Miscellaneous Monday - 1/25*

Simplify/Organize To Do

I didn't do so hot on my list last week and didn't get to laundering/packing outgrown clothes and cleaning the office closet.   We had such a crazy busy weekend, I just didn't have the time (or energy) to tackle them.  Oh, well, I feel like I'm making some sort of progress, 15 minutes at a time, so I think the system is working for me.  This week:

• Monday, Jan. 25 - check out medicine cabinets in kitchen and bathrooms and toss old meds
• Tuesday, Jan. 26 - Pack up borrowed infant seat & baby outfit to mail to A (will probably get mailed next week)
• Wednesday, Jan. 27 - Find 5 items in the house I don't need/haven't used in a year and put in donation box
• Thursday, Jan. 28 - Go through piles of magazines and books in bedroom and recycle/put in library as applicable
• Friday, Jan. 29 - clean out "junk" cabinet (appliance garage to the left of fridge)
• Saturday, Jan. 30 -  Organize office closet
• Sunday, Jan. 31 - Launder/pack outgrown clothes

Supper Club

On Saturday, we went to a Cajun-themed supper club dinner.  So fun - great company and yummy food.  Can't beat that!  The host did a crawfish boil, and we also had gumbo, dirty rice, crawfish pies, maque choux, and of course, a king cake for dessert.  I love Cajun food, and since I don't eat it often, I never get sick of it.  We have two upcoming trips to New Orleans (February and March), so I'm getting a couple of fixes in soon.  Jazz brunch here I come!

Weekend at Ong Ngoai and Ba Ngoai's

Well, technically, just an overnight.  The girls stayed with my parents while we were at supper club (which typically involves alcohol, so we plan on sleepovers for the girls on supper club nights.)   My parents think Sprinkle is the greatest thing since sliced bread, so Reese has been feeling a little put out since she is...sliced bread.   It's been a bit of a vicious cycle of her getting less attention, causing her to act whiny/needy, in turn causing my parents to think she's being whiny and needy, so they up the ante on talking about how great Sprinkle is, so she feels put out and acts needy...sigh.   I mentioned it to my dad, so they made a point of paying a little more attention to her and not just negatively reacting to her neediness by spending more time with Sprinkle (oh, how do I explain the logic of Asian parents???)  They said she acted great this weekend, and she reported she had a great time and wanted to stay longer, so I'm glad I mentioned it. 

On Sunday morning, my parents took Reese and Sprinkle to a little pond near there house so that Reese could fish and Sprinkle could feed the ducks.   Reese caught her first fish!  I can't wait to get the pics from my dad.  I used to go fishing with my dad every weekend when I was younger, so it's neat that the tradition has extended to another generation.     They gave bread to Sprinkle to feed the ducks, and that went about how I expected - Sprinkle shaking her fist at the ducks, yelling "no, no!" and eating the bread herself. 

Speaking of fish, Sprinkle learned "ca" this weekend.   If you ask her about "ca," she can repeat it and point towards the huge man-eating fish my parents have in their living room.   I wonder if she knows "ca" just means "fish" and not huge man-eating fish.  Or fish tank, for that matter, LOL.

 Run

This weekend's long run was 12 miles.  It was a really beautiful day on Sunday, almost perfect for a run (I could have dealt with a little less wind and maybe 10 less degrees, but I can't really complain.)   I was feeling pretty good up until about mile 10, but the last couple of miles just sucked.  I didn't carry enough water to compensate for the extra two miles and the slightly warmer condition (high 60's), so I was feeling completely dehydrated on top of just simply fatigued.   I ended up having to take a few walk breaks (totalling 3.5 minutes), which was a bummer.   Psychologically I like being able to run the entire workout, even though I end up finishing in the same time because the little rest allows me to run stronger.  Jim switched to 5-1 running last year, and he's much faster doing 5-1 than doing straight running (and now faster than me.  There, I said it.)

I also picked up a pair of Newton Motion Stability Trainers.   They're designed to optimize mid/forefeet heel strikes (which in turn allows you to run faster with less effort).  I can't wait to road test.  They felt great (and super light) on my short treadmill run, but I'm eager to see how they perform in real world conditions.

*Yes, I know it's Tuesday.  Do I get credit for starting this post on Monday?