snippets....v 2010

i have a terrible memory, always have. i think its genetic. blogging was supposed to be the forum for me to jot down quick thoughts so someday when the kids ask about what life was like when they were little i'd have a handy reference. unfortunately i haven't had time enough to sleep let alone brain dump so the posts are still there bouncing around my head like little pachinko balls.

of course w/ technology scampering who knows whether i'll be able to pluck these thoughts from the ether 30 yrs from now. i suppose i could move onto facebook or twitter for my life updates but i want to holdout. blogging forces me to stop and reflect for more than 30 seconds at a time.

pues, entonces, here are a few snippets since my last post at least a dozen or so moons (or lost eggs) ago.

...i've been working my arse off. its exhausting. the station is starting to take shape and whoop whoop more funding has come through for the next phase. i'm feeling a little more secure in my job knowing that the project can continue. it doesn't make my days any shorter or stop me from waking up in the wee hrs of the morning to cram a couple more hours in. the learning curve has been knowing which details to check. sh*tty is having to rip out work that a detail or dim was just plain missed. pisses me off more when i know the right info was out there and just miscommunicated. or worse, not communicated at all. coming up with fixes to all the fires makes me feel like mole man locked in the quik-e-mart. i want that time back.

...she denies it, but it was sisters idea to run. "lets get the siblings together and run a half. we'll all meet in seattle. it'll be fun." avid runner big bro was on board. avid biker big bro was not. "i do not run. cavemen ran to get meat. i can go to the grocery store. i do not need to run." sister went so far as to buy her race packet. fast forward 7 months later and playing the part of said family were a couple peps dads. [btw, kudos to steve for his stellar performance in the over 40 womens division]. the sibs bailed. no time to train. for me though, running has been the lone exercise and downtime in a very long year. early in the year, i was getting up in the wee hrs of the work week to get a run in. training consisted of 2-3 short runs on a weekday and one long weekend run. the first half marathon went well, i felt good and finished much faster than i'd expected. success. then work picked up and i didn't have time for the weekday runs. i had already signed up for another race. how much could i coast w training and still finish? the next race was painful. i should've trained more hills. the race after that was pleasant. we took it easy and chatted the whole way. the course was flat similar to my long runs. i'm done w/ races for this year. too cold and wet to leave a cozy warm bed on the weekend. hopefully i'll get off my arse and sign up for some more next year. regardless, i feel pretty accomplished to have done 3 halves this year.

...in a blink of an eye, huggy is a little boy. where did 2 yrs go? with roc i remember reading the baby books and blogs for what milestones to expect at each month of his first 2 years. classic 2nd kid syndrome, we're lucky to notice mace reaching a milestone. now he's climbing and wrestling w his big bro, jumbling every knock knock joke into a universal punchline - 'dont cry its just a knock knock joke', and overall basking in his cuteness. his fave pastime is music. doesn't matter what - playing drums, guitar, or listening to caspar babypants. he'll dance all day long if you let him. i'm going to have to book some one on one time w the little man before i miss the next 2.

... for every 50 words a photo. don't be surprised if you catch this one again on our holiday cards.

...no big vacations this year but lots of weekends away. washington coast, vancouver, camano. all awesome times with friends and a gaggle of kids. my absolute favorite weekend away was camping at penrose state park. the weather forecast was dismal but the campground was just over an hour away and we could always bail or crash w/ friends in tacoma. our first camping trip earlier in the summer was fun except for a blunder on the tent. we'd brought my 2+ person tent from pre-kid years and thought that would be plenty of room. we'd forgotten huggy is a space hog. he tossed and turned and kicked jala1 in the face all night long. freddie threatened to sleep in the car. we apologized to the neighbors in the morning. on our 2nd trip we were well prepared. we'd borrowed a 4 man tent which seemed palatial in comparison. we'd brought the tailgating tent. we brought rainy day diversions, beach buckets and a ball for every major sport. our tacoma friends brought their 6 yr old for the day and the skies were clear and sunny. the tide rolled out and the boys had a blast looking for crabs and sand dollars. filling their buckets with poop [=sand]. reveling. good times.