Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Feeling Good is Overrated

well, I'm just kidding about that title of course, but sometimes the work that goes into feeling good can make me wonder if it's all worth it (answer: yes). I'm having these musings because I'm now into the fourth week of my half-marathon training, and I've gotta tell you: I feel amazing. I am energized throughout the day. I've started waking up earlier. I'm even getting on the right sleep schedule. I just feel so alive! But here's what must happen for me to feel this way:
I wake up at 5:50 or 6:00 (or - gasp! - 5:30 on my early work weeks), throw on some clothes, drive over to my sister's neighborhood where she bullies me into running anywhere from 2 to 3 miles. (It will soon be 4. Yikes.) Then I drive my tired butt home and get ready for the day. I do this four times during the week, which means there is 1 day where I get to "sleep in" until 7. Then on Saturdays - those glorious Saturdays for which I used to plan to get up mid morning, make a huge breakfast for myself and sip coffee while I read a book (yeah, never happened, but I had PLANS) - I instead get up at 6:30 AGAIN, and go for a run that grows 1 mile each week. This Saturday, my sis and I are running 5 miles. On Sundays, I really get to sleep in - until 9 or so.
So it's tiresome to me to do all of this, but the benefits are there. I think in another few weeks I'll feel even more amazing (I better! I'll be running, like, 4-10 miles per day!), so it will be even more clear that I'm doing something good for myself. So I'm just complaining a little bit, because it's too good to go back to my lazy past. And my second half marathon is going to go better than my first. And 2 half marathons is a great accomplishment. Looking forward to it!
So - hey, anyone want in? We meet at the crack of dawn at my sister's house! Join us.

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Happy Day, Earth!

It's Earth Day today! In honor of the day, I am motivated to make an environmentally-friendly change in my life. I already recycle and use a happy canvas bag for my lunch everyday, and I use the squiggly happy lights for my light bulbs ... so I'm looking for something else.
•I can supposedly help stop junk mail (which takes up probably 50% of the stuff I recycle, by the way) by writing to some place in New York, so I'll definitely be doing that.
•I have a crazy amount of plastic bags at home, and there are places to recycle them at work, so I'll bring them in.
•I wonder if I can covertly start a compost pile at my condo.... Probably not. But that would be fun! And I bet others would be interested. Or I'd just be the crazy lady who brings it up at all of the meetings.
Any other ideas for Earth Day fun?

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Was that a dream?

Christy always tells me that I have a great memory. I never forget a face, and I don’t forget names very often. On a different note, I also have very vivid realistic dreams. I dream most nights and sometimes it is very difficult for me to distinguish whether a dream is real or not. Case in point: My grandfather passed away when I was 3 years old. I don’t really remember him, but I do remember the stories about him told by my mother. For most of my life, I would tell friends that my mother and grandmother found my grandfather sitting in his recliner dead; He had a heart attack. It was only 5 years ago that I learned this is not how it happened at all. My mother recalls the event to me: “We were all standing in the kitchen talking and your grandfather had a massive heart attack in front of us. He died in front of us.” So how do I explain this to the mass amounts of people I have essentially lied to. My only explanation for this is a dream. I must have had a dream at some point, making me believe that my grandfather died alone. This fact scares me….A LOT. Another fact that scares me: sometimes I have dreams and they come true. I will often say “deja-vu”, and I will rack my brain trying to figure out why that moment is deja-vu. Many times I will figure it out, I DREAMED IT! I know it is hard to believe but this actually happened to me the other day. SCARY I KNOW!

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

First Love, oh so hard to forget


My first love was this wonderful, awesome, adventurous ... car that I call KITT. KITT was a car that I bought when I turned 17. She was a black Nissan 240sx with flip up headlights and a spoiler. She cemented my love of Nissans forever. When I was 21, I rear-ended a Corvette, totalling my car.
First cars are a little bit like first loves, in a way. I have only fond memories about KITT, and I have fond memories of my first (human) love. I prefer to remember only the good times. I block out all memories of expensive repairs (Nissan parts are expensive!). And, most importantly, even though I bask in the nostalgia of my Nissan, there's a part of me that knows that the past is just the past, and I wouldn't want to still be driving that old Nissan. I'm a completely different person now. I want a NEW Nissan :)

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Have a hot dog. Just not that one.

One of Jennie’s favorite stories about my family is the hot dog story. Here’s some background: My father loves hot dogs. He has one every day for lunch. It’s, like, the best food in the world to him, somehow. I don’t eat hot dogs very much. Probably just a handful of times a year. Anyway, one day, when I was at my parent’s house, I got a hankering for a hot dog.
I went to the fridge, and yes, it was like the Promised Land of pork products: every kind of hot dog you can imagine. I just grabbed the first one I saw, and threw it in the microwave. When it was cooked, I took it out and looked at it. I showed it to my dad. “Is this cooked enough?” I asked him. Keen eye for hot dogs that he has, he noticed a problem right away. Here’s the conversation that followed.
Dad: That’s not the right hot dog.
Me: Huh?
Dad: That’s the wrong hot dog.
Me: What are you talking about?
Dad: That’s not for you. That’s for the dog. Those are not the hot dogs we buy for people!

A few things you need to know.
1. My parents don’t have a dog.
2. But they have hot dogs for “the dog”.
3. I am not allowed to eat those hot dogs. (And, according to my father, I wouldn’t want to eat those hot dogs – they’re the cheap kind. I need the Ball Park hot dogs – the ones for the humans).
I’m pretty sure that they’re talking about my sister’s dog when they say “That’s for the dog”, but … Roxi isn’t allowed in their house, so I can’t be sure. Either way, there are special hot dogs in my parents’ house for a dog they don’t have. And, please, don’t try to eat them. They’re for the dog!

Runner?!

I was in Charleston last weekend participating in the Cooper River Bridge Run. Well for me, it was Cooper River Bridge Walk. After doing the half marathon the weekend before, I was sick and tired. I decided to give my body a break and walk the course. Ever since Cooper, I have not been feeling much like a runner. I never really ever actually felt like a runner, but I fooled myself into believing, at one time, that I was a runner. I have been very discouraged lately and want to start running again. I am even reading an article titled “Yes You can! Anyone can become a Runner.” So I am hoping with a little determination, I can muster up the energy to be a runner once again. Also, how do I talk myself into believing I am a runner?!

Monday, April 6, 2009

My Week...

Current weather: Sunny and Windy

Music: Thoroughfare

Reading: How to be Popular by Meg Cabot

Watching: Still loving Kings. Looking forward to The Unusuals.

Activity: Tennis is great. Looking forward to birthday fun next week.

Currently Feeling: Kinda crappy right now, but I don't know why. My muscles are revolting maybe? from the half marathon a week ago? That's probably not right.

Recent confusion: One of the guys from Thoroughfare called me "Babe" on the CD he signed for me. My first emotion was laughter (I know, I know, not an emotion). But I am also flattered/offended. So mixed! So confused! He knew my name, and it's not babe, Babe.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

The Murtaugh List

I’ve been inspired by the latest episode of How I Met Your Mother to create my own Murtaugh List of things I am too old for. Now, I know that a lot of people like to think that we’re only as old as we feel, and that’s true to a certain extent, but these are the things I’m just not feelin’ anymore.
I am too old for:
• staying up mad late without sleeping in.
• wearing a high-cut skirt with a low-cut shirt. There’s a thin line here. Because most people are either too old or too young for this. Prostitutes, though; they’re fine with this ensemble at any age.
• drinking more than 3 beers within a 24-hour period.
• playing a computer game for more than a half hour at a time.
• eating a lot of candy/chocolate instead of a meal. i.e. M&Ms for dinner. Too old.
• letting myself get “bullied” into anything. Not only am I too old to do something I don’t want to do, but life’s too short.
• acting stupid in front of strangers. I think I do this a decent amount by accident, though ☺
I guess that’s about it. Suggestions?