Boise State football officially begins tonight in Seattle against the Huskies. (Shout out to Theresa and Brad!) I, unfortunately, do not have TV and won’t be catching the game. I used to scrounge the games at my parents’ house but no longer have that luxury. Really sucks! I will be checking in online throughout the evening though. Wish us luck. And congrats to the Utes for their win this week. (Sorry, Jameson.)
Let’s hope it’s the beginning of another exciting season.
I have a GPS watch that tracks all of my runs and tells me when I’ve accomplished something wonderful. Usually after my workout it says things like, “Is that the best you can do, Fatty?” or “My grandma could run faster!” But today it congratulated me with two personal records. It was very exciting for me. I ran my fastest mile to date: 9:57 AND my fastest 5k to date: 31:57.
I realize that these times aren’t particularly fast, but I’m only a marginal runner so for me, it’s fantastic. Furthermore, my route is loaded with hills. If I were running on flat ground, my time would probably be around a 4:30 mile.
The best part is that I almost didn’t go running this morning. My alarm went off at 5:45, it was dark outside, and I was warm and snuggly in my bed. But I forced myself to get up and it turned out to be a wise choice.
It’s nice to see progress. Yea for me!
Yesterday was Story time at the library. The group was unusually large and I found the chaos of a room full of toddlers under the age of 2 to be a bit overwhelming. In an effort to keep my blood pressure from rising into the danger zone, I focused my attention on watching the different children. There was a surprising number of ugly kids in that room. I hate to use the word hideous, but that’s what comes to mind. There was one little boy who was toddling around and he was so cute except that his features were smashed together, as if he’d been whacked with a frying pan. I wondered if any of the other parents were judging Eva and thinking she was a toad. This was just a brief thought since I know that she’s beautiful. Every time we go into public someone stops me to comment on how beautiful she is. Strangers wouldn’t lie so it must be true.
To recap:
Will any of you still be my friend after this?
Eva was introduced to bubbles during our visit to Idaho. She loved them. Her cousins were very patient and entertained her for a long time. This video makes me smile. I wish I could remember when everything was new and exciting like it is for Eva.
Our little Eva has begun full-fledged teething. She is terribly grumpy and chews on anything that will fit in her mouth, except for her teething toys. She has about six of them and they remain untouched. She prefers to chew on baby wipes, which completely grosses me out, even though they are unused. They can’t possibly taste good. The whole ordeal reminds me of when Aika was a puppy and chewed on whatever he could find, including the drywall in the garage.
Thankfully Eva has not ventured that far yet. I hope Aika doesn’t tip her off.
I returned home to Oregon last night after ten wonderful days at my sister’s house. I was glad to be reunited with Michael, happy to be sleeping in my own bed, relieved that Eva would be back to her routine. But I was also sad; sad that it will be months until I see my family again, sad that I live far away, sad to be back to reality. I admittedly spent a few hours this morning spontaneously crying.
The next few days I will busily unpack my suitcase and do the laundry. I will sort through the mail pile and pay the bills. I will empty the fridge of the processed food Michael has been eating and buy vegetables. I will return to life and I will be fine. I am grateful that I love my family so much and have such strong bonds with them.
Now if I could just talk them into moving closer to me…
Eva just took a header down the stairs. I was in her bedroom obsessing over the fact that I can’t find her swimsuit and away she went. It was seven stairs before she lost momentum. Luckily she seems fine and was back to babbling within a few minutes. I felt terrible.
And I still can’t find her dadgum swimsuit.
My in-laws are leaving today. It has been a nice visit. I capitalized on the fact that we had guests and spent a lot of time baking. It was both therapeutic and fattening. I’m pretty sure I've gained a pound or six.
Now I must clean the house, wash the bedding, empty out the fridge of things I shouldn’t be eating and put away the marshmallow-roasting sticks.
Then I must do the laundry and start packing a bag for Coeur d’Alene.
I’m tired already.
We’re headed to the coast today for exciting adventures. On the agenda is whale watching, kite flying on the beach, watching a glass-blowing demonstration, restocking my salted caramel stash and perhaps a lighthouse if everyone is up to it.
I’m just in it for the candy.
I mentioned earlier about this class I’m taking at the YMCA. I’ve now switched to the class that begins at 5:30 AM. It’s the same instructor and the same routines but it’s not during Eva’s naptime. I am not a morning person so I convinced my friend to come with me with the hope that it would motivate me to go. So far so good. (Do you realize it is dark at that hour? I realize this now.)
Anyway, this morning we focused heavily on the upper body which meant about a million pushups. I am terrible at pushups. In fact, Tara (that’s my friend) and I are the only ones who have to be on our knees for the pushups. It’s very wimpy. However, despite being wimpy, tired and weak, I still managed to totally rock it on the last set of 12.
I completed exactly 1 pushup. I’m a machine.
My in-laws are coming to see us today. Myke is very excited to see his dad. I’ve been busy cleaning the bathroom, washing the towels and vacuuming up dog hair in preparation. Part of me thinks I should just leave the house messy and let them see how we really live; it would be a lot easier. However, my pride prevents me from doing this. I don’t want my Father-in-law to know that his son is married to Pig-Pen.
Please don’t tell on me.
We bought a fire pit on clearance last week. Myke has wanted one since we moved in and he finally found one at a price I could get on board with. Our conversations for the next week went something like this:
Monday Myke: (After twenty minutes on Craigslist) Think we should get some firewood?
Me: It’s too hot for a fire right now. Besides, you just spent money on the pit, we can wait to get the wood.
Tuesday Myke: (After thirty minutes on Craigslist) I think we should get some firewood.
Me: You can’t have a fire when it’s 90 degrees outside. We can wait.
Wednesday Myke: (After personally calling Craig) I wish we had some wood for a fire.
Me: Irritated sigh.
Thursday Myke: It’d be a great day for a fire. Too bad we don’t have any wood.
Me: Too bad indeed.
Friday Myke: Firewood?
Me: Fine! Fine! Fine! If I hear ‘firewood’ one more time I’m going to strangle you. Get the wood already!
And this is how he gets what he wants. It’s still too hot for a fire but the wood pile sure looks pretty.
PS I love you, Mykey.
Eva met a boy who was very interested in her. 
She gave him a lukewarm reception.
As a precaution, Michael informed our new friend what would happen if he tried any funny business with our daughter.
I don’t think he’ll be a problem anymore.
I just returned from a 5 mile run. Let me describe it for you.
It’s times like this that I think I should just be happy being chubby. We’ve been home for almost thirty minutes and poor Aika is still panting. On the bright side: I didn’t die.
I’ll try it again next week.
Eva had her 9 month well-baby visit with the doctor yesterday. Here’s how she measures up:
She has demonstrated all of the important milestones and is perfectly healthy and beautiful. In fact, her doctor said that Eva is the most beautiful baby she has ever seen. (Well, the doctor didn’t verbally say that, but I could tell she was thinking it. She’s just prohibited by some doctor’s code from saying it aloud.)
Eva’s next visit is scheduled for when she turns 1. I can’t believe that is only 3 months away. It’s the same week Myke has to get the oil changed in his car again. Wow.
The important thing is that she’s almost 1 and I still haven’t lost all the baby weight. Donut, anyone?
I am so in love with this little girl!
