Bridgewater Soccer Mom's view of the world

I'm not going to be lonely today. I have both kids home sick. Nothing life-threatening. Stomach bugs - one serious, one not. If last week we were nomads, today it's the opposite. I'm housebound, while an electrician is finishing loose ends. Of course - the weather is fabulous - so I am yearning to go outside and run. C had a great day yesterday: the BR Middle School cheer squad won their only competition this season. The girls won easily. You could see it in their faces - they weren't very nervous so they did pretty well This fall the stakes were so high that girls were puking from the stress both before and during the routine. Yesterday everyone was relaxed and just looking to have a good time. As a parent I preferred the low-stress competitive environment. I posted a picture/video on Facebook and said I was bragging. One of my friends reminded me that it's a good thing to brag about your children. I forget that sometimes. I find it hard to compliment myself ...

(Written Thursday, published Friday) Duality today. Mother nature playing tricks on the trees - Blossoms in February! It's my brother's birthday. There are few people on planet earth that I respect more than him. He's so accomplished, so smart, has excellent taste ... but most of all he is warm and loving. The antithesis to machismo. His family is Boise is lucky to have him - since it's a big loss for us East Coasters. Today is also one year since my friend died. And no matter how much Feburary 23rd is my brother's day, it's El's day too.  A while before she died, we sat on her open-aired screen porch and looked at the forest that surrounds her home. She talked about how much she missed hiking. At that point she could walk but very unsteadily. She seemed so weak, who knew it would get so much worse? I didn't want to tell her I had been running that day, but when she found out, she encouraged me, basically telling me to embrace exercise ...

Mind map (done Sun pm) Last night the DH and I discussed paying for college. I wanted to make an outline using  mind mapping  to see if I can make sense of my options and obligations, and the general big picture.  I still need to do this - plus exercise. I pulled a muscle and am not sure how I am going to stay on track for my half marathon in April... but where there's a will there's a way. And then... there's taxes. Just the word puts me in a cold sweat! But instead of facing my demons, I spent the morning making coffee, listening to NPR and surfing the net and texting a friend. Somehow I got the "brilliant idea" of trying out my new wax. If you know me in person, you probably have seen my goat beard from time to time. Something like a Ukrainian Grandmother. I saw a "natural" wax from a company at the mall last week and I bought myself a tub on sale. Guess why it's on sale? Because it will RUIN YOUR DAY! In my test run I managed to get the...

Bags of food ready to go My kids' youth group volunteered today at a church in Somerville where Somerset County distributes food bank items (mostly edible) to the needy. It is a humbling reminder that so many people need help right here in Somerville. I learned that I need to think smarter when I donate. Often I'll donate items we wouldn't have eaten. I should do the opposite in the future - give what we WOULD eat. Most likely the people who need extra help also prefer the same foods as my picky family. We helped more than sixty families before someone took the "white chocolate-flavored sparkling water". Maybe that would be good in a mixed drink, but that's not the help these families need. Toilet paper was given one roll per family. How much TP do I buy without even thinking about the cost (beyond the general "the more rolls in the pack, the cheaper it becomes)? You can also call the food bank as they have a list of what they need. Teens bagg...

I haven't written much this week. I can hardly believe it's Friday night. It's the usual for me: Drive The Girl to the movies and let The Boy have a friend sleep over. Make something for dinner (should have started earlier) and put on my PJs. Maybe I'll stay awake late enough to watch Bill Maher. As my regular readers know, I'm very interested in women's access to contraception, abortion and.. well, um everything. I could start a complete blog on this, but well, I don't want the house to get Fire Bombed, so I'll just say I'm looking forward to some liberal humor tonight. I know some of you are wondering about Tuesday's Board of Ed meeting. If you are, you probably already read the Courier's articles here and here and/or the Patch here and here . My take: The redistricting committee made its presentation. I thought it went without a hitch. However, I wish more BOE members had read through the report more thoroughly so that they were prepa...

Happy Valentines Day to Ingrid. She made something like this for me. I used to stress out about Valentines Day. Would something magical happen that day? Would some boy admit his yet-unstated love for me? Clearly I had seen too many sappy movies. And of course I was disappointed by my own inflated/unrealistic teenage expectations. Fast forward thirty years and I spent early Valentine's morning coaxing a somewhat unwilling son to finish an essay. Even earlier I made my daughter hot cocoa to enjoy on the way to school which she had to refuse. Apparently alcohol is a problem and students are no longer allowed to bring coffee mugs on the bus... not a very romantic thought. She's in Middle School and cocoa is a no no! Then I half-ran, half-hobbled the streets of Bridgewater with KK, my Tuesday running partner. She is the perfect person to bounce off an idea. Full of warmth and humor and smarts, time with her is well-spent. I love our conversations. The rest of the daytime h...

Saturday night just before falling asleep, my husband suggested we go into the city with the kids on Sunday. Sunday morning he didn't remember the offer, but we went anyway. (I think he thought I was manipulating him... who me?) It was a great idea and a great day. We drove into the village - parked at the corner of 6th Avenue and Bleeker Street. On street parking that was easy to parallel park in and out of. What luck! First: pizza. Cheap and yummy. In the first store we entered (near NYU) we found a dress for my daughter for a "prom" at Hershey (fodder for another blog when I tell you what I think of this). It looked fabulous on her and she will meet her goal: having a dress that no one else will be wearing. We were all happy with her purchase. It was cold, so we needed cocoa.... very easy to find in that neighborhood! More yummy! We walked through Washington Square and ended up in NYU's bookstore. N was thrilled. He found lots of hard cover books abou...

Imagination's the limit It's a clean slate, and I love it. My Christmas present from T: an office. He took out the furniture, painted he walls light grey (which I picked because it represents silver). A white curtain that I bought from IKEA seven or eight years ago has finally found a destination, and only needs a rod. A new ceiling fan to keep me cool in the summer. I've been using pinterest to gather my thoughts on the space's design. I find while in the stores I'm drawn to darker furniture, but when I look at images, I crave the lighter side. It would allow the colors to stand out. From yarn. From pictures. From books. From whatever I want. One book I plan to buy specifically for this room: Virginia Woolf's   A Room of One's Own .  Now that I am married, have two kids and a big house, I realize that what I missing is a little piece of real estate that is for me. I share a room, and while the kitchen is mostly my domain, it is certainly shared sp...

You know the saying: Last week I treated myself to flowers No good deed goes unpunished. It's one of my favorites and I use it often. But this week it's quite the opposite. I'm suffering from NOT doing my good deeds for myself and others. I haven't cooked anything since Friday. I haven't exercised in a week. Instead of helping my son, I berated him for not having his homework organized. I drove my Dad home (who treated me to a FANTASTIC MEAL at Charlie's ) but I didn't actually help him. Normally I clean out the fridge or organize something. This time? Nada. I guess I have done "one good deed". I offered to be part of a committee. It's been a huge time commitment - and I have missed at least 2 meetings. No good deed goes unpunished: instead of catching up on my favorite shows, I'm trying to rid a presentation of passive sentences.... Why did I offer to do this???? I don't know, I guess I'm just a link in a chain.... ...

At 86, giving a medical lecture sans notes It's been a couple of years since my last time in a lecture. And I've been to a medical lecture before, but today I am wondering why not. It was very interesting to listen to a description of pathology, disease and cancer. And the lecturer, of course, was my Dad. He's been teaching the Radiology Technicians at the local hospital for about 25 years. I guess that he should know it pretty well, but at 86 he still has the ability to teach without notes, for two hours (with a 5 minute break).  My father is an inspiration to many. At 86 he keeps in shape by walking and swimming laps, eating healthy and doing crossword puzzles. Actually he thoughtfully copied several in the library today for both of us. I'm not much of a crossword person - but as the NY Times crossword puzzle gets progressively harder, and today is Monday, I actually have a chance to solve some answers. I have to admit that I've always been a little jealou...

My old sneaks - currently resting Objects in motion tend to stay in motion. This week I feel like an object at rest. My butt hasn't been in gear for anything. I should be running nearly daily to prepare for the Rutgers Half Marathon in April. It's a beautiful day - I should take advantage of the warm temps and the sun. I should be doing more to build my business. There is incredibly much to do. I sooooo should be doing about 5,000 other things. I could even be doing something fun - planning our next vacation. But somehow my computer is like a magnet this week. This morning I wasted several hours surfing the net. Looking and repinning images to Pinterest . I'm wasting my precious time. I never regret exercising, so why is so hard to begin? I slept relatively well. I need the fresh air. I've had breakfast and coffee and now I finished T's Lindt chocolate. All good reasons to hit the road. Yesterday I went skiing. I had no problem getting myself r...

When I run I often listen to Eminem. I enjoy lots of his music, in spite of myself. But even better than music I love running with a friend, discussing our lives, our families, our town... Yesterday KK and I ran 5+ miles of scenic Bridgewater. After we split up I ran to "Cleaning out my Closet" and got inspired to tackle mine. Literally! The finished product: A lot of red in my closet....  I came home and started to clean our bedroom. First I stripped the bed and put on my favorite sheets. Then I looked in my closet and said ENOUGH. I pulled out everything on hangers and shelves. I made 3 piles: Keep, basement, donate. (Actually a forth "dunno" formed, but that got sorted). It seemed never ending. I had so much crap in my closet - it was a haven for "dunno what to do with this, so let's just throw it here and forget about it". Today I'm clearing out the stuffed bags and reassessing leftover items. Keep Basement Donate I need to ...