Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Seriously Employed

So, approximately 6 short weeks ago I was quite uncertain about my life, well guess what dear readers (hmm, well still hoping for some) I got myself a j-o-b. Yup, I actually worked 5 hours yesterday and will get a paycheck to prove it. So, after contemplating my options, plus my wants and my "dreams" I asked at a small shop in town if they needed part-time help. So, yes it is retail, but at least it is "mom and pop" retail.  And, I can't beat the hours 9-2 two days a week. 10 hours a week. Perfect. I am not really messing with my kids life (unless they have off school one of those days then they will just have a wing it for 5 hours without me- plus they can walk down and visit me)

One of those crazy "dreams" would be to open a small shop someday in a small town (like the one I am currently residing in). So I have lots of ideas about what I want in this shop that I have already named - gratitude - with a daisy dotting the i - I want wine, coffee, music, yarn, books, artistry, etc but I figure I should really see what it's like to work in a small shop in a small town, so here we go. Hoping I don't actually want to check this one off my list in 3 months. So I was quite proud of myself for sending two faxes, pricing out chocolate milk flavored straws, arranging earings in a display case and ringing up 8 customers without jamming the register! I was still home for some puppy time before the kids got off the bus and we made it through homework, dance classes and dinner and I only needed one 20 minute nap in the midst of all that jazz (pun intended). This working thing is exhausting, apparently my body was not quite ready to enter the very part-time work force. Maybe Friday will be better? At least I have 3 days in between to recover, seriously!

Thursday, September 12, 2013

Seriously Endure

So my youngest (Car) wanted to do this Girls on the Run program last Spring with some of her friends, but the times conflicted with dance class so she could not. And my oldest has always had this flat footed awkward kind of running stride - so my brilliant idea was to create our own Girls on the Run "GOTR" program over the summer and train for a 5K. My husband got wind of it and wanted to join in, so come mid-July (when school finally got out in NY) we entered family run time. Found an app that would safely train us to run and build endurance - I thought it was Couch to 5K (aka C25K) but I mistakenly downloaded the wrong one, but it really is the same thing - it's called 5K Runner. First run (which is really all walking) we discussed why we were running and what we wanted to accomplish within ourselves (very GOTR of me - right) Oh sorry - back up - the whole premise of GOTR (other than running) is building self -esteem. Hubs response - "I want to lose weight" My response "I want to do this as a family" Oldest (MK) "Nothing, you are making me do this" Car "I want to be faster when I play lacrosse" OK so that's something. Fast forward 9 1/2 weeks - this is AGONY, seriously. I have no idea what I was thinking. Most weeks, Car is running so slow hubs or I have to loop back around so we don't actually lose her. Not joking - 14 -15 minute mile pace. It.is.painful. And she whines a lot. And she needs water a lot (and she can't run and drink at the same time) But she can now "run" 35 minutes without stopping. MK has had a few meltdowns of her own - not being able to catch her breath or her knee hurts, but really has sort of just trooped right through it. And her stride is definitely better - still a bit odd - but it doesn't look painful anymore. We have not picked an actual race day yet (again dance conflicts - we need a Sunday morning race, not Saturday) so since we finished the 9 week app and school has resumed we are now running twice a week - 30-35 minutes each time to keep up our endurance until we actually race. All in all I am thrilled that I have been able to do it and running is the easiest it has ever been for me, I am considering continuing the app and trying my first 10K ever, we will see. The good is the time we have spent together, stretching and walking before and after we run, and singing our running theme song "Hollaback Girl" We change the sh*$ word to ship so it is completely 9 yr old appropriate now, especially as we scream it through the neighborhood (that's my ship, that's my ship. This ship is bananas b-a-n-a-n-a-s). The bad is the time we spend running and me "encouraging" them (er yelling). Endurance is a trait we now all carry and not necessarily the lung capacity version. We can endure one another through this, I think. Last night's mid - September 105 heat index run was a low point. Where did my cool crisp August evenings go? We need those back, our attitudes are bad enough. Seriously!