The countdown is on!

Only one day until chocolate. My cube-neighbor has already given me two mini Reese's Cups, which are tucked safely in my desk awaiting the day of celebration. I don't plan to overdo it on Friday, of course, considering I have a 17 mile run scheduled for Saturday, and too much sugar gives me stitches (another underlying reason for this hiatus), but I do plan to eat something decadent following my run. Cast your vote on what I should eat. The only ground rule is that it must contain chocolate. And be tasty. David's idea was some dark chocolate Cold Stone with brownie and gummi bear mix-ins. Sounds decadent enough to me. I'm thinking I'll probably end up with a tummy ache or some other gastrointestinal issue, but hey, it's been over a month...I deserve a celebratory snack.

Running, running, running

If you're at all interested in my marathon training with David and Ashley, you should check out the Allison Krewe's "Marathoners in the Making" blog: allisonkrewe.blogspot.com. If you hate reading about people who exercise way too much, then don't bother. But we mostly write about how much we run, and how we plan to get back all the calories we burned. We're thinking of having shirts made with "Will run for..." on the back. I think mine will say "brownies. " Or "chocolate ice cream." Mmmm...gotta stop thinking about it, hiatus doesn't end until Friday.

Ode to chocolate (and all things sweet)

I decided that for the month of January, I would give up all that excess sugar that seems to rule my life. I was saving a lot of my Weight Watchers Points and using them up on junk: Uncle Wally's Smart Portion Muffins, Skinny Cow ice cream, and Weight Watchers cakes were the biggest perpetrators. Even worse, I was spending all my extra Points I earned back on long runs on the weekends on other not-so-sinless sweets. Although it wasn't contributing to weight gain, it wasn't contributing anything else nutritionally either. So, I decided to cut out the excess sugar, with the only acceptable sugar being present in fruit, or in less than 5 gram increments (such as the 2 grams of sugar in my Rice Chex, or the tiny bit in my Naturally More peanut butter.)

I started a few days early on December 27, and it sure has been a long month. It has definitely had a positive effect on my eating habits: already, my meals and snacks are more balanced throughout the day, causing the little boxes that measure calories/complex carbs/protein/fat/sugar/fiber on the spreadsheet I keep to all turn green with correct percentages. I would say that it's gotten easier as the month has gone on, but that's a lie. Not a day goes by that I don't want something sweet. I manage to get by on fruit, natural peanut butter, sugar free jelly and sugar free pudding, but that craving is still there. I think next month I'll institute a weekends-only approach to sweets, and maybe limit it to one on Saturday, one on Sunday, and only if I earn it with exercise. Overall, it's just an attempt at making this marathon in April the best, healthiest, fastest race yet. I've also cut out carbonated drinks, which I think I will do until the race, since they tend to give me stitches. I've been really keeping track of what I eat and it's been helping, since I've dropped about 5 pounds since Christmas (which is just a little more than my holiday gain.) I think the flu helped a little, too, but that's beside the point. The point is: I'm 138 lbs of marathon-running machine. Here's to a sub-5 hour marathon.

Musings of a 24 year old

As I turn the ripe old age of 24 today, I think the quote from Amanda this morning sums it up best: "I feel like I'm still 18, only with 5 years experience."

Only make that 6. I am now 6 years removed from that girl in high school...even though most of the time I feel as though I'm still her, only I play house all the time now and pretend to know what I'm doing.

I know that when I was a kid, I figured I would have it all together when I was 24. And sure, things are definitely looking that way: husband, two dogs, college degree, house, car, job at a major newspaper. Okay, so I'm very happy, even if I still feel like my 9-year-old self playing dress-up.

Here's a hypothetical Saturday for 9-year-old me and my best friend, Miranda.

Me: "Let's ten-like we're married and have kids and we're going to the grocery store."
Miranda: "No, I want to be a working mom. Let's be working moms cooking dinner."
Me: "Okay. My husband will be Jason, and he's a firefighter."
Miranda: "As long as my husband can be a doctor."
Me: "Yeah. And I have two kids..."
Miranda: "I just have one, a daughter named Catalina."
Me: "Catalina? Isn't that a kind of salad dressing?"
Miranda: "...and I'm going to be a teacher."
Me: "But I wanted to be a teacher. I guess we could be teachers together."
Miranda: "I guess so."
Me: "No, wait...I think I'd rather be a t.v. news reporter or a trapeze artist. What do you think?"

Oh, what crazy dreams I had. I wonder what 9-year-old me would think of 24-year-old me?

Probably a combination of: "I can't believe you eat raw fish. And like it." "You run for how long? Why, is someone chasing you?" and "Your husband is an engineer? Like, on a train?"

Parties?

This is mostly for Amanda: I got a pretty big laugh out of it, so I'm passing it on. Oh, that silly neighborhood U-Rent It...

A house! A house!

We close tomorrow. I could not be more thrilled.

Here's what I've been up to lately:

• Getting ready to close on a house.
• Making jewelry. Lots of it. Plus shopping for supplies, filling out forms, and learning new skills. If I haven't told you about my new business, check out www.enduringsimplicity.com. (I'm super excited. Ever thought about starting a small business in less than a month, from idea to first official sale? It can be done!)
• Talking about packing. Really. Haven't packed a thing.
• Playing with the pups.
• Dressing up as a zombie for work.
• Training for and completing the Austin Oyster Adventure Race.
• Dressing up as a zombie for fun.
• Going to Six Flags.

Things are going to be CRAZY for the next couple of months. Here is a breakdown of our general schedules:

• Thursday, November 8: Close on house.
• Sunday, November 11: One year anniversary.
• Friday, November 16: Begin moving into house.
• Saturday, November 17: David's family visiting to help with the move.
• Thursday, November 22: Thanksgiving in Houston.
• Friday, November 23: Fly to Mobile to spend the weekend with my family.
• Sunday, December 9: Dallas White Rock Half Marathon.
• Wednesday, December 12: My birthday.
• Friday, December 21: Head to Mobile for Christmas.

And that's just through Christmas, only highlighting the main events. During this time, I need to:

• Pack, move, unpack, and decorate our new home.
• Celebrate a few big events.
• Train for a half marathon.
• Make enough jewelry for Mom to sell the week after Thanksgiving.
• Make/buy all our Christmas gifts.

Needless to say, I'll be busy. But it's a good kind of busy.

Our house, in the middle of Rockwall

As of November 9, 2007, David and I will be able to call this house our home. Yay house! We close two days before our one year anniversary.

Some great things about this house:

1. Gas stove


2. Skylight in the kitchen


3. Island in the kitchen


4. Jetted tub in master bath


5. Master closet is bigger than my master bath is now


6. Nice back yard for the pups


7. Cute neighborhood, with an elementary school and community pool/playground


8. Large, flat neighborhood, great for running and rollerblading


9. Close to the interstate, but not so close that it's loud or busy


10. Big enough, but not too big...and it will be OURS!
    

I am so excited. I plan to go ahead and start cleaning stuff out and preparing to pack this weekend. Our weekends are jam packed all the way through Christmas!