Friday, October 24, 2014

Mars vs Venus

There have been many Mars vs Venus moments that have occurred in our household over the years. During these moments, the desired outcome is achieved but the route to get there is definitely not the same for each person. Most of the time the routes seem to fall along stereotypical lines.

I was going to use parenting as an example, but on further reflection I think the differences had more to do with personality styles more than chromosome differences. Dave was always more about the fun, jokes, and playtime, while I was more focused on rules, discipline and work. Fortunately we were able to balance each other out and achieved (I hope) the desired outcome of raising children  into well-adjusted, successful and independent adults.

So moving on. Let's consider folding clothes. The goal is to get the clothes folded, but Dave's way is not my preferred way. Or consider the way the guys seem to look for things. If something isn't found right away, or if finding something requires more than a cursory glance in the general area, the guys usually aren't going to find it. I go to look for the same object in the same place that I just told the guys to look and viola! the object is found right away. I don't do anything special, but I do look a little harder and don't give up until the lost is found.

And our most recent example of Mars vs Venus adventures in our house...

The desired outcome:
Our bed is made every morning

What it looks like when I make the bed:


What it looks like when Dave is in charge of making the bed:


It's really not a big deal that the pillows are just thrown haphazardly on the bed when Dave makes the bed because the bed is made. It just cracked me up to see yet another example of how the two of us often approach the same task differently and still arrive at the desired outcome.

Thursday, October 23, 2014

Runa Clean Energy: I Won't Be Doing That Again

I'm not an evening exerciser. I have way more energy at 4:30 in the morning than I can ever muster up in the evening. But last night Dave wanted to go to a spin class and he really wanted me to go and since I may have felt like I owed him one for hacking his Facebook on his birthday, I told him I would go. But as the time for the class drew closer, I began to dread the thought of putting on work-out clothes, head to the gym, and then spend an hour participating in a class that is a non-preferred activity for me. With the dread of going reaching a critical point, I remembered that I had a Runa Clean Energy drink in the refrigerator. It was in a swag bag I got for volunteering at the Happy Girl race. I had put it in the fridge to have at some later time.

Well, I couldn't think of a better "later time" then last night, when I needed a bit of a pick-me-up to get me out the door to meet Dave for the spin class. So I cracked open the can and had about a quarter of it. A whole can has 120 mg of caffeine. I didn't think I needed that much of a pick-me-up. And then I was off to meet Dave for the spin class.

I can't say that I noticed much performance boost from the Runa drink during the spin class. I don't think I really felt any effects from the quarter of a can, which is probably why I decided that finishing the can after the spin class was a good idea. And that is where it all went horribly wrong.

I found myself wanting to call and talk with my parents, but decided to spare them of that. I could feel the nervous energy coursing through my body and I would have been on fast forward if I had called them. I tried not to talk to Dave because every time I did it was at hyper-speed.

Usually exercising at night wires me so much that I can't sleep and I probably should have been thinking about that when consuming the rest of the Runa. I am so fortunate that I was still able to go to sleep at 10:30, my normal bedtime. What was not normal were my dreams! No scary dreams, just really weird dreams. And then at 4 a.m. BAM! Wide awake, heart racing, mind spinning, and no way I was going back to sleep. I also wasn't going to be able to meet my friend for our Thursday morning run. I was worried about running with my resting heart rate already being at 95 beats per minute.

So yeah, a whole can of Runa Clean Energy is out for me. I should have just stayed with the quarter can and called it good.

Monday, October 20, 2014

Today's Dave's Birthday


Happy birthday to me. 44 years of awesomeness is what you see. So glad to be me.
 
 
So that was Dave's Facebook status that was posted this morning about 6 a.m.
I may or may not have hacked his Facebook to post the status.
But on the way to work, and before he knew what his Facebook status read,
he said this to me
"You know, I look pretty dang good for 44."
To which I said,
"Yep, 44 years of awesome."
 
Then this morning about 10 a.m. he sends me a text saying
"You are in big trouble!"
Whatever.
I know his bark is worse than his bite.
 
 

Tuesday, October 7, 2014

Settling In

When Carson decided that North Idaho College would be where he would start his college career, he thought that meant he could live at home. His father and I gently, but firmly, told him he needed some away-from-home experience and, therefore, would be living in the dorms. Carson was not very happy with this decision. Of our two children, he is the more "homebody" of the two.

The first few weeks were a little rough on him. Our boy, who is a bit resistant to change, had several challenges to overcome. He was learning to live with three other guys who are vastly different from him. He is a bit stubborn and opinionated so learning to be accommodate several roommates has been a stretch. I wish I could report that this has been wildly successful, but no.

He had to eat cafeteria food. This is a boy who had consumed hot lunch at school maybe once or twice in his entire school career. And now he had no choice but to eat "hot lunch" (and breakfast and dinner) every day. This challenge is still a challenge as he feels that the variety of food offered is limited and sometimes not very palatable. However, it does make him appreciate my cooking a little bit more.

NIC has a nationally-ranked wrestling team and that made it an attractive prospect for Carson. Unfortunately, Carson wasn't recruited by NIC so he had to try and make the team as a walk-on. The space available at the 125-lb weight class was limited and the number of prospective wrestlers were many. Those pre-season weeks were filled with sleepless nights, nausea, canker sores (from stress), and just plain old stress and anxiety. Carson and his dad talked on an almost daily basis. When he was home on the weekends, he slept and slept. But Carson's heart was set on wrestling for NIC and he poured everything he had into practice. His coaches noticed and he was granted a spot on the team. I can't put into words how proud of him we are (and relieved).

Making the wrestling team was a huge burden lifted from Carson. Living in the dorms has proved to be a good thing as he has made friends that he wouldn't have otherwise made. What were once almost daily phone calls have turned into an occassional text. He is finding his way and settling in. It makes my heart happy to see that he is adjusting, and did I mention, making friends? If there is one thing that I was worried about was him making friends. Carson doesn't enjoy going to activities where he doesn't know anyone and won't put himself in those types of situations. But he must have taken some risks to meet some new people since he brought home several new friends for Sunday dinner this past week. That was super fun to see happen.

I love to see the growth in our children.

Thursday, October 2, 2014

"Well, At Your Age" and Other Signs of Aging

My gynecologist was the first one to say to me, "Well at your age..." I was 37 and was sharing my frustrations about my menstrual cycle. Beyond the phrase "Well at your age", she really didn't have much else to say. And "Well at your age" certainly wasn't very helpful. I can remember walking out of the appointment completely incredulous that she would have the audacity to imply that I was somehow "old" at 37 years of age.

But I knew that aging was creeping up on me. I mean, I had noticed that there were a few little lines around my eyes. I had some sun spots on my face and arms. Cellulite that could be toned and burned off when I was in my 20's had become stubborn and unwilling to melt away.  I wasn't living in denial that I was getting older. I just wasn't ready for someone to be so blunt with me that day and shine a flashlight on the fact that I was closer to 40 than 30.

Now it is 6 years later. I'm 43 years old. And now when things creak, pop, or wrinkle I find myself saying "Well at your age..."

I had a few of those moments today.

First up, this morning's experience. I had some pants that I needed to get hemmed. So I found Katelyn's sewing kit, got out the needle and thread and discovered...I couldn't see to thread the needle. ARGH! The dreaded far-sightedness of aging eyes apparently is beginning to set in. If I am wearing my contacts, doing such tasks of threading a needle or affixing the clasp of a necklace is an effort in futility. There, I admit it. "At my age...far-sightedness is a common occurrence."

I didn't get the pants hemmed. Instead I opted for using safety pins to hold the hem in place.

So I was still absorbing that "Well, at your age" moment when I had another one. I was looking in the mirror at my outfit for the day. I thought it was pretty cute and worked. It was the slacks, a nice shirt and a cardigan.

A cardigan.

I realized this morning that somewhere a long the way a cardigan has become my go-to "finish off an outfit" accessory.

A cardigan.

Doesn't that scream "old"? It did to me this morning.
Tonight I tried to shake the "Well, at your age" thing as I was shopping. My friend was hosting a LulaRoe party. This company sells mostly maxi skirts, dresses and leggings. As I was trying on the different skirts all I kept hearing myself say is "Yeah, these don't work for you. Maybe if you were 10 years younger, but at your age..." And I definitely didn't try on any of the leggings. I would have to be 20 years younger to get away with those.

But "old" didn't win tonight, well not completely. I bought 2 skirts. But as I was leaving all I could think was which cardigan would go with which skirt.

"Well, at my age" some habits are hard to break.