Love Story

Last night I watched the movie Love Story with Ali McGraw and Ryan O'Neal. I love this movie, even though it makes me cry everytime I see it. It is on par with Old Yeller as far as tear jerking goes. But aside from the story itself I have a huge girl crush on Ali McGraw, or more specifically her character Jenny in that movie. The movie was made in 1970 and I love just about everything she wears. From the camel coat:


to the red dress she wears to meet his parents and the hockey game outfit, she is my fashion idol. I also love her smart ass personality but her wardrobe is what I have a crush on. I couldn't get many stills from the movie so check out this trailer for more style:



I would also reccomend this movie if you want to have a good cry. If you don't feel like crying, don't watch it. It tells you it is going to be sad with the opening line yet you still hope this time she will be ok. *Sigh* She never is.

The Weekend - and some exciting news...

This weekend Mike was gone to Arizona to visit his brother and I decided to take the opportunity to get a crap load of work done around the house.

The middle bedroom or office that I have neglected since I moved in had become a complete disaster. It still had unpacked boxes and furniture and all of the random stuff I didnt know what to do with in it and it literally looked like a bomb went off in there. I couldn't even walk through it and I kept the door shut at all times. I swear everytime I would walk by it it would whisper "psst. what about me?" and whenever I would be sitting down or relaxing I would be thinking that I should be working on that room. It was a huge weight on my shoulders and even though Mike offered to help me with it, I felt like it was something I needed to do on my own. It was my stuff, my junk, my problem.

So starting Friday night I cleared everything out of it and put it in the guest room, which then became the complete disaster, but I needed to start from scratch and have room to move in order to get it done right. Saturday I began the procrastination process I have perfected over the years. I started the day early by going to the gym for 2 1/2 hours. I had to run 5 miles at pace for my training anyway and since I was there I should do a leg workout oh and I definitely need to do some abs too and I really should be stretching more. You see I can justify that procrastination because I am doing something productive, it's not like I am just sitting on my ass and being lazy, even if I am not getting done what I need to get done.

When I got home I then started working on another project, bringing all the succulents in from outside for the winter and figuring out how to display them. I put a shelving unit up in the family room against the big blank wall so I used that to put them all on. Of course I had to water them, clean the pots and get all of the dead parts off first though and with abut 30 succulents, that takes awhile. Then I re-arranged that room by moving the bookcase to the other side so I can put my very old desk with the iron work legs where the bookcase was. This also took awhile because I had to try to gently drag the furniture by myself over the hardwood that I didn't want to scratch and that desk was heavy!

But enough productive procrastination as I like to call it, I had to get to work on that room. Now I am not someone who has trouble throwing stuff away, there is not an ounce of hoarder in me, so I quickly had multiple bags of trash, stuff to give to the salvation army and stuff to go to the shredder. Ahhh I felt cleansed and light after that. Then I decided to tackle those damn ugly hideous curtains. Those bastards were ridiculously rigged up. Naturally, my electric drill failed on me too so I had to do all of the unscrewing by hand and there were approximately 6 brackets, all of which had 2-3 screws in them. I was a woman possessed though and those things were not going to beat me, so I didn't stop until I had everything down. Take that you bastard curtains! The next day I continued the process in the guest room so there are no more ugly curtains in my house, woo hoo! Before I knew it, it was 9 PM and I was exhausted so I watched the end of White Christmas, drooled at their outfits, and went to bed.

Sunday morning I had to do just a 6 miler so I went to Woodward and it was pretty chilly but it seems I run a lot better in the cold. I ended up doing 7 because I felt so good (more productive procrastination). Went back home and I had to furiously work before I had to pick up Mike at the airport at 5. In addition to putting the office together I was also re organizing the guest bedroom and all of the closests. This is where the exciting news comes in. The reason I am organizing the closests is so I can make room for Mike's stuff as he will be moving in with me. He has practicially lived there for the past 4 months anyway and even though I have never co-habitaded with a boy, I am absolutely ready for it and excited about it.

I have never felt so myself around someone and the fact that we can spend so much time together and I don't feel the need for space is HUGE for me. Typically the reason I need space is because being around people is very tiring and can be stressful to me. I like to be able to just not have to talk and just be completely relaxed which is hard for me to do around most people besides my family. With Mike though I never feel that stress, I don't have to think about what I say before I say it and I do not put up a wall (which I admittidly do in most situations for reasons I would probably have to go to therapy to figure out but I don't and just accept thats how I am). Part of the reason I was able to take down the wall with him is because he likes to talk about how he is feeling and about what he thinks so I never had to try to figure him out. His motivations, intentions and what he is thinking is always completely clear to me, he is an open book and I have never had that in a relationship. Turns out when you know what the other person is thinking and they don't keep things to themselves, you feel comfortable doing the same, go figure. I don't feel I have to protect myself with him and even though it is scary to make myself vulnerable, it also feels really good.

I guess to some 4 months seems quick, and before this relationship I would be one of those people, but he is my best friend and I love sharing my life with him and it just feels natural to share my house as well. So with that motivation in my mind, I made room in all of my closests and my life for Mike:)

It was an exhausting weekend but well worth the hard work. I will have pictures up soon, I just didn't get around to taking them yesterday. Oh and I also made a really good chicken tortilla soup yesterday that I will post the recipe for at some point today. It is easy but it has a lot of ingredients so it feels like I am a fancy chef when I make it, plus it is just really good:) Perfect for the chilly weather.

Product Rave

Every so often I will come across a beauty product that impresses me so much I feel the need to blog about it. Since I don't spend a lot of money on beauty products, even though I have always heard good things about Bumble and Bumble Surf Spray at $22 bucks a pop for a 4 oz container, I never splurged and got some. However I was always intrigued that this product allegedly gave you that windswept, salty beach hair look because heck yes I want to look like this:

(Of course when I really do go to the beach my hair ends up looking nothing like this, much to my shagrin)

In the morning it takes me an additional 10-15 minutes to blow dry my hair, which means I have to wake up at 5:30 every morning if I don't shower at night. That is awfully early and sometimes I just want to sleep in just a little bit more. I tried letting my hair dry naturally and it wasn't very pretty, more frizzy and unkempt, so I decided to bite the bullet and try some Surf Spray.

This product is outfuckinstanding and worth every penny. My hair seriously looks like that and I didn't have a professional hair stylist (take that Jessica and Kate). I just groggily spray my damp hair and scrunch it a few times and viola! It holds the waves and is not at all crunchy or hard but feels soft to the touch and shines. You can also spray it on hair that hasn't been washed and it is supposed to work wonders then too but I dont usually go a day without showering so I cannot attest to that but I believe it because if I respray throughout the day, it keeps looking great. I keep waiting for someone to say "Hey Kasey, your hair looks so beachy, did you just come from the beach??" It'll happen. I am sure.

I like my hair long but I am too lazy/busy/unmotivated to spend a lot of time on it so this product is perfect for me. I just wish I had gotten it sooner. Bravo Bumble and Bumble!

I found this on Etsy and I like it quite a bit. Thinking about getting it for the house...

It is also fairly large (18" x 24") and inexpensive, both of which are always a huge plus for me and my budget. Plus it is kitschy and I love all things cactus:)

On the sanctity of marriage

Via Jezebel, a clip of Sen. Diane Savino stating why she believes gay marriage should be legal.


If you don't have sound, here are some quotes:

"I'm over the age of 40 and that's all you're going to get from me, but I have never been able to maintain a relationship of the length or the quality that Tom and Lewis have."

"Turn on the television. We have a wedding channel on cable TV devoted to the behavior of people on the way to the altar. They spend billions of dollars, behave in the most appalling way, all in an effort to be princess for a day. You don't have cable television? Put on network TV. We're giving away husbands on a game show. You can watch The Bachelor, where thirty desperate women will compete to marry a 40-year-old man who has never been able to maintain a decent relationship in his life."
"That's what we've done to marriage in America, where young women are socialized from the time they're five years old to think of being nothing but a bride. They plan every day what they'll wear, how they'll look, the invitations, the whole bit, they don't spend five minutes thinking about what it means to be a wife. People stand up there before god and man even in Senator Diaz's church, they swear to love honor and obey, they don't mean a word of it. So if there's anything wrong with the sanctity of marriage in America, it comes from those of us who have the privilege and the right and have abused it for decades."

If you can hear/watch the speech though, I would reccomend it. It plays well with the current push to ban divorce in California (Ed posted about this recently as well)

It's the Sesamoid by golly!

For the life of me I don't know why it took so long for me to figure this one out but I have finally self diagnosed the pain in my big toe as Sesamoiditis. For about 10 months now I have had pain in what I always refered to as the big toe joint in my left foot. The pain at times would cause a noticeable limp, particularly if I wore high heels for a long period or was on my feet for awhile and I always have to wear shoes around my house because if I go barefoot for long on the hardwood floor the pain would be bothersome. When the pain first started it was much worse than it is now, but it is definitely sore on a daily basis even though I have grown pretty used to it by now.

Here is what the toe looks like:


A sesamoid bone is a bone found inside a tendon where it passes over a joint. A tendon is a strong band of connective tissue which attaches a muscle to a bone. Your body has several sesamoid bones. The largest sesamoid bone is your patella, or kneecap. The ball of your foot contains two small sesamoid bones, the medial (inner side) and lateral (outer side) sesamoids. These sesamoids act as pulleys for the tendons and help flex or curl your big toe. When you run and jump these sesamoid bones absorb much of your body weight. So my poor little sesamoids have been taking a pounding for quite some time.

Symptoms can include:

Symptoms incude:
-Pain when moving the big toe, especially lifting the big toe up -- Yup
-Tenderness to touch at the ball of the foot -- Definitely
-Pain when walking, running, jumping, or standing -- oh yeah
-Swelling--Maybe slightly but nothing major

Oh and here is the kicker, wearing high heels contributes to the problem. Whaaat? you mean my adorable heels are not good for me feet??? Yeah not so much suprised but I own one pair of flats that are 4 years old and all of my pants and jeans I couldn't wear with flats because they would all drag on the floor. The good news is that I can wear whatever I want to work pretty much and even though I like to dress nicely, I can get away with wearing jeans and running shoes for a little while to help it heal.

The other treatments are:
-a special pad to wear that supports the bones
-a shoe insert that limits the motion of your big toe
-custom-made shoe inserts made for you (orthotics)
-tape your big toe to provide support and limit movement
-a removable walking cast to wear until the pain is gone
-anti-inflammatory medicine
-icing after exercise
-getting a cortisone shot

Obviously some of these are a little extreme in my case. I actually dont experience a great deal of pain while I run but it gets very sore later and standing for a long period of time is more painful. When I run I feel like I stretch my toes as a push off and it actually feels kinda good. Basically ibuprophen, tape and ice are my preferred treatment but if at the beginning of the year I am still experiencing pain I will go to the doc and at least get some orthotics. Right now I have only reached $800 of my $1,800 deductible so I might as wait until next year since I probably won't meet that deductable this year.

Anyway I have dealt with it for this long and even though I have done 2 weeks of almost 30 miles each week and havent had any increae in pain then it isn't getting worse and I can handle it as it is. It is nice to know what it is though!

And some pics...

This is the newest addition to my plant family, the Dragon Tree. I have been looking for a plant like that for awhile and I stumbled upon it at Lowe's and snatched it right up.


I wanted to hang these lighted balls from my Japanese Maple outside but the cords were too short and at least with these balls, a logistical nightmere so I decided to do something else with them and make a sort of abstract christmas tree.


This is one of the cats in the nighborhood that uses my backyard as a sanctuary. The other one is just as fat and orange. I hope he enjoys it while it lasts because as soon as a get a dog no more naps in the sun!


One of my orange trees. In a couple more weeks they should be ready to eat. I hope they taste good because I have a lot of them.


The second orange tree I have that is back in the corner wasn't much to look at but it also has a lot of oranges growing on it. Oranges are one of my favorite fruits so I can't wait until they are ready to eat.


I also have a lemon tree that is about ready to have its fruit picked.

It is really fun to have trees that produce fruit and it makes me want to grow more edibles. Basil, tomatoes, squash, rosemary, jalepenos - I just need to find the perfect spot and learn a little more about planting conditions and my spring I should be ready to plant.

My Thanksgiving weekend

I had a great looong weekend that went by entirely too quickly. I spent Thanksgiving with Mike and his family which was quite nice. I have never spent Thanksgiving or any holiday for that matter with a significant others family and it was cool to see a different take on the holiday. Besides the typical Thanksgiving faire they also had some mexican inspired dishes (Mikes mom is Mexican) like salsa, shredded beef and chili. All the food was delicious and everyone was very warm and welcoming, in particular the kids. Mike's nieces and nephews were a lot of fun and they showed me some outstanding pictures of Mike in his awkward stages:)

On Friday we went for a nice hike up in Oakhurst and farted around up there some. Saturday we had a pace run, which Mike was not supposed to do because of his injury so he only did 3 miles. Then we went to Big Lots and snatched up some bargains for Christmas lights and decorating stuff (pics to come). On Sunday Mike was my sherpa as I ran a 10 miler which ended well but was somewhat difficult. This is the furthest I have run since my last marathon over a year ago so it isn't very suprising that I struggled somewhat finding my stride. It is really annoying though that for no appearant reason you feel awkward and jerky. At about mile 6 or 7 I had a rough attack of the colon blows, which temporarily was relieved by a trip to the lovely park bathroom. I finished the run on a very high note though and found my natural stride and had energy to spare but then had a second attack that laid me out for a bit. It appears I am still having trouble with my stomach, which is also frustrating. All I can do is keep trying different foods until I find something I can stomach.

After the run it was Christmas decorating time! Mike put up the exterior lights and it made me feel like quite an adult that I was putting up lights on my first house:) I just used white lights so it is elegantly understated (aka boring). Inside I did some things but we haven't had time to get the Christmas tree yet.

Ok a little more detailed then need be but there you have it, my weekend.

Mmmm Sweet Potatoes

I have been in love with the sweet potato as of late. They are delicious, versatile and so far I have not been able to screw it up.

My love for this root vegetable started with a fry recipe. The potato is pretty sweet, as the name suggests, so contrasting that with spicy cayenne and chili powders results in a great flavor combination. I also like that although I love the way sweet potatoes taste, I can't eat a lot of them because they tend to fill me up fast.

Lately I have been branching out from the fries and moving on to mashed sweet potatoes. Last night I tried this recipe for Sweet Potatoes 'n' Pears. I tweaked the recipe a bit and instead of using brown sugar and butter, I added some low fat vanilla yogurt, pumpkin pie spice and sprinkled it with some crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. Oh my these were good. The cheese mellowed out the sweetness perfectly. The pears were also a really nice addition.

I haven't tried a sweet potato pie yet, quite possibly the most popular way to eat the potato. Actually I have never had any sweet potato pie but I have a feeling it is pretty high in calories and probably uses a lot of sugar and other high fat ingredients I don't need. If there is a lower fat/cal version though, I will find it:) I think sweet potatoes are so good as they are that it seems unnecessary to add much else anyway.

Nutritionally (according to Wikipedia), the Center for Science in the Public Interest compared the nutritional value of sweet potatoes to other vegetables. Considering fibre content, complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium, the sweet potato ranked highest in nutritional value. According to these criteria, sweet potatoes earned 184 points, 100 points over the next on the list, the common potato. A 100g root is reported to contain 108-121 calories and since they are somewhat high in carbs, they are a runners friend. All in all not too shabby.

If anyone has a sweet potato recipe they would like to share please do!

The Weekend

What a busy weekend! Saturday morning Mike and I had breakfast with his mom at Mimi's Cafe where we counted the Bump Its that we spotted on waitresses. I think the Bump Its must come with the uniform and they are strongly encouraged to wear them. Some of them look pretty ridiculous and the last time I was ther eI overhead this old man tell one of the waitresses that she looked "so classy!". Too funny. After breakfast we did a little bargain shopping and hit the gym.

Later I went over to hang out with Annie and her two beautiful daughters. Reagan was asleep when I came over but when she woke up she was a little energetic spitfire.

It is so fun to see what her new thing is everytime I visit. This time it was belly buttons (she wants to see yours) and dancing. Well I say dancing but really it is just jerking her hips from side to side which is great because I can totally do that with her and I look like I am just following her lead and no one knows I really can't dance and this is probably as good as it gets for me. Anyway those children are a joy and I love being their honorary aunt.

Sunday we woke up early to tackle our first long run of training, an 8 miler. Unfortunately Mike did not have a good experience. He almost immediately felt a pain on the outside of his knee and it slowed him way down. I felt really good, I seem to run well in cold weather so I went ahead and finished the 8 miler. Mike was able to do about 6 before he had to stop, which is good considering the pain he was in from the very start.

I looked up his symptoms and I am quite sure that he is suffering from a very common running ailment, Iliotibial Band Syndrome. ITB is inflammation of the thick band of fibrous tissue that runs down the outside of the leg. The function of the band is to help coordinate with the thigh muscles to stabilize the knee. Mike's is inflammed which causes him pain when he flexes his knee. We started training this week so his milage was increased from maybe around 10-15 miles to 26. Fortunately it won't end his running career and he needs to cut back on his mileage and there are specfic stretches and strengthening activities that can help prevent it from recurring. He was bummed but when it comes to distance running these things happen and he will bounce back.

After the run we worked in the yard raking leaves and mowing the lawn and did some housework. Since I had been gone the past two weekend things really piled up around the house and it was a lot of work to catch up on. We didn't finish everything we needed to but I didn't want to put it off until next weekend because next weekend I want to get to Christmas decorating and putting up lights for the first time ever on my new house. I can't wait!

I forgot to post this one yesterday, but if you have ever wondered what a trees vagina looks like, here you go:

And The Pics....

Shaver Lake early morning:


View from the trail:


Snowy trail:


Huntington Lake:


Me (if you can find me) and the tree (note the spooky fog):


Views of the basin behind the cabin:

Is it Thursday already??

Well I have had a busy week so far and havent had time nor have I been able to post an update.

This weekend Mike and I went to Shaver and stayed in the cabin and had a great time. The worst pasrt about the cabin is coming home *sigh* I wish I could live up there. It was very cold but beautiful. We woke up early Saturday morning (I wish I had the pictures we took right now, will post later)and drove up to Huntington Lake to hike up to Kaiser Peak. The closer we got though the more snow was on the ground. About 3 inches had fallen last week so it was still quite undisturbed and pristine. We even saw a bald eagle on the coastline at Shaver! We started the hike and got a bit off track because trails are hard to see in the snow, however with Mike's trusty GPS we got back on track and started up the mountain. Most of the way the snow wasn't too bad and there were some amazing views. The day was so clear, you could see for miles.

About a third of the way up though the snow started getting a little too deep and we had to turn around and go back. I can't wait to do this hike in the summer and get all the way to the top. We will probably make it an overnight backpacking trip and go up the back way and do the loop, yay! I have never gone backpacking and I am super excited to do a lot of that next summer.

When we came back to Shaver low clouds rolled in and put a heavy fog around everything. It was really cold but reminded me of the north west in the big trees. We drove up to McKinley Grove to see the huge seqouia trees and there was no one there but us. It looked a little creepy in the dense fog with these huge trees. I had forgotten just how big they are and the fact that they are 2,000 years old blows my mind.

Sunday we hiked around the cabin and just relaxed then reluctantly went home.

Monday I had jury duty and I got in a jury pool for a 11 week trial. Yeah, ridiculous. I don't mind serving but I cant not do my job for 11 weeks and there is no one here who has the time to do it for me. I also cant do my job at nights and weekends because subs and architects aren't open to be able to get things done. I got sat in the jury box, pleaded my case and was dismissed from that case, but I have to call Friday and might have to go back next week.

Tuesday my hard drive crashed on my cmputer at work and I just got it back today. Strangely, I am much more productive when I have no internet access but it has been frustrating to move my office to another area and use my moms printer for things. It is back and running now though so woo hoo!

Marathon training started this week too. So far we have logged in 12 miles this week and will have 28 by the end of the week. It appears I am going to have to tweak the weight lifting portion of working out because we are at the gym for about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I am not sure how long we will be able to do that, chia seeds or not! I dont want to lose muscle though and neither does Mike but it is gonna have to happen. On the upside we will lean out and be very cardiovascularly fit!

My Bench!

Jon (one of the employees here at MWC)installed the bench he made for my back patio yesterday and I LOVE it:


He was given free creative freedom to make the bench however he wanted to and I although this was not at all what I was thinking, I think he did a fantastic job. It is a lot larger and more ornate than I expected but I think it is beautiful and I am very pleased.

And now I just have to rake all the damn leaves.

A Day Late But....

In honor of Veteran's Day, here are some clips of dogs welcoming home their soldier owners and children being reuinted with their soldier parents. And yes, I was totally a mushy, crying mess at my desk watching these.


You will want to watch this one with sound:

Aren't dogs great?

And these REALLY got me, especially the first one:


It really reminds you what soldiers and their families (and dogs too!)sacrifice when they are deployed. I for one am thankful that there are people out there who are wiling to do that because I can't imagine how hard that would be.

Now I must wipe the smeared mascara off my face.

Fall Colors

I snapped a picture of this beautiful tree in my yard before it lost all of its leaves. It is quite nice to see this out of my living room window.

Who Wants a Wii for Christmas?

I am thinking of selling my Wii. I don't use it very often and I could use the extra money. I have the console, the balance board for Wii Fit, 4 remotes, 1 nunchuck, 1 guitar and around 5-6 games. If you know anyone who might be interested let me know or have them send me an email. I probably spent around 600 dollars for all of it (that is a conservative estimate) but I obviously don't expect to get that much for it. All offers will be considered though! I could put it on Craigslist but I really don't want to deal with meeting with strangers so I would prefer to sell it through friends or friends of friends. It would be a really great Christmas gift!

Ugh

This has kinda been a bad week for food. Monday Mike picked up a chocolate milk at a convenience store to drink after our workout (chocolate milk is better recovery drink than gatorade FYI and it tastes sooo much better too)and when I opened it I thought it smelled a little sour. I took a drink though and although it didn't taste horrendous, it tasted a bit off. I asked Mike what he thought and he just sort of shrugged and thought it was fine. So I took another drink and it definitely tatsed weird to me so I searched for an expiration date. It has expired 5 days ago. Mike took it back and the guy at the register said "old is gold". Nice try.

That night we had couscous for dinner and it was delicious. As we were cleaning up the kitchen something in the couscous box caught my eye. It was a bug shell. The couscous didn't come in anything but the box (no plastic bag in the box or anything) so I can't say I was that suprised with such easy access that a bug might find its way in there. I shook the box a little and saw two LIVE bugs crawling around. I threw the box away and told myself that we just had a little extra protein for the day.

And just today I drank an Antioxidant Daily Shot that I got in my particpant bag from the Trail of Two Cities (yeah I still got the bag even though I didn't run it. I paid for that stuff!)which is basically natural fruit juice to get a boost of antioxidants and although it tasted fine, the best by date was 29/09/2009:

(Note: that picture makes it look HUGE but is only about 5 inches tall and 3.38 fl. oz)
So far my stomach seems fine but good grief, I need to start checking my food before I eat it!

Getting Ready for a Marathon - What's been on my mind lately...

I missed the Trail of Two Cities half marathon that I signed up for on Sunday due to a scheduling conflict and although I had the opportunity to run the distance later in the day, I decided not to. I hadn't put in the proper training and I frankly didn't feel like running 13.1 miles. Although I annoyed myself by saying I would do something and then not following through, I will make up for it by running the LA marathon in March.

For the past few weeks I have been mentally perparing myself to gear up for 4 months of training. I have picked a training schedule, typed it into an excel document, tabulated the amount of miles run per week, total mileage for the entire training period (567) and figured out the mile splits (9:09 minutes per mile). For the first time since I started running I have someone to train and run with me which I am quite excited about. It will be nice to have someone to moan and groan with, someone who understands what I am going through and the amount of work you put your body through and someone to help keep motivation high when I just want to sleep in on a Sunday morning instead of getting my butt out in the freezing cold to run a 15 miler.

I feel that I am the most healthy and knowledgable than during training periods in the past. I am consistently eating properly, consistently getting enough sleep, not drinking and basically engaging in a boring yet very satisfying lifestyle:)I am still doing pretty well with sticking with clean eating and we are cooking at home just about every night, which has been fantastic and has kept me healthy (last night we made portabello, eggplant and red pepper sandwiches with whole wheat couscous that was delicious!). I have also made just about every mistake a runner could possibly make in the past so I hopefully have learned my lessons and have that all out of my system. Going out too fast? Done it. Not getting enough sleep? Done it. Not getting enough iron? Done it. Not training long enough? Done it. Not eating the best foods for runners and paying for it with trips to the porta potty? Done that too. Frequently. Ugh.

I am excited about pounding the pavement again and being able to once again call myself a runner. Since I have done this before I do not have any hesitations or doubts or unknowns to contend with. I am just excited to get started again. I have taken enough time off to completley forget how painful the last one was so that means I am ready for the next race:) Kinda like how giving birth works, or so I hear. I will have to ask my sister about that later.

Official training starts November 17th!

The Weekend

This weekend I was in Austin for my sisters second baby shower. Even though I saw her two weeks ago when she was here for her Cali baby shower (she gets two of everything living out of state)I swear she has already gotten bigger.

They decided to name their daughter Harper Paisley Lucas and I think it's a great name. Some people have told my sister that she is going to be a musician based on her name but seeing as there is no musical ability on our side of the family or Chris's that I know of, we will have to see about that. I personally hope she is an athlete but however she turns out she is already starting out with a nice shoe collection:
These are to match her daddy's vans:


And of course, since she lives in Texas, a girl needs a pair of these:


The shower was really nice and we spent all day Friday shopping for stuff for Harper's room and that all came together nicely too. My sister is due in the middle of January and I cannot wait to be an aunt! The next time I see my sister she will be a mom, which is a bit strange, but she is going to be a wonderful mother. And since I am her only Aunt, I am so going to be her favorite;)

It was a good weekend but it is nice to be home. This weekend Mike and I are getting away up to Shaver and getting a hike or two in before it gets too snowy and cold. We might hike up to Devils Bathtub or if the road is closed up there already we will do Kasier Peak. I haven't done Kaiser Peak yet but I did Devil's Bathtub when I was about 14 or so and it was a really beautiful hike. Either way, I will be happy to be up and out of Fresno and into some nature.

And Now, A Dramatic Reading Of "Poker Face" By Christopher Walken

Because I find Christopher Walken strangely fascinating and I do not like Lady Gaga's music. Or her name. Or her inabaility to wear pants.

100's Workout

Yesterday I tried a new workout that I have been eyeing for awhile called the 100's workout. This is a total body workout that has 9 exercises (lifting exercises)that you are to perform for 100 repetitions aiming to only stop once at 70 reps for 30 seconds before finishing the final 30. Some of the exercises were easier than others but the one thing they had in a common, a long sustained and intense muscle burn. At the end of the workout there will have been a total of 900 reps completed.

I have sort of become Mikes personal trainer so he did all of this with me, bless his heart:) Actually he has been working out with me the past month and I am really impressed with the amount of muscle growth he has already achieved. It has also been really great to share my passion with someone who get's why I love it so much and shares the same passion with me. He is wiling to do and try anything so I feel like I have a partner in crime:)

But I digress, back to the 100's workout! The following is the exercises we performed:

Leg Press
Leg Curl
Upright Row
Dumbbell Press
Overhead Press
Cable Curl
Rope Pressdown
Cable Crunches

Of course you don't perform these exercises at the same weight you normally would if you were doing 12 reps, but you drop the weight approximately in half, sometimes more. The toughest ones for me were the Leg Press, the Overhead Press and the calf raises.

It wasn't exactly what I expected however. I was expecting that the weights would start to feel heavy as the reps increased, even though they were considerably lighter than what I would normally lift. I assumed fatigue would set in and cause them to feel heavy. That wasn't the case at all. The weights never felt heavy, always light, but at about 25 reps or so your muscles start to burn and until you are done with 100, the burning does not go away but intensifies. I felt this was just as much a mental challenge as it was a physical challenge. As soon as that burn settles in you really want to stop, it hurts! But you can physically lift the weight still, it is pushing past the pain and continuing that is the hard part. It is good practice for running a marathon really because although it is a different type of pain, you still have to embrace the pain as part of the process in order to finish.

It is such an exhilirating feeling to take on a challenge that you may have doubts you can accomplish, work your ass off and do it. This is true with any atheletic endevour or anything else in life you ar passionate about. The more you challenge yourself and the conception you have of your abilities, the more interesting life can be.

This was a tough workout but I loved it. I will probably incorporate this every once in awhile to spice things up a bit. The more I push myself, the more I want to push myself further. I am starting to get pumped up for the marathon! God I sound like such a peppy annoying jock. Oh well, I am who I am:)

Snacks, They Can be Good For You!

I was making some blueberry green tea this morning (which is really good if you like tea btw) at work and looked around and saw that in our little office of 5 people there were doughnuts, danish, brownies and oatmeal cookies (not to mention the halloween candy and M&M's). That is just ridiculous considering the only healthy food in the office belongs to me which means that anything anyone else eats in the office today is loaded with sugar, fat and calories. Now don't get me wrong, baked items are a good sometimes food but this is generally the case here all.the.time. The sometimes foods in this office are healthy. This is not just bad for the waistline though. Eating sugary foods do not help keep your energy up throughout the day and they do not help you focus.

It is my understanding that this is pretty common in offices and even more so for the big offices that celebrate birthdays and just have more people to bring in the leftover sweets from the night before that they bring in so they don't eat it all themselves. I have said this over and over but I advocate snacks throughout the day and don't think you should go more than 4 hours without eating something. Of course I advocate healthy snacking though and not just throwing some chips or cookies in your mouth. If you don't know what to bring try some of these:

- low fat string cheese and a handful of almonds
- low fat string cheese and a small apple
- a small apple and a handful of almonds
- low sugar hot chocolate (if you have a sweet tooth)
- hummus and veggies
- edamame
- cottage cheese and fruit
- pears with low fat yogurt and low fat granola
- celery with peanut butter (low sugar or natural) and raisins
- rice cakes with peanut butter (low sugar or natural) and slices banana
- rice with cottage cheese and low sugar jam
- hard bolied egg
- raw nuts and dried fruit
- whole wheat crackers with canned chicken or tuna (add a little bit of low fat mayo if you wish)

Eating a snack between breakfast and lunch and again between lunch and dinner can prevent you from over eating at meal times and keeps your energy going throughout the day. If you have access to a fridge at your work, even better. You can stock up on Monday and you won't have to worry about thinking about what to bring every morning when you are rushing to work.

Remember, if you are trying to lose weight don't forget to eat!

Some Patio Pics

Although my back patio is not completely done yet, there is a redwood gate and bench still left to install and planting to do, my backyard has seen quite a transformation. To remind you what it looked like before, take a look at these:




And now, it looks like this:

In this picture you can also see the grass has filled in pretty well:


So that's it. Like I said there are still finishing touches left to go and planting to do but you get the general idea. I am looking at drought resistatnt plants right now but I haven't decided on anything. I really love it though and it looks a lot cleaner.

Before and After: Kitchen and Bathroom Renovations

After a lot of hard work, here are the results:

Kitchen Before #1:


After #1:


Before #2:


After #2:


Before 3:


After 3:

I haven't decorated the dinning room yet, but it was painted khaki for a nice clean look that can be spiced up with lots of color.
So that's my minty green happy kitchen, now on to the guest bathroom.

Bathroom Before:


Bathroom After:



I am happy with the way the bathroom came together, I wasn't sure if it would or not.

Next up, my golden girls bathroom! I love the golden girls, hate that bathroom:)

Stay Tuned.

Busy Week!

I have been stressed, busy and busy for the past few weeks but it is all shortly coming to an end. A few months ago I told my sister I wanted to host her baby shower in my new house. At the time I was thinking I had plenty of time to make some updates and get it looking nice by the October 24th deadline. I am a procrastinator though and no matter how good my intentions are I always find a way to put things off, which is what I so predictibly did in this case. What made it worse was that home improvements of any kind generally take a lot longer than you expect, which goes double for me since I have absolutely no experience in such things.

In the span of two weeks I sanded, primed and painted all of my kitchen cabinets which took WAY more time than I thought it would. Getting all of those nooks and crannies is quite the time consuming job. I also removed all the wall paper and painted the walls in the kitchen and dining room. Before this experience I thought painting was just throwing a coat or two on a wall, no biggie. When you involve wallpaper though you step it up a notch. There is removing the multiple layers, scraping off the remaining stubborn pieces of paper, wiping off the wallpaper remover, spackling over holes and indentions (of which there were A LOT), sanding that down, priming and finally painting. There are many steps, all of which take time, including dry time. I was really lucky too because I didn't run into any problems and it still took me what felt like forever.

Then there was the bathroom. I was really unsure how this would turn out because once I got into removing the wallpaper to the drywall, I found some odd things. The surface was completely uneven, there was no consistency whatsover in texture or color. I had to do a lot of spackling and one section of the drywall had to be completely removed and patched because of termite damage. Apparantly it is rare for termites to go through the drywall but my termites were quite the over achievers. For the paint I chose a shade called "Bamboo" to go on the walls which looked a lot like a shade of dog poop when they have the runs. After the second coat though it is more of an avacado and I like it. I also got some accessories so it no longer feels like you are on a dilapidated cruise ship when you go into the bathroom but a nice calm spa-like atmosphere.

On the exterior I got my pavers put in this week and they look beautiful! It makes such a big deifference back there and I love the result. It is isn't completely done though, a redwood bench and gate need to be installed and planting needs to be done but that won't happen before the shower.

Although all of the work is done as of last night at 11 PM, the house still looks like a construction site and is a complete mess so I haven't taken pictures yet. This weekend I will though and get them posted next week. I am incredibly pleased with the results though and for the first time since I moved in, the house feels like it is mine. It is a happy, colorful home that I have fallen in love with again. I still have plans for my bathroom and the two spare bedrooms but for now I am taking a rest from home rennovations. This will come as a great relief to Mike who has generously been with me, paint brush in hand, every step of the way. He very unselfishly helped with everything and never complained. Let's be honest, if I were him I would have at least whined about it a few times;)

My sister flys in tonight and I cant wait to see her and her belly. It will really hit home that she is going to be giving birth in a few months when I see that:)

**Note: I had no time to proof read so if there are a lot of typos, oops!

Mennonite in a LBD

I have not read this book so I don't know if it is any good but I came across is on Jezebel and I thought I would give a little nod to a Fresno author. Rhoda Janzen (any relation to Dennis Janzen the volleyball coach at FPU I wonder?) was born and raised in Fresno as a Mennonite and due to life circumstances had to move back in with her parents when she was 43 and subsequently wrote the book Mennonite in a Little Black Dress.

In an interview Janzen states:

"I had remembered the Mennonites of my youth as congenial folks, so it wasn't a surprise that I loved them as an adult. What was a surprise was that I loved what they stood for - I loved the faith itself, and the way they consistently demonstrated what they believed. For instance, when my mom learned that an elderly woman from her church was recuperating from a surgery, it wasn't a question of if she would visit. It was a question of whether to bring homemade zwiebach or a tray of platz. It was the genuine human warmth of this community that set me thinking about faith in new ways."

It looks like it would be an interesting read and I know some of you who read my blog are quite familiar with the religion so I thought you might mind it interesting as well.

Hello, my name is Kasey and I am a Refusnik

Well I guess I am not the only one not on a social networking site but does a blog count? What's funny is that the people who bug me about getting on Facebook are the same ones that never read my blog and the ones who read my blog never bug me about getting on Facebook. I don't even have a functioning computer at home or internet access and I like it that way. I don't miss it at all.

Check back later. Literally spent the entire weekend peeling wallpaper, painting and getting the house ready for my sisters visit and baby shower and it is taking 5 times as long as I anticipated. Pretty exhausted right now but the kitchen and dining room look great. When I have things back in order I will take pictures.

Scaredy Cat

For your veiwing pleasure, a cute little video of a scaredy kitty named Conan. To find out what Conan is afraid of, watch the video:

What I Learned From Watching House of 1000 Corpses

With Halloween quickly approaching I was in the mood to watch a scary movie this weekend so upon Mike's suggestion Netflixed Night of 1000 Corpses, directed by Rob Zombie.
This is definitely more of gore movie with an extra dose of creepy than really scary but overall I enjoyed it and along the way learned the following:

1. Never ever trust a clown, particularly one that looks like this:

It seems self explanatory but you would be suprised how trusting people can be.

2. Never stop at a truck stop in the middle of the night that has a mechanical clown out front waving and laughing.

3. Safety in numbers is a myth when people with bats, knifes, guns and other objects that can cause massive pain and damage are being used by insane people who like to kill.

4. Never pick up a hitchhiker, no matter how sexy they might be...
...cause she'll scalp you alive. For real.

5. If you find yourself in the middle of the night with a flat tire and go to said hitchhikers house to get a tow truck, as soon as you see the dolls with the heads cut off and nailed to the wall just fucking run, nothing good will come of this.

6. If for some reason you are still dumb enough to go in and wait for the tow truck and the even crazier mother asks you to stay for dinner, when the 7 foot tall man walks in with a mask on once again fucking run, nothing good will come of this.

7. If you decide to stay, do not call the hot crazy chick a bitch and a whore and push her to the ground no matter how up in your boyfriends business she is. Seriously it is Dwight from the Office, how jealous can you be? And never piss off the crazy bitch.

8. If you have ignored all advice so far and find yourself trapped in a house of crazy murders and wake up to see your boyfriend is dead and has had his arms and legs chopped off and is being displayed like a fish for your enjoyment chances are you are not going to fare so well either and you should just kill yourself when you get a chance otherwise you run the risk of ending up like this:


9. Finally it bears repeating, never ever trust a clown.

C'mon seriously, what were you thinking??

Kitchen Renovations

This weekend with the help of Mike (uh a lot of help from him actually) I started renovating the kitchen! Naturally, as these things tend to go, it took more than twice as long as we thought it would and we aren't nearly finished but we made a lot of progress.

Cabinets are deceptive in their surface area. Sure they don't look very large but there is a lot of tops and bottoms and shelves, yada yada, and it takes awhile. We sanded and primed them all and got one painted in a lovely shade of minty green that I had decided on and the kitchen already looks brighter. It is just a really happy color that makes the kitchen look a lot more fresh and clean so I am really happy with the results so far. I can't wait to see how it turns out in its entirety and once that is done I will post some pics. The one problem is that there were two layers of contact paper in the cabinets. The first layer came off pretty easily but the next layer was stuck so we are just painting over them and laying down the contact paper you don't glue down. Hopefully in the next few years a full kitchen rennovation will be done anyway.

Oh and I also finished getting the guest room set up. The curtains haven't come down yet though because those curtains are a friggin nightmere and I would have to patch the huge holes removing them will make and then paint the room, which I don't have time for right now. I managed to match everything to the pink and blue curtains though which is a damn miracle in itself and for now it will just have to do.

Also on the books, my dad is sending some guys over on Thursday and Friday to get the patio done and get a dry wall patch done in the bathroom. Then this weekend I should get the bathroom painted as well and by the baby shower next week it will feel like a whole new house!

Phew, fun and exciting but exhausting!

Rugby has been accepted by the International Olympic Committee as one of the two new sports for inclusion into the Olympic Games from 2016 in Rio de Janeiro. I admit that I have only seen one live rugby game and only a handful of games on tv (including a travel channel show featuring the sport) but this is a sport I can totally get behind and I am excited to watch more of.

If these clips of rugby tackles is any indication, this is a rough sport that makes the NFL look pretty tame in comparision (note the lack of pads):



I have about 3 years to learn the rules of the game:)

Oh Lord

Great Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize and now I have to hear how screwed up the world is all freakin day. And how dare he be late to give a speech about it! Thank god he said he doesnt think he deserves it, she isn't quite as pissed off anymore, at least at him. (Please don't out on Rush Limbaugh!Please don't out on Rush Limbaugh!)


Yesterday, the big misjustice was the Hungry Man Platters we ordered from a BBQ place down the street. The description said your choice of 3 meats, 2 sides and 1 roll. To me the 1 roll indicates that it is meant for one person, a hungry person yes, but one person. Well we ordered 2 for 7 people and when I picked it up it was in your standard carry out styrafoam containers that has the divided tray and I immediately thought there was probably not enough food. I brought it back and both her and my dad thought that the description was very misleading and there should be more food for the price we paid for it (12 bucks a pop).

Well it turns out there was enough food for everyone and we even had some left over. Then I hear my dad say that we should call and complain. Susan and I looked at each other a bit puzzled and asked why and my mom chimes in about how if it says "platter" it should come on a platter. I clarify that there was indeed enough food and that the food was good (I actually didnt eat any because there were only some scrapes of meat left and I dont eat the other stuff) which was confirmed by her. I then ask "so the problem you have is with the presentation, you want to complain about the containers the food came in?".

Yeah, this is what I deal with on a regular basis. If it isn't one thing, it is another. But if I get frustrtaed with a copier that continually jams, blame it on MY bad attitude. FOR THE LOVE!

LA Marathon 2010

I have convinced Mike to run a marathon with me so on March 21st we will be running the LA Marathon! This is my favorite race I have ever run and I look forward to running it again, particularly because they have changed the course and it looks pretty fantastic. The start is at Dodger standium and ending at the Santa Monica Pier, and a ton of landmarks on the way. Check out the video below, I am super excited!

This will be the first time I have ever had a training partner which I think will be a good thing for me. It will be Mike's first marathon and since running a marathon can truly be transformative I look forward to seeing him experiencing that. I have no doubt he is going to do great and really appreciate the experience for what it is, a challenge that shows you can do anything if you just put in the time and effort.

Training starts in December!

Lat Pulldown

One of the best exercises for your back is the lat pulldown. It is also fairly popular for both men and women. In general, people aren't too afraid to perform this exercise (like they are with something like the T-Bar row), however that means a lot of people do this without the proper form. On a daily basis at the gym I see someone perform this exercise incorrectly, which means they run the risk of injuring themselves, specifically their lower backs.

The first way this is done incorrectly is by putting on too much weight and jerking your entire body to pull the weight down. If you need to use your entire body to get the weight down you have too much weight on the machine. This is not a full body exercise but targets the back so thats where you need to focus. A smooth, controlled motion is what will be most effective and will be less likely to cause injury.

The second way this is performed incorrectly is when the bar is brought down to the waist, instead of stopping at the chest. This again puts the lower back at risk of injury and prevents the lats from developing properly.

This is where the lats are and the area of devlopment the lat pulldown is meant to hit:

By pulling the bar down slow and controlled and really squeezing your back muscles you will get the best results. A strong back is also not just for asthetics, the lats are the largest muscles of the back and are used in many lifting exercises as well as daily activities like lifting things off of high shelves etc. The function of the Latissimus Dorsi is to pull the arm down towards the pelvis. When the arm is fixed (e.g. during a chin-up), the lats serve to bring the body up towards the arm. It is the same basic movement but with the directions reversed. The Lats also function to stabilize the torso during many movements, including the flat bench press. So, they are an important muscle group!

If you are a visual learner like me though, here us what it should look like:


This is a great exercise, just make sure you are doing it correctly and in a slow, controlled motion.

Happy fitness!

Product Review: Pecan Pie Larabar

I was reading an Eat This, Not That article that listed the Pecan Pie Larabar as the best snack bar so I decided to give it a try. If you ever had a Larabar they are very natural, unprocessed and raw which can take some getting used to. The bar seems a little small too but it is quite dense. The only ingredients are dates, pecans and almonds so it is gluten free, dairy free, soy free, has no added sugar, sodium free, vegan and kosher, pretty much your perfect health food. Even for me this is a little healthy though so I was a little apprehensive about how it might taste.

Since the line at Starbucks went out the door I couldnt stop this morning for coffee and my turkey bacon sandwich I decided to try this instead and it was pretty darn good. It tasted like a glorified Fig Newton and since it contained pieces of nuts it felt like I was eating something a little more substantial. Usually when I have bars for breakfast I end up feeling like I haven't eaten enough and need more but I felt satisfied after eating this. I am a huge nut and dried fruit girl too and usually eat both every day so this really appealed to my palate.

It is now about 2 hours later though and I am getting hungry so a better snack than a meal, great before a workout. I will definitely eat this again. Here is the nutritional breakdown:

Calories: 200 (snacks should usually be no more than 200 calories for most people and these calories are coming from completely natural food so I am good with this)
Protein: 3 grams (kinda low so this might make a better pre workout snack than post)
Carbs: 22 grams (see comment above, definitely pre workout, especially if you are doing a heavy cardio workout)

The Perfect Stocking Stuffer?

I don't know if this an actual problem for men, perhaps if you live in someplace cold like Minnesota you might find this helpful if not absolutely neccessary, but in any case I give you the willy warmer:


No word on whether or not this helps in the case of blue balls.

And if you perfer something more colorful and less realstic, try these.