I never thought I'd...Thursday

Have you ever done something that you never thought you'd do? Yeah, me too.

Actually, this is something I never thought my husband would do, but I think that still counts.  It's my blog, so I make the rules.

Last night, after dinner and after giving Evan a bath I randomly asked Ivan if he'd help me clean the bathrooms. They were super disgusting because it is so hard to find the time to clean them. Hubs totally shocked me by saying yes! I could have rolled over in happiness. So we got to work. I sprayed them down and cleaned the sinks and toilets and hubs cleaned the shower and bathtub.  Great deal because I hate cleaning the bathtub and shower. And although hubs hates to clean, he is really good at it and scrubs with all his might, so the shower and bathtub are now spotless.  Or at least they were last night.

For the most part, hubs and I have divided the chores. I think I have way more, but at least he does something. Especially now during the summer when it's hot, hubs comes home from work utterly exhausted. Working outside in this heat is tiring so he often comes home and naps.  I am tired after work too - commuting and working my brain all day is tiring too, but in a different way.  So I let Ivan get away with less chores. And let's be honest, Ivan doesn't care quite as much about cleaning the house. His jobs are to take out the trash, take out the recycle, wash the car, and vacuum.  He does these things regularly so I don't have to nag him about it. If the trash is stinky and I want him to take it out, I just tell him it's stinky and he says he'll take it out.

That's why I was shocked he said yes about the bathrooms. Who likes doing the bathrooms?? No one.  But let me tell you, it went way quicker than it does when I do it by myself.

And then he went back to this:

Watching soccer.  The World Cup qualifying matches are on so it seems like every day is another big soccer match.  The picture above was actually from Tuesday. Honduras was playing USA. That's a big day in our house! I rooted for USA and hubs rooted for Honduras. I have no idea who Evan will root for in the future.  USA ended up winning 1-0, but it was still a good game. Yesterday we watched Japan vs. Italia.  We were both rooting for Italia, or course, since I am part Italian.

While the game was on Evan entertained himself with a box.

He was really excited.

He played until dinner. Then it was bath and bedtime.

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What chores do you have around the house? What chore do you hate doing?

Do you watch the World Cup Qualifying matches? What's your favorite soccer/football team?

Hot Day for a Run

Today sure was toasty. I am heading to the beach next week though so I am trying to get my runs in.  It sure would be nice to fit into my pre-pregnancy shorts and summer clothes. Even my husband asked why I way the same clothes all the time. When I told him my other clothes don't fit yet he suggested I go shopping, but I don't really want to spend the money if there's hope that my old clothes might fit. We shall see.

I usually don't like to run during lunch when it's so hot out. We don't have showers so that means I have to be sweaty all day long. During the winter it's no big deal because I don't sweat that badly, but now that it's 80+ degrees out and 70% humidity, not sweating isn't really an option. However, it is so hard to get my runs in after I get home from work that I feel like lunchtime is my only option. Sweaty mess and all.

Here, I am, all sweaty. Not sure what that thing is in the bottom left corner, I think it's my iPod case. 

Today I put on my running clothes and realized that I forgot my socks. I just had my business socks on...which happened to have red peppers on them. 

Yeah, I know, totally professional. So I had to run in those. I didn't think it would be too big a deal since I was only going 3 miles, but no, I got a blister.

And a lot of foot fuzz from the socks. Note to self, remember my running socks next time. They are important!  And no criticizing my feet, I realize they are not my sexiest attribute. And I also realize that my shoes are old as dirt. My hubs was going to buy me a new pair for my bday but he bought me golf clubs instead. So, I'm still running in the same shoes I ran the Marine Corps marathon in...in 2011. That's practically a crime but I keep spending our money on groceries and car seat bags and ridiculously expensive half marathons that I don't have money to buy new shoes.  And not only are they old but they are all stretched out from my fat pregnancy feet.

It's on my to do list.  Buy new running shoes.

I'm surprised I got my run in because work is so busy right now, but I'm glad I did. I was extra efficient in the afternoon and that was an added bonus.  I also realized that I grossly underestimate how long it will take me to do things. I swore I'd have my mailing for National HIV Test Day done today but even though I was very productive, there were too many things to do. I guess it will go out tomorrow instead. Hopefully the staff meeting doesn't eat up too much of my time.

Now I'm on the bus home. Fun times. I don't have Internet access, but I can upload this when I get home. Might as well do something productive on the 2 hour bus ride home, right?

And because I can't end a post without my adorable baby, here's a pic I snapped this morning of Evan sleeping. It's a bit dark because I didn't want to wake him and my iPad doesn't have a flash. It's adorable anyway, in my opinion.

Lots of Exercise and Father’s Day

I think Saturdays are quickly becoming the day where I walk and run all day long.  I had my last First Tee class (although my next session starts in two weeks).  It is always sad to say goodbye to the girls, but many take another session in the summer or fall so it’s not too long before I see them again.  However, Evan was sleeping when I finished class so I ended up walking home.  He has been sick for the past few days so I didn’t want hubs to wake him up (we had both hardly slept the night before due to his coughing spells).  It wasn’t too big a deal to walk because it was nice out and it’s only a mile – however, I had to walk in my golf shoes.  Not the most comfortable thing in the world.  When I got home, Evan had just woken up and was determined to get the bone from the dog.

That afternoon Evan and I had a play date with my Team in Training friends, so once I got home I quickly ate a sandwich and was out the door again.  Not before calling the doctor though.  Poor little Evan was coughing up a storm and so I decided to call the doctor and see what she thought.  She was at a graduation party about 2 hours away so she said she’d email later when she got back in town and I could bring him in.  I am so relieved that our pediatrician is willing to see Evan on the weekends rather than having to bring him to a pediatric urgent care.  I am also glad that she gives all her patients her cell phone and email so that I can contact her at any time (I try not to abuse this and only call/email when I feel like it’s an emergency).

So, hubs dropped us off at the play date and he went to play golf (the doctor didn’t think that Evan’s cough was contagious).  Evan had a ball playing with new toys and going to the park and then right as we were thinking about leaving the doctor called and said she’s be at the office around 5:15pm.  Well, it was close to that time so we packed up and ran the 1.5 miles to the doctor.  I had told my husband that I figured it was a short enough distance that I could easily run to the doctor, so I brought some running clothes to change into – but what I didn’t figure into that equation was that I was then going to have to run home too(about 3 miles).  I have decided that time is so short I’m going to have to work running into my life by incorporating functional exercise.  So, we’ll just literally run our errands!  This works sometimes and since we are a one-car family, there are many times I am at home without transportation.  Good think the library, doctor, and frozen yogurt are all within running distance!

The doctor checked Evan out and gave him a nebulizer and a prescription and off we went.  Actually, Evan fell asleep on the run over to the doctor’s office and slept through the entire appointment (even when the doctor looked in his ears).  He then slept almost the entire run home.  He woke up about ten minutes from the house.  The run was a tad bit hot and mostly uphill, so we were both sweaty by the time we got home.

I then switched Evan from the stroller to the baby mai tei – I figured he was tired of sitting in the stroller.  I am surprised that the mai tei doesn’t feel too hot.  I was afraid that having him strapped so close to me was going to make us both miserable.  We get a little sweaty but it’s totally workable.  We then took Dolce for a walk.  My legs were a bit sore from pushing the BOB up so many hills, but we persevered. 

Yikes – what an active day!  Both Evan and I crashed that night – but then Evan was up multiple times coughing again.  Poor little guy.

Today is Father’s Day and we have been having fun doing whatever Ivan wants.  Luckily he doesn’t have too many demands – breakfast at Bob Evans and Lemon-Peppery Shrimp with Linguini for dinner.  And a nap.

And an afternoon playing golf with his friends (and his new rangefinder that we bought him for Father’s Day).  I was up early grocery shopping at 6:30am.  Yeah – that’s my new thing.  I drop Ivan off at work at 6:30am and Evan and I head to the grocery store and do our shopping.  And yet again I completely failed at making it under budget – I spent $162.  WHAT!!  I don’t even know what I bought that cost so much.  How annoying.

I am now making BBQ Pulled Chicken in the crock pot for tomorrow and boiling up some beans for the week.  I’m also folding laundry, killing wasps (ok, just one but I’m nervous that I’m going to find more), and waiting for Evan to wake up so we can walk the dog again.

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Have you ever “ran” your errands?

What time of day do you usually go to the grocery store?

I never thought I'd...Thursday

Have you ever done something that you never thought you'd do?  Yeah, me too.

I never thought I'd marry a Honduran.  Ever in my life.

Hubs and me in my Honduran house.

When I joined the Peace Corps, I specifically remember telling my PC friends that I couldn't imagine ever marrying a host country national - the cultural differences seemed immense and hard to overcome.  Language barriers, food differences, lifestyle differences, different moral codes.  How could it ever possibly work???

And then in March 2010 - I married a Honduran.  I sometimes still can't believe it myself.

And although my Spanish is pretty decent and we rarely have Spanish-English communication problems - we still have food preference differences and lifestyle differences and many other differences.  And sometimes it seems impossible to overcome these differences while at the same time they seem so small and insignificant.

And in all reality, I think most of our conflicts tend to be the exact same conflicts that all married couples have: who washes the dishes, whose turn is it to change the diaper, husband is golfing too much, wife takes seven hours to grocery shop, and we both pretend to need to use the bathroom when we want a secret minute of our own (i.e. Can you watch Evan while I use the bathroom quick sometimes = I'm going to go read five chapters of my book in the bathroom all by myself).

I'm not sure when I changed my mind about marrying a Honduran.  I don't think I really changed my mind completely.  I think I met Ivan, then felt like I wanted to marry HIM (as opposed to any Honduran).  And it's not like we are similar at all - we come from very different backgrounds and we have had practically opposite life experiences.  When I met him and we started dating, I just had a feeling that he was the one.  I knew shortly after we got together that I was probably going to marry him - eventually...after years of immigration paperwork and bills and expensive visits and interviews with embassies.

And the adjustments have been hard - him moving here, trying to learn English, adjusting to new food and new ways of doing things.  Our first year of marriage was tough and even now it takes a lot of work.  But it's worth it.  I remember when I was still in Honduras and I talked with a Peace Corps employee who had married a host country national 20 some years earlier - and she said that she loved her husband but if she had to do it all over again, she wouldn't marry him - that the cultural differences were so intense and her marriage took so much work, that it almost took the joy out of it.  She said she didn't regret it, but that if she had to make the decision again, she would make a different one.  Her opinion has stayed with me all this time - constantly making me wonder if in 20 years I would think the same thing.

On our honeymoon in Hersey Park.

Luckily, as of now, I would still marry my husband.  Hard work and all.  I think all marriages are hard and require a lot of communication, understanding, flexibility, and forgiveness.  Yes, my husband is obsessed with WWE wrestling, but I can forgive him for that.  :-)  And he hates garlic and most Italian food, but I can forgive him for that too.  :-)

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What is something you never thought you'd do?

What is the hardest thing about being married?

What do you do when you need ten minutes of peace and quiet?

I'm gonna be a Princess

It's official.  I just signed up for the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  Yikes!  And that yikes is not for the distance, but for the price.  Seriously, there is no reason why Disney has to charge $160 to run a half marathon.  It's not like we get free entrance to the park or anything.  And it starts at 5:30am, so I kind of doubt they are losing any money on ticket sales.  Disney is one GREEDY company - and I just bought into it and paid an arm and a leg to run in one of their races.

I only did it because my sister has been talking about running this half marathon for her 30th birthday for years and I promised her I'd do it with her.  So, that means I have to register and pay to get down there.  It's not gonna be cheap, but it better be fun.  I haven't been to Disney World before (I went to Tokyo Disneyland when I was 5), so I am really excited to visit the parks.  Or park.  It's so crazy expensive that we will probably just visit one park for one day.  Evan will be just over a year old so it's not like he'll get much out of the experience - so we might as well wait until he's older before spending his entire college fund on Disney World.  A few years ago I went to Orlando on a work trip and stopped Universal Studios and saw Harry Potter - that was cool.  Not as cool as I though, but still a lot of fun.  And it was only not as cool as I thought because a lot of the attractions were roller coasters - and I hate roller coasters.

Hogwarts!

Hogwarts Express!

This will be my first real race since Marine Corps Marathon.  And that was a while ago.  I did that 4 mile race a couple of weekends ago but that wasn't super serious.  Especially since I ran with the jogger (which I won't be doing in this race).  I guess I better start training.

Not sure what the source for this is - sorry!

And being more serious about running.  At the moment I am running about three times a week - and not much.  It's hard getting in the time and being organized enough to run, but I will have to try harder.  The summer is less hectic because I don't have class, but come September I start classes again so it will be even more chaotic.  I love chaos (read: sarcasm).

The half marathon isn't until February, so I don't actually have to start training now.  However, if you don't provide them with a time before December they make you start in the last coral.  I do NOT want to be in the last coral.  So, there is a possiblity that my sister and I will be running Baltimore Half too.

Double yikes!  I HATE running in Baltimore because it is SO hilly.  I think it's hillier than San Francisco's marathon.  Everything always starts at Inner Harbor and then you have to go up from there - no matter what direction you go.  And some times you go up for miles.  I remember the first year they did the marathon, the first 16 miles were uphill.  Luckily they changed the course so it's not quite that bad anymore, but it's not good.  One would think I could use my marathon time from Oct. 2011 - but nope.  Disney wants a time from Feb. 2012.  Well, I was pregnant in Feb. 2012 so I don't have a time since then.  Baltimore's half marathon is in October, so that means training starts now.  Or close to now anyway.

After all this complaining, I am actually super excited.  I LOVE running and I really love training for an event.  I like marathons but the training takes up way too much time, so I am much happier training for a half marathon.  And I'm excited that my sister is starting to get into running.  She always hated running, but she's slowly learning to love it.  Yay!  Another running convert.

Now I just have to convince my older sister to start running!!

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What races do you have planned this summer/fall?

Any big plans for your 30th birthday/Did you do anything amazing for your 30th bday?

A lot of outside and too many dog walks

These nice spring/summer days keep me outside as much as possible.  It's like I can't get outside enough.  This is good and bad.  It's good because it makes me happy to be outside but it's bad because it means I get nothing done in the house (i.e. I only got one load of laundry done).

This weekend was spent outside - pretty much walking dogs a gazillion times.

On Saturday morning I coached golf from 8am-12pm.  It started raining but I made the girls finish their putting test.  They thought I was mean, but I hate going inside just because it's raining.  Now, if it were pouring, that's a different story.  However, this was just a bit heavier than a drizzle - no one was soaking wet or anything.  If we had been playing soccer or football - they would never have brought the kids inside.  I refuse to let golf be a wimpy sport.  So, they finished their test and it stopped raining and all were happy.

It then got super sunny and beautiful outside.  Hubs went to play golf (the story of his life these days) and I went to take the baby and dog for a walk (the story of my life).  We walked around one of the lakes near the house (there are three) and completed about two miles or so.  Evan fell asleep but then work up when I banged the stroller up the four flights of stairs.  I wonder why. 

We relaxed a bit, played on the floor and then hubs came home.  I was hoping to go for a run so I ended up taking Evan with me again (if Evan never learns to walk it will be because he goes on too many stroller rides).  I am taking care of my friend's dog and her brother's dog and cat, so I decided to run there and take the dogs out.  They both live on the same street so Evan and I took the long way and ran two miles to her house, picked up her dog, walked to her brother's, picked up his dog, and walked about half a mile.  Her dog is 12 years old and his dog is a tiny terrier-type so they don't need too long of walks.  It was a bit challenging walking two dogs (the terrier-type and a golden retriever) with the stroller.  I'm sure I looked ridiculous.

Then we fed the animals and ran the two miles home.  Or that was the plan.  Evan got tired of being in the stroller and pitched a fit so I took him out and carried him about half a mile.  My legs were tired from coaching, walking dogs, and running.  I think three dog walks is my limit.  When we got home I wanted fro yo so hubs and I packed up Evan and headed to the local fro yo joint.  I had fro yo just that morning too (after coaching golf).  The same guy was working...I'm hoping he didn't notice that I had just been in there a few hours before. 

Sunday was the same type of thing.  I had to walk all three dogs (this time I put Evan in the baby Mei Tai rather than the stroller).  No one got a long walk this time though - I was over it.  I went at 6:30am so that I could go straight to the grocery store after that.  In order to go to the grocery store I had to drop the hubs off at work - so that is why we were up so early.  It made the day seem very long...by the time dinner rolled around it seems like eons ago that I had gone to the grocery store.  I spent more money that I should have (it seems so impossible to keep to my $100 a week budget) and got nothing.  I hate when that happens.

I walked the dogs that evening too. 

I walked the dogs at 4am this morning before getting ready for work too. 

I am over dog-walking.  Completely over it.  Just like I am completely over washing dishes.  They are both jobs that never end.  You finish it and the next thing you know there are more dishes in the sink or another dog has to pee.  I have started watching Amazon Prime shows on the iPad while washing dishes and that helps a bit.  My show of the moment is Doc Martin.  So funny!

Sorry - I don't have any photos to illustrate this lovely post.  I will take pics today!

****What is your grocery budget?****

****What chores to you despise?****

Dog bones and my first race

On Sunday I had my FIRST RACE since the Marine Corps Marathon!  It was only 4.09 miles (it was a race to raise money for some victims of the Boston bombing), but I had to run with the jogging stroller.  I have only run about 2 miles with the stroller and really have only ran about 3 miles without it.  I just haven't found the time to go for long runs these day.  I was a bit nervous about how it would be (there were two hills on the route and we did two loops), but it turned out fine.  I started in the back but then passed a bunch of people (which is HARD when you have a stroller because you really have to weave in and out carefully).  I even passed people going uphill with the wind blowing right in my face. 

We're finished!! 
(This was taken after we had finished, but we were pretending to run it in.)

I finished in 39.27 which is approximately a 9:38 pace.  I was pretty happy with that - especially since I had started way in the back and it took me a long time to get into a good pace, so I think my last two miles were faster than that.  I will probably not run with the jogger in too many more races since it is really annoying to manuever.  I don't mind pushing it, but there are just too many people and it makes it hard to get around without running over feet.  This was a small, local race so it wasn't a big deal.  We don't have a lot of money for races anyway, so I'm not sure how many more I'll do.  Probably not a lot.  My next big race will most likely be the Disney Princess Half Marathon in Feburary that I am planning on running with my sister.  I really wanted to do the Baltimore Half this year, but it's so expensive that I am pretty sure I'll miss it.

Look at my big arm muscles!  Hahahahaha!

After the race I wanted to go home and sleep but Evan had different plans.  He has a new thing for dog bones.  Every time I closed my eyes he was after it again!

He scoots himself all the way to the dog bone...

He grabs the bone...

And then he tries to eat the bone!  Gross!!

I didn't realize he was going to put it in his mouth so the photo is blurry because I grabbed the bone out of his hand (it might have been two seconds too late).  One day before Evan could scoot around the house I went into the kitchen to grab something and came back and Dolce and Evan were chewing on this bone together - Evan on one side and Dolce on the other.  Yikes!  Evan's new favorite thing is Dolce - he scoots all over the house just to be near the dog.  Dolce finds it very annoying!

For the rest of the afternoon we played around, did laundry, and walked to the library to return a very over-due book.  My family book club is discussing The Roots of the Olive Tree by Courtney Miller Santo on Tuesday.  I finally finished the book but hadn't returned it and it was due last Monday.  Yikes!  I had already renewed it twice so I couldn't renew it again.  The library wasn't too far away and I had to walk the dog anyway - so we just walked up there and back.

How was your weekend?

Do any races??