It's Official

OK, so I just officially signed up for my first race this season (even though there are at least 2 I'll probably do before this one:

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/northwestpassage/index.php

Yep, that's right, I'm going to be doing a relay out in Washington in July with blogging friend Annette and a team of people she knows. Look, I can be adventurous, and what better way to try a relay for the first time than with a bunch of people you don't know across country?? I'm so looking forward to it...I figure by the end of this adventure I'll have 11 new running friends and exciting stories to share. And the views look gorgeous!

Tag...

Thanks to Nat and Molly, I get to tell you 7 wonderful or weird things about me! And you have to read them!

1. Just before I turned 10, my cousin and I were playing croquet (on Mother’s day) and she was swinging the mallet like a golf club (we didn’t know better) and she ended up hitting me in the head, pretty much right on my right eyebrow, it didn’t hurt till I knew it was bleeding…mom and dad had to drive me to the emergency room 20 minutes away and I ended up with 7 stitches. They had to be taken out on my birthday a week later. What a crappy birthday! And yes, that is probably what is wrong with me!!

2. I trained for the first 2-3 months of my PR marathon on the treadmill. I was running 5-7 days a week, almost all inside (cause it was cold and crappy and I wasn’t as brave then as I am now) with up to a 16 mile long run on it before I could get outside. I was worried it would affect my speed but first chance I got to run outside it felt even easier, so the treadmill can be a good thing.

3. I am a bit on the shy side, but no one who knows me believes this…but I swear I’m a split personality when I’m on vacation…vacation Danielle can be a blast.

4. I think it was 2002 I was out in Seattle for a wedding…well, it was in OR actually, but I met a friend that lived in Vancouver to go to the wedding…we had met when we were 14 but hadn’t seen each other since, I was about 28 or so then…we went to the wedding and were then going to hang out in Vancouver, but I was feeling a little uncomfortable, so I had him drop me in Seattle and was debating changing my ticket, but rented a car and was going to Pike’s Place market but somehow ended up at Hemp Fest instead, where I started talking to this nice little stoner guy (older gentleman but very nice) that I had a couple of beers with, and then called a friend, who I knew had a friend in Seattle…long story short, my friend contacted her friend who contacted me and I ended up staying with her and her boyfriend and had a blast all week doing random fun things around the city alone and with her, her boyfriend and other friends of theirs…Like I said, vacation Danielle can be a blast!

5. In 2001 one of my best friends and I went to Italy and while in Venice, it was raining and we stopped into a bar, started talking to this very cute Italian boy and then a couple of gay guys who were down from England on holiday…during this time Andrea (cute Italian boy) had stepped outside and I followed him and had the most romantic kiss ever with him on this little side street in Venice with a light rain falling…

6. I’m addicted to the Internet…OK, not as bad as some, but I LOVE email, and emailing people and even more so getting to know people that I meet online.

7. I didn’t get drunk (well buzzed or so) for the first time till I was 18. I never partied or drank in high school. I was really the good child…first born, did everything I was supposed to, always home on time…rarely lied to my parents…

Here were the rules are as follows (I'm required to post them):
# Link to the person who tagged you
# Post the rules on your blog.
# Share seven random and/or weird facts about yourself on your blog.
# Tag seven random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
# Leave a comment on their blogs so that they know they have been tagged.

Since it seems most people have been tagged, consider yourself tagged if you've read this and post it if you haven't already done so!

Flirtini

So last week I was telling a male friend about the hottie at my gym and said I didn't know how to start a conversation/get his attenion. The friend told me to wear a skirt (of course he was drinking and got a bit gross after that, but we'll ignore that part) and I realized, hey, I have two running skirts I bought because of deals on them and I have yet to try it...so I thought why not...he's usually there no Thursdays if not other days (and he's there other days, at least I've seen him other days on occasion) so I got up this morning for a run, donned my cute "flirtini" (appropriately named!) colored skirt, cute little white top and pink socks and headed to the gym...and alas, he was not there...oh hottie...how am I ever going to find a way to talk to you? (not that I'd ever approach him at the gym, and doubt I can time it to leave or get there the same time as him and I'm sure he has a girlfriend anyway)

Bad Neighbors

First of all, I'm starting off this post with this cute picture because the post is nothing but a compaint and I wanted something to offset the negativity...I'm sorry about this but hey, it is my blog and I so need to vent and see if it is as bad as I think it seems!!

I hate my neighbor. OK, I take that slightly back…I don’t hate her because I don’t know her. I hate her actions and the childish way she is in her dealings with me. Considering she’s late 30s/early 40s she could be adult about things, but she doesn’t seem to understand the concept and I’m a bit fed up with it. I’ve lived in my condo for almost 7 years (it will be 7 years this July) and she has been my neighbor below me (I’m in a manor home, 2 up, 2 down) has never introduced herself, never acknowledged me personally other than to complain about something…her husband (now ex) was always pleasant, friendly, etc…makes me understand why he left (OK, not knowing the whole story that was mean and I really don’t mean it, but if she was toward him the way she is to me, then I can understand). All of her dealings with me she has been NOTHING but nasty, and as far as I can tell I have done nothing to her other than being a female. When my dad and my cousin were doing work outside she was talking to them and pleasant acting, but when I was dog sitting once, she all but yelled at me for walking too close to her bedroom windows (her reasoning she’s on the lower floor and it’s bedrooms and it’s only courtesy to keep a wide berth, she could’ve been more pleasant about it but I did understand, even though it is common property and I can walk where I want to) after her request though I adjusted to walking to the end of the driveway and around the tree to then get back out to the grassy area to have them do their business instead of going across the rocks and closer to her windows. Another time I had her leave me a nasty little note about not throwing things off my balcony when she found a cigarette pack off her patio, like I’m a two year old that needs to be reprimanded and even though I had lived there for 2 years by that time and had never done that before, obviously I must now. I simply replied by saying I don’t smoke and I don’t throw things off my balcony (hey, this is my property too, does she think I want to litter on it??). Yet another time she sent her ex up to complain to me about my overflowing a planter and water dripping down onto her metal table and chairs that were on the patio and they were having people over and now wouldn’t be able to sit outside to eat (cause you know, it can’t be wiped off with a towel). On a few occasions I’ve attempted to talk to her on the rare occasion that we are outside at the same time, just to say hi or be pleasant and try to get an amiable relationship going, but I’ve always been met with a glare and silence… and I know it’s not me, my neighbor across the hall expressed sadness when she saw I was attempting to sell because she likes having me for a neighbor. She asked me recently if I was still trying to sell and I said yes and she said she understood why (the association and all the crap) but was glad I was still living there. So, obviously I’m a good neighbor…I get along with a few others too, talk to them in the summer when we are out, pet their dogs, have nice conversation…

Anyway, that is all the background of my dealings with her. Now there is a new thing. Last April my toilet was clogged (I know the exact day due to having an out of town guest, and another friend that stayed after a party we went to) and I used the plunger to unclog it. The neighbor called the caretakers to complain about water dripping down and staining her ceiling…she said she heard plungering and obviously I overflowed something and caused an issue. I explained to the caretaker that yes, it plugged, but only a small amount splashed to the floor and it wasn’t leaking anywhere in the bathroom. The caretaker just wanted to warn me but I never heard anything more about it.

Fast forward, 10 months later, and this past weekend. My toilet has been a pain (filled very, very slowly, 10-15 minutes, and you had to hold it 10-15 seconds to get it to flush) and my dad and brother fixed it for me by putting new guts in the tank, namely a new water flow valve and now it fills fast!! Prior to doing this, in case we needed to turn water off (which we didn’t, we just had to turn it off at the toilet) I called the caretakers to find out if there was a way to turn water off other than at the main thing to the whole building. There isn’t, and they told me to warn the neighbors (I explained to them what was wrong and what we might do which we didn’t need to shut it all off anyway). After the replacement of the guts, the tank isn’t leaking and there was no leaking around the base or at the shut off valve (4 years ago, we lifted up the toilet, and had to put a new seal in back in, which apparently was fine as I never heard a complaint about leaks then, when we put ceramic tile down and last time it the valve leaked a bit). All was good. Or so I thought.

On Saturday, after I had left, my parents came back to pick up the dogs and she caught them and started complaining to them about the water leaking in her bathroom. They told her I owned the place (which she knows) and that I wasn’t home till tomorrow…she knew I wasn’t home, but opted to get on them anyway. Mom asked to see what was going on and neighbor said no, took a picture though and showed them, but the picture was hard to tell anything.

I got home yesterday (yes, Tuesday, she talked to my parents on Saturday) and had a message from the property management company saying that my neighbor had an issue and that I probably knew about it, but that I had apparently been doing plumbing work, which the city requires licensed plumbers to do any work like that (first of all, not for do it yourself stuff and how did they know I didn’t have a plumber anyway!!) and that I should’ve had that handled by a pro (the guy had no clue what I had done and was hearing it third hand so that irked me he was making assumptions) and that I needed to get a plumber in there as it sounded like a toilet seal and that if I didn’t handle things soon, that I might have liability from not mitigating the damages…The woman (she probably doesn’t know my name but I know hers is Jeanette) apparently has not called anyone herself to come look at what is going on in her place, she had to have had this stuff going on on Friday if it was anything to do with what I was doing, yet it was Tuesday before property management called me, and she didn’t do anything about it from back in April…talk about not mitigating damages (oh yeah, she had told my mom there had been a problem a couple of months ago, 10 months isn’t a coupl)!! Anyway, I called back the property manager, told them I didn’t do any plumbing over the weekend, that something had been replaced inside the toilet tank, that there was no need for a plumber, that my toilet has not overflowed nor is it leaking around the base so it can’t be related to that and the only other thing I had been doing was related to the appliances (which I had professional installers handle). I also said that I thought it was ridiculous that she is bringing everyone BUT me into it, that she attacked my parents that don’t even live there and she can’t contact me in a civil manner to discuss. That there is nothing on my end that is having a problem and I think she needs to understand that she owns her place and there isn’t a rental manager to come in and fix problems that she should call a plumber and figure out what is going on. There is no reason I should call one because there is nothing that is a problem in mine. She claimed to my mom too that it’s my pipes that her pipes run underneath. Umm, doubting that. My guess is that there are pipes in her ceiling/my floor and splits off for both units. It would not make sense that they run two sets of plumbing would it? And even so, I’m not ripping up my floor because her ceiling is leaking. Ceiling is easier to go in through anyway…and nothing I’ve done should cause any of this anyway!! See why I wanted to move so bad?? Between her and the property management and stupid stuff from the association. Sigh…I have so many complaints I could make about her and what she’s done (like having a woman stay with her for a few weeks with a young child that was outside screaming early in the morning on the weekends and the woman was also a smoker and would smoke right outside that wafted into my place) but I haven’t because you know, it’s an association, shared common space etc so you have to have tolerance and understanding and allow some leeway on that stuff!! She needs to move out!! My thought, if you can’t get along with others, don’t live in an association!!

I did have a revelation on a run on Monday though too...I'm going to flat out tell her, if I ever get a chance, she does avoid me it seems, that unless she can come to me directly, since I am the owner, and speak to me in a civil (I'm not even asking for friendly), adult manner, then she might as well not bother because I'm going to not listen to anything she passes through anyone else.

Wine Show Results

Well, the show was quite enjoyable...at least the early part. We got there early enough to have some of the cheaper wines, a bit of beer a few tastes of some foods and then into the reserve area. Unfortunately I lost the notes I was making so not sure of some of the wines I had, but most were quite enjoyable...and the reserve area included some very expensive wines (I tried a $150 port that was actually not bad, usually they can be overly sweet) toward the end of the reserve though I had had it...I was brought back to the hotel and the guys went for food. Go figure. After a 4 hour nap though I was up, had some pizza and we went to see a comedy show. Had a drink before at the Red White and F*$#ing Blue bar (yes, that is on a sign in the bar) then went to the show and had a couple of other drinks at a couple other nice places nearby after the show. It was a nice evening. Woke up and had breakfast and then came home where I am still trying to get up the energy to clean...sigh...one of these days I will. I did get a run, wasn't feeling really great (namely a bit of upset tummy from hangover). But managed 6 miles and a total of 30 for the week. Less than the 37 of last week but OK nonetheless. I just need to remain focused. And the big drinking weekends should be over now. I should avoid the temptation hopefully for a while and get back on schedule of only the weather now holds!!

Food and Wine Show

Yes, today I will be indulging! It's the Twin Cities Food & Wine Experience ie a day to indulge in lots and lots of wine! I'll be going with a couple of friends and we all have tickets to the reserve area as well (meaning more upscale wines $20+ I noticed some bottles for $150 under the tasting notes). It's a great chance to be able to taste lots of different wines though. Discover new favorites, as well as the food samples etc. It will be a good day to say the least. The show is from 10-6 and then after one of the friends has a room nearby where we will catch a nap and then probably some dinner before hitting the bars of Uptown or Downtown...we'll see what happens. All I know is that it is a good day to drink!! Bring on the wine!

This will be my third time going. First time I was a puddle after, second time was not too bad, today, only time will tell, but I've added another 90 wines to the 300-400 I can sample (not to mention the beer, meads and other items that sometimes are there as well).

Appliances came at perfect timing yesterday, a little unexpected problem with the fit of the fridge, but it's OK for now and eventually will be better as dad will make the cabinet above that is the problem a little smaller when spring comes. My dishwasher will be installed before I head to the wine show today (coming between 7 and 9 which normally would suck cause it's so early but I'm fine with it for timing for today).

I'm sure updates will abound tomorrow as soon as I've recovered as I now am the proud owner of a pretty laptop too...

More Cold and New Toys

OK, I promise, at least for the next week, (we are supposed to warm up) that I'll stay away from posting about cold...but I had to do it one last time. This was the temp driving to the gym. The gym was very quiet (people don't want to get up in the cold!). I did strength for 25 minutes and a 4 mile run, I'm hoping to motivate to go againt this afternoon and get a bike ride and some plyometrics in, but we'll see. And yes, I hate cold, I'd take any hot temps you can throw at me over this (of course I'm weird in that my preferred marathon running temps are probably a start in the mid-50s topping at 65-70). I feel like a wuss running in the gym, but, as I've stated it to others, I can run in the cold. I have cold weather stuff and can do it. I can also get up and workout/run in the morning. It is hard to get out of bed but once I'm up and doing it, I enjoy it, but I CAN'T get up and run in the morning in the cold (when it gets warm there will be no problems I'll go right out the door for a nice run on days that are only running).

OK, so it's not so much "toys" per se, but it should be a bit of an exciting weekend. I went to Best Buy on Monday and spent a ton of money...since my condo is not likely to sell anytime soon (market is so bad and there are too many for sale in my complex and I just don't want to take less for it) I decided to go ahead and upgrade my appliances and enjoy them for a year or so before moving. Best Buy had a really good deal...fridge, over the range microwave, range and dishwasher for $2000, (Whirlpool brand) with free delivery and recycling of your old items. I couldn't pass it up. Then I added install of the dishwasher (because I need that right away, I'll have a cousin do the install of the microwave in a few weeks as I have a microwave to use till then, but not the dishwasher, no one is taking that away!!), and I swapped out the fridge for one that was a clearance one, and a little cheaper but almost the same, but I upgraded the dishwasher to one that is quieter (my kitchen is right off my living room) so it came out a little more but that's OK. I have a year to pay for it (love no interest financing). One problem is the fridge is too big for the space I have, so my dad is coming up to cut down my counter space and give another inch and a half so it will fit. I guess it's good that we're cold right now since I can put all the stuff from my fridge outside while we are messing with the exchange of the appliances etc. I'll have to take a picture and post it once they are all in place.

I Can't Get Warm

Our last big freeze out weekend was over the 9th and 10th...they said that was going to be the last real bad cold spell (of which we've had way too many this year) for the year. Ummm, yeah, they were wrong. I can deal with the cold, I've been doing it long enough, but I'm at the point where I just never feel warm anymore and it sucks. I drag my butt out of bed to get to the gym, freeze on the way to the gym, only getting warm about the time I pull up, get out, freeze a bit in the gym, particularly when running past one set of windows on the track. Then I get back into another cold car and drive to work. After work I really want to run errands or go to the gym again, but the idea of getting into the cold car a couple of times again isn't appealing...last night it didn't happen, tonight I might force it, but we'll see. I hate being cold. I want nice temps (OK, this weekend wasn't terrible, but I wasn't feeling so well on Saturday so didn't get to really enjoy it).

Now for the running stuff. Last couple have been related to dating, etc and I haven't really touched on running so wanted to get back to that, before I go on another rant!! Anyway, two weeks ago I managed a respectible week of 33 miles. And realized that I had run 6 or 7 days in a row, before I forced a break (one day was only a mile so it kind of was a rest day) and it's not perfect still, but things are better than they have been. Last week I managed to get in 37 miles. Way too many of them on the track, so far only long runs have been outside, but still respectible. I had 11 miles at a 9 minute pace 2 weeks ago and 10 this week at 9:22 but that's a little skewed because the first 2 miles I was messing with my phone and trying to have a conversation with my dad so those miles were slower. Last week I did my first "tempo" in quite a long time. I kind of consider it a tempo/interval workout. I was planning to run 7 both days. I ran 1 mile around 9 minutes to warm up, then sped up to planned 8:30 or so, and every other mile went that way. The last mile though I extended to keep the pace up both weeks and added one more to cool down for a total of 8. Last week I didn't wear a watch so was only guessing, this week I did wear a watch and the 1st tempo mile was 8:22, second was 8:14, 3rd was 8:09 followed by one more at 8:01 and a cool down 8th mile at 8:22 (yes, I was slowing down, but I obviously didn't slow enough for a bit). I had an average if 8:28 for a pace for the 8 and it felt really good to get going faster again. Although I felt sluggish and didn't want to pick up the pace...you know, was out of bed at 5:15 and damnit, it was cold!!

I don't think I'll meet or beat the 37 of last week this week, maybe it's good to have a fall back after 2 weeks of "up" considering how running has been lately. I just don't see getting my long run in this week because of busyness of the weekend this weekend...I'll post more about that later. We'll see though. Hopefully this means I'm getting back up there. Of course my crosstraining has suffered...

Being Single

I guess I feel the need to clarify about my V-day post. Some of you have been reading my blog maybe for only a short period of time. Up until last spring, I had been single (as in no actual boyfriend, then I met L in May and we dated until last October) for 10 years. Yes, 10 years...no boyfriend, and lots and lots of bad dates. Ok, not all the dates were bad, but there were a number of guys in that time that I would've liked something more with, some I wouldn't have and every range in between. During a lot of that time I was very upset and hated it, desperatly wanting someone...then I finally realized hey, I like my life...I like being single...I enjoy life as it is and I'm very, very needy of my own time. And I took a look at those that were married, realizing that they were not happy. I was definitely more happy than they were, had more freedom, etc. Plus, I've come to the realization that I don't want children. So that makes marriage even less necessary (not that I think you have to be married to have kids, but no way I'd do it myself!). Anyway, all this was fine and good, and then I dated someone, and now I'm dealing with that, while the relationship didn't work, I realized the things that were nice, that were good, and that I do miss. Between that and finding it difficult to get people to get out and do things sometimes...and when the warm weather comes, (heck, right now sometimes it would be nice cuddling in front of the fire and keeping each other warm) there are so many things that it's nice to have someone to do them with. I'm not looking for a marriage, long term or anything like that, but I guess I've realized that I'm back to the point where I was wanting to be with someone...it's what comes when you have been involved with someone. Then of course I partly went on the rant due to the games of a guy...something I haven't blogged about because I'm mad at myself for being stupid about the situation, but what do you do? Someone comes along with the right charm...and of course all my friends point out how stupid this is!! Ah well, but that's where the rant came from. I'm mostly fine with being single, I'm just struggling off and on now due to being out of my happy being single form that I've been in for a while now. And then the lack of decent men out there to date it seems.

V-day

That stupid holiday that is pretty much to make singles feel bad I think...honestly. All the couply crap and what day is there out there that is just for singles?? I mean I've been feeling pretty good about my situation and where I am in life but partly cause of a stupid boy and partly due to those things around that day, I actually was feeling bad about myself last night and I hate that a stupid nothing commerical holiday has that power. It's been too long (11 years I think) since I had a boyfriend around V-day so I don't know that I'd feel different if I had someone...but I honestly believe in little gifts and acts of appreciation more than one day a year...But I digress...one thing that kind of bothers me too, is when people wish you Happy Valentine's day...umm....exactly what is happy about it? My mom sent me and my siblings a greeting, saying she loved her "babies" and that was OK...but a few others saying it I wasn't OK with...particularly said stupid boy mentioned above. Unless you're dating me and with me, don't wish it for me...arghh...now, spring, you need to come as this S.A.D. is hitting me too much...of course spring sometimes gets me a bit (much as I love it there is a sadness to it too) as it's a great time of year to be with someone...ah well...It's basically been 11 years since I was with someone in spring too so I should be used to it right!! I should never have dated L, it got me back into relationship mindset!

And He Runs

That's right...I got to the gym today, hit the track at 5:45 and saw my hottie on a treadmill...the temptation was very strong to get on one of the two empty treadmills on either side of him (even though that violates the invasion of space rule!) and I am so bored by the treadmill these days...I only use the track or outside, but that's just how cute he is. Anyway, I stuck to the track and just admired him as I ran past each lap...till at 2 miles for me, he got off the mill and headed out...and then I discovered he was in the weight room! Nice thing about the track, there are a couple of spots where you can see down to the weight room, so I got to see him a few more times...wonder if he'll be there tomorrow...wonder if I will...Oh, and I did get 7 miles in...and a decent pace, 1:01:30...I finally timed myself with an actual watch and not the clock I normally am using. I'm still pretty sure the track is accurate and I always run the outside lane...

I am amazed I was able to get up this morning. Last night I was at work till after 5 (I'm in at 7:30 so yes, that makes for a long day), I got home, took a quick power nap, got up, got dressed, snacked way too much and then a friend happens to be in town for training for work so we finally managed to get together for dinner and a drink and caught up. Hopefully he'll be joining up with me and some other friends to see a band on Saturday. I have yet to see them play, but the lead singer/namesake for the band used to be part of a friend's band and has an amazing voice so looking forward to checking them out.

Ode to the Hottie at the Gym

I'm finding it's sometimes a bit easier to get up and go to the gym in the mornings, knowing, that on occasion, I get a chance to see you...call it motivation!!

Yes, there is a very cute boy that I see, and I never know when I might run into him. But it's only in the mornings...I wonder if it's because he slightly reminds me of a guy that has made half hearted attempts at pursuing me (I say half hearted because he has asked me if I'd like to go on a date, has my number, says he will call and doesn't, I see him out and he tells me he's glad to see me, but never follows through...and when I met him, I figured out he is out of a recent relationship, but he said it's over and done, he's fine, but yet one time we were supposed to go out, he says he didn't call because of stuff with her, this was two weeks after my asking him about it and him guaranteeing me he was done with it...now I asked about it because I've been burned on this exact thing before so I asked and was lied to...sigh). Anyway, it's fun to look at the guy at the gym...nothing will ever come of that and I can just admire from afar (I always wonder at all the things that say a place to meet people is at the gym because I for one am not at the gym to meet people, I don't primp before going, I go with headphones so I can focus, I'm there to workout NOT meet people!!).

Running Free

Remembering back to 2006…the year my running had a breakthrough. Without trying (I wanted to break 4 hours, that was my ultimate goal) I came within 2 minutes of qualifying for Boston. I had a lot of things going on in my life at the time. Nothing real great, and running took me away from it all…all I did was train. Running was the thing that kept me sane during that time.
Unfortunately last year was a complete flip of the coin. I lost my motivation to run, to a degree. It felt like a chore most times, and was almost never enjoyable due to my glute issue. I ran a total of 3 races, none of them marathons, longest was a 25K, and that was a bust of a run. Now I’m at a place where things are starting to feel better…finally…It’s not 100% yet. There are times when things really do bother still. BUT, and this is a big but since I haven’t been able to maintain constancy for a while now…but this week I finally managed a good week. I actually, technically, ran 6 days…in a row…One of those days was only a mile (after checking back over the day, I had not eaten enough protein and after a 30 minute bike ride had no energy for more than a mile). Friday though, I had a long run planned (it was going to be cold Saturday and Sunday), I wanted to do 11 miles…my pace, hoped to be around 9:15 or so…well, I managed 8:59…and that was with maybe a mile under some slippery conditions (I didn’t wear my yak trax because most of the roads were clear, even though we had had snow earlier in the day). Saturday I ran in the gym after a strength session, and it felt OK, but the big breakthrough of the weekend came today. I went out last night (surprise, surprise) and somehow got a little happier than planned…getting up this morning wasn’t great, I had a little bit of a bad discussion with a friend while I was drinking, thankfully that was resolved this morning, but while I wasn’t feeling good early in the day, I still opted to go to the gym (braved the cold to get there), needing to clear my head over some stuff going on and it just felt good. I think I had to have had a smile on my face for a big part of it, it felt good, and freeing…I even think I managed to run around an 8:45 pace…and it felt good. It was one of those runs where I could’ve just gone forever…had I eaten a bit more (and not been pushing it on the mileage, 33 was a bit more than I probably should’ve gone for the week, but I went with it) before it. I’m close to being back. And I know what I need to do to meet my running goal. I know the training I need to do. I have plenty of time to get geared into it. I have this goal…But I’m suddenly figuring out I have a problem too. OK, yes, I’m loving my independence, I need to the focus time, etc…and my family and a bunch of friends will all be there that day, to help celebrate the achievement or ease my disappointment (have to think both ways since there is always a chance of many things happening) but it’s such a huge goal for me, and I wish there was the possibility of someone special being there to urge me on…something I’ve never had, but really want. I did get that a little bit with L, even though he was never able to make it to a race…he was there to tell me how proud he was, even on bad days…and I wish there was that feasibility of someone being there for me this time…but like I said, it would also be a distraction that I just don’t need…I'm so messed up.

Twin Cities Marathon Invite

“The most beautiful urban marathon” according to Runner’s World…and really, not just because it’s my city, it honestly is a very nice course. I have avoided doing it, having already done a MN marathon etc…but this year I have a very big goal, some of you know it, some don’t, regardless it’s out there, it’s in my mind and I really want to achieve it, so what better than doing a race on a course you can run any day of the week if you want?? Not to mention it’s cheap for me, I can sleep in my own bed the night before AND eat at my favorite Italian restaurant the night before (heck, I can even practice the meal by eating there before long runs…oooo what a great idea!!). The course has plenty of crowd support, it really is nice, you run from Minneapolis to St. Paul…around the chain of lakes (one of the most popular places to be in the summer and the reason Minneapolis has the nickname city of lakes) over and up along Summit Avenue, where a lot of St. Paul’s wealthy live and where the governor’s mansion is located. The finish is past the Cathedral, down a hill and up to the Capital (and we do have a pretty capital with gold horses on top of it). There is a limit of about 11000 runners, the course is fairly open so not overly crowded and last year, when it was hot (even more humid) like Chicago, there was never a worry about running out of water. They had plenty (and much of the course does have some type of shade, although it was still hot).

So what I’m proposing and putting out there, is for anyone considering a fall marathon…why not come to the Twin Cities?? I already have a large group of people coming in from a couple of online running groups I’m part of…I figured why not send this invite out to blogland too? Registration opens on April 18th and has been known to close in about 10 days. It’s $95, $15 cheaper than Chicago AND hotels I can guarantee you will be much cheaper than Chicago, even if you stay near the start or finish!! At least think about it…you have just over 2 months before registration opens! (and for those that are set on Chicago, they are a week apart, you could always do a back to back!!)

Wishes MeMe

OK, I’ve been tagged on this and it was different than others I’ve seen, so I figured why not…might be fun (and it was my cousin that tagged me, I’ll hear about it if I don’t do it!!)
So here goes:The directions: Post two wish lists, 5 material wishes and 5 spiritual or more meaningful wishes. Then tag five people. Let them know that they have been tagged by posting a message to them on their blog.Here goes:

List 1: Material Wishes

1. I wish to get my house sold for a good price and find my perfect new home in the area that I want to live
2. I wish to have all my student loans paid off
3. I wish to get into an MBA program for the fall
4. I wish to be able to afford my fun sports car for my birthday next year (those student loan payments are earmarked for it)
5. I wish to find my way toward exactly what I want…and to know what that is!
   

List 2: Meaningful or Spiritual

1. I wish that people would be more accepting of differences in others…be it political, religious, ethnic or sexual orientation
2. I wish that our government were not so corrupt and instead of everyone being out for them, they would be out to help those that elected them, and would stay out of the business of others around the world until we fix the problems in this country
3. I wish the so called “holy martyrs” that are sent by powerful, rich who are extremely corrupt and obviously NOT about their God’s will but their own agendas, would realize they are being used and stand up to those that are using them
4. I wish that people would realize they live on this planet with others and it’s not always just about you…
5. I wish for the safety of our troops…which would not be necessary if 2 and 3 above were there…of course this is partly selfish since I have a cousin over there…but I have connections to others too and it makes me sad to see so many young people dying for someone else’s agenda, an agenda that seems to keep changing too…
   

Now for the tags:I actually am not going to tag anyone specific, anyone that reads this, feel free to use it…I think it’s kind of neat personally…if only some of the wishes could come true!

A $10 Glass of Wine

So last night I met up with a friend (OK, a date) for a drink…was a first meeting and not wanting to drink beer, decided a glass of wine sounded nice, and wanted to stay away from anything too terribly expensive, I saw a Shiraz that sounded nice for $6. Unfortunately, they were out of that one…the bar tender said they had a Syrah, so I said sure, that sounded good…and, it was an OK glass of wine. Nothing to write home about, but tasted fine. My date just had a beer…so we talk, he’s through a second beer and bartender asks if we want another, we both went ahead with it (I had sipped the wine to this point) and then it was getting later (about 10:30) and I was tired from the night before (will blog more on this in a bit) so we called it a night and the bill was presented to us…my wine…$10 a glass…yes…that annoyed me. When I’m ordering a $6 glass and you are out of it, even suggesting an $8 might be acceptable, but there might be a reason I was ordering a cheaper glass…arghh…So anyway, that makes things awkward a bit as my date had had the tab on his card…he was hesitant about things, I wasn’t sure what was going on, he finally asks if I’m going to put something toward it…uhh…well…you’re the one that asked me out right?? (I’m not a girl that thinks a guy has to always pay, but I always figure whoever did the asking, should do the paying!) So I ask what is needed, and he tells me, well mine was $20…OK, so I handed him a $20 and a $5…let’s just say I don’t think I’ll be seeing him again. It just came across to me as very tacky, and overall, I felt like I was carrying more of the conversation, and I just didn’t think it was that interesting. And of course, this just topped it off. So not worth losing my sleep that I needed!!

Why was I tired?? Well, as you all know, I live in MN…sometimes in MN we get cold, sometimes we get snow (and on occasion we get a lot of both!). On Monday we had a prediction of 3-4 inches to come around rush hour time…great. Thankfully it started early, a lot of people must’ve worked from home and it kind of was stopping by the time I headed home…so commute wasn’t bad at all. I got home, nothing had been plowed, but we only had 1, maybe 2 inches on the ground so no big deal. Snow was completely done by this time too, around 5. I was supposed to go to dinner, but never heard from the friend I was supposed to meet, so instead I vegged and was going to go to bed early since I had been up early on Sunday night watching the game. Crawled into bed but was having some trouble trying to sleep…I was finally dozing off around 10 when I started hearing some scraping sounds…it took a bit, but figured out it was someone shoveling a driveway…the one that is right outside my building (not the one I use), basically, right below my bedroom…and it went on…and on…for an hour!! By the time I was so angry and ready to yell at the person (there are courtesy times, you DON’T shovel and make noise after 10 pm on a week night!!) I saw they were almost done, so I just let it go, but then was so mad about the lack of courtesy that it took a while longer to get to sleep. It’s not like there was so much snow people needed to be plowed out…and it’s not like it hadn’t stopped hours before so it could’ve been done sooner…and it’s not like the driveway hadn’t already been driven on!! I’m not sure if it was our caretaker or just one of the people that lives in that particular building or what…I just know the plow company was there and working on stuff the next morning at 5:30 when I was leaving…so annoying though.

But on a good note…I had a good review today. My boss said very good things about me. Just hope he’s successful in getting a nice chunk percentage of raise for us…unfortunately we get things dictated from parent company…now to work on those essays so I can apply for grad school…getting that MBA would offer a chance for promotion that can justify a higher raise…hopefully enough can change in the next year or so in my responsibilities, so I can get to be a senior level (since this is a new position, there really isn’t much to dictate that) and then maybe the MBA would push me to principle…promotion is usually good for 4-5% raise I think (or would hope)…money makes the world go round right??

To Brighten Your Monday

http://animal.discovery.com/tv/puppy-bowl/video/video.html

I have this link on it's own browser...open, so I can look at it at any time and smile (or laugh out loud as my next door cube neighbor has heard). Thought everyone who didn't see the other "big game" last night might enjoy it!!

February?

How can it already be February? Didn’t we just ring in 2008?? (I think I remember ringing it in, that Dom and Absinthe have messed with my mind!!) Where did January go?? Not that I mind January being done, mind you. Remember, I live in Minnesota…January is the dreaded month (at least for those of us not a fan of cold, and dark, and cold, did I mention cold??). Of course there are those that say if you’re a real Minnesotan, January should be your favorite month. I’m not a real Minnesotan I guess because May is my favorite…for many reasons, but I digress. February is usually something to look forward to because it’s short, usually a bit more mild than January (although two years ago it was kind of opposite) and when February is over, you have March, with some cold, but some mild days, usually some snow storms but the hint of spring coming in by the end. Of course this year February has that extra day so it is longer, but hopefully now that January is past, and it was so cold, the days will stay in the double digits, hopefully closer to freezing than it has been and I can get some more running in outside. I won’t do outside morning runs again till the days are a bit longer and it’s warmer, just too hard to force myself out of bed at 5:15 AND psych up to run outside…I’m fine with it to get up that early (in the dark) to run cause it’s going to be too hot later, but not when it’s cold!!

So today a friend is visiting from out of town and staying over, another friend was/is supposed to maybe be coming by and staying over tonight as well. The plan was for another friend that doesn’t drink anyway, to be out, and of course she’d be driving, then another friend and a friend of hers as well as one other friend (get all that?) to be meeting up with us and/or coming with us…OK, I’ve realized that’s too many people for one car, but figured we will figure something out…but now the non-drinking friend is sick and probably not coming, I haven’t heard from the other friend and her friend (her friend was sick so not sure if she was going to be up for it or not) and haven’t talked to the last of the friends about it…most likely I’ll be driving and having to not drink, after feeling the need/urge to get out and have some fun since I haven’t for a while now…unless we opt to drive there and cab home and get a ride to the car the next day…which is always an option….hmm…now thinking about that…we could split that ride in a way to drop one friend along the way and then 2 or 3 of us would still be in on the way to my place, but it might make the ride even a bit cheaper…something to consider at least, since I really do want to have some fun tonight!!

Other than that nothing really planned for the weekend. I do need to get to Macy’s at some point because the idiot that rang up my new jeans that I bought last weekend didn’t take the security thing off of them, so I can’t wear them till I get that removed…so freaking annoying!! I wanted to wear them tonight too. Maybe I’ll try to run that errand during lunch. Then I’m still looking for a new pair of black boots…it’s so weird, from the way I’m posting with shoes, and then that mention, you’d think I was this big shoe person, but I’m really not. I’m into bargain shopping, hence the two pairs of cute type shoes last weekend, but I hate when I actually NEED some type of shoe (except my running shoes, those are easy!) because I can never find something I like, in my size and in a price I’m willing to pay…it sucks!!