Ask Betsy

Did you know that people who comment on my blog are among the most superawesomesexy people on the entire internet?

Well, you totally are.

In the past few months, I've gotten comments that included questions. Since I don't feel like doing any work right now, it's time for a round of Ask Betsy.

My friend Courtney (who I went to college with and is pondering running a trisko and who totally should and also is awesome)asked about my weight training program - do I do major muscle groups, or what?

I try to keep things simple. I do lat pull-downs, biceps, triceps, hip flexes, leg curls, leg extensions, and inner and outer thighs. I keep the weights fairly light and do 2-3 sets of 12 reps. When I start marathon training in a couple of months, I am going to meet with a personal trainer to get some recommendations.

Database Diva wondered how I managed to make it from high school to 2007 without any major injuries. Ah, that's easy. In those 10 years, I didn't run that much. A couple times a week, I'd go out and run maybe 3 miles. I'd knock out a 5K if it was somewhere cool and I wanted a t-shirt. I quit running completely when I was pregnant. My doctor's advice on exercising was to listen to my body. My body said, "Eat a ham sandwich the size of your thigh along with a chocolate milkshake and a bag of gummy bears, then what say you and I take a nap?" And I listened. I also hardly ran at all when Jack was a baby because I was just too worn out. I was a serious runner in high school, then had a fallow period, then came back to it again. How I came back to it and got serious again is, of course, a longer post.

My last post created several questions about my beloved coffee. TriGirl Thea asked if Folger's has a bad name in the US. I can't speak for my entire country, but I find it watered down and bland. Shelah asked if drinking coffee makes me hot. I am probably not the right person to ask, because nothing would stop me from drinking it and because I have been known to walk through a snowstorm for ice cream. It doesn't bother me, I'll say that much! Nibbles asked me what my favorite kind of coffee is. I tend to like Latin American coffees, like Guatemalan, but I also like Kona, Jamaican Blue Ridge, and Sumatra. The house coffee at Stately Wasser Manor is Verona from 'bucks.

Nibbles had more questions - if I get bored running in loops and how the trisko training is going. I don't get bored with the loops because they're long and varied - it's not like running laps around the block. Sunday, for example, I am going to run three miles down a big-ass hill, to the path by the Mississippi River, and back, get some water, then do a flat 1.5 miles out and back through some neighborhoods. And the trisko training is going really well. It's so much fun to be doing speedwork again. This week I did 8x400, and I rocked those bitches out! My pace averaged 1:47, which is really fast for me.

The Bets was psyched to find another woman named Betsy who is a runner and a coffee lover. Well guess what - there are three of us. Check out another Betsy at Eat, Drink, Run, Woman. EDRW Betsy is training her butt off in hopes of qualifying for Boston, and since she lives in Seattle, I think it's safe to say that the girl knows her way around a cup of coffee.

And finally, for those of you who have astutely noted that Jack is the cutest thing ever, all I can say is that this is empircally true.

Good Hydrations

This week's Take It and Run Thursday is all about hydration.

So, about hydration? I'm for it.

Honestly, I don't really do anything that unusual. When I have a long run, I'll put an insulated bag with a water bottle (reusable, naturally) in it and will drink when I loop back by my house. This system works well for me because I don't like to carry water with me. I haven't found anything yet that's comfortable and doesn't leak. And it's kind of nice having my water waiting for me when I loop back home.

When I'm finished running, I have a bottle of Gatorade waiting for me in the fridge. I like the yellow kind, and I buy it in powder form to mix with water, since it's much cheaper that way.

But if we're going to talk about liquids that are vital to one's well being, there's only one that truly fills my heart:

Coffee.

I have been drinking coffee since I was 11 years old - almost as long as I've been a runner. I can admit with absolutely no shame whatsoever that I am truly addicted to it. And for me, the first cup of coffee is like that first hit of heroin for an addict in withdrawl - it's not so much about feeling good as it is about avoiding feeling bad. The subsequent cups of coffee, however, are pure joy.

Do I drink coffee before going running? Um, do you expect me to be awake when I'm running? Because that's obviously not going to happen on its own. That said, if I have a long run scheduled in the morning, I limit myself to that one cup. Then I'll choose Gu with caffiene to make up the drug loss... and treat myself to a great big latte later on in the day. A pre-run cup of coffee poses no problems for me, especially since I go to the bathroom eighty million times before any run in a bit of obsessive panic. And again, the prospect of going without coffee is just not a possibility.

I love everything about coffee. The color, the texture of the beans. The sound of it brewing, and the sound of it as it pours into my cup. I recently started adding milk to my coffee, mainly as a source of calcium, and I love watching the light color swirl into the dark. I love the way it feels when I cradle a hot cup of coffee in my hands, and I think coffee ring stains are kind of beautiful. And the smell is pure heaven. I had a job in college working for a coffee shop, and when I was finished with my shift, the smell would linger in my hair and on my clothes, and I loved it. I am also a coffee snob. If you offer me Folger's, I'll drink it if I have no other choice, but I'll be silently pissed off about it.

In short, I like my coffee like I like my running: a latte.

Potpourri

- Jack has decided that he wants to wear underwear. We'll see how this plays out.

- I got my Illinois driver's license finally, so I guess this is all official (as if getting a job and buying a house didn't make it so). The picture is surprisingly good. And going to the DMV was not a ridiculous pain in the ass... not much, anyway.

- I could not be happier about the fall weather we're having. When I went out for my run last night, it was actually a bit cool outside. Delightful!

- Plus, bonus, Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks. How I love the PSL!

- The boys and I are leaving in a little over a week for Disney World. I am really excited.

- All this talk of Pumpkin Spice Lattes means it might be time for a trip to 'Bucks.

Home Sweet Home

I might not have gone through with the Take A Whole Bunch of Meth And Stay Up For Two Days Moving plan, but Steve and I did pretty much everything else to get us into Stately Wasser Manor as quickly as possible.

I was out running on Saturday and, of course, ran past the new house. It's just so pretty, all I want to do is look at it. Well, good thing I did, because the previous owners waved me down and told me that they were all moved out, and would I like the keys now?

Yay!

And no, I did not mind in the least that it meant interrupting my run. I am pretty sure I flew the rest of the way back to Temporary Wasser Manor, I was so happy with the news.

Steve and I got up bright and surly Sunday morning and got right to work loading up our cars and Doug's truck with as much of our stuff as we could carry. Jack contributed to the cause by carrying the DVD's of Potty Time With Elmo and The Empire Strikes Back made it to the house - along with Roary, of course.

On Monday, the movers emptied out our storage unit, we took last minute items from Temporary Wasser Manor, and boom! We were moved in... at least well enough for now. I still have some sweaters and stuff at my mom's house, but I do believe I can live without them for a little while longer.

It has been a lot of fun, believe it or not, unpacking boxes. There are things that I have not seen since March, and it's great having my stuff back. I'd forgotten how comfortable our blue couch is, and how much I like our silverware. And when I unpacked the coffee maker, I literally kissed it, I was so happy.

And speaking of happy, Jack loves his new house. He will occasionally point to a wall and say, "Roary, that Jack's new house!" He likes his big yellow bedroom and the vast toy area in our TV room, but most of all, he loves the big backyard. If Jack had his way, he'd spend most of every day running around, playing in his tent, kicking a ball, and generally sweating like a male member of the Green family, which, alas, he is. (I only sweat like a female member of the Green family, which is not quite as bad.)

The really cool thing is that I don't at all feel like I'm in someone else's house. Despite the boxes - and the fact that I don't have a dresser yet - I feel like I'm at home.

Stuff I Love

It's Friday afternoon, and I'm in a good mood. But at the same time, not in the mood to write something really long and substantial. So, I think now is a good time to write a quick list of Stuff I Love right now.

1. The way Jack pronounces the word "orange." It comes out more like "orgish," and it's a word that comes up pretty often. Roary, after all, is orgish, so he loves all things that color.

2. Neutrogena hair products. I have no idea why, but I was recently afflicted with some crankling static hair. Isn't that supposed to happen in the winter? Well, I looked on my Internet Machine to see what I could do to fix it, and got the recommendation to switch to a clarifying shampoo and a mega-conditioning conditioner. Bought Neutrogena, and boom - problem solved. It smells good and clean, too.

3. The Nike + for in iPod. I am about to crank up the running in order to train for a marathon, so i finally got around to hooking up the Nike + that my brother gave me for Christmas. Yes, the Christmas that takes place in December. Anyway, it's the coolest toy ever, and allows me to track my pace, miles, time spent running, and uploads all of it to the nifty Nike website. I can also hold down the center button to listen to a "Power Song" when I need an extra boost. Mine right now is "All These Things That I've Done" by The Killers, and I don't anticipate getting sick of it any time soon.

4. The Target here has a Starbucks in it. How hot is that?

5. Jack's "mommy" song. Every once in a while, out of nowhere, Jack sings the word "Mommy" over and over again to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." It is so adorable, almost as adorable as the word "orgish."

6. Any kids' books by Mo Willems. They have great typography, funny but simple illustrations, and best of all, are written in such a way that it's easy to read them out loud and have them be funny. I don't get tired of reading them over and over again, which is of course a very good thing.

7. The proliferation of small, independently owned coffee shops in the area. Sure, Target with Starbucks in it is pretty much heaven on earth, but I love being able to support local businesses. There is a place I like to go to on my way to work. Along with my coffee, they give me a napkin and a mint so I can enjoy my coffee like a gentleman. Isn't that lovely?

8. The unexpected response I got to my celebrity gossip post. Apparently several of you are just as intrigued by it as I am. I'll have to post more musings as I have them.

Genius!

Look what I found at the grocery store!

Coffee.
Flavored.
Milk.

Yoda bless Swiss Valley Farms and the team of geniuses working there who came up with the idea of adding coffee flavoring to milk, because that is pretty much the only way you can get Betsy to drink milk. You have saved me from becoming a hunchbacked old lady. My only regret is that this wonderful product was not available when I was pregnant.

The Great Food Crackdown of 2007

Jack is a typical toddler in his eating habits. That is to say, they are random and very limited. Jack might pound down chicken and rice as fast as he can one day, then refuse to eat it the next. And unless you count frozen waffles as a vegetable, Jack really doesn't eat vegetables.

We have had enough.

Steve and I recently initiated The Great Food Crackdown of 2007. We cleaned out the pantry of junk like crackers and yogos. Now if Jack wants a snack, he can pretty much either have fruit or a cereal bar -- that's about as junky as it gets. We are now making an effort for all of us to have the same thing for dinner. Because I don't want to eat nothing but yogurt and because Jack doesn't want to leap into the magical world of roasted red peppers and the like, I'm trying my best to find some middle ground.

Here are our new policies:
1. Goldfish and Yogos are "all gone." Until Jack learns to eat a little more normally, they are not an option.
2. All snacks are healthy.
3. The three of us will all eat the same thing at meals, or at least close to it. For example, if we were having pork chops and baked potatoes, Jack would get the potato and chicken nuggets.
4. Jack will have something new offered to him, but with old standbys as backup. The other night, I made a FABULOUS butternut squash risotto with a side of broccoli. Jack got that, along with a yogurt. I bet you can guess what he ate, but hey -- I'm going to keep trying.

The good news is, we've already found some new foods for him. Jack loves tomato soup, chicken soup (particularly if the noodles are shaped like letters or Dora), grapes, dried tropical fruit (pineapple, mango, and papaya), Craisins, rice, and quesadillas. Here's hoping we get something green on the list soon.

In other, more adorable news, Jack has learned how to say (drumroll) COFFEE! The other morning, Steve was getting him dressed. Jack started talking about his day, saying, "Jack eat waffles. Jack milk. Mommy coffee. Coffee hot."

Mission: Impossible

I awoke this morning to the sound of Jack crying, and in my groggy state, I thought it was around 5:00 and he'd just woken up early. I went into his room, gave him his binky, and he went back to sleep for a grand total of five minutes. He woke up again in hysterics, so I staggered back into his room and gave him some drugs because he is a teething fool. As soon as I left the room, he started crying again.

Ugh.

I tried to ignore it for a while, but at this point, I was wide awake and in no mood to listen to him scream. Weirder, Jack was both crying and yelling out random nouns: Daddy! Elmo! Apple! I went into his room and cuddled with him on the rocking chair. It was really nice. I asked him if he was ready to go back in his crib, and he said yes. But then as soon as I put him down, he started crying again.

That's when I got serious. I dangled above his crib, both feet off the ground, Mission: Impossible style and held him and rubbed his back. I gradually went from that to patting him through the bars. Then I just sat on the floor next to his crib. Every few minutes, Jack would roll over to make sure I was still there. After he was good and calm, I left his room, put in ear plugs, and waited out the five minutes it took for him to settle down.

So, ugh.

The good news is that we have a fancy new coffee maker at work. It makes an excellent single serving of coffee, tea, or hot chocolate, and it also makes lattes and cappucinos. I love it very, very much and have secretly nicknamed it "Baby." Baby will help me today, oh yes it will.