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.

TAGGED: 7 Favorite Movies

I was TAGGED again!  I love being tagged - it's sooo fun!  Thanks, this time, to The Turtle from The Turtle's Pace!  I am to tell y'all about my 7 favorite movies!  Did you know I'm a total movie fanatic???  It's true!  Of course, I used to see a whole bunch more than I do now.  Since I have so many faves, I decided to break mine down by category.

Childhood Fave:
Swiss Family Robinson - I admit it, I definitely wanted to live in a tree house after watching this movie!  I fantasized about living on an island and having ostridges as a form of transportation and tigers as pets.  I even wanted to fight pirates!

Christmas Fave:
Santa Claus:  The Movie (though for the record, Elf is a VERY close second) - I just love this movie!  It has great characterizations, mixed with the magic of Christmas, and good beating evil.  Ahhh...can't wait to watch it this year!

Drama Fave:
Cold Mountain - I HAVE to feel the love in order to feel the anguish, if that makes sense.  Though the two main characters were not together very long, either the chemistry was just THAT good or the acting was, but regardless, I believed it.  This movie brought to light the age old question of "is it better to have love and lost than to have never loved at all?"  I saw it twice in the movie theater and then bought it as soon as it came out on DVD.

Animated Fave:
Anastasia - What's not to love about the fabled tale of long lost Anastasia with her amnesia not knowing she is the heir to the Russian throne?  Such great animation and music...hard to believe it was not a Disney production!

Musical:
Moulin Rouge - couldn't wait to see this movie!  I remember that it came out during the summer and my brother and I were EXHAUSTED, but we had to see it, so we had his then girlfriend (now wife) April buy the tickets and we saw a late night viewing on opening night despite our long working hours that day AND WE LOVED IT!  I bought this one as soon as it came out, too!  Eddie and April even danced to the secret love song at their wedding!  =)

Comedy Fave:
Real Genius - Val Kilmer in one of his best roles.  Perhaps he should have kept to the comedy bits...he was quite clever at it, actually!

80s Fave:
The Goonies - action, adventure, romance, hidden treasure...come on...who didn't want to be a Goonie?  I know I sure did!


There are many more faves that I have, but I could only list 7, so now it's your turn.  Tell me what your favorite movies are!  Blog about it!

a diagnosis =(

I have been injured for a month.

I have come to the realization that it would be next to impossible for me to run the full marathon on January 30th. 

I have to pay $10 to knock my registration down to the half marathon...I will now be doing the Aramco Half Marathon on January 30th in Houston.

It is incredibly difficult to not feel like a failure.  This is not to say that I want comments on how far I've come and what I've accomplished.  I know that a year ago I couldn't run a mile.  I get that.  It's just really hard to set your mind on something and not see it come to fruition.  In a lot of ways, I feel as though I have sacrificed continuing my weight loss for the cause of this marathon training.  I know that sounds silly because in essense wouldn't weighing less help my plight and wouldn't it go without saying that exercising (running) would help that plight?!  Yes, it would, but the more I've run, the hungrier I've become.  I've let the hunger take over.  I've also let frustration and depression take over, too.  You see, when things don't go as planned, I don't do so well.  This injury felt like yet another blow in a long line of blows I've felt like I've been dealt lately (the whole o' woe is me card, you know?!).

I did the bone scan today.  The pictures were sent to my doctor and he was awesome enough to call me this evening.  I honestly didn't expect it to show anything.  I kinda thought I was wasting my deductible (ouch!) getting this done, but wanted the peace of mind that comes with knowing.  What this means is that I guess I would have rather the pain been in my head and the money been "wasted" because I'm not exactly thrilled with the results.  The technical term of my diagnosis is Anterior Superior Iliac Spine Avulsion.  The simplification of the term is pelvic stress fracture.

He took the exercise bike off my list of approved activities, leaving me with the elliptical and swimming.  He said 3 more weeks ought to do the trick.  I explained I have a half marathon on Dec. 12th (RunGirl 13.1) and asked what he thought.  He said we will have to play it by ear and asked me to come see him the week before.  I am pretty bound and determined to do that sucker NO MATTER WHAT (which means walking the whole thing if I have to).  It has a really cute medal, after all.  The good news is that I have a doctor who cares, who knows my goals, and wants me to be able to achieve those goals HEALED.  The bad news is that I'm still sad, upset, disappointed, frustrated, angry...

2011 is going to be full of a lot of things for this KIMpossible.  I'm going to spend the entire year losing the rest of this weight to get to my goal.  I'm going to spend the entire year training to do a full marathon.  I'm going to become a stronger, smarter runner (injury free).

Weekend Recap

Friday
My dad and I flew out at 7:25am to Chicago for our annual management meetings.  We pulled the whole aisle/window seat game hoping nobody would be in the middle seat and...IT WORKED!  Yay!  Had to finish reading a book that was required reading for the meetings.  =/  When it was done, I started reading a book recommended by my friend, LaShaune, called "I Was Told There'd Be Cake" - Essays by Sloane Crosley. 

We were picked up from the airport along with my uncle Mike and then taken to our headquarters to say hello to all the peeps.  After an hour, we were taken to our hotel where we would spend the next 24 hours.

First was lunch, then meetings, followed by the award banquet.  The last 2 years, my service center walked away as The Big Winner, so it was a bit humbling to not receive the same honors this year.  =(  We did earn 3rd place in customer service and then we had some drivers earn special recognition for their efforts, but it was a bit disappointing because I know we have the skills and the talent to perform better.  I'm beginning  my plan of action to regain our elite status for next year!

Saturday
I decided to go walking with two of my favorite people out of our New Jersey operation at 5am.  Maybe not the wisest choice considering I went to bed at 1am, but hey...I only see these people once a year!  I took my Garmin with me so we would know how far we walked and we hit 3.75 miles in an hour - not too shabby considering I was all kinds of achy (maybe due to the coldish weather?)!  I then showered and met the rest of the peeps for breakfast before we started our meetings.  We had a half a day of meetings followed by lunch and then...that's it until next year!  Most everyone flew home in the afternoon, but since my family is from Chicago, my dad, brother, and I always stay the extra day at my aunt and uncle's house.  We went over there and hung out.  I got my aunt and brother hooked on Angry Birds (cuz my friend Amy got me hooked on it on Thursday).  We were sitting there playing it while my uncle and dad were watching football.  Later we went for a yummy Mexican dinner and then I went to bed because the life had been sucked out of me.

Sunday
I woke up at 5:15am to hit the gym.  14 miles was on the schedule for my running group, so that meant 14 miles on the elliptical.  I downloaded a book on my Nano this time - "Devil in the White City", to help make the time go by faster.  It was hard to get into the groove though - for one thing, this book is strictly a narrative - would have made for a better read, than a listen.  I actually switched over to music for the last 3 miles for a change of pace.  Secondly, these were different ellipticals than I am used to, so the miles were going by more slowly.  I hopped off my elliptical at mile 5 and went on a different machine - not sure what it was called, but it looked sort of like The Gazelle, but a bit more complex.  I only did it for 1/2 a mile because it was a killah and it took me 10 minutes just to do that much - yikes!  Then I went back to the elliptical for the remainder.  It took me 3 1/2 hours for the entirely of the 14 miles (ugh) and I was booking it, so that was kind of obnoxious!  My family was nice enough to wait for me to go eat.  I got back to the house, showered uber fast, and then we went to Walker Bros Pancake House - a staple in my family!  I ordered scrambled eggs, rye toast, and this month's special - pumpkin pancakes!  Yes, I sound gluttonous, but I was HUNGRY after all that work!  When we were parking the car, he pulled into a 2 hour limit spot and I asked him if that was going to be okay.  He answered with, "this ain't no Kim at the gym!"  It made me laugh!  =D  After brunch, we headed back to the house to hang out until our flight.  My dad and I did not fair as well on the ride home, so I kindly did not make some stranger sit between us and scooted over to the middle.  We landed and went to my parent's house.  My mom made us some homemade soup and sugar free / fat free apple cinnamon bread.  I then retrieved my dogs from her care and went to my own home!  Ahhhh...home sweet home UNTIL Saturday when I leave for Orlando!!!  =D

TAGGED!

So, this is a blog first for me and it is most exciting!  I got "tagged" to answer some questions.  My tagger was MsGigglepuss from Just a Bit Wicked.  I, in turn, shall "tag" some bloggers of my own with some new questions when my questions are answered. 

So here are my questions and answers:

1. What is your favorite holiday and why? Any special traditions?
I have to go with Thanksgiving because it's the one holiday that I have my entire immediate family together every year combined with a mini vacation.  The irony of the whole thing is that it is the furthest thing from a traditional Thanksgiving that you could possibly imagine.  For the past 14+ years, my family has gone to Las Vegas to celebrate.  We always meet for 2 meals a day, we go see movies, we shop, we gamble, we see shows...  We hit up a killah buffet for our Thanksgiving meal!  haha!  This coming Thanksgiving, we are changing it up a bit, however.  My parents have rented us a huge house in Orlando and we are doing Disney and Universal Studios instead - for a whole week!




2. What is your go-to kickass song in your workout playlist?
Just one?  Oye - there are so many that really kick me into gear when I hear them!  My younger sister Linda told me I had to put Miley Cyrus's "Can't Be Tamed" onto my iPod the other day.  Honestly, I didn't listen to it before uploading it (that's trust for you).  It came on while I was doing my 13.1 miles ON THE ELLIPTICAL on Sunday and it really put that pep in my step, so it just might one of my new faves!  Ya gotta keep it fresh, ya know?!


3. If you were forced to only watch one TV show or movie ever again until you die (can choose shows no longer on the air, and you can watch it again and again, but nothing else), what would it be and why? Defend your choice!
I will go with a tv show because there are many episodes to it (versus watching one 2-hour movie).  I could, for the record, defend a movie choice, though!  Okay, so my tv show is...LoSt!  Big shocker for those of you who know me IRL, right?!  I love(d) that show!  I was only disappointed in the ending because it ended.  I was intrigued with each and every episode and it kept me guessing.  There were so many literary reference weaved into the story line - so many great characterizations - it was so well cast!  Oh...just writing about it makes me miss it! 



4. Where is your favorite vacation destination?

Playa del Carmen!  I love me my European vacations, I really do, BUT they are working vacations.  You have to go, go, go...see, see, see and by the time you are done, you need a vacation to recover from your vacation.  Playa is soooo close - a 2 hour plane ride away to tropical paradise.  I just set myself up with one of those all-inclusives and prepare to be lazy for 5+ days.  It's heaven on earth with a fruity tropical drink on the side for good measure. (pic taken from my last trip there)


I am tagging...
Meliska-D
That Pink Girl
Lauren (Team Giles)
Tales from the Back of the Pack
The Incredible Shrinking Girl

Here are your questions:

1.  What is your favorite holiday and why?  Any special traditions?  Favorite holiday food item?  (had to steal this one - 'tis the season and all that jazz (but I tweaked it slightly))

2.  Have you read a great book lately that you would recommend?  Tell us about it!

3.  What is your dream vacation?  Money is not an issue.  Time off of work is not an issue.  Where do you go?  Why?

4.  Looking back at 2010 so far...what are you most proud of?


Get to answering!!!  Get to tagging!!!

survivor

So I'm notorious for hatin' this whole "dark by the time I get home from work" thang.  It messes with my head.  It doesn't take much to mess with my head, mind you, but still...

Okay...first things first.  I bet you are wondering if I was able to master the 13 miles on the elliptical.  Well...I didn't only master it, I overachieved it by 0.1 of a mile just to make it a half ellipticathalon.  You see 26.2 miles is a full ellipticathalon.  I don't ever want to go that far.  If I do, PLEASE have me committed.

My plan was to hit the gym bright eyed and bushy tailed, but that didn't happen because Runner's World was doing a live blog feed of the ING NY Marathon and I was drawn to it like bees to honey!  I was pulling for Shalane Flanagan to win it for the women, but I was quite proud of her 2nd place finish!  Imagine running your first marathon and finishing 2nd place?!  Bananas!  Then again, when she competed in her first half marathon here in Houston in January of this year, she won it!  She's amazing!

Okay, so once the winners were established, I geared up, grabbed my Powerade Zero and my iPod shuffle and headed to 24-Hour Fitness.  I picked my machine, tested the ol' iPod to make sure there were no technical difficulties and then I was off.  My quad/thigh was a bit achy at first, but I told it to "man-up" and I adjusted the intensity and the incline and eventually found my rhythm.  The machine only allowed me to set it up for 60 minute segments, so after the first 60 minutes, I reset it for another.  About half way through my second 60 minute segment, I had to briefly pop off the machine to refill my bottle - water was gonna have to do it for the rest of my jaunt.  I took that opportunity to stretch my legs.  I hopped back on the machine and finished up that 60 minutes.  I reset the machine for the final 60 minutes knowing full well it wasn't going to take me that long.  I worked on my arm swing during the entire work-out since I know that has been a weakness for me.  I would have killed for an audio book, FYI.  Half ellipticathalons are MEGA BORING!  33 minutes later, I was done.  13.1 miles completed.  I can honestly say I have never before spent 2 hours and 33 minutes in the gym in one segment before.  I would love to say that I will never do that again, but sadly this may not be the case depending on what's going on with my injury.

Good news is that my leg doesn't feel any worse for the wear today.  Honestly - my upper back and shoulders are a mess (from the arm swinging).  Weird, right?!

I was able to make an appointment with the sports medicine ortho at the practice I go to.  The ortho who did both of my ACL knee surgeries ('94 and '98) retired several years back and the ortho who helped me through my hip tendonitis (earlier this year) is a joint specialist, so I decided to go with the sports medicine expert.  This one lists running as his hobby, so he'll understand!

I took today off (as I would after a long run), but I'm hitting up my elliptical new BFF again tomorrow.  I'm planning on a 4 to 5 miler.

Where there is a will, there is a way!  Destiny Child's Survivor popped up on my shuffle while I was laboring away.  The lyrics inspired me.  Here are just a few:

I'm a survivor,
I'm not gonna give up,
I'm not gon' stop,
I'm gonna work harder,
I'm a survivor,
I'm gonna make it,
I will survive,
Keep on survivin'

Oh and I almost forgot to share with you that my blind beagle, Penelope, stole 2 packs of Clif's Shot Bloks, 5 Larabars, 2 Luna Bars, and 2 South Beach bars while I was at work today.  I had a bag full of my goodies on top of my desk in the kitchen and she must have been desperately seeking something/anything to satisfy her hunger?!  Hmmm...guess who is NOT getting dinner tonight.  

fighter

Let's talk about how much I *love* waking up at 5am on a Saturday.  Let's one-up the early birding with 38 degree weather, shall we?!

Since I am not eating bread carbs right now, I made myself a breakfast of 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 lite mini baby bell cheeses, and 2 TBSP of almond butter.  I washed it all down with water.

I geared up with Nike capris, a light weight long sleeve shirt, my shoes, my Spibelt, my Garmin, my iPod Shuffle, and my visor.  I stretched VERY thoroughly and then headed out the door at 6:45am.

I had a positive attitude.  I knew that I might not be able to do all 13, but I felt that surely I would be able to do the same 7 I had done the week before.  I promised myself I would stop if I hurt.

My team met up at the picnic table, discussed the plan of action, and headed out.  I had a bit of a struggle with my iPod.  It wasn't working and I panicked that I was going to have to run without it.  Just me and my thoughts?!  Yikes!  No worries...got it working.  I started jogging and BAM...pain in my thigh...all the way around it.  That is where the pain has moved to - from the hamstring to the glutes, back to the hamstring, then to the entire thigh/upper leg.  Do you see how this is the weirdest injury ever?!  It keeps moving.  I'm thinking at this rate, in two weeks, it's going to be in my ankle.  Sheesh!

I just stopped.  What was the point?  I could feel myself running with a limp.  I don't want to put myself out of commission, so I turned around and walked back to my car.  I almost cried.  I wanted to, but I stopped myself.  I am not giving up here.  I have done everything that I could on my own, so it's time to take it to a doctor (I will call my ortho on Monday and make an appointment).  What's my biggest fear here?  It's not really that he will tell me not to run, because I don't believe my injury is that serious.  He didn't tell me to stop running when I had the tendonitis in my hip, after all.  My biggest fear is losing my training.  I don't feel like I can go another week of nothing and then be expected to pick up where I left off.  I feel like if I don't pick up where I left off, I will be getting too far behind to catch up.  In other words...continuing to build distance is going to be a problem.

I have a plan.  I'm going to the gym tomorrow morning.  I want to try the elliptical first.  It's low impact and I control the intensity/tension of the machine.  I will know instantly as to whether or not it is aggravating my injury.  If it does, I get off and try the bike.  If it doesn't, I do 13 miles.  I know it isn't the same, but it's something.

I don't know if I've mentioned it on my blog before, but I consider my theme song to be Christina Aguilera's
"Fighter".  Most of the song applies to my life regarding a rather unfortunate experience I had (for several years), but that withstanding...isolating some select lyrics can be applied to this situation:

Makes me that much stronger
Makes me work a little bit harder
Makes me that much wiser
So thanks for making me a fighter

I am a fighter.  I'm going to fight my way through this injury.  You fight for what you believe in.  I believe in me.  I just have to fight smart.

I am free

well...not that you can like buy me or anything....

After babying my oddity of an injury all week long, I can honestly say I feel better.  So, this means I'm going to head out tomorrow morning to try to do my 13-miler.  I have not run all week.  I have not done any kind of physical exertion, actually.  I just took my anti-imflammatory pills, my Epsom salt baths, rubbed my upper left leg with Bio Freeze each night, stretched, and prayed. 

I am promising myself that I will stop running if I feel pain.

I am promising myself to take time off the table and to just feel free with the run.

You see, looking beyond the injury into the bigger picture, I have come to realize that I'm stressing myself out so much with this whole time limit thing to the point that I'm not even enjoying running.  I don't want to be running my full marathon staring at my Garmin fretting about each and every step with regard to each and every second.  I want to be soaking up every single second of that race for what it is - an amazing experience beyond anything I ever even thought would be possible.  Remember back to when my parents saved the day by buying me a spot in this marathon?  My dad asked me if it meant more to me to know that I would be able to finish the race on time (RnR New Orleans with it's 7 hour time limit) OR to have my family and friends there to support me (Houston with its 6 hour time limit).  I chose Houston!  I still choose Houston!  I'm not naive here.  I know there is only a slim chance of me actually being an official finisher (finishing within the time limit).  Worrying and stressing about it isn't changing the time limit and it's not changing my speed.  If anything it's dragging me down - emotionally, mentally, and physically.

I'm officially committing to myself and to anyone who reads this blog today that I am freeing myself of the chain that has been binding me.  I am no longer worrying about the time it takes me to complete my very first (and probably only) marathon.  I am solely focused on finishing what I started.  I want to cross that finish line on two feet (you know...not crawling) with my head held high knowing that I did something to be proud of!  As long as I can say I did my best...how can that not be good enough?!

On #Fitblog the other night (my first, but definitely not my last time participating), we were asked what was the headline defining our last 10 months and what would be the headline defining our remaining 2 (or...um...something along those lines).  I thought about it and my response was this:  "I Am My Own Worst  Enemy" to "I Am My New Best Friend".  In other words...enough with the negativity and the "I can't" attitude and the "what ifs".  It's time for positivity and the "I can" attitude and the "come what mays". 

I am free.

lonely

Cold weather makes me feel lonely.

The holiday season makes me feel lonely.

I have a lot going on in the next two months.  I have 3 trips planned.  One -  a quick weekend trip to Chicago for management meetings and some family time.  Two - a week long extravaganza in Orlando over Thanksgiving with my immediate family, aunt, uncle, and double cousins.  Three - Christmas in Chicago with my family.   I have a half marathon.  I have the continued training for my full marathon - doing mileage I never thought possible.  I have stuff to occupy my mind, I guess is what I'm saying.

But still...

I'm lonely.

Most of my friends are married.  So many of my friends have had babies this year.  I always wanted to be a mom.  I wanted to have three kids.  The older I get, the more I see that dream slip away.  Don't get me wrong...I'm not giving up.  I know there is still hope for me to meet and marry some wonderful man and then to have some kiddos.  I know that women have babies "later in life" now.  I know that I am way healthier now than I was 10 years ago and that I will be even healthier 5 years from now than I am now.

But still...

I'm lonely now.

It will pass.  I usually does and I will be content again.  at least for a little while.

not your traditional pudding

I'm a fairly open-minded girl when it comes to most things.  At the very least, I always try to see "the other side".  I am not so open-minded when it comes to food.  Or at least I have not been so open-minded in the past.  Something has come over me this year and I'm eating and creating all sorts of weirdness (by my interpretation).  I still have my standards, though...I will never ever try clam chowder.  =P

This year I've eaten sushi.  the raw kind.  ewwwww.

This year I've eaten mussels.  ewwwww.

This year I've put spinach in my smoothies.  yummmmm.

This year I've put pumpkin in my chili.  yummmmm.

Now...I've done the ultimate in odd.  I'm made chocolate pudding without Jello brand pudding mix.  I did it with an avocado as the base.  Also...it's made with almond milk (another newby for me).

Earlier this year, Lauren told me she had it before and loved it.  She recalled the recipe having agave nectar in it.  It isn't that I have any personal issues against agave nectar, it's just that I do follow the South Beach diet, so I try to go sugar free or use sugar substitutes.

I have been laying low on the exercise front this week trying to rest this leg injury into submission (hoping to be able to participate in Saturday's 13 miler with my running group), so I've been cooking and baking South Beach, phase 1 foods (since I'm on the second week of taking that step back to get my cravings in check) in my spare time.  I had this notion to make the pudding today, but I wanted to find a recipe that did not have honey or agave nectar in it.

I heart Google.  I found one right away.  I used this as my base recipe.  Now, keep in mind this is not a low calorie pudding or even a low fat one.  It is rich in nutrients, however - healthy fats, protein, fiber.  I can attest that it is incredibly decadent, creamy, and extremely filling.

Here's what you need:

1 large avocado
1/4 cup + 2 TBSP almond butter (I used Maranatha)
1 scoop chocolate protein powder (I used Jillian's)
1/4 cup cocoa powder
6 packets of sugar substitute
a pinch of salt
1/2 cup of chocolate unsweetened almond milk
1 TSP vanilla

Here's what you do:

Mix the avocado and almond butter together.
Add dry ingredients - protein powder, sugar substitute, cocoa powder, and salt

Add in the liquid ingredients - almond milk and vanilla.
Mix thoroughly.
Chill.
Serve.
Enjoy.

Oh...supposedly it's 4 to 6 servings.  I'm thinking maybe 3 or 4, but then again I apparently have a heavy hand when it comes to scooping.  ;)

3 deep breaths

Happy November to you!

This is kind of a cRaZy month for me as I have lots of traveling going on.  This makes me VERY nervous as far as my training goes since I will be missing 3 Saturdays of long runs with my running group.  That statement alone is kinda funny considering I'm soooo much slower than the rest of my team that I'm basically running solo save for the turn around of each mapped out run when we pass each other, but even those few words of encouragement and our little team camaraderie before we begin go along way, you know?!  I will, of course, run the same mileage they are just in a different cities and sometimes on different days.  I should flip it for the positive by way of saying what an adventure it will be to run in Chicago and Orlando instead of Houston!

I also wonder whether or not I will be able to join them this Saturday.  I'm still nursing this strange injury from my half marathon (that wasn't) from October 24th.  I know I never went into much detail of what happened with that whole thing, so here it goes.  As I was running, I started feeling a tightness in my left hamstring prior to seeing my family somewhere just after mile 3.  I remember running past them telling them "the hills are killing me" and knowing I was referring to my hamstring.  When I finished the run, I was feeling sore in my thighs and my left side from the back of my hip to my hamstring - kind of the sciatic area.  The weird thing is that I ALWAYS have total runner's knee on both my left and right legs, but this run I did not.  I attributed it to my new properly fitted shoes (you know...the ones I probably shouldn't have run in, but I did cuz I'm such a rebel).  So after the race, we went to lunch and when I got up from the table I totally had a hard time walking, but not with stiff legs as would be expected, but it was with this whole problem going on with the left side of me.  On Monday, my father made fun of me calling me "Chester" from the tv show "Gun Smoke" only the reference was lost on me cuz I had never seen it.  I made an appointment for a massage and immediately Sarah (with her magic torturous touch) was able to break apart some knots that had developed in my gluttish (probably not a word, but bear with me here) area.  The rest of the week, I did all the things you are supposed to do to heal an injury.  I tried to run on Wednesday, but it was an epic fail.  Then came Saturday and as I mentioned - I did 7 of the scheduled 12 miles and then felt crippled (even limped) the rest of the day.  The pain had moved to most of my upper left leg (as in all the way around).  On Sunday, after an Epsom salt bath, it was back to just the hamstring.  I'm perplexed.  My coach told me REST it.  He said I might not be able to run all week.  He said I might not be there next Saturday.  My biggest fear is getting behind.  He tells me not to worry - that the worst thing I can do is further injure myself by running injured.  I'm a worry wart.  It's what I do.

My mom would ask "how's that working for you?"  It's not.  It makes me feel sick.  It probably prevents me from getting better.  My mom would say "when you always do what you have always done, then you are always going to get what you have always gotten."  I know she's right.  I hate that, by the way.  3 deep breaths.  It's going to be okay.

Anyway...I spent 3 months dealing with a hip injury at the beginning of this journey and that didn't stop me - if anything, it made me even more determined.  I am going to get through this.  I am.  If anything, it's an exercise on patience - a virtue that has been lost on me in the past and something I really need to work on.  Sometimes my stubbornness is a good thing - it means I don't give up even when it appears the cards are stacked against me.