Suri Cruise of Madrid Spain

So this may confuse anyone that does not follow People Magazine as closely as I do so I'll back up. Suri Cruise is the of celebuspawn of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise, she is 5 but known the world over for her fashion forward styles and love of heels. Yes, heels, on a 5 year old. Whatever, I don't have kids of my own, god knows what I'd let them do if I did have them. Suri is also known for her lack of a jacket in situations that seem to warrant it (being out doors when chilly) and Katie Holmes gets taken to task by every moms blog out there, I personally have always felt apathetic regarding whether Suri Cruise was wearing a coat; I'm not her parent and every one has a different tolerance level to cold. I carry a sweater in August but there are people wearing sandals and tank tops in January (in place that aren't Texas, that is). Kids also tend to run around much more and move faster in general, that's got to keep them warm.

Suri Cruise with mother Katie, in only a sweater. Obviously, this child is not taken care of.

However, after 2 weeks in Madrid spent begging Carolina to put her coat on, and when I relented and let her take it of being lectured  I not only sympathize with Katie Holmes, I am her soul sister.

Good freaking lord, I could not keep a coat on that kid!And when I did get it one her it was accompanied by tears, eye rolls, and claims that it made her sweat, she was so stinkin hot and it made her look fat. She slowly trudge next to you gasping for air in the most dramatic fashion.

What made it worse was that Spainards are terrified of catching cold and of children catching cold, I swear it was bizarre. It would be in like the 50's and people were walking around in puffy down coats and scarves and glove and there was Carolina was in a fleece pullover and was only in that because I had threatened her dessert if she didn't put it on.

I guess it's took me by surprise because this is something we don't deal with here in Texas too often. It doesn't get seriously cold very often and even when it does get colder it's still much more common to see kids in hoodies and light fleeces. When we're going from the car to a building staying warm isn't too hard. However, in Spain we were outside much more walking around so you are exposed to cool air for a longer period of time. I get that to point, but I feel that at 8 Carolina understands consequences and if she wants to be cold, let her be cold. She'll put a jacket on when she's ready and it was not something I personally wanted to spend my time arguing with her about.

Plus, I sympathized with Carolina, I really did. I was tired of wearing my jacket as well; I was tired of the extra weight, the itchy cloth and the clumsy feeling I felt trying to navigate the narrow shops and restaurants with all the extra material. However, I was an adult and could fend off the well meaning nagging when I decided to brave it without the jacket. Carolina would find herself surrounded by very loving meaning relatives and a father, who turned his nagging dial up to 11 while in Madrid, practically tying her into her coat. She'd put it on and then act like fire had just been wrapped around her not a purple fleece lined puffy jacket from Wal Mart. So all these other people would force the jacket on her, but guess who got to carry the jacket around when we entered a building, subway, bus or when she'd be running around and just ditch the darn thing. Oh right, that would be me.

That would be me, walking through a castle and carrying that freaking jacket!

I tried multiple compromises the first week, she wore a fleece or one of my sweaters, but in week 2 she caught a cold. We all caught colds, and I pretty much was given an "I told you so look" by everyone who'd lectured me on the jacket. I bit back telling them that we were staying in a house with 7 people 2 of whom were sick toddlers. Our immune systems had no choice but to roll over after a week of fending off the germs, that jacket had nothing to do with it. I was able to use that as leverage to force her into the jacket though the rest of trip and I actually bought her a new jacket during our final days. She got to pick it up and it was thicker then a fleece, but not a puffy one that she so detested.

Carolina in the offensive jacket; obviously created by Satan himself.

Compromise #1 - My sweater over her long sleeve shirt

Compromise #2 - Purple fleece that she still insisted on removing when not physically in the outdoors

Final solution: new jacket selected by Carolina

So I told Isaac that next time we go to Spain, we're going in the Spring or summer when I don't have to be jacket police. It's not a job title I enjoy and unless we're near the arctic circle it's not a argument I feel is worth fighting or listen to others fight. And to Katie Holmes and all the other parents, guardians, or caregivers of warm natured, hard headed children; let's meet for drinks sometime, we really need them!

Mid Month Goal Check In

Yes, it's technically at little past mid month, but I got started late, so we'll just call it my mid month! :)


So I gave myself several goals for the month of January. I decided that the theme of January is recovery as we got back in a post holiday travel rhythm and many of my goals reflected that.  So far so good, laundry has been done and souvenirs have been bestowed on those they were purchased for.

Photos have been printed, however, I’m still searching for way to display them (and kicking myself for the lack of good photos two weeks, three cameras and a photogenic 8 year old yielded).

I’ve gotten back to running and yoga, but I’m finding the running harder then I remember and this is causing me much frustration. I keep telling myself to keep going out there and it will get easier and I have so far, but so far with limited results. Until I feel better while out there I'm keeping myself at 3 miles, which, before we left was my comfort distance. I do think it'll get better, it's just been slower then I expected process. I am signed up now for the Capitol 10k race in March, so now at least I have something to work towards.

I've also cooked dinner twice, the first meal I made was a success, the second not so much but I know Isaac appreciates the effort so I'll keep going. I've set Wednesday as my cooking day and that coincides with our sometimes no TV evenings so it's almost like a date night! Now to find something for this Wednesday...

I've started looking ahead to February and I have some great ideas for things to do and to focus on for the month. I've also set myself a theme for the year and I hope to start focusing on that in next month. I decided I that I really need to not rush things and give myself the whole month of January to recover and get things in order before I let myself start new projects.

Just over 1 week left, lets see what I can get done!

An American in Madrid: Introduction

Over the Christmas holidays we finally had the chance to visit Madrid Spain, the first time there for me and  Isaac and Carolina's first time back in over 4 years. The trip had been planned since late March and by the time it came around I had worked myself up into a nice panic. Enough so, that I managed to score a 7 day supply of Xanex from my doctor to "get me on the plane" and ease any "rough" moments. I ended up only needing one when boarding the flight to Madrid; Isaac took the rest.

I had many reasons to be feeling anxious; my first time in Europe, the longest flight so far (10 hours) my first  time meeting most of Isaac's family, our first big trip together, and the longest period of time in one shot with Carolina. Add on packing for two weeks and a cool climate as well as Christmas gifts and knowing that we had to stay within airline luggage guidelines and I was a wreck by November.

As usual, though, I was worked up for no reason and our trip was great, I fell in love with the city of Madrid, Isaac's family was so nice and welcoming and the weather was beautiful the whole time we were there. A little chilly some days, but not generally mid to low 50's upper  the day but the sun always shone so it usually felt warmer. I do plan to post about more of our trip, but I'm still deciding exactly how; I don't want to do a boring day by day account and to be honest at this point I don't think I could remember specifically what we did each day. I.'ll figure it out though, in the meantime; a few high points/observations.

1. This was not a vacation, this was a trip and there is a huge difference between the two. A vacation in relaxing and for as much fun as we had nothing about this trip was relaxing.

2. Isaac and I travel very well together. I was pleasantly surprised at how few snippy moments we had. I'm having a hard time thinking of any. I was expecting a few between being tired and the stress of trying to squeeze so much in, but things were very smooth. I feel like we developed an "us against the world" front and it was nice!

3. It's not a stereotype, Spaniards eat lunch and dinner late.

4. I wasn't expecting any longing for home at Christmas time and was surprised when it hit. I've always felt fairly flexible at holiday times. My parents are divorced so holidays were split and I got used to not being at the same place every year and not having "yearly" traditions and that has continued into adult hood. We do what needs to be done each year all of it hinging on what we all have going on. So, and I don't mean this in a bad way, I didn't miss my family at Christmas, I just missed my routines. This will be expanded on in the future.

5. Due to space constraints I left my skinny jeans that require knee high boots at home and opted for my versatile boot cut jeans and Skechers. When I arrived in Spain I realized every freaking woman there was wearing skinny jeans and knee high boots. (Insert long heavy sigh....)

6. My bed is the best bed ever and I will never take it for granted again.

New Year, Same Old Me

Ah, January, the time of year when we look ahead eagerly and plan for all the good, worthwhile things we are going to do for ourself and others throughout the year. Most of us, fail miserably at this. So I decided that instead of setting goals for a year, I’m going to start small and set monthly goals. A month is easier to grasp and embrace and plan for so with the exception of the overall theme of 2012 which will be “Marriage and Honeymoon!!!” I am hoping to set goals for each month that I can more easily track and follow up on. So here we go: January

1.)    Finish unpacking. Yes, we’ve been home for a week now, what of it?? The suitcases have been unpacked but souvenirs for others and the laundry I’ve been half assing for a week are still scattered across the downstairs and bedrooms. I will get this under control and present gifts to those that they were purchased for. I was able to get the stairs cleared at lunch today so that gets me off to a decent start.

2.)    Cook a couple times a month. Isaac very (and I do mean very) generously told a family member in Spain that he cooks 95% of the time. Unless he counts the coffee I make every morning and the breakfast pastry I hand to Carolina some weekends I have no idea how he designated 5% of the cooking to me. It’s not that I dislike cooking, I just get bored half way through it, plus Isaac is particular and is able to cook by just randomly tossing things into the pan and making them taste good so I think there’s some intimidation as well. But I am determined to be a better fiancee and less of an adult child, so I'm going to try and spend more time in the Kitchen.

3.)    Upload and print some of our vacation photos. Bonus if I get them into frames. I spend a vast majority of my time in front of the computer, why logging in to Wal Greens and uploading pictures is so difficult I do not know, but it’s like pulling teeth to get me to take the time! The most recent pictures we have on the wall are from almost 3 years ago, it’s time to update.

4.)    Sign up for the Capital 10K. I vowed to never run more than 5 miles at once, but what the hell, let’s go for 6.2 and run a 10K. Race isn’t until the end of March so I’ve got time but I want to sign up while the cost is lower and so I can’t back out of it!

5.)    Start running and going to yoga again. Between our trip, jet lag and a cold I brought back I’ve had a very hard time getting back into things, but if I’m going to do the 10K, I’ll have no choice. I started tonight with 30 minutes of intervals on the treadmill. A nice way to ease back in to the workout grind. 

6.) Figure out Pinterest. I was so excited to receive an invite back in December, but then I haven't completely figured out what to do with it. Where do people find all these picture they pin? Can you make your own boards? I'm so overwhelmed, I just need to sit down and figure it out and darn it, I have the app, I will figure this out!

And that’s it, I’m going to start out slow and we’ll see how this goes!