I torqued my knee running yesterday. I really hope it gets better soon because I would like to get back to running. Yeah, I'm just as shocked as you are by that statement. Fortunately Tuesday is not run day anyway, so I'm going to try swimming laps and hope for the best.


OP had her first race on Saturday! She did better than expected, in that she didn't burst into a screaming pile of tears. She didn't do as well as hoped, however, because people were in costumes and people in costumes are just plain wrong in her world. She ran/walked some of it, but daddy had to carry her through most of the 200 meter route. We kept trying to put her down as the people and costumes thinned out and she would freak out and go back in Daddy's arms. At the end, where everyone was watching and we thought she wouldn't run, she ran the last 15 feet crossing the finish line! And she wasn't last. We were aiming for last. We'll definitely sign her up for another one at soon.

And yes, we kept trying to put her down even though she was not happy about it. Grandpa was definitely not happy that we kept trying. But here's the thing, and you can totally disagree, it was important to us that we kept trying. She wasn't screaming. She wasn't being hurt. She wasn't saying no. She was scared because of the costumes and because it was so new, but Mommy and Daddy were there to protect her the whole time. She went on the ground, turned around, and was reassured that Daddy would pick her up in a heartbeat. In the end, for that last bit of course, she smiled as Daddy held her hands and she ran to Mommy. She had found a little bit of confidence and got praise and kisses for her efforts. Hopefully she started to learn just how strong a person she can be. I am very proud of her.

"Yeah, yeah. Blah blah blah, mommy. Blah blah blah."

Last week, the Husband and I had a date night. I know! It's crazy! We decided to do dinner and then go see Sucker Punch in the theater. Then we saw the reveiws and the hemming and hawwing commenced.

"But Mommy, why would you spend time away from me?"

Here's the thing, we watch a lot of crap. I mean, Dead or Alive, anyone? We like crappy movies and tend to just not like the Oscar winners. That said, in our post-OP world, we don't want to waste our time or money. So when the critics talked about how awful this movie was, mentioning all the rape and exploitation, I got nervous. Did I want to be stuck in a room for 2 hours after paying a bazillion dollars to watch a movie that I was going to hate and feel uncomfortable through? Not really. At least if we rented it at home, I can leave the room or we can stop the movie.

In the end we decided to go through with it. I'm really glad we did, because I actually liked the movie.

( Here there be spoilersCollapse )

Let's start with a station message first, shall we? For those of you who know my real life info, please don't mention personal specifics in the comments. A few have things have been mentioned, and while I screen them as soon as I can, the info is still out there for a bit and I'd prefer the informaiton be kept private.

Right now we're watching the Young Avengers. It's cute. Set in the future, the children of the old avengers fight against some evil guy. Standard plot, but cute. I have to say, it's no Phineas and Ferb, my newest addiction. OP enjoys watching it too. Or at least, I've decided she does. Usually, she's playing while I'm laying on the couch whimpering that I don't want to read the same book 30,003,320 more times. Please, don't make me OP!

The worst part about my daughter's love of books is, well, she's her Daddy. She's stubborn. If she doesn't like a book, she pushes it away and says, "No." So we end up reading the same few books over and over and over. I have Dr. Seuss's ABC book pretty much memorized. Seriously. You are kept up at night because that Lady Gaga song is stuck in your head? I stay up because Jerry Jordan's jelly jar and jam begin that way. It may slowly be killing me. At least she reads. Right?

Right?

It's been a rough winter. Work has been crazy busy and we've all been sick. Again. Last Tuesday all three of us were on antibiotics. I had an ear infection, OP had an ear infection, and the Husband had what we had, but caught it early. I had gotten up to a 30:10 5k on the treadmill before getting sick. Today, I went on the elliptical machine and almost passed out. I think tomorrow may be weights and a walk. Hopefully I'll get to running next week. If we're lucky, the warm weather will put an end to the sick, I'll get some projects done at work (ha!), and things will start getting more manageable.

At least the child can clean. Sort of...

First and foremost, I placed second in ljshootout . The person who should have won, won and that makes me happy. I learned a lot through this and I'm hoping to build a portfolio of abstract photos over the summer.

I have a post to do on my kick-@ss running but, um, I hurt right now from running a 5k on the treadmill in 30:10 so I'll post tomorrow. In the meantime, we have another runner in the house.

Last week was a rough one for OP. You can read about it in detail at the knitting blog if you like. To sum it up, she had an allergic reaction to drugs, a fever, and was miserable. All week we dithered about our weekend. See, for Hanukkah the Husband reserved a room in northern Vermont for the two of us. We had a fire place, reading area, whirlpool tub, and massages. It was going to be AWESOME. Except it was the weekend after the daughter's drama.

I really really needed that weekend, but I couldn't in good conscience go away when the daughter was miserable. We almost canceled, but Friday morning OP, who is the best child ever, woke up fine. Rash gone. Fever gone. Perky and happy and full of energy. Grandma and grandpa pretty much forced us out and I'm so glad they did. It was the best weekend we've had in a long time and that massage was exactly what my poor back needed. Of course my back is back to screwed up and in pain, and I'm back to struggling to stand up straight thanks to being pregnant with OP, but I had 24 hours where my back felt so light and normal. Maybe I need to do more massages?

Some videos for y'all and you are more than welcome to skip them...

...of course I don't know why you would risk your safety in that way...


Our little dancer.



A couple first steps...



And finally, my daughter is a superhero. Not only can she walk, but she walks on ceilings. Just ignore the comment I make at the end of the video or the fact that the ceiling looks an awful lot like the floor.

I just came back from a weekend away with the Husband and no child. While away, ljshootout  posted the last poll of the season. The finals. I somehow made it to the finals? Anyway, you get only one vote so make it a good one. Vote for the best photos, don't just vote for someone you know. Believe me, I know I should take second in this and cerebralpig should get first even though I'm not liking the composition on the shell photo, but the color is amazing. So maybe I could be good enough to win. Go, look at all the entries and vote for the person who has the best photos for the week. Although maybe it's community only. What do I know? But still, go look and vote if you can FOR THE BEST PHOTOS, not the people in them.

ljshootout  week 21: High Contrast

High contrast photography can be stunning. Take a look at these examples... Let's see what you can do! The first picture, to be taken between now and 9:00 pm GMT (1 pm Pacific, 4 pm Eastern) on Friday the 4th, has to fit the prompt The second picture, to have been taken any time from up to a month ago to the end of the prompt period above, is FREE CHOICE - Anything you want!

I once had a pottery professor who made sculptures out of light. He would hang these abstract shapes on the wall that, when light fell on them, would form the most amazing scenes. Inspired by that, I decided to take a look at light on my dream catcher. Not quite the same thing, but I loved how the shadow brought out the strings of the catcher.



Camera: Cannon Rebel XT
Shutter speed: 1/30 sec
f-stop: 5.6
ISO: 800
Date: 2/2/2011
Processing: minor adjustments to the levels

For my free choice shot, I give you rust on the support beam of a stairwell. I loved how pretty the deterioration looked.


Camera: Cannon Rebel XT
Shutter speed: 1/100 sec
f-stop: 5.6
ISO: 400
Date: 1/19/2011
Processing: minor adjustments to the levels

Btw, in the last post when I said, "but I don't expect to make it to the bottom two." I meant the final two. I fully expect to be in the bottom soon. This contest has given me more confidence as a photographer, but I'm also realistic. There are better photographers left. I have sent an email out to a local eatery that has a gallery with my portfolio. I haven't heard back and plan to email this week to verify that they received the email. Either way, I'm very proud of myself that I sent the inquiry. I'm now looking at other local places in the event this one falls through, which I suspect it will.

Remember when I wrote on Wednesday that we had a tentative walker in the house and that probably by the end of the month she'd be pretty much walking? And then I realized that the end of the month was fast approaching and that maybe that target date was over-reaching? Yeah, not so much. That night she walked about 6 feet on her own. Then on Friday, while home sick for her second ear infection, she ran. She's pretty much walking non-stop. She still crawls but opts to walk most of the time at home. Not sure what she'll do at day care with more children about.

Have you been watching the LJ shootout voting this week?!? It's a very tight race this week. I'm very happy to be in the top 4, but I don't expect to make it to the bottom two. There is some amazing talent there.

That's all you get for today. It's time for the gym and I need the break from this annoying app I'm building. Stupid logic.