I have now been running for four years. Four difficult-at-times yet always-rewarding years. But I'm still plagued by a simple question posed by my friend Lori about three and a half years ago: Do you consider yourself a runner? Back then the answer was simple: No. I run, but am not a runner. But now I'm not so sure. What is it that differentiates those who run from the runners?
Maybe it's the clothes. I usually run in some really old soccer shorts that are two sizes too large. On the top is always a tank top of some sort, but always made of cotton (I usually run indoors and the cotton isn't traumatic to my body). However, we all know that for my birthday last August, C bought me my first running skirt. And this past week, I purchased a "real" long-sleeved running shirt for cold days and a short-sleeved wicking tee for the chilly days. I definitely felt a little different wearing these types of clothes during my long run on Saturday. Don't worry. I haven't changed that much: I'm still not yet converted to the way of the "little socks."
Maybe it's belonging to a running club. C and I joined our local chapter of the Road Runners Club. We even joined a speed development program sponsored by the club. Standing on the track two weeks ago during our first training session, I looked around at all the runners and thought they all looked so "runner-ish." But maybe they all felt the same way I do?? Maybe they don't really feel like runners either. Maybe they looked around and didn't think I was anything but a runner.
Maybe it's the fact that I have been running consistently for four years (admittedly not that long, but at least it's been consistent). I usually run about 18-25 miles a week and have run a multitude of races. I even made a quilt with some of my race t-shirts!
Then again, maybe everybody who runs should call themselves runners, simply by definition.
29 January 2007
24 January 2007
75 Things That Make Me Who I Am
I saw this on another blog, but that blogger had 100. I just couldn't come up with that many, so you get only 75.
1. I am ridiculously organized.
2. I love good newspapers.
3. I love moving into new places, but hate moving out.
4. I love teaching at the university level.
5. I dislike most kids.
6. I teach Primary in church, but am working on my attitude towards it.
7. I have little feet, which I love, but have a hard time finding shoes to shod them.
8. I hate most types of exercise.
9. I love the mountains.
10. Rivers are my favorite body of water.
11. While getting married was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, I’d make the same decision in a second.
12. I hated high school but loved college.
13. I love traveling.
14. I am a firm believer in “favorites” and “bests.” (For example, best pineapple ever: the one purchased on the side of the road in Jamaica.)
15. I am excessively left brained. In fact, I don’t think I have a right brain.
16. For those of you who think I’m creative, I’m not. I’m just really good at copying others’ creative works.
17. I am terrified of bridges.
18. Having a “straightened” house is more important to me that having a “clean” house.
19. I love my middle name.
20. I am not competitive when playing games but have an ultra-competitive husband.
21. I love French toast, Hot Tamales, and baked oatmeal.
22. I love sincere people.
23. I am motivated by schedules and love planning.
24. I love crossing things off lists.
25. I cried the day I arrived at my current apartment. The metal closet doors, horrible cabinets, and too-high bathroom mirrors just broke me.
26. I hate cats, but can’t wait until the day I own a pug.
27. I hate concerts: they’re too loud, too dark, and too people-filled.
28. Tanning beds completely freak me out. I feel like they’re zapping my bodily core with crazy rays of death.
29. My siblings make my laugh…in a good way.
30. I like cooking more than I ever thought I would.
31. I love Wallace Stegner.
32. My favorite flowers are gerber daisies.
33. I love big, clean, bright grocery stores with self-checkout lanes.
34. My favorite holidays are Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.
35. I want a haircut that I can run a pick through the wet hair and be done.
36. I HATE humidity.
37. My two nephews make me hopeful that I might actually like my own kids.
38. If I could have any job in the world, I’d love to be on Broadway or be a professional organizer.
39. I am 5 feet tall and 1/2 of an inch. I always round to 5’1”.
40. I hope I never drive a minivan. This is a motivating factor for having only two kids.
41. Sometimes I like to cry only because I haven’t done it in a while.
42. I am extremely expressive with my face. Therefore I will never be a professional poker player.
43. My favorite cold treat is a frozen yogurt cone (almost any flavor) from any Maverik store in Utah.
44. Ever since seeing the movie “Stand by Me,” leeches freak me out.
45. I have never mowed a lawn.
46. I love people who are on time and get frustrated with those that are late.
47. I would like to be able to say that I have run a marathon, but am not actually sure I want to run one.
48. I had to take a pottery class in college “pass or fail” because I was doing so poorly it would have messed up my GPA.
49. I love being in airplanes and practice my remote sensing skills every chance I can.
50. I love daytime TV: talk shows, not soap operas.
51. I dislike chain restaurants simply because they're chains.
52. I am curious about almost all jobs and would love to be a professional apprentice-for-a-day to almost all of them, except the dentist.
53. I am addicted to the Washington Post’s online chats.
54. Blogging is way easier for me than keeping a journal.
55. I love the internet and don’t know how I functioned without it.
56. I think that old-time radio programs are fun.
57. I didn’t serve a mission and don’t regret that decision.
58. I think I would make a fantastic secretary.
59. I think I have changed a lot since high school and secretly wish that those who knew me in high school would barely recognize me if they saw me today.
60. I love crosswords and Sudoko puzzles.
61. I hate movies in which animals talk. This excludes cartoons.
62. I used to say that I’d never marry a guy who wears ankle socks.
63. One reason that I am afraid to be a mother is because I don’t want to be just “Billy’s mom.” I like me and want to be a real person with real interests and real friends when I have kids.
64. I like supporting locally-owned establishments.
65. I always try to use proper grammar, and frequently judge others who don’t.
66. I believe in stereotypes.
67. I don’t believe in organic foods.
68. I love teaching myself things (HTML, LATEX, different sewing projects).
69. I have so little storage in my apartment that I have to use the spare bathroom’s shower to store extra detergent, toilet paper, and light bulbs.
70. I love email.
71. I can tolerate watching most sports on TV except for hockey.
72. I love being productive.
73. I love sewing, especially when I’m just making up the pattern and designs as I go along.
74. I often have my taxes done before February starts.
75. I HATE the dentist.
1. I am ridiculously organized.
2. I love good newspapers.
3. I love moving into new places, but hate moving out.
4. I love teaching at the university level.
5. I dislike most kids.
6. I teach Primary in church, but am working on my attitude towards it.
7. I have little feet, which I love, but have a hard time finding shoes to shod them.
8. I hate most types of exercise.
9. I love the mountains.
10. Rivers are my favorite body of water.
11. While getting married was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done, I’d make the same decision in a second.
12. I hated high school but loved college.
13. I love traveling.
14. I am a firm believer in “favorites” and “bests.” (For example, best pineapple ever: the one purchased on the side of the road in Jamaica.)
15. I am excessively left brained. In fact, I don’t think I have a right brain.
16. For those of you who think I’m creative, I’m not. I’m just really good at copying others’ creative works.
17. I am terrified of bridges.
18. Having a “straightened” house is more important to me that having a “clean” house.
19. I love my middle name.
20. I am not competitive when playing games but have an ultra-competitive husband.
21. I love French toast, Hot Tamales, and baked oatmeal.
22. I love sincere people.
23. I am motivated by schedules and love planning.
24. I love crossing things off lists.
25. I cried the day I arrived at my current apartment. The metal closet doors, horrible cabinets, and too-high bathroom mirrors just broke me.
26. I hate cats, but can’t wait until the day I own a pug.
27. I hate concerts: they’re too loud, too dark, and too people-filled.
28. Tanning beds completely freak me out. I feel like they’re zapping my bodily core with crazy rays of death.
29. My siblings make my laugh…in a good way.
30. I like cooking more than I ever thought I would.
31. I love Wallace Stegner.
32. My favorite flowers are gerber daisies.
33. I love big, clean, bright grocery stores with self-checkout lanes.
34. My favorite holidays are Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving.
35. I want a haircut that I can run a pick through the wet hair and be done.
36. I HATE humidity.
37. My two nephews make me hopeful that I might actually like my own kids.
38. If I could have any job in the world, I’d love to be on Broadway or be a professional organizer.
39. I am 5 feet tall and 1/2 of an inch. I always round to 5’1”.
40. I hope I never drive a minivan. This is a motivating factor for having only two kids.
41. Sometimes I like to cry only because I haven’t done it in a while.
42. I am extremely expressive with my face. Therefore I will never be a professional poker player.
43. My favorite cold treat is a frozen yogurt cone (almost any flavor) from any Maverik store in Utah.
44. Ever since seeing the movie “Stand by Me,” leeches freak me out.
45. I have never mowed a lawn.
46. I love people who are on time and get frustrated with those that are late.
47. I would like to be able to say that I have run a marathon, but am not actually sure I want to run one.
48. I had to take a pottery class in college “pass or fail” because I was doing so poorly it would have messed up my GPA.
49. I love being in airplanes and practice my remote sensing skills every chance I can.
50. I love daytime TV: talk shows, not soap operas.
51. I dislike chain restaurants simply because they're chains.
52. I am curious about almost all jobs and would love to be a professional apprentice-for-a-day to almost all of them, except the dentist.
53. I am addicted to the Washington Post’s online chats.
54. Blogging is way easier for me than keeping a journal.
55. I love the internet and don’t know how I functioned without it.
56. I think that old-time radio programs are fun.
57. I didn’t serve a mission and don’t regret that decision.
58. I think I would make a fantastic secretary.
59. I think I have changed a lot since high school and secretly wish that those who knew me in high school would barely recognize me if they saw me today.
60. I love crosswords and Sudoko puzzles.
61. I hate movies in which animals talk. This excludes cartoons.
62. I used to say that I’d never marry a guy who wears ankle socks.
63. One reason that I am afraid to be a mother is because I don’t want to be just “Billy’s mom.” I like me and want to be a real person with real interests and real friends when I have kids.
64. I like supporting locally-owned establishments.
65. I always try to use proper grammar, and frequently judge others who don’t.
66. I believe in stereotypes.
67. I don’t believe in organic foods.
68. I love teaching myself things (HTML, LATEX, different sewing projects).
69. I have so little storage in my apartment that I have to use the spare bathroom’s shower to store extra detergent, toilet paper, and light bulbs.
70. I love email.
71. I can tolerate watching most sports on TV except for hockey.
72. I love being productive.
73. I love sewing, especially when I’m just making up the pattern and designs as I go along.
74. I often have my taxes done before February starts.
75. I HATE the dentist.
18 January 2007
computer geek or just plain nerd?
Given that this blog is titled "c and e" or "candy" as e likes to call it, I figure it is about time for me to surface and actually say something. The only problem is, that when it comes to blogging, the whole thing is still too new for me.
About a year ago we were visiting r and a (this whole first letter instead of name thing e has going on will take me a while) a said something that I didn't quite understand. He talked about putting something on the blog. All I could do was think to myself, "what the blank is a blog?" Apparently I had missed the whole blog movement. In a single moment my perception of myself had been shattered.
My undergrad degree is in Computer Science and until that moment I really felt as though I was a total computer geek. But then I realized something, if I had missed out on blogging, were there other computer trends out there that I knew nothing about? Sure I can program (although I am sure that has evolved a ton since I graduated) but is that really enough to call myself a computer geek. I feel as though to truly be one, you have to be immersed in computer culture. I clearly am not. I feel like George Costanza when he had to take the IQ test. People think that I am a computer geek, but alas, it isn't the case.
I guess the only thing that I know for sure is that I am at least a nerd.
About a year ago we were visiting r and a (this whole first letter instead of name thing e has going on will take me a while) a said something that I didn't quite understand. He talked about putting something on the blog. All I could do was think to myself, "what the blank is a blog?" Apparently I had missed the whole blog movement. In a single moment my perception of myself had been shattered.
My undergrad degree is in Computer Science and until that moment I really felt as though I was a total computer geek. But then I realized something, if I had missed out on blogging, were there other computer trends out there that I knew nothing about? Sure I can program (although I am sure that has evolved a ton since I graduated) but is that really enough to call myself a computer geek. I feel as though to truly be one, you have to be immersed in computer culture. I clearly am not. I feel like George Costanza when he had to take the IQ test. People think that I am a computer geek, but alas, it isn't the case.
I guess the only thing that I know for sure is that I am at least a nerd.
Guess Who's Back...Back Again...
Well it has finally happened. I'm back in the classroom again. Last night marked the first night of class. I had the usual nervousness associated with the first day of school. My stomach was filled with the obligatory butterflies; my armpits filled with the obligatory sweat. (Nice, I know.) But once I got going, there was no stopping me! Discuss the syllabus---check! Discuss sampling---check! Make a lot of silly jokes at which I was the only one laughing---check!
I had been extremely anxious about last night, almost to the point of dreading it. I have a lot of things going on and all of them are causing me stress. But now that that one thing is over, I am a lot more relaxed and feel like I can get the rest done. (Can it please be Sunday afternoon already?!)
The class is an introductory statistics course, just like I taught at BYU. In fact, the textbooks are almost identical, which has made planning really manageable. The one bad thing about this course is that it is taught from 8:10 p.m. until 9:55 p.m. And, as many of you know, I go to sleep early, and I get up early. However, driving the DC roads after class last night proved to be no problem. In fact, I was at home and in bed by 10:33 p.m. In fact, I think I might actually like this time as it enables me to come home after my "day job," run, eat dinner with C, and then go. It's going to be much better than anticipated.
In addition, this is a "small" class for me. As I'm used to the 200 students per lecture, a classroom size of 28 is going to be really lovely. The students are young (no "continuing education" students nor graduate students). In fact, I have only one senior and five juniors. The classroom is obviously much smaller, and I don't think I'm going to have to "yell" as much as I did at BYU. Hopefully this means less sore throats.
In six words: I'm back in the saddle again.
(By the way, I posted on our Google page some new shots from our trip to Colorado. Check out the "home page" link to the right to see them.)
I had been extremely anxious about last night, almost to the point of dreading it. I have a lot of things going on and all of them are causing me stress. But now that that one thing is over, I am a lot more relaxed and feel like I can get the rest done. (Can it please be Sunday afternoon already?!)
The class is an introductory statistics course, just like I taught at BYU. In fact, the textbooks are almost identical, which has made planning really manageable. The one bad thing about this course is that it is taught from 8:10 p.m. until 9:55 p.m. And, as many of you know, I go to sleep early, and I get up early. However, driving the DC roads after class last night proved to be no problem. In fact, I was at home and in bed by 10:33 p.m. In fact, I think I might actually like this time as it enables me to come home after my "day job," run, eat dinner with C, and then go. It's going to be much better than anticipated.
In addition, this is a "small" class for me. As I'm used to the 200 students per lecture, a classroom size of 28 is going to be really lovely. The students are young (no "continuing education" students nor graduate students). In fact, I have only one senior and five juniors. The classroom is obviously much smaller, and I don't think I'm going to have to "yell" as much as I did at BYU. Hopefully this means less sore throats.
In six words: I'm back in the saddle again.
(By the way, I posted on our Google page some new shots from our trip to Colorado. Check out the "home page" link to the right to see them.)
08 January 2007
My New Favorite Thing
I get a yearly bonus at work. Last year C and I decided to give ourselves a present and then save the rest of the money. That worked so well that we did the same thing this year. C bought a new monitor for our computer (it's sooo big now), while I got myself my new favorite thing: a Bose SoundDock for my iPod.
Those of you who know the most-recent version of E, know that one of the reasons that I loved my job at BYU so much was because there was always something going on. Whether it was just the noise students make while going from class to class or it was other faculty members playing golf in the hallway. If I wanted quiet, I could shut my door...but honestly, why would I do that?! So when my current job proved to be the quietest workplace you could ever imagine, well let's just say I struggled.
However, with my new SoundDock this is no longer a problem. I can sit and listen to my playlists that contain music from the soundtrack of "Oliver!" all the way to my Eminem. It's great. And when I get tired of my own music, I have the beauty of podcasts! (Thanks A for converting me to the way of these beauties!)
I certainly don't mean this as a commercial for Bose, but dang. When something is as great as this is, how can I not?
Those of you who know the most-recent version of E, know that one of the reasons that I loved my job at BYU so much was because there was always something going on. Whether it was just the noise students make while going from class to class or it was other faculty members playing golf in the hallway. If I wanted quiet, I could shut my door...but honestly, why would I do that?! So when my current job proved to be the quietest workplace you could ever imagine, well let's just say I struggled.
However, with my new SoundDock this is no longer a problem. I can sit and listen to my playlists that contain music from the soundtrack of "Oliver!" all the way to my Eminem. It's great. And when I get tired of my own music, I have the beauty of podcasts! (Thanks A for converting me to the way of these beauties!)
I certainly don't mean this as a commercial for Bose, but dang. When something is as great as this is, how can I not?
05 January 2007
Resolutions
I love making resolutions. There's something about being able to look at a list of things I'm supposed to be doing, doing those listed things, and then crossing them off one year later. (Not that C and I were that successful last year, but that's what these are for, right?) So here they are:
- We won't watch any TV until after dinner (TV at the gym excluded, of course). This means that on days where we don't run and even when we do run, we will come home and find something else to do until we've eaten dinner (at our kitchen table, nonetheless) and cleaned up the dinner. Five days into the new year and we've been 100% on this. Although I'm not sure how Saturdays will work with this!
- We will be better about doing regular chores. I have become quite meticulous at keeping a "straightened" house, but that's very different from keeping a "clean" house. I received a book for Christmas from my sis on housekeeping and it gave me some fantastic ideas about schedules and weekly/monthly/quarterly/annual chores. So we used a free calendar to note the chores that should be done every day. Hopefully this will help us remember when we are supposed to dust those darn books. Yesterday I didn't do my oiling of my kitchen table, but don't worry, it will get done today.
- We will be better at being more spiritual during the 165 hours of the week when we aren't in church. How? As in most wards we have a specific topic during sacrament meeting. We will then use this topic throughout the week for discussions, scripture study, and just chatting. Hopefully this will help us a little in keeping out thoughts turned to the more spiritual aspects of our lives, an aspect that has been largely forgotten. As we didn't make it to church on Sunday, we haven't had an opportunity to practice this one yet.
- C's personal goal is to limit his video game playing to one hour a day. This is really only a problem when he gets a new game because once that new game is in our house, it will typically be played until it's been beaten (think: saving the princess in Mario Brothers). It's a good goal for him and he's been excellent at it so far.
- My personal goal is to work on having more virtuous thoughts. I know this seems vague, but it really isn't. It means that I will curtail road rage, less-than-appropriate language, and generally unkind thoughts toward others. I'm getting better. Think cheesecakes!
I think that these are attainable, and therefore good, goals for us. Already I'm loving the crossing-off of the chores!
03 January 2007
More Christmas Traditions
As this blog has become my journal, I wanted to post about the newly-established traditions that C and I put into place this Christmas season before I post about our New Year's resolutions. Here are the traditions that we started this year:
- Watching a different Christmas movie every Saturday night in December,
- Getting of the Christmas tree (about which has already been written),
- Giving of new pajamas to each other to be opened on Christmas Eve, and
- Eating a Christmas Eve dinner consisting of pizza on our lovely china.
And the one that I want to put into place for next year is the running of the "First Annual Family (and by family, I mean me and C) 5K" race! I would love to make silly t-shirts (yes, that would include puff paints) for us as part of the pajamas and then use them to race on New Year's Day. Am I missing any?
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