Yesterday’s Grub.

Remember the movie Son In Law? I loved it when Pauly Shore said he was “munching on some grindage,” because I love to eat, and I think his expression pretty much sums up my life: munchin’ on some grindage and chillin’ with the Wease. Want to know a little secret about me? I LOVE Pauly Shore, even as dumb and base as his humor is.

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I am thankful for a day to hang out with my mom and brother, though I was sorry Dad couldn’t join us. And, I am thankful that my dad may be able to retire next December.

Exercise: walked the dogs 1.5 miles, walked around at a couple of stores

Food: spinach artichoke dip with bread and pasta chips, Italian nachos (yes, as weird as they sound), french toast steamer, cherry cola soda, homemade spicy basil mushroom pine nut  pasta with whole what pasta and tofu, bread, strawberries with real whipped cream sweetened with maple syrup

Thanksgiving Success

This morning started off with a literal bang. As we lined up in front of Baum Opera House in Miamisville, Miamisburg, some Miami-something near Dayton, OH, we saw people in various costumes preparing to run the same 5 miles we were going to run. There was a banana, a gorilla, a guy wearing swim flippers, a turkey, and several sets of pilgrims and Indians. Then came the bang and we were off.

Bec finished shortly after I did with a pace of 14.16 minutes per mile, and I finished with a pace of 13.04 minutes per mile. Susan, of course, did much better than we did, but we all had an absolute blast. There is no better way to begin a day like Thanksgiving than with a nice run. We got pretty sweet shirts out of the deal as well. And, none of us were overrun by any of the walkers who started ahead of the runners.

I think I have several pet peeves at races:

  1. Start in your appropriate corral. If you are walking, start in the back.
  2. If you are going to farmer blow or hocker, make sure no one is in the line of fire.
  3. Say excuse me if you cut closely between two people.
  4. Don’t wear headphones that are turned up so loud you can’t hear those around or have to yell quite loudly because you can’t hear yourself talk.
  5. If you pass someone, keep running the same speed you were when you passed them. Don’t run around someone then come to a dead stop right in front of them, particularly if that someone you pass is a big girl. It takes a lot to stop this much weight. Think tanker truck trying to stop on the Interstate.
  6. Don’t take more than your fair share of food at the end of the race.
  7. If you are on a course that doubles back on itself, let the elite runners have their side of the road. It’s rude to slow down the fast people, just like it is rude to walk six abreast across the slow side of the road.

I think that is all the complaining I have room for here. I suppose I am not really complaining as much as I am stating the obvious. Just use what little manners we still have as Americans and apply them to the race. You can do it! I know you can!

Tomorrow I get to spend the day with my family and my friend Amy. I am excited for both prospects. My mom is coming to my house around 930 or so and my brother is meeting us at 11. We are going to lunch either at the Thai restaurant or Amazing Joe’s. I have never been to the latter, but I do love the former. We will see which one is open and not ridiculously crowded. Either way it sounds like fun.

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Today I am thankful for the ability to move my body 5 miles with no pain or discomfort.

Exercise: ran 5 miles

Food: banana, juice, strawberry milk, sugar cream pie, carrots and tostitos with dip, stuffing, spinach casserole, salad, a roll, mashed potatoes, mint moon pie, black cherry soda

Tomorrow: GET BACK ON THE WAGON WITH THE FOOD!!!!! Too much sugar!

Traveling to Dayton, Eating Taco Bell

Tonight we drove to Dayton to celebrate Thanksgiving with Susan. I really don’t like to eat fast food, but when you are trying to get somewhere and you are really hungry, fast food is the obvious choice. I especially do not like to eat in the car. Tonight I ate Taco Bell while driving. If I believed in saying FML, I would say it about that fiasco. How can you enjoy food (even if it is Taco Bell) while sucking it out of the wrapper and careening down the road at 60 miles an hour. I like to savor my food.

When I asked the girl who waited on me what is in the Fresco Bean Burrito, she said, pointing to the sign that I could plainly see before I asked her, it has tomatoes, onions, and these little green specks. I deduced that the little green specks were cilantro and it, combined with tomatoes and onions, could only be Taco Bell’s attempt at Pico de Gallo. Awesome. I couldn’t have determined from the picture that it has onions, tomatoes, and little green specks. I asked her, kindly, if it had meat in it: No, I don’t think so. I decided to chance it. Definitely not worth the 99 cents. Try the seven-layer burrito instead. It’s my favorite Taco Bell menu item. I could do with about a third of the sour cream, though.

Today was not the best food day. I ate LOTS of sugar and fat. The sugar cream pie, which I made from scratch, was awesome, and I certainly don’t regret eating it!

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I am thankful for the ability to run, walk the dogs, and ride my bike. It makes me feel like a new woman every time, even when I get frustrated with my lack of improvement.

Exercise: walked the dogs two miles

Food: banana, juice, milk, sugar cream pie, left over pizza and pasta, seven-layer burrito, fresco bean burrito, nachos, mango fruitista, skittles

Homemade Cheese Pizza

Nothing says Thanksgiving Break like a homemade cheese pizza for dinner, and two good books left to re-read for the holiday. I have been pretty productive so far, and I need to have some writing to show Debbie on Monday, so productivity is good. In fact, you might even say I am thankful for my ability to read, write, and dream.

But, I will save my pontifications about being thankful for a more apt day. I will do what everyone else will do, be thankful on Thanksgiving. I think I am going to start a new challenge for myself on Thursday, which will be to at the very least list what I eat, what exercise I do, and one thing I am thankful for everyday on this blog. It seems to have been working well for me so far; why not keep it up?

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Exercise: walked the dogs two miles, ran two miles, biked to RB to Burris back to RB back home

Breakfast: banana, juice, oatmeal, milk
Lunch: Clif Bar, apple, orange
Snack: Spinach with poppyseed dressing and sunflower seeds, cheese cube
Dinner: a lovely cheese pizza just for me and breadsticks

Another Day But Not Another Dollar

Today was another day. I didn’t find a dollar, and I can’t find the ten dollars that I took out of the account to purchase coffee with Lyn the other day. I put it back in my pocket or something and now it isn’t there. The part that sucks is I didn’t even need it because Lyn bought my coffee for me. It was actually hot chocolate and it was good, too. I remember it well. I had a great time today with the students who stay after for Write On! Huh? (as they’ve taken to calling it because they didn’t get the Write On! reference). This group of students is amazingly talented, and I am so excited to see how this literary magazine turns out. I have high hopes for it, and I hope it is even more amazing than I imagine. I have a feeling it will be, knowing this group of students.

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Exercise: walked the dogs three miles, ran three miles, rode my bike to SBUX then to Burris then home

Breakfast: banana, oatmeal, juice, milk
Lunch: Clif bar, apple, decaf Americano with honey and cream
Dinner: Pasta with mushrooms, parmesan, broccoli, and olive oil; two pieces of bread
Snacks: 1 oz. of cheese, spinach salad with poppyseed dressing and sunflower seeds

I need to get more protein. Any creative suggestions?