Random Thoughts

It's the final night of the posting war with Buzz, thank goodness;) This will also be my final post for this month obviously. Again, thank goodness;) Curious to see if he has 4 or 5 posts just waiting for him to hit the publish button and beat me...that would actually be a smart move and not one I intend to pull.

TV- I'm not one for watching tv with the exception of Greys Anatomy...leave me to my McDreamy ok, other than that I honestly don't need the thing. With that said I will confess I've been watching parts of The Bachelor this season. The only reason I am watching is because I know Andy from my SF days and yes, he really is a nice guy that happens to be super hot at the same time, go figure. The one thing that always baffles me about this show is the women. Do they honestly think they are going to find true love or is it the potential Hollywood discovery moment? As I type this last statement I realize they may actually think they can find love on this show. Have you ever noticed the majority of these women are in their early 20's with a few that cross the 25 threshold and one that's 30 or 31. The one that's crossed over to the dark side of her 30's gets the boot within the first 2 episodes it never fails. I'm sure no strange man is worth being stuck in a house of a bunch of young Ms. Thangs and their catty selves. Although the young Ms. Thangs are very entertaining not to mention great for ratings...the things they will do to get their man. It makes me cringe and laugh at the same time. 5 more minutes and it's on;)

Unfortunately, I will not be able to watch the entire thing as I've committed to meeting 3 of my friends at 5:30am for a run. What was I thinking? I don't even have class tomorrow so technically I have no reason to get out of bed. Reason- I've been extremely lazy since the marathon and I'm watching my muscles disappear into thin air. Gettin' back on the work-out wagon.

Blogged Out

I know Buzz is kickin' my ass in the blog war but as the title says I'm blogged out. There are some stories I could tell but really just not in the mood. At this point I'm just trying to stay somewhat even with Buzz. He's at 12.25 (you tube is only .25 of a post) and this teenie tiny paragraph will put me at 12.

I am excited to announce I did my first brick last week. Thanks to Lulu for making me feel lazy she inspired me to get off my lazy bum and hit the gym. I did 22 min on the spin bike and a 2 mile run. I must say I really liked it. Actually I ran the run much faster than I had planned. I guess this has something to do with the high cadence on the bike making me want to keep moving my feet at a similar pace. I do have a lot of work to do on the bike before hitting the pavement with Amber & Lulu as they are getting much stronger and well, I haven't been on the pavement in a few years;) Oh, well it's time for a new challenge!!!

Bring it on!!!

It's Really Going to Happen

Dear goodness I think it's really gonna happen. Argh!!! We're coming to the end of semester and I was thinking I'm safe I'm going to get through basic drawing without drawing a nude model, Yippee! My friend who is in Interior Design with me said when she took basic drawing they had a nude model everyday. My response, eeww, gross. Horrors, seriously. Today was the first day we started discussing the human body. I start counting how many more classes we have to figure out if it is humanly (no pun intended) possible to get to where we would need a nude model. As I'm doing the calculation Ms. Goody-Two-Shoes pipes in how cool it would be to draw one, has she lost her mind? There is no way I can do this with a straight face, are you kidding me? I barely got through the reproductive chapter in Biology class in high school and I'm pretty sure I haven't matured much since then. Seriously, when we were drawing the human figure today and the teacher mentions the wrist lines up with the crotch, I like to have fallen out of my chair I thought it was sooo funny. Crotch is only a word imagine a nekid (some may spell this as naked) person that I have to look at and draw. We all know the people that volunteer to be nekid (naked) in public are not good nekid (or naked). This just goes without saying. Good Grief!!!

The Mexican Martini

Lately, I have had some strong cravings for a mexican martini. Now the challenge here is finding places that serve good ones. Let me tell you, if you order one and it's bad you could be scarred for life. I may need to start a list of places where not to order them, Freddies for example...save yourself some money and stick to their margaritas. You can thank me later for this nugget of info.


This weekend I had to stay in like a good Samaritan and study or catch up rather on all of the reading I have not done for a final that I take on Wednesday. Some things about me haven't changed;) Now taking my cue from a friend of mine that finds time each and every weekend to sprinkle in some fun even though she has tons of work to crank out, I got the bright idea to walk over to Curras for you guessed it a mexican martini ( I remembered they have a pretty good one). Not to worry I took my books with me and am proud to announce that I cranked out a few chapters of reading/note taking. I highly recommend combining a good martini with the mundane tasks one has to deal with over the weekend. I must say this helped me to condense my note taking and leave out the trivial stuff that I can't ever decide if it's important to know or to discard.

Eventually I conned another friend to come meet me so I could have another martini and 3 later I rolled down the hill back to my house;)

Safety Question

I've been riding the bus to school all semester and today as I climb on board there's a new older gentleman behind the wheel. He looked a tad frail especially in comparison to the dude I'm used to driving. The bus was full today so I was stuck in the seats that face one another which means I'm going to be bouncing around and eventually land on one of my neighbor's lap. There's nothing to hold onto.

As I was sitting there I got to thinking why don't buses have seat belts? This makes absolutely no sense to me. That's a lot of lives in this little bus drivers hands. If you've ever been on IH-35 between ATX and San Marcos you've seen a number of flipped over vehicles...what happens if the bus flips over or goes sideways? That means flying bodies. Basically, you're either going to go flying elsewhere or get squished into grits. I really can't wrap my head around this one.

These thoughts brought to you by your Cruise Director, class dismissed!

Body Marking

If you ever want to see/touch a ton of hot bodies at once I highly recommend body marking for a triathlon. Now there are a few sacrifices to this rewarding experience such as getting up at 4:30am on Sunday; obviously this cuts into your exciting Saturday night plans but all for a good cause right? The alarm will go off and you will wonder how much you had been drinking when you agreed to do this. Your next thought will be how important are Maggie and Joey? Does the I'm too tired excuse work? Ok, so just a few more snoozes to think about where all of my cold weather clothes might be and I'm up.

5:20am Erin & I are off.

I will say up until today I never understood the reason for men to shave their arms & legs. Today I got it. Let's just say it's much easier to get a clear number on smooth skin. There were a few hairy hairy dudes that I thought I would never get their number on them. Obviously they can't completely help it but there's nothing wrong with men waxing. Just sayin.'

I did get to mark Desiree Ficker; she was #5!

Final Design Project

Finally, we're getting to the end of semester. My first semester back in school and oh, about 5 more to go. What's sad is I'm ready for this semester to be over. I really like it don't get me wrong, but the classes I'm currently in are all part of the preliminary curriculum which includes a very wacky/bizarre teacher.

Our final project for my design class is due next week. We're building a habitat on a 12X20 board. The idea is to build something one would never live in and to be super creative. Think Alice N' Wonderland or Hanzel & Gretel. Ok, sounds easy but once you factor in wacky teacher it has to be her type of creativity. Basically, any rough drafts you showed her she nixed. I opted to stop showing her what I was doing. I'll plead my case during presentation (this worked for my other project and I got an A). I just made a mental note of things she doesn't like- toothpicks, popsicle sticks, anything cutsie, funky colors and balanced. Apparently, creativity is all relative???

Now the real challenge begins once I start to glue/stick this thing together. Let me tell you they've got some strong adhesives on the market these days. There's this stuff called sticky back foam that feels and looks flimsy. I'm hear to tell you looks ARE deceiving. Whatever you do don't let it drop to the floor. I made this mistake and wasn't paying attention until the other day I decided to clean the previous project off of my kitchen table only to realize sticky back foam is super glued to the floor. I now have a new textured flooring;)

WAR PART 2

Alright, this is serious business Buzz!!! Our war has taken over our e-mails at this point. For those of you with gmail you know what I'm talking about. Your "chat" friends where you can write little one liners. Buzz and I don't bother with the e-mails anymore we talk through the 1-liners of our gmails. You may call us 2 mature adults with serious procrastinating issues. Personally I think Buzz is looking for more publicity or has serious attention issues, maybe a little of both. Notice the past 2 posts I have had are all about him and for anyone that doesn't know him my blog has become ultra boring. Keep in mind I've got to post like a maniac in order to win and we didn't set any guidelines about our posting other than a title with a YouTube video counts as .25 of a post.

I would like to note that Buzz is having 2 separate wars right now and their both with strong women. I don't know why he wants to take on a losing battle for himself this makes no sense to me???

I honestly need to work on my final project for my design class...I don't wanna;(

WAR

Apparently, I'm in a posting war with Buzz who knew. His blog is listed to the right of this blog and no I don't know how to link. I get an e-mail from him today saying he's at 6 postings and to take that. I immediately click on his blog (I can't believe I'll admit to this during a time of War) because he really is funny. He's calling a title with a you tube video a post. I totally disagree with him, but being the generous person I am I gave him .25 for the post so really he's only posted 5.25 for this month. I'm going to kick his ass!!!

Mimosas & Woodrows

I know it sounds really strange but Woodrows has a killer FROZEN mimosa. Honestly, I can't recommend them enough. Jarvis Girl and I discovered these luscious things on Saturday night, so taking our cue from Erin (side note- when Erin finds something she likes she goes back several days in a row) we promptly returned on Monday night to enjoy them again. I must say they are very tasty especially when your allergies are in high gear.

Was I supposed to go to core last night? yes. Did I? No. Laundry list of excuses- 2 major ones allergies killin' me and 2 major projects due this morning.

What do I do with a text from Jarvis about Mimosas NOW? Y-E-S. Did I get both projects done before 10pm? Yes. Did I get a good nights sleep? Hell Yes!!! Can I answer my own questions on my blog? Of course I can. ;)

Now I'm off to class!!!

Frozen Indoors

Seriously, I ventured out this morning to get some things for these projects that are due on Tuesday. It's frigid out there! Yes, I know all you Texans already know this. My point is I'm still in my coat indoors and have been here for 2 hours. I've also agreed to go to a friend's bbq this evening surely we get to stand inside while Gareth grills our food. He's a guy he can handle the cold. I totally think this is fair.

How does one motivate in this weather? Don't even ask me about my working out or lack there of. Erin I will be seeking motivation from you this summer when I take a long break from running;)

I guess I should get back to the projects or I'm going to really hate life tomorrow!!!

T-I-R-E-D

I have no idea what is going on with me but I'm extremely tired these days. The sad part is I can't fall asleep at night for the life of me. WTF??? This is annoying considering I'm a gal that likes her 8 hours of z's.

Yesterday I came home from an ultra long day at school, major project due that I've been working insane hours on (ok, not Jarvis insane, but Cruise Director insane)and I could barely hold my eyes open. I refuse to take a nap at 5:30pm considering that would definitely wreck havoc on my sleeping pattern or lack there of. I managed to stay somewhat awake until 9:30pm and slept until 8am. What's sad is I would really like to take a nap right now. It's 3pm.

I'm sad that I had to miss Creamy Flava last night. He puts on one heck of a show. Mayonnaise can you please forgive me?

The Latest

I realize I've been a little slow in blogging these days, but seriously I haven't had much to say. However at this very moment I may start laughing out loud.

The joys of being a student means I get to go to coffee shops in the middle of the day to "work" on my homework/projects. It took 3 places before I could find a table next to an outlet...seriously, is this entire town independently wealthy with no job, a zillion students without afternoon classes, or a running ton of unemployeds. I'll let you decide. Anyway my point of deciding to blog is I'm outside at Austin Java on 12th St. This was the only table and it's windy making my homework difficult to hold down. However, I now have entertainment. There is an old man sitting at the next table who is either deranged or homeless and quite possibly both. He's sitting over here mumbling non-stop I decided to be polite and turn towards him to make sure he wasn't asking me a question only to see he is staring off in the distance clearly talking to himself. Thank goodness I really don't feel like entertaining at the moment. Apparently, he's done talking to himself because now he is panting. Maybe he's panting at the dog sitting at the table across from him. All I know is this hysterical.

The life of a student;)

The Bike

To bike or not to bike...that's actually a silly statement. I own a bike, a good bike mind you. Granted the tires are extremely flat and I haven't ridden it since it rode on the back of my car when I moved from San Francisco to Austin 2 years ago. Wow! It's been 2 years since I've been on my bike. That is sooo sad. Lately, my running buddies are all blogging about their bike rides/events and it's making me want to get on my bike again. I'm not a strong rider. It's pretty safe to say I suck at it, but one can't get better if they don't keep at it. Keep in mind I only started riding the last 6 months I was living in SF and haven't been on the bike since.

My challenge is I am a control freak and I like to know everything that may potentially go wrong beforehand. I find these things to work in my favor...every worst case scenario I can dream up rarely comes true. I realize this is more than you ever wanted to know about me;)

Geez, where do I start with my bike drama...let's see- bikes are ultra light these days. I know this is a major selling point but I tend to disagree. This scares the crap out of me. I swear if I blink my left eye first my bike is headed left...again I'm not in control. I'm glued to the thing thanks to clipless pedals. I really like to bail on a moments notice and these new pedals don't allow bailing as an option. I think this has something to do with me being commitment phobic. We'll leave the commitment issues alone for now. Last but not least I think my bike has a zillion different gears. I can vaguely remember me never being able to get in my middle chain. It was either little chain or big chain and no I have no idea what any of that means.

Lulu I am going to take you up on your Sat am rides at the Velloway once I'm done with 5k/10k stuff (May). Coop may need some earplugs. I can't be held accountable for the amount of f-bombs I may drop while riding or falling over while standing still. Yes, I've perfected the standing still one second blink you're eye and I'm on my ass in the next.

Secretly I look forward to biking. I need a new challenge and something that's going to push me to a new level.

FINALLY!!!

I had a fantastic work-out today...FINALLY!!! I was seriously concerned as you can tell by today's earlier post. I wasn't wanting to run anymore and that excess energy was a bit much, but today it was a turn of events!!!

40 minute easy run and I loved every minute of it. I did weights and abs...the last one is a miracle in itself. Somehow I can never motivate to work the abdomen even if it's bathing suit season...ahhh is all I can say!!!

I'm back!!!

What To Do

Ok, so once it was taper time for the marathon I was in serious runner burn-out mode. I was tired of getting up before the rooster crowed, the insane weekly mileage, being dead as a doornail every Saturday and not drinking that much trying to be the good samaritan all of this was getting onto my nerves.

Now marathon training/race is over and I couldn't be happier...the only problem is I have all of this excess energy and not sure where to direct it. I want to take a break from running but am a little concerned that nothing else will get rid of my aggression the way running does. No perverted comments please!!! This past week was spring break and I managed to drink myself into oblivion more than once...don't get me wrong Jarvis and I had a grand time but if I continue at last week's rate I will need a liver transplant before my next birthday;)

The next non-running challenge is my inability to sleep as well as my muscles spasming out all night long. Just when I think I'm about to fall asleep my right leg starts bouncing around uncontrollably which sends me into a fit of giggles (please don't ask my why this is funny) and guess what back to square one in trying to fall asleep again. I do need 8 hours of sleep but lately it's closer to 5 and I'm not a nice person when sleep deprived.

Now what???

Spring Break

All I have to say is the student life is about to get fun...starting at 3:30pm today I will be on spring break;) Who knew this could be soooo fun???

Ok, so the fun is just starting up until this week it has been project/drawing hell. Monday thru Thursday I'm a witch on her broomstick all stressed out which leads to drinking insane amounts of alcohol on Thursday and hungover all of Friday...so much for Friday being my errand day and potential money making day.

Now one of my professors has the audacity to give us a project to do over the break so my paying her back is not going to class today. Our projects are never due the day she says their due. This drives me bananas. Seriously a deadline is a deadline. Anyhoo- this will not get in the way of my spring break/SXSW plans!!!

Bring on the Party!!!

Stressed Out!!!

This is an understatement. I will not bore you with my thoughts because they are far from fun or kind for that matter. My moods are so across the bored I can barely keep up with myself...possibly because I was taking a running break after the marathon, this never proves to be a good idea. Somedays I wish my life story was written with all of the answers so I could quit making the wrong decisions. Do not give me the "life's not easy" crap, I find this to be annoying!!!

I was surfing some blogs today and ran across another poem that I like and had forgotten about. This actually helped my wacky mood and I continue to plod on making decisions and not worrying about the outcome...this little engine can!!!

Note- It's long and a little mushy, so if you're not the mushy kind don't read it;)

The Invitation

By Oriah Mountain Dreamer

It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.

I want to know what you ache for

and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.



It doesn’t interest me how old you are.

I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool

for love

for your dream

for the adventure of being alive.



It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon...

I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow

if you have been opened by life’s betrayals

or have become shriveled and closed

from fear of further pain.



I want to know if you can sit with pain

mine or your own

without moving to hide it

or fade it
or fix it.



I want to know if you can be with joy

mine or your own

if you can dance with wildness

and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes

without cautioning us

to be careful

to be realistic

to remember the limitations of being human.



It doesn’t interest me if the story you are telling me 

is true.

I want to know if you can 

disappoint another 

to be true to yourself.

If you can bear the accusation of betrayal

and not betray your own soul.

If you can be faithless

and therefore trustworthy.



I want to know if you can see Beauty

even when it is not pretty

every day.

And if you can source your own life 

from its presence.



I want to know if you can live with failure

yours and mine

and still stand at the edge of the lake

and shout to the silver of the full moon,

“Yes.”



It doesn’t interest me

to know where you live or how much money you have.

I want to know if you can get up

after the night of grief and despair

weary and bruised to the bone

and do what needs to be done

to feed the children.



It doesn’t interest me who you know

or how you came to be here.

I want to know if you will stand

in the center of the fire

with me

and not shrink back.



It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom

you have studied.

I want to know what sustains you

from the inside

when all else falls away.



I want to know if you can be alone 

with yourself

and if you truly like the company you keep

in the empty moments.

Race Day!!!

**Disclaimer- this is super long so brace yourself, skim or don't read...luv you mean it;)**


The day I thought would never get here...4am game on!!!

Didn't get much sleep the night before not that I expected anything different. I did sleep 10 hrs both Thursday and Friday night. Have I mentioned how important sleep is to me???

Back to race day- the morning was exciting while putting everything on, double checking my list of things to walk out the door with...I'm texting and e-mailing my runner friends who are up & responding...gotta love race day emotions! Before race start pretty uneventful- this is a good thing;)

My one complaint for this race is the starting coral, seriously walkers need NOT be in the front. Everyone has a right to race but if you're slow, you know who you are, move to the back of the line!!! I crossed the starting line and I'll be if I didn't have to go around a line of walkers. I decided to just jump into oncoming traffic, this always seems like good idea to me;) I figure I can jump back on the right side of the cones once I see Johnny Law who is waving my back in...whatever;)

Let's just say the first mile I was busy rearranging all the crap I had on. Gu bouncing everywhere that I thought for sure were going to cause my shorts to drop to the ground, definite problem...tuck all 8 into the shorts, damn those packets are sharp I'm too nervous to feel anything at this point I know I will pay for this later, and I do.

I'm not going to torture you with a mile by mile play just the miles I think I can remember. My plan was to gu every 4 miles. We're hitting the 4th mile and my thumbs aren't functioning at all. I have to stop jump out of the way to get the first one opened...this is NOT how I want to start my race...now, I've got cranky girl (this is me) to deal with. The good news is I hang a right onto 5th street and immediately see Silke & Bobby who start screaming for me...this puts a smile on my face...100 yards and it's the first spotting of Tim and Kenny, ok, things ARE going to get better. My coach said things will change throughout the race.

I can't find my marathon goal pace (MGP) for the life of me. I've got a pace band on that I can't look at just can't take that pressure right now. I'm trying to remember everything my coach said to think about...my brain is like mush and we're not even at 6 miles. Mile 7 is our first hill on Veterans Blvd...not too bad. Hit the hills on Enfield & Exposition at this point I knew it was going to be a long and rough day. Mile 10 there are the people I've been training with (Pam, Kim E., Mark) going bananas for me...I love my cheerleaders...again a smile on my face. I told that handsome man I could enjoy this;) At mile 11 I come to terms that my A goal of 3:40 (Boston Qualifying time) is out the window...I choose to focus on the good and keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep a smile on my face. I was going to fake it until I made it to the end, which is exactly what I did.

I honestly, felt like crap up until mile 13 at which point my coach is in my head saying things WILL CHANGE at this time I said yes, they are GOING to change. It took a few more miles until rhythm finally set in, granted not at the pace I wanted but it was rhythm and flow that I need to keep me moving. I was focusing on the sidelines, the posters (my favorite- toenails are for sissy's), the kids giving high 5s. Anything to distract my mind from what I was actually doing and keeping me from thinking how much longer I would be torturing my body. I honestly wasn't sure how I was getting to that finish line or if I would get there. I told myself at the start I would NOT let the demons in or tell me I couldn't do this...I was in charge and not taking no for an answer...this proves to be a good decision because it took every ounce of strength I never knew I had to get this race done!

At mile 18 I was starting to go cross-eyed...I wasn't sticking to my gu/hydration plan, shame on me. However, once we got to mile 20 I knew I could get to the end and at the time I thought if I can just keep this under 4 hours I'll be satisfied. My first marathon was a 4:04 finish.

Mile 21- I see Tony's smiling face which I'm kind enough to throw him a sweaty shirt to keep. I can be soooo generous at times;) Ruthie has a new megaphone which she's screaming my name- I LOVE IT!! This is perfect timing because I know I'm hanging a left on Ave. H and it's a slow steady incline...have I mentioned this course NEVER stops climbing...someone mentioned elevation starts to drop at mile 18 but somehow we're constantly climbing...this is over my head.

My favorite cheer section, other than the finish line, mile 22 as we're turning onto Red River...those spectators were going NUTS...I got the chills running through there. Anna, another Rogue, was screaming for me and ringing that cowbell. Honestly, we need more cowbell;) Thanks Anna- it meant the world to me!

Mile 24- Jane (aka Banana) on her bike turns around and rides beside me for the entire mile...this makes me perk up, get into form which always helps the running. She's telling me I look HOT! Honesty, need not apply;) I love it!!! Mile 25, this is going uphill mind you, Panther tells me I look beautiful, again honesty, need not apply;)I'm lovin' it!!!!

We're down to the final mile and I dug deep, picked up the pace and took off!!! Coming around that capital people are fighting to hold on and others telling them no seriously, it's all downhill from here. There are fellow Rogues screaming for me and almost in my face at this time I can't wipe that smile off my face. I'm rounding the capital onto Congress and there they are, my training buddies (Pam, Kim E. Mark) again going bananas screaming for me, I'm just trying to hold it together at this point and count down the blocks to the finishers shoot.

I got 'er done by the skin of my teeth. My B goal turned out to be keeping it under 3:50- final time,according to my watch, 3:49:59.

I honestly couldn't be happier with this race. It was a tough course, great weather and I had fun;)

Can One Have Fun While Running a Marathon?

A few days ago I was exchanging e-mails with a very handsome man that I don't know very well and am pretty sure he's a big playboy. Flirting is good for everyone;) For some odd known reason he offered to run part of the marathon with me. Remember I said I don't know him very well so I took this as a strange offering but one I wouldn't pass up since I'm not sure what I'll feel like in that last 10K.

The more I thought about it the more I realized I didn't want to share this moment with him. I don't know how he runs or if he's even fast enough (humor me on the fast part), can he handle it if I get emotional or more than likely as I get bitchy towards the end. Running for me is very personal. I want to share this moment with the people I've been training with, people I've trained with in the past, friends that have had to listen to me bitch, moan, and groan for the past 6 months, the strangers that come out to cheer their loved ones on, volunteers & the people I'll meet on the course. These are the people I want to share this moment with.

I did get lucky and this handsome man will be out of town. The whole point of this post is he said I hope you have a fantastic time. He stopped himself and asked "Can someone have fun while running a marathon"? This question made me smile and without hesitation I answered yes, one can have fun while running a marthon. I love this question and it came at just the right time as my nerves are on high and I become obsessed with every little aspect of the race the question slows me down and reminds me to enjoy it.

BRING IT ON!!!