Tough Spot...

So I had a little extra cash to buy the kids some clothes this weekend. They grow so crazy fast that I can barely keep up! Sometimes they don't even wear something once before they've outgrown it. So I bought Liv a couple outfits from the store, keeping in mind that I would probably have to hem the jeans. I'm used to this, though... Liv is short like me (and her father) and she's always been a little thick. She's also a little swaybacked, and although it's always been cute, clothes don't fit her like they do the average person. So at the beginning of the school year I was buying a size 8 for her and mending them. Then I was buying a 10. They seemed a little loose, but she was very comfortable in a 10 because of her build. But I needed to trim a good 6" off the leg length. So when I bought this outfit Saturday, and she tried it on, I was taken aback when she couldn't even zip up the zipper.

Brandon has been on her about her eating habits, and quite honestly, it upsets me. I was a little girl once, and even with the minimal problems I came across, it was tough. It's a balance that's very easily upset. And we eat healthy food in our house. Much healthier than when I was a kid. And I was a stick as a kid. But I put her on a scale and watched the needle touch the 80 mark. I measured her and she's just barely 4'1". I did the math, her BMI is 23.5 . That means she's over the 98th percentile for her age .

So, we had a talk. Not a big deal talk, but I think I helped her understand the possible risks that she's up against if she doesn't get up and exercise- and quit eating out of boredom. She didn't seem upset that we were talking about it. She was more upset when we talked about diabetes. Having to give up candy and possibly having to give yourself shots every day got her attention. So we found a website called MyPyramid. It has a lot of resources for kids (and grown ups) to help them eat healthy, exercise, and keep track of all of it. So far she digs it. She's got a paper she takes to school that talks about how much of each food group she should be eating every day and examples of each group. When she asks for a snack (which is always), we look at what she's eaten and what she could still eat, and it usually ends up being a fruit or veggie.

So this is the second day we've done this. Of course it's all exciting right now. Then things will get boring and the plan will get scrapped. But hopefully not before she learns how to eat healthy and exercise regularly. I can say, though, that this snuck up on me. I don't think I'm one of "those" parents. A parent who enables their child and never notices that they're 300 lbs, force feeding them cheeseburgers all the while. Obviously she's not 300 lbs. But she is beautiful, and smart, and talented. It's just this one little thing we need to work on. And I look forward to getting healthier with her. We can keep each other focused.

Day One

(Well... actually day 4 or 5 since my decision, but hey- I'm still a habitual procrastinator. Sue me.)

This will be short because I'm exhausted. I'm almost too embarrassed to explain what made me exhausted. I ran 3 kilometers. That's it. And a lot of it I walked. I did stretch, before and after, but my legs do feel like Jell-o.

I tried to analyze exactly what caused me to stop when I did. I know for sure I need to work on my breathing. I tried the "in, in, out, out" method, and that seems to work at 5mph. But anything faster, and I have no idea how to breathe. I also felt pretty good physically; I'd say the thing that made me quit was the "side stitch".

I forgot about the fact that I always get those when I attempt to run. I have no idea what causes them, but I always get it, and it interrupts my concentration, throws off my form and makes it difficult to breathe properly. This makes it nearly impossible to complete any goal.

So I have to figure out what that pain is about. Maybe it's just something that goes away after lots and lots of practice. I hope not- because that means I have to put up with it in order to get over it. And I'm a bit of a sissy. I don't expect this to be easy, but I hope that it won't be very far from my expectations.

So today I didn't push myself too far. I pushed probably a half kilometer over when I really thought I couldn't run anymore. So hopefully that means I'll be able to run tomorrow without much trouble.

A New Goal

Those of you that know me are going to have to reread the following sentence, possibly twice.

I'm going to run a marathon this year.

Yes. Me.

I am pretty surprised myself. I never thought I would set such an unattainable goal, something that I find so miserably awful. But for the sake of fitness, I'm going to set the bar. And I'm not unknown to make ridiculous goals for myself.

This is coming from someone who can NOT run. I've always been athletic, and absolutely love sports; I even ran track. But I was a sprinter. Long distance is another story. I even remember in grade school nearly passing out just playing "Catch the Cowboy" in gym class. I'm not sure what the problem is, but I can narrow it down to two possibilities: either I don't run correctly or it's a physical anomaly. One is fixable, the other is not.

I'm not one to let silly things like not being able to do something slow me down. I joined swim team my sophomore year upon urging from my schoolmates. I failed every year of swim class I ever took. Failed. I can NOT swim. I drown. It was a sad, sad thing to watch. My father never came to a swim meet because it was so painful to see. But it didn't keep me down. I improved (however slightly) and found that I can really kick ass in the back stroke, so this is where I raced. (However, not until I nearly died in several freestyle relays....seriously.) And now, if faced with the situation, instead of drowning, I could probably save myself...just no one else.

So now, my next unattainable goal: run Columbus's half marathon in October. I have 8 months to figure out how to run, work on my "core", get in shape, practice, and do it. I need a goal like this to get me focused to get in shape. My girlfriend Mary, who is also a glutton for punishment (she just ran a "mountain run" which forced her through mud pit, slush, ice and over mountainous hills) has agreed to help get me in shape for this thing. She's a career runner, and knows her stuff. Or at least I hope.

So maybe I'll walk 90% of the race, but damnit, I'm gonna finish it.

(Next blog topic: "Screw this, there ain't no way...")

Square Foot Gardening, 201

I'm ashamed at my lack of blogging this winter. It's strange...as much as I dislike this season, you'd think I'd be blogging every day just to get my mind off how lame I feel. But no, I really have no excuse.

Now.

I need to get focused. Last year, I started gardening- it was my "practice" year, but I still ended up having a very productive garden. I kept a logbook of my progress so I could see where I went wrong and things I could change. One of the things I realized that I did wrong was that I started waay too late. So, here it is, February, snow still on the ground, and my square foot garden still covered in snow, and I'm actively planning out my 2009 Square Foot Garden.

For those who haven't heard of Square Foot Gardening (SFG), it's an amazing gardening method that combines space saving techniques and organic ideas to net the perfect quantity of food for your family. And with produce costs being what they are right now, as well as this questionable economy teetering on a new depression, who can scoff at the idea of being self sufficient. (Next goal: talk Brandon into letting me buy chickens! Ha!)

Last year, I borrowed my dad's book, Square Foot Gardening, by Mel Bartholemew, and built 3 4'x4' of my own raised bed boxes. This took up about an 8'x20' plot of my back yard, along with a 2'x5' plot along my garage. In this, I planted peas, radishes, a bell pepper plant, 2 banana pepper plants, a jalapeno pepper plant, onions, cantaloupe, cucumbers, pumpkins, asparagus, strawberries, cabbage, lettuce, carrots, potatoes, squash, green beans, celery, tomatoes, basil, mint, and beets. Offhand I think that's about it. I had some failures, which I'll try to fix this year, but I had a lot of successes. And all this was entirely organic.

First things first- the dog(s). I need to figure out how to keep them out of it. Or there will be no garden. (And maybe no dog, if I get mad enough...!) Last year, I put up a simple 2' chicken wire fence that did the trick. But only a decorative 1' edging fence around my asparagus and strawberries along the garage. This was a joke to Penny. I found my asparagus plants that I so tediously plucked asparagus beetles from and nursed back to health laying root up next to a dog hole. And (thankfully after my harvest) I found Penny inside my SFG, working on new holes. I'm not sure my temper can handle much more of that. But dogs are dogs, so I need to do a better job dog-proofing this year.

Secondly, maybe the most difficult thing, is that it takes just about an engineering degree to plan correctly to get the most from this garden. Every plant flourishes in a different growing season. When one is finished producing, you pull it, compost it, revitalize the soil, and start something else in it's place. You also have to take into consideration the size of the plant and the placement of it, because you pack so much into these small squares, a tall plant would block out the sun if planted on the east or west side of a shorter plant. Also something to consider is growing time. I used a 3'x3' square for my squash last year, but it took nearly all summer to grow. Had I been comfortable with this method, I'd have planted a quicker growing plant (maybe carrots or radishes) around the seedling that would be harvested long before the squash were big enough to steal nutrients or sun from it.

Thirdly, I want to start on time this year. I should be starting seedlings indoors soon. And along the same lines, I want to build a cold frame to garden earlier in the season, as well as later. According to the book, there should only be about a month out of the year that you're not actively gardening. (I want to smack myself for not snatching up some discarded windows I saw along the road last fall. But I'm sure I'll find more.)

I also want to save rain water this year. Last year I talked about making a rain barrel to collect rain water for my garden. Maybe even hooking it up to soaker hoses under my SFG to supplement my watering. But I know rain water can be very acidic, and might do more harm that help. But something to try. Also along the lines of minimalism and conservationism, I have been wanting to start composting. I have to admit I'm a little nervous about this, because, well, it kind of grosses me out. But I know it's a great idea, so will at least try this year.

Lastly, my great idea last year was to hang my tomatoes. This wasn't from SFG, just an idea I got from a friend. I took 4 hanging baskets, cut holes in them, hung tomato plants from them, bought a hanging stand, and placed it in the corner of my garden. This might have worked wonderfully, had I not taken it to the next level and added a companion plant (basil and mint) to the top of each basket. I couldn't water it fast enough. Everything died. There were just too many ideas in that hanging display, lol.

So here starts my new project for the year. And probably the topic for most of my following blogs. I would love to hear your thoughts or ideas.