Baaaaa

like a sheep following the rest of the herd I think I need to get into this Silly Bandz craze. It's all my aunt's fault. She posted on Facebook how she wanted some Texas shaped ones and someone posted a link....

which then led me to find NCAA licensed (what won't they license to get our money?) Silly Bandz for Texas Tech:

and Ohio State. I do wonder exactly what is that green leaf supposed to be. It looks suspiciously like a marijuana leaf to me.

And I found some Texas A&M ones:

Lastly, of course I couldn't leave out the local schools:

Duke Blue Devils

UNC Tarheels

NC State Wolfpack

This may be one of the most juvenile blog posts I've ever written.

oh yeah, they had university of texas ones too but you know my thoughts on that. So you can Google them up yourself if you really want them. All images courtesy of Amazon.com.

I jump in it

My sister clued me into this commercial



Opulence.
I has it.

Now where's my tiny giraffe? I think Lulu needs a playmate.

Inspiring

I really need to get back to running. Twice in one month does not a runner make.

Oh yeah, this is post 1000. wooooo!

Look what I got in the mail today

My medal for doing two 1/2 marathons!



ps: this my 999th post! Maybe I should do something fancy for post 1000?

My birthday is coming...

and I think I'm going to celebrate by getting a new tattoo. For sometime now I've been wanting a new one and for a while I was thinking of something dachshund related. That will probably still happen, eventually. But for now I've decided to get one commemorating the running of three 1/2 marathons.

Originally I was thinking a crown, for the triple crown, but I couldn't find a good example of one so I moved on from that idea and decided on stars. Three stars. One for each race. So this morning I spent a couple of hours googling up star images and looking at tattoo web sites. Stars are pretty basic but I was hoping for inspiration. So what did I find? A crown.

See, this is why I can't have nice things. I can never make up my mind.

Guns Up

It's that time of year again, when I just have to say:

Texas Tech plays UT at 8pm EST tomorrow.

I think you know where my loyalties lie.

Ticket prices explained

I'm trying to book my flight back to Texas for Christmas and it's killing me that it's going to cost me nearly $500. At least now I know why!

From cracked.com

Edit: Yay for Southwest Airlines! I was able to book a ticket for under $400 and my bags get to fly for free.


Austin peeps, mark your calendars now if you want to have dinner on 12/23 (preferably at Rudy's or Chuy's).

Lulu has a new love

and when he's around it's like I don't exist.

So bored

and so unmotivated to do anything today. So far I have watched 3 episodes of Weeds using the Netflix app on my iPhone, finished reading a book on my Nook, and taken Lulu for a long walk. Now I don't know what to do. I don't want to go shopping, I'm tired of reading and nothing on tv is holding my attention.

I supposed I could start knitting again...

I bought shoes!

They had some time on their hands

The Race

So continuing my fine tradition, yesterday's race was run on 3 1/2 hours sleep and with killer heartburn. Apparently, I am not meant to have a pre-race dinner of a pasta with red sauce. Next time I'll stick with mac & cheese. The heartburn lasted the entire race and didn't go away until I hobbled across the street to buy overpriced antacids at a beach souvenir shop.

Still, even with all that, I kicked ass on my race. I shaved 4 minutes off my Seattle time and I even stopped to pee (and that took like 3 minutes because my running pants are so tight). However, I did want to die a little when I was done.



No more half marathons for me. Now I'm going to concentrate on getting my 5k time down and actually be able to run for more than 3 minutes at a time.

And I'm off like a herd of turtles

on my way to Virginia Beach. Which was spared by Hurricane Earl. Yay.

They did not teach me this in dance class

About 10 years ago I got this wild idea that I should take tap dancing classes. And so I did, through the University of Texas (and no, that does not make me a longhorn, bite your tongue). Anyway, I did not have enough rhythm and coordination to do even the basic steps, much less dance like this.

One Month

A lot can happen in a month. You can lose 5 pounds, you can win the lottery, you can follow your favorite band across the country or you can start to fall in love. I've only done one of these things in the last month.

In one month I will be 37.
Seriously, how does that happen?

Race music

I'm being optimistic that Hurricane Earl is going to take a turn and pass Virginia Beach by. Also that my sinus infection thing will clear up in the next couple of days, because running with clogged ears will be a bitch. Plus I'll have to turn my ipod up to eleven!!11.

So I'm working on crafting the perfect playlist and thought I'd share some with you. Some are new to me and some are just faves. No judging.

Bruno Mars- Just the Way You Are. Watch more top selected videos about: Just the way you are, Just the Way You Are

There's also a whole lot of Britney (in her trashy phase), 80s and early 90s one hit wonders and twangy you-broke-my-heart-so-now-I'm-gonna-kilt-yer-dawg type country. Don't judge my music until you've run 13.1 miles in a hurricane.

Why?!

What is it with me and hurricanes? Argh. Despite my best intentions I haven't made it to the beach all summer and I just want to spend Friday and Saturday laying on the beach working on my tan and reading trashy books.

Hurricane Earl is threatening to ruin my Labor Day vacation. I know I haven't trained for this 1/2 marathon as well as I should have but I swear I didn't pray for a hurricane to wipe things out.

In a pinch

Here's a tip I bet you won't read on Hints From Heloise:

If you just need to iron the hem of something and don't want to drag out your iron and ironing board, just use your flat iron! It works really great if you are already wearing the item in question. Just be careful not to burn yourself.

There's a new app in town

The official Netflix app for the iPhone came out recently and it is awesome . It streams the "watch now" videos right to the phone. No longer do I have to sit at my desk to catch up on Weeds. Now I can do it from the comfort of my recliner, just like I watch all my other television.
Seriously I was almost as excited about this app, which is free but I would have paid for it, as I was when I found out The Container Store is opening in Raleigh.

Who told?

Ain't that some shit

Why is that about a week before every single one of my 1/2 marathons I start to get some kind of sinus infection? Is that really necessary? Aren't I going to feel bad enough after I hobble across the finish line? Do I really need to feel like my eye balls are made of sand paper and about to pop out of my head for the next 5 days?

Also, there are still 34 days until I turn 37. But apparently, Competitor Wireless thinks that is already my age. I went to their site today to sign up some peeps to get texts about my race progress and was not very happy to see a big ol 37 listed as my age. Oh well. I still look good, right?

Anyway, I've got one extra spot if anyone is just dying to find out exactly how slow I run. Keep in mind the race starts at...you know, I don't even know what time it starts but it's probably between 6 and 7am (EST). I wear a little chip on my shoe and I'm timed at the 5k, 10k and 10-mile markers.

As for the title to this post, it's from my new favorite song, by Cee Lo Green, which I'm not going to link here because it's very very inappropriate but it cracks me up and will definitely be in heavy rotation for 13 miles next Sunday.

And because I really hate blog posts without photos, check out this awesome cupcake I had today. Dark chocolate with peanut butter buttercream frosting. It was delicious. My coworker made it.

I'm ashamed

Driving to the park tonight I found myself racing down the highway rocking out to Justin Bieber. It was much more rockin' in my car going 80 mph down 40. I swear.

Wakka wakka

You find the craziest things on the internet.

Eat Pray Love

I know, everyone is writing about this movie. You know me, ever the follower, just like a sheep. Baaa baaa baaa. Anyway. Last night I went to see this movie with my good friend from college, Nikki, who even though she lives just down the road I hardly ever see. But last night we managed to meet up, have dinner and squeeze in some shopping before the movie.

We popped into Target to get cheap candy for the movie because after paying $10 for a movie ticket I refuse to pay $12 for a box of m&ms. Okay it might not be $12 but you know what I mean. While I was in there I bought some new shoes. They are beautiful burgundy red patent pumps. I'm wearing them now. With my t-shirt and running shorts. It's hot. I know.

So on to the movie. I hadn't read the book and didn't really know much about the story. I was just going because the trailer looked interesting and I wanted to hang out with my friend. The movie was alright. Personally, I think they could have cut out most of the India section. But it really made me want to take a long trip to Italy so I could learn Italian and eat delicious food.

The Bali section was fun to watch too, mostly because then I want to spend some time lounging around in a thatched roof hut without a care in the world. In this scene you were supposed to be all "awwww romantic" but I was "damn, that house is awesome". Okay, the romance bit was good too. But I was distracted because Javier Bardem looks so much like Jeffrey Dean Morgan. And you all know how I feel about JDM.

So now I really need to start playing the lottery, because I hear that really helps increase your odds of winning, so that I can someday run off to Italy and Bali and dozens of other fabulous places.

Yumm!

Today I went to Lily's Pizza for lunch. My choice was this giant meat-meat-meat calzone. Just what I needed after putting in 10 miles on the trail in the morning.

Hot Tub Time Machine

Many months ago I blogged the trailer for the movie Hot Tub Time Machine and last night I finally saw it. OMG. It was hilarious. Very crude but so very funny. At one point I was laughing so hard I nearly fell off the sofa. If you liked The Hangover, you'll like this, specially if you grew up in the 80s.



So run out to your nearest Redbox and rent it this weekend!

I guess I should be comforted....

that there are 3 fire stations within 5 miles of my apartment. One is practically in my backyard so I hear its sirens frequently, the other is directly across from my office and the 3rd is just down the road from there. Tonight I could tell that the sirens weren't going away from me, but rather towards me. Two minutes later, or maybe even less, the truck pulls up right in front of my building. Guess it's a good thing I don't need to go anywhere because my car is now blocked by a fire engine and an ambulance.

Yes, I took Lulu out there as my "excuse" to be a nosy nelly to see what was going on. Some one is in their car and receiving medical attention. It looks like someone else was going to drive them to the hospital (I really should figure out where one is around here) but decided that it was better to call 911.

Anyway, just another exciting evening in suburbia.

This is just a test

Do not be alarmed.

Testing out mobile blogging app.

Blinded by the bling

My third half marathon is in 4 weeks and I feel ill prepared. It's been so hot that I've totally slacked off on running except for the crack of dawn Saturday morning trainings. But I have to do it. It's the only way I can get the medals. Next year I swear I am going to take a vacation that does not involve running of any sort. Not even running for a plane. At least by going to Virginia Beach for this last race I have a day to just lounge on the beach.

Only in Texas....

will you need to learn how to ski on a small astro-turf covered hill. When I was a kid, in preparation for a ski trip to Colorado, my dad took me to Mt. Aggie. I don't really remember much from that time on the hill. Maybe I've blocked it out because skidding your face on astro-turf is not a pleasant experience. Who knows.

The music is awful in this video so I recommend turning the sound off.

Beautiful

ranunculus Originally uploaded by Wendy Kennedy

Is it weird?

I posed this question on Facebook the other day and all my friends said oh no it's not strange at all. But they're my friends, so of course they might lie. The question is: Will it be weird if I go see the Zac Brown Band in concert by myself? They are playing in Raleigh next week and none of my friends want to go.

Honestly, I probably won't go. Sitting next to strangers at a movie is one thing but at a concert...I don't know. Too bad I missed seeing them when they were at ACL a few years ago. I really hope it wasn't the year I had the stomach virus from hell because that would be even worse then just not being there all together. (side note: stomach virus + porta potties = giant nightmare)

Is this a winner?

Did you say cookie?

A local website is sponsoring a pet calendar contest and some coworkers think I should enter Lulu's photo. Of course I think she's the cutest dog ever but will other people? And will they pay to vote for her? I don't know. I'm not sure I want to pay the $10 to enter her. But the prize is being the cover photo on the calendar and a portion of the entry fees and all of the calendar sales go to a local pet rescue. It's her former rescue dog duty, isn't it?

Another movie I must see

I was watching the season premiere of Jersey Shore on my dvr today (shut it! It was a rough week, I needed some GTL to brighten my day) and they showed a preview for this movie. It looks hilarious.

Must see!

Music I am loving

I was listening to my Pandora station at work the other day (creatively titled "ek's station") when this song came on that I'd never heard before. Now that doesn't really happen very often so I had to click out of autoCAD to see who it was. Granted, the radio stations here suck but has anyone else ever heard of Never Shout Never? Well anyway, I've bought this song from iTunes.



Another song I heard recently and had to buy was a song I've heard used in the opening sequence of a new tv show. Since then I've also heard it used in ads for the new Eat Love Pray movie. The artist is Florence + the Machine.




So look people, I'm not up on what's new in music these days (obviously, both these groups have been around a while) since it's all Clearchannel aka all Lady Gaga all Ke$ha all the time here in the Triangle. Help a girl out and let me know what I should be listening to. I can only listen to so much NPR and country music.

Don't fall off your bike!

Do you think seeing these runners might have made one of the Tour de France guys do a double take and fall of his bike? Was that the intended goal? Do the runners secretly hate Lance Armstrong?

Love these colors

This photo was taken at the farmer's market a few weekends ago.
No, I didn't get a new digital camera.
This is the camera on the iphone.
It rocks.

Skinny jeans

Yes, I do love my new iphone.

But really, I took this photo because I have lost 70 lbs and the body I see in the mirror does not match what I see in photos. In the mirror I still see the super fat me. It's hard to reconcile the two. So I was out shopping the other day, at Old Navy, trying on a size of jeans that I have not worn since like the 7th grade. Of course I had to take a vain moment and snap a photo. If I didn't recognize my feet I wouldn't know that was me.

Poor pitiful pearl

I mean really, have you ever seen such a sadder dog? 

You'd think she never gets a bite to eat.

Hot Balls

Last night I went to see the Durham Bulls play against the Norfolk Tide.
It was hot. My friend Trisha went with me.

Kitties Rescued by US Marine Soldiers in Afghanistan

Kitties Rescued by US Marine Soldiers in Afghanistan:

O hai!

I would like to adopt these Marines. And hug them and squeeze them and call them George.

Er, the kitties, I mean.

Do you play?

Do you have an iPhone? Do you play Words with Friends? If not, and you like Scrabble, you really should. My sister turned me on to this game and now I'm totally addicted. I need more people to play. The app is free although you can download one for $2.99 that eliminates the ads (which really aren't that big of a deal). My user name is "elizabethktx73". You'll probably beat me but that's okay. I'm a loser bay-bee, so why don't you play me.

Wouldn't you just pee your pants?

So these kids are with their choir in New Orleans, just doing their thing, singing a song, when the singer of the song, Lenny Kravitz shows up! He heard them from down the street and came to see what was going on and then hangs out to play with them. Pretty cool.

Occupied

I know, I know. You're all waiting for a post about the Seattle trip but I've been a little pre-occupied. See, I met someone. His name is.....iPhone 4. And I'm in Love.

I'll get back to reality eventually.

Look, I really do run

I didn't die

But I wanted to. Perhaps a day of site seeing Seattle the day before running 13.1 miles was not such a good idea. My feet were protesting when I woke up at 4am yesterday to get ready for the race. By mile 13 I was in agony. The moment I passed the 13 mile marker, what song should come on my iPod but Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit. So appropriate for a Seattle race, right? Then I was able to haul my ass across the finish line and beat my San Diego time by about 4 minutes.

Oh Sad Sad Day

Here's where karma has bitten me in the ass because I was gloating last night. My iphone has arrived. Only it's locked inside the office of my apartment complex because they closed an hour early today. So no iPhone for me! *sob*

My plane to Seattle leaves at 6:30am so there's no getting it before I leave. I am considering breaking and entering. Not really. Okay maybe just a little.

Maybe I should go flirt with the maintenance man and see if he'll get it for me?

Oh happy day!

According to the FedEx tracking info my 4G iPhone should be here by 3pm tomorrow. That's June 23rd. One day before they said it would. That's one day before I leave for Seattle. So awesome.

My plan for tomorrow night is to slowly walk by all the chumps lined up outside the Apple store, camping out for the next morning when the phone officially goes on sale, and flash my new phone as I walk into the store to buy a cute little case for it.

ha HA


 

Why Having a Toddler is Like Being at a Frat Party

From Suburban Snapshots

10. There are half-full, brightly-colored plastic cups on the floor in every room. Three are in the bathtub.

9. There's always that one girl, bawling her eyes out in a corner.

8. It's best not to assume that the person closest to you has any control over their digestive function.

7. You sneak off to the bathroom knowing that as soon as you sit down, someone's going to start banging on the door.

6. Probably 80% of the stains on the furniture contain DNA.

5. You've got someone in your face at 3 a.m. looking for a drink.

4. There's definitely going to be a fight.

3. You're not sure whether anything you're doing is right, you just hope it won't get you arrested.

2. There are crumpled-up underpants everywhere.

1. You wake up wondering exactly how and when the person in bed with you got there.

Tick Tock

Look what I noticed on Lulu's foot last night. A giant female dog tick. Who knows how long it'd been there (according to Google, 3-5 days). After freaking out some, I tried to remove it but could not. Seeing as Lulu has thrown up about half a dozen times since Friday she needed to see the vet anyway so I figured they could just remove it for me. Lulu was not amused with my trying to remove it myself.

We couldn't get in until this afternoon so I made Lulu stay in her crate while I was at work. I didn't want that giant tick dropping off and burrowing into my carpet! Or worse, my bed! The entire car ride to the vet I was so afraid it was going to crawl off of her and onto me that I kept checking to make sure it was there. So don't know you know, the minute we go from the waiting room into the exam room the stupid thing is gone! The vet tech found it in the hallway and it was huuuuuuuge. I wish I'd had my camera with me but here is what it pretty much looked like:

Gah! I need some brain bleach now, please.

It seems that Lulu's barfing is unrelated to the tick. Something is wrong with her pancreas and she is spending the night at the vet's, being pumped full of IV fluids and antibiotics. Tomorrow they will do more blood tests. Crossing my fingers that it's just because she ate too many worms or something simple like that.

Signs

Looking through pictures from the marathon I ran across this one. Won't someone teach the children of this nation how to spell?!

Countdown

I have been waiting for this day! On June 15th pre-orders for the new  iPhone 4 start. Bye-bye Sprint, hello lover, I mean iPhone. The video chat thing is awesome. My sister is upgrading her phone too so now when I go shopping it will be so easy to ask her if those pants make my butt look big.

JST WNT 2 FNSH

That's what it said in the bottom of my race bib. I thought I was so clever. It did get a chuckle out of the guy that handed me my race bib at the expo. The 1/2 marathon was awesome. As I was finishing I was thinking "what in the hell was I thinking?! Why am I going to do this again in 3 weeks?" and now I can't wait!




Pre-Race Dinner:



Runners on the course. Photo taken by my parents as they tried to get to the finish line.



Yay, they made it and were able to see me run in but I was so fast they didn't get a photo.




With my friends at the Team in Training tent, enjoying being done!

Forest love

At some time in the last year, in one of my many work related image searches, I ran upon the Forest arm chair, designed by Robby & Francesca Cantarutti, that seems to only be available for purchase in Europe. So imagine how excited I was when I stumbled upon a fairly decent imitation at Homegoods a few weeks ago.

There was a pair, for $89 each, and they seemed to be some kind of poly/resin. Unfortunately, they were scratched and I have absolutely no need for additional chairs in my home at this time. So for now I will just continue to lust after the beautiful Forest chair. Maybe one day I'll have the means and reason to buy a pair.

edit: Apparently, my Google skills were totally failing me this morning and my brain was not working. Now I remember why/how I found this chair. It debuted at Neocon 2009 and is part of the JANUS et Cie contract line.