Half Marathon!

In May, I accomplished something that I thought I would never do—a half marathon. Even now, it’s hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that I made it 13.1 miles and I’m still alive.
The idea came from a high school friend, who wrote on my facebook wall after I did a few 5k runs. She ran a few races before, and encouraged me to do it, too! Without giving it a thorough thought,(which I seem to be good at!) I started talking about it like it was a great idea. Before too long, my terrific friends Kelley and Brett Kleczewski were all signed up, and suddenly the pressure was on! I put off the registration for a while because reality set in and I realized that I was not a runner! Once I started telling people that I was doing it, and feeling like I was being doubted, I finally signed up.
Despite soreness in almost every part of my body in the months prior to the race, it was seemingly worth it for so many reasons including the simple fact that I can say that I did it! If it wasn’t for the encouragement of Kelley and Brett, I surely would’ve dropped out of the challenge in a heartbeat. I battled shin splints, a VERY sore knee, blisters, ankle pain, headaches, and several other aches, and repeatedly reminded myself that I was in no shape to be doing it…I must be crazy.
I followed a training plan with a grain of salt. I was disciplined enough to keep running, but would often have to skip days due to soreness. Once the mileage training got to be around 6-8 miles, it was common for it to take 3 or 4 days before I could run again. I kept at it, talked and complained about it a lot, and gained some sort of inspiration from my own complaints. Race day came quickly, and my nerves and doubts stayed until the start. The whole feeling of the day is one of those feelings that I don’t think I will ever forget…sort of an out of body experience. I started to run, took a deep breath, and said to myself, “you can totally do this!”
I battled some pretty hefty blisters, and a little bit of knee pain, but other than that it was a great run. I have NO idea how I ran so long…it is unexplainable to me. I finished with a time of 2:26:24, which was much better than my goal of 3:00. It was so fun to see all of the people cheering along the course, and even though I didn’t know most of them, I am so thankful!
I think it was such an emotional achievement for me because I’ve battled with my body for most of my life. I have always been the “fat girl”, always the last one to finish in gym class, the cheerleader on the bottom of the mount, the girl who would always hide behind people in pictures, the girl that made excuses for not changing in the locker room, and quite frankly, never feeling equal with my peers. I’ve always lacked any sort of confidence and still struggle with it now. Being able to finish something that I’ve always categorized myself as waaaaay to out of shape, overweight, and unmotivated to do, is amazing. It made me realize that not everyone is a picture perfect image of what they are trying to achieve…and if they were, it wouldn’t be such a rewarding experience to reach a goal. So, I might not be a runner, or someone who ‘looks’ like they can physically do much…but I RAN A HALF MARATHON!
What’s next on the goal list? Hmmm… I basically ‘ran’ out of energy to keep up with the amount of running that I was doing, so I’m still trying to think of a new challenge and it might not involve vigorous exercise of any kind..lol! I’m trying to go green, and that is quite the feat. I’ll tell more about that another day!

Khayla and Matt are engaged!!

As everyone probably already knows, Khayla and Matt are engaged! I couldn’t be more excited for Matt to join our family! It’s so crazy to think that she is old enough and grown up enough to be getting married. It seriously seems like just a few years ago that we were just little kids, dancing around on the porch in our mom’s wedding dress. I wonder where that lacy thing is anyways…
After the wedding bliss of the last couple of years, I suppose I should be ready to dive in again. I put on my positive attitude face and accepted the honor of being the maid! I’m not sure that it has hit me yet that the recent wedding talk is for my own LITTLE sister…but I’m sure it will in no time. It’s great to see her so excited and happy, and I hope I can be the best help!
After being a professionally wedding ‘onlooker’, I’ve decided that a wedding is something that I’m not that interested in ever having for myself for various reasons that I won’t go into. I’m surely not saying that I wouldn’t like to be married someday, or that I’m against weddings…just an event that I think I can do without. So, it makes me super excited to help plan Khayla and Matt’s wedding and I’m hoping that I can add a few creative touches of my own here and there.
The date is set for October 8th, 2011…one of my favorite months! After some discussion, they've decided that Wisconsin is the best location for the wedding, with the reception in Wausau at Jefferson Street Inn. Congratulations Matt and Khayla!

Well Into the Swing of Things...

It’s been another long while since I’ve blogged. Not really because I can’t find the time, but mainly because my internet connection is VERY shaky, so when I do have the time, I am usually trying to quickly use the connection for things that are most important. Anyways…things are going pretty well. As I’ve said before, I love Minneapolis. I’m so proud of myself for making the move, and experiencing the excitement of a change of scenery. I love the vibe that the people around here have, which is sort of something hard to explain. It really makes me wonder if people vary from city to city, state to state, country to country, etc. I know that when I went to Australia, the people and attitudes were sooo much different than anything I’d experienced before. That’s kind of how I feel here, but not to that extreme. Maybe it’s the simple fact that I’ve spent my life in smaller towns, going along with the flow, and following the norm. I am getting the fix of diversity that I have been looking for, and love learning new things.
I’ve adjusted into my apartment with ease. It’s weird, because when I was searching for a place to live, the downtown area was last on my list. When I first came to Minneapolis, I was so scared to go anywhere…it seemed so big and scary, and I questioned how I would ever learn my way around. The suburbs seemed like such a better option at the time. Now, I have a hard time imagining moving out away from the city, and the downtown area seems to shrink, daily. Interesting how that works…I think it’s general fear of the unknown. My location has been pretty great, and I’ve been able to find anything that I might need, within minutes from my apartment.
Harper is great! He really likes it here (I think!) He’s really become my best buddy in the world, which has made him even more attached. People tell me that it’s not good for him to be so attached, but I guess I’m unsure how that can be avoided when it’s just the two of us. In actuality, we depend on each other for entertainment…so I guess I’m pretty attached to him, too. When we go back to Wisconsin, he keeps a very close eye on what I’m doing at my parent’s house. If I go outside, he automatically thinks that I’m leaving him and he will do whatever he can to get out the door. He sits and waits by the back seat of the car. The last time we were getting ready to leave there, he sat in the car waiting the entire time that I loaded our stuff. When we got on the road, I think we both took a deep breath. It’s always nice to get home!

Harper update...

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I'd write about the biggest 'happening' in the last few weeks--the arrival of Harper! I was so anxious and nervous for the transition, and to my surprise, it has been great!

The first week was great. I'm not sure if it was because he was so overwhelmed by the new sights and smells, or if it was the calming herbs that I was feeding him daily:) I have been giving him the herbal treats off and on, depending on our activities. I am really impressed with them (they are called Calm Dog herbal supplement)...they seem to relax him and calm him down in situations that he would normally be very 'edgy'.

We've been taking a long walk in the mornings before I go to work in hopes that he will sleep during the day. When I get home at night, we go for another short walk. It has been working great so far...hopefully it keeps up. We have been walking allll over the neighborhood. Lucky for us, we have amazing paved trails surrounding us. He really likes going over the Stone Arch Bridge on windy days...the water from the falls usually mists us as we go over the bridge. He like to stare at it and lick the air. We have also walked on the trails in Blaine. Since Blaine is more woodsy, he is a little more obnoxious when we walk there, but it's nice to have a change of scenery.

He's adjusted to our actual apartment, too. When we leave our door, he walks straight to the elevator and waits. He even knows to sit down when we get in. I tend to use the elevator the most with him because our stairwells are really long and cement. With him being a lab, I can't help but be cautious with his legs...I can't imagine that it's good for him. When I'm by myself, I definitely use the stairs instead! He barks when the neighbors slam their door, but we are working on that...otherwise, he's been pretty quiet!

For the most part, he seems pretty happy and has been enjoying his new city! It is such a relief to have him here with me...hopefully we won't have to move for a little while anyways!

Do You Like Shrimp?

I love shrimp:) I shop at a really great, year-round, co-op, and sometimes they have great recipes to take! This one is good, so I thought I'd share!

SHRIMP MELTS (Or, I imagine that you could substitute any meat if you wanted!)
Makes 4 servings

4 English Muffins, split
3/4-1 lb. peeled and de-veined shrimp
3 T. mayonnaise
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
1 tsp. Cajun Seasoning
6 oz. grated Jack-style cheese
hot sauce (optional)

1. Cook and coarsely chop the shrimp. Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the mayonnaise, lemon juice, Cajun seasoning and half of the grated cheese. Stir well.
2. Spread the shrimp mixture over 4 English muffin halves on a baking sheet. Top with remaining grated cheese.
3. Place the sandwiches under a broiler and cook for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is bubbly
4. While the sandwiches are broiling, toast the remaining English muffin halves. Place them on top of the broiled sandwiches when they come out of the broiler. Serve with hot sauce, if using.

Official!

Just had to share this...I finally got my official Minnesota drivers license! I have been waiting for it to come in the mail for about 5 weeks, as I've been having to use a big yellow sheet of paper as proof. To get it, I had to take a new skills test, which was computerized. I got 5 wrong out of 40 and it was actually much more difficult than I thought it would be. It's not every day that I pay attention to the footage between my front bumper and a railroad crossing..ha!

It's kind of weird to see my face on it and also a strange feeling. I know I've been here for a while now, but every now and then, it hits me that I don't live in Oshkosh anymore. The other day I was driving home from work and looking at the lit up skyline. I started thinking...wow, the city looks SO cool from this side and after the last few months of whirlwind, I can't believe that this is where I live now!? I wonder how long it will take to sink in...I think about it each day on my way home:)

I Went Blue!

Every so often, I like to do something a little different from the norm. For some, having crazy hair color is the norm, but not for me...yet. Last summer was my first splash with color and I had my mom bleach a chunk on my hair and dye it blue! I loved it so much, but after a few times, it proved to be difficult to keep up with. After dying it, I had to be really careful for about a week each time, that my blue piece didn't touch my other hair when it was wet...or it rubbed off a made it look green! It also faded pretty fast, but it was still enjoyable!

After much thought about the dyed blue streak again (and the expense!), I decided to go a different route--extensions! I read about them for a bit and decided that I wanted them. I got them done at a really cool and crazy place in Uptown called Hair Police (www.hairpolice.com). They had TONS of colors to choose from and also the choice of real or synthetic hair. I got 6 extensions...5 are solid blue, and 1 is a mix of purple and blue. They are braided to the top of my real hair and secured by a stitch. They will last about 2.5-3 months and then I can cut the stitch to take them out, or go in and get more! I think I'm hooked--to the look at least. There were so many colors and I stood there looking at them for a while. I was already planning the colors for the next time...maybe some shade of purple or pink for summer? We'll see how the upkeep on these go since I have to be very careful when using a flat iron...I don't want to melt them!

It's fun to try something different once in a while...and after all, it's only hair! It was really fun to see the reactions of the babies at work...a few of the older ones noticed right away and I could see them staring at the blue hair with smiles:) One nice thing about working at a Jewish Center, is they really encourage individuality and acceptance, so it's completely fine! I did, however, make sure that it was okay with my boss before I did it...she laughed and said "Of course! Color away! I would do it if I could!" She has tight curly hair, so straight extensions probably wouldn't work well for her!

So...that's the blue hair story for the day!