Friday Ramblings

We went shopping at the mall this past weekend with the whole family.  This in itself, is a huge event as the mall is about 75 minutes away and we are always jam-packed with activities on the weekend that we just don't have time to go that far.  Cause we need to be home for football at 1 or 4, you know.  Well, thankfully, the Patriots had a bye week so that left us free to head to the mall on Sunday.  All this is not the point of my story.  The real story is the shopping for clothes with the almost-12-year old.  Lord, have mercy.

We venture into American Eagle to search for things she might like.  No, I don't like that, no, not that either.  The neck is too deep, that is for girls with boobs.  (what??)  I don't like that color, there is too much stuff on the front.  Holy crap.  We spend 30 minutes looking through things that she ultimately does not like and then move on to the next store.  Aeropostle.  Here we have a little more luck.  She find some t-shirts that she likes and that are on sale.  Score!  Next she wants a pair of jeans.  Mind you, we are in a teen-agers store which uses women's sizes and Sissy is a size 10-12 in girls size.  We try size 0.  Yes, there is such a thing.  Nope, way too big.  No, mom, that color is too light, they are too long, too big around my waist.  ugh.  After another 30 minutes, we locate a 00 skinny short pair of jeans that fit her and she likes them. 

Can you imagine there is such a thing?  00 skinny short.  Sounds like an order at Starbucks....  I guess that equals a girls size 12.  Seems like it would be easier to just say that.  Whatever.

But the real news of this trip is that I found a pair of jeans at American Eagle that fit me perfectly!  woot!  Size 8 skinny boot is my size!  Hell ya!  Now I want 10 pairs.  :)

One last little item of interest--I read a news article that in Connecticut they are trying to change the day that we celebrate Halloween to be that last Saturday of October rather than 10/31.  This is so the little kiddos don't have to go trick-or-treating on a school night.  IMO that is stupid.  Heaven forbid kids might have a little fun on a school night.  I do agree that Halloween is more convenient on a Saturday night, however, to change the day that we celebrate it is just dumb.  We manage to go trick-or-treating and be home to get to bed by 7:30, I can't imagine why anyone else would have a problem doing the same.  Also, I would think that weekday celebration would cut down on the 'trick' part of the holiday.

00 skinny short?  Ever wear that size?

What's your take on moving the day we celebrate Halloween? 

Have a spook-tacular weekend!

Three Things Thursday

1.  We have definitely seen a change of the seasons here in Maine.  On my way in to work this morning there were wet flakes hitting my windshield.  Not to mention it is dark as a boot at 6:30 a.m. when I have to try to get out of bed.  I guess I don't mind the cold so much as I mind the darkness.  I hate getting up in the dark and coming home in the dark.  It just sucks.  I don't know how anyone could stand living in Alaska in the winter.  Dark all the time would just send me over the edge.  I'm close enough to the edge already.  Don't push me, Mother Nature.

2.  So Princess had her first dance recital last weekend with her new dance studio.  It was a Halloween show.  What a great show the girls (and a few boys) put on!  The high school level pointe dancers are just unbelievable.  I was blown away by all of their abilities at such a young age.  Princess' group was the youngest dancers from the studio to be in the Halloween show and they had one dance.  They were monsters (duh, obvious choice for 8 year olds....) and danced to Calling All the Monsters.  Yes, the Disney girl's song.  Here she is with a few of her friends.  Princess is the devil.  Duh again.

Flash photos and/or video were not allowed during the recital so that they can gouge you of $30 you are able to purchase the professional DVD that is made of the show.  Hopefully, I can post some of that video when I get the DVD.  Pretty sure it will be coded somehow so you can't copy it. 


3.  Something happened this week to me that I never in a million year would have thought could happen.  I mean, really!  I've lost 10 lbs and I'm the most fit I've been since before kids.  What was it, you say?  Well take a look at this:

Yes, you are seeing correctly.  That, my friends, is a broken toliet seat cover.  No, it wasn't an elephant that sat on it or a 300 lb linebacker, or even my son jumping on it.  It was me.  Just sitting down on it.  How to feel fat?  Break a toliet seat cover just by sitting down.  In my defense, it was lined up a little crookedly so those feet things weren't resting on the toliet seat and it kinda slid sideways as I sat.   Now I've got the embarrassment of visiting the local Lowe's with a broken toliet seat cover so I can buy a new one.  If anyone asks I'm telling them my son broke it.  So there. 

Could I have diabetes with that please?

I found this article on another friend's FB this afternoon and just had to write a post about it.  It is basically about how states are trying to put a tax on sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) and how the soda companies are fighting it. 

I am not sure how I feel about the tax idea.  One side of me says to tax the hell out of anything that is not good for us like cigarettes and soda.  If it becomes expensive enough, maybe people at risk (children, teens, those living at the poverty level) will end up choosing a more healthy (less expensive) beverage.  Over time, this could reduce the number of obese and diabetic people in this country.  It did work with cigarettes, and it could work with soda/gatorade etc. 

The other side of me says that the government shouldn't be telling me what to eat or not to eat via a tax.  That is a weak argument given all the benefits of less SSB consumption.  There would be money generated by the tax that could go towards programs for children, poor whoever.  Healthcare costs would go down as more Americans lose weight and less children become obese. 

I, too, probably wouldn't drink as much soda if it cost a lot more.  (Not that I drink that much, only 1 each day.  I guess that is a lot of wasted calories over time.)  Or at worst, I might have it as a treat once in awhile.  I definitely don't let my kids have soda and thankfully, many of the coaches of our sports teams are discouraging SSB on the sidelines and instead pushing water. 

How do you feel about a SSB tax?

Good-- let's force us to eat healthy?

Or bad--govenment stay out of my grocery shopping?

fit to fat to fit?

In my internet travels yesterday I happened upon this personal trainer who, on purpose, is making himself go from fit to fat.  As in, he is in the process of gaining over 70 lbs in a 6 month period. 

Why in the world would anyone do this to themselves?  He says he wants to show others how to get fit and to experience what it feels like to be fat.  There is no way in hell you could get me to gain weight and get fat on purpose.  No freakin' way.  I would be so worried about what it was doing to my overall health that I just couldn't do it.  Not to mention, what if, by some freak of nature, you couldn't get the weight off and back to your previous self?? 

He has a blog which chronicals his journey.  The strange thing is, if you look at a sample of his daily food intake, that diet is not really that off the wall.  Here's a sample from his blog:

8:00am – I big bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and few small sips of my wife’s spinach shake!

10:00am – 2 handfuls of goldfish crackers and 1 large glass of Pepsi Max

11:30am – 1 big bowl of white angel hair pasta, with 4 cheese marinara sauce and 1 small glass of Pepsi Max

12:00pm -1 small package of swiss rolls

3:15pm – 1 peanut butter and honey sandwich on white bread

6:00pm – 1 large plate of white rice and bbq chicken

7:30pm – A few pieces of licorice

9:30pm – Small bowl of Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Except for the total lack of vegetables and fruit, it really isn't the gorging amounts of food that you might expect him to be eating to gain all that weight.  I mean, it is a lot of food, but I'll bet it's pretty average compared to the average American man's diet.  I am really anxious to see what his diet is when he goes from fat to fit.  I know that I can make changes to my diet to eat better than I am. 

What do you think about this challenge?

Would you ever gain weight on purpose?

Very Few Words Wednesday

1 young man
1 young woman
12K wedding on the coast of Maine (seems cheap now, doesn't it?)
1 honeymoon to St. Maarten
2 apartment rentals
9 cats (we do not have good luck with cats.....)
1 dog
6 new cars
many student loans
lots of debt
more nights than I can count eating mussels that he picked because we couldn't afford anything else
many fights
lots of love
3 beautiful children
15 years

priceless

Proud to be an American

I was driving along the other day and a song came on the radio.  Whenever I hear this song, as well as certain other songs like the National Anthem, I feel very patriotic.  Made in America by Toby Keith.

After the song finished, I started thinking.  Because somehow I was alone and it was quiet and I actually could think to myself without someone hollaring "MOM!".  I was wondering how many schools still say the National Anthem every morning and if it really "isn't cool" anymore.  According to my kids, our elementary school says it every day, all together.  The whole school.  I'm glad and proud.  Seriously, even if you don't believe in God, is it really all that painful to recite that one line?  Especially when the bulk of what you are promising doesn't even pertain to that one word.  You could even leave it out and the idea of the pledge would still remain.  Anyway--I'm glad that they say the Pledge of Alliegence every day. 

So feeling very proud about being an American, I continued my thinking.  Because I'm still alone and it's still mercifully quiet and my brain just can't believe it can put two thoughts together without interruptions!  I am so glad to be an American and live in this country.  I also want to be proud of what we do and what we stand for.  I think we stand for the right things, but I'm not sure we are doing all the right things.  I wish I could believe and understand the media and really understand what is going on and if we are making a difference anywhere.  I know we are spending a lot of money and losing a lot of lives.  I know that we are a wasteful and indulgent country and many of us aren't even thankful for all that we do have.  But instead we want more, more and more.  Use and spend.

I wish we could get out act together and work together to make this country as great as it should be. 

And then my phone rang.  And thus, ended my moments of thinking.

Do your kids say the Pledge every day?

Do you want them to?

Why don't we spend a little more for a tag that says USA?

Three Things Thursday

Another rousing edition of TTT. 

1. New Music--I spent some time downloading some new music for running the other day.  I wanted to share some songs that I found that make me want to get going!  First, Flo-Rida's Good Feeling.  It's a little different than your typical rap-like song, but I really like it!  It gives me a Good Feeling!!  Maybe I was a gangsta in another life cause I just seem to like his songs.  Another one I'm really liking now and lmfao at is LMFAO's I'm Sexy and I Know It.  Ok, so that's the first time I've seen that video and I haven't stopped laughing!  Just the words were making me laugh and now I have the visual too......  oh boy! 

2.  I had to purchase a new ipod touch as my old one did not survive the Maine 1/2 Marathon.  As you might remember, it was downpouring the entire time I ran (all 2 hours 1 min and 58 sec).  My ipod worked for the whole race and I had tucked it into my sleeve to keep it as dry as possible so I thought it was ok.  However, since I was soaked through, I mean wringing out my clothes soaked, my ipod also got soaked.  I tried to dry it in rice, but the damage was already done.  It would turn on and took a charge but when I went to swipe to unlock it, it didn't feel my touch.  :(  It was now an ipod no-touch.  So being the ipod junkie that I am, I immediately went and purchased a new one.  Now I have a camera too!  Bonus!

3.  I just got an email that the proofs from the Maine 1/2 Marathon were finally posted!  Yay!  I was so excited to find a picture of me doing this race because my family wasn't able to be there to get photos.  So, I plugged in my bib number only to find that "There are no images currently available".  Seriously?  NO images?   NONE?  ugh.  I scrolled through the lost and found thinking maybe, just maybe, I could find myself.  But no such luck.  I swear to god, that I am always that girl who is NEVER in the picture.  Race pictures, yearbook, whatever.  Or I'm the one whose head is behind that other girl.  It's like I never really have any proof that I ran that race.  Same thing happened in college for tennis.  Somehow, we never had a team photo and my face was not on the page at all.  Unlike Silly Girl Running, who thinks she messes up race photos, I am just absent from them.  (and btw, she doesn't mess them up, she always looks super cute!)  I should be called "Girl Who Runs but is Never in Photos". 

I come up with the brilliant idea to search the bib number of the girl who came in just ahead of me to see if they got a photo of her.  Of course, they did.  I am off to the side, half cut off.  But at least I am in the photo....  I will not order it, however.  There is a better photo of me behind another girl who came in ahead of me, but I am not the main focus of that photo, so I probably won't order that one either.  Here is the link if you'd like to see the wonderful photos I have to choose from:
http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/Images.aspx

and

http://orders.racephotonetwork.com/QPPlus/Images.aspx

I'm in blue.  yay me.  I promise that next big race that I am in, I am going to wear the most bright, garish, obnoxious outfit I can possibly dream up.  There will be no way that the photographer will be able to miss me.  I WILL have a decent professional race photo one of these days.

Will Work for Nintendo DS

What do you do when the school's water main breaks and there is no school in the middle of the week and you don't have any childcare because the high school is still in session?

Can you say, Cheap Labor?

Work kids, work!  Grind those charts!  Chop, chop! 

I'm not sure if the work they do is worth the mess that is left when they are done......  I'll get back to you on that. 

Happy Wednesday.

Finally Friday

Welcome to Friday.  Thank you for finally arriving.  I have a few things that make me super glad it's Friday.

1.  I have a cold.  blah. suck. dislike.  whatever you want to say.  It stinks. 

2.  The weather is supposed to be supurb this weekend in Maine!  yahoo!!  almost 80 on sunday!  Hopefully, I can kick this cold later today and have a fabulous weekend enjoying the Indian summer.

3.  Can you say,  "Long Weekend"?.  I love a long weekend.  I was going to work on Monday but my staff couldn't find enough patients who wanted their eyes checked so we bagged it.  No point in coming in to see one or two people.  That's a waste of time.  Instead I'll enjoy the day with my kiddos and hopefully, get my hair done. 

4.  My other house is being listed this weekend.  Yay!  But that also means I will spend a good part of Saturday cleaning said house so it doesn't look like a pack of wild pigs have taken up residence there.  I hope to get the bulk of the cleaning done in 4 hours.  Wish me luck.

5.  My husband and son are coming home today from moose hunting.  No moose as of yet, but there is still today.  They shot one bird and almost ran over (or into) a moose last night, so not the most successful of hunts.  It will be good to see them.  We have missed them. 

Not our moose....

Ready to hunt!

Have a great weekend everyone!   I hope your weekend is full of moose, pumpkins, hunting, fishing, running or whatever it is that gets you going! 



September Review

Sorry I'm a little late with the monthly recap, but I had to do the race report yesterday.  I thought September was pretty bad as far as miles go, but it turns out that I had fewer runs but they were longer in milage so it kinda evened out. 

Miles Run--62.85!  I totally thought it was a much lower amount, but again, the long milage runs made up the difference.  That is my highest milage month to date!  Don't expect such great numbers next month, although, I do have a good start with the 1/2 marathon on 10/2! :)

Miles Swam--0.  Oops!  The pool schedule changed and they are still renovating our local YMCA pool so I just haven't had the chance to get there to swim.  That number should go up this winter as the running number goes down.  Something to work on next month!

Minutes on Spin Bike--160  Down quite a bit from last month, but I have had a busy month.  Lunch hour often was taken up by staff meetings and other work related things.  Every Wed. I am now working through lunch hour to leave early and bring Princess to dance.  This number should go up again next month as the temps get cooler and running outside becomes less frequent.

Minutes Weight Training--70  Again, the lunch hour thing from above.  Still a good number considering how busy my month has been.

Tennis--3 hours of cardio tennis.

Races Run--no races this month as I was preparing for the Maine Half Marathon.  Also, no time!

Current Excitement--Finishing the Maine Half Marathon in 2:01:59.  I wish I could have been under 2 hours, but with the weather as it was, I am pleased with my time.

Current Obsession--I am slowly being driven crazy by the freakin' fruit flies!  They are everywhere!!  I mean everywhere!  They are in my kitchen, in my garage, my car, my bathroom towel cabinet and at work!  I cannot get away from the god damn things.  I have thrown out every single piece of fruit I can find, I've cleaned out my car, dumped trash etc etc and they are still around!  I wonder if they are breeding in my hair.  Seriously.  Someone suggested that I set out bowls of vinegar covered with saran wrap and holes punched in the top.  I guess they fly in and drown?  or can't get out?  Whatever.  I'm going to give it a try tonight. 

Current Book--Chasing Amanda  A cheap/free Kindle book.  It's pretty good so far.  A funny short story I just read (again off Kindle), was The Princess and the Penis.  It's not dirty or X rated, but a funny remake and mix of The Princess and the Pea and The Frog Prince.  You will laugh for sure.

How did your month go?

Did you meet your goals?

As always, any good books to recommend?



Maine 1/2 Marathon Recap

The forecast was not good.  It started on Saturday when I woke up at 5 a.m. to raging thunder and lightning and unbeliveable downpours.  That was not a good omen.  I kept thinking that maybe all the rain was going to come on Saturday and not on Sunday.  I am a 'glass is half full' kinda gal, so I was hopeful.  And wrong.  Anyway, the family and I headed down to Portland to pick up my race number and swag bag.  It was raining, of course.  I got my bib, bag and shirt very quickly and without any problems.  My daughter's and I found some cute glittery headbands that we purchased.  Big Sissy got a silver glittery one, I got a black glittery one and Princess picked out one that said Diva.  Of course she would.  We did some shopping in Freeport and then headed home so I could get my stuff ready for the morning.

Morning came and it was raining.  Hard.  The forecast called for rain all day.  Excellent.  Temperatures in the 50's.  Super.  I had to rethink the outfit from above and I switched to running pants and a thicker shirt and a jacket.  I left for the hour ride south at about 5:50.  I wanted to arrive at 7 and have 45 minutes to get my shit together.  Well, I did arrive at 7 and so did everyone else.  Somehow, I seemed to have forgotten that this race was in a city, which means TRAFFIC.    Duh.  So I sat for a bit in that, hoping and hoping I was going to get to the porta-potty and to the start line on time.  I thankfully, remembered that you could pay for parking close to the start line and headed that way.  The $10 parking fee was for charity and thankfully, the nice man took my check (since I never carry cash.  Does anyone?).  I parked, changed quickly into the pants and warmer shirt and headed out for the potties. 

I was planning on meeting up with Jen from Running with the Girls, but by this time, I was so late, and no where near where we were supposed to meet that I went straight to the potty line so I could take care of business before racing.  Sorry, Jen!  I really wanted to meet you!  Note to self for next race in a city:  Leave 45 minutes before you think you should.

Before I knew it, the gun went off and the race was started!  It took a minute or two before I actually crossed the start mat, but then we were off.  There were so many people and puddles and rain, it was hard to get into a space where you could run without bumping into someone.  The first 5 miles went by like nothing.  I thought it would totally suck to run in the pouring rain, but a friend told me, it only sucks until you are soaked.  And he was right.  After that, it really wasn't bad at all.  My ipod was somehow stuck on repeat so it would just play the same song over and over.  I had to manually move to the next song once one was over--what a pain!  Although, it was a distraction from running, so maybe it was okay.  It fixed itself about half way through--I don't know how, but it just started working properly.  It was about that time that the right bud stopped working, probably from being soaked.  Nice.

Despite the terrible weather, there were spectators lined up everywhere to cheer!  It was great!  There was a  bagpipe player, people with cowbells, others at their house playing music out the window or out of their cars.  I wish I could run it in nice weather!  Imagine how great it would be then!  Thank you spectators!  You rock!!

About a mile before the turnaround, we started to see the leaders heading back.  We were cheering for them as they passed us on the other side of the road.  They are just so fast!  One of the women I happened to see was Joan Beniot Samuelson!  What a treat it was to see her!  I gave her a cheer and kept running--what a lift for my spirits. 

It seemed to take forever to get to the turnaround, but after that I felt better that I was heading to the finish now.  At about mile 9-10 I started to feel myself slowing down and more and more people were passing me.  I ate an energy gel and drank some water and then started to feel better after a bit.  The last 2 miles were really hard.  My legs were sore and my pants were soaked.  They were so soaked around the ankles that it was bothering me, I couldn't wait to take them off.  I wanted to stop, but told my legs to just keep going.  I saw the 13 mile marker and knew that I was almost done. 

What a relief to cross the finish mat.  The clock said 2:03:40.  I was a little bummed because I wanted 2 hours, but that was pretty darn close.  I'd have to wait and find out what my chip time was.  I found a clear spot on the soaking wet ground and just sat.  It felt great to not move my legs. 

I couldn't rest too long because I wanted to try to get to Sissy's basketball game about 40 minutes away.  I had trouble finding my car and I was wet and cold so that sucked.  Someone pointed me in the right direction and I changed, right there in the car.  I ran into some friends on the way out and she had been tracking my time.  They sent her a text when I finished and my chip time was 2:01:59.  I am very happy with that.  Only 2 minutes from my goal.  In the cold, pouring rain.  Not too shabby. 

  856  3029 Michelle             Bouchard                   41  409/1199 F  47/173 F4044 BOOTHBAY HARBOR    ME USA 2:03:49  9:27 2:01:59
 
Chip time:  2:01:59
409/1199 women
47/173 in my age group

Yay me!  I'm glad I did it.   I don't think I loved it enough to be wanting to try a marathon any time soon.  13.1 was enough for me.  (Maybe if I run out of challenges.)  I would like to try another 1/2 in the spring or summer, when the weather is nicer.

I don't have a single picture of this race because I was so late and it was raining so hard and my family couldn't be there.  That kinda stinks.  I'll have to wait and see what the photos from the race photographers look like.  Maybe I'll buy one.