Couch to 5K Log

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Wrapping it up

So, 2:06 am seems like a good time to wrap up the majority of my Christmas shopping. :-) It's hard to find time and privacy during the day, so, I'll take the night -- er, morning. I'm excited about what I've been able to find for everyone, mostly at Amazon.com. I took full advantage of their Free Super Saver Shipping and saved about $20 in S&H costs. So far, I've only gone shopping one time. Last Friday, I had my 6-week checkup, got some lunch, then went to several stores with Trent (aka "My Sidekick"). He slept beautifully from the time I got into the doctor's office, until about the 3rd store, which amounted to about 4 hours. Then he was awake...and hungry...and unhappy. And since pushing a large shopping cart while holding a crying 6-week-old is not the easiest, or most fun activity, I vowed to do as much shopping as I could online. I don't know that it's the most economical alternative, but this year, I really think it's the best.

Other than the online shopping, today was a pretty quiet day ("quiet" being a relative term, of course). Some friends were going to drop off their 2 girls while they went to a Christmas party, but one ended up not feeling well. We were disappointed, but the good thing was, we got the house cleaned up in record time, and just before we got the call saying they weren't coming over. ;-)

My sidekick has just woken up and decided now is a good time for a late-night snack. Guess he wants to celebrate the shopping wrap-up, too. ;-)

Friday, August 13, 2010

Our surprise, distinguished guest ...

We had an unexpected guest move in today ...




How funny is this?!! A Jane Austen action figure!! She comes complete with a quill pen, a writing desk, and what appears to be an original (and, I'm sure, signed) publication of "Pride and Prejudice"! Too funny!


The mysterious package was delivered by our postman and was addressed to "The Worley Girls". There was no return address, although it was surely a dear friend who knows how much Jane Austen fever that has currently gripped this household! Even our 4yo will sit through the 2-hr. Keira Knightley of "P&P", the 4-hr BBC "Emma" and most of the 6-hr BBC "P&P", which we just borrowed from the library yesterday.




I won't go into the details of the mania, but we have all noticed lately that 95% of our dinner conversations revolve around the author, characters, plots, scripts, costumes, etc. We're dragging Mick along through all of this. Grant is blissfully unaware at this point, but I have a feeling he will be growing up with an unusual appreciation for all things Jane Austen. :-D




For those who may be concerned that we're feminizing Grant too much, no worries. Right after I took the last picture of him, he threw the doll at Claire!

:-D

As you can see, there's lots of excitement about our new houseguest. I have a feeling she's not going to be getting a moment's rest for some time! In fact, within the first half hour, she already been given a wardrobe update. It seems her lovely early 19th century gown had been covered by a Barbie outfit! Horrors! It was a most unforgiveable crime, perpetrated by one of the younger ones, who hasn't developed a mature fashion sense yet.


Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I couldn't make up a story this silly ...

So, I got up at 7:00 this morning intending to get my morning 30-minute walk in earlier than our usual 9:30 or 10:00 we'd been hitting lately.  It's supposed to be 95 degrees with high humidity today, so I wanted to get an early start. 

I stepped out onto the back porch to check the temperature to see if it was as cool as I'd hoped.  It was, so I decided to wake up the girls who would probably want to go with me.  I turned around to head back in and realized I'd accidentally locked myself out!  I immediately checked all the other outside doors, but they were locked, too.  Then I started visually checking the windows, but they all looked locked.  I then made a brief mental note to stop procrastinating and get a spare key hidden somewhere outside!  Reluctantly, I tried the doorbell once.  I figured that with my luck, Grant (2yo and in a crib) would be the only one to hear the doorbell.  I waited, but couldn't hear any noises.  So, I tried the doorbell 3 more times, waiting and listening after each attempt.  Nothing.  In attempt to keep the kids from waking each other up, we have fans running in each room, and I'm sure the fans were doing their jobs and muffling the sound of the doorbell.  Maybe if I would have tried to open a bar of Hershey's Special Dark, they would've come running.  Hindsight is 20/20.  :-D

So, I stood there for a few minutes and considered my options, and came up with nothing.  Then, for some reason, I got to looking at the kitchen windows again, and thought it looked like one of them might be unlocked.  I inspected it more closely, and lo and behold, it was!  So, good news/bad news.  The good news was, the kitchen window was unlocked!  The bad news was, it's the smallest window, and is about shoulder-height from outside!  I was really wishing I could get into the garage to get a ladder, but the garage was locked, too.  So, I got a porch chair and tried that.  From that height, I could lean into the window, but could not shimmy myself up.  Remember:  I am 7 months pregnant (and, it goes without saying, barefoot ;-)! 

It was momentarily defeating to think I was this close to getting back in, but couldn't!  I even thought about yelling up to the girls, but wanted to exhaust all my other options before resorting to that.  I thought if I was just a little higher up, I could get myself through that window.  I looked around again and thought of the 2 ladders in the garage.  Then, I had a lightbulb moment!!  The pool ladder!!  So, I hoisted it out of the pool and it was the perfect height to get through the window.  Just before I climbed in (which makes it sound like I did it so effortlessly and gracefully ;-) I noticed how dirty the outside window sill was.  I was wearing white pants and a white striped shirt, but since I was just outside the kitchen sink, I was able to reach in and grab a washcloth and wipe the sill off.  (Martha Stewart would be proud.)  Then, I was able to get in through the window up to my hips -- but I kind of got stuck; I think I completely filled the window.  At this point, I was absolutely sure someone would drive by and call 911 to report a suspicious pregnant woman trying to break into a house!  :-D   (No one ever drove by throughout this ordeal!!  That's how remote we are!!)  So, how could I get the rest of myself through that tiny window?  I ended up having to rotate myself onto my back and scoot myself through until I could get onto the counter.  And thankfully, again -- since I was right over the kitchen sink and sitting on the counter, I was even able to rinse off my dirty feet!

After all that exertion, who needed a walk??!! 

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Finished! "The Wind in the Willows"

The Wind in the WillowsThe Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


What a wonderful children's story! Read this version to your kids, with beautiful full-page illustrations. The 12 and 10yos especially loved this story, but the 8 and 6yos liked it, too. I just had to explain some of the more difficult language to them.

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Monday, June 14, 2010

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Finished! "Emma"

Emma Emma by Jane Austen


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This one took a little longer to get into than "Pride & Prejudice", but well worth the effort. I was worried I wouldn't like Emma Woodhouse as much as Elizabeth Bennett, but although she is more quirky, she is still very loveable. Fascinating character development and very satisfactory ending.

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Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Finished! "Black Ships Before Troy"

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad by Rosemary Sutcliff


My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I knew this book would be good based on all the recommendations I've read, but I didn't know just *how* good. I started it as a read-aloud to my kids during our Ancient Greece history lessons. I have never read "The Iliad", just knew bits and pieces of the storyline. I have been reading a few chapters each day, but ended up finishing up the book on my own because I was so drawn in by it. Now the hard part will be not giving away more details to the kids while I finish reading it. I really loved it! Some of the parts have been a little too gruesome for the girls, but they are *girls*, after all. ;-)

We also have "The Adventures of Odysseus" by Sutcliff and now I'm expecting great things from that book, too!

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