run (an easy 5) miles on the trail near my house today (and ha ha got sunburned- yay [early] summer!) and now my calves are sore from two days of running in my Vibrams and am wearing compression socks even now (which are awesome- thanks Scott and Sara!). Not only did I get to run with Anne and Traci, but all of Team Library Dork was in attendance! Turi set a new PR by 4 minutes in the half marathon (1:28.14!!! Dang dude!), with Chris pacing him for all but the first mile, and Dave also ran the 10k in under an hour. I don't mind not being competitive when I could have been weaving through people right and left, because I was just happy-thankful-grateful to be out there with the hoards of runners, sharing a cool morning with some blessed sunshine.

Witch & Wizard

2011-04-19T10:27:00.001-07:00

Witch & Wizard by James Patterson

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I feel the need to explain myself for having a James Patterson book on my "read" list. This is a YA book, and I was stranded at an airport with an extra 2 hour delay and a book I'd finished on the last flight in my backpack. And I was exhausted from doing nothing more than sitting in planes and airports all day long. I picked this one up because I'd ordered it for my library, and it has circulated well I'd say. After reading a few pages I discovered J. P.'s fast-paced writing style worked for my tired brain, and even though I felt my IQ dropping with each page from the shallow, static, single-sentence monologue characters and frequent cliches, it was a fast read and read over half the book by the time I got home. Finished the other half on the plane yesterday. That is all I have to say about this book-it is a fast read. And realize that it it indeed written at a second grade reading level. So there is my excuse. I was working! Keeping up with my trade and reading what some of the teens out there read...

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Firefly Lane

2011-04-04T14:53:00.001-07:00

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I just finished Firefly Lane- cried through the last 50 pages. These nostalgic kind of books get me in the worst way. Just like Time Traveler's Wife. It's hard sometimes to look back and see how much life has been lived, how fast, and remember.

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Secret of the Sirens

2011-03-25T08:29:00.001-07:00

Secret of the Sirens by Julia Golding

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This children's book is a good start to a quartet- the conflicts in this book are resolved very neatly, but it leaves open possibilities for more adventures. It's predictable nature is a great pull for reluctant readers who lean toward fantasy when choosing something off the shelf, and I love it's Earth-friendly message it leaves its readers...

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Leo the Snow Leopard

2011-03-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

Leo, The Snow Leopard by Craig Hatkoff

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, it's about a baby snow leopard rescue, so of COURSE I loved it! The pictures of Leo are fantastic, and so expressive. He was raised by people, and as a result is very friendly with his keepers- I find myself wistfully thinking what a career in a large zoo, like the Bronx Zoo, would be like taking care of big cats. Leo is so adorable, I wish I could sink my fingers deep into his fur! :)

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My "Real" Back

2011-03-07T10:36:00.000-08:00

Earlier I'd posted that I'd put up a picture of my spine when I got the MRI disc back from my doctor. Well, here it is!

The top arrow is pointing to the L4-L5 disc, which is bulging (you can kind of see how it is pushing on the white spinal cord), and those two little dots at the tip of the arrow are pointing at the fluid leaking out of the tear on that disc (the tear is what was causing a lot of the pain, but hopefully it is healing quickly with the cortisone and steroids it received 3 1/2 weeks ago! It's not bothering me anyway...). The bracket underneath is the protrusion between the L5 and S1 vertebrae. The other thing you can see in this scan is how nice and full and light all the discs are above these two poor babies, and how dark the hurt ones are- that is because the fluid has leaked out and I'm not getting the support my spine needs... Kinda scary. And gross looking. :) But I am feeling SO much better and have been taking it easy- doing my stretches and exercises, plus walking and swimming almost every day.

Curse Dark as Gold

2011-02-21T19:32:00.001-08:00

A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

The beginning of this book started out well enough, but about half way through I lost all interest as the main character kept making stupid decisions and her actions were largely unexplained. I had to force myself to finish this one. The author did wrap up all the loose ends, but it almost seemed as if she were as tired of writing it as I felt of reading it...

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Back Updates

2011-02-18T07:58:00.001-08:00

I am blogging this morning from my treadmill. Yes, I am happy and relieved to report that the cortisone shot did what it was supposed to and reduced all the inflammation in my back muscles, and within three days reducing my pain to a virtual non-existence! That stuff is like liquid magic! I did walk and swim easy the next two days after the shot, and I think that movement and circulation helped the medicine work faster. I'm also hoping that it is helping the tear on my disc, which was what was causing a lot of the pain. I have promised to take it easy and have been walking and swimming everyday, and will wait a solid month before I even think about running again. There are some decisions that need to be made on that front- a marathon is no longer in my future because of my susceptibility to further injury. I also need to figure out what will work out in the long run (no pun intended!) and if (what) short distances are okay, and how often. I don't want to be in debilitating pain 30 years from now because of the choices I make today. But I won't bore you with those details. I spoke to my doctor and he said that what I am feeling now is normal muscle feedback, and everyday I marvel at the ridiculously easy movements that no longer cause me pain (like drying my hair, picking things up off the floor, kissing the tops of my sons' heads). I can even drive to work and hop out of the car without first unfolding myself and biting down waiting for that first flash of pain! I am a normal person again! That said, I am still super cautious about proper form and posture during my daily routines and workouts. I have no desire to get stuck back on the floor again! And that my friends, is the latest scoop. (And hopefully this makes some sort of sense since it's difficult to edit while walking and typing on my phone! :)

Cortisone Shot

2011-02-10T12:24:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are a few updates on the health of my back. First, this past week has been one of the worst. I had to leave work early on Saturday because the muscles in my lower back wouldn't stop spasming. I laid low all weekend, but to no avail. By Tuesday, all I managed to do was crawl to the bathroom and then spent the rest of the day on my bedroom floor. I didn't drink anything all day so I wouldn't have to go. I know. Awful. But I had my fancy phone and a couple books to keep me company. By Wednesday however, I was up and walking again and actually felt better than I had since Friday last week! I guess all those days on the floor were the necessary rest my back needed. And today's news: The Big Day of the Cortisone Shot! I have been waiting a solid month and a half for this day to come for the relief and healing this epidural can bring. Basically it is an injection to the injured area of steroids and medicine to help reduce the inflammation and begin the healing process. I admit, I was a little nervous about the procedure this morning, but it turned out to not be that bad! There were two needle pricks (getting blood drawn is worse), and then the injection of the lidocaine and cortisone. That was strange- took 4 or 5 minutes total- there was a lot of pressure as the good doctor slowly injected the medicine. Then the nurses had me sit right up and walked me out to get changed. My butt was numb, and my legs down into my feet, but that went away after a couple hours. He said I'll probably be sore for a day or two and it could be up to a week for the cortisone to take full effect...

I swam every day for the past two weeks (not this week, obviously), but have not run in almost a month. Which I promised I wouldn't do until things start feeling better. I've also been doing "press-ups," as my physical therapist calls them, which is basically laying face-down on the floor and going into a half-extension downward dog position. Hips stay on the floor, drop your shoulders and look up. Bent elbows- also on the floor. That should help the bulging disc go back where it's supposed to be. Don't know how much help or hindrance that causes on the herniation though (I'm just imagining the vertebrae pinching that disc- but then so does sitting and about everything else, right? At least I'm helping something!). I am determined to take things slow- walk in the mornings and swim in the afternoons. The swimming has been the biggest help, by lengthening the muscles and gently stretching them, but with no impact. And I do get a workout so I don't go absolutely stir crazy! :) Even if it's not the same as running~

So that's my news! Hopefully I'll have something else to report in a week or so...

Back News

2011-01-24T18:51:00.000-08:00

This year I made the resolution (goal) to heal. I have had many years of back pain and spent years going to the chiropractor, then and last year switched to physical therapy. And yet I am still in pain, off and on. Or I guess I could more accurately describe it as really super duper achy- I don't have any sharp or shooting pains. Spasms in my lower back on really bad days. Sitting is almost unbearable at times. I am standing and typing this as a matter of fact. So. Back to the resolution part. I am actively trying to heal! I finally made an appointment to see a back specialist (took 3 weeks to get in to see him! These doctors must be worth their weight in gold.) last Monday, and he recommended I get an MRI to find out what is really going on. Waited another week, and this morning I spent 25 minutes in a very loud tube with the air on full blast and my eyes closed. I've had an MRI before, for my shoulder (that's another long story involving a water polo incident, a LOT of pain, and 9 total dislocations before I had surgery on that thing), but I don't remember it being quite that loud. Maybe because the tech forgot to turn on the music... Anyway, this time I was sent home with a disc of the images that I could look at on a computer (wish I had gotten one of my shoulder- that was gruesome! And I'm missing out on bragging rights there~), which I did and promptly started to freak out. I did my online research before I went in on the possible problems I could have, including bulging spinal discs and arthritis (freaked out looking that up too). If I can recognize the problem with no one to point things out, then I know that it's bad. Really bad. It was gross, and I had to stop looking at all those pictures. I took the disc directly to my doctor and he called me tonight after reviewing both the disc and the report sent by the radiologist, and as it turns out, I wasn't seeing things when I looked at the images myself. I have a bulging disc and tear between the L4 and L5 vertebrae, and a herniated disc between the L5 and S1 vertebrae. He even saw a little bit of arthritis in that L5 spot too. Apparently these things take 6-12 months to heal on their own. I really don't feel like being in pain for that long (plus the chances that I'll do something to irritate my lower back so it doesn't heal are pretty good too- and that is me saying this and not my doctor because it seems no matter how careful I am or how good I am about doing my exercises it will happen again- more on this in a bit), so I'm opting for the cortisone epidural that will inject medicine right to the source to reduce inflammation so the healing will go quicker. I understand these are pretty painful too. But if it's only a couple days worth, I'll take it.

This picture is kinda gross, isn't it? And yes, I, a librarian, am including a link and a picture from Wikipedia! (I don't have one to share of my actual back- maybe if I get the disc back I'll share one with you if I can figure it out...)

We discussed the possibilities of causes- he said it's not necessarily because I've been running regularly for the past 14 years (with time off due to pregnancy, babies, and injuries of course). He said that having a strong core is very important to supporting the spine (I have rockin' hard abs 'cause I work 'em hard! (even if there is a little layer over them- that post-baby fat never seems to go away!)), as well as stretching and exercising, so I'm not sure what exactly I'm doing to earn a herniation here and there. He recommended that I wait a week or two after the shot before I start slowly into running again (I know, that's it?!), and I intended to go super slow and supplement my lack of running with time in the pool. Which I'm happy to do. If it happens again, we can do another shot. Ultimately though, my doctor said that it is my decision whether I should stop running or not. What am I willing to live with? And NOT running doesn't guarantee I'll never bulge or herniate again. Life altering decisions. I feel WAY to young to have to make this kind of health decision. And too young to be in this much pain.

Well, that's about all the news I have so far. I'm staying positive because he didn't say at this point that I should consider "retiring" from running (if you consider recreational running something one retires from). I'll post on this subject again in a couple weeks to share my progress. I hope all you runners out there will keep me in mind and do an extra lap on my behalf.

Angelology

2011-01-05T20:00:00.001-08:00

Angelology by Danielle Trussoni

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book was wonderful- I was introduced to a subject I didn't know existed. I wonder how much actual research on Angelology the author did versus how much she created herself? And, I was totally left hanging at the end! It wasn't the sort of ending you're supposed to figure out on your own either. I really hope there's a sequel in the near future. Although it was published in 2010, so I won't hold my breath for anything coming out this year...

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Resolutions and Goals for 2011

2011-01-01T15:12:00.000-08:00

Generally the end of December/beginning of January is when my thoughts turn to a resolution for the new year. In the past I've made all kinds of resolutions ranging from keeping the house clean to running mileage numbers, beating out the previous year's totals. Some of my resolutions I've stuck to, and others... Well, I'm sure we've all experienced the successes and failures of resolutions. This year I've decided to look at this whole new year's resolution business from a different angle. I have more of a goal for myself than a regimen I generally lean toward.

This year, my goal is to heal.

This is loosely set as I don't know how a goal like this will progress, or how far I reach. I have had serious back pain over the years, even to the point of passing out (but only once!). I missed another day last week that I spent on the floor just trying to relax my irritated muscles. I spent years going to a chiropractor off and on, and then last summer I started seeing a wonderful physical therapist who helped me immensely, and changed how I work out. But alas, the pain-free running I enjoyed so much was not to last. I even developed knee problems at the beginning of 2010 that I believe is related to back issues and possibly my stride, which I am still struggling with. I've reached the point where I've done everything I could think to change to help myself get better, including starting lifting, rotating back into swimming and even changed my stride to a forefoot strike instead of a heel strike when I run. And yet, without provocation (that I am at this point aware of), my back pain persists. So I am taking the next step. I talked to my doctor, and he okay-ed x-rays for me, which showed that nothing was out of place, fractured or broken (relief!). However much relief I feel over normal x-rays, I still don't know if something is wrong. I have an appointment to see a back specialist in mid-January (those guys book up fast!) and am hopeful that he will let me get an MRI, which will show if I have a bulging disc (which my PT suspects). I am hopeful that he will give me exercises to do that will strengthen my back, or let me know if I'm doing something to aggravate the muscles in my lower back.

I have mixed feelings about this goal. Of course I want to feel better, but I'm afraid that my doctor might tell me that I need to stop running. I want to run. I want to run far! A marathon! (Plus I got a brand new Garmin Forerunner 305 for Christmas that I'm dying to put some serious mileage on!) But I have a feeling that my mileage for the year is going to drop even lower than last year.

Okay, enough of the downer talk. I do have some stats to report. Last year I ran just over 550 miles, and in 2008 I made it a year end goal to reach 600 (In both blog posts I talked about back issues as well!). This year I have less running miles to report:

Running: 470
Walking: 55
Elliptical: 59 miles

Grand total: 584

I haven't included elliptical miles before this year, but because I had to take so much time off from running, I needed to do something else instead. :) I also have swimming and biking miles recorded, but they're not huge numbers.

So, to round this post out, I'm going to say that I'm remaining positive! I may not get to run as much as I want, but I think this is a worthy enough goal to lose some miles over. I wanted to leave you with an inspirational sappy quote, but liked this one much better:

"Formula for success: Rise early, work hard, strike oil."
John Paul Getty

Endymion Spring

2010-12-05T09:00:00.001-08:00

Endymion Spring (AUDIOBOOK) [CD] by Matthew Skelton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was the author's first book- I listened to his commentary at the end about how this novel came into existence (written one full half at a time, and then interweaving a second from the beginning- I couldn't tell the author didn't plan it that way from the beginning!), and was fascinated how his life flowed around it. Even though it's cataloged as a YA book, Blake and Endymion Spring are younger than that, but it's writing with a descriptive language that even adults will appreciate (me!). I highly recommend it~

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Donner Lake Turkey Trot

2010-11-14T16:45:00.001-08:00

This morning Team Library Dork headed up to Donner for a lap around the lake for an early Turkey Trot. It didn't start until 10:30, at it was cold waiting for the start- just under 50 degrees, but then there was a breeze off the lake to factor in. Here is a hill just on the west side of the lake, and you can see that it snowed recently up here (and in Reno too, but all our snow melted the same day):

I told Gretchen after at 50/50 Brewing where we went for lunch (and won't ever be going back since we waited an hour for our food) that I would have been happy wearing a down jacket to start the race, but I felt better almost immediately after we started running. Turi stuck with the front of the pack while Dave and I hung back to get in a solid warm up- I desperately needed to work out the kinks after the long drive up to the Lake. Around mile 2 I shed my sweatshirt and had a pretty comfortable run with a long sleeved tech shirt. I haven't been putting in the miles that I would like because of ongoing knee and lower back pain, so I surprised myself when I found myself pushing up the hills and ahead of Dave early in the race. I kept the group of girls ahead of me in sight and managed a respectable 1:05.46. If my knee wasn't giving me so much grief this year I bet I could have done it in under an hour, but I'm not complaining. :)

After the race there was an awesome raffle with frozen turkeys and pumpkin pies to give away, not to mention the usual race stuff. It was a great race, and I've always loved running around Donner Lake. Here is a post-race pic of the three TLD's that were able to make it today:

Mockingjay (book 3) by Suzanne Collins

2010-11-07T16:50:00.001-08:00

Mockingjay (Hunger Games, #3) by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Dang. Finished this series finally- I wasn't quite sure what was going to happen at then end, but that wasn't what I could have guessed at. This is one of those series that I'll think about for a long time...

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Martha Speaks

2010-11-01T19:48:00.001-07:00

I've been traveling to all of the schools in Carson City giving each student a new library card! The entire staff has been working non-stop entering in all the information into the system, and then I go to a different school each week and talk to every class about all the library has to offer- not only books and music and movies, but also online databases and free live homework help from tutors that students can chat with and get their questions answered by certified teachers. Not to mention all the fun programs we offer- Love on a Leash, Lego Club, book clubs, storytime, and lots more! And I always have a mascot travel with me. Pictured here is Martha, the dog from the PBS show Martha Speaks. And inside? My boss! The library director of the Carson City Library! Isn't that awesome that she is willing to do one of the hottest-I mean most fun-jobs with me? :) I am super excited to see all the students, and already they have been flooding to the library to use the computers and get homework done. And of course, meet and chat with their friends. It's the happenin' place to be!

Sean & Ashton: Lego Daze

2010-10-23T16:22:00.001-07:00

Yes, they love Legos! And you can tell how comfortable they are in the library as they have no problem camping out in the middle of a rather busy hallway being creative. :)

The C-Span Bus visits the Carson City Library!

2010-10-23T16:20:00.001-07:00

Yup, here are Sean & Ashton sitting with the Mayor of Carson City on the traveling news channel C-Span bus getting a special tour and history lesson! Sean described the water cycle when they asked what they are learning in school, and he described it perfectly, remembering his vocab words- precipitation, condensation and evaporation! The mayor said he was very impressed with how smart our community's children are. :) I'm a super proud mama right now!

New Blogger Phone Ap

2010-10-22T20:37:00.001-07:00

Yup, I have a fancy phone, and am testing it out! News? Lets see- I ran just under 5 trail miles today, swam yesterday (2100), (both in 45 min.) and haven't done a P90X workout in 2 weeks! Better get on that. Announcements: I have the two cutest, sweetest boys a mama could ever hope for! :)

Tough Mudder!

2010-10-20T21:15:00.000-07:00

Yes, I am wearing a mustache in this picture. Because I am one of a 5-piece quintuplet of Magnum P.I.'s! I'll admit I wasn't stoked about the 'stache, but once I got it on and started parading around in it, I got a total kick out of it! I got a ton of hilarious comments and support from other "Mudders." We got all dandied up in Hawaiian shirts and shorty shorts in honor of the '80s and the proclivity for men to show WAAAY too much leg hair.

There were months of preparation and training for this race, mainly lifting and muscle building for me. Mainly with P90X! Since this 7-ish mile course was held on a ski resort, Bear Valley California, with double black diamond slopes factored in, I knew there wasn't going to be as much running during this race as much as straight hand-over-hand climbing. Both up and down. This was an almost-epic trip for Team Library Dork + Ben- I'll get to the almost part soon. I'm going to tell this story in pictures- and I actually have some pretty good ones to share since Dave brought his indestructible camera which is waterproof and mud and rock proof too!

This is a view of the mountain below where the race took place, from the parking lot. It dawned quite the beautiful day! There were 5000 people signed up for the even (the majority of which were men, so for once in my life when I used the bathroom there was a huge line for the men's room but not for the ladies!), and waves of starters every 15 minutes of 350, on a very steep hill. Our wave didn't start until 11:30, so we got to sit down to a nice breakfast at a normal hour instead of the usual Clif bar.

Here I am before the race, milling around trying to find the packet pick-up area:

And Turi:

And Chris:

And me with Mario and Luigi:

A close up of the 5 of us, all 'stached up!

And finally, dah dah Daaaaah! The Walk To The Start (cue: Sunshine! Notice how they're all in step?):

This is one of the steepest, hilliest, most elevation gain and loss races I've ever done. Check out the hill they had us slide down to start~

Turi, and me edging down trying to get some of the worst out of the way before the shot went off, because for some reason the rest of the guys wanted to hang back (which I think they regretted for the rest of the race)...

And we're off! I lost my mustache in the first obstacle, crawling through mud and grit under the barbed wire fence (where I nearly lost my hat several times as well, and in which I drew first blood, I think, from the bottom of Chris's shoe), and hastily stuffed it in my front shirt pocket. Bruised knee #1. The photos for this one didn't come out clear, but immediately we started down our first steep downhill (yup, I sat down once after my feet slipped out from under me on the gravel covered rocks, but with shouts from behind of, "Mudder down!" I was up again like a rocket). Here's me:

And here is part of the track, wide still,

And Dave getting pissed off as we ran into our first wait, which was backed up because there were so many people filing onto a steep down-hill single track.

And then we started back UP that monster we just worked our way down. Turi and I are rock skipping here, just like I've done at Tahoe countless times:

After hiking back up the mountain (which I think was considered an obstacle in itself) we came to another obstacle: the Snowblowers. They weren't blowing snow, but more like stinging ice water. It was blinding in that man-made storm, and I had to walk through knee-deep water to get to them. Oh well. I knew I'd be doing a lot of running/hiking with wet shoes. Beauty in the Beast- the rainbow from the top was spectacular, and this picture doesn't do it justice.

Another obstacle climb. Can you say steep?

It just kept on going up and up and up...

My heart was pounding by the time I got to the top of this one! But I never stopped. And there were lots of "stoppers." Then a fun obstacle appeared: the construction Spools! With a good 10 minute wait to get to them. Between the two spools (your team got to pick one to hop over) were tires that no one but Dave ran through:

Turi and Chris made it over the top on their own because of their towering height, but I only managed to land on my stomach and needed to be pulled the rest of the way over. Bruised knee #2. Then, finally a flatish and downhill stretch to run!

And then another huge wait. I'm sure we waited a good 20 minutes at this one, and most of us had no idea what was going on at the front of the crowd. Then one of the volunteers waved through a huge part of the crowd, and TLD was left at the front, cut off from the rest and made to wait because of another huge back-up at the next obstacle. But at least we had a clear view of what was to come. The Mud Pit. It was 20 yards of that thick sloshy mud that tries to take your shoes off followed by a pool of liquid concoction that reminded me of the consistency of what's at the bottom of a port-o-potty. Someone piped up from the crowd, "While we're waiting, would it be okay if I ran and jumped in the mud and got back in line?" He ran, jumped, and landed flat on his belly with the most satisfying belly-slap! So of course this put ideas into Chris's head that he needed to follow suit. He ran and flew threw the air, and with a SLURP dissappeared into the mud. He climbed out dripping, and made a bee-line for guess who? Yes, there was no out-running this mad man, and the entire crowd cheered as he slammed into me and slathered me with slimy mud! He even went back for seconds and got me good in the face. And now I smelled like the out-house I was just previously imagining. By the time this picture was taken, I'd managed to wipe off most of the mud from my face onto Turi and Dave's shirts:

Another down hill and we came to the "high poles." These poles were vertical, and taller than my head. This one also required team work to get over the top. Chris and Turi were helped up by other Mudders, and then I was given a boost up, and then almost fell on my rear coming down the other side. Should've gone over forward instead of gripping the pole and easing off my stomach.

After this we had another climb that went up and up and up forever into the heavens- and deceived us by hiding the next hill with the previous one (and again, I'm proud of myself for not stopping until I got to the top. Dave on the other hand had to wander into the woods for a while to find a private bush to ease his angry stomach of the biscuits and gravy he powered up with for breakfast, and found his way to the top, gloveless), and a half hour wait to do the "Berlin Wall Climb." This obstacle consisted of a pile of logs with a hard plastic sheet you had to run and scramble up to get to the wood. I wouldn't have managed this nearly as gracefully as I had without the help of two guys from another team reaching out helping hands. Thankfully, that was the last long wait we had to do for the obstacles.

The next obstacle was one that I had been waiting for, actually. I still had stinky mud flaking and dusting off my body and was eager to wash some of it off. Here is Chris right behind me easing his way down into the water:

The pond however I swear was melted snow, and froze my girl parts as I dunked under the two barrels. I was so cold I hurt and couldn't get out of the water on the other side fast enough!

As you can see from this picture, you cross the pond once and then go down the slip-and-slide on the other side and climb out again. Chris, Turi and Ben somehow got ahead of Dave and I, and I watched with a crazed expression on my face as Chris went down head first! Not many were brave enough to pull that stunt. Dave slid down seated, and I took a few quick steps thinking I'd make the best of a fast slide, and I TRIPPED! Crap! I went down head-first, and straight for several people in the water, Dave included! So I balled up my fists and punched my way into the crowd, "YAAAAAAAHHHH!" I popped up out of the water (not nearly so bad the second time in!) and apologized for running into someone, who just brushed it off. I missed Dave. Whew!

Immediately after this obstacle was the wood pile. Yes, we all sported our wood in a variety of positions, carrying our pieces down a trail and back about a half mile. I think this was Dave's favorite obstacle by far! He looks surprised in this photo, but most of the time he was grinning with the implications of this part of the race.

I keep saying "race" in this blog, but it really wasn't. It was a team effort and we all stuck together waiting for those at the back of the lines. It was about camaraderie and support and not about time- we only ran about one mile total anyway. But I'll continue to call this a race, okay? That was the last race photo I have because Dave's camera ran out of space, but we still had 3 obstacles after that. And not really worth photographing. One was a 12-foot fence that we had to climb back and forth over 16 times (that was kind of fun, and made it worth carrying thin gloves in my back pocket for the entire race), and one was drinking a tiny shot of hot sauce just meters from the finish (that was lame). The final obstacle couldn't have been more disappointing. The "wall of flame" was a mere grill to jump over, that I thought was only slightly warm. Even so, someone still managed to fall on it and burn him or herself. Geez people! TLD's last member finished at 3 hours and 3 minutes. I wonder how we would have done if we didn't have all that waiting around to do? The rest of the team was not happy about that part, to put it lightly. I, however, was SUPER sore for the next several days- I completely destroyed my quads on the downhills trying to watch my form and not mess up my knee (or back), and didn't feel like I had the right to complain about the race, even though it was the mountain that difficult and not the actual obstacles (I left out mention of a few of the super easy ones, like the spider-web crawl over a school bus, and a claustrophobic dark crawl through a tunnel that made my knees hurt). But I am still proud of myself for all the training I did, and if nothing else, I got to spend the entire day outside in the beautiful sunshine with my teammates, and share some good food and beer after (although not the Dos Equis at the post-race party). This is one of those races that I looked forward to and can say I completed, but don't feel the need to ever do again. So my thanks is to TLD for a great weekend!

Two last pictures. Not only were my quads destroyed, but so were my Magnum PI shorts. These went straight into the dumpster after this photo was taken:

And the skin on my knees:

But worth it. :)

Vibrams Update

2010-09-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

7.18 miles today! Whoo-hoo! And unlike last Sunday's 7 mile race, I didn't get any blisters (working up those calluses)! Gradually my calves are getting stronger- the muscles even feel more solid to me. My dad has always called me "chicken legs" because I have pretty small calves and ankles. Well, no more! When I run in my Vibrams, I land on the balls of my feet, and this uses lotsa calf muscles! I started out the first day in my new Vibrams runnng only a mile and a half on my trail, and my calves were crazy sore! The upper part of my calf, almost behind my knee. I could only run about 10 minutes before I started having to drop down to a full-foot landing (but still not a heel strike like I would in my running shoes). Today I ran uphill a full 45 minutes before I started needing to drop down to a full-foot landing, when I turned around started back down the hill home again. I could feel the muscles in my ankles, Achilles tendon and that muscle right under my calf (what's it called?) being used today. I signed up for a MapMyRun.com account today so I could click my way through today's run for mileage (no I don't have a fancy GPS Garmin, although I guess I could have run with my iPhone... But that doesn't upload my routes... but there's probably an ap for that :). It shows an elevation gain of 890 feet. I don't know how often I'll use this site since I tend to run on the same trail since it's about 1/3 of a mile from my doorstep. Today is also the third day in a row I've run. I can't remember the last time I haven't needed to take a day or two or even three off to let my knee or lower back heal, and it makes me light-headed with happiness. I bought these shoes daring to hope that my knee (and back) would strengthen up because I'd be running as God intended (barefoot!)- I'm giving myself time to work up to longer distances and really listen to my body and my muscles for signs that I need to back off or for other aches that might crop up (no fair trading one set of injuries for another!). I'm listening to a book called Born to Run by Christopher McDougall that talks about the science of barefoot running, ultra runners, and a tribe in Mexico called the Tarahumaras that have known the secrets of running crazy long distances (50, 100, 300 miles!) for hundreds of years and loving every step of it! This book makes me want to run and run and run and not stop, and revel in the beauty of the nature around me and appreciate a pain-free strength I've worked hard to build. And I'm extremely grateful for all of this- a book full of inspiring stories, shoes that don't make my knee hurt, and most of all for the chance to run~ :)

Bay to Bliss Tahoe Trail Run

2010-09-20T16:02:00.000-07:00

It was an early morning for me as Abbey and I headed up to Tahoe for a race- one that we'd been drooling over since we read Gretchen's blog post of this event last year. Seriously, check out her pictures (I decided not to run with my camera, and she's a WAY better photographer than I am anyway). I ran just over 7 miles in my new Vibrams at the Bay to Bliss Emerald Bay Trail Run- I am determined to keep running and be healthy, and so far these shoes have proven their worth! Yes I developed some gnarly blisters, but my knee and back were in great shape after the race- and that's exactly what I was hoping for with this new "barefoot" technique. I'll take blisters any day over a pain-filled knee! It was a beautiful cool morning for a run (temp. in the 50s), with a steep downhill jog to the start line. Which we soon discovered was the first hill of the race. As the race director was giving us the countdown, the wind whipped up in a flurry of pine needles exactly one minute until go time. It settled back down again with 15 seconds to start, and then the rain picked up instead. A light, but cold drizzle that kept us cool on that climb. Looking out to our right a dazzling sight met our eyes- we could see a double rainbow through the trees, with its end touching the lake. Only 2 minutes in and already I was kicking myself for not bringing my camera! But ultimately I think it was best to leave it behind as I had to watch the trail extra carefully for rocks and roots since there wasn't much between my feet and the dirt. Even though I held back on the speed, I felt super agile with my extra grippy and flexible soles and found myself leaping up onto rocks and bouncing over fallen tree trunks. The first half hour passed in a blink of greenery and sparkling water below me, and then the trail became hilly again with steep stone steps to navigate. But by the hour mark, the pads of my forefoot (feet) were feeling very sensitive and every every pebble was making itself known to me. This might not have been the best idea to double the distance I've run in these shoes all in one go, especially only 2 weeks after I got them, but I knew how much my knee would be hurting if I wore my regular running shoes. I took a deep breath and ignored my feet and enjoyed the twists and turns of the trail, the rocky outcroppings and the ever present turquoise bay to my right. I finished in 1:23, (8th in my age group) and didn't stop at the finish line on the beach but stripped off my shoes (saw the blisters! no wonder I was feeling every pebble!) and headed into the blissfully cool lake. Abbey finished in 1:09 and placed 3rd in her age group and scored a sweet medal- her first for an age group win! We lazed in the sand waiting for awards and the shuttle back to her Jeep, and I felt for the life of me that I was on a tropical island beach soaking up the sun. This is definitely a race I want to add to my list of yearly runs. And hopefully by next year I'll have gotten used to running "barefoot"!

Thank you Abbey for driving, and for the miles and miles of comforting, funny and stress-relieving conversation- I needed that as much as I needed this gorgeous run after an extra long work week!

Vibram TrekSport

2010-09-08T15:21:00.000-07:00

Yup! I bought new shoes today, and it being my day off, I even got to try them out! I tried on a couple different pairs of Vibrams, but much preferred the Treksport because of the nice tread on the bottom. Now, I love wearing toe socks, so this shoe didn't feel at all funny to me- if fact, I think they're downright comfy! I popped them on as soon as I left the store, drove home, changed and then took off for Whites Creek Trail to give 'em a whirl! The salesperson said I should stick to a super short run to try them out as they use a different group of muscles in your feet, ankles and calves. I ran about a mile and a half of trail and then a little bit on the street to try my paces, and I found that running both up and down the hills I land on the ball of my feet. In fact, I ran about 90% of the time on the balls of my feet and only landed flat-foot on the street with no incline. Does anyone else own a pair? Are you only supposed to land on the ball of your foot (and rotate back to the heel on the flats), or is okay to land flat as well? I guess what comes comfortably, naturally is best. I'll have to look up some videos on these Vibrams and see what the experts say. My left knee has been plaguing me with aches as has my lower back this year, so I'm eager to see if this is from an imbalance of stride while I run, and if so, if it will heal over time. Now I just gotta watch out for those sharp rocks and build up some calluses on my big toes...

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

2010-09-03T13:55:00.001-07:00

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Loved this book! I cannot WAIT for the next book, Linger, (which I ordered for my library a week ago! A WEEK ago!) to get here! For any Twilight lovers out there, this is similar, but substitute wolves for vampires. Not werewolves per se, but wolves. And no vampires.

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Sean and Ashton started 3rd grade today!

2010-08-30T15:10:00.000-07:00

Yup, I have the yearly picture to share, and compare with the past two years. I think they grew like 4 inches just this summer! Check this out- here they are on the first day of kindergarten:

The second day of 1st grade:

The second day of 2nd grade:

And the first day of third grade (this morning):

What big mature boys I have! The growth difference from year to year just blows my mind! Measuring from the picture behind them, it looks like they grow about 3-4 inches a year. Crazy weeds. :) They came home from school today super excited- I high hopes for them academically this year. No longer will they get O/S/N/I for grades but A/B/C/D/F. They will be held responsible for their actions and their work. They will be learning higher level skills and get to start doing book reports this year! Yay! (Says the librarian mom- I'm sure that word will never escape their lips in the same sentence as "book report!")

Boys at Lake Tahoe!

2010-08-29T20:01:00.000-07:00

This summer has been so jam packed with fun and sun races and vacations and work work work that I haven't blogged hardly at all. I apologize for not sharing pictures (of which I have tons just waiting for me to blog!), and hopefully I'll get to them soon. However, I do have a photo of Sean and Ashton when I took Wednesday off last week, and just the three of us headed up to Lake Tahoe for the day, followed with burritos at T's Mesquite Rotisserie! Mmmmmm, yummy! Of course they headed straight to the nearest rock and shimmied up and asked for a photo before we headed down to the water. Boys. :)

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

2010-08-26T14:04:00.000-07:00

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had a difficult time getting into this one, but since it was for book club I plowed through the slow beginning. BUT! It was totally worth it! This historical fiction had much more depth and feeling to it than I was expecting, and despite the discomfort caused by the relationship between Alice and Mr. Dodgson (Lewis Carroll)- who was 20 years her senior, there was much to learn about life in the Victorian age, and love. And yes, there were tears too on my part.

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Snakes and BFFs.

2010-08-01T20:36:00.000-07:00

I found a snake under my car at my parents' house this weekend and Ashton took this photo of me. I can officially say that my boys now loooove snakes. Thanks to me. :) I hate spiders but lurve snakes! You?

I also took this photo this morning- it is our triplets. What, you say? You only have twins! Well, Okay, yes, but Abbie was born one month after the boys and they have grown up together since the boys' second birthday. So, it's as close to having triplets as I'm gonna get. Except that Abbie and Greg and Jess are in the process of moving to LA and we are going to miss them tremendously! We are all losing BFFs to CA within a week, and life will not be the same without them. Good luck to you Greg going back to school, and Jess and Abbie in a new land with new friends and adventures!

July Vacation!

2010-07-05T17:16:00.000-07:00

And it's almost over! I managed to score a 10-day vacation with only taking five days off from work. Not bad, eh? I have a lot of photos to share, so I'll let them tell a lot of the story. To start, we met Kevin's parents for a Father's Day BBQ up at Sand Harbor. It was windy which made it cold, but it was nice to spend some time with the fam, especially Alice who is home from her first year of college! I only managed one good picture of the boys though:
On Saturday, June 26th (right after work, on vacation day one), I drove out to Red Hawk in Sparks for Andy and Sarah's wedding! It was a beautiful day for an outdoor wedding, if a bit warm in the sun. I snuck a pic of Sarah before the wedding, who was just able to keep the tears back as last minute gifts were exchanged.
Kevin was one of the grooms men (you can see Dr. Mack and Earlene sitting right in front of him),

and Dan & Amy's Aubrie was the flower girl (sweetest ever!) and Chris & Geneveive's Tai was the ring bearer:
Then out walked the bride with her father,

and we watched a beautiful ceremony. Aubrie, as I a fore mentioned, was the sweetest flower girl I've ever seen. Just look at her twisting her curls!

Andy and Sarah, I wish you joy and peace and a long lasting life together! I know you will, with these radiant smiles!

During the photo session, Kevin and I passed around our camera too and got a nice one of the two of us:

And the fun begins!

On Monday, Kevin and I drove through Gardnerville to drop Sean & Ashton off with their grandparents for a few days and headed on through to San Francisco to celebrate our 11th Anniversary (July 3rd). On the way, I suggested stopping at a fruit stand, which also led to a stop at a winery in Davis. How did I choose which one to go to? I typed in "Winery Davis" (which we were soon to drive through), and picked one that was right off the highway. The lucky winner was Rominger West Winery. There were 5 wines all lined up for a free tasting when ever someone walked through the doors. It was neat to see the working winery, with barrels and equipment in open view. I liked the 2008 Rominger Ranch White best, but the 2005 Syrah - Yolo County was also very good, and Kevin's favorite. So. We bought a case! A 40% discount made it totally worth it since the 4 bottles we wanted to get was nearly as much on their own. Never bought an entire case of wine before! Great gifts. :)

On to San Francisco! We stayed in the Argonaut Hotel, which was right at the end of Embarcadero. Our room wasn't huge, but they did offer the guests a glass of wine at 5 every day! Plus the gym was pretty nice.

About once a year, or every other year I make it out to SF for one reason or another, but I've never been to a professional baseball game!

Since the Giants were playing Kevin's team, the Dodgers, and because I've never been, we pretty much had to get tickets. By the end of the first inning and heading into the second, the stands were packed!

If you look really close, you can see the ball just about to pass over home plate (click on the photo for an up-close):

And the best part of the location of this stadium? It's right next to the ocean!

The Dodgers killed the Giants, 8 to 2! And get this. For lunch I went All-American and had peanuts. And a beer. Proud? :) And I have to say that watching a game in the stadium is NOT boring like it is on TV! I greatly enjoyed myself.

Of course there was lots of shopping at Pier 39, and we stopped to watch a show at the end of the pier: Captain Jack Spareribs. And guess who he pulled out of the crowd? You guessed it. Kevin! When asked his name, he gave the first alias that came to mind: Jack. Funny. He was invited on stage to help with the show, and he was game, and even yakked it up a bit!

He got to sword fight, and even poke lances and swords through the basket containing Captain Jack's "daughter"!

Kevin said she was definitely IN the basket the entire time and guided the poking objects through the basket so she wouldn't get skewered. VERY impressive. I wonder if that ended up on YouTube (there were lots of people recording), because while I did record it on my camera, I didn't post it. I would post it here, but it takes forever and a day to upload. Also on the pier is the famous San Francisco Aquarium of the Bay, and for an extra $6, we got a 45 minute behind-the-scenes tour! I learned a ton about sea life, and the kitchen where they prepare animal food is no larger than my own! Seriously, the fridge is actually a double freezer that is only slightly larger than the one in my kitchens. Fish apparently don't eat much, or very often. Most of the fish are only fed once a week, small fish like mackerel and shrimp. The three largest fish they own, white sea bass (average weight is 315 lbs), they feed three times a week- mackerel that are only about 3 inches long. There are schools of sardines in the tanks if the fish decide they need a snack in between meals. It's a very delicate balance- keeping the fish well enough fed that they don't eat each other. For the smaller animals that have mouths too small to eat fish they feed brill that comes in dried form to the aquarium and they add water to. Like sea monkeys! The other thing I learned at the aquarium is how fascinating octopi are! The are VERY intelligent animals (most intelligent invertebrates in the world), and have been known to cause "mischief" at large aquariums. Our guide told us that they are dark-dwelling creatures, and at one particular aquarium (in So. Cal?) they had a small exhibit with a light shining down into the tank. So the octopus squirted water at the light bulb until it burst, and knocked down the power in half the aquarium! Then it was happy in the dark. :) I also watched a video that talked about how they contortionists- they have only one hard bone in their bodies- their beak, and can go through any opening large enough to fit their beak through. Indeed, I watched one problem solve it's way through an underwater gerbil maze into a big tank of water on the other side. I also watched as one octopus took the lid off a jar to get the crab inside it, out. A third experiment they tested their intelligence with was a with a Erlenmeyer beaker with a crab in the bottom. The octopus could see it and smell it, but wound it's way around and around the jar and couldn't get to it. Then it sat back for a minute, thinking (I swear it was problem solving!), then went back for a second go. One of it's tentacles found the opening in the top, and then it sucked it's entire body in to get the crab, where it ate it happily. Amazing!

The other major event of our 3-day trip was to see Wicked!

I read the book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West by Gregory Maguire with my teen book club at the Carson City Library in December (yes, they are a very mature group! Their pick, I swear!) and have been dying to see the musical ever since. I was not let down. And being married to a band director has its advantages- he wanted to see it almost as much as I did! I need to buy the CDs now...

On Wednesday night (July 1st) we picked up the boys and headed home. We were going to plan a trip to Montana to visit my brother Scott and new wife Sara, but decided that my back couldn't cut 35 hours in the car (we were going to come back via Seattle so I could visit the Woodland Park Zoo and see the snow leopards). Instead, I gained some time on the homefront catching up with things like some deep cleaning (weeded the boys closet), and extra workout time, and most importantly, quality time with m'boys! On Friday, we headed out to Virginia City with my co-worker Abbey and her two teens, and while I somehow didn't take any pics of us, I did get this great view of the valley behind VC:

We had a great time window shopping, eating ice-cream and taffy from the Candy Barrel, and Sean & Ashton even picked out a piece of agate to take home. On Sunday, we headed to the Animal Ark (it's no substitute for the Woodland Park Zoo, but I like to support our local animals!). Sendari, their snow leopard, died a few years back, but there are lots of other lovely big cats, including Ashton's favorite: a white tiger!

They also have two cheetas, Moyo and Jamar, brothers from the same litter who can purr loud enough for you to feel the ground vibrate under your feet. They are very close, as you can see here. Makes me think of my own twins who are almost never apart (except not the licking or snuggling part). :)

We also saw the CUTEST arctic fox named Effie! When we walked up to her enclosure, she had just caught something, which she paraded around for a minute before hiding in some tall grasses.

Then she came right up to the fence like she wanted us to pet her! Awwww, I totally would too if it were allowed. :) What a sweet face!

Right by the side of Effie's enclosure was one of the biggest bumblebees I've ever seen. I tried to get a close-up, but it crawled most of the way into the flower before I snapped the shot:

The boys also had fun in the gift shop. Check out that huge stuffed snow leopard!

To celebrate Independence Day, we trekked out to Truckee for the Firecracker Mile and parade (and don't forget window shopping!). Gretchen made a great report on this event last year, and I thought I'd give it a go! I warmed up with a 25 minute jog up a super steep hill (that's about all that was available unless I wanted to head right out of town, and I didn't know of any immediate trails, which is what I would have preferred and looked for), and then stretched and waited with about 350 other runners for the one mile entirely-downhill race. I've never run this short a distance in a race before, so I didn't have much of a game plan other than hold a quick-ish steady pace and try not to slack off. Shouldn't be too hard since it is all downhill, right? I don't normally run so much as a warm-up because normally I use the first 1-2 miles as my warm-up in a longer race (yes Chris, I'm not nearly so competitively built as you!)- otherwise I get too tired at the end of the race. But since my body wouldn't have warmed up until after I finished this race, I figured I'd better change things up. My left knee didn't so much like all the downhills I ran (and jogged), but I was careful of my stride and managed a 7:24.5 minute mile, as they clocked me (I had 7:29ish). New PR! Whoo-hoo! I had fun anyway, and came in 109th. I walked/jogged back up the hill to where Kevin and the boys were watching the beginning of the parade, and was congratulated by many of the bystanders, and asked how I did. I've never run with so many people cheering on the runners before! That was awesome! I didn't get a great picture of the boys begging for candy on the front line, but you can see how many people support this event (especially since Reno doesn't do a parade, or have any $$$ for fireworks this year for that matter).

We didn't actually make it out to see the fireworks this year, much to Ashton's disappointment, because Sean wasn't feeling great, and running around in the sun for 4 hours probably didn't help. So while Kevin headed off to see the Aces game (which DID sport some pretty cool fireworks, apparently) I treated the boys to a new DVD purchase of their choice and we had what they like to call a "snuggle night." Which they are always begging for because it means a movie of their choice, and popcorn. Well, there wasn't any popcorn this time because I made them a very festive dessert, complimented with a glass of Martinelli's.

Spring Green

2010-06-23T10:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know the summer solstice was on Monday, but only just now is it warming up in Reno. Thought I'd share a couple pictures- one of the ornamental grass that looked so pretty in the setting sun,

and one of the basil plant I recently added to my herb garden. I've been loving fresh basil on my eggs in the morning! I learned a new trick of rolling up the leaf and cutting it into thin strips right on top of what I'm cooking- it's super fast because I use kitchen shears. I hope this warm weather lasts so it doesn't wilt...

Another Spring photo I wanted to post is of my all-star basketball player! Last week Sean and Ashton got to go to an all day, all week camp at Damonte Ranch High School where they learned all sorts of fancy drills and how to shoot and ended each day with a game. A lot of times the coach pitted my boys against each other on opposite teams, but also they played together. Sean got an award for Super Hustler, and Ashton for Great Dribbler.

What talented boys I have! Baseball players and basketball players! :) Lucky mommy~

Burton Creek Trail 10K

2010-06-22T21:35:00.000-07:00

Sunday the stars were aligned for Team Library Dork, because for the second week in a row we were able to gather for a race this time up at Lake Tahoe for the Burton Creek Trail 10K put on by Big Blue Adventure, who is putting on 4 races (all on Sundays whoo-hoo!) for a series, and hopefully I'll be able to go to more of them. Well, Dave , Chris and I ran the 10K and Turi ran the half marathon. If my knee wasn't actin' up on me so much this season I would have joined him on the longer distance, but as it was, I enjoyed the 10k train immensely. It was a small gathering for the four distances- 5 and 10k's and half and full marathons, plus there were 5 year age groups, which bode well for TLD. The 10k was 2 loops of the 5k, and the marathon was 2 loops of the 1/2 course. All 4 distances started together right at 9 (and for some reason I was shivering like crazy even though no one else was, so I couldn't WAIT for the start), and started up a steepish climb right off the bat. I ran with Dave for the first couple miles or so before his tummy started giving him problems and he dropped behind. Of course Chris was at the very front, and Turi close to to the front as well. You can see Chris to the right all in black, with long sleeves (thank you for the picture Abby!):

The trail was decently technical with some windy sections, rocks in the path to watch out for and logs and a gap in the dam to jump over. Made for a fun course, and after a downhill and another uphill the course settled into a beautiful canopied section which I truly enjoyed. I could run through the trees all day long! Then the trail headed back downhill again and about a half mile from the start/finish I followed a large group of people down a wrong turn and added about 5 minutes to my first loop back-tracking searching for the correct trail. I wondered how this would affect my placement in my age group. Chris, in the lead, also took this same wrong turn because it wasn't clearly marked, but fortunately he was far enough ahead that he didn't lose his lead spot. The final push to the end of the first lap was all wood chips and rather steep, and I developed a side stitch that I didn't go away until I started climbing into the second lap, quietly as no one noticed I went by. Nothing like a steep hill to slow me down, make me focus on my breathing and stride to make a side stitch go away! I enjoyed the second lap more than the first, despite having to walk a few steps here and there on the hills- the crowd had thinned out and I enjoyed a peaceful run on my own until I caught up to Dave who hadn't taken the wrong turn as I had. We walked a bit and caught up on race details and then I pushed ahead and ran the rest of the way back to the finish (this time not missing the turn!), and I timed myself at about 1:16.40, but they adjusted my time to the shorter course (shorter? Dave measured the course on his Garmin closer to 6.95 miles) at 1:15.30, with Dave only a minute behind me. Chris came in first in 48:19. Nice Chris!

The Big Blue Adventure series is sponsored by Merrell, and how cool is this- they brought demo shoes that they let us try on the trail! Brand new trail shoes! So while we were waiting for Turi to finish his half (in 1:55.25!), I strapped on a new pair of shoes, a half size bigger than what I normally wear because it seems that my shoes are tight on my toes lately. Do your feet keep growing into adulthood? Because I've worn the same size since I started high school. Weird. Anyway, this particular pair were for people who slightly pronate. Turns out, my physical therapist says I do, on my right side. I headed back up the start of the course (by that time everyone had started on their second loop, if they were doing one) and ran a good mile in the Merrells and walked about half way back and ran the rest of the way. (I'm marking this as a 9 mile day, including walking!) I liked them, but they were pretty expensive...

Turi came in just after I ran back in, and then we waited around for awards. Chris placed first as I mentioned, and Dave and I both received 2nd place in our age groups,

and Turi got a 3rd place glass even thought they reported on the results page on the website that he came in second.

I should probably trade him for my 2nd place glass since they're showing a 3rd place for me. I don't care what it says- I just love winning stuff! Here are the 3 10k-ers with our winnings,

and all 4 of us with our glasses, along with our mascot, Hannah:

Chris also scored an awesome waist pack that holds 2 water bottles and lots of pockets for gels and other goodies. Abby drove up with Chris along with Hannah, despite being just about done being pregnant with their second child (thanks Dave for being today's photographer!)- She is such a trooper and gor-geous! :)

One final silly pic of TLD:

Then we headed up to 50 50 in Truckee for lunch, where Hannah would be my booth-pal playing games with me and giving the most awesome little girl hugs! I need a girl-fix every now and then, and she filled that need perfectly. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my boys and they are sweet as can be, but it's nice to get girl hugs too. :)

A beautiful day for a race, fantastic course, and of course great friends made for one happy day.

Happy Birthday Gobi and Batu!

2010-05-29T16:18:00.001-07:00

This Memorial Day marks the one year birthday of twin snow leopards, Gobi and Batu, who live at the Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle! Hooray! Check out their blog, and pictures of them playing with their enrichment birthday "cake." I'm so excited! One of these days I'll make that trip to Seattle just to see these beauties~

"Missing" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

2010-05-26T15:40:00.000-07:00

Sent by Margaret Peterson Haddix

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is the second book in the series, and every bit as good as the first book, "Found." I found myself assigning it as science fiction rather than fantasy because of their time travels, although I also desperately wanted to give it a historical fiction tag (in my own mind) because I wanted what I read about the past to be true...

View all my reviews >>

Scott and Sara's Marriage BBQ Celebration

2010-05-16T21:01:00.000-07:00

Scott and Sara got married at Yellowstone Park on 3-2-10. Coolest date ever, eh? Unfortunately I was unable to go for all the fun (they went dog sledding!!!), but luckily they came to Reno for a celebration with the family! :) Lots of pictures to share with you. First we have the newlyweds:

Some much less newlyweds (Kevin's parents, plus Sara's dad, all deep in an intense conversation it looks like- I was being sneaky with my camera!):

And my Aunt Linda and Uncle Paul:

My Dad with Sean and Ashton, and their sparkling apple cider to toast with~ my older brother was dubbed Best Man and gave a wonderful on-the-spot toast, saying what the rest of us were thinking- how Scott is the happiest most laid-back person he knows, and that Sara is the most intelligent person he'll ever meet, and wished them a joyous and happy long marriage together! Nice job with that one George!

Some good conversation, in style with the casual gathering atmosphere- they look at peace, and happy together, don't they?

Scott and me together,

And the three kids. Yes, Kevin was teasing me at the time he pushed the shutter button~

The rings! They designed their own Celtic-style rings, which were made in Berkeley by a specialist, from Platinum. Very fitting for their personalities. (Yup, this is a good one to click on to enlarge and examine to detail.)

And finally, a family photo of my immediate family, except for Kevin, our photographer:

Scott and Sara, thank you for arranging this get-together! The food was fantastic (best ribs I've ever eaten Scott! I'm not much of a meat eater, but all I wanted were the ribs, hamburgers and spicy pork sausages you 'Qued up) as was the company. It was nice to meet all of your friends, and of course get to catch up with my own family that I seem to see together only at major functions at holidays (busy, every one of us!). My love to you both, and hope to see you this summer in Montana!

May Baseball

2010-05-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

Yup, looks like Spring is finally peeping its head out of its hid-y hole! And that means baseball season! This is the first year Sean and Ashton have played baseball, and they are doing fantastic! I've been to 2 games so far, and there has been much improvement in between. Those boys have quite the throwing arm on them, plus they aren't afraid of the ball- they get right underneath and catch it coming, even long high ones. :) The past year and a half of batting and playing catch with Daddy has really paid off! This is a previous post I wrote in Nov 2008 of them just getting their barrings. Their team is the Yankees, and they look pretty dang good sporting the royal blue colors! Since this is a beginning team for first time players, they have some easy rules for the kids. First, everyone gets to bat every inning and they don't keep track of the outs. Although if the other team catches your ball or tags you out, then you don't get to run the bases. Second, they are coach-pitched the ball as many times as needed to hit a good ball (the fouls don't count) and a chance to run to first. Third, they only take one base at a time to make it fair because they are still at the stage that if they do catch the ball, most of the time they have no idea what to do with it despite all the coaches telling them where to throw it, and then by the time they do throw it to the (maybe) right place, the player seldom actually catches it. Which would mean that every runner would run all the bases and the game would take forever. And lastly, they don't keep score, which wouldn't make sense with these rules anyway. I completely support that. :) And did I mention how CUTE they are? I love the little ones playing with all they've got, but with still that clueless look on their faces~

So down to the pictures. This first one is of the the other team at bat- Ashton is playing first base, and Sean is playing second:

Got Ashton to turn around for a quick picture:

Then it was their team's turn to bat! Here is Sean at the plate:

Ashton's turn! Here he is at the plate (notice he has the red undershirt, while Sean's is blue):

Here he is batting in a different inning- caught him hitting the ball (you can just see that little white ball flying back toward the pitcher, low):

A second photo of him coming in for a run!

Next, I want to share with you how happy I am that they can share a love of a sport with their dad! They practice together, watch baseball on TV, and Kevin is one of the coaches for their team. Last week we were able to go to Kevin's first softball game together. It was a beautiful evening, and I managed to get Kevin making a run of his own! Here is the sequence of his run:

Can you see the yellow softball in the air just above the fence?

We also found this cute little baseball diamond for the kids to play in, and of course Sean and Ashton brought their own mitts and a ball (passed down from Scotty and me :)

And taking turns...Can you see the ball in the air?

Finally, I left work early on Friday to see a second game and managed to get them to hold still long enough to get in a couple cute poses:

(Ashton's the one with the bat in these last two.)

Mother's Day Tea Party 2010!

2010-05-06T20:29:00.000-07:00

I love and greatly appreciate how much effort the boys' teachers go to to make Mother's day a special celebration for all of us! Last year in first grade their teacher (yup, in the same class) read them "Love you Forever" by Robert Munsch, which I have read at a few Mother's Day storytimes myself. I don't think I've ever made it through that book with dry eyes. They created their own version, but changed it to read, "I love you forever, I like you for always, As long as I'm living, My mommy you'll be." Makes me teary just thinking about it, and the boys still like to pull out their books they made last year to read to me. The year before that, we went for a Mother's Day hike up Galena Creek. :) What a happy lucky mommy!

This year they wrote another book, but this one was much less structured and they wrote whatever they were feeling and felt like creating. But since they are in different classes this year, I had to split my time between the two. Sean went first. He was so sweet, and basically told me over and over how much he loves his mommy. :) Here he is reading his book to me (with his teacher in the background, with the dark hair):

Then I skipped over to Ashton's class, where he put his book up on the overhead for everyone to see. He was a little flustered with his reading.

Here is one of his face- he looks so serious! :)

After school I took a photo of them together,

And then Sean's teacher took one of the three of us together. I feel so lucky and can't express enough how much I appreciate the length all the teachers go to for the moms to show how much we are loved- they even put together class recipe books! Each student made up a recipe for their favorite food. Ashton's was Hawaiian Pizza, and Sean's was for chocolate chip cookies. Here the recipes in their entirety (which they even typed themselves!)- take notes:

Choklitchip Cookies by Sean S.

Vinila
Flour
Choklitchips
Brown shrgr
1 egg

Mixing evrything

~~~~~~~~~~~

Hhiwin pizza

First we got to make the dough then we have to rise the dough.
Then we spred the saus .
Then there is the food ingredets.
Next we put on ham all over it.
Then we put on the cheese.
And last but not least you put the pin aple on it.
Bake it for 9 have an hor and you got a pizza.

By Ashton

(I hope you enjoyed that as much as I did!)

On Sunday, the boys and I went with my mom to the Clay Canvas on Plumb Lane to paint pottery! We spent a good hour and a half picking dishes we thought we could use, washing them, picking the colors we liked best, and of course painting! Sean chose a covered butter dish (since the "butta" dish Kevin painted like 8 or 9 years ago is starting to crack), Ashton chose a rectangular hors d'oeuvre plate, and I chose a tall mug, which I tried to paint with ocean colors, but turned out to be a rather stripy conglomerate of blues and purples on the outside and greens on the inside. Here is a picture of the finished product~

Reno Rockin' River Half Marathon 2010

2010-05-02T17:11:00.000-07:00

I have been training pretty hard for this race- I've had more back issues this year, and have only recently been able to up my mileage on the weekends. Plus I've started lifting weights, using the P90X videos (wow, if you follow the link, that guy looks like a total meat-head. But he's actually really positive and motivating in the workouts). Thank you Abbey for sharing these with me! They have made all the difference in my back health and strength, not to mention the fact that I am starting to show some definition in my arms! Even though I have been a swimmer most of my life, this type of sport doesn't make for lots of definition. Anyway, I don't mean for this post to be a commercial. Back to the race. I was a little late in getting to the start line, and I couldn't find the rest of my team- Turi and Dave were both running the half with me, but Chris opted for the 10K, in which he almost placed first, but missed it by only a few seconds. So the horn blew right at 7:00 and I kicked off on my own. Took me 38 seconds to reach the start line because there were around 700 other runners (or last I checked on the results after the race), and settled into a steady pace after the first mile or so, iPod in full gear. It turned out to be a beautiful day, temperature in the 50s, sun shining in a cloudless sky. Doesn't get much better for running conditions! I didn't push myself at the beginning because I was a little nervous running this distance for the first time since the Kokanee run up at Tahoe at the beginning of October last year. I kept my eye out for Turi and Dave, but didn't expect to see them, or at least not Turi- until the turn-around when he was on his way back. He surprised me by passing me just before the 5 mile mark! Turns out he and Dave were at the very back of the start looking for me, and he didn't catch up to me until then. So we passed the next 6 miles chatting about this and that and marveling at the gorgeous day.

Even though I was taking it easy, I still had a time goal in the back of my mind. I have run this race one other time- it was my second ever half marathon, back in 2008, and I ran it in under 1:58. Big PR for me! So I made a little goal over the past couple weeks to try and break 2 hours again, since it was the same flat course. Once I settle into my pace, that's generally where I stay, but when we hit the 10 mile mark, I had 1:35 on my watch. That left 25 minutes for the last 5k if I were to make that goal. I have run a 5k under 25 minutes twice- once on my treadmill (and then I threw out my back later that day), and once at the Scheels Spark-A-Delic race in Nov. 2008. But neither of those runs were after doing 10 miles first. Oh well. I could be happy with 2:05. But I picked up the pace anyway. And then with 2 miles to the finish, Chris passed us running the course backwards doing his warm-down with a friend. His goal in running the course backwards was to run either a 5k or until he caught up to one of us going the other way. He and Turi started chatting, and he gave us a brief update on his race (which started a half hour after ours, but he ran it in like 33 minutes or something ridiculously fast like that). Then Chris "ran" Turi to the finish, much faster than I had energy for, so I cranked up the tunes again and pushed myself with what I did have left. About a quarter mile to the finish Chris found me again and I kicked into full gear and nearly sprinted the last 2-3 blocks. 2:03.26! I had a bit of an emotional moment walking off the first of the post-race "jelly legs" because I was actually pretty happy with this time, and because I am able to run virtually pain-free again. About a year ago there were days when I was afraid to drive to work because I knew after the half hour it took me to get there I'd be in a serious world of hurt. Physical therapy was my savior last summer, and weights this year. Also, this is by far the closest I've come to my PR since I ran it 2 years ago. (I'm keeping my watch time, BTW, because it took me almost 40 seconds to reach the start line, and my official time was 1 minute and 1 second slower than my actual time. And I placed 377 overall, and 46th in my age group.) I'm in the center, green shirt, black jacket:

It was a great day to be with my teammates, TLD (Team Library Dork), and a super supported race! Turi ran almost exactly 2 hours, just under 2:01, and Dave came in at 2:22. What a great time! Then the four of us celebrated by splitting an Espresso Yeti, and then headed to breakfast at My Favorite Muffin. Only 2 more pictures to share today- the first with Turi, taken on his brand-new-as-of-yesterday Droid Incredible:

And for the second, I begged a guy in line to take a quick picture of us after we finished breakfast~

Sleeping Babies

2010-05-02T17:06:00.001-07:00

Yeah, I know Sean & Ashton aren't babies anymore, but it sure is hard not to think of them as my babies when I look at this photo. I captured this moment just last week- every now and then I find them together, especially after one of them has a bad dream. It makes heart feel full to bursting when I see how close they are, and am so blessed that they are each other's best friend~

Polio Purple Pinkie 5k Run

2010-04-11T18:20:00.000-07:00

Today I met a few friends for the Polio Purple Pinkie 5k at Bartley Ranch, which was put on by the Rotaract Club. Fellow UNR Wind Symphony alumni trumpeters Andy (well, sometimes trumpet sometimes euphonium) and Ben plus my Team Library Dork member Turi gathered and shivered (well, I shivered) before the race- I was bouncing around ready to get going a good half hour before the horn blew at 9:00. (I ate a piece of toast with almond butter for breakfast, and apparently that is good pre-race food.) There was a pretty good turn out, and everyone was super enthusiastic, especially those putting on the show- this was their first event, and were even painting some of the runners' pinkies with purple nail polish before the race (I didn't though- I didn't notice until just before we started, and figured I'd make a mess of it anyway). Ben, Turi and I kicked off at an easy pace while Andy (with his sub 20 goal, which he changed to sub 25 after we pointed out the hill at the end) was out of sight almost from the start line. We chatted amiably running slightly downhill (weird for me because I've always run this course in the opposite direction, counter-clockwise), knowing that big hill was coming eventually. And when it did come 3/4 of the way through, I put on my low gear and took small steps, but never stopped- passed a lot of other girls though! I felt good, and caught up with Ben and Turi who had gotten ahead of me (their low gear is much faster than mine :) on the downhill. I love me some downhill! The rest of the race was a breeze! I finished with a time of 29:29 in 41st place I think, with Turi just a step behind (and they messed up his time because they had him down for 29:37, with someone in between us!). I felt so good I didn't want to stop running, and so talked Ben and Andy into jogging another 5 minutes (Turi had lots of errands and so jetted home right after the finish), but then they left too and I ended up running the loop and the hill (still backwards) two more times. I didn't do the full 5k, but did the shorter loop instead. Total, I'd say I ran about 6 miles and one full hour. Not a bad workout! We forgot to take a group picture, so I took a mediocre self-photo when I finished my run(s). Feeling good! :)

The Hound of the Baskervilles

2010-04-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This was my first Sherlock Holmes novel, and I quite enjoyed it! I loved the language and the creative devices used to solve the murder, even though I figured out the culprit as soon as the figure was introduced (don't want to spoil it for anyone!). However, there were two things at the end I didn't quite predict, and that's what kept me on my proverbial toes!

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Mighty Minds!

2010-03-23T16:55:00.000-07:00

Sean and Ashton practiced for their second grade musical, Mighty Minds, for several months, and the production was impressive indeed! Sean landed one of the lead roles. There was a Mighty Science Mind, Mighty Math Mind, Mighty History Mind, Mighty Spelling Mind, and the most important role in this musical (in my mind anyway!), Mighty Music Mind! Guess which one Sean was? You guessed right. Sean has too much music running in his family's blood to not land the role of Mighty Music Mind! Can you tell yet that I'm a proud Mama? Just wait. He had the best costume out of all the lead roles- Kevin brought home a small Galena High School marching band jacket, shako (that's the hat) and a mace. And the jacket fit him! Well, I had to roll up the sleeves, but he filled out that uniform like a pro. I can't believe how fast these boys are growing!

Anyway, back to the musical. Ashton also did a superb job- each of the second grade classes took a turn singing a different song, and he was placed front and center (although not on a mike). Ashton is wearing the red shirt with grey sleeves- they were supposed to dress as regular kids in school, while the Mighty Minds came in to save the day and give them confidence in school and on their tests- to show all the students how smart they are! Here is a picture of his class:

And a closer one of Ashton, in the middle again:

Here is a little video clip of Ashton's class singing Test Anxiety:

And next up, Sean to save the day! Here he is with Mighty Math Mind (I don't know why he is wearing a Hawaiian shirt either):

A close up of Sean- he was an amazing performer! He was confident, stood up straight and tall, and sang and spoke loudly and clearly! And that kid can sing too- his pitch was right on, and his movements were precise and clear. I wish I was half the soloist he is, at 7. Yes, again the proud Mom in me is glowing again. :) He was so cute up there, and I could tell that he was roasting under the lights with his shako on. He kept pushing it up, and then ended up taking it off at the very end. The mace didn't last past the first few minutes of the show. I think the music teacher was afraid he'd whack someone with it on accident. Oh well. No one could deny that Sean's was the best costume up there.

And a short wobbly little clip of his brilliance (sorry, I was also holding my video camera (I did record pretty much the entire show if you want to see that too!), and that was a little challenging):

Here are both of my little stars after the show, holding their flowers from their equally (almost) proud teachers. Oh my boys!

Saturday Trail Run

2010-03-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Today I got up and didn't feel particularly like running, even though I am actually home on a rare Saturday (concert later at Nightingale Hall at UNR- the alumnae Wind Symphony is playing a free concert at 3:00 if anyone is interested!). So I cleaned my house for a good hour and a half when I got up (which means, only about 2/3 of the downstairs. HA.). I was starting to go stir crazy after finding 2 broken umbrellas (hidden, thanks boys), so I stretched and headed out the back door to visit my favorite trail, Jones Whites Creek Trail, which starts about a quarter mile from my house. And guess what? I had the best trail run ever! For the first time, I didn't stop (it's all uphill from my house- a lovely windy, rocky, muddy technical trail)! I went slow on the steep parts and kept my breathing even. I gave my rock a proper hello and plowed up the steepest part of the trail that always knocks the wind out of me.

I kept going past the furthest point I've ever run on this trail, and only stopped for 20 seconds to look around to take in the view from up there. Then I zoomed back home for a total time of 66 minutes, which is a half mile longer than this exact same run I did last weekend, but only 4 more minutes in time. I'm proud of me! I hope I can keep it up- it was a lovely mind-clearing run. The best kind.

Pogonip

2010-03-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

Back in early February we got lots of fog and freezing temperatures. What does this combination create? Pogonip! Also known as hoarfrost and a particular circumstance to this side of the country it seems. When I peeked outside that morning (sorry, don't remember the exact date), I was excited to see the pogonip that had formed on all the flora around my house. I grabbed my camera and raced outside in my jim-jams, big coat and boots to snap a few shots before it melted. I recommend on clicking on each photo to make it BIG. :)

A close up:

Another close up:

Beautiful. We haven't had freezing fog like this since the winter of 2004 or 2005? Anyone else remember? I took pictures of it then too. Just wanted to share these with ya~

Choir Boys

2010-03-16T21:38:00.000-07:00

On Sunday Sean and Ashton got to wear choir robes for the first time and sing in church! They were adorable. I loved listening to those perfect little voices singing the high parts as can only come naturally for children. Here is a picture of them practicing, with Sue, their director, at the far left playing piano (she is a fantastic pianist- she played for Kevin's Master's recital as well). You can see the backs of their dark heads in front of the piano:
And another picture before church started:

And finally, St. John's in all it's glory! I know they are small, but Sean and Ashton are left front and center:

They make their mama proud! I miss singing in choir, but am still loving playing in the hand bell choir. Easter Sunday is coming up, and I'll get to play in a brass quartet and in the bell choir~ :)

Virtual Race: Global Warming, My Ass! 6.66 Mile Run

2010-03-07T21:27:00.000-08:00

This morning I met my co-worker Abbey and a few of her running team mates in Carson City for a nice trail run up Ash Canyon. It was a beautiful sunny morning, if a little brisk with the wind blowing, but once we got going it was absolutely perfect weather for a run. I'm sorry to say that I'm not at the top of my game right now because of off and on lower back pain. Not sure what I did this time, but I'm working on the moves my physical therapist got me started on. I'm feeling pretty good, but because of my lack of quality trail runs lately I found myself getting winded pretty quickly on the uphill half of our run (which felt more like 2/3). It was a beautiful trail and I'd like to get another go at it, but maybe at a slower pace. Abbey and her team put in so many miles in these hills I swear they are part Bighorn Mountain Sheep!

I had a goal in mind: I signed up for a virtual race called "Global Warming, My Ass!" which is a 6.66 mile run any way we wanted to complete it before March 16th. I thought today would be a good day to knock this one off. However, it's a good thing that the host of this race isn't choosing prizes to give out to the winners because that's not a category I'd fall into with my slow-poke pace of an hour and a half. Yes, I did a lot of walking. But first things first. Here is a pic of us getting started: (Abbey is on the far right waving me forward- I'm the one in green)

The pavement only lasted for a few minutes and then we started in on the uphill. What a fantastic view of the mountains! And the sky was super blue today, which contrasted even more sharply with the white clouds floating overhead.

Here's a typical shot of Abbey's hair, wildly swinging in tempo with her pace. I don't know how she runs with her hair down- that would drive me batty.

As I mentioned earlier, I got winded pretty quickly on our uphill climb and the group had to wait for me several times. Here they are in their (unpanting) glory:

Here I am coming up the hill, in last place, with the valley below me~

And following Abbey- looks like she's giving me the skinny of the trail and its history...

And a glorious photo of the valley below us, and soooo much sky!

I learned that it is mandatory to "fly airplanes" around the hairpin turns going back down hill (here I was able to keep up! :)

And the rest of the group following suit~

Fellow TLD (Team Library Dork) runner Turi also made the trek down to Carson for this wonderful trail run, even if he already completed his 6.66 mile run (with a MUCH faster time). He also is going to run this 6.66 mile distance 6.66 times. Overkill or just super enthusiastic? He never does anything half-assed. :) Nice profile pic here~

And a photo op of Abbey, me and Turi:

And one final watercolor photo of my braided hair, just for fun~

Thanks to Abbey and her running team for including me in your Sunday run! And also to Razz for hosting the virtual run!

Scott and Sara Got Married!

2010-03-02T21:47:00.000-08:00

Yaaaaay! I missed the day and all the fun, but my mom and older brother were able to go to Yellowstone where they tied the knot at a little chapel after a fun weekend of winter sports, including snowshoeing and dog sledding! They wore saris they bought when they visited India last year. A little S&S background: they met at UNR in a swords class where they were learning a Japanese style of the sport, and officially started dating on 3/2/01. Nine years later they were married on this same day, 3/2/10. I LOVE fun numbers like this, and the fact that they remembered this day nine years later shows what a loving and unique relationship they have. I was lucky enough to talk to Scott about 45 minutes before they got married, and he couldn't have sounded happier. My mom said Scott was glowing, with the most serene smile on his face and complete joy emanating from his being throughout the entire three minute ceremony. Sara is one intelligent, beautiful, athletic girl, and I couldn't have picked a better match for my baby brother. My best wishes and hopes go out to both of you, and that you will have happy and fulfilling lives. And come often to visit me (and cook for me Scotty) because I miss you both like crazy. Love you both, and my most sincere welcome to you Sara. Please take care of my Scott :)

Verdi You've Gotta Be Crazy Run 5K

2010-02-22T07:00:00.000-08:00

Saturday night it started snowing. I thought it had stopped when I went to bed, but I woke up with a good foot on the ground outside. And it was still snowing! What!?! I thought they might even cancel the race (You've Gotta Be Crazy Run, put on by the Silver State Striders). I hadn't gone running while it was snowing since... well, this same race last year. Well, TLD still made the trek out to the Verdi Branch Library, which Dave manages. Man it's nice to have a warm library to hang in with the crew instead of freezing my tookas off out in the cold waiting for the race to start (which I did, until about 5 minutes before the horn blew). Thanks Dave! Here is a photo of all the brave souls who showed up to run crazy in the snow:

And we're off! Here is Chris leading the pack out:

Turi and I ran the entire race together (You can see me barely, but I was looking at Hannah playing in the snow on the sidelines):

And here is the cutie snowy Hannah:

I started out slow to get in a good warm-up, and also because I didn't want to slip in the snow. But actually, I didn't have any problems with it being slippery, and it was so beautiful to see all the snow-covered trees. I enjoyed the scenery on the way up the hill, and when the big downhill came, I picked up the pace and started to pass people right and left. Last year I won a water-bottle, but I gave it away to a sort of co-worker on Thursday, so I wanted to pick up another one. Well, I didn't end up placing because there was a 20-year age group split (19-39), but I did get 5th which isn't bad considering. My official time was 28:52, and Turi, ever the gentleman letting me go through the chute first, came in 2 seconds behind me. Chris, of course, won. Here he is at the end:

And then he turned around (after a 10+ minute wait) to run the rest of his team in, minus Dave who sat this one out because of a recent calf injury.

Here we are all together back in the warm cozy library:

And the best part? Post-race coconut porter brownies that Turi baked! Oh, and some beer I picked up for the guys on a recent trip to Colorado with Kevin.

And as a final note, I'd like to thank all the volunteers who so dedicated-ly prepared for and ran this race in cold uncomfortable wet-down-the-neck-of-your-jacket weather! I can't express enough gratitude towards these people who give their time so I can get in a great workout! :)

Brave New World, by Aldus Huxley

2010-01-19T12:26:00.001-08:00

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This book has been on my to-read shelf since my junior year in high school (so about 15 years). Well, funny enough, the teen book club that I host at the Carson City Library chose this book to read as their January book (YES! They chose a classic!), so finally had the opportunity to stop putting off reading it. It began as I expected- a 1932 vision of what the future might hold. Surprisingy, some things have come to pass, where as others... I shudder to think, still could. The idea of Stability, sought out to the point of opression of all strong emotion, is a scary thought, even if it does end wars. Soma. For drug induced holidays and happiness. Yikes. The book ended differently than I had hoped it would, but completely understand why it had to happen that way. Aldus Huxley accomplished in me what I think he meant to- this book was written to draw forth strong emotions and got my brain whirling. Made me never want to see a world in which this one takes place~

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The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

2010-01-05T20:47:00.000-08:00

The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This is a great book at perhaps a third grade reading level, for those kids just getting into the longer chapters. They aren't long and introduce more difficult words, but not too often. A touching story with a predictable ending, but still not quite how I'd imagined. Peter is a lovely boy, one any mom would be proud to call her own. It said on the back cover that it is a must read-aloud book, and I quite agree. For those of you that like to read in the car on long trips~ :)

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Running Stats for 2009

2009-12-30T19:31:00.000-08:00

Yup, I know there is one full day left of 2009, but tomorrow is not a running day for me, and I didn't plan early on to have an exact number of miles to run before the clocked stopped ticking for 2009 and started for 2010. (Wow. 2010. That sounds futuristic, eh? Can you believe that it's here?) So, here are my running and walking stats nice and simple for the year of 2009:

Running: 552.2 miles
Walking: 66 miles

Grand total: 618.2 miles

Last year I made it a goal (at the beginning of December 2008) to run an even 600 miles. That meant I needed to run 46.2 miles in that last month, which equaled about 2 miles a day (I ran 4 every other day though). I accomplished my goal and ran just over 600 miles. I had high hopes of meeting and even exceeding that goal for 2009. Alas, it was not meant to be. I threw out my back. Twice. Once in February and again in June. I fainted for the first time in my life. (It's not glamorous like they tell it in the storybooks, folks.) But after a summer of physical therapy with a close friend and physical therapist, I was back on my feet with a safe new approach and trying my best to play catch up with the lost miles. I have a lot more walking miles than last year, that's for sure! I am today where I was at the beginning of December last year. About 50 running miles short. HOWEVER! I finished my masters degree! I am now an "official" librarian. I was before, but now I am + the degree. :) I would like to run a marathon next year, so long as my back, knee and body let me train for it. We'll see how it goes. I did all my homework at night and running in the morning, so I don't actually have that much more time to train, except for the weekends which won't be spent closeted in my office doing homework. Maybe that will be the time for longer runs and some more serious weight training.

Again, as I said at the end of last year, we'll see how it goes. I don't want to set an impossible (or very high reaching) goal for myself and then never get there. I'll try my best though! But as of now, I am happy with my mileage for 2009.

The Time Traveler's Wife

2009-12-25T18:31:00.000-08:00

The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have been listening to a lot of audio books and podcasts lately. This is not one that I chose to listen to however- I needed the print copy to hold in my hands and carry with me everywhere I went. Not (only) because it is a terrific novel, but because of the nature of the story and the need to flip back and forth between years and dates. Henry is "time-challenged" just as some people are height or weight challenged, to put it in PC terms. Not everyone, just Henry, and he has no control over the when, where or for how long he stays. Because his life is so non-linear, the author follows his wife, Claire's life more closely as Henry pops in and out her life as she grows up. I don't want to give away what they experience, but instead reflect on time. Thinking about my own life and how time passes always makes me nostalgic. I don't know what it is that makes me sad at times- maybe that I can't go back? Watching (my) children grow and change does this to me too. To read about time passing forward and back, the tribulations, and the constant and unconditional love shared by Henry and Claire really made me ache. But most of all, it was Claire's waiting for Henry that did me in~ she is a much stronger woman than I...

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Moonlight Madness 5K

2009-12-07T20:28:00.000-08:00

Team Library Dork gathered for a 5K run around Rancho San Rafel on Friday night last week, one of our favorite team training warm-up, jog, warm-down places. The Moonlight Madness 5K is sponsored by Castle Rock Multisports, and this particular race was put on in an effort to raise money and help local residents with eating disorders. I think it is a worthy cause- a healthy running event to help others take care of their bodies. There seemed to be a lot of people who showed up despite the cold temperatures for a stealthy dark run, so hopefully they were able to raise a healthy amount funds.

The race started at 7:00 p.m., so Chris and I met at Turi's house since he lives so close to Rancho. We jogged over for a warm-up, and met Dave at packet pick-up (he had to work until 6). Here I am picking up my packet. (Notice the sign? :)
We got there about a half hour early and our warm up mile quickly turned cold again as we waited for the start. We hopped around, picked up our sweatshirts, found Dave, stashed our sweatshirts, and then gathered for the start. It was a slow cautious start, and I stuck with Dave while Turi and Chris took off at the very front. I brought an LED headlamp that I strapped over my Nike skullcap hat (which I LOVE because it is warm, covers my ears, and has a slot in the back for my ponytail), and I am SOOO glad I had it! Some people were running out there in complete darkness with no light whatsoever. Dave and I ran nice and easy for the first half. He slowed at the half-way point, but I pushed ahead after a quick sip of water. I passed as many people in the second half as passed me in the first half, steadily climbing small hills that dropped many others to a walk. I raced faster on the downhill sections than I probably should have in the dark, and the guy who was keeping pace with me (with NO headlamp) totally ate it. I turned my head so he could see where he was falling, but I kept going. I hope he was okay... I had a nice strong finish, thanks to my easy start, and had a good sprint (on sidewalk) to the finish. They clocked me about a minute slower than I clocked myself, but my official time was 31:18. I could easily have dropped several minutes if it was daylight. Chris remarked that probably everyone could have dropped 10% of their time if the sun was shining (or the just-past full moon had graced us from behind the clouds). Chris, of course, won the 5k with a time of 19 minutes something, and Turi and I both placed 4th in our age groups. But since I have moved up into the most competitive age bracket (yes, I'm old now- it's the 30-39 group that is stinkin' fast!), the first 2 men in Turi's age group came in 1st and 2nd and received plaques, so Turi got a 2nd place medal. The 1st woman in my age group came in 3rd overall and also received a plaque, so I got the 3rd place medal! They are really nice ones- clean and heavy with a silky neck strap. Here is my bib, sweatshirt and medal:

And the team, together again!

After the race, we carpooled back to Turi's house for Chris's annual Winter Beer Tasting, and some fantastic pizza from Brugos Pizza Bistro. It had a nice thick crust and high quality toppings. (Thanks for hosting Turi and Mich!) It's almost as good as the pizza-from-scratch we make... But back to the beer- here is the line-up:

(Isn't it pretty how the lights are reflected off the table top?) I've turned into a little bit of a wine snob this past year (thank you Abby and Chris for my first wine tasting event!), but have never been a huge afficionado for beer. However, there were 4 beers I really enjoyed! Although don't ask me the names of any of them. :) My favorite was a peach and toasted pecan beer. And then there was that heavy-hitting chocolate stout that we saved for last...

A fun event. A wonderful evening with friends~ I feel like the holidays have officially started! Thanks everyone, runners and beer-tasters alike!

Baby Snow Leopard 1st Birthday in Melbourne!

2009-12-07T17:50:00.000-08:00

Hey, check out this blog courtesy of Saving Snow Leopards~ the snow leopard kittens at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia just turned one! They are so sweet~

(Yes, I did copy this picture from Sibylle's blog, but I couldn't resist sharing these babies with you! [They are 3 months old in this photo.] This photo looks to be shared from WordPress.com- just want to give proper credit here! See? I did learn something in school. :)

Fall Running

2009-11-02T10:09:00.000-08:00

I love autumn! I enjoy the fall colors and the way the air turns crisp in a way that reminds me I am alive, and oh yeah, where is my hot chocolate? (I think we had a very mild and short summer in Reno this year which makes me think we may have a cold snowy winter.) And I love running in the cooler temperatures- it keeps me from over-heating going up the steeper hills. Last week on Sunday Gretchen invited me to come up and run with her by Donner Lake.

It was beautiful, and the sun was shining and the sky was clear. We ran at an easy pace, and hiked up the steepest hills, about 6 miles total. I wish I had run with my camera to capture some of the magnificent views. After a little break and a stretch at the car, Gretchen headed home for some breakfast, and I grabbed my phone and headed back up the trail to take just a few pictures. I ended up enjoying the loamy path so much I ran another 4 or so miles! Here are a few of the pictures I took (although they aren't as nice a quality as my regular camera would have taken):

The Bridge~

A lovely little stretch of trail next to the stream~

Glittering brilliance~

A little hidden path to Donner Lake~

The LAKE! Man this is a cold one!

On Friday I also was re-introduced to a trail I hadn't run in a couple years, plus some new pieces that I hadn't run before up Evan's Creek Trail. It was another beautiful morning, and just the perfect temperature for another easy run. Here is a photo of downtown Reno from the upper part of trail:

And another of me haulin' back down the hill~

Thanks Turi and Gretchen for introducing me to some of your favorite regular running trails!

Woodland Park Zoo Blog | Naturally Inspiring: Animals show Sounders spirit

2009-11-01T15:22:00.000-08:00

Woodland Park Zoo Blog | Naturally Inspiring: Animals show Sounders spirit

Check out how these pictures of how much the snow leopard cubs have grown since their birth around Memorial Day! SO CUTE!

Run for Education

2009-10-18T17:00:00.000-07:00

Today I ran a 10K in the Run for Education at Damonte Ranch High School. It didn't start until 9:00 which was nice, and as a double bonus, it was only a 5 minute drive from my house! Fellow Team Library Dork runner, Turi, ran with me today and played coach, but in the most motivational way possible without ever having to say a word to make me run faster. We chatted, and he was going just a tad faster than I wanted to go, and as a result I was well under my goal of an hour with a time of 55:45, according to my watch, which I feel is always more accurate than the chips we tie to our shoes. That's just me though. It was a beautiful day, and the run was very well organized, complete with shuttle buses from a near by shopping mall. And the cutest little kindergartner singing our national anthem! Turi had his Garmin strapped on to keep stats on our pace and the route. And the post race picture I took from my iPhone- I think my hand was moving when I took it...

After the 10K, they had a half mile fun run for all the Washoe County elementary schools (my parents shuttled them from home after my race, and then stayed for their race too- thanks Mom and Dad!). Sean and Ashton were SUPER excited to run today (but mostly because they wanted to get a medal). Here is a picture of us together with our race bibs, waiting for their race to start.

They were in the K-2nd grade heat, and I was able to run with them. We started back too far from the start line and got stuck behind a sardine crowd of kindergartners and first graders. (To give you some perspective of how many kids were there, I heard them announcing the top attending schools, and their school was second with nearly 200 kids! It was a very well-attended event, even for the 5 and 10K.) Once we managed to weave our way through the little'uns (I had to take the long way around the outside and sprint to catch up with them!), we settled into a sporadic pace, sometimes jogging, sometimes sprinting, but most importantly, never stopping. One lap around the school and it was over! They did great, Sean beating Ashton and me. I'm so pleased that I can share my love of running with them in this way- we take little hikes up on the trails every now and then, but running with lots of people with the same goal is inspiring and motivating for an entirely different reason. Great job today everyone! And thanks for supporting our schools, and our childrens' education~

Ashton (left) and Sean- always together! :) I'm the luckiest mom ever!

Kokanee Salmon Trail Half Marathon

2009-10-06T20:32:00.000-07:00

This is my 4th half marathon this year (+ one at the beginning of February, one at the end of April, and one last month), but only my second ever trail half (I ran a very slow Fall Colors half with Turi last October). As it turns out, the kokanee salmon this race is named for are actually landlocked and as many as 50,000 fish swim up Taylor Creek for spawning. There were debates in the car as to where the salmon were coming from. I didn't get to see them, however, because of the blizzard we were driving through after the race. Yes, there was snow. But the skies cleared up just for the race, which gave us a fairy wonderland to run through, with the breeze blowing a sparkling dusting of crystallized snow as we passed under the branches of the great pines and redwoods. And this was not just any race: the entire Team Library Dork (Chris, Turi, Dave and I) made it for a reunion run after training as a full group only once this season. AND we were joined by fellow runners (and honorary members) Sarah (who is trying to qualify for Boston in her Biz Johnson Marathon next weekend!), my co-worker at the Carson City Library Abbey (running her first race- a half marathon! Yay Abbey!), and the infamous Gretchen who won the women's Lake Tahoe Marathon just a week ago in 80 degree weather! Thanks SO much for joining us Gretchen, even though you're still getting over the flu! Wouldn't have been the same without'cha. :) And front and center, our leader Hannah Banana. We'd follow her anywhere. From left to right: Gretchen, Dave, Turi, me, Chris, Abbey and Sarah.

Here is pre-race warm up shot:

And some of the best lookin' runners out there! (Excepting that dorky hat on my head, of course).

And Turi and I just before they started us off:

The race started at 9:00, which was good because it gave everyone time to get there in the snow. We started out on a bit of an incline, and I used this as a good excuse to warm up and go slow. Abbey and I ran together chatting back and forth as (my) breath allowed, and soon we found ourselves in a pack thinning out according to pace surrounded by the glory of the morning (thanks Turi for this photo!).

The time and first few miles flew quickly by, and after 45 minutes Abbey reminded me that it was time for a PowerGel. I thought it would be a good idea to walk for a brief minute because they are so thick and need water to get down. That turned out probably not to be the best idea, because my legs decided that they wanted to walk after that, and I lost Abbey around mile 5 or 6. I walked up a really big hill, but jammed back down, and got into a steady pace for the next few miles. Between miles 9 and 11, I started to get really tired, and realized that all the short training sessions on my treadmill with an occasional 7-8 mile trail run on the weekend was not sufficient training for the (granted, not huge) hills or distance of this race. I had a bit of a down moment at mile 11 because I was upset at myself for walking so much- I even forgot to enjoy the scenery because I was watching the trail and my feet. However at mile 12 I told myself to snap out of it- only one mile left, and it turned out to be all downhill. I powered through and ran a good hard last mile, and even passed a few people I'd been playing leap-frog with (I passed them when I ran, they passed me back when I walked- does that say something about my pace or what?). You can see how tired I am at the finish:

I came in last in our group (Abbey kicked my rear by about 10-15 minutes, and again, it was her first race! You rock Abbey!) But a finish is a finish! Dave even tricked me into drinking a sip of his icky beer (I guess it's called Ten Fidy) because I thought it was a Rock Star and could have used the boost. (Thanks again Turi for the photo!)

Here we are sitting around stretching and shivering waiting for awards. Hannah was dancing for us, and her grandma and uncle and mama Abby joined in the fun.

Dave ran the 5k and placed 3rd in his age group! He was awarded a bottle of local wine, complete with a hand painted Kokanee salmon- very cool and unique prize.

While we waited another hour and a half for Chris and Sarah to collect their winnings, they popped open a few bottles for those of us still standing around, and we warmed up a bit with wine in a Gatorade cup. Classic!

Standing and waiting for the sun to come back out, I caught sight of this peak through the trees- make you feel cold just looking at it? Worth it to click on this photo to enlarge it~

Finally they compiled the results for the half, and of course Chris won! Here he is collecting his salmon. Too bad more people didn't stick around to collect their winnings- there were a LOT of bottles and salmon left over, and they weren't just giving them away, as Gretchen and I found out. :) You had to earn those babies!

After a quick consensus, we decided that we weren't ready to part company as a group yet (although Abbey had to head back to her camp to pack up) and headed to The Brewery in South Lake for some excellent pizza (and a $10 glass of wine for me- my thanks to Abby-Chris's wife Abby, not Abbey who works with me- I've turned into a bit of a wine snob, and the inexpensive stuff I used to enjoy doesn't satisfy anymore). The only picture I got was of Turi making laughing at something that cutie-pie Hannah said:

It was a wonderful day spent with friends, and I was glad to be able to run, and partake in food and drink with them! Isn't that part of it- enjoying what we earn? I most certainly did! Thanks everyone for sharing this day with me~ :)

Letter to my son: Empathetic Sean

2009-10-05T08:48:00.000-07:00

For a paper I recently wrote, I researched the importance of storytelling, and the history of universal human interaction through telling stories. This is what I included in my paper: Jeremy Hsu talks about empathy, and the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. “We can attribute mental states- awareness, intent- to another entity. Theory of mind, as this trait is known, is crucial to social interaction and communal living- and to understanding of stories. Children develop theory of mind around age four or five.” (Hsu,"The Secrets of Storytelling: Why we love a good yarn," 2008) To make this point, I’d like to tell you a story about empathy. After reading it, think about how this story affects you on a personal level. Are you able to relate to it because you are familiar with the book involved? Or because you have children that were once small and learning about everything around them, and you are proud to be their parent?

Imagine the story, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (the book jacket is green with a darker green tree, and she is giving the boy a red apple). Do you know what happens in this classic picture book? It’s about a tree, and she loves a little boy. He plays in her branches and eats her apples, and the tree is happy. As the little boy grows, it becomes more and more difficult to make the boy happy. And every time the boy leaves, she is sad. She gives him her leaves, her apples, her branches, and finally her trunk so the boy will be happy. Until, at the end, the boy is a very old man, and all he wants to do is sit. And the tree sits up as straight as she can, and invites him to sit. And they are finally happy, together. I wrote the following letter to my son (I have identical twin boys), and I’d like to share it with you. Imagine me reading it to him. I invite you to read it aloud yourself since I cannot tell this story to you in person.

To my dearest Sean- (July 19, 2006- the twins were not quite 4 years old yet)

Tonight Ashton picked up a random book off the top of the dresser for you both to share, and for me to read to you before bed. It was The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein. I took off the book jacket (as I always do when I read a book- to protect it, which is silly since the jacket is there to protect the book), and we all snuggled down together in Ashton’s bed. I told you the title and author, which you pronounced perfectly, twice. I know that Shel Silverstein is no longer living, but I didn’t think that it would make you very happy if I shared that information with you, so I didn’t. But I did wonder is Shel ever peeks in to listen to a reading or two of his books or poems, kind of watching over his readers. Just a thought I had. So I started reading and you both were very quiet and attentive- and still for once- you are both very wiggly while I read! Every now and then you or Ashe would say, “and the tree was happy,” or “the tree was sad,” (like after the boy cut down her trunk to made a boat and sailed away). After I turned that page, the boy came back after a really long time as a very old man. The tree said, “I’m sorry, Boy, but I have nothing left to give you- my apples are gone.” And I read in my best squeaky old man voice, “’My teeth are too weak for apples,’ said the boy.” And you repeated, “The apples are all gone.” I continued, “My branches are gone…” and this is when you burst out crying, so sad for the tree! It was an immediate and severe reaction, your mouth open as wide as it would go, as your heart overfilled with immense sadness, and released as your instincts told you to. You cried so hard and so loud, and this made my own tears start- not just because it is a very sad story and I cry every time I read it, but because I felt bad that it made you cry. But more so, I was also crying because I was happy, and so so proud of my little son, who is not yet four years old, because he is compassionate enough to cry for the tree and all that she has sacrificed for the one she loved- that he understands the moral and what is happing in the story. This shows how intelligent you are, and I felt so lucky to share this moment with you and cry together. Ashton had backed away at first because of the anguish emanating from you, but then he started crying because it upset him that we were both crying! So we all held on to each other for dear life until the sobs subsided. Then you told me you didn’t like the “green one,” and that the branches were gone and he made a boat with the trunk (“It’s broken!”), and you wouldn’t let me finish the story to show you that it had a good ending. So I promised I’d take the book downstairs and put it back on the shelf. I love you so much my sweet, compassionate, darling son! I read this book to you a few weeks ago, and while I was sniffling though the end, I guessed you weren’t at that this empathy level yet. I immediately went downstairs to write this letter to you so that I wouldn’t forget the emotions we experienced tonight, so that we could share them together later when you were older. By the time I finished writing, you had quietly crept downstairs, crawled into my lap, and asked me to finish the book.

Love, Mommy

Sean & Ashton's 7th Birthday!

2009-09-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

My twins are now 7!?! When did that happen? I cannot believe how much they have grown this year- in second grade and firmly asserting their opinion on any and everything. Is this a precursor to their teen years? We celebrated their birthday on Sunday last weekend- a small party with close friends (with children) and family- not like the big ordeal we planned last year. I took too many crunched classes this summer to plan anything big. But as long as we had some other kids over and cake, Sean and Ashton were happy. I'll just let the pictures show you how the afternoon unfolded~

First, the cake! The boys requested this cake special- a chocolate picture cake! Raley's makes pretty tasty cakes too. :)

We had balloons- lots of helpers blowing them up: my mom

Kevin's Mom and Uncle George blowing up balloons:

And the balloon wars that followed

And they posed with their tattoos:

And then came the pinata! First comes the turning and dizzyness (Sean's up!):

And WHACK! Daddy was in control of the rise and fall of the pinata.

Here's Abby:

Next up is Julien,

and cutie-patooti Sofia:

Hannah,

and finally, the blindfold came off so they could actually hit the thing~GO Ellie:

Watch out, Ashton's up!

Dude Sean. Bat much?

Next is CAKE!

And PRESENTS!

Julien being himself~ :)

Ashton, Ellie and Sean~

The boys got a special present from their Aunty Alice, who just started college at Williams in Massachusetts.

The boys went fishing with Grandpa George, and Grandma Crystal caught them on camera with their full load of fish! Talented boys~

Thank you everyone for sharing their special day! (And sorry I got this out so late!)

Lungs on Legs Half Marathon

2009-09-14T09:15:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I ran in a race for the first time since I hurt my back (again) in May. I spent all summer going to physical therapy (instead of the chiropractor) and religiously doing lunges, ab work, and lat exercises to strengthen my thoraco-lumbar fascia. Yes, my butt and lats were apparently too week to support this ligament that stretches across your lower back. I couldn't have made a better choice! Instead of waking up every day feeling like I am 90 years old and wondering how I'm going to get out of bed, let alone get through a full day of work, I get up, stretch, and every other(ish) day head out for a run! I was almost convinced that my running days were over because of the constant pain I was in. Need help with your lower back? Let me know and I'd be more than happy to share with you the exercises I've been doing! :) Here is a pre-race picture:

The Lungs on Legs Half Marathon started and finished at Damonte Ranch High School. The 13.2 mile course wound through the Double Diamond/Damonte Ranch area neighborhoods and even part of a trail. It was a beautiful morning, and the perfect temperature for a race, and fellow Team Library Dork member Dave came to spread some awesome team support and take pictures, even though he's still dealing with a calf injury. I started off at an easy pace, and soon the pack spread out into groups of various running paces, and I found myself running next to a girl who looked about my age. Even though we didn't say anything, I found my pace perfected matched hers, and we settled into a silent understand that we would run together. The miles passed pleasantly, and I enjoyed looking at the mountain scenery (which was visible throughout the entire race) and the houses and landscaping, and noticing the interesting smells in this section of town: the boggy marshland, a bit of sewer, and farmland? It smelled like horses and cattle and farms (brought back memories of when I lived in Germany when I was little!) even though I saw none of these. And manure! This was mostly at the start of the race on the outskirts of the development. Once we got into the neighborhood, it smelled like wet lawn, asphalt, and (I swear!) grilled hot dogs! Around mile the girl I was running broke our silence with a comment on the beautiful scenery (we were running around the marshes at this point), and I replied with something to the effect of the roasting hot dog smell not quite matching the landscape around us. Then I introduced myself and we shook hands. She had been training with a running club in town (with Eclipse Running? Not sure.). We chatted for a couple minutes and both agreed it was nice to have someone to run with, and settled back into comfortable silence. At the half way point I noticed we were right on schedule for a 2 hour half marathon! If I could only keep up this pace... Right around mile 9 I could feel my legs starting to get tired, and I concentrated on my breathing and posture. This is where the trail section started, and as I looked around, I saw some wild horses! That perked me right up! Three were 11 of them, and one was still in the foal stage of life. :) We passed them quickly, without them showing a spark of interest of the steady stream of ants running by. Right after the 11 mile mark I was really feeling the miles, and started to get a strange stomach cramp right in the front of my belly- not the usual side stitch. I didn't want to stop, and I ran for another half mile before I started to feel nauseous. That did it. I didn't want to barf during the race, so I was forced to walk. There went my 2 hour half marathon pace. I told Kendra to keep going (she was getting pretty tired too, and stopping I swear is contagious, and it's SO hard to start running again after walking!). My head started to spin and my legs felt like they had clod-hoppers attached to their ends. After a few minutes, my head settled down, and I picked up an easy jogging pace and made it to the last aid station and dumped down a quick cup of Gatorade. I took a Gu after the first 45 minutes of running, and really wished I'd brought a second one with me. Or some Shot Blocks (which were in my car- how stupid was that?!). I found myself walking sometime during the beginning of the 12th mile, but by then the school came into sight and I was NOT going to walk in plain view of the cheering spectators! Not gonna shame TLD like that. :) That was one painful last mile though- I wanted to walk, and why did they make us run all the way around to the back of the school to finish? That was just cruel, passing the finish only to circle around the school to run through the chute. It was convenient for the race officials, and the layout of the race, but it was really hard to jog past all the finishers and booths and water when I wanted to be finished. Here I am about 1/4 mile from the finish, in the front of the school, nicely faking a positive smile. Nice butt shot, Dave.

But finish I did, and even found some hidden reserve burst to, well not sprint, but run the last 50 meters. Thank goodness Dave was there there for me to lean on! You can see from my expression and slumped form how tired I am in the last few yards:

It was a great race, and flat! I didn't quite get up to this distance in my training, and I thought a flat road race is what I needed to build up some endurance. I greatly prefer trails though- the soft giving dirt is so much easier on my knees and hip flexors. Good training for me and yes I still have a long way to go, but mostly I'm super thankful/grateful that after a good half year of being in pain, I can actually run this distance when I wasn't sure if I had any running days left only a few short months ago.

Some stats for this run:

~30 songs I listened to on my iShuffle
11 wild horses that I saw on the trail
10 streets + 1 section of trail
10+ interesting smells
2 number of times I had to walk about mile 12 (not including the few steps when I paused to gulp some Gatorade at the last aid station)
??? number of times I wanted to walk during that last mile
0 number of times I actually walked during that last mile
1 huge blister (Skipped taping my feet since these were all road miles. Mistake!)
1 awesome running partner

=2:07.42 of running time! Results are up on ActiveReno.com already!

I found the girl I was running with after the race- she finished only 2 minutes in front of me (I thought maybe she would keep the 2 hour pace), and asked if we could take a picture together.

Thanks Dave for coming- I really appreciate your positive spirit! I needed someone to collapse on at the finish line~

Free to All: Carnegie Libraries & American Culture

2009-09-12T21:16:00.000-07:00

Free to All: Carnegie Libraries & American Culture, 1890-1920 by Abigail A. Van Slyck

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read quite a bit of “Free to All” for my Public Libraries class, and greatly enjoyed pouring through all the photographs and floor plans of the old libraries- the grand arched entries and classical colonnades that are easily recognizable as libraries, even today. I was surprised to see different subject areas housed in different rooms instead of all together (fine arts, social sciences, music) and stack rooms in the back (housing what types of volumes exactly?) that only library workers had access to. But despite the housing differences, I still saw many similarities to today's libraries: meeting rooms and auditoriums (in the large city libraries), and lots of tables and chairs for reading and study. They were public meeting places, even if the libraries then had a much more pensive atmosphere, and daunting librarians watching over their tomes.

I was very pleased to read about Melvil Dewey’s positive stance on women working in the library (even if it might sound a little sexist with today’s career freedoms). He got women interested in working in the library and appealed to their sense of order and enticed them with the quiet atmosphere away from the hectic tiring job of a teacher. He expressed to others concerned with their advancement in the profession by saying, “The natural qualities most important in library work are accuracy, order (or what we call the housekeeping instinct), executive ability, and above all earnestness and enthusiasm.” (p. 163) There were many men who felt the librarian profession was already shaky in its recognition of stature and credibility. I knew there were few professions open to women during this time period (mainly teachers and nurses), but I didn’t know many specifics of how they came to the library profession, or how they were discriminated against in pay (receiving up to a full quarter less then the men in the same position), and in position- they were only allowed to hold lower assistant positions dealing mainly in clerical work- cataloging, index making, book repair and working with children, but need not be “bookish” or need that “intellectual spark” that was considered necessary for the highly sought reference positions.

Andrew Carnegie received a lot of criticism for how he dispensed his funds through libraries. I think because he had so much money to give, and a vision of libraries across the nation, he needed a plan. A plan that would help him determine where to build, and how to divide funds. I think if he just gave the cities and towns a chunk of money, there are so many different ways it would have been used, and many of them probably would not have followed his vision. So he was strict on whom he dealt with (city officials only), and the architecture and structure of the library itself. I think that he was fair in giving money only for the building itself and letting the cities furnish and fill with books, because nothing should be completely free, and also in doing so the town could take ownership of its new library.

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The Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts

2009-09-11T07:27:00.000-07:00

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts by Douglas Adams

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Douglas Adams is hilariously clever, and I'm looking forward to the next 3 (well 4, someday 5 with some help from Eoin Colfer?) books in this trilogy. His writing style reminds me very much of Terry Pratchett. This is a fantastic book to listen to on CD, although it makes for slightly dangerous driving when I'm laughing so hard I nearly drive into the people next to me... (okay, not really)

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Hatching Magic

2009-09-01T13:05:00.000-07:00

Hatching Magic by Ann Downer

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Cute book about wyverns, which I knew little about. (Mostly I like to read about dragons, but this was a good bridge-over). Fast read about a girl named Theodora with a penchant for wyverns, and as luck would have it, a newborn falls right in her lap! But she must be on the watch-out for wizards- both the good kind, and the bad. Who can she trust? And what about the demon that has inhabited her caretaker? And her father losing his tenure at the university?

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Second Day of 2nd Grade!

2009-09-01T09:09:00.000-07:00

Yep, I remembered, forgot, remembered, and then forgot to take the boy's picture yesterday morning on their first day of 2nd grade. But not today! I have comparison pictures of their first day of kindergarten and 1st grade- they grew SOOOO much this summer! Amazing. Okay, here's their kindergarten picture first: (Ashton is always in red, Sean in blue.)

And first grade (yes in the same shirts as the previous year- it's what they wanted to wear!). They grew some...

And today's picture: they grew some more! (Sean is saying, "I help my brother a lot!" and is up on his toes a bit, and that's why he looks taller than Ashton.)

Ah, my boys! The days just fly by, and when I take a moment to look at how far you've come in the past year it makes my breath catch. I love you both so much! Just keep growing and growing~

Jones White's Creek Trail

2009-08-30T13:43:00.000-07:00

Jones White's Creek Trail is my favorite local trail that I run on a regular basis. Biggest reason? It's about a quarter mile from my front doorstep. It does have some great hills (well, it's all uphill), and beautiful lookout points. Not to mention that I get to run next to a babbling little stream for most of it, crossing back and forth over it several times on the ~5.5 mile section I like to run. I brought my camera along with me to get a few shots of the trail; I started around 6:30 this day (yes, these are about a month old now).

I usually start jogging up the street after walking for a couple minutes to the trailhead, which is also my boys' favorite spot to throw leaves, sticks, rock, each other, and various other "goodies" they find along the trail.

After about a mile, I cross over Thomas Creek Parkway, and the trail starts on the other side of the bridge with a little sign, half of which I missed. It just says White's Creek Trail.

And the most important photo I wanted to share with you is my favorite rock. There are several that I use as mile markers, but this one I am particularly fond of because it was a MAJOR mile marker when I first started running on this trail. If I could make it to this rock, then I felt like I earned my breakfast that day. Of course now I run past it twice as far, but I'm never above wishing it a good morning and hoping it is visited by lots of other people and their pets that day. It is a nice big rock, and very friendly. :) And although it doesn't quite meet all of the qualifications in "Everybody Needs A Rock" by Byrd Baylor, I still like to think of it as my special friend.

I also run past the fire station,

and here is the view of Mt. Rose at my turn-around point. If I don't get a stitch in my side from running downhill, this is the best part of the morning.

I have other pictures that I took as mile markers for myself, but they just don't look as interesting in a photo as they do running past them, so I left them out.

Here is a link to the profile of the route I run on a good day- it shows the elevation, and mileage. Anyway, I just wanted to share a little part of what starts off a good day for me~ and invite anyone who wants to join me for a little tour of this narrow, twisty, rocky great-smelling path.

Reuniting of Team Library Dork

2009-08-30T13:29:00.000-07:00

This morning Team Library Dork headed out to UNR for some track work. We did sprints, drills and bleachers. We haven't been able to get together to train or race for some time now, so it was good to see them and get a couple fun photos (not all of which are appropriate for posting here):

Jogging,

And posing.

Me, sprinting (and tiny!).

Coach Dave, with his stogy and beer.

Team photo!

And then breakfast at Peg's Glorified Ham and Eggs~

Thanks guys for the great track workout today! And Coach Dave for workin' us to the ground. :) Good to catch up with ya'll...

Carson City Library on News Carson City! (yup, a little interview of yours truely)

2009-08-18T15:18:00.000-07:00

This summer the Carson City (youth) Library has been filled with reading, prizes, programs, storytellers and a fun Summer Reading Party to celebrate our success! We hosted a homemade ice-cream party at Mills Park across the street where we shook, squeezed and jumped our ice-cream into a solid soft-serve consistancy. We also made home-made root beer (with a 10 lb. bag of dry ice in a clean garbage can), painted a variety of creatures on faces, and raffled off the last of the big prizes. And for a special treat for you, here is a little video featuring the reading participants, and even a little Sean and Ashton face time! I did a little interview at the end~ not the best few minutes of my life (makes me cringe to watch myself, but that's just me!), but you get the idea.

Tried my best to embed a video, but I think you'll just have to settle for a link:

Carson City Library video feed

Hiking Mount Rose

2009-08-16T21:29:00.000-07:00

This morning I finally got a chance to go for my yearly hike/run up to Mt. Rose summit, and fellow Carson City librarian Abbey came with me to share the morning beauty. It was the perfect morning- we got up to the trail head by 6:45 a.m. just as the sun was lighting up the trail, and we started on a brisk pace to warm up chatting happily. Here is our first view of the lake:

And a view of the canyon as it started to warm up with the sun:

I love this waterfall! I love the shapes of the rocks, all blocked and rectangular that split the water in a dozen different streams on its way to the stream below.

This next picture is from the back (west) side of Mt. Rose, of one of the 4 lakes I don't know the name of, just peeking over the next hill. :)

Abbey and I at the summit! (with Tahoe in the background)

And Pirate too! (This pic came out well, didn't it? Best close up I've ever taken of him!)

Finally, a nice easy-paced run finds us back at the beginning of the trail, showing 10.6 miles round trip. Thanks Abbey for sharing this beautiful day with me!

Cast your vote to name a snow leopard cub

2009-08-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

It's time to vote for a name for the baby boy snow leopard! And don't forget to enter to win a cool prize package!

Woodland Park Zoo Blog | Naturally Inspiring: Cast your vote to name a snow leopard cub

"Cardcaptor Sakura" Vol. 1, by Clamp

2009-08-03T22:13:00.000-07:00

Card Captor Sakura, Volume 1 by Clamp

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
My first exposure to Japanese manga (or at least the first manga book I've read in years!), and it was a good one! Very predictable, but I still enjoyed it, and might just finish the other 5 books in the Cardcaptor Sakura series. Cute illustrations, as is typical of Japanese manga and anime. And BTW, I learned that it is pronounced Mon-ga, not Mang-a. And this is specifically Shojo manga, meaning a girl story. Shojo manga is typically about a heroine striving for love and friendship (as opposed to Shonen, meaning boy, which are usually about warriors striving for more power), but not lacking in any way the adventure a Shonen book may have. See? I did learn something in my graphic novels class. :) Fun.

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"Cancer Vixen" by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

2009-08-03T22:06:00.001-07:00

Cancer Vixen: A True Story by Marisa Acocella Marchetto

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
I read “Cancer Vixen” which were very emotional read for me. It got me thinking about all of my family (my grandmother had breast cancer, but is in remission), and the prayers flowing! I had seen this book on the display at the library where I work for quite a while, but I was rather turned off by the cover art. Specifically, her face- her eyes and eyebrows looked mean, and did not at all scream, “Cancer Victim!” But after reading the book, the body language of her in a “falling-on-her-butt” position makes total sense- that the breast cancer she battled knocked her there, and out of the blue (even if I still didn’t like the eyes-on the cover only though). I pictured myself in Marisa's (beautiful designer) shoes, and wondered how I would stand up to this most ultimate of life tests? “Cancer Vixen” was great as an illustrated story, because I feel like I got to hear and see Marisa’s tale through her eyes and ears- this was a wonderful first-person account of a very personal and life-altering experience, and it didn’t need to be super graphic. The bright colors personified Marissa character for me, and I absolutely LOVED her shoes! (If I had the money to blow on shoes, and the personality to match them…) I think “Cancer Vixen” is a graphic novel every woman should read- to know what having cancer can be like, and as an inspiration to get regular mammograms, and know that this cancer is something you can survive! With spiked-heels!

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"Pedro and Me" by Judd Winick

2009-08-03T22:01:00.001-07:00

Pedro and Me by Judd Winick

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
“Pedro and Me” faces a very difficult topic: AIDS, and if this novel was told with actual pictures instead of drawings, it might have been too difficult for me to read. As an illustrator, Judd Winick did a marvelous job capturing facial expressions and emotions of the people in his life, maybe even better (in a more dramatic fashion) than a photograph could have. And at the same time, because they were illustrations and not photos, it made the story a more bearable one to read, and to connect with. As for the cover of “Pedro and Me,” I was left wondering who was pictured on the cover- Pedro or Judd. But I was grateful at the same time, to see an actual photograph of the lives I was precariously living through in this graphic novel.

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"Maus" by Art Spiegelman

2009-08-03T21:56:00.000-07:00

Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History by Art Spiegelman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

“Maus” made a huge impression me- I know my history- I have no delusions of what happened in WW2 and what horrors and evils the Nazi Germans spread to the farthest reaches of the planet. But every time I read a book about the concentration camps, or so much as flip through the book while checking it in, I have to stop what I’m doing. And I cry. Seeing the photos always makes me take an assessment of my life- of how much I have: my family, my job, my friends, my life. And no matter how bad of a day I might be having, reading the stories of Holocaust victims makes anything I might be worrying about pale into nothing. I read “Nacht” by Elie Wiesel straight through from cover to cover because of its gripping narration. “Maus” was a MUCH easier format to read on this particular topic, and yet it still conveyed the emotions and sorrows with as much power as if it was in novel form. And even though it was illustrated and not a photographic portrayal of the events, it still gave a vivid visual to the horrors, and I had to stop reading when Richieu died (pp 108-109). But also because of this format (illustrations versus photos, and its personal storytelling account versus textbook facts), it would make a very appropriate teaching tool in a school setting- it is something that a younger population could understand, and yet maybe not have the nightmares they might get from other formats. Or not comprehend the depth of destruction and genocide the Nazis visited on their victims.

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Male snow leopard cub needs a name!

2009-07-30T21:15:00.000-07:00

Woodland Park Zoo Blog | Naturally Inspiring: Male snow leopard cub needs a name

Yup, next Tuesday is the big naming day! There are 4 names to choose from:

- Gobi (go-bee) – named for Gobi Desert in Mongolia
- Boke (rhymes with poke) – “Strong”
- Irbis (ear-biss) – “Leopard”
- Vachir (voch-err) – “Thunderbolt”

Should I post here what I'll be choosing? I don't want to sway anyone's vote... I'm just excited that they're letting us help choose the boy snow leopard cub's name! :) (Perhaps if you ask I'll tell you in a comment...)

I'll post a reminder on Tuesday, and don't forget, you could be the lucky winner of a snow leopard adoption! Plus you could win a plush snow leopard animal, and a signed copy of "“Saving the Ghost of the Mountain: An Expedition Among Snow Leopards in Mongolia” by Sy Montgomery, not to mention a photo of the CUBS!!!! I can barely contain myself here, can you tell?

Also, don't forget that Saturday, August 15th is International Snow Leopard Day! My mom's birthday, and mother-in-law's name day. An important day for everyone! :)

Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

2009-07-22T22:50:00.001-07:00

Persepolis 1: The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book was certainly an eye-opening experience of the Iranian War through the eyes of a child (the memories of a woman told as an adult). Marjane Satrapi's parents were very forward thinking people and resisted the oppressive leaders every step of the way. Many of their friends and family were tortured and killed for standing up for their beliefs, and I had to take a break half way through. The pictures are not not too graphic- but they get the point across in clear bold strokes. We have so many pre-conceived notions about countries in the middle east and why the women hide themselves behind the chadr, but now I know how some of them fought it and rebelled by showing strategic strands of hair and painting their nails. This black and white graphic is very powerful, and even though I did have to put it down for a little while, I still finished the book later that day. I recommend it to anyone interested in world culture and history.

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Babymouse: Heartbreaker

2009-07-18T13:29:00.000-07:00

Babymouse: Heartbreaker by Jennifer L. Holm

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Cute book! I read this for my graphic novels class, and I can see why elementary-aged girls love this series, and the quote, "Typical."

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Woodland Park Zoo Snow Leopard Cubs Updates

2009-07-16T22:17:00.000-07:00

Woodland Park Zoo Blog | Naturally Inspiring: Zoo vets give snow leopard cubs 6-week exam

The snow leopards cubs get their their 6 week exam- and there is a video! Never have you seen such calm sweetness~ they are trusting and loving, and growing so fast! Why did I go to library school and not to Moorpark College? Oh, yeah, 'cause I love my job. :) But I would seriously consider a switch in career choices if I knew someone would let me help take care of snow leopard kittens!

Sorry about all the !!! Can you tell I'm a little excited? Seriously. Watch the video.

Hot Cinnamon Rasin Bread

2009-07-13T11:08:00.000-07:00

Quick Breads: 63 Recipes For Bakers In A Hurry by Beatrice Ojakangas

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
I found a new love of baking several years ago, partly due to the fact that most everyone I worked with at library were superb bakers (and tasting their creations were a heavy influence!), and partly due to one of the benefits of working in a library: checking in books! Many librarians would groan when reading this, but what better way to learn your collection than to check in/out and shelve all the materials? Not only was I exposed to the new popular books and videos, but on occasion a classic would pop up too. Such as Quick Breads~ this book immediately caught my eye when someone dropped it in the box. Number one, because of the work quick, and number two, because I love baking bread the most! I love slow rising breads; getting to punch down the dough and kneed it with my hands is soothing and therapeutic. After standing there with my mouth watering for several minutes while I scanned the recipes, I decided I need to check it out immediately. When I brought it home, I tried several of the recipes which were huge success for anyone near enough to get a taste before the breads were all gone. I went into a bit of a baking frenzy that summer. :) I then bought my own copy on Amazon for $5. Deal! Last night, I tried an old recipe that I had made several times: Hot Raisin Bread! (p.67) You are supposed to make a 9x9 inch square, rolled out to one inch high, and butter the top and sprinkle a cinnamon sugar mix over it before you bake it on a cookie sheet. One of the tastiest breads I've ever had hot right out of the oven! However, last night, I was in the mood for something a little more healthy, and more in loaf form. So I substituted one of the two cups for whole wheat flour, added cinnamon, and left off the buttery cinnamon topping. Then I baked it at 350 for about 25 minutes (it was a small loaf), and voila! Perfect to go with dinner instead of after. I was afraid it would be too dense because I switched flours, but it turned out very moist and not too thick. Yes, definitely heavier than your typical white bread, but is also quit a bit more satisfying.

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Amber and Kevin's 10th Anniversary

2009-07-05T14:14:00.000-07:00

Wow. 10 years. I would say that it has gone by so fast, but that's always what we think when pondering the present. We wonder where the time went, and how quickly. But of course time has moved on in it's ever-steady pace. As I was pondering the present I was not thinking of how quickly time has gone by, but by how many things that have been accomplished and changed in this span of time.
(Okay, I don't know why there is a big gap here, but I can't fix it either. I don't have any extra breaks in my coding...)

What has changed/been accomplished?	What is still the same?
two bachelor's degrees have been earned	Still have the same kitties: Jewels & Max
two (in December for me) Master's degrees	I still play the trumpet, Kevin, everything else
I've donated my hair twice and grown(ing) it back out	I have my bedroom furniture set since I was 6 (in my office)
Kevin shaves his head	My love of roses
two professionals: a band teacher and a children's librarian	I am still in school. Ha!
Two beautiful, sweet, awkward, fast-growing identical twin boys	I've been using Elizabeth Arden moisturizer since I was in high school
OMG I can cook and bake now!	I still bite my nails when I read
Triathlons and running in competitive races!	Swimming
I've learned a little html, as you can see by this table :)	I still sing in the shower

There are SO many other things I can list here, but I'm going to stop because it's making me nostalgic. Anyway, I have some photos to share from the dinner we shared with family and friends at Louis Basque Corner:

Here are some photos of the guests-
More friends-
Jessica and Greg-
My Grandma, Aunt Linda and Uncle Paul-
Me and Ashton-
Me and Sean-

My brother Scott and his long time girlfriend Sara recently moved to Montana, so they were not able to share this evening with us. However, Sara's parents, Craig and Pam were able to come!

I did not get a good picture of either my or Kevin's parents, but they each took one of the boys and lavished attention on them during dinner. But Alice and I did get a really nice photo together-
This is my friend Sarah, who will be getting married next summer, and is going to let me plan her bachelorette party! Whoo-hoo! (Don't worry- we're going to have a ladies night of wine tasting, and then a full day at the spa in Genoa. Classy. :)
And the 4 of us~ Sean, me, Kevin and Ashton-
Of course I didn't forget the food, which was amazing! I had lamb, and it was incredibly tender, and the mussels were also very flavorful. Paired nicely with the house red wine traditionally served with dinner-
After that wonderful dinner, several followed us home, and the girls did some baking- a new recipe to me! Thanks Jess and Sarah for unwrapping all those kisses~
10 years. Kev, do you think it went by quickly? Love ya babe~

Summer Sunset

2009-07-01T20:41:00.000-07:00

Did you catch this just a few minutes ago? I was busily typing away (working on an annotated bibliography for my web design class- I don't know why it's necessary either), when I glanced out the window. After a .05 second glimpse of the sunset in progress, I dashed outside, camera to capture this color and beauty before it was gone forever. Unless it's repeated tomorrow, since clouds and possible showers are forecasted. Let's hope so. Click on the photo and make it as big as your screen will let you! Do it now!

Okay... back to the grind~

A Hat Full of Sky

2009-06-29T15:32:00.001-07:00

A Hat Full of Sky: A Discworld Novel by Terry Pratchett

My review

rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book was hilarious! The narrator, Stephen Briggs, does excellent voices for all the witches, as he also did for "The Wintersmith." I am reading this series in reverse order, but not on purpose. But that's okay because I haven't missed out on the current story for not having read the previous ones. It's just like learning more history about Tiffany, our little protagonist, and how she became to be the strong confident person she is. On several occasions the little Wee Free Men (the title of the next previous book I'm going to listen to in this series) had me laughing so hard the other drivers on the road must have thought I was bonkers! :)

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Snow leopard cubs at 1 month old

2009-06-25T22:18:00.000-07:00

Woodland Park Zoo Blog | Naturally Inspiring: Snow leopard cubs at 1 month old

Lots of new pictures of the one-month-old snow leopard kittens up! Check out the website, or their photo album on Facebook.

Yay! :)

The Supernaturalist

2009-06-22T21:19:00.001-07:00

The Supernaturalist by Eoin Colfer

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I enjoyed Eoin Colfer's book "Airman" so much that I picked up the only other book of his that I hadn't read: The Supernaturalist. (How could I not with that cool cover?) It was not what I was expecting, but it was still a fun quick read. Very creative, with twist after twist that left me guessing who were the good guys and who were not.

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Snow Leopard Kittens born in Seattle!

2009-06-19T12:39:00.000-07:00

Woodland Park Zoo Blog | Naturally Inspiring: Spots of beauty: endangered snow leopard cubs born!

Brand new Snow Leopard kittens at Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo! SSSSOOOOO CUTE! Yay for more snow leopards to add to their diminishing number on our planet! :) :) :)

Plus, check out these other snow leopard links, complete with awesome photos~

And best of all, the Woodland Park Zoo posted this first video of the snow leopard kittens crawling around!

Summer Roses

2009-06-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

From my garden! I also have some honeysuckle in full bloom, all the way across my back fence, and the scent that blows in through the windows is absolutely heavenly! Here are a couple photos of me bringing the outdoors inside~ roses in a bowl:

And all the rest stuffed in a vase (and a flower pot one of my boys painted for me!):