There... see how good you can feel when you prise yourself out of bed when the clock still has a 5 on it, stagger into your bike gear, force feed yourself some cereal, click your shoes into the pedals on your road tandem, and share 45 km riding with your dearly beloved.

Average speed 26.1 kph, highest speed 69 kph. (Yee haaaa). Included the 3km climb, and my few small solo bike rides helped I think. Marc said he could feel the 'afterburners' a couple of times, so that made me feel alright.

The only thing I didn't like was that the highway was busier on a weekday morning compared to the Sunday that we previously did. (Busier = frigging scary at times..) I think we might stick to weekend rides down the highway in future. The only other choice would be to go heaps earlier, and I don't think I could cope with that. Plus when daylight saving starts in a few weeks, it'll be dark!

Reckon I'd feel even better if I'd been able to get to sleep quicker last night. But hopefully it will kick my diurnal cycle back into a more sensible range... ie. earlier to bed than usual tonight.

Zoe was just getting up when we got back. The other two were still in bed, and Caitlin is still there. Her goal these holidays is (apparently) not to get up before 10.30 if she can help it. Good to know we are raising such a sloth.

I will have to come up with something for dinner.. and perhaps get to the shops for weekend meals. Yesterday I got lazy and didn't get to the shops. (Went to visit a friend with a newborn bub instead.)

Every now and then I like to challenge myself by producing a meal with what I have in the fridge, freezer and cupboard. Not everybody appreciates what ends up on the table, but I take a secret pride in being able to feed us thus. So last night, it came down to figuring out something to do with a tin of salmon. Tinned fish isn't Marc's favourite thing (so I avoid using it most of the time).. and Caitlin flatly refuses to eat fish. Whatever. I made salmon, kumara and capsicum fritters... grating orange and white kumara (and onion), and mixing it all together with egg, and frying them. I thought they turned out quite fine.

Caitlin decided to get her own dinner, and ended up making herself a cup of soup and toast. Not good. She got an earful about that not being appropriate (a cup of chemicals and bread and butter.... not good.) On top of all the other issues with her at the moment, I feel like Marc and I need to sit down and work out a plan of attack on how to deal with her.

It's all a reflection on the undisciplined approach I have to life in general. Outside the house we sort of carry it off (and our kids are well behaved, high performers) But at home it's a bit chaotic. I should be more on top of the everyday jobs they should be doing... but it's a bit hard when I'm a bit of a slacko myself. How can I expect them to make their beds when I don't always make ours!

We could probably all benefit from some self discipline... the challenge I have issued myself is to do so without turning the house into a pseudo school. While I know they work for others, I have resisted, so far, the sticker chart concept (and also tying pocket money to chores).

I am working on some sort of reward system tied to computer use time... still in the 'idea' stage, swishing around in the back of my brain... Maybe today .. with those exercise endorphins swishing around ... is the day...

Labels: bike riding, HLEEs, parenting