Off and running... again.

So I finally caved in and called the DR on Friday.  I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired!  10 days of a sore throat is ENOUGH already!

I waited 90 minutes for a 7 minute appointment.  This is typical of this doc.  Drives me nuts, but he's good, and at this stage of the game, I don't feel like going to find a new one.  He rules out strep throat, which is good.  So he is then going back and forth between gawd-awful allergies or a sinus infection.  I, being oh-queen-of-sinus-infections, told him that it doesn't FEEL like a sinus infection.  He prescribes me some hefty dose of Allegra, some Nasonex, and says to call if I don't start feeling better by Monday.

It evidently worked, because I got up and went R-U-N-N-I-N-G yesterday for the first time in 10 days.  And it felt soooo gggoooodddd.... now to just get back out there again consistently before it gets so hot that I might melt into the pavement.

Repeat Post

I blogged about this on the house blog, so that's why it is a repeat blog...

We have had 3 showings in 3 weeks.  I have no idea if that is really a good thing for this market or not, but from what I am hearing, the house down the street had about 3 showings in 3 months, so perhaps we are doing something right.  Its a crap shoot right now.  No one knows what's going to happen, which is why I have adopted the attitude of "if it is meant to be, it will be".  Meaning, if we are supposed to move, the house will sell.

I did find out that the folks who came by today - this is their 2nd time through!  That's a good thing, right?  The wife came through alone first, then wanted to come back and bring her husband.  According to their Realtor, they just sold their home and therefore need another one.

There's a part of me that is excited and anxious, and another part that is extremely calm about the whole thing.  As Doris Day so eloquently put it "Que sera, sera, Whatever will be, will be".

Something that really chaps my hide...

I came home today to find an anonymous note in my mailbox. It was a copy of the city ordinance regarding dogs being on leashes. Yes, there is history here - indulge me if you will...

We have two dogs. Two very large dogs. Most folks around here do not have large dogs - they have little, snappy, yappy dogs. Specifically, there are two Bischon Frises who seem hell bent on killing my two dogs.

There are 3 families who live within .1 mile of me who ALL let their dogs outside when the family is out. I have been greeted by Gertie and her brother Cosmo, two lovely and energetic black labs, on quite a few occasions. I've met Ipo in my own back yard before - he's a fun loving chocolate lab, the size of a Great Dane.

Admittedly, my two are social retards. They want to play with other dogs, but they don't' really have the social skills to carry it out. Schooner is too big and oaf-y, and Cyrus is just too timid, but he revels at the opportunity to go greet other dogs. Which is exactly what happened yesterday.

The painter was here, and he was getting some old paint out of our garage for color matching. The door was open. I was out there. Cyrus was out with me. Yes - he was not on a leash, my bad, forgive me. He hears the two white, yippy dogs heading out for a walk, and dashes down to greet them. He is met with snarling and barking and yipping and carrying on, and oh-my-stars, you'd think the world was coming to an end the way those two carried on.

I tried calling him back - 9 times out of 10 he responds well, but the neighbor was having her roof repaired, and I really don't think he could hear me over the chainsaws and blowers.

The mother of these two dogs was clearly displeased. I was clearly displeased, and I dashed down there and chased Cyrus home

Today I get the ordinance letter in my mailbox. Its not hard to guess who sent it, but I do wish that, should someone have the audacity to enter my mailbox and be so passive-aggressive about the whole thing, they'd at least have the balls to put their name to it.

Makes me think of leaving a note in my own mailbox regarding the fact that it is a FELONY to go into someone else's mailbox...

Still in a pollen-induced fog.

I checked the counts online the other day. I guess the scale for pollen is 0-12. Anything above a 6 means most folks will feel the effects of the pollen. Right now, we are sitting at 10.9. I guess it is nice to have some validation as to why we all feel so awful. My Claritin cocktail with Aller-Clear chaser was not working for me, to I switched to Zyrtec which is supposed to be a stronger antihistamine. We will see. If I could breathe in deeply without coughing, or feel like my throat is no longer lined with shards of glass, I would be happy. I'd even take the sand-paper inner lids I am battling if the rest of it would go away.

My car is yellow. My dining room table? The one I dusted yesterday (with a dust broom because the layer was so thick)?? Yes - it is yellow again today. We caved and turned on the air conditioning. Yes - it's warm enough outside to heat up the upstairs (reading 82 on the thermometer) and warrant it, but really, the decision is based more on trying to filter this crap out of the air we breathe.

Its not working.

So, am I using this as an excuse to not run, or is it a valid reason to have put a temporary halt to my running? Pollen counts are worst first thing in the morning, my preferred running time. The news media is even telling folks to avoid being outside if you are susceptible to allergies. So what's a gal to do? My midsection is getting fluffier by the day, and yet I lack any and all motivation to go out there and sweat and breathe heavy and fill my poor unsuspecting lungs with more of this gunk.

And then there's the whole "you're just being lazy and soon your new cute pants won't fit anymore" voice rumbling around inside my head.....

Heaven forbid I should hit the GYM??!!

Happy Easter to all who celebrate!

Easter came in with one doozey of a windstorm last night.  The wind howled between the trees and houses for well over 2 hours, of course, in the darkest middle of the night.  The yard managed to survive, save for a few large branches from the tree in front.  (It always falls victim to strong winds.  I am actually surprised it has not completely blown down yet)

The boys were delighted to find Easter baskets waiting for them when they got up (at the unearthly hour of 6:15... when will they learn the beauty of sleeping in?) and a question was raised in my Fatfigthers group about whether or not our kids still believe in the Easter Bunny.  Honestly, I have no idea.  I am a bit afraid to pose the question because I don't want to allude to there NOT being an Easter Bunny, for fear it will lead to other magical myths, such as St Nick.  I am OK with them thinking the basket comes from me... especially if it means they will still have faith in other things for a while longer.  Matthew informed me a few weeks back that a boy in his class thinks the tooth fairy is actually his parents.  I asked Matthew what he thought - and as of that date he thought the boy was delusional.  I breathed a cautious sigh of relief.

I know the innocents of youth won't last forever.  I know someday they will know the "truth", if you can call it that.  Parker told me someone in his class does not believe in Santa.  My 5th grade students had a conversation about it a few days ago, and I felt bad for one of them because I think he DOES still believe, but peer pressure is getting the better of him.  I shared with my class that, goofy as it may be, I still believe in Santa.  Because really, what is Santa but the desire to find innocence in the world and to do good for others?  What is so wrong with wanting to make someone's day a bit brighter, or to fulfill a wish?

And, as a parent, I have to say that whole "you'd better behave, because Santa is watching" line is worth its weight in gold!

Feelin' like poop.... again...

This must be a banner year for allergies. I am faithfully taking my 24-hour allergy meds, using allergy eye drops 2x per day, and I still feel like poop. You know - that, is it allergies or do I have a NASTY cold sort of poop. It makes you all lethargic and like all you want to do is sleep. But then you lay down to sleep and your head fills up and the pressure of it all gets to you and so you give up trying to sleep and head for the nearest bottle of Advil.

And, as my hubby and probably my children will attest, it also makes me cranky. Really cranky, in a sort of bite-your-head-off-and-chew-it-up sort of way. Just so you all don't think it is just in my head (punny, I know!) my car is turning yellow. The upside is that the air is rich in the fragrance of orange blossoms, and it smells absolutely heavenly (that is when the sinuses clear enough for me to smell anything) but with it comes a bit of torture for one's nose.

Christopher and Matthew have also been hit hard this year - Chris sees me with a kleenix in my hand and he toddles off as quickly as he can in the opposite direction!!

Cute little nothing-to-do-with-anything note: 2 days ago I was putting Christopher in his car seat. After I hoisted him up and he got himself all settled in, I asked him "Ok, should we buckle your seatbelt now?" To which he replied "Absolutely mommy".

I wanted to just gobble him up right then.

Well, its official...

The house is on the market! We are not "ready" yet, in terms of not having the roof finished and the painting done, but the rest of it is good to go. We listed on Friday, March 14th, and if we don't have a buyer by July 1st, we will take it back off the market and wait.

The good news for us is that there are currently 8 houses on the market that fit our description, and are within 75K of our asking price, so the range is quite big. In fact, our exact house is for sale in our neighborhood, and they are asking 125K more than we are. Yes, they have remodeled the kitchen and bathrooms, but I certainly think someone could do the same to our house for a whole lot less than 125K!

We will keep you posted!! And in case anyone wants to see the listing, you can check it out here --->> http://www.realtor.com/realestate/scottsdale-az-85258-1097243982/

Conversation with a 7 yr old

The other morning, as I was getting ready for the day, Matthew comes into the bathroom, apparently to watch me get ready (love the privacy we have in my house!). He and I have the following interchange.

Matt: "Mom, did you know that if a space ship from Earth, made of matter, went into space and collided with another space ship from another planet that was made of anti-matter, there would be no residue from either ship left?"

Me: "No - really??"

Matt: "Yeah, because when matter and anti-matter collide, they just cancel each other out, but when matter and matter collide, there is always some junk left over. No one would ever know if matter and anti-matter collided because there would be no leftovers."

Me: "Wow - that's really cool... where did you learn that?"

Matt: "Duh, mom.... from your computer. Are there any frozen waffles left"


This kid continues to literally blow my mind! Anyone else think we should just call MIT now and reserve him a space?

A crushing blow to the ego

I have been very lax in my running lately. I even asked my cyber-buddy Jenn to challenge me to a running contest through Nike+ in order to motivate myself again. If I have gotten in 2 runs a week, its been a busy running week for me lately. This is a very long way of saying that I need to give myself a big kick in the arse and get back out there because if I don't, soon none of my pants will fit. And that, as we all know, would be bad.

I motivated myself today, and set the bar low - 2.5 miles. I've done twice that a few times, and decided that 2.5 would be a good mid-range goal. Not so much that I am over doing it, far enough to do some good.

It was long and hard and I was winded and sore by the end. Even at the beginning, it was not easy. As soon as I turned from our neighborhood to the main street I run down, I was passed as if standing still by a man, clearly older than I am. Ok, fine - he's got the whole "long legs, big stride" thing going for him. I watch him effortlessly pass me by and soon, pass right out of sight.

What was not so easy to rationalize for me, however, was the probably sixty-something woman who, on my way home, also passed me like I was standing still. She strode down the street, effortlessly shifting her feet in front of her. I tried to keep up with her, for even a block. It was of no use... I nearly stopped breathing from effort.

Clearly, I need to work on my stamina and my speed.

Nothing like getting passed by Granny to make you feel all slow and sloth-like.

My kid, the football player!

Parker will tell you that "his game" is baseball. Basketball comes in second, and football falls somewhere around third, if not further down below tennis and swimming. But for today, Parker was not only a fan, but a player!

The Arizona Cardinals hold these kid-camps throughout the valley. Usually they are packed, but this one, being over spring break and all, was small so the kids got a lot of 1:1 attention from the coaches and the player, Neil Rackers. It was a fantastic way to spend a lovely spring morning!!

Happy March

I've sat down to post an update countless times, and have just always found that, while there is much going on, I have had little to say. Or, as has been the case frequently, I have had lots to say, but it has been during daylight hours and my youngest is awake and demanding to take over my keyboard, and any attempts on my part to blog would be strickly futile.

We are on spring break this coming week. It is feeling like spring around here - highs in the upper 70's and low 80's. I know some of you are still digging out from under snow, and while the urge to smack me right through the computer is understandably strong, please refrain. Take comfort in knowing that this 'good time of the year' is short lived and we will be clear into the upper 90's by April and above 100 by the 1st of May. We don't see double digits again until Halloween, so while you can hate me now, it shall be me turning green in a few short weeks.

My mother sent me a very funny (but funny in a "man - that is SO true" sort of way) about there being no perfect place to retire. I know- I am ages away from retirement, but bear with me... this one had the premise that just because the grass looks greener, upon further inspection, it's all about the same everywhere... Anyway, lest I digress any further, the part in this email about Arizona had some funny quips in it, and ended with:

Weather - we have 4 seasons in Arizona;
*Tolerable
*Hot
*Really, really hot and
*ARE YOU F*****G KIDDING ME???

I giggled out loud at that one.