Saturday, March 31, 2012

The Internet

Have you ever gone to the internet, from habit, and realized that there just wasn't really anything that you wanted to search for and so you just kept going back to the same sites over and over again to see if there's been any change? I've noticed that I do that a lot. I check my email and facebook in the morning and if I have extra time, I'll check out the newspaper sites. Once I'm done with that, I realize there's just nothing else out there to hold my interest. I've been looking a lot at realtor.com and zillow.com and other house selling/pricing sites, but you can only look for houses so much before you get depressed about what you can't afford and even more depressed over the state of what you can afford. The other night Nate found a condo for sale in New Haven that caused me to drool. Yes, it's a little out of price range, but we've even talked ourselves into believing it's "not that much" outside of what we can afford. The pictures were amazing: right on the water...huge picture windows looking out to Long Island Sound....just gorgeous. I even dreamed about living there the other night. Last night, in looking in even more detail at the property, I noticed that the price had dropped....significantly. I must say that I truly believe that my heart stopped for a brief moment - contemplating calling our realtor and having her make an offer for us sight unseen - even Nate jumped into the fray by suggesting that we could have me fly out there soon - like next week - and check it out. Then, I started looking closer.... and saw that there were several condos in this same building for sale (after all, it is new construction) and the prices ranged from affordable to astronomically NOT affordable. I started looking at the pictures for all of these condos and came to the horrifying realization that they used the same pictures from my "dream condo" for ALL of the condos for sale. Reality came crashing into my fantasy world and I realized that the "affordable" condo was not the one with the gorgeous pictures, the huge picture windows looking out on the water...no, our affordable condo would be a middle unit that might have a window or two that would glimpse into someone else's home. *Sigh*  I think I'll stop searching the internet for awhile and give my dreams a rest.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Last day

When I gave my notice at work, I cried. Now, on my last day, the only emotion I'm feeling is giddy relief. Today's "to do" list is to clean my desk. That's it... Maybe something else will come up, but I think I'll just make the rounds and chat. I've been told to come in late and plan to leave early. You gotta love a boss that tells you such things! Starting Monday, my official job title is perpetual house cleaner, marathon trainer, and furry child corral-er. It won't be easy, but somebody has to do it! :)

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Some days you just want to wave the white flag

There have been many moments over the past two weeks when I 've just wanted to wave the white flag and surrender. Getting the house ready to show has turned me into Supremo Type A perfectionist. So, maybe its Nate who wants to wave the white flag!
We've been enjoying the unseasonably gorgeous weather and have been sleeping with the windows open. Friday morning I went to close all of the windows before leaving for work and found that our devil furry child Blue had basically shredded a screen. As we are preparing for people to come through the house you can't just put it off until tomorrow because you're too busy today - it just doesn't work that way. So, we took in the screen Monday morning and Nate picked it up Saturday morning. We don't sleep with the windows open now... Saturday I woke with a start at 5 AM realizing that when our realtor came over she would probably be taking pictures and the house wasn't ready for picture taking. So, I began cleaning... And we're talking that I went and bought a tiny scrub brush to clean the grout in the tile type of cleaning - this was serious business. I cleaned until 9:55 (realtor arrives at 10) to find out that she was running late, which gave me 20 minutes to finish up some other things for her to arrive at 10:20 without a camera - pictures will be taken Monday. Saturday we were boxing up some books and labeled the box only for the sharpie (PERMANENT) marker to fall on the floor and mark the carpet, which then brings out the steam cleaner to find out that indeed Sharpie markers are truly permanent. But, not to be outdone by a little marker, I pulled out the big guns and got out the Simple Green. If you ever need a cleaner that basically will do anything that you want done, get Simple Green. I don't know what's in it, and I don't want to know for fear that I'll have environmental concerns to struggle through. I poured some Simple Green on the spots and began scrubbing - with my hand of course, because I didn't want to use a scrub brush and mess up the look of the carpet. I scrubbed and scrubbed and basically found out that Sharpie permanent marker doesn't stand a chance against the amazing power of Simple Green. (you should know that Simple Green is not paying me for this endorsement). And now, I am about to head out and put mulch in the flower gardens to make them look more fresh and spruced up... All of this before we even have a sign in our yard... I believe I need to find a white flag!

Monday, March 19, 2012

Exhaustion

Exhaustion has set in and I believe it is here to stay until the house sells. Oh, did I not tell you we're selling our house?  Nate accepted a job at Yale University (not too shabby, eh?) and begins in June. So, we are in the whirlwind of decluttering, sprucing, etc. Our house will go on the market this week and I've been making to do lists in my head that keep me awake at night. We've taken walks after work, but I haven't run since last Monday. I keep telling myself, you only can do what you can do and the rest will have to wait. Once moved, my sole focus will be training for the marathon...and once the house sells and I don't have to live in a perpetual state of "extreme clean" and it can actually look like someone lives in the house, I'll be able to relax some where that's concerned. I know that running helps me relax, but I can't think about that right now. My to do list is looming. Dear readers, I will admit that posts may become rare over these next few weeks, please bear with me. I will try to update as often as possible.

Monday, March 12, 2012

Shamrocks and Shenanigans

Sunday I ran my last 5K race, at least for a while. Next month I'm scheduled to run my first 10K, and it'll just grow from there. Shamrocks and Shenanigans was held in downtown Ann Arbor and people dressed in all sorts of green paraphernalia for the event. It was a fund raiser for CS Mott Children's Hospital and there were a TON of people. I was disappointed that I crossed the finish line at 34:11 but then a friend reminded me it took a couple of minutes for me to even get to the start line after the race had started, so I felt better thinking I probably ran it in 32 minutes instead. I haven't felt really well the last couple of days, so I felt pretty good about my time. Nate missed me at the finish line, so this picture was taken post race and post "I think I'm going to throw up" look....which is a good look to NOT preserve!



I went to the running store last Friday and was pleased to find out that the shoes I have currently are actually a good pair to train in for the time being. The running expert I spoke with said that I probably can get another 2-1/2 to 3 months out of them before needing new shoes, so I'm going to stick with my Reebok's for now!  I also got a book by Jeff Galloway called Marathon: You Can Do It!. I was dismayed by a very short paragraph in it that said that if I'm looking to lose weight while training, I can't rely on the training method I have prescribed to. Instead, I need to follow this guide:

Monday: Run 30 minutes
Tuesday: Cross Training
Wednesday: Run 30 minutes
Thursday: Cross Training
Friday: Run 30 minutes
Saturday: Walk
Sunday: Long Run

He mentioned that a lot of people have been surprised that they haven't lost weight during their training because the whole purpose of this training method is to conserve your energy as much as possible - where in losing weight you want to burn your stored energy. He also speaks about the diet that I should follow, which I must admit I've thrown my lenten commitment out the window the last few days. It's like I had 4 days (Thursday - Sunday) of wanton debauchery when it came to food. It's quite ironic because I have also been reading a book about the way America eats and yet, while reading, I've been stuffing my face with the things the book tells you not to eat. I'm a hypocrite to the nth degree! Oy! 

Things have gotta change or it's just going to remain the same....

Friday, March 9, 2012

Because I don't know if my parents would see this otherwise

Directions:  Click on the title - it's a link to a youtube video called Kony 2012. It's interesting, moving, thought provoking. 

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Training Begins NOW! 30 weeks until M-Day!

This is my official training guide, courtesy of Jeff Galloway, marathon trainer extraordinaire. Jeff is known for 98% success rate of running a marathon injury free. That is my goal. I am not setting a time goal, I just want to cross the finish line and be injury free during it all. So here we go!



To Finish - for runners and walkers
WeekMondayTuesday WednesdayThursday (p)FridaySaturdaySunday
1off30 min runoff30 min run easy walkoff3 miles
2off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff4 miles
3off30 min runoff30 min run easy walkoff5 miles
4off30 min runoff30 min run easy walkoff2.5 miles/MM
5off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff6 miles
6off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff3 miles
7off30 min runoff30 min run easy walkoff7.5 miles
8off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff3 miles/MM
9off30 min runoff30 min run easy walkoff9 miles
10off30 min runoff30 min run easy walkoff4 miles
11off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff10.5 miles
12off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff4 miles/MM
13off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff12 miles
14off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff4 miles
15off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff14 miles
16off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff5 miles/MM
17off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff17 miles
18off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff5 miles
19off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff6 miles/MM
20off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff20 miles
21off30 min runof30 min runeasy walkoff6 miles
22off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff6 miles/MM
23off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff23 miles
24off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff6 miles
25off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff7 miles
26off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff26 miles
27off30 min run off30 min runeasy walkoff7 miles
28off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff6 miles
29off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoff7 miles
30off30 min runoff30 min runeasy walkoffMARATHON
31off30 min run off30 min runeasy walkoff7 miles
32off30 min run off30 min runeasy walkoff6 miles

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

Boston

We had so much fun in Boston!  We walked all over Harvard, MIT, and the North End. We walked most of the Freedom Trail and climbed all the way up (290 steps) the Bunker Hill Memorial. The food was fabulous. We enjoyed Lobster Rolls, pizza, Cajun/Mexican, etc. My favorite stop, however, would have to be the Ray and Maria Stata Building at MIT (See below). I have about 552 pictures of the building from all different angles that I will need to share at some point, but I thought I'd give you this "taste" of what I'm talking about. The trip was so smooth - the flights left on time, landed early, luggage came out early, it was just a great trip!

Friday, March 2, 2012

Calvin and Hobbes



Sometimes I think that more wisdom comes through a comic strip then ever comes out of people. Take Calvin and Hobbes for example. I love that comic strip.... I miss that comic strip.... and I'm so grateful for the internet where I can see them all over again. The truths found in them can sometimes blow you away...or at least me. Maybe if we all had an imaginary friend to give us advice we'd act wiser. I was watching the news last night and they were talking about a furor over something that Rush Limbaugh said on his radio program. I was appalled and disgusted by what he said and then thought about how the furor over the whole situation is exactly what he's looking for. It just brings him more attention.... the whole situation had me take a long look at myself and my "evolution" as some would call it - I think I'm more inclined to call it wisdom and maturity, but I'm sure others would differ with me on that one. As I'm typing this, I realize that I'm about to get into "political" territory and it was one of the things that I had thought I would avoid on this blog as I have so  many friends and family on either one extreme or the other... but, this has been something I've been thinking about a lot lately, and to write it out, is a way to sort it out in my mind...so here it goes.
What I used to be: During the Clinton years I was a STAUNCH Republican. During some of those years, Rush Limbaugh had a tv show and I watched it. I thought it was funny. At the time, I thought all Christians were Republican due to the pro-life stance. I was amazed when I taught at a Christian school in Atlanta that most of my colleagues were democrats. I was shocked. As the years have gone by, I have become more and more disillusioned with both parties. I have come to believe that nobody in politics gets there without getting their hands dirty...and the more "clean" they declare to be, the dirtier they probably are. The more vocal they are about a particular topic - the more likely that is the area of their life that is kept "secret." I have lost my belief that there is truly someone out there really trying to do what is best for "the people." And how can I blame them?  All of the money they get is from people/organizations that want them to do things and vote in ways that benefit their businesses or their interests. If the politicians don't go the way of their supporters, they lose the support, it's as simple as that.
At the last election, we were begged by a someone close to us to please watch this TV show that would tell us why we shouldn't vote for Obama. To appease the person, we agreed. The show was giving 10 reasons on why you shouldn't vote for Obama. That may have been the title of it even, I'm not sure. Reason #1 to not vote for Obama:  His middle name is Hussain. We turned it off.
I said I used to be a republican. About a month ago I declared that I was no longer a Republican. I couldn't identify any longer with a group that basically makes me sick to my stomach. Every time one of the candidates opens their mouths all I hear is stupidity and hypocrisy. I've had enough. I even called the local board of elections or whatever it's called and told them I wanted to change my affiliation to Independent. I thought they'd be very impressed. Anytime I make a declaration of some sort, I really think people should be impressed. They weren't.... they don't even any affiliations on file. They said I could be whatever I wanted.
So, I make my declaration to you, dear reader!  I am now an Independent Voter! 

Thursday, March 1, 2012

The Fall

I thought I'd be clever.  I'd throw the "kong" (Lucy's fetch toy) one way and walk the other. It was supposed to make Lucy confused. Instead, it caused Lucy to get tangled in my legs as I was trying to walk one way and she run the other. I fell. I believe the impact may have caused the house to shake, I fell that hard.... and the majority of the impact was absorbed by my right knee. Just a word to the wise:  if you are trying to stick with a running plan, and you fall, try to have all weight fall on your upper body....not your lower body....  What's weird is that it doesn't hurt to put weight on my knee. It just hurts very badly to move it at all....especially after it's been still for a long time. Bending it....straightening it.... all types of movement hurts. So, I'm going to take it easy...listen to my knee as it speaks quite loudly to me, and heal.