This Is Halloween

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Yesterday

Time flies when you're running around in circles...

Tuesday evening I found out that a relative (hubbie's side of the family) had passed away. It was a complete shock because he did not appear sick. The weird thing is that he died on Sunday, and my mother-in-law knew about it but she forgot to tell anyone! My husband would have flown out to Iowa to attend the services. My MIL is in her mid 80's and is sometimes not "all there." -- The news of the death just happened to come up in coversation...

Yesterday the office was uncharacteristically quiet so I managed a few posts on some of the fitness boards I belong to, but did not update my blog or info. I did some organization of closets and drawers for the ladies at work just to keep busy. I also went to lunch with the boss. We went for sushi and she insisted that I try the "sushi burrito." She kept going on and on about how heavenly this "sushi burrito" was. Well, it was heavenly! We also shared a rainbow roll and a few pieces of sashimi. My boss is an interesting person... It's never a dull moment so there was plenty of lively conversation. Yesterday was also date night with hubbie, but I kept the food simple/light (shrimp, spinach salad, and some rice that I didn't eat much of) and a half a Grey Goose martini, no dessert.

Today I get to meet Leslie from blog land! She's here in town and we're going to meet for diiner tonight. I'm looking forward to that!

2.5 MILE RUN 26:05 TODAY -- First run since the 1/2 marathon on 10/8. I kept it easy.

Peace

Humpty Dance

Wednesday/humpday is now officially catch-up day, at least until my temporary stint at work is through. Today was my visit to the chiropractor, banking, grocery shopping, cleaning the house, and laundry, e-mails. I also need to come up with a costume for Halloween. My bosses' favorite holiday is Halloween, and we'll be open that day AND we're all dressing up. I might borrow my daughter's pirate wench costume and add a fluffy blouse to it. I have a fairy costume but the wings are too wide to make it down the office halls, and I might poke someone's eye out...

Monday I did a gazillion sqats and lunges without weights. I didn't count but I did as many as I could do in a 2 minute time frame, rested for a few minutes then did more of the same, over and over again. I also did about a half an hour of stretches. I wasn't super sore but I was definitely feeling tight. Tuesday I had a battle with my allergies. It must be the dry weather we've had lately, because there's very little moisture to hold the dust down. I had puffy, itchy eyes all day, plus sneezing and wheezing. They had some sample allergy eye drops at work, which did offer some relief, but the allergy thing really wore me out, so no workout. Today I have a date with my Bowflex for UBW, which will happen this evening, after I knock out my "to do" list...

I'm still pondering the RNR half marathon in AZ in January 2007. DH and I have decided to do a 5K in a couple of weeks that offers brunch afterwards. We're not going to beat any of our times... We're going for the brunch!

I had a splurge today... I went to Costco and picked up a Kitchenaid stand mixer in red, finally. I've wanted one for a long time. A woman waiting in line at the check out asked me if I would actually use it... Huh? I felt like saying "No, I've just spent over a couple of hundred bucks on a mixer that's going to take up valueable counter space in my kitchen, and to irritate the hell out of my husband!" Actually, I just said "Yes, I have plans to use it." I'm too frickin' nice. If I were to spend over a couple of hundred bucks on something to look at, I'd buy jewelry or a new watch... ANY WAY... It's extremely fabulous and I have major plans to use it over the next couple of months. I really do use all of my cooking gadgets and appliances. I can't even count how many blenders we've been through...


Peace

8 Days A Week

A recap of my week:

I was only able to work out one day this week, but I did get in plenty of walking. The cold I have is getting better but I have a very phlemgy cough, still... Ick. The sneezing and feeling congested is pretty much over. I hope to get back with my running and weight training in the next couple of days.

Jeffrey won this season's Project Runway. I completely agreed with the judges decision. He did have the best collection. I also liked Uli's collection, as it was very wearable, but agreed with her second place finish. I love Laura's styling but I wanted to see more than just a collection of evening wear. I was a big Michael fan throughout the season of Project Runway, but his collection for Fashion Week was not up to what he had been creating previously. All of these designers will definetly have a big career in fashion, so they, really, all won. It's just that Jeffrey won the big prize.

I enjoyed spa day out with the ladies from work on Friday. I had an 80 minute aroma therapy massage. Based on a questionare I filled out before my session, the massage therapist mixed a few essential oils together just for my massage. I had tangerine, spearment and lavender. The tangerine was the primary scent, spearment second, and then a slight touch of lavender. I enjoyed 80 minutes of total bliss. A couple of my coworkers also had the same kind of massage, plus facials and pedicures. The great thing about this day at the spa is that it was, basically, free. The office earns points by using certain vendors and lab services. They had enough points for 7 of us to enjoy a day at the spa.

The house is THIS CLOSE to being move in ready. I'm getting anxious. There are no window treatments (curtains, drapes, blinds, etc.) yet, but that's not a big issue. It's the floors that need to be completely finished. The tile is finished, but the dining room, living room and hall floors need to be sanded and polyurethained. I am looking forward to the holidays in the "New" old house.

Finally, the doctor's at work found a tech to fill the position. She has years of experience and will start in 3 weeks. I hope she works out for the office. When I left, they had a difficult time finding a replacement with experience. They even tried to train someone with no optical experience, but that didn't work. I hope this new hire will work out as they hope.

That's it!!!

PEACE

Takin' Care Of Business

I'm not sure why I thought my employers would be able to find a tech right away, but they still haven't found one. The potential hires are either not able to work full time or they have no personality... They're looking for a tech with sales experience. They're out there. They're just not reading the job listing for our office... I figure I'll be there at least another couple of weeks. This temporary stint of employment is working out okay for me. I don't mind it right now, and with the holidays right around the bend, the extra income will come in handy.

Just like everyone else around me, I've come down with a cold. It's nothing serious, just annoying. There's a lot of coughing, sneezing and tissue involved. This shall pass. I haven't run since the half marathon, but mostly because of this cold. I had actually mapped out my workout plan for the rest of this year, which included getting myself in gear to, perhaps, run in the AZ RNR Half Marathon in January. I did get in a upper body workout with resistance bands (to failure)last night while watching "Dancing With The Stars," but that's it. Running will have to wait for now. I'll see how I feel by the weekend.

Tonight is the season finale of "Project Runway." The attraction to this show, for me, is the creative process. My mother was the daughter of the town seamstress, so I grew up with having to know how to sew something. My (dearly departed) mother was also very creative in her own right. She would have loved "Project Runway." It would have been one of those shows that we'd be rehashing the fashion disasters and designer's drama the next day. I'm on "pins and needles" (pun intended) waiting to find who wins at Bryant Park's Fashion Week. Will Jeffrey be disqualified? Will Uli have flowy dresses? Will Laura have more plunging necklines? Will Michael choose the best accessories for the complete look? What obscure word will Tim Gunn use next? Who will Heidi Klum say "aufwiedersehen" to?

Stay tuned...

Peace

Truckin'

Pics from the San Jose Rock N Roll Half Marathon here!


Not in great running form in that third picture... I was cheering for one of the bands on the route and the photographer got me as my arms were going down... Hehehe... I'd probably go faster if I didn't get caught up in the moment. Oh well. What can I say? I enjoyed myself!

I've had a rather busy week and this weekend will be more of the same. I haven't worked out as I had wanted to but I've been in constant motion since returning home on Monday. I had the intentions of writing out my workout plan so I could see it daily, but I haven't done that yet. Eating has been so-so but my weight is still amazingly the same. I was expecting a fluctuation due to the .5M, but that didn't really happend this time.

There's plenty going on at the moment. The tech job at the office has been put on Craigslist but there hasn't been a big response, so I could be working there for quite a while. We're looking for a pre owned light truck for DS. Right now I'm sharing my car with him and it's getting a little difficult.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Peace

One Way Or Another

11059 Irene - San Diego CA - 47 F - 2:19:16 - 2:24:17

The San Jose Inagural Half Marathon went well. Great weather and it started at 8 am and not some awful pre-dawn time... I kept my same pace and found myself passing peole I was pacing with towards the end. There were almost no hills, as the route was relatively flat, but there were a few road underpasses that seemed hill-like, but those weren't that bad. No pains. I was thrilled to arrive at the finish line to see the clock time UNDER my predicted finish time of 2:30, at 2:24:17, and even happier when I found out the chip time (actual time) at 2:19:16. I actually witnessed the elite runners when I was between mile 5 and 6. As we were just into the run going up, they were on the last part of their run, around miles 11 and 12. These people ran as if they were floating. When the leader (from Kenya) ran by us (in the opposite lane to the finish) runners on my side of the road were all cheering for him. Just incredible. He finished in slighly over an hour. DH finished in 2:50 -- which was exactly his predicted finish time, my brother finished in 1:45 -- also his predicted finish time, and our friend who ran the SDRNR marathon with us finished just behind me in 2:20 (I didn't know he was that close behind me!) This run was a PR for me. I beat my marathon half point split time and any of my training times. My 10K split was 1:05.

The rest of the day was followed by a celebration beer and a visit to a local winery for some wine tasting. Needless to say, I slept well.

Back at home. Back to reality. The hard core weight workouts begin next week.

I'll post pictures from the half marathon when I get the camera back from DH.

Peace

Do You Know The Way To San Jose?

Half Marathon Training and PDB Challenge

The next two days are scheuled non workout days, but I may do a few high reps/light weights leg extensions and leg curls to keep things moving.

Everything is set for our flight, etc. Hubbie and I both have our numbers for the race and we're ready to go. I need to find out exactly what I can take with me (Powergels, etc) in light of the recent airlines regulations. Anyone know what the current rules are? I do know that I can pack travel sized items (shampoo, soap, etc) in a large ziplock bag. I'll have to do some web surfing about this one...

Other stuff...
Work is interesting. They've interviewed a few candidates for the position but no good ones. The comment was "they were boring." My boss is tough but she is a goofball and wants people with freindly, fun and outgoing personalities who can work hard. Another cool thing about being back at work is seeing all of the patients again. It's even nicer that they remember me...

It sort of rained here today, just a couple of quick showers and that was it. Normally, rain isn't a strange phenomenon, but it hasn't really rained in months... It was kind of nice.

Have a great weekend everyone! I'll probably post again next Tuesday, unless my brother will let me use his computer on Sunday.

Work To Do

Half Marathon Training and PDB Challenge

I haven't technically been at "work" since last year, (even though I've worked my @$$ off with all of the house stuff.) I've been on call but I was thinking that I was no longer needed because the staff appeared to be stable. I received a call on Sunday afternoon to come in to work on Monday because they decided to let someone go. I was shocked. From what I've heard, the person they let go just didn't call ANYONE at the office to say she wouldn't be in the next day, or the ay after that , or even after that... I'm not doing any tech work, but I'm playing front desk person and doing all of the tedious chores that don't get finished when the office is short staffed. I don't mind because I know I won't be doing this type of stuff (mostly admin work which I usually cringe at) for the long haul. I think I've said before that my boss can be goofy and everyone gets along well. It feels good to be back, even if it is all of the grunge stuff. Shredding CAN be therapeutic...

I completely missed my workout on Monday because I didn't sleep well Sunday night (DH tossed & turned all night) and I came home tired Monday night, ate dinner, watched a little TV and fell asleep.

Tuesday, after work, I managed a resistance bands workout, circuits, after work while watching "Dancing With The Stars". Later on I managed to get myself caught up with all the happenings on "Nip Tuck."

Wednesday (today) I'm not scheduled to work. This morning I did a 2.5 mile run in 24:52. It was nice and easy, even with the hills, and I sprinted the last two blocks. Tonight is date night with hubbie. I'm not sure where we're going yet or what I'll be eating... Technically, it's not a free meal day, so I may keep it really clean and leave out the alcohol until after the half marathon on Saturday.

Peace

The Song Remains The Same

Thanks for playing along "Name that artist/group."

10/01/2006 Slow Ride - Foghat - Tom

9/30/2006 Words - The Bee Gee's

9/29/2006 Black Friday - Steely Dan

9/28/2006 Rebel Yell - Billy Idol

9/26/2006 Arms Of A Woman - Amos Lee

9/25/2006 We Don't Run - Kris Kristofferson & Willie Nelson

9/24/2006 Another Park, Another Sunday - Doobie Brothers - Katiefeldmom


9/21/2006 Pretty Baby - Blondie

9/19/2006 Dig Myself A Hole - Dan Akroyd and John Belushi

9/19/2006 Para Donde Vas - The Iguanas

9/17/2006 Fuel - Metallica

9/14/2006 Sick City - Elton John - Katiefeldmom

9/12/2006 Tell Me Why - Los Lonely Boys

9/11/2006 Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life - Monty Python - Katiefeldmom

9/08/2006 Fly Away - Lenny Kravitz

9/07/2006 Godspeed (Sweet Dreams) - Dixie Chicks

9/06/2006 Ready For The Good Times - Shakira - Pamela

9/06/2006 Wake Me Up When September Ends - Green Day - Pamela

9/05/2006 Look What They've Done To My Song, Ma - The Newseekers

Peace

Slow Ride

Half Marathon Training and PDB Challenge Day 9


2.5 miles in 27.49... slow on purpose

I did my longer run last week, so I don't want to chance any tweaked muscles or tendons or whatever. The half marathon is next Sunday. My brother has e-mailed me consistently for the past week. He's really excited to have us up on his "turf" and run an event with him.

Other stuff
My boss from my last job called me to come into work next week! Woohoo! I have been on call since last year, but I hadn't worked a single day this year since they seemed to have a really good staff. WELL... they decided to let someone go This was a total surprise because everyone seemed so stable. I guess something happened or didn't happen. This doesn't change any of my workout plans one bit, I just need to either do everything before work or after work.

Peace