Riding

 

Today I got on my road bike for the first time in two years and took a training ride. Admittedly, I was a little nervous about getting on my bike, concerned that the extra weight I have gained over the past three years would cause a tire to blow. So silly.

The ride wasn't long, just up to the Cathedral and back, but I tried to make every mile count and kept the cadence as high as I dared for being so out of shape.

When the endorphins kicked in around Mile 2, I wept like someone in mourning, desperate to cast off the slothful attitudes I have taken toward exercise. I don't like to exercise, but I do love to ride my bike. When I am in the saddle, I feel so strong and confident and free. Perhaps this feeling is rooted in nostalgia for that time in childhood when i realized wheels were freedom and for when I felt fearless.

As I enter another new chapter in my professional life, I long to harness this confidence and the ease to push myself harder as I do when I have wheels beneath me.

PS: here's another first...blogging on my phone. The digital age is truly amazing!!

[kids'] summer break, day one

7:40. Husband's phone alarm sounds well in advance of our agreed upon summer wake-up time of 8 a.m. Annoying.
8:00. My phone alarm goes off. Press snooze. We had a late night waiting for the power to be restored and watched the first half of Argentina vs. Brazil, followed by Mountain of Storms, a climbing film with Yves Chouinard (Patagonia founder) and Doug Tompkins (Esprit founder). Simon speculates that we went to bed after 1 a.m.
8:27. Finally rise and wake the children for the first day of their summer break. Yay!! Oatmeal with brown sugar--and sprinkles--for all my friends.
9:30. Hour of power: reading. Harriet the Spy (Louise Fitzhugh) for me; The Name of This Book Is Secret (Pseudonymous Bosch) for Winston; and The Unwanteds (Lisa McMann) for Simon.
11:30. Fold first of many laundry baskets. Make note to teach boys how to fold their own clothes.
12. Make the boys salami and cheese quesadillas. I know. Please don't judge. Make note that the boys cannot make this "the usual" lunch. Look for healthier, but exciting (!) options.
12:30. Run Simon to painting class at MCAD. Marvel at design college's awesome studios with 12'-0" ceilings lined by clerestory windows. Sigh.
1. Return home to start dinner salad. Trying to find new and easy options for game nights. Last night I grilled salmon (Lund's had a BOGO). Today, I boiled small red potatoes, corn on the cob, and green beans; chopped cucumber, sliced scallions, halved cherry tomatoes; tossed all with a red wine vinegar-olive oil-mustard-squeeze of lemon dressing. Recipe adapted from one in the new DALS cookbook.
2:45. Pick up Winston from free play at JoTP. Haul to Minneapolis to pick up Simon. Make note to find better tunes for car (radio sucks, tired of CDs in glove box).
3:45. Finish making dinner, feed kids. Breathe. Find reading material for practice.
5:30. Take Winston to lax practice at Arlington Tech, our home away from home until mid July.
7:15. Cruise to Roseville for Simon's lax game.
9. Hang happy with the boys. Reward husband and self with a lovely glass of vinho verde. Forget that vinho verde is carbonated and won't survive until the next day so finish bottle.
12. Bed, capping a wonderful, busy first day of summer vacation.

Spring clean-up

(http://home.comcast.net/~milazinkova/Fogshadow.html)

Can you believe that this past Saturday (May 19) was the first opportunity I have had in six months to schlep our fall 2011 leaf bags to the yard waste recycling center?! Holy smokes. Since October, we have had close to 50 black plastic bags piled in front of our house. And, it’s only in hindsight that I wish I had spray painted the pile a glossy fuchsia or turquoise and called it a Christo-inspired art installation. Winter came earlier than expected? The weather in intervening months has been wildly unpredictable? This past spring semester has been more demanding than ever? All true, but searching for an excuse in pathetic. I know.

Full wayback

Finally, Simon and I endure the hideous traffic around St. Thomas (graduation day) this past weekend, and made three trips to the recycling center. These trips were as many as we could manage before the boys’ lacrosse practice. All the bags were muddy, wormy, and heavy with the wet accumulated from winter snow and heavy spring rains. Many bags had holes, inevitable given the number of sticks we bagged, and fetid liquid poured from them. The recycling center emitted the evil sweet smell of decay, and I half expected something to rise from the depths of lawn clippings and discarded landscaping.

When we returned home from our last trip, tired and caked in mud, we laid the remaining fourteen bags on the front steps to dry in the sun. The hope was to make one final push after reinforcing (ha!) ourselves with  bloody Marys. Colin and Helena, who came to brunch on Sunday commented on the body bags in our front yard.

By Monday, following another rain, these bags had a heft that certainly suggested body parts. I made two solo trips to finish one small part of what is destined to be a major yard cleanup. As I ripped open the first bag and dumped the partially wet contents, I realized most of the waste center’s odor was coming directly from, no surprise, my contribution.

yard waste recycling, a marvelous thing

movies seen in 2011

For posterity, here is my movie list from 2011. My favorites are in bold; avoid-at-all-costs are in italics.

• Oxford Murders (looked fun, but didn't grip me or leave much of an impression)

• The Kids Are Alright (Annette Benning was fantastic in this crazy dramedy about an unconventional family)

• New York, I Love You (a few bright spots, multiple storylines were more annoying than clever)

• Tangled (saw on my Whidbey Island visit, cute and funny, though without the feminist twist I'd wanted)

• The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (enjoyable, love the Pevenseys' adventures, fairly faithful to novel)

• Green Hornet (saw at the theater with the boys, Seth Rogan made us laugh a lot)

• Prince Caspian (enjoyable, more Pevenseys)

• The King's Speech (strong candidate for favorite, loved everything about it, can't wait to see again)

• Black Swan (creep-tastic but very well done, saw with Tracy and the Jills)

• Secretariat (felt like a classic Disney family movie, cried a lot)

• Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (followed the novel pretty close, fell asleep, may need to see again)

• Rango (fine existential moments and a stunning animated homage to John Ford, at worst it felt long)

• Love and Other Drugs (I'm a sucker for most romantic comedies, this was fine)

• Romantics (indie romantic comedy based on Galt Niederhoffer novel, lots of uncomfortable moments but overall satisfying for atmosphere, wardrobe, quirkiness)

• Inception (clever and compelling but no Matrix)

• Going the Distance (romantic comedy with Drew Barrymore and Justin Long; a tad disappointing)

• An Affair to Remember ("A" in A-Z challenge; classic; okay)

• The Apartment (part of A-Z challenge; classic; Shirley Maclaine is zany fun; favorite part was 1960s b&w)

• Planet of the Apes (the 2001 Mark Wallberg remake, in anticipation of the 2011 origin story)

• The Tourist (really enjoyed this romantic spy thriller with Angelina Jolie and Johnny Depp)

• Brideshead Revisited (A-Z challenge, 2008 movie version with Emma Thompson, enjoyed)

• Big Sleep (always good)

• Blade Runner [director's cut] (A-Z challenge, really should see back-to-back with original version)

• Black Narcissus (A-Z challenge; hysterical, racist, anti-feminist; I hated this movie--did I miss something?)

• (500) Days of Summer (at times charming, other times annoying; jury is out on Zooey Deschanel)

• Tamara Drewe (movie version of graphic novel, likeable)

• Thor (saw 3D by default, Chris Hemsworth was definitely hunky)

• Herb and Dorothy (watched this documentary about these art collectors twice)

• No Strings Attached (third of three Natalie Portman movies in 2011, sexy and fun)

• Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Rodrick Rules (W and I saw this movie together, which made it more)

• Capote (mixed feelings about this movie, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Catherine Keener were each exceptional, opening scenes were chilling and atmospheric)

• Unzipped (watched three or four times, Isaac Mizrahi: I love you, that's all)

• Kung Fu Panda 2 (not as good as the first, John and I were disappointed that the voice overs were different from KFP1, then shocked to learn they were, actually, the same)

• Midnight in Paris (love, love Paris, love the lost generation, love)

• Juno (second viewing, still awesome--funny and moving)

• Casino (pleasantly surprised; sexy, bright, colorful)

• Seamless (recommended to me through online service, great documentary about young designers, Anna Wintour has a huge presence, loved it so watched it twice)

• Green Lantern (awful)

• Adjustment Bureau (more cool time travel)

• Mr. Popper's Penguins (cute and fun)

• Modesty Blaise (disappointing; a bit campier than I had hoped)

• Harry Potter 7, part 2 (highly anticipated, not disappointed)

• Foxes (how did I miss this as a teen? Jodi Foster is so poised amongst her racy friends)

• Cowboys and Aliens (worst movie of the year; John and I took the boys, who found it disturbingly violent; nothing that years of therapy can't reverse?)

• Transformers 3 (pleasantly surprised; Sam Witwicky's parents save the day; 4th highest grossing film of all time?!)

• Tron: Legacy (again, pleasantly surprised; can't be a hater!)

• Bridesmaids (definitely pee-your-pants funny, one of my favs from 2011)

• Kids (now with a vintage feel, Chloe Sevigny is great as a tough NYer)

• Spy Kids 4 (with smell-o-vision; Carmen and Juni are all grown up and waging sibling rivalry; blah)

• National Treasure (watched with the boys who were seeing for the first time, fun again)

• Cedar Rapids (I had no idea how funny this movie might be, sleeper)

• Contagion (couldn't touch a door knob for a week or more after seeing this infectious disease flick)

• A Dolphin's Tale (heartwarming movie based on a true story, 11-year-old rescues a dolphin and lobbies an army doctor to built a prosthetic tale; parallel story of boy's cousin who is recovering from Gulf War injury)

• Real Steel (the boys loved this movie about boxing robots; we're more likely to have boxing robots in our future than flying cars...what a rip off)

• Rendition (2nd of 3 Jake Gyllenhaal movies for the year; gripping and maddening drama)

• Moneyball (should win awards, a favorite)

• Elf (watched twice, once with the boys who were seeing it for the first time, they laughed in all the appropriate and predictable places)

• Source Code (clever time travel movie, good action, happy with the resolution)

• Bridget Jones' Diary (Christmas Day, loosen the belt movie with the in-laws)

• Tintin (loved, great adventure, CGI animation not as creepy as anticipated, Tintin and Snowy rule!)