bluebee's Journal

job perk
I had a meeting this morning about doing a website and some ads, brochures, etc. for a physicians office/medical spa. To help with the creative process, they are offering me a free cosmetic procedure of my choice. I guess they think I might design more compelling ads if I've experienced the benefits of a procedure myself. Whatever the reason, I'm kind of excited about it. I've always been curious/skeptical about these things, and now I'll experience it first hand. They do all that laser stuff -- skin rejuvenation, wrinkle reduction, skin tightening, vein treatments, hair removal, etc. I have a consultation tomorrow to decide what I want. Who knows, the next time you see me I might look 10 years younger! (Please don't tell me any horror stories about people becoming horribly disfigured by laser procedures.)

sick
I'm sick -- a cold or something. I'm supposed to do 14 miles today (which would be my last long run before AT&T HALF). I really don't want to run -- I feel like crap. Should I wait a few days and see if I'm feeling better, and then do it? I ran a little over 12 last weekend. I'm tempted to just call that good and skip the 14 completely. Any thoughts?

running loops
Eric and I are visiting his parents. We're staying at the Shilo Inn. It's right on the highway -- no roads but the access road to the highway. I ran my 5 miles by looping the small parking lot over and over and over...

perfect jeans
Answer a few questions and they will tell you the perfect jeans for you.

stitches
Today's workout was 8 x 1200 (tempo pace) with 30 second rests. Everything went well except that I kept getting side stitches. Not unbearable, have to stop running stitches, but painful enough. I tried all sorts of remedies — different breathing patterns, holding my breath, tightening my abs, pushing my fingers into the stitch, running with my hands over my head, forceful exhale on opposite foot, blah, blah, blah. Nothing seemed to have much effect. Overall, I'm still happy about the workout — I was able to hit my times without too much trouble, even with all the stitch nonsense. But it is aggravating. I seem to get stitches frequently. Usually when I'm running downhill or going too fast, but sometimes (like today) for no obvious reason at all. If anyone has suggestions, I would love to hear them.

lost gloves
I ran at the track today. When I run at the track I usually take off layers as I warm up. After the workout, I was grabbing my extra clothes and couldn't find my gloves. I thought maybe the wind had picked them up, so I searched extensively. I had only bought them a week ago! I eventually gave up and headed home. Once home, I took off my hat. Guess what I found? They had been in my hat (on my head) the entire time. Unbelievable! Anyway, at least the workout went well. It was 3 x 2 miles (tempo pace) with 3 minutes rest.

week/weekend
Not much to tell about my week. The weather has been cold, but at least dry the last few days. My run last Wednesday was during a heavy snow. I've never run in snow like that before. It was kind of fun, though it started getting to me after a while. I got that sort of dizzy, slight motion sickness feel — kind of like when I look at a waterfall for too long. Anyway, still had a good run. The roads were a bit icy on Thursday, so no hill workout for me. I ran today, though it didn't go well. I have no idea why. Just a bad day, I hope.

Amy M. from Austin was here this weekend. She was staying with a friend (more than a friend, I speculate) in Portland, but they came down to Salem on Saturday and we met for lunch. She's thinking about moving here. She interviewed for a job in Portland, and she's coming back in March for an interview in Salem. It would be fun if she moved here.

simple bread
Fanatic Cook is one of the many food blogs I check regularly. It's not so much about cooking, more about nutrition and other food-related issues. Anyway, yesterday's entry was about a super simple bread making technique. I tried it out last night/today and the results were great. I substituted a cup of whole wheat flour which seemed to work just fine. I think I might make it again tonight/tomorrow, but try adding some cheese or something.

I went to the track this morning. The workout was 7 x 1200 (tempo pace). I almost put it off until tomorrow because of a little foot/calf pain. But it actually feels a little better now, so maybe the run was a good thing (or at least not a bad thing).

endurox
I used to drink endurox all the time. I bought some recently, and it tastes even better than I remember. I'm sure they've changed the formula. Anyway, I love the new taste. The fruit punch is my favorite.

My run today was 10 miles — 2 warm-up, 6 half-marathon pace, 2 cool-down. I ran with a group and it was a nice run, but I wasn't working as hard as I should have been on the 6 HMP.

drying workout clothes
I never put my workout clothes in the dryer — especially not jogbras. Now I read this: "A cycle in the dryer renews the outer layer treatments on jackets, and ‘tightens’ stretchy lycra-based garments. Tights and jogbras benefit from being put in the dryer." I found this on the Running Times website. If you want to read the full article, http://www.runningtimes.com/rt/articles/?id=7795.

I should be thrilled. No more hanging clothes to dry. But I'm not — it just seems wrong. Any opinions out there?

windy track workout
My workout today was 4 x 2000 with 2 minute recoveries. It was very windy, so I decided to give myself 1 extra second per lap to compensate. There was another woman at the track who I occasionally talk/walk with. She (and her husband) opened a pizza place a few months ago. In my opinion it's the best restaurant in town. (The food isn't particularly exceptional, there's just not much competition.) They recently decided to open for lunch. I told her they should sell by the slice — I would be in there all the time if they sold by the slice. I love pizza — it's probably in my top 10 favorite foods.

Yesterday I made split pea soup, maple wheat bread, and lemon meringue pie. I've been in a cooking mood lately.

too long run
Long run yesterday was supposed to be 14. We miscalculated the turn-around and ended up doing closer to 16. My legs were tired yesterday, but feel ok today. I went to the gym and had a pretty good workout. Tonight I will eat Indian food and watch belly dancers.

new shoes
I ordered new running shoes yesterday, and they arrived today!!! They shipped from somewhere in Washington, so didn't have too far to go, but still... I'm pretty impressed. I'll be ordering all my shoes from them from now on. Free one-day shipping -- can't beat that! I ran in them today and they felt great, but they are by far the ugliest running shoes I've ever owned. Completely hideous.

I made cloverleaf honey-wheat rolls today. They were very good -- I ate four and felt totally disgusting. Decided I needed something non-carby for dinner, so I made goat cheese souffles (recipe courtesy of

traininglog), and ate them with leftover Christmas ham.

cat stacking
If you like cats and/or games, this is a fun way to waste time -- Stack the Cats. Be sure to play with the sound on -- the music, cat noises, and random comments are pretty entertaining.

resolution
I was going to make updating my journal a new year's resolution, but decided not to wait for the new year. I got a call from

carbon12 today, a card in the mail from

effendi and

mizmizuno, and then cooked Thai coconut ginger soup, which always makes me think of

ginsnap. All must be signs that it's time.

The running group I joined a couple months ago has been great. I only meet with them on Saturdays, but it's been enough to get me motivated to run again. Today I did a track workout -- 5 x 1000. Saturday I run 14. I'm planning to do the ATT half in February.

running
I joined a half-marathon/marathon training group. Today was the first run. I really hope this gets me back into the running thing. I'm tired of people saying to me "I hear you're a runner", and having to reply "I used to be a runner, but I don't run much anymore." I want to be able to say "Yes, I am a runner!"

kitty cam
Eric is installing a security camera system so we can view the kitties online when we're out of town. We'll be testing it next week while in Austin. It'll be so cool if it actually works. The cameras are set up in front of all their favorite spots -- just hope they don't hide under the bed all week.

funny logo?
I'm currently working on a website for an animal rescue group. They just sent me their logo. I always have a feeling of anticipation/dread when I'm about to open a new logo. The logo is important, and it often dictates the look and feel of the site. There's a huge sense of relief when I open a logo and it's good, or at least not bad. Of course, there's a huge sense of despair when I open a logo and it's not even close. How do you tell a client their logo sucks? I usually just redesign or modify it into something acceptable -- so far that's worked ok.

The logo I opened tonight did not cause relief or despair -- just a moment of disbelief, then uncontrollable laughter.

Does anybody else think this is funny/weird? Here's the logo for Bandit's Adoption and Rescue of K-9's.

tonsils
I had my tonsils removed two weeks ago. By far the worst physical pain I've ever experienced. I always thought I had a high tolerance for pain -- ha! The recovery has been ridiculously slow, but I'm finally starting to feel better. Wish I had them out when I was a kid. I did read a couple good books while recuperating -- Three Junes by Julia Glass and Brick Lane by Monica Ali. Another benefit -- I lost 8 pounds, though I'm sure I'll put it back on pretty quick now that I'm eating normal again.

I recently got a treadmill -- I'm still having PF problems and hoping the treadmill will help. I'm thinking about listening to audio books while I run. Anybody have recommendations for a good source of audio books online?

Eric and I are going to Hawaii next week. It will be the first time for both of us. I'm pretty excited. We're going with some friends from Austin, so it should be especially fun.

reunion/cookies
Eric's 20-year high school reunion was this past weekend. It was fun -- more fun for him than for me, though I did get to hear lots of entertaining stories about what a geek Eric was in high school (like I'm one to talk). It kind of made me regret not going to mine last year. It would have been interesting to see how much (or little) people had changed.

I recently bought a cookbook called "Small-Batch Baking" (on

traininglog's recommendation -- thank you traininglog!) I love baking, but hate having baked goods around to tempt me. In the past, I've adjusted recipes to make smaller quantities -- sometimes the measurements work out easily, sometimes not. This book makes baking small quantities so much easier. The recipes are generally designed to yield two servings, such as 2 miniature cakes (baked in tin cans), 2 muffins, 6 cookies, etc. I was really craving cookies today, but really only wanted one cookie (not six) -- so back to the complicated math and measurements. It might sound like a lot of work for just one cookie (and it was), but I like to think I might have burned more calories making it than I got from eating it.

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