Tag Archives: thoughts

But, seriously…

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The last couple of weeks I have been slowly updating my blog in small ways – tagging recipes appropriately, re-categorizing posts, editing typos, and the like. In the process, I noticed that I have been missing so many of the nice comments that you all have been leaving me!!!! MISSING, like totally never saw it and never responded!! HOW RUDE!  So, I have been very belatedly going through and answering comments that I didn’t respond to… very belatedly!

But, seriously, I will try much harder to make sure I don’t miss any of the lovely comments you post, and I’m very sorry if I am just getting back to you. I hope you continue to read and visit, because I am really grateful for your attention and comments!

Conclusion? THANK YOU for visiting me and I hope we will still be friends! (pretty please?! with some chocolate sprinkles?!).

Marathon Training (a 60 Day Challenge)

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Hello hello!!!

Today, I wanted to share my goals for this year in terms of running. I am planning on running either a half or full marathon on March 8, 2014. I know that seems like a super weird statement… what do you MEAN “either”?!

My friend C emailed me and R last year in the fall and asked “MARATHON?” and of course, I was immediately psyched and IN. C and R started training using a 24 week training schedule. Me? I came down with a violent cold that had me bedridden for nearly 3 weeks. The minute I felt better, I was flying to Korea for a funeral. When I returned from Korea, the stress of losing a loved one sent me straight back to bed with a pinched nerve in my back. Then, the holidays rolled around, and I was inundated with family, presents, and cold weather. This year has been unusually cold, and so running outside (my preference) has been a bit of a struggle.

This brings us to NOW. It’s about 8 weeks to the marathon, the hotels and flights are all booked, but my training isn’t where it should be. So far, I’ve really only been able to get a couple long runs in and then some shorter runs on the treadmill. I know that because I have a high tolerance for long runs that I could potentially be ready for this marathon without hurting myself, but I’m hesitating. Someone once characterized my running as “brute force” because of my ability to push through long runs despite obstacles. Since I have been running for a long time, and have training for many (many!) races, I do know the limit to my “brute force.” I think I’m toeing the line right between being ready and pushing it.

So… what is my 60 day challenge? I am going to train as if I am trying to get a half marathon PR, and try to throw a longer run in when I can. I’ll make the decision to run the marathon in early February… and worst case? I’ll PR in the half. 🙂

Why am I telling you this? Because I think it’s important to realize that planning these races is important to being successful and to keeping your body healthy. So… I’m holding myself accountable and will post once a week updating you on my progress. 🙂

Excellent. Run healthy and happy.

 

2014 and 14 things about ME!

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The first week of the NEW Year is almost up! But, I thought I’d come and say hello again even though I haven’t a single recipe to share (well, I do, but I didn’t take pictures….). I was wandering across the blogesphere and I noticed a lot of people had these little 15 things about me, or 50 things about me posts. I love that kind of thing! Mostly because I’m supremely curious about people… I just want to KNOW things! Anyway, I thought I’d pop in and write up my own, since I haven’t shared much about myself.

Oh… and I tag ALL of you. Tell me 14 things about you! I want to know!!!

  1. I am a grown up, but I struggle with that idea. I’m just a girl, dude.
  2. I am an excellent speller, but in 5th grade I lost the spelling bee because I misspelled California.
  3. My dog is a lhasa apso. She is currently snoring her head off her plushy bed.
  4. I believe in second chances, sometimes in 3rd and 4ths too.
  5. I graduated from law school a while back, but I teach for a living (hahhhh, with that pay maybe it’s 1/2 a living)
  6. I love running. I’ve run 3 10 milers, 10 half marathons, and 1 full marathon since 2010. I’m thinking about running another marathon in March.
  7. I have terrible eyesight, so I need my glasses or contacts to see anything
  8. My favorite seasons are summer and fall (spring comes in last since I get hayfever)
  9. Today, my computer told me it was running out of space and I needed to delete things! So I finally went through my 30,000 pictures and deleted the blurry ones
  10. I buy books at the airport based on how many pages are in the book. I read quickly, so I try to buy as many pages as possible to keep myself entertained
  11. I love junk food… candy, chocolate, cookies, brownies, and french fries are regulars in my diet (ooops)
  12. I adore getting dressed up. I love putting on pretty clothing and doing fun things.
  13. I prefer red wines and whiskeys to any other type of alcohol. And yes, I can hold my liquor.
  14. I love picking fruit… like anything at all. There is something extremely satisfying to me about picking fruit. I’m planning on a bigger garden this year so I can grow vegetables!

So… I pass the baton to you. Tell me 14 things about you! In honor of 2014. 🙂

 

Happy New Years!

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I realize I am a few days late, but I wanted to stop in and wish everyone a Happy HAPPY New Years!

I always feel a great sense of relief at the New Year mark each year… I feel like a fresh gust of cold air has arrived to sweep away all of the gray and dreary things to only leave the sparkling and wonderful things in life.

So. In honor of the New Year and feeling clean, refreshed, and happy… I have been earnestly applying myself to all of the things I want and need to accomplish. I have promised myself only to live happily… a complex thought, but really just a goal to remind myself to be happy.

I hope that you all have started off on a happy foot, and I hope that all of you have a bright and beautiful 2014 ahead of you. I, for one, and excited for this new year… the clean slate!

love, hugs, and all things good!! -h

 

What I learned from my 30 Day Challenge

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My 30 day challenge was to run/bike at least 2 miles every single day. Mid month I added walking.

This is just a list of the things I noticed. I starting writing these down after my runs, so some of them are really random, but I wanted to share my little realizations with you too!

  1. I am not an every day runner. My body needs rest and functions better with less but longer runs.
  2. I like running in the morning… Seriously. Who knew?!
  3. I need to figure out how to fix and maintain my bike on my own because I’m really really terrible about taking it to the shop. It’s been a month and it’s still languishing in the garage, flat and broken. Ooops.
  4. Despite running for nearly my entire life, I still have to work on my nutrion, electrolyte balancing, salt…. all that, since it still throws me off once in a while
  5. I think I want a running buddy once a week… I haven’t quite decided, but after running for so many days, sometimes I think it might be nice to have someone to chit chat with while I run. But then I think, I also love love love running alone because it brings me peace.
  6. When I don’t run for a couple days, I’m a huge bitch. I just have too much energy and I need to expel it into the universe in a positive way or I get cranky and needy, and I kinda bitch at everyone. Running = happy.
  7. I’m a super duper uber lazy walker. I walk SO SO SLOWLY. I need to work on picking up the pace and treating my walks like I treat my runs… seriously!
  8. I need to work on core fitness, weight lifting, and other all around body fitness. I think I am at the point where I can run forever and nothing about my body changes. I would like to firm up my core and work on muscle definition elsewhere in my body. I have super toned and defined legs, but that’s where that ends. Just my legs. I also think that if I were to improve core strength and upper body strength that I would be able to run faster. So I need to vary my workouts.
  9. For those of you curious about this – My weight is probably 1 pound different. I weigh just about the same as I did when I started, but everything on my body has firmed up just a bit. This goes back to my previous bullet, about how I am so accustomed to running that my body doesn’t change much, so if I want to see change I need some change in my work outs too
  10. I used to run exclusively in running tops that covered my entire back, shoulders, and most of my arms because I didn’t want sunburn, but as I have been running in very hot weather, I’ve been getting into running tanks and slathering on sun screen.
  11. I like running in spandex shorts more than regular shorts. I find that I like my clothing to stick to me so that nothing rubs, moves, or bothers me when I’m running
  12. Most running hats that are sold are possibly the stupidest and the worst caps ever. They don’t cover anything and they don’t shade enough of my face. It’s still my biggest irritation when I look for running gear. I have ONE hat that I love, and the rest I put up with out of necessity.
  13. I need to find a new running mix because the music I have right now is about 10 years old, and I actually know ALL the lyrics and for the most part could probably sing my entire playlist without turning my music on.
  14. I have a lot of running shoes

So. There you have it!! I hope that you had a healthful and productive June as well! Let me know what kind of “challenges” you have participated in the past and whether I should try them too!!

30 Day Challenge Revisions

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So, I challenged myself to 30 days of running/biking at the beginning of the month as a way to kickstart my running again.

Thankfully, the challenge has gotten me back into my shoes and back outside running and running like I have in the past. However, I have had to make revisions to my challenge.

I knew from the start that with my bum knee and my wonky ankle that I wouldn’t be able to run every single day, so I included biking in the challenge. However, I just don’t feel like biking. I don’t care for it much… plus the uber lazy lazy part of me refuses to sack up and get that stupid tire fixed (again… seriously, biking is such a hassle, there are so many moving parts). So… last week I was rounding out a solid 10 days of consecutive running and another 3 days of consecutive running, when I decided I needed to make a change. The challenge is really about getting healthy and enjoying yourself… and when it comes to running, I don’t believe in beating yourself up physically or mentally. Last week was particularly tiring for me, and I spent a good chunk of the afternoons after my runs napping, sipping gatorade, and watching t.v. Behavior that completely defeats the challenge. So I made some revisions.

I will maintain my active 30 days, but on days that I need a break from pavement pounding, I’ll take my dog for an extra walk or chase her around the yard for an extra 15 minutes (she’s a weeny one, so 15 minutes and she’s normally pooped). So… I’m adding “walking” to my challenging. Because… it’s really just about moving your butt. Maybe I should call it the 30 day “Move Your Butt” campaign.

 

Lemons

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I’ve been missing blogging, but sometimes I don’t want to write here when it isn’t happy. It started off with being just a little down, and then getting an awful cold I couldn’t fight off, and then I had a little career setback… so it has just been taking me a little time to come up with happy things to share. I’m not normally one to worry, but these days I feel time wearing on me and this urgency to keep going and fight, even when I don’t want to anymore.

Despite all this, I have been feeling a lot of optimism, so in honor of keeping our happiest memories alive and appreciating all of the nice things… here are a bunch of pictures from the last couple of weeks!

SONY DSC SONY DSC SONY DSC SONY DSC IMG_1976 IMG_1978 IMG_1987 IMG_2025 IMG_2043 IMG_2071 IMG_2089 IMG_2090 IMG_2095 IMG_2119 IMG_2142 IMG_2151

Notes on Baja Fish

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I was thinking about the recipe I posted earlier today, and I couldn’t help but wonder “what is baja fish?” Because my fishmonger simply had a little sign that said “baja” fish and told me it was good… so I bought it.

I mean… I know where cod is from. I know what it looks like. I know what tuna is from. I know what that looks like too. I have a general understanding of fish (did I ever tell you I was a waitress at a sushi place?)… but I’ll be honest, “baja” was not something that I was adequately familiar. Plus I wrote this recipe, and I didn’t want to give anyone mis-information (because bad information really sucks).

So… I sat down and went off googling. Turns out… there isn’t really anything called “baja fish.” In fact, I’m still pretty unclear on exactly what fish I ate this morning…

But! I did want to let you guys know… and tell you that I will figure it out and when I do, I’ll update you.

That is all.

xoxo -H

So. Bored.

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So. I’m unemployed… and you’d think that will all this extra time that I would be doing something amazing with my time… but truth be told? I pretty much sit around glued to my laptop surfing the web for random things and then I sit around obsessing about random things. Today I spent a good 3 hours looking at feathers. Yes. Feathers. Because I decided that I really, really need this adorable feathered vest. Unfortunately it’s sold out, so I thought “I WILL MAKE IT” and spent the better part of my afternoon plotting how to emulate this little vest. This is what I want: 

 

 

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Anyway… In an attempt to collect my thoughts of be more productive, I’m going to post a bit more here. Maybe the audience will help me feel some responsibility to moving on and getting back into shape.

Goals for this week:

  1. Run every other day
  2. Apply for 5 jobs (okay. I should apply for like 50)
  3. Finish one creative project
  4. Cook something. Anything… and share with you guys!

Oh… I also spend a lot of time playing with my hair. I found these little clip-in extensions that I have had for a couple years, and decided to sweep my hair up with them… it’s fun!

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I bought mine at Sally Beauty Supply… and I believe THESE are the ones I have. 

Procrastination Links

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I have two papers due tomorrow at noon… and I woke up late today. And then spent a large portion of the afternoon looking at kitties at the local petstore. I ate a burger and fries. And then I spent an hour napping. And then I spent about two hours surfing the web for recipes. And then I watched some online TV.

Since I did all that surfing, here are links for the interesting things I found today. 🙂 Most of them are recipes I want to try.

On an unrelated note, drafting contracts is truly a bore. It’s so technical and the way that each person reads something can be different. The point of a contract is to draft it in language that is clear to every single reader… and if the contract is unclear then it must be defensible in court because the language is as clear as could possibly be expected. I mean really. No wonder people in law school go crazy… the placement of “or” and “and” are crucial to the meaning, as are commas and semi colons. Each person is different and standard contracts are full of flaws. It makes you a bit of a basket case thinking about how someone could read your contract to read the exact opposite of what you thought you wrote. Perception. Trippy.