A mile per site...

I have been frustrated with my job lately. Mostly this week for some reason, but still I am annoyed. I think that I have gotten even more so since sending my application for grad school. Running has been my stress reliever. I headed to the Y tonight to put in five miles. Five miles came and I had some more left so I added another mile. That's one mile per site. Too bad it doesn't put some kind of magic spell on them that would just fix them. No such luck. Pretty sure that if I get in to school I will try to go full-time and leave my job. I'm not a quitter, but I'm not a miracle worker either.

I'm tired.

Cross your fingers! It's on its way!

So, I just completed my application for the University of Rochester today. It is in the mail and on its way there. Please keep your fingers crossed that I am accepted and maybe even offered somtheing like an assistantship. How 'bout it? Am really feeling like heading back to school would be a WELCOME change these days.

Stick a fork in it, kids!

Hallelujah! I just finished my personal statement AND my writing sample (aka term paper) for my grad school application! I have been working pretty steadily on both of them and I don't really remember term papers being so time consuming when I was actually in college. Maybe it was because I really didn't have much else to do...you know...like listen to 30 some odd employees whine and cry about unfair life is? That could have been an influence. Anyway, I am thrilled to be done with the application process. It heads out in the mail tomorrow! Keep your fingers crossed.

More importantly, baby pictures arrived today! Kristin's babies Ana and Nicholas are simply beautiful. Ana looks like a mini-Kristin and Nicholas looks like a mini-Scott. Could it be any better? Look at these little peaches...

Does it get any better? I can't wait to see them grow! Should be fun when they hit toddler age!

So, the baby boom is now officially over. There are no more babies on the way (that I know of).

Maggie and I are sleepy sleepy, so off to bed we go!

My downstairs neighbor is a jackass.

It is 10:46 Saturday NIGHT (okay, the fact that I am home and lone is pathetic enough) and Sade is bassing through the floor. I am debating as to whether I go down and pound on his door like he did mine last week. The kicker is that I don't think he is normal and I have a hunch there are some substance abuse "issues" that I don't want to be caught in the middle of. Oh! Even better! Now Sade is SKIPPING. HA! That is freakin' hysterical. Poor guy can't get his swerve on to a skipping cd now, can he?

Although I am seriously annoyed, I had a relatively productive and okay day. I actually got up fairly early for a weekend and started cleaning the apartment and getting rid of some clutter that has accumulated over the last couple of months. I was super vigilant when I first moved, but have been slacking a little as of late. It isn't horrible by any means, just papers and junk hanging around that I don't need. So, anyway, I purged a little today.

After I got things picked up (excluding bedroom, which is an issue in itself), I sat down and banged out six pages of research paper. Even though I had three already started, I completely began again and wrote six solid pages. The editing and citing process takes the longest and I am not looking forward to that. That will probably be a tomorrow event. I am hoping to be have everything completely done for my application by Tuesday. It needs to be in the mail BY Tuesday, actually. Time is getting tight since the application deadline is Thursday! Holy crap! The deadline is THURSDAY. It is now basically, Sunday. I have some hump busting to do tomorrow. I am also still waiting on a letter of reference from my boss, who has had the form for THREE weeks. It better be on my desk tomorrow morning or I am going to go ape.

Lance Armstrong visited me again tonight after I completed my five mile run. It is the longest distance I have completed so far with the Nike+ and actually is the longest distance that I have completed probably ever without walking. I've done a couple of 10Ks, but I am sure there was a walk break or two in them. Anyway, I am quite proud of myself. The clothes continue to fit better and I continue to feel better. I hope to stay healthy and injury free so I can keep at it. Next week I need to be a little smarter about mileage since I almost doubled what I did last week. The rule of thumb is to only add 10% a week. I think I can manage.

Okay, even though Sade is still rapping through the floor, I am going to attempt to hit the sack. I am tired and will probably have a sore body tomorrow. More editing and laundry tomorrow. Woopty doo!

Toasted cheese and chocolate milk!!

I gotta be quick. Grey's Anatomy comes on in about three minutes. I can not be distracted. It is also quite difficult to type when you have a big chocolate moose laying across your lap. Oy vay!

So guess what I had for dinner tonight? A toasted cheese sandwich with FOUR slices of cheese on it. It was so gooey that I had to literally eat it over the plate because the cheese was running out of it. SO ridiculously yummy. Mags liked her little portion, too. She is a cheese lover. I also swigged down a big glass of chocolate milk, which seems to be my new thing. The rumor is that milk does a body good!

I almost hurled on the track tonight. It was the weirdest thing. I was running along, feeling just fine when I felt this heave. I really was not tired out at all. So, anyway, I heaved and threw up in my mouth a little. Disgusting, huh? So...I stopped and tried to breath hoping not to spew in front of the two games of volleyball that were going on below. That would have been mortifying.

I did something a little bad tonight, but it doesn't matter because it was good that I did it. Sometimes it's good to get a little reality check and remember that what you thought was good maybe wasn't really so good after all.

Whoppers, Mizunos, and Daughtry

I realize that tonight is the State of the Union Address. In the name of keeping peace between my sister and I, am going to refrain from making comments about our national idiot.

Somewhere along the way to work this morning, I decided it would be a great idea to have a Whopper and fries for lunch? What the hell was I thinking? I felt like I was harboring a baby seal in my gut all afternoon. Good lord. Lesson learned. I don't care how good they taste, they aren't worth the fast food hangover that comes with them.

The wonderful UPS man brought my new kicks. After having the same pair of runners since July, it was time to get a new pair. I am in love with Mizunos. Having tried almost every other brand imaginable including Nike, Reebok, New Balance, Asics, Adidas, and Saucony I have found my sole mate. Get it? SOLE mate. This is my third pair of Mizunos and I don't plan on switching up any time soon. I took them for a 3.5 mile spin tonight and they cornered like they were on rails! Yee haw!

Along with new wheels, comes new music. I was cruising around iTunes trying to find some new music, when I came across Daughtry. I bought the whole stinking album, and let me tell you I LIKE IT. I am going to burn it tomorrow and listen to it in the Jeep. I think that he probably should have been America's Idol. I don't know about that Taylor Hicks so much...

I managed to bang out an eight page personal statment for my grad school application today. It is only a first draft and I know that I have some major revising to do, but it felt great to write that much. I can't say that I was very productive in completing much other work, but at least I got that nearly completed. Now I just need to get to work on the paper. Maybe tomorrow?

Okay, I am pooped. Time to go snuggle with the Mags.

Vive la Lance!

I KNEW IT!! I KNEW he ADORED me. Who, you ask? Why, Lancey Poo Armstrong, of course. What the hell am I talking about? Well, you know how Paula Radcliffe usually tells me "Good job! You've run your longest distance so far!" Well, imagine my surprise when I finished my run tonight and it was LANCE. The same Lance who I have loved. The same Lance that made me hate Sheryl Crowe even more (but I can tolerate her now since they busted up). Anyway, I was thrilled. Now I wonder who else will speak to me when I reach a new milestone?

I can't get my Nike+ to calibrate successfully for ANYTHING! I've tried to do it four times. Let me just tell you...after about the 45th time around the indoor track, you start counting laps. It is 19 laps around the track for a mile. When my Nike+ tells me I have completed a mile, I have actually completed two additional laps, so it is telling me that I am completing a mile after 21 laps. This wouldn't be any big deal if I were just doing a mile or two, but I am doing four miles at a clip. That's 8-10 extra laps - or somewhere between .4 and .5 miles. See where it's adding up? So, according to my Nike+, I ran 4.32 miles tonight. So did I actually run closer to 4.7 or 4.8? I guess it only benefits me in the long run, but it's also no wonder that my pace per mile is turtley slow. It makes me feel like a slug, but I know I am "hauling." As much as a chubby girl can "haul" anyway.

Lately, I've had something weird happen while I am on the track. No, it isn't the feeling that I am going to wet my pants or vomit (although I came pretty close tonight). It is that people are starting to draft me. I'm not kidding. If you have run before you know what I am talking about. It's those people who are right on your tail, using you as a pace car. They won't pass you and hang in there for a couple of laps before passing you (acting like they are faster) or falling off. Usually, these are people who have walked most of the way and then run four of five laps to end things off. Maybe I should be flattered that they think I am worthy of following. Maybe they think that I am slow enough that they CAN follow me. Whatever it is, it annoys me. It has happened the last four times I've been on the track. Argh. I maybe wouldn't mind so much if it were men following me, but it's always women. Whatever.

Okay, on other non-running topics.... My Jeep got new brakes today. At almost 84,000 miles, I suppose it was time. I was told in May that I needed new brakes soon. I guess they lived a good life. I love my little Liberty.

Thinking that is about it for now. I am getting very sleepy! Till tomorrow...