still no shower

but I have a functioning tub. Thank god I can still bathe.

I could do the rest myself... but then Eric would get all cranky on me, that I wasn't doing it properly. I'll give him until the weekend. Then it's my turn.

Went to a Yoga and Cooking retreat last weekend.

First time I've done yoga. Not completely sold on it, but I don't know that it was exactly "intro" level. Everyone else seemed to know what they were doing. I felt clumsy, and felt like the instructor was singling me out that I was "doing it wrong". Yeah. Didn't make me want to do it again with that instructor...

And the cooking. Holy carb fest. Yes. I broke. And ate ice cream with home-made hot fudge sauce, chocolate crepes, and carmalized bananas. Topped with candied walnuts. And I had a second helping with a glass of wine.

But my friend and I got up and went for a run on Sunday morning. Well, a run/walk. We went out intending to do the 6 mile loop, but she got a massive charlie horse in her calf at about 2 miles in, so we turned around and walked back. But at least we got out there! I gotta get my rear in gear if I want to do a 5K in a couple of weeks, but it's still crazy at work. I know, excuses...

On that note, I'm off. I'm meeting someone at 7am, and it will take me about an hour to drive there in the morning. The excitement never ends.

~a

Remodelling.

My parents came and stayed for a week.

They only live an hour and a half away, but I asked if my dad could come and (help) fix the hole in our shower wall.

So they came. Dad also brought the power washer, and washed my window trim on the house to get rid of all of the loose and peeling paint. While he worked in the bathroom (taking down tile and drywall, working on some plumbing, putting up new drywall, insulating, glueing up a shower surround) I workd on getting the windows primed and sealed, cooked all sorts of South Beach food and meals with my mother, visited about 12 grocery stores, and made several trips to the hardware store.

It was a busy week.

And yes, I did say South Beach. I'm into my 4th week, and as of Monday, I was down 11 pounds, which puts me into the 170's. My pants fit. I wore a pair of size 12 pants to dinner last night even...

And even though I keep obsessing about food - can I eat this? Ooooh, that looks good, wait, it's not on the "approved" list... it's actually going very well. I'm not having insane cravings.

We will see how it goes when I start logging miles on the work vehicle next week. Driving definately sucks.

On that note, I need to see if the shower surround is ready to be caulked. I want to take a shower!

~a

Vacation

I'm sitting in yet another hotel room.

But I'm on vacation..... and I needed to let my husband nap for a bit before we go out to meet some folks for dinner.

We are in Kentucky, because Eric had a Muskies Inc. meeting here, and I decided I wanted to go with him and hang out. So we flew in to Lexington on Friday, and drove around, in the rain. Stopped at the Daniel Boone National Forrest Visitor center, in the rain. Found our hotel room, in the rain. Went to meet up at the hospitality area, in the rain. And went and got some dinner, again, in the rain. It rained on Friday!

Saturday, I dropped Eric at his meeting, and headed back to the hotel to see what they had for their continental breakfast. Um, donuts, Sunny Delight and Coffee just were not what I was looking for. So I went back to our room, and managed to fall asleep again. When I got up, I was up and out to find one of the hiking trails in the National Park. I hiked for about 3 1/4 hours, and covered about 9 miles. And yes, I was tired...

After that, I noticed that I had missed a call from Eric saying he was done, so I drove straight there, then we went back to the hotel so I could shower. We then went for a drive through more of the National Forrest, then out to dinner and then I was back to the hotel for sleep.

Today, we went out fishing with one of the local Muskies Inc members. And caught nothing. But it was a beautiful sunny, blue skies day out on the water.

Tomorrow, we go home. I hear it's snowing. Yippee.
~a

It's never easy letting go

We had to put Alex (my 15-year old cat) to sleep on Saturday morning.

After I crawled into bed Friday night, I heard her making a very strange noise, and she was laid out on the floor, whezing and unresponsive.

And she never got up. The whezing went away, finally, but she had one pupil much larger than the other, and was just limp. She was breathing, and her heart was beating, but was completely limp and unresponsive. It was about 11:00 at night

I put he into bed with me, and cuddled with her all night, and we took her to the vet in the morning, where they said that it looked like she had had a stroke. And that the best option was to put her down, which was pretty much what we expected.

But it was hard letting go. And as I wander around the house this weekend, I just start thinking about her and crying at odd moments.

Rest peacefully, my kitten. I love you.
~a

Success.

I finished.

8 minutes faster that my PR. (Personal Record) And that is just completely amazing.

Two hours and twenty five minutes.

I had a hard time not crying at the finish line. I owned that race. If you do the math, I averaged 11:01 minute miles. Next time, I will do sub 11-minute miles.

It was a beautiful day for a run. One of those nice crisp, coolish fall days, with sun peeking through the trees on the trail, which were decked out in amazing fall colors. I vascillated on what to wear, but ended up wearing a running skirt, and my Moving Soles T-shirt, and it was perfect.

I'm a little sore today, since I didn't take enough time to stretch after - I jumped into the car pretty much right after the race to drive home - in time to hurry and get ready to go to a wedding reception. People there were amazed and astounded that I had run a race that morning and I was still there.

That's what training will do for you.

On some associated news, I've decided to try South Beach. Yep. Drinkin' the Kool-Aid I am. Bought a book at Target, and will be reading up on it today. I started the morning with an egg white omlette with garlic scapes, tomato, and fat free feta. Very tasty. I'll need to make up a list and start some planning today.

~a

Nerves

In 36 hours, I will be milling around the starting line.

I'm not sure if I am nervous or not.

I know I can do it. I know I can make it the 13.1 miles. And I don't feel all that nervous right now.... I have been training for 12 weeks. Okay, there was some slacking in there... but I honestly feel like this is the most prepared I have been for a longer race. I've done two 10-mile races, and two half marathons. I have in my mind, a goal to PR this race. Which means I should finish in under 2 hours and 33 minutes, which is slow for most running the race, but that would be fabulous for me!

I think the thing I am most nervous about is the starting chute, and knowing how much I tend to panic in crowds. At least I will have the support of friends to protect my back from being jostled. Yep, irrational phobia girl here.

On another note, Eric took the cat to the vet today, because she has been losing more weight, and is getting kind of bony. The vet thinks she has an overactive thyroid, so hopefully we can get her on some meds to get her to a healthier weight, and so she has some energy! She is 15 years old, so she will never be kittenish, but I would settle for her actually moving around the house and not sleeping all the time.

I need to check the weather forecast, and pack for all running contingencies...
~a

body image

My running group ususally goes for coffee after our runs on Saturday. Not everyone goes every week, like me, but it's one of the reasons I love running with the group. You get to share war stories, and share your successes, and comiserate when things are not going so well.

I had one of my best runs ever yesterday. As I told the coach - "I think I've finally found my running legs!" I ended up doing just over 6.5 miles, instead of 8, but that's life. I started out slower (about 12 minute miles) but was just feeling so good, that at the end I was doing somewhere around 10 to 10 1/2 minute miles. And I felt just great when I was done.

There's a lady who has been running with the group for about 6 months now. She is going with the group of us running one of the races in Ashland next weekend, and is planning on running her first 10K. She's feeling frustrated with herself because she is comparing herself to some of the other runners in the group, not just in running ability, but body shape. She said that she thought that if she started running, she would start looking like some of the very thin, trim runners in the group, and since she started running, she has not lost any weight - and it sucks. I agree, it's tough. But there is really no getting around genetics sometimes, and sometimes you just have to come to grips with that, and accept it for what it is. Nobody is ever completely satisfied with how they look.

Then there's me: I know I'm somewhat using it as an excuse, that I can't lose weight when I training for a long race, but to some extent it's true. After next weekend, I am going to quit using that as an excuse, and work on dropping the 30 pounds I have regained. I just have to, if I want to keep doing the longer races. It's not bad - but I can tell that the weeks with longer milage are starting to hurt my knee again, and I want/need to keep running.

It's a fine balancing act. And I just need to figure out where to put the fulcrom.

~a

marathon weekend

That's because this is the weekend of the Twin Cities Marathon, not that I have lots going on this weekend. In fact, I think I have more scheduled "down time" than I have in a while.

Not to say there are not things going on. There are.... Eric and I will be leaving shortly to go to the marathon expo, so he can pick up his necessary stuff, and then go with the group to do a final walk-through of the finish area. He runs the clock at the finish line. I will be doing some browsing of running paraphenelia. Because, you know, you can never have enough paraphnelia!

Tomorrow morning, I will be running 8 miles with my running group. Easy peasy.... I did an 8-mile run on Wednesday in.... wait for it.... one hour and 37 minutes. I was doing sub 11-minute miles. For 8 miles in a row. I've never done that before.

Saturday afternoon/evening, I will be doing some socializing. The plan is to do Renaissance Recovery at the Fest grounds at 5pm, then when I feel like leaving, I'm gonna go wish a friend happy birthday at her party.

Sunday, I have not decided what I want to do yet. I might go volunteer with the marathon. I had fun one year making sure only registered runners went into the starting chute (I wear the "Security" T-shirt for pajamas now, since it's a 2XL!). Or I might join some folks with my running group to to cheer on the runners. Or I might just stay home and get stuff done around the house.

On that note, I need a snack to keep me going.
~a

On a cloudy afternoon...

Went for a run today after work.

And it didn't suck.

In fact, it was pretty awesome. 5 miles. In 54:23. And I feel like a million bucks!

That, and Eric is making a healthy dinner for me right now.

Does it get any better than that?
~a

Hey dad, can I borrow the car?

I borrowed my dad's Mustang convertible for the weekend.

Friday was great, I took off early from work, and drove around doing errands with the top down, enjoying probably the last warm day we will have. Unfortunately the weather Saturday and Sunday did not cooperate as well. It's still fun to drive, even if you don't have the top down.

Things are still coasting along here - went for my last long run before my half marathon in two weeks.... 12 miles on Saturday. It made me tired, but I did it! Saturday afternoon/evening we went to a friend's wedding, and left the reception at 9pm, because I am old, and was tired.

Sunday was the last day at Fest. It's both a relief and sad, all at the same time. It's a lot of time involvement, but it's also people you only see during that time. Hard to believe that it was my 11th year working out there. Once I download the pictures off the camera, I will post up a picture of the new outfit I made this year. I will need to replace more pieces next year, but that will have to wait until other stuff gets finished!

Yesterday, I took the day off, and spent some time lazing around the house. I had good intentions of getting some house cleaning done, but was just able to organize some of my sewing stuff, and change the sheets on the bed and vacuum the rug in the bedroom. Other than that, I laid in bed and watched me some TV. I think I needed it.

I hate that it is dark so late in the morning now... but since it is cooler in the afternoons, perhaps afternoon runs won't suck as much. Need to keep in the game if I want to PR my half marathon!

On that note, I gotta go get ready for work. At least I'm in town all week.

~a

Out of sync

that's what my week felt like - out of sync.

Monday, because of various things, I didn't go for a run in the morning. No big deal, I ran in the early evening, since it was just 3 miles. Easy peasy. Exept I ran somewhere that I had not gone before. And there was a mother of a hill. And I think it kicked my ass. Big time.

Tuesday, I had a meeting that went until about 2:30, then I had to drive to Thief River Falls. Got in after 8pm.

Wednesday, morning, after I slept like crud - I really hate poolside rooms - I knew I would probably have time in the afternoon, so I decided to do my run then. 7 miles. I had to talk myself into it, but I did it. Then went back to work to do some observations with the supervisor. And I don't think I got enough fuel back into my body.

Thursday morning, had serious low blood sugar issues. And I was tired. And had to drive back home.

Today - the alarm went off, and I didn't want to get up. And I felt just off for most of the day, so I came home to nap. And to get more refueled with some good carbs, protein and fat so I can do my 6 miles tomorrow. IN THE MORNING. Since that is what works best for me.

Tomorrow will be back in sync. Lesson learned: run in the morning, because that is what the body likes.

For some other news....
My house is a mess. I have like two million projects going on. I'm going in too many different directions, and trying to get in some decent training runs.

It is, however the crazy season.:
* Weddings (two in the next four weeks, had one in August) and I like to give crocheted afgahns as gifts. I don't know that they will be done in time for the next two. They will understand, right?
* Seems like I am always training for a big race that is at the end of fall. Which means that I spend a lot of time running, or doing other things related to that, like stretching etc.
* Renaissance Festival. I work there with the Shakopee Jaycees, as a beer wench. So the weekends are pretty much all taken up with that. And I like to make my own outfits... am working on one right now, that just might not get done this season, and I'm kind of disappointed in that. Hmmmm maybe it will be done for the last day, right?
* Life in general - with trying to spend some quality time with my husband between all of the stuff I am doing, and with all of his fishing tournaments that fall in September. And trying to find time to celebrate our wedding anniversary. (We will have been married 7 years on the 22nd!)
* Work - next month we start putting together safety committee plans for 2009, and there is a lot of groundwork that needs to be laid out.

Is it any wonder I am feeling the need for a vacation?

Demando cat

That's what Eric calls my cat, Alex.

She's still limping around. Yep, she's definately getting old. I think she probably has some nerve or something pinched in her back. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, but she has a hard time getting up on anything, and an even harder time getting down.

Like on the bed. When she first started to (is "fail" the right word?), she would still try to jump up on the bed from the floor. And she would miss a lot of the time, and fall to the floor. So I put a laundry basket with a towel over it by the corner of the bed. And she would jump over it.

Now, it has turned to a paper box turned over with a fabric pad over it. And she uses it all the time. Jump on the box. Jump on the cedar chest at the foot of the bed. Then on to the bed. And in reverse on the way down. Of course that was after she went ass over teakettle a number of times trying to jump off the bed witout taking the steps.

The other day, I saw her walk into the bathroom, and look at the counter top, like she wanted to jump up and see what was up there. She lifed up one paw. Then set it down, and looked disgusted. Like "man, it's hell to get old!"

She still does a lot of the same things though - the one I think is the funniest is that she pushes open the door to the bathroom when you are sitting down, does a bump to the left shin, circles around, does a bump to the right, and walks out the door again. She's been doing that one for years!

Another thing she does is tell you that the food dish is not full enough. She'll go find you, wherever you are, and start meowing. Until you follow her to the dish and add a little bit. She does prefer that you keep her company when she eats - for all of the three bites she takes!

And she loves to be on your lap when you are at the computer. She hears the typing on the keyboard, and comes in the room and demands that you pick her up and put her on your lap. She used to jump, now she just looks at you with this cute pitiful look until you pick her up.

And she's a left shoulder cat. When you pick her up, she always goes to put her paws on your left shoulder.

I've been giving her half a baby asprin every other day, and I think it helps some, but I just know in my heart she's getting old. I got her as a kitten in the spring of 1993, so she's 15 1/2 years old.

she's my 'Lex.

~a

Long Time

It's been busy here.

Okay. Excuses, I know.

I kind of took last week off. I only ran twice - and three miles each time. I think I needed the time off. I ran this morning - a bit over 5 miles. And I was running less than 11-minute miles. And I don't feel completely exhausted. Success....

Had a good birthday on Friday. It's a little hard to believe I'm now 38... Eric was out of town, and with the insanity of the Fair and other things, we decided to go out for a celebration dinner on Monday, since a friend had given me tickets to a concert on Monday night. Billy McLauglin.

It was an interesting evening. It started out with us scampering around the house and looking in cars, in the boat, in the laundry down the chute for Eric's wallet. Nowhere to be found... so we went without it. We were a bit late for our reservation, but since it was a Monday night, it wasn't that busy. After dinner, we walked over towards the Ordway, and it looked a little dark and un-busy for a concert... so I pull out the tickets. Doh! it was at the Guthrie!

So we hop in the car and cruize from St. Paul to Minneapolis. Less than 10 minutes late.

And for a small break... It was the oddest thing. When there was a break, and the usher was leading us through the doors to seat us, I got this whiff of the theater. Gaffer's tape. And wow, did it bring back memories of working in the theater in college. You ever have a smell do that to you?

So there were two artists that played before Billy. The concert started at 7:30, and he didn't start until well after 9. It was good, but man.... after an hour and a half of acoustic guitar music, I was pretty mellowed out and tired. Of course it might be that I'm old, and want to go to bed at 9:30. Yeah, so at intermission, when we knew it was going to be longer than what we had on the meter we knew that we had to plug the meter. But all of the change we had had already gone into the meter.

There was a happy circumstance though - we ran into a friend, and borrowed some quarters. Like I said, an interesting evening.

Okay, now that I've rambled on about not much of anything... I'm going to go help my husband make some dinner.

~a

Exhaustion

Lordy am I tired.

Although I was more tired yesterday. I think I am burning the candle at both ends this week. Tuesday, even though I had Monday off, felt like it should be Thursday.

I was out of the house Tuesday am before 6. Drove 2.5 hours to my destination to find that the supervisor I was supposed to meet there, was not there - he had something come up, and didn't remember to tell me... so I talked with the folks that were there, and did some inspections, went to the yard office, caught up on some e-mail, then drove back to my meeting with my vendor in Eden Prairie. The meeting went well, then we went to dinner. We had an Ahi tuna appetizer, and since I wasn't that hungry after that, I had two side dishes for my dinner - roasted root vegetables and rosemary mushrooms. Can we say yum? Okay, so I had a few beverages. And some cheesecake too.

Wedensday, because I skipped my scheduled run on Tuesday, I got up at 4:30am to get in 6 miles before my meeting at 7am. Then it was out doing some inspections and audits in the yard, and working on an emergency response plan with one of the supervisors. About 2:30pm, I could barely keep my eyes open. So I went home and crawled into bed with Eric, and napped for a bit. After he left for work, I started gathering stuff together for the upcoming camping trip, and discovered that my stepson had not returned the tent that he had borrowed a couple of weeks before. You kind of need a tent when you go camping. So I trekked over to his house, and then made a trip to the grocery store for supplies.

This morning, I folded and put away 3 loads of laundry, and emptied the dishwasher before heading to the office.

And this evening, because I need to drive to Superior in the morning to be there for a 9am meeting, I thought I should get in Friday's run tonight.

5 miles. felt like I was running through sludge. There is a reason I run in the morning - because in the afternoon/evening, I feel like I just tank. The scary thing is, I did it in under an hour. About 6 weeks ago, I was doing good to cover that distance in that time. Perspective!

But I'm just drained. Feel like I have no energy. I suppose it does not help that I'm hungry, but I just don't feel like eating. Nothing sounds good. Gazpacho I just made? Nah. Tabouli made with fresh tomatos from my garden? Nah. Ice cream? Nah. Granola bars? Nah. Pizza? nah. It just kind of sucks - I don't know what's up with me.

Anyway, gotta pack up for camping!

~a

The game

today it was: figure out what we can get on Anneke's shirt.

We have:

Blood. from a lovely blemish on my chest that was just cranky...
Buffalo sauce. from a dropped piece of chicken dipped in said sauce
Water and napkin crumbles. from trying to remove the buffalo sauce
Beer. because I couldn't not spill my beer. Got my shoe on that one too.
More water. My water bottle top was not on tight, so it leaked. Go figure.
Greasy crumbs from cheese curds. Luckily, they didn't leave spots
Milk. Because there was just not enough there already.

I took the day off of work today, and I spent the day at the State Fair with my parents. We wandered around the grandstand booths, went to listen to some polka, watched a program celebrating minnesota's 150 years of statehood, saw the big pumpkin, watched the parade, and wandered on machinery hill.

It was fun. I ate too much, but what the hell, right? It's the state fair. And I had to see what else I could potentially spill on my shirt, right? I guess it is counter balanced a tiny bit with all of the walking we did. And the 3 miles I ran this morning (in 31 minutes, thankyouverymuch!).

Yesterday (Sunday), I played domestic goddess - I changed the sheets on the bed, picked up and straightened the guest bedroom (because my parents were coming to stay the night). Cleaned the bathroom. Decrapped the dining room table and put on the tablecloth my mother just made me. Sorted and did a few loads of laundry. Cleaned the kitchen. When mom got to my house, we prepped and canned some tomatos, made some picinic lunch, and headed out to a dedication ceremony then a "family picinic". We left the house for the two last activities at a little after 12 noon. I think I was motivated!

Tomorrow will be coming way too early, and will be filled to the brim. I am meeting with one of our supervisors and his crew out near Glenwood. They start at 6am. will NOT be there then, but I know I will be leaving the house at the butt crack of pre-dawn. Then I have a meeting with a vendor in the afternoon, which will then include dinner. Last time we did this I got home at 8:30pm... The rest of the week will be spent catching up on things at home, because I am going camping with some friends to Madeline Island over Labor Day weekend. Just don't want to hang around for the RNC all that much, being that we LIVE in St. Paul....

Lots of excitement.

~a

Swimming

After my run this morning, I felt like I had been swimming.

Yuk and double yuk to the heat and the humidity.

But, slow and easy does the trick. 5 miles down this morning. Wasn't sure if I was going to be able to run the whole thing, but I did. I was just slow... about 57 minutes.

Today, I spent most of the day in the office. It felt odd... like I hadn't been there in a while. Oh wait, that's right, I haven't.

Tonight, it's off to the grocery store to get a bunch of stuff. Like cheese. And vinegar. I don't think I have gotten any groceries for about three weeks - with all of the food in the freezer, and the stuff we have been getting from our farm share, and with me traveling and not eating said food, I just haven't gone. I think Eric might be suffering for it, but he's not complaining, much. His request was fruit: Nectarines, plums, etc.

My friend is getting married on Saturday. I kind of had it in my mind, back in February, that I would lose enough weight to wear my hot red dress to the wedding. Just not gonna happen. It's that whole treading water thing. Weight wise. I don't know why I can't be bothered to make an effort. I start out well in the morning, with my pep talks to myself during my runs... and then I just chuck it out the window. Not sure what needs to change.

But life goes on. Not like it's the end of the world - and I'm healthy. Do I really need more than that?

~a

Relaxed running

Well, I guess I did push myself a bit this morning, but after I was done, I was so energized and relaxed all at the same time.

3 miles. 32 minutes 23 seconds. I know, in the whole scheme of things, that's slow. But I broke the 11 minute mile barrier. I think that made me happier than anything.

Today, I drove to Glenwood for a meeting. They had nicely moved it from 9am to 11am, so I didn't have to leave at the butt crack of dawn. I even had enough time this morning to make coffee and eat some breakfast before I left. And the other success: I didn't break down and get DQ on the way home after not getting anything resembling lunch until well after 3 (hard to eat when you are on a locomotive, waiting for a signal to change...) but instead, went to Subway and got a Turkey sub and some Flat Earth chips. I don't know - I just have no desire whatsoever to do the whole weigh/measure/limit thing. If I'm hungry, I eat. And I am trying to stick to the healthier choices and just leave it at that.

And with the running, I'm feeling much better, stronger, healthier - and my pants seem to be fitting a little bit better.

And on another note, the job interview has been moved to the Thursday after Labor Day. I could have done it on the Friday, but that's my birthday.

Not much else going on, except the State Fair starts on Thursday, and I won't really see my hubby for those 12 days of insanity. Since he works from 5pm to 8am. The only thing that's nice about that is all of the overtime he makes.

Tomorrow, I have a 5 mile run on the schedule. Hopefully it won't be as warm as it was this morning.

~a

Weekend whirlwind

It was a full weekend.

Saturday, I got up early and drove to where my running group was meeting. I was there early so I could get in my long run and try and finish when the others did. 10 miles. And I ran the whole thing (well, jogged...) in under 2 hours. My Garmin told me that I burned over 1500 calories. I actually felt really good about the whole thing, and my knees were not hurting at all, which was a definate plus!

Then it was home to finish a garter for my friend... her shower was in the afternoon, and I made some gazpacho, and packed up clothes for the pool, and an overnight stay and my Renassance gear.

The shower was a pool party. It was really nice to relax and float in the pool. I even fell asleep on one of the loungers by the side of the pool. It was a fun time, and much food was eaten and adult beverages drank. There was even a break in the action to see the relay team with Michael Phelps win the gold. You wouldn't think of a bunch of women yelling and cheering at the television - but there we were!

Sunday it was up and out to the Renaissance Festival. Where it was stinkin' hot. Almost to the point of being unbearable. It was great seeing all of the folks I haven't seen since last year, and to do some catching up.

We had one customer that was just hilarious - without him even trying... he walked up to our beer booth, and I could see that he had been drinking/eating some sort of blue raspberry concoction. I told him to stick out his tounge - which was completely blue. I asked "How was smurfette?" which got a bit of a laugh. Because he looked youngish, we carded him. He hands my friend an ID, and we are looking at it... and I ask "you're under 21?" because over the picture, it says UNDER 21, and he starts getting all flustered and sputtering "I'm older than 21!" and my friend then asks "and you're a girl?"

He had given us his girlfreind's ID.

He was pretty embarassed over the whole thing, but took it very well.

We all laughed over that for the next hour.

Since it was really dead, we ended up leaving at about 5:30, so it was nice to get home earlier than expected. I ended up working on the "damn afgahn" that I am planning on giving to my friend for her wedding next Saturday (different friend than we had the party for this weekend), and I managed to get it to the point that all is left is the border. Thank God it is almost done. It has been a really slow pattern - I don't think I will ever make this one again - thus the damn afgahn! The plan is to get it finished tonight, then to work on a new Renaissance outfit.

On another note - I have a job interview on Tuesday the 26th. The posting said it was up to 50% travel, with maybe half involving overnight stays. To my accounting, that would be about 25% travel... 'cause if you say that out of the office is travel, I travel at least 75% of the time. And this job would be travel within the state only. I can live with that!

Anyhoo - it's off to think about making some dinner. Exciting stuff, since I probably haven't done that for two weeks because I have been traveling for work. (See how that works?) Home for dinner. Nothing better.

~a

Hills

I seriously thought about crawling back into bed when the alarm went off at 4:50 this morning. No that is not a typo.

But, I got dressed in my workout clothes, putzed a little, and headed out the door at 5:15. Hills were on the menu today. About a mile warmup, then I ran up the long hill by the water resevoir by my house. Definately killer - it's about 1/4 mile long and steep... and did 4 repeats.

4.3 miles in all today. And I feel strong and motivated now.

Yesterday, was a day off of working out, but I did manage to vacuum, brush the cat (who has been trying to hack up hairballs), clean up all sorts of cat barf, clean the litter, did all the laundry, and worked on my renaissance costume. And I prepped food for the grill that Eric then put on the grill for dinner: Burgers and corn. Yum.

And with that, I am off for the shower, get ready for meetings at work this morning, then I amd driving to Fargo. For three nights. Somehow, the stars aligned, and three of my S&H committees are having meetings this week in the Fargo area - one on Tuesday, one on Wednesday, and on Thursday.

I'm bringing exercise clothes, and the afgahn I need to finish, so that's what I will be doing in my free time. Along with watching some olympics. I was going to try and hold out, I hate how I get sucked into watching all that TV.... but what the heck, it doesn't happen all that often, and what else is there to do in Fargo?

Ta
~a

Closed due to vandalism

That was the sign on the bathroom in the park I ran through this morning.

It just makes me sad when things like that happen. It's a nice park, with a playground, and a fishing dock, and a nice trail around the lake - yet a few people have to screw it up for everyone.

And yes, I was out the door, and running at 5:30 this morning. 5 miles. 57 minutes. And all is well with the world.

Of course I was not feeling that last night when I finally got home at 9:30pm. I was so mentally and physically tired. And feeling a lot of self-hate, since I ate breakfast and lunch at McDonald's and for dinner, I had a small blizzard from Dairy Queen. Ah, the wonders of eating and driving. I know I could have made healthier choices, but I just had a "screw it" attitude yesterday.

I got rejection notices from both jobs I interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. So I have applied more places. I just don't want to travel (driving) as much anymore, because all I do is eat crap.

And that's about all I have to say - have to get to work to get prepped for a meeting.

ta
~a