Just So I'm Clear

Matt and I were watching the Olympics and relaxing when we both heard a noise outside.  Here's the resulting conversation:

Me (looking at Matt):  What was that?

Matt:  I don't know.

Me:  Just so I'm clear, when I look at you and ask what that noise, I need you to answer the question.

Obviously, I'm not the one to ask about strange noises, especially outside noises.  I'm still a little jumpy after the raccoon incident (part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4).

 

An Olympic Sized Obsession

To say that my family is obsessed with sports is a massive understatement.  I knew Matt and Daulton were sports nuts but I didn't count myself in that category until the Olympics started on Friday night.  Its official, I'm obsessed with the Olympics (and Ryan Lochte).  Right now we are watching swimming.  Earlier today and yesterday we've watched:

• Soccer - Men's & Women's (I cannot remember that the rest of the world calls it football.)
• Beach Volleyball - Men's & Women's
• Women's Table Tennis
• Archery - Men's & Women's
• Basketball - Men's & Women's
• Gymnastics - Men's & Women's
• Women's Skeet Shooting
• Men's Volleyball
• Women's Synchronized Diving
• Cycling - Men's & Women's
• Women's Tennis
• Women's Field Hockey
• Men's Boxing
• Women's Rowing
• Women's Fencing

Sports we want to watch:

• Handball
• Judo
• Trampoline
• Wrestling 
• Weightlifting
• Track & Field
• Canoeing

So basically what I'm saying is if its an Olympic sport, we will watch it.

I am also obsessed with the medal count.  Right now China has 12 medals and USA is in second with 11.  Get it together USA!!

We even did some decorating of the fireplace and had fish & chips and onion & chicken rings during the opening ceremony.

Dixie gets the gold medal for cuteness.

Random Abby & Matt couple fact:  We both were vacationing with our families in Myrtle Beach during the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and we both were staying up late and watched the Kerri Strug vault.  I think its a sign we were destined to watch many, many future summer Olympics together.

Go Team USA!

  

I Know Its Not An Award, But...

My team at work has been working with IBM for a few months on a case study about the work we've done and it was published today.  I am very proud of the work I've done and the work my team has accomplished.  And for my non-technical friends and family, this case study also provides some insight into what I do 5 days out of the week.

Its nice to have a job that challenges me and that I enjoy and get paid to do.  Its even nicer to get recognition for our accomplishments by a company like IBM who is known all over the world.

I know its just a case study and not an award, but I can't pass the opportunity to say thanks to those that help me get to where I am today.

To my dad, who made me work for him and gave me a BASIC programming book one summer and told me to go figure it out.  I created many infinite loops that summer and a seed was planted that eventually turned into my career.

To Matt, who listens to me vent and talk about my projects.  He also makes sure there is always wine in the house.  He and Daulton also remind me to leave work at work and focus on family when I'm at home.

To my team, I know I am bossy, opinionated, and not friendly in the morning.  Thanks for putting up with me and remember to ask if I'm caffeinated before trying to talk to me in the morning.

To Sam Bridegroom, thanks for challenging me and not letting me slack off.  And if you aren't following Beyond The Defaults, you should be!

And to all the little girls out there who like math, science, and technology, its okay to like all those things and to be good at them.  You have so many skills and smarts to share with the world and the world needs more female brains like yours!  Stick with it, don't let anyone knock you down because you are smart, and remember to sit at the table (this video is worth your time).  Don't let the boys intimidate you or make you feel like you don't belong.  Anything they can do, you can do better.

Hendricks Regional Health builds apps to meet high standards - IBM Case Study

 

Happy 31st Birthday To Me!

Today is my 31st birthday.  Last year I had built up the birthday in my mind and this year I didn't really think about it beforehand so it wasn't as big of a deal.  I took today and tomorrow off from work and a 5 day vacation was a nice birthday present to myself.  I have no plans except for putzing around the house and probably taking a nap or two (or three).

Just like I have no plans for my vacation, I have no plans for 31st year of life.  What I said last year about my 20s still holds true.  I spent my 20s wanting and I'm going to spend my 30s enjoying what I have.

I am grateful for what I have.  I bought a calendar last fall while shopping for school supplies and my intention was to write down things that happened throughout the day.  Its evolved into a gratitude journal in addition to capturing our family history.  At the end of a long day, its nice to go to sleep thinking about the positives instead of only dwelling about the negatives.  I plan to continue this daily (okay, not always daily) practice.

I've started the Couch to 5K running program.  (Pick yourselves up off the floor if you fallen over at the shock of what you've just read.)  I was thinking about starting the program for a while and when my mom was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma in April 2012 running was the stress relief I needed.  With the heat we've had lately and my inability to get out of bed early in the morning, I have fallen behind.  But I ran over a mile today and the last time I could say that was in 2005 when I ran the Mini-Marathon.  I have a love/hate relationship with running.  I don't always like it while I'm doing it but I love how I feel afterwards.  (One of the things I am grateful for are my strong legs and lungs that are getting stronger with each run.)

Source: someecards.com via Abby on Pinterest

I enjoy writing and I'm learning to see myself as a writer.  Writers write and I write, therefore I am a writer.  If you aren't following Beyond The Defaults, the technology blog for the average user I write with my friend Sam Bridegroom, then you can sign up for free email alerts and follow us on Facebook or Twitter as a birthday present to me.  If you like what you read, share it with others who might benefit from it.

I have an amazing husband and stepson who make me feel the luckiest woman alive.  I have good parents, a great sister, and I hit the in-law lottery with my in-laws (they spoil me rotten and I love every minute of it!).  My friends are the perfect blend of smart, sassy, funny, and fiercely loyal.  As I get older, the friendships and relationships get better with time.

With age comes certainty.  I'm more certain of who I am and what I believe in.  I'm 100% positive I made the right choice when I decided to spend the rest of my life with Matt.  I know that I am a positive influence in Daulton's life and while we don't share DNA, I love him like he is my own and he knows that.  I feel comfortable in my own skin and speaking my mind.  I like who I am which is a gift no one can give me but me.

"No one looks stupid when they're having fun" - Amy Poehler

Source: joannagoddard.blogspot.com via Abby on Pinterest

8 Tips For Surviving Baseball In The Summer

I promise this isn't a post where I complain about the heat.  We all know its hot and talking about it doesn't make it any cooler.  Instead, I'm going to give you my tips for surviving the heat during the summer baseball season.

Daulton made the 8 year old All-Star team this year and that means we are spending our summer on the baseball field.  We are having fun and Daulton loves adding new trophies to his collection!

Tips For Surviving Baseball In The Summer

1. Get a chair with vents in the seat that is easy to carry.  Trust me on the vents, sweaty back and butt is not comfortable.  If you happen to catch a breeze, you will be grateful for the vents.  Make sure its easy to carry as you never know how far you will have to go between your car and the field.  My in-laws got me a new chair for Mother's Day and I'm very grateful for the vents and that its easy to carry.
2. Setup a canopy.  Most baseball fields are in open areas with no shade around.  With the canopy, you can make your own shade.  I know it feels like more work to carry it out and set it up, but you will thank me when its brutally hot and the shade is the difference between enjoying the game and misery.
3. No canopy?  Make friends with someone who has one.  We do not technically own a canopy, but Daulton's mom does and we make sure to always help her carry it to and from the car (technically its Matt who does the carrying, but since we are married I can take the credit for it) and we help her set it up and take it down.  As a result, we have a permanent spot under the shade and its well worth the effort.
4. Pack drinks and snacks.  Its hot and you need to stay hydrated.  There may be time between games and you will need a snack.  Trips to the concession stand can get expensive and the concession stand isn't known for its healthy options.  For what to pack, check out my mom's post on How To Eat Healthy At The Ballpark.
5. Invest in a bag or wagon to help you haul everything.  I've told you what to bring, now you've got to get it to the field.  I use the Retro Metro bag or the Organizing Utility Tote from 31 Gifts to  carry everything.  I've seen other parents use wagons and it makes it easier to get the canopy, chairs, coolers, and everything else to the field.  
6. Bring something to do.  We have to have Daulton at the game early and there is usually time to kill between games, so I like to bring something to do.  I usually use this time to catch up on my reading, so I will bring my Nook, iPad, and the occasional real book.  (I just finished The Host by Stephanie Meyer and it was amazing!)  
7. Brush up on your cheerleading.  Be positive and encouraging.  Good job, good try, good inning (assuming its been a good inning), you can do it, find your pitch (only yell this when your team is batting), and shake it off are all acceptable to yell during a baseball game.  Its the coach's job to coach and your job to encourage and support. (tweet this)
8. Make friends with the other parents.  You are spending the summer with these people and they are your fellow cheerleaders.  This was tough for me as we came into a new team that had already been established and I felt like the new kid.  But everyone was welcoming and friendly and it makes you realize that players, coaches, and parents are all on the same team.

The summer is what you make of it.  We are choosing to spend our time on the baseball field and the 8 tips above make it even more enjoyable.

Check out Daulton sliding into home!

Running with Daulton

I started a running program called Couch to 5K about four weeks ago to start exercising more and I needed the stress relief from everything that was going on with my mom.  I also work at a job where I sit for 8+ hours a day and if I'm not careful, my weight will go up while my health goes down.  And I said I wanted to take better care of myself when I turned 30 and that includes exercise.

Daulton has gone with me before but he usually rides his bike and chooses not to run.  Tonight, he decided he was going to run with me and "get some exercise".  Here's how it went down.

5 minute warm-up:  We synchronize our iPods so the clocks start at the same time.  We are using the C25K app by Zen Labs on our iPod Touches.  Daulton doesn't understand the meaning of warm-up and is walking very slowly.

2.5 minutes into the warm-up:  We only have 1 arm band for the 2 iPod Touches we own and its pink and clearly mine.  Of course Daulton wants it but I convince him before we leave the house to just wear shorts with pockets and tell him he will be fine.  My mistake.  We stop to trade iPods two minutes after leaving the house and Daulton is happy to finally have the iPod with arm band he wanted.

1st interval - 5 minute run:  It sounds like a 500 pound man is running behind me.  I can barely hear my music over Daulton's foot steps.  After two minutes, the foot steps are closer and louder and Daulton passes me.  And its just as loud as if he was behind me.

Daulton keeps the lead for another two minutes and then runs out of steam.  I pass him and then spend the next minute looking behind my shoulder to make sure he hasn't given up and trying to yell encouraging words at him.  I am not at the point where I can run and talk, so the only way I can talk is one word per breath.  It takes a long time to get out my words of encouragement.

3 minute walk:  Daulton looks miserable.  I tell him its not as easy as it looks and he agrees. We decide to head back to the house so he can get his bike and I have to pee.

2nd interval - 5 minute run:  We aren't home yet and its time for the next running interval.  Daulton is not pleased that I make him run home but he makes it.  He gets his bike, I do my business, we trade iPods again because I want my arm band back, and we are back out the door to finish the interval.

3 minute walk:  Daulton follows me on the bike pedaling at the speed I'm running, which is about two steps above glacial speed.  Luckily he does not fall over but it makes me feel like he is the van that picks up the stragglers at the mini marathon and its my encouragement to not stop as I'm afraid he will run me over.

3rd interval - 5 minute run:  Halfway through this interval Daulton asks if he can go home.  I can't hear what he says so I have to stop and turn around to listen to the question.  I am so close to being done so I send him home and finish the interval.

Cool down:  I head back to the house and get Dixie to take her for her evening walk.  Matt asks me how it was and my response was "hot".  He then gets me a drink and only asks me questions that I can grunt the answer to.

I am neither a graceful nor a natural runner.  It takes a lot of will power to get through it and not give up when it gets tough.  I'm happy that I'm doing it for me and I like the changes I'm already seeing in my legs (and compliments from the husband don't hurt either).  And even though we can't really converse while I'm running, I like having Daulton with me.  It keeps me motivated and I can't give up because that's not the example I want to set for him.

Together we've taken up yoga and running.  I wonder what we will do next.

 

Taking An Abby Day

I took the day off today and did nothing and it was absolutely wonderful.  No obligations, no email, and I only did whatever I wanted to do.  If you are able to take a day like this for yourself, I highly recommend it.  And do yourself a favor and set no expectations on the day.  I spent the morning sleeping in, enjoying coffee, and catching up on some reading.  I didn't get out of my pajamas until 1 PM.  It was awesome.

We have been busy lately.  Daulton turned 8 last month and I still haven't gotten around to taking the pictures off my camera.  We had a great time celebrating with family and friends and I can't believe he is 8 now.  He's not the little chubby 3 year old I fell in love with 5 years ago.  A smart, funny, and kind young man is in his place.

We went to an Indians game a few weeks ago and had a fantastic time.  Daulton's mom got us the tickets and we sat right behind the visitors dugout.  The starting pitcher gave Daulton a ball and then later, another player gave him a second ball.  Without hesitating, Daulton gave the second ball to the family sitting across the row who didn't have a ball.  It was very generous and Matt and I were both so proud of him.

We also got some bad news that my mom has Hodgkins lymphoma.  It is 100% treatable with chemotherapy so we are lucky that we can cure it, but it sucks to have to go through it.  If you want to follow her journey, I setup a blog at martharardin.com to keep family and friends informed while she goes through this journey.  She has already been through one round of chemo and it feels good to have the first one done and we know what to expect for the next round.  Daulton took the news very well and has been asking questions.  We've talked about what chemo is, that she will lose her hair, and that we have to be extra careful of washing hands and keeping germs away from her.

Baseball has also started for Matt and Daulton.  Its quite a shock going from the warmth and temperature controlled climate of basketball to the unpredictable spring weather.  I spent the first game with my hat on, snuggled in my fleece, sitting on a blanket, and keeping score with one glove on and one glove off (the glove was too big and I couldn't hold the pencil).  I only keep score and not stats and Matt can thank my dad for making me keep score for my siblings games for so many years.

Matt and I celebrated our wedding anniversary last week.  Some days it feels like we have been married for forever and then other days it feels like just yesterday.  This is not a marriage post but I will say that I feel that being married is a choice and it takes work.  Some days are easier than others and I couldn't ask for a better husband.

This is only a small fraction of what we've been up to.  Quite frankly, I don't want to write it all out as it exhausts me just thinking about it and I'm sure you don't want to read it.  I'm also still writing at Beyond The Defaults so you can also find me over there (and sign up for email alerts) or like us on Facebook if you want to be notified when a new post is up.

This post was Daulton approved.  If you don't know what that means then you should read this:  My Son Grounded Me From Facebook.

Here We Go Again

I was single when I bought the house we now live in and one of the selling points of this house was that the lot backs up to a wooded area.  In my single, suburban mind I was thinking "Great! I don't have any neighbors back there".  It never crossed my mind that wooded areas contain woodland creatures.

Yes, this is another animal post.  No, there are no animals living in the garage.  At least not right now.

Matt and Dixie spent at least 30 minutes on Friday evening watching two rabbits in the backyard.  I watched for about 5 minutes because they were just sitting there doing nothing and I got bored.  Matt and Dixie were riveted.

For the 5 minutes I did watch, they were eating, hopping around, and jumping over each other which was  fun to watch.  

But my fun turned to horror when Matt said, "That's it, I'm buying rabbit food".

Here we go again.

Luckily, the rabbits are not babies and there is no chance of capture and housing them in the garage.  Its not a raccoon and they are pretty cute.  And really, once you've had a raccoon living in your garage (part 1, part 2, part 3, and part 4) some rabbits in the backyard that your husband may or may not feed and try to befriend are no big deal.

Some of you may be wondering where the Daulton content is.  There's been a change in the editorial review process and any Daulton related posts will now go through Daulton for approval.  For the story and how we came to this decision, you can read more here.

Name That Dessert

We had a discussion the other night about what dessert Daulton took to school for lunch.  We asked him what he had and this is what we got.  I'm going to give you the clues and let's see if you can figure it out.

Its yellow.

Its square.

Its a cake, square cake.

Its like a cake but its stringy when you pull it apart.

Its got bumps on it and "the bumps are very tasty".  (That's a direct quote.)

The bumps are not sprinkles.

It comes in a blue, yellow, and white wrapper with bees on it.

Any guesses?

The final answer is Rice Krispies treat.

Did you get it right?

Yeah, neither did we.  We had to text Daulton's mom to figure out what the dessert was because we had no idea what the dessert was either.

The cake and bees clues really threw me off as I was thinking cake and not rice krisipie treats.  And there aren't any bees on the wrapper, its Snap, Crackle, and Pop.

Image Source: Amazon

Dixie Got A Haircut

I like to think we are great dog owners, we give Dixie love, affection, food, and she's got a great life.  But we don't always get her groomed as often as we should and she often looks like a a ragamuffin.  

The other reason we don't get her groomed as often as we should is because its a big pain to take her.  She doesn't like to ride in the car, so its an issue to get her in the car and then she flops around everywhere since she hasn't figured out how to ride in the car.  And once we get to the groomers, there are new smells to check out and my arch nemesis when I'm with Dixie...cats.  There are several cats that live at the groomers and pretty much go wherever they want.  One time, a cat walked by Dixie and waved its tail under her nose (I'm pretty sure it was just to taunt her) and there was almost a blood bath.

This time, Dixie put on the brakes when it was time to go back.  She refused to walk and the girl had to drag her back, with her looking back at me like I was abandoning her (her being the dog).  I had to hide behind a wall so she would stop being such a pain.  Matt says I didn't have to hide behind the wall, but he wasn't there and I think I was justified.  

I have no idea what happens during the actual grooming.  I pay the groomer so I don't have to be a part of that process.  I assume she's a pain, because I've been told she's been "needy" before by another groomer which felt like a parent teacher conference where I'm told my kid is the worst kid in the class.  As a result, I usually end up over tipping to compensate for her behavior and if we're being honest here, my guilt over my ridiculous dog.

But its all worth it because she looks so cute with a haircut.  The bows in her ears and scarf on her neck make her look like a fluffy teddy bear.  And its impossible to get a picture of how cute she is so you will just have to take my word for it.