Cub Scouts Blue and Gold Banquet

Saturday was Hank's Blue and Gold Banquet for Cub Scouts. This is a pretty big deal because it's when all the boys get their badges for the rank they just completed. That means that my little Hankster has completed everything he needed to complete for the Bear rank.

It's also when the Webelos (older boys) who have earned it, are awarded their Arrow of Light. This is really a big deal because it's the only - or one of the few, I don't remember - awards that a boy can earn as a Cub Scout and still wear on his uniform as an adult.

Bill was the photographer/Shane-watcher so we don't have many good pictures unfortunately. But here's Hank getting his awards.

There were some complications late in the planning process so I volunteered to make the centerpieces and do the set up. It's funny how I can picture something in my mind and it seems so simple - only to have it be waaaay more involved than I could imagine! That was the centerpieces!

Hank with one of his buddies

It was a little bittersweet. My baby will be a Webelos next year. Which means he's practically a Boy Scout. Which means he's practically grown! I don't know if I can handle this! They're growing up way too fast for me. Good thing I'm not getting any older. That would really do me in!

The wonderful centerpieces. Tell me they're beautiful and the most amazing piece of work you've ever seen!

We hired a magician* for our after dinner entertainment (sounds so sophisticated!), and he was really good. Very corny but the kids totally loved him, and he had everyone - kids to grownups - laughing up a storm.

Another very fun, very busy Saturday!

*If you're local and need entertainment for a kid's party, I recommend him. He was really nice and did a great job with the kiddos. His name is Benjamin Corey.

A timely quote

Like many of you I get the Runner's World quote of the day in my inbox each morning, and this morning's was particularly timely.

For me, the hardest part of an injury is watching the races go by that I had hoped to compete in. The only thing that makes it easier is thinking of how certain struggles make other accomplishments mean so much. ~Dathan Ritzenhein

This past weekend I volunteered at a 5 mile training run for the Frederick Half Marathon. You may not remember but this is the half where I was planning to kick butt and take names. I survived my first very hot, humid half for which I overtrained. Then I made my way through one hilly hummer of a half where I trained very purposefully. And I was ready to run a flat, fast course and see what I really capable of....until December 18th when I sadly realized I should have not laced up my kicks that morning but instead stayed home to ice my hip.

I've already watched the Lewis 10 Miler come and go and there are more races on my 'wish list' that I will spectate rather than run. It's hard to listen to my friends talk about their training runs and upcoming races. I don't begrudge them their ability to run; I just wish I could join them. Hank has asked many times to run a race with me and I know when we do have that opportunity, it will be a precious time for me.

Hopefully, this season of life has made me more grateful for the many things I can do. On the fitness front, I can walk, bike and do yoga and strength training. That's a lot, but my desire is to run. I love to run; I really do. Not having that, particularly in the dark of winter, has been hard in a lot of ways I didn't expect.

Choosing to take time off and not run is so very different than not being able to run. I have a little issue with control and the longer this plays out, the more twisted my insides feel.

In the end, it comes down to what I tell my kids when they don't like the way something is going for them - God is God, and we are not. While I cannot begin to understand the Lord's ways, I do know this...

And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. ~ Romans 2b-5

At the feeder

Late last week we saw a male red-winged blackbird at the back yard feeder, but our blonde tornado scared it away and we didn't see it again until Wednesday and in the front yard. 

Feed me!!

It's interesting that for such a prolific bird, we actually see very few of them in our yard, though I do see them near a pond that I run by on the other side of the highway.

I didn't realize that the females don't look anything like the males - they're usually more subdued than the males, but these girls look like some sort of sparrow to me...

© Matt MacGillivray, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, April 2008

Now I know and so do you!

Beyond Gorgeous!

Yesterday was one of those completely gorgeous and perfect days that you dream about when you're huddled up in your snuggie sipping cocoa while a blizzard is raging outside. It was warm and sunny with just a slight breeze. aaaaaahhhhh

Bill took the day off and after running some more errands, we decided to head over to Harpers Ferry to walk around. I desperately wanted to run. Yesterday was day 61 since I last ran outside. My kicks were calling my name and I wanted to oblige them.

I was a little worried since I still have the galloping crud and Shane is still coughing a lot, but neither of us keeled over so I'm glad we went.

My original intention was for Hank and I to run while Bill, Ella and Shane walked around sightseeing. Well, E and S wanted to run, too, so Bill followed us around with the camera. I'm sure we looked a little strange, but I didn't care a bit.

Initially I was tempted to just run on my own and leave the kids with Bill to walk around, but running with them kept me in check. I couldn't go too far or too fast with them so we'd run about a quarter of a mile, walk around a bit or stop to look at something, and then run some more which probably helped my hip way more than just running to my heart's content.

We walked up the great big hill to the church that overlooks the town- it's the church you see when you're coming across the Potomac from Maryland.  The kids did a *great* job with minimal complaining. The five of us walked/ran just over 2.5 miles, and then Hank and I did an extra 1.6 while Ella and Shane finished their snack.

It's such a beautiful little town and full of rich history. Most folks know about John Brown's raid, a bold abolitionist attack in the early days of unrest before the Civil War, but did you know that Lewis and Clark went to Harpers Ferry to be outfitted for weapons before they began their exploration of the Lousianna Purchase? The engineers there also made a special collapsible boat for the expedition. Cool stuff.

We hiked farther up to Jefferson Rock - so named because Thomas Jefferson stood there.

Almost everything in town is closed until spring - during the week anyway - so we brought snacks along. Good thing because after all that walking/running/hiking the kids were starving.

Ella and Shane finished their snack while Hank and I went on a little run. He told me he's ready to start training because he wants to run a 4.9 mile trail run with me in early April (assuming my hip continues to behave). We definitely won't be 'racing' it, but it will be a fun experience for us to do it together. 

I noticed 2 people were wearing Newtons which is the shoe of choice at Two Rivers Treads in Shepherdstown - Dr Mark Cucuzilla co-owns the store, heads the Freedoms Run and coordinated the injury prevention forum I attended last month. I thought that was interesting because we saw maybe just 30 people the whole time we were there.

A freight train came through just as we were getting ready to leave which thrilled the kids to pieces. A very fun day indeed!

Cool stuff falling from the sky

No, not money or new running shoes...though that would be seriously cool.

We've had some insane wind here lately and have lost a lot of smaller branches on our trees in the back yard.  The wind gusts here are so bad that we have hurricane shingles on our house, in western MD, far from hurricanes. Crazy, I know.

While I was out taking care of the chickens yesterday morning I saw that we also lost a pretty good sized branch so I checked it out. We have 3 dead trees that we need to cut down and the top half of one of them broke off. Thankfully no dogs, chickens or children were harmed in the crashing of the branch.

But I found what I *think* is an Oriole's nest though it could be the nest of a Red-eyed Vireo.

Cool, huh?

These are super hard to spot in a tree. Last summer Bill saw one in a tree in our field and even knowing where it was, we had to really look for it. We have a little collection of nests we've found in the yard over the years, and this is our second nest that looks like this.*

I read that Oriole's nests are typically about 8 inches deep and this one is half that - but - I haven't seen any Vireos in our yard so I don't know which bird made this.

Later in the day, Ella and I took the fake Christmas greenery off the front fence (yes, it's February, but we're hillbillies so we're allowed to wait this long to undecorate). While I was gathering it up, I saw this little gem.

Cute, isn't it?

It's too big to be a hummingbird nest, and they would have already migrated by the time we put the greenery up. I'm guessing it's the nest of some sort of wren?

I love the diversity of nests. They're both so intricate and beautiful (I think so anyway) and yet so very different. It's completely amazing to me that a little bird just knows how to make this and what sort of material to use and where to build it so predators can't find them. 

With the kids' science classes, we make sure to point out to them how all of creation shows God's majesty from the enormity of the stars and planets down to a little flower seed. And I"m so glad the kids are able to see things like this up close and even handle them. We're really blessed to live in the area we do.

I've wanted to cover 'flying creatures' for our science class for the last two years but have decided to do what our homeschool co-op was doing instead. Next schoolear - flying creatures or bust. You read it here first!

* Note that all birds (except pigeons, English Sparrows and starlings) are protected by federal and state laws and you're no allowed to kill, harm or possess them. And you shouldn't take nests out of trees or bushes just to add them to your collection. All the nests in our collection were found on the ground and on our property. If you have problem birds, contact your local animal control and they can point you in the right direction for help.

Crazy busy here

Today was one of those days that make you want to kick back with a glass of wine and a square of dark chocolate when it's over. Busy, busy, busy, but thankfully Bill was home so he could help out.

We started at the dentist with all 3 littles. We love our dentist. I'm pretty sure he loves us too since all 3 littles have had extensive dental work (yes, we brush their teeth... they were cursed with paper-thin enamel that is prevalent on my side of the family). Today they all received glowing reports! You have no idea how happy that makes me and our bank account. 

He has flat screen TVs and video games in the waiting area

Our dentist is was born in India and educated in England so he has a super cool, almost musical accent. The fact that his smile is the size of Montana doesn't hurt either.

Caution: Cool kid ahead

Each room has a mural for an exotic beach, though I forget where this particular one is of. My favorite room is the India room with a very big peacock on the wall. Pretty, pretty.

3 happy campers with gorgeous teeth!

After that we took the car for its emissions test. Then we went to pick out new glasses for Bill. Followed by a quick spin through JoAnn's Fabrics for some craft supplies.

Then they dropped me off at Physical Torture Therapy for an hour while they ate lunch.

We got home in time for Bill to leave to meet his dad for 'guy time' and I've been painting centerpieces for Hank's upcoming Blue and Gold banquet for Cub Scouts. I'm also sorting through tons of pictures of a couple of bird nests I found this morning (more on that tomorrow!) trying to ID the birds that made them.

I think my pillow will feel mighty nice tonight!

Three Things Thursday - Good and Bad

I don't think I've ever done a 3 Things Thursday post before. In all honesty I don't always keep up with the days of the week so I often forget that it's Thursday... or Wednesday, etc

Here goes:

Good
Physical Therapy went well Monday and he gave the green light to run 5 MINUTES a day.

Bad
We're all sick with a cough-your-brains-out head cold and I almost don't care that I can run because I really want to lie down under a blanket with a cup of hot tea and book.

Good
The kids all seem to be getting better (faster than I but that's ok). Despite feeling like a I have a brick in my head and galloping monkeys in my lungs, I have run (slowly) each day this week and have done my stretch/strength routine each day as well.

Very Good
And I've been in touch with a local Chi running group. They're all set to accept me into their running fold as soon as I'm ready.

I realize that's 4 things but 4 Things Thursday just didn't sound right.

Stretch and Strengthen your Lower Body

Here's 3rd post on my stretching and strengthening exercises and these focus on the lower extremities but primarily the foot and ankle.

Pages 2 and 3 of my notebook, but we'll be looking more closely at page 3

Nothing special to note with this one.

With this one you want to be sure you...wait for it...don't arch your back. AND you want to be sure you don't cock your hip out to the side. Keep a nice straight line.

If you're feeling exceptional, close your eyes. Who knows, this could help you in the event you need to pass a field sobriety test?  (I do *not* condone driving under the influence of alcohol, just under the influence of children- which is probably more dangerous.)

Check yer back

As with all squats, you want to be sure your knee does not go beyond your toe

I don't have foam so I stand on a phone book. And you can do this one with your eyes closed too. You can; I can't. I fall over every time which is always good for a laugh.

So there you have it. All the exercises I do over the span of a day. My PT gave me about half of these just last Thursday so I have only done all three sets a few times. I haven't been able to do them all in one shot yet, though if I dragged my caboose out of bed earlier I probably could.

The box on the lower right corner of page 3 is for me to keep track of my bike miles. I don't always remember to go on Daily Mile every day to log them in, and if I don't write it down....I will forget.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and have no formal training (of any kind, not just medical). What I have posted should not be considered medical advice. If you are injured please visit your dr. I am simply relaying information that was given to me for my particular injury and rehabilitation.

Stretch and Strengthen your Trunk and Pelvis

This is installment 2 of my stretch and strengthen exercises for my hip and IT band. These are all for your trunk or core and your pelvis.  I said it just a couple of times in my first post so you might have missed it, but you want to be careful to *not* arch your back in these.

Pages 2 and 3. We're going to be looking more closely at page 2 though

Watch your lower back with this one.

These next two are mentioned as core strengthening exercises in Chi Running, pages 74-75

Author Danny Dreyer describes this one as an advanced version of the exercise above. If you become proficient at this one, he suggests having someone sit on your stomach while doing it. Yea, that'll be me. ha!

For this one, I stand in front of the mirror so that I can practice standing with my pelvis in the neutral position during the relax phase. I didn't realize just how much I arch my lower back until I looked at myself sideways in the mirror while trying to stand with my pelvis neutral.

For this one, you want to keep your lower back flat. Engage your core while keeping your glutes relaxed

After completing these, I alternate planks and push ups until I've done 5 planks and 50 pushups.  Before I became an injured slug, I was able to hold a plank for 1:30-45. Not great but not completely horrible. After almost 2 months of only sporadic core work, I'm lucky to hold it for a minute. As I get stronger, I'll increase the planks in number and duration.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and have no formal training (of any kind, not just medical). What I have posted should not be considered medical advice. If you are injured please visit your dr. I am simply relaying information that was given to me for my particular injury and rehabilitation.

Race Volunteer and a Running Club Banquet

This morning Hank and I woke at the crack of dawn to make our way through the frosty mist to the outskirts of Frederick for the Lewis Memorial 10 Miler.  I ran this race last year as an 'accidental 10 miler' - I was supposed to run just 5 miles of it but I missed a turn and ended up running the whole 10 miles.

Setting up the clubhouse before we headed out into the frozen tundra

Surviving that is what inspired me to run a half marathon so this race is special to me. I had high hopes of kicking butt and taking names this year, but Providence had other plans for me.  It was hard to watch everyone run by having so much fun, but I can't wave a magic wand over my hip to make it better. This is just a season, and I can wallow in misery (the easy thing for me to do) or I can use this time to grow in other ways - physically, mentally and spiritually.  

We used less than a gallon of water. Yep, just a few hardcore, insane runners ran today

One thing I like to do when I can is volunteer at races. It's not as much fun as running but there is an element of excitement. It's also a nice way to give back to the running community which has been very kind to me. So Hank and I volunteered to man the water station this morning in the rainy cold.

Me and my monkey

This is a very low key club race and it had been rescheduled from last weekend due to bad weather. The weather this morning wasn't much better so there were only about 20 runners.

I had him hang out in the car while we waited for runners

All in all it was cold and wet but a lot of fun and I'm glad we were able to help out.

Then tonight Bill and I attended the annual banquet for the Frederick Steeplechasers.  Always fun to hang out with other runners, especially if they're crazier and more hardcore - makes me look a little more normal to Bill.

I'd love to take a picture where I didn't look like an escaped mental patient I've had half a bottle of wine someone just jabbed me with a tack.

Poor Bill is saddled with being the normal one in our marriage.

Another insanely busy but very fun Saturday! Tomorrow is the Super Bowl so I need to hit the hay so I can get up early to clean the house before church.

Go Packers!!

Stretch and Strengthen your Hips

Some of you asked me to share the stretches and exercises my PT prescribed for me for my hip. I started out with a pile of papers - from my ortho, my gait analysis and my PT.

I'm worse than forgetful and need to have things in neat little lists or I'll forget to do them. So I cut out the pictures and put them in a notebook according to body part - hip/knee, trunk/pelvis, and lower body.

I'll do three separate posts so your eyes don't glaze over.

Page 1

This one feels really good once I've done it. The important thing to remember is that you don't want your knee to go over your toe, this goes for squats too...words to live by. And don't arch your back. I'll say that just a couple of more times in this post.

You can also put your foot flat on a chair to do this one - all the points I noted above still apply.

With this one, you don't want to lift your opposite hip or arch your back in order for your leg to go down. It's also a controlled lowering of your leg; you don't just flop it over to the side.

You want to be sure you don't arch your back. You can lie flat if you want, but don't arch your back then either.

Nothing special to note with this one.

You want to be sure you stand straight and don't lean. You can also use a thera-band around both ankles and side step. When you do that, you can slightly bend your knees and at the waist (like an 'athletic stance').

I am so inflexible that it's almost ridiculous, and this stretch is really hard for me. I'm also very uncoordinated and almost fell of the bed doing it. Again, you want to be sure you aren't arching your back while holding your foot. If you can't hold your foot - like me - you can use a dog leash. Put the handle around your foot/ankle and use the leash to gently pull your foot up.

So that completes our knee and hip stretching and strengthening exercises. I have yet to be able to complete them all in one sitting without (kid) interruption so I don't know how long it should take you to complete them all.

Next up will be trunk and pelvis work.

Disclaimer: I am not a medical professional and have no formal training (of any kind, not just medical). What I have posted should not be considered medical advice. If you are injured please visit your dr. I am simply relaying information that was given to me for my particular injury and rehabilitation.

Field Trip to Physical Therapy

Ella and Shane have the galloping crud so they're quarantined until further notice. I hate to leave Jake with all 3 little ones if I can help it so I took Hank with me to PT yesterday. To keep him entertained I let him take pictures using Jake's camera (with Jake's permission of course).

It's always interesting to see what captures the eye of an 8 year old and I ended up deleting a lot of pictures of butts. He wasn't supposed to take pictures of other people...that bothersome HIPPA and confidentiality... so I would have deleted them anyway, but it cracked me up.

Waiting our turn

We did some different things which was fun. I side stepped with a thera-band on my ankles for what felt like forever... I hoped thought my glutes were going to fall off. And then I got to march in place on the mini tramp.

Doing my part to embarrass my kids daily

Then he let me hop on the treadmill. Walk for 1 minute, jog (12 m/m) for 1 minute and then walk again for another minute. While jogging I had to support my weight on the arm rails. I somehow missed the memo that I wasn't supposed to be running at home. whoopsie!


Not that I'm logging killer mileage at high speeds because I'm not - 4.75 miles last week and 2.75 this week. And I didn't even run all of that. I walked .25 and jogged .5 (12 m/m). It didn't hurt a lot while I ran and only ached afterwards (no sharp pain) so I'm going with the 'no blood, no foul' rule here. Though I won't run again until I get the green light.

Stretching my very UNstretchy hamstrings

Did lots and lots and lots of stretches. You'd think I could touch my toes by now but no.


Then he had me balance on my right foot, tap back onto my left and then quickly back on to my right foot. The idea was for me to land on my whole right foot at once and not just on the ball - which is where I landed almost every time. Then he had me do the same thing except I tapped onto my left foot sideways instead of backwards. For whatever reason it was easier to land on my whole foot this way. And it further confirmed that my balance stinks. I think the other patients must have enjoyed watching the weird lady with the funny little skirt wobbling like a Weeble while the 8 y/o laughed hysterically taking pictures (all of which were really blurry otherwise I would have shared them. promise)

Fun with a thera-band

We did some leaning starts - I don't know what else to call them. Stand with a neutral pelvis and lean your entire body (still straight) forward until you have to run to keep from falling. I pretty much stunk at this and would lean and then stomp my foot out to catch me instead of just falling into a run. Since that move is a basic of Chi running I guess I should practice it.

Something about the way I did this made him wonder aloud if my core is as squishy as it looks. So he had me sit on the very edge of the table, hold onto the edge and lean back a little. Then I slowly brought my knees up and down. After about a 1,000 of these (ok, maybe not that many) he decided my core was actually pretty strong.

So I did some more stretches; he printed more homework exercises for me and we were on our way.  I actually worked up a sweat which felt really good. One step closer to being stronger and ready to really run!

At the feeder

We live in a great area for bird watching and enjoy quite a variety of birds in our yard. We have feeders and suet cages in both the front and back yards and the kids often sit at the window with their binoculars and field guide to see if we have any new visitors.

This morning a female red bellied woodpecker stopped by for breakfast.

Lard and seeds, yum!

We have a male red bellied woodpecker that frequents our front yard, but those windows are much dirtier (they're kid height) and he's very skittish so it's hard to get a good picture of him.

Both Bill and his dad can identify just about any bird at a glance. Hank is getting pretty good at it too - though his young mind remembers more than I'll ever forget (which is a lot).  I have to scour the field guide and stare at each picture. How about you?