Just had to post a pat on my back.
I am still running! I'm on week 9 of Hal's novice half program and have been doing pretty well with all of the run days. Not so much on the cross or strength days lately (they were casualties of the holidays).
This week will be my first week at >20miles in LONG time. So long ago I hardly remember.
I have the week off, as does M! We've been reading and cooking and playing games and eating chocolates and sleeping in. Awesome and much needed. We're throwing a NYE party and have some whispering regrets about spending our week of vacation on house/party prep. Hopefully it'll be a good time anyway.
Tonight was 5miles. I did it on the treadmill and it was awesome. I went a bit slower than I'd like but I felt physically great at the end which is a stark contrast to the debilitating queasiness I felt at mile 5.5 of my 6 mile run on Sunday when I was trying to be fast.
I have been great about writing down the distances I've run on the treadmill but maybe I should try to chart pace and general wellness after the run to look for correlations.
The problem is that there are SO many factors that contribute to how I feel afterwards. Running controlled experiments is near to impossible!
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
Wedding post #5: If you plan it, they will have fun?
Now that we’re settling into a venue I can start to address my single biggest fear about this whole thing. What if people don’t have fun? It is seriously the single most stressful thought I have. Marrying M, piece of cake. Coming up with a meaningful and personal ceremony, no prob (ha, we’ll see about this).But what if we put this much time, effort, emotion and money into this event and it is a dud? Honestly this ties into post #4 very closely. I had a TiVo season pass for TLC’s Four Weddings and learned one very valuable lesson. Don’t invite people who don’t love you. But this is easier said than done and, truthfully, some of the people who love me the most will still probably be complainers. How do you tailor a party to meet the needs of guests ranging from <1 up to nearly 80? I want everyone to have a good time. Everyone. Genuinely.
The kiddos I feel will be easy. They are known to be spontaneous dancers (which ROCKS!) plus I think we should have crayons and coloring books and etc. The tweens ought to be alright too. There will be a pool table at our venue and we’re thinking about having games on the tables. Plus I am VERY excited about tasking a handful of 12-13 year old girls that we know to do some of my bidding on the day of.
Adults are a WAY different story! Will people dance? Will people talk to each other? Will everyone enjoy the food/cake/music/drinks/fill-in-the-blank?
This Friday we’re having a New Year’s Eve party to practice our host-ing. M reminds me that people just need to be fed and imbibed and they’re 90% of the way to happy (most of my people don’t drink so that puts more emphasis on food). It is that 10% that tweaks me a bit.
Will report back after NYE on how well our entertaining went.
Christmas was great and surprisingly I only got one wedding related gift.
My mom
made me that bag to carry all of my brideing (TM) necessities. It was sweet and needs to serve as a reminder that she wants to be a part of the process.
The kiddos I feel will be easy. They are known to be spontaneous dancers (which ROCKS!) plus I think we should have crayons and coloring books and etc. The tweens ought to be alright too. There will be a pool table at our venue and we’re thinking about having games on the tables. Plus I am VERY excited about tasking a handful of 12-13 year old girls that we know to do some of my bidding on the day of.
Adults are a WAY different story! Will people dance? Will people talk to each other? Will everyone enjoy the food/cake/music/drinks/fill-in-the-blank?
This Friday we’re having a New Year’s Eve party to practice our host-ing. M reminds me that people just need to be fed and imbibed and they’re 90% of the way to happy (most of my people don’t drink so that puts more emphasis on food). It is that 10% that tweaks me a bit.
Will report back after NYE on how well our entertaining went.
Christmas was great and surprisingly I only got one wedding related gift.
My mom
made me that bag to carry all of my brideing (TM) necessities. It was sweet and needs to serve as a reminder that she wants to be a part of the process.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Wedding post #4: Awkward turtle guest list
I had my first awkward turtle moment about guest list. My female coworkers have been asking how venue hunting was coming and I shared with one of them our latest search results. She was excited for us to have found something and glad that things were coming together. Then she told me how she and her husband had talked about being sure they could make it. SCREEECHHH.
Now, let it be said, she is a favorite work chat buddy and sometimes venting-vent. I find her perfectly lovely and I had actually worked with her husband before (he accidentally nicknamed M as beefcake, which I still love). They are great! But they hadn’t made the guest list. Actually I only had 3 people from my current work on the list (and I worked with two of them at a previous company). It isn’t that I wouldn’t love partying it down with them but I was trying to stick with people I was just a tad closer to.
Now this feels really hard. If they want to come and are genuinely excited about sharing our day then that basically meets my guest characteristics. But they weren’t in the initial count. I guess this is why people talk about their guest lists being elastic. But I don’t want ours stretch to breaking point.
So I guess I’m left asking myself (and maybe should run it by M), is it OK to adjust the guest list if it is for people who seem to really want to be a part of our day? Should we just stick to the people who we determined to be a part of our inner community and trust that we managed to get everyone?
When we first started this wedding planning business we determined that our main goal (after getting MARRIED!) was to have an event that brought our whole community together to celebrate and to thank them for being a part of our lives. So guest list is about more than budgets and seating charts in that respect.
Hmmm, why do I think this may not be the last of this conundrum?
Now, let it be said, she is a favorite work chat buddy and sometimes venting-vent. I find her perfectly lovely and I had actually worked with her husband before (he accidentally nicknamed M as beefcake, which I still love). They are great! But they hadn’t made the guest list. Actually I only had 3 people from my current work on the list (and I worked with two of them at a previous company). It isn’t that I wouldn’t love partying it down with them but I was trying to stick with people I was just a tad closer to.
Now this feels really hard. If they want to come and are genuinely excited about sharing our day then that basically meets my guest characteristics. But they weren’t in the initial count. I guess this is why people talk about their guest lists being elastic. But I don’t want ours stretch to breaking point.
So I guess I’m left asking myself (and maybe should run it by M), is it OK to adjust the guest list if it is for people who seem to really want to be a part of our day? Should we just stick to the people who we determined to be a part of our inner community and trust that we managed to get everyone?
When we first started this wedding planning business we determined that our main goal (after getting MARRIED!) was to have an event that brought our whole community together to celebrate and to thank them for being a part of our lives. So guest list is about more than budgets and seating charts in that respect.
Hmmm, why do I think this may not be the last of this conundrum?
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
Wedding post #3- Summer yearnings
So a search for “Seattle Washington seasonal flowers July” led me to this:
http://diy.weddingbee.com/topic/washington-seasonal-flowers-part-2
I am giddy beyond words! My plan for flowers has always been a big sweep of the farmers market that my sweet and I frequent. All summer they are filled with the most amazing bouquets of colorful stems and creative greens and they are as cheap as the dirt they grow in. My true heart is with dahlias because they are so amazingly intricate. I figured mid-late July would be the shoulder season for dahlias so they may or may not be readily available. But my heart just about burst when I saw all of the deliciously colorful stems that may be available to me that time of year.
The one snag will be if we wed on a Friday. Then I guess the plan will be to hit up Seattle’s everyday farmers market, Pike’s Place Market, and try to clean them out.
The bonus too is that a bunch of these are really fragrant. I had been grooving on the idea of maybe doing herbs as centerpieces since they would smell so darn good but fragrant flowers should do the trick too.
Oh flowers…I miss you.
(side note for those who don’t live here: As the days get shorter and colder the farmers markets start filling their bouquets in with cabbage heads and other creative winter alternatives, at first I thought this was adorable but now I just see it as the first sign of winter…sigh)
http://diy.weddingbee.com/topic/washington-seasonal-flowers-part-2
I am giddy beyond words! My plan for flowers has always been a big sweep of the farmers market that my sweet and I frequent. All summer they are filled with the most amazing bouquets of colorful stems and creative greens and they are as cheap as the dirt they grow in. My true heart is with dahlias because they are so amazingly intricate. I figured mid-late July would be the shoulder season for dahlias so they may or may not be readily available. But my heart just about burst when I saw all of the deliciously colorful stems that may be available to me that time of year.
 |
| http://diy.weddingbee.com/topic/washington-seasonal-flowers-part-2 |
The one snag will be if we wed on a Friday. Then I guess the plan will be to hit up Seattle’s everyday farmers market, Pike’s Place Market, and try to clean them out.
 |
| Touristy-yes. Awesome- also yes. |
The bonus too is that a bunch of these are really fragrant. I had been grooving on the idea of maybe doing herbs as centerpieces since they would smell so darn good but fragrant flowers should do the trick too.
Oh flowers…I miss you.
(side note for those who don’t live here: As the days get shorter and colder the farmers markets start filling their bouquets in with cabbage heads and other creative winter alternatives, at first I thought this was adorable but now I just see it as the first sign of winter…sigh)
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Deep thoughts from the bus. Vol 5
Oh how I wish this week was not full of so much everyday stuff so I could appropriately focus my attention on huge and exciting stuff.
In no particular order:
1. It is Christmas in 4 days! I am mostly done with shopping save for a few stocking stuffers and gift cards. Some things are wrapped but still there is much wrapping to be done. I'm trying to decide who I am most excited to give their gift. Probably younger sister. She is 12 which is when there is all sorts of stuff you want SO bad. My family still hasn't decided on food for C day dinner. We gotta get on that.
2. My college Roomie is having a baby any day now! Wow! So adorable.
3. Our wedding. We made excellent progress this weekend (in part thanks to Speedy for opening my mind to a few things). Plus, I made a date to go dress shopping with my mom on the Monday after Christmas.
I am launching full speed into decor-mania which I know is still not appropriate. But I saw a possible centerpiece option on craigslist and am REALLY tempted to buy it. Gotta calm myself.
Starting with relaxing the rest of the way home.
Oh, I ran an awesome 8 miles in (relatively) awesome weather on Sunday
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
In no particular order:
1. It is Christmas in 4 days! I am mostly done with shopping save for a few stocking stuffers and gift cards. Some things are wrapped but still there is much wrapping to be done. I'm trying to decide who I am most excited to give their gift. Probably younger sister. She is 12 which is when there is all sorts of stuff you want SO bad. My family still hasn't decided on food for C day dinner. We gotta get on that.
2. My college Roomie is having a baby any day now! Wow! So adorable.
3. Our wedding. We made excellent progress this weekend (in part thanks to Speedy for opening my mind to a few things). Plus, I made a date to go dress shopping with my mom on the Monday after Christmas.
I am launching full speed into decor-mania which I know is still not appropriate. But I saw a possible centerpiece option on craigslist and am REALLY tempted to buy it. Gotta calm myself.
Starting with relaxing the rest of the way home.
Oh, I ran an awesome 8 miles in (relatively) awesome weather on Sunday
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, December 13, 2010
Deep thoughts from the bus. Vol 4
12 days until Christmas! I am WAY more excited about a week off of work than anyone really should be.
Not sure if theCap is down for it but I am hoping we can get some wedding details worked on while we both have daytime hours to spend together during the week. Thats seriously been a bit of a challenge. Looking at venues and trying to picture a July wedding during some of the most crap-tastic weather I've seen here is tough!
Seriously, walking up to Queen Anne to catch my bus tonight there were full on sheets of water coming at me. I took refuge on this house
Ok, not really but I did pop into See's with two goals: being dry and picking up some goodies to slip into M's family's Christmas package. The fact that I thought they might lavish me with samples never entered my mind.
Again, a decent umbrella or a bit of HTFU* probably would have saved me $7 and ~250 calories. But then the FILs wouldn't have had candy.
This weekend I ran 7 (pretty slow) miles ON THE TREADMILL! (and if you have an iPhone you know what a pain it is to write in all caps). But it was pouring and we were headed to see a play. Honestly, it wasn't so bad. I watched 3 episodes of say yes to the dress (syttd not to be confused with sytycd). I am not in pain today and there was no...abdominal distress yesterday either. Success!
I'm still plugging away with Hal but I'm pretty sure they'll not be any race in the near future.
Ok, now to sit back and enjoy all the shimmery taillights around us.
Not sure if theCap is down for it but I am hoping we can get some wedding details worked on while we both have daytime hours to spend together during the week. Thats seriously been a bit of a challenge. Looking at venues and trying to picture a July wedding during some of the most crap-tastic weather I've seen here is tough!
Seriously, walking up to Queen Anne to catch my bus tonight there were full on sheets of water coming at me. I took refuge on this house
Ok, not really but I did pop into See's with two goals: being dry and picking up some goodies to slip into M's family's Christmas package. The fact that I thought they might lavish me with samples never entered my mind.
Again, a decent umbrella or a bit of HTFU* probably would have saved me $7 and ~250 calories. But then the FILs wouldn't have had candy.
This weekend I ran 7 (pretty slow) miles ON THE TREADMILL! (and if you have an iPhone you know what a pain it is to write in all caps). But it was pouring and we were headed to see a play. Honestly, it wasn't so bad. I watched 3 episodes of say yes to the dress (syttd not to be confused with sytycd). I am not in pain today and there was no...abdominal distress yesterday either. Success!
I'm still plugging away with Hal but I'm pretty sure they'll not be any race in the near future.
Ok, now to sit back and enjoy all the shimmery taillights around us.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Christmas is coming!
(Miss Piggy, Muppets Christmas album) That's what I'm listening to on my ride in and it does finally feel like it is!
We decorated on Wednesday night and mailed out round one of long distance packages. Still must decide on cards. We were hoping to do a save the date/announcement combo but without an official date that mayn't work.
Here are some decor pics:
The bathroom (in Birchwood Chalet by target) is my personal fave.
Feliz navidad! (that's what is playing now)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
We decorated on Wednesday night and mailed out round one of long distance packages. Still must decide on cards. We were hoping to do a save the date/announcement combo but without an official date that mayn't work.
Here are some decor pics:
The bathroom (in Birchwood Chalet by target) is my personal fave.
Feliz navidad! (that's what is playing now)
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
$3.47
That is the shelter fee I paid this morning in the form of a latte.
It was POURing and my bus wasn't for 15 more minutes so, despite having had a cup of Joe lovingly brewed by my sweetie, I paid for warmth and dry. Probably should just invest in water tight shoes and an umbrella next time.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
It was POURing and my bus wasn't for 15 more minutes so, despite having had a cup of Joe lovingly brewed by my sweetie, I paid for warmth and dry. Probably should just invest in water tight shoes and an umbrella next time.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Monday, December 6, 2010
Deep thoughts from the bus. Vol 3
Wow! I am currently listening to a PLAYA in action. A man, not a day younger than 80 I'd say, is in the process of asking an ~50ish woman out. He is a smooth operator for sure. Just asking her for coffee sometime. He lost her a bit when talking about how he feels like he needs to get married again soon and when he told her that her English is pretty good. You think guts like that are born or made?
On the running front, I've been doing ok following the early stages of Hal's half-M program but now the midweek runs are getting longer which makes it trickier.
I will not be running a winter race though because of how awful the cold was before the 5k this weekend. Race report pending.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
On the running front, I've been doing ok following the early stages of Hal's half-M program but now the midweek runs are getting longer which makes it trickier.
I will not be running a winter race though because of how awful the cold was before the 5k this weekend. Race report pending.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Deep thoughts from the bus. Vol 2
Lesson of the day:
Taking the super early bus will not necessarily get you there sooner. AND Getting a later start will not necessarily get you the later.
Day 2 my morning was a train wreck but my evening has been a breeze so far.
On my mind tonight:
-I'm hoping the beef stroganoff I put in the crockpot this morning is yummy.
- I also hope to make "oh baby" bars that I saw on Eat, live, run tonight for a party on Saturday. I want to make them tonight cause they're gluten free and I want to bring on for a celiac coworker (see, I try).
- I need to unsubscribe to ELR since I think she's gone off the deepend and now only bakes irresistible goods.
- I'm tired. And bummed I'll have get up early everyday this weekend. It'll be fun thoughGOTR 5k on Saturday and then I pick my biggest nephew up to go to a Christmas party.
- I hope my dentist appt goes smoothly tomorrow. It is attempt #3 to place a crown and if it fails I may lose my mind. Plus I have a meeting right after it.
- I don't want to brag but I am a really lucky girl to have such a sweet guy. I feel like I've been a total headcase about work and stuff lately but he is patient and productive and I'm grateful for it.
- it is almost Christmas /new year!! My bus stop is right in the thick of Seattle holiday festivities and it is very exciting! We're thinking about throwing a NYE party to quench my NYE wedding desires so we gotta decide on that and get busy.
Ok, signing off with a (terrible) pic of Seattle Westlake Center all dolled up.
Wow, that is ridiculously bad :)
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Taking the super early bus will not necessarily get you there sooner. AND Getting a later start will not necessarily get you the later.
Day 2 my morning was a train wreck but my evening has been a breeze so far.
On my mind tonight:
-I'm hoping the beef stroganoff I put in the crockpot this morning is yummy.
- I also hope to make "oh baby" bars that I saw on Eat, live, run tonight for a party on Saturday. I want to make them tonight cause they're gluten free and I want to bring on for a celiac coworker (see, I try).
- I need to unsubscribe to ELR since I think she's gone off the deepend and now only bakes irresistible goods.
- I'm tired. And bummed I'll have get up early everyday this weekend. It'll be fun thoughGOTR 5k on Saturday and then I pick my biggest nephew up to go to a Christmas party.
- I hope my dentist appt goes smoothly tomorrow. It is attempt #3 to place a crown and if it fails I may lose my mind. Plus I have a meeting right after it.
- I don't want to brag but I am a really lucky girl to have such a sweet guy. I feel like I've been a total headcase about work and stuff lately but he is patient and productive and I'm grateful for it.
- it is almost Christmas /new year!! My bus stop is right in the thick of Seattle holiday festivities and it is very exciting! We're thinking about throwing a NYE party to quench my NYE wedding desires so we gotta decide on that and get busy.
Ok, signing off with a (terrible) pic of Seattle Westlake Center all dolled up.
Wow, that is ridiculously bad :)
Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
Deep thoughts from the bus. Vol 1
Today I start riding the bus to work. Because I love the earth (well that and I hate my driving commute and there is going to be a toll on the bridge I take to get to work and starting in January my company is charging for parking). We will see how it goes.
Pollyanna of it is that I ought to blog more.
Things on my mind on this ride home:
-I have to get out of my work slump. One way I am thinking would help is to bust tail to get caught up and then see if I feel better when I don't feel overwhelmed. I also need a pal at work. It seems kind of pathetic but I'm not saying I need a BFF but I want a buddy. I spend ~8hr per day there and it'd be nice to have someone to chat with. When my friend Ali worked in my building I was markedly happier. I've always had a pal I could grab if I was having a crappy day/crappy experiment. Ah well.
-I can't believe my old Roomie is having a baby this month(most likely :) )! Seeing the people in your life take these new huge/exciting (hugely exciting ) steps is so incredible. Not so long ago our biggest concerns were 8am physics and whether or not WOW chips could possibly be metabolized as fat and whether Speedy would come visit and eat fruit over our trashcan. But she is about to have a baby boy! I hope that the love and kindness she pours over others will all rush back at her as she takes on motherhood. And I hope she keeps blogging.
- I am so happy that my leg is feeling good. Yesterday was day 30 of my most recent shred attempt. It was not pretty and honestly my heart wasn't in it A LOT of days but I'm glad I did it. The only noticeable difference I see is my arms. I have asked my sister for Jillian's new shred for
Christmas. Looking forward to Jillian torturing me in new ways.
-this weekend i am run buddying for girls on the run 5k. I'm nervous cause I haven't run a race since July!
-I want to pick a wedding venue soon so I can get on with more fun stuff. I have starr
ed so many adorable things in blog posts in my google reader. I wonder if Roomie will be for hire for awesomely executed pretty DIY stuff? Now that I think about it, Speedy looks pretty crafty from pics of her wedding too.
Ok, we've crossed the bridge and I'm almost home.
Signing off with a pic from my failed snowy bus ride.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Pollyanna of it is that I ought to blog more.
Things on my mind on this ride home:
-I have to get out of my work slump. One way I am thinking would help is to bust tail to get caught up and then see if I feel better when I don't feel overwhelmed. I also need a pal at work. It seems kind of pathetic but I'm not saying I need a BFF but I want a buddy. I spend ~8hr per day there and it'd be nice to have someone to chat with. When my friend Ali worked in my building I was markedly happier. I've always had a pal I could grab if I was having a crappy day/crappy experiment. Ah well.
-I can't believe my old Roomie is having a baby this month(most likely :) )! Seeing the people in your life take these new huge/exciting (hugely exciting ) steps is so incredible. Not so long ago our biggest concerns were 8am physics and whether or not WOW chips could possibly be metabolized as fat and whether Speedy would come visit and eat fruit over our trashcan. But she is about to have a baby boy! I hope that the love and kindness she pours over others will all rush back at her as she takes on motherhood. And I hope she keeps blogging.
- I am so happy that my leg is feeling good. Yesterday was day 30 of my most recent shred attempt. It was not pretty and honestly my heart wasn't in it A LOT of days but I'm glad I did it. The only noticeable difference I see is my arms. I have asked my sister for Jillian's new shred for
Christmas. Looking forward to Jillian torturing me in new ways.
-this weekend i am run buddying for girls on the run 5k. I'm nervous cause I haven't run a race since July!
-I want to pick a wedding venue soon so I can get on with more fun stuff. I have starr
ed so many adorable things in blog posts in my google reader. I wonder if Roomie will be for hire for awesomely executed pretty DIY stuff? Now that I think about it, Speedy looks pretty crafty from pics of her wedding too.
Ok, we've crossed the bridge and I'm almost home.
Signing off with a pic from my failed snowy bus ride.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)