If you wonder where I am...

...the next few days are going to be busy with the house. My husband took some time off and we are going to be sanding, painting, wall-papering, etc. The new floors get installed next Thursday and Friday and we have a lot to do to get ready. I will try to get my runs in here and there but probably won't be blogging much.

In the meantime, I leave you with a picture from our trip to Gerolstein, Germany - that's me high above the water bottling plant - I just love Gerolstein Sprudel!

Back to Long Sleeves!

Well, the Easter heat wave is over - it's still nice out but back to long sleeves...at least until I get warmed up, that is! I headed over to the Finse Piste for a short, fast run. I did four loops around the track trying to keep at my 10K pace, two clockwise and two counter-clockwise, just to be fair to my legs!

After I was done I met a woman who was also running the track and had her little Yorkshire terrier tied up at the side of the track waiting for her - the little dog was so calm and sweet every time I passed him by, so since we both finished at the same time, I mentioned to her how well behaved he was, and then we got to talking. Turns out she's orignially from Tenerife and has lived here for 16 years, and also runs a few times a week in my favorite spots! Nice to know we will both be seeing a friendly face from now on...you see how running is a great way to meet people - or was that more because of the dog?

We walked a bit together as we were cooling down and then I ran home: for a total distance of 6.1 km in 40 minutes. Felt great! I sure hope this weather holds out for a while - it's been so nice for running lately.

Tank + Shorts!

Can you tell how happy I am? What gorgeous weather we have been having...yesterday we sat outside at my in-law's and it felt like August.

Today I just had to get out for another run this morning and so I dug my running shorts out from the bottom of my drawer and put on the new tank I bought at Kohl's when we were in Texas at Christmas.

We had a great 45 minute, 6.7 km easy run. I was thinking about Fran who will be doing her first half marathon today and hoping it goes well for her, in this unusually warm weather. Good luck, Fran!!!

Now it's back to sanding, plastering and putting the last bits and pieces into the container before they come pick it up tomorrow. Then we move on to painting and wallpapering to get ready for the floor guy... I can't wait. Especially because the house being all torn up and disorganized is starting to bug me a little. Thank goodness I can get out and run to relieve the stress!

No sleeves, no Garmin, no problem!

We are having summer weather in April and I am loving it! Stefaan and I set off this morning at 10, and it was already plenty warm enough for a tank top. Unfortunately my Garmin's battery was already low when I tried to start it up, so I decided to leave it at home - we were going to run one of our usual routes and so I didn't really absolutely need to have it. It was kind of strange at first not to be able to keep tabs on my pace, but it felt very relaxing, which is exactly the kind of run we had. Just what I need before going to the in-law's for the day... We ended up doing my 7.2 km route (to the water fountain at the lake and back) in 52 minutes. Felt great!

The only thing I wished I had done differently? Wore shorts instead of capris! I think I am going to sneak out tomorrow for one more "hot" run before the weather cools down again on Tuesday, just so I can run in a tank top AND shorts - in April!

Have a happy, sunny Easter!

Home comforts

Our family is complete again!

Florian got home yesterday from his 12 day class trip to Poland and it is so good to have him back! I love this picture of Florian in the market in Wroclaw. He bought a big bunch of grapes.

Gillis has been back from his ski trip in Austria since last Saturday and the first thing he said was that he has missed my cooking (i.e. healthy meals). When they went away to the seaside in 6th grade they all said they missed the raw veggies I serve with pretty much every meal.

I can't tell you how happy it makes me when they come home from trips and are looking forward to the healthy meals I generally try to make most days of the week. Because normally they give me a lot of flack! They beg me for pizza, lasagna, chips, etc. (and sometimes I do give in) - and they often roll their eyes when I tell them what's for dinner. But at the end of the day I feel like I've managed to instill them with a taste for healthy food that will serve them well. And when I see my 16-year-old buying grapes in Poland (closing my eyes to the Dunkin Donuts he found in Berlin) it makes me smile.

Felix is feeling better - he even got out to kick his soccer ball around in the back yard yesterday, which is a good sign. His appetite is coming back, as well.

Early this morning we had a container put down in our driveway, so the rest of the weekend will be busy with filling it with old furniture and stuff from the attic and basement that has been piling up since our last renovations ten years ago. On Sunday we are invited to my in-law's for Easter lunch and I intend to get a nice run in before we have to leave. And one this morning, too - I am already dressed in my running clothes and waiting for it to warm up just a bit so I can run in a tank top!

Hope you all have a very Happy Easter!

Phew!

Our GP examined Felix this morning and also thought his symptoms seemed worrying enough to send us on to the hospital, but after blood tests and a sonogram, it turns out the appendix looked okay but the last section of his small intestine was inflamed, and a bunch of lymph nodes around the appendix were swollen, which were causing the symptoms. What a relief when we realized he wasn't going to have to have surgery!

We spent four hours at the hospital and were sent home with orders to take it easy for the next few days. No problem!

I will say, this experience once again confirms for me how awesome the health care system here in Belgium is - high quality, low cost and very accessible. We have a great small hospital in our town where we are very well taken care of. It just drives me CRAZY when Belgians complain about their health care system - if only they knew how it was in other countries, they wouldn't dare. I personally find it one of the best things about living here.

Thanks for all your kind thoughts. Now I'm going to curl up on our old sofa (before we dump it in the container on Friday) and hang out with my kid.

Midweek Update

• Jenny and Mark both finished the Boston Marathon with great times on Monday - it was fun and exciting to keep track of them via email updates. Can't wait to catch up with them by phone today or tomorrow and hear how it went.


• I got a great run in yesterday, the weather has been gorgeous. I did 7 km with an average pace of 6:49 (Fran, right on target to run together) in 48 minutes.


• I have been busy plastering and sanding the past few days - we are getting everything prepared to have our new floors put in downstairs in two weeks. Which means old tile baseboards had to come out and the walls have to be repaired and painted. We are also throwing out a lot of our old furniture and junk, so we've been clearing out - a container comes on Friday for us to fill this weekend.


• Finally, in a short while I will be taking Felix to the doctor - yesterday he was on the couch all day long (totally out of character for him) with fever and belly pain that gradually moved to the lower right side of his abdomen by the evening. Am I scared he might have appendicitis? Yes. I hardly slept last night for worrying about that and if we were doing the right thing by waiting til morning to go in. He got through the night, albeit with discomfort, but woke up to more of the same so we have an appointment first thing this morning. We'll see what the doctor says and if he sends us on to the hospital or not. I'll keep you posted...

Good Luck Jenny and Mark!

My sister Jenny and her husband Mark are running the Boston Marathon today! I am proud of them and I know they are going to do great - wish I could be there to cheer them on!

Thanks to email updates I'll know when they cross this:

Spring has sprung!

Out for my Sunday run and what a burst of color! Even the lilacs are blooming, which seems rather early but I love all the colors I saw today. My legs felt slow - probably all the hiking up and down hills last week combined with no running at all - but it felt good and I got 9.2 km in an hour's time, which was a comfortable, easy pace. I am very excited as I signed up today for the Breda Singelloop 15 K on October 2 this fall, which I am going to run with Fran! It will be my first race with Fran, my first race in the Netherlands and my first 15K, so I am really looking forward to it!

Back!

A relaxing five days in Germany where we did lots of walking and hiking, ate very well and other than that, just enjoyed the peace and quiet (we practically had the hotel to ourselves). We were in the area of Germany called the "Vulkaneifel", where there are a lot of geological formations created from the prehistoric volcanic activity that took place there, and lots of trails to hike. I took my Garmin with me to keep track of our kilometers but mostly to be able to enjoy looking at the maps of where we walked on my computer - what a modern souvenir! Here is a walk we did from our hotel to a dolomite formation in Gerolstein called the "Auberg" and then into town for lunch:



When I get a bit more organized I'll put some pictures up!

Great Day for a 10K

We had to get up very early to drop our oldest off at school for his trip to Poland...but still I waited til 10 am to get out for my run - I wanted it to be warm enough so I could just go in a short sleeve shirt and capris! It was awesome weather - perfect for running. I was feeling great so I decided to combine a couple of loops around the lake with once around the Finnish track, which added up to 10 kilometers altogether!



This afternoon we'll be heading to the Botanical Gardens in our town to take photographs for our youngest's communion. And then start getting ready for our little trip to Germany. It will be strange to travel with just the three of us!

Have a happy Sunday!

Running with Madonna (and Sue)

Did anyone else see the Madonna episode on Glee? I got a huge kick out of Sue Sylvester's version of "Vogue"! She is so evil but she cracks me up...

That episode inspired me to put some vintage Madonna songs on my music player and they certainly pumped up my run today! My friend couldn't meet me, but I still ran out to the lake and back - it is just a gorgeous day and nothing was going to stop me from releasing my inner Material Girl... I did 7.4 km in 48 minutes...I only stopped to strike a pose at the water fountain, which is finally turned on again after the winter.

It's been a hectic week - older kids in exams (which means they are home half the week), a party for my 16 year old and his friends at our house, planning things for our upcoming remodeling project, trying to keep up with my husband's business trips (he's in Hungary right now and he goes to Dublin tomorrow) and getting things ready for other upcoming trips: my oldest will be going on a school trip to Poland during Easter break, my middle son will be going skiing in Austria at the same time, and while they are gone, my husband, our youngest and I will be spending a few days in Germany (Gerolstein in the Eifel region). Phew! I am looking forward to a few days of total relaxation (and no cooking, laundry or cleaning). I do plan to take my running shoes with me, though!

Running with Jillian is more dangerous than you think

My husband couldn't run with me this morning because he had to take Felix to his badminton tournament, so Gillis helped me to download a Jillian Michaels podcast onto my music player. I've never really run with a podcast before, either my husband and I chitchat or I have music, so this was a nice change.

It is significantly cooler outside today as compared to yesterday, but still a good temp for running, and I was lucky - it stopped raining just as I was ready to get going. Everything looked clean and fresh, and I was enjoying listening to Jillian's endocrinologist, Dr. V., talk about the top 7 ways to get energized. Towards the end, Jillian was talking about her one big vice, coffee, which was making me feel like having a nice cup of hot coffee, and then it made me think about coffee cake, and I remembered there was one more piece of the raspberry coffee cake I made the other day, left at home, and I started feeling like having my hot cup of coffee with that nice piece of coffee cake...

So you can guess what happened when I got home after 52 minutes and 7.6 km - I sat down and enjoyed that last piece of coffee cake with a nice hot cup of coffee. Yum...

On second thought...maybe running with Jillian isn't such a hot idea after all?

Amy's Hot Yoga

Gorgeous day here! It got up to about 23 degrees C (about 73 F) and it was lovely and sunny - just perfect for spending the day out on the patio. First I got all the dead leaves swept up from the winter, cut back some of my plants, pulled some weeds... and then I had a lightbulb moment - I decided to go get my yoga mat and do my Saturday yoga outside in the sun! It felt so good!

Sadly, tomorrow is going to be 10 degrees cooler and rainy. So I am very happy I took advantage of today. Carpe diem!

A good start

I met my friend Anne out at the lake this morning. She is new to running and thought that planning to meet up with me would help her be motivated to get out there. I brought along a "Start to Run" program for her, and a challenge! Ten weeks from now is the Kortrijk Ladies Run 5K - this was my very first race ever in 2006 and I told Anne if she wants, I would run it with her for her first race and help her get ready for it. In my opinion, there is nothing more motivating than being signed up for a race.

I think she was a bit overwhelmed, so we went around the lake once together, running 2 minutes and walking 2 minutes. She did really well! After stretching for a few minutes we planned to meet up again next week, when she will tell me if we are going to sign up for the race or not...

After that I did a loop on my own around the lake and then ran back home - altogether, including the one time around the lake with Anne, I ran 9.2 km in 63 minutes. Not bad for a gray and gloomy Friday morning.

Finally, thanks so much for all your kind comments on yesterday's post. You guys are so thoughtful! **hugs**