Motivation Station

Tomorrow, my cousin Megan is walking her first half marathon. 13 miles is a long way to go... and for additional challenge, one of those miles is the Tacoma Narrows bridge- and Megan is afraid of heights. She's nervous, she's having doubts... but I know she will finish, and in less than 4.5 hours. It's just a matter of putting one foot in front of the other... over and over.
Here are some suggestions for a playlist for the half. I know it's not 13 miles worth of music... but these are songs that I think should be mixed in.

Poundcake Van Halen- It's kinda impossible not to walk like a supermodel if this is playing in your head.

You Get What You Give New Radicals- Perfect for "pushing through"

Where the Streets Have No Name U2 - While the opening line, "I want to run..." may be better suited to...running, it's still a good song with a good message.

Let's Dance to Joy Division The Wombats- Has nothing to do with running, or personal victories... but it's a catchy little disco number. A hard-to-be-discouraged song.

Mama Said Knock You Out LL Cool J- "I'm gonna take this itty bitty world by storm... and I'm just getting warm." Enough said.

Ray of Light Madonna - A workout standard for a reason.

These Boots are Made for Walking Nancy Sinatra

Body Movin' Beastie Boys - As far as I know, this is Beastie Boys' only dance number.

Lose Yourself Eminem- It's difficult to believe that a song that includes a reference to puking up mom's spaghetti can be inspirational.

Topaz and Follow Your Bliss The B-52s - I think these are pretty songs to drive, run, or walk to. They are sort of soundtrack-y.

Be OK Ingrid Michaelson -uptempo, cute, catchy, fun. The lyrics are only mildly depressing... try substituting "aching feet" for "broken heart"?

You and Me Dave Matthews Band I think if Dave was telling me, "You and me together, we can do anything, baby," I would believe him. I would walk 13 miles with my arms out, spinning.

Good Luck, Megan! You can do it!

Aye, Papi.

Today we learned that David Ortiz tested positive for steroids in 2003. He's one of the 127 names on "the list" that MLB has of players who tested positive. The list that was supposed to be confidential, but is getting made public in drips and drabs.

Not a big shocker that Big Papi was juicing. I'm sure that my once-boyfriend Johnny Damon is on the list, too. It would not surprise me at all to learn that a full 100% of MLB players used some sort of performance enhancer.

So let's get it over with, so we can move on. Make the list public... we will have forgotten our fury in a month or so. The Olympics are coming, they might provide a distraction.

This "scandal" has drug on too long. It's no longer just a black eye on baseball... It's baseball's abusive drunken boyfriend.

I toot my own horn

suggested by EurekaLoop

"What would happen if you suddenly decided to take the rest of the week off of work?"

I've started to tell people that I have the easiest job in the world, but that isn't entirely true.
I've been doing my job for about 12 years, and I have become pretty good at it. I work for a surgeon who has a part-time practice. I am the receptionist, practice manager, and everything in between.

If I decided to take the rest of the week off, first of all, my boss would be surprised- I don't think I have called in sick in all those years. But, she would be okay with it, and she could get by without me for a few days... but that's about it.

In fact, there is a folder in my work computer labeled "What to do when Kaycee is gone," so that she and the nurse would know what to do with bills and checks and insurance and physical therapists and primary care physicians and attorneys who call.

I've heard the boss tell other doctors that I am indispensable. That's an awfully nice thing to hear... and it makes me want to stay on my toes and keep doing a good job.

Hot enough for ya?

We have established that I enjoy the heat. It was a little too warm today, the water in my pool was 86 degrees. Hardly refreshing...

All snark aside, I do feel sorry for the local news reporters that are sent out to cover Heat Wave '09. They must get so sick of doing the same story year after year... interview with a roofer. Get tips from a veterinarian about keeping Fido cool. Live story from the local water attraction, interview with tatooed guy about how he no A/C, so he came to the pool to cool down.
(I do NOT feel sorry for the same reporters when they are sent to stand by the side of the road in the ice storms to try to catch fender benders on tape. That is pure entertainment, and I get up early for it.)

Yes, it's hot. It's going to stay hot, then it will be September. Just like last year, just like next year.

8 things I love about the oppressive heat

Triple digits today in the Willamette Valley, and I couldn't be happier.

*We have central air conditioning, so I can sleep fine at night... but that is really the only time I truly appreciate it.

* I love the pool in the backyard. The water was 82 degrees today- perfect. My daughter is happy to dive for nickels on the bottom while my husband and I float around and bump into each other.

* Skirts! I love that I can wear skirts and sandals and no nylons.

* I love that I don't have to cook much- my husband grills whatever we eat.

* I love that I can wear shorts and tank tops and not be chilly.

* I love ice cream in the evenings.

* I love being barefoot.

* I love that it is still hot outside after dark. Makes me want to skinny dip!

Things I learned this week

My head is much better now. I was quite surprised to learn last night that the smell of cigarette smoke hurts my sinuses, and therefore my head. The smoke + grass+ heat+ beer= headache, but I took care of it with Afrin and Ibuprofen.
Bahamarama, my friend Pams' party, was terrific. There were 6 pirates, 2 belly dancers, 3 bands, 1 didgeridoo-ist (awesome), and tons of interesting people. I wished we could have stayed for the fire dancers, Madison remembered them from last time and was looking forward to them the most. Next year.

Here's what I learned this week:


* I learned that even though I *know* they are actors, or re-enactors, pirates are hot.

* I became a fan of a local singer/ songwriter with the most amazing voice. Her name is Elles. She played at the party last night. Here is a short video. Her voice is incredible.




* I fretted for a few days, because I needed a go-to potluck dish. I think I have one: marinated fresh mozzarella and tomato salad with fresh basil. It went over really well and I am going to take it to my next potluck.

* I learned that I am not immune to Twilight mania. 3 (and a half) down, 1 to go- I should be able to come up for air sometime tomorrow.

Best Ken ever.

I had a whirlwind of a fantastic day. Another band performance followed by the BEST party, which I departed early, before the fire dancers, due to a splitting headache. I'll write more about it tomorrow.

Tonight, I give you a photo of a Ken doll I spied at the party. I don't know who he belongs to. I just know he's rockin a pink halter top, a fur vest and a glittery cape, and I love him.

This one time, at band camp...

This is the Valley Youth Summer Band Camp band, performing in Central Park in Corvallis. Madison is on the far right.

This band camp is unique. It is headed by Corvallis High School's band director, and rehearsals are at CHS. Most of the kids are going into 7th or 8th grade, but there are a few freshmen, and even one sophomore.
The band has had 4 two-hour rehearsals. Tonight was the first of four performances.

Isn't the park a beautiful setting for a concert? And the weather was perfect. I took a video of "Rhumba Numba". Watch my kid let the music get in her soul.

Mommy Crack

After reading yesterday's miserably short and uninteresting post, my cousin Megan sent me a link to an unpublished draft of "Midnight SUn", which is the first half of Twilight, from Edward's perspective. So I was thrilled, because I had just been thinking that Twilight would have been really interesting from Edward's point of view.
Megan correctly pointed out that these books are "mommy crack." I have to admit that I got almost no work done today, because I read Midnight Sun. And it was good.

But I don't quite believe the story that author Stephenie Meyer gives for how it ended up on the internet. On her site, where she sells books. She says that the draft was leaked, and that she is pissed, and disappointed and blah, blah, blah,
and to save her fans the guilt and anguish of looking for an unauthorized version, she decided to post it on her website.
I'm not buying it, Stephenie Meyer, but I would have if you were selling it. And I thank you for posting it, it's very generous, I loved every page of it. Tomorrow, I am going to buy the third and fourth books, so I can get them out of my system over the weekend.

Is there some sort of rehab for this?

Thank Goodness there are only 4.

My posts may be a little short and distracted over the next few days, I started reading the Twilight books. Madison had read the first two, and last week her buddy let her borrow the DVD. I figured I better read the book before I watched the movie, so I read the first book. It is good, a real page-turner- I read it in two sittings, with only sleep in between. On it's own, I don't think it's worthy of the mania it has caused. Then I saw the movie. Holy Cow, Cedric Diggory is hot. So the movie made the book a little better. Now, I have about 1/4 of the second book left. Pretty good stuff, I guess.
I cant remember the last time I read any type of romance novel... In fact, I wonder if I ever have? So I really have nothing to compare these books to. They aren't any great literary works, there is no hard thinking to be done, just a good story.
I gotta go finish my book now.

suggested by Home Interests

"If a pill could remove past fears created by certain events would you take the pill?"

Well what a coincidence, I saw a snake today and was thinking about blogging about it, but decided instead to go for a mindbump.

So the question is, would I take a pill to erase a fear caused by certain events? Hell yes! If I could take a pill so that I could enjoy snakes, I would definitely do it. The snake I saw today was a California Red Sided garter snake- I has to look it up, because I have never seen a snake with a red head before. If I didn't hate the damned thing so much, I might be able to enjoy seeing a type of animal I have never seen before.

I can't think if any reason why anyone would NOT take the pill. I think fear caused by instinct and knowledge is helpful, I guess... but irrational fears like mine? Sign me up for a trial of prescription-strength Phobex.

photo

8 things I would plant in my garden (if I had a garden )

A month or so ago, I bought two tomato plants and a basil plant, and put them in pots on my patio. They are doing okay, I have fruit on one of the tomato plants, and I am eager for the tomatoes to turn red. While I am happy with my two pots, They remind me of all the vegetables I could be growing, if I had time and patience and less dogs. Here is what would be in my ideal garden:

*Zucchini, or as I call it, "Free Squash." I can't grow it here, I've tried twice. After failing to grow zucchini on two occasions, I gave up. I mean, how humiliating.
Before we moved here, we lived in Stayton, and we planted our first garden. I guess I left my husband to do some planting alone, because he planted an antire packet of zucchini seeds, about 10 hills worth, in a row about 50 feet long. We had lots of zukes that year.

*Raspberries. Twice, my dad has lived in homes where a previous owner has had a raspberry patch, and I was pissed both times he moved. How I love those soft furry berries.

* Peas- the fat, sweet kind.

*Green beans- so that I could can them. They are one of the only vegetables that my daughter realizes that she enjoys.

* Artichokes- I have seen them grown around here, and I recently discovered how much I enjoy eating fresh artichokes. I want to try it.

* Rhubarb- we had a plant in the front yard up until my husband sprayed roundup on it a couple years ago. It made good pie.

* Nasturtiums- my mom let some nasturtiums take over her garden a few years ago. They are so pretty and fun to eat in salads, the little buds taste like radish before they open.

* Lemon thyme- my second favorite salad garnish.

Day three: Things I learned this week

This will be my last TS related post for a while, I promise. I'm sorta Turnered out. Here's what I learned this week:

* Women with TS have large feet for their size.

* Thick hair seems to be related to TS.

* The only two thing all the girls and women we met had in common was that they were short and white. I met a woman with TS who has two children of her own, I met bright, sucessful women and girls, and I met women who have obvious difficulty with learning and relationships. There were girls with short legs and regular torsos and girls with longer legs and proportionate torsos. And while MOST of the women had really thick hair, all of them did not.

* I learned that there is another girl with TS that lives in the same town we do.

Day Two: The day after the Meltdown

Today went much better. We got some useful information, like: the company that manufactures Madison's growth hormone will pay our copay for a year, regardless of our income. Also, TS girls have regular size feet. I talked to more parents, one who paid $160,000, all her savings, to buy growth hormone for three years for her daughter because insurance would not cover it. (her daughter grew nine inches, which is amazing) I was encouraged to enroll Madison in the NIH TS study, which involves a week in Bethesda.
I did a lot of observing today.
I observed girls and women with TS. I mentally compared Madison to every single one of them. I don't know if I came to any conclusions. I noticed that without exception, women and girls with TS are friendly and nice, and open.
We watched the talent show.
I guess the most important thing I learned today was that Madison is getting top-notch care. She has had every single test that the TS Physician's advisory board recommends, and her cardiologist is the nation's finest- as far as TS goes. We are fortunate to live near OHSU, where he practices.

Madison had a great time today. She handled snakes, played TS Jeopardy, and got her fingernails painted bright red. We spent an hour or so in the pool. She made a friend, who had to leave tonight- one day early. We are looking forward to tomorrow, when we will learn about visual-spatial issues before we go home- which is maybe what I am looking forward to the most.

Day One: The Meltdown

We made it to the conference. The Turner Syndrome Society has done a great job with the conference agenda- for most of the conference, the girls are separate from the parents... and there is another separate track for adult women with TS. Today, Madison's group, the 11-13 year olds, toured PDX, learned a line dance, played Shipwreck, and had Jamba Juice. I attended two sessions. The first was Genetics 101, which was led by a geneticist who has TS. Not too interesting. The second session dealt with social issues that girls with TS face, and I learned a lot.
When I rejoined Madison for the 1st time convention-goers reception, she had a mini meltdown. Tears, tears, tears. I suppose I had a meltdown, too. We were both tired and cranky. Grandma calmed us down and saved the day. We ate dinner and I am currently sitting by the pool which is filled with miniature girls having the time of their lives.

I'm not packing heels.

Tomorrow, Madison and I will head to Portland to meet my mom for the Turner Syndroms Society Conference. I am excited about the conference, but also nervous.

I'm excited for Madison to meet other girls with TS. I'm excited to hear from physicians what we can expect in the future. I'm excited to talk to other parents about how they deal with shots and co-pays and tests and all the other delights of Turner Syndrome.
I consider our family very lucky, since the conference is in our backyard this year, the first conference since her diagnosis.

However, as the conference draws nearer, I am a little nervous. What if we learn about risks we didn't know about? I'm just now starting to come to terms with the first set of realities, I am sort of gun-shy about getting new information I guess.

Probably just stupid nerves. We are going to have a blast, and learn good things and meet great people. Either that, or we will spend all weekend in the hotel pool.

A mindbump for today

suggested by Home Interest

"What smells remind you of your childhood and why?"

The smell of the Rainier Brewery, which is now gone, always reminds me of when I was little and living in Seattle. The brewery sat where the West Seattle freeway met I-5, and the brewery smell meant we were close to home.

The smell of cigarettes and coffee reminds me of my grandpa George.

Alki Beach in Seattle has a smell all its own- low tide, fast food and more than a hint of marijuana. We lived there for a year or two.

When I was young, my grandma Kay had Ernie, the fartinest dog you ever met. I don't smell dog farts often, but when I do, they remind me of Ernie the dachshund.

8 intriguing things about a wedding I heard about

I did make a rather lengthy post yesterday, and some dedicated readers, and one whom I notified, saw it. That post has been archived. Instead, here is the "8 things" post that should have been on Monday.

I heard about an unusual wedding this weekend. Here are 8 things that set it apart from your typical wedding:

* The groom is a Magic the Gathering enthusiast.

* He and his bride agreed to begin dating after they took a compatibility quiz that one of them authored.

* The groom's sister is a tweaker in an abusive relationship that spends a great deal of time trying to convince her family that she has an ideal life.

* The groom asked his scabbed sister to style his hair into a smart feathered bob with a blow dryer. She did. And shaved him.

* The bride and groom both remained chaste and pure until, presumably, their wedding night.

* Two years ago, the groom stood up in the very church where the wedding was held and painfully admitted his addiction to internet porn.

* After they were proclaimed Man and Wife, the groom embraced her and tried for a passionate tongue kiss. She rebuked him in her man voice in front of their friends and family.

* No matter how strange our friends and families may be, we love them in spite of, or maybe because of, their quirks.

Things I learned this week

What a fun, busy week. Here's what I learned:

* I learned how to shoot a bow and arrow, and it was fun! And, I'm something of a marksman, if I do say so myself.

* I learned how to make a rocket using a pop bottle, water, and air pressure. Awesome!

* I learned that salons are closed on Sundays. I thought they were closed on Mondays!

* I learned about Lasqueti Island, in British Columbia. It is completely off the grid, and connected to the outside world by a passenger-only ferry. It's 350 year-round residents do have cars, but they have to be barged in. There are no grocery stores, just an informal food co-op. Could this be a successful commune?

Myth: Confirmed

Today was a great day at my house. A Mythbusters marathon started when we got out of bed, and it is still going now, at 7:30 pm, and there hasn't been a repeat. They also aired many episodes that I either hadn't seen, or hadn't seen in a good, long while.

I think Mythbusters is one of the best shows on television. My whole family enjoys it, and we all learn from it. I often hear people remark about things they know to be true or false because they "saw it on Mythbusters."

So, since myths are on my mind today, I would like to offer my expertise in confirming a myth, or old wives' tale.

It is true that people with arthritis can feel the weather changing in their bones.

I don't know how it works exactly, I suspect it has something to do with pressure or temperature... but the day before a big storm rolls in, or a day after a heat wave begins, I get lots of calls at work from folks complaining about unexplained aching. It's not unusual for them to laugh and say "maybe it's the weather..."
It is.

I don't have any "data" or "facts" or "proof", so you are going to have to take my anecdotal word for it. Maybe Adam and Jamie can put it to the test.

I'm a proud mom.

After our week of camping, Madison got to go camping for another week, at girl scout day camp in Lebanon. This is noteworthy because she camped with girls from another Service Unit (town), she completed her Program Aid training, which qualifies her to be a Program Aid at next year's camp, and she spent the night at camp with the other PAs and PAs In Training (PAITS).

You may remember a few weeks back we went on a field trip with the girl scouts to the manufactured home plant and hydroelectric plant, among other places. This trip was to lay the ground work for badges that Madison and the other Older Girls would be earning.

On Sunday, I spent the night with Madison in her new tent, with her new friend Amber, pictured above. The camp directors asked for adult help, so I helped all that I could, which was on Monday and Friday. I was so impressed with all the work the organizers did to put this camp together, and all the opportunities they presented to the girls. In one week, Madison and the other girls:
*learned to take photographs from an accomplished photgrapher (who took the above photo)
*learned to read a star map and charted constellations with an astronomer.
*made rockets.
*made paper.
*sampled water quality.
*performed skits.
*sang songs.
*made cookies.
*blew giant bubbles.
*made a terrarium and an aquarium.
*set up and maintained a recycling station.

And those are the "big ones"... there were all kinds of smaller activities happening all around camp.

At the end of camp, there was an award ceremony, Madison had earned 4 badges and her PA pin. She worked hard and I am very proud of her.

Then, after the younger girls left, the adults and older girls were called to a meeting where other women complained about the lack of free time at camp and threatened not to come back next year. I hope they stay home and enjoy their free time.

Crater Lake

We spent one day at Crater Lake National Park.

I was looking forward to seeing Crater Lake. I knew it was deep, and clear and blue. I had seen photos. None of them did the lake justice. The lake glows the deepest sapphire blue, as if it is lit from within. I am puzzled about how the water can be so clear- clear enough that from the crater rim, approximately 175 stories above the surface of the water, you can see the lake bottom near shore- and yet so blue. It really was magnificent. It's one of those things you have to experience to understand. It reminds me of our trip to the Redwoods a few years ago. We knew we were going to see really tall trees, but we didn't understand how big the trees were until we actually stood beneath them. Trees as big as skyscrapers.

We hiked the Cleetwood Cove trail down to the shore, and we took a dip. The water was as cold as it was clear, but it felt good on that 95 degree day. Our wet shorts kept us cool on the way back up. We drove to Rim Village, where we browsed in the crowded gift shop and checked out some interpretive signs and interactive displays at Sinnott Memorial, before our stomachs told us it was time to head back to La Pine.

I was not prepared.

I like to be prepared. I overpack. I bring clothes for every possible weather scenario, for each day. I bring too much food. I bring extra batteries, extra hats, extra bandannas.

On this trip, Madison brought an extra tent- one to sleep in, and one to store her extra stuff in. I was secretly proud of how much stuff she brought. She even thought to bring tweezers!

We knew before we left that we would be feeding Spencer's mom, stepfather, two younger brothers and his other recently divorced brother Jeff and Jeff's three kids for some meals. His mother would provide the other meals. Jeff provided children.

It occured to me on day 2 or 3 that Jeff has never in his life packed for trip. Either his mother or his wife did. I also assumed that Jeff was told to just bring the kids, we would take care fo the rest. So that's what he did.

By day 4, I was out of sunscreen, bug spray, juice, chips, beer, pop, clean cups, and Spencer was nearly out of chewing tobacco. Even though I packed 6 chairs for my family of three, I often had to sit on a stump. The extra bar of soap I keep in the trailer was gone. I had planned on providing food, not providing everything.
It was hard not to be irritated. I wonder if I was irritated because my reserves were depleted, or because I hadn't thought to bring more stuff?

I have a confession to make

This is the story of the worst part of my trip.

I have a little dog to go with my RV. I also have a wicker basket on my bicycle. When people see my basket, they invariably ask if my dog, Tina, rides in the basket.
The answer is no. Tina doesn't ride in the basket, she doesn't wear sweaters, she doesn't yip, she doesn't go in my handbag. Tina mostly sleeps.

One night in La Pine, I had had maybe one glass of wine too many when I decided to give it a try. I got the pad from Tina's dog bed and put it into my basket. Then I put Tina in my basket.

She didn't look too uncomfortable. She didn't exactly lie down or wag her tail, but she sorta leaned against the side of the basket and peeked over. We went for a slow ride. 100 yards or so, no problem. U-turn, no problem. We returned to our starting point, and I called for Spencer to come watch.
Spencer came to see, and as I took off again, Tina bailed. Maybe she was uncomfortable in the basket, maybe she was trying to get to Spencer, who knows. She landed on her head. No whimper, no noise, no bark. Almost immediately after she landed, I scooped her up and told her how sorry I was. I took her and her cushion to the trailer, apologizing the whole way.

When I set her down near her bed, I noticed something was wrong. She was walking in circles, as if she were very slowly chasing her tail. This was the beginning of a terrible seizure.

She has had seizures before, rarely. I have never witnessed one. It was awful. It took about 3 minutes for the violent jerking to subside, followed by a longer period of blindness. Once she regained her sight, her back legs were paralyzed for about an hour.

Eventually, of course, she returned to normal. The next day, she was enjoying sleeping the central Oregon sunshine like nothing had ever happened. If anything good came of her seizure, it was that Spencer remembered all of her previous seizures, and realized that they had all been preceded by falls (out of bed, out of kids' arms), which explains why they are so rare- a truly epileptic dog has seizures more often. We had previously assumed that the falls were caused by the beginning of the seizure.

So there's that.

I return to the real world

I am back from vacation. I did write every day, although I did not have time to enjoy the pen on paper experience as I had hoped. What I did do was take notes, so that I could remember things to blog about when I returned. I also have a ton of photos. I thought that I would have one long "What I did on my Summer Vacation" post when I returned, but I think it will be better to have a few small stories. I'll start tonight.