Chasing Gretchen

life as i know it

chasinggretchen — Thu, 30 Dec 2010 21:28:19 +0000

Well as life does, it has gone by. I have failed myself and haven’t written in my dear blog for awhile now. Shame on me. With summer came lots of fishing. I mean lots. We pretty much went every weekend. Also with summer came soccer. It’s been such a blast and I’m proud to say that we’ve even started winning some games. I love all of my teammates and it’s been such an amazing experience for me. It’s something I’m doing on my own as Jen rather than as “mom” or “wife”. It’s been empowering and fulfilling and I can’t say enough how much I love it.

In September we moved to the country and it’s been a roller coaster for sure. The “ups” are the beauty surrounding us, the privacy, and getting in touch with my country roots again. The “downs” are the bugs that have repeatedly come into our house, the mice getting in our truck engines, and being further from our friends and family. All in all the “ups” trump the “downs”.

Fall was a blur with school starting, soccer for both Mahayla and myself and work. All of which I absolutley love. I love math which is something I’ve never, ever, ever, ever, said. Ever. I also love watching Mahayla play soccer and I love my work. I’ve been so blessed and the universe has certainly smiled upon me with my family, friends, and career this year.

Winter has been uh-may-zing so far. The days that we’ve spent in the snow as a family have been cherished to say the least. This year Willamette Pass opened the day after Thanksgiving and it’s been awesome conditions ever since.

I’m thankful for the amazing year that I’ve had and I’m ready for a new one.

soccer mom becomes soccer player

chasinggretchen — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 23:56:20 +0000

After watching Mahayla play soccer it made me realize how much I love and miss soccer. I LOVED playing it. I asked this girl at my work if she’d get a team together and she totally did so we’re gonna play. Woohoo! I was a little concerned however when she broke the news to me that it was indoor soccer. All of my visions of playing in the mud and running in the grass came crashing down. I’m still very excited to run and play however I quickly need to learn how to play indoor soccer. I also need to get some turf shoes and shin guards. Hmmm hobbies are expensive. Oh well. So worth it. First game is on Sunday so lots of research to do on how to play indoor soccer. Love Google. Yay!!

because you never know

chasinggretchen — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 23:50:35 +0000

One thing I’ve come to realize as I’ve gotten older is that you never know what the future holds. Write that down because those are some profound words right there. OK I know it’s not an epiphany or anything but lately I’ve been pondering my mortality and rather than push it to the back of my brain I’m choosing to address it. Why not? I don’t know when I’m going to die so I better prepare for the unknown. I try to live like I’m dying because we all are. We are all dying and living at the same time. I figure since that’s happening I better prepare for both. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a fact so we better just face it.

In light of this I’ve started a book for my daughter. I know she’ll be in safe hands with John when I die but I also am a bit controlling and want to know my feelings and opinions on situations that may happen in her life will be heard. Like when she gets her period. What if I’m not there? No girl wants to talk with her dad about that. She’ll be able to pick up her book and read all about it from her mom. I’ll talk to her about boys, girls, school, friends, etc. I’m actually really excited about it. I’ve been working on it like crazy. I’m even having my amazing friends Kris and Hannah write the forward and afterword about their opinions on being a girl and a little bit about me just so she knows me from my friends point of view. I know this sounds morbid but I plan on giving it to her even if I don’t die for a really, really long time. Hopefully she’ll add to it and give it to her kids. I just had an idea!! I’ll have my mom give some input on it as well. This is going to be awesome. To clarify it’s not going to be all mushy like Chicken Soup or anything like that. I’m going to keep it real. I’m super excited about it. I feel like it will be my legacy or something.

My Stupid Shoes

chasinggretchen — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:32:33 +0000

So today I had a halleluia moment. I went to the Running Company in Eugene and had them analyze my gait because I really do like to run I just get shin splints in the WORST way so I don’t do it anymore. My experience there was so cool. They put me on a treadmill and told me to run while they video taped it. They did one version with my shoes on and it turns out my super expensive stupid Nike Shox are pretty much the worst shoes you can get for running. They wear out (as mine have) and once they’re worn out it changes your run. The shock in my left heel is flat so that everytime my foot lands it turns my ankle and hurts my shin. When I did it without my shoes she noticed I have a “neutral” run which means my ankle is nice and straight and has no strain on my leg at all as long as I’m bare foot. She got me some awesome shoes to try on and was totally amazing. Her name was Anna and I highly recommend going down there and getting your gait analyzed. They’ll find the shoe for your foot and running style. I particularly like the New Balance because it has a “launch pad” right around my toes to help spring the foot forward when running. I’m so stoked to save up and get them so I can start running again. They also have free running clinics for any runnign style whether it’s marathon training or just a nice jog. Go check it out!

talking ’bout my best friends…

chasinggretchen — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 03:06:00 +0000

Can I just say for a second how much I love my friends? They are my rocks, my everything, my up when I’m down, my hot when I’m cold, and I love them. All of them. My Kris, my Hannah, my Brian, my Dana, my Stephanie, my Erin, my Sharon, my Kari and so many more. I love all of you so much. I guess this love rush is probably coming from my long awaited girls weekend that’s coming up this weekend! Can’t WAIT! (Brian and Hannah…for the record wish you were there!)

hillbilly housewife

chasinggretchen — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 03:43:23 +0000

Well I have found a website that I absolutely love. It’s called hillbilly housewife. This lady named Suzanne helps families not only by sharing amazing recipes that are easy and from scratch but they are also really good for you. As you know I’ve become a little obsessed with my food lately and so knowing that I can make something absolutely delish, healthy and natural is so great. I’ve got a weeks worth of recipes lined up and can’t wait to use my crock pot! She even has a recipes for brownies in a crock pot! Brownies. In a crock pot. Mmmm.

Speaking of food my dearest friend Kris recently took a food allergy test and discovered that she is allergic to soy, garlic, and a few other obnoxious things. Since discovering this she has realized that she pretty much can’t eat at most restaurants because soy and garlic are in everything. Seriously everything. Her grocery shopping has also become a bit more complicated however on a bright note (because no matter what, Kris always finds a bright note) she has been eating SO much healthier. No more eating out, ingredient watching, and making food from scratch when at all possible. Imagine if we all actually had to read the ingredients of what we took in to our bodies. If we actually made what we ate. My other friends Dana and Stephanie took the food allergy test too so now I’m beginning to wonder if I need to take it. I normally feel fine but who knows? As if Kris wasn’t enough to inspire me to eat better my friend Brian (I have a lot of friends eh? Yeah it’s awesome.) is totally taking care of himself better too! He’s eating better, exercising, and again watching those ingredients. No xantham gum or whatever it is. If he doesn’t know it he won’t eat it.

So here you have it. My own little healthy life recipe:

A heaping dose of determination

A scoop of good resources

And a handful of inspiring friends

Combine all of this and you get a healthy and very happy Jen.

Thanks all.

soccer mom.

chasinggretchen — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 17:37:58 +0000

It’s official. I’m a soccer mom. Mahayla just had her first game this weekend and I was the mom on the sidelines cheering for every kid (even the ones not on our team), jumping around, and high-fiving the other parents. I had so much dang fun it was ridiculous and Mahayla did so good! She’s never played soccer before and she even scored a goal! It was so much fun and I loved every minute of it. Even better; she loved it. YES! Soccer was my sport growing up. I loved it even though we never won any games. Seriously we never won. Year after year. It was ridiculous.

It was so fun seeing her play what I used to love playing. I played it up until freshman year. Then I moved to Montana. They thought I was a crazy person for playing soccer. They offered basketball, football and barely track. Good American sports.

I am relishing in the opportunity to live vicariously through my kid and I will love every minute of it.

Toilet Tactics

chasinggretchen — Wed, 24 Mar 2010 03:23:02 +0000

I’d like to take a serious moment to discuss the importance of toilet tactics. Most importantly stall etiquette in public facilities.

1. If there are vacant stalls please don’t go in the one right next to me. We are bathrooming in the same place so lets keep as much distance between us as possible. This is one of my most private moments and I would prefer to have more than 3 feet between us.

2. There should be no discussions of any kind while we are bathrooming. It’s bad enough that I have to hear you pee (god forbid anything more) and vice versa. I don’t want to talk about our day and how cute my shoes are (although they are really cute huh?!). I can’t hear you over the sound of the usual bathroom noises and it’s just obnoxious to ask you to repeat yourself.

3. Please, please, please if you are in a public restroom do not hang out and talk with your friends about things or people. It’s awkward enough that you insisted on talking the whole time you were going to the bathroom but now that your hands are washed you are free to exit and let me finish what I need to do. Don’t stand there and tell secrets. First of all secrets are just rude and second let me do my dang thang will ya?

4. If I happen to have no toilet paper please don’t act all weirded out when I ask you for some of yours. It’s not some secret code for anything all discreet, tea house style. I just picked the wrong stall and need some help. And to the person who leaves the stall with no toilet paper and then makes eye contact with me as I get ready to walk in boo on you.

5. Please flush the toilet. Honestly I feel so stupid for having to write that however it needs to be said. Especially if you have really made a mess of things. It’s all natural. We all do it. In the famous words of Tina Turner “everybody bleeds and everybody pees” so by all means except this, you’re not special so just flush it and take care of it.

And a bonus for the fellas, from my husband, please stop breaking the stall doors. Really? Who breaks stall doors? What is going on in there? I seriously need to know.

Please read these and pass them on to your friends. If we can all just pee together in peace maybe we could actually obtain world peace. Think about it. But I do have a question…if you “pass gas” in the bathroom do you excuse yourself or click your foot around trying to recreate the sound?

My joy

chasinggretchen — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:48:20 +0000

This snowboarding season so far has been uh-may-zing. We’ve had some pretty sick snow days and even got to ride the summit at Mt Bachelor. I have to say though that watching my kiddo get better and better everytime we go up has been by far the best. I can already feel me letting go of focusing on bettering my tricks and focussing on hers. I mean really who wants to see a 30 year old (almost 31 btw) when they could be watching a 7 year old bust it out? You can admit it. I’ve come to terms with that. She has pushed through tears, frustrations, crashes, the long car rides to the mountain and came out shining. My hubby and our buddy Jason devoutly record her every move on the mountain and if it weren’t for them capturing these moments we wouldn’t have them to cherish. Here’s her 09/10 video. I serioulsy feel so dang proud it brings tears. Thansk to John and Jason for working so hard and Mahayla for being my hero; I’m wrapped so many times around your finger it’s ridiculous.

Driving Me Crazy.

chasinggretchen — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:40:21 +0000

*Start rant* Today started like every other day. I woke up, worked out, did my morning routine, was feeling great and then I hit the road. My shoulders tensed up, my forehead furrowed, and my whole demeanor changed. It was then that I realized everything is fine until I have to be subjected to traffic tactics. Now I know I know everyone thinks they are the best driver and everyone else is the problem and believe me I know my skillz aren’t the bizbombTM (TM by Brian) however, I do not drive with malicious intent. I respect that we are all on the road with the same goal in mind; to get to where we are going. You may go faster than me, you may go slower than me but this is no reason to act the fool on the road. Seriously. Why is it acceptable to treat others with such blatant rudeness? What happened to the Golden Rule? If we were all in line at the grocery store would you cut in front of me and act as though you’ve done nothing wrong? Would you stand so close behind me that if I happened to step back to grab some gum you would be on top of me? I don’t think you would. The majority of people anyway wouldn’t. I do face the facts that there are some jackasses out there but I can’t believe that the majority of the population would. I think it’s the protection of the car’s armor that makes people feel as though they can get away with whatever they want. They can quickly drive off and never have to see me again. It’s the mentality that because they’re late it’s now my problem. They’re completely justified with riding me, cutting me off and/or flipping me off. I wish I had a solution to this. I used to flip people off when they did rude things and then one day I was flipping off a car and their kid was in the back and saw me. Wow. That was an awesome feeling. Nothing like exposing a kid to the awesomeness in the world. Like how random strangers can completely disrespect each other without another thought of it. Then there was the time before that where I purposefully slowed WAY down just to get this guy off my tail and he passed me and then slammed on his brakes. I had to slam on mine and almost went into the ditch. I realized then it’s not worth repeating the behavior I’m complaining about. I become a total hypocrite when I get all mad so now I politely move out of their way and hope they don’t take out some innocent bystander in their furied commute. If you’re one of those people please take a second to realize nothing is so important that you should be willing to risk me and my family’s life. *End rant*