Last night I managed to get myself appointed to my kiddos' school board. Now, I'd already lost a general election through the school itself (I'm neither the PTO president, nor did I stand outside the school for two weeks campaigning every single morning during drop off, so I didn't get one of those two spots), but the city itself has appointments to the board, and I threw my hat in the ring for one of those.
Hard to lose when you are the only one applying...but I'll take it.
It's been a long time since I've been involve in a local community, but I think it is probably the right thing for me. Education is an interest of mine, and for the next few years I'll get an "up close and personal" look at it. The education system in Central Arkansas is probably one of the more interesting systems in the US, so it should be a fun couple of years.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Hiking: Woolly Hollow State Park
I've had an itch for some hiking for a couple of weeks, so this morning we packed up the kiddos early and hit Woolly Hollow state park (east of Greenbrier) for a 3 mile hike.
I packed lots of water, apples, and cookies in the hopes that the kids would actually have fun instead of thinking it was too much work. It almost worked...
The first sign that things were not 100% in kid land was Alyssa's comment that her legs were tired. While the trailhead was still in sight. Ugh.
But once we got going, it turned out mostly ok. It was an easy walk, not a lot of up and down, and the path was well maintained although mostly single file. The shoulder that would have been used to haul the girl up and down small hills was kinda grateful for the inability to walk beside her. But overall, she was a trooper until we got into the third mile and it got hot. Can't say I blame her, but it's a bit hard to go zen with nature when the little one next to you is chanting "owwwww" with every step. I tried changing it to "ommmmmm" but she just hit me. Suppose I deserved it.
I totally enjoyed the walk, though. There was still a cool breeze, even at 10 this morning, and the kiddos still walk slowly enough to let me lag at the back and enjoy looking around and taking in the views.
I'd like to do some more of these day hikes, there are a ton of beautiful areas nearby, but the challenge will be getting the kids - errrr, girl - on board. Maybe more chocolate chip cookies next time...
I packed lots of water, apples, and cookies in the hopes that the kids would actually have fun instead of thinking it was too much work. It almost worked...
The first sign that things were not 100% in kid land was Alyssa's comment that her legs were tired. While the trailhead was still in sight. Ugh.
But once we got going, it turned out mostly ok. It was an easy walk, not a lot of up and down, and the path was well maintained although mostly single file. The shoulder that would have been used to haul the girl up and down small hills was kinda grateful for the inability to walk beside her. But overall, she was a trooper until we got into the third mile and it got hot. Can't say I blame her, but it's a bit hard to go zen with nature when the little one next to you is chanting "owwwww" with every step. I tried changing it to "ommmmmm" but she just hit me. Suppose I deserved it.
I totally enjoyed the walk, though. There was still a cool breeze, even at 10 this morning, and the kiddos still walk slowly enough to let me lag at the back and enjoy looking around and taking in the views.
I'd like to do some more of these day hikes, there are a ton of beautiful areas nearby, but the challenge will be getting the kids - errrr, girl - on board. Maybe more chocolate chip cookies next time...
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Decking It
One of my favorite things about being back in Arkansas and out of Houston is the fact that I can sit on my deck at 9am on Saturday morning in the middle of June, and it's actually kind of cool. The ceiling fan is going, the arbor is covered in wisteria, and the humidity is still low. It reminds me of lazy mornings of summer when I was a kid (the few rare times I woke up early enough for it to still be morning). Being able to just sit and enjoy the morning, listening to the neighborhood coming awake, and feeling the promise of an entire weekend day spreading out in front of me - totally awesome. Now granted, we have Alyssa's birthday party early this afternoon, and things that need doing before then. But damn it's nice to just sit and be still for an hour or so before the day starts.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Summer Days
Not too much eventful going on in this part of the world. Kiddos are doing swim team (mainly so they can learn the actual strokes involved in swimming), A's birthday party is this weekend, and we're thinking about taking the kiddos on a hike Sunday morning. I'd like to get them engaged in more outdoor activities - they need to figure out they can walk more than 200 feet without getting tired. Kids these days!
They've been in VBS all week with a friend, and considering the number of times we've taken them to church (ahem, 0), I anticipate some interesting questions at the end of the week. I'm not a fan of organized religion, but it's probably something they need to be exposed to, considering that we live in the South and religion is a main social outlet. At that age, kiddos are so focused on "rules" and the world seems to black and white. Religion itself is such a gray topic, and the idea that it is a "choice" is foreign - if not offensive - to some people. So I'm not sure how to approach the topic with them, other than "this is what some people believe, and other people do not believe this." I'm hoping I can keep their minds open for awhile so they can make a conscious decision about it one of these days, and learn to think these things through for themselves.
Anyway, just Friday morning ramblings. At least it's Friday!
They've been in VBS all week with a friend, and considering the number of times we've taken them to church (ahem, 0), I anticipate some interesting questions at the end of the week. I'm not a fan of organized religion, but it's probably something they need to be exposed to, considering that we live in the South and religion is a main social outlet. At that age, kiddos are so focused on "rules" and the world seems to black and white. Religion itself is such a gray topic, and the idea that it is a "choice" is foreign - if not offensive - to some people. So I'm not sure how to approach the topic with them, other than "this is what some people believe, and other people do not believe this." I'm hoping I can keep their minds open for awhile so they can make a conscious decision about it one of these days, and learn to think these things through for themselves.
Anyway, just Friday morning ramblings. At least it's Friday!
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
A Bit of Reading
I've done a ton of reading lately. A flight to and from Vegas gives you around 5-6 hours of reading time, not to mention a little time out there to read. And without homework and softball and other assorted kiddo activities, I feel like I have a little more time in the evenings, which is strange but nice. I'm beginning to wonder if we shouldn't just ditch Uverse for good, considering how much TV we don't watch. In fact, I'm not sure we've turned on the Uverse in about a month or so. We haven't been watching any baseball this year, and there aren't any other programs we watch on a regular basis...maybe it's something to think about.
At any rate, I finished an interesting biography a few days ago, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. This was a lady in her 20s who, after a couple of pretty intense tragedies and situations in her life, decided to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. It is described as the Appalachian Trail's big brother, and holy cow it sounds like it. Three months plus of desert heat, mountain snow, and assorted other ailments and wilderness...it takes a lot of guts to do something like that. Or a lot of desperation, which is where she was. I'm a sucker for books like that, though - taking a challenging sojourn like that to wrestle with your inner demons - it always amazes me what people can go through and how different they come out on the other side. I like to see what portions I can relate to, and what sections are beyond my frame of reference, at least at this point in time.
I have a friend/acquaintance who is hiking the Appalachian Trail right now on her own. She's been blogging about it regularly and posting amazing pictures. Something like that sounds like an amazing trip - I can only imagine how different you can come out on the other side of something like that - but I don't see something like that in the cards for me. Guess I'll have to take my little, normal journey and work with that. For now, anyway.
At any rate, I finished an interesting biography a few days ago, Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. This was a lady in her 20s who, after a couple of pretty intense tragedies and situations in her life, decided to hike the Pacific Coast Trail. It is described as the Appalachian Trail's big brother, and holy cow it sounds like it. Three months plus of desert heat, mountain snow, and assorted other ailments and wilderness...it takes a lot of guts to do something like that. Or a lot of desperation, which is where she was. I'm a sucker for books like that, though - taking a challenging sojourn like that to wrestle with your inner demons - it always amazes me what people can go through and how different they come out on the other side. I like to see what portions I can relate to, and what sections are beyond my frame of reference, at least at this point in time.
I have a friend/acquaintance who is hiking the Appalachian Trail right now on her own. She's been blogging about it regularly and posting amazing pictures. Something like that sounds like an amazing trip - I can only imagine how different you can come out on the other side of something like that - but I don't see something like that in the cards for me. Guess I'll have to take my little, normal journey and work with that. For now, anyway.
Sunday, June 10, 2012
Personalities
I spent Monday and Tuesday in Vegas, Wednesday in the office, and Thursday and Friday in hot springs at the annual convention for attorneys in Arkansas. There are always happy hours and chances to network at this thing, so I asked a friend of mine to walk me around and introduce me to folks she knows. Being a newish person in town, I needed to do that.
After nearly two hours of random conversation and shaking hands, I was ready to bolt. As we caught our breath outside, I mentioned how exhausting it was, and her response was, literally, "are you kidding? This is energizing!"
May I present textbook definitions of introverts and extroverts. It's not whether you can interact with lots of people, but rather whether you get energy from the experience or whether you need to retreat after to gather your forces again.
After several days in Vegas, being around people constantly, and then two more days in hot springs around new people constantly, I need a quiet place to hole up in for a few days (a month would be nice!)to gather my forces. Ah well, guessing that isn't gonna happen, so I'll just take my back porch in the shade for an hour or two this morning.
After nearly two hours of random conversation and shaking hands, I was ready to bolt. As we caught our breath outside, I mentioned how exhausting it was, and her response was, literally, "are you kidding? This is energizing!"
May I present textbook definitions of introverts and extroverts. It's not whether you can interact with lots of people, but rather whether you get energy from the experience or whether you need to retreat after to gather your forces again.
After several days in Vegas, being around people constantly, and then two more days in hot springs around new people constantly, I need a quiet place to hole up in for a few days (a month would be nice!)to gather my forces. Ah well, guessing that isn't gonna happen, so I'll just take my back porch in the shade for an hour or two this morning.
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Tomorrow Is Another Day
Not my most stellar day as a parent, but at least I have another day coming where I can try to get it right. If you find what little patience I had that has now disappeared, can you please send it my way? Thanks.
Shaky Ground
I tried out a yoga class this morning. I've done one previous class - when I was pregnant with Benjamin - so the experience was a little different this time around.
I like the mindfulness of it, which I expected, but I did NOT expect to shake as much as I did. Holy crap, I'm not sure how you could do that a few times a week and not have completely ripped arms. Or maybe my arms are just weak right now, that's a distinct possibility considering the amount of tennis I haven't been playing lately...
At any rate, I have to figure out how to work a few more days a week of exercise into my life. I've slacked a lot lately, and am starting to see the results of the sitting around. Ah well, a slow cycle is ok here and there, and summer time is as good as any, right? The running will probably be on pause for most of the summer - at least for long runs - because I just don't feel like dealing with the heat this year. Three or four miles is fine; 10+ will not be happening until September or October I'm guessing.
I like the mindfulness of it, which I expected, but I did NOT expect to shake as much as I did. Holy crap, I'm not sure how you could do that a few times a week and not have completely ripped arms. Or maybe my arms are just weak right now, that's a distinct possibility considering the amount of tennis I haven't been playing lately...
At any rate, I have to figure out how to work a few more days a week of exercise into my life. I've slacked a lot lately, and am starting to see the results of the sitting around. Ah well, a slow cycle is ok here and there, and summer time is as good as any, right? The running will probably be on pause for most of the summer - at least for long runs - because I just don't feel like dealing with the heat this year. Three or four miles is fine; 10+ will not be happening until September or October I'm guessing.
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Home again home again
Back from Vegas, back from the overwhelming heat, decadence, and crash course in oxymoronic cities. I've been plenty of times before, but this time wasn't quite the same. The constant barrage on the senses - noise, music, food, people, money - this time around it was too much.
I asked j to check our flight while we were sitting at a cabana on Monday afternoon (he's the travel agent of the family) and he said the flight was at 8am on tuesday morning. Note to future self: always check flights yourself when sun, cabanas, bikinis and copious amounts of alcohol are present.
The 8am flight meant getting up around 6 the next morning, which we somehow managed. The ride to the airport was smooth, security was a breeze, and we sat down at the gate about an hour before our flight was due to take off. As we're sitting there, with 45 minutes to go, they start to line folks up for another flight at our gate. This is a bit unusual in my flying experience, and in j's, so he got up to check the monitor to make sure they hadn't changed gates on us.
When he came back, he had a funny look in his face. So I asked him if we had to haul ass to another gate, and he said no, definitely don't hurry.
Okayyyy, so is our flight delayed?
Nope.
Turns out, his calendar was reading in the wrong time zone for our flight. Instead of being at 8am, it wasn't until 10. Could've been worse, though, right? We could've been two hours late...
I had to laugh - I was done with Vegas anyway, and there are far worse things than hanging around an airport for an extra hour or two, reading and generally relaxing, right?
I asked j to check our flight while we were sitting at a cabana on Monday afternoon (he's the travel agent of the family) and he said the flight was at 8am on tuesday morning. Note to future self: always check flights yourself when sun, cabanas, bikinis and copious amounts of alcohol are present.
The 8am flight meant getting up around 6 the next morning, which we somehow managed. The ride to the airport was smooth, security was a breeze, and we sat down at the gate about an hour before our flight was due to take off. As we're sitting there, with 45 minutes to go, they start to line folks up for another flight at our gate. This is a bit unusual in my flying experience, and in j's, so he got up to check the monitor to make sure they hadn't changed gates on us.
When he came back, he had a funny look in his face. So I asked him if we had to haul ass to another gate, and he said no, definitely don't hurry.
Okayyyy, so is our flight delayed?
Nope.
Turns out, his calendar was reading in the wrong time zone for our flight. Instead of being at 8am, it wasn't until 10. Could've been worse, though, right? We could've been two hours late...
I had to laugh - I was done with Vegas anyway, and there are far worse things than hanging around an airport for an extra hour or two, reading and generally relaxing, right?
Sunday, June 3, 2012
7 Come 11
Vegas, baby, at least for a few days. So far I have yet to win anything, but thats all good. I don't really expect to, so...
I've discovered that it is virtually impossible to sit at a video poker bar by myself - inevitably some dude will engage me in conversation. Can't these people see I'm focused on my game and drink? Sheesh!
Last night we saw Absinthe, which tried a little too hard at points but gets props for sheer jaw dropping stunts. Seriously - I think I had to pick up my jaw about three times last night. And the physiques of these performers just makes you want to hit the gym. Amazing.
Not sure what is on the agenda today, maybe a poker tourney and then we have reservations for Mario batalias (sp) restaurant tonight with the friends we are here with. One thing is for damn sure - we are eating well!
I've discovered that it is virtually impossible to sit at a video poker bar by myself - inevitably some dude will engage me in conversation. Can't these people see I'm focused on my game and drink? Sheesh!
Last night we saw Absinthe, which tried a little too hard at points but gets props for sheer jaw dropping stunts. Seriously - I think I had to pick up my jaw about three times last night. And the physiques of these performers just makes you want to hit the gym. Amazing.
Not sure what is on the agenda today, maybe a poker tourney and then we have reservations for Mario batalias (sp) restaurant tonight with the friends we are here with. One thing is for damn sure - we are eating well!
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