I need a jumping buddy

I'm starting off by saying that my ice plunge partner was in a car accident last week and has a mean doctor with NO sense of humor *ahem* hurt her foot and is unable to participate. Having seen the weather report, some people would say I lucked out because it is going to be cold on Friday. I'll probably still go as long as I can find a plunge partner. We're not allowed to do this alone. My pooky bear is the perfect, although very unlikely, candidate for new jumper. I'd jump with any of the running friends but they've all sworn off actual jumping in favor of spectating. A couple of the runners have kids (read: boys) who are old enough to jump so the kids are also candidates. (Do you think my running mates would mind if I introduced ice plunging to their kids new year's traditions?) We'll see who my partner is when I wind up taking the plunge.

In other news, I caught up on some reading today, recovering from the long drive and staying out of the snow. What'd I see?

• The next book I read? Maybe. Depends on if I can find audio versions.
• Troubling news for many Minnesotans. (Minnesota has one of the biggest Hmong communities in the US.)
• Amanda, this is for you while your foot gets better. Just in case you do ever take a physics class.
• Speaking of running this website has great potential but is totally unhelpful for cold weather running. How does it not tell me to wear long johns at -5*? Maybe it'll be more helpful at deciding which temperature to switch from shorts to pants.
• From the grammar police, 10 mistakes I am too perfect to make. My favorite is the cartoon illustration of how to choose "affect" and "effect". From now on I need a verb I will choose "eat".
• I had a moment of thinking I was in the top 50% of earners before realizing a social worker will never go in that bracket.
• Speaking of student loans, how expensive is college? and won't driving a Ferrari get you just as far in life?
• While at home Mark, Irmghard, myself and several others had a discussion about food, why subsidizing corn is about the dumbest thing in the world (sorry, small soapbox), and my favorite comment: "If we don't know the cow, we don't drink the milk". Now, Mark is a chef and works in a food bank that works with several co-ops in the area so has can actually go meet his cows and get raw milk from them. (Ha, laughing at the visual of Mark milking a cow). For those of us who can't go meet a cow and take it on a date, there's help.

Vacation: Exhausted

I don't know how some of you people come to town and just go go go all day and all night. I'm ready for a nap.

After the family party Grandma came to our house. Grandma was almost as sick as Dad was when I arrived on Tuesday. She tried to eat broth but her throat hurt really bad. (If I don't go home with the plague it will be a miracle.) So we put her to bed.

Mom and I headed over to the phone store which was completely empty. (I know, what the heck?) My phone died on Thursday, like can't turn it on, nobody home, nothing makes it better, died. Luckily this one is under warranty. This is the second of the same phone to die in about a year of my owning it. (I don't get you people who can have phones that last three and four years. What's your magic?) So they're sending the replacement phone to my house. But I had to buy a new phone so I can have a means of communication on the drive from where I am to my house. Once I receive the replacement phone I can take the purchased phone back for a refund. Is anyone else dizzy?

After shopping we cleaned up (some) from the Christmas party. Although the second we sat down we both about passed out.

This morning I helped Dad pack Grandma's stuff to go home. We only forgot one bag and luckily that was Christmas presents and not clothes or money. Dad went off to Portsmouth with Grandma.

Before lunch I did a little workout with weights. My arms and legs feel like they're about to fall off. I wonder if the 8lb weights at the gym really are still 8lbs. Dad's 8lb weights felt heavier. Maybe I'm out of shape.

I met Deb for lunch (Skyline, duh!) and then we went to the Krohn Conservatory and walked a little of Eden Park. It's really windy. While walking and driving we discussed running The Pig Half marathon. Initially I had been opposed to running it because of certain, um, concerns. But when Deb talked about it I started thinking it wouldn't be that bad. Plus one of the St Paul runners is also thinking about running it so I might have a travel partner. (Read: One of the St Paul runners has a brother running the marathon who will never stop bugging her if she doesn't run it. But I'll take advantage of the situation all the same.) Deb said she'd let me know if a week or two what she decides. I guess then I can run the Minneapolis Half still too. I'll have to bump up my long runs this spring ahead of marathon schedule.

Now I'm back home. It's snowing outside but it doesn't appear to be sticking to much other than the bushes. (I know, they have bushes here that are still green. It's wild.) Dad's on his way back from taking Grandma home and I think I'm about to take a nap. I think Jenny is coming over to eat leftovers to visit with me in a little while. I hope she eats the leftovers because I never want to see food again.

Family Stealing Party 2009

Really, it's the family Christmas party but we play a game where we all steal each others gifts. I had a blast. Here's the photo proof.

It's not a party unless we get to see someone's underwear.

Christmas: A Lot of Fun Actually

I was planning to run this morning but got a reprieve because of lousy weather. (It's vacation therefore I shall not run in the rain.) Instead, I got up mildly late. We had a lazy morning and opened presents around 10:00.

This is referred to as "the family Christmas tree" this year since I made them throw away the old Charlie Brown Tree when they moved.

After presents I cooked Christmas dinner. I actually liked cooking. It made me feel like a grown up. Possibly increasing the enjoyability was the fact that I was only cooking for six people and all of us were heading to a huge supper so there wasn't pressure to produce mass quantities of food. I also did the dishes (because if it was Mom she'd be wrapping them up around sundown and Dad's just getting over the plague so he's not allowed to touch dishes or food right now).

Once all the dishes were clean, we headed down to Kentucky for Christmas Spaghetti.

Luke helped me take some pictures. And we took one of ourselves.

Irmghard's new favorite toy and the sweet guy who gave it to her.

After all the cooking and cleaning and eating, that's how I was feeling too.

Tomorrow is the family steal-a-thon Family Party which we're having at the condo club house. I think it's going to be really fun and I can't wait to see everyone.

For vacation I will cook, clean and lift heavy things

I can't even remember what I did yesterday (and am too tired to make the two mouseclicks it would take to read my entry from then) but I woke up exhausted.

Mom and I went to get my car back from the shop. Merry Christmas Liz! Here's new tires and an oil change.

I cooked lunch (notice how I didn't mention breakfast? Yeah. I didn't eat it either.) and then got to work. We're having what I lovingly refer to as the Family Steal-a-thon at our house on Saturday, actually at the "club house" but still, basically here. Mom is basically getting it catered which means we're making about five things instead of ten. I made Tangy Cauliflower Salad as a side because most of the catered sides are, um, quite rich.

After the cauliflower I cleaned the kitchen so I can mess it up tomorrow when I make Christmas dinner. Cauliflower gets everywhere. The little crumbles break off and get on the floor and they're impossible to sweep. They have some sort of stealth action that makes them not want to be swept away.

Mom and I took one load of assorted items to the club house today too but I wouldn't let her set it up. We took chairs (for the 45 people who are coming on Saturday) water, tea, and fruit juices and a couple of the snacks. I couldn't bear to send the tangy cauliflower away though. I spent so much time with it today.

Yesterday it was pushing the cart up the hill. Today it was standing and cooking, cleaning, and carrying heavy things up stairs. I'm wondering how people say they don't get exercise at the holidays. I'm wondering how early I really need to wake up tomorrow in order to run before presents and cooking. It feels like I'm going to need a run just to relax by then.

Right now I'm waiting to go see Mark and Irmghard a whole lot of family down in Kentucky. Where Mark will be cooking. Remember when I said I didn't eat breakfast? This is why. I have an empty belly and I can't wait to fill it.

Merry Christmas!

Vacation: Underway

Vacation so far feels like work but it's a welcome change from the other kind of work.

After running which I wrote about earlier I convinced Mom that we should go back to Skyline for lunch. It was packed. Clearly everyone else from out of town had the same thought I did.

After Skyline we went to the toy store across the street and got Luke's present. I picked it out.

Then, lists in hand, we headed over to Hyde Park Kroger where (surprisingly) I ran into no one that I know. It was packed. Nut-house may not be the right description, just tons of people and tons of shopping carts. The store also has a very odd layout. The produce is the last thing you come to. It was about there that I really felt like any more people surrounding me with their carts was going to give me a panic attack.

(I'm still hungry by the way.)

After Kroger I went down to the Green Dog Cafe and got the last of my Christmas presents to my parents. Wow, just took like 10 minutes to read their menus. Now I'm really hungry.

When I got back from my solo shopping trip, Mom and I went over to Bed Bath and Beyond to get a new stock pot (which is awesome by the way) and bath grip strips (family in town and all).

I dorked around and recovered from all the shopping, driving and traffic. I took Mom back out for one last trip of the evening, to Bangkok Bistro, my other favorite Cincinnati food for take out. Dad still isn't eating so much.

And then I started cooking.

I wrapped presents while the chicken broth and wild rice were cooking. The entire time they were cooking, over an hour. Then I got into the active phase of making the soup: peeling the chicken off the bone. It's so yummy. (I am so hungry.) Mom was making Moon Beams, the best treat ever, but I only got to have two because they're for the party.

We both finished cooking around the same time. Chicken broth is never, like, a clean thing to make. The pot gets this weird chicken goo-film on it that can't be described. It's not really that gross, just hard to clean. Plus the broth boiled over and stained the stove. It gave me a mild heart attack thinking I wasn't going to be able to get it out. I think I did mostly. Thank god for that glass top stove cleaner.

Now it's well after midnight and I'm dog tired. All my wrapping is done. One-third of Christmas dinner is done (the soup). And we picked out family photos to embarrass everyone else entertain everyone at the party. Tomorrow I plan on sleeping in. Not sure if I'll run. Also not sure when Christmas Eve Dinner will be eaten. Mark's cooking. Yeah!

Ok, my eyes are starting to cross. I'm headed to bed.

Let the Vacation Begin

Yesterday (Tuesday) I did the drive in 10.5hrs. That's about the shortest it's ever taken me. It helped that I stopped twice in Wisconsin and then drove all the way to Ohio. No one knows what I was thinking. Actually, I kind of remember what I was thinking. I know that while driving through Illinois I planned to stop in Indiana for friend chicken and french fries. But in Indiana it appeared I would get home in time to eat Skyline which made me want to get home even more. YUM So I didn't stop in Indiana for fried food. I just kept driving. I had a nice talk with Mark and Irmghard and a really nice conversation with Jenny.

In the beginning of Indiana I called my Dad. I asked where the nearest Skyline is to the new place. His response, "Hmm. I don't know. I just know the one you went to last time you were here." Me - 'how late is it open'. Dad, "I don't know". Me (sensing the conversation was going to be way less helpful than I anticipated) 'is Mom home?' Mom wasn't home at the time but I called back and they actually waited for me to get home to go out to eat. So I got home, put my stuff down and got back in the car to eat.

Dad, sadly, has some sickness. Virus? Swine flu? It's not entirely clear. Boo. I haven't given him a hug yet.

This morning my alarm went off at 7am. Where am I? What's that noise? Why is it so dark? I went back to sleep. An hour later I did wake up and get out of bed. I went for a run mostly because I've been dreaming about running here for a couple of weeks. Wow are there a lot of hills here. Here's what I did this morning. That part of the hill right after the first mile marker is steep. They don't make 'em like that where I run.

Right now Mom and I are planning the menu for several of the Christmas events we're having. I'm cooking on Christmas day. (I feel like such a grow-up.) It's only 6 people that I have to cook for. I'll be making creamy chicken wild rice soup (in honor of my Minnesota heritage), roasted veggies and pear-blue cheese flat bread.

My next goal is to convince Mom that we should have Skyline for lunch instead of whatever she wants to make here. And then we're going to Hyde Park Kroger (where I'll undoubtedly run into like 1o people that I know) to go grocery shopping. It'll also undoubtedly be a nut house which is why I want to eat before hand.

Merry Christmas: My Favorite Christmas Pictures

In honor of Christmas I'm reprising some of my favorite Christmas photos.

Bonus points to any family member who can tell me where this first one was taken. I love that I'm sitting on John's lap in this.


This one is classic Mark but I think the look on Brian's face is the funniest. He's the one who looks sweet and innocent but is secretly breaking closets or something.


The true secret to awesome photos of your family: Strap the camera to the 4-year-old's wrist (strap tightly) because adults will make faces for her they won't make for anyone else. Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:


And if all else fails, find the cute little kids and take their pictures.

Still brr, although less brr than Tuesday

I ran this morning with the St Paul crew. At the end of my run I had frost and icicles in my hair. I think that's so cool. Bragging rights. The only thing cooler would have been if steam were coming off my head. (It might have been, I just couldn't see it.)

I tried to work today but the computers were not working. Well, the computers were working, just not the internet or email or my calendar or my to do list. Luckily I had a training planned in the afternoon. Even more luckily the three hour training took about 90 minutes. So I went home.

I did some productive stuff today. I got on the rowing machine at the gym. (Yes, that's two workouts today. I won't be working out tomorrow in honor of Amanda's birthday.) I did my laundry which is always a big relief. I cleaned my house somewhat. At least enough that a teenager can see it without me dying of embarrassment.

And then I played on the internet.

• This is how things were at the office today. (In defense of the office, when the computers are working again, things will be much better.)


• HCFS is bad for you. And the follow up, bacon is awesome (sorry to my Jewish friends, bacon is yummy). And the follow-follow up watching TV is bad for you and stopping it makes you thinner. Duh, Duh, and Duh.


• How powerful I feel when I go caving, running too actually.


• Coffee and tea cut the risk for diabetes surprises me only because caffeine... well, no I guess it doesn't surprise me but I'm trying to cut coffee out of my diet completely because... for some reason caffeine makes me totally hypoglycemic, a condition best remedied by eating things with simple sugars. Yum. I also decided to stop drinking caffeine because the caffeine withdraw really impacted my marathon training. I thought it'd be nice to not deal with that at all this year.

Holy mother of Wow is it cold outside!

After the second or third pair of pants didn't fit quite how I expected, I decided it was time to get back on the horse (so to speak) pick a new marathon and start training. (I have some very crazy awesome friends who think I'm going to be ready for the frozen half. They're out of their minds but that leaves me free to cheer instead.) After determining the social work trip that would've totally screwed up marathon training was moved to spring 2011, I picked the Twin Cities Marathon as my next race. What else was I going to pick?

Sunday night after the best 5k in town (where it was only slightly warmer than today), I sat down and mapped out my next marathon training plan. I did this last year too so I knew how far I had to run each week and how far my long runs needed to be each week as well. I like the schedule I found because it's a 40 week program, the 20 week marathon training plan and the 20 week "you have to be able to do this before you even start training for a marathon" plan.

Also, I noted to Amanda that the last two races I've run (the 5k and the marathon) have been at, um, a biologically inconvenient (read: painful) time. I learned, there's an app for that. Which I installed onto my iPod. Seriously, that's one way I know the next marathon can be more pleasant. The app actually proved helpful right away in scheduling step back weeks on the training plan and for picking which spring races to run. Minneapolis Marathon here I come. I will be running the half just like last year.

In honor of the training program, I ran today. Outside. For 4 miles. Wow! It's cold. I gave the yaktrax their first workout of the season. I was glad I had them in a few spots where the wind comes off the lake and blows snow all over the path. I probably could've made it without them. There were a few places where I wished I didn't have them on too. I ran an out and back path around Lake Nokomis. When I got back to my car after running I first noted that my Dreidel Dash hat was covered in frost and my balaclava had literally turned to ice and was frozen in one position. I had icicles in my hair too. When I got in my car I thought "oh, my legs have also turned to blocks of ice" but they thawed quickly. I celebrated by going to the YWCA and sitting in the hot tub.

I'm trying to remember what training in the cold was like last year. I remember a lot of early mornings in the cold. What was I thinking? I think I did that because the YWCA is the least pleasant place on earth in January. (When I want to know how many people make new year resolutions about getting in shape I go to the gym in January. Anyone I don't recognize is guilty.)

Dashing... More like a slow trot actually

Wow! am I out of shape. I didn't really have high expectations for my time in the best 5k in town so the 38:00 time wasn't actually a huge disappointment. It turned out to be a really fun race. A friend of mine dropped 5:00 off her time from last year.

I actually got to run with a friend's son for the last half mile or so. We talked about football. Speaking of football. After the dash, I had to sit at the table for my work which is a community partner of the race. I showed up at the table (changed from my sweaty/icy racing clothes) and she wasted no time saying, "I have to get home and watch the Vikings". I was lead to believe that in the third quarter the Vikings were down like 16 to 7 or something. Loosing to the Bengals. And I wasn't emotionally prepared to hear it from my dad tonight (who lives in Cincinnati). Imagine my joy when I got home and watched the last 2:00 of the game (literally) and watched my Vikings win! And clinch a play-off spot!

This race also made me think about training for my next marathon, perhaps the Twin Cities in 2010. The other option is Grandma's. I don't have quite enough time to run Minneapolis. The thing about Twin Cities is there's a possibility I'll go to South Africa again with more social workers and that would be in August/September right as training reaches a fever pitch and there's no way to train in South Africa. People just don't go out and go for a jog there. But the trip hasn't been scheduled yet. Who knows.

I'm feeling like I need another big race to train for. For some reason a half-marathon just feels to easy to train for now. Never in my entire life, did I imagine I'd think that.

The Cincinnati in me wants a snow day so bad it hurts

It's Minnesota and we finally have snow. It comes at a high price though. Snow with no wind is pleasant. Snow with howling wind, well the snow doesn't even stay still long enough to run a sled through it so what's the point really? At least the lake will be frozen so Amanda and I can jump into it.

I actually had a really nice day, despite an unusual amount of driving. Most of the driving was before the storm started. I got home around 6:00p, but I was in Minneapolis about two miles from my house since about 3:30p. The drive home was a short distance in slow but moving traffic.

Now that I'm home and cozy, it'd be nice to have an excuse not to work tomorrow. On the plus side, I don't need to be at work until 9:50 (or so) so I can leave my house after rush hour. That at least will be pleasant.

More on the Old Magazines

In my last post I told you all about having way too many old magazines. Beth suggested Art Scraps in St. Paul.
I also did a web search about what can I do with my old magazines. And the results are:

Apparently everyone at Tree Hugger just recycles them.

I could make my own tables and other furniture.

But the coups de gras was the discussion here. Among my favorites are:

Look for your local FREECycle organization. In my area it is done by zip code. You can find Free cycle in the groups area of yahoo.com. OR simply type freecycle.org. It is a GREAT concept. You are trying to rid of stuff and someone else might like it for free - they come and get it. Saves the landfills. (This one is actually useful.)

first see if the library might want them. if not how about an elementary school or even a welfare office, doctors's office. etc. (I don't think it's called "the welfare office" anymore, but useful ideas.)

You can check with the jail in your town. They may take them for the inmates to read. They will not however take any hardback books. WIN!!

A Time for Healing?

After my poor mental health post I took a step in the process of healing from bed bugs which I dealt with for a long, really long, too long, ridiculously long, time.

A result of the multiple spraying, inspections, and packing of everything in my apartment is that my clothing, and basically all of my textiles lived in plastic bags for (oh my gosh) the past year except clothes/coats/towels/sheets/etc I use regularly. I think my loathing for all Ikea furniture was made perfectly clear when I threw away the piece of crap dresser I bought from there. But I love some of there other little things (hello $3.00 rugs) including their dresser and closet containers. (New rule of thumb: Ikea furniture - bad; Ikea textiles - generally good).

Sunday I took all my clothes, sheets, and towels out of the plastic bags (I'm referring here to the Mondo-size zip locks) that had been their home for the past year. I sorted everything out. Then I cleaned my linen closet which was ridiculously cluttered for how little is actually in there, and stored the sheets and towels.

Having taken stock of my clothing I went to Ikea in search of organization (in addition to a Christmas present specifically requested by Mom). I bought one of those cubbie/drawer things that hangs over the clothes bar. My choices of color were a red/orange (just no) white, or black. I chose black because the white can look dingy. I forgot that it's really hard to see in the black drawers. (It's an unusual complaint and I won't take the thing back for it. I just want you to know.)

The now-sorted clothes went into the hanging organizer well. And presto my room is clean. The laundry hamper now fits back in the closet since the floor is no longer cluttered with over-large ziplock bags. It just made me feel so much better to have two clean closets and every thing back.

I also cooked actual food yesterday, peanut butter curry. My parents were interested to hear I can get fresh-ground peanut butter at my co-op. Seriously. The little machine just makes it right there for me. On the curry, yum!. I needed a better curry to rice ratio but the recipe I found (truly African) didn't have measurements so much as an ingredient list and loose information about proportions. It's really a miracle I got as close as I did. Ingredients in the curry include raisins and cashews. All my favorite meals involve fruit. Well, many of my favorite meals and almost all of my favorite deserts involve fruit. Yum, nonetheless.

I also sorted out my tupperware drawer. How does that get so out of control? and today I sorted out the last drawer to have textiles in plastic bags: the drawer full of my kitchen towels. It just feels so much nicer, I feel better about myself, and less loathing for living here now that stuff is back where it belongs. I actually didn't realize how much loathing I had for having my place that way until it wasn't.

My progress in the apartment has left me with a couple dilemmas. My questions to the readers:

• I have a crap ton of the really good take out containers that the Chinese restaurants use for soup. What can I do with them? Is it dumb to give those to Good Will? Anyone want them. They're really good. Problem is they're all the "large" (read: two servings) size and I don't want them. I think they're partly responsible for the chaos in my tupperware drawer.


• I have, also, a ton of magazines, mostly Eating Well, that I'm not using anymore. What do you do with old magazines? I think there's like an art form now of folding up pages from magazines and making them into coasters. How do I find a local artist who will use them? Is there anyone else that will use them? I think I could recycle them too.

Sunday Linkfest - Since football today was entirely disappointing

• What I think God thinks is exactly what God thinks. Duh.


• If that wasn't proof enough, here's another reason you should listen to me.


• While listening to the weather tonight I heard words like "blizzard", "cold blast", and "arctic chill". Don't worry, I'm still excited for the Best 5K in Town (Seriously Amanda, sign up!) It appears the weather is destined to be freezing for this race. That makes it more fun.


• When I own a house this is how I'll decorate it for Christmas.


• Speaking for designs and decorations, I thought Kelly my pooky bear could do this and I know that several of you could make this.


• When I ran this week some friends were talking about the toy hamsters (not knowing they can kill you) but it took a lot of web searching before I could find even this limited information about the health risks of antimony. Is this for real or just someone freaking out?


• A possible solution to driving in Minnesota in the winter?


• Definitely not what I would call life changing but an interesting idea about waste and energy. Ewww.


• And finally this is for Amanda!

Hermit Saturday - Almost

What'd I do today?

930-ish, I got out of bed and ran my Run fast up hills route. Hey, it's cold and I am going to run outside in a 5k next week (Sign up if you haven't!) and I can count on my fingers the number of times I've run outside since the big day. I didn't go quite the full distance because I ran into Cheryl a few blocks from my house and I stopped to say hi.

1100, Watch my Bearcats try to give me a heart attack in their eventual win over Pitt. (Side note: I've technically completed programs at both of these schools.) Brian Kelly: Stay in Cincinnati!

1400, that game finally ends with me jumping up and down. I "read" part of The Two Towers (on tape) and had lentil soup with chicken for lunch. I basically hung out all afternoon watching various football games and movies. BTW, this is a Bearcat but this is what a Bearcat really looks like.



1830, go to the Liquor store because there's more football tonight (since when do I like football?). In the parking lot, my mentee calls me and says, "can you take me to the emergency room?" and the surprising answer was No. (I'll support that decision to anyone who has questions but seriously, if she needed to go, I wouldn't have said no.)

1850, went to the YWCA and hung out in the hot tub, where I talked to a (mildly hot) guy named Alex. I neglected to mention that was my first name too. Also ran into Cyndi (yes, I did spell that right, and I spell all Cyndi's that way now) and got to hang out with her little baby.

2000, (is it weird that I do military time?) Now watching the Nebraksa/Texas game and still fighting with my mentee about why I will not take her to the ER to get antibiotics. She just hung up on me so I'm thinking we're pretty much done with that conversation. Do you think less of me now because it's not a satisfying feeling at all. Also, go Nebraska. Today has been a big day for punt blocking in all football games.

The Friday Five

I haven't done one of these, but The Friday Five looks interesting this week:

1. What song do you play the most? According to my play list (and please keep in mind I spent quality time running with my iPod this summer): Healing Hands - Elton John; FutureSexLoveSound - Justin Timberlake; I Run for Life - Melissa Etheridge; A Little Less Conversation - Elvis; Affirmation - Savage Garden

2. What song do you play the least? Angels Would Fall - Melissa Etheridge and Sorry to a Friend - Edwin McCain have last been played two years ago, of the songs that have actually been played at least once.

3. What's the last song you added? Parachute - She is Love. (Quick plug here for Skreemr.)

4. What's your favorite playlist? My exercise playlists. I have one that's several hours long for those looong runs I did this summer and one that's shorter with only fast, fun songs with a good beat. Favorite songs for exercising, besides those above include: Fire Burning on the Dance Floor - Sean Kingston; Burnin' Up - Jonas Brothers (I feel no shame); Temperature - Sean Paul; Remember the Name - Fort Minor; Lose Yourself - Eminem (I know it's Eminem, but I feel like I'm in Amsterdam at about 38K every time I hear it); Waking Up in Vegas - Katy Perry and 4 Minutes - Madonna.

5. What kind of iPod (or MP3 player) do you have? My first one was a Shuffle, the 1G model, orange. My second iPod is the Product Red Nano, which accommodates my Nike+ sensor that Amanda and Eric and Kelly got me when I graduated. My most recent purchase is a 2ng gen iPod touch (maybe it's a 3rd gen, is there a 3rd gen? probably second gen) that I love. It's great to be able to watch movies on airplanes. 'Nuff said.

My day started off with a bad touch and started off from there

Thursday: A colleague was walking around the office carrying a stuffed bear. Said colleague explained (to someone else while I was in the room listening) that the animal represents a positive spirit and she carries it around for anyone who might need it. (I was not judging. Well, ok, I was judging but I was feeling bad about it and I wasn't judging out loud for sure.)

Friday: I had no time today for anything. I had about an hour to get all of my work done for the day. Then I had a meeting, then off to the School of Social Work to educate young minds about working with seniors. About five minutes into my work time there's the fuzzy bear (and said colleague) literally in my face. Bad Touch. I was neither pleased nor amused. Amanda said it's how she feels every time I say "do you need a hug?". NO!

The morning meeting wasn't too bad, until the end and by then I had an excuse to duck out because...

I went to the school of social work to talk to people about working with seniors. It could have gone better. I had twice the time to work with as I expected, and (I'll admit) I was under-prepared. But I think the students were also fried because it's one week to the end of the semester. Poor things. The last semester was by far my favorite.

The end of the day got much better. I saw Amanda and my pooky bear at the No Coast Craft-o-Rama. It was a great time.
::Steps up on soap box:: To all of you who make jewelry that you sell, I encourage you to make some with surgical steel hoops/clasps/hooks etc. For me, earrings are my most favorite girl accessory of all. (Most of you have noticed that I rarely wear skirts or dresses and never wear make-up.) Earrings I love. And I'm always bummed when I see earrings I'd like, and I'd love to support local artists but they don't make earrings my sensitive ears can wear. ::Steps down from soap box::

We had awesome food, I had Vietnamese and they had tamales. Yum!

It's always a sign of my mental health when:

• I wake up and run (or go to the gym): this week, I've worked out or ran all three days, last week not so much


• My kitchen and living room are clean: No. Just, no.


• I cook for myself: the only reason I "cooked" for lunch today is because I couldn't fit in fast food between my meetings. Ditto for tomorrow. Awesome Chinese with Amanda last night for dinner and I'm pretty convinced tonight's dinner will be from a restaurant as well
  


• I take a shower every day: only doing that because I am actually working out


• I get out of my house: well, last weekend was a holiday so it's hard to use that as a measure

Where's this list coming from? At one point last week, it'd been a really long time since I'd run or done any kind of physical activity and I was starting to worry about myself. Post marathon depression is apparently a real thing, as is Seasonal Affective Disorder (will I ever see the sun again?). Anyways, I decided to take stock. Things aren't quite as bad as I thought. Particularly surprising is that I haven't missed a day or working out yet.