I was at the gym yesterday and I saw this commercial and although I couldnt hear it I thought it was super cute.

Fatherhood.org has been putting out these PSA's to get dads more involved with their kids but this was the first one I had seen. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my mom was gone my sister, dad and I would make monster masks out of paper plates and paper bags and we would run around trying to scare each other and building forts. Good times.

Work Vent!

It has been a little while since I vented about work, even longer since I vented about the old man (what I call my dad when I am annoyed) but sometimes he can just make no sense and be a bit of a diva.

Yesterday he asked me to make him copies of the various logs for a job that he was going to be attending a meeting for. Ok, no big deal. He told me the meeting would be at 2 today and that he didnt need them right away. Since I am slammed at work and have been for the past few weeks I wasnt able to get to them until this morning. I also was continually interrupted by phone calls etc so I wasnt able to get them copied at the same time but went back and forth. At about 9:30 he reminds me that he needs the logs. I had done about half of them at that point so I told him I was on it. I finish copying all the logs before I could hand them to him an issue with another project came up that I had to get to so they were sitting on my desk. The morning goes on and the old man leaves without telling me so I wasnt aware he was gone and by about 1:30 I ask my mom where he was because I had left the logs and a submittal on his desk to take to the meeting. She isnt sure and calls him and he is already on his way to the meeting and when she asks about getting the logs and he responds "no, she didnt have them ready".

WTF!!! I had them effing ready, they were just on my desk and not his. Does he want me to gift wrap them and leave them at his feet for fucks sake? And why would he not just ask me when he was leaving where they were? It would have taken 2 seconds for me to hand them to him. But because he is either too important to not be bothered by that or he forgot about the logs and blames me because I didnt shove them in his face to remind him. And how was I supposed to know he was leaving in the morning and wouldnt be back bfore his 2 o'clock meeting? It is just ridiculous and even if I tried to reason with him he would tell me to stop arguing with him and walk away. The old man is not dense but sometimes I think he has cotton between his ears.

Oh how I loathe WinCo. Everytime I go there I end up leaving in a bad mood because of how rude and obnoxious people are. Obviously they have good prices which is why I go but a ot of people who shop there could use a lesson on politeness and common curtesy.

Since WinCo is right by my work I go there on lunch breaks, which is what I did today. I knew it wasnt going to be pretty because schools are out and people are shopping for Thanksgiving but I needed grocceries so I braved it. Naturally it was a zoo. I am not sure what is worse the kids running around and not looking where they are going or whose way they are in or the old people who shuffle along completely unaware that there are even other people around them. And without fail everytime I go I will inevitibly end up trapped in an aisle. Today was fun because the person blocking me was on a cell phone and not paying any attention so she was distracted and trying to find something and not only blocking my way with her cart but also talking and cursing loudly on her phone with children around.

But my favorite moment was when a lady ran into me with her cart, nailing me right about where my achilles is and she didnt even apologize. She stopped and looked right at me when I looked back but said nothing. Thanks lady. Bah!

Does anyone know of any restaraunts that will be open for Thanksgiving, excluding fast food?

The Holidays

For Christmas this year I intend to make the majority of my Christmas presents as well as all of my Christmas cards. I usually think about doing this every year and by the time Christmas rolls around I will have procrastinated too much and end up buying something because it is easier. Hopefully I will be able to get my act together and follow through on that this year.
Not only can this be economical but I really enjoy [attempting] being crafty and making things. This is especially true around the holidays. It will give me something to do with my free time though since I am in need of another hobby besides going to the gym and then hanging out in front of the tv until I go to bed.

For Thanksgiving this year my family and I are nixing the turkey dinner. There are only 3 of us and we see each other everyday so holidays are not exactly special at the moment. So we decided to do something different instead and are volunteering at a retirement home. I assumed we will be serving dinner, but we are going to be getting there at 10:30. I know seniors like to eat early but thats a little ridiculous so I dont know what we are going to do. It will be nice to spend time with my parents in that setting though and to be able to hopefully bring a smile to someone who doesnt get to spend time with their own family. Of course they may just be grumpy and find me as charming as a rock and throw food at me. Either way it will give me something to blog about. And since I am not a huge fan of the turkey dinner, I doubt I will miss it.

Anyway thats what is going on with my holidays. Anyone have any cool plans or things they are looking forward to?

Oh and one last thing. I think it would be fun if we take a road trip up to Yosemite sometime over the winter. I don't think I have been there in the winter yet and I think it would be beautiful.

I love the fog. I had forgotten how much I love it until I woke up this morning and saw it settled in around the neighborhood. Like rainy days, foggy days change my mood. With a thick blanket of fog around me I feel unseen and unnoticed. Maybe because I can't look out and see the world through the thick fog, I see within myself more clearly too. I like that fog is completely silent and it comes in with stealth, sneaking in while we sleep or while we are inside and covering everything in a thick, wet soupy haze while we are completely unaware of its presence. I like that when you walk through it you can feel tiny little flecks of moisture hitting your face and exposed skin. When I was young, my aunt used to tell me that tiny little fairies were dancing around in the air and what you feel hitting your face are the fairies kissing you. I think about that every time I walk in the fog and it makes me happy and comforted. I like that everything looks different when it is foggy. The same things I see everyday of my life take on new shapes and shadows and it feels like a different world. Familiar landmarks fade into the fog and turns you have made thousands of times are easily passed by. I like that you can go one block in pea soup fog and the very next block it is sunny and bright. Fog is discerning and it goes where it wants to and not where it doesnt want to. I like fog at night and the way street lamps are eerily obscured by it. I like the way a lone person walking down the street looks walking in the fog, a dark mysterious silhouette. I like the fog, it reminds me of home.

This is absolutely the most disgusting thing I have ever heard of, Turbaconducken (Turducken Wrapped in Bacon). That’s right — a chicken stuffed in duck stuffed in a turkey, all wrapped in bacon. Otherwise known as a bacon-wrapped turducken. To all you Atkins dieters, you can have it, thats just too much meat for me.

The Best and the Worst

Bravo To Reese Witherspoon who absolutely nailed it at a party last night:

This is a very classy yet glamorous look and every detail is perfect. I love her hair, the dress and accessories are great and I adore the shoes. I actually saw these shoes at Banana Republic and wanted them but they were too expensive, go figure (but if anyone is feeling generous, Christmas is coming up). Reese isnt a celebrity I normally think of that is known for fashion but perhaps I have underestimated her style, she looks great.

And on the other hand:

For some reason Maggie Gyllenhaal always likes to dress like an old lady. She sort of has an older looking face anyway and this outfit is not helping her look any younger. She could pull off that classic glamourous look really well too but she is also very anti Hollywood so I guess this is just her style. Maybe she should just get away from the Golden Girls look every once in awhile.

It is Friday right, not Monday?

I woke up early today all bright eyed and bushy tailed so I decided to get ready so I could stop by Starbucks on my way to work. I attempted to do this yesterday but when I got there the line was too long so I had to bail. Since the weather is a little coolerand cloudy today I was really craving a hot chai latte which I havent had since last winter. So I left my apartment 15 minutes early so I had time to stop and when I got there the line was even longer then yesterday and they were understaffed. I stood there for about 5 minutes and they literally had helped 2 people so I did the math and realized I would be here 20 minutes easily and I would be late to work so once again I had to bail, which annoyed me. I was really craving that latte and I left 15 minutes early! Bah.

I also just gave myself a nasty ass paper cut. Why do I let the little things bother me, I dont know but they do. Oh and NPR is doing their pledge drive right now and let me just tell you it is so incredibly obnoxious. Every 20 minutes they give you a guilt trip and act really snarky. They even called someone the other day whose friend emailed and ratted on her and asked her why she hadnt joined yet and pressured her into doing it until she did. Not cool.

Maybe I should put on my Bob Marley and mellow out.

LIFE Photo Archive Hosted By Google

Google and Life Magazine have gotten together to release millions of photographs from the 1750's to today. I love looking at old photography so I could spend hours looking through all of the archives, here is just a taste:
This one is from the Civil War

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Not sure the date, but I love the way the light looks(Ed this might be a cool painting)


I love how fancy people used to dress. I also really like how the top of this dress looks, it makes my mind whirl with how it could be updated for a more modern look. I could look at fashion photography for days though, especially vintage, they just look so impecable.



You can search for just about anything so if you have some time to waste, browse the archives. You can even order and frame any of the prints.

Hot Tamale!

The best part of my day so far was when the tamale lady came in with her fresh hot chicken tamales this morning. Every once in awhile she will come to our office and sell us homemade tamales which sounds sort of strange since she makes them in her house and most certainly does not have a business license but they are fresh and authentic and freakin good. I look forward to my lunch today.

Nooooooo!

More staches making men ugly:




When will it end?

I think I am going to try to train for my next marathon using this:

Tee Hee.

see more pwn and owned pictures

Mustaches: Ruining Previously Hot Celebrities

*sigh* And they used to be so dreamy...

Things I am enjoying right now:

1. Aveda comforting tea - The salon I now go to makes their own tea, nifty. I normally don't like any flavored teas but this one knocks my socks off. 100% organic and caffiene free it contains licorice root and peppermint flavor and just tastes really good. Since I have had a cough for a week now and have started losing my voice (I feel completely fine though) it is really soothing.

2. Beanie Wells-hurdler or football player? Either way I am impressed.


3.The weather. It's the best of both worlds right now, warm and the trees are changing color. Seriously take a moment to enjoy it. Very soon the weather will be crappy, cold and foggy and the trees will be bare, so depressing.

Thats it for now. Enjoy the day.

Here is a link to my lovely marathon photo. I feel like it needs a caption. I am not creative enough at the moment to think of one so feel free to do it for me.

Girls on The Run

After adding up all of thew donations that I recieved from my generous frinds and family I was able to raise $1,153 for Girls on the Run International! I think this is a very worthy organization and I am proud to be able to support it. Hopefully someday there can be a local chapter of Girls on The Run because I would love to be more involved in it and there are many girls in the Fresno area that could benefit from it. So thank you to everyone, I know the economy isn't great right now so the fact that you were willing to open your wallet to help young girls warms my heart.

I got an email from Girls on the Run that featured a story written by one of the coaches. I included it below because it illustrates what this organization does for girls and what your money is going to:


Sierra was in Girls on the Run. She was a big girl and some of her classmates called her fat.

Two-thirds of the way through the 12-week program the girls attempt their first 3.1 mile run or walk. Sierra did not believe she could do it. While the majority of girls in the group were running past her, I could see Sierra looking at them with envy. "My body can never do this."
While Sierra stubbornly trudged through two miles, all of the other girls had finished and were socializing at a nearby picnic table.
Among them was Jordan. Jordan was the fastest runner. She was a slender third-grader and always finished first. On this day, Jordan noticed something special. She noticed that Sierra had gone further than she ever had. She walked to the edge of the track. "Sierra, you've gone further than you ever have! Come on, you can do it," she yelled joyfully.

In that moment, I witnessed a light-THE light-sparkle in Sierra's eyes. The realization that "I CAN do this" transformed her trudging into a jog, her attitude into a kick and her body into a machine. With every ounce of her being, Sierra started to jog, then run, huffing and puffing every step of the way. She smiled with each step--moving her strong body effortlessly over the pavement.
Before the last lap was complete all 16 girls had joined her. She had done it. The body that never would--could. A smile, as big as California, stretched across Sierra's beautiful face; sweat glistened on her brow.

On that day, Sierra took her body back. She took it back from the magazines, from the movies and from the MTV images. She took her body back from the teacher that told her she was lazy and from the classmates who called her fat. Big. Strong. Beautiful. Bold. Her body was her body and she took it back.
Millions of people across our planet run and each has a unique motivation for doing so.. For me, thanks to Sierra and the other beautiful and diverse girls that I celebrate with at finish lines all across the country, I run for joy, wonder and gratitude for this remarkable thing we call the human spirit.

Swoon!

Oh my heart skipped a beat when I saw this dress:



It is a beautiful silk in a gorgeous color, I love the asymmetrical neckline and the way it is gathered and drapped at the waist is super flattering. I would definitely accessorize it differently. In the summer that dress with look great with yellow heels and a tan. For the winter, less chunky shoes, maybe tights and I dont do jewelry very much so something more dainty than that ugly necklace.

That 25% off card is just burning a hole through my pocket right now...

I Forgot

Last week Annie and I had dinner at Mr. Sushi and Amber Fry came in. I forgot to mention it probably because it was quite forgetable but it was one of those classic Fresno celebrity moments.

Fine.

Per Ed's request I am throwing up a new post. As fascinating as my bowels are to me, it is probably not something everyone else wants to keep reading. This I understand.
I just havent had much to say lately because I have been super busy at work. Typically I have one project closing out at a time and right now I have 5. The close out process is slow and painstaking and on top of that I have 2 projects starting up, which is also time consuming. It isnt such a bad deal though, I prefer being busy to being bored. It has prevented me from posting much though.

Here is what is on my mind:
-I really loathe those hippie headbands people are wearing. Very very few people can pull that off, and everyone else just look dumb (ahem Carrie Underwood and Miley Cyrus)


-Does anyone else think it is strange that Beyonce has an "alter ego" that she talks about frequently as if she is a real person different from herself? Sasha Fierce is the name of Beyonce's alter ego (or split personality, lets just be honest here) and she had this to say about her:
"I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm on stage, this alter ego that I've created that kind of protects me and who I really am."
Ummm I think that if someone were not a celebrity and said crap like that about having a personality that protects them and talks about them and even creates a myspace page for them might be kindly escorted to the mental hosiptal. But since it is Beyonce, it's kinda cool. I think it might be the beginning of her own personal mental breakdown, watch out Britney, you may have some company on the crazy train.

-They changed the date of the LA Marathon this year to Memorial Day weekend. Still a little bothered by my last performance I cant say I am not tempted. I wouldnt have to start training until March and I really love running this race so I am considering it...

-Finally, a shout out to my very very good friend Melissa who is a doctor of Pharmacy and works and teaches at USC school of Pharmacy. She made the directory so she is official! She is the smartest and hardest working person that I know and I am very proud of her and her success. Bravo!

My Bowels Are Sooo Irritable

I went to my follow up appointment with my doctor yesterday and was told that after all the tests, I most likely have irritable bowel syndrome. It is a common condition, particularly with females my age (for reasons unknown) and also with runners. Since the onset of my stomach problems coincided with the start of my training, it might have been the catalyst.

There is no test to confirm IBS or any real treatment though, you just have to find what works for you. Increasing my fiber intake by taking fiber supplements has helped and not eating as many wheat products has also helped so I will keep doing that. Keeping tums, pepto bismol, gas-x etc. on hand is also a good idea to treat the symptoms.

I have to say I am relieved to hear it. I think your mind naturally thinks about the worst case scenarios so when you hear the disgnosis it is never as bad as you think. I could also be a bit of a hypochondriac thanks to WebMD. I will be interested to see if running less makes any difference too.

So if I am ever crabby just blame it on my bowels, they are irritable.

Post Marathon Recap

Yesterday I finally ran the marathon I had been training 3 months for. I am happy that it is over and I although I did improve my PR by 25 minutes and came in within the time frame I wanted, I am definitely not completely satisfied. I went out too fast, which is the mistake I always seem to make. I was feeling really good when I started out and for the first 13 miles so I got a little too big for my britches and around mile 17, I started slowing down and hit the notorious wall. That coupled with the wind prevented me from achieving my 4 hour goal and ended up with the time of 4:20.

I am not completely disapointed, but there is always room for improvement. I know that I put all the effort into it that I possibly could, but I wasnt smart and made mistakes. Overall, I am pleased but in the back of my mind I know I can do better and because of that I will most likely attempt 26.2 miles again in the future. But not anytime soon. I am looking forward to getting back to the gym and being able to workout without the pressure and rigidity of training. I would like to take some yoga classes and do some bike riding and try new weight training techniques. I will still run but for fun and not be so focused on hitting a certain mileage or speed. By next fall, I should feel ready to try it again.

I was also very impressed with the inagural marathon that Fresno put on. They did a superb job and I never encountered any hiccups that can occur in larger marathons. They had plenty of water and gatorade, a ton of volunteers and the course was clearly marked. And although in theory the hot breakfast and ice cream sundae sounds excellent, I was in no condition to enjoy that. There were a lot more spectators than I expected and that is always nice to see.

And speaking of spectators I am incredibly grateful that my parents, Kendall, Rob, Adam, Ed, Heather, Mike, Brian, Annie and Reagan all came out to support me. It really meant a lot to me to have everyone there to see what marathons are like and understand this aspect of my life. So thank you, it made my day:)

As far as how I am feeling today, I feel really great. The only thing that is sore are my calves and even that isnt very bad. I anticipated a better recovery but this was even better than I expected. Sometimes the soreness doesnt set in until 2 days later though so hopefully tomorrow I will still feel good.

Thanks again to all of you and next year, I will do even better. I may need some people at around mile 5 yelling at me to slow down though:)

More Marathon Stuff

Only 2 days away now and I am itching to run this thing. This is the first time I have trained for a race and didnt feel like I could use a few more weeks of training. I don't know if that will mean I will run it any faster, but I anticipate less pain during and after the race.

The race has sold out too, which is exciting. It shows that there is a bigger running community in Fresno and the surrounding areas than people may think. There will be 3,000 runners which is pretty small but they plan on expanding that to 10,000 by 2010. To put that into perspective when I ran the LA marathon, there were 30,000 runners and 1,000,000 spectators. I have only run big races so I am interested to see how a smaller race compares. I will probably miss the massive amounts of spectators in past races (they really help!) but I also wont have to weave through slower runners for the first 3 miles so that will be nice.

Tomorrow is the Expo and packet pick up day. I am volunteering there for a few hours, handing out packets to registered runners. Anyone can go to the expo, they set up food, beverage, clothing and other various booths that are running specific. Typically I just pick up my packet, grab a few free samples and leave but I am really interested in hearing the keynote speaker, Katherine Switzer. She snuck into the Boston Marathon when women werent allowed to run in 1967. When the race director found out and tried to physically remove her boyfriend body checked him and she finished the race unscathed. It baffles me that only 40 years ago, people didnt think women could run marathons and now more women run marathons than men.

I need to add up the total money I have fundraised for Girls on The Run, but I am over $1,000 so that makes me happy. I feel good that thanks to my generous friends and family, I will be able to give money to an organization that I really respect. Not a day goes by that young girl isnt subjected to unrealistic images of what they should look like so it is an uphill battle but I truly believe running and physical fitness cant help overcome that. Thank you again for everyone who donated.


Oh, there is also another map of street closures on the marathon website of you want to check that out.

Alright people,I am requesting your assistance at creating a marathon playlist for my ipod. I have been pretty much listening to the same playlists the entire time I have been training and after hearing the same songs over and over again, my enthusiasm for them has diminished and I need some new tunes. Anything that you can suggest from your varied musical backgrounds that you think might be a good song to run to I am willing to give a shot. I need at least 4 hours of music so bring it on!

This is why I love runners. They do crazy things like run a mile with a rapid fox clamped on their arm and then pry it off, throw it in the trunk and drive themselves to the hospital. You just gotta love that.

Politics

I am going to make this short and sweet as politics are not my forte. For two years I have been listening to the rhetoric of this Presedential campaign and I grew very tired of it. I grew tired of the nastiness, the twisting of facts and the heated discussions that arose. Frankly rhetoric only means so much to me because you can promise me the world but until its in my hand it doesn't much matter.

I did my job as an American citizen though and researched the platforms of each candidate, kept my ears open and made my decision. What I never fully considered though was just how historic Obama being elected would be.

I wasn't going to watch the coverage last night because 1) I dont have a working remote so I couldnt flip back and forth to see who the winner is and 2) I was again tired of hearing about it but at about 8:30 I started watching a live stream of the coverage online and quickly saw that Obama had won, which really wasnt a suprise. But as I kept watching it finally registered what this means. Looking at the faces of the people waiting for Obama to speak in Chicago, the crowds in NY, the young people, blacks, whites, hispanics etc all together and celebrating, you could see on their faces that this was not just another presidential election. This is a fundamental change in how people see politics in America. It is a changing of the guard from politics as usual to one that more fully represents this country and I was overcome with emotion that I didnt expect. It isnt just that he is the first black president and he has made his race believe that anything is possible, he has made everyone believe that anything is possible and is bringing

The hard work still lies ahead however and I am eager to see what Obama can do for this country in action and not just in rhetoric. But for now I just want to take it all in and fully understand what this means to the country and to me.

And yes, I did feel bad for McCain, but he gave a great concession speech and I think he knew it was coming. He was up against something bigger than just another candidate.

I Loathe Cosmo Magazine

This is the new cover of Cosmo magazine featuring Jessica Simpsons and includes a plethora of articles that are written with as much intellgence as Jessica Simpson herself. Actually that is probably insulting to Jessica, but she did try to make a career out of being a dumb blonde so she brought it on herself.

Looking at the featured articles this month, the first thing that stands out to me is an article titled "The Trick That Attracts Hot Guys Like Crazy" and next to that is the article "How To Outsmart Your Date Rapist". They must have put those in the same issue just in case the tricks to attract hot guys like crazy worked too well. Way to be thinking Cosmo!

Then you have the very important article "Your Orgasm Face: What He Is Thinking When He Sees It". How could this possible need an entire article to discuss. He is thinking, "Yes! I did a good job!" Do w really need to analyze that anymore?

And to continue on their obsession of appealing to men, you have "Sexy vs. Skanky" because you want to be able to trick guys into noticing how sexy you are but not be one of those girls. And finally, "Total Body Sex: Those Bed Shaking Techniques That Will Have Any Man Quivering With Pleasure From Head To Toe". Yes ladies, we need to please our men or they may cheat on you. But Cosmo thinks of everything because if you visit their website that are several articles on how to keep your man from cheating on you, phew.

How do you a keep a man from cheating you ask? Well it is very simple, you just need to do (3) things: 1) make friends with any possible girl he may hook up with so she will be more reluctant to screw your boy friend, 2) Ask him questions (but not too many questions or he will think you talk too much)so he doesnt emotionally get involved with someone else and then bang her and 3) Stay on his mind - put a picture of the two of you at his desk so he is reminded how awesome you guys are together.

It is crap articles like these that make women believe that love and relationships consist of nothing more than games that we play and tricking men to fall in love with us. I have had friends that obsessed over playing the game, always thinking of what their next move would be, how long they would wait before returning a text, what exactly they would say, and over analyzing the smallest of things. No matter how much I and others would insist that in real relationships, games arent going to matter but being yourself and being honest will, it fell on deaf ears. That is until they fell in love without playing games and finally got it. But for a lot of girls, reading Cosmo and other magazines like this shape how they view love and relationships. If you look at the types of articles these magazines boast you will find a great many articles on how to land a man, how to keep a man and how to make sure he is happy in bed. The trifecta of what should be most important to women everywhere. If you arent in love, it isnt tht you just havent met the right guy, women YOU are doing something wrong and here are the tricks on how to fix it.

For the love Cosmo, stop holding women to such an antiquated mindset!

Today starts my last week before the marathon, and it is going to be a tough week for me. I am used to spending about 2 hours out of my day at the gym, including walking to and from the gym. When I get home I am exhuasted and I eat dinner, take a shower watch a little tv and go to sleep.

I will run 3 times this week, a 4 miler and two 3 milers I believe. I cant do any leg exercises but I can do a little upper body and core work. In any case I seriously dont know what to do with myself when I dont go to the gym and I get depressed if I dont work out. I dont want to sit at home and watch tv so I was thinking I would read a new book. Can anyone suggest something that I may like? I just finished Water for Elephants which was ok, entertaining but somewhat predictable. I dont want anything too intense but something I can bring to the coffee shop and waste some extra time I have.

Suggestions?

UPDATE: I just checked the weather report again and now it is showing a high of 69 degrees and no rain. Perfection.