Tuesday, April 27, 2010

A little bit of a rant

Little bit of a rant today. Something happened recently that I just feel like going off about...

Because of the format of Twitter, it is very easy to see conversations (or Twittervations as they are known on Twitter) of other people. Now, most of the time, it's easy to just let most of the Twittervations go right by and not pay much attention to them. Every now and then, someone tweets something that catches your eye and you start to pay attention to the thread. This is fine.

A problem comes in when you jump into the middle of a thread without really knowing what the history of that thread is. Chances are, you are going to misinterpret something that was said. In some cases, this can turn to out to be quite amusing. In other instances, you will end up looking like an idiot.

If you are thinking of jumping into a thread or just reading a thread to mention to people later, make sure you really know what the people are talking. You know the saying... "What happens when you assume?" It's very true!

(OK- rant over)


Friday, April 23, 2010

My poor, neglected blog

Well, lately I have been feeling a little guilty about not posting more often to my poor neglected little blog. Somehow, between my freelance work, increasing my running mileage, kickboxing class, enjoying the outdoors with Matthew, volunteering at Matthew's school, and baseball season- well... You get the idea. I don't have a lot of time left for other things.

(Just a quick note- I have really managed to increase my running mileage. I have logged almost 25 miles so far this week, with one more day to go. I am really feeling good about the Broad Street Run next weekend!)

So- I apologize to you my poor little blog. I know you're kinda neglected right now. But give me time and I'll be back. I have good intentions. I really do...

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Wow that sucked!

OK- I finished the Revolutionary Road 5 mile run this morning. And man, did it suck! I had never seen the course before, but knew it contained many hills. I thought the hills would be throughout the course, and big- I was wrong.

The first 2 1/2 miles had two KILLER hills. And I mean KILLER. I tried to go to my happy place, but it didn't happen. I was making my way up the hill, and tried to think about the Castle and running in the Magic Kingdom, but all I could think was "There are no hills like this in WDW".

But, I finished, and my time was too bad, either.

And another plus- I didn't get Meganed. What's that? I have a friend who I run with- ok rephase... I have a friend who I go to races with. She runs much faster than I do, and has, on occasion, been known to finish a race and then run back to where I am and 'encourage' me as I go. (I have an evil goal of doing this to some of the lushcrew in October at the Food and Wine 5K.)

So- this race is done. Now, the next big race is the Broad Street Run in two weeks (May 2). That one is a 10-miler, but it's mostly flat (YEAH!)...

Thursday, April 15, 2010

All those hills!

I hate running hills. I mean, I HATE it! Downhills are okay, but uphills just make me want to stop! The area that I live has lots of hills, so I get lots of practice running hills on a daily basis.

So why the HECK did I sign up to run a 5 mile race in Valley Forge National Park. It's 5 miles of hills. And not gentle sloping hills. I mean big, serious uphills. I signed up months ago and it sorta seemed like a good idea. Now, it's three days away and it seems like a seriously bad idea!

UGH!!!!

Oh well- I'm obviously not going to be running this with any hope of a decent time- my goal is just to get through the race!

On the brighter side, I will be running a 5K at Disney World this October. Disney is hosting the first annual Food and Wine 5K, and I (amazingly) convinced hubby to let me run it! There are so many great this about this race- it's at Disney, it includes a ticket to Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party, and most of all, many of my friends from all over the country will be there, too!

So I guess as I run this Sunday, I should just imagine myself running up Main Street toward Cinderella's Castle- go to my happy place!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Eating at Disneyland

Well, I despite the fact that eating at Disneyland overwhelms and scares me, my 60-day ADR date is rapidly approaching. So, I guess I should start figuring our where my family is going to eat.

This is what I have figured out so far--

Monday (arrival day)
Dinner- Somewhere in Downtown Disney

Tuesday-
Breakfast- quick something at the hotel or nearby
Lunch- Blue Bayou (this is Matthew's one request- to eat at the restaurant inside POTC)
Dinner- Golden Horseshoe

Wednesday
Breakfast- quick something at the hotel or nearby
Lunch- Cocina Cucamonga
Dinner- Celebration Round-up (since Matthew's favorite character is Woody and there is no character dining with them at WDW)

Thursday-
Breakfast- quick something at the hotel or nearby
Lunch- Wine Country Trattoria
Dinner- NO CLUE!

We will be staying nearby at the Howard Johnson's Anaheim. I got amazing prices for our room, which includes a Theme Park view (thanks to Mousesavers.com for the special discount code!) I figure grabbing a quick breakfast there or on the way to the parks will be easy, and much cheaper!

Now, I know everyone out there has opinions on food- so let me hear it! Are any of these places really bad? Am I missing something I shouldn't pass up? Thanks!!!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Wordless Wednesday- April 7

Yes- I have an addiction to shoes. These are just my Havaiana flip flops... I love my Havaiana's...

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Happy Easter


No, it's not Wordless Wednesday. But on this beautiful Easter Sunday, there is nothing that really needs to be said.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

When a Man Meets Tazer

I saw this story and thought it was too good to pass up! Enjoy
Pocket Tazer Stun Gun, a great gift for the wife. A guy who purchased his lovely wife a pocket Tazer for their anniversary submitted this:

Last weekend I saw something at Larry's Pistol & Pawn Shop that sparked my interest.

The occasion was our 15th anniversary and I was looking for a little something extra for my wife Julie. What I came across was a 100,000-volt, pocket/purse- sized tazer.

The effects of the tazer were supposed to be short lived, with no long-term adverse affect on your assailant, allowing her adequate time to retreat to safety....??
WAY TOO COOL! Long story short, I bought the device and brought it home. I loaded two AAA batteries in the darn thing and pushed the button...Nothing! I was disappointed. I learned, however, that if I pushed the button and pressed it against a metal surface at the same time, I'd get the blue arc of electricity darting back and forth between the prongs.
AWESOME!!!

Unfortunately, I have yet to explain to Julie what that burn spot is on the face of her microwave.

Okay, so I was home alone with this new toy, thinking to myself that it couldn't be all that bad with only two AAA batteries, right? There I sat in my recliner, my cat Gracie looking on intently (trusting little soul) while I was reading the directions and thinking that I really needed to try this thing out on a flesh & blood moving target.

I must admit I thought about zapping Gracie (for a fraction of a second) and then thought better of it. She is such a sweet cat. But, if I was going to give this thing to my wife to protect herself against a mugger, I did want some assurance that it would work as advertised. Am I wrong?

So, there I sat in a pair of shorts and a tank top with my reading glasses perched delicately on the bridge of my nose, directions in one hand, and tazer in another.
The directions said that a one-second burst would shock and disorient your assailant; a two-second burst was supposed to cause muscle spasms and a major loss of bodily control; and a three-second burst would purportedly make your assailant flop on the ground like a fish out of water. Any burst longer than three seconds would be wasting thebatteries.

All the while I'm looking at this little device measuring about 5" long, less than 3/4 inch in circumference (loaded with two itsy, bitsy AAA batteries); pretty cute really, and thinking to myself, 'no possible way!' What happened next is almost beyond description, but I'll do my best ...

I'm sitting there alone, Gracie looking on with her head cocked to one side so as to say, 'Don't do it stupid,' reasoning that a one second burst from such a tiny lil ole thing couldn't hurt all that bad. I decided to give myself a one second burst just for heck of it. I touched the prongs to my naked thigh, pushed the button, and ...

HOLY MOTHER OF GOD... WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTIONâ€&brkbar; WHAT THE hell!!!

I'm pretty sure Hulk Hogan ran in through the side door, picked me up in the recliner, and then body slammed us both on the carpet, over and over and over again. I vaguely recall waking up on my side in the fetal position, with tears in my eyes, body soaking wet, both nipples on fire, testicles nowhere to be found, with my left arm tucked undermy body in the oddest position, and tingling in my legs!

The cat was making meowing sounds I had never heard before, clinging to a picture frame hanging above the fireplace, obviously in an attempt to avoid getting slammed by my body flopping all over the living room.

Note: If you ever feel compelled to 'mug' yourself with a tazer, one note of caution: there is NO such thing as a one second burst when you zap yourself! You will not let go of that thing until it is dislodged from your hand by a violent thrashing about on the floor! A three second burst would be considered conservative!

A minute or so later (I can't be sure, as time was a relative thing at that point), I collected my wits (what little I had left), sat up and surveyed the landscape. My bent reading glasses were on the mantel of the fireplace. The recliner was upside down and about 8 feet or so from where it originally was. My triceps, right thigh and both nipples were still twitching. My face felt like it had been shot up with Novocain, and my bottom lip weighed 88 lbs. I had no control over the drooling.

Apparently I had pooped in my shorts, but was too numb to know for sure, and my sense of smell was gone. I saw a faint smoke cloud above my head, which I believe came from my hair. I'm still looking for my testicles and I'm offering a significant reward for their safe return!