50 in 2011 *update*

as you may or may not know, my main new years resolution for this year is to complete the "365 project". you can find my project blog HERE (so far so good... although i must say, it is NOT an easy resolution as it may seem, even to me... the person who is so obsessed with taking pics! ive found myself scrambling around on more than a few occasions trying to figure out what the hell im going to take for a daily pic, hence some of the random photos. note to self: take a pic EARLY in the day, just incase)

anyway... i also added in a "50 in 2011" resolution sort of thing. just some stuff i would like to accomplish this year along with the photo project. were almost 3 months into this new year (unbelievable!!) so i thought i would give an update on how things were going.

1. get married (1/1/11!!) hehe, that was a GOOD one! wanna recap? go HERE

2. run at least 1 mile a week. no more 0 mile weeks. thats just dumb (so far so good)

3. make a photo calendar (2/21/11- wedding style, gave it to my stepfather)

4. donate to a charity every month (jan- CFF, feb- Courtney/Elisabeth for leukemia & lymphoma team in training, mar- my cousin Jennifer who was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. i really really hate cancer.)

5. write down everything i eat for one week (even im not going to want to read this, considering we currently have 7 boxes of girl scout cookies in the apartment, and i had two bowls of cheerios for dinner last night. im really awesome at eating)

6. donate blood. twice. and not just for the free coffee. (the last time (ok the only time) i went to donate blood my vein collapsed and i had to wait 6 months to try again. that was over 2 years ago)
     **UPDATE- ugh, i am SO pissed. ty went to give blood yesterday at his work, answered the questions, they pricked his finger for his iron level, and THEN they asked him if he had visited a foreign country within the last year. well yes, we went to the DR for our honeymoon. oh sorry, even though we already tortured you with the painful finger stick, you cant donate for a whole year. now you can leave and have all your co-workers there in the waiting area think you cant donate cuz youve recently spent the night with a prostitute. (haha i find that funny, ty doesnt. he actually said as he walked out "we went out of the country on our honeymoon!" poor guy. ps- wouldnt it make sense to ask that question BEFORE the finger stick? just saying. my husbands a big baby haha). but so yeah, this one aint gonna happen. does that mean i cant get a tattoo either? grrrrrrrr......

7. complete a triathlon. like an official one, not just on my own (aaaand i dont know if this ones gonna happen either, since the person whos bike i was going to use for a september sprint tri will be gone to grad school. boooooooo. i might consider the virtual "pizza triathlon" for this...)

8. go to a restaurant by myself (does burger king count? hehe)

9. read 6 new books (1. "something borrowed" by emily giffin, 2. "nanny returns" by emma mclaughlin & nicola kraus, 3. "the girl with the dragon tattoo" by stieg larsson, 4. "the girl who played with fire" by stieg larsson, 5. "the girl who kicked the hornets nest" by stieg larsson)

10. find out my blood type (well i was supposed to find this out when i donate blood.... man, these are just falling apart by the minute!)

11. complete my new years resolution “365 project”

12. apply to be on big brother (casting call is in april in boston!! or a two minute video with written application. what would i even say for 2 minutes?! someone send me some creative ideas and ill post the video on here. and they say you have to be clothed. damn.)

13. plant a tree on earth day

14. write down when earth day is so i remember to plant before mentioned tree april 22 (since we dont have a house yet im gonna have to plant this at my parents house... hope they dont mind!)

15. write a letter to myself on the morning of january 1st and open it on the night of december 31st

16. pay off one credit card (scheduled for november!)

17. make my own sushi (this actually turned out pretty good)

18. lay in bed for an entire day to read, watch tv, or catch up on blogs

19. get one of my best friends from the starting line to the finish line of her first 26.2 (october 16th! be there!! aaaaand come run it for Train4Autism! k thanks)

20. train a puppy? (this would involve buying a house first... and i am NOT loving that process. but we have 9 more months...)

21. take ty to st. louis (potentially scheduled for october or november for my grammy's 90th birthday party)

22. try 5 new restaurants (1. davids)

23. send a handwritten letter/card to someone once a month- january february march
24. try to like a different activia yogurt flavor other than strawberry (vanilla bean, yummy!!)

25. see a 3D movie (i tried to convince ty to take me down to boston to see "michael flatley lord of the dance" in 3D. he absolutely turned that down. i only wanted to see it because of a certain friends episode... lets see if i can find it here for you...

clearly watch the entire thing, cuz its awesome, but for the reference, fast forward to minute 3:41

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aeligl3TW1Q&feature=related

26. run a marathon (just cuz ive done it before doesnt mean i dont want to do it again... a few times- currently registered for maine marathon (10/2) and mdi marathon (10/16) and in the lottery for nyc marathon (11/6) (yikes... thats a lot of running! bring it.)

27. finish the blanket i started crocheting two years ago

28. vote

29. go apple picking

30. 'unplug' for one whole day; cell phone, computer/internet, television

31. bake a homemade pie

32. force (literally drag) ty to take me to gray animal farm. this will happen this year

33. back up all my photos from my computer (i just know my computer is going to crash on me one of these days and i will go into a deep deep depression. so far ive backed up my wedding pics, cuz thats all i care about at this moment)

34. take out $X one sunday and only use cash for a week/no debit card (this actually happened on accident cuz my debit card was compromised in a fraud situation so i couldnt use it)

35. send a random gift to someone "just because"

36. go to a shooting range, and learn how to shoot a gun

37. learn how to make tys favorite food: chicken lasagna

38. watch the sunrise and sunset in the same day (this pretty much happens every day i work right now, but i would like to spend the morning/evening at the beach this summer)

39. try to eat a damn vegetable other than potato (in the form of fried, with ranch)

40. watch 10 movies ive never seen before- (1. the social network, 2. shrek- the final chapter, 3. the girl with the dragon tattoo, 4. despicable me, 5. the kids are all right)

41. complete all 90 days p90x (even if it takes 365 days to do the 90 days)... (its almost the end of february and i have only done 4 days... this one might never happen. i hate that guy!)

42. take a week off of coffee

43. take my mom out to dinner

44. no fried food for an entire month. that means no french fries. booooo

45. for each task complete, put $10 in my savings account

46. get a pedicure when i get all my toenails back

47. finish the harry potter series

48. send my mom flowers

49. take cute cheesy fun photo booth pictures with ty

50. try/do something ive never done before- grouper, vodka/tonic, parasailing

anyone else doing anything like this? id love to hear others accomplishments :)

26.2 for cupcakes

today i became an official finisher of the cupcake marathon!

total runs: 7 (because of my sheer stupidity)
total miles: 26.2
time: 3:43:31 (damn, just 3 minutes shy of a BQ!)
average min/mile: 8:31

i couldnt figure out how to print off a bigger photo, so i had a teeny tiny race bib. i wasnt creative enough at the time to think of putting a cool race number on it. i had worked all night. give me a break. (holy bags under my eyes... and i slipped a little ncaa march madness promotion in there, GO DUKE!)

my first run went well. 3 miles, 25:04, pace 8:05 (i wanted to try to BQ this fun marathon, which meant keeping all my runs under a pace of 8:20). so far so good.

second run: an outdoor run down broadway
3 miles, 24:14, pace 8:04

on friday it was almost 70 degrees, so i wanted to get a double run in (prepping for reach the beach relay!). i was also babysitting a 7 month old all day (see previous blog post)... pushing a jogging stroller was much harder than i ever imagined. but it went pretty well...
3 miles: 26:11, pace 8:43 (first time with a jogger = not super speedy)

second stroller run:

2 miles, 17:54, pace 8:57 (i blame the wind)

sunday i did NOT feel like running. at ALL. i wanted to do a long run (i got my work schedule for the next 6 weeks and im off on a day of a half marathon ive run 3 times before and really love, so i decided im going to do it... figured i probably need to train a little) but i just didnt feel like i had it in me. i got my running clothes on, put on one sneaker, and then sat on the living room floor and watched basketball with ty for almost a half hour. i finally got off my ass and decided it was time to go. within the first mile i stopped at 2 open houses (neither of them were anything great). i wanted to stop after mile 3. ended up running 11, and it felt really good! haha go figure.
11 miles, 1:35:10, pace 8:39 (BQ fail)

 somehow i cannot press stop quick enough and end up with .01 a lot

and then theres todays run. i set out to do the remaining 4 miles, the weather was cool but not very windy, and i felt good. i ended up on a street ive never been on, and had to go through the citys public works area to cut through to another street. at 0.98 miles i stepped on a mini boulder that i didnt see, and my ankle rolled right off. from 7th grade through senior year in college i have probably sprained, rolled, or twisted my ankles hundreds of times (i wish i was kidding). the first few were awful... black and blue, swollen, etc. i dont think there is any cartilage left in there cuz now i can roll them and be walking/running again in seconds (im sure thats not a good thing). but this.really.HURT. and i was pissed. not only did i still have 3 more miles to run, i had just signed up for the maine marathon minutes before heading out for my run! i would pretty much be the most miserable person ever had i broken my ankle out there today... but a few minutes of swearing to myself and stretching it out, i was hobbling... then limping... walking... and finally off and running once again. i finished my 4 miles and came inside, excited to submit all my pics and spreadsheet to jason.

then i realized, i was 0.1 miles short. awesome. somehow i had thought i did a 5k run twice, but going over the runs again, i realized that no... i was supposed to do 4.1 miles today. so i laced up my sneakers once more and sprinted out the door.
4.1 miles, 34:59, pace 8:31

and now we wait for the results and see if ive won myself any cupcakes!

adventures in babysitting: a running diary

for an 8 pack of bud light, i agreed to babysit sarah's 7 month old son, tyler. he doesnt crawl or walk (cant get into much trouble), eats and sleeps a lot, and is a huge cutie pie. piece of cake, right?

6:46am sarah drops ty off and our day begins.

 this will be easy!

6:48 husband drops the F bomb. his response “oh he cant hear anyway”. were going to be great parents.

6:50 mom leaves. its just me and you kid.

please disregard my hideous morning hair

6:57 into the pack n play so i can get some coffee. i have a feeling its gonna be a loooooong day.

7:04 me: “at some point today im probably going to need a beer. is that bad?”
husband: “as long you don’t drink a bunch of them”. supportive husband right there

7:07 i check sarahs email to make sure i havent missed anything yet

7:08 breakfast isnt until 8am. so far so good.

7:23 ty starts crying (kinda) and rubbing his eyes. the instructional email says that means he is tired. toys and blankets out of the pack n play…. nap time!

7:35 crying. awesome.

7:38 diaper change. shocking, hes happy now.

7:57 time for breakfast. whole grain oats with raspberries. he loves it. i dont think it tastes much like anything. pretty smushy. there is no way this is gonna look pretty when it comes out the other end. (have i told you yet i am in NO WAY ready to have my own children?). also having applesauce, which i promise does not taste like adult applesauce. just wait til you can eat real people food, like pizza, and french fries with ranch. youre missing out, kid!

8:07 only half way through breakfast (email says he will eat the whole thing) and he is rubbing his eyes and getting fussy (which means tired). there isnt anything in the email about what to do if he gets tired while eating!

8:39 baby hiccups might be the cutest thing ever. and i just got an email from groupon “half off 5 baby genius videos”. is groupon psychic?

8:41 baby farting (x4) is not the cutest thing ever. especially when they are sitting on your lap.

9:04 first gross diaper change. how do babies get poop there?

9:17 more coffee for me. tys favorite game so far is “push the toys just far enough out of my reach so that danielle has to pull them all back to me”. this game has now gone on for over 10 minutes.

9:32 toys are not interesting him anymore. i think its almost time for run #1. (this would imply that there will be more than 1 run today. thats the goal anyway). 

11:25 back from our 3 mile run and mile walk. those running strollers are no joke! that took a bit to get used to. ty slept the whole way, go figure.

11:40 snack time, since we missed the 10:30 snack. whoops. baby pears arent so bad.

11:55 its not even noon and ive already managed to screw this day up. snack was supposed to be from 10-10:30 with naptime after. instead we went for a run where he napped and had snack at 11:40. now he isnt tired. and im hungry.

12:06 im not good at leaving a crying baby to cry. about to pick him up, i cant help it!

1:00 my mom stopped by to play! changed a wet diaper. those things weigh a lot!
 

1:31 lunch time. rice cereal w/apples & cinnamon. not too bad. sweet potatoes… not my favorite.

1:43 he is entertained in his high chair by a plastic ring toy. and pooping.

2:04 still eating. i figured out i was feeding him snack foods and not lunch. whoops. and i refuse to try this vegetables with chicken mush. smells awful.

2:05 decided to try it. tastes about as bad as it smells.

2:09 i think were done eating. im concerned with taking him for another run on a full stomach… but its almost 70 degrees outside. maybe a walk just to be outside first?

3:40 return from our run. of course ty slept the entire way, which was probably best because the winds were ridiculous and i ended up having to cover the jogger with a blanket to save him from the sand and leaf storms! we ran 2 miles and walked about another mile. it is beautiful outside, despite the wind.

3:50 ty continues to babble to himself in the pack n play while i take a quick shower. of course he wont sleep anymore. but its time for some DUKE BASKETBALL! and another wet (seriously i think this thing weighs 10 pounds) diaper change.

4:01 snack time… ty wont look away from the last few minutes of the 1^st half of the ball game and just opens his mouth for me to feed him.

4:15 husband comes home and ty is having a staring contest with him

4:24 husband and ty sit down to watch the rest of the game together. “now listen were gonna watch the game. no crying.” again, not ready to be parents.

4:55 some serious action going on in his pants. husband has a ridiculous look on his face

4:56 a serious diaper change. followed immediately by projectile bottle formula vomit. awesome.

5:13 mom arrives and the fun ends. we survived... and im exhausted! and although we had a really fun day, i know i am definitely not ready to have a 7 month old :)

abc's, cupcakes, & boston

these abc's posts are everywhere... and i love reading them! but now, its my turn... so enjoy!

a- age: 29 + 465 days
b- bed size: california king
c- chore you hate: scrubbing the tub ("c" is also for cupcakes! find out more below)
d- dogs? not yet... but we've already named the two golden retrievers we will eventually have. right now i live vicariously through the daily adventures of katie, graham, and molly
e- essential start to your day: coffee and cheerios
f- favorite color: pink
g- gold or silver: silver 
h- height: 5'5"
i- instruments you play: i played the euphonium for 8 years, and the piano
j- job title: respiratory therapist
k- kids: someday
l- live: maine
m- moms name: donna
n- nickname: dan, d, babe
o- overnight hospital stays: just working, never had to stay for myself
p- pet peeves: when ty puts his cereal bowl in the sink instead of the dishwasher, the toilet paper on the wrong way (the paper needs to go OVER, people),  and sooooo many more
q- quote from a movie: "and in the end, i realized that i took more than i gave, i was trusted more than i trusted, i was loved more than i loved, and what i was looking for was not to be found, but to be made." -shes having a baby   (and more recently "its so fluffy im gonna die!" -despicable me)
r- right or left handed? right
s- siblings: an older step brother, two older step sisters, twin brothers, a younger step brother and a younger step sister
t- time you wake up: between 5am-whenever
u- underwear: vs
v- vegetable you dislike: brusselsprouts
w- what makes you run late: my alarm not going off and long lines at the dunkin donuts drive thru
x- x-rays you've had done: both ankles numerous times, and my knee
y- yummy food you make: oatmeal chocolate chip cookies
z- zoo, favorite animal: penguins


now onto CUPCAKES!! yum.

i love to run, and i love cupcakes.... so when i found out about the cupcake marathon i obviously wanted in! and i think you still can too...

from march 14th to march 26th you walk/run the cumulative distance of a half marathon or full marathon (you decide) and you can win cupcakes! (and other prizes too but remember, CUPCAKES!!). so yeah, that will be a fun way to get my butt off the couch :)

and finally... BOSTON(!!!) is 6 weeks away :) sarah and i had so much fun cheering everyone on last year, we decided to go again this year, but this time were going to make more of a weekend out of it and also run the B.A.A. 5k. theres a ton of blogger meet ups happening as well, and a red sox game on sunday afternoon to top things off!

and even though im not actually running the boston marathon, i will be running the 5k... so i think that allows me to buy this...

happy running everyone!