You will regret not running, but will rarely regret going for a run

This is what I said to myself to get out the door tonight. Bil, Raviv and I went on vacation with our dear friend Dr. M. and my cousin M. (I refer to a lot of M's in this blog). Though we had a very nice time on the Jersey shore (free lodging and a warm ocean!) Raviv was not so easy. On Tuesday night he woke up at 11:30, 1:30. 3:30, 4:30 and then at 5:30 for the day. I think he might be teething, but no sign of a tooth yet. Plus, as soon as we got home yesterday, he was back to his cheery self. I think he doesn't like to travel.



Anyway, as usual, when the four (adults) get together, we eat. A lot. We've made a habit of eating our way through Boston, New York, and now Northampton and New Jersey (french toast souffle anyone?). The irony is that Bil and I are both trying to make this "the summer of slim," Dr. M is a marathoner and cousin M has a hard core yoga practice (the kind where you basically contort your body and balance on one ear. The pic below isn't her, but I bet she could do that)

Anyway, after eating like crazy, and sitting around I got home and felt I should get back on the ball. I did run once on vacation. I ran along the boardwalk in Asbury Park. It was really great being by the ocean. On the way home, however I got totally lost and saw the less "tourist friendly" side of Asbury Park. I had my iTouch, so I tried to email Bil ("help, I'm lost!") but he didn't get it. Eventually I found a fire station and they helped me. I didn't know the address, but I knew I was near some vegan restaurant with a "tree" in the name. I also got the WORST chafe ever. Even worse than the first time. I think the sweat from the 90 degree day and the ocean air made my legs extra sensitive.

Luckily I got home almost safe and sound (I did walk into a sign and got such a HUGE bruise/cut on my arm that Dr. M made me promise to get a tetanus shot and I may have gotten poison ivy- we'll know soon enough), but Raviv was not happy his meal was late. Or salty.

So tonight I got home from an unexpected day of work (technically, I'm still on vacation) and decided to binge eat on cereal. I know it is because I was so tired. But after eating, and spending some great time with Raviv (this was one of those nights where I just love him so much I can't stand it) I decided to run.

I think there were three reasons why I had such a great run:

1) Raviv doesn't eat when he is with Bil. So instead of his normal 18 oz of milk he only had about 4 all day. He sucked me dry tonight, so I had a lot less discomfort in that area.

2) The weather was warm enough, but not hot

3) I have a great play list for running. Below is what I listened to while running. (Please note that I do not listen to this type of music other than when running. Ok, maybe in the afternoon on a slow day, but other than that it is KEXP, NPR, or Pandora. The playlist below is 41 minutes, the perfect amount of time:

1. Dead and Gone- T.I feat. Justin Timberlake


2. Electric Feel- MGMT


3. Just Dance- Lady GaGa


4. If U Seek Amy- Britney Spears


5. That's not my name- the Ting Tings


6. Ain't No Sunshine- The Neville Brothers


7. Let it Rock- Kevin Rudolf


8. I gotta feeling- Black Eyed Peas


9. Poker Face-Lady GaGa


10. Right Round- Flo Rida

Not related to this post, cousin M is a special ed teacher and an early intervention specialist. She and I were talking about Autism and I found this article that is interesting...

What do you listen to when you run?

How I got swimmer's ear and almost drowned.

Hot yoga is sweaty. I know you're thinking "duh, isn't that the point" but I have to tell you, it really is. Last night was my second try and I wasn't so impressed. During triangle pose water sweat kept dripping ever deeper into my ear canal. I swear I need those vinegar and alcohol drops I had after swim lessons at camp. Then, during extended down-dogs, so much sweat dripped into my nose I swore I was going to drown. The breath, called oceanic breathing is aptly named. I have included two diagrams for those of you who are not familiar with yoga. You can see how running streams of sweat can be problematic.

I have always resisted trying hot yoga, because it sounded awful. Why would you intentionally put yourself in a room heated to 100 degrees and exercise? I anticipated anxiety and a heart attack.

Saturday night we went out to dinner and a friend, whose doctor told him he needed to exercise or he would die told me he was going to go to hot yoga. On Sunday morning, I woke up, ate a huge breakfast and sat around while Bil went to the gym. When he came home, he told me it was my turn. Yoga has always been a way to "work out" when I've been too lazy to do anything else, so I decided I'd go with my near-dead friend. The studio offers a all-you-can-pose first week deal of $20 for unlimited classes. I opted to pay the $14 for one class, sure I would never do it again.

When we walked into the room, I was surprised that I could actually breath. Later, I learned that we were doing the fake hot yoga- only 97 degrees, not 120. I enjoyed the class, which was a surprise because in addition to my hot-yoga aversion, I hate to exercise in the morning. But rather than feeling sick all day, as I usually would with a pre-noon workout, I felt really good. Best of all, my joints felt better (they had been bothering me for two weeks). I also LOVE to sweat, as long as it is confined to appropriate sweat-based activities like running or hanging out in a sauna.

After my great run on Monday, and a residual good mood from Sunday, I decided I would go back to yoga on Tuesday night. I had a very buzzy day. You know the kind- you are so busy, that you have a buzz to your body like you've just consumed a gallon of coffee. Except I avoid caffeine like the plague. You think so hard you sweat. I figured having a calm, peaceful workout (and in the evening no less!) would be ideal.

Not so much. For some reason I just couldn't focus. My mind wandered, my form was awful (knock-knees = bad yoga form) and I felt dizzy and nauseous the whole time. Plus there was the whole swimmer's ear and drowning hazards. To be fair, I did learn two new stretches that felt AMAZING after a long run.

I did feel better as I went to bed, but I didn't sleep very well. Plus, my skin is breaking out. Not sure if that is because of the "detoxing" effects promised or the fact that I had my sweaty face pressed on a rented yoga mat that smelled like feet.

My friend who got me into this hasn't gone yet for his second class. He isn't making very good use of his unlimited classes for this first week. He was too sore to go with me yesterday. Rumor has it he's going tomorrow, so we'll see how he fares. I think I need to follow my friend C's dating rule: Give everyone at least three dates before making a decision. So I'll do this hot yoga one more time before deciding yay or nay.

PS- Two of my most important exercise rules are repeatedly violated in this class:

1) Spandex should never come in a size larger than small.

2) The amount clothing men must wear is directly proportional to the amount of body hair you have. This is especially critical when considering running shorts and topless yoga.

Things I thought about while running

• how happy I was to be outside and to be alone
• I was happy I added new music to my mix
• my arms are sore from hot yoga yesterday
• I really liked hot yoga, but that I was glad I did easy hot yoga (97 degrees) instead of hard core hot yoga (120 degrees)
• I wished I had eaten something before I left
• what I was going to eat when I got home (a hard boiled egg, cream of wheat, and some veggies)
• my joints are starting to feel better. I probably don't have Lyme disease
• I should read my blog posts before hitting "publish" as sometimes my thoughts get away from me and I forget to say what I really wanted to
• this is a bad habit I have in general, and that my dad always pushed me to proofread
• I probably won't proof this post either
• I was glad to go on a long run (relatively)
• I am glad I am able to go on a long run both by having the time and the physical stamina
• it was such a nice surprise to turn onto the bikepath on my way back and realize I had been slowly going uphill, because it meant I could finish my run on a downgrade!
• It isn't fun to get to work on a Monday morning and be the one to find out that a diet coke exploded in the fridge
• I am glad I am a vegetarian
• I didn't eat out at all today (other than an iced tea) and that it felt good
• I like facebook
• I really like my job and feel like I'm getting back in the swing of things, and that I have a very full plate right now, but in an okay way
• I'm looking forward to the Ms getting back so we can re commit to the FLC
• I have a bit less jig, and it is easier to run with less jig
• I never thought I'd be a two-bra runner
• I'm really happy for my two cross-country buddies that got married this past weekend (not to each other)
• "what happens on the mat is a mirror for what happens in life" isn't as ridiculous as it sounds.
• I wonder who reads this blog. 58 differnet computers have been directed to this site.
• that I would probably forget what I wanted to post on my blog today

Thoughtful Shabbat

Tonight we had a lovely dinner with some friends. I invited my friend from work (M) since his weekend plans got cancelled. M is currently deciding what to do with his life. He is very smart, and has too many interests. Ultimately I am sure he is going to be an amazing doctor with a strong commitment to social justice and activism. Right now he's reading a lot of famous writers- Che, Freire, and most recently Paul Farmer (his own work, not Mountains Beyond Mountains) and having his mind blown.

Hampshire was the best experience for me- I was able to spend four years exploring ideas, critical thought, and drawing connections between mind-blowing ideas. In many ways it was a time when I was able to explore my interests as M is now. Learning HOW to do this was very important, as since then I have had enough of a structure that I haven't gotten too lost or overwhelmed. At least not in unmanageable ways.

Speaking with him tonight I realized how long it has been since I've really invested in my own learning from a purely intellectual stance. I have spent a lot of time learning about pregnancy, motherhood, babies, the human body. I have been growing emotionally. I am working, but not with the same single-minded focus I have in the past. It is very hard to do this while being exhausted, or having someone demanding attention at all times. I miss it. I'm not sure how to make more time for thinking, but I need to. I think it ties into my general quest to find more time to exercise etc- I want to keep investing in my spirit, and both intellectual and physical exercise has been important to me.

Now that Bil is back (YAY!) I will start to prioritize finding some more time for myself.

Cousin It

I'm not sure who is shedding more in this family- me or the cats. One of the things people love about being pregnant is how thick their hair gets due to the increases of estrogen. I didn't really notice, since I have about ten times the amount of hair as a normal person. According to babycenter.com this is what happens:

During pregnancy, changes in your hormone levels cause your hair to stay in a resting phase for longer, so you lose less hair on a daily basis. (You may have noticed that your hair seemed thicker than usual.)After you've given birth and your hormones have settled down — usually at about 12 weeks after delivery — more hair shifts into a shedding phase. You may be alarmed to find hair coming out by the handful.Normally, you lose about 100 to 125 hairs a day, but after delivery, you may be losing about 500 a day. This can be very disturbing, but try not to worry too much — you won't go bald!

So really, I was probably losing about 5000 hairs a day. And no, I didn't go bald. Luckily, it has started to slow down. Four things happened today that got me thinking about this.

1) I comb my hair in the shower. Normally, I gather the hairs out of my comb and then throw them in the trash (or sometimes over our bedroom balcony) when I am done. Today I noticed a few hairs in the drain, so I bent down to pull them out. But, on the other end was a HUGE HAIR BLOB! It was so gross. Those reading this should be very happy I don't know how to post pictures (other than those I get off of google images), or I would go upstairs and photograph the hair in my trash. When I googled "hair clog" to illustrate this point most pictures were so gross, I couldn't post them. Plus, I figure everyone knows what a hair clog looks like. I did, however, come across this image, which I think provides an excellent visual for today's entire post.

Sean and Eirin can provide verification that I do indeed shed a lot of hair, as though I tried to be conscientious about cleaning up my discarded strands after visiting, they found a lot in the drain. They also just found a bag of breast milk in the fridge, but I'm not taking responsibility for that.

2) I was getting Raviv dressed today when Shae came into his room to say good morning. Shae and Raviv are starting to become friends. Shae let Raviv pet her, which was very sweet. But, Raviv then had gobs of cat fur all over his slimy hands (he has been sucking on them a lot, so they are always wet).

3) I went downstairs and as I was passing the office, I noticed a few weird things on the carpet. Yup- hairballs. Hairballs that cats cough up are disgusting. They look like furry poop. Unfortunately, Shae had gotten outside a few days ago and ate a bunch of grass, so these hairballs were poopy, furry and grassy. I picked up the biggest clumps, but I'm going to leave the rest for Bil to deal with. For those of you who don't know what this looks like, I am including a picture. Sorry it is so gross but its the cold hard truth. Also, apparently google images doesn't have a large stock of furball pics.

1) I combed out the cats. Or tried. I'm not sure why they aren't bald! After combing the cats they were both about half the size, but I now have a third pet. Hopefully I don't have to feed it.

And, sadly, we missed "National Hairball Day" which was observed on April 24 of this year. For those of you who want more information, please click here, but I recommend NOT doing it on your lunch hour. Unless you are on a starvation diet.

cloth diapering

So I've totally recommitted to cloth diapering. Today some of the moms were emailing about it and I went to the website of our diaper service motherherbdiaperservice.com and went to her section why cloth and was totally shocked by how awful disposables are. I mean, obviously I know they are terrible, or I wouldn't be using cloth in the first place. We are using cloth more for the environmental impact, but I hadn't realized how hazardous to the health disposables are. I have even gotten Raviv's daycare to agree to "try" the cloth diapers. I think it has taken a while because at first they were so bulky for such a little baby they didn't work. And, I didn't have covers I liked. Now I use the g diaper cover with the pre-fold insert instead of their inserts. Though the g diaper inserts are flushable, compostable, or tossable they are still bleached and full of not so great stuff. Plus, one of my favorite parts of the service is that the pedal people deliver! For those of you who don't live in Northampton, the pedal people provide delivery/courier service in the town by bike. I took this picture off of their website. This is Ruthy, she is our pedal person.


When Raviv was really little, and pooped 10 times a day, I would often lay him on a cloth diaper and let him "free ball" it for a while. This prevented diaper rash, and he would poop on the diaper, and I wouldn't even have to change him!

We were also discussing teething today. When I was in Seattle, I got Raviv a new teething toy. Someone gave us a crate of organic teething vegetables that he LOVES.While in Seattle, I got him a broccoli to go with the set.
Unfortunately, if you turn it upside down, it takes on a whole new look. It is fun to watch Raviv go to town on this toy though. We also got him an eggplant in Northampton. The eggplant, mushroom and tomato are too hard for him to hold, and we lost the string bean, so I think the broccoli will have to remain in active rotation. I think I was trying to compensate for not wanting to feed him real food by purchasing fake food. It is so easy to just pop him on the boob when he is hungry, and his poops are really easy to clean and not stinky. I'm a bit nervous for big-boy poops. At least children tend to toilet train up to a year earlier with cloth diapers! Raviv has started eating though. He LOVES to drink out of a cup. At daycare he now drinks breast milk out of a cup instead of a bottle. And if I am holding him while trying to drink water, he gets way too excited and grabs the glass.

At some point I will upload my own pictures.

It is so hot today. We have a little gadget from Brookstone that someone must have gotten as a gift, because I don't know why anyone would buy it on purpose. It looks like an egg and has the date, time and temperature on it. Our rule today is if your office reaches 82 degrees, you can go home. Ken thought he had the hottest office at 80.2, but mine has officially reached 82.2. So I am going to go home. It isn't too exciting though because I would have left in 7 minutes anyway to go pick up Raviv.

Beach blanket baby and Blogger's remorse

We had an amazing and yet depressing weekend at the beach. Since I was a little girl my family vacationed in Montauk, Long Island where my grandparents spent the summer. We stay at a little hotel right on the beach. To the left is a picture of the entrance to the beach from the hotel. Back in the 80's the hotel was decent but now many of the rooms are getting worn. With a beautiful pool and gorgeous beach it doesn't matter- we only use the room to shower and sleep.

This year, Bil took the train and I took Raviv on the ferries and we met in East Hampton. Raviv was amazing- he slept from our house to the first ferry, was awake and playful for the 90 minute crossing, and then slept through the rest of the journey (the second two ferries are very short so we stay in the car). It was somewhat emotional to bring my little guy to a place that is so meaningful for me. I hope he has as many fantastic times as I did at this beach. I think he is well on his way- the whole weekend he was happy and charming. It was fantastic seeing Bil and we had one of our first really relaxing weekends of the summer.

Raviv went into the ocean and the pool. He wasn't sure what to make of either. When we were in Seattle, his Aunt Eirin tried to explain that swimming was like being in a bath but it lasts longer. I think Raviv was confused because he was in full sun-protective gear- he was in a long sleeve, footed SPF outfit and hat. I also have UV protective sunglasses for him. I'm not sure he liked being in the water with these things and a soggy diaper, but being half Irish, he really has no choice. (Bil and I are both half Irish, so Raviv is two quarters Irish). He got to swim with Omi (great-grandmother) which I think they both enjoyed.

The trip was a bit depressing because it has become very clear that Omi is getting older. She and her friend Ed, who also spends the summer in Montauk are both starting to struggle with their physical health, which, at least for Omi has an impact on her mental health.

The trip home was much more challenging than the trip out. I have done this drive a million times, but doing the trip alone, with mommy-brain is a whole new experience. I was used to heading to New London from Boston, so I made sure to print directions from Northampton. I didn't print directions to get home, thinking once I did the drive, it would come back to me. Unfortunately, I forgot the part that I have no memory. I got off the ferry and successfully got onto rt. 32. When I got on the road, I saw a hard-core biker. I was impressed he was riding on a highway, (this wasn't like the mass-pike, it was a small highway). I kept driving looking for rt. 2A, but it never came. I looked back at my directions and realized I needed to get on 395. So I turned around and backtracked to 395. I saw the biker just as I was approaching 395 and marveled at how fast he was! Getting on 395, I kept a look out for 2A. I finally saw it and took the exit. Just as I was exiting, I realized I had gotten on 2A east. So I took the nearest exit to turn around. At the end of the ramp I saw the biker AGAIN! I felt like a total doofus for making several circles. To mkae it worse, Raviv started crying (again) and didn't stop until we were almost home. Once we got home, he was happy as usual. I think he is just a homebody. Unfortunately Bil and I don't stay home much.

Last weekend I went for a run and since then my ankle and knee have been bothering me. I finally felt like maybe I would try to run today, but it was so hot and humid, I didn't. I did walk for a little bit and felt my knee ache again. Not sure what to do about it. I wish I could go swimming, but I'm not sure what I would do with Raviv. It will be good when Bil returns home for good so I don't have to be a single mom.

The other topic is Blogger's Remorse-

It is so weird writing about my life (albeit some posts are boring, like this one) and not knowing who is reading them. Or if they are really dumb. I journaled from the time I was 12 until about 22. I figure this is a good way to get back into it. Of course, some stuff I won't be blogging about that I would have journaled about- ergo the occasionally boring post rather than something more personal

At some point I'll get better about pictures so I can make this more visually interesting. I think we only have two pictures from our beach weekend.

I am still trying to figure out formatting and captioning...