It's A Boy!

My sister has a second son...7 lbs, 11 oz.

When my mom called to tell me, she put my 3-year-old nephew Jake on the phone. "Tell Aunt Dena if you have a little sister or brother," she said.

Jake grasped the receiver. "I...um...I have a, uh...sister," he said. I could hear Mom in the background going, "No, no, no...brother! Baby brother!"

"Um...no," said Jake. "Sister."

What can you do? He's been telling my sister for months that he wants the baby to be a girl. The fact that they named the baby Cole (my sister's name is Nicole), probably won't help.

"The baby's name is Cole," my sister told Jake over the phone.

"Mommy Nicole?" asked Jake.

Hey sis, good luck with that one...

Anyway, I'm thrilled to be an aunt again and that everyone is safe and healthy. I told Nicole to tell Grant to get his butt to a computer terminal somewhere in that hospital and download some pictures for us to see...NOW.  I'll post as soon as I can!

Happy Birthday Cole!!!

Niece or Nephew On the Way!!!

Just received a phone call from my mom. My sister's water broke last night at 11 and she's been in labor for over 7 hours now. This is baby #2 for her. My nephew Jake is 3. My mom went over last night to stay with him and explained to him this morning that Mommy and Daddy were at the hospital, getting the baby out of Mommy's stomach. He's very excited.

She's early. Her due date was the 13th. Too bad she missed having an April Fool's baby. =) In fact, when she came out of the bathroom and told her husband her water had broke he looked at her and asked, "For real, or is this an April fool's joke?"

Place your bets on the baby's sex. This time around they chose not to find out ahead of time. Although I really want her to have a girl, I'm feeling boy. Mom thinks it's a girl.

Going to be hard to get work done today. I'm pouncing on the phone every time it rings.

Being A Runner Means It's Easy To Make Friends

Last night I attended the retirement party of my former supervisor and good friend, Larry S.  Blair is working all weekend, so it was just me. I knew a couple of people of the 40 to 50  in the room, but most were strangers. This doesn't bother me, as I don't mind introducing myself and making conversation.

Still, I was happy to see a man named Dave  who I know to be a serious runner. I didn't realize quite how serious until I started talking to him. Dave--who I'm guessing is in his late 50's--has blown past marathons and regularly does 40 and 50 mile trail races. (Trail runners, I am learning, are a breed apart from pavement runners.)

I reintroduced myself to Dave, mentioned I'd just taken up running last year and was set to do my first marathon this year. His eyes lit up and BAM! We were off in a corner yakking about running and races and PR's and shoes and gels and training and everything else running related for the rest of the evening.

It's a runner's blessing and curse. Nothing is so interesting in life as talking about running, which makes it incredibly easy to sit down in a corner and chat with a perfect stranger for five hours. However, it's off-putting to people around you who don't take an interest in the sport. I was amused this past week when my neighbors and I went for a run and a friend from out of town joined us. After our 40 minute run, we stood outside and were chatting. Another neighbor who loves to talk came over, but within 10 minutes she wandered back home. Why? We were gushing about races and weather and times and boring the pants off her, I'm sure.

The good news is, I'm meeting Dave and a woman he runs with on Wednesday for a trail run--my first. The woman is looking for a running partner and sounds about my speed, so Dave will be there to introduce us. Plus, I'm determined to find people to run with. I simply run faster, stronger, and longer when I'm with someone. I'm much more likely to crap out when I'm on my own.  My neighbor should be good for runs during the week, there are running clubs that do long runs on weekends (although most run on Saturdays and I much prefer Sundays), and I'm in town on Wednesdays, so if this woman and I hit it off, there's another running partner and a trail run once a week might be a nice change of pace.

Today looks to be perfect running weather--it's gray and overcast but not cold. I think I'll give my neighbors a call and see if they're up for a long Sunday run.

Staying Up Past 10 PM Is Never A Good Idea

Staying up past 10 PM is never a good idea... if you're one of those people, such as myself, who is used to being in bed by 10 and getting up around 6. In a desperate attempt to finish viewing the A&E movie Pride & Prejudice (one my all-time favorites), I lay awake on the couch until 12:22 AM last night, trying to finish it.

My attempts were in vain. With less than 30 minutes to go, I found myself falling asleep and dragged myself to the bed where I promptly passed out.

Imagine how ticked I was this morning when I forced myself up for yoga class, only to find the instructor a no-show. Deciding not to make a waste of the day, I came home (finished watching my movie), then did my own yoga routine and a tempo run on the treadmill. (I had some seriously scary bed head that I'm willing to share with my yoga mates, but which might have scared the general public into an unnecessary panic had I taken to the streets.)

Proud of myself for seizing the day, I showered, applied fresh makeup, sprayed my hair... and went back to bed for almost 3 hours.

Now I'm awake, but groggy with a slight headache and my body feels like dead weight. In fact, I actually feel like I'm suffering from a hangover which is totally unfair, as I had none of the fun that comes before it.

This is what happens when my schedule gets turned around. I'm just a total waste.

Blair is perhaps suffering the same as me. He's at work all day today, but he was up later than I was, playing Diablo. Something about if he quit the screen, he'd have to start all over at the beginning. So he kept at it until he killed Diablo. Every so often I'd stand at the foot of the stairs and call up sentences like, "Have you killed the toad people yet, honey? Coming to bed soon...?"

I'm thinking bed tonight at 9 and up tomorrow at 5 - back on track and, hopefully, no more being useless...