Millennium Mom

Monday, May 31, 2010

I love long weekends

There is nothing better than a three day weekend, particularly when you have Monday off...because you go back to a short work week. I love them...I used to love them because it meant you went away. Hopped on a plane or in a car and got away. In my post college days it was to our beach house at the NJ shore with all my Scranton buddies...the season officially started on Memorial day and off we went. Sitting in traffic for hours to get to the beach, every weekend until Labor day. Post grad-school it was to go see a friend somewhere, either back home to the east coast or up to Chicago. There are always fantastic festivals that go on for Memorial day up in Chicago.

While we were in Europe it was an excuse to go visit a new place. All of our European friends used to think we were crazy that we could only spend 3 days in a city and feel like we "got to know it"...as in Europe they don't go anywhere for less than a week.

Now that we are back in Cincy and with kids, our long weekends tend to be in Cincy. Usually catching up on yard work, bar-bqs with neighbors and maybe checking out the highlights in the city for the weekend.

We had fantastic weather so we spent a ton of time outside. Ben's baseball game, graduation parties (yes in Cincy high school graduations were this weekend, so much earlier than in NY), pool parties, and more. We did go inside to see a not so good rendition of "Ain't Misbehaving"...we left at intermission...not good.

Our big "tasks" (because you all know me, I had to get something off of the to do list) was to re-stain our kids playset. Arnie powerwashed it last weekend so this weekend was about re-staining it. We spread it out over the three days and got it all done. It looks brand new. That was the best investment ever, bought it used from a neighbor for $750 (vs. over $5K new) and two coats of stain later it is still working just great.

So the summer season is here, though now officially summer for a few weeks. The Reds are tied for first, Cincy is loving it, it is already hot and humid so feels like summer, and our yard is ready for some parties.

Happy Memorial Day to all of you who lost a loved one in war.

Sunday, May 23, 2010

Green Thumb? Round two

Many of you know last year I attempted my first vegetable garden, despite not enough sun. But I tried. It did pretty well until record setting rain wiped out all my vines, and my inexperience didn't help. Let's just say my green beans were doing well until I touched them.

For Christmas my husband got me a book called "square foot gardening" and it is about above the ground gardening. We are giving this a try this year. I also cut back a lot to try to get more sun. Tomorrow we are having another 6 trees removed which may help to.

So this weekend I finally planted the garden. I got all the supplies over a month ago, but between mulching, rain, baseball and other priorities we didn't get to it until yesterday. I am so excited and hope we get some great veggies this summer. Between helping with "sustainability" and teaching my kids how to grow your own food I just love the idea of it...I wish I had more of a green thumb.

Before planting our garden we did the Forest Hills 5K run yesterday. Arnie ran with Ben and his friend Andrew, they ran the entire thing and finished in 31 minutes, not bad for a 7 year old. I walked with Sarah and Claire. They ran part of it but I managed to catch up at water stops, we clocked in at 42 minutes. We were so hot and sweaty, so getting dirty with the garden didn't seem so bad given our starting place.

So another Saturday filled with lots of hard work, the theme of weekends in Springtime. We work hard all day and then finish our evening with Ben's baseball game. Last night we had fantastic weather, nice and sunny and the boys played fantastic. Between the great game, 5K run and garden we thought we deserved DQ. What a treat.

Now time to get to the other week, the work week. This one is a crazy one for me. Once a year each category reviews their innovation pipeline with the CEO. Beauty & Grooming is doing it this week, so tons of prep for three days before we share out stuff on Thursday...wish me luck.

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

40 and healthy

So I had my physical today. I hadn't been to the Dr. in over five years and thought now that I am 40 a physical may be a good idea. The funny thing is they told me "I was no longer a patient" because I hadn't seen her in five years. So if you are healthy, you lose...go figure. Anyway I finally got an appt and went. All is well, bloodwork is good and yes metabolism has slowed down, can NOT lose the 7 pounds I have gained. She said it is very normal, I say it stinks big time.

She spent almost 40 minutes with me which was fantastic, so nice. We compared how we get to India (her name is Dr V, short for Vrishabehendra) when we fly (and yes there is no easy way) and other topics. My tailbone is still in much pain, and she didn't make me feel better when she said it could be months...ugghhhh.

I do have to say I think very differently about my health now, and I don't know why. Suddenly I force myself to take a vitamin. I try to eat better. And even try to exercise (but definitely not doing so good). Maybe it's good marketing, maybe a bit of paranoia but my habits have changed simply by turning 40. The good thing is I was comparing pictures the other day. We got professional photos taken on the beach in Florida and my project was to get them all printed and framed.

They turned out fantastic, from huge posters to smaller ones. Anyway, I was replacing photos on my desk and put a new one of Arnie and I in. It happens to sit next to our wedding photo. I an honestly say I don't think either one of us looks 10 years older. In fact I think we look pretty darn good for 40 and 44...let's hope the next 10 years go so well :)

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Happy Mother's Day

To all the moms out there reading this Happy Mother's Day.
I LOVE Mother's Day, always have. My dad would always bring my mom a dozen roses and then one for me and one for my sister. It was so special. Then we would spend the day with both of my grandmas, in hindsight simply priceless.

I spoke to my Grandmother tonight. She will be 88 next month. She is a strong women. Widowed at the age of 43, with an 18, 13 and 3 year old. Up until that point she had never worked, she was a housewife raising a family. But she went to work as a matron at the High School. She never made a ton of money but she was smart. She moved in with her parents who helped her raise her sons. She was frugal and choiceful. Her house was meticulous and she was always smartly dressed. She could find a bargain anywhere.

Today she still lives on her own in her house. She has never had a driver's license, but she isn't afraid to take the bus anywhere.

She was so excited about the tulips I sent her and just wanted to thank me. I could never thank her enough for the inspiration and role model she has been for me. I try to give her more but she won't take it. Today she stressed over my uncle and some bad choices he has made. From a distance I get very angry as the last thing an 88 year old women needs is stress. But I can't do much, so I just listen. I call often so she knows she can have a shoulder to cry on or an ear to complain too.

I have become her sounding board and I love it. When it is really bad our call is followed by a call to my mom to say "go see grandma." Funny that you have to be 1,000 miles away to get that out of her.

So in honor of my Grandma, my mother, my sister and all my friends that are terrific moms, enjoy your day tomorrow. I hope your dreams come true and when you are 88 years old have a granddaughter you can talk to, as that is truly priceless.

Sunday, May 2, 2010

5/2 Blog: rain rain go away

UGHHHHH is all I have to say after another washed out weekend in Cincinnati. So far our late Spring has been the reverse of early spring . In March we got tons of rain, but always mid-week. For the last two weeks we have had gorgeous weekdays only to be rained in the entire weekend.

After two in a row I am about to lose it. Between PMS and the rain I am lucky I didn't kill my husband this weekend. I have so many outdoor things that need to be done that it is starting to cause some stress. I just want it finished. But he had no desire to work outside, even when it wasn't raining because the ground was so wet.

You all know me, I was out there anyway, getting whatever I could done. This only made me angry as I struggled on my own at times.

Then I decided I would tackle another project that didn't require going outside, that was to order the prints from the professional photos we had taken in Florida. My mom mailed me the disc from the photographer and off to Sam's I went with the girls. The kiosk was relatively straight forward, I only had to ask for help a few times (and for me the tech clueless person that isn't bad). All went well until the guy asked me "who took the photos."

Of course I told the truth and said a photographer in Florida. He asked me if I had the copyright approval to print them? My blank face told the story of "what the heck does that mean". I guess photographers are getting pissed that people are copying their photos at places like Walmart so they require a release of some kind. Of course I didn't have this . We paid her a sitting fee and for the discs.

The one time I forget both phones!!! I called my parents when I got home and asked them to get a hold of her. She was out of town and supposedly going to send something today. This meant I couldn't' finish it this weekend. Again you know me...when I start something I want to get it done quickly. Not stretch it out. So strike number 2. This made me even angrier.

Then we had to cancel Ben's game. Which should not have been a big deal but I think I just needed to get outside. It hadn't rained in 8+ hours, but the field was a mess apparently. So no game. Instead I made some chili and settled in to watch some shows I had DVR'd. I did get a walk in with Claire which was great.

Today we volunteered at the Cincy Flying Pig marathon. We were all supposed to go in the AM (be there by 8) at mile mark 20.5 It was thundering and lightning at 7am so I didn't want to take the kids out in that. We agreed Arnie would go and I would play it by ear. This let me sleep in. Around 8:30 we started to watch the Princess and the Frog and it cleared up a bit. I got the kids ready and off we went at 9:30 to join daddy. I brought the video so they could watch it in the van if it started to rain again (which it did).

It was great being out there. I can't even run a mile so seeing those people were great. I felt so bad for those coming through around noon, that was already 5.5 hours and they still had 5 miles to go, that is over 7 hours likely...WOW. What an accomplishment. Good for them, but so sure that will never be me.

I guess the only upside of another rainy day was there was no guilt in doing some work today. Arnie had a hockey game at 4pm and I had 4 girls over playing with my 2, yes...6 girls between the ages of 4 and 7....and they were actually quiet for the most part. Enough so that I got some work done before making dinner (of course soup and grilled cheese, my rainy day staple).

I even went for a walk in the rain after dinner with Ben. I am having lots of problems with my tailbone and the specialist said "non compact cardio exercise 4-7 times per week, so I have to get out there. It is nice taking one of the kids with me, between skipping and running they keep up with "mom's fast walk" as they like to call it. And I get some 1:1 time, I am going to have to keep this up.