Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo March 2008

list day 11: messes

Remember NaBloCleanMo?

I vowed to clean up a problem area of my house every day in November, complete with before and after pictures.

Ever wonder how that held up?

Well, let’s just say I had to force myself to clean up my dresser again when I couldn’t find a dress I needed to pack for the funeral.

For the most part, though, my cleaning was a success!

Messes that returned:

  1. Bedroom Dresser
    As seen here. I cleaned it up last night.
  2. Living Room Clutter
    It keeps coming back. I haven’t figured out how to contain the clutter!
  3. Sweaters in the closet
    Stayed somewhat neat, just needed a little straightening up. The lost dress was hiding beneath the sweatshirts. When it wasn’t hanging up, I realized I had stashed it somewhere because I wanted to have it cleaned …
  4. Clothing in drawers
    When all of my running clothes are clean, it’s a tight fit in that one drawer. Also, my shirts in other drawers, which I didn’t photograph last time around, are a bit of a mess. I just have to downsize so I can contain it all!

Well, I’m out of here. I’m not sure if I will be able to write tomorrow. I may have to owe a list and blog from my cell phone as to not forfeit March NaBloPoMo!

list day 10: departure

My husband’s aunt passed away today.

It was expected. Earlier this month, we were told the doctors gave her five days.

We found out on that fifth day; she lived another eight or so. They had taken her off all her medication. After four open-heart surgeries, there wasn’t anything else they could do for her.

I don’t know much about her last two weeks yet, but we know as they were moving her to hospice care, they said she seemed at peace.

She looked well when we visited her in the hospital over Christmas; I’m glad we got the chance to see her. We’re now headed up to Rochester, NY for a few days for services and the funeral.

I feel fortunate that I haven’t had to say goodbye to too many close family members. My paternal grandparents passed away when I was eight years old. My father’s sister when I was just out of college. My father’s brother a few years ago.

There are, in fact, more pets buried behind the garage of the house I grew up in than funerals I have attended.

Today’s list will be of the pets I’ve said goodbye to. Somehow, it seems a little less morbid.

  1. Princess
    Our dog growing up, a doberman mix. We got her when I was two. She lived 16 years.
  2. Henry
    My hamster in 2nd grade. I think he lived a couple years.
  3. Patches
    Hamster #2.
  4. Peppy
    Hamster #3
  5. Perky
    Hamster #4, the only girl hamster.
  6. Muffy
    Guinea pig. Only lived about a year.
  7. Tweety
    Parakeet. He lived over 10 years, it actually may have been 12. We didn’t expect that! My mom had to take care of him when I went away to college.
  8. Several goldfish. At least one’s name was, creatively, Goldie

list day 9: employment

I’ve seen a few people write about their job history lately, and thought it’d make a good list!

High School:

  1. Babysitter
  2. Employee at a “healthy” fast food place
    Our main products were fat-free ice cream (that was actually pretty good) and salads.
  3. Scooper at Italian ice hut

College:

  1. Intern at graphic design studio
    I wasn’t paid, I needed the hours for my degree. Does that count?
  2. Assistant computer graphics teacher
    At a summer camp for music and art. I went there when I was in high school. So this one time, at orchestra camp …
  3. Waitress at a restaurant on a marina
    People would often come by boat. Mostly outdoor seating, so business was slow if the weather was bad!
  4. Campus computer lab attendant
  5. Waitress at a golf course restaurant
    Another weather-dependant job! On bad-weather days, we’d polish the woodwork.
  6. Assistant in campus office of student activities
    Aside from general office work, I also put together the “meet books” for incoming freshmen.

After College:

  1. Webmaster for newsletter publisher
    I was here for about 3 1/2 years.
  2. Web developer for software company
    I started as the webmaster, and switched departments after eight months. I’ve been here 7 1/2 years.

list day 8: i am crazy

Saturday mornings, I run with my friends.

This morning, we were a bit worried about the weather. We had plans to meet at 8:30 a.m.

Around 7:30, one of my friends sent out an email to see if we were still planning on going. It was pouring by her house.

Another friend responded that we’ll see what happens in an hour!

I immediately went and checked the Live Super Doppler Radar, which looked like this at the time:

I had high hopes. It looked like the storm would be moving out of the way. I started getting ready to go.

One last check at 8:00 produced the following:

Excellent! It looked like we’d be clear for a little while.

We altered our plans to run in a park with a four-mile loop, with the option to add a couple paths to bring it a little over five.

There were some shelters in the park, just in case a predicted thunderstorm rolled through. (Normally, thunderstorms immediately cancel runs, but it only seemed to be raining.)

When we started, it was foggy, but no rain. It was actually a bit warm, around 50F and humid.

About 20 minutes into the run, we took a brief break to tie our jackets around our waists.

Not a minute later, the skies opened up. Of course, my partly water-resistant jacket was now around my waist, and my tech shirt got drenched.

It poured for just a few minutes, but the damage was done. I did, however, swap the soggy shirt with the windbreaker at our bathroom/water stop. Still wet, but more comfortable!

After the loop, half the group wanted more mileage and took the shorter four-mile option. A friend and I decided our bodies were done running for the day, and chose to walk two more miles instead while they ran.

It rained again, but we were already wet. At least we had dry clothes in the car — we always go out for breakfast when we’re done!

Anyway, the point of this post is that yes, I run in terrible weather, and we realize we’re crazy!

Here is a list of most of the races I have run since I started in 2004:

  1. 5/2/2004 – Patriot’s Cup Corporate Challenge 8K
  2. 11/21/2004- Cold Turkey 10k
  3. 2/12/2005 – Annapolis Striders Valentine’s Day 5K 2005
  4. 3/6/2005 – B&A; Trail Marathon/Half Marathon – Trail Run – 13.1Mi
  5. 6/5/2005 – Womens Distance Festival 5K
  6. 7/9/2005 – Women’s Distance Festival/Run After The Women 5K
  7. 7/10/2005 – Women’s Distance Festival
  8. 8/7/2005 – Dog Days 8k Run
  9. 8/28/2005- 30th Annapolis 10 Mile Run
  10. 9/3/2005 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon 2005
  11. 9/11/2005 – Annapolis Striders B & A Trail 10K 2007
  12. 10/2/2005 – Annapolis Striders Metric Marathon
  13. 11/19/2005 – Cold Turkey 10K
  14. 11/24/2005 – YMCA Camp Letts 10K Turkey Chase
  15. 1/15/2006 – P.F. Chang’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Arizona Marathon & Half Marathon – Half Marathon
  16. 2/11/2006 – Annapolis Striders Valentine’s Day 5K 2006
  17. 5/7/2006 – Governor’s Bay Bridge Run
  18. 6/18/2006 – Dawson’s Father’s Day 10K Run
  19. 6/25/2006 – Baltimore Women’s Classic 5K
  20. 7/9/2006 – Women’s Distance Festival
  21. 8/6/2006 – Dog Days 8K Cross Country Run
  22. 9/3/2006 – Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon 2006
  23. 11/4/2006 – Downs Park 5 Mile Run
  24. 11/19/2006 – Cold Turkey 10K
  25. 12/10/2006 – Annapolis Striders Anniversary Run 15k
  26. 5/6/2007 – Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon 2007 – Run-Marathon
  27. 6/30/2007 – Reston Runners’ Spring into Summer WDF 5K
  28. 7/8/2007 – Women’s Distance Festival 5K
  29. 7/14/2007 – Women’s Distance Festival/Run After The Women 5K 2007 – RUN-5K
  30. 8/25/2007 – Women’s Distance Festival 5k “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” 2007
  31. 9/2/2007 – Rock n Roll Half Marathon 2007
  32. 9/16/2007 – Jefferson Hospital Philadelphia Distance Run 2007
  33. 11/18/2007 – Cold Turkey 10K 2007
  34. 12/9/2007 – Anniversary Run 15K
  35. 12/15/2007 – Celtic Solstice Five Miler 2007
  36. 2/9/2008 – Annapolis Striders Valentines Day 5K 2008

I know there are some missing; these are the ones tracked by Athlinks.

list day 7: drinks

It only seemed logical, since I wrote about food yesterday!

Drinks that make me happy:

  1. Something frozen and fruity, with rum
    Preferably while floating on a raft in a resort pool. My favorites are made with fresh bananas!
  2. Wine
  3. Beer
  4. Margaritas*
  5. Diet Pepsi
    I’ve been drinking less soda lately, but sometimes it’s necessary!
  6. Hot Chocolate
    I don’t drink it often, but it reminds me of childhood days coming inside after playing in the snow.
  7. Tea with honey
    My choice most mornings.

* The best margaritas ever:

    6 oz frozen limeade concentrate
    6 oz tequila
    3 oz triple sec
    3 oz beer

    Blend with lots of ice.