When I'm Back On My Feet Again

Still busy not running...  sort of not running.  OK, so I ran about 25 feet or so. I'll get into that later.

I think I figured out my itchy skin issues.  I was getting itchy, dry skin around the back of my neck and collar bone.  Due to the process of elimination it's most definitely dairy, and possibly corn.  I've known all along that I've been allergic to dairy/cow's milk products.  Up until very recently I could handle small amounts of dairy, such as a touch of cream in my coffee while out to eat, or a small pat of butter on toast.  No more.  Over the past week I took out ALL cow's milk products away from my diet.  This wasn't easy since I had to be the picky one when going out to eat and ask how foods were prepared.  I'm just about all cleared up.  I'm putting corn back in next week just to see what happens.   Good times.

The garden is coming along slowly.  I planted the yellow squash seedlings into the garden.  I have a feeling I'll be over-run with yellow squash this season, but I'm going to attempt using the squash flowers for cooking.   Some of the romaine lettuce is just about ready for the transfer, but I want to make sure they're big enough to handle being out there, unprotected.  I just need to figure out other ways of keeping gophers, slugs and snails away from my precious vegetables.

On Saturday I attended another Runner's World wear test event.  I came away with a pair of Brooks Ghost 3.  I haven't had a lot of success with Brooks, but these actually fit well, even with my orthotic.  Bonus points for the shoe not being Easter egg colors.  It's a neutral shoe, but I completely forgot to ask if they had any neutral cushioned shoes in the bunch.*  My first impressions are that these feel good in the heel, and there's plenty of room in the toe box.  These aren't as cushy as the Pearl Izumi Cruise I've been wearing, but they feel comfortable enough.  We'll see how they do once I start running again, hopefully in a couple of weeks.  Before they released these shoes to me I had to run about 25 feet for their shoe expert.  That's the first time I've really run since March 13 this year.  I was reluctant, and told the guy about my ailments, but he said the shoe was a good match for me, even though he could see that my left foot wasn't right.  The review comes out in the September 2010 Runner's World Magazine.   We'll see if they use my two cents.

Florence was my grandma.

Speaking of shoes, just about everyone wanted to know about the Fit Flops. Theses are super comfortable and I am considering purchasing another pair with less bling.  Gold sequins don't do well in the garden mud, however, if I get lost in my backyard I suppose I can wave one of my shoes at an overhead airplane.  I can wear them all day without the broken foot hurting, mostly because of the thick, but light sole.  From the exercise standpoint of the shoes, I really can't tell much of a difference there.  I suppose if I never worked out or never have run before I might notice a difference.  Hubs now calls them my Princess Jasmine shoes. I think I've heard enough derriere comments to last me a while, thankyouverymuch.  The next pair I purchase will definitely be more earthy or neutral in color.  Size wise, I wear a 6 1/2 (USA) in regular shoes, but these come only in even sizes.  The size 6 fit me well.

Mother's day came and went.  We don't celebrate Mother's Day in a big way.  In the early years we've had the big Mother's Day brunches out or the big to do dinner at someone's house, usually my mother in law's house.  For several reasons, I've just decided to opt out of the bigness of the day and keep things super simple. My little family and I went to the High Dive  for breakfast.  I didn't have to worry about getting decked out to go have breakfast. I just threw on some jeans, a blouse, my Princess Jasmine shoes, pulled my hair back in a pony tail and went.  No biggie, but it was perfect. They serve an awesome Bloody Mary, which was worth the 1/4 mile trip down the street, and equally awesome Halla (French) toast.

After breakfast and back at home, I spent the day at home, enjoying my back yard and took a few photos:
.  

Lumpy (the tabby) insisting that he take over Cruiser's bed.  Cruiser (the black kitty) wasn't too happy, but never moved.

Renee and Evan

Erik

Oh yeah, Erik shaved his head on Friday.  He said he wanted to see what his head actually looked like.  He's never had a buzz cut, even as a kid.   It's hard to believe that this is the same person who was a "Senior Standout"  for best hair in high school.  He once looked like Slash from Guns 'n' Roses.  Seriously.

I'm a lot more mobile, but the foot is still rather sensitive.  With less than a month until the (now) half marathon, this sensitive foot still concerns me.  I've been trying to exercise within reason, but it still isn't enough to constitute any type of running or even simulated running.  I honestly didn't think I'd be out so long.  It was is one heck of a broken bone.  I go back to orthopedics next Tuesday.  This is getting old.


Thursday's Song:
Miles In These Shoes - Jennifer Lopez

PEACE

 In loving memory.  My mom,  Gloria January 4, 1929 - March 1, 1986

*They also had Saucony, K Swiss, Mizunos, Puma, and a few others.

Everybody I Love You

I had every intention of delving into more books this summer, but one of the pain medications I was (and still am) using takes my attention span to that of a flea with ADD. The days I am more clear minded have been spent making an attempt to read more than just magazines and random stuff on the internet. One of the books I've just finished is I Love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies) The Tales of a Loudmouth Girl by Lauie Notaro. This book was lent to me by my hair dresser. It's a good, light summer book. A chapter is very doable if you're strapped for time or, in my case, dealing with drug induced flea ADD, and a chapter is all I can deal with and remember. Laurie Notaro talks about her mother frequently in this book, and often quotes her. I was actually quite surprised when one of the quotes in the book was something my own mother said to my sister. I just about died laughing because it was so spot on, especially a reference to truck drivers and prostitutes.

Back when I was still living at home, and Mom was still around, my sister, who was probably about 12 or 13 years old at the time, said a very, VERY bad word. My mother overheard this word and scolded my sister, saying "who do you think you are?" "With a mouth like that do you think your mother's a prostitute and your father's a truck driver?" I had to leave the room because it was so funny, I burst out laughing. Later on, my sister was also laughing, but we didn't let Mom know. Mom would have been even more upset that we were laughing... To this day we're still laughing.

Real good times.

Today I also ventured out into the world. My husband and I went for a walk. I took my cell phone and turned on the BiM GPS to track my walk. This is the first longish walk I've taken since the marathon, when we had to walk from the parking area to the water table and back, and I was using a walker at that time.

Activity:	Walk
Date:	06/28/08 11:11 AM
Distance:	0.93 miles
Time:	0:30:06
Speed:	1.8 mph
Pace:	33' 20 min/mile
Calories:	88

I had taken pain meds, had my cane, and had to remind Michael to go slow. My neighborhood is hilly, and it was difficult to even navigate walking down hill a little. Wow. It took me about a half hour to burn off 88 calories and barely go one mile! I sure have my work cut out , don't I? Will I be even be running by fall? That's all besides the point at the moment. Each day is a little better. Each day I'm limping less. Each day is less painful.

Yesterday's song:
Yummy - Gwen Stefani

PEACE

Pretty and the Fair

In a post last year, I had discussed losing my mother to cancer when she was only 57 years old, about 22 years ago. Mother's Day is a bittersweet day for me in that I am a mother, but my mother is no longer around and she missed things like meeting my son, my grandson, and just being here. Yeah... Time does heals the wounds, as they say, but there's still that void of her just not being here, ya know?

I have friend I've know from high school who also lost her mother to cancer way too early. Every now and then we'll e-mail each other around Mother's Day just to say something simple like "thinking of you." I wrote the first e-mail this time, just saying that I was thinking of my friend and how much I know she misses her mother, and I'm right there with her. She e-mailed me back and made a comment that really surprised me. My friend is single, never married, never had kids. She insinuated that because I'm married and have kids I couldn't possibly miss my mother as much. WTF??? I don't care if you're married, single, man, woman, have kids, don't have kids, employed, unemployed, 25 years old or 85 years old, but when you lose someone close to you it stings. Who is to judge which person feels their loss the worst, or misses their loved one the most??? That's stupid. Even after 22 years I think it sucks that I just can't call up my mom to see what she thought of some silly TV show or if she knew some weird remedy for hiccups. I can't turn to her after a bad day for a little slap in the face reality check and piece of homemade coffee cake that she was known for. Damn it.

I just had to get that off my chest.

Yesterday's song:
When You Wish Upon A Star - Jimney Cricket (Cliff Edwards) - Run-DMZ
PEACE

Living Water

Activity: Run
Date: 05/12/07 07:53 AM
Distance: 20.02 miles
Time: 3:51:08
Speed: 5.20 mph
Pace: 11' 32 min/mile
Calories: 1909


Mile splits
1 10' 14
2 10' 22
3 10' 54
4 10' 44
5 11' 47
6 11' 00
7 10' 52
8 10' 46
9 11' 14
10 11' 52
11 12' 02
12 11' 21
13 11' 48
14 12' 00
15 11' 57
16 12' 05
17 12' 26
18 12' 36
19 12' 36
20 12' 04
end 10' 50

I did much better with yesterday's run than I did just two weeks ago. Having enough water was the key. I carried my Platypus hydration pack with more than enough water, had 5 gels (needed only 3), and the weather was mild. Cell phone calls at the last 5 miles slowed me down a smidge, but I don't think it hindered anything other that adding a minute or two to the entire run. If I run the way I ran yesterday, I can expect to finish the marathon in around 5:02 or so. I know my training runs are always slower than my actual runs, and I'm hoping that the excitement of marathon day will give me the mental boost I need to pick up the speed even just a little bit.

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

Peace

Beautiful

I've been called back into work this week, and perhaps next week, so my running and workout schedules will be somewhat off. The good thing about being back at work for a couple of weeks, besides the extra money, is that they're training me on some newer, high tech equipment. Now I can pitch in with patient pre-testing like I did when I was a full time tech.

Shopper had blogged about a woman who greatly touched her life, and suggested that we all do the same. The first woman who came to mind was my mother. Perhaps that's a given, because mom gave birth to me, but my mother was such a dynamic person, and had to put up with a lot in her life, but came out smelling ever so sweet.
My mom was born here, in the United States, in Oakland, CA. Her mother's family originated in Toledo, Spain, and her father's family was from somewhere in France. My mother's parents were betrothed to other people in Spain and France, but (from what I've heard) ran off to marry each other and ended up in the United States. Mom was born towards the end of the depression years, at the time Wilson was president. When mom was of the preschool age, Wilson mandated that people of Hispanic decent be sent to Mexico. Almost everyone in my mother's household was whisked to a place they had never been to before, Mazatlan, Mexico. Only the ones at work and school were left behind. That's where my mother, her 3 sisters and her parents lived together for the next 20 years. Mazatlan was not the touristy city it is now, but was was a small fishing village. I've heard stories from my mother of how she and her sisters had to be tough to put up with their new set of circumstances. One unexpected circumstance was skin color. They were more fair than their friends, even though they had dark brown hair. They didn't look like any of their neighbors and where known as the "whites" or "Gueras." They were often made fun of. I've heard several stories of how my mother and her sisters had to physically defend themselves. I've also heard stories of how they made ends meet, how my grandmother was the town Tailor and "healer," attending to births, "sewing" people up, attending to the sick, etc... My mom grew up having to do most of her mother's finish work and became quite the seamstress herself. In her early 20's (early 1950's) my mother returned to the United States, as she officially was a US citizen. At that point in her life, both parents had already died and there wasn't any reason for her to stay in Mazatlan. When she came back to the U.S, she lived with her cousin in the San Diego area, went to adult night school to relearn English, and met my father who didn't speak a word of Spanish... Ironically, my mother had to put up with prejudices once again, because she didn't speak English well, but she soon overcame this obstacle.

Fast forward...
When I was a kid, my mother was the "go to" person in our neighborhood. She always had a great recipe, knew all of the sewing tricks not shown in any books -- plus made every one's prom and bridesmaid dresses, and pierced my ears and most of my friend's ears (with their parent's right there, of course.) My mom was a fun mom. I remember one summer when it was the neighborhood boys VS the neighborhood girls in a massive water fight. At the back door my mom would give the girls buckets for the water, and at the front door she would give the boys equal sized bowls. We never knew this until later. At the end of it all, she would have homemade pizza for us all. My mom was the wizard of "Spanglish." She often invented words or changed words around . One of the most memorable was how she said "Beverly Hillbillies." Her version: "The Beverly Hilly-Billy's." LOL... My mom also threw the best parties. She did everything herself, no catering service -- well, unless you count my brother, sister, and I. Her food presentation always looked professional and was delicious. She could have gone into the catering business, but that was never her goal. My mother also had many, many friends, all of which considered her their best friend. The whole time I was growing up my mom never seemed to get sick. The only time I remember her down was when she had a c-section for the birth of my sister. Then in her later years (for her it was her mid 50's) she suddenly seemed to be in pain all of the time. This was not normal.
My mother was diagnosed with colon cancer in May of 1985. This was a bitter pill for all of us to swallow. It was hard to watch such a strong willed person suffer. My mother rarely cried when I was a child, or at least never in front of me. This was the first time I saw my mother let go of her emotions, happy and sad. At that time, my brother, sister and I each had a child and they were all babies/toddlers. It was very hard for my mother not to enjoy her grandchildren, but she did take great joy in spending time with them. I remember finding little Hot wheels cars along side my mom, in her hospital bed, where my 2 year old nephew had been playing. She enjoyed that time with him, as she did with my niece and my daughter. My sister gave birth to her second son in December of 1985. This birth also gave great joy to my mom, since it took the focus off of her suffering. My mom died March 1, 1986 at age 57. My mom never ever wore black. As a tribute to my mom, I wore something that was not so somber, but light blue and more cheery. It was one of her favorite outfits on me at the time. The church where the funeral was held was packed solid, and there was standing room only for those who came a little late. I saw people who I hadn't seen in years; people who were touched by my mom, such as the shy neighborhood girl who had my mom make her wedding dress just a couple of years before, a long lost relative whom I know my mom would have loved to see, all of the friends who said my mom was their "best" friend, and many other friends, neighbors and relatives.

There have been times through out the years (since her death) where I would have witnessed something that my mom would have loved to know about. It sometimes makes me sad to not be able to pick up the phone and give her the details. I am not as "ballsy" as my mother was, but that trait has taught me to step out of my comfort zone and try new things; to go for what I want, but in a good way. My mother was also brutally honest, even if the answer hurt. But we all knew she was right. (We knew never EVER to ask her if something made us look fat, because she would always say "YES!") My mother's honesty taught me to be honest, but I'm not as brutal... LOL...

Someone once asked my mom "Don't you feel fortunate to be in this country with everything you have now?" Her answer: "Fortunate? Perhaps. But I was born to be queen!"

Peace