Lacrosse Update!

Did your eyes just glaze over when you read that title?  You probably thought you were finished hearing about lacrosse for 9 blissful months.  Well too bad!  There's more!!!

GUESS WHAT????  (I do realize this is more of a monologue than a conversation, but play along).

"What? What???!!!!" you asked eagerly.

I GOT CALLED FOR ROUND 5.  ROUND 5!!!!!!  District 1 AAAA Consolation Finals.  Ok, it's not the final-finals (#1 vs. #2 game).  I got called for the #5 vs. #6 game.  Still, though, I'm ECSTATIC.

However, I am heart-broken since I have a Brownie Troop meeting at the same time.  Sadly, I will not be taking my awesome District 1, Round 5 Playoff game because I'm going to be doing some leaf rubbings and yarn crafts.

Sigh.

Deep Sigh.

I made a commitment and I will stick to it. And, I am determined to even enjoy it, I'm sure.  I already had to shuffle one brownie meeting for lacrosse, and it really wasn't worth the effort or stress to find a replacement at the last minute. 

But, I got the call.   And, I'm completely, totally flattered.  Also, kind of flabbergasted.  And, a little giddy.  Clearly, I have a lot going on right now.  I'm probably over-sharing. But, seriously, it's ROUND 5!!!!!! 

Lacrosse Opening Day

Finally!  It is opening day for my lacrosse officiating season.  It has felt like a million years since I got my new rating in July.  I have two high school games today to warm up for the college officiating season which starts for me on Saturday.  The more experienced college officials (read "really good officials") that work Division 1 games started a few weeks ago, but I'm quite happily taking my whistle to a Division III game this weekend.  I'm thankful that I have several high school games to knock the cobwebs out of my head between now and then. It's pretty much a given that I will do something really stupid this afternoon, and I'll probably get yelled at. But, then I will pretend to be deaf.  My children have helped me practice this skill all winter.  Selective hearing.  It is really a tremendous skill --- for all professions. 

So, in just a few short hours, I will be running around in the sunshine, and having everyone STOP when I blow the whistle.  It's really magical those first few whistle blows.  STOP.  STOP.  STOP.  If only that worked at home!

Finalmente!

Exactly one year to the day after beginning Spanish Level 2 en mi coche (Está aquí) , I've finally graduated to Spanish Level 3 of the "Learn in Your Car" CD series.  The 12-minute lessons of unrelated sentences at the end of lecciónes setenta y dos and setenta y tres really took a while to get through.  A long while.  But, I'm finally onto reflexive verbos.   Sadly, I still no travel plans to actually use all this excellent knowledge.  Perhaps I'll try to plan something as a nice reward after I finish the third disc in Level 3.  Based on my current rate of progress, that will be around mid-febrero del próximo año.  Fortunately (or unfortunately) I have 2.5 years left of carpool lines for preschool and kindergarten pick-ups, which should be plenty of time for this last set of discs. 

My progress has been impeded a bit because Ben has grown tired of listening to me repeating Spanish oraciones, and has been requesting Disney music or rock n' roll instead.  While I can't blame him, I practically know all the words to Disney Greatest Hits Volume 1 and Volume 2.  That's valuable mental real estate that I'd rather fill with all the possible Spanish words for food items that I can use when ordering dinner in los restaurantes en Costa Rica.  

Do you know what is just a tad frustrating?  I took a little online Spanish test to see how well I'm doing.  So, after four years of school study and 73 Spanish lessons in my car I still speak Spanish as well as.....
a young child.  Actually, a very young child with an extremely limited vocabulary.  Awesome. 

That is not discouraging at all.

51 Days and Counting

I am itching for spring.  I cannot wait until mid-March, and it has absolutely nothing to do with the 18 or so inches of snow that fell yesterday.  OK, maybe it does have a little bit to do with the weather since that really is an awful lot of snow to shovel. 

I am anxious for spring because........I have just been assigned my very first F-I-V-E college lacrosse games to umpire.  F-I-V-E college games!!!  AND, if that is not amazing enough -- one of the games is even DIVISION 2!!!!!  I am so excited. CAN YOU TELL???? 

This will be my 12th season umpiring and I've been slowly getting assigned more competitive games each year.  I know I wasn't ready for college games a few years ago, but after some special training sessions on 3-person umpiring, observing and getting to umpire playoff games with some more experienced and truly skilled officials, and finally attending the US Lacrosse National Convention last weekend, I think I'm ready.  At least, I hope I'm ready.  I know right now I'm going to be incredibly nervous since I get a few butterflies just thinking ahead.  But, what fun is life without throwing yourself a challenge now and then? 

My very favorite umpiring moment last season was working with an international level official.  (This official has been certified to umpire  and has worked World Cup level games all over the world. Impressive, right?)  We were at a fairly competitive high school game, the result of which had some playoff implications.  There was intensity on both sides.  After a scoring play, this girl runs up to the other umpire and screams in her face, "C'mon you have to call something!!"  My partner, without a moment's hesitation, said in the calmest possible voice, "Ok, I will card something.  Here is a yellow card for misconduct.  Now, go sit down."  The girl just looked at her, stunned, turned around and walked to her bench.  And then behaved for the rest of the game.  Staying calm was the key to that whole situation. She was completely calm, authoritative without being shrill or angry, in control, in position, etc.  All the higher level officials have these qualities about them when they are on the field. (I'm working on it....not there yet.)

I'm not going to post where exactly I'll be umpiring that first NCAA game, but it's Saturday, March 19th.  That's 51 days away. 51 days to review the rules a few more times, go to the interpretation meetings, and start running more sprints. Oooo, and I have to buy a new striped shirt with an official NCAA Patch on it.  That thought alone makes me smile. The sprinting part is going to be hard since there are almost 24 inches of snow on the ground right now which needs to hurry up and melt....C'mon sunshine.

11 Years!

On a warm, sunny, fall day eleven years ago today, October 16, 1999, I married my best friend. 

To kick off the celebrations, we made french toast and bacon for breakfast.  (The bacon didn't last long enough for a photo.)

Guess who cooked the french toast?  Not me!  And, not Scott either!  Although we helped with the batter and pre-heating the pan, Abby cooked the french toast, and it came out perfectly.  I feel bad to have underestimated her cooking skills, but I was pretty surprised with her delicious results. We haven't ever let her "do the flipping part" before, as she puts it.

Today:  Nothing special (regular Saturday errands and chores and one meeting thrown in for good measure).

Tonight:  A date with my husband at our favorite restaurant, Restaurant Alba, with free babysitting generously provided by my parents (thanks!!!!). And, then Phillies playoffs to watch! 

Baseball??? On your anniversary??? Actually, it's perfect. If it weren't for the great game of baseball, Scott and I might never have become friends. When we met in our freshman year at college, I was an Orioles fan and Scott was a die hard Yankees fan.  We traded a few heated conversations about our American league rivals. And, over time this rivalry grew into friendship and more. So, good luck to the Fighting Phils today, and Happy Anniversary to us!

...and now the activities have started

After feeling kind of crabby and a little "off" for a few days, a realization finally hit me.  You know who I think is having the most trouble adjusting to the new back-to-school schedule?  Me.  You know who picks up on all the negative energy and acts up?  The kids. Then, who gets even crazier?  Me.  In biology, this system is called a positive feedback cycle.  At home it is just called "not good."

During those long summer days, I had mercifully forgotten just how much driving and errands are required on a weekly basis during the school year.  And, I had also apparently blocked out just how many extra errands are needed at the beginning of the school year to pick up all the school supplies, activity supplies, school shoes, school clothes, and whatever other miscellaneous stuff just happens to come up within the first three weeks of school.  For example, Abby tried on her fleece from last year and it was 2-inches too short in the arm.  Better add fall jackets to the list! Worst of all, all the back-to-school errands are usually run with the back-to-school kids, who would just rather be playing.

Even after most of the back-to-school provisions have been procured, I am still getting used to having to be somewhere at very specific time.  8:13am bus stop. check. 11:45am kindergarten pick-up line. check. 3:52 afternoon bus stop, ballet 4 pm check.  I don't think I would mind so much if it were just me, but Ben is definitely not enjoying all the schlepping.  He's putting up some impressive resistance and is once again channelling Jack Bauer. "NOOOOOOOO!" 

So, the realization that I was having a hard time with the new schedule hit me today about 45 minutes into a 75-minute yoga class.  We were working on balancing postures, which I'm usually ok doing, but I could not balance to save my life.  It was almost comical until I realized that I couldn't balance because my mind was still spinning with things to do. I really just needed to quiet my mind.  Let myself get off the mental treadmill, and focus on the present for a few minutes and take a few deep breaths. 

I really do love yoga. I never really thought about the mind-body connection until I started taking it.  I probably sound like a new-age weirdo or something, but I don't care.  The rest of the class was much better. Balancing half moon? Success!  So, for at least this afternoon, I have quieted my mind.  And, guess who picked up on mom's inner calmness?  The kids.  So, guess who was completely pleasant after school?  Caroline and Ben! 

Ugh. I wish I could remember this more often.  Maybe I should start taking yoga 2x per week. Or create some kind of refrigerator magnet.

Race Day

Yesterday was a big day for me, RACE DAY.  I've been training for a sprint-length triathlon for the better part of the year, and yesterday was finally the time to see if all the work-outs paid off.  I did the Patriot Triathlon held in Bath, PA.  The race was a 650-yd swim, 13.3 mile bile, and a 3 mile run, and I entered with one of our close friends (and Scott's long-time buddy from grade school), Kevin.  I have only ever raced one other triathlon, the New Jersey State Triathlon, way back in 2006 (pre-Ben), so it took some doing to wrestle my body back into triathlon shape.  

Overall, I am really pleased with how the race went.  I completed the course and received a neat finisher's medal (and also a cool vented running hat and wicking T-shirt -- excellent race goodies!).  It was brutally hot on the bike ride, even though the race started at 7:30am.  Fortunately, the run portion of the course was held on a shady road.  The bike course was described as "gently rolling hills", which were far from gentle as far as I am concerned, although maybe they would have seemed gentle if the temperature or humidity had been lower. 

After studying the race results in more detail, I was surprised and happy to learn that I won the swim portion of the race for my age group and also came in 5th overall for women on the swim.  However, even with a slick road bike, I dropped considerably back in the rankings in the bike portion (which I knew as I saw people whizzing by me during the race), so I will have to train harder and/or more frequently on the bike if I do another triathlon in the future.  The run went as well as I hoped it would, a pace 8:45 minute miles.  I ran a little faster back in 2006, but a lot has happened to my body since then!  After the race I even got to enjoy a fun family picnic up in the Allentown area, and after racing in the morning, I ate the best fried chicken of my entire life. 

So, what to do now?  Sign up for another race?  Kick back and relax?  I have to admit that I'm tempted to race again, even as painful as the bike ride was.  The Marshman Triathlon looks tempting (although a "moderately hilly" bike course sounds a wee bit terrifying after experiencing "gently rolling").  Hmmm.

Lacrosse Rating Day!

A few months ago, I mentioned that I was going to be trying for my district lacrosse rating, which means I would be eligible to do Division III NCAA games (college games) in additional to my current high school schedule.  I was originally supposed to be rated in mid-June, but there were too many candidates for that tournament, so my rating session was moved to mid-July.  So, today was the big day.  Rating Day. 

I won't lie, I was completely nervous.  I hadn't picked up my whistle since playoffs in mid-May, so I was worried I'd be rusty.  I reviewed the rulebook, but knowing the rules is different than seeing them in a game, running at full speed, while having a team of your peers scrutinizing your every move, with pen in hand.  I also hadn't previously worked with many of the officials that would be rating me, which is both good and bad.  Good from the perspective that I'd be getting some unbiased feedback, bad in that I'm on good terms with pretty much all the officials I've worked with and it's always nice to have that kind of cordial relationship when getting evaluated.

So, this morning off I went to the Upper Atlantic Lacrosse Tournament, a giant bundle of nerves.  I noticed that the sky was overcast and knew that it might rain today, but I didn't think much of it.  Well, I should have looked at the forecast.  About 25 minutes into the 8am game, the heavens opened and the rest of the game was played in a torrential downpour.  I've never been outside in rain like this -- there were at least 2 inches of standing water on the entire surface of the turf field, in the span of about 10 minutes.  C-R-A-Z-Y rain.  Some of the girls gave up playing and started piling up their lacrosse sticks to build an ark, just in case.

Then there was lightening and all the players and officials waited inside for 2 hours to get back onto the fields (sitting inside an air conditioned building with dripping clothes....brrr)....so my nerves continued.  After the tournament scheduled was juggled and the rain went from torrential to just regular rain, the games continued.  Aside from completely wiping out at one point (kersplat on the turf -- yes, I even splashed), I think things went pretty well.  I got the requisite list of things I could do better, some amazingly helpful advice about positioning from an official from upstate New York, and a few nice complements too.  Now -- the waiting begins.  The evaluators will get together and decide if that coveted District Rating is mine or not.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.....

Karaoke Attempt #1

This weekend I tried karaoke for the first time, which is something I had always wanted to have the courage to do.  I had envisioned this would occur at some smoky bar where no one was listening and I would absolutely kill whatever vocally challenging song I had selected (you know, sing it in public as well as it goes in the shower).  Then, some unseen music executive would try to book me for recording deal, but I would have to regretfully decline, citing family obligations.  Of course, this scenario requires that I could actually sing well in public. 

Instead of the bar scenario, my actual first attempt at karaoke occurred at my in-law's 40th wedding anniversary picnic that we through for them over the weekend (karaoke in midday, no smoke, audience paying attention). Of the hundreds of song choices, I picked "Vogue" by Madonna because Caroline and Abby love that song from seeing it on Glee (Scott and I have been recording Glee for the kids and watching some of the production numbers since Caroline likes to sing and dance so much).  Caroline loves (loves!) the "Vogue" song on Glee so I thought she'd sing it with me, which she did a little of the chorus but of course she can't read yet, so I was alone on the verses.  I turned around when finished and everyone was just staring at me, mouths agape. The older generation didn't know the song and I think my generation was wondering why on earth I picked Madonna.  You could hear the crickets chirping...at least it's how it felt to me.

Although Caroline was a little shaky on her first song (Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer), she then became completely at home on the microphone for the rest of the afternoon. 

Performing Song #8 or so

More importantly, this weekend's anniversary festivities went well.  I was in charge of the picnic planning and food purchasing.  Although I felt relatively calm on the outside, apparently my subconscious was not as at ease because I dreamed about endlessly packing and unpacking bags on Sunday night after the event was over.  I had planned for several contingencies, so when the original grill plan fell through, I just happened to have an extra charcoal grill (and charcoal, matches, and charcoal tower) as a backup.  Normally I don't happen to have an extra grill in the minivan, but Trish cracked me up when she called me Mary Poppins with my magic bag.  Maybe I should have sung "My Favorite Things" or "A Spoonful of Sugar" instead of "Vogue"?  Then, at least I could have had some kind of dream sequence with Dick Van Dyke.

Just Singing in the Rain

Empty Nests

Yesterday, for the first time in many months I had 3.5 glorious hours of alone time that didn't involve a either a lacrosse game or a public meeting. It was 100% non-scheduled, child-free time and it was every bit as wonderful as I thought it would be. I accomplished more in 3.5 hours that I could have finished in a day if Ben were with me. In only 3.5 short hours, I pruned and bagged two bushes, weeded ten square feet of flower bed and applied mulch, showered and dressed, got a sorely needed haircut with blow dry, made and ate lunch, ran to the farmer's market and bought vegetables, and even read the paper for a few minutes. Absolutely delightful.

You know what I didn't do for those 3.5 hours? Change diapers, listen to Ben and/or Caroline screaming at each other or myself, open or close the refrigerator and/or pantry door 75 times, pick-up or put away any toys, explain "why" or say "no", buckle any car seats, manage any waste or hygiene activities, clean up any spills, or discipline any behavior. I do love my children, but they really are exhausting.

I enjoyed this lovely respite from todderdom because Ben went to the zoo with Grandad and Caroline stayed at preschool for Lunch and Play. This short break was just a tiny taste of the much anticipated bliss that awaits me next September when Ben, Caroline, and Abby will be simultaneously at school. Now the actual "empty nest" break will only occur on M-W-F from about 9:00 am (preschool drop-off) until 11:45 (Kindergarten pick-up). The 8.25 hour break does not include commuting time, so the actual productive time will be limited to 7.5 hours per week, but it's going to be wonderful. I fully realize that I won't be kicking back my heels and eating bon-bons for that time, but the real actual possibility exists that I might do some work (paid technical work!) for that period or maybe just go shopping without re-stocking the shelves along the way.

Yesterday's break came at an excellent time because, as I'm sure Scott can woefully attest, I have been a wee bit testy this week (gross understatement). I really can't explain why this week would bother me more than any other week. Perhaps it was the gloomy weather early in the week....or maybe because the lacrosse season is drawing to a close....or maybe the kids really were extra naughty....or maybe because there are so many extra end-of-year activities on the schedule that I just can't take it anymore....or the combination of all that....but for the moment, my mood is re-set to normal and it's sunny outside.

Speaking of outside, the cardinal nest outside our window was empty this morning. Initially I was afraid that the neighborhood cats made a snack out of the baby cardinals. But after the 100 decibel roar of the neighbor’s yard service came to a merciful halt, I heard the baby’s distinctive and shrill cries on the side of the house. The two little ones have fledged the nest! Today, I believe they are taking flying lessons in the backyard. I spied the mother and the father jumping from branch to branch and the little peeps are following behind, sort of. Apparently, flying is more of a learned behavior than I thought. While the adults glide and land quite gracefully, the other two are kind of crashing around. Their landings are so rough that the branches violently shake on landing – quite a feat when you think of the force it would require for a creature that is only a couple of ounces in weight to move a branch.

While these little ones are learning to fly (and land), we’ll turn our attention to a second nest that has been built near the house – actually on the house on top of the porch light. This is a robin’s nest with 2 or 3 bright blue eggs. We scare the poor robin out of the nest every time we open the front door, poor thing. I’ll be listening for some more little peeps soon.

Final note (for those of you interested in lacrosse updates...mom? dad?) Tuesday's playoff Round 1 game went very smoothly.  The carded coach was on extremely good behavior and even cordial.  He greeted me on the field by my first name (uh... I guess he remembers me...). Of course, it helped that his team won by a significant margin of goals.  However, the game went well enough that I got assigned a Round 2 playoff game yesterday!  My very first Round 2 game!  Cool, right??  No problems yesterday either, but that is probably the end of the season for me, except for the big District Rating Event later this summer.

Happy Easter!

We had a fabulous Easter Sunday here, and I hope you did too.  It was a beautiful family day with beautiful weather, and I heard a beautiful message today too.  Have you ever heard the folktale, The Tale of the Three Trees?  I don't know how had I missed this before, but it is really a wonderful tale with incredible implications on one's life and faith and purpose.  I found a link to the story online, if you want to read it (it's short -- and worth it!): http://www.jasondunn.com/archive/faith/page11.htm

Our day in pictures:

Reaching High for an Egg

Just Before the Bath

Too Many Meetings!

I am offically all meeting-ed out for the month of March.  Overall, nine meetings down, and one more to go. Since I've been home from work for so long, I clearly have lost my stamina for meetings.  By hour #2, I just want to run out of the room and play with Legos.

Tonight is the sixth of six Planning Commission-related meetings for the month of March. Usually there are only two Planning Commission meetings per month, but due to some super riveting zoning ordinance training, this month's total will be much higher.  I'm going to be honest, I'm fairly sick of zoning at this point.  I need a zoning break.  And, probably another cup of coffee too. 

I know that I volunteered for the Planning Commission, so I really shouldn't complain out it.  But, it's tough when the level of required effort is so much higher than initially expected!  I am very much looking forward to Spring Break next week when the schedule slows down a little and we can relax.

Feel free to remind me that I said that next week on Tuesday around 10 a.m., when my kids are driving me crazy, ok?

On a happier note, I thoroughly enjoyed volunteering in Caroline's preschool classroom this morning during her Easter party.  My job was to select a "game" to play while the teachers hid Easter eggs on the playground.  The classroom is too small for a very active game, so instead we pretended to build a giant bird's nest out of large sticks, small sticks, and twine.  The kids seem to enjoy the game, and I got a chance to observe Caroline in her classroom with her peers.  I wish that I could be a fly on the wall and watch her sometime without her knowing I was there!!  I am happy that she is so happy in her school and is a confident little girl.   

Opening Day Jitters

It's finally here!!!  Opening day for lacrosse umpiring!  My first game was supposed to be tomorrow, but my assignor asked if I could take an extra game this afternoon, so now today is opening day (huge thanks Pete for last minute babysitting!). 

I never think that I'll be nervous before early season games, but yet I am.  Today is not even a "real" game -- it is a scrimmage so both the players and the umpires can get the feel of the game.  Still, it's about 1:30pm and the nerves just kicked in.  Big time.

I really don't know what I'm worried about.  I know the rules and arm signals.  I am sure of field positioning and foul position setups. I'm in good shape. Overall, I'm ready.  And, I have an excellent 'mom' voice (and a shiny set of yellow and red cards) if anyone really acts up, so things will be under control -- and hopefully will even be fun since it is a game and it's 60 degrees outside in MARCH!  So, why the nerves?? It's only high school lacrosee right??

Hmmm.  I'll have to ponder that one.  Maybe the nerves have to do with being so conspicuous after so many months of hiding indoors.  Maybe I'm secretly worried what people think of me in my little black kilt and oh-not-so-stylish all black turf shoes.  Who cares -- it's 60 degrees and it's time to go get ready!

Exam Jitters

Do you remember that super nervous feeling you used to get when you took exams?  That weird feeling in the pit of your stomach plus the heightened awareness?  (Or, was that just me??)  When was the last time you felt those jitters?  It had been quite a while for me, but in keeping with the A-type personality that I am, I got completely and overly nervous for my lacrosse written exam that I took yesterday.  Fortunately, I didn't get so nervous that I lost my head.  You know, like the time that I accidentally threw away my college ID right before the chemistry final which led to the temporary course failure and temporary loss of college scholarship (ha-ha, that was a fun one, right Dad??).  

Among other lacrosse umpiring requirements, you have to take an annual written examination.  Normally, the stakes for this exam are pretty low.  If you're a "Local" rated official (i.e., high school umpire) you only have to get an 80% or something in order to maintain your good standing.  And, if you don't pass the test you can try again.  The exam is open book so you can check the rules as you take the test. And, you get to take the exam in the comforts of your own home via the Internet.  (As an aside, it seems a little ridiculous to me to allow a person that only understands 4 out of 5 rules with rulebook in hand to be in charge of a game.  Maybe some of the coach and spectator angst is a wee bit justified??).

BUT, this year I am going to be going to try to earn my "District" rating, which means that I could officiate Division III College games.  Cool, right?  Well, among other requirements you have to get a 90% on the written test which includes PIAA rules and NCAA rules since there are some college and high school rule differences.  A 90% on the first try.

Fortunately the exam is still open book, which turned out to be a good thing because there are always a few finer rule points that I haven't noticed before.  Some of the points are procedural, for example it's illegal to change the color of the ball during the game (good to know).  Other points are about penalty administration, which could affect the outcome of the game.

So, what was the result???  PASS! 94% on PIAA test and 100% on NCAA test.  Onto the field rating next....definitely more jitters to come......lock up my purse before that one!

Dust Off Your Whistles...

....because lacrosse season is just around the corner.  Tonight is the annual PIAA lacrosse interpretation meeting where all the high school lacrosse officials find out about this year's rule changes.  I'm not going to lie, this annual meeting is Tedious. BUT -- it's worth it because this means in just a few weeks (mid-March), lacrosse season will be starting!  It's really, really (really!) hard to imagine that the snow covered fields will ever give way to grass or turf covered fields that will be dry enough to play on, but surely it will happen.  Right??  Spring must be coming, at some point.

I love lacrosse officiating for many reasons.  One of my very favorites, though, is that first time when I blow my whistle and all 24 players on the field have to come to a dead stop. Or else.  It's really quite a thrill that first whistle blow.  After a winter couped up inside with my children bouncing off the walls, sometimes literally, all those girls actually do my bidding each and every time I blow my whistle.  What power!  What spectacle!  After typing those last two sentences, I think I now understand why we are required to officiate a few scrimages prior to the start of the season.  Those games give all the moms a chance to knock the winter crazys out of their system.

I did see my very first official (ha-ha!) sign of spring yesterday at Grandma and Grandad's house.  Believe it or not, there were tiny bulbs starting to poke out of the ground where the snow was melting away from the side of their house.  And yet there was still sufficient snow yesterday to spent a very pleasant part of the day sledding (great touch snowblowing the path out to the hill yesterday Grandad!).  No bulbs here yet.  Actually not too much grass yet here eitther.  But soon, I think.  Meanwhile, I'm going to go dust off my whistle.  Maybe I'll even yellow card the kids during dinner for any manners violation.  Just for practice.   

Está Aquí!

It's finally here!  Level 2!!

I've been listening to Learn Spanish CDs in my car for the past year or so, most notably during the eternal wait that is the preschool carpool line.  My goal is to be close to fluent (fluent-ish?) in Spanish by the time I am able to travel abroad again. I studied four years of Spanish in high school, so the CDs are a nice way to revive those neural pathways that were devoted to the language.  Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised what is left of Sr. Smith's clases. Other times, not so much.

The approach used by this particular foreign language series is oral repition. The language teacher says something in english, then there's a pause for you to try to say it in Spanish, then the phrase is given correctly in Spanish, anohter PAUSE (for you to repeat), again by the instructor in Spanish, another PAUSE (for you).  You repeat the lesson until you can correctly say all the phrases without prompting. 

The teachers on the CDs alternate between a very nice-sounding lady and Antonio Banderas.  Ok, it's probably not really Sr. Banderas, but it is definitely a guy who sounds a lot like him.  Regardless, I like to pretend that he is rrrrolling his rrrrr's in my earrrrrs.  I especially like the words with double rolled rr's like ferrocarril, reservación, and regaderra.  Ah Señor!  That is so personal -- how many camas I would like con mi cuarto.  Queciera una cama, por favor!

After finally finishing the first 36 lessons in the Level 1 series, I was distraught when I found out that Level 2 and Level 3 are out of print!  ¡Qué horror!   How would I get my daily fix of mi hombre español?  For one, Ebay and ALibris failed me!  After considerable online searching, I finally found a copy of Level 2 for only 2x the original price on Borders Marketplace.  Totally worth every penny during today's 30-minute carpool line!

Namaste

Ah, Tuesday. Yoga day. I started taking yoga once per week in December 2008 and I completely love it. I am not spectacularly flexible or strong or well-balanced, so I have to really concentrate just on yoga for entire 75-minute class. This means I am not concentrating on my "to do list", my children, or whatever other thoughts are cluttering my mind. Also, yoga is delightfully quiet. There is some quiet yoga music in the background, but mostly I listen to the sound of my own breathing. I think the quiet in my mind is just as or more important to me as the actual exercises. I leave class tired and mentally refreshed.

This peaceful feeling lasts a minimum of 15 minutes (when I pick-up my 2-year old from the gym day care) to a maximum of 45 minutes (when I pick-up my 4-year old from preschool). It's totally worth it.

Namaste to you. (meaning "I honor the light within you.")