no-go

Week 2 (official week 1) of training: Didn't run today for multiple reasons out of my control. Or just a lot of excuses. Just burnt my thumb on Nolan's hot-dog. This is starting out to be a bad week.

I dreamed a dream

Don't you hate those dreams that are so convincing, you think they're real? Especially when they play with your emotions? The dream I had this morning was that I woke up early naturally, had a big breakfast, LOTS of coffee (I stopped at Starbucks twice on my way to work), and then sat at my desk and sipped coffee and enjoyed the fact that it was Thursday and OH THE COFFEE. And then I woke up and I was late and it was Tuesday (DANGIT) and there was no coffee. A real-life nightmare. Word on the street is that tomorrow isn't Thursday either, and therefore my workweek isn't even halfway done yet.

Thanks, Chels, for pointing out exactly the picture I had in my head while writing yesterday's post. And now I feel SUPER cool (go to 1:51 in the video):

Real runners probably don't use treadmills.

On Saturday, Nolan and I went on a movie and shopping date downtown, and saw "Invictus". I had wanted to wait and see that one at home, because it looked kind of intense and I just can't do that in the theater, but as it turns out, there isn't a shred of torture or violence or anything in the entire film. And it's really good. And I forgot it was Morgan Freeman and not actually Nelson Mandela. And I love South African accents <3 Message here is that it's totally worth seeing. And ps-I still have no desire to see Avatar. Go ahead. Convince me.

Confession: I have been doing my training thus far on the treadmills at the gym. Seriously: if I have to run a few miles each day, why not do it somewhere warm and dry that streams Oprah straight to my personal screen? In my defense, I do run a bit further to compensate for the fact that I know treadmills don't make you work as hard as solid earth. This weekend, Nolan joined me for my run, and we ran the trail through the park with it's hills and rough terrain and even sand in some spots. And let me tell you: I am not as in shape as I thought I was. Resolution: train outside. I've also noticed a softening of the muscle in my core I worked so hard to build up. So, until I somehow figure out how to squeeze more strength-training into my workout schedule, I'll just be sitting at my desk doing subtle (or not-so-subtle) ab workouts at my desk. Yes,I'm THAT person. I'm looking into swapping my office chair out for a giant rubber ball.

Maybe that's why I wore soft boots today.

So it's been a rough week already: first week of training for a half-marathon, sick husband, trashed house, first week back from vacation, and I'm tired all the time. And then this morning:
-the muni took forever to come
-once on it, the girl next to me passed out ON TOP of me.
-I let her use my boots as a pillow, and then helped her into a seat when she said she was fine.
-she passed out again while I was holding her up, and had a seizure.
-ambulance took a long time to come, and then finally when I got to work I was almost an hour later than normal.
-I didn't have Starbucks this morning.

So overall, I am slightly traumatized, tired and sore, and starving all the time, and my running shoes are starting to get holes in the heels.

This afternoon, for the third time, I found a tiny pool of bright yellow, thick liquid on my desk. Like, in the middle of nowhere, under nothing but the roof tiles, which were definitely not leaking. I had just cleaned up another puddle in the exact same spot 30 minutes earlier, and STILL had no idea where it was coming from or what it was. My thought process was something like this:
-Ugh, gross. What IS that. Where did it come from?
-What. Again. SERIOUSLY.
-Where is it coming from?
-Those roof tiles really do look like styrofoam.
-Man, I could use a coffee.
-Am I going crazy? WHAT IS THIS.
-Maybe David knows what that is. Hmm. Maybe he's been secretly dripping stuff all over my cube when I wasn't looking. How dare he!
-Oh. My cabinet has too much lube on it. It's thick and bright yellow and drips in that spot when I open it. Oh.

When we finally went out for a walk (and maybe some coffee, heh), I also witnessed what potentially could have been the most awesome thing I have ever seen, when a bird went careening straight into my coworker. Unfortunately, he changed course (BARELY) at the last minute, and my coworker ducked in time. But he reached out after the bird to catch it and teach it a lesson and he was THIS.CLOSE. to grabbing it. His response? "no way, those birds are so delicate. but i kind of wish i had grabbed it, spun 360, and let it fly!"

It's been an interesting day.

Feelin' myself

Well, proof that I am not in great shape: my quads are KILLING ME after my run yesterday. And it wasn't even that long! I have runs and crosstraining for the next 4 consecutive days, so here's to hoping they feel better! Also, I have been ridiculously tired lately and had serious muchies, so I'm just waiting for my body to readjust to being actually in shape again, haha.

Our house is finally going back to normal. We destroyed it this weekend while unpacking our Mexico bags, and thought we'd do some early spring cleaning at the same time. Nolan was incredulous at the amount of cat hair behind his dresser ("this is like, an entire cat!"), and personally I was amazed at how much trash we threw out and clothes we got rid of. After a few trips to Goodwill, the lady wasn't laughing anymore and said, "Do you have any clothes LEFT?" I looked at her like "lady, you don't know my husband", but I'm pretty sure she interpreted it as "...DO I have any clothes left?" Needless to say, the house looks exactly the same, but WE know there is more space and less junk. Plus more room in closets and drawers! Woo! Nolan's most innovative idea was to start storing our shoes (the ones we wear the most frequently, including our work ones) in a container under the bed. Already the new bane of my day is stooping down to pull that cursed container out from under the bed, dig around in it for my shoes, and try to make them all fit back in and then shove it back under the bed. And guess what! I get to do it all again at the end of the day! We'll see how long I last with that one.

Quote of the day:
*Discussing marathon-friendly running pants*
Ash: "That is totally not going to work unless they're like, plastic. Or steel. Anything that breathes, oozes."

And it begins, like a lamb before the slaughter...

Day 1 of half-marathon training: CHECK.

I felt so good about myself afterwards too, until I realized that although running 2 miles without stopping is pretty good (considering it's the first workout since the holidays!), in a matter of weeks that number is going to say 12 miles without stopping. Talk about a buzz-kill! I've also consumed more than enough chocolate today, and that makes me feel a little less good about myself, heh.

Today I tried our new coffeemaker in the kitchen for the first time. To be honest, it's the same machine, but instead of the hellishly foul old coffee they used to brew, we're now serving Peet's and Starbucks, with fancy creamers and milk to boot! So far I've had two frothy cups, and I ain't goin' back.

Since the winter months set in, not only are chilblains an unwelcome friend in my life (hello, misery!), but my terrible cuticles are running wild. I once saw a girl in my old small group picking at her cuticle AGAINST THE GRAIN and I almost barfed. Instead, I deal with stray cuticles by smearing gobs of petroleum jelly on them all day at work, since I don't have my manicure kit (thanks, Mom!) here with me. So here I sit, with wet hair, petroleum-covered fingers, and empty chocolate wrappers.

Oh the weather outside is delightful...

I am back from vacation, and back in the real world...which means a return from my 2-week blogging hiatus. Nothing says vacation like sunshine, swimming, pina coladas and staying off a computer for a couple weeks...ahhh!

We spent our holidays in Cancun, Mexico, celebrating my in-laws' 30th anniversary (Here's to 30 more, you two!)! So naturally, you have to brace yourself for an onslaught of pictures. I'll keep it to a minimum since my mother-in-law did a wonderful job of summarizing the trip, and I just can't find the energy to do so in an equally graceful manner. See her blog here for a synopsis, and let me sum it up for you the best I can as follows:
As you see from the pictures, it was beautiful weather. We swam a lot, travelled to interesting places a lot, ate way too many tacos, and generally lounged around. If I had to pick a highlight, I really couldn't decide which I liked best: my 90-minute massage in the rain, swimming with the dolphins, exploring the Mayan pyramids, or sipping a pina colada on the beach. All in all, it was a hoot, and it reminded me why I decided to major in Spanish...which also leads me to my resolutions for this year.

Ahem:
1. To quantitatively improve my language skills in at least Spanish and German. I am woefully out of practice (especially with my German!), and my aim is to get back to a place of being very comfortable speaking it without having to stop and think.
2. To cook more at home. We are both generally so busy (and I have a new thing to keep me busy that I'll mention shortly!), that we like fast meals...like soups. Nothing wrong with a good soup, but I love cooking, and Nolan loves helping :) Time for me to start loving on those new cookbooks I got!

As for my new activity? I am pleased to announce that I will be running a half-marathon on April 11 of this year! I've been wanting to do this for awhile now, and just recently got up the guts (I hope to do a full-length marathon someday!), and am training with Sarah to do this together in Santa Cruz...along with a couple 10Ks along the way in February and March (for practice!). We got our training schedule, and the first day is tomorrow! 3 months of training and many miles: here we come! Here is the link to the race if you want to see what we'll be doing and/or cheer us on!

And now the Mexico pictures...I chose just a few that I thought would sum up the trip nicely:


















And of course I HAD to include a picture of Senor Milo with his souvenir that we brought him! Viva Mexico!