Monthly Archives: April 2009

Bunnies on the Brain

Posted on by Run DMT
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As of late, Emmalynn’s (my 3 y.o.) language skills have really developed at a rapid speed.  Not only is she talking more, but she blows me away with the words she uses.  She went from barely speaking to speaking in descriptive sentences.

 

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It tickles me to hear her speaking in real sentences with all the parts of speech present in one sentence and correct usage of verbs.  But more than that, it’s the facial expressions she makes when speaking.  Her face is so animated.  She makes me giggle even when she criticizes my driving.

 

The way she crinkles up her nose and tilts her head when she speaks, she reminds me of the little bunny from Disney’s Robin Hood.  Of course, this could also be since this has been her movie of choice as of late. 

 

To get a better understanding of the comparison, fast forward to 8:30 in the following video to view the baby sister bunny speak.  It’s a great visual of Emmalynn’s speech patterns.

 

 

So has all the Little Bunny Foo Foo babble given me bunny brain or what?

Had a Blast at Buffett!

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Buffett was all that I expected and more.  Similar to a football game, the best partying takes place during the tailgate before the main event.

 

Of course, there were landsharks…

 

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…a crazy number of coconut tops and grass skirts.

 

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…and plenty of people wasting away again in Margaritaville.

 

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Before the show, two men livened up an already lit crowd by launching beach balls into the amphitheatre with the aid of a huge slingshot.  Once Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band entered the arena, “Summerzcool” was in session and Professor Buffett educated his captive pupils on all the required topics for his program, such as Chemistry to understand the need for NaCl. 

 

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Live renditions of classic Buffett songs sounded like familiar jukebox tunes combined with other classics, like Southern Cross by Crosby, Stills and Nash.  They also surprised the crowd with some new songs, such as A Lot to Drink About.

 

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As beach and sunset images projected on the screen behind the band, night of carefree fun continued.  The party atmosphere of this concert created a love fest for the entire night.  Fans old and young embraced the evening and strangers by hugging and toasting good times.

 

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At the end of the second set, the crowd banged on the backs of chairs begging for an encore.  With another cover classic, the band played Yellow Submarine by The Beatles.  Why Yellow Submarine?  Like Jimmy said, “Why not?”  His carefree, comical way carried through until the end of the show.

 

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The New and Improved Little Bunny Foo Foo

Posted on by Run DMT
4

Ever since my run last Sunday when my running partners and I discussed the various versions to Little Bunny Foo Foo, I decided to create another version.  

My New and Improved Little Bunny Foo would promote peace and  love.  Bullies are a serious problem in today’s world.  Why not teach children that bullying will not be tolerated by bunnies or not-so-nice fairies through song?

 

So without further ado, here is my new and improved version of Little Bunny Foo Foo:

 

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Hopping through the forest

Scooping up the field mice

And kissing them on the head.

 

Down flew the Baaaaaad Witch and she cackled,

“Little Bunny Foo Foo

I don’t want to see you

Scooping up the field mice

And kissing them on the head.

I’ll give you three chances to be mean

And if you don’t,

I’ll turn you into a goon!”

 

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Hopping through the forest

Scooping up the field mice

And kissing them on the head.

 

Down flew the Baaaaaad Witch and she cackled,

“Little Bunny Foo Foo

I don’t want to see you

Scooping up the field mice

And kissing them on the head

I’ll give you two more chances to be mean

And if you don’t,

I’ll turn you into a goon!”

 

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Hopping through the forest

Scooping up the field mice

And kissing them on the head.

 

Down flew the Baaaaaad Witch and she cackled,

“Little Buny Foo Foo

I don’t want to see you

Scooping up the field mice

And kissing them on the head

I’ll give you one more chance to be mean

And if you don’t,

I’ll turn you into a goon!”

 

Little Bunny Foo Foo

Hopping through the forest

Scooping up the field mice

And kissing them on the head.

 

Down flew the Baaaaaad Witch and she cackled,

“Little Buny Foo Foo

I don’t want to see you

Scooping up the field mice a

And kissing them on the head

I gave you three chances to be mean

So POOF! You’re a…”

 

But suddenly, the Bad Witch was stopped by the Good Fairy. 

“No, my dear! POOF! You’re a goon.”

 

And with that, the Good Fairy turned the Bad Witch into a goon and turned Little Bunny Foo-Foo back into a kissable little bunny.

 

The moral of the story:

Picking on others can be a hare-raising experience!

Officially Boycotting The Children’s Place

Posted on by Run DMT
7

no-tcpI really think I need to shop on-line more with all these unfortunate situations I seem to keep stumbling into when shopping at retail stores.

 

Maybe it’s just me, because these things only seem to happen to me…BUT, I wanted to go the The Children’s Place to buy my girls some flip-flops, which are staple footwear in Florida. Currently, they’re two for $5 (which is such an awesome deal) and I refuse to pay $8 and up for cheap, floppy footwear. I don’t care how many sequins they glue on them. Those bad boys will be buried in the sand and Emmalynn (my youngest) will be down to only one shoe before the end of May.

 

Anyway, I arrive at the Citrus Park Town Center well before mall hours on Sunday, because I forgot it opens later on Sunday.  Not to worry, the girls and I hang out at the padded play area before the stores open. The girls were having a good time and I was so happy they were minding the rules and Emmalynn stayed in the play area. It’s a great feeling to be past the days of barricading the entrance with my legs or trying to keep her from scaling over the wall as she attempts to escape.

 

Finally, the mall opens and we dart over to TCP. There’s an awesome sale going and everything is 50% off. But like a recovering retail junkie shopaholic, I avoided the red clearance signs and stuck to my flip-flop plan. It’s all about needs vs. wants right? I did some deep breathing and focused on the great wall of flip-flops. 

 

Of course, Allana chooses a pair at the very top, so I need the help of a sales assistance with her big hook tool to reach the precious. 

 

As I find someone to help me, Emmalynn climbs through the rounders while Allana spins other rounders. So much fun!  I ask them to stop and warn them that there will be no tea at Teavana if they don’t stop. (Yes, I bribe my children with free tea at Teavana. So what? Whatever works, man!) They stop, but move onto the spinning mirrors. 

 

Finally, an unwilling sales associate helps me, but Emmalynn is still spinning the rounders. Then, another sales associate scolds Emma to stop. At this point, I am so embarrassed. I ask the girls, “Do you think Mommy makes these rules up?”

 

After trying a variety of flip-flops and still able to fight off the fabulously marked down spring clothes, we’re ready to check-out. 

 

“I can help the next person”, shouts out the associate, who happens to be the same lady who helped me with the flip-flops. 

 

“Great! Thanks!” And I jump to it.

 
“Um yeah…the line is over there. You’re not next.”

 

“HUH? Where’s the line?”

 

“Over there.” And she points to a sign hidden in between the rounders to the left of the register. 

 

“Well, that’s so obvious.” I sarcastically remark. Might I remind you I had TWO pairs of flip-flops.

 

The next person in line is a gentleman who has a pile of clothes. So, I wait in the camouflaged line while children continue to destroy the store. As I wait, I realize I am not the only customer confused by the camouflaged line.

 

Now, I am fuming. Annoyed at my children for being monsters unruly. Pissed off that I had to beg for sales associates to help. Trust me. If I could use the flipping flip-flop fetcher tool hook myself, I would have. And so angry that I and other customers are repeatedly being treated rudely by sales associates. 

 

In this economy, they should be THRILLED to see customers shopping. They should be kissing my ass and thanking me for shopping in their store. They should be elated that their store is still open while others are closing due to the recession.

 

Yep, looks like I need to shop on-line more.  But first, I will send an e-mail to TCP regional and corporate offices about my not-so-pleasant shopping experience.

Sunday Running Log #20

Posted on by Run DMT
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After retying my laces back to their original looping, I headed out to meet Tiffany for an easy 6 miles.  Not looking to break any new running records, but simply wanting to run a fair distance without some weird toe pain.

 

Two little Cottontail Rabbits hopped across my path on my way to meet Tiffany, which was a lovely reminder that spring is here.  Its the perfect time of the year for early morning runs and bunny hops.  

 

 

Although our early morning run was too early for Jackie, Lori joined Tiffany and me after a mile and a half.  Running at a very slow pace, the three of us were testing the waters to see how our bizarre injuries would handle after a few weeks off.  Lori has had some shin issues.  Tiffany has been experiencing t-band problems since the Disney marathon.  And of course, I have my freaky foot problem.

 

My earlier bunny sighting inspired us to sing Little Bunny Foo-Foo during our run which then sparked a conversation on the different versions of the song.  In one version, Little Bunny Foo-Foo bops field mice on the head.  In another version, Little Bunny Foo-Foo kisses them.  Why is Little Bunny Foo-Foo turned into a goon for kissing field mice on the head?  I think the fairy should be praising Foo-Foo for loving the little mice.

 

Jackie isn’t much of a talking runner, so she would have been pleased to have missed our deep Bunny Foo-Foo debate.  

 

After 3 miles, Lori and Tiffany were ready to return home.  My foot felt fine and I thought I could handle running a bit further.  I finished 6 miles with no freaky foot issues. 

Distance 6.11

Time 1:04:34

Pace 10:33

 

Pleased that I finally found the right tightness for my running shoes, but worried that I would mess with it the next time I ran, I’ve become completely obsessed with my laces.  I found these how to videos on Runner’s World, which demonstrate several different methods to lace shoes for a variety of common complaints. 

 

I will try running on Tuesday with my shoes laced the old fashioned way again.  If I have any pain, I will try one of the methods on the site.  I particularly like the two laces on one shoe.  What a conversation starter that will be at the next race!  I can hear the other runners now!

Only 2 Runs

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I only ran two runs this week and they were both terrible.

 

Wednesday, I ran 3.22 miles.  My time was hideous.

Time 31:39

Pace 9:50

 

Fortunately, I didn’t feel any weird toe pain.  My DH retied my laces on my shoes to what he called the “British way to tie laces”.  It actually resembles the black toe lace jobby I mentioned here.

 

Tell you the truth; I don’t really like this method of tying shoes.  I can’t get the shoe snug around my ankles and when I pull the laces it makes the shoes tighter by my toe, which is exactly what I am trying to avoid.  Not to mention, I have one really ridiculously long lace that keeps getting longer when I pull the laces.  My OCD, anal-retentive brain needs to have my laces the same length on either side.  (Don’t judge me until you’ve run a mile in my shoes.)

 

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But, I decided to give this Black Toe Prevention/British-style Laces one more go on Friday when I ran 4.22 miles.  Once again my time was disgraceful.  

Time 41:20

Pace 9:48

 

While I ran, I chanted in my head “Heel, toe, heel, toe, heel, toe” to make sure my foot placement on the pavement was right.  Still, towards the end of the run, I started to feel that weird toe pain again.  So frustrating!

 

Today, I will attempt some strength training and weights.  Tomorrow, for my Sunday run, I will shoot for 6 miles easy with my shoes laced the old way again.

I’m a trail blazer…NOT!

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Thankfully, I found time for a much needed run through the wilderness trails at Oscar Scherer.  Not knowing how my foot would hold up, I decided to test out the shortest trail, the Green Trail.  This flatwood trail consisted mostly of sand and I found my pace was very slow as a result, but probably a good thing considering my foot.  Many other campers also enjoyed this short trail for an early morning run.  Unfortunately, a portion of the trail was closed for maintenance and so I had to get creative to reach 3 miles.

 

After finishing less than a mile on the Green Trail, I exited the campgrounds, crossed the bridge and ran along Lake Osprey to the Yellow Trail.  

 

About 1 mile into the Yellow Trail, I noticed Bobcat tracks in the sand and became very nervous about running on a trail without my mace with no other runners in sight.  With that I decided to stick to only 3 miles and head back to the campgrounds.

 

3.13 miles

Total Time 33:31

Pace: 10:43

 

Last Thursday was the last time I ran.  I promise to get back into routine tomorrow!  I need to redeem myself of such a horrible pace and time!