All posts by Lauren @ mostly i run

About Lauren @ mostly i run

Wife. Web Developer. Kitty Momma. Runner. Singer. Triathlete. Shoe Collector. Blogger.

show and tell: laura veirs

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I’ve been wanting to start introducing music to my blog, and now’s as good a time as any! I’m not going to go into full-blown reviews, rather, I’d just like to share things I love. Maybe you’ll love them too!

My husband introduced me to Laura Veirs last year, when he bought me her CD Year of Meteors. He often buys me music he thinks I’ll like, and is usually right.

I quickly fell in love this CD, and bought as may of her other albums as I could. (Her first self-titled, self-recorded album is sold out.)

Sample verse, from “Icebound Stream” on Carbon Glacier:

watch, I can flash across the sky
a lightning bolt from up on high
and I can crash into myself
now a flower blooms in reverse
and a song takes back a verse
a photograph fades to white

Laura’s style spans many styles: a little country, a little folky, a little jazzy, a little rock. She sings clever lyrics, creating a vivid image for each song with a clear, honest voice.

She toured with Colin Meloy of The Decemberists last year. Perhaps it was due to this tour pairing, she is featured in the song “Yankee Bayonet (I Will Be Home Then)” on The Decemberists’ album The Crane Wife.

Check out some samples on her site, or a live show through KCRW archives of “Morning Becomes Eclectic” (there’s also another show from 2003, which I just realized was there!).

Enjoy!

oops, i bought boots!

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I really couldn’t help it, though!

I actually went into Ann Taylor LOFT to see if they had my size in some sequin-detailed peep-toe pumps that they recently put on sale (from $69.99 to $24.99). They were just the style I was looking for last year, when I settled on a pair of round-toe pumps instead. I didn’t really need another pair of black dress pumps, but just loved these!

Unfortunately, they were a touch higher than I like to go. I could have learned to walk in them, but they also slipped off my heels. I’m sure I would have been much more likely to fall down!

I did, however, find these boots.

I also didn’t particularly need tall black boots since I have a pair, but the ones I have are a little dressier, while these are casual. Besides, they were originally $119, marked down to $24.88. I couldn’t resist.

I also found a great lightweight sweater marked down to $14.88. Not sure of the original cost since there wasn’t a tag, but I’m sure it was at least $40.

Plus, the purchase of both of these items, and two pairs of tights, was still cheaper than the sweater I got for Christmas that I returned last week!

feeling better about the marathon

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I was kind of discouraged last weekend after my Saturday morning run.

My knee was bothering me from about mile six of an eight-mile run. I had been doing well for a long time, and now it seemed an old problem was back.

I got orthotic shoe inserts made six months ago. They put my feet in a correct position (since I seem to have been born crooked), to try to alleviate knee and foot pain. After a long, slow, adaptation period, I thought I was making progress.

But the pain has come back a few times. One morning in November, it was extremely cold, and we stood outside for an hour waiting for a race to start. My feet were frozen for the first two miles of the race. I attributed to the pain during the last mile of a five-mile race to my stride being off since I couldn’t feel my toes!

It was fine for a few more weeks, but happened one other time prior to last weekend. So I was worried, and started wonder if I should even attempt a marathon.

But my short runs were fine this week. Normally, if it’s more serious, the pain comes back within a few minutes. We signed up for the marathon this week.

And today, I’m feeling much more confident. Today’s run felt great!

Our training schedule had us at 12 miles today. I hadn’t run more than eight recently, and everyone else would have had a pretty big jump as well. We expected to cut it a little short and walk at the end.

I was happy with running 10 miles, walking back the final two. My knee was fine but I stopped running at 10 because I didn’t want to chance it. My feet hurt, anyway, seeing how my body isn’t used to this kind of mileage (yet)!

It was a great morning to be outside, partly cloudy, damp and fresh from yesterday’s rain. Odd for January, it was quite warm, too — 70F when it should be in the low 30s. A bit too warm, actually, with nearly 100% humidity.

Still … much better than icy toes!

sugar and spice, and everything nice

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That’s what little girls are made of.

When I was four or five, my family went to the zoo. I had the option to have my photograph taken with either a rabbit or a boa constrictor. My choice.

I’m sorry I don’t have a copy of the resulting photograph to share with you, but there is a lovely image of little me with a boa around my shoulders. It has been on display in my parents’ home for years.

The photo you see here is the eel I caught while fishing with my grandmother. (I am five years old, wearing a “Mork and Mindy” bathing suit!) My grandparents used to take me camping, and we would fish. In all the times I’ve gone fishing, I have never caught a fish.

This eel was my first catch. It was a freshwater eel, caught in a lake.

A summer or two later, we were fishing on a pier in the Atlantic Ocean, and I caught another eel. There are no pictures of me holding that guy … he had nasty teeth! He squirmed, anyway, and broke the line.

Then my goofy cousin tried to re-catch it with his fishing pole (of course, it was still attached to my hook).

I wasn’t a tomboy, though. Just not a girly-girl. I guess I just wasn’t afraid of things most little girls are afraid of!

preparing to say goodbye

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At least this time, I could see it coming.

It just hasn’t been the same since the accident last season. When the car Ryan was driving was forced off the road and tumbled down a hill. After Marissa died.

It was a hard time for everyone. Now, just as they’re starting to bounce back and move on with their lives, we will have to say goodbye forever.

Yes, I am 31 years old, and I watch “The O.C.” I have faithfully watched it since the beginning. And will, of course, continue to watch it until it’s February 22 finale.

I’m a sucker for this kind of thing, growing up with the “90210” crew. I know the two shows draw a lot of comparison, being teen dramas and all, but I knew the latter didn’t have the same kind of staying power.

I continue to watch “90210” reruns on the SOAP network, and we now have the first season on DVD. But I have no desire to relive “The O.C.” from the beginning (though, who knows, maybe I will want to in 10 years?).

Still, it’s been one of the things I’ve been addicted to — even though this season hadn’t been as good in the beginning. (Figures, the last couple of episodes have been a lot more compelling. Thanks, FOX, for sucking me back in!)

I’m OK with the decision, though. They are promising there will be closure. I can live with that.

Though, I’m still a irritated that they cancelled “Reunion“!