Who's your mama!?!?!

First, I should apologize to my loyal readers for the gap in postings. I am sorry if I disappointed you or created some kind of gap in your life. Please accept my sincere apologies. With that said...SUCK IT UP. Okay. On to the good stuff.

I kicked some major ass tonight. Major. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it very far since the Reuben from lunch was sitting pretty darn heavy in my gut. Layered on top of the Reuben were some Reese's Pieces, a Reese's peanut butter egg, a few Swedish fish, and a Butterfinger thing. I surely had enough energy, but was it going to make me hurl somewhere along the way? I put on my Mizuno's, strapped down the girls, grabbed the iPod and out the door I went. It was chilly. The sun was out and it was gorgeous, but it was brisk. I had dressed well and never overheated or froze. That was a good start. With the Mission Impossible 2 soundtrack kicking through my ears I was determined to complete the route that I had mapped for last night, but blew off.

The run was JAM PACKED with hills. I would say that probably up and down were even. And just for the record I DID NOT walk any of the hills. When in Wellsville I was panting and dying to make it up a hill. Tonight I did at least four decent hills. Most are long and gradual, but they are almost worst than just straight up. So anyway... It took me a little while to get into the groove, but somewhere along the way I got this warped friggin' thought of "This feels readlly good." I was overall comfortable, but concerned about the tightness in my Achilles. I still worry that my plantar fasciitis is going to return and that wouldn't make me happy.

The first part of the run was through a residential neighborhood with gorgeous old historic houses. This is also the street I live on. Turn left and now I am in a any-town USA neighborhood. Turn left again and it's more of the same except houses are bigger. Cross through an intersection and now you are in blue collar town. Construction trucks, dogs in fences, broken sidewalks just waiting to grab your ankle and take you down. Across a bride with a brief look at the river below. Nice. Take another left and I was in a seedy part of town. Not surprisingly this is the road you have to take to get to Stupid Boy's house out of Auburn. The sidewalks are awful. The houses are disgusting, but there is constant traffic and few people on the street so I am not horribly concerned about it. Take another left and now I am running down the Main Street, down a short hill followed by a VERY long gradual hill. This was a long stretch. Eventually, I take another left and I am in an okay part. This is where I was screwed. I couldn't remember the street names that I had mapped out and wasn't sure where I was or where I was going. In true Jennifer form, I ended up in the ghetto. I mean the Auburn projects. Granted, it wasn't like the projects in Atlanta, but it still was the projects. As I was running (at a faster pace) through this neighborhood I am getting cat called and guys are cranking their heads to get a better look as they drive by. I was freaked out, ut the adrenaline did me well. I made it out, hit my street, took a left and high tailed it back to my apartment.

Almost two hours later I am still freezing. My nipples feel like they have frost bite. It is a weird phenomena. I think I need to start strapping the girls down a little better. Ouch.

As I was strutting along I was thinking "The first mile was for Jeff...the second mile was for Charlie...the third mile..." and then I stopped that train of thought and instead started with "The first mile was for making it on my own. The second mile was for making my legs stronger...the third mile was my therapy for the day...the fourth mile was for..." I realized that I had reached a point where running had shifted as my outlet for anger to my time to really be proud of myself and keep working hard. I am seeing results (as slow as they feel) in many areas of my life. I am happy where I am headed. Look to the right and see what I accomplished today. I am proud. And I didn't walk. Any. Of. It. Kick ass.

I talked to Bill today, who is my potential new house mate. He seems nice enough and we are meeting Saturday afternoon to see if his boxer, Mitchell and Maggie get along. Of course, we also need to see if he and I get along. No worries. I am taking at least one person with me. Good thinking, huh?

Hmmm....what else? Thinking that is about it for now. I am pooped. I have taken Motrin and am thinking I will be sore tomorrow. I am also thinking it was worth it.

PS - Katie was inducted into momhood yesterday. She had to scrub poop off Emily's face.. *GAG*

Random thoughts...

Okay, before I sat down to write I had a billion things to say (of course). Now I have started and I am not sure where to start! No way am I speechless.

Getting in shape is a weird thing. I realized tonight that my favorite pair of running tights are getting too big...like baggy big. They still feel nice but because they are big they don't give the support that they are supposed to anymore. It's a good thing, but at the same time... Same thing with regular clothes. Sure, it is fun to buy new ones IF you have the money to do it. I had some really cute pants and shorts from last year that I am fully expecting to be too big this summer. I am trying to buy one thing here and one thing there, but it is hard to guess sizes and if I am going to keep going down it is dumb to buy too much.

OH! I know what I was going to say! I sent in my deposit to the University of Rochester today. I guess that makes it official! I am going back to school. YEAH! That was something significant today.

Crazy Charlie called me last night. He now has a girlfriend. Good for him. He was trying to get me to be involved in some shenanigans and I wasn't having it. That's just wrong. Long story short I told him thanks for toughening me up. I needed it. He told me he had a girlfriend via text message and then asked if I was okay. I said I was perfectly fine and apparently he didn't believe me because he called. Again I told him that I was really okay with it and he said that he just needed to hear my voice to make sure it was okay. He actually sounded a little disappointed that I really didn't care. He told me it would be a while before I was ready to move on and have another relationship. Give me a break! We weren't even dating. Fruitcake.

Had a good run on the treadmill tonight. I was hoping to run outside today, but I came home and made myself do a bit of cleaning. By the time I was ready to go it was pouring rain. Anyway, I hit the dreadmill.

Tomorrow will be a horrible day I am predicting. There was a girl fight in the office today and I am happy to say that I was not involved AT ALL. I wasn't even there! I am proud that I was not a miner of conflict. Go me! Anyway, I meet with a coordinator tomorrow that is kind of like an emu. Emu are confused creatures and will stop and not move if they run into a weed because they think they can't go through/over/around it. She is kind of like that. The issue we are discussing tomorrow is one that we have been going over and over and over... Just do your freakin' jab and call it a day Emu Lady! Not difficult. This is not rocket science.

Okay, have some work to do to get ready for tomorrow and I am sleepy. Was to sleep late last night and am hoping to catch up on some of it tonight.

Ta ta for tonight!

P.S. Did I mention that I am in looooooooove with my Mizuno Wave Creation 8's. They are so good to me!

How is the weekend already over?

This weekend just FLEW by. It could have been that never ending wedding shower I went to yesterday... Holy mackerel. There were at least 65 people there (no exaggeration) and it lasted a little over FOUR HOURS with most of the time being the opening of the never ending gifts. I think she got three shower curtains, including one that was all shamrocks. Included with this gift was a leprechaun toilet seat cover and bath rugs. There was also a shamrock garden flag and some other shamrock/leprechaun type things. The kicker is that Katie isn't Irish and neither is her fiance. Any person that takes the time to redecorate their bathroom for the holidays is just pathological. Granted. I like to change a shower curtain every now and then but for each holiday? Who wants to go to the bathroom with leprechauns watching? Anyway, it was never ending, but it was great to see my family.

Rather than taking the NYS Thruway I went through the Finger Lakes and landed in Hammondsport at Pleasant Valley winery. This is where I bought two bottles of Chocolate Lab wine and two bottles of delicious champagne (the only champagne I will drink). Always a nice stop.

Amy and I did dinner at Chili's today and I got suckered into a Presidente margarita. They are huge, but watered down. Chili's has such delicious food and what did I pick? A black bean burger and a salad. It was tasty, though! After dinner we went and saw Reign Over Me. Adam Sandler was truly fantastic as was the movie. Well worth seeing...

After a nice long conversation with Jeff and Linda and a cup of Starbucks Mud Pie ice cream (because I've been craving it from the Beef Haus and this was as close as I could come...) I am off to bed. Mags isn't feeling so hot with a suspected UTI. She is the queen of UTI's. My poor girl. Okay...off to bed!

A scatter brained blog.

Let me first say TGIF. What a long, busy week it was. Much was accomplished, but unfortunately none of it was really my work. That means that I will have an insane week next week. I will be playing "mom" to a coordinator and an assistant since I am pretty sure they are going to rip each other's hair out. We have an assistant vying for control without an inkling of what needs to happen or why. It looks like another firing is in the imminent future. Just my favorite thing to do. Yuck.

I was incredibly petty today at the end of the workday. Our executive director is out on medical leave for six weeks and this was only week one. We have our own power struggle happening in our office. There is a woman who is just incredibly annoying and attempts to micro-manage whenever she can. She makes up stories and then blurts them out in front of people. Example: We had a consultant here this week who lead the focus groups yesterday and a strategic planning group today. This incredibly annoying woman has a crush on this man. Anyway, at the end of the day as the consultant is getting ready to leave, the annoying one (whom we call Atilla) says to him,"After ____ completed her first conference call with you we asked her what she thought you looked like." This same Atilla announced in another meeting, "She (a coworker) is feeling like a preying mantis today, so be careful." She announced to the crowd that our coworker had PMS (And no. It was not me.) Anyway, she picks her nose and eats it, but tries to do it on the sly. We all see it. She was cleaning out her ear with her finger today and then picked out a couple of nuts from a bowl and handed them to another coworker. We aren't allowed to eat meat off a bone in front of her (i.e. no chicken wings) because of some weird experience she had in a past part of her life. We may not heat fish in the microwave. We may not burn candles that are a scent she does not like. I got in trouble one day for popping bubble wrap in the office. She has said things like, "I don't usually hire someone and then take two weeks off." (in reference to my position when I started - she is not my supervisor.)

I think that I have set the stage. So after she and her one little minion on the office left the rest of us convened to decompress and thank god that the wicked witch had left the building. We were standing in "her" office which she shares with our Executive Director. She insisted that her desk be placed where it is and as a result our ED looks like Atilla's secretary when you walk in. So back on track. We were standing in the office and I was standing by her chair. I am not sure what it was, but something that was said just really irritated me. Before I knew it I was dumping water on her desk chair. Sure. It was petty, but it has the whole weekend to dry and whatever is left will be soaked up by her hippo sized rump. Did I say TGIF?

My apartment is currently the cat ghetto. Every night Scout chases Nala and does this stupid half whining/half purring thing. He then jumps on her back and bites the back of her neck until he decides it is time to yank out clumps of fur. This happens every freakin' night. Scout will tear across the bed and wake me when he is doing his little thing.

I hit the gym tonight for 30 minutes on the elliptical and a set of heavier weights. It was such a gorgeous day and I felt guilty that I was working out indoors. When I got home Mags and I went for just under a three mile walk. She is sleepy tonight.

I have been craving Mud Pie from the Beef Haus in Wellsville. I have even been calling Maggie "Maggie Mud Pie." The closest thing I can come to is Starbucks Mud Pie ice cream. Never fear. I controlled myself and had maybe half a cup. It really is deelish, though. Maybe it is what is for breakfast in the morning - before I have to head out the door for a wedding shower (dry heave).

I got an email today notifying me to register for summer classes at the U of R. I have not sent back my acceptance yet and need to do so before the 30th. I figure that I will send it out on Monday. I am still kicking around the idea of taking one or two summer classes, but I won't get financial aid so I may as well just wait until the fall. In any case it was pretty exciting. The courses offered literally fit on two pages (one page for Summer A session and one for Summer B session). This is remarkably different from Penn State where you basically sat up all night waiting for the registration lines to open and you called incessantly until you got through. We also had to work out a system with your roommate or find another phone in an underclassmen's room who wasn't able to register yet. The email did specify that registration begins at 12:20 a.m. Monday morning, so must be some classes fill fairly quickly.

I think that is it? It is 12:40 and I should be asleep at this point. I ate that freakin' Mud Pie ice cream just before I came to bed. Could be the caffeine hyping me all up...

Having fun with an old buddy...

It has been a couple of weeks since running has felt like much fun. I am happy to say that it felt like fun tonight. I am determined to break this friggin' weight plateau if it kills me (and it just might). I headed to the Y and planned on hitting the treadmill. The elevated track just doesn't do it for me anymore and the air up there stinks. There are usually basketball or volleyball games going on and it just stinks.

Anyway....

I hit the treadmill and planned on doing 45 minutes. I put my Nike+ on basic and went for it. After a ten minute warm-up I started to get bored and knew that I needed to do something to keep my interest. I needed a game. Each minute I raised the speed by .1 mph. It doesn't sound like much, but I went from 5.3 mph to 6.0 mph and then back down minute by minute. After a recovery at 5.2 I turned it back up to 5.5 and increased the mill by .1 every 30 seconds until I hit 6.5. Once I hit 6.5 I decreased by .1 every 30 seconds until 5.5. After a short walking recovery I turned it back up to 5.5 to finish the last few minutes. It was actually fun because I had to pay attention to what I was doing. 30 seconds isn't too long and it let me change it up. I need to start playing with the incline, too, but I am afraid that I am going to encourage a flare up of plantar fasciitis. OUCH. I have finally accepted that I can't (and shouldn't) try to run every day. The plan at this point is to run one day, cross train and weights the next, and rest on the third day. We will see if it kick starts my metabolism again. Here's to hoping!

It was an interesting day at work. We were traveling around the county with a consultant who was leading focus groups of middle and high schoolers regarding a survey they took in October. Specifically he was asking questions about the way they answered. One question was "What kinds of things happen at school that make you believe the school doesn't care about you?" Answers included everything from bad cafeteria food to teachers not taking into consideration how all students learn - not being flexible in their teaching techniques. Another comment included that teachers too often teach through homework rather than in the classroom. How many of us wen through that? Go home and read chapter six because we will discuss it tomorrow. Yeah. Been there. Done that.

One question in particular really got an insightful answer. The question was: "Why don't you communicate with your parents?" One high school girl started by explaining that she had been exploring the poverty rate of the county, which she cited as 45%. She then followed by saying that she thinks many parents are intimidated by their child when the child reaches a higher level of achievement than the parent. There was more to the answer, but I thought that was pretty amazing.

I was so looking forward to the strawberry shortcake I made tonight, but good lord my gut hurts. I think I will be skipping this one. Is it really possible that taco soup moves that quickly through the system? Oy vay!

I gotta run. Holy schills.

Much respect...

Even if I was a G.W. fan (which I am not and never will be) I would still respect and admire the Dixie Chicks for what they said, how they handled it, and the album they turned out as a result. I just finished watching "Shut Up & Sing," the documentary of the Dixie Chicks journey through the aftermath of Natalie Maine's comments at their 2003 London show about being embarrassed that the president was from Texas - specifically her hometown of Lubbock. From being banned from country radio to receiving death threats, the girls held true to their beliefs and integrity. Even when the other two could have bailed on Natalie they went through it as a group, never apologizing for what was said, where it was said, or why it was said. I admire that. The final result was one HELL of a personal album including the successful "Not Ready to Make Nice" which got me through more than one pissed off episode or two this summer. I know not everyone will agree and that is okay by me. I think I have always been semi-Dixie Chick like. You may not like what I say, but at least I am saying it.

Anyway...

Work has been busy and the week is only going to get more crazy. I am up to my eyeballs planning summer program, finishing plans for the remainder of the school year, setting up meetings, trainings, picnics, etc... It feels like there is no end in sight, but the good news is that we are ACTING rather than REACTING. That has taken a lot of time and patience to get there. Happy to be visiting.

So I did not report my run for yesterday. After three days off I was pretty rusty and feeling the time off. I did about 3.5 miles in an unremarkable, nonreport worthy time and pace. Tonight was 30 minutes on the elliptical and a round of weights. I am getting ready to seriously throw the scale through a window or worse. Yesterday I was apparently four pounds lighter than I was today. WTF? It drives me batty, but I am addicted to that stupid scale.

It is my goal to wear a size 12 skirt tomorrow that I have never worn. I bought it in Canada a looooong time ago during the the last go round of weight loss and I bought it smaller thinking that I was going to get there. I turned into a fatty fat fat and never reached that size. I tried it on this morning and it zipped. Not only did it zip, but it also did not scream for its dear life. I will try to work it into an outfit tomorrow. Cross your fingers! (This may not seem like a big deal, however I was a size 20 early last summer). Boooya!

I also have a lead on a possible housing situation in Rochester. I got an email outlining a roommate situation that includes all utilities, garage parking, a fenced in yard, a dog sitter that comes twice a day (Mag would have a new boxer friend), all new stainless steel appliances and granite counter top in the kitchen, laundry, wireless internet, cable, etc... The most attractive thing is the fenced in yard and dog sitter. How awesome would that be? Good stuff. Here is the catch. It is with a guy. That is a little weird, but I am betting that I would get along better with a male than a female. We are in negotiations and I don't know what will happen. I would have to pack up a bunch of stuff again and put it all in storage since I would have two bedrooms for my use. I can't fit all of my stuff in that area. I got rid of soooo much stuff when I moved from Wellsville and I can't downsize much more. By the time that I am out on my own again I will have nothing but my Fiesta Ware and dog. Ugh.

Okay...anyway. It's bedtime. I will try to be better with the blog. I am a busy girl.

Are you a runner?

"Are you a runner?"
"Yes."
"These are AMAZING shoes."
"They sure are! I have had three pair of them. I strayed to another model, but never will again!"
"They've improved them even more than before! Can you believe it?"
"I can't wait to take them for a spin!"

This was an actual conversation today. By a guy in the shoe department and I as I was standing there holding the display version of the Mizuno Wave Creation 8. I am seriously in love with this shoe. it is ugly as sin and I should not have complained that it was orange, because now they are even uglier. I don't care, though. I am in love. Serious love.

This weekend was...interesting? I wasn't sure if I would make it to the Wellsville are or not because of the snow storm that smacked us Friday night. Fortunately, for my hair and me I was able to travel and got the cut Saturday afternoon. Thank goodness!

The original plan was to do dinner and then go out in honor of St. Pat's Day. Things don't always work out, though and that plan was ditched. I did get to have dinner with Cristin Winegard-Hopkins and Katie at the Cuba Bistro, though. That place is just simply deelish. They always have great specials and unique combinations of food (think chicken coated in Corn Flakes with a caramel apple sauce and mashed red potatoes with cheddar cheese and garlic.) It is a take your own bottle kind of place and so we did. I was introduced to a new Pleasant Valley wine (Keuka Lake winery) called "Chocolate Lab." Do you think I would really pass it up. It was so good!

According to the bottle " Chocolate Lab is unabashedly unsophisticated with the familiar fruitiness of the lush, ripe native grapes from which it was made. With a delightful hint of chocolate, it is as unpretentious and approchable as a friendly puppy. Enjoy it chilled or on the rocks. It is truly an "anytime" fun wine that puts on no airs." Doesn't that just warm the cockles of your heart? The after taste is very chocolate and sticks around for a while. I was hoping to find a picture of the label online, but no such luck. Think the face of a choc puppy and there you have it.

I was able to stop and see Aunt Alice for a bit today. She was pretty surprised. Next weekend is Katie Jane's bridal shower, so I will be headed back to Hornell again next weekend.

I have an offer to potentially share an apartment with a couple in West Henrietta. They are looking for someone to share a 2 bedroom apartment and the most attractive thing is that dogs are allowed and the rent is $295. I am not all that sure that I can share a place with people, but maybe I need to make the sacrifice to help get through school?

I also found a Health teacher position listed for the Brighton School District. It did say Health/PE preferred, but it was specifically listed as "Health Teacher." That would only be about 10 minutes from school and could work out well. I am going to try to get an application in by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed. Not thrilled about being back in the classroom, but maybe it won't be quite so bad if it is a means to an end.

Guess that's it for now. Looking forward to my bed tonight!