Week 5: Countdown to April 19, 2008

I ran 7 miles today! I'm more than half way to my goal now! Woo hoo! This is the furthest I have ever run in my life and I feel like I could do it again tomorrow. I didn't even have a tender moment on my foot today. At mile 2 I was attacked by a vicious side ache, but I kicked it pretty quickly. Read here for some good advice on kicking a side ache while running.

We've Been Simpsonized!

Here's what we would look like as Simpsons characters. Don't we make a nice couple? D'oh!

Diggin' Out

We took Mom and Randy to Idaho for the long weekend. We knew there was going to be snow, and a lot of it. I had no idea how much until we got there. Easily four feet already on the ground and another 18 inches over the weekend. Everyone we talked to said this is a stellar snow year. Most winters in the last several years haven't received this much snow all year - it's only January!

Couldn't get to the porch...Here's Mr. G plowing a path to the well (other than to relax, the purpose of the trip was to meet the well guy who had to fix some pressure valve because the neighbors, who share the well with us, were getting some crazy knocking noises in their pipes everytime we turned on our water. The neighbors, who said they would be there, didn't bother to show up).The snow on the back deck. Mom and I made ourselves useful and shoveled the deck.Ahh, isn't that nice? We did fine work. The rest of this is hard, crusty ice snow. I'm done shoveling.Mom and Randy strapped on some cross-country skis and took a tour around the island. They were gone forever. Mr. G and I were close to sending a search party in fear they somehow were lost (impossible to do on the island) or even worse, had both had heart attacks somewhere down the road.Me playing in the snow in front of the house. Oh look, here comes Mr. G...POOOOFFFF!! (see that little blue speck near Mr G's head? That's me)I've been totally white washed. Ohhhh, that's cold!There is so much snow down my coat. Did I mention its cold? I'm glad Mr. G was having a good time.Off goes Mr. Funny Guy while I sit wondering what just hit me.

Week 4: Countdown to April 19, 2008

No need to wonder where week 3 went. I skipped right to week 4 and ran my 10K. I felt great during the whole run, well, until I was finished and while stretching my heel started to hurt. It felt almost like it was bruised. It remained pretty tender the rest of the day, but appeared to heal itself alright. Maybe its time for new shoes. What do you think about these? They're supposed to be the shizz.

Will Work for Airline Ticket

This past weekend I made a quick trip to visit my sissy in her new location. Since I'm sure you all know how much fun it is to unpack, she pleaded for me to come and help her get organized. So Thursday I bought a ticket and Friday flew out for the weekend (luckily the flight is only 1 1/2 hours now instead of 5!).

The best part of the whole trip was Saturday morning when I woke up and saw Noelle chillin' across the living room. "Psstt" I said to catch her attention. Noelle, in her footsie pjs and fuzzy bedhead looked over at me with a "what the heck are you doing here" look. After a moment of me waving to her and she processing who I was, I said, "HI NOELLE! Can Auntie have a hug?" With arms wide open and the biggest smile, she ran across the room and jumped into my arms, wrapping her little arms around my neck, and with a little "grrr" gave me the biggest bear hug. Made unpacking Rachel's hud totally worth it.

Was Chopin Crazy or am I?

After several recitals full of fun, fast and often angry sounding pieces, I've had some requests to play something lovely and pleasing to the ear. So, with my upcoming recital, I have chosen Frederic Chopin's Berceuse, Op. 57 in D flat major (it was a toss up between Chopin or Liszt's Un Sospiro, which I also love - look for it next year). I think the Berceuse is beautiful and will probably put my audience right to sleep (well, it is a lullaby afterall...). I'll tell you what though, I am really struggling to memorize it. I'm sure any pianist out there can look at this piece and break it down and say, "what is wrong with you girl, it is so repetitive!" Yeah, I keep thinking the same thing. The left hand plays basically the same accompaniment the entire piece and the right hand plays a million variations of the same melody. Well, either I'm not dedicating enough time to the cause or my brain is missing some connections because I just can't get it together. Maybe its because I listened to this 8 year old child prodigy and suddenly I'm intimidated. This is for you, HJ!

Week 2: Countdown to April 19, 2008

Saturday's are designated as our long run training days for our 1/2 marathon training. Today: 5 miles. Great success! I didn't need to be rescued by the 'emergency stop button,' or need to call 911 for oxygen. Actually, the challenge for today's run was not the distance, nor the fact that we were faced with a snow storm forcing us to run on treadmills (any runner will tell you - running outside is so much better, so much more interesting and challenging then running on a treadmill). The real challenge was the 80 degree temperature in the fitness center. 80 degrees on a summer day is fantastic, darn near perfect, but anyone who has stepped into a fitness center warmed to 80 degrees would rather run outside in an inversion. It's rough.

HAPPY NEW YEAR ROCK STAR!

We rang in the new year by inviting ourselves to Dan and Ez's, where we partied like it was 1999 with the usual suspects as well as Ez's brother Kevin and several of his buddies. The highlight of the evening (with the exception of the New Year's kiss I got from my old acquaintance when the ball dropped - Mr.G + Mrs. G forever!) was the Rock Band game Dan picked up for Christmas. We formed several bands and really went crazy. Rock and Roll! Ben and Mr. G where our stellar bass and guitarists. As you can see, it took serious concentration to hit all those notes. Occasionally we'd get a swing of the guitar, but still with little expression.

Mr. G had no idea how much he loved push button guitar! Rock star addiction!

I tried my hand at the bass. I must admit, it took getting through a couple of songs to avoid being booed off the stage and losing thousands of fans.

Dan went expert guitarist on Metallica's Enter Sandman, with Mr. G on lead vocals.Here is my true talent - the drums. It's harder than it looks, but I am a natural - 25 years at the piano gives a girl a pretty good sense of beat and coordination (you can't see it here, but my foot is working a petal the same time I'm pounding away). I have to concentrate really hard to get all the notes. All function, no form!

Countdown to April 19, 2008

Mr. G suprised me this Christmas with a very special gift: a completed registration for the 3rd Annual SLC 1/2 Marathon (Merry Christmas to me!). We've been talking about tackling a marathon for some time now, but have never really been able to wrap our minds around 26.2 miles of running....without dying. So, we'll start with 13.1 miles with the sole goal of finishing the race. Never mind the race part, just finish.

To do this, we are going to start a rigorous 12 week training schedule, where every week we will run a long distance, starting with a 4 mile run (no sweat!) and gradually working our way up to 13 miles (I...can't...breathe!). Somewhere in there we will also need to reevaluate our diets to ensure we are properly carbed-up and hydrated. I keep reading about this energy gel used to keep the body strong during a long run, but the sound of it reminds me of Double Dare slime and the thought of ingesting it is repulsive. Maybe it is an acquired taste and actually becomes a staple runner's "food" one can not live without (ahem...doubtful). You do what you have to to survive.

Because you are the lucky readers of this blog, you get to hear about our progress, since I know talking about it to the world (all three of you who read my blog) will help me to complete this goal.

Wish us luck! Oh, and if you decide you, too, want to run the race let me know. It always helps to train with another person

Christmas Time is Here

This last week, we pulled out our Christmas decorations. Over the years, and thanks to my days at the BL, I have collected some really great Santas and other ornaments that I have always enjoyed during the season.

Lately, though, I have become increasingly more of a Scrooge. As I get older, I am finding it more and more difficult to enjoy Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love the season. I love giving. I find no greater joy then finding that one suprise for Mr. G, giving the chocolate letters to my co-workers for Dutch Christmas, or making my way through the holiday crowds to play Sub-for-Santa for a family, that all they really wish for is a warm coat and a pair of snow boots.

So why the Scrooge? What gets me down? The expectations. The obligations. The commercialism.

I really don't enjoy gift exchanges. Why?? What a great opportunity to GIVE and, even more exciting, to receive? Isn't that what its all about? What's wrong with every gift exchange ending with a $10 gift card to Old Navy? I don't want to sound ungrateful, or unappreciative, because I'm not - my collection of gift cards usually come in handy when I need a great shirt in the after-Christmas sale. So often it's a feeling of, "Oh my heck, it's Christmas eve and I forgot I have to buy a gift." I know if I feel like that, so do others. Hence, the $10 gift cards (oh, and don't forget, most gift exchanges have set dollar limits, so you know how much "gift" to give.) I really just want to do something for other people that I know is special for them. Give them their "warm coat and boots." Perhaps that's what I expect (see...expectations) in return.

A group of friends and I were talking recently about general Christmas gift giving. One girl told about someone she knows who provides a Christmas list (great idea, if you're 6 yrs old), but it's not enough to say 'red cashmere sweater,' she also provides the item number and bar code so whoever is so fotunate to purchase the red cashmere sweater is sure to get the "right" one. It is all so wrong.

This year, instead of my focus being so much on the production of "Christmas," with Santa, lots of presents, worrying about what set of parents haven't seen us for the last 3 Christmas', or the annual trip to Vegas, I am focusing on the real purpose of the season. The real point. Because nothing else matters.