5 and 11? Okay. Just breath

 Since I am writing this at 9:30 at night and I am so sleepy, this will be short and sweet.  

Got three runs in but only one with Boom as we have had some pretty bad heat this last week.  We got lucky on Saturday for our longish run due to cloudy and cool weather which counteracted the horrible high humidity.  

Little red finally let us book an appointment to get his hair cut.  Our hair stylist is always so amazed at how thick and crazy his hair is.  He has really liked having it longer even though we all think he looks he has a mop on his head.  

He looks so dang grown up!  I am not ready for my sweet little boy to be a big kid.  

Not going to lie, I HATE summer running. I can't get up early because it's 100 percent humidity and I can't breath or take the dogs with me so I don't feel safe.  I can handle the heat much better than the humidity, but then I feel sick and sweat to death.  Can we just fast forward to fall please?

Over the weekend we adventured even though Tony wasn't feeling great.  His puking headaches have returned with a vengance and also we thought he might have a touch of the stomach flu.  He was brave and came along with us for most of the day but went to sleep early and slept all night.  We stared out at The Chef, a brunch place that was made famous by Bridgett Everett from Somebody Somewhere on HBO.  They have the most amazing breakfast pizza EVER!

Next we headed across the street to Therapie, a local pie maker's shop to have Andrew's new favorite, chocolate silk pie.  WE both blissed out over the most amazing pie.  

Next we headed over to our local museum to enjoy the new NASA exhibit where we played with Gyroscopes, made paper rockets and launched them, and make paper airplanes and had competitions to see who could fly the farthest.  

I ended the night going to our local winery tasting room for some live music and a bottle of Rose.  We missed our graduation party because Tony was feeling pretty bad at that point but we will celebrate our friend's kiddo with a nice gift at a later date.  

Sunday was a big day.  Boom turned the big 5 and we headed to KC to celebrate Andrew's birthday a day early at Brickfest Live.  Not going to lie, I was kind of worried because I didn't really know what to expect at Brickfest.  I had heard mixed reviews and had seen some tik tok videos of it that did not impress me.  I am happy to report that Andrew had a blast we didn't even do half of the stuff we could have done.  While the vending wasn't great, the activities made up for it.  

Here are the pictures but basically we made floor tiles for a huge mosaic, made pixel tiles for the pixel wall, played with glow in the dark Legos, saw many life sized Lego creations, talked with Lego Masters, bought some mini fig bags that he had been wanting, and just had an amazing time as a family.  

I still can't believe by tomorrow I will have an 11 year old.  Sigh.  He looks older and older every day and I am just not ready.  

Y'all have a great week!

Adventures

We like adventures.  As kids we both grew up with single moms who did the best that they could with what they had. Spending money for fun was not a thing.  We have a comfortable living for now so we are going to do all the adventures we can.  We started out the week with a day off trying a new to us burger joint in downtown Manhattan that sources all of their ingredients locally.  

Their famous ice cream was not working, meaning no world famous Tang Shakes (our new basketball coach that took our team to the top this year).   We headed over to baskin robbins instead for some yummy ice cream. I tried a new to me flavor and it was so amazing!  It was called beach day and totally not what I would normally go for (I am a rocky road kind of gal), with graham cracker sand and little chocolate sea turtles.  I give it two thumbs way up!

Post a Target trip to load up on things we needed for the house (hello toilet paper) and a Lego set for passing ALL THE CARS, we headed back home so that hubby could go work at one of our local industrial customer's jobs and Andrew and I to chill.  We ended the day remembering those who gave their all while serving for this amazing country.  Our freedoms are not given and I am grateful for those who gave everything to defend those freedoms.    

I got three runs in this week thanks to the holiday, only one 11 hour day, and the need to get boom boom out and running before it gets way to hot to run with the dogs.  We are sticking to our run 4 and walk ,1 and Boom is slowly coming along. I am monitoring for soreness, stiffness, and any issues but this picture just makes me SO freaking happy.  We have full extension on both back legs!

He seems to be heat acclimating nicely and was pretty excited to get some miles in.  I wanted to do a longish run/walk this weekend in just to see where we were at. I had to run Friday night and Saturday morning, which made me a little worried he might get a little sore (spoiler alert: he was fine, whew).  We didn't get out as early as I had hoped Saturday morning, so I had my hubby on alert just in case I needed him to come pick him or him and I up.  We were fine running to the east and north and there was tons of water from the recent rains on the roads, but when we headed back to the west, the wind was gone and it was steamy, and of course the sun burned off the clouds making us lose our cloud cover.  I called hubby to come and get Boom and I chose to stay out and finish.   I hate summer running with a passion and am not ready for hot and steamy runs at all.  I suffered and had to turn my music up full blast to focus on something other than my suffering, but got it done.  My butt HAS to get up earlier or running isn't going to be safe for me this summer.  At this point, I am just being lazy and could get up, as I am sleeping all night, so I can't even use lack of sleep as an excuse.  

  

We had a couple of fun adventures later in the week. Our cute little community does an event called Bottles and Brews as a fun raiser for our local theater.  You walk around downtown and have stops that have either beer or wine at each stop and an appetizer.  You have 2 hours to waltz around and eat and drink.  We had some amazing new to us beer and dips, wraps, street tacos, and lemon ice cream.  It was a ton of fun and we left full of goodies.  

Coleman Electric was an official drink sponsor too.  We love supporting our amazing community.  Of course when in Oz, take a picture with the Tin man!

I wish our business was downtown.  Maybe someday!

Saturday found Andrew and I adventuring while hubby wasn't feeling great with yet another headache.  Don't get me started.  The endo thinks his headaches are tied into his high blood sugars, but I disagree. He has been in a normal range for blood sugar now for a few weeks and is still having these persistent headaches.  I think we need to now go to the GP and request imaging or something.  These are kicking his ass and I am so tired of seeing him throw up to try and get them to stop.

Okay sorry for the rant.  Kansas is full of the cutest little towns ever.  St Mary's is one of our favorites.  Sugar Creek is an Amish bulk store with the most yummy sandwiches and goodies.  If you have been around my blog for any time, this is where they have the amazing gingerbread house competitions around Christmas time.  We had lunch and chocolate covered gummy bears, my favorite candy treat.  

Later we headed to a new to us little Kansas town, Washington Kansas.  We were suppose to see a race there, but due to all of the rain we had this week, it was canceled.  That's okay, there was a brewery there that we had never visited.  We hoped it had food as well, as the Facebook page was vague about what they had and it was an hour and a half away.  They had some bar type food that was yummy and the beer was amazing as always.  They make a lighter beer called Life Coach and Life Coach with pineapple that is my summer jam and easy drinking beer when it is hot out.  The two on the end were super heavy and barrel aged.  The brown ale was amazing but the porter was too much.  Like you could smell the alcohol before you even got it close to your mouth and I just couldn't do it, which is odd for me, I can usually drink anything.  

Of course the only way to get my kid to come is to let him play VR.  My thing is if you don't mind people watching you flail around and you can find a spot out of the way, go for it.  Some older gentlemen were intrigued and went out and watched him and asked him questions about what he was playing.  

We both tried all of the beers and settled on our favorite.  Mine was the brown ale that was barrel aged and Tony picked the pineapple life coach.

We also got a private tour of their new whiskey operation and the brewery.  I didn't take any pictures as I didn't know if that was okay, but this is the outside of the whiskey operation.  The track at the top is where they will transport the finished whiskey barrels to the barrel house.  

The views were amazing! I can't believe this place is just out in the middle of no where Kansas and it's flourishing.  Of course the amazing beer helps and I can say we were part of helping them get off of the ground back when they started.   

Have a great week y'all!  Running may not happen as I have three 12 hour days planned but oh the pay check that comes with it:)

That time I hit zero

I have zero energy lately and I am not sure exactly why.  I know working 11 and 12 hour days probably has something to do with it, but I want my will power and motivation back to run and walk!  It has totally left me this week which has caused my anxiety to be through the roof.  I need exercise like a drug to keep me calm and collected.  I also had lots of day appointments that took me away from work which stressed me out to be behind, but the dog chiro and my 6 month dentist appointment needed to be done no matter what.  Meanwhile I am pulling in some serious overtime checks and loving it, but I need to run!

Lots happened this week.  Last day of 5th grade and last day of elementary school.  I am slightly terrified about middle school and the fast paced transitions, but also excited for him because middle school and high school were such great times in my life as a kid.  I played sports and did band in middle school and then went exclusively band in high school and I had the time of my life!

Our rose bush bloomed and as always, I love seeing those vibrant pink flowers.  Flowers make me so happy, even if I don't have a green thumb at all.   

We got one 40 minute walk in.

And one 3 mile run in.

We celebrated a birthday!  Happy birthday Tony!  Let's hope we are on the road to better health together.

And we ended the week with 2 days of racing.  I could write a book on this weekend but I will keep it short and sweet.  SO MUCH IMPROVEMENT!!!  Yes I am yelling but he set an all time record for passes.  His placements really don't show how hard he worked.  He has been really down on his red car on Saturday, but he rallied back on Sunday and had much better lines and times.  I will take it even with the drama.

Have a great week y'all!

Emotionally?

 So many emotions this week.

Bittersweet

We had our first beginning band meeting and the band director played my trumpet.  While I still play occasionally, he has skill and plays regularly, and she sounded so beautiful.   Ready to hear my son embark on the band journey.  My journey as a band nerd brought me so many great friends and memories.  

Relieved

Relieved to hear from the rehab vet that it's just a strain and more than likely just his adductor in his hip.  We have lots of exercises, a weight loss plan to get off the few pounds he has put on, and a path moving forward.

Happy

Happy to see all of the color in my yard.  While a ton of my flowers died off and didn't come back this year (even the ones I planted last year that were perennials), my orange flowers from Tennessee always come back and always shine.  Plus, all of our prairie sage bloomed this year so it was the perfect mix of purple and orange.  

Lucky

Lucky to get two runs in this week with my old girly.  We did a 3 and a 7 together and Boom did a 4 before hearing no running for a bit longer.  

Excited!

Going to see the Chiefs play the day before my birthday at Arrowhead against the Eagles.  I splurged and got us really good tickets,  You only live once, right?

Grateful

Non race weekends mean family time.  So glad this kiddo still loves hanging out with me.  Coffee shops to eat his favorite quiche and then exploring at a new to us winery in Manhattan for ciders, bee swarms, and bocce ball.  

And finally, hopeful.

Since boom boom has to walk right now to strengthen things before we run, we are doing lots of family walks.  Plus, my hubby as some doctor's appointments scheduled so we can start figuring this whole mess out with his diabetes and blood sugar.

Have a great week y'all!

Whoop there it is

It was just one of those weeks where work took over my life at both jobs and running just didn't have a spot left over.  One day I ended up working 12 hours, working at Coleman Electric, running 3 miles, and then mowing the yard.  I only got 2 runs in this week with both being short.  I know if running was a priority right now, I would find a way to get it done but it just isn't and that is okay.  

First of all let me set the scene of the week by starting off with the bad.   My hubby wasn't feeling well Sunday and as the day went on, he got worse.  He has type 2 diabetes and he doesn't always do the best job managing it but he has learned to live with not feeling great 24/7 so when he tells me he isn't feeling good, it's really not good.  He had woken up with a red angry eye, but again, he was always having either headache or eye problems so we thought nothing of it.  As the day progressed, he became super light sensitive and his eye was throbbing.  We called the eye doctor but he suggested we head to the ER so off we went.  Usually we would go to Manhattan, but a big storm was near and we didn't have time to beat it so we stopped at our local ER where the man I despise works and of course was on duty.  We have a client that is and ER doctor and i was praying for him but nope, we got Sir Grumps a lot, who clearly HATES his job and makes everyone miserable.  Of course he was super salty we were there for an eye issue at 9 pm on a Sunday night and couldn't understand at all why a grown ass man wouldn't take his meds for a disease that could kill him (you and me both doc).  He told Tony he had dry eye (he later was diagnosed with a very bad viral infection in his eye) and then they put him on an insulin drip to try and get his blood sugar down.  I finally left around 1:30 am to go check on Andrew and try and get some sleep and they discharged him at 5:30, at which time his blood sugar went right back up as soon as they unhooked him.  We were very lucky to get into the eye doctor at 10 that morning and get a diagnosis and steriod drops, which helped quickly.  Now as I type, he has the same infection in teh other eye but we have the drops and she told him this would happen so we are prepared.  If anyone has any way to get a grown man to take his meds and talk to his doctor, I am all open for suggestions.  Talks of amputation, permanent ED, blindness, and major disability just don't seem to be doing the trick.  I've said this before and I will say it again, if I had a treatable disease, I would be working with my doctor hand in hand to stay healthy not only for myself but for my family too.  

As the week progressed, my hubby felt better and got back on ALL of his meds, but I still think we have three issues that need to be tackled, his eyes (blurry vision), his blood sugar (adjustment of meds), and his headaches (2 months of headaches???).  Honestly the headaches scare me more than anything because NOTHING touches them.  They gave him hydrocodone in the hospital and that did NOTHING.   He has gotten so use to having them that he just gets up at night, pukes, and then goes about his business.  Sigh.  This is NOT normal.  

Now on to fun things shall we?  We had a rare Saturday race and Mother's day!  Saturday's race was another great one for Andrew.  He drew P1 in the heat race and smoked all of them by just driving away and winning.  Unfortunately when I did the coin flip, he went to the back in P6.  Now that he actually passes, I am okay with that because it gives him tons of time to work his way back to the front.  He ran in P2 for quite a bit adn then wouldn't pass a lap car and his best friend passed him for P2.  They didn't have enough time to hunt down the leader but that is okay, they both got a podium.  I am so freaking proud of this kid right now and his desire to try hard and race hard.  

We celebrated with some beers at Happy Bassett and then went back the next day for some bingo with our adopted track mom and dad for mother's day.  Got to love Sandy and her Sandy snacks!  The fruit punch sour beer was amazing and I can't wait to sip it more this summer post races.  

Have a great week y'all!  I am hoping for better health, a weekend off from racing, and some more time pounding the pavement.  

Summer....Already?

This was the first week we tried to get three reps in of our big experiment in one week.  To say I am exhausted is an understatement after several 11 and 12 hour days, but who doesn't love OT on their paycheck?  We will get results of our Friday experiment tomorrow, but the first two weeks are looking amazing.  Plus, add in the end of the month/beginning of the month at Coleman Electric and while I have given up all of my other duties, I am still paying bills and keeping up with supply invoicing and payments, plus sales tax reporting. Add into that, we had meetings at the middle school, which honestly slightly terrified and excited me.  He will start band this year on my trumpet that I played all through school.  He gets some electives, some labs to help him with math and English,  and a much freer-er time at lunch (can sit with whomever he wants instead of by class).  I think he will love it, but he he is a little scared of all of the changes and has already asked to repeat 5th grade.  Uh that is a big nope.  

We celebrated Stella's 12th birthday.  May the fourth be with you!  Still running 3 times a week as long as the weather allows it.  Which was only once this week thanks to summer joining the party and 90 degree days.  Sigh.  We just don't have seasons anymore here in Kansas. 

How about some things I loved last week?  This single tulip in our yard that bloomed.  

This book. I cried so many tears for her.  Finished and passed on to another mother runner.  Now reading Lauren Fleshman's book.

Splurged on a goody box from Chewy for Stella.  She approved.

Little red using his new drafting table I found at the antique store and finishing his dad's b day present!

Friday night in downtown manhattan with pizza and beer.

Local craft vendors that make super cute stuff!

KSU football camp with the KSU football players, head coach, and WILLIE THE WILDCAT!

Plant therapy.  At least with succulents maybe I won't kill them?

Things I am not loving though, no spring.  Straight to summer temps and summer humidity, which means earlier morning running and no dogs.  No thank you.

Have a great spring like week where ever you are!

Short but sweet

I have 10 minutes to write before i need to shower and head to work so here goes. 

3 runs this week, all done with Queen Stella!  She is getting back into the groove and loving it!  Two 3 milers and a 9 miler.  The lower temps are really helping her be able to run and I am not sure how much longer this is going to las but I am loving it.  She pretty much smiles the entire run.  I think I will just cycle up to 10 miles and then drop back to 6 and start over again like I have been doing.  That way I am always ready for a half marathon if I get a wild hair up my ass.

Little man has been super creative lately.  He has been working on his creation every night and my house looks like a bomb exploded at an art fair.  Oh well, he loves it so I am here for it.   I love when these moods hit him and he just has to create 24:7.

We had another race and I am not sure who has stepped into my kid's body but he went from P6 which is outside dead last to P2, not once but TWICE.  He came into the pits running second to get his dad to check something during a caution and went back out and passed and got his spot back.  WHAT?  Who is this?  He even looked at a pass to get around the 1st place car and decided he was okay with second when the kid came down on him and shut the door.  I am not sure what has changed but I am LOVING IT!

Have a great week y'all!