Growing Pains

We have been in this little apartment for nearly 4 months now. Usually I surprise myself when I say that...it doesn't seem that it has been that long. This morning I was sobered a bit by the reminder that we still have nearly that long to be here! It hasn't been a bad experience by any means, even with the excitement of last week.

It has been an interesting phase of our lives. The last time I lived in town, within walking distance of things was when we briefly house-sat in Carnation, WA for about 4-6 months when I was in 7th grade. We lived right in town in Boise, ID, when I was aged 1 to 4. Apart from those 2 times, I have been a country girl. We have enjoyed living close enough this winter to walk to the park and to visit friends. We have enjoyed exploring Waynesburg and shopping at the little shops that we never stopped at when driving. J has been so upset about all of the litter, that I have promised her a "Trash Walk" some day soon, when we take a trash bag with us and pick up all we see.

And yet, there are down sides too. We are in closer proximity to each other 24/7, than is comfortable all the time. The girls miss their toys. I miss my kitchen stuff, and space to work. I am still not used to all the road noise. I have to keep reminding myself that this is a minor discomfort compared to what some of my friends are facing in their lives right now. J broke down in tears yesterday afternoon, saying that she missed her house and her journal (which was inadvertently packed). Daddy is concerned that L won't remember the first house on the hill.

These gray days, cold weather, and mud are beginning to make me feel like a trapped animal. I am almost desperate enough to gnaw off my paw in order to escape.

Only 15 more days until SPRING!

T

Soup's On

Happy National Soup Day everyone! In honor of the occasion, we tried out the recipe for Lasagna Soup. It smelled delicious simmering on the stove, but wasn't actually a big hit with the girls. They found it a bit spicy, I think. If I make it again, I will substitute half the Italian sausage with ground turkey and omit the red pepper flakes.

In fact, the girls and I decided to make Wednesday night, "Soup Night" this winter. It is something easy the girls and I can make together while Daddy works late, and it is easy to heat up for his dinner later.

Last week we made Wedding Soup, which has been one of our favorites for over a year. L doesn't like touching the meat to make meatball, but prefers stirring. J enjoys peeling carrots and making meatballs.

Next week we might try Alphabet Soup. It looks fun.

So much for our culinary adventures. If you peeked at the links, you can see that we didn't venture further than Family Fun Magazine...good kid-friendly recipes.

T

February Lies Ahead

This is it. This is the month that I dread each winter. I believe that February is the greyest, coldest, longest, worst month of the entire year. And guess what? That good-for-nothing rodent "Phil" saw his shadow on this: another non-descript, grey February day.

But truly, 2 days in, February has been marvelous! Lovely blue skies and SUN appeared on the 1st. (And I should mention the Steeler's amazing victory on the same day!) Today this amazing sunset was visible out the girls' bedroom window.

It can't be all bad, right?

T

Running

I used to be a runner. I'm pretty much of a wimp, so none of that "running through the pain" for me. I'd stop and walk if it hurt, and bad weather kept me in. I discovered Track & Field in High School after I made the realization that I was too uncoordinated to play team sports. In Track, I was usually the only one I could hurt. I ran 100m, 200m, 400m and relays, short stuff in other words. My senior year, my friends convinced me to come out for Cross Country, they needed another body on the team. Thus I discovered long distance running (see "wimp" above.) I also discovered the silence, the solitude, and my breathing. I continued the 200m and 400m in college, but dropped out of Cross Country after the first week of practice, including 5 mile runs at 6 AM.

A friend convinced me to run a 5K race with her when I turned 30. "It's for a good cause." she pleaded, "and it's only about 2 miles."

A 5K is 2.2 miles, to be exact. But why quibble? I ran it. I beat my friend. I won a medal. I wasn't hooked, but...well...intrigued. I ran 3 or 4 5Ks a year for the next 2 years until I got pregnant with J. Most of the time, I got a medal too. Not because I was good, but because there were surprisingly few people in my age category: Female, 30-35. I trained on my treadmill at home, because we lived on top of a hill: 30 minutes at 50% incline and 3 miles per hour, plus a warm up and cool down.

Come to think of it, I've lived on top of a hill for the past 10 years. Living in town this winter, with the remarkably flat, remarkably wide sidewalks, the girls and I have been doing a lot of walking. It's been fun and educational. Yesterday we re-examined the tank at the VFW, peeked through the gate at the WU football field, counted 107 cars on the train going by, looked at the Middle School, inspected the old log Court House, and discussed the various forms of architecture around town.

Yesterday, I thought "I think maybe I'd like to start running again." Think of it! Running on flat, wide sidewalks, finding silence and solitude and time to myself and my own breathing. It sounds lovely until I look at the thermometer this morning. It's 28* outside, and still a bit dark-ish at 7 AM.

Maybe tomorrow I'll run.

T

Christmas Cookies Going to Waist

Well, the season of complete gluttony is now past, and I am left with a barely dwindling pile of Christmas goodies. Chocolates, nuts, cookies, candies are piled on the counter to attract my eye at inappropriate times, especially at 10 PM when I'm watching Northern Exposure (I feel like I need the extra calories to protect me against the cold Alaskan winters). They call out to me too during the day. Although I really, REALLY love them, I am sort of anxious for them to be gone. Honestly, I have clothes warm enough to get me through the winter, I don't need the extra layer of fat. Thankfully we also have 26 steps up to the apartment, and I usually go up and down several times daily. We are also continuing our walks around town. Yesterday we walked to the dry cleaners, the Hospital Auxiliary Thrift Shop, and ventured down to the VFW to inspect the tank in their front yard. I also discovered Chocolate Mint Tea at Giant Eagle, which has plenty of caffeine from the Assam and Congou black tea leaves in it for that late afternoon crash, and also spearmint to perk me up and chocolate to calm the cravings. Mmmmm...lo-cal chocolate, who would have thought?

Warm thoughts...T