Just in Time for Fall!

If you will recall, last winter we had several snow storms keeping many of us indoors for many days at a time. I had this brilliant idea that I would take up sewing since I couldn't go anywhere. Well, I didn't have that moment of brilliance until after the first time I was stranded indoors. So, I made my way to a fabric store the following week and picked up some stuff and printed instructions from the web to make a tote bag. Before I knew it, spring had sprung and I wasn't overly motivated to stay inside and sew.

Flash forward to August. I have placed myself on a self imposed spending freeze. I've had numerous unexpected expenses along with a few expected ones. So, I'm not shopping right now. This weekend I decided that I would finish the barely started tote bag so I felt like I got something new without spending any money.

Meet my new fall accessory, the lovely tote bag.




Here is one of the pockets inside. The stitch isn't perfect but I like to call that "character."

And to spice things up, I added a ric rac top stitch around the top. Again, not perfect but FULL of character.

What's next you ask? I'm going to see what kind of T-shirt quilt I can make out of all my old Starbucks uniforms. That will make a great blanket for snuggling on the couch this fall and winter!

My Yoga Fix

Last winter, I took advantage of a fantastic special at a local hot yoga studio. I wanted to try it out and one of my friends was willing to join me. I absolutely loved it. I could tell a difference in my running and my stress level. When the special ended, so did I. I wanted to renew it, but couldn't justify the extra monthly cost when the studio was all the way down at Shore Drive, a good 20-30 minute drive from my home. It wouldn't be convenient.

Since then, I have thought a lot about yoga and wondering how I could fit it back into my life. My most recent issue of Runner's World advertised a new DVD, The No Om Zone. I did a little internet research and decided what the hay. I ordered it and received it today. I'm actually pretty pumped about it. I tried one of the workouts this evening. They are short individually, so it wasn't as intense as the class. I imagine if I do all workouts together, it will be more similar.

The appeal for this particular routine is it prides itself in "No Chanting, No Granola, No Sanskrit." It is strictly the physical part of yoga and not so much the mediation/chanting part. That always weirded me out in the class. I just hope this thing works me out as much as the class did.

So, if you are looking for some yoga options, this might work for you. I'm hoping it works for me!

Plain is good for something

My sister came to visit me last year. In an effort to help her not be frisked for too much liquids in her carry on, I offered to just have toothpaste, shampoo, etc here. I thought that it would be easy to just pick up a few travel sizes. Well, I learned from my little sister that she does not do well with just any toothpaste. She needed PLAIN toothpaste. Who in their right mind uses plain toothpaste? I'll tell you. My sister. And probably your grandmother. I don't have to tell you they don't sell plain in the travel size. Travel sizes are the hip, new flavors to get you hooked. I bought a full size tube for her visit.

This brings me to today. I uncovered an old silver necklace I use to wear but it was tarnished to black. In an effort to revive this piece of jewelry, I went on the interwebs to discover if there were regular household items that could polish that silver necklace. Did you know that PLAIN toothpaste polishes silver? I didn't either! Sure my hands and neck smell of minty paste, but that silver is silver once again.

That Keri and her weird preferences turned out to be good for something...this time.

One Hundred Pushups

The running community in VAB is both very large but rather small all at the same time. What I mean is there are lots of runners, but everyone has a connection to someone else. Races, running groups, running spots all create opportunities to "know" every one else. I've met several of the local competitive folks only because my running partner's husband introduces me to these people at races. They couldn't pick me out of a lineup. This leads me to today's post. One of these guys that would not remember me but that I recall is Steve Speirs. He's a pretty serious marathoner and puts all of us to shame with his sub 3 hour race time.

A few months ago I learned about his website: one hundred pushups. The idea is to commit for 6 weeks to his program in an effort to improve your pushup count. Last week I took the initial test fully aware of my lack of upper body strength. I'm gonna give this thing a go. Sure, 100 pushups is a rather lofty goal, but so was 26.2 miles.

Today starts day one. Anyone want to join me?

My new addiction

When I was a little girl, my parents called me a chipmunk. Know why? Because anytime I would eat a dessert of some kind and it had nuts in it, I would sift through the yummy cake/ice cream/brownie/etc. and stock the nuts in my cheeks. Then at the end of the dessert experience, I would spit them out into a napkin. My parents loved nuts, so it was my only way of still enjoying sweet treats even though I couldn't stand the nuts.

Oh, how times have changed. I love almonds, pistachios, pecans, and walnuts. Sometimes I enjoy cashews and rarely indulge in peanuts, but I don't stockpile the edible kernels from confections any longer. Which leads me to this recent addiction.

Every week I indugle in a trip to Trader Joe's. I love food and cooking, so it is sort of a fun field trip every Saturday that I cannot wait to make week after week. With list in hand, I always allow myself one "off list" item that I want to taste. This week I purchase Pecan Pralines. OH MY GOODNESS! I have had some yummy pralines in my life made by the hands of Louisianans. I've even had pralines from the famous Savannah Candy Kitchen. Those are all yummy but these are by far the greatest pralines I have ever ingested. My new problem: I just can't stop eating them! Oh, how self control would be good about now.

Quick Catchup: Good News & Not So Good News

Well, I have had an interesting last few weeks that have inhibited me from posting, both physically and mentally. Here's a quick catchup.

Memorial Day Weekend was awesome. I made a trip down to see my folks and just relax. They have recently landscaped the back of their yard and so we spent some time out there adding more plants. This is what they call "paradise." They had a wooded area they cleared out a lot and added landscaping and this adorable patio with adirondack chairs. My parents laid this floor by themselves. They are so handy!


I helped my mom plant up this area while I was there. The round disk was intended to placemark a future birdbath. I enjoyed helping her out but this little plot of land turned out to be my worst enemy. It was just dirt and we added the plants and straw. However, we were unaware of what roots still existed. How about poison ivy and poison oak? Yea, I managed to get that all over my legs. I refuse to dig any dirt there again. But I will tell you all about that later since it took about 72 hours to show up. More exciting things happened right before.


We also visited Charleston while I was there. I have been a few times, but always enjoy the markets and just walking around. For whatever reason, I'm really into pineapples right now. Maybe it's my Southern heritage and my love for hospitality? Nonetheless, I loved all the pineapple items in SC.

I returned home on Sunday night so that I could get organized on Monday for a new week. However, Monday's event made me wish I had stayed one more day. First let me preface with EVERYONE has made irresponsible decisions in the kitchen at one time or another. You are lying if you say you haven't. You know what I mean, when you say to yourself, "This is really quick" or "I can do this and be safe." Unfortunately, I got caught. While making sandwiches for the coming week's lunch, I managed to slice my finger open. At first, I was terrified that I had taken a chunk completely off and refused to remove the papertowel I had wrapped it in mostly out of fear to see what really happened. The actual cut didn't hurt but the splattering blood did nothing for my confidence. The kitchen looked like a CSI crime scene: blood on the counter, blood on the floor, blood on the cabinets. Chip came and took me to the ER and I returned home with 5 stitches: Two stiches on the front of my finger, one on top, and two on the back. I had made it 31 years never getting any stitches and then as a "responsible" adult, I get 5! This whole experience really has hindered my typing and functioning with the left hand. Stitches have been removed and now I'm just wearing a bandaid as I wait for it to completely heal.

These pictures aren't great because, well, I couldn't really take good ones with the lone hand available to use. But, you get the idea.

When I showed it to others, they all agreed that it was disgusting. Everytime I looked at it, I was reminded of some horrible B grade horror flick or Frankenstein's face.

As if this was not enough, I discovered the poison ivy 2 days after the slicing event. So, now I was itching all over to the point of nausea and my left hand was handicap. Argh!

It pretty much took over my lower body. I was able to get the doc to prescribe me a topical steroid when I had my stitches removed, but that was not enough. The poison continued to spread. I had washed everything and couldn't figure out why it was still going so strong. And then it hit me. MY SHOES! I was wearing my running shoes when I was digging in the dirt and had put them on at least 8 times before I realized it was the culprit. Thankfully, I talked my doc into giving me something stronger. I spent the last 10 days on Prednisone (steroids). You know it's bad when the doc tells you to take 10 on the first day. I didn't like the way it made me feel at all and thankful it is over. When I picked them up, I asked the Pharmacist if I should start lifting for the 10 day duration to see what would happen. He didn't find that funny...at all.

So, that's what occurred to my health. In the meantime, I had the most bizarre situation happen in my car. The Anti-Glare liquid found in the rearview mirror leaked out on a random Tuesday destroying my center console and staining both leather seats. Everyone I have talked to about this issue (BMW and my Insurance) say they have never heard of it occurring. However, the internet and my new friends on the E46 Fanatics forum know exactly what I'm talking about. This issue continues to unfold and quite frankly I'm not in the mood to explain. It will be some time to get my car back to how it was, but luckily insurance is paying.

If you notice the brownish liquid in the lower right corner of the mirror, you can see what is left of the substance in the mirror. I'm waiting for the rest to leak out and have the interior of my car covered. Fortunately, the mirror will be replaced on Thursday and I can get rid of the old rags covering everything.

On top of all of that, my TV died last Saturday. That actually turned into a blessing because I have flirted with the idea of getting a new one for awhile. It just sort of made me do it sooner. I'm ok with that.

So, that's what's going on here. Never a dull moment in the V-A-B!

Wedding Solo

I had a rather interesting evening. A very dear friend of mine, Meghan, got married this afternoon. I had 4 folks that were going to go with me and other things came up, so I was going to attend this celebration solo. I have never attended a wedding where I knew no one other than the bride, groom, and the bridesmaids before. I was a bit nervous and extremely hesitant to go. But guess what. Weddings aren't about you. They are for the bride and groom. So, I got myself dressed and drove down to the oceanfront for the beachside nuptials alone. I arrived a few minutes before the ceremony was scheduled to begin, so I was in a bit of a rush to make it to the sand. As I got out of my car and headed towards Atlantic Ave., I noticed 3 dudes slightly dressed up going in the same direction. I'm rarely intimidated by strangers, so I turned around and said "Are you guys going to a wedding?" They said yes. "Shane and Meghan's wedding?" "Yes." "Sweet, me too." An original solo affair ended up as the 4th addition to the three amigos. I haven't had that much fun at a wedding in a long time. Those guys were so great and you would have thought I had known them for awhile. They were friends of the groom, so they were asking me to tell them about the bride. They had not met her before. By the end of the evening, they asked me to introduce them to her. So, I took them over and said, "Meghan, these are my friends John, George, and Dan." HA! Going solo isn't so bad after all...