Musings of a Plodder


I thought I would steer away from any more controversial posts (although, if you ever want my real opinion, just ask, I promise I won't be shy) and write about a topic that has been a part of my life for oh, about 16 years.
It all started when I got cut from the freshman volleyball team, and my parents looked at me and said, "well you have to do a sport-so it is swimming or running." Since I didn't love swimsuits and hadn't been swimming with my country club league since I was a wee toddler, that left me with one option.
Running cross-country.

Now, don't get me wrong, I like team sports, and I even like competing, but man, I was not a good runner. I ran JV my freshman/sophomore year, and then eked out a spot on the varsity team my junior/senior year; although that spot was often tenuous depending on who was injured and who had beat me that week. I remember my parents (mainly my dad) telling me to "Run faster." Right. Like I was going to to do that. Running HURTS.

Fast forward lots of years (I won't say how many) and I have passed my athletic peak during my glory days of crew when I realized that working REALLY REALLY hard meant that you got better and I find myself now, almost 30, trying to stay in shape.

Most of you know, my job involves talking with people about their health at least a bit and I feel that in my job, with all of my blessings of education, time, and knowledge that I better be living at least a passable example of what a "healthy" lifestyle can look like. Mix that in with my aversion to equipment knowledge, my desire to bring p-dog on my workouts, and my lack of creativity, and I have returned to my days as a runner. Or more accurately a plodder.

My days of plodding ebb and flow, sometimes I'm good and disciplined, other times weeks lapse between runs, but I plod on.
And have come across some interesting thoughts in the last few months.

1. I invented a new dog harness. The best ever. My special, slightly autistic coonhound can even do it. Phoenix comes from a family of coon-hunting champions. She got a bit of the short end of the stick. But check out this blog for a talented coonhound.
Anyways, back to my harness. It is awesome b/c it is hands free, keeps pdog from chasing random animals, and lets me enjoy a natural stride. Two climbing slings and one carabiner.






2. I'm intrigued by barefoot running. I recently read an article in the NYTimes called "The Once and Future Way to Run."
It kind of got me thinking and I decided I would try running in these shoes:




So far, success. It has most definitely made me change my stride to try to eliminate that nasty heel strike so we will see where it gets me.

Anyways, I'm trying to keep myself in passable shape through a combo of running, yoga (here), and the occasional ski outing.
Also AWESOME news. I washed my ipod Nano in the wash about 5 months ago and through a combination of laziness and hope, never threw it away, and guess what!!!!
It works again!!!
Props to apple. That is some solid construction.

Sadness.

What sadness. Such an avoidable tragedy.

Fun Stuff.

My mom bought some new books for K and they are cute-worth reading/buying/checking out if you haven't already.

1.

This is a cool book made sort of by accident. This artist who was home with her baby girl had this idea to make a scene surrounding her little peanut. What turned into entertainment for herself morphed into this neat neat book about baby's dreaming. Love it. She also has a cool blog: Mila's Daydreams.

2.

This author has won a bunch of awards for his simple, clearly stated, mini-moral dilemma books. Cute and education.

Also, I found out this week that not everyone knows about purple potatoes :-) I discovered them a few years ago when my hubby cooked them for me and they are SO fun to add to a dinner because they put an unexpected color on your plate. They are a bit sweeter than normal potatoes, but can be prepared pretty much the same. The bonus? If you boil them, the water turns this VIVID blue too. Lots of fun colors to use while cooking... see?



Here they are on the plate (And don't worry, I'm not humble-bragging about our AWESOME meal b/c the next night we ate Rumbi).

Wasatch Food

My hubby, as some of you might know, has had a long term interest in the food scene here in SLC. When we moved here from DC, we suffered a bit of a shock with the change in available food options, especially fancy, foreign, or just plain good food with regards to the restaurant options that were offered. Since that day, we have been on a constant quest for good out-to-eat food places.

Mark also dabbles in food making himself and has been known to whip up some extraordinary dinner fare for our household.

In honor of the above two things, he has started a new blog (the link is the title of this post) that will hopefully review the current options for out-to-eat places in and around SLC but also put up some original recipes tested in our very own kitchen.

I know he would take suggestions in both areas, so feel free to tell him what you think!!

The best part of all of this? I get to eat good food!!!

Chicago!

4 generations...K and I have matching socks over jeggings b/c we are cutting edge.

I am on vacation this week (Woohoo!!!) and am enjoying it very much. I had the chance to go to Chicago to visit my parents the first few days of my break and we had a great time.
It was my first time in a while traveling alone with Baby K and I have to admit, traveling on your post call day made for an interesting experience. The flight attendent most definitely commented on the fact that I *might* have briefly dozed off while K was watching Sesame Street on the ipad. Traveling on 3 hours of sleep total doesn't bode well, but luckily it was a lovely uneventful flight.
On both my flights the seat next to me was miraculously empty. That is all I have to say. It is AMAZING having an extra seat for K. She did so much better having her own space; space to play with the Playdoh that I brought, a tray table for her to color with, and lots of space for reading. Made it much easier overall. I tried to entertain with the ipad, but she just isn't that interested for any longer than 3 minutes. Oh well.
I also packed a dinner for us which helped a ton....
While we were in Chicago we had a great time hanging out with Great grandma L, Grandma and Grandpa, but most of all, we LOVED the kitty. Loved her. K would play for a few minutes with something else, then run back and say "Aw, kitty...."
She wore my old winter coat and also played with my old toys all of which were meticulously maintained, wore my old (including an intact doctor's kit that I distinctly remember playing with). And she got a rocking moose. Need I say more? We had a great time.

Moose assembly. Harder than you might think.

Getting ready to check kitty's blood pressure.

Getting tips on kitty whispering from Great Grandma L

Playing with my best friend

What? Sitting with my great grandma.

Grete, the infinitely patient kitty. Who, I might add, is 16 years old.

Blustery walk to the Navy Pier Children's Museum. But worth every step.

Playing on the fire truck. Truth is, K loves trucks.

Playing in the water room. Managing to get wet despite the full length raincoat.

Shopping on Michigan Avenue. K was mad cause she didn't get anything. Except her AWESOME hat.

Eating Sprinkles cupcakes with Gpa. They were good, but not as good as these.

Got REALLY REALLY close to a bear, then a lion, then gorillas. K wasn't as thrilled about this...

Tractor at the zoo/petting farm. See? Loves trucks.

This is my favorite clip from the weekend. K saw Gma laughing with her head back everytime they put stuff on Grete's head, so she did the same. So sweet.

All in all a great start to my vacation...now on the ski-cation part of things! Hoping I can make it one more day :-)

Am also reading some good books, so be on the lookout for a few new book reviews!

Congrats to Laurie!!!!!

We are so excited that Joe asked Laurie to marry him last Friday :)

We couldn't be more thrilled to welcome this guy to the family.

He survived a ski day with Mark, enjoyed some whiskey with the family, and had Baby K wrapped around his finger by the end of the weekend.

He is a great guy who is getting to start a life with a great girl....

Food for thought.

I don't usually post about job related stuff for a number of reasons, but every now and then I think there is something that might be worth posting.

This article from Slate "The Truth about Epidurals: Are they really that bad?" is probably at least worth your time. I'll note it is slightly irreverent, but does a reasonable job summing up the generalities.

My own thoughts about epidurals, and truly, birth in general? Pretty simple. Whatever needs to happen to have healthy moms and healthy babies.

Skiing!!!!

I have been meaning to post this for a while, but couldn't quite pull it together.

Anyways, my hubby, who as you might know, skis. A lot. Has been dreaming about this day pretty much since we found out we were pregnant. He has been excited about getting our little Baby K on skis and pretty much asked everyone he knew how early we could stick her on the slopes.

Turns out, 17 months is about right :-)

Now, let me be frank. To say Baby K went "skiing" is a bit of a misnomer. It would be better phrased to say she had ski boots, skis, and a helmet on and slid down the hill with much support from her ma and pa.

We had humble goals on this day 1. no crying. 2. at least one run down the bunny slope 3. successful lift riding.

We had no trouble with these goals...

We chose a lovely day, met some friends up there who were also skiing with peanuts. The temp was around 40, it was sunny and the snow was slow. Perfect.

And who could resist pics of the event?

I would also like to comment that not only did Dad outfit K with her skis and boots, he also picked out her matching ski suit. That man has some style.

Enjoy....

And don't mind the big scrape on K's face. She incurred it while trying to get some air off our front steps. It was prep for the mad air she got while skiing.

Yeah. She likes the look of the snow.

Getting some help from friends.

On the lift with dad. You can see the tiny skis if you look closely.

Dad passing on his moves.

Mom getting her turn with baby K.

K saying "More More!" and pointing down the hill.

K is trying to figure out how she can get back on the lift for more.

I'd say we had fun :-)

Holiday Reads.


So in case you didn't know, I still love my Kindle.
Have been reading some non-fiction. Usually I say I hate non-fiction, but this time around, a few people recommended some books to me and I figured I should give it a chance.
And it makes me feel extra-smug because not only am I reading but I LEARNING too. Haha. right. If only I could actually remember everything important that I read :-)

1. Unbroken

I cannot say enough about this story. It will blow your mind. The author (Laura Hillenbrand) first gained her reputation through Seabiscuit. Another non-fiction book I loved despite the fact that I only rarely ride horses and NEVER watch them race. She has a real talent for not only telling history but also telling a story, and this one is about an extraordinary man who's will to survive will overwhelm you.
Don't miss this one. Seriously.

2. The Emperor of All Maladies

I can't remember who suggested this one to me, but I am very grateful. It is a book by a heme/onc dr who originally set out to describe patient-based stories that he encountered during his training but ultimately found a story behind theirs based on the origin and development of our modern understanding of cancer and its treatment. It is a bit techy at times, but I still think relatively accessible to the non-medical person. I think the book essentially demonstrates a few key facts, one, working together across medical fields gets you further, two, cancer is pretty awful, three we have SO MUCH more to learn in the field of medicine. This book is just a glimpse into the vast void of knowledge that essentially keeps getting deeper the further in we get.

3. Look me in the Eye

This was recommended by one of my friends who knows a lot about autism. An interesting autobiography written by a man with Asperger's syndrome (but who wasn't diagnosed until much later in life). Asperger's syndrome is considered an autism spectrum disorder, typically characterized by people who lack some of the normal social integration skills that allow for "typical" relationships but who often have some sort of extreme intellectual gift. Written through the lens of a high-functioning individual it gives a pretty real view of the world he encountered and the difficulties of figuring out how to fit in.


I also squeezed in a few fiction books...I'll just briefly mention those and as always, I love suggestions.
4. Before I go To sleep

This book was for a bookclub and as we haven't met yet, I don't know what the prevailing thoughts will be. In brief, the premise of the novel is centered around a woman who suffered some sort of traumatic brain injury that has eliminated her memory-both long and short term. She wakes up every morning without knowledge of who she is, where she is, who her family is, etc. In a very Momento-type way the majority of the book details her discovery through her reading a journal that she writes and adds to each day. I think the book's strength is less its story line (sorry to the author) but the question of how do we understand our past through our memories. What I mean is, a lot of my understanding of my memories is through the lens of myself (a bit-but I have a terrible memory) but lots through what other people tell me happened. So which is the "correct" form of my memory?

There are some interesting twists and turns that make it a fairly engaging read, but although I won't spoil the ending, it left a bit to be desired.
An ideal beach read.

5. Blueprints for Building Better Girls

A collection of short stories that supposedly offers insights on the modern woman. Overall kind of just made me sad. Short, mostly lonely stories about women.

The remainder of my Kindle list is as follows:
1. The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman
2. Shanghai Girls by Lisa See
3. The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides


Let me know what else I should be sure to read!

Tday!!

Ok let's start off with the truth. My sis-in-law's blog has way better pics than me...so check it out.

But I have some good ones to add so stay tuned.

We had the pleasure of lots of good company and a nice full house :-)

My parents, Mark's sis, my bro, his wife and their little baby k all graced us with their company.

I had the thought to make a schedule of events to try to make it so we always had stuff to do and I think it helped make the weekend fun and full of good stuff....

and I only got slightly stressed out cooking t-day dinner....despite the lots and lots of help I had :-)

Scrunch face welcomes you to Tday at our house!!

Tiny Baby K finished the turkey trot by eating and stretching her stomach for the big push.

Uncle J reading to the little Ks.

Baby Ks and Gma and Gpa

Playing football at the park.

Swinging with Auntie Laurie

The 3 Robertson ladies

All the ladies minus myself...

Auntie Laurie and peanut.

Dad-stauche. Bam.

Judd challenged the adults to cross these monkey-bars without touching the ground. Mark got it.

So did Jana.

The peanut gallery.

I know...she doesn't look like me.

Feed us!!!!

Baby K says...don't go!!!!

The five kids also skied x 1 day, in general it was a success I would say....

Getting geared up.

Judd looking stylish.
I didn't take any on slope shots, but there was laughter, tears, joy and sadness all using one trail down :-) Like I said, a success.
And we ate nachos after.


The grown ladies all got pedicures together too :-)


All in all a success. I will definitely keep some of the recipes I made, will still do an enforced turkey trot, and keep making sure that the Baby Ks continue to love hanging out with each other :-)
Happy Holidays!!!