The Battle of the Books

I guess I no longer need to worry about if I looked fat when I appeared on nationally on television in the U.S., as the only things you got to see were my hands when I was covering my eyes during our water tasting. (For those of you catching up with the rest of the class, MarathonMum and Mr.MarathonMum were filmed over the summer doing a water tasting as part of a CBS Sunday Morning segment on our friend Tom Standage).

Oh well. Hopefully the report will help sell more of his book, "The History of the World in Six Glasses." It seems that it has. A quick check on Amazon.com shows that it has shot back up the charts to No. 63 in books. Well done, Tom!

To compare, I checked the current sales status of another book by a friend, "The Things You Want to Eat" by Ted Allen, which is No. 1,729. You may know Ted better as the food and wine expert in the U.S. show, "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy." Ted's book is also an excellent book, with a particularly good recipe for blue-cheese butter, which actually was something I made for Ted years ago, and it made the book. So while we helped Tom with "research" by drinking, we helped Ted with "research" by eating.

So with the Christmas shopping season in full swing, if you need some gift ideas, both books are great. But only available in the U.S. (or shipped abroad via Amazon.com).

We're Going to be on TV!! (Hi Mom!)

Many moons ago, when the weather was hot and clothing was light, the CBS Morning Show, an American news show, interviewed our great friend Tom Standage about his most excellent book, "A History of the World in Six Glasses."

During the day-long filming,MarathonMum and Mr.MarathonMum participated in a water tasting. This was something we first did a year ago, as part of Tom's research for his book. The idea was that no one would be able to differentiate between the tap water and the water in fancy bottles you pay over-the-odds for to drink.

While I didn't identify the tap water, I was able to taste a difference between brands. This surprised me, not least of all because I really did think that water was water was water. But now I know better. In the first tasting, the one water I couldn't bear to finish was the tap water (though I failed to guess that it was the tap; that should have been a tip-off). My favourite at both tastings was the Fiji water, which is delicious, but I would never drink it on a regular basis, given the environmental cost of getting it to me, delicious though it may be.

In any case, they filmed our tasting. I enjoyed the first tasting much more, probably due to the fact that I didn't spend the whole time thinking, "How will I look on TV? Will I look fat? Will any ex-boyfriends see me?" I doubt that the tasting will feature prominently, particularly since they spent the whole day filming Tom and only an hour filming us.

In any case, if you'd like to see us, the story will be on Sunday morning. Check local listings.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is my most favourite holiday in the entire year: Thanksgiving.

It is a quinessentially American holiday, and you don't have to buy any presents or send any cards. The only things you need to do today is be with family and friends, be thankful/happy and eat well. (Done, done and done, I say.)

Here in London, we usually do a big blow-out all-day party on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, since today is not a holiday here, obviously, but this year I'm taking the year off. I decided to give myself a break from the one month of planning, the one week of cooking and the one day of stressing. Instead, we're going to have a small party with just the four of us.

The boys were enthusiastic about having a Peanuts Thanksgiving (i.e. popcorn, sandwiches and jelly beans), but I vetoed that idea. We will, in a nod to the genius that is Charles Schulz, be having popcorn as a side dish.

After dismissing the sandwiches-and-popcorn menu, the plan was to buy a chicken and make all the usual side dishes, but when it came time to pull the trigger at the butchers, I just couldn't do it. So rather than buying the 10-pound free-range turkey that would have cost me $65 (no, not a typo), I went for the smaller turkey breast, so we can still have sandwiches and turkey pot pie tomorrow.

Enjoy Thanksgiving everyone. Remember the cardinal rule: If you're not overeating, you're not doing your job.

I'm Talking To You Cordless!

That's what Lance (played by Anthony Andrews) says to Gib (played by John Cusack) as Lance floats in the fraternity swimming pool atop a raft while holding the cordless phone in "The Sure Thing."

At the time of filming, the idea of not being tethered to a phone on the wall or table was a revolutionary concept. Cordless phones were used by the rich or the gadget prone. However, and now I'm dating myself, the film is now 20 YEARS OLD (yes, I'm shouting because I've just had one of those moments where I thought, "Really? 20 years?? And I can remember who I saw the movie with?"), and now everybody has a cordless phone. We haven't used a cord on a phone in at least a decade.

Today, on my computer, I am talking to you cordless, thanks to my ultra-cool birthday present, the iBook. I am back in the warm embrace of the Apple Family, a very happy place I had to leave seven years ago when our relocation forced us to begin using a PC. Now I have to relearn all the Apple tricks (they're coming back to me slowly) and cast aside all of my bad PC habits (right click, I'm talking about you). I also have the tedious job of transferring over files, photos, e-mail addresses and other essentials into this computer, but the hassle will be worth it.

Now I can take the computer anywhere in the house and enjoy cordless goodness. I can multitask to the highest degree; the kids can watch Sunday morning cartoons while I read the New York Times on the sofa. Twenty years from now this will not be such a revolutionary concept, much like using a cordless phone is today, but for now, I am chuffed.

Today in History

1620

The Mayflower Compact was signed by Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower. It would provide the basis for all governments of the American colonies.

1831

Former slave Nat Turner was executed.

1889

Washington became the 42nd U.S. state.

1918

The Allies and Germany signed an armistice ending World War I.

1921

The Tomb of the Unkown Soldier was dedicated in Arlington National Cemetery in the United States.

1968

MarathonMum was born in Morristown, N.J., U.S.A. (Other famous people born today: Feodor Dostoyevsky [1821], General George Patton [1885], Kurt Vonnegut Jr. [1922] and Leonardo DeCaprio [1974]).

1992

The Church of England voted to ordain women as priests.

2004

Yasir Arafat, chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organization, died in Paris. Mahmoud Abbas was elected to take his place.

A Warning to Parents

Today's post was made possible by the generous support of Meg in South Carolina who sent this to me and to Google, who made it so much easier to post photos on the blog (have you noticed an increase in photos? Doesn't it make the blog more fun?)

Helpful French Phrases (in light of the current situation)

Handy French phrases if you plan to be in France soon:

* Ou sont les pompiers? - Where are the firemen?
* Avez-vous un extincteur? - Do you have a fire extinguisher?
* A quelle heure est le couvre-feu? - What time is the curfew?
* Pourquoi brulez vous ma voiture? - Why are you burning my car?
* Avez-vous du feu pour allumer mon cocktail molotov? - Do you
have a light for my petrol bomb?

Thanks to Tim for this contribution to MarathonMum.

The New York Marathon

On Sunday, 35,000 runners hit the streets of New York's five boroughs to participate in the New York Marathon.

While I loved running the London Marathon in April, and it will always be special to me, the New York Marathon is the one I grew up watching on television. I still distinctly remember the race in 1982, when Alberto Salazar won in 2:09.29 and Grete Waitz prevailed in 2:27, because I went out later that day to run my first 10k race. I was 13 years old. I don't remember my time, but I do remember that-- crucially-- I didn't come in last in the race.

I felt a slight bit of jealousy when I looked at the pictures Monday because I remember the euphoria of having finished a marathon. (The euphoria, of course, was followed by a week of not being able to walk correctly and eight lost toenails, but that's neither here nor there). Also, running in New York in early November is probably perfect-- good weather and the leaves are changing colour.

Now I think it's important to inform all of the MarathonMum fans out there (all three of you-- thanks for your support) that I will not be entering this year's London marathon. [If you listen carefully enough, you will hear my mother's sigh of relief worldwide.] There are several good reasons for this decision, chiefly that my personal trainer (now 2 1/2) is getting too heavy, vocal and strong-willed to push for the one-hour training sessions that are necessary to get the job done. When I say vocal, I mean to say that we'll be heading out for a run and he'll say, "No run! Park! No run! Park!", and then he'll point in the direction of the park, in case I'm mistaken about what he's talking about.

I thought about entering the lottery and then deferring for one year if I was lucky enough to get a spot, but in the end I decided not to do that either. I thought, first, since I was really lucky last year and got my spot through the lottery, it wouldn't be fair to the other 80,000 who weren't so lucky last year and were trying again this year. Also, since I knew I wouldn't be able to train pushing the 2 1/2-year-old, it also didn't seem fair to enter with the intention of deferring. I did decide, however, to take the £31 I would have spent on my entry and send it to my marathon charity, CAMFED. The money will be better spent by helping a girl go to school in Africa then receiving a London Marathon fleece (what you win if you don't get a spot) that I don't need anyway.

But all of this brings us back to the issue of the New York Marathon. Every year, the race is held in early November. As luck would have it, my birthday is also in early November. I have decided [listen for the drums rolling in the background], that I want to run the New York Marathon for my 40th birthday in 2008.

Anyone who would like to join me is more than welcome. In the meantime, I will continue to train in the hopes that the fantastic base I will have built up by then will bring me home to the finish in a respectable time.

More Halloween

Responding to public outcry (OK, one person asked), here's a picture of the boys with Andrew's No. 1 girl Ella dressed in their Halloween finery. For those not familar with the Pixar's ouevre, Nicholas is Jack-Jack, Andrew is Mr. Incredible and Ella is a (non-Pixar) witch. Intense social obligations this week-- Nicholas had two birthday parties in one day!-- prevented me from posting this sooner.

Your Vote Counts!

Happy Halloween!

As an American child, Halloween is simply one of the best days of the year-- right up there with Christmas. You get to dress up as whatever you want (pending parental approval, of course), take in some fresh autumnal air, then knock on doors, say "Trick or Treat!" and people give you candy. It's so beautiful, it brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it as adult.

We are, however, not in America. This fact is never so apparent when holidays like these roll along. Now, to give credit where credit is due, the British are trying. Every year, Halloween seems to be getting bigger and bigger, along with the cries about the creeping Americanization of the culture. Our first Halloween here, in 1999, I couldn't even find a pumpkin for my infant son (now the strapping young lad in the middle above). Now, with U.S.-based Wal-Mart owning Asda, one of the largest supermarket chains in the country, it's becoming much easier to find the crass orange-and-black accrutremonts that are essential for enjoying the holiday.

But it's just not the same.

In an effort to maintain a high level of fun and frivolity on our family's life, we hosted our Fifth Annual Halloween Bash on Sunday. We ate pumpkin cookies and pumpkin donuts (the shape, not the flavour), played Pin-the-Nose on the Pumpkin and enjoyed other seasonal (for the U.S., anyway) goodies. [Kudos to Ella (far right in photo) and Kirstin, who have attended every Halloween party we've had here.]

This afternoon, we will attempt to do some trick or treating. But don't be fooled. This is not the fun event of mapping out where all The Really Rich Families Lived so the quality of candy improved. Instead, I have asked many friends and acquaintances if they will be receiving trick-or-treaters today. Some did say no, but I don't hold it against them, because really, it's not a British thing. An older British woman said to me once, "It's just like begging for candy." Looking at it that way, I'd have to agree.

But the boys and I will do our best to make our little corner of London a little like the U.S.-- for today, at least.

Wallace and Gromit Fever: Catch It!

The boys and I are under the spell of Wallace and Gromit at the moment, the Most Excellent Dynamic Duo now at a cinema near you.

It is half-term week here (for all of you non-Brits, that means all the schools nationwide are off, meaning the streets, museums and parks are filled with those under five-feet tall). To celebrate its first day, we set off to our newly reopened cinema Greenwich Picturehouse to see "Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Ware Rabbit."

It is a brilliant film, with loads of funny gags that amuse 2-year-olds, 6-year-olds, and 36-year-olds. Nick Park described it as, "A horror film for vegetarians," so it's even seasonally appropriate, with Halloween less than a week away. Crucially, it passed the Nicholas test, which means the 2-year-old sat still through the entire film, a feat repeated only one other time, at "The Incredibles."

Monday's outing was the 6-year-old's third (!) viewing of the film (one at a Leicester Square special showing and another at a birthday party) and he said, "It was great! My favourite bit was the big burp!" Outsize humour always appeals, no matter what the age.

We spent the morning watching the three previous Wallace and Gromit outings, ("A Grand Day Out", "A Close Shave" and "The Wrong Trousers"). You have to love movies where the dog sits in his chair reading, "Electronics For Dogs."

Wallace and Gromit Fever: Catch It!

A 9.33 mile for Andrew!

Andrew made his debut on the running circuit today, clocking an impressive 9:33 mile!

For months he's been asking me if he could do a race with me, and finally, I found one: a one-mile race at the Millennium Dome. I asked a friend, who is (a) a doctor (b) a mother and (c) a runner if it woud be OK to have a six-year-old race one mile, and she said it would be no problem. (As it happens, we saw kids younger than Andrew racing too. So maybe my worrying was for nothing).

It was a beautiful Sunday and he was eager to get started, asking me about every two minutes if it was time to go yet. I kept telling him not to start by sprinting, to take it nice and easy. I also told him if he ever got tired, we could walk. But he only asked to do it once, at the very beginning.

When we got to the finish line and I saw his time, I couldn't believe it. I was mentally predicting a 12- or 15-minute mile, so he came in well under my estimates. As we were picking up our finishing certificates, an older woman saw Andrew's time. She turned to her friend and said, "Did you see that? That boy ran a 9:30!"

I couldn't help but say, "He's awesome, isn't he??"

I Will Run A Year (Nike Run, Part Two)

My Personal Trainer has made his own running pledge for the next year, so I guess I'm going to stick with it. (The shirt is clean, in case you're worried that he put on my stinky post-race shirt.)

The funny thing about Nike's pledge, "I Will Run A Year," is that I've already done that. I started running again in earnest for last fall's Nike run and kept it up since then, even finishing the London Marathon in April. But even though I'm disappointed by yesterday's result, I will keep running. In the grand scheme of things, it's not that big of a deal.

I felt better after talking it over with my friend Kate this morning. Now Kate is a phenomenal runner and more amazingly, doesn't brag about it. To wit: she finished the New York Marathon in under 4 hours. If I had done the same, you can bet that I would have tatooed my time on my forehead. But I digress. Kate said she doesn't get too wrapped up in her time, she just tries to enjoy every race she enters. Under those guidelines, I DID have a good day yesterday: (1) I passed lots of people, particularly at the finish (2) I had my family-fan club cheering me on for the race (3) The weather could not have been more perfect.

So I Will Run A Year (and also figure out how to finish a 10K in under an hour in the process).

Run London

On a picture-perfect October morning, my family and I headed up to Victoria Park so I could participate in Nike's Run London 10K race. The accompaning fan club was a (much welcome) last minute addition to my plans, so we didn't actually leave the house until just over an hour before I was due to start.

We got to Bow and walked about 20 minutes from our DLR stop before we got to the park. ("My legs are getting tired!" Son No. 1 kept saying.) As luck would have it, the entrance we used was at the start line. This was a very good thing, given that it was 10:27 a.m. (I was due to start at 10:30 a.m.) and a sea of red shirts was waiting for the race to start. I had to run down a bit and up again to reach them, and I was all the way at the back, but at least I got there. The gun sounded and we slowly made our way to the start, but once I got there, I realized I needed to reset my watch so I could time myself. "This is really something I should have done about an hour ago, I know," I said to the steward.

The one good thing about being all the way in the back was I spent the entire race looking for someone further up who I wanted to pass, and then worked my way up and got them. I'm happy to report that every person (I did not discriminate on the basis of gender), I picked out for passing, I did pass. Of course, I was able to pass about 15 people in the last 200 meters of the race, because my Fan Club was there to cheer me on and I wanted to impress the boys. Some things never change.

I also ran without my iPod, which made me feel a little bit naked, but I do think it helped me run a better race. I feel that I was able to concentrate better on the task at hand, rather than singing aloud to Aretha Franklin.

However, even with all these things in myu favor: beautiful weather, an enthusiastic fan club who I passed SIX TIMES (Yeah!) during the race, a high level of concentration and basic kick-ass passing, I am incredibly disappointed to say that I STILL HAVEN'T broken the one hour barrier. I feel utterly deflated and dejected that I didn't. (But, I was slightly faster than the 10K I did in July, so maybe that's some improvement. Or I'm clutching at straws).

There will be more races and other opportunities to run faster. I would be happy to list a litany of excuses as to why it didn't happen, but there's no point. There's always next time. It still was a great way to spend a Sunday morning.

If this is a trend, I'm not interested

The most e-mailed article in the New York Times for the past two days has been, "A Fast Track to Toilet Training for Those at the Crawling Stage." The story details how a new movement is emerging in the U.S. to teach children how to use toilet before the age of one.

The article says, "A growing number of parents are experimenting with infant potty training, seeing it as more sanitary, ecologically correct and likely to strengthen bonds between parent and child. About 2,000 people across the country have joined Internet groups and e-mail lists to learn more about the techniques of encouraging a baby - a child too young to walk or talk - to go in a toilet, a sink or a pot."

Are you kidding me?

Now, I would be the very first to say that I detested potty training, and if I could outsource the job, I would. (When my husband and I were talking about the job once, I said that and he responded, "I agree," to which I said, "You did outsource it. To me.") I waited for as long as I could to teach Son No. 1, and I only finally did do the job because he was starting nursery school in two weeks and had to be potty trained. There's nothing like a deadline to get a journalist working. (He mastered it-- for the most part-- in one day).

The article has created quite a flurry of responses in the bulletin board devoted to the story, with more than 2,000 postings on the subject.

I say if it works for you, then go for it. But I have to wonder, who is trained at 7 months old: the child or the parent?

Happy September to Us

Sorry for the lack of postings in September, but we had a very busy and very happy month.

First, on the second of the month, Tim and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary. I still can hardly believe that the milestone has passed. Time really does fly when you're having fun. In an age where we know dozens of couples that have split up (lately we're averaging a split-up news flash once a week), it really is magical to still be together and happy.

We pushed the boat out to have dinner at the Michelin starred Connaught Hotel. We got the seven-course tasting menu, which was the best meal we've ever had. (For those of you who don't know us, that is an extraordinary thing to say because we're really tough critics.) We also got to meet the head chef, Angela Hartnett, who was really lovely in addition to being a fabulous cook.

On the 29th of September, our very own Willy Wonka turned six. Again, time flies when you're having fun, because I can still distinctly remember everything that happened on the day he was born. (Most of the day was spent in labour, but enough about me). We had a chocolate-themed Willy Wonka party the following Saturday, with chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Such a theme was bad news for Andrew's friend Finlay, who doesn't like chocolate. But you can't please everybody.

Our Cake Tester

While I was busy doing something else, Son No. 2 took it upon himself to drag a kitchen chair over to the counter and test the cake I was making for Willy Wonka's birthday. To prove I am not a Stepford Wife, my reaction when I saw what he'd done was to laugh hysterically. To fix the problem, I just made more icing. A lot of frosting can hide a lot of sins.

Nobody Puts Baby in the Corner!

Last night, while killing time waiting for "Lost" (The Most Excellent Show Currently on the Telly) to start, I watched some snippets of "Dirty Dancing." For Women of a Certain Age, this is a seminal movie. While watcing, I realized/mulled over several important things:
1. Patrick Swayze spends most of the movie shirtless.
2. The plot roughly follows that of "Rocky", i.e. underdog wins the contest and gets the girl/guy.
3. I can still remember where I saw it (The Barn, Doylestown) and with whom I saw it in 1987.
4. I also remembered that I wasn't such a huge fan of it when I saw it, but I think it's grown on me over the years.
5. The theme song was used by our friend for her first dance at her wedding. The wedding was actually quite scandalous, by Villanova standards, because she got pregnant her freshman year. It was a classic shotgun wedding. They are still together, though, the last I heard.
6. What has happened to poor Jennifer Grey?
7. The classic line, "Nobody puts Baby in the corner!" actually is said quite quickly by Johnny Castle/Patrick Swayze.

Demi and Ashton Wed

Demi Moore (who has the same birthday as me-- Novemeber 11!) reportedly wed her boyfriend of two years, Ashton Kutcher, in a Kabbalah ceremony over the weekend.

However, there is now speculation that the "ceremony" was a prank for Kutcher's show, Punk'd, where he plays practical jokes on stars.

Whatever the case, I wish these two crazy kids all the luck in the world.

Now that's out of the way, I'd like to say for the record that I'm including them in my "Sure to be Divorced/Broken Up" List, which did include Renee Zellweger and Kenny Chesney until recently.

If you're curious, here's some of the other star unions I've got on my Watch List:
-Britney Spears and Kevin Federline
-Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie
-Paris and Paris
-Hillary Swank and Chad Lowe
-Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez (sorry, I know it seems like Real Love, but look at her track record)
-Beyonce and Jay Z
-Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachley (although I barely know who either one of them is)

Also, I'd like to apologize for the lack of postings of late. It is Birthday Eve here for Son No. 1, so we've been in the thick of preparations. Those of you with children will understand.

Running News

My training for the RunLondon continues apace, for the most part.

I ran 6 miles Sunday, only to be overtaken in the park in the last mile by a gazelle-like friend. I felt like shouting after her, "I've done six! How many have you done?" but resisted. The only problem was my back, which hurt quite a bit and is related to my previous problems with my hip. But I did two hours of pilates on Monday with My Most Excellent Teacher, so that seemed to help.

Now I'm wrestling with the decision of whether or not I want to carry my iPod with me during the race. I'm beginning to suspect that having music might slow me down. My friend Susan, who is an Ironman Triathelete (amazing), competes without music because she says it's important to be in the flow of your own performance. I'm beginning to think she's on to something, because I don't want to be distracted by a song I hate as I approach the finish line, which is what happened to me last year at RunLondon. Watch this space.

Spot the Difference: A Jordan Special

You will ony find the above hilarious if you happen to live in the United Kingdom and know who the hell Jordan is. For my international readers: Jordan became famous for her talent (read: EE breasts, or whatever they are) on Page 3 and is euphimistically called a "glamour model". She married a few weekends ago in what I believe to be the most garish, pink and over-the-top ceremony at a castle outside London. OK!, a British magazine, reportedly paid £1 million deal (that's $1.8 million, sports fans) for exclusive rights to publish the monstrosity, I mean, ceremony. You have to see the rest of the pictures to believe how truly awful it was. Apparently, she was aiming for classy. She failed.

Thanks to my friend Kirstin who supplied the photo.

My Grade as a Mother

One of the most frustrating things about being a mother who isn't working another job (notice I didn't use the heinous phrase "full-time mother". There is no such thing as a part-time mother) is a lack of annual review. When you're working in your profession, you can count on an annual assessment of how you're doing and in what areas you need to improve.

However, a mother never gets any feedback or guidance from the people she's working for, or, if she does, it's more along the lines of, "You forgot to bring my P.E. kit to school" or "I don't have any clean shirts to wear."

Last week, the Evening Standard columnist Allison Pearson asked her six-year-old son to rate her job as a mother on a scale of one to 10, with 10 the best. He gave her a two. When she asked him "bitterly" (I don't blame her) why she didn't get a one, he told her that once she let him have something she initially told him he couldn't.

I was curious how I would rate, so I asked my own (nearly) six-year-old son how I would rate on a scale of one to 10. After mulling it over, he said, "A nine!" Even though I was thrilled with my score, I asked him why I didn't get a 10. He said, "OK, a 10 then!"

Now, I don't know if it's his American tendencies to grade inflate or think big when he gave me that score, but I'll take it.

We're Running in the Rain

The weather in Greenwich has been putrid today-- gray skeys, heavy rain (on and off) and cold, so of course, my personal trainer and I went out for a run.

It should be said that I wasn't too thrilled with the idea. My personal trainer, on the other hand, was more than happy to head out as he was suitably equipped with an Incredibles rain poncho AND an umbrella-- making running in the wind a challenge. I was soaked, still sore from yesterday's hill work and not at all enthusiastic, but on we went anyway.

To make matters worse, I was having operational difficulties with the personal trainer's chariot. It was off kilter, so I had to keep both hands on the bar to keep it straight, which was a drag, because usually I only need one hand. This only added to my bad attitude.

However, we staggered through the required 20 minute run. According to my Nike training schedule, I should have been off today, but as I took off on Monday, I switched that run to today. It's days like these when you think you should get extra credit for the effort.

Frida Kahlo in London

My Personal Trainer and I headed out to the Tate Modern this morning to see the Frida Kahlo exhibit. (yes, yes, sports fans, this meant we missed our morning run).

The most interesting thing I took away from the exhibit was how the Cult of Personality was in force, even then. Kahlo, who married, divorced and married Diego Rivera, was known for her surrealist pictures, but also for her traditional Mexican dress. She always wore it, first to impress Rivera, but eventually I think it became part of her "thing" and people expected it of her.

You think of the 1940s and 1950s as being a more simple time, when artists were judged on merit alone, but my sense is that in her case, that just wasn't so. She was known as much for her marriage to Rivera and the drama associated with it, as for her art. Interestingly, they had two self portraits of Kahlo and Rivera side by side and when I compared them, it seemed to me that technically Rivera was a better artist. My friend Caroline, who was with me and is an artist herself, agreed.

My Personal Trainer seemed to like the exhibit, for the most part, but near the end I had to feed him raisins to keep him quiet. I also found myself shamelessly asking him, in a Middle Class/ aspirational kind of way, what color this or that was. However, when there were other people standing near us, I stacked the deck in his favor because I only pointed to those things that were blue, which is what he thinks every color is these days. So the strangers think he's a genius, while I secretly know better.

The exhibit runs until October 9.

Milestone Moments

We achieved a couple of notable milestone moments this weekend with both Son No. 1 and Son No. 2.

First, Son No. 1, who is 5 11/12, has become quite a good speller. We know this because we were using the classical parental subterfuge of spelling out something so the children wouldn't know what we were talking about. My husband said to me, "You know, there's still some W-O-N-K-A B-A-R in the frig," when Son No. 1 pipes up, "There's a Wonka Bar in the frig? Great!"

So now it seems we're going to have to revert to using a foreign language. Bummer.

In other news, Son No. 2, now 2 1/4, seems to have made a successful move into a Big Boy Bed. We thought it was time to move him into the bottom bunk. After No. 1 had a sleepover using the bed on Saturday night, we moved No. 2 into it last night. He settled right down, and amazingly enough, did not use his new-found-freedom to play in his room for another hour. He even settled down for his nap today with no problem. Now time will tell is the successful transition was a fluke or a genuine success.

Well done to both!

More Running

I'm really getting back in the swing of things with my running. After much procrastinating-- and when I say much I mean it-- I finally got out yesterday at 4:30 p.m. While it is true that I should have been busy preparing Sunday dinner, I drafted my husband into the job so I could go out. I was impressed that I got out there at all, given that I like to get it over with first thing in the morning. But I knew that I wouldn't be running on Monday or Tuesday so I finally got it in gear and hit the road.

The thing I forgot about going out without my personal trainer was how simply LOVELY running alone can be. For all the times when people said to me, "Wow, pushing the buggy must be hard work," and I said, "Oh, it's not that bad, you get used to it," I take it back. While it is true that you do get used to it, I only realize how hard it is to push a 30-pound two-year-old when I'm out on my own. It was great and so much easier. Conditions were less than optimal: my Ipod ran out of juice after the first mile and it started to rain, but I still had a great time and a good run.

I'm following the Nike training schedule to get ready for RunLondon October 16. I needed to be out there for 45 minutes yesterday. I came in two minutes under that, but I was pleased to figure out after the fact that I covered about 4.5 miles, so that's good. My goal for RunLondon, like my Blog Buddy Michelle, is to finish under 1 hour. While I'm going to have to step it up to do that, at least I know I'll have to speed it up only a little for yesterday's pace to finish in that time.

The funny thing about saying that I want to finish in under an hour is that when I was in high school and running track and cross country, that time would have been EASY for me. (Doing it in under 50 mintes- or 8 minutes per mile- would have been more of a stretch, but doable.) But those times were 20 years ago, so it's probably not fair to compare. It's just funny how old age and time sneak up on you.

Bush: "What Went Right and What Went Wrong"

"I'll lead an investigation into what went right and what went wrong," President George Bush said Tuesday, following criticism of the government's actions in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Who: The Committee Charged with the Hurricane Katrina Investigation
What: The First Day of Meetings
Where: The White House
When: Sometime in the future
President Bush: "OK, let's start with what went right. Anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Anyone?"

Like millions of other people, I have been horrified, dismayed, shocked and disappointed at the U.S. goverment's mismanagement of Hurricane Katrina's aftermath. It is unbelievable to me how wholly incompetent the federal government responded to the disaster. When watching the scenes from New Orleans, I had to keep reminding myself that this was the United States of America, not some far-flung country with questionable infrastructure and a corrupt government.

The whole point of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is to coordinate the response to disasters like this one. In a BBC News Special last night, they ran video of President Bush praising FEMA DirectorMichael Brown, to whom he bestowed the nickname, "Brownie." But how in the world can he seriously say he's doing, "One heck of a job." I'll say he's doing a heck of a job, just not in a good way.

Before joining the agency four years ago, Brown, an attorney from Oklahoma, had no experience with emergency relief. [In reading the New York Times profile of him, I have discovered that he and I share a birthday. Weird.] From 1991 to 2001, he was commissioner of the International Arabian Horse Association, and was in charge of rule enforcement at its horse shows. How does that experience prepare one for emergency relief?

Someone needs to be accountable for this disaster, and at the top of my list would be Brown. (At the very top of my wish list would be President Bush, but I think that would just be greedy). It's the same lesson I try to teach to my sons: you have to be held responsible for the things you do wrong. The same should be true of the government official at the top of the organizational chart in charge of federal emergencies.

Adding insult to injury, Barbara Bush, the former first lady and the president's mother, said on NPR's Marketplace Tuesday that some of the hurricane survivors might be better off. After meeting some of the survivors in Houston's Astrodome she said, "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway. So this is working very well for them." [Read the full New York Times story about what she said here]

In what way is losing all of your possessions, having to flee your home and losing contact with friends and family, "Working very well for them?" Many of these survivors may have been poor, but you could argue that makes whatever things they did have were that much more precious.

George Clooney has just donated $1 million to the United Way's hurricane relief effort. If you'd like to be like George, or impress George, or know someone who would, Amazon is accepting donations for the American Red Cross. Unlike FEMA, they seem to be managing the crisis quite well.

Running Update

For those of you interested in the running stuff, here's an update:

My personal trainer and I have been out hitting the pavement for the last two days. Now that school is back in session, it's easy enough to get back in the habit of going out for a run after dropping Son No. 1 off at school. However, I have forgotten how hard it is to push a 30-pound two-year-old. It's also probably more difficult because he's getting bigger, but I'm not getting significantly stronger.

While we were in the U.S., I did manage to go out quite a few times by myself for some short runs. However, I haven't really done anything challenging since the British 10K in early July, so it's time to get back in the swing of things, especially since I've signed up for the Nike 10K on October 16. I also have set a finishing time goal for myself, so I find myself working extra hard to improve. (Usually I think, "Isn't just being out here, pushing the boy, enough?")

The runs have been going well, but it should be said that my personal trainer isn't as enthusiatic as he once was about being in the buggy. Complicating matters is an improved ability to talk, so now he says, "No run! Walk! Park!" accompanied by appropriate hand gestures (pointing to the playground he'd rather be in). So far, I've gotten away with promising a trip to the playground AFTER I'm done, but I don't know how long this deal-making will work.

I'm still having aches and pains in my back and hip, but either I'm getting used to them, or they're slowly getting better. I'm hoping it's the latter.

RunLondon, the Nike 10K, has a special significance for me, because it was this race last November that really got me running seriously again. Just before that race, I found out that I had a place in the London Marathon. I remember finishing the race and being extremely chuffed that I hadn't stopped when I thought, "And in April, I'll have to run 20 more miles after that."

This year, I'm hoping I'll be able to run faster, given that I have run 20 miles beyond 6.2. I'm also starting to FINALLY feel recovered from the marathon, so that should make working harder easier. If all of that training for the marathon doesn't help me improve my time, nothing will. Roll on, RunLondon!

What I Did on my Summer Vacation

I know it’s been a shockingly long period of time since I last posted, but I’ve been busy. When I say busy, I mean it.

To wit: since July 28, my family and I have flown 10,271 miles, visited with 58 friends, relatives and their offspring, set foot in six different states, slept in eight different beds, swam in seven different places, climbed 110 steps in the Statue of Liberty, toured one World War II submarine, fed one giraffe, rode two roller coasters, watched “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” twice, saw more than a dozen F-22 fighter jets, watched the Pittsburgh Pirates lose at baseball, hunted for alligators with a flashlight and held one Emmy award.

But if I when I recount this list to our son, now aged 5 11/12, and ask him what he liked doing the most, his response was, “When we had lunch at McDonald’s.”

So now I know. Next summer, all I need to do is take him to McDonald’s; that will make my life so much easier. This, I realize, is a by-product of never taking him there. When we do go, the experience supersedes anything else, no matter how exciting.

We returned to school today, though, so MarathonMum will be resuming her regular posting schedule. Those with eagle eyes will have already noticed that most of my posts previously had been done between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. GMT. This golden time is naptime, but during the summer, precious naptime time was taken up by Son No. 1, so there wasn’t much I could do. Plus, I was busy doing all of the above.

I’m sorry to all of my fans who were disappointed with the paucity of posts for the past six weeks, but sometimes, you have to go out and live your life, not just write about it.