Whatever

Randomness

I haven't felt much like blogging lately.  No reason.  At the moment, short sentences or updates on Facebook and Daily Mile seem to suffice.

Last week, after our Saturday run with the track club, about 12 of us went out for breakfast.  Chatter about  different events to run and everyone's upcoming runs was the bulk of conversation as we ate.   Towards the end of our meal, one of our running friends, Kate, pulled out a deck of Osho-Zen tarot cards, and had each of us select a card, randomly.  Kate had mentioned that she preferred the Osho-Zen cards because they aren't dark, but more positive, more calm, more zen-like.  I  have mixed thoughts about things like tarot cards, because I'm not sure how much of it is made up by the person doing the reading, or how much of it has some truth, psychology, or foresight behind it. I was rather surprised how close to home some of the readings were -- and one person began to tear up -- but in a good way.   Kate only knows us as running friends, and not much about out personal lives. She also phrased what she had to say in terms of running, not just for me, but for everyone.  Here's the card I selected:

Flowering

According to Kate,  this is one of the  rainbow cards, a good and beautiful card in meaning.  She said that what I need to do now is to plant "seeds" and nurture what's going on around me, to slow down and wait for those "seeds" to grow, and that I need to be patient. I will achieve what I want to do, but not just now, no matter how much want whatever it is now.  I suppose that could apply to anyone, but maybe it's not as generic as it seems on the surface since this applies directly to me.  There is a lot that I want NOW.  She said that I have a "spirituality" about me, so I should understand what this all means in the larger picture.  I'm keeping and open mind. 

Summer has finally arrived in Southern California.  I knew it wouldn't be a gradual thing.  It went from cold to hot right away. I actually like the warmer temperatures and longer day light hours, however, I need to plan my runs early in the morning or late in the day OR run on the air conditioned gym's treadmill.

The grand-kiddo has a birthday on Sunday.   He'll be 7.  For the past month he's been insisting that he's 5 going on 6, but I think this has more to do with friends he's made at day camp.   Hubs and the grand-kiddo were at the grocery store, picking up a few items for dinner.  The cashier asked the kiddo how old he was and he replied, "I'm 5 going on 6."  Hubs immediately corrected him and said, "no, your 6 going on 7."  The kiddo insisted that he was 5.  The lady in line behind them chimed in with, "young man, only older women are allowed to lie about their age!"

Intensity has increased with each run and workout.  Bryan switched up what I'm doing at RU and what I do on my own.  At RU I'm getting back to doing some of the things I have the most fun with, such as throwing a weighted ball (about 8 pounds, maybe?)  at a wall and catching it while lunging.  I love workouts where I get to throw stuff.  Pylometrics are slowing coming back, too, and I love those types of exercises -- reminds me of being a kid.  The biggest change is intervals.  Last week the intensity was slow to moderate.  This week it's moderate to fast with shorter interval ratios*, but (still) not an all out effort.  I ran my intervals on the gym treadmill -- it's easier to keep track of time and intensity.  It was still tough, but good tough, and I was a soggy, sweaty mess when I was done. 

At RU on Wednesday there was another lady also working with Bryan at the same time. He often has two to four clients at the same time. Even though her workout was different than mine, she still had an equally intense work out. She began to complain a bit, how hard it was. Then she noticed what I was doing and also noticed that I wasn't complaining. One of the PT assistants told her that I never complain. The lady asked me, "well, why aren't you complaining?" It's times like that I wish I could come up with some snappy remark right off the cuff. I just said something about the injury and this is better than drugs, which is true.  I'm much happier being able to do a hard workout than being injured doing nothing.   I'm just slow on the uptake with witty remarks.

The garden is finally holding it's ground.  I actually had enough  kale, romaine lettuce, zucchini and yellow squash to actually use in a meal. Here's what I did with the yellow squash: 

Pizza on a store-bought crust with yellow squash from my garden, vidalia onion, garlic, buffalo mozzarella cheese, reduced fat  feta cheese, and red sauce.

My sister's eldest son has been busy over the past 6 years or so.  He started out in the Marines but was injured at boot camp with a hip fracture and received a medical discharge.  Since being in the Marines was no longer an option he went to college with the focus of becoming a lawyer.  He earned a bachelor's degree in Political Science, did well on the LSATS,  was looking ahead to law school, and was hired to work at a prominent law firm in Chicago.  After working a year at the law firm he realized he wasn't truly happy with his career choice.  He wanted to become a lawyer to make a difference, but it wasn't working out that way, at least in his eyes, since the law firm dealt with foreclosures. He quit his job at the law firm and enrolled in a culinary arts school in Chicago.  A few months ago he graduated from the culinary arts school as a pastry chef, had a job at a golf club as the main pastry chef, and was recently hand picked by Disney Orlando for a paid internship program, assigned to a restaurant at Epcot Center.  Disney is also covering his living accommodations -- he shares a place with three other guys, plus he has unlimited access to all Disney parks.  Needless to say, he's extremely happy, and now he feels that his possibilities are endless.  He did a complete about-face.  I know it surprised  my sister and her husband, since they footed the bill for college, but they also want their children to be happy.   I'm thrilled for my nephew because it isn't too often that your career makes you truly happy.


Wednesday's Song:
Fresh - Kool & The Gang

PEACE


*This is how the workout was written:
10 minutes warm up.
Intervals - numbers are the minutes, first number fast pace, second number moderate pace:
1/2, 2/2,3/2, 3/2, 4/2, 3/2, 2/2, 1/2
10 minute cool down

Meet Me Half Way

San Diego Rock 'n' Roll Marathon/Half Marathon Race Report

This a half  of a report because I ran the half marathon, meaning I'm going to leave out the mile by mile account, (but it isn't any shorter of a report) however, I will go over many of the highlights that made for a wonderful day and a couple of things that made me think "WTF???"

My son drove us to the marathon start area, thank goodness.  We arrived sort of late and missed most of the track club's final stretch before the race. We did arrive in time to sit and stretch a bit with AKA Alice, but then it was soon time to check in our gear, use the port-o-potty (*cough* bushes) and find our corrals.

 AKA Alice multi-tasking - stretching and taking pictures.

I found Rich, who was dealing with some first time marathon pre-race jitters 

Hubs and I in corral 17 waiting for the race to start.

Friends from RU also in corral 17.

 Kirsten, a PT from RU,  running her first marathon just one year after having heart surgery.

The original plan was to run the marathon, but with the foot injury, being out for 9 weeks, and only having 3 weeks of haphazard running, I made the switch to the half marathon.  Thank goodness they offered a half marathon this year.  The course was OK, and we ran more through Balboa Park than in years past, and I liked that.  Again, Coach Paul was everywhere with his bull horn with encouraging words to ALL the runners, not just the track club. 

For most of my run it was overcast, but a little humid.  I also drank the electrolyte on the course, Cytomax, which is something I never do since I bring my own, but it agreed with me, and I think it did help.  The sun came out around miles 10, and it felt warmer than normal, but with about 3 miles to go I knew I could deal with it. I was feeling for the marathoners, though, as the air temperatures really heated up.

Around mile 11 or so, I saw AKA Alice running in the opposite direction, which was so cool because we stopped and hugged.  What a boost for my psyche, and I'm glad I saw her at that point because I knew she was doing good.

At the last .1 mile, I ran in with a track club member.  I don't know her well and I can't remember her name, but I see her all the time.  We sort of sprinted in together.  I can't wait to see the photo finish.

Official chip time - 2:30:55.  Officially my slowest half marathon, but considering everything I went through, I'm quite happy with it. 

Post race I trekked into the medical tent, iced my foot, and went through the finish are to load up on bread sticks, fruit cups, electrolyte drinks, etc, and found Molly.  Funny thing, Molly switched from the marathon to the half marathon, but still had the marathon bib, and received a marathon medal because of the marathon bib.  The volunteers wanted to make sure there were enough medals for the half marathoners. 
 

Happy to be finished! BTW, Molly's bib says " I like cheese." 

Rich is now a marathoner!

I spent a lot of time at the track club tent, talked to friends about their races, and enjoyed the shade of the tent. At one point I did walk over to the track club water station, located less than a mile from the finish.  I did see several friends run by, and I was hoping to see Hubs. I thought he may have passed me, but it turns out he didn't. There's a story about about why he decided to toss the PR.

Hubs ran the marathon and was doing well, setting some course PRs for himself.  Around mile 12 he ran past a track club member who was having a hard time, sobbing.  He decided to chuck his PR and spend time running and walking with her, just to help her get through a few miles until she found her friends on the course. He ran in the rest of the way, knowing he'd finish over 6 hours, but was OK about it, he was still concerned for the young lady. 

Once Hubs was finished, he wanted his free beer, so we gathered all of our belongings and headed over to the "festival" area.  In years past this was at MCRD, in a nice grassy area.  This year it was in the crappy, beat up asphalt area in the Sea World overflow parking lot, which is hard to walk on if you've just run a marathon and can barely walk as it is. The cracked and chipped asphalt was also hot and sticky, and not conducive to staying to enjoy the festivities. To make matters worse, they wouldn't let Hubs into the beer area because he didn't have his ID on him.  Um, helloooo?  WTF?  He's obviously over 21.  He never runs with his ID because he has a shoe ID tag.  We've NEVER had to show ID before.  We also had wrist bands to get free food at PF Chang's booth, but by the time we got there the food was gone!  Thank goodness we didn't have to deal with the shuttle buses because I understand that was logistical snafu, and many people said that it took longer to get back to Qualcom Stadium (where they parked) than it was to run the marathon!
Since my son volunteered at the track club water station, he was able to park near by, and drove us home.

Back at  home Hubs enjoyed his beer and fell asleep on the couch, and I posted a Facebook update.  My son did us a favor and picked up burgers from In 'n' Out.  I scarfed down two protein style burgers, took a shower and was in bed by 8 PM. 

Next race is the Annual Independence Day 5k/15k in Coronado, and probably the 5k. 

Oh, and today I need to visit my local DMV to renew my driver's license.  Yay.

Saturday's Song:
The Good Life - Tony Bennett

PEACE

Mixed Emotions

Last week we had some rather toasty start-of-Fall weather here. It was in the 90s in my neighborhood on a few days, which is normally 10 degrees cooler than the rest of the county. My inland friends baked with temperatures in the 100s. We usually feel no need for an air conditioner. We just gather every fan we own and turn them all on and say we're buying an air conditioner NEXT year. Logan and Cruiser are usually never seen in the same room together, let alone just inches away. Barking and hissing are usually involved. Here they are within a couple of inches of each other. I think they might have touched once.

Too hot to care. There's a fan on the floor, by the way.

Saturday morning I ran with Rehab United instead of the San Diego Track Club. I had mixed feeling about this because the SDTC is like the boyfriend, and I was cheating on him with RU. I have a lot of wonderful friends at the track club and I did miss them on Saturday, but I needed to change my training and work on issues that are specific to me, and RU offers that, along with an intense strength training and running session on Wednesday evenings. One major difference is the number of people. There's probably about 30 people who are training with RU exclusively for the Las Vegas Rock 'N' Roll Marathon and Half Marathon. The SDTC has about 125 half marathon/whatever members training for several events, even if they don't all show up at the same time. I'm also training for the Silver Strand Half Marathon, which is about 2 weeks before Las Vegas. I need more miles than the folks training for the half at this point, but less than the people training for the full. Another difference is the warm-up and stretch, which is combined. The running part is, well, running. The location is different, but it's not like I went to Mars. We ran from the RU location over at Carmel Mountain Road, to Torrey Pines State Beach and back. I didn't take on the entire hill at Torrey Pines, just a little bit of it, which was plenty. I ran mostly with the marathoners who were putting in 14 miles, but turned back at around right before mile 4, just so I could get in at least 7 miles total. The return miles were by myself, but not unnoticed, and I was grateful . Two runners who didn't need to put in the 14 miles came back behind me just to make sure I was OK. One more marked difference is pictures. There aren't any with the RU group. At some point I'm just going to take it upon myself to take pictures. The run on Saturday was breathtaking. It was cool, foggy and we were running along side the beach. It was like being in a dream sequence in a movie. I loved it, however I have no pictures to share of how dream-like it was. Here's a map from my BiM run tracker page. I know, it's not the same thing, but that's where I was:

The stats:

Distance: 7.69 miles
Time: 1:23:21
Speed: 5.5 mph
Pace: 10' 51 /mi
Calories: 736

...and not just one hill.

Wednesday's song:
Deep Inside Of You - Third Eye Blind - Barbie2be

PEACE

Good Vibrations

While I was not blogging, here are just a few of the activities I participated in:

An excuse to party.
My brother came into town for a few days, joined us for a track club run (which just about killed him because he was *ahem* showing off and went out too fast.) The next day we had an impromptu barbecue, otherwise ALL of you would have been invited. My dad, in true retirement mode, brought a case of beer, his Jack La Lane juicer, a ton of fruit and a Costco sized bottle of rum. A good time was had by all.

My bro donning the SDTC shirt that I made him buy.

Dad chillin' with a brew.

Erik and Sam jammin'.

Sam taught me how to play this instrument.

Spending time with the kid.

It's all about getting to lick the spatula after mixing up the chocolate chip cookie dough. Yes, we baked in the heat of the summer, no air conditioner.

Downloading about 900 photos from Evan's Fisher-Price camera. No kidding. 900+. MANY of the pictures were like this one:

Wonder what he was eating prior to this picture?

Making a discovery...

Fake toenails! I had no clue there were such things!

Dragging my husband to the beach at the crack of dawn on Labor day to boogie board, just so we wouldn't have to deal with the crowds. It was awesome.

See? 7 AM on Labor Day at Mission Beach!


Surf's up!

The fake toenails looked good at the beach. My big toenails are not grown out from when I lost them during marathon training back in April.

Cleaning out some closets and drawers. My husband got rid of a bunch of old and beat up cotton race t shirts, amongst other clothing items. I got rid of a bunch of old work blouses, tops and these:

I did three back to back twelve week Body For Life challenges in 2000 and 2001, lost 30 pounds, got my body fat down to 16%, and all's I got were these lousy t-shirts. By the way, I'm only 5'3" and the t shirts they sent me were XL. I think I wore them as a night shirt a few times, then they ended up at the bottom of the drawer. The program itself is good, and once I figured out how to make it work for me, then it was great. Would I recommend BFL to everyone? Yes and no. It's not the end all in workouts and each person has to find whatever workout plan works best for them. Just about any reputable workout plan is good. The trick is that you just have to do it. There is a lot of work involved. PS... I'd love to be back at 16% body fat, but it's more work than I want to do right now.

Because everyone's a winner!

"Where the surf meets the turf at Del Mar."

No race pics. I was too busy not betting. LOL.

Signing up for the Shelter Island 5k on November 8, 2009, you know, the race that has a full on champagne brunch afterward? Yeah, THAT one! AND I plunked down the cash for the Silver Strand Half Marathon on November 15, 2009, the run that goes from Coronado to Imperial beach and is mostly FLAT.

Wanna join me?

WATCHING AS THE KID RETURNED TO SCHOOL AS A FIRST GRADER!

The obligatory first day of school photo op.

Yesterday's song:
Reason To Believe - Rod Stewart, The Youngbloods

PEACE

Penny For Your Thoughts

...It's more like my two cents

Miscellaneous blab:

Summer has finally arrived in Southern California and we're all complaining how hot it is! I know we're rather spoiled here, but guess what? It is hot! When it gets into the 90s on the coast, which is usually the coolest place to be, it's in the 100s everywhere else. I sought refuge in the air conditioned gym to do my "track" workout*.

Brief gym rant:
To the woman next to me on the treadmill at the gym: Get off your damn cell phone! Even with an iPod plugged into my ears and Nickleback's "Burn It To The Ground" is blasting away, I can still hear your conversation! ("But I love you more... but I love you even more... but I love you more than that"...) PS: Ease up on dousing your entire body in vanilla scented cologne. I wanted to pass out. After my 10 minute warm up on the treadmill next to vanilla cell phone diva, I switched to another treadmill.

I would like to see more run events with chipped timing. After the 4 mile Fire Run on Sunday, I turned off my GPS after I made it out of the finishing corrals, giving me extra time and distance, and it came out to about a 9:02 minute mile. Technically, I finished under a 9 minute mile, probably about an 8:55 minute mile. When the results were first posted I was given a 9:06 minute mile. I just rechecked my results and I now have a 9:07 minute mile finishing at 36:25. I know it's a few seconds, but when you're looking for PR's and improvements every second counts. I think I've blogged about this before, but with so many more people running, the margin for error in manual time recording goes up. Can someone explain to me how much more complicated is it to come into the here and now and have all races chipped? If it's expense, I'd love to be given the option to have a timing chip and pay a few extra bucks for it.

I have an appointment with radiology and my endocrinologist scheduled for next month. These appointments include a DEXA scan (bone density testing) and a mammogram. I'm not quite sure if the endocrinologist is going to order more follow up tests, as he did last year. Good times ahead...

Popsicles, lemonade, and Propel are being inhaled at an alarming rate my house as I type...

Cupcakes. I need to hit up a bakery. There's no way I'm baking anything right now. I just want one and I'll be fine. It just takes one to get the craving out of my sytem.

Photo from Women's Day

My friend Rich, the guy who ran with me at the Fire Run 4 miler, has been seen at my blog before. A few years ago I made him a pirate (Jack Sparrow) costume coat:


My brother will be in town for a few days. I've invited him to run with us and the track club on Saturday morning. It should be interesting. He's one of those uber fast types with a whole lot of energy.

Mel of Tall Mom On The Run is having a giveaway for her 200th blogpost. The swag is a Pearl Izumi running shorts. Go on over and enter and please mention that I (Irene of Magazine Smiles) sent you!

Sunday's song:
Like A Virgin - Madonna - Barbie2be

PEACE

*It was too hot to run outside on an actual track, so I used the virtual track on the computer readout of the treadmill instead.

Heat Wave

We had received a pre-recorded phone call tonight from my grandson's school Principal. The weather forecast calls for more hot, dry weather, and the Principal suggested that each child wear sunscreen and bring bottled water to school. It was in the 90s today. It normally doesn't get that hot in our little costal micro climate. Tomorrow it will be more of the same. I gotta give the school Principal credit, though, for being somewhat proactive and doing what he can do. A lot of the older schools here are not air conditioned, and this district NEVER dismisses school if it does get too hot. We used to live more inland where it was warmer, between two school districts, and my son's middle school was never dismissed for a heat day (100 degrees +). The school just less than a mile away (in a different district) was always dismissed.

Yesterday's song:
Where Are You Going? - Dave Matthews Band - Be A Good One

PEACE

Jalapeno

I made Mexican Chicken Soup and Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread for dinner tonight. I just happened to be watching The Barefoot Contessa and realized I had all the ingredients for that particular meal, so I made it. I like recipes that you can sort of use what you have on hand. I did cheat with the Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Bread, though, and used a mix, and added the jalapenos, cheese and green onions. It was still yummy. Yes, I'm not supposed to have dairy, but I had a tiny piece with a lactaid tablet. I would consider the soup relatively clean when it comes to macro nutrients, ratios, and such, but the yummy cornbread blew everything off track. It's OK, though. A little splurge now and then is a good thing.

Yesterday's song:
Mixed Bizness - Beck

PEACE

Under The Sea

It figures that my husband still has his camera and the formal picture in his possession at work. The plan was to post those pictures last night when he came home but we had no internet service from about noon yesterday until this morning. He forgot to leave the formal picture and his camera. Here's what I had on my camera:

Maggie and Chris

Kyra and Chris

Michael and me

From the formal night dinner, stolen from the Pinkdumbbells.com site. Top row - Me, Michael, Maggie, Chris. Bottom row: Phil, Cathy, Kyra, Chris. Phil (Phillydude) is from the Johnstonefitness.com group and was Cathy's dinner partner on the cruise.

Top 10 favorite things about the cruise:

10. A vacation in hot and balmy weather!

9. Not having to be the designated driver.

8. Someone else made our bed and brought us fresh towels daily. (I wish someone else would do that at home!)

7. Snorkeling amongst the colorful tropical fish and plants. I could almost hear the song "Under the Sea."

6. Swimming without pain.

5. Having dessert at the midnight buffet with the PDB group.

4. Finally getting to hear Maggie sing at karaoke. She can really sing!

3. Beating tropical storm Fay out of Florida.

2. Meeting Maggie, Chris, Kyra, Chris, Cathy and Phil, and the rest of the JSF gang.

1. Meeting Maggie, Chris, Kyra, Chris, Cathy and Phil, and the rest of the JSF gang!


I promise not to drag out the cruise pictures/posts. Just one more post once my husband scans the formal picture and downloads everything off of his camera.

Tuesday's song:
Storm Coming - Gnarles Barkley - Barbie2be

PEACE

One Day In My Life

Rain!

I know that parts of the country are drenched right now, but we've had little to no rain for months. I can't remember the last time we had a good rain. Maybe January? I can't be sure. While I took care of some errands this morning it rained big fat drops, and I actually turned on my windshield wipers. We're justthisclose to mandatory water conservation here, and those big fat drops were a welcomed sight. The little shower didn't last long enough. I hope we get more precipitation out of the now grey and ominous looking sky.

Other stuff...

Commercials. I'm gonna vent a little. I am glad that the horse racing season at Del Mar is for a relatively short time. Their commercial drives me nuts. More specifically, it's the song that accompanies the commercial that drives me nuts. It's in a faux simile style of Christina Aguilera about 5 or 6 years ago with all the jazzy ad-lib vocal runs. Maybe 5 years ago the commercial would have been more appropriate, but now it just gets on my nerves. I have to hit the mute button on our TV controller each time that particular commercial airs. For me, it's like nails on a chalk board. Next, is that they're taking songs I like and putting them on commercials. Sometimes that's OK, like the song Paradise by Ana Laan which is used in a Dove deodorant commercial, but when they chop the song to fit the commercial, then it ruins the song. I'm did like the song The Story by Brandi Carlile, but they're using that song in a car commercial, and they chopped the heck out of it. *sigh* I'm not liking that.

I haven't said hot yet. HOT!

Honestly, I'll be glad when Blog365 is over. I've missed a handful of days but I've stuck by daily posting. Once the year is up, that's it. No more daily posting. By the way, I won't be adhering to daily posting while on vacation. I might do a couple of posts, but it's vacation!!!

Yesterday's song:
Candlelight - Richard Eliot

PEACE

Candlelight

It's now a few weeks later, but my husband finally downloaded the pictures from when my sister and her husband were here last month. It's his new camera, which he takes to work, otherwise I would have downloaded the pictures right away.

My Brother in law Jaime and my sister Donna

Jaime by birthday candlelight.

Just one more day until we leave for vacation. We're really needing vacation about now, especially my husband. He needs to detox from working and enjoy spending some down time in a hot and humid tropical paradise.


Yesterday's song:
V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N - Puffy Ami Yumi

PEACE

V-A-C-A-T-I-O-N

I can't remember if I've mentioned before, but my husband and I will be going on a cruise this week. We fly out Thursday for Orlando, Florida, then we leave on a cruise liner on Friday from Port Canaveral for Nassau and Cococay. It's a 3 night 4 day cruise with about 17 of us from the Pinkdumbbells.com and Johnstone Fitness Forums. Technically, I belong to both groups, but I'm active on PDB. The great thing about this cruise is getting to meet some wonderful people. I'm looking forward to meeting Maggie, Kyra and Cathy, who I've only known from fitness sites as well as PDB. I still get the same perplexed looks when I tell someone I'm meeting people from the internet. No, they're not psycho maniacs. They've all been wonderful people. I've met several runners through blogs and running group sites, plus people from other fitness forums that have disbanded, but it's has always been a good thing. The common thread is the fitness and/or running thing. With fitness and running folks you can discuss your workouts, schedules, nutritional plans, sore muscles, aching limbs, PR's, and everyone knows what you're talking about. No blank stares back. It's so cool. I've had the chance to participate in a few runs with some of my blogger buddies, but I have yet to do a gym workout with any from the workout group. Perhaps a gym workout will happen on the cruise.

Needless to say, packing will be involved, and I really need to get with the program. We really don't have that much to pack, but we have a bad habit of over-packing. As I see it, we're not flying to Mars, we're going to Florida and sailing through the Bahamas. It's going to be hot and humid, and we'll probably be spending the majority of our time in shorts and swimsuits. We should be just fine.

Yesterday's song:
Some Like It Hot - Power Station - Run-DMZ

PEACE

Some Like It Hot

I don't know what it is about the Olympics that makes me stop doing what ever it is I'm doing and watch a sport I know next to nothing about. I find myself cheering for the the athletes, all of them, not just the ones from my country. I love it!

Yesterday's song:
Loose Balloon - Presidents of the United States


PEACE

She's Crafty

I started with two X-tra large mens t-shirts from Goodwill, about $2.50 a piece, plus a scrap piece of black 4 way stretch knit fabric, about 1/4th of a yard...

... and ended up with this:

It's finished, but after looking at the pictures, I've realized I need to prepare the garment for photos, such as ironing it... The next skirt I make will be burgundy, since my daughter found a 4 yard piece of soft stretchy fabric for just $2.00 for the entire 4 yards. I just need to find a small, soft, inexpensive piece of 4 way stretch fabric for the compression shorts underneath and side contrasting color/detail. Don't I look just thrilled in the photo? I didn't have a black or gray tank top, and that black long sleeved running T shirt was all I could come up with. It was hot, which is probably why I look so excited in my picture. I tried wearing a black and gray sports bra top for the photo, but my mid section is so white compared to my limbs. I didn't want to scare anyone.

EDIT
The pattern can be purchased HERE.

Yesterday's song:
Seek And Ye Shall Find - June Rochelle

PEACE

Seek And Ye Shall Find

I had received an e-mail from Runner's World Magazine and the San Diego Track Club about another trial shoe event. We wear the shoes for a few weeks then give our two cents on how the shoe fits, performs and wears. The event was over at the bay, at the runner's bathroom. It's along Mission Bay just south of the visitor's center. I arrived a little early, but it was already crowded with people waiting for running shoes. I'd venture to guess that there were about 100 people there. They gave priority to people who had tested shoes before, like I did, but they had so many shoes that I doubt any one was left out. I came away with a pair of Adidas Adistar Rides. So far I'm really liking this pair of shoes and I'd actually pay for a pair. The last trial shoe I had left my feet hot and sweaty, then blisters happened. These Adidas fit like my Asics do, and I love my Asics. I also tried on a pair of Brooks, but the Adidas fit better. I also did something I wasn't supposed to do. I ran. They needed to make sure the shoe was the best choice, and they had an expert there to test us. I got the OK for the shoe, but then the guy wanted to talk to me. He noticed that one leg seemed shorter than the other and that I should see someone for that. Oops. Then I had to explain the injury, surgery, and physical therapy. I only ran about 50 feet, but it felt good, mentally. I know, I KNOW -- I'm not supposed to be running yet, so stop looking at me like that. I promise not to do any more running at any distance until I get the green light to do so.

My daughter found the sewing machine in the storage shed. Why am I not surprised? She found it while she was looking for something else. My poor machine was not covered. My machine was rather dusty and gunky. I thought it might just need a dusting off and some oil, but it was needing much more. I had to use carburetor cleaner to get it going, then I had to fiddle around with the tension settings, which required busting out the tool set. After a two hours of performing surgery on my sewing machine, I got it running. I think it took longer to get the machine going than it did to assemble the running skirt. Oh yeah, the skirt is done! I knew it wouldn't take long to assemble. Since this is sort of my prototype skirt, I'll tweak the next one, as far as fit goes. It came out OK, considering I used two mens x-tra large tech t-shirts. As my son said, I went all MacGyver on the skirt. Heh. I also had to use a scrap piece of black stretch material I had because one of the shirts had a lot of detail on it, rendering parts of it useless for my skirt. I'll post pictures tomorrow.

Yesterday's song:
Failure - Martin Sexton

PEACE

Failure

It finally feels like summer in my neighborhood. Yep, it's hot.

I really liked this commercial.


Yesterday's song:
Where? - Nickelback - Barbie2be

PEACE

Time Of My Life

Squeeze and scan. That was my morning. I had a mammography and bone density testing.

I'm glad it wasn't hot today, because you're not supposed to wear deodorant/antiperspirant prior to getting squished.

Yesterday's song:
Simple Kind Of Life - No Doubt

PEACE

As Ugly As I Seem

Activity: Walk
Date: 08/02/08 12:19 PM
Distance: 2.13 miles
Time: 0:46:47
Speed: 2.7 mph
Pace: 22' 13 min/mile
Calories: 200

It's not like I haven't walked, but today we went out purposely to walk. Sans cane, my husband and I walked slightly further and slightly faster than last time. Next time I'd like to see 3.0 MPH or better and walk 3 or more miles. I'm also walking less like a one year old with feet far apart and hands and arms up or out for balance. My stride is becoming more normal, with my feet closer together, arms swinging back and forth near my side, and limping is now at a minimum. It's not pretty but it's getting there. Progress.

I sort of started sewing something. Well, not really sewing in the sense of making something, but hemming. I bought a cotton jersey sun dress last year, but it's too long for short me. I never got around to hemming the dress until now. I cut about 5 inches off the bottom, now I just need to hem it. This one will be hemmed by hand. I don't have serger thread the color of the dress, otherwise I'd be all over that serger for hem practice. I'm slowly getting into the sewing thing. Progress.

Earlier this year I made a list of things I wanted to do for 2008. I, for obvious reasons, didn't get to PR my marathon and it's unlikely I'll get a 5k PR, but I did get to do other things like volunteer and train with the track club. Another item on my list was to learn how to play the guitar the right way. I had my son restring my guitar, so it's ready to go. Now that the incision on my right leg no longer hurts, I can sit and attempt playing the guitar. Uh, progress... Sort of. I still need to take the guitar out of the case and practice some chords.

This summer, so far, hasn't been very hot. Last year was so toasty that it burned the leaves and buds on some of the fruit trees in our yard. This year has been rather mild in my 'hood, but I'm sure everything will change, just because I'm talking about it.

Yesterday's song:
Love Don't Cost A Thing - Jennifer Lopez

PEACE

Love Don't Cost A Thing

This month's Blog 365 theme is HOT. I'm hoping it won't be so much of a stretch to post something about the word hot, since it's a word that can describe so many things -- hot weather, hot food, hot (good looking) people, whatever. How about a gallon of Tabasco Sauce? That's enough hot to last a while.

I've just happened upon an article about America's most overpriced zip codes. I was not surprised to see San Diego listed, however, I must say I was surprised that my old neighborhood of Mission Hills was on the list. We lived in the Mission Hills/Hillcrest area for about 8 years, and the neighborhood is pretty diverse, socially and economically. I would have expected to see La Jolla or Rancho Santa Fe on the list. Yes, Mission Hills is known for some of the older mansions and a few historical homes, but it has a few simple (more humble) sections, too. The street we lived on was in an area that transitioned three different neighborhoods, but we had that Mission Hills zip code. Zoning was rather scattered between small businesses, apartments and single homes. It wasn't quite the suburbs, but it really wasn't urban or city living either. I'm not sure what our little segment of the neighborhood was, but for what ever it was worth, we lived there. The area is desirable because it's close to everything, which included museums, downtown, the bay, the airport, parks, public transportation, shopping, etc. I enjoyed living there. We left the area because the cute, 1940's , 2 bedroom one bathroom house was too small for a growing family, and the more affordable larger homes were across town in the suburbs. The cost of buying a larger home in Mission Hills was beyond our reach at that time, but I never thought that area would be considered one of the most overpriced. Ah, well...

Yesterday's song:
Nothin' Better To Do - LeAnn Rimes - Katiefeldmom

PEACE