out the door
by 8:15,
going to meet auntie
anya for our
now weekly
walk run
huh?
a run?
yeah.
i can blame dave d.
from new balance.
he read one of my
previous posts about
my hatred of working
out and convinced me
that i should
think about doing
a little running,
but that couldn’t run
in my chucks.
to sweeten the deal,
he let me choose a pair
of shoes
from the web site.
he also let madeline
choose a pair of shoes
(the oscar the grouch ones).
and just for
good measure, he sent
madeline an extra pair
of shoes.
way too kind.
we met at the rose bowl,
and started walking.
awesome auntie deb pushed
madeline in her stroller.
it’s been quite
awhile since i last
ran more than
10 feet for something
other than a crying baby,
so we had to start slowly.
made it all the way
around the rose bowl,
running 3-4 mins,
walking 1.
before we started,
thought i was going to
have a heart attack.
when i reached the car
i realized that
i felt pretty damn good.
liz
would be so proud.
will be doing
this more often,
especially ’cause auntie angels fan
has convinced me to run
a 10k at the end of august.
after the run,
went with awesome auntie deb
and madeline to have
a little breakfast in
the atwater village.
later we stopped
at the bank to
pick up another
pile of packages
(i’ll write more next week about all the packages i’ve received in the past few months).
we spent most of
the early afternoon
resting on the couch,
watching madeline try to
eat her fingers while smiling.
got off
the couch and headed
out to buy madeline
a new car seat
and a light-weight
stroller for our
upcoming trips.
talked to the
insurance company
during our shopping trip.
they’ll be sending me
a check to reimburse
me for the cost of
the car seat.
awesome.
made it home,
met up with elizabeth.
she spent the early evening
holding madeline as i
learned about the
new car seat
and assembled the stroller.
awesome auntie deb was
kind enough to
hang out with madeline.
so i could
go with gentle ben
to the hollywood
for the hold steady show.
used to drag
liz
to all sorts of shows
she didn’t really want to see.
she was always so gracious,
even as she got
crushed by a bunch
folks way taller
than she was.
as she used to say,
“i just love staring at some guy’s back the entire show”
i went to one
(and only one)
show that
liz
actually wanted to see
it sucked,
but she was thrilled.
i haven’t been to a
show since i saw
bss last october.
liz
was supposed to join
me, but was dealing with
the morning sickness that
had become an all-day
sickness during the middle
portion of her pregnancy.
i told her i’d skip the show,
stay home with her.
she insisted that i go.
so i did.
sat there by myself,
unable to fully enjoy it, cause
liz
wasn’t there with me.
i wish i had stayed
home with her
that night.
**back to reality**
headed toward the avalon
had to pay $20 to park
(tickets to the show were $20).
damn.
got inside as the opener
finished up.
talked to a guy
who admired my 2pac shoes.
he wanted to fight
everyone who disrespected
‘pac by stepping
on my kicks
(and a lot of people stepped on them).
the show was really rad,
but the guy who wanted
to fight people
wouldn’t have known that.
between threats
over my shoes, he
made out with his girlfriend
almost the entire show.
and some guy sitting in
the vip section behind
us fell asleep.
(seriously, the show was good).
liz
actually liked the hold steady.
wish she could have
joined me tonight.
got out of there
and made it home
around midnight.
madeline fast asleep,
i talked to awesome auntie deb.
decided that we
should try to get some
rest, ’cause we had to
be out of the house
to get her
to the airport by 6:00am.
a much better
day than yesterday.
tomorrow will
be a long day.
57 Comments
you are an amazing dad, matt! i cant wait for pictures of the little one!
Awesome shoes!!!
the shoes are freaking adorable (Madeline’s I mean – yours are nice too though!)
hugs from NJ,
erica and Landon
Nice shoes! Yay (I’ve been saying that a lot to my baby) on the work-out.
Wow! Nice lil shoes for Maddy! Can’t wait to see pics of her wearing them!
Hope you had fun at the show! take care and keep enjoying Maddy’s smiles! xo
Do they make those Oscar ones in adult sizes?
Running bites when you first start – but feels damn good when you stop. Good luck on the 10K. Did my lard-arse attempt at one in May – I finished and wasn’t DFL.
I read this everyday and have never posted a comment but just wanted to say thanks for letting us in your lives. I could say you’re doing a great job but thats f-ing not enough. Keep the updates coming.
Btw…*Love* the cuss-o-meter you added to the blog. Though I’m surprised–only 31.6%?? Wtf?!? =D
Glad to see you’ve taken a few days’ break from the blog et al. You deserve it….
Hope you’ve had a nice/okay/not-totally-sucky few days since Wednesday.
Reads like an eventful day Matt. Glad you enjoyed the concert, and some ‘me’, or ‘you’, time.
I’d have gone to the Jessica Simpson concert, I might have took ear-muffs, but I’d have gone.
I’m going to one of the big UK festivals myself in a fortnight without child, you need stuff like that in your life.
Glad you had a better day!
Maddy’s shoes are too cute! Can’t wait to see pictures of her wearing them!
Oh my God! Those little shoes are too cute! I especially like the pink ones… I like Oscar, but I’m partial to the cookie monster myself! Hope your trip is going well! Have fun!
Jessica Simpson, now that IS true love!
Love all the shoes :]
Cant wait to see madeline in hers :]
Glad you had a good day :]
I laughed out loud when I scrolled down to the Jessica Simpson ticket. Not that I think she totally sucks or anything, but I don’t see her popping up on your “most recently played” music anytime soon
Love the fact that your running…stick with it and you’ll be amazed at how good you feel!
I’ve tried a lot of different running shoes, but I always come back to NB. Glad you enjoyed the show.
babies look sooo freakin cute in real sneakers.
keep on running! i wish i had enough willpower to do it everyday.
yeah, sweet shoes.
Love New Balance.
I’m going to have to buy
the li’l pink ones
for my girl.
Peace and blessings!
My hub would love your 2pac shoes!! Those are great!! So many facets to you! Love the Oscar the Grouch shoes. I am going to live vicariously through you with this running thing. Ugh! That is one thing that I really hate doing. The only thing that I do with “k”’s are spell with them – and I don’t even do that very well . . . Have a great weekend!
I, too, am asking, “Ummm…where the hell did Matt go?” As in, where the hell did Matt, our pork-eating, video-game playing, NON-EXERCISING stranger friend go? You’re RUNNING?! Running, for Chrissake! Is nothing sacred? Is nothing holy?! Yeah yeah, health schmealth.
Just kiddin’ dude; I run too. I just never thought I’d hear it from you! I am SO PROUD of you…can’t wait to hear about the 10K. Can’t believe you’re trying one so fast…there’s no way I could do that! I’m training all summer just for a friggin’ 5k, for God’s sake!
But I’m a bit of a pansy.
The shoes are awesome.
To lazy to find my url at the moment. Anywho, are you doing the Disneyland marathon???
Enjoy your vaca, don’t worry about us creeps.
I highly suggest the couch to the 5k plan for marathon training. I posted it once, but you can google it easily to find I’m sure.
Cheers
Fuck the asshats
Go Pork!
w00t
Hi Matt, long time reader, second time poster. I ran my first 10K on April 26th at Minnehaha Park. A beautiful spring day, you ask? No, it was freezing snow/sleet. Gotta love Minnesota!! Even though I had to walk a lot more than I wanted to (because the cold burned my lungs so bad!!) I was teary at the finish line when the announced my name, really an emotional moment. Good Luck, and have fun!!
Also, you can thank your friend at New Balance because we most certainly will be buying our son the Elmo shoes, he’s 19 months, and Elmo is the coolest to him.
Even though I don’t post often, I read daily and keep you and Madeline in my thoughs.
Hey Matt,
You should really take Madeline and try a Baby Boot Camp class. The stroller fitness class is for YOU, not the baby.
You can get a great workout, meet other parents, and all while having your little one with you. It is tons of fun.
A fun day! Love the shoes.
Loving the shoes! And I am with Katy – 10K?? Thats FAR isnt it? lol.
I am such a potato. Hoping you are having a great time. You totally deserve it.
I’m another one of your loyal readers. I’m not normally one to comment on blogs, but I just felt compelled to write because I started running a few months ago and recently finished an 8K. Good luck, once you get in the habit, it’s a great stress-reliever!
I’m proud you have been running. I myself have been biking. Togther on a different coast we can do this! Pushing it a little further each day!
Good for you, Matt! I need some motivation to get started with a fitness routine.
It just occured to me that announcing
you’re attempting a10k in August (to 500+ people) is very brave.
All the e-mails you’ll receive will certainly keep you motivated
I just ran my first half marathon last weekend. I’m still always amazed at how good I feel after a run. I think it will be a great thing for you. I’m fairly new at it myself, but I’ve really enjoyed it so far.
Hi Matt-
I was at a little league tournament in the Minnetonka today and saw a boy on the other team with “Logelin” on his back. I almost went up and asked if he was your nephew but didn’t want them to think I was a stalker or anything. Since you are from that area, I thought he might be related. First time I’ve sent a note but read about you and the adorable Madeline everyday. Hope your day is going okay today.
Laurie
Madeline has done more in her 4 months than I’ve done in my 45 years!! You are an amazing dad with a wonderful support system. You and your little girl are very lucky.
As a teacher, I have to ask…Do you read to Madeline? She would love it and will probably be reading to you by the time she’s 3!!
Perhaps you will inspire your devoted readers to get fit- your sorta like the Oprah of the blog world.
I guess I *do* think Jessica Simpson actually sucks.
to each her own.. the varying tastes of the world make it go around…or at least keeps us interested while she spins.
I pulled my New Balances out of a box in the basement this morning.
Took Benjamin to a park… monkey bars – try pull-ups. She can’t play at the park yet but she could watch you play and learn the moves.
Liz would be proud and Madeline will be too – keep it up!
Seeing that Jessica Simpson ticket stub made me smile. That was my first real concert that I had ever been too. I still have the ticket stub too, it’s hidden in the back of one of my scrapbooks so that I don’t have to remember what a big fan of hers I was!
Glad to know that someone else liked her in 2004 besides me!
I knew it, I knew it, I knew it. I told you weeks back it sounds like you were a runner in the making!! Too funny!! That is awesome though. I too am getting back into running, trying to burn off some of this left over weight from my pregnancy!! So great. Even though I suck at it, I feel so good doing it!! I really enjoy it! Keep up the good work!! Hope you are having a great time where ever you are!!
i was just talking to katy about how to start running. holding down the couch has always been my exercise of choice.
guess i just need to start it slow. as long as we can run and still our pork products…
I hope you are having a great weekend!
(((hugs)))
Big kudos to Dave D. on the shoe front. And big kudos to you for agreeing on the 10k.
Is a marathon still on the table? I’d like to know. I think I may be of some assistance.
Matt, been reading your blog for a couple weeks now and I can only say, how unbelievable! All of it…
Keep up with the running! My husband and I lost a pregnancy in March when I was 5 months pregnant (2 weeks before you lost Liz), and running was what kept me going. Clears the mind and takes the pain off the heart and puts into every other muscle in your body
Keep on trucking! You’re in my thoughts and prayers.
I ran the same 10K as Melissa H in MN. I really hope it’s better running weather for your first 10K! Seriously though, starting with a 10K is huge! (You know that’s 6 miles, right? Ha ha.) There are no 5Ks to get you going?
You’re awesome.
Good for you! It will suck at first but as you do it become easier over time. NB those are some cool shoes for Madeline!
Matt-
You’re a Dodgers fan, right? Enjoy Manny! (Well, enjoy him until his head starts spinning around, anyway.)
Oooh, Baby Running Shoes – too cute! I’m glad you and your ‘Pac shoes had fun at the show.
Matt- I love the new shoes. As a customer of new balance shoes I would have to say they are the most comfortable walking/running shoe I have ever bought. I work in a assisted living building (in the nursing dept.) and I am on my feet all day and they stand up to the test. They are the #1 shoes we all wear @ work. Have a great time and enjoy Maddy, they grow up way to fast
LeAnn from the MN
Okay, how awesome is Dave at New Balance. Let’s all support him by buying some running shoes! (New Balance, of course) Madeline will look great in hers. I’m praying for you both every day. Hope your Sunday is great.
OK so I think Matt has been on the East Coast for a few days??? The backdrop of some recent photos look like that NYC skyline??? Maybe he’s been in touch with a magazine about doing a permanent gig!!! Hope so!
I’m sure Liz viewed you going to one Jessica Simpson equal to her going to a million of your concerts. Just wait until Madeline takes you to her favorite concerts
Aww…seeing the Jessica Simpson stub made me smile – I saw that concert at the Marcus Amptheater in Milwaukee a month earlier, and had front row. I joined the fan club just to get good seats! It’s nice to know that Liz appreciated ‘awesome’ music too! Thanks for sharing yourself, Liz and Madeline with us – reading your blog is always a warm part of my day.
Hugs,
Alisa
I couldn’t work those ones you got, but I could absolutely rock a pair of those grouch ones!…I bloody want some of those…
I want a pair of pink New Balance shoes. So cute!
You know you love someone when you are willing to go to a Jessica concert!!
I took up running after my husband died, and it has been AWESOME. Did my first (measly) 5K in April, and I’m hooked.
J loved the Hold Steady too. Glad you had fun.
Parking in the Hollywood has become outrageous. About two years ago, I paid $10. The last concert I went to was an astounding $25. The Troub still has $8 parking though.
Matt! Glad to hear you are trying running. I am running that 10K on August 31st too. It’s amazing how out of shape one gets after having a baby. (even if you aren’t the one whose body was prego). Congrats on running the 10K, you will do great. Just remember, speed doesn’t count, just put on foot in front of the other and breathe.
Matt-I have been reading your blog since your first appearance on Storked!. I hope you and Madeline are both doing well and that you continue to allow us to be a part of your journey. Good luck with the whole running thing-I recently started running again and it has made a world of a difference!
god i love the hold steady. i know later albums don’t do it as much but i love how they name-check the mn and make it sound as full of stories as it actually is.
Holy shit, you went to see a Jessica Simpson concert for Liz? Now I truly understand how much you loved her.
God keep blessing you and little Madeline. You do such a great job raising her and talking about her mom in such a tender way.
REnata (from Brazil)
Great pics of Maddy…picture #4 looks exactly like
Liz to me. I have never had the pleasure of meeting Liz in real life, but you have captured her beauty in photos and through your words…and that picture really glows with Liz’ beauty.