SPT - Happy Halloween

do you celebrate Halloween? do you go all out with costumes, or do you prefer to lay low with the porch light turned off? did you enjoy Halloween as a child? what was your favorite costume? will you dress up this year, or leave it for the little ones?

Having grown out of my dress up stage and having no children to parade around, Halloween is on my top 5 list of useless holidays, right below New Years Eve and St. Patrick's Day. I don't really need an excuse to eat lots of candy. I do that every day (not without a little bit of guilt and the occasional tummy ache though). I do, however put on my "office appropriate" festivewear:

Wordless (and still nameless) Wednesday

Welcome

I got a phone call from my brother bright and early this morning, and getting a phone call from him can mean only one of two things (he's usually very hard to get a hold of), either it's three weeks after my birthday and he's calling to wish me a happy one, or I have a new baby niece!!! Well obviously, my birthday was months ago, so it can only mean one thing...someone is celebrating their birth day. Born in Salt Lake City, UT on her Grandpa Brad's birthday (happy birthday Dad!), at 3:30 am this morning, "baby girl Clawson" weighs 5 lbs 14 oz and is 20 in long. She has yet to be given a name, but considering she missed being born on her Great Grandma's birthday by a few hours, I wouldn't be surprised if the name Agnes is being tossed around.

Congratulations Nat, Drew and big brother Will!

Here's a picture, isn't she beautiful?!

Once again

I had a 9 dollar nap this evening; this time while watching Lars and the Real Girl. I'm really sad that I slept through a good portion of this quirky and endearing film. I think I would have really enjoyed it. I will definitely rent it once it comes out on DVD and watch it (after drinking 64oz of Diet Coke or something) so I can fully appreciate the story. Not all was lost though, I did walk away though with two new crushes. Ryan Gosling and Paul Schneider are equally delicious.

PS, can anyone tell me how to embed a video? I'm technologically challenged and can't get it to work the way I want it to.

Shout out

My lovely sister is quite the talented photographer. While I only pretend to take good pictures she's a professional. She has been running her own business for several years now and her portraits can be found in christmas cards, baby and wedding announcements, not to mention above fireplaces in homes aross the country.

She is now venturing into the world of monogrammed photos and has opened her very own Etsy shop. It seems as if the whole world is pregnant these days and these would make such a fun, personalized gift for baby. These are my favorites:

Wouldn't these be so cute in a little boy or girls room? I think they're great, and I'm not just saying that because she's my sister!

SPT - Riddle me this

It's been a long time since I've done a SPT (Self Portrait Tuesday), but since I am lacking in good blogging material I thought I'd give it a shot.

is it really easier to see your "true colors" when the photo is black & white? what do you see?

I've spent the last half hour comparing these two photos:

I disagree with the idea that it is easier to see my "true colors" in black and white. If anything, it shows the "perfect" me. While it erases the blemishes and makes my teeth look uber-white, it also strips away the things that make me ME, like the natural pinkness in my cheeks, my rudolph red nose and the clusters of freckles scattered all over my face and arms. The color photo gives me texture, and I'll take that over perfection any day.

Recovery

Prior to Wednesday, I had not done much except go to work and come home and watch TV since the marathon almost two weeks ago. My right foot has hurt since then, as well as my knees on occasion. Both of these things have made me aware that my legs just don't feel right, which has scared me into a sedentary existance. Deciding it was high time I got my butt in gear, I decided to walk on the treadmill while watching Gossip Girl (my guilty pleasure), instead of laying in bed like normal. I put on my most obscenely short shorts (the ones I reserve for indoor workouts) and a tank and headed downstairs only to find that the key to the treadmill had been removed. (what am I being punished for this time?!) I marched back up to my room, grabbed my keys and my cell phone and went for a walk around the block. I didn't give one thought to the amount of skin I was exposing until I was a half a mile away from my house on a busy road. I wish I could apologize to all of those who passed me that evening. It wasn't a pretty sight! At several points during my three and a half mile walk did I try to run, but I physically couldn't do it. I couldn't make myself run. I can't even begin to tell you how frustrated this makes me.

No, I don't have pointy saddlebags or hips, that is the shadow of the top of my shorts (they're even obscene in shadow!!!)

The following day I met with my orthopedist, who diagnosed tendonitis in both knees as well as my right foot, and prescribed a round of physical therapy. Oh, and he also took x-rays and discovered a bone fragment in my foot. He didn't think it was a big deal, and according to him it isn't a recent development, but it was kind of crazy seeing a little triangle of bone seemingly floating in space in my foot.

Today I met with my physical therapist, Doug, who spent an hour poking and prodding my knees, foot and hip. Apparently what he was trying to do was recreating my pain, and for the first half hour or so I couldn't feel anything. I totally felt like a hypochondriac, that is until he started poking around my hip, and oh my crap it hurt. I've always been the most inflexible person in the world and I've always had some tightness/pain in my hips, so it didn't even occur to me that they might have contributed to the problems I have been having with my knees and foot. Well apparently they are a big reason why I'm having all of these problems. While my injuries are definitely related to overuse, they are also due to the fact that I have a tight IT band, tight achilles, and something about a VERY limited range of motion or rotation of the hip (or something like that). At one point he was laughing at my inflexibility and mentioned that it was a complete miracle I was able to run a marathon. Well yeah, I'm amazing, I knew that already. ;)

So....twice a week for the next four weeks I will be going to physical therapy to strengthen and loosen up my legs and hips. While I am able to cross train, there is NO running allowed. Again, I'm super frustrated that I have been unable to bounce back from the marathon, but hopefully once I'm done with PT I will be a stronger and healthier runner. *Fingers crossed!!*

For fun, my playlist:
1. Juicy - Better Than Ezra
2. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
3. Innocente - Delerium
4. Shake - Loo & Placido
5. I Feel Free - Eruption & Michael Splint
6. Siren - Tori Amos
7. Tribulations - LCD Soundsystem
8. Love At First Sight - Kylie Minogue
9. Falling Away With You - Muse
10. Like A Cat - CRW
11. Lets Make Love and Listen to the Junior Boys - team9 vs Stereogum
12. Tonight - Basement Jaxx
13. Adagio for Strings - DJ Tiesto

A typical day at the office...

This is what happens when things are slow around the office...

...and no, he did not stab his eye with his pen. I can't even begin to tell you how much I enjoy my co-workers!

fall trail mix

I may be a sorry excuse for a cook, but I am really good at opening bags of things and mixing them together. I made this delish trail mix tonight and I think you should make it too. You won't regret it.

Mix together:

1 small can macadamia nuts
1 small can salted cashews
1 small can dry roasted (or salted) almonds
1 small can sweet and crunchy peanuts (or butter toffee peanuts)
1 box (the movie snack sized one) boston baked beans (the peanuts, not the actual bean silly)
1 10 oz bag sour cherry balls
Reeces Pieces (to taste, I used a lot!)
candy corns (I used caramel candy corns, they're yummy)

Do me a favor and don't eat it all in on sitting. You'll want to, but try to restrain yourself. fYou might even consider giving some away to your friends or someone you want to be your friend. They'll love you.

tunes

This is the artwork that came with the cool new song I downloaded off iTunes, The White Flash (feat. Thom Yorke) by Modeselektor. Please tell me I'm not the only one who finds the picture disturbing...

On a related note, can I just tell you how much I love the "Just For You" section of iTunes? Because you don't really hear lots of techno on the radio these days (boo), I rely on iTunes to recommend good stuff for me to listen to. I've found most of my favorite songs this way, like Stars by Ulrich Schnauss, Feel Alive by Benassi Bros, Elements of Life by Maxi Jazz and the new Modeselektor song, which is destined to become a favorite, despite it's creepy cover. If you've never noticed that feature on iTunes, you really should check it out.

Oh, now playing on my computer is After All (Svenon & Gielen Remix) by Delerium and I noticed that the chorus sounded familar. Guess what it's from? My favorite guilty pleasure, Dance Dance Revolution. Random!

zzzzzzzzzzzzz

So I'm pretty sure that without a marathon to train for and post about my blog's about to get really boring...

Sorry 'bout that!

things are about to get interesting...

While in Utah, I got a voicemail from one of the partners that my boss works with quite a bit. While I have interacted with him a bit, it was pretty random to hear from him. He was calling to congratulate me on my marathon, and he happened to mention that my boss had gotten a promotion. My response when I listened to the message was huh?! After a little investigation I learned that my boss had been named the managing partner for my office. Up until now our office has been considered an extension of the DC office, so this is uncharted territory and a pretty big deal. As his assistant (well technically I support our whole practice) things will probably change for me as well. What that means, or in what capacity I will be used, I don't yet know, but I'm excited for the challenge.

Cankles

With the exception of some tenderness below the ankle on my right foot I am just about fully recovered from the race. At first glance my foot looks pretty swollen, that is until I compare my feet side by side and realize that it isn't swollen, I just have big ankles.

I heart food

There are some things I really miss about Utah, like my family, the absence of traffic, my friends, the trees changing on the mountainside and the food. I have a list of places I try to get to whenever I go visit, but rarely do I hit as many as I did this trip. In order of consumption, I ate at:

-The Spaghetti Factory
-Ben's Cookies
-Dodo
-Blue Plate Diner
-Sonic
-Training Table
-Red Butte Cafe
-Cafe Rio
-Lettuce & Ladles
-Crown Burger

Whoa, it kind of makes me sick just reading that list, but it was tasty!

I should be sleeping...

Instead, for kicks and giggles I'm filling out these mostly lame "name" thingies, many of which I couldn't answer because I've never had any pets, nor do I have a middle name. My favorite? Why my stripper name of course, followed closely by my hippie name.

YOUR GANGSTA NAME: (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie) - Spumoni Oatmeal

YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME: (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name) - A-Cla

YOUR DETECTIVE NAME: (favorite color, favorite animal) - Brown Monkey

YOUR STAR WARS NAME: (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first) -Claan

SUPERHERO NAME: (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink) - The Pink Mug

NASCAR NAME: (the first names of your grandfathers) - Charlie Scott

STRIPPER NAME: (the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy) - Coutour Kit Kat

WITNESS PROTECTION NAME: (mother’s & father’s middle names ) - Gayle Madsen

TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME: (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter) - Ashton Austin

SPY NAME/BOND GIRL: (your favorite season/holiday, flower) - Fall Peony

CARTOON NAME: (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”) -Orange Camisoley

HIPPY NAME: (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree) -Cheerios Cherry Blossom

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME: (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”) -The Photography Lightning Tour

The day after the Marathon

This is exactly how I've felt the last few days!

more marathon goodness

Do me a favor and go check out Chloe's special St. George Marathon edition of "Dear you." There's even a letter to me (I'm famous!!!). It's very entertaining, you'll love it.

Um, Chloe? We're running a marathon...

I started writing this post at 3:22 Saturday morning. I had been awake since 2:36, because #1 I did possibly a too thorough job of keeping myself hydrated these past few days and #2, like the Disneyland commercial, “I'm too excited to sleep.” Because the St. George marathon is a point to point race instead of an out and back, we were required to take shuttles to the starting line. I met Chloe at the shuttle at 4:00 am, a full 2 hours and 45 minutes before the official gun time.

I know, crazy. Why would we wake up at 3:00 am when we could have woken up at 4:30? For the possibility of winning the early bird prizes of course and the free running gloves, which turned out to be a lifesaver. Because we left several hours before sunrise, the bus ride to the starting line was pitch black. Instead of seeing the course that we would soon be tackling, we could only feel the route as the bus made its ascents and descents up the mountain.

It was about 40 degrees at the starting line, but the marathon organizers were well prepared,with about a kabillion firepits to help keep us warm.

Chloe and I parked ourselves by a fire and tried not to think about what we had gotten ourselves into. Luckily, or I should say unluckily, we were distracted by a guy wearing his shirt tucked into his spandex shorts (this should be illegal btw). Around 6:30 or so, people started getting ready for the 6:45 start, but Chloe and I were way too comfortable so we stuck around the fire. We had a nice conversation with a couple of guys who met each other randomly, much like Chloe and I, and who get together several times a year to run races. They were so much fun to chat with that we didn't notice that the race had started. We quickly left the comfort of the fire and started off. I decided that it was a good thing we missed the official start. Because it was so anticlimatic, I didn't have time to be nervous. I think Chloe and I were both in denial a bit because we kept saying to each other, "Um guess what? We're running a marathon..."

A few miles into the race (which flew by) the sun started to rise, and we were able to see the road and our surroundings a little bit more clearly. It was around this time we heard someone behind us scream "Chloe!!! Anne!!!" It was Zach, a friend of a friend of a friend. It was pretty amazing that he was able to recognize us from behind. We had a nice chat for a few minutes, he took what I'm sure will be a really horrifying picture of the two of us, and went on his way.

It is easy to see why St. George is considered one of the most beautiful marathons. It is absolutely gorgeous, and I'm glad that we weren't able to see it as we drove up, because it made the course that much more magnificent.

Chloe and I had a great time, she made an excellent running partner. We serenaded each other; she with actual words, and me with beats (thanks to the techno I run to), laughed at the signs people had posted throughout the course,

stopped to take pictures,

and just plain helped to get each other through the race, when I was being pessimistic, she was being optimistic and vice versa. It was perfect. I'm so glad I had her there with me.

It really wasn't as horrible as I was expecting. It just felt like a really long run, but with water stops, port-o-potties, vaseline, and oranges along the way. Even the hills we encountered weren't so bad, as evidenced by my smile, despite the glare, when I got to the top of the first one:

I had Chloe take this picture of me (am I not brave to post it?!) with the gorgeous mountains in front of me....

At mile 16, I spotted some familiar faces...my family had come up to cheer on Chloe and I. I was so surprised, I didn't think I'd see them until the finish line. It was so great to see them. I gave the kiddies high fives and continued on my way.

You're probably wondering how my knees held up, aren't you? Well guess what?! They didn't bother me at all. I don't know if it was the adrenaline or the mystery pain pill my friend Jake gave me, or the bengay rubdown I got at mile 12, or a combination of the above, but there was absolutely no knee pain. It was a MIRACLE!

It wasn't until mile 20 that things started to get a little difficult. The walking breaks became more and more frequent until with two miles to go my body had decided it would much rather walk than run. At this point Chloe ran ahead. When I could finally see the finish line, I got a little weepy, which was kind of embarrassing, but it was just so overwhelming and I was just so glad to finally be done. The smile on my face in this pic is one of relief!!

As you've read before, I finished in 5:50 minutes, but my chip time was 5:41. Considering I didn't even think I would be able to finish the race due to my stupid knees, I couldn't be happier with my time.

In an email from the photography company that takes pictures along the route, they tell you to make sure when you cross the finish line to look up and smile. As you can see from the picture above I didn't follow instructions. I guess I won't be buying that souvenir photo afterall!!

Chloe and I reunited at the finish line (she finished about 5 minutes before me), where we inhaled some bread and popcicles and chatted with my family. Check out our finisher medals, aren't they cool? They're made out of stone and each one is unique, and you better believe I will be showing it off for the next year or so.

This is when the pain started to settle in. My muscles finally realized they hurt, and walking was no small feat. Luckily my sister was there to assist me to the car.

The remainder of the day was spent like this:

Two days have passed and I am in so much pain. I managed to keep all of my toenails intact, but I have a few blisters and I can hardly walk. You know what though? It is all worth it, well as long as these aches and pains are only temporary. If they don't go away soon I'll be pissed!

So the question on all of your minds...Will I run another marathon or was this my first and last? The answer is, I will most definitely run another marathon. It was an amazing experience. All of the ups and downs were totally worth it and I hope to experience it again and again. I am a marathon runner!

Thanks to all of you for your encouragement and support throughout this journey. It means so much to me!

THE marathon playlist

Thanks Betsy for the update on my race. By some miracle I have found an internet connection at the condo I'm staying at, so I thought I'd take advantage. I am still working on my marathon post (complete with pictures) so come back at a later time. In case you were wondering exactly how many songs it takes to complete a marathon (at least for someone who runs as deliberately, read, slowly as me), here's my playlist.

1. Atlantic - Bjork
2. Northern Lights - Enigma
3. Juicy – Better Than Ezra
4. Float On – Modest Mouse
5. Smiles – Atomic Babies
6. Falling Away With You – Muse
7. Feel Me Heaven – Enigma
8. Put Your Hands Up For Detroit – Fedde Le Grand
9. Exo-Politics – Muse
10. Song 2 – Blur
11. Mad Mad World – Michael Andrews & Gary Jules
12. Halcyon – Chicane
13. Vindicated – Dashboard Confessional
14. TwilightBack – JT vs 2 Unlimited
15. Glorious – Muse
16. Get Me Off – Basement Jaxx
17. Jack's Suite – Hanz Zimmer & Oakenfold
18. The Adventure – Angels & Airwaves
19. Excuses – Alanis Morissette
20. Yummy – Gwen Stefani
21. 9 Crimes – Damien Rice
22. Fields of Gold (New Version) – Sting
23. Times Like These – Carl Nicholson
24. Assassin – Muse
25. Love Comes Again – DJ Tiesto & BT
26. Beautiful – Clem Snide
27. Take a Bow – Muse
28. Titleless – Mouloud & the Sonic Destruction
29. Stronger – Kanye West
30. Let Me Talk To You Prelude / My Love – Justin Timberlake
31. Extra Ordinary Thing – Aqualung
32. Smile – Lily Allen
33. Tobacco Club Action – Yo Majesty vs. Bonde do R....
34. Aggro1 – The Doors vs The Crystal Method
35. The World Is Watching Me – Armin Van Buuren vs. Ran...
36. Choke – Hybrid
37. Run-Around – Blues Traveler
38. Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous – Good Charlotte
39. Final Chapter – B.K. & Lab 4
40. The Warning – Hot Chip
41. Atlantic – Bjork
42. Tracking Treasure Down – Gabriel & Dresden & Moll....
43. How We Operate – Gomez
44. Lithium – The Polyphonic Spree
45. Ride To Be My Girl – Benassi Bros
46. Ocean Avenue – Yellowcard
47. Home – Depeche Mode
48. Icky Love – White Stripes vs. Led Zeppelin
49. Here (In Your Arms) – Hellogoodbye
50. Tolerance Zero – Bouga
51. The Way I Are – Timbaland
52. God Is A DJ – Faithless
53. Run to Me – Benassi Bros.
54. Oxmohead – DJ Zebra
55. A Feeling – Stu Allan
56. The Fear You Won't Fall – Joshua Radin
57. Like A Cat – CRW
58. Locked Up – Akon
59. Storm – Vanessa-Mae
60. I See Right Through You – DJ Encore
61. Love At First Sight – Kylie Minogue
62. Love Comes Running Up That Hill – Petshop Boys vs. Kate Bush
63. U + Ur Hand – Pink
64. Bite My Tongue – Reliant K
65. Bounce – Timbaland
66. IntenCity – ATB
67. Jump N' Shout – Basement Jaxx
68. Collides With Beauty – ATB
69. Where Would You Like Them Left? - Blaqk Audio
70. Wake Up, Open the Door and Escape to the Sea – Blaqk Audio
71. On A Friday – Blaqk Audio
72. Processed Funk – Kasabian vs. Daft Punk
73. Outta Control – 50 Cent
74. Din Daa Da'Axel – George Krantz vs. Twink
75. Who Is Watching – Armin van Buuren

SHE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is Annie's cousin Betsy writing to let everyone know....

....that Anne rocked her first marathon today in St. George, Utah!!! Finishing at 5:41:53 she is in fabulous condition except for a couple of blisters and a mild case of exhaustion.

I am sure that you join me in being exceptionally proud of our Anne!

Congratulations Annie - we all knew you could do it!!!!!!



*more details to follow - once the runner has recouped

My first race!!

In anticipation for the marathon on Saturday, I thought I'd take you all on a trip down memory lane and show you where it all began. I'll warn you, it's not pretty, but it's fun to look back. Enjoy!

Miscellany Monday

* I have been going to my hairstylist for the past three years. She's great. She knows how my hair grows, that I have a funny shaped head, that I love it when my hair sticks up a little in the back and cuts it to do so, and she's inexpensive. She's been on maternity leave for the past three months, so I was excited for October to come so she could cut my hair again. Well, October is here and I just found out that she has decided not to come back, at least not anytime soon. I mean, I'm glad that she has decided to spend her time with her family but my hair will miss her. I will miss her. Does anyone have any good stylist recommendations? I'm just about due for another cut!!


* Today I rode the elevator with a guy who had a spike pierced just below his bottom lip (it's called a labret piercing). I wonder if he has a girlfriend and if she has little puncture wounds all over her face...



* One of my roommates smashed a smallish dark brown spider on the wall leading from the entryway of our house to the kitchen and LEFT IT THERE!!! ON THE WALL!!! FOR EVERYONE TO SEE!!! Clearly they hate spiders enough to kill them, just not enough to clean them up, and this isn't the first time this has happened. I will sometimes find the yellow pages sitting haphazardly in the middle of the tv room only to encounter a dead cricket spider (they're harmless really!!) when I go to pick it up. I say if you kill something, please do everyone a favor and dispose of it. Yuck!



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