Gentle Torture

One fun thing about parenting is enjoying--and at time taking advantage of--your children's innocence. After looking at the pics we took of our boys in-costume for "Nursery Rhyme Dress-up Day" at their school, I think I may have taken a little advantage. The school won't formally acknowledge Halloween, so they get around it with this dress-up day. So Brandt went as a cute little mouse and practiced quoting "Hickory Dickory Dock" all week. Eric initially thought the headband looked a little too girlish, but when he saw how much Brandt liked it, he relented.
Eli was Jack from "Jack and Jill." I had him roll up his jeans and put a couple of band-aids on his head (for the "broken crown"), and he carried a pail. I think the idea sounded better than it ended up looking. I have decided, however, not to regret that I sent my boys to school looking somewhat ridiculous, but to enjoy the fact that I could send them that way and have their full cooperation! These days will pass before I know it.


Asher got ahold of the camera one day this week. Here is one of his self-portraits.

Workouts for this week:
Monday- I ran over to Sherman Oaks and did two laps around that heinously hilly subdivision at an easy pace. I was gone about 54 minutes. Tuesday: I biked on the stationary for 50 minutes and did full-body weights while watching the 1963 movie, Cleopatra, in which I learned that a G-rated movie from back then may still have a topless dancer (seriously.).
Wednesday : Ran at a pretty good pace with Ashley. We went 5.96 miles in 47.45.
Thursday: Biked 50 minutes and did full body weights while watching the 1969 movie, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, in which I learned that Robert Redford used to be pretty attractive, and mixing in an artsy black and white montage accompanied by "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" doesn't really work in a shoot'em up Western film about glorified outlaws. It was entertaining, nonetheless.
Friday: Intervals on the treadmill. after a 13 minute warmup, I did about 20 minutes of 1 minute intervals. The first 3 or 4 I ran at 9-9. 5 mph, and gave myself 30 seconds of rest (jogging slowly). The last 7 I did at 10mph and rested 1 minute between each one. I jogged for my cool down about 5 minutes.
Today: I biked 16.9 miles on a very hilly route. It took 1:04. I pushed it pretty hard. I somehow missed the turnoff I had planed to take and ended up going down one of the steepest hills I have on the road. Since I hadn't ridden it before, I didn't try to go as fast as I could, but gravity got me going pretty darn fast. Here is a topo of the ride ( notice the steep drop in the second half).