It is such a wonderful feeling to be pleasantly surprised by a vacation. Before this spring, I had no interest in going to Taiwan. I believe I once said maybe, maybe if we visited every other major Asian city first, then I would go. Then this spring, some friends of ours went for along weekend (Melissa and Nate for those that know them) and raved about it. This had my interest peaked. After some discussion with them, we decided to head to Taipei, Taiwan for the girls’ semester break at school.

So, Saturday, the 24th we headed out. Boy was I wrong about Taiwan! A clean, fresh air, urban city! Clean, wide sidewalks, a wonderful subway system and excellent food choices. Did I say clean? The city is surrounded by hills, parks and trails. Getting outdoors here is easy and exercise something the Taiwanese incorporate into their lifestyle. We learned that they are crazy about recycling and they reuse almost everything. This is such a departure from where we live now that I was in shock to hear this. We arrived at our hotel by 11:30am and though we were lucky enough to get connecting rooms (I can’t tell you how complicated it gets for 5 of us at a hotel…), the rooms weren’t quite ready yet. Oh, so anxious to eat at our favorite dumpling spot, Din Tai Fung, we grabbed a taxi right away. A little history for you. We were first introduced to Din Tai Fung in Singapore a few years ago when we were there for Christmas. Friends raved about it, so we gave it a shot. Our whole family, plus the entire other family we were with (the Charles Family) were in food heaven. It was such a good experience.  Knowing  that Taipei was the home of Din Tai Fung and it’s original restaurant, we chose to head to the original location. As we got out of the taxi, we noticed the line was long, the sidewalk packed and we thought “we cannot stand here with three kids forever waiting for a table,” so we got back in the taxi and had the driver take us to another, less-crowded location. We were rewarded with a 10 minute wait with ample space to loiter. Needless to say, we stuffed ourselves with 30 dumplings, pork fried rice and pork chop noodle soup. I would be remiss to not mention the yummy Taiwanese beer we drank too. It tasted good, but I have little confidence it had any alcohol in it.

It was back to the hotel for some down time with the kids. We eventually made it to the Taipei 101 Mall (the first 5 floors of Taipei 101). For those that don’t know, Taipei 101 is currently the world’s tallest building and houses the world’s fastest elevator as well. Taipei 101 was right next door to our hotel, so we visited several times. At the mall we found all the top designers, major labels and things we don’t ever even buy in the states. I had not seen a Coach store in quite awhile, which was a nice surprise. Nope, didn’t get the $800 purse I liked either, it just seemed like so little for $800. Now, the DeBeers store was a delight to see as well. I officially indoctrinated my children with how beautiful diamonds are. Curt and I taught them all the cheesy sayings about being a girl’s best friend, forever, blah, blah, blah. I think they would have been more impressed at a beetle museum, but of well.

Hungry and tired we headed back to the hotel for dinner a the pool and an evening swim. The temperature outside was perfect, but the water temp was a bit chilly. Supposedly it was heated with an amazing underwater sound system, but neither seemed to be working…so up to bed we went.

We got up Sunday morning and headed to Yingge Pottery Village. We managed to take a train there and hike around the little village on foot. Jones sure is getting heavy to carry on our backs, but he just loves the view. We walked the cobblestone streets, ate ice cream, went through most of the shops and the girls made their own pottery on the wheel. The people were friendly and strangers wanted to play with Jones. It was a great family outing! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We  headed back to the city to an area called Tienmu. Here we were thrilled to meet up with Aleah’s Kindergarten teacher, Maria Peters, who now teaches at the Taipei International School. She took us to a mall to eat and to a fabulous park.   It was so refreshing to see kids at a park in the city running all around. The facilities were fantastic and we were very impressed. The hills surrounding Tienmu were lush and green and people were out running, soccer was being played in the grass, I can’t tell you how “normal” it all felt! I was seriously thinking how much fun it would be to live there. I heard Mandarin, Dutch and English on the playground, although I am sure there were many more languages floating about. What a surreal experience! We had to say goodbye to Maria, but she did point us in the direction of another expat restaurant favorite, Fang’s. The kids were wiped out. Jones was asleep in Curt’s lap, Aleah was nodding off and Ellery was coloring away, her mind in some distant land. We ate more yummy Chinese food and carted our exhausted rears into a taxi and back to the hotel.

Monday was a day for shopping…well , that was what we planned anyway. We headed first to the Bade Lu Antique market only to find out it only happens on the weekends…UGH! OK, so back to the subway we go. Taipei 101, here we come. The day was gorgeous, so the view was bound to be fantastic. The line was short and the whole place was not crowded. It took 37 seconds to go from the 5th floor to the 89th floor. Amazing! We were rewarded with fabulous views. The girls were interested in the audio guide, so they wandered around pushing the appropriate numbers and listening to tidbits on the things they could see out the window. It was a pleasure, really, to see that your children are maturing in a way that they are actually learning things on our vacations. We then went up another floor to the open air deck. Looking more like a prison in the sky, with all the metal safety structures to keep us from jumping off, it was cool to know we were on such a remarkable building. It’s the tallest in the world…for now anyway. Once our heads were out of the clouds we had a nice Italian meal at the Taipei 101 mall. So close to the hotel, but instead, we ventured out to another market, Shillin Market. There wasn’t much there to buy, but if we were hungry, there was lots of interesting stalls to eat at. Too bad we had just ate. With English NOT the primary language, we knew there had to be more to this market as people talk highly of it and it’s written up in the travel guides. We tried inquiring, but didn’t get anywhere. We left disappointed, only to find out when we got back to Manila, that we missed the street all the vendors were on. Somehow it eluded us…oh well.  Instead of heading back to the hotel, we took a trip to Longsham Temple. It’s a popular temple in Taipei, as it’s beautiful and very active. You could here the chanting for half a block and the peace it exudes is almost contagious. The girls were very intrigued by the motions of those praying (bowing and standing, etc.). We didn’t get many pictures inside of it, as people were praying to different gods and it seemed a bit disruptive and intrusive to take too many photos. The smoke from the incense were hurting my eyes, so I led the family out a little faster than I had thought I would. Seemed all that smoke couldn’t be good for us. We meandered around for a few more minutes outside and then headed in the direction of the hotel. On the way from the subway stop to the hotel we went in a huge department store. The kids area alone was amazing. We ended up eating at a restaurant inside, it’s name eludes me, but it wasn’t very good anyway. Sluggishly, we walked to the hotel and everyone hit the bed hard and fast…so tired.

Tuesday was our last day in Taipei, so we packed it all in as best we could. We rented a car and driver and went the hot springs. It was fantastic! Imagine a dozen small hot tub, each different temperature and some even with different smells (Mandarin pool, Lemon pool, Peach pool, etc.).

There was an outdoor play area for the kids with FREEZING water (though the kids didn’t mind too much) and an indoor pools as well. This was a perfect family playground. We spent almost 2 hours soaking wet enjoying the warm pools. A little snack and back down the hill we went to our 2nd helping of Din Tai Fung. Mmmmm, yummy! From here, the driver took us to the National Palace Museum. We were a bit delayed from the schedule we made, so we got to the museum with only an hour to spare before closing. Again with the audio tour, the girls entranced themselves in Chinese history (ok, Taiwanese, but so much of it is Chinese as well). Mom, come look at this, did you hear that, walk with me over here. They were so into it, we barely could listen to our own headsets. We were practically the last people to leave the museum, but we enjoyed the hour. Back in the car to an old Chinese Tea House in an old Japanese home. Weird, huh? The house still stands from the Japanese occupation and it sits on a well used thoroughfare. We tried desperately to listen to the waiter, learn how to properly serve the tea and enjoy the somewhat meditative experience of drinking it. BUT, we have three kids, one is barely over a year old, and it was the end of a VERY long day. We were in and out in 30 minutes or so as Jones just couldn’t deal with patiently drinking tea when there is walking and climbing to be had at every turn. So off we went back to the hotel where we had dinner at one of the hotel restaurants. Good food, but hotel restaurants are typically not our thing, too sterile! So no bragging on this meal.

We were packed up and out of the hotel by 8:30am the next day and back to Manila we went, wishing we had had more time in Taipei. It never gets old to be pleasantly surprised!

Our idleness this fall (or rainy season here in Manila) has been good for family bonding and exploring our new camera. So many buttons and the instruction book is VERY thick.  I have barely figured out how to turn the flash off. Ok, to be honest, I haven’t really figured that out yet. The weekends are full of us in our pajamas, doing very little. We like it that way! Maybe I should rephrase, I like it that way. Curt gets antsy and wants to get out. To his defense he spends all his hours either sleeping or working. He is awake for a time, but again, he’s still in this apartment.  I am out daily, trying to volunteer, lunch with friends and getting errands run. I managed to slow my life down and am able to spend more time at home, but that only seems to happen every 3rd week. Don’t get me wrong, 4 kids is still my dream, but it may just have to stay that, a dream. I can barely keep up and I have 2 domestic helpers and a driver. I know, if I just gave up lunch with friends a few days a week and mahjong and bridge and my Tours Chair position, I would have more time. BUT, then I wouldn’t be living in Manila and taking advantage of what it offers. Trust me, I have played and replayed the scenario. Balance is the key, but balance is elusive. Just when we think we have it, it slips through our fingers. Not to mention, my first-born, eldest by 7 yrs, self says that fairness is the way everything should be. So, be fair to each child, don’t slight the subsequent children and also…be educated enough to know that you need to be fair to yourself. I don’t have to fall into the “mom-only” archetype and I can be true to myself and have my own personality outside of my major role…oh, sometimes it’s all talk I tell you! Anyhow…balance comes and goes and the lesson I have learned more recently is that balance doesn’t have to exist day to day, it’s just a general term spread over time. No, this is not an attempt to justify my social life.

For instance, Aleah is struggling at school and I am focused so much on spreading my time between all the kids that I needed the epiphany my mom gave me when she said “Aleah needs you now, you have to shift.” She was right. I do feel like I am losing my time with the baby while I focus on Aleah, but right now the situation calls for it. So, before that ball drops, I got to run to it… I can’t believe I couldn’t see it myself, but I was born to see fariness in everything and find justice for those that can’t. Beats me how I couldn’t see the forest through the tress…life just blurs it all!

Onto our idleness…

This spring we traveled every other weekend, if not every other….we were NUTS! To balance this, I was reluctant to go down the block this summer on home leave. Finally, I had found my maximum for travel. Eight and a half weeks in the states and now close to 10 weeks in the Philippines and we haven’t gone so far as Batangas (for those not from Makati, it’s about a 3 hour drive from us) since we landed in August. Curt had the itch, but I kept dragging my feet. Craving routine and pj’s on Sunday…all day, I had no desire to go anywhere.

Well, it only takes the fear of the girls on a week long school break to spark my interest in traveling. Not traveling means entertaining all three kids and traveling is built in entertainment…we will travel! So keep your eyes peeled for our next blog entry that should be all about our time in Taipei. We have friends who have lived there, have visited there and some that currently live there. All of which should make our time there so much fun. Til next week!

I promised pictures (of our family) the next time I blogged, so here it goes. Just an update from a week ago when I did the last entry as well…

 

 

 

 

Most of our week was filled with gathering donations, coordinating donations, collecting donations, and delivering donations. It was pretty hard not to think of the flood every day. With the threat of Typhoon Parma, one of our helpers came to stay with us for 3 nights and she brought her 9 yr old son, Joshua. The girls were anxious to meet him and slightly timid at first. He went to play with them in their room and in 5 minutes they were all giddy and laughing. Turns out his favorite game is Uno, as is theirs, so they played a LOT of Uno.  Marie, our helper and his mom, has been teaching him English for awhile. He was nervous to speak it, but he did great. Not to mention, with kids, language doesn’t seem to be a barrier. I think he had a really good time here and I believe we will ask her to bring him now and again when she comes on a holiday or a Saturday.

This week (Friday) Curt bought us a new camera, so we should have many more pictures to show you in the coming weeks. Our old camera still mostly works, but you can’t zoom in and then focus. Apparently, the fall it made on the ice skating rink was not lethal, just crippling. Yes, Curt won’t let me forget…I lost the last camera 2 yrs ago (remember I had to buy one in NC when I went to see Matthew return from Iraq) in Australia while seeing Ryan and now I broke this one on the ice rink when Aleah grabbed me from behind (I couldn’t see her) as she fell. To keep from falling on her head, I braced myself with the hand the camera was in, thereby, letting go of it! All for a good cause as I love my daughter and wasn’t ready to lose her to brain damage from my butt!

We have been playing with the camera all day yesterday and today. Yesterday was all volunteer pictures for the most part, so in the next few days I will have plenty to choose from. For now, here’s what I have to offer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was one week ago yesterday that the brunt of Typhoon Ondoy (Ketsana) struck the Philippines and submerged over 80% of Manila in the heaviest rains seen here in over 40 years. Since my last post a week ago, the death toll from this storm in the Philippines has officially risen to 280 (although due to corrupt politics and the lack of a census, the true number has to be 10 times this, I would imagine) and the storm itself continued across the South China Sea gaining strength and ultimately killing 99 in Vietnam, 17 in Cambodia, and 16 in Laos. Yesterday, Julie and I were heading out with some other volunteers from the British Women’s Association to assist a charity run school and a home for children which provide education for the children of the Payatas Dumpsite and help wherever else we could. As we were getting ready to leave, Aleah told us she really wanted to go as well because she really wanted to help the people who were affected by the floods (they've been discussing this a great deal at her school). I was very proud of her and we decided it would be a great experience for her to come along. So the 3 of us were off and we left Ellery and Jones at home for the day as they probably wouldn't have been able to provide much assistance.

The first thing we noticed was that as we got about a block away from our place, the street which runs along the river was completely flooded. We were driving through several inches of water with some much deeper parts along the way. It is very apparent that any amount of rain right now is causing immediate flooding here as the ground is still so saturated from last week that the water simply has nowhere to go. We actually had another Super Typhoon hit the Philippines last night, however, it was great news that it veered North to avoid Manila as this area could not take another major storm so soon.

Anyway, back to our day yesterday... We arrived at Papaya Academy in the morning and met some amazing people who run the place and do so much with so little.  Papaya Academy is a school for the children that live a the Payatas Dumpsite. They are bussed in daily at a minimal fee to their parents. Let me explain that the fee is primarily for the pride their parents have for not wanting to take handouts. It’s VERY minimal (equal to 20 cents per day) and was just a way for the parents to feel they were contributing to their children’s education and allowing them to get ahead in their lives.  The Mango Children’ Home is both a school and home for younger children and where some Papaya students live.  Mango houses many children who are from the different cities around, but during the storms it has also become a shelter to many additional families.  On Friday night with the approaching Pepeng, an additional 200 – 300 people came in from their homes to seek shelter here to prepare for the worst.  While we were there, we were able to meet many of these families and hear first hand some of their horrific stories.  Aleah especially enjoyed playing with the little babies and talking with the older girls who were all very eager to share stories with her and loved commenting on her hair. 

The Mango is the staging point for the relief efforts in that area.  This is where donated food supplies and medical goods are gathered, sorted, and organized.  In addition to the food supply relief, Mango has also set up a clinic and is providing much needed medical care.  Aleah was a champ, jumping right in and helping to pack up the food bags and offering to do what she could.  From there, we loaded up the cars and headed into the towns to provide what relief we could.  We were with an amazing Barangay Captain (Roger) who has been working tirelessly day and night since the typhoon hit to help his people and those around.  He toured us through his area which was devastated, but told us that we were going to another area to distribute these goods because it was in worse condition and needed the supplies more.  This is not the norm in Filipino politics.   While going through these areas, it was hard to believe that it’s been a week since the flood.  During the flooding, water in these areas rose up to people’s rooftops and even though most of the water has now receded, there are still large areas that are still flooded.  Everywhere there are piles of ruined belongings on the street in massive trash piles.  People are constantly cleaning out what they can and drying out anything salvageable.  The worst thing was the MUD!  It is everywhere and on everything.  The devastation all around is amazing and hard to comprehend.  The government here has not agreed to send in tractors or anything that would help with the mud removal. It’s my understanding that what Roger has been doing for this area is ALL that has been done. There has been no national assistance, no Red Cross donations, etc. The only source of funding has been donations from smaller groups/donors.  I also want to point out the exceptional work that Julie has done over the last week.  She has been working with all of her contacts, getting donations, coordinating deliveries, buying supplies, and basically doing everything she can possibly do to help the people directly and indirectly by also giving them the means to help themselves and their neighbors for the long run.  I won’t list all of the various tasks and projects she has taken on, but needless to say this week has shown again one of the reasons I love Julie so much and how impressed I am with her compassion and ability to assist.  I also want to thank everyone else out there who have donated time, money, and goods.  It’s very inspiring to see how people come to the needs of others.

The most surprising aspect of the day for me was in the people themselves.  Everyone we met was so positive and celebrating their life as opposed to dwelling on what was lost.  Where I was expecting to see tremendous sadness and depression, I saw towns full of hope and people working together to assist one another.  Kids were being kids, playing and laughing and I know the Filipino people will make it through this tragedy, but please help where you can.

How devastating it is to be in the middle of a natural disaster and realize there’s absolutely nothing you can do to prevent it.  On Saturday, we had Tropical Storm Ondoy (international name: Ketsana) come through Manila and it brought over a month’s worth of rain down in 9 hours (over 16 inches of rain in half a day).  Even though this was never actually considered a Typhoon and remained only a Tropical Storm (due to the fact that the wind speeds never got that strong), it has now caused the worst flooding the Philippines has seen in 40 years and surpassed the single-day rainfall record set in 1967.  As of today, 73 people are confirmed dead (number expected to rise) and over 300,000 displaced due to the massive flooding.  Below are a few pictures from around the area showing the chaos and destruction:

 

People are stranded in Cainta, province of Rizal, in eastern Manila.

 

An aerial view from a Philippine Air Force chopper shows devastation brought by Tropical Storm Ondoy in Cainta, province of Rizal , in eastern Manila.

 

Residents are evacuated by police boats during flooding in Cainta Rizal, east of Manila.

 

 

Residents clamber on electric wires to stay out of floodwaters while others wade neck-deep in Cainta Rizal, east of Manila.

 

Commuters wade through waist-deep floodwaters after heavy rains dumped by Tropical Storm Ondoy on Saturday, Sept. 26, in Manila, Philippines.

 

 

A boy is lifted onto the roof of a building to escape the flooding in the Quezon City suburban of Manila .

 

Residents cross a flooded street with the use of a rope in Quezon City.

 

A victim of flooding is rescued in Pasig City, east of Manila. Authorities rushed rescue and relief to thousands of people who spent the night on the roofs of their submerged houses in Manila and surrounding provinces.

 

I would just like to ask that everyone keep thinking of the people of the Philippines during this difficult time and assist wherever you can.  Red Cross of the Philippines is taking donations (and can be contacted through US as well) as are many other charities and organizations.

I keep thinking there has to be more to report on, but really…there isn’t. We have not gone anywhere (I know, shocking as that may be) and haven’t really done anything out of the ordinary either. We had a great family weekend full of a swim meet, a birthday party, time at the pool and pajamas til 12pm on Sunday. Pretty exciting, eh?

So, instead of detailed descriptions of our adventurous across Asia, this time you are getting detailed descriptions of our, sometimes, mundane lives. Now, I have a history of TMI, which makes Curt’s wince when I write at times, so I have agreed to stay clear of the three major subjects I am forbidden to write about; sex, politics and religion. I will save those for Facebook!

As most of my readers (grandparents) are anxious to hear about, I will start with the kiddos. Aleah had her first swim meet of the season on Saturday. Sadly, she has had a cold for a few weeks and it has gravitated to her lungs, so she isn’t in the best place for winning medals. She did try hard and beat at least one personal best time (for some reason her time didn’t immediately come up on the board, so we are waiting to hear what her times were on a few races). Toughest part with her, is she has lost her will to compete, to try hard and the struggle with things. This isn’t just with swimming. It’s with reading, math, swimming…anything she sees potential failure in. Her more common complaint/request is “What are we going to do that’s fun today?” She is making us nuts. If she isn’t talking back she’s whining or breaking into tears over something trivial. Everything is an issue. We are exhausted by it. She seemed to get better for a few weeks, but now is slipping a little again.

The school has a new policy of no homework. What the heck is that about. Somewhere they read homework (when done as repetition) doesn’t make a real impact on the education of children. ARGH! Even if they are right, we aren’t so sure we like the idea. We lose track of what she is doing in school and we have no way of judging whether she is good at any particular subject or struggling in another. So, we (I tend to be the ringleader here) have been creating homework projects for both the kids to do a few nights a week. To be honest, the repetition is good for Aleah and it’s a nice way to work with her more one on one. She may grump initially, but seems full of pride when she finishes. We will be keeping this up, it keeps her from watching tv anyhow!

Ellery…oh our Elle Belle. She is finding her groove quite nicely in Kindergarten. It took her a few weeks to find her niche, but I think she’s there now. She is in the opposite place Aleah is in. She LOVES to have homework (of course she doesn’t have any either from school) and comes up with great ideas on ways she can make something fun into learning. For instance, she wanted to cut our pictures from magazines so I suggested to pick the two letters she was practicing at school last week and cut out pictures of things that started with those letters. “That’s what I was going to say, mom!” Apparently, we think alike! Not only that, but she loves sounding out words and trying to spell them. Phonetically, she is on target! It’s so interesting to see how vastly different the girls are in their learning and the distinct advantages second-borns have after listening and learning while their older sibling goes through it all. Elle is a sponge! She has always wanted to sit and watch Aleah read and now she wants to work hard to be able to do what Aleah does. She has immediate competition, which challenges her to do better. Of course, there is dark side to competition between siblings, but that’s for another blog entry.  Currently, we are working on her “responsibility” factor. I am ready to give away gold coins if she can remember her lunch box and her water bottle every day! She’s still easily distracted and heads to get ready for bed only to find her on the floor naked playing with a puzzle. We will never quite be able to understand her thought process, but it’s pretty funny (and admittedly irritating) to watch!

Our little J-bird! He has found his voice for sure. He squeals and squawks constantly and it’s rather intolerable most of the time. Throws is sippy cup down with all his might only to say “Uh-Uh” (because he can’t get the Oh sound down). Apparently, moms really are invisible as he will seek Curt out when asked where “Dada” is, but he stares blankly when asked where “momma” is. Poor, pathetic me…and the guilt I feel when I am away too long. Screw it, I am going out all week just to spite him…Really though, he is still all smiles and very engaging. He entertains people with his strange need to bend over onto his head and gives others his famous squinty-eyed smile. I am working on his ability to play alone. He seems to need constant entertainment (but it could be all the yaya’s here at his beck and call when I am not home) and just wants to walk back and forth around the condo. No real purpose most of the time, just wanders.

Curt and I, well, we are fine. We squeeze in time for dates and work on locating a few minutes to chat. Last week was a slower week for Curt after all the craziness he did have going on for awhile. It was a wonderful week for that matter and we were excited to get so much time with him. This week I will plan for fall break in Taipei and maybe a quick weekend in Bohol before that. The homesickness was pretty bad last week, but I am pulling through. I promise to post pics next time!

Wow, what a week. I FINALLY got my groove back here, which is to the complete enjoyment of all my family. As the head cheerleader of our family, I seem to set the tone for us all. It's a lot of pressure actually, and I fail miserably most of the time. When my head is in the right place, life flows along pleasantly and we have plenty of good times together. I am in a reflecting mood, so I am going to think through the things that had led to the conclusion of a great week.

* First of all, planning. I love to plan things. It gives me purpose, excitement about the future and pulls me along in my day to day life. This week was planning Jones' little party for his 1st birthday. I spent some time making sure he had the gifts we wanted him to have, the food choice was something all people coming would enjoy (vegetarian, some dairy-free, etc.), and most of all, Jones would have a great time. He isn't tough to please, so that part was easy. Thank you to our Manila family for being present.
* SLOWing down. I cut out a lot of activities this week and stayed put. I was home more than I have been in a long time. This left me calm and prepared.
* Running/Exercise. I am back on track! Assuming I get a run in today, I will hit my 3 times a week in. The last two have been awesome and motivating. I feel great and can't wait to tweek my Ipod mix a bit to fully capture my running spirit. In addition to running, I had pilates twice this week. We are changing trainers and the new guy is kicking our butts! This is good news, and being sore the next day is EXACTLY what I want! The there was the morning Stacey and I went walking for 45 minutes at 9am. 9Am here is equivalent to walking in the pouring rain. It was HOT, SWEATY and sooo needed.
* Music rocks! It occurred to me last weekend that I LOVE music. Obviously, I have always enjoyed it, but I don't seek it out. My mood is immediately altered when a good beat comes on. I leave it to Curt to introduce me to new stuff, as I haven't mastered incorporating new songs into my life just yet. This has permeated to running as well. I used to run with my Ipod in Colorado, but since we have lived here, I have been watching tv while on the treadmill. I changed that this week. I have been continuously working on my running mix, getting fast tempo songs lined up. If I am not playing the air drums while running, the song has to be moved off the playlist!


I am sure there were several other factors (e.g. great friends, lovely champagne, massage, some great kisses from the hubby, and kids that have their groove back, etc.) but I was trying to pinpoint the things I have control over....for now.