The Power of Orange Knickers

back to basics?

2008-09-01T15:42:00.000-07:00

Well, it's September. I have been training for my marathon for 5 months. But I have only successfully ran more than 13 miles a handful of times. Like maybe three times. Maybe.

I have lots of exucuses as to why my running has been less than stellar:
it's been so hot
my knees hurt
my toes hurt
it's hot
5:30 is SO early
did I mention the heat?

I have not been getting my weekday runs in like I need to and I am concerned that I am not going to make the full marathon in December. I really want to do the full distance, but I don't want to be miserable while doing it. At this point, I am really considering scaling back and just work on completing the turkey day half then taking the full distance in the spring when things have (hopefully) settled down some.

For right now, though, the December race is still on and my primary goal is to start getting my weekday runs in! Begining this week!

My "first" half marathon!

2008-06-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

This Saturday I am running 13.1 miles! From this weekend on, I will be running at least a half marathon each week. WOOT!

Atlanta Half Marathon

2008-06-18T16:31:00.001-07:00

Today I registered for the Atlanta Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon.

I have kept up with my running pretty well despite random schedule issues, projectile dirrhea (Bella, NOT me!), vacations, and injuries. I am running about 4 times a week and this Saturday's long run will be 10 miles. I am wearing clothes that I haven't worn since before we got married in 06. And even some of those clothes are already too big. I feel great and look great and have run over 100 miles since the beginning of May.

My target marathon: Rocket City in Huntsville on 12/13/08

Buckhead

2008-05-13T19:20:00.000-07:00

Last week during my run in Buckhead, I waved at guy being arrested.

Today on my way to Buckhead to run, I saw a man being arrested.

Wonder what next week will hold?

This is my first drop back week...did 4.2 miles today. will do 4 on Saturday. Am going to try to do at least two tomorrow and Thursday.

The next week's long run is 7 miles. woot!

so,um, yeah...

2008-04-30T18:21:00.000-07:00

I have decided to train for a half marathon. unofficially. The training group that I recently joined has me training for a WHOLE marathon. MY plan is to see where I stand come August and register for a race of the appropriate distance. Funny thing: 26.2 miles doesn't seem that impossible. And 13.1 is likely doable by June or July at the rate that I am going.

I have been a "runner" since about 2002-ish, you know off an on. But more off than on. After hearing through the grapevine that my dad had triple bypass surgery and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, and given my own health issues, I knew it was time to do something. I found a local running group and figured that was what I needed to actually get my butt in gear.

I ran 4.5 miles last Saturday. I did walk alot, but I ran more than I have in about two years. And last night, I ran 5 miles. Really RAN, only stopping for traffic lights, etc. And it wasn't that hard!

So check back for updates about fun things I find on my run (like dead squirrels) and other randome musings of a slow ass, but nonetheless, runner!

should I or shouldn't I?

2008-04-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

short story: I am strugling with the decision to sign up for a marathon training group.

Good:
--(in theory) it will get me offa my butt
--I can say I ran a half and/or whole marathon!
--my health will improve. my dad evidently just had triple bypass surgery and was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. he has been on high BP and cholesterol meds as long as I can remember. he has had TWO heart attacks, the first of which he was only about 35. surprisingly, while its been thought provoking, it hasnt given me the scare I think it should have. maybe it's because I really don't have a relationship with my dad?

not so good:
--it's kind of pricey. it's almost $200 for a years worth of support. when you crunch the numbers, its really not THAT bad (less than a gym membership) and you get other stuff too... but the immediate cost is high. at least to me, right now it is.

--what do I do if i back out? how do I keep myself from backing out? which I guess is my real fear. not running 13 or 26 miles, or logging all of those training miles. I am afraid I am going quit and waste all that money like i did with not one, but TWO gym memberships AND a boot camp, not to mention a master's degree.

--I don't really want to deal with matt poking fun at me about running a long race. he does it just to pester me, he would never doing something like that to be mean...but still. in my head, I know one of the best ways to be accountable is to tell everyone what I am doing that way they ask me about it. and I dont want to tell everyone that I bailed on my training...

these are just some of the thoughts going round in my little head...I kind of feel like im making a mountian out of what should be a mole hill, but running a half has been something that I have thought about doing for about the last year and a half. the major problem is that I lack the discipline to train alone and have found excuses to bail out of so many things, even things not related to my health and well being.

I have about two weeks to decide...help me.

sucker

2008-02-17T12:18:00.000-08:00

I paid $68 for an oil change yesterday.

2008-01-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

I have made it thru my first two weeks as a highschool teacher. I haven't killed anyone or quit. I did, however give two detentions and write one student up.

We are officially living with Matt's parents again. Sigh.

It's supposed to snow tomorrow. For the second time this week. It snowed on Wednesday, but we still had school on Thursday. No one was more dissapointed than me.

The STi is up for sale. Know anyone who wants one?

What an interesting turn of events...

2008-01-06T12:31:00.000-08:00

It makes me a little sick to my stomach.

It's looking more and more like we are going to sell the house and move back in with Matt's parents. Soon. Like in the next couple of weeks. With my certification exam and trying desperately to get my thesis done, I really didn't have enough to be stressed about anyways, so this has perfect timing.

Oh yeah, my STi is going bye-bye too. Probably as soon as next week.

ugh.

2007-12-30T15:38:00.001-08:00

1. The dog is pissing me off. She needs to go to obedience school.
2. I am not a failure if I can't train my dog myself. I keep telling my self that.
3. I have another new job. I am (will be) a highschool teacher. God help us all.
4. Evidently, my new year's resolutions are the same as last year's. Nearly word for word.
5. Our fucking garbage disposal is broken. AGAIN. Perhaps it's a sign that we aren't supposed to have a garbage disposal.
6. I am going to buy a new computer. Soon, but not soon enough. I am thinking May or June. Maybe sooner if this Vista crap pisses me off bad enough. I'm gonna upgrade to a Mac.
7. I am rejoining the gym at the hospital that is on my way to the school. I am using my xmas money to pay for the first 4 months.
8. I REALLY want to train for the ING half marathon that is in March.
9. On that note, I will be buying a new pair of running shoes with the nike+ technology.
10. It's been requested that I keep a blog about my first year of teaching. Mostly for entertainment purposes. As in mine.
11. I am not a stalker for reading other people's blogs. They post that stuff for a reason. right?
12. I like posting like this. : )

.......

2007-10-25T08:19:00.000-07:00

I feel like I should post something. But I am at a loss as to what to write. There's lots of good things I can think of and lots of not so good things.

Maybe something will come to me later today.

Oh, and one more thing:

2007-10-11T17:26:00.000-07:00

Fall is officially here. I know because I am wearning a sweatshirt and fleece pants.

And I got to use the seat heaters in my car this morning!

No Turning Back This Time

2007-10-11T17:24:00.000-07:00

I will be defending my masters thesis by the end of February. I'm setting it in stone. I want to get this done, so I am going to suck it up and bust butt for the next few months to finish my degree!

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes!

2007-09-29T19:39:00.001-07:00

Ok, I came up with a new title.

And I updated some things, feel free to look around and make yourself at home.

Random Thoughts

2007-09-29T19:02:00.000-07:00

1. I hate my car right now. How many times does a car have to go back to the dealership before it's considered a lemon?

2. I wish I had a cooler title for my blog. I wonder if I can change it.

3. Since I type "important" stuff more often now, it's hard for me not to be lazy and not use puntcuation and capital letters where they are supposed to be.

4. My dog is hella stubborn.

5. Would a commute to Rome, Ga really be that much worse than the commute to downtown Atlanta?

That is all. For now, anyway.

so here i am.

2007-09-15T14:20:00.000-07:00

lots has been hapening. work is super busy. apparently sept and oct are THE months for environmental education outreach and this is one of the last free weekends i have untill late october.

we got a puppy. her name is bella and she is about 4 months old. we think she is a pointer/possibly dalmation mix. she is very spoiled already and very stubborn, so she fits in well. here is her picture:

i am running again. kind of. i was doing really well and running about 15 miles a week untill it got hot as all hell in august. then i stopped which is usually the way it goes for me. now that the weather is actually nice again, i am trying to get back on the running wagon. i wanted to train for the atlanta half marathon on thanksgiving, but thats not going to happen so i am setting my sights on a shorter distance. i am trying to train for a 10k (6.2 miles)that is also on thanksgiving. wish me luck with the training, im not so sure its going to go as well as i would like.

its been a while

2007-08-19T10:22:00.000-07:00

so, whats been going on with you?

as for me, ive been enjoying my latest job with the state. in june i started with the Ga DNR EPD WSPB outreach unit. lots of letter, i know. its the department of natural resources, environmental protection division, watershed protection branch. as the outreach unit, we go out an educate the public about water resources and how to keep our water ways healthy. i work primarily for ga adopt-a-stream but i also do stuff for rivers alive, project WET and river of words. technically, i am an intern, but everyone likes to call me a program assistant. one complicating factor is that i have 4, count em FOUR bosses. the other small comlication that i dont have to worry about for a few months is that my position is temporary. right now, i am only slated to be around for about 12 months. im am really hoping that i can find another position with the state (or national) government, cause all government jokes aside, i really like working for the state.

thurs, fri, and sat for work, i got to visit the jones ecological research center in newton, ga. thurs, we had a driving tour of south ga (tifton, albany, americus, albany, newton. we had a meeting on fri afternoon, then we socialized into the wee hours, drinking and playing cornhole. on sat, we canoed down the flint river and went swimming, snorkeling, and musseling. we found several threatned mussels, some not so threatened, and only a few invasive ones.

i have more to update, but i also have a dirty house that needs my attention. its funny how the evolution of web based communication happens. first was the blog, then myspace, and now facebook. as each was introduced (at least among my circle of friends), the latter fell by the wayside. i can say that i would like to make this a more regular thing, but then i will be distracted by myspace and facebook only to come back a after a few months...so, hopefully you will hear from me soon....

im moody.

2007-07-10T18:55:00.000-07:00

and feeling like an idot right now. !!girly stuff alert!!

some of you know that i got an IUD this past spring. well its been great untill recently. well, today actually.

for the past month or so, ive had serious acne on my face and neck. bad, worse than i had when i was a kid. and they arent just pimples, they are huge cysts. and im a picker, i cant help it. so ive got this lovely crater/pizza face look going and make up isnt helping.

well i just realized what the culprit is. its the freeking IUD. its a progesterone based one and any person who studied endocrinology for 6 freeking years would know that progesterone is a precursor for testosterone. and testosterone can over stimulate sebaceous glands and upregulated testosterone+over activated sebaceous glands=pimples!!!!!

im pissed. i was soooo excited and this thing was supposed to be great, but guess what, id rather take an extra pill every day than deal with having acne this bad.

and the sad part is that im even more hormonal now than i was before and when i figured out this whole testosterone/IUD connection, i started to cry.

i guess i will be making some doctor visits in the next few weeks. sigh.

Updates

2007-05-28T19:23:00.000-07:00

here are some recent pics, enjoy!

turning point

2007-05-02T19:11:00.000-07:00

things that tell me i really need to do something about my weight/health:

kids at school asking me if im pregnant
shopping at lane bryant
weighing as much as matts best friend who is a foot taller than me.
almost being pre-diabetic
having ridiculously high blood pressure

hopefully this time i will actually follow thru with my efforts to loose weight and improve my health.

yay for me!

2007-04-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

so i came home tonight, exhausted and totally not feeling like working out. i putzed around for more than 30 min before i sucked it up and laced up my running shoes. i headed out on the path with the intetions of doing the bear minimum of walking for about 20 min or so. well, once i got going i picked up a pretty good pace and even thru in 7 running bursts into my 3 mile walk. i felt really good when i came home, ate dinner, and now im ready for bed.

what a difference a week makes!!

2007-03-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

with my clothes and shoes i am nearly 5 pounds lighter than i was in the buff last week!

woohoo!!

after all these years

2007-03-01T18:09:00.000-08:00

friends is still hilarious. so much in fact that matt just spewed milk everywhere after chandler cracked a joke.

kitchen gadgets!

2007-02-25T17:30:00.000-08:00

so, my latest obsession is kitchen gadgets. i already am ok at and enjoy baking but i want to improve my cooking skill. ive been trying lots of new recipes lately so i regeisterd for a bunch of stuff for the wedding. i didnt get much of what i wanted but i was able to return enough to get what i really wanted.

my most favorite item is by far my cookie scoop. its like a mini icecream scoop. its makes perfect size cookies everytime. and since they are the perfect size, they bake in the perfect amount of time and are fabulous!

today i just got a micro planer and a big food processor. ive been wanting a microplaner for a long time, lots of the recipes ive tried call for grated dinger or the zest of some fruit. the food processor is phenomenal! i got a small one for the wedding, but decided that i didnt like it so i exchanged it for the next size up. i just made a dough for a cobbler like thing that im making for dessert and it was sooo easy! and, it has a slicer attachment perfect for slicing apples. apple tart, here i come!

and i got an immersion hand blender for making soups and stuff. i call it my boat motor. im making a roasted tomato soup later this week. and it came with a whisk attachment so i can use it to make homemade whipped cream!

finally i got a whole new set of calphalon cookware. my faveorite part of the set is the wok. ive made some killer stirfry and my next challenge is fried rice.

beth 1-cookies 0

2007-01-17T19:30:00.000-08:00

HA! take that, you evil cookies!

so im making cookies for this pot luck thing for work tomorrow. now, normally, when i make cookies, i have to sample the dough several times as well as one or two cookies when they are done. well of the four dozen cookies ive made so far, i have only sampled ONE finished cookie!

ive been working out for two weeks, hard core this past week and ive already lost one pound. i would like to continue that trend so im fighting the urge to eat the dough and completed cookies. i also passed up homemade pizza at the inlaws house since i had already eaten dinner before they called.