I Had No Idea!

Recently my friend Donnie posted how many miles he's run (about 500) and ridden (about 1300) in the last year. I was pretty impressed. I started wondering how many *I* had run/walked in the last year...and why had I never thought of checking.

Well, I checked tonight. And guess what? I have run/walked 606.76 miles in the last 365 days!!! Unbelievable! Of course, some was walking (probably 30%) and there was no other exercise except for pilates, but I'm still pretty darn proud. That's probably about 550 more miles that I ran a few years ago.

I tried to check from 6/09-6/10 to compare, but I didn't get my watch until August of 09. From August '09 to August '10, I ran 402 miles. So the trend is definitely increasing...

Confessions of an Anglophile

Ok, maybe not so much an anglophile, but rather a lover of royal weddings, particularly British ones. Why? It’s hard to put a finger in it exactly, but I think it started on July 29th, 1981, the day my father (a self-proclaimed history buff) woke my sister and me up at 4am to watch Charles and Di get married. “An historical event” he proclaimed.
Wow. What an event that was. I was instantly sucked in. Was it my British blood? My Episcopalian upbringing and its ties to the Anglican Church of England? Not sure, but probably just a great story of a young girl, only 6 or 7 years older than myself, who got to be a princess. Cool clothes, great jewelry and eventually a dysfunctional marriage. *Sigh* Not such a great life after all.
As for my girls, I’m trying to get them enthused (and it is working!). Why? Not because I want them to marry a prince (dear God, no thank you). It’s because it’s an historical event. Just like when I dragged them to hear Hillary Clinton speak in South Bend, Indiana. They reluctantly went, but complained most of the time (ok, maybe it was a downer because they just came back from choosing a puppy and really, what can compare to that?) Despite your political preferences, she was and is a figure in history and they will likely remember that event for the rest of their lives.
The other day, I was watching a replay of Charles and Di’s wedding. Guess what? My family (including my husband who thinks I’m ridiculous along with every other husband) all became interested. “Who’s that?” “What’s wrong with him?” “How old was the Queen then?” Thankfully, I could answer all these questions for my curious crowd. It’s kind of like my theory about strawberry daiquiris: most men will not admit in public that they drink them, but ALL men are willing to enjoy them in the privacy of their own home, or my home for that matter.

The Power of Being a Mom

Last night my youngest just couldn't sleep. Let me just say that the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, so I do have some sympathy for her. She's never been a good sleeper from day one, but now that she's 9, it's not too often that we have trouble.
It seems that allergies have kicked in, and she has a tickle in her throat that causes her all sorts of grief. She would come into our room, crying because she couldn't sleep, begging me to lay with her. Realizing that things would go nowhere fast if I didn't, I tried to placate her by laying next to her for a while. Of course we, as parents, have all played this game. It only works when you are there, and as soon as you leave, sleep is again elusive. There were a few rounds of this last night.
As I weighed this, I realized, why not sleep there all night? She and I may never get to sleep otherwise, and she's got a comfortable queen sized bed. So I packed up my cell phone/alarm, water and pillow and moved in. And you know what? The moment, and I mean the MOMENT I got settled, she was instantly asleep. I guess when she realized I was there to stay, she finally relaxed. That, I say, is the power of being a mom.

Captiva

My hubby and I had the good fortune to escape the cold and kids for a long weekend. Due to a particularly nasty winter, I was looking for someplace warm that wasn't too far away. The verdict: Captiva Island.
Captiva is a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida, near Ft. Myers. It’s just beyond a better known island, Sanibel. I used to visit Sanibel as a kid while staying with my grandparents in Cape Coral. It’s well known for some of the best shelling anywhere.
Captiva is much smaller and less populated. Since you have to drive through Sanibel (low speed limits and no stoplights) to get there, it takes about an hour from the RSW airport even though it’s only about 35 miles away.
I chose a resort, South Seas Island Resort at the end of Captiva. It’s a large resort with a variety of housing options including hotel rooms, condos, houses, etc. The resort is huge, it takes up the last 2.5 miles of the island. There is a light blue trolley that runs most of the day and night that guest can use. Also, we rented bikes for $5/day which were awesome for getting around in the resort and out into town. You can get to just about any place on the island with a bike.
We saw an amazing sunset while sipping cocktails on the beach and watching the dolphins swim. We ran, biked and walked for exercise. We went on a kayak trip with a nature guide and saw and learned so much about the island and the natural residents. We paddled near the dolphins before they came into the harbor to play. And *gasp*, I was fascinated by many types of really interesting birds (especially the brown pelicans that would dive straight down in the water to catch fish), and not one of them tried to poke out my eyes! Alan saw manatees, which often hang out in the harbor during warmer weather. We enjoyed warm breezes, turquoise blue water and powder white sand.
The town of Captiva is a quaint beach town with good restaurants and little shops. It is surrounded by beach shacks and mansions alike. While we love Hatteras more than almost any beach town, this is a really nice alternative for the cold months of the year. It even has a small taste of Hawaii (minus the volcanoes and whales) with a fraction of the cost and travel time. Hell, anyplace that you see dolphins EVERY day is a place worth going.

(And for those of you who are counting…the shower at the resort was impressive. It was at least 6’2” and the water pressure was extraordinary.)

Culinary Tour Anyone?

Last weekend, our good friend Kerry came to visit us in NC for the first time. He's a west coaster, former classmate of my husband's, groomsman in our wedding and all around great guy. I do believe this was his first trip to NC, so I thought we'd show him what it's all about. In a relatively short span of time (o.k., I admit, it was only about 24 hours), we introduced him to:

1. Cheerwine

2. Hush puppies

3. Shrimp and grits (Crook's, of course)

4. my homemade biscuit cinnamon rolls

5. Five Guys Burgers

6. Locopops
in addition to mountain biking, a tour of the oldest public university in the US, and a little more college basketball than he's used to.

Of course, I didn't immediately come to know all these things upon my arrival in NC 12 years ago, but I'm much more well versed now on the culinary pleasures of living in this state. For that, I have some great NC friends to thank, some native, some not.

Anyone else want to come visit?

Could it really be fall?

Today I did a few things that I haven't done for a very long time...

1. Run on the treadmill. While it's been a long, hot summer, I haven't needed to run on the treadmill until today. All this rain is a welcome friend but it's a little soggy out there. Kudos to the Chapel Hill Carrboro Y for the awesome new treadmills-with personal TV/radio and ipod docks. Sweet.
2. Wear long pants on my day off.
3. Wear long sleeves.
4. Wear a RAINCOAT
5. Get a hot coffee. Decaf, nonfat latte from Starbucks. Sweet nectar of the gods, so happy to taste you again.


I'm ready for fall.

Pet Peeve du Jour

One of my big pet peeves is email addresses for folks who work in corporations. Specifically, the middle initial. Most of them go like this;
jeandersen "@" blahblahblah dot com.
My problem is that I don't usually enter the full entry in my address book for people whose email addresses are their names. So when I try to find them, I suddenly have to remember their middle initial or I end up scrolling through dozens of "M"s (or whatever) to find the person. Waste. Of. Time. Just use something else (like the full name or a number after the name). Make my life easier, please. I'm just sayin'.

Tour of the Friendly Confines

On a recent trip to Chicago, I checked to see if my favorite baseball team, the Cubs, were in town. Sadly, they were not. On a hunch, I checked to see if there were tours of Wrigley available and low and behold, there were. My friends were game, and we reserved our online tickets for $25 each.

While we arrived via the El in pouring rain, the excitement for me was palpable. The tour started in the Sheffield Grill, a restaurant within the ballpark. It started with a short DVD about the Wrigley, with snippets of past games, other sports played there (did you know the Bears played 51 seasons at Wrigley? and there has been hockey, soccer and ski jumping there?). Our tour guide, John, said a few words and off we went.
We first went by the batting cages and then to the bleachers where we heard some history of the Cubs, Wrigley, the owners, the national league and such things as the manually controlled scoreboard and the famous ivy. We learned about the neighboring buildings with bleachers on top and their relationship (now formal) with the Cubs organization. We then strolled around right field, up to a deck area and finally through the aperture to view the ballpark from above home plate.
We learned a bit about who sits where and then...wait for it...we got to sit IN THE PRESS BOX. Right next to where Harry Carey used to broadcast from. It was amazing. Saw the organ where live organ music still plays (first ballpark to do so).

We visited the locker rooms, first the visitors and then the Cubs. I stood in the Cubs locker room. Right next to Ryne Sandberg's jersey. Sigh. It was amazing. We then passed this secret little sink and urinal and made our way outside. We sat in the dugout. The actual Cubs dugout. We stood on the field. Sigh again. It was wonderful.
The ambassador staff was professional, friendly and knowledgeable. Our admission went to Cubs Care, mainly offering baseball programs to underprivileged and disabled youth. Outstanding.

If you are visiting Chicago, or if you live there I am betting you haven't done this yet. Do it. It's that special.

Orange Leaf Review

We have a new frozen yogurt store in our neck of the woods. It's called Orange Leaf Yogurt, and it's located in Timberlyne Shopping Center. We visited it today for the first time.
This particular frozen yogurt store is a little different (I speak as an authority as a former employee of TCBY) in that you serve yourself. This is just a little dangerous, as it's hard to effectively control consumption for a couple of reasons:
1. They only have large cups, VERY large cups. Larger than the average "large" at other yogurt stores. The only other size is VERY extra large. It's hard to get the perspective right with such a large cup.
2. They have many, many toppings including candy, fruit, nuts, etc. The bad part about this is that they cut the candy in very large chunks. You'd be able to use less if they were cut smaller.
Toppings are also self serve.
3. They have many yogurt flavors to choose from: probably at least 10 or 12 flavors plus 5 or 6 swirls. You have to try more than one!
4. They charge by the ounce. When I was getting my yogurt, I restrained myself in serving (I am, after all an experienced yogurt server!) but wanted to try a few different flavors. I had a little bit of granola and a few chunks of Butterfingers. My total was about $3.50. Not bad, but again, I restrained myself and had plenty to eat.

The decor is ultra modern, clean and attractive (and orange, of course). Overall, a fun place for a nice dessert. The kids LOVED it (but what frozen confection do they not love?), and I thought the yogurt was very good. I like it when local businesses succeed, so give it a try. I'd certainly go back, despite the negatives.

Speedway

Today my friend Julie and I ran on a racetrack. A historic racetrack just a few miles from my house. Who knew?

Occoneechee Speedway in Hillsborough was one of the first 2 NASCAR racetracks, built in 1949, the inaugural season for NASCAR. It is now a nature trail, Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail to be exact, with the center oval filled with 40 year old trees. The main trail is .3 miles from the parking lot and is a .7 mile oval. There are several other surrounding trails, a total of 3 miles. Not hilly at all, it's my favorite surface to run on...mulched with crushed gravel and pine needles. The trail is beautiful, coursing along the Eno River. You can even see the old grandstands and the flag stand where the checkered flag was once waved.

You might be wondering if being on a speedway made us speedier. Well, not really but it was cool nonetheless. Check it out.

Pet Adoption

We recently adopted another dog from the Orange County Animal Shelter. I have to say, it was a very pleasant experience, and as they say, such a deal!

The adoption fee for dogs is $113, or $138 including a microchip. Wow. Microchip for $25? It was way, way more than that at the vet for our other dog. And to top it off, this fee included neutering (or spaying) which would cost a few hundred dollars elsewhere. Our dog also had his first shots and exam there.

The staff was extremely helpful, patient and understanding. They guided us through a few "meet and greets" and provided us with as much background as they could for our new friend.

While I know that not every dog is right for every family (I really encourage you to research the breeds they identify your dog as prior to adopting), you can see what they have online from day to day. Certain breeds will go quickly (within a day) so hop to it!

Jerry Brown...or shall I say Scary Brown?

In this recent article, I discovered that former California Governor Jerry Brown is actually running for Governor of California again. Interesting.

As you might know, Brown has an odd history with politics...he dated Linda Ronstadt while he was the Governor, and was actually called "Gov. Moonbeam". He ran for President 3 times. The last time, in 1992, he was famous for having a 1-800 number for fundraising. Very unconventional at the time.

What you may not know, is I have had a personal run-in with the former Governor. In early 1993, my friend Becky and I were eating in a small cafe in San Francisco. I noticed Brown sitting in the corner with a somewhat skanky looking blond woman. I nudged my friend, who couldn't quite place him ("is that a famous podiatrist?"). We happily went on eating our gourmet sandwiches until a while later someone stepped on my foot. I looked up and low and behold, it was Jerry Brown. Stepping on my foot. You know what he said? Instead of "Excuse me" or "I'm so sorry" or even "Pardon me" he said "Oh, sorry, well, how could I not step on your foot... it's so big!"

Stunned. Flabbergasted. Shocked. Speechless. I'm not a big fan of Arnold, but given the choice (which I am not) I would certainly not vote for the 72 year old Moonbeam-foot stepper-insulter for Governor. I just don't think anyone that socially inept should be hold office.

In case you are wondering, yes, I have big feet, but they were only a size 10 (at the time). Now they are a tiny bit bigger....

Baby Tender Love

Before you think this is a strange title for a blog, you have to hear about my doll. The Christmas when I was four, I received this doll, Baby Tender Love, along with her changing table. She was dressed in this exact outfit (which I always thought my Mom sewed for me but alas, the Internet has proved me wrong). The coolest thing about said doll (in an era when dolls had to do something to be cool): she pees. To be more specific, you put water in a bottle in a hole in her mouth, and it runs out her bottom. (Come to think of it, I think she had diapers, too, but I only had a limited amount of them so I basically had to feed her over the sink).

So guess what? I still have Baby Tender Love. My two daughters have never, ever liked dolls. They are now much too old for dolls, but my eleven year old recently took a babysitting class. Required supplies: a baby doll. Ha.

The day of the class I hunted down the doll and sent it off with A. She proclaimed it "creepy" but passed the class anyway. Now, she REALLY hates it and freaks out every time I just happen to accidentally leave it in her room, maybe under her covers... What's the big deal? So her skin is rubber and her limbs don't move. She was MY doll and I loved her. No idea why kids today can't see that.

Spinning. It's not your regular cycle.

My friend Julie invited me to a class this morning at the Y called CardioPump. It consisted of about 45 minutes of spinning and then about 55 minutes of weights. Wow. I learned a few important things this morning.
1. A spinning class is in no way, shape or form like spinning on a stationary bike.
2. Despite what I told myself before entering the class, you can't fake it.
3. They make you (gasp) stand up on the bike (and it makes your quad scream).
4. Always, always bring a towel.
5. Channeling your inner Lance is helpful.
All in all, a crazy good but hard work out. I'll definitely try and go again...that is if I can walk tomorrow.

Pentago

My kids got a great new game for Christmas. Amongst all the other electronically powered toys like Zero Gravity Cars, Rockband and various Wii games, they received an extraordinary game called Pentago.

Pentago is so simple it's brilliant. "Minutes to Learn, Years to Master" is it's tag line and couldn't be more true. Two players, two colors of marbles and a board with sections that twist. Place a marble, twist a section. Try to get 5 of your marbles in a row. Easy to play but lots of strategy if you really want to think about it. This game has received numerous awards, all well deserved in my opinion. Check it out, great for all ages.

It's the LAW, people!

Today was a rainy, cold, dark day. On my trip from my office in Chapel Hill to the Surgery Center in Durham, I saw 8 (EIGHT) cars without their lights on. On the way home, I saw an additional 3, one of which was a Town of Chapel Hill vehicle.
According to North Carolina State Law, and the law of many (if not all) other states, if you have your windshield wipers on, you MUST HAVE YOUR LIGHTS ON. Get with it people!

More Thanksgiving Memories

Thanksgiving has various connotations for different people. In my mind, it involves family, food, drink, cold weather and church. Sounds strange, I know, but the church I attended my whole life, St. Gregory's Episcopal Church, always had a Thanksgiving morning service (btw, really bad timing for those who are cooking a turkey, which was, I dare say, just about everyone ). Most notably, there was always a bagpiper who always played Amazing Grace. When it came to the lyric "...that saved a wretch like me", my sister and I always sang "...that saved a wench like me".



When I moved to San Francisco, one of my most memorable turkey days involved martinis, The Grateful Dead, hosting 10 people-dining in my bedroom (the largest room in our apartment) with a flower sheet for a table cloth. Several childhood friends also living in the area came, but they were required to bring their own chairs and plates. Our counter space was so limited I had to put the turkey pan on the floor when it came out of the oven and we concluded the evening with a Port and cheese plate (courtesy of Tracy) and flirting with my future husband by telephone.



Last year, I blogged about Thanksgiving in Hawaii. Quite memorable. I feel like I've expanded my horizons with a day that involved dolphins, maitais and an ocean. There is always something to be said, however, about traditional holidays with family and friends. After all, who else is going to help you with all those dishes?

Disney!

We recently went to Disneyworld again, this time with the kids. Since I'm training for a 1/2 marathon and have to log a certain amount of miles, I wanted to find out just how much I walked in a day.

Day in question was Thursday, first full day at DW. I started my GARMIN 450cx watch at 10am, after we had walked to the boat launch (from the Wilderness Lodge), taken a boat then a monorail to the Grand Floridian for an early morning breakfast. Monorail ride back to the Magic Kingdom, then the watch was started.

I didn't turn it off on 2 trips on Splash Mountain (.49 miles each) and 2 trips on Big Thunder Mountain RR (.53 miles each). I also did not turn it off inside, winding thru lines when there was no GPS signal. At the end of our time at MK, we took a monorail to the transportation center and I turned it off there.

The total distance between 10am and 5pm was almost 12 miles. Subtract the rides (about 2 miles) and the monorail ride (about a mile) and you get 9 miles of walking, just for the first 7 hours. We then went to Epcot and walked for another 4 hours (my GPS was out of battery by then, so no data).

The moral of the story: wear comfortable shoes. For those of you who need further clarification, that means NO flip flops.

Sleep, part deux

So today I had my visit with the cognitive behavioral specialist. It was really quite interesting. We talked a bit about sleep hygiene, a subject I was already familiar with. We also talked about the role my husband, the reflux sufferer, is playing in this dilemma.

The most interesting part, and probably the most helpful, was to put my problem in perspective. So what happens if I can't sleep? I'm tired the next day but I can function. I usually can sleep the next night, a fairly full night. I guess removing the anxiety of worrying about the lack of sleep goes a long way to being able to fall asleep.

I learned some relaxation techniques also, but that one pearl will probably be the most helpful.

Sleep!

As some of you may know, I’m a bit of an insomniac. I generally don’t have trouble staying asleep, but falling asleep is a different story. It drives me crazy these days, as it’s gotten a little out of control.
My natural biorhythms dictate that I stay up late and wake up late. I remember vividly in my childhood being sent to bed at 7:30 every night until about 4th grade. Guess what? At 7:30 I just wasn’t tired. Oh, the games I used to invent in my room late at night, waiting to get tired.
As an adult, I often would like to go to bed early but know it only means more time waiting to fall asleep. On a good day, I am awake for 20-30 minutes before I’m out. My husband, conversely, falls asleep in 20-30 seconds. No kidding. Drives me nuts. Recently I had two nights almost completely without sleep.
In a recent Journal of the American Medical Association, it was suggested that people with insomnia see a cognitive behavioral specialist. I happen to know a really good one. I made an appointment for later this week to see what suggestions he has to offer. Stay tuned!