Champion Napping

Today I had to be at work on campus from 8:30 to about 12:30. Then I came home and…took a nap. If you know me, you probably know my love of naps. I NEVER met a nap I didn’t like, and I never seem to have trouble taking a nap. I know people who say, “I can’t sleep during the day,” or “I try to sleep during the day but I can’t.” My dad says stuff like that all the time. (I obviously don't take after him in this regard.) I just don’t get that. I can’t remember the last time I went to take a nap and it took me more than seven minutes to fall asleep. I am a champion napper. Oh, and don't try to wake me up before I naturally wake up from my nap. This could be 1-2 hours, but waking up before I am meant to makes me irritable and useless the rest of the day.

 I used to try to hide this. I didn’t want people to think I was lazy, so I would do anything to make sure people didn’t know I loved to take naps. Now I have decided to own it. I think it’s because I have been successful enough in life that I know I’m not a lazy person, and I don’t care if people think that I am lazy. Obviously, I can’t take a nap everyday due to ridiculous obligations such as those that are related to my career, but I will say I take a nap ALMOST everyday in the summer. And most weekend days year-round.  And just about everyday during winter break.

I think I am a person who needs a lot of sleep. I have noticed that in our society this is not looked upon positively. We brag about how little sleep we get, just like we brag about how busy we are. I get annoyed with this. It seems like the person who works 16 hour days on 3 hours of sleep is the “winner,” but what do they really win? 

I hear a lot of conversations where people try to top each other with how busy they are. “You think you’re busy???? Well, let me tell you about MY week….” We tend to think we are more important if we are busier, but maybe it’s a sign we need to re-evaluate our priorities or use our time more efficiently. My thought is that these people either enjoy being busy (and should not complain) or should change their lives so they are less busy. Sometimes I want to tell people that I am not impressed with how busy they are. I would be impressed if they took more naps. 

The heat here continues. It was about 100 again today. It's cooled off some tonight, and looks like it could rain. I hope it does rain because I didn't bother to water my flowers today. For the first time in about a week, I didn't go for a run. I'd like to use the heat as an excuse, but really I just bailed. Maybe I did need a day off though. I'll go running tomorrow evening and probably feel better after not running today. I'm thinking about seeing if there are any local 5k or 10ks going on this weekend. I'm in the mood for a race, even if I'm not in the shape for it.

Midwestern Pride

It is nearly 100 degrees here today. My house is air conditioned, as is my workplace, so I cannot complain about the heat. I am so spoiled in my life. Although I know there are people who don’t even have homes, it blows my mind that some people live in homes without air conditioning in the year 2011. I have a lot of tolerance for keeping the heat off when others would turn it on, but I am one of the first in the neighborhood to insist to the air conditioning must be on. With the exception of the residence halls in college, I don’t believe I have ever lived anywhere without central air. And I didn’t live in the residence halls in the hottest part of the year. Yes, I have been quite spoiled in this life.


I am somewhat defensive of Iowa and Iowa’s weather. People here complain so freaking much about the weather. They complain in the winter about the cold, snow, and wind. They complain in the spring about the rain. They complain in the summer about the heat…Of course, without the weather, half of the population would be unable to start a conversation.

Every winter I hear comments like, “This cold is just ridiculous,” “It’s below 10 degrees again,” or “I just hate how freezing it is.” I typically nod knowingly, but come on people—it’s Iowa. What did you expect? Did you really not think it would snow this year? Did you think it would be above 20 degrees for all of January? The same goes for summer. People say it’s too warm, too humid, etc. Again, is the heat and humidity a surprise? One of my thoughts is that you can either complain about winters or summers here, but not both. If you hate the cold, don’t complain when it’s 100 degrees. If heat kills you, you need to appreciate December and January.

I will admit that I don’t always love the weather here. However, I choose to live here. Which brings me to my next point: If you don’t like it here, there are 49 other states. Try one of them. I had an opportunity almost two years ago to move to a warmer climate in the Southeast US. I had a job offer and really debated whether I should stay or go. I chose to stay here. I chose Iowa, weather and all. I had a chance to leave and didn’t take it. It can’t be that bad here.

I have only lived in three states: Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. I am a Midwesterner by heart, and I used to be hesitant to claim that. I thought I would go to college here and leave for good. And I still don’t think I will live in the Midwest my entire life. However, being a Midwesterner is not a bad thing. It’s not exotic or exciting, but I’m fine with it. Even somewhat proud of it. I can easily grow a million tomatoes in my summer garden (if my dog wouldn’t eat every last one of them right before they ripened). I can be four years behind in fashion without being ripped apart—it’s just expected here. (And professors are the worst dressed people in the world anyway, so I could get about with being 12 years behind as a professor in the Midwest.) I also love the Midwest because I get to have a basement. Yes, it’s a place to put all of the junk that I’m not quite ready to get rid of, but if I lived somewhere else, all of that crap would be in the garage. Also, it’s flat here. As a runner and sometimes cyclist, I am okay with that.

That's all for now. Stay cool, campers.

The Boob Tube (as my dad calls it) and My Lame Life

First of all, congratulations to Bill Henninger, Lynzey Henninger Gallagher, and my other friends who completed the Dam to Dam 20k in Des Moines yesterday! (I believe Dam to Dam is one of the largest 20ks in the world. Of course, 20k is not a common distance to run. Just saying.) I've run it several times and I think it's one of the most-organized and friendly races I've done.

My summer goal is to blog everyday. I’m not sure if or when I will run out of things to write about. Most days I look forward to sitting down to write. It’s enjoyable and makes me feel productive. At least more productive than watching TV or randomly surfing the internet.


Tomorrow is the start of summer orientation. I will be working at summer orientation on campus every weekday for the next 7 or so weeks. However, it only adds up to about 15 hours a week--certainly not all day everyday. Along with teaching my online summer classes and some aerobics classes, it should keep me about as busy as I want to be.

There is something I really like about summer orientation. Incoming freshmen, as a whole, tend to be excited about college. Some of them are scared. Some of them are not scared enough. However, most of them are enthusiastic about a new beginning. They know that they can reinvent themselves to some extent, and they hope to leave behind things about themselves that they don’t like. They see college as an opportunity. I also notice that they have a certain level of respect for professors. Professors are a big deal to them. Unfortunately, that respect will last until about October.

So, summer orientation is fun. There are no “problem students” yet. All incoming freshmen are in good academic standing. Of course, this will change. Of the students I work with at orientation, some will flunk out, some will drop out, some will stick around but be headaches for faculty and staff…but I don’t think about that at orientation.

Speaking of college…This morning I was half-watching a lame but somehow addicting movie on Lifetime called, “The Party Never Stops.” I was flipping through the channels and somehow got hooked. That happens with Lifetime movies. (In a related thought, I think Lifetime movies are where formerly well-known actors and actresses go to die.) The movie is about binge drinking on college campuses and its consequences (bad grades, OWIs, alcohol poisoning, death, etc.). It’s sort of like an afterschool special, if you are old enough to remember those. Very predictable with mediocre acting and a well-intentioned message. Typical Lifetime movie.

Every once in a while, I get hooked on a Lifetime movie as I am flipping stations. Not coincidentally, this is often when I have a long to-do list and little time to waste. And when the movie ends, I always think about how I’ll never get those two hours back.

Later in the day, I got addicted to a marathon on the Big 10 Network of “Journey: Big 10 Basketball 2011.” (I am inserting the link here in case you want more info--I recommend it.) Although I am a college basketball fan, I don’t following the Big 10 particularly closely. Yet a documentary following a season of a college basketball conference is certainly my thing. I hope they do it again next year. I really hope someone does one following the MVC, but my husband and I might be the only ones to watch it. Because I love college basketball and documentaries, I would love it if people made more documentaries about college basketball.

For as busy as people tend to perceive me to be, I watch a lot of TV. Here is what I did today: Got up, ate breakfast, watched TV, ate lunch, took a nap, got up, watched TV, ran about 5 miles with Bill, walked to Kwik Star to get a soda, and watched more TV. I know people who don't have a TV. This is difficult for me to fathom. I think I would actually give up my bed before I'd give up my TV. I'm not proud of that. And don't even start me on DVR. DVR is one of the great miracles of the world. I would give up one of my fingers to keep DVR. And I am NOT kidding, unfortunately. I wish I were.


Just an aside: If you've ever thought about starting a blog, blogger.com makes it easy and fun. No, I am not getting paid or reimbursed in any way to say this. The blog was simple to start, and it's fun to see the stats about how many people are reading your blog and where they are from. I can also see which of my blog entries are the most popular, which is interesting. Blogger is free to use, as well. I should say that I don't have any experience with any of the other blog options out there. Maybe they are great as well. My point is that writing a blog is easy, even if you are not tech-saavy. If you've considered it, don't let the technical aspects stop you.

My Waterloo Days Parade and the Un-Oprah List

I went running this morning. I unintentionally ran into the My Waterloo Days parade in downtown Waterloo. It was fun. Lots of dance teams, gymnastics, music, kids, dogs, etc. One things I noticed was that there was NO candy. None at all. I assume it was against the rules to throw candy off of parade floats. What is the world coming to when you can't throw candy in a parade?

A particularly bright spot of the parade was when God provided me with Gatorade halfway through my run. Okay, maybe it wasn't God; it was Prairie Lakes Church. They had a little stand with free hot dogs, water, and Gatorade. I had two or three dixie cups of Gatorade and one of water. I passed on the hot dogs, but many people were cramming them done like they were in a hot dog eating contest, although it was probably not even 10 a.m. yet. Breakfast of champions.

It was a warm morning. I didn't leave here until about 9:20. I should have left earlier. I ran about 6 1/2 miles. It felt like longer than that, but that's probably because I'm not used to running in the heat yet. I've decided I am going to pick up my mileage some in the next few weeks. A few years back, it wasn't a big deal for me to go out for a 8-10 mile run at least three times a week and do shorter runs on the other days. I'd like to get back to that.

Anyway....

I've been doing some thinking. In one way and probably only one way, I am like Oprah. Oprah has a list of favorite things. So do I. However, Oprah's list actually impacts the sales of the products. I guarantee that mine will not. Nevertheless, there are a few products (pet supplies, running gear, foods) that I am quite attached to. Here is my list, in no particular order. I am going to put in links for some of them.

Keep in mind that you can only see the links if you go to the actual blog. If you are emailed this blog, you can go to http://themediocrerunner.blogspot.com/ to see pictures and links of the items. If you go to the blog instead of just reading this emailed text, you also see the design of the blog and any backgrounds, logos, etc. In other words, it's more aesthetically pleasing.


1. Nike Be Strong Capri pants: These are great. I have two pairs. I wear them to teach aerobics and for running when it’s not too hot out. They dry quickly and are very flattering. They are fitted enough to stay in place but tight enough that I feel self-conscious. Maybe a little expensive, but definitely worth it.

2. Kongs: We have several sizes and shapes of Kongs. They keep dogs busy when you are gone or need them to NOT be annoying. Some friends of mine had a puppy with separation anxiety, and a Kong worked wonders in keeping him occupied and quiet while they were gone.

3. Crystal Light Energy: A few years back, Crystal Light started making little packets to add to 12 or 20 ounce water bottles. They have some that are caffeinated, like the wild strawberry flavor. It gives me a nice boost before I work out or when I need to get going in the morning. My husband and I have started calling them “diesel.”

4. Fiber One bars: Think of these as candy bars that have some nutritional value. They aren’t low in sugar but the amount of fiber keeps you full. My favorite is the oats and caramel. Or maybe the oats and peanut butter. I should warn you that these bars are really sweet. Some of you may think they are TOO sweet, but I don't know what it means when people say that. To me, there is no such thing as too sweet.

5. Gentle Leader: When I take Murphy running using a regular collar, he’s all over the place. He wants to chase rabbits and is somewhat hard to control. When he wears the Gentle Leader, he is focused and the best running partner you could ask for. It makes all the difference. It also comes with a DVD on how to fit your dog with the Gentle Leader. I probably would have not known exactly how to put it on him if I had not watched the DVD.

6. Paula’s Choice products: Although these products are generally not as cheap at products you would buy at Walmart, they are not as expensive as Estee Lauder, Lancome, etc. I love that Paula’s Choice is marketed realistically. They make a point of not promising things (like looking 10 years younger) that are impossible. I should add that the skin care products are awesome, but the makeup is only average. They do have great customer service. Paula’s Choice is only available online.

7. Viactiv Calcium plus D: This will make you look forward to taking your calcium. And, from what I have heard, most of us are deficient in vitamin D. They have chocolate, caramel, and raspberry. I like the raspberry best.

8. Nature’s Miracle: We have six pets, so I consider myself an expert here. This is the only thing that we’ve found that really eliminates the smell of urine, particularly cat urine. Don’t be afraid to use a lot. It works amazingly well.

9. Swiffer: Why didn’t someone think of this sooner? I probably use the Swiffer about every other day to do a quick “mopping” of our kitchen and sun room. It works on all sorts of floors, including hard wood. The pads are rather expensive but I have realized I can use one more than once. They remind me of huge maxi pads. You can get the best deal on the cleaning liquid and pads at Sam’s Club.

10. Lands End swimsuits: I don’t have a particular one in mind to recommend. The best part is that you can mix and match tops and bottoms. They have swim shorts—and I don’t mean those stupid little boy shorts that make my hips look 8 miles wide. They have some that are short but a bit baggier. Love them! I bought a pair in high school that I wore for about 7-8 years. I just bought another pair (they came in the mail today), and I'm not sure why I waited so long. All of their suits are high quality and last for years. They can be more expensive, but often they have swimwear sales where you can get 20% or 30% off as well as free shipping. Lands End is also known for customer service.

Summer in Waterloo: Photos of Flowers and Mutts

It's very warm here today. I'm not sure if we've hit 90, but we must be close. I like it. It's just a little breezy with not much humidity. I hate humidity. It's my kryptonite. If you ask other women with naturally curly hair who use flat irons, they would probably say the same.

Bill and I spent a few minutes in the back yard after lunch. He mowed, and I picked weeds and gave the dogs a bath. I took a few pictures. Some flowers, some dogs, some guy without a shirt mowing the yard (you have to look closely for him).

If you don't know our dogs, you'll see why we call them the Odd Trio. Many people who have more than one dog have dogs that are somewhat similar in appearance or of the same breed. Our boys are totally different. You could probably guess they were not littermates. Murphy is a neurotic reddish beagle mix who we've had about 4 years. Gus-Gus is a black and white terrier mix who we adopted about 5 years ago. And Karl is our big boy. He's an older brindle English Mastiff who we've had about  2 1/2 years now. He's weighs about 110 pounds, which is quite tiny for a Mastiff. His hobbies include sleeping and drooling. He also enjoys eating socks and underwear. Once he ate a whole t-shirt.

Here are some flowers I haven't killed yet. It's only June.

Since moving here, I've learned that hostas are hard to kill. They are perfect for me.

That's Bill with our new lawnmower on the right.

Karl in the normal Karl position.

This is Murphy being a beagle. Nose to the ground.

Karl is tired from all of the naps he's taken already today.

Gus-Gus, the dog so nice..they named him twice.

Gus-Gus working on his tan.

Gus-Gus is quite photogenic.

Karl preparing for his next nap.

Don't Play (Board) Games With Me!

First of all, happy 29th birthday to my great husband, William Roy Henninger! I didn't make a big deal about 29. We shall see about 30!

It is a beautiful but windy night in Northeast Iowa. I had to teach a 5:30 step aerobics class, and then I went to a 5 mile run. I felt good on the run, especially since I've done so many squats and lunges in the past two days. I'm deciding what I want to do this summer in terms of races. Do I want to take on a half marathon? Or maybe a full marathon? Or be a little more leisurely and focus on 5 and 10ks? I need to make a decision because if I am going to do a half or a full I need to start doing some long runs. My longest run this year has probably been between 6 and 7 miles.

Lots of people were out on the trails this evening. I love seeing the diversity of individuals. I saw old people, young people, and families biking. Some had top of line biking gear and bikes. Others were riding richety old bikes. I saw a few runners. Some of them were zipping along. Some of them were not. I saw some people walking, with and without canine friends.

The Scripp's National Spelling Bee is on ESPN. I love the spelling bee. I was a good speller as a kid. It came easily to me, and I always got perfect scores on my spelling tests. However, I can't hold a candle to these kids. They are amazing. One of my favorite documentaries is Spellbound. Spellbound shows the journeys of several kids on their way to the national spelling bee. It's awesome. It's getting a bit dated, which means you can buy a used copy pretty cheap on Amazon.com, and I'm sure it's on Netflix as well. If you are interested in watching some socially awkward kids with parents who have questionable mentoring tactics, check it out. And let me know what you think. If you like that, I recommend Mad Hot Ballroom.

One of my favorite elementary school assignments (we may have done it in middle school, too, or maybe even high school) was writing sentences with vocab/spelling words. We would be given a list of words for the week. We would have to learn to spell them but also learn their definitions. I was okay with learning to spell them, but what was really fun was writing the sentences. It still appeals to me to have a list of words and get to just write sentences with them.

I could be the sentence writer for the spelling bee. They kids ask, "Can you please use it in a sentence?" Well, someone has to write all of those sentences. How do I get that job? Does it pay? I would have to learn quite a few new words. As I watch the bee, I realize that I only know about 20% of the words--and that may be giving myself too much credit.

Playing online Scrabble with my dad has proved to me that my vocabulary is less than impressive--especially when I try to challenge his "science" words. I must have not paid attention in chemistry, physics, etc. Actually, I don't think I took physics. My Uncle Stephen is impressive with culinary words, and I'm weak in that area as well. I'm not sure in what area my vocabulary is strong. Maybe health- or disease-related words, but those are seldom used in Scrabble because they are usually long.

I've always been a fan of word-related games (Scrabble, Boggle, Balderdash, Upwords--is Upwords still out there?). I guess part of that is probably because I have typically been good at these games, as opposed to games like Risk, Pictionary, Charades, or Trivial Pursuit. I think people usually like games they excel at. I don't think I am exceptionally competitive when I play board games, but I don't like to lose. An exception would be Jenga. I enjoy it, but I'm awful at it. I'm sort of a "bull in a china shop" type of person. Not much for finesse.

I should add that I am particularly not a fan of Risk. I guess I am not ready to be a military commander. I have been forced into many games of Risk because it was a favorite of both my father and pretty much all of my ex-boyfriends. Once I found a guy who liked me and wasn't obsessed with Risk, I married him. I probably haven't played Risk in 4 years. I don't miss it.

I also dislike games that are based purely on luck, such as the Game of Life (but I love Life the cereal!!!!!) and Farkle. Farkle is a dice game that does involve some strategy, but your outcome is pretty much based on your luck with the dice. I always get annoyed when people compliment you on a win when the game is based on luck. Such as when you win on slots and someone says "Good job." I think that's ridiculous.

I would be interested in how video games (Nintendo, Wii, etc.) have impacted board game sales in the US. I have noticed that many games like Boggle and Scrabble have video game adaptations, which I am assuming they must have to do to survive in 2011. I know you can buy an electronic version of Life and Monopoly. I guess Hasbro and Parker Brothers have had to change with the times. 

I am wondering if I should change the name of my blog to "Useless Observations About Irrelevant Stuff." I wouldn't be surprised if that's taken already. It probably describes about 50% of all blogs. I could also go with "Stuff I Think About That You Probably Don't Care About" or "A Blog Only A Parent Could Love."

Trends in Blogging

Often successful blogs focus on a project or journey. I think this is a newer trend. The movie Julie and Julia is based on one's woman blog about cooking all of the recipes for in one of Julia Child's cookbook within a year. I've seen blogs about how people take a year and reject consumerism--only buying the absolute necessities while eating foods from their own gardens. Neither of these things are in my wheelhouse. I don't cook and I like to spend money.

However, I've thought about whether or not I should take on a challenge and write about it. Here are my ideas:

1. 1. I could live in a nursing home and blog about it. This would be an ideal experience with my career. Of course, I refuse to eat institutional food (I only ate school lunch once in 12 years) so they would have to implement a feeding tube. I should add that this isn't a unique idea. Several people have done this and produced short documentaries, reality TV shows, newspaper articles, etc.
2. I could limit my nutrititional consumption to only junk food for some length of time and write about how this affects me. This is along the same thinking of Morgan Spurlock when he did Supersize Me and documented how eating only McDonald's impacted his health. I certainly wouldn't go with McDonald's. I would choose a diet of Red Vines licorice, DQ Blizzards, cupcakes, and animal crackers.
3. 3. I could start a dog rescue and blog about saving dogs from being euthanized at shelters. I actually know I could never really do this one because it would be too hard for me when I couldn't rescue every dog. I'll leave this idea to someone else.
4. 4. I could move to a nudist colony for a time and blog about my experiences. Fortunately, nudist colonies are generally in warm areas, like Florida (why would a nudist live in Iowa?), so a benefit would be spending time in a warm climate. Obviously, a drawback would be having to look at old naked men all the time. I don't think people generally considered "hot" in our society become nudist. I'm not sure why.
5. 5. Here is one I really wish I could pursue...I would like to blog about my students for a semester. (If anyone who doesn't know me is actually reading this---I am a college professor.) I'd like to take one of my classes and write about the development of my relationships with my students, the students' development of relationships with each other, and the issues and problems I have (which are sometimes very funny). I think I could make this really interesting. I also think it would be a good thing for other people to be able to put themselves in the shoes of a professor and see things from my perspective. Why can't I do this? Confidentiality, of course.
6. Here's another one I would really like to do but can't. I would like to become a CNA (Certified Nurses Aide) at a nursing home. I could write about the perspectives on life I gain from getting to know the residents. Of course, I don't see a nursing home giving me their blessing to blog about their employees and residents. (As an aside, I assign a book to my students that details one women's experience of becoming a CNA and writing about her experience of working with individuals with Alzheimer's. It's called Dancing with Rose and I highly recommend it. I'll put the link on this page. It's a must read if you know someone with Alzheimer's Disease or a related dementia.)
7. 7. I could go a whole year and refuse to buy anything that I did NOT have a coupon for. TLC has a new show called Extreme Couponing which may have impacted my thinking here. This would be an interesting gimmick, but I don't really think it would be a great financial decision. Bill has been doing a great job clipping coupons, but we get plenty of good deals without coupons as well. In addition, I get frustrated when people thinking they are saving money by using coupons when the coupons actually cause them to buy stuff they don't want or need in the first place. I see this on Extreme Couponing. A person doesn't use 100 bottles of mouthwash in their entire life, so who cares if they only cost a dime a piece?
8. 8. I could take a kid and travel around entering them in pageants. This idea was inspired by Toddlers and Tiaras and Little Miss Perfect. I would have plenty of stuff to write about. I must admit that I am not a fan of pageants. I think they are ridiculous. In addition, they are expensive, which is one big reason I would never actually do this. Furthermore, I'd have to find a kid.
9. 9. We could sell our house in town and move out to the country where we'd have a tiny bit of farmland and some small amount of animals (goats, chickens, cows to milk, etc). I have always lived in the Midwest, but I consider myself a city kid. I've never lived on a farm. Despite what some many think about Iowa, plenty of us do NOT grow up on farms. Anyway, I have a feeling this would be a comedy of errors. I'd learn a lot, but in the end have a deep sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. At least that's what I'd like to think would happen. And our dogs would have a larger area to run. Murphy's ears would be flopping in the wind as he joyously raced around the pasture.

I don't have any plans to pursue any of these ideas for the time being, but I am keeping an open mind.

100--It's about Quantity not Quality

This is my 100th blog post. I didn't know this until Blogger.com told me about 15 seconds ago. I can't say it is special in any way other than that. However,  I guess it's somewhat of a milestone in that I've sat down 100 times to write....something.

I started writing about running. I have realized there's only so much one can write about running. I still write about running, but I venture into other areas, such as the meaning of life, my pets, my kidneys, documentaries...I know that in order to have a solid blog with lots of followers you have to focus on one area--like cooking every recipe in Julia Child's cookbook in a year. I don't do that. Some people make a living off of their blogs but I am for certain I will never do that. I'm not focused enough. I'm also not forward enough to promote my blog.

So why continue to have a blog? I've always liked to write. As a child, I showed almost an abnormal desire and need to write. It's one of the quirkier things about me growing up. As a grown-up, I have plenty of opportunities to write for my job. In fact, I have many published journal articles that detail research studies. However, that's a very different kind of writing. Don't get me wrong--I do enjoy the writing I do for work. Yet, there is something about being to write about whatever I want in whatever format I want that is appealing.

Writing has always come easily to me. I'm not saying I am a fantastic writer. I know many people who write much better than myself. Yet, I often sit down to write and realize (after what seems like only a few moments) that I have compiled pages and pages. Is this quality writing? Sometimes. Even when it's not quality writing, I seem to gain something from it though. It's an enjoyable activity for me, even if my strength is quantity and not always quality.

I started writing at an early age. As a youngster (maybe 5???), I started a series of novels about the Kit Family. The Kit Family was a fictional family with, if I remember correctly, about 9 children. I wrote about their escapades: new school years, the birth of a new family member, buying a new car....I should add that I use the word novel very loosely here. I think each was about 10-12 pages. Yet, it was definitely a series. Not bad for a little kid.

I also remember taking on a collaborator when I was maybe in 2nd or 3rd grade, my friend Jennifer. We were going to write a book together. My dad, who was a good sport, volunteered to take our little book to work to laminate and bind it. I don't remember the topic of this particular book. Jennifer came to spend the night and we planned to work on the book. This was to be a working sleepover. However, she seemed to want to play, have fun, and she didn't seem dedicated to working on the project. I was annoyed by this. I'm sure this was the last time we collaborated. I really didn't have many friends as a child. 

I also remember that I did something odd in the 5th grade. For 15-30 minutes before the bus came to pick us up at the end of the day, we were required to read. Some kids in our class didn't want to read. I was okay with reading. A few of the kids complained and said they didn't want to read. Finally, our teacher snapped, "Read a book or WRITE a book!" There it was. Another option. I could write a book. So I started writing a book. (I actually don't think my teacher meant to give that as an option. I think it was just something he snapped because he was annoyed.)

I remember the book I decided to write. It was about a set of female triplets. Each had a hobby that they really excelled at. One was a softball player. One was a dancer. The other...I have no idea what the other was...it's not important. The "plot" (if you will) was about how they each had a very important activity (a recital, a game, etc.) and all of these activities fell on the same day. The whole book was about how they would negotiate this day. This was before we did everything on a computer. It was about 200 pages front and back, handwritten.

Somewhere along the line (between 8th grade and college, I guess), I stopped writing fiction. Maybe I lost my imagination. I don't have the desire anymore to make up stories. When I write now, I would rather write about observations of real life. I don't know why this changed. I'm not even sure if I'd be able to write fiction at this point. Is that just a product of adulthood? Obviously, other adults write fiction, so I guess maybe it's just an interaction of adulthood and me. Or the evolution of my hobby of writing.

I used to think blogging was incredibly self-indulgent. I would roll my eyes when people would keep a blog to discuss all of the details of their families, what they made for dinner, etc. My thought was generally to question why these individuals thought others cared so much about the details of their lives. First of all, I have to admit that sometimes other people do care. People you went to high school with are curious (even if it is for all the wrong reasons...particularly to prove to themselves they they did better than you  in life even if they are still living in their parents' basement). Your mom cares. She gets frustrated you won't call her back so instead she settles for reading your blog, and she really does care what you made for dinner.

On the other hand, I have to wonder how much of blogging is for others and how much is for the writer. Is blogging just the diary of 2011? (Do teen girls have hand written pink diaries anymore?) Of course, diaries were intended to be private, and blogging isn't private. Were diaries really private though? Didn't our parents read them when we were at summer camp? Mine had a lock but I think I kept the key attached anyway. There is, of course, an aspect of self impression management in blogging. Individuals present themselves in a certain way. It's no different than Facebook. My favorite thing about Facebook is probably analyzing the self impression management process people use before they post things like "LUV my huband (sic)" or "TGIF!!!! Woot! Woot!" (I have been struggling to figure out why everyone needs to use Woot! Woot! as an expression of enthusiasm recently. I'm also not sure why the hell it annoys me so damn much.) Then again, I was a psych major as an undergrad. If only I had know this would serve me so well.

So 100 blog entries. Woot! Woot!

Docu Docu Documentaries...

I have decided that I should make a list of documentaries that I would like to see this summer. Here is my list, in no particular order:

1. Something Within Me
2. Paper Clips
3. Confessions of a Superhero
4. Beyond Belief
5. Steal a Pencil for Me
6. Kicking It
7. Fall From Grace
8. Maxed Out
9. Close Encounters
10. Deadline
11. Killer at Large
12. More Than a Game
13. Food, Inc.
14. Stress: Portrait of a Killer
15. The September Issue
16. Tying the Knot
17. Nursery University
18. Omar & Pete
19. American Meth
20. The Parking Lot Movie
21. Freakonomics
22. Young at Heart
23. Training Rules
24. Shakespeare Behind Bars
25. The Hobart Shakespeareans
26. Lake of Fire
27. Go Further

So that's it...Some seem more appealing than others, but I know from experience that a documentary that sounds really boring can be amazing. If you know of some that I may not be aware of, let me know. I feel like I have seen more documentaries than the average person, but there are so many out there that I haven't seen or even heard of. It is my hope that I can discover a few gems that I can recommend to others. I can get all of the ones listed above through Netflix, and many of them can even be livestreamed.

I should note my favorite documentaries: Murderball, Mad Hot Ballroom, Pressure Cooker...I know I am forgetting a few great ones. I have been thinking about why I like documentaries so much. I think it is at least partially because I don't like wasting time. Watching a "non-fiction" movie just seems like less of a waste of my time than a "fiction" movie. I am not saying that fiction movies ARE a waste of time. In fact, I wish I could sit and watch them a few nights a week to relax like many people I know. For some reason, I feel guilty for watching them. It's ridiculous, I know. Something that's enjoyable should not be considered a waste of time because I don't see it as productive. There is something about documentaries that makes me feel more productive because I may learn more by watching them. I have tried to get over this way of thinking for years, but I just can't. Granted, I watch a lot of reality TV that is a complete waste of time, so I am not telling you that I don't waste time--Trust me, I waste plenty of time. Just ask my husband.

I am trying to get myself motivated to run today. I'm not feeling too much motivation, to be honest. It's raining on and off. It looks like it might storm, so I'm not sure if I will be running outside, inside...maybe riding the spin bike. We shall see. Happy Memorial Day weekend!

Documentaries, ESPN Classic, Health Care Systems, and Running Murphy (How are these things all related?)

It's Saturday evening and I am watching Hoop Dreams. I've seen parts of it before but never sat down to watch the whole thing. The movie is from 1994. It's hard to believe it's 17 years old. (For some reason, I had to use the calculator feature to confirm this was correct. It just didn't seem right.) It came out when I was 17--and yes, I used the calculator to confirm this as well. (I have a PhD minor in stats but don't do math in my head.) Now I am feeling old...I remember the discussion of Hoop Dreams when it first came out. I happened to find it on ESPN Classic, which is one of my favorite channels. If you know me, you probably know that Hoop Dreams is right up my alley. I like sports stories, and I love documentaries. Hoop Dreams is well-done, although maybe a bit long.

Lately, I have been into the 30 for 30 series on ESPN. If you know why it's called 30 for 30, please let me know. I really can't figure it out. I think there are 30--but 30 for 30???? Is it because it's over the last 30 years? The series documents sports stories with a human side. One of my favorites is on Marcus Dupree--a football player who had a lot of potential but never really made it. I've also watched one on the friendship between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. There's a great one on Vlade Divac and the split up of Yugoslavia. I saw one on Terry Fox, a Canadian who tried to run across the country after losing a leg to cancer. They are really well-done. I recommend them even if you aren't really into sports. I know you can order a box set of the DVDs at the website. If you are into buying DVDs, which I am not, it would be a good purchase.


I have decided I need to indulge my love of documentaries this summer. I talk all the time about how I don't know what to do with myself when I am not working 60 hours a week. I need to figure out what I enjoy doing...sometimes I think I really don't know. Well, I enjoy watching documentaries. Netflix has a great selection so I need to get on that. Today I watched a Frontline documentary called Sick Around the World. It compares the US health system to those in Great Britain, Germany, Japan, Taiwan, and Switzerland. (Is this really what I consider to be fun? Yes, I think so.)


Anyway, I learned quite a bit. For instance, Switzerland didn't allow women to vote until 1971. This really shocked me. For some reason, I thought Switzerland was on the cutting edge of gender equality. They also refuse to join the European Union, which I don't think I knew. Of course, this isn't really about their health care system--just a side note. I did learn that in Japan it costs about $4.50 (US dollars) to have a doctor stitch up a small wound. And that no one in Germany or Japan has ever gone broke from medical bills. Interestingly, Taiwan went from a poor to rich country in about 20 years. They have to revamp their health care system and did so based on research they did regarding the systems of other countries. They tried to take the best aspects of other countries' health care systems. Furthermore, the US ranks 37th in health care quality--according to this documentary. I would like to know exactly how this was measured. In general, health care in the countries discussed is perceived more positively by its residents than we perceive our health care system. Of course, our health care system is among the most expensive.

The documentary also discussed the role of gatekeepers, or individuals who decide if you should go to a specialist. I found this interesting because typically I must go to a gatekeeper (or my primary physician) who can refer me to a specialist. However, my recent two visits to Mayo Clinic in Rochester were not the result of a referral. Apparently, you can just call Mayo and get an appointment--which is covered by my insurance. I don't understand that, but I might not have ended up at Mayo if that were not the case.

My latest visit to Mayo was on Thursday. In short, it involved a catheterization that made me think I was peeing razor blades for two days, a long boring test that required me to stare at the ceiling for an hour and a half, and no real conclusive test results. The doctor isn't really sure what is causing my kidney pain. They recommend another test that would see if I have a reflux issue (sort of like acid reflux but with urine instead). So I don't know what to think....and I don't feel like thinking about it right now, especially since I'm not hurting too much today.

I should add that I am impressed with Mayo in Rochester and would recommend it. The facility itself is beautiful. It's clean. The place is huge, so I have no idea how they keep it so clean. Everything is well-organized. Employees are courteous. Doctors have good bedside manner. Bill didn't like that we had to pay to park, but that's about the only complaint. My doctor was running late, but I guess that's to be expected for a late afternoon appointment. Fortunately, they have wireless internet. I can tell there is a focus on "customer service" at Mayo. They make an effort to call patients Mr. or Mrs., for instance. I understand that this is an effort to show respect to patients, although personally I hate it. I don't mean to be nit-picky, but you can call me Elaine or Dr. Eshbaugh, not Mrs. Eshbaugh. Mrs. Eshbaugh implies that there is a Mr. Eshbaugh married to me, which there isn't. I am perfectly fine being called by my first name, but I guess my thought is that if you are going to call me bv a title, it should be the correct title. Even Ms. would be better than Mrs.

In other news, Murphy and I went for a run today. I left my GPS at home, so I'm not sure exactly how far we went, but I would guess about 5 miles. Maybe a little more. I felt good. I did have a lot of caffeine before I went, and I think that helps--although I'm not sure how much of that effect is physical versus mental. I could tell Murphy was a bit tired by the end of the run. It was only about 70 degrees, and he wasn't panting, but I just haven't had him out running much lately. I need to get him out more. He's a high energy dog who needs to run off some of that anxiousness. The better he sleeps at night, the better we sleep at night.

I was proud of him today because another dog on the trail went nuts when he saw Murphy. Murphy just kept running--didn't even look at the dog. It's funny because sometimes he can be so reactive, but when he's running with me, he's so focused. It's actually when he is the most well-behaved. My goal is to get him running more this summer, even if that means I have to go early morning or late evening when it's not as hot. (Dogs don't sweat, so I am careful about him overheating when we run.) A couple of years ago, I had an odd incident with a strange guy out on our trails, so it's good to have Murphy along. He's only 30 pounds, but in general no one really messes with you when you've got a dog with you, even if he's not a big dog.

Yard Pictures

While my mom was visiting a few weeks ago, she was nice enough to go out and buy some plants and flowers for the yard. After she went home, I got the stuff planted, and she requested some photos, so here they are. This year we are once again trying a herb garden. We don't have any vegetables--Karl has proved to us that this isn't a worthwhile venture because he eats them just as they ripen. He loves tomatoes, especially.

I should also take a picture of the front of the house to post. I've done some work out there. While Bill was teaching the other night, I actually yanked two trees out of the ground. (It's amazing how strong I am when I REALLY want to do something.) Today I added some red mulch out front. It's still a chaotic mess, but it looks a little more under control.

The hanging baskets Mom bought for us.

Excuse the dead grass. That's where I had the kiddie pool last year. (I would sit in it at night and drink wine--Bill rarely joined the fun.)

Here is the little herb garden.

Flower box on the back of the garage.

Hedgie the hedgehog (right), and Harris the toad (left)

Rain rain rain

It just started raining here. And I don't think it will stop for quite some time. On the news, they said to expect wet weather from Friday to Wednesday. My flowers and plants needed the rain today, and I'm actually sort of enjoying it.

I go back to Mayo on Thursday for a test called a MAG 3. The test is in the morning. I will meet with the doctor to go over the results in the afternoon. Bill is going with me, and he's not yet been up to Mayo. I am hoping the test won't take long and we can find a fun place to eat lunch. From what I know about the MAG 3, it won't be very much fun, but I'm glad I have it scheduled. We will just leave really early on Thursday instead of spending the night in Rochester.

In other news, I taught 5:40 a.m. aerobics today. I had to teach another aerobics class at 8 a.m., so I walked for over an hour between classes. Bill went with me. It was fun to have him there, and I think my "regulars" in the 8 a.m. class enjoyed meeting him. I don't think he's been to one of my fitness classes since I've taught at the CF Rec. Needless to say, we took naps when we got home.

I thought a bonus of having to teach that early would be see the sunrise. However, it was actually TOO EARLY to see the sunrise. I guess I have no idea what time the sun actually comes up. I always thought as I got older I would turn into more of a morning person, but it hasn't happened yet.

In other news, I got about 3-4 inches cut off my hair last weekend. It's still longer than my chin, and I can still pull it back into a little ponytail if I wear a headband. I have some side bangs and lots of layers. I like to be able to pull my hair back, but it does look better shorter rather than longer. I have been getting my hair cut at Kate's On Main in Cedar Falls. I started going there for one reason--you can book your appointment online. For some reason, I hate calling places to make appointments (doctors, dentists, auto repairs shops, hair stylists, etc.) and always put it off. So making appointments online is right up my alley. It is also by Scratch Cupcake Bakery, which Bill and I recently discovered and have become obsessed with. We've only been there twice, but we talk about going quite a bit. I stopped in one Friday night and they had run out of cupcakes. I am told that this is a common occurrence.

I am still teaching my Alzheimer's course online. We are halfway done already (it's only a 4 week course). After this session, I will teach Psych of Aging online. Bill is teaching two classes this summer, but his are face to face. I am fortunate to be able to teach in the summer and also do some advising for summer orientation--which starts in June. Of course, it brings in some extra money, but more than that, I don't know what I would do with myself if I wasn't working at all. This summer I am also working on a research project with two students and another faculty member.

Well, that's all. Enjoy the rain.

Online teaching, Mayo (not meaning mayonnaise), and Murphy's Bunny

Commencement (and Michelle Obama, our guest speaker) has come and gone. Final grades are submitted. I had a fun visit with my mom last week, and she flew home on Thursday. I started teaching a summer course online last week. The class I am teaching right now is one of my favorites: Families, Alzheimer's and Related Dementias. Really, it should be one of my favorite courses to teach because I created it. It's the only real course I've had the privilege of creating since I've been at UNI. I hope I get the opportunity to do more.

As for teaching online rather than face to face...It's a good change in the summer and makes my schedule more flexible. I like it because I don't have to stare at students in a warm classroom all summer, but I also do miss the student contact to some extent. I also feel like there are some things that you just can't convey online. However, it's what students want in the summer. I will say that it is difficult for students to maintain motivation in online courses, especially in the summer. I don't get to know students as well when I have them in online courses. This is not always a good thing for them--especially when they want letters of recommendation. Also, students tend to underestimate how much effort and time an online course takes. It's usually more reading than a classroom course. In my online courses, students really have to focus on reading and retaining material because I am not standing in front of them a few times a week to emphasize important points. 

Last week I visited the Mayo Clinic-Rochester to see a urologist about what I thought was a kidney stone issue. Apparently, my pain (which is still mild to moderate) is not caused by a very small kidney stone that I do have. It's caused by something else. Their best guess is that it's caused by scar tissue (ureteral stricture) and I will go up for a test called a MAG 3 to see if they can learn more. A MAG 3 is a test where they hook you up to an IV to put some dye in your system and watch your kidneys function. I need to call tomorrow to schedule that. I am fortunate that Mayo is so close. It's about 2 1/2 hours away. My perception of Mayo after my first visit is that they are very efficient and have their act together--particularly when it comes to labs, etc. I would recommend them highly. I hope I continue to have a good experience.The bad news is that if this is a scar tissue issue, the treatment options are not so appealing, so I will cross that bridge when I come to it.

I've taken over teaching another aerobics course, so now I am scheduled to teach at the rec every weekday except for Tuesday. It's an extra about $240 a month, and it's money for working out, so no complaints there. I am getting called to sub quite a bit as well. For instance, I am teaching a kickbox Friday morning at 5:30. I could live without teaching at 5:30 in the morning, but I am helping out a friend. And I know I'll be glad I taught the class once it's over!

I need to get myself registered for a few summer races but feel like I need to wait until I know more about the kidney situation. I haven't run in several days. I need to get back in gear. As the weather gets nicer (and less windy), it will be easier for me to get in the groove of running. I don't really have the kidney pain when I run but I do feel it later. I have realized that the more liquids I drink, the more it hurts. Although I haven't been running as much as I would like, I have been keeping my fitness level up because I am teaching enough aerobics classes. It's not the same though. I need to get back into a more regular running habit.

Our beagle mix Murphy is very proud of himself for killing a rabbit and presenting it on the back porch yesterday. As disgusting as this was, I was just a little bit proud of him for accomplishing his goal (although I certainly don't share his motivation for killing rabbits) and I did feel loved that he would bring it to us--since it was his prize, of course. However, Bill shattered his glory by trashing the rabbit. I am glad Bill grabbed the rabbit and threw it away. I might have had trouble doing that. Anyway, Murphy was pretty disappointed to see that rabbit leave the porch. I almost felt badly for him. Poor Murphy.

Happy May Day

Another April is gone, and another finals week begins. Commencement is a week from yesterday, and (if you haven't heard) Michelle Obama will be speaking at the graduation ceremony at UNI. Controversy surrounds the decision to host her, but the day should be exciting--and somewhat stressful for those of us who are on the commencement committee.

The bad news is that I am still struggling with the kidney stone. The good news is that I have an appointment at Mayo in Rochester on May 10. Without going into detail--and boring folks with my negativity--I have low grade pain much of the time but fortunately it rarely becomes intense. In the few months since this started, I am grateful that the pain hasn't gotten worse overall. It's just discouraging that it continues. I've only missed a couple of days of work, and I am still able to run and work out most days. It could be much worse! The only thing that sucks is that it's been a few months!

I ran a 5k yesterday. It wasn't a fast race at all for me. However, it was mostly college students since it was on campus. After the race, I look around and thought for sure I won my age group because there were so few people over the age of 23--but then I learned the age groups--which were 18 and under, 19 to 40, and 41 and up. I went from first in my age group to probably the slowest 10%! Anyway, it felt good to run a race. I would like to register for a few more (longer ones!) but I hesitate because I don't know what the kidney stone has in the store for me. I will probably put some on my calendar tentatively but not register.

I went to Iowa City today to have lunch with my dad and his wife. After that, I stopped over to see my friend Erin and her husband Cory. It was a fun day and good for me to get out and do something rather than sit around on a Sunday.

On to finals week and graduation!

Friday!

And finally, it's Friday! I have very few plans for the weekend, which is GREAT! I am still working with this dang kidney stone. The situation hasn't improved in terms of pain, but it hasn't gotten worse either, so I can't complain too much. It hurts sometimes, but it's manageable. I am wondering how long this can go on before the thing passes or some type of medical intervention is needed. I need to get ahold of the doctor on Monday (and this is no easy task).

Enough about that. I've been managing to run some and also teach aerobics--although I'm sure my classes have not been my best. I can run 3-4 miles on most days although I take it slow and I usually have some pain after running. I don't want to stop running because I don't want to have to lose my fitness and work my way back. So, I will run unless I absolutely can't.

I am swamped with conference stuff at work. Actually, I must admit that things seem to be in order, and I feel fairly organized. We will see if that feeling lasts!