Christmas Eve Night

Kyle and I started this awesome tradition of opening presents on Christmas Eve.  I usually can't wait until Christmas morning.  Here's all my loot:

The Lion King on Blue Ray.  I'm trying to collect all the Disney movies.  And WTF is up with my smile?  I look like Heath Ledger as the Joker.  (Please disreguard the huge mess in the background.  I told you I was all stressed out with 938759085473 things to do before Christmas.  You can see cleaning did not top that list.)

The Best of Bruce Springsteen CD.  There's that damn glare again.  I have no one to blame except the flash on my camera.  And I seriously look psychotic in the picture.

My new foam roller to use when my muscles are sore from running.  Please take notice of my double chin and what appears to be sideburns.  Kyle chooses to be with that?

I am super excited for a bucket of gummy bears.  It's been less then a week since I opened them.  I may have or may not have eaten them all already.  (Emphasis on the may have.)

New makeup from Urban Decay.  The only present I actually knew I was getting.

The Sandlot on Blu-Ray.  If you have never seen this movie, you need to drop everything your holding (yes, even if it is a small child) and watch this movie.  It never gets old.

An awesome crock pot.  Like how the box is holding up my head?  I was going to fill this bad boy up on Monday night with turkey chili ingredients and let it cook all day, but then my anxiety got the better of me.  What if that shit burns the house down?  I'm making the chili tomorrow when we're both home so I can prevent any fire from starting.

I know you don't really want to see all the pics of Kyle's gifts (lets be honest, this blog is all about me), but I had to show you these photos:

Do you notice a pattern through all these pictures?  Sawyer had to be in every photo.  And no, I don't beat my dog.  He just looks sad.  All the time.  Do you like his severe underbite?  My vet told me they could break his jaw so it heals correctly.  I told him no.  Obviously, that would cost a lot.  And Sawyer looks so much cuter when his top lip gets stuck on his bottom teeth.

After all that, I still had to buy myself my own present:

I'm going to eat every single one of them tomorrow before my run.  Maybe they'll make me super speedy?  More than likely, that would just make me vomit.  So I probably won't.

I will be back this weekend to post the train wreck (in a good way) that is the present my sister got me.  I'll give you a hint.  I think she's trying to make me believe that I'm fat. 

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo

Sorry this is so late.  I get home from work, run, and then I'm lazy and lay on the couch watching bad tv.  Blogging is the last thing on my mind.  Kind of like Bronx.

But here's what went down Christmas weekend.

On Friday, I got off work early, around 1:00, so Kyle and I headed to the movies to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.  I have read the 3 books in the series at least 3 times, and have been waiting for this movie to come out for months now. 

We stopped off at Wawa, so I could buy a water for $1.00, instead of the crazy price of $5.00 the theater charges.  I was able to slip it in my purse and get in without being searched.

Of course I had to take my picture with the movie poster.  How rude of the sun to be out and creating glare.

While waiting in line for snacks, I spotted this.  I CAN NOT wait for this movie to come out.  No, I am not 14 years old.

Even though I refuse to spend the $5.00 on a water bottle, the pretzel bites with fake, hot, melty, orange cheese is a must at every movie I go to see.  Here is an awesome picture of me licking said cheese.  I would drink it if they gave me enough.

All in all, I thought the movie was great.  It was pretty true to the book, with only a couple things changed.  Warning: The movie (and book) is pretty disturbing.  There were a couple parts where I was actually uncomfortable watching it.  Maybe I'm just a prude.  Yeah, right.  It is rated R for a reason, so don't bring any small children to see it.  Or old people.  There were a lot at the movies with us, and for some reason, they feel the need to talk during the ENTIRE movie.  I wanted to punch someone.

Well, that run was super shitty...

Last night, I had a 5 mile run scheduled.  And the whole time I was thinking about how much it sucked.  I felt awkward and wonky.  This is how I envisioned myself looking:

The problems started from the very beginning.  It was warm out, around 50, but it was rainy.  I was so afraid I was going to get caught in driving rain, and freeze my buns off.  I had shin splints, and they hurt bad.  I actually called Kyle at 1.25 miles out to come pick me up.  He didn't answer, so I decided to suck it up and keep going.  Luckily, they went away.

On the way back, I quickly found out I was running into the wind.  I thought for sure that my pace was around 11:30/mile.  I uploaded my run to Nike+, logged in, and saw this:

Umm.  WTF?!?!?  I totally didn't think I was anywhere under a 10:00/mile in the last 2 miles.  My average pace was 10:14/mile.  I'm getting closer and closer to keeping it under 10:00.  And I couldn't be more proud.

I've got a 5 mile run tonight, and then rest day tomorrow.  We're going to see The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo(!!!!!!) at 3:30.  Someone promise me that it won't be crowded.  There will be copious amounts of junk food consumed over the next few days.  I'll try to get pictures of everything.  Since I love my junk food.

My Life is Crazy

I'm what you call a planner.  I like to know exactly what I have to do everyday, exactly how long it will take me to do it, and what time exactly I will be done.  And with the holidays coming up, I feel completely overwhelmed.  There just aren't enough hours in the day.  (An example of my epic-crazy-planning: I have my running scheduled mapped out until December of 2012.  No, I am not joking.  I'm planning on running the New Orleans Marathon in March 2013.  I. Am. Ridiculous.)

This was my past weekends events:

Baked about 47837 dozen cookies.

Had 2 long runs: 6 & 7 Miles

Attempted to finish my Christmas shopping.  Managed to not stab someone when I ventured into the mall/Walmart/Target.

Grocery shopped at Giant.

Baked even more cookies.

Here's my schedule for the rest of the week:

Run tonight-5 Miles

Run tomorrow night-5 Miles

Half-day on Friday, and then delivering cookies and making one last stop at Target.

Movies Friday afternoon (Girl With the Dragon Tattoo!!!!), dinner with friends after.

6 mile run Saturday morning, going to late lunch with Kyle's dad and his partner, and then stopping at G-Mom's house to visit with her and my Uncle and his wife.

7 mile run Sunday (yes, on Christmas), opening gifts with Kyle, heading to mom's house for dinner.

Day off on Monday, heading to visit Kyle's mom and go to lunch with his friend, heading back to my mom's to visit with my sister, Sara and her husband Ryan since they aren't coming up on Christmas.

And between all this, I need to finish wrapping gifts, get cookie buckets together, and at some point in time clean the house.  Because it is a MESS.  I'm trying not to have anxiety about that (not going to well), since no one is coming to our house for the holidays, so there-for, no one will see said mess.  It's still driving me crazy.

The only positive thing about this week is that all my shows are on Christmas break, so I don't have a million things saved on my DVR to distract me.

Ugh.  I. Will. Not. Freak. Out. 

Or stab anyone.  Either way works for me.

Runner's Realization

Today is my weigh in day for Weight Watchers.  I happily stepped on the scale and saw this number:

132.4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Last week I was at 137, so for those of you who aren't mathletes, that's a 4.6lb loss*.  And only need to get another .4lbs off and I'll officially have lost 60lbs total!  Let me tell you, at 192lbs and 7 months ago, that seemed impossible.  I am incredibly proud of myself.

*Disclaimer: This is not a normal loss for me.  I know that the healthy range for a weekly loss is .5-2lbs.  I credit this huge loss to it being the week after time of the month.  So there.

On to my running realization.

I am an internet stalker.  I love, love, love reading blogs (running, fashion, everyday life types).  I find a blog I like, and take the time to go allllllll the way back to the beginning and read every post in order.  My girlfriend recommended Hungry Runner Girl and from there found Skinny Runner.  Skinny Runner has a feature called "Cat Lady Blogs", where she showcases other blogs.  I found Running Off The Reese's and One Upon a Lime (just 2 among about 20 that I want to read).  I've finished the first 3, and working my way through OUaL right at the moment.  Yesterday, I read a great post that Sarah put up about how running isn't suppose to be easy. 

It was like a light bulb went off in my brain.  Of course running isn't suppose to be easy-otherwise everyone would do it.  And to be completely honest with you, I had been taking it easy.  For months now.  Of course when I started, it seemed impossible.  I could only run for about 30 seconds before I started to die a little on the inside.  Yes, I can now run 6 miles with no problems, and yes, my pace has gotten much better.  But I was still pacing around an 11:00/mile, which isn't fast at all.  (When I started, I was more around 457835927987372957:00/mile.)  I had been convincing myself the past few weeks that I was ok with how slow I was running (more like jogging).  I know I will never place at a race, or even get under an 8:00/mile.  I was just proud of myself for getting out there, working on it, losing 60lbs, and finding a new hobby that I love.  (And new ways to spend a ton of money on running stuff.)

After I read her post, I knew I hadn't been pushing myself.  I was taking it easy.  I quickly decided that on my 3 mile run last night, I was going to make myself "comfortably uncomfortable".  I was going to up my pace, and try to hold it for the full run, but if I couldn't, that's ok.  At least it would be the beginning of working to make myself even better.

I set out last night, hoping to at least get one mile under 10:00, and I completely surprised myself.  I pushed myself, and even though I was out of breath, and thirsty as all hell, I was able to finish strong.  Here's my time:

29:42!!!!!!!!!!

Mile 1: 9:59
Mile 2: 9:49
Mile 3: 9:50
Average Pace: 9:53/mile

For all of you seasoned runners out there, that might not seem too fast, but it's fast for me-considering my last run I averaged a 10:54 pace.

Now I KNOW I can do it.  I can push myself, and my legs won't give out, my lungs won't collapse and I won't die on the sidewalk, leaving Kyle to wonder what the hell happened to me.

I won't be pushing myself at that pace every time I get out there and run.  Tomorrow I have a 6 mile run and a 7 mile on Sunday.  I will actively try to run faster, but I'll save those super-speedy (yeah, right) miles for my short runs.  And who knows, maybe my version of speed work will help me become an even better runner.  I'm just proud that I was able to push myself out of my comfort zone.  :)

On that note, here's what was waiting for me on my desk when I got to work today:

And this is what it looked like approximately 7.2 seconds later:

I usually avoid the chocolate samplers like the plague, unless they have the little chart saying what each chocolate is.  I'm what you call a picky eater, so the 'surprise' of what's inside usually scares me.  But I've been so good lately that I chowed down.  And they were all delicious. 

My goal for the rest of the holiday season is to maintain my weight.  If I lose, great.  But I just want to stay where I am.  Which means watching what I eat, and not skipping on any running days. 

Yeah, right.  Especially since I have an 7 mile scheduled for Christmas day.  I'm not sure I'll be able to squeeze that in, between the 2941546841398643 million houses we have to go to and the movies that night (Girl With The Dragon Tattoo-CAN'T WAIT!!!!), so we'll see.

Yeah, I've got nothing...

I was trying to think up a witty title for this blog post, but came up with nothing.  Mostly because this post is going to be all over the place.  Or maybe it's because I'm not witty at all.  Hmmmm....


Anyways, my rest days every week are on Monday and Tuesdays, and before I head out for my runs on Wednesday nights, I always get paranoid.  What if I can't run anymore, because I took 2 days off?  What if it's the worst run ever and it makes me never want to run again?  I know-I'm being bat-shit crazy.  It's only 2 days.  The world will not end.

I headed out for 5 miles last night, and the first mile was challenging.  My legs felt like lead, and I couldn't keep a good pace if I tried.  Or if I was running from some knife-wielding psycho.  And to top it off, I had shin splints for the first mile.  They eventually went away when I stopped to stretch them.  When I had about a mile left in my run, the spot where my thigh meets my tushie started to hurt too.  I'm used to getting this pain when I'm sitting for too long at work, but I've never had it while running.  I googled it, and since I believe everything I read on the internet and like to self-diagnose, I think it's my piriformis (don't ask me to pronounce that) muscle.  I tried stretching it last night, but couldn't figure out how to get at that muscle.  So I googled again, and found one that suppose to make it feel so much better.  I went into a secret back office and tried it out.  Man, oh man, it helped.  And I took the time to snap a photo of myself laying on the dirty floor. 

I have no shame.

And I have yet to master the self timer on my camera. 

I would also like to point out that even though I love the Nike+ program, I HATE the app on my iPod Touch.  I am constantly starting and stopping the program on my runs while waiting for the light to change or to stretch.  About 90% of the time, when I go to hit the button to start back up, I always end up hitting the button to end the workout, since they're right next to each other.  I am then forced to do math and try to figure out how many miles I have left on my run.  I may have definitely yelled "SON OF A BITCH!!!" last night when I did it.  I NEED the GPS watch.

After I got back from my run last night, Kyle and I finally decorated the tree.  Nothing says "Happy Holidays" like hanging ornaments while watching the ever disturbing Event Horizon.  I remember being terrified by this movie when it first came out.  Now, it's just sad to see Sam Neill trying to act his way out of a wet paperbag.

While we unwrapped the ornaments, Rupert kept himself busy by playing in the tissue paper.

  Don't let the cuteness fool you.  He is the devil cat.  Maybe he should have played Sam Neill's part in Event Horizon.  I'm pretty sure he would have been the better actor.

Bronx, being Bronx, decided that he would be helpful by being lazy on the tv cabinet.

Our yearly tradition demands that we put Captain Picard from Star Trek at the top as our angel.  I will admit that the ornament is mine and I'm a huge nerd.

The finished product:

I didn't take a picture of the back or sides because we're lazy and didn't put any ornaments there.  No one sees those parts, right??

2 Legit 2 Quit

I, legit, just googled this.  Because I'm not the brightest crayon in the box.

2 things to take note of. 

1. I didn't realize there was a "professional" vs "unprofessional" way of getting little blinky lights on a Christmas tree.

2. I also didn't realize there are different ways to do this depending on what country you're in.  Apparently, the British are aware of this, and only want to do it the UK way.

I will be reading about how to do the lights professionally.  I don't want our tree looking like poo when we're done.

It's that time of year again.

Yesterday, Kyle and I went out and got our Christmas tree.  We always get it at the same place every year-Bustards Christmas Tree Farm.  This place is great.  They have free hot chocolate, their prices are great, and the best part-they donate trees to be sent to Armed Forces Bases all over the world. 

We only had to look around for a few minutes before we found our new friend:

We took him home, set him up and quickly realized that we miscalculated how fat he is.  He sticks so far out into the living.  But don't worry!  We can still see the tv from our vantage point on the couch.  Phew!!!!

We decided to give him 24 hours to get accustomed to his new surroundings, and will be decorating him tonight. 

On a side note.  How many of my internet friends have a habit of taking a movie out to watch it, and never put it back where it belongs?  Instead, we stack them up on the tv stand until they start to impede our viewing.  Then, and only then, do I put them away.

After setting the tree up, I got started on cookies.  My plan this year is to make a bijillion and give them out as gifts to people, since I'm trying to be cheap thrifty.  I made sugar cookies last night, but stopped after one batch.  Stand there perfectly still, drinking wine, and eating raw cookie dough is hard on your back. 

Supidly, I only took one pic, and it's everything out on the table, waiting to be thrown together in the sturdy Kitchen Aid mixer.  I did not take one of my beautiful, artistic renditions of Christmas cookies.

Will be back later tonight tomorrow to post pics of the tree with all the decorations.  Be ready to see Christmas all thrown up over it!

Before & After: The Hair Edition

I'm one of those people that never really styles their hair.  Every morning, I get up with just enough time to get a shower and put my wet hair up in a ponytail.  I'd rather get those extra 20-25 minutes of sleep instead of trying to get my hair to behave.

My MO is to get my hair cut in a style where I am forced to take the time to blow it dry every morning, let it grow, and then get fed up and cut it again.  On Saturday, I went in for my yearly cut.  So, without further delay, here are the pics.

Before-Total Uglyness:

After-New Hotness:

I absolutely love it.  I got a short layered bob, kinda like Chelsea Kane's haircut.  It's super easy to style and only takes about 10-15 minutes in the morning.  Couldn't be more happy!

Saving Money

I used to spend money like it was going out of style.  And it was always on stupid stuff.  Stuff I didn't need.  Now, I try to spend any extra money solely on running stuff.  Running Nerd?  I think so.

Last weekend, I took my Christmas bonus and purchased some new running shoes.  Before, I was running in Brooks Adrenaline GTS 11.  Here they are:

I wanted to stick with Brooks brand, since they've served me so well, but the GTS 11 has been replaced by the GTS 12.  Here's my new shoes:

I realized last night how stupid that was.  I did have a coupon to the running store for 15% off, which brought the price of the new sneakers down to $93.50 from $110.00.  But you can still find the GTS 11's online, for $80.00 at Zappos.com.  I think I'm going to wait until they're a little bit cheaper and then buy 2 pairs of them.  I'm thinking these colors:

Fun colors, right?  And Zappos offers free shipping, even better. 

So, buying 2 pairs of shoes that I don't need right at the moment, but are on sale, and have free shipping is saving money, right?  RIGHT???



I am warning you shin splints, I will cut you.

I tried to go running last night, and it ended in abject failure.  I've been running in the same pair of shoes since Mayish, but only really started tracking my mileage in September.  And September and October tracking was sporadic at best.  According to my Nike+, I've put 120 miles on them since September.  I figured that I had an additional 100 miles on them (I never really stuck to any sort of training plan with running before that), so going by what the internet says (which we know is ALWAYS right), I still had about 200ish miles before I had to start using my new shoes. 

About 2-3 weeks ago, I started getting shin splints.  I thought it had to do with the fact that I was stretching properly.  Alright, I'll admit it.  I don't really stretch at all before I run.  Nor do I do a 10 minute warm up.  I know, I'm a bad runner.  But it's so cold that I just want to get out there and get 'er done.  (I imagined myself saying that like Larry The Cable Guy.  Whom I hate.)  I've really been trying to do more stretches, mostly aimed at my shins, but nothing is really working.  Last night was the worst I've ever had them.  I had to stop running after 3/4 mile and walk back home. 

Of course, being my lame self, I got all upset and practically cried.  I had visions of never being able to run without pain, and I'd have to give it up or something.  And then I realized I have a perfectly good, brand new pair of shoes at home to wear.  I compared the bottom of the two shoes, and man, there is a huge difference.  I tried taking a picture of them to show you, but since the pics weren't in 3D (does that even exist?), you wouldn't really be able to see how much my old shoes suck.

I'm going to get back out there tonight, and attempt my 5 mile run for the 2nd time, and pray that I don't feel any pain.  And if I do, I plan on cutting out the muscles in my shins that cause the pain.  What?  You mean I do need those muscles to run?  Damn.  I thought I came up with a fool-proof plan. 

So, please beg baby Jesus for me that I can have a great run tonight.  Or, keep your fingers crossed.  Either way works for me.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

It seems like it's been raining forever here in Philly.  Ok, only since yesterday, but I'm stick of it.  I even tried to go out and run last night.  I ghetto-rigged my ipod in a plastic sandwich bag, threw on a hat, and didn't make it it a mile.  So not digging the running in the rain thing.  Some people swear by it.  I hated the fact that my feet were wet within 2.1 seconds because it's like a river on my street when it sprinkles.

I'm suppose to run 3 miles tonight, and really hoping it stops before I get home from work.  They're talking about it turning into snow later tonight, which is fine.  I think I wouldn't mind that as much.  If it doesn't stop raining, I'll just have to push my runs for the week back a day.  I guess that means I'm doing 30 Day Shred tonight.  I hate you Jillian Michaels.

Cross your fingers for me that the clouds go away, and this awful stuff they call precipitation stops! 

I am so glad I don't live in the Northwest.  I'd be miserable year round.

Oh, new additon to the Christmas List of 2011!

Maybe not this specific one, but I do want one that's programmable, so I can leave it when we go to work in the morning.  I also need one with the little handles that hold the lid on.  We have some sneaky cats, and I wouldn't put it past them to knock the lid off and stick their little paws in the food that's cooking.

I'm already dreaming of the soups, stews and other deeeelish creations I will make in it.




Dinner out with the boy-toy

I am the greatest girlfriend ever.  Mainly because I know how to feed Kyle.  I decided to take him out to dinner, and picked Texas Road House.  We LOVE this place, but never go, for some unknown reason.

We started out with the peanuts, bread with the oh-so great cinnamon butter and of course, a huge margarita.

My dinner was the Texas sized combo of steak, bbq chicken, baked potato (with all the toppings of course) and french fries.  I always feel like I'm getting something for free when order this meal because I take home the left overs and have them for dinner the next day.

Kyle got the Southern Fried Chicken without the gravy, and I snapped this photo of him eating his dinner.

This face says "If you try to take my food, I have no problems stabbing you with this fork.  Or even the steak knife."  I love it.

We finished our awesome dinner, and then went over to Kyle's co-workers house for a night of drinking and board games.  I really need to get my mind into the whole blogging thing, and TRY to remember to take pics of everything.  We'll see how that goes.

I'm off for the night.  I have laundry to put away and tv to watch.  Hope you all had a great weekend!

My 2 Favorite Stores

I got my Christmas bonus from my boss a little early this week, and I immediately got excited to go spend the money all on running stuff.  My first stop was Target.  I got 2 new moisture-wicking running shirts:

A running hoodie for when the weather gets bitterly cold:

A new pair of compression pants.  Before I got them, I had one pair, and had to wash them every time I wore them.  Pain in the ass.

I also got a new Chocolate Brown Wool Pea Coat.  The coat I had was about 5 years old, and 3 sizes too big.  I looked crazy ridiculous in it.

After Target, I stopped at my absolute favorite store, North Wales Running Co.  There was coupon in my goodie bag from the Towamencin Turkey Trot for 15% off.   I didn't need new shoes yet, but I bought them anyway.  Brooks Adrenaline GTS 12's.  They are gorgeous!

I probably won't start wearing these until March-ish, but I have them just in case!