Comfy Chaos

I’ve been sick for about the last week.  I was supposed to have lots of rest but between my munchkin getting sick and some pressing items at work, I didn’t get as much as I would have liked for all the time I was home.  I did, however, manage to get in some movies.

Sunshine Cleaning.  I generally like Amy Adams and Steve Zahn and was looking forward to seeing this.  I enjoyed it, but wouldn’t say it was great.

The Hangover.  Let’s see.  I’m sick…I feel crummy…but…I can stay in bed, watch Bradley Cooper and laugh?  Sign me up!  This was pretty hyped up as one of the funniest movies ever by the time I saw it.  I didn’t think that, but it was a good one.

Love In The Time of Cholera.  Hmmm…I think this is what happens when people don’t feel well, can’t sleep and try to put on something that they’re hoping will put them to sleep.  I thought it was ok, but really am not sure how much of that was the Theraflu talking.

Barbie and the Diamond Castle.  Bet you didn’t expect this one, did you?  Well, when my munchkin got sick and needed to stay on the couch and rest, this is what she wanted to see.  I didn’t have enough energy to try and talk her out of it…the first time…or the second time…or the third.  At one point, I wanted to poke my eyes out, but I just gave up.  It’s not that bad…if you sleep through parts.

Gran Torino.  Get off my lawn!  Wow…I loved this movie.  Even my hubby stayed awake through this one.

Pearl Harbor.  In all fairness, this wasn’t the first time I’ve seen this movie and I’ll admit, it’s pretty bad.  There’s just something about it though.  Must be Josh Hartnett and his boyish charm in this one.  It certainly isn’t Ben Affleck and that horrible accent!

Now…if only I can finally get around to seeing Avatar while it’s still in the theaters…

Ever since I can remember, we have had our munchkin join us in the kitchen.  When she was little, it was simple things like pulling grapes off the stems.  She graduated to cutting up pieces of fruit with a plastic knife to a regular table knife.  She helps with baking, picks produce at the grocery store and everything in between.  She loves to cook and bake and she really loves to help.  Sure, it takes longer when she helps, but it’s fun.

This week, I decided to add something new to the mix.  I wanted to get back into my habit of trying a new recipe a week.  Well, I upped the ante.  Now we’re trying two new recipes a week – and my munchkin gets to pick one.  She has many great kid-friendly cookbooks.  I explained the parameters to her – each week, she can pick one recipe and it can be anything she wants to try to cook (except, for now, desserts or sweets).  She picks the recipe, she helps cook.  Main dish, snack, side dish, breads, whatever.

So…she starts going through the books and the first thing I did was shoot down the recipe she picked.  What was I thinking?  I tried to explain why maybe that wasn’t the best thing to start with – it would take over two hours to make and honestly, it wasn’t something I usually eat.

Then I wanted to slap myself upside the head.  I took a deep breath, looked at her, and apologized.  I was wrong…I did say she could pick anything except a dessert or super sweet item.  So now today…my munchkin is making her first attempt at…glazed baby back ribs with homemade sauce.  I don’t normally eat meat on a bone (yeah, get over it).  When my munchkin asked if I would try it…I briefly hesitated and then told her yes, of course I would.  She looked at me, smiled, and then told me maybe I should take the meat off the bone first and then eat it.  That’s my girl – already appreciating my quirks.

So…if we have any really interesting great recipes or holy crap what did we try to make moments, I’ll be sure to share them.  It’s going to be one hell of an adventure!

Well, January was off to a good start, then I got sick.  Damn.  Oh well, time to get the monthly stats postings going again.  Monthly stats for January 2010:

Monthly Miles:  22.27
YTD Miles:  22.27

Oh…and Rockacito J…if you’re reading this…I think you have some catching up to do.  :-)

In my younger days, I was a pretty decent supporter of Greenpeace.  After a recent incident outside of my local Whole Foods, I can tell you that Greenpeace will never get so much as a penny from me again.  Ever.  Sorry Greenpeace, but your verbally abusive representative said some very inappropriate things even though I was trying to politely decline.  Say what you want to me, but don’t say it in front of my kid.  Oh, and Whole Foods – I’ve stuck to what I emailed to the store.  If I’m going to go shopping and see Greenpeace peeps outside, I leave and shop elsewhere.  I’m not really sure that either will miss my money.

However, in our family, we believe that it’s important to help others.  We give in a variety of ways – some  organized, some not.  Whether it’s time, goods, or money – we like to do what we can.  When my munchkin had her cookie decorating party during the holidays, it was her idea to add a mitten drive to help local kids.  Her birthday party included a blanket and towel drive for the animal shelter where we adopted our cat.

Here are some of our favorite charitable organizations, in no particular order.

Second Harvest Food Bank – we have been supporters of the Food Bank for a very long time.  Throughout most of my career, I have initiated and/or managed company holiday food drives and have participated in countless others.  My munchkin and I spent a morning working at the Food Bank working on a program that helped kids and had a fabulous experience.  People should not have to go hungry.  Period.

Silicon Valley Animal Control Authority – we adopted our cat here a few years ago.  Since then, near the anniversary of his adoption, my munchkin empties the “donate” section of her bank and we take it to the shelter.  This is where we took the 48 blankets and towels she gathered as part of her birthday party.

The Gabby Krause Foundation – my friend Rockacita Keli is very involved with this organization, which is named after her dear friend’s daughter who died from cancer.  This is a group I would like to get more involved with.

FARA – this is a group I learned about through a company I worked with.  I have a girlfriend with a daughter that has FA.  It’s a great organization working to fight a terrible disease.

Although it is not a charitable organization, one thing that deserves consideration by everyone is inlu.  I’ll fess up and admit that I’m friends with one of the co-founders, but it really is a superb idea.  Their site explains it all far better than I could here, but you should check it out.

Of course, this list isn’t exhaustive, but we do try to do something to help others, even if only a little bit, each day.  Isn’t that really the type of world we want for our kids?

I haven’t written in months.  Oh sure, I’ve thought about it and I’ve certainly had plenty of topics, but I just never got around to it.  It seems like there were a lot of things I didn’t get around to last year.  Rather than provide a summary of all kinds of things, good and otherwise, I’m focusing on moving forward.

Over the holidays, I was so thrilled that Rockacito J was able to spend some vacation time with us.   We got to relax, play in the snow, take lots of pictures, drink even more wine, and yes, talk about training for 2010.  My running fell apart last year.  In 2008, I logged 291 miles – in 2009, only 148 miles.   We pulled together our new, revised training log for 2010 and have recently finished our training program for the year.  It will be interesting this time next year to look back and see how we did.

I decided that to get focused again, I needed some new running shoes.  Yes, I’m still an Asics girl and being a Pisces, I love the island blue color.

Of course, along with new shoes, I needed a new playlist.  I still like the ones I have for 60 and 90 minute runs, but decided a 45 minute-ish playlist was in order.  This playlist is a bit more mellow, which comes in handy when it’s 6am-ish and I’m on the treadmill in the dark.

• Syrup & Honey – Duffy
• Collide – Howie Day
• Bad Reputation – Freedy Johnston
• Red Light – Jonny Lang
• Go On, Say It – Blind Pilot
• A Million Miles Away – The Plimsouls
• Sound of Pulling Heaven Down – Blue October
• Wherever You Are – The Maids of Honor
• All For Love – Serena Ryder
• Use Somebody – Kings of Leon
• Cold Condition – Edison Glass
• I Want All of You – The Verve Pipe
• I Want You – The Maids of Honor

This month is off to a good start.  I’m excited about the goals I have for this year.  Let’s see how it goes!

Last week I kicked off a new training program for the SJRNR half.  It’s based mostly on a Jeff Galloway plan – love him!  Anyway…the first few weeks are pretty easy, which is a good thing after last week.  I decided that a new training program needed a new running playlist, and one that’s a big longer too.

That said, here’s the new list.

• Tell Me What We’re Gonna Do Now – Joss Stone
• The Story – Brandi Carlile
• I Need To Know Where I Stand – Rhett Miller
• Happiness Is – The Verve Pipe
• Give Me The Meltdown – Rob Thomas
• Second Chance – Shinedown
• When I’m Gone – 3 Doors Down
• Low – Cracker
• Song 2 – Blur
• Brand New Day – Ryan Star
• Ride – The Vines
• Beautiful is Gone – The Ruse
• In A Whirlpool – Cactus World News
• Alcohol – Barenaked Ladies
• Mustang Sally – The Commitments
• It’s Your Thing – The Isley Brothers
• Everywhere I Go – The Call
• Wander This World – Jonny Lang
• Stepping Stones – G. Love & Special Sauce
• Beautiful Disaster – Greg Camp
• Antenna – Sonic Youth
• I Got You – Split Enz
• Turn On Tune In Drop Out With Me –  Cracker
• Closer To Fine – Indigo Girls
• You Can’t Always Get What You Want – The Rolling Stones

I’ve been working for a winery for a little over three and a half years now.  I’ve learned quite a bit about wine during that time, but wouldn’t call myself a wine geek.  I still have a lot to learn.  I’ve known the most important thing for awhile though – and that’s what I like and what I don’t.  In the end, if you don’t enjoy a glass (or bottle) of wine, then why drink it?

I’m not saying every glass has to be from an expensive bottle.  I’ve had some less expensive wines that were pretty darn tasty.  I’ve also had some pretty expensive wines that made me wonder what all the fuss was about.  And while we’re at it – if you wouldn’t drink a wine, then please don’t cook with it.  Do I really need to explain that logic?

We are in the process of temporarily downsizing our wine cellar at home.  We’re moving our 300 bottle cabinet, which has never been really full, up to our vacation home.  So, I decided to move what was left from our 300 bottle cellar to our new 50 bottle fridge.  While reorganizing our wines, I found several bottles that were likely past their prime, so I set those aside.  From now on, I’ll call them the nasty nine.

As I opened each one – with the exception of the one that had mold growing on top of the cork – I was treated to skunky bottle after skunky bottle.  If you’re not sure if you’ve ever opened a bottle that was past it’s prime, I’m pretty sure you haven’t.  Think wet dog or wet cardboard that makes your nose crinkle.  Got it?  Now, in all fairness, we’ve likely had some of these for 5-7 years, so some of them might have been reasonably good if we’d consumed them shortly after we got them.  When I looked at the bottles, I was 95% sure that we had not purchased a single one of them. I’m certainly not saying our friends gave us crappy wine, either.  

So what’s my point?  I’m not sure.  Other than, well, if it’s from the 80’s, just because it’s from France doesn’t mean it will rock.  At least not in a good way.

First off, I want to mention that I do just about everything possible to remove our household from as many junk mail lists as I can.  I’ve paid money to the Direct Marketing Association.  I gone online or called probably hundreds of catalogs.  I’ve gotten most of those silly credit card offers stopped.  Or so I thought.

Last week, we got two mailers announcing some Delta thing and offering us 25,000 bonus miles with a free companion ticket blah blah blah with American Express.  When I looked at who they were addressed to, I about fell over.  They were addressed to Petey (our cat) and Tasha (our former dog).

I decided to call American Express and find out what’s going on.  The first call went something like this…

AE:  Blah blah blah, how can I help you today?

Me:  I just received two applications for the Delta Sky Miles American Express and I have one question.

AE:  Sure, how can I help?

Me:  You can help by telling me how one credit card application got sent to our cat and the other got sent to a dog that hasn’t lived with us in about 5 years.

AE:  (silence…for a long time)

Me:  Uh…hello?

AE:  I’m sorry…what did you say?

Me:  I would like to know how to get my cat and dog removed from your mailing list since I’m pretty sure neither one of them qualifies for your credit card.

AE:  Oh, those people are off until Monday, but I can give you the number.

So…I wait through the weekend and call again.  

AE: Blah, blah, blah, how can I help you today?

Me:  You can tell me why your company sent credit card applications to my cat and my former dog, who, by the way, is probably dead.

AE:  That’s AWESOME!  Oh crap…I don’t mean the dead part…

Me:  Trust me, I know this sounds crazy, so go ahead and get it out of your system.

AE: (hand over microphone…cracking up – hey you guys, you’re not going to believe this call!)

Me:  So…you know, I could fill these out, but the cat honestly doesn’t have any income.  He doesn’t have a social security number or a checking account, in fact, he doesn’t really pull his weight around here.

AE:  What about the dog?  (you can tell he’s smirking)

Me:  Likely dead…thought we covered that?

AE:  Oh…right…

Me:  So…unless you now give cards to companion animals, dead or alive, how can we get them off the mailing list?

AE:  Let me transfer you…but here’s the number just in case you get disconnected.

The next person promised to remove my pets from their mailing list but said that it would take 6-10 weeks to take affect.  We have no idea how they even got there in the first place.

So…just for fun, I thought I’d send an email to AmEx because really, shouldn’t someone know about this?  I got some generic crappy response:

Please accept my sincere apology for the inconvenience and I have forwarded your email to the appropriate managers. Feedbacks from our Cardmembers represent valuable information about recurrent problems and American Express takes such feedbacks very seriously.

I appreciate you taking your valuable time to contact us about this matter.

I’m sure they don’t actually believe that they sent these to a dog and a cat.  Or maybe they’ll just miss the $95 annual fee.

I think the photo above about sums up my life the last few days.  I knew it was going to be a crazy week, especially with it being the last week of school.  Then…on Wednesday…it hit.  The mother-f’er of all migraines.  Well, at least the worst one I’ve had in a couple of years.

So basically, instead of spending two days working like crazy and balancing wrapping up things for my munchkin’s year-end party and playing with all the kids, I barfed every time I stood up.  For two days.  Every freakin’ time.  I didn’t even try to work.  I got the party plan done, handed it off to a trusted mommy in the class…and promptly left…walking while slumped over so I wouldn’t barf again.  I’ve had 2 trips to the doctor, at least 3 shots and lost 5 pounds.  Hmmm….maybe there is a bright side to this after all.  

So now…on my day “off”…I’m trying to catch up at work and a few things at home.  You know, like waiting for the delivery guy and the carpet cleaning guy (which meant moving all kinds of stuff around the house), both who were actually on time.  I had to clean the kitchen since it hadn’t been touched since pre-migraine.  I called the repair guy for the ice maker on the fridge and to get rid of the “floaties” in our water dispenser.  I called  the “dead animal” people to animal proof our deck.  

I’m also in box hell.  We have tons of boxes, ready to start packing to move some stuff to our vacation home, but that move-in date is slipping so I’ve been dragging my feet a bit on packing.

I get to pick up my munchkin early and take her to get her hair cut.  At least I canceled my 8am allergist appointment and decided against going to tonight’s baseball game so I could chill out a bit.

Our poor cat is freaking out with all sudden activity – and has decided that my hubby’s office is likely the only safe place left for him.  I guess I’d better break out the catnip, too.

Monthly Stats for May 2009:

• Monthly Miles:  6.87
• YTD Miles:  96.02

Pathetic, I know.  Between allergies and knee problems, I was sidelined most of the month.  However…I’m kicking off a new training program tomorrow and have signed up for a few more events.  I got in a short run yesterday and it just felt good.  I’ll see the allergist again on Friday – last time I saw him he said, “you’re a mess”.  We’re working on that.  As far as the knee, I’m giving it through the week before I decide what to do.  So far, so good.