The only reason I was able to run this weekend was because of the Neti Pot. I rediscovered the Neti Pot which I thought didn’t work on my sinus but really it was because the last time I tried it I was pregnant and nothing was fixing my sinuses then except for having the baby. I pulled out the Neti pot yesterday morning and it offered me enough sinus relief that I felt I could run.

I took some time to ponder the nature of long distance, endurance running. It is about so much more than the physical motion of putting one foot in front of another for an extended period of time. It is the prep, what do I wear? It is the nutrition, what do I eat and when do I eat it? It is the mental, how can I convince myself to keep going when it is against everything I want to do? What do I think about for that long?

A similar pattern exists on the other leg and on her arms and even a slight bit on her ear. The doctor immediately took a look and also pointed out that B’s feet and hands were swollen. THE URGE TO SOAR WITH THE EAGLE IS SO OVERPOWERING.

Of course the other reason why I have been dreading this post is because by acknowledging my body is not where I want it to be means I need to consciously do something about it. The breastfeeding and running and sit-ups have not been enough so I now need to address my diet, dang it. I have more-or-less eaten whatever I wanted and thus the half muffin top remains. And I should clarify, my “eating whatever I want” is eating pretty darn healthy 80% of the time but the other 20% of the time is filled with chocolate, dessert and cheese, my vices! I have two and a half months until two weeks in a bikini so I need to suck it up and cut out the dessert.

No, seriously, I enjoy having some non-clogs and am especially excited to try out the gladiator sandals once the weather cooperates. I even look forward to the look Andy is going to give me each time I wear them, and I may even get a, “why do you do that to yourself honey?”

I am not sure if it is a female thing or what but I find it is very easy to downplay my abilities, experiences, etc. Just today at work, someone who I met from a different organization than I work in asked me about my program management experiences. I sort of mumbled, “oh I have done a little bit of program management, but it was a different kind of project than other programs and it was only for a few months and it really wasn’t a big deal…” Seriously, in retrospect, “What the hell?” If I could have sat there and watched myself give such a completely uninsipring account of my experiences, I would have dismissed myself as lame, inexperienced and lacking confidence and then gave my ass a lecture.

I need to come clean. I am a total freak about formula. Why, you may ask? ABSOLUTELY NO GOOD REASON! It is one of those things that I got in my head I wasn’t going to do and haven’t thought much about it since until now when I am only pumping 5-7 oz. at lunch and each day that I do it I have been wondering how much longer I can really keep it up.

Long story short. I met my sister’s friend’s friend at a restaurant/bar at least six months ago. He thought I looked familiar and made the connection that we went to school together at some point. Facebook, reconnecting people who never knew they needed to be reconnected served as a medium for long lost dude from my first grade class posted our class photo to my sister. Small, internetedly connected world!

I feel like I received a really good cut and highlight but I am still not sure if I chose the right style. When I walked in the door, Andy said, “whoa, that is not the style you said you were going to get.” I asked him if he liked it and he honestly told me that he did not. While I appreciate his honesty, I have to admit that it did bother me that he didn’t like my hair. I have been giving him grief about it all weekend so now he says he thinks he should lie to me in the future.

A photo of Belén standing on my shoulders.