I got the new triathlete in the mail today. I hardly ever read it
anymore (why bother? It's the same articles reworded every month).
However I flipped throught it today ad picked up two bits of
information:

1) tim deboom is making a comeback! He's my all-time favorite pro and
his wife is awesome, I'm glad he will be back racing.

2) jamie whitmore is permanently disabled. As in, she needs a walker
to be able to move around, and she will be doing all races from now on
as a challeneged athlete. This is horrific. I read her blog for a
while after they first found her pelvic tumor, and she was so upbeat
and positive. And then arguably the best Xterra racer...ever, one day
just can't race anymore. That was her LIFE! It's terrible.

i am an awful blogger. i was going to wait and update on the 24th so it was exactly one month since i had last visited this site, but i have a block of time.
(also, its been so long since ive been on a computer, i am having serious typing issues and doing a lot of backspacing)

things that have been going on...went to IMFL, which was awesome. my father did like 11:39 which is INSANE. schoolwise, i can now complete a full swedish massage, which means we can FINALLY move onto the exciting stuff, like deep work and sports massage. however i have 5 more documented massages to give first, i did one in the office of FS...dont really recommend public massages. haha!

workout wise, i got a litle overwhelmed with running. by overwhelmed i mean i was doing a consistent 40 miles a week with one hill workout every tuesday, and was like "i am bored. i need a break". so, ive been doing a lot of biking on the trainer. and ellipticizing at the gym, which is painful for me to admit because i view the elliptical as 1)the exercise for injured runner (thank god thats not me), or 2) cardio for gym rats. BUT. is just so MINDLESS. and EASY. and you can watch tv and get a zone 1 workout in all at the same time!

i have about 7 hours on the bike and 5 hours at the gym so far this week, and i am tired. but the body fat % is going down, stamina is going up, an i finally fit back into all the pants bought during marathon training ( which is REALLY good because my clothes options were declining, rapidly).

the BF has a coaching cliet downstairs and is doing a bike test (poor him, i know), and then we are of to the gym for weights.

today is also a cheat day, finally. i want pizza. i have a feeling PW is going to want a "good" cheat meal, ie. whole wheat pasta and chicken. guess hes eating alone then!

ps its 47 degrees in this room right now, i have a feeling its going to be very cold winter. because neither one of us wants to give in and turn the heat on first!

Who are your all time favorite male vocalists?

Mine are:
Don Henley
Adam Duritz (of course)
Eddie Vedder

Busy, busy day today, but this is what I was thinking about on the
drive home from work.

That, and one of my classmates saying "let me see your anatomical
snuff box" all creepy like.

So I went to my first formal wedding since I was in high school yesterday. We had a ton of fun, of course I took a bunch of pictures. They had cupcakes instead of a wedding cake which I thought was adorable. And an open bar, which is classy. Dawn and I upped the class-factor by having white wine with our dinner. And another glass with by cupcake(s)!

The reason why I had TWO cupcakes...a reward for racing in the frigid wee hours of the morning (9am) and surviving a monster hill. Although my time was kind of lame, I am relieved because it is only 20 seconds per mile slower than my Pre-Stress Fracture PR. And because I haven't done any speedwork. And because it justified two cupcakes!! My average heart rate was 198, with a max of 204. I got my freakishly high heart rate from my dad, who at the age of 48, has the SAME heart rate zones at me!! That's crazy.

I joined a gym on friday...$10 a month. i cannot turn down bargains like that! it is next to my brothers work, and has all i need: treadmills and weights. they are big on acceptance of everyone, so i guess that means i cant make my usual snide comments to other gm go-ers (kidding, who even pays attention to the other people there? seriously?)

The rest of today involves a lot of studying. I refuse to turn the heat on in the house yet so I am huddled in the living room with door shut and a fake fireplace.

this entry will be a mishmash of things.

First: best/favorite albums of all time-
August and Everything After by the Counting Crows
Something Burning by Deb Talan, this one reminds me of fall drivig during my freshman year, windows down. Free, and (get ready, perks of being a wallflower reference to follow) infinite

Second, it's Tuesday. Tuesdays mean studying for gigantic tests and Biggest Loser. And a 65 minute recovery week run, which was awesome. The weather was perfect, and following it we took the dogs on a 4 mile rail trail walk.

And finally, I am debating joining a masters group at Atkinson this winter. It's kind of an ongoing joke, how much I completely suck at swimming. I gave it a go for a few months, swimming religiously and I never got faster. I am a consistent 1:54 100 swimmer, and u have come to terms with it. Hey, at least BRIAN HUGHES and I can share a lane (ohhh that's right I called you out!) anyways, so I finally gave up and stopped wasting my time. But, now I am reconsidering if only for the aerobic benefit to my running.

lastly, Heba of The Biggest Loser drives me absolutely batty.

I need to go practice palpating for my test tomorrow, woo!

I haven't updated in a very long time. Things are good though.

School-wise...it is hectic and very fast moving but it's going well. I
can massage the upper and lower extremities so far. The only downside
to this place are these stupid scrub pants. They are white, see-
through, and very unflattering.

Running wise, also going good. I'm at 38 miles a week, with a 2 hour
long run and finally bounding workouts!! First road race in 1.5 years
is next weekend. Not sure what race it will be exactly, but I do know
it will be Sunday, the last day of my rest week.

Next weekend is also a wedding that I need to go dress shopping
before, because I own NO dresses! Or appropriate skirts for that
matter. Ad a Halloween party for which I am going to be Dorothy.
Because I love the wizard of oz (are there people out there who don't??)

Anyways, south shore for the weekend. Rumor is that Lance is racing
Gloucester this weekend so an appearance by yours truly will occur.
And I am on my lunch break so I need to gonin and get ready for class
number 2!!

Today is one of those days that it must suck to be a mailman.

Phew

Week 1 down.

This program is INTENSE! I have a serious anatomy test on Monday and
then one on Friday. And every other day after that! I sure did miss
being in school though.

The point of this entry is that between trying to fit in all my
running, taking my brother to and from work, homework and class, there
is not a lot of time for blogging!

The good news is that in 9 months I'll be a certified massage
therapist! And I'll need to give about 7775378 practice massages, so
be prepared for a sign up sheet to hit you up!

Oh and ps, today was a sweet, sweet cheat day. Doing the core diet so
diligently makes pizza taste SO GOOD when I get it!!

today

although my boyfriend says things to me like:
"well, you're used to being fat, im not!" accidentally sounding like a jerk, but really just referencing the reality of my once chub behind
and
"court, come over here and look at how big this beaver is!" when wanting to show me a gigantic stuffed dog toy, but sounding hilariously perverted in ocean state job lot

hes actually a certified (by me) genius. he just made the most awesome of awesome excel charts, for the core diet that will help so immensely. and he made a chart that i can fill in and it will add up nutrient daily and weekly for me! now i dont have to be "that girl" recording everything i eat and doing the math by hand at school.

speaking of school, and just to use the word one last time in this entry: it was pretty awesome.

tomorrow statrs a new week, ladies and gentlemen. this for me means two things:
1) SCHOOL STARTS!! im like a little kid. i have my backpack all packed up, my lunch made, i stopped short of laying my clothes out though.
2) SPEEDWORK BEGINS!! thats right. i am finally back in the game long enough to add track workouts and bounding this week.

i honestly dont know which i am more excited about, but its going to be a pretty awesome week.

This kind of thing pretty much happens on a weekly basis to me. Last
week it was the charity walk. Today I am stuck on a dead end street
with fire trucks and cops blocking the road out because of a fire at a
neighbors. Normally this wouldn't be a big deal bit today I am trying
to get my brother to his job orientation!

Slacking

I havent updated because nothing much has been going on. I began to get a cold (this comes with the territory of living with someone in the public school system), so I made this week a recovery week. However, I zapped that bad boy with Zicam and I am like BRAND NEW! I swear, that stuff is made of miracles.

Anyways, so why I like recovery weeks. One, I watch more TV (ha ha ha, I laugh, and yet I stil watch ER reruns in the middle of the day. When I was 14, I was convinced I was going to marry Dr. John Carter). And two, after they are over you just feel so FAST! Prior to today, I had run exactly 9 miles for the week. I planned on getting in about 17-20 this week. So today I set out on a new exciting route that took me through the high school and the bike path of a few posts prior, and all around this hilly place. I planned to go easy, but I just felt so darn good. I didnt want to type this because I didnt want to curse it but...I felt like I did before The Injury. It was THAT GOOD!

In other news, the Ironman Florida trip was booked today. Woohoo! My father is doing it, a couple of his (and my) friends are too, and my Fuel Belt bud Scott.
It will be fun, because it will be WARM (today involved a heater, no joke, is this December?), and because I think my father is going to have a really really good race.



Im a pretty avid reader so Im going to throw this out there. I can admit to being involved in the Harry Potter craze. I am a grown woman and I can own up to not only loving them but being on the waiting lists when they came out. This new Vampire trend with the Meyers books though...Im not sure. I mean, I like pretty much every book I have ever picked up, but Im not a big vampire fan. Has anyone read these? (or their kids? ha) I dont know if its worth it. I almost bought Twilight but I am trying to reverse the habit of buying books. And the waiting list at the library is forever long.

Which brings me to my last thing. I have about 4 boxes of books at my house I am trying to get rid of (to see how I got this many books, see above). They are mystery, medical fiction, chick lit. You name it, I have owned it at some point. Is there a place to sell these? Other than Annies Book Stop?

This weekend you can find me at Fantastic Nantasket. And then a Christening. In New Hampshire. Thats right--Hull to Hampshire in a day. Yeah.

Typical courtney luck. I went to help my cousin paint her house before
the cookout and left just in time to get stuck behind a charity walk
on the ONE ROAD to the highway! No warning signs anywhere.

my workout today

there is a bike path about 10 minutes from my house. it goes from my hometown through about 4 others i think. im not sure how long it is...at least 7 miles though because i once did a 14 mile run on it. but its nice on the weekends, because i dont have to be afraid of being abducted, there so many families are on it on saturdays. (most of it is through the woods and i see hardly anyone during the weekdays). and because there are no cars to run me off the road.

but today was different. first, there was a random 5K on about 1.5 miles of it. i dont know about you guys, but i cant be in the middle of the race, racing or not, and not throw down the hammer. so here i am, cutting off half the course, and sprinting down the bike path, 16 minutes into my 90 minute run.
fantastic! only 74 minute of post lactic threshold bliss to go. (i kid, it actually wasnt THAT bad)

i get to the turn around point, 45 minutes in, and start running back. this way is all uphill. the entire thing, no joke. anyways, so im running and a MOTORCYCLE is flying up behind me. i was not pleased. a) it is a NO MOTORIZED VEHICHLES rail trail. b) he almost skimmed my left side because he decided to pass me on this super narrow bridge. c) he was a COP!

and the trail was consumed by slugs! way gross!

anyways 10 miles down and 3 more to go this afternoon.

i am having some serious computer issues. since our loveable little dog ate through 3 power cords, i bought a cheapo one that is adaptable to other computers. however, it is too loose and every time it moves even a tiny bit: bam, my computer shuts off.
not that i am ever really doing anything imnportant and of meaning on my computer, but its the principle.

tomorrow involves a cookout and then a meeting at night. my life is pretty boring as of late. really, just small infrequent social gatherings, running, and cooking. remind me of this time because i will miss it when i have too much of a life again.

for now, i am going to drink my coffee and read everyones blog updates. then go for a run and go grocery shopping!! (which, by the way, is my favorite errand!!)

regarding education (ie long, winded post of stuff you probably dont care about)

first: yesterday a sweet 11 miles. 7.7 post rain (it was beautiful out!!), a 40 minute "rock out" break with mt 4 year old "nephew", and then a 3.3 mile loop that lead me through what used to be church central, but is now immigrant central since they shut down all the catholic churches. lots of "damn, girls" were to be had on the second loop, quite the motivation.

my thoughts were centered on teaching and my career (and the rest of my life, pretty much) today. this was the result of 2 catalysts.
1. a boy was shot in dorchester this morning on his way to school (he is going to live, but what an absolute fucking tragedy...these stories drive me crazy. how can these things happen?!). watching the news, as they interviewed kids in the neighborhood, i realized how much i really, really enjoyed working in an inner city school. its hard to explain how i could fit in, but i feel like it was my niche. as cliche as it sounds, i really was trying to "make a difference" in these kids lives. show them options, take them to colleges, give them possibilities.
2. i got a phone call from someone i worked with last year, completely out of the blue. she has since moved on, not by her choice either, and was checking in. she clarified some things about what happened with my job among others.

and it was good timing, her call. id been mulling over the idea of not going back to teaching. i figured, if they didnt hire me back, its probably because i suck as a teacher. i did as much as i could while i was there, met some really awesome kids, had the experience and now im done.
just starting there took more courage than i even thought i had. i went into that job, arguably one of more unwanted jobs in the state education-wise, with no classroom experience...ever. i had substituted for 5 days in a suburb and that was it. no student teaching no lesson planning. and last september i walked in and started teaching, only getting the job thanks to the confidence of a friend (thank you, TS).

facing that initial fear of the unknown was worth it alone. but man, i LOVED it. i still do.

so my point is this. i may have gotten discouraged but after some thinking i realized that teaching, specifically at an urban school, is what i want to do...for my career.




but as i tell myself (and everyone else) often, things happen for a reason. i have wanted to go to massage school for a long time, and me not getting the job and the opportunity arising is all too perfect, how can i not think it is fate?
so i am VERYVERY excited to make the goal of getting certified. and open that door. and to get back into teaching. and math. I MISS MATH!

just a couple of things

i LOVE bonnie hunt. lovelovelove. every movie, every show shes been on. and now she has her OWN SHOW!! today was its debut, and i watched it, of course!!!

and i am 25 years old, and afraid of the dark. i can admit it okay. i particularily hate being outdoors in the dark, by myself. so tonights run was totally fear-propelled. a quick 6 at 7pm.

For some reason I felt like making sugar cookies and frosting from
scratch this afternoon. Like last weekend, I also did lots of laundry:
maybe there is a connection? No matter the reason, I now have 6 dozen
sugar cookies in my kitchen. I don't even have six dozen friends!!!
The recipe READ thirty cookies, all lies. so if you're on the way by,
stop in and eat them, so that I don't. Thanks!

these high-fructose corn syrup commercials are driving me mad!!
"you know what they say about high-frucose con syrup!"
"what? that its made of....corn? and has the same amount of calories as sugar? and that its fine in moderation?"

they make it sound like its practically a serving of vegetables!! why dont they say its highly addicting?? or that it is related to obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol? or that its modified sugar, cheaper for them to make, and worse for your health. UGH!




right, so its saturday, in the life of courtney this translates to CLEANING DAY!! so dishes and laundry it is. i also just moved the grill into the barn all by my lonesome. i am like the she-hulk or something, superhuman.

theres a house marathon on today. i just discovered i liked this show oh...thursday. and now i cant tear myself away from the tv!!

AHHH my keyboard is driving me crazy!!! it keeps skipping letters! i had to edit my last post 4 times to put random letters back in. it clearly needs a flogging. does anyone even say flogging anymore?

hanna

for those of you living under a rock, there is a tropical storm on its way this weekend. it is already super windy. and i am aleady super sick of the weatherpeople on the newschannels and their meteorological boners over it. AHH GIVE ME REAL NEWS!!! i dont care the exact amount of rain that is going to fall so stop giving it to me in inches, milliliters or anything else! phew, now that iv gotten that out i can talk about the rest of my week.

like, this nagging hip thing. 10.5 miles yesterday--the first 7 were a puking shitshow thanks to the vast quantities of liquids i drkn prior, and th lat 3.5 were a hobble! really, really annoying but not serious because now that i have finlly (after 3 weeks) found a hip stretch that actually gets that tiny space in my hip that hurts, i feel victory over the hobble coming on.

what else, what else. anyone else hear the story about palin trying to ban books at her local library when she was mayor? completely awesome. she actually put effort forth to accomplish that, like it was going to fly in the 21st century? oh, republicans.

trying to nail down sponsorship for the 09 season. it is so hard to get real people on the phone, its very discouraging. if anyone has any ideas, please inform me.

and finally, i got a tetanus shot yesterday. and sent a $500 deposit into school. not sure which one hurt more.

Here is a distance update--distance meaning I am sitting on my couch
watching Ghost Hunters and updating from it phone.

Had a good run today. Found a temporary cure for my sporadic motivation issues. I am facebook friends with josh cox and he often puts up daily thoughts or what hes doing. Today it was about "putting
miles in the bank", and it is what kept me going today when I wanted to bag it 45 min in.

School-wise...things are on track to start the 22nd. Got all the financial aid stuff all set and went and got my physical yesterday. I am HUGELY anti-needle so the bloodwork was a downer. Good news though: I dont have tuberculosis. Not that it was viable that I would have it, but now, I can rest easy and massage freely!!

Not much going on other than that. Doing a lot of cooking and cleaning. Tonight was chicken (baked), unbelievable sweet potatoes, Asparagas, zucchini, and broccoli. Tomorrow night: turkey chili with lentils. I am way excited for that!

Chloe taking a nap

i had a pretty productive day

woke up to wish my parents a safe trip to FL. they are driving, a ford F350 and a tahoe--farewell gas money. anyways, so i am now the temporary legal guardian of my brother.
went for a trail jog with the boyfriend. came home, made pancakes, and then washed pretty much every dish in the house (because they were all dirty, and there is no dishwasher...other than me)
did 6 loads of laundry.
baked some chocolate chip cookies from scratch (amazing).
caught up on all my facebook comment/messages (okay, shut up, i know this is lame).
took a nap.
watched an episode of beverly hills 90210.
cleaned my entire bedroom.
took my brother to apply for a job.
made myself a nice homemade pizza.
made my brother and his friends a homemade dinner.
then, when my boyfriend came home from work, made him dinner too.

i could totally be a stay at home woman. id probably get bored pretty quick, but right now, its nice while it lasts.

i am SOSOSOSOSO excited about massage school. it starts september 22nd. i went on an interview/tour and it got me so excited i was motivated to schedule a physical, fill out my fafsa and my government aid forms, get passport sized photos made, and read and mail in the signed copy of the handbook.

thats about it for now. sunday is the plymouth race, we will be viewing carl hopefully win the iron distance, and tim/cait/ethan do the olympic. and monday is a labor day cookout/birthday fiesta for MA followed up (presumptively) by an intense Randolph centered poker game.

I never have before, and I probably never will again be political on here

But, McCain chose a woman VP! Take THAT mitt! Now, no matter who gets elected, it will be monumentally historic. She just had a baby in April?! And it's name is Trig? Also, shes pretty. Too bad she's running republican.

these kind of squick me out:



i will, for sure, make a blog entry after i have tried one though. i love apples, and ive never had a pear. and this is the most dramatic thing in my life at the moment.

i just went on my alumni college website to get my transcripts sent to bancroft. i clicked on the quicklinks dropdown menu, you know, the one with "academics", "sports", "student life", "registrar", that sort of thing. and "AVIAN FLU INFORMATION" was in the same drop down. WTF!!!

in other news, sufferfest run today. 12 miles on the mean streets of rte 20. hit the hot dog stand by the mental hospital and turned around. one day, i will find the courage to run by the rundown buildings with the bars on the windows. mostly because i want to run down to the haunted barn thats on the way. (many ghost stories were told about that barn when i was in high school). by the way, in case you were wondering, from that turn around point back to my house is all uphill.

and in other, other news, i have my interview at bancroft on thursday, woohoo!

went out with some air force peeps and

this is how i felt about the diet tonight when i went out to dinner at longhorn, the steakhouse. and i had to get a salad. and the waitress brought me a side salad, for my salad.

oh, right

and about training, last week: a couple of runs, a couple of rides. it is really hilly out here, annoyingly so. however, i will be REALLY sad when trainer time comes. found a new area to ride in---have pretty much been riding in the same 4 or so towns for the last year, the boyfriend showed me a random left and we ended up way in the boonies of berlin/bolton/clinton, and it was amazing.

also, was looking at the disney marathon (because, hello, my parents live in FL!). HOWEVER! a friend of mine (one who iron kim used to refer to as CTB) said "it sucks".
it starts real early, is real cold. And i cant remember the last race he said he actually liked (dont lie! you think everyone drafts!), but the 6AM start time is enough to deter me, along with his opinion. so, the hunt continues.

and lastly, drove to school today for one last meeting about my old job, and then drove home and applied for massage school. so thats set!

really looking forward to watching the plymouth iron distance race in a couple of weeks too...

really, really, really lazy

today was possibly the laziest day of all time. after a wake up call at 9:30AM (which, i could have continued sleeping, the wake-up call was really just my boyfriend staring at me intently--WILLING me to wake up), we sat around and drank coffee. at 11AM we decided we were hungry and went out to breakfast (1 piece of unbelievable french toast and homefries). then, i read a book while PW internetted. the only other time i left the house today? to go to the grocery store to get stuff for dinner.

so what i am trying to say is that the only reason i got out of my bed today was to 1) eat 2) make food to eat 3) buy food to eat. not that my life revolves around eating or anything.

in the words of old blue, it was gloooooorious

My life from September on

Okay, faithful blog readers, so the bad news is that 12 days before school starts, I found out the job I thought I was going back to--well, is no longer it job. At first, this sucked, because I didn't look for any other jobs because they assured me I would be employed in September. However, the good news is that I sat on the news for a little bit and decided it is the perfect time for me to do something I've wanted to do for a while: go to massage school. So, hopefully, Bancroft Institute of Massage Therapy in Worcester is where I'll be spending my days starting mid-sept. I do eventually want to make teaching my CAREER, but while I am young and spry and (semi) financially stable, it's time to pursue the things I've wanted to. So, in 7 months, keep me in mind when your hamstring starts acting up. Or you're training for IM Cozumel (like pretty much everyone I know, Mexico is so alluring!)
Right, so that's pretty much my life at the moment. I LOVED teaching at that school, adored it even. But when I thought about it I went from bummed to un-bummed pretty quickly, because I am SO excited about going back to school for this.

In other news I am currently watching Deep Impact, and even though the movie is from like 1999, and I have seen it before, it is still kind of making me uneasy! I am such a pansy when it comes to movies and natural disasters!

in the new bed this morning

chloe thinks shes human

My Week

so a few things...timberman was this past weekend. it was fun, got some zoot shoes free (not that i would EVER run in them, but they are cute to wear around). tim and cait won, pat was 11th overall, The Guru was 3rd and his wife was 6th woman.
monday involved me waiting for the New Bed while my crazy BF went on a 31 mile hike (that i wasnt invited to, but thats another blog post). the bed came, and it is amazing!!!
then, while rearranging my bedroom, i decided i needed a flat screen tv to finish the look. so last night i went to best buy and got a cool white samsung. now that ive spent all this money....i never want to leave my bed!!

hilariousness:
sunday night while driving home, i got pulled over on the highway. not speeding mind you! the trooper just happened to call in my plates (for some unbeknownst reason. boredom?) and found out my registration expired....in april. hes telling me he is supposed to tow my car, meanwhile my dogs are barking like crazy, my car is packed to literally, the roof, with two bikes and about 16 transition bags, and im going "but i didnt get anything from the RMV? how are you supposed to know?" he ended up letting me go when i promised to renew my registration online the second i got home and print up the receipt to keep in my car in case i get pulled over.

fast forward to mnonday morning...i am about to leave for target, in the car, when suddenly i decide i should renew that registration. zip in online, get the receipt emailed to me and go shopping. on the way home i get pulled over for speeding on my street. he ended up letting me go, and i think it was because when he asked for my license and registration i had to give him my license and...iphone. because thats where my registration receipt was.

i never, ever, ever get pulled over. twice in the 9 years ive been driving. and tgen twice in 12 hours? wtf!


still no news about the job, i am having running motivation issues, but i have an awesome new bed so ill take it.

okay, just kidding about the BIG NEWS. i thought i would know today whether or not i was going back to the same school on Sept 2nd. i went today, and came home...still nothing! i do hope i get the job again though, so cross your fingers for me.

quick update

until tomorrow, when i find out my BIG NEWS!

things as of late include:
-i do, in fact, have a 3G iphone
-i am working for my old employer (and BFF hughes) this weekend at a NH tri
-my presence was requested at the school i worked for last year...not sure if its an interview or what but i will be there bright and early
-i bought a new gigantic bed to celebrate the tax free weekend (in case you were wondering, my boyfriend, our two dogs, and my beyonce-worthy ass all currently sleep in a twin bed). and to accompany it, an awesome posturpedic mattress!
-gas is THREE FIFTY SIX A GALLON!!

i have also been glued to the olympics.

thats all.

Mobile Update!

Here is a blog entry as I make dinner tonight. Hopefully The Guru
doesn't read this because it is most definitely not on the approved
foods list.
I get into these weird "need to cook!" moods, usually winging a
recipe. Tonight I decided to go with pesto/fresh mozzarella/ artichoke
heart pizza. I've never cooked with artichoke hearts before so
hopefully it comes out good. heck, ive never made a pizza that wasnt red sauce and shredded cheese so this is out on a limb!
The slice of pizza with red sauce featured is for my lovely boyfriend
who is not quite as experimental as I am in the food department.


okay edit!

i had the pizza and it is SO GOOD!!

also, instead of getting a new phone, i macgyver-ed my original one and kept my own interest by downloading a crap-top of apps. this includes, but is not limited to:
Pandora (shout out to T.Snow for introducing me to it in the first place)
Facebook
Myspace
CelebGossip
One that turns my phone into a flashlight
As well as one that turns my phone into a light saber

im still on the prowl for more.

and in running news: finally, finally the QT2 way of thought kicked in and i am running fast-ER (not fast mind you). i was getting so discouraged running so slow, but the switch flipped finally. and now i feel like a new chick! i am excited to sign up for races now. i made a pact (with myself, and roped my boyfriend into it) that I wouldnt sign up for a marathon until i was running at least a certain pace for Z1. so now i can start checking out races. excitement! and something this delicious pizza is not going to help in the least!

JANUARY ELEVENTH!!!!

that is the day Big Love returns. i love all those polygamist shenanigans like i am one myself. rumor has it nikki is going to stop dressing like a twerp too!!

oh, failblog, again

see more pwn and owned pictures

new layout, what do you think?!

a survey, and why i didnt swim, by thatrunnerchick

i am minorly obsessed with weight loss blogs and this is a survey from one of them:

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8AM
2. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? stepbrothers wednesday night, and it was sosososo funny ("listen...youre probably not going to believe me, but i think you just took on the hape of a unicorn")
3. What is your favorite TV show? Intervention, Ghost Hunters, and anything on Food Network
4. What do you usually have for breakfast? lots of coffee, toast and pb if its before a workout
5. What is your middle name? Jean
6. What food do you dislike? Olives, Pepper, Any kind of cooked pig (except bacon)
7. What is your favorite CD at the moment? I just downloaded the new Counting Crows off Itunes and I love it.
8. What kind of car do you drive? Prius (aka the Jellybean)
9. Favorite sandwich? Turkey on honeyoat with lettuce and tomato (we go to subway a lot)
10. What characteristic do you despise? Cockiness (theres a lot of that in triathlon)
11. Favorite item of clothing? my triks skirt probably
12. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would you go? France
13. Where would you retire to? Arizone/Florida someplace warm year round
14. What was your most recent memorable birthday? I havent done anything for my birthday in a while, I cant even remember what I did for the last few!
15. Furthest place you are sending this? well according to blogpatrol someone in beijing reads it.
16. When is your birthday? April 19
17. Morning person or a night person? Morning person, by far.
18. What is your shoe size? 7-7.5
19. Pets? Two dogs, Kona and Chloe
20. What did you want to be when you were little? in elementary school i wanted to be a waitress...then the president...then a marriage counselor.
21. What is your favorite flower? Lilacs. From a flower shop, tulips.
22. What is a day on the calendar you are looking forward to seeing? I am excited for this Thursday because it will be my first beach trip all year!
23. What are you listening to right now? The midday news
24. What was the last thing you ate? pre-ride turkey sandwich
25. Do you wish on stars? only the first one i see
26. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? cerulean
27. How is the weather right now? hot
28. Last person you spoke to on the phone? patrick
29. Favorite soft drink? ginger ale. not that i can drink it...ever
30. Favorite restaurant? anything with pizza really
31. Favorite color? green
32. What was your favorite toy as a child? the original nintendo, haha. my easy bake oven, my soccer ball.
33. Summer or winter? summer, always summer.
34. Chocolate or Vanilla? chocolate.
35. Coffee or tea? coffee. !
36. What is under your bed? a "memory box", shoes
37. What did you do last night? read a book, ate dinner with my boyfriends family, went to the grocery store
38. What are you afraid of? Spiders, open water swimming
39. Salty or sweet? sweet
39. How many keys on your key ring? Car, house, barn, so only 3
40. How many years at your current job? woah woah, who works?
41. Favorite day of the week? Saturday, especially during the school year



i actually went to the pool to swim today after my 30min ZR run (hi, i hate ZR anything). as i was opening the door to the pool, the lifeguard ran by with a net full of poo. seriously, can we have an age limit in the pool? how old do you have to be to know not to do that?! maybe every kid under the age of 8 should wear a diaper. since this is the second time this has happened in the same amount of attempts, im seeing this as a sign i should never swim again. works for me!

tomorrow night is a tri-team dinner at rock bottom, our old standby. hopefully while at the mall there i can get my new phone.

my goal this week was 30 miles running (YAYYYY finally up to 30 again!) and 150 on the bike. i am not going to QUITE make it on the bike, so im reusing that goal for next week.

and last, the fence got fixed, and our dogs are running around like rabid creatures! they run like rabbits when they get reallly excited and its hilarious.

Critical Mass is useless but this is ridiculous...

what the heck!

LP...team dinner thursday night. check out pwhacks mohawk. paul and his wife cant stop looking at it. it was an accident....i kind of f-ed up with the clippers and the mohawk was cait's way of fixing it. also, why do i look drunk in every picture ever taken of me? i was drinking WATER!!!

JHDIUHFUHEFUHWIH! i SHATTERED my iphone screen. i am such a dope sometimes! so this afternoon, on my way to pick up kona at the hospital, i am going to stop at the apple store and get a new one.

this is good because: they dont sell the old iphone anymore, so i HAVE to get the 3G
this is bad because: its more expensive monthly (booo)

however the new one comes with GPS, which, lets face it, i legitimately need.

1hr recovery ride so far with pwhack, and i will run this afternoon.

it is currently raining, again.
yesterday was the expo, 1.5 hour drive there+8 hours with 3200 women+1.5 hour ride+1.5 hour drive home. i was soooo sleepy when i got home last night.
got home at 8:30 and then it was: smoothie, shower, sleep. in that order.

i forgot how hilly "western" (read: central) massachusetts is. brian put some damage on me on the second loop. we actually just did two loops of the webster lake tri course.

today, we woke up to kona having some umm...intestinal distress. this involved a trip to the vet and $1200 dollars. shes actually still there, IV'ed up and in the dog-ICU. hopefully shes okay and not scared. they have visiting hour at the pet hospital (i know, i know) so thats where il be from 5-6.

in other news my hip no longer hurts, i have done two 1.5 hour rides since that incident so maybe my bike stretches it out. either way, i need it to stop thundering+lightning like crazy out because id like to get a few miles in.

dinner tonight is turkey burgers and edamame. thats my new core diet approved fallback meal.

(to get me motivated to return to being a lean mean running machine [or, to hold me accountable], i am emailing my weight every monday to The Guru. believe me, you do not want to disappoint him, because he'll tell you when youre getting fat!)

anyways, my new thing is edamame. fresh peas from the farmstand re my favorite food, ever. and edamame is the closest thing i can get in late summer, so ive been eating a lot of it. that, and my cottage cheese/yogurt/strawberry smoothie.

okay enough my allergies are acting up and i am parched. and i need to stop being a geek and get off the computer!!

ran this morning. was supposed to do 90 but my hip started bothering me. threw in a couple of 800's on the track to justify the shortening, but all that did was depress me and then i had to do the cait-shuffle home so my hip wouldnt hurt!
it is unbelievable how much speed i have lost since The Stress Fracture. i guess it was inevitable, but seriously? it makes me want to cry. im going to turn into one of those people who goes on coolrunning and looks at results figuring out where they would have placed, if they were running what they used to be able to!

im going to go ride to cheer myself up. then to easton to see elaine, and let the dogs frolic.

tomorrow is the danskin expo in worcester and then hughes and i are going to ride the course a couple of times in the afternoon in webster.

when i was running i was counting the states i have been to in the last year for races:

pennsylvania
new jersey
connecticut
utah
florida
rhode island
new hampshire
new york
vermont
maine

Failblog

this website: http://failblog.org ,is killing me. i cant stop laughing. alone, on the couch.

it has things like THIS:



and THIS:


and, my personal favorite:

why, oh why, must the weather be like this? it is following us i think. in lake placid, it would downpour everyday. wedding day? a full on thunderstorm involving hail (it cleared up before the actual marriage. race day? DOWNPOUR for the entire day! and yesterday and today: tornado warnings. double ewe tee eff.

working the danskin expo with hughes this weekend. danskin: always entertaining. and this time i wont have to a)deal with the danskin politics and/or bill b)have anything to do with bike racks. and i dont have to go to the race!!

i feel like summer is over now that lake placid is. i waited all year for that!! still to come is timberman though.

my job for next year is still up in the air. i have been applying well...everywhere. revere, natick, wayland, plymouth, other boston schools. literally all over the state.

all the qt2 athletes did SO AWESOME at lake placid. and my dad! his first LP! i just had to put that out there: i am so excited! they were so inspirational, it almost makes me want to do an ironman. oh wait no it didnt. maybe if it was a duathlon, with no swim involved.
my new goal is to start open water swimming: chrissy is going to take me because i feel way less pressure with someone who isnt huffing and having to wait for me. she'll have to wait for me too, but at least she'll be patient about it!

okay, another thunderstorm happening, so im going to get off the computer and eat my giant salad! i have no idea if you can get electrocuted through your computer in this kind of situation, but i am not risking it!!

Have I mentioned lately how much I LOVE fruit salad?

yesterday was unbelievable.

pat went 10:02 in his first ironman, in the pouring rain!

tim was tenth overall.

and cait WON. the entire race. with a 2:59 run split.

this was a totally crazy weekend!

IRONMAN!!

today is ironman day! i have about 64892328 friends and a dad racing! it is currntly POURING. it should pour all day. pat just swam 59 minutes! WOOOO! more to come!

Congrats tim and cait!!!

two of my favorite people in the world are getting married today! we woke up this morning two an invitation...wedding is in half an hour!!!

Also went out to dinner with this character and had sushi for the
first time ever!!

my first time at mohegan, OH MAN i was so excited. as evident by this picture:



in other news, we are in lake placid. i love lake placid. more than anywhere else, ever. i already hit up the gap outlet. the rest of the week includes lots of running, lots of sleep, and probably peeing myself from laughing.
and ghelf rocking out to rap at the dinner table.

In the distance here you can see the local prison I ride my bike by
nearly every day. You actually ride RIGHT BY IT by I am too much if a
pansy to stop any closer to those max. security peeps.

I am currently in a paddle boat in the middle of a lake in Vermont, by
myself. I feel like a loner! However, i am out here for a hood cause,
as I sit here blogging away: I am a buoy. My friends (not teammates
mind you) ate in he midst of a two mile swim kind-of TT, and I am the
quarter mile turn around buoy. I should have worn orange today!!
In other news, two more days left of my first school year!!
In other OTHER news, one month until Lake Placid. That will be a nice,
no responsibility, nerve-wracking vacation!
In case you were wondering, the problem with being a floating buoy is
that 1) you get soaking wet as you are trying to type on an iPhone and
2) you DRIFT! The hardest part is staying in one freaking spot. Its
times like this I wish I was fat!!
Okay, over and out until later my faithful readers!!

J.D. Drew is ON FIRE!!

Ha ha ha

So yesterday I hit a milestone in my life....I had a piece of fish and
scallops for the first one EVER! At 25. And the haddock was fantastic,
I have been missing out.
I am now a changed woman.

One thing I WONT miss over the summer: the really scary and intense
(gang related) fights. Eesh what a way to end the year.

So I went and dropped some serious cash today. I have an impulse
shopping problem, I can admit it. It doesn't help that my BFF Hughes
who owns the store encourages these last minute decisions.

I went in after school and paid for our 500 dollar clif bar order, an
SRM for pwhack (2500$) and the new garmin 405 (350$) for me. The srm
is a present to him, the garmin is a present to ME! To celebrate my
getting back to marathon training (woohoo!) and the successful end of
my first school year!!

This weekend includes by first long run in six months (a whopping
eight miles), a welcome back party for my dad thrown by triathlete
friends, doing all my term 4 and final grades (blech thats going to
take me all saturday night I bet) AND attending a race put on by my
previous employer: watching, not racing.

Hopefully I will be able to get a speedy one hour run during my prep/
free periods tomorrow with the 405!! I am supposed to be throwing a
pizza party for by second perioders but I'm going to try and postpone
until Friday, because I an currently pizza-d out!

Just keeps getting hotter!

That was quick, 60 degree weather right to 99! Downtown is hazy and
gray. Excited to run in The opressive heat though!

I should have known going into today it was going to be a bad day: 90
degrees, no air conditioning, and 100 kids taking an algebra final.
Its a recipe for disaster.

I'll consider myself lucky if no one takes me hostage by the end of
the day!!!

i have become a jeopardy FIEND! i cannot get enough.
i am also running 20 miles a week right now. finally finally finally. and riding 3-4 times a week (please refer back to "finally" comment). nand i am also back down to my pre-stress-fracture weight!
algebra finals are monday...that mean only 2 days left with the kids until they are gone forever.
and going to NH this weekend fri-sunday. for a race. and a weekend, with some people, that are triathletes.
and thats about it.

Today is MCAS day. Thumbs down to that!!

I didnt know I as going to make individual little pies until I got
home and saw the cupcake tin and thought "hey, that could work!"
I totally winged the recipe, made it up as I went along, and they came
out SO GOOD!

I felt like cooking tonight and decided to go with a "healthier"
chicken pot pie. When I took the chicken out of the over I was
surprised by how much it looks how I imagine angel wings would look.

I have so many papers on my desk I feel like I work in an office. The
kids are doing group projects today, and while I was walking around I
realized I'm really going to miss them!!

i havent updated in a week...oops. i do twitter daily though!! (look left)
things that have happened since last thursday:
1) saw my first rat...ever
2) got hit by a boston officials car...twice
3) put in 137 miles on a the bike, and 18 miles running
4) got stuck in FOUR HOURS of traffic (that was today)
5) played poker at Brians...and lost
6) ate lots of chili (yum)
7) walked the dogs a lot!!
8) went to a confirmation and ate my weight in baked ziti

those are the highlights. tuesday i retrieve my brother from the airport, woohoo!

i only have 7 days of actual math class until the final. and then we watch a movie to kill time.
after some debate i settled on showing them Crash. i love the movie and it is relevant to their lives. they're smart kids so i hope the topic sparks some good conversation.

im looking forward to tomorrow because i made this gigantic fruit salad for lunch, and theres not a lot that can make me happier than a good fruit salad.

The best part of owning a Prius?? Being able to use the HOV lane
whenever I want!

I'm really unenthused with the Internet as of late. Dog #2 ate through
THREE laptop power cords, and I don't really miss it.

Went on my first ride outside since last summer yesterday...totally
missed it. I can't wait until summer!!

Went to a tri club meeting last night, it was so good to see everyone.
Makes me countdown to LP that much more. Jarrod was the guest speaker
so it was also good to see him, Sudbury record holder that he is (ha
ha ha)

Memorial day is next week hopefully I can talk the Hughes family into
hosting a poker game after the race Monday!!

Okay time to go teach exponential functions and reprimand the kids for
repeatedly using the word 'butthole' in class...swell. These 16 year
olds are going to push me into a Britney inspired breakdown!!

Hit 5000 miles in the prius today!!

okay so today wa a cheat day and i now feel like DEATH. i cheated out of principle, because i HAD to. but oh man do i wish i had just skipped it. i had a terrible day at school and thought binging would make me feel better (no logic whatsoever to find in that sentence), newsflash: it didnt. however being on the diet again is working out for me. i am down 6 pounds since utah and hopefully will continue on my way to non-fatness as my running mileage gets up there.
i am up to 14 miles a week without pain, that is HUGE. i missed running so much i was ready to get some sort of nonathletic hobby.

ANYWAYS, the whole point of this post: we went to REI yesterday to stock up on Garmin Forerunner 305's, which were on huge sale. while there, i saw this:



i bought it because it was BPA-free, and what better time to hop on the bandwagon then now? but now that i have it, i lovelovelove it. i love drinking out of straws (again, how old am i?). and four of the bottles for the whole day and ive got all my water down. and it doesnt spill, which is essential for someone as clumsy as me.

watched Dan In Real Life last night. i am one of those people who find pretty much anything steve carrell does hilarious. so, needless to say i loved the movie. made me crack up AND cry.
however the ending was so unrealistic i found myself going "...really? REALLY?" kind of like what i do when i kid does something so ridiculous in class it is unfathomable.

going to see jarrod (of olympic fame) and jesse race tomorrow in a small pool triathlon in jarrods hometown. it is a race put on my nemisis, and i havent seen them...well pretty much since our "falling out" (aka firing me so he can hire his mistress!) so it will be entertaining at least.

currently drinking coffee and watching the news. taking the MTEL this afternoon, i didnt really study for it so umm no expectations! not the best at calculus. i need to take a college course in it so i can be prepared and unfortunately, i didnt do that before today!

Also, I'm going to be a PITA and ask about my leg...AGAIN!

At the doctors office (trying to squeeze in all my check ups before my
insurance ends!!) this stuffed thing is in the waiting room (of my NOT
a pediatrician doctor...all adults here). What is it? A water droplet?
A germ? A booger? I'd ask but I dont want to sound ridiculous.

75 minute ride, dentist, now on my way home at 6. Thank goodness
there's no traffic!!

people, i need validation in my life. my self-worth depends on YOU. so, if youre reading, show yourself! (like you, mr/ms boston scientific. shouldnt you be working?)
especially if youre a stalker!!

in other news, 45 minute run today. also i have swam TWICE!! before FL, i had not swam since Canada. in august. 2006. i know, i know.
the thing about me swimming is this: no matter how much or how little i do, i am ALWAYS swimming at the same pace. my times do not change. so when i got in the pool, all my paces were the exact same as 2 years ago when i was swimming 2000yds 5 days a week. at least i am consistent!!

also: over my cold.
also: pwhacker CONQUERED devilman. completely awesome race. 12 people from the team raced, all 12 had PR's. and 4 of them went top 10. AND CAIT WON! so it was a good weekend.

tonight includes me watching ghost hunters. its my sole reason for loving wednesdays. well that, and the fact im THAT much closer to friday.

32 days of school left!

At devilman in NJ waiting for the bikes to come in

woke up with a really horrible flu/cold thing this morning. completely stuffed nose, blocked ears, muscles hurt, sore throat my eyes were crusted shut it was horrible. i tried to get ready for work but soon realized how ridiculous that idea was and called in sick. i slept until 10, applied for a couple of jobs, and am now permanently on the couch until bed.

i bought the book Skinny Bitch yesterday thanks to the 25% educator discount currently going on at barnes and noble. the book started out good, the gals who wrote it are anti-sugar, anti-white flour, REALLY anti-fake sugar (ie splenda and equal). that is stuff i can believe, but then they started to get weird. by chapter 4, im wondering if they are secretly living on a commune growing and eating their own food.
in addition to being vegetarian, and continually calling eating meat "consuming decomposing and rotten carcasses", they are anti-any kind of medicine (pain medicine, allergy medicine, cold medicine--anything), and anti-milk. they actually compare drinking milk to drinking your mothers breast milk as an adult. because they feel its that ridiculous.
despite how WEIRD they got later in the book....i hope it does help make some fat bitches into skinny bitches somewhere in the world.

in other news, we leave for NJ for a race on Saturday morning at 6. six hour drive to NEW JERSEY! here we come. 2 people+2 dogs+1 bike+race luggage in a prius. entertaining at least!

37 more days of school! Then it is sweet freedom: sleeping late and
hit weather, oh baby!

Why is it impossible for me to go to a Red Sox game without getting in
a fight!! Every time!

Annoying drunk Tampa fans at the game, the best part---they werent
even drinking! Just screaming!

Go Sox!!

Tied 4-4 right now

Can you spot the gator?? This is 50 feet from my parents house.

All the kids here ride their bikes to school, this is their parking lot

Tuckered out at the marathon

Ahh florida. Flip flops and little league.

it was a weekend of famous people.

okay so, i had a birthday. i am now 25.

i also went to the women's olympic marathon trials and saw deena kastor, live and in person.





and then saw ryan hall walking in the mall, live and in person.






and went to the marathon expo, and saw peter reid walking down the street, live and in person.
(i may or may not have hung out the window screaming his name.)





and then i went to the marathon and saw lance armstrong, live and in person. (amongst others!)





and now i am packing for the EF-EL. i leave at 3:30, tonight at 7pm, it will be 90 degrees. suckers! enjoy your 40 degree night weather!!

and happy earth day, go buy a hybrid theres no sales tax today! (this is what mine looks like)

I am officially moving the date of my birthday this year. It will take
place on Monday the 21st now. Because 1) I came down with the most
wretched cold today, and I feel AWFUL. 2) if it was tomorrow I would
have to spend the entire day alone, no boyfriend, no friends, no
family, everyone is otherwise occupied!!
So now it is on Monday and I'll go shopping and go out to lunch and
get by hair did. And tomorrow well...I'll still be hanging out alone
but I'm telling myself its a mental health day to recuperate from the
school week!

My 6th period kids threw me a surprise party, they are so cute!! Then
one proceeded to smear frosting all of by face because (his words:) "
thats what black people do on birthdays!!" haha

The school mediator made this for me when he found out my birthday was
Saturday, so nice!!!

is it me, or is everyone else doomed to think of the Jessie Spano, "im so excited", caffiene-pill induced breakdown on Saved By The Bell EVERY SINGLE TIME THEY SEE ELIZABETH BERKLEY ON TV?!?!

i am a top chef addict, unforunately she is in every single commercial break on the bravo channel for some new dance show. its really unfortunate.

i love waking up on a sunday morning, and reading the updates on PostSecret with a cup of coffee.

on the schedule today: the boy is racing a half in westfield. and then i will ride my bike. i am debating making some soup too. oh, the excitement!

I can honestly say, I love my job.

why does facebook keep sending me phantom emails about messages?? it is driving me crazy. it sure is sneaky how they are getting me to log in and check the site every time though.

my flights are booked to FL for April Vacation (that is capitalized because it is a Very Big Deal). Tues-Sun. That way, I get to go to the marathon and see my fathers race!! Win-Win. and the flights are straight through so no annoying/stressful layovers. And! My fathers and my friend from up here, who I have known for years and years will be down that weekend, doing the race too, so I get to see him. DOUBLE AND, I get to go to a Sox game that Friday night. My week sounds swell doesnt it. Ill be 25, and totally digging life.

I just have to get to April Vacation without throwing myself out my classroom window. Okay Im (semi) kidding, the kids have been really good as of lately.

i just bought a Sudoku book. Better late than never on the trend, right? I figure its something to keep me in a math-y state of mind during my 2 hour midday break at school, but yet its not outright Algebra. Doing factoring in my spare time makes me sound like a crazy person.

Someone keeps smoking in the teachers bathroom at work.
Seriously, who does that??

i totally just bought a toyota prius on impulse. however i also bartered (cried) my way to an unbelievable and historic deal!

this my friends, is park city utah

thats right. the end of march, way over 5 feet 2 inches of snow!!

Oh and a mobile update: last night one of the waiters asked me what
the giant red B on my hat was for. He then said "oh is it the
bountiful bears?"
I thought he was joking. So I said "really? You dont know what it is?"
like 4 times before I told him it was the red sox. I, honest to god,
didnt think there was anyone who had access to a television set,
newspaper, or Internet, that couldn't recognize the red sox symbol.
I am close minded I guess. Or he lives under a rock.

my completely awesome (and ironic) utah souvenir

the cookies i couldnt resist

my new kicks!

tonight: park city. i am going to rent a car in a little bit and we are going to drive up this afternoon. its where SUNDANCE IS! you can RENT PEOPLE to do your errands up there! and there are 743829 restaurants and 8439 shops up there, so basically....its heaven. i also bought a fantastic north face jacket last night. because i didnt anticipate park city (which is 7,000-10,000 feet UP!) and its going to be frigid.

pictures from utah

okay

picture un: the view from the hotel room

picture deux: my paris hilton wonky eye (and pwhack)

picture trois: the view just walking outside

picture quatre: the outdoor enormous mall i went to today

picture cinq: the city really is bike friendly, look at this aero guy i happened upon

picture six: another view, opposite direction. this is what the view no matter which way you look!

oh and dont worry about me moving out here. i changed my mind. im not converting to the church of latter day saints and well, i would be part of a VERY VERY small minority living here that wasnt one. everyone is "sister this" or "brother that". i didnt see anyone other than myself without a nametag today!