Sunday, October 30, 2011

Bridesmaid Dresses: Check!

We went shopping for bridesmaid dresses today, and it was so unbelievably easy!  I had picked out the dress already, and was hoping that all the girls would like it and that we'd be in and out quickly.  Boy were we in and out quickly!  I think it took about 7 minutes once we got inside and were actually by the dressing rooms.  All 4 girls liked it, and that was it!

I was actually kind of shocked, and I think I said about 40 times how fast it was.  But, it was certainly a good thing.  Now I have that checked off the list.  The girls are picking out their own shoes as long as it's a silver/gray color, preferably a strappy sandal, so that's easy too.  Hair is the same - I wouldn't want to tell them a certain way to do their hair.  It just doesn't work because everyone's hair is different.  Now I just need to come up with some jewelry for them...

I gave them all a little gift as a thank you for being a bridesmaid: wine!  Who doesn't love wine?  And it goes with the "wine theme" of our wedding.

My gifts for my bridesmaids.
Each girl got a wine bottle tote bag with a different region where wine is made, and I bought bottles of wine from each place.  I actually got the wine to match even more perfectly than I expected!  I was super excited about these gifts - I love love love giving fun gifts to people!!

Tomorrow is Halloween, which really doesn't mean all that much to me.  I can't give my students candy if I wanted to because I'm being pulled out of class for 4 out of 5 periods to do benchmark data review.  It will be fascinating I'm sure.  The good thing about this is that it breaks up the week and it's one less day of dealing with 5th period.  

Then it's November.  Busy busy times coming up!  I need Thanksgiving week so I can get caught up on some sleep.  Three weeks to go...hope I make it!


Monday, October 24, 2011

Weekend in Solvang

The weekend was lovely.  Truly lovely.  My mom gave us $10 to get Starbucks on the drive, just because.  I love my mommy.

We hit some traffic driving up on Friday night, but it was mainly due to accidents.  Once we got to Ventura and beyond it was smooth sailing and we got in around 9:30/10:00.  Albertsons was the place of choice for dinner: a salad for me, sandwich and chips for Mat, and two pints of Ben n Jerrys.  No, of course we didn't eat both that night....

On Saturday we had the free hotel breakfast which wasn't anything special.  Apples provided much needed fruit nutrition, and I had an English muffin toasted with butter and jam.  Mat loved the waffle maker.  And the frosted flakes.  The sad thing about this breakfast was that there was no protein unless you count the milk.  Where we usually stay there's yogurt and hard boiled eggs, but it wasn't a big deal.

We took advantage of four, yes FOUR wine tastings that day.  It wouldn't have been so many except that we had a coupon for buy one get one free at two different tasting rooms.  I hadn't been in the best of moods for a good week or so, so it was definitely my (bad) influence that caused us to do all four.  However, we spaced them out throughout the day.  I will say though that I was basically tipsy all day and had definitely been VERY tipsy after the first one.

We bought a bottle of Buttonwood Winery's port wine which is actually called "P.O.S.H."  I LOVE it.  And it will be an awesome bottle for our centerpieces.  :)

Saturday's dinner was Carl's Jr.  Yes, fast food.  In my defense I basically never eat fast food, and we were hungry and it was close by and cheap.

I was pathetic at taking pictures this trip, probably because it was a quick one.  Oh and the fact that I had a lot of wine...

But it was OH SO WORTH IT.  Getting away was JUST what the doctor ordered, even if coming back to reality was not pleasant at all.

A couple of pictures, the whole 5 that I took:


The town is having a scarecrow contest.  These were probably my favorite of the ones I saw.


Wednesday, October 19, 2011

It's Been One of Those (Several) Days

I went to ballet tonight for the first time in probably over a month.  It's weird that now it's weird to be at ballet. :-/ Despite my constant stress about finances, I paid for 4 classes which means I have 3 left to use.  I'm hoping to go once a weekish for the next few months, but we'll see how it goes.

Stress about finances doesn't need to be explained.  It's annoying.  I'm worried.  I'm trying to stay focused and positive and remember that in another month or two things SHOULD be better.  Just too many bills lately.  I'm also strongly considering changing the withholding on my taxes so that less is taken out.  At the moment, they take out the most possible (I claim single 0).  But, I think I should claim single 1.  I'll see more money each month but still shouldn't have to owe taxes and in fact should still get a refund.  Either way, it won't affect next year's refund because it's already almost the end of 2011.  And, it will enable me to save more each month which will be excellent peace of mind.

On Friday afternoon we're leaving for a weekend away in Solvang.  I.  Can't.  Wait.  I haven't seen Mat since Sunday morning.  It's killing me.

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Birthday Highlights and Other Stuff

My mom made puff pastry stuff for breakfast.  One had nutella and the other had peanut butter and chocolate.  YUM.

I went to Starbucks and got a free venti java chip frappuccino light with only 2 pumps of mocha and light whipped cream.  On your birthday you get to have whipped cream and other bad stuff.  I also got a reduced fat turkey bacon breakfast sandwich to counteract the sugar and caffeine.

One of last year's second period students came by right before second period to wish me a happy birthday.  She remembered!  My second period class sang to me, as did my 5th period class (that was a shocker!).  Amanda stopped by at lunch and brought me FOUR Sprinkles cupcakes!!

Mat and I went to the Homecoming game that night.  Now I only have 3 more (out of 4 total, haha) student events to attend this year.  Chipotle for dinner rounded out the night.

Mat is taking me to Solvang next weekend as my birthday present.  :-D

I ran 10.21 miles yesterday.  That's only 6 days after the half marathon.  Not bad if I do say so myself!  Then that afternoon Grandmother and Auntie Kristin came over for cake and presents.  Altogether I got several things off our wedding registry which is awesome.  After cake and presents Mat and I saw Footloose and had Corner Bakery for dinner.

Today was church and then a massage and facial.  I was supposed to (I thought) be able to cancel my membership after today, but it turns out I have to pay for ANOTHER month before I can cancel AND I have to sign a form to do it.  When I told them I had to cancel no one said anything about a form.  I was annoyed.  But I'm trying not to think about it.

I decided to buy OS X Lion.  I can use iCloud if I have it on my MacBook and plus I figure for $30 it's not a bad idea to update to the latest operating system.

And now it's already Sunday night, my least favorite time of the week.  That certainly doesn't help my general frustration lately.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

26

Tomorrow I'll be 26.

It's funny how as you get older, birthdays sort of just sneak up on you.  The way that I CANNOT WAIT for my wedding to get here is how birthdays are for a child.  Now?  I honestly would forget now and then throughout the day today that tomorrow was my birthday.

I hope it's a good day.  The work day isn't thrilling, and I can't wait for when I can take my birthday off.  :)  Tomorrow night I decided to go to the Homecoming game, so hopefully that will be good.  Really, I just want to spend the day with Mat, but since that's impossible while at work, going to the game will let me do that.  Bring some Chipotle in for dinner, get some ice cream or whatever...hopefully I have a good day.

I also can't wait for this time next year.  One year from this moment I'll be at my big sis Kelly's wedding (which will be a Saturday next year because of leap year) and the next day, Sunday, will be my birthday.  Next year, indeed, will be a lovely year.

This year?  Just trying to keep plugging on and get through the school year.

Monday, October 10, 2011

Run for Mobility

The Surf City Marathon and Half Marathon, which I'm participating in on February 5, 2012, partners with an organization called Run for Mobility.  This organization raises money to provide wheelchairs to people all over the world. Use my link to donate to this great cause!

http://fwm.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=477888&lis=1&kntae477888=ECBCE47165EB4B749546566922C17F31&supId=342568233

Sunday, October 9, 2011

The Half Marathon

Today was the half marathon.  This is probably worthy of a lengthy post about the people I saw, how I felt, and the overall experience, but for some strange reason I'm pretty tired!  ;-)

It was pretty cool though.  It was amazing to accomplish 13.1 miles when my previous farthest distance was only 10 miles last week.

Yesterday, I signed up for the Surf City Half Marathon on February 5th and the OC Marathon on May 6th.  I'm going for the Beach Cities Challenge medal!

My dad signed up for the Surf City half also, and I think Mat is going to also.  It will be a family affair!

And now it's off to sleep.  Good night!

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Beach Cities Challenge

I read about this back when signing up for the Long Beach half marathon, and I ran across it again tonight.  The Beach Cities Challenge involves running any combination of half or full marathons in Long Beach, Huntington Beach (Surf City half/full), and the OC half/full.  You get a special Beach Cities Challenge Medal if you do all three consecutively, starting with any of the three.  That means that after I run the LB half this Sunday, if I run the Surf City (probably the half) on February 5th (happy 1 year of being engaged!) and the OC (possibly the full?) on May 6th, I'll get the cool medal.

I'm strongly considering it.  Yes, it costs money, but it still costs far less than ballet, even when you factor in clothes and replacing your shoes.  And, I've come to LOVE running.  Yeah, some mornings at 4:30 I'm not really in the mood, but that always goes away and is more often the result of it being a work day than it being 4:30 in the morning.

It would be such an accomplishment - complete 2 halfs and a full (or maybe 3 halfs depending on how things go) less than a year after starting to run.

The final of the three, on May 6th, is more than 6 weeks before our wedding, so if God forbid I get injured at least I'll have time to heal before walking down the aisle.  :)

I think I'll wait until Sunday to decide.  Early registration for the OC Marathon ends tomorrow, but they will also be offering it at their booth at LB on Sunday.  That's the one I would try for the full in if I'm going to try a full, but I can't just decide that on a whim.  Training for a half has been totally manageable, and even though I would do another half before this full, training for a full requires a ton more time and morning runs would not be as easy.

I'll have to think about it.

But it would be so damn cool.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Coyote

On Friday I took a walk and saw two coyotes.  It startled me but they seemed startled also and I walked away and didn't worry too much after that.

Yesterday I took the same walk and saw nothing.  Ok, cool.

Today I set off to run 5 miles and was very aware the whole time.  About 2.5ish miles into it I saw a dead cat on the sidewalk.  And trust me when I say dead - I'm glad it was still dark so I didn't have to really see it.  Naturally this made me think oh no is there a coyote around here.  I get off the sidewalk to avoid the poor cat, stop running, look around, and sure enough there's a coyote up ahead.  It's running away and then stops and turns and stares at me.  It's not super close, thank God.  I go the other way and eventually take off SPRINTING to get home.  I saw my mom walking and told her about it, then did a 1 mile loop right by my house so my run could total 4ish miles.  I was bummed to not get 5 miles in, but technically I was only supposed to run 4 anyway because the half-marathon is Sunday.

Because I'm a paranoid freak, I googled coyotes all day.  The jist is that generally they are fearful of humans, but they are also very adaptable so if they learn they can find food in neighborhoods, etc, they start to lose that fear.  I also found the animal control phone number for the city and on its website it says to report any dead, injured, or sick animals (but there's no point in reporting a sighting because coyotes are considered wildlife and therefore are protected by law).  So, I called.  I learned that there were already two calls about coyotes today and it sounded like two coyotes were picked up.  I asked where, and the lady told me one on Euclid and Lambert and the other on Ridgehaven.

Ridgehaven was the street I was running on.

I felt better knowing that something happened, but I know that two coyotes being picked up does not mean there aren't more.  However, from googling I learned that when coyotes are threatened by humans, the natural fear returns.  The lady on the phone also said, when I asked, that I should obviously be aware but that they are generally afraid of us and to just leave the area.

So, I'm still a little freaked (I think the poor cat has a lot to do with that) but everyone around me isn't too worried so I figure I should just calm down.  That and keep on carrying the pepper spray and not be afraid to yell or throw a stick at it.

Monday, October 3, 2011

On Running

I ran 10 miles on Saturday.  That's right, 10 miles.  I know it doesn't sound like much to a marathoner, but it was my first attempt and success at double digits.

This Sunday, 5 days from now, is the Long Beach Half Marathon.  I'm excited and a little nervous.  I'm not so much nervous about the actual run as I am about just doing something new and it being unfamiliar.  I think adrenaline will get me through the final 3 miles, so I'm not worried about that.  But when something is new and weird, it can be nerve-wracking.  At least there should be a feeling of camaraderie, as my dad said, that's really cool at races like that.

On another note, I absolutely LOVE what running has done for my body.  I'm in better shape now than I've ever been, both mentally and physically.  I feel thin but STRONG.  I feel lean and muscular and for probably the first time in my life, confident about my body.  I can put jeans on and not be a skinny ballerina and look at myself in the mirror and say, "Hey, I like my body - I look good!"  I even went to ballet on a random Wednesday a few weeks ago and wore a leotard and cut off tights (like bike shorts) and felt good.  I could look at skinny people and finally NOT think, "ugh I feel fat."

I know what you're thinking.  You're thinking, "How on earth can you EVER feel fat?"  Yes, I know.  It sounds ridiculous.  But if you've never lived and breathed the ballet world as I have for essentially my entire life, you can't really understand it.  And if you can't understand it, in some ways I envy you.

And on that note, I'm getting up at 4:30 to get my last 5 mile run before Sunday.  Wednesday will go down to 3, and Thursday down to 2.  Yesterday was rest, today was a 2 mile walk, Friday will be a walk, and Saturday will be REST.

Good night Monday!  I won't miss you...