Equipment makes all the difference!

I still haven’t made up my mind about a marathon, 1/2 marathon, sprint tri, or just maybe throwing in the towel and taking up shuffleboard.  Seriously, I know what my spirit wants to do, but the old 49+ body just says other things.  I thought I was prepared to begin my training for a marathon last weekend, having run 12 the Sunday before, 11 before that and the Sunburst 1/2 in June.

That’s Me, Hubby/Buddy, and Maddie!  HB ran 10K with Maddie’s Boyfriend Riley, and Maddie ran the 1/2 with me.  It was awesome!

It’s not like I haven’t been running at all!  So this Sunday I took off with the plan to run 14…8 by myself and the next 6 with my running hubby/buddy.  I did the 8 came home, took off my shoes, and got on my bike to leisurely follow said “buddy” on a 3 miler.  UGH! What happened???

So when all else fails what does a Mamie do???  I went shopping!:)  Yes, I went to my favorite shoe store Metro Run Walk and treated myself to a nice shiny pair of Asics! OOOOOOOHhhhhhhh they are sooooo white!  Now hopefully that I have the “right” equipment (isn’t that a guy attitude?) I can get over all of these hurdles that are burdening my training…  right?

So here’s to happy toes, uplifted arches and miles of fun!  Run on!

P.S.  thinking Indy Marathon in October (or NOT)!

I have issues…

Sometimes it is so dang hard to keep everyone happy.  It’s probably because I have three daughters that I feel that way.  They say boys are easier.  Think that is true?  In our little nest called “home” emotions, drama and feelings just seem to rule roost. And those three elements combined at the same time make for a potent cocktail of tears and frustration.

Did I mention that there are a few things going on in our lives?  Yes, you know, I am going to be THAT kind of grandma, and I will probably be THAT kind of mother-in-law.  Sorry, Stockton (Rob is used to it by now:). Yes, a wedding is on the horizon for the next year.  With all of these major happenings it’s difficult to keep everyone happy on their little thrones at the same time.

Here is a public apology everyone….I AM NOT PERFECT!  But I will keep trying.  Dang!

Goals

As each day brings me closer to the big 5-0, I keep thinking I would like to incorporate a significant personal goal to mark the event.  I am referring to a goal greater than waking up with a major hangover the morning that I am 50 + 1 day.  And just maybe a little greater than Maddie’s hysterical observation that I will be  ”just 5 years away from being able to order from the senior side of the menu at Great American Pancake House“.

I am ready for another marathon!  YES!

But I can’t decide….Chicago registration is full (and no, I don’t really want to do it again anyway), NYC is that stinking lottery and I never win anything…I don’t think I have ever even won a game of Bingo (not that I play often/ever).  Strike One and Two!

So, I am appealing to you, the running masses, to give me advice.  Have a favorite city, marathon, course that is upcoming this fall?  I prefer the continental US.  I do have my eye on Disney since that is where I started this crazy racing anyway. But I would love your suggestions.

Please, please, please help a Mamie out!

skinny news

It was reported in our newspaper on Sunday that a local “resort” had participated in a Guiness World Record Breaking event. To say the least, that caught my attention and I wondered if it was too late to get in on the event.  So I read on….

Evidently, we have a nudist resort in Granger that features camping, swimming, and recreation of the naked kind.  119 people on Saturday participated in what they had hoped would be a world record “skinny dip”.  The South Bend Trib actually featured this event with a photo documenting their attempt.  I had a few immediate thoughts:

*BLECH!  Blech, blech.  I hoped that they had an industrial strength pool filter and skimmer system. ICK!!!

*Too much buoyant skin in that pool!

*Why?  Seriously, why remove all of your clothes and run around with a bunch of other people.  Do they really not look at your~you know whats???  Come on! Seriously???

One happy camper raved, “It was so wonderful to ride my Harley around the camp”.   On a BIKE???? Sticky, icky.

I am just not that kind of Mamie!  But hey, more skin to you!

Fair Coverage

I believe that I have written about Kaley, Rob and BABY TO BE!!!, Jeff and I (Chicago was great!), Maddie (she’s home!) but I haven’t mentioned much about Courtney.  The poor middle child always left out.  Actually, I did mention she is recently engaged to a fine fellow from Phoenix (try saying that five times fast!) named Stockton.  Courtney is soon to be a senior at Saint Mary’s College, to be married next August 7th and then…we won’t talk about it!  She and Stockton have been pouring over the US atlas and have numerous cities, large and small, circled as possible nesting sites. Unfortunately, South Bend is not in the running (yet:).  I have a year to work up to a high decibel wail for when the time comes that they actually make the m  o  v  e, so start investing in quality earplugs.

Courtney presently works and, basically manages, Orange Tree .  This summer she is also employed  as a Marketing Intern for the store and has conducted a thorough survey of our customers to assist with our growth, product lines and customer service.  She knows the store inside and out and can sell anything.  If I gave her a price she could sell the paint off the wall.  She has a gift.  Many, actually.  She can sing, write, and loves like not many can love.  She is tolerant and forgiving.  I would love to say she got these fine qualities from her highly sophisticated parents but, truthfully, God gets all the credit.  She is His!

Daughter #2

Empty Nest Syndrome

Maddie, our 16  year old, is at Camp Adventure this week.  She loves this camp!  I mean, she talks about camp all year long, waiting anxiously to be asked to serve as a counselor to middle school girls.  She really LOVES Camp Adventure.

Maddie is not a “campy” girl.  She doesn’t like bugs or dirt, and spends more time on Facebook than in bed.  She polishes her fingernails every other day, straightens her hair and primps like a queen…of course she is a princess to some of us (just ask her older sisters!)  So CAMP?????

Did I mention she also loves Jesus???  Oh, now you get it, right?

With Maddie gone all week Jeff and I have been alone.  Court comes and goes with the wind (or I should say the sun at Diamond Lake) so we don’t make plans around her.  As this week progressed, I spent some time contemplating this state of “empty nesting” and have decided that it is a type of chronic disease. My symptoms so far include an accumulation of carryout leftovers on one entire shelf in the frig, working until midnight every night in the studio, and emailing Maddie at camp on a consistent basis.

Jeff and I are finally seeking “self-help” treatment for this ailment, making plans to go to Chicago tomorrow for a much needed get away.  It will be great!  Park Hyatt, an Art Festival, running along Lake Michigan, and food, food, food!    Of course, it only took us all week to realize that we could go away without worrying about anyone besides….well, no one, I guess.

That is the worse symptom of Empty Nest Syndrome…no one:(

Babies, babies, babies

As you may have gathered, my daughter is expecting a baby girl in 8 weeks 7 weeks from today!!!! YAY!!! I cannot wait to meet this little bundle of pink chiffon skin and, by the looks of the ultrasound last week, lots of hair!!! OOOOh! She is gonna be just yummy!

Thank you, to our dear friends who provided our entire clan to convene at their medical office for a 3 D ultrasound last Friday afternoon. It was one of the most amazing things that I have ever witnessed. Oh the baby was great..you know seeing her little toes, moving her mouth and trying to get her thumb. But what really struck me as so wonderful and heart warming was seeing MY little girl, Kaley, grinning from ear to ear as her eyes were glued to the technician’s screen. Honestly, I watched. She DID NOT take her eyes off that screen for one minute and I have a feeling that this is a preview of the conscientious mother she is going to be! This baby is going to bring her so much joy~ as she already is. I did watch Rob too. He is such a great supporter…it is just written all over his face that his joy comes from Kaley’s joy. He watched Kaley as much as I did, if not more. And it made him happy. Whew. Life is just so good sometimes it makes me…. no I am not going to cry. I could but that would be a wimpy thing to do. You know, hormonal or something. NOT ME!!!!

Welcome!

If you are presently in, or anxiously awaiting, a new role in your life (GRaNDmoTHER) then you are in the right place. Welcome to my blog dedicated to women facing the next 1/2 century of their lives in the New Millenium. I am one of THOSE grandmothers to-be. You know, the kind that has an exciting career, can actually keep up in a work out with her 16 year old, drives fun cars, dresses in clothes other than Talbots, Coldwater Creek, and Eddie Bauer (no offense meant), and wishes not to be called Grandma. When I found out my daughter was expecting I embraced the new role, but you see, I still have a grandma…she’s 94! God bless her! She looks like a “grandma” as well. She IS! I don’t quite resemble her yet. Well, yes, I have the beginnings of her droopy cheeks, and her blue eyes, and maybe a bit of her spunkiness, but really I am not old enough to be THAT GRANDMA.

I have obediently responded to my birth name, Jamie, for almost 50 years. While contemplating my new role and the significance of the digits rolling from 4-something to 50, it occurred to me that by just changing the “J” to “M” makes my name sound far more grand-matronly, and quite frankly, FUN!!!!

My mother, “Grandma” to my three daughters, responded quite negatively to this concept when we were recently gathered for a formal dinner party (think ★★★★★ restaurant) to familiarize 6 families embracing the engagement of my middle daughter and her fiance’. When I mentioned to Stockton that I would love for him to call me “Mom” or better yet,  ”MAMIE” my mother proclaimed in utter horror to all in attendance, “you’re going to be THAT KIND OF GRANDMA!!!!” I am not certain what she meant by that, but I can imagine it has something to do with my suddenly becoming  L  I  B  E  R  A  L , and that I will soon be adorned with tattoos, nose piercings, flowing beaded garments, always smelling a bit like incense, taking time to cultivate the marijuana harvest in the backyard, eating a diet of tofu, alfalfa, and soy only, etc….  Oh don’t forget my generous gift of condoms in the kids’ Christmas stockings….so thoughtful of me.

Not.

But I am looking forward to hearing this new term of endearment from my loved ones.

Thanks for joining me!  I look forward to sharing with you and learning from you the wonders of this new life!

Mamie~