The Land of Entrapment

Race Report & Life Update

2011-01-10T19:44:00.005-07:00

On Sunday (one day late due to a Boy Scout Winter Camp Out), Daniel and I ran the Freeze Your Thorns Off Virtual 5K. I had no business "racing", but thought it might be a good start for two runners that haven't run once in three months. It was the first sunny day in Salt Lake in about a week due to the "inversion" (the Utah word for "smog"). Sunny, but 21 degrees when we left around 1pm. Since it was a 1st run back, my expectations were low and my fear of residual soreness was high. I guessed right! I ran the 3.1 miles in 37:57.42 (slow for me) and Daniel ran his in 34:25.01. It was good to get back out there and hopefully it'll provide some motivation to get back out there! ******************************************************************************************************************************** ******************************************************************************************************************************* ******************************************************************************************************************************* Otherwise, I've been singularly possessed since August with my PhD program. It has been the hardest thing I have ever attempted. I made it through the first semester with three As and an A-, some grey hair and a general lack of awareness that five months passed! Hopefully more posting and more running will happen in the new year!

Race Report Times Two!

2010-06-29T16:28:00.012-06:00

Since my last post, I've raced twice. On June 19, I ran the Steamworks Brewing Half Marathon and June 27, I ran the Cherry Garcia 10-K. I can enthusiastically report that I scored a PR at both races. I'm still in the turtle slow / run-walk category, but a PR is a PR. ************************************************************************************* Race #1 - Steamworks Half - 2:29:09 (11:38 Pace) - I really enjoyed this race last year and this year was no exception. Similar to my November Turkey Trot experience, I had a wee bit too much fun connecting with old friends the night before and my "just one beer and in bed by 10" turned into "just three beers and in bed by midnight." Henceforth, I felt a little like vomiting when I woke up at 6am the next morning and that feeling continued all day. BONUS! I was able to hang in there and was right on track to crush my sub-2:30 goal until I hit mile 11. I forgot that the last two miles are all hills and between being exhausted from pushing really hard, feeling sick to my stomach and tough-ass hills, I did shed a tear or two in mile 13. Thank God I didn't see my parents around then, I probably would have asked them to drive me to the finish line and screwed up my record. None of that mattered though when I realized I was still going to break 2:30. I crossed the finish line and then in a new and fun way to celebrate (remember last time I tripped over the finish line) I promptly threw up. That was a running first for me. At the finish line, a nice lady leisurely offered to remove my timing chip and in a demon possessed voice I said, "Lady, you better hurry." We made up later when she brought me a glass of water, I said sorry for the demonic possession and almost vomiting on her and all was well. The post-race party was great, they have fantastic microbrew beer. Despite my inability to eat anything, I did manage to put back a couple amber ales. Good race all-in-all. ************************************************************************************* Race #2 - Cherry Garcia 10-K 1:08:33 (11:05 Pace) - Since my husband and I are "Race Medal Whores," meaning we'll do just about anything to get a race medal, we quickly signed up for the first event of the "Chunky Challenge." There is some loose affiliation with Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, which is served after both races. If you complete this race and the Chunky Monkey 10-K, you get a special medal. Well, it's funny how a week can change your perspective. Up to this point, I hadn't run a 10-K below 70 minutes. I was really hoping to break that mark and did so pretty easily. The funny thing was that I was really down on myself during this race for being an 11-minute miler. Only 106 people ran the 10-K, which means it's lonely at the back. Since it was a two loop course and we shared the course with the 5-K folks, I just felt like I was getting continuously lapped. I also lived in complete fear of my worst running nightmare, being the last person to cross the finish line, since I didn't see many other people near the end. Last week I was pretty thrilled with my overall 11:38 pace and this week, I just couldn't help but focus on how much I hate being slow. So, I'm working on that. (Both the slowness and being overly critical of myself for the slowness.) I guess my favorites parts were a) the number of times people asked me why I was running for "Jerry Garcia" and b) the fact that I kept the winner of the race from lapping me three times. This guy appeared to be of Kenyan heritage and I picked him out as the winner long before we started. We ran two laps on a track to start and he naturally lapped me there. Then, on the two-loop course, he lapped me again. Then, as I was running into the finishing area, I noticed he was about to beat me to the gate and so I picked it up and made sure I got in there first. (Mind you, he had been finished with the race for over 30 minutes, but was coming back for more pizza or something...) ************************************************************************************* My goal for next month's 10-K is to increase my running and decrease my walking. I'd really like to run 100% of a 10-K sometime this year. My problem is that when I run, I run about an 8:30 pace. I am then so exhausted I need to walk. I really struggle to slow my legs own and will have to learn how to truly run a consistent 11:00 pace.

Here We Go - Weeks 6 - 11

2010-06-16T20:03:00.006-06:00

Well, I have arrived at race week. This coming Saturday Daniel and I will run the Steamworks Brewing Half Marathon. Training over the last few weeks has been primarily good. Highlights: 7-miler in Park City, Utah (see picture of part of the route below), solid 10-miler this past weekend where I was able to beat my goal race pace, 4-miler in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Lowlights: 8-miler on narrow road in Taos, New Mexico (mainly because there was no shoulder and I had to jump in the bushes to not get hit), 1-mile long hill on my 4-miler in Pagosa (BRUTAL – my dad does this hill almost daily and I don’t know how). Nolights: week 6 in which I logged a stunning 2 miles. All in all, my highlights out number my low lights and I’ve felt pretty good about my training. I LOVED this race and the afterparty last year, plus it’s our last visit to Durango before we move. It should be an awesome weekend and a great race. ************************************************************************************** So, my race goals are (in order): 1) Don’t trip at the finish line 2) Enjoy the scenery of my favorite place in the world 3) Don’t miss the start due to waiting in the port-a-john line and 4) Run the race in under 2:30. I think these are mostly doable (#3 does look a little shaky). I ran this race last year in 2:32 and ran my last half in 2:42 (although there was a 7 minute bathroom delay in there). I think sub-2:30 is possible, but I’ll report back post race! **************************************************************************************

Weeks 3, 4 and 5

2010-05-13T19:57:00.009-06:00

The amount of blogging I’ve done in the last three weeks has a direct correlation to the amount of running I’ve done. I suppose I could just say I’ve been too busy to do both, but that would be…well…a lie. Week 3 was pretty bad. I should have run three times for a total of ten miles. I ran once for a total of five miles. (I can blame at least one missed run on the fact that New Mexico has 50-60 mph winds, but even that’s a little wimpy.) Week 4 was also pretty ugly. I should have run three times for a total of 12 miles. I ran twice for a total of four miles. (That week my excuse was semi-legit. I had the worst shin pain on my first run of the week, so much so that I was barely able to walk home. I decided to take a day off and then shorten my next run just in case I was really hurt.) The x-training was even more abysmal. ************************************************************************************** I can proudly say that I went six for six in Week 5. I x-trained three days and then ran three days for a total of 12 miles. Last week’s runs were tough, but bearable and I feel pretty good about the progress I am making all things considered. It’s frustrating as hell that I quit running for three months, gained about ten pounds, lost the ability to run for any prolonged period of time and lost a ton of fitness. I guess there’s only one way to get it back! Our half marathon is less than six weeks away and only time will tell if I’m really ready to do that again. ************************************************************************************* We’re now less than three months away from our big move to Salt Lake City. I just moved up my last day at work to July 9, which hopefully means that watching the show “Wipeout” will be the most mentally challenging thing I do between July 9 and August 11, when “Math Camp” starts. (No, that’s not a TV show, it’s my life as a doctoral student.) One of my runs from Week 4 was during our trip to Ruidoso, NM as part of our farewell to New Mexico tour. I have lived in this state for four years and really haven’t seen much. I would think that Southern NM would be a desert wasteland (no offsense to my Phoenix friends), but Ruidoso is this beautiful mountain town and it was a really fun visit. (Despite our visit to a “western style chuckwagon dinner show”, which is another story entirely.) On the way home, we stopped by White Sands National Monument and a gigantic pistachio. Lucky for you, I’ve included a picture or two.

Week 2 - The Math Don't Work

2010-04-18T21:42:00.002-06:00

Week two down. Three training runs of 2, 3 and 4 miles. Two cross training days and two rest days (should have been one rest day, but Monday sucked). Honestly, the 2 mile and 3 mile runs made me seriously reconsider whether I wanted to run a half marathon in June. My legs felt dead. I did both runs at over an 11 minute pace, which is sort of a bummer. Then this morning I ran my four mile run and felt fantastic. Weather was perfect, legs felt strong. I ran my 4 miles in 42:50, a 10:43 pace. It's sort of odd to me that I run faster when I run longer. Obviously, I have many miles to go before this is a scientifically proven fact. Regardless, I'll take a good 4 miler over a good 2 miler any day. I bought some new running clothes this weekend, so maybe that made me faster. (P.S. I have to blog now since my alternative is watching a show called "Ninja Warriors" with my husband. So far, it appears to be American Gladiators in Japanese, but the losers fall into a pit of murky sewer water. I hope this is a channel we only get for a temporary trial...)

Training Week #1

2010-04-11T20:35:00.002-06:00

Well, week one of eleven is down. (Granted, I didn't really start the "training" officially until Wednesday...) To show for this week's efforts, I have three cross training sessions (elliptical x 2, random wii exercises x 1) and two runs (2 & 4 Miles). All that and the wii says I've gained weight. Good times. The wii also says, "It takes time for your hard work to pay off." I'll believe it when I see it Mr. Wii. After watching the last seven holes of the Masters today (Love you, Lefty), I went out for my "long run" of four miles. I feel like quotes are necessary since up until recently, four miles has been a "short run." Anyhow, it's my first run of longer than two miles since January, so it means more than nothing and it means I'm back out there doing something I really love / love to hate. I finished in 43:19, which was 41 seconds better than my goal. (10:55, 11:06, 10:44, 10:34) Overall, I am happy with today's run and week #1. Just like the Wii says, I'm sure my hard work will show results soon! (The wii also said my adjusted age was 52 today. I asked Daniel if that makes me a cougar since his wii age was 33.)

Is This a Good Idea?

2010-04-07T21:33:00.002-06:00

I've been posting less lately and my posts have been noticeably absent of one topic...running. Post my roly-poly adventure in the Rock n Roll Phoenix half, I basically stopped running. I could make loads of excuses, but it doesn't seem worth the effort. It was never really my intention to quit running, but without a motivating race I just didn't make the running happen. That changes today, I plan to register for the Steamworks Brewing Half Marathon in Durango, Colorado. The race is in less than 11 weeks. In the last 11 weeks I've run 6 miles. In order to get (semi) ready for the June 19th race, I'll need to run 134 miles in the same amount of time... I probably should have started preparing earlier, but here we are! So, to keep me accountable, I am going to start posting on here about my training again. So, tonight: 2 Miles in 21:57 (10:59 Pace). Run felt harder than a 2 mile run should feel for someone who ran hundreds of miles last year, never mind. Beautiful day, perfect conditions, took the dog for a walk to cool down. She was really happy.

Dorks Like Us

2010-03-16T13:51:00.007-06:00

I was quite the "little wife" this weekend. I made a nutritious and balanced meal on Sunday. (See Cheez-it Chicken and asparagus below, still enjoying the leftovers from that endeavour). I also made my first ever pie on Sunday, an apple pie. Since Christmas, I have been planning to attempt this feat of baking. You see, I don't eat pie. I generally think it's gross. That said, I married a man who hasn't met a pie he didn't like and I felt as though I was depriving him of his god-given right to pie. My mom tended to agree and I felt ambitious this weekend. So, below is my first attempt at pie: I was feeling pretty good about my accomplishments until my husband said, "Did you make the pie because of what day it is?" I racked my brain, but couldn't think of a related special occasion. He said, "Well, it's March 14... 3/14... I read about Pi (3.14) - day celebrations and pie eating contests." I have a naturally nerdy job and I really fight to stay out of the nerd holiday celebrations. Somehow, my sub-concious knows who I really am and the day I choose to bake my first pie, is Pi Day. So, here's to 3.14159 and the other kind of pie.

I'm In.

2010-03-04T12:20:00.002-07:00

A lot has happened in the last few weeks. My house went on the market, my house flooded, my house went off the market, my car broke down. In addition to those really stellar events, I got offered admission to the PhD program at the Univ. of Utah. First and foremost that means I got into grad school and will be leaving the Land of Entrapment within the next six months. Now, it's just waiting to see if I get in anywhere else and then evaluating the best fit for me. In two weeks, I'll head to Salt Lake for a visit. I've been to SLC twice before and what I remember most was how difficult it was to get a drink and how empty the restaurants were on Sundays. This time around, my focus will be elsewhere as I try to decide if Daniel and I can live in that city for five years... I think it's biggest draw is skiing, which is no draw at all to me. I lack the coordination necessary for downhill skiing and have accepted my short-comings in that area. I'll be interested to see how the visit goes. Most importantly, I am that much closer to going after a long held dream and that feels pretty damn good.

Traditions & a 40 Oz.

2010-02-10T21:18:00.004-07:00

Many families have traditions, perhaps your revolve around the holidays. In 2004, my North Carolina Tar Heels lost to Texas in the NCAA tournament. I had championship hopes for them that year and I was so disappointed when they lost in the sweet 16 that I went to the convenience store on the corner and bought my first 40 oz., a Mickey's 40 to be specific. Thankfully, Carolina won the NCAA tourney the next year and much was redeemed, but in that fateful March night of 2004 a tradition was born. ************************************************************************************* Tonight was the Carolina - Duke game. This is (in my opinion) the best sports rivalry. (For you nutty football fans, I will say it is in the top five for rivalries.) My husband and I commemorate each Duke game with a Mickey's 40...each. This season, since Carolina is unranked and may not make the NCAA tourney, heavy alcohol is really needed to watch the games. Tonight, they played really well for 35 minutes of basketball. (Oh crap, the game lasts 40 minutes.) So, not a success. Between the heavy booze and the constant yelling, the poor dog was scared to death. While I may not be able to be thankful for a NCAA championship (or berth) this year, I am very thankful for a husband that loves Carolina basketball like I do, a husband that will stand in line with miscreants to buy a 40 ounce and request a brown bag for each. Somehow, I picture us at 70 drinking our Mickey's and screaming at the TV. Not many people would be willing to do that and so I know I am really lucky.

The Longest Month

2010-02-05T12:31:00.005-07:00

I know that February is technically the shortest month of the year. This is a case where knowing and believing are two really different things. Last week I submitted my final application for graduate school. Based on my prior experience, I the first week of March is when I will either get rejection notifications or requests for interviews. That makes February the longest month, regardless of what the calendar says. Really well-intentioned people keep asking me where I am going back to school, so it's never far from my mind. In just over a month, I'll either find out where I will spend the next five years of my life or find out that this grand experiment of applying to grad school was just a fun (and expensive) diversion. I'd like to think I am assured of getting into at least one of the seven programs I applied to, but admissions rates for accounting PhD programs are around three percent. That's a crazy low number although better than my chances of winning the lottery. Five days in, 23 to go...

Undefined!

2010-01-25T22:46:00.004-07:00

As I've mentioned before, I am taking Linear Algebra to get ready for starting a doctoral program in the fall (fingers crossed, applications in). Despite being an accountant, higher level math doesn't come naturally and I feel like I will probably need a 16 year-old kid to tutor me in this class. My professor is a neat guy, who's clearly enthusiastic about the subject and that helps the time fly by. Today he said perhaps the funniest math quote I've ever heard and I thought I'd share it with you. Until today, I had always heard that dividing by zero provided an "undefined result," whatever that means. Today my math teacher really cleared things up for me. He said, "We know if we divide by zero, it makes God cry." That seems just as likely to me as this mythical "undefined" and I don't plan to divide by zero any time soon! I hope that's on the next test, I won't forget it anytime soon.

I Rocked & I Rolled: Part 2 (My Increasing Horror)

2010-01-24T17:52:00.002-07:00

While trying to be a "good sport" tonight, I offered to show my mom the picture of me laying on the ground at the finish line... Well, on my first visit to horriblepicturesofyou.com, I missed the video of my finish... Yes, there's a video of me triumphantly running to the finish, tripping, rolling on the ground and sort of screaming at a woman that tried to help me up... Awesome.

I Rocked & I Rolled...Literally

2010-01-22T12:53:00.006-07:00

The people who say you can cause something to occur through the power of your mind are kooks. But, after this weekend, Kooks=1 Erin=0. On Sunday, I ran the Rock & Roll Half-marathon in Phoenix. (Daniel ran the full marathon in 5:09, beating his previous time by more than 16 minutes. Good on him!) The event is by far the most massive race I have participated in. There were roughly 21,000 runners in my event and apparently, they all decided to attend the expo at the exact moment I picked up my race number. Thankfully, I got mini-bottles of olive oil and balsamic vinegar in my race bag, which totally compensated for my overwhelming fear of crowds. On race day, I watched Daniel start his race, went to line up for mine and then waited about 35 minutes after the "official race start" to actually get to the start line since there were thousands of people in front of me. By the time I started, I had already been on my feet for two hours, which did not bode well for my race. (I did get to wave at John McCain who was part of the start line festivities, so again, that totally made up for it.) ************************************************************************************* My goal time was around 2:25, which would have beat my previous half-marathon time by about 7 minutes. Through mile 6, I was pretty well on track and feeling good. Sadly, I stopped to use the restroom around this time and waited in line for 9 minutes, thereby totally screwing my chance of getting in by 2:25. I tried to convince myself that I could subtract "potty time" from my race time and still count it as a PR, but I quickly decided that would be cheating and then became alternately pissed and depressed for the next couple miles and sort of gave up. (Despite being thirty, I still occasionally throw fits a la a three year-old.) I finished the race at 2:42:35 and decided that at a minimum I was going to get my first good finish-line photo. I generally make horrific faces while I run (not on purpose, I can't help it) and the photographers always seem to catch me in truly hideous form. This time, I was going to put on my best face for the guy at the finish line... ************************************************************************************* Now back to the kooks... While at the expo, I kept telling Daniel that I didn't want to run since I knew that I would trip and fall because of the throngs of people in the half-marathon. I am both clumsy and afraid of being touched by strangers... I couldn't let it go and was convinced that I would get elbowed and thrown to the ground on the race course as other runners passed me. Actually, I was pleasantly surprised on race day to find we were pretty well spaced out and that there was little risk of tripping. Well, as I ran towards the camera at the finish-line, projecting my best "I am woman, here me roar" face towards the camera, I failed to notice the slightly raised finish line. I completely ate it, fell to the ground and had to be helped by another runner crossing the finish line. Yes, I'm that person and I have a picture to commemorate it. ************************************************************************************* Honestly, it was a fun race. I don't know that it will be an annual thing for me, but seeing the bands and massive amounts of spectators was cool. At this point, I don't have a next race planned. This completely freaks me out since I need that motivation to keep running... I'm going to start checking my options as I keep chasing a 2:25 half-marathon. Next time, I'll go for a crappy picture rather than rolling across the finish line, thanks.

Hasta La Vista, Texas!

2010-01-20T21:49:00.011-07:00

Today marks my last Texas trip for work. It's likely I am jinxing myself by saying that, but technically, they have hired a replacement and that should mean my services are no longer necessary. It's also likely this will be my last trip since I will probably refuse to return. I started my Linear Algebra course this week and since that meets twice a week, traveling between offices is no longer feasible. ************************************************************************************* Since I started my traveling in June, I have spent 30 nights in Dallas. Over one month of my life this year was spent away from my home office, my husband and my dog. I know many people travel much more than that, but I am not built that way and am glad to be done. I've learned a few things along the way: ************************************************************************************* * 1. True torture is being close enough to a Chipotle to see it, but unable to partake. Damn the 114 highway and my lack of a rental car. ************************************************************************************* * 2. I don't really like my regular job. I enjoyed the last few months in this office under temporary assignment much more than I have enjoyed my real job in quite some time. Thankfully, grad school is almost upon me. ************************************************************************************* * 3. Women that don't wear makeup and/or highly stylize their hair are FREAKS in the state of Texas. I know that my minimalist approach to beauty was frightening to the other women in the office and I really got a kick out of their horror at my appearance some days. ************************************************************************************* * 4. Black swans are beautiful. The hotel I stayed at most has two black swans living next to their pool area... It's odd and I would visit the swans after each workout and converse with them via whistles... (Some nights were lonely, leave me alone.) ************************************************************************************* * 5. There are at least two Democrats in Texas. I met them both. ************************************************************************************* * 6. Preferred Guest Programs are the bomb when used well. As I type, I am enjoying a free glass of Chardonnay on behalf of the hotel. The free breakfast and chocolate dipped strawberries came earlier. ************************************************************************************* * 7. Texas drivers don’t have any qualms with running down pedestrians, it’s “walker beware” in the Big D. ************************************************************************************* * 8. Dallas Love Airport is awesome. It has a “backdoor” security area that most people don’t know about and you can carry open beers throughout the terminal. ************************************************************************************* * 9. I can pack a carry on suitcase in a way that will boggle most people's minds. While I am not quite a George Clooney's level in "Up in the Air," I am pretty close. Last week when I went through security, the TSA guy said, "Looks like you've done this a few times before." True praise! ************************************************************************************* * 10. The frequent flier miles were nice, the hotel perks and room service made life easier and I avoided my boss for over a month of this year, but none of the good stuff compares to how much I missed seeing Daniel and Riley each evening. I am ready to be home with them.

Haiti & My Nephew

2010-01-13T22:30:00.002-07:00

My thoughts are with the people of Haiti tonight. Even more, my thoughts are with my nephew, Josh. He is currently living in the Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispanola with Haiti. He lives 150 miles away from the quake epicenter. He is fine tonight and didn't experience damage from the quake, but I worry about what life in that area may look like over the coming months as the Haitian people find limited aid from their government. Already that area is racked by poverty and unrest. As people begin fleeing into the Dominican Republic, what does that mean for Josh's safety and security in his last nine months in that country? I suppose I just want to know that he will make it home safe later this year and hopefully still be the same sweet and innocent kid he left as... So, my prayers are with Josh and with those on the island of Hispanola. I hope that aid comes swiftly and that comfort is found.

The Tragedy of our Children’s Inheritance

2010-01-07T19:52:00.003-07:00

No, no, I’m not talking about the national deficit, social security, wars, or healthcare. While those are sad for sure, I realized the true travesty of my future children’s life last night as I watched the greatest movie of all time… National Lampoon’s Vacation. [I took quite a bit of liberty in bestowing that title.] I wondered wistfully if my kids would have any idea why that movie is so dang funny. Certainly, they will never take a road trip in a station wagon. (Are those still made?) And when Clark brings up the family trip on the computer, I am sure my kids will say, “What is that prehistoric thing he’s typing on?” My kids will probably plug into their Ipods before we leave the driveway and miss the joys of listening to Mom & Dad sing along to horrible music. ************************************************************************************* Also, it may not seem as funny to them when Cousin Vicky jokes about kissing a teacher or when Clark uses a gun to take over a theme park. Sadly, those things actually happen today and the results are not so funny. Even more ghastly, the hideous white dress shoes Clark wore in the film are actually back in fashion and for sale today at a department store near you. When Clark misses the detour signs and has to go wandering in the desert for hours to find a gas station, I can already hear my kids saying, “Why doesn’t he just call someone on his cell phone?” or “Where’s his GPS?” To console myself, I take small comfort in the fact that Clark’s hubcaps were stolen in St. Louis since that’s one of our possible school locations. Seems like a good sign!!

2009 - A Year In Review

2010-01-04T16:08:00.003-07:00

On January 3, 2009, I ran. This was significant since it was the first time I had run, on purpose, in many years. In the year since that time, I have logged nearly 450 miles on these increasingly toned legs. Somewhere in that mileage is my first 5-K, 10-K, Half Marathon and Marathon. Amazingly, I didn't lose a single toenail in those 365 days. I do own four knee braces, have eaten hundreds of "energy jelly beans" and taken one incredibly painful ice bath. I have devoured 12 issues of Runner's World and bought three pairs of running shoes (1st pair: Brooks-a pair I will always remember, 2nd pair: Nike-only wore for running a handful of times due to arch pain, 3rd pair: Brooks-very similar to pair #1, but a half size too large). ************************************************************************************* While 2010 hasn't had the most auspicious running start, (I severly sprained a toe on New Year's Day and it's been purple ever since) I hope to be back out there tomorrow and many days after enjoying everything that running has brought to my life. It started out on a windy day twelve months ago and I am proud to claim at least one new year's resolution kept in 2009. Bring on 2010!

Feel Free to Get Offended...

2009-12-22T22:09:00.002-07:00

You have my permission to get offended or take this post personally. I rarely get on my soapbox, but this had to happen. Daniel (my husband) recently told me what his co-worker named her new born baby boy...Vaden. This is one of the many times I have heard of someone taking a name I really like, Aiden, adding a letter to the front and pretending the result is a human name. Name your dogs what you want, but these are people, people! Tonight, I saw a story about the top baby names of the decade. Normally, my husband's name is a winner. Reliably top 25. This year, he dropped to 28. Aiden is #1. I then saw #11, Caden. I said to my husband, "Let's play a game and see how many fake-Aidens beat you." The result, three. In addition to Caden, we have Jaden (#14) and Brayden (#22). On the positive side, only one name in the girl's top fifty had gratuitous use of the letter "e" in the name.

Another PR

2009-12-13T20:05:00.003-07:00

Tonight we ran the Albuquerque Farolito 5k. For those of you not versed in your hispanic holiday traditions (or terms), a Farolito is a luminary or more simply, a sack of sand with a candle in it. It was actually pretty neat as I don't ever intend to run after dark, but I will make exceptions when the course is candle-lit. The thing about a 5k versus the longer distances we have run lately are the appearance of gangs of children. Since 3.1 miles is totally doable for kids, you constantly here the thundering of feet approaching to overtake you and possibly trip you, if you're super lucky. Despite the packs of stray dogs (sorry, I meant kids)and a pitch black section over uneven terrain, I finished in 33:25, beating my previous record by over two minutes. I felt pretty strong through the whole run and enjoyed the holiday theme. ************************************************************************************* Honestly, the encouragement was much needed. I didn't run in DC last weekend or at all this week. I was in DC for a conference and have been working on my grad school applications with each waking, non-working, moment. At this point, I am seriously considering running the half-marathon in January since it seems completely unlikely that I will be ready for the marathon. I hate to think about dropping down, but don't quite see the point in running horribly in an event I am not ready for. We are five weeks away and I don't think I can get to where I'd need to be to run 26.2 miles in one go. Time will tell, although time is running short...

Not a Good Idea

2009-12-03T21:30:00.002-07:00

Maybe it's just a phase, but if you asked me today, I would tell you I will never consider running a marathon in January again. It requires a certain toughness to run on a normal day. Today, the high was 30 degrees. It was dark by 5pm. With the wind chill, it was 10 degrees at 6pm. Needless to say, I crapped out on my run. Does it count that I drove my route in search of LED Christmas Lights? The rest of December looks about the same. I peak on my mileage during Christmas week. We'll be in Colorado, surrounded by snow, trying to run a 20-miler. Good luck with that. My parents have a treadmill, I guess I could try 20 miles on that. (Kill me now.) ************************************************************************************* This weekend, we head to DC. I need to run 12 miles this weekend to feel even remotely on track for January's Rock & Roll Marathon. I am hoping the interesting sights of the nation's capital will keep me distracted. Hell, it's 50 degrees there right now, that should help. ************************************************************************************* Last week, I ran a 10K in Mesa, AZ for Thanksgiving. I really wanted to finish in 68:30. If you are trying to set a PR, I don't recommend drinking a bottle of wine and getting five hours sleep the night before. Through mile 4, I was on track with my pace. During mile 5, the heat started to kick my ass, as did the dehydration. (Clearly I am difficult to please since I complain about it being too cold above and now too hot.) I ultimately finished in 70:09. I was frustrated with my time until I realized I beat my previous PR by over 3 minutes. While I am still slower than I would like, I feel myself getting stronger and I don't quit as easily as I did when I started running in January. I guess I will take those improvements and work for 68:30 next time!

I'm All Jacked Up on Mountain Dew!

2009-11-20T11:14:00.007-07:00

Well, the GMAT came and went. I feel like that might be all I have to say, which probably gives you some indication about how pleased I am with the result. I did raise my score slightly. Sadly, I went from a 95% to a 97% on verbal and from a 66% to a 67% on math. Since we all know that speaking english clearly is not a requirement for college professors, the verbal score is hardly worth the paper it's printed on. I am moaning about an overall score in the 92nd percentile, but I had hoped for a little more mathematical progress. *************************************************************************************I selected my top five schools before taking the test and here's the list: 1) Univ. of North Carolina 2) Univ. of Wisconsin 3) Univ. of Maryland 4) Univ. of Arizona and 5) Univ. of Utah. I will leave the obvious conflict between my love for alcohol and my applying to a school in Salt Lake unexplored. I will also have to pretend I am in jail if I decide to select the Univ. of Arizona since my family is composed of die hard Sun Devils. For an ASU fan, it would generally be better for a family member to be incarcerated than to attend U of A. Carolina is my dream school all around, but don't let them know, I don't want to seem over eager. I will add 1-2 more schools to the mix, but these five lead the pack. ************************************************************************************* The best part of taking the GMAT was how I spent the rest of my day off. I got to eat lunch at California Pizza Kitchen with my husband, get a massage and then finish the day like any budding accounting scholar... I drank a bottle of champagne while watching Talladega Nights and then sang my heart out to a few of my favorite Guitar Hero World Tour songs. I can almost guarantee that a person who gets a good score on the math portion of the GMAT probably wouldn't enjoy an evening spent in this manner, so I guess I am happy just the way I am. If I have to pick between Ricky Bobby and grad school, I'll take Ricky Bobby any day.

And Now it is Upon Me

2009-11-16T11:50:00.005-07:00

On Wednesday, I take the GMAT for the 3rd time. While I have consistently scored in the 90-95th percentile on the verbal section of this test, I have earned a 49 and 66 percentile ranking on the math part in the earlier sessions. While that means I am better at math than 66% of people taking the GMAT, many PhD programs like to see scores in the 90s and well, that's just plain unlikely to happen for me. Often people assume that my accounting background would make me good at math. What it makes me good at is excel and that's not allowed in Wednesday's effort. When's the last time you calculated 13! by hand? How many of you even know how you would begin to caluclate 13!? ************************************************************************************* Either way, Wednesday will be the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. For a while I can put the study books away (at least until I take linear algebra in the spring...woo-hoo party!). On Wednesday, I will begin the month long process of actually applying to schools. Last time I applied to eight schools, got three interviews and accepted admission at Michigan State. (Enter economic crash - stage left.) This time, I will apply to at least six schools and max out at eight. (The schools have a 3-8% admission rate for this sort of thing, so I think it's wise to cast a wide net.) I have selected two of the finalists, but can't seem to fill in the rest of the list. As I explained this dilemma to my husband yesterday, he suggested that since the decision is such an important one, one that will likely impact the rest of our lives, we use a highly scientific system. Essentially his system involves examining NCAA football records and applying to those schools with the best records. I asked him what we would do about schools that didn't have football teams and I believe his response was something like, "Why would you apply to a school that doesn't have a football team?" ************************************************************************************* Ironically, my mom would tell you that my dad selected his PhD school based on the football team and it seems to have worked out okay for them. At this point, it's probably as good of an indicator as any in the school selection process. That and the proximity of a Chipotle.

The Time of My Life

2009-11-10T12:56:00.002-07:00

I've been MIA from the blogosphere for a few weeks. First I got sick (thankfully not H1N1) and then I started my studying for the GMAT. (Last week, I studied over 15 hours of algebra, geometry, etc. It was a real party.) Excuses, excuses, but even more unfortunately, I took two full weeks off from running or really exercise of any form. Last week I was mostly back on track with the training schedule for January's marathon and finished the week with a respectable 18 miles ran. Tuesday was an easy 2 miler, Thursday was a 6 mile death march. (As a tip, no matter how hungry you are, don't ever eat a hot dog, a tortilla and several handfuls of beef jerky and then hit the road for a six mile run. Around mile 3, I was praying to throw up and considered committing my first bulimic act. I kept my food down and finished the run, but it was ugly.) ************************************************************************************* On Sunday, my 10 miles represented my first double digit run since the marathon. Up to this point, I have seriously doubted the existence of the "runner's high" that I have heard so much about. The best feeling I have ever felt during or after a run was a combination of disbelief and relief at the completion of each mile. Well, call me a believer, but I think I caught a glimpse of the running holy grail on Sunday with the best run of my ten-month long running career. The weather was perfect, I felt great, I was in the zone and my pace felt completely natural. Through some magic feat, I was able to keep a pace just below 11-minute miles for the entire 10 mile run, something I haven't done in a long time. Since I am targeting a 12-minute mile pace for January, I am thrilled with any run that adds distance and keeps me below my goal pace. Essentially, I kicked that run's ass! At the end, I felt like I could have kept going, but we were running late for a Humane Society event that involved us walking two miles with our dog. I will admit that some of the euphoria was gone at the end of the dog walk and I didn't have much desire to move for the rest of the day. I was ready for bed at roughly 8pm, but as I fell asleep, I was still very much on the high of my best run ever.

Bound for Our Nation's Capital

2009-10-27T16:07:00.002-06:00

It's official! I booked my work conference in Washington DC today. Occasionally, this job does have its perks and I will be headed to a national meeting of accountants in early December. I haven't been to DC in several years, but loved it the last time I visited and this time I have a husband to take with me. Hopefully I will run into the Obamas out for a stroll or at a bare minimum a few friends I know that live in the area! Can't wait for December 4th!

Your Rat is Dead

2009-10-25T17:22:00.002-06:00

Almost two weeks ago, my husband and I were sitting in the family room watching some TV. We heard water dripping in the kitchen and couldn't figure out what it was. My husband walked in the the room and realized our "water dripping" was two mice, eating bread wrapped in foil on the counter. I've never had a mouse in my house and I did much screaming and crying. We quickly went to a store at 10pm and bought traps and bleach. We set the traps and went to bed. I didn't sleep much as I envisioned mice crawling on my face while I slept, Daniel slept like a baby. Within a couple days, two mice had been caught, the kitchen had been thoroughly bleached and all was well with the world. Cut to last night... ************************************************************************************* Daniel was out of town and so my mom came to visit. Around nine, I headed into the master bedroom and saw a really fast "critter" run behind the elliptical (thank god someone is exercising around here, but that's another post.) I ran screaming from the room and for the next thirty minutes, my mom and I screamed and jumped around, a la Lucy and Ethel, as I tried to gather up the courage to run into the bedroom and grab my purse. (You know my new Coach purse wasn't spending the night with the mice.) We set traps and barricaded the door so the mouse wouldn't continue to explore the house. I "slept" on the couch, although images of mice crawling on me wouldn't leave my head. ************************************************************************************* This morning, I had my carpet replaced. Part of that job was recarpeting my master bedroom closet. I felt bad sending our installer into that room and warned him of whom he was sharing a room with. About two hours into the job, I was debating my mom on how much to tip the installer. I wanted to tip him something since it was Sunday and he was doing the job all alone, except for the mice. Was it $20 or $50, the two bills at my disposal? As we talked, I heard a cracking sound and then he walked into the room where we sat and said with a thick accent, "Your rat is dead." At this point, he wiped a hatchet clean on a cloth and dropped a baggie containing the mouse in a garbage pile. I felt the need to explain that it wasn't a rat, since that would be really disgusting, but decided against and decided that a $50 sounded good. ************************************************************************************* So, this is an ode to Fernando, the Lowe's carpet installer. He went above and beyond the call of duty. While I doubt I will sleep in that room tonight, (some combination of mouse murder and potential mouse friends lurking in wait has me envisioning mice attacking me while I sleep), I really appreciate his effort.

My Exciting Life

2009-10-06T18:56:00.003-06:00

I am an accountant by trade and I mostly do research accounting. When I tell people that, they usually respond with a snide remark about how exciting my life must be. I can easily take that in stride, since I actually like what I do most days and find it plenty interesting. I guess that would indicate that I have a lower "excitement tolerance" than most people and it probably explains why things have been a little too exciting for me lately. ************************************************************************************* Per last week's post, I live in a neighborhood that would be voted "Most Likely to Have Regular Shootings" if neighborhoods participated in high school superlative contests. Then Monday night as I left work, I was notified by our security guard that we were banned from leaving the building. Apparently, two suspicious packages were within a block of our building and the bomb squad was called in. After sitting in the lobby for two hours, we heard two massive explosions as they blew up the suspicious packages and then we received a police escort to our cars. ************************************************************************************* Tuesday morning, as I went through airport security, my bag was selected for additional screening. Through the course of the screening, they detected trace amounts of explosives on my bag and then went through a process of searching me and removing every item from my carry on and individually checking it. I still made my flight, but I saw the way other people were eyeing me and hoping I wasn't on their flight. If I can see one positive, it's that no one wanted to sit next to me on the Southwest flight and so I had extra room. *************************************************************************************Tomorrow I head home and I am hoping that the return flight is less eventful. The last few weeks have had more than enough excitement for me!

Back in the Saddle Again

2009-10-04T15:01:00.003-06:00

On Monday, I officially started my training plan for the Rock 'n Roll Arizona Marathon in January. In the three weeks following our marathon, I was the runner's version of a sloth: I vacationed, I went to an out of town wedding and I ran ten miles. For a normal person, or non-runner, this probably doesn't sound like sloth-style living, but my former catholic guilt has apparently transferred to my running life. I felt lazy, purposeless, like I was losing tons of fitness and a little dirty for my three weeks "off." ************************************************************************************* In order to make up for three weeks of pain-free living, I set ambitious goals for my training this time around. Since I would really like to cut nearly an hour off my marathon time for this next race, I need some serious commitment to training. That's something I didn't exactly have last time. I probably did about 5% of my cross-training, 50% of my core work and about 75% of my running. This time, I would like to average about 80% of each. It's unrealistic to think I won't need a break here and there in the next fifteen weeks, but I should be able to complete most of my training days. ************************************************************************************* Well, here's the report of week 1. I did 66% of my running and 33% of my cross-training and core work. That leaves me at 50% for this week's training. I could make excuses, such as: "due to a shooting in my neighborhood and fear of death, I didn't run on Wednesday" or "my parents were in town and it would have been rude / impossible to cross-train during their visit". Both those things would be true, they just don't get me any closer to a 12-minute/mile pace in AZ. So, as I close out week one and head into week two, I am going to be optimistic. I spend four of my six training days this week in Dallas and the hotel has a top notch workout room. No excuses this week!

In the Ghetto

2009-10-02T11:49:00.004-06:00

On Wednesday night, our neighbor rang our doorbell around 9. We don't know our neighbor well and she sold us a bum mini-fridge at a garage sale, so I wasn't too happy about the late night visit. She informed us that two men tried to force their way into her home earlier that day and that she just saw them again on our street. She had called the police and they promised to up their patrols of our neighborhood, but it still really creeped me out. Then yesterday, there was a shooting at the Walgreen's just down the street. As a matter of fact, I had been at the same Walgreen's roughly two hours before it was robbed. It just turns out this is the fourth shooting fatality within a 1/2 mile of our home within the last three and a half years. I am normally afraid of nearly everything and this stuff isn't helping much. Yesterday, I was too uncomfortable to do my five-mile run in my neighborhood in broad daylight. Last night Daniel and I discussed whether we should start running in a different neighborhood. ************************************************************************************** All of this just really enforces for me that it's time to get the hell out of dodge. I couldn't be more done with the Land of Entrapment. I did enjoy my time here and my neighborhood hasn't always been a battleground for druggies, miscreants and thieves, but I can say that the "maybe this isn't the best place for you" message has been delivered. Our house will hopefully be on the market sometime this month and we can get serious about our adios to good old New Mexico.

Certified or Certifiable?

2009-09-28T22:11:00.003-06:00

Today I took a CPR training course and am now theoretically qualified to assist you should you decide to drop dead while I am around. The instructor was entertaining, if not a little lewd. How many of you that are CPR certified can say that the dummies you were using were wearing women's lingerie? How many of you can say that the word "pubes" was used at your training? I am guessing that no hands are in the air. The best part is that my work sponsored a training today that violated virtually every human resources sexual harassment video we have seen, but I learned more from him than I have in the last few months of my job... Anywho, on a more serious note, if you haven't taken a CPR course, it's well worth it. It is really important to know how to provide help to those you love should they need it. While I hope to never need the training I got today, I am really glad I have it just in case.

Truce?

2009-09-22T14:47:00.007-06:00

Apparently, I inadvertently declared war on the spider / insect kingdom and I am using the blog as a forum to request a truce. I assume that my foes use the internet for networking since they have quickly gotten the word out that I am to be attacked. To reach the broadest audience possible, I should probably post this on Facebook or perhaps "tweet" about it since Twitter seems more their speed. (I don't tweet, but I'll make an exception if it will stop the attacks.) Here's the background. ***************************************************************************************I have an irrational fear of spiders and insects. Neither the size, nor the hostility of the creatures matter. I view them all with the same level of distaste and hysteria. (That level is "HIGH" or "RED" in Dept of Homeland Security terms.) This weekend, I killed many of them as I cleaned out my garden. I think that's what really pissed them off. I guess, technically, the outdoors are "their domain," it's just that I also enjoy being outdoors and would prefer not to be touched by so much as a fly while I lounge outside. ************************************************************************************ On Monday morning, I woke up an put on my eyeglasses, which had been on the nightstand for roughly seven hours. Immediately, my face was covered in a fine film and I realized that in the night, spiders had built an intricate web completely covering the lens portion of my glasses. It was, at once, the most amazing and most disgusting thing I had seen in a while. I quickly woke Daniel, showed him, cleaned my glasses and tried to move on. I killed no bugs on Monday. ****************************************************************************************This morning, my eyeglasses were clear and I thought the events of yesterday were a fluke. I got out of the shower, put on my warm, fuzzy robe and looked in the mirror to see a large (all things being relative) spider crawling out the arm of my robe and onto my arm. I quickly flung the robe to the ground, where it remains now. I told Daniel to burn it when he gets home. ***************************************************************************************I can only imagine what they have planned for tomorrow's surprise... So here's my public plea: Bugs, you can have the outdoors if you give me back my house. Heck, if you'll just stay out of the rooms I use on a regular basis, you can have the guest room and the outdoors. (Sorry Mom, you might have company on your next visit.)

The Greatest Friends Ever

2009-09-21T12:56:00.007-06:00

I have to say thanks to all my wonderful friends and tell you that you certainly were a big part of what allowed Daniel and I to finish the marathon a few weeks ago. (We probably owe you some of the champagne in the picture, but we seem to have finished it all...) *********************************************************************************** During the run, we both carried the 26 slips of paper that you all filled out and sent in. The combination of the words you wrote were at once encouraging, hilarious, biblical, motivational, and lewd. I think those adjectives aptly sum up my menagerie of friends and that makes me very grateful. ********************************************************************************** At one point around mile 16, I realized that the baggie containing my slips had broken and was only half full. I turned around and realized that they were strewn over the last 1/4 mile. To let you know how important they were, I walked that 1/4 mile back...in the rain...uphill...and bent over to retrieve those little slips of paper. Essentially, those slips were my lifeline in the last ten miles and you are great friends for participating with me by sending your words, or in the case of one friend, the wise words of Britney Spears. Thanks, you are exactly the friends I hoped for!

I Ran a Marathon

2009-09-12T11:43:00.002-06:00

Well, I am a marathoner. (I think you can say that after only running one, right?) On Sunday, I finished my first marathon alongside the beautiful pacific ocean in Kauai. I finished in 6:07:05.5. It was a slower time than I anticipated, but the course was widely agreed to be brutally hilly and while it was awesome to have cloud cover, the clouds brought ridiculous amounts of rain. My shorts, shoes, etc were drenched from mile 4 on. It was a great experience and I was lucky enough to run most of it pain-free or at least pain-lite. Daniel also finished in 5:25:47.8. Want to hear the nuttiest part? We are already talking about doing a 2nd marathon at the Rock n Roll in Phoenix in January. Looks like we've caught the fever!

Panic at the Disco (or The Final Countdown)

2009-09-02T23:46:00.003-06:00

Holy crap. I have to run a marathon on Sunday. I suppose I knew, somewhere in the deep recesses of my brain, that when I started "training for a marathon," that it would eventually involve running a marathon. Only now, it's here. Like really here. We are in Phoenix tonight and fly to Kauai tomorrow. Then, on Sunday at 6am Kauai time, we will begin running. For me, the running (assuming I don't quit at mile eight) will continue for the better part of a work day. I can only be thankful that there is a seven hour cutoff. I will either be done, or nicely escorted back by men driving a van at 1pm. Either way, plenty of time for a tropical drink and random pain-prompted moaning from a beach chair afterwards. ************************************************************************************* I suppose that the reality is that I am beyond nervous. I don't feel like I trained enough or that my body has responded well in the last few weeks. I have new pains, lots of shoe drama and a real concern that I will look like an ass if I can't finish the run. I am totally trapped in the mental game of the marathon now and trying not to admit defeat before I even see the start line. Here's my truth... I will run slowly. I will end up walking nearly half the marathon. I will cry at some point. I will finish. ***********************************************************************************

A Pirate Looks At Thirty

2009-08-21T20:36:00.006-06:00

Monday was my thirtieth birthday. I can honestly say, now that it’s come and gone, that I don’t feel much different. I did have a few anxious moments the day before and then again yesterday when I had to check the 30-35 age box on a survey for the first time. We had a nice weekend in San Francisco to celebrate, which included good food, sailing, a 13-mile run through Golden Gate Park and champagne. Those attributes, plus actually seeing my husband for the first time in a long time, made for a great trip. *********************************************************************************** On Tuesday, I turned down a job I had wanted since I became an accountant. It had all those attributes that make a job an “It Job.” I would have made quite a bit of money, been part of a high-level management team, had a snappy title and generally hit the big time in my thirtieth year. 22-year old Erin would not have recognized the Erin that turned down the job this week. 22-year old Erin only wanted to succeed at work, at any cost, and become a CFO as soon as humanly possible. *********************************************************************************** 30 year-old Erin could easily see that this job would have required sacrifice of everything else in life: a definite end to volunteering, a likely end to running and sailing and a possible end to my marriage and other relationships. 30 year-old Erin could see that no job is that good and the decision was easy. ************************************************************************************ I guess the reality is that I know, with certainty, I can succeed at nearly any job in my field. My determination and dedication are mostly unmatched when it comes to accounting and my capacity for learning seems to be endless. I suppose that I’d like to see if I can apply those same talents to my marriage, my friendships and other aspects of my non-work life. Rather than making a work promotion my highest goal, I am going to try and experience personal growth and satisfaction in a new way in this new decade of my life. Maybe getting old isn’t so bad after all.

Thirty Books While I am Thirty

2009-08-20T22:10:00.004-06:00

You will note the new feature "Thirty Books While I am Thirty" to the left. From another blog I follow, I got the idea to read thirty books during my thirtieth year on earth. (The blogger I follow was doing 48 books in his 48th year which is clearly more bold... I'll start with 30. Do we think he knows that there are only 52 weeks in a year?) I am already cheating since my first book was started five days before my thirtieth. I will post reviews of my books and try to keep my self honest through the small number of folks who read my blog. More to come about the birthday...

Why Do the Ones We (try to) Love Hurt Us So?

2009-08-06T21:10:00.003-06:00

I have really been trying to give Dallas a fair shake. Despite my preconceived, George W influenced, views of Texas, I have been trying to see potential in the Lone Star State. You see, there's an open job here. It would be a great opportunity for me, in theory, and I think I would have a good shot at getting the job if I expressed interest. Since I am trying to keep an open mind while I reconsider what I want to be when I grow up, I am open to almost anything. The job in Dallas would be more interesting, pay well and be a great advancement on my resume. Because of all those things, I refused to close off a great job because of a little thing like a state full of secessionists. ************************************************************************* Oddly enough, Texas seems to have rejected me. The first time I was here, I hurt myself running (an injury that has hung on for nearly two months), I was nowhere near a Chipotle, there was a tornado and subsequent torrential downpour that had me stuck in my hotel room for days on end. The next trips were somewhat uneventful other than heat waves and humidity that caused death in some. Tonight I got locked in the work parking garage and was unable to get out for quite sometime. It seems that Dallas is being as inhospitable of a host as possible. I wonder if it's just some cosmic force telling me to keep my eyes on the prize of grad school...or maybe I just want to believe that. *********************************************************************** Well, I head back to ABQ for the weekend and then spend all of next week in Dallas. That will be the last week of my formal courtship with the Dallas office. Will I end up wooed or will Dallas find another way to make it clear that I am not welcome?

Really?

2009-08-05T20:48:00.001-06:00

Not quite sure what to think of this one...

Some Thankfulness

2009-08-04T11:46:00.003-06:00

My job is not the fulfillment of everything I want in a career. I have had some really stressful weeks and insane hours lately and thoughts of quitting have come regularly during this period of high frustration. That said, I just found out that someone I am close to lost their job yesterday and I realize how much I take my job for granted. So, I am thankful that my job pays me a reasonable wage and that generally I have bosses that allow me flexibility I wouldn't get at any other job. I am thankful that we can pay our house payment, travel and enjoy a very comfortable life and not have any real money worries. The worries we have are "rich people's problems" and never involve how we will eat or where we will sleep. Somehow I always think of all the things my job ISN'T and forget all the things it IS. My thoughts are with anyone that is unemployed or underemployed now, I can't imagine how tough it is to face this economy with the uncertainty it provides...

Treadmills Lie

2009-07-14T13:32:00.002-06:00

I am back in Dallas for the week and it's just too hot to run outside. Since I really can't afford to miss any more training days, that had me on the hotel treadmill this morning for my normally quick two mile run. (Never mind that the basement of the hotel, the location of the fitness center, smells like feet. Did I mention it's a "four star hotel?") I did some quick math in my head and set the treadmill to the pace I normally run outside. At this point I almost had a "treadmill incident" since there was no way I could run at my "normal pace" on the treadmill. I took the speed down a few notches since falling off the back of the treadmill is a fear of mine. As such, a run that would normally take me between 20 and 22 minutes took over 26. I don't know what to make of that. Although I am not fast, I don't think I run a 13 minute mile. My recent races seem to prove that out for the most part. So, I must conclude that treadmills lie and I ran closer to 2.5 miles today... Good for me!

For Better or For Worse, I am a Runner

2009-07-12T18:44:00.002-06:00

I haven't run in the last two weeks. I ran a couple miles on June 29 and my pulled quad muscle (no healing since June 9) and sore knee convinced me to take a run off. That one run turned into four runs off and I missed a major long run the weekend we went to North Carolina. Last week I was in Dallas for work and it was beyond hot. I worked most nights until after 8pm and didn't much feel like running after that. Today I was back out there for six miles. That distance certainly won't get me to a marathon, but it was better than nothing. *********************************************************************************** Although odd to admit, the "not running" has proven to me that I am now a runner. Over the last couple weeks, I have felt off. I felt like I was gaining weight. I was grouchy and lacked energy. I just wasn't the best version of myself. Despite my generally slow pace and my "walk/run" style, I am a runner. When I am running I feel better mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. I am excited to be back in the groove and am determined to keep my eyes on the prize. The marathon is only 55 days away. I know I won't impress anyone with my time, but I will finish...because that's what runners do.

Our Haunted Houses

2009-07-09T15:12:00.009-06:00

As an adult, the haunted houses in my life have become much more terrifying than those of my childhood. When I was little, going through the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland was terrifying, but it generally ended within ten minutes and then life was good again. In those haunted houses, I felt fairly secure that my parents could protect me if things got out of hand when a scary guy jumped from behind a wall. Mostly, I inherently knew that nothing really bad was going to happen to me. ******************************************************************************** The haunted houses of my adulthood seem to pack more of a punch. We own two houses in the greater Albuquerque area. We bought high and are now enjoying the good times of selling low. We put the house Daniel bought on the market in February of 2007. In May of this year we finally got an offer at 82% of the initial listing price. At that time, we were just glad to get the house sold. Initially the house was supposed to close on June 12. We are now nearly one month later and still no close. We were told with certainty that July 2 was the close date and then again on July 6. The latest was supposed to be yesterday, now we are hopeful for tomorrow. I don't know when the house will close, the champagne is on ice for whenever that happens. ******************************************************************************* When that day comes, Daniel and I will be left with the house I bought. I really like the layout of the house and it gets incredible natural light and has nice space for entertaining. That said, we have roof problems, bug problems, heater problems, etc and I fear we are steps away from our own personal money pit. If you've seen the movie The Money Pit (if you haven't I highly recommend it), you will know that Tom Hanks and Shelley Long resort to just about anything to pay off the renovations on their house, which they find is a lemon. Sadly, we don't have any super rich friends willing to give us money and so if we are ever to leave Albuquerque, we'll need to find another solution. ************************************************************************************ I remember my apartment days so fondly now. If it was broken, I called a number and it was magically fixed while I was away at work. After my year lease, I could leave and never hear of the place again. I didn't have a colossal mortgage that feels, on some days, like an albatross around my neck. Sure, I couldn't paint, but that seems pretty small now. So, I guess that I will go back to work tomorrow and probably the next day and hope that we can escape our Albuquerque Haunted Houses someday soon. ********************************************************************************

Format

2009-06-30T21:27:00.001-06:00

Blogger hates me and doesn't allow me to enter space in between paragraphs. I apologize to my readers that the post below is just one gigantic paragraph. If you have any suggestions on how to fix this, I am all ears...

I Probably Won't Try That Again...

2009-06-28T09:06:00.006-06:00

On Saturday night, Daniel and I set out for a 14-mile run. For this distance, it's easier to run on an established trail and so we headed down to the Bosque, a 16-mile wooded bike trail that runs next to the Rio Grande in Albuquerque. Although I ran 13.1 miles just a week earlier, it quickly became obvious that this run wouldn't go off without serious physical harm. I was dragging through the first three miles, my knee was killing me and my stomach was upset. Daniel was already out a good ways ahead of me and I decided to short the run and just turn around when I saw Daniel heading back my way. (It's an out and back course.) I was thinking that this would get me to about 12 miles. Around mile 5.5, the trail split. I took the route I assumed Daniel had taken, but I kept my eye out for him on the other trail just in case. Around mile 6, a pack of stray dogs became very interested in me and I decided it was probably time to turn around and head back to the car. I didn't know why I hadn't run into Daniel, but I figured he'd be along sometime soon. Around mile 7, I still hadn't seen Daniel and realized that I wasn't going to be able to run much on the route back. I did some quick math and realized that at my current pace, I would get back to the car around 9:20, about 2o minutes after it became completely dark. Now mind you, the Bosque isn't a lighted trail and by this time I was one of the few people left on the trail. I also figured that Daniel had to be ahead of me since there was no way he was going as slow as I was. I kept moving forward, but by 8:45, I was still over 2 miles from the car and it was getting really dark. Also around this time, I saw a coyote on the trail. I repeatedly called Daniel's cell, but he leaves that in the car. Naturally, I also called my mom who lives roughly 200 miles away since clearly she could help. She assured me that coyotes weren't interested in me, but also urged me to consider calling 911 if I didn't hear from Daniel soon. At 9:00, it was pitch dark with no moonlight at all. I saw the lights of a major street up ahead and decided that I would just wait at this street and hope that Daniel called soon. This would put me about a mile from the finish line, but there was no way I was walking a full mile in the dark on this creepy trail. Thankfully at 9:05, Daniel finished up his run and got my messages. Within another ten minutes, he picked me up from my spot on the Paseo bridge. That run was much more exciting than was necessary and for someone purportedly good at math, I didn't quite calculate the finish time correctly. I don't think I will start out a run that will take nearly 3 hours at 6:30 ever again! At least Daniel and I lived through this one!

Half-way There

2009-06-24T11:40:00.005-06:00

This past weekend, we completed the Steamworks Brewing Half Marathon. I was within 2 minutes of my goal time and Daniel was able to shave almost fifteen minutes off his previous half marathon time. All in all, it was a great race and a great success. We had a wonderful weekend and got to see my parents and old friends and drink many beers. I also got my first race medal and it takes a ton of restraint not to wear it everyday since I am really proud of this achievement. I can say that I still feel completely daunted by the marathon, which is now only 74 days away. There are many miles to run between now and then, but I try to calm myself by realizing that we are half-way there. When I started training in January, I would often think after completing a training run, "I would have to run that same run almost 9 times in a row to complete a marathon." At the time that seemed impossible. Now I can say, "Okay if I can just do that twice, I'm there."

The Good, the Bad and the Duckie

2009-06-10T13:06:00.011-06:00

Well, I am sitting at the Dallas airport waiting to head back home. At the end of my first of several trips to Dallas this summer, I thought I would summarize my thoughts...

The Good

I made it to Chipotle last night. I did had to run across an overpass with no sidewalks, but I think the Chipotle cashier felt sorry for me and so he gave me a free bag of chips and prepared a very thoughtful and fantastic burrito.
I took a bath each evening, that's a luxury I don't enjoy at home since the only bathtub is in the "termite bathroom."
I think the work is going to be really interesting and different. I am a little burnt out on my job right now and this seems like a great chance to take a breath and do something different for a while. I think that will help me narrow my long-term plan. Also, the people at the Texas office seem...happier. I know that's a total intangible and maybe I just saw all the best moments, but I would say these people seem to like thier jobs more than many of the people I work with in ABQ. It kind of makes me happier to be around happier people, so I think that's going to be a good thing.

The Bad

Well, my flight is indefinitely delayed as I right this. So that's bad, right? Despite the good stuff above, I would still like to go home.
On Wednesday night, I had a true Texas experience. There were severe thunderstorms in the Texas area and those storms turned into tornado watches (warnings?, I don't know the difference). I was still at work when this happened and we all got to head to the basement for about 20 minutes as a precaution.
I miss my husband, my dog and my garden.

The Duckie

After my five-mile run (read sweat-a-thon) on Tuesday, I decided that I would take a quick dip in the pool. After all, I plan to take advantage of as many travel perks as possible. The pool was outdoor and next to a small lake. Apparently the ducks prefer the lounge atmosphere of the pool, as a duck was sitting on the pool steps. I really wanted to swim, so I just walked past the duck and we agreed to peacefully co-exist at opposite ends of the pool. All in all, I would say I enjoyed my trip and I didn't totally expect to feel that way. It's early in the summer and we will see if I am singing the same tune in August.

False Advertising

2009-06-09T16:28:00.002-06:00

One of my primary "pros" about coming to Dallas for work was that a Chipotle was only a half mile away. I love Chipotle with a love mainly reserved for family members and best friends. Since I don't have a rental car, being walking distance to a burrito and chips was 75% of what made me board the plane this morning... Now I find out that I have to walk across a major freeway to get to the Chipotle. A woman here at work said, "Well I guess you could walk there, but I don't think anyone ever would." I know that over the course of the week, I will find a way to hoof it over there, but it does limit my original plan of having Chipotle for lunch and dinner each day... (I am now eyeing this trip with a more skeptical eye and am going to need some other form of bribery to make it back next month...)

Fruits of My Labor

2009-06-08T23:14:00.006-06:00

Jackie sent me a postcard with this caption a while back and it seems appropriate now. I am my mother's daughter in that I love gardening. Until now it's just been flowers, but this year I decided to try my hand at vegetable gardening. In early April, I planted tomatoes. Since then I have planted several herbs, cucumbers, bell peppers and zucchini. I used cilantro in a recipe last week, but I don't count that as much of a victory since the cilantro came already grown. Tonight we had the first real product of my work, a big juicy red tomato. I love tomatoes, Daniel isn't much of a fan (apparently, Riley, the dog, is also in Daniel's camp), but he gave it a try. That said, I was in heaven and can't wait to eat through my garden this summer. I leave for Texas in the morning and I am entrusting Daniel with my precious little plants. No pressure honey...

Here's the tomato from a few weeks ago:

Here's me enjoying my delicious tomato:

Just in Case

2009-06-07T09:21:00.002-06:00

I hope this is not my farewell blog. That said, I like to be prepared and I think I might die today during my weekly "long run." On Memorial Day weekend, I ran eight miles up in Pagosa. The run went fairly well, but I felt a lot more joint soreness and general pain than I normally do. As such, I took a week off from running. The week turned into nearly two weeks except for a quick 3-miler somewhere in there. This morning, I am setting out to run ten miles. While "easing back in" would be nice, I know that our 1/2 Marathon looms large since June 20 will be here in a heartbeat. So, I am leaving now for the ten mile run along the Bosque. My only comfort is that if I collapse, it is likely a bicyclist will find me (only as a function of having run me over since they are apparently a menace on this trail.) Just in case this is our last meeting, thanks for reading and see you on the flip side...

Was that really necessary?

2009-06-05T18:03:00.002-06:00

Daniel is out of town for a couple nights and I am not super comfortable sleeping in my house alone. I did all the right stuff last night to ensure a decent night's sleep: I checked the closets, locked all the doors, left on lots of lights and had an extra glass of wine. When I went to bed around 11, I felt confident and was glad that nothing had gotten me anxious. I knew sleep would come quickly. Around 2am, I woke up to the sound of our house alarm screeching. Then the power went out. Seriously. The power flashed on and off a few times and each time, the alarm went on and off accordingly. I was completely disoriented and scared to death. I called Daniel and sound sleeper that he is, he didn't answer. Thank God for my mom, who picked up on the second ring. I checked outside sure that a storm was causing power flashes and the related alarm sounds... It was totally still and I heard a car door slam outside. Well, that was enough for me. I grabbed my purse and in my pajamas and general disarray, I drove to the nearest hotel. I brought nothing with me except a Runner's World magazine and hammer (just to make sure I could make it to the car safely). I know the folks at the front desk likely thought I was crazy, but hey, the credit card went through. I have decided to acknowledge that I am not brave and I hate sleeping in this house alone. As such, I am headed to a nearby resort tonight at a reasonable hour. I plan to take a good book, enjoy a bubble bath and then sleep well. Thankfully, Daniel will be home tomorrow!

So Long, Farewell

2009-06-02T21:12:00.003-06:00

Tonight we moved the absolute last item out of the "Gavin House." While I am glad to almost be out from under one of our two mortgage payments (our status since March 2007), it was kind of sad to say goodbye tonight. Although the sale won't close officially (keep your fingers crossed) until June 30, our buyer moves in tomorrow. As such, I won't be in that house again unless he's standing next to me complaining about the evaporative cooler (we are essentially landlords for the next month). It's been a mental strain to own the second house and we have really struggled with it during it's 15 months on the market. During that time, I have gotten to go over there several times a week to get mail and water and make sure no one was squatting. It's part of the reason why I had to turn down grad school and part of the reason why we aren't making as much progress as I would like financially. With all that said, when Daniel and I were first falling in love, we looked at this house together and in it I saw our future as a couple. I remember how thrilled we were when his offer was accepted. We really learned about each other and learned to love each other there. I planted my first plants at that house and we learned evaporative cooler maintenance during hot summer nights together. I planned our wedding there and together Daniel and I learned the perils of room painting and ceiling fan hanging. I guess I can say that the Gavin House will always be our first house together and like any couple should, I plan to hold all the best memories with me. It's odd that as you draw to a close on a relationship, you can easily forget the bad memories and see all the good clearly for the first time. Bye bye, Gavin. In the name of moving forward, it's time to call it a day, but you will always hold the title of "Best Bath Tub" to me!

Running Highlights

2009-05-21T21:02:00.006-06:00

I haven't blogged much lately about my training. That hasn't been for lack of running, just lack of blogging time. Back in Janaury, I came home from a run and immediately put fingers to keyboard. Now, I come home from a run, take my dog on a cool down walk (to keep my muscles from seizing up to the point of paralysis) and then do a "core muscle strengthening routine." By the time that's done, all I want is a glass of wine and to sit in a stupor, even if it's 7am.

I have been really regular on my last month of training. I have only missed one day of training in that time. I can feel myself getting stronger, gaining endurance and getting tougher mentally. This past weekend, I ran my first 8-miler. It was tough, but I was able to keep pretty close to an 11-minute mile. Honestly, I am not fast. I will be really happy if I can run the marathon close to an 11-minute mile (roughly 5 hours). I still walk about 20% of my mileage and don't know that I will be able to remove the walking completely before the race. That said, 8 miles was doable and I feel confident about my progress.

This weekend, I will be really challenging myself. Although it's another 8-miler, I have been running at 5100 feet elevation and this weekend I will visit my parents who live at 7000 feet. I think the 2000 foot elevation gain and a more hilly run will test my true progress, but mostly my mental growth and resolve.

I did put in a new playlist this past weekend and while I am not ready to reveal it in its entirety, here's a few highlights:

* Song that lights a fire under me: Higher Ground - Red Hot Chili Peppers

* Song that would most appall my mother: Lose Yourself - Eminem

* Song that was a hit when my mom was in college: Green Onions - Booker T & the MGs

* Slow song that seems to be working: The Boxer - Simon & Garfunkel

Texas & Me

2009-05-20T22:01:00.007-06:00

I confirmed today that I will be spending a large portion of my summer living out of a suitcase in Dallas. (I would really appreciate any positive views on this situation.) A woman in our Texas office is heading out on maternity leave in early July and will be out for roughly two months. In her absence, I am going to "help out". For me that means I will spend roughly 4 workdays there in June, 10-16 workdays there in July and 7 workdays there in August. If I weren't a total homebody, this would be no big deal, maybe even an adventure. For me, I love my house, my garden, my dog and my husband and don't see much reason to leave the house.

Good Things:

* Chipotle (we don't have those in NM)

* Frequent flier miles

* Better shopping (if I have time)

* Chipotle (I plan to eat there more than once)

Bad Things:

* Running in severe humidity (this could be a good thing since it will help me prep for the humid Kauai marathon)

* Living out of a suitcase

* Being away from my home

* Being away from my husband

Help me add to my lists...

A Great Dog

2009-05-20T07:56:00.006-06:00

My parent's dog, Spiker, was a happy and enthusiastic dog. He was 12 years old. Although I didn't live with my parents for much of the time they had Spiker, I would describe him as a family dog. As a golden retriever, he had perpetual optimism and perpetual bad breath. I guess you take the good with the bad. He endured a lot of torture at the hands of grandkids and other family dogs, but he never snapped or got angry. As you can see (in the only grainy image I have), Spiker is letting my parent's other dog, Herbie, sit on his back. That was pretty much his life. He loved Colorado and hikes and being pet for hours on end and he especially loved dinner time.

Yesterday, it became obvious that age and a botched hip surgery were keeping Spiker from enjoying life anymore and he was put to sleep. If you have any pets, make sure to pet them a few extra times today. You don't realize how much they add to your life until they are gone.

Keep your fingers crossed...

2009-05-16T20:06:00.002-06:00

but not double crossies, since I really I really don't need a jinx. On Wednesday we got an offer on our other house that we've had listed since Feb '08. We accepted the offer and with any luck, we close on June 12. Selling this house will open up a world of possibility for me and take a world of worry away. I am so grateful that something is happening and am looking forward to the day when we are not a real estate moguls. One mortgage is more than enough!

My 10-K Playlist

2009-05-05T12:27:00.003-06:00

My 10-K Playlist Since mid-March, I have run almost exclusively to the following playlist. During that time, I have run two 10-Ks, a seven-miler this past weekend and a few other runs totaling 53 miles. The playlist has served me well, but as I gear up for my half-marathon in June, it’s too short for my long runs and I just generally need a change. You can see that my musical taste is generally poor, ranging from top 40 to the old and obscure. For example, I bought Earth, Wind and Fire’s “September” on I-Tunes last night as the cornerstone of the new playlist. You will see that many of the songs involve surviving, which is my only goal on my training runs and the songs repeated at beginning and end are meant to give me an extra added boost… (Boost=not crawling the last half mile.) I am always open to suggestions, so props to my friend, Jackie, for sending me a CD of suggestions a few months back. Two of her tracks appeared in the 10-K playlist (#8 & #15). 1. Viva la Vida … Coldplay 2. Stronger… Kanye West 3. Black Horse & the Cherry Tree… KT Tunstall 4. Young Folks…Peter Bjorn and John 5. Hey Ya…OutKast 6. Birdhouse in Your Soul…They Might be Giants 7. I’m Yours…Jason Mraz 8. Mr. Blue Sky…ELO 9. Gotta Get Thru This…Daniel Bedingfield 10. Bubbly…Colbie Caillat 11. The Safety Dance…Men Without Hats 12. Put Your Records On…Corrine Bailey Rae 13. Crazy…Gnarls Barkley 14. It’s a New Day…will.i.am 15. Foundations…Kate Nash 16. Yummy…Gwen Stefani 17. Stronger…Kanye West 18. Viva la Vida…Coldplay

Come Sail Away

2009-04-09T23:47:00.002-06:00

I have been AWOL from the blogosphere due to illness and home improvement. I went to Phoenix for the NCAA tourney and got another cold. Ugh. During the climax of the cold, my parents (also sick from said Phoenix trip) arrived to help me redo my backyard while Daniel was out of town for work. I so appreciate their help, especially since we all just really wanted to crawl back into bed. We rebuilt my deck, my mom stained it and then we added some new plantings to the backyard. It's starting to come along, but it's nowhere near done and Daniel will get to enjoy many weekends of digging since I have put in my time. When we get a little further down the path, I will post some before & after picks.

Also since I last blogged, my dear Tarheels won another NCAA championship. It was great to see although the end of a season always makes me sad. I cry every year during One Shining Moment and spend about a week having withdrawals. We have some fantastic players leaving this year and I really don't have the same love for the NBA, NFL or College Football. At least our local Triple A baseball team had the home opener tonight, maybe I can get into that.

Tomorrow, I leave to meet Daniel in Santa Barbara. I would like to say that excitement is my number one emotion for this trip... In reality, it's fear. We are headed on a sailing instruction vacation. We will spend four days sailing around the Channel Islands and learning basic sailing commands and procedures. It's just Daniel, the instructor and myself on the 24' boat, so I am guessing I won't get to sit and drink wine while they work... It's not that kind of trip. This is one of my dreams and I decided to achieve it as an early 30th birthday present to myself. That said, I probably get a C- in general coordination, so hopefully that's not necessary. Maybe as I head into my 30th year, I will learn how to laugh and my shortcomings and just enjoy the adventure. That would be a great step forward for me!

Slightly Obsessed

2009-03-24T19:34:00.002-06:00

I am sitting on a pile of sheer wonderment. In mere moments, I could be rich. My world may be about to change altogether. What prompts this bout of optimism? Albertson's Monopoly.

My local grocery chain is currently having a game promotion. They have done this in year's past and I have generally ignored it. I suppose that something about the economy and something about having no idea what I am doing with my life is prompting me to search for the "light at the end of the tunnel" and Albertson's Monopoly appears to provide an appropriate diversion.

The game started about a month ago. You get Monopoly game pieces for certain products you buy and then certain combinations of game pieces mean you win prizes. What I would now describe as an obsession started out as slight interest. When I did my normal grocery shopping, I would get a game piece or two and check to see if they matched my board. Somewhere along the way, I started altering my shopping so that I would buy brands that had game pieces instead of brands that didn't. Of late, I just buy things that have game pieces and refuse to buy anything that doesn't have a game piece. (P.S. We don't eat a lot of vegetables these days since those aren't included.) I have gone so far as to search the web for fellow addicts who might be willing to trade game pieces. Most of those sites are "mom blogs" and I do see that as a childless, well-employed, non-minivan driving person, I don't fit in with the normal "Grocery Gamer."

Today, I bought the following:

24 Powerades

9 Coca-cola 2 Liters

6 Hershey's Candy Bars

2 CPK Frozen Pizzas

3 Boxes of Cheezits

All in all, I walked away with 50 game pieces today. I will spend the next hour opening each piece and hoping I am a winner. The game ends at the end of March and I know that I am running out of time. At least if I don't win tonight, I can keep the faith alive due to the 40 individual Cruise Sweepstakes entries I sent in during the course of the game.

Tonight I told my husband that maybe we should go back and get more powerade tonight. Mind you, we have about 50 total in the house right now and before I started playing the game, I hadn't had a powerade in years. He looked at me with slight fear in his eyes and I said, "If I don't win something, I am going to totally freak out." He said, "More than you are freaking out right now?" He seems to think that my actions aren't "normal".

My greatest fear, besides not winning at all, is that I will win the $2 prize. I have bought about $75 in powerade since the game started and $2 seems like a "Bernie Madoff type return" on my investment. Daniel just asked me what I wanted for dinner. How does powerade, a candy bar and some cheezits sound? That's all that's in the house.

Oh, that's right...I don't like running!

2009-03-22T22:22:00.004-06:00

I've discovered something about running over the last week, it sucks. I know that sounds a little negative and certainly it's not the best conclusion since I am still training to run a marathon in September. I am sure things will start looking up again, but the last week of running has been B-R-U-T-A-L, brutal! Last Sunday I ran a 10-K. While I was glad to finish my first 10-K, I ran pretty slowly since the course was crazy hilly. We have been training on mostly flat land and I wasn't prepared for all uphill/downhill, all the time.

Since I didn't do that well on Sunday, I thought that this week's training runs would be good. Well, I "ran" 4 miles on Wednesday and had to walk most of it since my calves/shins were screaming after mile 1. This weekend I was supposed to run 7.5 miles, but it was pretty clear that this wasn't going to happen without medical intervention and/or being carried on someone's back the last few miles. So, I ran 5 miles instead and am amazed that I continue to get slower with each run, even though I am not running longer distances. We're headed to Phoenix on Wednesday, so I will be doing two of my runs in sunny (hot) Arizona and that should be interesting.

In an effort to focus on the positive, I ran/walked 5 miles today instead of sitting on the couch. I am at 9 miles for this past week and 23.2 miles in the last two weeks. I have run 79.2 miles since we started straining in January, despite having sat out for four weeks due to illness and a knee injury. That's more miles than I have run in my life prior to our 1/1/09 state date. I may not be progressing as fast as I would like, but I am still pretty amazed when I look at the mileage. Within the next two weeks, I will reach the 100 mile mark of training. That's pretty awesome for me...

P.S. As I type this, it dawns on me that my dad (clearly not 100% sane) ran 100 miles in just over 24 hours during an endurance run several years ago (see www.ws100.com).

Daylight Saving Time...Friend or Foe?

2009-03-11T00:04:00.003-06:00

I grew up in Arizona. For 22 of my 30 years, or 73% for you math majors, I avoided the madness of switching my clocks twice a year. That leaves me nearly unable to adjust my life to daylight saving time or remember when I lose an hour vs. gain one. I am told by my mother that I lost time this week. Since I am up and blogging after midnight, despite having to wake up at six tomorrow morning, that seems about right. Apparently my body is still tuned to the sun and expects to stay awake for a certain number of hours after it sets. As such, I would say I didn't lose one hour, but at least three over the last few nights. By the way, heart attacks spike shortly after the switch to DST.

That said, I got home from work tonight at 7:15 and was able to still get in about 15 minutes of my run before it was dark. In that way, I guess DST is a friend as we train for the marathon (it's so daunting today that I feel like it should be The Marathon, the capitalization expressing how large it looms.) I have been really sick and/or working about 60 hours a week for the last couple weeks. That combo meant that my last run was 5.5 miles over two weeks ago. That would seem like a problem, except we have a 10K (6.2 miles) this weekend and half marathon (13.1 miles) in a little over a month.

Tonight I ran an easy 2.5 miles to ease back in. It wasn't great and wasn't terrible. I think I will be able to make it through this weekend's 10K, but we'll see if my body is a little shocked after a few weeks of inactivity. All in all though, training is going good. D. is kicking my butt, but it's easier for boys...

I Ran Four Miles Tonight...

2009-02-18T22:46:00.002-07:00

...and I have the scars to prove it!

Tonight was a four-mile night, which isn't that long considering I am going to attempt to run 26.2 miles at one time in September. That said, it's tough to jam the run in between work and darkness. I knew that I was going to be cutting it close since I really don't like to run in the dark by myself. I got through all but the last mile in pretty much daylight, but then darkness settled in and I started to freak out.

To add insult to injury, I decided to wear my prescription sunglasses on the run. It wasn't the best logic, but I generally think that if people saw my eyes as I ran, they would see that with each step I wince a little and I don't need their pity. Sunglasses have one main purpose: to block light. Sadly, they did a bang up job of this tonight and I was nearly blind for the last mile. I even took off the glasses for a while to see if my horrible vision was better than total darkness.

Also in the last mile, I started to chafe really badly in my under arm area (code name: armpit). I tried to adjust my shirt and sports bra to mitigate the damage and realized that I was actually being gradually stabbed by a renegade bra underwire. Here's the thing, I love my bra. I generally sleep in it and I run in it too (despite wearing a sports bra). The underwire made a break for it during the run (I don't blame it) and my skin blocked its escape. I bet I am the only person who has ever removed the underwire from their bra while running... I also wanted to be "special" and now I am.

So, I have a hole/bruise/scratch from where my bra attacked me during my run in the dark. I think that is grandly ironic since I was so concerned about injury due to attack by a mad man while I ran in the dark. Turns out bras are far more dangerous!

Mix It Up

2009-02-14T23:37:00.003-07:00

We started running about six weeks ago and while I have seen a steady progression in our distance and endurance (we did 5 miles today), I haven't seen any progression in my "running mix." About a year ago, I put together a 50 minute mix of mostly hip-hop/pop to listen to on the Ipod while I workout (pre-workouts, I did my calculus homework to this mix, both are similarly excruciating.) I've now listened to that mix for the past six weeks, about three times a week. While Kanye's "Stronger" still gets me through the last few minutes of the workout, I need to make a change on the rest of the mix. Although I have admittedly horrible taste in music (usually a large contribution comes from Top40), music really inspires me. For example, if I hear Coldplay's "Viva La Vida" in the morning, I face the day with greater strength and optimism.

Playing on my mind these days is the importance of a marathon day mix. Besides training my body to run 26 miles at one time, I need to spend the next 6.5 months fine-tuning the mix that will carry me through the race in September. I think I will likely find an hour-ish long mix that I can repeat many, many times until I drag my tired body across the finish line. [How long does an Ipod keeps its charge?] In the last week, I pulled some CDs out from high school/college to see what I might add to the mix. I rediscovered Cake's Fashion Nugget album and Everclear's "So Much for the Afterglow" and know that I have some potential contributors.

So, here's the question: If you had to run 26.2 miles, what song would get you through mile 26?

We won!

2009-02-11T21:35:00.002-07:00

Tonight the North Carolina Tarheels played Duke and beat them handily. It was awesome. Here I sit in my #50 UNC Jersey and I am so happy. Daniel and I continued a tradition that I started years ago in Phoenix... We drink a 40 of malt liquor (Mickey's is our pick) as we watch the first Carolina - Duke game of the season...out of a brown bag. As I bought the Mickeys' today, the clerk at Walgreen's said, "Mickey's, huh? You don't strike me as a Mickey's drinker." My mom asked if our future potential children would drink their juice out of brown bags if Carolina and Duke were playing... I said, "Of course."

D. doesn't really swear much, I swear enough for the both of us on a regular day. That said, I think he stores most of his annual swears up for the Carolina - Duke game. The dog is hiding in another room because of all the yelling tonight.

The Carolina - Duke game (especially when the good guys win) is like a holiday to me, probably equivalent to Christmas. Go Heels!

I Love Jesus, but I Drink a Little

2009-02-11T21:27:00.002-07:00

This video is a little long, but well worth watching... It made my week. (p.s. I don't know how to post youtube videos on here, but the link is below.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83JDXXKzOXg

It's all in my head...

2009-02-11T18:36:00.002-07:00

Today's run had me going 3.5 miles. That's not too long, but not as short as the "easy" 2.5 mile run on Mondays. I have really struggled since the knee injury with my pace. Since the 5k, it just seems like I am destined to be at an 11 minute mile during the training runs. That doesn't bode well since I am not running very far right now and as you add distance, you generally lose speed. At this rate, I might as well walk the marathon in September! Anywho, I really wanted to push myself today and since my body has been feeling pretty good post-acquisition of the knee brace, I went for it.

I was holding pretty close to a ten minute mile pace for the first mile and a half and then started to slow down on the second half of the run. I knew that finishing in 35 minutes was quickly slipping out of my grasp, so I promised I would really push it for the last mile. Somewhere about a half mile from the house, I could actually see the house and I started playing mind games. I was really tired and starting to wheeze a little. I started to think, "Who would be hurt if I just walked the last half mile." At that moment, I was reminded of what Daniel has said, "So much of this is mental." I realized that I am mostly fighting against my mind and not my body at this stage of training. My mind is a lot lazier than my physical body. My body could definitely finish up strong, but my mind was trying to quit.

In the end, I told my mind to shut up and pushed myself to finish in 36:01, that's about a 10:17 mile. I know that over the next couple months, fighting my mind will be the biggest battle. I am pretty healthy, so my body can make it to the April half-marathon. It's messages like that I need to keep repeating instead of "I can't."

Four Miles and a Leg Brace

2009-02-07T18:01:00.002-07:00

We have reached the official start of our training. The first month was really about conditioning and getting our bodies used to running several times a week. Today, we started adding mileage, which (in theory) will allow us to run 26.1 miles seven months from now. We went up to four miles today and although it was a little rough (read headwind and horrible cramp), we made it through and I guess I feel encouraged by that. Last week, after the 5k, I would have told you that 3.1 miles was my max. Yet, here I am today at 4! I also bought a knee brace today and it made a huge difference during the run, so maybe I won't need to carry a bag of peas with me everywhere I go after all!

I can't wait to be 30.

2009-02-01T22:16:00.003-07:00

Today we ran a 5k. I have been out of commission for the last two weeks since I really jacked up my knee with a run a few weeks ago. The 5k was my first run back and I started out feeling great and the first mile was really no big deal. Sadly, I still had a couple to go and my knee started acting up. It was a tough run, but I finished in 35:36. That isn't exactly lighting the world on fire, but I had to walk a lot of it. D. finished in 29:42, my dad finished in 39:02 and mom was somewhere around 44. My mom actually would have placed 2nd in her age group and gotten a prize, but she didn't wear a timing chip. I am sadly at the top end of my age bracket these days... Today I ran against 20 year olds and while I recently complained about moving to the 30-39 bracket this year, I realized that in race terms it isn't a bad thing to be the youngin' in the age bracket. There's one positive to turning the big 3-0 this year. Regardless, it was a good way to start out our Superbowl Sunday and it brings back my motivation to get back on the training route, even though my knee may not cooperate! I plan to have a bag of peas at hand at all times for the next seven months and run like my life depends on it!

Is this what being 30 feels like?

2009-01-30T22:10:00.003-07:00

I posted a couple weeks ago about my fledgling jogging "hobby" (aka adventure in masochism). I have spent the last two weeks with a bag of peas always near my person, frequently on my right knee. My knee has felt unnatural and generally painful since the last time I ran, which was over two weeks ago. On Sunday, I head out to run a Superbowl 5K. This was in my initial training plan and I will admit that the wings offered at the end of the run provide some motivation. I hope my knee can keep up with the rest of me for 3 miles (or a little longer), since I am determined to run on Sunday. We are now just slightly over seven months from race day and I will be ready...

Lonely Runner

2009-01-13T18:10:00.002-07:00

D. is out of town, so I did today's run on my own. I guess I should be proud that I actually got out there and did it without his encouragement, but I was a hot mess on the road and I think I did more damage than good.

Let's see: I don't understand how to work my stopwatch, I decided to take my Blackberry with me so I could call for help, if needed, but it's so heavy it kept pulling my pants down, stuff kept falling out of my pockets, I somehow tweaked my knee and I kept looking behind me to make sure I wasn't being followed by someone sinister. As you can imagine, most of my energy was focused on these items and my pace and running form suffered. I will be glad to have my running buddy back tomorrow (for more reasons that this)! For now, I sit here with a bag of frozen peas on my knee trying to be happy that I made it through another training day! I plunked the big bucks down last night and paid for the marathon, so there's no backing out now.

Hurts so good.

2009-01-11T12:32:00.005-07:00

That title is a lie. There is nothing good about the hurt I am feeling. Today was our sixth day of running in the marathon training plan. Up to this point, the running has been pretty easy and I have felt like being "marathon-ready" was just a few steps away. Today, I would say that me completing a marathon is as likely as me being able to balance an elephant on my pinkie finger while running on a treadmill.

We are on a run:walk program that sounds deceptively easy. Each workout, you repeat the system until you get to thirty minutes. We started with a few days of running 1 minute and then walking 2 minutes, repeat. Then we switched to a couple days of 2 minutes run, 1 minute walk. Today was our first day of 3 minutes run, 1 minute walk, repeat. What a difference one minute makes.

They examine that concept in the movie, Sliding Doors, a personal favorite. In the movie, they follow Gwyneth Paltrow through two different lives and the difference between the lives is due to her being a minute late for her train one day. I won't ruin the movie for you, but let's just say the minute leads to her demise ultimately... Today one minute nearly led to my demise also! When we were about a mile and a half from home, I nearly laid down on the concrete and just quit. Now I remember why people groan when the subject of running comes up, it's really hard.

I mentioned to D. that in order to complete the marathon, we would have to repeat today's workout nine times...in a row...without dying. He mentioned that's it a good thing the marathon isn't tomorrow. That said, we are home, I haven't vomited (yet) and tomorrow is a scheduled rest day. For these things I am thankful.

Day #2 of 245 - Into the Snow

2009-01-04T17:15:00.004-07:00

Okay, we didn't quite run in the snow, but it did snow earlier today so I think the title is appropriate. When we set out for our run, I added a warm hat to my running wardrobe since I knew it was colder than yesterday. That was confirmed as we could see our breath for the whole run. About halfway in, I was in no way warm and my arms (with a thin shirt covering them) felt as though pins were being stuck in them. I think I know a) what a tattoo feels like and b) what the beginning stage of hypothermia feels like. Perhaps a light jacket would have been a good idea. While that all sounds dramatic, I checked the temp when we got home and it was 25 degrees.

We did another 2.8 miles today (and took the dog for a quick walk after) and I'm feeling good about it. Tomorrow our schedule provides for a "Rest Day" and I sense my muscles will need it since they are a little tight now and not used to all this motion. We stopped into our local running store today and D. got fancy new shoes that are apparently going to make him a top athlete, so that will be nice. The guy that helped us (and there was only one guy and us in the store) was so nice. He gave us his personal email address and told us he'd help with anything including developing a plan that will get us ready for our run in September. That's one thing about runners, although elite runners exist (and I suspect this kid is one), they are not elitist. I think runners are excited when people want to take up this wacky sport that they love. People that want to run 26.2 miles are a rare breed and those that have already achieved that milestone seem to want to help everyone else get there. We probably visited with him for an hour and it was one of the best shopping experiences I've had in a long while. (Which is ironic since I didn't buy a darn thing.) Here's to the hope that I will be able to get out of this chair eventually since my hamstrings seem a little "tense."

Day #1 of 245 - Into the Wind

2009-01-03T16:01:00.003-07:00

Over the Christmas break, my sister invited us to join her on a trip to Kauai in early September. It sounds relaxing until you hear that she will be running her first marathon while we are there and it looks like several members of my family will be joining in on the fun. My brother-in-law and my dad plan to run the half-marathon and D. and I plan to run something, but are still debating whether we could really be marathon ready in eight months. I have always wanted to run a marathon, but this may not be my time. The marathon falls on my sister's birthday which is a cool coincidence! At least there is plenty of beach and several tropical drinks if you reach the finish line.

Today we started the "conditioning plan" which takes a body that has run before and gets it into shape for steady training. We did a run:walk combo for thirty minutes and covered about 2.8 miles. D. does the run faster, but I am quite a power walker so we stayed fairly even. I think we would have hit 3 miles had it not been for the wind that blew in our faces for 50% of the run. All that said, it felt good to get out there and do something active. We have 244 days remaining, so we'll see how long the honeymoon period lasts. To get me in mental shape, I have been reading a hilarious book about a woman who probably had no business training for a marathon, but did. It's laugh out loud funny and is giving me a tip or two while making me laugh about what's to come. Here's the link for anyone woman who wants to laugh about running!

http://www.dawndais.com/The_Book.html

What Not to Wear - Christmas Edition

2008-12-23T23:53:00.004-07:00

Let me set the stage... We were going to drive to visit my parents in Colorado today. Since I like to be comfy in the car, I put on my comfy clothes in anticipation of a long-ish car ride. This outfit included workout pants, an incredibly old grey sweatshirt that is several sizes too big and black fuzzy slippers. Well, the weather and roads were total madness today and we ended up having to postpone the drive until tomorrow. Since I didn't have any food in the house (in anticipation of being gone for a week), we headed out to our local Panda Express for dinner. Since D. was wearing Simpson's pajamas, it was determined that I was the most presentable and should go in. Now I am not overly obsessed with outward appearance, but I have NEVER worn fuzzy slippers in public. That got me to thinking about whether this is how it happens to people on TLC's "What Not to Wear." One temporary lapse of situational judgement is caught on camera and folks accross the county eye you with horror and say, "How could anyone wear that?" Essentially, I am guilty and in that moment I am probably deserving of your harsh judgement, but I promise I hardly ever dress that badly! Only around the house really... I'm hoping that anyone who sees this gets to spend a couple days in cute pajamas as Christmas is upon us and cute pajamas = Christmas (and Christ, he's a pretty important part also :). Merry Christmas!

Our Weekend

2008-12-14T20:02:00.004-07:00

This weekend, I wrapped Christmas gifts and got most of them mailed off to their various destinations. It was a relaxed weekend for D. and I. Oddly enough, last night involved us playing "Scene It - ESPN Edition." I would rate myself above average on my knowledge of sports trivia when compared to the average woman. That said, 95% of my knowledge is centered around college basketball. Of that knowledge, 95% is centered around one team. This game is really not for women, (sorry to stereotype) since one of my first bonus cards referred to the glee I should feel at the SI Swimsuit Edition arriving in the mailbox. One of the first video questions was related to the movie Caddyshack and I felt like I had a pretty good chance. Sadly after that, the questions started relating to NFL from the '80s and I was lost. Thankfully, you get to move your gamepiece even when you get questions wrong and I actually managed to win one of three games. We moved on to Yahtzee after that, more my speed.

I did a little holiday "baking" today and finished my Christmas decorating. Here's the tree (and the dog.)Today involved some "winterizing." I work for the power company here in NM and picked up a few tips to increase the efficiency of our 30 year old home. The space heater, flannel sheets and water heater insulation seem to be staving off our need for the whole house heater for now!

That's really it for us, it was a nice weekend and I got new flannel pj pants on Friday, so I'm pretty well set for now!

Silver Lining

2008-11-18T22:25:00.002-07:00

Yesterday our realtor called and effectively said that if she was in our situation, she would probably just pull the houses off the market and rent them since a sale is looking pretty unlikely. When your realtor, who only makes money on a sold house, tells you to give up, it's easy to be a little discouraged.

Lucky for me, I know that things are going to work out and that regardless, D. and I are in this together. On top of that, a few really great things happened:

* A local station has already started playing Christmas music all the time

* I am down ten pounds according to the Wii Fit

* Basketball season has officially started

Tonight my Tarheels beat up on Kentucky pretty well and that helps my mood. Officially their first game was Saturday against the Penn Quakers, but since that game wasn't televised and the Quakers aren't exactly "world-renown" for their recent basketball success, tonight's my kick off. The team looked really good and the buzz of college basketball really keeps me going until March/April!

Here's to a long and successful season for the Heels and maybe a little luck in the housing market!

Happy Halloween

2008-10-30T23:12:00.005-06:00

Well, we did our Halloween celebration tonight. We will be in Ohio at this time tomorrow for a wedding and won't be celebrating October 31 in the traditional way. Tonight we carved pumpkins with our small group from church. The carvings were religiously related. Ours was meant to look like Mary and Baby Jesus. Mind you, I said "meant to look like..." I kept having to explain it to people.

In addition, we dressed our poor little puppy up in her costume tonight. She has been a cowgirl, a dinosaur, Yoda and this year a hot dog. Here's a picture for your viewing enjoyment.

Actually, she was much happier than she looks. This year there wasn't a head piece and that seemed to minimize her horror. Don't worry, we took her on a walk after the costume session.

We are headed to Columbus tomorrow for a weekend wedding. (D. is a groomsman) On Sunday, we head to East Lansing, Michigan to see how we feel about it given it's possibly our future home. It should be a good trip since D. and I will be seeing some parts of the country for the first time!

Shameless Product Plugs

2008-10-14T23:14:00.002-06:00

I have found a few items recently that are “changing my life” in small, but noticeable ways and felt the need to share these items (both large and small) with you: Furry Slippers - $5.99 per pair – Fall and winter weather is upon us in New Mexico and I realized that my flip flops just wouldn’t cut it for around the house use any longer. I found these cheap, comfortable and cute (leopard print) slippers in the Target shoe department this past week and already love them. My greatest fear is that I will “accidentally” arrive at work with the slippers on one day, since at this point they are just an extension of my body. Little Boomey Wine - $3.97 per bottle – Cost Plus / World Market sends me weekly updates and I found out they are having a big red wine sale this month. So far, I have tried the Little Boomey Shiraz/Cab blend and it’s really good. Despite an 18-month membership to a ridiculously expensive wine club, I wouldn’t say I am a wine connoisseur. That said, I normally try to stay in the “tasty, yet $8-11 priced wine category.” (Alright, I admit to a “Two Buck Chuck” phase, but that’s long behind me now.) This wine meets the “tasty” requirement and I can get two or three bottles for my normal price of one! That’s a fantastic buy, if you ask me! Stikk.com – “free” – Oprah Magazine recommended this gem of a website to me and while I am still a visitor, not a member, it’s a really cool idea. Essentially it’s a place where you can track your success in specific personal goals. You enter the goal, set up a team of supporters that will email you when you have down days and have a referee track and vouch for your success. You can “put your money where your mouth is” and if you don’t succeed, you money can go to a charity. They also provide the option to have your money donated to an “anti-charity,” which I find really interesting and a great potential motivator. After all, I could certainly give $25 to a charity I loved if I missed a goal, but it would really burn to give $25 to an organization I hated because I couldn’t stick to something. I am always looking for great motivators and think I will be signing up soon to track my progress on this site. Check it out when you have some spare time! So there are a few things that have made my world a better place in the last week in addition to a great visit from my mom and a few days off work!

Out of the Groove

2008-10-08T08:54:00.008-06:00

Somehow my illness a couple weeks ago robbed me of my blogging super power. It used to be I would go about my day and think of about ten things I could write about. Now, I am out of the groove and arrive at blogger.com with little on my mind... While mental clarity is nice, it makes for crappy blogging, part of a fun blog comes from a slightly neurotic mind.

D. is out of town for the week. The house is way too quiet when he's gone and I miss him quite a bit. I am really lucky that my mom is only a four-hour car ride away. She came down yesterday and will spend a few nights here while we shop, watch girl movies and the like. When I consider the move to Michigan, the fact that my mom can't be there in four hours is certainly a point in Albuquerque's favor. She mentioned a trip to the nearby outlet malls and my ears perked up... The last time I went there I did some significant damage to the credit card balances, but who doesn't need a new pair of fall shoes? Or perhaps a new Coach purse?

Speaking of Albuquerque, this week marks the annual Balloon Fiesta. It causes slight madness in the area as our population swells and restaurants get packed. That said, it's fun to look out your window each morning and see countless hot air balloons sailing past. I think my mom and I may head to the "Glowdeo" one night this week when they light up tons of balloons at the same time and illuminate the night sky. It's pretty spectacular. Here's some pictures of the fun from past years:

AWOL Blogger

2008-09-30T08:51:00.002-06:00

It's been a few weeks since my last blog. Somehow, in the madness of it all, I couldn't bring myself to blog. That said, I am back... Since last time, I: - Went to Phoenix to say goodbye to my nephew. He's gone for two years on a church mission. - Went to Telluride for Blues & Brews Festival. Saw Etta James, laid in the sun and spent time with my close friend Melissa. (Miss you already, Mel!) - Spent my first weekend at home in over a month. - Bought a Wii Fit and Dance, Dance Revolution. (This has sucked up a fair amount of time...) - Got a cold that laid me up for a full week straight. I mentioned to Daniel last night that it was SO cool to breathe through my nose. That's something I used to take for granted, not now! - Lost all my files on my cute little USB Flash Drive. That's five years of work, life, financials, etc. (Word to the wise, back up people!) So, it's been an eventful few weeks and I am happy to be back in sane, healthy life for a little while.

The Best of Alaska

2008-09-10T20:28:00.002-06:00

Most Amazing Concept: Alaska is huge and even seeing it doesn’t get that point across. We stood on a glacier and looked at a mountain that we thought was about 100 yards away. Someone explained to us that it was actually about a mile away. It’s impossible to have an accurate perspective when there is so much undeveloped land. Best Meal: I had a Salmon BLT one evening that was perfection. I can’t speak highly enough of the halibut and salmon we had in Alaska. The stuff we buy at the grocery store will never compare. Also, the amber ale from Alaska Brewing was surprisingly tasty and we had several of those on the trip. Best View: The ride from Godwin Glacier back to Seward was amazing. I was speechless from the views of mountains, water and glaciers. Favorite Refrain: We were instructed that if we came upon a bear during our travels we should just speak to it calmly and say, “Hey, Bear.” We repeated this phrase constantly when turning blind corners, hiking or really anytime. Coolest Sound: Aialik Glacier calving directly into the ocean while we watched. Everyone on the boat was dead silent as we heard the thunder and cracking that precedes a small amount of the glacier breaking off. Most Alaskan Moment: Hiking in Denali National Park and feeling complete solitude. Also realizing that it wouldn’t be uncommon to walk around a corner and find a moose or bear, because after all we were in their home, not the other way around. Overall an A+ experience, we’ll be back someday!

Alaska - Part Two

2008-09-09T20:47:00.006-06:00

On Friday, we headed down to Seward via train. The train ride between Anchorage and Seward is quite beautiful, especially when the weather is clear. During the train ride alone, we saw humpback whales and sheep. As soon as we arrived, we were whisked away to our helicopter ride to Godwin Glacier. I was terrified a few years back when we took a helicopter to Catalina, so I didn’t know quite what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised, there was so much to see that I completely forgot my fears. There is a dog sled team that spends their summers on this glacier and we got a chance to talk with them, meet the dogs and ride on a dog sled. One of the guys up there will be running his third Iditarod next March and it was really neat to hear about all that goes into planning for that event. I had such a neat time riding on the sled that when D. fell off, I didn’t notice. Sorry honey, at least we were close to the main camp! Here are a couple pics from that experience:

On Saturday, we took a day-long Fjords cruise. The cruise was enjoyable and we again saw humpback whales (closer than I would have liked) and amazing glaciers. The scenery was great. They urge you to take seasickness medicine for the cruise and ironically, the medicine made me sick for the first part of the day. Other than that, we had perfect weather and smooth sailing. We cruised up to Aialik Glacier and got to hear the glacier calving. It’s almost complete silence and then you hear the cracking and thunder as small parts of the glacier break off into the water. All around the glacier, you have “ice water” since large chunks remain in the very cold water. Here’s a picture of Aialik: We spent our evenings in Seward at a place called Ray’s Waterfront. It’s ridiculously expensive, but we ate at the bar and felt like a part of the family by our third visit. The whole town of Seward seemed very “Mystic Pizza”-esque to me and I really like the idea of a teeny fishing village until our last day when the weather was ugly and I realized that there’s nothing fun to do in a small fishing village if it’s raining. We sat under a tree and played Yahtzee until the rain finally drove us inside our favorite spot, Ray’s. (I guess that’s what you do in a fishing village when it’s pouring, have a beer.) Meals including Salmon or Halibut Count: 8 Total Meals: 12

Alaska - Part One

2008-09-03T20:47:00.004-06:00

Well, we’re back from our trip to the vastness that is Alaska. It was a great trip and Mother Nature was surprisingly cooperative. On Monday, we flew into Anchorage and checked into a very small, but cute room at a bed and breakfast on a lake. That evening, we took a walking tour of downtown Anchorage with me serving as a tour guide (with help from Frommer’s). I can only say that as I consider what I should be when I grow up, tour guide isn’t in the cards. Even D. lovingly pointed out that I was a horrible ambassador to downtown Anchorage. I would walk up to a building and say, “Well, this is the old courthouse. I don’t really know anything about it.” That was if I could find the place. We ended the tour at a bar called “Darwin’s Theory” where the locals seemed QUITE skeptical of us despite our best efforts to look like locals. We then took in a movie that I wouldn’t recommend to anyone that doesn’t like really inappropriate and overly graphic movies. In my defense, it was the only movie showing at a movie house/restaurant/pub that had great reviews. Here’s us beside some (???) building on our walking tour that had totem poles…

On Tuesday, we took the 4.5-hour scenic drive up to Denali National Park. Fall has arrived in Alaska and the colors were quite beautiful. Since we forgot binoculars, we stopped at a Wal-Mart in the town of Wasilla (don’t judge, I didn’t know a Target was one mile down the road). For those of you interested, Wasilla is the town where John McCain’s shocker of a running mate was a city council member & mayor before becoming governor of Alaska. To gauge size, I would guess the town has about three stoplights. We spent our two nights in the Denali area at a neat inn on a lake. The views were fantastic the whole time although Mount McKinley didn’t come out to play due to overcast skies. Regardless, we saw moose, grizzly bears, black bears, caribou, dall sheep and a variety of birds. They call moose, bears, caribou and dall sheep the “Big Four” to view in Denali, so I guess we were lucky. We took two intense, but gorgeous hikes (I swear we gained at least 1700 feet in elevation, so they were quite steep) and really enjoyed the quiet. I would say Denali is probably the most “natural” national park since they have taken great strides to keep development out. On our last morning in Denali, we went rafting in glacial run-off. They say that means the water was on a glacier within 24 hours of our raft trip. (AKA extremely cold water.) Shortly after, we headed back to Anchorage for a short stop-over before the next leg of our trip. Here’s a picture of us in the park… They tell me that Mount McKinley is somewhere behind the clouds. I will believe it when I see it!

# of Meals in Alaska that included salmon or halibut so far: 4 # of Total Meals in Alaska so far: 7

Alaska or Bust!

2008-08-24T16:44:00.004-06:00

We leave first thing tomorrow morning for a week in Alaska. This trip will be our first true “vacation” since our honeymoon exactly one year ago. Neither one of us has been to the 49th state before and we really just came up with this idea a few weeks ago. Here’s our itinerary to give you a flavor: Monday – Fly to Anchorage & check out the sights there Tuesday – Drive to Denali National Park and spend the evening at a Salmon Bake Wednesday – Take the nine-hour shuttle bus into Denali and hopefully see all kinds of wildlife and maybe a glimpse of McKinley Thursday – Raft on the Nenana River in the morning and head back to Anchorage for the night Friday – Ride the early morning train to Seward (supposedly incredibly scenic) and upon arrival, take a helicopter ride to a glacier where we will drive (mush?) a team of sled dogs Saturday – Take a boat tour of the Kenai Fjords for animal and glacier viewing Sunday – Hike back to the Harding Ice Fields Monday – Head back to ABQ (and toast our anniversary with a glass of champagne) Have a great week, I know we will!

(P.S. We decided somewhere during the packing process that it would be really COOL if we were able to take eight days worth of Alaska stuff in carry-ons instead of checking any luggage. We managed the feat and will be heading to Alaska (land of the 50 degree highs) for eight days with two little rolling suitcases. This should be interesting...)

Baseball Games with the Elderly

2008-08-23T16:43:00.004-06:00

This past week, D. and I went to the Albuquerque Isotopes game. Sitting directly behind us were a few folks from a local rest home and their “handlers” (for lack of a better term). This made the baseball game, which was really quite boring, a ton more interesting.

First, we watched a very old man shuffle at a molasses pace towards the restroom. Important thing to note is that he left in the first inning. He didn’t return…ever. This left me VERY concerned and I suggested several times that D. go check the bathroom since the rest home employees didn’t seem to notice.

Second, the gentleman that sat directly behind us sounded quite similar to Donald Duck when he talked. (I assume from MANY years of smoking.) What made that enjoyable was that he screamed at the team the whole game. My personal favorites were when he yelled that his mother could play baseball better than the Isotopes. Mind you, this man was probably 80+, so I don’t need to do that math on his mother’s age for you. Another favorite was, “I paid good money for this game and now I am getting agitated. You don’t want to see what I can do when I get agitated!” I assume that would probably involve beating someone down with his cane.

Third, the woman behind us was quite sweet and played with the small children in our row. That was until she convinced the rest home employees that beer wasn’t prohibited from her diet. She had four beers over the course of the last hour of the game. I am sure I don’t need to explain to you what happens when someone who doesn’t really drink has four beers in an hour. The walk to the rest home van was probably interesting.

All that said, I think everyone got what they wanted out of the game. As I watched “Donald Duck” leave, he twirled his cane and did a little dance step. The boozy lady giggled like a schoolgirl once beer three was done. D. got to do the chicken dance and I got to see the mascot Orbit. We all got to watch the Isotopes come back from a big deficit to win the game. The only one I am not sure about is the guy who never came back from the bathroom…

Thanks, Honey!

2008-08-23T00:49:00.005-06:00

My sweet husband sent me flowers at work this week. On Tuesday, I got flowers for my birthday in a really beautiful monochromatic pink combination. On Wednesday, I got flowers for our impending first anniversary. This bunch was in a fun purple combination.

D. and I are really different people, but have enough common threads to make it work. We are a great balance to each other and I have no doubt that God placed D. in my life because he was my best shot for experiencing long-term, unconditional love. He has been fantastic to me over the last year and I know that despite only knowing him for three years total, my life would never be the same without his love, support and ability to make me laugh. D. thanks for helping me keep things in perspective and for your loyalty! I love you.

Birthday Recap

2008-08-21T07:24:00.007-06:00

The start of my 29th year went really well this weekend. We headed up to Denver on Saturday with tons of rain and had a nice dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (we don't have that in ABQ). D. was a little distraught that the Broncos and Cowboys (his team) were playing an exhibition game in Denver that night. That would have been a pretty convenient way to see them, but we've been focused on other things and didn't think to check that. Sorry, honey!

On the birthday, I woke up and got to have breakfast in the room with Mimosas. I opened gifts from family/friends/D. and counted the change my dad gives me every year. I don't know how long he has been giving me the change that he collects each year, but it is something I look forward to all year just because of the tradition! D. got me some great rain/weather gear for our upcoming trip to Alaska. I also got to have Chipotle for lunch (another non-ABQ establishment), so that was fantastic.

The forecast called for rain on Sunday, but it turned out to be a nice day for the Jack Johnson concert and that's how we closed out the day. It was a very "community event." We talked to all sorts of people in the hours before the concert and it was a fun way to spend an afternoon. It was an AMAZING place to see a concert and Jack was really great. He did a pretty much acoustic encore that was just top notch, I am so glad we went. After the concert, since the lines to leave the park were insane, we played Uno for an hour with neighboring cars. They had beer, we had cards and snacks and everyone was happy!

Here are a couple photos of the concert and Red Rocks:

Here we are before the concert began.

A view of the stage and all the people before the show.

This is honestly what the red rocks that surround the park (and make for great acoustics) look like at night. It was beautiful.

Wii are injured, but happy!

2008-08-15T20:41:00.003-06:00

Our Wii arrived in the mail on Wednesday. I started with the boxing before D. got home from work and could only hack it about five minutes. It’s really quite exhausting. When D. got home, we played all the sports games: tennis, baseball, bowling, golf and of course, boxing. I did really well at bowling and boxing, although D. is starting to catch up to my skill-level. On tennis, baseball and golf, it’s really no contest – he kills me to a level that makes is sort of pointless to even try. Since I don’t give up that easily, I plan to start practicing when he works late. Our first night, while trying to compete at one of my “less-skilled” games, I hit Daniel with the remote. It was quite a hard hit and came from my belief that if you just move the remote really fast, in erratic movements, you will score well. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. I woke up this morning with a sore right bicep (my dominant hand for the Wii). That must mean it’s akin to exercising, so I have given myself permission to “play on.” Happy gaming!

Christmas in August

2008-08-14T17:43:00.002-06:00

My husband has been quite a good gift giver through the years. This past Christmas, he gave me a “Stress Management” Spa Day at a local ABQ spa. In the grand irony of life, I have had way too much going on during 2008 to take advantage of any “Stress Management.”

Since I am currently a lady of leisure (break from school and a few days off work), I went to the spa today to have my stress managed. I was there from nine this morning until four this afternoon. That’s seven full hours of stress reduction. I do feel quite relaxed now and slathered in more creams than I knew existed.

First, I started with a poppy seed scrub, followed by a shower that had spouts from every imaginable angle – like a warm rain shower. That led to a soak in the world’s coolest bathtub filled with essential minerals and trace elements (or something like that). This was followed by a ninety-minute stone massage, a yummy lunch, a “Fountain of Youth” facial and a lavender aromatherapy pedicure.

My Personal Highlights: *The tub was amazing with high jets, low jets, a waterfall and enough room for about six of me. If I had a tub like that in my house, I would NEVER leave it, I honestly thought about whether I could work from that tub on a laptop. *I am pretty sure I received five foot massages today. *The stone massage was completely different from any massage I’ve received and I don’t really know how to feel now that my “chakras are balanced,” but it was amazing and I was SO relaxed at the end of that ninety minutes. I can honestly say nothing entered my mind during the massage and I haven’t experienced “stillness” like that in years. *I was treated like a pseudo-celebrity as I was escorted from place to place, brought ice water on a regular schedule and had my delivered lunch set up and ready for me when I finished my massage.

Since I really like to stretch my birthday out as much as possible, I am considering today the official kick-off of the festivities. We head to Denver on Saturday for Jack Johnson at Red Rocks and I know that this will be a wonderful start the final year of my twenties. (Gulp, “Fountain of Youth” treatments may become the norm.)

Adios Calculus 1, Hello Work!

2008-08-07T21:52:00.003-06:00

My calculus final was Wednesday and I found out my grade today, so I am officially done with probably the most difficult class I have taken to date. There were at least three times when I seriously considered dropping the class. In the end, I am glad I didn’t. That said, it just means I “get” to start Calculus 2 on September 2.

I will miss my Calc 1 class for a few reasons: a) There was a guy in the class with some severe vision problems, he was a real trooper since he had to sit in the front row with his very thick glasses and still had to use binoculars to see that board. I really admire his desire to learn since that’s above and beyond what most lazy students would do. One thing to realize is that he also had a sleep disorder and so once or twice per class, he would fall asleep and snore and/or drop his binoculars. It kept the rest of us awake. b) There was a girl I sat by in class who had hair that was longer than the super short-shorts she wore. She liked to rock an antique Star Trek shirt and I sometimes wondered what her life must be like outside of class. c) My teacher, although not 100% on the English language, was “the nicest, most passionate about the subject, most concerned about the students” professor I’ve had. I know I wouldn’t have passed with out his help!

With the grand success of finishing class yesterday, I celebrated by working 13 hours today. My part-time, 20 hours a week schedule, has been about 40 hours a week since the start of July. I think things will let up sometime next week. At least I will have a couple weeks to truly relax before it all begins again.

I did have a nice celebration with D. and my mom last night post-final. We had beers and appetizers and then saw movies. D. saw Dark Night since he wouldn’t subject himself to Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants with the girls. There was one gentleman in the movie and his eyes seemed to roll back in his head sometime around the previews. Anyways, I loved it!

Breaking News...Cheesus

2008-07-30T18:16:00.003-06:00

I am throwing one other thought out there today. I think this story is important, so I am sharing it. A woman found a cheeto that resembles Jesus recently. They like to call it "Cheesus." Stories like this really make me smile. I don't pay enough attention to what I eat, so I have probably missed several important resemblances in my food.

Beware the “Reply All” Button

2008-07-30T18:13:00.002-06:00

I haven’t ever been a victim of a “reply all malfunction.” That said, I know several people who have been and I would bet you do too. Today I got an email from an academic advisor. It went to an email list of at least 500 people. The advisor mentioned that she was canceling her normal advising hours to go to a conference. Shortly after getting that email, I received an email from someone who had “replied all” to the initial message. It said something like, “Hey Mary, you’ll want comfy shoes for that conference…and a large bottle of vodka.” I can only picture the face of the poor “reply all-er” when she realized her email had gone out to at least 500 budding MBAs. I have seen reply-alls that were annoying, embarrassing and mean. I have seen graphic personal details unintentionally revealed to mothers and grandmothers. I only hope that my enjoyment of today’s reply all incident and the subsequent blogging doesn’t karmicly destine me for my own incident… Then there was the time a girl who worked for me a few years back sent an email to the entire company, executives included, that said, “I have quite a few excess paper clips at my desk, let me know if you would like any.” I got a call from an executive shortly after the email. He requested I educate my employee on when it’s appropriate to email 500 people in 15 different states. The message would have fallen on deaf (more like clueless) ears, so I didn’t bother. Perhaps that is why my current employer restricts emails to the entire company unless “Corporate Communications” has reviewed them… P.S. If you search “Reply all stories,” you can read of other fun incidents!

Satan’s Minions (or My Pet Squirrels)

2008-07-28T18:24:00.005-06:00

I mentioned a couple weeks ago that I was charged by a squirrel in my back yard. One afternoon’s terror has now turned into an all-out war. One squirrel has now turned into two squirrels. Apparently, the little guy called his squirrel friends and said, “There are some low-lying, relatively healthy plants over here. Let’s party!” As such, a squirrel festival has been going on in my back yard for two weeks. They have eaten all my potted flowers and generally made me afraid to go in my back yard. Today I noticed them eating the plastic cover on our outdoor fireplace. It’s really pleasant in ABQ at night right now and if it weren’t for a) my fear of getting bitten which would inevitably result in a lifetime of rabies and b) my fear of the minions somehow sneaking through the opened back door into the house, we would be outside enjoying the end of summer. When I water “the stubs formerly known as flowers” the minions have left behind, I usually ask my husband for “cover,” since I am convinced they are waiting to attack. Besides that, I avoid the back yard at all costs and wait for them to discover the still semi-healthy plants in the front yard. Through some online research, I have learned that the pest control experts say home remedies don’t work (surprise, surprise – how else do they make money) and that as soon as the little buggers get into your house, you are toast. There is a guy called the “Skunk Whisperer” that serves the ABQ area and I can just picture us chasing around squirrels together in my home. The image may be mildly amusing for those that don’t have to participate, but for me it’s a reason to always make sure the backdoor is secure. For all those reasons, I have decided to give my backyard over to the squirrels... temporarily. With any luck, our dog, Riley, will be coming home from summer camp soon and I have a feeling “Squirrel Festival 2008” might feel a little crowded once my perpetually hungry mutt arrives.

Tag, you're it.

2008-07-23T22:34:00.003-06:00

While not familiar with the concept of “tagging,” my friend Jackie “tagged me” and as such, here’s a little of my perspective: A. Attached or Single? Attached (literally right now since my husband is taking up most of the space on the couch)

B. Best Friend? Several for different purposes: Mom, unconditional love with a healthy dose of advice; my sister Tina, someone I aspire to be just like; Emily, a friend I don’t talk to often enough, but someone who really knows my heart; Jackie, my best friend on a day-to-day basis, has been with me through both the big and little stuff over the years

C. Cake or pie? Yellow cake w/ chocolate frosting (only occasionally as I prefer processed sugars and chemicals – like red vines)

D. Day of choice? Friday or Sunday – a toss up

E. Essential item? Sadly, my Blackberry

F. Favorite color? Carolina Blue

G. Gummy bears or worms? Worms, all the way, better if they are sour.

H. Home town? Tempe, AZ

I. Favorite indulgence? Champagne

J. January or July? January for sure… New year, new possibilities and Phoenix made me hate July forever

K. Kids? None yet. I really like my nieces and nephews. I remain neutral on most other kids…

L. Life isn’t complete without? An occasional bath and those moments when I am reminded how lucky I am.

M. Marriage date? September 1, 2007

N. Number of brothers and sisters? 1 brother and 2 sisters

O. Oranges or Apples? While I love oranges, I hate pulp - so apples (fuji)

P. Phobias? Spiders, bridges, failure. Also heights, but I overcome.

Q. Quotes? “I’m gonna come at you like a spider monkey.” -Talladega Nights

R. Reasons to smile? Talladega Nights, my husband, my dog, my family, One Tree Hill.

S. Season of choice? Spring, I think. Summer is good also, the days are really long.

T. Tag 5 people: I don’t know anyone else who blogs… It’s like playing tag by yourself. Sad.

U. Unknown fact about me? I spent at least three hours on the American Gladiators message boards within the last six months. I signed a petition and contributed money to bring the WB show Everwood back.

V. Vegetable? Zucchini and/or asparagus

W. Worst habit? Excessive use of ellipses and dashes when I am confused about comma use.

X. X-ray or Ultrasound? Depends on whether I have a broken bone or a growing baby…

Y. Your favorite food? My husband says I should put chicken fingers. I say Chipotle.

Z. Zodiac sign? Leo and it makes sense.

A Perfect Day

2008-07-21T21:09:00.005-06:00

We headed up to Pagosa Springs for the weekend to “dog-sit” for my parents while they headed to South Bend for my Dad’s 50th high school reunion. (A pretty impressive event, if you ask me.) Saturday was an amazingly therapeutic day, one of my best in a while. I woke up Saturday morning, had my coffee, made some biscuits and read a book I am really enjoying on my parent’s deck (which has a 180 degree view of the mountain peaks.) Mid-day D. and I set off for a five mile hike. The sun and fresh air seemed to cleanse me a lot more than a detox diet or day at the spa. To give you an idea, this is a picture I snapped during the hike.

At the end of the hike, we had a celebratory cold beer and I truly felt like I had just put in an honest day’s work. That evening, we had dinner at a place that deserves pretty much perfect marks, called the Alley House. We sat on their deck in the perfect early Colorado evening sipping a lovely bottle of wine while enjoying spicy Chipotle Edamame, perfect Ahi Tuna and very fresh asparagus & mushroom stuffed trout (that last one is D.’s, anyone how knows me knows that I don’t eat fungus.) As a final treat, we had Sambuca and Crème Brulee. It was one of those meals that makes you want to memorialize every bite. As if that wasn’t good enough, my parents had called ahead and treated us to the meal as an early anniversary gift! To cap off the day, we headed to the natural hot springs in Pagosa. They have over a dozen different pools ranging from the river to 114 degrees. In a moment of pure insanity, we took a dip in the 55 degree river, which was quite cold at 10pm. Although sticking around the Southwest for another year wasn’t in my plans, I am already seeing how much I have to gain from this year. On the trip home, we started a list of all the places in the Southwest we would like to see together in the next year. We already have about ten weekend trips on the list that are within driving distance. When I think about places I have lived, I feel like I never took full advantage of all they had to offer. This “bonus year” in New Mexico lets me be close to family for a while longer and allows me to do all that stuff we haven’t focused on in the madness of wedding planning/house buying/house renovating/working 60+ hours/school applying/etc. I feel like I am finally spending some time in the present instead of just applying all my efforts to planning the future.

Randomness In Perfect Order

2008-07-14T16:15:00.008-06:00

I would like to blog about three totally unrelated things today, but in an effort to keep my blog entries cohesive, I plan to build some rickety bridges in between my thoughts: Random Thing #1 – Happy Birthday! To: Me, From: Me (A month early!) My tickets for the sold out Jack Johnson show at Red Rocks in Colorado arrived this weekend. I really love Jack’s music, he seems to speak to a pace of life I wish I had and I have yet to see a concert of his. I have also always wanted to attend a concert at Red Rocks and it turns out he’s playing there on my birthday. They call that “kismet.” Sadly, I connected all these facts long after the tickets went on sale and after they had started trading at quite a premium on the net. Nonetheless, it was worth every dime and I can’t wait to see one of my favorite musicians at such a beautiful place.

For those that don’t know, Red Rocks is a beautiful natural geological formation in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. The 300-foot red rocks that surround the amphitheater make for amazing scenery and supposedly perfect acoustics. I am looking forward to everything about the show except the inevitable bugs. It never ceases to amaze me how frightened I am of things that are less than a tenth of my size, case in point… Random Thing #2 – Attack of the Killer Squirrels I was standing in my backyard this afternoon when I heard the pitter-patter of footsteps in our side yard. Always a skittish one (especially when it comes to unexpected footsteps), I quickly turned my head to see a squirrel climbing a tree in our backyard. I realize this is a normal thing for most of the U.S., but I live in fenced-off, heavily trafficked Albuquerque and haven’t seen squirrel since my wilderness hikes of yore. (An interesting and unintentional link to Random Thing #3.) The squirrel and I made eye contact and then the squirrel did a peculiar thing, it charged me. I stood and stared for a second and then quickly realized that the distance between us was shrinking and momentum was on the squirrel’s side. I ran for the indoors just praying the squirrel wouldn’t beat me into the house. We once had a hummingbird in the house for about three hours, it was hell. Thankfully, I was able to beat it inside and now I will probably not enter the yard again for a few days. I know the squirrel could have out run me since I run a little slower these days with a few extra “first-year of marriage” pounds. (No, it’s not a baby!) It appears I am not the only one in the country with this issue… Random Thing #3 – It’s a Slightly Larger World After All I heard a news story today that actually came out several months back. Apparently, Disneyland had to take the ride, “It’s a Small World” down for a ten-month rehab in January. The primary reason being that the boats for the ride, originally constructed in the 1960s, were getting consistently stuck. It has been suggested that the boats might not be the problem, we are. I guess we are all a little heavier, on average, than the folks back in the ‘60s and the original ride can’t handle the increased weight. That was a disturbing factoid to me and I can’t wait to see what our increasing waist lines do next. When’s the last time they increased the standard size of doorways? I type this all while snacking on a beer (non-light) and white corn tortilla chips. After all, it would be a shame if they rehabbed the ride for nothing!

Peter Piper Party

2008-07-11T07:16:00.008-06:00

For some reason, I have been in a slight funk this week. I have learned that the quickest way to kick a funk (at least for me) is to pack the kids up in the car and head to Peter Piper Pizza. Now mind you, I don't have any kids, but that doesn't stop D. and I from going. I guess it's always been a favorite of mine, I actually went there for either my 19th or 20th birthday several years back, by choice. Since we moved to Albuquerque, we have spent occasional "date nights" there when we both needed a little stress relief. As an aside, most Peter Piper Pizza's serve beer. That said, if you plan on going I would advise strongly against Fridays and Saturdays, unless you like being accosted by screaming kids that aren't your own.

This time was especially "rad" since my good friend Emily gave me a gift card to Peter Piper when I got married last year and so this trip was going to be "on her." If you are a Peter Piper Executive, stop reading here. For some reason, the folks at our local Peter Piper could figure out how to use the gift card and just comped our whole meal, tokens included. That means Emily really provided several visits "on her." I told D. that when you get something you shouldn't get free for free, you'll have to overpay for something else to keep the universe in equilibrium. He seems unconvinced.

Here's D. loving his Galaga. Watching him play really gives me a window into his life before me. He's quite good, but oddly passionate about the game.

There's me on the Dance Dance Revolution machine. There will usually be a couple junior high kids playing and we have to stare them down until they get scared or run out of tokens. We played three rounds, I only won one... D. is a dancin' machine.

Here's to a stress free weekend!!

A Family Fourth

2008-07-08T08:51:00.004-06:00

The fourth of July has always held special meaning for my family. Besides its traditional meaning here in the USA, it was my grandmother’s birthday and my parents were married on July 4, 1963. Those of you that are quick at math will note that my parents celebrated their 45th anniversary this past weekend. I am constantly amazed at the level of commitment they have maintained through the years. Happy Anniversary to you, Mom and Dad! You have consistently reinvented your relationship and I think that is part of the secret to your success.

To celebrate, my “immediate family” descended upon Pagosa Springs, Colorado for the weekend. Since we are absurdly close and want to be together every waking (and non-waking) moment, we packed my parents’ house with 21 people. I am pretty sure that increased the population of the small town by about 10%, someone probably had to repaint the sign at the town’s entrance.

The festivities included a parade downtown, fireworks at the high school and a baseball game in the field on my parents’ land. My dad has created a baseball field complete with correct measurements, perfect mowing, bases, a backstop and team benches. We just need to work on adding lights for night time games. It was a great weekend and getting everyone together is no small feat. We had four generations together for the weekend: my parents, their kids, the grandkids and the lone great grandkid.

I must say that a highlight for me was the new board game we played, Quelf. It’s quite ridiculous and random. The game is not for the intelligent, but rather for those willing to embarrass themselves. For instance, my nephew Josh got a card that required him to say, “Here me, for I have spoken” at the end of each sentence he uttered during the hour-long game. My nephew-in-law, Matt, had to make a snorkel out of a plastic water bottle and wear it for the whole game. By the way, he also had to ask his foot permission to talk. These are a few glimpses of what makes the game so fantastic. It’s a “roll on the ground laughing” type of game and I highly recommend it for anyone that likes to look foolish or could use a good dose of foolishness. Since I fit the latter category, I can’t wait to go out and buy it. Some photo highlights:

My great nephew (I feel old), my niece, myself and my sister! (Note the matching shirts, a requirement! A gang of 21 people in matching shirts…scary!)

The group that mauled each other during a heated game of spoons: my niece-in-law, my nephew, my nephew, my nephew-in-law, another nephew and D. (Note the haircuts on the left, the Mohawk and the “Cul-de-sac” were big hits over the weekend.)

The Land of Entrapment

2008-07-01T18:39:00.000-06:00

When I first moved to New Mexico two years ago, I was told that the “Land of Enchantment” (our state’s nickname) would be more appropriately named the “Land of Entrapment.” It appears I should have listened.

Last week, my husband, D., and I decided to postpone our impending move to Lansing, Michigan for one year. It appears that New Mexico has wrapped its claws around us and we will spend the next year attempting to get free, talon by talon. Sell one of our houses, the grip loosens. Sell our second house and the state known for its aliens (from both outer space and Mexico) is hanging on by a thread. Find my husband a replacement job in Michigan and we’re floating free.

It all began while I was living in Colorado and on my first or second date with the man who is now my husband. I mentioned that I would NEVER live in New Mexico and that I considered it the armpit of the country. Within two months of that proclamation, he received a job promotion offer…in Albuquerque. A word to the wise, never say you will NEVER do something, it virtually predestines you.

Oddly enough, I now feel that the negative connotation of the “Land of Entrapment” isn’t quite fair to a state that I have grown to like, if not love. New Mexico is like the girl who gets 7.5s out of tens in all categories (looks, personality, etc). New Mexico isn’t a stunner in any one area, but rather a solid contender for good weather, decent economy, travel options, things to do, natural beauty, etc.

During my time in New Mexico, I bought my first home, got married at a beautiful church outside of Albuquerque, worked hard, learned a ton, (poorly) played the totally foreign sport of soccer for two seasons, met some really great people and had some really good times. It has probably been the most accomplished years of my life and so being entrapped here for another year seems like it can only bring more goodness to my life. To Michigan I say, “Can you hold my spot in the line?” To you I say, “Welcome to a new blog from a girl in the city with all the Qs.”