Running update: My running hasn’t been going well. I’ve had difficulty with the time commitment. It’s the last few weeks of summer before school starts, and I’ve had about 6 hours of babysitting help a week recently. That’s not enough time to even maintain the house and meal plans and sanity, let alone relax or get my running done. So I’m running intervals at 6 a.m., or long runs on the weekend taking time away from Greg, and choosing spin class over waffles in my pajamas (which might be the highest quality family time there IS).
This morning I had planned to get up and run at 5, then realized that was crazy and I’d rather run this afternoon when I had a babysitter. Sleeping in was great… but then my babysitter cancelled and now I have to run tomorrow, which is when Greg’s scheduled to run, and besides which I have a moms night out tonight and if I run tomorrow I shouldn’t be staying out late or having a drink (and I’m CARPOOLING SO I COULD TOTALLY HAVE A DRINK). So what does that mean, I run on Sunday? But I’m supposed to run intervals on Monday so I can’t do a long run on Sunday. Maybe I run Saturday afternoon…. but then Greg and I barely see each other because he’s running Saturday morning.
I’m starting to think I should be training for a 5k and not a half marathon, because this is brutal… but I have too much time invested (of my own, and my family’s) to want to quit. Am I destined to limp through the second half of yet another race because I couldn’t handle a little time management? I can only write this because Andrew is on my lap and Will is taking photos with my phone, and if I don’t, I’ll feel even more upset that I’m not running right now.
At least some things are going well! (Greg let me sleep in this morning AND made pancakes. Life can’t be that bad.)
Choose Wiser update: I ran out of kid shampoo and body wash this week, so I grabbed the tried and true California Baby shampoo and bodywash, and then since Will’s hair seems to benefit from deeper cleaning in the summer months, decided to try a Rosemary Mint & Tea Tree shampoo from babo botanicals. (Both oils are extra cleansing for hair.) California Baby and Babo Botanicals both have scores in the green (0-2) list on the Skin Deep website for all the products of theirs that Skin Deep has analyzed. Both are free of synthetic fragrances, parabens and sulfates, neither is tested on animals.
Kitchen Update: I ran out of pickle jars, so I didn’t make any pickles today. Instead, I’ve decided to try to branch out to other preserves (which will involve buying more jars, I just didn’t get there today!). I found this AMAZING book called “Saving the Season” by Kevin West. He also writes a blog about food preserving, which you can find at savingtheseason.com. The book has the most delicious looking recipes, lots of information about food safety (he took a 13 week course on it) and plenty of gorgeous photographs and anecdotes about the history of preserving, regional produce, and the people who love both. It would be just as at home on your coffee table as it would be with your cookbooks. I’m not sure what I want to make first – homemade liquers or my own apple butter!
Last night I flipped through it dreamily, cup of tea in hand, picturing jars of local, organic tomatoes lined up in my pantry in BPA free glass jars waiting to warm and nourish us throughout the winter months. Ahhh. I’m optimistic to a fault sometimes. But then again, am I? I’ve made 13 jars of pickles already this season, and I enjoy it. Maybe this really could work – or at least a few batches, anyway.
I’ve realized that I need to start small and not overwhelm myself, so despite wanting to run to the local farm and buy enough produce to make twenty jars of complicated preserves, I settled for getting some chili peppers to string into a ristra. Buy. String. Hang out of direct sunlight to dry. Use all winter. Got it. I paused for a split second and was informed by my three year old that he could do it… so I didn’t even do most of the work!
Snack time for the gremlins. Hope your running week was more productive! Dead garmins, cancelled babysitters, a skipped run because of rain and motivation issues… pathetic.
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