Awake

I keep coming up with plenty of blog fodder, but I no longer have the luxury of the extra time I once had.  There are few gaps of free time, and what ever free time I do have is spent sleeping at night.  I  kind of like sleeping at some point during my week.

While I wasn't sleeping, I actually got off of work on time to attend another Runner's World shoe test distribution.  I showed up late and was at the back of the line, just sort  of keeping my fingers crossed that a shoe in my size would be left just for me.  By the time I made my way to the front, there were no size 7s at all, just 8s and 9s.  Just as I was getting ready to leave, someone brings back a pair of 7s that were too small for her.  It turns out that shoe happened to be a neutral cushioned shoe.  Score!  I came away with a pair of Reebok (Premier) Zigblades.

These funky looking shoes are comfortable and are quite the conversation starters,  however, the soft insole makes my foot slide around a bit, contributing to blisters.  This shoe did not have the extra eyelet at the top, which would have helped to make the shoe more stable.  I've run about 40 miles in these shoes, and it was on my 7 mile run where blisters became an issue.  This is an almost perfect shoe.  If they could keep the comfort  and address the slipery-ness , then they'd have something pretty special.  I'm also not big on the white vinyl as a design element, as well as the hot pink.  If I were to buy a pair of these shoes, I would go for a black pair, or something less obvious. These shoes scream "look at me!!!"

A short while back, Nitmos posted a picture of his computer space, you know, the place where all the magic happens, and invited others to do the same.  I did no prepping or cleaning.  I just kept it the way it looks right now, which is not as clean as I'd like, but cleaner than I've seen it in a while.

Not very magical bills to be paid, sitting before me...

That's Shep.  He's a Happy Meal toy that I've adopted, and he lives on the top of my computer screen.  If he were a Hotwheels toy, he'd be under the cushions of the sofa, along with several marbles, a half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich, and my husband's cell phone.

Found this fortune in a cookie right before a big race, probably one of the races I did during the year after major surgery.  I stuck it to the monitor frame and it has been there ever since. I know, it's cheesy, but it gave my psyche a boost.

Then there's this one. There's so many way to interpret this fortune. I've used this on my Facebook profile page.

The computer area is in somewhat of a wide hall area between the kitchen and the designated garage area, which is now a bedroom. It's not the best place for a computer area, but it's the only place that seems logical right now, until money falls from the sky and we can afford a second story master bedroom suite addition, and a designated office space with room for a decent desk and my artwork.

Cookies.  I was craving cookies in a big way, but there were no cookies in the house.  I was considering baking a batch of chocolate chip cookies, but I have piles upon piles of laundry to get through first  Suddenly, the doorbell rings.  It's four Brownie Girl Scouts, a mom,  and a little red wagon full of boxes of cookies.  You JUST cant say no to four adorable 3rd graders, their mom and a wagon full of boxes of cookies. I bought 5 boxes.

Craving crisis averted.  The Dulce de Leche cookies took care of the craving.  The Thin Mints are in the freezer for later.The Samoas , Lemon Creams, and Trefoils might last through the week, provided I hide them. I have a distinct feeling that these cookies won't make it past Wednesday, February 2.

Wednesday's Song:
Free - Seal

PEACE

Free

All that chatter in my head I had mentioned my last blog post turned out to be something more.  My mind was scattered and my head was tense.  I just thought it was the stress of being at work full time and over time.  The reason why my head wouldn't shut off is that I had a sinus infection.  My doctor put me on a giant horse pill antibiotic, which was very toxic to my system and made everything else seem worse for the entire 7 days I  was on it. The up side is that my mind and head issues are gone.  Today was my last day of the horse pills.  Yay.

While being on antibiotics, I did  participate in the Carlsbad Half Marathon on Sunday.  I said  "participate." It would have been worse for me not to participate. There is something very therapeutic about running along side the ocean.  I was happy and my head was clear, it was freeing -- which is why I run in the first place. I certainly was not prepared and by mile 10, or there abouts, I started walking. I rarely walk a half marathon, but I was pretty tired. I walk/ran the rest of the way, making this race my slowest ever. Going slower than normal isn't a bad thing, it's actually good, because I saw a lot of friends (who were behind me) pass me up. I would not have seen them otherwise.

 Oh yeah.

The bonus to this race is that I started and finished the race with blogger friend Penny. I'm not quite sure where we lost each other, but with the finish line around the corner Penny runs along side me and passes me. I figured I could muster up something to catch up with her and finish running. Much to my amazement we finished at the exact same time. I've never finished a race with a friend before, and I must say that it was wonderful to share finishing a long race with someone, and to share the joy of making it to the finish line.

We finished!  2:41:58.

(We did not plan to wear pink and black together.  It just happened. )

This is also the very first time my husband finished ahead of me. I knew he would pass me up at some point, but it took me being sick and under-trained for him to do so.  He even PRed by over a minute. The past several races he has run in have all been PRs.  It's all about the training and not being sick or injured, that's for sure!

Post race with Hubs and Rich.

Bonus points that I didn't end up in the medical tent this year.

Song from Tuesday, January 18, 2011:
Rattled - The Traveling Wilburys

PEACE

Rattled

This is what the inside of my head looks like about now.

You know what happens when you don't check your reader or feed for a couple of weeks?  You end up with a zillion things to read and not enough time to read anything.  You end up just marking everything as "read" and start fresh. With one coworker off for two weeks, then another coworker getting sick, and the onslaught of patients using their flex spending plans before a certain date, work has been rather hectic. Once I get home and have some sort of dinner, I'm done for the day.  The hard part is that, no matter how worn out I am, my brain just won't shut off, thinking about all the things I did and all the things I need to do and other unimportant matters:  

"Did I set the coffee maker?
Did I call the lab to check on orders?
Was that guy a jerk or was that my imagination?
The dog is making too much noise snoring.
Oh, crap, I forgot to call the vet.  Something about the dog needing more meds. Great.
The Housewives of Beverly Hills gets on my nerves. 
Laundry.  I should have done a load.  No one will notice that I've worn the same scrubs for four days. 
What was I thinking going back to work full time?
Oh yeah, money.
Matthew McConaughey or Johnny Depp?
Did I turn off the faucet in the bathroom?
Creamer.  Buy creamer tomorrow.
Files.  Must pull files on Wednesday for Monday's patients.
OK.  Mind, please go to Hawaii or Ixtapa, even the park down the street would be good.
Mind, please shut off and go BACK to sleep.
Where did I put my name tag?
Do I have enough gas in my car to make it to work in the morning?
I really should get out and run in the morning, even if it is a mile.
Mind, go to sleep!"

The amazing thing is that running has been my release.  Once I run, my head is clear.  Unfortunately, I've been too tired to run and I haven't trained well.  I run on the weekends.  I also have a half marathon THIS weekend, the Carlsbad Half Marathon/Marathon.  I know I'll finish.  That's not an issue.  Will I run unscathed?  Probably not.  Will I PR?  Definitely not.  I'm just going for the ride and just enjoy.  I don't want a recap of last year.  *Positive thinking*

I'm still waiting for my new Keurig. With the snow storms in the rest of the country, Fed Ex sent me a nice note saying my Keruig will be delayed due to the weather. Which reminds me, I need to set the coffee maker.

Song from Saturday, January 8, 2011
Can't Find My Mind - The Cramps

PEACE

Can't Find My Mind

For everything I know, there's always something new to learn.  Such is life, right?  Just about everything I knew has changed.  I haven't been out of the loop all that long, but time and technology marches on, and a lot of the changes were made over the past three years.  Then there's the thing about having to remember everything I did know that still applies now.  My brain is on overload, and I haven't even begun to study for the certification tests. 

Today was the first day of the track club's Rockin' 'n' Runnin' program.  I'm perfectly fine being in the "C" group, which is the 9:30 m/m people and SLOWER.  Each year our groups (A, B and C) are named after Rock groups.  Last year "C" group was the Kinks. (I think)  The year before that we were Air Supply (which most of us were insulted by).  This year  "A" group is Tears For Fears,  "B" group is Kiss and "C" group is The Cramps.  Perfect.  Love it.  I'm proud to be a "C" grouper.  Turns out one of The Cramps songs is on my running play list, "Bikini Girls With Machine Guns."




The run wasn't anything to write home about.  Really.  I probably should have run with the B group (7:30m/m to 9m/m) only because they ran longer, about 6 to 8  miles.  Our group ran only 2.5 miles around the track, and that included the warm up run.  It took that brief run to start feeling like I had my groove, and it wasn't difficult.  The shins were a little twingey, but not bad. There's always tomorrow. I have a half marathon in a couple of weeks. This one month taper was a bit too long... 

Oh, yeah, the Garmin wasn't working.  Yes, it showed the time, but when I decided to hit the start button it went blank.  It turns out that it was hooked up to the charger, but not plugged in.  Go me.  Coach Paul shouted out times as we ran by, so I probably ran about a 9:45 m/m average, just cruising and chatting with a few of my fellow track club members.

In other news, my Keurig started doing things I didn't want it to do, such as making my cup runneth over, or not filling it at all.  After chatting with a lady in customer service*, they're sending me a new unit. No charge.  Sort of.  I have to send them the k-cup holder from inside the unit and an authorization number to receive full credit.  No biggie.  Postage is cheap.

I guess this is one of those instances where it was good to REGISTER my appliance.  Most people don't take the time to register their small appliances.  Oh, and Keurig's customer service person was easy to work with.  This was just an FYI, in case you run into this same issue, provided you own one of these or know someone who does.


Song from Saturday, January 1, 2011:
Good Riddance -Green Day - Katiefeldmom

PEACE

*...AND taking it apart per her instructions ala McGuyver, poking around a few "ports" with a paper clip, then turning it back on, only to find that it didn't heat the water and still overfilled my cup.

Good Riddance

I haven't fallen off the  face of the earth.  I'm still here. I survived my first two months of full time work with over time and the holidays.

This is an amazingly decent photo of Hubs and I back in November before I became chronically tired from working over time. I'm amazed that I don't have dark circles under my eyes in this picture, but this was the calm before the mayhem.  By the way, Hubs is no longer allowed to wear that hat because we discovered that it's actually signed by former Padres baseball player, Tony Gwynn.

Christmas Eve Hubs and I decided to hit the mall first thing, at 7 AM to finish up the Christmas shopping. We basically got out of bed,  threw on some clothes and went to the mall before it became mayhem.  By 10 AM we were done, but Hubs wandered off.  While I was sitting in front of Macy's at Fashion Valley by the Santa visiting area, trying to call Hubs, I hear, "Hey, that's Irene."  I look up and it's AKA Alice and family. AKA Alice looked fabulous, fresh, and coiffed. I looked like death warmed over.  Thank goodness (for me) there were no cameras involved.  It was fun catching up for a brief moment, and that gave Hubs time to wander back to where I was waiting.  It suddenly felt very Christmas-y.  Up until that very point of seeing AKA Alice and family, I had been stuck in a vortex of work and being on auto-pilot.  Yes, we put up the tree and various Christmas decorations, but I hadn't been able to enjoy any of it. I'm not sure why this was a turning point for me, but the whirlwind that is my life right now sort of calmed down at that point, perhaps it was seeing someone else actually enjoying the holiday, and I was finally able to relax and enjoy my Christmas holiday.  Christmas Eve night was pretty quiet, with dinner at Hub's sister's house and a few family members.  All was calm. All was (relatively) bright.

Christmas morning I was up early making holiday sticky buns.  No one else was up yet, and I was enjoying the silence of the morning.  After I get the sticky buns in the oven and the aroma permeates the house, Evan wakes up, runs right past the Christmas tree -- ignoring the loot Santa put under the tree, and wants to see what I'm making, and asks for a cup of hot cocoa.  It was priceless. He never once asked about opening gifts.

This was taken before the realization that Santa had visited our house, before the mayhem.  FYI, that's his 1969 Chevy Chevelle SS, that his uncle Jim and aunt Katie had given him the night before.  He asked me to put in the car's info.  Some kids sleep with stuffed animals.  Evan sleeps with his cars.

Just so you all know, my grandson was asking for the actual Polar Express train to stop by our house, and not a toy version. Santa hooked him up some great toys on his (ever expanding) list.

It's hard to see, but Santa brought a Razor Ground Force Drifter...

...and a lot of action figures, amongst other goodies.

It really isn't Christmas until the dog rolls in the gift wrap.

One of the best gifts of all is that we were able to spend Christmas with my sister and her husband, here, in San Diego, for the first time in YEARS.

Hubs, Me, my bro-in-law, my sister.

I worked half day on New Year's Eve, but I was able to participate in a rather off-beat office tradition that I forgot about.  We each write a list of things or people we'd like to forget about from the year, fold it, place it in a large tin and burn our lists.  I didn't have a list of people on my list, but a list of my injuries over the past year.  I'm not sure if this was therapeutic or not, but it was kind of funny to see my boss burn her list of former psycho employees.  I guess it's a release kind of thing, just to let go and start fresh in the new year.  The ashes were flushed down the toilet.  Yes, where I work is not typical and is (still) like being in a sit-com.

By the way, my boss hooked me up with a pair of Moeben sleeves in tye dye as one of my Christmas presents. 

Hubs and I had no plans or parties to attend, watched SNL reruns, and I struggled to stay awake to ring in the new year.  (When did I become an old fart, anyway?)  With less than 5 minutes to the new year, Hubs scrambled to find THE bottle of champagne from the back of the fridge and opened it just in time. Evan was with us and stayed awake long enough to ring in the new year, go outside and beat a couple of old pie tins together and yell "Happy New Year!"

The good thing about having a low keyed New Year's Eve is that there was no hangover to deal with.  It's not that I often find myself in a state of hangover-ness, it's just that it takes longer for me to bounce back than it did when I was in my 20s. 

I still have not run since I ran the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll half marathon at the beginning of December.   My shin splints aren't as bad any more, and I really need one more week off, but I have the Carlsbad Half Marathon at the end of January.  I've run a half marathon with 3 weeks of training and lived to tell about it, and I'll do it again.  My stats won't be great, but I'll get to run.  Then again, it's not my first half marathon, either.

Happy New Year, and may all your hopes and dreams for 2011 come true.

Song from Saturday, December 24, 2010:
What Child Is This? - Josh Groban, Carrie Underwood, Vince Guaraldi Trio, Vanessa Williams, Andrea Bocelli, Burl Ives, etc...

PEACE