I'm a regular

For the last 7 weeks I have been working two jobs-- I work my regular full time job until 4:30, and then I head to the pool for 3.5 hours of coaching. While I am definitely worn thin, both of my jobs are rewarding and I enjoy what I do. But by the time I get to Friday I am done. I don't want to work anymore and that includes cooking, cleaning or anything at all.

So I convinced Brandon a few weeks ago to find a Mexican restaurant that was still serving dinner when I got home at 9:30. It was such a pleasant way to end the week that we have gone back every Friday since then.

Three weeks later, we are regulars.

I have always wanted to be a regular. Like Lorelai and Rory in the Gilmore Girls. Or the kids from Bayside when they went to the Max. Or how about the 90210 crew at the Peach Pit? When you walk in they know your face, your drink and your order. They don't know my name and we don't engage in small talk, but there is something nice about being recognized. I feel appreciated. I feel like I am somehow part of their Friday night.

So Brandon says we have to go back now. Every Friday night. Because we are regulars. And that is what regulars do.

NO RUNNING ON THE POOL DECK!

Why the heck don't we just let kids run on the pool deck?

You can't go to a pool without hearing a parent or lifeguard yelling "No running on the pool deck!" So the kid slows down to an Olympic-paced speed walk and still gets around the pool in record time. As a swim coach and certified lifeguard I have found myself saying it day after day.

Last week I started wondering why we care. We let kids run on basketball courts and sidewalks and streets. I am fairly certain that concrete is dangerous to elbows, knees and faces regardless if it is near water or not.

Case in point. This week while I was coaching there was a kid playing on the basketball court near the pool. He bit it and came running in with a bloody face. No one was out there yelling "No running on the basketball court!" It would be absurd if we said no running on the blacktop.

Now before you get all preachy about the extra dangers of water and drowning, I understand and I don't think we should let kids be unsafe. But I just think it is a little crazy that for some reason our society has deemed it unsafe to run around a pool but fine to run in other places. I don't plan on changing the no running rule at my pool and endangering the lives of 145 young swimmers.

But I can tell you one thing. When practice is over, I am going to start running sprints around the pool.

Green thumb

I can kill any plant. Even a cactus. But when I discovered two weeks ago that there were rose bushes in my new backyard, I got really excited.


Just like I do everytime I don't know how to do something, I called my mom. She gave me some tips and lucky for me the plant hasn't died yet.


Of course it has only been two weeks! Here's hoping that my roses last!

SHEEP!

I should have been born on a farm. I was meant to frolic through high grass with cows and sheep and goats. When I was younger I lamented that I was born in the wrong era, as I was certain that Laura Ingalls and I were supposed to have been best friends. Fast foward to the suburbs in 2010 and my visits with farm animals are usually limited to the annual State Fair.

Not this year. The sheep have come to my town and I couldn't be more excited. I have been chasing the sheep around my town for the last two weeks. The spend a day or two in different areas eating the grasses. Since Saturday they have been very near our house. In fact on Monday night my husband took Molly to go visit the sheep. Unfortunately Molly had an encounter with the electric fence. (Needless to say, Molly doesn't care for the sheep anymore)

This morning as I was about ready to make my lunch, I heard the sheep. Not the distant "baa-ing" I had been hearing all week, but the "baa" of a sheep in my backyard. I ran downstairs to see the sheep right behind my fence. I didn't even care that I was going to be late for work. These guys are awesome.

Did I mention there are 2200 animals? 2100 sheep and 100 goats. They were actually getting ready to move them, so a few minutes later I saw them block off the road to get 2200 animals to cross the street. The kids trying to get to school were pretty excited.

Yes, I just wrote a blog post about sheep. I am awesome.

Things I have learned from "House Hunters"

Most of what I love about HGTV's "House Hunters" is learning how the rest of the country lives. Apparently us Californians don't do it like the rest of the country.

1. Yards. In California we have fences. This is my backyard space, that is your backyard space. Don't mess with mine and I won't mess with yours. But so many of the yards I see in other states don't have boundaries. There are just hundreds of feet of grass between you and the neighbor. Question: how do you keep your dogs from running away? Except for the animal issue, I think I like life without fences. It looks a lot prettier.

2. Basements. My grandma's home in the Bay Area has a basement. It is cold and concrete. That is where she threatened to send us when we misbehaved. I know that some of the older homes in San Francisco and Sacramento have basements, but for the most part, basements are foreign to me. Everytime I watch House Hunters people want to see a finished basement or a least a basement they can finish themselves. I guess I just don't understand this yet.

3. Man caves. Apparently man caves are very desirable outside of California. The men on that show are always looking for a space (ie the aforementioned basement) to set up their man cave. My husband has a man cave. It is called the garage.

There is one thing I know to be universal about homes across our country, however: some people do strange things while designing and decorating their houses.

Let's get reacquainted

1. I don’t get my toothbrush wet before brushing my teeth. It works fine without water.
2. I never put my seatbelt on until I have backed out of my driveway or parking spot. It is a bad habit, I know.
3. I never put CDs or DVDs back in their cases, which makes my husband very angry.
4. I don’t do things until the last minute. This is not because I like to procrastinate or am lazy, it is because I don’t have incentive to do it earlier. If you need it Friday, why am I starting it on Monday?
5. I never liked baseball until I met my husband. He gave me a beer, a hot dog, some garlic fries and taught me to appreciate the game. Now I love baseball.
6. I don’t think any sort of sports draft needs prime time television coverage.
7. I have joint custody of Molly the wonder dog. She will be at my house for 9 days starting this Saturday. Yay!
8. I put salt on everything. People are always telling me that it is bad. But I haven’t died yet.
9. I get incredibly attached to people and places. When I meet someone or go somewhere, I dig in deep. This is why it is hard for me to say goodbye.
10. I want to be able to write my blog more frequently, but for the love of God, I am searching for time to do it. I work my regular full time job AND then coaching swimming from 5:30-9pm every night.

Miss me?

Friend: "Dead or alive?"
Me: "Dead"
Friend: "Caused by?"
Me: "Buried alive. By my work."

I opened Google reader this morning and I had 108 unread blog posts in the last couple of days.

I miss writing my blog.

I AM TOO BUSY!!!!!