Halloween Magic

We didn't have a TV growing up and my grandma didn't have cable. This seemed pretty tragic to me in 1992, but in retrospect, it was a pretty good plan. There was always something else to do and I always had something quirky for the name-something-interesting-about-yourself ice breaker games at camp.

Like I said though, there were many times in my childhood that I pulled the TV Guide from the newspaper and fantasized about the possibilities. I felt a little out of step with my classmates at certain times and there were many a joke/reference I didn't get. Sometimes I pretended I knew more about Nickelodeon shows than was technically true.

So, it seemed really magical to me when we spent the night at Grandma's and got to see what came on TV after 8:00! I remember sneaking into the kitchen one late October night (in my flannel pajamas and matching flannel nightcap that my grandma and I made), catching part of Hocus Pocus and feeling very naughty. Although my grandma didn't really approve, we always watched The Simpson's Halloween special and whatever other mildly spooky things came on before 8:00, too.

Halloween is such an understated holiday in comparison to the fast-approaching Thanksgiving and Christmas, and I like how it sneaks into the evening line-up. My husband has been out of town for a few days and I've been home alone and burying myself in school work. So, when I happened to flip on the TV last night just in time to catch The Great Pumpkin (while grading papers) I instantly felt like I was a little kid again.

I'm currently enjoying a whole line-up of Halloween themed sitcoms (guilt-free because I have a teacher workday tomorrow!) while I fold laundry and pick up all my piles of school things before my husband comes home. It brings a little bit of childish Halloween magic to me!

Just Running Along

I really have nothing new or exciting going on right now. My trip home to visit family and friends was so good for me and now I'm very happy to be back in my own house with my husband.

I'm just very content.

I'm running along. I'm feeling like this marathon is really possible now. Just 9 more weeks to stick to my training schedule.

*By the way, I've been tagged by Maggie at It is Everlasting in my very first blog tag. I feel like a 3rd grader who just got invited to my first slumber party by one of the cool girls! : ) Unfortunately, I don't feel like I can jump full into this one, but I did post a response on her original post.*

Send your prayers, thoughts, love to Stellan.

I'm running in a little while, but everytime I get onto blogger, I'm drawn back to My Charming Kids. I've been following this mom and family for a few months and have gotten kind of attached (like literally thousands of others across the world). Stellan, the baby of the family, is very, very sick right now and needs prayers and thoughts. I'll update my running tomorrow, but right now I just feel like this little guy needs as much love as he can get.

I can't believe I'm going to wear this.

I know I said I'd get back to my training plan today, but....I've been all over the place today getting ready for my trip home and haven't got out the door to run yet. Instead of getting in a run now and having to shower/make-up/dry-hair again before leaving, I'm just going to resign myself to a late night treadmill run. I'm going to a bachelorette party and probably won't get home until late, but my parents' treadmill is in the basement, so it'll be alright.

Speaking of this bachelorette party...I'm very excited to see Kelsey, the bride, and a few of my other friends from college. I recieved the invitation about a month ago in the mail and was so glad that I would be able to attend. What cracks me up though is the follow up email about the party that I recieved last week:

"I forgot to include one vital piece of info in the bachelorette invitation... The party is going to have a Golf Pros and Tennis Hoes theme."

I have no idea whatever happened to my high school tennis outfits and I'm not sure they quite qualify as "tennis hoe" appareal anyways, so I dug through my closet for an outfit. The best thing I could come up with is my running skort, some random top, and heels. This makes me laugh just thinking about the combination. It's pretty ridiculous and I'm definitely packing it and putting it on when I get there (as opposed to driving halfway across the state in that get-up).

plusequals.....?

I'll let you know.

Embracing the Whole Blog-Culture

Since I started lurking around on other people's blogs earlier this year, I've been fasinated by this whole blog culture and how it seems that so many blogs and writers seem to be connected to each other. Obviously, I'm totally jealous. So I'm participating today in what seems to be a blogging classic: Blog Hop through MckLinky. The theme for this week is "3 Things You Didn't Know About Me."

One

I once swam across a lake. A 4 mile lake. It actually took me 5 miles to swim it. (The boat accompanying me, as well as all the boats that were part of this experience, got lost in the fog, so we ended up swimming an extra mile or so.)

There I am at the bottom of the steps at the end of the swim. I was dragging through the water at the end. That was the hardest athletic feat of my life.

Two
I've been a bridesmaid four times and played the piano at three weddings. (I've never done both at the same time, thankfully.) I LOVE weddings and helping with them.

Three
I grew up a dairy farm, drinking raw milk and playing around the barn. I have just now got to the point where I can stand pasteurized milk on my cereal, but I still can't drink a glass of it.

Man in the Mirror

Okay, let me premise by saying I'm appalled my the amount of coverage that legit news channels (cough, cough, CNN) give to celebrity deaths. I was pretty much ready to throw any TV within arms reach out the window in the weeks following Anna Nicole Smith's death. It's sad, we should remember them kindly, pray for their families, etc. and just MOVE ON.

However, Michael Jackson's "Man in the Mirror" came up on my running playlist today and I feel compelled to share just one tiny memory triggered by that song. In my life, I've done plenty of things that are strange, unpractical, and sometimes a little stupid, but there are a few events I'd label as just plain irresponsible and dangerous. This is one of them.

When I was student teaching in Costa Rica, we used our weekends for little side excursions and adventures to the surrounding towns and beaches. On our last weekend, my friend, Erika, and I decided to travel to tiny little beach town, Montezuma on the very southern tip of the peninsula. To get from Nicoya (the town where we were living and teaching) to Montezuma required 3 different bus trips and 2 ferry trips. The Spanish communication skills between the two of us were pretty much only at survival level. It was quite the logistic challenge.

By the end of our second ferry ride, we were exhausted and absolutely not looking forward to figuring out the next round of bus tickets and schedules. We walked through the cars parked on the bottom level of the boat and envied those who could just hit the road to their destination. A couple in a rented SUV must has sensed this because the man in the driver's side motioned us over and asked, in heavily accented English, if we wanted a ride to Montezuma.

Erika and I exchanged looks that said, "Stranger Danger versus Bus Drama...which is potentially worse?" and with just slight hesitation, climbed into the back seat. The driver was a kind of dark, handsome, older man and his companion was a skinny, much younger, wide-eyed woman who seemed to not understand a word of anything said. Even when I tried to talk to her in Spanish, she didn't really respond. (My Spanish speaking skills leave a lot of people kind of unresponsive, so I didn't really think much of it.) The man asked where we were from and after we had told him our rosy little student-teachers-from-the-US stories, we asked about him. (By this time, we had driven through the little port town and are much more rapidly rolling through the Costa Rican countryside.) It went a little like this:

Stranger: I'm from Baghdad, here in this country for business.

Erika and I: Oh, how interesting! What type of business?

Stranger: Oh, business, you know.

Awkward silence while Erika and I contemplate what kind of secret businesses Iraqi men conduct in Costa Rica.

Erika and I: Is she (referring to the spaced out woman sitting up front with him who has not responded to our greetings in English or Spanish) from Iraq too?

Stranger: No.

Awkward silence while Erika and I observe him feeling up woman's thigh while she flinches and remember that we were warned us to stay clear of the prostitutes who worked in the coastal cities for rich tourists.

While my friend and I are soaking all of this in, the green landscape around is blurring because we are tearing faster and faster through the winding dirt roads. We thought that was making us nervous, until the driver started making motions for his companion to open the bag at her feet. She pulls out...wait for it...a packet of burnt CDs and a fifth of vodka. (Or should I say 1/3 of a fifth of vodka, because most of it was already consumed).

At this point, Erika and I are starting to question our decision. Maybe, just a little.

Our driver (yes, our driver) throws back his first shot straight from the bottle and motions for the hired girlfriend to flip through the CDs. He, very kindly, asks about our musical preference, but we just shook our heads politely and said, "We like anything." (By which we meant, "As long as we get out of this car alive, listen to whatever you want!")

Suddenly, a CD has caught his eye. I see "Greatest Hits of..." as he's sliding the CD in and he turns around (yes, while driving) to emphasize the point as he says, "Michael Jackson is the greatest performer of all time. He is a legend." We nod emphatically as he turns his attention again to the bumpy road (and his second and third shots).

I am gripping onto the seat and frantically looking back and forth between Erika and the blurred view outside the window as this strange, fanciful song I'd never heard filled the SUV. I listened carefully to the lyrics to distract me and suddenly I was completely caught up in this beautiful song. I had no idea Michael Jackson had so much heart and compassion until that moment I heard him sing about the man in the mirror. (My tongue is slightly in cheek, if you don't know me well enough to know.) I was so moved that I loosened my grip and maybe even smiled at Erika across the backseat. If we were going to die, at least we would perish in a beautiful, serendipitous adventure.

Just as I was beginning to make peace with our driver's swerving pace, we turned the corner into Montezuma and he braked into the middle of the village. We awkwardly thanked him and offered a few bills (which he pushed away in a fatherly, caring way) as we quickly exited the vehicle.

Watching the couple drive off, Erika and I finally exhaled, but I will never forget our special moment with a Michael Jackson soundtrack. Thanks, MJ.

P.S. After completing Day 1 at least 8 times, I finally did Jillian Michael "Making the Cut" Day 2!

Just as Pretty

So, this has even less to do with running than usual. I took my kitten to the vet for the first time today and they gave me this little free book on cat care. I have NEVER been so amused in my life by an instruction manual. Here are just a few of the highlights. (I made some notes to help your comprehension.)

I just think this is horribly unfair for them to pick on this poor cat.
I have seen cats MUCH fatter than that.

I honestly did not know people bathed cats. Luckily, they provided example of two incidences why you would need to bathe your cat: contamination OR cat shows.

And do you wonder what it looks like when you bathe your cat?

Well, there you go.

Now, this next one is kind of sad.

The caption of this one was "Action for Posion" but it looks to me like that cat just a had a little too much "substance." I don't think it was poison.

And this one was my VERY favorite. I was laughing so much at this caption I almost had to pull over on the way home from the vet's. Is it just me?

This was from the page "Why Choose a Nonpedigree?" (Opposite from "Why Choose a Pedigree?") One reason is: nonpedigree cats are "just as pretty." I mean, check out that cat's "long glossy coat." That is just pretty.

All pictures are attributed to Edney & Taylor's "101 Essential Tips: Cat Care." Thanks, guys.

Our garden is officially a vegetable garden!

So, as per usual, this has nothing to do with running. I was quite the gardener this weekend and fertilized and watered all our little flowers and plants. We planted our vegetable garden a month ago, but have had pretty low expectations because we basically don't know what we're doing. When I went out to the garden on Friday, however, I was shocked and thrilled to find the beginnings of our first vegetable! I think the kitten was, too.

It looks like we might have squash soon too!

April (well, May) Showers Bring...

Today was another treadmill day, but this time for good reason. It has been pouring most of the day. We came home this evening after being gone for most of the afternoon and I was glad to see we remembered to leave the porch light. Last night, we didn't, and came back late to find a slushie thrown against our door. Which kind of makes me laugh when I type it. (We live steps away from the high school, so we're at much higher risk for random acts of teenage stupidity.)

Tonight, when we came up on the porch out of the rain, we saw something hiding around the rockers and, lo and behold, it was a kitten! I immediately assumed this was now my kitten and proceeded with milk bowls, ham slices, and carrying it around while my husband mumbled something about "doesn't have shots....probably infected with swine flu."

My Potential Kitten with Aforementioned Ham Slice

Probably, considering how friendly this kitten was, he has another home. I would not be surprised if he was gone in the morning after the rain has stopped. I would be disappointed though. I've been trying to convince my husband to let us get a kitten from one of my students for weeks, so maybe this is a sign.

Anyway, I'm way too excited about this than is natural and I really should go to bed.

So I really shouldn't hate, but...

This has absolutely nothing to do with running, but I was up way too late grading science papers the other night. The kids had drawn different animals in their habitats and labeled the living and non-living factors in each ecosystem. Honestly, they understood beautifully and with the exception of a few random fire-breathing dragons, their pictures were pretty accurate. There were a few illustrations, however, that simply cracked. me. up. As in trying to contain my laughter from the living room so I wouldn't wake my husband. Moments like these (as well as many more serious, meaningful, and educational moments) make me love being a teacher.

I just love that smirky grin he has.

Obviously, the long bill (in addition to the smile on his face) qualifies this bird as a toucan.

The label is indispensable here.

Is it just me or does this tiger look an awful lot like that big caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland?

Well, that's enough mocking for one day though (especially because my drawings are not a whole lot more discernable than that frog)...I'm going to run!

Y'all gonna to have my cable back up in time for the Biggest Loser?

I've been having major internet/computer problems both at home and at school the past few days and it's driving me crazy. I was dealing though until I turned on the cable to make sure the Biggest Loser was going to record last night...and the cable was out too. That's my one show. I was very discouraged.

On my run, I happened to see the Time Warner trucks out and working on a line. I couldn't believe that I'd run right into the problem! I just couldn't resist running over and asking, "Y'all gonna have my cable back up in time for Biggest Loser?"

To his credit though, instead of laughing in my face or calling me a giant dork, the technician replied, "Hey, I'm missing it, too!" At least it wasn't just me.

I just think Google is great.

If you have not experienced Google outside of just "googling," you are really missing out. I'm keep on discovering and falling in love with new Google programs. There is no ever going back from Gmail email. I love using Google Earth when I'm showing my students somewhere new (or just around here because there is STILL some confusion for a few kids about what country/state/county/town we live in). And, really, what could be cooler (and possibly creeper) than Street View.

The relevant Google application for today, though, is Gmap-Pedometer. If you do any kind of running/biking/walking/moving along streets, you will love this. You zoom into your town or area and then plot out your route and it will show you your mileage. Pretty amazing, right?! Well, I thought so.

P.S. This is not a paid infomercial for Google, I just like to gush.