negative split, yeah baby (and some randomness)

We have customers this week named Austin Powers and Mike Myers.  Weird, right?  My brother, Eddie, would like to add that we also have a customer named George Jung, but my brother-in-law Jay and I had no idea who that is/was, so Jay looked it up on IMDB.com and found out it was Johnny Depp's character in the movie Blow.  Um...okay Eddie...thanks for adding that one to the list.  Who would know that?!

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.

Oh...if you have not yet had the pleasure of tasting Laughing Cow's Mozzarella, Sundried Tomato, and Basil wedges, I recommend them.  They were one of the new flavors supposedly released a few months ago, though I just now found them at Kroger on Sunday.  Hmmmm....  They remind me of the sundried tomato cream cheese from Panera. 

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!

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?

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!

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?  

please hammer don't hurt me (anymore)

Ever since Tuesday, I have been plagued with THE HEADACHES.  It's awful - constant hammering in my head.   At first I thought I was suffering from fat and sugar withdrawal after my party-food filled weekend, but now I feel strongly that it's allergy/sinus related.

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???

Sleeping?  I've been getting about 8 hours each night, but for some reason I keep waking up between 1:30 and 2:00am and then again between 3:30 and 4:00am.  I can go right back to sleep again, but it's weird.  Last night when I woke up at 1:30am, I got up to use the bathroom and the world was spinning.  I've never been one for the tea cup ride at Disney, so I was not amused.  When I woke up at 3:30am it was because my head was pounding.  This is getting ridiculous.  I'm going to have to go to the doctor next week if these headaches don't start leaving me alone STAT!

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. 

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?

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.

So, yeah eHarmony...needless to say, I closed out ol' GCC.  I did this only cuz my mom taught me a long time ago that if I couldn't say anything nice, I shouldn't say anything at all.  What I really wanted to reply back to him was:  UM...yeah...thanks for asking ME questions, GCC.  Thanks for your incessant *interesting* chatter all about YOU, GCC.  Oh...and I'm confused about what *fun* part you were referring to in your first email to me,GCC. 

Thanks again eHarmony for making me yet another perfect match.  =/  I'd say your days are limited, but we both know I'd be lying yet again, so...whatever.