...of a break up. Breaking up is hard to do. It doesn't matter if you are the dumper or the dumpee. It sucks. No one ever enters into a relationship or a friendship thinking, "Hmmmm....when is the right time to dump this person?". Eventually, it comes down to realizing that both people in the relationship are no longer on the same page. Often, one wants more than what the other can give. That's when you hit the breaking point. Either you support the person and try to make it work, or you don't.
I have had 3 significant break ups in my life. One in high school, one right after college and one very recently. The one most recently is probably the most complicated and convoluted one to date. I won't go into too many details, except to say that one party wanted more than what the other could give. Rather than support, words were exchanged and it came to the point that I couldn't make it work. Even had a break in the relationship ensued, it would never have recovered to the point that it would have been beneficial to either side. Too many hurtful things had been said and too many truths exposed that could not and should not be hidden. I had to cut the tie. It hurt, but it was necessary. I don't regret this person in my life at the time that this person was in my life. I regret that it had to end so verbally violent on behalf of the other party. Sticks and stones break bones, but words will always stay. I tried to take the high road, but apparently, that road was still under construction.
I write about this because I hadn't yet. Break ups aren't something that people like to talk about, but you realize that once you externalize it, it makes sense. Break ups hurt no matter which side you end up on, but in the end, they prove necessary. In the end, it cuts out unnecessary drama from your life. You learn from the mistake and hopefully don't repeat it.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Angry
I don't usually post political rantings or my views on that sort of thing. Beware: I'm breaking my rule. I am angry. I am ashamed, disappointed, frustrated and simply pissed off. When the grumblings of a possible government shutdown started, I didn't worry about it. There's no way that the higher ups in the echelons of government would let it happen. After all, didn't they agree to work together? Oh wait. This is Washington we're talking about. Silly me. I was wrong. We are now on the eve of a shutdown and I was wrong.
I've never felt the panicky feeling when something was happening out of my control. I like to think of myself as fairly level headed and calm in the time of crisis. If the government shuts down, we lose half of a paycheck next week. Then we will lose entire paychecks until the powers that be can finally reach an agreement. What makes me angry is not only the fact that we are left to scramble, but the fact that the men and women in the service protect the freedoms of those that are screwing them over. The hypocrisy and irony is enraging to me. These senators, representatives and even the president are the ones that begged to be elected to these posts. They were chosen to do a job that they are not doing. I don't care about blame. I don't care. Just do your job that you were begging us to elect you to do! If you can't do it, then let someone else do it that can. I can guarantee you that I will not be voting for any of these clowns that are involved in this debacle.
I care about the families that will not be able to pay bills, rent and mortgages. I have seen so many postings that have to deal with how to make sound financial decisions in the event of a shutdown. While news outlets are concentrating on national parks closing, there are many military and other government affiliated workers that are worried about putting food on the table and that have barely been able to scrape by in normal circumstances. How is any of this okay? There were protests in Wisconsin over collective bargaining rights. Where are the protests right now? Where is the outrage and the protests about the fact that our troops are expected to work without pay, yet our politicians will be collecting pay for doing NOTHING?
While we are not as dire as other families, we will have to call the banks and advise that we will not be able to make payments on time. We may have to tap into resources meant for our children or our retirement and pay penalties for that. So, dear politicians in Washington, thank you. Thank you for opening my eyes and helping me to see how conniving and cold you all are. Thank you for helping me make a sound decision in the next election. Thank you for hurting millions of families when we have done nothing but support and protect you.
Monday, March 14, 2011
"Furlough".
"Furlough: to lay an employee or worker off from work, usually temporarily; a temporary leave of absence authorized for a prisoner from a penitentiary." The word furlough has always made me giggle. The fact the the word "fur" is on it makes me think of furry animals scurrying into hibernation or something. I also thought that it was something that I'd never have to contend with.
I have been "furloughed" from my job, as the president of the company eloquently put it. I knew that it was coming, but I can honestly say that I did not anticipate it coming so quickly. I had hoped to keep working through May in order to help offset some of the costs that we are going to have eat on this move. For instance, we will have to ship one of our vehicles out of pocket. The government will pay for one vehicle, so we have to pay for the other. My financial aid for school has run its course after this next class, so I will have to begin paying out of pocket for my classes. Had I been able to work through May, we could have easily saved money and been able to pay for everything without feeling a squeeze. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
My kids are happy that I won't be working for the foreseeable future. I think deep down, I am too. The loss of income will be sorely missed, but I now have more time with the kids, more time for studying, more time to get life back together and get everything in order for when we hop the pond to Hawaii. I think that I'll be able to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. You'd think that I'd be able to know by now, but sometimes I think being a jack of all trades is fun.
This is the first time that I have ever been "furloughed" or laid off. I have always been the one to terminate my employment, usually for another position or because of the hardships associated with the life of a military spouse (virtually impossible to have a stable career). It's a strange feeling and hopefully, one I won't have to go through again. But, we'll make do. Everything happens for a reason--even if we don't understand it at the time. It'll all work out in the end. This prisoner is escaping the penitentiary for a little while.
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Aloha.
By now, the news has been plastered everywhere...no, not Crazy Charlie's hysterical one liners while he's on a bender. We are moving. The assignment gods at AFPC (Air Force Personnel Center) have bestowed their judgement to us peons. Their decision? Hawaii. We are moving to Hawaii. Even as I type those words, it still hasn't sunk in that it's real. We were actually apprehensive to say anything because we're so afraid that they'll take it back and say, "Oops! Our bad! You're not going there...you're going to some crap ass base with tons of snow in the middle of the country!" Let's hope that's not the case.
When Mark called to tell me, I was completely elated. Not just because of the tropical locale, the awesome food and the kick ass beaches. Yes, obviously, anyone would be stupid to NOT want to go. But we were happy for another reason: Family. Simply put, we are finally going someplace near family. In the 10 years that Mark has been in the Air Force, we have never been near family. We haven't had the weekend drop offs and visits, nor the quick trips home in the car (by plane, yes...which racks up the bills VERY quickly). Mark's parents live on the Big Island; so while we'll still be a few islands away, we're still in the same state. Plus, Mark's brother is 90% for sure transferring to Oahu in December. One big happy Roman family!
We will be departing Louisiana most likely sometime in late June. It is bittersweet. Sweet because it is time to move on and we were able to get the number one choice. Bitter because it means leaving behind friends that we have come to know and love as family. It is always the hardest part of the move. However, this time is proving especially difficult--some of these friends are like sisters to me. I let my guard down and became incredibly close to many of them. Now it's almost time to say, "See you soon!" I can't say good-bye...it's too final and too depressing. But if I say, "See you soon, or see you later!", then it's not *quite* as bad. :)
Mahalo Louisiana for the memories and the experiences. Aloha, Hawaii!
When Mark called to tell me, I was completely elated. Not just because of the tropical locale, the awesome food and the kick ass beaches. Yes, obviously, anyone would be stupid to NOT want to go. But we were happy for another reason: Family. Simply put, we are finally going someplace near family. In the 10 years that Mark has been in the Air Force, we have never been near family. We haven't had the weekend drop offs and visits, nor the quick trips home in the car (by plane, yes...which racks up the bills VERY quickly). Mark's parents live on the Big Island; so while we'll still be a few islands away, we're still in the same state. Plus, Mark's brother is 90% for sure transferring to Oahu in December. One big happy Roman family!
We will be departing Louisiana most likely sometime in late June. It is bittersweet. Sweet because it is time to move on and we were able to get the number one choice. Bitter because it means leaving behind friends that we have come to know and love as family. It is always the hardest part of the move. However, this time is proving especially difficult--some of these friends are like sisters to me. I let my guard down and became incredibly close to many of them. Now it's almost time to say, "See you soon!" I can't say good-bye...it's too final and too depressing. But if I say, "See you soon, or see you later!", then it's not *quite* as bad. :)
Mahalo Louisiana for the memories and the experiences. Aloha, Hawaii!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Race Report: Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon
Distance: 26.2 miles
Time: 5 hrs. 25 mins. 27 secs. <--PR by 29 mins and 22 seconds!
Route: Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon, New Orleans, LA
Number of Ninjas: 0
I beat the alarm clock. The past few weeks, I haven't beat the alarm clock. I rolled out of bed at 4:40am and got ready to go. I knew that it would be cold at the start, so I brought a sweater that I had intended to donate to Goodwill...that way I could chuck it at the start and know that it would for sure get donated. I had a long sleeve base layer, the t-shirt and capris. I had my trusty Bubba Gump hat that has become a trademark and a good luck charm. Don't worry, I wash it after every race. So the funk isn't quite that bad. I grabbed my iPod, a wheat bagel and peanut butter and was out the door. I met Stephen (my friend Kathy's husband) downstairs at 5:30. He was running too, so we decided to walk to the start together.
Damn. It was freezing. The good thing about modern running shoes is that they ventilate and wick moisture wonderfully. The bad thing is that they ventilate a little too well. Meaning, by the time I went to my start corral, I couldn't feel my toes. I wish I had worn some gloves, but I like my new ones and didn't want to chuck them or have to carry them the whole time. Oh well. I knew they'd warm up eventually. I wished Stephen good luck (he was 5 corrals ahead of me) and walked back to mine. I recognized a girl immediately...turns out she's the vet tech at the vet's office that we go to! Such a small world. She was running the half with her sister and friend. I wished her good luck and we made our way to the start line. I chucked my sweater to the side about 20 feet from the start. The sun was coming up and I knew that I'd warm up soon.
I crossed the start line at 7:31am. What a fantastically beautiful morning! The weather gods did not disappoint us! I didn't use my Nike+, but I used my stopwatch on my wristwatch instead. I started off strong...probably a little too strong. I ran my first mile in about 10:20. I decided to slow myself down. I had a long way to go and I knew that I couldn't keep that pace up. By the second mile, I had to pee. Really. Bad. I looked at the lines for the porta potties, and I guess everyone else did too. I noticed that most of the people in line were halfers, so I decided to wait until the full marathon split off from the half marathon. It proved to be a wise decision, but I was still mad at myself for having to stop. Luckily, it was the only one I had to make during the race.
We split off from the halfers at mile 5 and ran through Audubon Park. We approached it from the opposite direction that we had come from 2 year ago. Still just as beautiful! I noticed a girl that was running about the same pace I was. We kind of went back and forth for a mile...she would go in front for a bit, then I would go in front. Finally, I asked her if she minded if I paced her and ran with her for a bit. She happily said yes and we ran for a bit. Her name was Kaylee and she lived in New Orleans. She was recovering from a pulled hamstring and hadn't run in 10 days. She was a really nice girl and had a good, upbeat attitude. We ran together until mile 12. Her mom was cheering her on and she stopped to walk and talk with her mom. I wished her good luck and kept going.
I spotted our cheering section at the halfway point. I was quite happy to see them. At this point, I was tired, but physically still felt pretty good. I gave the kids high-fives and kisses and off I went. I figured now it was all downhill...less than halfway to go. And yes...it really did go a little downhill from there.
The full course met back up with the halfers at Decatur Street, which runs on the outside of the French Quarter. It wasn't quite as awesome as running directly through the Quarter on Bourbon Street, but it was still pretty cool. We ran by Margaritaville and I thought of Mary. She runs with me every time I run...I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I always think of her...especially on the long runs. I think she is my sister from another mother. :) I thought a lot of my friends back home...not in a wistful way, but in a fun trip down memory lane kind of way. Before I knew it, I was coming up on mile 15. I saw the mile marker and I started to get tired. My quads hurt and I was just tired and felt thirsty. I had regretted my decision to forgo the camelbak during the race early on, and was really regretting it by mile 15. They had an ample amount of aid stations, but I was just so used to being able to take a slurp any ol' time I needed to. Note to self: bring it next time, if there is a next time.
Right before mile 16, I spotted a familiar person. It was Stephen! I was happy to see a friendly face, but I knew that because I had caught up to him, that he was probably in a good amount of pain. I asked him how he was doing and he said that his knees were killing him. He had decided to run a mile and then walk a half mile, run a mile, walk a half mile in order to be able to finish. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I was alright minus the fact that the quads were hurting and I was just tired. He was still running a little ahead of me at mile 18 and then he stopped to walk. I felt horrible for passing him. He wished me well and I returned the sentiments. I kept plugging away.
By mile 19, I saw the faster runners coming back from the lake and recognized one of them--Justin Ball. I yelled good luck to him and cheered him on when I saw him. He waved and kept going. I was starting to slow down. My legs were in pain and I was really tired. I would walk through the water stations and then run between each one. However, each stop became more and more painful and it hurt to start running. I didn't care though. I knew the fastest way to finish would be to push through the pain and just keep running. At mile 21 and 22, we ran along the shore of Lake Ponchartrain. It was so pretty. It kind of reminded me of running through Balboa Park in San Diego. It was just so beautiful in its own way. It was hard to believe that something so beautiful could wreak so much havoc during Hurricane Katrina. When we turned around to go back from the lakefront, I realized that this was pretty much the homestretch.
I kept telling myself that I could do it. After all, there were only 3 miles left...c'mon girl! You've got this! You run 3 miles all the time! When I broke it down into the small increments, it helped. I never hit the wall and I am so grateful for that. I didn't hit it last time and I didn't hit it this time. When I ran to mile 25, the cheering squad was there. I saw Lynley and Kathy and the kids. All the kids were cheering and Gavin, Payton and Dallas ran a little ways with me. I gave them all high fives and kept going. I had to walk just a little...there was a slight incline that my quads were yelling at. I saw them at the chute through mile 26. Then I ran through the chute and across the finish line.
I finished it in 5 hours, 25 minutes and 27 seconds. I had initially hoped to break 5 hours, but when I checked my split at the halfway point, I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it. However, I quickly adjusted my goal to just trying to beat the projected finish time of 5:30. I'm really happy with my time and with my finish. I'm happy that I ran the race I wanted to run. Of course, being a Virgo means that I am a perfectionist. I can think of a million things that I could have done differently and maybe if I do another one, then I'll make some minor adjustments. But for now, I'm telling that perfectionist to shut up and eat some cake, because damn it, I just finished my second marathon. That is a feat in itself for this girl. For someone who was never a runner, I'm proud to say, I'm a runner.
Time: 5 hrs. 25 mins. 27 secs. <--PR by 29 mins and 22 seconds!
Route: Rock N Roll Mardi Gras Marathon, New Orleans, LA
Number of Ninjas: 0
I beat the alarm clock. The past few weeks, I haven't beat the alarm clock. I rolled out of bed at 4:40am and got ready to go. I knew that it would be cold at the start, so I brought a sweater that I had intended to donate to Goodwill...that way I could chuck it at the start and know that it would for sure get donated. I had a long sleeve base layer, the t-shirt and capris. I had my trusty Bubba Gump hat that has become a trademark and a good luck charm. Don't worry, I wash it after every race. So the funk isn't quite that bad. I grabbed my iPod, a wheat bagel and peanut butter and was out the door. I met Stephen (my friend Kathy's husband) downstairs at 5:30. He was running too, so we decided to walk to the start together.
Damn. It was freezing. The good thing about modern running shoes is that they ventilate and wick moisture wonderfully. The bad thing is that they ventilate a little too well. Meaning, by the time I went to my start corral, I couldn't feel my toes. I wish I had worn some gloves, but I like my new ones and didn't want to chuck them or have to carry them the whole time. Oh well. I knew they'd warm up eventually. I wished Stephen good luck (he was 5 corrals ahead of me) and walked back to mine. I recognized a girl immediately...turns out she's the vet tech at the vet's office that we go to! Such a small world. She was running the half with her sister and friend. I wished her good luck and we made our way to the start line. I chucked my sweater to the side about 20 feet from the start. The sun was coming up and I knew that I'd warm up soon.
I crossed the start line at 7:31am. What a fantastically beautiful morning! The weather gods did not disappoint us! I didn't use my Nike+, but I used my stopwatch on my wristwatch instead. I started off strong...probably a little too strong. I ran my first mile in about 10:20. I decided to slow myself down. I had a long way to go and I knew that I couldn't keep that pace up. By the second mile, I had to pee. Really. Bad. I looked at the lines for the porta potties, and I guess everyone else did too. I noticed that most of the people in line were halfers, so I decided to wait until the full marathon split off from the half marathon. It proved to be a wise decision, but I was still mad at myself for having to stop. Luckily, it was the only one I had to make during the race.
We split off from the halfers at mile 5 and ran through Audubon Park. We approached it from the opposite direction that we had come from 2 year ago. Still just as beautiful! I noticed a girl that was running about the same pace I was. We kind of went back and forth for a mile...she would go in front for a bit, then I would go in front. Finally, I asked her if she minded if I paced her and ran with her for a bit. She happily said yes and we ran for a bit. Her name was Kaylee and she lived in New Orleans. She was recovering from a pulled hamstring and hadn't run in 10 days. She was a really nice girl and had a good, upbeat attitude. We ran together until mile 12. Her mom was cheering her on and she stopped to walk and talk with her mom. I wished her good luck and kept going.
I spotted our cheering section at the halfway point. I was quite happy to see them. At this point, I was tired, but physically still felt pretty good. I gave the kids high-fives and kisses and off I went. I figured now it was all downhill...less than halfway to go. And yes...it really did go a little downhill from there.
The full course met back up with the halfers at Decatur Street, which runs on the outside of the French Quarter. It wasn't quite as awesome as running directly through the Quarter on Bourbon Street, but it was still pretty cool. We ran by Margaritaville and I thought of Mary. She runs with me every time I run...I know it sounds cheesy, but it's true. I always think of her...especially on the long runs. I think she is my sister from another mother. :) I thought a lot of my friends back home...not in a wistful way, but in a fun trip down memory lane kind of way. Before I knew it, I was coming up on mile 15. I saw the mile marker and I started to get tired. My quads hurt and I was just tired and felt thirsty. I had regretted my decision to forgo the camelbak during the race early on, and was really regretting it by mile 15. They had an ample amount of aid stations, but I was just so used to being able to take a slurp any ol' time I needed to. Note to self: bring it next time, if there is a next time.
Right before mile 16, I spotted a familiar person. It was Stephen! I was happy to see a friendly face, but I knew that because I had caught up to him, that he was probably in a good amount of pain. I asked him how he was doing and he said that his knees were killing him. He had decided to run a mile and then walk a half mile, run a mile, walk a half mile in order to be able to finish. He asked me how I was doing and I told him that I was alright minus the fact that the quads were hurting and I was just tired. He was still running a little ahead of me at mile 18 and then he stopped to walk. I felt horrible for passing him. He wished me well and I returned the sentiments. I kept plugging away.
By mile 19, I saw the faster runners coming back from the lake and recognized one of them--Justin Ball. I yelled good luck to him and cheered him on when I saw him. He waved and kept going. I was starting to slow down. My legs were in pain and I was really tired. I would walk through the water stations and then run between each one. However, each stop became more and more painful and it hurt to start running. I didn't care though. I knew the fastest way to finish would be to push through the pain and just keep running. At mile 21 and 22, we ran along the shore of Lake Ponchartrain. It was so pretty. It kind of reminded me of running through Balboa Park in San Diego. It was just so beautiful in its own way. It was hard to believe that something so beautiful could wreak so much havoc during Hurricane Katrina. When we turned around to go back from the lakefront, I realized that this was pretty much the homestretch.
I kept telling myself that I could do it. After all, there were only 3 miles left...c'mon girl! You've got this! You run 3 miles all the time! When I broke it down into the small increments, it helped. I never hit the wall and I am so grateful for that. I didn't hit it last time and I didn't hit it this time. When I ran to mile 25, the cheering squad was there. I saw Lynley and Kathy and the kids. All the kids were cheering and Gavin, Payton and Dallas ran a little ways with me. I gave them all high fives and kept going. I had to walk just a little...there was a slight incline that my quads were yelling at. I saw them at the chute through mile 26. Then I ran through the chute and across the finish line.
I finished it in 5 hours, 25 minutes and 27 seconds. I had initially hoped to break 5 hours, but when I checked my split at the halfway point, I knew that I wouldn't be able to do it. However, I quickly adjusted my goal to just trying to beat the projected finish time of 5:30. I'm really happy with my time and with my finish. I'm happy that I ran the race I wanted to run. Of course, being a Virgo means that I am a perfectionist. I can think of a million things that I could have done differently and maybe if I do another one, then I'll make some minor adjustments. But for now, I'm telling that perfectionist to shut up and eat some cake, because damn it, I just finished my second marathon. That is a feat in itself for this girl. For someone who was never a runner, I'm proud to say, I'm a runner.
Prelude.
Because we had such an adventurous weekend, I decided that I needed to split the race report into two sections...prelude to the race and the race itself. :)
We had a crazy week that led up to taking off to New Orleans. We had snow days, busy work days, busy school days and a birthday! Lauren turned 5 and the weather turned ugly. We had a snow day that was minus snow. Go figure. :)
We left for New Orleans on Friday morning. Kathy and Stephen (Stephen ran the full marathon as well) and their family had gone down the night before. Lynley and her gang (awesome cheerleaders) were supposed to leave around 11am or so. We dropped the dog off at the vets office and off we went. I got a text from Lynley and it turns out that they were right behind us! We did a few stops and poor Bean just wasn't herself that day. Her eyes kept watering and she wouldn't eat anything or drink anything. By the time we got to the hotel, she looked miserable. We hung out for a few minutes and she seemed to get a little better. We decided to hit up the aquarium with Lynley and her crew. We figured that Friday would be better than Saturday. I think we're a little spoiled. While the Aquarium of the Americas is cool in its own right, but the $60 it cost to get in wasn't quite worth it. We've been spoiled by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Churami Aquarium in Okinawa. The kids had a great time though (the adults did too), so that's all that mattered.
It was still a little early, so we decided to head over to the Riverwalk Mall and eat an early dinner at the food court. We stopped at a sports store and I noticed that Bean just wasn't looking too good. I held her and walked outside. We sat down and she was sitting on my lap. Then I heard it. A burp followed by the chunkage. Yep. She horked. The poor kiddo. Lynley ran inside and told the store clerk what had happened and the clerk managed to call security. In the meantime, she managed to nail pretty much the entire length of Mark's sweatshirt. He took the poor girl outside and the security guard came over and called housekeeping. At least he was able to go home with an amusing tale of a bunch of tourists standing around a pile o' puke.
We debated on what to do next...she said she felt better, so we decided to head upstairs and grab some dinner. Mark grabbed a fried shrimp po-boy and I had some red beans and rice. Gav was the smart one and had a slice of pizza. We decided to hit up the Cafe du Monde in the mall to grab some beignets to go. You can't come to New Orleans and NOT have beignets. That's pretty much sacrilege. We made it back to the hotel and Bean was looking a little better, so we gave her a nectarine. Which in turn, came back up maybe 5 minutes after she consumed it. :(
The next morning, she still wasn't looking too good. She didn't eat much for breakfast and sure enough, she ralphed when we got back to the room. I decided to head to the race expo with the Hunts, while Mark and the kiddos took it easy. I walked down with them and then grabbed my stuff and headed back. I told Kathy to just go ahead and do stuff without us. If Lauren wasn't feeling good, then Mark and I would pull shifts with her. I got back to the hotel and what do you know? That little stinker is 99% herself. She's eating and drinking water and keeping it all in. So, we decided to head down to the French Quarter. We didn't want her overexerting herself, so we drove down there. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe and then meandered around the Quarter for a bit. Then we headed over to the Louisiana Children's Museum for a bit. I started to get a little tired, so we headed back over to the hotel. Mark took the kids swimming and I took it easy.
For dinner, we got take out from a restaurant across the street. Reginelli's Pizzeria is AWESOME. Decently priced and EXCELLENT chow. I had pesto tortellini and Mark had a calzone. Kathy had the same as myself and Stephen had pizza. We also got the garlic spread and the Spinach-Artichoke dip. It was fantastic! Will definitely go back there for noms. Seriously good. We went back up to the room to get ready for the party. The three girls (Payton, Lauren and Raegan) all have February birthdays, so Lynley bought a cake and we had a little birthday celebration for them...complete with presents! :) Chocolate + presents = happy campers.
...and this is where this blog ends....time to race. :)
We had a crazy week that led up to taking off to New Orleans. We had snow days, busy work days, busy school days and a birthday! Lauren turned 5 and the weather turned ugly. We had a snow day that was minus snow. Go figure. :)
We left for New Orleans on Friday morning. Kathy and Stephen (Stephen ran the full marathon as well) and their family had gone down the night before. Lynley and her gang (awesome cheerleaders) were supposed to leave around 11am or so. We dropped the dog off at the vets office and off we went. I got a text from Lynley and it turns out that they were right behind us! We did a few stops and poor Bean just wasn't herself that day. Her eyes kept watering and she wouldn't eat anything or drink anything. By the time we got to the hotel, she looked miserable. We hung out for a few minutes and she seemed to get a little better. We decided to hit up the aquarium with Lynley and her crew. We figured that Friday would be better than Saturday. I think we're a little spoiled. While the Aquarium of the Americas is cool in its own right, but the $60 it cost to get in wasn't quite worth it. We've been spoiled by the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Churami Aquarium in Okinawa. The kids had a great time though (the adults did too), so that's all that mattered.
It was still a little early, so we decided to head over to the Riverwalk Mall and eat an early dinner at the food court. We stopped at a sports store and I noticed that Bean just wasn't looking too good. I held her and walked outside. We sat down and she was sitting on my lap. Then I heard it. A burp followed by the chunkage. Yep. She horked. The poor kiddo. Lynley ran inside and told the store clerk what had happened and the clerk managed to call security. In the meantime, she managed to nail pretty much the entire length of Mark's sweatshirt. He took the poor girl outside and the security guard came over and called housekeeping. At least he was able to go home with an amusing tale of a bunch of tourists standing around a pile o' puke.
We debated on what to do next...she said she felt better, so we decided to head upstairs and grab some dinner. Mark grabbed a fried shrimp po-boy and I had some red beans and rice. Gav was the smart one and had a slice of pizza. We decided to hit up the Cafe du Monde in the mall to grab some beignets to go. You can't come to New Orleans and NOT have beignets. That's pretty much sacrilege. We made it back to the hotel and Bean was looking a little better, so we gave her a nectarine. Which in turn, came back up maybe 5 minutes after she consumed it. :(
The next morning, she still wasn't looking too good. She didn't eat much for breakfast and sure enough, she ralphed when we got back to the room. I decided to head to the race expo with the Hunts, while Mark and the kiddos took it easy. I walked down with them and then grabbed my stuff and headed back. I told Kathy to just go ahead and do stuff without us. If Lauren wasn't feeling good, then Mark and I would pull shifts with her. I got back to the hotel and what do you know? That little stinker is 99% herself. She's eating and drinking water and keeping it all in. So, we decided to head down to the French Quarter. We didn't want her overexerting herself, so we drove down there. We ate at Hard Rock Cafe and then meandered around the Quarter for a bit. Then we headed over to the Louisiana Children's Museum for a bit. I started to get a little tired, so we headed back over to the hotel. Mark took the kids swimming and I took it easy.
For dinner, we got take out from a restaurant across the street. Reginelli's Pizzeria is AWESOME. Decently priced and EXCELLENT chow. I had pesto tortellini and Mark had a calzone. Kathy had the same as myself and Stephen had pizza. We also got the garlic spread and the Spinach-Artichoke dip. It was fantastic! Will definitely go back there for noms. Seriously good. We went back up to the room to get ready for the party. The three girls (Payton, Lauren and Raegan) all have February birthdays, so Lynley bought a cake and we had a little birthday celebration for them...complete with presents! :) Chocolate + presents = happy campers.
...and this is where this blog ends....time to race. :)
Monday, February 7, 2011
Meltdown.
I think we're all entitled to a meltdown every now and again. Sometimes people have spectacular meltdowns: you know the kind where the waterworks are flowing, yelling ensues and possibly the breakage of a few treasured items that you may come to regret in the morning. Other times, the meltdown may be more silent, no yelling, no breaking of things and no waterworks. These kind of meltdowns, while definitely more secretive are just as spectacular.
I think I may be in the middle of a spectacular silent meltdown. My brain seems to be going into shut down mode, even as I type this. Everyone knows that I'm a busy person. I get a lot of comments about how crazy I must be and yadda yadda yadda. Yes. I'm busy. Yes. It was my choice. Yes. I made a HUGE mistake in over scheduling myself. Yes. I TOTALLY regret it. I thought that Mark's job would basically be keeping away from the house at all hours of the day. He's done this kind of job before and I was completely unprepared for it. He would leave at 6am and not come home sometimes until 9 or 10pm--only to get up and do it all over again the next day. Weekends consisted of him going in at least one day. Needless to say, I decided that I didn't want to be left with a lot of time on my hands to wallow in self-pity. So, I did what any other spouse would do--I decided to keep myself busy.
Busy is very much an understatement. I work part time, take classes for my master's degree, volunteer with the Barksdale Officers' Spouses' Club, raise the kiddos and run. Any time leftover is usually dedicated to inhaling food or sleeping. I thought I had it under control until yesterday. For some reason, yesterday is when everything seemed to unravel in my brain. It wasn't any one thing in particular. I have 2 papers due today and have only partially completed one. I know that I will finish them today (and most likely, they will be total crap), but my brain just doesn't want to cooperate. I want to veg on the couch with the kids. I want to be able to roam a store without having to run to a meeting. I want to just escape for a little while. The only problem is that if I escape for a little while, I know that everything will just pile up and still be waiting for me with an even greater sense of urgency. Again, I realize that I did this to myself, so I am expecting absolutely no pity whatsoever.
Things went over the top this morning. I have had some *ahem* girly issues that have been off and on for the past 2 years. I thought that they had resolved themselves, as I have not had to go in for almost 18 months. However, yesterday it reared its ugly head again. I had hoped that when I woke up this morning that it would have magically disappeared. It didn't. I know that I need to see the doctor, as my referral to the OB/GYN has expired. It is a vicious cycle with Tricare...you go to your Primary Care Physician, only to get referred to the on-base OB/GYN. The OB/GYN on base is mean and nasty and will then refer you to an off-base provider. The whole process takes about 6 weeks to finally get seen by the person that you need to see. I am exhausted just thinking about having to go through all of this all over again. I have 6 days until the marathon, 2 papers due today, a social tomorrow night and a fundraiser that I am trying to solicit donations for in my spare time. My silent meltdown has commenced and I just don't want to play anymore.
The papers will get done, the marathon will be run, the social will be fun and the fundraiser is whatever it is. I have already started the ball rolling with the doctors. I have an appointment at 10:20am tomorrow morning and I'm hoping that they can prescribe the first round of meds to see if it will help, AND that they can put in a direct referral to the off base provider. I know it's a lot to hope for, but stranger things have happened. I just know to not do this again to myself. Consider the lesson learned.
I think I may be in the middle of a spectacular silent meltdown. My brain seems to be going into shut down mode, even as I type this. Everyone knows that I'm a busy person. I get a lot of comments about how crazy I must be and yadda yadda yadda. Yes. I'm busy. Yes. It was my choice. Yes. I made a HUGE mistake in over scheduling myself. Yes. I TOTALLY regret it. I thought that Mark's job would basically be keeping away from the house at all hours of the day. He's done this kind of job before and I was completely unprepared for it. He would leave at 6am and not come home sometimes until 9 or 10pm--only to get up and do it all over again the next day. Weekends consisted of him going in at least one day. Needless to say, I decided that I didn't want to be left with a lot of time on my hands to wallow in self-pity. So, I did what any other spouse would do--I decided to keep myself busy.
Busy is very much an understatement. I work part time, take classes for my master's degree, volunteer with the Barksdale Officers' Spouses' Club, raise the kiddos and run. Any time leftover is usually dedicated to inhaling food or sleeping. I thought I had it under control until yesterday. For some reason, yesterday is when everything seemed to unravel in my brain. It wasn't any one thing in particular. I have 2 papers due today and have only partially completed one. I know that I will finish them today (and most likely, they will be total crap), but my brain just doesn't want to cooperate. I want to veg on the couch with the kids. I want to be able to roam a store without having to run to a meeting. I want to just escape for a little while. The only problem is that if I escape for a little while, I know that everything will just pile up and still be waiting for me with an even greater sense of urgency. Again, I realize that I did this to myself, so I am expecting absolutely no pity whatsoever.
Things went over the top this morning. I have had some *ahem* girly issues that have been off and on for the past 2 years. I thought that they had resolved themselves, as I have not had to go in for almost 18 months. However, yesterday it reared its ugly head again. I had hoped that when I woke up this morning that it would have magically disappeared. It didn't. I know that I need to see the doctor, as my referral to the OB/GYN has expired. It is a vicious cycle with Tricare...you go to your Primary Care Physician, only to get referred to the on-base OB/GYN. The OB/GYN on base is mean and nasty and will then refer you to an off-base provider. The whole process takes about 6 weeks to finally get seen by the person that you need to see. I am exhausted just thinking about having to go through all of this all over again. I have 6 days until the marathon, 2 papers due today, a social tomorrow night and a fundraiser that I am trying to solicit donations for in my spare time. My silent meltdown has commenced and I just don't want to play anymore.
The papers will get done, the marathon will be run, the social will be fun and the fundraiser is whatever it is. I have already started the ball rolling with the doctors. I have an appointment at 10:20am tomorrow morning and I'm hoping that they can prescribe the first round of meds to see if it will help, AND that they can put in a direct referral to the off base provider. I know it's a lot to hope for, but stranger things have happened. I just know to not do this again to myself. Consider the lesson learned.
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