Best. Neighbors. Ever.

We've lived in our house now for one month.

We just received our first "Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions" violations.  We broke two rules on the same day and they were kind enough to take a picture for us.

1.   Trash can/receptacle in public view on non-trash day.

2.   Unsightly articles left in view (Cub's wagon and rocket ship). 

Honestly, I'm surprised it took us a month to get our first (and second) violation.  Thankfully, we were not fined this time.

Cub was super happy this afternoon. Here he is being cute wearing what I like to call "daycare chic" (it's a mish-mash of the random clothes I put in his basket).

Misfit Monday

Today was not a great day (especially for Buttin). 

Instead of dwelling on it, I am going to change the paradigm. 

For 2012, I'm going to compare misfit behavior to toddler behavior and only expect a misfit to behave as well as a toddler might in a similar situation. 

Here is an example.

SITUATION:   How would a toddler show/prove his identity?

TODDLER BEHAVIOR:   Scribble incoherently on a piece of paper, the wall, the cat and himself.  Add some drool, snot and partially chewed food to the piece of paper and cat.   Show the piece of paper as proof of identification.

MISFIT BEHAVIOR:   Photocopy a library card, use scissors to cut out photocopy (in a semi-rectangular shape) and laminate the semi-rectangle with scotch tape. Show the paper laminated with tape as proof of identification.

CONCLUSION: Misfit Wins! 

I'm hoping that my new expectations can greatly improved my mood.

Here is Cub's interpretation of our day at work.

Mini Race Report - 3M HALF MARATHON

It was Mormor and my first time to run the 3M Half Marathon. This was our first race since Frankenthon (last October).

Overall I give the race a solid A.

Packet Pick-Up: A

Goodie Bag Stuff: A  (lots of 3M stuff like post-its and tape and glue but we also got a crap cookie and some yucky pretzels)

Technical Shirt: B  (not very cute)

Race Day Organization: A+

Course: A+

Water Stops: A

Crowd Participation: B

Post-Race Food: B

Post-Race Transportation: A

Mormor and I picked up our race packets on Saturday.  We were in and out in less than 15 minutes.

Thankfully, we received our shirt IN our race goodie bag (instead of waiting until the finish - I hate that).  The shirt isn't quite the message I want to project while running, but it's sufficient.  Here is Cub modeling the shirt.

We woke up 5 AM and were out the door by 5:35.  It was a chilly morning (around 39), so Mormor wore her bathrobe (she actually got a ton of compliments on the idea to wear a bathrobe) and planned to drop it once she warmed up.  Here she is modeling her outfit pre-race.

We made it to the start line around 6:15 and walked around trying to stay warm.  Here we are:

The race started right at 6:45 (I didn't even hear the start).  Mormor said that I should make my goal time something in the 2-teens.  My fastest half marathon time to-date was 2:23:43 (Austin Half - 2009) and I have been training pretty well, so I thought it was doable. 

The first 10 miles was relatively uneventful.  The course is mostly downhill, but not very scenic.  The first few miles of any race I have to concentrate on running my own race - I get passed -  ALOT.  I ate a Gu at mile 5 and was feeling great. I decided that if I was feeling good at mile 10, I would switch from listening to my book (Bill Bryson - At Home) to listening to music (I usually run faster when listening to music).  At mile 10, I ate another Gu and was feeling great. I switched to music and started to pick up my pace.  I started passing people (never mind that many of the people were walking). 

It's difficult to describe the feeling I get when listening to music while running in a race.  There's something kind of emotional that comes over me (always has).  It doesn't matter what song I'm listening to, I just smile and start to tear up a little.  I know, it's strange but it's happened to me in pretty much every race where I've listened to music.  

OK, back to the race. The last three miles, I felt fantastic and was running pretty speedily (for me).  I crossed the finish line at my iPod said 2:15:04 - whoppeee!! My official time was 2:14:59.  

My Garmin died a couple of months ago, so I've been using a free iPhone app.  It doesn't give me as much detailed as my Garmin, but it's good enough for right now.  It said that my average pace was 10:18 and that my fastest mile was 8:33 (that is very fast for me). 

I checked the official results and it said that my 10K time was 1:06:25, which means I negative split my race.

At the finish line, I waited for Mormor.  She was expecting to run it in about 3 hours because she hasn't been training as consistently.  She ended up running it in about 2:45 - which is right around average for her.  Great job - Mormor.

Mormor and I got a banana, took a picture and headed for the buses to take us back to the start line. It was a very organized process.

It was a fantastic race day! I will do this race again.

Race Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is 3M Half Marathon Race Day so naturally Mormor spent the day playing basketball with Cub.

Filanthropy Friday

Today's suggestion is from my mother (the Mormor). 

My mom has a former patient (he was the only cheerleader at our first marathon), Bill, and his wife (another former patient), Judy, works with the mother of JoAnthony Bermea. 

JoAnthony was born Septo Optic Dysplasia and is legally blind.  When JoAnthony was 6 months old, his parents were told there was no cure or treatment.  After years of searching for a cure, the Bermea family found hope from Beike Biotech.  His story was featured on Great Day SA. 

The treatment is expensive (about $25K for eight injections).  In addition to the treatment, they must travel to and stay in China for four weeks.  The estimated the total cost is $34K.

Family and friends are hosting a benefit this Saturday for JoAnthony in San Antonio.  We will not be able to attend the benefit, but I donated $25 to help.  I hope one day he'll be able to see his parents' smiles along with all the other things that children should get to see (like puppies and sunshine and cookie dough). 

Wordless Wednesday

Keyword Searches

Every once in a while it's fun to review the blogger stats and look at the keyword searches that brought people to Running With Lumpy.  

Some searches are self-explanatory like Running With Lumpy or Houston Running Race Reports, but some are just delightfully random - here are some of my favorites:

Little Cub Pee - Why would someone be searching for this phrase?

Is Mitt Short For Mitchell? - See, I am a pundit!

Piranha 3d Diaper - I'm not really surprised by Piranha 3d, but why were they searching for a diaper with a 3d piranha?

Boyrette - This term was searched (with a person ending up on my blog) over nine times in one week  and here I thought I made up the word.

Deer Running Across The Road - I take pictures of them while running.

Monkey Poop Game - I do not play games with monkey poop.  Monkey poop is very serious.

Cartoon Bears - I've got to imagine that my blog comes up as site number 1,876,957 out of 1,876,958 when doing the search "cartoon bears".  I'm shocked someone landed on RWL when doing this keyword search. 

Christmas Story Bunny Pajamas (or some variation) - After "Running With Lumpy", this is the most popular keyword search - over 300 times.

Yesterday was a BEAUTIFUL day and I practically had to force Cub outside, BUT today it was really rainy and cold - so of course - all Cub wanted to do was be outside.

Here's his best "what rain, mama?" face.

Misfit Monday

Sadly, I don't have any great misfits stories to share.

Everyone seems to be behaving, by misfit standards.

Tomorrow I'm going out with our new(ish) sales girl misfit and I'm looking forward to it. It's been a while since I've been out in the field. 

Cub has this really wonderful run.  It's a full-body flailing about that's hilarious to watch, but difficult to capture in a picture.

Here is my attempt:

Here he is pointing at something very interesting off in the distance (I think it's a swing). 

 

Unintentional Taper

I've been sick this past week.

I only ran on Monday. 

So, when I got up yesterday morning for my long run - I told Buttin - I might be two hours or I might be four hours.  I was gonna be happy with 16 miles, but I wasn't going to push myself (still recovering and all).

My running group doesn't usually get started till 7 AM, but that's way to late for me to start.  I left the house at 5:45 and (since I live so close to Cedar Park Rogue) ran to the route.  It was a wonderful, chilly 50 degrees. 

I got to the first water stop - no water.  Hump!  Thankfully, I had my own water and still had plenty left (I tend to drink less when it's cool out).  I got to the second water stop - no water. Double Humph!  I still had some of my water left, but I was now in slight conservation mode.  I was feeling really, really good and I estimated that I had gone about 4 to 5 miles.  

I checked my iPhone and I had gone 7.2 miles!  Whoppee! That never happens.  I decided to run to the next water stop because certainly the water would be out by the time I got to it.  Got there - no water.  OK, now I had to find an alternate water supply.  There was no way I would be able to make it back to Brushy Creek Park (water fountains) without water.  I headed back.

I found a familiar church.  I had run his route many times before and the woods next to this church had become a frequent potty stop.  I found a water hose at the church, filled up my water bottle and made a mental note that I should probably donate some money to that church.  

As I turned the corner, I noticed my running coach's truck - I waived.  I continued running and he came up next to me and we chatted for about 5 minutes.  Most of the runners in  Austin Marathon group were running the marathon route that morning, I knew this but didn't know if I'd be up for it with my illness, so I just figured I'd run closer to home.  

My running coach had not expected anyone on the course to be so far, so early and so he hadn't put the water out yet.  I figured as much.

On my way back home, I stopped for water at all the stops (and also pooed twice).  

I finished - 19.5 miles in 3:47 (including all my stops).  It was, dare I say, the easiest almost 20 miles I've ever run.  It must have been the taper.

Here is Cub playing at the park today.

Filanthropy Friday

It's kind of funny how once you start doing something (like Filanthropy Friday), you start noticing things more (like names of charities).  It's kind of how when I got pregnant, I started noticing other pregnant women (much more than I did when not pregnant) and when I had Cash I started noticing other babies.  

Well, now I seem to be much more aware of charities (and cookie dough factories).   The other day I was having lunch with a friend of mine at Berryhill (they have a very yummy seafood burrito). We've eaten lunch or dinner at Berryhill many times, but this was the first time I noticed a small sign in the same shopping center that said "A Glimmer of Hope".  It made me curious and I was convinced that "A Glimmer of Hope" had to be a charity, that or a cookie dough factory

As soon as I got home, I googled them.

Turns out A Glimmer of Hope is a charity. 

It was started by a woman in Austin who was profoundly shaken by pictures she saw in the 1980s of the famine in Africa.  She wanted to do something, anything and so she started A Glimmer of Hope, specifically focusing on Ethiopia.  Their goal is to help transform villages through water, education, healthcare and microfinance projects.

One of their current campaigns is Buy Bricks, Build A School  .  You can buy one brick for $20 - it takes 750 bricks for a classroom and 3,000 bricks to build a school (For Liz: I don't think these are literal bricks, I'm pretty sure it's the dollar value associated with the brick).  I bought one brick and gave it as a gift to Cub.

We're Going To Be Pundits

Buttin and I are watching some of "The Southern Republican Presidential Debate" (super exciting) and I can't help but think we would be fantastic pundits.

Here is a transcript of a recent and very insightful political conversation.

Me:  You know, Mitt Romney, I wonder what his full name is, like what is Mitt short for? Mitchell? 

Buttin:  Mitten.

And there you have it.  I expect that we'll get a phone call from MSNBC to join their team any day now.

I'm still feeling pretty cruddy, so I don't have a great pictures of Cub today.  The picture is kind of fuzzy, but here's what Cub does when you tell him to do karate. 

Mostly Wordless Wednesday

PINK EYE

HAPPY GUY(S)

Five Minutes

It's been a while since I've really gushed about being Cub's mom.

Recently, our nighttime routine has changed - a small five minute change. 

Every night Cub takes a bath and then we read books and eat Goldfish (very nutritious vanilla cupcake Goldfish) and drink milk.

The small change is five minutes of snuggle time after we read books.  

I love this quiet time with Cubbie.  It's not always perfect, like last night he fell asleep on my chest (probably because he didn't have a nap) and then cried when I put him to bed  and tonight my hair was soaked with drool and snot, but I wouldn't trade this time for anything.  It's really the only five minutes of the day when he is still and I am still and we are just close.  It reminds me of all the hours and hours we spent being still together when he was just a little baby Cub.

Here's Cub today giving me his serious look.  

Misfit Monday

It's a busy week, we have a pretty big sales presentation on Wednesday - so that's all I'm really doing.

Today Cub's school was closed for teacher in-service so Cub spent the day at Hannah's house.  He decided not to take a nap - none, zip, zilcho, nada.  

I figured it would be a fun (and by fun I mean, full-on toddler tantrum mode) afternoon. 

This is what a zoned out toddler looks like eating an apple.

After his snack we went outside to play.

I couldn't really tell he was tired. He seemed to be enjoying outside time (not really surprising). 

And here he is enjoying the swing - pretty happy afternoon for a toddler with no nap. 

Sunday Family Day

Today we had a really nice time just hanging out as a family.  Buttin and I got a little stuff done with the house we played a lot with little man.  Cubbie was quite grumpy (defiant, opinionated, temperamental and impatient) after he woke up from his nap, but we took him outside to play and his mood improved (shocking).

Here are a couple pictures from the day.

My 2012 Goals: Updates

I made a list of a few goals for 2012. 

I have a few updates on my progress.

• Make at least one healthy meal per week:  I made TWO last week - one was steak, potatoes and asparagus and the other was pork chops and asparagus.  Not too bad and Buttin ate both meals.
• Become more educated about the products I buy and where they are made:

1. My friend Liz and I love the Lake Austin Spa.  It's always a pricey little trip, but very enjoyable.  The Lake Austin Spa is ranked #1 Destination Spa by Conde Nast Traveler (which I guess is pretty important).  Well, my friend Liz learned (from a former employee) that the spa does not provide (or chip in for) any health benefits for their employees.  Considering what I pay per treatment (not to mention a half-day), I would have expected the employees to be compensated like executives.  Now maybe this former employee is somewhat disgruntled, but I still plan to write a letter to the Lake Austin Spa asking for clarification and an explanation. 
2. Ironically enough while I was running this morning I listed to a This American Life podcast titled - Mr. Daisey and the Apple Factory.  It was all about one Apple (as in electronic products, not the fruit) fanatic's trip to China to find out more about how Apple products are made.  He did some things that journalist wouldn't dare do - he actually stood outside large factories and just talked to workers - with the help of a translator. He posed as a business man and took tours of several factories.  He found some things that were personally (for him and me) upsetting - underage workers, 10 - 14 beds stacked on top of each other in the dormitories, the use of a paralyzing chemical to clean the iPad/iPhone screens (because it dries faster than alcohol) and a few others which I can't quite remember.  Apple actually does conduct pretty extensive audits and they try to be pretty forthcoming, kindof. This American Life is pretty fair and they fact checked everything they could and found most of his information to be accurate.  They also had some counter-points, including one from Paul Krugman - a liberal New York Times columnist and recipient of the Nobel Prize In Economic Sciences in 2008.  He said that the factory conditions in China are not ideal, but in Indonesia they're actually much worse - however, the factories have raised economic conditions for all.  I like this quote, " It is the indirect and unintended results of the actions of soulless multinationals and rapacious local entrepreneurs. It is not an edifying spectacle, but no matter how base the motives of those involved, the result has been to move hundreds of millions of people from abject poverty to something still awful, but nonetheless significantly better."  I understand Paul Krugman's comments, but I'm still not sure how I feel about the working conditions in the factories where some of the products I love are made.   I guess my goal was to become more educated and I feel like (in some small way) I'm accomplishing what I set out to do.

Here is Cub looking super excited to be wearing his hat today:

Filanthropy Friday

Part of today's Filanthropy Friday probably cannot be considered philanthropy, but I consider it to be charity.

I don't often get political on my blog, but I don't think I hide my political feelings (way, far out left).  

My political persuasion aside, I do understand (part) of the other side - specifically those who are fiscally conservative.  Most of these people are extremely intelligent, well-educated and not lacking in compassion (as my side might have you think). 

In watching some of the Republican debates and primaries I have found one candidate who I find interesting - Jon Huntsman.  He has no stinking chance in pail of poopy diapers to be the Republican nominee (which is why I consider my $10 donation to his campaign to be "charity"), but at least he believes in science.  Whereas, three of the candidates still running for the Republican nomination, including the governor of the State where I live, do not believe in evolution. 

I do not (and cannot) understand why some of these very intelligent, well-educated and compassionate fiscally conservative Republicans (some of them very good friends and family members) can align themselves with candidates who believe the Earth is less than ten thousand years old and than men walked around with dinosaurs (this is just one of the isssues that I find fascinatingly shocking).

I understand having faith, but I don't believe that faith and science are mutually exclusive.  I think you can have both.  

In my extensive (wikipedia) research of Jon Huntsman I found out that his father, Jon Huntsman Sr., was a business man and philanthropist (kind of like me - except he has business schools and hospitals named after him).  Jon Huntsman, Sr. has given over 1.2 billion to the homeless, ill and underprivileged (so I'm guessing his son probably doesn't need my $10 for his campaign) and in 2008 he was awarded the Medal of Honor for Cancer Philanthropy by the American Cancer Society.   One of Jon Huntsman, Sr.'s most notable accomplishments is the founding (and funding) of the Huntsman Cancer Institute.  

The Huntsman Cancer Institute is dedicated to finding cures for cancer using genetics (there's science again) while also being a leading cancer specialty hospital.  In addition to the $10 I donated to Jon Huntsman, Jr.'s campaign, I also donated $10 to the Huntsman Cancer Foundation.

Filanthropy Friday - 2011 Review

I loved starting Filanthropy Friday.

First of all, it gave me something to write about every Friday (instead of "Fetus Friday" and "Baby-Free Friday").

Secondly, it gave me a specific time every week where I could focus on gratitude.

Thirdly, it gave me an opportunity to honor my family and friends by giving to charities that are important to them.

Lastly, it was a great way to mark time.  I can go back and read Filanthrophy Friday posts and remember what was happening during that week in my life. 

Here's a review:

1. Ronald McDonald House - $15
2. Farm Aid - $15
3. Personal Donation To A Fellow Blogger's Daughter - $10
4. Marathon Kids - $10
5. HAAM - Health Alliance For Austin Musicians - $15
6. Livestrong - $10
7. Personal Donation To A Fellow Austin Apartment Association Member's Son - $100
8. Donor's Choose - $20
9. The Critter Connection - $10
10. Easter Seals - $10; The American Red Cross - $10
11. Texas Campaign For The Environment - $15
12. Boys and Girls Club of Austin - $15
13. Rocky's Ferret Rescue & Shelter - $10
14. March of Dimes - $25
15. Planned Parenthood - $20
16. World Wildlife Fund - $25
17. Beatbullying - $15
18. Oxfam - $100
19. Girlstart - $15
20. Texas Freedom Network - $25
21. Homes For Our Troops - $35
22. The Innocence Project of Texas - $25
23. Kidsave International - $20
24. Family Eldercare - $20
25. Cancer For College - $25
26. The Rose - $50
27. Polly Klaas Foundation - $25
28. Harry Potter Alliance - $25
29. PE3 - $25
30. Personal Donation To A Friend of a Friend's Child - $25
31. Unicef - $50
32. The Cipher - $25
33. Chicago Cares - $25
34. Personal Donation To A Childhood Friend's Memorial Fund - $25
35. Cavalier King Charles Rescue - $25
36. United Way (Central Texas Wildfire Relief) - $10; Muscular Dystrophy Association - $20; Save A Limb Fund - $10
37. Texas Alaskan Malamute Rescue - $50 (I still start tearing up when I re-read this one).
38. A Liter of Light - $23.56
39. Great Strides Walk For Cystic Fibrosis - $20
40. Occupy Wall Street - $10
41. Great Dane Rescue of South Texas - $25
42. Bookspring - $25
43. The Center For Reproductive Rights - $25
44. The Doc & Gayle Young Food Drive - $40
45. Fisher House Foundation - $25
46. Green Doors - $25
47. Dana-Farber Cancer Institute - $15
48. amFar - $25; Bear Necessities - $25
49. Next Generation Nepal - $25
50. Make-A-Wish Foundation - $20
51. Foundation Communities - Adopted a Family For Christmas
52. St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - $25

According to my calculator math, that's $1,383.56 plus what we spent on Christmas presents and food for the family we adopted in December.

I'm sure that my friend Liz only approves of about 10% of these donations. She'll probably tell me not to waste my time in 2012 and just give the money to her, but I think she had a lot of fun donating money (and ridiculing me) in 2011. 

Here is Cub today - proving he's my son - starring lovingly at a piece of chocolate while we freeze our butts outside. 

Wordless Wednesday

CSI: Austin

My bone marrow registry donation kit came in the mail today!

 

It was a pretty simple process - just like watching CSI.

Here I am doing my best pirate face while taking one of the four swab samples.   

I accidentally got a little piece of my dinner on one of the cotton swabs - maybe they'll be able to tell what I ate for dinner (nope, it wasn't cookie dough).

Here is my completed kit!

I have no idea how long it takes them to test the swabs, but I'll make sure to post an update if they send me any information.

Cub is not yet 100%, but here he is doing his "flashdance" pose (according to Buttin) and eating chocolate. 

MIsfit Monday

Today  we had another sales misfit start in our multi-family division.

He's not a new misfit - he's a promoted misfit!  We have high expectations for him.

Expectations include:

• He will follow all of the misfit New Year's Resolutions.
• He will sell lots of carpet, even to people who don't need/want it.

Those are about all my expectations.  

Cub was a little under the weather today, but you couldn't really tell.  Apparently, he's starting the "no clothes" phase.  He doesn't really want to wear a shirt, but hats are OK.  The picture is a little blurry, but he put the hat on all by himself - can you tell?

Running Today

This morning I ran 16 miles.  I was attempting 20, but I experienced two running firsts that made me call it early.

1. A bird pooped on me - right on my forehead and on my sunglasses (thankfully, not in my eye). I'm kind of surprised with all my trail running that it has never happened before and I hope it never happens again. 
2. I started to feel very sicky (I don't think it had anything to do with the bird poo).  I felt so badly that I texted Buttin to come pick me up.  He didn't get the text, so I walked/slow jogged the two miles home.

Here's a picture of Cub today being a goof-ball. 

Filanthropy Friday

First - a couple programming notes:

• I still haven't completed my review of last year's donations - I'm hoping to have that done soon.
• If you're looking for some counter-programming to "giving", please visit my friend Liz's wonderful blog - The Year of Taking.  It's pretty much guaranteed to never make you cry (unless it's with laughter) and to always make you feel like a better person (unless you take more than she does).

OK, now for some giving.

Last week, I mentioned that I wanted to focus on ways to give time (not just money).  Well, I didn't really find a way to donate my time this week, but I did join the National Marrow Donor Program - Be The Match.  This means that one day I could potential donate marrow and I figure that would probably take some time.  

It was very easy to register and I should be receiving a kit in the mail shortly for collecting my sample. I'll get to swab the inside of my cheek (like a real CSI).  It'll be very exciting and I'll take pictures.  There is no cost to join the registry, but I did donate $25 to help off set costs of collecting samples and to help pay for the uninsured costs of bone marrow transplants.

 
There are thousands of people with life-threatening blood cancers waiting for bone marrow transplants.  The chances of me being a potential donor are slim, but maybe one day I can help. 

P.S. (For Liz) I don't think you're allowed to register as a bone marrow recipient just so that you can take someone's marrow. 

Little Fender Bender

Yesterday Cub and I got into our first car accident together (pretty crappy first).

We were rear-ended by a girl in her early 20s.  It was one of those rush-hour traffic things were everyone suddenly stops, except she didn't stop. I jumped out of the car to check on Cub and he was just sitting in his car seat, smiling at me.  I don't think he even realized anything had happened (except that we stopped and his music stopped). 

The poor girl's front hood was pretty dented, but my little swamp wagon of a SUV just had a couple bumper scratches.  No harm, no foul.  I got her information, but she was just so scared.  She told me she had just got her car fixed after she hit a deer.  

Cub just wanted to get back on the road and listen to his music (speaking of which, I really need to find him some new music). 

Cub spent this afternoon trying to make me more nervous at the park than I was driving. 

Here is "little nervous". 

Here is "very nervous".

Wordless Wednesday

Mini-Post

I had dinner with Liz tonight.  I spent much of the evening giving her a pep talk on her awesome new business venture/blog (the year of taking - more on that in another post) and she spent much of the evening trying to convince me not to buy the purse organizer thingy I saw on an infomercial (the one that comes with a free set of Ginsu knives - sounds like a good deal to me). 

Graby is having a slightly rough time of it this week.  He's in a great mood at home, but school drop off has become a little more dramatic. I think a combination of being back at school PLUS being in a new classroom is a little stressful.  When I picked him up from school today, one of his friends (whose mom I know well) was and Cash were both crying (Cash was crying because he had just woken up and saw me), so I spent about five minutes on the floor hugging both of them. 

Here is Cash today (at home) having fun opening and closing the door. This picture cracks me up because Scratch looks so menacing - that or really dumb.  You decide. 

Misfit Monday

It's New Year's Resolutions time for the misfits.

In all seriousness, we have been setting some aggressive goals for our small business.  I'll share some in the near future.

Yesterday I wrote down some of my goals for 2012, so I thought today I would share some of the misfits' goals. 

1. Wear pants (or shorts) with complete pant (or shorts) legs.
2. Be kind to (or at least don't hit with a hard object) other misfits.
3. Be kind to (or at least don't curse at) customers.
4. Scowl less at suppliers/vendors.
5. Flush the toilet and no leaving poo-streaks (I'd add "in the toilet", but then some misfit would leave a poo-streak on the wall just to be a smart-ass). 
6. Don't blame Riggs for every fart.
7. Give each day 110% (or at least 10%).
8. Support other small businesses (by ordering take out for lunch).
9. No tattling.
10. Throw away old stuff in the fridge.

I know - it's a list of extremely high expectations, but I think the misfits are up to the challenge.

Here is little misfit Cub today - it looks like he's trying to attack a duck and it cracks me up. 

New Year, New Goals

2011 was a fantastic year.  

I returned to running and completed three half-marathons and one marathon.  Buttin and I bought a house.  We kept most of the misfits out of prison.  Cub learned how to poo next to his potty chair (still working on in the potty chair). Plus there was some other good stuff happened.

Time to set some goals for 2012.

• Set and maintain a family budget - Buttin and I don't have extravagant tastes, but we tend to buy whatever we want (within reason) whenever we want it.  My goal is to set a budget with aggressive saving goals.
• Organize, simplify and unclutter - Moving into the new house has really motivated me to throw and give stuff away.  I really don't need the box from a pair of earrings I bought in 1997.   
• Eat healthier and eat fewer processed food.
• Make a healthy dinner (something Buttin will eat) at least one night a week.  
• Become more educated about the products I buy and where they are made - This fall I learned (but was in semi-denial) that some of my favorite Nestle and Hershey Halloween treats come from cacao harvested using child labor.  The Harry Potter Alliance (one of my Filanthropy Friday recipients) has asked Warner Brothers to only make Harry Potter candy with fair trade ingredients.  I can't be perfect and I'm positive I'll still be eating Hershey's chocolate, but I want to be better educated. 
• Buy local when possible - Buttin and I own a small, local business.  I think it's important to support other local businesses.  
• Visit and purchase food from the local farmers market - This also helps some of my other goals.
• Keep in better touch with family and friends.
• Stay in good enough running shape to be able to run a half-marathon without any training. 
• Continue Filanthropy Friday and find at least four opportunities to donate my time - preferably with Cub or as a family. 

OK, those are good enough for now.

In running news, I ran 19 miles yesterday 3:45 - and that included two poo stops (it is not a goal to share less on my blog).

Here is Cub being cute this morning.