weekend recap

First of all, can I just tell you how much I have been looking forward to spring?! I have been itching to throw on my running skirt instead of my spandex capris and show off my sexy elephant ankles. I've basically been wearing this little outfit non-stop since the weather started warming up (to a sweltering 50...c'mon spring, warm up already!!!) and I just love it. I'm sure that when I start my serious training for the Wasatch Back relay next week (after the Cherry Blossom) I pretty much WILL be living in this outfit. Good thing I own three of them huh?!

Anyway, onto my weekend. I went to see Be Kind Rewind with one of my new favorite friends Gina. It was ok, verging upon totally lame. I usually appreciate and enjoy quirky films but ugh. I can't recall a movie I've ever been glad I slept through.

Saturday happened to be the DC Marathon. I love being a spectator (and runner) of marathons, so of course I was going to go see it. Well really I couldn't miss it, because Jeff, my friend Kristi's husband was running and I wanted to cheer him on. I was supposed to meet Kristi and her family at mile 17, but they took a wrong turn and I had a hard time actually finding the race route (despite looking at a map before I left). Miracle of all miracles I was able to find the turn at mile 16, and not 30 seconds after finding it, a runner pointed at me. It was Jeff! I ran ahead of him to get a picture and then tracked Kristi down.

As I was walking to her car I started to get teary eyed watching these people running a race that very few people even consider doing. Honestly, the marathon changed me forever. I was so bummed it wasn't me running and it got me really excited for the Marine Corp (or Baltimore if I don't get in) this fall. After meeting up with Kristi, we headed on down to the finish line at RFK Stadium. It was pretty amazing to watch these runners finish. One thing about the DC marathon is that you have to qualify to run it, so these people are in pretty dang good shape and finishing with ridiculous times, like 2:50 and looking good doing it. I mean, they were gliding through the finish line as if it was a one mile race, not a 26 mile race. Kristi and I kept looking at each other and saying "I'd be at mile 16 right now" as someone crossed the finish line at 3:10. Crazy! I don't remember Jeff's time, but he did awesome and he beat the DC mayor.

I actually wore my running gear to the marathon because I needed to get a run in. The plan was to run from the Smithsonian metro stop (right on the mall) down through the monuments, across the 14th Street bridge and catch the metro again in Rosslyn, VA. Note to self, don't ever try again running with a loosely hanging over the shoulder book bag bouncing all over the place through DC on the first day of the Cherry Blossom festival. It was kind of obnoxious. At least I got to see my friends Tess and Erin as they took pictures at the tidal basin. That was fun. While it might have been a lot like playing a real live game of frogger, it sure was gorgeous. Look how pretty the trees are looking right now. The race next week is going to be so lovely.


The rest of the weekend was done doing a whole lot of nothing. I live such an exciting life.

So this week I'm starting a special project. I don't want to say what it is, because I can't even tell you how many times I start something only to give up a few days later. The last thing I want to do is disappoint you all, not to mention embarrass myself. I'll see how things are going before I let you all in the secret. Wish me luck though. I'm going to need it.

Moolah

I'm a little off my game this year. I usually have my taxes done the day I receive my w-2's at the end of January, but this year I waited until two weeks before the deadline. That's kind of toeing the line for me...walking on the wild side if you will. I actually had the numbers figured out like a month and a half ago, but couldn't ever remember to have my paperwork and my bank routing information in the same place at the same time.

Well today was the day that I finally buckled down to do it and I must say, Uncle Sam is my favorite. I'm getting a pretty hefty return, in fact, more than one paycheck (pre-tax). Nice huh?! What I would LOVE to do is spend that money on a nice digital SLR but the fiscally responsible side of me beat out the fun and fancy-free me in an arm wrestle and is going to get fun and fancy-free me in a better financial place (Mom, you must be so proud). Now, fun and fancy-free me doesn't totally get left in the dust. There's still the economic stimulus package that congress passed to satisfy my urge to spend. I should be getting 600 dollars with which to stimulate the economy (that's what it's there for right??). First thing I do is buy a heart rate monitor, but I'll still have a few hundred bucks left over and I don't know what to do with it. Any suggestions? What are you going to do with yours??

xyzpdq

Why do dress pants have to have so many bells and whistles?! I bought a pair of work pants a bit ago and in addition to the typical zipper and a button there are two sets of two hooks, including one set that has to be hooked underneath a belt loop. It's very involved. That's just way too many things to remember. I cannot tell you how many times I have walked around the office in these pants and realized my zipper was down. Awesome. At least the pants aren't soooo tight that I'm showing off my underclothes.

new tunes

Wow, I'm really struggling for some good blogging material lately!!

Thank heavens for streaming audio. Since my posting of the crap we have to endure on the airwaves here in DC, I've taken to listening to my beloved X96 on my laptop at work which makes me sooooo happy. Now THAT'S good music. Anyway, I've heard some awesome songs on the radio that I must have and I just so happen to have a pretty decent sized iTunes credit to use. Yay! Wanna know what I've gotten? Who knows, maybe you'll find something you must have too!

Shadowplay - The Killers



Rainy Monday - Shiny Toy Guns



A-Punk - Vampire Weekend (I tried my hardest not to jump on the Vampire Weekend bandwagon but I couldn't help it. It's super catchy.)



Lazy Eye - Silversun Pickups (My current favorite song of all time. Thanks X96!! Oh, and in the video, a girl with super short hair gets the guy in the end. That's definitely something I can support.)



Merry Happy - Kate Nash



Believe - The Bravery (another one I discovered on X96. Seriously, X96 rocks. I love you X96.)



When Did Your Heart Go Missing - Rooney



In My Arms (Bimbo Jones Remix) - Plumb (It's not a trip to iTunes without a nice piece of dancey goodness)



Ghost Opera - Kamelot (the 30 second clip sounded awesome, definitely a good song to run to, so I bought it. Then I listened to the whole song and discovered the uber cheesy lyrics...oh well)



See You Again - Miley Cyrus (go ahead, make fun of me. I'm not ashamed.)

Easter

Easter 2007

I woke up this morning bummed that there would be no Easter egg hunts, no Easter baskets and no Easter dinners. Such is the life of a 28 year old single girl living on the opposite side of the country than her family. Yup, holidays are kinda hard sometimes. Anyway, I decided that I needed to eat ham, funeral potatoes and almond torte on Easter. So that's what I did. Thanks to Erica, Tess, Abbie, Jon, John and Scott for being available last minute to be my pseudo family, and thanks to Giant for not being out of ham at 12:30 pm Easter Sunday.

2008 Easter Egg Olympics

Other than a few blooms on the trees, it isn't really feeling like Easter, or even spring for that matter (wasn't the first day of spring a few days ago???). I decided I needed an Easter activity to do besides stuff Whoppers Robin Eggs and Reeces Peanut Butter Eggs in my face, I made plans to do a little dying of the eggs. Lucky for me, my friend Abbie was in the mood for a little decorating herself (or maybe I begged her...my memory is fuzzy...). So I did a little research on Martha Stewart's website to get some good egg dying tips. Martha recommended an alternative to hard boiled eggs, which I demonstrate here:


I recommend either tilting your head or your monitor to view...it's sideways...



I am pretty much the hand blown egg champion. The first one was a little rough, but once I got the hang of it, it was super easy. In fact, I cleaned a few out with one blow. Ok...so I can't go any further without confessing that Abbie and I were giggling all night about how dirty our comments sounded out of context. So what if we're teenage boys. It was hilarious.

When I finally finished blowing out the eggs (note to self, next time you plan on blowing out your easter eggs, don't get the jumbo eggs) we had a good time dying them. We learned that the best colors came from multiple dippings, and the loveliest eggs came from dipping two or more different colors.

A few pictures for you:

First of all, this is Abbie. She insisted I include this lovely picture of her (she is 36 weeks along in this picture) to counteract the horrific pictures (her words, definitely not mine) taken of her last night...As far as I'm concerned, if I were to look half this good if I was pregnant, I'd be one happy lady.

Here's Abbie working her egg dying magic:

Here we are with our eggs:

Me with my favorite egg (which Abbie dyed yellow, then blue,if you'd like to replicate it):

And to make Abbie feel better about me posting pictures of her that she didn't much care for, I present to you an absolutely horrifying picture of me...

Abbie...does that make you feel better???

Happy Easter everybody!

Friday Miscelleny

Get ready for random...random pictures, random thoughts...just random...

Me and a sleeping Caroline. She's so snuggly!

-Last night, while driving home from Abbie and Jon's house, I almost got sideswiped by what I think was a drunk driver; or maybe she was just reading a really good book because she had her interior light on. She was swerving all over the place and I was worried that she was going to hit something. I followed her from a safe distance making note of all mile markers and exits as I passed them in case I had to call 911. She made it to her exit unscathed, and I'm really glad I didn't have to make that call.

The first day I was in Utah was the most gorgeous day, so I took Will and Caroline on a walk to get some ice cream and go to the park. It was a blast!

-I got an email from my friend Kelli that listed tips and tricks that rapists use when selecting their victims and found out that they target women with ponytails, buns, basically something they can grab, and that they rarely go after women with short hair. So mom, maybe you should be more supportive of my super short 'do. ;)

Katie and I at Caroline's baby blessing. I want Katie's headband. She's super stylish! Oh, and I'm trying out my new bright red lipstick. I like it, but I don't think I like it with my glasses.

-I went to see Penelope after work a few days ago. Can I just tell you how much in love with James McAvoy I am? I spent the entire movie pretending it was me he was kissing, not that Catherine Ritchie girl (ok...I know that's not really her name, I just don't want to acknowledge it, because I'm jealous of course). He has the most beautiful eyes I've ever gazed into and perfect red lips. Mmmmmmmmm.

Caroline in her blessing duds. She's beautiful.

-In the 6 years I've lived here I have gone on approximately one million White House East Wing tours, including one during the Christmas season with all of the decorations as well as one with a tea reception in the rose garden. I've also been in the rose garden to watch a presidential departure which was very cool. However, the West Wing has remained merely a hit TV show...until now!! In a few weeks I get to join my friends Jon and Kathy, Abbie's mom, while Abbie is at home taking care of her new baby girl (to be born April 7) for a personal tour of the president's working quarters. How excited am I you ask?! That would be so excited that I'm practically squealing every 10 minutes.

Claire at the tea party wearing her party hat.

-I have been using a desktop computer at work until yesterday, when I got a new laptop to replace it. For some odd reason it makes me feel really important, when in all reality it just makes me more accessible, which may or may not be a good thing. I am glad for the extra desk space though!

The view from the race course. It was so lovely. I'm kind of missing the redrocks!

-I've been diligently training for my upcoming races, however I think I'm injured. My left foot gets this weird pain/numbness in the top of my foot that makes me run funny. I'm going to wear a compression sleeve for my run tomorrow and see if that helps, but if not, it looks like I'm off to visit my favorite ortho again. :(

The famous delicate arch. I spent all weekend annoying Chloe by saying "I get to see that tomorrow" or "I finally saw that!!" every time we passed a car with the Utah Arch license plate.

-I went to visit my sisters old neighbor and good friend last night and found out she's going to be training for a fall marathon. She's going to join the local running club's training program and has convinced me to do so as well. I'm excited to have that extra motivation and accountability for my training runs. PS, I've decided to run the Marine Corp Marathon this year, provided I get in of course. Who wants to run it with me???

I was bored in traffic one day and decided to pass the time by taking pictures of myself. This is only one of 16...

WTF?????

I was listening to DC 101, DC's rock station, on my way to work this morning when I heard a song that suspiciously sounded a little country. I double checked the station, because surely the only ROCK station in the area would not be playing a (horror of all horrors) country song right? WRONG. DC 101 was my last hope for a decent radio station here, and they do this?! It's no wonder I listen to my iPod all the time. I miss X96. :(

Holga

A few years ago I got a Holga for Christmas. It's a medium format (meaning it doesn't use 35mm film) cheap plastic toy camera and it intimidates the crap out of me. Since I got it 3 years ago I have taken exactly 20 pictures with it. Actually, that's not true. I had a whole other roll I took and threw away for no good reason. You see, the viewfinder doesn't show you what you're taking a picture of and that makes me nervous. Well, three years later, I finally got around to getting my film developed. Out of the 20 pictures, there are only 5 that were even decent, but I think it's totally worth it. I love them. I love their imperfections, the fact that they aren't perfectly composed, just everything about them. They got me all excited to take pictures again. I took a whole roll of colored film while I was in Moab. I'll post those when I get them. Fingers crossed that they turned out!

In the meantime, check these out:

Taken somewhere in DC. You can't see the detail very well in this picture, or even on the contact sheet, but I love the contrast of the buildings and the sky. This is one of my favorites! (sorry for the blur)

This one was taken in Savannah, GA. I loved Savannah and I loved this church. I'm glad to have this reminder.

Arlington Cemetery (part 1)

Arlington Cemetery (Part 2) Cool tree eh? It's too bad the marble slab takes up half the picture huh!

Arlington House, Robert E Lee's house on the hill at Arlington Cemetery. I think the blur in the foreground is his ghost.

Running Season

The spring running season is officially here. It began with anything but a bang with the Canyonlands Half Marathon last week and will be going strong into June. This is what my race calendar looks like for the next little bit:

April 6 - Cherry Blossom 10 Miler
May 10 - National Police Week 5K
June 20-21 - Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back

I know it's just three wee races, but the part I'm looking forward to is getting back into a regular training schedule. I found it quite difficult training in the winter months this year despite my love of cold weather running, so I'm excited for the weather to warm up a bit, not to mention the sun to stay out later, so I can spend more time pounding the pavement and get out of the funk I currently find myself in.

I'm super excited for the Ragnar Relay Wasatch Back in June. This will probably be the most challenging thing I put my body through...a 178 mile relay starting in Logan, UT winding it's way through the Wasatch Mountains and ending in Park City, UT. I will be running with a team of 12 and will be responsible for 3 legs, each covering a distance of anywhere from 3 to 8 miles. The training schedule is quite rigorous: the intermediate program that I hope to follow has me running 6 days a week anywhere between 5 and 9 miles per day during the week and between 8 and 18 on the weekends, sometimes with three separate 5 mile runs to be completed within 24 hours.

Check out this video from last years race:



Looks like fun huh?!

catch up

I got a message from my mom tonight "Annie, I haven't heard from you since Monday and you haven't posted on your blog. Are you still alive?" so...I post.

Holy crap, do you know how hard it is to catch up on stuff after an 11 day vacation/absence from work?! Seriously, if you know, please tell me how long I can expect this craziness. I got back Monday night and my luggage is STILL sitting in my living room. That's how crazy busy I've been since I've been back from Utah. Yikes!

For those of you who didn't know, I spent 11 fabulous days in Utah for various family events (Kate, Claire and Matthew's baptism, Caroline's baby blessing) and the Canyonlands Half Marathon with Chloe, Christy and Jen. I'd like to apologize in advance to those of my Utah friends who had absolutely no idea I was ever in Utah. See...I still know a lot of people in Utah that instead of attempting to see everyone, which seems like quite a daunting tast, I hole myself up in my sisters basement on the lovesac watching satellite cable and not tell people I'm in town. Horrible I know, but you'll forgive me right?! Please???

I am kicking myself, I really didn't take a lot of pictures on this trip, but here's a little photo recap of my visit with the ones that I did take. I'll fill in the blanks later...

Late night dessert with Hannah and Annalisa. These girls are fabulous. I wish I lived in Utah so that I could actually hang out with them instead of just read about their lives on their blogs. Thanks for braving the stormy weather to see/meet me!

I slept through Jumper with Cecily. I am usually a silent sleeper, but this time I actually made some crazy noise which woke me up and made Cec laugh. Good thing Cec knows me well enough not to judge me, and even better that we were the only people in the theater!

I visited Nat at work for a minute. She always has the funniest/craziest stories to tell. Time with her is always one big fat laugh fest.

You Utahns will get this, but let me explain for those who don't. The two big schools in Utah are the U of U and BYU. BYU's colors are not red and white as indicated above, the U of U's are. In not so many words, my parents neighbors are showing their allegiance to BOTH schools. I come from a mixed family too. My mom is a Cougar (BYU) and the rest of us are UTES. Needless to say, she's a little outnumbered!

I took Kate and Claire to a tea party at their church. They made cute little hats, (this is Katie's) and I got to wear pearls. I definitely need to work on my tea party etiquette though as I'm sure proper ladies don't scarf down an entire plate of finger sandwiches. They were INCREDIBLE.

Chloe, Christy and I at our carb-heavy pre-race dinner. Missing is Jen, who is behind the camera. Random sidenote...I ran into an old friend from SL at this restaurant. What are the odds?! (ok, so the odds are pretty decent considering half of salt lake was down for the race, but still!!)

Christy with her emergency Twix and coolest ever bleach pen t-shirt.

Modeling our commemorative Canyonlands Half Marathon hats. By some miracle, it fits my freakishly small head.

My pasty white legs and the Delicate Arch. This was INCREDIBLE. Definitely worth the 2, very long and very steep, mile hike to get there, which we did immediately following our half marathon. And yes, I am wearing a skirt. I got a lot of crap for that (as you will see if Chloe sends me the videos...)

All of us at the Arch. If you live in Utah and have only seen it on a Utah license plate, plan a trip NOW. You will not be disappointed!

The four most beautiful girls...in the parking lot.

Southern Utah is absolutely gorgeous!!

The sign my mom made for Chloe and I. How awesome is that (and how incredibly accurate is the statement...)

Sometimes when it's Daylight Savings Time day, two people think it's two different hours at the exact same time. This is me waiting for Eric on such a day. When we connected we saw Semi-Pro. I did laugh, quite a bit actually, but I must say that most of the funniest parts are captured in the trailer.

This is my newest niece Caroline. Isn't she the most beautiful baby you've ever seen?! I think she looks a lot like my Grandma, which is very fitting since their birthdays are a day apart.

Here's big brother Will. He recently learned how to wink. It's probably the most adorable thing I've seen in a really long time.

This is the lovely Abby. She has the most beautiful, silky hair. I'm pretty sure her mom brushes it 100 times each night before she goes to bed.

Thomas is stinking cute. He likes to look at me all shy and bashful, it totally melts my heart.

Me with the kiddos after lunch. Like my farmer tan?!

I'm missing pictures of:

• the Clawson family birthday dinner, where after gorging ourselves on yummy French food, we tried fancy desserts like brie cheesecake and orange blossom gelato. The brie cheesecake was halfway decent; the gelato on the otherhand, let's just say if you walk into Bath and Body Works, put on their Orange Blossom lotion and take a lick, you'll save yourselves the calories...
• Lots more meals with various family members.
  
• Wii Bowling with Kelli. Note to self, do not play Wii Bowling within a week of a race. You WILL injure yourself and you will not be at peak performance.
• "Running" with Eric. It was more like 6 miles of me complaining how sore I was and not knowing why (um...it starts with W and ends in ii Bowling) and about .15 miles of actual running. And lots of talk about food.
• Running into Abby, one of my high school friends at So Cupcake, which were sooooo good. I went there twice! Their cinnamon sugar and lemon ones were my favorite (if you happen to be in the neighborhood...)
• Watching Project Runway with Matthew, Kate, Claire and Jake. They were all pretty bummed that Christian won. I thought they were ALL incredible
  
• The half marathon. Well, maybe there are pictures, but I'm kind of trying to forget that ever happened. Not because of the company (coolest 3 girls EVER) or the scenery (absolutely breathtaking), but because I was ridiculously unprepared. Don't ask me my time because it was REALLY bad.
• A visit with Grandpa Scott. I love catching up with him.

Well, there ya go. If you'd like to read more about the actual race let me direct you to Jen's post here and Chloe's posts here, here and here.

Trouble

I'm running the Canyonlands Half Marathon in Moab, UT tomorrow with friends Chloe, Christy and Jen. I'm going to need all the luck I can get. Poor training, careless vacation eating and a Wii Bowling glute injury are going to make this race a toughy! Wish me luck!!