Sleepovers are a constant reality for us. Tonight, Walter and Ollie are spending the night with their friend Nathan, so I am home with just Rutledge and Frances. Frances and I are curled up in my bed right now watching Cars, a movie that we've seen a zillion times, since it used to be a favorite of Rutledge's, but that seems to reveal some new funny line or scene to us each time we see it. We had started watching "Annie," but since we had already missed 2.5 hours of it by the time we discovered it was on, it didn't feel worthwhile to see only thirty more minutes. We also got to play some chess with just Frances and Rutledge. Rutledge is not a bad little chess player. He has so many ways he's not mature, but he does know how the chess pieces move and how to set them up. He's no Bobby Fischer prodigy, but he likes to play around with it. We have also been working on playing a little game called "Pawn Mower" that our friend Teresa publishes. I have never been particularly interested in chess since there always seems to be more baggage associated with it than just playing a game. Chess is intellectual, it's a measurement of something. You can't seem to just have fun with it, you have to be up to it and know all kinds of advanced techniques with all kinds of names. It isn't for regular people. I'm sure this isn't true, but I can never go into a chess-playing situation believing that everyone is taking it as just an enjoyable pastime. Now I'm thinking that maybe it is more like some of the games I've been addicted to over the years--that you can just play around with it, work on some new tactic, and not get hung up on some idea that this is a reflection of your most basic abilities. My kids have also always shied away from chess because people make too big a deal of it--it can improve your math, it can make more brain connections, it has repercussions for school performance. Give me some plain old Monopoly, they'd say. So hopefully we can just start to have some fun with chess, even if we just play among ourselves. Like maybe just let chess be chess.

We're deep in "The Secret Garden" right now. It is such a lovely book, and the copy we're reading from has beautiful color illustrations. Frances, Walter, and Rutledge (who isn't listening to the book) have been drawing walls, trees, and secret gardens while I read, inspired by the pictures in the book. I guess I still find myself surprised, though, at how little happens in the book. The themes are carried through nicely, but it takes forever for even the smallest thing to happen and there's so much dialogue and description of sobbing, melancholic children and a lot of repetition. I find myself longing for some doing!

I am doing so awful on my running. The snow pretty well ground my training to a halt, and I'm having trouble getting motivated again. I haven't run for about 2.5 weeks! I was a little behind in my training even before the snow, so I was a bit relieved to have my "long group run" snowed out that first weekend. But then I did nothing during the snowy week that followed. In fact, it took me about 6 days to realize that I could be going to the gym and using the treadmill; it honestly didn't cross my mind. I just assumed that at least no one else was training. Oops! So now here I am, with another week gone, and I can't imagine going out and exerting myself when it's cold and the roads have no shoulder because snow is still there. Plus I've had headaches for the past few days. It's getting really old. Hormones, barometric pressure...not a good combination. For the first two days, I was able to control them with Excedrin Migraine. Yesterday I felt the warning signs and had taken some ibuprofen, but I didn't want to be a person who takes a lot of medication, so I didn't take Excedrin at the beginning. By the time I ended up at Starbucks to do some tutoring, I felt like I was going to die. Having none of my prescription medicine with me, I went ahead with the Excedrin. It helped some. Then I had horrid, horrid cramps by the time I got home, caused by my dear Aunt Flo and exacerbated by all the caffeine. Eventually I gave in and took Maxalt, which always makes me feel bad. Then I had to take something to fight off the Maxalt side effects. It was hideous. Good news: headache gone. Bad news: it came back later this afternoon. I took Excedrin again, but it wasn't much help. I just simply refuse to take more Maxalt right now. I guess if I'm miserable enough tomorrow I will. But I just took a big pile of Advil again. I hosed my nose and sinuses with saline. I used the dreaded ear candles, which claim to help with headaches. I've rubbed on head on. I've had more caffeine. Not a lot of change. I think the only hope is to get out of this weather cycle.

I do still love the snow, though. This morning we had another half inch or so, just enough to whiten up the stuff that was looking gray and dirty. We may have more snow on Monday, Tuesday, or next Saturday. I truly hope we get some of it. It will be more inconvenient this week, since it's tech week for Little Prince, and this weekend is the show, and we don't want snow during the show because then people won't come and Frances won't have her big debut. But a little snow early in the week, the kind of snow that gets cleared up from the roads so they are safe, would be fine.