The comfort zone

In order to become good at something, one has to consistently push themself outside of their comfort zone. And for once, I'm not writing about running. But about a deep personal frustration with my domestic "abilities".

Despite being a mother of a 2 year old and a full time step mom of a 9 year old, I often think I can get away with acting like a 19 year-old. Somewhere between my teenage years and my current life as a 30 year old wife and a mom, I missed that whole growing up and taking responsibility phase. A little embarrassing for a soon-to-be MD, PhD, ultramarathoner to admit. But I have always been good at pushing myself in academics and fitness, since I perceived those as important. However, when it comes to cooking and cleaning, my life is in shambles. When I got to college and I had never done laundry, washed dishes or even learned to how use a wash cloth, all my friends thought it was funny, but they also assumed I'd learn. Well, let's just say, I learned to barely get by taking care of myself, but when I was thrown into this motherhood of two and wife to crazy-busy physician and full time physician myself, I was not prepared.

I started this blog, Sea Legs Girl, to show people (including myself) that they should not be afraid of becoming a new person or of leaving the security of old habits behind. Just because I have spent a lifetime being a horrendous and lazy cleaner and generally unsuccessful cook, doesn't mean I can't change!

This blog is principally still going to document my journey to becoming the fastest female ultra runner in the world, but is now also going to document from time to time my domestic battles. And maybe even a domestic PR from time to time.

First I would like to document what happened when I decided to take control of the hidden and not-so-hidden "dust" in the living room:



Next, I had an idea for organizing our bedroom. This in "the running shelf", which I bought used at a bazaar. It is dedicated to running clothing, so we don't have to be digging through all of our other clothing to find the important stuff. My goal is that this will all eventually be clothing of a technical fabric nature, but that may require winning lots of races or running many races with Olga, assuming she'll continue to pass the same amount of clothing on to me :).

Finally, Natali had a friend over for dinner last night and I asked her friend what she liked to eat and the first thing she said was "spaghetti". Sounds easy enough, right? Well, I had never even attempted it before. Just to be clear, on those rare occasions that I do cook, I generally prepare Asian food. And I NEVER prepare meat, with the one exception of fish. But then, I found myself wondering if I really should embarrass Natali and get even more of a reputation as the crazy step mom or if I should just learn to make the stupid spaghetti. So I made it. And it had meat in it. Just to be clear, had it just been The Lorax I was preparing for, I never would have made meat, but Natali is old enough to have developed eating habits long before she met me, so I try not to give her too hard of a time, preferring that she most of all be happy. Not only did I make the spaghetti, but I did something else that is completely contrary to my food preparation beliefs, which is peeling. Yes I peeled the carrots, since Natali won't eat them unpeeled. After months of her not eating my carrots because they weren't peeled, I finally gave in. (Just as an aside, I would always leave the peels on believing that all kids exposed to the small amounts of bacteria and dirt, etc. benefit from having less allergies and acid reflux as an adult, due to this slow and safe development of their immune-system).

Here are the carrot peels.


Here are the happy kids eating spaghetti and a mother behind the camera claiming her first domestic PR.