"Today is Friday"

This is the "Days of the Week" Song, one of Kallie's favorites:

Today is Friday, Today is Friday,
All day long, all day long,
Yesterday was Thursday,
Tomorrow will be Saturday,
All day long, all day long.

Depending on the day of the week, you just substitute the day, as appropriate. It's a fun song. We sang it in the morning before we took Kallie to school. Look at how pretty she is in her pretty flowery dress that she picked out to wear this morning. She has on her backpack, and her milk in hand, all ready to go.



After we dropped Kallie off at school, Kyle and I took a trip to the grocery store. We were out of eggs. Yep, in less than 3 days, we went through a dozen eggs. That's from two batches of pancakes, and two mornings of cheesy eggs. (Oh, somehow, by some miracle, I was able to make the perfect cheesy eggs this morning. OK. Well, not quite as perfect as Kallie and Kyle's Mommy can make them, but pretty darn close. (I think the trick is in the perfectly little pan!)

Anyhow, back to the grocery store. We got eggs, and soymilk, and regular milk, and pears, and bananas. Kyle loves bananas. He insisted on holding one the entire time we were using the self-checkout. Yep, I couldn't pry the little sucker out of his hands. And, having learned a lesson from the Susan School of the Path of Least Resistance, I just let him hold it. I was waiting for the cashier to say, "Oh, just go ahead and take it, no big deal." But, she didn't say that. So, after I paid for the rest of the bunch, I switched out the banana Kyle was holding for one of the bananas we'd paid for and then handed the unpurchased banana back to the cashier saying, "We didn't manage to pay for that one." (Smile.) A successful trip I'd say. Every one was happy and Kyle got to snack on banana on the way home.



We had to make the trip to the playground after school today a little shorter than we'd wanted. First we had to wait and wait and wait for a very long (and at one point, stopped) train. Then, Kallie had to pee, but after discussing all of the options - peeing at the park in the woods; going home to pee and then heading straight back out to the park; going home, peeing in the potty and then playing in the back yard - we finally opted for a short trip to the playground for some swinging and sliding, and then heading home to pee in the potty. A decent compromise.

Once home, we had cereal for dinner at Kallie's request. We also had pears, yogurt, and blueberry waffles. After dinner, we went outside and Kallie helped Mommy by watering all of her outside plants. Kallie is a very good gardener.

After that, bathtime. Followed by play (check out Kallie's cool block tower!), snack, stories and night-night time. Kallie had a hard time falling asleep tonight, but she was so happy after she hung up the phone with her Daddy because Daddy is bringing her presents from his trip to Florida! Yippee!



Tomorrow is Saturday, tomorrow is Saturday, all day long, all day long...

P.S. I forgot to mention my aunting milestone. Today, Mr. Kyle, all on his own, requested a ride in the backpack! So fun! (And, have I mentioned what a good hugger that boy is!?)

Happy Thursday - CSA Day

Today was another good day in the Klugman household. We all slept in until about 7:45, and once we were all up and moving, Kallie picked breakfast: pancakes with blueberries on the side. I had already set up the coffee pot last night, which was very smart because once everyone gets moving, it's awfully busy (but calm) until we leave to take Kallie to school around 9 a.m.

After naptime at home, Kyle and I had some extra time to play outdoors this afternoon. We played with the ball, and swung in the swing and rode in the wagon. We were also getting ready for Mr. Pete to arrive with the produce for all of the families who have their CSA pick-up right here in our yard.



Mr. Pete showed up around 3 p.m., just as Kyle and I were getting ready to go pick up Kallie at school. Kallie was excited to hear that it was produce day! On the way home, we ate a snack (fresh pear), and shared with Kyle, and pointed to all of the buses we saw. Then, once we arrived home, we said goodbye to Mr. Pete as he left and hung around to greet all of the folks who were coming to pick up their produce.



Kallie (pretty in her Minnie Mouse dress) helped me load up our new blue grocery bag with produce. Today's share included 4 pretty purple flowers, 3 sweet potatoes, 4 jalapeno peppers, a small head of broccoli, a bag full of green beans, 1 green pepper, 4 red beats, a small head of lettuce, a bunch of collard greens, and about 3 or 4 other kinds of dark leafy greens. Kallie and I didn't even know all of the names for the different types of green veggies we have!

After dinner of chicken nuggets, french fries and green beans, we watched a Pooh video, took a bath, ate a snack, read stories, put Kyle to bed, looked at the calendar, and then finally Kallie fell asleep in Daddy's spot on his bed.



Funny bath time moment: Kallie said, in the midst of shrieks of laughter: "Kyle, don't bite my tooshie!" They were both laughing. A priceless moment.

Tomorrow is back to school for Kallie and then maybe EVO pizza for dinner. Aunt Cat is especially looking forward to the pizza!

Kallie and Kyle's Big Vacation at Home - Day 1

After months and months of being followed around by them like stink on poop, Kallie and Kyle finally get a vacation away from Mommy and Daddy this week. We sent the parents off to Florida, and Aunt Cat is here filling in, making sure that Kallie and Kyle get all of their basic needs met, oh, plus she's giving lots and lots of love and hugs and kisses, too.

We had a busy day. The dogs, Aunt Cat's back up brigade, were busy keeping the bed warm after nap time today. Aunt Cat took a nap too, but used her time wisely and prepared dinner (her famous cheesy lasagna) while Kyle was still sleeping.



After nap time, Kyle and Aunt Cat went to pick up Kallie from school. Miss Amanda sent us off with a lollipop for Kallie, and since the weather had cleared up, we decided to stop by the playground - it is on the way home, after all. We had a great time at the playground. We ate snacks. We swung on the swings. Kyle helped us spot all of the buses that drove by, by pointing and saying "bus!" Kallie helped us learn the difference between a "bus" and a "truck" (a subtle distinction that Kyle hasn't yet picked up on). We went down the slide. We chased squirrels. We splashed in big puddles. We followed the birds.



Once we got home, we changed out of out puddle-wet clothes and played until dinner. Dinner was a big hit with Kyle - he even asked for seconds of the lasagna.



Kallie wasn't too hungry, she said her belly was full (must have been all of those snacks we ate at the park) but she did have a few bites of lasagna, and even went back for a few more bites after we brushed our teeth.



After dinner, we took a bath and played with a new bath toy - a little orange fish that you can wind up, stick in the water and will swim on it's own. Fun, fun. That brought lots of laughter and smiles.

After bath time, we read stories and went to bed. Kallie and Aunt Cat decided (after a good college try) that we might as well both sleep in Mommy and Daddy's bed tonight - it is so cozy and warm in there.

We're looking forward to tomorrow. Good night!

Season's Last Horse & Buggy + Autumn Thankfuls

Today was the season's last pick up. If you're wondering why I didn't post the share from two weeks ago, well, it's 'cause I just plain forgot to go pick it up. I guess that's called "CSA Burnout". They are offering an extended season and Thanksgiving turkeys and cool stuff like that, but I'm done for the year, I think. Anyway, a combined post, the share list for the week, and Autumn thankfuls:

1 butternut squash
2 lbs Kennebec potatoes
2 lbs sweet potatoes
1 lb green tomatoes
1/2 gallon apple cider
1 pint of apple butter (!) with no sugar
6 eggs
1 loaf bread

Thankful for...
Four new babies born to friends in the last week, and the one I met today is a cute and tiny week-old bundle - amazing.

Beautiful colors as the leaves ring in the fall.

Colorful new art for my awesome new office, plus plans to buy more locally tomorrow.

Absentee voting is quick and easy in Virginia!

5 days to Kallie Anne and Kyle Holden and plans to do good aunting!

We each have a role to play...

...It's about a new attitude...that calls on our better angels, instead of encouraging our worst instincts. One that reminds us of the obligations we have to ourselves and one another... What we've lost in these last 8 years can't be measured just by lost wages or bigger trade deficits. What's also been lost is the idea that in this American story, each of us has a role to play. Each of us have responsibilities - to work hard, to look after ourselves, and our families, and each of us has a responsibility to look out for each other, our fellow citizens. That's what's been lost these last 8 years. Our common sense of purpose, our sense of higher purpose. That's what we need to restore right now. That's one of the reasons I'm running for President of the United States of America.... Each of us must do our part... All of us must summon the strength and grace to bridge our differences and unite in common effort - black, white, Latino, Asian, Native American, democrat, republican, young, old, rich, poor, gay, straight, disabled, or not, all of us have to come together. The stakes are too high to divide us...

This is about him, but it's also about so much more than him...
Sending out positive thoughts of peace and protection.

Beautiful Fall Weekend

So, let me see if I can do the math: I paid $20 to register for the Chocolate Chase, the 5K I ran on Saturday morning. And, since I'm just a little too awesome also, I won a $25 gift certificate and also got a cool wicking running hat and some chocolate. So, I profited, plus I got gifts. Does that make me a professional athlete now?

I'm really enjoying these local races - more of them in my future, for sure.

David's BBQ of Valley, Alabama makes the local news. I'm not sure why my Uncle David didn't appear on the video, but check it out to see my cousin Lisa and her Mom, my Aunt Sue. Now that's some Hometown Spirit!

OK, I have to say, I'd never though I'd be repairing html code. Go me!

Blog Archive

I've been meaning to pull out some of my old MySpace blogs since I'm never on that site anymore and the blog is mostly inaccessible now. Plus, sometimes, the old becomes new again. Anyway, here's one from Friday, March 02, 2007.


Breath holding

I'm a map person - always have been. I can look around at my environment and find exactly where I am on the map using any landmark: a prominent building, a bend in the road, a distinctive intersection. I know how to use a map to tell me where I'm going, and if I look at a map to find directions to where I want to go, I can put it aside and translate almost perfectly the 2-dimensional drawing into the 3-dimensional scene that exists before me. And, if I know the scale, I can easily estimate, with a fair amount of accuracy, how long it will take me to get to the next landmark. Not everyone is like this, I've learned from experience. My sister is a good example. Generally speaking, Susan doesn't have that kind of spatial intelligence. She's brilliant in many many ways, but map reading and direction giving and following is not one of her strong suits. From her, I've gained a sensitivity about personal strengths – and it's OK, I think, for me to be "good" at maps and for her not to be. She's good at many things that I'm not good at, and thank god. It's one reason why our personalities compliment each other.

For me, maps provide comfort. They tell me where I've been, where I am now and where I'm going. Whether on a road or a trail, in a car or on foot, I like looking at the map to see how far I am from the next city, or the next bend in the trail, or how much elevation gain or loss I'll be facing ahead of me.

I used to check maps compulsively – constantly orienting myself. I'm learning, though, to trust more in the journey, in the here and now, and stop concerning myself so much with the past or future. It's something I learned from marathon training, I guess. In the beginning, I felt compelled to know before I started my run what the route was, in its entirety, as it appeared on the map. I could never trust the chalk route markers that always told us where to turn, but not a moment before the turn arrived. I needed to be able to *see* it in my mind's eye before I began. In looking at the map, I would translate mileage to time, so that if a turn on my route came along a mile down the road, I could know that in about 11 minutes, I should expect the turn.

When you're running 18 or 20 miles, you have to learn how to focus on something other than the time and distance, or you'll lose yourself, become overwhelmed by the thought of it. The problem was that if you checked your watch or the map every two minutes, time and distance slowed so significantly that you'd drive yourself crazy. So, the first part of the process was unlearning the time check on my watch. Stop worrying about how many minutes I'd been running and how many more minutes I had to go before the checkpoint. The key was to learn to trust the distance, trust the route markers, trust the *feel* of time passing instinctively rather than using the meter of the watch to provide this information. To extend my tolerance for not knowing where I was on the map, to surrender myself to the process and not worry so much about the outcome. To let myself be surprised that the checkpoint had arrived rather than always anticipating it. Flow comes when each step you take become the focus; the journey is the flow, flow comes not from the start, nor the end.

And, soon you learn that the run ends before you are ready for it to. This is even more of a reason to stop anticipating the end, to be happy for the miles in between, because once it's over, it's over. There's no getting it back again.

I was thinking about this on my road trip this past weekend – I know the trip from Charlottesville to Charleston so well that I don't need a map to find my way, and yet, I kept looking at it, until finally I put the damn thing in the truck. The "orienting" that used to be such a comfort has almost become a hindrance to the enjoyment of the now. And, symbolically, all of this is quite apropos considering this *thing* that I have been holding my breath about for weeks. Truth is… the breath holding is a waste of time. I just need to remember that the surprise is better than the anticipation…

Warm October evening

Good news on the work front: I survived last fiscal year - I thought it would never end. Thankful for: job security, good benefits, very supportive co-workers (who are really also very good friends) and a brand new office at the end of the month!

In a weaker moment, I might confess that I'm really having a hard time with this transition of saying goodbye to my old body and accepting my new one. I would like to be able to manage this with a graceful, matter-of-fact attitude, and be more forgiving of myself. For now, I think I'll try to act that way until my mind can catch up.

Just for fun, try using Google's 2001 search index.

Organic Love Buzz coffee and rolled oats with bananas for the morning!

Our Seester's Birthday!

I sure am thankful for our seester Susan today. She's the world's coolest Mom, most patient wife, and the best friend.

Also glad for:

New library card!

Wandering the downtown pedestrian mall on a Sunday morning in my favorite town.

Currently reading: Olive's Ocean by Kevin Henkes.

Horse & Buggy Pick Up

Today's share included:
4 ears corn
2 lbs potatoes
8 small apples
2 red/green peppers
2 small eggplant
1 very large head of broccoli
1.3 lbs grapes (not sure what variety)
6 eggs
1 loaf bread

I reckon I'm gonna spend some time tonight learning how to make applesauce. I haven't touched a single one of the apples from last pick up yet...