July 8, 2009

Random Update Post:

- We went up to Breckenridge last Friday. Jeremy had already been there for a week, working on the remodel (see pictures of facebook). We are adding a garage and two bedrooms plus a bunch a little stuff. Hopefully it will be done before ski season. Devon is acting at the GC and Jeremy and his cousin Grant are helping with the rough framing. Most other things besides siding and painting will be contracted out. We are paying for half the remodel, and when it's all said it done will own 15% of the house.

- On Saturday, I rode my bike from Frisco to Leadville and back. On the way home, I got a flat tire. I stopped and changed it (as the competent biker woman that I am). A few men stopped by and asked if I needed help and I assured them I was ok. Then one guy came back and would not take no for an answer so I let him put my tire back on. We talked a while before his wife rode up and I realized it was Tom, of Tom and Kathy (Covell). AKA, the ONLY people I know that live full time in Summit County. Seriously, what are the odds? I would never have recognized them in their bike clothes out riding.

- I let Adam open a package I got from Kimberly-Clark. I thought it was a diaper sample. It was not. I still have not directly answered his questions on what exactly he opened.

- Last night I slipped in the shower. I managed to fall out of the tub, taking down the shower curtain but not hitting my head or twisting/straining/breaking anything. On the way down I had the thought, "So this is how people die in the shower."

- When Hooker visited us last week, she torn our screen door. It's now open like a cat door on the bottom. Last night, we heard Abby making a weird noise (the Tabitha-the-might-ball-hunter cry) and found her in the family room with a house sparrow. I thought she killed it, so imagine my surprise when I went to put it in a newspaper bag and it flew around our house. We had a madcap chase involving me, Jeremy and a taco kit box before getting it out the mudroom door. And later, Abby cried again, announcing she had brought me a live earthworm. She's probably have more hunting luck if she had any teeth left.

- This morning I got the results of my lab work back. My ferritin (iron stores) are extremely low at 12. Athletes should be more around 80, and can be as high as 190. It's hard to get enough iron through ingestion (thought I've been taking a supplement and eating red meat) so I had an iron IV today. I'll need about 2, which should get my iron stores back up to the 60-80 range. Iron is needed to make more red blood cells and endurance athletes kinda need all the red blood cells they can get. The kids behaved very well while I got the IV, it took about 30 minutes. I should feel like I have more energy in about 10 days. Today, however, I had the reverse problem since the doctor had me take Benadryl to ward off any possible reaction. Holy Cow did I have a slow and tired ride later.

- So back to the Breckenridge weekend and my iron levels - usually at altitude you make more red blood cells to compensate for less oxygen (which is why athletes like training at altitude). Since I had no extra iron to make more red blood cells, I just got more fatigued. So there's your practical application.

- Ariel was the only kid of the three to try yoga at daycare. And I think she liked it. Maybe it will help with her anger management, hair combing went especially poorly this morning.

We got the slip-n-slide out today. All kids tried it, with varying degrees of success.