I actually feel the pain.

A girl at H's school had a surprise birthday party this past Friday night (well, her parents threw it for her). She and H are not very close, although they have a lot of the same friends. The circles of friends just seem to overlap quite a bit. When H found out she wasn't invited it was not a big deal at all, since they're not close. However, over the weekend she found out that most of her friends WERE invited, and she was "left out". That made it a bigger deal. I could tell she was trying not to make it a big deal, and shrugged it off to me and J, but I could also tell it bothered her a little bit. She rationalized it to herself that since the girl's mom did the inviting, she just didn't think about inviting H...I thought that was pretty mature. I personally was more upset than H was-why is that? It's not that I wanted her to go. Maybe I have memories of being left out of things when I was younger, I don't know. I just hate when she gets her feelings hurt. I actually feel the pain.

mapmyride.com

There is this really great website, www.mapmyride.com. It's like google maps, and you can click on any point and map out bike rides/runs anywhere in the u.s. It's so cool. It's very easy, and when you click "follow the road" you can click on the beginning of a road and the end of the road (or wherever you turn off the road) and it automatically follows it, instead of you having to click at every curve. I used to go back after I went for a run so that I could drive it and see how far I'd gone. I LOVE doing this. Especially for biking, because I'm exploring areas that I don't know very well, so I can map out in advance where to go, and hopefully, not get lost!

I really love the weather this time of year!!!

Another wonderful weekend. I truly love weekends...H gets to relax a bit, we can have people over, sleep a little late, watch football, get outside (since the weather has been truly fabulous!). I really love the weather this time of year. I hope it lasts a while...cool mornings and evenings, and just perfect during the day. I'm having to get used to biking in cooler weather. I don't like being cold. I bought these cool arm/leg warmers that are like tights. You pull them on and when you warm up, you can just slide them down so you don't have to disrobe. That's the biggest problem about biking...it takes so much longer than going for a run, so you're out there through several temperature changes, as well as your body temperature changing as you work harder. It's an expensive sport. You have the bike, the tubes, then computer for the bike, the shoes, the padded "diaper" shorts, the special shirts with pockets in the back for your stuff, the gear bag for the seat, the extra air cartridges and tubes and tools for flats, the helmet, and now with the cold weather you've got to buy all the warmer clothing and things. Oh well, I guess I'm lucky I can still do it. Tomorrow we're going to do about 40 miles out in the Leiper's Fork area. Pretty roads without much traffic.
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H and I visited a new church today. Our old church has been going through some changes: the pastor left (was fired), and we really loved his sermons. He was a very gifted speaker and was the reason I joined there. When he was let go it was very sad. He had some management issues, long story, and probably needed to leave, but I still hated to see him go. The new pastor is good, but just not the same. So we're looking at a few other churches that are a little closer to home. We liked the service today. Very similar to our old church, just smaller, which is kind of nice. Seems a little more personal.
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In the Sunday paper today there was an article about Hasbro's "Life" game...they replaced the play money with a Visa-branded credit card! As if our kids don't already have a problem understanding about credit. Now they play games with a pretend credit card. They don't even have to count the money, add or subtract...the players just insert the credit card into a gadget where points are electronically added and subtracted. Kids already think credit cards are like magic...hand them to someone and get what you want. They don't see that you have to earn the money that you spend or pay the bills for what you charge. It's crazy.

yoga is kind of painful!

I taught aerobics/step/spin/group fitness (that's all the names it was called through the years) for 20 years, until H started school. Now I run, bike, work out with weights and do cardio machines, and finally, I'm discovering yoga. I always thought it was kind of a wimpy workout, but that was when I was young and flexible. Now that I'm (ahem) over 40, the old body doesn't bend quite the same way it did in my younger days. So yoga is kind of painful! I try to go at least once a week, but on a good week I'll do 2-3 classes. I still feel like I need to do some cardio as well, but I can see that it could be enough to just do it consistently. I sweat, grunt, and make funny faces. I feel like it's got to be doing some good, but I'm not sure exactly what yet. My favorite part is the shavasana...the last 5-10 minutes when you just lay there on your back and breath. Sometimes I think I might even doze off!

I went today. It's funny, I'm a pretty social person. I've never had any trouble making friends or being in new social settings, but I think yoga has a hierachy and I'm not consistent enough for anyone to acknowledge. I do know a couple of the ladies who take class, and will say hello and chat a little with them, but no one else really ever makes eye contact or says anything. It doesn't really bother me, it's just kind of interesting. I've been going to this place off and on for almost a year.

Raising an "Uncool" kid...

Stepped outside to walk the dog and I felt a blast of cool air like I haven't felt in forever!!! I think maybe the weather will start to feel more like fall...at least, I hope so. I need to get some of those arm and leg warmers for biking, though. It's cool in the morning, but after being out there for an hour or two it starts to get hot. The arm and leg warmers can just be pushed down, you don't have to disrobe when you get hot.

I just read an article about parenting (by author Marybeth Hicks) that talked about raising an "uncool" kid. That raising them to have uncool habits will help prep them for the "real show", adulthood, not having them peak during their teen years. It was kind of interesting. Some of the suggestions were:

1. Raise an eccentric kid...not too eccentric, but enough to enjoy old movies, old Frank Sinatra songs, and have "uncool" hobbies like playing chess, stamp or coin collecting, etc. Teach them dialogue from old movies and use them as inside jokes ...the lifeblood of the uncool.
2. Raise a kid adults like-teach them a firm handshake and to make eye contact with grownups. When they can have articulate, meaningful conversations with the parents of her peers, they'll lobby for her to be included in parties and outings. Uncool. No kid wants to hang out with a kid her parents suggest.
3. Raise a reader...recreational readers, a little uncool.
4. Raise a real friend. Make sure your child knows that true friends are consistent, kind, accepting and affirming. That real friends are rare, but they're out there.
5. Raise a team player-sports teach kids coach-ability, reliability, fundamentals, and sticking with it, even if nobody passes him the ball. When he scores a goal or basket, do the "dance of joy" on the sidelines. Parents of cool kids don't do this.

There were more things, like teaching your kid to have a relationship with God, sheltering them from the dreck of TV that's out there, being a homebody (but not a loner), and being smart. Very interesting. It's hard to convince a 14 year old, though, that this time of their lives is not the most important...seeing this for practice for the real thing in adulthood just doesn't come very easily for Hannah. I do think that being an only child gives H a little bit of the uncool perspective. She's very independent, comfortable around adults, enjoys hanging out with us (most of the time, anyway), and loves our music and old movies.

I wonder who reads this silly thing, and how they find the page???

I wonder who reads this silly thing, and how they find the page???

I see the locations of people who click on the blog, and it is very interesting. People from other countries, and all over the U.S. It can't be interesting to anyone...it's just my boring life.

"...A Hair TRANSPLANT??? OMG!"

I keep sitting down to write, but thinking I have nothing interesting to say, I decide to write later...then later just never seems to come. So I'm going to just write whatever comes to mind.

I went to see a doctor today about fixing a scar I have on the side of my head, from some stitches I had a few years ago. It seems to be growing, and the hair around it is getting thinner, so people have noticed it. I thought he could just cut it out, but he said he couldn't. At least not successfully. He said the best thing to do for it is a hair transplant!! OMG! I feel like an old man or something. He said it is very easy and simple, an outpatient thing that only takes a few minutes and only needs local anesthesia. I can't believe it. There was an article in a USA TODAY that I picked up this morning talking about hair transplants, and of course, the men in the pictures were these old bald middle aged men. I can barely even think about it, because every time I do I just get trembles from head to toe.

It's Sunday and it's a beautiful day, so I think I'm going to take the dog for a walk. I should be doing other, inside stuff. We're having the 8th grade parents over tonight from 5-7, so I really should be getting ready for that, but the sky is such a beautiful shade of blue without a cloud to be seen, so I think I'm heading outside. I wish I could go for a run. This is the kind of weather that I just love to run in, but there's something weird going on with my hip. I can bike for hours, but if I try to run for a few easy miles it really hurts. Don't know what that's all about, maybe bursitis? Yikes. That sounds like a really old person's problem.

Maybe I can run a couple of miles to see how it feels. I haven't run in a week.

I can't believe it's already Wednesday, and I haven't done any of the long list of things I needed to do this week. Well, I take that back, I did get three bat mitzvah gifts yesterday. I think that makes about 32 bat/bar mitzvah gifts that we have bought over the last year. We're at the end of the "season", since H is now in 8th grade, and most of her classmates are turning 14 now.
Since she's only "half" Jewish, we didn't do the bat mitzvah thing and I have to admit I am so relieved. Since she goes to a school that has a larger than normal percentage of Jewish kids, there are a LOT of b'nai mitzvah. (I'm not sure I'm using that correctly, I think it is the plural form of bar mitzvah). Don't get me wrong, I love the symbolism of it, and the kids work very hard and it is really touching to see them read hebrew and give their speeches, but after seeing them over and over again they start to all blend together. I do get teary eyed sometimes at the whole thing, but when I try to remember whose touched me the most, it's hard to remember. I loved the movie, "Keeping up with the Steins". It was a very cute movie about a kid having a bar mitzvah, and after the whole movie showed his parents trying to outdo the Steins' bar mitzvah, the kid cancelled it all (renting out Dodger Stadium, etc.) and had a cookout in the backyard with all his family, because that is what it should be all about...

TITANS WIN!!!

They looked really great tonight! Keith Bullock had 3 interceptions, and a smile as wide as his shoulders. It was a fantastic game. I love when the odds are against us...that's when they seem to really do their best. Vince Young had an awesome debut on MNF. I know it's early in the season, but I think having such a solid game on Monday night will make others take notice...

What a great weekend. It is a long drive, but it's worth it. The view from the balcony is really breathtaking. We face the west so the sunset behind the mountains and the lake right below is so beautiful. When I got there with the girls, J had the wine open, potatoes in the oven, salad made, and steak ready for the grill. We had a really nice dinner and then sat outside on the balcony to listen to the birds and tree frogs. Rosie was a little skittish...not sure where we were. Saturday we did a long hike around Lake Cardinal and up to the halfway point at Toxaway River Falls. Rosie had a blast running down into the water and swimming around. There's a little waterfall at the halfway point and to get up to it you have to climb up a rock that has water flowing over it. Rosie had a hard time holding on, and slid into the water a couple of times. It was pretty funny. After that she started to feel at home. She just loves taking walks when there's water around, and there is definitely a lot of water up there.

Saturday afternoon we rented a boat and waterskiied on Lake Toxaway for the first time. The water was a little chilly but not too bad. It was really great. Then we had another great dinner at The Brown Trout. The only thing wrong with this trip was it was too short. We got internet and satellite and security alarm hooked up, and our lists of things to bring up is getting smaller, so that's a good thing. Next trip is for fall break, so we'll have a longer time to enjoy it. Can't wait!

J left this morning with every single square inch of space in the SUV packed. Thank goodness H and I are going up later in a separate car. There are things stacked, packed, stuffed, and squeezed in so many places that if he opens any door other than the driver's door, things will explode. We bought the mountain house FURNISHED, for God's sake! I think we are just taking everything we have here that we think we need there. It's not a big house, by the way. We want to have everything we need because the nearest shopping is 30 minutes away and we want to just get there and relax. After about 3 or 4 more trips like this we might be able to finally relax. Or else we'll have to have a garage sale to get rid of all the junk we keep taking up there!

Typical day around here. H was up at 6:30, to school until 3:15, then home. After playing with the dog for about 10 minutes, she started working on homework. Fed the dog, ate dinner, watched a repeat of "Friends" (which takes about 22 minutes, since we fast forward the tivo through the commercials), then back up to do homework until 9:30. And today was a light day...only one quiz tomorrow! God forbid she had something to do after school. This year she is not doing soccer, and basketball doesn't start until the end of October. When did homework start to be so time-consuming? I don't know if she's slower than she should be, or if she's just slammed. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that by the time basketball starts she will be working faster...maybe getting the hang of everything by then. She is making great grades so far, and I'm not having to get involved like I have in years past, so that's good, I guess.

Now we just have to carve out some time on weekends so she can just be a teenager. Between 4-5 a.m. on Saturday, maybe?

I LOVE this weather! It's finally cooling off. Makes such a huge difference in everything we do. I can go for a run at 10 a.m. without worrying about heatstroke, we sat outside at H's soccer game on Saturday and it's just glorious. Saturday night we had a few friends over for dinner and sat out by the pool for drinks before dinner and it was just perfect. Sunday for tailgating at the Titan's game...awesome. We came home and sat outside for over an hour while H worked on her free throws/jump shots. I know it won't last, but I just love this time of year. We're going to the mountains this weekend. I'm hoping that the dry summer doesn't totally ruin the fall colors. I think they'll come early this year. Maybe this weekend they'll be starting to turn. We go back in late October and by then it might be over.