Nothing to See Here

Adoption. My family was assembled, like millions of others, through adoption.

Race. My kids are a different race than myself and my husband.

My kids are now 13 and 9. The topic of adoption is an open subject in our household. We talk about it often and openly. I have said this before but it's worth noting again--if we don't encourage it as an open topic now, it will be a scary topic when the hard questions come.

That time is coming closer, by sheer numbers. All the experts tell us that come the early teen years, the hard questions from adoptees start. I am not afraid of them. I am anticipating them.

They begin to arrive because of the maturing process. Suddenly the larger picture is realized. Not only is adoption a great thing, but in that amazing situation of adoption comes a great loss. The questions will have a sad nature, a grieving nature. That is what the experts tell us.

I'm ready. I really am. My kids know their birth/adoption stories. When one asks for me to tell theirs, of course, the other wants me to tell his. I am happy to supply the details. It's an interesting process. As they get older, I can supply details that more mature minds can handle. I wonder if my adding some of those thoughts and feelings have staved off the hard questions. That would be nice.

As I tell their stories, they like hearing them. They like that each story is very different, yet similar. They like the details. I haven't told the stories recently. I also don't tell the stories in great detail to anyone else. I tell summaries to friends. The stories are for them to tell. It's their life. Not mine. It's part of who they are and part of their identity. That is sacred stuff.

Enjoying a baby fix with my friend's foster child. To hold a sleeping baby....so sweet!

So we move along...

The awareness my kids have that they are a different race has been there but they are now starting to understand that others notice our race is different. We've done a pretty good job teaching them to have a sense of humor about things. I have to say, they crack me up.

A friend of mine is a foster parent. She generally has one or two foster kids at a time, plus she is an adoptive mom of a sweet teenage young lady. We were talking about one of her past kids she had that "looked" different than her. I can't remember what the distinction was, but she said, "....everywhere you go, people notice you're different." I chuckled and said, "I know what you mean." She looked at me and suddenly realized, "Oh that's right!" She is so used to seeing our kids, and our family, as they are...she had done what we did years ago--forgot about race. I absolutely cherish those moments. They give me hope.

I never say never to ever adopting again. It is something that certainly doesn't just fall in your lap. One must pursue it, want it, defend the idea of it, and work for it. Someday it may happen again.

There is always love and always a kid who desperately needs it. It is always an option in our home.

Let's Get This Thing (Re)Started

What's up Buttercup?
I've been gone. I have been mulling around the whole idea, how does one (re)start a blog after a long absence? Its been over a year! Much has happened and yet much hasn't happened. So I thought I would do bullet points. Keep it simple. Get everyone up to speed. Then let's go.

*First, right off the bat. If someone could explain to me what the deal is with blogger suddenly disabling photos, and could tell me how many pints of blood it will require me to give to Google to enable them, I'd appreciate it. Otherwise, I'll see what I can do.

*I am now an avid runner. I love it. It's been a rough year, but I don't plan to give this up ever.

*I am on track to accomplish six half marathons this year. Yes, it's a lot. This year has been about recovering from injury and a minor (yet seemed major looking back) surgery. 

*The ultimate goal is to do a marathon. Stay tuned.

*I took up juicing this year. It's been interesting. It is a whole different lifestyle and I might mention it in a few posts. I am no pro. I am still working my way through that world.

*I am very politically active now. I try to keep my thoughts and opinions on that elsewhere, but I give myself permission to deviate a bit.

*Adoption. That is where I might (re)start my blog, since that is what inspired it. The kids are older and race issues are not what they were when I started this blog. Give me a few days on that. It's all good under our roof.

*My husband finished his PhD a couple of year ago, when I was in the middle of my weight loss. We have been married now 22 years. I might need to write a blog post on that just because ... wow ... I mean looking back over the years....feeling a blog post on that.

*I have gone from being agnostic on gun rights to an exerciser of my rights to keep and bear arms. We have had a lot of fun as a family getting up to speed on all that entails. I have joined a women's group. I love it, and I am a big believer in those who can pass a background check to be able to keep and bear arms. Safety, safety, safety.

*My odd extended family. Well, that is a drama that always gets a post occasionally. I post those for the main reason--having unstable family members that are a constant thorn in one's side is normal.

*New work opportunities.

*Still doing online school (not traditional homeschooling) with the kids.

*I heart to cook yummy things still.

*Oh, here is one that is deserving of my sarcasm. I have become a distressed sufferer of RLS (Restless Leg Syndrome). Silly me thought it would somehow go away by losing weight and running. Oh no, it got worse. And it's kind of one of those things you just kind of deal with because the side effects of the medications are beyond ridiculous.

So there you go. I have a lot of new-ish things that have happened in this past year. I think it's the gradual change we all have in our lives. I hope you see my sudden (re)start like seeing an old friend you last saw a year or so ago.

Let's sit down, have a cup of coffee, and catch up.

Getting Ready to Wind Up

Here we go again, I am running another half. I haven't posted anything about my last one, but here is what I have done this year so far:
The Hip Hop Half in March
The Helvetia Half in June.

And here we go again. September 7th, 2013 I will be doing the Gateway to the Gorge Half. What am I focusing on differently this time? Carb loading. I haven't done that much in the last half's but this time I am.

I have noticed what everyone else eludes to with regards to eating high carbohydrates before running. It's like your a super hero. You feel great, you have excess energy, and the run is amazing. If you don't do that before a run, you roll the dice.

So I have researched and looked for how to do this the 48 hours before I run. I plan to eat pasta for the two dinners. I always get up at 4 am on race day and eat two whole wheat bagels. In general the 48 hours ahead of time, I will look specifically for carbs in my meals. I need to get my percentage of carbs into the 60+% range. That is hard to do!

Bread, pasta, potatoes, legumes, rice, sugar, etc. Yes, they all have carbs. Some are better than others. The temptation is to put a meat with your carb right? Umm....well that hasn't always had a great effect on my body during run time. So it's carbs.

I am excited to think that I will get that kind of super hero boost in the run doing this. I am also well prepared physically. I anticipate this race to have some challenging hills that I am not used to and could push my finish time. But that is fine, that is the challenge of racing.

At the Helvetia Half in June, I worked hard to take minutes off my time. As I was entering the stadium with the finish line in sight.....suddenly race official jumps in front of a group of us and blocks us. Emergency! Ambulance needs to leave the stadium. We need to wait. I am sympathetic to an ambulance and it's occupant but this is a race! Do we really only have one exit/entrance to the stadium? Can we not designate one for emergencies and one for runners? It is nagging me what my true chip time was in that race. And I am a little bitter.

In conclusion. We are looking to shave a few minutes off. We are looking for carb loading to add extra energy. And we are looking to have some fun.

Best-Ever Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

 

Pastry:
2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 c. sugar
1/4 t. salt
1/2 c. shortening
1/4 c. cold butter, cut into small cubes
6-7 T. ice cold water
Filling:
2 1/2 T. quick cooking tapioca (or all-purpose flour)
1/4 t. salt
3-4 c. fresh or frozen rhubarb, cut into 1/2″ pieces
3-4 c. fresh sliced strawberries
1 c. sugar

1. For the pastry, in a medium bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt. Using a pastry blender or two forks, cut in the shortening and butter until the mixture contains no larger than pea-sized crumbs. Sprinkle the water over the flour mixture until moist. Gather the dough into a ball, using your hands to combine it.
2. Shape the dough into a large log and divide it into two pieces, one with 1/3 of the dough and one with 2/3 of the dough. Shape the smaller into a 5×1 1/2″ log, and the larger into a 7×2″ log. Wrap both with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least two hours.
3. For the filling, in a large bowl, stir together the sugar, tapioca or flour, and salt. Add rhubarb and strawberries and toss until evenly coated. Let the rhubarb mixture stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally (If you are using frozen rhubarb, let the mixture stand for 45 minutes).
4. Preheat the oven to 375-degrees. Using a sharp knife, cut the 7″ chilled dough log into about 28 thin slices. Place 16 slices around the edge of a 9″pie plate. Place the remaining slices in the bottom of the pie plate. Using your fingers, quickly press the pieces of pastry together to fill the gaps. Shape edges as desired.
5. Stir the fruit mixture before pouring it into the bottom crust in the pie plate. Slice the remaining pastry into 15-18 slices. Arrange the slices on top of the fruit.
6. Place the pie on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 60 minutes. Cover outer crust with foil if it is getting too dark. Bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden. Cool.

Amazing Blog Post on Maria Shriver's Website

I was absolutely shocked and refreshed to read this post.

We are not at war with men. And for once, someone in the mainstream is noticing that the genders need to act in concert and build each other up instead of fight over the differences.

"That every time I stole a man’s power, 

it was because I didn’t know my own."