So far, with this running nonsense I’ve been doing, I’ve completed my long runs without much pain to follow. However, there was some brilliant side of me that thought ending a 10-run with a huge downhill stretch would be AWESOME. That part did not consider the fact that I’d have to run a huge uphill right before - and where that uphill stretch might have been fine around mile 1 or 2? Not so much around mile 8 or 9. I hurt like hell today. LIKE HELL.

There have been many times in my life I’ve realized I’m no genius. There was the time I exclaimed, “New Orleans is a big state!” for one thing. That one will always serve as a reminder.

Another time happened recently when my mother-in-law offered to take us all to Disney on Ice. Of course, I wanted to see Disney on Ice and told her we’d definitely love to go. I’ve seen Sesame Street on ice (a million years ago) but never Disney and I was very excited. The not-so-smart element was me thinking NikkiZ would tolerate the event for more than five minutes.

Yesterday was the big event and I was very excited. NikkiZ however? Not so much. She liked the first ten minutes as she just stared at the rink like, “What in the HELL is going on down there?” She was also happy eating a giant pretzel. After about 2 acts? She was doing what I call the “Nurnee Lean” which means she wants boobs and she wants them NOW. I did add Disney On Ice to my list of Awkward Places I’ve Nursed My Child, but that only satisfied her for about 10 minutes.

We spent the next hour circling the arena with all of the other parents of bored children. It was a nice little community in the trenches by the souvenir stands and hot dog vendors. I felt like we were a type of support group of Parents of Restless Kids Not Yet Mesmerized By Disney. Eventually, NikkiZ really wanted to crawl around so I took her outside to avoid having her permanently stuck to the coke and popcorn residue on the arena floor. That is where I learned that my purse is much more fun than I realized - and we had a good time playing in the grass until MrZ came out to get us home before the exodus began.

Next time though, next time I’m either taking a child who will be entertained by the ice-skating Mulan, or I’m going without her. And I’m buying myself a snow cone.