There is a Cherry Blossom 5K in April 2010. Participants are being selected by lottery. People can enter the lottery in groups of up to 10 people. Lottery entry closes 12/11.

Anyone want to run with me? ninthraven? mel21clc? Anyone?

So, Tuesday, Mama stentoriansista and I went for a run out in the drizzle in Virginia Beach. I got about 2 and a half minutes into a jog before I twisted my left ankle pretty badly. And, of course, once you have badly twisted an ankle on a jogging trail, you have to walk the mile and a bit back to the car to get home. In what was now the rain.

So, we got back to the house, I got back to the room stentoriansista and I were sharing and I got into some dry clothes and had a good cry. Because my ankle hurt and dammit, I was disappointed! I was supposed to run in the Turkey Trot in two days! I'd worked really hard for it and I was looking forward to the race which I couldn't run because I couldn't put weight on my ankle.

So, it's been healing just fine. I can walk pretty much normally, though it tends to hurt quite a bit. I called my nurse advice line with my health care and they said it's pretty much normal and to continue to keep it elevated, ice and have advil appropriately. Obviously, I can't exercise the way I used to for a while, but since I don't want to get out of the habit, I thought I'd swim for exercise for the next couple of weeks.

But dammit, none of the Arlington County Parks & Recreation Fitness Centers have pools attached. And they're not a part of the gym system so it'd be a separate payment. Plus half the fun of doing this is that stentoriansista and I would both go to the gym at the same time. We could probably do TC Williams instead, but still... dammit ArCo, you're messing with my plans.

( Running. No zombies are chasing me, alas )

( Doctor/Money Stuff )

Other than that, things are pretty meh. We're going down to Duck for Thanksgiving and it'll be lovely. I still can't find any pants that fit. I continue to have a fabulous fiancee who I love dearly. I continue to be amazed that I can say the word "fiancee." DC continues to be on the verge of passing gay marriage. I've been knitting a little bit (monkey, yes, but a baby blanket and a chemo cap as well). I want a hardcore massage to work all the kinks out of my neck and shoulder. The TV show Glee is the best thing ever and so is its soundtrack. stentoriansista and I are taking salsa lessons, which is really fun except for the whole 'wait, a girl is leading?' aspect and the fact that Joy of Motion has the worst customer service ever in DuPont. I miss Thursdays at Playbill with prettyprincessb and mareska. Everyone I know is pregnant, which is weird to me. I want to see both Precious and The Blind Side, so I can weep like a small child. Now that the monkey's done, I can read again and I've been devouring library books. Auditioned for The Vagina Monologues. That sort of thing.

So, I'm running a 5K over Thanksgiving. Don't ask me how I got into this, but it involves stentoriansista's mom and a lot of guilt over my fat ass (the guilt is mine, not from Mama stentoriansista, who is a lovely human being). The problem is, of course, that I am incredibly out of shape. Walked up the escalator at Foggy Bottom this morning (because it's broken, as usual, because this is why we can't have nice things) and was out of breath for far too long. Also, of course, my gym doesn't open until 8am on weekdays, which I realized after I got myself out of bed at 6:45 in the morning and tried to go in the door at 7am. (Consequently, I'd like to visit Snoozeville post-haste)

I've decided that mornings are my best exercise time (they just are, no matter how much I hate the idea of getting up at 6:15 on a Wednesday). I've bookmarked Couch to 5K. I'm almost certainly not going to run the entire 5K, but I'm going to try to run it. Probably. It's just a little daunting right now. I'm daunted.

Weekend in Duck this weekend, which was very, very nice. We all laid out on the beach for a few hours on Saturday and none of us wore enough sunscreen and ended up burned as all heck. As a side note, spray on sunscreen is not to be trusted, especially in the wind. We all had stripes burned on us. My new swimsuit (a speedo from Costco!) was uber low-cut so now I have a weird tan line. As usual, it was a good time, good people, good food and (new!) Zombie Fluxx. Skipped the outlet mall this time and just went to Barree Station and got a top. Stopped at Target on the way home and bought myself a variation of this purse (and hopefully one that doesn't break like that one!) that I love. It came with a laptop case and is big enough to fit my gym clothes and a lunch in without looking overstuffed. Sold. Speaking of gym clothes...

( cut for exercise talk and me not being nice to myself )

So, my passport expires in September and being the overly conscientious person that I am, I sent it in to be renewed. I just got it back today and noticed that my name is spelled kestrel127 Mc Gee instead of kestrel127 McGee. My ID does this too. I'm wondering if it's worth it to be fixed. (And if someone at the Social Security office screwed it all up for me somehow). All I have to do is fill out a form and mail it back with two new passport photos... except I'm pretty sure I threw out my extra passport photos. On the other, other hand, I have a digital camera and a photo printer.

( cut for exercise talk. No one cares but me. )
Bah. I need to stop talking big and start doing big. And maybe live with someone who shames me about eating again. That helped.

Karaoke tonight. Woo!

Saw (most of) The Unusuals pilot last night. Really liked it. Call me, Harold Perrineau!

Someday, I'd like to stop having songs stuck in my head. Christina's Internal Radio Station usually has songs on repeat and usually replaces words with things like 'monkeys' and 'pants' (for example, 'All she wants to do is dance' becomes 'All she wants to wear are pants.' And so on. And then I wonder... does she want to wear only pants (meaning no tops?) or just no dresses? Because apparently, I'm insane). It's weird.

Anyway, things and stuff. Stuff and things.

So, I had yet another good cooking day today. I woke up this morning and put pumpkin curry soup in the crockpot before grabbing a quick breakfast (um... at 1pm. What?). Sat around for a while before running off to a quick Target run then hit the pool at the gym. Hadn't done that in a while. It was nice! It ended up being closer to an hour than the half hour I originally planned, but I had a good workout that left me a little drained for the rest of the day. Got home and put pork shoulder in to braise (subbed chili powder for paprika, but OMG SO GOOD!) and a beer and bacon bread in the bread machine (meh - it didn't notify me at the mix in point, so all the bacon ended up at the end the bread). So, we have tons of delicious food available for the week.

stentoriansista curled my hair. It looks wicked pretty.

Tomorrow is dinner with the aunt. Hopefully I'll wake up a bit. Hopefully our washer will get fixed and we can get started on the giant pile of laundry that's accumulated in the past week. Gotta clean up the kitchen too.

Gradual realizations happen suddenly.

That doesn't make any sense if you read it out loud, but it's how it works for me. I woke up one morning in October and realized that I had gained a bunch of weight and nothing fit properly. I didn't gain it overnight, but it happened quietly enough that I didn't notice until it reached a certain point and then it ended up completely dominating everything I could think about for a week a month... come to think of it, it still is. It took a while to realize what my feelings for stentoriansista were until they crystallized into the words "I love her." On my third Saturday night cooking, it occured to me that I might enjoy cooking and not just have to do it to eat cheaply.

Today's revelation is: I went to my nemesis much despised pilates class this morning and realized something. I'm progressing. I only have to stop and breathe once a class instead of 4 times. I'm only praying for death for a quarter of the class instead of the whole thing. I can kind of do teasers (though the afore-mentioned prayers for death are strong).

Hell, if I keep this up, I might start liking this class.

No, that's just crazy talk.

I want a fitness goal. Something that I can be "training" towards. Something to give me incentive to go to the gym for an hour a few times a week, so I can hate my body a little less. A tangible event in a few months. I need a reason to be more active and apparently, my pants not fitting is not one. No, that's not exactly what I meant. With the exception of my latest Dance Dance Revolution minor obsession, exercise is not something I enjoy. I do it because I have to, not because I need to. And I don't have to. I find cooking, TV, intarwebs and the like more fun and compelling than exercise. Running on an elliptical for an hour while watching Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy doesn't get me excited. Add the fact that my previously sedentary job has gotten even more sedentary and I don't run up and down stairs at my house anymore and general slothiness and I am unhappy with how I look and how I feel. I want to give myself a reason to exercise. Reasons like 'I want my fat pants to fit again' or 'while clothing sizes are arbitrary, it might be nice to wear one that has only 1 number' or 'if those people on The Biggest Loser can do it by working out 6 hours a day with a team of medical experts, trainers and a set meal plan can lose weight in an unhealthy yet entertaining fashion while proclaiming that they are saving their lives, there's no reason that I can't!' or 'I want to walk up the 3 flights of stairs to my apartment without panting for 5 minutes afterwards' don't work. I want to be able to say 'Oh, I'm exercising a lot because I'm getting ready to do _______ for charity.'

The problem is, I don't know what I should be pulling towards. I don't want to do a marathon/10K/5K/anything involving running for a bounty of reasons. (I want to be able to run. Everyone I know who talks about getting healthy seems to have a fantasy of being one of those joggers on the street... even if they don't like to run) I can't particularly do a bike race on my adorable little Dahon folder bike. I could possibly do some kind of swim, but not in the Potomac (ew intersex fish). And, let's face it, the charity is secondary.

Yeah. Thoughts?

I could not be more thrilled... I've spent a lovely weekend with stentoriansista. We went to Larriland Farms on Saturday and bought probably $75 worth of fruit - raspberries, white raspberries, blackberries, probably 20 pounds of apples and peaches. We've got a raspberry crisp about to be made, blackberry wine sorbet churning and we're going to make apple bread and attempt either apple sauce or canning apple butter.

We were there for about an hour and a half at around 3 in the afternoon and when we got home, we were so wiped that we really couldn't move. The heat took it out of us, so we had a casual dinner, ate half the raspberries, watched TV and set up curried squash & apple soup in the crockpot.

Yesterday, I emerged from bed around noonish, cooked the chicken for the soup, pureed the soup and enjoyed a tasty lunch before doing a brief venture to the gym, Target and the wine store for prosecco (for the berries!). Then it was off to wiredwitch's birthday party, a Buffy the Musical sing along. While there wasn't a whole lot of singing along, there was a whole lot of verita, cheesecake, good food, good people, good times. Had to bug out a little early, unfortunately. I'd heard a lot about verita and after having had it, I must say... it was all true. Also, awesome.

Today we got up early so we could hit up G Street before stentoriansista had to work. Got a pair of work flats at Payless and stopped by Target for their wine cubes - got a sauvignon blanc for cooking/I feel like a glass of wine and a cab/sauv combo for the sorbet/I feel like a glass of red wine. Got home, took a nap, and then hit the pool for the first time in two years. And, y'all, I am wiped. I got a plan from SwimPlan, got there and then couldn't do a 25 meter lap of freestyle. So I threw it out the window, played with the kickboard and the pulley, and then felt better about it and did the remainder of the swimplan as written. So, my 30-45 minute workout took me a little over an hour. Got home, ate some food, got a couple of loaves of bread started and made the sorbet. And now I am sitting here. Very, very happy. We're going to have an awesome dinner of farm share food, fresh bread with the prosecco and berries and raspberry/basil crisp for dessert.

Blackberry Sorbet w/ Wine
(makes 4 cups)
2 1/2 cups pureed blackberries (about 4 cups pre-pureed - if you've got extra, freeze it to make blackberry ice cream)
1 cup water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup red wine
lemon juice to taste

In small sauce pan, combine sugar and water. Heat until sugar is completely dissolved and then put in refrigerator to cool. (Most sorbet recipes want more sugar - closer to 2/3 - 1 cup, but I always find that to be too much sugar. Your tastes may vary) When mixture is cooled, combine it with wine and blackberries. Mix well. Add lemon juice to taste. Mix well. Taste and do a 'omg that's delicious' dance. Make in ice cream maker according to instructions. Rejoice again.

Something had been bugging my foot for the past couple of days - I felt like I had something in my flip flop, but didn't. Finally, before yoga today, I decided I was getting to the bottom of this and noticed a small hole in the flop. After five minutes of wrangling, I pulled out a piece of glass that had somehow gotten embedded in there. The bottom of my foot is kind of raw now. Awesome.

Went to yoga with the annoying instructor. I don't like her, but the workout was pretty good and has helped ease some of the tension in my back & shoulders (a little bit less for the massage to take care of tonight).

This week has exploded into craziness. Trying to figure out which things to do over this weekend, what work commitments, what fun things, etc... I also need to get my shiny new stuff back from stentoriansista's and maybe play with the ice cream maker.

I let my aunt talk me into dogsitting again next week. Whatever, it's two nights and I can use the money. The good thing is the night I work is also the doggie day care day, so stupid fucking dog should come home and then pass out, leaving me free to take calls.

The aftermath from dying the exercise class from hell yesterday is that everything's sore. The good news is that everything's sore. The bad news is that EVERYTHING IS SORE. One of these days, doing 10 minutes of ab work won't leave my neck hurting. And the weight training stuff he did with my arms left my mid-back really cranky.

I just checked Harpers Ferry's weather forecast for the weekend and it's supposed to be 80* both days. The 40% chance of rain on Sunday has gone down to 10%. I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED. If this weekend ends up sucking, I may have to choke a bitch. Holy crap, our campground has wireless... again, completely missing the point of CAMPING. We're going to buy some firestarters and wood onsite... here's hoping it's not ridiculously expensive.

Work is mostly good, second job is mostly good. I forgot to blog about it, but stentoriansista and I went down to Virginia Beach for a bridal shower last weekend and had a lovely time hanging out. Saw Stardust and was rather disappointed. The book was lovely, the movie had to tie everything up in a neat little bow... that was painful. After Virginia Beach last week, camping this week and dogsitting next week, I'm going to have slept in my bed at my house for either 3 or 4 nights from the 9th through the 27th. It's wacky.

I suppose I should go get some work done. Especially since I had a talk with Boss about how I'm bored and she's actually given me more work.

tagged by goingdriftless

List seven songs you are into right now. no matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they're not any good, but they must be songs you're really enjoying now, shaping your summer. Post these instructions in your LJ along with your 7 songs. Then tag 7 other people to see what they're listening to.

Except that this summer, I've ditched music in favor of podcasts. Here's what I can think of:

1. Wait, Wait... Don't Tell Me
2. The Savage Lovecast
3. "Crooked Teeth," Death Cab for Cutie
4. "Listen to Jesus, Jimmy," Reefer Madness: The Musical
5. "Eli, the Barrow Boy," The Decemberists
6. "Check You for Ticks" - by whomever... I dunno, it's always on when I'm driving with the girlyfriend. I would date a country girl.
7. "Century Plant" - Soundtrack from Camp (a horrifically campy movie with songs by Stephen Trask - the guy who did the music for Hedwig)

I don't believe in tagging people for things, so if you want to do it, consider yourself tagged.

Also, I've never been physically ill from a workout before, but the body sculpting class I just took made me nauseous. If this is what skinny people do to stay skinny, I'm sorry, I'm staying pleasantly panda shaped.

Some days, yoga leaves me happy and full of energy and some days, yoga makes me want to fall on the floor and take a nap through the rest of the work day. Today is the latter. It doesn't help that there is the sweaty, muggy humidity of DOOM. Also, I will be very, very sore later. Stupid hip openers.

I am pleased to report that the zombie infestation appears to have subsided. I mean, the president appears to still be infected, but as a friend pointed out, that's not much different than how he is normally. We've boarded up the broken glass at the theater and the cleaning woman is squeegeeing the blood off the other windows. The National Guard never showed up. Shows you the emergency response rate in DC.

By the way, how is it that my pilates class left my abs kinda sore, but my quads are the FREAKISHLY SORE OF DOOM? Pilates is supposed to work your core! That means tummy & butt! So not fair. (PS - I've realized the reason I have zero abs strength. I breathe from my diaphragm. So, when I contract my tummy muscles, I CAN'T BREATHE. Stupid proper breathing)

The best news is that my dearest of dears, stentoriansista, appears to have de-zombified just in time for her birthday. Yes, you heard me, it's her birfday today. With an 'f.' But in case you missed that:

HAPPY BIRFDAY, stentoriansista!

Love you, schmoglet. Have a great day and get great presents and I'll see you tonight (and bring you more presents. But isn't not being a zombie the best present of all?)

ETA: Also, birthday girl, I give you this cat macro.

Hipsters: A Field Guide

LOL 80's - I had to stop after a while because it's so long, but it's funny!

Verdict on the strawberry vinaigrette is actually quite tasty in salad... not quite so on it's own. Also, I discovered Ben & Jerry's makes a creme brulee ice cream. And I'd bought a bunch of strawberries from Whole Foods when I went to get salad greens... well, you can guess what I had for dessert. I'm seeing how long I can go eating just this salad with the occasional stirfy thrown in. My guess is until the end of summer.

Got my first exercise DVD from netflix... and I don't get it. This is the second belly dance DVD I've done and while they're fun, they're not exactly exercise. This was forty minutes and while I enjoyed learning the choreography, my heart rate never went up, nor did I work any muscles beyond my arms (holding them up for 20 minutes). This one's going straight back to Netflix.

It's kind of nice having the netflix mentality (must! watch! movie! and then get next movie! only 300 more on my queue!) when it comes to exercise stuff. On the other hand, I hate doing these things when anyone else is home. Which is semi-frequent. Also, my 'n' key on this keyboard is not working properly. This is vexing me. A lot.

Went to yoga, which was awesome. I'd thought about going after work and running on the elliptical, but I realized that tonight's my night to make granola (I'm out) and whatever I'm bringing to Becoming, so I think I'll go to Whole Foods and pick up some things, do an exercise video and then eat dinner.

I'm very seriously considering taking a swim class at the Y. My options are either a TuThu 7:15-8pm class or a Caturday Saturday 11-11:45 class. I think I'd rather do TuThu and get more bang for my buck, but that really doesn't work well with my schedule (kill time for an hour after work... and then get home at 9. Not the bestest). Saturday has the problem where I may not actually get up for the class.

Love me some farmer's market. Fresh strawberries (picked yesterday! YESTERDAY!), fresh green beans, half a pound of lettuce mix for $3.50... I'm having my salad tonight. And tomorrow. And unto eternity or until I get sick of it.

Next on the agenda - finding a good salad dressing container and a way that the olive oil won't solidify in the fridge.

Now I have to work for the next hour and a half and smell the strawberries and not eat them.

ETA: OMG new salad dressing recipe!! Added bonus? I finally get rid of that bottle of rice vinegar that's been sitting on my stove since I moved in. Two years ago.

I went to noon yoga today and it was a hard one. As a result, I am now crashing liek woah. Perhaps the coffee will help. Really looking forward to reiki tonight. I'm going in with somewhat high expectations, but at the very least, I hope this makes me feel a bit more balanced and like myself for a while. Or I may just take a nap. While I'm somewhat energy sensitive, it's usually what I put out as opposed to receiving, so this may just be a chance to lie down and breathe for a while, which will be nice.

xkcd_rss keeps getting better and better!.

For some reason, I'm exceptionally tired. (Some reason having nothing to do with the hour aerobics class and 15 minutes on the elliptical I did yesterday. This also has nothing to do with why I'm a bit sore) I had tentatively scheduled my reiki session for tonight, but I think I'll rearrange to Monday. There's a 70% chance of thunderstorms this afternoon, so I'm not getting my walk, but I'm going to go home, make bread, roast a chicken and have a big ole salad with yummy stuff (nuts, craisins, blue cheese & maybe some dressing) for dinner and catch up on Netflix. I was considering making chicken stock until I realized I have had chicken broth in my pantry for at least a month gathering dust.

And maybe I'll watch Lost. Even if we broke up last week. Speaking of breaking up, as much as I less-than-three Hugh Laurie, Robert Sean Leonard and Lisa Edelstein, I think I may have to break up with House. It's getting... not good.

I'm wearing the most awful outfit ever today - yellow flip flops, green pants and a hotpink shirt. Whatever, it's supposed to be hot and thunderstorming, so I wore clothes I didn't care about. Just because they're ugly doesn't mean they're not work appropriate.

I wish I knew why I get so fucked up in the head when I go to the gym. No, scratch that, I do know. Mirrors. I see myself in the mirror. And I think I'm moving gracefully or holding a pose properly and then I look over and not only am I red-faced, sweaty & ugly, I move like crap. I wish I could look in the mirror and see more than my flaws.

In other news, I'm going to my favorite place, the doctors, tomorrow. I told my boss and was basically told to take the rest of the afternoon off, so I think I'll metro to the airport and then walk the C&O footpath home. Assuming it doesn't rain. Which it probably will.

I've decided that if my tummy doesn't stop complaining in the next 15-20 minutes I am taking my toys and going home skipping the gym. That'd serve my overfull, overeating from boredom stomach!

Seriously, though, it'd be awesome if this vaguely nauseous feeling would subside. Though I have no one to blame but my eating peanut butter straight from the jar self.

Yesterday, I went to yoga and there was a sub. She chose great poses, but talked in a condescending way, named dropped, told us we were doing everything wrong and overexplained to the point where I was actually mad at her. And by the way, it's not easy to try to channel the whole this is me time, inner peace when you want to punch your instructor in the face. Let's just say it made an interesting shavasana.

Went to noon yoga today, with my favorite instructor. She worked us hard, and despite being a blowhole, Sub was a good teacher so I was already sore. The result is that now I am super sore and super tired, but the good kinds. Sub did some back strengtheners which felt really easy at the time, but zomg sore! now. One of the downsides of the tired is that I'm sitting here at work, trying to do work and failing.

Also, after last night's Lost, I am breaking up with that show. Seriously. Seriously. What the fuck, ABC? What is it with you and the third season slumps? Between you and Grey's Anatomy, I am seriously out. It'll be just me and Ugly Betty from now on. The rest of your lineup is dead to me. Except Extreme Makeover: Home Edition if I'm feeling schmoopy. This is probably good because, in theory, I'll watch less TV. In practice? Ha.

I think that's it. My weekend plans are rearranging themselves, so yeah.

Zumba tonight was packed - like 20 people in a room that comfortably holds 8. Still good. Getting dressed for class, I realized that my favorite blue sneakers are just about a week or two away from giving out completely at the bottom. I bought them from Payless for $20 three months ago. I'm guessing it's time to go back to Lady Footlocker, because when I buy my sketchers from them for $50, they last for 6 months, they kinda break even. Or maybe I just need to buy more shoes and rotate wearing them.

Holy crap, I'm becoming a girl.

I just made dinner and I realized that I now have two half full bags of cheese, three diet cokes, a pitcher of juice and a half full bottle of vodka sauce I want to get rid of because it tasted awful to me in my fridge. And that's it. Sure, I've got dry goods and food in the freezer and MANGOS, but dayum. I gots no food.

My plan for the remainder of the week is yoga tomorrow, Thursday ???, Friday off (sweet sweet comp time) and I'm going to clean, do a full grocery shop, cook a freezable meal & freeze it, cook another set of meals, go to Art-O-Matic to watch jaaron firedance, Saturday I'm going to go shoe shopping, maybe wander around Old Town or the C&O path, probably make some cookies or something, Sunday is SHEEP & WOOL and I'm not going to spend that much money. No more than $50. Really.

In theory, I should make lunch for stentoriansista this week. In practice, I don't know when that's gonna happen. My boss is having farewell pizza tomorrow and then we're meeting up for yoga and I kinda doubt I'm going home after that. I could bring food up on Friday, but I was originally scheduled to cook her dinner. Plus, metroing to Union Station would mean I'd have to get up before noon on my recovery day off.

I'm loving this weather right now, even if the pollen wreaks havoc on my sinuses.

Off to decide on recipes. This month's cooking light had a section of freezable recipes. Oh yes. Now, if only they'll do a slowcooker/freezable combo. That'd be heaven.

There is such a thing as too much exercise. I took advil two hours ago and it has done nothing. Everything hurts. Time for round two.

Yikes, people. Yikes.

The list of crap I need to do tomorrow gets longer and longer. This is made scarier by the fact that I'm not sure I'll get back from Joann's until 8:30 or 9. Whee!

Had a ridiculously intense step class last night after a month and a half? of not going. Snuck out of work for the noon yoga class to find the hardcore instructor, instead of the foofy one. The result? Now everything hurts and I want a nap. Luckily, I'm not eating everything in sight like last time.

But I like step SO MUCH. It's like dancing, but without the grace requirement. I'm kind of good at keeping time and great at remembering choreography, so I love this class so. As long as it's not foofy Russian lady teaching. ::eyeroll::

Now I just have to make it through the next 5 hours, then go grocery shopping, then go home and cook at 10pm tonight. Whee!