Learning to sew

Last year I decided that I wanted to learn to knit, and I managed to teach myself after reading several books, watching countless youtube videos on casting on, and asking Bill for help (who vaguely remembered little bits of knitting from hanging out with his aunt many, many years ago). I even briefly joined the knitting group at our local library which I enjoyed but didn't have the extra time in my schedule to continue going.

I'm not a good knitter. Definitely not a fast one, but I have the basics down and enjoy it so I figured it was time to add another domestic skill to my very short list. Enter sewing.

This particular hobby is a two-birds-one-stone kind of  thing because Ella wants to learn to sew as well. She also fancies herself as a budding clothing designer as well as an artist, and a 'hair and make up doer.' Doesn't get much girlier than that!

So she and I agreed to share our 'big' Christmas present this year and Bill got us a beginner to intermediate sewing machine. I thought an easy first project - after sewing a gazillion rows of straight lines with different stitches - would be a nonslip headband. Ha!

It took us about an hour to make it and I had to rip out some, not all, stitches twice, but we did it! I imagine (hope ??) it will get easier as we practice more.

Our machine can sew a number of different stitches and Ella wanted to embellish her headband with her favorite.

I lined it up but she did the rest all on her own.  And now she's ready to find all sorts of fun ribbon to make headbands for the daughters of some friends of ours who are living in China right now.

I think they'll love them!

Leetle update

It has been 9 days since my last run and some days it makes me crazy to consider it while other days I've been relieved to not have one more thing on my to-do list.

My heel is feeling pretty good. I was on my feet a lot on Thursday and Friday so it was a little sore Saturday but nothing terrible. Hopefully this break is just what it needed to settle down.

My hip waxes and wanes. Very thankfully, it's not nearly as painful as it was a week ago, but it still hurts inside my hip where it seems the joint is located. The flexor area also hurts to the point of limping if I have to walk very far - meaning more than ~50 yards at a stretch...about the distance I had to walk while dragging Shane to see if there was another adult who could take my place in children's church because he misbehaves something fierce when I am his teacher, and Bill was home with the other kids.

I'm hopeful that I'll be able to run this Saturday at a local, low key New Years Day race, but I may just be cheering for my friends instead. So far I'm ok with that.

My new insurance kicks in next week so I can make a doctor's appointment if I don't continue to improve. I hate going to the doctor so I'm really hoping for some major improvement in the next few days.

I updated my sidebar with my 2011 (twenty-eleven or two thousand eleven???) races.  The January races are more of a wish list at this point.  The races that really matter to me are:

~ Race for the Birds - Hank and I plan to do the 4.9 mile trail run together
~ Frederick Half Marathon - relatively flat and I would love a blazing PR
~ Frederick Women's Sprint Tri - completing a sprint tri is my goal for this year
~ Frederick 10 miler - I volunteered this year and will get $10 off my registration. I'm a cheapskate and don't want that discount to go to waste. :)
Everything else is just icing on the cake.

So there it is.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are looking forward to an incredible New Year!

Merry Christmas!

For to us a child is born,

to us a son is given,

and the government will be on his shoulders.

And he will be called

Wonderful Counselor,

Mighty God,

Everlasting Father,

Prince of Peace

Isaiah 9:6

Merry Christmas!

I thought you might enjoy some of the millions of many pictures I took to get one that was Christmas card worthy.

I think this is Slater the Cat's online debut. She's about 16 y/o, drools, is blind and half deaf, and Shane loves her tremendously. He carries her all over the house like a sack of potatoes and he was adamant that she be in the pictures, too. If you look closely you can see the puddle of drool on Jake's leg.

And Hank thought Blu should be in the pictures too. So now I, not a professional, have 3 little kids, 1 geriatric cat and a belligerent dog to photograph for a Christmas card. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!

And the winner

We hope you have a wonderful Christmas filled with laughter and treasured family memories as you reflect on the awesome gift of Jesus to us.

And huge kudos to Hank who was sick the day we took these pix

Frosty Finale Fun Run

As Hank's cross country season drew to a close, I hated for him to lose touch with his running friends. We're the only homeschoolers on the team so he won't see them at school. I thought it would be nice to have an end of season fun run and party. Since it was my idea, Coach Z was all too happy to let me plan it, and thus the Frosty Finale Fun Run was born.

They were going to be running at night so everyone would need lights and reflective gear. Folks brought what they had and I supplemented with my stuff since I wasn't running, and I dipped into our camping gear for extra headlamps - which the kids were *really* excited about. So cute!

Just two other families could come plus Coach Z, but we didn't let that slow us down. 

I took Hank with me to put out the mile markers beforehand, and we needed to go get gas. I decided to grab a nice hot cup of decaf  and Hank wanted a donut so we went inside the Sheetz. I looked relatively normal with my sweats, coat and reflective vest over my coat.

My little darling, on the other hand, was wearing his penguin hat that I had glued 2 glow sticks to the top of, a glow stick necklace, reflective bands on his ankles and a vest with a happy face and 'go fast' on it. Thankfully he didn't care at all since he was so excited about getting a donut.

I knew there was no way I would be able to walk even a fraction of the course so one of the dads and I followed in my SUV. Coach Z and another dad volunteered to run with the kids, and all the kids agreed to stay pretty close together.

I used reflective tape on my vest to write 'Go Fast' on the back and make a smile face on the front.

 The course was approximately a 5K on country roads, and I visited each of the 5 houses along the course earlier in the day to let them know there would be people running in the dark and to please be aware of that when they're out.

I made some little mile marker signs using Christmas-y signs I picked up at Walmart for a $1 each. I didn't take into account that the ground is FROZEN so I taped one mile marker to a telephone pole and another to a stop sign, but they were pretty small in comparison and in the dark they were almost invisible.

some of the kids hanging out

I also had just purple spray paint (why I even had that, I don't know???) so it didn't show up on the road very well. Plus it was really old and the sprayer thing was clogged so paint dripped out around the sides of the sprayer and glopped onto the road. I'll be better prepared next time!

Afterwards everyone came in for snackies and hot cocoa. The kids ran around and played while the grown ups talked. Very fun!

some of the grown ups chatting

Everyone had a great time even though it was really cold, and they all expressed interest in doing it again later on this winter. I think if we can schedule it with enough advance notice even more families will be able to join us. I can't wait!

Falling Apart

I feel like I'm falling apart from the waist down and it's no fun. Let's rewind to the August/September timeframe. I was training for the Freedom's Run Half marathon and running 15-25 miles per week, feeling good and ready to go.

Then I started feeling a twinge in my left heel. Mostly in the middle of the night when I got up to go pee or first thing in the morning. I'd hobble around for a little while and then be ok.  Then it got worse and my heel felt like I had bruised the inside of it -like I stepped on a rock with my heel, and it hurt if I was sitting for a bit and then got up to walk.

Since it was getting worse, I did what most anyone in my situation would do, I Googled it and diagnosed myself with Plantar Faciaiitis. I also looked up how to tape it and what stretches I should do. Blessedly I found relief with taping and continued on my merry way.

I found that I needed to tape my foot if I was going to be walking or standing alot, and I wear shoes almost continually - huge change for this flip flop lover. I hardly mentioned it even to my husband because taping has worked so well. But I'm wondering now if it was enough to alter my gait.

Fast forward to this past Thursday which was Week 1 of my training for the Lewis Memorial 10 miler (hilly, very hilly) in mid/late January. I ran 3 race pace miles with my friend and felt good when we finished.  That night however, my right hip hurt so bad I could hardly sleep. Every time I moved, rolled over, or stretched my legs I had what felt like a muscle spasm in one of my hip flexors. I'm not sure which one because it seems to be at the confluence of the 3.

I also feel pain INSIDE the hip joint at the ball and socket. This pain comes and goes so my fingers are crossed that it's a result of strained hip flexors.

Hank wanted to go for a run with me Saturday morning so we headed out for a slow, painful 2 mile run. Yes, it's ok to say, "that was really dumb," because it was.

I spent the rest of Saturday limping and popping Motrin. Currently it hurts to walk, to rise from sitting to standing, to lift my leg while sitting including moving my foot from the gas to the brake, to lie on my right side and to roll over - this causes a muscle spasm in my hip. Fortunately (?) these pains lessen once my leg is 'warmed up.'

So I'm benching myself for a few days, icing the front of my hip several times a day and taking Motrin regularly. This has caused me to hold my early 2011 running plans very loosely. As a newer runner I just don't have the fitness base to take a couple of weeks off and expect to be able to crank out a 5 - 10 mile run soon after.

I hope to be able to do some strength training and biking by the end of the week though my husband wants to me to take a complete break until after the New Year. I'll have to play it by ear and see how I'm feeling.

As to the cause, I'm not sure what to think. I haven't had any big increases in mileage. I have been working on core and leg strength. I haven't recently changed shoes. I'm not a big stretcher, but that's not new. I did find a couple of stretches to do after the pain subsides so I'll do those. My husband thinks it's from overuse. I dunno?

I'd love to hear any words of wisdom you may have!

Running and Rambling Giveaway

Donald at Running and Rambling is giving away 3 pair of MT101 Trail Shoes. It runs (hahaha) until December 29th but don't wait that long to head over and enter. You could be a winner....though I hope I am too.

19 degrees and running partners

It was 19 degrees at 8:30 this morning, but not snowing or windy; a couple of hours later there's a light snow making its way to the ground. Not exactly ideal running weather, but not too horrible either.

If you're one of my friends on Daily Mile, then you may know that I've been whining for a running partner for months. Ask and you shall receive.  A couple of the moms from Hank's cross country team started running during practice so I joined them. We ran countless .36 mile loops around the middle school and when the season recently ended we decided to keep running together.

This morning only two of us could run so Lori arrived at my house to run 'the stinky farm route*' with me. It's a nice little 3 mile out and back but Big Bertha the hill is at mile 2ish. Of course there are plenty of rolling hills in between to keep your attention, too.

We ran 3.05 in 29:42 which is a 9:44 pace. A little fast for me and I was gasping for breath at the end, but it always feels good to put my feet on the pavement.

I have to say that running with others has made me kick it up a notch. There have been times when I would have either walked or even cut my run short, but having 2 other people there with me has made it easier to push through any pain or discomfort and keep going (if I thought I was injured I would stop, I'm talking  things like a little side cramp).  I am also more likely to hop on the treadmill when the weather is bad so that I can keep up with them the next time we get together.

I still enjoy running my long runs alone so I can adjust my pace as I need to, but having company for my mid-week runs has been really nice.

yep, I sweat even when it's freezing out

Hank is sulking in the background because he wanted to come with. He was sick earlier this week so we didn't think it was a good idea to traipse around in sub-freezing weather. Next time buddy.

The three of us plan to run a couple of times a week for as long as the weather holds out, and we're talking about running the Frederick Half Marathon together in May. Can't wait!

*I call it the stinky farm route because it goes right through the middle of a dairy farm. If you've ever visited a dairy farm then you know what 'stinky' really is.

Kris Kringle Parade

Each year in early December the 'big city' near us has their Kris Kringle parade which announces Santa's arrival into town. And for the last 4, maybe 5?, years we've met our wonderful friends Mr and Mrs P to watch the parade and then walk to a local coffee shop for cocoa and conversation. Love it!

Ella and Shane hanging out waiting for the parade to start

We meet near the beginning of the parade in front of the Civil War Medicine museum. They have interesting displays in their window. Like this woman nursing this almost dead guy back to health. The boys, of course, think it's pretty cool. Ella always wonders if the woman had to walk in the fields in her dress and if it got torn or dirty.

Why that lady hold that man? He got shot?

A reasonably good group shot

The parade is made up mostly of boy and girl scout troops dressed in fun Christmas costumes likes elves, presents, angels, etc. This year there was a group of boys dressed as chimney sweeps pulling a wagon decorated to look like a chimney/rooftop. Pretty cool, and methinks Hank and I may copy them for the Reindeer Run next year. The wheels are always turning here...

Santa! Where are you!

The local theatre and dance troupes also join the fun, and little kids in costume run along the sides of the street handing out candy canes to little kid spectators.  It's a fun, hometown parade that the kids really enjoy. It's rarely crowded so we can get front row seats without being smushed or crowded.

Then we walk a few blocks to a local coffee shop where we hog a bunch of tables and dump our coats everywhere park the kids at one table to play games and us at another table to drink coffee and chat, my favorite part!

Pardon the bangs; she has decided to donate her hair so now we just need to make the appointment

We don't see Mr and Mrs P very often but when we do, the time we spend with them is as comfortable as your favorite blankey. We just fall into great conversation where we left off and laugh - a lot.

Another wonderful Christmas memory

The gingerbread house that was

Ella, Bill and Shane spent a couple of hours last week making a gingerbread house and it turned out looking pretty good.

And then this kid

ate this

He snuck bits and pieces of it over the course of a day until it was rubble.

Good thing he's cute.

White House tour and then some

Earlier this summer Bill's dad went through the process to get tickets to tour the White House and they let us know a couple of weeks ago that our 'appointment' was for Tuesday, December 7th.

Side note: Bill grew up in the area and I've lived here over 15 years. I have never toured the White House before so this was a big deal to me since I love history.
Bill, on the other hand, used to work for a special events company and has decorated: the White House for special events including Christmas; the National Christmas Tree which isn't so fun because it's usually freezing cold out then; and inaugural balls which he then got to attend to make sure nothing went wrong with the stage, lighting, etc. So a 30 minute, self guided tour of the White House in the cold of December was of no interest to him. Nothing like a tourism snob, right? : >D

Back to the tour. Bill agreed to stay home with Shane so that I could take the big kids to other museums after our tour. So I spent Monday laying out arctic expedition clothes for the kids and studying the map to make sure I knew exactly where to go. The rest of Bill's family was going to take the Metro and meet us at the WH.  - You can't take anything but your phone and car keys into the WH. Not a purse or a camera. Totally stinks because you'd have to either leave your stuff in your car or if you're visiting from out of town, leave it all at your hotel and then go back to get your stuff so you can do more sightseeing after your tour. - I drove the kids down because we wanted to sightsee afterwards and I *must* take 1000's of pictures or I might shrivel up and die.

That morning: I had to stop to get cash and coffee which had us running about 20 minutes behind schedule. Then of course traffic was heavier than usual on the Parkway  and I had a senior moment and couldn't remember which bridge I wanted to take into DC. As a result of all this I didn't have time to look for cheap parking and zoomed into the Reagan building which is about 2 1/2 blocks from the WH. It's a relatively secure building so I felt a little better about leaving my camera and purse in the car (under a pile of blankets and kid stuff). And off we went to the WH.

The only benefit to having tickets for a White House tour is that you don't have to stand in the long line and wait an indefinite amount of time to get in. Otherwise, you're seeing the same stuff everyone else is. If you're uber important, you may be able to score a guided tour, but I imagine those are hard to come by this time of year.

The inside was really beautiful. If you can see the WH during Christmas-time, definitely do. The rooms are decorated with elaborate and gorgeous decorations. They had a giant First Dog made out of chenille stems which was really cool. It's also fun to look at the portraits of past presidents to see which ones you know without looking at the name (yes, we're geeks).

They have some of the china on display and placards in different rooms so you can read a little about the history of the room - stuff like 'this was a billiard room during the Kennedy administration.' And then before we knew it, our tour was done.

Will we go to the trouble to do it again? Probably when the kids are older, but not anytime soon. It was very cool and I'm glad we did it. But it was a lot of planning and work to get the 4 of us down there on time while dressed for the insanely cold weather.

Afterwards we went to the White House Visitor's Center which we've been to before. The last time we were there it was all decorated for Christmas. This time it looked like they were just starting to get their decorations out. The kids did the Junior Ranger Program and earned their badge. Bill's dad, brother and sisters needed to head out so we were on our own from  there.

We zipped back to the car to eat a snack, put on more comfy shoes and, of course, get my camera.  The American History Museum reopened about 2 years ago and we STILL haven't been to it. So Tuesday was the day. The coolest thing on display is the original Star Spangled Banner that flew over Ft McHenry during the War of 1812.  No pictures are allowed in that exhibit so you'll just have to trust me that it was pretty cool (for a geek).

In front of the National Museum of American History

There were tons of school groups there and they were not supervised very well - bands of kids running around with grown ups rushing to catch up with them, or worse, just sitting at the entrance of the exhibit making sure none of the kids escaped into the main part of the museum.

In front of a stuffed buffalo

We walked through most of the 1st and 2nd floors but after getting knocked into by running kids more than once, we decided to leave. We're studying ancient history this year for school so I didn't feel as pressed to see everything there.

Hank on the wind surfing simulator

We headed across the street to the Washington Monument but it was closed due to high winds. I've never been up in the monument so I was disappointed but it just means we'll have to go back another time.

On Monday when I was studying the map I noticed there is a Forestry Museum. Huh?? I never knew it was there.  It's just across the mall from the American History Museum (AHM, the Wash. monument and the forestry museum form a triangle) so we marched onward.

The 'museum' is more like a vistor's center. Not very big but a few cool exhibits. The kids really enjoyed the animatronic Smokey the Bear.

Only YOU can prevent forest fires

It was like a trip down memory lane for me. They had Woodsy the Owl coloring sheets and Smokey the Bear comic books. Fun stuff!

Hank and the equipment to fight forest fires

Ella and the pollinators

We finished there and I thought I would surprise the kids by taking them to the National Aquarium. Not in Baltimore...the one in DC

The kids wanted their picture with the cool arch in the background. It was crazy windy and cold so it's not a great pic

In front of the Reagan building

For some reason I thought the National Aquarium was in the Reagan building so we stood in line to show our picture ID, plunk all our bags, coats, etc onto the conveyor belt and then walk through the metal detector only to find out it's in the Commerce building across the street.

We got our coats back on and risked our lives crossing the street so we could show our picture ID, plunk all our bags, coats, etc onto the conveyor belt and then walk through the metal detector to head to the basement where the aquarium is.

In front of one of the exhibits

The concierge at the Reagan building told us that it's a small aquarium and that it's undergoing renovations. I think he wanted us to be prepared for the fact that it's really small and a little underwhelming. The aquarium has a TV commercial about their jelly fish exhibit and you (at least I did) get the impression that it's a sizeable exhibit. Um, no. We're talking 50 gallon fish tank.

BUT, it's inexpensive to get in- $9 for adults vs $30 at the aquarium in Baltimore.  I think because it's tucked in the basement of the Commerce building it doesn't get a lot of traffic which is nice. There were probably 15-20 other people there but we didn't feel cramped when viewing cool stuff or rushed to move on which is a complaint I've heard about the Balt aquarium.

I have no idea why Ella is making that face, but it made me laugh so now you get to see it too

We got to see them feed the alligators which happens just once or twice a week. Very cool. They eat frozen mice that are thawed so they look a little slimey. Because there weren't that many of us there, we all got a front row seat. The alligators were babies so they weren't very big, but the SNAP that their jaw made when they bit down was skeery. I don't ever want an alligator to bite me.

Then we got to watch them feed the snakes - who also ate thawed mice. They only eat once or twice a month so it was a real treat to be there for that. Ah.maze.ing to watch them unhinge their jaw and swallow the mouse whole. I dislike snakes with every ounce of my being but I have to say that was really cool. The kids loved it and started asking for a pet snake - um, no way, Jose.

Will we go again? You know, we probably will. I think Shane would enjoy it and that the older kids would enjoy seeing it again. It's more like a nature center in terms of size, but they have cool exhibits and the staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. The guys wandering the floor were very happy to answer the many questions Ella and Hank had for them. And the price was very reasonable; it cost less than $30 for all 4 of us to get in. Not too bad at all.

After we finished there, we headed home from our fun and exciting adventure!

Penguins at the Reindeer Run

This morning Hank and I ran the Reindeer Rescue Run to benefit the Frederick Rescue Mission.  It's an untimed fun run made up of 3 loops and you can run 1, 2, or 3 loops.  It's up to you.

The entry fee is canned good or clothing donations for the Rescue Mission and they have a costume contest to add a little more fun to the mix. Last year Hank and I ran just one loop and didn't dress up. This year we were ready to kick it up a notch.

Aren't we cute little penguins!

Since it was a low key run the course wasn't marked; we'd run to a major turn, then stop and wait for everyone to catch up.

Hank ROCKED the run. He did 2 loops and ran 4.25 miles.

He was the only little kid until the 3rd loop when 1 other little guy showed up. At the end of the second loop Hank was really tired so I parked him in the car with a book and a blanket, oh yeah Jake was there with him  too.

I'm a rare breed penguin with blue legs

Waiting for everyone to catch up

We ran along Carroll Creek and the side walk was icy in places. I was watching Hank to be sure he made it up a pair of steps ok and I FELL! So embarrassing to be a falling penguin. Thankfully I didn't tear my sweats or tights because I would have been a very sad penguin. And thankfully Hank is better coordinated than his mom because he zipped around on the ice like it was nothing.

Cuteness!

Some friends from church came for the 3rd loop. The husband of one of my friends said he's going to think of 3-2-1 Penguins when he sees me from  now on. Space cowboy penguins...that'll work. hahaha! I ended up running 7 miles and felt really good.

Getting ready to start the 3rd loop

After the run we were all invited to eat breakfast at the mission to hear their schpeal. They're a great organization. This year they're on target to serve 100,000 meals, up from 90,000 the year before. They also serve the working poor by providing boxes of food.

In line for breakfast

After breakfast,  the staff votes on the best costumes and my little penguin boy won a $25 gift card to our local running store. He was so excited.  Such a cutie!

Me and my monkey penguin

I'm still working on my post from our trip to the White House and we went to a Christmas parade last night. Lots of fun stuff happening this afternoon, too. I need administrative staff to help me keep up!

Happy running!!

When Uncle Todd visits

Internet connection: Restored. Additional photo storage: Purchased. Card reader for camera's memory card: In hand.

Yes, all the silly little things that attempted to thwart my electronic life have been taken care of. Thankfully I didn't feel too stressed or upset while waiting for these things to be remedied. My only real concern was being able to get my pictures off my camera. I print very few pictures so the kids' childhoods are recorded almost entirely electronically (backed up externally. we learned that lesson the hard way and have just a handful of Shane's baby pictures as a result)

My baby brother, Todd, lives near Norfolk, Virginia which isn't too far to visit, but far enough that visits aren't frequent - or as frequent as we'd like.  Being a single guy he often decides on the spur of the moment to visit us so I was pleasantly surprised when I got an email from him late last week letting me know he was coming up to visit. I told him I was glad for the heads up so I could vacuum and mop the kitchen. He's family but there's no need to completely gross him out!

Uncle Potty (when Shane was younger and said Toddy is sounded like Potty. hehehe) is a no nonsense former military guy and the kids *love* him - even if he makes them do push ups for not doing their chores when I ask them to. He also wrestles with them which Hank and Shane totally enjoy. They have so much energy that it's nice to have someone who can keep up.

He brought us his old flat screen TV since he got a new one. Our TV was easily 10+ years old so this was a big deal - especially to the football-watching guys in the house.Shane followed him like a fly on honey the whole time he was here, helping assemble the TV stand, moving the old TV. Wherever Todd was you could be sure Shane was near by.

Todd needed to leave really early Sunday, before Shane was awake, and I knew he would be devastated to wake and find Todd gone so I told Todd we needed to wake Shane first.

Todd was all too happy to be the one to wake him. Todd lived with us briefly when he first retired from the military and very early each morning Shane would tippy toe into Todd's room, tap him on the shoulder, whisper something to wake Todd and then take off like a rocket out of the room.

Good morning, Stinky Toes

You're going to jump on me for waking you?

They ran around and wrestled for a little bit, but then Todd had to go.

Squishing Ella's guts out (that's what we say when we give a big hug)

Hank's guts were next

More Shane wrestling

And then Shane stood on the porch and waved goodbye long after Uncle Todd's truck was out of view.

Murphy's Law

Murphy's Law tells us that if anything can go wrong it will. Now most of my days are *not* characteristic of this. Even with Shane's antics, my days are pretty smooth sailing - yes, I'm spoiled; though I prefer to think that I typically have a postitive outlook and see the glass as half full in spite of the crazy happenings of the day.

Thursday, however, was a Murphy's Law kind of day.  I had some pictures that I wanted put on the blog and while trying to do so I got a little message saying that I had reached my photo storage maximum for Blogger and I could purchase additional storage for $5 if I wanted to continue posting pictures. Say what?

I'm a cheapskate. Any money I spend on non-running stuff is less money I can spend on running stuff, and $5 is $5. Of course it's worth it in the end, and I did purchase more storage but it takes 24 hours for Blogger to update my account. Ok fine.

Then in the midst of checking my email I lost my internet connection. Deep breath in, exhale slowly. Bill tinkered with the stuff in the basement. No worky. So he called Comcast and here is what they told him.

You should have received a letter from us about this. Your cable modem has reached the end of its shelf life and needs to be upgraded.

Ok, so the cable modem that worked until YOU turned it off no longer works - because you turned it off - and we need to go stand in line for an hour to turn in a modem that worked just fine - until you turned it off - to get another modem?? Yes, that would be correct.

Lucky for them Bill was home and he handled it. I am not patient under the best circumstances. Insert arbitrary stupidity and I have to bite my tongue and sit on my hands. Thankfully no Comcast employees were harmed, yelled at or given the stink eye during the writing of this post.

And as you can see, I have internet again. And as is usual for us, we had a very busy, but fun, weekend so I have lots of catching up to do!

Update on Tuesday evening  - the USB thingy on my camera that connects to my computer to download pictures is now broken. I smell a conspiracy....or is that the dog??

Product Review Nathan Reflective Gear

Baby it's cold outside! And dark, too so hopefully you own some reflective gear. If you don't and are wondering what you should buy, you should stop by Nathan Sports and check out their gear.

As you know I run on two lane country roads with little or no shoulder. The speed limit is 25mph on one road and 30 mph on the other - of course that means folks are driving at least 35 - 40 mph. A car traveling 40 mph needs 164 feet to stop completely and that's if they see you, realize you're a person and apply the brakes if they need to.

So what's a girl to do?
I can wait until the sun is up and go for a run then - and that is most often what I do.
I can also run on my treadmill - I save this option for yucky weather so I don't fall out of love with my TM.
I can make myself as visible as possible so drowsy, early morning drivers have no doubt a person is up ahead - and this is where Nathan Sports comes in.

I was killing time on Facebook a few months ago and saw a post from Nathan Sports asking what you do to be visible when you run. It said they'd choose a handful of winners for a 'reflectivity prize pack' later that day. Well, hotdog if they didn't choose everyone who responded and a few weeks later my prize pack arrived.

It contained:

an LED Safety Strobe

and it boasts the following features:

* Up to 2,500 foot visibility

* Multi-function: Steady On, Rapid Flash, Slow Flash, or Alternating Strobe
* Illumination can last 150 hours
* Replaceable battery
* Easily attaches to reflective vests, clothing, or bags
* Size: 1.5” x 2.5”

I attach it to the strap on my waist pack and forget about it. It's lightweight and doesn't bounce around or get in the way. Love it!

Snap Bands

Instantly add safety. Use as a minimal wristband to increase visibility, or slap onto your ankle to keep pants safely away from bike chain.

* Ideal for commuters
* Fully reflective up to 400 feet
* Comfortable backing
* Easily attaches to wrist, ankle, or strap of pack
* 2-pack
* One size fits all

These are a fun accessory and versatile, too. The 'comfortable backing' is slightly fuzzy and soft. I've tried to run with them on my ankles but didn't like the feel. They weren't too tight or anything. It just felt funny to have something on my ankles.  I use them mostly to hold up my arm sleeves which are too big and slip down (more on that in a minute). They do a pretty good job of holding the sleeves up and they don't bite into my arm.

and the last thing in the box was

Running sleeves (grey)

The ultimate multipurpose running gear! Compression running sleeves are ideal for improving blood circulation, adding warmth, blocking the sun’s harmful rays, keeping warm at the start of a race, and adding visibility. As a bonus, they include a handy pocket for small essentials.



* No. 2028N Running Sleeves Data
* 1,200 foot visibility
* Form-fitting, ultra-stretchy fabric
* Silicone grip at the top of each sleeve prevents it from sliding down
* Reflective detail
* UV SPF 50+
* Small pocket
* Moisture wicking
* Available in two sizes: SM/MED & LG/XL
* Hand Wash (Penguin Sport-Wash™ recommended)
* Available in two sizes: SM/MED & LG/XL

I was super thrilled to see these babies. I didn't see a size chart on the website so I measured my arm at it's biggest most muscular part and included that in my email to the prize pack person. 11.75 inches if you're wondering. And they sent me the size LG/XL.
 
They're too big. I should have asked if I could exchange them but since they were free, I felt kind of funny doing that. I thought that maybe once the weather was colder I could put them on over another long sleeve shirt and then they'd stay put. Nope. Then I put them in dryer thinking they'd shrink. Nope. So I use the Snap Bands to hold them up and thate works pretty well.

I want to add that they are a great thickness, not too heavy or too light. I've worn them on their own and over a long sleeve shirt and they've provided just the right amount of warmth. They also wick sweat really well...I sweat even if it's just 20 degrees out, very feminine of me I know.
 
I do plan to one day remember to take them to my MIL's and ask her to sew a dart in them and see if that helps. Otherwise I may pass them along to someone with bigger arms.
 
So what did I wear before I won this cool stuff? Why Nathan reflective gear of course.

I was a runner in my early to mid 20's and my parents bought me a reflective vest for Christmas one year. I used it quite a bit and when I quit running in my late 20's, I put it away. When I started running again last year (that would be 11 years after I stopped running. I'm 41 now), I dusted off my orange vest and have worn it on probably 90% of my runs since.

I didn't even realize before then that it was made by the same company. It's in excellent shape for a vest that is at least 17 years old (I think I was 24 when they got it for me, but I may have been 23.). Heck it's in excellent shape period.

See?

Aside from my sleeves being too big, I'm beyond thrilled with my Nathan reflective gear. Add reflective gear to your list of Running Must Haves. Put it on your Christmas list if you must, but don't run in the dark without it!

And don't think what I used to think...I'm wearing light colored clothes so cars can see me. Lindsay at Chasing The Kenyans has opened my eyes to the truth. Check out her blog and watch the video. Very enlightening.

I scored the stuff mentioned for free either from Nathan sports or my mom and dad. No one made me say anything nice, and the opinions are all my own.