Yule be sorry!

...and we're back!  One of the benefits of working where I work is that we get 11 days off for "Winter Closure" which effectively covers Christmas through New Year's.  What's more, its paid and we don't have to use any sick or vacation time.  A fabulous perk.

This year's winter break started off amazing.  We hopped in the car, laden with gifts and cookie tins and snowsuits, skis, etc. and headed to the Mister's hometown.  Once there, we ate, laughed, played, opened gifts, ate, laughed, ate...well you get the idea.  We got some cool stuff but the best present, really, was getting to play in glorious fresh snow with the grandparents and uncles. 

On the sleddin' hill.  It was cold, but fun...all kinds of fun!

Skiing through the trees near sunset.  So amazingly beautiful.

After a couple days of this debauchery, we headed home, only to find an unwelcome guest waiting for us:  the stomach flu.  Or whatever you call it...I guess its not technically a flu?  A bug?  Well, whatever it is, the Mister and I were completely miserable and yet Otto seems to have escaped relatively unscathed (knocking on wood.)  It trashed at least 3 precious day of our break, though, which sucked with a capital SUCK.

By New Year's we were mostly back to normal and enjoying eachother's company and our cozy house.  We played some games, put together some models, went ice skating, saw some movies and tried to make up for lost time.

The boys, reading a book before dinner on Otto's new "big boy bed"

All in all, our Yule coulda been worse, coulda been better.  And now, suddenly, here we are back into our routine of work, preschool, home and its both sad and comforting, if that makes any sense. 

I'm hoping to come back here soon with some ideas for the new year...who else still does resolutions?

Done and To Do

Done:

-Tree up, decorated.

-Elf watched.  At least twice.

Son of a nutcracker, how perfect is this tree???  Cut it down ourselves for $10 in the national forest. 

-Holiday cards mailed.  Can I get a whoop-whoop!!

-Gifts to far away friends and family mailed. (for a $55 post office bill...eek.  At least I was early enough to send them parcel post.)

-Gift for office gift exchange purchased and wrapped. ($10 limit not quite reached.)

-Toys and clothes contributed to our "adopted family" in need.

-Food contribution (veggies and hummus) to office holiday party purchased and prepped.

-Gifts for the mister and the kiddo purchased, wrapped and currently luxuriating under the tree.

-Gingerbread house attempted.

Not that bad for a first attempt, right?

To do:

-Come up with a white elephant gift for a friend's holiday party on Friday.  Having a tough time with this one.

-Bake goodies to take with us to the in-laws for xmas.  Usually a couple different kinds of cookies and some chex mix to accompany the long beer drinking/scrabble playing sessions.

-Tag and take teacher gifts to Otto's school.

-Attend the daycare holiday program next tuesday.  Its going to be so cute!  I can't wait!!!  He's been practicing his little songs at home and they are adorable.

-De-stress.  For real, I am exhibiting all my typical signs of stress:  poor sleep, volcanic break-outs and delightful moodiness.  I'm keeping up with my workouts and drinking green tea and eating leafy greens, fresh fruit, etc. etc. but sleep is the deficit at the moment.  I just can't seem to make it to bed before 10:30pm and the alarm goes off at 5:00am.  I'm just looking forward to Winter Break which is an AMAZING perk of my job- we get the week between xmas and new years off, with pay.  Imma gonna sleep in every day, son!!

-I'm sure there are to-do's I'm forgetting....

What's on your list?

Plan B

Hearing about this (see also: this) all day has my stomach in knots.  I agree with the author of the Slate piece that "The only reason to keep these restrictions in place is to force pregnancy on unwilling minors as punishment for having sex, and just accept the impregnated rape victims as collateral damage. "

Yes, that's exactly what Sebelius is doing...ensuring that this medication will not be available to girls under 17 years old unless their parent is super understanding and also an M.D.   It's bullshit on the highest level.

And this quote from Obama disheartens me:  "He said Sebelius decided 10- and 11-year-olds should not be able to buy the drug "alongside bubble gum or batteries" because it could have an adverse effect if not used properly. He said "most parents" probably feel the same way."

THIS IS TRUE OF JUST ABOUT EVERY SINGLE OVER THE COUNTER DRUG:  PAIN RELIEVERS, ALLERGY MEDICINE, SLEEP AIDS...If they are not used properly, they could ALL have adverse effects.

I'm sorry to yell but I'm just that pissed.

Denying victims of rape, abuse or just young people that make a fucking mistake (it happens- condoms break, people forget to take pills, etc.) a safe, easy way to prevent unwanted pregnancy is Wrong with a capital W. 



Just....Grrrrr.

Race to the Finish

Honestly?  Sometime it feels like December is an endurance event.  It can be hard for me to take a step back and just...chill.  There's so much that has to be done; shopping, events to attend, stuff to bake, travel to arrange, etc., etc.  Its overwhelming.

Over time, I've come up with a few strategies that help me relax and actually enjoy the season, because even though I'm not at all religious, this time of year is special to me: Its a celebration of life, family, friends, and a reminder that even in the dark and cold of winter, the earth is alive and spring will come again.  

What I'm doing to stay copacetic: 

-I'm getting my holiday shopping done early so I'm not worrying about what to get who.  As of right now, I only have Otto's teachers (giftcards, of course) and a friend left to shop for and I'll get those knocked out in the next couple days. Yay!  Love having all that accomplished.   (I truly enjoy shopping for the "perfect" gifts but I can't handle waiting until the last minute- too much pressure!!)

- Keeping my workout schedule.  My runs are my "me" time, the time I have to think and mull and otherwise just be inside my own head.  Even when I'm tired, or its cold, or whatever, I'm getting out for a run or in worst case scenario, I'm doing an exercise DVD in the basement.  I need to sweat to feel whole.  This morning, I ran in the dark while it was snowing.  It was great.

-Saying "No."  This is a hard one.  But I just can't attend every lunch, happy hour, office party, etc. that I get invited to.   My time with my family suffers if I try and honestly, there are precious few gatherings that I'm actually excited to go to.    Also, I can't afford to donate to every cause, every charity, every fundraiser.  I can't do like 4 different secret santa exchanges.  I can't bake cookies and make chex mix and pie crust and and and...Sorry but...NO.

-Prioritizing.  This goes along with saying no.  I'm continuously asking myself,"is this REALLY the most important thing?  Really??"  If the answer is No, then I rethink my current course of action.  I only want to do the important stuff.  I want to do the things I really care about.

What am I missing?  What are you doing make sure that you enjoy the season and don't stress?

Random shit and gratitude

First, some random shit:
-I have a sinus infection, again.  It seems like I get at least 2-3 per year.  What gives??  I'm a healthy person, take my vitamins, eat well, etc.  I did, however, break my neti pot about a year ago and haven't replaced it for which I was scolded today by my doctor.  So, new neti pot in one hand, antibiotics in the other, I'm out for blood.  You're going DOWN, sinus infections.  Assholes.

-My kid is a little man these days.  A FB post of mine from a couple days ago: 

"Otto growing up: 1. Since last week, he will only take showers, no baths. Insists on washing himself but grudgingly allows help with hair ONLY., 2. Got up this morning, made himself breakfast (toast with peanut butter and honey). "See, I can do it MYSELF." 3. Last night he told me "he loves me even when I tell him to do stuff." Har."

This is the truth!  What a little dude.

-We're doing something new for Thanksgiving this year...The Mister's aunt,(at whose house we usually stuff ourselves,) is going through a divorce so rather than invade her, we've rented 2 condos up in the mountains and are going for a ski/sled/snowshoe/eating adventure.  Yay!!  While I enjoy the traditional "everyone sit in the living room with unbuttoned pants" Thanksgiving, I'm not-so-secretly excited about this much more active one!  Also, I found new (to me) back-country skis at the gear swap (they were a steal!) and can't wait to try them out.  Double yay!!

Gear swap skis!  Also, our mail is here!

Thankfulness:
Its good practice to think about what you're thankful for every day, no?  I try to do that, I really do.  But this time of year gives you an excuse to bore others with your gratitude.  I'm especially thankful for:

-my health.  Chronic sinus infections notwithstanding, I'm in the best physical shape I've ever been in.  I love it that I can run, ski, snowshoe, hike...do whatever I want to do really and do it wholeheartedly.  Doing stuff is fun...who knew!? 

-my job.  Its not the greatest.  Its not my "dream."  But you know what?  It enables me to fulfill other dreams:  feed, clothe, and otherwise take care of my family, travel (limited, but still, the occasional road trip is possible), afford entry fees for races, etc.  I'm lucky to have a job and I know it.

-living in a beautiful place.  Sure the winters are rough and I'm pretty sure I have at least a mild form of S.A.D. so living at 7200 feet above sea level in the Rockies might not be the wisest but fuck-it, its gorgeous here.  

-of course, my little family.  We rock, if I do say so myself.

Also, we pose in front of rocks.  Winning.

HAPPY TURKEY DAY.  Be thankful.

My Beautiful Laundrette

Our washing machine broke last week.  I noticed that it was filling up with water, but  not agitating, draining but not spinning.  Google suggested a broken motor, which sounds expensive, doesn't it?  Ugh.

So rather than calling a repairman and facing that music, I took the path of least resistance...to the laundromat.  Which sounds like a drag, right?  Its cold outside, hauling baskets of laundry in and out and putting quarters in and waiting and...yuck, right?

No.  Surprise of surprises.  It was decidedly NOT a drag.   Quite the opposite, really.  I can confidently report that it was one of the most relaxing evenings I've had in weeks.  It was a Tuesday night.  It was me and a couple other quiet folks, gently washing, drying, folding.  It was warm and bright and smelled of fabric softener.  The TV was on in the background, the History Channel comfortingly droning on about buried treasure or something.  Clothes tumbled rhythmically in dryers.  No one was touching me, talking to me, needing me.   Between moving clothing from washers to dryers, I sat in a comfortable seat and drank tea and read a book.  It was practically on par with a spa day.

Also, I got what would normally take an entire day to wash done in 2 hours. Granted it cost about 12 bucks but that's cheaper than a movie or happy hour and honestly,  for that particular night it was infinitely more relaxing than either.  It was a beautiful night and since we haven't made any calls on the washer, it looks like I'll have to go back.

Damn.

Running it all out.

I seem to be finally be getting over that little bout of depression or whatever it was I've been going through the last few weeks. All I can say is...THANK GOODNESS.  I was a lean, mean, bitchy machine to just about everyone.  Everyone and everything was annoying me and I was pretty disinterested in things that would normally really get my juices flowing.  All I wanted to do was sleep.  Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), I've been down that road before and I recognized the feeling.  I did what I could to self medicate through exercise, good food and being gentle with myself.

In hindsight, I think the little black raincloud was a combination of post-marathon blues, the weather and just feeling overwhelmed by work/volunteer stuff/personal commitments and relationships/etc., etc. It was starting to scare me, though, so I'm glad that things seem to be on the upswing.

One thing that really helped pull me out of my funk was a half-marathon in Colorado that I ran on Saturday.  It was a clear, cold day and the course had a good view of snow-covered Rocky Mountains.  I wasn't worried about the distance...it was only a half!  I just ran all my stress, my sadness, my funkiness out- tried to leave it all on the course and I think it worked.  I PR'd-  1:58:58...my first half in under 2 hours!!  And it was cathartic.  Afterward, I felt like a new person, scrubbed clean on the inside. 

I'm just so glad I found running.  10 years ago I was on anti-depressants.  Today, the road is the only antidepressant I need.  I know that's not how it is for everyone, but I'm glad that's how it is for me.