Amazing (100 Days of Emery: Day 1)

This is one of those "once in a lifetime" shots considering i was a fumbling idiot, trying to get the camera off ten-second-timer mode, and didn't even look through the view finder as I took this one of two shots... Amazing

Bonk

Yesterday, Ellie took a pretty good face-first spill outside on the driveway. The result is a scraped up, ping-pong size bump on her forehead. Although it probably wasn't any worse than any of a few of her other falls C was justifiably worried about it, and I was too, but all signs (including a cheery-as-usual mood, toothy smiles, and properly dilating pupils) convinced me things would be okay. My plan was to make sure she would wake up multiple times during the night.

After E fell asleep in her crib, my attention turned to the TV, per usual. At the same time 60 Minutes was airing a story about a project serving wounded children from war-torn countries. Featured was a young boy (10 years old? younger?) from Iraq who stepped on a landmine which blew off one of his legs, an arm, and his left eye, while completely disfiguring his face. When they showed him going through all the reconstructive surgeries and then gave a follow-up, my eyes welled with tears.

This put my worries into perspective and grounded my concern. Granted I was still sure to keep an eye on Ellie's condition, and I chose not to write this post until today when I could be sure everything was okay.

Triathlon - we finished!

This morning my dad and I finished the Little Miami Triathlon: 6 miles canoeing; 5.5 miles running; and 18 miles biking. We woke up to 40-something degrees "eff" and while Monroe, Ohio, may have warmed up to the mid-50's by the finish line, the mid-40 windchill brutalized us. Biking was by far the hardest part. Canoeing, while slow, warmed me up much more than I expected (too much) and we managed to stay upright, unlike a surprisingly high number of teams...

Anyway, not only did I get to bond with my dad and do something awesome today--if only to prove to ourselves that we could do it--but we had the great pleasure of having an amazing support team to pull us through and keep us lifted. C and a very bundled Ellie were there, as well as my mom who brought a ton of food, and my step mom who graciously acted as coach and cheerleader along the route. As my dad said in an email later today, "we are lucky guys."

Update: I just looked at our results online and in the "Parent/Child" division we finished 32 out of 38... Overall I was in 1,010th place out of 1,174.
Question is: would I do it again?

Brain dump: stress and a triathlon

Wow. It's been a minute, eh? If you're reading this I'm not sure why--I'm guessing it was by accident. My life has been "a hot mess," as they say, and busy, so writing has dropped way low in the priority list I lost a long time ago.

A couple recent political items have boiled my blood lately, including the overwhelming outcry against the proposed Islamic Community Center near Ground Zero. The hatred, ignorance, and bigotry against an entire religion that surfaced was appalling.

Oh, and I guess astronomers found a planet just outside our galaxy--3 times the mass of Earth--that has the potential to support life like we know it. News anchor, Brian Williams, made some comment along the line of "it's nice to know we have a place to go when we mess up this planet." Shit. He's right. Now there's a backup plan and I'm sure it's going to be a bloody race to get people there. It's a fantastic thought, and a terrifying one at the same time. Those sentiments sent shivers down my spine just to think of the (distant?) future of Earth and what sort of scary, corrupt, greedy things might come of having a second planet, a virgin planet, that is waiting to be dominated.

This weekend is the Little Miami Triathlon in which I will be teamed up with my dad to canoe, run, then bike our way toward Accomplishment. My "training" has been laughable, but I have faith that come race day I will muster up whatever awesomeness possible to finish in decent time. If nothing else, this whole thing has forced me to get out and run and feel a lot more healthy than I've felt in a long time.

Ellie is growing so much, eating food, and working on her balance. Words do no justice. Hopefully I'll get more videos up here soon.

Meatballs & Kale

This is a recipe that became a favorite of mine after the first bite the first time we had made it. It's adapted from a recipe called "Mini Meatballs with Kale and Orecchiette" from Frances Largeman-Roth's Feed the Belly: The Pregnant Mom's Healthy Eating Guide. Recently we had plenty of kale to harvest but just a fraction of the amount of parsley needed. I'll post the original recipe and include notes about what we do differently...

1 c. finely chopped red onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
2 tablespoons plain, low-fat Greek-style yogurt [omitted for convenience]
1 pound ground bison or lamb [substitute ground turkey]
1 egg, beaten
1/4 c. chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground allspice [omitted since we don't have it]
3/4 tsp Worchesershire sauce [I'm sure we put in more than this]
--
1-1/2 tbsp olive oil
10 oz package of dried orecchiette [substitute whole grain pasta, like rigatoni]
1-1/4 c. chicken broth
1 bunch kale (5 cups), chopped
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
2 tbsp grated Parmesan, for serving
--
1. Combine the first 11 ingredients in a large bowl; stir with spatula [or clean hands] until well combined
2. Place large pot of water on stove to boil; preheat oven to 350-degrees-Eff
3. Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Spoon out meat mixture and shape into meatballs by rolling mixture between your hands. Set meatballs on the lined baking sheet
4. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Working in batches, add meatballs in an even layer, and cook on each side for 5 minutes, or until evenly browned. Transfer cooked meatballs to baking dish and place in preheated over for 10 minutes to finish cooking
5. Cook the orecchiette [or pasta]; drain
6. Using the same skillet (don't clean it!), add 1/4 c chicken broth and use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits from the pan. Add the chopped kale, cover, and heat over med-high for about 8 minutes or until wilted. Sprinkle the kale with pepper flakes, 1/4 tsp of remaining salt, and add remaining cup of chicken broth. Bring to simmer for 5 minutes
6. Combine the meatballs, kale, and any remaining liquid in a large bowl with the orecchiette [or pasta]. Sprinkle with Parmesan and serve hot.
--
Note: we usually only prepare half this recipe when cooking for only the two of us. Kale is crazy good for you and this recipe will make your mind explode because it is so perfect. Please try it once. It's such an easy recipe and will change your life, I'm sure of it.

Sleep

C has been waking up at 4AM on the dot. That sucks. For her, not me, duh. Amazingly, I've been waking up, too, and managing to talk to her, even if only for a few words before passing out again.

Her back has been really hurting and she's been having an achy stomach or heartburn which seem to alternate randomly. I can only figure that this is the build up before the storm. Mostly she is tired all day long after a crappy night's sleep, and it's not helping that she has been working so hard. Taking naps in the evening is only working against her.

Anyway, we're working hard to stay positive..!

i dun fell off

computer crashed over a week ago at home. lots of holiday traveling has kept me away from the office, so no computer access for me. it's helped curb my ebay habit at the very least. it's also helped me realize i don't need to check email and blogs so frequently--let's see if i can get any work done today and tomorrow...

i had a great vacation, hanging out with family, eating lots of food, especially sweets and beer... movies: The Hangover (classic), Role Models (super great), 500 Days of Summer (meh), and soon, PaperHeart (?).

2010 is rollin up fast--no resolutions, just hopes for a healthy wife and baby. Maybe less computer. Finish the basement before Baby Girl arrives.... awesome garden that produces all summer long. Less sleep. A tattoo. And no Ebay. Did I just say that? No Ebay. Wowie. Less Ebay, meaning not checking it everyday.  Hey, it's not 2010 yet. I still have some time to amend my resolutions...  Oh, and at least 800 miles on my bike.

Fat beats, great presents

Text message from C this morning, after her doctor appointment: "Heartaeat 150 but our baby is fat!"

Translation: "The baby's heartbeat is 150 bpm; according to the measurements from our last ultra-sound, the baby appears to be larger (and heavier) than expected! Yikes!"

The good news is the doctor said C's belly... and uterus?... appear to be the right size and in the right place, respectively...

More good news, we keep getting amazing presents from people and the feeling is just so awesome. Pictures to come!

Sleep

C's stomach has generally been feeling better during the day, but sleep has been rough on her and her back is really starting to suffer. Not sure if it mostly the fault of our mattress, or if it is purely the result of her growing belly. Anyways, we are seriously considering getting a new mattress--about which I know nothing...

I actually slept really well last night, and felt more awake this morning than I have in a while. It was probably because I had made coffee last night and set the delay brew for 6:45 this morning...

Speaking of coffee, I've been selfishly enjoying my caffeinated brew daily, while C has managed to keep away from it usually. We both know it's not very good for the baby, but understand that small amounts of caffeine wont hurt (apparently it's okay to drink wine???), but might boost C's spirits/mood/feelings/patience/energy at times.
--
I'll mention I've been having a lot of premonitions that the baby is a girl...

Workin out

It's been really hard for C to get motivated to exercise since being pregnant. As little as I can understand what she has to deal with, it makes total sense that trying to go on a run or lifting weights, or whatever, would seem impossible.

Over the weekend C found a couple pre-natal workout and yoga DVDs. We ended up getting Kathy Smith's "Pregnancy Workout" (Classic edition). I can't find a date on this obviously re-issued video, but these film stills will give you a great idea of what we found.

At the end of the workout, the pregnant ladies are found in a line with Ray-Bans or side-ways baseball caps and start rapping, 80's-style, about being pregnant. Check it out:

I don't think this is really going to get C working out, but it did afford some good laughs... Back to the drawing board

Skateboarding

Yesterday I saw a kid--"kid" but probably not much younger than I--skating in the street directly in front of our house. After maybe 20 minutes, realizing the kid was planning on staying there, I put on a long sleeve shirt, my skate shoes, and grabbed my board. Mind you, it's been well over a year since I actually skated beyond cruising down the street to pick up pizza. Maybe even two years. Damn.

Anyway, I went out and introduced myself to this kid, Joey, who just moved in to the apartments across the street. He was really pretty good. It took me a while to warm up and my goal was to finally land an ollie over the traffic cone that was out there. I finally landed it a few times, after a lot of frustration. I was trying all kinds of 180s and just reclaiming some comfort on my board. We didn't talk a lot, just talked a little about ourselves and talked about how we were old and skateboarding wasn't as easy as it used to be... ha

I was out there hardly 30 minutes before I was exhausted and had to call it quits. Joey was real cool and I'm sure I'll be skating with him soon. But seriously, my entire body hurts today. It hurts to walk, it hurts to sit, it hurts to turn, it hurts to think...But there's something wholly satisfying about these aches that makes me excited about feeling better soon and getting back out on my board, even if it is only in front of my house. Maybe I'll try to build a fun-box from some scrap wood I have for the next time I want to mess around...
--
Currently listening to a playlist of Jackie Mitto music on Imeem.com...

Visiting family, Health, House, Work

It's been a hot minute since any update. As this is a journal of sorts, I owe it to myself to check in.

Well. Things have been good. Mostly quiet. C's nausea seems to be subtly waning away into nothingness.

We were at a family function over the weekend and everyone there knew the news of our pregnancy--which was nice because we could talk freely about it. The moms were able to share stories and were curious to hear about C's experience.

Just before that event we had stopped by C's cousins' house to visit them and their 2-week old daughter. How freaking small! Like, freakishly tiny. I was blown away--like, I had never seen a newborn before. It was the first time I got a little freaked out, like, "This is gonna be us in 6 months!" A new piece of furniture that it seems we don't yet have the space for. We were able to share our good news with them and they were happy for us.

I need to get my butt to work and finish our basement--finish the drywall, add some flooring, and get a bathroom installed down there. After that we can start on a baby's room...
 --
Fears about H1N1/"Swine Flu" are rising and I'm trying to keep optimistic about everything. So many things can go wrong between now and forever that I just can't let those fears dwell in my head space.
--
C and I got in a little argument yesterday about my job and the pressure to work "above and beyond" as a non-exempt yet supposedly "highly-compensated" salaried employee at a fledgling company (this means I'm expected to work over 40 hours a week without over-time pay). I believe any other job in the same line of work will come with similar demands/expectations. The alternative? Quit and become a stay-at-home dad. Maybe get a part-time job. I agree that we could probably take the cut in total income... Is it possible? Would it work? Not yet comfortable with the idea of quitting my job, but can see that it would suck to leave the baby every day in the hands of strangers I'm paying to do what a parent should be doing.

Quote

A waist is a terrible thing to mind. -Jane Caminos

--

I keep reminding C that she's supposed to be gaining weight. I can understand that it's frustrating, but when she complains she always sounds surprised.

Health Is Stealth

My 26th birthday is coming up and I'm trying to crank out a few life-errands before that day hits. Not sure why, but I figure that I've come to the point where I have to start acting like an adult that takes care of himself. Also, I like setting deadlines so if I complete something simple I feel like I'm one step ahead of myself.

Last year I went to the dentist. Twice, even. That was pretty cool until my health insurance mucked everything up. I went to an eye doctor who pointed out my eyes have gone rogue and prefer to not stay in place for long periods of time.

Today I became a new patient at a nearby Family Practice. Is that what it's called? A doctor. I saw a doctor. For as nervous as I was, it was a pretty underwhelming experience. I really like filling out questionnaires, so that was fun. I also enjoy answering questions to which I know the answer. It was gratifying to be reassured that my blood pressure and pulse were in good places. The best news was that my moles, although plentiful and eye-catching, were of no serious concern. Sweet. Other than that, nothing. I guess I was hoping for some sort of receipt to show that I was completely healthy, like you'd get after a 120 point inspection on your car. I mean, the doctor didn't draw blood and perform all sorts of tests. No x-rays. No "Turn your head and cough." Not even a wooden stick down my throat to look at anything there either--and that's gotta be the simplest thing to look at. Just one tetanus shot and I was out the door. Check.

One step closer to being a responsible and healthy adult. Next up is a car inspection. That, or starting a retirement account for myself...

Clean

A salesman came to our house today to demonstrate a water purifying system. The whole experience was estimated to last up to an hour, according to the guy who set it up and promised us a $20 gift card to Home Depot. We were 2 hours deep into this pitch before the guy even started talking about the cost... He had a lot to prove. Unfortunately for him, a lot of it relied on us being average, "hygienic" Americans. One part of our discussion sounded something not much unlike this:

Salesman: How much do you spend on groceries each week?
C: ...$75 a week?
Man: Ok [punching numbers into calculator]. 25% of that budget should be how much you spend on your "cleaning bill"... $18 per week...$80 each month
C & D: [confused looks]
C: Umm...
D: Noo...
C: We don't spend that much. Maybe... $10 each month.
D: Yeah. Ten...
Man: [puzzled] Oh, that includes your soaps, shampoos, bathroom and household cleaners, laundry detergent...?
C & D: [smirking]
D: We use a lot less of that stuff than the average household. We don't do a lot of laundry.
C: I don't wash my hair.
Man: [look of concern and abject horror] You don't wash your hair? It's because you don't like the feeling of the hard water--
C: No, I think it's 'cause I just don't care.
Man: [trying to save this] That's okay. We're all different.
--
The actual conversation was a lot funnier because it was longer and involved us fumbling over a padded description of our lifestyle, while he was trying to keep the ball rolling about his point about saving money. According to their literature, the average household spends $12-15/week on their "cleaning bill." I think we agreed that we spent $10 a month on cleaning products... I'm still convinced that is a liberal estimation...

I don't know if I should spend some time giving an explanation of our unusual/atypical habits. I guarantee this lifestyle would (will?) change dramatically if (when?!) a baby joins up and completes our nuclear family unit. Until then, we will wear most of our clothes multiple times before a wash, and showers will be on an as-needed basis.

Old Old-School

I was thinking about how some of the stuff that I think is cool is basically just regressive and nostalgic in essence. You know? I don't mean like mustaches or aviator sunglasses or popped collars or whatever. I mean like bigger scale, not-ironic kind-of stuff. For example, organic agriculture and small, family farms: like I said before, these are throw-backs to pre-War farming methods. What else? Cycling: essentially unchanged since it's invention in the 1800's (unlike the automobile which was developed around the same time). Environmentalism: basically a way of life before Industrialism. Whole foods: came before mass-production, processing, and packaging.

Strangely, all these things tend to connect, I guess under the umbrella of pre-Industrialism environmentalism. Straight up conservatism. 'Ism for shizzim.

You know when you get that tingly feeling all over...?

So, a higher power decided to help me figure out a costume for Halloween. I was to be a Roof. No, not really. But I apparently have Shingles. That's right: the varicella zoster virus (A.K.A. herpes zoster (A.K.A. same thing as chickenpox, but different (A.K.A. this fuckin sucks!))).

Here is a really colorful description of my recently latent friend Shingles.

Basically I've been experiencing sharp, pinching pains along the right side of my body, a burning rash of blisters on a small, isolated spot on my back, and tingling, sensitive sensations on the skin all over my torso.

I guess I've been harboring this virus since I had chickenpox as a kid, but my immune system decided to take a break and shit went haywire. Am I emotionally distressed? I don't think so. As I understand it, this should be my only Shingles outbreak for the rest of my life.

Oh well. That's all the venting I want to do about it. Tonight C and I went to see Olympic gymnasts at the Tour of Gymnastic Superstars. That was pretty cool. The best part was C being really excited to go. The second best part was rhythmic gymnastics. Then we hung out with J&M--they had bought Alden a little shirt that says "Bark for Barack" on the back of it! How rad.

Ok, it's Saturday night and I'm ready for sleep. Peeeeeeeeace
--
Here's a video to lift your spirits. Special dedication to Brandi Lee and all the hippies at the Homestead.

Run = done

Well, it's about time I write this overdue entry about the marathon. This past Sunday, C and I, together, finished the full Athens Marathon in just over 5 hours. Here's a photo of proof: C was pretty miserable throughout the last 21.2 miles, but I'm proud that she stuck with it and am impressed with how strong she finished. I'm glad I ran with her too: first, she was my inspiration to run; second, I was worried about her either being in too much pain to finish and/or not finishing and being disappointed with herself; and third, I had a stronger desire to run with C and share the experience with her and to act as a motivator for her than I did to find out my best finishing time. Overall, we finished 192nd and 193rd of 213 full-marathon runners.

My recovery has been better than I expected, although I must have twisted my ankle when I was hobbling around after the race, 'cause now it's killing me.

I think this is ridiculous, but I will admit, I kinda' want to run another one. But seriously, the training sucked. Rather, it sucked up all my time. But honestly, I don't think I've ever been as healthy as I've been during the past several months of running 4 days a week. I hope I will keep running, often, and with some long runs every now and again.

--

In other news, Spring has sprung in all its conspicuousness around our home. The big shrubby tree is flowering beautiful white and good-smelling flowers. Small bulbs have busted out of the ground and flowers have appeared there too. For as much as I like plants, I really don't know anything about ornamentals. Alden is really digging this weather too, and it's fun to lay in the grass with him on these sunny afternoons. I've transplanted some strawberries to a pot and the tomatoes in the basement are really pushing for a bigger container. Now that the race is over my mind is turning to road bikes and skateboards. I really hope to build a good road bike, up from a frame I recently acquired. Stay tuned for that project...

Health is wealth

Dead Prez has a song called Be Healthy
It was inspirational to hear a cool hip-hop group rhyming about eating fresh, whole foods and exercising while rejecting alcohol, cigarettes, OTC medicines, and animal products. I first heard this at a time when I was decidedly abstaining from drugs and alcohol, and becoming very passionate about environmentalism, vegetarianism, and farming/gardening. I hope you enjoy the track as much as I do.

For a while now I have been hoping to write a list of the "essential ingredients of my Good Life"--foods and other things that I have made part of my routine. I think it might be useful to share lists like this, though I'm not sure why... Here goes... (in no particular order)

+ Avocado
+ Almonds, raw & unsalted
+ Mangoes, fresh
+ Broccoli & Carrots, raw (mixed with almonds!)
+ Basil
+ Avocado & Tuna (no mayo!)
+ Honey, honey, and more honey!!! (the all-curing panacea)
+ Peanut butter, crunchy
+ Pumpkin pie, chocolate, & cookies made by C
+ More avocado
+ Chipotle

"Who run it?!"

This is the route C and I ran today in 3.5 hours--just short of 19 miles if you don't include walking around Giant Eagle looking for chocolate samples and DVDs...haha! C hasn't run more than 90 minutes since last April, and then busted out with this 210 minute monster? She's crazy--crazy beautiful. Long runs are fun because, as C has convinced me, it is necessary to reward oneself. So, a great (big) lunch, some miscellaneous shopping, a terrific dinner including sweet Italian sausage, and Graeter's ice cream.

Also, we got some seeds started today! This included two varieties of tomatoes, two types of peppers, creeping thyme, and basil. I set up a 4' shop light with daylight spectrum bulbs in the basement. Hopefully the cool temperature down there doesn't stifle the germination of our lil' buddies. The shop light was already in the house. Some chain to hang the light, 2 bulbs, and the starting trays cost around $25. I'll post a picture of the set up when plants start pokin' out of the soil.

I'm getting pretty excited about life including warmer temperatures, bike riding and gardening with C, skateboarding, and playing with Aldocho.