Quitters Never Win

Oh winter.  It's never been my favorite season, but this year just takes the cake.  We are entering our 7th week of the year, and we have not gone a single week yet without a delay, a cancellation or both!  I haven't worked a normal work week since the week before Christmas!  That sounds lovely in some regards, but really, it isn't.  It has everyone all out of sorts.  There have been so many days that people are out of sick time, and taking days unpaid now.  That's a huge hardship for some people.  On top of that, no one has been able to establish a routine this year.  It's a toss up every night if we will even be going to work and school in the morning.  I don't know about the rest of you, but the constant calling off and sitting at home zaps my motivation.  In the absence of a good routine, I have established a lazy attitude.  I don't really feel like doing much, because - hey- I might have tomorrow off anyway!  That's not my typical approach to life, and I don't like being so cavalier.  It's depressing.  I'm so done with winter.

On top of the every day home and work routines suffering, there's also that marathon that I am supposed to be training for.  I love running in the cold weather.  I always feel much more energized during long runs in the winter, but with the ice and snow we have had, I have hardly gotten outside to run at all.  Normally, when we have a storm, I'm out one day of running.  The next day, the roads and sidewalks are clear enough for me to run, but this year, snow after snow after snow has made the roads and sidewalks practically impassable.  If they aren't covered in ice, the snow is piled up so high on the sides that there's nowhere for me to go to avoid traffic.  I started off thinking that it was OK for me to squeak by with treadmill runs, but now I'm well into the second month of mostly treadmill running.  That sucks for two reasons.  One, it's hard for me to get into a "zone" on the treadmill.  I don't like the treadmill, and being in my house makes me think of things in the house I should be doing other than running.  When I run outside, I can push those thoughts away, but when I'm staring at a messy room, that's all but impossible.  Also, running on the treadmill means that the kids are with me.  It's pretty much impossible to get into a good running zone when the boys are talking to me, asking me for a snack, or worse yet, fighting with each other!  Two, treadmill running utilizes muscles differently than outdoor running.  It's OK for a pinch to keep your fitness level up, but it's not a good idea to do all of your training for an outside race on a machine.  That said, the longest outdoor run I have had since Thanksgiving was only 7 miles.  I have little more than two months, that's 10 weeks, to up my mileage enough to finish the marathon.  As disappointed as it makes me, I have to be realistic.  Trying to get my mileage up that high in such a short period of time is probably setting myself up for injury.  The question is do I want to run the marathon and cross it off of my bucket list when I could risk injuring myself again?  I just don't know if it's worth it, if it means that I could be sideline for a year again due to  injury.  I haven't decided fully yet.  I will probably just see how things go and decide closer to the actual race date.  I may just show up and see what happens.  The thought of not finishing makes me very, very sad.  Sigh.

Even if I don't run the marathon, I still committed to raising $500 for Saint Jude.  If you take me out of the equation, there's still a worthy cause remaining.  I'm only half way to my donation goal, so I urge you to consider donating.  You can go to the website here, or if you prefer, you can give the cash to me.  I'll be collecting until late April.

Another thing I'm thinking about quitting is the blog.  I don't know.  I might throw out an entry here and there (like right now), but I think my days of regular writing are indefinitely suspended.  I just don't have the desire to write much these days.  I guess you can say I'm a quitter all around.  Boo to me.

On a lighter note, we have had some fun in the wintry blasts.  This weekend, we were supposed to go to Pittsburgh to celebrate my niece's 2nd birthday, but another storm cancelled those plans.  My parents had driven to Pittsburgh on Friday before the storm, so they stayed and celebrated a little, but Andrew and I were stuck at home, knee deep in snow.  We made the best of it, though.  We were the first ones at the Double Dips, a hill not far from our house that is blocked to traffic in the winter so the kids can sled.  It's been a tradition for decades upon decades in the borough, and I can't help but be grateful to share that little piece of Hollidaysburg culture with my kids.  You've got to find the good in every situation, right?

Before our first run.

To be safe, he thought I should come along.  

Going down is fun, but it means heading back up! 

Almost there! 

Whew!  Made it! 

All in all, I think the Double Dips were a hit.  

Later Saturday, we filled a bunch of old containers with water and food coloring and left them outside to freeze overnight.  

After church on Sunday, we made brownies before checking our ice blocks.  Hey, you need fuel - specifically gooey chocolaty fuel - when you are expending all that energy out in the cold!  

Yep, they were frozen alright!  

Our colorful little ice fortress (which will most likely be buried very soon under more snow, much like the numerous toys in our yard.  One thing about a winter like this is that it makes the outside of the house look clean!) 

Who doesn't want to chomp on a huge icicle while playing in the snow?  

On Sunday evening, we visited with friends.  There is a big field across the street from their house where the boys were able to play.  Sledding with your mom is fun, but sledding with a buddy your own age is much better!  

Whoosh! 

Catching some air! 

Last week, Andrew and Greg made a snowman in the yard.  A couple of days later, Andrew and I "painted" it with food coloring and water.  This is what he looked like a week ago.  

After the latest barrage of snow, this is what he looks like now.  I can totally understand how this snow-cone man feels, and I'm sure most of the northeast can relate as well!  More snow is on the way tonight.  Yahoo! 

We won't be escaping the winter any time soon, so I better make some plans to keep us entertained until April!  Snuggle in with the ones you love.  Make some hot chocolate.  Watch your favorite movies and play some board games.  I think the groundhog was right this year.  Winter is in it for the long haul!  

This and That

My goodness! It's been well over a month since my last post.  Why is that?  Well, there are several reasons:

• I used to get up well before the dawn without my alarm clock.  That's when I would get "my" stuff done, stuff like cleaning out closets and blogging.  I'm not sure why, but slowly over the last 6-8 months, my natural wake time has been getting later and later.  This morning I didn't get out of bed until 6.  There have been at least two days since summer that I slept until 8!  While it's great to sleep in, I kind of miss my alone time in the wee hours.  I've actually been trying to reset my clock back to my super-early rising times, but it's been a struggle.  For whatever reason, my body doesn't want to get up at 5 anymore.  Unfortunately, when I sleep later, I lose the time to do things like blogging and closet-cleaning.  I will always make room for cleaning.  Therefore, blogging has taken the logical back seat. Bummer, dude.  
• I think I burned myself out on blogging during the month of November.  This isn't the first time that I've had a touch of writer's block, but I think this is my longest dry spell.  I feel like I don't have anything new to say, no pressing issues to discuss or major family news to share.   I don't want to write just to write, so I haven't.  Pretty simple.  
• Along that same line of thought, I've noticed that I spend less time on the computer in general.  In part, it's a simple matter of time - I don't have it.  Lately, I have allowed my life to dictate when I check emails, instead of the other way around.  I actually use my phone for online surfing way more than the computer these days, because of convenience.   It's just not ideal to write a blog entry on an iPhone for many reasons.  

That said, we have done quite a bit over the last month.  Here's just a sampling: 

Jake got his green belt in Tang Soo Do.  

Andrew has been taking swim lessons at the Y, and is doing a great job!

 

 On the days we are home, I have been teaching the boys to clean.  Andrew, like me, finds enjoyment in scrubbing.  

Jake, on the other hand, is less enthusiastic.  

 Sam has been doing a great job keeping our living room chair warm and furry - so important on these cold winter days! 

I have been trying to train for the Pittsburgh Marathon in May, but the weather has really put a kink into my schedule.  I've forged a rather unnatural bond with my treadmill, which stinks, but it's better than nothing.  

Work has been busy and sporadic due to the weather.  I haven't worked a full week since before Christmas!  In some ways, I like the opportunities to spend more time at home with the kids, but in other ways it has made getting into a solid routine difficult.  I feel like we have the bones of a routine, but not the meat.  Remember those old overhead projectors they used to use in school?  (I'm dating myself.  If you don't remember, don't comment!) 

The teachers would layer three or four clear plastic sheets on top of each other, and when they didn't line up exactly, you got a blurry semblance of what could be a true picture, but wasn't quite right.  

Yeah.  Kinda like that, but imagine a hand-written math problem that is like 85 lines long.  Ugh!  Just the thought makes me shudder - kinda like our lack of routine makes me uneasy!   

Anyway, I feel like our lives mimic those well-intended projector images right now.  We have the skeleton of a routine - karate on these days, swimming on those days, work and school M-F, but with this crazy weather, any given day could be altered or canceled all together.  It's definitely a lesson in going with the flow! 

Greg and I were able to get away for a romantic mini-vacation last weekend.  We rented a cabin in Selinsgrove and spent four days alone in the woods (for the most part).  It was lovely!  

This is how we ended each evening.

And this is how we started each day.  Not too shabby, if you ask me! 

There wasn't much to do in the area, but that was fine with us.  We had a great view from the cabin with part of the Susquehanna river flowing through the property.

It was awesome to sit in the hot tub after a run (yes, Greg even ran with me!) and look out at the snow-covered trees.  On Monday morning, we got a significant amount of snow.  After breakfast we packed our things, then soaked for one last time in the hot tub as the snow fell around us. Sweet! 

We took a hike in Shikellamy State Park with a nice view of the Susquehanna (who knows how to pronounce the name of that park?  Suggestions welcomed!) 

I bet it would be beautiful on a clear day in the fall! 

But on this day, it was cold, cold, cold! 

Ice along the river's edge.

We picked up this little treasure for Andrew at the grocery store in Selinsgrove.  I'm pretty sure this is the most ridiculous grocery store purchase I ever made, followed by a pair of flannel Steelers pajama pants for Greg and black and gold socks for me! Greg said we should look at furniture at Giant Eagle to round out the categories of our grocery store purchases! Wicker, anyone? 

We ate at a really awesome little cafe in downtown Selinsgrove called Emma's Food For Life.  It had all kinds of organic, vegetarian and vegan options and was absolutely delicious.  I had the lentil walnut burger and Greg had a mushroom lasagna.  Yum!  I wish we could move the whole place back home.  I am not generally a fan of eating out, but if this place were local, I'd be a regular!  If you happen to be in that area, it's worth your time to check it out.  

After dinner, we moseyed on down the street to a local bar and had a few brews.  I had a Mango IPA and Greg had a Blue Moon.  Both delicious.  As a bonus, we got to listen to a very drunk and very cocky high school history teacher hit on a college professor who was at the bar with her husband.  It was very entertaining!   

The ride home on Monday morning was a bit dicey to start.  The roads were much worse than we realized.  It took us an hour longer, but we made it home safely.  The kids were excited to see us, especially the furry one!  

I couldn't even get into bed, because he was all over me!  I had to crawl around him!  This poor kitty needs daily loving!  

So, now we are back to the grind, sort of.  Today we have yet another weather related cancellation.   I think this marks the fifth since January! I'm going to run on the treadmill in a little while.  Greg and Andrew are going to shovel, and then I think we'll be drinking hot chocolate and breaking out the movies!  Come on, warm weather!  I'm so ready to be drinking a beer on the pontoon boat!  

How are you beating cabin fever this winter?  Whatever your methods, I hope your hearts are warm and full of gratitude.  Even the worst winter has its blessings!  

Holy Photos, Batman!

I'm pretty sure that I promised a bazillion photos from all of our Christmas break, but I think I came up just a tad short.  When I say a "tad," I'm not kidding.  There's probably about 80 pictures here.  The last 10 days have been truly great.  We had several get togethers at our house and several at other people's homes.  We traveled to Pittsburgh twice and spent lots and lots and lots of good, quality time with those we love.  I feel like it's been whirl-wind busy, and in many ways, I am eager to get back to a routine, but for now, I am going to bask in the contentment of my blessings and reflect on a week and half of good times.  

Let's start off with the best (well close to the best anyway) thing about Christmas  - we get an 11 month reprieve from the stupid elf!

Even Sam was sick of him.  He tried to chew the elf's leg off and then attempted to smother him. 

Yep.  Looks pretty close to dead to me.  Bye-bye, W.T.  Heal well.  See you next year!

Brynn isn't a big fan of the traditional family Christmas photo... or maybe it was the fact that she was wearing two left shoes.  Seriously, you should always double-check when buying on clearance that you're getting what you actually need.  No one likes to wear two left shoes!

Partial family photo

"Uh...Mom, I could use a little help here!" 

"Cheers!"

Pap thinks the food needs a touch more seasoning.

"Now, Jacob.  If you don't eat your vegetables, Santa won't come."

One of about 15 packs of tape.  Can you sense an obsession? 

She may not like two left shoes, but a cookie can bring out a smile!

Meghan: "And then we walked 6 miles uphill only to find that the fountain was dry!"

Greg: "Uh huh.  Yeah. Good story, Meg." 

I sure hope the reindeer can see the Panko in the dry grass! 

Cookies, reindeer food, carrots and milk to butter up the jolly fat guy and his crew. 

All ready! 

"Something smells fishy here!"

"Smells fishy over here too!"

"I'm going to hang out here tonight.  You know.  Just in case."

Jake's 11th year as the first one up on Christmas morning.

"OMG!  A snowboard!  Just what I always wanted!"

"Calm down, Sam.  The snowboard is for me."

Andrew was 2nd up

The boys and their stockings

My boys

Pap is amused by Mimi's turkey baster...yeah, long story.  

The big gift was for Andrew - a desk for our budding artist! 

Ninja Jake surveys the scene.

Family gift - a Wii.  The money should have been put towards new shirts for Dad, but clearly Santa has skewed priorities.  

80's movies - fun for the whole family! 

Jake and Brynn battled it out for a while.  Brynn won.

Nothing says "Christmas" quite like playing near a pile of trash! 

Whew!  That was exhausting!

Making breakfast with Pap and Aunt Meghan

After a morning with my family at our house, we headed over to my sister-in-law's for the afternoon/evening with the Williams side of the family.  

More art stuff!  Yay! 

The cutest little Spidey in Hollidaysburg! 

More guns...All I can say is, if you come to visit, you better have good reflexes! 

Boys of all ages love boxes! 

On Friday, I went to Pittsburgh to visit some friends, and then on Saturday we had the annual Sheehan Family Christmas party at my house.  We had a packed place, lots of alcohol and lots of laughter - just like it should be!

Kathy is a bit surprised that we all have two drinks so early in the evening.

Carmen and Ted

Lindsay and Caroline

Brayden tried to steal Kathy's drink.  We train 'em up right in this family! 

"And then he pooped 5 times -  5 times - on the way home!"  Willie is unamused by Larry's baby stories.

Megan and me with our favorite Great Aunt

"Oh good.  Ted's having a martini.  Now the fun will really get started!" 

Joe and Kyle may not be having fun, but Martha is! 

Lucie - a.ka. "Santa's Seat Warmer"

OK...since we have an "in" with the big guy up North, we always have a visitor to our party.  For the kids, that's great.  It's also great for the adults who are usually pretty looped by the time Santa arrives.  For you all, it means that it's now it's time for 25 pictures of people sitting on Santa's lap.  

Let's start with Jake.  

These boys bear a striking resemblance to the man in the red suit.

I think Mimi enjoyed sitting on Santa's lap just a little too much.

"Oh, Santa!  You are so right!  Her butt is WAY bigger than mine!  I knew I loved you!"

No, Santa.  The wine is not for you.  Hand it over to its rightful owners.  

Kathy's plan to use last night's video to prove to Santa that she deserved to be on the "nice" list backfired.  

 I think this was  little more than Santa bargained for! That's what happens when Uncle Ted gets into the martinis! 

Brayden didn't care about Santa.  His pap was the apple of his eye.

Aerial shot of the Tonk players 

I come from a large Catholic family.  Wine and gambling are a part of nearly every gathering.  

Kirk, keeper of the kitty.

We ended the night with Aunt Kathy wearing a Chuck E Cheese inflatable crown, singing "The Wind Beneath My Wings."  I'd say that's an indicator of a good party! 

On Monday we went to PPG Place for some outdoor skating.

"Look, Ella!  I can do it with no hands!"  

Jake and Matt share a laugh while Andrew skates ahead.

Mimi was a show-off that day! 

Jake's hot-chocolate break.

The prettiest skater at the rink! 

And that, my friends is all for now.  We actually didn't do anything for New Year's Eve.  I was asleep well before the ball dropped, so poor Greg watched it alone.  I was more than a little pooped from all the partying in the previous week! We have one more family gathering at my in-law's today, and then it's back to the grind.  I personally feel blessed and fulfilled, and I am looking forward to starting a new year.  I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you all happiness, contentment and prosperity in 2014.  

Happy New Year!