The Rowe Family Blog

Happy belated birthday to Cassie Ellen Rowe! Cassie was born yesterday, 5/28/2007 at 11:32 am.

Mary had been at the hospital since Friday and Cassie finally arrived Monday morning. The doctors tried to induce Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning. Monday morning Cassie wasn’t handling the contractions very well so they decided to pull her out via c-section.

Cassie was 6 pounds and 5 ounces and 20 inches long (1 foot 8!). She’s doing very well and so is her Mom.

Tuesday was a great night for a run.  It was warm but not hot.  There was sun which makes running harder but being outside more enjoyable.  There was wind but it was mostly from the north and not too strong.   I set out at about 5:30 with my fuel belt loaded with 6 oz of powerade, 6 oz of water and 2 “razz” Clif Shots (raspberry flavored).

The run was pretty good.  I felt good and it was great to be outside.  Not much of interest happened during the more than two hours that I was out.  I came across a couple of runners.  A bus driver waved to me.  A kid in the back of a car gave me a thumbs up.  There were no PRKs and few visible road kills on this journey.  The road kill by the butcher is still there.  I expected a butcher to dispose of the carcass but it there it remains a sign telling people to stay away.  Read the rest of this entry »

Last week…and I can’t remember what day anymore but I think it was Tuesday…I ran a short long run.  A what?!  I ran 10.1 miles instead of 13.  I ran the 3 mile loop, the Rowe Quarter, and a .6 mile loop near my fan club’s headquarters.  It was hot so I took a ton of powerade but I forgot to bring water.  It was warm outside so the water would have been nice to pour on myself but I forgot it.

Along the way I had two girls do very obvious head turns.  One pretty much stuck her head out of her window.  She said something to me but I have no idea what it was.  I often come across other runners.  This time I came across one where I don’t usually — along route 33.  I think he was walking but started running when he saw that another runner was coming.  He waved.  I don’t like runners that don’t wave.

I also came along at least two phantom road kills.  A phantom road kill or PRK is a dead animal that you know is there but you can’t see.

This time I finally allowed myself to run an easy pace and not worry about speed.  I ran the 10.1 miles in a little more than 1:35.  That’s about a 9:30 pace.

On Friday I ran some distance at some pace.  I ran to the gym, did a workout, ran most of the way home, and then ran the 3 mile loop.  I really don’t know what the distance was.  It was probably less than 4 miles.  I don’t know how long it took because I intentionally didn’t turn on my stop watch.

Tonight I’m hoping to run the Rowe Half.  It’s overcast right now which could make for a comfy run.  This will be my last long run before the Corporate Challenge.  I will be starting a new marathon training plan in the next 2 weeks or less.

Today I made my 2nd visit to the hospital. Yup…that’s right! This time I didn’t get an exciting ride in the ambulance though. I think that is a much better sign. Yesterday and today I have felt a little dizzy, floaty, and just not quite right. The doctor listened to the baby and the heart rate was inconsistent between 115 and 120. My blood pressure and everything else were great. She was a little concerned with the low heart rate on the Little One and with my “episodes” so she decided to send me over to the triage at the hospital for monitoring.

As usual, the baby and I performed just fine at the hospital. We were monitored for about an hour. The Little One’s heart rate stayed consistently between 115 and 120 and my blood pressure was great! I felt absolutely fine while at the hospital. So…you guessed it! They sent me home. My chauffeur, Greg’s Mom, took me home.

Now that I am home, I don’t feel quite right again. The doctor said to call if I feel dizzy while laying down or if I pass out. Other than that, I’ll see her on Monday next week. I am dilated 1cm and she said my cervix is long. She’d like to induce me due to my “episodes”, but is afraid it wouldn’t work due to the length of the cervix. She also said she’d like to see me go naturally, but won’t let me go 41 or 42 weeks due to my “episodes” as long as my body is able to tolerate it. (I really find it kind of entertaining that she is calling them “episodes”, in case you couldn’t tell.) So as of now…the doctor said it could be anytime…basically in the next 2 weeks.

So, I’m taking it easy this week. Today I spent most of the day on the couch or at the hospital. Perhaps tomorrow I will pull out the scrapbook and see if I can do our Hawaii trip. As long as I’m taking it easy the doctor is pleased. Perhaps a movie or two as well. We’ll see. I don’t sit still too well, but my scrapbook and M&M puzzle will definitely keep me occupied this week.

This past Tuesday I ran the Rowe Half again.  It’s mostly a 13 mile journey through road kill.  Sometimes there are more interesting things to see such as Spiderman.  You can’t count on seeing Spiderman though (…look over there! Where?  There goes the Spiderman!).  I’m also not completely certain that I wasn’t hallucinating the time that I did see Spiderman.  The highlight of the roadkill this week was an opossum.  Yeah, I’ve seen those many times before but not at the end of the butcher’s driveway.  Consider yourself warned. Read the rest of this entry »

A short time ago I ordered some cabling and related items from Markertek.   I was happy with ordering from Markertek for a few reasons.

• The items, although out of stock, arrived quickly.
• The shipping charges were LESS than what was estimated at the time of order
• They had a “customer care” survey that they take seriously.  I emailed my answers to their survey which included some suggestions for improving their website.  They replied to my email and also said that they had passed my suggestions on to their webmaster.

I was spammed again with a stupid automatic opt-in system.  In this case I signed up to receive a “free” mp3 from the band Machine Head through Roadrunner Records.  I got the mp3 but I also got an unwanted email “newsletter” today.  Why annoy potential customers like that?

Well, I had my 37 week appointment this morning at the doctor’s office. All is going well. The baby’s heart rate is around the 140′s and my blood pressure and pulse were very good. I did lose 2-3 pounds since my last appointment but they aren’t concerned since I don’t have as much room to eat anymore.

The good news is that the dilation has begun! I’m between 1 and 2 cm dilated. Now, I could be at this measurement for quite a long time or the birth of the Little One could happen any day. There is no way of knowing how long it will be at this point. It’s nice to see some progress though.

I got an email yesterday from Creative Labs.  It was an email asking people to opt-in to their mailing list.  Why can’t more companies do this?

The email was a little bit odd.  They sent it both as plain text and as html.  The HTML version stated only that it was an attempt to get people to opt-in.  The text version actually said that they got my email address from a rebate submission.

I received an email this weekend from Rust Consulting stating the dates that the “codes” for discounts on Epson products will be active.  They completely botched my submission into this class action suit.  I wrote a letter back to them that was not mean or rude but very critical of their handling of the situation.  They incorrectly rejected both of the printers I owned that were eligible.  Now I think they are taunting me.  It’s just another sign of the poor handling of this settlement.  They sent information to me after they indicated that I couldn’t participate.

I’ve noticed that this company handles many large settlements.  Maybe they normally handle things well but that’s not been my experience.