Basketball

For anyone who graduated from an Indiana high school prior to 1998, basketball means something different than those who came after.  Prior to that year, the state high school tournament was for all schools to participate in one tournament with one winner.  There were no classes and the story of "Hoosiers" was alive and well.  You played hard because you dreamed of being the next Milan high school, who beat a much larger school to win the tournament.  You played hard because it meant that you would advance in the state tournament, that you would have the prestige of winning a game in the state tournament.
I grew up in the era of a boom in college basketball and girls basketball in the state.  I saw Bobby Knight win NCAA titles and battle Gene Keady's Boilermakers.  I saw Stephanie White change people's minds about females in basketball as she wowed crowds while playing for one of the smallest schools around.  I saw Purdue women's basketball thrive and grown into a national powerhouse.  AAU basketball came into its own during my formative years as well.
In my little world, I didn't particularly care for sitting in front of cheerleaders at a game, so I moved over behind the bench when my dad would take me to varsity boys games.  I became a default water girl from about 4th grade until 7th grade while I played in the school leagues. As I moved into 8th grade, I was recovering from being cut in 7th grade (when I attended Greencastle Middle School) but I made the South Putnam 8th grade team.  I also was in band and played at the boys varsity games my 8th and 9th grade year.  After a forgettable year of playing JV as a Freshman, I was a varsity starter my 10th grade year and joined the boys basketball stat team, which continued until I graduated form high school.   I also coached my sister's 8th grade team and volunteered as an elementary coach.
I spent most of my free time shooting and playing pick-up games with my sister and anyone else who would join us.  Many nights were spent sneaking into gyms with my dad and my friends' dads to play pick up games.
As I entered college, I played one year of Division Three basketball at Centre College and then transferred to Purdue, where I spent a year just being a fan of my sister, who was still in high school.  After she passed away, I volunteered as a coach at West Lafayette High School and joined the Purdue statistics and athletic public relations team.  I continued to coach for three years at WLHS, then joined the staff at Eastern Hancoack for a year.  I ended up at Scecina as a coach for 6 years and most recently volunteered with my old team, South Putnam, when I moved back home and volunteered when my old head coach, Bill Merkel, took the head coaching position for one year.  To say that basketball is in my blood and I am an expert in the game is beyond fair.  The only thing I haven't done with this game is to be a head varsity coach.
The circle would have been complete if the timing of family needs were better.  I knew all year that Bill would only be coaching for one year, but I also knew that we were still going to have another child and that coaching and raising young children is beyond difficult.  I know that there is a season to everything... and I just need to be patient and wait to see if my season to finally become a head coach will arrive.  In the meantime, I know that I will serve as a resource for the local team and work on coaching my children to not only excel at sports, but at being a Christian and learning about all sorts of things.  I have given a lot of my life to basketball, but giving my life to the family takes precedence now.

The last jog with a dog

Yesterday I was running down the country road much like I always do, but with a quicker step.  I had my running partner of the past 6 years with me and the weather was great.  I contemplated running to Belle Union, but decided that I better just stay on the regular route and see how far we could get.  With every car that passed us, my heart skipped a beat, wondering if it was the car that we were waiting on.  I wanted to just run with my buddy forever and get lost in the moment of runner's high, spring in the air, and my best buddy on the leash with me.  We were both in our element as a Volvo approached and then slowed.  There were three occupants in the vehicle, one of whom I recognized as Beth, someone who I worked with when I volunteered with the doodle rescue and who had counseled me as I worked with dogs over the past 7 years.  My moment with my dog dissolved into reality.  All three of them were smiling, and I did my best to smile back.  The drove on to our house, and I had about a quarter of a mile left to decide if I wanted to go through with this.  In my heart I knew that I had already made the decision and this would be the last moment of solitude I would have with my dog, Bodzin.
I never had a dog of my own growing up, mainly because of my allergies.  When I heard about doodles, I was excited about the possibility of having a furry friend that didn't make me sneeze.  In 2007, I searched petfinder.com daily, looking for a standard poodle mix that needed a home.  I was probably trying to replace a child (that I didn't have at the time thank goodness) with the love of a dog, and I was also looking for someone to run with me.  Enter Bodzin, who I went to meet in Robinson, IL after kidnapping my Grandma Hurst and having her take a drive with me.  He looked like a bit of a project, as he was very shy and timid, but I knew when I looked in his eyes that he wanted me to be his master.  We haven't left each other's side since. Until yesterday.

It has been much harder to live without Bodzin and the patterns that he created in my day than I thought it would be.  I walked into the sunroom last night and reached down to pet... nothing.  I went to the spot where his food was this morning to fill a cup with... nothing.  I decided to do a different workout than running today because it was too much to think about running without him.  I keep looking over at the carpet, where he would always lay while I worked, and there isn't Bodzin looking at me, snoring, or chasing rabbits in his sleep.  I have known that this day would come for a while now, the first day without a dog..... but I didn't know how much of a hole would open in my heart.  I realize how much having Bodzin taught me that has made be better prepared to be a parent, including dealing with body fluids that others cringe at.  He taught me patience, to be active everyday no matter what, and he taught me that I could love unconditionally.  

In Putnam County, dogs are animals.  This means, for most people, they live outside and get a petting now and then and largely are there to serve as a deterrent for things unwanted... like people and critters.  My husband and I both grew up being taught this, but I opened up to letting dogs be more than just animals.  Now that I have moved back here, the home we purchased wasn't dog-friendly and the comfort level of Bodzin was very much lacking.  He needed to be somewhere he could lay on the furniture and be around the family and not get yelled at for tracking mud on carpet.  He needed to be around calm people who didn't travel for work all the time.  He needed a caring, approachable male and female in the house.  We didn't offer him the home he needed to thrive anymore, and those folks who pulled up in the Volvo offered him just that and more.  He will be the only child and have love in abundance now.  I will always have the memories of having a fantastic first experience as a dog owner, and I do believe that we each made each others lives better in the time that we were together.  I love Bodzin and I always will, and as the saying goes "If you love them, let them go."
In that last little bit of solitude with him
yesterday, I felt Bodzin tug at the leash, trying to get closer to the car that had pulled in the driveway.  I felt myself pulling back at first, then letting go and running with him.  It was almost as he knew a better life was right there in front of him... and I reluctantly admitted that I knew this too.  

DePauw University's Indoor Escape from Winter

Shot of the track while I was jogging

Walker found a "yellow ball"!

I have written about the wacky weather that has hit our area this winter and I have mentioned ways that I have stayed somewhat sane during this depressing onslaught of bitter cold and snow.  I now firmly believe that DePauw University's indoor track and tennis complex has saved our lives. 
Where else can you let your 17 month old run around for an hour, chasing balls while keeping an eye on him the entire time?  Where else can you get 3+ miles of running or walking in with/without a stroller without wearing ten layers of clothing?  Where else can you get this provided for FREE!!?
I know that the hours are limiting to some people, because unless you work on a flex schedule, 2nd or 3rd shift, or at home you would have to run around the athletes while they practice and stay out of their way.   It is still possible to get the freedom of open space in a warm environment though, no matter when you try to get your walk/run on. 
The amount of balls just laying around is also fantastic for children to go on treasure hunts for "white balls" (golf balls), "yellow balls" (soft balls), and "orange balls" (lacrosse practice balls). 
There is also a group of retired men who are there every morning playing a version of "horse" on the indoor putting green.  The other people who are there in the morning are usually also retired looking people.  As the day goes on, people come in on their lunch break and increase the average age of the walker/runners. 
Largely, from my experience this winter, this resource is untapped.  If there was ever a winter to utilize this huge free space, it would be this one.  Hoping that more people come to know about this place and take advantage of it. 

Colder Than A Mother-in-law's Kiss

Of course it would end up being the coldest winter in decades (maybe ever) during the first winter that we return home.  Welcome home, Leah.... I know how much you love to be cooped up indoors and how much you love the cold!  I seriously have never experienced as much snow and cold as the past month and a half has brought us.  Survival in this weather isn't questioned, thankfully, but maintaining your mental health in such an environment has presented a challenge that I want to report on.  Here is how I have survived the winter of 2014 thus far.

1. Workout DVD that I actually get sweaty and feel like someone kicked my butt.
2. Always running or walking the dog every day it is above 20 degrees.
3. Shoveling the sidewalk whenever I beat my husband to it.
4. Sitting in the sun whenever possible as it shines through the window.
5. Marathon-ing some suspense TV series on Netflix.
6. Running at the indoor track at Blackstock at Depauw University when I can't run outside.
7. Eating healthy and hydrating with tons of hot tea and water.
8. Getting out of the house at least once a day, even if it is just to go walk around Wal-Mart or Kroger.
9. Washing my hands a lot, and using sanitizer wipes when we do go to the store.
10. Going to church every Sunday, sometimes for two services.
11. Enjoying the time that I have been given with my toddler and husband.
12. Getting out of the house to meet friends for lunch to have a break from the toddler and husband.
13. Organizing the house, our budget, and planning for the spring.
14. Volunteering at the high school when I can as a basketball coach.
15. Not spending too much time on the internet.
16. Visiting with family.
17. Baking and then giving the baked stuff away to avoid the weight gain.

There isn't a mall to visit next door.   I don't have money to burn in Avon or Plainfield.  I haven't invested in snowshoes or X-country skis yet.  There isn't a fitness center that offers daycare here.  The children's museum is in Indy, but my son is not quite old enough to go there yet.  The library has storytime and MOPS meetings happen, but that interferes with my work schedule. 

This may not be as interesting as a place during a winter like this as it would be in Avon or Carmel, but we make due.  So far, so good!

The Side-View Mirror Incident

I sometimes go to Greencastle to run instead of jogging up and down the country road that we live on.  When I do this, I have a few usual places that I go: Big Walnut Sports Park, Depauw Nature Center, or the People Pathway.
Two days ago, I decided to run around Depauw's campus, because I figured that there wouldn't be any leftover ice/snow/perilous running surfaces.  To accomplish this, I parked on Seminary Street near 231 North, which is just on the edge of campus.  I parked a few spots in on the street and in a place where I figured that no residential car would back into me.  I put in my headphones and went for a run.
30 minutes later I run up to my van and notice that there is a mirror lying on the ground.  I bend over and quickly realize that it looks a lot like the side view mirror of my van.  Then I look up to see that my side view mirror is, indeed, not attached to my van anymore.  The housing of the mirror is still there, but is bent forward to be parallel with the side of the van.  I stand there, in the West bound land of Seminary Street, staring at my damaged vehicle.  I think I stood there for a couple minutes, trying to imagine how anyone could have hit my van when it was the only one parked on a pretty wide street in broad daylight.
My view was something like this:

I snapped out of my imagining session and tried to reattach the mirror.  I plugged in the parts that defrost the mirror and snapped it back in.  Then, as I was trying out the auto-adjust feature from inside the van, a woman pulled up in a van and said "I hit your mirror, let me pull over and get you my insurance info."
From what I gathered in the next 5 minutes, the lady had misjudged the distance between her van and mine as she was driving by and her mirror hit my mirror.  Her mirror broke off completely and was scattered on Seminary Street.  She continued on after hitting my van because I wasn't around and she needed to pick up her son at the library right down the street.  As she returned, she spotted me and waved me down.
Luckily, my van is pretty new and has breakaway side view mirrors, so I don't think there was any damage.  The mirror itself must be unbreakable as well.  
I have to wonder if this would have gone down this way were I parked in Indianapolis? Avon?
I would like to hope so, but know that there are a lot of people driving around with jacked up side view mirrors, so maybe not.
 Anyways, this reminded me of the fact that there are a LOT of honest people out there and I liketo think that Putnam County has quite a few of them.

Yet another smell I forgot about...

Someone came to the realization that you could use radish and turnip as a cover crop after you harvest corn or beans.  I don't know when this happened, but I don't remember this occurring when I was growing up in the Putnam Country area.  I only remember people planting winter wheat.
Today, many a field around here is filled with either radish or turnip or a combination of them.  They have many benefits to the soil, outlined in THIS article I found.  I have recently discovered one of the drawbacks of this method of bringing the nitrogen out of the soil: rotting root vegetables smell horrible.
The stench that these suckers produce as they freeze and thaw throughout the winter is astounding.  I had my windows rolled up and was driving down the road yesterday in the 38 degree weather and nearly threw up from the smell.  Think nasty cabbage fart meets the bottom of a trash can on a hot summer day... that is the smell that those fields produce.
The one benefit of this that I can see is that I run faster when I go on a run and have to jog by one of these nasty fields.  I know that there are environmental benefits as well.... but for now I am really hoping that the farmers around my home will stick to barley or rye as their cover crops.

Hunting

The past couple of months, I have seen my husband plot, plan, and prepare like nothing I have seen since he was finishing his mechanical engineering degree.  Every detail was planned out and every aspect of the event he was preparing for was covered.  In the end, he found success and all of that preparation paid off in the form of three deer's worth of meat in our freezer.
I am also a hunter, but not of anything that breathes.  I hunt deals.  Seriously, I am wired to patiently wait until I know that I have found the best deal for whatever it is that I am currently looking for.  I have been trained in this type of hunting from a young age by my mom, who is also a deal hunter.
Call it frugality, call it too much time on my hands, or call it some aspect of being female.... I love to hunt for a deal.
When I hunt from home, Craigslist is my best friend, as are other social networking sites where I can bargain with friends.  I also am a fan of overstock.com, 6pm.com, and amazon on a good day.  When I hunt outside, I love to go to thrift stores, Big Lots, antique malls, and yard/ garage sales.  The arrival of spring and summer usually mean the end of the cold and are welcomed as such by most people.  I can't wait for spring so that people will finally start posting "yard sale" signs and displaying their goodies for me to dig through.  
Locally, I like to hit up the Goodwill, the consignment shop on the North side of town, the flea market on the North side of town, and random hole in the walls that people have open in a barn on their property.
So..... my husband prepared to hunt and had success.  I have been trained in hunting by my mother and her friends and feel like the proof of my success is in the money that we save and still have nice stuff.  What do you like hunting? 

My Grandmother, who is not so much of a deal hunter as she is a creator of things that people like to buy..... posing with the third deer my husband got this season.