Team 'Ohana 2009: No One Left Behind

[tiberius]

Since it's a slow week here on Team Ohana with just 4 posts, I'll jump back in.....

My right knee and left ankle are sore again following the marathon last weekend, feeling like they did about a week before the marathon. My weekend exercise plans include no running and limited or no biking; however, I do plan to get some swimming in, hopefully at least 2000 meters. I am looking forward to being done with recovery so I can get back to training again.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Aloha, Cousins!

I've been coaching this week on the BL thread, so that's where all my DIS time has gone. I'm happy to hand the duties over to someone else today, so now I can get back to my family!

Oddly enough, this has not been a great workout week for me. Usually when I coach I get everything right. I think it's because I'm so close to my trip (we leave in 5 days!), and so my focus is out the window.

Richard -- Sorry you are on the injured reserve. I know how frustrating that is, I'm watching it with Dennis every day. He's allowed to run 1 mile, he'd like to be doing 5+. That insurance story is so scary, and I'm sure things like that just happen Your 2010 schedule sounds like a great challenge for you! I think you are the mileage king! Your mini race report sounded great, you ran a smart race which is better than killing yourself!

Debra -- I have not seen the new Prisoner, but I have heard it's good...My plan was to do nothing while we're away, but now I'm starting to think I don't want to do that. I'm going to bring the workout gear, and hope to get in a 3M or two. I think that would be just enough to feel I did something without making me too tired to have energy in the parks. I'll have to get up early, so we'll see how that goes. We are Loew's First members so I get free use of the gym, so all it will cost me is my effort. If I don't do it I'm not going to beat myself up. This trip really is all about ds. I have to admit I've given up on Heroes and stopped watching. I just could not get into the circus folk. I find them all a huge turnoff. Plus, the complete absence of my Mohinder...

Jackie -- Your RR sounds fantastic. What a terrific experience! I've never run more than a Half, I don't know how you guys go Goofy (said with great respect and ).

JenB -- I hope you liked the next episodes of V. I have to watch last Tues. online. I don't like showing 4 episodes and the rest next March, we'll see if people are still interested after all that time?

We have a very rainy day today. I would much rather have stayed home in bed. Alas, it was not to be. I've made my Christmas shopping list for this weekend, I'm ready for my 7M tomorrow, and I told the family we are going to church Sunday whether they like it or not. I love the Sunday before Thanksgiving. Some Sundays I'm willing to skip, but since this is the only tradition I can keep this year, I'm going with it! I'm not complaining, mind you. I am thrilled to spend my holiday on the thrill rides! I'm going to start packing this weekend. It's supposed to be in the high 60s/low 70s, so it should be very comfortable as long as we skip the water rides. That's fine with me, I'm not a big fan. Well, except for Jaws. Ya gotta do Jaws!

Everyone have a fantastic weekend!

Maria

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Umm.. Helloooo?

Very quite around here. I'm off to Universal Orlando tomorrow. I'll be thinking of everyone and wanted to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Maria

 

[tiberius]

Umm.. Helloooo?

Maria

Hello. Team Ohana is closed for Thanksgiving. We will reopen for conversation and mutual support to complain about Black Friday shopping and to discuss Turkey Trot runs. Have a nice day.

 

[laughinplace199]

Maria - Have a great trip. I haven't been to Universal in years. I can't wait to hear all about it!

Richard - How are your knee and ankle? I hope they're feeling better.

Yesterday, I fell while running (or "FWR", since the Dis is so fond of acronyms ). Thankfully, it was dark and no one was around, yet it was still embarrassing somehow. I'm less than graceful, so I should be used to it by now, but I'm not. Luckily, I just got a few scrapes and my upper arm hurts where I landed on it, but that's about it. I am taking DD to the Nutcracker on Sat, so I hope I can get through my long run Sat morning without any more injuries.

Hello to all of my 'Ohana cousins. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving! (had to use a drinking smilie since there's no turkey smilie)

 

[tiberius]

Julie - The ankle is healed and the knee is about 80 - 90 % healed. Thanks for asking!

I hope all my Ohana cousins are enjoying a great weekend. I had a nice 25+ mile bike ride this morning, although my legs were definitely telling me that I am still in recovery mode right now. As I pulled up into my driveway I could smell the caramel french toast my wife was just pulling out of the oven. It was definitely great following 1:48 on the bike on a nice cool morning.

Now since I was beaten up by a friend for dangling the information aboout how yummy this was on Facebook but not posting the recipe, here's a rough version of the recipe:

Cut up 2 large loaves of French Bread into 3/4" pieces and place into a large mixing bowl. Sprinkle3 tsp. cinnamon over the bread. In another bowl mix 10 eggs, 2 cups milk, 1 cup of half and half, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 cup sugar. Pour the egg mixture over the bread and stir to coat the bread. Spoon bread mixture into a baking dish (11x13 or similar) or into individual serving dishes. Then make a sugar mixture of 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, 1 stick butter and 4 Tbsp. light corn syrup (Karo) by melting in microwave and stirring together. Then drizzle the sugar mixture over the bread. Bake at 400 degrees for 45 - 60 minutes until top is bubbly and crunchy.

It takes really good served with butter and a bit of pancake syrup., although you should watch out for the sugar rush!

My wife typically makes this following major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas,...).

 

[laughinplace199]

Richard - Glad to hear that your ankle is healed and that your knee is on the mend as well. Thanks for posting that recipe. It sounds delicious. I will definitely be trying that one out this holiday season.



I hope all of the 'Ohanacousins had a wonderful Thanksgiving.

 

[tiberius]

Welcome back, everyone, to the post-Thanksgiving and Christmas timeframe! It's time for many of us to buckle down on that training with our marathons, half-marathons and Goofy Challenges around the proverbial corner.

I had a decent training run earlier today, although I still feel slowed down by the marathon recovery...and probably will for another week or two. I have a half marathon in Austin next weekend, on a particularly hill course. At this point, I think I'm just going to treat it as a training run--at least from the point of view of my effort.

Good luck to you all who are entering the final training phase for a big event!

 

[jbucci]

Richard: Great job getting out there. The french toast sounds good too.

I'm trying to get back into the habit of posting, but time is so tough to come by. I need to run faster so these long runs don't suck up all of my free time. I did manage a fairly ugly 17 miles last night and am really glad today is a rest day.

 

[MouseDogMom]

Richard - It's hard to accept that it takes a while to recover from that marathon effort. I think I could have slept round the clock for the first week, if only my boss would have gone along! The first 10 mile run post-marathon almost killed me; this past weekend wasn't so tough. I have a half on the 13th that's really hilly, and I'm also planning on treating it as a training run. I had to promise my Galloway leader to take it easy - she was really concerned about my doing it so close to Goofy. I'm considering trying to run on Saturday before to make it a B2B, but I don't want to risk injuring myself.

Jen - Good job on the 17. There seems to be something about that 17/18 mile distance that requires it to be ugly. Don't understand it!

Julie - Hope you've recovered from the fall. I'm okay when I'm alone, but if I add a dog to the mix, it's usually ugly. My last grand fall came when my last dog tangled with another and I tripped over the leash and did a faceplant. (Since there was another dog involved, of course there were owners around!) They kept asking me if I was okay, and I assured them I was. Only after I finished the 3 miles and got home and looked at my knee and discovered I'd been bleeding the entire time... I probably would have been a lot stiffer if I hadn't kept running!

No Black Friday shopping to complain about. Stayed inside. Turkey Trot was fabulous. A record 3000+ people, absolutely perfect weather. PR'd the course, but not the distance (although I thought so at the time - had forgotten about my first run at Victory Junction when I did the 5 mile race!) Ran with a couple of friend for the first 3 miles, then left them since I was feeling really good and wanted to finish strong. DH was waiting for me about a 1/4 mile from the finish to pace me in, so my last mile was perhaps the fastest I've ever run. I think I averaged around 10:30 with the walk breaks.

Jackie

 

[jeanneg]

Hello dear cousins!

I know it's been ages since I last posted, but my life is a little crazy right now. Our trip to MI was great and the engagement party was a hoot....straight outta the movie for sure! Aside from my daughter, we were the only non-Greeks at the party. In some ways, it was a little overwhelming, but they are such a warm, loving family we soon felt at ease. My favorite was the uncle who made a point of coming over to tell us that we "looka lika nice people!" Unbeknownst to us, it is tradition at an engagement party for the bride-to-be to receive gifts of fine jewelry which she must immediately wear for good luck. My daughter was walking around looking like Mr. T....she had more bling than a Disney marathon junkie! Quite a nice surprise....

We also got her wedding gown that weekend. It took all of an hour! We are very pleased. It is simple, but very elegant. Of course it was the first one she tried on, but then she had to try on another 8-10 just to be sure. That is a major item to be checked off. If anyone is interested, here is a link:
http://sophiatolli.com/dresses/?collection=Sophia Tolli - Bridal#i3005
(Hers will be in white, not ivory.... and don't look at the back view on the website because it's not the same dress!)
Then this past weekend, she came home for Thanksgiving and we picked out the bridesmaids dresses and ordered the cake! So little by little, everything is falling into place.

As if the weddings aren't enough to keep me busy, we are in the process of closing down my husband's business. He has accepted what he hopes will be the job of his dreams in a neighboring state and we have decided that because of the upcoming weddings, we won't move. So we need to get him a small apt. and move in some bare essentials so he can stay there midweek. Our health/dental insurance will also be changing and I have been scurrying around trying to get all my important tests and exams in. Last week was a colonoscopy, which is never fun, but very important since I have a family history. Also had 2 old fillings replaced.....again, not fun, but necessary. This weekend, John and I have the R&R HM in Las vegas...complete with mid-race vow renewal. We come home on Monday, and I go in for my surgery on Wednesday. It will be a 2-3 week recoverery so I am trying to take care of all my Christmas stuff this week before I leave. Over Thanksgiving weekend the kids all pitched in and we put up both the tree and outside lights. Plus, the inside house is pretty much decorated. You can see I've been busy!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! Our December hollidays will be here before we know it....and after that, marathon weekend! Can't wait to see everyone again!

 

[tiberius]

I need to run faster so these long runs don't suck up all of my free time.

I know exactly what you mean!


Julie - It is hard to deal with the diminished capacity to run while in recovery, and maybe it would take lees time if I took it easier on myself. I am hoping the extra training will eventually help me through Goofy.

Jeanne - With DDs of 19 and 21, I am following your wedding planning adventures.

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Aloha, Cousins!

Back from Orlando, and ready for December! We had a fantastic time at Universal Orlando. We had plenty of time to do all the rides (the Simpsons 4 times in one day -- not my idea, but ds loved it), the Express access made a huge difference. Even when lines were long and crowded, we skated right through.

My Thanksgiving dinner was a whopper. Again, not my idea...I think ds was afraid I'd make him eat turkey if we ate some place that resembled a restaurant.

We went to the Animal Actors show for the first time at US. We were both impressed, very cute if you like animals. We also saw the Beetlejuice Graveyard Review twice, once on Thanksgiving and once on Saturday. Let's just say most of the A Team clearly had the day off for Thanksgiving. It was the same show, but the performances were quite different.

The Harry Potter castle is coming right along. I'm looking forward to going back and experiences Hogwarts.

No water rides for us. Yes, they were open. No, we weren't up for it what with some people wearing gloves, hats, boots and parkas. Not us, 60 degrees isn't quite that cold to us -- but too cold for a soaking.

Friday night Megadeth played at the Hard Rock Live. Saturday night David Cook played at the same venue. I don't think they have any of the same fans, judging by the lines we saw.

I managed to get in 2 3M workouts, so I was pretty happy with that. I did 4M yesterday and 3M today + yoga, so back on track with my training.

We stayed at the RPR onsite, and had a gorgeous view of the pool and lake. We were able to watch the boats dock and take off, so that was fun. DS got in the pool once, then thought better of it. Too cold for me by far!

Feel free to ask any questions...

Richard and JenB -- And I think my LRs are long Seriously, that is one reason I don't see me ever doing a Full. The training time for the Half is hard enough to find. You guys (and Jeanne, Jackie, Debra, etc.) are all Rock Stars!

Jeanne -- The wedding gown is gorgeous -- Just like something you'd see on "Say Yes to the Dress"! It sounds like plans are really coming together. You'll have to post a photo of the wedding cake and tell us the flavors, you know we want a virtual taste! Actually, we want to see a ton of wedding photos, I'm already looking forward to it! You are going to be so busy, stop in when you can. I can't even imagine trying to close a business and set up an apartment on top of everything else you have going...I'm sending a ton of good wishes for your surgery!

Jackie -- What an awesome Turkey Trot!

Julie -- Ready for ? I haven't started shopping for ds yet, but we'll be picking out our tree this weekend.

Ok, I really have to get moving. Everyone have a great night!

Maria

 

[jbucci]

The tree is up and the house is almost back together post Thanksgiving. Now I just have to finish my scrapbook for the year (the annual gift for Grandma). I'm a bit annoyed at Snapfish for having so little holiday compassion for procrastinators like me. They have a 50% off sale on photobooks that ends tomorrow-- I can't be done by tomorrow We'll see what happens...

Maria: I'm glad you had a good trip. We are debating heading to WDW over Thanksgiving next year but I'm a bit afraid of the crowds-- should we do it or not? On a totally different note, I do actually like the new V series once I stopped mentally comparing it to the old one. I do, however plan to watch the old mini series which I am geek enough to own when I do my 20 mile run

Jeanne: Congrats on all of the wedding planning and thanks for keeping us posted. I wish you a speedy recovery from your surgery-- what are you having done?

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hey JenB!

Don't be too scared when you start watching the old "V" and you find a sea of light blue, tight denim wherever you look...I caught a bit of it when SyFy ran it before the new show started. I saw the alien baby birth scene, which was great! I actually haven't watched the last episode of 2009 yet, it's on Tivo and I'm sure we'll get to it this weekend. I wish we didn't have to wait until March for new shows...

I can't give you good advice about WDW at Thanksgiving since we only went to Universal -- but I know who can! Cousin Corinna spent Thanksgiving week there at Kidani Village. When she checks in (hint!), I'm sure she'll give us a great report. What I can say is that it's better to travel earlier than later. We left Boston at 4:30 on the day before Thanksgiving. When we arrived at the airport at 2, everything went extremely smoothly. I was checked in, through security, and at the gate by 2:07. We saw the room gradually fill up, and by the time we left it was a madhouse. On the way back, we were at the airport for a 10:30 flight Sunday morning, and again, it was not bad at all.

AFM:

We're feeling a bit better about ourselves as parents since we got a call from ds's pediatrician. They now have H1N1 shots, and he's getting his Saturday. I felt awful we missed the regular flu shot, so at least he should have some protection with this shot. We have been very lucky so far (knocking on wood), and I'm hopeful that all the physical activity helps keep the flu at bay. I know that's probably illogical, but I'm going with it!

I'm also finally taking a plunge this morning and seeing my doctor about a couple of bumps on my arm. I've been putting it off forever. I called this morning to make an appointment, thinking I'd bee seen after the Half. Turns out they have openings this morning. I felt silly, so I made an appointment. DH and my SM have been bugging me to have them looked at, but I just am such a baby...plus there's the weigh in. I'm not good with that...but, I did lose 20 lbs so far this year. I know that even if my chart won't show it. I haven't been in so long, I think I actually weighed less than I do now. I don't know what prompted me to call this morning, but I guess it's better if I don't have too long to think about it. My appt.'s in about an hour, and it's a 20 min. walk from my office. Wish me luck!

Maria

 

[tiberius]

Maria - I think I am more scared of the 80's hair than the tight blue denim from the original V.

ANyway, I am feeling mostly recovered and healed up from the marathon. Therefore, I must have a race coming up this weekend, which I do...the Decker Half Marathon in Austin on Sunday. I'll try to keep it more to a glorified training run so as not to push the legs too hard considering I've done the half iron and full marathon in the last 6 weeks, but still hard-headed me might do anything out there...... Still, I'll be doing this with friends who are also off other events, so we'll just try to have a good time.

We have some unusual weather coming this way with a Freeze Warning and a Winter Storm Watch out for Friday and Saturday, and they actually put the words "continuous" and "snow" together for the forecast (which is very unusual for this area). I'll be sipping hot chocolate Friday and Saturday before heading west. The prediction for Sunday in Austin is 40's in the morning with a chance of rain. It'll be a good chance to practice my cold weather running.

Everyone have a great weekend!

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Hello Team Ohana!

My doctor's appt. yesterday went well -- my bumps are definitely not skin cancer. I do need to do a follow-up with a derm to get a second opinion, and probably some cream to clear them up. Whew! I also got a lecture about getting my physical and other exams. I'm going to set those up after the WDW Half, so I don't have to think about them for awhile. I did get a tetanus(DPT) shot, so I'm good for another 10 years.

I was wiped out though, I couldn't get up and do my 5M this am. I was just exhausted, and I went to bed at 9:30, so I assume I really needed the rest.

Richard -- That is some scary hair! The music is also a bit...dramatic. It's interesting how entertainment has changed over the last 25 years. Enjoy your Half Marathon this weekend! I'll be doing my 8M, and I'm sure you'll finish before I do!

It's 60 here today, so I'm enjoying the sunshine. This doesn't happen often in December in Boston! It's supposed to be a mild winter, so maybe we'll get through without any snow dumps.

Aloha!
Maria

 

[tiberius]

Enjoy your Half Marathon this weekend! I'll be doing my 8M, and I'm sure you'll finish before I do!


Maria

I wouldn't be so sure about that, you have yet to see me run!

On a more serious note, do take care to see the doctor appropriately. My SIL (Amy) just had her 3rd surgery yesterday for melanoma. Several months ago she went to the dermatologist for a skin check and had a "cyst" removed. The cyst was Stage 3A cancer, and her life has been whirlwind since. Fortunately, she was seeing the dermatologist annually since turning 40 (she admits for reasons of vanity) last year and happened to be there already when they removed it. Even the doctor was surprised at the result of the test. However, since the original surgery they have not discovered any more concer nor has it been found to have spread. Ironically, seeing the doctor for reasons of vanity may have saved her life as she tells us that the believe they found it fairly early and it would have been very agressive.

On a much happier note, January's bib #'s are out. I will be Full Bib: 15637 Half Bib: 42195. It seems they did not use the time verification I gave for my corral placement, as I ended up farther back than I should. Then again that probably shouldn't matter much unless I want to try to move up. So much for trying not to get too excited about the event this early....then again in one month I will already be there!

 

[tiberius]

I guess the rest of you are out doing something productive today as it has been a bit quiet around here for a while. I'm taking a quick brake at work to watch my men throw snowballs at each other and watch the snow fall. Maybe I should start printing up the "I Survived the Houston Blizzard of 2009" t-shirts.

 

[tiberius]

Today, I am wishing a big Happy Birthday to Walt Disney....Happy Birthday Walt! We love what you did with the place!