This Wisconsin Run was Brought to Me by Cows, of course!

Between a hamstring strain and the kids being off of school I’ve only run an average of once a week; typically on a Saturday. Last Saturday I ran with one of my usual running partners and was delighted (really can’t think of a better word) when we came upon a deer crossing a bluff road.

This morning it was unseasonably chilly, mid 50’s, it was breezy and although I was excited to be getting another 5 mile run in with the same friend two weeks in a row I was dragging my feet a bit. After putting my mind in check by remembering the frigid, snowy weather I ran through this winter I tossed my sweatshirt aside and met her at the door. I was getting bored with my usual route and with the wind out of the north I suggested we run south with the wind at our back to start and head for the ski hill 2 miles away. I warmed up quickly and as we approached the hill I heard a chorus of mooing coming from the farm just before Mt. La Crosse. It brought a smile to my face, thinking back to the time I ran this same route only to come upon a calf in the middle of the road. A true “running in Wisconsin” moment.

Feeling great we pushed ourselves into the parking lot of the ski hill (farther than I usually run up there) and was awestruck by the site before me. The cows were grazing on the ski hill! I heard about this agreement between the farmer and ski hill, but had never witnessed it firsthand. It was a beautiful sight and it was at the moment I smiled ear to ear that I thought about how happy I was that I ran this morning and how the best runs usually happen after I drag my feet to the door. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better I saw a cow and calf halfway up the double black diamond known as “Damnation”.

I wished I had my digital camera with a great zoom rather than my iPhone and even considered driving back after my run was complete, but reconsidered after thinking about how magical it was to run upon it.

Favorite Photo Friday: My Baby’s Baby

Photo Taken by Daria Lapp. August 2009.

Meet Zoe. We adopted her 6 years ago from my mom. She was bought, most likely at Costco, along with a stroller and carrier for my niece. My niece, however, was not as excited about her as my mom probably was. My son, however, the same age as my niece, had an instant connection with Zoe upon their first meeting. He pushed her around my mom’s house in her stroller and instantly showed signs of being a loving, caring boy. At the end of our trip we asked to take Zoe home to Wisconsin with us. My mom denied our request. (She had hopes of my niece bonding with her). After our second visit we began our adoption petition, explaining the benefits of our son having a doll to care for in preparation of soon becoming a big brother. It wasn’t that he was a boy that my mom struggled with, it was that she bought the doll for her granddaughter who was at her house daily. Our request was finally accepted.

Looking back I wish I knew the exact day we brought Zoe home, because on that day she became a part of our family. She appears in many family photos and has many times passed as a real baby to strangers. Once in an airport my husband was carrying her in his backpack with just her head sticking out. We were going down an escalator when a group of twenty-something year olds began pointing and gasping thinking she was a real baby stuffed in a backpack.

She wears newborn clothes and has received presents under the Christmas tree with her name on them. It took years for Zoe to transition from my daughter’s bed to her own crib, lovingly placed next to her bed. Zoe doesn’t come everywhere with us anymore, but she is still loved more than any other doll.

My mom claims that she knew the moment that it became clear to her that I was not going to grow up to be racist, despite having moved me out of a diverse city outside New York City to a 99% Caucasian Connecticut suburb when I was nearly two years old. We went back to the city to buy my first pair of shoes and as we were walking down the street we walked by two Asian women with several children when I stared wide-eyed and said to my mom, “I like those eyes. I want those eyes.”

My children’s love for Zoe assures me that I am doing something right for my children and for all children who are fortunate enough to meet them.

Watch the clip below to learn more about a historical experiment, White Doll Black Doll, that was performed by Kenneth and Mamie Clark, two African-American psychologists. “It was her work on the way black children seemed to prefer white dolls to black ones that particularly impressed the Supreme Court justices.” (http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/kenneth_mamie_clark.html)

Being familiar with this experiment makes me a proud mother of white babies who love their black baby doll and also saddens me for all the mothers of black babies who choose white dolls. Children are beautiful for who they are and if only all children found a doll that looked like them beautiful. I also wish that black dolls didn’t just look like white dolls painted darker. If you don’t understand what I mean walk down the doll aisle in a store, but first be warned that it may, unfortunately, be difficult to find a black doll.

Photo Taken by Daria Lapp. August 2009.

Then again, why doesn't it bother me that my daughter prefers a doll that is different than her? Race is a cumbersome topic, this post is an expression of a mother's love for all children and for striving to raise respectful children.

I’m Starting my Training…Tomorrow

Some Monday morning running motivation for those who need it. Honestly, don't we all need it after eating our (my) way through the Super Bowl. I "officially" start training tomorrow for my April 10K so I have a free pass today.

The original link to my Monday Motivation courtesy of Women's Running Magazine.

I did it! I signed up for an all women’s 10K in the end of April. I have run three 10Ks in the past 5 years and truth be told I haven’t “trained” once. I’m imagining what I can accomplish if I actually train. Maybe a time under 60 minutes?! The first 10K was the BolderBoulder in 2007. I had no idea what I was getting myself into when my dear friend I was visiting in Boulder asked if I wanted to do it. It was an emotionally driven race for me. My mom had been diagnosed with lung cancer just 8 months prior to the race and my friend, Maggie was a great support to me in my time of need. It wasn’t long before that she had been battling similar emotions with her own father. WOW! It was A-Mazing and the spectators make that race what it is! Every May since I strive to be the most awesome spectator as I cheer marathoners on in the La Crosse Marathon.

Last year I ran two 10Ks; one in June in Green Bay, that I hope to repeat this year and then another in August which I have no intention of repeating.

Ok, back to my training. For the past 13 months I have been running with a small clip on iPod using Nike+ to track my runs. Nike+ has a 10K training program that I signed up for on their website. When I say I signed up for it I mean I clicked on it. For the past few months I have had many Monday morning runs, beginning my week off “right”. Well, because the race in April is on a Sunday this plan has me beginning my weekly runs on Tuesday. It’s going to take just a little bit of getting used to, but I am so thankful that I have a free pass not to run today. I am still full from my all-beef Super Bowl foods and it’s 9:30 the next morning.

Was Martin Luther King Jr.’s Dream to Give Kids a Day Off of School?

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically... Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education.”

 - Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I sit here home with my two children I can’t help but think what Martin Luther King Jr. would have thought about having a teacher in-service today? Having not known the man personally and history not being my strong suit I can only speculate. I think he would have liked the idea of using his birthday to reenergize teachers about teaching students about equality and character education, but I doubt this is the topic being discussed throughout area school districts’ in-services today.

I find it ironic that that man that dreamed of his African-American children learning and playing alongside Caucasian children is having his birthday celebrated years after his death by giving them the day off of school. I’m not one of those moms that dreads when my kids are off of school, please realize this is not where my thoughts are stemming from.

Last year I wrote a blog entry about my surprise at the lack of community events commemorating MLK. First thing this morning I read a newspaper announcement of my local celebration that again begins at 7:00pm. Maybe next year if I don’t find myself employed, and attending an in-service I will plan a birthday party of sorts for MLK at my house. The only criteria for being invited will be that you have to be different than my children --- which of course we all are, each and every one of us.

“Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” -Martin Luther King Jr., 1963

Roll Tide

In honor of Alabama 14th National Championship win! Roll Tide! I love being an alum from this amazing school.

Click here to watch ESPN's Roll Tide commercial.

Not a Parody

I love the Barenaked Ladies, they have fun, happy music. I first saw them at a music festival in Birmingham, AL before I really knew who they were. Then I was reintroduced to them a few years ago when I discovered Barenaked for the Holidays" including both Christmas and Hanukkah songs. This year I finally got my hands on the cd (love the public library!) and fell in love with their original Hanukkah song. I hope you enjoy it too.

Barenaked Ladies Original Hanukkah Song: Hanukkah Blessings

The Maccabeats

This is mine and my kids favorite Hanukkah song this year.

http://youtu.be/qSJCSR4MuhU

Adam Sandler: Part 3

He just keeps finding more Jews to list in his songs. I think my favorites are the ones that he notes are NOT Jewish. Can't blame the Jews for those people.

The Last installment of Adam Sandler's Hanukkah songs

More Adam Sandler :o)

Adam Sandler's follow-up Hanukkah song

Happy Hanukkah!

Today, for the first day of Hanukkah I'm posting a video. My intention is to find eight songs that are worth posting.

AishVideo's Rock of Ages Parody of all Parodies

Every Race has a Story: Part I: The Back Story

Confession: I failed the 12-minute mile in junior high, and when I passed it I did so in 11:45.

The first time I ran was toward the end of college (approx. 15 years ago) when two friends pressured me into it. It was fun not dying under their care, I mean it was fun running with them. I ran my first 5K (Lillie Leatherwood) in Tuscaloosa, AL and enjoyed the adrenaline rush that accompanies an organized run. My then boyfriend, now husband was also pressured into running by one of the same aforementioned friends who guilted him, I mean convinced him, I mean encouraged him to run in a race she was organizing.

Together we began running the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure in a variety of cities. It was fun and I had found my reason to run; to prevent myself from getting breast cancer.

Now it’s time to fast forward to April 2010. My mom had passed away the June before and I hadn’t been running much, simply because I wasn’t enjoying it. (By the way those two things have nothing to do with each other). Back to April 2010, I found a local American Cancer Society 5K. It was just what I needed. I registered, raised $2,500 and felt miserable when it was over. I remember thinking I never knew so many hills could exist in a stretch of only 3.1 miles. So much for finding my passion to run.

I ran sporadically that spring and summer and then came the Oktoberfest run in September. (Yes, September, my confusion about local festivals is for another blog.) I registered for the 5 mile run and the after feeling was the exact opposite, there were also far less hills. I felt like Forrest Gump, I felt like I could run another 5 miles. I was rejuvenated! It was then that I consciously began running for the way it makes me feel afterward.

So, last Christmas I asked for gifts I really, really wanted and knew would further my enthusiasm for running. I received a new, small iPod with a clip, the Nike+ accessory to it that would track my runs, and running pants. No more excuses for not running in the winter. 35 was going to be my year of running. OK, so I only ran two times during the winter, but it was more than my not running at all the winter before.

This past April I ran the American Cancer Society 5K again, feeling more confident than the year before. My awesome son ran it alongside me and I was inspired by his ability to carry his 7 year old body up and down those hills.

It was then that I decided I was going to run one race a month.

So for my next few blog entries I will share how this goal encouraged me to sign up for races I’ve wanted to run in the past, run races I’ve been making excuses for not running for years, and how I look forward to keeping this up through the winter. 

Click here to watch a Nike+ commercial