An accidental date.
I tend to find myself on dates without realizing that I’m actually on one. Sounds bizarre but it seriously happens to me.. not often because I don’t meet guys all that often, but when I DO meet a guy to hang out with, I think we’re just going to grab a bite or a drink… nothing serious. For some reason I never think about it much more than that. And then it gets referred to as a date. Case in point, last night with fun accent guy from speed dating.
If you recall, I thought fun accent guy was… well, obviously fun. And I love accents. But I kind of thought he wasn’t my type and not someone I wanted to date.. so when he suggested we “get together” for drinks (and he never referred to it as a date, in fact he almost made a conscious effort not to refer it as such), I said sure. I figured I’d go into it with an open mind, but completely under the impression that we were just meeting up, and that’s that.
Yeah I was wrong. While we were out he referred to it as a date quite a few times.. and I guess if it WAS a date, as far as dates go… it wasn’t bad. I definitely had fun and he’s an interesting guy, and we share a few things in common. I mean, I don’t know… I assume that’s what a good date should be like, I haven’t been on that many dates. I tend to do the “start out as friends… oh we’re dating now” route.
Either way, by the end of last night I was pretty convinced that I don’t see myself dating this guy. Not that it’s anything to do with him, he’s a great guy… but just not my type, as I had previously thought. And I would totally say “maybe we could be friends” but I’m tired of the trend where I end up dating someone I’m not completely into, which is what usually happens. The next guy I date (minus accidental dates, of course), I want to be crazy about. Crazy in a good way, of course.
I’m just hoping I don’t end up being the perpetually single, crazy cat lady. :p
Kind of being a quitter. Not really.
(This picture has nothing to do with anything, I just love taking pictures of flowers… and then having you tell me how I’m such a great photographer. :))
I really wanted to blog about job related stuff that happened yesterday but… I’m superstitious. Well, I don’t know if this is a superstition but essentially, I get nervous when it comes to talking about certain things because I’m worried they won’t end up happening after all. It’s happened before and it sucks. So, until I sign a contract, mum’s the word. That said, I’m really happy and hoping it all goes according to plan. I should find out in 2 weeks (ack!) or so. Oh and I didn’t quit, this is unrelated to the title of this blog post!
Meanwhile, I DID decide to quit Bridge to 10K. As I said before, I don’t think the run-walk intervals combination was walking for me anymore… once I start walking, I find it hard to start running again. So for now I’m going to set time goals (unless you all think I should set distance goals instead?) and increase the times each week. Yesterday I wanted to run 40 minutes without stopping but my iPhone kept losing GPS signal/an app was giving me a hard time (have I mentioned how much I want a Garmin lately??) so I had to stop twice to fix it. But I ended up running a total of 45 minutes (3.55 miles), so I figure that’s a start. Oh and if you’re wondering… the run went better than the last one, but it wasn’t great at first. At the beginning I was feeling frustrated and started thinking how much I suck at this but then I started thinking “hey, at least I’m doing it!” And eventually it got easier and the time flew by. Anyway, I’m thinking I’ll finish out the week with 45 minute runs and then next week increase it to 50 minutes. I’m not anywhere near the speed or distance I want to be at but I guess it takes time. That said, I feel like I’m getting slower every day!
In related news, it looks like I won’t be doing that 5k after all (see, I’m apparently a quitter). I’ve been asked to work that day and it’s a good opportunity for me, plus I could really use the money (Garmin money!) so I think I’m going to go ahead and back out of the 5k. I’m bummed because I was really excited about it, but there will be other 5ks. Unfortunately they won’t give me a refund so if anyone wants to take my place, maybe we can try to sign my info over to you? Let me know if you’re interested!
(Semi) Wordless Wednesday: Sweet indulgences edition.
Here’s another “things that make me happy” post, also known as: things that I don’t need but totally bought. And may have devoured. Okay not everything in this post is edible…
I kept hearing about how delicious this ice cream is, I couldn’t resist trying some. Mmmm…
Oh hello deliciousness. I have a weakness for British chocolates, and these are one of my favorites. When I found them at Walgreens, I couldn’t resist.
If you’ve never heard of them, basically they are chocolate biscuits that taste like heaven. Seriously.
The biggest piece of tres leches in the world. Aka dessert from dinner last night for my friend’s birthday. And no, I didn’t eat the whole thing. Nor did I try. (I was already full from all that chocolate!)
Not food but they make me smile… Plus they were pretty pricey (the book was $8, which, sadly, I consider pricey this far away from payday) and therefore, kind of an indulgence.
See? Pretty sweet… 🙂
One day I’ll be a runner…
One day I’d like to be a runner. I’ll strap on my Garmin, do an “easy” 3 mile run, and come back and rave about how awesome my 8 minute miles were.*
Sigh. I wish. As it is, yesterday’s run made me realize how much I am NOT a runner. I can’t even do Bridge to 10K properly. Yesterday’s run marked 2 days in this program that I wasn’t able to properly complete… for some reason day 3 of each week has been a killer. I don’t understand, I did Couch to 5K without any problems, I’m able to run 35 minutes plus without stopping, but the last running interval of B210K (after only 30 minute of running) is beating me down.
I kind of think part of my problem is the walking intervals. I’m getting pretty good about talking myself into running farther, even when that means 13 minutes of “okay run until that bridge… okay now run until that tree, no not the little tree, the big tree… okay now run until that corner…” But once I stop running, even for that 1 minute interval, it’s hard to start up again. And yesterday I was struggling so much that I kept walking for longer than the minute, which made it THAT much harder to start running again.
Then again, a lot of it was me just struggling yesterday in general. I felt parched 10 minutes into it, even though I was pretty well hydrated before the run. I felt like I couldn’t breathe properly, that I was constantly gasping for breath, even though at times I forced myself to run so slow it felt like I could’ve walked faster. Plus, and I don’t know if this is a bit TMI, but I had horrible acid reflux the whole time. I think that’s what it was anyway. (PS, does anyone else ever suffer from this while running?) It felt like a huge effort to keep running with all that going on. I felt like I wasn’t meant for this, that I suck at running, that I’m never going to be good at it so why do I bother?
I’m gonna keep chugging along though. Maybe I’ll get better, maybe I’m just not meant to run more than 3 miles, maybe I’ll find that runner’s high and fall in love with running. Either way, I’m stubborn enough to not quit just yet. Right now I’m trying to focus on ways to keep me motivated: dreaming about buying my Garmin, running that upcoming 5K, and anything else that keeps me lacing up those sneakers, day after day (minus rest days, of course). Perhaps this shirt, which totally suits me, is necessary:
Someone pass me a spoon?
*I hope no one takes offense to this sentence. I’m not being snarky at all. I’m really just completely jealous of those of you who fit this description. Promise.Running update…
First of all, I finally got my official time from my first 5K the other day: I came in 82nd place, out of 214 runners, in 34 minutes, 29 seconds. To which I say, meh. I mean, great that I made my goal time (I wanted under 35 minutes) but I’ve run 3.11 miles in 34 minutes flat before. I should’ve run a bit faster.
They sent me this pic, which is the only non-blurry pic of me running. Not the most flattering tho. I think it might be time for a new sports bra?
I guess I have an opportunity to beat my time though, as yesterday I finally signed up for this:
June 4th, which is only 3 weeks away. Whoa.
I kind of felt the need to register for a 5K because I’ve been feeling really unmotivated lately. I’m still working on Bridge to 10K but today is only week 2 day 3… last week I only ran 2 days. I used to run 4 times a week! I think it’s a combination of it getting really hot (and it’s only going to get worse, I know) and my being so drained from the craziness that is the last few weeks of school. I’ve been thinking of getting a handheld water bottle to start taking on my runs… think that’s okay? Any recommendations?
Meanwhile, I’m about to cave and buy my Garmin, I’m getting so annoyed with running with my iPhone. I’m having to literally force myself to not buy it, as I know I’ll be getting an amazon gift card within the next 2 weeks and that can go towards my purchase. It’s just that lately my apps on my iPhone aren’t recording my distance/pace correctly… and this is information I’d like to KNOW. The other day on my run I thought I was flying cuz according to my phone, I was running 8 minute miles… which I NEVER do. I get home and realize that both my apps lied to me and I have no idea what distance I’ve been running at… one said 3.3 miles (including warmup and cooldown, I KNOW I did more than that) and the other said 5 miles (I WISH I could run 5 miles in 45 minutes). Sigh.
One day you will be mine, my pretty, one day… Maybe… I’m still debating between the 610 and the 310… Hmmm.
I will say that the great news is that I am finally running without pain, again. My ankle is finally better, my knee woes are gone (although sometimes I think my IT bands around my knees feel a bit tight, but that usually passes) and I’m feeling pretty good when I run lately. I did have to purchase some Body Glide over the weekend cuz I was starting to experience some um.. chafing. Yes, my thighs are trying to tell me I need to quit eating all the yummy foods that I’ve been overindulging in lately – ice cream, brownies, cookies, etc. The day after work is over I’m going to work on eating healthy again.. I’d say I’d start now but the end of the school year = lots of treats that I just can’t say no to.
And finally, I leave you with this shirt that I found yesterday, thanks to a link from The Hungry Runner Girl (love her!):
Cracks me up every time I see it!
If I’m wrong for wanting that shirt, I don’t want to be right. 🙂
appreciated.
This week my work celebrated Teacher Appreciation Week (yes, a week later than everyone else). I couldn’t resist taking my camera (with my macro lens, of course) and snapping a few shots.. especially since flowers are my favorite thing to shoot.
I’ll be the first to say that it’s not about the presents. In fact, in the 2 schools I used to teach at before this one, Teacher Appreciation Week wasn’t something parents even knew about. Actually, even the schools wouldn’t really do much for the teachers.
And if you’re going into teaching for the presents, I’ll say.. you’re going in it for the wrong reasons. Teaching isn’t about that. In fact, teaching is about so much MORE. Watching the kids as they read their first full book, as their write their first sentence. Helping the kids when they struggle with something and sharing in their joy when they finally master it. Creating a strong foundation for them, so that not only do they LOVE going to school… they excel at it.
While I appreciated everything I received, I have to admit that what I loved best were the hugs. The big pile everyone in/knock the teacher over 15 students deep hugs. The “you’re the best teacher ever!” comments. All the little cards my students made me on their own, without being prompted. The parents asking if I plan on moving up to first grade so that they can keep me as their teacher. That’s why I do this job. That’s how I feel appreciated.
But pretty pink flowers are definitely always welcome. 🙂
Speed dating update…
So when we last left the speed dating story, I had just gotten done telling you what an experience it had been. That’s the word people use when they’re not thrilled with something and yet they’re trying to be politically correct/polite… it was an “experience”.
Anyway, the day after the speed dating event (last Thursday), I got an email saying that I was able to go online and enter/check my matches for the event. Basically, all the guys are listed there and as soon as you select one, you can instantly see if they have selected you back. If you’ve both selected each other, your full name and email address is revealed. Magic.
So of course, I refused to go online. I didn’t want to be that super needy person who instantly logged on to enter her picks and obsessively check her matches. I decided I would wait until Saturday morning, as the deadline was Tuesday.
I lasted until Friday night. Oops. Anyway, I decided on 4 guys I wanted to match up with:
- Super cute guy.
- Slightly cute, not sure if we really connected guy.
- Fun accent guy*.
- Similar profession guy*.
*The last 2 guys I didn’t consider people that I wanted to date, they are just guys that I’d like to hang out with as friends.
Anyway, Friday night I entered my picks.. and got three matches. Unfortunately super cute guy did not pick me back and has yet to do so, but my 2 potential new friends did… and so did slightly cute guy. Interesting. The next day I got emails from slightly cute guy and similar profession guy (who seems to be more interested in dating me than I am in dating him).. and I’m so very meh about them. I emailed them back Sunday before my run… and got emails back before my run was even over. Um, and I totally just realized that I have yet to reply back to them. Oops.
So I think that’s the end of that chapter. While I’m definitely bummed that super cute guy (did I mention he was a DOCTOR too?!) never picked me back, I guess it was good that I went and did something out of my comfort zone.. and met some cool people while I was at it. I don’t know if I would do it again… I’m still hoping Mr. Right will basically just trip into me or something and maybe that’s my problem. Even though I’ve been single for quite a while, I’m not willing to put myself out there that much. I mean, I don’t think it’s a PROBLEM… I’m content with how things are right now. I would like a guy to come into my life some time but I think I just believe it’ll happen when it’s meant to be.
I hope so anyway.
(Semi) Wordless Wednesday: Things that make me smile edition.
Life is good sticker. Cuz it is.
Flowers in (almost) full bloom… and my macro lens always = love.
More flowers.
Get the point yet?
Rediscovering old shoes. Although these ones give me blisters, I think they’re so purty.
And my cat, Bay.. of course.
What’s making you smile today?
It’s all about perspective.
I’m learning that life can be so different, if you look at things a different way. Trying to be more zen, if you will. I’m not zen. I let everything bother me. Seriously, everything. I can hold a grudge for ages, I can grumble about something minor for hours, if not days. Definitely not zen. You know who IS zen? My bestie, mother of the cutest baby in the world:
Granted, how can you not be zen with a baby as cute as this?
I take my zen tips from her… and tend to fail. But lately I’ve been working extra hard.
Take yesterday, for example. I was driving home from work and my car starting acting funky (shuddering when I tried to accelerate, and generally refusing to GO!). I ended up driving across town to my friend’s place (she of the cutest baby), because her fiance is a mechanic and a) he could help make sure I don’t end up paying an arm and a leg and b) I trust him.
Instead of being upset that my car is in the shop and whining about what a hassle its going to be, I’ve been looking on the brighter side. Not only did my car not die on me when I was driving on the freeway, but it also managed to make it all the way across town to my friend’s place. Plus I’m stuck missing work but since it happened yesterday afternoon, I got to call in already, emailed my sub plans and therefore, got to sleep in today. Well, somewhat… I’m not good at sleeping in lately. But at least I get to relax at home, and my allergies have been beating me down lately, so I deserve it.
And… I just got the car verdict. Good news: what IS wrong with the car is covered under warranty (I’d pretend to know what he said was wrong with it… but I have no idea. Basically, they need to replace the on board computer and I heard something about spark plugs and coils.) The bad news: my car is basically out of commission for the rest of the week. But, again.. the good news: living with my parents comes in handy, as I might be able to borrow one of their cars to get to work while I’m car-less. Yay!
See… my maintaining a positive attitude brought about good news. Okay not really, the news was going to be the same no matter what, I’m sure, but maintaining a positive attitude meant that I didn’t waste energy getting mad or frustrated about the situation for no reason. Right?
It’s like what also happened yesterday: I got home to find out that the cleaning lady unplugged the power strip, which plugs in my TV. Actually, she not only unplugged the power strip but she also managed to unplug the DVR cord from the power strip, which I didn’t discover until later in the evening, which meant House and HIMYM didn’t get recorded. But instead of getting upset… I decided to be glad that we do have a cleaning lady, who irons my shirts, and changes the sheets and all the other things I hate doing. Plus I can always watch my shows online.. maybe even today, since I can’t get to work.
Perspective, right? Or maybe it’s just the power of positive thinking. Either way, I need to keep working it… it seems to be working out for me. 🙂
Back to… black?? and being lame.
So over the weekend I went from this:
(Actually, I think it was a bit lighter and more orangey in real life, red hair is hard to photograph.)
To this:
Holy crap, my hair is black!
That was NOT what I was going for. My hair is naturally brown… not really dark brown, maybe mousey brown. Either way, last summer I started dyeing it red, I may have been majorly influenced by a certain redhead on Mad Men. Who has much more money than me and can afford the monthly trips to the hair salon. I enjoyed being a redhead for a while, but eventually the monthly costs, plus having it fade into an orange hue started getting on my nerves and for the last few months I thought I’d want to go back to brown. Anyway, I finally had enough and decided to go back to brown. Unfortunately for me, it ended up being black.
I know, the color will probably fade but still.. my hair looks black! I’m pretty sure I’m too pasty white to rock this look. I think this just goes to show me that I need to stick with my natural hair color. Dyeing is just not for me.
Meanwhile, Saturday night I went to a party and spent the evening curled up with this handsome man:
Much cuter than any guy I’ve met lately. Plus he actually WANTS to spend time with me.
My friend brought her adorable baby and I basically played nanny and helped take care of him, which I totally loved. At one point I got called lame for not drinking… or, more likely, not being drunk like most everyone else there, but I’ve never been a big drinker. I enjoy drinking socially, maybe a glass or two, but I don’t drink to get drunk. And if being lame means getting to bottle-feed that handsome little man and snuggle with him after, then that’s totally fine by me. Hopefully I’ll get to be lame next weekend too. 🙂
Happy birthday Bay…
My cat, Bay, turns 7 years old this month. I don’t know her exact age.. when I got her she was about 18 weeks old (although originally when I got her I was told she was only 8 weeks old and a BOY, wow was I misled) so her birthday is somewhere around here.
Growing up, I was always a cat person… without a cat. My mother claimed to be allergic, my dad considered them “useless”… I wasn’t able to finally get one until graduating from college and moving into my own apartment. Which didn’t allow kittens. But from the moment I saw this little one, I couldn’t resist and took her home. She is the kind of cat that I have always wanted, cuddly but not clingy.. sweet but sometimes shy. Oh and now that we live with my parents, she has them wrapped around her paw. Seriously, my dad says hi to the cat when he gets home from work before he says hi to my mom.
As I type this, she just attacked and killed a bug that found it’s way inside the house. Such a good girl. 🙂
Anyway, I’m feeling a little sentimental so I hope you’ll excuse my little “love letter” to my cat…
Dear Bay,
When I got you, your ears were too large for your body (very much like the Skippyjon Jones books my students love)…
But I always thought you were beautiful.
You put up with me torturing you…
But you still have a feisty side.
I never expected a cat could be so sweet and loving.
And now you have grown into a beautiful “lady”.
Happy birthday boo. Here’s to many, many more birthdays together.
A night of speed dating…
So they say (whoever they are anyway) that you should do something that scares you every day. I don’t know about doing something every day, but within the last week I have now done 2 things that scared me: #1 being the 5k and #2 being… speed dating.
For those of you who don’t know, speed dating is like a series of first dates, one right after the other. In my case there were 13 women and 13 men, and you got 6 minutes per date. After 6 minutes (or so, I swear sometimes they would make it go longer) the coordinators would come around and tell the guy to move to the next girl (the girls never moved.. and there was no bell like I think there should’ve been at times). As the night goes on you kind of take notes on each guy, and then within the next few days you get to pick some guys that you’re interested in getting to know (aka, want to be “matched” to). If someone picks you too, then email addresses will be handed out and the rest is up to you.
I’ll admit… last night I sat in the car for about 15 minutes, debating on if I wanted to go in and go through with this. I was tired, I just wanted to go home, and I was convinced that every guy in there would not be worth my time. But I dragged myself in, preparing for the worst. And you know… I was actually surprised.
To be honest though, I can’t tell you how it went because… I don’t know. I won’t know for another few days who decided to pick me back. And that’s the disheartening part, isn’t it.. no matter how much I liked a guy or how well I thought I got along with someone, if they don’t pick me… I may never see them again. So we’ll have to wait and see what happens. I didn’t get to stake out my female competition (I wound up in a room kind of away from everyone else) so I don’t know how it’s going to work out. I will say that there was 1 guy that I was very interested in, and 1 guy I was pretty interested in.. a few maybes… and quite a lot of no’s.
I think the worst part was being stuck on a “date” with someone I knew I wasn’t interested in. And there were a few of those. And I’m not even taking about appearance, it was the whole package: appearance, personality.. everything put together was just miserable and those 6 minutes realllly dragged on. There was one guy from a foreign country that I could barely understand (but was apparently waiting to meet me all night), one guy that seemed really full of himself (but it turns out he was just high), one guy that was pretty much a professional speed dater (and didn’t seem to be having much luck with it) and one guy that made me feel like I was being interviewed, as all he did was ask question after question.
One of the coordinators came over to me about halfway through and said I looked tense. That’s probably not good.
It wasn’t all bad though. One guy and I spent part of our time talking about books, after realizing that he was reading a book that I had recently finished. Super cute guy and I spent time talking about my alma mater, since he had connections there. It was kind of fun to learn about people and pick up on common interests: I got to talk with people about running, traveling, and so on.
And.. it also seems like I made some friends. While I was waiting for the night to begin at the bar (which was the mingling portion, before the speed dates began), I started talking to some girls that were near me, in an attempt to get a creepy guy to quit talking to me. After the event was over, they and a few of the guys (that I had considered cool, although not necessarily a match) were hanging around and we spent a good hour just laughing about the night.
So all in all it was pretty good. If I don’t get any matches, I might cry and since I won’t know anything for a few days I will hold off on giving a definitive judgement on speed dating. But I will say it was an interesting experience and I’m kind of glad I went. Would I do it again? I’m not sure… it did give me the opportunity to meet people who I wouldn’t have otherwise met (which seems to be my problem, I don’t go out and meet people), but at times it felt a bit stressful and it got tiring answering the same questions and being stuck in dead-end conversations with people I wasn’t interested in. So the answer is.. I don’t know. I wouldn’t say never again, but maybe it would help if I had someone to go with. Or if I get some form of match out of this one.
Now cross your fingers that super cute guy picks me too.
Wordless Wednesday: belated Earth Day edition
Took these on Earth Day, finally getting a chance to post them. 🙂
What’s next?
So, after successfully completing my first 5k, you may be wondering… what next? Quite a few things actually.
Step number 1: Start Bridge to 10K. I meant to start yesterday but it was crazy windy and I just wasn’t in the mood to do battle, plus I was still acting like I deserve a rest day after my victory on Sunday. I plan on starting it today, even if the wind is crazy.
I don’t know when I’ll be ready to do a 10K.. the program is only 6 weeks but I don’t think I would want to do a 10K in the middle of summer. I might… die, it being Texas and all. Maybe I can aim to run a 10K by October. In the meantime I am definitely up for…
Step number 2: Sign up for another 5k. Of course. Before even running my first one, my friend and I were talking about running a second. I kept having to say “whoa, let me see if I can even finish one before I start planning for another.” Now that I’ve completed one, I don’t have that excuse anymore. I just need to decide which one I want to do. I have 3 choices so far:
- Astros Race for the Pennant, May 30, 2011: This race begins at and ends in Minute Maid Park, and my brother has already said that if I sign up for it, he’ll do it too since he’ll be in town. My friend really wants to race it also. However. I have read online that the course is rather hilly and it’s not a very interesting course – not very scenic. So I’m not sure if I want to do this one.
- Houston Heights Fun Run, June 4, 2011: I keep seeing this billed as a very fun, scenic race (although also very fast) amongst trees, which = shade. Which is very important since this is Texas and it’s rather hot here. This is the run I think I really want to do.
- Women’s Texas Lavender 5K and 10K, June 4, 2011. I found this today and I think I may have been sold by two things: “water stops manned by handsome male servants” and that after the race, there is “breakfast with champagne or mimosas, great music, free massages…” Doesn’t that sound pretty much awesome? Only thing is this one is about a 3 and a half hour drive, we’d have to pay for a hotel plus gas ain’t cheap… it’ll end up being rather costly.
Decisions, decisions.
So that’s what I’m working on. Man that was really boring. Sorry. Having my goals spelled out for me kinda helps to force me to actually stick to them. Hmmm. Maybe I should blog about my budget or something next, heaven knows I need help there!
Race recap… 2011 5k Walk for Lupus NOW & 5k Run
So I did it, I have now run a 5k! How did it go? Did I walk? Will I do another one? Read on to find out more!
The night before I went to bed around 10:30, after laying out all my stuff out in preparation for the big day:
I was hoping to get a good night’s sleep.. unfortunately I did not. Starting past midnight I woke up every hour. I think part of it was nerves, the rest of it was it being really hot in my room, even with the 2 fans going.
After hours of that, I finally decided to get up at 6:30, about 20 minutes before my alarm. Got dressed, ate my oatmeal with raspberries and drank some water. After triple checking that I had everything, we left the house at around 7:15 and got to the aquarium (the starting point) at 7:45. We parked, wandered around the booths and found my friend/running partner. And then posed for some pictures:
Pretending we’re not nervous.
Here goes nothing!
At around 8:20 we made our way to the starting line. There weren’t very many people *running* the course, a lot of people who were there were walking it after us. I think there was just over 200 people running it. The weather was cloudy, but windy.. and humid. Very warm and humid. At 8:30 came the gunshot… and we were off.
I had already known I would have to force myself to go slowly at the beginning and even though I thought we were pretty near the back of the pack, we apparently weren’t since we got passed a lot. What was worse was that the course started with an incline followed by the decline (we were running on a street and this was an overpass) and since it was an out and back run.. we would have to revisit that incline right at the end.
The first mile was rough, and usually the first mile flies by. I think it was just watching the other people fly past me that was frustrating.. and I wasn’t finding a good groove. Right at the first mile marker, my friend stopped to walk so I left her behind.. and I started getting a stitch in my left side. I haven’t had a stitch in a long time so I didn’t know what to do but I just tried to breathe through it and after half a mile it went away, phew.
The most disheartening moment for me came when 2 guys decided they were going to pass me by going around me, one on each side.. and then they high-fived each other right in front of me. Ugh, rude. But… at the turnaround they were walking and I passed them, wishing I had someone to high-five in front of THEM. I never saw them again so :p to those guys.
At the turnaround they had some guys waiting with cups of Vitamin Water, but I just waved them off.. I hadn’t planned on stopping. For the next mile I was mostly running by myself, there were a few people in the distance and I passed a few walkers but nothing exciting. Unfortunately for me I was now running into the wind, which was a struggle.. and the sun tried to peek through the clouds, really warming everything up.
Towards the end I wanted to stop. Really wanted to stop. But I kept telling myself that I wanted to run this thing without stopping, that if I just made it to that spot right ahead then I could walk… then when I got to that point, I would tell myself I could make it a little bit longer. Eventually I could see the ferris wheel marking where the aquarium was so I knew it was nearly over.. and then I got back to the incline near the start. It was rough hitting that right after 3 miles but as soon as I was over it, I could see the finish line. Usually the last .11 of the run is the worst but seeing a finish line motivated me to push myself and I flew towards the finish, pasting on a smile for any cameras:
I’m so fast, I’m a blur! :p (Or my mom doesn’t know how to focus a camera.)
Look… I’m actually in front of people!
It looks like I’m walking or posing. I’m really not!
My final time was… I don’t know exactly. I kind of forgot to look at the clock by the finish line. Oops. According to my iPhone app, my run was 34:35 but I know I started it before the gun went off and I stopped it after I’d already walked to my family and friends. They didn’t do chip timing on this run, they had some other way of recording it so I guess I’ll find out my time later. My dad thinks I was right at 34 minutes, which I think is decent for my first time… my secret goal was under 35 and I know I did that so I’m pretty proud.
After the run, they had bananas and bagels for us to eat, and free ice cream too (I think this made me happier than anything else). I also got a little goody bag of coupons and pamphlets and whatever. After I finished I felt pretty good, if not hot and tired. My ankle (which was fine all morning and during the run) started hurting as soon as I stopped running but it’s feeling better now. My back started hurting when I got home, not sure what that’s about.
Posing by the finish line.. the lady on the right in red made my day, she cheered for me right as I was about to finish.
And there you have it. My first ever “race recap”… it felt so cool doing one since I’ve really enjoyed reading other people’s recaps on their blogs. So, would I run again? I think yes. Definitely yes. There are a few 5ks coming up within the next month or so, I might sign up for one of them. While I thought it was challenging and a good chunk of the time I was questioning WHY I was running this thing, the experience was fun and I really feel like I accomplished something.. something I never thought I could or would be able to accomplish. Plus, I felt good about raising $305 towards the Lupus Foundation… yes, I surpassed my goal. 🙂
I do have to say thank you to everyone who supported me – whether you donated, wished me good luck or told me I could do it: I really appreciate all of you. Thank you so much for everything!
I do need to talk to my parents about taking more/better pictures though. I know I’m running but I’m not THAT fast so I shouldn’t be out of focus in all the pics lol!
First 5k… complete!
First race… finished!
(I’m the short one in pink.)
Expect more details and a really long recap tomorrow! 🙂
Getting ready for my first 5k!
Look what I picked up yesterday!!
Whee!
My first ever race t-shirt and bib. Squee! I can’t believe my first 5k will be this Sunday. 2 days away. Holy crap!
Meanwhile, I’m tired of seeing this in the forecast:
I feel like that cloud is laughing at me.
The 30% chance of rain doesn’t make me as nervous as that evil thunderstorm symbol. It’s like it’s waiting to ruin my day. Please please please, if it rains, let it rain AFTER the race is over. Preferably when I’m safe in my car.
I’m feeling *really* nervous because I have no idea what to expect. I don’t know if it’s going to rain or be painfully hot and humid (like last Sunday) or what. I don’t know if the course is going to be flat or hilly, boring or interesting, if there will be people there or not. I don’t know if I can even do it… logically, seeing as how I’ve been running that distance for the last week, I can… but I just doubt myself. I guess I need to do as the bathroom at Luke’s Locker told me:
Who knew a restroom could be so wise?!
I guess I know deep down I’ll be okay. Truthfully, I’m kind of excited at the same time too… my first 5k! Who woulda thunk it?!
On a funny note, the guy handing out the shirts and bibs was saying that if we (my runner friend and I) wanted, we could get into the Chevron Marathon through the charity.. since the marathon is based on a lottery and all, but if you raise a certain amount through a charity you can get in that way too. I laughed, as if I could do a marathon! “It’s okay, you can do the half then,” the guy said. Um… dude I’m not quite sure I can even do a 5k!
Meanwhile, there’s still time to donate! I’ve been raising money for the Lupus Foundation and I’m seriously only $15 away from my goal. If you donate, I’ll run that much faster. Maybe. I dunno. I’ve never done this before. Anyway, click to donate, I would really appreciate it! 🙂
By the way, if you have any tips on what to do/not to do… I’m all ears!
Oh and wish me luck and think happy thoughts for me Sunday morning!
Adventures in cooking and… I signed up for what??
Ah cooking. I hate cooking. Odd because sometimes I think I’d like to take cooking lessons. I enjoy eating food, I just don’t enjoy cooking food… it gets in the way of blog commenting/watching tv/reading/generally wasting time. When I moved back in with the parents, they told me I had to cook once a week. That’s not too bad, I get home cooked meals every other day. Only thing is, I don’t cook. Like, really.
Luckily my mom has this book, which I rely on almost every single week:
365 recipes and I think I’ve tried maybe 5.. in the course of almost 2 years.
I try to find recipes where I get to put the chicken (it’s pretty much always chicken) in the oven because it kind of makes me feel secure in knowing that the chicken will get cooked all the way through. Plus I get to ignore it for a while. I stretch out on the stairs, because if I go up to my room I’m afraid the house will somehow get set on fire and that would suck. Plus my ankle has been hurting so elevating my ankle (sporting my new ankle brace, which helps and then sometimes hurts at the same time) is supposed to be good:
Be thankful I chopped off my toes. I need a pedicure. Also, I need someone to start paying for me to get pedicures.
Anyway, I tend to lie there on the stairs while my food is cooking… on my iPhone I catch up on twitter or facebook and generally relax. While my cat looks at me like I’m a freak:
She may have a point.
And then the end result. My food always looks exactly the same every time:
My mom added the lime. Obviously that would’ve never occurred to me.
Some form of chicken. Rice. Corn. Tastes good but not very original. My dad says “you need to learn to cook more than just chicken and rice”. My response? “You need to learn to eat pasta.” I can cook pasta with chicken. Or pasta with sausage. Or pasta with… butter. Hmm. I may need some new recipes. *Easy* recipes. As in, done in under 45 minutes and no crazy ingredients. Do you have any you want to share? No seafood, I don’t do seafood.
Meanwhile, I found this article about speed dating today… fitting, as next week I’m scheduled to go speed dating for the first time ever. I’m not entirely sure why I agreed to go… I think it was the combination of a groupon (which meant swagbucks!) combined with being tired of hearing everyone talk about their husbands while I’ve been single for far too long… it pushed me over the edge. I’m terrified of speed dating though. Even the article didn’t end on a high note. Why did I ever sign up for this? Have you or someone you’ve known gone speed dating before? Tell me a reassuring story please… make me feel better?
Books, refunds and journals, oh my!
Oh wow. Yesterday was quite the day. One of those days when you see a bunch of these in the break room:
and decide that instead of resisting, you’ve definitely earned two. At least. Along with some oreo cake that was particularly delicious. In my defense, those cupcakes were ridiculously small… a person shouldn’t have to eat just one.
My students are just… pretty much acting like school is over. Unfortunately for them (and me), we still have a good 4 and a half weeks left of school. And I’m apparently supposed to still be teaching them up until their graduation. I’m not entirely sure how I’m going to survive.
Anyway, even though they didn’t deserve it, after work I went to buy them the latest Mo Willems book that came out yesterday. We are obsessed with Mo Willems in my classroom. Obsessed. To the point that my classroom library, which is organized by genre, has a book bucket specifically for him:
And yes, I did pay for every single one of those books. Plus there are more not pictured. Now you know why I’m always broke, eh?
Oh and if you’ve never heard of Mo Willems, let me tell you, you are missing out. And even if you don’t have kids or students like I do, you should still check out his books one day… they are freaking hilarious. The pigeon series is great but our favorites are Elephant & Piggie. They have us cracking up. That said, his latest book:
Not really his best work… it wasn’t as funny as his other books. I’m interested to see what my kids think, they have the same sense of humor as I do and at the end of each chapter I just kind of had a “huh, okay” moment, not a laugh or even really a chuckle. I think that’s how they might react too. I guess we’ll see.
Oh and remember how my Cary Brothers concert got canceled and Ticketmaster was thinking it wasn’t so they weren’t going to refund me? Yeah I got an email last night.. “We just learned that your upcoming event has been canceled…” this is what I’ve been trying to tell you! At least I get my money back….
Finally, continuing with my wannabe running status.. I bought a running journal which came in the mail yesterday:
I know I log all my miles on dailymile (add me there if you want, I love new friends) but I like having things written out, I’m visual like that. And it’s fun going back to fill in my miles from the beginning and watching how far I’ve come. Yay me! 🙂
Stopping for Daisies
Okay so after all that indecision yesterday, I finally made a big decision. I finally decided what I wanted my blog to be about, and what name would fit that. And so now I would like to welcome you to…. (drumroll please)
Backstory: I was thinking long and hard about what I wanted this blog to be about, and a lot of the names that I was trying to decide on yesterday didn’t really define me or my blog. So I thought about what this blog could be and what I wanted and how I’ve been using the blog already. Well, I always talk about how I don’t have much of a memory and I kind of use blogging as a way of looking back on the things I’ve done, the things I’ve written down… and I always enjoy using my blog as kind of a digital scrapbook of the things that have happened to me, the good stuff I want to remember. So there’s that.
Then the expression “stop and smell the roses” came to my mind, which brings about (to me at least) thoughts of slowing down and taking time for myself, to look at the good in life and appreciate what I can. I want to be that kind of person, for that to be the kind of blog I write.. but since my favorite flowers are daisies I figured I would be “stopping to smell the daisies” instead. Which eventually evolved into Stopping for Daisies, because that’s a much shorter blog title.
So, there you have it. My last blog title/username change. I promise. And, to show you that I’m serious about not changing anymore, I’ve actually gone and given myself a .com blog url:
Please bookmark that page/add it to your google reader. The old link will still direct you to this site but who knows for how long (possibly forever because I have no idea how I did what I did, but just to be on the safe side…). And because that username is too long for twitter (grrr twitter), my twitter username is @stopfordaisies, and I would love it if you would follow me there!
Thank your for sticking with me through yet another round of indecision and username changes. I’m really excited about this one and I plan on actually staying with it for hopefully years to come! Seriously!!
More indecisiveness… plus overindulging galore!
First of all, if you’re new to me and you didn’t realize that my username was indecisiveari… allow me to point it out to you. It’s a VERY fitting name, because not only do I not like making decisions, but once I’ve made a decision I have a tendency to second-guess myself to death. Case in point – my blog title. I’ve only had it for what, a week and a half? Yeah I’m tired of it already. “New adventures”… what am I, a super hero? So I’ve been thinking about it since.. well, ever since I gave myself that blog title and have been trying to come up with a better one. And I think I’ve come up with some. Ready?
- Running on Wishes
- Running For My Dreams
- Running My Dreams
- Running to Dream
I’m obviously not creative. I dunno, I like how running can be used two different ways – as in running, like I’ve gotten into running as my hobby, and also running as in fuel… as in, I’m fueled by my wishes, or the wishes of other people. Plus I like the word wishes, it feels optimistic. I don’t know. Maybe I’ve been reading too many running blogs lately… and anyway, this blog will never be a “running” blog.. I’m still waiting to see how long I keep up with running. But since it can mean MORE than running, I kind of think it’s okay? Some people have been questioned the “wishes” part, we spent a while on twitter trying to brainstorm better words. And now that I think about it, should I be running ON wishes? That seems a bit sad. Dreams is a more hopeful word, running for my dreams seems more powerful but I don’t know that I have many dreams, or so it seems. That’s kinda sad now that I think about it. My main issue with running for my dreams is that it doesn’t fit on twitter… so then there’s running my dreams or running to dream, but does that even make sense?
Anyway, what do you think? If you don’t like it, help me come up with something better?
EDITED TO ADD: How about Chasing Down Hope? How does that sound? Thoughts?
Meanwhile, I was bad this weekend. Shopaholic should really be my username. You see, I went to lululemon and spent a bit more money than I should’ve. I kind of heart that store, the clothes always look so cute and fun, even though the price means I can never afford anything. For some reason that didn’t stop me yesterday and I bought this top, called the cool racerback tank, which I had been coveting online for the last few days:
This was post-run so excuse the nastiness that is me.
Which prompted this response from my friend:
Win!
I also got a black run speed skirt, which is cute because it has ruffles at the back. I can’t get the pic of the skirt ruffles to show up so you’ll have to take my word for it. I kind of love running in skirts because I tend to believe that my thighs are so big that when I run, shorts tend to bunch. Pulling my shorts down mid-run is not my idea of fun so I stick to my skirts. Call me girly, whatever.
And I was also bad, food-wise. For the last 2 months I had been keeping track of my calories, etc to try to force myself to make better eating habits. For whatever reason I got lazy the last few days, which led to me eating things like this:
Love how Bay is trying to get in on it. Ears went first, of course.
There may also have been ice cream, Chick-fil-A, lots of Mexican food… um. I apparently have no self-control after being deprived from these yummy foods for the last 3 months… it makes me want to eat everything I haven’t been able to eat all at once. Not good.
Marble Slab speaks the truth.
Oh yeah and lastly, I have started stalking the weather forecast for my upcoming 5k (t-minus 7 days, ack!)… earlier it was saying 60% chance of rain and I was freaking out. If it rains my friends can’t come watch (4 month old baby + rain don’t mix), plus I’ve never run in the rain. I couldn’t listen to music, I couldn’t use the Nike+ to tell me how much further I have to go (since I don’t have a Garmin yet).. disaster. And then today I checked it and now it says this:
Much better.
Here’s hoping the rain chances go down even more. I know Texas needs rain, but I’d rather it not rain on the day of my very first 5k. Please and thank you.
Disappointing news… and cuteness overload.
So I got some disappointing news the other day. Last month my favorite band Cary Brothers announced he was coming into town (with Brooke Fraser). That same day I went online and bought tickets… I have ALWAYS wanted to see him and one of the last times he came into town, I waited too long and tickets were sold out. So I bought 2 tickets and have been eagerly looking forward to June 4th… I’ve been a fan of Cary Brothers for at least 6 years I think, so I was obviously super excited for him.
Until the other day. When I read on facebook that the June tour dates have been canceled, due to scheduling conflicts. Sniffle. How could this happen??
A ticket to.. apparently nothing now. 😦
Such a bummer. I’m waiting to see if I can get my money back… according to both artists, the June dates are completely canceled but according to ticketmaster, Brooke Fraser is still playing so I can’t get a refund. Um. Y’all need to talk amongst yourselves and get back to me when I can get my money back please.
In better news… yesterday was Good Friday which meant I had the day off from work *and* I got to spend the day with this handsome man:
Isn’t he the cutest thing ever?
We waited in line for the Easter bunny for about 2 hours, which doesn’t feel that long when you’re with a baby that does this all the time:
Blurry but when he smiles he kind of squeals and shakes his head at the same time. Melts. My. Heart.
Even when he spits up alllll down the front of your shirt, it’s all good. Oh my goodness, I don’t know how my friend does it – if he were my child, I would stare at him and play with him all day long. I wouldn’t ever clean the house or anything. As it was, I stayed with them pretty much the whole day and didn’t run like I had planned or anything… I just couldn’t leave! 🙂
Meanwhile, I’m going to 2 weddings this summer (I’ve been invited to 4 but seeing as how plane rides are required for all of them, I can only attend 2) and I’ve been keeping my eye out for something cute to wear. Enter, this dress:
From White House Black Market.
What do we think? I need to go try it on but I have to wait til payday before I get too attached to it.. I like the bright colors and it seems like it would be flattering, although my legs are normal length and not as long as the model so we’ll have to see. I’m in love with it but it’s kind of pricey… but so pretty!!
Couch to 5K graduate!
Well, I’ve finally done it. I am officially a C25K graduate!
Where’s my medal dangit??
It feels like just yesterday that I was starting out with the program. Just yesterday that I could barely survive the 60 seconds of jogging. And now I am able to run 30 minutes at a time… who would have ever thought?
Actually, to tell the truth, I’m not just running 30 minutes at a time. For the last week or so I’ve been ignoring my C25K app when it tells me my running time is over and I’ve continued running… on Monday I was able to finally reach 3.1 miles in 34 minutes, meaning that running my first 5K is completely possible. Quite the relief, I’m sure you understand. Although yesterday I ran 3.1 miles in about 38 minutes so… apparently I’m getting slower?
Now the question that remains is… what next? I think I do well with directions and boundaries… having a set 9 week schedule helped keep me on track and pushed me to continue to stay with running longer than I ever have in the past. I first thought I could work on the Bridge to 10K program, as it seems to flow right from the 5K program… but the very first workout consists of 10 minute run intervals. I feel like now that I’m able to finally run 30 minutes at a time, going back down to shorter intervals seems like a step back. Am I wrong for thinking that? My other option is One Hour Runner, which progressively gets you running longer times.. but the first 3 weeks are all 30 minute runs, which is already getting old from C25K, especially since I’ve been running a bit longer than that anyway.
So I don’t know what program I’m going to do next… I’m open to suggestions. For now, I have less than a week and a half until my first 5k (eek!) so I’m going to spend that time trying to run at least that distance, if not more. (There’s still time to donate to my fundraising btw… just in case you were worried about that.)
Actually, for now I’m going to relax because today is my rest day and my ankle needs to recover. I’m going to bask in the knowledge that I completed the C25K program. And I’m going to let you all tell me how awesome I am for finishing.. or just how awesome I am in general. 🙂
This is how my brain works…
I have the most random brain in the world, I swear. I’ll be listening to my friend telling me about their weekend and suddenly something they said reminds me of something different (let’s say, a book I just read), which will remind me of something else (maybe, a new shirt I bought the other day) and then that’ll remind me of something else (um… I’m out of examples but you get my point) and I’m taking their conversation into unknown territory. It probably explains the weird looks I get when I follow up their story with one of mine. Anyway, while I was working on this blog post, it started going all over the place… so I went with it.
So the other day in class I was reading a book about giant pandas to my students. The book also mentions the lesser panda, which isn’t black and white like you’d expect. I showed my class the picture, and one of my little boys quietly says, “you have the same hair color”.
My long lost twin? Score.
I’ve been meaning to go back to my natural brunette, this may be the push I needed to finally go for it.
Speaking of brunettes… I have to confess, I watched the Lifetime movie William and Kate. Did anyone else watch? I am now obsessed with their upcoming wedding. *hangs head in shame* Okay the movie was super cheesy and I kinda wanted to get all teary eyed at the sunset proposal scene… at the same time that I wanted to throw some cheese at the TV.
And speaking of cheese (told you, random… but do you see how the flow goes now?)… my friend picked me up for lunch yesterday for some yummy Taco Cabana. I’ve been trying to be good about what I eat lately but figured Taco C wouldn’t be TOO bad… um. Damn. Apparently cheese enchiladas and rice = 760 calories. WHAT?! They should warn you about these things! A little “if you eat this, you won’t have enough calories left to eat dinner” sign on the menu is totally necessary. It’s a good thing I didn’t eat the beans that came with it… well that and I don’t like refried beans.
As if that weren’t bad enough, my mom went to La Madeleine yesterday and brought me back.. a chocolate croissant! Um, yum! I have fantastic memories of chocolate croissants… I remember being in England one summer when I was younger and eating one every morning with my Orangina. Oh yeah, I was totally a healthy child. I’m surprised my parents let me get away with that, now that I think about it..
Not a great shot but… well, it was begging to be eaten.
There may also have been an apple turnover the size of my head that I only intended to have a small bite of.. and that has curiously gone missing. No comment.
I totally would have run all that food off but yesterday was my rest day. Plus my ankle and knee were a bit sore from Monday’s run (a full 5k in 34 minutes… yay me?) so I’ve been trying to keep off my leg, have it elevated, etc. Today is my final day of C25K and I’m hoping to run it without any problems… It’s feeling better now, thankfully.
Oh and finally… I’ve become blog obsessed. Seriously. I love blogrolls (which reminds me, I need to beef mine up) because I hop from blog to blog and add them all to my google reader. I’m still looking for more so if you have a blog I haven’t heard of, let me know! And if you arrived on my blog because I left a comment on your blog… hi. I’m usually normal. Won’t you stick around? 🙂
Okay I think I’m done rambling. Hope you were able to follow all that. If you were, I’m totally impressed.
Stopping for Daisies 