Back in 1999, I spent a month in Mexico with a missionary family. The wife, Jan, went back to the States to visit family, and my friend Emily and I were left in charge of the household. We were to make the midday meal every day for the men.
One day we decided to make chili--nice, easy recipe we knew by heart, right? So we made the grocery list and sent Marshall to the market. He came back with a bag of dried beans. What on earth are these, we both said. We'd never seen beans that weren't in a can. And to further complicate the issue, the instructions were written in Spanish.
We got out our Spanish-English dictionary and started translating, only to discover these things had to be soaked overnight! It's now 10:00 and lunch is at 1:00. We did the only thing we could think of: threw the beans into a pot of boiling water for the next three hours. We prepared everything else for the meal and waited until the last second to add the beans to the soup.
We held our breath while Marshall, Loren, and Josue took a bite. No one said a word. We breathed a sigh of relief and took our own bites. CRUNCH!
We laughed so hard we had tears streaming down our faces for the entire meal, and yet the guys were very good sports and ate the whole pot.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Sunday, May 13, 2012
I am a Mother
There are lots of comments I could make, but I won't. I refuse to be free advertising for Magazine-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named.
I will just say this: I am a mother. I am unique. My children are unique. My specific circumstances are unique. I do the best I can for my family with the information, resources, and support available to me. I have nothing but respect for ALL mothers who are doing the same. Your version of best may not look exactly like mine, and that's okay. My choices are not a judgement on yours, and yours are not a judgement on mine. They are merely what works best for us.
I will just say this: I am a mother. I am unique. My children are unique. My specific circumstances are unique. I do the best I can for my family with the information, resources, and support available to me. I have nothing but respect for ALL mothers who are doing the same. Your version of best may not look exactly like mine, and that's okay. My choices are not a judgement on yours, and yours are not a judgement on mine. They are merely what works best for us.
Saturday, May 5, 2012
Do you have a preeclampsia story?
If the course of your pregnancy, birth, and/or post partum was altered by preeclampsia, I would like to share your story. It doesn't matter how dramatic or "routine," you are a sister survivor. I hope to make "Survivor Saturday" a regular feature on my running blog, and my weekend training run will be dedicated to you and your baby. Stories can be submitted to kingtaran at yahoo dot com. And if you are a family member who lost someone to PE, I would like your story on her behalf as well.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
What AM I Running For?
Cross posted from my running blog:
When I was in Jr. High, High School, even college, I hated running. I even got in serious trouble for refusing to run in gym class. (Oh, what a rebel I was at my VERY small private school!) How on earth did I get from there to here?
Five years ago last month, I lost my best friend to leukemia. A few months later, her husband, parents, and another friend raised money through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training by doing a century bike ride. My second child was a year old, and I wanted to get back in shape. My husband and I decided to do a fundraiser of our own. We ran our first half marathon in San Diego in June of 2008. We both caught the bug.
These days, I run for a number of reasons. I run for my health. I run to keep up with my children. (When my son makes a break for it, as he does at least twice a week, I need to be able to catch him. He's a fast little booger!) With four children, I run to get some me time.
As of today, I have a new reason to run. May is Preeclampsia Awareness Month. Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy complication that can potentially be life threatening to both mother and child. I am a three-time survivor. I signed up for my second marathon today, and I will be running to raise money for the Preeclampsia Foundation and to raise awareness of this devastating condition.
If you would like to sponsor me, you can visit the Preeclampsia Foundation's secure donation page and click on "Donate As a Guest". Be sure to select the box that says "This is a tribute in honor of" and enter my name. If you'd prefer to send a check, you can make it payable to the Preeclampsia Foundation and mail it to me. If you need my address, e-mail me at kingtaran at yahoo dot com.
While it is important to raise funds for research so we can end this condition, it's also important to raise awareness so mothers and babies can have the best chance of survival. I have a number of posts planned for this month. I knew nothing of preeclampsia before I was diagnosed, and it nearly cost me my life. It is so important to know the signs and symptoms and to advocate for yourself.
When I was in Jr. High, High School, even college, I hated running. I even got in serious trouble for refusing to run in gym class. (Oh, what a rebel I was at my VERY small private school!) How on earth did I get from there to here?
Five years ago last month, I lost my best friend to leukemia. A few months later, her husband, parents, and another friend raised money through the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team In Training by doing a century bike ride. My second child was a year old, and I wanted to get back in shape. My husband and I decided to do a fundraiser of our own. We ran our first half marathon in San Diego in June of 2008. We both caught the bug.
These days, I run for a number of reasons. I run for my health. I run to keep up with my children. (When my son makes a break for it, as he does at least twice a week, I need to be able to catch him. He's a fast little booger!) With four children, I run to get some me time.
As of today, I have a new reason to run. May is Preeclampsia Awareness Month. Preeclampsia is a common pregnancy complication that can potentially be life threatening to both mother and child. I am a three-time survivor. I signed up for my second marathon today, and I will be running to raise money for the Preeclampsia Foundation and to raise awareness of this devastating condition.
If you would like to sponsor me, you can visit the Preeclampsia Foundation's secure donation page and click on "Donate As a Guest". Be sure to select the box that says "This is a tribute in honor of" and enter my name. If you'd prefer to send a check, you can make it payable to the Preeclampsia Foundation and mail it to me. If you need my address, e-mail me at kingtaran at yahoo dot com.
While it is important to raise funds for research so we can end this condition, it's also important to raise awareness so mothers and babies can have the best chance of survival. I have a number of posts planned for this month. I knew nothing of preeclampsia before I was diagnosed, and it nearly cost me my life. It is so important to know the signs and symptoms and to advocate for yourself.
Saturday, April 28, 2012
Memories
I was in Jr. High when Wayne's World came out. My friends and I saw it about 40 times together and especially loved the Bohemian Rhapsody scene. One day, my mom was driving us to a field trip in her Dodge Omni. We sang this at the top of our lungs and head banged away. The teacher driving behind us said the whole car was bouncing, and over the next week all four tires went flat. Ah, memories. J-JASS forever!
Saturday, April 21, 2012
I've started a new blog for running, What You Running For. I plan to still keep this one for family stuff, and the other one will be specifically for running and pre-eclampsia advocacy. I want to use my running to raise awareness and research funds for this devastating condition that has had such a profound effect on my life.
Wednesday, April 18, 2012
The Biggest Loser
The Biggest Loser is one of my favorite shows. In fact, I often do a treadmill workout while watching. But last night's episode was such a load of crap. The contestants are all going to quit because they only want to compete against people who "deserve" to be there? And it's not fair that eliminated contestants can come back, even though it's been done almost every previous season AND it was explicitly in the contract they read and signed?
The reason you deserve to be there is because you did the work to avoid elimination. Oh wait, I know for sure Mark, Conda, and Kim all spent time below the yellow line, maybe the others as well. Well, you deserve to be there because you made the right alliances to keep you safe and/or the person you were up against was hated more.
But the contestant who returns will also deserve to be there for having done what it takes to win the challenge.
This whole season has been a Mean Girls Club. First it was Mike, who was eliminated because he was a loudmouth. Then they transferred their hate to Adrian, who dared to be the new guy. Once he was gone, Kim was the target even though she had previously been one of the worst Mean Girls. And now it's all the returning contestants. And the Mean Girls are all going to quit, because if they can't get their way they just won't play. I had really thought Mark and Buddy, at least, were above all that, but they were the ones to actually go through with quitting. What a bunch of babies.
The reason you deserve to be there is because you did the work to avoid elimination. Oh wait, I know for sure Mark, Conda, and Kim all spent time below the yellow line, maybe the others as well. Well, you deserve to be there because you made the right alliances to keep you safe and/or the person you were up against was hated more.
But the contestant who returns will also deserve to be there for having done what it takes to win the challenge.
This whole season has been a Mean Girls Club. First it was Mike, who was eliminated because he was a loudmouth. Then they transferred their hate to Adrian, who dared to be the new guy. Once he was gone, Kim was the target even though she had previously been one of the worst Mean Girls. And now it's all the returning contestants. And the Mean Girls are all going to quit, because if they can't get their way they just won't play. I had really thought Mark and Buddy, at least, were above all that, but they were the ones to actually go through with quitting. What a bunch of babies.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)