Our Next Project: The Playroom!

Carriage House 2nd Floor, a photo by Athens Nikita on Flickr.

See this dark hellhole, with ammunition rolling all over the floor?

This is our carriage floor attic/bonus room/whatever. As of right now it's been used to load ammo and house a teenage boy on weekends. It has jalousie windows. It's a little low and close. But it's out there, and would make a pretty good playroom if we clean it up.

So, next up -- fixing it!

Just a few things on the docket:

1. Replacing those horrible, no good, terrible, awful, completely inefficient, COLD windows. Seriously, what crazy person would install these IN PENNSYLVANIA?

2. Putting down play mats, or maybe even new flooring. What's there is cute, but it's kind of damaged.

3. Enclosing the staircase and putting a gate on it. Baby boy is actually pretty good with stairs, but why risk it?

4. Some electrical upgrades. The lights flicker up there. ...NOT GOOD.

5. PAINT! What do you guys say to some green walls with some chalkboard segments?

6. Finally, decor and furnishings -- right now Hal has a pack & play up there for quiet nap times and privacy from the dog. But we can do better.

27 in 4:44!

Tonight I achieved something that is a sort of benchmark in roller derby -- the 27 in 5.  It's just what it sounds like -- you try to make at least 27 circuits around the track in 5 minutes.  This has somewhat been the bane of my existence, so much so that I last attempted it a few months ago, when I achieved 27 in 5:02.

Anyway, for me going fast is mostly mental.  There certainly is the physical aspect -- the pushing through, the trusting your feet, the skating the groove, etc.  But more importantly for me is shutting down that persistent, annoying little voice in my head that at first told me I couldn't do it, and then told me that I didn't want to do it.  I had a litany of negativity going on, that for whatever reason just slowed me down imperceptibly.  I think maybe I was afraid to want it.

Anyway, tonight I was actually tying my shoe when the whistle blew.  I sprinted onto the track, not even thinking about the seconds I lost, and I let my brain go.  I settled into a breathing pattern that was like a mantra, and I looked halfway around the track.  Honestly, I didn't give it my all.  I didn't give it myself at all.  I just put one foot in front of the other and pushed til I was done.

Obviously you can't live on autopilot all the time, but I am so proud of myself when I lose my brain and just act.  My goal, ultimately, is to beat my 25 in 5 time, which is just 10 seconds fewer.  Wish me luck!