Wake Up!

I am not really a morning person.   Lately though, my life is forcing me into morning personhood.  I survived raising four children which required a lot of early mornings, I really hoped when they were grown and gone I would finally be able to sleep in!  No such luck.  Just to clarify, early in my book is any time before 7 a.m., ridiculously early is any time before 6 a.m. and insanely early is before 5 a.m..  No sane person should wake up before 5 in my book.

Just last weekend I was up at 5 and on the road at 5:20, insanity! 

5:45 a.m. My husband and daughter before their 100 mile ride on the first day of the MS150.
See?  They look tired and cold...not to mention the 100 miles into the wind they will be riding!

 Over the Easter holidays I was up early (see definition above) every day.  Our  grandsons do not sleep in and when they wake up they have a lot of energy and they are not quiet, plus they are pretty cute in the morning.  There was no sleeping in.  I've driven to the airport for 6 a.m. flights several times lately, insanity!  I have another flight in a few weeks that leaves at 5:30 a.m.....who makes these reservations???  A morning person, aka my husband.  I am beginning to think it is a conspiracy, all the morning people in my life are getting together and scheduling things that require me to be conscious and participate much earlier than I want. 

I have even voluntarily gotten involved in activities that require me to be up and out early at least four days a week.  It is like having a job... or kids...neither of which I have, what gives?   I must confess that as I have gotten older I can't really sleep in like I used to.  Gone are the luxurious days when I could sleep until 10....  luxurious for me these days is sleeping until 7:30!  So sad, what has it all come to?  Have I become a morning person?  Never!  I may get up and I may even be able to drive but don't expect me to talk until at least after my second cup of tea, I can only do so  much.


Updates.....
If you read this post then you may be wondering if all that training paid off.

 I am happy to report that Marathon Girl did indeed finish the Boston Marathon in under 4 hours in the unseasonable heat.  I think all the training here in the tropical rain forest paid off for her and the heat did not bother her as much as it did those wimps who get to run in cool dry climates.

My husband and my daughter rode the MS 150 this past weekend and managed to ride the first day of 100 miles into a 15-20 mile headwind.  TJ said it was the hardest ride he has ever done...and this is his 6th time to do this ride and my daughter's first time.  She successfully crossed the finish line in Austin and and now has a well deserved sense of accomplishment.  I just got to wake up insanely early and drive the drop off and pick up car. 

The wind they rode into....for 100 miles!

She looks pretty good after waking up insanely early and riding 100 miles!



 As far as my goals....I did take the writing class, I don't think I learned as much as I would have liked.  I might have done better if I had just used that time and money and taken golf lessons because I still have not broken 100.  I will just keep chasing that elusive score and keep you posted.







Who Says We Are Competitive?

A few Sundays ago I had  an eye opening experience.  I had a little foreshadowing the Sunday before but then my suspicions were confirmed.  If TJ and I want to stay married, we can't golf together in couples tournaments!  We have no problem playing golf together any other day, we don't snap at each other, have unrealistic expectations or share scornful glares when we play....until our first couples tournament.  Maybe it was just me!  I am sure TJ will read this and say, "What is she talking about?  It wasn't like that!"  "Oh, yes it was...at least for the first nine holes.  How could you miss all my scornful glares?"

After missing about 50 putts, each of us wanted to quit and just get on with the eating and drinking part of the tournament.  Why is it that when one member of the team is doing poorly the other one does worse instead of better?  My theory is that we are just too competitive and when we are competing as a team our collective brain can't take the pressure.  We knew we would never be near the top but we had such high expectations and were disappointed with every missed putt, duffed sand shot or errant drive.  The pace of play did not help our mood.  We are used to playing quickly.  Couples tournaments move at a snail's pace.  As if playing poorly was not bad enough, we got to play poorly for an extra hour! 

Maybe there is a learning curve to these tournaments.  There must be something we still haven't learned.  Finally, on the last nine holes, we settled down and started being nicer to each other and did a little better.  Hmmmm. We need to sign a pre-golf contract before our next round. 

Rules to be included are:

-We won't take this thing too seriously!
-TJ will not hover over Lisa while she is putting and tell her which way the ball is going to break or that it is uphill or downhill or sideways, she can miss the putt without his help.
- Lisa will drive the golf cart wherever TJ telepathically tells her....or maybe we will just have separate carts!
-TJ will use his new clubs and driver and knock the heck out of the ball
-Lisa will pretend to listen to TJ's advice and then proceed to do what usually works for her (just like in real life....)
-We will both start drinking on the second hole!
-We will check our competitive natures at the door....and just have fun!

"And Then I Did Limbo"

Hang on folks, no telling where this might end up!
There is so much here in my head and so little time to get it all into this blog.
Easter was fantastic!  We had all four kids here, our son-in-law and daughter-in-law, the grandsons, Marathon Girl and assorted friends.  The long Lent was truly over and there was good reason to celebrate! 

The whole family! 

I did not write a Lenten post this year, I figured I had been there and done that.  The thought did cross my mind a few times though.  Especially on those nights when I was regretting giving up drinking for Lent and just wanted to rant!    TJ joined me in my sobriety... we were very quiet and boring for about 6 weeks but felt much better in the mornings.  The hardest times were when we were finally blessed with springlike weather and we sat on the back patio in the evening sipping our water or ginger ale.  We really missed that nice glass of wine.  Yes, giving up drinking was a real sacrifice and boy am I glad Lent is over! We did save a lot of money!  Going out to dinner is so much cheaper when you don't drink! 

Our weekend was full of talking, cooking, eating, drinking, running around(after the kids) and general joy and happiness.  Daniel and Christopher are at a really cute age, the one where they are busy, curious, enthusiastic and are able to speak and tell you what they are thinking.  They are also boys....which means they do a lot of active playing with great enthusiasm!  One afternoon as we all sat on the patio, Daniel disappeared around the side of the house.  When he reappeared he was very wet.  He breathlessly exclaimed, " I got all wet with the hose....and then I did Limbo!"  Yeah, I do that all the time too! The hose provided hours of entertainment for the boys.

Daniel's favorite part of the zoo....the water fan and the misters!  He loves the water!  Forget lions and tigers and bears.

On Good Friday I went to the 3 p.m. service.  I left the entire group behind at the house thinking I would be home to make dinner at a reasonable hour.  Two and a half hours later I was walking to my car in the parking lot dreaming of the food that I would soon eat and satisfy my growling stomach when I could not find my car.  I walked to the end of the row...no car.  "Hmmm, maybe I am just delirious from lack of food and two and a half hours of church."  I walked back up the row...no car.  I had a little conversation in my head with God, "Really?  I spent two and a half hours in church and come out to find my car was stolen?  Not fair!"  I reached for my cell phone and noticed several calls and messages.  My car had just been car napped by my family.  The message said to start walking and call them to come pick me up.  I love my family...glad I did not wear heels!  That was the moment I declared Lent to be officially over and had a glass of wine when I got home!

All the kids at the zoo!

One of the best parts about being a grandparent.  The post zoo nap on Gigi's shoulder!

We had a family field trip on Monday.  We went to Brenham, Texas.  It is where they make Blue Bell Ice Cream, the best ice cream in the country!  According to their commercials.  We also went in search of fields of bluebonnets to pose the kids in and take their picture.  We had a nice tour of the creamery and it ended with free ice cream!  A big hit with kids of all ages.  On the way to the creamery Christopher and Rachel had an amusing conversation.

R- "Christopher, we are going to go see them make ice cream.  Do you know what ice cream is made from?"
C- " Water?"
R- "  No it's made from milk.  Do you know where milk comes from?"
C-  "The refrigerator!"
R- "No, it comes from cows."
C- "Animals don't make milk!"
R-  " Yes, it comes from cows."
C- "It comes from the refrigerator and it goes on Cheerios."    Take that, Mom!
The world according to a two year old!  I almost ran off the road laughing...clever kid.

We did manage to find the elusive bluebonnet field, it was right next to a football stadium and rec center in the middle of town, guess beggars can't be choosers.  Cute picture though!

Bluebonnet boys!

All that ice cream can make a boy tired!  I am a sucker for a sleeping kid, they are just so cute and so still.

Kind of loses some of it's allure when you see the surroundings.

The kids are all back to their real lives and TJ and I are back to our quiet days and wine filled nights.  Until we all meet again in Nova Scotia this summer!  Marathon Girl is heading to Boston this weekend to run the Boston Marathon on Monday...shout out to Marathon Girl!  I will run 2.6 miles that day in solidarity. 
God is good indeed.  Happy Easter!

P.S.   I managed to work my way all the way from the Limbo to God.....that my friends is a long road!