birthday do-over

This is a public service announcement to let everybody know that Bexie is getting a birthday do-over.  All she ever wanted was to be able to make herself a fancy birthday cake  (seriously... this is all she wanted?)  but due to a biking injury, no cake was to be had.  Therefore, her birthday for the year of 2013 will be on April 19.  And it will most certainly involve fancy cake. (Which she made for herself...)

But until next month, I hope Bexie had the best cake-free birthday that could have possibly been had!

marathon race report

Sorry, guys.  No video of me crossing the finish line this time.  So sorry to disappoint.

My favorite part of a race is the post-race loot that is given out. I have to say that this race totally let me down.  They ran out of chocolate milk AND Jamba Juice smoothies before I even finished!  I want my money back.  But despite the lack of post-race goodies, I finished with my best time so far (3:55) and my race outfit was my favorite of all of my marathons so far.  So overall, I would call this a successful race!

And, for your viewing pleasure:

Hanging out (and being cold) before the race.  Dad had his eyes open double wide, so maybe that makes up for mom's eyes being closed?

Requisite post-race finisher photo.  I was pleasantly surprised at how not horrendous I looked after the race:

Finishing strong.  Supposedly this shirt I am wearing is supposed to be stink-proof, even if you sweat a lot.  I definitely sweat a lot, but the shirt doesn't exactly smell like roses.  It was, however, the most comfortable race shirt I have ever worn.  

what i have been up to

1.  I wore my favorite dress to work today.  I have worn it several times before, and would wear it every day if I could.  It is hands-down the most comfortable item of clothing I own.  I recently looked at the tag and realized that it is not actually a dress, but pajamas.  I am totally fine with that.  

2.  I can always tell I'm getting nervous about a race when I start analyzing every detail of the course and going over all of my training to make sure I am prepared for every hill.  I put together this comparison of the biggest hill on the race course next to the trail I use for all of my long runs.  I think I am ready.

3.  I am looking for a great restaurant for carbo-loading Friday, since I convinced my mom to take a whole entire HALF DAY off of work for this thing.  This is big, guys.  We have to celebrate.

long term goals

According to my dailymile account, in the past six months I have run 2% of the distance around the world.  At this rate, it will take me 25 years to make it all the way around the world.  Who thinks I can do it?

On another note, my steam cleaner turned out to be one of my best purchases ever.  I spent all weekend spot-cleaning my carpets and watching all the dirt disappear.  It was a rather satisfying way to spend my free time.

hopeless romantic

For valentine's day this year, I am giving myself the gift of clean carpets with the Bissell Deluxe Steam Cleaner.  

I am one lucky girl.

nerdy

I know it makes me a nerd, but I find this cartoon hysterical.

smiling

My nursing school applications are due tomorrow.  The feeling of elation at having them fully submitted might rival the elation that I will feel when (if) I get accepted.

I have scheduled myself a nice massage this weekend to celebrate.

actual email from a student:

Dear Ms. Reed,

I will need to take the torture quiz on Friday during my study hall.

Thanks,
John

(In case you were wondering, he meant to write torque instead of torture.  Dang auto-correct.)

dreams

I have had two notably strange dreams in the past week.

First, I dreamed that Sammy was talking to me.  I can't remember what I had asked him, but his exact response was:

"It's not about the money, money, money.  I don't need your money, money, money.  I just want to make the world dance.  Forget about the price tag."  Then he shook his head, crawled under his blanket, and went to sleep.

In my second dream, I was teaching my senior class and had the worst gas in the history of bad gas.  It was loud and frequent and embarrassing.  And, being seniors, they all commented on it.  I woke up in a complete panic that it was real and I had officially lost all of their respect.  It was not real, but whether or not I have their respect is still up in the air.

lately....

So, a few major events have occurred over the past few weeks:

1.  I finally told my boss that I am not coming back to Bullis next year.  He said that it is going to be a huge loss for the school, but was very supportive and is excited for me.  He is writing me a recommendation letter (which I think will be AWESOME - he is in a program at Georgetown currently, and knows exactly what kind of skills most programs are looking for.)  We had a great conversation about how much my career as a teacher will benefit me.  It was hands-down the most positive conversation I have had about this career change yet.  I really have the best boss ever.  (This is not my crazy department chair boss, but my principal.)

2.  I found out that more than half of the students entering Georgetown's second-degree nursing program receive 80% tuition scholarships through their scholars program.  Up until now, I was applying there mostly just to see if I could get in.  Now it has become an actual real option ($8000 in tuition is way easier to pay back than $40,000.)  I could ride my bike to school every day, they have a great hospital system for rotations, and their program is really fantastic.  

3.  I registered for the Utah Valley Marathon in June!!!  I will be spending a week or so in Utah at the beginning of the summer!  If anybody wants to (a) come watch me run and cheer me on or (b) just hang out while I am in Utah, let me know!!!  Katelyn and I will both be running.  It looks like a beautiful course through Provo Canyon and ending on Center Street in Provo.  I am so excited!  I have way too many friends  and family in Utah that I haven't seen in way too long.  I am also looking for a fall marathon.  I am debating between Marine Corps again or maybe Chicago.  Or something else....

4.  I am trying to finish my entire Nutrition course in two weeks.  The way my schedule worked out, I am now taking 4 online classes this semester, which is stressing me out just a little.  (And by just a little, I mean a lot.)  Luckily, BYU's independent study classes are unbelievably flexible, so I can set my timeline however I want.  I usually don't promote BYU so heavily, but I recommend their online courses to anyone and everyone who has classes to take.  

5.  I have started tutoring 3-4 hours a week.  There is a kid who graduated from Bullis about 5 years ago, and ended up hating his job in finance.  So he is going back and taking all of the science classes he needs to get into med school.  I am tutoring him in his first physics class.  This job could not have come at a more perfect time.  It will more than cover the cost of all of my classes, plus give me enough money to make it through the summer after I stop getting paychecks from Bullis and before my financial aid for nursing school comes through.  (This will also be funding my trip to Utah in June.)  

6.  I bought a new pair of hot pink running shoes.  They are the style that I like (Nike Free), they are PINK, and they were half price.  Done.

the monkey business illusion

We watched this video at our faculty meeting yesterday!  (I counted correctly, by the way)

a little something...

that a lot of people would be embarrassed by, but of which I am immensely proud.

I know which Target stores have the best post-holiday candy clearance.

(In case anyone was wondering, or wanted proof of my knowledge)

The Wheaton Target (unfortunately the one closest to my house) does NOT SELL POST-HOLIDAY CLEARANCE CANDY!!  I find this to be an abomination.  However, the Rockville Taget has a rather large selection.  Unfortunately, they never get marked down more than 70%.  The Arlington Target (on highway 50 at Patrick Henry) has a decent selection, and if you wait long enough, it gets marked down 90%.  

Also (since I know you are all dying to know) I spent $15 on clearance Christmas candy this year.  Please don't do the math.  You don't want to know how much candy I brought home.  

New Year's Resolutions

Since my New Year's resolutions were such a smashing success last year (not eating processed foods (with the exception of clearance holiday candy) and making my bed every day (I aim high, people)) I decided to make some new ones this year!

1.  Keep my house organized.  I already went through and donated 5 bags of old clothing, shoes, and other crap that I have had around my house for the past two years.  I decided that if something has been sitting under my bed since I moved in, I probably didn't need it that badly.  I am pretty sure I will not miss any of this stuff.

2.  Track all of my expenses.  I don't have a monthly budget, since certain my spending fluctuates pretty vastly from month to month (for example, January is a great month to buy clothes since there are a million after-Christmas clearance sales.  And who can pass up a $30 down coat, or new running shoes (pink ones!) for half prices?  I, for one, cannot.)  However, I want to be aware of where my money is going, so I keep a running tab in my phone of how much I am spending on gas, household stuff, groceries, clothing, entertainment, and Sammy.  Apparently those are the six most important things in my life.

3.  Actually plan my meals.  I buy a lot of great-looking stuff at the grocery store (coconut flour) and then have no idea what to do with it.  So my goal is to plane what I will make to eat each week (dinner, dessert, snack, etc.) and only buy the food I need for my meals.  Hopefully this will result in less wasted food.  (hopefully)

4.  Get accepted to nursing school.  There's not a whole lot more to say about that.

pretty cool - landfillharmonic

National Cookie Day

As it turns out, next Thursday is national cookie day, which is a holiday I plan to celebrate in a big way.  Namely by making these brown sugar cookies.  (These are the same ones that Bexie made me for my birthday, and which I devoured in an embarrassingly short amount of time.)'

I may make some of these soft and chewy almond cookies.  

Next Thursday is going to be a good day.

gone girl

I read this book at the recommendation of a coworker.  She insisted that it was amazing.  (She failed to mention that it is about a psychopath, and I didn't bother to ask if her favorite book also happened to be about completely psychotic, sociopathic, crazy people.  It was.)  So needless to say, when I started reading it, I had no idea what it was about.  I finished it about a month ago, and when I put it down I couldn't decide if I loved it or hated it.  It's a story about a girl named Amy who goes missing on the afternoon of her fifth wedding anniversary.  Her husband is the prime suspect.  (Dun, dun, dun....)

The first half of the book is just kind of "meh".  I kept reading just because I wanted to know what all the fuss was about, and because I had nothing else to read at the time.  I thought it was just an okay story about a weird dude, and then BAM!  I turned one page, and suddenly I was completely hooked.  The first half of the book took me about 2 weeks to get through; then I read the last half in one night.

This is not the kind of book I typically read, but a month later, I still can't stop thinking about it, so I guess that's a good sign.

another race

Erica, Brandie, and I ran in the Marine Corps Turkey Trot 10k this morning.  (while wearing turkey hats, obviously)

Before the race, looking all cheerful and excited.  This was one of the most fun races I've ever done.  And being a turkey made us feel pretty much like celebrities.  Everybody wanted to take our picture.  

Ben should start a career as race photographer.  My two most flattering race pictures of all time were taken by him.  (This one, and the Cherry Blossom 5k from a few years ago.)  After looking at the race pictures from the marathon, I have been doing drills to try to improve my form.  Everybody please admire the forefoot strike right here.

After the race, with my arms full of post-race snacks.  To be honest, for me the quality of a race is based solely on the snacks provided.  This race didn't let me down.  (Although I really would have liked some bananas.)

We most certainly couldn't leave without getting a picture with the turkeys.

for your viewing pleasure

Since I know you all really wish you could have been there in person.  Just pretend it doesn't say PROOF in big orange letters across my chest, and it's almost like you were actually there.

the moment you have all been waiting for

Otherwise known as The Most Flattering Video Ever Created.

If anyone is interested in watching me cross the finish line of the Marine Corps Marathon yesterday, here it is for your viewing pleasure.

If you start the video at 1:47, you will see me run up the right side of the screen in a white hat, purple tank, black shorts, and black compression sleeves on my calves with pink tape on my knees.  

Finish video

Despite the look of despair at the end, it was a pretty awesome race.  I took the advice of Runner's World and drank a full 20-oz bottle of Gatorade before the race, and another during the first 10 miles, before I had the chance to get dehydrated.  (Best decision ever, by the way)  

Mentally and cardio-wise, I felt like I could have run forever.  My legs had other plans, though.  I kept about an 8:30 pace for about the first 20 miles, then they decided they had had enough.  My last six miles I dropped to a 12-minute mile.  I tried with all my might to run faster, but my legs just wouldn't move.  

I did, however, have an awesome support team.  Joe was there (although I never actually saw him), and at mile 19 Emily ran with me for a half mile and fed me chocolate milk and orange slices.  Erica and Ben showed up in Crystal City at miles 21 and 23.  Erica can cheer with the best of them, that's for sure.  :)

Mary came to the finish line with diet coke and Nutter Butters.  I had no idea what I would be craving after the race, but those Nutter Butters definitely hit the spot.

If anyone is interested in running the Rock 'n' Roll marathon (or half-marathon) in March, I have already registered!

a realization

This week, I made a horrific totally awesome realization.  I might be turning into my dad.

In the past couple of weeks, I have realized that

(1) I find gum-chewing repulsive.

and (2) I really love dark chocolate.

This is a slippery slope.