Coincidence?

The day we left for Canada was funny. Well, not really. But now looking back it was.

The night before we left, Joel was telling the kids about how funny it was that he was supposed to have had an ortho appointment that week to check his expander, but how instead they just scheduled him to come in and have it removed at the end of September. He was very excited to have his expander taken off. About 10 seconds later, the whole expander just snapped in two pieces. I called the orthodontist in the morning, and I had to work a trip to his office into my crazy day of packing and getting the car and kids ready to leave on a trip. They took off his expander and gave him a removeable retainer to get him through until we got back from our trip. Joel kept laughing about what a coincidence it was that as soon as he was talking about getting his expander off it broke and he had to have it removed.

We had another coincidence that day. As I said, I had a crazy, busy day of getting things done and ready to leave at 1:00 for our drive to Canada. I decided that as I had filled up the car with gas the night before, and had driven only about 30 miles that day, I didn't have time to top off the gas tank before we headed out. I knew that we had more than enough gas to make it to at least Spokane.

Well, I guess I didn't take into account a van loaded with 9 people and their luggage might use more gas than a 1/2 full van shuttling kids around. Or that when it is 100 degrees outside perhaps the air conditioner might suck some of the gas mileage away. Whatever. My gas light went on about 30 miles outside of Spokane. I knew that we had plenty of gas to make it, and there was nowhere to fill up anyway. Typically, in the 4 years I have been driving this van, the gas light means I have about 3 gallons left, or at least 75 miles on the freeway. Well, this time it meant I had 20 miles left. The coincidence happened though as Mark said, "How is your the gas gauge looking?" I said, "Well, the gas light went on just a little while ago, but I think we are fine."

We weren't fine. At that exact moment, the engine cut out. We coasted to a stop 10 miles outside of Spokane. What are the odds? So 9 of us sat in a hot car watching a porcupine on the side of the road while we waited for roadside assistance to bring us some gas.

Which is a whole other story. Which leads me to my next topic: The problem with outsourcing.

I have used our roadside assistance several times without a problem. The people are usually friendly, and help arrives in a reasonable amount of time. But this day I got a guy in India. I like India--I want to go there desperately. I love Indian food. I love the people from India. But when I get a customer service person from India, I know I'm in trouble. Hello, Trouble.

This guy kept asking me for my exact position so that he could call someone to help us.

Me: "I'm 10 miles west of Spokane, Washington on eastbound I-90. I can see milepost (whatever # it was) about 30 feet ahead of me."
Guy: "That doesn't help me, ma'am. I need to know your exact address or I cannot help you."
Me: "I'm not at an address. I'm on eastbound I-90 at this exact milepost. There is a freeway entrance 1/4 mile behind me."
Guy: "You must tell me which city you are in or I cannot send anyone to help you."
Me: "I'm not in a city. I'm trying to get to Spokane, but we ran out of gas 10 miles too soon. I'm in the middle of a freeway--I'm not in a city."
Guy: "Well, we cannot send anyone to help you if we do not know exactly where you are."
Me: "I do not have my GPS to give you my exact coordinates. I promise you that if you call any car service near Spokane and tell them I am on I-90 at this particular mile post, they will be able to find me."
Guy: "No. I must have an exact address."
Me: "I know that our policy covers us anywhere--including freeways. How many people run out of gas in their driveway?"
Guy: "I will put you on hold while I find a map."

10 minutes later and Mark on the phone this time. Same story--he cannot help us because we don't have an address. He went to find a map. Clearly, he didn't even know what I-90 meant or what a freeway was, or that Spokane, Washington was a city 10 miles to the east of us.

I decided to hang up and try my luck with someone else answering the phone. This time it was a very nice gal from the south who answered. She took my location--the same eastbound I-90 at milepost whatever location--and told me someone would be there within a half hour. Sure enough, 30 minutes later, the gas guy pulled up behind us. He was laughing, because last week he had brought someone else gas at the very same spot.

concerts

A couple of weeks ago Mark and I went to see The Pretenders. It made me think about all the concerts I have been to. Mark has been to a LOT more concerts in his time. The 80s were filled with excellent heavy metal concerts for him--and he had the t-shirt collection to prove it.

I, on the other hand, have not been to a lot of concerts in my life. My first concert was Chicago in 1985. I went with my dad--cool. My next concert was John Denver in 1987. Again, with my dad and mom. That was truly my favorite concert ever. I love John Denver. He is gone, but it is like he is still here for me because I love to listen to him and I sing his songs all the time. Especially "A Baby Just Like You" to Zachary...."Merry Christmas, Little Zachary." My first date with Mark was in December of 1991 to see America in Park City. That was a very fun concert out in the snow. In 1992 I went to a Metallica concert with Mark. I should dig out the picture from the event. I borrowed a black leather jacket, and used a hair crimper to really make my hair look nice for the occasion. Luckily, Mark had brought ear plugs for us, which was very thoughtful.

Many years went by, and Mark and I went to 2 Barry Manilow concerts here in Portland about 8 and 10 years ago. They were very fun. Mark likes Barry Manilow's music, which is lucky for me. Let's see....Kenny Loggins about 7 years ago was fantastic. And then I don't think I had been to a concert in all that time--until this summer. Lots and lots of symphonies, but not a real concert.

Late July we were treated to a Sugarland concert by some friends. Mark and I had never actually heard Sugarland, but we went along and had a really great time. I LOVED her voice. The concert was general admission, and we were there super early and still ended up with booney-ville seats, though. But it was fun nonetheless.

The Pretenders concert was amazing--at least once Chrissie finally made it out after the horrible opening acts. First opening act was Juliette Lewis. Yes, that same actress from Christmas Vacation. Her costume was very disturbing. At first I thought it would be better if she took of her vest made of enormous feathers. I was wrong. I wish she had left the vest on. When you are on the 2nd row, you see a lot of things you can't see while seated further back. As much as I disliked WATCHING her prance and jerk around on the stage, I disliked listening to her sing/scream/screetch even more. She just looked very sad and lost. Perhaps there are some with a more critical ear for hard rock who could judge whether or not she is actually talented in this area. All I can say is she sure was enthusiastic. In my opininion, it was just shocking.

The second opening act was Cat Power. I had never heard of her before, but I did a little internet research to see that she is actually quite well known, and that she has been through some alcohol-related issues recently, but that she was currently on an upswing. Well, maybe she WAS on an upswing, but it was clearly a downswing the night I saw her. She walked out on stage and didn't say a thing. She didn't look at the crowd at all. She looked like she had rolled out of bed and put on someone else's black stretch jeans that were a size too small. Again, being on the 2nd row we could see everything. She wanted to be done before she started singing her first song. It was the most agonizing 45 minutes of depressing songs I could imagine. Not so much her songs that were depressing (well, OK, they were), but just the way she was twitching and tweaking and grabbing her pockets, jeans, shirt over and over. She was clearly on something. She kept turning her back to the crowd, not once every looking out at the audience, except when she finally finished her set, she walked off the stage and mouthed, "I'm sorry. I'm $%^&-up." No kidding. Really? The only question was what her drug of choice was that night.

And then The Pretenders finally came out and made it all worthwhile. I love Chrissie Hynde's voice, and immediately jumped up out of my seat and started singing along. So did everyone else around, so I was OK. It was a very fun night.

Overall, I'm glad we went. Although, next time I go to a concert at McMenamins, I will skip the opening acts and show up 2 hours later for the real show.

Happy Birthday, Zack!

Three years ago Zack was born, and it was a very hard day for me. The CNA who did my epidural was having a very bad day. She missed the first time (after missing on 3 IV attempts earlier that day), and then punctured my dura on her second attempt, leaking spinal fluid all down my back and causing a spinal headache. To top things off, she refused to give me enough anesthesia to numb the pain, and so I delivered Zack (10# baby with a 15cm head) and felt every possible pain. To top that off, I had severe hemorrhaging following his delivery. The day he was born was very traumatic. What a hard delivery. But it was also one of the happiest days of my life. It was the day my angel Zachary came to our family. He was a big little angel--just shy of 10 pounds, induced 2 weeks early. And the minute he was born, I didn't care what I had been through to get him here. I knew I needed him and could never be happy without him.

Zachary requsted a Bolt cake for his birthday.
The cousins from Connecticut were still in town and came over to help celebrate.
Zacky loves his big cousin Alex.
The new Pinocchio friend was a big hit.

Everyone always comments on how BIG Zack is. So on his birthday, I printed off a growth chart to see just how big he is. It turns out, that he is exactly the height and weight of an average 5-year-old. I knew he was huge. Nobody believes us when we tell them he is only 3.

Zack was very excited to be 3. He loved his birthday, and he got so excited about everything. As soon as he woke up that morning, he headed to the kitchen to see if the birthday tablecloth was on the table. As I had been out running that morning and just come home, I had not put out the tablecloth. He got it out by himself and put it on the table.

Zack's favorite presents were his orange car (Snot Rod from Cars) and his stuffed Pinocchio. He ordered a Bolt cake, which turned out to be really easy to make (thank you, mom for teaching me how to make 7-minute frosting).

The best part of the day was that the Connecticut cousins were here, and Zacky worships his big cousin Alex. Luckily, Alex thinks Zacky is pretty cool, too.

High Desert Museum

While we were in Bend a couple of weeks ago for the Dorrough family reunion, we went to the High Desert Museum. I know, it sounds LAME. I gave Mark a hard time for suggesting it as an activity. But I had heard from many, many people that it was a great place for all ages. When you see the price, you think, "There is no way any museum could be worth $15 per person." But we had 50 people who needed an activity for the day, and so we figured it was worth a shot. And they had a group discount, which came in handy for 50 people. It turns out that they museum is beautiful inside and out and worth every penny of admission.
The museum had an old prarie homestead living history exhibit. They had a saw mill, house with washboard laundry fun for the kids, stables, and everything that any kid who ever watched Little House on the Prairie would be excited to see in real life. There were people in period clothing walking around and talking to all the kiddos. The kids loved meeting the Shotgun Man for the Wells Fargo Wagon. He let them hold his sawed-off shotgun and his Colt 45 pistol.


To say that I was completely stunned by the quality and variety of the museum would be an understatement. It was beautiful, and it had the most incredible exhibits indoors, and then outdoors was a world of wonder. We first went through the Birds of Prey exhibit, where we saw bald eagles, golden eagles, a hawk having a mouse for lunch, and some great grey owls. But the best part was when we saw that there was someone who was bringing out a Great Horned Owl--Savanna's favorite bird--for a little show. We got front row seats. Savanna was mesmerized.It was an amazing place, and I'm so glad that we didn't let the lame name or $15 entrance fee stop us from going. The best part of the whole day for the kids was running around with their cousins.

Running diary

Here's an update on my running. Skip it if you don't care--I just have to share.

After the 1/2 marathon, I felt like a total weenie. Sure, I ran 13.1 miles and all, but my time was so slow. I know I kicked it in that last 4 miles, and ran a 9-minute-mile pace, but my first 9 miles, combined with an 8-minute IT band stretch at mile 10 added up to a very slow overall time. I had been so anxious about running 13 miles that I saved up WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much energy for the last 3 miles. Still, I was proud of myself for going from 0 miles to training 34 miles per week and finishing the 1/2 marathon without walking. Truly, that was my only goal.

My slow time gave me inspiration and motivation to run another race. This time, I have a time to beat, and I'm not starting from totally flabby-out-of-shape-zero. I'm starting out with runner's legs able to run 10 miles at a 9:40-per-minute pace. I did this last Saturday along the Columbia River. It was my first 10-miler since the race, and I was so nervous to run that distance again. But it was actually not too bad. In all, I ran 33 miles last week. That puts me in the zone for my new training program, which started this morning.

I have 16 weeks until the Las Vegas Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon. I no longer want to simply finish without walking--I want to fly. I want to kick my old time in the butt. I know I can come in under 2 hours. I would love to do 1:37:00 and have guaranteed entry into the 2010 NYC marathon, but that may be a little extreme for me right now. I would have to carry a 7:20 pace for all 13 miles, though. I think my goal will be to beat Abram's time of 1:52:50. A mother of 7 should be able to run faster than her 15-year-old son, right?

Mark is still on track to qualify for Boston in Las Vegas. He ran 17 miles Saturday with 7 of those miles at a 7:00-7:15 pace. He's got to hold a 7:30 pace for the whole marathon to qualify for Boston. We'll see what his body can do in the next 16 weeks.

In the meantime, it's sleep, eat, run for both of us. It's getting darker in the mornings, which makes it a little harder to get up, but the peer pressure keeps us both from sleeping in.

Some good news is that I finally have lost 10 pounds from all this running. The math (1 mile=100 calories and 3,500 calories=1 pound lost) says that I should have lost 20-25 pounds by this time. But my body has a special way of doing things in ways that defy logic and science. Textbook physiology and biochemistry do not apply to Jill's body. Although the weight loss is only 10 pounds, I know that I definitely LOOK like I have lost more than that. I just tell myself that I've gained 10 pounds of muscle. One reason I picked running of all the available forms of exercise, is that after watching the Olympics last August, I really, really wanted runner's legs. There's just something amazing about runner's legs. I didn't really notice that my legs had transformed until last week as I was running and my shoe was bugging me. I looked down at my shoe, and I couldn't believe what I saw--there were runner's legs in my shoes! The muscles I had been dreaming of were right there attached to me!

That's enough to keep me running.

Family Photo

We were in Bend last weekend for Mark's family's family reunion. There were 50 of us all together, and it was very fun to see everyone. All of the cousins were there, which made it a very exciting weekend for our kids. I have many more pictures to post, but I am way behind on that. Thanks, Josh for taking pictures. You did a fantastic job for us and everyone else.
Maybe this afternoon I'll get busy and get the pictures off of Mark's camera to show you what we've been up to for the past few weeks.

Hot Hot Hot

I am not unacquainted with hot weather. Growing up in Salt Lake City, we had plenty of hot summer days. When I got married and moved to Omaha, I really learned what hot was. Summers there were suffocating. Temperatures around 100 degrees with humidity to match. Thanks goodness we had air conditioning there. The day Aubrey was born it was 107 degrees, and had been above 100 for about 10 days in a row. Stifling. Miserable.

I thought moving to a more temperate climate would make those hot days a distant memory. I love the cool, rainy weather of the Pacific Northwest. I actually LOVE rain. Summers here are generally pleasant, with a few days where the temperature toys with 100 degrees, and then back down to more pleasant temperatures. This week has been incredible, though. We have been over 100 degrees for 3 days in a row, and last week it was in the 90s each day. Today is supposed to be another scorcher--but down to 102. That should be nice.

Really, what do I care? I get up at 5:00 and run before the heat comes, and then I stay hidden in my air-conditioned house, and bake premium baked goods outside in my roaster oven. If I do venture out, it is in my air-conditioned car to drive to an air-conditioned store or the air-conditioned dental office. It's my own little paradise. But the kids are not so easily amused. They like to play outside in the heat.

I have always told the kids I would never buy a "Slip N Slide." This comes, I'm sure, from my parents refusing to buy one, always explaining, in very nice words, that they were a piece of crap and a waste of money. My dad would make things fun for us, though, by spreading out a big tarp or long piece of plastic and putting the sprinkler on it. We had fun--who wouldn't have fun with my dad around?--but despite the fun, I remember still coveting the neighbors's official slip n slides. And then I grew up and realized I was just like my parents.

So far the kids have been OK with no Slip N Slide. They actually haven't even asked for one for a few years. If somebody mentioned it while looking through the Sunday ads, one of the other kids would jump in for me and say, "No. They are a waste of money and will break within one day."

But desperate times call for desperate measures. On Monday, the kids started talking about a Slip N Slide. It was over 100 degrees, and the sprinklers were losing their excitement. I figured that if there ever was a time to blow $20 on a Slip N Slide, even if it only lasted one day, it would be worth it this week. Tuesday morning I began a search for a Slip N Slide. At the fifth store I went to, Big 5 ironically, they had one left. I handed over my $20, and headed home to the kids.

We got it all hooked up, and they spent 5 hours out there the first day. To my amazement, the thing was still in tact when we pulled it off of the lawn on Tuesday. Yesterday we hooked it up again, and within an hour, the thing had totally pulled apart on the bottom, making any water making it through the holes in the slide impossible. The kids didn't complain. They just put the hose at the front end and did without the fancy spray technology. 5 more hours of fun yesterday.

I must say I am very proud of my white-ys. 10 hours in the sun, and no sunburns. Let's hear it for SPF 50!