So normally my Monday night is just me as Brian has class pretty much all evening. But, due to the interference of a day training class he is taking this week, I got to come home to hubby, dinner and a movie. Long story made short...
Tuesdays With Morrie on a Monday. What a great movie! I have the book and am now so excited to start reading it. So excited, that I'll be taking a brief break from all the other books that I'm in the middle of to tunnel through it. Brian and I cried through several parts of it. I love that I married a man who will cry through a movie with me. I'm not exactly the touchy-feely-crying type so I'm so glad that I married someone who lets me embrace that side of me on the rare occassion that it comes out. Morrie makes a person really think... about a lot of things. For each person, it may be something slightly different. Watch it or read it and then listen to your little bird.
Tonight, my little bird told me to go ahead and have another bite of peanut butter fudge (makes me think of my beloved Gram) and to love, kiss, and hold my hubby. "Love one another or die"... Someday I'll die, but until then, I better love.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Trail Report
After our half-marathon a little over a week ago, Brian and I had planned to get right back to the running the following week with some shorter jogs (2, 4, and 6 miles), but that didn't happnen. We ended up taking the whole week off from running. I don't know if it was the time change or what, but I just couldn't get myself motivated to get out of bed. Plus, I only taught 3 times last week and that was all of my workouts. It was really weird. Maybe I needed the break, but it's over. Now it's 5 weeks until our next half-marathon and time to get back to work.
This morning we hit the trail at around 5:30 am and the weather was great - cool and clear with nice twinkling stars. A brisk walk to warm up and then off and running. We ran by "Trail Mix" both out and back; that's what I've named the cute little kitty that lives on the trail behind the QT gas station. She's a fluffy, gray and white kitty who's quite friendly (especially when no one has fed her recently). Sometimes we'll stop to pet her, but I was feeling good and didn't want to ruin it, so we kept going. Stretched and got some water at miles 1 and 2 and then ran back to the bagel store to clock in 4 miles. It was a great run and I felt great afterward. At the end we even got our pep talk from Clyde. Clyde has run marathons all over the world, including one on every continent, but I think the greatest thing about him is that he has the gift of encouragement in abundance. Today he told us how proud he was of us for finishing our first half and working toward our next one. Love that guy!
We're planning on 5 miles for Thursday and 8 or 9 miles on Saturday. Keep you posted!
This morning we hit the trail at around 5:30 am and the weather was great - cool and clear with nice twinkling stars. A brisk walk to warm up and then off and running. We ran by "Trail Mix" both out and back; that's what I've named the cute little kitty that lives on the trail behind the QT gas station. She's a fluffy, gray and white kitty who's quite friendly (especially when no one has fed her recently). Sometimes we'll stop to pet her, but I was feeling good and didn't want to ruin it, so we kept going. Stretched and got some water at miles 1 and 2 and then ran back to the bagel store to clock in 4 miles. It was a great run and I felt great afterward. At the end we even got our pep talk from Clyde. Clyde has run marathons all over the world, including one on every continent, but I think the greatest thing about him is that he has the gift of encouragement in abundance. Today he told us how proud he was of us for finishing our first half and working toward our next one. Love that guy!
We're planning on 5 miles for Thursday and 8 or 9 miles on Saturday. Keep you posted!
Fantasy Football Update: Week 9
Somehow my undefeated streak continues. With a record of 9-0, I am currently number one in my league and have clinched my spot in the playoffs. Historically, in our league, those who have gone into the playoffs in the lead or with exceptional records have gone out in the first or second round. So, in that sense, this does not bode well for me. We shall see. I'm expecting doom to rain down on FF team any week now.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Entitlement
I am disappointed bummed about what our government is doing. To say that I'm disappointed would be to imply that I expected something better than what I'm getting. The truth is that I expected this from the moment that President Obama was elected and from the moment that the word bailout was first uttered from a politician's lips. Frankly, it makes me sad and makes me feel so powerless. Yeah, I know, I have the power of my vote, but that doesn't feel very powerful - not when there are millions of uninformed voters out there who are so easily hypnotized with pretty words and promises of a life of ease and luxury. All of these voters feel that they are "entitled" to so much and obligated to so little. We have so lost sight of the principals upon which this country was founded! So, let's take a look at a few of the areas where our country has gotten off track in the past year.
Bailouts! Ooooh, the nasty B word! It is a nasty business, because it disrupts a natural, capitalistic business cycle. Successful businesses profit and grow while unsuccessful ones lose money and die out - this is not a bad thing. This is necessary for advancement and is in the best interest of consumers. Bailing out an unsuccessful business is a waste of money - why would you buy a dying race horse? Those in favor of the bailout will say that we "need" that product/service or that a company is too big to fail. But, let's say that we did let these insurance companies, car companies, and banks go out of business; what would happen then? Well, we would simply buy insurance, cars, and banking services from other companies, the stronger, smarter companies that survived. Other companies will spring up to fill the void and life will go on. No company is entitled to be bailed out by anyone.
Economic Stimulus Bills (aka fairy dust). Actually, it's really expensive fairy dust and if someone were trying to sell you fairy dust on the street would you buy it? No! Why? Because you wouldn't think it would work, you'd think it was a big scam, and these stimulus packages are exactly that. They haven't actually achieved any kind of real stimulus or growth. What they have done is spend tons of taxpayers’ money - your money and my money. Frankly, I'm pretty pissed about that. What part of economic cycle do Obama and his loonies not get? We were sitting on a big, fat bubble and it burst. Why does he want to blow another one to get us out of this? Can't we just do it the old fashioned way? Slowly and with hard work and without the instant gratification. Oh, wait, I forgot the millions of voters who seem to think that they're entitled to a life of luxury without any obligations. But, how to pay for that, because there is always a price... (Oh, and for those reading who are saying, "Just print more money", that doesn't work. If you just print more money, each dollar is worth less. This means it will take more money to buy things and a lot more money to pay off the billions of foreign debt that our country is racking up.)
Healthcare "Reform" - Really, they're calling it reform; I don't buy it. I can't believe that this piece of junk legislation got passed! Okay, I take that back; I can. I won't detail out all the reasons why I feel this is a piece of junk, but rather discuss what some of my friends, who are in favor of this, have said. I've seen posts on facebook and various other places, saying that everyone is "entitled" to healthcare. Really? Since when and why? I agree that everyone has the right to have access to healthcare and you do, for a price. But, what makes anyone think they have the right to receive it for free (or practically for free)? I don't expect a mechanic to fix my car for free, or the grocery store to give me food for free, or any number of other things to be given to me or done for me for free. This country was founded on the principles of working for what you get. Yes, I realize that not everyone makes a lot of money, but everyone does make a lot of choices and sets their own priorities. And, I also think that it's wise of people in need to ask for help, but not from a government that will tax us $1500 in order to turn around and spend $1000 in order to give you $500 dollars. Shouldn't we just cut out the government from this sad equation? I'm not averse to helping out my fellow citizens, but rather averse to the government wasting my money and spending it however it suits their current political agenda.
This rant is probably long enough, so I'll wrap it up and conclude with this: Please help stop the entitlement mentality. Remind yourself and others that rights and privileges come with obligations and responsibilities. We are all important contributors - if you were meant to be a sponge, you would live in the ocean as such. And, lastly, to my friends with little ones, please raise them up to be responsible for themselves in all areas and to know that they have the right to pursue happiness, but they are not entitled to be handed it on a silver platter. Oh, and lastly, if you voted for this guy, please don't do it again. Thanks!
Bailouts! Ooooh, the nasty B word! It is a nasty business, because it disrupts a natural, capitalistic business cycle. Successful businesses profit and grow while unsuccessful ones lose money and die out - this is not a bad thing. This is necessary for advancement and is in the best interest of consumers. Bailing out an unsuccessful business is a waste of money - why would you buy a dying race horse? Those in favor of the bailout will say that we "need" that product/service or that a company is too big to fail. But, let's say that we did let these insurance companies, car companies, and banks go out of business; what would happen then? Well, we would simply buy insurance, cars, and banking services from other companies, the stronger, smarter companies that survived. Other companies will spring up to fill the void and life will go on. No company is entitled to be bailed out by anyone.
Economic Stimulus Bills (aka fairy dust). Actually, it's really expensive fairy dust and if someone were trying to sell you fairy dust on the street would you buy it? No! Why? Because you wouldn't think it would work, you'd think it was a big scam, and these stimulus packages are exactly that. They haven't actually achieved any kind of real stimulus or growth. What they have done is spend tons of taxpayers’ money - your money and my money. Frankly, I'm pretty pissed about that. What part of economic cycle do Obama and his loonies not get? We were sitting on a big, fat bubble and it burst. Why does he want to blow another one to get us out of this? Can't we just do it the old fashioned way? Slowly and with hard work and without the instant gratification. Oh, wait, I forgot the millions of voters who seem to think that they're entitled to a life of luxury without any obligations. But, how to pay for that, because there is always a price... (Oh, and for those reading who are saying, "Just print more money", that doesn't work. If you just print more money, each dollar is worth less. This means it will take more money to buy things and a lot more money to pay off the billions of foreign debt that our country is racking up.)
Healthcare "Reform" - Really, they're calling it reform; I don't buy it. I can't believe that this piece of junk legislation got passed! Okay, I take that back; I can. I won't detail out all the reasons why I feel this is a piece of junk, but rather discuss what some of my friends, who are in favor of this, have said. I've seen posts on facebook and various other places, saying that everyone is "entitled" to healthcare. Really? Since when and why? I agree that everyone has the right to have access to healthcare and you do, for a price. But, what makes anyone think they have the right to receive it for free (or practically for free)? I don't expect a mechanic to fix my car for free, or the grocery store to give me food for free, or any number of other things to be given to me or done for me for free. This country was founded on the principles of working for what you get. Yes, I realize that not everyone makes a lot of money, but everyone does make a lot of choices and sets their own priorities. And, I also think that it's wise of people in need to ask for help, but not from a government that will tax us $1500 in order to turn around and spend $1000 in order to give you $500 dollars. Shouldn't we just cut out the government from this sad equation? I'm not averse to helping out my fellow citizens, but rather averse to the government wasting my money and spending it however it suits their current political agenda.
This rant is probably long enough, so I'll wrap it up and conclude with this: Please help stop the entitlement mentality. Remind yourself and others that rights and privileges come with obligations and responsibilities. We are all important contributors - if you were meant to be a sponge, you would live in the ocean as such. And, lastly, to my friends with little ones, please raise them up to be responsible for themselves in all areas and to know that they have the right to pursue happiness, but they are not entitled to be handed it on a silver platter. Oh, and lastly, if you voted for this guy, please don't do it again. Thanks!
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Fantasy Football
So, anyone who knows me knows that I am not a big sports fan. In fact the only sport that I watch regularly is UT football because I committed to that before hubby and I got married. SO, that may leave you wondering why I have a blog entry about fantasy football. Well, we have a fantasy football league at my office and I've participated the past couple of years, mostly so that I don't feel left out of the FF conversations on Mondays.
As it turns out, I'm doing really well this year (so far). Through happenstance and luck, I have an undefeated season and am number one in my league. It's funny, I don't really care about NFL and until I started feeling the pressure to maintain my status in FF league, I didn't really care about the FF either. The past couple of weeks though, I've been checking my roster more regularly, made an excellent trade (love Miles Austin) and am now waiting patiently to see what happens to my add/drops that I've put in for this week. I still haven't watched more than about 15 minutes of NFL football this season and I've decided that may be for the best. My FF decisions are completely un-emotional and based almost entirely on the stats.
I'll keep you posted on my progress and what I assume will be my eventual downfall from the number one slot.
As it turns out, I'm doing really well this year (so far). Through happenstance and luck, I have an undefeated season and am number one in my league. It's funny, I don't really care about NFL and until I started feeling the pressure to maintain my status in FF league, I didn't really care about the FF either. The past couple of weeks though, I've been checking my roster more regularly, made an excellent trade (love Miles Austin) and am now waiting patiently to see what happens to my add/drops that I've put in for this week. I still haven't watched more than about 15 minutes of NFL football this season and I've decided that may be for the best. My FF decisions are completely un-emotional and based almost entirely on the stats.
I'll keep you posted on my progress and what I assume will be my eventual downfall from the number one slot.
My First Half-Marathon
On Sunday, November 1st, Brian and I ran our first half-marathon. Since it was our first one, our main goal was simply to finish but we were shooting for 3 hours. Well, suffice to say we did finish, but missed our 3 hour goal by 4 minutes. By the end of it, I pretty much just wanted to die. Now, I'm feeling a bit more proud. Here's a brief re-cap.
Mile 0: I cough a little on the shuttle ride over to the race course, but figure it's just allergies. I'm thinking it's a cool, clear morning and perfect for a run. My feet are already a little damp from walking through a soggy field and I just watched a poor spectator unintentionally slide down a muddy hill on his butt. I'm optimistic that even though we only trained up to 9 miles due to some time constraints, we'll be fine and I'm open to walking portions if necessary.
Mile 1: Brian and I stop for our standard 1 mile stretch. We've done this throughout our training and it really helps loosen up my tight, burning muscles which is exactly how I'm feeling.
Mile 2: We stop for our 2 mile stretch and our first energy block and water sip. I'm anticipating getting into my groove in mile 3 like I usually do. We pass a tall lady with jiggly, cellulite-y, excess skin folds on the backs of her legs. I find her motivating.
Mile 3: I get a cramp in my side; it's lower and duller than a side-stitch but I try the standard remedies. I stop and walk for a bit, I sip on some water, and I take several slow, deep breaths. It doesn't work, so I go back to running and hope it will eventually go away.
Mile 4: I'm wishing I had Midol for this cramp. It's one of the few things not tucked into my amphipod fuel belt. We re-hydrate again, eat another block, and blow our noses. I start to feel like I'm slowing hubby down and I alternate between feeling bad about it and mad at him for seeming to want to go faster than my body will go today.
Miles 5-10: These all run together. We drink more water, eat more blocks, blow our noses again, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I still have that cramp and I'm alternating between praying and getting absorbed in the music on my shuffle (having turned up the volume to try to drown out how I'm feeling). I've never hit my stride and have come to the realization that this is just going to be a tough run. It's getting very warm; I'm thinking that the time change is rather unfortunate and wondering why they picked a course with so few shade trees. We seem to be keeping pace with the same cast of characters.
Mile 11: Tall, jiggly-legged lady re-appears. Every jiggle of her legs motivates me to keep going, because I don't ever want the backs of my legs to look or move like that. As it turns out, hubby just wants to pass her so he doesn't have to look at it anymore. (Did I mention that the bottom of her butt was sorta jiggling out of her run skirt? - it really wasn't pretty.)
Mile 12: Hubby and I concede to walking a mile, so that we can finish strong and run the last one.
Mile 13: We run again. Just over one mile and I can stop this insanity! Hallelujah!
Mile 13.1: We can see the finish line and we both pick up the pace a bit. I just want to be done!
Finish Line: I slow to a walk, stagger over to the lady with the water, then the lady with the finisher medal, and then the lady with the camera. Hubby and I pose for our picture together. I stiffle my coughing long enough to smile. I resume coughing and walk through the food tent - my stomach has not realized that I have stopped running yet, so it doesn't want anything. I finish my water, pick up my bag, and feel like I want to die as I start rubbing salt off my skin.
Post-race: We meet up with family and go to Cafe Brazil for some food. After scarfing down my migas and my half of our french toast, I start to feel human again. We go home, shower-up, take a nap, and then proceed to veg-out on the couch for the rest of the evening.
The next day: I'm sore. That about covers it.
Now: I've got a decent little tan (except on my legs which never tan, doh!). I'm proud of Hubby and I for completing it and I'm hopeful that we'll do better on our next one in December. On top of that, I'm starting to wonder which one(s) we should sign up for next year.
Crazy, huh?
Mile 0: I cough a little on the shuttle ride over to the race course, but figure it's just allergies. I'm thinking it's a cool, clear morning and perfect for a run. My feet are already a little damp from walking through a soggy field and I just watched a poor spectator unintentionally slide down a muddy hill on his butt. I'm optimistic that even though we only trained up to 9 miles due to some time constraints, we'll be fine and I'm open to walking portions if necessary.
Mile 1: Brian and I stop for our standard 1 mile stretch. We've done this throughout our training and it really helps loosen up my tight, burning muscles which is exactly how I'm feeling.
Mile 2: We stop for our 2 mile stretch and our first energy block and water sip. I'm anticipating getting into my groove in mile 3 like I usually do. We pass a tall lady with jiggly, cellulite-y, excess skin folds on the backs of her legs. I find her motivating.
Mile 3: I get a cramp in my side; it's lower and duller than a side-stitch but I try the standard remedies. I stop and walk for a bit, I sip on some water, and I take several slow, deep breaths. It doesn't work, so I go back to running and hope it will eventually go away.
Mile 4: I'm wishing I had Midol for this cramp. It's one of the few things not tucked into my amphipod fuel belt. We re-hydrate again, eat another block, and blow our noses. I start to feel like I'm slowing hubby down and I alternate between feeling bad about it and mad at him for seeming to want to go faster than my body will go today.
Miles 5-10: These all run together. We drink more water, eat more blocks, blow our noses again, and keep putting one foot in front of the other. I still have that cramp and I'm alternating between praying and getting absorbed in the music on my shuffle (having turned up the volume to try to drown out how I'm feeling). I've never hit my stride and have come to the realization that this is just going to be a tough run. It's getting very warm; I'm thinking that the time change is rather unfortunate and wondering why they picked a course with so few shade trees. We seem to be keeping pace with the same cast of characters.
Mile 11: Tall, jiggly-legged lady re-appears. Every jiggle of her legs motivates me to keep going, because I don't ever want the backs of my legs to look or move like that. As it turns out, hubby just wants to pass her so he doesn't have to look at it anymore. (Did I mention that the bottom of her butt was sorta jiggling out of her run skirt? - it really wasn't pretty.)
Mile 12: Hubby and I concede to walking a mile, so that we can finish strong and run the last one.
Mile 13: We run again. Just over one mile and I can stop this insanity! Hallelujah!
Mile 13.1: We can see the finish line and we both pick up the pace a bit. I just want to be done!
Finish Line: I slow to a walk, stagger over to the lady with the water, then the lady with the finisher medal, and then the lady with the camera. Hubby and I pose for our picture together. I stiffle my coughing long enough to smile. I resume coughing and walk through the food tent - my stomach has not realized that I have stopped running yet, so it doesn't want anything. I finish my water, pick up my bag, and feel like I want to die as I start rubbing salt off my skin.
Post-race: We meet up with family and go to Cafe Brazil for some food. After scarfing down my migas and my half of our french toast, I start to feel human again. We go home, shower-up, take a nap, and then proceed to veg-out on the couch for the rest of the evening.
The next day: I'm sore. That about covers it.
Now: I've got a decent little tan (except on my legs which never tan, doh!). I'm proud of Hubby and I for completing it and I'm hopeful that we'll do better on our next one in December. On top of that, I'm starting to wonder which one(s) we should sign up for next year.
Crazy, huh?
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