That Time of the Month

It's that time of the month, when Mike and I gather round the laptop to share in the joy of other waiting familes' referrals being posted. Thanks to my good friends over at the Salsa in China blog (well OK, they really don't know I exist), there was a virtual smorgasbord of referral links to ogle!

Now that we have a log-in date, we REALLY live vicariously through the parents who waited so patiently before us. The wait feels interminable, but once we read the bios of the babies, admire the adorable pix, and soak up some of the bliss, we're thrilled to know our day will come too.

Congrats to all the new moms and dads, we'll be anxiously following your journeys while you're in China!!

Out of the Running...

Already, it seems, I will not be running a 10K after all. My knee, which never acted up during the short 5 minute runs during boot camp, now refuses to cooperate on longer jogs. This happened in my twenties, and I should have known better. So, oh well. Better to pay attention to the signals than wind up sifting through the yellow pages looking for an orthopedic surgeon in a couple years!

Down but not out, I've decided to instead start preparing for a fall hike on the Appalachian Trail. I think that's a good goal, something challenging to work on, to keep me from obsessively checking in with the Rumor Queen, and do something in the name of good health.

In other news, our local Burlington Coat Factory is going out of business. I'm thisclose to stopping in tomorrow to check out baby things. I haven't made a single June-related purchase yet. I think it's mostly because of paranoia that things will fall through. But now, with LID firmly in place, I'm tempted.... so tempted...

Staying on Track

June's adoption continues hover in the far, far distance, and I have to find a way to not accidentally unload all my paychecks at Babies R Us. So I'm determined to do the following things:

1.) Keep my chin up. No whining.
2.) Maintain something that resembles a blog, without boring you to death.
3.) Run a 10K race.

So, for those who enjoyed my five weeks of torture at boot camp, I'll be chronicling my near-insane attempt to prepare to cross the finish line of the Friends of the Dove 10K. I am almost certainly in over my head, as you need to be able to run 6 miles and I can currently run 1. But my new trainer, April, whom I pay sufficient funds weekly to tell me the truth about my athletic capabilities, says I can do it. So, it's back at the gym at 5:30am, several days a week, on the treadmill, the track, and eventually the uneven terrain of the park at which the race will be held.

At first I really didn't want to do it. But then I read this totally inspiring article and realized that if this poor guy can finish the XTERRA triathlon, I can pull it together enough to run a measly 10K. So... here goes nothing!

LID!!

Got a note from our agency. We were DTC on May 9th and LID an astounding 3 days later. So it's official - May 12th '06 LID!

Hurrah!!!

Pump and Circumstance

I survived! Boot camp graduation happened yesterday. It is hard to believe it but not only did I make it through something I thought would exercise my humiliation more than my glutes, I actually came to love it. I would have been sad to see it end, but Dr. Drill announced that it is indeed not ending. He’ll be running the program as long as possible.

I’ve decided to stick with the trainer I signed up with for 2 months. I’ll be going back to boot camp soon, though. There’s something about the camaraderie of the class I never got from other workout classes. Maybe it’s because there’s so much back & forth sounding off between us and Dr. Drill. Maybe it’s because we never know which one of us is getting slapped with extra pushups and when someone does, we feel their pain. Maybe it’s because we’re all just working our asses off at 5:30 in the morning. Whatever it is, by the end of the session most of us made friends and everyone was cheering for each other when we got our diplomas.

Before we officially “graduated”, we had to do the same physical assessment we’d done at the beginning. Pushups, squats, crunches and running laps. It was interesting to see how far we came. I did almost double the crunches and laps in the same amount of time! And for the first time in five weeks (or 15 years, more like) I sprinted. Me!

Then came the certificates. It turns out 27 out of 35 participants graduated, and each of us was individually recognized. Then came the honors. A few weeks ago, I had designs on getting some kind of award, then quickly downgraded my hopes after realizing how pathetically out of shape I was. But I got one! Most Disciplined Recruit. That felt good. I did push it. And I’m going to keep it up. Like I said, everything is different now. Here are some of the changes that took place in just 5 weeks:

1.) I lost 7 lbs.
2.) I became a vegetarian after reading a book recommended by Dr. Drill.
3.) I can now jump out of bed at 5am no problem (good practice for motherhood I think)
4.) I am now training for a 10K in the fall.

Five weeks ago, I don’t think I would have believed any of this. And at the risk of sounding sappy, now I feel that if I could complete this program, I could take on much bigger prospects. This is my life now. I think I’ll be a better mom for it. And a better wife too. Mike is not complaining!

Today is the local 5K, which marks another beginning for me. I will probably finish dead last, but it’s a place to start with training for the 10K. Me. Run.

Crazy!!!

More pictures from our final week...