Sunday, April 27, 2008

Never let corn husks down the disposal and other useful tips

Yes, indeed, never let corn husks down the garbage disposal, no matter how small and innocent of a piece you may think it is. They have evil powers. Evil, I tell you. On the other hand, it's a great couples bonding exercise: on account of practically rubbing my hands raw and bruising my knuckles pulling out strand by strand of wicked corn husk rope (they should use this material in space shuttles, parachutes, and bungee cords if you ask me), Mike took over valiantly, and we cheered each other along rather joyously with every new strand that we pulled out of the disposal. Current status: it drains but doesn't grind. I'll take what I can get.

Other useful tips:
  • Always shred important documents, and try to involve the whole family. Besides teaching important lessons such as how to prevent identity theft, it is a great activity for those you've-tried-every-other-activity-under-the-sun-and-
    the-kids-are-still-bored days :)

  • Never ever accidentally press weird buttons on your new camera (keep all fingers under control at all times). Otherwise you will somehow mangle the recording of your daughter's very first ballet recital, reducing it to a microscopic-sized window. :( However, the pictures turned out nice, so here is the slideshow :)




  • While tending to infant and toddler twins may be somewhat time-consuming, try to mulch, weed and pay some minimum attention to azalea bushes every 3 years or so! .. ours were on the verge of death, until I took 2 days off last summer to try to revive them. Miraculously, they did this this year:


And, finally, the merry-go-round!

Sunday, April 6, 2008

The bad news is that I forgot to put on deodorant..

..the good news is that it was so cold and rainy that it hardly mattered..
Yes, indeed, the weather did not really cooperate for the annual running of the Cherry Blossom 10 mile run...but I was there: shorts, jacket, and poncho, squishing through the mud toward the start, surrounded by what sounded like the hardest-core athletes in the world. As I'm still sleepwalking at 6:50am, to my left a way-too-awake couple is vigorously discussing the pros and cons of training with running clubs versus having an individual plan... I'm way far removed from such lofty conversation, although I do contemplate whether, in such water-logged ground, the porta-potties (Royal Flush!) :) are prone to tipping over when the mud gives out...The rain stops just about when the race starts, lulling everybody (not me!) into a false sense of "let's strip down to the tiny shorts and tank tops!" Mile 3. Drizzle. Not bad: actually felt a little refreshing. Mile 5. Somewhere between a drizzle and a downpour. Mile 8, heading back up the Memorial Bridge, with the wind in our faces: downpour. And, to top of a nice flat course: a finish uphill! Waterlogged but happy to be done, I decisively throw the hood on my head (was too tired to pull it up while I was running), and promptly dump all the accumulated water over the last 7 miles onto my head. Nice.

Updated: Results are out! 1 hour, 43 minutes, 36 seconds: a whole minute and 10 seconds better than last year :) If I keep this up, I will will the race in.. 50 years! Wahoo!

http://www.cherryblossom.org/

(If you are checking the results list, my last name didn't quite make it intact in the registration process, but VLADKONA ran under bib number 13307 :)