2010 Race Review

I've decided to follow in the footsteps of my friends and fellow bloggers, Lauren and That Pink Girl and take a look at my year in races.

2010 marked my adventures in running.  Adventures...they were.  I ran four 5Ks, one 10K, and two half marathons.  I suffered through two injuries in the process - hip tendonitis for 4 months and then most recently my pelvic stress fracture.  I also started the tradition of blogging about my finishing song with each and every race!

Let's take a look, shall we?

On January 31st, I ran my very first 5K, The Rocket's Run (cuz Meliska made encouraged me).  This was an amazing experience!  I remember starting off the race (in the ridiculous cold, by the way) wondering what I had gotten myself into.  How was I going to run 3.1 miles???  I never saw the 2nd mile marker, so I was sure I was off track and I wanted to stop and cry a few times, but I didn't.  I kept on trucking a long.  As I entered into the Toyota Center for the last tenth of a mile, the cheer teams were lined up and I got all teary eyed with my accomplishment.  I knew then that I had come a long way.  I knew then that I was truly on the right path.  My heart was filled with such pride.  I ran across the Rocket's court - past the finish line and looked up into the stands for my friends, Meliska and Lauren.  I love this picture because I look dead.  ha!  I had a goal of 48 minutes (cuz I'm a special kind of turtle) and surprised myself by finishing in 44:15.  I then understood the term "runner's high".  Consequently, I think the hip tendonitis started with this race as a result of not knowing to alternate sides of the street to even out the wear and tear of the unevenness of the pavement on my body.  Ahhh...the things you learn AFTER you need the information!  Finishing Song:  Single Ladies (Beyonce)

On February 27th, I ran my 2nd 5K, The Rodeo Run.  This was NOT my favorite run.  I learned some important lessons with this race, however.  I learned it is best to not overdress for a race (I overheated).  I learned I need my music to run (left mine at home).  I learned not to start off too fast (ran my first mile in 12 minutes and I'm so not a 12 minute mile girl).  This race was not time chipped for the 5Kers - which, by the way, is lame, so I don't have an official time.  I do know that it was definitely higher than my Rocket's Run time.  I did enjoy racing with my friends Meliska (turned out to be her last race because she was preggers with Liam), Greggy-D, Lauren, Rodney, and Meliska's parents!  Finishing Song:  none  =(

On March 13th, I ran my first 10K, Bayou City Classic.  I loved this race.  I did this one with my younger sister, Linda, and our friend Melissa (not the preggers one).  Lauren and her sister also ran it, but I never did see them.  =(  It was very nicely organized race and perfect running weather.  I remained strong and steady during this race despite the tendonitis giving me a lot of trouble on the second leg of this race - I was proud of my 1:26:38 finish.  Here's a picture of Linda and I sporting our t-shirts later that day.  Finishing Song:  Pocketful of Sunshine (Natasha Bedingfield)

On April 10th, I ran the Tomball Bunny Run with Lauren and Rodney.  They had run this race the year before and loved it.  I have to admit it was so nice to participate in a local race for a change!  This was not time chipped, BUT I had received my Garmin for my birthday, so this was the first race I was able to run wearing it.  I also successfully incorporated 4/1s to my race (versus the 3/1s I had done previously) which lead me to a PR of 39:40.  What made this especially exciting was that I had set a goal to beat 40 minutes and I accomplished that goal with sheer determination and hard work!  I like my look in this picture - it's totally all retro 70s with my sweatband and 'fro!  Finishing Song:  I Will Survive (Gloria Gaynor)

I then took a race hiatus for a few months while I trained for my first half marathon - the Chicago Rock 'n' Roll Half which was on August 1st.  My friend Bobbi Jo came to Chicago and ran this race with me.  We stayed downtown with my grandmother the night before the race.  My two double cousins, Danielle and Nicole joined us, as did cousin Courtney from New Albany, Ohio.  My aunt, Danielle, Nicole, and Courtney were an awesome support crew chasing us around the race with drinks!  I did pretty well the first half of the race with my 4/1s, but then the charlie horses attacked me and I speed walked the second half of the race.  I ended up being a bit disappointed with my 3:24:39 finish since I knew I was capable of better.  My body and pride were sore, but I picked up the pieces and returned to Houston to begin marathon training with my running group.  Finishing Song:  Low (Flo Rida)

On September 11th, I ran the Bearkat Bash.  This was a great race of irony for me as I hated running the mile in high school - it was a source of embarrassment, frustration, and stress for me so many years ago and here I was willing to pay money to run 3 times that ON PURPOSE.  My how times had changed!  The thing was that my running group was scheduled to run 7 miles that day, so my coach had wanted us to run before the race, so I ran 3 miles - some at the park and then I ran to the race with just enough time to rush to the bathroom and then start the race.  I must have been slightly dehydrated because after the second mile, I had some issues with charlie horses AGAIN and this caused me to have to walk most of the 3rd mile.  This sucked because I had run the first 5 miles of my day.  My time was terrible at 47:40.  I felt horrible.  I would have rather run this 5K and then run another 3 or 4 miles afterwards to save face on my time than have performed how I did.  On the positive side, though, Lauren and her sister, Sarah, participated in this race, as well, so it was nice to familiar friendly faces when I was feeling LOW.  Finishing Song:  Mr. A-Z (Jason Mraz)

On October 24th, I ran the Houston Half with my friend Melissa (it was her first half marathon)  This race was a bit daunting for me as it had a 3 hour time limit and I knew I would be pushing it.  My goal was to run the entire distance outright (as I had long ago dropped my run/walk method) and just walk through the water stations and/or when my siblings passed me off G2.  Around mile 3, I started hurting.  I thought it was my hamstring.  Somewhere between mile 3 and mile 4, I saw my siblings and their spouses - they were awesome, by the way - and they passed me off a drink and I told them the "hills" (meaning entrance ramps) were killing me.  I proceeded to run the race, but something was wrong.  There was one turn-around in the race, but before I could get there, the police forced a whole bunch of us to turn early.  I was EXTREMELY UPSET.  At that point, I was 3 minutes behind where I needed to be to finish in the 3 hour time limit.  I felt they had taken my half marathon from me.  I almost gave up.  I almost quit the race.  It took everything in me to continue - and I do mean everything because I was tired and I was hurt and I was defeated, BUT I kept on.  My finish time doesn't really matter here because it's not legitimate.  I didn't actually complete this half marathon if we are being technical.  Finishing Song:  Low (Flo Rida).  Does anyone else think it's weird that both of my half marathons had the same finishing song?  I just now realized this!!!

I was supposed to do the RunGirl 13.1 on December 12th.  Remember how I previously discussed being hurt?  Turns out I somehow got a stress fracture in my pelvis during that half marathon.  I had to drop out of the RunGirl (BUT I really look forward to doing this race next year with my Meliska as it is an all girl half marathon).  I also had to defer my Houston Marathon 2011 registration to the Houston Marathon 2012.

It is very difficult not to feel like a failure looking back at the last few months of my running.  I know that isn't fair.  In some ways, writing this post made me kind of relive it all.  In other ways, it makes me want to come back with a vengeance!  2011 is going to be my year!  I'm going to run smarter and stronger!  I am already registered for 2 races with another 3 planned.  I honestly think cross-training is going to be the key to keeping me injury free.  I think proper hydration is going to keep those charlie horses at bay.  I think that for a first year runner with no previous running experience at all - well...I guess I didn't do half bad.

Cheers to 2011!

Christmas 2010

We were slightly delayed leaving Houston on Thursday to go to Chicago.  Continental played the role of little tricksters, though, letting us believe we were leaving on time and then having us sit on the plane for nearly an hour before taking off.  =/  We still managed to land on-time since they like to build in that cushion into the schedule.  I had lied to my cousin earlier and said not to worry about us being hungry.  I was glad to see my aunt didn't listen to this nonsense as she had a tray of sandwiches and some soup for us (and perhaps some Christmas cookies).

Friday, Christmas Eve, before we left to hang out with some cousins, we decided to give each our parents a little gift.  Keep in mind that they are both obsessed with Oliver, their English Bulldog.  They love him more than they love us kids.  For my mother, we had a long sleeved tshirt made up that had a picture of Oliver made up to look like an ornament and it said "Deck the Halls with Balls of Ollie".  She loved it!  For our father, we had a tie made up that had little pictures of Oliver wearing a Santa hat all over it.  My dad wore it with  pride that evening - it was so cute!  

Normally we have a big bowling game filled with trash talking, food, and laughs, but Christmas falling on the weekend made for a short trip this year (and next year, too, for that matter).  Instead, we drove out about an hour away to their house for brunch.  We stayed out there for a few hours or so and then headed back to my aunt and uncle's house to help do a bit of chopping, slicing, and dicing in preparation for the Christmas feast the next day.  We also finished wrapping presents for that evening and then got ready to go to my other aunt's house.

Christmas was a little extra special this year because my aunt, uncle, two cousins, and one cousin-in-law from Arizona came out to celebrate with us.  It has been many a year since they have joined us.

We all gathered at my aunt's house.  Food was eaten, champagne was sipped, presents were opened.  Then we went back to our house.  My mother unveiled the "surprise".  She decided to resume last year's pajama party by now making it a tradition for all the ladies to wear matching pajamas, so my mom, two sisters, aunt, two double cousins, and I all wore matching pajamas.  After we all changed into them, we gathered in the family room with a nice warm fire and began exchanging all our gifts.  The Secret Santa this year wasn't so secret.  Next year we will need to have a refresher of the rules apparently!  Brother-in-law Craig picked me and he bought me Season 3 of the HBO Series Big Love, Season 4 of the Showtime Series Dexter, a 15-lb Kettlebell, and a Kettlebell DVD.  From the parentals, I got a new area rug for my family room, a matching entranceway rug, a Texas A&M garden gnome (I named him Augustus), some bathroom accessories I picked out to redecorate my master bathroom, and then the piece de resistance....my mother knew that I wrote in my These are a Few of my Favorite Christmas Things blog about my stocking and how much I miss it being filled, so she broke into my house (with her key) while I was at work on Thursday, stole my stocking, smuggled it in her suitcase, and filled it with these goodies above!  Honestly, this is one of my favorite gifts of all time!  Oh...we also had one more gag gift for our father.  Cathy and Jay came up with the idea of using the picture of him in the golf themed Mickey Mouse ears from our Disney trip and having it made into a t-shirt.  Then, because he kept mispronouncing Komodo (of Komodo dragons fame) and it became such a joke on our trip, they spelled it out phonetically as my dad pronounces it below.  Here is a picture of him holding his gift.

After all presents were opened, we went to bed.  It had been a long day.

Christmas morning, I woke up to the wonderful smells of turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, etc....being baked above (I sleep in the basement).  I showered, dressed, and then went upstairs for some breakfast.  Everyone started arriving around 12 noon and it was a day full of food, fun, and family.  We even fit in some game time with Scrabble, Boggle, and a mega Snow Ball Fight (which I did not participate in for lack of proper gear and a stress fractured pelvis)!  After another long day, bed was quite welcomed.

Sunday, I awoke to work issues - two of my dudes backing out of their trips and the need to find replacements.  =/  We all got ready to go to Walker Bros. Pancake House for breakfast.  This is a staple for us every time we go to Chicago.  I had the apple pancake - pure gluttony on my behalf.  I wasn't able to finish it, at least!  =D  We went back to the house for a bit more of the Boggle, and then headed to the airport.  We were slightly delayed, but made up the time in the air.

And voila - another Christmas in the books - a fabulous time with family!

The Plan Part 1: Health & Fitness

A new year for most means resolutions.  Let's face it...many resolutions will be made, but not so many will see their way through the year.  It's sorta human nature.  Why?  We get bored...  We get tired...  We get lazy...  It's too hard...  We don't want it bad enough...  Take your pick.  All of the above, perhaps?

2009 started off as a year full of intentions and fizzled out turbo fast.  I somehow picked it back up in July and started on my weight loss journey losing 65 lbs by Christmas.  I also incorporated regular exercise into my life at that time, as well.  For the first time in a long time, I felt like I was on the right path.

2010 started off as a year full of continuing what I had begun in July, but with a new twist...a new challenge...RUNNING!  I managed to lose another 40 lbs, I ran my first 5K, my first 10K, my first half marathon, and many other races.  I dealt with my first two injuries, as well - first hip tendonitis for 4 months in my right hip, and then an anterior superior iliac spine avulsion (pelvic stress fracture).  I weigh less than I have since I entered into high school and with the exception of my little pelvis issue, I feel great.  I didn't maintain my weight loss goals, however.  You see, for 10 months I practiced abstinence from the foods I was not allowed to eat.  Once I started allowing the occasional treat, it was like opening the flood gates and it became harder for me to manage the diet portion of my weight loss, so I became stagnant in that arena.

2011 is the year of finishing what I started.  I will reach my weight loss goals.  I will reach my fitness goals.  They go hand-in-hand, I realize.  By weighing less, I will be a better, stronger runner.  I will once again train for a marathon (Houston Chevron 2012) and hopefully, this time, injury will not prevent me from seeing it through.  I am working on a plan.  It is not practical to go the abstinence route, but on the same token, I need to practice a little better discretion on what I choose to splurge on.

Goals =

50 to 70 lb continued weight loss (the window exists because I've never known a normal weight as an adult (well since I was 8 years old, for that matter), so I have no idea what will look good / feel good on my frame) following the South Beach Diet

minimum of 50 miles per month = 600 miles for the year (368.6 miles in 2010)

complete 4 half marathons (already picked them out cuz that's how I roll)

compete in a minimum of one race a month (yes, even in the horrid wretched summer heat)

compete in my first mini triathlon (and if I like it, do a second one)

cross train with a concentration on arms at least 2x per week

cross train with one 24 hour fitness class per week

train for 1 marathon

work towards a 36 minute 5K (previous 5K PR is 39:40)

bring my lunch to work every day (unless I have a scheduled lunch date with a friend)

There are my goals!  What are yours?

By the way...My Christmas post is totally coming...I just haven't uploaded my pics yet cuz work has been a bit nutty!

cHeAtEr ChEaTeR

Shhhh....don't tell.  I'm such a cheater!  I had good intentions, I really did.  On Monday, I went to the grocery store to purchase 3 dozen eggs, mayo, mustard, and dill relish all to prepare deviled eggs for my work Christmas party which is Thursday.  The plan was to come home from work tonight and to get to boiling, peeling, slicing, de-yolking, making my mixture, and then packaging it all up for construction tomorrow.  BUT then...Linda happened.  You know...the younger sister who calls me pretty much every day on her way home from work.  She made mention that she was talking to my mom (who is also making 2 or 3 dozen deviled eggs for my work Christmas party) and that she thinks we are both nuts and that we should just go buy those Eggland's Best pre-boiled and peeled from Kroger or H.E.B.  I laughed her off...I mean...that's a cRaZy idea....I already bought the 3 dozen eggs sitting in my fridge.  That's soooo lazy.  Everyone makes fun of me when I buy THOSE eggs for my own personal consumption.  Whatever would people think of me if they know my laziness knows no bounds?!

I caved.

On my way home from work, I accidentally pulled into the Kroger parking lot and somehow ended up inside the store staring at the egg case.  I decided it was soooo worth $14.34 of my own money to not have to deal with the labor intensive work (not to mention the frustration) of peeling 36 eggs.

So, my mom, dad, brother-in-law, sister, a few former employees, and 50 of my dudes will all be lunch munching on deviled eggs, Pappa's BBQ catering, frito pie (with my mom's homemade chili), cupcakes, pecan pie, coconut cream pie, cherry pie, and my mom's pumpkin pie, apple pie, lemon meringue pie, and some cookies.

Quite the spread, huh?!

So tomorrow is gonna be a bit nuts.  I have to go into work with my bags packed for our flight.  I will work quite diligently for a couple of hours, leave work to come home and gather my doggies to take to the "doggie hotel".  After I drop them off (a heart-wrenching experience), I will return to work to help with final party preparations.  We will then eat our meal, laugh, and have a great time.  I will then have to get back to that diligent working thing (boo) before we leave for the airport.  It's a bit crazy leaving our upper 70s/low 80s and arriving in the low 20s.  I'm gonna be freezing!

weekend recap

I was relatively lazy this weekend and I loved it.  I started off my Saturday with family lunch at BJs.  Upon conclusion of my meal, I went shopping!

We all know Christmas is a time for giving.  We all know the saying "it's better to give than to receive."  We all know...well maybe you don't know...that I have A.D.D. when it comes to my Christmas shopping which leads me to yesterday.

Let me start off with the disclaimer that I do love to give.  I really am not a selfish girl.  I'm just going to come across that way as it seems I get some of my best shopping done this time of year.  I mean the stores send you all kinds of coupons and are running all kinds of sales.  I really don't have too many winter clothes.  I am smaller than I was last winter (yay), so I was going to need to buy new stuff anyway.  I also do like to have a new outfit or two to wear while in Chicago for Christmas.  Yes...I am going to Chicago AGAIN - this will be my 4th trip back there this year.

Okay, so I had a vision of buying a sweater dress when I woke up yesterday morning.  I didn't necessarily care what color, though I kind of had gray or mulberry in mind for some reason.  I had a very nice coupon for JC Penny, so I thought I would try going there first.  They had quite the selection of sweater dresses, let me tell you. The problem with me right now is that I am sort of in between the plus sizes and the regular sizes.  This means I can sometimes pull of an XL depending on the dress/shirt (not bottoms...definitely need plus size for bottoms still), but more often than not I need the 1XL.  I just can't stand looking frumpy.  I have curves and as long as they are displayed nicely, I want them to be seen.  So, I pulled 10 dresses with me into the fitting room.  9 of the 10 made me look like stuffed sausage - not a pretty picture.  The 10th dress, however...well that was another story.  I liked it and it was on sale.  I thought a cute purse would go great with it and maybe a new pair of earrings.  I was able to buy all 3 with the use of my coupon for $67 including tax.  I heart JC Penny!

Then I went to Lane Bryant to get a few pairs of tights, but while I was there, I noticed some sparkly things.  Oh how I love me the sparkly things.  I bought a gray sequins tank and matching 3 quarter length sweater which will go great with my black slacks.  I also found a couple of very flattering long sleeved shirts and another pair of earrings.  I had a nice coupon and when applied and including tax, I got all that for $153.

Finally, I got my mop top cropped.  I had been looking like quite the ragamuffin lately.  It was time!  I showed my long time hair stylist Leena a picture of how I wanted my hair to look when it is straightened and she cut it to look just like that and then she straightened it for me.  I will never get it to look like that again, but it was nice to know that for one night, my hair looked great.

Later that evening, I went with my friend, LaShaune, to a party.  It was pretty adventurous of me to go to a party knowing only two people.  There was a plethora of fashion FAILS going on which made for an even more amusing time.  I know, I know....I'm so snarky.  'Tis not the season for such business...

On Sunday, I had a massage scheduled with Sarah.  I wasn't nearly the knotted-up mess I usually am since I haven't been running.  When I was done, I headed over to my parent's house as we were all invited over there for a food tasting (long story).  I was filled to the brim with all things yummy!  A wee bit later, my mom and I headed out to see Fighter starring Marky Mark and then we went for dinner at Carrabbas.

What a nice, relaxing weekend!  It's great to start off a week knowing there are only 4 weekdays!  It's even better knowing that Christmas is right around the corner!  I heart Christmas!  =)

mmm....carrot ginger soup!

I had a fantastic Sunday!  My friend LaShaune came over around noonish and we went to Peli-Peli for some South African cuisine.  We both opted to start with the carrot ginger soup.  We thought it divine!  After dining on our respective sandwiches, mango coleslaw, and sweet potato fries, we headed out to the Texas Repertory Theatre to see Forever Plaid's spin-off production called Plaid Tidings.  I was super excited to see this musical for a few different reasons.  First of all, I love me the musicals.  Secondly, I adore Christmas music - yay!  Last, but not least, a high school friend of mine is one of the stars of the play and I had not seen him since high school! After the show, LaShaune suggested cupcakes and coffee.  I told her I thought there was a newish cupcake place near my house, so we went hunting for it and found Treat.  We picked out some cupcakes and headed to Starbucks for Eggnog Lattes to go.  We brought back our treats to my house.

LaShaune and I both discussed how much we loved the carrot ginger soup.  I decided to make my own version.  I did not look up any recipes...I just kind of winged it.  Here's what I did.

I sauteed 1 small white onion and some minced garlic in 1 TBSP of olive oil in a large pot on the stove top.  I zested two oranges, and then juiced them.  It made for about 1/3 cup of orange juice.  I then grated a large chunk of ginger into the juice.  By this time, my onion and garlic was ready, so I added the orange zest, juice, and ginger to the pot.  I then added in 2 lbs of baby carrots and 4 cups (32 oz) of chicken broth.  I seasoned up the pot with some salt, pepper, cinnamon, and nutmeg, as well.  Once the carrots came to a boil, I let them continue to cook until they were soft.  I then turned the stove off and put the contents of the pot in the blender in batches, blending until smooth with the contents of an 8-oz tub of reduced fat whipped cream cheese.  As I completed each batch, I added it back to the pot.  Once everything was blended, I scooped some into a bowl and garnished it with parsley.  Delish!

I think next time I would like more of an orange and ginger flavor and would add another orange and more ginger to the mix.

Carrots aren't on South Beach, FYI.  I haven't exactly been the best dieter (in case you couldn't tell by the cupcakes).  I figured, however, in the scheme of things, carrots aren't THAT bad and I really wanted to try this soup.  I think I can apply the same concept to butternut squash or maybe even sweet potatoes for a variation of this soup when I get completely back on the wagon.

grow up!

I'm trying to understand guys, I really am.  Try as I might...I just don't get them.

I have head shots on eHarmony, but to be fair to the dudes who are granted the pleasure of receiving me as a match, I have a couple of body shots on there, as well.  I'm not the svelte vixen I'd like to be, but I'm no longer the chunkiest monkey on the block, either.

I figure if a guy initiates contact with me, he must like what he sees.

At least 50% of the guys who have initiated contact with me shock me when they send me their Must Haves / Can't Stands list.  You see, one of their Can't Stands is labeled as "Excessive Overweight" with the description being "I can't stand someone who is overweight."  WHAT?!

I find that statement to be offensive ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT LEVELS.  First of all, you don't have to be attracted to an overweight person, but to go so far as to say you "can't stand" them is prejudicial.  It would go without saying that if you were not attracted to an overweight person, then you would not choose them, so why do you feel it necessary to then carry it to the extreme to say you "can't stand" an entire group of people?  Secondly, it would make me wonder what would happen if I were to gain a few pounds throughout the course of our courtship.  Would you abandon ship?  What if it took a bit longer than anticipated to lose baby weight after giving birth?  I mean seriously...it would be enough to make a person paranoid!  Third of all, would you gawk in disgust at relatives or friends of mine that may be considered overweight?  I mean where do you draw the line?  I just feel that at some point a person should be mature and respectful...and at the very least think before they speak, type, write, etc...

You don't like what I'm offering, then don't choose me.  If you do choose me, appreciate me for who I am across the board.  Bottom line - it's time to grow up!

Oh and yeah...he got deleted as did all the dudes before him who chose that as one of their "can't stands".  I don't need to deal with that kind of crap.

visions of races dance through my head

I feel a wee bit pathetic as I sit on my love seat this Saturday night, alone.  Well...I have one dog who managed to manipulate her way onto my lap and another who is hogging my foot space, but you get the idea.  What am I doing here?  Ahhh...well...I'm shopping, but not for Christmas presents as you might think.  Nope, I'm shopping for races.  I'm longingly looking up info for anything from local 5Ks to out of town half marathons starting anytime after February 1st.

Officially, so far, I'm only signed up for a 10K in Houston on 3/12 and a half marathon in Dallas on 3/27.  I want to add so many more races to this list, but I know it would be irresponsible at this point considering the last two races I registered for I am unable to participate in.  It hurts me that there is a half marathon going on tomorrow that I registered for 2 1/2 months ago and that I cannot run.  It hurts me that I cannot run at all right now and that I'm not 100% sure when I will be able to do so again.  I need to run.  I need to race.  I need to know that even though I'm not very good at running or racing, I can put time and energy into something and feel a sense of accomplishment while I'm doing it.  Right now I just feel depressed.  So, I shop for races.

There is a local 5K on 2/12 I have my eye on.
There is a local 10K on 2/26 I am considering.
There is a half marathon on 5/1 in Orange County that would be cool to do.

You see, I didn't run any races in May, June, or July this year and thus noticed a lack of enthusiasm in my runs during those months.  2011 isn't going to go down like that.  I want to have a minimum of one race per month, but ideally two if I can swing it in the schedule!  Races bring forth a certain excitement to the game - an adrenaline rush.  I need that!  I crave that!

*sigh*  I just need to get better, so I can officially sign up for these 3 races and many more!

adventures? in speed dating

What you probably don't know is that this wasn't my first speed dating rodeo.  Oh no!  The first time was called pre-dating and I did it while doing the whole ever-so-healthy on again / off again thing with my ex-boyfriend.  No worries....it was during the off again phase.  A friend participated in the event with me.  When we were done, we met up with my off again boyfriend and some of his friends and then hung out for the rest of the night (and then he became my on again boyfriend once again).  See...healthy!

Since I had done the whole deed before, I did have somewhat of an expectation in my mind - not for actual results, but for the set-up, I suppose.  That was my first mistake.

My second mistake was to wear heels.  This kinda coincides with the first mistake which you will learn more about in just a second.

My third mistake was believing what I hear and not questioning specifics.

I'm sure there are more, but for purposes of maintaining my self-esteem, we will cut it at 3.  =/

Okay, so here goes...

The speed dating was offered by Eight Friends Out.  Their normal concept is to put 8 people at a table together for dinner - 4 guys and 4 girls.  Before dessert is served, they switch out the guys from another table so that you get to meet even more people.  Normally, the dinners are broken into age groups of 30s/40s and 50s+.  Obviously I attend the 30s/40s events and I'm always so disappointed when it turns out I'm on the younger end of things.  The last dinner I attended, in fact, I ended up sitting next to a *gentleman* in his upper 40s (nice...NOT) and he made some stupid comment about not being interested in younger women because he found them to be boring...they lacked the capability to have stimulating conversation, etc.  WHAT?!  I mean first of all, it's just a terribly rude comment to say considering it's quite obvious you are sitting next to a younger woman.  Secondly, to make such a blanket statement is so ignorant, it's obnoxious!  Finally, I'm bored listening to you talk, so SHUT-UP (thank you).  So, yeah...needless to say, I took a hiatus from attending events until last night. 

Last night called out to me because it was an event for 20s/30s and not a dinner.  I didn't really have any high hopes for it.  I figured if anything else, it should be entertaining.  I really can't even say that much.  I arrived about 15 minutes late, purposely, and all dolled up.  I looked good, if I do say so myself!  The event was held at Arcodoro's, a restaurant I had eaten at once before with a friend.  I got my name tag and was told by the organizer that the drinks were on special for us for $4.  Nice!  I went to the restroom to make sure I didn't have raccoon eyes from my dramatic smokey eye effect, and then went to the bar to order my vanilla vodka and soda.  It was more like soda with a splash of vanilla vodka, but hey...$4, so whatever.  I started a tab.  While waiting for my drink, the organizer informed me to line-up once I was done.  WHAT?!  Line-up?  We doin' a little line dancin'?  Um...okay.  So I looked behind me and sure enough...the girls were lined up on one side and the dudes were lined up in front of them - all were standing.  Hmmm...the first time I did speed dating, the girls were spaced out sitting around various nooks and crannies of the rented out bar the event was located in and the dudes made the rounds.  It was...kinda comfortable.  This was like a group of team players lined up to do the hand slap and say "good game!"  Let's give a shout-out to wearing heels while sporting a pelvic stress fracture, shall we?  Had I known I was going to be standing in them for an hour+ (and given additional information for the evening), perhaps I should have just gone with my flip-flops or rocket dogs??? 

There was a table full of name tags for people who signed up, but didn't show up.  To think our little area could have been more crowded.  yay.  So, there were 5 more girls than guys.  Two of the girls stood all unapproachable off to the side awaiting their turn to "date" while the other two girls and I dated each other until it was our turn.  Eventually, I just dated one of them until I was left dating myself.  That was an awkward 6 or 8 minutes.  I decided to make nice with myself and buy me a refill.  Ah...another soda with a splash of vanilla vodka.  Oh look...it's now my turn to date.  There were 8 guys in total.  They were all perfectly friendly and polite.  Some were easier to talk to than others, none worth mentioning specifically.  While dating my 4th dude, they decided to bring out the appetizers.  It's really cool talking to someone for a precious 6 or 8 minutes while stuffing cold-that-is-supposed-to-be-hot food in your mouth.  Yeah, it was like that.  After dating my last next-ex, I returned to the bar for my 3rd and final soda with a splash of vanilla vodka.  The organizer called out to me and asked me how I felt it went.  I told her it wasn't what I expected, that I had done it once before and it had been better organized, BUT that it was nice to see younger people finally (yep...always trying to see the silver lining).  She bounced some ideas off of me for future events to get more of a turn-out.  I then sauntered on over to a group of girls.  We chatted for a bit and then they invited me to join them at Taco Milagro for some late night dinner.  First, I had to go close out my bar tab.  Imagine my shock when my bill was $24.75.  I inquired about the $4 drink special and was informed that was only for four specific drinks.  Oh, nice to know.  Perhaps if you are going to charge $8.25 for a drink, it ought to be vanilla vodka with a splash of soda.  Just sayin'.  I then went to the organizer and asked her about it.  Yep..oops...she meant to tell me it was for four specific drinks.  lovely.  =/ 

I met the 3 girls at Taco Milagro and enjoyed some food, iced tea, and music.  I wish I could say I enjoyed the company, but well...one of them was friendly...another one okay, and the 3rd was anti-social.  Ah well...

So there you have it.  I dated 2 girls, myself, and 8 dudes last night all while paying a hefty price for spunky club soda and further agitating my pelvis (as in I'm a new kind of crippled now) - all in the name of trying to find my heart's companion.   Never a dull moment in this 30-something year old's life...

no half marathon for me

Went back to the doctor today...

Not a big shocker that he said walking the RunGirl 13.1 would NOT be a good idea.  For the record, I'm still picking up my race packet, though.  Long sleeved tech t-shirt?  Yes, please!  Technically I paid for it, right?  I may not have earned it, but well...circumstances beyond my control.

He went into his spiel about 4 to 6 weeks for recovery.  I explained to him that this weekend will make 6 weeks since my last run, so I don't understand why we don't have more progress.  He countered with the whole...4 to 6 weeks once I *rest* it.  Huh?!  He suspects that all the walking around in the parks was a wee bit counterproductive to my recovery.  He then explained my elliptical usage should be on a low incline.  Ohhh....ooops!  I was mostly doing my mileage on the weight loss program which is kinda up and down.  Yeah, apparently that wasn't right.  Well...in my defense, I had not done the elliptical in 3 weeks either.  He said stress fractures are tricky and we have to be patient.  Hmmm...back to that whole patience thing.  Yeah, I don't have any of that.

He told me that these things never happen at a convenient time - it's always when someone is working hard for something which is what makes it so devastating.  He was quite sympathetic, which I appreciated, BUT well...we had one more matter to discuss...  I asked him about the Aramco Houston Half.  I explained that I had knocked my full down to the half and was now wondering what my status was going to be for this race.  He said he wants to see me in another month and we can evaluate at that time.  I told him that I have until 12/19 to bail out.  He said he hates to tell me I can't do something I've been working towards and then asked me if I could walk that one...he would feel better if I walked that and thought I would be in a position to walk a half marathon in another 7 1/2 weeks.  Um...that's not how I saw me taking Houston.  It has a 4 hour time limit for the half, so yeah...I could totally walk it in that time, BUT this isn't what I wanted...this isn't how I imagined it.  It's bad enough it isn't the race I initially signed up for, but now to not even be able to RUN the half...  I know what you are thinking...I was perfectly willing to walk the RunGirl 13.1 if he would have allowed me to.  It's different.  RunGirl 13.1 is like a local half...it was part of my training...Houston was the big ticket item.  I don't want to do it half-assed.  Houston has a policy in place that if you can't race, you can defer your registration for 2012 (by 12/19).  I have an email out to the committee to find out if they will honor my full marathon registration since I had prematurely knocked my registration down to the half 3 weeks ago.  Regardless of their answer, I will be deferring my registration to 2012...come half or come full.

So, there you have it.  No RunGirl 13.1.  No Aramco Houston Half Marathon.  Just me wishin', hopin', and prayin' for a full recovery in the next 4 weeks so that I can get back in the game.  I only have a year to prepare for a marathon, after all, and we all know it's gonna take me that time to get my act together - mind, body, and spirit!

until tomorrow...

You know what sucks?

Being honest with yourself sucks, that's what!

It's easy to be in denial.  It's easy to pretend that everything is okay.  Facing the cold hard truth is hard.  Why?  I surely don't know....well maybe I do know, but I don't like to say it out loud.

Yes, yes...I'm still whining about my injury.  I am very sure you are sick of hearing about it.  I know I keep talking about how I am bound and determined to power-walk my half marathon this weekend "NO MATTER WHAT" as long as my doctor approves it, of course.  Why wouldn't he, after all?  I mean I'm talking walking, not running.  I know why he won't, though.  This is me being honest.  I'm not better.

I don't understand why I'm not better, though.  I've been taking the double dose of Calcium with Vitamin D as he told me to do.  I have not run.  I even laid off the elliptical (which he did not tell me to do, but I was hoping rest would speed the recovery).  I know that walking the Disney and Universal parks for 8 days were hard on my injury.  Is it possible that this set me back?

I switched my full marathon to the half a few weeks ago, when I was diagnosed, but now I'm wondering if I'm going to be able to do that half.  Here I am 7 1/2 weeks out and I haven't run in 5 1/2 weeks.  This is quite daunting to me.  I have until 12/19 to make a decision.  I want to welcome 2011 with this half marathon.  I want to be able to train for this race successfully.  I want to be healed.  *Sigh*  Doctor tomorrow...I suppose I'm getting a head of myself and I need to wait to hear what he says.  Maybe the cold weather is just agitating my injury.  Maybe I'm just being a worry-wort.  Maybe...

Until tomorrow...

these are a few of my favorite Christmas things...

Day 1 of 3 off and what did I accomplish?

1 doctor appointment down, 2 more to go.

cleaned the kitchen

cleaned the dining room

cleaned the family room (and decorated it for Christmas)

saw Love and Other Drugs

went to Old Navy to get a couple of sweaters (buy one, get one free) and some long sleeve t-shirts

cleaned the guest bathroom

cleaned my bedroom

Not too shabby, I think considering this girl is a major procrastinator!

Curious to see what I can get done tomorrow!!!

Here are a few of my favorite Christmas things...

My Great Grandmother made Christmas stockings for all her great grandchildren.  When we were younger, "Santa" made sure they were filled to the gills - which made the fact that our stockings were HUGE extra specially awesome!  My mom made it clear a few years back that "Santa" was no longer interested in filling our stockings.  Boo on that!

My Grandma buys all her grandchildren the Swarvoski crystal snowflake ornament of the year.  So far, I have 11 of these beauties.  2010 will make snowflake #12.  I always strategically place each snowflake on my tree so that the lights hit them just right!  Here is the ornament from 2001!

Many moons ago before I was old enough to gamble, younger sister Linda, my brother Eddie, and I would use up my parent's generous cash donation in Vegas to play the Midway games over our Thanksgiving vacation.  On our first day there, we saw "the Christmas rats" (or so we called them) and knew we had to have them.  They were "expensive" in the way that midway games often are - in other words, they cost a lot of tickets, so we knew we had to work hard to get them.  We did just that and on our last day, we accumulated all our tickets and had enough to buy each of us our Christmas rats.  Linda and I got the girl one and Eddie bought the boy one.  Technically, we had enough tickets to buy older sister Cathy (she was of gambling age) a Christmas rat, too, BUT we got greedy and started getting all kinds of junk.  My college peeps will remember "Club Kim" which came from this greed!  ha!  In the end, we bought Cathy a lopsided ugly little dog.  She said, "oh thanks, it's so cute" and then threw it away before we left for the airport.  I still have my Christmas rat and love it (probably more for the story than the rat itself).

Last, but not least, I bought this snowman family from Sam's Club several years back.  I love snowmen and I just think this little family is so cute!  I always change where I display it - this year, it's on the dining room table!

What are some of your favorite Christmas decorations?

something to think about

I'm finally sitting down to catch up on some of my DVR.  Practically every day this week my father has asked me if I've watched the Thanksgiving episode of Parenthood.  I told him I'm never going to watch it if he keeps asking me.  Yes, I'm a terrible brat.  I'm also a liar because I totally watched it tonight.  It was, of course, good.  I love that show.  I love the family dynamics - in a way, it reminds me of my family - a loud, chaotic family that has its issues, but clearly loves each other.

The other day I was having a conversation with younger sister Linda about my struggle regarding my injury and this upcoming RunGirl 13.1.  I registered for this race to have yet another opportunity to prove something to myself.  In the end, I will fall short.  I always do.  Even if my doctor allows me to power walk it, I won't be completing it in the fashion I would have liked to, you see.  I won't truly have the glory I so long for.  Truth be told, even in the Aramco Half I am now going to be participating in on January 30th (in lieu of the Chevron full marathon), I still won't have the glory I long for as I'm not doing the race I planned on doing and I'm not even going to be able to do this race as well as I want given that it is now 7 weeks out and I have not run in 5 weeks.  I'm my own worst enemy, I know.  I'm seemingly never happy with me.  Someday, I will start being my own best friend.  It's just not today, but alas...in typical me fashion, I digress.  My point is that I'm bound and determined to complete this sucker even knowing I will be doing so with disappointment.  First of all, I signed up for it.  Second of all, I paid money for it.  Thirdly, I want that really cute medal.

Linda did encourage me to watch The Biggest Loser:  Where are They Now episode that aired Thanksgiving week.  She said there was a former contestant named Holly who was disappointed with the outcome of a race and said something that reminded her of my struggles as of late, particularly my last half marathon.  I watched the episode tonight and cried along with Holly.  I knew her pain, her heartbreak.  I then went back and watched her again and typed up what she shared.

"You can get through anything.

You're gonna fall down.

Things are not gonna go perfect.

You're gonna have a bad day.

You're gonna have a bad race.

All this bad stuff can happen,

but it's like...it's what you do with that

that determines how you live your life"

You know what I realized?  I have fallen down a lot this year.  You know what else I realized?  I conquered a lot, too.  You won't fall down, if you don't get up/out and try, BUT you can't ever succeed if you don't try either.  Maybe it really is about the journey...the experiences and not necessarily the end result.  It's kind of something to think about.

a very Merry weekend - EXTENDED

Yay!  It's Friday night!  Am I normally this excited about Friday nights?  Nope!  Why is this one so different?  Well, my friends, I am embarking upon a 5-day weekend!  Woot!  Turns out that I've been uber healthy (um...when it comes to sickness, not injury) this year which means I have all 6 of my personal days left.  My company allows us to carry over our days until the end of February, so I've decided to use 3 of my days Monday thru Wednesday and then save the other 3 for the first couple of months of 2011!

Tonight I decided to put up my Christmas tree, but then I got lazy when it took me an hour and a half just to get it standing.  Yikes!  Truth be told, it was really the first strand of "tree" that gave me a bit o' struggle.  It appears the branches got all kinds of twisted and by the time I got them untwisted, I was about ready to go buy either a new fake tree or a freakin' fresh tree.  Needless to say, I decided it best to get back into the Christmas spirit and actually enjoy decorating it by waiting until tomorrow.  =/

What's on the agenda for the rest of my little siesta?  First and foremost, I decided to take the opportunity to get some doctor appointments out of the way - 3, to be exact.  One of these is a follow-up on  my pelvic stress fracture.  As I mentioned on Wednesday, I'm still wishin' and hopin' that my doctor will say I can power walk the RunGirl 13.1 on 12/12.  If he says no, though, I will abide by his ruling, but I will pout.  Secondly, I plan on getting my Christmas shopping done.  Thirdly, I want to catch up on a few movies.  I've been eying Burlesque, Love and Other Drugs, and Morning Glory.  Finally...and this is the doozy...I want to declutter, organize, and deep clean my house room by room.  I have a small home, but I've lived in it for almost 10 1/2 years, so it's accumulated quite the non-essentials.  I'm not going to be so silly as to think I'm going to get rid of all non-essentials, but I can definitely cut back.  Let's just say I would love to be able to proudly display my 2 spare bedrooms with their doors open.

I'm looking forward to having some me time at home - no stress, no pressure, just a general outline of "things to do" and the time to do it!

May you all have a very Merry weekend!

pocketful of randomness

So...December, we meet again.  It's like WHOA...where did the year go?  One minute 2010 began and then I blinked away a whole year....well 11 months.  I don't want to discount this month (not yet, anyway).

Injury update:  I'm not gonna lie...the first two days of my vacation in the Disney parks were ROUGH.  I wasn't sure how I was going to hold up for the remaining 6 with all the walking and standing and the jarring (some of those rides were no joke).  On day 3, my hip/leg decided to cooperate, for the most part.  It would only cause me grief when I stopped walking for a while (lunch or a show) and then tried to get back up again.  I forgot my anti-inflammatory pills at home, so Advil Liqui-gels and I became besties.  As soon as I returned home to Houston, my hip/leg just started aching something fierce.  Though I wanted to jump right back onto the elliptical, I know that rest is what I need to recover.  I'm still hanging onto the hope of being able to complete my RunGirl 13.1 on 12/12 - just as a walker instead of a runner.  I have a follow-up with my doctor next week and he will let me know YAY or NAY.  I realize I'm probably just setting myself up for further disappointment by hanging onto this hope, but...well...it's how I roll.

I *heart* Christmas music.  Did you know that about me?  I'm seriously torn right now about what to listen to while in the car - Christmas music on XM Holly 23 or my latest audio book?  Certain songs make me sad...lonely for some reason.  Other songs make me all kinds of nostalgic.  Have you ever heard of Elmo & Patsy?  They are the singers of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer".  They have some really silly songs on their album like "Percy the Puny Poinsettia" and "Grandma's Killer Fruitcake", just to name a couple.  My mom loves their songs.  I love that - she's so funny/quirky!

I've been cooking all kinds of things this week.  On Monday night, I made my butternut squash soup.  Last year, someone gave me the tip of using light cream cheese in the soup instead of cream to get that creamy texture.  It cuts out tons of fat and calories and tastes great!  The ingredients are simple - butternut squash, apple, onion, salt, peppercorn, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cream cheese.  If you want the full recipe, just let me know!  On Tuesday, I made a macaroni and cheese casserole with cauliflower (vegetarian recipe - FYI).  I got the recipe from Carrots 'n' Cake, but modified it slightly using 2% cheese in lieu of full fat, skim milk in lieu of 1%, greek yogurt in lieu of lite sour cream, double fiber bread in lieu of bread crumbs or whole grain bread, and adding garlic salt.  Tonight, I made homemade applesauce.  I peeled and chopped up 5 granny smith apples and put them in a pot.  I then added some water - not a whole lot - just enough for the apples to simmer.  Next, I added a dash of salt, some cinnamon, some nutmeg, a bit of vanilla, and 1/3 of a cup of sugar substitute.  I let it cool on the stove until it was the chunky/saucy consistency I wanted.  The house smells FANTASTIC!  I am also planning on making a killer chicken soup this week with all sorts of veggies - mushrooms, onion, celery, cabbage, yellow squash, and zucchini.  I'm also going to add great northern beans and barley to my soup for substance!

Oh...I might have done a little happy dance today during my lunch break.  Why, you ask?  Well...I went to Kroger to buy me some of my Carb Master yogurts just to discover they added 6 new flavors to their line!  There are hardly any low carb / low sugar yogurts on the market.  I think Dannon makes one and it's ridiculously expensive, only 4 oz., and comes in 2 flavors.  The Carb Master yogurt is 6 oz and tastes delicious.  I think they already had 8 or 9 flavors, so adding 6 more is HUGE!  The new flavors are vanilla chai, spiced pear, tropical fruit, raspberry yumberry, strawberry colada, and carrot cake.  So far I've only tried the carrot cake and it was DELICIOUS!  Can't wait to try the others!  I bought two of each flavor!

Okay, well this was a pocketful of randomness kind of blog.  Happy December to you, my lovelies!

These are a few of my favorite things...MOMENTS/MEMORIES

There were many wonderful moments and memories that made this vacation fantasmic, but alas...just short of taking you through a day by day LONGEST BLOG EVER...here are some highlights: 

My father mispronouncing the "Komodo" in Komodo dragons.  He must have said it 10 times incorrectly as co-mo-doe (spelled out phonetically for you to enjoy).  I finally corrected him.  It just never stopped being funny.

My two sisters showed up for breakfast wearing their brand new Disney pajama tops (we all brought with us) as t-shirts one day.  They told me to do the same so all 3 of us would have our Disney t-shirts on to wear to the park for the day.  I obliged and thus...we have our cute picture!

 My father telling my cousin (who was suffering from knee pain as a result of her 2 ACL surgeries) that she needed to take glucosamine.  He mispronounced it as glue-ca-sa-mine instead of glue-co-sa-mean.  It just never stopped being funny either.  Don't feel too sorry for my dad.  We made fun of everyone equally!

All 13 of us went on It's a Small World and fit into our own boat - My aunt, uncle, 2 double cousins, my 3 siblings and their respective spouses, my parents, and I!  As we were launching out on the ride, we all put our hands in the air and went "Woo Woo" as if we were going on a roller coaster.  We probably looked really obnoxious to some people, but we had a blast!

Older sister Cathy made reservations for us to eat our Thanksgiving meal at the buffet at a resort named The Gaylord Palms.  The name of the resort never stopped being funny for the month+ that we had the reservation!  A week before we left for our trip, brother-in-law Jay made a little video entitling it "It's like Christmas at The Gaylord Palms" starring ME!  We all got the tune stuck in our head, learned part of the dance, and whenever we had some down time while waiting in line, we would reenact part of the video!  If you care to check it out, go here.

Younger sister Linda and I braved Bernie Botts Every Flavor Beans - okay, so ridiculously priced at the gift shop in Universal, but I had to buy them and try them because...well...we had done the whole Harry Potter thing and it seemed like a fun idea and it was relatively cheap entertainment. There were 10 nasty flavors mixed in with yummy flavors (like watermelon, lemon sherbet, cotton candy, banana, blueberry, cinnamon, cherry, green apple, etc) and we ate every last one of them...well Linda spit out 4 of them (bogie, vomit, earth worm, and dirt) and I spit out one of them (earth worm). We did not spit out grass, soap, rotten egg (was not in our box), sausage, black pepper, ear wax. On Friday night, sister-in-law April did try whatever was left over which included vomit, earth worm, soap, and sausage. She, consequently, spit out vomit and earthworm. 

While in Germany having dinner on Friday night, double cousins Danielle and Nicole and I decided to provide a free couples counseling therapy to Cathy and Jay.  It was hilarious!  No, they didn't need our help.  No they didn't request it, but since when did that stop us?!?!  Later we offered up counseling to Linda and Craig.  When they neglected to take us up on it, we reminded them that we will all be united again in Chicago for Christmas and that our services will be available to them again at that time.  =P

Cathy, Jay, Linda, Craig, Danielle, and I happened across this monkey on our last Saturday at Animal Kingdom.  Initially, he was sitting quite awkwardly...so much so, that I assumed he was a she and nursing a baby.  He unfolded his legs and it turns out he was just hugging his knee.  He then flopped down and laid down.  Linda pronounced him lazy.  Earlier in the week, we also visited the monkeys and there was a little fella who was wreaking all kinds of havoc amongst the elders!  They were quite entertaining to watch!

Brother Eddie encouraged us all to participate on multiple occasions stating that "everything is more fun this way"!  So, participate is just what we did.  At the Country Bear Jamborie, we made all the other audience members clap their hands and stomp their feet.  At a really lame children's ride called Imagination in Epcot, we sang the theme song as we were encouraged to do.

Eddie decided to implement a buddy system half way through our trip.  We were all buddied up.  In everyone's case except for double cousins Danielle, Nicole, and I, spouses were buddies.  That meant the three of us were buddies.  I felt like a lucky ducky to have 2 buddies.  This meant when we were in a crowded area, we were supposed to call out "buddy" and await the response of our buddy (or buddies) to reply back indicating we were all together.

Mickey Mouse ears have come a long way in the 18 years since I have last been to Disney.  They now come decorated in every possible way you can imagine.  We found one with a golf theme - perfect for my father.   Though he wouldn't buy it, he did humor us and try it on.  We all whipped out our cameras to take pictures of him and some other tourist asked if my dad was famous and wondered if he should be taking his picture, too!!!

Whilst visiting The United Kingdom, Jay and I happened across Winnie the Pooh and Tigger.  We were really trying to hold the spot in line for Linda, but she didn't make it in time, so we were stuck getting our picture with them.  No need to worry...Linda also managed to get a picture with them!

My mom saw this Woody the Woodpecker statue and wanted a picture with him.  I just think I have some awfully cute parental units!  This is one of my favorite pictures of them!

My parents bought groceries for us to make breakfasts at the house each morning.  It seems every morning got progressively worse with chaos.  It became bumper people in the kitchen, but I wouldn't trade it for anything because it was fun filled time with my family and I loved every minute of it!

Older sister Cathy had me download an app (free) for my Droid before we left for our trip.  It told us the approximate waiting times in lines for the major attractions in all 4 of the Disney Parks and it updated constantly.  In all but one case, it proved to be either spot on or the waiting times POSTED were LONGER than we actually waited.  It really helped us make our plan of attack!  In case you ever need this app, it's called Disney World Wait Times Lite from the Undercover Tourist.  Loved it!

Both of my brother-in-laws just love to make fun of how my family pronounces things.  One of their favorites to harp on is caramel as we neglect to acknowledge the second "a".  When we were in Germany having dinner, we decided to ask our server (who was from Germany) how it's pronounced since Germany also offered up the caramel shop.  She basically agreed with my brother-in-laws (RATS).  We tried to get her to say it our way.  She was practicing and telling us how weird it sounded (haha) when my father overheard her since he was sitting at the next table.  He then exclaimed proudly, "See, we do say it correctly!"  She humored him and said, "I have to stick with my girls!"

We were able to see the Osborne Family's Spectacle of Dancing Lights at Disney Hollywood Studios.  It was quite simply gorgeous!  Here are a few pics from it!

Japan had a Munchichi doll!  I used to love that cartoon which really is saying a lot since I didn't like a whole lot of cartoons.  Ignore my look...it was an ugly/rainy afternoon.  All 11 of us were wearing our $0.50 ponchos my mom brought along for us.  On that same note...some peeps in our group started getting really grouchy because of the weather situation.  Linda was one of them.  Luckily, when Linda gets in a bad mood, she can pop out of it really fast.  She happened to pop out of it when we popped into the China gift shop.  She proclaimed, "I'm like a bull (insert her making bull horns with her fingers upon her head) in a China shop!"  And with that...she was back to normal Linda.

And...finally...one of my favorite things to do was to look at the pictures AFTER a ride or roller coaster.  I thought it sooo funny to see my facial expression or the facial expressions of my family members.  Jay looked like he was praying on the Aerosmith Rock n Roller coaster at Hollywood Studios, as an example!  I managed to take a picture of the screen shot from the Dinosaur ride at Animal Kingdom.  Keep in mind that Eddie and April knew the camera was there and posed accordingly.  I have a look of sheer terror on my face.  Cathy and Jay look like they are having a great time!  My brother mislead my mother into thinking it wasn't a jarring ride and she was in pain, so she was gripping a hold of my father for dear life...

Okay, that's all I have for you for now!  Hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane!  =D

These are a few of my favorite things...FOOD/DRINK!

We all indulged WAY too much on this trip.  I suppose, in a way, we justified it in that we walked a tremendous amount each and every day AND we were, of course, on vacation.  Sweet treats seemed to be one of the main attractions of our daily adventures.  I blame my sister-in-law April for starting this trend!  ;)

Saturday lunch - upon our arrival, my mom made us her taco soup - and this was one of my favorites!  Not much beats a homemade meal from my mama!

Saturday dinner - Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom - this was a family style dining restaurant which served us up all-you-can eat salad, rolls, turkey, ham, beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, mac n' cheese, stuffing, and apple crisp with vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Everything tasted wonderful!

Sunday lunch - in Animal Kingdom, for lunch, I ordered a turkey sandwich which was served up on sunflower bread with cranberry mayo and came with a big slice of honeydew melon.  No need to discuss the handful of french fries and the two onion rings that may or may not also have made their way into my mouth...

Monday sweet treat - ate a carrot cake sandwich cookie with a cream cheese frosting center from a Sweet Treat store in Disney Hollywood Studios.  It was messy, but so delish!

Monday dinner - we dined at the Raglan Road Irish Pub in Downtown Disney.  I ordered Paddy's Pork which was a sausage stuffed pork loin drizzled with a honey soy glaze sitting on top of a mound of mashed potatoes.  There were also some leeks and cabbage on the side.  Mmmmmm....  They also served the table some bread and gave us a dipping sauce of olive oil mixed with honey and Guiness beer.  We loved it!

Wednesday sweet treat - Butter Beer in Hogsmead (Harry Potter World) was yummy.  It especially hit the spot since my mom bought us the frozen one and it was incredibly hot outside.  They described it as a butterscotch shortbread flavor.  It was like a delicious sweet treat in the liquid variety!


Friday lunch - we grabbed lunch in the Land food court in Epcot.  I ordered a ginger mongolian beef which came with two sides - I chose broccoli (veggies seemed to be a shortage on this trip) and noodles.  Everything was absolutely delicious!

Friday sweet treats - Germany had a caramel shop (Karamelle-Kuche) which had decadent treats.  I don't even want to discuss how many things I got there on the two separate trips I made, but I will say the treats lasted me 3 days!  The caramel corn was the best I've ever had and then there was this delightful treat called the German Chocolate Caramel which was a milk chocolate covered caramel that had a layer of coconut with some pecans.  It can best be described as heaven in my mouth.

Friday dinner - We ate in one of the Germany restaurants - a buffet which was soooo yummy serving up all sorts of traditional German fare.  Amongst my faves were both a cold potato salad and a warm German potato salad, pretzel dinner rolls, red cabbage, sauer kraut, and sausage.

Saturday snack - We started the day in Animal Kingdom and grabbed a jalepeno cheddar filled pretzal.  Wow - so amazingly delicious!

Saturday lunch - Finished the day in The Magic Kingdom and ate lunch in a place that had a central bar filled with grilled onions, mushrooms, nacho cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, etc., to dress up your sandwiches.  I ordered a bbq pork sandwich and it hit the spot!

Yeah, I know...I sound like a Miss Piggy.  Oink, oink BABY!   Back on track now until Christmas Eve and Day.  =D

These are a few of my favorite things ...RIDES/ATTRACTIONS

Since I don't want to bore you with all the sordid details of my trip, I thought it best to break it down into some categories.  I will share with you my favorite things....first up - rides/attractions that swept me away.

Epcot:

Soarin' - fast pass first thing MUST (or else you are looking at a 45 min to 1 hour morning wait up to a 2 hour afternoon/evening wait).  It was AMAZING!  I don't want to give away too many details, but I will say it's a simulation of hang gliding and leave it at that.

Mission:  Space ORANGE - I can appreciate it for what it was, but sheesh...I'm not sure I could have done it a second time in the same trip.  It was INTENSE!  This was yet another simulation ride - this time a shuttle mission to Mars.  I kid you not - there were barf bags on board.  I didn't need it, but I was definitely feeling extreme pressure on my chest during the launch and I got WAY dizzy.  There is a lighter version for the fainter at heart - green.

Hollywood Studios:

Tower of Terror - line moves fast and it's just soooo FUN!  I could have done it another 2 or 3 times on this trip easily!  I just laughed and laughed!  There is a background story a la The Twilight Zone.  The decorum of the "hotel" is top notch and could easily be the setting of a movie.  I just loved having some cool stuff to look at while waiting in line!

Animal Kingdom:

Expedition Everest - my favorite roller coaster of all the roller coasters I rode on this trip!  We hardly had to wait in line at all, but I wouldn't have minded waiting as there were some cool things to look at in a faux museum setting prior to getting on-board the coaster.  The ride even had a surprising twist in it which may or may not have caused me to blurt out an expletive out of shock!  Another ride which just had me laughing with a big smile planted on my face the entire ride!  AWESOME!
  

the Gorillas - there are 7 or 8 adults (I believe) and a 9 month old baby and they are HUGE (well except for the baby - she was just a little ham)!

The Magic Kingdom

Thunder Mountain - an oldie, but goodie!  It's just a mini-coaster that keeps the good times rolling!  No loops, no twists, no super speeds, no special effects...none of that even necessary to have such fun!


Pirates of the Caribbean - another oldie, but goodie!  They've changed it up a bit - adding in some Captain Jack Sparrow here and there plus other tidbits from the movies.  There is so much to look at that you could easily ride it two or three times and see something new each time.

Disney's Philharmagic - a 4-D movie that was just simply splendid bringing back a lot of Disney character and song favorites from days gone by!

Universal Studios
The Simpsons - a simulated ride full of fun and even though I never really got into the whole Simpson's craze, I still enjoyed it tremendously!

The Mummy - a mild in-door roller coaster with SPECTACULAR special effects!

Universal Studios:  Islands of Adventure
The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - the entire world was phenomenal, though there was room for them to have even done more with it, believe it or not - as in some of the store fronts lead to little shops, but they could have all lead to larger shops.  Let's face it - if you build it, they will come - especially where Harry Potter is concerned!  The main attraction ride was fantastic, of course, and due to my brother and sister-in-law finding a slight "cheater" route to aid us in avoiding some lineage, we were able to cut out a good 40+ minutes on two different occasions of waiting time.  =)  Additionally, there was a dualing dragons extremely fun roller coaster and then a small children's roller coaster.  Hogsmead offered up Butter Beer in both regular and frozen (we had the frozen and it was DELICIOUS) and there was also Pumpkin juice which I, of course, had to purchase, as well.