Race Day!

Act 1

So luckily Mom decided she wanted to ride 1.5 hours to the race and back with us this afternoon! Maybe she can tell more stories like this:

(Precursor to story...Mom calls me and asks where she should go get a tire...someone put an arrow in her tire and ripped off her front license plate, so I told her Walmart and another local place that Mr. P uses for such needs.) And no, it wasn't Penny or I. I think.

Mom: I go to [not one of the places I mention] and ask them about a Goodyear tire and they had a Michelin for $110.
Me: Why did you ask me where to go if you were going to pick somewhere else?
Mom: Then I went to Walmart and they had the exact tire I wanted for $85 including installation and everything.
Me: Well, good.
Mom: A midget did it.
Me: They don't really like that word.
Mom: Oh, well I didn't say that to his face.
Me: Okay good.
Mom: (in a somewhat surprised voice) Anyway, he was nice.
Me: You don't say.
*********
Act 2

Last night was opening night of Miracle Worker. I have to say CK2 played quite a douche...and he did quite a good job! i actually enjoyed the story much more than I thought I would. Mom, Mr. P, Penny, and College Kid went and sat behind some people who will probably not want to be our friends...not even on Facebook. Yeah, we are those people, whispering a commentary and eating candy, albeit quietly during the play.

BUT, I almost lost it at one point:

Mrs. Keller: Eva, do you want a pickle?
Eva: You know how I love a pickle.

Simultaneously, one at my right and one at my left, Mr. P and Penny, "That's what she said."
*****
Act 3

I am well carbed and hydrated and I have my playlist ready to go assuming we can use the iPods. It is supposed to be gorgeous weather this afternoon, and I am actually really looking forward to the run. If the title of my post tomorrow is "Fuck that Trolley" you may want to avoid reading if you have an aversion to strings and strings and strings of cursing!

It's a miracle!

Tonight is another edition of 'Dinner and a Show'. We will be attending the community theater production of "Miracle Worker", which for those of you who aren't up on your Alabamians, it is the story of Helen Keller and her teacher, Anne Sullivan.

But we aren't that interested in Helen Keller or Anne Sullivan...we are attending because we adore JAMES Keller. Why, oh, why do we have our hearts set on James? ahhh, because CK2 is playing James!! This is his first "adult" theater experience, I am really excited to see it even though I am not convinced that it is a story I am that interested in...I know, right? I kinda suck. We also get to feel very fancy and go to the window and get our comped tickets...all the stars get those and can "leave them at the window". Awesome.

On the subject of CK2 I had to play the pissed off mom card on him yesterday...I read a letter from his Dean that CK2 had not written a thank you for his scholarship, and the Dean had asked him 3 times already. I was NOT pleased. And CK2 got a text, voicemail and FB message instructing him to write.the.damn.letter. Dude, it is a $2,000 letter...just write the fucking thing already.


I wholeheartedly agree that my ingrate child should definitely thank the person who provided him that scholarship and also should have done it when the Dean first requested him to do so (hence the angry mother voice mail)...but the letter? I think it was completely inappropriate in verbiage and tone. I don't believe that that a Dean should ever threaten a kid "...if you intend to keep your scholarship", or write things like, "if I were the benefactor I would question why someone was so ungrateful and question whether you were a wise investment. Certainly there are other students who would be much more grateful ."

Maybe that is why there is a search for a new Dean in that school.

OR, am I just being one of "those" Mom's ?

Who needs an orthodontist when you have gum and/or paperclips??

So last night was family dinner, sans family. Except of course the family member Penny and I wish was missing, our mother. (It was me, Penny, Eli and MOM.)


I am sitting across the table from my mother and notice that she has chewing gum kind of wedged around her front teeth like some sort of bizarre Hubba Bubba Invisalign braces. But not invisible, but GUM like.

So I mention it. She acknowledges that I mention it. She leaves it there all during dinner. We ate salad. and pizza.



What the hell is that?!?



Oh, speaking of 'do it yourself braces'...did any of you wish you had braces or a retainer when you were in middle school and take paper clips and straighten them out then mold them around your teeth and then wear it at school?



NO?



oh, me neither.

My favorite player of last weekend: On the OTHER team.

I am a HUGE football fan, and is it quite often I find myself yelling, "Rip his legs off !" or some equal sportsman like comment at the television...whether it be college kids or the professional players. On Saturday morning, we were watching our football against another school within our same division...a win was important. We had lost 3 in a row, plus we always want to beat the schools in our division. We did not start out very well, so the house was filled with "sportsmanship".

During the game, one of our defensive players was tackling the opposing running back, and after the play was whistled dead both players were motionless. The crowd went silent. Yes, you want them limping off the field because your guys are more hardcore than their guys, but you never. ever. want to see players laying so so still on the field.

After awhile of coaches, doctors, players huddling around the injured players, come to find out it was our guy that was hurt. Really hurt. And the guy he tackled, the OPPOSING running back stayed perfectly still UNDERNEATH him until the doctors and emergency crew got our guy on the stretcher. That running back could have pushed our guy off of him and popped up like they do every other play, and no one would have thought a thing about it. But he didn't. He laid there with an opposing player on top of him. And by doing that, doctors say he saved our player from permanent paralysis.

Even though we won, that kid on the other team? He made the best play of the game in my book. I hope that I can remember his actions (or inaction) next time I am in a position where I can help someone out, just.to.do.it.

the LONGest run

When I first starting training for the 10K that is.this.Saturday, I remember reading through the training schedule and getting a tiny bit LOT freaked out.

I wasn't sure I would stick with the training schedule, I might hurt myself, I just wasn't completely confident that while still obese (from a BMI standpoint) that my poor old lady body would handle it. But today was that Tuesday that I have been anticipating for weeks and weeks.

I got all water belted up (it was 75 degrees here today), put my phone and even some PowerBar goo in my belt at Mr. P's insistence (because he is at work and gets nervous that on my very deserted run I could keel right over). I felt both dorky and strong setting out. The first 1/4 mile was really, really hard for some reason. But then I got to Right Round by Flo Rida and things fell into place.

I run away from my house for 3.13 miles, then turn around and chug back. At about a mile out I have to go around a fence that keeps my neighborhood separate from a new development. I gave my future self an imaginary high five, well not really an imaginary high five, I did the motion, but my future self wouldn't return it until about 4 miles later. (yeah, I do that type of thing a lot.)

At the turn around I decided to try the goo:

It was gooey and warm and SWEET and kind of grossed me out. BUT I will admit that my 5th mile was about a minute faster than my other miles, so I think maybe there is something to 'refueling'.

On the way OUT, I saw this guy and was scared of him and excited that I had my phone so I could take his picture, but then I did run in the dead center of the road because there were a bunch of leaves and I didn't want to run into/onto any of his buddies.


With about a mile to go, I high fived my past self at the crossing

and then finished up at 1 hour 26 minutes. I felt amazing. I did it. I completely jogged a 10K on a hilly, hilly course. I felt stoked for Saturday. So stoked I pulled out my confirmation card and in the teensy tinsy print, "The Jolly Buggy will set out after 90 minutes to pick up any slow ass motherfuckers so the rest of us can go home."

Okay, no, it didn't really say it quite that way, but I didn't know there was a time limit, and even though I came in under it today, it makes me much more anxious than I wanted to be...remember the training promise that I would be confident now? Not as much, but I am going to 'taper' and 'carb load' and 'hydrate' so that I do NOT have to get on any mother fucking trolley this Saturday. Mark my words.

Challenge Extended...

Challenge Accepted...and none to soon it would seem.


I was perusing the blogosphere yesterday afternoon and while catching up with Lynne, I read about a challenge she was going to undertake over the holidays, The Holiday Health Nuts Challenge hosted by Ginesa at Destination: Athlete.


First, the name was a funny coincidence. Mr. P and I were doing our weekly shopping and I was browsing the cereal aisle and he said, "UM, isn't your cereal in the health nut section?" That made me giggle that any.thing about me might be considered 'health nut'. But alas, he was correct, my Kashi is, in fact, in the health nut section.


Second, even after my triumph of last week's journaling and subsequent 2 lb loss, this week was not stellar. I gained 4.6 lbs. I am not convinced it is due to an excess of 16,100 calories in over calories out (3500*4.6) but the scale displayed what it displayed. TECHNICALLY, I probably didn't go too far over in points, however, more days than not had one giant meal and then a few snacks...veggies? HA. fruit? I scoff at thee. Water? Only in the form of beer and soda.


But back to the challenge...this Health Nut challenge is more than weight-loss. I did set a weight-loss goal to get my Fat Test to 80% by December 28 which is the last day of the challenge and my one year anniversary of Healthy, Healthy, Healthy. This morning I was at 84.89%. I don't normally like to set poundage goals because, well, let's face it, human bodies are weird and controlled by human brains, even weirder. But, that is part of it. The other part is choosing two other goals such as 80oz of water intake, journalling EVERY.bite, exercising, etc. At first I was going to choose two I already do fairly consistently and well, but then realized that really isn't the point. So I chose:



80 oz of WATER per day.

Journalling EVERY.bite.



And away we go....

Official Holiday Kickoff

I love everything Thanksgiving/Christmas. I used to be able to keep my shiznit together and hold off on Christmas until after Thanksgiving, but then a few years ago I succumbed to 'mall' mentality and now as soon as the spiderwebs come down from Halloween, I start gearing up for Christmas. I have already bought 3 new ornaments and am beginning to plan my gingerbread masterpiece of 2009...maybe it will be better than 2008?

Anyway, the holiday season kicked off to a grand start when we DOMINATED the costume contest and our town's Halloween Block Party and Trick or Treating.

While Mr. P's idea of having clear shower curtains serve as our 'shakers' was a good one...it didn't translate that well in pictures. Steve was taking the picture, but you can see his costume over at Penny's place. We won a stellar gift bag that included a water bottle, a $5 off pizza coupon, and giant eyeball bath fizzies. SCORE.

Oh, and again this year I have decided to do NaBloPoMo...wish me luck!