Long time friends are the best friends

I had the best evening last night!  A friend of mine from high school invited a bunch of us to a happy hour at his house.  Some friends were there that I have seen recently and some I hadn't seen since high school. 

I was a little nervous about going and seeing people I hadn't seen in years but my nervousness was stupid and not necessary.  As soon as I arrived, it was like we had just seen each other last week.  3 out of 6 of my very best high school friends where there last night.  There is nothing like friends that you have known for 20+ years.  Friends who knew you when you were young and stupid and had zits on your face, or a bad haircut.  Friends who have seen you cry and laugh, been there when you were fall-down-drunk or when you scored your first goal.  Friends who you studied with, partied with, graduated with, lived next door to.  Friends who have seen you at your worst and your best.  People who knew you before you knew who you were going to be, when you were unimportant, or broke, and loved you anyway. 

These are the type of friends that I got to hang out with last night.  Lucky me!  On my drive home, I thought (as my husband slept), why do I let these people drift out of my life?  It's so hard to keep in touch with everyone as life takes over.  Work, dinner, kids activites, bills, laundry, weekend and repeat.  You lose track of each other when we all get busy with our own things.  Some had moved away and then moved back.

I don't usually make New Years Resolutions, so I won't call this a resolution, but instead a goal for next year.  Keep these people close to me.  Try to get together more often and share our lives.  These people helped make me who I am.  I need them in my life. 

So you people--you know who you are--be prepared to see more of me and my husband and kids.  Like it or not. 

Missed workout post

Well, here I am on my lunch hour, writing a blog post because I didn't get done with patients until 12:10, then my partner needed to speak with me about business stuff and by the time that was done, it was 12:20.  My next appointment is at 1.  It's hardly worth the effort to change, drive to Y, sweat for 15 minutes, drive back to work, shower etc.  Thus, I missed my workout today.  We are having friends over for dinner tonight so after work is not a possibility either.  Oh well.  One day will not kill me, right?

I do have a lot of virtual challenges coming up for January so I won't be able to miss many workouts then!  HBBC continues through 1/8 so I need to keep gathering points for that.  I also signed up for the Freeze Your Thorns Off 5K (FYTO5K) hosted by the Boring Runner.  Basically you sign up on his blog, then on 1/28 you run a 5K.  Then comment back about it, post it on your blog, FB, whatever and you are entered to win some prizes.  He's from Arizona so that's where the thorns part comes from.  And anything below 50 for them is 'freezing' so that's how he can freeze his thorns in AZ.  I pray for 50 here in Maine on 1/28!  That would be a miracle! 

The next exciting virtual race I'm signed up for is KDUB's 70.3 Birthday Challenge.  Karen over at Working it Out, has organized a challenge for her birthday to complete a 1/2 Ironman over a 11 day period.  From 1/1-1/11 you would need to complete 2100 yards swim, 56 miles bike, 13.1 miles run.  It can be done all at once, in parts, however you want.  1 hour on a spin bike = 16 miles unless you can show otherwise.  All those that complete the challenge are entered into a random drawing for prizes.  I can totally do this challenge with a little effort!  Finding enough time to spin will be a little challenging, but I think I can do it. 

Isn't this cake awesome?  I totally want this for my next birthday.  Or if I ever complete an Ironman.

Oh, and I stole it off Karen's blog....

On another note, I seem to be attracting a bit more traffic to my blog lately. Thank you for stopping by and commenting!  I love reading your comments and then linking back to read about you.  Whoever you are that found my blog by searching for "extreme things in ass" or "girls doing unheard things", I'm sure you are quite disappointed with my blog.  And I will not be linking back to read yours....  I'm not sure how either of those things are related to my blog but it was kinda funny to read. 

Are you signed up for any races?  Real or virtual?

For the bloggers out there, any weird search words or phrases that have brought people to your blog?

HBBC catch up

This post will serve as my public announcement of all the things I have been doing to earn points for the HBBC.  I have been very lazy lately about posting my points and what I have been doing.  I don't want to look like I'm cheating (even though I'm not even close to winning....) so here's what I have been doing over the past two weeks:

12/9 2000 yds swim = 5 points
12/10 3.2 mile run, 15 min stretch = 4.2 points
12/11 nothing = 0 points
12/12 30 minutes jump rope and 30 minutes weights = 4
12/13 50 min spin = 5
12/14 3.5 mile run = 3.5
12/15 20 min spin, 1 hour tennis = 8
12/16 2000 yds swim = 5
12/17 4 miles run = 4
12/18 nothing = 0
12/19 20 min spin, 1 hour tennis = 8
12/20 nothing = 0
12/21 30 min spin, 15 min weights = 4
12/22 20 min spin, 1 hour tennis = 8
12/23 nothing = 0
12/24 5 mile run = 5
12/25 1 hour of shoveling off ice rink and ice skating (shoveling is freakin' hard work! especially an ice rink!), 30 min of wii just dance (I'm counting it.  My heart was pounding and I was sweating.) = 8
12/26 2000 yds swim = 5
12/27 20 min spin, 20 minutes of weights = 3.3

+3 points for 3 days of 7 fruits and veggies.  (I'm not very good at getting 7 each day.)

This Christmas was one of great stress and a general feeling underacheivement for me.  I was not well organized and didn't have a 'game plan' so-to-speak.  Thus, I was under-prepared and kinda unsatisified with how things went.  Everything from Thanksgiving on felt like I was rushing and like there was not enough time to complete everything.  Then with the holiday being on a weekend day, that made it all so much more hectic to not have one last weekend before to complete everything.  I swear I seriously thought about heading out xmas eve at 7 p.m. to get to Target to grab just a few more things before they closed at 9.  Like more presents was going to make it all better.....

The kids seemed to be pretty happy with everything so this feeling that I have is something that I have given to myself.  I hope I can read this post when October rolls around next year to remind me to start planning and buying and making lists as early as possible. 

As usual, I am very glad that this hectic season is over with.  And so very glad that I don't have to listen to Christmas music for a whole 335 days!  yay!  I am looking forward to the New Year and all that comes with it.  2012 is going to be a good one!  I just know it!

How are you doing with exercise during the holiday season?

High on xmas or glad it's over with?

A Few Tips

Today's blog post is going to be a little off topic in that it's not about my running (or lack thereof) or training.  In my other life, I am an optometrist and I'm sure many of you wear contact lenses so I thought I might share my view of what you should know about your contact lenses that your doctor may not tell you.

1.  When you come for your appointment do not change your lenses so I can see the clean ones.  I know what new ones look like.  I want to see what your lenses look like normally.  If they are dirty sooner than they are supposed to be, we may be able to change cleaners or lens brands to improve that. 

2.  The contacts from 1800 contacts and from my office are the same.  You can purchase them from whoever you wish.  The only difference is that the meager $2/box profit that is made either benefits your local provider or some big ass company in Utah.  You decide where you want your money to go.

3.  If you decide to purchase your lenses from some large box retailer (see #2 above), do not expect me to offer you free trial lenses.  Or exchange your old prescription boxes for new ones.  (My trial lens supply is based on the number of boxes I order.  Maybe 1800 contacts will send you a free trial......)

4.  If you are having an appointment for a contact lens check, please bring your contacts.  *duh*

5.  Tell me honestly how you wear/clean your contacts.  I will not yell at you if you wear them overnight.  I just need to know so I can recommend what is appropriate for you and your eye health. 

6.  Please, please, please, do not use spit to store/rinse/clean your contacts.  <gag>  If your choice is tap water or your mouth, tap water is better.  Your mouth is a cesspool of bacteria.  That you will then put on your eye.  (yes, people have actually done this.  In my office.  In front of me.  I almost blew a gasket.)

7.  No, not all cleaners are the same.  The generic brand is actually the old Renu (like 5-6 years ago) formulation.  Renu made it's product better for a reason, why would you want the old version?  Wal-mart, Target etc. buy the old formulation from Renu and mark it with their generic brand name. 

8.  Do not use Visine.  Please.  It sucks and doesn't fix the problem.

9.  Please do not get mad at me for telling you that you can't wear your contact lenses for 2 weeks while your eyes heal.  It was not my fault that you wore your lenses in the lake swimming and then wore them overnight and some god-awful nasty bacteria attached to your lens and gave you a red, inflammed (possibly infected) eye.  I want you to be able to wear lenses.  I make more money when you can wear lenses. 

10.  Yah, about wearing those lenses for 2 weeks straight......  You change your underwear daily, right?  Just sayin'.

11.  Those multifocal/bifocal contact lenses they advertise will not make your vision as it was when you were 20 years old.  What you are looking for is called the Fountain of Youth or a miracle and optometrists do not have access to either.  See your nearest religious provider. 

12.  I love fitting contact lenses to teenagers!  I love that confidence that shows up on their face once they have the lenses in.  They often follow my directions better than my adult wearers..... 

Do you wear contacts?

Do you have any questions you want answered?

The doctor is in--just until I get my running mojo back.  ;)

What I Spend My Money On

Blog posts about running have become few and far between lately as my running has become few and far between.  I did manage to get 4 miles in on the track on Saturday while Manimal was playing basketball, but that was it for last week.  Ick.   At least my swimming and spinning are staying on track.  So as we all are spending oodles of money on presents that will get returned this holiday season, I thought I might share with you what exactly the average girl (me!) spends her money on.  Not in any particular order..

I'm going to skip over the obvious ones like mortgage, utilities, car, taxes, groceries etc.  We all pay for that kinda stuff so no point in going over that.  Let's get down to the nitty gritty of what I deem worthy of blowing my cash on.

1.  Going out to eat.  Our family is big on going out to eat on the weekends.  I rarely make any dinners at home on Friday and Saturday night.  After working all week and doing the homework, dinner, dishes etc routine Monday through Thursday, I just want to go somewhere and have a person put my dinner down in front of me.  Our favorite lately is a Japanese sushi restaurant called Little Tokyo.  YUM!

2.  Kids sports stuff.  Our three kids are pretty active in sports year round so this can be pretty expensive to  keep everyone going.  It's not a necessity, but it is a priority.  Basketball right now is just through the Y so that's pretty reasonable.  Field hockey in the fall was free for middle school and again through the Y for the younger one.  Manimal and Princess take swimming lessons at the Y and Princess takes dance through a studio, which is probably the most expensive activity of all of them.  AAU basketball will begin in  February and this will be our first year doing that.  I imagine that will be expensive just to get started--the fee, the uniform and all the travel.  Softball will be free in the spring--again middle school sports. 

Summer sports camps are wicked expensive and I'm thinking I might ask for grandparents to give gifts or money towards the sports camps instead of presents at birthdays and xmas.   They are at least $200/week for one kid and this year there will be 2 at field hockey camp, 2 separate weeks of basketball camp, 2 weeks of soccer camp and 2 weeks of dance camp.

3.  Race fees.  I actually thought this number was much higher last year but it's really a small expense totalling around $500 for the year.  Still an expense and one I don't want to give up.

4.  Workout/running clothes and accessories.  I have spent a bunch of money on running/tri/swim clothes the past year.  I do purchase everything on sale and usually on the clearance racks or at the outlet stores.  The only thing I have paid full price for was my sneakers and my tri shirt/shorts.  Even my Trek bike was bought used off of craigslist.  I have no problem with used things and I am always looking for a deal. 

5.  Hairdresser.  I used to spend much more and had my hair done much more frequently.  Lately, I just haven't had time to deal with it, but a foil highlight and then a cut is never less than $100.  I do this probably 3-4 times a year. 

6.  Decent shoes.  I don't have many pairs of shoes that I wear regularly, I don't care about high heels so the shoes that I buy have to be comfortable, practical and look good.  I also have bunions so I will often pay more for a quality shoe that doesn't hurt my foot and will last a few years.

7.  Charity.  I do make donations during the year to Goodwill, the Y, various cancer societies, the food pantry, humane society, Girl Scouts, the local library and other things that come up.  I should do more in this department.  We all can do better in this department.

This list got me thinking about stuff I don't spend money on.  Things that I find unimportant or will cut back on without a problem.

1.  A new car every few years.  Nope.  My van is almost 7 years old and I will drive that thing right until the wheels fall off.  It rattles, it's filthy on the inside, but it runs and gets me from A to B.  I don't care about having a BMW.  I love my Odyssey.

2.  Cleaning service.  I don't have a maid or someone to clean my house.  I used to, probably 7 or 8 years ago, but I just can't see spending $60 a week to have someone clean my house.  I can get it done in 2 ish hours, less if the kids help.   It would be nice, but not for $240/month.

3.  Nails.  I could give a rat's ass about having my nails done.  I have had one manicure in my life and it's because my maid of honor insisted that I have it done before my wedding.  Waste of money IMO.

4.  Staying in a fancy hotel on vacation.  I don't mean that I want to stay in the roach motel, but a Comfort Inn is just fine at $88/night instead of the Ritz at $300/night.  If it has a pool, wifi, and a clean bed we are all set.  In fact, the most comfortable room we had on our vacation was a suite at the Comfort Inn in Page, AZ at $80/night.  (Besides the Venetian....That was a pretty sweet suite...)

5.  Netflix/movies/DVR.  We just got HDtv 6 months ago.  Talk about cheap!  Like I'm going to pay for a DVR as well?  It sounds pretty awesome, but it's $100 for the DVR thing and then you have to pay for the service too!  I'm not home enough to watch tv now, why would I want to DVR things and then not have time to watch them later? 

What do you deem worthy of your hard earned cash?

What can you live without?

Three Things Thursday

1.  I totalled up my entry fees for all the races I did this year.  I was pleasantly suprised to see that it wasn't that bad--$520.  I really thought it was going to be higher than that.  I think that by doing a lot of small, local races I was able to not spend that much in registration fees.  The total should be a bit higher for this year if I get to do all the races I want to.

Nor'easter Tri  $65
Bath YMCA Tri $75
Race the Runways 1/2 Marathon $45
Local Y 5K $25
Tough Mountain Challenge $78
Lobster Roll 5K $20
Rev 3 OOB $150
Maine 1/2 Marathon $55

Actually, doing the totals, it's really about the same!  huh.  Well, I guess I don't have to increase the budget then, do I? 

I just don't know about the Rev 3 OOB race.  I just got all nervous and scared just looking at the site to find out how much registration was!  My stomach got a little queasy just thinking about signing up for it.  I know I can do the distances, so I'm not sure why it makes me all nervous.  I am still worried about the OWS since I haven't really done one without panicking.  I would have a wetsuit and a bunch of other people around me so maybe it would be better....

2.  Random thought of the day.  As we were meeting with the accountant the other day I got to thinking about how many people get away with writing questionable things off as tax deductible and thus saving on taxes, when we are *squeaky clean* (as our accountant put it) but pay through the nose.  That led my thinking into honesty and ethicity (deep thinking here) and if I am as honest and ethical as I think I am.  I don't cheat on my taxes, I don't steal, so I think I am pretty good.  What do you think about other things like buying unhealthy items with food stamps or selling said food stamps so that you can buy alcohol or cigarettes?  Not good either right?  Ok, then how about redeeming an expired coupon and hoping the cashier doesn't notice.  (I've done this!)  Or, if you are in a store and notice that an item didn't get scanned while you are paying.  Do you bring it to the cashier's attention or not?  (For me, if it's in the store, I point it out.  But I would not go back into the store to pay for it if I got out to the car and noticed it then.)

Have you ever switched price tags on items to get the lower price?  How about bottles bought in another state where there is no return deposit and then redeeming in a state where there is?  Kramer did this on Seinfield--hysterical!  For those of you who don't know about this, in Maine we pay .05 extra for every bottle or can purchased, and then when you are done with the drink you can bring it to a bottle redemption and get .05 back. 

3.  Less deep thought now--I hope to finish my xmas shopping tomorrow.  I really don't know what to get the kids so it has been hard this year.  I have managed to come up with a few things that might suprise them, but nothing really spectacular.  They just don't need anything.  I don't know about you, but I hate to spend money just to spend money.  If it's something they need--that's one thing.  But this spending money on stuff they don't need and maybe don't even want just to have stuff under the tree, is for the birds.

What was the total on your race spending last year?  Any increases or cutbacks this year?

Where do you draw the line with honesty and ethicity?

I just had to come back to add this--I had an 80-something year old patient yesterday stick his tongue out at me!  Like nahh nahh.  Seriously!  He was mad at me because I told him he couldn't drive anymore.  I thought that it was pretty obvious that he didn't meet the visual requirements and hadn't actually driven in 3 years, but he looked at me and stuck his tongue out!  I laughed out loud and told him that was the first time anyone, any age, had ever stuck their tongue out at me.  We all laughed then.  It made my day even though he was kinda serious in a joking way.



made up workout

Yesterday was another day of craziness--oh how I hate Mondays.  We had scheduled a meeting with the accountant to discuss our tax options (how's that for a bunch of fun?), which if you are wondering, are pay more or pay more.  Anyhoo, that was scheduled at lunch time which is normally MY TIME.  That is the time when I workout by spinning and/or tennis.  On Mondays it is for 90 minutes.  Of course, the meeting took the full 90 minutes so that equals no exercise for me.  Which doubly stinks because I had no exercise on Sunday due to the Rockettes adventure. 

Do you ever feel like you are going to get fat overnight if you miss one workout, let alone two in a row???  Well, that's how I was feeling mid-day yesterday.  Gross, lazy and fat.  (none of which I am, but that doesn't change how I felt.)

This was me yesterday.

 I hurried home so that I could grab the kids and head to the pool for some laps while they played in the small pool.  When we arrived, Manimal had, of course, left his swimsuit at home.  He had his towel but was messing around and dropped his swimsuit.  Ugh.  Then we found out that the small pool was closed for swimming lessons and the big pool had only 3 lanes open and only for lap swim.  Fine for me, but not good for the kids.  All four of us loaded back into the car to go home and eat. 

Yah, right.  Eating will make me feel better.  Not.

I hate a plate full of vegetables and small helping of steamer clams.  Yum!  What a treat in the middle of the winter.  They were so good!  I thought about going for a run, but it was so dark and I really didn't feel like heading out down our lonely road.  So instead, I grabbed the kids jump rope and headed out to the deck.  Soon enough all 3 kids were outside jumping rope with me!  Ha!  Exercise masqueraded as fun!  Everyone but Manimal (who is 6) was much better at jumping rope than I was.  Both the girls had done jump rope club last spring and they are really quite good now.  Manimal was actually pretty good too--he and I were probably about the same ability.....  I will say that I didn't have the right sized rope for me, so I'm sure that played a role.  The shorter rope kept hitting my head and hood and the longer one kept getting tangled so I couldn't swing too fast. 

We all did 30 minutes of rope jumping and then we came inside and did planks and weights.  So I managed to squeak in 1 hour of some sort of exercise.  Now I won't have a big fat zero for my HBBC points for the day.  It's not my usual 6-9 points but a 4 is better than nothing.  And since I did weights yesterday, I can use my whole lunch hour today for cardio and really get my sweat on.  Then maybe, I will feel normal again.

Ever miss a workout and feel like Jabba the Hut?

Have you ever jumped rope for exercise?  It's harder than you think....

Mice, Bon-Bons and Rockettes

This was once jam-packed weekend of dance!  Holy moly!  It all started Friday night with dress rehersal for The Tap Nutcracker that Princess' Dance Studio was putting on.  Dress rehersal was supposed to start at 3:30.  Well, our school doesn't get out until 2:40 and we live at least 1 hour away from the auditorium where the recital was being held.  Obviously, we were going to be late.  But not really, because they are always running behind.  So we arrive at 4 and they are just starting to pass out the costumes.  Our group didn't actually get on stage until 6:00 p.m.  Ugh.  And of course, we had two pieces to rehearse.....  Finally we were finished at 7:45.  Long frickin' night.

Oh, I forgot to mention that on the way to the dress rehersal, my husband calls me to tell me that he totalled his car in an accident on his way home.  Thankfully, he and everyone else involved was not hurt, but his car is pretty much toast. 

Yes, he got out of that without an injury.  Hard to believe huh?  Volvo's are one tough car.  Thankfully, we have another vehicle for him to drive while we deal with the insurance stuff on this one.

We were up and at 'em for basketball at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday.  I managed to squeak in 3.2 miles on the track while Manimal had his basketball.  I ran 2 miles and then did 1 mile of alternating laps of sprint then jog.  I never sprint and I probably should do it more because I was sore yesterday and still sore today!  One fun thing--there were two guys doing some sort of physical fitness test for police or coast guard on the track with me.  I had already done one mile and then they joined me.  I was ahead of one the whole time (hee hee).  The other started out fast but by the end of his first mile and my second mile, I had lapped him and was working on lapping him a second time.  (heehee)  Chicked at the track! 

We had two shows of The Tap Nutcracker on Saturday.  The show was really great!  Princess was a mouse and a bon-bon.  Here is a pic of her dance group as mice.  Princess is on the right end in the back.

Pretty darn cute huh?  They did such a great job!  In the second act, they were bon-bons that come out from under Mother Ginger's dress.  "Mother Ginger" was actually a dad on stilts in a big striped dress!  That was pretty funny/cute as well.  Here's a bon-bon pic of them getting ready:

Patiently waiting for face glitter!

So far this is my favorite show.  I love that the older girls dance with the younger girls.  Obviously, they do pieces by themselves, but some scenes have 2 or 3 different levels of dance all tapping together.  And you know what a treat it is for younger students of anything to work with the older students.  I can't wait to get the DVD!

The last act of our weekend was taking our Girl Scout troop to Boston to see the Rockettes Christmas Show at the Wang Theater.  That was a great show as well.  It was a long day--3 hour drive each way! but we survived it and had a great time.  Thank you Girl Scouts for the discounted tickets.  It made up for the $30 parking fee.  Don't I love Boston!  :)  $30 parking, $5 coffee, buying a token to 'unlock' the bathroom...  I so miss Boston in some ways, and in some ways I don't miss it at all. 

No Christmas shopping done at all this weekend.  Eek.  Here's to hoping that I get some gifts purchased.

How's your shopping going?

Any Nutcracker/Rockettes shows in your future?

Chick any men lately?

Three Things Thursday

1.  My house is under contract.  Yay!  We have finalized the last of the contingencies.  Double Yay!  Barring some national emergency we should be able to close before or around Christmas.  Triple Yay!  This is a large relief for me.  It cost us a little more after the inspection to fix a few things, but it is worth it to not have to heat that empty house for the winter. 

2.  The last of the UFB pie is finally finished.  Thank goodness I don't have that hanging over my head, taunting me at night.  I should've just eaten it in one sitting and been done with it!  Combine that pie with the less-than-stellar exercise week I am having and my pants should be a little tight in no time.  Oh how I hate the holidays and all that goes with it (food, darkess, busy schedules, stress, recitals etc etc).

Any day now the gifts from patients and area ophthalmologists should be rolling in.  This means a plethora of food in the staff kitchen from now until 12/25.  Previous years have included:  fudge, whoopie pies (of every flavor you could imagine), peanut brittle, crackers, cheese, the occasional fruit, chocolate chip cookies.  Everyone is plotting against me in my quest to be healthy!   I must stand strong!

3. I just purchased my Team Tough Chik uniform.  (uniform?  Is that what you call it?)  I decided to go with the triathlon package.  I really liked the tri tank better than the running shirts, so that's what I went with.  I will be getting a tri tank, tri shorts, t-shirt and visor.  I'm so psyched!  I can't wait until this stuff arrives in March.   I then got to thinking about what races I'd like to do next year.  I want to do the two tri's I did last year--Nor'easter Tri and the Bath Y tri.  These are both sprint tris.  I also want to do the Tough Mountain Challenge, Maine 1/2 Marathon and many of the local 5K races I did last year.  I have in the back of my mind that I would like to do a Olympic length tri, and Maine has a few, but Rev 3 is having a race in Maine this year--right here in Old Orchard Beach.  This might be too good to pass up as my first olympic tri.  I just don't know if I can get over my OWS fear.  What a spectacular race for my first one.  Suck it up, buttercup. 

Any race plans for next year?

Are you on team Tough Chik?

Any UFB pie you need to finish up?

Busy A** Weekend/November Review

I had every intention of writing up my monthly totals on Thursday like I said I was going to, but work and life got in the way and it didn't happen.  Friday came and I wasn't working so I wasn't near the computer.  Thus, no report.  That night we took 8 Girl Scouts up to the Children's Museum in Bangor for a sleepover.  I'm not sure why it's called a sleepover, because in fact, there was very little sleeping going on.  Bedtime was at 10:00 p.m. which really was closer to 10:30, which then was even later because of the excellent planning of a decorated cupcake snack at 9:30.  Hmmmm.   Again, I don't believe they expect any actual sleep to occur. 

Once the girls finally quieted down, it was the perfect time for my king-sized inflatable bed to begin to deflate.  I knew that one side of the bed might deflate because of the cats playing on it this summer.  But, I did not realize that the entire bed was full of tiny little cat-claw holes.  This makes for excellent sleeping conditions.  (In case you didn't know.) 

Despite the no-sleep, this event was pretty fun.  I think all the girls had a good time.  Ooohh--I almost forgot!  The girls got to make cricket houses.  Complete with crickets!   Yes, we are now the proud parents to 6 crickets.  I do realize that most people spend many hours trying to rid their house of crickets, but those people are not parents to Girl Scouts who went on this sleepover....  (my co-leader did mention that her girls' crickets might accidentally end up near their chicken coop.  oops!)

Saturday and Sunday I got to enjoy a total of 8 hours of continuting education--which thankfully, completes my requirements for this year.  25 hours of class done until 2012, when I get to do it all again. 

So here goes my monthly tally:

Miles Run:  38  Wow.  This is more sucktastic than I realized.  The never ending darkness that is New England right now, has really taken it's toll on my ability to fit in runs.  We start to get longer days on 12/21--not too much longer now!  Of course, it will be a snowy, icy mess then.  I guess I'm going to have to re-find the indoor track.  Gak.  I feel like a hamster on its wheel. 

Swim:  9000 yds  The kids are loving the new pool which makes it really easy to get there to swim.  Lately, I've been able to make it 2 times a week!  Which equal out to 2.5 miles each week!  I'll be in that 100  mile club in no time!  I need to have some plan with my swim training now.  Maybe add in some speed workouts and technique practice.  Google, here I come!

Spin Minutes:  200  Nice job!  A little bit up from last month.  I wish I could say this was an actual spin class, but no.  The lunch time class is gone.  <cries tear>  This is me alone on the spin bike.  I should get bonus points for this......

Tennis:  6 hours played.  Thanksgiving messed this up a little because Thursday is a tennis day, but 5 hours is still nice.  We do that cardio tennis class--a la Anna on The Biggest Loser.  Those folks don't realize how lucky they were to have Anna run a cardio tennis class for them.  I am so jealous.  Not jealous enough to gain 100 lbs to get on the show, but still jealous. 

Weight Training Minutes:  65  Miss consistency here. 

Races:  None this month.  Wanted to do a Turkey Trot but took advantage of the sleeping-in time instead.

Current Indulgence:  Un-freakin-believable (UFB) chocolate cream pies.  We made it for Thanksgiving--ours was not the UFB one, more like the instant pudding and cool whip kind but we had two!  The UFB one is one I picked up yesterday on the way home from the Girl Scout sleepover.  There is this truck stop called Dysarts and they make the biggest, tastiest and not that expensive pies.  Since I was driving right by, it seemed stupid to not stop and get a pie!  I only wish I had thought to grab some homemade bread and rolls too.  Duh!

Current Book:  I'm reading that book of running that I posted about a week or two ago.  I read a chapter here and there.  I now have to try to read Little Bee again as a patient of mine had rave reviews about it.  I tried once and it didn't hold my interest but I'm going to try again on her recommendation.  I'll let you know how it goes.

Current Obsession:  The sale of our other house.  What a freakin' PIA that is.  I am so sick of the crap that we need to deal with from the inspection.  Radon, furnace, septic arrrrrgh!  I just want this damn thing sold already!

Current Song:  Dedication to My Ex by Lloyd and Andre 3000.  Clean version of course.  In fact, I'm a little shocked about the not-clean version.....

One more small thing before I wrap up this post.  It's hard to believe, but the winners of the Chica Bands giveaway did not contact me so I have to pick two more.  The new winners are Terzah and Carrie from Maine Mom on the Run!  Yay to you guys!  Shoot me your info and which bands you want and I'll send that along to the Chica Bands ladies!  My email is bouchard@midcoast.com.  Congratulations!!  Oh, yes and Christi gets the nuts! 

Did you sleep on the floor this weekend?

How was your monthly totals for November?  Better or worse than you hoped for?