All Hallows Eve

Halloween was ultra fun. We carved the pumpkin (yes, I am a total slacker and waited till the last minute) and then went and had pizza at Grant Central. After that, we walked around East Atlanta Village for the Eav-O-Ween celebration.
All of the shop owners hand out candy to the local kids, and the people-watching is pretty fun. The kids were pretty cute, and I have to say that kids don't get hipper than those who trick or treat The Earl and The Flatiron. Nothing like seeing your little ones waltz right up to a bar for trick or treating. Definitely beats the toothbrushes we used to get from Dr. Grove, the dentist who lived down our suburban street growing up.
After that, we came home and Todd traipsed the kids down the street, while I stayed back to drink beer, er. . . hand out candy. There is something so heartstring-tugging about seeing your husband walking down the street, holding hands with the costumed kids, their other hands gripping the pumpkins so tightly and with such purpose. I had a lovely time talking with the neighbors and then Todd and the kids returned, the kids dove into the candy, and we sat around talking some more, while handing out candy. Halloween in the hood is a little different than in the 'burbs. The first few years, you are kind of put out by the older kids trick-or-treating (as one neighbor put it, if you are out on a date, you are probably too old to trick or treat) and the lack of discernible costumes, but you start to realize that it's just the way that folks do things here, and you get into the spirit and go with the flow after a while. And I dare say that this year, it seemed like more people dressed up and that they were trying just a little bit harder.
Todd hosed the children down from layers of stickiness and put them both down. About nine, we closed up shop (lights out, candles out), and Todd walked down the street to check out the Gay Superheroes. It seems that the money house (what I call the neighbor's house where everyone meets to party while handing out candy every year - a jackpot for the trick or treater) was doing a Superhero costume theme this year. I am sure they went all out and I should have sent the camera. Damn.
I'm drinking beer, fucking around with the Halloween photos, and listening to my Creepy mix. Decemberists' Leslie Anne Levine is on right now. Awesome song. Awesome holiday.

The Strut

That's the name of the festival in my neighborhood. I miss the days when we lived within walking distance of the village, where we could come and go throughout the day, drink as we please, and not worry about it. I also miss my nanny. Oh, wait. We've never had a nanny.

Todd and I woke up at 6 a.m., in time to grab a snack and a coffee, get the kids going, and break up a cat and dog fight, before leaving for the 5k. We thought we were running late, and we were so early that they gave us numbers 10 and 11 - Gotta love my slacker neighborhood. It was nice to be in a small race, with neighbors and people I know. It was Todd's first race, and we were both pleased with the weather, and the fact that we both beat the Dachsund running the race. It's the small things. Also, the shirt is the coolest!

I wasn't happy that we had to head over to Grant Park to get brunch, but we hit Ria's for a brunch without kids. Awesome. Love me some kid-free meals.

Afterwards, we headed back home to start the grill, put on the beans and hit the showers. My sister and Mom were around after watching the kids for the morning. (Best sister EVER for coming over at 6:15 a.m. to watch the kids.) Matt, Ned, Nessie, and Scarlett showed up, and we started the margaritas at about noon, then watched the Auburn game. (Yikes.) I listened to Larry on the radio while the kids ran around. Afterwards, mom and Lisa went home and we all went up to check out the Strut. I got an supercool, ultra cheap creepy shrinkydink necklace for 3$! And a handmade bib for my niece Luci. V. pretty.

Amazingly, i had two margaritas and one beer all day until after bringing the kids home and putting them to bed (they were pooped.) I'll be honest. I could have really tied one on. But these days, I am more likely to drive my kids safely around (okay, except for the mailman roadie incident!) and then pound some beers on the couch.

I know. Totally glamorous.

Seriously. It was a good day.

Zombie Alley

This is a post from awhile ago. I was having publishing probs and forgot about it. But here it is, in lieu of the brilliant post that you would have gotten, if I had gotten my pictures to upload for it . . .

My friend, Kat, who lives in the Netherlands, visited with us this past week. She is married to my friend Mike, fellow Hornet from back in the day. (See "Dorks, Circa 1991.") She and their son, James, stayed a night and I introduced them to life in East Atlanta. She blogged about it here, and even posted some cute pics of the Three Musketeers.

Zombie Alley, by the way, is what I call a street near our house. She appreciated it, and that speaks volumes about what kind of person she is - possibly a bit freakish like me.

I would post my pics of the stay, but they are all naked bathtub pics of the kids.

Woohoo

So, I am still running, although I have had difficulty running as regularly as I want to with the crazy stuff going on with my Mom, and being out of town, etc. I am really trying to stick with it, though, because I feel so much better when I get enough exercise, that it is almost like I am a different person. Just ask the people who live with me.

So, on Saturday, I ran the farthest I have run yet: 4 miles. This doesn't include a few times that I have alternated walking and running for over an hour. I have done more distance, I guess in the past. I have definitely done longer hikes, but there is something so mentally challenging about making oneself primarily run a distance like that. It probably doesn't seem like a lot to people who run a lot, and it probably sounds like an insurmountable distance to those who don't run. (I know. I thought it was insurmountable a year ago.) But for me, it was big. I am at least 40 pounds overweight, and I did it. I ran at my in-laws in Dadeville, AL. They live in a golf community on a lake. It is huge and much of it is undeveloped woods. Lots of deer and buzzards. When I mapped it online, i just figured out how to do 4 miles in their neighborhood, and I didn't know all of the roads I included in the route. Big mistake. Actually, if I had known what part of it was like, I never would have attempted it. I walked a couple portions. One was the hill from hell. It was fairly steep and went. on. for. ever. When I got back to the house, I gave my father-in-law the evil eye, because I had asked him if my route made sense, and when I mentioned that road, he didn't even bat any eye or mention anything about the hill. Anyway, I did it, and it felt great.

The crazy thing, though, is how much easier it made my short run last night! I was just doing a 35 minute run, and I ran farther than i ever have before in that amount of time. Now, to be fair, part of the speed can be attributed to the fact that I live in the hood, and I ran from my house to the village, which requires running through what my cousin and I affectionately call "Little Afghanistan." I am not sure the origin of this name, but it seems to fit, and what it comes down to is that if you are out running after 8pm, you do not want the sun to set on you in Little Afghanistan. Anyway, the 5K I ran back in October (I know! I need to run another!) was my first and I ran it in 35:06. Granted, the hills were from hell, and the weather was windy, whereas last night's weather was awesome, and the route was pretty flat. But I still ran it in 33:24, even when sucking Marta bus fumes, and stopping for a little traffic at crosswalks, so I am happy that I am getting my time down closer to the 11 minute/mile pace.

Oh, and I started swimming about a month ago for my cross-training, to give my poor knees a break. I swam a mile this morning. It wasn't fast, but it was easy as hell; Time permitting, i could have kept going forever. Which makes me feel pretty good.

Yay me!

The Times Have Changed

Last night, I took a night away from the kids and had a burger at the EARL (best burgers in America!) and then hit the coffee shop to write for a little while. Over dinner on the sidewalk, I read Todd's Men's Journal. There was an article about the 50 Best Places to Live. Two Atlanta towns were on the list. Dahlonegha, which I could see, and Gainesville. Huh? Gainesville was on the "bedroom community" list. Basically, i think they were saying that you could live there and commute to Atlanta every day. Obviously, these jerks don't actually drive in Atlanta, or they would know that a 50-mile commute in Atlanta can take three hours to complete on a bad day.

Also? It's Gainesville.

Wow, got a little off subject there. What I was really thinking, as I ate my Blue Bacon Burger and gazed at The East Side Lounge across the street, was this: Things have really changed for me in less than ten years.

East Side Lounge used to be The Fountainhead. I remember a February night back in 1999, when I left the bar with friends Honey and Andy, and my sister. We were pretty loaded, and as I got in the car with them (Lisa was not so loaded, and she was driving,) we discussed the people we had met that night. Thoughts on Robin's friend, Todd? I believe I said, "He seemed really nice." Then we proceeded to discuss a couple other people Honey and I hadn't seen since college and they looked exactly the same! And then there was that weirdness of seeing two guys that I hooked up with in college. One I made out with on the roof of my boyfriend-at-the-time's house while said boyfriend was in the house below. Everyone who knows me will attest to the fact that I am way classier now, but word to the wise, children - you cheat on your boyfriend, even if it's the only time you have ever cheated, and even if it was only a stupid drunk kiss, you might just end up running into someone you might not want to hanging out with the man you will marry; Karma is a total bitch like that. The other i made out with at a party, then ended up living with platonically later and who turned out to be a total psychopath.

I mean, pretty memorable night! You run into two former hookups and the man you will spend the rest of your life with, all in one night, in one little bar, in one little corner of Atlanta and the world. I was giddy that night, leaving the bar, and I like to think that while part of it was the alcohol, part of it was some deep part of me that felt and knew on an almost cellular level that I had met The One.

I don't know, but things sure have changed since February 1999. Now I am just sitting here blogging in our second house in the same neighborhood, and trying to block out the sound of my kids beating the shit out of each other with Hot Wheels and lunchboxes.

Not that I'm complaining. I kind of like my life better now than i did back then. But I wouldn't mind a drunken evening at The Fountainhead with my husband again, and the following day sans kids to recover. March 31st anyone? March 31st is the night.

Oh, and everybody wish Dogwood Girl's Daddy a big old HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I love you, Dad.