yoga, books, movies, tv & too many crime procedurals – not necesarily in that order
1. I wear size 27 jeans. I discovered this while trying some on at a store in the outlet mall (which normally charges enough for their jeans that I wouldn’t even walk PAST the place) along with the PERFECT skinny jeans. Until today I believed flattering skinny jeans were akin to Bigfoot, Moby Dick and the Easter Bunny – oft spoken of but rarely seen. Now I’m a believer. Buying these jeans made me think of Petrona, who once said something about finding the right fit making the expenditure less relevant. These were 50% off but still more than I’d like to pay for denim. On the other hand, ATTRACTIVE SKINNY JEANS to go with my AWESOME PIRATE BOOTS.
2. The Sony earbuds currently on sale at Target kick ass. That is, if you don’t like the noise-canceling flavor which I don’t because I like to hear a motherfucker sneak up on me. So yeah. Inexpensive but NOT cheap. Great sound, great looking, long enough cord that the Zune can sit on my treadmill or in my cargo pants pocket and not cause any drag. PERFECT.
3. Foursquare is surprisingly interesting. I’m intrigued by what others find relevant in terms of creating a venue or leaving a tip. I am STOKED about using this in Seattle.
4. I miss my Doc Martens. I saw some of the not-fake-but-not-real zip up the side variety and it made me want some lace ups. Alas there seem to be none in this area.
5. Email on the phone is made of win, especially when you get to use the coupon that got EMAILED to you without PRINTING IT. LOVE.
6. I really, really, really want this health care bill to pass and be overwith. Because honestly, the reform CANNOT be worse than the current system. Absolutely cannot. And as the BBC pointed out: the Tea Party movement believes that making insurance companies ACTUALLY PAY for sick people is UNAMERICAN. All emphasis theirs, not mine. Ironically.
7. My Twilight drinking game is kind of spectacular.
8. I’m starting the Serious Wardrobe Culling this week.
9. The Tudors sheds more like on torture methodology than I ever needed depicted.
10. Spring, according to retail, must occur only in the first two weeks of February as I searched HIGH AND LOW today for a raincoat and found NOTHING. WTF.
Eating dinner, watching TV and we see an advert for the new Jude Law/ Forest Whitaker film in which they repo artificial organs.
Me: “Jude Law is one of those guys who’s too pretty to be convincing as a tough guy or bad guy but just pretty enough to be a serial killer.”
Spouse: “That’s a sad commentary on our time.”
1. I’m on my lunch break at 2:45am. That fucks with your system.
2. Those who have been reading for any period of time know how long it’s been since I worked a regular day schedule. I’d just gotten used to getting up at 4 when I agreed to this. BAD idea.
3. I’ve been bringing a lot of pb&j because it’s easy. When I looked at the grape jam today I couldn’t bear it. I brought pb&Nutella instead.
4. I’m posting this from MY PHONE.
5. Hilarious work convos tonight included “man fingers” (on a girl) and lipstick mishaps, Joker-style. Awesome.
Real runners like to run outside and enjoy the scenery and run for the joy of it. At least, that’s what SEEMS to be the case. I’m not a real runner.
First clue: I like to run on the treadmill. I’d rather run on the treadmill than anywhere else. There are a lot of reasons for this, the first being my Barefoot shoes. Since my last pair of “running” shoes (possibly in conjunction with running on the road) gave me Achilles tendonitis, the Barefoot shoes have made a resurgence. No Achilles tendonitis. Also, no running outside -what with the snow and ice and Barefoot shoes. My love of the treadmill is bigger than shoes.
When I was in junior high and high school I ran track. I ran sprints, more specifically – at one point or another, everything from the 100 to the half mile. Either through lack of coaching or sheer stubbornness, I managed to avoid distance training. The end result is that I have two comfortable speeds – walking and sprinting. The treadmill is good because when I’m running a program it forces me to adjust my stride and speed, which I wouldn’t do running on my own. As a result, I get a better overall workout.
I’m also competitive, though mostly with myself. I don’t like running with other people because it puts me off MY pace (see above) and the treadmill insures that doesn’t happen. More importantly, if I’m tired or slacking I have to OWN it. When I’m outside running, I can kind of slow down and there’s no real consequence. On the treadmill I actually have to admit surrender or defeat and HIT THE BUTTON to slow down.
The other thing that proves I’m not a real runner is how loud I am. If my life ever depends on running through a deserted building or silent forest at midnight to avoid a psychopath, I’m fucked. I sound like a Clydesdale on a hamster wheel. My husband – more than twice my size – runs more quietly than I do. I’m not sure why – maybe it’s the footfall (I run on the ball of my foot) but I’m LOUD. Treadmills mean I can keep it a secret.
Anyone who knows me knows that I hate housework. “Loathe” wouldn’t be an exaggeration. When I was working part-time I managed to come up with a system that worked and kept the house tidy. When I started my holiday job (in addition to the part-time job) I was working 60 hours a week and pretty much didn’t touch a broom for two months.
Now that I’m down to 40ish hours, I’ve been re-evaluating the system. When I work afternoons (leaving the house at around 1pm or later) I find that I’m actually MOTIVATED to clean in the mornings. I get up, put things away, wash the dishes, et cetera. When I work mornings, though, I get up at about 4:30 am so that I can leave the house by 5:30 and let me tell you there is NO HOUSEWORK HAPPENING. If you’re lucky, I remember to clean up after myself so that there aren’t clothes strewn about the house and makeup all over the bathroom countertop.
The problem with working mornings is that when I get home I’m TIRED. It’s typically been a full 8 hour day and my shifts involve physical labor- not just standing at a cash register. I get to decompress on the drive home (45 minutes, more or less) and then by the time I’m at the house, I want to lay on the couch. Alas, dinner needs to be made and let’s face it, Spouse is the breadwinner no matter HOW many hours I work. I’m cool with the cooking and cleaning being part of my job, I just don’t LOVE it. The cooking is generally a nonissue but when I get home from work, there are invariably the dishes from Spouse’s breakfast (cooking and eating) sitting there, as well as the clean dishes from the night before and probably clean dishes in the dishwasher too. Not exactly INSPIRATIONAL.
This week I decided to do an experiment, since last week’s cleaning BEFORE work went so well. I’m still not going to clean at 4am but I thought I’d do something to help with an afternoon energy boost – enough to pump me up for cleaning and then I could cook and relax. So after I got home from work, I let the dog out and got on the treadmill. It turns out that a nice solid 30 minute run (intervals of some sort usually) gives me enough energy to beat the midafternoon tired slump and then I could clean with the music cranked up. Once I get the dishes done (one of my least favorite things) I put laundry in (once a week) and did a quick run of the floors (every other day). After that, I start dinner and clean up as I go. Once dinner is done, I’m all about the couch – at least until about 9 (when I have to pass out or risk not hearing the alarm for work).
So far I’m optimistic about the new system working. It looks like my morning schedule will be more regular and the run has the added benefit of making me feel good (in addition to keeping me awake).
In my ‘Newest Music’ playlist this month: MoZella – Belle Isle, Ben Folds – supersunnyspeedgraphic, Chin Chin – Chin Chin, Hurray for the Riff Raff – Young Blood Blues, Ladytron – Velocifero and the Glee Soundtracks.
