playing tourist!

What to do – when a good friend comes to visit on a whim and the weather graciously cooperates???

Play tourist, of course.

Usually this means a trip down to DC – museums and monuments and all. But! The North side of this state deserves some attention too. So, we decided to go see things that were even new to Me.

I live very close to the Charm City. Guess what that means?? I live near CHARM CITY CAKES! Oh, we went. And the Food Network has a huge hold on this place. The windows are covered in black tarps (nope, can’t even peak at the cake-making), and the door opens to you “By Appointment ONLY”. Psh. We’ll just enjoy the view from outside, thank youu.

Moving on…..

To Fells Point, MD. An old (old!) neighborhood in the Baltimore Harbor, home to many many bars, restaurants, shops, theaters, hotels and….more bars. It’s all historic and brick with cobble-stone roads and places like “The Horse You Came In On Saloon”. I want to come in on a horse! And then have a drink!

Anyway. I took a lot of pictures, because it’s just one of those places. You want to capture it, and you love it.

The Bond Street landing.

My buddies. Happy by the water.

Stand by the sea.

My view at lunch. Yum.

Cool door. Cooool window.

We had a blast, and every time I do stuff like this I appreciate this area that I live in more and more. Even if I’m out of this area by the end of the year – I lived here once. And – budget or no budget – I’m experiencing that as much as I can!

my top “5″

Someone, or something (wasting money on rentals?!), finally convinced me to sign up for Netflix. Thank the lord.

Really, its just another means by which to waste a lot of time Internet-ing. I didn’t realize this at first. I had my “queue” of the recommended 6 movies. Just six! Then I added an extra one….and nothing happened. Seven! Um, then I added 50 more and nothing happened. Except that I now have a queue of 57+ movies.

This is such a concept! I can switch around the order whenever I want, keep the movie as long as I want (but how selfish of me, there are 57 waiting for me!), and send myself whatever movie I want. Wow. Classics, new ones, stand-up comedy, concerts, TV shows, etc etc etc. I’m so in love.

There are movies that I see once and that is more than enough, and there are movies that I could watch over and over and over (and Over), quoting every line to you (but I Won’t, chill out) and expecting every song and dramatic event. Searching through this Never-Ending movie data base is way too much fun. I realized that I could never ever come up with just a “Top 5″ of my favorites.

But! Here is my attempt (not In Order, because….I don’t have the patience for that kind of analyzing….)…

1. Burn After Reading (love love love. seen it about 6 times already)

2. You’ve Got Mail (I can’t ever explain why I love this movie. I Just Do.)

3. The Big Lebowski ( F-ing hilarious)

4. Mean Girls ( words cannot do justice )

5. Pirates of the Caribbean

6. Friends with Money (dysfunctional people.)

7. Father of the Bride (I and II)

8. Save the Last Dance

9. Bridget Jones (why is there not a third one yet?!!)

10. The Devil Wears Prada (I want those clothes!!)

11. Catch me if you Can

12. Pretty Woman

13. Spider Man (not a Huge comic-book character movie person, but….Love #1)

14. All the “Oceans” :11, 12 and 13 (hottttt)

…ooooh this could just keep going. I’m actually kind of proud that I stopped at 14. I definitely left out a chick-flick or two (….or 20). I can’t watch the “dramatic” movies over and over, so some of them didn’t make the cut. Sorryyyy.

Anyway! Feel free to add on to the list. Whats in your top ‘5′ ??! I’m very open to expanding my NF-Queue.

If nothing else, I get mail! Oh, and entertainment for my weekend nights in, $$-friendly. Yesss.

the End of the Streak

It had been 3 years since this happened. I saw him sitting in the median as we passed; lights off, on the lookout.  I knew he would come for me.

Dangit.

I may not have the best driving record…..but! in my defense, there was Cop  that specifically targeted high school students when I first got my license. I was quickly pulled over twice before learning my lesson; don’t speed on the way home from school. Got it.

Then I went to Florida for a semester, and worked at the Happiest Place on Earth. Who gets pulled over, driving to their first day of work in Disney World?!?! Oh, that would be me. Not to worry, even the cops are Happy there (no, they aren’t Disney cops). He was nice and warned me, “We’re out here a lot. It’s easy to speed on these roads.” Yes, yes. Very true.  It’s certainly not fun to be stopped on your way to work. Especially on your way to make some Magical moments.  I had to set my cruise control every day, just to be safe.

That was three years ago, and the last time I had any encounter of the sort. Until last night.

No big drama or mug shot or anything like that. I was going about 15 over on a highway at 1:30 in the morning, being the beloved DD for my buddies. The cop was basically hiding in the grass, as usual. But he was super nice, even telling us “Ladies” to “roll up the window and try to stay warm”. Okayyyy. Will Do. He was thoroughly confused by my NM license, the TX license plate (driving Roomie’s car), and the fact that for some reason we were between Annapolis and Baltimore. Short explanation, “Well, we’re Grad students.”. Ooooh.

I was lucky and got off-the-hook, but wow I forgot how much that experience freaks me out. Here’s to driving safely and right on the speed limit.

File that under “S”, for Stupid

Monday night, I got my credit card out to pay a bill online. I left it on my desk.

Tonight, after weeks days of having it on my “to-do” list, I took a load of clothes to the Dry cleaners. We’re talkin huge steps here people. I’ve only done this once before, and it was for a Bridesmaid dress (um, sort of a ‘must’ do). So, I folded the pile neatly and got all kinds of excited that my clothes would be properly taken care of. Yessss.

I went to grab said credit card, and it was nowhere to be found. Last I knew, it was sitting right where I had left it. In fact, I even remembered thinking “I should put that back, soon. Maybe tomorrow….”. But I went ahead and let it sit. Or so I thought….

Where can a credit card wonder off to?!? It was RIGHT HERE on my desk. And now it’s not! Oh, this can’t be good. It must be floating around in my room. Not in my purse, not in my wallet, not on my desk, not in my desk, not around my desk, not under my desk……

The roomie recruited herself to help me. Here we are, tearing around my room, thinking it must be one of “those things”. I’m searching forever and it’s right in front of my face, but the roomie? She’ll see it right away.
And be like…A ha!

About half an hour later we still have no card. No explanation for where the hell it could be, and feeling quite dumb. Obviously I knew I should check my online statement. Because, obviously, somebody who walked into our apartment would steal nothing but my little card. Right? Ummmm….right.

Only to find out that my online account-user name “has been locked”. Uh, WHAT?! This looks shady. I certainly didn’t lock it. I know my password, I know my username, I just looked at it last week. Not good Not good Not good. I did what we would all do; called the company, explained that my card was lost (they asked like two questions and didn’t seem at all concerned. Awesome.) and was informed that it has not been used in the last two days. WHEW. Card cancelled, new card ordered and shipped. Thankssss.

Two hours later……

I’m sitting on my bed, laptop in my lap, doing homework. I look over to grab my water from my night-stand, and glance over at my little stack of books. Something is peeking out of the one I just started, about ten pages in. Usually my bookmarks are airline ticket-stubs, because usually I’m reading while I’m traveling. I pulled it out to see which one I had stuck in there.

Hm, guess what? It wasn’t a ticket stub.

It was my freaking credit card.

Monday night, after paying bills online, and blogging, and checking e-mail, and blah blah blah….I actually read about 5 pages in my book. For whatever CRAZY reason, I used the card sitting on my desk to mark my place. Why would I do this?! Nobody knows. Not even me, apparently, because I completely forgot about it.

Ahhhh. Now I’ll have two of them. Honestly, I”d put money on the fact that I’ll go to use the “lost” one only to be told “Um, Ma’am, that card was cancelled.” Really. It will happen. Hopefully only once, but it will happen.

Just go ahead and file that one under S…..for Stupid.
Lesson learned: don’t use your money (in any form) for a bookmark.

18 and under

I’m at the airport, again, heading East. The only good thing about that is the temperature in Baltimore this morning…and nice 40º. Sounds much better than this crazy 20! Gah.

Hint: try to travel on Monday. The airport is empty (compared to a weekend). Love.

So, I’m going through the line……I.D. and boarding pass in hand. I give both to the Security-man, and he’s all kinds of cheery. It’s 6:45 a.m. He says this:

“Good morning young lady! Well now, are you under 18??”

Um, what?!…..Me: “Hm, nope. I’m actually 22.”

“Ha, look at that! You sure are! Well honey, if you told me you were under 18 I’d certainly believe ya” *wink*

Yes, that’s great. But I’m not.

If there’s any doubt, don’t blatantly guess somebody’s age. Really? There’s a good chance that you’re wrong. And when you’re 22 and somebody asks if you’re UNDER 18?! Not a good way to start the morning. Adding to this, when I got my hair cut over the summer, the hairdresser asked me what I was doing for the summer. When she realized I was just out of college, she proceeds to say “Oh Wow! I thought you were still in high school, for sure.” The main point being that she already knew I wasn’t. Why would you still voice this?!? I’m baffled.

Sure, in 10 years this will be a huge compliment – assuming I don’t find some way to destroy my ‘young’ looks before then. But right now? It’s not welcomed. I know I don’t look 22. I know that when I order a drink people probably take a second glance at my ID, just to be sure. I know that my younger sister looks older than me. I get it. And when I’m 40 and people think that maybe I’m only 36, I’ll probably want to give them a big ol’ hug. And maybe I’ll do it.

Alright. That’s my rant for the morning. It’s not even 8 a.m. yet. The Atlanta airport better have good Frozen Yogurt (for whatever reason I love to get this in airports. who knows) and good magazines for me to look at.

This is what I know

If you read me over here on this little blog even once a week you probably know I graduated in May. And that I’m borderline obsessed (um, definitely obsessed) with my alma mater (…..PENN STATE. Whooo.)

But what I don’t talk about as much is what my major was. I talk about it here and there, but ya know. That’s not as interesting and I’m here to write, to get away from science and diseases and ahhh.

Then, I go and read blogs that talk a lot about exercise, running, diets, food, cooking, etc. So, really, I never get away from it. Which is awesome. Clearly I love it all. And I’m always up to learn something new. And they pose questions about all of the above, and I’m like “Hi! I can help! I mean, ya know…if you want…”. I’m always pleasantly surprised by the response. A lot of you have questions, and I could talk Nutrition allll day!  (and Disney and running and football…..ehhh, we won’t get into that).

I’ve never done this before, but I’m opening this up to You. If you don’t respond, it’s cool. That just means maybe I’ll spend more time working on the homework I probably should be doing anyway. Dangit. But! If you do, then sweeeet. I’ll dedicate a post to You.

With answers, obviously.

My own dose of TBL

Thanks to Target, I now own a “Power Sculpt” video featuring the trainers from “The Biggest Loser” (which I’m dubbing TBL, because it’s shorter to type). If you’ve ever watched the show, you know how scary this is.

This is me in an attempt to actually follow a more “balanced” training schedule. Not that I’m actually training for anything, right now, but ya know. In theory. On runnersworld.com you can type in some numbers and Bam! there’s a schedule, just for you. It’s pretty sweet.

My recent attempts at doing something different for an ‘off’ day have been a little disastrous. I hate exercise bike, only because years of soccer + running have left me with knees that belong to the elderly. The last time I did the bike, for a whopping 25 minutes, I was limping when I got off. Probably not a good sign.

Then there’s the elliptical. I love these things. But there are different types. And the type they have in our gym? It makes my feet fall asleep! I don’t mean that in some analytical sense as in like “Omg its soooo boring”. No, running on a treadmill is boring. Literally, my feet fall asleep….as in, no blood flow, tingling feeling, stomping them on the ground to wake them up…..looking like a crazy. I don’t think this is normal.

Some people swim for cross-training. Um, thats not happening.

Soo…..workout video! I’m totally open to trying Pilates, but don’t belong to an actual gym-gym. Like, the kind you pay for. Therefore, I can’t attend the classes. They don’t appreciate that. Instead, I’ll spend the money once and have the ‘class’ (aka Video) whenever I want! Goood deal.

The “TBL” DVD caught my eye. Because I watch that show, and those people are crazy. I love it. It’s the “Power Sculpt” video, which implies weight lifting (there are a few more to choose from ) but um, I didn’t buy weights to use yet. I thought I’d test out the video and see which ones wouldn’t kill me or be too easy (depending on what we actually do with them). Yesterday was the trial run, and you definitely Need the weights, but it was still a workout. Jillian doesn’t mess around. Gah. Less than 24 hrs later I’m already sore. The video is set up as a 6-week program, which is awesome because it means I won’t be doing the same thing over and over and over.

It also means she’ll be kickin’ my ass in 6 different ways and I’ll be like “I gotcha, running doesn’t necessarily make you strong. Yup. I get it!”

Remaining on the card

When it comes to gift cards, I basically hoard them. Give me a gift card, and it’s likely it will be at least 6 months before I even think of spending it. Why? I have No. Idea. It’s almost like I think it’s ’special money’, that can only be spent on the very best. And I will wait until I find those things. Never mind the things I need, that I could spend the card on. No, no. It must be the extravagant things. Apparently that’s what gift cards are for, according to me.

Thanks to my little running habit, a very good family friend got me a gift card for Lady Foot Locker. The card said “this should help with your new hobby!”. Until then, I had never thought of running as a hobby. Scrapbooking? That’s a hobby. Blogging? That could be considered a hobby. But running….? Hmm. Interesting. Running is my hobby. And let me tell you, it can be a very $costly$ hobby.

So I have this money at my disposal, and I’ll give you one guess as to what I’ve done with it…….

Nothing.

I’ve had it since July, and done nothing with it. Mostly because I’m saving it to buy new shoes, which I can’t do online. Because that’s a nightmare. And the closest store could be anywhere from 2 miles to 50 miles away for all I know. I know what you’re thinking, and Yes. I googled it. And, um, they aren’t close.

So I’m browsing online, under Track & Field/XC, to see what I can find. The variety of “running gear” that a website can make you think you need is quite surprising. If you’ve been to a “Running Expo” before a race, you probably know what I mean. I walk around those going, what’s that for?? Clearly not an elite over here. I don’t even know what my Garmin does besides tell me a time, a pace, and a distance. Don’t bother me with the instruction book, those things are confusing. Oh, I also know how to race my virtual running buddy. But it took me two months to figure out how to get the backlight to come on. Gah.

With all of the money still on the card (guessing a shoe cost, and subtracting. Cause, seriously, I need those shoes), I could get……..

A “Storm” Jacket. Which comes with a new attitude…Bring it on, winter! I’ll be fiiiine

…Or a “Pastry” boot. Seriously, it’s a “Fab Cookie Boot”. Clearly.

They are purple. Which is pretty sweet. But they’re also high-tops and metallic silver. Which is a little crazy.

What I really want is a running singlet that has a pocket in the back for a key/iPod/ID/cell phone/whatever won’t bother you bouncing against your back. I honestly think that’s a cool concept. And it definitely beats taking my key off the keychain and stuffing it in my armband every time I run. Because putting it back on the keychain always hurts my finger. I also want a waist-band (I refuse to use the word “fanny pack”) so when I start doing the long ones I can actually bring “nourishment”. Which basically means I can put in a baby water bottle and a bag of gummy worms. Yummmm. Not so into those gel-ish protein/caffeine flavored things. Sugary candy? Yes, maybe I’ll spend the rest of my gift card on that.

Just goes to show

I’ve never really followed a training plan for running. I use them as guidelines, and I tear them out of Runner’s World to use when I’m getting really bored with a routine. But doing it run-for-run, and goin strong? Yah. Haven’t done that.

I usually go with a simple formula:
1 long run. 1 interval run. 2 ‘regular’ runs (easy). 1 tempo run.

Hmm, I dont’ even follow that every week. I go with what I feel like doing, and what I know won’t kill me. Some days are better than others; some days I can run a 7:30 mile for an interval, and some days I’m at  a 9 minute-mile pace and I feel like passing out in the grass and taking a nap.

You just never know.

Which is why I’ve never even tried a “plan”. I guess for ‘fear’ I’d get out of line? Not sure if that’s the right word, but it seems like you miss one workout, then maybe one more, and then you’re lost. And dependent on a plan that isn’t working. Is that what happens? Or do you just pick up where you left off? Does it work? Are there answers?!?! Gah.

So. Anyway. Runner’s World.com has this amazing tool that makes a plan for you. All you have to type in is your last finish time (or maybe your “goal” time), what you’re training for, and how “hard” you want to train. I did this. And they came up with a pretty interesting little running calendar for me. In fact, I think I like it.

I figure now is the time to test things out. I’m between races, and I’m not trying to do anything crazy. I’ll see what works, and what doesn’t, without screwing anything up.  I put in an “average” finish time, since my 3 have been a little up and down. And my training level is “moderate”. Which could mean anything according to those crazy elite runners that are probably calculating my special workouts. And by crazy, I mean awesome. Obviously. I love them.

The formula is still somewhat similar: 1 long run, 1 ‘interval’ run (for 3 weeks, then 1 off), and 2-3 “easy” or “moderate” runs. Paces and distances all provided. But with all the specifics, it’s pretty different than what I’ve actually done (aside from the one Long). But it’s just for me. And that just goes to show, this running thing is completely. ALL. about you. Whats not to love about that?

Well I just can’t….

::sleep without the covers on. Even if it is 80º in the apt and our AC is broken (whyyyyy is it still 80 outside?!).

::resist a Reese’s peanut butter cup. Cause they are just.So.good.

::make myself start packing early. Despite the hard efforts. But, there is a list. Always start with a list.

::stop running. At the end of a race, I think “Holy F. I’m so tired, why do I do this to myself!?!”. Two days later, I’m looking up races…

::make it seem real that my parents are coming. NEXT WEEK. Yesss. Hello family!

::get myself to cook a nice fresh meal, when there are frozen ones in the freezer. They pull me in, every time.

::go one day without my Wild Cherry Diet Pepsi. Yumm.

::figure out why they would plan the last Presidential debate on the same night as the Project Runway Finale. gah!

::stop listening to Pandora. Or my OneRepublic radio station. Love it.

::get over how amazing Penn State is doing right now. #3!!!! So proud to be a Nittany Lion.

::Wait! for Jack to get here! on Thursday!!!!!!

::be done with this list.

oh, there we go.