Ho hum, ho hum....I'm not really ready for this 9 miler on Saturday. I've not been a good runner this week. I've kinda been in depression mode. It happens from time to time. My weekend didn't help matters. I should have bounced back when my car problem was solved for significantly less money than I had feared. I should have bounced back when my all too generous parents insisted on buying me a new dryer to replace the one that broke because I refused to let them pay me back for the groceries I bought them to replace the ones I ruined with the whole refrigerator fiasco. I should have bounced back when Autumn finally showed up in Houston (if only in the mornings and after the sun has set).
Shoulda woulda coulda. It's just a mood. It will pass.
I didn't run on Monday after work because I was in a bad mood.
On Tuesday, I was all geared up and headed out the door when my cell rang. It was a work call - a problem - and it took over an hour to fix. Once it was fixed, there was about 10 minutes left of day light.
On Wednesday (yesterday), I headed out for what I had hoped would be at least 4 miles, but ended up being only 2.5. About 2 miles into my run, I had to go to the bathroom. I headed home to take care of business with the intention of finishing my run when I was through. The dogs were whining, so I put them out. I got a drink, I let them back in...then voila - it was dark. This whole early darkness thing is taking its toll on me, I think.
I ordered my head lamp and my flashing safety light. They will be here on Friday. I think I need to switch to morning running. It feels much cooler out in the mornings still than it does in the evenings. Whatever happens during the day doesn't get to affect my morning run and I wouldn't have the weight of the day holding me down. I want to make this transition for next week. It would mean getting up early again which means going to bed early again. That's the tough part. I'm so bad about going to bed early...about getting the necessary sleep. Sleep and hydration are two of my biggest issues. *sigh*
Oh and when I did settle down after my run, my knees ached so bad. It wasn't my usual runner's knee issue, so I think it was related to the changing weather. My knees are fickle that way. They have been that way for years - ever since I've had my surgeries. Thankfully when I woke up this morning, the aching was gone.
Okay, I'm done being a whiner.
At least my audio book is REALLY REALLY GOOD. It's called Hide by Lisa Gardner. I find myself purposely driving around at any given opportunity to listen to it. I'm getting into this whole audio book thing. I'm even contemplating downloading one onto my iPod and listening to a book while I run. I have an email out to my friend Greggy-D to get his thoughts on this since I know he has done it before. Sometimes I blank out when I run and don't even listen to the music playing in my ear, though, so I wonder if I would do that while listening to a book? I would have to switch out my shuffle for my nano so that I would have the option of going back to music if necessary. So many thoughts going through my head...
On a whole different note, we are moving a customer this week with the last name that is the same as the city he is moving to. How odd is that? Just to make matters more interesting, Jay did research and discovered that the city's founder and our customer have the same name. They merely roamed the earth 215 years apart from one another. I had the move coordinator ask the customer if he was related to the city's namesake (cuz you know how we are stalkers) and found out that it's purely coincidental, but that the customer fully intends to use his last name to his advantage. Jay and I demand a recount (or...um...at least a DNA sample) because this is just too weird of a coincidence.
Oh...and this morning, I accidentally sprayed my hair with spray deodorant instead of hairspray. I was just glad it didn't turn my hair white. It was kinda funny.
Okay, that's all I have for you for now. Enjoy your evening and my apologies for all my whining.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
oh Coco (and I ain't talking about Chanel)
As I'm sure you've caught on by now, when my parents travel, so do I - to their house to dogsit. Don't feel sorry for me. Really. It would just embarrass both of us. Me for seemingly complaining (because it's really all for show) and you for not knowing that I'm just being dramatic for entertainment purposes. =P
This past weekend was slightly unique because an extra dog got thrown into the mix. Normally it's just my two rugrats plus the Oliver. Younger sister Linda and her husband Craig had planned a weekend getaway, however, BEFORE my parents had planned on their own little last minute jaunt. This meant I inherited the responsibility of watching the Coco.
On Friday, Linda called me on her way home from work. To be honest, Linda calls me almost everyday on her way home from work, so this was not out of the ordinary. I just wasn't able to talk to her because my dad and I were talking, so I told her I would call her back. About 30 minutes later, she called the office number asking to speak to our dad. Um...rude, but okay, so I made him go take care of her which ended my conversation with my father. Their conversation was brief and shortly thereafter, I headed out the door, calling Linda as I left. I asked her if they had left the house yet and she said they were backing out of the driveway right then. I asked if she wanted to meet me somewhere and I would take Cocopuff over to my parent's house. She said she had asked my dad (that's why she had called) if they could drop her off at the office and he could bring her home, but he told her it would be closer to Lake Charles for her to bring Coco to the house herself. She also told me she didn't want to inconvenience me. How in the world can it be closer??? What inconvenience?! My dogs were at my parent's house, so I had to go retrieve them anyway (for the one night). We agreed to meet up at Walmart and then they did the drop off and headed on their way. Coco was so sweet in the car. She rode to my parent's house in the passenger seat, so calmly...so unlike my own beasts. I prefer to remember her like that instead of who she became when around The Others.
I'm thankful my parents got to witness the domination that occurred under Coco's regime. This way nobody (and by nobody, I mean Linda) could accuse me of making up stories. Basically, she was a bone hoarder and an instigator and got put on time out (sent to the cage) while the other dogs got to frolic and play.
Saturday night was our only night all together...5 little monkeys sleeping in a bed. Oh yeah...it was like that. You see, we all know I begrudgingly admit my two little love muffins sleep with me. Oliver splits his time between his dog bed and my parent's bed, so naturally when I dogsit, he does the same...half the time he is in his dog bed and half the time he is up on the bed with us. Coco sleeps with Linda and Craig. So...who was I to disappoint all the dogs?! Poor blind Penelli just wanted to sleep. Oliver just wanted to lay his big giant head on some part of my body and the other two...well let's just say I'm shocked one of them just didn't pee on me to claim me as their own. There was a lot of yelling, there was some growling, there were some threats of caging and eventually everyone settled down.
I did have some funny moments to share from our weekend together and even some pictures! First of all, both Delilah and Coco are caged when the humanoids leave the premises. My parents keep a cage at their house and whoever is there gets to use it, but with both D and C over there, I had to bring my cage over there for when I was out galivanting around. The funny thing was that Coco would go into my parent's cage first and then Delilah would join her as opposed to going into her own. That's a lot of dog for one cage.
I caught a couple of pics of Coco and her bone hoarding. She was so concerned with one of the dogs stealing her bone while she was eating that she brought it into the laundry room with her and then put the bone inside her food bowl while she ate around it.
Here is a pic of her bone hoarding in case you didn't believe me.
Here is a pic of Oliver. It was hard to come by as every time I tried to take his picture, he would get up and walk away or turn his head. He was playing hard to get, so this one is a little blurry.
Then there is the Delilah. It's a very up close and personal picture because she was...well...um...up close and personal. Sometimes she thinks she is a lap dog. =/
And then last, but not least, there is my sweet Penelope. I find this picture to be so precious! I'm not sure why I can't right side up the picture...I've tried, but it still posts it like this. Oh well!
This past weekend was slightly unique because an extra dog got thrown into the mix. Normally it's just my two rugrats plus the Oliver. Younger sister Linda and her husband Craig had planned a weekend getaway, however, BEFORE my parents had planned on their own little last minute jaunt. This meant I inherited the responsibility of watching the Coco.
On Friday, Linda called me on her way home from work. To be honest, Linda calls me almost everyday on her way home from work, so this was not out of the ordinary. I just wasn't able to talk to her because my dad and I were talking, so I told her I would call her back. About 30 minutes later, she called the office number asking to speak to our dad. Um...rude, but okay, so I made him go take care of her which ended my conversation with my father. Their conversation was brief and shortly thereafter, I headed out the door, calling Linda as I left. I asked her if they had left the house yet and she said they were backing out of the driveway right then. I asked if she wanted to meet me somewhere and I would take Cocopuff over to my parent's house. She said she had asked my dad (that's why she had called) if they could drop her off at the office and he could bring her home, but he told her it would be closer to Lake Charles for her to bring Coco to the house herself. She also told me she didn't want to inconvenience me. How in the world can it be closer??? What inconvenience?! My dogs were at my parent's house, so I had to go retrieve them anyway (for the one night). We agreed to meet up at Walmart and then they did the drop off and headed on their way. Coco was so sweet in the car. She rode to my parent's house in the passenger seat, so calmly...so unlike my own beasts. I prefer to remember her like that instead of who she became when around The Others.
I'm thankful my parents got to witness the domination that occurred under Coco's regime. This way nobody (and by nobody, I mean Linda) could accuse me of making up stories. Basically, she was a bone hoarder and an instigator and got put on time out (sent to the cage) while the other dogs got to frolic and play.
Saturday night was our only night all together...5 little monkeys sleeping in a bed. Oh yeah...it was like that. You see, we all know I begrudgingly admit my two little love muffins sleep with me. Oliver splits his time between his dog bed and my parent's bed, so naturally when I dogsit, he does the same...half the time he is in his dog bed and half the time he is up on the bed with us. Coco sleeps with Linda and Craig. So...who was I to disappoint all the dogs?! Poor blind Penelli just wanted to sleep. Oliver just wanted to lay his big giant head on some part of my body and the other two...well let's just say I'm shocked one of them just didn't pee on me to claim me as their own. There was a lot of yelling, there was some growling, there were some threats of caging and eventually everyone settled down.
I did have some funny moments to share from our weekend together and even some pictures! First of all, both Delilah and Coco are caged when the humanoids leave the premises. My parents keep a cage at their house and whoever is there gets to use it, but with both D and C over there, I had to bring my cage over there for when I was out galivanting around. The funny thing was that Coco would go into my parent's cage first and then Delilah would join her as opposed to going into her own. That's a lot of dog for one cage.
I caught a couple of pics of Coco and her bone hoarding. She was so concerned with one of the dogs stealing her bone while she was eating that she brought it into the laundry room with her and then put the bone inside her food bowl while she ate around it.
Here is a pic of her bone hoarding in case you didn't believe me.
Here is a pic of Oliver. It was hard to come by as every time I tried to take his picture, he would get up and walk away or turn his head. He was playing hard to get, so this one is a little blurry.
Then there is the Delilah. It's a very up close and personal picture because she was...well...um...up close and personal. Sometimes she thinks she is a lap dog. =/
And then last, but not least, there is my sweet Penelope. I find this picture to be so precious! I'm not sure why I can't right side up the picture...I've tried, but it still posts it like this. Oh well!
Okay, I'm done discussing dogs (for now).
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Making a Menu, let's start with quiche
I've gone way too long without losing any weight (I have maintained, though, thankfully). I know I mention it here and there. Now it's starting to bother me. I haven't deserved to lose any, mind you, so I'm not complaining in that "I'm doing everything I can and it's not coming off" kinda way. I've let stress get to me. I've let poor planning lead to poor decisions. I've confused improper hydration for hunger. BUT, that was all yesterday. Today is a new day.
Last night, after I finished restocking my parent's refrigerator (as a result of one of the weekend's incidents), I got back into the spirit of my menu. That is to say...I continued with my plan of preparing food for the week.
I started off by making some guacamole. This will be used for my lunches. I bought some La Tortilla Factory whole wheat (lots o' fiber) tortillas and my plan is to have guacamole, spinach, turkey roll-ups. I will eat this with a side of veggies - sliced cucumbers and colored peppers - and I'm thinking of having some strawberries and maybe a Kroger Carb-Master yogurt. I made my guac (though I didn't think to take pictures) with avocados, fresh squeezed lime juice, diced tomatoes, diced white onion, minced garlic, and Adobo seasoning. I pretty much have an Adobo addiction, by the way. I use it on just about everything. My mom thinks I'm nuts because then everything tastes the same, but I beg to differ.
Next came the quiche. Since starting South Beach (well over a year ago), I always make my quiches crust-less. Normally I put meat in them, but this time I decided to go veggie. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, diced up white onion and tomato, and then sliced some mushrooms.
I whisked 4 eggs in a bowl and then I added 1/4 or so of Light Mayo and whisked that in. Now it looks kinda clumpy, but that's okay. Next, I added in 1 1/3 cup of reduced fat Mexi-blend cheese. Finally, the onion and tomato were tossed in. Oh, but wait...and I seasoned it all up with...YES, YOU GUESSED IT...Adobo. Take that, Mom! =P
I took a corningware round dish and sprayed it with Pam and then threw in some Spinach and the sliced mushrooms.
Then I added the egg, cheese, onion, tomato mixture on top and put it in the oven on 350 degrees for an hour.
So, breakfast this morning is a slice of this little piece of heaven, a banana, and a handful of almonds.
Some dinners being planned for this week include - shrimp & oatmeal (a play off of shrimp and grits) and fig pizza. Both ideas taken off of blogs. I'm getting gourmet experimental and it feels good.
What's on your plate?
Last night, after I finished restocking my parent's refrigerator (as a result of one of the weekend's incidents), I got back into the spirit of my menu. That is to say...I continued with my plan of preparing food for the week.
I started off by making some guacamole. This will be used for my lunches. I bought some La Tortilla Factory whole wheat (lots o' fiber) tortillas and my plan is to have guacamole, spinach, turkey roll-ups. I will eat this with a side of veggies - sliced cucumbers and colored peppers - and I'm thinking of having some strawberries and maybe a Kroger Carb-Master yogurt. I made my guac (though I didn't think to take pictures) with avocados, fresh squeezed lime juice, diced tomatoes, diced white onion, minced garlic, and Adobo seasoning. I pretty much have an Adobo addiction, by the way. I use it on just about everything. My mom thinks I'm nuts because then everything tastes the same, but I beg to differ.
Next came the quiche. Since starting South Beach (well over a year ago), I always make my quiches crust-less. Normally I put meat in them, but this time I decided to go veggie. I preheated the oven to 350 degrees, diced up white onion and tomato, and then sliced some mushrooms.
I whisked 4 eggs in a bowl and then I added 1/4 or so of Light Mayo and whisked that in. Now it looks kinda clumpy, but that's okay. Next, I added in 1 1/3 cup of reduced fat Mexi-blend cheese. Finally, the onion and tomato were tossed in. Oh, but wait...and I seasoned it all up with...YES, YOU GUESSED IT...Adobo. Take that, Mom! =P
I took a corningware round dish and sprayed it with Pam and then threw in some Spinach and the sliced mushrooms.
Then I added the egg, cheese, onion, tomato mixture on top and put it in the oven on 350 degrees for an hour.
Once it came out of the oven, I remembered I hadn't had dinner yet and decided a slice of quiche isn't just for breakfast, so I divided the dish into 4 servings and had me a piece. Delish!
So, breakfast this morning is a slice of this little piece of heaven, a banana, and a handful of almonds.
Some dinners being planned for this week include - shrimp & oatmeal (a play off of shrimp and grits) and fig pizza. Both ideas taken off of blogs. I'm getting gourmet experimental and it feels good.
What's on your plate?
Monday, September 27, 2010
flush this weekend down the toilet
I did not have a very good weekend. It makes me sad to think about it because usually I wish the week away to get to my beloved weekend. Honestly, Monday couldn't have come fast enough. How sad is that?!
It all started Friday night...er...Saturday morning. AND that makes me mad because I had a really nice Friday evening with my parents. They were in between out of town trips and my mom had invited me over for dinner. I dined with them on grilled steak, brussel sprouts (don't judge me), and a baked sweet potato, and then we watched tv together. Granted, they were catching up on shows that I had already seen, but it was nice mommy, daddy, Kimby time, so I loved it. I finally went home and caught up on Mafia Wars and Sorority Life for a bit and then went to bed way too late - around 11:30. This meant 6 hours of sleep before my scheduled 7 miler with my running group the next day. I don't really want to get into too many details, but let's just say there was an hour of unpleasantries from 1:30am to 2:30am dealing with unexpected and unwelcomed text messages from someone in my past and then follow-up repetitive doorbell rings (5 to be exact) which meant dogs barking and chaos before that someone finally bought a clue and left me alone. I'm thinking alcohol was involved. Regardless, I was upset, angry, tired, rattled, annoyed and this meant it took me a while to go back to sleep. Needless to say, my 5:30am alarm went off way too soon.
My 7 miler turned out to be 7.5 miles and I kinda cheated at that. I took one little short-cut otherwise it would have been about 8.25 miles. I never claimed to be an over-achiever and since the schedule said 7, by golly...they were lucky to get 7.5 out of me. This time we left the park and so this time I got a little lost. I had to ask a park employee on a golf cart to help me. =/ I'll know for next time. It was challenging because it was quite humid out and when the sun came out, it came out with a vengeance and I forgot my visor. The good news is that this little cool front that came through is supposed to last through this coming weekend, so my 9 miler coming up should be under better conditions. After my run, I went home to shower and get ready for lunch. I waited a bit and text my sister where we were going and she text me back that they weren't going. Well they were the only ones in town, so it hurt my feelings. I text her back with "ok" and a minute later she called me and apologized and said she felt bad, but that they could eat with me if we went somewhere a little later and if they ate something light cuz they had plans later that afternoon. I told her I had already eaten. She said, "in the last minute?" I said yes. I was clearly pouting (and lying). She apologized again and I accepted her apology and so we had family lunch after all at ol' faithful BJs. I then set out on some of my errands. There was the library, then there was birthday present shopping for several birthdays - Lauren's, Cathy's, and my dad's. I didn't finish buying all the presents. I went back to my house to get my dogs and bring them to my parent's house and I threw something in the dryer really quickly (you know, to iron it) and accidentally broke it...the dryer. How? Well, about 8 years ago or so, the knob broke off that you turn to start the dryer. No worries, I just use a plyers to turn on the dryer. Well after years of doing this, I snapped off the little thing I was using the plyers on. Now, it appears, I have no means of turning my dryer on and off. Can you hot wire a dryer? =/ So, I gathered my belongings and my pups and headed to the parentals' house. I got the dogs all settled and then went to get a pedi. Afterwards, I went back to the house to get ready for Lauren's bday party. When I headed out to leave, I noticed a river of transmission fluid beneath my car. That can't be good. =/ I ended up taking my mom's car to the party.
I had lots of fun at Lauren's. I got to finally see my Meliska - it has been ages! I got to finally see Lauren - it has been since the Bearkat Bash. I got to meet some friends of Lauren's - all super nice. I hope they weren't uber annoyed with all of our running speak! I left there and went home after 11pm. I was exhausted.
On Sunday, I was kinda lazy most of the day. I just had a nail appointment at 1pm, so I did that. Then I went grocery shopping cuz I planned a killer menu for the week. I brought all the groceries to my parent's house. I stuffed everything into their fridge and then watched Lifetime movies for the rest of the night.
This morning when I woke up, I noticed the fridge was open. Everything inside was warm. My fresh mozarella cheese I had just bought, my other shredded cheese, my shrimp, my turkey lunch meat, my ham, my yogurt, my eggs, all of my parent's stuff - RUINED! I told my dad I was replacing everything when he called me this morning. He told me not to, but I am...well most things, at any rate.
I had to come home and wait for the tow truck to get here, so while waiting I cleaned out the refrigerator and made a list of what I need to buy. Speaking of the tow truck. I called the repair place at 8am. They told me they would have a tow truck dude call me to schedule a time with me for the pick-up of my car. Sure enough, 5 minutes later I got a call from the tow truck dude. We decided on 9:30am. I got to the house around 9:15am and started cleaning out the fridge. At 10:20am, I made a phone call to discover that the tow truck dude had a blow out and will be here in another 30 minutes. Nice communication. I don't mind him being late...I mind him being 1.5 hours late without letting me know. RUDE! We are already off to a great start.
At least it's a pretty day. Too bad I don't have any lunch or dinner cuz my menu is ruined since I don't have any groceries. I don't have to come home during my lunch break and deal with these mongrels, though, since they are getting their attention now. Guess who is grocery shopping during lunch?! Yep...me! Oye...
Lessons learned: if the knob breaks off your dryer, replace the knob & don't force things into a refrigerator and hope the door stays shut
How was your weekend? Hopefully less eventful.
***Update: Turns out it wasn't transmission fluid, it was coolant or something that is orange. Transmission fluid is pink. I guess now I'm color blind. Whatevs. So, with the tow (he was 2 hours late, by the way) and the fix, it's a $350 problem solved kinda deal versus the $1000 to $3000 nightmare I was fearing.
****More Update: I replaced a good portion of my parent's portion of the groceries for $60. Forget about my groceries...we'll save that for another day.
It all started Friday night...er...Saturday morning. AND that makes me mad because I had a really nice Friday evening with my parents. They were in between out of town trips and my mom had invited me over for dinner. I dined with them on grilled steak, brussel sprouts (don't judge me), and a baked sweet potato, and then we watched tv together. Granted, they were catching up on shows that I had already seen, but it was nice mommy, daddy, Kimby time, so I loved it. I finally went home and caught up on Mafia Wars and Sorority Life for a bit and then went to bed way too late - around 11:30. This meant 6 hours of sleep before my scheduled 7 miler with my running group the next day. I don't really want to get into too many details, but let's just say there was an hour of unpleasantries from 1:30am to 2:30am dealing with unexpected and unwelcomed text messages from someone in my past and then follow-up repetitive doorbell rings (5 to be exact) which meant dogs barking and chaos before that someone finally bought a clue and left me alone. I'm thinking alcohol was involved. Regardless, I was upset, angry, tired, rattled, annoyed and this meant it took me a while to go back to sleep. Needless to say, my 5:30am alarm went off way too soon.
My 7 miler turned out to be 7.5 miles and I kinda cheated at that. I took one little short-cut otherwise it would have been about 8.25 miles. I never claimed to be an over-achiever and since the schedule said 7, by golly...they were lucky to get 7.5 out of me. This time we left the park and so this time I got a little lost. I had to ask a park employee on a golf cart to help me. =/ I'll know for next time. It was challenging because it was quite humid out and when the sun came out, it came out with a vengeance and I forgot my visor. The good news is that this little cool front that came through is supposed to last through this coming weekend, so my 9 miler coming up should be under better conditions. After my run, I went home to shower and get ready for lunch. I waited a bit and text my sister where we were going and she text me back that they weren't going. Well they were the only ones in town, so it hurt my feelings. I text her back with "ok" and a minute later she called me and apologized and said she felt bad, but that they could eat with me if we went somewhere a little later and if they ate something light cuz they had plans later that afternoon. I told her I had already eaten. She said, "in the last minute?" I said yes. I was clearly pouting (and lying). She apologized again and I accepted her apology and so we had family lunch after all at ol' faithful BJs. I then set out on some of my errands. There was the library, then there was birthday present shopping for several birthdays - Lauren's, Cathy's, and my dad's. I didn't finish buying all the presents. I went back to my house to get my dogs and bring them to my parent's house and I threw something in the dryer really quickly (you know, to iron it) and accidentally broke it...the dryer. How? Well, about 8 years ago or so, the knob broke off that you turn to start the dryer. No worries, I just use a plyers to turn on the dryer. Well after years of doing this, I snapped off the little thing I was using the plyers on. Now, it appears, I have no means of turning my dryer on and off. Can you hot wire a dryer? =/ So, I gathered my belongings and my pups and headed to the parentals' house. I got the dogs all settled and then went to get a pedi. Afterwards, I went back to the house to get ready for Lauren's bday party. When I headed out to leave, I noticed a river of transmission fluid beneath my car. That can't be good. =/ I ended up taking my mom's car to the party.
I had lots of fun at Lauren's. I got to finally see my Meliska - it has been ages! I got to finally see Lauren - it has been since the Bearkat Bash. I got to meet some friends of Lauren's - all super nice. I hope they weren't uber annoyed with all of our running speak! I left there and went home after 11pm. I was exhausted.
On Sunday, I was kinda lazy most of the day. I just had a nail appointment at 1pm, so I did that. Then I went grocery shopping cuz I planned a killer menu for the week. I brought all the groceries to my parent's house. I stuffed everything into their fridge and then watched Lifetime movies for the rest of the night.
This morning when I woke up, I noticed the fridge was open. Everything inside was warm. My fresh mozarella cheese I had just bought, my other shredded cheese, my shrimp, my turkey lunch meat, my ham, my yogurt, my eggs, all of my parent's stuff - RUINED! I told my dad I was replacing everything when he called me this morning. He told me not to, but I am...well most things, at any rate.
I had to come home and wait for the tow truck to get here, so while waiting I cleaned out the refrigerator and made a list of what I need to buy. Speaking of the tow truck. I called the repair place at 8am. They told me they would have a tow truck dude call me to schedule a time with me for the pick-up of my car. Sure enough, 5 minutes later I got a call from the tow truck dude. We decided on 9:30am. I got to the house around 9:15am and started cleaning out the fridge. At 10:20am, I made a phone call to discover that the tow truck dude had a blow out and will be here in another 30 minutes. Nice communication. I don't mind him being late...I mind him being 1.5 hours late without letting me know. RUDE! We are already off to a great start.
At least it's a pretty day. Too bad I don't have any lunch or dinner cuz my menu is ruined since I don't have any groceries. I don't have to come home during my lunch break and deal with these mongrels, though, since they are getting their attention now. Guess who is grocery shopping during lunch?! Yep...me! Oye...
Lessons learned: if the knob breaks off your dryer, replace the knob & don't force things into a refrigerator and hope the door stays shut
How was your weekend? Hopefully less eventful.
***Update: Turns out it wasn't transmission fluid, it was coolant or something that is orange. Transmission fluid is pink. I guess now I'm color blind. Whatevs. So, with the tow (he was 2 hours late, by the way) and the fix, it's a $350 problem solved kinda deal versus the $1000 to $3000 nightmare I was fearing.
****More Update: I replaced a good portion of my parent's portion of the groceries for $60. Forget about my groceries...we'll save that for another day.
Friday, September 24, 2010
the power of suggestion
I started getting that same feeling - excitement, adrenaline, a little bit of anxiety all mixed together - that I got when I first thought about signing up for my Chicago Rock 'n' Roll half. I knew this meant one thing....JUST TO IT! I went ahead and signed up.
So, yeah....the girl who just started running in January...who did her first 5K on January 31st, will be running her 3rd half marathon on December 12, 2010.
The cool thing is that there are 7 weeks from The Houston Half to RunGirl 13.1. That means 7 whole weeks to track my progress and to strive for improvement. Then, there are 7 more weeks from RunGirl 13.1 to the Chevron Houston Marathon. This is just enough time to get my head in the right place, work some more mileage, stabilize my pace, and hydrate!
What's your next race?
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
negative split, yeah baby (and some randomness)
Okay, back to business....
I set out to do a 3 mile run on Monday night. My usual time of 7:15pm was not the wisest choice considering the obvious change in lighting these days. Ooops. I'm not used to running in the darkishness. It's weird. Ah well...I guess I need to start getting some appropriate gear for such things. I'll consult That Pink Girl since she's an expert on darkishness running! So, my plan was to try to speed things up a bit considering lately I've been averaging around 14 minute miles and I need to average 13:45 in order to hit (not exceed) the 6 hour deadline for the Chevron Houston Marathon. As I have mentioned before, I was faster while doing my interval method, but somehow running my mileage outright has caused me to be even slower (who knew that was possible?). Turtle, Turtle, Turtle...
It wasn't hot outside. That was a bonus. It was HUMID though. Are y'all sick of hearing me complain about the humidity? Yeah, well I'm sick of experiencing it. One of my cousins up in Chicago Facebooked the other day how if she knew it was going to be Winterish outside, she would have dressed differently for the day. Winterish? Are you freakin' kidding me?! We will settle for Autumnish?! Can we just have a taste of that, please?!
Oh yes, but I digress (again).
So, the funny thing is that I don't think I've ever had a negative split in my entire running "career" until now. No, no, my little lamb chops, it has eluded me for 8 months. Not only did I get a negative split, but according to my Garmin, I also hit 7:22 (briefly). Turns out ol' Kim couldn't make it 3 miles cuz she had to use the bathroom STAT. Yes, I'm speaking of myself in the 3rd person for some weird reason. Anyway, I ran my heart out home which meant cutting my run a half a mile short. I ended up averaging 13:22, though for the evening. I don't know if that's fair considering the...uh...extenuating circumstances, though. =P
The parentals are leaving me again. Yes, this means dog duty at their house. I'll be getting my run on in their neighborhood starting tonight. Maybe some different scenery will do a girl good? Time will tell.
And then one last thing...I watched that new show on NBC last night called The Event. Loved it! Thoughts?
On that note...peace out!
Monday, September 20, 2010
ease up there, tiger
I woke up at 5:30am on Saturday for my run. Our start time was changed to 7:00am starting this week because it is not getting lighter until later. I felt...weird...and then realized I was still sick if you catch my drift. I thought about still going, but then I knocked some sense into myself, took some Imodium, and went back to bed. I ended up sleeping another 3 hours and 45 minutes for a grand total of almost 11 hours of sleep. Whoa! That's cRaZy for me. I must have needed it.
My family had decided to meet earlier for our lunch since one of older sister Cathy's high school buddies was in town and Cathy, her husband Jay, and I were going to a movie and early dinner with him. So, the fam went to BJs. Younger sister Linda and her husband Craig didn't join us as they were still feeling blah. After lunch, I wanted to head to the library to return some books and to check out a couple of new ones, but Cathy insisted we go to JC Penny so that she could find me a dress to wear to our cousin Rachel's wedding coming up in October. I begrudgingly went along with her plan and then was quite thankful I did when she picked out a dress for me that ended up being $70 regular price...on sale for $35...with a 15% off coupon which meant with tax it rang up for $32 and some change. Now that is a deal for a nice black dress that I can definitely wear again (though I had hoped for a different color)!
I still had time to go to the library and exchange my books - yay! Then I went to the movie theater. We saw The Other Guys with Will Ferrell and Marky Mark. I hadn't even seen a preview, so I had zero expectation. I definitely laughed several times, but I'd say it's more of a renter than a "must see" in the theater.
After the movie, we headed over to Pappadeaux's. I haven't been there in ages. In the past, I always ordered the shrimp brochette which are bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with jack cheese and jalapeño slivers all served over a big bed of dirty rice and a side of lemon butter which I would have poured over the top of the shrimp and dirty rice. I also would have indulged in several slices of the french bread and butter served before the meal. I won't lie to you and tell you I was a perfect angel during the meal...there were some healthier options, but I ordered the stuffed shrimp montage which were crab stuffed shrimp served with a bit of parmesan cheese sauce on each shrimp (not swimming in it, thankfully) and a side of green beans which I ordered without butter/oil. I, of course, did not partake in the bread.
I then went home and watched the series premiere of Outlaw on my DVR - it's a new show on NBC starring Jimmy Smits. Love him (especially since his performance in Dexter Season 3)! My dad had recommended the show to me, so I decided to record it when they re-aired it. It was a great show and I look forward to more episodes. I also watched the season premiere of Parenthood. This was one of my favorite shows last season - so glad to see its return! Then I headed to bed in hopes of getting some good sleep so that I could maybe get in some mileage on Sunday.
On Sunday, I was mostly a lazy bum. I did manage a couple of miles. At first I was disappointed with myself having hoped for more, but then I was like "ease up there, tiger" since I hadn't run in over a week. I kinda think I'm my own worst critic/enemy/nightmare lately.
Late afternoon, I headed over to the parental's house for another fashion show of sorts. This meant I tried on my $32 dress for my parents. They ooohed and ahhhed over it. Then Cathy tried on 3 different dresses for us and we had to choose which 2 we liked best. I threw back some leftover taco salad my mom had in the fridge, so I wasn't hungry when she suggested that we all go to Sweet Tomatoes, so I went Krogering instead and then to home sweet home.
As usual, there were so many things I should have done....could have done....but alas....there's always next weekend, now isn't there?!
How might your weekend have been? Was it raindrops and roses?
My family had decided to meet earlier for our lunch since one of older sister Cathy's high school buddies was in town and Cathy, her husband Jay, and I were going to a movie and early dinner with him. So, the fam went to BJs. Younger sister Linda and her husband Craig didn't join us as they were still feeling blah. After lunch, I wanted to head to the library to return some books and to check out a couple of new ones, but Cathy insisted we go to JC Penny so that she could find me a dress to wear to our cousin Rachel's wedding coming up in October. I begrudgingly went along with her plan and then was quite thankful I did when she picked out a dress for me that ended up being $70 regular price...on sale for $35...with a 15% off coupon which meant with tax it rang up for $32 and some change. Now that is a deal for a nice black dress that I can definitely wear again (though I had hoped for a different color)!
I still had time to go to the library and exchange my books - yay! Then I went to the movie theater. We saw The Other Guys with Will Ferrell and Marky Mark. I hadn't even seen a preview, so I had zero expectation. I definitely laughed several times, but I'd say it's more of a renter than a "must see" in the theater.
After the movie, we headed over to Pappadeaux's. I haven't been there in ages. In the past, I always ordered the shrimp brochette which are bacon wrapped shrimp stuffed with jack cheese and jalapeño slivers all served over a big bed of dirty rice and a side of lemon butter which I would have poured over the top of the shrimp and dirty rice. I also would have indulged in several slices of the french bread and butter served before the meal. I won't lie to you and tell you I was a perfect angel during the meal...there were some healthier options, but I ordered the stuffed shrimp montage which were crab stuffed shrimp served with a bit of parmesan cheese sauce on each shrimp (not swimming in it, thankfully) and a side of green beans which I ordered without butter/oil. I, of course, did not partake in the bread.
I then went home and watched the series premiere of Outlaw on my DVR - it's a new show on NBC starring Jimmy Smits. Love him (especially since his performance in Dexter Season 3)! My dad had recommended the show to me, so I decided to record it when they re-aired it. It was a great show and I look forward to more episodes. I also watched the season premiere of Parenthood. This was one of my favorite shows last season - so glad to see its return! Then I headed to bed in hopes of getting some good sleep so that I could maybe get in some mileage on Sunday.
On Sunday, I was mostly a lazy bum. I did manage a couple of miles. At first I was disappointed with myself having hoped for more, but then I was like "ease up there, tiger" since I hadn't run in over a week. I kinda think I'm my own worst critic/enemy/nightmare lately.
Late afternoon, I headed over to the parental's house for another fashion show of sorts. This meant I tried on my $32 dress for my parents. They ooohed and ahhhed over it. Then Cathy tried on 3 different dresses for us and we had to choose which 2 we liked best. I threw back some leftover taco salad my mom had in the fridge, so I wasn't hungry when she suggested that we all go to Sweet Tomatoes, so I went Krogering instead and then to home sweet home.
As usual, there were so many things I should have done....could have done....but alas....there's always next weekend, now isn't there?!
How might your weekend have been? Was it raindrops and roses?
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
sick of being sick, so here's a recipe
As you may or may not have heard through the grapevine (being that of Facebook and/or Twitter), I have not been having much luck in the health department. Last week I was plagued with a case of the migraines. This week, there were some gastrointestinal issues. I will spare you most of the unpleasantries (and they were quite unpleasant), but I will say that stomach cramping is no joke. I don't think I've ever experienced cramps quite like THAT and I can honestly say that I hope to never ever again.
I assumed something was going around. I found out today that if something is going around, it also hit younger sister Linda and brother-in-law Craig. Then a bit later, I found out older sister Cathy was amongst the less fortunate, as well. Hmmm....isn't this odd. Now I can't help but wonder if we all got food poisoned considering we all ate the same thing at Los Cucos on Saturday at family lunch. The only other person to partake in the beef fajitas and not claim such issues is my mother. Perhaps she has a stomach made of steel? Maybe it's all just a coincidence, but we were all attacked on Monday in varying degrees.
On Monday, I dined mostly on Pepto Bismol and diet room temperature lemon-lime soda (since Walmart apparently doesn't sell diet ginger ale). I got bold and daring late that evening when I felt very weak and light headed and had some brown rice. It sat with me okay and I eventually called it a night. On Tuesday, I bought me a whole wheat bagel in the late morning and it, too, sat me with me okay. I still felt a tad bit crampy and a wee bit light headed here and there and I was no doubt dehydrated. Today, I feel significantly better, but I can tell I'm still not at 100%....I kinda feel like I'm still dragging a bit. I had hoped to go run a couple of miles after work, but after I got home I just was kinda blah about going out in this heat, so I figured I should chill for one more day and try tomorrow. Not feelin' too keen about Saturday's 8 miler at this point, but I'll give it my best. =/
Well...I didn't want to just be completely lazy for yet another night, so after perusing some food blogs from Houston Health Blogs, I happened across Marci Gilbert's recipe for zucchini banana bread and decided to modify it slightly and give it a whirl.
Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini grated
2 medium bananas
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup of sugar substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Grate the zucchini in a large bowl.
Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly with a hand held mixer.
**Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.
**I actually mixed together 1 tablespoon of sugar substitute with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg and then sprinkled over the top before putting the loaf into the oven.
And then voila...here is the finished product, my friends. I couldn't resist having a slice fresh out of the oven even though typically I prefer a cold slice of such tasty breads, but oh well...
Thoughts...a little bit on the mushy side...not quite a bread texture, but that's not really surprising since there are no eggs, nor milk, butter, or baking soda/powder in the mix. It's totally South Beach friendly, so that makes me happy. I will refrigerate it and have some more tomorrow.
Wishing you all good health and happy eating!
I assumed something was going around. I found out today that if something is going around, it also hit younger sister Linda and brother-in-law Craig. Then a bit later, I found out older sister Cathy was amongst the less fortunate, as well. Hmmm....isn't this odd. Now I can't help but wonder if we all got food poisoned considering we all ate the same thing at Los Cucos on Saturday at family lunch. The only other person to partake in the beef fajitas and not claim such issues is my mother. Perhaps she has a stomach made of steel? Maybe it's all just a coincidence, but we were all attacked on Monday in varying degrees.
On Monday, I dined mostly on Pepto Bismol and diet room temperature lemon-lime soda (since Walmart apparently doesn't sell diet ginger ale). I got bold and daring late that evening when I felt very weak and light headed and had some brown rice. It sat with me okay and I eventually called it a night. On Tuesday, I bought me a whole wheat bagel in the late morning and it, too, sat me with me okay. I still felt a tad bit crampy and a wee bit light headed here and there and I was no doubt dehydrated. Today, I feel significantly better, but I can tell I'm still not at 100%....I kinda feel like I'm still dragging a bit. I had hoped to go run a couple of miles after work, but after I got home I just was kinda blah about going out in this heat, so I figured I should chill for one more day and try tomorrow. Not feelin' too keen about Saturday's 8 miler at this point, but I'll give it my best. =/
Well...I didn't want to just be completely lazy for yet another night, so after perusing some food blogs from Houston Health Blogs, I happened across Marci Gilbert's recipe for zucchini banana bread and decided to modify it slightly and give it a whirl.
Ingredients:
2 medium zucchini grated
2 medium bananas
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup of sugar substitute
1 teaspoon vanilla
Directions:
Set oven to 350 degrees.
Grate the zucchini in a large bowl.
Add all other ingredients and mix thoroughly with a hand held mixer.
**Pour into a greased loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes.
**I actually mixed together 1 tablespoon of sugar substitute with 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and a dash of nutmeg and then sprinkled over the top before putting the loaf into the oven.
And then voila...here is the finished product, my friends. I couldn't resist having a slice fresh out of the oven even though typically I prefer a cold slice of such tasty breads, but oh well...
Thoughts...a little bit on the mushy side...not quite a bread texture, but that's not really surprising since there are no eggs, nor milk, butter, or baking soda/powder in the mix. It's totally South Beach friendly, so that makes me happy. I will refrigerate it and have some more tomorrow.
Wishing you all good health and happy eating!
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Kim versus the 5K: Bearkat Bash
Before we get into the details of the race, my little buttercups, let's discuss the events leading up to it, shall we?! This is a bit long winded, so I apologize in advance...
So, as previously discussed I've been having some awful headache issues and an occasional bout of the dizzies. I once again awoke in the middle of the night (2:02am to be exact) with the head pounding very sarcastic yay here>. I rummaged through my medicine cabinet...er drawer...and discovered some slightly expired migraine OTC medication. What's your take on expired medicinal products? I personally don't buy into it...I think it's just the manufacturer's way of getting you to buy more - or at least that's what I'm going with here. So, I popped 3 of them (shhhh...recommended dosage was 2, but I wasn't messing around with this hammering) and then I did something bad. Instead of returning to the comfort of my bed, I went to my laptop to check on how my job was coming along in Tokyo (Sorority Life on Facebook). Uh oh...only 16 minutes and 22 seconds before I could collect my earnings. I could just go back to bed and collect the yen when I awoke again, but where would be the fun in that, so I decided to go to Las Vegas (Mafia Wars on Facebook) in the meanwhile and fight mob bosses and the lot until my 16 minutes and 22 seconds were up. When the time was right, I collected my yen and then I thought about how I had just enough to buy this really cute Japanese print dress for 38,000 yen, so I bought it and then I had to try it on my little Sorority pledge, but then I kinda thought it made her hips look big, so I put her in an olive green Kimono instead with a pink sash. Ah...that was the ticket. Anyway, once I found the perfect shoes, the right hairstyle, and the appropriate accessories, the fashion show was over and I retired once again to my bedroom not so much because I was tired, but really just to shut my little doggies up who were both whining (one of them, Delilah, had already gotten out of bed to come check on me). It was now 2:39am and my alarm was set for 4:30am.
I tossed and turned and tossed and turned some more. I had one of those laugh out loud moments, too. The other day there was some dialog going on amongst my brother-in-law Craig, my double cousin Danielle, and I (or is it me?) on Facebook. Craig ended the dialog by saying, "Too late. Head is Uge!" This was making fun of my father who has a special problem (he likes to call it a disability) and can't pronounce the Hs in words beginning in H for some reason. So, what made me laugh out loud was I thought of a sentence - How long is the flight to Hawaii? Only I removed all the words starting with Hs, which made it Ow long is the flight to Awaii? Maybe you would have to have been there with me or just know my dad to appreciate this. Regardless, I think what made me laugh the most was how just earlier that evening, double cousin Danielle was insisting that 2:30am is hilarious. I told her I hardly doubted that was the case, but now I think she might be on to something... The dogs were getting a bit annoyed with me - it was obvious by their big sighs and their exasperated switching sleeping positions. Whatever, dogs. I'm in charge here and clearly so mature. I decided to go to the bathroom. One of the dogs (Delilah, again - shocker) decided to steal my spot on the bed. She was removed, no worries. I settled back down and must have eventually fallen asleep until that dreaded alarm sounded off just a short while later.
I got up, got ready, ate a whole wheat bun lightly toasted with Justin's almond maple butter and banana, stretched A LOT - especially that IT-band, and eventually headed out the door to the park. Meyer Park has two sides and my team always meets on the one side in particular. This side, for some reason, was closed. There were cops there informing us that we must go to the other side. This was weird. In my head, I had decided there had been a murder on the other side. This goes to show you how morbid I am. One of my teammates thought that perhaps there was going to be some sort of event later that day. Another teammate thought maybe there had been a drug bust. Regardless, it annoyed us because our routine was thrown off. Our coach gave us our swag bags which had our bibs, d-tags, tshirt, and some goodies in it. I went to put the bag in my car after securing my bib and d-tag, and then I started doing some mileage. I did about 1.75 miles at the park and then headed out towards the high school. I found the route the 5K was taking and kept asking the volunteers if I was winning. They laughed! I hit the mile 2 table and they even offered me water - bless their hearts I was in need and took them up on their offer. I continued all the way to the high school and it ended up being 3 miles. I got there in just enough time to use the facilities and I found Lauren and her sister, Sarah. I was sad that I somehow lost my spare piece of gum, so that meant I had to run without it. This sucked royally because that's how I control my breathing and how I stay hydrated even though some people (younger sister Linda WHAT?!) beg to differ.I started off strong. My first mile was 12:36. Yes, this is good for me. I know...le sad compared to so many others. ha! I'm okay with being a turtle. Remember that my motto is slow and steady to finish the race. I was a bit annoyed, however, because there were bunches of high schoolers running the race (that's not the annoying part) and some of the girls were just plain obnoxious. They would walk in a line blocking faster walkers or runners and then they would all the sudden start sprinting just to stop and walk again. They were rowdy and I guess what it boils down to is that they just didn't take it seriously. I'm all about having fun, don't get me wrong, but to me...a race is a big deal and they were just doing it so nonchalantly that it kind of demeaned the event, if that makes any sense. Maybe my age is showing? Ah well... I'm glad nobody made me take off my illegal headphones (yes, they tried to say they weren't allowed for insurance purposes - first race I've seen that).
I ran mile two MUCH SLOWER and with half the heart. My energy was diminishing under the burning sun. After my Garmin read mile 2, I walked to the water station. It was cute when I picked up a water and the one kid said, "I remember you!" Kinda made my moment, you know?! After I finished my water, I tried to start running again, but I got dizzy. Ugh! Not again!!!! I walked it out for a quarter of a mile, then tried to start running again and then came the charlie horses - it was like deja vu from my half marathon. I walked it out for another quarter of a mile or so and then started a ridiculously slow jog towards the finish line. I had to catch myself from stumbling over my own feet 5 times - NOT COOL, but eventually I finished the race with the worst 5K time I've ever had. =( Then, I drank tons of water cuz dang...it was HOT and HUMID. Oh and my finishing song was Jason Mraz's "Mr. A-Z".
It was my hottest 5K to date. It was also the only 5K I've done where I've run 3 miles BEFORE running the race. I've also been fighting these headaches all week. Yes, I know...all just excuses...
Instead of running back to the park to get my car, I thought it best to ask Lauren and Sarah to give me a lift back and they were so sweet to do just that. This race marked the 4th race Lauren and I have run together! Doesn't look like we will have any more opportunities this year with me training for The Houston Half on October 24th and the Houston Chevron Full on January 30th while Lauren is training for the Nike Women's Half on Oct. 17th. Okay, enough of my ramblings...I know this was a VERY long post. How's your weekend looking?
Friday, September 10, 2010
please hammer don't hurt me (anymore)
I feel like I can't even get a sentence out without mumble jumbling it up. Thinking? Forget that. It hurts to think, so I just don't. This has been apparent in my work this week. =/ Normally I'm on top of my game, but this week I'm gum on the bottom of an unsuspecting shoe. No fun.
Running? What's that? Haven't gotten any mileage in since my 6.5 miler on Sunday. The thought of pounding pavement in sync with my head pounding has made me want to vomit, so yeah...been a bit lazy. I also got spoiled by that 52 degree weather and it has been HUMID and ugly out all week. Blech.
The good news is that I've been eating way healthy and TOTALLY within my diet plan. Maybe it was even easier to get back on board with that since I'm feeling under the weather???
So, yeah...pretty much this is a whiny post. Sorry... Tonight, I'm taking a hot bubble bath, enjoying a hot cup of tea, and going to bed turbo early because I have some crazy running going on tomorrow before I do a race - the Bearkat Bash 5K.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Labor Day Weekend
After working a *fun* filled day. Yeah...notice those astricks - big thick sarcasm can be heard from miles away! My family all boarded our respective airplanes and headed to The Windy City. Yes, I was just there and Yes, I will be there two more times before this year is through in case you are keeping tabs on me. ;)
Most of my immediate family departed from Houston. Younger sister Linda with her husband Craig, older sister Cathy with her husband Jay, my mom, dad, and I boarded our 7:15pm flight with non-stop service. As in all other times we fly together, I end up on team Cathy and Jay. It's funny to think how just slightly over a year ago we weighed collectively over 320 lbs more than we do now. Do you know tightly we used to be squeezed into that airplane row? Do you know how much more comfortably we fit now? It's amazing! Cathy and I tried to convince Jay that another person could fit into our row, but he wasn't having it. ha!
My brother and his wife April flew in from Washington, D.C. Since they arrived first, they were already whisked away to my aunt and uncle's house. My uncle came to pick-up the whole lot of us in our party van - a 15 passenger blue number. We shuffled in with our luggage in tow and headed to the house. My aunt is like ol' faithful when it comes to hospitality - especially food. Good Lord - the woman even has a dish of York Peppermint Patties in the powder room (no, I didn't eat any of them). We ate, laughed, gossiped, and retired for the evening.
On Saturday, my family threw a surprise 80th birthday party for my grandmother. The "adults" meaning my mom, dad, aunt, and uncle headed out in my uncle's car while the "kids" headed out in...yes, you guessed it...the party van. I suggested a Chinese fire drill at one of the lights, but it got the veto because of our high heels and dresses. I thought those details would make the entire process even that much more amusing for spectators, but alas...the veto stuck. It was 7 weeks before my grandmother's real birthday, so the surprise part wasn't too hard to pull off. The guest list included family near and far, some select employees from our family business, and some of my grandmother's dearest friends. I believe there were around 200 people total in attendance. It was an open bar event with brunch served and, of course, dessert. The best part of all was seeing my Grandma get emotional when she realized what was going on. She made me tear up! It was a beautiful event, but alas...the day was not over when it was over. Oh no...we had about 2 hours before party #2. All out of town guests and immediate family were gathered at my aunt and uncle's house for dinner. Do you notice a theme? Food! Lots and lots of food!
On Sunday, I woke up super duper early to do my long run. Normally I would have hit it up on Saturday, but I hadn't gotten much sleep with flying in late and we had to leave for down town relatively early PLUS I was scheduled for a 6 miler which takes a turtle like me a bit o' time. It was 52 degrees! At first when I walked outside I wondered if I would be better off changing my attire, but then I told myself to "man up" and hit the streets. My aunt told me I could leave their cul-de-sac and head down to the main street all the way to the next main street and back and that would be 2 miles, so I decided to duck down a few side streets here and there. I ran non-stop for 3.3 miles and then went back into the house for a bathroom break. I went back out again to do the other 2.7 miles, but the strangest thing happened....I still had lots of energy left in me, so I ran for another 3.2 miles (without walking) making it an even 6.5 mile run. I'm such an over achiever! I still could have kept on going, but there were 2 parties planned for the day (yes, another 2). We went over to my Aunt Janet's house for my cousin Rachel's bridal shower (party #1). Once again - ridiculous quantities of food. After the shower, the men folk came back to the house after playing golf (and the others who didn't play golf joined us) and we had a barbeque. In case you were wondering....more food was served for our dining pleasure. After eating, laughing, gossiping and all that jazz, we headed back to the house we were staying at to just chill and we might have eaten some cookies.
On Monday, my mom and aunt's brother met us up at the house and all of us went to the Walker Bros. Pancake House. This is a staple for us whenever we go to Chicago. It was delicious, as always. Once we finished, there was just enough time to relax for a bit back at the house before heading to the airport.
In short, we ate too much.
I had my camera...didn't take a single pic, but pics were taken, so they are out there somewhere and when I get my grubby hands on them, I shall post them.
How was your holiday weekend?
Most of my immediate family departed from Houston. Younger sister Linda with her husband Craig, older sister Cathy with her husband Jay, my mom, dad, and I boarded our 7:15pm flight with non-stop service. As in all other times we fly together, I end up on team Cathy and Jay. It's funny to think how just slightly over a year ago we weighed collectively over 320 lbs more than we do now. Do you know tightly we used to be squeezed into that airplane row? Do you know how much more comfortably we fit now? It's amazing! Cathy and I tried to convince Jay that another person could fit into our row, but he wasn't having it. ha!
My brother and his wife April flew in from Washington, D.C. Since they arrived first, they were already whisked away to my aunt and uncle's house. My uncle came to pick-up the whole lot of us in our party van - a 15 passenger blue number. We shuffled in with our luggage in tow and headed to the house. My aunt is like ol' faithful when it comes to hospitality - especially food. Good Lord - the woman even has a dish of York Peppermint Patties in the powder room (no, I didn't eat any of them). We ate, laughed, gossiped, and retired for the evening.
On Sunday, I woke up super duper early to do my long run. Normally I would have hit it up on Saturday, but I hadn't gotten much sleep with flying in late and we had to leave for down town relatively early PLUS I was scheduled for a 6 miler which takes a turtle like me a bit o' time. It was 52 degrees! At first when I walked outside I wondered if I would be better off changing my attire, but then I told myself to "man up" and hit the streets. My aunt told me I could leave their cul-de-sac and head down to the main street all the way to the next main street and back and that would be 2 miles, so I decided to duck down a few side streets here and there. I ran non-stop for 3.3 miles and then went back into the house for a bathroom break. I went back out again to do the other 2.7 miles, but the strangest thing happened....I still had lots of energy left in me, so I ran for another 3.2 miles (without walking) making it an even 6.5 mile run. I'm such an over achiever! I still could have kept on going, but there were 2 parties planned for the day (yes, another 2). We went over to my Aunt Janet's house for my cousin Rachel's bridal shower (party #1). Once again - ridiculous quantities of food. After the shower, the men folk came back to the house after playing golf (and the others who didn't play golf joined us) and we had a barbeque. In case you were wondering....more food was served for our dining pleasure. After eating, laughing, gossiping and all that jazz, we headed back to the house we were staying at to just chill and we might have eaten some cookies.
On Monday, my mom and aunt's brother met us up at the house and all of us went to the Walker Bros. Pancake House. This is a staple for us whenever we go to Chicago. It was delicious, as always. Once we finished, there was just enough time to relax for a bit back at the house before heading to the airport.
In short, we ate too much.
I had my camera...didn't take a single pic, but pics were taken, so they are out there somewhere and when I get my grubby hands on them, I shall post them.
How was your holiday weekend?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Oh eHarmony...
Oh eHarmony....I wish I could say we have a love/hate relationship, but really I just hate you and it's quite clear how you feel about me by the care and concern you take in finding me the perfect match.
Let's take a look at the last week as a prime example of your lack of respect for me, shall we?
3 potential gentlemen callers initiated contact with me in the past week. It was shocking, to say the least. Very rarely do I have any initiations at all (and God forbid I were to do the initiating), so this was practically reason for celebration or it at least warranted a kazoo and a party hat. Oh...but wait...then the reality of it slapped me in the face and I now have 0 potential gentlemen callers.
Before I tell you how it all went down, let's review your communication stages:
#1 - 5 multiple choice questions are sent out and answered by each party
#2 - 10 "must haves" and 10 "can't stands" are selected from lists of many and sent out by each party
#3 - 3 open ended questions are sent out and answered by each party
#4 - open communication
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's get back to business.
Gentleman caller A terminated contact after I asked him the 3 open ended questions I chose from the list of many provided by you, eHarmony. I'm thinking he either didn't like the questions I asked or he had moved onto greener pastures. Oh well....his loss. I'm great!
Gentleman Caller B's contact was terminated by me after he sent his "must haves" and "can't stands". He has probably been the 3rd or 4th guy who has initiated contact with me over the past several months who has literally included "can't stand overweight people" in their list. Here's the deal....I totally respect the fact that everyone has their preferences for what they are physically attracted to. That being said, we are not 8 years old anymore and I think you just choose people according to that preference and that you should not need to say that you "can't stand" any one group of people. I guess I should be thankful that by looking at my many pictures posted, they did not think me to be overweight, but the truth of the matter is that I am still overweight. Also, even if I wasn't, the statement would still offend me and it would make me wonder if ever I put on 5 or 10 lbs if I would be criticized accordingly. So, to him and others like him I say...good riddance and grow up!
Gentleman Caller C's contact was terminated by me after the open communication round began and fizzled. I understand I have a vivacious personality, eHarmony, but that does not mean I want a stick in the mud. Just in case you didn't catch our conversation, here goes:
Email #1 from GCC (him) to K (me)
Now comes the fun part. I am currently working full time and going to school part time.
Email #2 from K (me) to GCC (him)
Hi Gentleman Caller C,
So being a shipping director...does that mean you are involved with operations/planning/dispatching? I have my hand in that pot at my work.
What are you studying at school?
Kim
Email #3 from GCC (him) to K (me)
I do all the shipping, packaging, and take care of the operations of the shipments, as well as maintain the inventory counts, process refunds and other things like that. I am currently a History major working towards my Associates degree in Criminal Justice.
Let's take a look at the last week as a prime example of your lack of respect for me, shall we?
Before I tell you how it all went down, let's review your communication stages:
#1 - 5 multiple choice questions are sent out and answered by each party
#2 - 10 "must haves" and 10 "can't stands" are selected from lists of many and sent out by each party
#3 - 3 open ended questions are sent out and answered by each party
#4 - open communication
Okay, now that we have that out of the way, let's get back to business.
Gentleman caller A terminated contact after I asked him the 3 open ended questions I chose from the list of many provided by you, eHarmony. I'm thinking he either didn't like the questions I asked or he had moved onto greener pastures. Oh well....his loss. I'm great!
Gentleman Caller B's contact was terminated by me after he sent his "must haves" and "can't stands". He has probably been the 3rd or 4th guy who has initiated contact with me over the past several months who has literally included "can't stand overweight people" in their list. Here's the deal....I totally respect the fact that everyone has their preferences for what they are physically attracted to. That being said, we are not 8 years old anymore and I think you just choose people according to that preference and that you should not need to say that you "can't stand" any one group of people. I guess I should be thankful that by looking at my many pictures posted, they did not think me to be overweight, but the truth of the matter is that I am still overweight. Also, even if I wasn't, the statement would still offend me and it would make me wonder if ever I put on 5 or 10 lbs if I would be criticized accordingly. So, to him and others like him I say...good riddance and grow up!
Gentleman Caller C's contact was terminated by me after the open communication round began and fizzled. I understand I have a vivacious personality, eHarmony, but that does not mean I want a stick in the mud. Just in case you didn't catch our conversation, here goes:
Email #1 from GCC (him) to K (me)
Now comes the fun part. I am currently working full time and going to school part time.
Email #2 from K (me) to GCC (him)
Hi Gentleman Caller C,
So being a shipping director...does that mean you are involved with operations/planning/dispatching? I have my hand in that pot at my work.
What are you studying at school?
Kim
Email #3 from GCC (him) to K (me)
I do all the shipping, packaging, and take care of the operations of the shipments, as well as maintain the inventory counts, process refunds and other things like that. I am currently a History major working towards my Associates degree in Criminal Justice.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)